Champian Fulton - Sometimes I'm Happy

Styles: Vocal, Piano Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:27
Size: 131,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:58)  1. When Your Lover Has Gone
(5:30)  2. Just Squeeze Me
(5:35)  3. Pennies From Heaven
(4:37)  4. All Too Soon
(4:35)  5. Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams
(3:50)  6. It's All Right With Me
(4:44)  7. September In The Rain
(4:38)  8. He's Funny That Way
(4:36)  9. Sometimes I'm Happy
(5:11) 10. Darn That Dream
(3:55) 11. Whistling Away The Dark
(5:10) 12. Tea For Two

The daughter of jazz trumpeter Stephen Fulton, Champian Fulton had plenty of early exposure to the music through her father. She began piano lessons at the age of five and as she grew interested in singing as well, she began accompanying herself.  Fulton is a refreshing change from many of the singing jazz pianists of the past two decades, as she excels in both areas while never resorting simply to doing the minimum to get by in her interpretation of standards. She builds on the success of her 2007 debut Champian (Such Sweet Thunder), when she was backed by David Berger's Sultans of Swing. But this time it's a trio date with bassist Neal Miner and drummer Fukushi Tainaka, Fulton playing and singing a dozen timeless pieces that were penned long before her birth in 1985. While Fulton's voice is youthful, her vocals often incorporate the touches of a veteran, including a defiant interpretation of "When Your Lover Has Gone" that has a sassiness reminiscent of Carmen McRae along with her superb vocal inflections and bebop chops in her driving setting of "September in the Rain." 

Fulton also masters slow ballads, such as Duke Ellington's powerful "All Too Soon," in which she communicates the sorrow of lost love desiring a reunion as if she has lived the lyrics. The one piece that is not as well known is "Whistling Away the Dark" (a superb ballad by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercerr, performed in waltz time), which Fulton skillfully interprets as if it has been a part of her repertoire since she began singing. The closing track features Fulton singing "Tea For Two" over Miner's walking bass, before she and Tainaka join him for a swinging instrumental break. Fulton is a gifted musician who is deserving of wider recognition. ~ Ken Dryden  

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=33415#.UulyGrSgsis

Personnel: Champian Fulton: piano, vocals; Neal Miner: bass; Fukushi Tainaka: drums.

Sometimes I'm Happy

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Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:32
Size: 168,5 MB
Art: Front

(7:22) 1. Better Git It in Your Soul
(5:44) 2. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
(5:02) 3. Boogie Stop Shuffle
(3:10) 4. Self-Portrait in Three Colors
(5:51) 5. Open Letter to Duke
(6:17) 6. Bird Calls
(8:13) 7. Fables of Faubus
(9:14) 8. Pussy Cat Dues
(6:17) 9. Jelly Roll
(6:30) 10. Pedal Point Blues
(4:39) 11. GG Train
(4:07) 12. Girl of My Dreams

Charles Mingus' debut for Columbia, Mingus Ah Um is a stunning summation of the bassist's talents and probably the best reference point for beginners. While there's also a strong case for The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady as his best work overall, it lacks Ah Um's immediate accessibility and brilliantly sculpted individual tunes. Mingus' compositions and arrangements were always extremely focused, assimilating individual spontaneity into a firm consistency of mood, and that approach reaches an ultra-tight zenith on Mingus Ah Um.

The band includes longtime Mingus stalwarts already well versed in his music, like saxophonists John Handy, Shafi Hadi, and Booker Ervin; trombonists Jimmy Knepper and Willie Dennis; pianist Horace Parlan; and drummer Dannie Richmond. Their razor-sharp performances tie together what may well be Mingus' greatest, most emotionally varied set of compositions. At least three became instant classics, starting with the irrepressible spiritual exuberance of signature tune "Better Get It in Your Soul," taken in a hard-charging 6/8 and punctuated by joyous gospel shouts. "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" is a slow, graceful elegy for Lester Young, who died not long before the sessions.

The sharply contrasting "Fables of Faubus" is a savage mockery of segregationist Arkansas governor Orval Faubus, portrayed musically as a bumbling vaudeville clown (the scathing lyrics, censored by skittish executives, can be heard on Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus). The underrated "Boogie Stop Shuffle" is bursting with aggressive swing, and elsewhere there are tributes to Mingus' most revered influences: "Open Letter to Duke" is inspired by Duke Ellington and "Jelly Roll" is an idiosyncratic yet affectionate nod to jazz's first great composer, Jelly Roll Morton. It simply isn't possible to single out one Mingus album as definitive, but Mingus Ah Um comes the closest. By Steve Huey
https://www.allmusic.com/album/mingus-ah-um-mw0000188531

Personnel: Charles Mingus – bass, piano (with Parlan on track 10); John Handy – alto sax (1, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12), clarinet (8), tenor sax (2); Booker Ervin – tenor sax; Shafi Hadi – tenor sax (2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10), alto sax (1, 5, 6, 9, 12); Willie Dennis – trombone (3, 4, 5, 12); Jimmy Knepper – trombone (1, 7, 8, 9, 10); Horace Parlan – piano; Dannie Richmond – drums

Mingus Ah Um

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Dorothy Donegan - The Many Faces Of Dorothy Donegan

Size: 168,8 MB
Time: 72:32
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1975/2002
Styles: Jazz: Piano Jazz
Art: Front

01. 12Th Street Rag ( 2:23)
02. Begin The Beguine ( 5:36)
03. Bill Bailey ( 3:03)
04. Donegan's Blues (10:24)
05. Dorothy Runs Away ( 3:35)
06. I Just Want To Sing ( 3:24)
07. If I Love You ( 3:31)
08. Introduction ( 0:32)
09. Just In Time ( 4:34)
10. Lift Every Voice And Sing ( 2:05)
11. Liza ( 1:45)
12. Mack The Knife ( 4:25)
13. Minuet In G ( 2:49)
14. Mistry ( 7:06)
15. Some Of These Days ( 3:45)
16. St. Louis Blues ( 2:48)
17. Stop The World ( 3:16)
18. Willow Weep For Me ( 4:32)
19. You Are The Sunshine Of My Life ( 2:49)

Dorothy Donegan was one of the most exciting of all jazz pianists, a virtuoso who could seemingly play anything she thought of on a moment's notice. She never achieved all that much fame, partly because she recorded so rarely during the 1950s, '60s, and early '70s before she was finally discovered. This CD has nine songs from a French studio date originally released on the Mahogany label in a trio with bassist Arvell Shaw and drummer Panama Francis. Highlights along the way include a very heated version of "You Are the Sunshine of My Life," the lengthy "Donegan's Blues," and a very eccentric version of Beethoven's Minuet in G. This set gives one a good sampling of Donegan's playing just before she finally began to be noticed much more by the jazz world. ~by Scott Yanow

The Many Faces Of Dorothy Donegan

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