CHRIS STAMEY & THE FELLOW TRAVELERS 'MUSIC FROM THE SONG BOOK - A BRAND NEW SHADE OF BLUE' LP (RECORD STORE DAY / JUNE 2021)

Release Date: 7/17/2021
Format: LP
Label: Record Store Day
Quantity: 250
Release type: RSD Drops 2021 Jul 17th

Chris Stamey’s collaboration with The Fellow Travelers is inspired by the intimate small combo sound of the late ‘50s and ‘60s. “I wrote most of it in the dark of winter, in the wee hours of the morning, that magical time when the whole wide world is fast asleep,” Stamey explains. The title track is something of an homage to John Coltrane, through blue-colored glasses. Some of the songs are clearly Tin Pan Alley-ish in their musical vocabularies, including the jolly, stride-piano-style exposition of “Come Home To Me” and the bittersweet sixth chords of “It Must Be Raining Somewhere.” “I Don’t Think Of You” explores Burt Bacharach and Jimmy Webb’s harmonic vocabulary. “In A Minor Key” reflects Stamey’s admiration for Thelonious Monk’s “Round Midnight,” while his summer-long obsession with Antonio Carlos Jobim is found on “Je Ne Sais Quoi”. Vocalist Brett Harris’s warm tenor shines throughout the set, with Ramune Martin featured as well. Chris Stamey has delivered an inspired album for this Record Store Day release.
Proceeds from this release, and three others in this series support The Shalom Project (an organization that supports NC families in need).
This is a regional release and though it’s available to all RSD-participating stores, it will primarily be available at stores in North Carolina.

Side A: “A Brand-New Shade of Blue”, “Je Ne Sais Quoi”, “Late For the Party”, “I Don't Think Of You”
Side B: “In A Minor Key”, “It Must Be Raining Somewhere”, “Un Autre Temps”, “Come Home To Me”, “There's A Dream Around The Corner”, “Cerulean Is Lovely"