Barb Jungr - Barb Jungr sings Leonard Cohen

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2022
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 27:43
Size: 63,7 MB
Art: Front

(6:20) 1. So Long Marianne
(4:51) 2. Happens To The Heart
(3:15) 3. Bird On The Wire
(4:25) 4. You Want It Darker
(8:49) 5. The Future/Dance Me To The End Of Love

Leonard Cohen is a an extraordinary artist. He is a challenging poet/songwriter whose works do not give up their meanings easily and his themes can be dark and sometimes disturbing. His commentary on both politics and relationships is usually stark and unsentimental. "Everybody Knows" and "First We Take Manhattan" challenge, and almost threaten, the listener politically.

The 'love' songs "Suzanne" and "So Long Marianne" are wistful and tinged with disappointment. Indeed, Cohen's world is haunted by broken relationships and betrayal, but there is also a promise of reconciliation and redemption. Barb Jungr does an extraordinary job of presenting the poet's musical musings, and it is always a joy to hear her interpret these works.

She does so with skill and intelligence, and she brings drama and clarity to the complex emotions that Cohen conjures up in songs like "Bird on The Wire" and "You Want It Darker." She finds the meaning in Cohen's lyrics and lays it bare for the audience to savour and share. Barb Jungr really is one of our premier interpreters of this amazing writer.

However, if you missed this show, there are three others coming up. On October 14th Barb Jungr presents her interpretation of the works of Nobel Prize winner, Bob Dylan, and on November 18th she is back with her trio in a show called My Marquee. Then, on December 23rd, she will be appearing in two shows with Dillie Keane. Definitely, take advantage of one of these opportunities to appreciate the artistry of Barb Jungr.br /> By J.C.http://www.londonlivinglarge.com/2022/09/barb-jungr-sings-leonard-cohen-crazy.html

Barb Jungr sings Leonard Cohen

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Barb Jungr - My Marquee

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:05
Size: 105,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:21) 1. Immigrant Song
(6:29) 2. Sunshine of Your Love
(6:40) 3. Yardbirds Medley (Heart Full of Soul/Shapes of Things/For Your Love)
(4:33) 4. Paper Sun
(3:51) 5. Sparrow
(6:57) 6. Medley (Flowers in the Rain/Hole in My Shoe/Itchycoo Park)
(5:07) 7. Substitute
(6:05) 8. No Regrets

It’s an old chestnut that if you can remember the Sixties, you weren’t there, man. I can remember the sounds of the Sixties extremely well, and right enough, I wasn’t really there until the very end. I completely missed out on the Summer of Love in 1967, though I was desperate to try the marijuana and LSD that everyone was talking about. Barb Jungr confessed to a similar experience of not quite being there, not at first anyway, in her introduction to Paper Sun by Traffic. But having an almost total recall of the words and the music that got inside my head during that far distant era certainly enhanced my appreciation of the wonderful music I heard at the well-known cabaret venue of Crazy Coqs last night.

Not being a regular on the cabaret scene, I had not actually heard of Barb Jungr, and was not expecting anything special, except a drubbing of the ears when I found myself seated in front of the drum kit. How wrong I was! This was a very special show, and I really enjoyed the drumming as much as anything else. Barb’s wide vocal range has the backing of a superb Trio comprising piano, bass and drums while her comments and anecdotes between the songs establish a great rapport with the audience.

The show is based upon an album due out in August entitled My Marquee, after the famous music club in Soho through which so many bands passed in the Sixties on their way to stardom. Miss Jungr has selected some of their best numbers and reinterpreted them in a jazz style. Really to appreciate what she has done, it helps to be familiar with the originals. Generation Z, I fear, would not have that advantage, and indeed I didn’t spot any of that generation among the audience. The clarity of Miss Jungr’s diction enabled me to catch some of the words for the first time, which I didn’t get when listening to the records, e.g. Jethro Tull’s Living in the Past. But for anyone at all familiar with the originals, comparing and contrasting the two versions would have given pleasure throughout the show.

There were some surprises. Miss Jungr kicked off with Led Zeppelin’s The Immigrant’s Song, and turned out to be a good substitute for Robert Plant. In Substitute by The Who, Barb sounded much angrier than Roger Daltry, explaining that the song was a scathing attack on the English class system. I actually learned quite a lot about the songs. For another example, I didn’t know that This Wheel’s On Fire was written by Bob Dylan. Psychedelia was well represented by acid-fuelled numbers like Flowers in the Rain, Hole in my Shoe and Itchycoo Park. But hey, I mustn’t turn this review into a discography. Let’s just say that it was “all too beautiful …”!

There are sure to be further performances based on the My Marquee album this summer. Be sure to catch one!
https://playstosee.com/my-marquee-barb-jungr-and-her-trio/

My Marquee

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Claire Martin, Barb Jungr, Mari Wilson - Girl Talk

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:25
Size: 161,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:17) 1. Girls Talk
(2:51) 2. Doctor's Orders
(2:32) 3. Walkin' Miracle
(3:56) 4. Different for Girls
(1:47) 5. Substitute
(4:04) 6. Wivers and Lovers
(2:35) 7. Keep Young and Beautiful
(3:14) 8. My Guy
(3:51) 9. Terry
(3:30) 10. You Keep Me Hangin' On
(2:39) 11. Girl Talk
(1:27) 12. Wishin' and Hopin'
(3:02) 13. Ladies Who Lunch
(2:09) 14. I Enjoy Being a Girl
(2:48) 15. A Woman's Touch
(3:47) 16. Single Girl
(4:04) 17. D.i.v.o.r.c.e.
(1:47) 18. Let's Jump the Broomstick
(3:24) 19. Chapel of Love
(4:32) 20. It Should've Been Me
(2:32) 21. When Do the Bells Ring for Me
(2:35) 22. Needle in a Haystack
(2:52) 23. I'm Gonna Make You Mine

Award winning British Jazz Singer of the Year Claire Martin, International Cabaret award winner Barb Jungr and Neasden Queen of Soul Mari Wilson, solo and in harmony, bring the songs you love to hate to life again in this glamorous celebration of all things girlie.

"Take three of the UK's finest female vocalists, add a bunch of songs at the oh-so-cheesy end of the spectrum and sprinkle liberally with postmodern irony and that, in a nutshell, is Girl Talk. As camp as Christmas and huge fun, this brassy, sassy and supremely arch review takes a deliciously tongue-in-cheek look at love, marriage and make-up in the 21st century via the hallowed classics of yesteryear. Heard solo and in glorious three-part harmony, Mari Wilson, Barb Jungr and Claire Martin are all fabulous singers in their own right, and by some strange work of alchemy their respective worlds of pop, cabaret and jazz combine seamlessly in this common cause. Of course one can't ignore the fact that some of these songs are in fact completely brilliant. It's great to hear Bacharach and David's "Wives and Lovers", Sondheim's "Ladies Who Lunch" and the evergreen Motown number "It Should've Been Me". Also included are such epics of stereotyping as "A Woman's Touch" ("A touch of paint, one magic nail, can turn a kitchen chair into a Chippendale"), complete with its comedic music hall style arrangement. In the role of MD, accompanist and producer Adrian York performs heroically." (Jazzwise, Peter Quinn, 2006)

"These three British divas have combined to deliver a series of tunes all coming from a woman's perspective. You can't deny the strong harmonies they put together and with 23 tunes in all, there is sure to be something appealing for all. It is good entertainment." (O's Place Jazz Newsletter, 2006) https://jazzsociety.se/items/girl-talk-31802

Girl Talk

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Barb Jungr - Bob, Brel and Me (New Link)

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:53
Size: 158,4 MB
Art: Front

(2:54)  1. Rise & Shine
(4:36)  2. Jacky
(5:50)  3. Mr Tambourine Man
(4:11)  4. Incurable Romantic
(4:28)  5. The Tender Hearts
(3:33)  6. Buckets of Rain
(3:11)  7. One Too Many Mornings
(6:17)  8. The Cathedral
(3:36)  9. No-one Could Ever Wear Your Shoes
(3:05) 10. Twist of Fate
(4:55) 11. Sometimes
(3:36) 12. Secret Spaces
(4:22) 13. To See A Friend Break Down and Cry
(4:27) 14. This Wheel's on Fire
(4:54) 15. If We Only Had Love
(4:52) 16. If You See Her Say Hello

Apparently, Barb Jungr considers Bob, Brel and Me her best ever and has said of it, "I may not make another." Given her productivity over recent years, it is tempting to doubt that; but if it does turn out to be true, this album will make a great finale. Rather than being a one-off project, Bob, Brel and Me feels like an integral part of the warp and weft of Jungr's work since 1999. As early as her album Bare (Irregular Records, 1999), Jungr was covering a Jacques Brel song "Sons Of" and she included four of his compositions on Chanson The Space in Between (Linn, 2000) alongside other songs with a French connection.  Just as significant was her next album Every Grain of Sand (Linn, 2002) which featured fifteen Bob Dylan songs dating from 1963 to 2001; after it, Dylan compositions became a regular feature of her recordings and live performances. For years before recording Brel or Dylan songs, Jungr had been writing, performing and recording her own songs with others, notably Michael Parker with whom she was in a duo for thirteen years.

So, although many other songwriters figure in Jungr's discography, the title Bob, Brel and Me neatly encapsulates three principal sources of songs she has sung. Fittingly, the album gives equal weight to all three; of its fifteen tracks, five each are compositions by Dylan, Brel and Jungr. It kicks off with a barnstorming jazzy version of Jungr and Mike Lindup's "Rise and Shine," featuring Jamie Safir on piano plus the ever-present pairing of bassist Davide Mantovani and drummer Rob Youngs, with the sax of Mark Lockheart and trumpet of Pete Horsfall working together to sound like a full brass section behind Jungr. Next up is Brel's "Jacky," in a new translation by Robb Johnson with lyrics as attention-grabbing as Scott Walker's 1967 version. Jenny Carr on piano, Safir moving to organ a combination that is deployed on several tracks and Gabriella Swallow's cello combine in a mellow backing that works effectively. The horns return for the first Dylan track, "Mr Tambourine Man," which had miraculously avoided being recorded on Jungr's previous Dylan albums. Making up for lost time, she gives a typically heartfelt reading that reflects her love of Dylan songs. And so it continues, with the instrumentation and arrangement of each track individually tailored to suit the song in question and Jungr's rendition of it. Such attention to detail has resulted in an album of great variety but consistent quality. Although it has been true of her albums for many years now, it is worth emphasising that there is not one track here that does not match up to the high standards Jungr sets for herself and her fellow musicians.

Oddly, that statement is not contradicted by the fact that two contrasting tracks, both by Brel, stand out from the rest as being the best on the album. "The Cathedral," the longest track here at six-and-a-quarter-minutes features only Jungr's voice plus Safir at the piano; consequently, both are exposed, but rise to the occasion to give a bravura performance drenched in emotion. In contrast, the closing track, "If We Only Had Love," finds Jungr and Safir alone in the company of the twenty-one member Fourth Choir who provide lush accompaniment for her rendition of Brel's epic hymn to love. A stunning way to conclude this stunning album. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/bob-brel-and-me-barb-jungr-absolute-review-by-john-eyles.php

Personnel:  Barb Jungr: vocals, harmonica (7); Davide Mantovani: double bass; Rod Youngs: drums; Pete Horsfall: trumpet (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11); Mark Lockheart: saxophone (1, 3, 7); Jamie Safir: piano (1, 4, 8, 10, 12, 15), organ (2-4, 6, 7, 11, 14); Jenny Carr: piano (2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14), accordion (6); Gabriella Swallow: cello (2, 13); Mike Lindup: chorus vocal (4), other vocals (5); Christoph Bracher: other vocals (5); The Fourth Choir:- Victoria Ely: conductor; Eve Berwin, Kathleen Holman, Megan Inglis, Fiona Mortimer, Rioghnach Sachs, Che Ramsden: sopranos; Michaela Cauntier, Ellie Dragonetti, Suzy Duggan, Jill Pett, Kathryn Thomson, Sarah de Winter: altos; Sam Henson, Séamus Rea, Alistair Semmence: tenors; Gus Cairns, Daniel Florea, Ben Lumb, Kit Senior, Finn Schulze-Feldmann, Peter Warwick: basses (15).

Bob, Brel and Me

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Barb Jungr, John McDaniel - Float Like a Butterfly: The Songs of Sting

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:11
Size: 157,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:12)  1. Wrapped Around Your Finger
(3:45)  2. Englishman in New York
(3:54)  3. Fields of Gold
(5:31)  4. King of Pain
(5:19)  5. Moon Over Bourbon Street
(4:12)  6. Shape of My Heart
(4:37)  7. Roxanne
(4:32)  8. It's Probably Me
(3:44)  9. Until (A Matter of Moments)
(2:31) 10. August Winds
(4:04) 11. Don't Stand So Close to Me
(4:06) 12. Fortress Around My Heart
(3:32) 13. Desert Rose
(2:12) 14. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
(5:07) 15. Fragile
(2:31) 16. Message in a Bottle
(4:15) 17. Every Breath You Take

In her introduction Barb Jungr has pointed out the hurdles of interpreting a singer-songwriter of near legendary status such as Sting who comes with all the trappings of such fame. It has, she suggested, made some folk recoil at the mention of his name even before getting to the essence of what the man is all about. Interpreting and adapting Sting’s songs for herself and her pianist John McDaniel throws up a number of challenges not least how to re-configure songs where the backings by the groups in the original recordings are regarded as an essential part of the package. The 18 songs in this programme cross the decades, the most recent being ‘August Winds’ from the short-lived Broadway musical The Last Ship in 2014 (opening in Newcastle on 12 March 2018, followed by a major UK and Ireland tour.). The hits are here but a number of the lesser-known songs suggest that Jungr has paid careful attention to all the texts, stripping each one down to the bare essentials and singing them with an insight and a rawness and emotional energy that she can truly call her own. Jungr can do fun too, her harmonica interpolations being a joy in their own right. ‘Russians’, a polemic against US/Russian foreign policy of the mid 1980s, is launched on the piano with Prokofiev’s ‘Entry of the Montagues and Capulets’, is a rousing anthem in her hands, as is ‘Fortress Around My Heart’. She lends ‘Every Little Thing He Does Is Magic’ a catchy bounce in contrast to the gentle sway of the tune and accompaniment in her interpretation of ‘An Englishman in New York’, so apt for the figure of Quentin Crisp. I loved her evocation of ‘Fields of Gold’, inspired it seems by a pastoral scene viewed from a window in Sting’s Wiltshire house, and in similar vein, ‘Fragile’, a song addressing green issues, prefaced by her poetic description of walking on her beloved Isle of Skye. Her linking narrative is pithy and sometimes unexpected as in her tale of Hogarthian shenanigans in a gentleman’s club in St James’ where she applied for her first job in London in 1975.She also gives us a little insight into the problems lyrics, as in ‘Desert Rose’, can present to a singer instancing a trait in Sting’s lexicon whereby he’ll alter just one word in a line making it “hideous to learn”. The pianist McDaniel is the accompanist and arranger of the songs, a consummate professional, who is at ease whether singing solo, joining in harmony on the refrains, or adding a few words of his own to the links between the songs. One senses a rare rapport between the two of them and a fervent wish from the audience that they will return before too long. http://musicaltheatrereview.com/barb-jungr-john-mcdaniel-float-like-a-butterfly-the-sting-collection-the-pheasantry/

Personnel: Vocals, Harmonica – Barb Jungr; Vocals, Piano – John McDaniel

Float Like a Butterfly:The Songs of Sting

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Barb Jungr - Every Grain Of Sand

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:18
Size: 145,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:06)  1. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
(3:09)  2. If Not For You
(4:57)  3. Things Have Changed
(3:14)  4. Ring Them Bells
(4:36)  5. Not Dark Yet
(4:37)  6. Don't Think Twice
(3:29)  7. Is Your Love In Vain
(4:10)  8. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
(3:13)  9. I Want You
(7:40) 10. Sugar Baby
(3:10) 11. Born In Time
(3:58) 12. What Good Am I
(5:33) 13. Tangled Up In Blue
(2:57) 14. Forever Young
(4:22) 15. Every Grain Of Sand

Every Grain of Sand is a breathtaking revelation on several fronts. First, Barb Jungr treats Bob Dylan as one of the great tunesmiths of the American popular tradition. Not merely as rock & roll's preeminent songwriter, the direction from which virtually all others have approached his canon, but as a sophisticated composer the equal of the Gershwins, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, or Cole Porter. Jungr dramatically re-reads that canon and she fearlessly reshapes it in the process. To cite the most radical instances, she turns "Things Have Changed" into an Eastern European jig and "Tangled up in Blue" into a jaunty, jazzy western, while "Born in Time" is a marvel full of Baroque voicings. One may quibble and Dylan fanatics, known to be provincial on occasion, certainly will, perhaps vociferously with an arrangement here or a lyrical interpretation or subtle shading there without and here is the magic of the album in the least invalidating the singer's choices. Indeed, part of the sublime beauty of Every Grain of Sand is that it inspires, even challenges, one to make personal revisions and reinterpretations. Ultimately, Jungr is one of the few artists who has managed to not only come out on the other side of this songbook unscathed, but to actually come out having enhanced its gravity, significance, and unvarnished beauty as well as her own. She is not merely singing, but telling stories. She opens up a window of vulnerability and sensuality that had previously sat stoic beneath the surface of these songs and suffuses them with such a delicate, gauzy luminosity that they seem to glow from the inside out. Her singing is soulful and emotionally naked, and the performances are so expressive that you take something new away with each listen. The treasures ("I'll Be Your Baby Tonight," "Ring Them Bells," "Not Dark Yet," "Is Your Love in Vain?," and "What Good Am I?") tucked away here are endlessly rewarding. If you think you've heard Bob Dylan or Barb Jungr before Every Grain of Sand, you are, simply put, mistaken. ~ Stanton Swihart https://www.allmusic.com/album/every-grain-of-sand-mw0000661771

Personnel:  Barb Jungr - vocals, harmonica;  Simon Wallace - piano (tracks 1-3, 5-8, 10-12, 14-15);  Russell Churney - piano (tracks 4, 9, 13);  Mark Lockheart - saxophone;  Kim Burton - accordion;  Sonya Fairburn - violin;  Sonia Oakes Stuart - cello;  Julie Walkington - double bass;  Gary Hammond - percussion

Every Grain Of Sand

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VA - Shades Of Beautiful: The Tracy Stark Songbook

Size: 147,1 MB
Time: 63:07
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01 Ann Hampton Callaway - Woman On The Stage (4:59)
02 Lesley Gore - Find My Strength (5:05)
03 Lillias White - You Changed Me (3:54)
04 Jane Monheit - Mr. Moon (4:28)
05 Nona Hendryx - Walk With Me (5:09)
06 Janis Siegel - Camera (5:00)
07 Nicolas King - The Only One (3:40)
08 Johnny Rogers & Tracy Stark - Morning Light (4:26)
09 Tanya Holt - Let Love In (3:56)
10 Karen Black - Greatest Nightmare (3:31)
11 Barb Jungr - Portrait (4:15)
12 Janice Pendarvis - Hungry (3:23)
13 Marcus Simeone - Fluffy World (3:27)
14 Tonya Pinkins - Life's Been Kind (3:45)
15 Tracy Stark - Welcome Home (4:02)

Tracy Stark’s newest CD, Shades of Beautiful:?The Tracy Stark Songbook, is proof that this multi-award-winning, busy lady is much more than a skilled piano partner who is a great arranger. She is an accomplished songwriter who deserves more recognition. In his liner notes, James Gavin quotes Stark: “… Cabaret used to be a genre: the Great American Songbook, show tunes, standards. In the present world, I see it as a giant umbrella of any genre, as long as you can create a sense of intimacy.” Mission accomplished. Those words describe a CD that is sure to make a mark. It’s an intimate album for sure and it touches several genres with intelligence and great style.

The new release on Miranda Music is proof of the scope of Stark’s songwriting talent. The songs, sung by various gifted artists—with the last cut performed solo by the songwriter (who also provides back-up vocals on a number of cuts)—should be rated on what they are and what they offer. They are sublime—some darn good stuff with terrific songs about the midnight hour and some longing pieces straight from the heart. Some have an optimistic, timeless quality. Others are reflective and come to life with pieces of a pop/soul craft that are pensive, echoing a likeness to ladies like the late Laura Nyro, as on “Walk with Me” (sung by Nona Hendryx), which repeats its message of believing, supported by a subtle backup chorus. This is carried through on a reflective ballad called “Life’s Been Kind” sung with passion by Tonya Pinkins.

With so many wonderful artists, it’s hard to single out one over the other. Ann Hampton Callaway kicks off the CD on a light, yet discreetly powerful nod with a cool reading of “Woman on the Stage” that makes a statement about ladies in the spotlight. “Fluffy World,” sung by frequent musical partner Marcus Simeone, is a personalized, melancholic, sleepy ballad about waking up next to her husband after a hard night’s work in a smoky, crowded place (a piano bar?): “… You are everything supreme and the reason I can truly love.” “Morning Light” has Stark in a bluesy, jazz-tinged duet with Johnny Rodgers that is a highlight. The great Lillias White offers a soulful “You Changed Me” that really cooks. It’s about a tough woman who admits to poor life choices, who gave up, and ultimately found someone. A strong cut. Jazz artist Jane Monheit flawlessly caresses “Mr. Moon” with a sexy reading that could melt butter: “… I lay myself down, but I’m gonna get up again… It’s all under wraps.” And so it goes.

All the cuts are so special and all reflect a songwriter who deserves a wider platform. There’s more to be said indeed. For now, Stark, whose songs often lean toward jazz stylings, are introspective and memorable with simple challenges. Most exemplify the relevance of how less is more. There are fifteen cuts by impressive artists that stand out for their interpretive and musical gifts. However, Tracy Stark is the real winner here on a haunting album that is worthy of attention.

The album is produced by Richard Barone. Other singing artists include the late Lesley Gore, Janis Siegel, Nicolas King, Tanya Holt, Barb Jungr, Janice Pendarvis and the late Karen Black.

In addition to Stark on piano for most tracks, the musicians including: guitarists Gene Bertoncini, Ronald Drayton; drummers Trevor Gale, Ratso Harris, Donna Kelly (percussion, too), Danny Mallon, David Silliman; bassists Warren McRae, Maryann McSweeney, Michael Visceglia, Skip Ward; keyboardist Etienne Stadwijk; and a special nod to Sean Harkness whose guitar brilliance is on almost every cut. ~by John Hoglund

Shades Of Beautiful

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Barb Jungr - Come Together: Barb Jungr & John McDaniel Perform The Beatles

Size: 135,8 MB
Time: 58:26
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz/Pop Vocals
Art: Front

01. Got To Get You Into My Life (3:46)
02. Things We Said Today (3:39)
03. Eleanor Rigby (4:29)
04. Mother Nature’s Son (2:13)
05. And I Love Her - All My Loving - All You Need Is Love (4:43)
06. I Will (2:17)
07. Getting Better - Here There And Everywhere (4:18)
08. For No One (2:19)
09. Back In The USSR (3:43)
10. It’s For You - Step Inside Love (3:42)
11. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (3:11)
12. The Fool On The Hill (4:26)
13. Something - The Long And Winding Road (4:30)
14. Come Together (4:08)
15. In My Life (3:23)
16. Golden Slumbers - Carry That Weight - The End (3:31)

The critic Chris Ingham has summed up the significance of the Beatles as follows: “[They] represent one of the few times in musical history when the most popular was also the best”. In our current cultural moment, the most popular is so very far from being the best that Ingham’s comment might make you wince with nostalgia. In their terrific new show, “Come Together”, however, Barb Jungr – one of Britain’s finest interpreters of popular song – and John McDaniel – the award-winning American composer and pianist – bring the past vibrantly into the present with a programme of innovatively re-arranged Beatles songs.

Jungr and McDaniel are new collaborators, and they’ve been performing this show over the past few months, including stints at the Edinburgh Festival and across the US, with more New York dates forthcoming in January. Londoners got their first chance to experience the show over four nights last week in the cosy confines of the St. James Studio. It was an occasion not to be missed.

The Beatles could hardly be described as a band that have lacked for tributes over the years, of course. But “Come Together” is about as far removed as can be imagined from the likes of a thrown-together jukebox show such as the hit West End musical Let It Be. Celebrated for her incisive and arresting treatments of the work of songwriters including Brel, Dylan, and Cohen, Jungr, whose shows at the Southbank Centre and City of London Festival have been among 2015’s cultural highlights in the capital, brings a similar approach to bear on The Beatles’ material, her vocals supplemented only by McDaniel’s supple piano-work and her own occasional harmonica-playing. McDaniel also provides harmonies throughout the set, and takes creditable leads on two White Album gems: “Mother Nature’s Son” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”.

The stark and dynamic presentation afforded by the cabaret context allows every word in the songs to resonate afresh. With her terrific phrasing, protean delivery, and expressive physicality that turns every track into a fully embodied experience, Jungr digs so deeply into the songs that they emerge new-minted in pretty much every case, with lyrics that you’ve barely noticed before held up to the light and revealed as the very crux of a particular composition.

Given the incredible stylistic diversity of the Beatles’ output, the range of material covered in the show is impressive, the set encompassing both oft-performed classics and album obscurities. “Got to Get You into My Life” was an infectiously exuberant opener, less a straightforward love song (or drugs paean) in this account than a joyous hymn to openness and inclusivity. “Eleanor Rigby”, with haunting high harmonies and delicate piano from McDaniel, was taut, disconsolate and deeply affecting. “The Long and Winding Road” wound itself into stridency that was equal parts desperate and cathartic, Jungr briefly transforming herself into a figure blown by the gales as she reached “the wild and windy night” lyric. Augmented by harmonica and great foot-stamping, “Back in the U.S.S.R.” was equally exhilarating.

Opening the second half, “Hello Goodbye” was delivered as a pleasingly goofy duet. By contrast, “The Fool on the Hill” was mesmerizingly intense, the track slowed and stripped of any hint of jauntiness in this arrangement, the better to quietly celebrate an outsider’s insights and secret strength. Lifting her tear-filled eyes aloft, Jungr seemed momentarily overcome by the emotion the track evoked, before moving elegantly into a drop-dead gorgeous “Something”.

Throughout, Jungr applied her customarily intelligent approach to sequencing the set, with some songs juxtaposed and combined to form story cycles and suites. A wry, sharply pointed “Piggies” mutated into a delicious “Penny Lane”: “very strange”, perhaps, but wonderfully effective. A medley comprising a gender-switched “And I Love Her”, “All My Loving” and “All You Need Is Love” (the latter stripped of obvious anthemic associations to become simply conversational) charted youthful hope and longing leading to the affirmation of “I Will”. Segueing into an exquisite “Here, There and Everywhere”, a blistering “Getting Better” traded menacing, punky verses for redemptive choruses that implied the taming of male belligerence through love. Yet ultimately the narrative concluded with the separation of the couple poignantly evoked in “For No One”, Jungr ending the song on a surprising, perfectly judged note that suggested both mature ruefulness and resolve on the part of the abandoned male.

As presented here “For No One” took on the contours of a reflection on the challenges and liberations of feminism. Indeed, bantering affectionately with McDaniel between songs, Jungr also provided some characteristically quirky, thoughtful commentary on The Beatles’s significance in pop and counter-culture, reflecting (as she did with Cohen and Dylan) on the contrasting personas of Lennon and McCartney, and also suggesting how the band’s music not only mapped but also inspired social changes. The drugged-up craziness of “Come Together” was a supreme closer, Jungr acting her way through the most surreal lyrics with furious aplomb before she and McDaniel returned to the stage for the single-song encore of “In My Life”, delivered as a radiant and gracious benediction.

“Come Together” is very much the kind of show that one can imagine shifting and expanding as Jungr and McDaniel continue to tour it, perhaps taking on different songs and arrangements. (Personally, I’d swap a pair of charming but fairly inconsequential Cilla Black-associated tracks for something meatier. “A Day in the Life”, perhaps? Oh boy.) Thrilling and revelatory, the show is that rarity: an Anglo/American collaboration that’s actually worth celebrating, and that’s enough to restore your faith in “the Special Relationship”, after all. ~by Alex Ramon

Come Together

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Barb Jungr - Man in the Long Black Coat: Sings Bob Dylan

Styles: Vocal

Year: 2011

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 63:58

Size: 146,8 MB

Art: Front

(4:18)  1. Man in the Long Black Coat

(3:16)  2. The Times They Are a Changin

(4:08)  3. It Ain't Me Babe

(5:34)  4. Just Like a Woman

(6:09)  5. Like a Rolling Stone

(4:32)  6. Trouble in Mind

(5:58)  7. Tomorrow Is a Long Time

(6:04)  8. High Water (For Charlie Patton)

(5:07)  9. Sara

(4:57) 10. Ballad of Hollis Brown

(4:11) 11. Blind Willie McTell

(4:06) 12. With God On Our Side

(5:33) 13. I Shall Be Released

Barb Jungr has a new album devoted to the songs of Bob Dylan, Man In The Long Black Coat , celebrating Dylan's 70th birthday. A sympathetic and innovative interpreter of Dylan's work - principally because her own voice and delivery is unique the CD includes four regular live tracks: Sara, Man In The Long Black Coat, It Aint Me Babe and With God On Our Side, which appear on a Jungr CD for the first time. Approaching the songs as if they were all her own, the likes of Just Like A Woman is given a reggae/funk crossover, while those of a softer disposition may be drawn to a collection of Dylan songs that don't actually sound like Dylan songs.~http://www.barbjungr.co.uk/reviews-Man-In-The-Long-Black-Coat.html

Man in the Long Black Coat

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Barb Jungr - Shelter From The Storm: Songs Of Hope For Troubled Times (Feat. Laurence Hobgood)

Size: 128,9 MB
Time: 55:15
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Label: Linn Records
Art: Front

01. Bali Hai (Feat. Laurence Hobgood) (5:35)
02. Stars Lazy But Shining (Feat. Laurence Hobgood) (6:11)
03. Shelter From The Storm (Feat. Laurence Hobgood) (5:23)
04. Sisters Of Mercy (Feat. Laurence Hobgood) (5:18)
05. Venus Rising (Feat. Laurence Hobgood) (5:30)
06. Something's Coming (Feat. Laurence Hobgood) (4:29)
07. Woodstock (Feat. Laurence Hobgood) (6:10)
08. Hymn To Nina (Feat. Laurence Hobgood) (5:25)
09. All Along The Watchtower/In Your Eyes (Feat. Laurence Hobgood) (6:07)
10. Life On Mars/Space Oddity (Feat. Laurence Hobgood) (5:01)

Barb Jungr proves she's a genuine jazz marvel

Ivan Hewett finds the brilliant jazz singer on world-beating form

Barb Jungr is the alchemist among jazz singers. She takes dubious songs, and turns them into gold. And she takes songs we already knew were gold, and makes them interestingly different.

That gift was on electrifying display on Wednesday night, at the launch of her new album Shelter from the Storm. Jungr’s previous nine albums, which include reinventions of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, have lofted her slowly but surely to the top rank of jazz singers. Her latest roams across the great American songbook, with songs by Bacharach and Bernstein and Rodger alongside Joni Mitchell and Bowie and Bob Dylan. With her was Grammy award-winning piano virtuoso and ingenious arranger Laurence Hobgood, bassist Davide Mantovani and percussionist Olli Savill.

Jungr swept on and launched off into a song about an imaginary foggy island, conjuring up its presence in the distance. Being a great walker and inveterate traveller, she likes songs that conjure great vistas, which she makes us see in our minds eye with big sweeping gestures. Then we were off into a song in beguine rhythm which seemed weirdly familiar. It took some time to realise it was Richard Rodgers’s kitschy fantasy Bali Hai, from South Pacific. Jungr delivered it with a saucy, tongue-in-cheek relish, which almost rescued it.

But maybe it wasn’t the best place to start, and Hobgood’s new song Stars Lazy but Shining, one of three on words by Jungr, was not the most inspired (the one we heard later, inspired by the death of Nina Simone, was much stronger). The evening really caught fire with Bob Dylan’s Shelter from the Storm. It’s a difficult song to bring off with its endless procession of verses, each more grandiloquent than the last. Jungr and Hobgood did it partly by an unexpected gear-change to a driving rock rhythm. By the end, it had grown to something tremendous.

No doubt about it, Jungr can summon a fabulous bluesy energy, and that rooted, deep quality can be felt in her luscious pianissimo too. You wouldn’t think those qualities could be applied to the weirdness of David Bowie’s Space Oddity, but Jungr cleverly managed to meet the song half-way, thanks partly to Hobgood and Savill’s ingenious recolourings. To bring the same magic to Burt Bacharach’s What the World Needs Now shows just how intelligent a singer she is. She is truly a marvel, who should not be missed.

Shelter From The Storm

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Barb Jungr - The Men I Love: The New American Songbook

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 51:34

Size: 118.0 MB

Styles: Vocal jazz

Year: 2010

Art: Front

[4:04] 1. Once In A Lifetime

[5:43] 2. I'm A Believer

[3:13] 3. Breaking Down The Walls Of Heartache

[6:04] 4. Night Comes On

[3:21] 5. Can't Get Used To Losing You Red Red Wine

[4:51] 6. The River

[3:56] 7. I Saw The Light

[5:38] 8. This Old Heart Of Mine Love Hurts

[4:01] 9. Everything I Own

[3:17] 10. You Ain't Going Nowhere

[3:38] 11. My Little Town

[3:42] 12. Wichita Lineman

Barb Jungr is more than just a great singer. She's one of the world's premiere song stylists, drawing critical acclaim both sides of the Atlantic and famed for her inspired recasting of material associated with the likes of Bob Dylan, Jacques Brel, Nina Simone and Elvis Presley. Her latest album, The Men I Love, her first for Naim documents Jungr's love of American popular song and its songwriters. And as has come to be expected with Jungr, the material displays her impressive ability to re-imagine well-known popular songs, revealing deep meanings and latent emotional content that comes to light when she dislodges the songs from their original contexts. "There is a body of great work which sits for me right inside the classic Great American Songbook, where songs both stand the test of time and also are able to be re-imagined and sometimes re-harmonised, allowing them to grow and develop beyond original recordings."

The genesis of this project was a season at the fabulous uptown venue, the Café Carlyle in New York City. The Café had become famous for a particular type of American and European song, and Jungr decided she wanted to do something a little different. She worked with pianist, arranger, producer and friend Simon Wallace in creating a new and varied programme of ‘Great American Songs' by contemporary writers. The show blew the doors wide open. The season was a huge success, and the audiences queued up to after the shows to tell Jungr how much the songs meant to them inspiring Jungr to make the show the basis of her next album.

"At that time Simon and I began to look at how to record them in a way that represented the ‘live' performance. We achieved this by recording lots of takes with just piano and voice, till we found the performances we wanted. Then we added further layers from some of Britain's greatest musicians - including bassist Steve Watts, cellist Frank Schaeffer, flute genius Clive Bell and percussionist Paul Clarvis".

The result is arguably Jungr's most complete artistic statement to date, a profound but always enjoyable examination of the ‘heart' of some of popular music's greatest song and a spellbinding collection from one of our greatest and most original voices.

The Men I Love

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Barb Jungr & Michael Parker - Blue Devils

Size: 108,0 MB
Time: 46:36
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1987/2015
Styles: Jazz/Blues Vocals
Art: Front

01. Launderette Song (4:16)
02. What's The Point (5:25)
03. Same Old Groove (3:25)
04. Happy Go Lucky (4:40)
05. Chance To Cheat (2:08)
06. Made Up My Mind (4:47)
07. If She Leaves Me (4:10)
08. You've Changed (4:09)
09. Right Out Of The Blue (2:54)
10. If It Rains Again Tomorrow (7:30)
11. We Stayed In (3:09)

Legendary cult duo Jungr and Parker's Blue Devils has been mastered for iTunes. Jungr and Parker worked all over the world, and toured with Julian Clary, Arnold Brown and Alexei Sayle, appearing with Julian on Sticky Moments and Terry and Julia.

Barb Jungr (born 9 May 1954) is an English singer-songwriter, composer and writer, of Czech and German parentage. She is known as a chansonnière, or singer of chansons—in the sense of classic, lyric-driven French songs; in the broader sense of European songs in the cabaret style; and in the even broader sense of a diverse range of songs interpreted in this style. She has become best known for her work with, or "interpretations" of, the songs of Bob Dylan. A song-stylist incorporating jazz and blues, her approach often includes radical re-readings of known writers as well as original material.

Blue Devils

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Barb Jungr - Chanson: The Space In Between

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:03
Size: 128,8 MB
Art: Front

(5:32)  1. Ne Me Quitte Pas
(6:29)  2. Sunday Morning St Denis
(3:50)  3. I Love Paris
(6:32)  4. Les Marquises
(2:40)  5. Cri du Coeur
(5:13)  6. Quartier Latin
(4:02)  7. Marieke
(2:48)  8. April in Paris
(5:56)  9. La Chanson des Vieux Amants
(3:33) 10. New Amsterdam
(3:19) 11. Les Poetes
(3:14) 12. The Space In Between
(2:48) 13. No regrets

Timeless as it is, you could have asked, justly, whether or not the new millennium really needed yet another interpretation of the Jacques Brel songbook, so often had it been attempted, both successfully and miserably, in the preceding century. Barb Jungr definitively answered that question on Chanson: The Space in Between, and she answered resoundingly in the affirmative -- it is an exhilarating purr of an effort. But then, Jungr, a longstanding anchor of the British alternative cabaret circuit, had already been compared to both Lotte Lenya and Edith Piaf prior to recording this first full-fledged effort in the genre (she had previously performed some of the music live and Bare did include a Brel song amongst its set list), so its accomplishment is no surprise.

The album, too, goes well beyond Brel, featuring as it does a repertoire that includes songs by Cole Porter, Jacques Prévert, Léo Ferré, and E.Y. "Yip" Harburg from the old tradition, as well as a tune from the pen of Elvis Costello and a modern chanson from compatriot Robb Johnson. There are several reasons why Chanson is such a splendid realization of Jungr's vision. For one, the singer specially commissioned translations of the Brel and Ferré pieces from Johnson and fellow cabaret haunter Des de Moor, and they represent the most accurate renderings of these songs into English.

Secondly, producer Calum Malcolm, utilizing an extremely sympathetic band, creates rich, poignant backdrops for the songs. You can hear the mythic Paris of yore wafting throughout, particularly in "Sunday Morning St. Denis" and "Cri du Coeur," while there is an equally strong strain of straight-ahead jazz ("Quartier Latin," "The Space in Between"). Most important, though, are the ravishing readings given by Jungr. Her performance ranges from the almost desperate and passion-haunted, both in life and love ("La Chanson des Vieux Amants"), to the positively triumphant ("Marieke") with equal skill, sounding as gorgeously weathered on "I Love Paris" as she seems delightfully guileless and clear-eyed on "New Amsterdam" (with its flawlessly ringing production). This is cabaret in its highest form. ~ Stanton Swihart  

http://www.allmusic.com/album/chanson-the-space-in-between-mw0000097710

Personnel: Barb Junger (vocals); Rolf Wilson (violin); Kim Burton (kaval, accordion, piano); Russell Churney, Simon Wallace (piano); Julie Walkington (bass); James Tomalin (samples); Kevin Hathway (percussion).

Chanson: The Space In Between

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Barb Jungr - Hard Rain: The Songs Of Bob Dylan & Leonard Cohen

Size: 152,1 MB
Time: 65:57
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz/Pop Vocals
Art: Front

01. Blowin' In The Wind (4:25)
02. Everybody Knows (3:53)
03. Who By Fire (3:52)
04. Hard Rain (4:30)
05. First We Take Manhattan (6:14)
06. Masters Of War (7:08)
07. Its Alright Ma (6:18)
08. 1000 Kisses Deep (6:52)
09. Gotta Serve Somebody (7:13)
10. Land Of Plenty (6:12)
11. Chimes Of Freedom (9:13)

The UK’s finest interpreter of song, Barb Jungr returns to the songs of Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen with the release of Hard Rain. Oft referred to as “the politicised chansonnier” and cited as one of the world’s best performers of Dylan’s material, Barb turns to six of his most politically hard-hitting songs along with five of Leonard Cohen’s most impassioned songs of conscience. Barb’s selection for Hard Rain reflects her despair with the political times that we live in and she has deliberately chosen songs that resonate as strongly today as they did when they were originally written: “Blowin’ In The Wind” is now 51 years old and its sentiments are as relevant today as they ever were. The album comes complete with insightful liner notes by writer Liz Thomson, who as Elizabeth Thomson prepared “the director’s cut” of No Direction Home: The Life and Music of Bob Dylan (2014). She was also the co-editor of The Dylan Companion. As a young journalist, her first ever interview was with Leonard Cohen. All of the arrangements on the album are by Barb and her long-standing collaborator and accompanist, the pianist Simon Wallace, who also produced the album. In addition to Simon (piano, Hammond organ and synthesizers), Barb is also joined by Neville Malcom on bass (with Steve Watts providing bass on tracks 1,3,8 and 10); Gary Hammond (percussion); Clive Bell (Shakahachi) and Richard Olatunde Baker on talking drum and additional percussion. Together with Barb, they inject new life and energy into each song.

Hard Rain: The Songs Of Bob Dylan & Leonard Cohen

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Barb Jungr - Waterloo Sunset

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:26
Size: 131,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:00)  1. Do You Play Guitar
(6:04)  2. High Water for Charlie Patton
(3:42)  3. Cathy's Clown
(5:24)  4. This Masquerade
(3:54)  5. The Great Valerio
(3:07)  6. When Do The Bells Ring For Me
(5:32)  7. Written In The Dark Again
(6:09)  8. Like A Rolling Stone
(4:34)  9. Lipstick Lips Lament
(3:39) 10. Laugh Clown Laugh
(4:43) 11. Waterloo Sunset
(6:33) 12. The Joker

With her previous three albums, Barb Jungr had already proved herself one of Britain's most engrossing cabaret singers and one of the most adroit song interpreters in modern vocal pop, and Waterloo Sunset does nothing to alter or diminish that assessment. It does feel like a small step backward in terms of content after the all-Bob Dylan program of Every Grain of Sand, but it is certainly not a step down in quality and intelligence of performance. In fact, it is a return to the interpretive eclecticism of Bare, with its dramatic overhauls of pop tunes (in effect, similar to her contemporary Cassandra Wilson, if not in style) by the Everly Brothers, Leon Russell, and Richard Thompson (a masterful, almost art song "The Great Valerio"), among others, intermingled with a few of Jungr's own delightful originals. It might even be thought of as a dressed-up version of that album, nowhere more evident than in the Ray Davies-penned title tune. The stripped-down take from Bare is damaged, lonely, movingly reflective; the reimagined version of "Waterloo Sunset" is wistful, sure, but also bluesy, impregnable, rounding the corner toward sanguinity. That this Brit Invasion song sounds perfectly fluent and fluid coming after the Tin Pan Alley jazz chestnut "Laugh Clowns Laugh" says much about the caliber of the writing, of course, but also about how Jungr is able to locate and explore the je ne sais quoi of a composition, what is both ageless and new, unknown, what connects even as it perplexes. 

The album sustains this inquisitive mood, plowing into emotions that lurk beneath façades, like the enigmatic clowns and jesters that dance through the lyrics, and finally bubbling over on the marvelous concluding rehabilitation of Steve Miller's "The Joker," in which a crass come-on is transformed into an effusive flirtation. It's something to behold. Jungr had not quite gotten Mr. Zimmerman out of her blood either, so fans of Every Grain of Sand have a couple more Dylan treats in store with versions of the classic "Like a Rolling Stone" and the more recent Love and Theft track "High Water (For Charley Patton)." Calum Malcolm again produces beautifully, employing a carnival of colors and textures; the entirely new backing band is crackerjack throughout, breezing through music hall, cocktail jazz, bossa nova, and Western swing with the equal panache. 

~  Stanton Swihart    http://www.allmusic.com/album/waterloo-sunset-mw0000404763

Personnel: Barb Jungr (vocals); Geoff Gascoyne (double bass); Matt Backer (guitar); Stuart Hall (violin); Adrian York (piano); Nic France (drums).

Waterloo Sunset

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Barb Jungr - Walking In The Sun

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 54:07
Size: 123.9 MB
Styles: Jazz-blues vocals
Year: 2009
Art: Front

[2:52] 1. Who Do You Love
[4:30] 2. Trouble In Mind
[4:05] 3. Beautiful Life
[3:53] 4. Drink Me Up
[3:43] 5. Walking In Memphis
[4:08] 6. Walking In The Sun
[5:52] 7. Rainy Day
[2:56] 8. Take Out Some Insurance
[4:14] 9. Run On For A Long Time God's Song
[4:09] 10. Blind McTell
[5:31] 11. Many Rivers To Cross
[4:00] 12. Heading Home
[4:07] 13. Way Over Yonder

Drawing on influences from a wide range of musical traditions, Jungr sets her stunning voice at the emotional centre of powerful gospel and blues lyrics. Music lovers will appreciate material by such great writers as Jimmy Reed, Carole King and Randy Newman as well as a new song by Eric Bibb (Heading Home). The album also features some exciting new self-penned material including the positive message of Beautiful Life.

With sell-out shows from Australia to New York, she has featured several times on BBC Television including an appearance alongside KT Tunstall, Odetta and Billy Bragg in the recent Bob Dylan Tribute concert. Co-produced by Calum Malcolm and Barb, featured musicians include vintage keyboard and organ virtuoso Jessica Lauren and jazz pianist Jenny Carr. Following her acclaimed, song-styled workings of Dylan, Jacques Brel and Elvis Presley this new album is a celebration of material Barb has held in her heart since she first fell in love with music. This is perhaps Barb Jungr’s strongest and most accessible outing to date with a strong message, wonderful instrumentation and plenty of groove.

Barb Jungr (vocals, background vocals); Gabriella Swallow (cello); Jenny Carr (piano); Steve Watts (bass instrument); Eric Bibb (guitar); Jessica Lauren (harmonica, piano, organ, background vocals); Roy Dodds (drums, percussion).

Recording information: The Way Studios, Hackney, England (05/01/2006-05/03/2006).

Walking In The Sun

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