Lisa Engelken's 'Caravan' comes to Jazzschool

Lisa Engelken has been all over the map and that questing spirit is much in evidence on her new album, “Caravan.”
The disc finds Engelken – a Kansas native who has lived in New York, Washington, D.C., and now calls the Bay Area home – performing material as diverse as Cole Porter’s “Just One of Those Things” and Billy Idol’s “White Wedding.” The vocalist even penned a fresh set of lyrics to Freddie Hubbard’s “Red Clay,” dubbing the result “From the Earth.”
All are rendered with a fresh perspective. Engelken’s wide-ranging resume serves her well in that regard, as her credits also include such rock and stage experiences as the musical “Hedwig and the Angry Itch.”
You see and hear the results for yourself May 7 when Engelken headlines a CD release concert at Jazzschool in Berkeley. In the first of a two-part interview, the singer discusses how “Caravan” came about. Also check out the clip below.

Question: This may seem an obvious question but what is your decision-making process like when it comes to choosing material? What kind of stories are you looking to tell?
Engelken: I sing only songs that I stir me, both lyrically and harmonically. The lyrics must resonate with me, with my own experiences; my theatrical training has probably influenced me greatly in this regard. And story and harmony, with arrangement, ideally need to work in such a way as to convey underlying meanings.
The songs I chose for “Caravan” have this type of “textual resonance.” I’ve described “Caravan” as an album of 10 snapshots of love – each picture a unique phase of the journey. (Of course love is a complex, multi-dimensional experience and I’ve attempted to present only a few of its sides.)
For example, the album opens with a farewell, “We’ll Be Together Again.” One of the first sweet sorrows we experience, that of parting with our love. The song starts in rubato, a soothing reassurance, but quickly jumpstarts into a “burner” that signals a change in the protagonist’s attitude from gentle, cajoling and sensitive to one of immediacy in seeing the lover to the door (“Grab your hat and I’ll tell you why”). I’d never heard this tune done up-tempo but it just seemed right to me. I also wanted to open the album with this tune because it was at once, traditional and irreverent and playful in treatment.
This is followed by “Just One of Those Things” – ironic and irreverent, both funeral and celebration: A squonky “Marche Funèbre” (Chopin) segues immediately into a New Orleans’ Second Line procession. I wanted all the musicians get a chance to “eulogize” on this one. A story of hot passions cooled down – emotional rigormortis! Ah, but the song ends with a sassy reminder that life and love do indeed continue on. I could go on and on with every song here.

Question: "Caravan" includes a version of Freddie Hubbard's "Red Clay" with your lyrics. How did that come about?
Engelken: The title itself inspired my whole thematic idea. Red Clay – the richest earth that slowly works its way up to the surface, its rich unique color, its malleability and versatility in different types of weather. It inspired me to speak about what I’m seeing as I walk though the city every day. It’s my comment on the paradox of technological advances that seemingly bring us closer together and yet tend to completely alienate. We have become literally blinded to what is happening right in front us, our eyes seduced by screens and our ears plugged (hopefully with the sounds of “Caravan”). The last line of the tune: “We’re from the earth and to the earth we return.” We shall decompose long before all of our petroleum-based plastics and chips.
Mr. Hubbard and I never met. This was a review process done through his publishing folks who, at first, seemed quite reticent to even entertain the idea of a new lyric version of “Red Clay” (since Mark Murphy had already recorded one). Eventually, Mr. Hubbard’s people relayed my proposal to him, which contained my ideas for the lyric, stating my case as to why my version … would be different, etc.
Next phase, a draft of lyrics was requested and reviewed. Next, a demo of my arrangement had to be recorded and was subsequently reviewed. And, eventually, I received Mr. Hubbard’s blessing and a signed agreement granting me rights to release “From the Earth.” I received the agreement only three weeks before Mr. Hubbard passed on. I had no idea he was that ill. I’m sorry that he was never able to review the final version.

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