Kim Burrell | No Ways Tired
Critically Acclaimed Gospel Songstress' Shanachie CD Hits Stores April 7, 2009
The dynamic, distinctive and captivating voice of Kim
Burrell carries power to soothe and encourages the heart of people
everywhere. The Houston native is revered by her peers in the music
industry from both the spiritual and secular world. This humble Grammy
Award nominee and Stellar Award winner has a true and undying passion
for ministry and music. This singing sensation was encompassed by music
being the daughter of a Pastor/musician Father and an Evangelist/singer
Mother.
Kim
Burrell started her musical career with the Greater Emmanuel C.O.G.I.C.
Choir of Houston, Texas. Early in her career, she was featured on
recordings with the Gospel Music Workshop of America Youth Choir;
Trinity Temple Full Gospel Mass Choir of Dallas, Texas along with Kirk
Franklin, and The Inspirational Sounds Mass Choir of Houston, TX. Kim
has been also featured on B.E.T.'S Celebration of Gospel, Lift Every
Voice in London England, as well as the Bobby Jones Gospel Show.
Kim has appeared at the Inaugural Celebration of the 44th President of the United States Barak Obama, the Celebration of Holy Mass at New York's Yankee Stadium by Pope Benedict the 16th,
Jazz at the Lincoln Center, Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, Rock
& Roll Music Hall of Fame and other notable venues and ministries
around the world. Kim has earned the respect of musicians and artists
in all genres and is hailed in Colleges & Universities throughout
the United States.
Now, after a nine-year gap between recordings, iconic gospel songstress Kim Burrell is back with the stellar new project NO WAYS TIRED
on Shanachie Entertainment. "When I first heard Kim Burrell a decade
ago, I thought, `this is one of the great singers of our time!'" says
Shanachie Entertainment general manager Randall Grass. "She is perhaps
one of the best jazz vocalists yet she is a spiritually-charged gospel
singer. She is simply astounding! I had always hoped we would work
together and after re-issuing her first album, we are privileged to
release her first new album in nine years."
Kim Burrell co-produced the new project with Chris "Big Dog" Davis. Davis'
love of fusing classical and jazz elements is apparent on the hymn "I
Surrender All." It has a late night jazz lounge feel befitting a Peggy
Lee or Carmen McRae staple. Burrell's wide-ranging alto transforms the
coda into a passionate divine supplication. In the same classical vein,
Burrell then tackles the Gershwin Brothers' Broadway classic, "Someone
to Watch Over Me." Although, the song has been recorded by dozens of
artists ranging from Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald to Sting,
Burrell's rendition is equally breathtaking. Her warm and measured
reading of the song is an exercise in vocal restraint and
interpretation.
In the simple exchange of the word "handsome" to the word "healer", she recasts the torch song into a devotional paean.
"What
A Friend We have in Jesus" receives a spicy Latin treatment. A part of
the allure of the track is the deliciously sweet and chunky backing
vocals that guide the song as much as the lead.
Burrell's
deft arranging skills are showcased explicitly on her own composition,
"Jesus." The lilting whimsical mid-tempo track is a simple declaration
of love with layers of oohs and ahhs that glide through the rhythm like
springtime sunshine, warm and breezy. "My Faith Looks Up to Thee" is
another engaging ballad with sweeping arpeggios and short suites while
"Just I Am" has a light bossa nova spark. Burrell's sister, Kathy
Burrell, penned the ballad, "Yes to Your Will." Kathy's smoldering
contralto provides the perfected counterpoint to Burrell's uninhibited
verve as they crisscross each other's words and notes with effortless
joy. The collection, sans backing vocals, concludes with an intense,
jazzy melodic conversation with Burrell's savior on a reprise of
"Jesus."
"My message is gospel and my sound is jazz and I really don't consider myself jazzy," Burrell once told Vibe.com. "My direction has always been my communication to God or my interpretation of the music as unto God and how I heard it."
Since
her first solo project, "Try Me Again", Kim has shared the stage with
Great Gospel Artists such as Shirley Caesar, Albertina Walker, Donnie
McClurkin, Karen Clark-Sheard, Yolanda Adams, Kirk Franklin and Marvin
Winans, just to name a few. She has also worked with secular artists
such as: Missy Elliot, Chaka Khan, Stevie Wonder, George Duke, Sean
"Puff Daddy" Combs, Whitney Houston, Harry Connick Jr., and many more.
Kim
overwhelmed the music industry on Tommy Boy Gospel with her hit
projects "Everlasting Life" and "Kim Burrell Live", with hits like "I
Keep Holding On"; "I Come To You More Than I Give"; "Anything";
"Victory" and "I'll Be There". She has successfully obtained the
attention of the Jazz, R&B and Gospel markets. You are sure to hear
new standards set in music on each new project.
You
can look to see Miss Burrell in the future with the Boston Pops
Symphony or just playing the piano and singing her songs or even
preaching to the masses. Kim Burrell exercises her gifts as a musician,
writer/producer, orator, workshop facilitator and Evangelist, through
her newest ministry endeavor KB Crew Productions and the Ephesians 4
Conference. This venture seeks to educate and support up and coming
artists to prepare them for success in the music industry.
Ultimately,
Kim's prayer is that she would be used as a vessel of change that her
spirit-filled singing and preaching will touch the lives of many and
souls will be saved throughout the United States and foreign lands.
Shanachie Entertainment
Shanachie Entertainment
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