Bill Scorzari Releases 3 Acoustic Singles to Accompany ‘The Crosswinds of Kansas’

Bill Scorzari Releases 3 Acoustic Singles to Accompany ‘The Crosswinds of Kansas’

“I – 70 East (Acoustic)” – Out THIS FRIDAY February 17

“The Broken Heart Side of the Road (Acoustic)” – AVAILABLE NOW! 

“Multnomah Falls (Acoustic)” – Out March 10

HUNTINGTON, NY —  With a rich, raspy voice and a remarkable ear for lyrics and composition, prolific songwriter Bill Scorzari is thrilled to release three acoustic versions of songs featured on his most recent album, The Crosswinds of Kansas (Independently Released Aug 2022): “The Broken Heart Side of the Road (Acoustic),” “I-70 East (Acoustic),” and “Multnomah Falls (Acoustic).” 

“Now that we’ve started a new year (Happy New Year!), it’s great to be able to look back at the good things that have come out of all of the effort we put into The Crosswinds of Kansas… It’s been a long road and I’m so grateful to everyone who has made it all possible,” says Bill. “As a thank you to everyone who has listened to and enjoyed the songs, I decided to release new versions of three tracks from the album, which I’ve re-recorded in a singer-songwriter style, with just acoustic guitar and vocals.”

The album was listed in Americana UK’s Top Albums of 2022! Mark Whitfield writes, “The simple use of imagery and clever phraseology make it a very poignant record at times… The pain on some tracks is visceral in its honesty—and Scorzari’s voice is the perfect match for these substantial songs.” 

Today (2/13), Americana UK premiered “1-70 East (Acoustic)” here: https://americana-uk.com/track-premiere-bill-scorzari-i-70-east-acoustic 

“Bill Scorzari has captured the sonic embodiment of the Tolkien quote ‘not all who wander are lost’ with each album he’s released, yet The Crosswinds of Kansas bleeds this sentiment with each chord and word. The vivid storytelling balances delicately on masterful musicianship to create a massively memorable album,” writes Nanobot Rock in their Top 10 Discoveries of 2022.

These stripped down versions reflect more of what seeing Bill perform live and solo is like, and had been requested by a handful of terrestrial radio stations. Recorded at his First Thunder Recording Studio in Huntington, NY, the abridged songs were mastered by Jim DeMain at Yes Master Studio in Nashville in 2022.

“The Broken Heart Side of the Road (Acoustic)” is the first of the three songs released—Hear it now at  https://billscorzari.hearnow.com/i-70-east-acoustic. Glide Magazine premiered the album version and wrote, “With its melancholy tone, Scorzari lends his gritty vocals to a work of dark Americana roots music…  a song that carries a stirring energy and a haunting tale.” Americana Highways’ John Apice wrote, “‘The Broken Heart Side of the Road,’ is pure Bill. Precise, an impressive composition that’s subtle & striking. Bullseye.” 

“I-70 East (Acoustic)” will be out February 17. Americana Highways’s Melissa Clarke calls it a, “song of the anguished parallels between an elderly mother fading and passing on, and a lover’s betrayal. He’s captured such pain. And the beauty of a Rose.” 

“Multnomah Falls (Acoustic)” weaves a chronicle of a rainy day’s hike into an account of the trials of change and transcendence. It will be out March 10. 

FervorCoulee’s Donald Tepylske says, “The poetic rhythm of Scorzari’s lyrics is most impressive… Scorzari doesn’t do conventional… Each song envelopes the listener, sharing its secrets and truths.” Jim Hynes of Glide Magazine seems to concur, “To be sure, one needs solitude to appreciate his literate craft, a blend of prose and poetry put to music, a Walt Whitman of sorts for our times… With Scorzari, one hangs not just onto every word, but just about every breath.” 

We hope that listeners will be as moved by the acoustic renditions as these folks were by the originals. Bill has also started working on a new album! It is too early to say when it might be finished; so stay tuned to Bill’s social media for more information as things start to gather momentum and move forward.

More about Bill Scorzari: Born and raised in New York, Bill transformed his life as a New York Trial Attorney to a new life as a full-time musician beginning around 2011. He has independently released four studio albums including 2014’s Just the Same, 2017’s Through These Waves (Produced by Jonah Tolchin at The Bomb Shelter in Nashville), 2019’s Now I’m Free (Produced by Neilson Hubbard at Skinny Elephant Recording in Nashville), and The 2022’s Crosswinds of Kansas (Co-Produced with Neilson Hubbard at First Thunder Recording and Skinny Elephant Recording). Some of the musical artists that can be heard on Bill’s albums include Fats Kaplin, Eamon McLoughlin, Matt Menefee, Will Kimbrough, Michael Rinne, Dan Mitchell, Juan Solarzano, Brent Burke, Marie Lewey, Cindy Richardson Walker, Joachim Cooder, Kim Richie, Chris Scruggs, Laur Joamets, Jonah Tolchin, Erin Rae, John Estes, and Kyle Tuttle, among others.

Scorzari’s music has been well received by the press over the years with nods from those mentioned above in addition to Billboard, Acoustic Guitar, No Depression, The Bluegrass Situation, The Boot, Music City Magazine, Music Mecca, Making A Scene!, The Aquarian Weekly’s Rant ‘n’ Roll, Country Standard Time, The Alternate Root, DittyTV, Beyond A Song, Australia’s Listening Through The Lens, Alt Country Netherlands, and more.   

His music can be heard on the airwaves across the country and beyond! The Crosswinds of Kansas made a handful of DJs’ Year End Lists including KPFA Radio’s Tim Lynch, XPN’s Chuck Elliot, KVMR’s Kim Rogers, WFPK’s Michael Young, and WWSP’s Jim Canales. In 2022, Bill did in depth interviews with WVTF’s Luke Church, Beyond A Song’s Rich Reardin, High Plains Public Radio’s This Is the Place with host Jenny Inzerilo, and The Long Island Sound Podcast with Steve Yusko. The Crosswinds of Kansas peaked at #4 on the Alt. Country Specialty Chart, hit #36 on the Folk DJ Chart, and #85 on The Americana Music Chart. Some of Scorzari’s top spins come from Americana Boogie Radio; WBCM in Bristol, VA; WVMO in Madison, WI; KNOW in St Paul, MN; and KSYM in San Antonio, TX. 

If you have not yet heard The Crosswind of Kansas, listen here https://billscorzari.hearnow.com/the-crosswinds-of-kansas.  
For more information, updates and tour dates, visit ww

Read Full Post »

Bill Scorzari Releases “The Broken Heart Side of the Road” from Upcoming Album: The Crosswinds of Kansas

Watch the Music Video for “The Broken Heart Side of The Road”

Bill Scorzari Releases 2nd Single
“The Broken Heart Side of the Road”
From Upcoming Album: The Crosswinds of Kansas

“With its melancholy tone, Scorzari lends his gritty vocals to a work of dark Americana roots music. Mandolin, banjo, and fiddle add to the rustic imagery of the lyrics, while a lonesome Dobro and soulful background vocals give the tune a sense of spirituality and depth. The result is a song that carries a stirring energy and a haunting tale.”—Glide Magazine – Song Premiere

“The Broken Heart Side of the Road” is Available Now

The Crosswinds of Kansas is Independently Released Aug 19

Pre-order The Crosswinds of Kansas

“Thirteen tracks at well over an hour provides plenty of evidence that Scorzari’s message is powerful and profound. The raspy, emotive voice and the chanting ruminations throughout are a joy… The Crosswinds of Kansas therefore has many vivid and sometimes dark stories to tell… [It] is an indisputable triumph and presented in a lavish, detailed CD package, which was an utter joy to review.” —Rob Dickens’ Listening Through The Lens

HUNTINGTON, NY — Today, Bill Scorzari is excited to release “The Broken Heart Side of the Road” as the 2nd single (and 2nd music video) from his upcoming album, The Crosswinds of Kansas (independently released Aug 19). In “The Broken Heart Side of the Road,” Scorzari recounts a hard tale of the destruction of a relationship, set to traditional roots music. 

He tells Glide Magazine, “I started writing ‘The Broken Heart Side of the Road’ back in 2015 and then it kind of fell off my radar for a while. When I returned to New York after the end of the Now I’m Free tour in 2019, I found that it fit really well with the other songs I was writing at the time, and so I made a few changes to the lyrics and reworked the song structure until it felt right. The lyrics sprouted right out of the chord progression and, at least on some level, are grounded in time I spent in my childhood, learning from my dad how to plant and care for growing things. I especially loved being able to work a lyric into the first chorus, about the risks of planting corn too early in the season. ‘And then a cold rain in the morning corkscrewed my cold-planted corn, and then half my crop took twice the time to grow.’” 

Bill recorded the acoustic guitar and vocal tracks for “The Broken Heart Side of the Road” (and much of the 13-track album) in his studio—First Thunder— in New York in late 2020. In mid 2021, after many people had gotten vaccinated and it appeared to be relatively safe to travel again, Bill drove to Skinny Elephant Recording in Nashville, TN (where he previously recorded Now I’m Free 2019) and met with album Co-Producer Neilson Hubbard (drums, percussion), Michael Rinne (upright bass), Fats Kaplin (fiddle), Matt Menefee (banjo), Brent Burke (Dobro), Will Kimbrough (mandolin), and Engineer Dylan Alldredge to record their parts live there together for the song. Later, in September of 2021, Bill returned to Nashville to work with Dylan on the final mixes and they recorded Marie Lewey and Cindy Richardson Walker, a/k/a The Shoals Sisters, singing the backing vocals to “The Broken Heart Side of the Road.” Lewy and Walker recorded backing vocals for a few of the other tracks. For some of the other songs, Rinne also plays electric bass, in addition to his upright, and Kaplin adds his richly melodic and rhythmic sensibilities on pedal steel guitar, and viola, in addition to his fiddle.

Album & Lyric Book Art & Design:
Anna Berman

Other musicians who joined in for the recording of The Crosswinds of Kansas during the Nashville sessions include Danny Mitchell on Hammond B3 organ and piano with a masterfully cinematic approach; Juan Solorzano on electric, slide, and baritone guitars with flawless technique and heart wrenching phrasing; Grand Ole Opry staff fiddle player Eamon McLoughlin; accomplished cellist Chelsea McGough; acclaimed banjo player Kyle Tuttle; and gifted vocalist Mia Rose Lynne on harmony vocals.

Much of The Crosswinds of Kansas was inspired by his Now I’m Free Tour in 2019—which had become a journey of self discovery, with Bill ultimately arriving at a new awareness and desire to adapt and continue to create. He made his way from the east coast, toward, and around the west coast and back, traveling under two full moons, visiting waterfalls, hiking, climbing, pondering and processing his life experiences of loss, gain and change, and at times composed haiku as a way to pass the time. The tour came to a sudden early end as Bill learned of the decline in the health of his then 94 year old mother. 

The album begins with “I-70 East,” an electric-guitar-driven song that came to him while driving home from the Now I’m Free Tour. Scorzari sings, “Then, came the crosswinds of Kansas unleashed, and it pushed me hard, north and south, all down I-70 east… As I tore home to my mother, before her health, it would fail, at 94, I felt another love leaving me lost, like a nail in a cross.”

Bill says, “When I wrote ‘I-70 East,’ I immediately knew that it was going to be the first track on this new album, even before I wrote the others, and when you cue up this record, it’ll be the first song that you hear when the music begins.” It was also the first single released from the album. Americana Highways premiered the music video for the song and says, “He’s captured such pain. And the beauty of a Rose.”

The 13 original tracks on The Crosswinds of Kansas have many stories to tell including the enlightened “All Behind Me Now,” the life-affirming “1, 2, 3, Jump,” the fast-moving acoustic jam of “A Ghost, My Hat and My Coat,” and the rhythmic, semi-autobiographical, sound-collage “The Measure of a Man.” 

Bill says, “I found that a lot of the songs on this record wound up having an upbeat feel, even when the lyrical content wasn’t necessarily upbeat, or at least not primarily or entirely so. It’s a very satisfying thing when that happens, like positivity shining through and prevailing over our struggles with adversity.”

In the rootsy “The Broken Heart Side of the Road” Scorzari recounts the destruction of a relationship, while the upbeat “Multnomah Falls” weaves a rainy day’s hike into a story of the trials of change and transcendence, and the orchestral “Oceans In Your Eyes” recounts perilous navigation through enchanted waters. The wistful melody and promising lyrics of “Patience and Time” bring a haunting nostalgia which reemerges as the central theme of the hypnotic, plaintive “Try, Try Again,” and prescience triumphs in 

uncertain circumstance in the folksy “Not Should’ve Known.”

“Inside My Heart” features a mix of contemporary and Indigenous instruments and opens with the bell chime of a Tibetan singing bowl, a cluster of claw-hammer banjo notes, and a Native American flute flourish, while “Tryin’,Tryin’,Tryin’,Tryin’,” the final track on the album, has an intriguing story behind it which resulted in Bill learning Navajo from the flutemaker for the song, a Navajo man named Ty Allison and his friends.

Photography by Jacob Blickenstaff

Bill Scorzari is a New York native, with a richly raspy voice and a stellar ear for lyrics and composition. At a later age, he transformed his life as a New York Trial Attorney, to a new life as an accomplished, full-time musician. His discography includes four full-length albums: Just the Same (2014), Through These Waves (2017), and Now I’m Free (2019)—-all independently released to critical acclaim. Acoustic Guitar’s Pat Moran wrote, “New York-based singer-songwriter Bill Scorzari transcends titles like songwriter or poet. He catapults past categories into a dark, ruminative, and ultimately life-affirming realm where family folklore, memories, pain, prayer, and incantation meet.” Scorzari dives deeper into these themes with his 4th studio album, The Crosswinds of Kansas, which will be out on August 19.

For more information, updates and tour dates, visit www.BillScorzari.com. 

Pre-order The Crosswinds of Kansas at https://billscorzari.hearnow.com/the-crosswinds-of-kansas. 

Bill Scorzari — The Crosswinds of Kansas
Track Listing & Credits:
1.) I-70 East (3:16)
2.) Inside My Heart (5:09)
3.) All Behind Me Now (6:01)
4.) Multnomah Falls (4:21)
5.) Oceans In Your Eyes (4:14)
6.) Not Should’ve Known (5:23)
7.) The Broken Heart Side of the Road (4:38)
8.) A Ghost, My Hat and My Coat (4:23)
9.) Patience and Time (6:15)
10.) 1, 2, 3, Jump (6:29)
11.) Try, Try Again (5:17)
12.) The Measure of a Man (4:02)
13.) Tryin’, Tryin’,Tryin’,Tryin’ (11:56)

Read Full Post »

Bill Scorzari Independently Releases ‘The Crosswinds of Kansas’ —Co-Produced by Neilson Hubbard 8/19— 1st Single Out Now

Bill Scorzari Independently Releases
The Crosswinds of Kansas
August 19, 2022

First Single “I-70 East” Available Now at Spotify,Amazon, and Apple

The Musicians:
Bill Scorzari, Brent Burke, Cindy Richardson Walker and Marie Lewey a/k/a “The Shoals Sisters,” Chelsea McGough, Danny Mitchell, Eamon McLoughlin, Fats Kaplin, Juan Solorzano, Kyle Tuttle, Matt Menefee, Mia Rose Lynne, Michael Rinne, Neilson Hubbard, Ty Allison, Will Kimbrough 

Co-Produced by Scorzari and Hubbard,
The Crosswinds of Kansas Was Recorded in Two Locations:
First Thunder Recording Studios by Scorzari in Huntington, NY
and Skinny Elephant Recording by Engineer Dylan Alldredge in Nashville

HUNTINGTON, NY — “New York-based singer-songwriter Bill Scorzari transcends titles like songwriter or poet. He catapults past categories into a dark, ruminative, and ultimately life-affirming realm where family folklore, memories, pain, prayer, and incantation meet,” says Acoustic Guitar. Scorzari, a prolific songwriter, has taken his craft to new heights and deeper depths with his 4th studio album, The Crosswinds of Kansas which will be independently released on August 19.

Much of The Crosswinds of Kansas was inspired by his three-month-long Now I’m Free Tour in 2019—which had become a journey of self discovery, with Bill ultimately arriving at a new awareness and desire to adapt and continue to create. He had made his way from the east coast, toward, and around the west coast and back, traveling under two full moons, visiting waterfalls, hiking, climbing, pondering and processing his life experiences of loss, gain and change, and at times composed haiku as a way to pass the time on the long drives between performances, until the tour came to an unexpected early end when Bill learned of the sudden decline in the health of his then 94 year old mother back home in NY.

Bill started his four-day drive home back east from California; when he got to Kansas on the second day, the winds were blowing so hard North and South across I-70 East that he had to fight the steering wheel for hours just to keep his car going straight down the highway. He stopped in Hays, KS for the night and woke up the next morning with a sore neck and arms from wrestling those tenacious crosswinds the day before. The following lines came to him while he was driving, “Then, came the crosswinds of Kansas unleashed, and it pushed me hard, north and south, all down I-70 east… As I tore home to my mother, before her health, it would fail, at 94, I felt another love leaving me lost, like a nail in a cross.”

Bill says, “When I wrote ‘I-70 East,’ I immediately knew that it was going to be the first track on this new album, even before I wrote the others, and when you cue up this record, it’ll be the first song that you hear when the music begins.” “I-70 East” is the first single to be released and is available now to stream or purchase → https://billscorzari.hearnow.com/i-70-east. Americana Highways premiered the music video for the song and says, “He’s captured such pain. And the beauty of a Rose.”

After arriving back home in NY and securing 24-hour care for his mom in late 2019, Bill took a deep breath, and began to write. Some of the songs were new creations and some were reworkings of songs from his back catalog which also fit well within the themes and moods of what was becoming the new album. He spent the early days of the Covid lockdown finishing the songs, gathering the right instruments to fit the music, and building out his studio—First Thunder— where he recorded much of the album. All the while, he continued to share time with his mom daily, until she passed at home on Christmas Day 2020 with Bill and family at her bedside, less than seven weeks before her 96th Birthday. 

With Scorzari drawing inspiration from a full palette of moods and emotions, the 13 original tracks on The Crosswinds of Kansas have many stories to tell— some confront the darker emotions head-on. Bill says, “I found that a lot of the songs on this record wound up having an upbeat feel, even when the lyrical content wasn’t necessarily upbeat, or at least not primarily or entirely so. It’s a very satisfying thing when that happens, like positivity shining through and prevailing over our struggles with adversity.”  

Scorzari recounts a hard tale of the destruction of a relationship in the rootsy “The Broken Heart Side of the Road,” while “Multnomah Falls” weaves a chronicle of a rainy day’s hike into an account of the trials of change and transcendence set to cascading mandolin lines. The orchestral “Oceans In Your Eyes” recounts a perilous navigation through an enchanted captivation, and a wistfully nostalgic “Patience and Time” haunts with lyrics, “… and I don’t think there’s anything that’s ever been as ‘this much’ on my mind. And with each day that’s passed I’m holding fast to patience and time, ‘cause nothing can outlast patience and time.”

Nostalgia is revisited in the hypnotic “Try, Try Again” and “Not Should’ve Known” presents a combination of uncertainty and prescience with its lyrics, “I’m just waitin’ for the courage to accept what I can’t change. Still, I can’t help but worry ‘bout how sometimes things turn strange and how with every situation that confronts me to my core, there comes a realization that I seem to have had before… what if I knew, and not should’ve known?” 

With the electric-guitar-driven opening track ”I-70 East,” the transcendent “All Behind Me Now,” the uplifting “1, 2, 3, Jump,” the fast-moving acoustic jam of “A Ghost, My Hat and My Coat,” and the rhythmic, semi-autobiographical, sound-collage that is “The Measure of a Man,” Scorzari achieves a beautiful balance in this new collections of songs.

Bringing a mix of contemporary and Indigenous instruments, “Inside My Heart” opens with the bell chime of a Tibetan singing bowl, a cluster of claw-hammer banjo notes and a Native American flute flourish, while the intriguing backstory of the making of the album finds Bill learning his lyrics in Navajo from a Navajo flutemaker named Ty Allison and his friends, and recording those lyrics, and the two flutes made by Ty, onto the final track, “Tryin’, Tryin’, Tryin’, Tryin’.” 

Bill says of learning Navajo, “It was an incredible honor for me. Beyond words. I’m also going to very candidly say that it was, however, no small task, and something that I would not have been able to do without the patient teaching, support and encouragement by, and friendship of Ty, Caleb and David. It is a connection that I will always cherish.”

The album was recorded in two locations—beginning in 2020 at First Thunder Recording Studios in Huntington, NY, by Scorzari during the Covid outbreak and through the continued lockdown into 2021, and continuing at Skinny Elephant Recording in Nashville, TN, by Engineer Dylan Alldredge in 2021 and again in 2022. 

Acclaimed record producer, film director, film producer, singer-songwriter, and photographer, Neilson Hubbard joined Bill as Co-Producer during the Nashville sessions, and also played drums and/or percussion on all of the tracks. Bill says, “Neilson has, among many other things, produced records for Mary Gauthier, Sam Baker, Kim Richey, and others, and his musical and production sense is spot on, and it appears to be effortlessly so. The man has a gift, and I am so very grateful for his friendship and for his many great talents which he has shared with me over the past several years.”

The musicians who joined in for the recording of The Crosswinds of Kansas include the following folks who, along with Scorzari and Hubbard, make up the band’s core: Michael Rinne [Willie Nelson, Rodney Crowel, Jack White, Miranda Lambert] brings his impeccable musical sense and technique on upright and electric bass as the perfect foundation for these new songs; Danny Mitchell [Miranda Lambert] played Hammond B3 Organ and Piano on this record with a masterfully cinematic approach; Fats Kaplin [John Prine, Jack White, Nancy Griffith] added his richly melodic and rhythmic sensibilities playing pedal steel guitar, fiddle, and viola; and Juan Solorzano plays electric, slide, and baritone guitars with flawless technique and heart wrenching phrasing.

Bill Scorzari. Photography by Jacob Blickenstaff 

Additional players joining in on several tracks during the summer 2021 Nashville sessions include Matt Menefee [Bela Fleck, Dan Auerbach, Ricky Skaggs] AKA “Matt, TheBanjoPlayer” on banjo; world class Dobro player Brent Burke [Rhonda Vincent and The Rage]; the multi-talented Will Kimbrough on mandolin; accomplished cellist Chelsea McGough; acclaimed banjo player Kyle Tuttle; and gifted vocalist Mia Rose Lynne on harmony vocals. 

Later, in September of 2021, Bill returned to Nashville to work with Dylan on the final mixes. But before doing so, he brought in a few other stellar musicians to wrap up the final recordings including Eamon McLoughlin [Staff Fiddle Player at The Grand Ole Opry, Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell] who played violin on 2 songs, and the incomparable Marie Lewey and Cindy Richardson Walker [AKA The Shoals Sisters] who sang backing vocals on 4 songs.

In early 2022, Bill recorded some backing vocal and harmony vocal tracks for the song, “Tryin’, Tryin’, Tryin’, Tryin’” at his studio in New York. For the final piece to complete the record, he asked Ty to send him a short cell phone recording of himself singing a Navajo chant, which Bill edited to make it sound like a historically older recording before adding it in at the end of the song. It’s also the very last sound on the album. Bill says, “When I was done and listened back to it, the song (and the album) felt complete, and the history it has gathered is abundant and beautiful.”

Bill says, “For me, the journey that had begun in 2019 (and in many respects, much earlier), became a journey into the depths of my soul, not just in a nebulous aspirational or conceptual sense, but in its fruition, and this album is a record of many of the ways in which it has all unfolded for me so far. I’m grateful for the opportunity to have occupied my time with this effort and for the opportunity to continue to participate in the dance that is life, through this pandemic and beyond.”

He continues, “It has been an arduous and relentless trek to the ultimate discovery that we are here simply to dwell in the experience of being human and to come to know that wherever that experience may take us, and to whatever heights or depths we may rise or fall in it, it is all nothing less than an unspeakably generous and miraculous gift of life and great love.”

More about Bill Scorzari: 

Bill Scorzari is a New York native, with a richly raspy voice and a stellar ear for lyrics and composition. At a later age, he transformed his life as a New York Trial Lawyer, to a new life as an accomplished, full-time musician. To date, his discography includes four full-length albums: Just the Same (2014), Through These Waves (2017), and Now I’m Free (2019)—-all independently released to critical acclaim.

Through These Waves landed on many Top-Ten-Albums-of-2017 lists including Folk Alley and Elmore Magazine, with Elmore saying, “…this is a must hear for singer-songwriter aficionados.” More recently, Now I’m Free was premiered by Billboard, with an exclusive interview by Gary Graff who described the album as “delicately nuanced” with “detailed arrangements” and Glide Magazine’s Jim Hynes wrote, “Like them [Dylan, Waits, Kristofferson, and Sam Baker] too, Scorzari’s facility with words and poetic flair, instills a calming wisdom and creaks of hope among the dark.”

More information can be found at: www.billscorzari.com.

Pre-order The Crosswinds of Kansas at https://billscorzari.hearnow.com/the-crosswinds-of-kansas. 

Album Art & Design by Anna Berman

www.billscorzari.com

Read Full Post »

New York Lawyer-Turned-Musician, Bill Scorzari’s ‘Now I’m Free’ Out Today, Produced by Neilson Hubbard, w/ Erin Rae, Will Kimbrough

Bill Scorzari Releases His 3rd Studio Album, Now I’m Free, September 20, 2019

Produced by Neilson Hubbard at Skinny Elephant Recording,With Performances by Erin Rae, Will Kimbrough, Eamon McLoughlin, Michael Rinne

Out Now →   https://nowimfree.hearnow.com

Huntington, NY —  With a raw and gritty sound, along with a stellar ear for lyrics and composition, New York native Bill Scorzari independently releases his third full-length album of all original music, Now I’m Free, on September 20. Produced by Neilson Hubbard (Orphan Brigade), Now I’m Free was recorded and mixed by engineer Dylan Alldredge at Skinny Elephant Recording in Inglewood, TN and mastered by Jim DeMain at Yes Master Studios.

Hubbard says, “Bill tears himself open on these 15 songs and leaves it all out there in plain sight. He is an open book delivering a record of astonishing intimacy… and the gravel and whispers in his voice carry a true knockout punch.”

Scorzari’s songs transition through a multitude of emotions centered on the experiences of the human condition and are, at times, downright sad. Of his music, some say it’s spoken word, and others, an amalgam of the voice of Tom Waits, the delivery of Sam Baker, and the soul of Kris Kristofferson. In his lyrics, there is a poetic grace, a calming and resigned wisdom of acceptance that shines through the wistful melancholy of hope, and breaks free. 

Bill says of the record, “During the past three years and beyond, I found myself in a place that demanded prolonged introspection and profound healing to be able to navigate through and journey past. This record is a journal of some of the lessons and discoveries that I’ve encountered along the way.”

Kind Words About Now I’m Free:

“delicately nuanced” with “detailed arrangements”
—Billboard, Gary Graff, Exclusive Interview and Full Album Stream

“There are poets, there are songwriters, there are painters of fine art, and there’s Bill Scorzari. The new album, Now I’m Free is a bold and delicate balance of each. To say it is a thing of beauty is an understatement… To compare Now I’m Free to the other albums released at this time would be unfair to the industry. Perhaps Dylan or Townes could go toe to toe, but my money’s on Scorzari. He makes me want to be a better writer. His writing is vivid and succinct.” —Making A Scene!, Viola Krouse

“There may be a handful of songwriters as good as Scorzari but no one else could deliver these stunning songs. It’s even deeper and every bit as good as his last one. Bigger names will get more recognition but Scorzari’s getting there. He did play the Newport Folk Festival this year. He has my vote for Americana Album of the Year.” —Glide, Jim Hynes

This new album simply blows me away… you might want to think about Tom Waits a little, but better… The thing that impresses me is, of course, is the fact that [Bill’s] voice is very distinctive, there is no question about the fact, that if someone hears this, hears this music, hears your new album, they are gonna know: this is Bill Scorzari, because there’s not many people that have this voice and evoke this kind of emotion.
—Mostly Folk, WIOX Catskills Cafe, Artie Martello

Bill says “I could feel some of the old 1970s ‘country rock’ (Marshall Tucker Band, Charlie Daniels Band…) influences from my youth welling up and flowing out and that made writing this song a whole lot of fun.”
—The Bluegrass Situation premiered the uptempo “Treat Me Kind”

“A stunning work. Bill’s poetic lyrics are a frozen rope to the heart.”
—Podcast interview on The Marinade with Jason Earle

“With a somber musical style and a hushed, gritty vocal that rises like the morning mist to mingle with Erin Rae’s grounded tones, ‘It All Matters’ is just outright pretty. Now I’m Free should be nominated for awards this year with its depth of grace and innovative tones; Scorzari taps into a nexus between the familiar and the uncanny.”
—Americana Highways Song Premiere of “It All Matters,” Melissa Clarke

“Like the songs on his last CD… the ones here are all original, deeply personal and affecting; and Scorzari’s earthy vocals, which are just a bit less sandpapery than Dave Van Ronk’s, drive them home. With any luck, this guy is going places, and chances are, you’ll want to follow along for the ride.”  
—The Morton Report, Americana Highways, Jeff Burger

“Like singer-songwriters, Kris Kristofferson, Leonard Cohen, and Tom Waits, Bill’s raspy baritone snarls, hisses, and whispers through his heartfelt lyrics. Sometimes leaving the melody and just speaking the words, he comes off like a modern-day Rod McKuen, sweeping us up in his narratives and wringing out their plaintive content.
—WTCA 106.1 FM & 1050 AM, South Bend Tribune, Kathy Bottorf

“Fans of Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young and anyone who likes quality song writing will dig this” —Live Music News and Review, Phil Simon

“A superb singer/songwriter with an outlaw rasp and a heavy-hearted soul”
—The Ripple Effect

“Wonderfully gruff and oozing with emotion and raw honesty.”
—Listening Through The Lens, Rob Dickens

“Singer-songwriter Bill Scorzari skates in the ether with a sort of Ry Cooder ambient dream. But his voice is absolutely of the earth with its whiskey-borne rasp. Scorzari sings in the folk tradition of those who aren’t afraid to jerk a few tears but doesn’t mask his intentions or pull any punches. Sometimes the man gets mean.”
—Rochester City Newspaper, Frank De Blase

______________________________________

More about Bill Scorzari and Now I’m Free:

Bill Scorzari. Photo by Jim Marchese

The album was performed live in the studio by Scorzari and a long list of critically acclaimed and otherwise notable musicians including, Hubbard on drums/percussion and piano, multi-instrumentalist Will Kimbrough, vocalist Erin Rae (Americana Music Association nominee for Best Emerging Artist of 2019), fiddler/strings Eamon McGloughlin (AMA nominee for Best Instrumentalist of 2019), upright and electric bass player Michael Rinne (AMA nominee for Best Instrumentalist of 2019), Brent Burke on Dobro, Juan Solorzano on electric guitar and lap steel, lap steel player and vocalist Megan McCormick, Greg Krockta on harmonica, and vocalist Mia Rose Lynne.

Throughout the entire album, Bill’s authenticity as a songwriter moves you through his music breath by breath. Profound and poetic, Scorzari’s emotionally charged and introspective compositions are sung with a knowing tenderness of heart. 

Bill transformed his life at a later age from being a New York trial lawyer turned full-time musician. In 2008, he stumbled upon a Live-at-Paste recording of Justin Townes Earle performing “Mama’s Eyes.” The song resonated within his soul and sparked the kind of life-altering moment that you hear a person speak of, that singular moment when everything changed. Although he picked up his first guitar at just 8 years old, it wasn’t until 2011 that he was able to give his artistry the attention it deserves. 

The passing of Bill’s father and role-model, whose footsteps he had followed into the practice of law, marked a time of profound change and opened a new chapter – one that required a giant leap towards pursuing a passion that had long been tucked away in Bill’s heart. Bill put out his first album, Just the Same, in 2014, followed by Through These Waves (produced by Jonah Tolchin) in 2017. The three albums (and their titles) that he created thereafter, represent the narrative and catharsis of his journey: past, present and future.

The success of his first two records allowed Bill to share stages with Sarah Jarosz, Sam Outlaw, The Dustbowl Revival, Tall Tall Trees, Seldom Scene, Billy Strings, Frank Fairfield, Tom Marion, Zak Sokolow, Jonah Tolchin, Jenni Lyn Gardner (Della Mae), Jeff Scroggins and Colorado, Twisted Pine, Whiskey Myers, Big Country, and others. In July of 2019, Bill became “One of the folk,” with his inaugural performance at the Newport Folk Festival.

This third installment in his discography, Now I’m Free, offers a deeper and unguarded look into Scorzari’s soul, weathered and bared, and rooted in the present moment while moving freely into the unspoken promises of the future.

For more information, up-dates and news, please visit www.billscorzari.com, www.facebook.com/billscorzari, www.twitter.com/BillScorzari, and www.instagram.com/billscorzari.

Now I’m Free Track Listing:

1. Into the Light of the Day (5:07)
2. Over Again (4:40)
3. Now I’m Free (3:44)
4. It All Matters (4:35)
5. One More Time (4:07)
6. When Will My Time Come Along (3:58) 
7. Treat Me Kind (3:23)
8. San Miguel County (4:36)
9. It’s Just What I Know (4:47)
10. Steel Wheels (4:48)
11. You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone (2:59)
12. Yes I Will (10:51)
13. Cypress Tree (3:37)
14. Don’t You Ever Go Away From Me (4:20)
15. New Mexico (I to Mine) (7:20)

PERFORMANCE CREDITS BY MUSICIAN
Bill Scorzari: Vocals and Acoustic Guitar
Erin Rae: Harmony Vocal (Track 4)
Mia Rose Lynne: Harmony Vocals (Tracks 2, 14)
Will Kimbrough: Electric Guitar (Tracks 5, 7, 10, 15), Slide Guitar (Track 7), Mandolin (Track 11), Cigar Box Guitar (Track 14), Piano (Track 5)
Juan Solorzano: Electric Guitar (Tracks 1, 4, 7, 9, 10, 12), Lap Steel Guitar (Tracks 2, 8, 9, 11), 2nd Acoustic Guitar (Tracks 4, 15)
Megan McCormick: Lap steel (Tracks 1, 3, 4, 6, 13), Harmony Vocal (Track 6)
Brent Burke: Dobro
Greg Krockta: Harmonica
Michael Rinne: Upright Bass & Electric Bass
Neilson Hubbard: Drums/Percussion, Piano (Track 14)

All songs, lyrics and music written, arranged and performed by Bill Scorzari

For more information, up-dates and news, please visit www.billscorzari.com, www.facebook.com/billscorzari, www.twitter.com/BillScorzari, and www.instagram.com/billscorzari. 

 

Read Full Post »

Bill Scorzari Releases 1st Single From New Album, Produced by Neilson Hubbard, Feat. Erin Rae

Bill Scorzari Releases His 3rd Studio Album, Now I’m Free, September 20, 2019

Born of the past three years’ introspection and contemplation of the human condition, Scorzari writes some of his most compelling compositions to date

Produced by Neilson Hubbard at Skinny Elephant Recording,
With Performances by Erin Rae, Will Kimbrough, Eamon McLoughlin, Michael Rinne, and more

First Single “It All Matters” Out Now →  https://itallmatters.hearnow.com

 

“With a somber musical style and a hushed, gritty vocal that rises like the morning mist to mingle with Erin Rae’s grounded tones, ‘It All Matters’ is just outright pretty. Now I’m Free should be nominated for awards this year with its depth of grace and innovative tones; Scorzari taps into a nexus between the familiar and the uncanny.” —Americana Highways

Pre-order with “It All Matters” available now on iTunes

(Huntington, NY) —  On September 20, New York native, Bill Scorzari, independently releases his third full-length album of all original music titled, Now I’m Free. His sound is gritty, raw and at times, downright sad. His songs transition through a multitude of emotions, with themes centered on the experiences of the human condition. Of his music, some say it’s spoken word, and others, an amalgam of the voice of Tom Waits, the delivery of Sam Baker, and the soul of Kris Kristofferson. In his lyrics, there is a poetic grace, a calming and resigned wisdom of acceptance that shines through the wistful melancholy of hope, and breaks free. No Depression wrote, “Bill Scorzari is a force. His songwriting is stellar, his picking above par and his voice fits his songs perfectly.”

Bill says of the record, “During the past three years and beyond, I found myself in a place that demanded prolonged introspection and profound healing to be able to navigate through and journey past. This record is a journal of some of the lessons and discoveries that I’ve encountered along the way.”

Produced by Neilson Hubbard (Orphan Brigade), Now I’m Free was recorded and mixed by engineer Dylan Alldredge at Skinny Elephant Recording in Inglewood, TN and mastered by Jim DeMain at Yes Master Studios. Hubbard says, “Bill tears himself open on these 15 songs and leaves it all out there in plain sight. He is an open book delivering a record of astonishing intimacy… and the gravel and whispers in his voice carry a true knockout punch.”

The album was performed live in the studio by Scorzari and a long list of critically acclaimed and otherwise notable musicians including, Hubbard on Drums/Percussion, Multi-Instrumentalist Will Kimbrough, Vocalist Erin Rae (Americana Music Association nominee for Best Emerging Artist of 2019), Fiddler/Strings Eamon McGloughlin (AMA nominee for Best Instrumentalist of 2019), Upright and Electric Bass player Michael Rinne (AMA nominee for Best Instrumentalist of 2019), Brent Burke on Dobro, Juan Solorzano on Electric Guitar and Lap Steel, Lap Steel player and Vocalist Megan McCormick, Greg Krockta on Harmonica, and Vocalist Mia Rose Lynne.

 

Bill Scorzari. Photo by Jim Marchese

Throughout the entire album, Bill’s authenticity as a songwriter moves you through his music breath by breath. Profound and poetic, Scorzari’s emotionally charged and introspective compositions are sung with a knowing tenderness of heart.

 

The album opens with “Into the Light Of the Day,” of which Scorzari says, “Faith and trust are so important. When they are called into question, for whatever reason, it becomes difficult to see things clearly. We become distressed, and our distress makes it even harder to find clarity… Nothing can resolve until we look directly at it and confront the full depth of it all. The first step toward doing that is both the most difficult and the most liberating step, taking what troubles you into the light of the day.” 

This is fitting to describe Bill’s music in general and his approach of digging deeper into his own depth and bringing his thoughts and experiences honestly and authentically into the light through the medium of music.

He writes in the title track, “Now I’m Free,” “So, I stood there by the waterfall flowing from the bridal veil, with an angel dressed in rags. She said, ‘To hell you ride.’ And, to hell we sailed. And, we never did look back. And, she said, ‘Every word I say is true and someday you will see, spending all of our time always tryin’ to break through, leaves us no time for tryin’ to break free, and it’s time to break free.’”

Another standout track on the album is the first single, “It All Matters,” with Erin Rae adding vocal harmony. When asked about what the lyrics of this track mean to him, Scorzari says, “It’s so important to be attentive to each other. The way toward that goal, is to start to be more attentive to ourselves, to heal what needs to be healed in us and to find a path forward to our own better existence… It’s never too late to shine a light through the darkness... The big things are important, but so are the little things. It all matters.”

The nearly 11-minutes of “Yes I Will” were recorded in an unrehearsed, epic “first take” in which Bill sings, “And, I know these thoughts will come and that they will go again, and yes, I know, yes, I can still chase the harder days away with just some paper and a pen, the way the sun will rise and embrace the white moon in its own black skies, and then there’ll be no need to try to make me smile. Won’t you help me to more easily reveal my broken soul?...  I’m only distracted by my motion when I’m intent on standing still. And, if you let me have the time to just keep on tryin’ to break through, just to be human, well then, yes, I will.” 

Bill Scorzari. Photo by Jim Marchese

There is a wide variety of soundscapes in Now I’m Free, ranging from the slow country waltz of “Over Again,” the catchy uptempo road song “Treat Me Kind,” the sleepy-slow, intoxicating, drunken-swaying groove in “San Miguel County,” the crushingly intimate and breathtaking “One More Time,” and the raging blues number, “Steel Wheels.”

“When Will My Time Come Along” is a humble reminder of the seemingly endless struggles we must endure, and the importance of small accomplishments made along the way towards larger pursuits. It’s chord progression manifested easily in Scorzari’s mind, as did the lyrics for “It’s Just What I Know,” when he found himself in that “longed-for space where the words you’ve desperately searched for, and have been struggling with how to say, suddenly arrive as a gift in an unfettered moment of clarity.”

Although he picked up his first guitar at just 8 years old, it wasn’t until 2011 that he was able to give his artistry the attention it deserves. The passing of Bill’s father and role-model, whose footsteps he had followed into the practice of law, marked a time of profound change and opened a new chapter – one that required a giant leap towards pursuing a passion that had long been tucked away in Bill’s heart. The three albums (and their titles) that he created thereafter, represent the narrative and catharsis of his journey: past, present and future. 

The first two, Just the Same (2014) and Through These Waves (2017), were both released to critical acclaim. Waves, a spring release, made several best-album-of-2017 lists, including Folk Alley and Elmore Magazine. Jim Hynes, in his review of Waves in Elmore, says of Bill, “…his thoughtful, cinematically shaped songs that continue to resonate after repeated listens. Yes, this is a ‘must hear’ for singer-songwriter aficionados.” One such aficionado, WFUV’s John Platt, says, “Bill Scorzari has a lived-in voice that says, ‘Listen to these songs. They spring from the earth and the ocean with an open heart and the wisdom of experience.’” 

The success of his first two records allowed Bill to share stages with Sarah Jarosz, Sam Outlaw, The Dustbowl Revival, Tall Tall Trees, Seldom Scene, Billy Strings, Frank Fairfield, Tom Marion, Zak Sokolow, Jonah Tolchin, Jenni Lyn Gardner (Della Mae), Jeff Scroggins and Colorado, Twisted Pine, Whiskey Myers, Big Country, and many others. In July of 2019, Bill became “One of the folk,” with his inaugural performance at the Newport Folk Festival.

This third installment in his discography, Now I’m Free, offers a deeper and unguarded look into Scorzari’s soul, weathered and bared, and rooted in the present moment while moving freely into the unspoken promises of the future.

For more information, up-dates and news, please visit www.billscorzari.com, www.facebook.com/billscorzari, www.twitter.com/BillScorzari, and www.instagram.com/billscorzari.  

Now I’m Free Track Listing:

1. Into the Light of the Day (5:07)
2. Over Again (4:40)
3. Now I’m Free (3:44)
4. It All Matters (4:35)
5. One More Time (4:07)
6. When Will My Time Come Along (3:58) 
7. Treat Me Kind (3:23)
8. San Miguel County (4:36)
9. It’s Just What I Know (4:47)
10. Steel Wheels (4:48)
11. You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone (2:59)
12. Yes I Will (10:51)
13. Cypress Tree (3:37)
14. Don’t You Ever Go Away From Me (4:20)
15. New Mexico (I to Mine) (7:20)

PERFORMANCE CREDITS BY MUSICIAN
Bill Scorzari: Vocals and Acoustic Guitar
Erin Rae: Harmony Vocal (Track 4)
Mia Rose Lynne: Harmony Vocals (Tracks 2, 14)
Will Kimbrough: Electric Guitar (Tracks 5, 7, 10, 15), Slide Guitar (Track 7), Mandolin (Track 11), Cigar Box Guitar (Track 14), Piano (Track 5)
Juan Solorzano: Electric Guitar (Tracks 1, 4, 7, 9, 10, 12), Lap Steel Guitar (Tracks 2, 8, 9, 11), 2nd Acoustic Guitar (Tracks 4, 15)
Megan McCormick: Lap steel (Tracks 1, 3, 4, 6, 13), Harmony Vocal (Track 6)
Brent Burke: Dobro
Greg Krockta: Harmonica
Michael Rinne: Upright Bass & Electric Bass
Neilson Hubbard: Drums/Percussion, Piano (Track 14)

All songs, lyrics and music written, arranged and performed by Bill Scorzari

 

Bill Scorzari Tour Dates

8/24 Sat – Taste Budd’s Cafe’ – Red Hook, NY
8/25 Sun – Dogwood Bread Company – Wadhams, NY
8/26 Mon – Radio Bean – Burlington, VT
8/27 Tue – Abilene Bar and Lounge – Rochester, NY
8/30 Fri – Plain Folk Cafe’ Music & Coffee House – Pleasant Plain, OH
8/31 Sat – Over Yonder House Concerts – Toledo, OH
9/1 Sun – Visible Voice – Cleveland, OH
9/4 Wed – Uncommon Ground – Edgewater Listening Room – Chicago, IL
9/5 Thu – The Elbo Room – Chicago, IL
9/6 Fri –  Wild Rose Moon – Plymouth, IN
9/7 Sat – Wild Rose Moon – Plymouth, IN
9/8 Sun – Ca’d’Zan House Concerts – Cambridge, IL
9/13 Fri – Black Forest Community Center – Colorado Springs, CO
9/14 Sat – The Laughing Goat Coffee House – Boulder, CO
9/15 Sun – The Muse Performance Space – Lafayette, CO
9/21 Sat – Cafe Zippy – Everett, WA
9/22 Sun – Tim’s Tavern – Seattle, WA
9/27 Fri – Artichoke Music – Portland, OR
9/28 Sat – Crown Alley Irish Pub – Ocean Park, WA
10/3 Thu – Flynn’s Cabaret & Steakhouse – Felton, CA
10/5 Sat – The Shady Lady House Concert – Saratoga, CA
10/9 Wed – The Blue Guitar at The Arroyo Seco Golf Course – South Pasadena, CA
10/11-12 Fri-Sat – 16th Annual Far-West Conference – Woodland Hills, CA
10/25 Fri – Pecan Grove Store – Fredericksburg, TX
For more information, up-dates and news, please visit www.billscorzari.com, www.facebook.com/billscorzari, www.twitter.com/BillScorzari, and www.instagram.com/billscorzari.

Read Full Post »

Out Now: Bill Scorzari’s New Album Produced by Jonah Tolchin – Featuring Joachim Cooder, Will Kimbrough, Laur Joamets

Bill Scorzari’s Through These Waves, Produced by Jonah Tolchin, Released March 10

Bringing Together a Cast of Fine Musicians,
Scorzari Explores Impassioned & Thoughtful Landscapes

Available now on iTunes, Bandcamp, Spotify, and CD Baby

Huntington, NY — New York native, Bill Scorzari independently releases his sophomore album, Through These Waves, Today, March 10, 2017. Produced by Jonah Tolchin (Yep Roc) and engineered, mixed, and mastered by Billy Bennett, the album of all original material was recorded over twelve days at the famed Bomb Shelter in East Nashville through the studio’s 1970’s MCI console and mixed to tape. In a recent interview with No Depression, Tolchin calls Bill Scorzari, “one of the greatest songwriters I’ve ever heard.” With sincere and robust lyrics, Scorzari’s raspy vocals usher the listener breezily into his world.

Joining Scorzari on the album are Joachim Cooder (drums, percussion), Laur Joamets (electric guitar, slide guitar), Chris Scruggs (steel guitar), Will Kimbrough (mandolin, piano), Eamon McLoughlin (fiddle, viola, cello), Jon Estes (upright bass, guitar, organ), Kim Richey (vocals), Brent Burke (dobro) and more.

“Bill has a scruffy sentimentality that was comforting to behold.” Billy Bennett comments on the recording sessions, “There were humbling moments of marvel for me during the process, as the tremendous cast of musicians populated Bill’s emotional landscapes beautifully. I was privileged to have played a part.”

“One of the most idiosyncratic voices I’ve ever come across,” Laur Joamets expresses. “Bill’s timbre is one-of-a-kind. It’s a great record. I’m proud to be on it.”

Even through all of the chaos in the world, every time you are let down, or hurt, or feel broken, there is a softness within our hearts that will help us to come through and rise above anything that life deals us, without hardening our spirit. There’s a solemn, yet uplifting and gracious feel to Through These Waves, a gentle roll of energy in the songs and the recording experience that is emphasized in the musical collaboration that came about when the musicians entered the studio.

Will Kimbrough says, “I enjoyed playing on Bill Scorzari’s record… Boy, did it turn out fine — thoughtful, soulful songs, with -by God- real music to back them up. Top notch.”

From the Critics:

Bill Scorzari. Photo by Lauren Jahoda

“One of 2017’s best albums so far… The crisp, organic interplay of both acoustic and electric instruments perfectly frame Scorzari’s weathered, raspy voice that many have described as ‘singular’ or ‘idiosyncratic.’ Just to give you some clues, head in the direction of Tom Waits or Malcolm Holcombe. Scorzari’s voice is in that neighborhood but still stands apart. And, then there are his thoughtful, cinematically shaped songs that continue to resonate after repeated listens. Yes, this is a ‘must hear’ for singer-songwriter aficionados.” —Elmore, Jim Hynes

“…once in awhile… just once in awhile… you find one and, man, it’s a rush. Case in point, a compact disc by Bill Scorzari titled Through These Waves…Bill Scorzari is a force. His songwriting is stellar, his picking above par and his voice fits his songs perfectly. The album itself is a knockout… performances are topnotch all-around…I give this a solid A, top to bottom. I give ‘Hound Dog Diggin” an A+ for the groove alone.” —No Depression, Frank Gutch Jr.

“Bill Scorzari has a lived-in voice that says, ‘Listen to these songs.’ They spring from the earth and the ocean with an open heart and the wisdom of experience.” –WFUV’s John Platt. Listen in to Bill’s recent interview in WFUV’s Sunday Supper → www.wfuv.org/content/susan-kane-and-bill-scorzari

“Scorzari’s songs are consistently profound, poetic, and emotional; and his voice—as gravelly and compelling as Tom Waits’s—is counterpointed beautifully with strings and, on the gorgeous ‘More of Your Love,’ a female vocalist. This is one of the most compelling albums by a little-known artist that I’ve heard in a while.”  —The Morton Report, Jeff Burger

“Scorzari’s songs are often about seeking a kindred soul and in that finding solace. There is a poetic grace that makes them worth listening to and reading.” —Lonesome Highway, Stephen Rapid

“An album that is serene, uplifting, and powerful, Through These Waves is a gem waiting to be discovered.” —The Daily Country, Tara Joan

“Scorzari sings, but his version of singing is more of the spoken poetry with a pulsating vibration timbre that Sam Baker has perfected over the course of four albums and innumerable gigs. He connects with listeners by creating soundscapes that reveal descriptions of mood and atmosphere more than character. You listen and think, Yes—I’ve felt that…” —Fervor Coulee, Donald Teplyske

“… he’s a songwriter of the highest order with a three pack a day voice that sounds nothing like that during every day conversation. When he’s on stage though, that voice will make you pay attention to lyrics that can turn a phrase, make you think or make you thankful that there’s someone out there to relate to.” —Medium, Thomas Gerbasi

“…Scorzari has struck gold on what is only his second album, Through These Waves…His style of music occasionally reminds me of Sam Baker, the wistfulness and precise nature of the songs and wondrous beauty, and arguably his greatest attribute honesty the record is one of the finest I have stumbled across in a long time.”  —Flying Shoes Review (UK) Maurice Hope

Through These Waves Track Listing:
1. A Dream of You (5:48)
2. A Brand New Deal (3:12)
3. Shelter From the Wind (5:28)
4. Hound Dog Diggin’ (3:27)
5. More of Your Love (5:23)
6. Holy Man (3:26)
7. She Don’t Care About Auld Lang Syne (4:21)
8. For When I Didn’t See (3:56)
9. Loser at Heart (4:33)
10. I Can Carry This (4:32)
11. It’s Time (3:30)
12. Riptide (4:38)

Musician Credits (alphabetical order):
Brent Burke: Dobro
Joachim Cooder: Drums, Percussion
Jon Estes: Upright Bass (Tracks 2, 3, 5, 8, 11), Second Acoustic Guitar (Track 5), Organ (Track 10), Percussion (Track 8)
Laur Joamets: Electric Guitars (Track 4), Slide Guitar (Track 6)
Annie Johnson: Second Vocal (Track 5)
Will Kimbrough: Mandolin, Piano
Marie Lewey: Background Vocals (Tracks 4, 10)
Eamon McLoughlin: Fiddle, Viola, Cello
Matt Murphy: Upright Bass (Tracks 1, 4, 6, 9, 10, 12)
Kim Richey: Second Vocal (Track 6)
Danny Roaman: Slide Guitar (Tracks 3, 4, 9)
Bill Scorzari: Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Chair
Chris Scruggs: Steel Guitar
Jonah Tolchin: Electric Guitar (Tracks 1, 6, 11, 12), Lap Steel (Tracks 1, 10, 11)
Kyle Tuttle: Banjo
Cindy Walker: Background Vocals (Tracks 4, 10)

For more information and updates, please visit www.billscorzari.com, www.facebook.com/billscorzari , and www.twitter.com/BillScorzari.

Read Full Post »

Bill Scorzari Releases Through These Waves, Produced by Jonah Tolchin, on March 10

Bill Scorzari Releases Through These Waves,
Produced by Jonah Tolchin, on March 10

Bringing Together a Cast of Fine Musicians,
Scorzari Explores Impassioned & Thoughtful Landscapes

Huntington, NY — New York native, Bill Scorzari, is set to independently release his sophomore album, Through These Waves, on March 10, 2017. Produced by Jonah Tolchin (Yep Roc) and engineered, mixed, and mastered by Billy Bennett, the album of all original material was recorded over twelve days at the famed Bomb Shelter in East Nashville through the studio’s 1970’s MCI console and mixed to tape. In a recent interview with No Depression, Tolchin calls Bill Scorzari, “one of the greatest songwriters I’ve ever heard.” With sincere and robust lyrics, Scorzari’s raspy vocals usher the listener breezily into his world.

Joining Scorzari on the album are Joachim Cooder (drums, percussion), Laur Joamets (electric guitar, slide guitar), Chris Scruggs (steel guitar), Will Kimbrough (mandolin, piano), Eamon McLoughlin (fiddle, viola, cello), Jon Estes (upright bass, guitar, organ), Kim Richey (vocals), Brent Burke (dobro) and more.

“Bill has a scruffy sentimentality that was comforting to behold.” Billy Bennett comments on the recording sessions, “There were humbling moments of marvel for me during the process, as the tremendous cast of musicians populated Bill’s emotional landscapes beautifully. I was privileged to have played a part.”

Bill Scorzari. Photo by Lauren Jahoda

“The experience was surreal… transformative… unifying… effortless… and profound. In fact, this record captures every magical moment in a journal of the sound, time, friendship and passion which we all created and now share,” Scorzari depicts. “I am forever grateful to Jonah, Billy B., and equally for everyone who participated in, and made this experience and recording possible and real.”

With twelve original compositions, the album opens with a rolling, peaceful moment in the song “A Dream of You.” Bill wrote it one July morning upon waking and realizing that he had been dreaming he was writing a song. He continued to hear the melody through breakfast and it led him into a beautiful day. “The early morning sun was shining, birds were singing and the sky was an incredibly clear blue. The first two verses came to me instantly. I finished the rest a couple of weeks later,” Bill recalls. “The beginning of this recording was improvised in the studio when Joachim Cooder (drums) said, ‘Ready?’ and we all started playing, joining in one by one.”

Written from the first person stance, many of Scorzari’s songs have come together for him like writing a letter. “A Brand New Deal” is a delightful number with fiddle, dobro, and mandolin weaving together to make the song happily jump. “The most amazing thing in the world is to love and be loved. This is a love song you can dance to,” says Bill. “Shelter from the Wind” is an intimate tune written during a weeklong downpour of rain that just would not quit, in a single chair, in the quiet of an empty room. The occasion is emulated by Danny Roaman’s slide guitar and Will Kimbrough’s understated piano as Bill sings, “But, I don’t know now, if I know how, I might make it through these waves. But I will make it through these waves.”

“’Hound Dog Diggin’” takes on a different role. “This is one of my favorite tracks on the record. Jonah had a vision for it right from the start and everyone grabbed hold of it and ran with it. That focused Zen trait of doing that which you are doing while you’re doing it, is exactly what I was thinking about when I wrote this song, and it was almost prophetic how everyone in the studio immediately brought that same intensity to this recording,” says Scorzari. “Brent Burke plays some of the best dobro I’ve ever heard, and Laur Joamets added two incredible electric guitar parts to Danny Roaman’s already amazing slide work. Matt Murphy’s bass line jumps and Joachim Cooder’s drums snap and thump just so great! They all just blew this song up.”

“One of the most idiosyncratic voices I’ve ever come across,” Laur Joamets expresses. “Bill’s timbre is one-of-a-kind. It’s a great record. I’m proud to be on it.”

Annie Johnson joins Bill to sing a beautiful, “More of Your Love,” with Jon Estes adding a melodic bass line and second guitar part and Joachim Cooder’s steady kick and percussive water-droplet sounds driving the song and giving it an ethereal feel. “Holy Man” features Kim Richey’s beautiful vocals in a soul searching duet about figuring things out on your own terms and for your own well-being as time goes on.

“She Don’t Care About Auld Lang Syne” reflects on a profoundly sad breaking apart of a close relationship, while “For When I Didn’t See” and “Loser at Heart” realize awareness that even with many falls in life, seasons change, time passes and we grow and learn from our experiences as part of the journey of life. “I Can Carry This” and “It’s Time” bring moments of enlightenment through it all, with an understanding that we all have the capacity to help each other along, especially if we will just let go.

The album closes out with a confident “Riptide.” “This recording captures the feel and sounds I’ve always envisioned for the song. Joachim Cooder’s cymbal strikes make me think of a swimmer’s arms plunging rhythmically into the sea while Jonah Tolchin’s electric guitar ripples like water. It just amazes me every time I hear this track.” Bill recollects, “As fate would have it, we discovered a creaky old chair on the patio just outside the studio. I rolled it up to the console and engineer Billy Bennett put a microphone to it and recorded the sounds as I rocked back and forth. With a little studio magic Billy made it sound like a big wooden boat drifting on the waves of the ocean. It’s one of my favorite tracks on the album.”

Even through all of the chaos in the world, every time you are let down, or hurt, or feel broken, there is a softness within our hearts that will help us to come through and rise above anything that life deals us, without hardening our spirit. There’s a solemn, yet uplifting and gracious feel to Through These Waves, a gentle roll of energy in the songs and the recording experience that is emphasized in the musical collaboration that came about when the musicians entered the studio.

Will Kimbrough says, “I enjoyed playing on Bill Scorzari’s record… Boy, did it turn out fine — thoughtful, soulful songs, with -by God- real music to back them up. Top notch.”

Bill Scorzari on Tour with Through These Waves
2.17 Fri – Cape Ann Brewing Co – Gloucester, MA
2.18 Sat – Riverwalk Cafe & Music Bar – Nashua, NH*
2.21 Tue – WFUV’s On Your Radar at Rockwood Music Hall (Stage 3) – New York, NY%
3.02 Thu – Live in the Lobby at The Patchogue Theatre – Patchogue, NY^
3.08 Wed – Finley’s of Huntington – Huntington, NY
3.18 Sat – Avenue 209 – Lock Haven, PA
3.24 Fri – House Concert – Louisville, KY
3.25 Sat – Bobby’s Idle Hour – Nashville, TN
3.26 Sun – Acoustic Coffeehouse – Johnson City, TN
3.28 Tue – Awendaw Green Barn Jam – Charleston, SC
3.29 Wed – The Roasting Room (Songwriter Showdown) – Bluffton, SC
4.02 Sun – Americana Cafe Sundays – Lynn Haven, FL
4.12 Wed – Wine & Song – South Pasadena, CA
4.18 Tue – The Laughing Goat – Boulder, CO
4.29 Sat – Rockwood Music Hall (Stage 1) – New York, NY

Also Performing:
* w/ Jeff Scroggins and Colorado
% w/ Susan Kane and Cole Quest & The City Pickers
^ w/ Toby Tobias and SEE

More dates to be announced!

Through These Waves Track Listing:
1. A Dream of You (5:48)
2. A Brand New Deal (3:12)
3. Shelter From the Wind (5:28)
4. Hound Dog Diggin’ (3:27)
5. More of Your Love (5:23)
6. Holy Man (3:26)
7. She Don’t Care About Auld Lang Syne (4:21)
8. For When I Didn’t See (3:56)
9. Loser at Heart (4:33)
10. I Can Carry This (4:32)
11. It’s Time (3:30)
12. Riptide (4:38)

Musician Credits (alphabetical order):
Brent Burke: Dobro
Joachim Cooder: Drums, Percussion
Jon Estes: Upright Bass (Tracks 2, 3, 5, 8, 11), Second Acoustic Guitar (Track 5), Organ (Track 10), Percussion (Track 8)
Laur Joamets: Electric Guitars (Track 4), Slide Guitar (Track 6)
Annie Johnson: Second Vocal (Track 5)
Will Kimbrough: Mandolin, Piano
Marie Lewey: Background Vocals (Tracks 4, 10)
Eamon McLoughlin: Fiddle, Viola, Cello
Matt Murphy: Upright Bass (Tracks 1, 4, 6, 9, 10, 12)
Kim Richey: Second Vocal (Track 6)
Danny Roaman: Slide Guitar (Tracks 3, 4, 9)
Bill Scorzari: Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Chair
Chris Scruggs: Steel Guitar
Jonah Tolchin: Electric Guitar (Tracks 1, 6, 11, 12), Lap Steel (Tracks 1, 10, 11)
Kyle Tuttle: Banjo
Cindy Walker: Background Vocals (Tracks 4, 10)

For more inforation and updates, please visit www.billscorzari.com, www.facebook.com/billscorzari , and www.twitter.com/BillScorzari.

Read Full Post »