Claire Martin - Too Darn Hot!

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:44
Size: 133,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:53)  1. Something's Coming
(3:51)  2. Love At Last
(4:14)  3. The Gentleman Is A Dope
(4:10)  4. These Foolish Things
(5:29)  5. It's Raining In My Heart
(3:52)  6. Too Darn Hot
(5:26)  7. Black Coffee
(4:13)  8. Noir
(4:40)  9. Love Is A Necessary Evil
(4:41) 10. When I Fall In Love
(3:43) 11. I Can Let Go Now
(5:28) 12. Four Walls
(1:58) 13. Blue Motel Room

Talented and hip beyond her years the most exciting jazz star to soar to my attention in a decade. By Rex Reed The New York Observer

Too Darn Hot! (Linn Records AKD 198) is Claire Martin’s ninth album for Linn Records. Claire makes a welcome return to her jazz roots with a "dream-team" line-up of UK jazz musicians. Visit http://www.linnrecords.com/ to download soundclips and find out more. This album features many songs from the Great American Song Book: Rogers and Hammerstein's The Gentleman is a Dope, Leonard Bernstein’s Something’s Coming from West Side Story, a superb arrangement of Cole Porter’s Too Darn Hot!, as well as luscious readings of When I Fall in Love and Black Coffee. These tracks are alongside new material by Joel Siegel (Noir) and Geoffrey Keezer (Four Walls) whilst Claire once again pays homage to one of her key influences Joni Mitchell with the final track Blue Motel Room, an a cappella duet with Ian Shaw. Collaborating with producer Richard Cottle, Too Darn Hot! features the cream of British talent and features Nigel Hitchcock, Gareth Williams, Laurence Cottle, Ian Thomas, Clark Tracey and Phil Robson. Special guest artists include the much-acclaimed pianist Geoff Keezer who is featured on his own composition Four Walls which was written for Claire.

The Tapestry String Quartet play on two arrangements by Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, again written especially for Claire, It’s Raining in my Heart and When I Fall in Love. Sir Richard has been a champion of Claire's work since her debut album The Waiting Game (Linn Records AKD 018) for which he wrote the liner notes.

Introducing Claire Martin.....Claire Martin achieved instant recognition with her 1992 debut album, The Waiting Game, which was chosen as one of The Times (London)records of the year. Sir Richard Rodney Bennett concluded his liner notes for the album with the unabashed exclamation: 'This record knocks me out!' Tony Bennett was equally enthusiastic when he appeared on the same bill as Claire at the Glasgow Jazz Festival and has since had the pleasure of sketching Claire during a recent awards ceremony. Claire has a keen interest in all areas of popular music from jazz to pop. On her recordings, songs by Harold Arlen and Irving Berlin rub shoulders with Stevie Wonder, Phoebe Snow and Milton Nascimento, reflecting her eclectic roots. Claire counts Shirley Horn, Joni Mitchell, Betty Carter and Ella Fitzgerald among her stylistic influences. In January 1995 Claire made her American debut with four sell-out shows at The Nest in Washington DC to great acclaim from the Washington Post and The Village Voice. Later that year Claire won the Best British Vocalist category at the British Jazz Awards, and took her group to Ronnie Scott's to make her first live album, entitled Offbeat (Linn Records AKD 046), which includes an outstanding interpretation of Phoebe Snow's Something Real. New York Times contributor James Gavin, author of The History of New York Cabaret wrote: 'In an era when young jazz singers tend to sound far too much like their idols there's no mistaking the voice of Claire Martin who combines a cool, burnished tone with the ear of a born musician.' Following enthusiastic reviews for her appearances in the United States, Claire recorded Make This City Ours (Linn Records AKD 066) in New York, her fifth album for Linn and featuring an international line-up including American saxophonist Antonio Hart.

In March 1996 Claire appeared as guest vocalist on Years Apart (Linn Records AKD 058) with guitarist Martin Taylor recreating the 1934 Hot Club of France. Claire recorded Undecided, originally sung by Beryl Davis.

Claire also provided the lyrics for the title track and had the pleasure of recording in Paris alongside the legendary violinist Stephane Grappelli, who described her as ‘a wonderful artist, who swings and has such warmth to her voice.' The sixth album to be released was Take My Heart (Linn Records AKD 093). This was a change of direction for Claire she started to explore other genres including soul, R&B, folk, and rock. For example, Claire was joined by Noel Gallagher (Oasis) on the track Help and she also covered a Nick Drake track, Riverman. Following on from these explorations Claire released her seventh album Perfect Alibi (Linn Records AKD 122), in April 2000, this time with an appearance by guest artist John Martyn. Every Now and Then the Very Best of Claire Martin (Linn Records AKD 177) is a collection of the best tracks from the first seven albums. Too Darn Hot! is a welcome return to jazz for Claire Martin. It also heralds her first new material for 2 years.  Claire has performed throughout Europe and North America at festivals in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Canada and the United Kingdom including the Edinburgh, Glasgow and Harrogate International Festivals and with many of the world's great orchestras including the BBC Big Band and the RIAS Big Band in Berlin. In 2001 Claire toured the Far East, Europe, and Australia. In addition to her busy concert schedule Claire Martin presents 'Jazz Line-up' on BBC Radio 3. Claire will be performing songs from Too Darn Hot at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz club, London, November 4th 9th 2002. http://www.jazzreview.com/jazz-news/news-story/vocalist-claire-martin-is-too-darn-hot.html


Personnel: Claire Martin (vocals); Ian Shaw (vocals); Phil Robson (guitar); Tapestry Quartet (strings); Nigel Hitchcock (saxophone); Geoffrey Keezer (piano, electric piano); Gareth Williams (piano); Richard Cottle (organ, keyboards); Geoff Gascoyne (double bass); Laurence Cottle (bass guitar); Clark Tracey, Ian Thomas (drums); Miles Bould (percussion).

Too Darn Hot!

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Alyssa Allgood - From Here

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2024
Time: 63:40
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 146,4 MB
Art: Front

(5:57) 1. Burn (For Betty)
(4:05) 2. Your Wings
(7:04) 3. Both Sides Now
(6:25) 4. Brave Little Flower
(5:15) 5. No Good
(4:20) 6. Other Side
(4:35) 7. Dream
(5:11) 8. On a Clear Day
(5:37) 9. Still Searching
(3:45) 10. Above All Else
(5:41) 11. Time Told
(5:39) 12. Turn to Gold

Acclaimed vocalist and songwriter offers a new view From Here, due April 19 on Next Records, in company of international jazz stars John Patitucci, Geoffrey Keezer, Kendrick Scott and Greg Ward

On her exhilarating fourth album, Alyssa Allgood strides confidently into the next phase of her impressive young career. Her rich, clear contralto comes as no surprise, thanks to her previous recordings, but she has taken her phrasing, improvising, and sense of swing up yet another notch. And while Allgood has included an increasing number of original compositions on each previous disc, From Here made up of nearly all original compositions finds her at a new pinnacle of personal expression and emotional observation.
“
These songs are reflections of my journey to understand and love myself more deeply, and to fully embrace my artistic vision as a bandleader, composer, and arranger,” says the Chicago-based Allgood. Those reflections concern such themes as embracing change, but also knowing when to stand pat; how to feel good about a breakup, and even better about finding love; the need to treat oneself with compassion, and the hard truth that even the hardships we overcome remain with us in small yet important ways.

Don’t think for a minute that the poetry of Allgood’s lyrics overshadows the propulsion and depth of her music. Sure, she taps into the vocal tradition of songful storytelling. But her immersion in the jazz aesthetic with its emphasis on spontaneity and improvisation, and on compositions informed by a rich harmonic and rhythmic language ensures that her messages swing hard too, and delight the intellect in the bargain.

Featuring some of music’s most lionized artists: GRAMMY winners John Patitucci and Geoffrey Keezer, dynamic drummer Kendrick Scott, saxophonist Greg Ward, and produced by acclaimed jazz vocalist Jeff Baker, ‘From Here’ finds Alyssa Allgood reaching a new pinnacle of personal expression, emotional observation, and artistic achievement. Staying true to her jazz roots, Allgood goes where few singers dare with an album featuring 10 original songs, boldly celebrating the traditions of soulful storytelling, spontaneity, and improvisation.

Working with musicians of this caliber allowed Allgood to approach the recording with greater freedom than ever. In her words, “Their musicianship propelled me to take greater risks in the music and to lead boldly with confidence and conviction. Their sense of exploration and connection radiates throughout every track. Recording my original music with these extraordinary musicians revealed the power of believing in myself and working to bring my dreams to life” assets that resound throughout the songs featured here.

The album springs to life with “Burn (For Betty),” a take-no-prisoners homage to Betty Carter, whose galvanic performances and self-determinative philosophy have been a source of inspiration for Allgood. True to Carter’s example, the track includes two ear-opening scat vocal solos; they bracket racetrack improvisations from Keezer and Ward, establishing a high-water mark for the entire album. Several songs speak to specific people and events in Allgood’s life, yet each message transcends the specifics in order to reach those listeners she’s never met. For instance, “Time Told,” a love song to her fiancé, stems from Allgood’s own experience in grounding love in patience and trust; but her realization contains a universal human truth, emphasized by Ward’s high-flying improvisation. “Turn to Gold” transforms a familiar trope falling autumn leaves as a metaphor for loss into a beacon for life’s next chapter, set to one of her loveliest melodies (and a particularly emotive solo from Patitucci).

On the other hand, there’s the harmonically inventive “Still Searching” which, Allgood remarks, encapsulates a central theme of From Here: the journey toward self-compassion: “It shows the darker, more complicated part of that process, the questions, the struggles, the failures.” (Allgood’s soaring improvisation suggests she’s found many of the answers.) There’s the clear-eyed regret of “Above All Else,” which conveys the need to excise a toxic relationship and the value in having done so another song drawn from her own experience but applicable to anyone who’s ever loved.

But we also get the charming, deceptively simple “Brave Little Flower,” inspired by the improbable sight of a small blossom growing between the boulders lining the shore of Lake Michigan. It’s a parable about fortitude and empowerment, set to a rangy melody in waltz time a song about “growing beyond where I was planted” that Allgood now considers her signature composition. Then she employs her whip-smart sense of fair play on the sassy revenge tune “No Good,” which has become a crowd favorite in performance. To top it off, the album includes two 1960s standards, each of them freshened by the light reharmonizations and changes in meter of Allgood’s arrangements: the Broadway hit “On a Clear Day,” and Joni Mitchell’s ageless “Both Sides Now.”

Allgood is quick to note that the album title has more than one meaning. “First, it refers to these songs coming from my heart,” she says. “It’s from this personal and vulnerable place that I share messages of love, strength, power and understanding and also acknowledge the pain, struggle, and doubt that makes the journey a triumph.” But the title also speaks to the fact that this album establishes a “pivotal moment in my career and a major step in my musical and artistic development. This album is a statement of who I am as a modern jazz vocalist: everything that happens next will be defined from here.”

Described by Downbeat Magazine as “assured and ddaring”, Chicago jazz vocalist and composer Alyssa Allgood stakes her claim amongst the most compelling singers in the modern jazz landscape with her exhilarating fourth album, From Here, her first recording on Next Records. Her three previous albums What Tomorrow Brings (Cellar Music, 2021), Exactly Like You (Cellar Music, 2018), and her self-released debut Out of the Blue (2016) trace a remarkable trajectory from a North Central College grad to a vocalist admired for the clarity of her instrument, the sureness of her phrasing, the range of her improvising, and the burgeoning depth of her interpretative skills.

Allgood first made her name in such legendary Chicago clubs as the Green Mill and the Jazz Showcase, through residences at Winter’s Jazz Club where she has delved into the songbooks of jazz’s classic divas (Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae, Dinah Washington) and at the internationally renowned Chicago Jazz Festival. Appearances followed New York’s famed Birdland and at Jazz at Lincoln Center Shanghai (China). She was a semifinalist in the 2015 Shure Montreux Jazz Voice Competition, where jazz icon Al Jarreau led the jury, before winning the Inaugural Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Voice Competition (2017) and the David Baker Memorial Scholarship offered through the Jazz Education Network (2022). Closer to home, she was a 2016 Jazz Improvisation Fellow of the Luminarts Cultural Foundation in Chicago and was named Best Jazz Entertainer in the Chicago Music Awards (2019).

Increasingly also known as an educator, arranger, and composer, Allgood is an adjunct lecturer at the University of Illinois Chicago, where she directs the vocal jazz ensemble and teaches private lessons as well as a jazz arranging course. She is a highly sought-after clinician and has presented masterclasses at many esteemed institutions including the Jazz Education Network Conference, the Illinois Music Educators Association, the Iowa Choral Directors Association, Anchor Music’s Vocal Jazz Academy, Jazzvoice.com, the University of Chicago and Drake University. She holds a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from DePaul University, where she served as a Graduate Assistant.https://lydialiebman.com/index.php/2024/02/19/new-release-alyssa-allgoods-from-here-is-due-out-april-19-2024-via-next-records/

From Here

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Tal Wilkenfeld - Transformation

Styles: Fusion
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:23
Size: 111,1 MB
Art: Front

(6:20)  1. BC
(6:23)  2. Cosmic Joke
(6:38)  3. Truth Be Told
(5:00)  4. Serendipity
(7:41)  5. The River Of Life
(7:51)  6. Oatmeal Bandage
(8:28)  7. Table For One

Some artists emerge slowly, taking years to find their way to public attention; others leap seemingly instantaneously into the public eye. Australian-born, US-based bassist Tal Wilkenfeld has gone from sitting in with Allman Brothers Band in 2006 to working with pianist Chick Corea and Jeff Beck, heard recently on the guitarist's Performing This Week...Live at Ronnie Scott's (Eagle Records, 2008). What's not apparent on Beck's CD but can be seen on the DVD version of the same release is his almost constant state of disbelief when watching the diminutive, early-twenties Wilkenfeld. There are plenty of bassists with staggering technique and chops, but few can make the instrument truly sing, as Wilkenfeld does on Beck's CD during an all-stops-out solo on Stevie Wonder's "'Cause We've Ended as Lovers."

Wilkenfeld possesses all the requisite chops and uses them to terrific advantage on Transformation, her 2007 debut as a leader, released prior to hitting the road with Beck. As with Beck, she proves herself a potent groove-meister, in this case working hand-in-glove with Keith Carlock, best-known as Steely Dan's recent drummer of choice, both on the road and on its last release, Everything Must Go (Reprise, 2003). The grooves are rich and visceral on this set of Wilkenfeld originals (one, the beautifully balladic "Truth Be Told," co-written with Transformation's keyboardist, the ever-tasteful Geoffrey Keezer), with solo space aplenty and a less restrictive format allowing Carlock greater freedom than in The Dan's more defined context. Possessing a deep lyricism rare enough in electric bassists, but especially in this largely fusion-esque context, Wilkenfeld's a fingers-only player who largely eschews string-popping and slapping techniques, though she heads for that territory briefly on "Serendipity," managing to be be both rhythm anchor and lead voice. Largely, however, she aims for a warm tone and a way of sliding in and around her notes reminiscent of ex-Weather Report bassist Alphonso Johnson and King Crimson/Peter Gabriel alum Tony Levin. 

Wilkenfeld's writing is filled with knotty, often high velocity lines either in counterpoint or concert with guitarist Wayne Krantz, who delivers some of his most focused, funkified and harmonically outré playing in years; a strong foil for Wilkenfeld and a player who's always deserved more cred than he's been afforded. Saxophonist Seamus Blake, normally heard on more modern mainstream settings, combines spare soulfulness with bop-inflected lines on the medium tempo "Table for One," while Keezer delivers one of his best solos of the set on the fierier "Oatmeal Bandage," while also features a rare solo spot for Carlock that suggests he, like Krantz, deserves considerably more attention. But even when the music is filled with complex, intertwining lines that prove the mettle of everyone involved even as they avoid any trappings of excess, it still grooves in a booty-shaking way even when Wilkenfeld challenges with shifting meters. For those who've discovered Wilkenfeld via her work with Jeff Beck, the thoroughly exciting Transformation provides an even broader window into this remarkable bassist with a promising future. ~ John Kelman  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/transformation-tal-wilkenfeld-self-produced-review-by-john-kelman.php#.VEGCWxawTP8
 

Personnel: Tal Wilkenfeld: bass; Wayne Krantz: guitar; Geoffrey Keezer: piano, keyboards; Keith Carlock: drums; Seamus Blake: tenor saxophone.

Transformation

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Denise Donatelli - When Lights Are Low

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:52
Size: 122,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:45)  1. It's You or No One
(6:01)  2. Don't Explain
(4:49)  3. When Lights Are Low
(6:32)  4. Big Lie, Small  World
(4:46)  5. Why Did I Choose You?
(3:27)  6. I Wish I Were In Love Again
(7:06)  7. Kisses
(4:21)  8. Forward, Like So
(2:32)  9. The Telephone Song
(4:18) 10. The Bed I Made
(5:11) 11. Enchantment

A recent news photo depicted pop singer, Lady Gaga, accepting an MTV Video Music Award bedecked in a gown of raw meat. While reactions to that stunt went to understandable extremes condone as art or revolt as déclassé it's easy to wonder what women jazz vocalists might have thought of it. Based upon the marvelously entertaining and stylistically brilliant CD, When Lights are Low, it might not be a surprise to envision Denise Donatelli heading up on stage come Grammy time. And, the only "chops" she'd be wearing would be the ones she carries wherever she appears.  When Lights are Low is a knockout, an outstanding, beautiful CD on all fronts Donatelli's, the tunes, the ensembles, and the soup-to-nuts entire production. In a descriptively admirable way, it is a stellar, one-dimensional showcase, where Donatelli shrewdly fits in perfectly with the entire textural approach, devised here by pianist Geoffrey Keezer who, in addition to performing on the album, is both producer and artistic director. Donatelli's is a vocal instrument of classic beauty, impeccable diction, dynamic nuance, phrasing and emotion. She turns a lyric with taste and passion, and has great respect for both ("Hush Now"). Donatelli can swing heavy, too ("It's You or No One"). As a youngster, Donatelli shared car rides to piano lessons with Keith Jarrett; here, with wunderkind Keezer at the keyboard, Donatelli shows instrumental experience through her voice, and interplay with forgive the homonym "Keez."

The Donatelli-Keezer team works in such wonderful, respectful compatibility. Her rhythmic approach is framed by Keezer's deft touch classic and swinging. He's a very sly partner, too, a "Have You Met Miss Jones?" five-note quote introducing his solo on "It's You or No One." Their beautiful takes on "Why Did I Choose You?" and "Forward, Like So" are duo perfection. Sting's "Big Lie, Small World," done bossa-style with neat vocal backgrounds provided by Julia Dollison and Kerry Marsh engages. "Enchantment (Firm Roots)" cooks at multiple temps with terrific solos by guitarist Peter Sprague and Keezer.  The incorporation of chamber strings and voices, arranged by Keezer, are a beautiful, romantic touch, as is Ingrid Jensen's haunting flugelhorn solo on "Hush Now"perhaps the CD's only drawback being that this is the only cut to feature Jensen's terrific talent. The rhythm section, comprised of Keezer, bassist Hamilton Price, Jon Wikan and Sprague, meshes perfectly. While there might not be electricity there, When Lights Are Low is powerhouse, desert island stuff. ~ Nichollas F.Mondello https://www.allaboutjazz.com/when-lights-are-low-denise-donatelli-savant-records-review-by-nicholas-f-mondello.php
 

Personnel:  Denise Donatelli: vocal;  Geoffrey Keezer: piano/Rhodes;  Peter Sprague: guitar;  Hamilton Price: bass/electric bass (10);  Jon Wikan: drums/percussion;  Jon Wikan:pandeiro (9);  Susan Wulff: double bass (2, 7);  Giovanni Clayton: cello (2,7); Roland Kato: viola (2, 7):  Alma Lisa Fernandez: viola (2,7); Matthew Duckles: viola (2, 7);  Julia Dollison: vocals (4, 10);  Kerry Marsh: vocal (4, 10);  Ingrid Jensen: flugelhorn (2);  Phil O'Connor: bass clarinet (4, 10);  Ron Blake: soprano sax (7).

When Lights Are Low

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Michael Dease - The Other Shoe: The Music of Gregg Hill

Styles: Trombone Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:07
Size: 159,1 MB
Art: Front

( 3:28) 1. Wake Up Call
( 6:48) 2. Scooter's Dream
( 8:15) 3. Hello, Blues
( 5:38) 4. The Goodbye Blues
( 8:10) 5. The Sleeper
( 5:33) 6. The Classic
( 6:04) 7. Rio Mio
( 5:50) 8. Summer Nights
( 4:24) 9. Shorty's Tune
(14:53) 10. The Other Shoe

Perennial DownBeat Critics Poll winner, trombonist Michael Dease has embraced his role as a torchbearer for his mentors and the great jazz ancestors over his 15 deeply-swinging, state-of-the-art mainstream recordings. For 'The Other Shoe,' Dease teams with the formidable composer Gregg Hill, expanding his rhythmic & harmonic palette with a flexible, in-the-moment perspective while remaining true to the sensibilities at his musical core.

With the prodigiously talented pianist Geoffrey Keezer as a central foil, Dease brings along a wide-ranging collection of musicians, each specifically brought in for their unique outlooks and talents, including clarinetist Virginia MacDonald, Liany Mateo on bass, and drummer Colleen Clark, among others.
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/media/track-wake-up-call-by-michael-dease

Personnel: Michael Dease - trombone; Virginia MacDonald - clarinet ; Geoffrey Keezer - keyboards; Liany Mateo - bass; Colleen Clark - drums.

Additional Personnel : Luther Allison: piano and Fender Rhodes; Rodney Whitaker: bass; Kevin Jones: percussion; Gwendolyn Dease: percussion; Joel Perez: trombone.

The Other Shoe: The Music of Gregg Hill

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Gerry Gibbs Thrasher Dream Trios - Songs From My Father: The Music Of Terry Gibbs Disc 1, Disc 2

Album: Songs From My Father: The Music Of Terry Gibbs Disc 1
Styles: Jazz, Bop
Year: 2021
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:11
Size: 110,5 MB
Art: Front

(5:05) 1. Kick Those Feet
(5:07) 2. Smoke em Up
(4:04) 3. Bopstacle Course
(4:19) 4. Nutty Notes
(4:13) 5. Take It from Me
(7:54) 6. Sweet Young Song of Love
(5:03) 7. The Fat Man
(6:54) 8. Lonely Days
(5:27) 9. Hey Chick

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Album: Songs From My Father: The Music Of Terry Gibbs Disc 2
Time: 48:34
Size: 111,5 MB

(5:06) 1. Townhouse 3
(5:43) 2. T & S
(3:25) 3. 4 AM
(3:28) 4. Waltz For My Children
(4:35) 5. Hippie Twist
(5:53) 6. Lonely Dreams
(4:56) 7. For Keeps
(5:05) 8. Pretty Blue Eyes
(4:21) 9. Gibberish
(5:57) 10. Tango For Terry

Songs from My Father. What a marvelous idea! and not simply for the sentiment. Drummer Gerry Gibbs' father happens to be Hall of Fame vibraphonist (and sometime song writer) Terry Gibbs, who is still on the scene at ninety-seven (and, in fact, making a guest appearance on the first disc of this superlative two-CD set). Eighteen of the elder Gibbs' songs, written between 1949 and 1985 (and one more, "Tango for Terry," by the late Chick Corea) are performed by four of his son's well-chosen (and well-named) Thrasher Dream Trios, whose members include pianists Kenny Barron, Patrice Rushen, Geoff Keezer, Corea (the last recorded appearance before his passing in February 2021), organist Larry Goldings and bassists Ron Carter, Buster Williams and Christian McBride most, if not all, of whom will one day earn the same Hall of Fame status accorded Terry Gibbs.

As the elder Gibbs came of age in the bop era—gigging with a Who's Who of jazz luminaries including Woody Herman, Buddy Rich, Benny Goodman, Chubby Jackson, Mel Torme and Louie Bellson, and later leading his Los Angeles-based Dream Band most of his engaging themes can trace their roots to bop, and the trios take to them like ducks to water. The line-ups are traditional piano-bass-drums save for Dream Trio 3, on which Goldings' Hammond B3 organ complements Gibbs and pianist Rushen. Their appearances are close to evenly divided, with Trios 1 and 2 performing on four tracks each, Trios 3 and 4 on five apiece, and everyone (plus Terry Gibbs, whose extended vibes solo is as sharp and resourceful as ever) having an absolute blast on "Hey Chick," which closes the first disc. The title is no doubt coincidental, as the tune was written in 1961 when Corea was a mere twenty years old.

"Hey Chick" follows "Lonely Days," the nearest pretense to a ballad on the first disc. The same holds true for the most part on the second disc, as swinging is what Terry Gibbs was (and is) about. Trio 3 comes out blazing on the disc's sunny, samba-like opener, "Townhouse," wherein Goldings adds color with some bird-like special effects, as does Trio 2 on the lively "T&S," as Barron crafts a stunning solo while Gibbs and Williams lend rhythmic backbone. Gibbs, Keezer and McBride keep the fire burning on "4 AM," as they do on "For Keeps" and "Gibberish." "Waltz for My Children" (Trio 1), the disc's lone serenade, showcases Corea in typically masterful form. The first seven tracks on the first disc from "Kick Those Feet" (1964) to "The Fat Man" (1958) are exemplary, as are the others on the second disc, from the dynamic "Hippie Twist" to the well-grooved "For Keeps," and especially the melodious "Pretty Blue Eyes." While none has entered the rarefied pantheon of jazz standards, several could and even should be gauged by that barometer. At the very least, they should be played more often; they are that good. And so, it goes without saying, are the trios Gerry Gibbs has assembled to give them life. Songs from My Father is more than a marvelous idea; it is a musical treat from end to end, and a well-deserved show of appreciation from son to father for the guidance and wisdom that have assuredly helped shape his impressive career. By Jack Bowers https://www.allaboutjazz.com/songs-from-my-father-gerry-gibbs-thrasher-dream-trios-whaling-city-sound

Personnel: Gerry Gibbs: drums; Chick Corea: piano; Kenny Barron: piano; Patrice Rushen: keyboards; Geoffrey Keezer: keyboards; Larry Goldings: organ, Hammond B3; Ron Carter: bass; Buster Williams: bass; Christian McBride: bass; Terry Gibbs: vibraphone.

Songs From My Father: The Music Of Terry Gibbs Disc 1, Disc 2

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Steve Davis - Bluesthetic

Styles: Trombone Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:46
Size: 146,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:39) 1. Encouragement
(6:35) 2. Silver at Sundown
(6:25) 3. Maybe So
(6:47) 4. Bedford Strolle
(5:57) 5. Faraway Dream
(8:20) 6. They Wore 44
(7:30) 7. Off the Cuff
(5:22) 8. Indigo to Azure
(5:57) 9. Bluesthetic
(6:10) 10. A Star for Chick

Trombonist/composer Steve Davis has long been a first-call sideman. Chick Corea, as one example, tapped Davis for his revived Spanish Heart Band a couple of years ago. But, like the members of this esteemed sextet, Davis is a bandleader too, in his case with close to twenty-five albums under his name. On each of his three previous releases for Smoke Sessions Records, Davis assembled a stellar sextet with modern jazz’s most vaunted players. He repeats that here with Bluesthetic, but in an interesting way, shunning additional horn players on the front line, instead, he creates interesting harmonic possibilities with guitarist Peter Bernstein and vibraphonist Steve Nelson, a reunion of sorts as both appeared on his 1998 album Vibe Up! years. Rounding out his elite sextet is the formidable rhythm section of Geoffrey Keezer, bassist Christian McBride, and drummer Willie Jones III. All of these players had convened in various configurations over the past three decades.

The ten Davis originals each bear a story of their own. The breezy “Encouragement” hails the emergence of the pandemic with an uplifting melody. “Silver at Sundown” is dedicated as you may guess to Horace Silver and may not guess the Hartford jazz community from which Davis emerged under the mentorship of many, most notably Jackie McLean, whose lines course through the previous tune. In the liners, Davis references Silver’s trio playing in Hartford at The Sundown, a club where Silver led the house band in the early 1950s. It was there that Stan Getz saw Silver play and invited him on tour, a key moment in the pianist’s now-legendary career. Silver later recounted the story to Davis, who lived in Hartford for more than 25 years before moving to his current home in Stamford. “It’s a very cool piece of jazz history connected to a city that I spent a lot of time in,” Davis says.

The tune “Maybe So” comes from two words Davis uttered upon waking up. It glides along briskly with shimmering turns from each front liner as well as a pizzicato statement from the ever articulate McBride, who in turn engages his rhythm mates through a few choruses before Davis returns with the melody, passing the baton to Bernstein and Nelson in the hard-swinging beauty. Just three tracks in, Davis displays a remarkable sense of melody.

Commenting on the free-flowing, relaxed nature of the music McBride compares many of these compositions to those of pianist James Williams and Bobby Watson of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers because the compositions have the feeling of soul and R&B mixed with post-bop blues. Speaking of McBride his waling bass line is perfect for “Bedford Stroll,” named for the bustling street where he and his wife live in Stamford, CT, and where he often develops his melodic ideas on late night walks. Low tones from the trombone usher in “Faraway Dream,” another nocturnal one as if floating on Nelson’s resonant vibes and Bernstein’s ringing guitar, with Keezer sitting out and Jones whispering on brushes.

The aptly muscular “They Wore 44” draws on a passion for sports that Davis shares with McBride. The recent death of legendary right fielder Hank Aaron, who wore the number 44 during his long tenure with the. Davis, a die-hard Red Sox fan, would likely have loved to mention one from his team but none measure up to those listed above. It features featuring lively soloing, especially both Keezer and Nelson.

Bernstein carves out a bluesy solo and Willie Jones III creates a maelstrom on his kit. “Off the Cuff” is a spontaneous free-wheeling tune pulled together near the end of the session, features spirited soloing from each band member. The aching ballad “Indigo to Azure” explores the full spectrum of the blues, with some of the leader’s most sensitive and lyrical playing, matched by his band members led by Keezer’s elegant comping, Nelson’s inspiring notes, and subtle support from the rhythm tandem as Bernstein sits out.

The title track Bluesthetic captures a combination of the appreciation of artful beauty suggested by “aesthetic” combined with the foundational influence of the blues. Interestingly in the liners, he alludes to the first concert he ever saw – electric Muddy Waters at Tanglewood. Finally, and inevitably given the close association between Davis and Chick Corea, “A Star for Chick” bids the icon a warm farewell. Davis was initially tapped for a three-year stint in Corea’s band Origin in late 1997, then later took part in the keyboardist’s orchestral piece “The Continents” and his Grammy-winning, Latin-inspired Spanish Heart Band. He played with Corea for over twenty years and earned the nickname “Davissimo the Melody Man” from Corea. Davis certainly lives up to it in this well-constructed session.~Jim Hayneshttps://glidemagazine.com/275863/master-trombonist-steve-davis-assembles-remarkable-sextet-on-all-original-post-bop-bluesthetic-album-review/

Personnel: Steve Davis – trombone; Peter Bernstein – guitar; Steve Nelson – vibraphone; Geoffrey Keezer – piano; Christian McBride – bass; Willie Jones III – drums

Bluesthetic

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Ralph Peterson and The Messenger Legacy - Legacy Alive, Vol. 6 at the Side Door

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop, Hard Bop
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 105:10
Size: 241,7 MB
Art: Front

(11:01) 1. A La Mode
(10:11) 2. Wheel Within a Wheel
( 7:45) 3. The Core
( 9:07) 4. My One and Only Love
( 8:38) 5. 3 Blind Mice
(11:49) 6. Blues March
(10:07) 7. In Case You Missed It
( 7:54) 8. Along Came Betty
( 6:53) 9. Children of the Night
( 8:51) 10. That Old Feeling
(12:49) 11. Caravan

Recorded loud and live at the Side Door Jazz Club in Old Lyme, CT, Ralph Peterson the last drummer to play side-by-side with the incomparable Art Blakey delivers an unstoppable two-disc hyperdrive swing-fest celebration of his mentor with Legacy Alive, Volume 6 at the Side Door. It's no deep state secret that Blakey, with his effortless and effusive glee, seamlessly bridged all of jazz's thrilling variants: '40's swing and blues; the nascent bop and hard bop of the '50s to the soaring, exploratory avant-garde of the '60's. Fletcher Henderson, Chick Webb and Mary Lou Williams to Thelonious Monk and McCoy Tyner, Blakey drove them all with his relentless spirit and snapping snare. So, to mark Blakey's centennial year and his own 57th, Peterson, his rhythmic intuitions and understandings of Blakey fully engaged, presents his frothy sextet: saxophonists Bill Pierce on tenor and Bobby Watson on alto, trumpeter Brian Lynch, bassist Essiet Essiet, and pianist Geoffrey Keezer and a raucous, eleven-song set of smoking tunes long associated with Blakey and any version of his Jazz Messengers. Peterson, Keezer, and Essiet blow the Side Door open with "A La Mode," and the momentum fiery, free, frenetic never lets up. Watson, himself a Blakey alum, contributes "Wheel Within A Wheel," a rolling hard-bop blazer that sets the stage for Freddie Hubbard's "The Core," a real showcase for the horns. And the hits keep coming! Rollicking takes of "3 Blind Mice," Benny Golson's signature "Blues March" and "Along Came Betty," Wayne Shorter's fervent "Children of the Night" and a set-closing jump-romp of Duke Ellington's "Caravan" serve to prove the fact that, on any given night, in any given club with the right combo, greatness can be heard.~ Mike Jurkovic https://www.allaboutjazz.com/legacy-alive-volume-6-at-the-side-door-ralph-peterson-onyx-music-label-review-by-mike-jurkovic.php

Personnel: Ralph Peterson: drums; Bobby Watson: saxophone; Bill Pierce: saxophone, Brian Lynch: trumpet; Geoffrey Keezer: piano; Essiet Essiet: bass.

R.I.P.
Born: May 20, 1962, Pleasantville, New Jersey, United States
Died: March 1, 2021

Legacy Alive, Vol. 6 at the Side Door

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Geoffrey Keezer Trio - On My Way to You

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:55
Size: 146,9 MB
Art: Front

(7:04) 1. These Three Words
(5:27) 2. You Stay with Me
(7:27) 3. All the Things You Are / Serpentine Fire
(6:04) 4. Red Leaf
(4:47) 5. Brilliant Corners
(5:46) 6. On My Way to You
(8:14) 7. May This Be Love
(7:19) 8. Guanajuato
(4:58) 9. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
(6:46) 10. Across the Universe / Give Peace a Chance

There are a number of pianists blessed with such technique that they could play pretty much anything. Where Geoffrey Keezer has them beat is that he can also think of pretty much anything and on this album, he does.Granted, he’s had time to gather his thoughts, having gone five years since his last album, the understatedly virtuosic Heart of the Piano. But the wait was worth it. Take the way he and his trio bassist Mike Pope and drummer Lee Pearson approach “All the Things You Are.” Instead of making it into the usual circle-of-fifths juggernaut, Keezer and company halve the tempo and reduce the bass line to a skeletal thump, lending the tune an almost modal feel. This harmonic deconstruction goes on for almost five minutes, whereupon a sequence of gospel chords introduces an actual funk groove, and suddenly saints be praised!we’re listening to Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Serpentine Fire.” Betcha didn’t see that coming. There’s also a take on Thelonious Monk’s “Brilliant Corners” that, two choruses in, finds Pope unexpectedly switching to electric and pumping out a bassline borrowed from Miles’ “On the Corner.” And if that weren’t enough, after funking around a few times through the form, Keezer throws a change-up of his own, pounding the melody home as if trying to imagine what it would sound like if Slayer were a piano trio. Not that Keezer is above playing things straight. There’s a gorgeous rendering of John Lennon’s “Across the Universe” that slowly morphs into “Give Peace a Chance,” and a duo performance of “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” with singer Gillian Margot that will leave you thinking, “Roberta who?” Clearly, this is a man who should record more frequently than every half-decade. https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/geoffrey-keezer-trio-on-my-way-to-you/

Personnel: Piano – Geoffrey Keezer; Bass – Mike Pope; Drums – Lee Pearson ; Vocals – Gillian Margot

On My Way to You

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Geoffrey Keezer - Sublime: Honoring The Music Of Hank Jones

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:16
Size: 163,4 MB
Art: Front

(5:35)  1. Angel Face
(5:39)  2. Hank's Blues
(6:14)  3. Passing Time
(5:44)  4. Time Warp
(6:21)  5. Lullaby
(7:30)  6. Things Are So Pretty in the Spring
(4:24)  7. Sublime
(7:34)  8. Favors
(4:56)  9. Alpha
(4:15) 10. Intimidiation

Thirty-two-year-old Midwesterner Geoff Keezer was one of the last pianists to work as a part of the Ray Brown Trio. Many writers that I have spoken with feel that he was the quintessential Ray Brown pianist. The late Mr. Brown favored double-fisted orchestral pianists with a jones for the blues but also a strong ballad sensibility. I have always favored the late Gene Harris, but Keezer might edge him out by a nose. Mr. Keezer’s previous recording Zero One was well received. The pianist's Telarc debut as a leader is a bold stroke. Keezer teams up with four prominent pianists for a series of duets honoring the great Sam Jones, who turns 85 years old this year. The disc presents Mr. Keezer in the left channel and the other pianists in the right channel. 

The results with Kenny Barron, Chick Corea, Benny Green, and Mulgrew Miller are equally fine. Highlights include Keezer’s duet with Benny Green on "Hank’s Blues," where these two Ray Brown pianists practice an impressive display of telepathy. Jones shares his composition "Lullaby" with Mulgrew Miller, whose tenderness serves as a perfect foil for Keezer’s muscular tone. The title cut is Keezer alone, and perhaps celebrates Hank Jones the best  simply. Sublime works well on all levels and we can only hope that the young Mr. Keezer pursues more projects like this inventive and beautiful recording.~ C.Michael Bailey https://www.allaboutjazz.com/sublime-honoring-the-music-of-hank-jones-geoffrey-keezer-telarc-records-review-by-c-michael-bailey.php

Personnel:  Geoff Keezer, Kenny Barron, Chick Corea, Benny Green, Mulgrew Miller - Piano.

Sublime:  Honoring The Music Of Hank Jones

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Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer Group - Signing

Styles: Vibraphone And Piano Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:20
Size: 127,5 MB
Art: Front

(7:55)  1. Signing
(6:58)  2. The Lost Lenore
(6:40)  3. Darth Alexis
(7:52)  4. Naima
(5:53)  5. Hide and Seek
(8:25)  6. Her Sanctuary
(6:57)  7. Terraces
(4:37)  8. This Is Just to Say

Signing is only the second release from the co-led Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer Group, but both men have traveled plenty of musical miles together, both on record and on stage. They've worked in trio with reed man Tim Garland under the Storms/Nocturnes moniker, produced compelling music for the Japanese marketplace using the New Sound Quartet name and filled venues across the globe to capacity when they take the bandstand together. While six years separate their debut Live In Seattle (Origin, 2006) and this follow-up, they've maintained their musical connection in the interim and their bond has only deepened with time. The music that Locke and Keezer create can be alternately potent and powerful or peaceful and poetic, but it's never less than enthralling. The program contains four Locke originals, two Keezer-penned pieces and a pair of covers that come from vastly different sources saxophonist John Coltrane and the hard-to-define singer/songwriter/musical mutt Imogen Heap. While this group has a signature aural fingerprint that comes through on nearly every track, they don't tread on the same stylistic ground from piece to piece. The title track is a drum 'n' bass-driven journey that has a rave-meets-meets jazz mentality, "Hide And Seek" is a faithful, pop-leaning instrumental facsimile of Heap's work, "Her Sanctuary" is a cascading ride of wonder and ""Darth Alexis" has an occasionally sinister quality and demonstrates the precision of this music. The album contains plenty of first-take recordings, but the performances never betray that fact.

While Locke and Keezer are responsible for shaping the band, the rhythm section deserves credit for bringing a futuristic bent into their sound. Drummer Terreon Gully and bassist Mike Pope push boundaries and bring something distinctly modern to the mix. Pope's electric bass work can serve as a grounding force, melodic instrument, textural element or impressive solo voice ("Terraces"), while Gully is a powerful rhythmic visionary who stokes the flames of this music at every turn ("Signing"). When they mix with Locke and Keezer, the resultant music projects an anything-is-possible policy. 

This music can be explosive, earthy, driven, touching or terrifying, but, most importantly, it's always unpredictable. Signing marks Locke's arrival on the Motéma label, where he has two more projects slated for release in the coming year-and-a-half, and it stands as a testament to the ever-growing connection between the vibraphonist and his piano playing partner-in-crime. ~  Dan Bilawsky https://www.allaboutjazz.com/signing-joe-locke-geoffrey-keezer-group-motema-music-review-by-dan-bilawsky.php
 

Personnel: Joe Locke: vibraphone; Geoffrey Keezer: piano, rhodes, omnisphere; Terreon Gully: drums; Mike Pope: electric bass, acoustic bass.

Signing

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Kendra Shank & Geoffrey Keezer - Half Moon: Live In New York

Size: 155,2 MB
Time: 66:48
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. Alone Together (Live) (6:48)
02. The Music Is The Magic (Live) (7:33)
03. Kneel (Live) (8:38)
04. Song Of Life (Live) (4:58)
05. Half Moon (Live) (4:43)
06. Life's Mosaic (Live) (7:30)
07. When Love Was You And Me (Live) (5:02)
08. I'm Movin' On (Live) (4:52)
09. Healing Song (Live) (4:33)
10. You Are There (Live) (5:57)
11. A Weaver Of Dreams (Live) (6:08)

Kendra Shank and Geoffrey Keezer's musical association began in 2008 at the Athenaeum jazz series in San Diego, CA when a cancelled flight prevented Shank's New York pianist from making the gig. With just 30 minutes to rehearse, Keezer stepped in with a seamless performance and instant chemistry with Shank that inspired a standing ovation. Kendra called on Geoffrey's trio for subsequent West Coast tours and their musical connection deepened. In January 2015, while Geoffrey was in Manhattan on an engagement with Chris Botti, he and Kendra performed an afternoon concert at a friend's home. The intimate duo setting provided the pianist and vocalist unlimited freedom to create spontaneously in the moment, taking the enthusiastic audience on a magical journey that was captured on this Ride Symbol recording. The title song "Half Moon," inspired by a lamp hanging over the piano, was completely improvised and reveals Shank at her most vulnerable. Keezer's 88-key orchestra of harmonic and rhythmic virtuosity and Shank's exotic wordless vocalizations are highlighted in Cedar Walton's "Life's Mosaic," while the duo's lyrical side shines on the debut recording of Jeremy Siskind's "Kneel" (winner of ASCAP's Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composers Award). The chart for "When Love Was You and Me" (Abbey Lincoln/Thad Jones) was given to Kendra in 1994 by her mentor Abbey Lincoln when Kendra visited her Upper West Side apartment -- coincidentally in the same building where this concert took place. Throughout this diverse and inspired set, Shank & Keezer embody the joy and playful inventiveness of making music as interactive partners, transcending the singer-accompanist mold.

MC
Ziddu

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Sacha Boutros - Simply Sacha

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 63:45

Size: 145.9 MB

Styles: Vocal

Year: 2008

Art: Front

[3:45] 1. Speak Low

[4:26] 2. Amor Imposible

[4:39] 3. Estate

[2:05] 4. I Can't Give You Anything But Love

[4:46] 5. Mi Inspiración

[3:34] 6. Chega De Saudade

[3:25] 7. Time To Fall

[4:34] 8. Un Homme Et Une Femme

[3:35] 9. El Viento

[6:54] 10. This Masquerade (Feat. Geoffrey Keezer)

[3:25] 11. I'll Never Stop Loving You

[4:37] 12. Cry Me A River

[7:17] 13. Stormy Monday (Feat. Red Holloway)

[1:46] 14. Les Feuilles Mortes

[4:52] 15. Dedication (Feat. Chuchito Valdes)

Recognized by music critics, peers, celebrities, and musical legends, Sacha is one of the top jazz artists today. Introduced by the great American entertainer Frankie Laine as his “ingénue,” and as Protege of the Legendary Red Holloway Sacha has opened for and performed with Patti Austin, James Moody, Karrin Allyson, Julio Iglesias, Marvin Hamlisch, Chubby Checker, Ann Hampton Callaway, Patti Page, Kay Starr, and so many others.

San Diego native, Sacha, has gone from gigging at a few San Diego clubs and U.S. festivals to touring the world and back, to having her recordings hit the top of the charts in Japan and on e-music, to even receiving a Grammy nod for best jazz and Latin jazz album in 2008 and 2013.

Growing up in San Diego, Boutros had music coursing through her veins. Her grandparents instilled a love of music and a facility for composition and harmonies at an early age. Her mother once marveled, “She has been singing from the time she was two.” At four, she’d sit on a pillow for her first piano lessons. She sang in church with her grandfather, who taught her how to play with lyrics and harmonies. And, she learned fast, adding songwriting to her piano and vocal skills.

Unbelievably, she didn’t pursue singing as a career until the last year of her studies at the University of San Diego, there on a sports and academic scholarship. “I finished My business and marketing degree and flipped over to music,” she explained. “I always felt like I was born in the wrong time. Growing up, I loved Sinatra, the ‘20s, ‘30s and the whole golden age of Hollywood. I always fantasized about the music and living in those times.”

Simply Sacha  

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Harold Mabern & Geoff Keezer - For Phineas

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:12
Size: 149.3 MB
Styles: Hard bop, Piano jazz
Year: 1995
Art: Front

[ 8:48] 1. For Carl
[10:07] 2. Jeannine
[ 4:43] 3. I Get A Kick Out Of You
[ 7:57] 4. Jate
[12:01] 5. While My Lady Sleeps
[ 5:50] 6. Consummation
[ 9:07] 7. Rakin' & Scrapin'
[ 6:20] 8. Straighten Up & Fly Right
[ 0:16] 9. Bonus Track

Duo piano performances always have the possibility of being overcrowded, too dense and a bit directionless. Fortunately, this live set from the Montreal Bistro in Toronto, Canada avoids the potential flaws. Pianists Harold Mabern and Geoff Keezer (who also comprise 2/5ths of the Contemporary Piano Ensemble) have complementary styles and blend together quite well on the set. Dedicated to Phineas Newborn, with two of Newborn's songs included ("Jate" and "While My Lady Sleeps"), there are also selections by Leroy Vinnegar, Duke Pearson ("Jeannine"), Nat Cole and Mabern ("Rakin' & Scrapin"). Mabern takes Cole Porter's "I Get a Kick Out of You" as his feature, while Keezer is showcased solo on Thad Jones' "Consummation." A swinging high-quality set within the modern mainstream. ~Scott Yanow

For Phineas

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Geoffrey Keezer - Heart Of The Piano

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:43
Size: 114,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:45)  1. Limelight
(6:06)  2. My Love Is Like A Red Red Rose
(5:39)  3. Come Talk To Me
(3:04)  4. New York
(6:03)  5. Still
(5:45)  6. Suddenly I See
(2:45)  7. Chirizakura
(6:11)  8. Lullaby For A Ladybug
(2:59)  9. Grunion Run
(6:20) 10. Take Time For Love

The title Heart of the Piano makes it plain: after over a decade of collaborations, pianist Geoffrey Keezer has returned with a solo acoustic piano session. Perhaps the title also suggests something sentimental and he does dedicate four of the songs to individual members of his family but this isn't a collection of sticky love songs. Keezer takes some happy, subtle risks with his material, opening the album with Rush's classic rock warhorse "Limelight," working his way to moody selections from Peter Gabriel ("Come Talk to Me") and Alanis Morissette ("Still"), and finding time for KT Tunstall's joyous "Suddenly I See" and Christian McBride's "Lullaby for a Ladybug" while still working in a couple of originals as well. Keezer lets all of these songs breathe sometimes speeding up, sometimes drawing things out either with tension or a luxurious, lax sense of dreaminess dancing around the melody without neglecting it, gliding up and down the keys but skirting a sense of indulgence. It's a sweet, slyly mischievous set that truly lets Keezer show a full range of emotions without ever seeming like he's showing off. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine  http://www.allmusic.com/album/heart-of-the-piano-mw0002548481

Thank You Mai Neime

Heart Of The Piano

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Geoffrey Keezer - Wildcrafted: Live At The Dakota

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:38
Size: 155,2 MB
Art: Front

( 8:14)  1. Stompin' At The Savoy
( 8:27)  2. Tea And Watercolors
( 7:34)  3. Koikugari Bushi
( 5:21)  4. Mirrim
( 6:36)  5. Venus As A Boy
( 5:32)  6. The Kindest Soul
(10:29)  7. Black And Tan Fantasy
( 8:16)  8. Ghost In The Photograph
( 7:05)  9. Breath Of The Volcano

Pianist Geoffrey Keezer's career has consistently delivered on the early promise he displayed when he first emerged on the scene as a precocious nineteen year-old in Art Blakey's last Jazz Messengers. In the past fifteen years he's recorded and/or toured alongside contemporaries Roy Hargrove and Christian McBride, in addition to working with legends like Ray Brown and Art Farmer. But since the early part of this decade, and with two projects in particular, Keezer has truly emerged from under the stylistic umbrella of influence by the usual jazz suspects. His own solo outing Zero One (Dreyfus, 2000) found him exploring a repertoire of largely original music, putting his interest in 20th Century classical composers and contemporary pop music alongside his unequivocal understanding of the jazz tradition. His collaboration with vibraphonist Joe Locke on British woodwind multi-instrumentalist Tim Garland's two Storms/Nocturnes Trio recordings further solidified his appreciation for combining detailed through-composition with more interactive interplay.
Wildcrafted: Live at the Dakota finds Keezer and his trio with bassist Matt Clohesy and the increasingly ubiquitous drummer Terreon Gully exploring a repertoire that, while heavily weighted towards his own writing, also looks as far afield as contemporary Okinawan composers Naohiko Uehara and Sadao China, intrepid pop songstress Björk, and more traditional jazz artists Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington. Some groups take their time to warm up, but the set opener Goodman's chestnut "Stompin' at the Savoy, radically transformed from swing staple to something more powerfully modern wastes no time in establishing the trio's fearless approach. As if Keezer's flat-out solo isn't enough to galvanize the audience, Gully's frenetic but never superfluous playing raises the energy level even further.

Keezer's writing tends to revolve around complicated thematic structures. "Tea and Watercolors runs through a gamut of tightly knit ideas before settling into the pedal-tone modal vamp that forms the core of Keezer's solo. It's a challenge to build a solo over a static harmonic backdrop, but Keezer's sense of narrative and the empathic responsiveness of Clohesy and Gully maintain interest throughout. The trio's take on the Latin-informed "Mirim is more intense, and taken at a faster clip, than the version on Falling Up (MaxJazz, 2003). While acoustic piano is Keezer's main axe, he also uses the Fender Rhodes to broaden his sonic palette, indicating that for him texture is of equal importance. On the ballad "Koikugari Bushi Keezer processes the Rhodes heavily, creating a cloudlike cushion of sound that's distanced from the instrument's typically bell-like timbre, an approach he also uses effectively on a reggae-inflected version of Björk's "Venus as a Boy.

As Keezer's career unfolds, it's clear that he's capable of operating in the same space as other artists who are incorporating a myriad of contemporary influences. But unlike Esbjörn Svensson, his pop sensibility shimmers underneath a more vivid surface layer of jazz tradition; and unlike Brad Mehldau, he tends to more complex composition. The compelling compositional appeal and improvisational élan of Wildcrafted mark Keezer a player transcending his early roots and now emerging as a more well-rounded artist as clearly worthy of equal attention. ~ John Kelman   http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=19655#.Uulu77Sgsis

Personnel: Geoffrey Keezer: piano, Fender Rhodes; Matt Clohesy: bass; Terreon Gully: drums.

Thank You Mai Neime
Wildcrafted: Live At The Dakota

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