Carolyn Leonhart & Wayne Escoffery - Tides Of Yesterday

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:14
Size: 156,6 MB
Art: Front

(5:27)  1. Better Next Time
(7:38)  2. The Sweetest Sounds
(5:47)  3. Sometimes I'm Happy
(5:24)  4. Never Never Land
(3:54)  5. You Must Believe In Spring
(6:38)  6. The Harbor
(6:37)  7. Eclipse
(9:18)  8. Big Noise New York
(5:08)  9. Where There Is Love
(5:24) 10. Straight To You
(6:53) 11. Infinity

Vocalist Carolyn Leonhart and saxophonist Wayne Escoffery are a young husband-and-wife team, and Tides of Yesterday is their second recorded partnership. And a partnership it is, because this CD (as the liner notes say) is not about a "vocalist with a band or a band with a guest vocalist." Leonhart's sultry and expressive voice acts, at times, as another instrument, contributing scatting and wordless vocals. Both have worked with the band members Toru Dodo (acoustic and electric piano), Hans Glawischnig (bass), Donald Edwards (drums), Jeff Haynes (percussion) and Adam Rogers (guitar) over the years, so the interplay between all of them is tight and intuitive. The material includes choices from the standard songbook, jazz classics and three originals with lyrics by Leonhart. 

The jazz classic standout is Charles Mingus' "Eclipse" (a piece Escoffery plays regularly with the Mingus Orchestra and Big Band), capturing the eerie, moody feeling of the solar phenomenon with the sensitivity of Leonhart's lyric reading and Rogers' playing. Notable also is a bluesy "Sometimes I'm Happy," where Leonhart and Escoffery feature a call-and-response section and some blistering saxophone work. But perhaps the real highlight is "Big Noise, New York," a good song by Donald Fagen (of Steely Dan fame, Leonhart being part of that band's touring ensemble). The reading grabs the attention from the opening moments to the long fadeout, with Leonhart's richly textured voice and Escoffery's energetic fills. Whether it be for the individual talents of Leonhart, Escoffery and their band mates, their interactions, or the arrangements of the material, more than one listen is needed to appreciate the entire musical tapestry here. ~ Marcia Hillman   http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=36476#.U0Ss5VdSvro 

Personnel: Carolyn Leonhart: vocals; Wayne Escoffery: tenor and soprano saxophones; Toru Dodo: piano and Fender Rhodes; Adam Rogers: guitar (2, 7); Hans Glawschnig: bass; Donald Edwards: drums; Jeff Haynes: percussion (2, 6, 7, 10).

Tides Of Yesterday

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Helen Sung - Sungbird

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:38
Size: 98,7 MB
Art: Front

(1:50)  1. Prelude
(2:23)  2. Tango
(1:12)  3. Preamble
(6:29)  4. Shall We Tango
(2:10)  5. Malaguena Miniatura
(3:16)  6. Malaguena
(3:42)  7. Serenata
(6:10)  8. Sungbird
(3:35)  9. Capricho Catalan
(3:28) 10. Capricho American
(5:50) 11. Free Fusion
(2:27) 12. Encore - Zortzico

Pianist/composer Helen Sung could have played it safe. After offering up two fine straight ahead jazz outings  Push (Blue Moon, 2004) and Helenistique, (Fresh Sound New Talent, 2006), the expectation was "more of the same." And that would not have been a disappointment. Though the New York based artist came to jazz late during her college years, after early studies in classical music she came out swinging sweet and lovely on those first two discs. With Sungbird (After Albeniz), the artist takes off on a different tangent, returning, to an extent, to her classical roots. Sung performs Spanish pianist/composer Isaac Albeniz' six piece work for solo piano, Espana, along with her own loose interpretations of the work in six original compositions employing a sax and rhythm section jazz quartet and added percussionist.

Sung describes Espana as: "...beautifully-written pieces that were distinctive, simple yet profound, concise and with room for adaptation." They are all of that; and so are her compositions. Her six pieces tint the jazz sound with a classical hue. The title tune has a light, airy swing Marcus Strickland, on soprano sax, is awesome here, with a sweet, delicate strength to his tone and "Capricho American," following Albeniz' "Capricho Catalan," is arranged with a string quartet steeped-in-the-blues feeling check out Reuben Roger's bass moving back and forth from bowed to plucked, with Strickland's tenor sax floating over the top.

"Shall We Tango" has a gentle momentum, a light bounce in its step, with Sung splashing gorgeously in front of drummer Nasheet Waits' soft, insistent rumble, while "Free Fusion" begins with Sung soloing in an abstract mode before the quartet joins her and finds a groove. The Albeniz/Sung, classical/jazz tunes are interwoven, highlighting the differences and similarities of the sounds. Sung says: "Jazz certainly uses elements of classical music, but it definitely is its own thang," (she's from Houston). And then she goes and marries the two forms into a beautiful union. ~ Dan McClenaghan   http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=26737#.U0Xw9ldSvro

Personnel: Helen Sung: piano; Marcus Strickland: tenor and soprano saxophones; Reuben Rogers: bass; Nasheet Waits: drums; Samuel Torres: percussion.

Sungbird

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Chris Botti - To Love Again

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:44
Size: 136,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:26)  1. Chris Botti - Embraceable You
(5:05)  2. Chris Botti Feat. Sting - What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?
(5:41)  3. Chris Botti Feat. Paula Cole - My One And Only Love
(3:12)  4. Chris Botti Feat. Michael Bublé - Let There Be Love
(3:59)  5. Chris Botti - What's New
(6:13)  6. Chris Botti Feat. Jill Scott - Good Morning Heartache
(4:38)  7. Chris Botti - To Love Again
(4:01)  8. Chris Botti Feat. Paul Buchanan - Are You Lonesome Tonight
(4:50)  9. Chris Botti Feat. Gladys Knight - Lover Man
(4:18) 10. Chris Botti Feat. Billy Childs - I'll Be Seeing You
(3:46) 11. Chris Botti Feat. Renee Olstead - Pennies From Heaven
(5:07) 12. Chris Botti Feat. Rosa Passos - Here's That Rainy Day
(4:22) 13. Chris Botti Feat. Steven Tyler - Smile

Clearly a ballad album, To Love Again combines Chris Botti's warm trumpet tone and immaculate articulation with strings on a program designed to cure what ails ya. Guest vocalists make the session appeal to a broad audience, while the trumpeter's focus on his intimate ensemble interpretations remains its healthiest feature. His trumpet mastery has developed into a cornucopia of rich fascination. With familiar standards such as "I'll Be Seeing You," "What's New?" and "Embraceable You," Botti lets his open horn shower its melody as if from on high. Gracefully moving from phrase to phrase with a seamless fragrance, the trumpeter enjoys a vocal-like presence that speaks everybody's language. Throughout the history of civilization, ballads have defined communication in its purest form. From the earliest sacred works to opera, folk, pop and rock, the ballad has always held its own. Botti communicates in that universal language that we've been talking about for ages. 

His original "To Love Again" purrs quietly with a smooth, muted trumpet texture that glides stealthily in the night. If Romeo were to enlist the support of this quintet, he'd win Juliet's heart during the overture; before the curtain ever rises. Botti's guest vocalists prove convincing. Michael Bublé swings with a Sinatra swagger. Paula Cole adds heartfelt passion, while Sting questions with sincere honesty. Jill Scott turns in a hip interpretation of "Good Morning, Heartache" that recalls Billie Holiday (just a little). Paul Buchanan expresses with breathy over-emotion, while Gladys Knight turns in a beautiful interpretation of "Lover Man." She's matched with Botti's golden open horn in a teary-eyed adventure. Rosa Passos sings quietly with a hushed presence, while Steven Tyler closes the album with an aching "Smile." Young Renee Olstead sings an old song, "Pennies from Heaven," with a hearty big band arrangement backing her. She, Botti, and the band swing with a jovial mood that contrasts with the rest of the program. It's one of the best tracks, too, putting the trumpeter in the role of Harry James. Ballads make the world go 'round. Chris Botti can be welcomed into every living room, every automobile sound system, and every portable set of earphones, because he communicates freely in a language that we can all understand. ~ Jim Santella   http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=19527#.U0SaB1dSvro

Personnel: Chris Botti: trumpet; Billy Childs: piano, Fender Rhodes; Anthony Wilson: guitar; Robert Hurst, Arnie Somogyi, Christian McBride: bass; Billy Kilson, Vinnie Colaiuta: drums; Paulinho da Costa: percussion; Heitor Pereira: guitar (2); Dean Parks: guitar (13); Brian Bromberg: bass (14); Richard Cottle: Hammond organ (10); Greg Phillinganes: Fender Rhodes (6); Peter Erskine: drums (10); Paula Cole: vocal (3); Michael Bublé: vocal (4); Sting: vocal (2); Jill Scott: vocal (6); Steven Tyler: vocal (14); Gladys Knight: vocal (10); Renee Olstead: vocal (12); Rosa Passos: vocal (13); Paul Buchanan: vocal (8); London Session Orchestra 2005.

To Love Again

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Dexter Gordon - Silver Blue

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1976
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:25
Size: 94,9 MB
Art: Front

( 8:22)  1. On The Trail
(13:33)  2. Allen's Alley  (aka Wee, etc.)
(19:29)  3. Silver Blue

Recorded at the same session as True Blue, this Xanadu LP gets the edge due to a remarkable version of "On the Trail" that is a fascinating unaccompanied duet by tenors Al Cohn and Dexter Gordon. Cohn and Gordon are joined by pianist Barry Harris, bassist Sam Jones and drummer Louis Hayes for a heated and competitive version of "Allen's Alley" and then the group becomes a septet with the addition of trumpeters Blue Mitchell and Sam Noto for a sidelong 19½-minute "Silver Blue," a slow blues. Highly recommended for bop fans. ~ Scott Yanow   http://www.allmusic.com/album/silver-blue-mw0000920266

Personnel:  Dexter Gordon (saxophone) & Barry Harris (piano) & Louis Hayes (drums) & Sam Jones (bass) & Blue Mitchell (trumpet) & Sam Noto (trumpet)

Silver Blue

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