Dick Oatts, Dave Santoro Quartet - Meru

Styles: Saxophone Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 1996
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:49
Size: 146,5 MB
Art: Front

( 6:00) 1. Pale Blue
( 8:56) 2. Creeper
( 7:44) 3. Heckle and Jeckle
( 8:46) 4. South Paw
(10:21) 5. Meru
( 7:30) 6. Lasting Tribute
( 6:30) 7. Osmosis
( 8:01) 8. Leap of Faith

The partnership between veteran saxophonist Dick Oatts and bassist Dave Santoro produced this enjoyable 1996 studio session, accompanied by rising talent Bruce Barth on piano and marking the recording debut of drummer James (Jim) Oblan. Santoro and Oatts each contributed four songs, with Santoro's driving post-bop opener "Pale Blue" (seeming to be distantly inspired by "Giant Steps") and the playful "Osmosis" (featuring Oatts on soprano sax) being the most memorable tracks. Oatts' "Heckle and Jeckle" is a furious piece until it softens to spotlight solos by both Santoro and Oblan, while the saxophonist's mellow "Lasting Tribute" is an inspired ballad. The interaction between these musicians as well as their well-constructed solos make this Italian CD worth tracking down.~ Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/meru-mw0000604386

Personnel: Bass – Dave Santoro; Drums – James (Jim) Oblan; Piano – Bruce Barth; Tenor Saxophone – Dick Oatts

Meru

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Malia - The Garden of Eve

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:56
Size: 97,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:52) 1. Hope
(3:14) 2. Last Show
(3:31) 3. The Thrill Is Gone
(3:06) 4. Me & My Girlfriend
(2:36) 5. Two Seedlings
(2:55) 6. Lord, I Feel so Bad
(4:04) 7. Restoration
(3:39) 8. Death
(3:54) 9. Freedom at Last
(3:52) 10. Moving Away
(3:55) 11. Honeymoon Is Over
(3:12) 12. Love in Vain

Malawi born vocalist Malia moved to London aged fourteen in 1992. Her soul drenched take on jazz standards, ballads and blues was much in demand on the capital's club scene. Influenced in her early life by Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday and Nina Simone, she released her first album "Yellow Daffodils" onto the European market to great acclaim in 2002. Now a firmly established artist in both France and Germany following her award as "International Singer Of The Year" by Echo Jazz magazine she is rapidly gaining worldwide recognition ahead of this her seventh album release.

The recording itself could be described as a twenty first century examination of the blues, with a jazz sensibility and even at times, a glance towards country and soul. The vocalist is the main composer on ten of the twelve compositions with a very fresh and individual take to the lyrical content. It does have a stylistic approach that she has not shown previously. If there is one influence in her writing style, it sounds as if some numbers could have come from the pen of Leonard Cohen. There have been very few vocalists with such precise and near perfect diction that have performed in a blues orientated setting with such conviction. The musicians that she has called upon fit perfectly into the mix with Nis Kotting's atmospheric wurlitzer and the telling guitar interludes from Lars Colin being key to the albums success. Malia is above all a story teller, delivering her message clearly and with a refreshing passion across such diverse subjects of Hope, Restoration, Freedom, Love and even Death. Perhaps this album is not one for the jazz purist, but everything about it is of the highest quality and importantly gives more with each listen. ~Jim Burlong https://www.jazzviews.net/malia---the-garden-of-eden.html

Malia (vcl), Nis Kotting (org, wurlitizer, har), Lars Colin (gtr, bs), (Edward Maclean (bs), Tommy Baldu (drs, perc), Reiner"Kallas" Hubert (drs, perc), Joo Kraus (tpt), Stokely Van Daal bkg(vcl)

The Garden of Eve

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