2007年VOA标准英语-Guitarist Paul Brown Gets Help from Famous Frie

By Doug Levine
Washington
06 May 2007

Guitarist Paul Brown is a Grammy Award-winning "smooth jazz" producer. But lately, he's been making a name for himself as a solo¹ recording² artist. As VOA's Doug Levine tells us, Brown gets a little help from some famous friends on his latest album, White Sand.

The advantage of having produced so many albums for so many artists is being able to call upon their services for your own record. Paul Brown made one call to saxophonist Euge Groove³ who was more than happy to collaborate⁴ with him on "More Or Les Paul."

Paul says he decided⁵ to scale back his producing duties, and further his own recording career after putting the finishing touches on "24/7" from his debut⁶ album Upfront. "When I got done recording it, I listened back and said, 'Man, that sounds like a finished record right there.' And I had never really had that kind of response to my own playing before that song," he says.

Paul Brown's "24/7" opened the door for more recording opportunities. Like collaborating⁷ with singer Al Jarreau on "Makes Me Feel So Good" from Paul's new album. "He originally didn't like the lyrics⁸ to the song, so he said, 'I really want to do it but I want to change some of these lyrics.' So we got into the studio one night and I said, 'Look, let's just figure out which of these lyrics you're uncomfortable with and we'll change those. So we did. We kind of wrote the song, and he did his vocal⁹ at the same time. But, just to hear him singing and my guitar playing is such a treat for me," he says.

The list of guest singers and musicians on White Sand reads like a who's-who of smooth jazz: Al Jarreau, Boney James, Rick Braun, David Benoit, and newcomers Lina and Jessy J.

Paul says his guest list was complete when Bobby Caldwell agreed to sing an old favorite. "Bobby used to do the song 'Mercy, Mercy, Mercy' in his set, and I just always just thought it was fantastic. So I wanted to record that song, so he was the perfect guy for that. He was really into doing , and the first thing out of his mouth was, 'My baby she's so fine' from 'Mercy Mercy Mercy.' He just sounded unreal. He just nailed it at 8:30 in the morning," he says.

In support of White Sand, Paul Brown will perform at jazz festivals in Wisconsin and California, with some shows featuring special guest Euge Groove.

1 solo   

n.独奏，独唱；adj.单独的；adv.单独地；v.放单飞，单独表演

参考例句：

• Tara is currently working on a solo album.塔拉眼下正忙着制作个人专辑。
• There's wonderfully lyrical flute solo in the middle of this symphony.在交响乐中间有一段奇妙的抒情长笛独奏。

2 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

3 groove   

n.沟，槽；凹线，（刻出的）线条，习惯

参考例句：

• They're happy to stay in the same old groove.他们乐于墨守成规。
• The cupboard door slides open along the groove.食橱门沿槽移开。

4 collaborate   

vi.协作，合作；协调

参考例句：

• The work gets done more quickly when we collaborate.我们一旦合作，工作做起来就更快了。
• I would ask you to collaborate with us in this work.我们愿意请你们在这项工作中和我们合作。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

7 collaborating   

合作( collaborate的现在分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• Joe is collaborating on the work with a friend. 乔正与一位朋友合作做那件工作。
• He was not only learning from but also collaborating with Joseph Thomson. 他不仅是在跟约瑟福？汤姆逊学习，而且也是在和他合作。

8 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

9 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。