Mélanie Dahan - Latine

Styles: Vocal, Chanson
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:52
Size: 135,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:32)  1. Utile
(3:59)  2. Berimbau
(5:48)  3. Retrato em branco e preto
(3:25)  4. Vingt ans
(4:45)  5. Que feras-tu de ta vie ?
(4:30)  6. Luiza
(5:00)  7. Le prochain amour
(4:53)  8. El cosechero
(4:31)  9. Flor de lis
(5:41) 10. J'ai eu trente ans
(5:38) 11. Catavento e girassol
(6:04) 12. Que reste-t-il de nos amours ?

Following the success of her first album ("La Princesse et les Croque-notes") and numerous concerts, Mélanie Dahan returns to us in a formula favorable to the expression of her great qualities as an interpreter. She continues to create bridges between French chanson and jazz and we also embark this time in a program more mixed, with Latin sounds. This second opus balances with grace and elegance between France, Brazil, Argentina and reflects nicely the diversity of its influences. Two, three repertoires, therefore, with common roots, which she declines in several forms and colors, in ease from one register to another, and in a style that belongs only to her. It succeeds the tour de force to offer an extraordinarily coherent, dark and luminous universe in the same inflection. Everything Mélanie sings is borrowed from a gentle sensitivity to the service of a refined phrasing, a gourmet mastery of words, a natural know-how. Loving the nuance and the beautiful and just phrase, she has the ability to move and touch the heart without resorting to artifice. The arrangements accord soloists large spaces in which they can move freely. For the occasion, she surrounded herself with the accomplices of her first album: the lyrical flights of harmonic sculptor Giovanni Mirabassi, Marc-Michel Le Bévillon's balloon, round and melodic double bass, and a perfectly Cuban drummer: Lukmil Perez. She made a wish: to record half of the disc with a string quartet, the Storycordes (arrangements: Marc-Michel Le Bévillon), where she only has to distill her delicate voice which finds in this context a new setting. https://www.amazon.fr/Latine-Giovanni-Mirabassi/dp/B004Z1Z9D8

Personnel:  Melanie Dahan : voix;  Giovanni Mirabassi: piano;  Marc-Michel Le Bévillon : Ctb;  Lukmil Perez: Batterie;  Eve-Marie Bodet : violon;  Johan Renard: violon;  Frédéric Eymard: alto;  Clément Petit: violoncelle;  Marc Berthoumieux: accordéon

Latine

---

Ragan Whiteside - Class Axe

Styles: Vocal And Flute Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:47
Size: 112,4 MB
Art: Front

(0:11)  1. Introduction
(4:12)  2. Funktuation
(4:45)  3. Gonna Fly
(4:02)  4. So Glad
(0:54)  5. Always There For Me (Interlude)
(4:34)  6. In Love
(4:33)  7. How Do You Know
(4:10)  8. Options
(1:23)  9. I've Been Thinking (Interlude)
(5:44) 10. 3 A.M.
(4:13) 11. Break Me Down
(4:56) 12. Call Me
(4:17) 13. Meu Amigo Meu Amante
(0:49) 14. Funktuation-Reprise

"...let elegance, also dexterity be recognized; the integrity of this fascinating musical composition should be heard on all smooth jazz and classic soul airwaves world wide; Ragan Whiteside is elegance and one to watch out for in the music industry… let the 'flutress' be heard."~Gary Tann, ''Harlem after Midnite'', Whcr 90.3 Fm, Ny

"She not only has The silkiest and sweetest flute tone in the business, but her tenacity and desire to be recognized in Urban, New-Soul AND smooth jazz genres makes her a musical force to be reckoned with!! Mark my words!"

- Bob Baldwin – Grammy-Nominated Arranger

From her clever introduction (a quick sojourn into a Felix Mendelssohn opus, interrupted by her chuckle and the word “Psyche”) to the first bars of “Funktuation” (Need I define that for you?), you know Class Axe is going to be something special. And it is. Mt. Vernon, Ny’s Ragan Whiteside is someone special. You can just tell. She’s totally connected to the hip, sexy side of the jazz flute (she switched from Classical some time back) for this awesome collection of Smooth Jazz, Urban, Neo-Soul songs that will totally convince you this woman has a huge future ahead of her. It’s hard to believe this is her debut album. The performances… and I’m talking her playing, her singing, her writing… are mature and confident. She’s got the masterful Bob Baldwin and Dennis Johnson producing this disc, which certainly adds a magnitude of strength to the project, but they’ll be the first to tell you that Ragan rises to the occasion beautifully with both her playing and her singing. This is an album that, as Bob Baldwin puts it, clearly shows that “her breakthrough on this instrument can be historical for the genre. She’s smooth, sexy, and radio-friendly.” You’ve really got to hear this one. From the aforementioned “Funktuation” to the delicious Bob Baldwin-penned Latin Samba “Meu Amigo, Meu Amante,” this is an album that gets my highest recommendation. I promise you, this is only the beginning of the Ragan Whiteside story! She is totally a class act with her Class Axe!  ~Scott O'Brien,   SmoothJazz.com  https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/ragan2

Class Axe

---

Chris Potter - The Dreamer Is The Dream

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:06
Size: 117,1 MB
Art: Front

( 8:19)  1. Heart In Hand
( 9:52)  2. Ilimba
( 8:18)  3. The Dreamer Is The Dream
( 7:53)  4. Memory And Desire
(10:07)  5. Yasodhara
( 5:34)  6. Sonic Anomaly

Multi-reedist and composer Chris Potter has been an in-demand artist since his late teen years when he began playing the New York clubs. With a diverse catalog that runs from Steely Dan to regular collaborations with Dave Holland, Potter has picked up a number of Grammy nominations and wins. His versatile abilities have made him equally at home touring with the lyrical Jim Hall or recording in the angular style of Steve Swallow's Damaged in Transit . The Dreamer Is the Dream is Potter's third leader release on the ECM label. Potter pares back from the large ensemble that accompanied him on his previous ECM outing Imaginary Cities (2015). This quartet includes ECM artist David Virelles, whose Mbókò (2016) and Antenna (2016), were widely acclaimed. The young Cuban pianist is becoming a staple player for the label, appearing as part of the Tomasz Stanko New York Quartet December Avenue (2017). Bassist Joe Martin has led on two recordings, Passage (Fresh Sound New Talent, 2001) with Mark Turner, Kevin Hays and Jorge Rossy (drums) and Not by Chance (Anzic, 2009), a quartet that included Potter, Brad Mehldau and drummer Marcus Gilmore. Gilmore himself fills out the quartet lending a solid synergistic make-up to the group. The grandson and early student of Roy Haynes, began playing with Steve Coleman at the age of fifteen and later with Vijay Iyer.

Potter's smoky, dark tenor opens the album on "Heart In Hand" to the lyrical accompaniment of Virelles, the piece eventually building to a more fevered pitch. "Ilimba" begins as a fairly mainstream composition that quickly morphs and infuses a fast-paced Latin theme, then opens up to a broader improvisation. Potter breaks out the bass clarinet on the title track where Martin has the opportunity for a vibrant bass solo. The leader switches back to the tenor for an extended duet with Gilmore as the atmospheric tune concludes. The sounds of nature and chimes open "Memory And Desire" as Potter's soprano sax flutters in with a perfect sensory blending and the piece takes on a pastoral atmosphere. More exotic is "Yasodhara" which opens to a fiery improvisation from Potter, toned down for the relatively tranquil closer, "Sonic Anomaly."  

The Dreamer Is the Dream is a testament to Potter's composing as much as to his multi-reed instrumentality. He penned each of the compositions here and they all speak to a deeper sense of mortality, portrayed through lyricism and emotive performances. Potter's responsiveness as a leader shines through in the beautifully orchestrated work of this quartet. One of Potter's best to date. ~ Karl Ackermann https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-dreamer-is-the-dream-chris-potter-ecm-records-review-by-karl-ackermann.php
 

Personnel: Chris Potter: tenor and soprano saxophones, bass clarinet; David Virelles: piano, keyboards; Joe Martin: double bass; Marcus Gilmore: drums, percussion.

The Dreamer Is The Dream

---