Chris Botti - December

Styles: Trumpet, Christmas
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:14
Size: 105,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:32)  1. The Christmas Song
(2:50)  2. First Noel
(4:03)  3. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
(3:04)  4. Hallelujah
(2:43)  5. Perfect Day
(4:09)  6. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
(3:10)  7. O Little Town of Bethlehem
(3:08)  8. Winter Wonderland
(3:05)  9. Little Drummer Boy
(2:01) 10. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
(3:16) 11. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
(4:59) 12. Silent Night
(4:07) 13. I'll Be Home for Christmas

Season's Greetings from Chris Botti
There are two broad categories of Jazz seasonal discs. One, represented well by Wynton Marsalis' A Crescent City Christmas Card (Sony Special Products 28812, 2002), Oscar Peterson's An Oscar Peterson Christmas (Telarc Jazz 83372, 1995), and Harry Allen's Christmas In Swingtime (Koch Jazz 51409, 2001) are serious, straight-ahead jazz offerings. These recordings will certainly appeal to all jazz fans but perhaps not to the uninitiated. At the other end of the spectrum are Kenny Gorelick's Miracles: The Holiday Album (Arista 18767, 1994), David Benoit's Remembering Christmas (GRP 9852, 1996), and Dave Koz's A Smooth Jazz Christmas (Capitol 33837, 2001), each which sold a sleigh-full of copies and appealed to listeners across all genre lines. Framed like this one could surmise that this is a juxtaposition of mainstream, serious jazz against the backdrop of a more pop-oriented brand of jazz. One would be correct. Having listened to all with some measure of enjoyment and endorsement, this listener has been hoping for recordings that fall somewhere between the two. This type of holiday offering would be lush and attractive as the latter recordings are, yet challenging to the listener in places as the former recordings are. Trumpeter Chris Botti's holiday gift, December, pretty well fits this bill. There is a little something here for everyone. First, this recording could have been entitled, "With Strings," making it similar to Scott Hamilton's recent holiday recording Scott Hamilton with Strings Christmas Love song (Concord Jazz 4771, 1997). 

The strings are tastefully arranged and provide Botti's warm open-bell tone with a plush foundation. Botti also sings. Much has been made in comparing Botti with another trumpeter/vocalist, Chet Baker. Botti's trumpet tone is full, demonstrative, friendly, and sexy. Chet Baker's tone was not. While neither is what I would call an outstanding singer, Botti does infuse his vocals with sincerity and warmth as experienced on Richard Marx's (who also produced the recording) "Perfect Day" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. His horn does the rest of the talking on a Bossa "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," a Crescent City "Walking in a Winter Wonderland," and a James Brown funky "Little Drummer Boy." Botti is plaintive on "The first Noel" and "O Little Town of Bethlehem." He plays these with feeling and empathy. "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" is a provocative duet with guitarist Heitor Pereira and recalls Messiah. The disc contains surprises also. In addition to the very appropriate "Perfect Day," Botti also covers Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" beautifully. Botti challenges us with "Drummer Boy" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." He soothes us with "the Christmas Song" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."Each year, I give Holiday Recordings as gifts. This year, it will be Chris Botti's December. ~ C.Michael Bailey https://www.allaboutjazz.com/december-chris-botti-columbia-records-review-by-c-michael-bailey.php

Personnel: Chris Botti: trumpet, vocals; Billy Childs: keyboards; Anthony Wilson: guitars; Bob Sheppard: saxophones, flute; Jimmy Haslip: bass; Peter Erskine: drums; Vinnie Colaiuta: drums.

December

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Lita Roza - Listening in the After-Hours

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1956
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 26:46
Size: 62,3 MB
Art: Front

(2:59)  1. That Old Black Magic
(3:27)  2. Guilty
(4:13)  3. Don't Worry 'Bout Me
(2:05)  4. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
(3:09)  5. Too Marvellous For Words
(3:34)  6. I Don't Want To Walk Without You
(2:40)  7. The Nearness Of You
(4:37)  8. You'll Never Know

Lita Roza was born Lilian Patricia Lita Roza on March 14, 1926 in Liverpool to Elizabeth Anne and Francis Vincent Roza, a Spanish marine engineer and part-time pianist at a local nightclub. The eldest of seven children, she auditioned as a dancer at the age of 12 in a pantomime to help support the family, eventually working up to performing with the comedian Ted Ray and actress Noel Gordon in the show Black Velvet. Because life was becoming too dangerous in London during the blitz of 1940, her family wanted her back in Liverpool. She turned to singing on her return and managed to get a job as a resident singer in a Merseyside club called The New Yorker. Shortly afterwards, she signed to become a singer with the Harry Roy Orchestra, one of Britain's leading wartime big bands, although when Roy was booked to tour the Middle East, the young Lita Roza was not allowed to join them, being only 17 years old. At just 18, she retired from show business, marrying James Shepherd Holland, one of the Canadian servicemen who was stationed in the U.K.; they moved to Miami. The marriage did not last, however, and after the war she returned to Britain, finding work with another top bandleader of the time, Ted Heath, alongside Dickie Valentine and Denis Lotis. As many of her contemporaries, she combined working with a big band with a career as a solo singer, and in 1953, she recorded a version of Patti Page's "How Much Is That Doggie in the Window," which topped the charts in April for one week, easily beating off the challenge of the Page version, and only the eighth number one song in the then recently introduced British charts. Despite its success, Roza hated the song and would never perform it in public. She left the Ted Heath band and married Ron Hughes, a trumpet player. She was voted Top Girl Singer of 1951-1952 in the Melody Maker dance band polls and won the Top Female Singer category in New Musical Express from 1951-1955 consecutively. 

Another couple of minor solo hits followed, "Hey There" and "Jimmy Unknown," but despite releasing a total of 55 singles and four albums on Decca Presenting Lita Roza, Listening in the After-Hours, Love Is the Answer, and Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea her record sales were halted by the arrival of rock & roll and in the mid-'50s she concentrated on television work (including her own show Lita Roza Sings and several appearances with Ted Heath and on the new TV pop show Six Five Special, the only pop show on TV in the mid-'50s) and working in cabarets around the world including in Australia, New Zealand, and the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas.  She was asked to join a series of Ted Heath reunion concerts in 1982 along with Denis Lotis and Don Lusher and most of the original musicians from the band. In 2001, Roza was honored as the first artist with a bronze disc placed on the Wall of Fame in Matthew Street, opposite the Cavern Club, which featured all the acts from Liverpool who had achieved a number one to date including everyone from Frankie Vaughan, Michael Holiday, and the Beatles to Sonia, Mel C, and Atomic Kitten. Throughout the late '90s and into the 21st century, Universal Music, which owns the rights to Roza's Decca recordings, released several compilations of her songs as well as her final album, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, and Ted Heath Singles 1951-1953. She gave her final performance on Radio Merseyside in November 2002. Lita Roza died at her home in London on August 14, 2008; she was 82 years old. ~ Sharon Mawer https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lita-roza-mn0000496575/biography

Personnel:  Lead Vocals – Lita Roza; Alto Saxophone – Joe Harriott; Bass – Eric Dawson; Drums – Tony Kinsey; Vibraphone, Piano – Bill Le Sage

Listening in the After-Hours

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Dave Brubeck - A Dave Brubeck Christmas

Styles: Piano, Christmas
Year: 1996
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:34
Size: 130,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:20)  1. "Homecoming" Jingle Bells
(3:38)  2. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
(2:53)  3. Joy To The World
(5:03)  4. Away In A Manger
(4:19)  5. Winter Wonderland
(5:34)  6. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
(3:27)  7. What Child Is This? (Greensleeves)
(3:32)  8. To Us Is Given
(3:35)  9. O Tannenbaum
(4:53) 10. Silent Night
(3:59) 11. Cantos para Pedir las Posadas
(3:48) 12. Run, Run, Run To Bethlehem
(2:59) 13. "Farewell" Jingle Bells
(4:28) 14. The Christmas Song

Dave Brubeck covers a host of favorite carols on this solo outing. His chime-like "Joy to the World" and striding "Winter Wonderland" are treasures. His festive opening version of "Jingle Bells" contrasts with the weary version signaling the end of an evening's festivities; anyone who has ever worked a holiday party will relate to it. 

His originals include the delightful "Run, Run, Run to Bethlehem" and the meditative "To Us Is Given." This is a Christmas CD worth repeated hearings. ~ Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/a-dave-brubeck-christmas-mw0000613892

Personnel:  Dave Brubeck – piano

A Dave Brubeck Christmas

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Louie Bellson - Salute Disc 1 And Disc 2

Album: Salute Disc 1

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop

Year: 1994

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 62:24

Size: 143,8 MB

Art: Front

( 9:17)  1. Blowin' The Blues Away

( 8:44)  2. Counting Down

(12:04)  3. And Friends

( 6:02)  4. Satin Doll

( 8:15)  5. For Diz

( 7:44)  6. When You Wish Upon A Star

(10:16)  7. Tiny Capers

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Album: Salute Disc 2

 

Time: 61:07

Size: 140,9 MB

(28:19)  1. Salute / Drum Boogie / Bouncin' With Buddy / Jumpin' At The Woodside / Liza / Medley

( 8:49)  2. Jazzspeak: Remembering Six Of The Greatest

( 7:19)  3. Contributions Of The Great Inovators

( 2:28)  4. Those Deserving Greater Recognition

( 7:26)  5. Goodman, Dorsey, James, Ellington, Basie

( 3:25)  6. The Selections And Concepts On This CD

( 3:18)  7. Passing It On / Then And Now

This two-CD set has its interesting moments. Drummer Louie Bellson and his quintet (which also includes trumpeter Bobby Shew, George Young on tenor, pianist Willie Pickens and bassist Keter Betts) perform seven selections including Horace Silver's "Blowin' the Blues Away," George Young's "For Diz" and "When You Wish Upon a Star." The second CD has a 27-minute medley that pays tribute to drummers Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, Art Blakey, Jo Jones, Shelly Manne and Chick Webb. In addition there is a nearly 34-minute "Jazzspeak" in which Bellson talks about the drummers, the many bandleaders that he has worked with and a variety of miscellaneous music-related subjects. Although interesting, much of it is probably not worth hearing twice. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/salute-mw0000648072

Personnel: Drums – Louie Bellson;  Bass – Keter Betts; Piano – Willie Pickens; Tenor Saxophone – George Young ; Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Bobby Shew

Salute Disc 1, Disc 2

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Eddie Daniels - Heart of Brazil: A Tribute to Egberto Gismonti

Styles: Clarinet And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 77:09
Size: 177,6 MB
Art: Front

(5:08)  1. Loro (Parrot)
(5:51)  2. Baiao Malandro (Badass Baiao)
(6:07)  3. Agua e Vinho (Water and Wine)
(5:11)  4. Ciranda (Folk Dance)
(4:23)  5. Folia (Revelry)
(5:52)  6. Maracatu (Sacred Rhythm)
(5:59)  7. Adagio
(5:45)  8. Tango Nova (New Tango)
(6:02)  9. Choro
(4:40) 10. Tango
(7:36) 11. Cigana (Gypsy Woman)
(7:44) 12. Trem Noturno (Night Train)
(6:45) 13. Auto-Retrato (Self-Portrait)

When Resonance Records' George Klabin pitched Eddie Daniels on this project saluting Egberto Gismonti, the legendary reedist was enthused yet somewhat trepidatious. Gismonti's music a sui generis form of fantasia that proves evocative in its blending of Brazilian forms, a jazz harmonist's argot, and European classical languages is no easy nut to crack or translate. But Daniels, of course, is no slouch. A doyen of the clarinet and an expert at navigating tricky divides like the potentially deadly jazz-classical fault line, he proved more than up to the task. Heart Of Brazil finds Daniels primarily interpreting music that Gismonti produced in the '70s and early '80s. The settings, put together by the likes of ace arrangers Ted Nash, Kuno Schmid, and Josh Nelson, are ravishing; the core quartet Daniels, Nelson on piano, Kevin Axt on bass, and Mauricio Zottarelli on drums sets the music aloft; and the strings of the Harlem Quartet prove absolutely integral, weaving in, out, around, and through these spellbinding songs. Once merely a hypothetical dream project for Klabin, his aspirations have been realized and, perhaps, exceeded. Opening on "Lôro (Parrot)," a song penned in honor of Hermeto Pascoal, Daniels' clarinet genially bounds around in concert with Nelson's keys while outwardly projecting unbridled virtuosity and warmth. Then the strings introduce "Baião Malandro (Badass Baião)," a number bolstered by Axt's lively bass. It offers Daniels and Nelson some room to open up, all the while nodding to the titular form painted with a variegated scheme.  "Água e Vinho (Water and Wine)" marks the first appearance of Daniels' tenor, emulating the male voice in this most hauntingly beautiful of scenarios. 

He holds onto that horn for "Ciranda (Folk Dance)," playing on passion over dawning rubato, but he returns to his clarinet when things heat up on the wildly expansive "Folia (Revelry)." That showpiece par excellence a bold and audacious bricolage with a genius arrangement from Nelson proves to be a real standout on an album full of them.  As the program progresses, so too does the feasibility of each song offering a world unto itself. "Maracatú (Sacred Rhythm)" draws on its eponymous Afro-Brazilian form and rhythm(s) while offering a melodious high ground and teetering motifs; "Adágio" is impressionism set free on a starlit walkway, influenced by Ravel and unabashedly romantic in its embrace of strings; "Chôro" coasts in with the gentlest of introductions before adopting its namesake style in its breeziest state; and "Cigana (Gypsy Woman)" paints a beautifully pensive picture of the roaming Romany. Every gift from Gismonti proves completely distinctive in nature, and each of these arrangements and performances illuminates the core qualities of his compositions.  

As per usual with Resonance, the packaging has its place in the story and comes to also represent the seriousness of intentions behind the project. With an introduction from Klabin, detailed program notes from the esteemed James Gavin, and a translated interview Gavin held with Gismonti in early 2018, the liners amplify the brilliance of this album and the need it fills. ~ Dan Bilawsky https://www.allaboutjazz.com/heart-of-brazil-eddie-daniels-resonance-records-review-by-dan-bilawsky.php

Personnel: Eddie Daniels: clarinet, tenor saxophone; Josh Nelson: piano; Kevin Axt: bass; Mauricio Zottarelli: drums; Harlem Quartet: Ilmar Gavilan violin; Melissa White: violin; Jamey Amador: viola; Felix Umansky: cello.

Heart of Brazil: A Tribute to Egberto Gismonti

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