Jacqui Dankworth - It Happens Quietlly

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:16
Size: 129,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:28)  1. A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square
(4:19)  2. In the Still of the Night
(4:59)  3. It Happens Quietly
(3:58)  4. I'm Glad There is You
(5:52)  5. A Love Like Ours
(5:12)  6. My Foolish Heart
(4:16)  7. Make Someone Happy
(5:28)  8. Blame it on My Youth
(4:51)  9. Ill Wind
(4:42) 10. At Last
(3:45) 11. The Man
(3:20) 12. The Folks Who Live on the Hill

It Happens Quietly is an album of great beauty. Singer Jacqui Dankworth is at the top of her game, investing this collection of songs with superb technique and humanity. She's ably assisted by superb musicians, and by some of the loveliest and most creative arrangements to grace a jazz record for some time. There's an element of poignancy too, as this album is the last work undertaken by Jacqui's father, Sir John Dankworth, before his death in 2010.  Sir John was one of the UK's best-known and most talented jazz saxophonists, composers and arrangers. Jacqui followed her mother, Dame Cleo Laine, to become an accomplished actress as well as a fine singer while her brother Alec Dankworth took up the double-bass, and is also featured on this recording. It Happens Quietly boasts some fine arrangements written by Sir John with the assistance of Ken Gibson. Coupled with Jacqui's voice, these arrangements give the album a calm gentleness, a romanticism and a very human warmth. There's terrific musicianship, too. Harry Warren's "At Last" typifies all of these qualities; a superbly relaxed ensemble performance, Tim Garland's tenor solo adding a touch of urgency, and Jacqui's perfectly timed vocals creating a faultless reading of this beautiful song. The highlights come thick and fast across all 12 tunes, but honorable mentions should go also to Karen Sharp's mellow tenor solo on "Ill Wind," Ben Davis' cello on "A Love Like Ours;" and Steve Brown's Latin-tinged drums and Chris Allard's fluid guitar on "In The Still of the Night."

Sir John appears on "A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square" and "The Man." He can be heard on both songs bringing the musicians together, counting in the tune. His single instrumental appearance is his alto solo on "The Man," one of his own tunes with lyrics by Jacqui. It's a light-hearted, even jaunty, song and Sir John's brief solo actually taken from an earlier recording of the song for a music library project fits elegantly into the arrangement. Two stripped-down duo performances also stand out. On "Blame It On My Youth" Jacqui is accompanied solely by Malcolm Edmonstone's piano, on "The Folks Who Live On The Hill" she's joined by Allard on acoustic guitar. Such sparse, spacious arrangements could readily expose any imperfections. Here they serve to demonstrate Jacqui's absolutely exquisite vocals controlled, crystal-clear, perfectly capturing the subtle emotional power of the lyrics and Edmonstone and Allard's masterful skills as accompanists.  "It happens quietly" Jacqui sings on the title song, written by her father and lyricist Buddy Kaye, "because it's real." Her voice, the music, the arrangements, celebrate life; friendship, love, family, relationships; in its perfect, and not so perfect, moments. It Happens Quietly is one of the perfect moments. ~ Bruce Lindsay  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/it-happens-quietly-jacqui-dankworth-specific-jazz-review-by-bruce-lindsay.php#.VBTlkRawTP8

Personnel: Jacqui Dankworth: vocals; Henry Lowther: trumpet; Barnaby Dickenson: trombone; Dave Laurance: French horn; John Dankworth: alto saxophone; Tim Garland: soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone; Jimmy Hastings: flute, bass clarinet; Karen Sharp: tenor saxophone, bass clarinet; Malcolm Edmonstone: piano; Chris Allard: guitar; Alec Dankworth: bass; Andrew Bain: drums; Sally Herbert: violin; Everton Nelson: violin; Francis Dewar: violin; Alison Dodds: violin; Gareth Griffiths: violin; Peter Hanson: violin; Ian Humphries: violin; Tom Piggott-Smith: violin; Clare Finnemore: viola; Bruce White: viola; Ian Brurdge: cello; Chris Worsley: cello; Ben Davis: cello; Steve Watts: bass (2, 5, 7); Steve Brown: drums (2, 5, 7).

It Happens Quietlly

---

Diane Linscott & Charlie Prawdzik - Our Day At The Movies

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:41
Size: 123,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:51)  1. It's Magic
(3:59)  2. It's You Or No One
(3:50)  3. You, My Love
(4:23)  4. It All Depends On You
(5:00)  5. My Dream Is Yours
(4:55)  6. Never Look Back
(5:51)  7. Little Girl Blue
(3:39)  8. There's A Rising Moon
(3:56)  9. Hold Me In Your Arms
(3:51) 10. My Love Comes To Me
(3:24) 11. Secret Love
(3:17) 12. I'll Never Stop Loving You
(2:38) 13. It's You Or No One

"With a great idea for an album, Diane Linscott shows off her gorgeous personal style in a collection of thirteen songs from Hollywood's Golden Age, all originally performed by Doris Day. Ms. Linscott is a top-notch singer, both skilled and warm, and she is backed by a sympathetic band that features the graceful accompaniment of Charlie Prawdzik on piano and the steady time of bassist Mark Neuenschwander. These are songs that deserve to be remembered, and we're grateful to Diane Linscott for recalling them."       ~ Dick Hyman  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/linscottprawdzik

Our Day At The Movies

---

Larry Fuller Trio - Easy Walker

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:04
Size: 124,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:28)  1. Groove Yard
(3:21)  2. In Like Flynn
(3:26)  3. Hymne a L' Amour
(4:05)  4. Ray's Idea
(6:26)  5. Easy Walker
(4:14)  6. Caravan
(6:11)  7. Compassion
(8:01)  8. Honey Suckle Rose
(6:34)  9. Consider
(6:13) 10. Candy's Blues

If I were a musician blessed with talent and the motivation required to fully develop it, then I would be faced with an infinite number of choices upon entering the recording studio. Able to play almost anything, what would I choose? Luckily, being in a group with Ray Brown, Jeff Hamilton and Larry Fuller would simplify matters considerably. I would be required to play bebop and blues, and swing my butt off in the process. Such a scenario is fun to dream about, but Easy Walker, pianist Larry Fuller’s first CD as a leader, is the real deal. Recorded in ’98 with Brown and Hamilton, it features ten tunes, including two Fuller originals (“In Like Flynn” and “Candy’s Blues”) that showcase the Seattle-area pianist’s incredible facility and uncanny sense of swing. Larry Fuller was the last pianist to play with Ray Brown, and it’s easy to imagine this recording as his fond farewell to the late, great bassist. Many of the arrangements are vintage Ray, and a few of the composers, including Billy Taylor and Milt Jackson, were his friends and contemporaries. However, farewell or not, the fact is that no one enjoyed working with Ray Brown more than Larry, who told me in 2000, “It’s a dream to play with Ray.” You can hear it in the music. ~ Jason West  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/easy-walker-larry-fuller-pony-boy-records-review-by-jason-west.php#.VBTT2RawTP8

Personnel: Larry Fuller, piano; Ray Brown, bass; Jeff Hamilton, drums.

Easy Walker

---