Heather Bambrick - It's About Time

Size: 130,8 MB
Time: 56:19
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2003
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. (Sing) Joyspring (4:57)
02. That's Falling In Love (4:46)
03. Maybe (5:48)
04. Love For Sale (6:06)
05. I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter (4:07)
06. Night Night, Smiley (4:09)
07. Stormy Weather (5:27)
08. How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore (6:10)
09. Aren't I Cute (4:37)
10. That's All (4:56)
11. Let Me Fish Off Cape St. Mary's (5:12)

Heather Bambrick's voice has been described as a combination of "the cool smoothness of Diana Krall, with the rich honey sounds of Ella Fitzgerald". She has recorded and/or performed at some of Canada's top Jazz events, festivals, and venues with artists like Phil Nimmons, Oliver Jones, Kenny Wheeler, Peter Appleyard, and Darmon Meader.

Heather's voice and/or music has been heard on radio and television commercials, in film scores and soundtracks, and on made-for-TV movie soundtracks. She has recorded backing vocals on a number of projects, and remains a consistent success in her live performances. Her stage persona has been described as a "love child of Bette Midler and Jann Arden but not without influences from those big-name Jazz ladies of the 40s and 50s."

After spending five years recording and touring with the award-winning Beehive Singers, Heather released her debut solo CD "It's About Time" to rave reviews. In its first month of release, the recording hit #17 in the first ever Canadian National Jazz Chart. "It's About Time" continues to receive regular airplay on Canadian national radio programs, on stations in New Jersey, Florida, and Alaska, as well as on satellite stations across North America.

The CD has something for everyone: classic standards, fresh unique arrangements, clever and catchy original tunes, outstanding musicianship, and a sensitive vocal delivery that goes from soft and sexy, to offbeat and quirky, to just plain "swingin'"!!!

It's About Time  

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Emmanuel Bex, Glenn Ferris, Simon Goubert - BFG: Now Or Never

Size: 144,5 MB
Time: 62:44
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2013
Styles: Contemporary Jazz
Art: Front

01. Take Five (9:01)
02. Fa Diese (7:19)
03. Le Sourire De Babik (8:17)
04. Bluehawk (7:22)
05. Light'n Up (If You Can) (6:02)
06. Something On My Mind (6:52)
07. Seul Sans Toi (9:55)
08. Mr Sanders (7:52)

In 2001, the first album of BFG ( Bex, Ferris & Goubert ) : " Here & Now" was the first production Naïve Jazz and a great success since the album rather unusual trio (organ , trombone , drums) was awarded of the highest honors : " Victoire de la Musique ", " Grand Prix de L' Académie Charles Cros ", " Choc Jazzman of the Year ", " FFFF Télérama " Select "World" ... the trio was born the same year , a one-night stand at Sunset during a carte blanche Emmanuel Bex who chose to surround himself with Glenn Ferris trombone and Simon Goubert on drums. A furious and mind-blowing concert remained in the memories of hundreds of spectators at a club trance.

Twelve years later , the trio is reuniting for a concert by the New Morning in Paris in January 2013. Alchemy intact and it imposed both as a necessity and as an emergency : we had record "live" this legendary group. This was done in a completely new directory at Sunset , even where they were " born " . After " Here & Now" , here " Now or Never" . Provided they do not expect another twelve years! ~google translation from french.

BFG: Now Or Never

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Dena Taylor - The Nearness Of You

Size: 101,1 MB
Time: 41:05
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. When October Goes (3:42)
02. Solitude (4:02)
03. But Beautiful (4:33)
04. Besame Mucho (4:04)
05. The Nearness Of You (5:48)
06. Do Nothing Til You Hear From Me (3:42)
07. If I Love Again (2:41)
08. For All We Know (4:37)
09. The Look Of Love (3:20)
10. The Very Thought Of You (4:31)

Dena Taylor explores the varying levels of personal intimacy through both her song selection and masterful delivery of these Jazz Standards on The Nearness of You. From the first bars of “When October Goes,” the piano gently leads the listener into Taylor’s first silky vibrato, and from that point on there is no choice but to give in to her melodic journey. Taylor’s singing on this track evokes a sense of nostalgia and seclusion, as if one is sitting in a smoke-filled Jazz nightclub watching the moments drift softly into the abyss and waiting for a lost love that is not going to show. She follows this with the more ironically up-beat “Solitude.” Echoing the timbres and style of the great Billie Holliday, she explores another glimpse towards nostalgia that arouses the sense of such a longing, and the sweet side of a bittersweet feeling. The juxtaposition of these two tracks right from the start demonstrates not only the strong range of her Jazz repertoire, but also a deeper understanding of the versatility of feeling that can be conveyed given similar subject matter.

A distinct shift in tone and sentiment comes with Taylor’s rendition of the sultry “Besame Mucho.” The listener, mentally transported to a charming Latin club somewhere on the Central American coast, feels the gentle swells in both her band’s accompaniment and her lyrical delivery. The feel is cool, mellifluously smooth, and triggers a wonderful sensation of something foreign, yet universal though music. This leads directly into the title track, “The Nearness of You.” Taylor has led the listener from nostalgia through longing, and lands us in the ephemeral and warm spirit of Ella Fitzgerald with this track. She leaves room for her accompanying musicians to tastefully explore and muse with the form, and then takes up the mantel herself, commenting melodically through her own expression of tenderness.

The shift in subject matter that occurs with “Do Nothing Til You Hear From Me” marks a turning point towards reflection in this journey. The very feelings of longing and solitude that drive one to find and explore passion also lead down roads of trepidation, and the remaining tracks convey that distance from the build to “nearness.” There is no clearer example of this than her choice to follow with “If I Love Again.” Taylor echoes the sentiment conveyed in the opening tracks, but with a new understanding and exploration of those feelings. Closing out with Ray Noble’s “The Very Thought of You” comments on the cycle of the journey The Nearness of You embarks upon from the outset. The distance between longing and love, nearness and solitude, tenderness and indifference, comes full circle when looked at through the wider lens of the album as a whole.

Musically, Taylor executes these Jazz standards with an ear towards the past, but an eye towards the sentiment. What’s most striking is how she blends a range of styles within the Jazz genre to explore exactly what “nearness” implies both semantically and emotionally. The longing for nearness, the distance from nearness, and the ambivalence of nearness are all metaphorically and harmonically commented upon in a subtle way that does not demand a trained ear to decipher, but does reward one. ~Samuel Marvin, MA Humanities – University of Chicago

The Nearness Of You

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Kat Zotos - Any Given Moment

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:01
Size: 127,9 MB
Art: Front

(3:08)  1. I've Got Your Number
(5:32)  2. Dog and Butterfly
(4:25)  3. Rio de Janeiro Blue
(3:59)  4. River
(4:37)  5. Crazy Love
(5:15)  6. Laughing on the Outside
(3:34)  7. Love Me Like a Man
(6:15)  8. Am I Blue
(3:46)  9. Comes Love
(4:54) 10. Come Rain or Come Shine
(4:06) 11. Teach Me Tonight
(5:26) 12. Will You Still Love Me

Donna Franklin, KTSU-FM "The Choice" in Houston, Texas- Program Director, says:
Kat Zotos has really put her talents to work on her new project “ANY GIVEN MOMENT”. This is “real music” from the heart. One of my favorite pieces and the audience agrees is Rio de Janeiro Blue…I love how she sings that song!! I’m already excited about her next project…what an incredible vocalist!!   http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/katzotos

Any Given Moment

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Grady Nichols - Sophistication

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:44
Size: 109,3 MB
Art: Front + Back

(4:28)  1. Tuesday Morning
(3:47)  2. Livin' the Life
(5:01)  3. Sneak
(4:47)  4. End of the Night
(3:42)  5. All Right
(4:27)  6. Dinner and a Movie
(4:38)  7. Within the Blue
(4:27)  8. Behind the Scenes
(3:50)  9. Circle of Friends
(4:38) 10. Alone with You
(3:54) 11. Quiet Times

Saxophonist Grady Nichols is drawing some attention since his fourth CD is produced by Jeff Lorber, mixed by Paul Brown and boasts both Lorber and trumpeter Chris Botti's playing. The attention is deserved. Nichols has a polished alto sax voice, which he prefers for the most part on these ten songs, all co-written by Nichols and Lorber. Lorber knows talent when he sees it, and this wonderfully smooth CD signals the arrival of a fresh new talent. Nichols’ sax style is similar to Euge Groove’s, and although he doesn’t provide as many hooks as Groove, Nichols' main asset thus far is his superb playing. He obviously knows his way around his instrument, and isn’t afraid to hold long notes and dip and groove with those notes, all the while staying within the framework of his songs and never losing the melody. 

His alto works best, but he does switch to soprano on “Within the Blue“ and “Quiet Times.” But the alto is what he does best, which he shows on “Tuesday Morning,” the memorable radio hit “All Right,” “Livin’ the Life,” and “End of the Night,” which he duets with Botti to make some delightful sounds. While there’s plenty of generic sax stuff out there, Nichols is able to make a thoroughly modern smooth jazz recording without sounding derivative. That’s an accomplishment.
~ Brian Soergel  
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=13554#.Uv1SyYXYMbg

Personnel: Grady Nichols (alto, tenor, soprano sax); Jeff Lorber (keyboards, programming); Ray Fuller (guitar); Chris Botti (trumpet); Paul Pesco (guitar); Gene Morrison (trombone); Bill Gable (trumpet, Rhodes); Rich Gable (flute);

Sophistication

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Catherine Russell - Bring It Back

Styles: Vocal, Beyond Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:58
Size: 110,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:54)  1. Bring It Back
(2:31)  2. I'm Shooting High
(4:08)  3. I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart
(3:09)  4. You Got To Swing And Sway
(4:40)  5. Aged And Mellow
(2:39)  6. The Darktown Strutters' Ball
(3:55)  7. Lucille
(2:39)  8. You've Got Me Under Your Thumb
(5:24)  9. After The Lights Go Down Low
(3:07) 10. I'm Sticking With You Baby
(3:30) 11. Strange As It Seems
(3:13) 12. Public Melody Number One
(5:01) 13. I Cover The Waterfront

New York City vocalist Catherine Russell is the brilliant eutection of two bright tones. Her father, the late Luis Russell, collaborated with Louis Armstrong as his bandleader and arranger. Russell's mother was the inestimable Carline Ray who concluded her seven decade career with her debut as a leader Vocal Sides (Self Produced, 2013) before passing away at aged 88 July 27, 2013). Russell was intimately involved in the project with her mother. These spirits mixed to create the formidable talent that is Russell. Bring It Back is Russell's fifth recording and her first for the Harmonia Mundi Jazz Village imprint.

Russell creatively stretches with both a larger ten-piece band and an equally enlarged repertoire spanning from the dawn of jazz to the heyday of rhythm and blues. Russell and her cadre of arrangers opted for a more earthy presentation, giving the music a sepia hue without turning it into an all-out period piece. There is a comfortable and familiar 1930s cinematic feel to this music sans the rudimentary sonic technology. This is that honest music made by Esther Phillips, Al Hibbler, Wynonie Harris, Johnny Otis and Little Willie John, music that existed in the interface between jazz and R & B, where the two genres and all that made them linger and embrace.  The disc's true center is the first full performance of Russell's father's composition, "Lucille," which was recently found in the Louis Armstrong archives as a demo. It is a shimmering ballad that migrates into a Count Basie riff-fest. Russell addresses the slow blues in "After the Lights Go Down Low" complete with Glenn Patscha's Hammond and Matt Munisteri's thin, metallic guitar fills raise the song above gutbucket into the Chittlin' Circuit realm. "I'm Sticking to You Baby" is a Henry Glover jump blues. 

Perfectly wedged in is Fats Waller's "Strange as it Seems" and the Koehler/Arlen hidden swing treasure, "Public Melody Number One." Russell's title Bring It Back is a call for reconsideration. The primary focus in jazz, or music in general, need not be the ever- expanding trajectory outward. It can also be inward, old forms well considered. Russell provides essential and emphatic interpretations of songs close to her life and spirit making this an exceptional recording. ~ C.Michael Bailey   http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=46402#.Uvw1koW2yNA

Personnel: Catherine Russell: vocals, percussion (6, 10); Matt Munisteri: guitar; Mark Shane: piano; Lee Hudson: bass (1-5, 7-13); Nicki Parrott: bass (6); Mark McLean: drums, percussion (6); Andy Farber: tenor saxophone; Jon-Erik Kellso: trumpet; Brian Pareschi: trumpet (2-13); Dan Block: alto saxophone, tenor saxophone (5), clarinet (4); John Allred: trombone; Mark Lopeman: baritone saxophone; Glen Patscha: Hammond B-3 (6, 9, 10).

Bring It Back

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Steve Kuhn Trio - Baubles, Bangles And Beads

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:35
Size: 141,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:49)  1. And This Is My Beloved
(6:06)  2. Till the End of Time
(5:03)  3. Symphony No. 3
(4:54)  4. If You Are But a Dream
(3:58)  5. Stranger in Paradise
(6:10)  6. Gymnopedie No. 1
(5:36)  7. I Think of You
(4:01)  8. Prelude in C Minor,
(5:15)  9. I Look at Heaven
(5:33) 10. Baubles, Bangles and Beads
(4:37) 11. Vilia Lehar From The Merry Widow
(5:28) 12. Prelude, N 7 Op. 28

This trio session by Steve Kuhn includes classical works and pieces adapted into pop songs decades ago. He initially studied classical music as a young man with the mother of baritone saxophonist Serge Chaloff, so he is well grounded in the music. With bassist Dave Finck and Billy Drummond accompanying him, Kuhn's driving, boppish treatments of "Till the End of Time" (based upon Chopin's Polonaise No. 53) and "Stranger in Paradise" (taken from Borodin's Plovetzian Dance) sizzle with energy. His vibrant waltz setting of Erik Satie's Gymnopedie No. 1 is far removed from the Impressionist composer's minimalist conception, with Finck's arco bass solo adding an interesting touch. Borodin's "Baubles, Bangles and Beads" was a favorite of baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan during the 1950s; the trio's introspective approach works equally well. While classical listeners who are unfamiliar with jazz may have reservations, jazz fans will savor these outstanding performances. ~ Ken Dryden   http://www.allmusic.com/album/baubles-bangles-and-beads-mw0001923159

Baubles, Bangles And Beads

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