Pre-order of April. You get 1 track now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.
High Resolution (96k).
Includes digital booklet.
Purchasable with gift card
releases June 29, 2024
$9.99CAD or more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Comes in gatefold card case
Includes digital pre-order of April.
You get 1 track now
(streaming via the free Bandcamp app
and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the
complete album the moment it’s released.
April starts the recording by highlighting her love of the blues with her original “April Blues”, performed with a mature delivery and phrasings that are in lock step with bassist Reuben Rogers’ beat.
The punchy horns on “I’ll Remember April'' begin a swinging romp through the classic tune. Before trading solos with trumpet player Benny Benack III, they trade improvised vocaleses. It’s great to hear the conversational ease of these improvisations. A favorite practice of April’s, not too many folks still feature vocalese as part of their performances.
I love how April has command of this fast tempo, making it all sound easy .
April simply and purely, without apology, loves to sing. She shows this penchant on a couple of popular melodies: first, the beautiful “April Come She Will”. She and Russell Malone deliver a powerfully simple rendition of the Simon & Garfunkel classic. Second, she tackles Prince’s “Sometimes It Snows in April”, an emotional lyric that requires a depth of feeling to perform. It takes time to find the right way to convey loss in a song,
and April handles this delivery well.
On Frank Ocean’s prayerful “Dear April”, April is at her most vulnerable. Favoring short endings and long phrases, she repeats key lyrics hauntingly, while the supporting waves of backing, layered vocals- provided by Theo Bleckmann and April herself- make the
song feel like a mantra.
In “April Give Me One More Day”, the motion of the medium-slow arrangement shows off April’s phrasing. Her vowels and turns reminds me of the brash balladeering of one of my favorites, Anita O'Day.
I love the melody of “April Again”. It's the feel of the arrangement, the presence of Caelan Cardello’s tasteful organ and piano playing, and a great solo by Dayna Stephens on soprano that really shows off the group interplay.
On “April in Paris” - a swinging duo with pianist Caelan Cardello - both are taking chances on phrasing and style to keep the performance fully in the moment and fresh.
It’s a nice souvenir of one of the classic standards. It takes maturity for any musician to play a slow ballad, and towards the end of the
record, “Lost April” shows off April’s proficiency at these kinds of tempos. She has such a connection with the group on this one, especially the time of the drummer, Miguel Russel. Every note means something.
The title and lyrical images in April’s original, “Who Let April Back Into My Dreams?”, show off April's songwriting chops. The chromatic melody could be a future standard, and April delivers the wistful lyric with confidence and vulnerability.
This recording shows that April isn’t afraid to show her breadth of influence, and it is matched by a real depth of feeling, discipline, vocal prowess, and active listening. On “April” - a letter to herself, perhaps - April Varner shows how much she believes in this music. I believe her.
credits
releases June 29, 2024
Vocals: April Varner
Piano: Caelan Cardello
Guitar: Russell Malone
Bass: Reuben Rogers
Drums: Miguel Russell
Trumpet/Vocals: Benny Benack III
Tenor/Soprano Saxophone: Dayna Stephens
Vocals/”Dear April” Track Production: Theo Bleckmann
Executive Producer: Cory Weeds
Produced by: Ulysses Owens Jr.
Recorded on August 29-30th, 2023 at Trading 8’s Studio (Paramus, NJ)
Engineered by: Chris Sulit
Mixed and Mastered by: Dave Darlington at Double D Music, Inc.Cover Photo shoot and edited by: Desmond White
Cover design & layout by: Perry Chua
● “April Blues”
a. Personnel: April Varner, Voice & Reuben Rogers, Bass
b. Lyrics: Improvised lyrics by April Varner
● “I’ll Remember April” (*first single*)
a. Personnel: April Varner, Voice; Caelan Cardello, Piano; Reuben Rogers, Bass;
Miguel Russell, Drums; Benny Benack III, Voice + Trumpet; Dayna Stephens,
Tenor Saxophone
b. Music written by: Gene de Paul
c. Head lyrics written by: Patricia Johnston + Don Raye
d. Vocalese lyrics: Improvised lyrics by April Varner and Benny Benack III
● “Joy Of April”
a. Personnel: April Varner, Voice; Caelan Cardello, Piano; Russell Malone, Guitar;
Reuben Rogers, Bass; Miguel Russell, Drums
b. Music written by: Pat Metheny
c. Head and Vocalese lyrics written by: April Varner
● “April Come She Will”
a. Personnel: April Varner, Voice; Russell Malone, Guitar
b. Music and lyrics written by: Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel
● “April, Give Me One More Day”
a. Personnel: April Varner, Voice; Caelan Cardello, Piano; Reuben Rogers, Bass;
Miguel Russell, Drums; Benny Benack III, Trumpet; Dayna Stephens, Tenor
Saxophone
b. Music and lyrics written by: Unknown (couldn’t find it anywhere)
● “April Again”
a. Personnel: April Varner, Voice; Caelan Cardello, Piano + Organ; Reuben Rogers,
Bass; Miguel Russell, Drums; Dayna Stephens, Soprano Saxophone
b. Music and lyrics written by: Glen Hardin
● “April in Paris”
a. Personnel: April Varner, Voice; Caelan Cardello, Piano
b. Music written by: Vernon Duke
c. Lyrics written by: Yip Harburg
● “Dear April” (second single)
a. Personnel: April Varner, Voice; Caelan Cardello, Piano; Reuben Rogers, Bass;
Miguel Russell, Drums; Theo Bleckmann, Voice (and Producer for this track)
● “Lost April”
a. Personnel: April Varner, Voice; Caelan Cardello, Piano; Reuben Rogers, Bass;
Miguel Russell, Drums; Benny Benack III, Trumpet; Dayna Stephens, Tenor
Saxophone
b. Music and lyrics by: Eddie DeLange, Emil Newman, Herbert Spencer
● “Sometimes It Snows in April”
a. Personnel: April Varner, Voice; Caelan Cardello, Piano; Reuben Rogers, Bass;
Miguel Russell, Drums
b. Music and lyrics written by: Prince
● “Who Let April Back Into My Dreams?”
a. Personnel: April Varner, Voice; Caelan Cardello, Piano; Reuben Rogers, Bass;
Miguel Russell, Drums
b. Music and lyrics written by: April Varner
