Air Cool Jenny — “Pelican”
Americana Highways presents this premiere of New Orleans-based duo Air Cool Jenny’s song “Pelican” from their forthcoming EP First Flight. First Flight was recorded and engineered by Kirkland Middleton at Piety Studios at Nina Highway; recorded, engineered and mixed by George Adrian Peters at The Silo Studios; and mastered by Jeff Peters at The Pie Studios. Air Cool Jenny is primarily duo Helen Rose and Kramer Sanguinetti.
Air Cool Jenny players on “Pelican” are Kramer Sanguinetti on vocals, guitar, electric guitar, pedal steel, and piano; Helen Rose on vocals and tenor sax; Bryan Webber on bass; Kirkland Middleton on drums; and Brendan Moore on organ. Skilled instrumentation will be the first thing you notice about Air Cool Jenny, followed closely by compelling songwriting and the kind of harmonies that make you shiver a little. “The song of the pelican I’ve never heard.” Let the folksy opening draw you into the roots rockin’ style.
“Pelican” is a song inspired by a special spot we used to frequent along the Holy Cross levee on the Mississippi River. It’s a song about a moment of joy, but also a reflection of family history, and the way it feels to absorb the energy of your ancestors- to imagine their narrative and how they lived their lives. Kramer’s grandmother Mimi Loup-Brown used to sell paintings in Jackson Square, New Orleans in the 60’s and 70’s and his grandfather worked as an engineer on the same river barges that we so often watched float along the river. The mighty pelican swimming upstream was certainly a muse sent by the greater powers that be- there is indeed a magic flowing in the waters of the Mississippi. The vocal harmonies were really a great learning experience and challenge to figure out for this tune. When we hit the high part together we are both singing upper extensions of the chord and that’s what gives it the color and feel that it has. This kinda upper harmony singing is usually reserved for jazz and R&B, but we took the inspiration and made it our own. — Helen Rose
Find more here: https://www.aircooljenny.com