Dear Luther’s ‘So Amazing’ is one of the great romantic soul songs of the modern era. The great man’s version and also the lovely Dionne Warwick treatment have become wedding/Valentine day staples and rightly so! The tune sets a perfect romantic mood – complementing the tender lyrics.
There have been numerous other covers too, to which we can now add a brand new one – and probably the most intriguing yet. It comes from urban-jazz harpist MARIEA ANTOINETTE. So, first, maybe, a little back story. San Diego-based Ms Antoinette (that’s her real name) is a celebrated American harp player. She has a master’s degree in harp performance and has been recording since 2003 collaborating with people like Ne-Yo, Mary J Blige and Jamie Foxx. She’s also been principal harpist with the Los Angeles Southeast Symphony Orchestra and she tours regularly – in her own right and with the female group, Jazz In Pink. In between all that she pursues her own recording career offering her harp-led take on soul.
Now earlier this year Mariea was hired to play at a big bucks wedding with the bride hoping for some romantic harp playing to which she could sweep up the aisle. For the occasion Mariea decided to play Luther’s ‘So Amazing’ and the bride and congregation loved it! So it was a no brainer to get the version recorded and it’s just been released as a single and you can hear why the wedding guests broke into spontaneous applause hearing it on the day!
Mariea Antoinette’s ‘So Amazing’ is out now as a single and it’s already winning airplay on the more savvy soul and jazz stations. We believe that this ‘So Amazing’ will serve as the title track of Ms. Antoinette’s fourth album, which she anticipates releasing next spring, perfectly timed for wedding season. Would it be predictable for me to say, “Amazing”?
