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CHLOÉ
JEAN has held
many titles in her lifetime, including All American track star at UC
Berkeley, Ford NY model, wife, and mother, but the one element that has
been a constant in her life is music. She was singing before she could
talk, and her mother encouraged her participation in musical theater
and school choirs. While pursuing a life track that conceivably could
have included Olympic gold as a runner, she joined the gospel choir at
UC Berkeley. She became one of the group’s lead vocalists and became
“addicted to the feeling of singing onstage.” After graduation, she
discovered more opportunities to sing than to run, so she shifted her
attention back to music. Drawing on a wide range of influences,
including jazz icons Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Nina Simone,
as well as pop divas Roberta Flack, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey,
Lauryn Hill and Jill Scott, Chloé Jean has performed and composed in
many musical genres. Her song “What Could Be Better” won an award from
the West Coast Songwriters Association….in the Bluegrass category!
Her present album FAIRY
TALE FAIL combines original lyrics drawn from Chloé’s personal
life with songs originally written as assignments for private studies
with noted songwriting instructor Jai Josephs. Around this time, she
joined forces with Bay Area guitarist Derrick Kudrow to form a jazz
duo. Through her participation at an open mic event, Chloé was
introduced to promoter Jeffrey Trager, who in turn introduced Chloé to
jazz guitarist/producer RAY OBIEDO. In preparation for this
album, Chloé gave Ray copies of her demos and Obiedo arranged them for
a small rhythm section and horns. The sidemen included Santana
keyboardist DAVID K. MATHEWS, Tower of Power bassist MARC VAN
WAGENINGEN and percussionist PETER MICHAEL ESCOVEDO.
Also on rhythm
section duties were pianist PETER HORVATH, Hamilton bassist
DAN FEISZLI and drummers BILLY JOHNSON and JASON LEWIS.
Featured horn soloists are trumpeter MIKE OLMOS and tenor
saxophonists NORBERT STACHEL and CHARLES McNEAL.
In
addition to Chloé Jean’s five originals, the album also includes covers
of Julie London’s “Cry Me a River,” Tony Bennett’s “I Left My Heart in
San Francisco,” Roberta Flack’s “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,”
the Irving Berlin standard, “Blue Skies,” and a Latin-tinged version of
Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy.” The main tracks were recorded over two days
at Opus Recording in Berkeley, California. Instrumental overdubs,
editing and final mixes were completed by Obiedo at his Werewolf
Studios in Oakland, California. Chloé’s composition “Crazy” was
recorded in front of a live audience at Oakland’s 25th Street
Recording. Also recorded and filmed at that session were live versions
of the title track “Fairy Tale Fail” and Lizzo‘s “About Damn Time.” A
video of Chloé performing Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy” was filmed at
Bridgeway Studios (where decades earlier, Fleetwood Mac recorded their
classic album, Rumours). The videos will be premiered close to
the album’s release date.
The originals
explore significant periods in Chloé’s development. The opening track,
“Black Sheep,” discusses the struggles of being an artistic person in
less than sympathetic surroundings. She encourages others to “sing
proud when you finally find your voice” and “be proud to be a black
sheep.” “Fairy Tale Fail” warns that life does not always have Disney
endings. Prince Charming may “pick you up, but eventually lets you
down.” “Free” recalls a youthful journey with a treasured friend. “We
were unaware that we had it all; we were kings who didn't know that the
freedom we took for granted was a treasure trove.” “Where Love Began”
also looks backward to a simpler time “when love was all we had.”
Finally, “Crazy” speaks to the insane behavior that one exhibits when
in love: “I walked into a tree today cuz in every cloud I was seeing
your face and I laughed through the pain.…”
For the past few
years, Chloé Jean's life has been complicated with several health
issues, most notably Stage 4 Breast Cancer. She was diagnosed in 2016,
but reports that she feels very good right now, and that she is the
first participant in a clinical study at the University of California
San Francisco, a school considered to be at the cutting edge of cancer
research. She says that she likes to talk about her illness “because it
connects with so many people. After all, everyone knows someone who has
been affected by this disease.” However, she doesn't want her life
story to shade a listener's appreciation of her music. She calls this
album, “a triumph of will and dedication. I’ve been singing all my
life, and this music tells why you can never give up on yourself.” She
is extremely proud of this work, and she was "thrilled to work
with such incredible musicians.” At low times in her career, like
many others, she questioned her motives in pursuing music as a career.
But this collaboration with producer Ray Obiedo shows that she was on
the right track all along.
# # #
FAIRY
TALE FAIL will
be released on June 2, 2023 on Rhythmus Records and will be available
on all platforms.
Online:
https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=00137QlabgkEuT5sdJfW6TVQZtQY-THF_JfcepR5LD5FSgp5zjtHgQsgZZf6Mr8NUbxNjFmp94B9UhhjvAgat1HAwMyrIjqPlqiyiOOlLG4yJwm53s2RFVluEBzJE8uRIdOOeod2IdsPPk=&c=bxzknUO3jWi6SG0M-hBngWeQNvudc137WnxJ0apSoCcx14Guq0w8Fw==&ch=voQLYMGdz1S5KCKrczp5R_aDGBB40vf9TBYihNFofsJ-AFJ5W4KlTg==" rel="nofollow - https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=00137QlabgkEuT5sdJfW6TVQZtQY-THF_JfcepR5LD5FSgp5zjtHgQsgZZf6Mr8NUbx2j6Gv2ZbQ2_Y5Rn_VXfZcsJbXZ1xLCwf-xUwOKqOsr3NfYVdZk3S8aYUmcHEEMdpmnarRSz3MzW6nRC4VPuyOmUHRMQspz_ig2jxtbXE9j0=&c=bxzknUO3jWi6SG0M-hBngWeQNvudc137WnxJ0apSoCcx14Guq0w8Fw==&ch=voQLYMGdz1S5KCKrczp5R_aDGBB40vf9TBYihNFofsJ-AFJ5W4KlTg==" rel="nofollow - @Chloejeanmusic
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