Nora McCarthy & The People Of Peace Quintet - Blessings

Time: 66:46
Size: 154,6 MB
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. Love Poem For The People (11:12)
02. Akara Moi Moi ( 5:03)
03. Nimbus ( 9:37)
04. Into The Middle Of Something ( 7:16)
05. Restless Mind ( 5:35)
06. The Blessing ( 6:48)
07. Passion Dance ( 7:32)
08. Listen Close To What The Trees Are Saying ( 5:42)
09. Night On Earth ( 7:56)

blesSINGS features: The People of Peace Quintet - Nora McCarthy-voice, compositions, lyrics, poetry, arrangements; Jorge Sylvester-alto saxophone, compositions, arrangements; Pablo Vergara-piano; Donald Nicks-electric bass; and, Kenny Grohowski and is dedicated to: Alto Saxophonist/Composer-Arranger/Conductor Jorge Sylvester, Poet James Randolph Daniels – Akinwale Pitan-Ogun Adisa, Conductor Lawrence D. “Butch” Morris, the Creative Jazz Musician, and to People of Peace everywhere.

Produced by Nora McCarthy and recorded at Tedesco Studio in Paramus, New Jersey on August 26 & 27th, 2015, blesSINGS is a modern jazz record that combines several elements to make its powerfully beautiful statement: original compositions and lyrics; innovative vocal improvisation, poetry, straight ahead jazz, blues, grooves, mixed meters, jazz ballads, free form, and imaginative arrangements.

blesSINGS addresses the overwhelming need for compassion, environmental awareness and understanding in our world today; it is first and foremost a love story that urges us to love one another and ourselves, to be the best we can be, to open our minds and hearts and acknowledge our individual and collective blessings. It is about gaining peace through harmony, liberation through creative expression, reaching for our higher selves and expanding our consciousness, recognizing and holding steadfast our connection to one another (brotherhood), to the earth (our mother) and to our place within the universe (immortality/spirit). It pays homage to the subtle energies that influence creativity, and ultimately give birth to hope and renewal.

The artistry on blesSINGS is stunning; the musicianship throughout is exquisite and the overall sound is reminiscent of the great creative jazz recordings of the ‘60s and ‘70s where the artists used their music as a conduit for spirituality and as a reaction to turbulent events that were taking place in the country, much like today: war, racism, civil unrest, terrorism, mass killings.

McCarthy felt compelled to put out a CD with a positive message, a healing balm as it were, a solution to be considered, something to hold on to, something to feel good about in a world where bad news prevails and can be so discouraging. In looking over her many compositions, Nora made a discovery. There assembled before her eyes was the music that would be that tap root she sought to provide peace and optimism to the world. The golden thread that wove them all together so perfectly was the word “blessing” as they all contained within their bars and measures, their form and structure, a blessing, and so, blesSINGS came into being.

Blessings

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Sergio Krakowski - Pássaros: The Foundation of the Island

Styles: Jazz
Year: 2016
Time: 41:56
File: MP3 @ 128K/s
Size: 39,0 MB
Art: Front

( 3:13) 1. Founding Chart
( 8:24) 2. Carrossel de Pássaros
( 6:44) 3. Path of Roses
(11:36) 4. Choro de Baile
( 9:18) 5. Wayfaring Stranger / Ostinato
( 2:38) 6. Unveiling Chart

Pássaros: The Foundation of the Island is the second release on the noteworthy Brooklyn label, Ruweh Records. It is a special release in many ways. First and foremost, the leader of the date, Sergio Krakowski, is playing an instrument that is very rare in jazz: the pandeiro.

The pandeiro is a hand frame drum that is particularly popular in Brazil. It is no coincidence that the instrument has been named the Brazilian tambourine. However, there is a difference between a tambourine and the pandeiro. The metal jingles are cupped, which gives it a less sustained sound.

In the right hands, the instrument is able to conjure a world of sound and this is exactly what Sergio Krakowski does on the album. While he is a specialist on his instrument, Krakowski does not limit himself to generic conventions, playing as much with silence, breaks and rhythmic intervals as traditional patterns.

On the other hand, Krakowski does not shun the musical tradition that is connected with his instrument. In fact, there is a clear connection to the Brazilian Choro and the balance between experimental and traditional is prevalent throughout the album. Pássaros: The Foundation of the Island is both adventurously abstract and rhythmically vibrant while also having an undercurrent of deep lyricism.

The album was recorded live as 42-minute take, but is separated into six segments or compositions that flow into each other. It was born out of music first premiered on Krakowski's cyclical web-album Carrossel de Pássaros (available at http://www.skrako.com/disc.php), but eventually evolved into something new.

Together with guitarist Todd Neufeld and pianist Vitor Goncalves, Krakowski creates an enchanting soundscape that provides several melodic motifs and catchy rhythms that communicate directly in the changing flow of the music. It is an album for both body and soul.
By Jakob Baekgaard https://www.allaboutjazz.com/passaros-the-foundation-of-the-island-sergio-krakowski-ruweh-records-review-by-jakob-baekgaard

Personnel: Sergio Krakowksi: pandeiro; Todd Neufeld: electric guitar; Vitor Goncalves: piano.

Pássaros: The Foundation of the Island

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Thelonious Monk - Genius Of Modern Music Volume Two

Styles: Jazz
Year: 1956
Time: 41:05
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 94,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:27) 1. Carolina Moon
(3:14) 2. Hornin' In
(3:00) 3. Skippy
(3:00) 4. Skippy
(3:47) 5. Let's Cool One
(3:01) 6. Suburban Eyes
(3:03) 7. Evonce
(2:57) 8. Straight No Chaser
(3:31) 9. Four In One
(3:01) 10. Nice Work
(3:06) 11. Monk's Mood
(2:39) 12. Who Knows
(3:13) 13. Ask Me Now

The second volume in this two-disc series displays Thelonious Monk coming into his own fully as a leader. The program consists almost entirely of original compositions, and in fact it opens with two of his most difficult: "Four in One" (with its conventional bop intro that leads into a bizarre, repeated five-against-two quintuplet sequence) and the forbiddingly abstract "Criss Cross." Get through those and you'll eventually be rewarded with the relatively straightforward, blues-based "Straight No Chaser" and the sweet ballad "Ask Me Now," among other treats.

Sidemen include the young trumpeter Kenny Dorham and bassist Al McKibbon, as well as a more clued-in Art Blakey and (replacing Blakey on half of the program) Max Roach. Sahib Shihab's sax tone is more appropriate this time out, and the production quality is somewhat better. This disc, along with Volume 1, belongs in every jazz collection.
By Rick Anderson
https://www.allmusic.com/album/genius-of-modern-music-vol-2-mw0000011837#moodsThemes

Genius Of Modern Music Volume Two

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Thelonious Monk - Genius Of Modern Music Volume One

Styles: Jazz
Year: 1952
Time: 36:45
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 85,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:09) 1. 'Round Midnight
(2:59) 2. Off Minor
(3:06) 3. Ruby My Dear
(2:45) 4. I Mean You
(3:20) 5. April In Paris
(2:54) 6. In Walked Bud
(3:00) 7. Thelonious
(3:06) 8. Epistrophy
(3:21) 9. Misterioso
(2:58) 10. Well You Needn't
(3:10) 11. Introspection
(2:51) 12. Humph

Volume 1 of the two-volume Genius of Modern Music set comprises the first sessions Thelonious Monk recorded as a leader, on October 15 and 24 and November 21 of 1947. It's impossible to overstate the importance of these sessions. They include some of the earliest recordings of Monk compositions that would become standards, despite their angularity and technical difficulty: the strange, sideways chord progression of "Thelonious"; the bouncy and cheerful but melodically cockeyed "Well, You Needn't"; the post-bop Bud Powell tribute "In Walked Bud"; and, of course, "'Round Midnight," which is now one of the most frequently recorded jazz compositions ever.

There are kinks to be worked out: Art Blakey's drumming is fine, but he obviously hasn't quite taken the measure of Monk's compositional genius, and on the November session, alto saxophonist Sahib Shihab employs a fat, warbly tone that sounds out of place. But the excitement of discovery permeates every measure, and Monk himself is in top form, his solos jagged and strange, yet utterly beautiful. This first volume of Genius of Modern Music, along with the second, belongs in every jazz collection.
By Rick Anderson https://www.allmusic.com/album/genius-of-modern-music-vol-1-mw0000011324

Genius Of Modern Music Volume One And Volume One

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