Smokin’ Aloud

This is the second studio album by American singer Ellen Lebowitz. It was released in 2003, by Rockmoss Records and is the successor to her first album, “Invitation to Yesterdays”. The album brings back the rich and powerfully emotional voice that Ellen Lebowitz is well known for on her tracks. Through the tracks on this album, you will find Ellen covering pop classics and jazz standards from artist like Sting, Todd Rundgren, Bill Evans, Cole Porter, and more. Producer Erik Unsworth had a lot to talk about when it came to the creation of this album from start to finish. Asking him for clarification, he went on to give the backstory of what it meant overall to produce this album by saying the following:

It is an unfortunate fact that people who create their livelihoods as professional musicians rarely get to work on the music that matters to them. Due to the inherent difficulties of financial survival in this day and age, most of us get caught up in the hustle and fail to keep in mind the reasons why we entered into this life in the first place..

For me, this CD represents an escape from the norm. It is the result of a summer dedicated to making a unique recording, and doing it for the pure enjoyment of the process of capturing musical creativity and interaction. From the early decision-making stages, through the arranging and recording of the great tunes that were picked and all the way to the last mix-down sessions, the motivation was always the same. To make a CD that would matter to us. My summer of 2003 will always be fondly remembered, because we took the time to do it the way that it should be done.

The vast majority of the music heard here was created and recorded in the basement of Ellen and Tom’s residence, using a Macintosh G4 computer and ProTools software. Thanks to the unique layout of the house and the musical instruments found within, piano, bass and drums were able to be recorded simultaneously, while being isolated in separate rooms. Horn parts and other overdubs were also recorded using this set-up. Primary vocal parts were recorded on analog tape and the whole thing mixed at Target Recording Studio in Elkton, MD.