Thursday, April 1, 2021

Rhoda Scott - Movin'Blues

Styles: Soul Jazz, Post Bop
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:36
Size: 165,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:12) 1. Blue Law
(5:16) 2. Movin'Blues
(5:12) 3. Come Sunday
(5:42) 4. Blues at the Pinthière
(5:51) 5. Caravan
(3:52) 6. Dans ma vie
(4:42) 7. Honeysuckle Rose
(5:36) 8. Watch What Happens
(6:55) 9. I'm Looking for a Miracle
(6:35) 10. Let My People Go
(5:24) 11. Prière
(3:44) 12. Yes Indeed
(3:35) 13. Fais comme l'oiseau
(4:54) 14. In a Sentimental Mood

The eldest daughter of an American pastor, Rhoda Scott was immersed in the atmosphere of gospels throughout her childhood.

Passionate about the Hammond organ, The Barefoot Lady was quickly fascinated by jazz and its bluesy swing: “I first knew religious music and then jazz”. She has around fifty records to her credit.

Arrived in France in 1968, she played for many years in duet with a drummer. This was followed by Daniel Humair, Franco Manzecchi and Félix Simtaine. In 2009, she recorded Soul Sisters with singer La Velle and, in 2011, Rock my boat, with David Linx and André Ceccarelli. Recently, it was with her Lady Quartet that she played, recording We free Queens (nod to We free kings by Roland Kirk), with Sophie Alour (ts), Lise Cat Berro (as) and Anne Paceo (dm). For Movin’Blues, she returns to her old loves: the duo with drums. She is here accompanied by Thomas Derouisseau, young drummer who we discovered in Liège for the West Side Story Medley project. Here she chooses an eclectic repertoire: the spiritual Let my people go (Go down Moses), Caravan by Juan Tizol, Come Sunday by Duke Ellington, Honeysuckle Rose by Fats Waller and Watch what happens by Michel Legrand, without forgetting one or the other references to the blues: Movin’Blues, Blue Law, Blues at Pinthière. We find all the magic of the Hammond organ, its bluesy swing, its low notes played with the feet: “I sing with my instrument: it breathes in me.” A nice cover but a small gap: the list of titles does not specify the names of the composers.

Born in the United States, Rhoda Scott, the eldest daughter of a traveling pastor, grew up, she recalls, in the atmosphere of the small black churches with the accents of gospels and spirituals. In France, she also held the organ for forty years in her parish of Perche: “I sing with my instrument. He breathes in me. I’m faithful to it I first knew religious music and then jazz “, “God can encompass all styles of music” she says. Passionate about Bach’s works, she has established herself as the ambassador of the Hammond organ popularized by artists like Jimmy Smith. Mastery, energy and thick timbres, Rhoda Scott remains the living myth of the Hammond organ. Encircled by two monumental Leslie cabins and B3 controllers, she hops with a smile to groove his keyboards by ensuring a swing “bluesy”, airy and hard-hitting … With fifty records to his credit, concerts at the Olympia and in the most prestigious festivals, Rhoda Scott returns with his new “Movin ‘Blues” to his first love the drum organ duo that made his success and his trademark. The Barefoot Lady is back!

The Barefoot Lady is back! After a first album success with the Rhoda Scott Lady Quartet “We free queens” and more than 100 dates of concerts around the world, the adventure continues. Far from being sparse and reserved for initiates, her music is rich, dense, groovy, like Rhoda Scott’s generosity. As a tightrope walker, she gives the Hammond organ its full dimension, respecting the great tradition of jazz and blues in a special duet with drums that has been her hallmark all along her career. Her audience will enjoy this homecoming.

Personnel: Rhoda Scott, organ Hammond B3; Thomas Derouineau, drums

Movin'Blues

Rebecca DuMaine, Dave Miller Trio - Someday, Someday

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:22
Size: 116,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:09) 1. Just Friends
(4:04) 2. Alone Again (Naturally)
(3:59) 3. Samba De Mon Coeur Qui Bat
(3:47) 4. The Gentleman is a Dope
(3:38) 5. Someday, Someday
(4:02) 6. Both Sides Now
(2:56) 7. Time to Get Unstuck (Happy Little New Song)
(4:41) 8. As Long as I Live
(4:00) 9. On a Clear Day
(3:29) 10. I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan
(3:28) 11. Cry Me a River
(2:43) 12. La Vie En Rose Au Privave
(3:13) 13. Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams
(3:08) 14. Sunny

Rebecca DuMaine has a lightness and fragility to her sound that calls to mind Blossom Dearie, and, as with Blossom, that lightness extends to her perfectly realized scat in musically astute, smile-inducing style. Her terrific new recording, Someday, Someday, is filled with great songs (both classic and contemporary) and offers many pleasant surprises. It is also filled with great playing by the singer’s father, Dave Miller on piano (he also supplied all the arrangements), Chuck Bennett on bass, and Bill Belasco on drums. The album opens with an unexpectedly rollicking version of “Just Friends” (John Klenner, Sam M. Lewis) revealing a resiliency against loss and sadness, a refusal to give in to heartbreak with unassuming strength that creates an album offering interesting re-examinations of well-known material. She never denies the hurt but she never lets it overwhelm her. The words to “Alone Again (Naturally)” (Gilbert O’Sullivan) become new and fresh from this perspective, replacing what can be overwhelming angst with healthy acceptance. Her repeated “alone again”s in the closing moments are an inspired ending.

Amid haunting chord changes, pleasant echoes of Astrud Gilberto abound in “Samba de Mon Coeur Qui Bat” (Benjamin Biolay) but with considerably more spine. One of my favorite Rodgers & Hammerstein songs, “The Gentleman Is a Dope,” stands out with a sparkling arrangement in which she makes a feast of the tasty lyrics while swinging to beat (or in this case match) the band. Her “Both Sides Now” (Joni Mitchell) has a sweetness that is lovely and a simplicity of delivery that allows the poetry to work for itself without overemphasis. The recording includes two of the singer’s original songs. The title song is musically derivative (apart from impressive percussion by Belasco) and lyrically problematic, but, on the other, “Time to Get Unstuck (Happy Little New Song),” the words are strong and flow naturally over an insinuating melody. “As Long as I Live” (Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler) affords an extended scat chorus showing off DuMaine’s savvy musicality against Miller’s sparse accompaniment, displaying the swinging reserve of Count Basie. A slower than expected “On a Clear Day” (Burton Lane, Alan Jay Lerner) sparkles anew in a performance filled with hope and wonder.

If nothing else, this recording would have had me at “I Guess I’ll Have to Change My Plan” (Arthur Schwartz, Howard Dietz), one of my favorite songs from my favorite movie musical, The Band Wagon, and Jack Buchanan’s finest three minutes. It starts as a sad and slow acceptance of heartbreak and grows into a soft-shoe shuffle that perfectly cushions DuMaine’s bittersweet vocal. “Cry Me a River” (Arthur Hamilton) is done in three-quarter time over the usual bluesy-ness, and it is a literal breath of fresh air. The brittleness of her delivery and her understatement really work here. The singer and her trio transform “La Vie en Rose” (Louiguy, Marguerite Monnot/Édith Piaf) into something downright Ellingtonian. “Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams” (Harry Barris/Ted Koehler, Billy Moll) is the most explicit declaration of what I suspect she wanted the entire project to be: a tuneful roadmap out of these dark and depressing times. She closes grooving on Bobby Hebb’s “Sunny” and offers a post-pandemic forecast of much better days ahead. Someday, Someday and Rebecca DuMaine’s vocals display an economy, intelligence, warmth, and energy that make the recording an entertaining and welcome respite from the madness the world has to offer at the moment. https://bistroawards.com/cd-review-rebecca-dumaine-and-the-dave-miller-trio-someday-someday/

Personnel: Rebecca DuMaine, vocals; Dave Miller, piano ; Chuck Bennett, bass; Bill Belasco, drums

Someday, Someday

The Ahmad Jamal Trio - The Awakening

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:35
Size: 92.9 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 1970/1997
Art: Front

[6:18] 1. The Awakening
[7:22] 2. I Love Music
[6:14] 3. Patterns
[5:05] 4. Dolphin Dance
[4:40] 5. You're My Everything
[6:28] 6. Stolen Moments
[4:25] 7. Wave

Bass – Jamil Nasser; Drums – Frank Gant; Piano – Ahmad Jamal. Recorded at Plaza Sound Studios, New York City on February 2nd and 3rd, 1970.

By 1970, pianist Ahmad Jamal's style had changed a bit since the 1950s, becoming denser and more adventurous while still retaining his musical identity. With bassist Jamil Nasser (whose double-timing lines are sometimes furious) and drummer Frank Gant, Jamal performs two originals (playing over a vamp on "Patterns"), the obscure "I Love Music," and four jazz standards. These are intriguing performances showing that Ahmad Jamal was continuing to evolve. ~Scott Yanow

The Awakening

Eli Degibri - Cliff Hangin'

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:33
Size: 117,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:47)  1. The Troll
(5:45)  2. Cliff Hangin'
(2:26)  3. Even Bees Do It
(5:17)  4. Kind of Blues
(4:57)  5. Suki the Cat
(5:22)  6. Twiced
(4:09)  7. Ocean View
(4:48)  8. SheshBesh
(4:03)  9. MomentoFugaz
(4:55) 10. The Unknown Neighbor
(4:59) 11. What Am I Doing Here

Eli Degibri has been making music for a long time with a long list of Jazz stars. And he is not even forty years-old yet. He graduated the Thelonious Monk Institute at the age of 19 and was noticed and recruited by Herbie Hancock for a world tour. Eli was with Hancock from 1999 until 2002 and was then picked up by Al Foster (former sideman with Miles Davis) who kept him along for almost 10 years (2002-2011). After 15 years in the US, Degibri returned to Tel Aviv, Israel, a long flowing with Jazz milk and honey. He hired and honed the talents of pianist Gadi Lehavi and drummer Ofri Nehemya and added to them the talents of his longtime friend and collaborator, bassist Barak Mori. With this group, Eli Was prepared to record. Indeed, he did already with the 2013 release of Twelve. Now, the quartet strikes again with Cliff Hangin’ (Degibri Music DR1007). The album opens with The Troll, a lovely and lyrical piece introduced by sweet piano work from Gadi Lehavi. The tenor sax joins the piano, bass and drums and you realize you’ve heard something unlike anything you’ve heard before. Yes, many sax players have the skills and the talent but Eli Degibri has…something else. His phrasing is cool and his intensity is palatable. Then drummer Ofri Nehemya steals your attention only for Eli to regain it yet again. Cliff Hangin’ follows after and the change is extraordinary. It was not the music I expected from the title. There is a beauty in the changes and the quartet are in such singularity that physics takes over the acoustics and you are drawn into it inexorably. Lehavi’s piano is quick and absolutely on target. His solo is just brilliant. Then the alto sax takes over again with such compelling emotion, that the voice even seems to break in the telling.

Even Bees Do It is the very image of Rimsky-Korsakov with the frenetic little critters buzzing everywhere. Musically speaking. From soprano sax to piano with dancing bass and drums below, the melodies are fun and vivid. Kind of Blues is exactly that. The tenor sax is back in Eli’s hands and the artists take a pace slower and more deliberate. Bassist Barak Mori has the cool swing with Nehemya going. Virtuosity is not even in question. There are lots of cats with the technical chops but Eli Degibri has the soul…and the Soul. And he has found the finest musical brothers to make his vision real. Kind of Blues ends so righteously. Just fabulous. Suki the Cat, which follows, is a great bit of fun. There is certainly a playfulness but also an emotion that cuts through the speed and such to create an image of adorable felinity. Twiced was written by Eli and Barak Mori. Barak leads off the piece and is joined by the fine piano. Eli’s sax then mirrors the melodic line before taking it on by himself. The is one of the best groove pieces on the album and that is saying a lot. Just when you think you can’t get enough of Eli, Gadi Lehavi’s piano takes a big swing for the fences and knocks it out of the park. All the while, Barak Mori is hammering away with Nehemya. Swinging.

The action is so furious that you get a good yell from one of the artists that only makes your smile even broader. The soprano sax is back for Ocean View. Placid and peaceful, the pace is not slow, by any means. Still, it is an idyll of tranquility that is obvious even in the midst of activity. Despite waves and creatures of the shoreline, the viewer is above it all and enjoying every minute of it. Nehemya’s snare rim-shots are energetic and all of the artists are putting their hearts into it. The piece closes with the gentleness that began it. SheshBesh offers some cool work from Eli. Again, the artists cover a complex of rhythmic variations that is like trying to escape Dr. No’s lair. These friends, compatriots and bandmates are in telepathic lock-step, it seems. They are amazing. Momento Fugaz features Shlomo Ydov on vocals and guitar. You’ve got to love this one. The acoustic guitar is warm and wonderful. Eli’s tenor sax and Gadi Lehavi’s piano are a splendid melodic triad with the guitar. The chord changes are quiet but profound. Palmas are a cool finishing touch for the piece. The Unknown Neighbor is slow and sweet. I swear to all the powers that be, the opening is the same chord changes as a tune from Disney’s Mary Poppins, albeit at about 1/4 the tempo. [Sorry if I’m wrong, Eli!] With all of that, however, the song is incredibly moving. From a touch of melancholy to bits of brightness, the track is astounding.

The album concludes with What Am I Doing Here. Everyone gets a voice in the piece. The bouncing bass of Barak Mori is right on it. Lehavi’s piano is just a wonder and Nehemya’s drums are so, so fine. Eli Degibri is wonderful. The ending is so full of joy and life. It is one of those uplifting themes that you hope never ends. He most assuredly saved the best for last. With a tweak of your nose at the very end. Cliff Hangin’ is one of the most rewarding and satisfying album I have heard in the last decade. Eli Degibri is more than a brilliant saxophone player, more than a stunning composer. There is something about Eli the person that commands attention and affection. There is something in his heart that reaches the listener. This was an incredible experience in listening and in life. ~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl  http://jazztimes.com/community/articles/171881-eli-degibri-and-the-emotions-of-cliff-hangin

Personnel:  Eli Degribi, tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone;  Gadi Lehavi, piano;  Barak Mori, bass;  Ofri Nehemya, drums;  Shlomo Ydov, vocals, guitar (9)

Cliff Hangin'