Jazz Monthly: Well, you are very welcome. So now how can people get this great record?
LH: Well, it’s available at Amazon.com, it’s also available at Bridge Records.com, and it should be up on iTunes very shortly, and I want to say a big thanks to anybody who makes the purchase and I hope you enjoy it.
Jazz Monthly: Oh, very cool, and I’m sure they will. Speaking of it, let’s talk about some of these great songs. The first track, “The Nearness of You,” the great Hoagy Carmichael song. Talk about why that song was selected for you, I mean, how much that song means to you, because just opening the first few words of the song and the way you really come across so beautifully with this song, it’s like this opening door to a great venue and you feel so welcome. I mean, it’s like a velvet carpet.
LH: Oh, thank you. That is a song that I’ve probably been singing for about 20 years and the first time that I heard it, the lyrics touched me so much because I think every one of us are a human being. It’s just longing to have that kind of relationship where just being near the person who has your heart can inspire such great poetry and such great passion and feeling in you. And sometimes it’s hard for me to sing that song because I know the depth of emotion that can happen when you experience a love affair like that. So I really take great joy in singing that because I think it’s a basic human desire to have those feelings.
Jazz Monthly: Yes, and that becomes the experience when listening to you sing that song, it really does. It’s a beautiful experience. And then when I listen to “It’s All Right With Me,” the great Cole Porter song, you bring such an extroverted vibe to it, and it just makes you want to just feel like a million bucks when you hear that song. (Both laugh.)
LH: It’s a high spirited tune and when Angelo and I were talking about the arrangement for that, we also started discussing the lyrics because again it goes back to that whole storytelling vibe and there were certain things that I wanted to communicate musically that sort of jibed with what the lyrics were talking about. Because the whole thing is “It’s the wrong time, it’s the wrong place, but boy you sure look good.” (Both laugh.) “And if you want to hang for a minute, it’s all right with me.” However, I wanted sort of that immediacy of those feelings like yeah, it’s not that I’m so excited that we could do this, and then when you sit back and you get into it and we slow the groove down to kind of say “Yeah, let’s give this a try for right now. It may not be a lifetime, but it certainly can be a moment.”
Jazz Monthly: Yes, and what a great moment, wow. And then we go back to Hoagy Carmichael with “Skylark.” Wow, what a great song. I mean, it’s a song that we’ve heard so many times, but you give it such a new and vibrant life, just listening to you sing this song.
LH: Yeah, I think that’s one of the most beautiful songs ever written. I really do, and that was a must include on the album.
Jazz Monthly: Absolutely, and I have to confess that I hit repeat a few times with that one. (Both laugh.)
LH: Well, thank you, thank you. That’s what a lot of my friends who heard the record in progress and some family members who heard the record in progress, that was definitely one of their favorites too.
Jazz Monthly: Yes, and I like “Bluesette” too.
LH: That kind of came at the last minute. I’ve always been a big fan of Toots Thielemans and a big fan of that tune in particular, but if I was gonna do it—Angelo and I had a long discussion about it—I said I wanted to take it someplace different than the typical 3:3 that most people do it in, so we decided to do it in 5:4 format. And I tell you what, once it was put into 5:4, it makes it one of the most difficult songs in the world to sing, for me.
Jazz Monthly: Yes, and we haven’t spoken of him yet, but I want to really say something about the work that David Mann did with a number of these songs. Just going back to “The Nearness of You.” How can you put into words how great this man is with a saxophone? It’s just crazy.
LH: Yeah, David’s a tremendous talent and I felt very, very fortunate to have him on my record, and we’re actually going to get to play some of these tunes live together for the first time on March 16th, so I’m super excited about that because getting him to play on the record was an honor, but to actually be able to do a show with him is going to be fantastic.
Jazz Monthly: Well, that sounds good. Where are you performing on March 16th? What’s happening?
LH: March 16th I will be at Feinstein’s, in New York City.
Jazz Monthly: Oh, very cool. Well, mark your calendars, everyone! Wow, that is so cool. Well, LaTanya, I must tell you that if the world has not heard you yet, they need to ask somebody.
LH: Oh, thank you.
Jazz Monthly: And everyone that has heard you sing has truly experienced something special and the whole world awaits your performance wherever you appear because everyone should hear great music. It is that good.
LH: Thank you so much and thank you for the time and thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a part of JazzMonthly.com because I’m so grateful for the reaction that has been coming for this album and especially for the people that are willing to help me get my voice out there, so thank you very, very much.
Jazz Monthly: Oh, it has been a pleasure and an honor, and I must say that everyone that picks up this record, I liken it to long stemmed roses that are long lasting. It is just a fantastic record. I highly recommend this record and all the best to you in 2009 and beyond with this record and your career.
LH: Thank you so much.
Baldwin “Smitty” Smith
For More Information Visit www.myspace.com/latanyahall and www.bridgerecords.com
