Few projects convey the sense of
scale, ambition and passion as
Melissa Errico's 'Legrand Affair.'
Literally years in the making, this
improbable endeavor has
become a reality.
'Legrand Affair' is a collection of
songs written by the legendary
Michel Legrand, performed by
Errico with a 100-piece
symphony orchestra in Brussels,
and produced by Phil Ramone.
Their goal was to juxtapose
something enormous with
something intimate…to create
epic, larger-than-life, cinematic
art…but at the same time, make
it feel akin to the most sensual kiss you've ever experienced.
The story behind the making of the album (which will feature a range of
classic Legrand compositions as well as new material written for Melissa by Legrand
with Alan and Marilyn Bergman) is as sweeping as
the final product. As seen in
Errico's detailed 'Musing'
essay, linked below, the process
sounds more like a James
Bond film than a trip to the
recording studio, and indeed it was…the epic journey
included stops in New York,
Los Angeles, Paris, Brussels,
Switzerland, Normandy,
Andorra, Toronto, Costa
Brava and a listening session
while flying over the
Pyrenees to Spain, with Legrand himself piloting a private plane. Errico
even had three children over the course of the six years it took to see
'Legrand Affair' to completion, but recognizes it was all worth the wait: "I'm proud to have gotten it to the place it was always meant to be, in
honor of Michel Legrand who I love and respect beyond words."
The album was Co-Produced by Richard Jay-Alexander, Errico's concert
director, close collaborator and longtime friend (responsible for casting
Errico as Cosette in the first national touring company of Les Miserables,
when she was an 18 year-old freshman at Yale.)
'Legrand Affair' marks Errico's fourth collaboration with Ghostlight Records. She appeared on the
label's 'Finian's Rainbow' recording, as well as on their Broadway cast
album of Michel Legrand's 'Amour' and the re-issue of her solo album "Lullabies and Wildflowers."
13. "MAYBE SOMEONE DREAMED US"
Music: Michel Legrand
Lyrics: Alan and Marilyn Bergman
14. "ONCE UPON A SUMMERTIME"
Music: Michel Legrand
Lyrics: Johnny Mercer
15. "CELUI-LA"
Music: Michel Legrand
Lyrics: Eddy Marnay
Produced for Records by Phil Ramone
Album Co-Producer Richard Jay-Alexander
Mixed by Lawrence Manchester
Album Executive Producers - Kurt Deutsch and Patrick McEnroe
Associate Producers - Marc Silag and Pat Rains
The Flemish Radio Orchestra (newly renamed The Brussels Philharmonic) recorded in Leuven
Belgium, July 5th - 10th, 2005
Orchestra conducted by Michel Legrand
All Piano by Michel Legrand
Musicians
Peter Verbraken, Guitars
Bart Denolf, Bass
Jean-Philippe Komac, Drums
Sound Engineer
Manuel Mohino
Executive Producer for the Brussels Philharmonic (Flemish Radio Orchestra)
Peter H. Gistelinck
CD Booklet contains never-before-seen photos, full album credits and a note from Melissa Errico.
Melissa Errico is one of the most versatile women to have come out of this Broadway's young
generation, proving herself both a great interpreter of classic musicals and modern music alike,
as well as a gifted recording artist and film/television presence. She has starred in seven
Broadway musicals and released two major solo cds: Blue Like That (EMI) and Lullabies and
Wildflowers (VMG/Universal). She has been called everything from "divine" to "the voice of
enchantment" to "one of the most valuable assets of the musical theater" by the NY TIMES as well
as "incandescent" (Daily News) and "blessed with every attribute a grand dame of Broadway
requires: star power, voice, looks, ability, personality, technique. An aphrodisiac, as it were, that
galvanizes a musical into life." (Clive Barnes). "Our most earthy and soulful ingenue... She both
sparkles and is unmannered." (USA Today) Her recordings have been praised as "intimate
exhalations, sung with her heart-on-sleeve" (Billboard) and "a classy classic sound, with taste and
imagination" (Washington Post) and "...ethereal, gorgeous, elegant, popular. Delivered with
inward emotion and real artistry" (NY TIMES). Upon coming to hear her sing the role of Fiona in BRIGADOON in a one-night only concert on Broadway in June 2010, Ben Brantley of THE NY TIMES wrote "this beautifully sung performance had the bewitched aura of the exquisitely ephemeral. I left the Shubert feeling blessed and privileged, and I knew many of my friends would feel envious when I described what I had seen." Read Melissa Errico's full bio.
