To say Kitt Wakeley’s profession is on a constructive trajectory could be an understatement. In 2023 he gained his first Grammy® and two years later, in 2025 he produced 3 Grammy nominated initiatives and was on a 4th Grammy nominated album as an arranger for Radhika Vekaria’s New Age mission, “Warriors of Gentle.” In a bittersweet second, Kitt solely walked away with 1 Grammy for Matt B’s World Album “ALKEBULAN II” for 2025 out of the full 4 nominated initiatives.
One of many 4 nominated initiatives for 2025 was the extremely acclaimed, “The Not possible Dream”, which featured Aaron Lazar as the first artist. The mission included duets with A-Record artists equivalent to Josh Groban, Sting, Kristin Chenoweth, Neil Patrick Harris, Leslie Odom Jr, Kelli O’Hara, Kate Baldwin, Lin-Manuel Miranda and a finale which included over 40 Broadway stars and legends. When Kitt was requested by the nationwide media “What’s it like to supply Broadway historical past?” he was fast to level out that “it was Aaron Lazar’s inspiration and the Broadway group that made the mission come to life. I’m blessed to be part of it.”
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One other nomination for 2025 got here by way of the composing abilities of Danaë Vlasse, sopranos Sangeeta Kaur and Hila Plitmann, tenor Omar Najmi, and pianist Robert Thies. As soon as once more, Kitt discovered himself in his acquainted setting of Abbey Highway, working alongside a myriad of gifted staff members assembled by Danaë. As traditional, Kitt downplayed his function as a producer and was fast to level out the brilliance of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and an all-star group of music creatives that the introduced the mission to fruition.
Nonetheless, that wasn’t the one journey to Abbey Highway Studios in 2024. Kitt helped produce Matt B’s Grammy successful album “ALKEBULAN II”. The imaginative and prescient for the mission included including orchestral components to Matt’s music. So, they enlisted the world famend “Royal Philharmonic Orchestra”. Kitt commented that “Matt and his spouse, Angela V. Benson had a imaginative and prescient for the mission. They wished to create one thing completely different. This included issues such because the format of the album, the album’s message, the artistic music staff and the Royal Philharmonic. All of it got here collectively by their design. I’ve by no means witnessed two individuals work tougher. They work collectively brilliantly. Angela shined as one of many producers on the album and helped forge the trail for its success. Once I heard Matt’s title introduced on the Grammys, I used to be at peace figuring out that he and Angela had been in a position to have fun a much-deserved win. They’re two of the purest souls I’ve ever met, and karma prevailed.”
Not solely was 2024 a profitable yr for Grammy® standing, Kitt additionally gathered one other Billboard #1 album for a choral mission he produced “Echoes of Grace: The Compositions of Patti Drennan” which featured the Sterling Ensemble Los Angeles and “Not possible Dream” hit #2 on the Crossover Classical Billboard Charts. This makes a complete of seven #1 Billboard Albums and over 15 prime 10 Billboard charting initiatives that Kitt has both produced or recorded as an artist.
Kitt’s brilliance and flexibility is nicely documented amongst quite a few genres. Except for the initiatives already referenced, you’ll find him listed as a producer on Jazz initiatives such Noshir Mody’s albums “A Love Music” and “Abstractions” and Vahagn Stepanyan’s #5 Charting Jazz album, “A New Chapter”. Inside that very same interval, he was listed as a producer for Chuck Leah’s Americana album “Lola Montana”, and on the dance monitor “Good” by Kim Cameron’s. After working with rock music’s most notable legends, A-list superstars and Broadway legends, Kitt is worked up about his subsequent album “Seven Seasons,” which relies on the seven phases that individuals navigate when confronted with tragedy or trauma. The idea is similar to the 5 phases of grief. Kitt’s new album takes the listener on a deeply intimate reflection of all phases of trauma. Rumors of Kitt’s compositions began surfacing after his newest recording periods in London. The phrase is out, Seven Seasons is a groundbreaking album and one among Kitt’s finest initiatives so far. Kitt has but to disappoint his viewers and there’s no signal of that momentum slowing down.
SPIN Journal newsroom and editorial workers weren’t concerned within the creation of this content material.
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