Ilona Knopfler - Live The Life

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:26
Size: 132,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:51)  1. I'm Going To Live The Life I Sing About In My Songs
(4:31)  2. Comment Alez-Vous
(3:54)  3. But For Now
(5:07)  4. Ask Me Now (How I Wish)
(5:15)  5. Throw It Away
(4:19)  6. Dansez Sur Moi (Girl Talk)
(4:26)  7. Le Jazz Et La Java
(5:35)  8. This Is Always
(3:55)  9. Parce Que
(3:28) 10. Alone Together
(6:38) 11. Les Moulins De Mon Coeur
(4:24) 12. No Tomorrow

Beaucoup plaisir awaits on this English and French jazz vocal new release. Ilona Knopfler, born in Paris but a pre-school world traveler, made her stage debut at the age of fifteen in Hong Kong and later became the house favorite at the Jazz Club in Hong Kong. Moving to New York, Knopfler studied for five years at the Lee Strasberg Institute. This album was recorded in both New York and Paris.  Live The Life begins with the unlikely gospel anthem of the late Thomas Dorsey, "I'm Going To Live The Life I Sing About." After the stated vocals, a stunning French vocal duo of Knopfler and Kim Nazarian (from New York Voices) emulates the stylings of the Blue Stars of France quite effectively. That is followed by a cooking alto solo from Antonio Hart.

Immediately on the way is the next tune, "Comment Allez-Vous," a signature piece of Blossom Dearie, who coincidentally founded the Blue Stars in the early 1950s.  Many well-chosen songs in both English and French ensue, and all are treated with respect and the appropriate feelings of swing or tenderness. We can include in that group Bob Dorough's "But For Now," Monk's "Ask Me Now" (with lyrics by Jon Hendricks), Abbey Lincoln's "Throw It Away," and Charles Aznavour's "Parce Que." "Dansez Sur Moi" is a French lyric for the 1960s jazz standard "Girl Talk," and "Le Jazz Et La Java" is Dave Brubeck's "Three To Get Ready" (from Time Out), with Knopfler singing vocalese beautifully against the horns, followed by a fine Sean Jones trumpet solo. "Les Moulins De Mon Coeur" is a French translation of the Alan and Marilyn Bergman hit "The Windmills of My Mind." "No Tomorrow" is an Ivan Lins composition with lyrics from Peter Eldridge. The haunting ballads "This Is Always" and "Alone Together" are also highlights.  Producers Jay Ashby and Al Pryor should be proud of this fine album showcasing the talents of Ilona Knopfler. I have no idea what her 2003 debut for Mack Avenue, Some Kind of Wonderful, sounds like, but on paper the selections all consist of pop and rock tunes. ~ Michael P.Gladstone   

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=18462#.Uz9brVdSvro

Personnel: Ilona Knopfler: vocals; Antonio Hart: alto sax; Sean Jones: trumpet; Paquito D'Rivera: clarinet; Alain Mallet: piano; Rufus Reid or James Genus: bass; Marty Ashby: guitar; Jamey Haddad: drums; Kim Nazarian: background vocals.

Live the Life

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Basia - London Warsaw New York

Styles: Jazz Pop
Year: 1989
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:39
Size: 98,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:10)  1. Cruising for Bruising
(4:05)  2. Best Friends
(4:07)  3. Brave New Hope
(3:35)  4. Baby You're Mine
(4:59)  5. Ordinary People
(5:10)  6. Reward
(3:54)  7. Until You Come Back To Me
(3:52)  8. Copernicus
(4:24)  9. Not an Angel
(4:19) 10. Take Him Back Rachel

Basia's tantalizing Brazilian breeze and "Basia-nova" is a sheer delight to listen to. She keeps the same sweet infectiousness which made her debut Time and Tide a platinum stroke of genius. This time she's infused '60s soul and some heartfelt, sparkling ballads, like "Brave New Hope." Her voice is distinctive and lilting, her lyrics interesting, and her production frisky, employing such oddities as accordion and bass sax. Other top cuts include "Best Friends" and a rousing cover of "Until You Come Back to Me." Her disappearance from regular recordings after the mid-'90s (she made a few guest appearances on instrumental albums) was a great loss for adult contemporary music.   ~ Jonathan Widran   

http://www.allmusic.com/album/london-warsaw-new-york-mw0000654459
 

Personnel : Basia (vocals); Danny White (keyboards, drums).

London Warsaw New York

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Keith Ingham - We're In The Money

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:17
Size: 144,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:36)  1. We're In The Money
(3:41)  2. Where Have You Been
(2:55)  3. The Image Of You
(4:00)  4. Mighty Like The Blues
(3:27)  5. Every Now And Then
(3:14)  6. Lulu's Back In Town
(4:30)  7. Pastel Blue
(3:48)  8. She Didn't Say Yes
(3:31)  9. Celestial Boogie
(3:41) 10. Comes Love
(2:46) 11. I Must Be Dreaming
(3:33) 12. Gee, But You're Swell
(3:35) 13. A Room with A View
(4:54) 14. Solid Old Man
(3:50) 15. Let's Get Lost
(3:08) 16. indian Summer
(4:01) 17. Peggy

This ensemble lead by U.K. expatriate Keith Ingham patterns itself on those outstanding small groups which let the bop revolution pass them by and stayed with a more refined approach to jazz. The Manhattan Swingtet finds musical antecedents in small groups led by Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, Tiny Grimes, Ike Quebec, and Earl "Fatha" Hines. Perhaps the Ingham group is a bit more suave than these groups with its swing a bit more sophisticated. Even on tunes where the title hints at some wild things to come, there's a touch of restraint, as on "Celestial Boogie" where Ingham moves over to the small upright celeste. But the group does let its hair down on some tracks as on the title tune "We're in the Money" when Peter Ecklund's laughing trumpet leads the way. In contrast, "A Room With a View" returns to a less hectic stance with Bobby Gordon's middle-register clarinet out front and once again Ingham being aristocratic on the celeste. 

Although euphonious throughout the session, songs like "Mighty Like the Blues" reveal the essence of melodic harmony as Gordon and Ecklund engage in musical byplay that can only be characterized as angelic. Tunes like "Gee, But You're Swell" and "Comes Love" conjure up images of cordial times over drinks at a swank New York lounge. In addition to Gordon and Ecklund, oft-recorded guitarist Chris Flory makes a major contribution on such cuts as "Indian Summer." Ingham is probably better known to many for his accompanist skill. He was musical director for Susannah McCorkle and backed such vocalists as Maxine Sullivan and Joyce Breach. But during his active and varied career, he also recorded with Bob Wilbur, Bud Freeman, and the World's Greatest Band. So he is very much at home in a solely instrumental setting as this album so entertainingly demonstrates. Coming up with just the right mix of up- and medium-tempo material and ballads, along with a blues number or two, We're in the Money is jazz at its cosmopolitan best. Recommended. ~ Dave Nathan  http://www.allmusic.com/album/were-in-the-money-mw0000105867

Personnel : Keith Ingham (piano, celeste); Bobby Gordon (clarinet); Peter Ecklunk (trumpet); Chris Flory (guitar); Murray Wall (bass); Steve Little (drums).

We're In The Money

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Dexter Gordon - True Blue

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1976
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:16
Size: 103,7 MB
Art: Front

(11:06)  1. Ladybird
( 9:33)  2. How Deep is the Ocean
(17:36)  3. True Blue

True Blue is led in title under the auspices of Dexter Gordon as a welcome home party conducted by Don Schlitten for the expatriate tenor saxophonist in 1976. Essentially a jam session, this very talented septet features a two tenor-two trumpet front line, utilized to emphasize the soloing strength of the horns, not necessarily in joyous shouts or big-band like unison outbursts. The real star here is Barry Harris, and if you listen closely to his comping behind the soloist or his many colorful chords and single-line runs, you realize how brilliant he continued to be in his prime during this beyond-bebop time frame. The distinctly different, legato flavored sound of Al Cohn contrasts nicely to the broader range and richer tones of Gordon, while Blue Mitchell's warm West Coast trumpet phrasings also run aside but a little behind the animated and clipped brassy sounds of Sam Noto, a player deserving much wider recognition, and playing to the hilt on this recording. The session kicks off with the classic superimposed melodies of "Lady Bird" and "Half Nelson," with melodies split between the trumpet and tenor tandems. In a larger context this is democracy at its finest, with a finish of eight-bar exchanges, Noto's wiry voicings and Gordon's distinctive, throaty sound, but once again Harris is the glue, with his inventive chord shadings constantly adding depth and substance. 

The ballad "How Deep Is the Ocean?" is led out by Harris ad extensia, while Cohn's solo features held notes that sets him apart from Gordon in shorter partnerships including Noto. Then Mitchell gets his due on the seventeen-and-a-half minute title track, his basic blues swinger where the four horns all play joyously together with little harmonic variation. Mitchell's solo is the first of all, but his is the tone setter in a lighter context, a sky blue sound where air is more important than heft. Gordon's solo, on the other hand, is memorable, sporting his signature swagger, with Harris and drummer Louis Hayes triggering a trading of fours to end the set. There is a companion CD, Silver Blue, that contains the remainder of these famous sessions, a remembrance of the golden years for several of these players, after which Gordon (1990,) Cohn (1988,) and Mitchell (1979) would pass away, but left large legacies. ~ Michael G.Nastos   http://www.allmusic.com/album/true-blue-mw0000262927

Personnel: Dexter Gordon, Al Cohn (tenor saxophone); Blue Mitchell, Sam Noto (trumpet); Barry Harris (piano); Sam Jones (bass); Louis Hayes (drums).

True Blue

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