Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Tim Laughlin - New Orleans: Mardi Gras & Bourbon Street

Size: 138,8 MB
Time: 59:14
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2017
Styles: New Orleans Jazz
Art: Front

01. Dumaine Street Strut (5:55)
02. My Poor Restless Heart (4:18)
03. Decatur Street Parade (5:00)
04. Clarinet Blues (5:39)
05. Ill See You Again (4:19)
06. Good Time In New Orleans (5:33)
07. Gentilly Stomp (5:08)
08. I Tried To Recall (5:52)
09. Dance Of The Magnolias (4:06)
10. New Orleans On Parade (3:50)
11. Twilight In New Orleans (5:10)
12. Roundabout (4:18)

One of the brightest of the New Orleans-based clarinetists to emerge during the 1990s, Tim Laughlin has made a strong impression on the trad jazz scene. He started playing clarinet when he was nine and, other than doubling on alto a bit in high school, he has stuck to clarinet throughout his career and considers his main influence to be Pete Fountain. Tim Laughlin had several opportunities to tour Europe (most notably Germany) in the late '90s, has been an important part of the New Orleans jazz scene (including several years with the Dukes of Dixieland) and led recording sessions for Good Time Jazz and Jazzology; two dates finds him matching wits with fellow clarinetists Jack Maheu and Tom Fischer. ~Scott Yanow

New Orleans

Lucinda Belle - Think Big : Like Me

Styles: Vocal, Harp Jazz
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:11
Size: 101,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:21) 1. Baby Don't Cry
(3:03) 2. Where Have All the Good Men Gone
(3:55) 3. I Believe
(2:06) 4. New Boy
(3:18) 5. Do Me Right
(2:38) 6. Do Your Time
(4:19) 7. My Only Lament
(3:28) 8. I'll Be Loving You
(3:27) 9. Time Won't Wait for You
(2:28) 10. Nothing Left to Do but Smile
(3:27) 11. The Other Side of You
(3:50) 12. Washed up on Love
(3:47) 13. Don't Go Chasing Your Heart

Oscar nominated singer-songwriter Lucinda Belle isn't the first to do what she does, but she may be among the most eclectic; the vocalist/harpist keeps tradition alive by feeding it with myriad influences. Though her vocal style and choice of instrumentation often suggest jazz, she reaches well beyond the idiom while staying true to its roots. Her most recent offering, Think Big: Like Me pulls from jazz, pop, reggae, doo-wop, R&B and hip-hop, among other styles, to create an engaging pastiche that retains Belle's strong compositional voice throughout. The end result is consistently interesting and satisfying, something at once familiar and novel.

Belle's voice is bold, full of personality with, on occasion, an edge, recalling modern songstress Amy Winehouse, but it has a sweetness as well, bringing to mind legends like Peggy Lee and Julie London. Tunes like the single "Baby Don't Cry" have her moving between both worlds in arrangement and performance. "Do Me Right" and "I Believe" are other examples; Belle's voice is full of drive when needed and, often in the upper register of her rich alto, sonorous and masterfully controlled when the moment calls for it.

The album jumps playfully from sparse and antique instrumentation to contemporary production and style, and more often than not the change happens within one song. "New Boy" alternates between voice and harp and a driving rhythm section, almost recalling neo-soul, to create something timeless from the styles of two vastly different times. "My Only Lament" keeps the accompaniment floaty and reminiscent of a classic production from the 1960s, while "I'll Be Loving You" harkens back to the 1950s. Just a few songs later is "The Other Side of You," which sounds like something that may have played on the radio circa 2010.

Belle says emphatically of Think Big, it's "a break up album!!! 'I'll Be Loving You' was my first song on the album,... I wrote it still crying from the break up... and I put 'Don't Go Chasing Your Heart' at the end of the album to represent the transition and realization I'd been through, throughout the process. There's something here for everyone I hope!" Indeed, Belle says it best when she says there is something here for everyone. From melody and harmony to lyrics to production, the album is strong and will benefit from multiple listens.~ Paul Naser https://www.allaboutjazz.com/think-big-like-me-lucinda-belle-self-produced-review-by-paul-naser__18294.php

Personnel: Lucinda Belle: vocal/harp; Esben Tjalve: piano, organ; Sheldon Conrich: acoustic guitar; Rich Hornby: electric guitar; Jay Darwish: double bass; Phil Groysboeck: drums.

Think Big : Like Me

Norman Simmons - Midnight Creeper

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:36
Size: 148,5 MB
Art: Front

(8:32) 1. Blackout
(8:53) 2. Midnight Creeper
(9:50) 3. Someday My Prince Will Come
(4:26) 4. I Fall In Love too Easily
(7:15) 5. Send In the Clowns
(6:25) 6. Emily
(7:42) 7. Turtle
(5:52) 8. Confirmation
(5:36) 9. Easy Livin'

A classic hard-bop blues riff, taken here at a medium slow tempo that rolls along. The head develops a two-measure riff that rises and quickly falls; the descending diminished arpeggio at the beginning of the tenth measure is a characteristically slick, Simmonsian touch. Norman kept the rhythmic set up of his intro the same for our three editions (lead sheets, Piano/Bass Duo and Solo Piano Arrangement); where it goes after the first measure, however, varies by the performance, as you can see by comparing our C treble clef lead sheet with the Solo Piano Arrangement and the Piano Duo part.Note that the lead sheets for the Al Grey "Fab" recording are exactly the same as the lead sheets available for this trio version. To prevent multiple purchases of the same lead sheet, the selection boxes will automatically be checked.Try it, it's easier to see it than explain it.

Norman's "Midnight Creeper" trio recording has a fade out ending, so for our lead sheets we've used the ending from Norman's arrangement for the Al Grey "Fab" recording. This is essentially the same as the ending you'll find in both the Solo Piano Arrangement and the Piano/Bass Duo arrangement, but again, careful comparison will show slight differences, which is part of what jazz is all about. Whether playing this in a trio format, as in this recording, or with additional melodic instruments also playing the melody, as in the Al Grey recording, or in a duo format, as in the recording with bassist Daryl Johns, the pianist's role is always to simulate block chords while playing the melody. Norman's Solo Piano Arrangement gives you everything written out, and also works perfectly for the pianist with whatever instrumentation you're using.

All our lead sheet editions also show the connecting grace notes that Norman plays on piano. Depending on the instrument, other instrumentalists should not be concerned trying to playing all these grace notes exactly as written, but it's nice to see what the pianist is playing so you can figure out the most effective way to make your notes gliss with the pianist's line. Pianists should also check out the description in the Piano Corner tab. The C bass clef edition is designed for the trombonist or other bass clef melody instruments. We recommend that bassists get the Bass part from the Piano/Bass Duo arrangement, which shows how bassist Daryl Johns dealt with the grace notes. Check out the Bass Corner tab on the Piano/Bass Duo recording for more details. https://jazzleadsheets.com/composers/norman-simmons.html

Midnight Creeper

Brian Bromberg - A Little Driving Music

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:14
Size: 166,9 MB
Art: Front

(6:24) 1. Froggy’s
(6:31) 2. Quarantine
(5:24) 3. That Cool Groovy Beatnik Jazz
(5:08) 4. Bado Boy!
(5:22) 5. Walking on Sunshine
(5:21) 6. Sag 5 (As in Sagittarius)
(5:59) 7. A Rainy Day in Paris
(5:30) 8. A Little Driving Music
(5:15) 9. Peace
(6:56) 10. Jedediah’s Gold!
(5:28) 11. The Sitting Room
(5:40) 12. Baton Rouge
(3:10) 13. Lullaby for Bado

World-renowned bassist and producer Brian Bromberg finds inspiration during the pandemic with a funk driven album that conjures the spirit of the open road. 'A Little Driving Music' features an all-star socially distanced lineup of musicians including Dave Koz, Marion Meadows, Everette Harp, Elan Trotman, Gary Meek and Nick Colionne. 'A Little Driving Music' is Bromberg's third album created in quarantine, features a dozen brand-new Bromberg compositions as well as a surprising 80s cover song, the joyful Katrina and the Waves hit "Walking on Sunshine." The freedom of the open road on 'A Little Driving Music' shrugs off the prevailing mood of COVID-era claustrophobia and political strife for fun, funky paean to cruising with the top down and leaving your troubles behind. https://www.propermusic.com/art7077-a-little-driving-music.html

A Little Driving Music