Jessica Montgomery

Chuck Leavell has been pleasing the ears of music fans for more than 40 years now. His piano and keyboard work has been heard on the works of Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, John Mayer, The Black Crowes, George Harrison, The Allman Brothers Band, The Indigo Girls, Blues Traveler, Train, Montgomery-Gentry, Lee Ann Womack and many, many more. In addition to being a well established pianist/artist in the music industry, Leavell is also a published author, long time tree farmer, co-founder of the popular website The Mother Nature Network, and keeps busy with his advocacy work on behalf of the environment. At the age of 13, Chuck got the opportunity to see Ray Charles in concert. He recalls, “Ray and the band played an incredible show, and it had such an impact on me that I made up my mind there and then that that was what I wanted to do. I decided that night what I wanted as my career.” When he was 15, Leavell made his way to Muscle Shoals, AL, and the legendary studios there, where he played on several records, including Freddie North’s soul classic Don’t Take Her, She’s All I’ve Got.

Meredith Willson Active in music since the early '20s, songwriter, bandleader, and multi-instrumentalist Meredith Willson is best-known for his Broadway scores for The Music Man (1957) and The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1960), and as the composer of the holiday standard "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas." Born in Iowa in 1902, Willson went to a music school in New York in addition to studying with a private tutor. During the early '20s, Willson became the flute and piccolo soloist in John Philip Sousa's concert band and toured the U.S. and Central and South America with them.

Some of the very first Swoons to captivate Australia over 20 years ago were from the Celtic tradition; on this album they join new Swoons as intimacy rubs shoulders with grandeur. Be embraced by the rich sound of the full orchestra in Danny Boy, and relish the tender majesty of the choir in My Heart’s in the Highlands and Rutter’s Deep Peace. Then marvel at the sheer beauty of the Scottish fiddle tradition, and join the harp, cello and accordion as they spin stunning melodies.

"Whole Heart" is the debut album from cellist Claire Bryant featuring seven bold works for solo cello and string duo written by a luminary slate of diverse living composers: Caroline Shaw, Jessie Montgomery, Andrea Casarrubios, Adam Schoenberg, Jessica Meyer, Reena Esmail, and Tanner Porter. These works reflect love and the human experience. Whole Heart is a reminder of the collective challenges we face and the resilience and strength that live inside each of us.