Alexandra Caselli - Out The Aquarium

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:29
Size: 130,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:59)  1. Out The Aquarium
(4:38)  2. It Might As Well Be Spring
(4:59)  3. I Remember You
(4:51)  4. How Deep Is The Ocean
(3:35)  5. Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo
(4:35)  6. Chinese Moondream
(4:49)  7. Flying Colors
(5:11)  8. When The Red Red Robin Comes B
(4:54)  9. Follow Your Road
(3:09) 10. Side By Side
(4:39) 11. Notre Dame
(3:16) 12. Whiff
(3:47) 13. Out The Aquarium

With a cosmopolitan name like Alexandra Caselli, how can one go wrong? Add to that great name the classical heritage of Muzio Clementi, the impressionistic philosophy of Lynne Arriale (by way of Bill Evans), and a great ear for melody, and you have the total package that is Ms. Caselli. Out The Aquarium is Caselli's new recording. She has previously been associated with the Jennifer York Trio and quartet. The pianist is equally adept at electric and acoustic jazz, with experience in both arenas.  Out The Aquarium employs two trios differing in the use of electric or acoustic bass. This seemingly small change alters dramatically the swing factor in the music. The difference is that between straight piano trio mainstream and contemporary jazz.

Compare directly "Out the Aquarium and "It Might as Well be Spring" with "I Remember You," "Follow Your Road," and "Side By Side." With the change in drumming (along with the electric bass), the latter three pieces are prime Adult Contemporary stock and very effective stock at that. What makes this disc so appealing is Ms. Caselli's musicality in both her treatments of standards and her own originals. She plays with a double-fisted, block chord abandon that imparts a real orchestral sound to her trio. I kindly recommend this recording to all lovers of the piano trio format, be they traditional middle-of-the-roaders or Adult Contemporary wonks. ~ C.Michael Bailey  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/out-the-aquarium-alexandra-caselli-moon-jumpers-records-review-by-c-michael-bailey.php#.U8r8d7FryM0

Personnel: Alexandra Caselli--Piano; Adam Cohen, Randy Landis--Bass; Dick Weller, Eric Wells, Dave Derge--Drums.

Out The Aquarium

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Alexandra Caselli - Rough Edges

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:32
Size: 116,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:36)  1. Waiting For Jennifer
(4:26)  2. Blues For Stevie
(5:51)  3. Colors Of The Rain
(6:51)  4. Field Trip
(4:51)  5. If You Loved Me As Much As I Can Imagine
(3:45)  6. Out Of The Blue
(2:54)  7. Butterfly Eyebrows
(4:42)  8. Home At Last
(6:12)  9. Rough Edges
(5:20) 10. Lift Me Up

A rather inappropriate title for an album that is seemingly flawless with no discernable rough edges heard, Rough Edges is another blazing effort from pianist Alexandra Caselli and a pleasing one at that. A classically-trained pianist who began playing the instrument at the age of six, Caselli begins to reveal the depth of that training on the light ballad of "Colors of The Rain" with a warm performance on the keys. Not only is Caselli an exceptional player, she's also a talented composer providing eleven creative and lively original compositions to sample.  Unlike her previous album, Out The Aquarium (Moonjumpers 2, 2004), where Caselli performs with two different rhythm sections in a standard piano trio format, she augments her core trio of bassist Jennifer Leitham and drummer Randy Lake with several guest players. 

Among them are flautist Jennifer Hall who was part of ABC's Dancing with The Stars house band, former Ray Charles guitarist Brad Rabuchin and saxophonist Carol Chaikin. Adding yet another element to her music, Caselli includes two lyrical pieces with "Blues for Stevie" and "Out of the Blue" with vocals provided by Jonathan Dane, who also plays the trumpet and flugelhorn on other tracks. The music is quite charming as the program opens up with the lively, upbeat "Waiting for Jennifer," featuring spirited playing from Hall on alto flute, and well accompanied by guitarist Rabuchin as Caselli plays the melody. On "Blues for Stevie" it's saxophonist Chaikin, following the vocal intro from Dane, who distinguishes herself with a sparkling solo on alto while Leitham and Lake make their presence felt. 

The guitarist takes part of the limelight with cool, crisp play on "Field Trip," sharing the stage with Leitham's brisk acoustic bass. While graced by excellent solos from her band mates and guests, it's pianist Alexandra Caselli who delivers a marvelous performance and deserves the credit for crafting, sanding down and polishing the Rough Edges off one very fine recording. ~ Edward Blanco   http://www.allaboutjazz.com/rough-edges-alexandra-caselli-moonjumpers-review-by-edward-blanco.php#.U4vuSiioqdk

Personnel: Alexandra Caselli: piano; Jennifer Leitham: bass; Randy Drake: drums; Jennifer Hall: alto flute (1,3,10); Carol Chaikin: alto sax (2)soprano sax (5,9); Brad Rabuchin: electric guitar (1,4), acoustic guitar (3); Jonathan Dane: vocals (2,6)flugelhorn (6,8), trumpet (11).

Rough Edges

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