New York Voices - Reminiscing in Tempo

Styles: Jazz, Big Band
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:27
Size: 121,2 MB
Art: Front

(7:13) 1. Round, Round, Round (Blue Rondo a La Turk)
(5:11) 2. Open Your Eyes, You Can Fly
(5:06) 3. Answered Prayers (E De Deus)
(3:59) 4. A Dance for Me
(2:08) 5. Los Tres Golpes
(4:06) 6. Moments in a Mirror
(5:07) 7. It's Alright with Me
(5:02) 8. Reminiscing in Tempo
(4:47) 9. The Forecast is Sunny
(4:07) 10. Invitacion
(2:24) 11. Avalon
(3:11) 12. In My Life

Time flies, so why shouldn't New York Voices revel in that passage on life's jet stream? Reminiscing In Tempo marks the celebrated vocal quartet's 30th anniversary in style, presenting a dozen performances delivered with imaginative flair. The arrangements and vocals, not surprisingly, are airtight, and the joy in the music is palpable. Demonstrating mastery of an idiom too often ignored, the Voices put their magnetic pipes and impossibly accurate harmonies on display in myriad settings, moving artfully through Ivan Lins' buoyant and vibrant frames, Cole Porter's swinging setups, and The Beatles' timeless glances at life's past. A crack band is often right there with this foursome, enhancing explorations of time remembered. But sometimes Peter Eldridge, Lauren Kinhan , Darmon Meader, and Kim Nazarian are alone together, sharing their deep experiences all by their collective lonesome. That variety, par for the course with New York Voices, makes for an easy sale here.

Opening with "Round, Round, Round (Blue Rondo à la Turk)," there's a display of gratitude not only to Dave Brubeck, but also to Al Jarreau, whose lyrics pop through the speakers. Then the Voices take us across time and space, visiting different styles and locales with their customary shine. There's a gleaming performance of Chick Corea's "Open Your Eyes, You Can Fly," an enchanting a cappella take on Cuban pianist Ignacio Cervantes' "Los Tres Golpes," an easygoing slice of Ellingtonia in the form of the title track, and a nod to Al Jolson by way of Ray Charles on an "Avalon" throwback.

While this album primarily focuses on classics and the occasional hidden gem, a pair of originals sneak into the mix and deserve a good look. Meader's "Moments In A Mirror," with Gabriel Hahn adding some notable vocal and body percussion, grooves in line with the album's theme; and "The Forecast Is Sunny," co-written by Kinhan and Eldridge, takes on wider ambitions in story and scope, appealing to the singer-songwriter streak that both composers share. Reminiscing In Tempo can be seen as a strong distillation of what this vocal force is all about, yet there's really no way the group can boil itself down into a single record. If time has taught us anything, it's that New York Voices' gifts simply can't be contained. ~ Dan Bilawsky https://www.allaboutjazz.com/reminiscing-in-tempo-new-york-voices-origin-records-review-by-dan-bilawsky.php

Personnel: Peter Eldridge: vocals, piano (9); Lauren Kinhan: vocals; Darmon Meader: vocals; Kim Nazarian: vocals; Andy Ezrin: piano, Rhodes; Alon Yavnai: piano (10); David Finck: bass (1, 4, 8, 9); Paul Nowinski: bass (3, 7, 11); Will Lee: bass (2); Ben Wittman: drums (1, 2, 4, 8, 9), percussion (2, 9); Marcello Pellitteri: drums (3, 7, 11); Gabriel Hahn: vocals (6), body percussion (6); Jay Ashby: percussion (3); Marty Ashby: guitar (3, 11); Jesse Lewis: guitar (2, 9); Darmon Meader: alto saxophone, tenor saxophone; Steve Kenyon: baritone saxophone; Frank Greene: trupet; Tatum Greenblatt: trumpet; Mike Davis: trombone; Randy Andos: trombone.

Reminiscing in Tempo

---

Dinah Washington - September In The Rain

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1961
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 32:09
Size: 75,0 MB
Art: Front

(2:05) 1. September In The Rain
(3:05) 2. Without A Song
(2:24) 3. This Heart Of Mine
(1:58) 4. As Long As I'm In Your Arms
(3:51) 5. With A Song In My Heart
(2:31) 6. Softly (Baby)
(2:47) 7. I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me
(2:25) 8. I Was Telling Him About You
(3:13) 9. I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm
(2:30) 10. I'll Never Kiss You Goodbye
(2:30) 11. I'll Come Back For More
(2:47) 12. Tell Love Hello

Dinah Washington was at once one of the most beloved and controversial singers of the mid-20th century beloved to her fans, devotees, and fellow singers; controversial to critics who still accuse her of selling out her art to commerce and bad taste. Her principal sin, apparently, was to cultivate a distinctive vocal style that was at home in all kinds of music, be it R&B, blues, jazz, middle of the road pop and she probably would have made a fine gospel or country singer had she the time. Hers was a gritty, salty, high-pitched voice, marked by absolute clarity of diction and clipped, bluesy phrasing. Washington's personal life was turbulent, with seven marriages behind her, and her interpretations showed it, for she displayed a tough, totally unsentimental, yet still gripping hold on the universal subject of lost love. She has had a huge influence on R&B and jazz singers who have followed in her wake, notably Nancy Wilson, Esther Phillips, and Diane Schuur, and her music is abundantly available nowadays via the huge seven-volume series The Complete Dinah Washington on Mercury.

Born Ruth Lee Jones, she moved to Chicago at age three and was raised in a world of gospel, playing the piano and directing her church choir. At 15, after winning an amateur contest at the Regal Theatre, she began performing in nightclubs as a pianist and singer, opening at the Garrick Bar in 1942. Talent manager Joe Glaser heard her there and recommended her to Lionel Hampton, who asked her to join his band. Hampton says that it was he who gave Ruth Jones the name Dinah Washington, although other sources claim it was Glaser or the manager of the Garrick Bar. In any case, she stayed with Hampton from 1943 to 1946 and made her recording debut for Keynote at the end of 1943 in a blues session organized by Leonard Feather with a sextet drawn from the Hampton band. With Feather's "Evil Gal Blues" as her first hit, the records took off, and by the time she left Hampton to go solo, Washington was already an R&B headliner. Signing with the young Mercury label, Washington produced an enviable string of Top Ten hits on the R&B charts from 1948 to 1955, singing blues, standards, novelties, pop covers, even Hank Williams' "Cold, Cold Heart." She also recorded many straight jazz sessions with big bands and small combos, most memorably with Clifford Brown on Dinah Jams but also with Cannonball Adderley, Clark Terry, Ben Webster, Wynton Kelly, and the young Joe Zawinul (who was her regular accompanist for a couple of years).

In 1959, Washington made a sudden breakthrough into the mainstream pop market with "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes," a revival of a Dorsey Brothers hit set to a Latin American bolero tune. For the rest of her career, she would concentrate on singing ballads backed by lush orchestrations for Mercury and Roulette, a formula similar to that of another R&B-based singer at that time, Ray Charles, and one that drew plenty of fire from critics even though her basic vocal approach had not changed one iota. Although her later records could be as banal as any easy listening dross of the period, there are gems to be found, like Billie Holiday's "Don't Explain," which has a beautiful, bluesy Ernie Wilkins chart conducted by Quincy Jones. Struggling with a weight problem, Washington died of an accidental overdose of diet pills mixed with alcohol at the tragically early age of 39, still in peak voice, still singing the blues in an L.A. club only two weeks before the end.~ Richard S. Ginell https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dinah-washington-mn0000260038/biography

Personnel: Ernie Freeman, Joe Zawinul (piano) Rone Hall, Barney Kessel (guitar) Red Callender, Jimmy Rowser (bass) Earl Palmer (drums) Dinah Washington (vocals)

September In The Rain

---