Anna Lundqvist Quartet - Borderline Fiesta (Feat. Kristian Harborg)

Size: 139,8 MB
Time: 60:14
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2010
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. Not Meant To Be (5:35)
02. Are You Insane (3:42)
03. Happy Time (5:28)
04. Restless Feet (4:19)
05. Paint Me A Picture (6:13)
06. Changing (6:16)
07. Surprising Refrain (6:26)
08. How To Walk Away (4:44)
09. Tango (8:25)
10. What Do I Know (4:43)
11. Getting Over You (4:20)

“As a whole, BORDERLINE FIESTA is a successful debut, probably one of the best Swedish debuts this year.” Bertil Sundin, OJ Orkesterjournalen (4/5)

I’m born in 1977 in Stockholm but I’m raised in a small town called Mellerud in Dalsland, together with my little sister and little brother. My parents are musicians from Värmland ( Hagfors and Karlstad). Before my life became all about jazz I played the cello and sang only classical music. In music high school at SundstaÄlvkullegymnasiet in Karlstad I found jazz. I dedicated my time traning my voice into the technique of afro and learning about the world of jazz. After that I studied jazz at Skurup Folkhögskola and I have been working profesionally since 2000. I live in Gothenburg where I fill my days with work as a freelancing singer, composer and vocal coach. Anna Lundqvist Quintet is my head project and 2009 we released our first album, Borderline fiesta. In 2010 my second, City and October 2012 we released a third cd, Before you I was almost fine.

Borderline Fiesta

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Alexandra Lehmler - Jazz, Baby!

Size: 125,4 MB
Time: 53:51
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Mainstream Jazz
Art: Front & Back

01. Autoroute Du Soleil (7:27)
02. Superheld (7:46)
03. Snow In Summer (4:39)
04. Thermoskop (5:36)
05. What's Next (3:25)
06. Unterirdisch (7:09)
07. Klassentreff (4:01)
08. Traenenmeer (5:21)
09. Weltuntergang (4:21)
10. Hangover (4:01)

Alexandra Lehmler loves the straight and clear words. She has called her previous CD not just like this “No Blah Blah”. Now her new album is released with the concise title „Jazz, Baby!“. And also this time, the saxophonist from Mannheim lets actions follow her words. For her, Jazz is not only a bloodless concept, but music which is alive in the highest measure. And at the latest, while hearing her compositions everybody knows what is meant. For the 34-year-old musician from the southwest of Germany the charm of the jazz lies in the almost endless tonal possibilities. Lehmlers music is the sounding counter evidence that jazz fits in any drawers. Jazz is just what one makes out of it … Jazz is an energy that drives forward. Jazz is music for audience which can feel this magic at Alexandra Lehmler’s concerts already after a few moments. This ensures beside the band leader who plays all saxophones, also her very well-functioning band: with Oliver Maa (piano), Matthias Debu (bass), Max Mahlert (percussion) and Rodrigo Villalon (Percussion) she has not only gotten high-carat improvisation musicians, but also team players. And the unmistakable variable, modern sound of the band lets assume that the five musicians do not only play together since yesterday.

However, Alexandra Lehmler also is at the (jazz) pulse of time because she does not play the classics of the jazz literature to the best, but best plays her own compositions. So again, Alexandra and bassist Matthias Debus have tailored on the body of the quintet their home-made pieces which are as coloured as her musical influence. Sometimes coloured tones of the world music shimmer through, sometimes classical elements sparkle; sometimes it also becomes sounding like rock, filthy and crude. And in the end it is just „Jazz, Baby!“: 100% up-to-date and without compromises.

Jazz, Baby!

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Nadine Axisa - Velvet

Size: 129,7 MB
Time: 55:57
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz Vocals, Easy Listening
Art: Front

01. Velvet (3:00)
02. Tempted (4:22)
03. Stormy Night (6:15)
04. Light Me Up (4:09)
05. 52Nd Street (3:50)
06. Silver Seas (5:52)
07. Sanaa (5:35)
08. Heavenly (6:25)
09. Birds (8:16)
10. My Night (4:51)
11. Free (3:16)

Nadine Axisa this week released ‘Velvet’, an album of 12 original songs in the ‘easy listening jazz’ style penned by various composers and authors.

The album features a total of 38 top musicians renowned in the local jazz scene such as Dominic Galea, Sandro Zerafa, Charles ‘City’ Gatt, Paul Abela, Vinny Vella and Paul Giordimaina amongst others. Nadine is also collaborating with foreign musicians in this album, where two tracks feature bass player Roberto Badoglio and saxophonist Gabriele Comeglio respectively.

Although all tracks fall under the jazz idiom, there is a variation in the style of songs which include Latin, swing, blues, ballads and funky tunes. Eleven tracks have lyrics in English while one song entitled ‘G?anja’ is in Maltese. This was in fact the tune which Nadine launched as a single a couple of weeks ago.

The album was named ‘Velvet’ after one of the tracks which talks about the passion for music, which in turn is compared to velvet.

The album is a very special project for Nadine since it reflects her passion for the style of music. It encompasses the experiences she lived for the past ten years with some of the musicians she collaborated with in events such as the recording of other albums, gigs in Malta and outside Malta, and the Malta Jazz Festival. The album shows her versatility and brings together the talent of local composers and authors together with the ability of all these musicians. Nadine admits that this project is a dream that became a reality and thanks the Malta Arts Fund and other contributors for their support.

Nadine enjoys an interesting track record both in Malta and abroad, however she considers this project to be the most satisfactory accomplishment she has experienced until now.

The album was recorded, mixed and mastered by David Vella at Temple Studios.

Velvet

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The Pace Brothers Organ Trio - Shazam

Size: 112,8 MB
Time: 49:15
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2011
Styles: Hammond Organ, Funky Jazz, Soul Jazz
Art: Front

01. Shazam (5:04)
02. Coming Home Baby (5:01)
03. Two Lines (4:12)
04. In A Hurting Way (7:40)
05. Interlude 1 (1:21)
06. Norwegian Wood (4:10)
07. You Are My Sunshine (4:09)
08. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (3:59)
09. Have A Blast (4:19)
10. Interlude 2 (1:06)
11. On The Spot (8:08)

Modern but connected soul Hammond B3 organ jazz. Funky and fun with great grooves and great spirit.

Shazam

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Diane Schuur - Live in London

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 75:31
Size: 173,0 MB
Art: Front

(5:09)  1. Deedles' blues
(4:37)  2. I'll close my eyes
(4:17)  3. Close enough for love
(6:47)  4. As
(5:34)  5. Poinciana
(4:07)  6. Don't let me be lonely tonight
(4:14)  7. You'd be so nice to Come home to
(5:37)  8. When october goes
(6:56)  9. Besame mucho
(6:39) 10. The very thought of you
(7:04) 11. So in love
(6:50) 12. It don't mean a thing
(4:03) 13. Send me someone to love
(3:30) 14. Over the rainbow

Does Diane Schuur still matter? Though the vocalist has been performing actively on the national jazz scene since her 1984 GRP debut, Deedles, came out, and she has won two Grammies, critical interest in her work has waned since the early 1990s. Many critics have lauded her powerful voice and stylistic versatility but lamented her tendency toward histrionics and emotional blandness. Live in London, recorded at Ronnie Scott's, might reassert her potential in the vocal pantheon. The disc is a fine example of Schuur the vocalist and pianist, collaborating with a fine band bassist Scott Steed, guitarist Rod Fleeman and drummer Reggie Jackson before an adoring (if subdued) audience. In many ways she represents exactly what is missing from a lot of "contemporary jazz she knows how to balance jazz technique and feeling with emotional accessibility. Schuur is galvanizing on her two elaborate scat solos on the samba-flavored "So in Love and a galloping "It Don't Mean a Thing. 

Fleeman soars on both tunes and Jackson adds a hot, polyrhythmic solo to the latter. Though Schuur has recorded with the Count Basie Orchestra, Maynard Ferguson's Big Bop Nouveau Band and the Caribbean Jazz Project, she sounds most radiant in a streamlined setting. On these wide-ranging pieces by Duke Ellington, Percy Mayfield, Cole Porter, Steve Wonder and others, Schuur's clear tone, superb diction and pitch-perfect piano scats illuminate the material with aplomb. The quartet is also quite resourceful in establishing a variety of moods and maintaining momentum over the course of the album's 75 minutes. The set features two anthems: a punchy version of the Morgan Ames-penned "Deedle's Blues, followed by a hushed performance of "I'll Close My Eyes, which typifies her ballad style. Schuur's underrated piano playing proves a fine percussive foil for Jackson on the Latin-tinged arrangements of "As, "Poinciana and "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight, bundled together on the album. Schuur's stirring version of "Besame Mucho re-creates the scintillating arrangement from her Ferguson collaboration, Swingin' for Schuur, with seamless harmonizing in the final bars. 

Schuur's melodic imagination and harmonic eloquence complements her sleek voice-piano unison combinations and energetic trades with Fleeman, though her scats do get repetitive. Strings and woodwinds often crowd Schuur's recordings, but one of the more striking elements of this live set is its spaciousness. The spare bass and voice opening of "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To establishes a framework for Steed to stretch out and fosters a warm, intimate vocal from Schuur. A piano rendition of the ageless "Please Send Me Someone to Love and her signature a capella "Over the Rainbow delicately conclude the album. Amidst the "nu crooners and singer-songwriter/folk-oriented types currently prevalent in vocal jazz, Schuur probably seems old-fashioned. Regardless of trends, the beautiful vocals, impressive range and tight musicianship on Live confirm that Schuur matters. Ronnie Scott's has welcomed some of world's finest vocal talents check out Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone's classic sets and Live in London places Schuur amongst them. ~ Vicent Stephens   http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=22287#.UxYenIVZhhk 
 

Personnel: Diane Schuur: piano, vocals; Scott Steed: bass; Rod Fleeman: guitar; Reggie Jackson: drums.

Live in London

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Sarah Silverman - Sarah

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:55
Size: 108,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:03)  1. Nature Boy
(3:26)  2. Take Love Easy
(5:46)  3. I'm Glad There Is You
(5:14)  4. Samba Em Preludio
(3:34)  5. Two Sleepy People
(3:27)  6. Waiting On the Weather
(5:23)  7. Once I Loved
(6:44)  8. Medley Smoke Gets in Your Eyes  I Get Along Without You Very Well
(5:14)  9. Love Me or Leave Me
(3:01) 10. Arietta

Inspired and mentored by two great contemporary jazz performers, singer Luciana Souza and pianist Bruce Barth, Sarah has emerged as an exciting new jazz vocalist. Drawn to intimate performances, Sarah often sings duo with Bruce, and their inspired collaborations naturally developed into the recording of ‘SARAH’. The album marks a dramatic shift away from her background as a classical pianist, but it is also a natural evolution for a performer drawn to different musical styles, improvisation and the spirit of distinctive collaboration.

“Sarah is a beautiful and curious singer and musician…  I am very excited to see where she is going with her music and her abundant talent”. ~ Luciana Souza   

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/sarahsilverman1

Sarah

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Robin Nolan Trio - Boulevard Of Broken Dreams

Styles: Vocal Jazz, Guitar Jazz
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:34
Size: 136,4 MB
Front:

(3:41)  1. Boulevard Of Broken Dreams
(5:35)  2. Route 66
(3:38)  3. The Lonely One
(2:39)  4. That's A Natural Fact
(3:03)  5. Oh, Lady Be Good
(4:14)  6. Out Of Nowhere
(3:26)  7. Caravan
(2:13)  8. Take The  A  Train
(3:58)  9. Honeysuckle Rose
(5:16) 10. The Shadow Of Your Smile
(3:57) 11. September Song
(3:17) 12. Shoo Shoo Baby
(2:59) 13. It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
(4:39) 14. All Of Me
(6:51) 15. Once In A While

If the Los Angeles-based Nat King Cole Trio of the '30s and '40s had employed Django Reinhardt on guitar instead of Oscar Moore and didn't use any piano or if Cole had been a featured vocalist for Reinhardt's European groups -- the results might have resembled what acoustic guitarist Robin Nolan does on Boulevard of Broken Dreams. This swing-oriented effort, which was recorded in Amsterdam, Holland, in 2000, finds Nolan featuring a very Cole-minded vocalist on all of the tracks: Randy Greer, the grand nephew of drummer Sonny Greer (who was with the Duke Ellington Orchestra from 1924-1951). Greer certainly isn't the only singer with a Cole obsession; the others have included Freddy Cole (Nat King Cole's younger brother), Allan Harris, and the late Sonny Brown (a Philadelphia resident who was little-known outside of that city). And even though Greer is hardly the most original singer in the world, he is good at what he does and isn't an exact replica of his main influence like Freddy Cole, Greer has a huskier voice than Nat King Cole. Together, Nolan and Greer (who are joined by Paul Meader on upright bass and Kevin Nolan on acoustic rhythm guitar) give listeners a CD that has one foot in the L.A. of the '30s and '40s and the other in the Europe of that era. Unfortunately, their choice of material is way too obvious; most of the tunes are warhorses that have long since been beaten to death. But the CD's concept Reinhardt's gypsy jazz meets Nat King Cole is certainly intriguing. And when all is said and done, Nolan and Greer provide a likable, if imperfect, disc that both Reinhardt and Cole fans will be glad to have in their collections. ~ Alex Henderson   http://www.allmusic.com/album/boulevard-of-broken-dreams-mw0000021258

Personnel: Robin Nolan (guitar); Randy Greer (vocals); Kevin Nolan (guitar); Paul Meader (acoustic bass).

Boulevard Of Broken Dreams

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Joe Williams & Harry 'Sweets' Edison - Together

Styles: Vocal, Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1961
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:53
Size: 138,0 MB
Art: Front

(1:52)  1. Winter Weather
(2:30)  2. I Don't Know Why (I Just Do)
(2:19)  3. There's a Small Hotel
(2:14)  4. Out of Nowhere
(2:27)  5. Aren't You Glad You're You
(1:52)  6. Remember
(2:32)  7. Together
(2:51)  8. Deep Purple
(2:40)  9. Always
(4:08) 10. Lover, Come Back to Me
(1:59) 11. By the River Sainte Marie
(2:35) 12. Alone Together
(2:52) 13. Have a Good Time
(2:45) 14. Sometimes I'm Happy
(2:55) 15. Old Folks
(2:50) 16. Until I Met You
(3:18) 17. I Won't Cry Anymore
(2:22) 18. S'sposin'
(2:59) 19. A Blues Serenade
(2:12) 20. September in the Rain
(2:37) 21. Summertime
(2:17) 22. Moonlight in Vermont
(2:34) 23. Falling in Love With Love

When singer Joe Williams left Count Basie's orchestra to go out on his own in early 1961, at first he co-led a group with veteran trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison. Their two joint recordings for Roulette have been reissued in full on this single CD. The Together set matches Williams and Edison with tenor saxophonist Jimmy Foster and a four-piece rhythm section that includes pianist Sir Charles Thompson. Among the highlights of the dozen standards are "I Don't Know Why," "Aren't You Glad You're You," and "Lover Come Back to Me." Have a Good Time has 11 songs performed by a mostly unidentified larger group arranged by Ernie Wilkins, including fine versions of "Sometimes I'm Happy," "Old Folks," "September in the Rain," and "Moonlight in Vermont." Throughout the sets, Joe Williams did his best to de-emphasize the blues (he wanted to be known as a well-rounded singer), instead choosing to uplift and personalize standards. Excellent music. ~ Scott Yanow   http://www.allmusic.com/album/together-have-a-good-time-mw0000591021

Personnel:  Harry "Sweets" Edison – trumpet; Jimmy Jones – piano; Joe Williams – vocals; Charlie Persip – drums; Tommy Potter; Ernie Wilkins – arranger; Joe Benjamin – bass;

Together

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