Upcoming Gigs

Robin McKelle’s Introducing will be launched with a performance at The Pigalle, Piccadilly Circus on Tuesday July 3rd 2007

Introducing, Robin McKelle’s debut album, is already a best seller in the USA and Europe, fast approaching sales of 50,000 copies in France. Produced by Willie Murillo (Brian Setzer Orchestra producer, Aimee Mann, LeAnn Rimes), Introducing announces the arrival of a song interpreter without equal who is already being compared to the likes of Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald. She possesses a remarkable voice; a soul-infused alto tinged with haunting echoes of the postwar jazz greats and, having shared stages with revered artists such as Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Terence Blanchard, Michael McDonald, Jon Secada and others, McKelle now assumes centre stage with a debut solo album that exuberantly broadens the boundaries of retro-swing.

“The Forties,” McKelle sighs, a hint of nostalgic bluesiness in her voice. “I was born to be in that time, I swear. You listen to the music from that period, and you picture these wonderful love stories between men and women. You picture how it was really supposed to be.” Introducing evokes the jazzy spirit of 1940's America, while retaining a contemporary edge that speaks of a new wartime-era sound. With its well-struck balance of potent swing and fearlessly sentimental balladry, the album heralds the arrival of a peerless interpretive artist. Here in the UK, McKelle has already won the affection of legendary broadcaster Michael Parkinson who has been regularly showcasing tracks from the record on his ever so popular BBC Radio 2 “Sunday Supplement” programme.

Working from a songbook that's over 70 years-old, McKelle and producer Murillo laboured to invest Introducing with an up-to-date relevance. Towards that goal, the duo employed old and new recording techniques, while coaxing some of McKelle's most emotive vocal performances. The album’s brassy, on-the-fly sound is a homage to the days when jazz orchestras ruled America’s dancehalls and concert theaters. “We took an old-school, big band approach, as opposed to the more modern three-harmony stuff,” McKelle says. “The musicianship on this record really allowed me to step up. It pushed me to reach higher as a vocalist and a musician.”

Tracklisting:

1. SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE
2. BEI MIR BIST DU SCHON
3. NIGHT & DAY
4. FOR ALL WE KNOW
5. YOU BROUGHT A NEW KIND OF LOVE
6. DREAM
7. YES, MY DARLING DAUGHTER
8. DEEP IN A DREAM
9. I’VE GOT THE WORLD ON A STRING
10. COME RAIN OR COME SHINE
11. THE LAMP IS LOW
12. ON THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET