Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Abe Ovadia - Three By Three

Size: 68,1 MB
Time: 29:26
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz: Hammond Organ
Art: Front

01. Three By Three (4:27)
02. N4 (4:08)
03. Kenny Compassion (5:01)
04. A Smalls Stander (6:33)
05. Departure Point (3:48)
06. Pajamas For Henderson (5:27)

Personnel: Abe Ovadia, guitar; Anthony Pocetti, organ; Jarrett Walser, drums.

Abe Ovadia has emerged as one of the preeminent guitarists on the New York music scene, and as Musicvox Guitars describes, he is a "Jazz phenom, one of the most innovative guitarists of our time." Since his New York City arrival in 2009, as both as guitarist and composer, Abe has become an essential part of the city's jazz scene, frequently performing at its top venues such as The Iridium, Cornelia Street Cafe, Jazz at Kitano, and The Bar Next Door. As Times Square New York City says, "You can always count on him to happily claim the responsibility of playing some world-class jazz."

Abe is a graduate of Berklee College of Music and several years after earned his master’s degree in jazz performance from the highly acclaimed jazz program at New York University, where he was influenced by the likes of Chris Potter, Peter Bernstein and Jean-Michel Pilc. Predominant voices in the industry have recognized Abe's contribution to today's jazz. In 2010, Jeff Levenson of Warner Bros. Records honored Abe as a "Promising Artist of the 21st Century" which lead to an international tour.

Since then, Abe has developed a unique identity on the instrument and as a band leader, featuring an innovative and emotionally charged energy that is unrelenting. SomethingElse! Reviews writes, "Abe is not a conventional guitarist by any means. It is clear that he plays by his own rules and he is not out to prove anything to anyone other than to those who have preceded him on the bandstand -- Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, and Elvin Jones." His music has quickly gained the respect of his peers and jazz veterans alike, such as Grammy-award winning trumpeter, Brian Lynch who said, "It has been very enjoyable to play with him, as well as to perform his original music. He is playing at a world-class level."

In 2011, Abe released his debut album titled The Jem featuring a quartet that included pianist Benito Gonzalez. In recent years, Abe has formed a trio that performs regularly in and around New York and the East Coast. The trio is a platform for Abe’s continual music exploration. Each performance includes a deep focus and intensity that is always in service of the music and the exploratory nature of the musicians. Said best by legendary record producer Todd Barkan, "Powerfully lyrical guitarist Abe Ovadia explores the inner and outer frontiers of some the most heartfully expansive music of our age."

Three By Three

Jacqui Naylor - Live East/West CD 1 And CD 2

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:27 CD 1)
Time: 61:11 (CD 2)
Size: 111,3 MB (CD 1)
Size: 140,5 MB (CD 2)
Art: Front

CD 1

(3:17)  1. Thank You Baby
(4:25)  2. Once In A Lifetime
(3:38)  3. We'll Fly
(3:25)  4. For What It's Worth
(4:12)  5. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow
(3:20)  6. Don't Let The Bastard Get You Down
(4:20)  7. My Funny Valentine
(4:11)  8. The Wind
(5:37)  9. But Not For Me
(3:52) 10. Julie's Song
(3:03) 11. It'll Be Fine
(5:01) 12. Me & Mr. Jones

CD 2

(3:18)  1. City By The Bay
(5:47)  2. Black Coffee
(4:02)  3. Angel
(5:25)  4. So Far Away
(8:00)  5. Calling You
(5:04)  6. Money
(4:15)  7. Before I'm Gone
(6:36)  8. Cheese Puff Dady
(3:10)  9. Peace In Our Lifetimes
(4:06) 10. No Moon At All
(5:12) 11. Christmas Ain't What It Used To Be
(6:10) 12. Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight

In the spirit of man bites dog, this is an album whose parts are greater than its sum. Jackie Naylor has a strong voice, good supporting players, a catchy "acoustic smashing" concept of singing the lyrics of one song to the tune of a second, and the freedom of stretching out in a double-disc live setting. But ultimately there's an uneven quality to 2005's Live East-West: Birdland/Yoshi's, with the fiery highlights diluted by too many lackluster and awkward moments. Naylor at her best possesses the rich vocal timbre of Billie Holiday (if not quite at the level of, say, Madeleine Peyroux) and the folk/rock passion of Carole King. The Holiday presence emerges strongly on "But Not For Me," which goes from traditional ballad to a syncopated beat and finally to a mid-tempo swing, and plenty of passion is injected into the original blues/rock "Don't Let The Bastard Get You Down." The "smashing" concept thankfully not overused to the point of wearing out its novelty can also provide some wild moments, such as "My Funny Valentine" performed to what (I believe) is an AC/DC-inspired vamp, and "Black Coffee" mixed with Led Zeppelin. 

Other "standards" run the range from Jimi Hendrix to Gershwin. The downside are moments like the evenhanded and unemotive vocals on "Once In A Lifetime," set to a Detroit-style oldies rock beat, and a rushed and forced feel to the arrangement of "For What It's Worth" to the beat of "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy." The worst part is many of these come early in the show, before she seems to unwind and get more passionate and playful with her audience. The supporting cast, when not providing simple accompaniments for low-key compositions like "Me And Mr. Jones," is first-rate nearly all the way. Pianist Ark Khu is the most prominent, with only one example being his mixing an excellent set of intense chord and runs on "So Far Away," but nearly everyone else has moments (with multiple guitarists and bass players, sorting everyone out for credit is a bit tricky). 

Drummer Micha Patri, aside from some of the ill-fitting "smashes," paces things well with support that is varied and interactive without intruding. Some may question whether Naylor is really an adult contemporary/folk singing merely borrowing a bit of jazz to accent her work, but her experimentation and variety far surpasses the likes of Norah Jones and others to whom such comparisons might be made. There's better and more heartfelt material to be heard on her earlier albums, but Live East-West still possesses enough strong qualities to reaffirm her talent. ~ Mark Sabbatini   http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=17511#.Uzsh8VdSvro
Personnel: Jacqui Naylor (vocals); Ark Khu (electric guitar, piano, organ); Michael Romanowski (steel guitar); Brian Pardo (nylon-string guitar); Jon Evans, Ugonna Okegwo, Emmanuel Vaughan- Lee (bass instrument); Josh Jones, Micha Patri (drums, percussion); Danny Gottlieb (drums); Alison Evans (background vocals)

Live East/West - East CD 1
Live East/West - West CD 2

Helen Sung Trio - (Re)Conception

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@256K/s
Time: 57:10
Size: 105,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:53)  1. (Re)Conception
(6:48)  2. I Believe In You
(4:45)  3. Far From The Home I Love
(7:16)  4. Duplicity
(8:02)  5. C Jam Blues
(5:37)  6. Wives And Lovers
(7:37)  7. Crazy, He Calls Me
(5:06)  8. Teo
(6:03)  9. Everything But You

Pianist Helen Sung has got the swing thing down. A graduate of the inaugural class of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance, Sung has put out a series of increasingly distinctive CDs, from her ear-grabbing debut, Push (Blue Moon, 2004), to the classical leaning Sungbird (After Albeniz) (Sunnyside, 2007), through to 2010's quintet outing, Going Express (Sunnyside), with a trio stop for the outstanding Helenistque (Fresh Sound New Talent, 2006). A classically-trained pianist who didn't discover jazz until her college years, Sung's conversion to improvisation and swing must certainly have required enormous drive and effort, but it has paid great artistic dividends. On (re)Conception, her fifth CD as a leader, the pianist revisits the trio format, bringing her own original voice into a finer focus on a set of jazz standards, an engaging Burt Bacharach tune, and one first-rate original. The recording date was called on short notice, which can mean a disaster or a sound full of freshness and spontaneity. Sung's sense of wonder and adventure, in conjunction with an excellent choice of trio mates drummer Lewis Nash and bassist Peter Washington strikes a winning note straight through. The title tune, a re-stylizing of pianist George Shearing's 1949-penned "Conception," opens the disc swinging. Sung is virtuosic and full of surprises and the Nash/Washington team supplies an ebullient groove. 

Frank Loesser's "I Believe in You" sparkles into a jaunty momentum, with the trio locked into a collective jubilance, while the group's take on Jerry Bock's "Far From Home" shifts gears; a tune that sounds like heartbreak, featuring Sung's intricate and gentle touch and Washington and Nash's understated accompaniment. The only Sung original, "Duplicity," captures the mood of stealthy deception to perfection, with a prowling rhythm, and a forlorn and sometimes confused feeling from the piano melody. Sung visits composer/bandleader Duke Ellington's music on the often-recorded "C Jam Blues," with a strutting bounce in its step, and the less familiar but easily swinging "Everything But You." Between those tunes, Sung offers up Bacharach's "Wives and Lovers," treating the pretty melody reverently at first, before stretching out into a vibrant improvisational foray that includes some nice comping behind Nash's energetic bass solo. "Crazy, He Calls Me," a vehicle for vocalist Billie Holiday, has an inward mood, with Sung splashing some new colors on its beautiful melody. It wouldn't be a Sung standards date without some Thelonious Monk. Whether she is playing the bebop legend's idiosyncratic music in concert or in the studio, Sung always seems to find new angles and bright spots. "Teo" sounds wound tight at first here, like a stretched rubber band, before it flies free with a headlong freedom.  A superb jazz musician, no matter what the ensemble configuration, Sung seems to shine brightest and swing most mightily in the trio format, as she does on (re)Conception. ~ Dan McClenaghan   http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=40512#.UzscsVdSvro
Personnel: Helen Sung: piano; Peter Washington: bass; Lewis Nash: drums

(Re)Conception

Ornette Coleman - Ornette!

Styles: Straight-ahead/Mainstream
Year: 1962
File: MP3@224K/s
Time: 54:29
Size: 87,4 MB
Art: Front + Back

(16:28)  1. W.R.U.
( 4:38)  2. T. & T.
(13:13)  3. C. & D.
( 9:43)  4. R.P.D.D.
(10:25)  5. Proof Readers (bonus track)

Saxophonist Coleman recorded Ornette! about a month after his milestone Free Jazz sessions, retaining bassist Scott LaFaro, drummer Ed Blackwell, and the amazing Don Cherry on pocket trumpet. Four tracks, each titled with an acronym, from the original 1962 release are supplemented by a fifth, “Proof Readers,” for this reissue. Ornette! uniquely blends musical tradition and revolution. Most arrangements sound almost conventional now, with melody statements leading into and out of each piece. Coleman honks out a surprising number of familiar-sounding R&B expressions, and Cherry burns through some Dizzy bop chops, on “W.R.U.”  

How they employ them is, of course, an entirely different matter. “W.R.U.” also sounds extremely difficult for the rhythm section, particularly the bassist, to navigate, and “R.P.D.D.” sounds like it’s missing its pianist, though not from lack of LaFaro’s rhythmic and harmonic effort. “C. & D.” scales the session’s peak: LaFaro tumbles through his walking basslines like a gymnast underneath Cherry as Blackwell impeccably rings out time on his cymbals, playing free but never feeling out of control the freedom of discipline. Although sometimes viewed as musically dour, Coleman sounds positively joyous in its middle section, while Cherry also suggests Kenny Dorham and even the inscrutable Miles. It is tribute to Coleman’s vision that, four decades after its release, Ornette! does not sound as menacing or subversive as once it might. ~ Chris M. Slawecki   http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=13723#.UzsT9VdSvro
 
Personnel: Ornette Coleman, alto sax; Donald Cherry, pocket trumpet; Scott LaFaro, bass; Ed Blackwell, drums.

Kellylee Evans - Fight or Flight?

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:19
Size: 111,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:57)  1. What About Me?
(4:02)  2. Lead Me Closer
(3:53)  3. I Don't Want You To Love Me
(3:47)  4. Hooked
(3:18)  5. Fight or Flight? (Help Me, Help You)
(5:45)  6. I Don't Think I Want to Know
(3:47)  7. Let's Call a Truce Tonight
(3:39)  8. Rapunzel
(2:53)  9. How Can You Get Along Without Me?
(3:28) 10. Enough
(4:04) 11. Who Knows
(4:42) 12. What About Me? (bonus track)

As the extraordinarily stark and emotional, crystal-clear voiced Toronto native emerges as the new standard of neo-soul/jazz in the early 2000s, much ado will be made of her greatest professional calling card  winning second place in the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition. But that's just window dressing to two powerful life events which inspired Kellylee Evans to share her gifts for crisp storytelling in multiple styles with the world: the death of her mother, and nearly dying herself from an allergic reaction. Ironically, her torment is the indie music world's gain, as she proves herself on par, and even at times, surpassing contemporaries like Lizz Wright, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott and even India.Arie in the realm where the sterling voice glows amidst sensual and soulful atmospheres. 

The connection isn't just hype; Carlos Henderson, who produced the first two tracks on Fight or Flight, the seductive folk/soul gem "What About Me?" and the yearning and jazzy "Lead Me Closer," has previously worked with Wright and Badu. What sets Evans apart from some of these other young greats is the grand variety of rhythms she glides over effortlessly. There's the old-school soul meets reggae and African-flavored percussion of "I Don't Want You to Love Me"; the hypnotic Brazilian vibe of the title track; the romantic accordion and "castanet"-laced Latin vibe of the witty "Rapunzel"; and the simmering blues sear of "I Don't Think I Want to Know." The fascinating thing is that Evans could easily have done a whole collection of more straightforward trio jazz dates like "How Can You Get Along Without Me?" and still have won hearts everywhere. Evans herself likes to peg her vibe as "urban jazz" but no turn of phrase can do this work of extraordinary soul and depth proper justice. ~ Jonathan Widran   http://www.allmusic.com/album/fight-or-flight-mw0001443520

Personnel: Kellylee Evans (vocals, programming); Marvin Sewell (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Carl Burnett (acoustic guitar); Rachelle Garniez (accordion); Alexander Pope Norris (trumpet); George Colligan, Jon Cowherd (keyboards); Rocky Bryant, Steve Hass (drums); Kahlil Kwame Bell (percussion).

Fight or Flight?