What makes Finding Beauty such a powerful collection of songs is Ann’s ability to convey all the emotional and universal themes in life that touch all of us in such a deep and honest way.
Thanks to Shanachie Entertainment for this release
Finding Beauty, Originals , Volume 1, her first recording of all original material, is an album that has long been a dream of hers. It is an all-star affair that unites her with legendary singer/songwriter Melissa Manchester, Grammy-winning jazz vocalist Kurt Elling, nine-time Grammy nominee Tierney Sutton, celebrated pop and R&B singer Niki Haris, Grammy-nominated singer Jarrett Johnson, and Callaway’s frequent musical partner and sister, the Tony-nominated and Emmy-winning Liz Callaway, among others. Callaway even features a tune co-written with Oscar-winning composer Alan Bergman.
Callaway has penned over 250 songs and written multi-Platinum hits for seven of Barbra Streisand’s recordings. She penned the beloved theme song for the TV series The Nanny, and her songs have been performed and recorded by numerous others including Carole King, Liza Minnelli, Patti Lupone, Michael Feinstein, and many others. The Cole Porter Estate officially recognizes Ann Hampton Callaway as the only composer to have collaborated with Cole Porter, having set her music to his posthumously discovered lyric, “I Gave In Your Eyes.”
The Renaissance woman has also starred on the silver screen opposite Angelina Jolie and Matt Damon in the Robert DeNiro film The Good Shepherd performing the standard “Come Rain or Come Shine” and she recorded “Isn’t It Romantic?” and “The Nearness of You” in Wayne Wong’s film The Last Holiday starring Queen Latifah.
The anticipated Finding Beauty, Originals ,Volume 1 evolved over a three-year period and is deeply personal to Callaway. “This is my most personal record. Throughout my career, I’ve loved singing the great jazz classics and selections from the Great American Songbook, but I’ve always snuck my original songs on various projects. The pandemic made me think, ‘I don’t know if I’ll live through this, but if I do, what’s at the top of my bucket list?’ And I realized that I wanted to tell my story and share the deepest part of me. What better way than by sharing and singing songs I’ve written?”
What makes Finding Beauty such a powerful collection of songs is Ann’s ability to convey all the emotional and universal themes in life that touch all of us in such a deep and honest way. There are many high points on the album which was produced and arranged by Trey Henry and Paul Viapiano, including the gorgeous and inspirational “New Eyes” with Melissa Manchester and Callaway’s duet with Kurt Elling. The latter was co-written with film/TV composer Michele Brourman wrote the song as a pride/human rights anthem. Callaway shares, “It was incredible jamming on it with Kurt Elling,” she says. “I can envision singing it for thousands of people, with everybody embracing how we’re all different and we’re all supposed to be who we are.”
There’s also “Stealin’ Away,” a tune co-written with Tony-nominated composer Dan Levine that was penned for Al Jarreau, who sadly passed before he could record it. “You Can’t Rush Spring,” is a duet with Tierney Sutton. “I love the cinematic mood that Tierney created,” Callaway enthuses. “Singing with Tierney was extraordinary. We think like flutes and cellos when we blend our voices together. It’s one of my favorite tracks on the record.”
Ann penned “You Can’t Rush Spring” when she found out Lena Horne was making her last record in 1993. She wanted to write a song for the iconic singer/actress that would be a statement about what life had taught her. On the final day of the recording session for Horne’s We’ll Be Together, Ann’s song was on Lena’s music stand by 6pm. Unfortunately, it did not get recorded as there was not enough time to include it on the album.
Finding Beauty also features a haunting and intimate version of Ann’s song “At the Same Time,” already beloved for Barbra Streisand’s recording from her No. 1 platinum smash Higher Ground. There is also a memorble collaboration with the legendary Alan Bergman on the Bossa Nova-tinged “Forever and a Day.” “That’s what I call a friendship,” she says, “where I can have the audacity to say, ‘Would you like to write a song? Here’s a melody.”
The album’s title track is a dedication to the love of Ann’s life, Kari Strand. It tells some of the story of how the two met and how Kari transformed Ann’s life. She shares, “I felt it was an appropriate title for this project as finding beauty is a daily throughline in my life—seeking to recognize truth and the many forms of beauty that life surprises us with every day, and looking for the silver linings in all the challenges we face.”
