Gloria Lynne - From My Heart to Yours

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:58
Size: 105,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:15) 1. Secret O' Life
(5:30) 2. My Funny Valentine
(3:27) 3. Evergreen
(3:41) 4. Wild Is the Wind
(3:27) 5. I Could Make You Care
(3:59) 6. Mountian Greenery
(4:29) 7. It's Magic
(4:01) 8. There Are Such Things
(3:12) 9. How Do You Keep the Music Playing?
(4:23) 10. Shangri-La
(4:29) 11. Can You Read My Mind

What a pleasure it is to hear an artist sing a song simply with no frills and a heartfelt and warm delivery. This is what Gloria Lynne has done on her new album, a collection of standards and a couple of surprise choices with a superb band of David "Fathead" Newman (flute), John di Martino (piano), Greg Skaff (guitar), Leon Lee Dorsey (bass), Vincent Ector (drums) and PJ Allen (tambourine).

Lynne is a seasoned performer experienced in lyrical interpretation with a vocal quality that gives her the necessary shading, allowing her to tell each song's story in a totally believable fashion. This she does in either two choruses of each song or the classic one-and-a-half chorus rendition.

The surprising material is James Taylor's "Secret O' Life," not traditional jazz material and done as a ballad, and "Can You Read My Mind?," one of the themes from the first Superman movie with music by John Williams and appropriate lyrics by Leslie Bricusse. The latter is a 'big' song, but is done here with a gospel feel over which Lynne can demonstrate her facility as the vocal builds. The remainder of the CD is an interesting mix of mostly ballads and a few lightly swinging numbers such as "Mountain Greenery" and "I Could Make You Care."

The di Martino arrangements are varied and never boring, each song approached individually and given only what is needed to back the vocal. He also displays a consummate ability to accompany a singer with just the right amount of tasty fills and a swinging solo on "There Are Such Things." Also worth mentioning is Newman's elegant flute on "Shangri-La" and Skaff's work on "How Do You Keep The Music Playing?" This is an offering that is wonderfully easy on the ears from a vocalist who knows how to sing from the heart. By Marcia Hillman https://www.allaboutjazz.com/from-my-heart-to-yours-gloria-lynne-highnote-records-review-by-marcia-hillman

Personnel: David "Fathead" Newman: flute; John di Martino: piano; Greg Skaff: guitar; Leon Lee Dorsey: bass; Vincent Ector: drums; P.J. Allen: tambourine (tracks 6 and 11).

From My Heart to Yours

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Billy Bang - Lucky Man

Styles: Violin
Year: 2021
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 92:54
Size: 214,1 MB
Art: Front

( 4:10) 1. Lucky Man: Introduction
( 6:16) 2. Billy playing with the Banhar Gong Group of Kuntum (traditional and improvised) (feat. Banhar Gong Group of Kuntum)
( 1:26) 3. Lucky Man: Flashback Tunnel Reflections
( 6:59) 4. Mystery of the Mekong (feat. Hanoi Symphony Orchestra)
( 1:03) 5. Lucky Man: The Sun Rising - Introduction to Song for Don Cherry
(13:26) 6. Song for Don Cherry (feat. Duc Dau & Phu Dong Family Band of Ho Chi Minh City)
( 1:45) 7. Lucky Man: Flashback Memories
(11:35) 8. New Saigon Phunk (Extended Version) (feat. Duc Dau & Phu Dong Family Band of Ho Chi Minh City)
( 0:59) 9. Lucky Man: Traditional Vietnamese Catru Music
( 0:51) 10. Lucky Man: Billy Reflecting on Memories and Feelings
(12:26) 11. Jungle Lullaby (Live at the Sax n'Art Club) (feat. Sax n’Art Band)
( 1:07) 12. Lucky Man: Quynh Anh Pham's Memories About Her Father
( 9:46) 13. Dan Da
( 0:47) 14. Lucky Man: Billy Speaking About Music and Art
( 1:53) 15. Lucky Man: Flashlight and a 45 Tunnel Memories
( 1:06) 16. Lucky Man Title Music: Vietnam 1967 Battle Composition
( 1:09) 17. Lucky Man: Teach Me Banhar
( 5:47) 18. Traditional Quan Ho (feat. Cau River Singers)
( 1:05) 19. Lucky Man: Billy Reflecting on America, Music and Being Left Alone
( 2:30) 20. Moments for the KIAMIA (Solo in a Hotel Interior Courtyard)
( 0:44) 21. Lucky Man: Quynh Anh Pham Lullaby
( 5:51) 22. New Saigon Phunk (feat. Duc Dau & Phu Dong Family Band of Ho Chi Minh City)

When he performed in Germany, they called him the "black devil violinist," his frenetic playing wrapped in a gyrating, trance-like state. For Billy Bang, who believed he had schizophrenia, the epithet bore a resemblance to his inner turmoil. He was born William Walker in Mobile, Alabama but grew up in the South Bronx. He studied violin and classical music, and his talent earned him a hardship scholarship to the Stockbridge School in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Bang felt out of place in the predominantly white prep school and quit, returning to the Bronx, where he was drafted into the army. He fought in the infantry during the bloodiest period of the Vietnam War's TET Offensive.

Back home, now with substance abuse problems, he found his neighborhood re-christened as Fort Apache; with burned-out buildings and urban decay, the South Bronx itself looked like a war zone. Bang's expertise in weaponry led to a job buying guns for a black militant group. He wandered into a pawnshop's backroom on one such buying trip in Baltimore and found a twenty-five-dollar violin hanging from the wall. He brought it home and started over.

In New York's avant-garde and experimental loft scene of the 1970s, Bang studied with Leroy Jenkins and began playing and recording with David Murray, Frank Lowe and others. In the 1980s, he played with the Sun Ra Arkestra. But Vietnam haunted him. It would be seventeen recordings and three decades later that he found catharsis in his music. What Bang unlocked with Vietnam: The Aftermath (Justin Time, 2001) and Vietnam: Reflections (Justin Time, 2004) was in his words "painful, but it was very honest and truthful for me." Bang took that reckoning a giant step further, returning to Vietnam in 2008. Out of that journey comes Lucky Man.

French cinematographer/producer Jean-Marie Boulet and German multi-media artist Markus Hansen shadowed Bang on his voyage through Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong Delta, and the 17th parallel, which divided North and South Vietnam. Lucky Man is the title of both their documentary film and this soundtrack. There are twenty-two audio tracks, of which twelve are spoken narrations taken directly from the film and mostly alternating with musical tracks. The music is unlike anything else that Bang had recorded.

"Billy playing with the Banhar Gong Group of Kuntum" is, as the subtitle indicates, a mix of traditional Vietnamese and improvised music, the latter falling primarily to the violinist. Here we see the difficulty in communicating as Bang encourages the ensemble to decrescendo with frustratingly slow results. No matter; the piece is superb. "Mystery of the Mekong," with the Hanoi Symphony Orchestra, is a stunning avant-garde orchestration of Bang's Vietnam: The Aftermath composition. In "Song for Don Cherry," Ho Chi Minh City native Duc Dau plays a "dan da," a primitive stone idiophone comparable to the vibraphone. Bang improvises along with Dau, and the two become caught up in a rapid-fire contest. A brief but moving highlight of Lucky Man is "Moments for the Kiamia." Bang plays solo in an interior courtyard of a hotel, the sounds of the violin echo off the grey concrete, and the background noises of guests and workers become part of the music.

The documentary film is raw at times, particularly in its footage of the war, but it goes a long way explaining what Bang feels. The spoken tracks are mesmerizing and seamlessly incorporated into the field recordings. Bang sometimes sounds like he has conquered his demons, but at other times, his pain is palpable. Always, he is acutely aware of the same racial dichotomies that Dizzy Gillespie struggled with as a U.S. State Department Jazz Ambassador. Bang talks about the trauma of coming home to a country jeering rather than cheering its vets. There's no bitterness in his voice, but there is profound sadness, regret, and a reluctant acceptance. As a stand-alone feature, the music conveys much the same context and emotion; Bang's trademark acerbic but animated style is peppered with the violinist's inner dialog. He says, "You can't hurt a guy that got no more feelings." In Bang's case, neither of those things seem authentic. He died of lung cancer three years after completing this project, but his final act may have been his best. By Karl Ackermann https://www.allaboutjazz.com/lucky-man-billy-bang-bbe-records

Personnel: Billy Bang: violin.

Additional Instrumentation: Banhar Gong Group (1); Hanoi Symphony Orchestra (3); Duc Dau: dan da (5); Phu Dong Family Band (22); Tran Manh Tuan: saxophone (13).

Lucky Man

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Tim Hagans - The Moon Is Waiting

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:37
Size: 141,8 MB
Art: Front

( 6:22)  1. Ornette's Waking Dream of a Woman
( 6:13)  2. The Moon Is Waiting
( 8:45)  3. Get Outside
( 6:17)  4. First Jazz
( 6:53)  5. Boo
( 7:11)  6. What I'll Tell Her Later Tonight
( 8:59)  7. Wailing Trees
(10:54)  8. Things Happen in a Convertible

Those who mine exploratory veins of music often eschew structure, confusing lack of form with freedom, but trumpeter Tim Hagans knows the difference. The new quartet that he's convened for The Moon Is Waiting is a malleable unit that thrives on bringing unpredictable ideas into structured environments. The music it makes isn't fusion, free jazz, or post-modern patchwork, but it borders on all of those territories. While the first three pieces were commissioned by the Michele Brangwen Dance Ensemble, they don't require accompanying visual stimuli to be stimulating from an artistic stand point. "Ornette's Waking Dream Of A Woman" is introduced with the sounds of suspicion, leading to an explosive second act, while the title track is underscored by constant cacophony. A mysterious ten-note motif makes its mark as the last of these three pieces, "Get Outside," sets sail, but the music takes a drastic turn when drummer Jukkis Uotila shifts to piano. He delivers curious yet stable chordal statements which serve as dividing markers between abstract musings from Hagans and guitarist Vic Juris. Eventually, the piece erupts into a Black Sabbath-worthy groove in seven, with Hagans running rampant atop the mix.

While Hagans has always been a visionary, capable of charting his own course without any outside help, influence or direction, his sidemen on this date help to determine how these pieces play out. Bassist Rufus Reid's tonal presence adds weight to every piece, and his ability to fatten up a unison riff or supply some saucy soloing ("Boo") make him a major asset. Guitarist Vic Juris' chameleon-like abilities help to broaden the sonic variety in the music and, while he's not as well-known as the other musicians, Jukkis Uotila proves to be a powder keg of percussive intensity. He swings in beyond-bop fashion, as Juris and a Freddie Hubbard-like Hagans show what they're made of ("First Jazz"), and he engages the rest of the musicians with perpetual drumming motion as he scampers across the rangy terrain of Hagans' compositions. His steady rhythmic barrage is actually one of the defining characteristics of this ensemble. Hagans has proven to be a master compositional architect in more formal settings, but his ability to let loose with this small group is the key to its success. The Moon Is Waiting is a marvel of elastic expressions from one of the most shrewd and intelligent minds in jazz today.~Dan Bilawsky https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-moon-is-waiting-tim-hagans-palmetto-records-review-by-dan-bilawsky.php
 

Personnel: Tim Hagans: trumpet; Vic Juris: guitar; Rufus Reid: bass; Jukkis Uotila: drums, piano.

The Moon Is Waiting

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Nils Landgren - 3 Generations Disc 1, Disc 2, Disc 3

Album: 3 Generations Disc 1
Styles: Jazz, Big Band
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:28
Size: 93,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:14) 1. Lets Act Together
(4:45) 2. Little Jump
(4:33) 3. You Are a Friend of Mine
(3:03) 4. White Moon
(4:08) 5. Eternal Beauty
(3:21) 6. Lenny
(4:52) 7. Hurt
(2:28) 8. Gammal Fäbodpsalm
(4:55) 9. Send in the Clowns
(4:05) 10. Greta (Live)

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Album: 3 Generations Disc 2
Time: 47:01
Size: 108,2 MB

(3:43) 1. Dear Diary
(4:42) 2. Hide and Seek
(3:52) 3. Dannys Dream
(4:26) 4. Bizarre
(5:40) 5. The Return of Mohammed
(4:05) 6. Mountain
(4:49) 7. Olu
(4:02) 8. Fire and Rain
(4:27) 9. Riverendings
(7:11) 10. My Heart's in the Highlands

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Album: 3 Generations Disc 3
Time: 46:48
Size: 107,7 MB

(5:50) 1. Weltall
(3:37) 2. And so It Goes
(4:19) 3. Blue Corner
(4:01) 4. Mosaique Bleu
(4:13) 5. Modal Submission
(3:39) 6. Früchte
(8:14) 7. Doll of the Bride
(4:50) 8. Silent Way (Live)
(4:50) 9. Don't Stop (Live)
(3:09) 10. Young at Heart

Born in 1956, Nils Landgren began playing drums at the age of six, before at last discovering the trombone at 13. Between 1972 and 1978 Nils studied classical trombone at the music college in Karlstad with David Maytan and at the university in Arvika with Ingemar Roos. Meeting the legendary Swedish Folk-Jazz pioneer Bengt-Arne Wallin as well as the fantastic trombonist Eje Thelin persuaded Nils to move from strict classical studies to improvisation and to begin the development of his own approach.

After his graduation Nils moved to Stockholm to work as a professional trombone player. He was soon touring with the most successful Swedish pop star of that time, Björn Skifs’ “Blue Swede” who got to number 1 in the US pop charts with “Hooked on a feeling”. In 1981 Thad Jones invited the Swede into his new big band project “Ball of Fire”, to take the lead-trombone chair. Ever since that time Nils Landren has been involved in most styles equally: jazz and rock, soul and hip hop, big band sessions, and by his own reckoning, at least 500 albums including such internationals stars as ABBA, The Crusaders, Eddie Harris, Bernard “Pretty” Purdie, Wyclef Jean and Herbie Hancock.

In 1983 Nils’ debut album “Planet Rock” was released, followed by “Streetfighter” in 1984, “You are my Nr 1? in 1985, “Miles from Duke” with Bengt-Arne Wallin in 1987, “Chapter Two 1?, in 1987, “Chapter Two 2? and “Follow your heart” in 1989. Between 1985 and 1987 Nils also performed as actor, singer, trombonist, and dancer in over 360 performances of the Swedish “play of the year”, SKÅL, as well as appearing in several TV-films as an actor.

1992 saw the first performances and recording of the Nils Landgren “Unit”. The final breakthrough beyond Scandinavia came first in 1994: it was at the Jazz Baltica Festival at Salzau in Germany that the “Unit” became the “Funk Unit”. The album “Live in Stockholm” (ACT 9223-2) was released that year and was the foundation for the collaboration with Siegfried Loch and his then young ACT label.

The next Funk Unit release, “Paint It Blue” (ACT 9243-2), was one of 1997's most successful albums and received Germany’s Jazz Award. The following tour of over 100 dates gave Nils Landgren and the Funk Unit their breakthrough in Germany. Inspired by his mentor Bengt-Arne Wallin, Nils Landgren ventured into non-funky realms with a re-working of traditional Swedish folk songs: “Swedish Folk Modern” (ACT 9257-2), his first duo with the pianist Esbjörn Svensson, followed up by “Layers of Light” (ACT 9281-2), an even gentler evocation.

Between January 1998 and January 2001 Nils Landgren was also a member of the NDR Big Band in Hamburg, but continuously touring throughout with the Funk Unit worldwide. During this time three albums were released: after “Live in Montreux” (ACT 9265-2) appeared in 1999 “5000 Miles” (ACT 9271-2) and in September 2001 “Fonk da World” (ACT 9299-2), which was presented live at a special 3 day festival in Hamburg dedicated to Nils Landgren’s music. The “grooving band, which encouraged the younger members of the audience into a dance frenzy, but which was also taken seriously by the greying jazz snobs” (Spiegel), proved that it could be counted as “the best funk band in Europe today” (Stereo).

As artistic director of the illustrious Berlin Jazz Festival in 2001 Nils Landgren set up a concise overview of the current directions in Scandinavian jazz and was awarded the “Tore Ehrling Prize” by the Swedish Composers’ Federation for his “special contribution in bringing worldwide attention to Swedish jazz”.

A further aspect of Landgren’s multi-facetedness has been shown since 1993, when the album “Ballads” (ACT 9268-2) was recorded, and on its release in Germany in 1999 showed for the first time his talent as an emotional ballad singer. With his tasteful tenor voice he has been compared to the introverted style of Chet Baker. In 2002 he undertook a recording of a sequence of love songs on a “Sentimental Journey” (ACT 9409-2) which was enthusiastically received by public and critics alike. “We want more of this” proclaimed the WOM Journal and so was able to follow this through the production of the album “I Will Wait For You” (ACT 9418-2) where the singer Rigmor Gustafsson – having previously made her name as a guest on “Sentimental Journey” – took centre stage. It stormed into the jazz charts in Sweden and Germany, reaching number 1 and number 2 respectively.

In 2004, after a self-imposed sabbatical of almost two years, Landgren went full steam ahead with his Funk Unit and produced the acclaimed Platinum „Funky Abba“ album (ACT 9430-2); his own personal hommage to one of the greatest pop bands in history. 2005 marks the new album “Creole Love Call” (ACT 9707-2) together with the legendary keyboarder Joe Sample of The Crusaders, in which Nils Landgren can be heard again primarily as a vocalist.

In December 2005, Nils Landgren celebrated Christmas in a church in Stockholm with some friends from the Scandinavian music scene and thus fulfilling a long-time dream. This unique recording of the most beautiful Christmas songs from the middle ages to our time was released in December 2006 on CD and DVD, went gold in Sweden and Germany within a month of its release, and climbed to #2 of the German Jazz charts: “Christmas with my Friends” (ACT 9454-2).

2007 brings the Funk Unit back again. The eighth funk album demonstrates the same killer groove as its award-winning predecessors lead us to expect. Nils Landgren definitely has it: the “Licence to Funk” (ACT 9455-2).

Given the resounding success of JazzFest Berlin ’01, Landgren has been nominated again in 2008 as artistic director of the JazzFest Berlin for the coming three years. At the end of 2008 he will release a sequel of his successful first Christmas album: “Christmas With My Friends II”.

Music knows no borders, music is freedom – this is Nils Landgren’s credo. For every record of his new Funk Unit album “Funk For Life” (released in spring 2010) sold, one Euro goes to the Funk Unit – Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without borders) project ”Funk For Life” in Kibera Nairobi. By purchasing the CD the buyer will contribute in making life for people in Kibera just a bit easier. And he helps to guarantee that from now on, music will be a central part of the education in Kibera. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/nils-landgren

3 Generations Disc 1, Disc 2, Disc 3

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