Nikoletta Szoke - A Song for You

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:15
Size: 136,0 MB
Art: Front

(5:05)  1. A Song for You
(5:05)  2. Waltz for Debby
(3:42)  3. If I Were a Bell
(3:55)  4. Time After Time
(5:45)  5. Everytime We Say Goodbye
(3:29)  6. I've Grown Accustomed to His Face
(3:07)  7. Summer Night
(3:16)  8. Almost Like Being in Love
(4:05)  9. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
(4:29) 10. Just the Way You Are
(4:21) 11. Nobody Else But Me
(5:37) 12. Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most
(7:13) 13. The Look of Love

Nikoletta Szoke is a young Hungarian jazz singer with a pure, emotive voice and a bright future. Born in 1983 in Hungary into a musical Gypsy family, she showed talent at an early age. She found and began singing jazz after high school, and in 2005 won the first prize and the public prize in the Shure Montreux Jazz Voice Competition. A label that searches for new talent far and wide, Atelier Sawano is now introducing her to jazz fans in Japan and beyond. Following her self-produced debut CD, Golden Earrings, comes a full-fledged new album produced for Atelier Sawano by the late Klaus Weiss, a superb German drummer who helped create many of Sawano's great jazz albums. Szoke is also aided by Weiss' frequent partner and bassist Thomas Stabenow, and a fellow Hungarian and wonderful pianist Robert Lakatos. 

Those familiar with the Sawano discography will realize that this is indeed a superb piano trio! Such talented and experienced musicians, however, do not seem to faze Szoke, who is undoubtedly the star of this recording. Unlike her previous album that reflected her eclectic musical interests, she sticks mostly to standards (except for the title song by Leon Russell and "Just The Way You Are" by Billy Joel), and she sings and swings them confidently.

http://www.eastwindimport.com/product-info.asp?ProductId=972

Personnel:  Nikoletta Szoke (vocal); Robert Lakatos (piano); Thomas Stabenow (bass); Klaus Weiss (drums).

A Song for You

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Dave Pell Octet - Jazz & Romantic Places

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1955
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:14
Size: 93,5 MB
Art: Front

(2:59)  1. How Are Things In Glocca Morra
(3:56)  2. On A Slow Boat To China
(2:56)  3. Memphis In June
(2:56)  4. Paris In The Spring
(4:28)  5. London In July
(2:35)  6. Isle Of Capri
(2:56)  7. The White Cliffs Of Dover
(3:22)  8. Sunday In Savannah
(4:07)  9. Deep In The Heart Of Texas
(3:41) 10. Shuffle Off To Buffalo
(3:26) 11. New Orleans
(2:46) 12. Flying Down To Rio

In the midst of the 1950s, Dave Pell was one of the so-called "cool" jazz musicians on the West Coast of the United States, though he hasn't received as much recognition as others. Utilizing a variety of charts by talented arrangers including Johnny Mandel, Marty Paich, Jack Montrose, Wes Hensel, and Shorty Rogers (who also conducted the sessions), Pell's octet interprets the charts with gusto. For those not familiar with Pell's work, these sessions are similar in nature to recordings by Gerry Mulligan. The outstanding group includes baritone saxophonist Bob Gordon, trumpeter Don Fagerquist, and trombonist Ray Sims. In addition to the usual standards, Pell delves into infrequently heard gems like "Shuffle Off to Buffalo" (from the Broadway musical 42nd Street) and even a playful take of "Deep in the Heart of Texas." This is a very enjoyable LP that has been out of print for decades and it may be somewhat challenging to locate.
~ Ken Dryden http://www.allmusic.com/album/jazz-and-romantic-places-mw0000790334

Jazz & Romantic Places

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Oliver Jones Trio - Just Friends

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1989
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:02
Size: 116,0 MB
Art: Front

(5:14)  1. Blues For Helene
(4:01)  2. Just Friends
(4:46)  3. In My Solitude
(5:52)  4. Last Night In Rio
(5:20)  5. Big Pete
(5:33)  6. A Time For Love
(5:13)  7. It Could Happen To You
(5:32)  8. Sophie
(4:51)  9. Canadian Sunset
(3:36) 10. Georgia On My Mind

Pianist Oliver Jones has recorded over a dozen albums (both LPs and CDs) for the Canadian Justin Time label, and virtually all are recommended. This particular outing finds Jones and his trio (with bassist Dave Young and drummer Nasyr Abdul Al-Khabyyr) welcoming guest flugelhornist Clark Terry to their date. Performing four of Jones' originals and a quartet of standards (including "Just Friends" and "It Could Happen to You"), C.T.'s joyful presence clearly inspires the other musicians and makes this excellent set even more memorable than a typical Oliver Jones date. ~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/just-friends-mw0000177544

Personnel: Oliver Jones (piano); Clark Terry (trumpet); Dave Young (bass); Nasyr Abdul Al-Khayyr (drums).

Just Friends

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Hal Galper Trio - O's Time

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:06
Size: 112,6 MB
Art: Front

(8:14)  1. Like Sonny
(9:04)  2. Wildflower
(8:23)  3. O's Time
(8:28)  4. Moonglazed
(7:42)  5. Smile
(7:12)  6. Our Waltz

It's hard to be innovative in the piano trio format. The last big change happened in the late fifties and early sixties, with pianist Bill Evans' groundbreaking trio featuring bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian. The democratization of input and interplay changed the trio game, and countless groups have worked on refining that Evans approach ever since. A more recent development has been bombast and the inclusion of rock and poplar tunes into the jazz piano trio endeavor with varying degree of success. Rubato playing, the stretching of the varying of tempos, in a three way improvisational way, is pianist Hal Galper's contribution to piano trio innovation.  O's Time is Galper's fifth recording in the rubato style on Origin Records. His trio, with bassist Jeff Johnson and drummer John Bishop, perfected their approach with 2011's Airegin Revisited. The current offering rolls that artistic peak out on a high plateau, twsiting the familiar (John Coltrane "Like Sonny," Charlie Chaplain's "Smile") into different shapes, revealing different sides to the melodic threads. "Coltrane's "Like Sonny" opens the set. The three voices bounce off each other like a cocktail party conversation, synchronous and discordant at the same time. 

And like that party, as the drinks flow, the volume rises toward the raucous, without, on this tune at least, actually going there. Then there's the Zen serenity of a Johnson bass solo, sparely comped by Galper. Saxophonist Wayne Shorter's "Wildflower" has a "fractured then put back together" feeling, turbulent drums from Bishop behind Galper's relative restraint. "O's Time," written by Galper in honor of alto saxophonist/free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman, moves away from the concept of restraint. It rolls and tumbles and sounds like, at its peak, a piano trio stuffed into a burlap bag and pushed down the stairs, with the players hanging on tight and still keeping the tune from chaos. And Charlie Chaplain's much-covered smile sounds like they're set up on the back of a flatbed truck, careening ninety miles an hours down a winding mountain road.  Exhilarating! The Hal Galper Trio shows the others guys what innovative is all about.

~ Dan McClenaghan  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/os-time-hal-galper-origin-records-review-by-dan-mcclenaghan.php
 

Personnel: Hal Galper: piano; Jeff Johnson: bass; John Bishop: drums

O's Time

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