Album Notes
Laura Vecchione is a Boston and New York based singer and songwriter who has written a song “Tell Them About the Dream,” that embodies a unifying spirit and articulates the historic purpose that we strive to achieve as a nation. Thousands of people have watched the video on YouTube and urged her to get this song and video out to wider media outlets.
The song and video from start to finish were made in only a week’s time in three different cities to inspire people before elections. Featured with Vecchione and responsible for the song’s unique acoustic jazz arrangement is New Orleans native and Julliard graduate, pianist Jonathan Batiste (Cassandra Wilson) along with his quintet, Joe Saylor (drums), Phil Kuehn (bass), Matt Marantz (tenor sax), Eddie Bartoash (alto sax). The Gospel background singers were recorded in Boston, at the direction of Patricia Dance, and the song was mixed by multi-Grammy winner, Jim Scott (Dixie Chicks, Tom Petty, John Fogerty) in LA.
“I was amazed to hear President Elect Obama mention every moment in history that we had put in the video at his acceptance speech in Chicago, from the bridge in Selma, to the Berlin Wall coming down!” said Laura about the “Tell Them About the Dream” video which was made by Ralph Modica of Phase 1 Digital in New York prior to the Obama victory to inspire with a message of hope and unity.
Vecchione was inspired to write the song by the story of Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson calling out to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “Tell them about the dream, Martin!” forty-five years to the day that Obama gave his DNC acceptance speech.
The song was included in the Martin Luther King, Jr. tribute album and charitable website, the Dream On project.