Quiet Fire Roberta Flack

• 1 Go Up Moses 05:24
• 2 Bridge Over Troubled Water 07:17
• 3 Sunday And Sister Jones 05:01
• 4 See You Then 03:43
• 5 Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow 04:11
• 6 To Love Somebody 06:44
• 7 Let Them Talk 03:55
• 8 Sweet Bitter Love 06:06
• Total Runtime 42:21

Info for Quiet Fire

Back in the days of patchouli and dashikis, when Norah Jones was just a twinkle in Ravi Shankar's eye, Roberta Flack set the precedent for silken-voiced chanteuses serving up a low-key mix of folk, jazz, and soul. Flack hit pay dirt straight out of the gate with 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face' from her '69 debut, but her third outing, 1971's „Quiet Fire“, is arguably her aesthetic peak.

As on her first two albums, Flack brings her jazz chops to bear in a pop/soul setting with folk/rock trappings, her vocal approach remaining subtle but striking and her repertoire including a couple of tunes taken from recent years' pop charts (Simon & Garfunkel's 'Bridge Over Troubled Water,' the Bee Gees' 'To Love Somebody'). Crucially, both Flack's singing and the production expand into new areas, best exemplified by the propulsive, percussion-driven, gospel-goes-to-Africa 'Go Up Moses' and the Nina Simone-on-Quaaludes reinvention of the above-mentioned Bee Gees smash.

Roberta Flack, piano, vocals
Joe Farrell, flute, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
Seldon Powell, tenor saxophone
Romeo Penque, flute, soprano saxophone
Seymour Barab, cello
David Carey, vibraphone
Hugh McCracken, guitar
Corky Hale, harp
Ted Hoyle, cello
Kermit Moore, cello
Wally Kane, bassoon
Hubert Laws, flute
Buddy Lucas, harmonica
Chuck Rainey, bass, electric bass
Ron Carter, bass
Terry Plumeri, double bass
Grady Tate, percussion, drums
Bernard 'Pretty' Purdie, drums
Ralph MacDonald, percussion, conga
Arif Mardin, background vocals, string arrangements, flute arrangement
Joshie Armstead, background vocals
Joel Dorn, background vocals
Jim Bailey, background vocals
Hilda Harris, background vocals
Cissy Houston, background vocals
Tasha Thomas, background vocals
Gene McDaniels, background vocals
Les McCann, background vocals
Sammy Turner, background vocals The Newark Boys Chorus, background vocals

Recorded at Atlantic Recording Studios, Regent Studios, The Hit Factory, New York City
Engineered by Lewis Hahn, Bruce Tergesen
Produced by Joel Dorn

Digitally remastered

Internationally hailed as one of the greatest songstresses of our time, GRAMMY Award winning Roberta Flack remains unparalleled in her ability to tell a story through her music. Her songs bring insight into our lives, loves, culture and politics, while effortlessly traversing a broad musical landscape from pop to soul to folk to jazz.

Classically trained on the piano from an early age, Ms. Flack received a music scholarship at age 15 to attend Howard University. Discovered while singing at the Washington, DC nightclub Mr. Henry's by jazz musician Les McCann, she was promptly signed to Atlantic With a string of hits, including, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Where Is the Love (a duet with former Howard University classmate Donny Hathaway), Killing Me Softly With His Song, Feel Like Makin' Love, The Closer I Get to You, Tonight I Celebrate My Love, and Set the Night to Music, Ms. Flack has built a musical legacy. In 1999, she aptly received a Star on Hollywood's legendary Walk of Fame.

Roberta is currently involved with a very exciting studio venture — an interpretive album of Beatles' classics.

She regularly plays to appreciative audiences around the world, and had the pleasure of appearing recently with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington DC, conducted by Marvin Hamlisch. In February 2009, Ms. Flack performed with critically acclaimed orchestras in Australia, including the Melbourne, Queensland, Adelaide, Tasmanian, West Australian and Sydney Symphonies.

Very active as a humanitarian and mentor, Ms. Flack founded the Roberta Flack School of Music at the Hyde Leadership Charter School in the Bronx, providing an innovative and inspiring music education program to underprivileged students free of charge.

This album contains no booklet.