Storylines

Storylines
The music of Susan Weinschenk
Stellar Sound Production
Digital now | CD coming soon

This inspirational music project brings people together by sharing the human stories behind songs. It offers a multifaceted workshop that blends emotional healing, a live musical performance, and an educational look at the creative production process from start to finish.

The album is streaming now; physical CDs are coming soon. Press play below to hear it in full — no account or subscription needed.

Also available on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music. Learn more about the project at storylinesmusic.com.

If you are interested in receiving a CD, please email janet@janetplanet.com with your address and number of CD’s. They are $20.00 per unit. Pay via PayPal to janet@janetplanet.com or Venmo @Janet-Washatka

“Storylines is one of Janet Planet’s more powerful statements as she digs into the lyrics and universal feelings of Susan Weinschenk’s songs.” – Scott Yanow

Susan Weinschenk is a very successful Dr. of Behavioral Psychology who has published five books about user experience in computer systems. She is also a talented songwriter, some of whose works were recorded previously by Janet Planet on Hope Springs.

Throughout her productive career, Janet Planet has been a very versatile and powerful singer. While jazz is her foundation, her two dozen recordings have included two albums of Bob Dylan songs, a set of duets with pianist John Harmon (Last Call), swing standards (Passion From The Wreckage and Get Happy), intimate ballads (Just Above A Whisper), and songs that saluted various states and cities (Of Thee I Sing).

For Storylines, Susan Weinschenk contributed 15 originals that discussed aspects of her life including hard times (breast cancer during the COVID lockdown) and happy occasions (the birth of her first grandchild), love songs and those in which she is searching for hope. Janet Planet and her husband Tom Washatka co-produced and arranged the performances. They used a core group consisting of Washatka on tenor and soprano (he also was the project’s engineer), pianist-keyboardist Matt Buchman, guitarist Kelvin Kaspar, bassist Mark Urness, and drummer-percussionist Ryan Korb.

There is a lot of variety throughout Storylines in styles, grooves, moods, and the stories. It is quite a showcase for Janet Planet’s wide musical talents. The opener, “Unconditional Love,” has a happy groove and finds the singer belting out some of the lyrics in a country-folk style. “You’re The One” is joyful while “Let Me Be The One” is a wistful love song full of longing and desire, a relaxed and thoughtful performance on which Ms. Planet’s voice is particularly lovely.

“The Things I Remember” is a waltz with prominent playing by bassist Urness. “Everything You Want But The Blues” is funky and soulful with plenty of bluesy singing. “The Silence Of My Room” and “What Are You Waiting For” feature heartfelt and intimate ballad singing. Janet Planet’s voice is quite inviting during the bossa “Our Love Is An Ocean,” a bit heartbreaking on the melancholy “Where Do I Go From Here,” and optimistic throughout the folk song “Come Home To You” and “There’s Gotta Be A Rainbow Somewhere”; the latter has a particularly memorable melody. “I Pray For Help” includes a fine soprano solo and has the singer sounding determined that she can survive anything. She scats a little bit on the Brazilian-flavored “The Peace I Long To Find,” is celebratory on “I Cut My Cryin’ In Half” (which has New Orleans parade rhythms, saxophone and organ solos, and some wailing singing), and concludes the program with passionate and assertive vocalizing on “I Have Everything But You.”

On a whole, Storylines is one of Janet Planet’s more powerful statements as she digs into the lyrics and universal feelings of Susan Weinschenk’s songs. More information about the enjoyable release can be found at www.storylinesmusic.com and www.janetplanet.com.

Scott Yanow, jazz journalist/historian and author of 12 books including The Jazz Singers