Kerensa Gray - Bliss

Size: 111,7 MB
Time: 48:09
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2012
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. Queen of the Wrong Thing (3:26)
02. These Hands (4:40)
03. Bliss (4:15)
04. Ain't No Sunshine (4:55)
05. Red Fish, Blue Fish (3:13)
06. Bossa Lady (6:13)
07. Take Me As I Am (5:59)
08. Fever (4:12)
09. Sometimes (3:09)
10. At Last (3:55)
11. I Am Here (4:07)

20th Annual Billie Holiday Vocal Competition winner Kerensa Gray is often compared to the likes of jazz royalty - Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald and contemporaries such as Diana Krall and has shared the stage with artists such as Stellar Award Winner Isaiah Thomas and opened for Grammy and Dove award winners CeCe Winans and Vickie Winans and has served as guest vocalist for the Drew Davidsen Band.
Finding her voice first in string studies as a gifted violin student, Kerensa began working with Frostburg State University orchestra while still attending middle school. These early years fostered an unquenchable love for music and encouraged a budding artist to discover the music of her own soul. As a gifted songwriter, this dynamic vocalist brings fresh insight and infectious energy to her approach of beloved classics and a transparency in her songwriting that speaks to that for which we all yearn - truth without compromise. Kerensa’s music finds balance in her ability to skilfully interweave melodies of jazz, blues and folk music into a sound that is undeniably and uniquely her while her talent as a gifted vocalist unearths yet unseen perspectives into the standards that are the soundtracks to our lives.
Kerensa is excited to offer her current CD project "Bliss" in cooperation with Nashville, TN based Creative Soul Jazz and producer Eric Copeland featuring jazz legend Gary Lunn on bass and Tom Hemby on guitar. Bliss is a follow up to Gray's 2009 album "Let me be me" produced by Contemporary Jazz Guitarist Drew Davidsen.

Bliss

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Shazan - Fusion Crush (Feat. Michelle Amato)

Size: 92,8 MB
Time: 39:52
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz Vocals, Brazilian Jazz, World Fusion
Art: Front

01. Who And Where Are You (4:02)
02. Most Beautiful Day (3:25)
03. Dark Shining Eyes (5:38)
04. Google Your Feelings (6:12)
05. My Favorite Castle (3:45)
06. Implicancia (2:39)
07. Parisian Nights (3:04)
08. Achording (4:33)
09. Peaks & Valliums (4:01)
10. Loved Ones (2:27)

Take beautiful songs and one awesome Singer- MICHELLE AMATO. Fine musicians like Chris Rottmayer and his wonderful Piano, Chuck Archard on Bass, Keith Wilson on Drums and SHazan on acoustic Guitar. That is the "band". Add Dan Jordan on Woodwinds (sax tenor, soprano, flute), Richard Drexler on Strings, Dariusz Grabowski on Accordion/bandoneon, Juan Tobon on synthesizer, Flavio Hazan on Percussion, Lowell Lawson on Flute, Andre Santana on Electric Guitar. Mix rhythms like jazz, bossa, samba, rock, pop and we have FUSION CRUSH exquisite flavors. Captivating, cool, beautiful music ! You will love to listen it time after time (while singing).
Enjoy

Fusion Crush

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Caroll Vanwelden & Dirk Van Der Linden - Cheek To Cheek

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:06
Size: 90,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:49)  1. Cheek To Cheek
(2:41)  2. It's Only A Papermoon
(3:33)  3. 'S Wonderful
(2:35)  4. They Can't Take That Away From Me
(2:42)  5. Please, Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone
(2:34)  6. How Deep Is The Ocean
(2:50)  7. A-Tisket A-Tasket
(3:15)  8. Let's Call The Whole Thing Off
(2:35)  9. Them There Eyes
(3:26) 10. Our Love Is Here To Stay
(3:19) 11. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
(2:30) 12. Undecided
(3:12) 13. As Time Goes By

No horns, no violins, just that sober sound that reminds of the real cosy jazz clubs. With top musicians  Dirk Van der Linden on guitar, Janos Bruneel on double bass, and Stijn Wauters on the piano  vocalist Caroll Vanwelden succeeded in recreating that lovely 1930’s sound with just the right retro touch and lots of great swinging moments. Caroll was really made to bring that good old jazzy style. As jazz has always been her first love this compilation of her all-time favourite standards of the thirties resulted in the new swing album ‘Cheek to Cheek' which she dedicates to Ella Fitzgerald and the memory of the Nat King Cole trio. 'Cheek to Cheek' is a jazz album that brings back cherished memories of that great decade.   http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/carollvanwelden

Cheek To Cheek

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Deanna Witkowski - Length of Days

Styles: Vocal, Piano Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:12
Size: 142,5 MB
Art: Front

(8:27)  1. Beautiful Hands (Witkowski)
(8:14)  2. Hi-Lilil, Hi-Lo (Deutsch/Kaper)
(7:06)  3. Straight, No Chaser (Monk)
(5:00)  4. Length of Days (Witkowski)
(7:17)  5. Prayer for Linda (Witkowski)
(7:34)  6. In the Still of the Night (Porter)
(4:47)  7. Feed the Birds (Sherman)
(7:45)  8. Song for Sarah (Witkowski)
(5:58)  9. I'm Beginning to See the Light (Ellington,George,Hodges,James)

Pianist Deanna Witkowski began her musical journey on the classical side, studying piano and flute. In college jazz called, first on the saxophone, then through piano lessons from Chucho Valdes and Hilario Duran. Length of Days, Witkowski's third release as a leader, opens with "Beautiful Hands," inspired by a compliment given to her by Billy Childs. High praise from such an accomplished fellow pianist/composer, but he could just as well have remarked on a beautiful throat to compliment Witkowski's vocal prowess. She uses her voice to color her arrangements with vibrant hues, whether on her wordless, melifluous chant on the opener, or lyrically on the title tune that bemoans spiritual empiness inspired, reportedly, on the pianist's meditations on the New Testament image of St. Peter's blinding conversion. 

Witkowski's teaming with saxophonist Donny McCaslin (who was nominated for a Grammy for his work on Maria Schneider's Concert in the Garden) is a key to this disc's success. Witkowski the arranger crafts complex harmonies, and her voice and McCaslin's soprano saxophone sound as if they were created to play together, a magical blend in harmony, with McCaslin extending the vocalist's phrases with an inspired improvisational logic. Cole Porter's "In the Still of the Night" gets a piano trio treatment, with Witkowski taking the melody up and twisting it around a bit, an uplifting stretch. Much of Witkowski's sound is shaded by her spirituality, but she gets deep into the jazz religion with Thelonious Monk's "Straight, No Chaser," with McCaslin trading in the smooth-flowing soprano for a beefy tenor sax, blowing down and dirty while Witkowski plays light and clean behind him. The disc closes with Ellington's "I'm Beginning to See the Light," with McCaslin again on tenor, giving way to an uplifting, Chucho-esque arrangement, the rhythm bubbling, Witkowski stepping light and pretty." Following Maria Schneider's lead, Length of Days is an ArtistShare release, available only on Witkowski's website. ~ Dan Mcclenaghan   

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=20195#.Uu5IlbSgsit

Personnel: Deanna Witkowski: piano, vocals; Donny McCaslin: soprano and tenor saxophones; Dave Ambrosio: bass; Vince Cherico: drums.

Length of Days

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Suzy Bogguss - Lucky

Styles: Country
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:26
Size: 100,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:36)  1. Today I Started Loving You Again
(3:43)  2. Silver Wings
(3:39)  3. The Bottle Let Me Down
(3:25)  4. I Always Get Lucky With You
(3:45)  5. If We Make It Through December
(3:18)  6. Let's Chase Each Other Around the Room
(3:45)  7. The Running Kind
(3:44)  8. Going Wherethe Lonely Go
(3:21)  9. Someday When Things Are Good
(4:02) 10. I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink
(3:41) 11. Sing Me Back Home
(3:22) 12. You Don't Have Very Far to Go

Suzy Bogguss didn't set out to craft a Merle Haggard tribute record. Some might call that serendipity; she just calls it "Lucky." An accomplished artist and songwriter in her own right, Bogguss and her husband/co-producer Doug Crider were combing through songs to consider for her next project. Never one to hew to a particular style, having branched out into jazz, folk and swing sounds alongside traditional and modern country, Bogguss kept coming back to a set of songs that spoke to her...and they just happened to be by Haggard. "He really is the poet of the common man," says Bogguss of her new album titled "Lucky" and who kicked off her career with 1989's "Somewhere Between," her debut album named after one of Haggard's early songs. "Not every artist has music that is as universal as Merle's. It's pretty heavy-duty stuff, and I think that's why to so many of us who sing and write songs, he's such a king among us." 

Bogguss dove deeper into Haggard's catalog, taking care to hold on to that original vision of finding songs that resonated with her not just pulling out and recycling the hits. The result is an acoustic record with vibe, featuring classics like "Silver Wings," "The Bottle Let Me Down," "If We Make It Through December," "I Think I'll Just Stay Here And Drink" and many more. It's an homage to Merle Haggard that didn't start that way. It's a Suzy Bogguss record that didn't end up that way. It's the best of both situations ... and we're "Lucky" to have it that way.   http://shorefire.com/releases/entry/suzy-bogguss-recasts-merle-haggard-classics-with-lucky-feb-4

Lucky

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8½ Souvenirs - Souvonica

Styles: Retro Swing, Alternative Country-Rock
Year: 1997
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:11
Size: 80,7 MB
Art: Front

(2:55)  1. Off White
(3:31)  2. Cognac
(2:45)  3. Souvonica
(3:32)  4. Tango Lunatico
(3:06)  5. Paris
(2:54)  6. Absentee Rag
(4:00)  7. Pass' Temps
(2:47)  8. Chez Yvette
(3:23)  9. Amarcord
(2:39) 10. Shut the Door
(3:32) 11. Serpent Charmer

Although based in Austin, Texas, the retro-swing outfit 8½ Souvenirs drew much of their inspiration from European artists like Django Reinhardt, Serge Gainsbourg and Nino Rota; led by French expatriate singer/guitarist Olivier Giraud, the group was formed in 1988, and originally also comprised bassist Todd Wulfmeyer and drummer Adam Berlin. Classically trained pianist Glover Gill was the next to join; with the arrival of vocalist Juliana Sheffield, 8½ Souvenirs’ lineup was complete, and in 1995 they recorded their debut LP Happy Feet. Sauvonica, recorded with new vocalist Chrysta Bell, followed in 1998, and a year later the group returned with Twisted Desire. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide  http://www.last.fm/music/8%C2%BD+Souvenirs/+wiki

Souvonica

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