Mandy Barnett gives a nod to one of her heroes, the great Billie Holiday, and explores her affection for the standards of the Great American songbook on her upcoming new album, Every Star Above, due out on May 7. An advance track from the album, “For All We Know,” is available now.
The project is a fitting tribute and interpretation of one of the most influential albums in history, Holiday’s Lady in Satin. Recorded with a 60-piece orchestra, Every Star Above delivers lush and sparkling selections from Holiday’s personally curated 1958 “Satin” track list, and Lady in Satin is given a song-for-song interpretation by Barnett, who puts a soulful country twist on the classic standards featured on the album.
Conceived by producer Fred Mollin (Johnny Mathis, Kris Kristofferson, Jimmy Webb) and arranged by the late jazz maestro Sammy Nestico (Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Michael Buble, Barbra Streisand) in what was his last work, the album features classics such as “For All We Know,” “The End of a Love Affair,” “I’m a Fool to Want You,” and “But Beautiful” reinvented with Barnett’s signature styling.
“Billie Holiday is among the artists I was introduced to as a young girl. And in my early twenties, Lady in Satin deeply affected me; it inspired me to become a torch singer,” says Barnett. “Holiday was a fearless trailblazer whose unique vocals and phrasing on the album drip with the weight of her experiences, like she’s lived the lyrics and felt the joys, the hardships, the love, and the loss—all of the ups-and-downs of life that great songs and great singers convey. Holiday revealed her heart and soul every time she sang, and she inspired me to do exactly that throughout my career.”
“Having the opportunity to make this album is a dream come true,” added Melody Place President, Mollin. “Mandy was the perfect singer to take this on. Sammy was the perfect arranger to make it beyond the dream.”
Every Star Above Track List:
But Beautiful
Glad To Be Unhappy
For Heaven’s Sake
I Get Along Without You Very Well
It’s Easy To Remember
The End Of A Love Affair
You Don’t Know What Love Is
I’m A Fool To Want You
You’ve Changed
For All We Know
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