The Littlest Prisoner, the latest from singer, violinist, composer and arranger Jenny Scheinman, was released May 6 on Sony Masterworks.
Her eighth studio album, the album follows Scheinman’s 2012 release Mischief & Mayhem.
Mixed by Grammy-nominated producer, Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, Neko Case, My Morning Jacket and Sufjan Stevens), the album was recorded in just three days of studio tracking in Martine’s Flora Studio in Portland, Oregon.
Of the album, Scheinman says that she, “had always imagined that this album would have a sort of Buddy Miller acoustic Americana sound,” however, “As fate would have it I ended up bringing the material into the ethereal, moody, stripped down world of my trio with Bill Frisell and Brian Blade. This added a sense of newness, risk and adventure to the process, which was extremely exciting.”
Watch Scheinman perform “Run, Run, Run” with Frisell and Blade:
As for the lyrics, Scheinman says, “I attempted to look directly at love and all its ugly beauty through the eyes of mothers, inmates, wives, artists, and children. What amazes me about the album is that all the tough stuff of life is stuck in the middle of such a beautiful band sound.”
In addition to her eight solo records, Scheinman has collaborated with Rodney Crowell, Norah Jones, Bill Frisell, Bruce Cockburn, Madeleine Peyroux, Todd Sickafoose, Nels Cline and many others. She has also earned great acclaim for her arrangements for artists like Lucinda Williams, Bono, Lou Reed, Metallica and Sean Lennon.
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Acoustic Nation is written by Laura B. Whitmore, a music industry marketing veteran, music journalist and editor, who has contributed to Parade.com, Guitar World, and others. She has interviewed hundreds of musicians and hosts the She Rocks Podcast. As the founder of the Women’s International Music Network, she advocates for women in the music industry and produces the annual She Rocks Awards. She is the Senior Vice President of Marketing for Positive Grid, making the world safe for guitar exploration everywhere! A guitarist and singer/songwriter, Laura is currently co-writing an album of pop songs that empower and energize girls.
