What A Zoo~CD Review

WHAT A ZOO!

JOANIE LEEDS & THE NIGHTLIGHTS

WITH GUEST ARTIST SECRET AGENT 23 SKIDOO


“BEST KIDS’ CDs of 2010:  Electric guitars and Leeds’ belting vocals make this rock-and-roll. You won’t be able to resist the urge to sing along pretending your hairbrush is a microphone. Most of the tunes provide you with a great way to free your inner rock star.”  – The Washington Post

“Leeds has one of those big, beautiful rock ‘n roll sopranos that can go full-out or soft and tender, and she uses it to full effect.  Her tuneful melodies and rich, funny and thoughtful child-respecting lyrics give depth and irresistible zip to songs.” – Lynne Heffley, 2010 Parents' Choice® Gold Award review of Joanie Leeds’ I’m a Rock Star

NEW YORK (Feb. 2, 2011) – Building on the momentum of her 2010 Parents’ Choice® Gold Award-winning album, I’m a Rock Star, independent children’s musician Joanie Leeds brings her attention to the animal kingdom with the April 12 release of her new kids’ CD, What a Zoo! (Limbostar, $15.00, for ages 2 – 9, run time 37 minutes).  Joining Joanie and her band, The Nightlights, is the critically acclaimed “hip hop for kids” musician, Secret Agent 23 Skidoo.
Gifted with a soulful, “rock solid” voice and an instinctive knack for capturing the essence of any style she goes for, Joanie Leeds has delivered, with each new release, music that speaks to kids in a friendly, non-patronizing way and is imbued with artistic values that thrill admiring adults.  Her presentation is notable for its child-appropriate clarity, yet vocally Joanie soars easily through a remarkable array of styles with such an enviable power and dexterity that it’s easy to forget her intended audience is under age 10.  Joanie truly rocks!  Time Out New York Kids enthused about I’m a Rock Star, “The title track – with its hint of mid-career Alanis Morissette – is a terrific jam, while the rocking-chair anthem ‘Give Me a Hug’ is a tender, parent-pleasing tune … if she can win over my discerning kid, then Joanie Leeds is indeed a rock star.”
What a Zoo!  presents ten rockin’ Joanie Leeds originals and four covers, each with its own distinctive personality that salutes every child’s fascination with our animal friends.  The lyrics are thought provoking and packed with educational value. “My Butterfly” explores metamorphosis, “Sea Cow” and “Big Blue Whale” focus on endangered species, and the delightful, two beat novelty song “Tofurky” emphasizes responsible eating.  Other songs are just plain fun.  “Happy As A Clam” wends its way through the many animal-isms that pop up in our daily conversations, while the classic “Pony Boy” provides a sweet country touch.  A brilliantly eclectic presentation of the beloved children’s folk ballad “Froggie Went a’ Courtin’“ updates Joanie’s authentic swing phrasing to include a super hip appearance by guest rapper Secret Agent 23 Skidoo.  While the album is light-hearted, Joanie’s cover of the Phish song “Possum” does let kids know what happens when you don’t look both ways when crossing the street, And “Mosquitoes” is unapologetic about squashing those little bloodsuckers!  What a Zoo! offers a perfect setting for Joanie’s vocal virtuosity.  Its sophisticated humor is rooted in real life experiences and guaranteed never to wear thin with the repeated listenings this CD is bound to get.
The Washington Post named Joanie Leeds’ 2010 release, I’m a Rock Star, one of the best kids’ CDs of the year. In addition to winning a Parents’ Choice® Gold Award, the album was honored with a NAPPA Award, its title track was a finalist in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, and the song “More Cowbell” reached #1 on WXPN’s Kids Corner. Joanie’s songs have been spinning regularly on dozens of “kindie rock” radio programs and podcasts, including Sirius/XM’s Kids Place Live.  Previous to I’m a Rock Star, Joanie released two albums for adult listeners: My Job Application Knows More About Me Than You Do (2000) and Soul From My Footsteps (2004), a Parent’s Choice® Recommended children’s album, City Kid! (2008), and a children’s holiday CD, Challah, Challah (2009).  Joanie’s City Kid Live! DVD, released in 2010, won three Telly Awards.

JOANIE LEEDS in Performance
Highlights – Winter/Spring 2011

February 5                  Brooklyn Academy of Music  (Guest Artist with Jon Samson)        Brooklyn, NY
April 3                         Dave & Mary Alper JCC                                     Miami, FL
April 10                       JCC Manhattan      CD RELEASE SHOW!                                     New York, NY
April 16                       Brooklyn Children’s Museum   CD RELEASE SHOW!                   Brooklyn, NY
April 19                       Children’s Museum of Manhattan                                                   New York, NY
April 23                       Off Broadway                                                     St. Louis, MO
May 15                        92Y Tribeca                                                       New York, NY

What a wonderful album! The kids loved dancing around to the music! Some favorite songs were~

Sea Cow

Mosquitoes

All The Animals

What a Zoo! will be available online at city kid music,  amazon.com , ">cd baby , and at specialty toy and bookstores across the country.

~I received a product sample in order to write my review. I received no monetary compensation. All opinions expressed are mine.

I Want A Dog~CD Review

FOUR-TIME EMMY-WINNING COMPOSER/PERFORMER

JAMIE BROZA’S NEW KIDS’ CD

I WANT A DOG!

TO BE CAPTURED & RELEASED INTO THE WORLD MARCH 15

FEATURING ISRAELI SUPERSTAR DAVID BROZA


“THE TOP 25 CDs OF THE LAST 25 YEARS:  Bad Mood Mom.  Broza’s remarkably accurate, compassionate, stage musical-style look at the developmental stages – with all their attendant emotional and physical challenges – that children go through, from babyhood on, is a tour-de-force, from a two-year-old’s ego-asserting ‘No!’ to that first-grade swagger in ‘I’m Six.’” – Parents’ Choice®

“Accomplished musician and TV, film and stage composer Jamie Broza nails the rewards and challenges of parenthood with resonant wisdom, empathy, and humor from both parents’ and kids’ points of view.  With an expert, creative touch, Broza’s tracks play like catchy numbers from a stage-worthy musical.” – Los Angeles Times

“Bad Mood Mom: A great way to remind kids we all have difficult times ...  my favorite cut is the fabulously catchy title track that assures my kids I am not the only mom in the world who occasionally freaks out.”  – Chicago Tribune

NEW YORK, NY (Feb. 2, 2011) – Broza is back! Four-time Emmy-winning composer/performer Jamie Broza announces the March 15 release of his first new children’s album in five years, I Want a Dog! (Good Mood Records, $12.99, for ages 3 – 7, run time 41 minutes). The Latin-infused album features a guest appearance by Jamie’s cousin, Israeli superstar David Broza.
Although I Want a Dog! opens with some fine canine rhythmic banter on its title track, don’t expect 41 minutes of strictly dog talk.  Get set for more surprises than you ever thought possible on one disc.  For many of the songs on I Want a Dog! Jamie Broza has brilliantly called upon the sophisticated stylings of Brazilian bossa nova, which experienced a tidal wave of popularity in the 1960s but often flies under the radar of today’s young families. This is music that never gets in the way of the lyrics, creating the ultimate story-song setting.   Listening to I Want a Dog! is almost like listening to the sound track of a hysterically zany home movie -- a document of off-the-wall family fun creatively imbued with terrific comedic timing and brainy humor.  
I Want a Dog! follows Jamie Broza’s critically acclaimed children’s albums Bad Mood Mom (and other Good-Mood Songs), winner of the Parents’ Choice® Gold Award and named by Parents’ Choice as one of the top 25 children’s CDs in the last 25 years, and My Daddy is Scratchy, winner of the NAPPA Gold Award.

In the five years since the release of My Daddy is Scratchy, Jamie Broza's alter ego, Jamie Lawrence, has been busy writing music for HBO documentaries, indie films, and the Tony Awards and watching his little kids turn into teenagers. Praised by The New York Times for his “superb jazz and funk-tinged orchestrations,” Jamie’s credentials include producing the music score for the indie film The Ballad of Jack and Rose starring Daniel Day Lewis, composing the theme song of As The World Turns, and scoring special segments for The Tony Awards and The Kennedy Center Honors. He has written the scores for numerous documentary and feature films for CBS, NBC, PBS, HBO, and the Discovery Channel. Jamie has worked with such luminaries as Burt Bacharach, Ray Charles, Placido Domingo, Aretha Franklin, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Carly Simon, Nathan Lane, Jessye Norman, and Smokey Robinson.
Jamie credits his family’s rescue dog, Dusty, adopted from North Shore Animal League America, as his muse for I Want a Dog!  In gratitude, Jamie will donate 20 percent of the profits from this album to North Shore Animal League America, and he hopes that this CD will encourage others to adopt rescue animals.

This is such a fun album! I played while the kids were playing with their toys today and they were soon dancing around to the music!

Some favorite songs were~

I Want A Dog

Choo, Choo Train

Monster Voice

I Want a Dog! will be available at online at www.goodmoodrecords.com, amazon.com, BigKidsVideo.com and CdBaby.com, as well as at independent children’s retailers.

~I received a product sample in order to write my review. I received no monetary compensation. All opinions expressed are mine.