Amanda Thorpe Releases Album BEWITCHING ME: THE LYRICS OF YIP HARBURG

Acclaimed downtown New York City chanteuse Amanda Thorpe, who recently relocated to Paris, has announced the release of Bewitching Me: The Lyrics of Yip Harburg, a new recording showcasing her reinterpretations of beloved and obscure gems from the legendary American popular song lyricist E.Y. Harburg, including "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?, "April in Paris," and "It's Only a Paper Moon," among others.

Bewitching Me: The Lyrics of Yip Harburg, co-produced with Don Piper, is a unique homage to the song writing craft and skill of the oft under appreciated Yip Harburg. Thorpe worked with a stellar group of musicians including Tony Scherr (guitar), Rob Jost (bass) and Robert DiPietro (drums).

The CD cover photo was taken by Jean-Marie Périer, a legend in France, who created wonderfully vibrant photographs in the 1960s of The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Marianne Faithful, alongside French stars like Francoise Hardy and Jacques Dutronc.

When Thorpe expressed her intention to record the album, it seemed like a notion from out of the blue, a whim, because of all the lyricists one might imagine her delving into, this one seemed out of her usual zone. But the idea had been brewing for quite a while, more than a decade, in fact.

"I met the Harburgs in 2002," Amanda says, "when I co-led some musical theater summer school projects organized by Deena Harburg, Yip's daughter-in-law, and I also worked closely with her son, Ben, using song lyrics as an educational tool. Ernie Harburg, Yip's son, and Deena both shared their knowledge and experience, and gave me books to read about songwriters, the psychology of music, and its power in healing and teaching. One day, at one of Ernie's favorite pastry shops on Avenue A, he said, 'You should record some of Yip's songs!' and I thought it was a great idea. It took me a long time to bring it to reality, but it's been on my mind consistently for all these years."

Thorpe aims to do her part to celebrate and preserve "the Great American Songbook," but this project is more than a mere exercise in nostalgia. Her unique take on the songs pull them out of the realm of a standards album in to a truly unique interpretation of these great songs.

Having combed Harburg's catalogue, she selected a set ranging from "some of the world's best-known standards to some relatively obscure finds." Determined not to record "just another standards album" Thorpe worked with the songs for weeks, taking them apart and putting them back together with the help of a select group of downtown musicians dedicated to pushing the envelope and uncovering what is new as well what is timeless in Harburg's songs.

Among other projects, Thorpe is a longtime performer at the popular Losers Lounge series (under the direction of Joe McGinty, currently at Joe's Pub), a former Bedsit Poet (with Edward Rogers), and currently plays with best- selling NYU neuroscientist Joseph Ledoux in a band called The Amygdaloids. Her previous solo album, Union Square, features vocal contributions from Graham Nash and Martha Wainwright, and Promenade features the same line up as Bewitching Me.

Critics have called the New York-based, English-born singer/songwriter, known for her moody folk/pop retro 60's style, "Sexy and sensual, sophisticated and haunting" (AllMusic.com), and praised her "Lovely melodies [and] haunting vocals" (People Magazine), and noting how she "balances brassiness and vulnerability with panache." (Variety).

Listen here: www.cdbaby.com/cd/amandathorpe.

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