Summer's in full swing - and "Sun's Out"!
Keeping the vibrant energy of her recent Billboard Top Ten chart successes flowing, multi-talented pianist/composer Carol Albert penned her breezy, infectious and soulfully optimistic new track as a way to combat the blues of a long, rainy winter in her hometown of Atlanta.
Creating the perfect lighthearted soundtrack to summer, the free-flowing, slightly Latin-tinged song is the first of Albert’s to be produced by guitarist and smooth jazz hitmaker Paul Brown, who has scored over 60 #1 chart smashes for genre greats Peter White, Larry Carlton, Rick Braun, Kirk Whalum, Euge Groove, the late Al Jarreau and many others. With Carol playing all keys and synth and providing her trademark wordless vocal textures, the track features Brown on guitar and percussion, Roberto Vally on bass and Gorden Campbell on drums.
A dynamic rising force in the genre since her song “One Way” – from her album Fly Away Butterfly – hit the National Smooth Jazz Airplay chart in 2017, Albert scored her biggest success to date earlier in 2019 with “Femme Flight,” which hit #4 on the chart. Mixed by Brown and featuring Ragan Whiteside and Magdalena Chovancova, the track also earned Carol a new legion of fans via airplay on SiriusXM’s Watercolors. Earlier chart hits include “Chasing Waterfalls” (which rose to #15) and “Fly Away Butterfly,” which hit #5 in early 2018.
“Sun’s Out makes me feel like I’m riding in a convertible with the top down, totally in synch wit the carefree joys of summer,” says Carol, whose multi-faceted career includes five albums dating back to the 90s, including the new age-oriented releases Morning Music and Night Music. “It’s carefree, fun and bright, and every time I’ve played it live with my band, audiences really connected with it. I remember working on it on a Sunday morning when it was overcast, but I couldn’t think of the right title. Then the sun came out and I went for a walk in the park on what became a gorgeous day. The title came from that exhilarating feeling of experiencing sunlight after a long period of gray skies.”
Over the course of Carol’s multi-faceted career, she has served as a staff accompanist for the Georgia State University Music Department, Agnes Scott College and the Atlanta Ballet, and provided entertainment for trade shows, corporations, organizations and pubic venues. Carol received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Achievement and Individual Excellence as a Composer for original theme music, and won a first-place award in the professional jazz category from the Atlanta Songwriter’s Association. “Dreamer” from her recording Christmas Mystique was chosen as one of the finalists in the New Age Music category of the Global Peace Awards. In addition to performing and composing, Carol is an educator who trains and mentors young promising music students.
“Sun’s Out” will be one of the tracks on her currently in progress follow-up album to Fly Away Butterfly.