Lisa Maxwell With The Keith Ingham Quartet - Happy

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:42
Size: 104,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:00)  1. I'll Take Romance
(2:30)  2. You Can't Lose A Broken Heart
(3:24)  3. Sunday In New York
(4:05)  4. The Folks Who Live On The Hill
(3:06)  5. It Might As Well Be Spring
(4:42)  6. Someone To Watch Over Me
(2:49)  7. My Heart Goes With You
(3:50)  8. Going Out Of My Head
(2:59)  9. This Is Always
(2:59) 10. Blue Moon
(2:38) 11. Under A Blanket Of Blue
(2:49) 12. June Night
(3:30) 13. Skylark
(3:15) 14. A Wonderful Guy

Lisa Maxwell's debut, Return to Jazz Standards (Self Produced, 2010), was well-received when released, marking the New York singer's recovery and comeback from a vocal cord disorder that sidelined her for several years earlier in the decade. Maxwell returns with Happy, a recital of not-so-standard standards, supported by Maxwell's coach, pianist Keith Ingham, and his fine quartet. The result is an evolution in cohesiveness and vision.  In a word, Maxwell's Happy is breezy. Her voice has filled out in all the right places and betrays a youthful, scrubbed, girl-next-door coquettishness. "Pretty" and "unadorned" will also describe this voice. Maxwell's natural instrument is her greatest asset, and her singing philosophy bears the same pretty and unadorned characteristics as her voice. A fan of melody, Maxwell is conservative in her adherence, more often than not. to the composer's melodic intent, demonstrated most clearly in textbook readings of "Someone to Watch Over Me" and "Skylark," two amply road-tested pieces, dusted off here. 

Equal in importance to the present recital is the band, under Ingham's tutelage, the pianist turning out to be a most splendid accompanist to Maxwell; his simple, yet elegant arrangements perfectly frame the pure simplicity of Maxwell's voice and approach. Even on upbeat pieces like the opener, "I'll Take Romance," and "Under A Blanket of Blue," the two work with envious simpatico. Maxwell and Ingham coalesce perfectly on the Teddy Randazzo/Bobby Weinstein chestnut "Goin' Out of My Head," Ingham's electric piano and Maxwell's straight-arrow delivery recalling Petula Clark's 1965 recording of the song, flying slower than the speed of sound. The light samba spin is a nice touch. Maxwell is still interested in the standards, but also shows an interest in musical roads less traveled. "This is Always," "Blue Moon" and "What a Wonderful Guy" are a joy to behold in the hands and voice of this singer. A user-friendly jazz vocalist to the end, Lisa Maxwell is one to behold. ~ C.Michael Bailey   

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=40557#.UzyZvldSvro

Personnel: Lisa Maxwell: vocals; Keith Ingham: piano; Frank Tate, bass; Al Gafa: guitar; Steve Little: drums; Ben Wittman: percussion.

Happy

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Jennifer Warnes - Famous Blue Raincoat

Styles: Adult Contemporary
Year: 1991
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:34
Size: 95,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:47)  1. First We Take Manhattan
(4:42)  2. Bird On A Wire
(5:33)  3. Famous Blue Raincoat
(7:58)  4. Joan Of Arc
(3:21)  5. Ain't No Cure For Love
(3:44)  6. Coming Back To You
(3:55)  7. Song Of Bernardette
(4:53)  8. A Singer Must Die
(3:37)  9. Came So Far For Beauty

Jennifer Warnes was familiar with Leonard Cohen from a tour of duty as one of his backup singers in the early '70s, but this collection of Cohen's songs must have shocked her AM radio fans who knew her from her '70s country-pop hits and her movie themes, if they were even able to connect the woman who sang "It's the right time of the night for makin' love" with the one who declared "First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin" over stinging guitar work by Stevie Ray Vaughan on the opening track here. As that pairing suggests, Warnes wisely took a tougher, more contemporary approach to the arrangements than such past Cohen interpreters as Judy Collins used to. Where other singers tended to geld Cohen's often disturbingly revealing poetry, Warnes, working with the composer himself and introducing a couple of great new songs ("First We Take Manhattan" and "Song of Bernadette," which she co-wrote), matched his own versions. The high point may have been the Warnes-Cohen duet on "Joan of Arc," but the album was consistently impressive. And it went a long way toward reestablishing Cohen, whose reputation was in a minor eclipse in the mid-'80s. A year later, with the way paved for him, he released his brilliant comeback album I'm Your Man. For Warnes, the album meant her first taste of real critical success: suddenly a singer who had seemed like a second-rate Linda Ronstadt now appeared to be a first-class interpretive artist. ~ William Ruhlmann   

http://www.allmusic.com/album/famous-blue-raincoat-the-songs-of-leonard-cohen-mw0000192376.

Personnel: Jennifer Warnes (vocals), Fred Tackett, Michael Landau, Robben Ford (guitar), David Lindley (lap steel guitar), Sid Page, Barbara Porter (violins), Novi Novog (viola), Larry Corbett, Suzie Katayama (cellos), Paul Ostermayer (tenor saxophone), "Reverend" Dave Boruff (saxophone), Bill Ginn (piano, synthesizer), Gary Chang (synthesizers, programming), William "Smitty" Smith (synthesizer, Hammond B-3), Russell Ferrante (synthesizer), Richard Feves, Jorge Calderon (bass), Roscoe Beck (bass, guitar, acoustic bass, synthesizer), Vinnie Colaiuta (drums), Larry Brown, Steve Forman, Lenny Castro (percussion), Bobby King, Terry Evans, Kal David, Willie Greene Jr. (background vocals).

Famous Blue Raincoat

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J.J.Johnson - Plays Mack The Knife

Styles: Trombone Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:27
Size: 157,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:05)  1. Bilbao Song
(6:06)  2. Barbara Song
(5:03)  3. Overture
(4:20)  4. Seerauber Jenny
(4:52)  5. Mack The Knife
(4:14)  6. Surabaya-Johnny
(6:07)  7. Wie Man Sich Bettet
(4:52)  8. Unzulanglichkeit
(3:31)  9. Portrait Of Jenny
(2:31) 10. Only The Lonely
(3:11) 11. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child
(2:35) 12. In A Sentimental Mood
(2:16) 13. Get Out Of Town
(3:56) 14. I'm Glad There Is You
(2:57) 15. You're My Girl
(2:20) 16. To The End Of The Earth
(2:24) 17. What Is There To Say
(2:59) 18. Lazy Bones

Before he became a prominent orchestra conductor, André Previn was a talented jazz pianist based in Los Angeles. His firm touch, virtuosity and driving sense of swing were celebrated on jazz records he recorded for Contemporary and other labels. In October 2009, Sony Music Japan reissued several of his Columbia jazz albums. Released on CD for the first time in the world, Play Mack The Knife is an interesting project co-led by Previn and J.J. Johnson, a preeminent trombonist. With Previn's trusted rhythm section (Red Mitchell and Frank Capp), they form a formidable quartet. A celebration of the great composer Kurt Weill, the quartet arranges and performs Weill's evergreen musical numbers from "Happy End," "The Threepenny Opera" and "Mahagonny." Previn's clever and sophisticated arrangements are as much a star as the two principal soloists. 

An important record for fans of André Previn and J.J. Johnson!  

http://www.eastwindimport.com/product-info.asp?CategoryName=Search+Results&SearchType=TrackName&SearchKeyword=Mack+the+Knife&ProductID=1277

Recording information: Los Angeles (06/23/1960-06/24/1960); New York (06/23/1960-06/24/1960); Los Angeles (06/28/1960); New York (06/28/1960); Los Angeles (12/31/1961); New York (12/31/1961).

Personnel: J.J. Johnson (trombone); André Previn, Piano; Red Mitchell, Bass; Frank Capp, Drums

Plays Mack The Knife

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Charlie Byrd - The Bossa Nova Years

Styles: Brazilian Jazz
Year: 1991
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:17
Size: 124,6 MB
Art: Front + Back

(5:07)  1. Meditation
(4:50)  2. One Note Samba
(7:17)  3. Corcovado
(4:35)  4. Triste
(3:49)  5. Dindi
(3:35)  6. O Pato
(4:51)  7. The Girl From Ipanema
(5:03)  8. Samba D'Orpheo
(3:34)  9. How Insensitive
(4:20) 10. Wave
(3:21) 11. Pra Dizer Adeus (To Say Goodbye)
(3:55) 12. O Nosso Amor

Guitarist Charlie Byrd revisits a variety of bossa nova songs, including nine by Antonio Carlos Jobim on this pleasing and accessible set. What makes this CD stand out from his many similar dates is that Ken Peplowski's clarinet and tenor are well featured, adding variety to the music and a lead voice for Byrd to play off of. Otherwise the music is predictably excellent, with such classics as "One Note Samba," "Corcovado," "Dindi," "O Pato," and "The Girl from Ipanema" receiving very favorable treatment. ~ Scott Yanow   http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-bossa-nova-years-mw0000265338

Personnel : Charlie Byrd (guitar); Dennis Irwin (bass); Chuck Redd (drums); Ken Peplowski (tenor saxophone, clarinet); Michael Spiro (percussion).

The Bossa Nova Years

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