Billboard chart-topping and Amazon best-selling vocalist Deborah Silver swings – and rocks – on her upcoming album, Basie Rocks!, out May 2nd on Green Hill Productions. The 11-track album features timeless rock songs by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Sting and Elton John, among others, reimagined as elegant jazz standards by Silver and the 2024 Grammy-winning Count Basie Orchestra. Basie Rocks! was produced by Grammy-winning producer and Rolling Stones drummer Steve Jordan.
The album pre-order is live now, and the first single, “Baby, I Love Your Way,” releases today.
“These classic rock songs are actually the soundtrack of my life,” Silver says. “As a vocalist, I have always loved performing timeless big band arrangements, and it has been incredibly exciting to bring these two worlds together. Merging both of these iconic genres with the extraordinary Count Basie Orchestra, the incomparable Steve Jordan, and all the fabulous musicians involved has been such a gift!”
Silver interprets Peter Frampton’s enduring hit “Baby, I Love Your Way” as a smoldering jazz ballad. Along with her buttery vocals, it features 2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Frampton himself playing a lyrical, jazz-tinged guitar solo. “Baby, I Love Your Way” was a smash single for Frampton on his multi-platinum 1976 album, Frampton Comes Alive! To hear Silver come alive, head over to the Analog at the Hutton Hotel in Nashville on Thursday, February 20th. The show will be taped for the new Public Television series Recorded Live At Analog, produced by iMaggination, Inc.
“I was totally blown away when I first heard the Basie Band’s intro to ‘Baby, I Love Your Way,’ and then the incredible vocal by Deborah Silver,” Frampton says. “The arrangement is superb! I’m so pleased to be a small part of this wonderful track.”
Throughout Basie Rocks!, Silver swings through some of classic rock’s most enduring songs, conjuring ballroom elegance with her sultry vocals. Joined by the one and only Count Basie Orchestra, Silver and the Orchestra make this program of songs sound as if they were plucked from the Great American Songbook.
Silver and the Orchestra, teamed with renowned arranger John Clayton, transform the Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black” into a fiery Latin jazz number. The song features a burning solo by 10-time Grammy-winning Cuban trumpeter Arturo Sandoval. Silver and duet partner, Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Kurt Elling, reimagine Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love” as a slinky, jazz-blues ballad. The pairing of Silver and New Orleans legend Trombone Shorty makes for an exhilarating take on “Joy to the World,” replete with some funky Crescent City trombone soloing. Other special guests include Grammy-winning guitarist Bill Frisell, as well as saxophonist and NEA Jazz Master George Coleman (Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock).
Silver is one of those rare artists who has earned credibility, critical acclaim and commercial success. The late record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, bandleader and all-round music legend Quincy Jones gushed: “Whatever she sings, she owns, making every note matter! One listen and you know… Deborah Silver is the real deal.” Silver’s past releases reached #1 on the Billboard Traditional Jazz Albums Chart, #1 on the Billboard Heatseeker Albums Chart, and #1 on the Neilson Traditional Jazz Chart, among many other accolades.
Founded by legendary pianist and bandleader William James “Count” Basie 80 years ago, The Count Basie Orchestra has the distinction of performing sold out concerts all over the world nearly 40 years after its founder has passed. Today, the Orchestra is directed by Scotty Barnhart. In its eight-decade career, the Count Basie Orchestra has won every respected jazz poll in the world at least once; won 18 Grammy Awards; performed for kings, queens and other world royalty; appeared in several movies, television shows, and at every major jazz festival and major concert hall in the world.
Producer Steve Jordan is currently the drummer for the Rolling Stones, stepping in for founding member Charlie Watts after his passing in 2021. Jordan is steeped in jazz, having performed or recorded with such icons as Herbie Hancock, Sonny Rollins and John Scofield. He’s also a bona fide rock legend having also worked with Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Alicia Keys, James Brown, John Mayer and many others. Like Silver, Basie Rocks! connects his jazz and rock roots.
Jordan says, “Collaborating with Deborah Silver in the studio has been an inspiring experience – her boundless creativity and fearless approach always led to something special. Deborah’s beautiful voice is perfect for reinventing these beloved songs the world knows so well. It takes supreme talent and unwavering confidence to achieve what she has with this exceptional recording.”
