Charlie Byrd - Christmas Carols for Solo Guitar

Styles: Guitar, Christmas
Year: 1997
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 26:57
Size: 62,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:20)  1. O Holy Night
(2:08)  2. The Bells of Bethlehem
(2:51)  3. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
(1:51)  4. Silent Night, Holy Night
(1:34)  5. Do You Hear What I Hear?
(1:43)  6. Oh Little Town of Bethlehem
(1:18)  7. Joy to the World
(1:41)  8. What Child Is This (Greensleeves)
(1:39)  9. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
(2:03) 10. Coventry Carol
(1:08) 11. Good King Wenceslas
(2:13) 12. The First Noel
(1:40) 13. It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
(1:41) 14. We Three Kings

Christmas Carols for Solo Guitar is a lovely, understated collection that's not only ideal as low-key holiday music, but it's also a good showcase for Byrd's interpretive talents. He doesn't necessarily reinvent these songs, but his tasteful, elegant readings of "O Holy Night," "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," "Joy to the World," "What Child Is This? (Greensleeves)," "The First Noel" and "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" are certainly individual. Holiday music is rarely this graceful; for fans of pretty instrumentals and accomplished guitar playing, this is a perfect Christmas record. ~ Robert Lovering https://www.allmusic.com/album/christmas-carols-for-solo-guitar-mw0000030230

Personnel: Guitar [Solo] – Charlie Byrd

Christmas Carols for Solo Guitar

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Maria Pia De Vito - Core (Coração)

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:14
Size: 134,0 MB
Art: Front

(6:49)  1. 'A costruzione
(3:40)  2. Facimmo ampresso
(5:39)  3. 'O piccerillo
(4:28)  4. M'abbasta 'nu juorno
(4:29)  5. Teresella
(3:48)  6. Todo Sentimento
(4:07)  7. Dio ce penzarrà
(5:50)  8. Notturna
(3:12)  9. Je t'amo
(4:44) 10. 'O ritorno d''o Jammone
(4:34) 11. Ll'acqua e 'o vino
(3:28) 12. E dimme - Você você
(3:18) 13. Curre Maria

Core [Coração], the new album from Maria Pia De Vito, was recorded between Rome and Paris. It is a record that is very much felt, and it is intensely transcultural; the title clearly indicates a work of the heart, whose candle was lit by Maria Pia's encounter with the Brazilian composer and guitarist Guinda, and the following poetic meeting with Chico Buarque, who is featured on two pieces of the record, "Todo Sentiment" and "O Meu Guri" (the second a duet in Neapolitan). A translation paper, from Portuguese to Neapolitan, was created side-by-side with the authors, in particular with Chico, in order to preserve and keep intact the beauty, poetry, and musicality of the original texts made in the Neapolitan language. In this metamorphic vision, just like a deep dive into the Brazilian songwriting world, Neapolitan dances meet the Brazilian ones, the visionary samba of Tom Zè meets a Tammurriata and together frame the Chico Buarque masterpiece "Construção"; "Agua E Vinho" by Egberto Gismonti blends to "Voce Voce", a wonderful example of the great Neapolitan melodic tradition. Along with Maria Pia, there are great musicians and long-time companions, instrument virtuosos with a deep sense of interplay; bearers of intimacy and feeling which only the common and long-staging of stages allows: Welsh pianist Huw Warren, who has recorded two albums, Dialektos (2008) and 'O Pata Pata (2011), with Maria Pia. The virtuoso clarinetist Gabriele Mirabassi, with his classical and jazz style, has been linked for many years to Brazilian music and culture; The Brazilian guitarist Roberto Taufic, author of many arrangements and a musician of extraordinary sensibility; Roberto Rossi, a peculiarly creative and unconventional percussionist. https://www.forcedexposure.com/Catalog/de-vito-maria-pia-core-coracao-cd/VVJ.115CD.html

Core (Coração)

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Kit McClure Band - Just The Thing

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:37
Size: 119,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:57)  1. Diggin Dirt
(4:25)  2. One O'clock Jump
(4:28)  3. Just the Thing
(5:01)  4. I Never Get Tired
(3:51)  5. Honeysuckle Rose
(4:10)  6. Vi Vigor
(4:16)  7. Jump Children
(5:03)  8. She's Crazy With the Heat
(4:32)  9. Don't Get It Twisted
(5:34) 10. Slightly Frantic
(5:15) 11. Nyc Rap

Just the Thing is Part Two of the Kit McClure Band's warmhearted salute to the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, a groundbreaking all-woman ensemble that came out of a school for poor black children in Piney Woods, Mississippi, to become one of the most widely successful and admired big bands of the World War II era. Whereas Part One was devoted for the most part to faithful transcriptions of original charts played by the Sweethearts, this second component consists of updated arrangements of those same charts, flavored with hip-hop, funk and salsa, presumably denoting the way the Sweethearts would be playing them today. As the Sweethearts are no longer with us, no one can reasonably argue the point. The first ten selections on Part 2 are the same as on Part 1 (although not in the same order), with Juan Tizol's "Perdido, the last track on the earlier album, replaced on this one by the clunky "NYC Rap, which, as one would expect, suffers by comparison (in other words, they don't write 'em like they used to). McClure had a hand in arranging and reupholstering every number, helped at times by pianist Cathy Harley, bassists Kim Clarke and Nicki Parrott, drummers Barbara Merjan, Bernice Brooks, Lakecia Benjamin and L. Olivia Sci, trombonist Britta Langsjoen and composer/arranger Maurice King who had written five of the tunes for the Sweethearts themselves. It's a sincere and interesting endeavor but as a rule lacks the vitality and enthusiasm of Part 1, which was a tad more straight-ahead and swinging. Several numbers "Vi Vigor, "Just the Thing, Don't Get It Twisted, "She's Crazy with the Heat, Basie's "One O'Clock Jump, a more laid-back version of Fats Waller's "Honeysuckle Rose  are neat and handsome in their new clothing, while others don't fare quite as well. In that respect it's a split decision, one that rests in part on one's penchant for classic swing vs. cool and modern. 

Two selections "Jump Children and "I Never Get Tired were enhanced on the earlier session by one of the original Sweethearts, guitarist/vocalist Carline Ray, who's absent this time. Part Two's most explicit advantage lies in the playing time, 51:36 as opposed to the first album's meager 34:27. That gives the soloists more room to stretch, and McClure, Harley and the others make the most of it. Trumpeter Tanya Darby contributes a number of animated solos, as do drummer Benjamin (especially on "Vi Vigor ) and saxophonists Tia Fuller and Erica Von Kliest. While I'd give a narrow edge to Part One of The Sweethearts Project for overall charm and pleasure, Part Two has much to offer in its own right and is easily recommended. ~ Jack Bowers https://www.allaboutjazz.com/just-the-thing-kit-mcclure-band-redhot-records-review-by-jack-bowers.php

Personnel: Kit McClure: alto, tenor sax, leader; Liesl Whitaker, Barbara Laronga, Laurie Frink, Tanya Darby: trumpet; Lakecia Benjamin, Lisa Parrott, Tia Fuller, Erica Von Kliest: alto sax; Kristy Norter: tenor sax; Claire Daly: baritone sax; Britta Langsjoen, Jennifer Krupa: trombone; Cathy Harley, Jill McCarron: piano; Nicki Parrott, Kim Clarke: bass; Barbara Merjan, L. Olivia Sci, Bernice Brooks: drums; Sue Hadjopoulos, Karen Jones: percussion.

Just The Thing

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Burak Bedikyan - Awakening

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:24
Size: 159,7 MB
Art: Front

(7:09)  1. Idée Fixe
(8:56)  2. Mother Earth
(7:50)  3. All Alone
(6:09)  4. Unfair Blues
(8:33)  5. Awakening
(8:47)  6. Memory of a Fading Dream
(5:50)  7. Ad Infinitum
(9:56)  8. Do Not Fear
(6:11)  9. The All Seeing Eye

On his third release as a leader, Istanbul based pianist, Burak Bedikyan seamlessly blends his dual education in western classical and jazz and his national/ethnic heritage into an intriguing and cohesive album. Awakening comprises of nine Bedikyan originals that are elegantly crafted balancing intricate harmonies with deceptively effortless fluidity. The gently rolling refrains on the lilting ballad "Mother Earth," for instance, have a warm, Near Eastern lyricism. Saxophonist Loren Stillman embellishes the melancholic theme with yearning spontaneous phrases filled with passion. Bedikyan fashions his expressive solo with series of resonant notes that ring with wistful poetry. Stillman and Bedikyan trade contemplative and dynamic lines on the dramatic "Do Not Fear." Over Bedikyan's shimmering keys, Bassist Ugonna Okegwo plays a lithe and darkly hued soliloquy with a mystical edge. Stillman's exquisitely tender and emotive improvisation ushers in the piece's conclusion. At times the disc also crackles with visceral energy and breathtaking instrumental acrobatics. On the hard bop-ish "Idée Fixe," Bedikyan lets loose a cascade of dense chords with delightful agility. His arpeggio filled performance ebbs and flows with crystalline lucidity and a vibrant, organic sound. Stillman's vibrato filled muscular alto meanders with nimble dexterity around the band's percolating vamps. Drummer Donald Edwards's thunderous beats and exuberant polyrhythms bring the music back to the gripping head. Stillman opens the expansive "Unfair Blues" with fiery lines and a soulful swagger. Bedikyan weaves an eloquent and earthy melody together with Edwards' thumping kit and Okegwo's reverberating strings. The four men exhibit captivating camaraderie in a stimulating conversation that is one of the tune's highlights.  With Awakening Bedikyan, as a composer and a musician, has achieved his personal best to date. The motifs he utilized in previous recordings, his intelligent inventiveness and charming virtuosity have all coalesced into a superb and mature work. If he stays the course Bedikyan is certainly assured a bright future and a promising career. ~ HRAYR ATTARIAN https://www.allaboutjazz.com/awakening-burak-bedikyan-steeplechase-lookout-review-by-hrayr-attarian.php

Personnel: Burak Bedikyan: piano; Donald Edwards: drums; Loren Stillman; alto and soprano saxophones; Ugonna Okegwo: bass.

Awakening

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Eugenia Choe - Verdant Dream

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:13
Size: 129,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:34)  1. Verdant Dream
(5:52)  2. Sunday Fatigue
(6:01)  3. Odd Birds
(6:51)  4. Ever Green
(5:32)  5. Midnight Mingle
(4:50)  6. Blue in Green
(4:28)  7. What
(4:32)  8. Milomonalo
(6:31)  9. Knock Knock
(4:58) 10. Wind Catcher

Korean-born New York-based pianist/composer Eugenia Choe received superlative reviews for her 2016 debut album 'Magic Light' (SCCD 33127) from the international press. Eugenia's second album is an impressive display of her original and intriguing compositions presented superbly by her working trio. https://www.propermusic.com/product-details/Eugenia-Choe-Verdant-Dream-261512
 

"Eugenia Choe rode her personally distinctive currents into this amalgamated music and made a magnificent record." ~ James Nadal, All About Jazz
 

"Everything's here: the pianist's exquisite touch, her compositional acumen infused with an alluring and idiosyncratic intelligence, her soul, sympatico trio mates, adept sequencing, and a cool cover photo and design. This could be the debut of the year." ~ Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz

Personnel: Eugenia Choe (piano), Danny Weller (bass), Alex Wyatt (drums)

Verdant Dream

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