January 2004 Update from Concord Records

Happy New Year to you all. 2003 was a busy year for Concord, and we didn't slow down over the holiday season. Jazz vocalist and critics darling Karrin Allyson went back into the studio late in December. Ray Charles completed duets with a few more folks for his upcoming duets CD. And the talented Peter Cincotti is writing new songs for his soon-to-be-recorded CD, due out in the summer.

In the meantime, our release schedule for the months ahead is looking very exciting (and very busy). In March, Monica Mancini joins a host of talented artists (Stevie Wonder, Take 6, Gary Burton, Kenny Rankin and Joey DeFrancesco among them) to re-record her Dad's most famous and most awarded songs, from Moon River to Peter Gunn and Pink Panther to Two for the Road. 2004 is the Year of the Mancini. In addition to the new CD, titled ULTIMATE MANCINI, look out for a Henry Mancini commemorative stamp from the US Post Office; the re-issue of the Pink Panther DVDs from MGM Studios (it celebrates its 40th birthday); a high-school outreach program from the Mancini Institute and more.

Also in March is the release of LULLABIES OF BIRDLAND: A MUSICAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY. This 2-CD set catalogs George Shearing's prolific half-century career and includes signature recordings from 1949-2000. George spent 10-years with Concord Records, and this CD features some of the great duets he recorded while with the label....Carmen McRae, Tito Puente, Mel Torm