Agneta Baumann - I Am an Illusion

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1981/2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:11
Size: 97,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:46) 1. I Am An Illusion
(4:09) 2. Unlucky In Love
(4:10) 3. Our Love
(3:40) 4. The Queen Of Hearts
(3:25) 5. You Stopped Loving Me
(3:18) 6. Just The Two Of Us
(3:06) 7. Time Will Tell
(4:14) 8. Once Again
(4:25) 9. Everything Or Nothing
(4:08) 10. Hooray For Love
(3:44) 11. När Du Tar Mig I Din Famn

Born 1944, Kalmar, Sweden. As a child Baumann sang at school in both the choir and jazz band. After leaving school, she sang in hotels and restaurants, developing a reputation as a popular entertainer. Although her early musical interests were mainly centred on pop, she began playing close attention to singers from the jazz world, notably Billie Holiday, Carmen McRae, Anita O’Day and Sarah Vaughan. For a while, Baumann was obliged to work outside music but from the mid-60s gained some success with the Golden Girls, a Copenhagen-based Motown Records -style group. In 1968, she went out as a solo singer and band leader in her own right and by the end of the decade was in demand in Sweden and other countries in Scandinavia and northern Europe. A spell in the late 70s with pianist Knud Jørgensen and bass player Bengt Hanson strengthened her jazz singing credentials.

Following the death of her husband in 1986, Baumann stepped out of the spotlight for some years but returned to the stage in 1995. Now committed to jazz, she quickly established a following in Stockholm and was soon becoming very popular in the same areas she had conquered 30 years earlier as a contemporary pop singer. She made her jazz recording debut in 1996, and the following year received a scholarship from Laila and Charles Gavatin’s Foundation for Jazz Music.

In the late 90s and early 00s, Baumann made appearances at jazz festivals in Copenhagen, Helsinki, Krakow, Moscow and Warsaw, while continuing to strengthen her Stockholm base. Among other instrumentalists with whom she has worked are bass players Hans Backenroth and Palle Danielsson, pianists Gösta Rundqvist and Lasse Bagge, trumpeter Bosse Broberg, tenor saxophonist Anders Lindskog, and drummer Johan Löfcrantz. Baumann’s liquid vocal sound and elegant and sometimes stately delivery are particularly well suited to ballads and her interpretation of lyrics is both fluid and deep. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/agneta-baumann-mn0001400868/biography

I Am an Illusion

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Agneta Baumann - Sentimental Lady

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:57
Size: 130,6 MB
Art: Front

(5:17)  1. Born To Be Blue
(6:18)  2. Close Enough For Love
(4:58)  3. I Didnt Know About You
(5:41)  4. Im Glad There Is You
(5:11)  5. If You Could See Me Now
(6:55)  6. What Are You Doing in The Rest of Your Life
(5:55)  7. My Ship
(5:36)  8. Only Trust Your Heart
(7:31)  9. Young And Foolish
(3:30) 10. Where Do You Start

A smooth delivery as well as her own unique way of phrasing make Agneta Baumann one of the most respected Jazz singers in Sweden. Her trio on this outing is unique in that it is not your typical piano bass and drums setup but rather trumpet bass and piano. This arrangement lends itself beautifully to Baumann’s style of singing.  Born To Be Blue sets the mood for what is to follow. Written by Robert Wells and the great Mel Torme, this piece demands vocal control as well as an emotional attachment to the melody for it to succeed. Baumann delivers in spades. An opportunity to listen to one of the finest trumpet players on the Swedish jazz scene, Broberg’s ability is on display for all to enjoy. Taking the melody in stride, Baumann’s sense of timing and relaxed approach connect with the listener in a way that is soothing, and direct. I Didn’t Know About You is one of those ballads that stands out as an exercise in restraint for whoever is interpreting it. Broberg’s sympathetic solo flows like a slow running river before Baumann’s return to the vocal. 

Another example of Baumann’s expertise in ballad singing is Kurt Weill’s My Ship. A slow moving version with nice interplay from Broberg. The mood is created and builds as Broberg’s solo progresses. Gosta Rundqvist offers some delicate yet effective piano playing that contributes to the spirit of this classic.  Rundqvist’s empathetic piano leads off Young and Foolish, another torch like song that has been covered by many vocalists over the years. Baumann stretches out on this one milking every note as if it were her last. Danielsson’s sparse bass playing is effective in that it lays the foundation for this fragile yet meaningful love song. His talent has been recognized for many years and on this number we hear why. Making ballads her main vehicle for vocal expression, Baumann offers listeners a recording suited for late night listening, relaxing and romantic evenings. Her phrasing is second to none. Baumann’s sense of enjoyment shines through on every number. This is one recording not to miss. Highly recommended.~Randy Mcelligott http://www.jazzreview.com/cd-reviews/jazz-vocals-cd-reviews/sentimental-lady-by-agneta-baumann.html

Personnel:  Bosse Broberg (Trumpet), Gosta Rundqvist (Piano), Palle Danielsson (Bass), Agneta Baumann (Vocals)

Sentimental Lady

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Agneta Baumann - Comes Love

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:58
Size: 149,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:58)  1. That Old Devil Called Love
(4:29)  2. Comes Love
(5:18)  3. Blame It On My Youth
(4:51)  4. I`m Just A Lucky So And So
(5:15)  5. Easy Living
(2:53)  6. Thou Swell
(5:19)  7. Every Time We Say Goodbye
(4:23)  8. Who Cares
(3:05)  9. I Have The Feeling I`ve Been Here Before
(4:57) 10. Get Out Of Town
(5:10) 11. There`s No You
(5:24) 12. It Never Entered My Mind
(3:46) 13. In Love In Vain
(5:04) 14. What's New

A vocalist Sweden can be proud of, Agneta Baumann loves to sing. Her sense of joy is one of her trademarks when listening to her material. Covering standards with style as well as a great group to accompany her, be prepared for over an hour of great listening. Playing with the lyric throughout Baumann is having the time of her life on Comes Love. Always in the moment, her clear delivery, and execution of the note move this number right along. Backenroth’s determined opening sets the pace with Baumann joining in the celebration. Great brush work from Lofcrantz. Teasing piano from Rundqvist chases Lofcrantz to respond with percussive eloquence. One of the most loved ballads in the repertoire, What’s New is presented in a loving way with Baumann’s range and ability to get inside the note reminiscent of Helen Merrill’s style of singing.

Broberg’s beautiful trumpet shines throughout. An up tempo swinging version of Cole Porter’s, Get Out Of Town is just what the doctor ordered. With a relentless opening from Rundqvist, Baumann’s joins in for some fun. Broberg’s characteristic trumpet is right on the money. He makes this a hot number with his rolling cadenza’s, and biting attack. Backenroth and Lofcrantz respond with solid playing, and a suitable call and response. Many Jazz instrumentalists over the years have enjoyed playing the beautiful chord changes in Easy Living. Baumann makes it all her own by carefully executing the lyric in a silky and warm hearted manner. One of the highlights of this recording. Baumann makes it clear that she can sing in nearly any tempo. Comes Love is filled with memories that will last a long time. By carefully crafting the songs with fine arrangements and skillful musicianship, her star continues to rise. ~   Randy Mcelligott  

http://www.jazzreview.com/cd-reviews/jazz-vocals-cd-reviews/comes-love...-by-agneta-baumann.html

Personnel:  Agneta Baumann (Vocals), Bosse Broberg (Trumpet), Gosta Rundqvist (Piano), Hans Backenroth (Bass), Johan Lofcrantz (Drums)

Comes Love

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Agneta Baumann - A Time For Love

Styles: Jazz Vocals

Label: Naxos

Year: 1996 / 2008

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 69:45

Size: 159,7 MB

Scans: Front

(5:33)  1. A Time For Love

(2:52)  2. I Get Along Without You Very Well

(5:14)  3. He Was Too Good To Me

(4:40)  4. Here`s That Rainy Day

(6:57)  5. More Than You Know

(3:56)  6. If You Love Me

(4:29)  7. The Good Life

(3:21)  8. When The World Was Young

(5:31)  9. I Fall In Love Too Easily

(3:57) 10. I`m Afraid The Masquerade Is Over

(3:27) 11. The Party`s Over

(5:52) 12. Everything Happens To Me

(6:10) 13. All My Tomorrows

(2:40) 14. The Best Is Yet To Come

(4:58) 15. That`s All

This is singer Agneta Baumann's come-back after an absence of nearly ten years from the scene; a musical self-portrait of artistic stature which is at the same time an open personal statement, as revealing as though the words were spoken in confidence. Up until the middle of the 80's Agneta Baumann had become established not purely as a jazz singer but more as a jazz-influenced artist-entertainer had in the glamorous environment of late-night dinner/dance restaurants. She was born in the town of Kalmar in south-eastern Sweden where as a youngster she sang in the school choir and as a teenager in the school jazz band, as she happened to prefer Anita O'Day to Elvis Presley. Later in life she also came to appreciate the artistry of Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae and Billie Holiday.

But it was not until after some years spent in other working activities that music took a central role in her life. During a period in the travel-agent business in Copenhagen 1965 she began to sing with The Golden Girls, a popular group in the style of The Supremes, and after an engagement in Stockholm 1968 she decided to stay and branch out on her own. During the following years she toured throughout the country and abroad with her own constellation "Agneta Baumanns Orkester". From the later part of the 70's she also often sang together with the jazz pianist Knud Jörgensen, who taught her what is perhaps the most important thing of all, that the space between phrases is also music, and that you have to mean what you sing.

A Time For Love

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