Lorraine & Bill Liswell - Special Guests Frank Vignola and Rich Zukor - Wisdom's Pearls (2007)

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Lorraine & Bill Liswell - Special Guests Frank Vignola and Rich Zukor - Wisdom's Pearls (2007)

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Joined by renowned jazz guitarist Frank Vignola and percussionist extraordinaire Rich Zukor, Lorraine & Bill Liswell take you on a journey through jazz with a gypsy spirit, swing, blues, Celtic, interwoven with velvety expressive vocals.

About five years ago, I began composing songs and carried an old tape recorder in my car to capture any good possibilities. Having sung with bands of many styles most of my life, and being ever hopeful, I figured I’d recognize a good song if it came to me. At Christmas about a year later, Bill gave me a small hand-held recorder. I found I could increase my songwriting time by carrying it with me during my daily walks. The songs came, and I became obsessed with composing. Not being an instrumentalist, I called on the combined talents of Bill, and our friend Kevin Gallagher, to create the accompaniments to my songs. All but four of the songs on this CD were created in this way. Of those four, Bill alone wrote the accompaniment for Kiss My Blues Away. Melody for a Day and Hobohemian Rag originated with mandolin and guitar riffs that Kevin had created and then asked me to build songs around. Kevin’s initial ideas are the intros to those songs. Kevin and Bill co-composed Chèvre À GoGo just days before going into the studio.

Our recording dream was realized in June 2007, when jazz guitarist Frank Vignola and drummer Rich Zukor joined Bill and I to record six of the songs on this CD. Frank and Rich intuitively knew how to capture the mood for each song. Frank’s virtuosity is astounding. Rich is an exuberant percussionist, his Djembe playing provided dynamic rhythmic accompaniment and drive. It was truly a memorable experience to play with such great musicians. Bill was smiling all day!

Drummer Lorne Entress added captivating percussion and solid drumming to the other five compositions. Kevin contributed melodic dobro and mandolin parts to these tracks. Bill’s fine jazz chording, fluid guitar solos, and powerful bass lines are heard throughout the CD.
I’m thrilled and honored to have had the chance to sing and savor our songs with such a fine group of musicians.