Champian Fulton - Christmas With Champian

Styles: Vocal, Piano, Christmas
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:20
Size: 136,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:39) 1. White Christmas
(3:32) 2. Pretty Paper
(3:41) 3. I'll Be Home For Christmas
(4:10) 4. Winter Wonderland (Feat. Stephen Fulton)
(6:24) 5. Gracias A Dios (Feat. Stephen Fulton)
(5:03) 6. The Christmas Song
(4:17) 7. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
(6:00) 8. Christmas Time Is Here (Feat. Stephen Fulton)
(4:33) 9. The Christmas Waltz
(4:28) 10. Sleigh Ride (Feat. Stephen Fulton)
(5:21) 11. A Child Is Born (Feat. David Williams)
(3:28) 12. Let It Snow (Feat. Stephen Fulton)
(4:36) 13. Merry Merry Christmas

Pianist-Vocalist Champian Fulton's long awaited release, "Christmas with Champian" is being touted as the best new Jazz Christmas album of the year. With her personal song selection, listeners are invited to sit back and celebrate the season with Champian as she swings her way through this charming program of her favorites. Worth noting is Champian's beautiful rendition of the Los Panchos & Eydie Gormé hit, "Gracias a Dios", a selection inspired by her Mexican heritage; also listen for her original song "Merry Merry Christmas", written as a gift to her fans. "Christmas with Champian" spotlights veteran Jazz royalty David Williams on bass and Fukushi Tainaka on drums, who performed for over 30 years with Cedar Walton and Lou Donaldson respectively; and features Clark Terry protegé (and Champian's father) Stephen Fulton on trumpet and flugelhorn on a stunning rendition of "Christmas Time Is Here." A perfect balance of Christmas spirit and Jazz sensibility, "Christmas with Champian" is guaranteed to make your season bright.

"Champian Fulton, with a gleaming smile built in Santa’s workshop, is a charming vocalist and pianist with a fine entry into the Xmas canon. Christmas with Champian is a nice mix of standard and unusual material, filtered through a voice that surprises in its shifts between child-like and seasoned and a touch at the keys that is sweet without being saccharine." ~ Andrey Henkin, NYC Jazz Record

"Fulton's piano approach especially in her solo turns is a bit quirky, highly original, always inventive. Her vocals brim with appealing, fluid phrasing and gorgeous intonation and soul. " ~ Dan McLenaghan, All About Jazz

“Holiday genialness comes naturally to Champian.... Christmas with Champian finds her dispelling the deadening familiarity of dry evergreens... allowing listeners to hear a shopworn lyric and melody as if for the first time. 4 STARS” ~ Frank John Hadley, Downbeat

I can not think of anyone today who does more to preserve the American classics than Champian. As a musician and a vocalist, she takes the tunes of the masters and brings them to life today; and she does it with such a grace and 'swing' it seems like she has been doing it since birth..." ~ StreetCred Music

"Champian Fulton’s piano combines Erroll Garner’s serendipity and Ahmad Jamal’s dynamic calibrations. Combined with her impish vocals, Christmas With Champian (champion.net) makes a worthy soundtrack to any holiday gathering." ~ Kirk Silsbee, ArtsMeme

"Champian Fulton...has emerged in recent years as the most exciting vocal and pianistic talent on the straight-ahead jazz scene. This is a very nice collection of holiday standards (“White Christmas,” “The Christmas Song,” etc.) and more unusual choices: Willie Nelson’s “Pretty Paper,” for example, and an old Los Panchos & Eydie Gormé number titled “Gracias à Dios,” as well as a lovely original. As always, Fulton and her band swing powerfully and she sings like an unusually creative and playful angel. And her dad, trumpeter Stephen Fulton, makes a guest appearance as well. There’s simply nothing about this album that isn’t delightful, and since there’s a good chance that your library serves some of her growing legion of fans, I’d strongly recommend this one to all collections." - Rick Anderson, CD Hot List

"To be successful, Christmas albums, need to exude a certain joy of the season and this one does, from the finger-snapping backbeat of “White Christmas” (nice work by drummer, Fukushi Tainaka, throughout) to the closer, “Merry, Merry Christmas”, a lovely original number by Ms. Fulton. The rest of the album is filled with familiar songs of the season but thanks to Ms. Fulton’s first-rate piano work and the rock-solid backing of her sidemen; Mr. Tainaka, bassist David Williams and Champian’s dad, trumpeter Stephen Fulton, these tunes have new life." - Curt's Jazz Cafe

"This is a great jazz record in a Santa hat. Fulton never ceases to find both poignancy and exuberant fun in the least expected places."
~ NY Music Daily https://www.champian.net/news/2017/10/19/people-are-raving-about-christmas-with-champian

Christmas With Champian

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Don Patterson - Holiday Soul

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:30
Size: 89,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:15) 1. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
(5:38) 2. What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?
(3:01) 3. You're All I Want For Christmas
(2:57) 4. Silent Night
(3:13) 5. O Holy Night
(5:34) 6. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
(6:05) 7. Merry Christmas Baby
(8:43) 8. Jingle Bells

With December ushering in the holiday season, it seemed logical to allow this month's column to address two items that fall under the category of jazzy Christmas fare. Although the repertoire in this area is really quite limited, some of the more memorable holiday jazz sides include works by Ella Fitzgerald and Jimmy Smith. For my money however, among the best sets is a pair of 1964 sides cut for Prestige by Bobby Timmons and Don Patterson. The idea for successful Christmas music adaptations has always been about utilizing the formats of such traditional pieces as a launching pad for substantial jazz performances and both Timmons and Patterson do that in a way that allows their own personalities to rise to the surface. A staple of the Prestige catalog, organist Don Patterson turned out a substantial number of albums for the label during the sixties, with Holiday Soul (Prestige 7415) being among his rarest and hardest to find. Serving somewhat as a house rhythm section for Prestige at the time, Patterson is heard with guitarist Pat Martino and drummer Billy James and the threesome generates the kind of energy that belies the group's modest size. The centerpiece is a lengthy groove on "Jingle Bells," launched by a modal vamp that leads into a string of choruses from both Patterson and Martino. "Merry Christmas Baby" takes on an azure hue with "down home" statements from our lead voices, a clarity of purpose evident in both the solos and Rudy Van Gelder's classic engineering for an organ combo. Even "Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer" swings like crazy, Martino's Wes-inflected octaves being of particular interest.

When it comes to pianist Bobby Timmons, most consider his main contribution to the music to be a gospel-tinged/funky outlook that ushered in a whole genre of soul-jazz that is still in favor among today's younger set. As such, his collection of Christmas favorites as assembled under the same banner of Holiday Soul (Prestige 7414) is even more individualistic than Patterson's. "White Christmas" is as far removed from its usual maudlin tone as is possible, with a bluesy feel that finds Timmons romping across the snow banks with blissful ease. It's a funky vamp that launches "Winter Wonderland" and over several choruses Timmons and bassist Butch Warren get to speak their piece, supported ever so tastefully by drummer Walter Perkins. Both of these holiday sets stand firmly on the grounds of being good Christmas music, but they also offer considerable jazz performances to boot. The shame is that even with Fantasy's ambitious reissue programs of late, each of these records has yet to be reissued on compact disc (however, two selections from each album do appear on the compilation The OJC Christmas Collection ). Their reappearance at some point will be a welcomed gift to jazz fans of the hard bop persuasion. In the meantime, keep a look out for these vinyl trinkets and best wishes for a healthy and happy holiday season! ~ C.Andrew Hovan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/don-patterson-bobby-timmons-holiday-soul-by-c-andrew-hovan.php

Personnel: Don Patterson - organ; Pat Martino - guitar; Billy James - drums

Holiday Soul

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Stacey Kent - Christmas in the Rockies

Styles: Christmas
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 13:57
Size: 32,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:14) 1. Sleigh Ride
(3:46) 2. Christmas Time is Here
(3:03) 3. Winter Wonderland
(3:53) 4. The Christmas Song - Bonus Remastered Version

Stacey Kent is a jazz singer in the mould of the greats, with a legion of fans worldwide, a host of honors and awards including a Grammy nomination, album sales in excess of 2 million, Gold, Double-Gold and Platinum-selling albums that have reached a series of No. 1 chart positions during the span of her career. Her most recent album, I Know I Dream: The Orchestral Sessions (Sony) has had more than 30 million streams, received glowing reviews, including a coveted five stars in Downbeat, won ‘Album of the Year’ in the vocal category at the 2018 Jazz Japan Awards, and was described by All About Jazz as “intoxicating understatement at its finest…one more jewel in a discography with many, it’s one that deserves singling out for its luster.”

This comparative literature graduate with a passion for music, travelled to Europe to further her studies, and after receiving her degree from Sarah Lawrence College in NY, through a series of twists of fate, she found herself in London where she enrolled in a graduate music program at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she met her future husband and musical partner, Jim Tomlinson. Kent’s musical journey began in her childhood with piano lessons. A keen ear and true voice lead her to search out opportunities to express her love of music. However, nothing suggested the shift from the academic path to the path that propelled her to international recognition as one of the foremost jazz singers of her generation. With a catalogue of 11 studio albums, including the Platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated Breakfast On The Morning Tram (EMI/Blue Note 2007) and an impressive list of collaborations, Stacey has graced the stages of more than 55 countries over the course of her career. Kent paid her dues in the jazz clubs of London, before releasing the first of a series of albums for the Candid label, beginning with Close Your Eyes in 1997. Her second album, The Tender Trap (1999) brought her to the attention of US audiences with appearances on CBS Sunday Morning and NPR’s All Things Considered. Albums and awards followed, with Stacey winning the ‘Jazz Vocalist of the Year’ at the BBC Jazz Awards. The Boy Next Door (2003) was Stacey’s last Candid release and her first album to achieve Gold status.

During this period, Stacey cemented her reputation as a singer capable of putting a distinctive stamp on an impressive repertoire of standards. Her ability to communicate emotion through a nuanced and minimalist approach was showcased on Jim Tomlinson’s album, The Lyric (Token) which was awarded Album of The Year at the 2006 BBC Jazz Awards. This album brought her to the attention of Blue Note records with whom she signed in 2007. With each successive album, Stacey’s style has become more honed as her artistic outlook has broadened, leading her beyond the Great American Songbook to French chanson and Brazilian music which form an ever-larger part of her repertoire. Stacey’s repertoire also includes a growing number of songs written for her by Jim Tomlinson with various lyricists, most notably the Nobel Prize-winning author, Kazuo Ishiguro. The idea of singing original compositions came up during a lunch with Ishiguro. The conversation turned to music, and the idea was hatched to write a series of songs for Stacey that distilled themes of memory, travel and love, that so frequently surfaced in her repertoire. From this conversation, the songs for Breakfast On The Morning Tram were conceived.

Almost overnight, Stacey transformed from being a singer of the Great American Songbook, to a singer with a highly distinctive and personal repertoire. The first collaboration between Ishiguro, the lyricist, and Tomlinson, the composer, The Ice Hotel, won first prize in the jazz category of the International Songwriting Competition. Since then, all of Stacey’s albums have been punctuated by original songs composed by Tomlinson with a variety of lyricists in English, French and Portuguese. Kent has continued to pursue a frenetic recording and touring schedule. Her first album for Blue Note was followed in 2009 by the Gold-selling, all-French, Raconte-Moi which was that year’s biggest selling French language album outside of France. She was invited to perform an all-French program at the Francofolies Festival and was awarded the Chevalier Dans L’Ordre Des Arts et Des Lettres. Her first ever live album, Dreamer In Concert (EMI 2011), was followed by The Changing Lights (Warner 2013), which more than any other album, reveals the ever-present influence of Brazil in Stacey’s music. Among French, Italian and German, Stacey also speaks Portuguese. She has toured widely in Brazil and collaborated with many of her heroes including Edu Lobo, Dori and Danilo Cayymi, Roberto Menescal, and most notably Marcos Valle, who invited her to celebrate his 50 years in music on the album, Ao Vivo (Sony 2013). A DVD and documentary of their collaboration and friendship was also released on Sony in 2016.

With Roberto Menescal, Stacey recorded Tenderly (Sony), an intimate collection of standards that showcases her crystalline voice and Menescal’s warm guitar. Jazzwise Magazine referred to the album as “an extremely beautiful meeting of minds” It is Menescal’s only full album as a jazz guitarist and demonstrates the debt he owes to the great Barney Kessel. As Kent’s first standards album in a decade, it shows her increasingly impressive and maturing interpretative gifts. Whilst the COVID 19 pandemic has put Stacey’s concert appearances on pause, she has been busy recording from home and staying in touch with her fans through social media. She has recently released a single of Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds, a message of hope for these troubled times, as well as the EP, Christmas In The Rockies (Token 2020). She is also working on a series of EPs with her long-standing accompanist, Art Hirahara and more singles are planned for the new year. Her forthcoming studio album, Summer Me, Winter Me, is now planned for release in the fall of 2021. https://staceykent.com/biography/

Christmas in the Rockies

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