Sandy Dennison - Jazzed!

Size: 132,5 MB
Time: 57:32
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2007
Styles: Vocal Jazz
Art: Front

01. A Wonderful Day Like Today (3:22)
02. Close Your Eyes (3:22)
03. Primrose Color Blue (3:49)
04. On The Street Where You Live (5:06)
05. They Say It's Wonderful (5:17)
06. Moonlight (6:12)
07. Like Someone In Love (4:36)
08. Lonely Hours (5:15)
09. Sway (4:02)
10. I Get The Blues When It Rains (3:40)
11. A Sunday Kind Of Love (4:14)
12. Ooh Whatcha' Doin' To Me (2:53)
13. You're The One (5:36)

Sandy Dennison explores jazz and pop standards from the Great American Songbook on Jazzed! There are many CDs like this lately, but this one is a fine effort. Dennison does not try to do anything new. In fact, her press release calls her "sound uniquely centered in the tradition of vocalists such as Chris Connor and Helen Merrill of the 1950s era."

This CD sounds like a release of a 1950s singer updated with modern production values and a high degree of jazz sensibility. Unlike recordings from an earlier era, Andre St. James's upright bass can be easily heard, adding to the rhythm. The production by Vincent Frates, who also plays piano on the CD, brings out Dennison's clear-as-a-bell voice.

The songs are delivered in traditional style, but many are approached with a different tempo or feel. "A Wonderful Day Like Today" has fast, breezy solos by Derek Sims on muted trumpet. Frates uses three note patterns to anchor the rhythm for "Primrose Color Blue" and "On The Street Where You Live." David Evans's sax turns "Lonely Hours" into a film noir type of song. "They Say It's Wonderful" and "A Sunday Kind of Love" become plaintive ballads.

It is a subjective judgment that depends on the listener, but it seems to me that Dennison has more of a feel for these songs than nearly all the singers who are turning to standards to revive their careers, and her interpretive skills are far superior. In other words, this CD is the real thing.

Jazzed!

---

Mike LeDonne - That Feelin'

Size: 139,6 MB
Time: 59:39
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz
Art: Front

01. I'd Never Change A Thing About You (7:21)
02. That Feelin' (7:34)
03. La La Means I Love You (7:52)
04. Fly Little Bird Fly (4:26)
05. Gravy Blues (6:20)
06. Sweet Papa Lou (6:13)
07. At Last (5:09)
08. This Will Be An Everlasting Love (6:52)
09. A Lot Of Livin' To Do (7:48)

Mike LeDonne's splendid Groover Quartet has earned a cozy groove for itself, somewhere between fresh from the oven and the halcyon days of organ combos led by Jimmy Smith, Charles Earland, Jimmy McGriff, Richard "Groove" Holmes, Shirley Scott, Don Patterson and others. While embracing their essential groundwork on the one hand, LeDonne moves steadily forward with the other, lending a more contemporary voice to what has been a popular staple of the jazz repertoire for well over half a century.

Far from alone in this pursuit, LeDonne is aided and abetted by a trio of eloquent trend-setters: long-time colleagues Eric Alexander on tenor sax, guitarist Peter Bernstein and drummer Joe Farnsworth. They are enhanced along the way by another modernist, alto saxophonist Vincent Herring, who adds warmth and color to "I'd Never Change a Thing About You," bassist Ray Brown's piquant "Gravy Blues" and LeDonne's fast-paced salute to alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson, "Sweet Papa Lou." Speaking of "I'd Never Change a Thing," the first of LeDonne's three original compositions, the charming wire-to-wire gallop was written for his daughter, Mary, who has multiple disabilities and for whom LeDonne founded the non-profit Disability Pride NYC.

LeDonne and Co. (sans Alexander) are at their soulful best on the lone standard, Mack Gordon / Harry Warren's "At Last," a gorgeous ballad first heard in the 1942 film Orchestra Wives. "At Last" is followed by LeDonne's well-sculpted arrangement of the pop song "This Will Be an Everlasting Love" and the fast-moving finale, "A Lot of Livin' to Do," from the Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie. Alexander hammers that one out of the park, a feat he duplicates on every turn at bat. The title song, another LeDonne original, is an ambling blues taken from the classic organ trio playbook with Alexander's razor-sharp tenor cutting straight to the chase.

The relaxed groove prevails on LeDonne's arrangement of "La La Means I Love You," a pop hit for the Delfonics in 1968, before giving way to the livelier cadences of trumpeter Donald Byrd's "Fly Little Bird Fly" (another tour de force for LeDonne and Alexander). Regardless of mood or tempo, LeDonne's quartet, which has been a working group for some years now, is emphatically secure and firmly in the pocket. Farnsworth's timekeeping is unerring, Bernstein excels whether comping or soloing, and as for LeDonne and Alexander, their ardor is amplified by exceptional technique. Herring's assertive cameos are icing on an already appetizing cake. ~by Jack Bowers

Personnel: Mike LeDonne: Hammond B3 organ; Eric Alexander: tenor saxophone; Vincent Herring: alto saxophone (1, 5); Peter Bernstein: guitar; Joe Farnsworth: drums.

That Feelin'

---

Susan Kohler - My Romance

Size: 101,6 MB
Time: 38:30
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. Where Do You Start (4:59)
02. Being Alive (4:31)
03. My Romance (3:45)
04. When Lights Are Low (3:43)
05. So Nice (4:30)
06. My Foolish Heart (5:29)
07. Sway (3:31)
08. I’ve Never Been In Love Before (2:40)
09. On My Way To You (5:18)

My Romance is a collection of nine cover songs set to examine the cycle one endures in a romantic relationship. It begins appropriately with "Where Do You Start?" and ends with "On My Way to You," quietly suggesting that the journey is the destination. Susan produced the album with notable jazz musician Jeff Colella to find the tender, yet passionate message of each arrangement..

My Romance

---

Orrin Evans - #Knowingishalfthebattle

Size: 168,9 MB
Time: 72:12
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz
Art: Front

01. #Knowingishalfthebattle (Matthew Evans Remix) ( 0:58)
02. Calls ( 4:52)
03. When Jen Came In ( 5:55)
04. Chiara (10:00)
05. Kooks ( 6:30)
06. You Don't Need A License To Drive ( 7:13)
07. Half The Battle ( 7:23)
08. Heavy Hangs The Head That Wears The Crown ( 5:38)
09. Doc's Holiday ( 6:51)
10. Slife ( 5:29)
11. That's All ( 6:03)
12. Zeni Bea ( 4:09)
13. #Knowingishalfthebattle (Snarky) (Matthew Evans Remix) ( 1:05)

On paper, jazz pianist Orrin Evans returns to his childhood roots and all the branches of influence that accompany it to inspire the thematic forces of his next Smoke Sessions record, #knowingishalfthebattle. In reality, the listening experience provides so much more.

“Knowing is half the battle” comes from a 1980s children’s cartoon, “G.I. Joe,” and it’s a saying the Philly musician is fond of repeating during pivotal moments in his life.

The fruits of such inspiration lead Evans inward, as he relies on instinct and a sense of improvisation in every one of his original and originally designed compositions.

Enabling the improvisational instincts to flourish are two of the world’s finest examples, guitarists Kevin Eubanks and Kurt Rosenwinkel — also from Philadelphia. Eubanks and Rosenwinkel flavor Evans’ thematic scope with just the right amount of verve with open-minded absorption, gathering the inspiration from out there and within.

“They're two guitarists, but they're two people who have taken the guitar information and translated it in their own way,” Evans described in a recent press release from DL Media. “One uses a pick, one doesn't; one uses a volume pedal more than the other, one plays with more effects on their sound, one is coming from Wes Montgomery and the other is coming from a different point; but they're both taking the information they were given and doing something different with it.”

The album has Evans also playing with bassist Luques Curtis, borrowing his baby girl’s cries for her special number “Zeni Bea,” returning vocalist M’Balia, drummer Mark Whitfield Jr., and saxophonist Caleb Wheeler Curtis.

#knowingishalfthebattle is Evans’ third album from Smoke Sessions Records, a more than suitable follow-up to last November’s The Evolution Of Oneself. It’s also his way of imparting his own life lessons in his music. “We're taught that with knowledge comes power. Which is true, but we never really realize that with knowledge comes responsibility,” Evans explained in that press release. “Then we have to figure out how to forget. When you let go of everything that you've been taught, the possibilities of what can happen on the bandstand are endless.”

Evans and his recording band let go of everything to jam their hearts out on instrumental and vocal compositions mostly cooked up by these original artists.

M’Balia’s loose, on-key vocals in David Bowie’s “Kooks” keeps the melodically inclined happy, while the totally instrumental “You Don’t Need A License To Drive,” taken from Evans’ playwright dad, gives the jazzheads what they most desire, lots of funked-up chordal nodules to vibe off.

Evans displays originality of thought that pushes traditional jazz to the outer limits, into a kind of free form that encompasses more than the stagnant, meditative New Age class and the classicist-abstaining, experimental world music followers, where anything goes as long as it’s pregnant with possibility.

The slow-moving but not at all monotonous “Heavy Hangs The Head That Wears The Crown” by Caleb Wheeler Curtis fulfills the promise of both extremes, giving Eubanks and Rosenwinkel plenty of art room to create on the spot. Evans gives the creativity room yet grounds the lofty art with a place to go, rest, and return; he and his rhythm section come and go, reminding the guitarists to come back down to earth eventually, which they do in wispy, whispery strands. ~Carol Banks Weber

#Knowingishalfthebattle                 

---

Buddy Collette Quintet - Buddy Collette Quintet With Guest Vocalist Irene Kral

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 28:37
Size: 65.5 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz, Vocal jazz
Year: 1962/1990
Art: Front

[1:52] 1. A Taste Of Fresh Air
[2:12] 2. Hunt And Peck
[2:00] 3. Emaline's Theme
[2:33] 4. The Meaning Of The Blues
[2:23] 5. Laura
[1:16] 6. Just Friends
[1:39] 7. There Will Never Be Another You
[3:01] 8. Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most
[2:07] 9. Tenderly
[1:22] 10. Nobody Else But Me
[1:48] 11. Road Trip
[2:53] 12. Detour Ahead
[1:36] 13. Soft Touch
[1:50] 14. It's A Wonderful World

The fourth of four CDs released by Studio West, a subsidiary of V.S.O.P. Records, that is taken from previously unissued transcriptions made for the radio show "The Navy Swings" features the Buddy Collette Quintet, which in 1962 was comprised of the leader on flute, clarinet, tenor and alto, guitarist Al Viola, pianist Jack Wilson, bassist Jimmy Bond and drummer Bill Goodwin. As good as Collette (who contributed four melodic originals) plays on these very concise performances (all clocking in around three minutes or less), it is the six often-touching vocals of Irene Kral that particularly make this a recommended disc. Kral's versions of "The Meaning of the Blues," "Nobody Else but Me" and especially "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most" are quite definitive and memorable. ~Allmusic

Buddy Collette Quintet With Guest Vocalist Irene Kral

---

Warren Greig Trio - S/T

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:10
Size: 112.6 MB
Styles: Guitar jazz
Year: 2004
Art: Front

[4:01] 1. Sonnymoon For Two
[5:58] 2. Manha De Carnaval
[4:38] 3. Minority
[5:38] 4. It Could Happen To You
[5:11] 5. Melissa
[6:11] 6. Two-Part Strut
[6:41] 7. Invitation
[4:35] 8. Cianciana
[6:13] 9. Jersey Bounce

From the first tune, “Sonnymoon for Two” to the last, “Jersey Bounce”, Greig’s warm and woody tone (played on a gorgeous vintage ES-175) swings with fervor and delight as he exhibits a strong melodic playing style that is exceedingly musical, developed, and right on the money. From burn (“Minority”, “Melissa”), to bluesy (“Sonnymoon for Two”, “Jersey Bounce”), to bossa (“Manha De Carnival”), Greig is a dynamic guitarist who sounds right at home with the tunes he has chosen for this date. His playing style is fluid and smooth as he navigates through the changes with a confidence and ease that speaks of musical maturity and skill which is what I enjoyed most about Greig’s playing. His lines are clearly developed with a logical direction that speaks volumes about dedication to one’s craft. This is player who has obviously listened to the best and has learned his lessons well. Plus he can write cool tunes (“Melissa”, “Two-Part Strutt” and “Cianciana”). It’s no wonder he was a popular sideman for so long.

And speaking of sidemen, where would the “Trio” be without the remaining members of Greig’s group: Paul Wiggins on organ and Harry Ellis on drums. Both players take their roles as musical supporters very seriously as they lay down the harmonic and rhythmic foundations for Greig’s melodic musings. And in true organ trio fashion, organ and guitar share the solo spotlight as each player lends his own particular personality to the changes with Wiggins’ displaying an amusing penchant for quoting other tunes in his solos (check out Greig’s original composition “Melissa” for a taste.) Through all this, Ellis keeps the time steady and the tunes energized, while getting to shine during a few “trading fours” sections, making this CD a definite enjoyable listen.

If you are a student or fan of jazz guitar and appreciate those who are trying to keep the jazz flame burning bright, then pick up a copy of Warren Greig’s “Warren Greig Trio”. It makes a wonderful addition to any music lover’s collection. ~Lyle Robinson

Warren Greig Trio

---

Bob Barnard - New York Notes

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:26
Size: 140.7 MB
Styles: Contemporary jazz
Year: 1996
Art: Front

[3:56] 1. Song Of India
[5:39] 2. Washboard Blues
[4:35] 3. Smackaroony
[4:54] 4. Nightfall
[3:50] 5. The Sunshine Of Love
[4:05] 6. Don't Know If I'm Coming Or Going
[3:35] 7. You
[4:29] 8. Rainbow Hill
[3:53] 9. No One Else But You
[3:12] 10. Who's It
[3:53] 11. Sleepy Head
[2:17] 12. My Home Is In A Southern Town
[2:53] 13. Borsalino
[2:57] 14. Bank Street Bounce
[3:38] 15. All That I Can Ask Of You Is Love
[3:33] 16. You Made Me Love You

Bob Barnard - cornet, Cal Collins - gtr, Keith Ingham - pno, Earl May-bss, Jackie Williams - drms.

A well-chosen program of jazz standards, Bob Barnard's Satchmo-tinged solos, and Cal Collins superior guitar-work make this a set worth having. ~Brownian Motion

New York Notes

---

Marcus Printup - Bird of Paradise: The Music of Charlie Parker

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:15
Size: 147,5 MB
Art: Front

(5:16)  1. Stupendous
(4:10)  2. Now's the Time
(5:51)  3. Lover Man Take 2
(4:08)  4. Bird of Paradise
(5:43)  5. Donna Lee
(7:04)  6. Parker's Mood
(6:45)  7. The Hymn
(6:02)  8. Quasimodo
(5:52)  9. Lover Man Take 1
(6:00) 10. Confirmation
(7:18) 11. Bird Feathers

A generation ago, tribute albums to Charlie Parker often featured extended passages of Bird’s solos transcribed for one or more horns, or bands mirroring the traditional Parker bebop small groups of alto sax, trumpet, piano, bass and drums. And musicians on them paid close homage to Parker by playing in a decidedly neo-bop style. You won’t find much, if any, of that here. Trumpeter Marcus Printup presents a repertoire of tunes written and/or performed by Parker, many of them familiar Bird lines. But Printup’s band (Kengo Nakamura, bass; Shinnosuke Takahashi, drums) eliminates piano; the only additional chording instrument is Riza Hequibal’s harp on five of the 11 tracks, but it comps on only three. Saxophonist Ted Nash is on nine tracks, but he’s mainly on tenor, playing alto on only two. And instead of the razzle-dazzle breathless excitement of charging through the changes of classic bop, Printup and Nash solo with more tonal and timbral variety, sacrificing sheer velocity for expressive sounds and fewer notes. It’s a creatively fertile way to revisit Bird’s music. 

That music is still memorable and welcome today, as Printup reminds us with the delightfully sly “Quasimodo,” Bird’s tongue-in-cheek title for his invention on the chords of “Embraceable You,” and that tricky, swirling blues line “Bird Feathers.” Printup gives a twist to two of Parker’s most familiar tunes, adding a harp and bass intro to “Now’s the Time” (source of “The Hucklebuck”) and heraldic harp intro and coda to “Parker’s Mood,” an iconic Bird line the trumpeter plays himself, also soloing personally, letting Nash’s tenor reference Bird’s famed solo. “Stupendous” (on “’S Wonderful” changes) opens the CD with a less-familiar line that Printup and Nash tear into, sharing and overlapping ideas in a sequence of fours and tandem exchanges. Their speedy workout on “Confirmation” is another highlight, featuring Nash’s most Bird-like alto outing. Printup’s two takes on “Lover Man,” one open, one muted, with just the rhythm section and comping harp, are emotionally resonant ballad interludes. ~ George Kanzler  http://jazztimes.com/articles/18263-bird-of-paradise-the-music-of-charlie-parker-marcus-printup

Personnel: Marcus Printup: trumpet, Ted Nash: alto sax, tenor sax; Kengo Nakamura: bass; Shinnosuke Takahashi: drums; Riza Herbqibal: harp.

Bird of Paradise: The Music of Charlie Parker

---

Sylvia Vrethammar - Rio De Janeiro Blue

Styles: Vocal, Brazilian Jazz
Year: 1985
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:56
Size: 92,9 MB
Art: Front

(3:12)  1. Começar De Novo
(3:55)  2. Rio De Janeiro Blue
(2:59)  3. Que Bonito É
(3:47)  4. Someone Home
(2:49)  5. Estalo De Maracatu
(4:24)  6. Nobody Does It Better
(3:51)  7. O Cheiro Da Carolina
(4:32)  8. Make The River Flow
(3:07)  9. Antes Que Seja Tarde
(3:52) 10. I Belong
(3:24) 11. Carioca

In the year of 1983 during the production of a TV-concert at the legendary "Berns" in Stockholm Sylvia works for the first time with Georgie Fame ("Bonnie & Clyde") and during the summer of this year also records the album "In Goodmansland" together with him. In the meantime here later-to-become-evergreen "Ricardo" gets its first release in Germany. Sylvia is also much sought after as an MC and hosts the German TV show "Kiel International" in 1986. 1989 her German album "Frau im besten Mannesalter" gets released and unfortunately becomes the last production with her by the highly successful producer Heinz Gietz ("Pigalle", "Musik liegt in der Luft") who dies later the same year. Meanwhile back in Sweden, Sylvia is voted as one of the countries ten most beautiful women. In 1990 Sylvia makes Germany her second residential adress. The German CD "Ladylike" is released and a few years later the critically highly acclaimed CD "Something my heart might say". On this album she is only accompanied by her longtime guitar player Rune Gustafsson and she presents a couple of songs from her broad repertoire in this intimate, classic atmosphere of only voice and guitar.

In the mid-nineties Sylvia begins a working relationship with young Swedish jazz piano player Jan Lundgren and his trio. An unforgettable instance working with this trio turns out to be a show at the world-famous "Tropigala-Club" of the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami, USA. A Danish journalist,Krister Branding, once  wrote: " Sylvia Vrethammar walked on stage with a charisma and routine that only a big star can offer you! Sylvia Vrethammar is plainly a world class artist- And that´s the way it is!" In 2002 she returns to perform again at the "Eurovision Song Contest" for the first time in 28 years. Both new albums "Samstag Nacht" in Germany and "Faller för dej" in Sweden, although with totally different tracks, are being produced at almost the same time and Sylvia's German as well as Swedish lyrics are being teamed up with a phenomenal bandwidth of different musical styles. The co-operation with Jan Lundgren and his musicians is developing in the meantime so intensively and successfully that Sylvia decides to make a CD with the boys where she also for the first time will show her talents as a record producer. The recording sessions take place in the summer of 2005 in the living room of Sylvia's country house in Germany and the result is being released on CD in the spring of 2006 under the title of "Champagne".

"40 Years on Stage" is the name of Sylvia‘s big anniversary concert at the Cirkus in Stockholm in 2009. Together with a cast of long time friends and contributors such as Georgie Fame, Hector Bingert and Jan Lundgren among others, Sylvia performs a 2 and a half hour concert, backed by the phenomenal Roger Berg Big Band. The show is recorded in High Definition picture and 5.1 sound for later use on television and DVD. 2010 brings a totally new experience for Sylvia by recording a duet together with young Swedish pop-star Kristian Anttila. Their song "Magdalena (Livet före döden)" gets immediately a huge radio response which makes them decide to shoot a video, directed by Daniel Jigenstedt. In the summer of 2012 Sylvia participates in Sweden‘s most popular TV-series „Så mycket bättre“. After the broadcast of the 9 episodes in Winter 2012 the program gets 2 ,Kristall‘-prices for being Sweden‘s best entertainment program. The adjoining CD to the show sells double-platinum. 2013 sees Sylvia participate for the 5th time in the Eurovision Song Contest. This time with a song written by Thomas G:son and called ,Trivialitet‘. The rest of the year she is busy recording her new album „Musik“ complete with Big-Band and Strings and 12 songs written by her late father-in-law Heinz Gietz with lyrics by Sylvia herself. The album is released on January 2nd, 2014 and has an adjoining TV-documentary about the Making-Of the album, which was aired by Swedish channel TV4 on December 29th, 2013. http://www.sylvia-vrethammar.de/Official_Sylvia_Vrethammar_Homepage/Biography.html

Rio De Janeiro Blue

---

Don Friedman - My romance

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1996
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:20
Size: 145,5 MB
Art: Front

(7:29)  1. How deep is the ocean
(5:40)  2. These foolish things
(7:13)  3. My foolish heart
(6:33)  4. I can't get started
(6:33)  5. In your own sweet way
(4:55)  6. My romance
(6:29)  7. My funny Valentine
(6:26)  8. Angel eyes
(6:03)  9. Sophisticated Lady
(5:56) 10. Darn that dream

An excellent if underrated pianist, Don Friedman started off playing on the West Coast in 1956 with Dexter Gordon, Shorty Rogers, Buddy Collette, Buddy DeFranco (1956-1957), Chet Baker, and even the then-unknown altoist Ornette Coleman. After moving to New York in 1958, Friedman played in many settings, including with his own trio, Pepper Adams, Booker Little (recording with him in 1961), the Jimmy Giuffre Three (1964), a quartet with Attila Zoller, Chuck Wayne's trio (1966-1967), and, by the end of the decade, Clark Terry's big band. He continued working in New York as both a jazz educator and a pianist with wide musical interests, and was featured on Concord's Maybeck Recital Hall series (1993). 

Friedman also recorded for Riverside, Prestige, Progressive, Owl, Empathy, and several Japanese labels, and continued doing sessions in New York throughout the '90s and 2000s. Friedman died on June 30, 2016. He was 81 years old. ~ Scott Yanow https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/don-friedman/id2754221#fullText

My romance

---

Sunna Gunnlaugs - Distilled

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:30
Size: 128,1 MB
Art: Front

(6:09)  1. Momento
(5:54)  2. Distilled
(3:13)  3. Switcheroo
(3:40)  4. Smiling Face
(6:36)  5. Gallop
(1:15)  6. Spin 6
(4:30)  7. The New Now
(7:14)  8. 24H Trip
(6:27)  9. Things You Should Know
(3:19) 10. From Time to Time
(5:22) 11. Opposite Side
(1:45) 12. Spin 7

It is tempting to connect a musical aesthetic with a particular place. In fact, the whole idea of national music relies on the concept of an intrinsic national spirit, which creates an original musical expression. The only problem with a concept like national music is that it tends to pigeonhole musicians and create prejudice rather than adventurousness.  Then it is great to have an artist like Icelandic pianist Sunna Gunnlaugs, who is good at turning things around. It wouldn't be far off the mark to see her as a kind of musical trickster, who refuses to be placed within a certain sound or tradition. She is aware of her Icelandic roots and has used the country's musical legacy on Songs from Iceland (Sunny Sky, 2009), but the tranquil folk melodies of Iceland is balanced by an elegant modernistic exploration of time signatures and an infectious swing. This musical blend of old and new also comes to the fore on Distilled, which finds Gunnlaugs in the congenial company of drummer Scott McLemore and bassist Thorgrimur Jonsson.  

Whether they swing elegantly on "Momento," dive deep into balladic nostalgia on the title track or explore delicate textures on the brief haiku-like "spin 7," there's a sense of an organic meeting between tradition and modernism or what might be called an accessible experimentalism. Like the rest of the trio, Gunnlaugs seems to have the whole history of jazz at her fingertips and Distilled is the sweeping sound of a rich musical life that has been distilled into art, and like the best musical offerings, the album transgresses conventional boundaries, including those of geography. ~ Jakob Baekgaard https://www.allaboutjazz.com/distilled-sunna-gunnlaugs-sunny-sky-review-by-jakob-baekgaard.php
 

Personnel: Sunna Gunnlaugs: piano; Þorgrímur Jónsson: bass; Scott Mclemore: drums.

Distilled

---