Christine Rosander is a major talent with a distinctive and haunting voice. Her debut CD, Smooth Ride, offers a wide variety of influences and inspirations blended together to create some very personal, heartfelt, and memorable music.
“Originally Smooth Ride was just going to have a few originals,” remembers Christine. “But after I met pianist Jane Getz through Louis Taylor, she encouraged me to write more material. The project took on a life of its own and it went in a different direction than I had originally planned. Jane also wrote a few songs for me to sing and persuaded me to play piano more. The CD fell magically into place without too much planning. It just seemed natural.” Christine’s ability as a songwriter had really blossomed in recent times and this project has brought out the very best in her very expressive singing.
For Smooth Ride, Christine Rosander is joined on various selections by Jane Getz (whose early career in New York as a jazz pianist was followed by a lengthy and very successful period in pop music before she returned to jazz in more recent times), pianist Deron Johnson, bassists Anders Swanson, Dan Lutz and Chris Colangelo, drummers Frank Wilson, Scotty Lund, Chris Blondel and Michael Barsimanto, percussionists Rich Mangicaro and Cassio Duarte, saxophonist Louis Van Taylor and trombonist Wendell Kelly. “I want to especially mention Bob Tucker who was co-producer, engineer and played all the guitars and even pedal steel on the album. He had a huge part in the sound and feeling of the record. I’m spoiled after working with him; he really knows how to record vocals as he showed on earlier recordings for the Temptations and India.Arie.”
While the supporting cast is strong, the focus throughout is on Christine’s vocal, her music and her storytelling. “There is an autobiographical theme that runs through the CD. There is a reflection of me in the songs, I now realize, about yearning and looking for relief. Many of the originals on this album have gospel influences and evoke a spiritual quest or journey” The program begins with the title cut, “Smooth Ride.” “It’s about wanting a little comfort, a smooth ride. This song was fun to sing, showing off my country gospel roots.” The cheerful lyrics are a request for love and stability.
“Kitten” is an upbeat love song that has a catchy melody and celebrates the joy of passionate love and “finding a little piece of sunshine.” “Cattle Press” was inspired by an NPR interview of an autistic woman, Temple Grandin. When she was a teenager, she noticed cattle being put into a squeeze machine so they could be doctored. When she saw how peaceful they became, she begged to be put into the cattle press too and immediately felt a calmness and relief. She has since become an animal scientist, designing more humane cattle presses used by both cows and autistic people. “This was so intriguing to me. I thought what would that be like to crave that pressure and find relief in it?” Christine’s song, which she co-wrote with Jane, says “Baby I need pressure, like a cattle press. Put your arms around me, squeeze out my regrets.” “Good Boy”, co-written with Ronnie Shelton, discusses the sadness of separation.
“Sailing,” which was co-wrote with her student, Sarah Chernoff and her husband Jeff Whitley, is about trying to repair a relationship before a couple drifts completely apart. The quintet spontaneously gave the song a reggae feel behind the vocals and the optimistic interpretation makes one believe that Christine’s plea will be answered. “I really enjoy singing Jane’s ‘My Heart is a Ghost Town.’ It is like a little movie, creating a strong atmosphere of a place and time with a lot of images. It also has the feeling of loss and yearning.” Jane Getz also wrote “The New Route 66.” Christine shows the influence of early Rickie Lee Jones on this nostalgic look at the beat generation.
“Boxer” is based on a real story about a troubled boxer, using his words and talking about how he finds release from the past. Linda Jackson’s background vocal is a major asset.
Jane Getz’s song “My Own Little World” is about finding a little place to call one’s own, even if it is just a dream. “Put Your Mind On Me,” one of the first songs written for the CD, also with Shelton, is an inspirational song that says, “Close your eyes and imagine a place where you can go, far away from cares that bind you and all the pain you know. You can have something deeper, just reach out your hand, put your mind on me and you will understand.” “Balm In Gilead,” is a hymn that Christine has always loved. “I heard this growing up in church and it meant so much to me. The word ‘balm’ sounded so strange, but I could feel the power in it, the comfort and the encouragement. I wanted to tap into that, and give the song a joyful groove and make it my own.” Smooth Ride concludes with the heartfelt “Traveling Mercy.” The song was inspired by the book Traveling Mercies, by Annie Lamott, and has Christine looking for help in finding answers. “It’s about a journey, about asking for strength and a bit of surrender too.”
Christine Rosander grew up in Northern California near Sacramento. Her mother was a piano and voice teacher and a church choir director. “I often heard her giving lessons, so that became the soundtrack for whatever I was doing. I remember my dad had a record collection with Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and cowboy singers that I listened to until I had every line memorized.” Christine had classical piano lessons from the age of four and often sang duets with her mother.
While attending college, Christine discovered jazz. “I had been thinking of doing classical music but, once I was introduced to jazz by my teacher Mrs. Perla Warren, I went in a different direction. I was painfully serious and studious at the time and the freedom of jazz opened me up. I loved the improvisation and styling and that I could take a song and make it my own.” She earned a bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance and Commercial Composing and Arranging from Cal State Long Beach and later became the first vocalist to earn a Masters degree from USC in Jazz Studies. After college, Christine worked with the a capella group Terra Nova, performed regularly in Los Angeles area clubs with her combo and became a music teacher, currently instructing around 25 students. She recorded several albums with the Doc Rutherford big band. Christine also sings with the Fab Four in their tribute to Wings, as Linda McCartney. “This has been so fun and surreal at times. We have performed in huge venues, with original Wings band members, drummer Denny Seiwell and lead guitarist Laurence Juber, and the fans are amazing.”
“I sang jazz for years, but I always had this deep desire to express myself though writing my own songs. When I met Jane Getz and we started this album; that was the catalyst to go in this new direction. Now my music, if I had to describe it, is a mix of Nina Simone, Rickie Lee Jones, Carole King and Joni Mitchell in style, but it also includes the influence of all of the many styles that I’ve heard in my life.”
Christine Rosander is enthusiastic about the future. “I really want more people to hear my music, and I think some of my songs would be perfect to use in films. I hope to keep writing, singing, touring with this group and growing as a singer, writer and person.” With the success of Smooth Ride, which displays her warm and touching vocals along with her ability to tell important stories in her music, Christine Rosander has made a major musical statement.
-Scott Yanow, writer for The Music Connection and author of nine jazz books, including Jazz on Film, Swing, Bebop, Trumpet Kings, and Jazz on Record 1917-76