Psalms and honest original lyrics; her silken vocals and elegant melodies are arranged for violins, cello, string bass, oboe, tenor sax, clarinet, english horn, piano, tabla, vibes, flutes, and guitars.

10 MP3 Songs
CLASSICAL: Contemporary, JAZZ: Smooth Jazz



Details:
A 2003 Wammie (Washington Area Music Assoc.) nominee for 'best classical solo vocalist,' Nancy Scimone's voice and spirit stretch far beyond Mozart. After a recent concert performance, her soft-as-butter, silken vocals prompted one listener to confess, "I could listen to you all day."

Here is Nancy's STORY .....

Once Upon a Time . . .

From behind the first pew, the child peered excitedly at the altar, where her mother was arranging flowers for tomorrow's Confirmation Mass. Her eyes focused on the bells. Fascinated by their beautiful sound, she longed to play them. With fearless innocence, the little red-haired girl climbed the three big steps, seized the bells and, with joy in her heart, began ringing them. Her embarrassed mother, with a rushing sweep across the altar, began to remove the mischievous child, but was halted by the pastor, Fr. Sullivan. "Oh, Mrs. Scimone, God welcomes the little children -- let her play the music!"

Beginning with this first "performance" at St. Theresa of the Little Flower in New York's Westchester County, singer Nancy Scimone has listened to this good priest. "I was in church frequently with my mother, and felt very natural and at home there. I knew by age six that singing was to be an essential purpose in my life, and that God had reserved for me an important musical assignment."

God continues to 'let me play the music,' and when I perform, I am still the child reaching for Him."

All Is Beautiful & All Is New . . . .

'the quiet place' is Nancy Scimone's refreshingly different take on peace and quiet. Nancy worked with producer Bob Dawson in creating something beautiful and new. Although she could have chosen one of a number of producers with a laundry-list of inspirational albums to their credit, Scimone was after something different, and she was drawn to Dawson's natural, clear-as-the-sky, honest production style, which she had admired in some of his Grammy-award winning recordings.

"Bob Dawson was the perfect producer for "the quiet place," says Scimone. His goal in the recording studio is absolute honesty of performance, nothing artificial or ambiguous. Bob has a gift for uncovering the most potent message in the music, like drawing fresh water from the well. Although Bob has worked with world-class country, blues, and jazz artists, he was so at home with these gentle Psalms, and he uncovered a far deeper meaning in these songs than I saw in them at first. As a result, "the quiet place" is a very satisfying CD of right down-to-the earth music, with a taste of Heaven.

Mike Crotty's orchestral arrangements weave my melodies into colorful tapestries; you can listen to them over and over, and still they sound so new. His arrangements are a little bit classical, and a little 'gently jazz.'
You can hear this immediately on the first track, "I Will Sing Your Strength," with a luscious horn solo and strings. The vocals sort of float on the orchestra like a bird on the crest of a wave.

We invited pianist Jon Carroll to arrange and play the last tune, "You Are the Potter," which is a very personal song for me. It's about redemption, Mercy with a capital M, and how we can make all the wrong turns in life, break our own hearts, and die, and God will build us up again if we just let go and fall His way. Here are the lyrics to the refrain: "And when I lift my eyes to you, all is beautiful and all is new. I let go and fall your way, you are the Potter, I am the clay."

The messages of peace, mercy, new beginnings - these are truths for souls of all ages, all faiths, and all backgrounds. My touring takes me over this great land, from New York to Kansas and beyond, and people everywhere share a universal, soulful common denominator; I think that essentially, people today are seeking goodness, peace, honesty, and hope -- and a reason to trust. I think that the music on 'the quiet place' offers this.


Here are some lyrics from the title song, "The Quiet Place."

The Painter of the soul, the Poet of the Heart

The Master of all Beauty, all destiny His Art

He weaves within the silence the sacred threads that bind

the breath of every moment with the promises of Time.

And I believe

faith and love will lead us to the quiet place

on a road that we can't see.

Faith and love will lead us to the quiet place

where we will find abundant peace.

(From 'the quiet place,' words and music by Nancy Scimone, Copyright 2003, nancymusic@erols.com)