(March 22, 2022) - “The first one we recorded is my favorite,” said vocalist Marsha Bartenetti about the upcoming release of the “Marsha Bartenetti Sings McNealy & Kuhns” album on Lo-Flo Records. “‘Why Does the Sky Keep Changing’ was the first song we recorded…then bam the covid pandemic. We were so happy (about recording the album) then everything shut down.”

   Marsha is the voice on songs written by veteran Jazz/Soul songwriters Jane McNealy and Alice Kuhns that will be released on McNealy’s record label Lo-Flo Records. The label was established in 2015 to release archive songs of the dual songwriters. McNealy and Kuhns met after Jane moved to Los Angeles, where she met then veteran Jazz musician and composer six-time Grammy Award winning Harold Battiste, Jr. (Sonny & Cher musical director, Sam Cooke) who signed her to his publishing company At Last Publishing, the first black owned of its kind at the time. Battiste, Jr. also launched the first black record label, AFO (All for One) Records.

   “Jane’s material is rich,” Marsha told me. “I’ve known Jane for several years. I moved to L. A. in 1997. Someone said you got to meet my friend Jane…she was looking for a singer. She listened to my CD; I had recorded two by then. We got along great.”

   The “Marsha Bartenetti Sings McNealy & Kuhns” album offers seven creations of the songwriting pair. Jane, a classically trained pianist since the age of four and Alice a playwright, poet, librettist and lyricist, have over 300 songs archived that are being released via Lo-Flo Records, which she credits to Battiste, Jr., who taught at University of New Orleans and was a graduate of Dillard University with a Bachelors in Music Education.

   Marsha recorded with Motown’s writers Ken Hirsch and Ron Miller, thereby being the first to sing Diana Ross’s “Touch Me in the Morning,” Stevie Wonder’s “For Once in My Life,” and Anita Bakers’ “No One in the World.” Bartenetti’s voice is also the one you hear on your voice message system saying, “you have reached the voice mail system of…’ Some of her previous releases include “Christmas in the Spirit,” “…Feels Like Love,” “It’s Time,” and “Almost Christmas Eve.”

  “It felt so good to be on stage,” Marsha said about what seems like the end of the pandemic and being able to perform again. “I did a show in Los Angeles and after the show it was shut down again. Pandemic break gave us time to reflect…I’m hungry for good melodies and soothing music.”

   When asked about how she picks songs to sing Bartenetti said, “I find songs that move me to tears. I’ve learned it resonates something that relates to me. (As a vocalist) I dig deep into my own experiences, its magic. When I am true to the lyrics…the audience goes into their own experiences and draws from them. I’m the vessel it comes through.”

   Hear her dig deep on the “Marsha Bartenetti Sings McNealy & Kuhns” album. My favorite tracks on the project include #3 “Love”, not only because I gave a friend of mine that name, Love, or that my favorite number is 3, or that this song is the 3^rd song on the album, or that its 3:33 minutes long, but because it also provides the essence of love in its entirety and #6 “I Never See That Rainbow Anymore” because the trumpet or sax playing makes the song so sexy and I love anything sexy! The musicians on this project, recorded at Capitol Studios, are masters and you can tell. They include Mike Watts on piano (also album’s arranger); Andrew Synowiec on guitar; Ray Brinker on drums; Trey Henry on bass; Jeff Bunnell on trumpet; Rusty Higgins on sax; Charlie Bisharat on violin; Peter Kent on violin; Maria Newman on violin, and Armen Ksajikian on cello. www.LoFloRecords.com www.MarshaBartenetti.com