Carolyn Lee Jones - The Performer

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:41
Size: 144,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:41)  1. Small Day Tomorrow
(5:19)  2. East of the Sun
(4:17)  3. The Performer
(2:30)  4. Creepin'
(4:39)  5. Nearness of You
(5:01)  6. If You Were Shakespeare
(4:10)  7. I Wished on the Moon
(3:47)  8. Let's Get Lost
(4:47)  9. Plano in the Dark
(5:13) 10. Old Devil Moon
(3:53) 11. Never Let Me Go
(4:25) 12. Tell Me All About It
(2:48) 13. Lazy Afternoon
(6:05) 14. The Island

Deciding what to title this album was a toss up! The first song, Small Day Tomorrow (music by my pal Bob Dorough and lyric by Fran Landesman), I think of as my ode to corporate life. I had originally intended this as my CD title; however, the third song The Performer (by Kenny Vance and Gordon Kaswell), felt right since a performer is what I’ve very happily become. I love singing, performing and all that is involved with making music. This CD marks my 5-year anniversary as a “dedicated full-time” vocalist and bandleader. What a wonderful journey it’s been! The songs represent a wider swath of "musical genre" similar to one of my live performances. The musicians, who are my core group in Dallas and who inspire me on the bandstand, perform with me here. Individually and collectively, they have shared their talents and knowledge and have helped bring this project to life.  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/carolynleejones2

Personnel : Carolyn Lee Jones (vocals); Brad Williams (keys, piano, synth); Jonathan Fisher (upright, electric bass); Andrew Griffith (drum set); Jorge Ginorio (percussion); Todd Parsnow (guitars); Mario Cruz (tenor sax, flute,); Shelley Carrol (tenor sax ,flute, alto flute); Joyce Spencer (alto sax); Paul Elder (bass clarinet); Tony Baker( trombone); Dave Pierce (trombone).

The Performer

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Giovanni Mirabassi - Live At Blue Note Tokyo

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:01
Size: 164,9 MB
Art: Front

(8:07)  1. NY #1
(8:16)  2. It's Us
(9:26)  3. World Changes
(8:16)  4. Here's The Captain
(3:59)  5. My Broken Heart
(6:56)  6. It Is What It Is
(9:54)  7. Six For Sex
(9:43)  8. Gold And Diamonds
(7:20)  9. World Changes

"An exceptionally precise and dynamic sound recording. After the release of the two outstanding albums Terra Furiosa in 2008 and Out of Track, last year, the new album by the same trio recorded between 21st and 23rd April at the Blue Note in Tokyo is a great success. This is first due to the melodic and rhythmic richness of the nine compositions of the CD’s répertoire, displaying in turn pianist Giovanni Mirabassi’s elegiac and lilting style (My broken heart, World changes) and the swing and energy that characterize him (NY#1, It’s us). The rich improvisations with their brilliant internal logic are always followed by poetical undulating efflorescences, which are typical of the pianist’s style.  The success of this new album is also due to the trio itself, in perfect osmosis, with exceptional Leon Parker’s impressively precise drum playing and Gianluca Renzi, who constantly creates bass lines which do not only provide the melodic and rhythmic foundations of the phrasing, but can also approach what can sound like the human voice , when playing solo. This new album of remarkable sound quality which is a legendary characteristic of all CDs under Japanese label Vénus, renders Giovanni Mirabassi’s musical generosity when playing in concert, and certainly has the polished touch of all great classics."~ Choc Classica – Jean-Pierre Jackson, December 2010.

"A sense of freedom radiates from Giovanni Mirabassi Trio’s jazz. This gifted jazz pianist is sometimes likened to Bill Evans or the Che … Giovanni Mirabassi’s latest release, live in Tokyo, conveys pure communicative energy (…) The trio inaugurates the recording of an explosive concert given at the mythical Blue Note of Tokyo. We savour a refined répertoire, two-thirds of which are the pianist’s compositions, interpreted all the way through with great complicity between the three musicians. (…) The album ends with World changes, the climax of their musical alchemy. We certainly feel their communicative appetite for playing ! It is a high-class concert ! "~ L’humanité Dimanche – Maud Vergnol, 11-17 November 2010

"One evening in Tokyo… A trio really running well performs brilliantly… Everything is in place in this formation which swiftly carries us along as soon as they start playing… and enthrals us most of the time."
~ La Croix – Yann Mens, 15 November 2010.

"Walking upon the red carpet of the prestigious Blue Note in Tokyo, pianist Giovanni Mirabassi ends a trilogy which started in 2008 with Terra Furiosa (or sensuality after hours) followed by Out of Track (with some incunabula revisited) … The leader is well-known for his propensity to provoke interchange and dramatic progression in his piano playing (…) rendering perfectly identifiable atmospheres for they are so profoundly personal. Live @ the Blue Note, Tokyo constitutes once more a striking confirmation of Giovanni Mirabassi’s very personal style."~ Music Story – Christian Larrède, 17 November 2010.

"Listening to pianist Giovanni Mirabassi’s latest CD, you cannot but rejoice and be moved by the multiple joys that run through it. Every bar of this recording speaks to us… We are enraptured by its elegance, its genius and its enthusiasm…"~ Citizen Jazz.com – Michel Arcens, 6 December 2010.

"This album cannot be ignored… It is a must which will mark the end of the 2010s… An added value to all « good jazz » lovers’ record collections around the world. ".  ~ MyPercu.com – Jimmy Braun, October 2010.   http://www.mirabassi.com/en/a-livetokyo.html

Personnel:  Giovanni Mirabassi (piano); Gianluca Renzi (bass); Leon Parker (drums)

Live At Blue Note Tokyo

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Joe Beck - Get Me

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 74:53
Size: 172,3 MB
Art: Front

(8:15)  1. Stella by Starlight
(9:11)  2. Manha de Carnaval
(0:55)  3. The Guitar Is A Six Piece Band (Spoken)
(8:16)  4. Georgia On My Mind
(8:14)  5. Alone Together
(0:47)  6. Trio Interlude (Spoken)
(8:40)  7. Tenderly
(0:16)  8. On Ballads and Drinking
(6:20)  9. I Can't Get Started
(8:12) 10. You and the Night and the Music
(1:39) 11. Jobim (Spoken)
(9:38) 12. Corcovado
(4:25) 13. Georgia On My Mind (Reprise)

It would be something of an understatement to say that the late Joe Beck was a fine guitarist. In truth, he was one of the most multifaceted players to wield the instrument during his lifetime. Beck was hailed for his funky fusion work, both as an individual and in combination with saxophonist David Sanborn, he was an ace studio musician, working with everybody from Miles Davis to Paul Simon to Gloria Gaynor, and he was a brilliant and daring interpreter of standards. It's that last aspect of his playing that shines brightly on this posthumously released live date.  If this is truly Beck's final recording, it's a great way to cap a recording career. This album was recorded in 2006, two years before lung cancer took his life, and it's a shame that it took this long for it to reach the marketplace; it's a beauty, and one that almost never came to be. Anna de Leon, the proprietor of Anna's Jazz Island in Berkeley, California, had Beck at her club for two nights in September of 2006. Beck asked her to pick out a rhythm section, which is always a risky proposition, but she obliged. Little did anybody know that the combination of Beck, bassist Peter Barshay, and drummer David Rokeach would turn out to be such a winning combination. 

After the first night, de Leon realized that this music was too good not to preserve, so she arranged to have night two recorded. It's really hard to fathom that these three men had no history together prior to those two nights. All parties combine sensitivity and a daredevil attitude to create something special. Hearing the way Beck and Barshay dovetail and overlap on "Stella By Starlight," for example, is hearing, to quote writer Whitney Balliett, "the sound of surprise." Other highlights include a not-too-tender "Tenderly," "You And The Night And The Music," and a "Manha De Carnaval" for the ages. Beck and company are respectful of the music, but never excessively reverential. These men are willing to go off on tangents a bit, making these oft-performed pieces that much more interesting. Almost every number starts off with a Beck introduction, alone worth the price of admission. What follows fluid chordal pathways, unexpected harmonics, ripping single note lines, swinging passages, and quiet scenarios is the real show. Bits of banter are interspersed throughout the album, giving Beck a chance to share recollections of Antonio Carlos Jobim, praise his musical partners of the moment, discuss drinking, and liken the guitar to a six-piece band. Anna de Leon's instincts about these Beck shows were spot-on; it's a shame that night one never got recorded, but it's a good thing night two was preserved for posterity. Beck may be gone, but he still has much to offer. ~ Dan Bilawsky  

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=47179#.U1R2ZFdSvro 
 

Personnel: Joe Beck: guitar; Peter Barshay: bass; David Rokeach: drums.
 

Get Me

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David Newton - Inspired

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:38
Size: 132,6 MB
Art: Front

(6:50)  1. On A Misty Night
(6:12)  2. Just Enough
(7:56)  3. So In Love
(5:29)  4. Detour Ahead
(5:00)  5. FSR
(5:48)  6. Isfahan
(5:19)  7. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
(5:19)  8. Lifetimes
(4:19)  9. Alone Together
(5:22) 10. Both Sides Now

Growing up in Renfrewshire, Scotland, David Newton had a musical upbringing with the piano trio sound of Peterson, Tatum or Garner an ever-present feature in the Newton household. After graduating from Leeds College of Music in 1979 he freelanced around Yorkshire and eventually became a resident musician at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough for two and a half years. A move to Edinburgh followed where theatre work using local musicians quickly led to an established position on the Scottish jazz scene but after some four years there, his old roommate from college, Alan Barnes, persuaded him to move to London where he rapidly became a much sought after pianist teaming up with Barnes, guitarist Martin Taylor and saxophonist Don Weller. Newton's recording career had begun in 1985 with Buddy De Franco and Martin Taylor and his first solo album was released in 1988 in association with producer Elliot Meadow who oversaw the next nine years of recording for Linn Records followed by Candid Records.

In 1989 ha became Carol Kidd's musical director and pianist and as a result of his participation in her album "The Night We Called it a Day ", Linn Records asked him to record his album "Victim of Circumstance" (Linn AKD 013). It received many excellent reviews proclaiming it as "a beautifully mature and relaxed collection", "a brilliantly accomplished recording" and one to be "highly recommended ". This was followed by "Eye Witness" which received an equally strong response - "even better than his debut, which is saying something" The List. In 1997, David Newton and Alan Barnes teamed up and together with Concorde Label agent Barry Hatcher, made four CDs for that label. By 2003, Newton set up a business partnership with former pupil Mike Daymond and they established Brightnewday Records initially as a vehicle for Newton's own music but with an eye to opening up the catalogue to other artists later on. In the first five years of the nineties, Newton's reputation as an exquisite accompanist for a singer, spread rather rapidly and by '95 he was regularly working with Carol Kidd, Marion Montgomery, Tina May, Annie Ross, Claire Martin and Stacey Kent, with whom he spent the next ten years recording and travelling all over the world. 

While all this was going on, Newton was composing music which he would record on his own CDs as well as writing specifically for Martin Taylor, Alan Barnes, Tina May or Claire Martin. Indeed, Newton's music can now be heard on many television productions, especially in the United States where over twenty TV movies benefit from Newton's haunting themes. In 2003, after a twenty year gap, David Newton was reunited with playwright Alan Aykbourn having been involved with eight world premiers in Scarborough and London back in the early eighties, and he was asked to write the music for two new productions, "Sugar Daddies" and "Drowning on Dry Land". Currently, with the release of a new CD called "Inspired", on the Brightnewday label, David Newton is relishing the musical freedom of his Trio and the special sound it makes whilst working on two other new recording projects, as an arranger and a composer. David Newton has been voted Best Jazz Pianist in the British Jazz Awards six times and was made a Fellow of Leeds College of Music in 2003.  http://www.linnrecords.com/artist-david-newton.aspx

Personnel :  David Newton – piano; Matt Miles – bass; Steve Brown - drums

Inspired

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