‘Soul to Soul’ (Afrasia Productions) by Carmen Lundy is Eastside Radio’s Album of the Week.

From the writing process to the final project, this work for Lundy is some of her most innovative and inspiring to date. ‘Soul to Soul’ marks the artist’s 14th record of her career exploring the soulful side of jazz. As much as Lundy enjoy’s flexing her multi-instrumentalist muscle during the recording process, this time she began the work with the opportunity to bring on board her dream team of artists, a luxury offered to her by Elisabeth Oei or Afrasia Productions. Her dream no doubt features some of the best in the industry to date such as Patrice Rushen, Darryl Hall, Jamison Ross, Geri Allen, Randy Brecker, Mayra Casales, Simphiwe Dana, Bennie Maupin, Carol Robbins, Ada Rovatti and Warren Wolf. As Lundy comments, “….everybody stepped into that role and played it beautifully, everyone. Everyone kind of got where I was coming from with these songs that i’ve been working on and that’s what you get with ‘Soul to Soul’.”

What these artists really added to the process for Lundy were new and fresh perspectives on her compositions, so much so that in the release seems to have evolved organically into a more collaborative creative process led by Lundy. The recording process in particular was one area where this approach thrived, after the artist was directed by the band to simply record their collaboration live as what seems to be a response to the space and flexibility left on the page by Lundy. The finished product is ultimately an amalgamation of those live takes mixed in with Lundy’s prerecorded tracks but what it ultimately showcases is a dedication by all involved to fostering organic creativity and more importantly a deeply seeded trust in one another’s talents and experience to add to the process.

Artist Listing:

Carmen Lundy: vocals, guitar, piano, Rhodes, drums, percussion, string arrangements and programming, backing vocals

Patrice Rushen: piano, Rhodes, keyboards

Darryl Hall: acoustic and electric bass

Jamison Ross: drums and percussion

Geri Allen: piano, Rhodes

Randy Brecker: trumpet, flugelhorn

Mayra Casales: percussion, congas

Simphiwe Dana: vocals

Bennie Maupin: tenor sax, soprano sax

Carol Robbins: harp

Ada Rovatti: tenor sax

Warren Wolf: vibes

Background Vocals: Patrice Rushen, Jamison Ross, Mayra Casales, Darryl Hall, Elisabeth Oei

Track Listing

1. Kindred Spirits

2. Life Is A Song In Me

3. Soul To Soul

4. When Will They Learn

5. Daybreak

6. Between Darkness and Dawn

7. Grace; Grateful Pt. 1

8. Grateful Pt. 2

9. Everything I Need

10.Don’t You Know How I Feel

11. Sardegna

12. What’s Your Story, Morning Glory

You can follow Carmen Lundy’s career via her FACEBOOK page, or at www.carmenlundy.com . Be sure to tune in this week to 89.7FM EASTSIDE RADIO for your chance to WIN a copy of ‘Soul to Soul’ by Carmen Lundy. You must be a supporter to win so make sure to sign up at https://eastsidefm.org/support-us-2/. Don’t forget you can also stream the station at WWW.EASTSIDEFM.ORG.