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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June
12, 2003
Contact: Jennifer Komosa 202-338-1999
email: felten@starpower.net
ERIC
FELTEN SINGS AND SWINGS ON HIS NEW DISC,"NOWHERE
WITHOUT YOU" AVAILABLE JULY 1st.
New
album follows Eric Felten's hit PBS Concert Special, "The Big Band
Sound of WWII," seen by over 12 million viewers nationwide.
On July 1st, BSD Records and New River
Media will release a new album from jazz singer and trombonist Eric Felten,
titled "Nowhere Without You." With this collection of impeccably
swinging standards, Felten succeeds in making a record that will appeal
both to the growing adult audience for classic American popular songs
and to jazz fans alike.
Felten is the rare jazz singer with both serious jazz credentials and
serious, trained pipes. He has recorded as a trombonist with jazz greats
such as Joe Lovano, Joshua Redman, Randy Brecker and Jimmy Knepper. But
it is in leading his own big band that Felten emerged as a singer. Seeking
the strength and vocal control of great singers like Frank Sinatra, Joe
Williams and Nat "King" Cole, Felten studied with the National
Symphony's baritone soloist, Jason Stearns. Rare among singers, Felten
has the musicianship of a true jazzer, combined with real vocal chops.
The title of the album is taken from a lyric in the song "Moon-Faced,
Starry-Eyed." Written by "Mack the Knife" composer Kurt
Weill and the poet Langston Hughes, "Moon-Faced" is an overlooked
gem. Eric rescues it from obscurity with a bright arrangement and an exuberant
performance. The disc also features great American songs such as Duke
Ellington's "I Got It Bad," Cole Porter's "From This Moment
On," and Rodgers and Hart's "Dancing on the Ceiling." Keeping
the tradition of American popular songwriting alive, Felten contributes
an original tune of his own "I Don't Believe That We Have Met."
Felten's talents as a singer and trombonist came to mainstream national
attention in August of 2001, when PBS debuted Felten's concert special,
"The Big Band Sound of WWII." Felten recreated a USO dance,
fronting his 30-piece big band and strings, singing songs from the war
years. The show was a hit with PBS viewers and has been airing repeatedly
ever since.
"Nowhere Without You" brings together Felten's love of the great
bands of the swing era and his passion for straight-ahead jazz. On half
the album's cuts Felten is backed by a nine-piece band consisting of rhythm-section
and three horns; on the other tunes, he is featured with his quartet.
"With this record I wanted to combine the excitement of a big band
with the intimacy and spontaneity of a small jazz group," Felten
says.
Above all, Felten hopes that his music will put a smile on people's faces.
"Many of the greatest jazz musicians of all time, including Louis
Armstrong and Duke Ellington, were also great entertainers," Felten
notes. "Jazz can and should be entertaining." And he hopes the
music sparks some romance: "I of course hope that people fall in
love with my music. But it's even better when people fall in love to
the music."