Lisa Hilton - My Favorite Things

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:06
Size: 115,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:22)  1. Let's Go!
(3:16)  2. My Favorite Things
(4:01)  3. Take Five
(4:10)  4. Midnight Sky
(3:59)  5. Alice in Wonderland
(4:45)  6. Desafinado
(3:47)  7. Baja Nights
(3:16)  8. Alfie
(3:27)  9. Clearly
(2:58) 10. Seduction (remix)
(3:28) 11. So This Is Love
(2:45) 12. They Can't Take That Away from Me
(3:12) 13. Thinking of You
(3:34) 14. Changes

Southern California pianist, Lisa Hilton, is justifiably proud of her new CD My Favorite Things: Everyone’s Jazz Favorites. The pianist involved herself in all aspects of its creation. Hilton’s seventh album in nine years is not only self-produced but the pianist composed eight original pieces and penned the arrangements of the remaining jazz standards. Her tasty reading of George and Ira Gershwin’s "They Can’t Take That Away From Me" is reminiscent of jazz pianists of the late 1930s and particularly of Teddy Wilson. Hilton handles the 1937 classic in a solo performance. The award-winning pianist is joined by some fine studio musicians on My Favorite Things. Reedman, Eric Marienthal, handles the flute and saxophone duties sympathetically.

Marienthal is fresh from appearances with The Rippingtons and Chick Corea. Drummer, Tal Bergman, worked in all genres including sessions with Billy Idol, Chris Botti and Joe Zawinul. Bassist, Reggie McBride, is probably one of the finest electric players on the scene. Over the years, the Detroit born bassist, provided the heartbeat for many greats including Aretha Franklin, Elton John, James Brown, Al Jarreau, Ry Cooder and Van Morrison. Many will recall his exciting recordings with Rare Earth in the 70s. Lisa Hilton dishes out some classy interpretations of several standards and Paul Desmond’s "Take Five" really stands out. This writer was most impressed with Hilton’s original tunes. "Baja Nights" is an exciting percussive melody with nice passages by the pianist accented by Bergman’s tasteful drumming. Our particular favorites are the bluesy "Seduction" and the closing tune titled "Changes." The latter song is a charmer in every sense of the word. The somewhat simple melody just demands a replay. ~ Richard Bourcier  http://www.jazzreview.com/cd-reviews/smooth-jazz-cd-reviews/my-favorite-things-by-lisa-hilton.html

Personnel: Lisa Hilton (piano); Reggie McBride (bass instrument);  Eric Marienthal (flute, saxophone);  Tal Bergman (drums).

My Favorite Things

---

Tal Wilkenfeld - Transformation

Styles: Fusion
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:23
Size: 111,1 MB
Art: Front

(6:20)  1. BC
(6:23)  2. Cosmic Joke
(6:38)  3. Truth Be Told
(5:00)  4. Serendipity
(7:41)  5. The River Of Life
(7:51)  6. Oatmeal Bandage
(8:28)  7. Table For One

Some artists emerge slowly, taking years to find their way to public attention; others leap seemingly instantaneously into the public eye. Australian-born, US-based bassist Tal Wilkenfeld has gone from sitting in with Allman Brothers Band in 2006 to working with pianist Chick Corea and Jeff Beck, heard recently on the guitarist's Performing This Week...Live at Ronnie Scott's (Eagle Records, 2008). What's not apparent on Beck's CD but can be seen on the DVD version of the same release is his almost constant state of disbelief when watching the diminutive, early-twenties Wilkenfeld. There are plenty of bassists with staggering technique and chops, but few can make the instrument truly sing, as Wilkenfeld does on Beck's CD during an all-stops-out solo on Stevie Wonder's "'Cause We've Ended as Lovers."

Wilkenfeld possesses all the requisite chops and uses them to terrific advantage on Transformation, her 2007 debut as a leader, released prior to hitting the road with Beck. As with Beck, she proves herself a potent groove-meister, in this case working hand-in-glove with Keith Carlock, best-known as Steely Dan's recent drummer of choice, both on the road and on its last release, Everything Must Go (Reprise, 2003). The grooves are rich and visceral on this set of Wilkenfeld originals (one, the beautifully balladic "Truth Be Told," co-written with Transformation's keyboardist, the ever-tasteful Geoffrey Keezer), with solo space aplenty and a less restrictive format allowing Carlock greater freedom than in The Dan's more defined context. Possessing a deep lyricism rare enough in electric bassists, but especially in this largely fusion-esque context, Wilkenfeld's a fingers-only player who largely eschews string-popping and slapping techniques, though she heads for that territory briefly on "Serendipity," managing to be be both rhythm anchor and lead voice. Largely, however, she aims for a warm tone and a way of sliding in and around her notes reminiscent of ex-Weather Report bassist Alphonso Johnson and King Crimson/Peter Gabriel alum Tony Levin. 

Wilkenfeld's writing is filled with knotty, often high velocity lines either in counterpoint or concert with guitarist Wayne Krantz, who delivers some of his most focused, funkified and harmonically outré playing in years; a strong foil for Wilkenfeld and a player who's always deserved more cred than he's been afforded. Saxophonist Seamus Blake, normally heard on more modern mainstream settings, combines spare soulfulness with bop-inflected lines on the medium tempo "Table for One," while Keezer delivers one of his best solos of the set on the fierier "Oatmeal Bandage," while also features a rare solo spot for Carlock that suggests he, like Krantz, deserves considerably more attention. But even when the music is filled with complex, intertwining lines that prove the mettle of everyone involved even as they avoid any trappings of excess, it still grooves in a booty-shaking way even when Wilkenfeld challenges with shifting meters. For those who've discovered Wilkenfeld via her work with Jeff Beck, the thoroughly exciting Transformation provides an even broader window into this remarkable bassist with a promising future. ~ John Kelman  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/transformation-tal-wilkenfeld-self-produced-review-by-john-kelman.php#.VEGCWxawTP8
 

Personnel: Tal Wilkenfeld: bass; Wayne Krantz: guitar; Geoffrey Keezer: piano, keyboards; Keith Carlock: drums; Seamus Blake: tenor saxophone.

Transformation

---

Marianne Solivan - Mood For Love

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:28
Size: 113,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:09) 1.Look For Me I’ll Be Around
(5:12) 2.I’m In The Mood For Love - Moody’s Mood For Love
(4:07) 3.Lonely Woman
(4:54) 4.It’s Like Reaching For The Moon
(5:16) 5.Look No Further
(3:07) 6.I’m Gonna Lock My Heart
(5:07) 7.Some Other Time
(3:10) 8.My Gentleman Friend
(5:55) 9.Zingaro
(4:14) 10.On A Clear Day
(3:12) 11.Spark

Quickly becoming one of the most buzzed about jazz singers on the New York scene, Marianne Solivan does not remember an “ah-ha” moment that brought her to the music she has devoted herself to: “I don’t recall having a big moment that made me like jazz. I just dug it.”

It is that same simplicity of statement with its intrinsic honesty that characterizes Solivan’s style. The infallible swing of Ella, the daring of Betty Carter, the matter-of factness of Carmen McRae…They can all be found in the voice of Marianne Solivan, whom trumpeter Jeremy Pelt has called “the modern-day paradigm to which all singers should aspire.”

It is no coincidence that the 2009 Jazzmobile Vocal Competition finalist has graced recital halls, jam sessions and club stages with such noted musicians as Roy Hargrove, Steve Lacy, Jeremy Pelt, Ray Gallon (Ron Carter, Art Farmer, Lionel Hampton, T.S. Monk), Ugonna Ukegwo (Tom Harrell, Jacky Terrason) and Jane Monheit’s sidemen Neal Minor and Michael Kanan.

Born in Queens, New York, Solivan’s family lived in Venezuela and New Jersey before settling in Massachusetts, where she attended high school. Already an alto sax student, it was in secondary school that she began singing seriously, studying classical voice and appearing in musical theater productions. Upon graduating, she entered Boston Conservatory on scholarship with a concentration in musical theater. After her first year in college, Solivan took time off from school and drifted away from singing, not returning for three years. The urge to resume singing lessons and go back to school coincided with her discovery of the voice that would become her greatest influence: Ella Fitzgerald.

She recalls, “I purchased the four oddest recordings for a jazz newcomer: one of those Ella Fitzgerald songbook compilations, a Dominique Eade recording, Nina Simone Sings The Blues and At the Village Vanguard: Betty Carter.” Fitzgerald, especially, made a great impression on her: “There’s such tremendous hopefulness in all her music. No matter how sad the ballad, no matter how bad the break-up song, there’s always a silver lining.”

Solivan was singing pop when she entered Berklee College of Music, but quickly decided she wanted to learn this music called jazz. Earning a dual degree in Music Performance and Education, she taught music for a year before entering New England Conservatory and graduating with a Master’s degree in Jazz Studies.

Armed with two prestigious degrees and formidable talent, Solivan moved back to the city of her birth in 2007, placing in the Jazzmobile Vocal Competition, appearing as the only featured vocalist on clarinetist Darryl Harper’s The C3 project recording, Stories in Real Time, and touring France as the lead vocalist in an innovative staging of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.

Solivan is as likely to pop up at jazz institution Smalls Jazz Club with a full band as she is an intimate restaurant with only a piano accompanist. Regardless, jazz lovers and musicians alike are captivated by her sound and her style. Not all are able to articulate what attracts them as well as Pelt. Ultimately, they just dig it. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/marianne-solivan/

Mood For Love

---

The Jazz Sapiens - Remembrance: 1955 to 1963

Styles: Contemporary Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:26
Size: 36,7 MB
Art: Front

(1:15) 1. God's Band
(3:42) 2. Bandung Conference
(4:52) 3. No Justice for Emmett Till (Mourning Song)
(3:32) 4. The State Department
(3:52) 5. Valley of the Kings
(4:29) 6. Trouble in Little Rock
(3:16) 7. A Different Kind of Diplomacy
(4:29) 8. Reflections
(4:45) 9. Will Change Ever Come
(4:09) 10. The Power of Music

The Jazz Sapiens Big Band is an exciting new collective made up of London's finest jazz musicians. Between them they have played with a Who’s Who of leading contemporary music artists including Jamiroquai, Incognito, John McLaughlin, Laura Mvula, Gregory Porter, Steve Winwood, The Brand New Heavies and the James Taylor Quartet.

The music is an eclectic mix of contrasting moods: from reflective to intense, the spontaneity and virtuosity of the band’s live performances will keep you enthralled.

The band came together to record the original score for the Peabody Award-winning documentary, 'The Jazz Ambassadors'. The themes composed by Michael J McEvoy, were inspired by events that took place during the civil rights movement when African American musicians were sent overseas by the US State Department to perform in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.

This album is a live studio recording of the main themes composed for the film with extended solos and expanded arrangements by Mike and saxophonist Paul Booth.

Personnel: Mark Mondesir (Drums); Karl Rasheed Abel (Dbl Bass); Mike McEvoy (Piano); Kevin Robinson (Trumpet/Flugelhorn); Freddie Gavita (Trumpet/Flugelhorn); Tom Walsh (Trumpet/Flugelhorn); Paul Booth (Tenor Sax); Graeme Blevins (Alto Sax); Robbie Harvey (Tenor Trombone); Richard Henry (Bass Trombone)

The Jazz Sapiens - Remembrance: 1955 to 1963

---