Chicago Soul Jazz Collective (feat. Dee Alexander) - On the Way to be Free

Styles: Jazz Vocal
Year: 2022
Time: 41:19
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 92,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:17) 1. Mama are we there yet? (feat. Dee Alexander)
(6:03) 2. On the way to be free (feat. Dee Alexander)
(5:08) 3. So alive (feat. Dee Alexander)
(4:20) 4. The man is coming back (feat. Dee Alexander)
(5:24) 5. Crazy wrong (feat. Dee Alexander)
(6:41) 6. Carry me (feat. Dee Alexander)
(3:45) 7. Behind the Crusaders
(5:38) 8. Sweet Things (feat. Dee Alexander)

The medium-boil funk workout “Nothing Good Ever Goes Away” is the concluding track on this album; it could easily serve as the mission statement. That mission is clear from the very beginning: The opener, “Mama Are We There Yet?,” is set to a funkified Sly/Rufus/Crusaders groove that establishes the throwback mood yet is also fully contemporary, thanks to saxophonist/songwriter John Fournier’s lyrics (a vivid blend of topical and existential urgency that characterizes his writing throughout) and the creative panache with which Fournier, vocalist Dee Alexander, and the rest of the Chicago Soul Jazz Collective deliver the goods.

Alexander is among our most fearless and versatile vocal stylists. An obvious point of reference for her here is Randy Crawford, the vocalist featured on the Crusaders’ genre-defining 1979 hit “Street Life,” but she also brings her full armamentarium of textures, shadings, and improvisational fire to the mix, giving fresh dimensions to even the most familiar conceits. Guitarist Larry Brown Jr. spices the fatback-flavored deep soul sound usually associated with Stax’s Steve Cropper with a streetsy bluntness that recalls such pioneering fretboard funksters as Chic’s Nile Rodgers and Jimmy Nolen of the J.B.’s; Fournier’s tenor sax work is likewise straightforward yet thrusting and forceful, imbued with deep timbral and emotional colorations.
Again, Fournier’s gifts as a lyricist should be emphasized. This disc brings back memories of the days when we’d purchase a soul or pop album to be inspired by the accessible yet challenging musicianship we knew we’d find, then open the gatefold and read along, equally inspired by the poetry of the lyrics. Yes, “Nothing Good Ever Goes Away”and some good things deserve to be brought back to stay.https://www.jmarqrecords.com/news-wav/2017/2/24/sample-blog-post-04-wav-a2zyf

On the Way to be Free

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Corey Wilkes - Drop It

Styles: Trupet And Cornet Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:43
Size: 156,3 MB
Art: Front

( 2:44) 1. Trumpet Player
( 5:53) 2. Sonata in the Key of Jack Daniels
( 3:54) 3. Drop It
( 6:31) 4. Remy's Revenge
( 0:55) 5. Prelude: Touch
( 5:30) 6. Touch
( 6:18) 7. Return 2 Sender
( 7:42) 8. Searchin'
( 8:24) 9. Ubiquitous Budafly
( 8:50) 10. Funkier Than A Mosquita's Tweeter
(10:58) 11. Drop It - Live

As the man who took on Lester Bowie's mantle in the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Corey Wilkes is clearly not averse to a challenge. He's also a musician with an above average grasp of where the music's come from and a clear idea of where he wants to take it. As a trumpet player he's already got a lot of what it takes, a personal way of phrasing and an acute ear for a melodic line, and on this his debut disc he sets out his stall while putting down a marker for the future.

That said, there is a particular sheen to some of the music here which makes it a little anonymous, as on "Sonata In The Key Of Jack Daniels" where both Wilkes and tenor saxophonist Chelsea Baratz's telling solos are undermined somewhat by their backing and the fade does little to enhance the appeal of the piece.

The following title track is a better indication of how widely Wilkes has listened and learned with his deft use of electronic alterations on a sound that's indicative of a musician for whom the term Renaissance man might have been invented. Jabari Liu's alto sax is also telling here, the work of another musician with his own thing going on. "Remy's Revenge" takes things a little further in the best possible way, the music coming together in a way that nails the groove and compelling solos. Wilkes is all over his horn on this one, seemingly gambolling in the wide open spaces like a man who's undergone some form of rebirth.

"Searchin'" pulls off the not inconsiderable feat of sounding both contemporary and creative, and it might well be telling that Baratz joins Wilkes in the front line again. There's something quietly compelling about the way their respective sounds seem to merge, and the intimacy of their unisons is a thing in itself. Robert "Baabe" Irving III's piano on this one is compellingly sparse and it has the pleasingly odd effect of lending the music greater depth than it might otherwise have possessed.

There is however the impression of too much ground being covered here, though that could be down to nothing more pressing than "first album syndrome." Certainly the impression abides that Wilkes is a man with an infinite future in terms of where he chooses to go next, and in skillfully avoiding the hype. So far he's already proved himself adept at valuing the music far more than the marketing. In times like these that's no small achievement.~ Nic Jones https://www.allaboutjazz.com/drop-it-corey-wilkes-delmark-records-review-by-nic-jones.php

Personnel: Corey Wilkes: trumpet, flugelhorn, cornet, percussion (10); Jabari Liu: alto sax (3, 7, 9, 10, 11); Chelsea Baratz: tenor sax (2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10); Kevin Nabors: tenor sax (3, 5, 6), percussion (10); Robert "Baabe" Irving III: electric piano, piano; Junius Paul: acoustic & electric bass; Jeremy "Bean" Ciemons: drums; Miyanda Wilson: spoken word (1); Scott Hesse: guitar (3); Dee Alexander: vocals ( 9, 10); Justin Dillard: organ (10).

Drop It

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Dee Alexander - Wild Is The Wind

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:58
Size: 149,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:16)  1. Live
(5:18)  2. Surrender Your Love
(6:15)  3. This Bitter Earth
(6:52)  4. You And I
(4:31)  5. On The Other Side
(6:28)  6. Wild Is The Wind
(7:08)  7. Rossignol
(5:30)  8. Long Road Ahead
(3:50)  9. Butterfly
(8:41) 10. Feeling Good
(7:05) 11. Four Women

Dee Alexander was a part of the Chicago jazz scene for some time prior to this outing, working with the late Malachi Thompson and recording a pair of CDs as a leader. Alexander has a fluid voice, good chops, and a flair for expression, especially in Thompson's Latin-flavored cooker "Surrender Your Love." She is backed by a potent rhythm section with bassist Harrison Bankhead, drummer Leon Joyce, Jr., and either Miguel de la Cerna or Mike Logan at the piano. Alexander's dramatic interpretation of Dimitri Tiomkin's "Wild Is the Wind" and emotional treatment of Nina Simone's "Four Women" show her flair for drama. But some of the original material doesn't hold up as well. The late Henry Huff penned several interesting melodies, though his weak lyrics handicap the singer. Alexander's lyrics are no better, as on the repetitious tribute to Huff "C U on the Other Side," though Logan's catchy vamp proves interesting. This is a good CD that would have been more memorable with a judicious selection of material.

~ Ken Dryden  http://www.allmusic.com/album/wild-is-the-wind-mw0000813056

Personnel: Dee Alexander (vocals); James Sanders (violin); Harrison Bankhead (bass); Leon Jr. Joyce (drums, percussion).

Wild Is The Wind

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Dee Alexander - Songs My Mother Loves

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 59:17
Size: 135.7 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 2014
Art: Front

[6:17] 1. As Long As Your Living
[6:37] 2. Now Or Never
[4:52] 3. Guess Who I Saw Today
[4:19] 4. Peridido
[7:16] 5. Lonesome Lover
[6:25] 6. Nature Boy
[5:58] 7. Letter From Home
[4:47] 8. What A Difference A Day Makes
[3:55] 9. Softly As In A Morning Sunrise
[4:49] 10. Soul Serenade
[3:58] 11. Peridido

Among the premier vocalists and songwriters in American music today, Dee Alexander has delighted audiences and impressed critics with her flawless intonation, her interpretive brilliance, her intrepid improvising, and the range of genres that she commands. Ms. Alexander’s performances span virtually every music genre related to the African diaspora: gospel, blues, neo-soul, rhythm-and-blues, and world music. But her true heart belongs to jazz, the one idiom that can encompass all her influences. From a sultry ballad to a contemporary funk groove, high-flying swing to a romping scat solo, Ms. Alexander delivers every note with a passion and grace that leave her listeners limp.

One Chicago critic has remarked: “I only wish all singers could sing any note as well as Dee sings every note.”

Songs My Mother Loves

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