As 2023 has come to a close I take a moment to pause and reflect.  What would I like to share about my life? What’s been going on?  What are my personal triumphs?  What can I be proud of?


There are many professional accomplishments through my music with my Album “Magic Mirror”.  The Single “Magic Mirror” celebrated enormous success on Radio Formats including Sirius XM Watercolors airplay and Year End Chart Reports for Top Songs of the Year. Billboard placed it at #36 Song of the Year, Smooth Jazz Network at #10 Song of the Year; SmoothJazz.com placed the Album at the #2 Album of the Year.  Spotify and Apple music continue to stream significant numbers from my catalogue.  Almost 10 million on “Perfect Sunday”, 3 Million for “Stronger Now” with  “Fire & Water”  added to a big playlist and already over 1 Million.  Apple added “Magic Mirror” and already has extensive play on “Sun’s Out” and “Fly Away Butterfly”.


While “Magic Mirror” has been riding the wave of Contemporary Jazz Radio I’ve continued writing and recording new music.  In February 2023, I recorded a new tune with Paul Brown in Los Angeles when I attended the Grammys 2023.  It was great working with Paul again at Carmen Grille’s studio playing on his Yamaha C3.  The Grammys provided me a chance to see old friends and make new ones at networking events surrounding the Grammys.  


I was asked to Perform at the Berks Festival in Reading, PA and also to be an Educator in the Berks Arts Jazz Educational Series for High School Students during the Festival Week.  It was a great experience and also lots of fun.


There were other fun Events that I performed at in the Spring and Summer; WSIE Virtual Performance (St Louis), Lake Oconee Wine & Jazz Festival (Ritz Carlton),  Rialto Club Theater (Athens, GA) Battle of Bryon, Festival (South GA),  Mountain Brook Jazz Festival (North Carolina),  Elmira Jazz Festival (New York),  Grayson City Amphitheater, Suwanee Dam Dinner (GA), Women of Jazz, Lyman Center, (New Haven Connecticut).    


In July  “Time Sensitive”, a Classical Recording from my Georgia State Senior Concert that I found in storage and restored was released in Digital and CD Format.  It has works from Bach, Schubert, Brahms, and Prokofieff and is on all streaming sites as well as my web store.  


It was great to work on Greg Chambers new Single “Just Feels Right” as a Featured Artist in August..  It has been received very well with Sirius XM Watercolors and other Radio Airplay. “Sol Ipanema” also went to Radio in September and had a great run on Smooth Jazz Radio Formats. 


The new Single “Sunshine Yellow” featuring Peter White is set for release January 26, 2024. Work is continuing on other new songs as well working with Roberto Vally, Paul Brown, Dennis Johnson, Ragan Whiteside, Paula Atherton and more for a new Album release. 


Personally I’ve been staying healthy, getting out more socially with friends, walking and hiking a lot, making new friends and driving a 16 year old around.  While I didn’t go on any major vacations this year I spent a lot of quiet time in the mountains, with family and my dogs.  


I’m extremely grateful for all the love and support from my fans, radio programmers and listeners and friends.  Without this support it wouldn’t be possible to continue writing and recording my music.  


There will be more details in the upcoming months of new shows, events and new works during 2024.     


Until the next one, 


Much Love,


Carol 
​

I’m not a stranger to the best and the worst of times happening simultaneously in my life.  2022 ushered in some really nice surprises with my music recordings and progress on my 9th Album, which came to be titled “Magic Mirror”. My Single release “Fire & Water” took off in January charting in February on Billboard Smooth Jazz Airplay.  It peaked at #4 position and ended 2022 on the Song of the Year Chart at #26 in the midst of many notable Artists.  My work on new recordings continued with a trip to Los Angeles in March to record with Paul Brown, Carmen Grillo and Roberto Vally on several tunes including “Paradigm Shift”, “Angels Watching Over Me”, and  “Sapporo Dream”.  

I was contacted to perform in Austin, Texas with my Band at an offsite venue during the SWSX Festival in March. I performed at the Berks Jazz Festival in Pennsylvania in April during the 2 week long Festival of amazing Artists.  It was great running into professional friends and meeting new friends at the same time.  I performed in many small intimate settings from January to June.

During this time my Father had become ill with cancer and it became apparent his health was failing and he had only a short time left in life.  Having lived a very strong and active life, it was hard for us to see him decline so rapidly. In June 2022 he passed away peacefully.  At the same time other close members of the family were going through some challenging times and personal struggles.  My Father had taught me to be strong and resilient and would want me to continue to move forward.  I continued with the project finishing my last composition “Gemini Sun” for the Album in July.   

The new Album was finalized in August 2022 and released on October 7, 2022.  I Titled the Album “Magic Mirror” reflecting the world I go into when I’m writing and composing music of joy, pain and fantasy. I imagined traveling through many scenes and spaces with tunes like “Sol Ipanema”, “Sapporo Dream” and dedicated “Angels Watching Over Me” to my Father.  “Paradigm Shift” became the lead Single and hit the Billboard Chart after just a few weeks. A highlight of the Year was when “Paradigm Shift” hit #1 on Halloween, October 31 and was #1 on all the Smooth Jazz Charts lasting for many weeks.  It’s still at #1 at the end of December on Groove Jazz/RadioWave, SmoothJazz Radar and still on Billboard/Mediabase A/C at #13 making 15 weeks on Billboard.  It was my first #1 Hit and a lifelong dream that truly I never thought possible.  I am truly grateful for the tremendous amount of support from Radio Program Directors and fans, as well as Jason Gorov at Gorov Music Marketing and my longtime loyal supporters.  

This Fall saw a flurry of Shows with Performances in Kentucky, Atlanta, and Alabama.  It was very gratifying to discover that “Fire & Water” and “Paradigm Shift” both made the Best of 2022 on all the Smooth Jazz Year End Charts.  “Magic Mirror” was also on the Best Album of 2022 list with SmoothJazz.com.

Throughout the year streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and many other services reported amazing numbers of streams for my tunes.  A favorite of many  “Perfect Sunday” reached over 7 million streams on Spotify and “Sun’s Out” over 2.5 million streams on Apple Music.  Even many of my older Albums have received many streams and physical CD Orders from my web and CD Baby.  

In summary, I believe it’s not what life throws at you but how you can deal with those challenges. My music has always been a great outlet for me and has resonated with so many people through the years.  I appreciate the amount of love and support from all of you this year!  

There’s so much more to come in 2023.  Stay tuned for many new directions, new music and developments.  

Much love, 
Carol

While some people kept going with their regular lives the music stopped playing. Now here it is - a year later - and their are a few tinkles of live music but not very many. There is an emptiness on the stage. ​

Many have recovered and many still suffer. This is a confusing time. Through this fast tide of change I’ve focused on how to move forward with my musical life and negotiated the challenges of pandemic reality personally. ​

As the light at the end of the tunnel promises new hope it also presents challenges we face going forward in our new reality. Many think everything will just go back to normal but most admit they’re not sure what that is anymore. ​

As I continue working on new music,  I’m encouraged by the many heartfelt notes I’ve received about “Stronger Now”.  Music is the healer of the heart and I continue to reach inside mine for inspiration for more to come. ​

Much love,
Carol ​