Dorian Devins has a unique smooth voice and laid-back style that complements and works well with brass and woodwind instruments. "Devins' singing is crisp and exact and very hip" - All About Jazz "a cleverly lyrical, coolly intriguing jazz chanteuse " - New York Music Daily "(Devins) takes a less often traveled road and blazes a new trail in standards interpretation." - All About Jazz "..her vocal artistry transcends the traditional singer mode and moves more to a blending of melody and harmonic invention as part of the band" -@ Critical jazz "Welcome the new Eddie Jefferson! "- C. Michael Bailey, The One from The Other "Imaginary Release" It’s been 4 years since my first recording, and it just seems like time to synthesize the musical ideas I've been exploring since 2012. Along with falling in love with several jazz standards that were new to me, I’ve been writing the lyrics to many of my husband (and pianist) Lou Rainone's compositions (a couple are on his latest CD, "Sky Dance"). Since I had been listening to a variety of music outside of jazz and singing a little classical repertoire, I got interested in the idea of doing some hybrid tunes based on lyrical classical music. Two here are based on Erik Satie's music--Lament for the Moon and Satie-ated. They have my lyrics and my take on his melodies, along with Lou's assistance on the harmonics. I’ve also thrown in a favorite song from my teen years--Hidden Treasure--by one of my favorite rock bands, Traffic. Lou’s arrangement and wonderful piano playing give it another life as a jazz tune. And my second opportunity for a song cowriting credit with the great Wayne Shorter (Conundrum) sealed the deal on why to record now. The sounds of different instruments and the emotional response their “voices” can bring up has always intrigued me. I’ve long been fascinated with the plaintive and exotic sounds of the oboe, and was lucky to find the wonderful Tom Christensen as a willing participant in some of these experiments. On this recording, he is also heard on flute, tenor sax, and English Horn. The trumpet and flugelhorn bring another set of feelings and sounds, and, here, my dear friend and collaborator Richie Vitale brings them to life beautifully. Of course, playing with these musicians, along with my wonderful regular collaborators Tom Hubbard and Paul Gill on bass, and Taro Okamoto on drums, has been the biggest inspiration of all. They all added their special presence and beautiful sounds and made the whole experience incredibly easy and fun. There is no better teacher than experience, and no better experience than playing with these guys. In looking over the songs I assembled for this project, I came up with the idea of the title, IMAGINARY RELEASE. It's a double entendre, both because this is a digital-only release with no “physical being,” and also because the themes of the songs have to do with escape, fantasy, and dreams. Perhaps that’s something many of us need more of these days! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Lullaby in Rhythm (B.Goodman, E. Sampson, C. Profit, W. Hirsch) Arr. L. Rainone 2) Conundrum (D. Devins, W Shorter) Arr. D. Devins/ L. Rainone 3) Some Other Time (B. Comden, A. Greene, L. Bernstein) Arr. L. Rainone 4) I’m Gonna Go Fishin’ (D. Ellington, P. Lee) Arr. L. Rainone 5) Satie-ated (D.Devins, der. Satie/Devins) Arr. D. Devins/ L. Rainone 6) Resolution (L. Rainone, D. Devins) Arr. L. Rainone 7) So Tinha de Ser Com Voce (A. C. Jobim, A. Oliveira) Arr. L. Rainone 8) Lament for the Moon (D.Devins, der. Satie/Devins) Arr. D. Devins/ L. Rainone 9) Hidden Treasure (S. Winwood, J. Capaldi) Arr. D. Devins/ L. Rainone 10) Misty Roses (T. Hardin) Arr. L. Rainone 11) The Moon Looks Down and Laughs (Ruby, Kalmer, Silvers) Arr. L. Rainone Dorian Devins - vocals Tom Christensen - tenor sax (1, 4, 6, 11) ) flutes (2, 3, 10), oboe (5, 8), English horn (9) Richie Vitale - trumpet (1, 4 ,6), flugelhorn (3), percussion (7) Lou Rainone - piano Tom Hubbard - bass (2, 5, 8, 9,10, 11) Paul Gill - bass (1, 3, 4, 6, 7) Taro Okamoto - drums Engineered by Chris Sulit at Trading 8’s Studio, NJ Mastered by Joel Kerr at G&J Audio NJ Produced by Dorian Devins Lullaby in Rhythm (B.Goodman, E. Sampson, C. Profit, W. Hirsch) EMI Feist Catalog Inc/Ragbag Music Publishing Corp. Conundrum (D. Devins, W Shorter) Kobalt Music Pub America OBO Miyako Music/ OBO Milky Way Express, Inc. ASCAP/BMI Some Other Time (B. Comden, A. Greene, L. Bernstein) Universal- Polygram Intl Pub OBO Leonard Bernstein Music Pub. Co. I’m Gonna Go Fishin’ (D. Ellington, P. Lee) Universal Music MGB Songs OBO Denslow Music Inc/ Sony/Harmony OBO Duke Ellington Music Satie-ated (D.Devins, der. Satie/Devins) Minor Mode Music Publishing ASCAP Resolution (L. Rainone, D. Devins) Minor Mode Music Publishing ASCAP So Tinha de Ser Com Voce (A. C. Jobim, A. Oliveira) Corcovado Music Corp./Wixen Music Pub, OBO Ipanema Music BMI/ASCAP Lament for the Moon (D.Devins, der. Satie/Devins) Minor Mode Music Publishing ASCAP Hidden Treasure (S. Winwood, J. Capaldi) Universal Polygram Int’l Pub. Inc./Kobalt Music Pub. America OBO FS Music Ltd. PRS/ BMI Misty Roses (T. Hardin) Allen Stanton Productions BMI The Moon Looks Down and Laughs (Ruby, Kalmer, Silvers) Universal-MCA Music Publishing div. of Universal Music Corp. -- Thanks to the wonderful musicians on the recording who made this project possible, Chris Sulit at Trading 8’s Studio and Joel Kerr at G&J Audio for recording and production work, my mother and friends for their love and support, and a special thanks to Maggie Malone for her second set of eyes. Most of all, Lou Rainone for his amazing work on the arrangements and playing and his support in every aspect here and beyond.