Rebecca Kilgore & Bernd Lhotzky - This And That

Size: 117,1 MB
Time: 50:14
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2017
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. I'm Shooting High (2:59)
02. Lotus Blossom (3:40)
03. Pick Yourself Up (2:52)
04. Baltimore Oriole (4:20)
05. Flying Down To Rio (2:53)
06. A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing (2:49)
07. Grievin' (4:26)
08. Who Cares (3:10)
09. Star Crossed Lovers (2:44)
10. By Strauss (3:11)
11. Do-Do-Do (4:30)
12. The Best Thing For You (2:59)
13. I Hear The Music Now (2:47)
14. Sweet And Lovely (3:24)
15. You Can't Lose A Broken Heart (3:24)

Personnel:
Rebecca Kilgore, vocals
Bernd Lhotzky, piano

You know those moments in conversation when communication truly works, so that simple words carry deeper meaning - when speaker and hearer get one another? This communion can happen when musicians who live their art deeply create a heartfelt kinship. This CD captures fifteen such lovely interludes created by a most empathic pair. ~Michael Steinman

This And That

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The Echoes Of Swing Orchestra - The Fusion

Styles: Jazz, Big Band
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:27
Size: 123,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:24)  1. Everybody Shuffle
(3:16)  2. They Say
(2:14)  3. I Hear Music
(4:45)  4. Dickie's Dream
(2:54)  5. The Moon Looks Down And Laughs
(3:02)  6. I Cried For You
(4:28)  7. Lady Of Mystery
(3:26)  8. Etude In Gb, Op. 25, No. 9
(4:37)  9. This Heart Of Mine
(2:50) 10. It's Too Hot For Words
(3:25) 11. It's Like Reaching For The Moon
(3:51) 12. Trumpet Interlude
(4:07) 13. My Fate Is In Your Hands
(4:11) 14. Dry County Jump
(2:52) 15. Dreamy Mood

Considering that the Swing lives, guaranteed since 2000 the internationally staffed "Echoes of Swing Orchestra", the flawless in absolutely excellent sound and Arrangement Jazz presents the 1930's and 40. From the German trio "The Swingcats" and the Dutch "Echoes of Swing" a formation that has been the addition of "Orchestra" not only given, but has also earned it honestly in combo strength. The seven top-instrumentalist and singer Shaunette Hildabrand turn the clock back a good 65 years, and take you into the clubs and ballrooms of the great time of the swing in Chicago, Kansas City and Harlem. You have not the men see in Tuxedo and Ms. Hilda fire in elegant long black dress on the cover of the CD "The Fusion" to imagine the dim light and the couple who are closely entwined to "Lady Mystery" by Teddy Wilson, Harry Warrens dancing "This Heart Of Mine" and Thomas "Fats" Waller's "My Fate Is In Your Hands". With closed eyes you can see the "Echoes of Swing Orchestra" in dinner jacket with red carnation and his singer in sparkly dress.

But it also fly their skirts when the ladies on the floor of her dancers to Benny Carter "Everybody Shuffle" the Jitterbug and Swing Chris Hopkins' "Dry County Jump" are peppy rotated. The Americans Hopkins, alto saxophonist of the formation has the arrangements of the album with trumpeter Colin T. Dawson, the tenor saxophonist Frank Roberscheuten and pianist Bernd Lhotzky divided - and two titles himself wrote, including the best of the plate: the "Dry County Jump "and the smartest and funniest for my taste the 15 pieces," Dreamy Mood ". Here namely he Shaunette Hildabrand a jazz coloratura written on the vocal cords, which probably is (and as good) to hear a rarity. In fact, she is a jazz singer of format that maintains coolness with a soft vibrato, smoky lascivious and with this certain touch of. But it is probably her congenial opposite Colin T. Dawson on trumpet, Bernd Lhotzkys sparkling runs and the positive, relaxed attitude of the band involved. Echoes of Swing Orchestra: "The merger" may be recommended. ~ Frank Becker  Translate by google  http://www.omm.de/cds/jazz/echoes-of-swing.html

Echoes of Swing Orchestra:  Shaunette Hildabrand – Vocals; Colin Dawson – Trumpet; Chris Hopkins - Alto Sax; Frank Roberscheuten - Clarinet, Tenor Sax; Bernd Lhotzky – Piano; Dirk van der Linden – Guitar; Karel Algoed – Bass; Oliver Mewes - Drums

The Fusion

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Echoes Of Swing - Message From Mars

Styles: Swing
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:41
Size: 132,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:32)  1. Shake It and Break It
(3:08)  2. Liebesleid
(3:56)  3. Twiligthnin' Hopkins
(3:30)  4. Don't Save Your Love For A Rainy Day
(2:54)  5. Odeon
(2:46)  6. Bughouse
(3:48)  7. Spring Is Here
(3:34)  8. Gavotte
(3:17)  9. Message From Mars
(4:05) 10. The Ghost Of Marsden Grotto
(4:33) 11. Don't Explain
(2:42) 12. Butterfly Chase
(5:19) 13. Goon Drag
(3:03) 14. Delirium
(3:54) 15. His Honour And The Vermin
(3:33) 16. Moonlight Fiesta

Free from any museum nostalgia, the four musicians take their inspiration from the gigantic treasury of swinging jazz, from Bix to Bop, from Getz to Gershwin, while constantly searching for the hidden, the unexpected, the exquisite. The Great American Song book and the immeasurable recordings of great Jazz pioneers form the humus for the creativity of the combo, with astonishing arrangements, virtuoso solos and expressive compositions of their own. Two horns, drums and piano. This unique, compact formation permits the greatest in harmony and flexibility and allows freedom for an agile, exact ensemble.  The group thrives on a mixture of clever arrangements and interaction of improvised dialogue, performing for, and with one another. 

The contemporary interpretation of an enormously varied repertoire and not last the humorous moderation and spontaneous stage presence, has helped gain ECHOES OF SWING great popularity and made the ensemble a much renowned and celebrated attraction on the international jazz scene. Sixteen years of touring have led the ECHOES all across Europe and the USA, to Japan, New Zealand and even the Fiji Islands. The exceedingly diverse musical development of the band is in the meantime impressively documented on five CDs.  The last ECHOES OF SWING album ‘Message from Mars’ received the ‘Prix de l’Académie du Jazz’ in Paris, and in Germany was awarded the ‘German Record Critics' Award’. Bio ~ https://www.actmusic.com/en/Artists/Echoes-Of-Swing/Biografie

Personnel: Colin T. Dawson - trumpet & voc, Chris Hopkins - alto sax, Bernd Lhotzky - piano, Oliver Mewes - drums

Message From Mars

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Chris Hopkins, Bernd Lhotzky - Partners in Crime

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:33
Size: 130,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:19)  1. Tonk
(3:42)  2. Imagination
(3:25)  3. Georgia Jubilee
(4:24)  4. Snowfall
(4:29)  5. I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'
(4:05)  6. Jingles
(4:41)  7. Someone to Watch Over Me
(4:10)  8. Salir a La Luz
(2:32)  9. Sneakaway
(5:42) 10. Five 4 Elise
(3:52) 11. Partners in Crime
(3:27) 12. Doin' the Voom Voom
(3:18) 13. Russian Lullaby
(2:47) 14. I Believe in Miracles
(2:32) 15. Apanhei-Te Cavaquinho

Don’t let the title upset you: there are no victims here.  And the mournful basset hounds are misleading: this isn’t morose music.  It is a two-piano recital by the sterling players Hopkins and Lhotzky.  And it’s almost an hour of absolutely gorgeous music.  What distinguishes this from other discs in the idiom is something rare and irreplaceable.  Taste. Chris and Bernd are not only astonishing technicians who can scamper all over the keyboard and make joyous noise.  But they are wise artists who know that a rich diet of auditory fireworks soon palls. (How many people, listening to a gifted player “show off” a stride pianist play at dazzling speed, a horn player careen around in the upper register have thought, “That’s really impressive.  Could you stop doing it now  we’re all convinced that you can!”  I know these radical thoughts have entered my mind more than once, and I suspect I am not alone.) Although they are harmonically sophisticated musicians, Bernd and Chris know that melody and variety are essential.  

”Sweet, soft, plenty rhythm,” said Mr. Morton, and he hasn’t been proven wrong. So this disc doesn’t wallop us with pyrotechnics there is a James P. piece, Jingles but it roams around happily in the land of Medium Tempo with delicacy and precision.  It isn’t Easy Listening or music to snooze by, but no crimes are committed against Beauty here.  What’s more, these players have understood how to plan a concert even when the imagined audience may be driving or doing the dishes so there is never too much of any one approach or style.  The disc begins with the Ellington-Strayhorn Tonk (which, once again reminds me of Gershwin in Paris and Raymond Scott in his studio), then moves to a lacy reading of Fud Livingston’s Imagination, Arthur Schutt’s Georgia Jubilee, Thornhill’s Snowfall, I Got Plenty O' Nuttin', the aforementioned Jingles (a masterpiece at a less-than-frenzied tempo but swinging hard), a lovely Hopkins solo rendition of Someone to Watch Over Me, Bernd’s Salir a La Luz (dedicated to Isabel Lhotzky, the Lion’s Sneakaway as a solo for Bernd, Bernd’s Five 4 Elise (whimsically based on Fur Elise), Chris’ Partners in Crime  , Doin’ the voom voom, russian  Lullaby, I believe in miracles (for Mr. Waller), and  Nazareth’s apanhei-te cavaquinho. 

Discerning readers will note the absence of Ain’t Misbehavin’ and other songs that have been played many times in the last ninety-plus years, but this disc isn’t devoted to the esoteric for its own sake.  Each of the songs has a strong melodic line: the listener never gets bored, for even the most familiar one here say, Someone to Watch Over Me is handled with great tenderness, elegance, and a spacious intelligence, as if the players already knew what cliches and formulaic turns of phrase were possible, and had discarded them in favor of a loving, deep simplicity.  Even their 5 / 4 version of FUR ELISE is delicately hilarious. And  as an added bonus  the disc is beautifully recorded in the old-fashioned way: two Steinway pianos and one pair of Sennheiser omni-directional microphones.  It’s music for the ears, the heart, and the mind and (without meaning any acrimony here) the disc is a quiet rebuke to pianists who pound their way through the same tired repertoire and record producers who make it sound artificial. It’s a beauty, and it celebrates Beauty.  http://jazzlives.wordpress.com/2013/01/10/an-elegant-recital-partners-in-crime-by-chris-hopkins-and-bernd-lhotzky/

Partners in Crime

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Bernd Lhotzky And Chris Hopkins - Tandem

Styles: Dixieland/New Orleans/Swing
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:15
Size: 126,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:28)  1. Shake It And Break It
(3:23)  2. I Adore You
(3:08)  3. Everything I've Got Belongs To You
(4:18)  4. Warm Valley
(3:45)  5. Finger Buster
(4:41)  6. Black And Tan Fantasy
(3:15)  7. You Do Something To Me
(3:00)  8. Flashes
(3:42)  9. I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm
(3:12) 10. Sweet And Slow
(2:40) 11. I Wish I Were Twins
(5:24) 12. Lullaby Of The Leaves
(3:23) 13. Armand The Groove
(4:21) 14. J. Fred Coots-Medley: Louisiana Fairytale* + The More I Know You**
(3:31) 15. Bess, You Is My Woman Now (from "Porgy And Bess")

Making a successful piano duet recording is a challenge. In addition to the performance, there is the issue of the recording process: getting the mix right and capturing both instruments with clarity. This is not an easy thing to do, as the evidence of many poorly recorded piano duets will attest. In addition, there's the task of pacing, which is a considerable challenge with the sound of two pianos. Such duet recordings often have a frenetic dueling pianos feel, which quickly gets old. The good news about Tandem is that it's beautifully recorded, well paced, and displays the inspired performances of two excellent pianists. Pianists Chris Hopkins and Bernd Lhotzky are not just notable soloists. They also accompany each other with an intuitive sense of nuance and a sophisticated sense of musical taste. They focus on standards from the '20s to the '40s by the likes of Duke Ellington, Willie "The Lion Smith, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, Bix Beiderbecke, the Gershwins and other great songwriters of the age. 

This is traditional jazz, and these two pianists are extremely comfortable in this world. Arbors Jazz fans will recognize Chris Hopkins as a label regular. Anyone who has heard him on record will not be surprised by the mastery he demonstrates on Tandem. Lhotzky, an apt musical match for Hopkins, has recently released a solo recording on Arbors. Both players were raised in Germany and have a special affinity for stride and swing piano. Both are building considerable international reputations, which Tandem will undoubtedly enhance. Some of the best tracks on this consistently fine recording are breathtakingly graceful and complex stride piano duets. The musical rapport is a delight. If you're a traditional jazz fan, and especially a piano jazz fan, this is a recording not to miss. 

~ Mike Neely   http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=23191#.UzDKAYUqPro
 

Personnel: Bernd Lhotzky, Chris Hopkins: piano.

Tandem

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