Carol Welsman Interview Page 4

Smitty:  Oh.

CW:  I’m not sure that’s always good, but anyway it’s kind of a crowd pleaser, so it’s certainly fun.

Smitty:  Yes.  Well, talk to me about working with Jeremy Lubbock because I know he’s just an amazing producer/arranger. He’s done so many wonderful things and I know it just had to be such an honor to work with him as well.

CW:  Jeremy and I have been friends for three or four years now, I guess.  He was working with David Foster when I was called in to actually sing five-part harmony on a Renee Olstead CD and she sang an arrangement that I did of “Slow Boat to China,” and I got this call from Jeremy and I couldn’t believe it was Jeremy Lubbock because I’ve been such a fan of his for so many years and I had to kind of re-ask if it really was the Jeremy Lubbock I thought it was, and we met up at David’s studio and I fell in love with this man as a musician even more because meeting him he was just such a sweet fellow and such a classy human being, and he’s world class in everything he does musically and he has just such a beautiful air about him when you meet him. 

You know you’re meeting a star and there’s no doubt.  And he just, I don’t know, he kind of took me under his wing and I’ve been singing a lot of his songs, trying new material out of his, because he’s a beautiful songwriter.  Oh my gosh, he’s got a repertoire of songs that people would die for, and we just understand each other really well.  He’s extremely supportive of my piano playing because he’s a pianist as well and he always comes out to see me live and he gives me great constructive criticism and everything, and I really hung on this song (With Me) and said “I’d love to record this song” and Jimmy Haslip heard it and said “Oh, this is a no brainer.  It’s going to be on the CD.”  And the changes are so beautiful.  I would record a whole album of Jeremy Lubbock songs if somebody let me.  I would.

Smitty:  Yes, well, speaking of recording, you’re with Justin Time now.

CW:  Yeah.

Smitty:  And that’s gotta be a beautiful thing.

CW:  Oh, it is.  I’ve known many of the people at Justin Time for many years because they actually licensed one of my previous CD’s and they distribute my earlier CD’s in Canada, and so this was like coming home to a family.  It was such an easy transition and they’re lovely people to work with and they’re very supportive and, yes, I really truly think that I’ve got a great team, great manager, Jeff Neben.  I really do feel like I have a strong team together to help support the promotion of this CD.

Smitty:  Yes, that’s a great comfort too. 

CW:  Yeah.

Smitty:  Now, let’s see now, once again, the album released in the U.S. what date?

CW:  26th of June.

Smitty:  26th of June.  All right.  So I know that the U.S. is going to embrace this great record.  I just can’t see how they couldn’t.  I mean, it is so diverse, it is so, how do you say it, therapeutic?

CW:  Oh.

Smitty:  It has so many great values and elements that we all love as music lovers.  It’s a great project.

CW:  Oh, I’m so glad that you think so.  I’m grateful for your positive words because there’s a lot of music being made today and I really do feel like we hit our goal and one of our goals was to obviously expose my ability to sing in different languages, which we did, and I have a great passion for that, and also another goal was to be able to cross over in different styles because it’s really very much a signature in my style to do jazz classics with a twist and to also do pop songs but add a degree of sophistication in the chords that brings it more into the jazz idiom, so I really feel that there’s an international sound here that I’m proud to put forth.

Smitty:  Yes.  Well, I think you hit it right on and, in a word, it is exquisite.

CW:  Oh, well, you’ve made my day.  You have made my day and my week and my year.  (Both laugh.)

Smitty:  Coming from a man like you, that’s very, very lovely.

Smitty:  Oh, well, thank you, and it’s a pleasure to talk with you and to have this wonderful record in my possession and certainly encourage and highly recommend it for all music lovers in the U.S. and beyond. 

CW:  Oh.

Smitty: You have a great Web site too.

CW:  Thank you! It’s www.carolwelsman.com?

Smitty:  Yes, and what can they find on your great Web site that I’ve already seen and love?

CW:  Oh, well, actually, there’s a seven-minute EPK that I always encourage people to watch because it really is a nice cross section of different styles of music and excerpts from the documentary, there’s a piece with Herbie Hancock, with Djavan in Brazil.  There’s a little bit of everything to familiarize future fans with hopefully and also on the album page, of course, the new CD is being featured and one can hear all the songs on the Web site, so the samples are there.

Smitty:  Very cool.  And you have a way for people to sign up for fan mail, right?

CW:  Absolutely, yes, and we strongly encourage it.  There’s a fan tab and you can sign up and put your whereabouts and whether you’d like to receive regular e-mails, etc., so yes, I’m very much in touch with my fans.

Smitty:  Yes, and if you have not seen Carol and know her by face or look, there’s a wonderful gallery.  Let me tell ya, it’s a wonderful gallery.  (Laughs.)

CW:  Oh, well, that’s sweet.  On my site.

Smitty:  Yes. So you don’t want to miss that either. Carol, I can’t thank you enough for spending this time with me to talk about this great record, your wonderful career, and the beautiful things that you have coming in the future.

CW:  Thank you so much.  It’s been a pleasure talking to you and I am just so grateful for your support and I look forward to spending lots of time on Jazz Monthly.Com

Smitty:  Well, thank you so much.  All right, the album is self-titled Carol Welsman.  I highly recommend this album.  Carol, thank you once again and all the best in 2007 and beyond, my friend.

CW:  Thank you so much.

Baldwin “Smitty” Smith

For More Information Visit www.carolwelsman.com and www.justin-time.com