Sunday, February 21, 2016

Jeremy Monteiro & Friends Feat. Eden Atwood - The Girl from Ipanema

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:31
Size: 132,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:04)  1. Desafinado (with Eden Atwood)
(4:45)  2. Brazil
(4:05)  3. How Insensitive (with Eden Atwood)
(6:26)  4. Blue Bossa
(3:26)  5. Mas Que Nada (with Eden Atwood)
(5:29)  6. The Girl from Ipanema
(4:51)  7. Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars (with Eden Atwood)
(5:39)  8. Agua de Beber
(4:49)  9. Wave
(8:51) 10. Spain

Jeremy Monteiro (pianist, vocalist, composer, jazz educator) has won critical acclaim in many parts of the world. He has performed all over the World in addition to numerous occasions at home in Singapore, where he has been dubbed "Singapore's King Of Swing" by the local press. In November of 2011, Jeremy was appointed to the Board of Governors of the Asia Academy of Music Arts & Sciences under the chairmanship of Quincy Jones. That month, Jeremy was also appointed as Artistic Director of the Kuala Lumpur International Jazz Festival to be held in May 2012. In November 2006, he became a Fellow of the London College of Music which is part of the Thames Valley University in the UK. On 12th October 2006, Jeremy Monteiro was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of the Arts, Manufactures & Commerce in the UK (the RSA). Current Fellows of the RSA include Nelson Mandela and Stephen Hawking. 

Past Fellows of the RSA include Benjamin Franklin, Charles Dickens, Gugliemo Marconi and Yehudi Menuhin. On 1st September 2006, he was appointed a Board Member of the National Arts Council of Singapore. The NAC is a Statutory Board of the Government of Singapore and comes under the auspices of the Ministry of Information, Communication and The Arts (MICA). On 29th May 2006, Jeremy Monteiro was appointed Professor & Visiting Chair of Jazz, School of Music, Faculty of Performing Arts & Integrated Studies, LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts. He is the first Singaporean to be appointed Professor at the Institution since Brother Joseph McNally founded it in 1984. Also on 29th May 2006, Jeremy released his first album of all original compositions. The album, which is the latest in his discography of more than 20 albums, is entitled Homecoming, was recorded in Los Angeles and is released in HDCD format on the Jazznote label. The recording was funded by the National Arts Council’s Cultural Medallion grant. On 28th November 2003, Jeremy was conferred the "Lifting Up The World With A Oneness-Heart" lifetime achievement Award by the late Sri Chinmoy, who was the leader of the interfaith Peace Meditation at the UN (since 1970) and also the leader of the International Peace Centre. Previous recipients of this life-time achievement award include, His Holiness Pope John Paul II, the Blessed Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, scientist Dr, Jane Goodall, sportsmen Muhammad Ali & Carl Lewis, Musicians Ravi Shankar, Roberta Flack, Sting, Quincy Jones and Keith Jarrett.

Jeremy was conferred the Cultural Medallion, Singapore's pinnacle award in arts achievement on 8th October 2002. In 1988, Swing Magazine of Switzerland called him "one of the best exponents of Jazz Piano".  That year, he performed with his all-star band, Monteiro, Young & Holt at the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival.  Jeremy has been mentioned in more than 400 press articles in publications around the world, including Billboard Magazine and The Washington Post. He has more than 20 albums to his credit. He has performed and/or recorded with the likes of James Moody, Michael Brecker, , Bobby McFerrin, Lee Ritenour, Herbie Mann, Paulinho DaCosta, Ernie Watts, Charlie Haden, Leroy Jones, Cassandra Wilson, Vanessa Rubin, Carmen Bradford, Matt Monro and Simon & Garfunkel to name a few. On June 18 & 19th 2003, Jeremy performed with legendary harmonica player, Toots Thielemans, together with the members of his NYC Trio, bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Adam Nussbaum at the Victoria Concert Hall as part of the Singapore Arts Festival. Also in 2003, Jeremy's CD, "A Song For You, Karen" a jazz tribute to the music of the Carpenters recorded on the SACD format for American label First Impression Music (FIM), was recognized by respected American Audiophile magazine Soundstage, as being one of the three best sounding High Resolution albums in that year. Among the other CDs given this prestigious recognition was the re-issue of Bob Dylan's album, Highway 61 Re-visited. On March 11th 2005, as part of the inaugural Mosaic Music Festival, he performed at the Esplanade Theatres by the Bay in Singapore, with his international trio of Shawn Kelley and Belinda Moody, Singaporean singers Claressa Monteiro, Jacintha Abisheganaden, Anne Weerapass and Rani Singam together with Jazz legend James Moody, in a concert to commemorate James Moody's 80th birthday.

With another of his own bands, Asiana, he has performed at Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas. In late 1992, he produced the Ernie Watts album "Stand Up", joining an illustrious alumnus of Ernie Watts' producers, which include Quincy Jones, Creed Taylor, Don Grusin and Gilberto Gil. In March of 1990, at the same time as Natalie Cole, he was admitted as an active voting member of the National Academy Of Recording Arts & Sciences (Los Angeles Chapter), and has voted at the Grammy Awards from 1991 through 2006.  As a composer, Jeremy has been awarded a Silver Medal at the 1991 International Radio Festival of New York, as well as finalist awards at the 1990 and 1991 London International Advertising Awards for best original music score (radio, T.V. and Cinema). 

He has composed or produced over 700 pieces of music and is listed in the year 2000 edition of Who's Who of The World. Jeremy, who is also a vocalist, has been singing more and more often in his recent performances. The Sept/Oct 2005 issue of the Chicago Jazz Magazine, in an article by Judy Roberts had this to say about Jeremy's singing, "Jeremy has an appealing and expressive voice.... you don't expect such a technically dazzling pianist to have such an intimate and wistful vocal sound...Jeremy is a consistently excellent vocalist." His last album release in June of 2005 is a duet album with top Chicago Saxophonist, Greg Fishman called, "Only Trust Your Heart" an album of mostly ballads on the Jazznote label. He served as Artistic Director of the Singapore International Jazz Festival 2001, an event which featured 52 bands and more than 150 musicians from Singapore and overseas. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/51946891/Jeremy%20Monteiro%20Websites/Jeremy_Monteiro_website/Biography.html

Personnel:  Eden Atwood – vocal;  Jeremy Monteiro – piano;  Oele Pattiselnno – guitar;  Christy Smith – bass;  Edmond Branson – drums;  Mohamed Noor - percussion

The Girl from Ipanema

Ron Carter - Where?

Styles: Jazz, Hard Bop
Year: 1961
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:02
Size: 83,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:42)  1. Rally
(5:43)  2. Bass Duet
(7:37)  3. Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise
(5:58)  4. Where?
(5:51)  5. Yes, Indeed
(5:08)  6. Saucer Eyes

This 1961 set has appeared under Eric Dolphy's name, but it is, in fact, bassist Ron Carter's date his first as a leader. Carter and Dolphy had played together in Chico Hamilton's group and on Dolphy's important 1960 date Out There. Where? has elements in common with both, but is closer to Hamilton's late-'50s chamber jazz than to the more outward-bound Dolphy date. As on the Dolphy session, Carter is heard on cello for three of the six tracks. Carter's skill is undeniable, but his playing on Where? is a bit polite and monochromatic. The easygoing duet with George Duvivier, for example, is a quiet, back-porch conversation that makes few demands on either of these bass giants. Dolphy playing bass clarinet, alto sax, and flute is a far more interesting prospect, even if he doesn't blow his face off to the extent he did in other settings. 

Pianist Mal Waldron is characteristically dry, economical, and swinging. Drummer Charlie Persip quietly impresses with thoughtful, detailed work. Duvivier is on bass when Carter plays cello. The tracks comprise two Carter originals, two standards, and a pair of Randy Weston numbers. Weston's "Saucer Eyes," the album's best track, features a strong group performance, a superbly laconic statement from Waldron, Dolphy's ebullient flute, and captivating brush work from Persip. Carter's "Rally," with Dolphy's freewheeling bass clarinet and the composer's most adventurous cello work on this set, is closest in spirit to Dolphy's own dates from this period. ~ Jim Todd  http://www.allmusic.com/album/where-mw0000654723

Personnel: Ron Carter (cello, bass); Eric Dolphy (alto saxophone, flute, bass clarinet); Mal Waldron (piano); George Duvivier (bass); Charlie Persip (drums).

Where?

Ed Thigpen - Out Of The Storm

Styles: Jazz, Hard Bop
Year: 1966
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 32:08
Size: 74,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:43)  1. Cielito Lindo
(1:16)  2. Cloud Break (Up Blues)
(7:30)  3. Out Of The Storm
(2:42)  4. Harper
(6:16)  5. Elbow And Mouth
(5:17)  6. Heritage
(4:22)  7. Struttin' With Some Barbecue

Drummer Ed Thigpen's first album as a leader (recorded a year after he left the Oscar Peterson Trio) was reissued as a CD in 1998. Although not soloing much, Thigpen wrote three of the seven selections and occasionally played tuned drums, which sound a little bit like timbales. In addition to the leader, the main star is Clark Terry (on flugelhorn and trumpet), who plays quite freely on two numbers utilizing only a trumpet mouthpiece in spots. Guitarist Kenny Burrell gets in a few good solos and is showcased on "Struttin' With Some Barbeque" while bassist Ron Carter and pianist Herbie Hancock also make strong contributions. Unfortunately, there are only 32 minutes of music on this CD (which is highlighted by "Cielito Lindo"), so its brevity keeps it from being too essential, but the performances are enjoyable. ~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/out-of-the-storm-mw0000040830

Personnel: Ed Thigpen (vocals, drums); Clark Terry (vocals, trumpet, flugelhorn); Herbie Hancock (piano); Kenny Burrell (guitar); Ron Carter (bass).

Out Of The Storm

Joey Baron - Down Home

Styles: Jazz, Avant-Garde Jazz
Year: 1997
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:27
Size: 104,4 MB
Art: Front

(5:18)  1. Mighty Fine
(8:53)  2. Little Boy
(8:35)  3. Wide Load
(5:07)  4. The Crock Pot
(8:00)  5. What
(1:47)  6. Listen to the Woman
(6:41)  7. Aren't We All
(1:04)  8. Supposing

Befitting its title, Down Home is a surprisingly soulful set by four pros who live up to their promising intrigue as an all-star quartet. Arthur Blythe, Bill Frisell, Ron Carter and leader Baron combine forces and the result is not what you'd expect. Such a quartet may suggest a hip trip through the downtown avant-garde, with Carter, whose playing has tended more toward classical these days, something of an afterthought. But all four have exceptional musical versatility, so any preconceptions are unwise. Smart and sassy soul is what's on the menu here. There's the gut-bucket R&B of old Prestige records ("Mighty Fine"), the Meters beat of "Wide Load" (featuring a gem of a Carter solo), the James Brown funk of "What" (with the funkiest Frisell solo ever) and the lively bar band blues of "The Crock Pot" (showcasing Baron himself). 

The tunes, all Baron originals, seem to pay homage to the other players as well; especially Baron's former boss, Frisell. There's the Frisell-like ballad of "Little Boy," the all-too brief guitar-bass duo of "Listen To The Woman" (which, surprisingly, suggests Gabor Szabo) and "Supposing," a short recollection of Jerry Granelli's A Song I Thought I Heard Buddy Sing (another Frisell project). "Aren't We All" is prototypical Arthur Blythe. And "Wide Load" is reminiscent of Carter's CTI days. The spotlight, however, shines on Blythe and Frisell. Blythe whose style is never less than distinctively his own strikes a balance somewhere between David Sanborn and Hank Crawford in these environs.

And Frisell, who sticks to his electric guitar throughout (no synth), is outstanding; giving at least two solos ("Mighty Fine" and "Wide Load") that are worth the price of admission. Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with Baron's previous solo work with unusual trios like Baron Down. But anyone who's seen Baron in performance (with Frisell or John Zorn) knows the drummer likes to have fun when he plays. Here, the listener joins the joyride too. Down Home, despite its brief 45-minute running time is, indeed, mighty fine; a hearty menu with plenty of meaty playing. ~ Douglas Payne  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/down-home-joey-baron-intuition-review-by-douglas-payne.php

Personnel:  Arthur Blythe: alto sax;  Bill Frisell: guitar;  Ron Carter: bass;  Joey Baron: drums.

Down Home