Lisa Marien celebrates "For Just Once" CD with performance Sunday in Norwich

October 26, 2018 12:00 am • Last Updated: October 27, 2018 5:47 pm

By Rick Koster
Day Arts/Features writer

Lisa Marien (Tiffany Lively/InVicta Entertainment)

Vocalst Lisa Marien realizes long-time dream with debut CD

You could spend hours in a library or book shop — or, for that matter, anyplace selling sheet music — looking for a copy of the "Great American Songbook.

The thing is, in terms of an actual hold-in-your-hands volume, it doesn't exist. What the "Songbooki" refers to is a cornucopian array of tunes that were written for musical theater, film and for recording by jazz and pop singers from the Roaring '20s until about the time John, Paul, George and Ringo emerged. Sophisticated in terms of structures and lyrics, and blessed with tattoo-strength melodies, the tunes, also called "standards," were and are so popular they've endured throughout numerous sea-changes in musical fashion — and continue to hold mesmeric power over artists and fans today.

"Part of the magic of the Great American Songbook is that, in addition to just the musical quality, the songs reach connect with people in very personal ways," says Lisa Marien, a local jazz vocalist who is celebrating the completion of her first album, "Just for Once," with a release party Sunday in Norwich at the Chestnut Street Playhouse. Making "Just for Once" was a three-year project, and the result is a wonderful 10-song collection that includes nine standards and an arrangement of Stevie Wonder's "Send One Your Love."

Part of the reason it took so long to make the album is that, in addition to her longtime presence on the local jazz scene who's worked with percussionist Royal Hartigan, the New World Jazz Orchestra, The J Hunter Group and The New London Big Band, Marien is also a career music teacher/choral director at the Nathan Hale Magnet School in New London. And, with her husband, saxophonist Steve Marien, she has three children.

Finally, in 2016, with input from two longtime mentors, Grammy-nominated New York pianist/music director John di Martino and vocal coach/tenor Clyde McKnight from the group Take 6, Marien consciously set out to record. She came up with a "wish list" of about 50 possible songs that included both standards and contemporary pop and soul tunes. But, she says, she had a rough time choosing an album's worth of material and fluctuated back and forth. Finally, McKnight told her, "If I gave you the money to record three songs tomorrow, and only three, which ones would your record?"

Marien laughs. "I literally couldn't answer him. But, it helped me put in perspective because I started to think of the project in terms of which songs would reflect my heart and soul; that would help me grow as an artist and a person. I'd been worried, thinking I might only get one chance ever to make an album, and what if I picked the wrong songs? Suddenly, I had a positive way to look at it."

In that spirit, Marien and di Martino began to focus on standards with the idea of applying slight twists to the arrangements that wouldn't alter the familiar magic of the song but would simultaneously imprint the work with Marien's personality and identity. Once the material was selected and arranged, Marien got to work.

Marien's is a voice that flows like raw honey, and her supple way with lyrics and melody are a bewitching combination of homage and deeply personal interpretation. Though all the songs have been recorded numerous times, and most have iconic associations — "Sometimes I'm Happy" (Sarah Vaughan), "Spring Can Really Hang You Up" (Ella Fitzgerald), "When Sunny Gets Blue" (Johnny Mathis) and "The Shadow of Your Smile" (Tony Bennet)," for example — Marien imprints the work with a beguiling mix of confidence and vulnerability.

She was backed on the sessions by drummer Vince Cherico, bassists Hans Glawischnig and James Hunter, percussionist Mugel Rios Jr., guitarist Paul Meyers, and her husband on saxes. Engineers for the sessions were Christopher Sulit at Trading 8's Studio in Paramus, N.J., and Norman Johnson at Manor Recording in Middletown.

Earlier this week, Marien discussed "Just for Once" in her typically gregarious and thoughtful way. Answers have been edited for space.

On the difficulty and joy of interpreting standards:

A: The beauty of the Great American Songbook is that they can always be explored and interpreted because they're that great. When I think about some of these songs, a lot of them run so deep in my longtime repertoire because I love them so much. I've been accused in the past of singing them too directly, and I had to learn on this album that the fun part was putting the spin on them — to sing expressively and in the way the song requires, but to also pay attention to what's inside me.

On why she chose these specific tunes and what she learned about them and herself throughout the recording project:

A. It turns out that all of these songs are really about love as we experience it as individuals — the highs, lows and in-betweens. And that called for some deep self-examination. Even though I'm somewhat extroverted when I meet people or sing onstage, but in reality my personality is pretty closed in terms of the depths of what I reveal. I don't talk about a lot of emotional feelings much, and I found out that making this CD and recording these songs does that for me.

It's an intimate portrait and these songs suddenly made sense in new ways because they reflected something organic that I'd felt at one time or another in my own life or because of something that might have happened to someone close to me. And a lot of (these feelings) were actually revelations.

On whether any of the songs on the album required particular care and contemplation:

A: "The Shadow of Your Smile" was difficult. I'd never performed it live until recently, so it wasn't a song I considered part of my longtime repertoire. And Tony Bennet's version is so iconic. But it's such a special song. We tried a lot of takes and nothing was really working. Then I saw a musical version of "The Bridges in Madison County" in Norwich. My daughter had a big part in it.

And the story is pretty well known, about a married woman with a family that she's devoted to — but at the same time she'd always thought her life would turn out differently. Then she meets a photographer and they have a stormy affair. In the end, he has to leave and begs her to go with him, but she stays with her family even though her heart maybe wants something else. And maybe that's the shadow. Maybe that was the relationship that should have happened, but she stays home because that's the right thing to do.

So I thought about that as a metaphor for the process of making a CD. It symbolized the musical experiences and dreams I've never had but this gave me an opportunity to be a true artist. And I'm so grateful for that.

On what her students think about her singing career and the idea that their teacher has a CD coming out and whether it can be in some fashion part of their learning experience:

A: It's interesting because the older students, who are 10, are aware I've recorded a CD but they're not sure what to think about it. In a lot of ways, I'm trying to figure out how it can be a teaching tool. Now, with my kids who are in the first grade, I used the CD once but didn't tell them at first that it was me. I was talking about phrasing and timing, and I said, "See how the singer has to wait to come in? You wanna know how I know that?" And I held up the CD. (laughs) Even then, they didn't immediately recognize me on the cover because I don't wear that much makeup in class or have a diamond rhinestone top on.

On what happens next with her singing career and "Just for Once":

A: Well, I'm hoping that, with his connections, John (di Martino) might be inspired to help out with a few gigs in the city. He's going to come with me Sunday and that's exciting to me. And I'd like to expand to some clubs in the region, Hartford or Boston, maybe. There are even some festivals I'd think about.

At this point, trying to sing professionally is not a commitment I can make in a big way. I love my teaching and my family. But I would like to branch out a bit more. I had 500 copies of the CD printed and 200 are already (spoken for). The bottom line is that it's all pretty cool. There are moments when it hits me. It's really done. There's a CD I'm proud of. On Sunday, we'll dress up and play and it's been a long journey. It's fun to bring it all the way home.