Ben L'Oncle Soul - Under My Skin

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:57
Size: 133,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:20) 1. A Very Good Year
(3:41) 2. All The Way
(3:51) 3. Fly Me To The Moon
(4:13) 4. The Good Life
(5:26) 5. Moonlight Serenade
(3:27) 6. I Love Paris
(6:10) 7. My Way
(4:32) 8. New York New York
(3:54) 9. The Way You Look Tonight
(4:41) 10. I've Got You Under My Skin
(4:39) 11. Witchcraft
(3:09) 12. All The Way (Version Acoustique)
(5:48) 13. I've Got You Under My Skin (Version Acoustique)

Ben l'Oncle Soul is a French soul singer with a retro style who made his eponymous Top Five hit album debut in 2010. Born Benjamin Duterde in 1984 in Tours, Indre-et-Loire, France, he took his name and look from Uncle Ben, the fictitious elderly African-American man dressed in a bow tie who serves as the brand image of Uncle Ben's Rice. The moniker Ben l'Oncle Soul was chosen rather than Uncle Ben to avoid any charges of trademark infringement. Years before Duterde adopted the Ben l'Oncle Soul moniker, he got his professional start as a vocalist in the Fitiavana Gospel Choir, which he joined in 2004. The Tours-based gospel choir made its album debut with I Have a Dream (2009), a collection of English-language soul classics such as "Killing Me Softly," "Lean on Me," and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman."

In turn, Duterde was offered a solo recording deal with the French division of Motown Records. Billing himself as Ben l'Oncle Soul, he made his solo recording debut with the Soul Wash EP (2009). Comprised of cover material, the majority of it sung in English, the six-track EP is performed in a retro style informed by the Motown and Stax sounds of the 1960s. A cover of the Gnarls Barkley smash hit "Crazy" was released as a single. A half-year later, Duterde made his full-length debut with the eponymous album Ben l'Oncle Soul (2010). Produced by Guillaume Poncelet and Gabin Lesieur, the album is comprised entirely of original material, plus the cover version of the White Stripes hit "Seven Nation Army" from the Soul Wash EP. With "Seven Nation Army" released as its lead single, Ben l'Oncle Soul was a Top Five hit on the French albums chart.~ Jason Birchmeier https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ben-loncle-soul-mn0002459668/biography

Personnel: Ben L'Oncle Soul - vocals; Benjamin Waxx Hekimian - guitar, bass guitar; Matthieu Joly - keyboards; Maxime Pinto - sax, trumpet; Christophe Lardeau - acoustic guitar

Under My Skin

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Gary Bartz - Music Is My Sanctuary

Styles: Jazz Funk
Year: 1977
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:02
Size: 83,5 MB
Art: Front

(6:22) 1. Music Is My Sanctuary
(5:57) 2. Carnaval De L'Esprit
(4:11) 3. Love Ballad
(6:53) 4. Swing Thing
(5:55) 5. Oo Baby Baby
(6:42) 6. Macaroni

Surrounding himself with a world-class ensemble of disco-jazz-fusion musicians and armed with the Mizell brothers at the production console (who were near the peak of their careers around this time), Gary Bartz took the route of Donald Byrd and brought new elements of funk, soul, and a foreshadowing of the soon-to-be-commercial disco craze all into a 40-minute workout on Music Is My Sanctuary. While purists shook their heads in disapproval and disdain at Bartz's new direction (one emulated by several jazz pioneers at the time), those who could take off their traditional jazz mufflers would find Bartz and the Mizells making some highly infectious, soulful music. Further accentuated by the addition of Syreeta Wright on vocals, the Mizells took Bartz into nearly uncharted territories for jazz musicians. The results of this experimentation more than paid off, with the dividends being Bartz's most polished, focused releases.~ Rob Theakston https://www.allmusic.com/album/music-is-my-sanctuary-mw0000027322

Personnel: Gary Bartz - Saxophone (Alto, Soprano), Piano, Electric Piano, Synthesizer, Vocals; Larry Mizell - Keyboards, Vocals; George Cables - Piano; David T. Walker, John Rowin, Juewett Bostick, Wah-Wah Watson - Guitar; Curtis Robinson, Jr., Welton Gite - Bass; Howard King, James Gadson, Nate Neblett - Drums; Bill Summers, James Mtume - Percussion; Eddie Henderson, Ray Brown - Trumpet; Sigidi, Syreeta Wright - Vocals

Music Is My Sanctuary

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Curtis Fuller - Four On The Outside

Styles: Trombone Jazz

Year: 2008

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 46:27

Size: 106,5 MB

Art: Front

( 4:49)  1. Four on the Outside

(12:58)  2. Suite Kathy

( 5:06)  3. Hello Young Lovers

( 7:44)  4. Little Dreams

( 8:14)  5. Ballad For Gabe-Wells

( 7:33)  6. Corrida Del Torro

While Curtis Fuller may have reached his peak in the 1960s, he continued to be an important voice well into the 1970s and beyond. This delightful set features him in a front line with Pepper Adams, and the trombone-baritone saxophone combination was a natural. (Curiously, few others have followed this intriguing coupling.) While there is no new ground broken, Adams and Fuller negotiate tunes mostly written by Fuller, with simple, yet elegant heads. The version of "Hello Young Lovers" is characteristically conservative, yet sharp and well rehearsed. Fuller's nasal tone, machine gun-like spurts, and focus on the middle range on his horn complements Adams' angular, boppish lines. The fine rhythm section of pianist James Williams, bassist Dennis Irwin, and drummer John Yarling never gets in the way, but lets the horns spread their wings. ~ Steve Loewy  http://www.allmusic.com/album/four-on-the-outside-mw0000464545

Personnel: Baritone Saxophone – Pepper Adams;  Bass – Dennis Irwin;  Drums – John Yarling;  Piano – James Williams;  Trombone – Curtis Fuller

Four On The Outside

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Jane McDonald - Let The Light In

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:31
Size: 110,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:30) 1. You Don't Know What You Got
(3:14) 2. Step Outside The Door
(3:24) 3. I'll Not Be Beaten
(4:30) 4. I See It In Your Eyes
(3:43) 5. The Hand That Leads Me
(3:36) 6. Shallow
(4:04) 7. Let The Light In
(3:58) 8. This Is Me
(3:57) 9. You & I Could
(3:26) 10. Never Enough
(5:31) 11. You Still Lead Me
(4:33) 12. You're My World

Jane McDonald brings together new songs and fan favourites on her latest album ‘Let The Light In.’ The record marks the first time the powerhouse singer has recorded with her live band and replicates the united, cohesive sound of her live shows. It’s a format reflected in the song selection; four of which appeared on her last LP ‘Hold The Covers Back’, along with three covers from her live show, two reworked tracks and three new compositions. As a collection, the album showcases Jane’s vocal prowess, which is as strong now as it was 25 years ago when cameras rolled for BBC’s ‘The Cruise’.But what’s disappointing is that half of the 12 tracks are already widely available albeit in different configurations leaving essentially a six-track EP of new cuts. Moreover, the new songs are so good, including the country-tinged You Don’t Know What You Got, funk-driven You & I Could and You Still Lead Me, perhaps her strongest self-penned offering to date. Covers of ‘The Greatest Showman’tunes This Is Me and Never Enough, and Shallow from ‘A Star is Born’, add to her recorded repertoire, and it’s hard not to want for more. That’s not to knock the quality of the record; the original material is career-best work and, if there’s one thing to be taken from ‘Let The Light In’, it’s that Jane McDonald remains at the top of her game. https://retropopmagazine.com/jane-mcdonald-let-the-light-in-album-review/

Let The Light In

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