trailer by Aleksandar Kostic, Aleksandar Kostic Films
Influences
Betty Carter, Billie Holiday, Rosa Passos, Miles Davis, Thelonius Monk, Charlie Haden, Bach, Purcell, Keith Jarret, Carlton Pearson, George Benson, Sharon Brown
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LIVE AT THE MONTENEGRIN NATIONAL THEATER
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Sounds Like
live@ Jazz Standard with Brandon McCune(pno), Sean Conly (bass), Israel Bannerman (drums) and Greg Tardy(tn)
The story behind The Hours is a deeply personal one. It’s a letter from home, may it be Belgrade, New York City or a Montenegrin mountaintop. The melodies, lyrics and arrangements I wrote here are all inspired by people and events that have shaped my life. “Oj djevojko Milijana”, a traditional from northern Montenegro is an ode to the beautifully strong women of my family; a reminder of summer nights of song in the orchard next to the house where my grandfather was born. “April in Paris” is a love note for the Great American Songbook that had me mesmerized since I was 16 and put me on a path that led me across the Atlantic Ocean; “Long Way Home” is the bittersweet journey back. It’s a good-bye I never got to say to my grandmother and a re-imagined version of her favorite folk song, “ No Dawn Yet”.
“Star” was born out of the restlessness that still haunts me now and again- the doubts and fears that come even in the most beautiful times. Greg Hutchinson understood what this song needed like no other drummer and truly brought it to life.
“Lullaby” was a theme my husband Rale wrote for a film score, and I just had to add lyrics to his haunting melody.
I love his writing so much that I had to do it again on “Through the Night”.
“Sweet, Sweet Spirit” and “Holy, Holy, Holy” are some of my favorite spirituals. I truly found my soul’s rest in them.
That’s why I was so glad when Sean Conly asked me to write words for his composition “Threads”, as its verses came not from me, but through me. Brandon McCune’s arrangement of the ending made this an opener for the album- we were all as one on “Threads”. This unity and focus set the tone to the whole recording session, which was done live to two channels and within five hours. Master engineer James Farber, who mixed the recording live as we were playing, was as another member of the band, capturing and preserving the organic sound in its pure form.
The song after which this album was named pieces all of these threads together. It’s a memory of something beautiful, someone that even time can’t erase, a scent, an image that stays with you, whether you are far from home or have only just come back.
I look forward to traveling some more.
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It's the way you play that makes it . . . Play like you play. Play like you think, and then you got it, if you're going to get it. And whatever you get, that's you, so that's your story. -- Count Basie
