Thursday, November 10, 2022

John Daversa - All Without Words: Variations Inspired by Loren

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2021
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 73:14
Size: 168,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:08) 1. Loren's Theme
(4:47) 2. Searching but Never Finding
(6:30) 3. Two Steps Forward
(7:38) 4. Seeing It Again for the First Time
(5:08) 5. The Urgency of Every Moment
(6:46) 6. Invisible Things
(5:50) 7. Walking in Our Own Footsteps - The Circle Game
(8:02) 8. The Smallest Thing
(6:16) 9. A Day Is Forever - Like Any Other
(4:58) 10. Three Roads Diverged
(6:06) 11. Learning Simply to Be
(7:01) 12. It’s Enough to Be Here, Now

Music can be inspired by many things, such as romantic affection, personal experience, world events and social concerns among many others. This extraordinary piece of music was inspired by a parent's love for a child.

Trumpeter John Daversa asked his friend, composer Justin Morell, to write a large-scale orchestral piece for him. Morell came up with a composition based on his life with his son, Loren, who is autistic. Loren struggled with verbal communication from a very young age and completely lost the ability to speak by the time he was three. Nevertheless, Morell has constantly strived to connect and communicate with his son who was sixteen at the time this was recorded. The ongoing cycle of joys and sorrows in this struggle and the bond of undying love that powers it is all reflected in this music.

The work is a twelve movement trumpet concerto featuring Daversa backed by a full orchestra of jazz and classical musicians plus a choir, The main musical theme is a simple rising and falling melody Daversa plays at the beginning, based on Loren's own wordless singing, which is then put through eleven variations. The leader is the main soloist, working through a myriad of settings with classical and jazz elements. "The Urgency of Every Moment" has a brisk, cascading motif played by the string section that could be an orchestral cityscape written by Leonard Bernstein or Aaron Copland. "Seeing It Again for the First Time" moves along on a creeping jazz pulse led by Tal Cohen's piano and Justin Morell's own guitar playing. In both settings, and throughout the CD, Daversa's trumpet is a bright, glowing presence. He shines whether he is pushing out quietly childlike melodies over sweeping orchestral movement or vaulting gracefully and soulfully over a tense string theme.

The obvious comparisons for this work are the joyful humanity of Maria Schneider's music and the legendary collaborations of Miles Davis and Gil Evans. Davis and Evans never got to work on a scale this grand, but when Daversa blows eloquently over a rising curtain of piano, strings and voices on "Invisible Things" or plays muted over a slow pulse then switches to majestic open horn as the orchestra gets louder on "A Day Is Forever," the lineage is clear.

Some of the titles of the movements such as "A Day Is Forever," "The Urgency of Every Moment," and "Learning Simply To Be" convey the idea of taking joy from the present moment and approaching life with patience and compassion. The quiet, unceasing beat that consistently underlines the music brings home the fact that this composition is about an ongoing process of communication and discovery. The potent feelings expressed throughout are summed up in the final movement, "It's Enough To Be Here, Now" where Daversa's poignant whispers over the rhythm section's soft pulse seem to be suffused with quiet determination and love.

This music would sound wonderful even without its context. Knowing where it came from makes it infinitely more more powerful. John Daversa's trumpet playing is masterful throughout, giving the element of mercurial, unceasing life to the compassionate vistas Justin Morell composes. For beauty and heart, this music is above and beyond anything else around today. It is an outstanding recording.By Jerome Wilson https://www.allaboutjazz.com/all-without-words-variations-inspired-by-loren-john-daversa-jazz-orchestra-tiger-turn

Personnel: John Daversa: trumpet; Justin Morell: guitar; Tai Cohen: piano; Dion Kerr: bass; David Chiverton: drums.

Additional Instrumentation: Scott Flavin, orchestra conductor; Amanda Quist, choir conductor; Abby Young, concertmaster. Conrad Fok: Piano; Lev Garfein: Violin; Strings: Violin I: Abby Young; Sheena Gutierrez; Karen Lord-Powell; Steffen Zeichner; Ashley Liberty; Gregory Carreno; Violin II: Svetlana Salminen; Yuhao Zhou; Orlando Forte; Katarina Nazarova; Julia Jakkel; Viola: Matt Nabours; Vishnu Ramankutty; Ross DeBardelaben; Cello: Brent Charran; Shea Kole; Tadao Ito; Bass: Brian Powell; Ethan Olaguibel; Winds: Jennifer Grim: flute; Alyssa Mena: flute, alto flute; Troy Roberts: soprano and tenor saxophone; Melvin Butler: soprano and tenor saxophone; Matt Clarke: clarinet; Frankie Capoferri: clarinet, bass clarinet; Gabriel Beavers: bassoon; Melanie Villarreal: bassoon; Richard Todd: horn; Stan Spinola: horn; Antoni Olesik: timpani, vibraphone, glockenspiel, marimba; Choir: Emily Finke: soprano; Safia Zaman: soprano; Alexandra Colaizzi: alto; Kate Reid: alto; Sidney O’Gorman: tenor; Noah Zaidspiner: tenor; Thandolwethu Mamba: bass; Dylan Melville: bass.

All Without Words: Variations Inspired by Loren

Herbie Nichols Project - Strange City

Styles: Bop, Piano Jazz
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:53
Size: 124,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:49)  1. Moments Magical
(5:21)  2. Enrapture
(7:29)  3. Delights
(4:43)  4. Blue Shout
(4:38)  5. Strange City
(5:11)  6. Karna Kangi
(3:36)  7. The Happenings
(5:23)  8. Change Of Season
(6:39)  9. Some Wandering Bushmen
(5:00) 10. Shuffle Montgomery

Since 1992, the Herbie Nichols Project has been dedicated to performing the music of a gentleman who in his lifetime was sadly neglected but who left behind a body of work just as idiosyncratic and distinctive as that of Thelonious Monk. Following their two previous releases, Dr. Cyclop’s Dream and Love Is Proximity, the group now makes their debut on the Palmetto label with Strange City, a program made up almost exclusively by tunes that Nichols never recorded himself. Arguably, this set contains some of the ensemble’s finest moments on record to date. There’s much to discover here and the variegated program moves from the almost classical sounding “Moments Magical” that opens the disc to the quintessential “Shuffle Montgomery” that acts as a closer. Along the way there are ample opportunities not only to luxuriate in the compositional genius of Nichols, but also to admire the strong ensemble passages and the individual voices that make up the ensemble. Trumpeter Ron Horton is darkly lyrical on the title track, drummer Matt Wilson is intensely musical during his solo spot on “Blue Shout,” and pianist Frank Kimbrough taps the Nichols genius in a splendid trio take on “Karna Kangi.” These are just three highlights among a great program that not only interprets and extends the Nichols legacy but also speaks highly in regards to each group member’s individual muse. ~ C.Andrew Hovan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/strange-city-herbie-nichols-palmetto-records-review-by-c-andrew-hovan.php
 
Personnel: Frank Kimbrough (piano), Ben Allison (bass), Ron Horton (trumpet & flugelhorn), Ted Nash (tenor saxophone), Michael Blake (soprano saxophone), Wycliffe Gordon (trombone), Matt Wilson (drums)

Strange City

Andy Bey - Ain't Necessarily So

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 66:42
Size: 152.7 MB
Styles: Vocal
Year: 2007
Art: Front

[0:29] 1. Intro
[7:00] 2. Ain't Necessarily So
[9:24] 3. Hey, Love
[5:22] 4. All The Things You Are
[9:08] 5. I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart
[9:02] 6. If I Should Lose You
[9:20] 7. On Second Thought
[8:37] 8. Brother, Can You Spare A Dime
[8:15] 9. Someone To Watch Over Me

Singer Andy Bey is less well known as a pianist, but nowadays he leads his trio from the piano stool, his instrumental wanderlust having an equal capacity to his voice for taking a saunter down the less familiar alleyways. This live album was recorded a decade back at Birdland, in what was effectively Bey's first significant New York residency as a leader. He's joined by bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington on most of the numbers, with sticksman Vito Lesczak sitting in on two tracks.

Bey's set is standard-based, unlike his more out-there work in the 1970s, but in a cunningly subversive way, he manages to tinker with even the most familiar material, literally unstitching it until it slides down from the bandstand, where it will then wrap its tender tendrils around both the audience or the armchair listener. Choices that include "All The Things You Are," "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime? and the title track don't end up sounding tiresomely routine, but take on a freshness that is now increasingly difficult to maintain.

Bey is blessed with a commanding voice that can easily swoop from a falsetto down to a vibrato-ed thundering, taking his phrasing from gospel, blues and soul, then projecting it as if from a theatrical stage, or even a pulpit. The piano is used as an extension of this technique, underlining, answering or repeating his vocal lines. This produces the unnerving effect of a combined sense of conservative old-fashioned-ness and a bold tearing up of the sacrosanct songbook. There aren't too many parallels to point out. Maybe Mark Murphy, because of his shared sense of time-displacement and his instinctive coolness.

Bey threw an album release party at New York's Blue Note in December, 2007, and his set list still remained very similar. Could this be because he hasn't changed much in a decade, or is he merely attempting to reflect the album's contents? Even some of the between-song banter remained almost exactly the same. His braids are now longer, bunched behind a pirate scarf, Bey draped in a slick suit. His rhythm team has changed—Joe Martin on bass and Lesczak handling the sticks throughout. These two were in tune with Bey's sensitivity, as he scanned these familiar songs from his little notebook or launched off into an involved instrumental that revealed his similarly winding way on the piano keys. If anything, the personal live experience seemed even more conceptual, as Bey exuded the aura of an almost totally unpredictable, abstract artist, yet from within a traditional jazz milieu. ~Martin Longley

Andy Bey: vocals, piano; Peter Washington: bass; Kenny Washington, Vito Lesczak: drums.

Ain't Necessarily So

Yola Nash - Manhattan Whispers

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:00
Size: 94,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:56) 1. Manhattan whispers
(4:01) 2. Lovers in Paris
(4:20) 3. Still love you
(3:38) 4. World on fire
(5:18) 5. Pray for love
(5:04) 6. Angel’s tears
(4:59) 7. So in love
(4:46) 8. Truth tango
(4:55) 9. Wonderful life

A unique jazz singer-songwriter, Yola Nash’s new album MANHATTAN WHISPERS is out. Yola's smooth jazz style is stamped with her signature seductive sound, and her exotic delivery is lushly flavored with Eastern European folk, Parisian avant-garde texture of accordion harmonics and brilliantly anchored in the Latin grooves. Blending and blurring the lines between Jazz, Pop, Latin and Eastern European colors Yola Nash is expertly crafting a personal musical style that is irresistible! It’s the Polish-born jazz singer-songwriter’s third studio album, as a leader.

She co-produced the project with Grammy-winning musicians and producers Edsel Gomez (Dee Dee Bridgewater) and Lonnie Park (Steward Copeland). On her infectious Manhattan Whispers, her brilliant band tailored colorful groovy musical soundscapes around the award-winning jazz chanteuse’s passionate vocals. The album presents all original songs written by Yola and her long time music collaborators. Her evocative lyrics talk about life, love, current events in the world and her sensual direct delivery has taken her project to a unique dimension creating an intriguingly fresh new cross-over sound. She has come a long way to NYC, faced and triumphed over adversity, and lived to sing about it and inspire others to flourish in life. "Manhattan Whispers is a celebration of the mind and the heart." https://www.allaboutjazz.com/album/manhattan-whispers-yola-nash

Yola was assisted musically, by Fella Cederbaum (poet composer, spoken word), Edsel Gomez (musical director, pianist, arranger keyboard player), Alex Meixner (accordionist, composer), Graham Keir (guitarist, composer), Luisito Quintero (percussionist, drummer), Dave Baron (bassist), Octavio Vazquez, Ryan C.

Manhattan Whispers