Sienna Dahlen, Bill Coon - Balladextrous

Styles: Vocal And Guitar Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:22
Size: 92,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:56) 1. Too Late Now
(6:33) 2. Round Midnight
(6:29) 3. Happy Talk
(3:07) 4. I Get Along Without You Very Well
(4:01) 5. When Lights Are Low
(2:52) 6. Autumn In New York
(4:33) 7. Day Dream
(4:58) 8. All Of You
(2:48) 9. I'm In The Mood For Love

Balladextrous, a collaborative jazz album featuring vocalist Sienna Dahlen and guitarist Bill Coon, is a delightful exploration of the ballad form which allows the artists to make moment-to-moment choices about how they are feeling the rhythm or letting it breathe. This session invites the listener on a soothing and introspective musical journey which showcases the artists' chemistry and individual virtuosity.

Over the course of the nine tracks, Dahlen's warm and resonant voice, combined with Coon's delicate and expressive guitar playing, creates an atmosphere of intimacy and emotional depth. The opener is "Too Late Now" by Burton Lane & Alan Jay Lerner which immediately sets the tone for the collection. Dahlen's voice gently glides over the lyrics, with Coon's supporting guitar capturing the listener's attention. The Thelonious Monk classic "'Round Midnight" was originally created as an instrumental, but lyrics by Bernard Hanighen were subsequently added. Dahlen's phrasing and subtle inflections bring out the lyric's depth while, near the end of the tune, Coon subtly changes the rhythm to something slightly more lively, Dahlen picks this up seamlessly.

Tracks such as "When Light Are Low" and "Autumn In New York" showcase Dahlen's exceptional vocal control and ability to convey a wide range of emotions. Coon's sensitive accompaniment and inventive chord changes provide the perfect backdrop for her storytelling. The Billy Strayhorn compositional gem "Day Dream" is a perfect hand-in-glove moment for the duo as they engage in a musical dialogue which seems to transcend words.

Sienna Dahlen and Bill Coon's musical partnership is a testament to their deep understanding of each other's artistic sensibilities.By Pierre Giroux
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/balladextrous-sienna-dahlen-and-bill-coon-cellar-music-group

Balladextrous

---

Ed Wiley Jr - Until Sunrise

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:31
Size: 100,0 MB
Art: Front

(6:47)  1. Until Sunrise
(4:05)  2. Twig's Tune
(4:46)  3. E-Three
(3:03)  4. My Foolish Heart
(6:55)  5. Jug Love
(6:28)  6. Come Rain Or Come Shine
(4:10)  7. Our Love Is Here To Stay
(7:13)  8. Blues Alley

During the 1950s and '60s, Ed Wiley Jr. recorded for such labels as Atlantic and Chess and also worked with such legends as Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Big Joe Turner, and Big Mama Thorton; then, after putting his horn aside for years to raise his children, the Texas tenor returned in the 1990s, recording new albums and performing regularly. Wiley grew up in Houston and found inspiration in such "Texas tenors" as Arnett Cobb and Illinois Jacquet. He performed his first gig at age 13 and scored his first hit record in 1950 with "Cry, Cry Baby." Wiley had moved from Houston to Baltimore just as the song was becoming a hit and subsequently recorded for Mercury, Chess, and Atlantic. 

During the early '50s he performed extensively, including a tour out west with blues singer Piney Brown and pianist Roosevelt Wardell, the latter a mainstay of his bands. In 1953 Wiley added vocalist May Robinson to his band and married her a year later. After years of going back and forth between his home in Baltimore and Robinson's in Philadelphia, the couple finally settled in Philly in 1960. At this point Wiley put down his horn and concentrated on raising his family. He worked as a machinist until his children were raised, and then returned to music. He performed mostly on the East Coast and in the 1990s began recording once again, releasing albums such as Until Sunrise (1994) and In Rememberance (1995) through Swing Records, his son's record label. Bio ~ https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/ed-wiley-jr./id137322142#fullText

Until Sunrise

---

Dan Balmer - When the Night

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:32
Size: 46,6 MB
Art: Front

(5:33) 1. Wes (For my favorite)
(4:23) 2. Seattle
(6:33) 3. When the Night
(5:25) 4. Round and Round
(5:30) 5. Lifesize Bright (For the Man from Missouri)
(6:23) 6. Love Ballad (Two words say it all)
(4:05) 7. It Felt Like Drowning (My last divorce song)
(5:29) 8. The Wander Years (Ages 1-100)
(7:06) 9. Never Leave (A Song of Worry and Hope for us all)

When the Night is Dan Balmer’s first album in over five years, and it is a highly anticipated release from jazz fans around the Pacific Northwest. The album features a stellar cast of two of the finest musicians from the New York City jazz scene, Gary Versace on Hammond organ and Rudy Royston on drums. In the true spirit of the PJCE Records label, all of the tunes on the album are newly composed pieces by Balmer.

The album’s title track, “When the Night,” is a haunting and beautiful country-pop ballad that showcases Balmer’s lyrical guitar playing and his knack for writing memorable melodies. Two busts on the Mt. Rushmore of jazz guitar are honored in Balmer’s compositions. While “Lifesize Bright” bears a more obvious resemblance to a Metheny-esque tune, “Wes” has an indie rock vibe and liberal use of guitar effects. The tunes on the album are varied in tempo, vibe, and style. They all fit together nicely as a complete statement, but there are stand-out tracks as well. Though it starts with somber solo guitar, “Seattle” turns into a lilting anthemic piece that features dovetailing solos between Balmer and Versace. “It Felt Like Drowning (My last divorce song)” is rife with energy and Balmer’s impressive technique is on full display throughout.

In Balmer’s words:

This album is the latest installment in my effort to create original music that is emotional, interesting, enjoyable, and personal. Both Gary and Rudy immediately understood the music, its goals, and brought their voices to the project. My music covers a wide range of styles and influences and Gary and Rudy proved more than up to the task of bringing each song to its own particular best result.

I’m excited and pleased with the music we made. It justified my trip to New Jersey to record and I feel the end result is everything I was hoping for emotionally, artistically, and technically. Their virtuosity “served” the music and the outcome was even better than I hoped for! https://pjce.org/album/dan-balmer-when-the-night/

Personnel: Dan Balmer, guitar; Gary Versace, organ; Rudy Royston, drums

When the Night

---

Doug Beavers - Luna

Styles: Trombone Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:21
Size: 125,6 MB
Art: Front

(0:33) 1. Luna (Intro)
(6:32) 2. Tidal
(6:49) 3. Reflejo Del Sol
(7:00) 4. Las Piedras
(6:08) 5. Multicolores (Feat. Jeremy Bosch)
(5:11) 6. Luna (Feat. Carlos Cascante)
(6:18) 7. Sea (Feat. Joe Locke & Paul Bollenback)
(0:50) 8. Interlude
(6:28) 9. Flor De Lis (Feat. Conrad Herwig, Francisco Torres & Max Seigel)
(0:55) 10. Intro To 'Sands Of Time'
(7:31) 11. Sands Of Time (Feat. Joe Locke & Ada Dyer)

New York, NY - Tuesday, May 9, 2023 GRAMMY® award-winning producer, composer, trombonist and arranger Doug Beavers is thrilled to announce the June 30, 2023 release of Luna, his sixth leader recording, via his own label Circle 9 Records. Esteemed “master of transformative artistry” (Raul da Gama, Latin Jazz Net), Beavers is known widely as a leading trombonist of his time, as well as a member of the multi-GRAMMY® award-winning ensemble Spanish Harlem Orchestra. His critically-received 2020 predecessor Sol explored a dozen original compositions which blended salsa with styles of Afro-Latin, R&B and Soul. Luna continues an expedition across a terrain of similar rhythmic styles, this time infused predominantly with Latin Jazz.

The release of Luna will be celebrated on June 4 at the Jersey Jazz Festival, and on June 22 at Dizzy’s at Jazz at Lincoln Center. More dates to be announced shortly.

In that regard, Luna is both a sonic counterbalance to Sol as well as a conceptual one Luna, the moon, is the celestial opposite to the sun. In 2021, Chamber Music America commissioned the Luna Suite, the first half of the record, through a New Jazz Works grant funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Beavers composed the suite while taking a residency in Sitges, Spain along the Mediterranean Sea. More.....https://www.dougbeavers.com/

Musicians:

Doug Beavers, trombone; Jeremy Bosch, flute & vocal (5); Ivan Renta, tenor and soprano saxophones; Manuel “Maneco” Ruiz, trumpet & flugelhorn; Max Seigel, bass trombone; Gabriel Chakarji, piano & fender rhodes (4); Jerry Madera, bass; Luisito Quintero, congas, timbales, percussion; Camilo Molina, drums, bongos

With: Carlos Cascante, lead vocal (6); Anthony Almonte, coros (5)

Tracks 7-11: Doug Beavers, trombone; Conrad Herwig, trombone (9); Francisco Torres, trombone (9); Max Seigel, bass trombone (9, 10) & tuba (10); Eric C. Davis, french horns (10); Dave Riekenburg, clarinets & bass clarinets (8); Joe Locke, vibraphone; Paul Bollenback, guitars; Gabriel Chakarji, piano & fender rhodes; Luques Curtis, acoustic bass; Robby Ameen, drums; Luisito Quintero, congas, timbales, percussion; George Delgado, itótele, shekere (4, 11); Camilo Molina, okónkolo, iyá (4, 11); Jeremy Bosch, vocal (11); Ada Dyer, vocal (11)

Luna

---