Alexis Cole - Zingaro

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:19
Size: 109,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:39) 1. Stompin' At The Savoy
(6:00) 2. God Bless The Child
(2:00) 3. Morning With You
(5:57) 4. Over The Rainbow
(3:31) 5. Sweet Lorraine
(5:01) 6. Body And Soul
(3:50) 7. Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You
(6:57) 8. Zingaro
(7:22) 9. I Thought About You
(1:57) 10. Walkin'

On this Toronto-based (but New York-born) vocalist's second release, she takes on several familiar standards with a personal signature, enhanced by a sparse instrumentation: here, she is accompanied solely by guitarist Ron Affif and bassist Jeffry Eckels, who play on all the tracks but the two Cole originals, the upbeat "Walkin' and "Morning With You, both of which feature fine work by Saul Rubin (guitar) and John Roche (bass).

The album's title, which means "gypsy, is taken from a classic tune by Brazilian composers Chico Buarque de Hollanda and Antonio Carlos Jobim, with new English lyrics by Roger Schore, who was on hand at the jam-packed CD release concert at New York's Zinc Bar in July, 2007, where Cole showcased material from the disc with Affif and Eckels. The tune, originally called "Portrait in Black and White (the only one played from a bossa nova point of view), reflects the singer's peripatetic lifestyle in the past few years, she has traveled extensively through South America on a music program with the Berklee College of Music, and has barely kept a permanent mailing address.

One of the disc's highlights is "Stompin' At The Savoy, which Cole cleverly chose to open her set with at the Zinc Bar. The Benny Goodman swing, originally for big band, becomes something much subtler in her hands. On "Baby Ain't I Good To You she takes advantage of the song's simple bluesy structure to suit her own interests. "Over The Rainbow might be a little overplayed, but Cole sings it from the heart, drawing from an earlier experience with the tune while she was working with special education students in North Carolina, as was explained during the concert.

Zingaro is a fine opportunity to discover this singer and 2007 Jazzmobile Vocal Competition winner, who sets herself apart from your average jazz vocalist by taking on various sonic influences without veering too far from jazz. The sparse instrumentation allows the listener to focus on the individual talents of the musicians without distractions. It is a disc that will please purists and more adventurous listeners alike.By Ernest Barteldes https://www.allaboutjazz.com/zingaro-alexis-cole-canopy-jazz-review-by-ernest-barteldes

Personnel: Alexis Cole: vocal; Ron Affif: guitar; Jeffry Eckels: bass; Saul Rubin: guitar; Jon Roche: bass.

Zingaro

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Alexis Cole - Close Your Eyes

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:17
Size: 139,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:50) 1. My Heart Belongs to Daddy
(4:50) 2. I've Got You Under My Skin
(4:31) 3. Teach Me Tonight
(4:39) 4. Cry Me a River
(4:52) 5. In the Still of the Night
(4:23) 6. You Don't Know What Love Is
(4:54) 7. Small Fry
(5:23) 8. Witchcraft
(5:41) 9. You and the Night and the Music
(5:22) 10. Close Your Eyes
(3:01) 11. Sway
(7:46) 12. Lover Man

Called “one of the great voices of today,” by Jonathan Schwartz, Alexis Cole has been compared to classic jazz singers such as Sarah Vaughan and Anita O'Day. She's performed with the Boston Pops and New York Philharmonic on stage at venues from Avery Fisher Hall to the Kennedy Center. She records for Motéma Music, NY, Chesky Records, NY and Venus Records, Japan. Her nine recordings, which feature musical luminaries such as Fred Hersch, Eric Alexander, Matt Wilson, Harry Pickens, Don Braden and Pat LaBarbara, have received high praise in the jazz press and are spun on radio world-wide. In addition to her many performances on great stages, Alexis can be seen at top jazz venues like Dizzy's Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Birdland, The Jazz Standard, Blues Alley, and Billboard Live, Tokyo. Cole is the recipient of a Swing Journal Gold Disk award, and was a winner of the NY Jazzmobile and Montreux Jazz Festival vocal competitions, and a finalist of the Sarah Vaughan Competition. Alexis studied voice and piano at the University of Miami and William Paterson University, and holds a Masters of Music from Queens College. She has also trained in Indian Classical singing at the Jazz India Vocal Institute in Mumbai. She heads the Jazz Voice Program at SUNY Purchase. She performs and conducts master classes around the world.

Awards & Grants 2007 New York City Jazzmobile Vocal Competition 1st Place Winner 2004 Montreux Jazz Festival Shure Vocal Competition, 3rd Prize Winner 2003& 2005 Montreux Jazz Festival Shure Vocal Competition finalist 2004 Council for Arts and Humanities on Staten Island Emerging Artist Grant 1998National Endowment for the Arts Charles Cinnamon Grant 1994 National Endowment for the Arts A.R.T.S. Scholarshiphttps://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/alexis-cole

Personnel: Alexis Cole (vocal); John di Martino (piano); James Cammack (bass); Daduka Da Fonseca (drums)

Close Your Eyes

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Alexis Cole - Sky Blossom: Songs from My Tour of Duty

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:21
Size: 156,8 MB
Art: Front

(5:18) 1. Joy Spring
(6:27) 2. Pure Imagination
(5:09) 3. How Long Has This Been Going On
(7:56) 4. All Blues
(7:19) 5. Estate
(5:24) 6. Across the Universe
(6:33) 7. Triste
(6:50) 8. How I Wish
(3:25) 9. Social Call
(4:07) 10. New York State of Mind
(4:55) 11. Our Love Is Here to Stay
(4:52) 12. American Anthem

This big-band bolstered set from ace vocalist Alexis Cole leans on the literal with its subtitle: Songs from My Tour of Duty. In 2009, following a lengthy peripatetic stretch that placed pins on the map in New Jersey, India, Ecuador, Japan and various points across Europe, Cole enlisted in the U.S. Army where, until 2015 she served and sang with the West Point Band’s Jazz Knights. There, she had the opportunity to shine within and above some exceptional Scott Arcangel arrangements tailored to her voice. Yet there was never a focus on formally documenting the majority of that music…until Cole returned to civilian life and made it a priority. Working with collaborator/conductor Jeff Jarvis over the course of several years, she completed the mission and packaged it in this form.

Revisiting her days in uniform, Cole is in peak shape from the start a dynamic vocals take on Clifford Brown’s “Joy Spring” where she swings, scats, and wordlessly joins in on an intricate soli, all within the first three minutes of play. Soaring across a varicolored backdrop on “Pure Imagination,” exploring a sly-to-sensational range on “All Blues,” wrapping her voice around the quiet splendors of Bossa beauty “Estate,” and traveling gracefully to the stars on “Across the Universe,” Cole continues to make her mark(s).

Named after a military term for an opening parachute, Sky Blossom, perfectly reflects the leap into the unknown that led this singer into service and positively shaped her art. Eleven performances (the aforementioned material, two Gershwin goodies, plus single dips into the respective songbooks of Antonio Carlos Jobim, Thelonious Monk, Gigi Gryce , and Billy Joel) highlight Cole’s poise and passion when in grand company. And the twelfth a deeply felt “American Anthem,” with nothing but Jaehun Kang’s piano sharing space puts her patriotic heart in full view.~Dan Bilawskyhttps://alexiscole.com/music

Sky Blossom: Songs from My Tour of Duty

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Alexis Cole - Very Early

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:46
Size: 106,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:01)  1. Gentle Rain
(3:44)  2. Very Early
(3:40)  3. Joy Spring
(4:43)  4. Angel Eyes
(6:33)  5. Blackberry Winter
(5:29)  6. The Thrill Is Gone
(4:36)  7. Alice In Wonderland
(4:30)  8. Easy Living
(7:26)  9. Nature Boy

Cole was born in Queens, New York. Her father and grandmother were both jazz singers and pianists. Her family moved to Florida, where she became a member of an award-winning high school choir. In 1994, she graduated from the New World School of the Arts in Miami. While in her teens, she began her professional career performing at a hotel in South Beach. In 1996, she graduated from William Paterson University.  Her debut album, Very Early (1999), was recorded with Harry Pickens and independently released, and her second album, Nearer the Sun (2005) was recorded with Ben Stivers. In 2006, she received a graduate degree from Queens College. She taught at several schools: University of San Francisco, University of North Carolina, Queens College, and at a program in Quito, Ecuador, run by the Berklee College of Music. In 2016, she released a tribute to Paul Simon entitled Dazzling Blue, which debuted at No. 24 on the Billboard jazz chart. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexis_Cole

Very Early

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Alexis Cole - Ain't We Got Fun

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:45
Size: 102.5 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2016
Art: Front

[3:57] 1. Ain't We Got Fun
[3:45] 2. Do You Ever Think Of Me
[3:44] 3. Limehouse Blues
[3:14] 4. Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)
[4:59] 5. Bimini Bay
[2:46] 6. Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out
[4:30] 7. There's A Broken Heart For Every Light On Broadway
[4:07] 8. Indian Summer
[2:33] 9. A Kiss In The Dark
[3:35] 10. Turn Back The Universe And Give Me Yesterday
[3:38] 11. Let The Rest Of The World Go By
[3:49] 12. Till We Meet Again

Vocalist Alexis Cole is an accomplished jazz performer with a sophisticated, urbane style and warm, resonant voice, well suited to traditional standards and swing. Cole has performed with the likes of Rufus Reid, Slide Hampton, Ron Affif, John Hébert, and Norma Winstone. Although based in N.Y.C., she has played and taught in locales worldwide, and holds the position of head of the jazz voice program at SUNY Purchase Born in Queens, New York, on January 28, 1976, Cole grew up in a family with a long history of musical endeavors. Her grandmother on her mother's side, who was a pianist and singer of jazz standards, initially taught Alexis "Pennies from Heaven" and other American popular songs. Her father, also a pianist, singer, and composer, gave her initial piano lessons, albeit briefly. Moving with the family to Florida, Cole was a member of the all-county, all-state, and high-school choirs, and attended the New World School of the Arts on a Young Arts Scholarship, graduating in 1994. In addition, she took private voice lessons, theater training, psychology, philosophy, writing, and history classes, all of which formed a basis for her world-view. She did her first professional engagements as a teenager at a hotel in South Beach. Initially enrolling at the University of Miami in their jazz studies program, Cole returned to the New York area, attaining her B.A. in music in 1996 at William Patterson University in New Jersey, tutored by Nancy Marano and Todd Coolman, and studied classical voice with Nan Guptil-Crain, who was also a big spiritual influence. In 1999, Cole released her independent debut album, Very Early, featuring accompaniment from pianist Harry Pickens. In 2005, Cole returned with her sophomore solo album, Nearer the Sun, with pianist Ben Stivers. The following year, she earned her M.A. from Queens College, and then taught privately at the 92nd Street YMCA in N.Y.C. before becoming a resident instructor at the University of San Francisco, the University of North Carolina, back at Queens College, and eventually at the Berklee School of Music satellite program in Quito, Ecuador. Also around this time, Cole attended the Jazz India Vocal Institute in Mumbai (where she trained in Indian classical singing). She also participated in the Art of Jazz in Toronto, and was the music director of the Jan Hus Presbyterian Church in N.Y.C. from 2004-2006. In 2007, she delivered her third full-length album, Zingaro, which found her shifting from piano accompaniment and working with bassist Jeff Eckels and guitarist Ron Affif. Two years later, she released her first holiday-themed album, The Greatest Gift. Since the late 2000s, Cole has continued to find intriguing ways to reinvestigate American popular standards, focusing on the theme of the innocence and beauty of youth for 2010's Someday My Prince Will Come, paying tribute to the late jazz baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams on 2012's I Carry Your Heart, and going for utter sultry romanticism with 2013's Close Your Eyes. In 2014, Cole released the quartet album of standards, A Kiss in the Dark, featuring guitarist Saul Rubin, saxophonist/clarinetist Dan Block, bassist Pat O'Leary, and drummer Phil Stewart. Beautiful Friendship arrived in 2015. ~ Michael G. Nastos

Ain't We Got Fun

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Alexis Cole with One For All - You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:10
Size: 128.6 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2011
Art: Front

[4:17] 1. Golden Earrings
[5:31] 2. I Will Wait For You
[5:31] 3. Moon River
[6:06] 4. Delilah
[5:18] 5. Cry Me A River
[5:38] 6. Alone Together
[5:20] 7. A Beautiful Friendship
[3:47] 8. All The Things You Are
[4:44] 9. So In Love
[5:15] 10. You've Changed
[4:36] 11. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To

Bass – John Webber; Drums – Joe Farnsworth; Piano – David Hazeltine; Tenor Saxophone – Eric Alexander; Trombone – Steve Davis; Trumpet – Jim Rotondi; Vocals – Alexis Cole. Recorded at Avatar Studios in New York on April 28 & 29, 2010.

Alexis Cole, born into a musical family in Queens, New York, began her professional career after obtaining a master's degree from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College. She has performed with Slide Hampton, Rufus Reid and Harry Pickens among others, and so far released four CDs on independent labels. Following her superb debut from the Japanese Venus Records (Someday My Prince Will Come, available on HQCD and vinyl LP), her eagerly awaited second album is something of a coup - she recorded the entire album with the all-star hard bop group One For All! As far as I know, the supergroup that includes Eric Alexander and David Hazeltine has never accompanied a singer for an entire album!

The familar standards are tastefully and intelligently arranged, and Cole's attractive voice and the ability to swing are in full display. Her voice is rich and strong. She has impeccable technique and control, and a confident jazz style that hints an influence from Carmen McRae. And, as expected, the ensemble and solo work of the band is simply phenomenal! A rare album that satisfies fans of vocal jazz and fans of serious hardbop, instrumental jazz!

You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To

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Alexis Cole - Dazzling Blue

Size: 124,2 MB
Time: 53:22
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz/Pop Vocals
Art: Front

01. St. Judy's Comet (3:03)
02. Jonah (3:31)
03. Dazzling Blue (4:35)
04. Something So Right (6:21)
05. Another Galaxy (5:17)
06. Nobody (3:44)
07. Song About The Moon (4:12)
08. Everything About It Is A Love Song (4:35)
09. Long, Long Day (4:09)
10. Love (4:06)
11. That's Where I Belong (4:28)
12. Quiet (5:16)

Inspired by Paul Simon's contributions, Alexis Cole offers this very special treatment of his music. With Dazzling Blue, vocalist Cole and producers David Chesky and Nicholas Prout sifted through some of Simon's lesser known compositions.

Herein they are presented in unalloyed simplicity, emphasizing the incandescent quality, and unadorned beauty of his lyrics. Ms. Cole has a marvelous voice of great depth. Her clear, warm resonance strips away all ornamentation and gets you to the marrow of the songwriter's stories. The vocals are haunting, and a testament to Cole's cross-cultural vocal training. Cole is joined by an excellent group of musicians whose collective body of work is well known to roots music aficionados. Jeff Haynes and Gus Courtsunis on percussion; Marvin Sewell on acoustic and electric guitars; Mark Peterson on bass, Julie Harris on Native American flute, and background vocals from Maria Quintanilla and Evan Sundquist; they are all an integral part of the whole.

Part of the Chesky Binaural + Series, all recorded with a single microphone, the band appears right before you with this spacious, lush and multi-dimensional recording. Now headphone users will hear the same three-dimensional sound and imaging as audiophiles have for the past 25 years with Chesky Recordings.

Also these new Binaural+ Series albums capture even more spatial realism for the home audiophile market, bringing you one step closer to the actual event. You will hear some of the most natural and pure music ever recorded.

Dazzling Blue

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Alexis Cole - Someday My Prince Will Come

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:18
Size: 122,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:14)  1. For Now For Always
(2:41)  2. Home Is Where The Heart Is
(4:00)  3. If I Never Knew You
(3:50)  4. La La Lu
(4:47)  5. Let Me Be Good To You
(5:17)  6. Love Me
(3:03)  7. Once Upon a Dream
(5:35)  8. Remember When
(4:30)  9. So This Is Love
(5:04) 10. Someday My Prince Will Come
(5:37) 11. Second Star To The Right
(4:37) 12. When You Wish Upon a Star

Music from Disney films and cartoons has often drifted into jazz thanks to its rich harmonies and evergreen quality, but it is not every day that a vocalist makes an entire CD with personal renditions of these popular tunes. Such is the case of Alexis Cole's Someday My Prince Will Come, which features a collection of Disney tunes reread into a jazz format. Cole cleverly did not choose songs that might be too obvious, focusing mostly on more obscure numbers such as the opener, the beautiful "For Now For Always" (from The Parent Trap) and "Once Upon A Dream" (from Cinderella). Some tunes lend themselves naturally to a jazz format such as "Let Me Be Good To You," a bluesy tune that is used to showcase pianist Fred Hersch and bassist Steve LaSpina, who both contribute fluent solos, while Cole sings with a '50s Ella Fitzgerald-like style. The Lady And The Tramp's "La La Lu" appears as a soft ballad enhanced by Don Braden's fluid flute solo.

Another highlight is "If I Never Knew You," the most recently composed tune on the disc, which originally appeared on the end credits for Pocahontas. Cole's voice is inspired, and Gregoire Maret contributes a Toots Thielemans like harmonic response to her singing that enhance the tune's beauty. Maret appears again on the title track, arguably the most memorable tune from Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs. His solo is followed by yet another great contribution from Hersch. 

La Spina and drummer Matt Wilson, who provides great backup, responding to the pianist's accents with gusto. Someday My Prince Will Come is a great reminder of the timelessness of these songs and also a testament to Cole's talent. The New York-born vocalist makes each song her own. The only sad note is the fact that the disc was recorded before the soundtrack to The Princess and The Frog had been released. But maybe that could be included in a second volume along with tunes from The Aristocats. ~ Ernest Barteldes  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/someday-my-prince-will-come-alexis-cole-venus-records-review-by-ernest-barteldes.php

Personnel: Alexis Cole: vocal;  Fred Hersch: piano;  Steve LaSpina: bass;  Matt Wilson: drums;  Gregoire Maret: harmonica;  Don Braden: tenor, soprano, flute.

My Prince Will Come

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Alexis Cole & Bucky Pizzarelli - A Beautiful Friendship

Size: 127,6 MB
Time: 54:25
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. A Beautiful Friendship (4:15)
02. East Of The Sun (4:07)
03. Honeysuckle Rorse (3:24)
04. I Thought About You (5:16)
05. If I Were A Bell (3:28)
06. Just Friends (3:36)
07. Mood Indigo (3:50)
08. Blue Moon - Moonglow (3:40)
09. On The Street Where You Live (5:37)
10. Stardust (2:57)
11. Stompin' At The Savoy (3:46)
12. On The Sunny Side Of The Street (3:15)
13. These Foolish Things (3:01)
14. Watch What Happens (4:07)

On this release, vocalist Alexis Cole joins forces with guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli. Joining them are are Nicki Parrott on bass and vocals, Frank Vignola on guitar, Anat Cohen on clarinet, and Warren Vache on trumpet.

Called "one of the great voices of today," by Jonathan Schwartz, Alexis Cole has been compared to classic jazz singers such as Sarah Vaughan and Anita O'Day. She's performed with the Boston Pops and New York Philharmonic on stage at venues from Avery Fisher Hall to the Kennedy Center.Her nine recordings, which feature musical luminaries such as Fred Hersch, Eric Alexander, Matt Wilson, Harry Pickens, Don Braden and Pat LaBarbara, have received high praise in the jazz press and are spun on radio world-wide.

In addition to her many performances on great stages, Alexis can be seen at top jazz venues like Dizzy's Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Birdland, The Jazz Standard, Blues Alley, and Billboard Live, Tokyo. Cole is the recipient of a Swing Journal Gold Disk award, and was a winner of the NY Jazzmobile and Montreux Jazz Festival vocal competitions, and a finalist of the Sarah Vaughan Competition.

Bucky Pizzarelli is an American jazz guitarist and banjoist, and the father of jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli and upright bassist Martin Pizzarelli. The list of musicians Pizzarelli has collaborated with over his career includes Les Paul, Stephane Grappelli, and Benny Goodman. Pizzarelli acknowledges Django Reinhardt, Freddie Green, and George Van Eps for their influences on his style and mode of play.

A Beautiful Friendship 

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Harold Mabern - Afro Blue

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:42
Size: 160,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:07)  1. The Chief
(5:25)  2. Afro Blue (feat. Gregory Porter)
(5:51)  3. The Man from Hyde Park (feat. Gregory Porter)
(4:35)  4. Fool Rush In (feat. Norah Jones)
(4:23)  5. Don't Misunderstand (feat. Norah Jones)
(3:50)  6. I'll Take Romance (feat. Jane Monheit)
(5:38)  7. My One and Only Love  (feat. Jane Monheit)
(4:24)  8. Billie's Bounce (feat. Kurt Elling)
(5:39)  9. Portrait of Jennie (feat. Kurt Elling)
(4:01) 10. You Needed Me (feat. Kurt Elling)
(5:07) 11. Such Is Life (feat. Alexis Cole)
(5:18) 12. Do It Again (feat. Peter Bernstein)
(5:51) 13. Mozzin'
(4:28) 14. Bobby, Benny, Jymie, Lee, Bu

With Afro Blue, his second album for Smoke Sessions Records, Harold Mabern has taken a compelling new angle on his exceptionally creative musical vision. But for those who are truly familiar with this extraordinary pianist's talents, it is a project that is long overdue. While he may be best known for his powerful playing while soloing or driving so many of jazz' finest hornmen to spectacular heights of fire and thunder, Mabern has enjoyed a reputation among vocalists as one of the music's most sensitive and stimulating accompanists for more than 50 years ever since his early days playing with the unparalleled Betty Carter.

On this album, Mabern has selected five of his favorite vocalists who also just happen to be some of the most popular and respected singers on today's scene and is featuring them as special guests in the company of his own outstanding ensemble. Gregory Porter, Norah Jones, Jane Monheit, Kurt Elling and Alexis Cole perform individually alongside Mabern's regular ensemble of Eric Alexander on tenor sax and the bass/drums tandem of John Webber and Joe Farnsworth; plus additional guests, trombonist Steve Turre and trumpeter Jeremy Pelt on four and six tracks respectively. Eminent guitarist Peter Bernstein is featured on one track as well.

"I love to play for singers," explains the pianist. "I feel honored and flattered that these wonderful vocalists would want to be part of my little project. I feel good when singers say they love the way you play. That's a very special compliment."

Despite the wide variety of personnel, the album is fully cohesive and artfully conceived, with Mabern's soulful, blues-rooted style of piano expression as its radiant nucleus. The repertoire of 14 pieces is a fascinating assemblage of standards, jazz classics, Mabern originals and a couple of unexpected contemporary hit songs all performed in captivating fashion and constructed upon marvelous arrangements. Of the four Mabern originals, three are dedications to jazz immortals. The album opens and closes with two of the homages - both instrumentals. "The Chief" (for John Coltrane) is for quintet, appropriately modal and fiery; and the trio piece "Bobby, Benny, Jymie, Lee, Bu" closes with a tribute to that edition of Blakey's Jazz Messengers in the funky hard bop flavor those five giants brought to their classic version of Bobby Timmons' "Moanin'". The trio is also featured on a sizzling rendition of John 'Moz' Farnsworth's "Mozzin'" fired up by his brother's drumming. The other instrumental, Steely Dan's biggest hit "Do It Again," is a feature for Bernstein's guitar wizardry. A third Mabern original, "Such Is Life," features Alexis Cole deftly handling Mabern's lyrics and infectious melody, with the three horns providing a backdrop somewhere between calypso and highlife.

Gregory Porter is featured on two pieces, a vividly smoking take on the Mongo Santamaria/Oscar Brown Jr. title cut, with Mabern stoking in classic Afro-Cuban piano mode; and in a delightful easy groove on the fourth Mabern original "The Man from Hyde Park" - a dedication to Herbie Hancock. Norah Jones brings her highly personal style to Bloom & Mercer's "Fools Rush In," smoothly swinging over Blakey-ish horns; and in an enchanting, intimate duet with Mabern on Gordon Parks' lovely "Don't Misunderstand." Jane Monheit is buoyantly spirited on Oakland & Hammerstein's "I'll Take Romance," and mesmerizing on Wood & Mellin's gorgeous "My One and Only Love." Bird's bop icon "Billie's Bounce" is a rip-roaring sojourn in scat by the remarkable Kurt Elling, while the acclaimed vocalist aptly demonstrates his ballad mastery with a most poignant take on Robinson & Burdge's exquisite "Portrait of Jennie." A fortunate serendipity on the Anne Murray mega-hit, Randy Goodrum's "You Needed Me" which was slated to be an instrumental feature for Alexander's robust tenor - caused Mabern to call an audible when he heard Elling sing the first few words as he was about to depart the studio. The deeply moving results show how magic can be born by chance.

Mabern is unequivocally enthusiastic about this new album: "Wow! I can't believe we pulled all of it off. Everybody involved did a ten-star job. Simply beautiful!" Dazzling vocal artistry, impeccable musicianship, imaginative soloing, and that elusive substance of true synergy focused by the singular vision of a brilliant artist make Afro Blue a truly special experience. For Harold Mabern, whose enormous accomplishments as a leader are sometimes eclipsed by his reputation for helping so many Jazz heavyweights realize their own musical visions, Afro Blue is further testimony to his own legend. http://www.criticaljazz.com/2015/01/mark-your-calendar-for-new-harold-mabern.html

Afro Blue

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Alexis Cole - A Kiss in the Dark

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:27
Size: 132,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:04)  1. Ain't We Got Fun
(4:32)  2. Whip-poor-will
(3:47)  3. Do You Ever Think Of Me?
(3:46)  4. Limehouse Blues
(3:16)  5. Chicago, that Toddlin' Town
(5:00)  6. Bimini Bay
(2:47)  7. Nobody Knows when You're Down and Out
(3:44)  8. After You've Gone
(4:33)  9. There's a Broken Heart for Every Light on Broadway
(2:36) 10. A Kiss in the Dark
(4:10) 11. Indian Summer
(3:37) 12. Turn Back the Universe and Give Me Yesterday
(3:40) 13. Let the Rest of the World Go by
(3:54) 14. Till We Meet Again

With a voice praised as “a deep contralto as smooth and dark as the richest espresso” (Jazz Times, November 2007,) award-winning jazz vocalist Alexis Cole has made an impressive impact on audiences ever since she first took the stage as a teenager. Yet it is impossible to understand Alexis’s power to touch listeners with her music without recognizing the influence that her devotion to a full spiritual life has played throughout her career. This holiday season, Alexis’ spiritual and musical interests once again coincide to miraculous effect as she offers The Greatest Gift to the world. A touching Christmas album with a jazzy twist that benefits a terrific cause, The Greatest Gift was inspired, says Alexis, “by Jesus’ love for humankind” as well as by her father, composer/arranger Mark Finkin. Sales of the CD will benefit World Bicycle Relief, an organization which provides sustainable access to healthcare, education, and economic opportunities in developing nations through The Power of Bicycles©. One specific event from Alexis’ youth resonates through the years to find a fitting echo in The Greatest Gift. 

While in high school, she collided with a car while riding her bicycle. Her recovery from the experience led to the beginning of her Christian Journey. It makes sense, then, that Alexis decided that the profits from the sale of The Greatest Gift would be donated to World Bicycle Relief, as the organization’s mission resonated with her own love of bicycles and her ongoing desire to make an impact on the world. Raised in Florida, Alexis came from a musical family, so it was only natural that she had begun to perform at the South Beach Hotel when still in high school, rapidly earning a reputation as one of the most talented young singers in town. She went on to enroll in the University of Miami's Jazz Studies program with the help of a Young Arts Scholarship. She transferred to finish her degree at William Paterson University, later integrating her musical studies with work that satisfied a spiritual calling at churches in New Jersey and North Carolina. Eventually, she relocated to New York City, where she worked as the music minister at the Jan Hus Presbyterian Church, leading the congregation with a blend of historic hymns and popular songs, music from the Taize tradition and Christian folk. Alexis released her first CD in 1999, a duet project with pianist Harry Pickens, titled Very Early. In 2005, she earned her Masters degree in music, and began to perform frequently at clubs throughout New York City, including The Oak Room, Dizzy's Club Coca Cola, The 55 Bar, The Zinc Bar, Smoke, Smalls and Sweet Rhythm. That same year, she released a second CD. 

Nearer the Sun, which renowned jazz critic Scott Yanow lauded as “a particularly strong effort from a jazz singer well worth discovering.” As her performing career took wing, Alexis traveled across Europe, Asia and South America. She also taught at a Berklee College of Music in Quito, Ecuador, and has entertained audiences during several three-month-long residencies at clubs in Tokyo. Despite her penchant for globetrotting, Alexis managed to release a third CD, Zingaro, in 2007, which Time Out New York praised as a “disc that will please purists and more adventurous listeners alike.” True to Alexis’ eclectic nature, the tracks on The Greatest Gift span genres. Selections include jazz and classical instrumentals, children’s chorale arrangements, Indian classical and overtone singing, straight ahead jazz, and bluesy pop. Alexis reinvents the Christmas favorites “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and she contributes a heart-warming new song, “The Call,” to the lineup of Christmas standards. Mark Finkin, Alexis’ father, pens an uplifting, catchy, and sure-to-become holiday classic for the album, “Jesus Is the Best Part of Christmas,” and also delivers perhaps the most blues-y version of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” ever on record. 

Born into fascinating circumstances as a child of two deaf parents determined to give their child what they couldn’t have, Mark was introduced early on to the piano, and remains a passionate and prolific composer and performer. Finkin’s unique story, in part, inspired Alexis to record The Greatest Gift. In 2007, as Alexis sat in the audience of her father’s long-awaited college graduation recital, where he performed original compositions and unique arrangements of hymns, she reached a musical and personal epiphany. She decided to collaborate with her father on a Christmas benefit album, reinvesting herself in their relationship, and in her relationship to the church. A winner of the 2007 Jazzmobile competition and an award recipient at the Montreux Jazz Voice Competition, Alexis was cited as “a rising star in the jazz world” by Hot House Magazine. She continues to perform regularly at jazz clubs in her home base of New York City, as well as throughout the world. A dedicated educator, Alexis teaches privately and has also served on the faculty of at the 92nd St. Y in New York City and Berklee College of Music in Quito. Most recently, she’s also added the position of lead vocalist for the West Point Jazz Knights, the U.S. Army’s big band, to her always eclectic resume. http://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/alexiscole

Awards & Grants 2007 New York City Jazzmobile Vocal Competition 1st Place Winner 2004 Montreux Jazz Festival Shure Vocal Competition, 3rd Prize Winner 2003& 2005 Montreux Jazz Festival Shure Vocal Competition finalist 2004 Council for Arts and Humanities on Staten Island Emerging Artist Grant 1998National Endowment for the Arts Charles Cinnamon Grant 1994 National Endowment for the Arts A.R.T.S. Scholarship

Personnel:  Alexis Cole – vocals;  Dan Block - saxophone, clarinet;  Saul Rubin – guitar;  Pat O'Leary – bass;  Phil Stewart - drums

A Kiss in the Dark

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Alexis Cole - I Carry Your Heart: Alexis Cole Sings Pepper Adams

Bitrate: 320K/s

Time: 60:28

Size: 138.4 MB

Styles: Vocal jazz

Year: 2012

Art: Front

[ 7:47] 1. In Love With Night

[ 3:38] 2. I Carry Your Heart

[ 5:52] 3. Now In Our Lives

[ 7:53] 4. Urban Dreams

[10:54] 5. Julian

[ 7:41] 6. Civilization And Its Discontents

[ 8:07] 7. Lovers Of That Time

[ 8:32] 8. I Carry Your Heart (Reprise) [duo Vers]

I Carry Your Heart; Alexis Cole Sings Pepper Adams is a stunning piece of work. The lyrics, pure poetry; the music, cerebral and swinging. This creation is even more amazing when seen as part of a five-volume production covering all of baritone sax legend Pepper Adams' work. Producer Gary Carner got the idea for a digital box set, Joy Road: The Complete Works of Pepper Adams (Volumes 1-5), to be put out on Motéma Music. Subsequent to Cole's vocal CD was Joy Road Sampler (Motéma, 2012), which contains highlights from all four volumes. All discs will be available at a later date.

Carner became interested in the project in the mid-eighties. "Now," he says, "after 28 years of research, it has become a crusade...to maintain the historical record of his [Pepper's] life and work" Also a meticulously researched Pepper Adams' Joy Road: An Annotated Discography (2012), has been published by Scarecrow Press.

Adams' compositions are sung by the highly rated Cole. The New York-based vocalist was recommended by saxophonist Eric Alexander, who had recorded with her on a Fred Hersch album. For this first ever pairing of his music with words, Carner got poet/lyricist Barry Wallenstein, his friend and mentor at City College of New York (CCNY). Rearranging Adams' seven ballads to various speeds and styles, and pairing them with Wallenstein's richly literary lyrics, was the task. Cole comes up a winner here with her straightforward interpretations, honoring the integrity of the poetry and always swinging. The band also deserves special mention, especially the two tenor sax performers, Alexander and Pat La Barbera. Whether soloing or blending their sound, they excel in mostly long takes.

I Carry Your Heart: Alexis Cole Sings Pepper Adams

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Alexis Cole - The Greatest Gift

Styles: Holiday
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:45
Size: 125,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:30)  1. Joy To The World
(5:20)  2. Jeanette Isabella-The Call
(2:41)  3. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
(3:35)  4. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
(5:26)  5. Rise Up, Shepherd, And Follow
(5:39)  6. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
(0:47)  7. Christmas Time Is Here (Prelude)
(3:25)  8. Christmas Time Is Here
(3:53)  9. What Child Is This
(4:12) 10. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
(3:12) 11. Away In A Manger
(3:54) 12. Silent Night
(3:42) 13. Happiest Christmas
(3:21) 14. Jesus Is The Best Part Of Christmas

Award-winning vocalist Alexis Cole is getting ready for Christmas with The Greatest Gift. The disc features 14 tracks, including original songs and some Christmas favorites such as "Joy to the World," "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Away in a Manger," and "Silent Night." The titles may be familiar, but Cole's unique interpretation turns the songs into jazz, blues and classical music all highlighting her warm and rich vocals, so emotive they register in the keys of love and gratitude.

Inspiration for the disc's title came from her father, singer/composer Mark Finkin, who in 2007 performed at a recital called "The Greatest Gift" during his long-awaited college graduation festivities. It was around this time that Cole rededicated herself to the church and ultimately to music. Inspired by her religious feeling and the Christmas holiday, Cole is dedicating part of the sales from The Greatest Gift to the World Bicycle Relief Fund, an organization that raises money in support of disaster aid.

Standout performances include the disc's opening selection, an up-tempo instrumental of "Joy to the World"; "Jeanette Isabella/The Call," which includes original songwriting by Cole in a spiritual "call" to celebrate all children; a bluesy version of "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen," featuring vocals by Cole and her father; "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," done with a Caribbean twist; "Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow," an African-American spiritual reinvented to include Indian music; and "The Happiest Christmas," a stripped-down, bare-bones performance with piano, violin and Cole's vocals.

Expressions of charity and goodwill are sprinkled throughout the disc, from the liner notes to the enhanced CD featuring videos of the World Bicycle Relief fund. It's one thing to reference the celebration of Jesus in an album title, and quite another to honor love and community with the album itself. The Greatest Gift is more than jazzed-up Christmas music it's a gift that comes from within ~ Bridget Arnwine  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=34669#.UrjOM7TJI0g

Personnel: Alexis Cole: vocals; Mark Finkin: vocals, piano; St. Paul's Children's Choir: vocals; St. James' Quartet: harps; Greg Frens: vocal; Don Brayden: sax; Christian Howes: violin; Warren Chasson: vibraphone; Alan Ferber: trombone; Jon Cowherd: piano; Jeff Haynes: percussion; Jessie Lewis: guitar; Ike Sturm: bass; Fred Kennedy: drums; Gottfried Stoger: sax; John Menegon: bass; Alvin Atkinson: drums; Kumar Das: tablas; Pir Shabda Khan: tambura; Zach Brock: violin; Andie Springer: violin; Beth Meyers: viola; Jody Redhage: cello; Warren Chasson: vibes; Tedd Firth: piano.

The Greatest Gift

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