| THE ALLIANCE SINGERS
Joined together by fate, The Alliance Singers came into being from the
aftermath of September 11, 2001. Forty-eight hours after that tragic day, local
residents gathered and formed The Alliance of Neighbors, an-all volunteer organization to
establish emotional and financial support for the families and the community. It was
decided that a benefit concert would be the best vehicle, yet there was only weeks to
prepare. Music icons Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi were the first to sign up,
followed by Felix Cavalieri, John Eddy, Joan Jett, and Kevin Smith—-to name a few.
While scrambling to cover all the details, co-producer Corinda Carford was faced with
another last minute challenge when music director Gary Tallent urged: “We need backup singers for these acts. I know you
can sing so see if you can pull 10 more people together for rehearsal—-for the day after
tomorrow.” Slightly panicked, Carford ran to the first place she thought of: The
Pilgrim Baptist Church, where she pleaded with musical director Jesse Moorer to “gather some voices (and they have to sound good with
me!) And be at my house tomorrow night at 7:00.” This was to be the first meeting of
many.
As
promised, the singers appeared and raised their voices in harmony for the various
performers of the concert and became what is now known as The Alliance Singers.
Weeks after the successful concert madness,
Corinda received another phone call. This time it was Terry Magovern,
Springsteen’s Tour Director, requesting a smaller group from the original, to appear
with Bruce for a week of holiday concerts at Convention Hall. Calling upon Moorer
again, Jesse arrived at rehearsal with Antonio Lawrence, Michelle Moore, and Antoinette
Moore to join in the festivities.
Months later, on a snowy Sunday afternoon,
Corinda was once again called by Magovern asking if the singers wouldn’t mind working on
some rough new material with Bruce. “The first
time was a fluke; the second a thrill; but this? Incredible!” Carford
remarked to Moorer. Then another stunning moment arrived in June when she was phoned
by Springsteen’s management company informing her that the four cuts they recorded
earlier that year would be included on the next album, The Rising.
The songs are Mary’s Place, My City of Ruins,
Let’s Be Friends, and The Rising.
Some of these tracks are also included in The Essential Bruce Springsteen CD.
More concerts with Bruce followed, including
an acoustic version of City of Ruins for The Today Show, where Matt Lauer exclaimed: “they lit up the room!”
Divine Intervention? Perhaps. But
these five people who had never worked together as a group, have been requested for many
performances since, including a service for the entire cast and crew for the HBO award
winning series, The Wire, in memory of it’s
creator Robert Colesbury.
Joking that “we’re the poster children for ‘You Never Know’,
Carford is convinced that there are wonderful and mystical forces that guide us to place
us exactly where we’re supposed to be…and never forget to celebrate fellowship and
community, peace, love, and charity.
The Alliance Singers are currently working on
their first recording together of Wayfaring
Stranger, a Spiritual from the early 1800’s. They’ve put a unique
Jazz-Gospel spin on this timeless classic, making it hip, smooth, and very “cool”---
CD now available - April 2006.
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