Time, with all due respect to the Rolling Stones, is not on our side. That lesson came to jazz vocalist Laura Perlman the hard way.
Her debut album, “Precious Moments” (Miles High) is less of a collection of beautifully arranged and performed standards produced by jazz legend Mark Sherman than it is a scrapbook of a lifetime of musical ideas and vocal moments, unleashed here in this album. This is the amazing artist that Laura Perlman was meant to become.
Like many of us, practicality, paying the bills, and life in general can take us away from our path, our calling.
Perlman, who graduated from Berklee as a vocalist, and grew up on a steady diet of jazz greats like Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Sarah Vaughan, and Ella Fitzgerald, found her way into the world of music editing in Hollywood. She tracked and managed the different pieces of music used in the production, often creating “temp music” track created for the editorial versions of the film before the film is “locked” and the final score and actual music is recorded/chosen.
There she has been a huge success: Perlman has contributed wonderful music to more than 100 of the modern motion picture industry’s top feature films, including the cult classic Thelma and Louise, and runaway hit films like Driving Miss Daisy, Backdraft, and A League of Their Own.
With all of that, something was still missing, though. That is when Time, the great reminder stepped in.
In 2002, Perlman was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer. After almost a year of treatment, she beat the disease. The upside of winning her battle was her epiphany:
“All that I wanted to do was sing. The music seeped into my heart and soul, and it has never left.”
She sang to keep her spirits up. To keep everyone’s spirits up. And she went back to work in Hollywood.
Then, Time stepped in again. In 2012, she was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome, a rare blood disease.
“My doctors decided that I needed a bone marrow transplant, as that is the only cure.”
A stranger who had volunteered was a type match. On July 24, 2013, Perlman received her life-saving transplant. Day Zero of her second life began.
She decided: “I desperately needed to live.”
And so began the long, uphill climb from a second cancer and a bone marrow transplant. Time: Message received.
“When you battle for your life, your dreams become crystal clear,” Perlman says. “You realize how precious time really is.”
Her biggest dream, to sing on a jazz album, was the destiny of this new life.
Then Laura found a new ally in her quest: Fate.
Her brother, David, and Mark Sherman, a record producer, Juilliard Jazz professor, and DownBeat Critics Poll honored vibraphonist, were friends as kids in New York City.
David contacted Mark.
When Sherman heard her story, and then heard her demo recording, he decided that it was time for the debut, long overdue, to happen.
He reached out to some of the top jazz musicians in Los Angeles, and arranged all of the tracks save two, which GRAMMY® award winning pianist and arranger Bill Cunliffe, contributed. Bill brought in the wonderful bassist Chris Colangelo. Mark Sherman played vibraphone, and reached out to drum legend Joe LaBarbera to round out the quartet backing Laura.
“The biggest pleasant surprise was Laura herself,” Sherman reflects. “As I listen to the playback, I hear Laura crying out the lyrics of these classic standards that she selected. The passion reflects her fight for life itself in the most beautiful way.”
The resulting album are truly a few of Laura’s favorite things, precious moments that are the explosive joyous love of life that will entertain and inspire us for generations to come. Time may not be on our side, but a lull in its relentless drive has given both Laura, and the world, a moment to appreciate her musical gift to the world.
The album debuts January 15th and will be available world-wide on the Miles High Records label, through iTunes, Amazon, and wherever music is sold.
To support cancer research, add “Smile.” to the front of amazon.com and pick your favorite charity. Amazon will donate .5% of the proceeds of the sale of the album!
