Grete Skarpeid & Aruan Ortiz - My Songs (2016)

'This album is the result of a chance meeting between jazz pianist Aruan Ortiz an myself. He was playing in my home town of Voss, Norway, together with the Don Byron quartet. During a conversation he asked me if I sang? I replied: 'A little bit', and asked if he would like to hear one of my own songs written that same day. He was kind enough to listen, and with inspiring words he encouraged me to follow my ideas and continue to write.
He invited me to join him in New York for a recording session, and I had the wonderful experience of working alongside great musicians who played my music so beautifully. Although this has been my first studio recording, under Aruans professional guidance, together with his arrangements and production, the music has become alive, playful and energetic and at the same time it has broadened the complexity of its harmony and rhythms.
Although these songs and lyrics has a personal background and express own experiences, moods and emotions, my hope is that the listener can relate to the universal expressions of love, loss and life. Enjoy!»