Fly Away Butterfly Credits Produced by Carol Albert and Trammell Starks Except *#5 Produced by Trammell Starks All Songs Written by Carol Albert Except: Mas Que Nada, One Way Arrangements by Carol Albert #2, #5 Arranged by Trammell Starks Published: CAHARA (ASCAP) 1) Fly Away Butterfly Vocals, Keyboards, Bass Programming: Carol Albert Background Vocals: Alfreda Gerald Spoken Word Spanish: Susan Bennett and Ivette Ballara Saxophone and Flute: Sam Skelton Drum Programming: Trammell Starks Percussion: Rafael Pereira 2) Awakening Piano: Carol Albert Additional Keyboards: Trammell Starks Flute: Sam Skelton Trumpet: Darren English Bass: Trammell Starks Drums: Scott Meeder Percussion: Rafael Pereira 3) On My Way Lead Vocal/Piano/Keyboards: Carol Albert Background Vocals: Alfreda Gerald, Tony Hightower, Cheryl Rogers Additional Keys: Trammell Starks Bass: Sam Sims Guitar: Chris Blackwell Saxophone: Sam Skelton Trumpet: Melvin Miller Drums: Scott Meeder Additional Horn Arrangement: Trammell Starks 4) Across The Sky Lead Vocal/Piano/Keyboards: Carol Albert Guitar: Chris Blackwell Bass: Joe Reda Drums/Percussion: Rafael Pereira 5) One Way Al Jarreau Tribute •Produced and Arranged: Trammell Starks Vocal/Piano: Carol Albert Background Vocals: Alfreda Gerald Guitar Chris: Blackwell Saxophone and Flute: Sam Skelton Bass, Drum Programming, Additional Keys Trammell Starks Percussion: Rafael Pereira 6) Mas Que Nada Piano, Lead Vocal : Carol Albert Background Vocals: Cheryl Rogers, Alfreda Gerald, Tony Hightower Additional Keys: Trammell Starks Trumpet: Darren English Percussion: Rafael Pereira: Guitar: Englesson Silva Bass: Chocolat Costa Drums/Percussion: Rafael Pereira 7) Chasing Waterfalls Piano: Carol Albert Guitar: Chris Blackwell Saxophone: Sam Skelton Bass: Joe Reda Drums: Wayne Viar Percussion: Rafael Pereira 8) Never Thought It Would Be This Way Lead Vocal/Piano/Keyboards: Carol Albert Background Vocalsp[: Alfreda Gerald Bass: Sam Sims Guitar: Chris Blackwell Saxophone: Sam Skelton Drums: Scott Meeder Percussion: Rafael Pereira 9) Transition Piano/ Keyboards/Synths: Carol Albert Percussion: Rafael Pereira 10) Fly Away Butterfly (Reprise) The title track “Fly Away Butterfly” evokes an ambient groove enlivened by joyful, even mirthful flutes, the soundtrack to a butterfly flying away, from this place to that. Indeed, the track is symbolic, as Carol’s voice is intimate and distant, the delicate balance of love and loss that we all must face during life. “Awakening” flows and builds with an ostinato groove, lilting flutes, and well-placed piano touches. The song is wrought with anticipation and playful exchanges that resolve to the tonic chord, a brilliant display of compositional prowess and acumen. In fact, an encounter with a Blue Morph butterfly in Costa Rica prompted her to write the tune. Perhaps unwittingly, Carol’s has given us a track for our times, to be “awakened” to the tension-and-release, call-and-response of life. That after the very worst times comes recovery and healing. And Carol’s album, listened from start to finish, can be part of a veritable music healing, enriching your soul with creative and artistic ferment. “On My Way” is even more explicit, an anthem for our times. It’s a song of new beginnings. Her lyrics “On My Way/To a better day/I’ll spread my wings and fly away…” connote not just escapism but realism. In truth, sometimes you need an army of one to get the job done. You have to take things into your own hands. At least with Carol’s horn-drenched tune, you’ll have a musical accompaniment as you face towards the future. “Across the Sky” begins with a Coltrane-like incandescent solo with dreamy, even distant vocals. With her vocal performance, Carol has her audience hanging on every note with anticipation. “One Way” is a song about love and combines some of her favorite elements such as acoustic piano, nylon string guitar, and a hint of Latin percussion. The original version of “One Way” appears on Al Jarreau’s 1988 hit album Heart’s Horizon. “I have always loved the song and thought creating and performing a new arrangement of it would be the perfect celebration of his artistry and life” In “Mas Que Nada,” the Latin rhythms pulse with fervor and give a stylistic panache to this track, as if you were listening at a dark-lit club with fire-red dancing. What’s more, Carol’s voice displays a richness and versatility of the highest order, with beautiful incantations and vocalizations. As an admirer of Latin music, Carol had me taken with this song. In a word, stunning. “Waterfalls are all about that instant change in forward momentum, and can be powerful metaphors,” said Carol when describing the track “Chasing Waterfalls.” Her rolling piano propels the momentum of the song back-and-forth, ultimately advancing it without compunction so that we’re immersed, maybe even drenched in a sonic landscape of groove in the province of jam! “Never Thought It Would Be This Way” is a personal introspection into life when things turn out differently than expected. And ain’t that the truth. The lyrics however aren’t bitter but bittersweet, informed by a life of love and loss. “Transition” brings us back into the ambient world with watercolor harmonies and kaleidoscopic timbres cascading throughout the number. It’s about moving into new realms. And with the last track “Fly Away Reprise,” Carol sends the message that there must be a final letting go. 

In this album, we hear it all, and we are better for it. Carol Albert has given us a musical testimonial borne out of the crucible of loss. We hear both resilience and grace in her music. By giving so much of herself in this music, we not only hear her, but she creates a space for us to join her on the road ahead. --Kabir Sehgal New York Times bestselling author Multi-Grammy Award winning producer