Diana guests on Yo-Yo Ma album

[johnfoyle]

http://www.amazon.com/Songs-of-Joy-Peac ... 483&sr=8-1

Songs of Joy & Peace
Yo-Yo Ma
October 14, 2008

YOU COULDN'T BE CUTER
(Jerome Kern / Dorothy Fields)
From the film "Joy Of Living" (1938)


Diana Krall, piano and vocals John Clayton, bass

[scielle]

From the Barns & Noble site:

http://music.barnesandnoble.com/flash/v ... bID=276348
Video about the album (includes a complete peformance of "You Couldn't Be Cuter" with Ma and Diana Krall)

http://music.barnesandnoble.com/Songs-O ... 972441429/

[Coda]

That was very sweet! I think Diana is even more comfortable singing than before. I'm looking forward to this album.

[Bud]

Thanks for the posts johnfoyle and scielle.

For me, using my 2003 era laptop, the video is too choppy to watch. Thankfully, I plan to finally get a new computer this month, in just a few weeks if all goes well!!

[suegund]

How lovely! I finally get back into the forum (I've had computer prolems of my own and could not longer access until I got a new email account); and my first item to view is a new video of Diana singing!

[Bud]

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jXIc ... wD93J0UJO0

Yo-Yo Ma's new album takes spiritual journey

By MARTIN STEINBERG – Oct 3, 2008

NEW YORK (AP) — After musical trips to Appalachia, Brazil, Argentina, the Silk Road and baroque and modern Italy, Yo-Yo Ma has embarked on a spiritual journey.

His next CD, "Songs of Joy & Peace," is being released this month, just in time for those holiday trips over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house.

The 53-year-old cellist sees it as a musical house party with a wide variety of top artists jamming with Ma for the other guests. Even the audience gets an opportunity to join in the merriment.

He felt the urge to record something that he hopes will bring people together during these dangerous times.

"I wanted to do something that focuses on an idea rather than a place," Ma said in an interview. "Like Appalachian music or Brazilian or tango or the Silk Road, we were going to faraway regions. But then there are other things that join us together. And one of them is this seeking of the experience of joy in different places. And so in a way it's like creating a party that brings all my friends together from the different parts of life."

Some of the songs are wondrous, such as a jazzed-up version of the Gregorian chant "Concordi Laetitia" by Matt and Dave Brubeck. Others — like a duet with western Massachusetts neighbor James Taylor in "Here Comes the Sun" — are soothing.

There's also the traditional — Alison Krauss' "Wexford Carol" — and the wild — Canadian Natalie MacMaster's jig and reel.

Starting with the lonesome melody of "Dona Nobis Pacem" ("Give Us Peace") played by Ma, the song becomes thicker and thicker as more of his recorded cello voices are layered in.

The 16th-century melody re-emerges time after time, played in a variety of styles by artists such as the Brazilian guitarists Sergio and Odair Assad, bluegrass bassist Edgar Meyer and mandolinist Chris Thile and Cuban-American clarinetist Paquito D'Rivera and Israeli jazz pianist Alon Yavnai. Other artists on the CD include Diana Krall and Renee Fleming.

"Music ultimately is so much of a shared activity," Ma said of this diversity. "When you play music with somebody else, you're in sync. When you're in sync there's a moment of trust in communication that is huge, huge. ... So the reality of all of that is that we know this can happen where people who are very different, who are from different parts of the domain, can come together."

In the last song, "Dona Nobis Pacem" re-emerges with Ma playing the theme alone, but joined by trumpeter Chris Botti playing "Auld Lang Syne" as a countermelody. It's a poignant way to weave the song threads together into a soft snuggly rug in front of the fireplace.

But, like the calendar, the music doesn't end.

The audience gets its chance to participate by submitting its own creations of "Dona Nobis Pacem" on the Indaba Music social network site. Entries will be judged and the winner will get an opportunity to record with Ma.

"I don't think of music lovers as consumers," Ma said. "What would make me really happy is if someone bought the CD and they liked it and it sits in their mind for quite a while and they hum what they like. (Then) you get people to say you like it, you can actually participate in it."
On the Net:

* http://www.yo-yoma.com
* http://www.indabamusic.com/

[narrow daylight]

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.d ... /812080307

Diana on TV tonight!
Musicians gather for the holiday special "Yo-Yo Ma & Friends" (8 p.m., Ovation), featuring James Taylor, Alison Krauss, Diana Krall, Dave Brubeck and others.

[Bud]

Thanks for the catch, narrow daylight! We almost missed this one

[Bud]

http://www.kentucky.com/696/story/619863.html

You get the sense of what cellist Yo-Yo Ma is up to on Songs of Love & Peace as soon as Jerome Kern's You Couldn't Be Cuter kicks into gear. First, it's not a Christmas song, but a spry jazz treat popularized by Ella Fitzgerald. Here, Ma's “friend” is Diana Krall, who quotes Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas on piano just as the tune switches from pastoral reserve to swing. It's a trim arrangement — just cello, piano and bass, with Krall's hushed singing serving as the muted star on the holiday tree. But in a manner that is purely effortless, the music takes on an earthy seasonal glow.

[narrow daylight]

The TV-special is now on Bravo (december 20, 2008)
http://encore.dailyheraldtribune.com/Ar ... ?e=1348323

Saturday, Dec. 20

Grammy Award-winning cellist Yo-Yo Ma brings together a remarkable group of artists for his holiday special, ‘‘Yo-Yo Ma: The Making of Songs of Joy and Peace’’.Check out performances by famous friends James Taylor, Diana Krall, Alison Krauss, Chris Botti, Renee Fleming, and Dave Brubeck, as they spread holiday cheer through music. (Bravo)

[Samuel]

From official Yo-Yo Ma website

[Bud]

Nice picture - thanks Sam!

[Samuel]

You're welcome Bud.

and I just found out on YouTube:

Yo-Yo Ma and Diana Krall - You Couldn't Be Cuter

http://br.youtube.com/watch?v=7vfHTn_4SFw

It's a so pleasant song...