Artist Information
Biography
The premier vocal album from Nicholas Naylor-Leyland, The End of an Error is variously reminiscent of The Beatles, Brian Eno, David Bowie, Beck, Michael Franks, Elvis Costello, Sly Stone, Chicago, War, Steely Dan, David Byrne, Arto Lindsay and Caetano Veloso. A delightful Brazilian undercurrent courses through the 13 songs.
This is both modern and timeless-sounding music - yielding frequent surprises while keeping its calm. It will sound satisfyingly familiar to those raised on a steady diet of Sanford and Son, Get Smart, and I Dream of Jeanie. In its unusual orchestral pop arrangements, Chocolate Tiger evokes European sensibilities as well as those of North and South America, and one may even detect hints of the far east.
On hearing The End of an Error, Chocolate Genius exclaimed:
"What a sweet and beautiful surprise... ...really stellar."
A host of talents have contributed to the album and to the live shows.
They include downtown New York City luminaries Oren Bloedow (Elysian Fields), David Hoffman (Ulu),
Peck Allmond (Ray Lamontagne), and Cyro Baptista (Paul Simon, Sting, Trey Anastasio),
not to mention the fulsome contribution of co-producer Michael Leonhart (Steely Dan, Lenny Kravitz),
who is responsible for the horn arrangements and playing a broad range of instruments, besides being a fine Tiger tamer.
Nicholas' lead vocals, guitar, and bass playing are flanked by trumpet, tenor sax, euphonium, alto flute, vibraphone, Hammond B3 organ, Fender Rhodes piano, melodica, and a clutch of percussion toys atop the bedrock drums.
The icing on this musical red velvet cake are the elegant backing vocals.
The lyrics veer from whimsical takes on lovers both hapless (Snowman Suntan, The Gospel, After Her) and hopeful (Red, Balmy, Tulips) to Tiger's favorites - animal tales and eating - (The Opportunist, Wake Up, Under the Sun), while the album ends with the Rumi-inspired words of Ocean.
Chocolate Tiger founder Nicholas Naylor-Leyland is a perennial amateur ichthyologist,
a resurgent numismatist, a lucky stiff yoga teacher, a lapsing Tibetan Buddhist, and now also a fledgeling farmhand. He at last escaped the gravitational field of New York City and has landed comfortably in Westchester.
Nicholas debuted his first band - Teatime - as the opener for UB40 at what was then the Ritz in NYC.
A club DJ in the time before they became celebrities, he went on to release two instrumental albums in the '90s and continues to explore singing what one might call secular gospel music
with vocal ensembles. When not actively making music, he has created and performed in dance pieces,
raced bicycles, scaled peaks, made bacon and taught in NYC public schools. He likes to fling discs on Sundays.
The name Chocolate Tiger comes from:
a.) the butterfly bearing that name (Parantica melaneus sinopion)
b.) a pair of Paul Frank pajamas
c.) a striped, peanut butter and chocolate dessert confection
d.) an origin akin to Steely Dan's moniker
Instrumentation
Since its live debut in June of 2006, Chocolate Tiger has appeared as an octet, quartet, duo and solo.
Discography
The End of an Error
(full length debut album, summer 2006)
Audio
Lyrics
Video
Setlist
Songs from the aforementioned The End of an Error,
plus covers as diverse as:
Blue Skies - Irving Berlin
Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
Estate (summer) - Bruno
Hushaby Mountain - (from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang)
I Want to Vanish - Elvis Costello