Brandee Younger - Soul Awakening

Styles: Harp Jazz
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:38
Size: 102,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:53)  1. Soulris (feat. Ravi Coltrane)
(4:43)  2. Linda Lee
(5:22)  3. Love's Prayer (feat. Ravi Coltrane)
(7:01)  4. Respected Destroyer (feat. Sean Jones)
(5:42)  5. Games
(5:30)  6. Save the Children (feat. Niia)
(3:51)  7. Soul Awakening
(7:33)  8. Blue Nile

Sure the recording for Soul Awakening was completed in 2013, but we are more than fortunate that harpist Brandee Younger and producer/bassist Dezron Douglas have chosen now to free this music from the vaults. For Soul Awakening brings a defining clarity to what we've experienced on previous releases, such as the raw, groove/fusion of 2014's The Brandee Younger 4tet: Live at the Breeding Ground (Brandee Younger), and 2016's Wax & Wane (Brandee Younger). Accompanied by her stalwart 4tet: tenor saxophonist Chelsea Baratz, soprano saxophonist Stacy Dillard, drummer E.J. Strickland and Douglas, the disc comes to stirring, ascendant life with Douglas' "Soulris" a powerful wave of spiritual vibe featuring the exultant tenor of Ravi Coltrane, who knows a thing or two about harpists and ascendant riffs. Younger stands fearless alongside Coltrane and drummer Chris Beck, whose combined energy would drown any lesser player. With a wash of celestial glissandi, Coltrane rises gloriously on Younger's own "Lover's Prayer," a soulfully emotive incantation and incarnation of Coltrane's mother, Alice Coltrane. Presented here as a gently swelling, rolling, almost 1960's pop radio instrumental, "Games," composed by another of Younger's great influences, Dorothy Ashby, spotlights Douglas and Strickland exercising great rhythmic restraint under Younger's gorgeous, delicate sweeps. 

Trumpeter Sean Jones, who held his own with Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter on their 2011 Tribute to Miles tour and held the lead trumpet position for Jazz at Lincoln Center from 2004-2010, leads trombonist Corey Wilcox through a range of trade-offs and colors Younger's solos on her ever shifting "Respected Destroyer." Featuring tenor saxophonist Antoine Roney and more shimmering solos from Younger, Alice Coltrane's "Blue Nile" closes Soul Awakening on the same high peak that it thrillingly began. ~ Mike Jurkovic https://www.allaboutjazz.com/soul-awakening-brandee-younger-self-produced-review-by-mike-jurkovic.php

Personnel:  Brandee Younger: harp; Ravi Coltrane: tenor saxophone (1, 3); Chelsea Baratz: tenor saxophone (2, 4, 7); Stacy Dillard: soprano saxophone (7, 8); Antoine Roney: tenor saxophone (8); Sean Jones: trumpet (4); Freddie Hendrix: trumpet (4); Corey Wilcox: trombone (4); Nicole Camacho: flute (7); Niia: vocals (6); Dezron Douglas: bass; E.J. Strickland: drums; Chris Beck: drums (1,3).

Soul Awakening

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Cyrus Chestnut - Kaleidoscope

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:54
Size: 155,8 MB
Art: Front

(5:06)  1. Golliwog's Cakewalk
(5:09)  2. Darn That Dream
(6:19)  3. Gymnopédie No. 1
(5:48)  4. Entre cloches
(5:30)  5. Jimbo's Lullaby
(5:33)  6. Father Time
(4:31)  7. Lord I Want to Be a Christian
(4:09)  8. Son binocle
(4:38)  9. Smoke on the Water
(7:00) 10. Gnossienne No. 1
(4:11) 11. Gymnopédie No. 3
(3:41) 12. Turkish Rondo
(5:12) 13. Prayer for Claudine

Pianist Cyrus Chestnut is a virtuoso player with deep roots in both spiritual gospel music and harmonically sophisticated jazz. That said, he's also a classically trained artist with a wide-ranging and eclectic taste in music. He brings all of these influences to bear on his nuanced and enveloping 2018 trio date, Kaleidoscope. Joining him are bassist Eric Wheeler and drummer Chris Beck, who offer empathetic support throughout. Here, Chestnut has chosen a handful of his favorite classical compositions, including tracks by Erik Satie, Claude Debussy, and Maurice Ravel, which he reworks in his own inimitable jazz style, alongside other standards and his own originals. What's particularly compelling about his choices is just how well the classical songs fit into the jazz trio concept. The Satie selections in particular lend themselves to a jazz approach. Chestnut's languid reading of "Gymnopedie No. 1" has the feel of a hazy summer afternoon, and brings to mind Vince Guaraldi's Peanuts soundtracks. He also turns the composer's "Son Binocle" into a jauntily urbane bossa nova. 

Elsewhere, he transforms Debussy's "Jimbo's Lullaby" into a bluesy, far-eyed rumination, anchored by a soulful bass solo intro from Wheeler. Similarly engaging is the trio's dramatic, modal jazz take on Ravel's "Entre Cloches," in which Chestnut's spiraling solo swells into a sustained din of reverberating bass notes before returning to the main theme. Conversely, his own songs, like the meditative "Father Time" and the lyrical "Prayer for Claudine," evince a classical feel, displaying his knack for finely attenuated melodies and richly textured harmonics. He splits the difference on his swaggering version of Deep Purple's classic rock anthem "Smoke on the Water," diving into the iconic main theme with Rachmaninov-esque dynamism and then pulling back into a mutative, Eastern-influenced improvisation. ~ Matt Collar https://www.allmusic.com/album/kaleidoscope-mw0003201648

Personnel:  Cyrus Chestnut (p), Eric Wheeler (b) (except tracks 7 & 13), Chris Beck (ds) (except tracks 7 & 13)

Kaleidoscope

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Chris Beck - The Journey

Size: 126,6 MB
Time: 54:20
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2018
Styles: Jazz
Art: Front

01. Mahjong (5:10)
02. Ode To Mother Young (5:33)
03. Teona (6:37)
04. Byrdlike (3:40)
05. Hodge-Podge (2:54)
06. Yeshua (His Love) (7:30)
07. Quintessence (5:45)
08. Waiting For Aiden (6:41)
09. Tears In Heaven (4:38)
10. My Inner Circle (5:47)

With the upcoming release of his debut album, The Journey, Chris Beck is making a name for himself on the New York scene as a hard-swinging, powerhouse drummer and composer. Beck’s refreshing and soulful vision as an artist is on full display, as is his unique ability to pay homage to the classic straight-ahead style of jazz while infusing elements of his African roots and Gospel upbringing.

Born into a musical family, Chris Beck, a native of Philadelphia, PA, has been exposed to music from a young age. Initially starting on the trombone, he quickly moved to the drums where he felt a natural fit. Continuing in the music legacies of his grandfather, the late Elder Charles Beck, and his father, gospel producer Tony Beck, and encouraged by his high school music teacher, Beck eventually pursued a music career at Temple University, where he earned a Bachelor of Music. Before completing his degree, he recorded two records with Temple University ensembles: Mean What You Say and Room 323, the title track of which is his original composition; later, in an All About Jazz article, it was compared to a Thelonious Monk tune.

After graduating in 2004, Beck became the “first call” drummer on the Philly jazz scene, working with the legendary Robert “Bootsie” Barnes, Sid Simmons, Larry Mckenna, and the late Stanley Wilson, Terell Stafford, and Tim Warfield, Jr. It was while playing with these amazing musicians that Beck solidified his dedication to preserving the rich history of straight-ahead jazz while still infusing his own unique sound.

In 2006, Beck moved to New York City in order to establish himself on the jazz scene. After settling in New York, Beck began studying with the highly esteemed master drum teacher, Michael Carvin. In 2010, Beck graduated with a Master’s in Music from Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, where he also studied with Victor Lewis.

Chris Beck currently performs with talented musicians such as Cyrus Chestnut, Oliver Lake, and Grammy nominated Rufus Reid. He has also been blessed to share the stage with renowned musicians such as McCoy Tyner, legendary Motown recording artist Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, James “Blood” Ulmer, The Mingus Big Band, David Murray, Billy Harper, Curtis Fuller, James Spaulding, Harold Mabern, Charles Fambrough, Mulgrew Miller, Wynton Marsalis, Terell Stafford, Tim Warfield Jr., Nicholas Payton, Roy Hargrove, Wycliffe Gordon, Orrin Evans, Bruce Barth, Nicole Henry, Jennifer Holiday, Macy Gray, Mark Whitfield, Derrick Hodge, Ralph Bowen, Joanna Pascale, Joe Locke, Duane Eubanks, Eric Lewis, and many others around the world.

The Journey

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