Marcus Goldhaber To Release Third Album ALMOST LOVE, 10/9

Marcus Goldhaber has reached beyond his comfort zone as a highly regarded jazz vocalist and come into his own as a singer-songwriter on his third CD, ALMOST LOVE (Fallen Apple), due for release Oct. 9, 2012. For the first time in his career, every track is an original – rare territory for even the best of his breed.

The first single, "Love Me Tonight," a song that's both somber and comforting with a hopeful melody and a reassuring arrangement, is available for download NOW at CDBaby.com and iTunes.com. Goldhaber has garnered tremendous critical acclaim on his first two albums, with PEOPLE Magazine saying the New Yorker with the youthfully carefree sweet tenor "will have you giddy one moment and melancholy the next and loving every note." And that only fuels his need to continue challenging himself and his audience as he gains a fast reputation among critics and fans for his accessible songwriting and intimate approach to straight-ahead jazz with Chet Baker's cool sensibility, Harry Connick Jr.'s confidence, Art Garfunkel's gentleness, and John Pizzarelli's genial hipness.

Already hailed by JazzTimes as a "wonderfully imaginative" artist who Jazziz adds is "exciting and fresh," Goldhaber identifies his style as a songwriter on ALMOST LOVE. Some of the 13 songs jump and swing and others are more melancholy, while certain ones connect with the listener often unsure of the next step. There are sassy 12-bar blues, romantic ballads, nods to musical theater, and snappy swing tunes, and they all prompt listeners to think about love in ways they may not have considered. Each song introduces a unique perspective toward love, a different journey through love or a moment inside love.

"It took some convincing from Jon Davis, my musical director, and Marcello Pelliteri, my drummer-producer, for me to believe that a completely original album was the best direction to go, and now I can't imagine having done anything differently," says the Buffalo, NY native. "Songwriting will always be a very vulnerable expression for me, but I always think back to the morning I wrote my first tune and it seems to give me the breath of confidence that I need to keep writing."

ALMOST LOVE contains tracks, such as "Love Me Tonight," I Love You More," and "I Wanna Know" which stretch the jazz boundaries into country-folk-pop and country-pop-Americana flavorings and, on the title track, even a hint of a Celtic vibe. Intentionally or not, they reveAl Goldhaber's affections for classic singer-songwriters like James Taylor, Loreena McKennitt, Norah Jones and Tracy Chapman.

"I didn't set out to write a specific style," says Goldhaber. "Sometimes the melody is just there. It's a very inside out process. I get in the character of the person who the song is about and in a sense, they write the song. That character's emotion dictates the way things need to sound, and that translates musically, and obviously lyrically as well. The words tell the music how to sound."

Also anchoring Goldhaber's band on ALMOST LOVE are Martin Wind (bass), Joel Frahm (tenor/soprano sax), John Hart (acoustic/electric guitar) and Erik Friedlander (cello), with guest appearances by Joe Magnarelli (trumpet) and Lauren Kinhan of The New York Voices, who shares a duet on "If I Knew Better."

Learn more on Marcus Goldhaber and ALMOST LOVE at www.marcusgoldhaber.com.
Get social with Marcus Goldhaber on Facebook (marcus.golhaber.1) and Twitter (@MarcusGoldhaber).