Jazz Vocalist MARCUS GOLDHABER to Release Debut Album

Poised for breakout success, acclaimed NYC jazz vocalist-songwriter MARCUS GOLDHABER takes another considerable step forward with the Oct. 14, 2014 release of A LOVELY WAY TO SPEND AN EVENING (Fallen Apple Records/The Orchard) - the first album with major distribution behind this rapidly rising artist who JazzTimes says "rivals the jazz instincts of Chet Baker and John Pizzarelli." The powerful, 12-track collection reintroduces some of Goldhaber's favorite standards alongside five originals.

Goldhaber will hit the road to support the new record on a fall U.S. tour which includes a headlining performance atThe RRazz Room (Oct. 24), the prestigious San Francisco supper club that recently relocated to New Hope, PA; an opening slot for Jane Monheit at the Sellersville Theater in Sellersville, PA (Sept. 26); and a return to The Cutting Room in New York for his NYC CD Release Event (Oct. 8). He also has several dates at the Smith Center in Las Vegas reprising his long-running co-starring role in the off-Broadway hit The Wonderful Wizard of Song (Oct. 17-19), which celebrates the music of the great Harold Arlen, a fellow Buffalo, NY native, and is now touring the country.

The new album spotlights Goldhaber's artistic breadth in a career that's seen him evolve from a "wonderfully imaginative" jazz interpreter to a wistfully undeniable composer & lyricist of modern standards, while remaining "exciting and fresh" (Jazziz) with every progression. Goldhaber has garnered tremendous critical acclaim as a recording artist, with PEOPLE Magazine saying the New Yorker with the youthfully carefree sweet tenor "will have you giddy one moment and melancholy the next and loving every note. ... finding the soul in each note with his no-frills approach."

"A lot of these songs have been inspired by moments in my life," says Goldhaber. "That's really where the joy lies for me. That's the real passion that I have. It's not about simply writing a song or hearing something that swings. It's really about the connection."

Among the many highlights from A LOVELY WAY TO SPEND AN EVENING are Goldhaber originals "Somebody In Love" and the opening track, "As Long As I'm Falling In Love," both produced by drum master Marcello Pellitteri(Kenny Barron, Tom Harrell, Joe Henderson, Wynton Marsalis) at New York's famed Avatar Studios. "Somebody in Love," is a swinging New Orleans-inspired song featuring tenor saxophonist Joel Frahm taking the band to the swinging clubs of the 1950s. His solo is followed by an electric moment from guitarist John Hart. Goldhaber calls it "a playful song that tells a story of a love who is so used to just having casual affairs with no drama. All that he wants is to find someone who is going through what he's going through so he can communicate. Because everyone else he talks to looks at him like he's nuts."

"As Long As I'm Falling in Love," co-written with Goldhaber's longtime pianist and musical director Jon Davis and also heard in the film Going Down in La-La Land, is about that moment of falling in love, "right at the beginning," says Goldhaber, "when you know there's no complication. It's just that calm, easy, sort of saloon style blues feel that just says, 'Everything's good. I've got love right here on my arm, and it's right in the beginning, and how amazing is that?'"

A high mark on A LOVELY WAY TO SPEND AN EVENING is the album's closing track, "Losin' Your Appeal," a swinging Goldhaber original showcasing a funkier sound and a sexy vibe. It was produced by Billy Jay Stein (Linda Eder, Spider-Man, Beautiful Broadway cast album) and features a marvelous horn section from top rock bands and the Broadway scene, with Stein on vintage Hammond B-3 and Wurlitzer organ.

"But what made the track," says Stein, "was Marcus' performance."

"Billy drove the truck on this one," adds Goldhaber. "He really opened things up and brought the funk out of me. It's a sound that I didn't even know I had. The track really fits the idea of the song, which is put up or shut up. I wanted to write a song with a little bit of attitude, confidence, and something that says I've only got time for people who lift me up, for people who want to be with me. If you're not going to be in my life, nice knowin' ya. It expresses an aggressive yet calm confidence, and it specifically speaks to lovers."

Growing up in Buffalo, Goldhaber was introduced to the Great American Songbook by his mother, who casually played countless standards on the family's 1928 Ivers & Pond upright piano. Goldhaber harkened back to those cherished moments in assembling A LOVELY WAY TO SPEND AN EVENING, and carefully sequenced the tracks to create a sumptuous musical blend with special meaning.

"I wanted to create a collection of songs that really embodied what I would want to sit down and listen to straight through," he says. "That's why the sequencing is so critical here, because it embodies the way they've impacted me in life. The album weaves in and out from songs of my youth to songs I've written. There's a real flow to this record."

Goldhaber made his way to New York City in 2000 through musical theater, developing a vast repertoire that also includes selections from The Wonderful Wizard of Song. When he's not on tour, he regularly performs in many of New York City's greatest jazz venues, such as The Blue Note, Iridium, The Cutting Room and The Metropolitan Room.

A LOVELY WAY TO SPEND AN EVENING: Track Listing

1. As Long As I Am Falling In Love (M. Goldhaber, J. Davis) 4:44

2. Somebody In Love (M. Goldhaber) 4:10

3. Take Me (M. Goldhaber, J. Davis) 4:31

4. A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening (H. Adamson, J. McHugh) 4:07

5. She Knows (M. Goldhaber, J, Davis) 4:34

6. Old Cape Cod (C. Rothrock, M. Yakus, A. Jeffrey) 5:02

7. No Moon At All (D. Mann, R Evans) 4:17

8. Top Hat, White Tie & Tails (I. Berlin) 5:15

9. You're Gonna Hear From Me (A. Previn, D. Previn) 3:28

10. I Fall In Love Too Easily (S. Cahn, J, Styne) 5:14

11. Lulu's Back In Town (H. Warren, A. Dubin) 4:37

12. Losin' Your Appeal (M. Goldhaber) 3:31

Total Time: 53:30

Marcus Goldhaber, vocalist

Arrangements by Marcus Goldhaber & Jon Davis

Tracks 1-2, produced by Marcello Pellitteri

Recorded at Avatar Studios in NYC

Tracks 3-11, produced by Marcus Goldhaber

Recorded at Acoustic Recording in Brooklyn, NY

Track 12 produced & arranged by Billy Jay Stein

Recorded at Strange Cranium in NYC

Mastered by Randy Merrill at Sterling Sound, NYC

Personnel:

Jon Davis, piano (Tracks 1-11)

Martin Wind, bass (Tracks 2-5, 7, 8, 10)

Paul Gabrielson, bass (Tracks 6, 9, 11)

Marcello Pellitteri, drums/percussion (Tracks 2-5, 7, 8, 10)

Kyle Struve, drums (Tracks 9, 11)

Will Terrill, drums (Track 6)

Joel Frahm, tenor saxophone (Track 2)

John Hart, electric guitar (Track 2)

Hendrik Meurkens, harmonica (Track 3)

Billy Jay Stein, Wurlitzer & Hammond B-3 organ (Track 12)

[SOUNDCLOUD & HIGHTAIL LINKs; "Private links; please do not publish or distribute."]

A LOVELY WAY TO SPEND AN EVENING: Tour Dates

Fri., Sept. 26 - Sellersville Theater, Sellersville, PA (Opening for Jane Monheit)

Wed., Oct. 8 - The Cutting Room, NYC (CD Release Event)

Wed.-Fri., Oct. 17-19 - The Smith Center, Las Vegas, NV (The Wonderful Wizard of Song)

Fri., Oct. 24 - The RRazz Room, New Hope, PA (CD Release Event)

More dates to come.

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