Return to You was created by the same talented team that put together Yours (including Grammy-award nominated bass master John Clayton as producer, and her equally youthful, all-star LA based band, Josh Nelson (p), Erik Kertes (b), and Matt Slocum (d)). Return to You features well-planned arrangements of more contemporary standards by songwriters Leonard Cohen, Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Harry Connick Jr., and Gillian Welch. Some of the best material, however, comes from Gazarek’s acclaimed pianist, Josh Nelson, as he displays his considerable gifts as a composer and lyricist with four new songs.
In choosing the material for Return to You, Gazarek explains, “our live performances are very different from the record. We do a lot more up-tempo and swinging material. But we felt secure in the base we’d created with Yours and wanted to explore some of our other influences. We wanted this album to have a flow, and a sense of purpose, and we feel the listener will be able to pick up on the part of our souls we gave to this album.” Among the album’s stand out tracks are a playful version of Mitchell’s “Carey,” and a haunting rendition of Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” with an obscure final chorus that has rarely been recorded. Gazarek’s knack for spotting first-rate material shines brightest on “Northern Lights,” a ravishing song written by the brilliant tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake – a collaboration so poignant and engaging that no one should be surprised if the tune ends up spearheading a Norah Jones-like breakthrough.
“Return to You” also introduces a number of new textures and sounds, not explored before on the bands prior release. Strings, guitar, horns, and duet vocals are, as Gazarek puts it “a way to get a message across that we couldn’t express as a quartet.” And while the singer could have had her pick of all-star instrumentalists to feature on her sophomore album, Gazarek, who possesses an easy-going charisma that quietly commands attention, refuses to hog the limelight. “In this band we prefer to keep it in the family, and featured some of our most talented friends,” Gazarek says, humbly, always referring to “we” rather than “I” when speaking of her music, highlighting the indispensability of her band mates. “We truly are a family now, and they are an integral part of the way our sound has progressed.” The quartet works together in shaping arrangements, and each piece is the result of extended collaboration. She notes the importance of this collaboration, “we are constantly learning from one another.”
Born and raised in Seattle, Gazarek grew up without much exposure to jazz. She denotes any and all preliminary jazz education to her high school big band and choir director, Scott Brown. “He afforded us a lot of educational opportunities at festivals and competitions,” Gazarek remembers. As a senior in high school, she was awarded the first ever Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation Outstanding Jazz Vocalist Award at the Essentially Ellington Festival in NYC. “I guess you could say my first gig was at Avery Fisher Hall with Wynton Marsalis,” Gazarek chuckles.
Sara made her way south to Los Angeles in 2000 and found herself at the prestigious Thornton School of Music at USC, studying under the tutelage of John Clayton, Shelly Berg, Tierney Sutton, and Carmen Bradford. While there, Sara helped develop the JazzReach program and, as a result, was able to spend 2 years working with inner city elementary school children as a jazz choir director. “I’ll never forget that experience. It is so important to me to be out there, educating young people.” Sara continues to educate young people today as the sole ambassador for the non-profit music and arts education organization, Music For All. Sara and her band give clinics at local schools while on tour, because, as Gazarek puts it, “education is such an important part of our lives, and the band and I know we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for that one teacher who showed us the way. It is our duty to give back.”
In 2003, Sara was awarded the 2003 Downbeat Student Music Award for Best Collegiate Vocalist. Shortly after the publication hit the press, Sara was asked to perform with Oleta Adams, Karrin Allyson, and Diane Schuur as the "as yet undiscovered talent" on the Concord Jazz Festival tour. Simultaneously, Gazarek joined a number of a-list clientele (including Barry Manilow and Allyson) as a Stiletto Entertainment (management) client and was soon being booked by the industrious William Morris Agency. “I remember feeling very nervous about it all,” Sara recalls. “I’d had it drilled into me that a strong career at a young age was a fast track to obscurity.”
Luckily, at a time when it would have been easy for Gazarek to lose track of her artistic goals, John Clayton, a mentor and teacher at USC, provided a grounding influence. When record labels first came knocking and she started to question her place, it was Clayton who set her straight. “He said, ‘Sara, everyone has his or her own path, and there’s no path that’s any more respectable than any other,’” she recalls. “‘As long as you do your homework and keep striving to be a better musician, you’ll have a lasting career.’”
Clayton agreed to produce her first album, Yours, and insisted she develop the arrangements herself with the band she’d been performing with. She found musical soul mates in her group, and the resulting record was a debut that was released to national and international rave reviews. It ranked in the Top 10 on the Billboard Traditional Jazz Charts, Top 10 on the iTunes top Jazz Album Downloads (US, UK, Switzerland, and Belgium), #1 on the iTunes Top Jazz Album Downloads (Germany, France), #5 on the Jazz Week Radio Charts, #4 on the HMV (Japan) chart. In addition, Sara was voted the #3 Best New Artist in the JazzTimes Readers Poll.
With her strong sense of gratitude, this talented, graceful, constantly evolving, emotionally direct, label-pushing vocalist will continue to “do her homework.” And judging by her second album, Sara Gazarek is going to have a lot to offer the music scene for many years to come.
Amazing
Sara Gazarek Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Against a sky of gray.
The nighttime falls down upon me,
At the closing of this day.
Words cannot explain the feeling that my heart speaks of:
The choices, the boundaries
When I feel the pain of all these thoughts of mine:
The questions, the answers.
When will I realize all of life is amazing.
Take it in, let it go, can't you see,
It's all amazing.
I need the feeling of sunlight,
To help forget the cold.
Between the spaces of daylight,
There lives a frozen soul.
Here we go again, this wand'ring mind won't settle down,
If just for a second.
When I think it's done, it starts right up again,
Unending, relentless.
When will I realize all of life is amazing.
Take it in, let it go, can't you see,
It's all amazing.
Melt away, let life flow,
Just give in, just let it go.
The current's strong, but so am I,
Amazing things don't ever die.
When will I realize all of life is amazing.
Take it in, let it go, can't you see,
It's all amazing.
When will I realize all of life is amazing.
Take it in, slow it down, can't you see,
It's all amazing.
Melt away, let life flow,
Just give in, just let it go.
The current's strong, but so am I,
Amazing things don't ever die.
In "Amazing," Sara Gazarek sings about the beauty and struggles of life. The opening lyrics describe the beauty of a sunflower against a gray sky just before nightfall. But despite the surrounding beauty, Gazarek's heart is heavy with questions and pain. She expresses how hard it is to articulate those feelings, yet the pain doesn't go away. She then asks herself when she will realize that life is amazing and implores the listener to take it all in and let it go. It's a reminder to embrace the present and recognize the beauty in life, even amidst the struggles.
Throughout the song, Gazarek repeats the phrase "When will I realize all of life is amazing." It's a question that many people ask themselves. It's easy to get caught up in our troubles and forget to see the beauty in the world. However, Gazarek reminds us that if we slow down and take life in, we'll find that everything around us is amazing.
The lyrics also touch upon the internal struggle of not being able to let go of negative thoughts and instead, become trapped in those thoughts. Gazarek understands this struggle and sings about it, but comes out on the other side still amazed at life. The chorus is cathartic and empowering, telling us to let go of our worries and live in the moment.
Line by Line Meaning
Sunflower beauty surrounds me,
The beauty of sunflowers is present around me.
Against a sky of gray.
Against a sky that seems dull, unappealing or imperfect.
The nighttime falls down upon me,
The dark and quiet aura of the night is upon me.
At the closing of this day.
At the end of the day when everything is coming to an end.
Words cannot explain the feeling that my heart speaks of:
Some emotions are too complex for words to adequately capture.
The choices, the boundaries.
The options we face in life and the limitations we encounter.
When I feel the pain of all these thoughts of mine:
When the weight of these complex emotions become unbearable.
The questions, the answers.
The unknown puzzles of life, and the potential solutions to them.
When will I realize all of life is amazing.
When will I come to understand and appreciate the wonderfulness of existence?
Take it in, let it go, can't you see,
Embrace all that life has to offer and let go of things beyond your control. Can't you perceive this?
It's all amazing.
Everything and everyone is wonderful and should be appreciated.
I need the feeling of sunlight,
I require the warmth and light of the sun's rays.
To help forget the cold.
To help in dealing with the frigid or uninviting aspects of life.
Between the spaces of daylight,
In the moments of the day which are not filled with light.
There lives a frozen soul.
A person who is cold and unemotional.
Here we go again, this wand'ring mind won't settle down,
My thoughts continue to wander and cannot remain calm.
If just for a second.
Even if it's only for a brief moment.
When I think it's done, it starts right up again,
When I believe my thoughts have ended, they begin once more.
Unending, relentless.
Ceaseless and unwavering.
Melt away, let life flow,
Allow your worries to fade and let life continue.
Just give in, just let it go.
Surrender to the situation and allow things to unfold naturally.
The current's strong, but so am I,
The challenges I face are significant, but I am capable of overcoming them.
Amazing things don't ever die.
The wonderful aspects of life persist indefinitely.
Slow it down, can't you see,
Take it easy and appreciate the world around you. Can't you perceive what's right in front of you?
Contributed by Charlotte H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.