Jenny Scheinman Releases New Album 'The Littlest Prisoner' Today

The Littlest Prisoner, the latest from critically-hailed singer, violinist, composer and arranger Jenny Scheinman, will be released today, May 6 on Sony Masterworks. Her eighth studio album, The Littlest Prisoner follows Scheinman's 2012 release Mischief & Mayhem, which All About Jazz called "a near-flawless package of musical craftsmanship." Scheinman, whom The New York Times has called "full of playful ideas" and "a soulful, generous improviser," will play several upcoming dates with Ani DiFranco.

Mixed by Grammy-nominated producer, Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, Neko Case, My Morning Jacket and Sufjan Stevens), the album was recorded in just three days of studio tracking in Martine's Flora Studio in Portland, Oregon.

Of the album, Scheinman says that she "had always imagined that this album would have a sort of Buddy Miller acoustic Americana sound," however, "as fate would have it I ended up bringing the material into the ethereal, moody, stripped down world of my trio with Bill Frisell and Brian Blade. This added a sense of newness, risk and adventure to the process, which was extremely exciting."
As for the lyrics, Scheinman says "I attempted to look directly at love and all its ugly beauty through the eyes of mothers, inmates, wives, artists, and children. What amazes me about the album is that all the tough stuff of life is stuck in the middle of such a beautiful band sound."

In addition to her eight solo records, Scheinman has collaborated with Rodney Crowell, Norah Jones, Bill Frisell, Bruce Cockburn, Madeleine Peyroux, Todd Sickafoose, Nels Cline and many others. She has also earned great acclaim for her high-profile arrangements for artists like Lucinda Williams, Bono, Lou Reed, Metallica and Sean Lennon.

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