vivian's bio - every woman..
'If art is to nourish the root of our culture, society must
set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him.'
John Fitzgerald Kennedy - United States President
“You have to believe in or feel something about what you’re saying if you want anyone else to buy into it,” explains Vivian Sessoms with absolute certainty. “It’s important to me to mean what I say when I’m writing or singing about something. It can’t simply be just a collection of words.” For Vivian, a life surrounded by music have ingrained the passion and the power of music in her.
Born and raised in Harlem, Vivian, whose mother was a session/jingle-singer, and whose father was a flautist/percussionist (who's played with the likes of James Brown), learned the wonder of music at a young age. Surrounded by nightclubs, churches and regular jam sessions at her family’s home, she was already singing by the time she could talk. “Growing up, there was always music to express the way I was feeling. I was so immersed in it, that I kind of viewed music as a kind of backdrop to my life,” she recalls.
By the time she was nine, Vivian had begun work doing television and radio voiceovers. With the help of an agent, she had made the rounds of auditions for various Broadway plays, all while classically training her voice and her skills as a pianist. Around the age of 16, Vivian began composing her own songs, following in the footsteps of her musician parents.
Years later, while on one of her first major tours, performing with pianist/composer Ryuichi Sakamoto (whose film credits include the score for Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, Little Buddha, High Heels), Vivian had her eyes and ears opened to an entirely new world of sound and became galvanized. Sakamoto taught Vivian much about song-craft, performance and musicianship. She absorbed as much as she could from the brilliance of his artistry. She found herself surrounded by accomplished, seasoned musicians like drummer Manu Katche (Peter Gabriel, Sting), Victor Bailey (Weather Report, Madonna) and Darryl Jones (Miles Davis, Rolling Stones). Sakamoto expected her to behave on par with those musicians, placing her in the spotlight as a featured vocalist, and teaching her to sing in Japanese. She in turn pushed herself tirelessly towards perfection as both a singer and performer.
Several years of résumé building followed, with Vivian performing, either live or in the studio, with an amazing array of artists including: P. Diddy, Michael Jackson, Donna Summer, Sinead O Connor, and Stevie Wonder. She did a stint with Virgin Music Publishing and then signed on as an artist and staff writer with K.G. of Naughty By Nature, though an album was never released. She even went on to write and perform as a guest artist on a number of Sakamoto’s later releases, but unlike with Sakamoto, none of these situations would touch her the way future partner Chris Parks would.
Chris and Vivian met during a recording session he was producing, where Vivian was again hired as a guest vocalist. Though things were touch and go in the beginning, the pair began recommending one another to other artists in their respective circles. This, in turn, created repeated scenarios for Vivian and Chris to work together numerous times, eventually discovering that in addition to their mutual respect for one another’s talents, they made a formidable team.
Whereas Sakamoto’s influence on Vivian had been more of a mentorship, Chris’ was that of an equal, the two forging a partnership in the truest sense of the word. Combining their talents to write songs for other artists, the pair stumbled upon this chemistry almost by accident, “It was like being hammered over the head,” explains Vivian when recalling their pairing, “I realized I had finally found my niche with Chris.” That was the beginning of their joint production company "Black Cherri" that has since written, produced or remixed songs for a number of artists.
At a music exec’s suggestion, while re-recording songs they had originally written for another artist, Chris, Vivian and a few of the players on the demo’s began reshaping tunes and writing new material. They instantly realized they had stumbled onto something exciting, thus forming the group Albright (so named for Vivians maternal grandmother). The end result is "Sunny One Day", an album recorded over the course of three years at their Suprdupr Sound Studio in Brooklyn. Striving to make the album an entity unto itself, a complete body of work, and not just a collection of songs, the pair took their time fine-tuning until they were satisfied. A unique mixture of soul & jazz, tinged with rock and coupled with beautiful melodies and lush instrumentation, the duo succeeds where many other artists fail, in creating music that has instant familiarity and warmth.
If there’s any truth to Vivian’s credo that you have to truly believe in what you are saying before anyone else can, and be willing to present a well-thought out idea and stand behind it with passion, then she’s already won the battle with "Sunny One Day".
chris's bio - jack of all trades..
'Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven to the soul'.
Author Unknown..
Though it may seem cliché, some artists are meant to be in the spotlight, the focus of attention, the center of the universe, while others are meant to be the spotlight itself, the device of illumination that serves to place the focus on other people or things with its radiance.
For multi-instrumentalist, producer Chris Parks, the latter holds true, which isn’t to say that his talent takes a backseat to anyone’s, but rather that his talents have been honed to be used best in highlighting others’ work.
Not surprisingly, Parks’ musical aptitude showed itself at an early age. Around the age of seven, Parks began playing acoustic guitar, strumming along with the likes of Paul Simon, John Denver, and Cat Stevens. By the time he reached high school, Parks was seriously studying guitar and bass, and was exceedingly proficient in both.
Parks’ ability resulted in a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he would continue his musical studies, studying privately with, amongst others, Kevin Eubanks, musical director for “The Tonight Show”. While at Berklee, Parks began performing on the Boston music scene, and was subsequently awarded two Faculty Performance Awards.
“There was a great music community around Berklee, and a lot you could learn outside of school, if you took advantage of it,” recalls Parks of his time at Berkley.
In 1990, while still attending Berklee, Chris met Lalah Hathaway, daughter of the late Donny Hathaway, and began working closely with her, ultimately taking up the mantle of musical director, as well as bass player. This, in turn, begat several further opportunities to perform as a live musician. To date Parks has performed with such notables as: Amel Larrieux, Rashaan Patterson, George Duke, Joe Sample, David Sanborn, and Patti Austin.
Having tackled the field of live performance, Parks’ unknowingly began work on what would be his next challenge, that of a producer/engineer. What began as recording demos for students and other musicians during school, ultimately led to the creation of SuprDupr Sound Studios, a large scale recording operation nestled in Brooklyn’s artistic D.U.M.B.O. neighborhood.
As a producer, Parks worked tirelessly, producing and remixing songs by artists such as: Brandy, Regina Carter, Tamia, Dianne Reeves, and Paula Cole. As an engineer, Chris has created soundscapes, programmed, and composed for a variety of musical and gaming companies, including: Sony, Bandai, Korg, Ensoniq, and MOTU.
It was during this period of time that Parks met Vivian Sessoms. Vivian, a session singer brought in to collaborate on a project by a mutual friend, immediately struck Parks as someone he would like to work with again. It was only a matter of time before the two of them would realize that they should be working with one another constantly.
With each fueling the other’s creativity, ideas were born more rapidly then exhaled breaths. “We would brainstorm, and have ideas constantly click with one another,” says Parks of the collaboration, “We would crank out songs day after day.”
With the partnership in full swing, Park and Sessoms branded their production company “Black Cherri”, and have since written and produced for a number of artists. Additionally, Black Cherri has produced commercial jingles for such heavyweight clients as Canon, Cover Girl, Volvo, Dark & Lovely and X-Box.
The two-some also have a few forthcoming projects on the not-too-distant horizon, the first of which ‘Sunny One Day’ goes under the moniker of ‘Albright’. Another project entitled ‘Sundown’ is a folk-jazz tinged set of tunes with a handful of original tracks contributed by the two and a few interestingly re-worked covers. Also coming sometime next year is a solo project from Chris under his pseudonym ‘Mudboy’ which he says will be a bit of a mash-up of styles.
In looking over Parks’ body of work, it becomes abundantly clear that it glistens with the names of collaborators that clearly belong in the spotlight. It also becomes increasingly clear, however, that in many cases the very spotlight is Chris Parks himself.
vivian's discography - producer/writer/arranger/vocals/keys
RYUICHI SAKAMOTO/SWEET REVENGE & SMOOCHY/GUT RECORDS
Sentimental - Duet
Moving On - bg vox
Pounding At My Heart - lead, bg vox
A Day In The Park - co writer, all vox
JUNIOR VAZQUEZ
Thy Kingdom Come - writer, lead vox
The Blues - writer, lead vox
ILLTOWN FAMILY/ILLTOWN
Real Christmas - co writer, co lead vox
THE BINGO BOYS/COLOUR OF MUSIC/WEA RECORDS
10 More Minutes - co writer, vox arr, lead, bg vox
Sugar Daddy - co writer, vox arr, lead, bg vox
No Communication - co writer, vox arr, lead, bg vox
That Girl - co writer, vox arr, lead, bg vox
Knock Knock - co writer, vox arr, lead, bg vox
Gimme Love - co writer, vox arr, lead, bg vox
Peace Of Mind - co writer, vox arr, lead, bg vox
Color Of Music - co writer, vox arr, lead, bg vox
Logical - co writer, vox arr, lead, bg vox
Get It Together - co writer, vox arr, lead, bg vox
Magic Numbers - co writer, vox arr, lead, bg vox
Discard After - co writer, vox arr, lead, bg vox
LISA LISA (produced by Nona Hendryx)
Why Can't Lovers - bg vox
MICHAEL JACKSON (produced by KayGee - Naughty By Nature)
Remember The Time (Remix) - bg vox
TOWA TEI/FUTURE LISTENING, SOUND MUSEUM, LAST CENTURY MODERN/EAST WEST JAPAN
Luv Connection - co lead, bg vox
Forget Me Nots - co lead, bg vox
Happy - co writer, all vox
Time After Time - co writer, co lead, bg vox
Butterfly - co lead, bg vox
Angel - co lead, bg vox
Blow Ya' Mind (Koji 1200) - co lead, bg vox
Free (Sweet Robots Against The Machine) - bg vox, adlibs
BRIGID BODEN
Must Go On - bg vox
CHRIS MINH DOKY/MINH-HORI PORI/BLUENOTE RECORDS
Lean On Me - all vox
Don't Get Funny Wit' My Money - bg vox
OLIVER STUMM
Bigger Love - co writer, all vox
Flawless (The Ones) - co lead vox
TOSHIHIKO MORI/PLANETARY FOLKLORE/AKASHIC RECORDS
Planetary Foklore - writer, all vox
Undulation - writer, all vox
H2o/YOU CAN RUN/WEA RECORDS
Got To Be Me - bg vox
All Over Your Face - all vox
KHANI COLE/LIFETIME/HEAVY CAT RECORDS
Lifetime - co prod, co writer, bg vox
All About You - co prod, co writer, bg vox
Sunshine/Prod - co prod, co writer, bg vox
What Is Real - co prod, co writer, bg vox
Things U Do - co prod, co writer, bg vox
Real Thing - co prod, co writer, bg vox
Trickin'- co prod, co writer, bg vox
If - co prod, co writer, bg vox
Sunday Mornin'- co prod, co writer, bg vox
TAKASHI UTSUNOMIYA
Remedy - bg vox
REDTIME/COULOURING IN TIME
Hometown - bg vox
LOUIE VEGA/VEGA RECORDS
That's What Love Is - bg vox
DAVID MORALES/2 WORLDS COLLIDE/ULTRA
Take My Luv - co writer, all vox
LALAH HATHAWAY/OUTRUN THE SKY/MESA BLUE MOON
Admit It - co prod, co writer, bg vox
In The End - co prod, co writer, bg vox
Back Then - co prod, co writer, bg vox
J HENRY/ANOTHER LONG DAY/ROCKVIEW RECORDS
Another Long Day - vox arr, bg vox
Come On - vox arr, bg vox
On The Horizon - vox arr, bg vox
Just A Woman - vox arr, bg vox
Let's Cruise - vox arr, bg vox
Back To LA - vox arr, bg vox
Drink The Whiskey - vox arr, bg vox
When It's Raining - vox arr, bg vox
Gold - vox arr, bg vox
THE MADS BAERENTZEN TRIO/THE NEW YORK PROJECT/STUNT RECORDS
Come Sunday - ld vox
Tenderly - ld vox
Trouble Child - ld vox
McParty - ld vox
ROB THOMAS/MEET THE ROBINSONS/ATLANTIC
Little Wonders - bg vox
MR NORTH/EVERYTHING
Cutting Room Floor - bg vox
Whirlwind - bg vox
Promise - bg vox
True Love - bg vox
Everything - bg vox
Anyone - bg vox
Polar Bear - bg vox
Torchbearer - bg vox
Last Stop - bg vox
DANA FUCHS/LOVE TO BEG
Love To Beg - vox arr, bg vox
Golden Eyes - vox arr, bg vox
Set It On Fire - vox arr, bg vox
Faster Than We Can - vox arr, bg vox
Keep On Rollin' - vox arr, bg vox
Drive - vox arr, bg vox
Summersong - vox arr, bg vox
Pretty Girl - vox arr, bg vox
What You See - vox arr, bg vox
ROBERTA FLACK/LET IT BE
We Can Work It Out - bg vox
JINGLES
Adidas
Afrosheen
Aluminum
‘As Told By Ginger’ Theme
Bic
Burger King
Calvin Klein
Campbells Soup
Coke
Dark & Lovely
Dennis Rodman MTV Series
Ertle Car Dealers
HotJobs.com
Hersheys
Hyatt
IRS
Keri Lotion
Kotex
L’Oreal
Michelob
M&M’s
NJ Nets Theme
Office Max
Pillsbury
Planned Parenthood
Scotch Tape
Thomas’s English Muffins
Walt Disney Theme
Wendy’s
Zurich Insurance