Vince Guaraldi Trio - A Charlie Brown Christmas

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 44:08
Size: 101.1 MB
Styles: Holiday
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[5:05] 1. O Tannenbaum
[2:21] 2. What Child Is This
[3:08] 3. My Little Drum
[3:02] 4. Linus And Lucy
[6:02] 5. Christmas Time Is Here (Inst)
[2:42] 6. Christmas Time Is Here
[2:22] 7. Skating
[1:51] 8. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
[3:24] 9. Christmas Is Coming
[1:02] 10. Für Elise
[3:14] 11. The Christmas Song
[5:25] 12. Greensleeves
[2:25] 13. Great Pumpkin Waltz
[1:58] 14. Thanksgiving Theme

Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz called on pianist extraordinaire Vince Guaraldi and his trio to compose and perform music that would reflect the humor, charm, and innocence of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the entire Peanuts gang for their 1965 Christmas TV special. It was a perfect match: Guaraldi strings together elegant, enticing arrangements that reflect the spirit and mood of Schulz's work and introduce contemporary jazz to youngsters with grace, charm, and creativity. "What Child Is This" touches on cool jazz's richly textured percussive nuances, while "The Christmas Song" reflects Christmas' relaxing, mellow moments. The renowned "Linus and Lucy" gives the Peanuts characters a fresh, energetic feel with its tantalizing meter changes, brilliant percussion, and dashing, humorous piano lines. "Christmastime Is Here," perhaps the album's most endearing and eloquent moment, is six minutes of soft, lullaby-like melodic and percussive flavors. This collection of soul-soothing melodies would not be complete without the romantic gem "Skating," which blends musical references to falling snowflakes with the dashing feel of swing. Finally, the uplifting, emotionally stirring swing tune "Christmas Is Coming" really brings the listener into the joyous light of the Christmas spirit. Fred Marshall's alluring walking basslines and drummer Jerry Granelli's hauntingly beautiful brush work give most of the album a warm foundation, while Monty Budwig and Colin Bailey shine through with eminent dexterity on bass and drums on "Greensleeves." As for Guaraldi, his penetrating improvisational phrases paint pictures of the first winter snowfall, myriad glistening trees, and powdery white landscapes. With its blend of contemporary jazz and lyrical mannerisms, A Charlie Brown Christmas is a joyous and festive meditation for the holiday season. ~Shawn M. Haney

A Charlie Brown Christmas

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Deborah Winters - Live In Session

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 62:30
Size: 143.1 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2004
Art: Front

[5:10] 1. Just Say Goodbye
[4:26] 2. Matters Of The Heart
[4:22] 3. Out Of The Blue
[5:08] 4. Always Comes Back To You
[5:36] 5. In A Sentimental Mood
[4:19] 6. Forever Loving You
[4:41] 7. Unfair
[5:08] 8. Who Am I
[6:17] 9. You Send Me
[2:49] 10. Lullabye Of Love
[4:54] 11. Venice
[9:36] 12. Fields Of Gold

Vocalist/guitarist Deborah Winters is a vibrant performer who combines the elegance and sophistication of her extensive Jazz background with total command of a wide variety of popular music styles. With an emotionally captivating vocal quality and exquisite songwriting skills, her music is both spellbinding and uplifting.

The new release of deborah winters "live in session" is her debut recording featuring original material. While it has been a labor of love to bring this recording to fruition, Deborah's audience will be rewarded with elegantly sculpted arrangements and heartfelt lyrics that express a full range of emotions and spaces… from heart-stopping romantic songs to pieces that bring the funk head-on. The vitality, versatility and dynamic range of her voice shine through in a way that is uniquely her own.

Supporting Deborah in this project is a team of world-class musicians, producers and engineers who contribute significantly to the impact of this momentous recording. Producing a live recording is an extraordinary challenge, but Deborah and her collaborators have successfully captured the unique intimacy and energy of a stellar performance.

Live In Session

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Robert Mosci - Boardwalk And Brownstone

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 53:18
Size: 122.0 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz, Easy Listening
Year: 2009
Art: Front

[2:58] 1. Are You There (With Another Guy)
[4:47] 2. Kathleen
[3:53] 3. Unchain My Heart
[3:56] 4. New York City
[6:07] 5. The Circle Game
[3:14] 6. Smoke Smoke Smoke (That Cigarette)
[3:21] 7. For No One
[4:46] 8. A Day In The Life Of A Fool
[3:42] 9. Make My Way (Back To You)
[3:57] 10. The Girl From New York City
[3:39] 11. The Twelfth Of Never
[4:24] 12. I Wish You Love
[4:26] 13. Dear Prudence

New York City based singer/pianist Robert Mosci's 5th release on Zographia Records is called Boardwalk & Brownstone. It includes 11 songs, 3 new Mosci originals and 8 classic pop tunes. The CD features the smooth singing pianist at his vocal best, blending elements of pop, r&b, folk-rock, and jazz. Special guest AAA charting Ingrid Michaelson, and superb backing by an all-star group of NYC musicians (including Erik Lawrence - Levon Helm Band), round out the package.

The Mosci originals are complemented by a tasty array of tunes, including material by Bachrach & David, Ray Charles, Lennon & McCartney and Joni Mitchell. The performances are embellished throughout with fine solos by the varied accompanists.

Boardwalk And Brownstone

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Dana Lauren - It's You Or No One

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:32
Size: 104,6 MB
Art: Front

(5:51)  1. That Old Black Magic
(4:49)  2. Isn't This a Lovely Day
(4:09)  3. There's a Small Hotel
(2:45)  4. Give Me The Simple Life
(5:11)  5. Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful
(4:46)  6. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
(4:44)  7. It's You Or No One
(4:31)  8. In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning
(4:36)  9. I Had The Craziest Dream
(4:05) 10. Mr. Paganni

At the age of 21, vocalist Dana Lauren has a command of her instrument that many professional singers twice her age would envy. Lauren has a voice that's one part Roberta Gambarini and one part Diana Krall, with a dash of soul thrown in to spice things up, and she puts it good use on this ten song program. Her debut album Stairway To The Stars (Dana Lauren, 2008) produced by and featuring trumpeter Arturo Sandoval covered oft-performed standards like "How High The Moon," "Devil May Care" and "Corcovado" but the follow-up digs a little deeper into the catalogs of Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers and the like. A few heavily covered favorites, like "That Old Black Magic" and "On The Sunny Side Of The Street," make an appearance but they're given facelifts that keep them from coming across as stale.

Pianist Manuel Valera arranged several tunes and, along with guitarist Will Graefe, provides wonderful harmonic support for Lauren's vocal endeavors. Tenor saxophonist Joel Frahm is in a sense Lauren's singing partner and his cheery, jubilant saxophone dances around her voice and/or solos on the majority of these songs. Valera's arrangement of "That Old Black Magic" moves from a half-time Latin feel to a double time swing feel. Frahm's solo is framed, for the most part, over the Latin feel and Valera moves well over the swing pulse. Lauren scats over the outro as drummer Jake Goldblas solos over Valera's vamping piano riff. Graefe gently delineates his arpeggiated guitar chords underneath Lauren's voice as "Isn't This A Lovely Day" gets underway. Her delivery of the lyrics sounds genuine as can be and she demonstrates rhythmic assurance and attaches just the right amount of ornamental attributes to her delivery. Sunny optimism carries over into "There's A Small Hotel" and Valera's chiming piano riff works perfectly here.

The centerpiece of the album is Lauren's arrangement for "On The Sunny Side Of The Street." This lighthearted pas de deux for bass and voice is sheer magic, with Lauren's voice moving over guest bassist Christian McBride. McBride has some bounce to his step and the pair begin as separate entities but wind up in a more comfortably interactive state by the end of the performance. A little more reverb seems to be present on the title track, as Valera provides some romantic supper-club piano behind Lauren's voice at the outset. When upbeat swing becomes the order of the day, the whole band is there to make all the hits and provide superb accompaniment. Bassist Luques Curtis steps out for a solo on "I Had The Craziest Dream," performed with a comfortable mid-tempo swing feel, and Lauren delivers another A+ performance here. The vocal maneuvers on It's You Or No One make it easy to see why Sandoval and McBride were so taken with the enchanting talents of Dana Lauren. ~ Dan Bilawsky  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=36498#.Uq8KqbRc_vs

Personnel: Dana Lauren: vocals; Joel Frahm: tenor saxophone; Manuel Valera: piano; Will Graefe: guitar; Luques Curtis: bass (1-5, 7-10); Jake Goldblas: drums; Christian McBride (6).

It's You Or No One

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Gene Ess (feat. Nicki Parrott) - A Thousand Summers

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:11
Size: 164,4 MB
Art: Front

(7:21)  1. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
(6:18)  2. One Day I'll Fly Away
(8:21)  3. So in Love
(8:29)  4. The Old Country
(7:58)  5. Charade
(7:30)  6. East of the Sun
(7:29)  7. Looking Back (Reflections)
(7:40)  8. All or Nothing at All
(7:01)  9. Goodbye
(2:58) 10. I Will Wait for You

The album “A Thousand Summers” from guitarist Gene Ess is a collection of timeless beautiful songs from the jazz canon. Having concentrated on original compositions and instrumental music in his last 3 albums, this new album gives a peak into Gene’s roots of coming up with the jazz standards.

The music is arranged carefully in such a way as not to destroy the essence of the songs but still allow the musicianship of the ensemble to cut through. In another words, the musical integrity was not compromised in order to present popular jazz material. In order to accomplish this musical goal, bassist Thomson Kneeland was recruited to arrange half of the material to add another musical perspective to the presentation. If you listen carefully, it is uncanny how Gene and Thomson’s sense of music is very much on the same page and yet each brings a different shade of color to the music.

Much of the songs on this album are about love and the accompanying yearning, joy, and pain it can give to all of us. Music being a universal language is perfect to express the human feelings of love which is certainly understood by all humankind of every creed, race, and religion. Matter of fact, love transcends any artificial border that we may put amongst ourselves and is one of the true gifts of being human and makes life on earth perhaps even bearable. To love is to be human and the music on this album is full of musicians who truly love playing this music for the listening audience.

Nicki Parrott is the featured vocalist on this album. Nicki is a renowned vocalist and bassist and have worked in the late Les Paul’s trio here in NYC. The trio now continues as the “Tribute to Les Paul Trio” and plays ever Monday at the famed Iridium Jazz Club. Nicki brings her superior sense of melody and has a great ear for this music. Her singing is succinct, vulnerable, and understated yet undeniably beautiful and true. She’s the perfect messenger for the melody and lyrics for these arrangements of the songs and for Gene Ess.

The band led by Gene Ess includes Gene Jackson on drums, James Weidman on piano, and Thomson Kneeland on the bass. Gene Ess and Gene Jackson have worked together since 1995 and share a great camaraderie musically. Gene Jackson seems to know exactly where Gene Ess wants to go on the solos in an effortless manner. James Weidman contributes musical comping throughout and acts as the harmonic glue for the music. Thomson Kneeland keeps the music swinging throughout with his virtuosic bass playing and his solos are very deep. With a team of musicians of this high level and empathy, Gene Ess plays some of his most musical solos to date. All of his solos are very lyrical and adds positively to the music and gets into the organic aspect of the music.

Cindy McLeod of Jazz Review says "Gene Ess has firmly cemented his place as a major jazz artist of the new millennium. His post-bop work is delivered with adventurous spirit and intense ethos, offering a powerful, unique voice to the idiom. A guitarist of virtuosic proportions, Ess plays fluid chromatic lines that float and weave through the harmony. His performance is simply stated, yet reveals stunning technical fluency, the signature of all true greats. There's a delicious sense of tension/release with his performance riding over the rhythm section, Ess is a master of the art of creating dynamic interplay. Supple, sanguine, and superb are the three words that kept popping into my head as I listened, this recording knocked my socks off and will be in my CD player on a regular basis for many years to come." http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/geneess4

A Thousand Summers

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Magnolia Jazzband - A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening

Styles: New Orleans Jazz, Big Band
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:55
Size: 127,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:39)  1. When My Dreamboat Comes Home
(4:31)  2. Canal Street Blues
(4:10)  3. A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening
(4:26)  4. Float Me Down The River
(5:05)  5. Roses Of Picardy
(4:58)  6. Yellow Dog Blues
(4:19)  7. I'm Through With Love
(3:25)  8. C'est Magnifique
(3:19)  9. Without You For An Inspiration
(4:56) 10. I Love You
(4:11) 11. Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered
(5:51) 12. Move The Body Over

The Magnolia Jazz Band has been one of the top New Orleans-style groups in Norway since its birth in 1972. The reason for the combo's success is obvious when listening to this CD, for the septet excels at a variety of tempos, grooves, and idioms within the New Orleans style. The opening "When My Dreamboat Comes Home" sounds like a New Orleans marching band, while some of the other songs swing more conventionally. Among the high points are "Roses of Picardy," "C'est Magnifique," "I Love You," and "Move the Body Over." The excellent musicianship, strong solos, and particularly the joyous group spirit make this a trad band well worth hearing. ~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/a-lovely-way-to-spend-an-evening-mw0000222851

This highly respected Norwegian jazz band presents a new studio session, playing their authentic New Orleans-style jazz. Here they play songs by Cole Porter ("I Love You"), W.C. Handy ("Yellow Dog Blues"), Rogers & Hart ("Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered Features New Orleans style jazz by this Norwegian artist.

Personnel: Arild Holm (banjo); Georg Reiss (clarinet, saxophone); Anders Bjornstad (trumpet); Gunnar Gotaas (trombone); Hakon Gjesvik (piano); Torstein Ellingsen (drums).

Recording information: Quilles Recording Studio (05/28/2001-05/30/2001).

A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening

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