On April 8, 2011, “Hear Music” label released “So Beautiful or So What”, the twelfth Paul Simon studio album. It was recorded in 2010, at Paul Simon’s cottage in New Canaan, Connecticut, Paul Simon’s summer home in New York, and was produced by Phil Ramone and Paul Simon.
Personnel:
Paul Simon – vocals, acoustic and electric twelve string-guitar, nylon string guitar, bells, glockenspiel, lyricist, percussion, whistle
Vincent Nguini – acoustic and electric guitar
Mick Rossi – piano
David Finck – bass
Jim Oblon – bass, electric and slide guitar, drums, percussion
Steve Shehan –bass, brushes, crotale, cymbals, djembe, glass harp, resonator, saz, stick and talking drum, angklung
Skip La Plante – gong, harp, wind chimes
Karaikudi R. Mani – ensemble percussion, vocal percussion
On September 24, 1996, “Elektra” label released “Stardust”, the 15th Natalie Cole album. It was recorded June – September 1996, at “Ocean Way Recording”, “Capitol Studios”, “Conway Studios” and “LeGonks West” in Hollywood, “Record Plant” in Los Angeles, “Chartmaker Studios” in Malibu, California, “The Hit Factory” and “Sony Music Studios” in New York, “The Shire” in Bedford, New York, “Wisseloord Studios” in Hilversum, Netherlands, and was produced by George Duke, David Foster, Phil Ramone and Natalie Cole. At the 39th “Grammy Awards”, Natalie Cole won the “Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals” for the song “When I Fall in Love”, a duet with Nat King Cole. The song also won the “Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement with Accompanying Vocal(s)” for arrangers Alan Broadbent and David Foster.
Personnel:
Natalie Cole – lead and backing vocals, vocal and music arrangements, album concept, executive producer
Nat King Cole – lead vocals, Hammond B3 organ
John Chiodini – guitar, acoustic guitar
John Pizzarelli – guitar
Paul Jackson Jr. – electric guitar
Lee Ritenour – guitar
Terry Trotter – acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes, keyboards
Michael Lang – acoustic piano
Rob Mounsey – acoustic piano, keyboards, music arrangements
George Duke – acoustic piano, keyboards, vibraphone, music arrangements, horn arrangements, vocals arrangements
Bob James – keyboards, acoustic piano, music arrangements
Toots Thielemans – harmonica
Jim Hughart – bass, music arrangements
Chuck Domanico – bass
David Finck – bass
Reggie Hamilton – bass
Chuck Berghofer – bass
Nathan East – bass
Harold Jones – drums
Ralph Penland – drums
Chris Parker – drums
John Guerin – drums
John Robinson – drums
Harvey Mason – drums
Bashiri Johnson – percussion
Paulinho da Costa – percussion
Rafael Padilla – percussion
Dan Higgins – saxophone
Everette Harp – alto saxophone
Michael Brecker – saxophone
Wynton Marsalis – trumpet
George Bohanon – trombone
Jon Clarke – oboe
Alan Broadbent – music arrangements
John Clayton – music arrangements
David Foster – music and vocals arrangements
Johnny Mandel – music arrangements
Charles Floyd – music arrangements
Gordon Jenkins – original music arrangements
Clare Fischer – strings arrangements
Jerry Hey – horns arrangements
Janis Siegel – backing and harmony vocals
Al Schmitt – recording, mixing
Elliot Scheiner, Erik Zobler, Dave Reitzas – recording
Felipe Elgueta, Wayne Holmes, Henk Korff, John Patterson, Patrick Ulenberg – additional engineering
Jeffrey Demorris, Peter Doell, Koji Ejawa, Rob Frank, Barry Goldberg, John Hendrickson, Glenn Marchese, Eddie Miller, Charlie Paakkari, Rail Rogut, Robbes Stieglitz – engineer assistant
Gabrielle Raumberger – art direction
Emily Rich – design
Rocky Schenck – photography
Simon Ramone, Corrine Duke – production assistant
Shari Sutcliffe – project coordinator
Dick La Palm – liner notes
Track listing:
There’s a Lull in My Life – Mack Gordon, Harrye Revel
Stardust – Hoagy Carmichael, Mitchell Parish
Let’s Face the Music and Dance – Irving Berlin
Teach Me Tonight – Sammy Cahn, Gene de Paul
When I Fall in Love – Edward Heyman, Victor Young
What a Difference a Day Made – Stanley Adams, María Méndez Grever
Love Letters – Edward Heyman, Victor Young
He Was Too Good to Me – Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
Dindi – Ray Gilbert, Antônio Carlos Jobim
Two for the Blues – Neal Hefti, Jon Hendricks
If Love Ain’t There – Johnny Burke
To Whom It May Concern – Nat King Cole, Charlotte Hawkins
Where Can I Go Without You? – Victor Young, Peggy Lee
Ahmad’s Blues – Ahmad Jamal. Bobby Williams
Pick Yourself Up – Dorothy Fields, Jerome Kern
If You Could See Me Now – Tadd Dameron, Carl Sigman
Like a Lover – Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Nelson Motta
This Morning It Was Summer – Bob Haynes
When I Fall in Love (Spanish version) – Victor Young, Edward Heyman
On April 27, 2004, “ECM” label released “Promises Kept”, the 28th Steve Kuhn album. It was recorded June – September 2000, at “Edison Studios” in New York City, and was produced by Manfred Eicher.
Personnel:
Steve Kuhn – piano
David Finck – bass
String Ensemble conducted by Carlos Franzetti
Krista Bennion Feeney, Elizabeth Lim-Dutton, Richard Sortomme, Karl Kawahara, Barry Finclair, Helen Kim, Robert Shaw, Carol Pool, Anca Nicolau -violin
Sue Pray, Vince Lionti, Karen Ritscher – viola
Stephanie Cummins, Richard Locker, Joshua Gordon – cello