Deborah J. Carter - Girl-Talking! Live in Concert

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:17
Size: 157,8 MB
Art: Front

(6:39) 1. My Favourite Things
(3:14) 2. Sister Sadie
(5:57) 3. New York State Of Mind
(6:24) 4. Yesterday
(5:09) 5. Red Top
(4:47) 6. Girl talk
(4:11) 7. Perfect Stranger
(4:14) 8. The Whistle Man
(5:40) 9. Ten Minutes Till The Savages Come
(3:48) 10. Between The Raindrops
(5:15) 11. Ahmad's Blues
(5:32) 12. You've Proven Your Point (Bongo Beep)
(3:43) 13. Ten Minutes In Paris
(3:38) 14. Sabado (Barri Sa Coma)

Deborah J. Carter is the epitome of a world class jazz singer. Born in the U.S. with ties in Hawaii and Japan, her home now is in Europe. Her current concert schedule agenda is a global itinerary of performances from Cristofori, Amsterdam to Madrid Spain. Her new recording, Girl-Talking!, highlights one of her live performances at the Pannonica jazz club in Hague, Holland in 2003. The concert features Carter with her working trio performing a variety of popular covers and jazz influenced songs. From her first note it's evident that Carter is a pro. With a polished and elegant voice and diva-like skills, Carter gives the audience an entertaining performance. The first set begins with a version of the classic "My Favorite Thing," which gives light to Carter's panache as she sings with playful exuberance while the band delivers equally engaging music. She's in total control when she scats, chats, and vocalizes on Horace Silver's "Sister Sadie." The modern classic "New York State of Mind" is refreshingly smooth as the trio swings along with Carter's lithe lyrics.

Other gems include a moving version of John Lennon's timeless "Yesterday" where Carter soulfully expresses the haunting melody. The second set begins with the colorful "Whistle Man" as Carter's range stretches boundaries with ease. The trio aptly accentuates the singer with solid playing that leaves ample room for discovery on each tune. On the blues-themed "Ten Minute Till the Savage Comes," pianist Colen Molenaar and bassist Mark Zandvald share impressive solos and drummer Enrique Firpi displays crisp rhythmic skills on the bonus track "Sabado (Barr Si Coma)." With captivating vocals, good music, and the right atmosphere, Girl-Talking! is yet another entertaining glimpse of a jazz songstress who deserves a wider audience. It's easy to hear why Deborah Carter is popular with our fellow jazz fans across the ocean.By Mark F. Turner https://www.allaboutjazz.com/girl-talking-deborah-j-carter-timeless-records-review-by-mark-f-turner.php

Girl-Talking! Live in Concert

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The Full Circle Quartet and The South Downs Ensemble with Mandy Pannett - Meanders In The South Downs

Styles: Jazz
Year: 2023
Time: 130:30
File: MP3 @ 128K/s
Size: 120,1 MB
Art: Front

(35:32) 1. Part 1 - Meanders In The South Downs
(33:06) 2. Part 2 - Meanders In The South Downs
(27:14) 3. Part 3 - Meanders In The South Downs
(34:38) 4. Part 4 - Meanders In The South Downs

With over 2 hours of content in 4 parts of around 30 minutes each (download); 38 tracks (Double-CD), this album includes twelve new arrangements for Quartet with The South Downs Ensemble alongside ten of the original pieces recorded by The Full Circle Quartet on their album “The South Downs Suite”, all put into context by Mandy Pannett's recordings of her poems from the book of the same name and field recordings of the sounds of the South Downs.

The titles of the new pieces refer to the poems by Mandy Pannett and to the paintings of Polly Dutton that are also featured in the book. Book available separately on The South Downs Suite page.

The collaboration comes full circle.

The South Downs Ensemble has The Full Circle Quartet at its core, with additional parts written for flutes, clarinets, cornets, flugelhorns, trombones, euphoniums and percussion, both tuned and untuned.

New arrangements for the Ensemble expand the music already composed and recorded by the Quartet creating companion pieces for many of the Quartet tunes. Each arrangement contains elements borrowed and/or adapted from the music on the Quartet album. The sound of the Ensemble refers back, nostalgically, to the many village silver bands heard growing up in Sussex in the 1960s and 1970s.

The Full Circle Quartet:

Josephine Davies - soprano and tenor saxophones
Joss Peach - piano, keyboards, percussion, voice
Terry Pack - acoustic and electric basses, voice
Angus Bishop - drums and percussion

The South Downs Ensemble:

Kate Hogg - concert and alto flutes
Michelle Andrews - clarinet and bass clarinet
Mike Hext - trombone, flugelbone and euphonium
Nick Trish - cornet, flugelhorn, soprano cornet and piccolo trumpet
Richard Horne - glockenspiel, vibraphone, xylophone, marimba, timpani, tenor drum, tambourines
Mike Saunders - sound design

Meanders In The South Downs

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Pauline London - Under The Rainbow

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:28
Size: 114,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:10)  1. In Black & White
(3:37)  2. Colors
(4:07)  3. Walkin On The Sand
(3:57)  4. I Still Miss You
(4:11)  5. Amor Para Sonhar
(4:31)  6. The Shadow Of Your Smile
(3:18)  7. Meu Amor Meu Coracao
(3:14)  8. Breakout
(3:14)  9. Moment Of Magic
(3:50) 10. Peace Is The Only Way
(3:28) 11. Change Partners
(3:56) 12. So I
(3:48) 13. Senza Fine

After the important international appraisal which resulted from her first album “Quiet Skies” (2004) Pauline is back with a new cd which tastes like Jazz, Nu-Jazz, Latin-Jazz with hints of authorial pop. Whereas the mentioned first album had an electronic-jazz stamp to it, “Under the Rainbow” represents an evolution towards more acoustic and orchestral sounds. The title of this works calls to one’s mind the famous standard, finding continuity between the important traditional Northern American music and her own personal stroke in composing and interpretation. Staying “under” the rainbow is a way of being in present times, here and now, enjoying the inspirations and creativity this multi-coloured spectrum can offer to us. Thanks to the rainbow we can find once more shades of light after a darker hour, we may regain life blood. This work hence represents continuity with the “musical colours” of “Quiet Skies”, but makes them turn out more maturely and homogeneously.

A refined combination of acoustic and digital instruments are the central thread of this album. The whole of it is cleverly constructed by the arrangements here more essential and there cunningly architected  inspired by great Italian maestri Morricone, Trovaioli, Piccioni. This parcours is characterized by Pauline’s voice, which moves with adaptability from samba / bossa-nova inspirated atmospheres, towards more introspective and rarefied moments, passing by pop rock accents and sounds. The album’s thirteen songs unwind offering us original compositions, interpretation of a few standards and pop covers. Amongst unpublished pieces one catches sight of I still miss you with a latin-jazz taste, nostalgic tone, and its constant pitch modulating crescendo.Colors, bright and solar, towards an absorbing and dynamic up-tempo, recalls through composition and lyrics the feeling beheld by the album’s title, the rainbow inside and outside ourselves.”Amor para sonhar” owns the vivid mood of samba with bilingual portuguese and english lyrics. In Black and White represents a more introspective moment marked by an electro-swing style.”Walking on the sand” retro beat. “Meu amor meu curacao” is pure soft samba with a singing chorus to it. So I is an episode with a pushful rock impulse to it, recalling the tradition of Northern American songwriters.

Peace (is the only way) this song also has a poppy essence to it, but with deep contents. It claims peace, as mentioned in the title, to be the only way. Moment of magic- soft rocking acoustic pace of rythm and strings. Pauline offers a tribute to authors and artists which are part of her background by choosing four “classical” songs each of their own kind. The famous The Shadow of your smile with orchestral interventions in Ennio Morricone’s style, Change Partner a piece in Brasilian style made famous by Sinatra, enriched here by the polyphonic arrangement of 4 guitars. Breakout, a song written by the “Swing Out Sister” which comes from the Anglosaxon 80s pop panorama, is revisited in a latin-samba key which keeps your feet moving. Senza Fine, an emblematic title, both for its last position in the track list, recalling a kind of ciclicity, continuity between an end and a new beginning, and for its celebrity in Italian traditional music. This three quarters is redone as a sophisticated nu-jazz standard Pauline London, singer, songwriter and composer, started performing live at the beginning of the 90s in numerous Italian and European jazz-clubs and festivals. Her versatility brings her to mix efficaciously different styles and sounds.

She moves with ease amongst classic and modern standard jazz, proposes pop songs rearranged according to jazz style, and finally composes her original tracks which mix jazz, nu-jazz, latin-jazz, pop and rock suggestions together. Her influences cross from Latin American music through great jazz singers like Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, Mel Tormé, Dianne Reeves, to reach refined and elegant pop such as that of artists like Sade, Seal, Noa, and nu-bossa tendencies similar to Bebel Gilberto. She is also a vocal improviser who reaps from traditional scat singing enriching it with phrasings which come from ethnic, rock and pop music. Her constant research and curiosity on different aspects of vocality also brings her to study extra-European musical systems (particularly, singing in Nothern India and Karnataka singing) as well as Italian popular music. Her first solo album is produced by Funky Juice Records in 2004. The “Quiet Skies” cd meets great appraisal at an international level and is licensed to Sony Columbia Japan. In 2008 she’s a guest at Nu Note Lounge Fest in Moscow. Pauline has worked with many different artists as songwriter and performer. In 2002 her voice features in Barrio Jazz Gang’s “Spectrum” CD, released in different European and extra- European countries among which Australia and Japan. In 2004 she is a guest vocalist on “My favorite Beats” album by Dynamic Four.In 2009 her voice features on some of the tracks of Barrio Jazz Gang’s new album “vol. 2” as well as her lyrics. https://www.funkyjuice.com/en/products/pauline-london-under-the-rainbow/

Under The Rainbow

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Thomas Marriott - Constraints & Liberations

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:12
Size: 124,4 MB
Art: Front

( 4:14)  1. Diagram
(10:46)  2. Up From Under
( 7:33)  3. Constraints and Liberations
( 6:56)  4. Waking Dream
( 9:35)  5. Early Riser
(10:43)  6. Clues
( 4:22)  7. Treadstone

Trumpeter Thomas Marriott keeps growing as an artist. He has released CDs at a healthy pace since 2005: an introduction for many perhaps unwary jazz fans to some warped country western flavor on Crazy: The Music of Willie Nelson (Origin Records, 2008); cranking an all-star quintet up in a modern mainstream mode on Flexicon (Origin Records, 2009); and letting it rip on a two-trumpet blow fest with fellow brass man Ray Vega on East-West Trumpet Summit (Origin Records, 2010). Constraints and Liberations ups his output to two releases in 2010. Spontaneity has always been a big part of Marriott's jazz game, but with Constraints and Liberations, it seems he has gone deeper into that mode. The set opens with his original "Diagram." A bright splendor of two-horn harmony introduces the tune with a teaming of the leader's open horn and Hans Teuber's haunting tenor saxophone, leading to a shift into brass/reed conversation, with Teuber telepathically finishing Marriott's opening statement. Here, and throughout the set, the rhythm team pianist Gary Versace; bassist Jeff Johnson, and drummer John Bishop maintains a low key tumult that keeps things on edge.

The sound of Constraints and Liberations is often moody and atmospheric, giving the impression of a soundtrack from a movie dealing with impending danger. Marriott is in excellent form, his tone by turns bright or dark, clean or murky, and sometimes anguished, always telling an eloquent story.

Teuber's tenor has a distinctive sound, cool and hollow, and somehow diaphanous, like a saxophone played by a disconcerted ghost, while the versatile Versace who has contributed brilliantly to Maria Schneider's orchestra on accordion, and on organ, piano and accordion on numerous sideman dates including drummers John Hollenbeck and Matt Wilson, well as his own discs as leader slips into any accompanist/soloist task at hand, with a fluid sparkle on the title tune, or a quirky solo aside on "Diagram." "Waking Dream" opens with piano teardrops accompanied by a gorgeously introspective muted trumpet. Johnson's bass looms in and lies low, adding, with Bishop's whispering drums, a foundation to the abstraction. "Clues" introduces, in its inception, a late night, foreboding dark alley feeling, bass and drums lurking in the shadows, Marriott and Versace trying to shine a light. Thomas Marriott keeps moving the art forward. Constraints and Liberations may be his best so far.
By Dan McClenaghan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/constraints-and-liberations-thomas-marriott-origin-records-review-By-Dan-Mcclenaghan.php


Personnel: Thomas Marriott: trumpet;  Hans Teuber: tenor saxophone;  Gary Versace: piano;  Jeff Johnson: bass;  John Bishop: drums.

Constraints & Liberations

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Art Farmer & Donald Byrd - 2 Trumpets

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1956
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:42
Size: 98,1 MB
Art: Front

( 7:42) 1. The Third
( 7:38) 2. Contour
( 5:13) 3. When Your Lover Has Gone
(14:29) 4. Dig
( 6:39) 5. Round Midnight

2 Trumpets is an album by trumpeters Art Farmer and Donald Byrd, recorded in 1956 and released on the Prestige label. They are joined by Jackie McLean in the front line for the uptempo pieces but have a ballad quartet track apiece. In a contemporaneous review, Billboard was positive, commenting that it is a "very enjoyable LP for the modern jazz customer".

In Ron Wynn's review for Allmusic, he stated: "This nice date puts two top trumpets together".The Penguin Guide to Jazz gave it two-and-a-half stars out of four, describing it as "capable but routine".https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2_Trumpets

Personnel: Art Farmer – trumpet; Donald Byrd - trumpet; Jackie McLean – alto saxophone; Barry Harris – piano; Doug Watkins – bass; Art Taylor – drums

2 Trumpets

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Aga Zaryan - My Lullaby

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:29
Size: 120,2 MB
Art: Front

( 3:13)  1. To See A World
( 5:18)  2. Waltz For Debby
( 4:23)  3. I've Got The World On A String
( 5:22)  4. My Lullaby
( 5:13)  5. You And The Night And The Music
( 3:41)  6. I Put A Spell On You
(12:01)  7. Never Said (Chan's Song) / Trust Me
( 4:46)  8. Still We Dream (Ugly Beauty)
( 3:53)  9. I Hear Music
( 4:35) 10. Polka Dots And Moonbeams

This is the debut album by the undeniable present-day diva of Polish Jazz, vocalist Aga Zaryan. Recorded over a decade ago, when Zaryan was completely anonymous, it exhibits for the first time an outstanding talent, fresh and innocent on one hand and remarkably mature and daring on the other. Backed up by a classic Jazz quartet, Zaryan performs ten standards, which were arranged by pianist Michal Tokaj. The other quartet members are veteran Polish Jazz saxophonist Tomasz Szukalski, bassist extraordinaire Darek Oleszkiewicz and drummer Lukasz Zyta.  The fact that Zaryan received her primary school education in UK enables her to sing in English, free from a foreign accent, which often annoys English-speaking audiences. But the lack of a foreign accent is by far not what is so remarkable about this album. It is the choice of material and the highly personal interpretation of the songs, which is strikingly original and aesthetically pleasing.

She is able to twist and turn the familiar tunes around her small finger so to speak, with ease and elegance which is simply charming and highly sophisticated.  Another forte of the album is Zaryan´s extraordinary rapport with the quartet members, especially with bass player Darek Oleszkiewicz. Several of the tunes are by and large duets between the vocals and the bass and those are simply breathtaking. Szukalski is an ideal partner as well, constructing concise but wonderfully structured solos, always brilliantly complimenting the music. The entire quartet does a truly beautiful job, supporting the singer without overshadowing her for even a single moment. Such wonderful balance between a vocalist and her group is extremely rare and contributes immensely to the overall success of this recording. In retrospect one can easily hear all the elements, which over time amalgamated into present day Aga Zaryan and her outstanding abilities. This debut album remains a timeless beauty and a favorite album, which I intend to revisit time and again. Extraordinary!By Adam Baruch http://www.adambaruch.com/reviews_item.asp?item=104071

My Lullaby

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Eddie Higgins Trio - Speaking Of Jobim

Styles: Piano Jazz

Label: Sunny Side

Year: 1998

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 58:02

Size: 132,9 MB

Art: Front

(5:40)  1. O Morro Nao Tem Vez

(6:51)  2. I Was Just One More For You

(4:38)  3. Brigas, Nunca Mais

(4:35)  4. Falando de Amor

(3:53)  5. Two Kites

(4:16)  6. Bonita

(5:21)  7. Voce e Eu

(6:32)  8. Choro

(6:26)  9. Felicidade

(3:17) 10. So Tinha De Ser Com Voce

(3:52) 11. Caminhos Cuzados

(2:34) 12. Inutil Paisagem

By now everyone has heard at least one of Antonio Carlos Jobim's beautiful compositions, if only his most famous ones, "Girl From Ipanema" or "Desafinado," playing poppishly in an elevator or mall somewhere. His work has been recorded by every combination of instrument and voice, including Sinatra's. What distinguishes this CD from hundreds of others is its inclusion of 11 relatively obscure Jobim tunes, and the way this classy trio succeeds in communicating the essence of his special gifts with a minimum of fuss and feathers. (One track is a Carlos Lyra composition, "Voce e Eu," which blends in nicely.) The arrangements are elegant, combining jazz and Brazilian rhythms to gently swing the melodies and highlight Jobim's lush harmonies. The under-recognized pianist Eddie Higgins is a delight: Straightforward, relaxed, and varied, he sizzles on the up-tempo "Two Kites" and does a gorgeous rubato turn on "Inutil Pasagem" (Useless Landscape), one of Jobim's most heartbreaking songs.

The always melodic bassist Jay Leonhart has some wonderfully warm solos, and demonstrates his superb bowing technique on several tracks, including the lovely "Bonita," while drummer Terry Clarke is consistently sensitive and vital, whether lofting a samba or swaying a ballad. It's difficult to pick highlights from this collection of sparkling gems, but it's easy to recommend it. An excellent introduction to Jobim's unique beauty, it will also appeal to long-term fans who already have an extensive collection of his work. Highly recommended.By Judith Schlesinger http://www.allmusic.com/album/speaking-of-jobim-mw0000620445.

Personnel: Eddie Higgins (piano); Jay Leonhart (bass); Terry Clarke (drums).

Speaking Of Jobim

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Shaynee Rainbolt - Charmed Life: Shaynee Rainbolt Sings Russell Garcia

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:40
Size: 130,5 MB
Art: Front

(2:13)  1. When I First Saw You
(4:06)  2. Flyin Free
(4:13)  3. I Remember
(3:34)  4. Soft Warm Lips
(3:14)  5. Come Home Again
(4:12)  6. Sounds in the Night
(2:08)  7. What to Do
(3:25)  8. After Winter
(3:19)  9. Go Slow
(4:11) 10. When I Go I Go All the Way
(2:31) 11. Haunted by Desire
(3:36) 12. Livin' in Harmony
(5:13) 13. Warm and Wonderful
(3:51) 14. Five A.M.
(3:23) 15. The Time Traveler
(3:24) 16. Charmed Life

One of the tracks included on this great vocal tribute to the music of Russell Garcia (and Gina Garcia, his wife of more than a half-century, who wrote the majority of the lyrics) is entitled “Warm and Wonderful.” As we learn from Don Heckman’s impressively edifying liner notes, the song’s beautiful, central chord was inspired by a street address. But it also provides an ideal description of Shaynee Rainbolt’s voice, sweet as jasmine and honeysuckle, bold as brass and yet as seductive as a candlelit boudoir.

As Heckman tells the story, after two widely praised platters of standards, Rainbolt wanted to take a new tack for her third release. Serendipitously, a friend introduced her to Julie London’s sultry recording of Garcia’s “Go Slow.” Determined to seek out more of the legendary composer-arranger’s work, Rainbolt traced the 92-year-old Garcia to New Zealand (where he now lives), then to Sherman Oaks (where he spends most summers). They met, Rainbolt began digging through a trunk full of Garcia songs, then convinced Garcia to not only arrange and conduct the ensuing album, but to also add his Four Trombone Band to the mix and himself play vibes.

The resultant 16 tracks embrace the immense breadth of Garcia’s talents, extending from the noirish propulsion of “Sounds in the Night” and enigmatic mistiness of “Five A.M.” to the sweeping, heartbroken grandeur of “Come Home Again” and swingin’ ebullience of “Flyin’ Free” (written as a birthday present for Count Basie). But ears alone aren’t enough to fully appreciate Charmed Life. You’ll need your eyes, too, to follow along with Heckman’s notes, for the stories behind the songs are as enticing as the tunes themselves.By Christopher Loudon; http://jazztimes.com/articles/21202-charmed-life-shaynee-rainbolt-sings-russell-garcia-shaynee-rainbolt

Charmed Life: Shaynee Rainbolt Sings Russell Garcia

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