Paula Cole November 3, 2010

On her fifth album Ithaca, singer and songwriter Paula Cole takes listeners on an intensely emotional, yet uplifting journey through divorce (“The Hard Way,” “P.R.E.N.U.P”) and the struggle to recover one’s identity (“Elegy,” “Waiting on a Miracle”) before allowing herself to revel in the healing, redemptive power of new love ("Violet Eyes,” “Come On Inside,” "Sex", "2 Lifetimes"). Along the way, she acknowledges being torn between work and her child (“Somethin’ I’ve Gotta Say”), and ultimately celebrates having music to get her through it all (“Music In Me”).

 
Ithaca is a welcome return by one of pop’s most compelling vocalists, who has enthralled audiences with her soaring, agile soprano.

Born the daughter of musicians, Cole studied jazz singing and improvisation at Boston’s Berklee College of Music before attracting rapt attention as a featured vocalist on Peter Gabriel’s 1993-1994 Secret World Live tour. Cole released her debut album, Harbinger, in 1994, followed by 1996’s self-produced This Fire, which spawned the two smash hits “Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?” and “I Don’t Want to Wait.” In 1997, Cole was nominated for seven Grammy Awards, including “Producer of the Year” and “Album of the Year,” and took home the award for “Best New Artist.”



Ithaca is the sound of Cole taking back the reigns on her life. She wrote every song and produced it with Decca Records chairman Chris Roberts and engineer Kevin Killen (who produced Harbinger). Her searching lyrics play out against a backdrop of acoustic and electric instruments, including guitars played by Ben Butler, Kevin Barry, and Marc Ribot (who also plays 'back-porch' banjo on the languid “P.R.E.N.U.P”); bass by Jon Ossman and Tony Levin (whom Cole knows from her Peter Gabriel days); piano, Wurlitzer, and clarinet played by Cole; and anchored by Ben Wittman’s rock-solid drumming. With its slashes of electric guitar and kick-ass balladry, Ithaca is musically reminiscent of its pop-rock predecessors This Fire and Amen.

For more information, visit www.paulacole.com

Official Website: http://www.yoshis.com/sanfrancisco/jazzclub/artist/show/1521