Lili Añel

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  Lili performing in 2009

Lili Añel (nee Eulalia Añel) is a singer/songwriter and performing artist originally from New York City. She was born in El Barrio, Spanish Harlem and raised in the South Bronx. She moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 2004, where the local music scene embraced her, along with airplay and guest appearances on NPR station WXPN. She performed in and around Philadelphia, the Lehigh Valley, Delaware, New Jersey as well as continuing to perform in New York City. Her style is diverse, reflecting her background which is a hybrid.

The single "Supposed To Be" from her most recent CD release Every Second In Between was listed in USA Today's "Playlist" September 15, 2009, by Steve Jones.

Beginnings

As a Songwriter, Lili Añel honed her skill in NYC’s Greenwich Village thriving music scene. Alongside peers like Cliff Eberhardt, Carolyn Mas, The Roches and Steve Forbert, to name a few, she successfully showed diversity within her musical ideas and sensibilities, performing both solo or with her band executing her music and voice with amazing power, rhythmically and melodically. Lili and her band opened for legendary acts, Etta James, Taj Mahal, Stuff (featuring the Saturday Night Live Band) and The Persuasions. Lili has appeared across the U.S. and Canada in support of her first album “Laughed Last”, released in 1994.

People have often described Lili's music as Joan Armatrading meets Joni Mitchell meets Steely Dan. Lili's music however, is influenced by a great deal of other songwriters and musical styles including Garland Jeffreys, Janis Ian, The Beatles, John Coltrane, Patato Y Totico, Celia Cruz amongst others.

Her music reflects her background; born in New York City of Black/Cuban parents she utilizes rhythms primarily as the basis of her songwriting with the traditional Cuban recordings of Orchesta Aragon as well as the drum stylings of Patato Y Totico, known for their incorporation of traditional African drumming with Cuban call-and-response songs (masters of “gua-guanco” and “Rumba”).

Lili was accepted into the Leonard Davis Center of Performing Arts [2] at City College of the City University of New York. Lili later studied with legendary jazz singer Shelia Jordan for one year in her vocal performance workshop. Lili lasted under the stress of traditional music training for an additional year. Lili took a leave of absence from CCNY never returning. Instead, she enrolled in Eddie Simon’s “Guitar Study Center”. Only able to afford to pay for one class, she audited as many classes as possible. Gaining the respect from the instructors, who admired her diligence, she was often allowed to participate in class like the students who were fully enrolled. During her time at Guitar Study Center, Lili also began to attend open mics in New York City’s Greenwich Village, and other clubs. She began to get gigs and subsequently put a band together. Lili continued performing, building her following which eventually took her to recording her first CD, Laughed Last in 1994 on Palmetto Records[3].

Recordings

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Laughed Last

In 1994 Lili signed with Palmetto Records[4] who released her debut CD "Laughed Last". It was met with rave reviews as well as airplay on AAA stations across the United States, in particular on her native New Yorks' WFUV FM.

Hi-Octane Coffee

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In 2002, Lili recorded Hi-Octane Coffee which was produced by J.B. Moore (co-producer of “The Breaks” by Kurtis Blow). Hi-Octane Coffee featured some of New York City’s famed session players including Drew Zingg (Steely Dan, Alana Davis, Gladys Knight), Frank Vilardi (Donny Osmond, Jill Sobule, The Bacon Brothers), Seth Glassman (James Brown, Paul McCartney, Maceo Parker, Carol King) and Johnny Gale (co-producer Ryan Shaw “This is Ryan Shaw”). This union provided the opportunity for Lili’s songs to shine, showcasing her music in all its diversity, from the funk of “The Way Out” to the Americana-Country tinged “Nothing in Common” to the folk-acoustic guitar-vocal “Zora”. Hi-Octane Coffee received excellent press, continuing to raise Lili’s profile within the industry.

Dream Again

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In January 2007, Lili released her third CD entitled “Dream Again” (Wall-I Records/Quarry Hill Studios). “Dream Again” marks Lili’s first recording as co-producer. She was joined by bassist, Cooke Harvey as the other half of this creative effort. JazzTimes magazine said of Dream Again "...part soul sister, part jazz chanteuse and pure dynamite...her songs are consistently excellent..."

Every Second In Between

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On her fifth release, Every Second In Between (Wall-I Records), LILI AÑEL wanted to continue depicting her love of songwriting, singing and interpretation, but at a whole new level. Enter four-time Grammy winner Glenn Barratt.

Every Second In Between is a collaboration of heart, soul, words, music, spirit and technique. The songs’ landscapes accurately capture Lili, bringing her voice to the forefront, from the classically tinged Voyager, with its string quartet and Lili’s voice, alone and in chorus, to her cover of Nina Simone’s That’s All I Want From You, and the Latin flavored Supposed To Be, the album’s first single, a song of empowerment with the storyteller’s refusal to give up sense of self. Every Second In Between proves Lili’s stick-to-it-ness and her continued growth as a songwriter and artist to be, as she likes to say, “good as gold.”

Noted jazz journalist Ken Franckling in his review of Every Second In Between when referencing his favorite songs on the CD, stated his "Favorites: All 11 Tracks" [5]. USA TODAY's music critic Steve Jones highlights Lili's song Supposed To Be as one of 10 intriguing tunes found during the week's listening (September 15, 2009).

External links

<a href="http://www.lilianel.org">Lili Anel's Official Website</a>