Abigail Riccards - Every Little Star

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:20
Size: 126.7 MB
Styles: Vocal
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[4:37] 1. I've Told Every Little Star
[5:26] 2. If I Had You
[4:07] 3. Singin' In The Rain
[4:00] 4. How Deep Is The Ocean
[5:30] 5. Circle Game
[3:41] 6. Sleepin' Bee
[6:01] 7. I Didn't Know About You
[4:57] 8. I Can't Give You Anything But Love
[3:14] 9. Smile
[4:45] 10. Waltz For Debby
[3:48] 11. Endless Joy
[5:08] 12. Bye Bye Blackbird

Abigail Riccards may not be known yet but Jane Monheit is, and on Riccard's Every Little Star, the famous jazz chanteur is both a mentor and co-producer. The Chicago-based Riccards began appearing in New York City in the early 2000s, garnering a good deal of critical attention from her live performances and her debut recording, When The Night Was New (Jazz Excursion, 2008).

Always supported by the best musicians, Riccards is backed up here by a piano-guitar quartet, led by pianist Michael Kanan, who handles the arrangements of all twelve songs included in this collection. His steady hand steers a neo-mainstream path, paying a counterpoint homage to John Lewis and George Shearing. Guitarist Peter Bernstein provides the string mood to the set, his introduction and accompaniment on "If I Had You" an album highlight. Bassist Neal Miner and drummer Eliot Zigmund round out the rhythm section, the quartet proving tasteful and brief support.

Riccard's instrument is one that is at once fresh and practiced. Interestingly, her voice is best framed in her duet with Monheit on Joni Mitchell's "Circle Game." Riccards' alto possesses an exegesis of the singer's art, able to fit anywhere—as evidenced by her cover of Bill Evans' "Waltz For Debbie" and Irving Berlin's "How Deep Is The Ocean." The culmination of her vision is on "Sleepin' Bee," where Riccards duets with only Miner's walking bass. Riccards' footing is secure and her future bright.~Michael BaileyAbigail Riccards: vocals; Michael Kanan: piano; Neal Miner: bass; Peter Bernstein: guitar; Eliot Zigmund: drums.

Every Little Star

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Abigail Riccards & Tony Romano - Soft Rains Fall

Styles: Vocal and Guitar Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:26
Size: 95,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:56)  1. I Get Along Without You Very Well
(3:28)  2. Chega De Saudade
(4:24)  3. Blame It On My Youth
(3:16)  4. Stardust
(4:41)  5. Both Sides Now
(2:37)  6. Beautiful Love
(3:01)  7. Kathy's Song
(4:42)  8. I Can't Make You Love Me
(3:41)  9. I Wish You Love
(2:50) 10. The Nearness Of You
(3:42) 11. Bring It On Home

Vocalist Abigail Riccards’ collaboration with guitarist Tony Romano, Soft Rains, is a stylistically unique voice and guitar recital. Although this type of pairing brings to mind the Ella Fitzgerald/Joe Pass sessions, this is disc contains a very different kind of duets. There are Spanish classical influences, as on “Chega De Suadade,” that sounds like a Joaquin Rodrigo composition both when Romano is in the spotlight and while he is driving Riccards’ evocative vocal stylings up and down the musical scales. Elsewhere, on “Beautiful Love,” Django-esque strumming is paired with vocal improvisations, one of two tracks that feature Riccards’ scatting skills. The other, “I Wish You Love,” is perhaps the “jazziest” on the album with a short but advanced guitar work. Romano plays angular lines on “Blame It On My Youth,” where his carefully placed notes frame Riccards’ mellow contralto; soft as honey with a bite of spice like heady mead.  Her voice is well suited for Joni Mitchell’s poetic words giving “Both Sides Now” a personal treatment without altering the spirit of this classic song. 

Her versatility is on display with her interpretation of Paul Simon’s “Kathy’s Song,” which flows smoothly from her lips revealing a vulnerability that is buried deep inside the music. Her heartbreaking delivery of romantic ballads is heard on “I Can’t Make You Love Me” with touches of folk music, and the Sam Cooke classic “Bring It On Home” maintains its earthiness but is infused with jazz sensibilities particularly on the closing guitar solo. On an album full of intimate moments, the most intimate tunes are “The Nearness Of You,” which is transformed to a voice and guitar conversation, “I Get Along Without You Very Well,” with enough musicality to the recitation of the lyrics to create a melancholy mood without overshadowing Romano’s sparse notes, and “Stardust,” where Riccards’ deceptively simple delivery is like someone humming to themselves but with a phrasing so exact and so one-of-a-kind that it belongs in the best of jazz venues. With the high quality of their musicianship, Riccards and Romano have created a record more stimulating and engaging with their bare-bones delivery than any overproduced vocal jazz album. ~ Hrayr Attarian  

http://www.chicagojazz.com/cd-reviews.php?SEARCH=review&REV=142.

Personnel:  Abigail Riccards – Voice; Tony Romano – Guitar

Soft Rains Fall

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Abigail Riccards - When the Night Is New

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:28
Size: 129,6 MB
Art: Front

(6:26)  1. But Beautiful
(5:34)  2. East of the Sun
(3:33)  3. The Very Thought Of You
(4:19)  4. You Don't Know What Love Is
(3:35)  5. The Thrill Is Gone
(3:56)  6. If I Should Lose You
(6:55)  7. It Might As Well Be Spring
(3:18)  8. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
(4:54)  9. Left Alone
(4:46) 10. Just One Of Those Things
(6:18) 11. I Was Brought To My Senses
(2:47) 12. I'll Be Seeing You

The heralded arrival of any new singing sensation is oftentimes met with caution, but in the case of Abigail Riccards' When The Night Is New the total package her voice and the music is one that truly deserves attention. Riccards has gained notoriety since moving to New York in 2003 as a semifinalist in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocal Competition in 2004, performing with some of the best in jazz, locally and for the troops in the Middle East. 

With a gorgeous voice that's filled with warmth and poise, and a style that equals celebrated peers Jane Monheit and Diana Krall, Riccards sings with genuineness without mimicking the great singers who have come before her. Riccards is in fine company with David Berkman (piano), Ben Allison (bass), Ron Horton (trumpet) and others. The songs consist of standards and popular songs (including a unique cover of Sting's "I Was Brought to My Senses ) with classic jazz vocals in a contemporary setting. Riccards' voice is finely crafted, infused with grace and confidence on the opening ballad "But Beautiful, or bringing some sassy styling on "East of the Sun. The snazzy arranging of some classics also keeps things fresh. The tasty horn section on "East Of the Sun enhances the swing. 

The oriental-pattern of the acoustic bass on "The Very Thought of You gives the tune a new and playful demeanor. Take your pick from the bass/percussion on "If I Should Lose You or the woodwind colors on "I Didn't Know What Time It Was. They all mesh perfectly with Riccards' sumptuous voice. Whether the tunes get down and funky on "It Might As Well Be Spring or heartthrob the feel of the blues on "Left Alone, Riccards sings as if she knows the material intimately. And when it's all said and done the proof exists in the package: the songs, the music and the striking voice of a talented new singer who shines brightly.~ Mark F.Turner  

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=27406#.Ud8Hp6xn2Vo).

Personnel: Abigail Riccards: vocals; David Berkman: piano, organ; Ben Allison: bass; Matt Wilson: drums; Adam Kolker: woodwinds; Ron Horton: trumpet, flugelhorn; Lage Lund: guitar; Rogerio Boccato: percussion.

When the Night Is New

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