Anna Wilson

Needless to say, change in the world is an ongoing theme in 2009, and, with Time Changes Everything, jazz singer/songwriter Anna Wilson proves that time really does change everything! Due to popular demand garnered from the extraordinary success of her holiday CD, Yule Swing!, Wilson’s label, Transfer Records, is repackaging and re-releasing this critically acclaimed studio album (2007) and adding two new bonus tracks. The reintroduction of this recording will energize Wilson’s new legions of fans who have discovered her passion for original intimate jazz and big band music that set standards all its own.

Wilson’s new and expanded fan base includes members of the press, where Yule Swing! received critical acclaim in such publications as USA Today, Jazziz, The Philadelphia Daily News, All Music Guide, All About Jazz, and The Las Vegas Sun; at radio, where the CD was one of the most added during the holiday season; at retail, where Yule Swing! became the first CD to be sold exclusively during the holidays at Kirkland home stores; at tour venues, Wilson was the breakout artist of the 2008 Park City Jazz Festival, and also performed at the Sundance Film Festival with Josh Groban and Habitat for Humanity International’s 25th Anniversary Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project. All of this resulted in top chart positions on three of Billboard’s January 10, 2009 charts (#12 on the Overall jazz chart, plus the Heat-Seeker and Standard Jazz charts).

So time does change everything, including the addition of two new bonus tracks to the CD, a full rendition of her Habitat for Humanity inspired song, “A House, A Home”, featuring jazz trumpet great Rick Braun, and the newly penned, “Drink It Up”, the cornerstone single of Anna’s new release. Inspired by her performance at The Flowering of the Vines in Napa Valley, “Drink It Up” is destined to become a jazz classic, matching the passion of jazz with food and wine lovers alike. It's a song about drinking up all the good things in life. It celebrates life, love and the art of living, says Wilson. In conjunction, Anna plans to tour and perform at wine and jazz festivals throughout the summer.

Time Changes Everything was born out of Anna Wilson’s continuing efforts as a musical composer and jazz artist to bring classic melodies, lyrics and arrangements, reminiscent of the golden age of the Great American Songbook into the modern era. In discovering her own artistry, Anna found that a large gap existed among younger generations and their exposure to the great standards. Lyrically those songs often reflect a by-gone era that has lost some of their relevance in today’s fast moving world.

Since child growing up in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, Anna Wilson has been all about jazz.  She listened to her piano playing mother’s collection of show tunes, Great American Songbook standards and the classic works of Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland. “I love those old songs dearly,” she says, “but there are so many artists out there who do them well. My primary goal as an artist is to write original songs that help bridge the gap between the nostalgic musical sounds of the past and add a lyrical modern day touch that can stand on the shoulders of the great Tin Pan Alley composers.” This approach has led her to uniquely communicate her artistry and its message through her original jazz songs with classic style and timelessness.

Wilson’s successful songwriting career continues to thrive as she establishes herself as an independent jazz artist, and she has a lot to be jazzed about. Reflective of the two musical genres that have defined Wilson’s professional career, jazz and country/pop, she co-wrote one of the hottest country singles of the year, Chuck Wick’s “All I Ever Wanted”. RCA released the track as a follow-up to Wick’s breakthrough hit “Stealing Cinderella”. “All I Ever Wanted” reached #12 on the Media Base and Billboard country charts. Wilson’s other recent single is Suzy Bogguss’ “The Bus Ride”,  a song that hails from Anna’s first album The Long Way (Curb/Asylum). These accomplishments nicely complement Wilson’s remarkable catalogue that includes album cuts for artists like Reba McEntire, Brooks & Dunn, Lee Ann Womack, Billy Ray Cyrus and Chris Cagle to name a few.

Anna Wilson’s songwriting and artistry is also featured though her relationship with Habitat for Humanity and their continued use of “A House, A Home”. The original version of the song is included in Habitat”s public service announcements that continue to appear on TV and radio and have received over $5 million in free national and international advertising.

With the re-release of Time Changes Everything due out this spring, fans and critics alike will find that in Wilson’s case, time is definitely changing things and for the better. “There is one thing we can all count on in life, and that is change. Nothing ever stays the same,” Wilson states. “Sometimes that can seem like a bad thing, and sometimes it can be a good thing.”  One thing is certain; Anna Wilson’s re-release of Time Changes Everything is a very, very good thing.

Time Changes Everything—JAZZ TIMES MAGAZINE
"She’s got a voice like crème de cacao and an inner metronome that swings wildly from age to age. Indeed, judging from this sophomore effort, Pennsylvanian Anna Wilson has yet to meet a musical era she doesn’t like. Winding her way through 13 original tunes, most built around optimistic sentiments of the look-for-the-silver-lining and love-gone-right variety, and one cover (a sly and slightly pouty reading of “Wedding Bell Blues”, Laura Nyro’s peppy homage to an overanxious bride-in-waiting), Wilson suggests a hip Gen-Xer decked out in vintage couture. Though her postmodern sound is distinctly her own, she can evoke the 1930s (the zingy “Gonna Dance”), ‘40s (the smoky “Fedora”) or ‘50s (the creamy “Sentimental Sundays”) with uniform ease. 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." – Christopher Loudon