Ann Hampton Callaway

Tony-nominated, multiplatinum-selling pop/jazz singer-songwriter Ann Hampton Callaway brings her new album, Finding Beauty, Originals Volume 1via Shanachie Entertainment. Comprised of 16 sumptuous tracks, immaculately produced and arranged by Trey Henry and Paul Viapiano for the Chemistry Set, Finding Beauty is a milestone for Callaway – recently inducted into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame – in that it’s her first album to feature all-original songs.

“This is my most personal record,” Callaway says. “Throughout my career, I’ve loved singing the great jazz classics and selections from the Great American Songbook, but I’ve always snuck my original songs on various projects. The pandemic made me think, ‘I don’t know if I’ll live through this, but if I do, what’s at the top of my bucket list?’ And I realized that I wanted to tell my story and share the deepest part of me. What better way than by sharing and singing songs I’ve written?”

Over the years, Callaway’s compositions have been recorded and performed by some of the biggest names in the business – among them, Carole King, Patti Lupone, Liza Minnelli, Karrin Allyson, and Michael Feinstein, to name a few.

Barbra Streisand has featured Callaway’s songs on seven albums, including 1997’s No. 1 platinum smash Higher Ground, which featured “At the Same Time.” In addition, Callaway wrote and sang the memorable theme song to the beloved TV series The Nanny.

Finding Beauty took three years to complete, during which Callaway, Henry, and Viapiano combed through the singer’s vast catalog of material, stretching from 1986 to the present. “It was a true collaboration,” Callaway says. “Some songs were ones that Trey and Paul really wanted to work on, and I trusted their instincts. Most of all, I wanted a cohesive statement that would share my stories of love, from my first to my last.”

Select tracks on Finding Beauty see Callaway singing alongside a number of notable guests – superstar Melissa Manchester, nine-time Grammy nominee Tierney Sutton, Grammy-winning jazz legend Kurt Elling, celebrated pop and R&B singer Niki Haris, Grammy-nominated singer Jarrett Johnson, and Callaway’s frequent musical partner (and real-life sister), the Tony-nominated and Emmy-winning Liz Callaway. “I’ve recorded CDs with my sister, of course, but this was my first time recording with the other artists,” Callaway says. “It was thrilling to explore these songs together.”