Monday, March 14, 2022

Sue Moreno & Jack Rabbit Slim - One Track Mind

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 30:46
Size: 71,9 MB
Art: Front

(2:26) 1. One Track Mind
(2:09) 2. The Fire Is A Burnin
(2:28) 3. Too Late
(2:24) 4. Time Is a Wastin' (Sue Moreno Version)
(2:53) 5. Gone Gone Gone
(2:06) 6. Don't Hurt Me Baby
(2:24) 7. Gotta Get Back Home Somehow
(2:40) 8. What About Tomorrow
(2:01) 9. Record Hop
(1:57) 10. Good Girls Gonna Go Bad
(2:25) 11. Cinderella Story
(2:23) 12. Walkin' With Angels
(2:26) 13. Time Is a Wastin' (Duet with Bob Butfoy)

We’ve come to know Sue Moreno as a passionate vocalist, songwriter and performer who with her unique style, natural class, charisma and warm personality knows how to move her audience. Starting with a solid base of Americana, Ms. Moreno adds a variety of musical styles: Classic country & gospel, jazz and vintage pop to create her own unique sound. Her show concepts have taken her all over the world, with performances and tours in Europe and America to Scandinavia and South-America. She’s played sold-out residential shows and traveled with succesful theater tours in the Netherlands and Europe. Sue has worked with many well-known musicians and artists and can be seen & heard with her own jazz combo as well as guesting with a number of big bands and received awards for various stellar performances.

Her vocals can be heard in commercials like Flowerbomb perfume of Fashion House V&R and various themes for Otazu Jewellery. Her music has been used on the catwalk in Paris. She could be seen in campaigns for the Spanish glamour magazine ‘Imagen y Belleza’ and Sil USA. In 2014 her Glamour Calendar came out, a collaboration with star photographer Govert de Roos. Her record debut Dream You (2002) opened many doors allowing Sue to perform outside the Netherlands. Sue’s next album Drivin’ on the Highway of Love (2004) showcased her own compositions, proving her to be a formidable song writing talent. That same year she contributed to the big band album Night and Day (2004) and one of her tracks, Cry Me a River, made it to the top 10 in South-Africa. Bye Bye Blues (2006) was a collaboration with Italian guitarist Marco di Maggio. A tour in Italy followed and due to many requests the record was re-released in 2009 with extra songs.

As Sue was working hard on her jazzy lounge-nightclub shows she was noticed by producer Eddy de Clercq who asked her to collaborate with him for his outstanding Music for Catwalks project (2008). The music was performed on huge fashion events in Europe. Sue has impressed audiences with her charismatic performances during ‘the Country Music Hall of Fame’ tour throughout the Netherlands and Belgium and at gospelevents in her country. In 2008 she left for Los Angeles for a concert tour while taking songwriting sessions with studio musicians, some of which were released on One Track Mind (2009), a collaboration with the popular Uk band Jack Rabbit Slim. In both 2010 and 2011 Sue starred in a European tour with the original bandmembers of Elvis Presley.

A typical indie, do-it-yourself artist, she left for Nashville in 2012 to write & record songs with renowned musicians. The result was her acclaimed album City by Night (2014), featuring much of her own work sung with a different, pure and almost smoky sound, touched with a hint of vulnerability, colored with exotic influences. Shows followed in Nashville and The United States, as well as tours in Europe with the Nashvillians. n 2016 Sue contributed to an Elvis tribute project called Duets (2016). And showed yet another side of herself with the release of The Long and Winding Road (2018) recorded with a grand orchestra, released on her own label Heavenly Records. In 2019 Sue began writing again and set off to record in Memphis, USA. Grammy winners and legendary musicians of Royal and Stax fame have joined forces once again to collaborate with her on these recordings and to accompany her with their unmistakable Memphis Soul sound. How’s it going? To quote pianist Lester Snell ‘You Got what it takes, girl!’ Talk about respect. Says enough, yes? https://www.suemoreno.com/about-me/

One Track Mind

Barbara Morrison - I Love You, Yes I Do

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:30
Size: 134,5 MB
Art: Front

(5:02)  1. Save Your Love For Me
(4:07)  2. And I Love Him
(5:24)  3. For The Love Of You
(3:47)  4. Blow Top Blues
(6:44)  5. Canadian Sunset
(4:26)  6. I Had a Talk With My Man Last Night
(5:12)  7. Trust In Me
(3:33)  8. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
(5:40)  9. Who Can I Turn To?
(4:56) 10. If It's The Last Thing I Do
(5:16) 11. Black Eyed Blues
(4:18) 12. I Love You Yes I Do

Being tense can cause creative blocks be they in music or in life, Barbara Morrison teams up with Houston Person for a celebration of song and life with I Love You, Yes I Do. Singers sing, vocal artists can take you places and this is the wheel house of Barbara Morrison. Houston Person is one of the most versatile tenor players having successfully worked in virtually every genre music imaginable.  What makes this release work so well aside from the obvious chemistry would be that the songs go deep catalog. Morrison avoids some of the more cliché tunes and opts for songs such as the Isley Brothers classic "For The Love Of You" and then simply crushes the Great American Songbook classic from Rogers and Hart, "I Didn't Know What Time It Was."There is a vibrant spirit to Morrison as she does more than sings the words, she makes the music. Houston Person is her perfect counterpoint while the rhythm section understands their roles in this improvisational exploratory of song and they are first rate!  There is something here for everyone. Nothing to grind on and perhaps the best review would be to call I Love You, Yes I Do a big lyrical hug! Fantastic! ~ Brent Black  http://www.criticaljazz.com/2014/08/barbara-morrison-i-love-you-yes-i-do.html                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
Personnel: Barbara Morrison: Vocals; Houston Person: Tenor Sax; Stuart Elster: Piano; Richard Simon: Bass; Lee Spath: Drums.

Ray Blue - Berries and Blues

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2017
File: MP3@128K/s
Time: 48:48
Size: 45,7 MB

(0:47) 1. Lift Every Voice and Sing
(5:20) 2. Baby Just Tell Me
(4:49) 3. Berries for Breakfast
(5:37) 4. There Is No Greater Love
(8:10) 5. Stella by Starlight
(5:25) 6. Work
(6:10) 7. Strollin
(6:26) 8. Here We Go
(5:21) 9. Ubuntu
(0:39) 10. Amazing Grace

Ray Blue - a big saxophone sound that touches your soul. Saxophonist Ray Blue has a sound and style that are energetic, powerful, and sensitive. Ray takes you for a musical ride that is characterized by passion and precision. He delivers dynamic poetic phrases, strong grooves and leaves audiences wanting more. A Ray Blue Music Experience stays with you for a long time. “Ray Blue has a majestic presence. When playing, his sense of purpose is obvious. As evidence of that - people’s enthralled smile. It's one thing to be a good composer it's another to be a great performer. Ray Blue's got the whole package.” (Jean Szlamowicz, Jazz Hot, Down Beat)

“Growing up in New York in a musically rich environment, I learned an appreciation for all music”, Ray says. “Through music I am able to help people experience wonderful moments… I love what I do, whether performing, composing or just listening ...music is wonderful. I want to bring people together to share and gain an understanding of the music and one another”. Having studied music and performed all his life, Ray began playing clarinet at age 8 and added tenor saxophone and bass clarinet at age 14. “My Jr. High School music teacher introduced the class to ‘Kind of Blue’ by Miles Davis. ‘This is your music’, he said. That was it for me.”

Jazz, r&b and soul music became Ray’s passion in High School and he started playing for dances and in clubs at age 15. During these years he was nurtured by several musicians in his community: the late Dr. Jesse J. Johnson, Dr. Art Davis, Asbury “Sticks” Medowbrook and Vince Corozine as well as his contemporaries, Chip White and Michael Cochrane. Ray learned to be a student of the music, the importance of being an avid listener and to embrace the tradition of jazz.

He later studied at the Jazz Mobile with Charles Davis also with Paul Jeffreys, Charlie Lagond, Sonny Sharrock and was mentored by Arthur Blythe and Ornette Coleman, with whom he maintains a close relationship. Ray Blue is a graduate of the University of Iowa and Wm. Penn University, which annually presents “The Ray Blue Jazz Award” to a graduating senior.

Over the years, Ray played in jazz, blues and r&b bands on the New York scene and learned from veteran musicians in a variety of contexts. He honed his skills as a saxophonist, composer and leader performing in clubs, concerts, at festivals and recorded with bands for Columbia Records, RCA Records and several Independent record labels. Ray has performed with a host world known musicians including Steve Turre, John Gilmore, Michael Cochrane, Eddie Henderson, Gary Bartz, Clfford Adams, T.K. Blue, Victor Jones, Joe Ford and Blues Legend Bob Gaddy, The Sun Ra Arkestra, The Cotton Club All Stars and others. He is also a main stay with the Spirit of Life Ensemble. As a leader; John Patton, Wycliff Gordon, Michael Cochrane, Ed Cherry, Larry Willis, John Betch, Wayne Dockery, Bobby Battle, Bruce Cox, Benny Powell, Chip White, Calvin Hill and many more have shared the stage and studio with Ray. Ray performs on numerous world stages connecting people with his music.

His festival performances as leader and featured artist include: Zanzibar International Film Festival, Zanzibar, Tanzania; North Sea Jazz Festival-Cape Town, South Africa; Macufe Festival-Bloemfontain, South Africa; European Union Annex Festival-Dublin, Ireland; Audi Jazz Festival-Brussels, Belgium; Macao Jazz Festival, China; The Newport in New York Festival, New York, New York; New York State Black Arts Festival-Albany, New York; Köpenick Jazz Festival-Berlin, Germany; Midi Music Festival-Beijing, China; Pori Jazz Festival, Finland; Foix Jazz Festival, France; Bayonne Jazz Festival, France and others. Ray released his first CD, Always with a Purpose, in 2001. Then came “Ray Blue Live at Liars Theater” in 2004 and “Ray Blue Live at Liars Theater 2” in 2005. And in 2006 Ray released ‘Transvision’ on the Neu Klang label. Most of the songs were composed while traveling and meeting people around the world…”It's a celebration of friendships.”

A monumental experience for Ray was to establish a connection in Africa and in 2003 he visited South Africa for the first time. While performing with South African musicians, conducting jazz and educational workshops, a unique blend of musical language was being formed. This was a fusion of American and African cultures, rhythms and melodies. People listened, danced, smiled and it happened everywhere his music was performed. For Ray this was “like coming back home.” Ray returns to Africa each year to perform, study and conduct workshops. He is now working on an American-African World Music production for a new release. Mr. Blue is also an educator/clinician and he consults at colleges, universities, schools and communities around the world. He is the founder of Cross-Cultural Connection, Inc. a 501 (c) 3 performance and educational organization that promotes jazz in educational and community institutions. Ray Blue lives in New York, U.S.A. and Berlin, Germany. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/ray-blue

Berries and Blues

Michael Feinstein - Gershwin Country

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:18
Size: 95,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:27) 1. Love Is Here To Stay
(3:15) 2. I've Got A Crush On You
(4:46) 3. Someone To Watch Over Me
(3:19) 4. I Got Rhythm
(3:16) 5. They Can't Take That Away From Me
(3:35) 6. Clap Yo' Hands
(4:33) 7. How Long Has This Been Going On?
(3:10) 8. Fascinating Rhythm
(3:31) 9. Soon
(3:48) 10. Oh! Lady Be Good
(4:32) 11. Embraceable You

Though Michael Feinstein remained in the public eye throughout the latter half of the 2010s, performing live and appearing intermittently as a presenter on the Turner Classic Movies network, the onetime Ira Gershwin archivist went nearly a decade without releasing any albums. It was his first gap of more than two years since his 1987 studio debut, Pure Gershwin. He comes back to key influences George and Ira Gershwin, for more than the first time, on his return, 2022's Gershwin Country. A set of 11 duets, each with different guests, it navigates timeless romantic ballads and what prove to be playfully old-fashioned, vaudeville-esque takes with giants of country music (and one with album executive producer Liza Minnelli). It opens with perhaps the most country-forward arrangement of the set, "Love Is Here to Stay," featuring Dolly Parton. The song's gentle steel guitar, fiddle, mandolin, accordion, and rhythm section, alongside Parton's sincere, timeworn vocals, add just the right rustic touch to the swing-era love song, which, like the rest of the selections, sees Feinstein trade lines with his guest.

Generally speaking, the ballads work best here: a lovely vocal performance by Alison Krauss highlights "Someone to Watch Over Me," and Amy Grant helps deliver a graceful, straightforward version of "They Can't Take That Away from Me," while the more complex chord progressions and key changes of "I've Got a Crush on You" with Rosanne Cash fall more in the category of "twangy jazz." A song-appropriate slinkiness adds nuance to Feinstein and Mandy Barnett's version of "How Long Has This Been Going On?" Far from sentimental throughout, the album sees Brad Paisley deliver a rousing, stick-clacking "I Got Rhythm," including a memorable guitar solo that kicks off a series of rotating band solos and includes a quote of The Andy Griffith Show theme ("The Fishin' Hole"). Elsewhere, "Fascinating Rhythm," performed by Feinstein with Vince Gill and the Time Jumpers, even includes jump blues-style group response parts. However, the record leaves listeners on an elegant, only vaguely twangy edition of "Embraceable You" by Feinstein and Minnelli. Since, taken together, the set lands in crossover territory, only swaying toward traditional country from show tune jazz, (pun opportunity aside) the album perhaps should have been titled Country Gershwin, as the balance tips toward the songwriters.~Marcy Donelsonhttps://www.allmusic.com/album/gershwin-country-mw0003652456

Gershwin Country