Lyn Stanley - Potions (From The 50's) - Hybrid Stereo SACD

Lyn Stanley returns with classic song hits of the 1950s — captivating and imaginative

Produced by renowned jazz pianist/composer Kenny Werner

Recorded and mixed by Al Schmitt; all songs mixed and mastered on analog tape

Produced as a Hybrid SACD by Sony's DADC plant in Austria

Jazz singing phenomenon Lyn Stanley returns with a follow-up to her smash audiophile triumph Lost In Romance - a brilliant new collection of classics of the 1950s titled Potions.

Potions draws from a broad palette of jazz, popular hits, blues, country, R&B and doo-wop (and one very special Gershiwn classic "The Man I Love" in a bonus track).

"There were so many changes in jazz and pop tunes, while the introduction of rock 'n' roll happened in the 1950s," Stanley says. "As I began my journey of deciding which songs to include on this album, it was clear that the choices were way too many so I decided to let my heart guide me. It was a feeling thing."

Stanley says many of these songs need hearts with "'worn tires' to get to where I think the composers intended. I also wanted to celebrate the 'Retro Jazz' effort of the era where swing was again 'hip.'"

Stanley, a unique sultry jazz vocalist from the Los Angeles area, became an instant international success with her debut standards album, Lost In Romance, released Aug. 27, 2013, selling 7,000 copies worldwide to date. The album received several accolades in the hi fi world of audiophiles including Album of Choice, Best of 2013 Albums, No. 6/100 Top Vinyl Albums the highest rated by Chinese reviewer, Jack Lui in his 2014 book, "All About Vinyl" and awarded Top Rated Album by AnalogPlanet.com — "a must-have album for any audiophile collector" by renown international critic, Michael Fremer, who calls Stanley the "Chanteuse Extraordinaire."

A former USA amateur ballroom dance Pro/Am champion, Stanley's unique voice has been described as "beautiful," "rich in low tones," with "phrasing and storytelling that makes her music very personal." Her dancing background adds a special feel that few artists can deliver. L.A. jazz radio personality Bubba Jackson describes her as "the real deal — she has brought the songstress back to jazz!" Stanley was discovered by world-class jazz legend, pianist Paul Smith, best known as Ella Fitzgerald's accompanist/conductor.

For Potions, Stanley decided to take the ultimate leap into analog recording by tackling a new album with a 1950s theme - an era when analog was king - and securing a world-class team to record and manufacture the album.

Stanley hired renowned jazz pianist/composer and producer Kenny Werner to produce Potions. Werner, Bill Cunliffe, Mike Lang, Steve Rawlins, Tamir Hendelman and Lyn herself were arrangers for the project, defining the album concept and song selections. Al Schmitt was the recording and mixing engineer; the album was mastered by Bernie Grundman.

The recording venues included Hollywood's legendary Capitol Recording Studios (Studio A - musician tracking and some vocals, Studio B - percussion and some vocals), and Avatar Recording Studio C in New York, where Stanley recorded with Werner and his musician trio. The vocalist microphone used in Los Angeles and NYC tracking for vocals was a Neumann U47, and the vocals recorded at Capitol were with the same Neumann U47 used by Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra.

The album contains 15 tracks, 12 of which are pure analog tape original recordings from start to finish, through the musicians/vocals, mixing and mastering. Two tracks - "In The Still Of The Night" and "The Party's Over" - were recorded in PCM/ProTools (192/32) but the mixing and mastering were done on analog tape. One of the tracks - "Love Potion No. 9" is a hybrid - some of the musician tracks were recorded in analog and others in ProTools (192/32).

All of the technological resources at hand cannot produce great music without great artistry - a quality in abundance on this remarkable recording. Remarkable musicianship, brilliant arrangements and inspired concepts for every song, coupled with Stanley's radiant vocal artistry, make her second album simply mesmerizing.

Musicians:

Kenny Werner, Bill Cunliffe, Mike Lang, piano/organ
Johannes Weidermeuller and Mike Valerio, bass
Joe La Barbera, Ari Hoenig, John Robinson, drums
Soloists: Glen Drewes (trumpet/flugelhorn), Thom Rotella (guitar), Rickey Woodard (tenor saxophone), Tom Rainer (clarinet) and Luis Conte (percussion)