THE 'SHADES OF BEAUTIFUL' STORY by James Gavin FOR YEARS, Tracy Stark has led a hectic career as one of the most in-demand musical directors and pianists in cabaret. She jumps effortlessly from pop-rock to soul to Broadway to jazz. Tracy’s home in Jersey City, New Jersey holds a slew of honors, including (to date) eight MAC Awards (from the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs) and one Bistro Award. Her job, she says, is "bliss. Playing with vocalists can be such intimate conversation." But that role has kept her mostly outside the spotlight—not that Tracy has ever fought to claim it. Songwriting has been a quiet pursuit of hers since her teens. Her two solo CDs of originals, Canvas of Dreams and Feast for the Heart, are expressions of bittersweet yet determined optimism. This is a woman who has known much sadness, but chooses not to live in it. Now comes an album that draws upon all her talents—accompanying, arranging, sing...