Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 3/18/2022
LONGMEADOW– On March 18, jazz vocalist/ trombonist and Longmeadow native Hailey Brinnel is releasing her new single, an impromptu cover of the early Beatles song, “I’ll Follow the Sun.”
“It was just an impromptu single that I wasn’t really planning,” Brinnel said. “It was an impromptu arrangement. We had never rehearsed the song before. Right before we had a live stream performance, my bassist Joe Plowman and I were talking about Beatles songs, and I mentioned that I thought this one would be a fun one to play together. We just really quickly worked it out and then recorded it.”
Brinnel’s approach as a lifelong Beatles fanatic was to honor the original song. She said it’s not a very popular Beatles song. It’s one of their older records, yet Brinnel wanted to create an intimate feel for listeners. She said she likes writing, arranging and recording songs that will appeal to jazz audiences, but really has something that anyone can listen to and feel joy when they hear the song.
“Something that’s accessible, intimate, acoustic and simple.” Brinnel added. “Nothing overly complex or analyzed, just a really pleasant song to listen to for any audience.”
Reminder Publishing spoke with Brinnel last year when she was a finalist in the prestigious Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition. It was the first competition she entered for music, and although she didn’t win, Brinnel said it was a great experience. “The best time was hanging out with the other three finalists Gabrielle Cavassa, Tawanda Suessbrich-Joaquim and Benny Benack,” Brinnel responded. “I 100 percent would do something like that again.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t a live audience, but I got the opportunity to perform for jazz greats like Christian McBride. It was a really fun experience.”
Brinnel also released her debut album “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles” in March of 2021 and did “remarkably well” with Amazon sales. The album was her love letter to the ‘20s and ‘40s traditional and swing era of jazz, as well as danceable fun-to-listen-to tunes creating a sense of warmth, joy and nostalgia. Looking back, Brinnel said she is really proud of the work she and her team put into that record and what they were able to do, especially when she was able to perform live.
One of the first live performances Brinnel had in the months following was at the 2021 Springfield Jazz and Roots Festival. She brought her quartet up to Western Massachusetts and performed most of the songs off her first album as well as a few new ones she and her band recorded for a Western Mass. audience. “That was my proudest accomplishment,” Brinnel said. “I went to that festival as a kid and met Charles Neville. That was such a formative place for me and with jazz music, so it was truly an amazing experience to bring my own band there it was really surreal.”
Recently, Brinnel finished recording her second album titled, “A Beautiful Tomorrow” which she said is “suitable for coming out of this pandemic era that we’ve been in.” Brinnel told Reminder Publishing her first record felt like her own project in terms of doing all the arranging, getting all of the different musicians and instrumentation herself. Her goal for this second album coming out of the pandemic was to work with her band and other musicians such as jazz icon trumpet player Terell Stafford to create new collaborative arrangements that still has the ‘20s through ‘40s swing era vibe, but trying to push things a little forward too. “I don’t have a release date for the album yet,” Brinnel said. “We’re still in the mixing process right now; it will likely be sometime in the fall or early winter.”
Brinnel lives in Philadelphia where she’s currently on faculty at the University of the Arts specializing in teaching vocal improvisation and music theory. She’s also booking more shows in different areas branching out through Philadelphia in the next year or two between Washington, D.C and Massachusetts.
“I’ll Follow the Sun” will be available on all streaming services and Amazon. Go to www.haileybrinnel.com to learn more about Brinnel’s music and upcoming performances.