11 AUGUST 2023 (TORONTO,ON) - Her love affair with the music of Cole Porter runs long and deep. Adi Braun, this Toronto based jazz and cabaret chanteuse has long covered his tunes in her performances and on record. Adi’s affection for the work of the masterful songwriter has now reached full bloom with Night And Day (The Cole Porter Songbook), an album comprising ten classic Cole Porter songs given vibrant new life. Her sixth full-length record, it will be released on Sept. 15, 2023, on ALMA Records/Universal Music Canada.

Night And Day (The Cole Porter Songbook) showcases the broad emotional and musical range of Cole Porter’s work, as exemplified in the title. She describes the music of her favourite Great American Songbook writer as “delicious, a great combination of naughty, provocative, sensuous, witty, and devastatingly beautiful. I am also smitten by the fact that he wrote both lyrics and music, and his use of sexy Latin beats and rhythms is another major drawing card for me.” Braun had previously covered Night And Day on her 2008 album, Live At The Metropolitan Room, and here she goes for a playful Latin-tinged treatment that is a delight.

Adi explains that “I find his songs illuminate different aspects of love, in a fascinating way.” The tunes Braun interprets range from light and bubbly romps to emotionally powerful songs such as “Love For Sale” and “In The Still Of The Night.”

Night And Day (The Cole Porter Songbook) will be available on CD, Streaming, Digital, DOLBY ATMOS + Hi Res Digital Platforms. Pre-order NOW. The first single and title track, Night And Day, from this superb album comes out on August 11, 2023. (Listen HERE).

Adi Braun will be performing a special CD release concert at LULA Lounge on September 14.
Reserve your tickets BELOW.

Adi’s most ambitious album yet, Night And Day (The Cole Porter Songbook) is a collaboration with Emmy-winning Canadian keyboardist, songwriter, producer, and arranger Don Breithaupt (Monkey House, Brass Transit). The pair had long had a mutual admiration for each other’s work, as Don explains.

“Adi was one of the first singers to record songs by the Breithaupt Brothers, on her 2005 album The Rules of The Game, and I’ve always respected her sound, her nuance as an interpreter, and her international approach to jazz. “I contacted her in 2021, as I had a feeling, I could help her cook something great. The minute we zeroed in on the Cole Porter songbook, a bottomless well of great melodies and lyrics, we had our focus.”

Don’s mastery of the Great American Songbook form made him a perfect creative partner for Adi, and he recruited Juno-winning engineer John ‘Beetle’ Bailey to record and mix. The team then set up shop at elite Toronto studio Noble Street with an A-list of jazz players, to create the triumph that is Night And Day (The Cole Porter Songbook). That illustrious list includes bassist Pat Collins, drummer Mark Kelso, guitarist Justin Abedin, violinist Drew Jurecka, cellist Brian Holt, and ace horn players Vern Dorge, John Johnson, Phil Dwyer, and William Sperandei.

As well as handling the production, Breithaupt wrote the imaginative horn and string arrangements that are a key component of the record. He notes that “the rich settings of these tunes give Adi a big harmonic river to glide along.” Braun did just that, rising to the challenge with stellar emotionally expressive vocal performances that bring a real freshness to these much-loved tunes.

“’Love For Sale’ was daunting as it is such a complicated song,” she says. “I wanted to find a little bit of levity or spunk in there that’s maybe not as heavy as some would interpret it, and Don’s arrangement enabled that.” “In The Still Of The Night” is another highlight for her. “That song is so delicate you’re almost afraid to touch it, but we made it into a larger orchestrated version and tried to capture some of the song’s incredible vulnerability,” notes Adi. Accompanied by a haunting trumpet sound, her intimate breathy vocals do this beautiful tune real justice.

News of the impending arrival of Night And Day (The Cole Porter Songbook) is already creating excitement in Germany, a market in which Adi has a loyal audience. There are plans to support the album with both orchestral performances there and across Canada, as well as presenting the material in a quintet setting.

The Canadian-born Adi Braun is a member of a highly distinguished musical family, her brother Russell Braun in an internationally renowned Canadian baritone and her late father Victor Braun was also an international opera star.
Adi began her career in the opera and classical world, and soon made the easy transition to jazz and cabaret over twenty years ago. Her debut jazz album, Delishious, came out exactly 20 years ago, and featured the legendary pianist the late Doug Riley. She has released four more albums since then, on her own Blue Rider imprint, and is now poised for a major career leap with the sublime Night And Day (The Cole Porter Songbook).

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