Saturday, April 30, 2022

Becca Stevens, Rebecca Martin, Gretchen Parlato - Tillery

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:21
Size: 102,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:21) 1. Take Me With U
(3:25) 2. O I Long To Feel Your Arms Around Me
(4:27) 3. No More
(2:59) 4. Magnus
(5:31) 5. God Is In The Details
(2:37) 6. I Wanna Fly So Free
(6:01) 7. Sweetheart
(3:26) 8. I Asked
(3:29) 9. To Up And Go
(3:03) 10. Push Me Away
(5:57) 11. Tillery

TILLERY is a collaborative project created by Rebecca Martin, Gretchen Parlato and Becca Stevens. Individually, Rebecca Martin, Gretchen Parlato and Becca Stevens are three of New York’s most acclaimed and respected vocalist/songwriters. Together, as Tillery, they’re a potent collective force that’s more than the sum of its already formidable parts. The threesome’s seamless creative chemistry and organic personal rapport makes for a powerful collaboration that’s been wowing live audiences since the trio first joined forces in 2010. United equally by an abiding friendship and a mutual admiration for one another’s talents, Tillery finds these three unmistakable individuals converging into a distinctive and deeply compelling whole. Tillery’s members are already renowned for their individual musical achievements. Maine-born Rebecca Martin is a widely respected two-decade veteran whose vocal and songwriting talents have allowed her to effortlessly straddle the worlds of jazz and pop. She’s released half a dozen acclaimed albums, on which she’s worked with many of jazz’s most esteemed players, including Brian Blade, Paul Motian, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Martin’s husband, bassist Larry Grenadier.

Native Californian Gretchen Parlato is one of the jazz world’s most celebrated rising vocalists. She first rose to prominence when she finished in first place in the 2004 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition. Since then, she’s released three solo albums, as well as lending her voice to more than 50 albums, including high-profile releases by Kenny Barron, Terence Blanchard, Lionel Loueke and Esperanza Spalding. Although a relative newcomer, North Carolina-bred Becca Stevens has quickly emerged as one of the jazz scene’s brightest young lights. In addition to releasing two albums of her original compositions with the Becca Stevens Band, she has sung with Travis Sullivan’s Bjorkestra, and performed and/or recorded with such esteemed musicians as Taylor Eigsti, Eric Harland and Brad Mehldau. The seeds for Tillery were planted in late 2010, when the three artists met and became fervent admirers of each other’s work. Although all three hail from diverse backgrounds and belong to different age groups, they quickly recognized each other as kindred spirits, striking up a personal bond as well as a budding creative collaboration.

The circumstances that spawned the partnership were initially set in motion when a mutual friend of all three artists brought Gretchen Parlato to a Rebecca Martin performance at Manhattan’s Jazz Standard. “Her voice and songs brought me to tears,” Parlato confides. “She has such a warm, loving energy, and I immediately felt like she was someone I wanted to be around and share my time and music with.” The same friend had also been singing the praises of Becca Stevens to Parlato, inspiring her to attend one of Stevens’ shows at the Cornelia Street Cafe. “I was in complete awe of her,” Gretchen notes. “She has the kind of intensity that, from the very first sound out of her mouth, you know that something deep is happening. We got to know each other better when we sang together in Taylor Eigsti’s band Free Agency. We realized that we understood and processed music in the same way, and that we laughed and joked about the same things. And knowing both Rebecca and Becca, I felt like their energies would relate and bond.”

Stevens, meanwhile, had long been aware of both Martin and Parlato.“They were the women in jazz who I could admire when I was coming up,” she says. “I felt totally humbled by the brilliance of Gretchen’s craft, so when she came to my gig, I was really flattered. I had a similar feeling when, after being aware of Rebecca for so many years, she sent me an email out of the blue introducing herself. I finally met her at Cornelia when I went to one of her shows. Gretchen was there too, and the three of us took a picture together after. I laugh when I look at that picture now, because even then, we had the same goofy, spontaneous energy that we have now.” When they subsequently reunited for an all-girl getaway weekend at Martin’s house in upstate Kingston, NY in late 2010, it seemed inevitable that they would end up making music together. “At some point, I picked up my guitar and said ‘Let’s sing something,’ and that was it,” Martin recalls. “There wasn’t any thought put into it. It just happened, and it just made sense.”

“Rebecca taught us one of her songs, and then another,” Stevens remembers. “The three of our voices and the warm receptive energy in the room created this sound that was like… love butter. You just want to spread it all over everything.” A week later, Gretchen and Becca joined Rebecca on stage to sing a few songs at her record-release party, and it quickly became apparent that the informal arrangement should become a permanent one. The new trio made its official debut at the Cornelia Street Cafe in January 2011, as part of a series of shows that Stevens was booking at the venue. After initially operating under the tongue-in-cheek handle Girls Gone Mild, Martin, Parlato and Stevens eventually adopted Tillery (also the title of a Stevens composition) as their permanent monicker. Their work together emphasizes the wide common ground, both musical and personal, that Martin, Parlato and Stevens share. That collective spirit is strong in Tillery’s live shows, which combine songs written specifically for the group, material drawn from the members’ individual repertoires and a surprise-filled assortment of cover tunes.

“I’ve had so many moments on stage with Becca and GP where I’ve felt transported,” Martin states. “I think that we allow our own unique and authentic selves to come through in the music. Both Becca and GP have gratitude and humility in their lives, which allows us all to enjoy and share all aspects of ourselves when we come together.” While continuing to hone their skills as a live unit, and having undertaken a teaching stint at the prestigious Stanford Jazz Workshop (where Martin has headed a songwriting program since TK), the threesome are allowing Tillery to maintain its original intimate spirit and develop at its own pace. “We’ve managed, without trying, to maintain the same energy that we felt together that first night that we sang together at Rebecca’s house,” Stevens observes. “I think there’s something really refreshing about a performance where the performers love and admire each other so completely.” “We all just take this project as it comes,” Parlato concludes. “It’s all very natural and nothing is forced, and because of this, we always approach it with open arms, open hearts. There’s no pressure to do or create anything. It just happens when it happens. It’s always magical, and it always feels like it was meant to be.” https://rebeccamartin.com/bio/tillery-rebecca-martin-gretchen-parlato-becca-stevens/

Tillery

Paco de Lucia - Castro Marin

Styles: Guitar
Year: 1987
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:23
Size: 83,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:47) 1. Monasterio de sal
(4:59) 2. Gitanos andaluces
(4:17) 3. Castro Marín
(5:39) 4. Herencia
(5:13) 5. Convite
(7:27) 6. Palenque
(3:59) 7. Huida

One of the least well-known of the extensive body of work recorded by the Algeciran, which contains some of the tracks that he would include months later on his 1981 record Solo Quiero Caminar with The Sextet. On two songs he counts on the participation of John McLaughlin and Larry Coryell, both of whom collaborated on a series of virtuoso trio performances, an idea promoted by Paco’s manager, Barry Marshall, towards the end of 1978 (Al di Meola soon took the place of Larry Coryell). After an American tour in 1981, Paco recorded 7 tracks in Tokyo between the 25th and 27th of December 1980. It takes the form of a preparation of Solo Quiero Caminar in a format for a solo guitar, in duet with the acoustic guitar of Larry Coryell on ‘Corvite’, and in a trio, joined by McLaughlin with a twelve string acoustic guitar on ‘Palenque’. The other five tracks are played solo by Paco (often accompanying himself on another track). Castro Marin is the name of the village where his mother, Luzia, who was Portuguese, was born, and is situated on the Spanish border at the mouth of the river Guadiana. This album is a memory of his beloved mother. In 1998 he dedicated another to her. http://www.pacodelucia.org/en/disc/castro-marin

Personnel: Paco de Lucía - Flamenco guitar; Larry Coryell - Acoustic guitar; John McLaughlin - Acoustic guitar, 12 string guitar; Carles Benavent - Bass guitar

Castro Marín

Warren Vache, Alan Barnes, The Woodville All-Stars - The London Sessions

Styles: Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:49
Size: 165,7 MB
Art: Front

( 5:51) 1. You'd Be So Nice to Come Home to
( 5:24) 2. My Funny Valentine
( 7:45) 3. The End of a Love Affair
( 6:00) 4. Sophisticated Lady
(11:14) 5. Molasses
( 7:38) 6. Taking a Chance on Love
( 6:57) 7. My One and Only Love
( 6:09) 8. I'll Close My Eyes
( 8:25) 9. A Walkin' Thing
( 6:21) 10. Love For Sale

1977-80 Alan studied saxophone, woodwinds and arranging at the Leeds College of music. In 1980 he moved to London, playing with the Midnight Follies Orchestra and the following year was with the Pasadena Roof Orchestra, touring Europe until 1983. In that year he left to join the hard bop band of Tommy Chase where he attracted considerable attention on the UK jazz scene for the first time. He left Chase in 1986 to co-lead The Jazz Renegades with rock drummer Steve White travelling as far afield as Japan and recording four well received albums. In 1988 Alan was asked to fill the chair recently vacated by Bruce Turner in the Humphrey Lyttleton band where he stayed until 1992. 1987-97 he also found time to lead the Pizza Express Modern Jazz Sextet with Gerard Prescencer and Dave O'Higgins.

Since leaving the Lyttleton band, Alan has concentrated on his freelance career. Alan has enjoyed a prolific career as a sideman, playing and recording for many bands. He broadcast regularly over a ten-year period with the BBC Big Band and Radio Orchestra and has toured and recorded with big band leaders, Dick Walter, Kenny Baker, Bob Wilber, Don Weller, Stan Tracey, Mike Westbrook and John Dankworth. Other bands he has toured and recorded with include the Tina May Trio, Bill LeSage's Genetically Modified Quintet, Spike Robinson's Tenor Madness, Clare Teale, and a sextet with Don Weller playing the music of Cannonball Adderley. Alan has also toured the U.K. with Freddie Hubbard. Alan has long associations with pianist David Newton, going back to their college days, and with blistering be-bop trumpeter Bruce Adams, with whom he has co-led a quintet since the early nineties.

Alan has been featured on many jazz recordings from his first record date as co-leader in 1985 with Tommy Whittle and as leader of his own quartet in 1987 right up to recent record dates with Scott Hamilton, Warren Vache and Harry Allen. He has appeared on the Concord, Fret, Miles Music, Nagel Hayer and Specific labels with various projects. Alan has recorded a large number of sessions with pianist Brian Lemon on the Zephyr label. Amongst these sessions are duet, quintet, sextet and octet sessions with Warren Vache, Tony Coe, KenPeplowski, Gerrard Prescencer and Mark Nightingale. Alan has performed as a member of Clark Tracey's “Tribute to Art Blakey” and was featured on the David Newton/Clark Tracey recording Bootleg Eric.

He has also appeared as a session musician on albums by Selina Jones, Bjork, Van Morrison, Bryan Ferry, Clare Teal, Jamie Cullum and Westlife and can also be found on film and television soundtracks including “Chicago” and jingles such as the Tetley Bitter series of adverts featuring his solo baritone. Alan has appeared regularly as a member of the Laurie Holloway orchestra on television's Michael Parkinson show and Strictly Come Dancing. In 1999 Alan toured America and Europe with Bryan Ferry's band, returning to the U.S.A. in early 2000 to record and tour for ten weeks with Warren Vache's eleven-piece band - a project for which he had written most of the arrangements. He returned to Kansas City in 2001 to perform as a guest soloist at the Topeka jazz Festival. That November he featured on Baritone and clarinet at the Blue Note Clubs in New York and Tokyo with the Charlie Watts Tentet and followed this with a stay in South Africa as a solo artist.

Over the years Alan has won many British Jazz awards in alto, baritone, clarinet and arranging categories. In 2001 and 2006 Alan received the prestigious BBC Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year award and in November 2003 was made a fellow of the Leeds College of Music 2003 also saw the inception of Alan's own record label Woodville Records. Compositions and commissions include “The Sherlock Holmes Suite”, two series of jazz songs written with playwright Alan Plater - “Songs for Unsung Heroes” and “The Seven Ages of Jazz”, “The Mabella Suite”, and settings of E.E. Cummings and other poets arranged for Jazz octet. Latest projects include a clarinet led trio with Jim Hart on vibes and Paul Clavis on drums and an all star octet playing the music of Duke Ellington. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/alan-barnes

Personnel: Bass – Andrew Cleyndert; Bass Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Producer – Alan Barnes; Cornet – Warren Vaché; Drums – Bobby Worth ; Piano – John Pearce; Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Flute, Clarinet – Andy Panayi; Trombone – Mark Nightingale

The London Sessions