Nellie McKay - Sister Orchid

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:00
Size: 81,3 MB
Art: Front

(2:21)  1. My Romance
(2:01)  2. Angel Eyes
(3:32)  3. Small Day Tomorrow
(5:54)  4. Willow Weep for Me
(2:17)  5. The Nearness of You
(3:34)  6. Georgia On My Mind
(3:10)  7. Lazybones
(2:41)  8. Where or When
(2:55)  9. Everything Happens to Me
(3:47) 10. In a Sentimental Mood
(2:42) 11. My Romance (Reprise)

Given her jazz-influenced sound and knack for thoughtfully chosen cover songs, it's surprising that Nellie McKay had never released a complete jazz standards album until 2018's smoky, intimately rendered Sister Orchid. The closest the idiosyncratic singer/songwriter had gotten previously was her brightly attenuated 2009 Doris Day tribute, Normal as Blueberry Pie, which found her investigating songs heavily associated with the iconic actress and singer. Similarly, on 2015's My Weekly Reader, McKay took on some of her favorite '60s pop tunes by bands like the Kinks, Herman's Hermits, Moby Grape, and others. Here, McKay takes a deftly straightforward approach, performing a set of well-chosen standards that wouldn't be out of place on an album by Blossom Dearie (another McKay touchstone) from the 1950s. McKay, who arranged and played all of the songs on Sister Orchid, recorded the album in New York with engineer Chris Allen. Allen has worked with a bevy of jazz, folk, and pop artists including Kurt Elling, José James, Ingrid Michaelson, Andrew Bird, and others, and brings a soft, natural warmth that never interferes with McKay's performance. Primarily, these are spare arrangements, often just McKay accompanying herself on piano, as on the haunting "Angel Eyes." Elsewhere, as on her dusky reading of "Where or When," she weaves in a mournful cello. There are also jaunty bits of ukulele, as on "Lazybones," which also features her overdubbed backing vocals. The Broadway-tested McKay also displays her love of cabaret as she intersperses crowd chatter and clinking glasses to theatrical effect on "Everything Happens to Me." Despite her penchant for artifice, McKay reveals her strong musical chops on Sister Orchid, launching into a mad-eyed boogie-woogie section on "Where or When" and delivering a spine-tingling, synth-accented take on "In a Sentimental Mood" that conjures the neon-soaked atmosphere of David Lynch's Twin Peaks. ~ Matt Collar   https://www.allmusic.com/album/sister-orchid-mw0003153960

Sister Orchid

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Houston Person - The Talk of the Town

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1987
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:41
Size: 91,3 MB
Art: Front

(7:26)  1. Only Trust Your Heart
(6:07)  2. Everything Happens to Me
(6:53)  3. Almost Like Being in Love
(7:25)  4. It's the Talk of the Town
(4:18)  5. Just for You
(7:30)  6. I'll Never Be Free

This Muse recording differs from many of tenor saxophonist Houston Person's previous ones in that Person is backed by a piano rather than an organ; he sounds inspired by the "new" setting. Person heads a sextet also including trumpeter Cecil Bridgewater, pianist Stan Hope, bassist Buster Williams, drummer Grady Tate and percussionist Ralph Dorsey. They perform the tenor's "Just for You" and five standards, with the highlights including Benny Carter's "Only Trust Your Heart," "Almost Like Being in Love" and a blues-drenched version of "It's the Talk of the Town." A particularly strong effort by the very consistent tenor great. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-talk-of-the-town-mw0000199461

Personnel: Houston Person - tenor saxophone; Cecil Bridgewater - trumpet; Stan Hope - piano; Buster Williams - bass; Grady Tate - drums; Ralph Dorsey - percussion

The Talk of the Town

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Ruby Braff, Pee Wee Russell, Bud Freeman - Gold Rush

Styles: Jazz Instrumentals
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:36
Size: 157,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:24) 1. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
(2:32) 2. Crazy Rhythm
(4:36) 3. Slowly
(7:53) 4. Lulu's Back In Town
(5:09) 5. Struttin' With Some Barbecue
(4:47) 6. The Bends Blues
(3:44) 7. Dippermouth Blues
(7:19) 8. Keepin' Out Of Mischief Now
(4:32) 9. Loveless Love
(2:55) 10. Ja-da
(4:32) 11. At The Jazz Band Ball
(5:10) 12. Monday Date
(6:56) 13. Squeeze Me
(4:01) 14. Blue Turning Grey Over You

Ruby Braff began his jazz career as an out-of-time traditionalist playing with veteran jazzmen of an earlier age, and rose to establish his own standing as one of the handful of leading artists playing in traditional and mainstream idioms.

He did so on the back of one of the most beautiful instrumental sounds in jazz, a prodigious gift for phrasing melody, and an acute harmonic sense which revealed his awareness of more modernist developments in jazz. Louis Armstrong remained his touchstone and only avowed master, but his playing also reflected the influence of musicians like Bix Beiderbecke and Bobby Hackett. His musical voice, though, was always very much his own.

He was born Reuben Braff in Boston, and was self-taught on his instrument. He said that he wanted to play saxophone, but his father bought him a cornet instead. His trumpet style, which largely eschewed high-note pyrotechnics in favour of a softer exploration of the middle and bottom registers of the instrument, reflected that original love of reed rather than brass sonorities.

He began working in local clubs in the Forties, and was recruited for the band led by the veteran clarinettist Edmond Hall at the Savoy Cafe in Boston in 1949. He made the move to New York in 1953, and was soon in demand for gigs and recording sessions in a traditional and mainstream vein.

His loyalty to traditional jazz at a time when the focus had shifted to more modern styles starved him of work for a time in the Fifties, but he returned to prominence with an All-Star touring band created by pianist and jazz impresario George Wein. Wein remained a loyal backer of the cornetist, and featured him regularly on his international tour and festival circuit.

He worked with major band leaders like Buck Clayton, Benny Goodman and Bud Freeman as a young man, and in turn became something of a musical mentor to a new generation of young mainstream musicians in the Seventies, including saxophonist Scott Hamilton and guitarist Howard Alden.

In the Eighties and Nineties he made a series of recordings for the major mainstream jazz labels Concord Jazz and Arbors, and formed highly-regarded duo partnerships with pianists like Mel Powell, Ralph Sutton, Dick Hyman, Ellis Larkins and Roger Kellaway.

Braff worked with singer Tony Bennett for two years from 1971-73, then formed a very popular and artistically successful band with guitarist George Barnes. The relationship ground to a halt in 1975 in characteristic fashion when Braff fell out with his collaborator.

That pattern of alienating those around him was repeated on many occasions. Braff may have made some of the most beautiful music in jazz, but his own character was precisely the opposite. He was notorious for his abrasive and insulting behaviour to other musicians, promoters and even fans, a tendency made all the worse by his failing health over many years (he suffered from emphysema, glaucoma and heart problems).

He was the headline artist at the first Nairn Jazz Festival in northern Scotland in 1990, and his appearance at the 2002 event was to be the last performance of his life. He cancelled a subsequent scheduled concert at the Brecon Jazz Festival in Wales and returned home. He was never fit enough to perform in public again. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/ruby-braff

Gold Rush

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Donna Singer - Dance Band Boogie (Live)

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 28:19
Size: 65,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:47) 1. All Of Me (Live)
(4:06) 2. Dance Band Boogie (Live)
(2:53) 3. Sweet Georgia Brown (Live)
(4:10) 4. I Can See Into Your Heart (Live)
(3:03) 5. You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You (Live)
(2:54) 6. Destination Jazz (Live)
(2:43) 7. The Song Is Ended (Live)
(3:40) 8. Route 66 (Live)

Powerhouse performer Donna Singer has wowed jazz lovers around the world through her recordings and live performances at festivals, concert halls and jazz clubs. Her European concerts include dates in Paris, Switzerland, Ireland, Italy and Wales. She has performed at the Metropolitan Opera Guild Recital Hall in Lincoln Center, Central Park's Naumburg Bandshell and The Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach.

She has engaged audiences in many U.S. cities including Phoenix, Miami and Nashville. Her U.S. festival appearances include the Nebraska International Jazz Festival, Bethany College Jazz Festival in Kansas and the Saratoga Arts Festival in New York. Whether performing in an intimate gathering with her trio, with an 18- piece jazz orchestra, or with the 90-piece Boynton Beach Gold Coast Band, she's sure to wow audiences.

Growing up in Upstate New York, she and her siblings were introduced to the world of jazz. She and her twin sister, Dawn, were raised in a family of jazz enthusiasts who listened to the music of great jazz artists like Nancy Wilson (“Guess Who I Saw Today,”) Billy Strayhorn, (“Take the A Train” with Duke Ellington), Sammy Davis Jr, (“Hey There,” and Count Basie (“April in Paris”). Her great love for the music helped her evolve into a powerful jazz vocalist whose music has been played throughout North America, South America, Europe, Australia and Africa.

A graduate of the New York Academy of Theatrical Arts, Donna also studied at The Juilliard School and has kept music close to her heart. She established Dr. Donna's School of Song where aspiring musicians can begin their journey in the world of music. She shares her gift with young and adult students by providing mentoring and training in piano and voice. She has been a member of The National Guild of Piano Teachers (a division of the American College of Musicians) since 2006.

From 1998 to 2004 she hosted the weekly gospel show, "Down by the River" on WJFF FM in Sullivan County, NY. Donna performed for 15 years as the lead vocalist in the Swing Shift Orchestra, a 17-piece big band featuring the music of Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey and many more. The Singers and their only son, Christopher, recently moved to West Palm Beach from the lush Catskill Mountains.

Donna's voice is showcased in five recordings which have consistently climbed high in U.S. radio charts. She has also enjoyed international airplay. Donna's CD’s are available on all major music outlets and her YouTube videos have been seen by over half a million viewers. Her music is heard on the playlists of hundreds of terrestrial radio stations worldwide, as well as on Internet stations. Her most recent recording is a special jazz CD for children. Look for It's An Art To Follow Your Heart, available from fine retailers everywhere. In order to release her albums globally,

In order to release her albums globally, Donna Singer knew she needed a record label behind her to support and utilize her talent. In 2011 she became a recording executive, creating her own label, Emerald Baby Recording Company. The label has handled distribution of her music with great success. Her voice can be heard on jazz stations on many continents around the world: North America, South America, Africa, Australia. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/donna-singer

Dance Band Boogie (Live)

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