FOR PRODUCER COLIN LINDEN, WORKING WITH EDEN BRENT "AN HONOR" & "LIKE GOING TO THE CARNIVAL"

NEW AMERICANA ALBUM 'JIGSAW HEART' OUT MAY 6 ON YELLOW DOG RECORDS

Producer Colin Linden has worked on sessions with Lucinda Williams, Lindi Ortega, T Bone Burnett, Keb Mo, and Diana Krall and backed Bob Dylan on stage, but he's never seen anyone quite like Eden Brent. The acclaimed performer and producer exclaims, "Working with Eden is sort of like going to the carnival because you never know exactly what you're going to get, but you're going to have a really good time. I always feel with Eden that she's giving the real genuine article; she's herself at all times." As a result, there was never a moment in the studio when the tape wasn't rolling. "I think Eden is one of the real greats," he adds.

Describing his recording approach, Linden observes, "She's such a spontaneous artist and such a spontaneous person that for me, the really important thing is getting her when the moment strikes her. The records have a tremendous amount of drama just built into the circumstances but there's also a sense of candid performance just capturing something as it happens, as opposed to contriving a circumstance like a portrait. It's more like a candid shot."

Following their field trip to New Orleans to record her 2010 album 'Ain't Got No Troubles,' the three-time Blues Music Award winner Brent decided to mix in some Nashville flavor. "I trust Colin implicitly," she says, continuing, "I sort of wanted for this project to involve some folk or country instrumentation, and just see how maybe that could make my sound a little different and make me grow a little."

Linden brought in players with whom he's long had a rapport and who could hang with Eden, both musically and socially, giving the band instant chemistry with her. He attests, "She's such a cool person to hang out with. I wanted to just be able to bring other people who she would enjoy hanging out with to the party and I think that you hear that in the music. Part of what gives us the feeling that I think is important on the record is that we're all in pretty close physical proximity -- just a few feet away from one another.  If the arrangement changes, you can telegraph the other players by just looking over at them. There’s kind of a freedom to be spontaneous."