Clare Foster - Learning To Love

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:02
Size: 152,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:27) 1. Sentimental Journey
(4:46) 2. What Is This Thing Called Love?/Quest For Love (Hot House)
(6:15) 3. Seraffa's Smile
(5:53) 4. A Breath of New Life (Adam's Apple)
(4:43) 5. The Trolley Song
(5:39) 6. Adoraçao
(4:48) 7. If I Should Lose You
(5:47) 8. The Mohican and the Great Spirit
(3:20) 9. Ballad In Blue
(5:15) 10. How Deep Is the Ocean?
(4:41) 11. Early Autumn
(5:53) 12. Love Is Here To Stay
(4:31) 13. Back In Your Own Back Yard / Full Circle

JAZZ singer Clare Foster has travelled the world to immerse herself in music and her thirst for learning has proved unquenchable.

Moving to New York at the age of 20, Clare attended the workshops of renowned jazz pianist Barry Harris and then went on to study and live with the acclaimed American singer Judy Niemack. On her return to the UK in 1990, she decided to take a one-year jazz diploma course at the Guildhall School of Music. She later discovered a love of Brazilian music after a period spent in Holland, where she performed a weekly residency in a Brazilian club. With four albums under her belt, including her latest release, Learning to Love, Clare shows no signs of slowing down. Audiences can enjoy her wealth of experience when she comes to Southend for an outside show at the bandstand in Priory Park in August. She says:“I usually have a line-up of piano and guitar and this time it is a cello and a baritone saxophone and jazz vocals. “There will be a lot more gaps between the music for vocals and it gives me a chance to take a different approach.”

Clare, who lives in Westcliff with her partner and two children, adds: “We will be playing music from the American Songbook. “We had a great response with the show when we performed at the Civic Centre and I think the repertoire really works.” The talented musician likes to keep her music interesting and challenging. “I do like to have variety in my work and I like Brazilian music because it is something that you have to study. “A lot of jazz musicians will be able to play a Latin rhythm, but in South America every part, like Colombia and Brazil, have their own beat. “I started playing with a Brazilian band 18 years ago and have been listening to it for 20 years, and I am still learning. “Jazz music is great because it is like a big pot and you can take influences from all over the place and pour them out and mix them into something different. As long as you do your homework I think you can create something valuable.”

Clare finds she still gets a lot of support when performing on home turf. “When I gig in Essex I tend to look out into the audience and recognise people, but I never know where from,” says the 41-year-old. However, she does believe more should be done to promote jazz in the area. She says: “It would be nice if the arts could come before money and I think it is a real shame jazz events like the Southend Jazz Festival and the jazz room at the Cliffs Pavilion have closed.” Clare admits fans might be surprised by the sound of her new album Learning to Love. She says: “I have gone in a different direction with this album, there are a lot more grooves, whereas before it would have been mostly swing. “It means people do not necessarily have to be fans of jazz to enjoy it. “I have to pinch myself sometimes. I am doing something I love. https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/4516006.clare-brings-blended-jazz-to-the-bandstand/

Personnel: Clare Foster - vocals; Jason Rebello - piano; Alec Dankworth - bass; Winston Clifford - drums; Shanti Jayasinha - trumpet/flugelhorn/cello/percussion; Jean Toussaint - tenor/soprano saxes ;Fayyaz Virgi - trombone ;Ryo Kawasaki - guitar

Learning To Love

---

Clare Foster - Kumbhaka

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:38
Size: 130,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:40) 1. Who will Buy?
(2:33) 2. Baião na Praia
(3:52) 3. I Get Along Without You Very Well
(3:58) 4. I Only Have Eyes for You
(4:23) 5. Singin' in the Rain
(2:50) 6. Gone with the Wind
(2:35) 7. No Moon at All
(3:12) 8. Can't Help Singing
(3:49) 9. I'll Remember April
(2:59) 10. Stairway to the Stars
(4:46) 11. Quem Canta os Males Espanta
(4:26) 12. There's a Small Hotel
(5:12) 13. What are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?
(3:50) 14. Just One of Those Things / In Search of Love
(4:25) 15. The Silent Space

Clare Foster is a multi-talented musician who sings, composes and, along the way, educates. Born in England, she learnt the clarinet and began listening to jazz at the age of five courtesy of her father and recently said in an interview, "he still doesn't believe there's any jazz after 1932!" Foster's inspiration for this album has emerged from her interests in Latin American rhythms but also her passion for the American songbook. "I'll Remember April," the ninth track on the album, is a perfect example of how she integrates these two musical characteristics. Her interpretation of this well-known standard is combined with a lesser-known style of music originating from Uruguay named, candombe. The groove is based upon three contrasting drums. Among the fifteen grooves that are presented on Kumbhaka, Clare's adaptation of Cole Porter's "Just One of Those Things" is performed in the style known as bomba, the first native music of Puerto Rico. She says that the sound of the four trumpets is a salute to the band, La Sonora Ponceña.

As well as herself, Foster also shares the vocal role with Sue Jarvis, singing "Quem Canta Os Males Espanta" in Portuguese. As one can expect from a first listen, this track is a samba and features and lengthy Rhodes solo performed by Neil Angilley. In addition to this track, Foster also has another original composition, dedicated to her mother, titled "The Silent Space." It incorporates an enchanting string arrangement both written and performed by Shanti Paul Jayasinha in the style of danzón, a slow formal dance from Cuba. Overall, Kumbhaka captures a wide variety of styles and rhythms associated with Latin America, many that are unknown to the general listener. Foster's process of connecting this part of the world with the success of the American songbook has clearly achieved high standards. A gifted musician who, along with her talented colleagues, has flourished in seamlessly merging complex rhythms with the popularity of the American tradition.~ Thomas Fletcher https://www.allaboutjazz.com/kumbhaka-clare-foster-self-produced

Personnel: Clare Foster - Voice, Arranger; Shanti Jayasinha - Arranger, Cello, Trumpet, Flügelhorn, Percussion; John Crawford - Fender Rhodes (except track 11); Andrés Lafone - Electric Bass, Tamborile (tr 9); Andrés Ticino - Drums & Percussion, Tamborile (tr 9); Guillermo Hill - Guitar, Tamborile (tr 9); Neil Angilley - Fender Rhodes (track 11); Sue Jarvis - Voice (track 11); Davide Giovannini - Backing Vocals (track 4); Mick Foster - Alto, Tenor, Baritone saxes, Bass Clarinet; Fayyaz Virgi - Trombone (tracks 4,10); Karen Tweed - Accordion (track 2)

Kumbhaka

---