Anne Burnell & Mark Burnell Release New CD TWO FOR THE ROAD

One of Chicago's most popular and acclaimed musical duos, Anne Burnell and Mark Burnell are releasing their eagerly awaited, long overdue duo CD in twenty-two years entitled TWO FOR THE ROAD. The album was released today, on August 17th and is available at iTunes, Amazon and streaming outlets Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music and YouTube.

An eclectic collection of standards, unknown gems and original songs by Anne and Mark, the album showcases the duo's many talents and crosses many musical genres from jazz, blues, jive and adult pop. And all performed in their unique musical style. From the bouncy, jazzy opening track Baubles, Bangles and Beads to their breezy remake of the 70's pop classic Love Will Keep Us Together, the Burnell's are taking listeners for one enjoyable musical ri.

Singer-songwriter Anne Burnell has been praised as "a singer of glorious gifts" by the Chicago Tribune and a "fluid, silken voice navigates the various scales with remarkable agility and delightful phrasing" by Chicago Jazz Magazine. While her multi-talented, singer-arranger-pianist husband Mark Burnell was called "silky smooth and highly polished," by the Chicago Tribune. Mark has been recognized and lauded for his musical creativity and versatility with Chicago Jazz Magazine saying "he uses his skill and instincts as a jazz improviser to adapt to any situation, even one that contains no jazz at all." Their new album lives up to their accolades and delivers even more.

The recording is a true collaboration in every sense of the word. Not only blending their mellifluous voices, together the duo arranged seven of the album cuts. Mark accompanied Anne's vocals with his inventive reharmonizations on piano and keyboard, arranged four other tracks and wrote one of the songs (Looking For The Gold). The result is perhaps their greatest recording achievement ever.

The recipient of two Billboard Magazine Achievement in Songwriting certificates, the album highlights Anne's songwriting with Peppermint Tea, which harkens back to that folk/rock sound of the 70s and her song of getting through hard times in a relationship Another Chorus of the Blues, which Anne's vocals perfectly convey.

And just when you're in cruise control, the Burnell's take a sharp turn on two of the album's outstanding songs: The beloved If I Only Had the Brain from The Wizard of Oz is turned upside down, with their slow bossa nova delivery with Brazilian guitar breathing new meaning into it. Then there is the remake of the fun, jump-jive Little Joe From Chicago recorded by Nat King Cole in the 1940's.

The Burnell's are especially proud of How Long Has This Been Going On? and Let's Fall In Love, as the arrangements were provided by the revered trumpeter and Chicago native Bobby Ojeda. He had written charts for some of the all-time greats including Count Basie, Sarah Vaughan, and Peggy Lee. Unfortunately, Ojeda passed away in 2020, but his work lives on in this album.

Their good friend and MAC Award-winning songwriter Shelley Markham also contributed to this project with You Make Me Laugh, that provides a playful duet for Anne and Mark. And Grammy Award-winning author and noted jazz critic Neil Tesser singled out the title track saying, " a paean to lifelong love that combines a solemn melody with the lyrics' breezy sentiment; Mark's arrangement, with its dark-cloud intro, offers a perspective a bit more in keeping with events in our time."

Anne and Mark took along many talented people on their ride including some all-star musicians: Bassist Josh Ramos, who frequently is on the road with Ramsey Lewis, drummer Jim Widlowski, who tours with major musicals like Hamilton and Wicked, and two of Chicago's most sought-after guitarists- Henry Johnson and Paulinho Garcia.

They had equally impressive and talented professionals in the studio. Recorded at Chicago's Soundmine Studio, the album was engineered and mixed by Dennis Tousana with vocals recorded by Mark Burnell. Soundanswer's Erik Martin served as audio consultant and was remixed and mastered by Bob Katz of Digital Domain. Liner notes were provided by Neil Tesser, who previously had done similar duties for John Coltrane, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk and Stan Getz.

TWO FOR THE ROAD is the perfect showcase of Anne and Mark Burnell's many talents. And as Neil Tesser exclaims in the liner notes, "it all adds up to one sweet ride."

Visit BurnellMusic.com for further information. Their recordings are available for purchase at Amazon.com, and online at iTunes and at all streaming outlets including Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music and YouTube.

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