To support her new album Trav'lin' Light, Queen Latifah will embark on a nationwide tour with a stop at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, California, on Tuesday, November 20, at 8:00 pm. Trav'lin' Light will be released by famed jazz label Verve Records in conjunction with Flavor Unit Entertainment on September 25.
Produced by three-time GRAMMY winner Tommy LiPuma and by GRAMMY nominated producer and Geffen Records chairman Ron Fair, the album is the long-awaited follow-up to Queen Latifah's critically-acclaimed and GRAMMY nominated release The Dana Owens Album (2004).
Trav'lin' Light is Queen Latifah's second foray into the realm of jazz, soul, and blues. Once again, she embraces a sultry and saucy mix of fabled female vocalists who've inspired her. Exploring the songbooks of Peggy Lee, Etta James, Sarah Vaughn, Nina Simone, Shirley Horn, Carmen McRae, Roberta Flack, Mary Wells, Phoebe Snow and more, Latifah adds her warm vocals and playful personality to a hand-picked mix of familiar classics and forgotten jewels.
Like its predecessor, the album features contributions by a number of stellar artists. On Trav'lin' Light, Latifah is joined by piano and keyboard pioneers George Duke and Joe Sample, bossa nova guitar legend Oscar Castro-Neves, noted session guitarist Paul Jackson, Jr., superstar drummer Abe Laboriel, Jr. and bass virtuoso Christian McBride. Engineered by 15-time GRAMMY winner Al Schmitt and featuring arrangements by GRAMMY winner Jerry Hey, the album also features Jeff Hamilton (drums), Anthony Wilson (guitar) and John Clayton (arrangements). Furthermore, Latifah realized a lifelong dream of recording with Stevie Wonder, who contributes harmonica on one track.
LiPuma, who has worked with Nat King Cole, Natalie Cole, George Benson and Barbra Streisand, produced the first six tracks on Trav'lin' Light. Fair, who produced half of The Dana Owens Album and has lent his considerable talents to Black Eyed Peas, Christina Aguilera and Mary J. Blige, returns to produce the second half of Trav'lin' Light. The album was recorded at the Record Plant and at the legendary Studio A at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, host to notable recordings by Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and Peggy Lee, among others.
Though Queen Latifah displayed promising glimpses of her emerging vocal ability with performances in Chicago and Living Out Loud, The Dana Owens Album cemented her reputation as an extraordinary vocal talent. With songs spanning every decade from the 1920s through the 1970s, The Dana Owens Album paid homage to those who influenced Latifah's singing. Featuring guest appearances by Al Green and Herbie Hancock, the album opened with an interpretation of Dinah Washington's 1949 hit "Baby Get Lost," and included versions of songs by Nina Simone, Bill Withers and Cannonball Adderley.
This summer, audiences saw Latifah in Hairspray as Motormouth Maybelle with John Travolta and Michelle Pfeifer. An acclaimed television and film actress, GRAMMY Award-winning rapper and now a critically lauded singer, Queen Latifah highlighted her multitude of talents in the recent film adaptation of Chicago. As Mama Morton, she emerged as a formidable singer and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress, a Golden Globe nomination and a SAG Award nomination. Receiving an Emmy nomination for her role in the HBO film Life Support, which premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, Latifah has also starred in such films as the box-office hit Bringing Down the House and Living Out Loud, in which she sang the Billy Strayhorn classic "Lush Life" (produced by Mervyn Warren of Take 6).
Queen Latifah's 2007 national tour is sponsored by CoverGirl Queen Collection, Jenny Craig and "Mad Money." This performance by Queen Latifah, as part of the Fitz's Jazz Café series at the McCallum Theatre, is sponsored by Desert Lexus, Time Warner Cable, and KJJZ 102.3-FM. -- www.mccallumtheatre.com
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