New Year's Day
Adrian Cunningham & La Lucha (feat. Clairdee)
"New Year's Day" featuring Clairdee on "New Holiday Classics" by Adrian Cunningham & La Lucha
21st century jazz vocalist | educator | activist
The coronavirus pandemic has affected each of us and I extend my love and care to everyone during these uniquely challenging times. I miss singing for you and playing with my bandmates. Until it is safe for us to be together again in person, please continue to support musicians by buying our music, attending virtual concerts, and interacting with us on our social media sites. Music feeds the soul. Take good care of yourselves and each other.
With love,
New Year's Day
This past July, I recorded a brand new song, "New Year's Day", backed by strings and arranged by NEA Jazz Master Dick Hyman for saxophonist Adrian Cunningham and La Lucha for their NEW HOLIDAY CLASSICS album on Arbors Records. Songwriting team Gloria Muñoz and Mark Feinman composed music and lyrics for all ten tracks — ranging in style from jazz to pop, to danceable Vallenato and upbeat R&B — recorded remotely and safely by a diverse cast of musicians across the continents.
A Love Letter to Lena
Jazz songstress Clairdee sings the music of Lena Horne in a love letter to jazz, activism and family. A Love Letter to Lena is a deeply personal celebration of the iconic barrier-shattering African-American movie star, singer, and civil rights activist. In this thought-provoking, timely, and inspiring homage, Clairdee integrates inventive arrangements of songs by Billy Strayhorn and contemporary composers with compelling spoken word.
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"Each time I listen to Clairdee's new album, I have a new favorite. But her performance on 'Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child' gets me every time."
—Regina Carter, violinist, MacArthur "Genius" award recipient
"'A Love Letter to Lena' is a remarkable document. It is more than a recording, it is a testament!"
—Dick Hyman, pianist and composer
"I love Clairdee's recording. Lena would love it, too."
—Rodney Jones, musical director/producer for Lena Horne
"Over a century after the birth of Lena Horne, how gratifying to see her legacy perpetuated with as much musicality, originality, heart, and fighting spirit as Clairdee shows on this album."
—James Gavin, author, Stormy Weather: The Life of Lena Horne
"Clairdee paints a loving, and at times fierce, biographical portrait of one of the most beloved artists of the 20th century. Seldom considered in the pantheon of jazz singers, nonetheless Lena Horne certainly earned her stripes in that arena. Tribute projects like this one are rare."
—Willard Jenkins, writer, producer, broadcaster
"Clairdee is a warm, soulful singer who makes every song she sings her own. I love her new tribute album to Lena Horne."
—Marc Myers, JazzWax.com
"Stand Up", the first music video release from Clairdee's new album "A Love Letter to Lena".
A Love Letter to Lena is available at:
