Description
A.J. Croce’s latest effort is aptly titled By Request. While many of the tunes may be familiar, Croce takes them into new, even uncharted territory. The eclectic nature of the material reflects Croce’s wide-spanning tastes. Over his ten studio albums, he’s touched Blues, Soul, Pop, Jazz, and Rock n’ Roll.
Over the past three decades A.J. Croce has established his rep as a piano man and serious vocal stylist who pulls from a host of American traditions and anti-heroes – its part New Orleans part juke joint part soul. While his last album JUST LIKE MEDICINE paired him with soul legend Dan Penn and an all-star cast of players his new album was born of memories – of favorite artists and shows but mostly of late-night gatherings with groups of friends, many of them fellow musicians, with Croce at the piano taking requests. Croce revisits these musical evenings with BY REQUEST 12 personally curated covers that traverse decades and genres propelled by his spirited loose-and-easy piano mastery and emotive vocals. Its a tribute to Croce the music fan as well as Croce the musician that both the variety – from pop to RnR to soul – and the execution is inspired & aided by a full band and horns.
BY REQUEST is the first album Croce has released since losing his wife of 24 years Marlo Croce after a sudden heart ailment. And although he lost his famous father, music legend JIM CROCE, when he was just two years old, he pays tribute by covering Randy Newmans ‘Have You Seen My Baby’ as a nod to the fact that the first show he attended as a babe was a bill featuring his dad and Newman. Extraordinary!
