World-renowned vocalist Holly Cole is back on the scene with her 13th studio album Dark Moon, set to be released on January 24 via Rumpus Room/Universal Music Canada. Dark Moon sees Cole reunited with her longtime collaborators and performance band consisting of Aaron Davis (piano), George Koller (bass), Davide Direnzo (drums) and John Johnson (saxophone). The album is a modern-day collection of new and old American standards described as “fresh, spontaneous and impeccable.” The album is the follow-up for 2020’s Montreal, which saw her reunite with her original Holly Cole trio of David Piltch (bassist) and Aaron Davis.
“I really wanted this album to embrace the spirit of spontaneity,” Cole said in a statement on her website. “At the same time a quintessential part of the sound of my music is in the arrangements. So, we did very little rehearsal in advance, and the songs were incredibly fresh for us while we were in the studio. The musicians that I play with contribute greatly to the arranging of the songs, and I wanted to hear the sound of when the light goes on for each one of us and many of the arrangements fell together as we played them. What we end up hearing on this record is the the moment when we discover what we love about the song, and what its essence is for me.”
One of Canada’s most esteemed jazz vocalists, Cole’s career began in 1983 with a move to Toronto from her hometown of Halifax. She started playing with Piltch and Davis in 1986 and in 1989 released her debut EP, Christmas Blues followed by her 1990 full-length studio debut Girl Talk. Cole has released 12 studio albums to date, and has won numerous awards including 2 JUNO awards, 2 Gemini awards, the prestigious Ella Fitzgerald Award from the Montreal Jazz Festival as well as an honorary doctorate from Queen’s University, just to name a few.
The lead single from the new album, “No Moon At All,” is described as “an up-tempo, sexy version of the track originally recorded by Peggy Lee that features a wonderful Howard Levy (two-time GRAMMY winner, friend, and original member of the Flecktones) harmonica solo.”
Dark Moon comes out January 24 wherever music is sold and is available for purchase here. Take a listen to “No Moon At All”.
