Roni Ben-hur - Love Letters

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:34
Size: 111,8 MB
Art: Front

(6:45) 1. To Dizzy With Love
(5:12) 2. Seul, À Paris
(4:48) 3. Fair Weather
(5:06) 4. Lonely Town
(5:29) 5. Alegria De Viver
(6:06) 6. The House That Yosef Built
(6:25) 7. Faint Memories
(5:20) 8. Waiting For Jh
(3:19) 9. Love Letters

The clue’s kind of in the title: after decades in the business as a respected performer and educator, Ben-Hur pays back in spades the love and gratitude he feels for friends and musical heroes. The tone’s set by the sumptuous swing of ‘To Dizzy with Love’, a song dedicated not to Gillespie (although Jensen’s joyous horn evokes the great man), but pianist Barry Harris.

It was Harris who encouraged the young guitarist when he emigrated from Israel in 1985, mentoring him and then inviting him into his own band.

Ben-Hur embraced the styles of Hall and Burrell, clean-toned, mellifluously melodic, but most importantly swinging, swinging, swinging. Even on his own meditative, slow tempoed ‘Seul a Paris’, the swing seduces, helped by Tieman’s deft brushes. But it’s Jensen’s muted horn, evocative of Miles yearning for Juliet Greco, that steals the show.

Jensen and Ben-Hur are long- time collaborators, and their easeful collaboration is a treat: never over-complex, and never stuck in the same voicings. For example, the Brazilian beats of ‘Alegria de Viver’ brings another feel again. Indeed, it would have been good to get more of Ben-Hur’s love of all things Latin; there are only intimations of Baden Powell, one of his Brazilian heroes. Likewise, tapping further into his own Tunisian-Jewish roots may have brought forth even further sweetness. Either way, Ben-Hur remains a touchstone of classic style and swing; and for that deserves our love.By Andy Robson https://www.jazzwise.com/review/roni-ben-hur-love-letters

Personnel: Roni Ben-Hur - guitar; Ingrid Jensen - trumpet; Ugonna Okegwo - upright bass; Jason Tiemann - drums

Love Letters

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Tatiana Eva-Marie - Two at the Most

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:37
Size: 92,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:57) 1. The End Of A Love Affair
(4:20) 2. Penthouse Serenade
(4:17) 3. Fly Me To The Moon
(4:10) 4. Sophisticated Lady
(3:34) 5. I Got It Bad (And That Ain’t Good)
(5:21) 6. You Go To My Head
(2:22) 7. They’ll Never Believe Me
(4:31) 8. The Nearness Of You
(3:37) 9. You Are Too Beautiful
(2:24) 10. I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face

One of the great things about jazz, as I’m sure many fans will agree, is that the tunes stand up very well however they are arranged. Most often composed at a piano, this harmonically rich and rhythmically interesting music might later be translated into a small combo or big band format but it still sounds fabulous when played by a lone pianist, as the composer (usually) originally conceived it. If you require any evidence of this, I present for your consideration Two at the Most by Tatiana Eva-Marie, with Jeremy Corren, and guesting on two titles, Mark Buchan.

A minimalist production featuring one voice (plus guest) and one piano, this record takes ten familiar classics from the Great American Songbook and strips them right back to purest melody, harmony and rhythm. Providing the first of these is Eva-Marie, a Swiss-born actress, singer and bandleader who has been since a decade ago, when big band swing was all the rage a passionate advocate for softer, smoother French jazz in the vein of Jean Sablon, Yves Montand, and Henri Salvador.

Eva-Marie fronts the Avalon Jazz Band, a toe-tapping Francophile string outfit which is in much demand amongst the organizers of swing dance events. Her sweet voice sounds effortlessly flawless, with something of Billie Holiday about it a warmth, a faint vibrato, and the way she sometimes graces the end of a note with a little upward flick. And it gets even more air time than usual on this duet album, a tribute to “old New York, piano bars, the American Songbook, alcohol, late nights, friendship” and the late Manhattan-based pianist Rick Unterberg (a friend and a casualty, at 61, of the pandemic).

She is joined by Jeremy Corren, a recent graduate of Columbia University who has already clocked up performances at Blue Notes in New York, Tokyo, Beijing, and Shanghai, as well as playing the Newport, Chicago, North Sea, and Umbria Jazz Festivals. Young Corren displays both the dexterity and deft touch of an old master, with the way in which he releases each thoughtfully approached note saying as much about his skill as the manner in which he attacks them. (I use “attack” in the strictly technical sense, for none of Corren’s key presses could be called anything but a caress.)

I first heard it while sitting outside a café on a warm but overcast day, the drizzle bouncing gently off the awning above my head exactly how this music should be heard, I’d argue. Tracks include “Fly Me to the Moon,” “The Nearness of You,” and “I Got It Bad (and That Ain’t Good),” presented in the simplest possible way, each tune arranged sparsely and without gimmicks. None will get you up and dancing but the result is a soothing balm for the nerves, a bubble bath for the brain, a spa for the senses, hot chocolate for the soul… you get the idea.

Eva-Marie takes a breather on tracks seven (“They’ll Never Believe Me”) and ten (“I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face”), allowing Mark Buchan to take over the vocals. He too has a voice like whipped cream, bright yet smooth, providing another perfect match to Corren’s keyboard caresses. Together these three have created something special, reverse engineering ten wonderful jazz pieces to reveal the essential beauty at the heart of each, without any embellishment. Check it out on Bandcamp, where you can pick up the digital album for whatever you think it’s worth. By Dave Doyle https://syncopatedtimes.com/tatiana-eva-marie-jeremy-corren-two-at-the-most/

Personnel: Tatiana Eva-Marie (vocals); Jeremy Corren (piano) + Mark Buchan (vocal on two tks).

Two at the Most

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Chris Speed Trio - Despite Obstacles

Styles: Saxophone And Clarinet Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:56
Size: 83,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:37) 1. Advil
(3:57) 2. Wrangled
(3:55) 3. Uncomfortable Truths
(4:18) 4. Despite Obstacles
(5:35) 5. Sunset Park In July
(4:08) 6. In The Wild
(4:33) 7. Lone Satellite
(4:50) 8. Amos

The initial idea for Chris Speed’s current trio - of drummer Dave King, both now joined in the newly-formatted The Bad Plus, and bassist Chris Tordini according to Speed was to stay in a jazz-trio world and play more swing-based music.

That’s an unexpected diversion for the saxophonist, who’s been an integral part of innovative downtown scene alt-jazz bands such as Tim Berne, Jim Black, Human Feel and The Claudia Quintet.

Although Speed is no straight ahead-er, his all-originals on the trio’s third album certainly hint at the giants of the modernist jazz lineage more than any of the aforementioned work. Speed opens with a strong Mr Wierd-ish modal theme on ‘Advil’, and he makes every note count soloing, while the folky Rollins-like ‘Uncomfortable Truths’ is at once direct and exploratory.

Speed’s lithe yet limp, sour-tone on tenor is more exposed in the sax-bass-drums trio setting, the hypnotic Tordini and King complement it superbly with low humming frequencies and churning percussive sonics.

Speed’s ballad ‘Sunset Park in July’ has the flavour of similarly titled standards, echoing ‘Autumn in New York’ in particular, his old-school tenor inflections eschewing anything mawkish, as he journeys unpredictably through a fine set of originals.By Selwyn Harris

Personnel: Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet – Chris Speed; Acoustic Bass – Chris Tordini; Drums – Dave King

Despite Obstacles

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Akiko Tsuruga - Beyond Nostalgia

Styles: Jazz, Hard Bop
Year: 2024
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:53
Size: 151,5 MB
Art: Front

( 8:47) 1.Tiger
( 6:31) 2.Happy Blues
( 8:35) 3.Middle Somewhere
(10:38) 4.Back Track
( 6:29) 5.I'll Close My Eyes
( 4:54) 6.Beyond Nostalgia
( 6:13) 7.Mack The Knife
( 6:48) 8.Dancing Cats
( 6:54) 9.What A Diff'rence A Day Makes

Another SteepleChase debut album here by Japanese-born B-3 organist Akiko Tsuruga who hails from Osaka, Japan's second largest city brimming with vitality and keen sense of good life. With her working group including husband trumpeter Joe Magnarelli Akiko leaps out with electrifying energy and at the same time displays her knack for elegant phrasing.

"Tsuruga wraps her own personality around our expectations, bringing out signature ideals of her instrument." - Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
https://propermusic.com/products/akikotsuruga-beyondnostalgia

Personnel: Akiko Tsuruga: B3 Hammond organ; Joe Magnarelli: trumpet; Jerry Weldon: tenor saxophone; Byron Landham: drums; Ed Cherry: guitar

Beyond Nostalgia

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