Lili Añel
Dream Again (Wall I) 9/10
A tremendous talent who honed her chops alongside Greenwich Village folk stalwarts Suzanne Vega and Shawn Colvin, Lili Añel returns with her third and best recording after a five-year hiatus. Possessing a singular, smoky-sounding vocal style that falls somewhere between Joan Armatrading (Añel covers Armatrading’s "Down to Zero" here) and Nina Simone (especially on "Life or Death"), Añel’s recent move to Philly yielded a collaboration with fretless-bass player Cooke Harvey, who helped co-helm an extraordinary album that might be just a bit bass-heavy—Añel’s voice and phrasing are too extraordinary to be given anything less than centerstage. Her highly personalized lyricism shows added depth from past recordings, whether it’s in the samba-like "Over You" or the snappy-edged light funk of "Temporary Amnesia." Elsewhere, Añel incorporates songs about her faith (the hypnotic "Life or Death" and gorgeous hit-written-all-over-it "If God Had a Wallet") that never come off preachy, with the latter existing on the same plane as Joan Osborne’s "One of Us." Dream is a fabulous, rock-solid gift of exquisitely penned and sung songs. This deserves to be a commercial hit. —Skitch Mulligan
In addition to my soon to be released CD, I have 4 CDs available for purchase. Click on covers to purchase.
Background
I was born and raised in New York City, Spanish Harlem, to be exact. Around my 4th birthday, my family moved to the South Bronx. I am lucky to have grown up during a time when radio was a lot more open; you'd hear The Beatles, Bob Dylan, James Brown Tommy James and the Shondells, Judy Collins, Nat King Cole and The Strawberry Alarm Clock all in one sitting.
I studied music at City College of the City University of New York's
Leonard Davis Center for the Performing Arts. While I did not graduate, I was lucky enough to have studied voice under the guidance of mezzo-soprano
JANET STEELE as well as having studied with legendary jazz vocalist
SHEILA JORDAN. I studied guitar and harmony at
Guitar Study Center; this was an incredible schooling for me, studying with various New York City session musicians. School won't give you "talent" but it will aid you in growing as a musician on a practical and technical end; the rest of the "schooling" comes from going out there and just doing it.
I have been living in the wonderful city of Philadelphia now since 2004.
In this picture, I was thrilled to be singing with one of my heroes,
Garland Jeffreys. Garland sat in with me at my New York CD Release show which was held at
The Cornelia Street Café. It was very exciting singing “New York Skyline”, one of Garland’s most popular songs with him at my show. I’d always dreamt of it, and it happened!
For more information on my upcoming gigs and ongoings, please visit my website:
www.lilianel.org
Artists Lili has Supported
Alana Davis, Alejandro Escovedo, Arlen Roth, Barenaked Ladies, Ben Arnold, Cheryl Wheeler, Cliff Eberhardt, Corey Harris & Henry Butler, Donovan, Ellis Paul, Essra Mohawk, Etta James, Graham Parker, Jeffrey Gaines, John Hammond, Kate Taylor, Livingston Taylor, Otis Rush, Raul Malo, Rhett Miller, Richie Havens, Stuff (aka The Saturday Night Live Band), Suzanne Vega, Taj Mahal, Teddy Thompson, The Persuasions, The Subdudes, Vance Gilbert , Vinx, to name a few.
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