They’re re-releasing my CD EBONY RAIN in Korea and asked me for new liner notes. Here they are– hope you enjoy. Here’s a link to the album on iTunes!
Sometimes everything comes together– the planets align, the sax player you wanted to use is actually in town and you step up your game just at the right moment. Ebony Rain is one of those albums. Recorded in 1986 and released the following year—it was charmed from the beginning.
You see I did Jazz Life, my first LP, with all pop musicians. The guys I’d been demo-ing all my “publisher” songs with—except for Tom Ranier. But after Jazz Life I realized I needed to find the “jazz cats”—and I made up a list of the people I wanted to work with; David Benoit (just starting to receive airplay in Los Angeles), Joe Sample, Dianne Reeves and Grant Geissman. Well amazingly, all these people worked on the CD— and in the case of David Benoit, he co-wrote songs and became the co-producer of the LP.
But so many wonderful musicians worked on this CD it’s amazing—Tom Scott, Russ Freeman, Lorraine Feather, Eddie Arkin and Tony Morales to just name the room!
EBONY RAIN- I wrote this lyric while vacationing in Hawaii. One day I was walking and this “black rain” started falling out of the sky—and when I asked what it was they said it was the residue of the sugar cane fields burning down—which to my young ears seemed a great metaphor for making love! Voila- sultry, sexy song. David put a lovely melody to this- and Russ Freeman (of the Rippingtons) new to LA did a a hip guitar part on this.
SNEAKY- this is a wonderful “Jarreau-like” song originally recorded by Dianne Reeves. It’s how I got to meet her, and then became friends with her. Wow! Those synths.. Maybe we were a little too in love with them. This is definitely “80s” big-time—but I love the Tom Scott solo- boy can he play. This has a very funky melody by a great songwriter Eddie Arkin, the other co-producer of the CD.
GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS – My hit!!!! They played this song on “Smooth Jazz “formats everywhere in the U.S. during the summer of 1987. One time, I heard myself 7 times in one day – they were playing it on 3 stations in Los Angeles alone. Great melody and arrangement by Eddie Arkin. I was in my “primal” period at this point—it seems every song I wrote had me with a native girl in a forest somewhere with kalimbas and congas getting our blood to boil. Hell I was young. I sang it with the magnificent Dianne Reeves—and let me tell you, the session for “Garden” was the only time I almost bolted for the door, Her voice was so huge– singing across from me. She was amazing, I was speechless.
NIGHT FLIGHT – this song has a lyric I wrote for a Joe Sample instrumental that I loved from his LP “The Hunter”. I made a demo of me singing over his instrumental track (it was in my key) sent it to his manager—and lo and behold (I told you this LP was charmed) Joe called me and said he really dug it—I didn’t know Joe Sample at all, so it was a very big deal for me. One of the great experiences I’ve had in my career was being in a rehearsal room with Joe Sample simplifying my lyric while he amazingly played piano. Great bass part by Bob Feldman—it was tough, but he nailed it.
BUSTED FOR BOPPIN’ – another great tune and arrangement by Eddie Arkin. I got the title from the old movie “Footloose”—when a police officer stopped Kevin Bacon for playing’ music, I believe—the first thing out of young Kevin’s mouth was “But officer—You can’t get busted for bopping’—Being a songwriter I immediately wrote that line down. And the rest is history– Another great Tom Scott Sax solo. He did all of his solos in one or two takes—just amazing… and I wrote it with my favorite lyricists and friends, Lorraine Feather.
LYNN – a sweet tune by David Benoit. The song is totally true, only the name has been changed to protect the innocent and in love. Nice sax by Sam Riney.
KELLY’S MOODS – what a gorgeous melody by Eddie Arkin. Basically just me and a piano player (a very good one though, my pal Kevin Bassinson) and some string pads.
NIGHT IN THE CITY – Another Benoit tune. Every time I play it, I think why don’t I sing this one live? – and then I don’t do it. I wrote a lot of the lyrics walking down the streets of the Village in NYC. I love the background vocals on this one by Lorraine Feather, Angie Jaree, Beth Lawrence and Marie Cain. It is a very close relative to my song “Jazz Life” I wrote the melody to this one too—although Mr. Benoit did some beautiful re-harmonizations.
RAINBOW – what can I say? One of my favorite songs ever that I’ve co-written—it was another song that started out as beautiful jazz instrumental called “As If I Could Reach Rainbows” by David Benoit—I based my lyric on my conversations with David (we were becoming lifelong friends) David loved “Dandelion Wine” by Ray Bradbury, so I threw some of that in there—but now listening to the lyric—it’s definitely about me as much as him. I think we did the whole song in one take. I’m very proud of this one.
This record came out on Pausa Records. My pal Ellen Cohn had been hired by Bill Stilfield to help run the label—and just as she’d promised me after Jazz Life—if ever she could help me, she would—and she did.
It sold a lot of copies, I started touring—I remember a great gig in Detroit at Sam’s Jams record store (remember those!)… and the twin producers of Eddie Arkin and David Benoit couldn’t have been more talented! The planets had aligned, It was one of the first records that was a “mainstay” of both Quiet Storm and Smooth Jazz formats—and in those days even plenty of straight ahead stations played it.
n 1971 in a Universe very far from here, noted arranger and my first mentor Jimmie Haskell called me about an audition. ABC Dunhill was looking for a lead singer for this new group, Jimmie was going to be arranging for—and he thought I might be a good fit. It seems Walter Becker and Donald Fagen had been signed to the publishing company as writers and they were going to do an LP, but ABC Dunhill didn’t think Donald Fagen had what it took to sing lead. What Jimmie didn’t tell me is that they had run an ad in the old Los Angeles Free Press, and had seen everyone in town—so by the time I got to them they were pretty frazzled.
So much happening right now for the Winkster. I am truly blessed—I have loads of songs out or coming out in the near future. First –and one I’m very proud of– is that I have a song on All-Time Great Singer, Jackie Ryan’s Number 1 jazz CD “Listen Here.” It’s a tune I wrote with Jon Mayer called “Rip Van Winkle”—beautiful arrangement by John Clayton with a killer keyboard solo by his son Gerald. 
Well, my LAURA NYRO PROJECT is finally out. Recently, I was sitting with a friend and they asked me a cool question: Why Laura Nyro? I’ve been thinking about it, and here’s my answer.