HEART OF MUSIC

Anna Wilson

In the first episode of a new video series, Anna Wilson and collaborator Jeff Franzel recently stopped by ASCAP's headquarters in New York City to talk about her music on her new album, Time Changes Everything, and to perform some of that music exclusively for the ASCAP Network.

Listening to the timeless and sophisticated sound of an Anna Wilson record, it's easy to feel as if you are listening to a record from the 30s or 40s. But hearing her contemporary voice and message combined with that antique sensibility gives her songs a distinct, unique voice that sets them apart from the recordings of the Jazz Age. "Wilson suggests a hip Gen-Xer decked out in vintage couture," says JazzTimes' Christopher Loudon. "Most remarkable though, is Wilson's ability, as a songwriter, to capture the past with such validity, never expressing a feeling that sounds forced or faux." Her new project, Time Changes Everything, a follow up to her debut The Long Way, features 14 original songs keeping with her jazz/pop style and bringing together a collection of modern-day life and love-lessons.

Pennsylvania native Wilson was exposed to music from a young age. Her mother, a talented pianist, shared her love of show tunes and the fluid melodies of Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, as well as many others with her daughter. This musical influence can be seen in Wilson's songs for Time Changes Everything, as she combines the sounds from her childhood with contemporary pop sensibilities and jazz influenced vocals to form her own unique style.

Though she is only just releasing her second album, Wilson has already made a name for herself in the music world. Her music can be heard everywhere from Miramax films to the Whirlpool Corporation's website. Wilson, an experienced performer has toured with Boz Scaggs, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin and Dar Williams. She has also been able to use her songwriting ability to write cuts for artists such as, Reba McEntire, Lee Ann Womack, Chris Cagle and Steve Holy, just to name a few.

Her most recent accomplishment was writing her single "A House, A Home." The song was inspired by Habitat for Humanity and the Whirlpool Building Blocks Project, which built ten houses in five days in Nashville in November 2006 in hopes of raising national awareness of the need for affordable housing. "I was inspired by what they were doing," Wilson says of the volunteers who helped with the Whirlpool Building Blocks Project, "So I wrote a song about it because I wanted to make them know that we were very appreciative of what they were doing in our community."

Since the song was completed, Wilson has performed her single as part of Habitat's inaugural Whirlpool Building Blocks event in November and has appeared at New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity's Musicians' Village in January. "A House, A Home" was also featured on the DIY (Do It Yourself) Network, HGTV and the Food Network, running 32 times from April to May. Anna Wilson says of this accomplishment, "It's been able to help a lot of people and it's a wonderful thing to be a part of."

— Lauren Vislocky




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