Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Blossom Dearie - Les Blue Stars - The Pianist

Styles: Vocal and Piano Jazz
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:08
Size: 79,4 MB
Art: Front

(2:46)  1. The Continental
(2:51)  2. The Boy Next Door
(2:34)  3. They Can't Take That Away From Me
(2:34)  4. Moonlight Saving Time (There Ought To Be A)
(2:56)  5. The Surrey With The Fringe On Top
(2:55)  6. April In Paris
(2:42)  7. Blue Moon
(3:24)  8. Down The Depths Of The 90th Floor
(2:50)  9. La Legende Du Pays Des Oiseaux
(3:04) 10. Lettre A Virginie
(2:43) 11. Toute Ma Joie
(2:45) 12. Embrasse-Moi Bien

A distinctive, girlish voice and crisp, impeccable delivery, plus an irrepressible sense of playful swing, made Blossom Dearie one of the most enjoyable singers of the vocal era. Her warmth and sparkle ensured that she'd never treat standards as the well-worn songs they often appeared in less capable hands. And though her reputation was made on record with a string of excellent albums for Verve during the '50s, she remained a draw with Manhattan cabaret audiences long into the new millennium. Actually born with the name Blossom Dearie in the New York Catskills, she began playing piano at an early age and studied classical music before making the switch to jazz while in high school. After graduation, she moved to New York and began appearing with vocal groups like the Blue Flames (attached to Woody Herman) and the Blue Reys (with Alvino Rey). She also played cocktail piano around the city, and moved to Paris in 1952 to form her own group, the Blue Stars of France. Dearie also appeared in a nightclub act with Annie Ross, and made a short, uncredited appearance on King Pleasure's vocalese classic, "Moody's Mood for Love." She recorded an obscure album of piano solos, and in 1954, the Blue Stars hit the national charts with a French version of "Lullaby of Birdland." After hearing Dearie perform in Paris in 1956, Norman Granz signed her to Verve and she returned to America by the end of the year. Her eponymous debut for Verve featured a set of standards that slanted traditional pop back to its roots in Tin Pan Alley, Broadway, and cabaret. 

Her focus on intimate readings of standards ("Deed I Do," "Thou Swell") and the relaxed trio setting (bassist Ray Brown and drummer Jo Jones, plus Dearie on piano) drew nods to her cabaret background. On her next few records, Dearie stuck to her focus on standards and small groups, though her gift for songwriting emerged as well with songs like "Blossom's Blues." She performed in solo settings at supper clubs all over New York, and appeared on the more cultured of the late-'50s New York talk shows. Her husband, flutist Bobby Jaspar, made several appearances on her records, notably 1959's My Gentleman Friend. After a recording break in the early '60s, Blossom Dearie signed to Capitol for one album (1964's May I Come In?), but then recorded sparingly during the rest of the decade. Finally, in the early '70s, she formed her own Daffodil Records label and began releasing her own work, including 1974's Blossom Dearie Sings and 1976's My New Celebrity Is You. She also performed at Carnegie Hall with Anita O'Day and Joe Williams, billed as the Jazz Singers. She continued to perform and record during the 1980s through to the early 2000s, centered mostly in New York but also a regular attraction in London as well. She retired from playing live in 2006 due to health concerns and died quietly in her Greenwich Village apartment on February 7, 2009. ~ John Bush https://www.allmusic.com/artist/blossom-dearie-mn0000758601/biography

Personnel:  Alto Vocals [Contralto] – Blossom Dearie (tracks: 9 to 12), Nadine Young (tracks: 9 to 12); Bass Vocals – Jean Mercadier (tracks: 9 to 12); Double Bass – Herman Garst (tracks: 1 to 8); Drums – Bernard Planchenault (tracks: 1 to 8); Piano – Blossom Dearie (tracks: 1 to 8); Piano, Arranged By – Michel Legrand (tracks: 9); Soprano Vocals [First] – Christiane Legrand (tracks: 9 to 12); Soprano Vocals [Second] – Janine De Waleyne (tracks: 9 to 12); Tenor Vocals [Second] – Christian Chevallier (tracks: 9 to 12); Trumpet, Baritone Vocals – Roger Guérin (tracks: 9 to 12); Vibraphone, Tenor Vocals [Lead] – Fats Sadi (tracks: 9 to 12)

The Pianist

Joanie Pallatto - My Original Plan

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:01
Size: 144,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:29) 1. Open Your Eyes
(5:00) 2. Do Butterflies Cry?
(5:17) 3. The Blank Page
(4:54) 4. The Confessional
(5:27) 5. My Original Plan
(3:58) 6. Jon's Place
(4:47) 7. About a Song
(2:13) 8. Rest
(3:35) 9. The Photograph
(4:57) 10. Almost 65
(4:09) 11. A Simple Time
(5:38) 12. They Sentenced Us to Paradise
(3:09) 13. This Winter
(4:21) 14. Lucky to Belong to You

Jazzy-Pop! All Original Music from 39th Annual Chicago Music Awards ~ Lifetime Achievement Recipient for Extra-Ordinary Contributions to the Music Industry Singer-Songwriter Joanie Pallatto co-produced by modern guitar virtuoso Fareed Haque featuring an ALL Star Chicago lineup: Joanie Pallatto, Fareed Haque, Howard Levy, Bobby Lewis, Steve Eisen, John Devlin, Luiz Ewerling, Juan Pastor, Kurt Schweitz, Bradley Parker-Sparrow

Described by Rick Kogan of the Chicago Tribune as having “a stirring and special voice,” Joanie Pallatto is a graduate of The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Pallatto toured with The Glenn Miller Orchestra as a featured vocalist before moving to Chicago in 1979. Co-owner and partner with pianist/composer and husband, Bradley Parker-Sparrow at Sparrow Sound Design Recording Studio and Southport Records, Pallatto has expertise in all aspects of musical production. As a studio singer and voiceover talent, she has recorded on hundreds of Radio and TV commercials. As a jazz vocalist, Pallatto has performed at Chicago clubs City Winery, Andy’s and The Green Mill and New York venues the Iridium, Pangea and Birdland. Concert engagements have include Chicago Jazz Festival, Chicago Cultural Center, The Old Town School of Folk Music, Park West, Stage 773 and Bailiwick Theater; she was also a featured soloist with Daniel Barenboim in “Ellington Among Friends” at Symphony Center in 1999. Awards include: Lifetime Achievement Award for Extra-Ordinary Contributions to the Music Industry, Chicago Music Awards (2021); The Coleman Award in Music Business Entrepreneurship from Elmhurst College (2018) and the Jazz Journalist Association 2016 Chicago Jazz Heroes Award, to Joanie Pallatto & Sparrow.

Joanie Pallatto My Original Plan (2021) featuring modern guitar virtuoso Fareed Haque, showcases Singer-Songwriter Pallatto’s fourteen original Jazzy-Pop songs! Produced by Fareed Haque and Joanie Pallatto. The Single Do Butterflies Cry? is available on all digital platforms, and the music video, a rhythmic journey through nature and the beautiful countryside of Costa Rica, is available for viewing on YouTube.com. This Winter is a heartwarming track from the CD with a music photo video. “Listen closely and find out how to dream and how to use those dreams…With Joanie, the personal becomes universal.”Stephen Cole, award winning songwriter and playwright (from liner notes)

In 2011, Pallatto released the critically-acclaimed CD As You Spend Your Life and the music videos “For My Mother’s Love,” “As You Spend Your Life” and “Playa Bonita” plus Jazz Legend Bob Dorough recorded his vocal and piano on Frank Foster’s “Simone,” with Pallatto’s lyrics. It’s Not Easy is Singer-Songwriter Pallatto’s first CD of ten original tunes and videos (2008.) Christopher Loudon in the May 2011 issue of Jazz Times says of Pallatto “Pallatto sounds a lot like Stevie Nicks if, that is, Nicks was a top-drawer jazz stylist of expansive musical tastes and keen instincts.” and “Trying to channel Pallatto is like attempting to bottle a cyclone. It’s best to just let her run wild…”

Other recordings in Pallatto’s discography include Float Out to Sea with Sparrow (2017); Two Again with pianist/arranger Marshall Vente (2015) Days with Joanie & Sparrow (2013); The King and I (2000) with legendary pianist/composer King Fleming; Words and Music (1999); Two with Marshall Vente (1997); FIRE with Von Freeman (1996); Passing Tones (1995); Who Wrote This Song? (1994); and Whisper Not (LP 1986). Pallatto has continually recorded original music with Sparrow, The Light, a tone poem (2004); Canned Beer (2003), and We Are Not Machines (2001). https://www.katesmithpromotions.com/artists/joanie-pallatto/

My Original Plan