Yeah, it’s not easy transitioning from pop princess to jazz singer. Just ask Welsh singer-songwriter Donna Lewis.
Famous for her pop hits “I Love You Always Forever” and “At The Beginning,” Lewis will be releasing Brand New Day, her new jazz-inflected album, on March 10--featuring the talents of jazzers like David King, Reid Anderson and Ethan Iverso.
Of course, Lewis’ move into a more stripped-down version of herself isn’t all that surprising for longtime fans. Even in her vocal salad days, those soulful turns and impressive range made her stand out among the starlets.
After going on something of a pop hiatus, Lewis set up shop with David Torn, a guitarist and studio wizard known for his film scores (Friday Night Lights, The Order, Lars and the Real Girl), as well as his work with rock legends such as David Bowie and Jeff Beck.
The collaboration proved fruitful. By 2001, five electro-infused tunes Lewis and Torn wrote and recorded together were among the most requested on Los Angeles’ KCRW, three weeks running.
Brand New Day will hear Lewis reimagining her own material, in addition to songs by Bowie, Neil Young, Damien Rice, Gnarls Barkley, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Chocolate Genius, Burt Bacharach and Harry Nilsson.
In this Classicalite exclusive, Lewis talks about living in the spotlight of her former hits, working with wizened jazzsmiths and why she heeded the call to reinvent some of the world's most famous tunes.
Classicalite: You were classically trained, but you hit it pretty big with the pop stuff back in the '90s. What made you decide to shift genres later on?
Donna Lewis: Good question! I had been doing a lot of pop. And I mean--oh my gosh--I have been doing pop probably since, well, it’s probably 17 or 18 years ago now. Since then, I have always been involved with this electronic kind of pop, doing a whole bunch of bench projects. I took some time out to have my son, and when I went back to making kind of another pop contemporary record--it was working with David Torn on a bunch of collaborations that we did together a few years back. David, along with the investor on this project, were talking about me one day saying, you know, ”Donna should be doing this.” David always had this idea of me with an intimate sound: an upright bass player, piano and drum. And I think it all fell into place at a particular time. It was a breathe of fresh air. Even though I still feel this record is formed by pop, it has a jazz perspective.
CL: Definitely. You had worked on a few jazz projects before, right? Not a full record, no, but you had delved a bit into that other world.
DL: Not really. I grew up listening to a lot of jazz. My father played a lot of jazz piano and had a huge collection. So, I grew up listening to a huge amount of jazz. But really, my career as a contemporary pop artist, I didn’t really do any jazz. This is the first time, honestly, that I went into a studio and cut this record live with Ethan, Reid and Dave--working with these incredible jazz musicians. It was a first for me.
CL: Therein's the struggle. At these pre-release shows, have noticed people surprised by this other side of you?
DL: That’s going to be the interesting one. It’s always nice when you have fans that come to the shows, and they’re not sure what to expect. When we were doing a few shows, a few months ago, the record was finished. But it wasn’t released yet. [Audiences] didn’t know what to think. It’s been going down well. You know, I did a couple of shows with Ethan and Dave. And when they’re on tour--I’ve got a great bunch of guys from Brooklyn that I have been using--it’s sounding really great.
Check out Donna Lewis singing "Bring Me to the Disco" by David Bowie, one of our favorite cuts from Brand New Day, due March 10 (Megaforce Records).
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