French vocalist Ilona Knopfler's interpreations of 12 standards, performing in both English and French.

“Live the Life” showcases the purity of Ilona Knopfler’s clear, powerful voice, her global influences, and an eclectic, sophisticated jazz style. Knopfler’s early exposure to European culture finds its expression on this new release, which is sung in both English and French. Enriching the worldly feel are the performances of a stellar international roster of more than 30 musicians. Among them are Alain Mallet on piano, Antonio Hart on alto sax, Darmon Meader on tenor sax, flute, clarinet, Paquito D’Rivera on clarinet, Kim Nazarian on background vocals, and Mack Avenue label-mate Sean Jones on trumpet.

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The great French composer, Eric Satie, describing the process of writing music, is reported to have said, “Before I compose a piece, I walk around it several times, accompanied by myself.” Vocalist Ilona Knopfler has chosen to do exactly that in her multi-voiced rendition of the title track, “I’m Going to Live the Life I Sing About in My Song.” Thomas A. Dorsey’s anthem to religious devotion takes on a larger secular meaning encompassing the myriad of cultural influences that are the trademark of jazz and of Ilona’s beloved home and city of birth, Paris.

Paris, perhaps more than any other European city, is associated with jazz and the art music genres of many countries and cultures commonly (and to my mind erroneously) described as “world music.” As the daughter of French parents who are both working musicians, Ilona’s sense of these varying influences was undoubtedly reinforced by her upbringing. Ilona's Mother and Father, a singer and pianist, both enjoyed long and distinguished performing careers in Paris and throughout much of Europe and Asia. “Live the Life” reflects the cultural diversity of that experience in both its repertoire and personnel.

Principal among these colleagues is Grammy® winning producer Jay Ashby. His arrangements capture the various cultural flavors for which Paris is justly famous. In Abbey Lincoln’s “Throw it Away,” Ashby cleverly exploits shifting time signatures of 7/4 and 5/4 to suggest a Middle Eastern flavor that is enhanced by the percussion of Jamey Haddad and the extraordinary solo by the legendary Palestinian Oud player, Simon Shaheen. “But for Now,” Bob Dorough’s winsome love song, is transformed through Ashby’s use of the Brazilian maracatú rhythm in the verse and a hybrid form of the samba in the song’s chorus.

Two other big band charts appear on this recording, both created by one of the last of the original big band arrangers, Dr. John Wilson. Wilson is truly one of the most innovative thinkers in music theory as applied to all things jazz. He contributes a joyous chart supporting Ilona’s performance of “Comment Allez-Vous,” originally popularized by Blossom Dearie. Jazz fans will recognize “Dansez Sur Moi” as the Neal Hefti/Bobby Troup tune “Girl Talk” with original French lyrics by the late Claude Nougaro. Nougaro, who died in March of 2004, had a profound impact on the jazz scene in France and underscores this recording conceptually. As with Ilona, Nougaro’s parents were a vocalist and pianist. His own gifts as a singer and lyricist would lead to recordings inspired by such artists as Nat Adderly and Dave Brubeck. Nougaro’s Brubeck-inspired “Le Jazz et La Java” is reminiscent of his own and Al Jarreau’s (another of Ilona’s favorite singers) vocalized tip-of-the-hat to “Blue Rondo a la Turk.” Nougaro was an early collaborator of Michel Legrand. Ilona’s performance of Legrand’s “Les Moulins de Mon Coeur” bypasses the version most English speaking audiences recognize, with lyrics by Marilyn and Alan Bergman in favor of the French lyrics by Eddy Marnay.

Finally Nougaro’s early partnership with Baden Powell and interpretation of songs by artists such as Chico Buarque foreshadowed the dominant position of Parisian culture as the European home for Brazilian and African music. Any appearance of a new composition by the renowned Brazilian singer-songwriter Ivan Lins is always an occasion of note in the music world. Ilona performs Lins’ “No Tomorrow” with English language lyrics commissioned especially for this recording from vocalist-composer Peter Eldridge, hinting at the tradition of an earlier chanteuse, the great Edith Piaf.

One of the artists that the aforementioned Piaf mentored is Charles Aznavour. Aznavour’s “Parce Que,” originally written as an ode to the love of an older man for a younger woman, is elevated into an expression of a mother’s unconditional love for her child (a cameo appearance on the track is made by Ilona’s daughter). Pianist Alain Mallet contributes the arrangement for “Parce Que” (featuring the remarkable percussion of yet another internationalist and Parisian resident – Steve Shehan) as well as that most elegant of standards, “Alone Together.”

Two other standards, “This is Always” and the Thelonious Monk/John Hendricks penned “Ask Me Now (How I Wish),” showcase Ilona’s voice with strings arranged by pianist Alon Yavni and multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Darmon Meader. Performers who are students of the jazz tradition inevitably find and exploit that which is unique to their own historical and cultural background. Ilona Knopfler is at the beginning of that journey, a quest that portends wonderful music for us all.
– Al Pryor