Mandy Harvey - Smile

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 56:37
Size: 129.6 MB
Styles: Easy listening
Year: 2009
Art: Front

[2:55] 1. Almost Like Being In Love
[3:45] 2. The Way You Look Tonight
[3:06] 3. Smile
[4:30] 4. At Last
[3:52] 5. Bye Bye Blackbird
[1:45] 6. You Make Me Feel So Young
[4:10] 7. In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning
[3:54] 8. Everybody Loves Somebody
[2:49] 9. I've Got You Under My Skin
[3:24] 10. I'm Through With Love
[4:15] 11. When I Fall In Love
[2:32] 12. Them There Eyes
[5:31] 13. I'll Be Seeing You
[1:57] 14. Taking A Chance On Love
[4:33] 15. What A Wonderful World
[3:31] 16. That's All

Hope is never lost; it is something you have to hold onto to stay strong. And it is something that we have a duty to show and give to others. It “keeps life moving” and pulls us out of any dark situation. Continue to hope and make your dreams a reality. -Mandy

Sometimes you know…you just know! The instrumentation is tight and crisp. The songs are classic and timeless. The vocals are rich and captivating. And you know why a simple CD can comfort, entertain and inspire. It just makes you smile.

“Smile” is a collection of Jazz standards featuring vocalist Mandy Harvey. Give a listen and you’ll find yourself settling into an experience resembling a conversation for a close friend: familiar, yet enriching. This CD is also an expression of hope. Nearly three years ago, Mandy experienced an unexpected and profound hearing loss. Though legally deaf, she continues to sing. You will hear the music of her heart…and it will make you smile.

Mandy lives in Denver and is a frequent performer at Dazzle Jazz. Her love for music and singing has been years in the making. She was selected as the top female vocalist of her high school and entered the Music Education program at Colorado State University. During her freshman year she lost her hearing and left the university. While her dream of becoming a music teacher has died, the music is still alive and well within her.

Though her hearing loss is profound (110 decibels in each ear) her timing, pitch and passion are perfect. With support from friends, family and her faith, Mandy continues to find joy in the music. Smile!

Smile

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Christian Howes - Southern Exposure

Bitrate: 320K/s

Time: 66:55

Size: 153.2 MB

Styles: Flamenco, Latin jazz

Year: 2013

Art: Front

[7:39] 1. Ta Boa, Santa [are You Ok, My Dear]

[6:52] 2. Aparecida

[8:18] 3. Oblivion

[6:04] 4. Cubano Chant

[7:09] 5. Sanfona [concertina]

[5:46] 6. Cancion De Amor [love Song]

[4:55] 7. Heavy Tango

[6:19] 8. Choro Das Aguas [the Water's Cry]

[4:46] 9. Tango Doblado [bent Tango]

[3:48] 10. Spleen

[5:12] 11. Gracias Por Ilustrarnos [thank You For Teaching Us]

Violinist Christian Howes moves away from the soulful blues and funky jazz of his 2010 album, Out of the Blue, and delves deep into flamenco and Latin rhythms on 2013's Southern Exposure. Featuring accordionist Richard Galliano, as well as pianist Josh Nelson, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Lewis Nash, Southern Exposure is fluid, passionate set of songs that showcase both Howes' and Galliano's affinity toward mixing swinging jazz with Argentinian tango, languid ballads, and a few more progressive and adventurous cuts, like their take on Ray Bryant's fiery "Cubano Chant." Besides his and Galliano's stellar original compositions, Howes also includes songs by Astor Piazzolla and Paco de Lucía. ~ Matt Collar

Christian Howes (violin); Richard Galliano (accordion); Josh Nelson (piano); Lewis Nash (drums).

Southern Exposure

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Connie Evingson & the Hot Club of Sweden - Stockholm Sweetnin'

Styles: Gypsy Jazz, Hot Club, Vocal
Label: Minnehaha Music
Released: 2006
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 146,7 MB
Time: 64:04
Art: full

1. Stockholm Sweetnin' - 4:24
2. It's Alright with Me - 4:23
3. Lover Man - 5:10
4. Comes Love - 4:02
5. Swingin' the Blues - 3:44
6. Besame Mucho - 6:36
7. If I had You - 4:37
8. Windmills of your Mind - 4:01
9. I Can't Give you ANything but Love - 2:55
10. In a Sentimental Mood - 4:24
11. Throw it Away - 3:55
12. Out of Nowhere - 3:26
13. Si Tu Savais - 5:16
14. After You've Gone - 3:10
15. Autumn in Kokkola - 3:55

Personnel:
Connie Evingson - vocals

The Hot Club of Sweden
Gustav Lundgren - guitars
Andreas Öberg - guitars
Hampus Lundgren - bass

special guests
Fredrik Lindborg - tenor saxophone
Marc Anderson - percussion
Tony Baluff - clarinet
Dan Chouinard - accordion
Jay Epstein - drums
Joan Griffith - Spanish guitar intro on Besame Mucho

Notes: With only email for introductions and planning, Connie and The Hot Club of Sweden met at Real Music Studios in Stockholm in January, 2006 and recorded 15 tunes in 2 1/2 days. "The recording process was magic," she said later. "It's the most enjoyable time I've ever had in the studio." And the result, Stockholm Sweetnin,' is both stunning and uniquely Connie. Hot Club of Sweden guitarists Gustav Lundgren and Andreas Öberg and bassist Hampus Lundgren form the core rhythm section, with brilliant solo turns by each player. Guest artists from both sides of the Atlantic add their unique voices on saxophone, clarinet, accordion and percussion, but the most distinctive voice belongs to Connie, as vocalist, arranger, and lyricist (on Öberg's "Autumn in Kokkola").

Vocalist Connie Evingson is known for taking divergent musical paths. Her eclectic catalog of recordings for Minnehaha Music covers such varied themes as Peggy Lee, the Beatles, jazz elders, and most recently "hot club" music a la Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli (Gypsy in My Soul, '04). But rather than taking another divergent turn, Connie's continuing love affair with gypsy jazz and a chance meeting with a young hot club group from Sweden inspired her to delve deeper into the Django style before moving in another direction. "I had already planned my next project (a collection of Dave Frishberg tunes, with Frishberg at the piano)," says Evingson, "but when I heard The Hot Club of Sweden, I realized I wasn't done exploring the gypsy jazz genre."

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Stockholm Sweetnin'

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Dee Daniels - Let's Talk Business

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 1990
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:47
Size: 104,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:10)  1. Let's Talk Business
(4:26)  2. The Right Time
(5:00)  3. I Got This Bridge I Want You To Buy
(6:28)  4. Let Me Love You Tonight
(3:07)  5. Walking On A Tightrope
(3:32)  6. Battle Hymn Of The Republic
(5:05)  7. Please Send Me Someone To Love
(2:47)  8. Baby What You Want Me To Do
(4:37)  9. The Night Life
(3:23) 10. I Set Myself Free
(3:06) 11. Inchworm

A passionate blues singer who is greatly influenced by jazz as well as gospel, Dee Daniels doesn't hesitate to wail and let it rip on Let's Talk Business. This rewarding CD finds Daniels enjoying the solid jazz backing of pianist Larry Fuller and the leaders of the Clayton/Hamilton Orchestra , Jeff Clayton (sax), brother John Clayton (bass) and Jeff Hamilton (drums)  and their sense of spontaneity is a definite asset on everything from Lou Herman's familiar "The Right Time" and Percy Mayfield's "Please Send Me Someone To Love" to Daniels' own "Let Me Love You Tonight." One of the album's most enjoyable surprises is Jimmy Reed's "Baby, What You Want Me To Do" while Reed had a laidback, relaxed vocal style, the big-voiced, emotional Daniels digs into the song in a very aggressive way. This obscure, little-known release is definitely worth trying to find.~Alex Henderson 

http://www.allmusic.com/album/lets-talk-business-mw0000270616

Let's Talk Business

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Linda Lavin - Possibilities

Styles: Vocal, Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:52
Size: 97,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:33)  1. It Might As Well Be Spring
(1:55)  2. Hey, Look Me Over
(3:07)  3. There's A Small Hotel
(5:56)  4. In Love Again
(4:18)  5. Corcovado (Quiet Night Of Quiet Stars)
(2:43)  6. 'Deed I Do
(3:26)  7. It Amazes Me
(2:50)  8. You've Got Possibilities
(3:26)  9. Rhode Island Is Famous For You
(3:41) 10. The Song Remembers When
(2:18) 11. Walk Between Raindrops
(3:33) 12. Two For The Road

It’s only her first CD, but it’s safe to say that the kid’s a comer. Veteran actress Linda Lavin, whose long career includes extensive musical theater credits, has just released her debut recording, Possibilities (Ghostlight Records). The performer, best known for her starring role in the long-running hit television series Alice and currently on a career role with successive acclaimed stage appearances in the off-Broadway production of Other Desert Cities, the Washington, D.C. production of Follies, and the recent hit play The Lyons sparkles in this collection of pop and Broadway standards.

Featuring musical direction, arrangements and piano by cabaret/theater stalwart Billy Stritch (he also contributes vocals to “Corcovado”), the disc includes such classics as “It Might as Well Be Spring,” “It Amazes Me,” “In Love Again,” “There’s a Small Hotel,” and “Two for the Road.” Although Lavin’s voice is not the most powerful of instruments, her supple phrasing and sweet way with a lyric are consistently delightful.

The disc includes liner notes by director Hal Prince, with whom Lavin first worked a mere half century ago on the musical A Family Affair.(http://scheckonthearts.com/blog6.php/2011/12/21/review-linda-lavin-s-cd-ligpossibilitiesl-ig).

Possibilities

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Rani Arbo - Big Old Life

Styles: Country
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:52
Size: 108,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:54)  1. Joy Comes Back
(3:42)  2. Big Old Life
(2:35)  3. Red Haired Boy
(4:22)  4. Roses
(3:46)  5. What’s That
(4:48)  6. Thief
(4:25)  7. Heart With No Companion
(3:31)  8. Oil In My Vessel
(4:28)  9. Farewell, Angelina
(4:31) 10. Mother Of Our Dreams
(3:08) 11. Hole In Heaven
(3:37) 12. Shine On

Big Old Life is an album bursting with fun and exuberance, the quartet known as Daisy Mayhem balancing a tight sound with spirit that translates perfectly through stereo headphones. "Joy Comes Back," a song composed by Sean Staples of the band the Resophonics (a group with Paul Kochanski of the Swinging Steaks to give the reader a point of reference) opens this terrific blend of old and new sounds with something that can only be described as gospel music played at a hootenanny. Deb Pasternak, Polly Fiveash, Rose Sinclair and Indra Rios-Moore all add to the backing vocals, which make it sound like a big old party, as much as a big old life. And speaking of the title track, Loretta Lynn would be proud of this Arbo original, Anand Nayak's smart guitar playing halfway to Hawaii, the hootenanny morphing into a luau. 

The traditional "Red Haired Boy," with lyrics by Rani Arbo, is an interesting role reversal while the cover of "Thief" gives the music a 180, bluesy and deep, an eloquent change of pace from the incessant up-tempo "mayhem." Leonard Cohen's "Heart with No Companion" has Andrew Kinsey's banjo front and center with Arbo's fiddle falling in and rounding out the mood. Bob Dylan's "Farewell, Angelina" has an interesting production by the band and Chris Rival, harmonica from Ben Ross and the fiddle-gone-wild giving Zimmerman something different to think about. The cardboard fold-out cover is chock-full of pictures like the band is auditioning for a Beatles or Herman's Hermits film, photos with smiles that reflect the very polished and exciting work within. In the '80s and '90s Boston had a regional act called Country Bumpkin which had the buzz and were a favorite for quite some time. Daisy Mayhem fill that void nicely while front woman Rani Arbo proves she could be the Kitty Wells of the new millennium by delivering this heartfelt disc which is very deserving of your time and ear. ~ Joe Viglione  http://www.allmusic.com/album/big-old-life-mw0000576404

Big Old Life

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Robin Nolan Trio - Mediterranean Blues

Styles: Straight-ahead/Mainstream
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:31
Size: 145,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:42)  1. Mediterranean Blues
(3:52)  2. Friar Park
(8:03)  3. Song For Carolyn
(6:24)  4. And Then There Were Three
(5:43)  5. Luna Tango
(6:23)  6. Bar Del Pi
(5:26)  7. From The Banks Of The Odra
(7:10)  8. Bolero Blue
(4:45)  9. El Puente
(6:23) 10. Trouble In Paradise
(5:35) 11. Where Do We Go From Here

Every now and then a performer achieves success in the music business without the ‘benefit’ of a major record company. The Robin Nolan Trio is one such story. Drawing their initial style and repertoire from the Django Reinhardt-inspired “gypsy jazz” movement, the group’s genesis dates to 1991 when Nolan, a student at London’s famed Guildhall School of Music, met bassist Paul Meader. With the addition of Anthony Williams on rhythm guitar, they formed a trio dedicated to performing the music of Reinhardt. Beginning with cafés and small jazz clubs in the early ‘90s they’ve managed to work their way toward international renown. They’ve also played at several of the most prestigious international jazz festivals, including the Montreal, Barcelona, North Sea and Django Reinhardt jazz festivals, making their U.S. debut at the Tropical Heat Wave Festival in Tampa, Florida. (They’ve even made into the silver screen: two of the songs included here, “And Then There Were Three” and “From The Banks Of The Odra,” were featured in the Joan Chen film Autumn In New York, starring Richard Gere and Wynona Ryder.)

The Trio also released six self-produced CDs between 1994 and this year, selling them at gigs and through the Internet. The record companies aware of the group’s popularity and A & R men came sniffing around, but their silver-tongued appeals fell on skeptical ears: “It is a very weird business after all, full of very weird people. To begin with most of these people can't play an instrument and their respect for you is based on how much cash you might or might not make them,” according to Nolan. “This gets a little confusing for everybody involved when they start telling you what is good and what is not good for your music, based on the latest marketing figures . . .”

Fortunately, not all record companies are driven by the bottom line. One notable exception is Refined Records, a small in San Francisco-based jazz label “dedicated to furthering the art of acoustic performance,” according to the label’s press release. When Refined Records head J. Robert Roy heard the Robin Nolan Trio playing on Amsterdam’s famous Leidseplein, in 1995 he knew that they would be perfect for his new label.

Mediterranean Blues serves as an excellent introduction to both the label’s philosophy and the music of RNT. Though they began as an acoustic trio in the “gypsy jazz” tradition mentioned above, The Robin Nolan Trio isn’t content to merely recreate Django-style swing. Song titles like “Luna Tango,” “Bolero Blue,” “Bar Del Pi” and “El Puente” indicate the strong Latin influences, and Latin percussion and dance rhythms are prominently featured in the group’s music. Bassist Paul Meader, who provides tasteful accompaniment and well-conceived contrapuntal solos, ably supports Nolan’s skillful and imaginative playing. 

Both are given plenty of room to stretch out on the eight-minute “Song For Carolyn” and the Beatlesque “Friar Park,” composed in honor of George Harrison. (Harrison was an early champion of RNT and often books the trio to entertain in his home.) For those of us with a taste for jazz that still has le joie de vivre, this is an album for you, full of romance and refinement.  Good jazz ain’t dead, it’s where you find it.~ Derek Brown    

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=8168#.UmKtHBAuf-I

Personnel: Robin Nolan-solo guitar, Paul Meader-bass, Kevin Nolan-rhythm guitar, Jan P. Brouwer-rhythm guitar, Nema Lopes-percussion

Mediterranean Blues

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