In 2003, acclaimed singer-pianist Patricia Barber became one of the few jazz musicians ever to be awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, and she took the opportunity to create one of the most ambitious and affecting works of her career. Embarking on a bold, exciting musical adventure, Barber brings her compositional sophistication to new heights with Mythologies, a song cycle based on Greek mythology where each of the 11 mythological characters in Ovid’s Metamorphoses is fleshed out in music.
Patricia Barber – piano & vocals
Neal Alger – Guitar
Michael Arnapol – Bass
Eric Montzka – Drums
With special guests: Jim Gailloreto saxophone (tracks 1, 2, 10); Choral Thunder, directed by Shelby Webb, Jr. background vocals (tracks 10, 11)
With additional vocals by: Paul Falk (track 7), Grazyna Auguscik (track 11), Lawrice Flowers (tracks 7, 10), Airreal Watkins (track 10), Walter “Mitchell” Owens, III (track 10)
All words & music by Patricia Barber
Produced by Patricia Barber
(Blue Note Records – 2006)
