New York Swing - Cole Porter Collective

Styles: Piano And Guitar Jazz
Year: 1992
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:38
Size: 144,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:47)  1. What Is This Thing Called Love
(5:02)  2. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
(5:51)  3. Dream Dancing
(6:18)  4. All Through the Night
(4:29)  5. Easy to Love
(5:22)  6. Let's Do It
(5:05)  7. From This Moment On
(3:48)  8. You're Sensational
(5:36)  9. Where Have You Been
(4:53) 10. Get Out of Town
(5:50) 11. Lookin' At You
(5:31) 12. It's Alright With Me

Originally issued by Sonny Lester on his LRC label, this tribute to the music of Cole Porter has reappeared under the Laserlight banner. The album's style recalls the George Shearing groups, with Bucky Pizzarelli's guitar taking on the role that Joe Roland and other vibes players had with Shearing. Under the name New York Swing, the ensemble features Pizzarelli joined by a bevy of top-drawer New York musicians led by pianist John Bunch. This paean to Porter follows other albums by the group honoring other major contributors to the Great American Songbook, like Jerome Kern and Rodgers & Hart. All of these musicians have played these Porter gems before. Rather than making the songs sound old hat and tired because of this close familiarity, the group members have successfully found fresh ways to express their ideas. And that is what makes this composer a favorite among virtually all jazz performers: His work promotes improvisation. 

He allows good players to borrow the song, add his or her interpretative imprimatur to it, and then return it intact. "Easy to Love," for example, is presented in a chamber music setting featuring Jay Leonhart's bowed bass. In addition to those customary Porter gems, there are also a few songs that are not so often heard, like "Where Have You Been," which he wrote for an appropriately titled musical The New Yorkers. These are given the same high level of respectful treatment by the group as the more famous Porter material. With nary a bad track in the set, this album of outstanding small group performing is highly recommended. ~ Dave Nathan  http://www.allmusic.com/album/new-york-swing-cole-porter-mw0000280391

Personnel: John Bunch (piano), Bucky Pizzarelli (guitar), Jay Leonhart (bass), Joe Cocuzzo (drums).

Cole Porter Collective

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Maria Postell - Maria Postell With Dave Mckenna & Don Thompson

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:40
Size: 102,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:29) 1. Make Me Rainbows
(5:02) 2. The Very Thought of You
(3:13) 3. I've Got the World on a String
(4:52) 4. When Sunny Gets Blue
(4:41) 5. Come Rain Or Come Shine
(2:39) 6. Lovewise
(4:19) 7. My Funny Valentine
(3:25) 8. Isn't It A Pity
(3:42) 9. Can't We Be Friends
(4:35) 10. I've Grown Accustomed To His Face
(4:37) 11. Don't Take Your Love From Me

Maria Postell is a consummate performer and vocalist. Her voice has been compared to that of Nancy Wilson, Barbara Streisand and Jane Monheit. Her vocal and emotional range is as impressive as it is authentic, with the ability to soothe and arouse one’s sensibilities. One critic notes: "This is music to soothe the heart in a spastic world. Maria Postell's beautifully expressive voice is complimented by very engaging instrumentation."

Maria began her career in the 1970s, in Boston, gigging and collaborating with innovative musicians from the Berklee School of Music. During that time she had the opportunity to work with many established jazz greats such as, Dave McKenna, Dick Johnson, Claudio Roditi, Joe Lovano, and Paul Broadnax. On many occasions she made guest appearances on WGBH in Boston with music impresario, Ron Della Chiesa. After moving to NYC in the 1980’s, Maria has performed in the top NYC music establishments and toured throughout North America.

In 1985 Maria recorded her first solo album with Dave McKenna, considered the pianist’s pianist, and Don Thompson, a renowned Canadian jazz pianist, bassist and vibraphonist. Four songs from this album were recorded with Dave McKenna and Maria: The Very Thought of You, Isn’t It a Pity, Funny Valentine and When Sunny Gets Blue. https://webbg.com/jazz/6603-maria-postell-with-dave-mckennadon-thompson-free-download.html

Maria Postell With Dave Mckenna & Don Thompson

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Kristen Lee Sergeant - Falling

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:09
Size: 90,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:04) 1. Let's Fall
(4:19) 2. Sisyphus
(3:37) 3. Birdsong
(4:30) 4. Chiaroscuro
(3:39) 5. Honey
(4:11) 6. Infinity Blues
(3:18) 7. Better Off
(3:48) 8. Orpheus
(3:23) 9. Autumn Nocturne
(4:16) 10. That Old Black Magic

Kristen Lee Sergeant is a jazz vocalist and composer of effervescent energy, musical intensity and dramatic flair. DownBeat Magazine has given both her albums the distinction of being an Editor’s Pick, citing how she “crafts moments of engaging drama, whether she’s seductively sliding into a note with a near-whisper, delivering a breathy revelation or belting out a lyric with full-throated muscularity.” She commits to telling a story in her music and performance style, while sparking spontaneous sonic conversation with her fellow musicians. Such commitment, and its results, captivate her audiences, whether in live performance or listening to her recordings.

Kristen’s current release, Smolder, is a story of fire love ignited, ablaze and extinguished. DownBeat critic Bobby Reed writes “This elegant album illustrates what can happen when admirable ambition is paired with vocal vibrancy.” Alongside her inventive arrangements of jazz standards and pop hits, she also makes her debut as a songwriter of originality and craft. “Balm/Burn”, one of the originals, also provides the music for her first music video that has been lauded by pop and jazz critics alike. NeuFutur commented that with this video Kirsten “is able to refresh a storied jazz vocal tradition that traces its way back about 100 years.”

What brought her here is a journey of searching and curiosity that imbues her work with many influences. Growing up in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, she devoted herself to theater, and worked professionally through school, graduating from Brandeis University with a degree in music. “I left my high school graduation early, with a costume underneath my robe, for an evening show. Same in college: couldn’t celebrate since there was a matinee that day!” Kristen recalls. She left Brandeis having received the Ira Gershwin Prize in Music. Although classical vocal training interested her in pursuing opera as well as musical theater, jazz is what won her heart when she moved to New York City. “The intimacy of performance in smaller venues, and the nature of improvised music opened up entirely new possibilities for me as a musician and performer. It wasn’t really a choice; I was captured by the music.”

Kristen recollects, citing Marilyn Maye and Carmen McRae as inspirations, then and today. She began singing with a big band, worked with small combos in cigar bars, hookah lounges, nursing homes, “wherever I could”, she adds. Coupled with intensive study with singer/composer Tom Lellis, she evolved her vocal style and musicianship in a totally new direction, taking the best of what stage training offered and crafting her approach to jazz with intensive work. She won the Jazz Forum Arts vocal competition in 2014, and in addition to enthusiastic acclaim for her first album, Kristen also performed at Birdland, Iridium, Zinc Bar, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Joe’s Pub and more.

A singer with a side hustle is no anomaly, but a singer who is also a certified sommelier, serving on the floor of NYC’s top restaurants, while forging her career onstage, is quite unique. While debuting her first record at Birdland, she was a sommelier at Gotham Bar & Grill; while finishing her second record, Smolder, she brought her wine expertise to The Grill (the New York Times’ restaurant of the year in 2017). “I’m lucky to have had work in wine that allowed me to develop individuality in my musical approach”, Kristen explains. “There is something of a connection between them in that both music and wine can be intoxicating, and in their highest expression, bring us into a transcendent state.”

Not surprisingly, her creativity found its way into her work with wine. Two Notes, a wine Kristen created with Grammy winner Ted Nash, is a Bordeaux blend from California soon to be in its second vintage. “There comes a time to contribute to the the narrative of the things you love, not just be a consumer or a critic. Two Notes is our contribution to the wine world.”Her passion for wine and song is leading to exciting places, as her international career begins, and Smolder’s spark begins to blaze. Certainly, there will be much to toast to as time goes on. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/kristen-lee-sergeant

Falling

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Julio Resende - Fado & Further (Live)

Size: 171,4 MB
Time: 74:22
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Piano Jazz, Fado, Latin Jazz
Art: Front

01. Uma Outra Mariquinhas ( 9:18)
02. Fado Loucura/Sou Do Fado (10:45)
03. Da Alma (11:46)
04. Gaivota ( 8:35)
05. Lagrima (Feat. Silvia Perez Cruz) ( 6:55)
06. Cucurrucucu Paloma (Feat. Silvia Perez Cruz) ( 8:49)
07. Pare Meu (Feat. Silvia Perez Cruz) ( 9:52)
08. Enfrentar O Medo ( 8:17)

“Fado & Further”, consists of live excerpts from concerts performed by Júlio Resende between 2014 and 2015, while touring in support of his previous work – “Amália por Júlio Resende”, rated 5 “Choc-Disc” stars by prestigious magazine CLASSICA – FRANCE.

Being a two-parted album, the first half brings us a solo performance by the pianist, who presents new takes on the Fado songbook, alongside an original piece and a traditional hispanic song; the second part brings along the charming Sílvia Pérez Cruz – who began her collaboration with Júlio Resende in a sold-out show at the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, in Lisbon and is considered by critics and the public “Spain’s best singer right now”.

Júlio Resende embraced the heritage of Carlos Paredes and Amália Rodrigues and from his fingertips sprang a new approach to Fado.

After having sold out venues in Dili and Tokyo, the pianist’s next destination is Paris, where he will perform at the JazzyColors Festival before returning to Portugal to present his new record.The “Fado & Further” concerts are scheduled for November 27th at the Auditório Municipal de Olhão, in Algarve and November 28th at the Grande Auditório do Centro Cultural de Belém, in Lisbon.

Along with Sílvia Pérez Cruz, Júlio Resende will also be joined on stage by the great brazilian singer-songwriter Moreno Veloso, musical heir to one of the greatest brazilian icons – his father Caetano Veloso.

Fado & Further

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