Canadian Jazz Quartet - Brazilian Reflections

Styles: Mainstream Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:48
Size: 138,0 MB
Art: Front

(5:10) 1. Don't Quote Me
(5:19) 2. Choi Lin
(4:31) 3. Tristeza
(5:02) 4. Villa Lobos
(4:07) 5. Samba De Orfeu
(3:59) 6. Every Time I See You
(4:26) 7. Menina Flor
(5:43) 8. O Grande Amor
(4:48) 9. One Note Samba
(4:56) 10. With the Wind and the Rain in Your Hair
(4:20) 11. Desafinado
(3:26) 12. Zingaro
(3:56) 13. Triste

For its fourth album, the Canadian Jazz Quartet – which has played Fridays since 2006 at Quotes on King St. West has chosen a different direction. The result is a real treat, for those enamoured of Brazilian music and for fans of a stylish group whose jazz evolves seamlessly around tradition.

Brazilian Reflections (Cornerstone CRST CD136 www.cornerstonerecordsinc.com) is class all the way, with leader and guitarist Gary Benson adding four originals to the 13 songs, five by Jobim, two from Luiz Bonfa. Elegance is the watchword with Benson colleagues vibraphonist Frank Wright, bass Duncan Hopkins and drummer Don Vickery in superlative form employing lilting rhythms as guitar and vibes demonstrate luminous comfort with the melodies. Desafinado is here of course, but so are lesser-known gems.
https://www.thewholenote.com/index.php/booksrecords2/jazzaimprovised/10040-its-our-jazz-march-2011

Personnel: Gary Benson (guitar); Frank Wright (vibes); Duncan Hopkins (bass); Don Vickery (drums)

Brazilian Reflections

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Jessica Williams - All Alone

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 61:55

Size: 141.8 MB

Styles: Piano jazz, Mainstream jazz

Year: 2003/2013

Art: Front

[4:53] 1. As Time Goes By

[5:28] 2. In A Sentimental Mood

[6:25] 3. Warm Valley

[6:02] 4. Music Box Revue / All Alone

[5:13] 5. Annie Get Your Gun / They Say It's Wonderful

[5:25] 6. Don't Explain

[3:53] 7. Toshiko

[4:33] 8. The Sheikh

[5:09] 9. Bill's Beauty

[5:37] 10. The Quilt

[5:10] 11. Orange Was The Colour Of Her Dress Then Blue Silk

[4:00] 12. Too Young To Go Steady

Jessica Williams has turned out a phenomenal amount of rewarding recordings since her career began to really take off during the 1990s. This solo piano outing recorded in 2002 is among her finest efforts, especially in her refreshing approaches to standards and some usually overdone (and frequently underplayed) war horses. "As Time Goes By" has almost become a cliché due to its inclusion in the still popular film Casablanca, but Williams' quirky approach to it suggests Art Tatum, Erroll Garner, and Thelonious Monk at different times, yet never loses touch with the melody. Likewise, her playful little embellishment added to Duke Ellington's "In a Sentimental Mood" suggests a wink and a smile accompanying the expected "I Love You" to someone special. Irving Berlin wrote many memorable songs during his long career, but the pianist chooses two that aren't heard all that often in jazz settings, "All Alone" and "They Say It's Wonderful," with their often maudlin settings drastically altered. Her originals are just as remarkable. The captivating melody of her delicate ballad "Toshiko" glistens, while she playfully hand-mutes the piano strings and incorporates a little strumming of them as well in her infectious and bluesy "The Sheikh." The intimate sound of this CD makes it seem as if the listener is enjoying a private solo piano recital, so it is very easy to recommend this disc highly and without the slightest reservation. ~Ken Dryden

All Alone 

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Michel Petrucciani - Solo in Denmark

Styles: Piano Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:35
Size: 127,5 MB
Art: Front

( 5:02) 1. P'tit Louis
( 5:10) 2. In A Sentimental Mood
( 7:58) 3. She Did It Again
( 7:17) 4. Round Midnight
( 7:52) 5. Estate
( 8:25) 6. Blue Monk
(13:47) 7. Medley: Autumn Leaves, Rachid, Prelude To A Kiss, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, Miles Davis' Licks, Nardis

Storyville Records is proud to present Michel Petrucciani – Solo in Denmark. This album features French piano prodigy Michel Petrucciani in a solo recording from Silkeborg Church, 1990. MP was one of the most popular pianists in the 1990’s due to his extraordinary technique, his astounding musical outlook and extremely dynamic playing style. His music is simply timeless and magical, seemingly coming straight from his soul. As he is often quoted: “I’m not playing to your head, but to your soul. When I play, I’m like a bird flying over the landscape, and I can land anywhere.”

Recorded on June 23, 1990 at the Riverboat Jazz Festival in Silkeborg, Denmark, this album is a tour de force that leads the listener through a series of the most iconic motifs in jazz, all of which are deconstructed and transformed by an outstanding craftsman and embellished along the way by a true master. And he also allows himself to insert unexpected twists and turns that are guaranteed to make the listener smile. Pay special attention to his small rhythmic and melodic tags, little hints for the well-trained ear.

They reveal a musician who never grows complacent or takes himself too seriously. Here, the totality of MP’s talents are exhibited in an intimate setting, where he stuns the crowd with his inventive and blindingly rapid playing. The music emanating from the man simply grabs everybody’s attention. Arrangements by jazz legends like Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis gets the cheeky Petrucciani treatment with his rather audacious approach to ‘established’ jazz standards. MP had the ability to effortlessly travel through the history of jazz on his piano, fascinating his audience in the process. This church concert clearly displays why MP quickly developed into a truly exceptional member of the international jazz scene.

For MP, joyful playing with the music was a necessity of life. He lived and breathed for the opportunity to show it his love and respect. And all we have to do is open our ears, mind and soul and accept the gems from a musical individualist, who has made an indelible impression on millions of jazz listeners around the world. Solo in Denmark is simply another chapter in the remarkable story of a man, who perceived himself as a servant of the music.

Personnel: Michel Petrucciani - Piano

Solo in Denmark

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Malene Mortensen - A New Kind of Love

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:12
Size: 93,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:02) 1. Tiny Hands
(5:50) 2. Get Out of Town (Get Lost)
(4:18) 3. A Mile from Your Heart
(6:06) 4. Jeg Gik Mig Ud En Sommerdag
(6:10) 5. All the Thing You Are
(4:51) 6. There Will Never Be Another You
(5:07) 7. It Might as Well Be Spring
(3:46) 8. No More Blues

Malene Mortensen is one of the most prominent, Danish jazz vocalist with an extraordinary CV. She has been touring all over the world and she has been recording under her own name since 2003. Malnes’s own compositions is a selection of tunes focusing on everyday challenges, small joys and simple pleasures.

Story: Malene Mortensen released her first album in 2003 at the age of 21. From the very start she worked with great musicians like Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Alex Riel, Chris Potter, Mike Stern, Avishai Cohen, Christian Sands, Terreon Gully, Chad Wackerman, Adam Rogers and Niels Lan Doky.

The days when she was a promising young talent are long gone; her voice has many colors, her phrasing grows ever more challenging, and her timbre expands with each new release. Malene is an artist of international stature; she has passed the stage of youthful weltschmerz. Today she can encompass and express all the positive things as well which isn’t always as easy as it sounds. Over the past 15 years while taking her Master and Soloist degrees from The Rhythmic Conservatory in Copenhagen.


Malene Mortensen has performed on jazz stages in virtually every European country, the Middle East, USA, Australia and large parts of Asia with her own trio, as vocalist with big bands or featured guest in various setups most recently on tour with Kid Creole & The Coconuts.
https://inmusic.dk/artist/malene_mortensen/

A New Kind of Love

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