September 2021
welcomes the release of Dear Love, the brand new project by US jazz luminary,
vocalist and composer Jazzmeia Horn. A winner of the Sarah Vaughan
International Jazz Competition and the Thelonious Monk Institute International
Jazz Competition,
Jazzmeia Horn is also a NAACP Image Award winning artist. Having signed to Concord Records, her debut album A Social Call achieved great critical acclaim, receiving a GRAMMY Award® nomination in the category of Best Jazz Vocal Album. Jazzmeia’s second album Love and Liberation, received yet another GRAMMY® nomination in the same category. Now Jazzmeia Horn makes a triumphant return with a big band orientated album – a notable departure from her previous work and a unique proposition, undoubtedly set to build on her compelling reputation as one of America’s most exciting and impactful jazz stars.
Dear Love, addresses three specific aspects of Jazzmeia’s existence, her community, her lover and herself. The album is infused with poetry and spoken word through letters of encouragement – it is the first time that these proponents of Jazzmeia’s creative talents feature on her recorded work. Dear Love is also one of the first times that a black female vocalist has written and fronted a big band album in its entirety (this having historically always been a male preoccupation) and the addition of strings elevates the album to that of a major orchestral project.
Having embarked on
an exhilarating voyage of discovery by listening to art
ists such as Booker T,
Little Jimmy Scott, Bebop Betty Carter, Frank Wess, Jackie McLean, René McLean,
George Coleman J.J. Johnson and many more pioneering figures in early jazz, an intuition
like no other developed within Jazzmeia’s psyche, allowing her to assimilate
and absorb what she has heard and fully digest it until it is attached to her
soul. This gift allows Jazzmeia to carry the torch for these legends of
yesteryear, while heralding in a new and evolved era for the tradition of straight-ahead,
classic jazz.
Similarly inspired
by musicians such as Erykah Badu and her collaborative work with rappers such
as Common and Talib Kweli, as well as Lauren Hill’s status within the Fugees,
Jazzmeia Horn provides a unique slant to her work by combining these influences
with the nuances of iconic jazz figures such as those mentioned above. The
result is a sound that simultaneously holds classic qualities and a
contemporary edge.
The making of Dear Love citing Jazzmeia and her
collaborators’ journey throughout the project is being filmed in order to
capture the creative process and to further demonstrate the concept behind the
album itself. This documentary footage will be broadcast on network television
in spring 2022. Jazzmeia also plans to tour the album extensively, with some flagship
shows with The Frankfurt Philharmonic Orchestra scheduled for October 2021.
Dear Love is an
ambitious and exhilarating project that represents some of Jazzmeia Horn’s very
best work to date, reinforcing her status as one of the most versatile and
exciting international jazz artists in the world today.
Listen to Lover Come Back to Me from the album which is released on Sept. 10.
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