Kim Scanlon, one of the Seattle acoustic music scene’s most popular vocalists, makes her solo debut with Nightsongs & Lullabies. Scanlon has gained respect as a powerful interpreter of songs from all genres, including her favorites – vintage pop and jazz – which form the basis of Nightsongs & Lullabies. Scanlon recorded the album while pregnant with her first child and the direction of the music was shaped by her experience with first-time motherhood and interest in creating a recording that parents and children could share.

Nightsongs & Lullabies is a complex yet soothing album, much different than most children’s albums. Scanlon recalls, “When I became pregnant, I decided to make an album as a kind of farewell to my more free-wheeling days. I’ve listened to a lot of children’s CDs and found many of them to be high & sparkly — as if children can’t take texture or deep sounds. The opposite of course is true. Children learn about the world by listening to the music of their parents’ voices. They are tonal sophisticates from day one.”

The album contains a wonderfully cohesive collection of classic songs from the American songbook, covering repertoire by some of America’s most beloved 20th century songwriters including Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen and James Taylor. The songs themselves share strong melodic qualities and a playful tone and create the perfect vehicle for Scanlon’s warm, clear and limber soprano vocals. She explains, “To me Nightsongs & Lullabies is for the young and old. The sound is old yet new and fresh and the music is elegant and playful yet joyous and intimate.” Guest musicians on the album include West Coast luminaries Rebecca Kilgore (vocals), Nina Gerber and Scott Nygaard (guitar), Bob Brozman (steel guitar), John R. Burr (piano) and producer Cary Black (bass).

Scanlon’s career as a vocalist began at an early age; as a child, she was active in the church choir. She has been a fixture in the Seattle acoustic music scene since the 80s, working with a variety of groups including Slow Learner (with Jo Miller and guitarist Scott Nygaard) and the nationally acclaimed alternative country group Ranch Romance. Much in demand as a harmony vocalist, Scanlon was a member of the house band on the nationally syndicated NPR radio show Sandy Bradley’s Potluck and has performed and recorded with a variety of other artists and groups including Uncle Bonsai, Kathy Mattea, Pete Seeger, Rumors of the Big Wave, Kathy Kallick, Laurie Lewis, Ferron and The Laura Love Band.