Sunday, February 23, 2014

Anya Malkiel - From The Heart

Size: 98,5 MB
Time: 42:10
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2013
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. Fine And Mellow (4:11)
02. Invitation (4:23)
03. Pannonica (3:59)
04. Lullaby Of The Leaves (4:19)
05. You Must Believe In Spring (5:01)
06. I Thought About You (4:25)
07. There'll Never Be Another You (3:25)
08. Under Paris Skies (4:07)
09. Beautiful Love (4:54)
10. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child (3:21)

“Anya is a sensual, mesmerizing singer who interprets a diverse jazz repertoire with uniquely intelligent style. Her passionate delivery and superb musical accompaniment create riveting performances in which jazz becomes a stimulating contemporary experience.” From the audience...
Anya grew up in the former Soviet Union. During her university years in Leningrad (now called St. Petersburg), she and her sister were well known in the underground rock scene, singing with local bands Vozrozhdenie and Aelita. Anya’s interest turned to jazz after her first visit to a jazz club. She learned jazz standards by listening to western records and by collaborating with Russian musicians. When Anya emigrated to the United States in 1990, she sang with the Natural Gas Jazz Band and Chicago Six in festivals in Reno, San Francisco, San Diego and Mountain View. She took a break to raise her daughter, and has returned to her passion in recent years, singing in Bay Area clubs and studios.
Anya is joined by well-known musicians - Randy Porter, Jason Lewis, John Wiitala, Christian Tamburr (who also wrote two arrangements for this album), and Jim Schneider.
“From The Heart” is Anya’s first album where she sings jazz standards demonstrating a wide range of styles, and with each song she draws listeners into her warm embrace.

From The Heart

Jazzpearls - Club Date

Size: 95,9 MB
Time: 41:18
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2012
Styles: Piano Jazz, Swing Jazz
Art: Front

01. It Ain´t Necessarily So (2:39)
02. Saint Louis Blues (5:13)
03. New Orleans (4:44)
04. Blue Bossa (2:14)
05. I Want A Little Girl (4:11)
06. Basin Street Blues (4:34)
07. You Can Depend On Me (2:50)
08. Willow Weep For Me (5:39)
09. Take The 'a' Train (4:15)
10. Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans (4:54)

Evil tongues say in English "Those folks suebian will not swing, even if you'd hang them from trees" .. the rebuttal takes the Hans Madlinger trio known as the "Jazz Pearls" on. This piano trio is formed by the weathering processes in the southern German Gig-book landscape. Here are 3 characters have found where their great experience, their passion and their love is to listen to jazz. 3 thoroughbred musicians interpret bossa novas, swing and mainstream as well as classics of jazz history, but also for trips to soul and funk, and never forget the blues .. with irresistible swing, humor and Drive, with inimitable charm and fine permeability captures the band. Rauchgegerbt and biergestählt, weathered and hardened in southern Germany Gig thunderstorms, familiar with the grandees of art and culture shocked this band nothing more - they pull their Effortlessly track .. Dufter Jazz from Stuttgart City - worth hearing and worth seeing! ~google translation

Club Date

Cyndi Moring - Cover Art

Size: 101,3 MB
Time: 43:31
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. Be Cool (3:13)
02. Crown Of Thorns (5:32)
03. Different For Girls (3:44)
04. Here Comes The Rain Again (6:39)
05. The Spy (5:02)
06. Love Song (3:39)
07. Two Grey Rooms (3:29)
08. I Will Posses Your Heart (4:15)
09. Human Nature (4:10)
10. Shotgun Down The Avalanche (3:44)

My musical journey started with folk music in my youth, became immersed in the blues, and then swing, as I spent years as lead vocalist for the popular Seattle swing/jump blues band Jump Up! in the 90's. From there I fell into jazz, performing and recording standards that needed to be sung again. As I searched for new horizons, I realized that pop music is the standard of our time, so why not re-interpret it too?
Jazz, blues, indie folk and pop have coursed through my veins all my life. As a singer, I chose these songs for their lyrics, but also to recreate them in a fresh, new way. Sometimes the songs cried out to be reinvented through my personal experiences; sometimes they just needed to be sung by a woman; and sometimes they needed new life breathed into them decades later to make them accessible to a new generation.

Cover Art

Sony Holland - Out Of This World

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:59
Size: 125,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:57)  1. Old Devil Moon
(3:07)  2. It's an Understatement
(5:22)  3. The Nearness of You
(3:59)  4. Summer Night
(5:35)  5. I've Got You Under My Skin
(4:49)  6. I'll Lead The Way
(3:21)  7. Come Fly With Me
(4:38)  8. In A Sentimental Mood
(4:11)  9. At Last
(4:13) 10. Out Of This World
(4:14) 11. Skylark
(3:25) 12. The Thrill Is Gone
(3:02) 13. By The Sea

Sony Holland sings in a style that is both sophisticated and emotionally direct. Her interpretations of the great American songbook show a deep respect and love for the material while adding an unmistakable spark of personality. Originally from northern Minnesota, Sony fell in love with jazz while spending a year in Paris and has earned a devoted following worldwide with her renditions of standards, contemporary classics, and original songs. She has made California her home since 2003 although she now performs internationally, including extensive concert tours and residencies in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Bangkok. Her CD Out Of This World 2009 is an intimate set of 13 songs which she brings together with impeccable musicianship. Despite her sunny good looks Sony is a performer who knows what it is to pay her dues. 

She started her career on the streets of Fisherman’s Wharf and sang there in the wind, cold and rain, through good times and bad. “None of the other street musicians thought I would last, but I was determined to make a living out there.” That means spending hours singing when few tourists are about, simply to guard one’s turf. She explains, “I never minded the hostile elements or the slow nights because I understood that you need to put the time in to get your voice strong.” “People would constantly ask me what I was doing out there. They don’t understand how few well-paying jazz venues there are and how expensive it is for an independent musician to travel with a band.”  

To keep herself working Ms. Holland often goes from playing a club like NYC’s Blue Note one night, to performing at a black-tie event the next… and then she’ll go out the following morning to sing for tips at a Nor-Cal Farmer’s Market! It keeps things interesting. “I always think of what my first bass player said. He was an old-timer who had toured with some of the biggest names in jazz and he’d tell me, “Whether you’re playing Carnegie Hall or a neighborhood dive, remember they’re all just joints.”” Partially to deal with the expense of traveling she encouraged her songwriting husband to beef up his jazz chops on the guitar. Now they often perform together in concert venues and cafes as a duo. “Jerry has a simple rhythmic approach to playing jazz tunes that audiences really enjoy even if they’re not huge jazz fans.” His compositions have also added freshness to her repertoire. 

On the current CD they include a wonderful Bossa Nova It’s An Understatement, a tribute to Carmel called By The Sea and the sultry swing number I’ll Lead The Way. The core of the disc is made up of treasured jazz standards from the swinging Old Devil Moon to the dreamy Nearness Of You and from the sexy Summer Night to a powerhouse version of At Last.  Sony originally recorded Out Of This World several years ago for the sole purpose of selling to the tourists at Fisherman’s Wharf. Although the CD surprised her by getting excellent reviews and selling well through iTunes she has redone all of the vocals, remixed and repackaged it in preparation for its national release. “My singing has matured and so I jumped at this chance to improve on the original CD.” The results are impressive and prove that talent, time and dedication are what make an artist truly special.  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/sonyholland6

Out Of This World

Peggy Lee - Ole Ala Lee!

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1960
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 26:29
Size: 62,7 MB
Art: Front

(2:25)  1. Come Dance With Me
(3:17)  2. By Myself
(1:44)  3. You're So Right For Me
(1:51)  4. Just Squeeze Me
(2:02)  5. Fantastico
(2:03)  6. Love And Marriage
(2:23)  7. Non Dimenticar
(1:52)  8. From Now On
(2:27)  9. You Stepped Out Of A Dream
(2:23) 10. Ole
(2:11) 11. I Can't Resist You
(1:45) 12. Together Wherever We Go

Velvety flutes, peppy percussion, well-behaved brass  yes, the stage is set once more for Peggy Lee's sedately suggestive Latin musings. Seemingly ghost-written in George Shearing's ultra-lounge hand, this sequel to the singer's Latin ala Lee! album offers another enchanting mix of jazz-vocal staples ("Come Dance with Me," "You Stepped Out of a Dream") and Broadway-issue mambo ("Fantastico," "Non Dimencticar"). Never fear the drip-drip of gloss in extremis, though, for Lee always distinguishes the Cuban-lite environs with her throaty ballad tone and unerring rhythmic sense. 

Arranger and conductor Joe Harnell does let the Latin fire loose a bit ("From Now On"), but generally things remain on auto glide. A perfect backdrop for your next tiki-torch affair, this harmless conga turn while certainly not essential  is sure to be eaten up by all of Lee's adoring fans. ~ Stephen Cook   http://www.allmusic.com/album/ol%C3%A9-ala-lee!-mw0000916332

Kenny Barron - Spirit Song

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:00
Size: 149,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:12)  1. The Pelican
(5:42)  2. Spirit Song
(7:31)  3. Um Beijo
(9:54)  4. Passion Flower
(6:12)  5. Passion Dance
(6:25)  6. Sonja Braga
(5:21)  7. The Question Is
(7:59)  8. The Wizard
(7:05)  9. Cook's Bay
(4:35) 10. And Then Again

Many of pianist Barron's recordings have been done with one set lineup. Though he has a core band of bassist Rufus Reid, drummer Billy Hart, tenor saxophonist David Sanchez, and trumpeter Eddie Henderson, the leader changes up the music quite a bit on this diversely adorned recording of two standards and eight originals. There are two duet tracks one with guitarist Russell Malone, the other with Sanchez. "And Then Again" is a 12-bar bopper on which Malone cops stairstep refrains from "Misterioso." McCoy Tyner's kinetic "Passion Dance" features piano and tenor in a wonderful terpsichore. Barron's his own man as an improviser. 

Brazilian moments always crop up on his recordings; this album sports a long, languid, samba-tinged take on Billy Strayhorn's "Passion Flower," as well as the breezy melody of "Cook's Bay," which features a tick-tock samba similar to Jobim's "Waters of March." These group efforts are joined by the Art Blakey-like "The Pelican," one of Barron's best writing jobs. In stark contrast is the funky, dark modal juggernaut "The Wizard," with banged-up, half-crazed chords from Malone, and the grooving Afro-Cuban minimalism of the title cut. The rhapsodic "Passion Flower" and "Um Beijo" both feature violinist Regina Carter. Barron's romantic notions are best displayed on the delicate, trumpet-fired bossa ballad "Sonja Braga" and serene waltz "The Question Is...." Barron has amassed a formidable number of high-quality recordings, but this ranks right up there near the top. ~ Michael C.Nastos  http://www.allmusic.com/album/spirit-song-mw0000256391

Personnel: Kenny Barron (piano); Russell Malone (guitar); Regina Carter (violin); David Sanchez (tenor saxophone); Eddie Henderson (trumpet); Billy Hart (snare drum); Michael Wall Grigsby (percussion).

Grant Green - Matador

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1964
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:58
Size: 116,9 MB
Art: Front

(10:49)  1. Matador
(10:21)  2. My Favorite Things
( 9:08)  3. Green Jeans
(11:39)  4. Bedouin
( 8:59)  5. Wives And Lovers

Grant Green recorded so much high-quality music for Blue Note during the first half of the '60s that a number of excellent sessions went unissued at the time. Even so, it's still hard to figure out why 1964's Matador was only released in Japan in 1979, prior to its U.S. CD reissue in 1990 -- it's a classic and easily one of Green's finest albums. In contrast to the soul-jazz and jazz-funk for which Green is chiefly remembered, Matador is a cool-toned, straight-ahead modal workout that features some of Green's most advanced improvisation, even more so than his sessions with Larry Young. Part of the reason for that is that Green is really pushed by his stellar backing unit: pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Bob Cranshaw, and drummer Elvin Jones. Not only is Green leading a group that features one-half of the classic Coltrane Quartet, but he even takes on Coltrane's groundbreaking arrangement of "My Favorite Things" and more than holds his own over ten-plus minutes. In fact, every track on the album is around that length; there are extended explorations of two Green originals ("Green Jeans" and the title track) and Duke Pearson's Middle Eastern-tinged "Bedouin," plus the bonus cut "Wives and Lovers," a swinging Bacharach pop tune not on the Japanese issue. The group interplay is consistently strong, but really the spotlight falls chiefly on Green, whose crystal-clear articulation flourishes in this setting. And, for all of Matador's advanced musicality, it ends up being surprisingly accessible. This sound may not be Green's claim to fame, but Matador remains one of his greatest achievements. ~ Steve Huey   http://www.allmusic.com/album/matador-mw0000655082

Personnel: Grant Green (guitar); McCoy Tyner (piano); Bob Cranshaw (bass); Elvin Jones (drums).