Rick Braun - Body And Soul

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1997
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:15
Size: 111,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:35)  1. Notorius
(4:16)  2. Missing In Venice
(4:23)  3. Slick
(3:46)  4. Chelsea
(4:40)  5. Long Tall Judy
(4:32)  6. Dark Eyes
(4:31)  7. Body And Soul
(4:13)  8. Angel
(4:15)  9. Love Will Find A Way
(4:53) 10. Coolsville
(4:06) 11. Hymn For Her

Body & Soul, explores an introspective, thoughtful side of Rick Braun's artistry. Funk grooves and irresistible pop melodies still prevail in subtler shades, but Braun reflects maturely on the changes of his life with a collection that pays homage to his ongoing love for more traditional jazz. The result is his most thought-provoking, eclectic and artistically satisfying album to date. While he plays all the keyboard, trumpet and flugelhorn parts on Body and Soul, he's joined by some of the genre's best musicians, who got together at various times in the comfort of Braun's sunny home to record tracks reflective of friends gathering for a smooth sailing jam session. On hand for various tracks are sax star Boney James, guitarists Chris Standring and Jeff Golub, bassist Cliff Hugo, and drummers Dave Palmer and Dave Karasony. Body & Soul kicks off with the album's first single, the dreamy, cool, and seductive "Notorious," which features interplay between Braun and Boney James's horns and was co-produced by Paul Brown (who's produced hits for James as well as Peter White and Sam Riney). Braun gently fuses jazz sensibilities with streetwise seduction on the gently hypnotic "Missing In Venice" before exploring the pulsating edges of night on the spirited retro-soul vibe of "Slick." "Chelsea" is an easily shuffling romantic ode to the section of Manhattan where Jeff Golub lives, while "Long Tall Judy" finds musical soul mates Braun and Golub invoking the ghosts of Lee Morgan and Wes Montgomery in a sparsely arranged, slow burning jazz/blues jam. ~ Jonathan Widran https://www.allmusic.com/album/body-and-soul-mw0000080564

Body And Soul

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Judith Owen - Here

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:29
Size: 93,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:22)  1. Here
(3:58)  2. You And The Moon
(3:08)  3. Best Friend
(5:03)  4. Worship
(5:07)  5. Climbing Shoes
(4:10)  6. I Go To Sleep
(5:04)  7. Hand Across The Water
(3:25)  8. Eye Of The Tiger
(4:09)  9. The Room
(2:58) 10. I'll Watch You (While You're Sleeping)

British singer/songwriter Judith Owen, for whom Here is her fifth self-released album, is the ideal performer for music fans who wish Joni Mitchell had gone on making records like Blue and For the Roses back in the first half of the '70s. Owen sounds like she has a complete collection of Mitchell's albums, at least up as far as The Hissing of Summer Lawns, that is, and also a general familiarity with the works of Carole King, Kate Bush, and Tori Amos. She writes and sings quiet, melodic songs dominated by her slow, careful piano playing and richly considered voice. Especially because of her accent, she often sounds exactly like Bush and Amos (who often sound exactly like each other, of course), at least when those singers are not wafting into their soprano ranges. But her lyrics are never as obscure, instead aiming for emotional clarity. That brings back the Mitchell comparison, and the difference there is that Owen sounds like a woman who is happily married with a child rather than suffering romantic turmoil, at least in the present moment. Although the first two songs, "Here" and "You and the Moon" seem to be about a lost and fondly remembered love and a love suffering from separation, respectively, the key songs are the third and fourth ones. "Best Friend" is full of advice to a loved one, while "Worship" is a recollection of a bad, but compelling love affair by someone who is now in a good one. 

As usual, Owen demonstrates a surprising taste in covers, giving a jazzy reading to the old Survivor hit "Eye of the Tiger," which is a funny idea, but also taking on the Kinks' "I Go to Sleep," a less appealing choice since another influence, Chrissie Hynde, got there first with the Pretenders. Here is an unfailingly tasteful and listenable collection, but it's the work of a confessional singer/songwriter who doesn't have all that much to confess. ~ William Ruhlmann https://www.allmusic.com/album/here-mw0000779521

Here

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Jamie Saft Quartet - Blue Dream

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:19
Size: 128,8 MB
Art: Front

(5:38)  1. Vessels
(6:00)  2. Equanimity
(3:50)  3. Sword's Water
(5:56)  4. Violets for Your Furs
(3:37)  5. Blue Dream
(4:31)  6. Infinite Compassion
(2:50)  7. Sweet Lorraine
(3:54)  8. Walls
(3:07)  9. Decamping
(4:41) 10. Words and Deeds
(4:24) 11. Mysterious Arrangements
(6:47) 12. There's a Lull in My Life

If RareNoise Records has a characteristic sound as ECM Records has a characteristic sound, that sound is defined Jamie Saft. Whether it is the unholy ministry of Slobber Pup or the plaintive solo piano of his recent Solo A Genova (RareNoise, 2018), multi-instrumentalist Saft has brought Giacomo Bruzzo's and Eraldo Bernocchi's eclectic-electric British label front and center of not just the jazz world, but the music world.  Saft has recorded widely, most notably with John Zorn, Wadada Leo Smith, Roswell Rudd, Iggy Pop, Marc Ribot, Bill Laswell, Cyro Baptista, and Dave Douglas. He is responsible for producing the most magnificent noise as evidenced on recordings like, Berserk!'s Berserk! (RareNoise Records, 2013) and Slobber Pup's Black Aces (RareNoise Records, 2013) and Pole Axe (RareNoise Records, 2015), along with his collaboration with guitarist Joe Morris on Plymouth (Rare Noise, 2014). Overlapping with his noisemaking is Saft's redefinition of acoustic jazz over the past five years as heard on: The New Standard (RareNoise, 2014); Ticonderoga (Clean Feed, 2015); Strength & Power (RareNoise, 2016); Loneliness Road (RareNoise, 2017); and Solo A Genova (RareNoise, 2018).  

Jamie Saft's penetration of acoustic jazz continues with his present quartet recording Blue Dreams. Immediately, I thought of John Coltrane's great 1960's quartet, circa A Love Supreme. "Vessels" opens with sustained bass notes in a simple harmonic figure by Saft, very much in keeping the McCoy Tyner style of the time. Tenor saxophonist Bill McHenry plays Coltrane's part, without the screeching and loss of mind. Like an early '60s Coltrane solo, the ensemble begins simply before setting out to make a sonic statement, both musically and dramatically. "Equanimity" is introduced by drummer Nasheet Waits, when, at the 1:36 mark the rest of the band enters, anxious and excited. Bassist Bradley Jones carefully chooses his figures and times in such a way to propel the music in a swinging and unpredictable manner.  The first of three standard's, "Violets for Your Furs," reels the band back into mainstream mode, capturing the sound of 1950s Miles Davis. 

It is a beautiful revelation. "Sweet Lorraine" is taken at a loping pace, Saft playing between the lines with Jones' ever near-the-beat pulse avoiding temp tachycardia. McHenry plays as straight as Saft, quaint and beautifully. "Walls" offers an expansive answer to "Lorraine" with Jones providing a continuo arco. McHenry barley rattles the reeds, a sound like stretching parchment, while Saft favors his beloved low notes with sustain. Like a Coltrane performance, the piece is all introduction. It is worthwhile to consider that there is no resolution in music like this, only an extended consideration. "Words and Deeds" follows the same formula of the opening "Vessels," brooding and impressionistic. The final standard "There's a Lull in My Life" completes the recording beautifully and appropriately. McHenry first duets with Jones, Waits brushing in the background. By the time Saft gets there, things are well underway, introspectively. Within this musical microcosm, Saft and company blow the dust off of and update a storied method of performance. ~ C.Michael Bailey https://www.allaboutjazz.com/blue-dream-jamie-saft-rarenoiserecords-review-by-c-michael-bailey.php

Personnel: Jamie Saft Piano; Bill McHenry: tenor saxophone; Bradley Christopher Jones: acoustic bass; Nasheet Waits: drums.

Blue Dream

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Emanuele Cisi - Where or When

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:08
Size: 120,2 MB
Art: Front

(6:30)  1. But Not for Me
(6:44)  2. Chelsea Bridge
(3:09)  3. Inverso Calypso
(4:45)  4. Sphere's
(4:54)  5. Time Was
(6:37)  6. Mama Anita
(5:30)  7. Warnin' Up
(4:53)  8. Where or When
(4:10)  9. Where or When (Alternate Take)
(4:52) 10. Wild Boar's Dance

Italian born saxist Emanuele Cisi drinks from the Coltrane fountain on this collection of originals and standards in a trio format with Joseph LePore/b and Luca Santaniello/dr. On soprano, he goes laconic and agonizing on “Chelsea Bridge” bluesy on “Spheres” and frisky, funky and fun on “Mama Anita.” A reading of “Inverso Calypso” has him on an autumnal tenor and reaching into his inner Rollins, and goes modal on “Wild Boar’s Dance”. Without a pianist, he walks a tightrope with his teammates, with LePore getting some space on  “Where Or When” and Santaniello’s brushes and sticks working wonders on the boppish “Time Was” and driving “Warnin’ Up.” Impulse! fans will have a field day with this one. https://www.jazzweekly.com/2014/03/emanuele-cisi-where-or-when/

Personnel:  Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Emanuele Cisi; Arranged By [All Arrangements By] – Emanuele Cisi; Bass – Joseph Lepore; Drums – Luca Santaniello 

Where or When

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Quadro Nuevo - Grand Voyage

Styles: Latin Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 76:26
Size: 175,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:57)  1. Die Reise nach Batumi
(2:30)  2. Cançao Do Mar.mp3
(3:16)  3. Cien Años
(5:35)  4. Krim
(5:14)  5. Samba para parapente
(4:56)  6. Aus der Stille der Nacht
(5:06)  7. Nature Boy
(4:12)  8. Die Abenteurer
(6:34)  9. Lethe
(6:36) 10. Antakya - Concert Version
(4:33) 11. Meteora
(2:26) 12. Secret Garden
(2:31) 13. Mosaique Tunisienne (Morning)
(2:23) 14. Mosaique Tunisienne (Afternoon)
(3:30) 15. Mosaique Tunisienne (Night)
(3:53) 16. Goaz boq Muzik
(4:01) 17. Dopo Lo Spettacolo
(5:33) 18. Die Reise nach Batumi - Orchestral Version

Songs of a Grand Voyage. The baggage filled with melodies that were collected along the way. Every tone tells you a story about a new encounter and takes the listener on an epic adventure. Every song was recorded on a different place on this earth and represents the unique vibrations of those special locations. https://www.glm.de/en/product/quadro-nuevo-grand-voyage/

Personnel: Mulo Francel saxophones, clarinets, mandoline, glockenspiel, monochord, guitar on 6, bouzouki on 11; Robert Wolf guitar, bouzouki, piano on 17, steel drum; D.D. Lowka  acoustic bass, percussion, xylophone, cymbalom; Andreas Hinterseher  accordion, vibrandoneon, bandoneon, piano on 4; Evelyn Huber concert grand harp, single pedal harp, salterio

Grand Voyage

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