Johnny Varro - Johnny Varro Swing 7

Size: 152,6 MB
Time: 65:24
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1994/2006
Styles: Jazz
Art: Front

01. Disc Jockey Jump (4:37)
02. What Am I Here For (7:03)
03. Maxine (2:50)
04. Beal Street Blues (6:27)
05. If Dreams Come True (5:13)
06. Black & Tan Fantasy (6:38)
07. One Morning In May (5:02)
08. Coquette (3:21)
09. Shiny Stockings (7:07)
10. Then I'll Be Happy (3:02)
11. High On You (4:08)
12. Foolin' Around (2:40)
13. Earl (3:01)
14. Just Friends (4:09)

Personnel:
Johnny Varro: Piano and Arrangements
Randy Sandke: Trumpet
Dan Barrett: Trombone
Phil Bodner: Clarinet, Alto Sax
Harry Allen: Tenor Sax
Frank Tate: Bass
Joe Ascione: Drums

A personal note from Johnny Varro:

The Swing 7 was organized by me about two years ago in Los Angeles, fulfilling a lifelong ambition to have a band that would play and encompass all of the music I have loved and appreciated all my life.

The Swing 7 plays the music of John Kirby from the '30s and '40s, the music of Duke Ellington from the Cotton Club days on, the music of Count Basie during the '50s and the styles of Gerry Mulligan, Al Cohn and others of the '60s. Plus all of the music in between.

The band has played at every major jazz club in the L.A. area and has been featured twice at the L.A. Classic Jazz Festival. It was also featured in Midland/Odessa for the West Texas Jazz Society, at Van Wezel Concert Hall for the Sarasota Jazz Society, and in Fort Lauderdale for the Gold Coast Jazz Society. Last year the Swing 7 opened the festivities for the New Jersey Jazz Society at Waterloo Village as part of the JVC Jazz Festival. This is the same group that appears on this recording.

The music of John Kirby is represented on this CD by three selections, Maxine (or Maxixe as recorded earlier by Bob Crosby), Coquette and Then I'll Be Happy. Black and Tan Fantasy and What Am I Here For? are from the Ellington library and Shiny Stockings salutes Count Basie. The Earl acknowledges Earl Hines and, of course, Mel Powell who wrote the song. Disc Jockey Jump is a Gerry Mulligan tune originally written for Gene Krupa, High on You is by Al Cohn and One Morning in May is a Hoagy Carmichael tune.

One last personal note. The interpretation of these arrangements and the sensitivity of the soloists is something special. I couldn't ask for more and I thank each of them with all my heart. ~Johnny Varro, February, 1995

Johnny Varro Swing 7

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Nancy Lane - Let Me Love You

Size: 104,7 MB
Time: 44:56
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. Let Me Love You (3:53)
02. I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me (3:49)
03. We're Together (2:32)
04. Tout Ce Que Veut Lola (4:35)
05. Every Time I'm With You (3:09)
06. Cry Me A River (5:14)
07. Everything I've Got Belongs To You (3:16)
08. All Of You (4:54)
09. You Took Advantage Of Me (3:12)
10. What Is This Thing Called Love (3:12)
11. Just Say I Love Him (7:03)

The title of Montreal Based chanteuse Nancy Lane's debut album, Let me love you, says it all.
Her music is an invitation to be loved: as a listener, as a human being, as a soul in need of a warm embrace. Add to that a voice marked by powerful expressive confidence and a tonal quality suffused with a husky warmth, and you get a vintage sound bolstered by fresh production values and smart musicianship. Not only is this Lane's first full album; it's also an unforgettable message in a bottle, flung from the confines of Montreal's local jazz scene into the music world's wider ocean.

The album boasts musicians both young and seasoned, including drummer Dave Laing, bassist Mike De Masi, guitarist Kenny Bibace, and pianist arranger Lara Driscoll. It also features saxophonist François D'Amours and trumpeter Aron Doyle. The deferential approach of this band provides Lane with a simpatico springboard as she traces a cohesive arc through a flight of standards and unexpected departures alike.

As will be obvious to anyone who listens to it, Lane's carefully chosen set list is near and dear to her heart. From the first few brush-strokes of the album's quintessential title track, one already gets a sense of the beauty of the entire painting about to unfold. Along with the intimate "I can't believe that you're in love with me", it's clear that Lane has an affinity for the sounds of bygone eras. That she expresses said affinity with such immediacy and presence mind is a testament to her interpretive skills. It is this attention to not only musical but also atmospheric details that makes the evergreen "Cry me a river" blush anew at her lips. From the Rodger and Hart classic " Everything I've got" and You took advantage of me" to Cole Porter's "All of you" and "What is this thing called love" Lane gives her deepest respect to every turn of phrase. She holds true to the melody first and foremost before gilding each rounded edge with colors genuinely her own.
Accomplishing this requires no small amount of subtlety. Whether her delightful bossa nova rendition of the more obscure "We're together" or in her rumba-inflected dip into 'Tout ce que veut Lola" she attends to every nuance with panache. Yet perhaps the most alluring surprise is "Just say I love you" arranged from the Neapolitain song "Dicitencello vuie". Although famously covered by Johnny Desmond and Tony Bennett, among others, it was the Nina Simone version that caught Lane's attention, and in which one might find the mightiest analogue to her smoky depths.

Let Me Love You

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Chris Kelsey & Dom Minasi - Duets NYC-Woodstock

Size: 136,9 MB
Time: 58:50
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Jazz
Art: Front

01. What Is This Thing Called Love (5:25)
02. Feels Like Rain In China (9:54)
03. For My Father (9:05)
04. Quick Response (4:53)
05. I Who Have Nothing (5:46)
06. Into The Night (6:19)
07. Dizzy Lizzie (5:44)
08. When Your Dreams Come Rue (7:40)
09. Softly As In A Morning Sunrise (3:59)

Duets: NYC/Woodstock finds Minasi in the company of another singular saxophone artist—Chris Kelsey. This album, brewing for about a decade in the mind of each man, is the first duo date for Kelsey since he encountered trombonist Steve Swell on Observations (CIMP, 1996). And what a duo date this is. Kelsey manages to be both co-conspirator and foil to Minasi. He brings clarity and focus to the picture via melodic seeds, but none of his gestures are predictable; some of those seeds grow or mutate and others are blown away, never to be developed, seen, or heard from again.

This album proves to be the most listener-friendly of the three dates under discussion here, due in no small part to the way that Kelsey regulates the music. There's lots of ferocious free play and wonky blowing to be found here, but there's also melodic heart in this music. Kelsey brilliantly toys with a motif while projecting puckish charm ("Blues Ultimatum"), plays with a slightly Monk-ish thought before things go awry ("Memories Of Being Very Angry"), and twists and contorts stable ideas ("Say What?). Minasi, every bit as fierce and zany as usual, is capable of engaging in call and response dialogue, delivering brittle rejoinders, and going completely off the rails in a single performance ("Di Dow").

There's beauty in the way these two men occasionally disengage, letting their individual personality traits shine through on their own respective terms, but engagement is more of the norm here. It's plainly evident in the way these two marry the quirky, the angular, the structured, and the free while conjuring thoughts of The Twilight Zone ("Rod Serling"), and it's patently obvious when relatively mellow thoughts lead to intense ideas and wailing passages ("Tip Toe"). Dom Minasi and Chris Kelsey are a simpatico duo if ever there was one. ~Dan Bilawsky

Duets NYC-Woodstock

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Wendy Lands - Altitude

Size: 101,3 MB
Time: 43:36
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Jazz/Pop Vocals
Art: Front

01. Stompin' (3:39)
02. Holding On To Letting Go (4:19)
03. Come By Me (3:27)
04. Words Escape Me (Radio Edit) (3:30)
05. Boom Boom (2:47)
06. Hurt You A Little (3:45)
07. Pray For Rain (3:47)
08. Who's Gonna Love You (4:35)
09. The Soul Of Saturday Night (4:02)
10. Altitude (5:26)
11. Words Escape Me (Extended Edit) (4:12)

Over her impressive career, singer-songwriter Wendy Lands has earned a reputation as a nuanced performer with a penchant for rich harmonies, sophisticated textures and killer musicianship.

October, 2015, she is releasing her album Altitude, a collection of well crafted and beautifully arranged songs that hit your gut via your heart.

Infused with pop, jazz and soul, Wendy’s new collection of story-driven songs are filled with vivid characters, intimate tales and heartfelt revelations.

Altitude

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Emilie-Claire Barlow - Clear Day

Size: 153,4 MB
Time: 65:38
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Jazz/Pop Vocals
Art: Front

01. Amundsen (Feat. Metropole Orkest) (0:59)
02. On A Clear Day (Feat. Metropole Orkest) (5:16)
03. Midnight Sun (Feat. Metropole Orkest) (3:55)
04. Because (Feat. Metropole Orkest) (4:51)
05. Fix You (Feat. Metropole Orkest) (5:39)
06. Unrequited (6:35)
07. Under Pressure (Feat. Metropole Orkest) (4:59)
08. Si J'etais Un Homme (Feat. Metropole Orkest) (4:58)
09. It's Just Talk (5:11)
10. Feelin' Groovy (4:26)
11. La Llorona (Feat. Metropole Orkest) (7:16)
12. I Don't Know Where I Stand (Feat. Metropole Orkest) (4:10)
13. Sweet Thing (3:22)
14. Mineiro De Coraçao (3:55)

Clear Day’ is made up of her versions of great tunes by groups and artists from the Beatles to Cold Play and David Bowie, to name a few. The songs were chosen for their verisimilitude to her own experiences over the past few years.

She describes the songs as the soundtrack to her life. The accompaniment of the Dutch-based Orkest Metropole magnifies the cinematic quality. “At the opening of ‘On a Clear Day’ you’ll hear these very dramatic cellos and this high pling pling pling of the piano and that’s basically representing the moment when I’m on the helicopter and I’m going to land on the ship.”

Bio:
Because Emilie-Claire Barlow is a female jazz singer from Canada, some American jazz enthusiasts have inevitably compared her to Canada's most famous jazz export: Diana Krall. But truth be told, Barlow doesn't sound anything like Krall. While Krall's performances have a sultry, dusky, very nocturnal quality, Barlow's singing has favored a youthful, girlish sweetness. That isn't to say that Barlow's bop-oriented work is unswinging -- in fact, she has no problem tackling complex arrangements, high-speed scat singing, and vocalese. Besides, Barlow is from Toronto, not western Canada (where Krall grew up). Barlow has spent her entire life in Toronto, where she was born on June 6, 1976. Her father is jazz drummer Brian Barlow, who has also gone by Brian Leonard and is best-known for his work with the Boss Brass (a Canadian big band led by trombonist Rob McConnell). Not surprisingly, the drummer instilled an appreciation of jazz in his daughter and encouraged her to sing. Brian Barlow also encouraged her to study several instruments, including piano, violin, cello, and clarinet. By the time she was seven, Emilie-Claire Barlow was singing for television and radio commercials. She went on to become quite active on Toronto's jazz scene, and in 1997, Emilie-Claire Barlow and her father formed the Barlow Group -- an acoustic-oriented octet whose soloists have included trombonist Russ Little and saxman John Johnson. The singer co-produced her first album, Emilie-Claire Barlow Sings, with her father in 1998 before recording Tribute (also co-produced with Brian Barlow) in 2000 (when she turned 24). Both albums were released independently in Canada on the Rhythm Tracks label. ~ Alex Henderson

Clear Day

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Matthew Shipp - The Conduct Of Jazz

Size: 113,7 MB
Time: 48:57
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Jazz: Modern Jazz
Art: Front

01. Instinctive Touch ( 5:06)
02. The Conduct Of Jazz ( 7:48)
03. Ball In Space ( 6:44)
04. Primary Form ( 4:45)
05. Blue Abyss ( 6:33)
06. Stream Of Light ( 5:24)
07. The Bridge Across (12:34)

One of today's foremost pianists, Matthew Shipp has demonstrated the breadth of his artistry in numerous settings over his three decade career, including genre-defying electro-acoustic experiments. Recent years have found him narrowing his focus to concentrate on intimate acoustic efforts however, especially in one of the jazz tradition's most venerable formats—the classic piano trio.

The Conduct of Jazz is the fifth trio recording to feature Michael Bisio as Shipp's principal bassist since 2011's The Art of the Improviser (Thirsty Ear), and the first to include the legendary Newman Taylor Baker in place of longstanding drummer Whit Dickey. In contrast to Dickey's abstract tendencies, Baker brings a more conventionally structured approach to the proceedings, with a protean technique informed by years of experience working with luminaries like Billy Harper, Diedre Murray and Henry Threadgill.

A singular stylist, Shipp's urbane writing often evinces a dark, foreboding quality, alternating brooding ambience with tempestuous swing. The group subsequently covers a vast dynamic range, demonstrating its improvisational mettle in episodes that veer from impressionistic neo-classical reflections to fervent bop-inflected explorations.

"Instinctive Touch" opens the album like a furtive fanfare, the unit extrapolating the tune's oblique melody with pointed focus. The angular title track ventures further into vanguard territory as Shipp's bristling cadences ascend into feverish mantras buoyed by Bisio and Baker's modulating undercurrent. "Blue Abyss" grooves hard in contrast, while the episodic tour de force "The Bridge Across" concludes the program in dramatic fashion, regaling with blistering call and response interplay that is both adventurous and accessible.

Bisio's robust tone and Baker's vivacious trap set work are featured prominently, with the bassist's sinewy arco harmonics introducing "Ball in Space" alone, while "Primary Form" is dominated by the drummer's thunderous percussion volleys. Bisio and Baker share an uncanny conversational rapport with Shipp; their cubistic dialogue blurs the lines between accompanist and soloist, exponentially expanding the rhythm section's role in the process.

Unsurprisingly, the majority of the session spotlights the leader, whose tortuous cadences ebb and flow with their own idiosyncratic logic, whether transposing minimalist motifs into hypnotic ostinatos or negotiating labyrinthine detours with deft precision. From abstract expressionism to bluesy introspection, every facet of Shipp's artistry is on display—even romantic allusions materialize on the lyrical piano soliloquy "Stream of Light." Bolstered by the exemplary contributions of his distinguished colleagues, The Conduct of Jazz offers irrefutable proof of Shipp's enduring mastery of the jazz idiom.

Personnel: Matthew Shipp: piano; Michael Bisio: bass; Newman Taylor Baker: drums.

The Conduct Of Jazz

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Bud Freeman - Chicago Styled

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:43
Size: 107.0 MB
Styles: Mainstream jazz, Saxophone jazz
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[2:44] 1. Copenhagen
[2:44] 2. Big Boy
[2:49] 3. Sensation
[2:57] 4. Oh! Baby
[2:39] 5. Tia Juana
[2:39] 6. I Need Some Pettin'
[2:50] 7. Fidgety Feet
[2:58] 8. Susie
[3:10] 9. Keep Smilin' At Trouble
[3:30] 10. What Is There To Say
[3:01] 11. The Buzzard
[3:19] 12. Tillie's Downtown Now
[2:28] 13. As Long As I Live
[2:33] 14. The Sail Fish
[3:15] 15. Satanic Blues
[2:59] 16. Sunday

When Bud Freeman first matured, his was the only strong alternative approach on the tenor to the harder-toned style of Coleman Hawkins and he was an inspiration for Lester Young. Freeman, one of the top tenors of the 1930s, was also one of the few saxophonists (along with the slightly later Eddie Miller) to be accepted in the Dixieland world, and his oddly angular but consistently swinging solos were an asset to a countless number of hot sessions.

Freeman, excited (as were the other members of the Austin High School Gang in Chicago) by the music of the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, took up the C-melody sax in 1923, switching to tenor two years later. It took him time to develop his playing, which was still pretty primitive in 1927 when he made his recording debut with the McKenzie-Condon Chicagoans. Freeman moved to New York later that year and worked with Red Nichols' Five Pennies, Roger Wolfe Kahn, Ben Pollack, Joe Venuti, Gene Kardos, and others. He starred on Eddie Condon's memorable 1933 recording "The Eel." After stints with Joe Haymes and Ray Noble, Freeman was a star with Tommy Dorsey's Orchestra and Clambake Seven (1936-1938) before having a short unhappy stint with Benny Goodman (1938). He led his short-lived but legendary Summe Cum Laude Orchestra (1939-1940) which was actually an octet, spent two years in the military, and then from 1945 on, alternated between being a bandleader and working with Eddie Condon's freewheeling Chicago jazz groups. Freeman traveled the world, made scores of fine recordings, and stuck to the same basic style that he had developed by the mid-'30s (untouched by a brief period spent studying with Lennie Tristano). Bud Freeman was with the World's Greatest Jazz Band (1968-1971), lived in London in the late '70s, and ended up back where he started, in Chicago. He was active into his eighties, and a strong sampling of his recordings are currently available on CD. ~bio by Scott Yanow

Chicago Styled

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Ron Carter & The WDR Band - My Personal Songbook

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 79:05
Size: 181.1 MB
Styles: Contemporary jazz
Year: 2015
Art: Front

[ 6:59] 1. Eight
[ 5:57] 2. Receipt, Please
[ 6:07] 3. Ah, Rio
[ 7:48] 4. Doom Mood
[ 9:41] 5. Blues For D.P.
[ 6:13] 6. Wait For The Beep
[ 9:14] 7. Little Waltz
[ 8:33] 8. For Toddlers Only
[10:55] 9. Sheila's Song
[ 7:35] 10. Cut And Paste

My Personal Songbook is the perfect amalgamation of sterling bassist and composer, world-leading jazz orchestra and distinctive arranger forged together on this heroic recording. Arguably the most proment and innovative modern jazz bassist today, Ron Carter is no mean composer either, and provides ten of his pieces of varying style feel and tempi. They offer ace arranger Richard DeRosa the handy challenge of harnessing this melange of repertoire into the seamless collection that results. Delivering this in stellar form is the WDR Big Band, based in Cologne, a first class ensemble boasting an array of brilliant soloists that include trumpeter, John Marshall; Paul Heller on tenor sax, Johan Hörlen alto sax, and trombonist Ludwig Nuss. Frank Chastenier's melodic but driving piano solos score throughout alongside the churning battery of Carter's bass and Hans Dekker's drums.

The leader's voice has such a sound and presence that goes well beyond his role in the rhythm section keeping time and goading on soloists.Its as if every note and rhythm and instrumentalist playing them are imbued with Carter's aura and message sending it well into an atmosphere of larger proportions. On a lighter note, Carter's playful propensity for quoting runs amok on his solo on "Receipt Please". He manges to squeeze in a circus call theme, Anything Goes and "All Blues" in as many bars. A feat worthy of a "red card" (in British football parlance) but all the better for his Puckish humour- always welcome in the music. This is a CD of epic proportions combining flawless bassistry and distinctive compositions performed brilliantly by the WDR band with DeRosa's unparalled arrangements. A hallmark CD indeed. Bravo to all hands. ~Frank Griffith

My Personal Songbook

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Rosemary Clooney - Jazz Singer

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:52
Size: 121.0 MB
Styles: Standards, Vocal jazz
Year: 2003
Art: Front

[2:46] 1. It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
[3:26] 2. I'll Be Around
[2:25] 3. How About You
[3:32] 4. Blues In The Night
[3:33] 5. Memories Of You
[3:08] 6. I'm Checkin' Out -- Go'om Bye
[3:20] 7. What Is There To Say
[2:04] 8. The Lady Is A Tramp
[2:03] 9. Bad News
[3:51] 10. Hey Baby
[2:54] 11. It's Bad For Me
[3:01] 12. A Touch Of The Blues
[2:41] 13. Together
[3:48] 14. Learnin' The Blues
[2:08] 15. Don'cha Go 'way Mad
[2:56] 16. Sophisticated Lady
[1:57] 17. Come Rain Or Come Shine
[3:09] 18. Goodbye

After finishing her period as one of the Clooney Sisters with Tony Pastor's orchestra, Rosemary Clooney became famous for her pop hits on the Columbia label in the early '50s. Although never really a jazz singer on a consistent basis, Clooney had a few opportunities to record in jazz settings in the 1950s, most notably an album with Duke Ellington's orchestra. This sampler has four of the numbers with Ellington, three songs with a Benny Goodman small group, a few selections from the combo album Tenderly, numbers from sets titled Ring Around Rosie, Red Garters, and On Stage, and a song apiece with the orchestras of Percy Faith, Paul Weston, and Nelson Riddle. The repertoire is of high quality, and Clooney fares quite well. In fact, these were her most jazz-oriented recordings until she signed with Concord in the late '70s. Highlights include "How About You," "I'm Checkin' Out, Goombye," "Hey Baby," "Doncha Go 'Way Mad," "Sophisticated Lady," and "Goodbye." ~Scott Yanow

Jazz Singer

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Earl Klugh - HandPicked

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:08
Size: 126.2 MB
Styles: Jazz guitar
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[2:31] 1. Alfie
[2:26] 2. Lullaby Of Birdland
[6:09] 3. Blue Moon
[4:05] 4. In Six
[3:12] 5. Cast Your Fate To The Wind
[8:02] 6. Hotel California
[3:37] 7. More And More Amor
[2:29] 8. 'round Midnight
[1:45] 9. But Beautiful
[3:43] 10. All I Have To Do Is Dream
[3:36] 11. Going Out Of My Head
[1:57] 12. If I Fell
[2:01] 13. Where The Wind Takes Me
[3:14] 14. Morning Rain
[2:19] 15. Love Is A Many Splendored Thing
[3:55] 16. This Time

In a recording career of over three decades, master guitarist Earl Klugh has been lauded as a prodigy and a groundbreaker of contemporary jazz. Klugh's highly-anticipated Concord debut, HandPicked, is a self-produced solo album with guest guitarists Bill Frisell, Vince Gill, Jake Shimabukuro and others.

HandPicked

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Joe Magnarelli - Always There

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1998
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:53
Size: 140,7 MB
Art: Front

( 8:42)  1. I'm Old Fashioned
( 6:17)  2. Allison's Welcome
( 8:01)  3. I Fall in Love Too Easily
( 4:52)  4. J.J.'s Busride Blues
(10:36)  5. Always There
( 8:20)  6. Rah-Sah
( 7:35)  7. Waltz for Aunt Marie
( 6:26)  8. Put On A Happy Face

Trumpeter Joe Magnarelli's second Criss Cross CD, Always There, is easily the equal of his impressive debut. Leading an all-star sextet that has percussionist Daniel Sadownick on two of the eight selections, Magnarelli performs modernized versions of three standards and five of his originals.

The music fits securely into hard bop and not only features warm solos from the leader but heated statements and trade-offs by baritonist Gary Smulyan and altoist Jim Snidero. Alternating driving pieces with thoughtful ballads, Always There is a memorable effort and makes one realize that Magnarelli would have fit in perfectly with Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers. ~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/always-there-mw0000035296

Personnel: Joe Magnarelli (trumpet); Jim Snidero (flute, alto saxophone, piano); Gary Smulyan (baritone saxophone); Larry Goldings (piano); Kenny Washington (drums); Daniel Sadownick (percussion

Always There

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John Proulx - Baker's Dozen (Remembering Chet Baker)

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:15
Size: 138,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:05)  1. Let's Get Lost
(4:21)  2. Long Ago And Far Away
(4:29)  3. Time After Time
(4:44)  4. But Not for Me
(5:15)  5. I Get Along Without You Very Well
(3:58)  6. Reunion/There Will Never Be Another You
(4:00)  7. I Remember You
(5:23)  8. You Don't Know What Love Is
(3:29)  9. Before You Know It
(6:25) 10. I Fall in Love Too Easily
(3:21) 11. Line For Lyons
(6:02) 12. My Funny Valentine
(3:36) 13. Look For The Silver Lining

John Proulx is a new jazz singer and pianist with a light touch (and very good taste), as evidenced by his 2006 debut on MaxJazz, MOON AND SAND, which featured the sultry Alec Wilder bossa-inflected title track as well as nods to both Bill Evans ("Alice In Wonderland") and Dinah Washington ("What A Difference A Day Made"). As the subtitle to BAKER's DOZEN indicates, Proulx's followup is a more-or-less straight tribute to Chet Baker, the eerily romantic vocalist even more than the cool jazz trumpter. The warmed-toned Dominick Farinacci ably takes care of the trumpet and flugelhorn duties anyway, so this is very much a singer's album, a singer with a strong, lush style on piano it should be mentioned. As a singer, Proulx has a youthful spare sound, much like Baker himself, although he has greater range and staying power. (As effective as he was, Baker's semi-amateur vocals always made it on novelty value too). 

It's a pleasure to hear these note-perfect versions of "Let's Get Lost," "Look For The Silver Lining," "My Funny Valentine," and other Chet Baker signature tunes. For lovers of song-oriented jazz musicianship in a contemporary context, one could hardly improve on John Proulx. ~ Richard Mortifoglio  http://www.allmusic.com/album/bakers-dozen-remembering-chet-baker-mw0000822417

Personnel: John Proulx (vocals, piano); Dominick Farinacci (trumpet, flugelhorn); Joe La Barbera (drums).

Baker's Dozen (Remembering Chet Baker)

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Joni Janak - Let's Live Again

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:29
Size: 152,9 MB
Art: Front

(3:37)  1. Let's Live Again
(4:08)  2. S'Wonderful
(3:15)  3. What Is This Thing Called Love
(4:20)  4. Bewitched
(3:44)  5. I Didn't Know What Time it Was
(6:39)  6. Someone To Watch Over Me
(4:47)  7. Night And Day
(2:46)  8. I Could Write a Book/I've Got You Under My Skin
(3:58)  9. For You, For Me, For Evermore
(2:40) 10. Lover
(4:55) 11. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
(3:53) 12. Let's Get Lost
(5:45) 13. Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square
(3:40) 14. My Romance
(4:48) 15. My Funny Valentine
(3:27) 16. All of You

Born 24 August 1944, Amarillo, Texas, USA. Raised in a very musical family Janak was taught singing, dancing and piano at the Amarillo College of Music which was owned and operated by her parents and grandparents. She gave public recitals from the age of eight and had her first professional singing job at 13. She received a vocal scholarship to Texas Tech University in Lubbock and, after returning to Amarillo, sang with many different bands and performed a concert with the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra at the age of 22. She went to Houston, Texas, to sing in the Carriage Club at the Sheraton Lincoln Hotel until 1969 when she moved to Denver, Colorado, to further her career. 

In Denver, she sang with many resident and visiting jazz musicians at various clubs, among them Dale Bruning, Ellyn Rucker, Phil Urso, Peanuts Hucko, Bobby Greene, Todd Reid, the Hot Tomatoes Jazz Band, Howard Davis and Jim Riley, recording with both of the last named. It was while Janak was appearing at the El Chapultepec club in Denver, where she has long held a residency, that she met Carl Fontana who invited her to Las Vegas to work with him. In Las Vegas, she also worked with Carson Smith, Tom Montgomery, Vinnie Tano, Bill Berry, Herbie Phillips and Bill Watrous. She also sang on a jazz cruise with the Johnny Carson Tonight Show Allstars. Janak has appeared at many jazz festivals and at concerts, sometimes with Bruning and storyteller Jude Hibler in their theme concerts celebrating the music of significant composers. 

In the early years of the new millennium, her name was beginning to attract attention overseas with appearances in Europe and the release there of her first own name album and a set with Fontana. A dynamic and highly polished performer, owing in large part to her background of training and extensive experience, Janak’s maturity of sound result in highly satisfying performances. https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/joni-janak/id45288044#fullText

Let's Live Again

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John Vance - Dreamsville

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:54
Size: 121,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:33)  1. I Hadn't Anyone Till You
(4:23)  2. Darn That Dream
(2:50)  3. Like A Lover
(4:24)  4. Invitation
(5:57)  5. If You Go
(3:57)  6. Better Than Anything
(2:29)  7. I'm Beginning to See the Light
(6:27)  8. My Foolish Heart
(4:46)  9. Speak Low
(3:24) 10. You Don't Know What Love Is
(3:04) 11. Not Like This
(3:14) 12. Bluesette
(4:19) 13. Dreamsville

Singer John Vance's It's All Right With Me (Erawan, 2003), was an enjoyable debut; a breath of fresh at a time when Peter Cincotti, Michael Bublé and Harry Connick, Jr., were being touted as the next Male Vocal Jazz Star.  Dreamsville initially appears to be more of the same, consisting of songs from the Great American Songbook, jazz standards and one original composition. A change in personnel gives the album more depth, and Vance, again, provides the same vocal qualities as on his debut.

Guitarist Larry Koonse (on three tracks) and trumpeter Stacy Rowles trumpet (on two) are effective in adding texture to Vance's piano trio. As with It's All Right With Me, Vance's extensive background in acting aids his vocal jazz sensibilities by allowing his phrasing to be more sympathetic than a pop music reading of the same tunes. On "Like A Lover", a tune from Dori Caymmi, Nelson Matta, and Alan and Marilyn Bergman that has been around since the late 1960s, Vance is accompanied only by the simpatico Koonse. Vance brings great appreciation to the lyrics, describing how forces of nature and inanimate objects (e.g. the river wind, a coffee cup) are instruments of jealousy to the singer because they are in close proximity to the woman of his affection. Vance is at his best on romantic ballads like the ever-popular Young/Washington standard, "My Foolish Heart," and the title tune from Henry Mancini. Rowles turns up for her appearances on "Speak Low" and "I Hadn't Anyone Till You." ~ Michael P.Gladstone  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/dreamsville-john-vance-erawan-records-review-by-michael-p-gladstone.php
 

Personnel: John Vance: vocals; Jeff Colella: piano; Trey Henry: bass; Kendall Kay: drums; Stacy Rowles: trumpet and flugelhorn (1, 9); Larry Koonse: guitar (3, 8, 13).

Dreamsville

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