The Cat Came Back: Stories & Songs With A Jazzy Tw

Chicken Lichen, Anansi (the trickster spider) Mother Hubbard, Sankhambe (a South African trickster) and one very sneaky cat are all in attendance in this debut CD by April. She is joined by her friends, veteran jazz musicians, Mario Sprouse on piano and Napoleon Revels-Bey, on drums to bring you a lively and spirited compilation of stories and songs. Fun for the whole family. Storyteller's notes: I was searching for a theme for my first CD and found it while preparing for a storytelling concert with Mario and Napoleon at the wonderful Abrons Art Center on the Lower East Side of NYC. I had done a program there the year before for the summer camp and the kids really responded well. This time, I wanted to do something much bigger and thought of bringing in Mario and Napoleon, with whom I've worked before on jazz gigs and school concerts. I loved the material we put together so much, I decided to go into the studio and record it. There was no specific score for the accompanying music that Mario played; he improvised the whole thing based on some riffs I had in mind. This CD includes an original tale by famed children's book author, James Howe, called I Wish I Was a Butterfly, published on Harcourt Books. Most of the other stories are so active and up-tempo that I wanted a story that had a softer, sweetness to it. I had always loved James' book, so, when he said yes, I was thrilled. Be sure to check out the book, which has beautiful illustrations by Ed Young, if you are not familiar with it. About April: Storyteller, Actor, and Singer, April has told stories for schools, colleges, libraries, museums, historic sites and festivals in the NYC tri-state area, California, Florida, as well as, in Jamaica and Bali, Indonesia. April's theater career includes Broadway National Tours (Sarah in Ragtime and Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel) Regional Theaters (Eliza in My Fair Lady, Billie Holiday in Lady Day At Emerson's Bar & Grill, Cunegonde in Candide), Television (Law & Order: SVU) and Film (Voiceover Aria in Washington Square with Albert Finney, Love is Dead, a film by the late, great, Paul Haber). She has written a one-woman show about the black aviatrix, Bessie Coleman, called Two Wings to Heaven and is one of the Group of 33 who contributed essays to the best-selling book (Wall Street Journal), The Big Moo, edited by Seth Godin.