Angelina Jordan - Old Enough

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 17:08
Size: 39,6 MB
Art: Front

(2:57) 1. Love Don't Let Me Go
(3:07) 2. Now I'm The Fool
(2:36) 3. Fire And Rain
(2:24) 4. All My Fault
(3:27) 5. Good In Goodbyes
(2:35) 6. Diamond

Acclaimed songstress and vocal dynamo, Angelina Jordan has unveiled her brand-new EP, Old Enough today via Republic Records. To celebrate the project’s release, she also dropped the music video for the single “Now I’m The Fool.” Watch it now below.

On the track, her smoky vocals practically hover above jazz-y guitar and a simmering beat as she confesses in a smooth cadence, “I just called to let you know, you hurt my soul.” The simple, yet striking black-and-white visual channels a classic vibe as she rocks a retro hairdo and sings her heart out into a vintage microphone alone.

After years of wowing audiences with her phenomenal voice, Old Enough places Angelina Jordan’s songwriting in the spotlight, displaying her maturity as both an artist and woman.

Angelina first teased the project with “Love Don’t Let Me Go” earlier this year. Thus far, it has gathered north of 1.4 million Spotify streams and 2 million-plus views on accompanying visualizer. The last time we heard from Angelina was in 2021 with “7th Heaven.” The latter has amassed over 2.8 million Spotify streams in addition to 2.2 million YouTube views on the music video.https://preludepress.com/news/2023/07/21/angelina-jordan-old-enough/

Old Enough

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Dave Pietro - Standard Wonder: The Music of Stevie Wonder

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:17
Size: 158,6 MB
Art: Front

(5:27) 1. Too High
(6:41) 2. All in Love Is Fair
(6:05) 3. Smile Please
(6:30) 4. Go Home
(4:34) 5. You and I (Interlude)
(7:47) 6. The Secret Life of Plants
(6:09) 7. Contusion
(5:22) 8. Happier Than the Morning Sun
(7:10) 9. Visions
(6:26) 10. Another Star
(3:34) 11. Overjoyed
(3:27) 12. Come Back as a Flower

A few of Stevie Wonder's songs have been performed by jazz musicians, but this CD by saxophonist Dave Pietro is one of the first extensive explorations of his work outside of pop. Pietro shifts between soprano, alto, and C-melody saxophones (the latter instrument hasn't been used very much in jazz since the '30s). Pietro's playing is very strong throughout the date, and his arrangements are first-rate, often contrasting sharply with the composer's original approaches.

"Another Star" features Pietro's superb C-melody sax in a modal setting that seems to occasionally hint at Miles Davis' "Nardis." His tasty soprano sax is a highlight of "The Secret Life of Plants," a song that could be overlooked by jazz fans who haven't heard Wonder's original record, because such a title might easily be mistaken for a typical new age release. The lively, Latin-flavored "Smile Please" and the lovely ballad "You and I-Interlude" are also highlights, but the dull electric piano keeps "All in Love Is Fair" (a favorite of pianist Marian McPartland, who has performed it many times) from reaching its full potential.

The strong supporting cast includes keyboardist David Berkman, trumpeter and flugelhornist Scott Wendholt, trombonist Pete McGuinness, guitarist Pete McCann, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Brian Blade. One can easily imagine many more jazz musicians following Dave Pietro's lead in putting together a Stevie Wonder songbook of their own.By Ken Dryden
https://www.allmusic.com/album/standard-wonder-the-music-of-stevie-wonder-mw0000591513

Personnel: Dave Pietro - Soprano/Alto & C-melody Sax; Scott Wendholt - Trumpet/Flugelhorn; Pete McGuinness - Trombone; Pete McCann - Guitar; David Berkman - Piano/ Organ/ Fender Rhodes; Scott Colley - Bass; Brian Blade - Drums

Standard Wonder: The Music of Stevie Wonder

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Hazel Scott - Born Hazel Dorothy Scott

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 28:57
Size: 67,2 MB
Art: Front

(2:13) 1. Two Part Invention In 'A' Minor
(2:36) 2. Three Little Words
(2:28) 3. Fascinating Rhythm
(2:42) 4. You Gave Me The Go-by
(2:55) 5. Mighty Like The Blues
(2:50) 6. Blues In B Flat
(3:18) 7. Take Me In Your Arms
(2:55) 8. Country Gardens
(2:51) 9. Ritual Fire Dance
(4:05) 10. Honeysuckle Rose

Jazz pianist and singer Hazel Scott was not only the first African-American woman to host her own television show, but she also bravely stood up to the House Un-American Activities Committee and the Hollywood studio machine. The gifted and popular performer dazzled audiences in the U.S. and abroad with her jazzy renditions of classical works.

Hazel Dorothy Scott was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad on June 11, 1920. She was the only child of R. Thomas Scott, a West African scholar from England, and Alma Long Scott, a classically trained pianist and saxophonist. Scott displayed her talents for music at an early age and, by the age of three, Scott could play the piano by ear. When her mother’s music students would hit a wrong note, Scott would yelp with displeasure.

Scott’s parents separated and she moved with her mother and grandmother to New York City in 1924. Scott's mother played in several all-women bands to earn a living. Scott and her mother were extremely close, and Scott called her mother “the single biggest influence in my life.” Alma became friends with prominent African-American musicians, which gave Scott the opportunity to learn from a variety of musical greats, such as Art Tatum, Lester Young, and Fats Waller.

Her mother’s musical connections made it possible for Scott to audition for the prestigious Juilliard School of Music at the unheard-of age of eight (students were supposed to be 16). Scott’s rendition of Rachmaninoff’s “Prelude in C-Sharp Minor” convinced professor Oscar Wagner of Scott’s “genius” and he arranged a scholarship so that he could instruct her privately.

By the time she was a teenager, Scott was performing professionally throughout the city. At the age of 13, she joined her mother’s jazz band, Alma Long Scott’s American Creolians. At 15, Scott made her individual stage debut opposite Count Basie’s big band at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City. She won a local competition to host her own radio show and, in 1938, made her Broadway debut in the musical revue Sing Out the News. Despite her demanding musical career, Scott graduated high school with honors.

It was her 1939 performances at Café Society in Greenwich Village that pushed Scott’s career to the next level. Café Society was New York’s first fully integrated nightclub and the city’s hot spot for jazz. When singer Billie Holiday ended her standing engagement there three weeks early, she insisted on Scott as her replacement. When the run was up, Scott was the "Darling of Café Society” and the club’s new headliner. More.....https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/hazel-scott

Born Hazel Dorothy Scott

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Jack Jones Feat. Joey Defrancesco - ArtWork

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 78:09
Size: 180,3 MB
Art: Front

(6:03) 1. Fever
(4:45) 2. Hello
(4:55) 3. At Last
(5:21) 4. If Love Is Overrated
(3:29) 5. Not While I'm Around
(5:08) 6. She's Funny That Way
(6:17) 7. This Masquerade
(5:55) 8. If You Go Away
(6:10) 9. Empty Chairs
(6:10) 10. Lush Life
(4:23) 11. Free Again
(5:03) 12. Is That All There Is
(5:50) 13. Here's To Life
(4:20) 14. This Is All I Ask
(4:15) 15. One Day

If a singer's reputation is so impressive that he or she is able to enlist a full orchestra (with bassist John Clayton conducting) and the late organ maestro Joey DeFrancesco as featured soloist, that is certainly enough to warrant attention. The singer in this instance is two-time Grammy winner Jack Jones, the orchestra an assemblage of some of the Los Angeles area's finest musicians, enlarged by a thirty-member string section.

On one hand, Jones remains a smooth and personable interpreter of American popular song; on the other, he was nearing his eighty- fifth birthday when ArtWork was recorded, and he is more a stylist and storyteller than a songbird here. If pressed for a description, it must be that he more or less talks in rhythm and always on-key, and can still reach the required notes when necessary, even with some difficulty. Think Rex Harrison without the British accent or Robert Preston with less power.

Those who remember Jones from his heyday in the '50s and '60s may either warm to those memories and embrace the album, or lament the loss of the phrasing, control and animation that made his early recordings so remarkable. Either response is perfectly understandable, as this is not the same Jack Jones. Period. He simply does the best he can with what he has. For some, that may be more than enough; for others, not nearly enough. Make no mistake, Jones can still sing, simply not the way he used to. While the voice is not close to what it once was, experience has taught him warmth and pacing, and he makes the most of those skills.

When all is said and done, when one is a singer that is what he or she does. And Jones has always been a singer, taking his cue from father Allan Jones who starred in a number of films, including the Marx Brothers classic, A Night at the Opera; he recorded the hit song "The Donkey Serenade," introduced in that film. The younger Jones has had a long and illustrious career, and he pours whatever is left in the tank into every note on ArtWork. Even so, he is no more than a shadow of his younger self, which must be considered and acknowledged. As for the rest, DeFrancesco is superb as always on organ, tenor sax or trumpet, the orchestra smooth and dependable. For diehard fans of Jack Jones, ArtWork could be one last treasure to embrace.By Jack Bowers
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/artwork-jack-jones-featuring-joey-defrancesco-self-produced

ArtWork

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