Video: Allyson Briggs Launches Video Series to Celebrate PROMISES, PRAYERS, AND RAINDROPS

The new video features exclusive studio footage of the album's cut “Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do).”

By: Chloe Rabinowitz Sep. 27, 2024

Algos Music will celebrate the latest album by vintage vocalist extraordinaire Allyson Briggs – Promises, Prayers, and Raindrops: Allyson Briggs Sings Burt Bacharach – with a special new video series. The new video released today, Friday, September 27, features exclusive studio footage of the album's cut “Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do).” This follows last week's debut of the Bacharach rarity “My Rock and Foundation,” recorded live this summer at Birdland, the legendary jazz club.

Promises, Prayers, and Raindrops, which was released on CD and in digital and streaming platforms in July, was a Top 20 hit on the Roots Music Report's “Jazz Album Chart.” Featuring 20 tracks that created the soundtrack of American life in the 1960s, it combines household-name Bacharach and David classics that have been making people smile for generations, with several catalog deep cuts that will thrill music aficionados. Briggs, serving as bandleader and star vocalist, is expertly supported by music director Andy Warren on trumpet, James Navan and Jason Yeager on piano, Michael O'Brien on bass, Shareef Taher and Peter Traunmueller on drums, and Broadway luminary Julie Benko (Funny Girl, Harmony) as guest vocalist. Purchase the album at www.fleurseule.com.

Promises, Prayers, and Raindrops features Briggs's subtle yet sophisticated interpretations which reinvigorate beloved hits “I'll Never Fall in Love Again,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” “Walk on By,” and more. At the same time, the album digs deeper into the Bacharach oeuvre, including two songs associated with the iconic Peggy Lee. “My Rock and Foundation” was written by Bacharach and David specifically for Lee to sing on her 1971 album Where Did They Go. Briggs's version is the only other known recording after Lee debuted it over 50 years ago. “Uninvited Dream,” which Bacharach composed with early collaborator Sammy Gallop, was introduced by Peggy on the 1957 album The Man I Love, conducted by no less than Frank Sinatra. Keep up to date with Briggs' new videos at www.youtube.com/FleurSeule

Briggs remembers: “These are gems that I stumbled upon after paying tribute to Ms. Lee in a concert at Carnegie Hall with Michael Feinstein. As you may know, Michael is an encyclopedia of long-lost musical treasures, and he inspired me to find a connection from Peggy to Burt. In my search, I discovered the uncharacteristically jazz standard-styled ‘Uninvited Dream.' As I continued to hunt for Bacharach/Lee collaborations, I was intrigued by the unknown title ‘My Rock and Foundation.' I even had to transcribe the lyrics myself because as of 2022, they were nowhere to be found online.”

As someone who sings in seven languages, Briggs puts her German to good use in the dramatic “Wenn Ich Mir Was Wünschen Dürfte,” the Friedrich Holländer song which Bacharach arranged for Marlene Dietrich when he was her touring music director. “As I learned more about Burt's early days in the music business,” Briggs says, “I read about his strong friendship with Dietrich. He worked as her music director in Europe, and truly adored her, so he worked to enhance her classic arrangements for more contemporary audiences. Marlene was one of the first people in the industry to believe in Burt and his unique style, so to honor their connection, we were inspired to record this.”

A buoyant version of the instrumental “Casino Royale” – the theme song to the 1967 James Bond parody that was a notable hit for Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass – adds another dimension to Briggs's exploration of the Bacharach canon. A distinct highlight of the album is “Trop'ns Fin Regen Oif Mein Kop,” a Yiddish version of “Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head,” the Oscar-winning theme to the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The album's lilting version is a duet with celebrated Broadway star Julie Benko, with her husband Jason Yeager on the piano. Briggs comments, “This number made its way into the Bacharach concert after I heard the Barry Sisters' rendition of the B.J. Thomas hit. This song always catches an audience by surprise!”

“I've never met a person who could sit still listening to Burt Bacharach,” comments Briggs. “It's such engaging music. Whether you are a professional musician in awe of his unusual meter or a casual listener enjoying the classics over a glass of wine, it is simply quality music that makes you feel good. With lyrics most often penned by Hal David, you're in for a roller coaster of emotions that somehow leaves you feeling uplifted, even after the most heart-wrenching ballads. I dove into Burt's catalogue during the pandemic and I appreciate the opportunity to immerse myself in this music. Artists cannot force inspiration, so it percolated until I created the tribute concert in 2022, which debuted at Feinstein's at Hotel Carmichael, in Carmel, IN.”

“I wanted to maintain the integrity of the original songs,” she concludes. “I hope to bring this amazing body of work to a new audience, but let those who were there the first time around enjoy those memories in a new way. Burt Bacharach is where jazz became pop: He was very heavily jazz-influenced, and it shows when we dig into these arrangements. We are playing this album as a jazz quintet, because my band, Fleur Seule, is a jazz band. I wanted to pare it down to an intimate level, to highlight the intricacies of the arrangements, the depth of Hal David's lyrics, and to show how these songs can be enjoyed whether it's a studio orchestra or small combo.”

Allyson Briggs

has earned a reputation as “The Glamour Girl of Jazz.” Since her explosion onto the New York jazz scene over a decade ago, she has become one of the most sought-after vocalists and bandleaders today. With hundreds of public concerts and private events per year, she leads her own retro jazz band, Fleur Seule, with effortless fun and fashion to match whichever decade she chooses to recreate. Her uniquely sweet tone and unusually wide vocal range have allowed her to collaborate with Michael Feinstein, Ciara Renée, Catherine Russell, and Jeremy Jordan, and to open for Lionel Richie, Paris Hilton, and Luba Mason. Allyson has graced the stages of Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Pasadena Pops, Manhattan Symphonie, and has returned to Birdland Jazz Club numerous times, with her tributes to Burt Bacharach, Peggy Lee, and her sold-out Spanish-language concert, “Latin Love Songs.”

Allyson is fluent in Spanish, German, and French, and can be heard singing in as many as seven languages throughout her performances, bringing an unprecedented variety of classic repertoire to the stage. She has received critical acclaim from Playbill, The New York Sun, and BroadwayWorld, who writes “Briggs' vocal instrument is beautiful beyond compare.” Allyson has appeared on live television multiple times on Telemundo, Teleonce, Univision, and PIX 11 News, and has released seven studio albums with many of her original songs featured in film and TV. She is a Female Entertainer of the Year Award Winner (Taino Nation 2022) and Voicey Award Winner (Voices.com 2021).

Her previous albums include Vaya Con Dios (2021), Standards and Sweet Things (2019), Christmas Around the World (2018), Swing Around the World (2017), Christmas Classics (2016), and The Return of Glamour (2015). Last spring, Allyson and Fleur Seule performed at the opening night party to the new Jazz Age Broadway musical adaptation of The Great Gatsby.

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