''Clear Day'' is the 11th album by Canadian jazz vocalist Emilie-Claire Barlow. It features the Dutch jazz and pop orchestra

Metropole Orkest The Metropole Orkest (Metropole Orchestra) is a jazz and pop orchestra based in the Netherlands, and is the largest full-time ensemble of its kind in the world. A hybrid orchestra, it is a combination of jazz, big band and symphony orchestra. Com ...

conducted by Jules Buckley. It won the Juno Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year in 2016. ''Clear Day'' is a "mélange of folk and rock staples" with songs by "artists spanning all genres and time periods, from Brad Mehldau to Coldplay." The album is a narrative with each song telling part of her personal story -- "Each song represents my state of mind, a turning point, a crossroad, ...The important thing was that the song needed to convey that particular moment in time." The record also features a 70-piece

, expanded from the usual 52 piece line up. The album was produced and arranged by Barlow and

Steve Webster (bassist) Steve Webster is a Canadian bassist, record producer, arranger, audio engineer and composer. A multiple Juno Award nominee and winner, Webster's career spans over 3 decades of music production and performance. Recent accomplishments include Juno ...

with orchestration by the duo as well as three orchestrations by Shelly Berger and two orchestrations by John Metcalfe (composer) arranger for

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

's New Blood Orchestra.

Critical reception

''Clear Day'' has been critically acclaimed by reviewers. Canadian music writer Kerry Doole wrote that Barlow's talents "coalesce to stunning effect on Clear Day, the most ambitious offering yet in a prolific discography". The CBC's Melody Lau wrote that Clear Day is "a gamble that pays off when she cleverly pulls a mélange of folk and rock staples into the realm of orchestration." Christophe Rodriguez of Montreal's Sorties Jazz Nights wrote that Barlow "seems to have reached another level" and that "she crafts her albums like a precision watchmaker" Lesley Mitchell-Clarke of theWholeNote wrote "... this recording is a portrait of the artist as a mature women poised at the full apex of her skill, talent, inspiration and power."

Track listing

# "Amundsen" - (Shelly Berger) # " On a Clear Day You Can See Forever" (

Burton Lane Burton Lane ( Levy; February 2, 1912 – January 5, 1997) was an American composer and lyricist primarily known for his theatre and film scores. His most popular and successful works include '' Finian's Rainbow'' in 1947 and ''On a Clear Day You ...

Alan Jay Lerner Alan Jay Lerner (August 31, 1918 – June 14, 1986) was an American lyricist and librettist. In collaboration with Frederick Loewe, and later Burton Lane, he created some of the world's most popular and enduring works of musical theatre bot ...

) # " Midnight Sun" (

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...

, Sonny Burke,

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallich ...

) # " Because" ( Lennon–McCartney) # " Fix You" ( Coldplay) # "Unrequited" ( Brad Mehldau) # " Under Pressure" ( Queen, David Bowie) # "Si j'étais un Homme" ( Diane Tell) # "It's Just Talk" ( Pat Metheny) # "

Feelin' Groovy ''Feelin' Groovy'' is the debut album by the American sunshine pop band Harpers Bizarre, released in 1967. Background Two Ted Templeman/Dick Scoppettone originals from 1966 were added as bonus cuts to the 2001 Sundazed CD reissue of this title: ...

" (

Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...

) # "

La Llorona ''La Llorona'' (; "The Weeping Woman" or "The Wailer") is a Hispanic-American mythical vengeful ghost who is said to roam near bodies of water mourning her children whom she drowned. Origins Early colonial times provided evidence that the lore ...

" (Traditional) # " I Don't Know Where I Stand" (

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

) # "Sweet Thing ( Van Morrison)" # "Mineiro de Coração" (Gord Sheard & Emilie-Claire Barlow)

References

{{Authority control 2015 albums Emilie-Claire Barlow albums Juno Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year albums