Kaleigh Baker

Kaleigh Baker - The Weight of It All (EP) - 2011 - Kaleigh Baker

Among the many gifts given with both hands to formerly local, currently New York-prowling singer-songwriter Kaleigh Baker – aside from that Swiss Army knife of a voice – is her innate grasp of momentum. On her new EP, The Weight of It All, Baker and producer Justin Beckler play the puppet masters, building suspense without ever seeming coy about it. Baker is capable of communicating volumes with a simple vocal lilt, and on the moments in which her register nose-dives headfirst into the emotional muck (“Sugardaddy”) or propels like a jet into the stratosphere (“Love Letter to a Burning Man”), she never fails to rouse the senses. From its 12-bar intro (the foot-stomping “Train Gone By”) to the titular closer, Weight feels like that disorienting second after an earthquake begins. Long-gestating centerpiece “Peace, Love and All That” is a master class in maintaining an album’s tide. Following the skillfully playful “Train Gone By” and “Sugardaddy,” the track is wholly declarative, with extended phrasing that elegantly rides the beat as Baker waits for an opening to attack. In its last minute, the drums drop out and Baker strikes, supported by a couple of Orlando’s greatest voices: Olivia Wynn of Thomas Wynn & the Believers and Solillaquists of Sound’s Alexandrah Sarton. It’s a thrilling moment that injects every remaining song with possibility, including the Broadway bouncer “Sheister” and the forbidden lust of “Love Letter to a Burning Man.” The Weight of It All is the roar of a soulful lioness and will go a long way toward proving to the world what Orlando’s known for a long time: Kaleigh Baker is a legend in the making. - [from Fire and pain: Blues-soul lady-in-waiting Kaleigh Baker makes a strong claim to the throne: By & © Justin Strout Published: August 11, 2011 © 2012 Orlando Weekly http://orlandoweekly.com/music/fire-and-pain-1.1187019]

Originally from a small valley in Western New York, Kaleigh Baker has now established herself as a dynamic jazzy, soul/blues rock vocalist, and a talented songwriter. "Her chill-inducing growl and ear-shattering range come drenched in Jack Daniel’s swagger: ‘Her vocals dip into a low and resounding molasses-slow croon with as much ease as they ascend to ceiling-skimming heights…’(Creative Loafing). When asked during an interview to describe her sound, she said “blues, soul, rock-n-roll”. If "The Weight of It All" is any indication of things to come from Kaleigh, then another small but important step will have been made in cultivating the seedlings of really good music for the future. This EP is HR by A.O.O.F.C. Kaleigh Baker is a great soul blues artist, and similar to soul/blues singers like Kyla Brox from England, she is maintaining a high quality of musical output in todays barren musical scene. These artists need all the help they can get to try and eliminate the commercial crap out there masquerading as "music". Buy "The Weight of It All", go and see her if she's playing in your area, and watch out for more releases from this talented lady. Support real music [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 41.8 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1. Train Gone By - Kaleigh Baker 3:51
2. Sugardaddy - Kaleigh Baker & Justin Beckler 3:34
3. Peace Love and All That - Kaleigh Baker 4:06
4. Sheister - Kaleigh Baker & Tim Turner 4:09
5. Love Letter to a Burning Man - Kaleigh Baker 2:58
6. The Weight of It All - Kaleigh Baker 4:34

MUSICIANS

Kaleigh Baker - Acoustic Guitar, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals
Tim Turner - Electric Guitar
Justin Beckler - Electric & Bass Guitar
Matt Lapham, Todd Warsing - Bass Guitar
Abel Avalos - Keyboards
Rion Smith - Percussion
Nathan Anderson - Saxophone
Olivia Wynn, Alexandrah Sarton - Backing Vocals

ABOUT KALEIGH

While Barbados may have Rihanna, Orlando has the right to say we won the heart of Kaleigh Baker, the talented songstress and songwriter with vocals that have been said to rival that of Janis Joplin. Though Kaleigh was not born or raised in Orlando, you could call Orlando her musical home. Growing up in a valley in Western New York, Kaleigh was an athlete and country girl. After striking out on her own to Buffalo, NY and trying her hand in college at Journalism, Kaleigh started playing guitar and found her way into playing gigs. Though she started singing a few years prior to college something clicked and she found her calling. She says at that point she thought “I’ve been playing sports all my life and it’s time for something new.” Having a strong soulful voice, booking gigs was not the issue for this girl, the technical side of music was her weak side. Lucky for Orlando, this brought her here through her enrollment into Full Sail to strengthen her musical knowledge and become a force to reckon with both in Orlando and beyond. “Orlando is really good to me” says Kaleigh while visiting from her current home in New York, NY. “I’ve only been gone three months…” she trails off. While Orlando may not instill the same nostalgia in everyone (though hopefully one day it will earn that place in many hearts), Kaleigh has a great point about the music scene in Orlando. She says “I was here for five years and I’ve always felt like Orlando has the best music scene. Out of all the different genres, the bands here are stellar, the musicianship is top tier.” But Kaleigh isn’t here just to make us Orlando residents get all teary eyed about our fine city. She is also gracing us with her talent and playing at The Social on Friday, August 12, 2011 at 9:00 p.m. “The band for The Social is killer” entices Kaleigh. Not wanting to give away everything, she reveals that you can count on is seeing Nate Anderson on stage playing saxophone, Abel Avalos on keys, and Anthony Manzo on drums. In addition you can prepare yourself for husband and wife, Jeff and Erin Nolan to hit the stage, who will be sure to impress the crowd. With a lineup like this and the attraction of Kaleigh herself, this show will be the place to be on Friday night. Tickets are $10 and you can purchase them ahead of time here (http://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/51933?utm_source=fb1&utm_medium=amp) to avoid waiting in line, or worse not getting in at all due to sell out! By & © Jennifer Schaffner Orlando Live Music Examiner http://www.examiner.com/live-music-in-orlando/spotlight-on-kaleigh-baker