Whitney Ross-Barris - Everybody's Here (2012)

"Some places store their memories like a vault. When we walked into Nola Recording Studios in New York City, late one Friday night in mid-September, it felt as if every moment of music history made there since the 1930s was hanging around, waiting for us. I stood before a mic in a room where my grandfather, Alex Barris, had recorded 66 years before me. Mark sat down at Erroll Garner’s old Steinway and as we laid down the first track of our session there, “A Flower is a Lovesome Thing,” we both became aware of an extraordinary energy in the space. I was strangely speechless. Mark said, “Yeah… Feels like everybody’s here.” It was all I could do to nod in agreement. It seemed all the musicians, singers and songwriters I’ve adored over the years, many of whom had inspired this album, were there in the studio listening, their music suspended in the air around us like an electric mist.

From Toronto to New York and back again, “Everybody’s Here” has been a thrill to make. It’s an eclectic album in its content and sound, united by a tremendously talented band and production team. Each song I’ve chosen is a personal landmark in my evolution as a singer and musician and each recording a celebration of those songs and songwriters that have brought me to this exciting and creative time in my life and career."---Whitney Ross-Barris 2012

Not-so-standard standards. A jazz-based, heart-on-sleeve interpretation of songs by Tom Waits, Leonard Bernstein, David Clayton Thomas, Billy Strayhorn, as well as tunes by Whitney's late grandfather Alex Barris and some of her own originals.