Spirit by Darrell Grant

“THE PASSION AND EMOTION imbued into the songs could have been dangerous in the hands of a lesser artist…Grant lays his soul bare on this entire disc and comes out better for it.”
-Jazzscene

Darrell Grant’s fifth CD as a leader is a deeply moving and personal statement. Recorded in Berkeley, California and Nashville, Tennessee, Spirit is a heartfelt ode to peace and a celebration of renewal. The album’s ten solo pieces showcase the masterful piano artistry that took Grant’s previous albums to the top of the jazz radio charts. The album also spotlights for the first time his talents as a songwriter, with three originals featuring Grammy-award winning Nashville vocalist Lari White. By turns reflective, soulful, poignant, and exultant, Spirit transforms university themes of innocence, hope, family, and community into a true revelation of an artist’s heart. Drawing on jazz, classical, gospel, and pop, the songs on Spirit seamlessly shift and blend musical styles, yet maintain a common thread of intimacy and emotional directness. An album that reaches for the essence, Spirit is both solace for hard times and a reminder of the depth of joy and optimism that music can evoke.

Tracklist

1.	A Child is Born	4:55

2.	Invocation	0:42

3.	People Get Ready	5:00

4.	Morning Star-Evening Rose	5:52

5.	Star Eyes	4:11

6.	Darrell Grant feat. Lari White - Shine	4:22

7.	Balm in Gilead	5:08

8.	Foresight	4:31

9.	The Water is Wide	4:43

10.	Darrell Grant with Lari White - Family	4:26

11.	Lullaby	4:07

12.	Shower The People	4:16

13.	Another Time	5:10

14.	Peace	3:01

Credits

released December 12, 2002

PLAYERS

• Darrell Grant -piano, vocals, words, snaps, claps, & slaps
• Paul Leim-drums
• Craig Nelson-bass
• David Hungate-guitar
• Lari White-vocals

SONGS

A Child is Born Thad Jones
Invocation Darrell Grant
People Get Ready Curtis Mayfield,
Morning Star-Evening Rose (Oh Come Emmanuel/Erev Shel Shoshonim)
Star Eyes Raye/DePaul arr. D. Grant
Shine Darrell Grant
Balm in Gilead traditional arr. D. Grant
Foresight Darrell Grant
The Water is Wide traditional arr. D. Grant
Family Darrell Grant
Lullaby George Cables
Shower the People James Taylor
Another Time Darrell Grant
Peace Horace Silver

PRODUCTION CREDITS

• Produced & arranged by Darrell Grant
• Executive Producer: Craig Berkman
• Recorded at Bay Records, Berkeley,CA &The Holler, Nashville TN
• Engineered by Mike Cogan, except * engineered by Eric Legg.
• Assistant engineer Kenny Fairris
• Additional engineering by Dean Baskerville
• Mixed by Eric Legg at The Mixbox, Nashville, TN
• Mastered by Ryan Foster at Freq Mastering, Portland, OR
• Art Design & Photography by Darcy Dziedzic

Deepest thanks to all those whose spirits contributed to this whole:
To Lari, Paul, Craig, & David, Eric, Dean, Mike, Darcy, Todd Crosby, & Craig Berkman.

To my families: Grants: Willie & Carol, Charisse, Judith, Elijah, Kevin, Debbie, Natasha & Alex. McFalls: Mum, James, Mary, Andrew, Elizabeth, Willie, Linda, John, Nancy, Fran & Chris

To Robert Sylvester, Harold Gray & Charley Gray at PSU for giving me a place to grow, and my students for being my teachers.

To good friends : Dmitri Matheny, Larissa Matheny-Roesch, Karen Dewig, Chris Morosin & Kioshi, , Pamela, Tom, Bryce & Blake Wood-Young, Julie, Gernot, Avi & Amien Spencer-Blume, Jenny Levison, Mike Brody & Heather Flynn, Sammy Epstein, Dvora Robinson, Steve & Bo Kline, Willard & Suzan Jenkins, Marilyn Sewell & Mark Slegers & the members of First Unitarian Church in Portland.

To musical mentors and inspirations William Sible, Barbara Lister-Sink, Vince Maggio, Betty Carter, Tony Williams, Frank Morgan, Roy Haynes, Clare Fischer, Samuel Barber, Johannes Brahms, Liz Story, Keith Jarrett

Very special thanks to Lari, Chuck,, M’Kenzy, Jaxon & Demo for the Holler and for fuel.

This album is dedicated to my wife Anne McFall. There are not words enough to express…

Lari White appears courtesy of SWG Records

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