Vocalist, Tracy MacLean, with sidemen Tom Snow (piano) and Mark Kleinhaut (guitar) have created a masterpiece -recorded "live".

12 MP3 Songs
JAZZ: Jazz Vocals, LATIN: Latin Jazz



Details:
"REAL" Vocalist Tracey MacLean, a Brunswick native and Topsham resident, is the featured artist on her new CD recording titled âREALâ. The concert was recorded in front of a âliveâ audience at Maine Sound Stage in Brunswick, Maine in November of 2006.
On the evening of April 7th at 8:00, she was joined at Maine Sound Stage by stellar jazz guitarist Gary Wittner, and renowned jazz pianist Thomas Snow for an official release reception celebrating this work.
MacLean produced the album herself, as well as several other concerts and events at Maine Sound Stage in 2006. This work would not have been done for another few years were it not for a sponsor that insisted on financially supporting most of the project. A long time friend and jazz fan has been asking her to record for some time, (it has been 12 years since her last recording project), and she finally decided to take him up on it. The sponsor, (who wishes to remain anonymous), is hopeful that this release will âopen some doors, so that Traceyâs voice can be heardâ¦â, and neither he nor MacLean expect that it will be another 12 years before she puts out another great recording. âBesidesâ, says MacLean, âIâm not getting any youngerâ¦itâs time to really DO this and see what happensâ!
A live audience setting was used for this recording, primarily because of a specific kind of energy; the energy in a room when people share joy, laughter, sadness (and an entire spectrum of emotions) that a performer like MacLean invites into her imaginary living room. âI think only live performances can capture a certain feeling â a certain conversation and intimacy with the audience that canât be matched in the studio; or not by me anyway. Meeting peopleâs eyes, watching them breathe deeply and relax for the first time all day, folks laughing out loud and covering their mouths when I let go some unexpected lyrics is whatâs the best part for me. Did I help somebody have a better day? I believe thatâs my job â thatâs what I strive for. Even with the bumps and bruises and little imperfections that come with recording live, at least I know I was there and maybe changed someoneâs outlook that day.â

This unique compilation has some âin your faceâ lyrics with MacLeanâs original songs âRealâ, âYou Donât Know What To Do With Meâ, âTricky and Slickâ, and âRose Colored Glassesâ, as well as a Harold Arlen tune titled âI Donât Think Iâll End It All Todayâ, which is a comical song about joyfully choosing life over various ways to âoffâ oneself. MacLean says of this CD, âAlthough some of these songs are a product of being lonely, hurt, angry, disappointed, broke, a struggling single mother, and in chronic pain, they are also about being full of hope, humor, and love. Iâll just keep my âRose-Colored Glassesâ handy, because whatâs âREALâ for me these days is; âthe best IS yet to come.â Stay tunedâ¦â¦.. Iâm not done having âmy turnâ yetâ¦â¦.â That means thereâs more to come in the not so distant future. MacLean plans to continue writing songs and putting her own zesty flavor into familiar ones.
Tracey MacLean has opened for national acts such as Madeline Peyroux, Tuck & Patti, New Orleans blues artist Luther Kent, steel pan jazz master Othello Molineaux, and Freddy Cole, (Natâs brother...). She has also been a guest artist on Maine Public Radio live broadcasts, and does administrative work for the Maine Jazz Alliance, (Maineâs only jazz support, education, and advocacy organization). You can catch Ms. MacLean at various Maine venues, including monthly at Solo Bistro in Bath, Maine, where they have been having great success with their âFriday Night Jazzâ performances, which are booked by MacLean.
âREALâ was recorded and mixed by A.C. Lane, owner of Maine Sound Stage, Brunswick, Maine, and mastered/manufactured by Disc Makers of Pennsauken, New Jersey. CD design is by Tracey MacLean, and photography by Roxanne Ashey Photography of Brunswick, Maine. âREALâ will be available for sale in local stores on April 9th. For more information about the CD release, please contact Malarkey Productions at (207)798-9201.