Sunday, February 14, 2016

Hilary Kole - The Judy Garland Project

Size: 149,3 MB
Time: 65:02
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart (4:12)
02. The Boy Next Door (4:14)
03. Just In Time (2:55)
04. You Made Me Love You (4:59)
05. Stompin' At The Savoy (3:34)
06. The Man That Got Away (4:21)
07. A Cottage For Sale (6:28)
08. I Wish I Were In Love Again (3:13)
09. Look For The Silver Lining (3:41)
10. The Trolley Song (3:27)
11. Get Happy (3:38)
12. Embraceable You (4:33)
13. As Long As He Needs Me (5:19)
14. It Never Was You (4:21)
15. Over The Rainbow (6:01)

A great singer is a method actor. Within each song is a role, a character. And what we refer to as interpretation is acting. The caveat of course is, to ring true and be believable, it has to be real. The actor must reach down to the deepest depths and up to the highest heights of her own experience to deliver a performance that completes the electrical/emotional circuit of truth.

Hilary Kole, on this stunningly fresh collection of performances of songs from the well-worn repertoire of Judy Garland, reveals and brings new life to the emotional core of each tune while revealing herself as a consummate interpreter. A goddess, wielding lightning bolts of electricity and emotion that break through the clouds and reach our very souls. While never attempting to imitate Garland, she succeeds in telling Judy’s story — relaying the joy of falling in love, the hope that love will prevail, the heartbreak when love fails. And most importantly, the gathering of the will and desire to pick oneself up again to give it one more try.

Accompanied by pianist John DiMartino, bassist Paul Gill, and drummer Aaron Kimmel, this album cooks. These are swingin' jazz interpretations, loaded with improvisation and solos, like a late-night set in a smoky Village jazz club. The ballads luxuriate you in washes of tone and texture, then wrap you in vocal and instrumental silks and satins.

The song choices are based on Hilary’s successful live performances of the Judy canon, her “Over the Rainbow” tribute concerts held the world over. It was fresh from a series of these performances in Japan that Hilary came to the studio, bringing the energy and vitality of the live concert hall into the studio on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. With the tape machine rolling, Hilary and the boys performed at a remarkable level of focus and concentration; a well-oiled jazz machine of intricate interplay and in-the-moment flourishes that only those well versed in the language of jazz can provide.

And then, finally the icing on the cake: Hilary Kole’s stunning interpretation of the most famous song of all. The signature tune that followed Judy through her whole life, changing meanings constantly from her teen years through her battles with demons of all kinds. The song that was almost cut from its famous movie because it was “too sad”. The song written in 1939, as World War II was brewing in Europe, the Great Depression was in full swing here at home, and storm clouds were gathering. It is from that starting point that Kole sat with pen to paper and began writing her remarkable string quartet arrangement to that remarkable song. In her equally stunning vocal performance, she embodies every measure of despair — yet every measure of hope — the composers intended. It is a show stopper.

This album is the work of a true artist in every sense of the word. It is an honor and privilege to have captured these performances, and to share them with you now. ~Richard Barone

The Judy Garland Project

Johnny Boyd - Someday Dreams Of You

Size: 111,1 MB
Time: 48:23
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz/Pop Vocals
Art: Front

01. You Found A Way (To Rescue Me) (4:18)
02. Please Make That Happen For Me (4:19)
03. My Foolish Heart (5:43)
04. Prisoner Of Love (4:16)
05. Someday Dreams Of You (4:24)
06. Can't Fight This Feeling (4:48)
07. Moment (3:50)
08. This Heart Of Mine (3:45)
09. Where The Real Love Grows (5:08)
10. There But For You Go I (3:54)
11. My Shining Hour (3:55)

Someday Dreams Of You is Johnny Boyd's romantic new take on the Great American Songbook. Co-produced with industry veteran Oz Fritz (Tom Waits, Bill Laswell, Primus), the new album contains both overlooked treasures and fresh new classics co-written by Johnny himself in the Great American Songbook style.

“I wanted to create an updated Great American Songbook album,” Boyd explains. “The wonderful thing about Great American Songbook compositions is their timelessness – they are rich with real human feelings of love, loss, joy, hope, reflection, etc. These things don’t change with time. People still experience them today. Why not write brand new songs in the classic Great American Songbook style that express these timeless emotions?

“For me, it’s important to create music that successfully blends the old with the new. I’m not interested in providing a history lesson or recreating something that has already been realized in the past. I live in the world today. The challenge for this new album was to take the timeless styles and sounds from classic mid-century recordings I adore and fold them into the way we live today – to create new songs and update old favorites that complement each other in a fresh way. I think we accomplished this.”

Someday Dreams Of You

Steve Kaldestad with The Mike Ledonne Trio - Straight Up

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:00
Size: 108,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:44)  1. Beautiful Friendship
(5:41)  2. Meaning of the Blues
(5:47)  3. Let It Go
(5:04)  4. Barbados
(5:04)  5. Warm Valley
(5:05)  6. Sweet Siggi
(4:11)  7. Ligia
(8:20)  8. Blues Straight Up

Renowned Canadian saxophonist Steve Kaldestad teams up with an all-star trio from New York featuring Mike LeDonne on piano, John Webber on bass and Joe Farnsworth on drums for a romp through and some underplayed jazz standards and two originals by Steve . “Straight Up” is unapologetically swinging and grooving from the first note. Straight ahead jazz at its finest. http://stevekaldestad.com/audio/details/straightup/

Personnel:  Steve Kaldestad – Tenor Saxophone;  Mike LeDonne – Piano;  John Webber – Bass;  Joe Farnsworth – Drums

Straight Up

Dee Daniels - Wish Me Love

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 1996
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:19
Size: 103,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:49)  1. Come Rain Or Come Shine
(4:05)  2. Time After Time
(5:51)  3. God Bless The Child
(4:49)  4. Love Inside
(3:33)  5. Sweet Georgia Brown
(3:55)  6. How Long Has This Been Going On?
(5:06)  7. Tonight I Won't Be Singing No Blues
(4:15)  8. Here's That Rainy Day
(4:51)  9. Love Is Here To Stay
(4:58) 10. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child

For singer Dee Daniels, getting to sing with the Metropole Orchestra on this recording must have been the realization of a dream of a lifetime. Influenced by R&B, gospel, and Sarah Vaughan, Dee Daniels (who had spent a period of time living in Holland and Belgium in the 1980s, admiring the Metropole Orchestra from afar), Daniels does her best on eight soulful standards and two of her originals, singing over the huge orchestra with arrangements by Rob Pronk and John Clayton. Best are "Come Rain or Come Shine," "Sweet Georgia Brown," "Tonight I Won't Be Singing No Blues," and "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child." Daniels' way of singing has been mined by many but she does it quite well, putting her own brand of soul into each phrase. ~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/wish-me-love-mw0000647799

Wish Me Love

Johnny Nocturne Band - Good To The Damn Bone

Styles: Jazz, Swing, Big Band
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:33
Size: 95,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:23)  1. Harlem Nocture
(2:54)  2. Slippin' & Slidin'
(3:15)  3. You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You
(4:11)  4. The Stuff You Gotta Watch
(5:07)  5. Good to the Damn Bone
(3:04)  6. When Did You Leave Heaven
(2:53)  7. I Can't Stop It
(4:06)  8. Down in the Flats
(3:12)  9. You Don't Know
(3:51) 10. That Cat's Evil
(4:31) 11. The Driver

This Johnny Nocturne CD is unique in that it features all three vocalist that have worked with the band over the years. All the tracks are previously unreleased. Brenda Boykin performs a beautiful rendition of "When Did You Leave Heaven," Kim. Nalley is her usual sassy self with "That Cat's Evil," Ms. Dee comes on with a bluesy take on "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You." Firmin and the band continue with the unique mix of jump blues, small band swing and soul jazz. "Good to the Damn Bone," is the first tenor sax, B-3 instrumental feature by the band. Firmin and Henry Salvia swing through this classic Willis Jackson blues head. This CD is a good introduction to this band if you haven't heard them yet. And a must addition to any previous Nocturne CDs. http://www.johnnynocturne.com/discog.html

Personnel:  John Firmin / Johnny Nocturne: tenor sax and leaser;  Henry Salvia: piano and organ;  Alex Baum: bass;  Anthony Paule: guitar;  Keny Bryson and Terry Baker: drums;  Marty Wehner and Derek James: trombone; Rob Sudduth, Marlo Green and Danny Bittker: baritone sax;  Pete Sembler and Bill Ortiz: trumpet; band and Kurt Pasch: background shouts.

Good To The Damn Bone

Chris Minh Doky - Cinematique

Styles:  Jazz, Contemporary Jazz
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:42
Size: 123,3 MB
Art: Front

(6:45)  1. James Bond
(4:48)  2. Goldfinger
(6:12)  3. Nothing to lose
(4:32)  4. Tossed salad & scrambled eggs
(7:40)  5. Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence
(6:16)  6. My favorite things
(6:21)  7. Sleepless dream
(5:02)  8. Rue Hautefeuille
(6:02)  9. Godfather

Chris comments: "After playing with my acoustic funk band for several year, I missed playing in a more open and loose situation. I wanted to take a break from the funk band. When I joined Michael Brecker's band in 2001, it was not only a huge pleasure playing with these guys, but it also made me realize how much I missed playing straight-ahead. I started doing gigs with the trio again and it was clear from jump that my next album (this one) was going to be a jazz trio album. We began recording this album, the day after getting off the road with Joey and Tain. It was so much fun hanging out with my old friends and it was so easy. Almost all takes are first takes..." Chris offers on Cinematique special brilliant interpretations of film melodies like James Bond and Nothing To Loose. Mesmerizing and captivating is Toots, Joey and Chris intimate revival of Goldfinger. Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence originally composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto is a further highlight of this album. Cinematique is an album especially for all lovers of acoustic bass.  http://www.smooth-jazz.de/starportrait/Doky/Retrospective.htm

Personnel:  Chris Minh Doky - Acoustic Bass;  Bireli Lagrene – Guitar;  Larry Goldings – Piano;  Joey Calderazzo – Piano;  Makoto Ozone – Piano;  Bill Stewart – Drums;  Jeff "Tain" Watts – Drums;  Clarence Penn – Drums;  Toots Thielemans - Harmonica

Cinematique