[SACD-R][OF] Jacintha - Fire & Rain - A Tribute To James Taylor - 2018 (Vocal Jazz)

Jacintha, all vocals
Tim Pierce, guitar
Dean Parks, guitar
Leland Sklar, bass
Jim Cox, keyboards
Russ Kunkel, drums
Charlie Bisharat, violin

Jacintha is a popular vocalist, actress and journalist known for her performances and writing in both the United States and Singapore. She was born in 1957 to musician parents, the Sri Lankan classical guitarist Alex Abisheganaden, a recipient of the Cultural Medallion, and a Chinese mother who sang and played the piano. She studied piano and voice from her early teens and also sang in the Singapore Youth Choir, where she met her future collaborator Dick Lee.
Growing up, Jacintha listened to a wide variety of music – not only vocal jazz and traditional pop, but also artists who ranged from Stevie Wonder to Joni Mitchell to South African singer Miriam Makeba. Jacintha was a big fan of Brazilian bandleader Sergio Mendes during her upbringing. Jacintha was educated at Marymount Convent School, Raffles Institution and the National University of Singapore, where she graduated with an honors degree in English. She then went to America where she studied creative writing at Harvard University. Jacintha first came to prominence in 1976 when she won a local television talent contest, Talentime, singing jazz. She continued this winning streak in 1981, when she nabbed the Best Female Performer award for her role as Nurse Angamuthu in General Hospital at the Drama Festival.
In 1983, Jacintha released her debut album Silence. The new wave album, containing a cover of the Bee Gees' "Run to Me", was reviewed positively, with The Straits Times calling it "probably the most impressive debut album...from a local singer." In the mid-1990s, actor Lim Kay Tong introduced Jacintha to Ying Tan, who signed her to his Groove Note label. Her first jazz album was released in 1998: Here's To Ben – A Vocal Tribute To Ben Webster. Jacintha's second album for the Groove Note label, Autumn Leaves: The Songs of Johnny Mercer (1999) has seen the title track being used for TV series Alias, while the bonus track "Here's to Life" was used as the title track for the Hollywood movie Play It to the Bone.
In 2004, Jacintha performed her own cabaret jazz show, The Angina Monologues at the Old Parliament House, Singapore. In 2006, she served as a judge on the second season of Singapore Idol. In 2012, she returned to the stage after 13 years, playing herself in Ong Keng Sen's National Broadway Company, a musical commissioned for the Esplanade – Theatre on the Bay's 10th anniversary.

Fire and Rain is Jacintha's first new album since 2007. It features a fabulous selection of hits from the James Taylor catalog including You've Got A Friend, Sweet Baby James, Walking Man, Fire & Rain, Shower The People and several others. Jacintha's first popular music vocal album represents a striking change of pace from this audiophile favorite.
Several of the best LA-based musicians associated with James Taylor during his lengthy and stellar career appear on this album including Lee Sklar (bass), Russ Kunkel (drums), Jim Cox (keyboards & currently touring with JT), and Dean Parks (acoustic guitar & currently touring with JT). All songs are arranged by Tim Pierce (Vanessa Fernandez - Use Me and When The Levee Breaks, also available from NativeDSD) who also plays acoustic guitar on several tracks.
The entire album is recorded 100% pure analog at The Henson Studios in Hollywood, formerly know as A&M Studios (and the original location of the Charlie Chaplin film studios). In 1999, A&M Records was sold to Universal Music. Subsequently the studio location, including all the recording studio facilities and equipment, was purchased by The Jim Henson Company. Henson Recording Studios was established in 2000 and continues the legacy of technical expertise and excellent service founded by A&M.
The album was tracked to 2 inch Multitrack Analog tape running at 30 ips and mixed down to 1/4 inch tape also running at 30 ips. All tracking and mixing was done at Sunset Sound by recording engineer and co-producer Michael C. Ross. The album was mastered and transferred from Analog to DSD by Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering using the 1/4 inch 30 ips master tape.