The Chris Walden Big Band - Home Of My Heart

Styles: Jazz, Big Band
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 76:51
Size: 176,4 MB
Art: Front

(6:27)  1. Cherokee
(6:55)  2. Rainy Day In Vancouver
(4:06)  3. Film Noir - Part I
(3:39)  4. Film Noir - Part II
(3:17)  5. Film Noir - Part III
(5:36)  6. Mulholland Falls
(6:19)  7. Here's Looking At You
(5:02)  8. Star Wars
(8:11)  9. Home Of My Heart
(3:47)  10. Feet First
(7:28)  11. Here's That Rainy Day
(2:45)  12. How Long Has This Been Going On
(3:00)  13. Nonino
(2:38)  14. You Took Advantage Of Me
(6:52)  15. Stolen Moments
(0:43)  16. Dr. Stefan Frank

German-born, Los Angeles-based composer/arranger/flugelhornist Chris Walden looks way too young to be this good at a task as daunting as big band writing. He looks almost too young to be sitting in with the band, though he is pushing the ripe old age of forty. But he started early at the art, writing big band arrangements while he was still in high school, and later putting together the charts for the Frankfurt Radio Big Band and the RIAS Big Band. Since his move to Los Angeles, he's written arrangements for Nancy Wilson, Barbra Streisand, Sheryl Crow, and Christopher Cross, and somewhere in there he's scored more than thirty feature and TV movies, including his current work scoring projects for the SciFi Channel (I thought I'd heard some good sounds there). The Chris Walden Big Band is composed of some of L.A.'s finest studio and jazz artists, and with them he's put together a marvelous debut with Home of My Heart. 

The disc is very much a traditional big band outing arrangers like Bob Belden and Don Sebesky come to mind for comparisons full of interesting song choices. The set opens with the classic "Cherokee," bright and sassy, followed by some cool and subtle harmonies on Christopher Cross's "Rainy Day in Vancouver." Dave Gruisin's "Mullholland Falls," Charlie Haden's "Here's Looking At You," a great jazzed-up version of John Williams' "Star Wars"; and vocalist Tierney Sutton sits in on Gershwin's "How Long has This Been Going On." And much more. This is 77 minutes of music, consistently fine sounds all the way, with a very cinematic feel. The highlights for me are Walden's own compositions, "Film Noir parts 1-3," and the title tune. Here's hoping for continued success for Walden in his film work, so he can bankroll nobody makes money at these big band things a big band disc of all his own material. ~ Dan McClenaghan  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/home-of-my-heart-chris-walden-origin-records-review-by-dan-mcclenaghan.php

Personnel: Chris Walden (drum programming); Chris Walden (flugelhorn, programming); Christopher Cross (guitar); Rob Lockart, Rick Keller , Tom Petersen (saxophone); Kevin Richardson, Kyle Palmer (trumpet); Jacques Voyemant (trombone); Dave Carpenter (double bass); Tierney Sutton (vocals); Mitch Holder (guitar); Frank Marocco (accordion); Pete Christlieb, Jeff Driskill, Brian Scanlon, Bob Sheppard, Brandon Fields (saxophone); Wayne Bergeron, Ron King , Roger Ingram, Bobby Shew, Carl Saunders (trumpet); Alex Iles, Arturo Velasco, Richard Bullock, Bruce Otto, Bryant Byers, Bob McChesney (trombone); Alan Steinberger (piano); Tony Pia, Peter Erskine (drums); M.B. Gordy (percussion).

Home Of My Heart

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Jeff Golub With Brian Auger - Train Keeps A Rolling

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 47:33
Size: 108.9 MB
Label: EOne Music
Styles: Pop-Jazz, Guitar jazz
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[3:17] 1. The Cat
[4:19] 2. Isola Natale
[3:39] 3. Train Keeps A Rolling
[5:11] 4. I Love The Life I Live
[4:42] 5. Pusherman
[3:52] 6. How Long
[3:31] 7. J&B
[4:41] 8. Happiness Is Just Around The Bend
[4:01] 9. Shepherds Bush Market
[4:32] 10. Whenever You're Ready
[5:43] 11. Walking On The Moon

That guitarist Jeff Golub was able to record Train Keeps a Rolling at all is something of a miracle. In 2011, the optic nerves in the guitarist's eyes mysteriously and inexplicably collapsed, leaving him blind and in need of a guard dog. In September of 2012, while trying to catch the subway in New York, Golub fell onto the tracks as a train was approaching. He was clipped and dragged for a distance, but amazingly, other than cuts and bruises, he was unhurt. This makes the occasion of his 12th studio offering a special one. To mark it, his longtime co-producer Bud Harner suggested that he collaborate with one of his personal heroes, British keyboard giant Brian Auger. They enlisted drummer Steve Ferrone from Auger's Oblivion Express and bassist Derek Frank, who had also worked with the keyboardist. Various tracks are augmented by guests, including a four-piece horn section, percussionist Luis Conte, and vocalists Christopher Cross, Ambrosia's David Pack, and Alex Ligertwood (former Oblivion Express and Santana frontman). The program opens with a bright, funky reading of Lalo Schifrin's "The Cat" that accents the intuitive interplay between the B-3 and Golub's guitar playing. There are three Auger compositions too, including a new reading of the slinky jazz-rock nugget "Happiness Is Just Around the Bend" with Ligertwood reprising his Oblivion Express vocal role. More outstanding are the punchy, horn-drenched funk of "Shepherds Bush Market," which Auger wrote specifically for the date, and the previously unissued "Isola Natale," with its jazzy Latin groove. Pop rears its head in a sophisticated read of Paul Carrack's "How Long," beautifully sung by Cross, and ramped up soul-jazz appears in an instrumental take on Curtis Mayfield's iconic "Pusherman," with a terrific horn chart and a monster B-3 solo. Golub shines throughout, but particularly on the ironically dubbed title track, which commences as a frenetic tropical salsa before giving way to steamy, Latin-fused jazz-rock. The only weak spots here are in the workmanlike version of the Police's "Walking on the Moon" and the Mose Allison-influenced read of Willie Dixon's "I Love the Life I Live"; both could have been left off without consequence. By and large, however, Train Keeps a Rolling is proof positive that you can't keep a great musician down; it is inspired, kinetic, and chock-full of fine playing and arranging. ~ Thom Jurek

Recording information: Lafx, North Hollywood, CA; Pack's Place, Mission Viejo, CA; The Maid's Room, New York, NY; The Red Room. Austin, TX. Editor: Mark Casselman.

Jeff Golub (guitar); Brian Auger (Fender Rhodes piano, Hammond b-3 organ); Dave Woodford (flute, baritone saxophone); Mindi Abair (alto saxophone); Steve Madaio (trumpet); Nick Lane (trombone); Steve Ferrone (drums); Luis Conte (percussion).

Train Keeps A Rolling

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