Ledisi It's Christmas Verve/UMG

1 2 LEDISI In terms of her approach to making a Christmas record, Ledisi says, "I wanted the vibe of the album to reflect what it was like after Christmas in my household, when there would be 'grown folk' talk! You know, after a full day, the kids would be asleep and the adults would start to drink and laugh… I would sneak out and listen in! I wanted that kind of energy on the record, and music that would also remind me of my childhood." Opportunities have indeed been plentiful in the past couple of years since the release of Lost and Found, but her musical journey (which began during her formative years in New Orleans) had more than its share of dues-paying. Building a solid following through live performances in the Bay Area in the '90s while teaching voice at Berkeley, Ledisi experienced her share of frustration at the initial lack of response from major labels. She formed her own label (LeSun) with musical partner and friend Sundra Manning and with the 1999 release of Soulsinger (featuring the cut "Get Outta My Kitchen"), she began receiving acclaim and a groundswell of interest in her work. Further validation came with 2002's LeSun release, the jazz-inflected Feeling Orange but Sometimes Blue, prompting one reviewer to state, "Her voice reaches and aches…wallows and resonates…the girl is just plain ol' bad!" After years of constant performances and building her base, Ledisi's breakthrough came in 2004 when she was included on a Verve tribute to the late Luther Vandross. Her Rex Rideout-produced cover of the soul music legend's "My Senstivity" gained national airplay and prompted Verve to sign her. Two years in the making, Lost and Found was released in 2007 after a period of major change in Ledisi's life: she moved from the comfort of her Northern California environment to New York "sleeping on the floor of a friend's apartment!" In the Big Apple, she was involved in the workshop stage for Oprah Winfrey's Tony-winning stage adaptation of The Color Purple, all the while writing and cutting demos and then flying to L.A. to record them for what would become her auspicious Verve debut. A PBS televised tribute to Ella Fitzgerald ("We All Love Ella") on which Ledisi floored audiences with a show-stealing version of "Blues In The Night" came just months before Lost and Found was released. Ledisi's two Grammy nominations in 2008 were confirmation that she had begun a new chapter both in her career and in her life. Now comes Ledisi's sophomore Verve set, It's Christmas, which includes a song that affords Ledisi a way to express her own personal gratitude. The upbeat original "Thank You," co-written and co-produced with Mano Hanes (who was responsible for three collaborations on Lost and Found, including the ever-popular "Best Friend" and one of Ledisi's virtual anthems, "Today") was the second-to-last song recorded for It's Christmas. It was, she says, "the hardest song to finish and I think the hardest song I've ever sung. I was just worn out from touring and recording and yet Mano was able to pull the best out in me. I love that we ended the CD with it because it was most important that I be myself on this album, especially since it had a particular theme. There was lot of risk in doing it even down to how I look on the CD cover. 'Thank You' was my way of saying thanks to God for all the blessings, all the things that have gone in my career. When I think of Christmas, I think of a time to be grateful for all that I have in my life."

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