2008 studio album by Katie Noonan
Blackbird: The Music of Lennon and McCartney is a studio album by Australian singer songwriter Katie Noonan. The album was released in October 2008 and peaked at number 43 on the ARIA album chart. Blackbird is a set of cover versions of John Lennon and Paul McCartney tracks. The album includes performances from Ron Carter, Lewis Nash, Joe Lovano, John Scofield and Sam Keevers. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2009 the album won Best Jazz Album.[1]
Background
In early 2005 Noonan heard Joe Lovano playing saxophone at Sydney's Angel Place. A couple of years later Noonan was dreaming up a project where she could combine her two main loves – pop music and the freedom of jazz improvisation. It was then that the seeds of the album were sewn. Noonan spoke to Lovano and flew to New York City to make a record with local jazz musicians.[2]