Music CDs

I fell in love with Antiono Carlos (Tom) Jobim, or at least his music, when I was 14 years old. The smooth and cool sounds of Bossa Nova had me dreaming of far-away places, like Rio de Janeiro, never realizing I would be lucky enough to visit there in my adult life. The first time I sang Girl from Ipanema with my friend Armand St. Martin on the guitar, we were just 15. We continued singing this Grammy composition all through our lives when together for gigs.

During my career as a publisher of magazines, my husband and I had the opportunity to visit Brazil and, on several occasions, Rio. It was then I realized how much the sounds and flavors of Rio and New Orleans mix into a wonderful gumbo. We visited IpanemaBeach where Jobim was inspired to write his song about this beautiful young girl. We visited Jardim Botânico with our friend Adriano Cupello, where Jobim’s inspiration came surrounded by the beauty of nature.

After retiring, my vocal teacher, Steven Edwards, encouraged me to record Jobim’s songs as my love for this composer’s work was evident. I was lucky enough to have 3 talented musicians –Jesse Boyd, bass; Troy Davis, percussion and Arnett Hayes on piano – to play the instrumentals. It is Rio’s best with the flavor of New Orleans.Listen to Tristé, Jobim’s words and music played to a New Orleans second line beat. Hope you enjoy our take on the geniusAntonio Carlos Jobim.

A.C. Jobim Revisited – Romney Kriedt Richard

As the great-granddaughter of W.J. McCoy, Romney Kriedt Richard was born and raised in New Orleans, LA. She made her living as a magazine publisher but always enjoyed singing in choral groups. Today she sings with Symphony Chorus of New Orleans and is studying voice with its director, Steven Edwards. For the last few years, they have researched some of the compositions of McCoy and have worked on performing them. Two of them, “La Culpa” (sung in Spanish and English) and “The I Adore” are both part of his Spanish/American collection. Two are love songs, “Because the Rose” and “The Only Voice” and the final is a choral piece sung by the Symphony Chorus of New Orleans, “May.”

As a well-respected and famous musician, W.J. McCoy lived his life teaching and writing his passion – music. After studying harmony and theory, composition and orchestration at the Boston Conservatory of Music, his genius led him more to composing. He left his home state of Ohio when he was a young man, heading to the Bay Area in California where he would spend the rest of his life.

He was married to Sarah Catherine Webber (Hawkins), an accomplished singer whose career was cut short by early on-set deafness. They were married in San Leandro, CA in 1884 and had 4 children.

As a member of the Bohemian Club in San Francisco, McCoy wrote the music for two of the Grove plays, “Cave Man,” 1910 and “Hamadryads,” 1914. He and his good friend, John Phillip Sousa, would showcase their compositions at various concerts, including ones given by the municipal band of San Francisco. He also wrote an opera called “Egypt,” which was produced in Chicago.

McCoy wrote a textbook, “Cumulative Harmony,” which Yale and many other higher educational institutions used. He taught harmony and composition at Mills College and also at the College of the Pacific both in the Bay Area of California.