Search - Nana Simopoulos :: Skins

Skins features eight Simopoulos originals, brilliantly performed by a band of world-class jazz musicians and first-class world musicians, including saxophonist Dave Liebman and sarangi maestro Ustad Sultan Khan. The beautifully recorded album draws from sources and influences spanning centuries and the globe, with the composer referencing various cultures and her own past. The CD title, Skins, is taken from a piece Simopoulos wrote for a performance in which a dancer used projections of different skins on her body, creating virtual costumes. The title could apply to Simopoulos herself the artist is a musical shape shifter who has explored diverse forms of expression with sound, including musical theater, film scores, and dance scores for a range of styles including ballet and tap, as well as accompaniment for spoken word and poetry. She is deeply immersed in the music of India, Greece, South America, Africa, and Asia. Simopoulos is known for putting her own distinctive stamp on each performance and composition. Besides Simopoulos unique musical tone of voice and point of view, Skins proudly flaunts jazz, New Age and world music influences, drawing from lyrical inspiration from sources as diverse as the Persian Sufi poet Rumi and a Native American shaman known as Owl Woman. There s a sensual and spiritual feel in the lyrics and delivery throughout that can be interpreted and enjoyed! on many levels. The result is an earworm-laden recording that is distinctly beyond category, in the best possible way. Among the highlights are: For No Reason, a straight-ahead cooker with a dynamic guitar line brilliantly played by Simopoulos, along with her flowing vocal of lyrics inspired by writings of the Sufi poet Hafiz. Inside and Let Fire Burn Me are both Eastern-flavored pieces inspired by Rumi. Inside features a gorgeous, introspective wood flute and saxophone solo from Dave Liebman, a veteran musician at the peak of his powers. Let Fire Burn Me shines with layered vocals, a supple, gliding rhythm and subtle drive. The words of the haunting and understated Merely to Know are based on a poem by Kojiju, a 12th century Japanese Buddhist nun; Simopoulos wrote the lyrics recently and paired them with the melody of Till We Meet Again, a composition of hers originally recorded in the 1980s. The Pathway was fueled by the writings of a 12th century female Sufi poet; Simopoulos set the words to Elements, another of her tunes from an earlier recording. With a lilting melody and insightful lyrics, the road to enlightenment has rarely sounded so appealing! N n Simopoulos: vocals, guitar, bouzouki Ustad Sultan Khan: sarangi Dave Liebman: saxophone, wood flute Charlie Tokarz: alto flute, saxophone Dimitri Vassilakis: saxophone Mary Ann McSweeney: bass Manos Loutas: bass Royal Hartigan: drums Michalis Orphanidis: drums Solis Barki: percussion Jamie Haddad: percussion Greg Beyer: steel drums, percussion, berimbau background vocals: Caryn Heilman Daví, Solis Barki, Markos Simopoulos