Scott Hamilton/Rossano Sportiello - Midnight At Nola's Penthouse

Styles: Saxophone And Piano Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:24
Size: 156,0 MB
Art: Front

(8:49)  1. Wonder Why
(6:06)  2. A Garden in the Rain
(7:08)  3. This Can't Be Love
(5:40)  4. A Time for Love
(7:16)  5. Come Back to Sorrento
(5:29)  6. All My Tomorrows
(7:24)  7. Big Butter and Egg Man
(6:10)  8. It's All in Your Mind
(6:46)  9. All God's Chillun' Got Rhythm
(6:31) 10. In the Middle of a Kiss

Scott Hamilton emerged in the mid-'70s as a player who had a gift for creating a lush, swinging sound, regardless of the tempo or style. His partner on this 2010 studio session, Italian pianist Rossano Sportiello, is two decades younger, but the perfect partner. Their program includes a mix of standards and lesser-known songs, all played with a minimum of fuss and a maximum of beauty. 

"A Garden in the Rain" isn't the first ballad one would expect a jazz duo to choose, but the lush interpretation here could launch others into investigating its potential. Hamilton's boisterous playing is boosted by Sportiello's driving accompaniment, with the influence of the late Dave McKenna apparent. "Big Butter and Egg Man" is rarely played outside of traditional jazz/New Orleans jazz, but their brisk, lyrical interpretation should open some ears. They also sizzle with their driving rendition of "All God's Chillun' Got Rhythm," with plenty of fireworks as they trade the lead. This rewarding date deserves a follow-up meeting. ~ Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/midnight-at-nolas-penthouse-mw0002078955

Personnel:  Scott Hamilton - Saxophone;   Rossano Sportiello - Piano.

Midnight At Nola's Penthouse

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Ethel Smith - Ethel Smith Swings Sweetley

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 30:53
Size: 72,2 MB
Art: Front

(2:16)  1. A String of Pearls
(2:48)  2. Tenderly
(3:00)  3. Moonglow
(4:59)  4. Theme and Variations
(2:36)  5. Lullaby of Birdland
(2:37)  6. Misty
(2:53)  7. Sophisticated Lady
(2:15)  8. Shuffle Rock
(2:22)  9. My One and Only Love
(2:43) 10. Stompin' at the Savoy
(2:19) 11. The Gospel

The widely acknowledged "First Lady of the Hammond Organ," Ethel Smith remains best remembered for her recording of the Argentine traditional "Tico-Tico," which sold close to two million copies during the mid-'40s. Born Ethel Goldsmith in Pittsburgh on November 22, 1910, she studied music and linguistics at Carnegie Tech, and upon graduation accepted a job playing piano with a local theater; when a Schubert show passing through the Iron City invited Smith to join their troupe, she soon embarked on a 28-week U.S. tour, eventually landing in California. There she was first asked to play the Hammond electric organ on a Hollywood studio lot -- virtually overnight she seemed to master the instrument, and in 1940 she was tapped for a headlining gig at New York's St. Regis Hotel. While at the St. Regis, Smith received a call from Hammond Studios: the owners of Rio de Janeiro's famed Copacabana Club were looking for a female organist to headline a 26-week engagement. In all she remained in Brazil for about a year, immersing herself in the local musical culture and traditions.

While strolling through one of Rio's seedier districts, Smith stumbled on a local dancehall combo performing a song she'd never heard before; intrigued, the musicians explained the song was a traditional Argentine favorite, although its name and composer were unknown. Dubbing the tune "Tico-Tico," she incorporated it into her act, and it quickly became a crowd favorite. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor hastened Smith's return to the U.S. and the St. Regis, where one evening she was approached by George Washington Hill, the head of the American Tobacco Company. Hill had caught Smith's show at the Copacabana and now invited her to join the radio blockbuster Your Hit Parade -- she accepted, becoming one of the show's highest-paid performers. In 1944, she recorded "Tico-Tico," which would go on to rank among the best-selling hits of the decade; that same year, Smith also made her film debut, appearing opposite Esther Williams in Bathing Beauty. Subsequent film appearances include 1945's George White's Scandals and 1946's Cuban Pete, which starred Desi Arnaz.

With her bright, colorful dresses, omnipresent hats, and trademark high-heels, Smith cut a glamorous figure indeed, and in 1945 she made headlines by marrying actor Ralph Bellamy, then appearing on Broadway in State of the Union. The couple split two years later, and Smith rededicated herself to her performing career, becoming almost as proficient on guitar as she was on the Hammond. Although she never repeated the massive success of "Tico-Tico," she toured extensively during the 1950s and 1960s, and also continued her acting career, appearing in a series of non-musical roles in small off-Broadway plays. In 1969, Smith also enjoyed a brief run in a musical version of Tom Jones. But with the arrival of a new decade she retired from touring and settled in Palm Beach, FL, where she continued performing at local benefits and social engagements well into her eighties. Smith died at the age of 85 on May 10, 1996. ~ Jason Ankeny https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/ethel-swings-sweetly/499557448

Ethel Smith Swings Sweetley

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Christine Fawson - Here Now

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:54
Size: 95,0 MB
Art: Front

(1:13)  1. Who Am I Anyway
(4:47)  2. Here Now
(4:49)  3. Sleep
(6:20)  4. Aqui
(5:25)  5. Feel Like Makin' Love
(4:35)  6. She's out of My Life
(5:03)  7. Imagination
(4:48)  8. Pikong Kong
(3:51)  9. The Nearness of You

As a vocalist and trumpet player, Christine Fawson has always loved performing classic jazz standards from the American Songbook. On her 2016 album, Here Now she shows a new side of trumpet playing. This album is a combination of standards throughout the years as well as a few original tunes. https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/christinefawson2

Here Now

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The Ray Conniff Singers - It's The Talk Of The Town

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1959
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 28:24
Size: 66,5 MB
Art: Front

(2:43)  1. It's The Talk Of The Town
(2:28)  2. You're An Old Smoothie
(2:18)  3. Buttons And Bows
(2:14)  4. Let's Put Out The lights
(2:15)  5. It's Been A Long, Long Time
(2:08)  6. Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
(2:17)  7. Deep In The Heart Of Texas
(2:42)  8. Love Is The Sweetest Thing
(2:30)  9. They say It's Wonderfull
(2:17) 10. Hands Across The Table
(2:31) 11. My heart Cries For You
(1:55) 12. Rosalie

Ray Conniff brought his chorus into the foreground for the first time on It's the Talk of the Town, and credited the album to the Ray Conniff Singers. Conniff's chorus is bright and cheery, unlike the immense-sounding Norman Luboff Choir or the comparatively stodgy Robert Shaw Chorale. But despite the high level of energy and enthusiasm, the choral format gives the album a throwback feel that is only amplified by material like "Zip-a-dee-doo-dah" and the Gene Autry favorite "Buttons and Bows," although the latter is, admittedly, very good. The increased focus on the chorus comes at the expense of the instrumental arrangements, which are relegated to a supporting role well behind the voices. It's the Talk of the Town, more than any of Conniff's other vocal albums, treads a little too close to Mitch Miller territory for comfort. ~ Greg Adams https://www.allmusic.com/album/its-the-talk-of-the-town-mw0000654359

It's The Talk Of The Town

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Barb Jungr, John McDaniel - Float Like a Butterfly: The Songs of Sting

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:11
Size: 157,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:12)  1. Wrapped Around Your Finger
(3:45)  2. Englishman in New York
(3:54)  3. Fields of Gold
(5:31)  4. King of Pain
(5:19)  5. Moon Over Bourbon Street
(4:12)  6. Shape of My Heart
(4:37)  7. Roxanne
(4:32)  8. It's Probably Me
(3:44)  9. Until (A Matter of Moments)
(2:31) 10. August Winds
(4:04) 11. Don't Stand So Close to Me
(4:06) 12. Fortress Around My Heart
(3:32) 13. Desert Rose
(2:12) 14. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
(5:07) 15. Fragile
(2:31) 16. Message in a Bottle
(4:15) 17. Every Breath You Take

In her introduction Barb Jungr has pointed out the hurdles of interpreting a singer-songwriter of near legendary status such as Sting who comes with all the trappings of such fame. It has, she suggested, made some folk recoil at the mention of his name even before getting to the essence of what the man is all about. Interpreting and adapting Sting’s songs for herself and her pianist John McDaniel throws up a number of challenges not least how to re-configure songs where the backings by the groups in the original recordings are regarded as an essential part of the package. The 18 songs in this programme cross the decades, the most recent being ‘August Winds’ from the short-lived Broadway musical The Last Ship in 2014 (opening in Newcastle on 12 March 2018, followed by a major UK and Ireland tour.). The hits are here but a number of the lesser-known songs suggest that Jungr has paid careful attention to all the texts, stripping each one down to the bare essentials and singing them with an insight and a rawness and emotional energy that she can truly call her own. Jungr can do fun too, her harmonica interpolations being a joy in their own right. ‘Russians’, a polemic against US/Russian foreign policy of the mid 1980s, is launched on the piano with Prokofiev’s ‘Entry of the Montagues and Capulets’, is a rousing anthem in her hands, as is ‘Fortress Around My Heart’. She lends ‘Every Little Thing He Does Is Magic’ a catchy bounce in contrast to the gentle sway of the tune and accompaniment in her interpretation of ‘An Englishman in New York’, so apt for the figure of Quentin Crisp. I loved her evocation of ‘Fields of Gold’, inspired it seems by a pastoral scene viewed from a window in Sting’s Wiltshire house, and in similar vein, ‘Fragile’, a song addressing green issues, prefaced by her poetic description of walking on her beloved Isle of Skye. Her linking narrative is pithy and sometimes unexpected as in her tale of Hogarthian shenanigans in a gentleman’s club in St James’ where she applied for her first job in London in 1975.She also gives us a little insight into the problems lyrics, as in ‘Desert Rose’, can present to a singer instancing a trait in Sting’s lexicon whereby he’ll alter just one word in a line making it “hideous to learn”. The pianist McDaniel is the accompanist and arranger of the songs, a consummate professional, who is at ease whether singing solo, joining in harmony on the refrains, or adding a few words of his own to the links between the songs. One senses a rare rapport between the two of them and a fervent wish from the audience that they will return before too long. http://musicaltheatrereview.com/barb-jungr-john-mcdaniel-float-like-a-butterfly-the-sting-collection-the-pheasantry/

Personnel: Vocals, Harmonica – Barb Jungr; Vocals, Piano – John McDaniel

Float Like a Butterfly:The Songs of Sting

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