Carry My Heart Indra Rios-Moore

• 1 Carry My Heart 03:15
• 2 Keep On Pushing 03:54
• 3 I Can See Clearly Now 03:44
• 4 Any Major Dude Will Tell You 03:49
• 5 Give It Your Best 04:00
• 6 Be Mine 04:13
• 7 Don’t Say Goodnight (It’s Time For Love) 05:50
• 8 Love Walked In 03:40
• 9 Come Sunday 03:56
• 10 What You Won’t Do For Love 03:48
• 11 I Loved You 02:35
• 12 Trouble 04:39
• 13 Man In The Long Black Coat 04:31
• Total Runtime 51:54

Info for Carry My Heart

New York-born singer Indra Rios-Moore, now living in Barcelona, releases her new album “Carry My Heart” this week on Verve. It comes right after her pretty successful (at least in Europe) “Heartland” album. One of the most sympathetic features of the album is the fact that Indra wanted to record an optimistic record because there was (and is) simply too much whining going on. Not that most of the current matters aren’t disheartening, but it feels good to be warmed and eased by Indra’s warm and caressing voice on covers such as “I Can See Clearly Now” or Curtis Mayfield’s “Keep On Pushin'”. Still, you can file this one under “protest” albums, too because during the writing process, a certain Drumpf took over the White House. But in a recent interview with her, she just won’t let such a mess bring her down and she gladly took her role as an artist and performer seriously and cries out against it. And the warmth and beauty of her personality is ardently echoed on the eleven tracks of the disc.

The very subdued, intimate and soothing album opens with the Gospel-like title track (about all the people fleeing their home countries and heading for Europe) and features her longtime Danish group members which also recorded with her on the last album: her husband saxophonist Benjamin Traerup, bassist Thomas Sejthen, drummer Knuth Finsrud and guitarist Samuel Hallkvist. They just beautifully gel on all the cuts and turn Steely Dan‘s “Any Major Dude” (“When the demon is at your door /In the morning it won’t be there no more”) into a healing little anthem. The harmonization on the other original tune, “Give It Your Best”, is simply beautiful, with saxophone and guitar blending perfectly and Indra’s almost preaching voice is forceful, yet sensitive and striking.

Pop singer Robyn‘s “Be Mine” is much more intense and stronger than the original and even though her head voice shines through here and there, she is very convincing and captivating on interpreting the golden soul classics: “Don’t Say Goodnight (It’s Time For Love)” by The Isley Brothers is a very welcome treat. She captures the beauty and the essence of the song wholeheartedly. We also get two jazz standards: “Love Walked In” by George & Ira Gershwin is done pretty straight-up with Indra’s voice shining bright and strong. And Duke Ellington‘s “Come Sunday” is of course a very special, difficult song to sing and everybody has his favorite interpretation. There is just no chance to top Abbey Lincoln’s recording on her 1959 “Abbey Is Blue” LP.

Her very haunting, enthralling version of Bobby Caldwell‘s “What You Won’t Do For Love” (1978) is indeed very special via its spare arrangement and Indra’s intimate phrasing and style. The album closes out with Claus Ogerman’s “I Loved You” with lots of soul that is both sweet and sexy.

Indra Rios-Moore, vocals
Benjamin Traerup, saxophone
Thomas Sejthen, bass
Uffe Steen, guitar
Knut Finsrud, drums

Indra Rios-Moore
named by her mother after the Hindu warrior deity of the sky and the rain, was born to a Puerto Rican social worker, Elizabeth, and an African-American-Syrian jazz bassist, Donald Moore (New York Contemporary Five, Archie Shepp, Elvin Jones, Sonny Rollins, Jackie McLean, etc.), on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

In an effort to keep her daughter away from the dangers of the housing projects they lived in, Indra's mother encouraged her to stay indoors. She learned to play in an imaginary world and sang along to her mother's extensive record collection of jazz, soul, and rock music.

Singing was always a private experience for Indra. So much so that she did not realize others could hear her until she was 6 years old. At the age of 13, her mother convinced her to take a cab ride to the Mannes College of Music to audition for the director of the preparatory division, Joan Bergman. Too embarrassed to show her stage fright, Indra auditioned and was awarded a scholarship for vocal and music studies. Under the tutelage of Lois Winter, Indra developed her soprano voice and slowly learned to let go of her fear of performance. The same year that she started studies at Mannes, she attended a music summer camp based in Northern Vermont called Village Harmony. Over the course of her teen years she lived two parallel musical lives, one full of classical arias and vocalization practice and the other full of traditional American folks tunes, old Balkan folk songs and running around the woods of Vermont.

At 26, while waitressing at a Brooklyn wine bar, she met Benjamin Traerup, a Danish jazz saxophonist. Three weeks later they were living together and one year later they were married and living in Denmark. At her husband's urging, Indra started playing in a trio with him and his friend, bassist, Thomas Sejthen. What started out as an occasional wedding gig turned into a formidable vocal jazz group that continues to tour throughout Denmark and Scandinavia. Their debut album, the self-titled "Indra", was nominated for a Danish Music Award in 2010 for Best Jazz Vocal Album. The same year, their performance was given as a gift to the Crown Prince and Princess of Denmark. Their follow up album, "In Between" won the Danish Music Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album in 2012.

They are releasing their third album, Heartland, on Impulse Records in early 2015. Heartland was produced by Larry Klein (Joni Mitchell, Herbie Hancock, Madeleine Peyroux, etc.)

Booklet for Carry My Heart