Showing posts with label Jennifer Lee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jennifer Lee. Show all posts

Monday, November 20, 2017

Joel Evans & Friends - Cozy Cool

Size: 195,5 MB
Time: 82:45
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2017
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. I Never Say No (Feat. Maggie Herron) (2:50)
02. There You Go (Feat. Jackie Ryan) (4:19)
03. Open Road (Feat. Carla Helmbrecht) (4:37)
04. The Dreamin' Kind (Feat. Roberta Donnay) (3:12)
05. Just The Right Amount Of Wrong (Feat. Tami Damiano) (3:57)
06. Don't Tell Me (Feat. Jackie Ryan) (3:40)
07. I Got Nothin' (To Worry About) [Feat. Roberta Donnay] (3:01)
08. What Have You Done (Feat. Carla Helmbrecht) (3:16)
09. Leaning Into Love (Feat. Jennifer Lee) (4:42)
10. Happy Lovin' You (Feat. Roberta Donnay) (3:09)
11. Christmas Time For Two (Feat. Carla Helmbrecht) (4:41)
12. I Never Say No (Vocal Muted) (2:50)
13. There You Go (Vocal Muted) (4:13)
14. Open Road (Vocal Muted) (4:32)
15. The Dreamin' Kind (Vocal Muted) (3:12)
16. Just The Right Amount Of Wrong (Vocal Muted) (3:52)
17. Don't Tell Me (Vocal Muted) (3:40)
18. I Got Nothin' (To Worry About) (Vocal Muted) (3:01)
19. What Have You Done (Vocal Muted) (3:16)
20. Leaning Into Love (Vocal Muted) (4:42)
21. Happy Lovin' You (Vocal Muted) (3:08)
22. Christmas Time For Two (Vocal Muted) (4:41)

Composer/Songwriter Joel Evans has songs & cues in more than 85 movies and 400 TV episodes; major Hollywood films, hip indie flicks, network and daytime dramas; ranging from Wedding Crashers to Passengers; and from Friends to Stranger Things. The 2014 Daytime Emmy winning special Young & Restless Tribute to Jeanne Cooper features as its main theme, “That’s When I’ll Stop Loving You”, co-written with Byron Walls (Starman, New Christy Minstrels). Ciroq Vodka TV and radio ads highlight his Big Band number, "Fly Away." Grammy-winning vocalist Carmen Bradford sings his song, "No Easy Way To Say Goodbye” on tour with the Count Basie Orchestra. Joel's songs have been recorded by diverse artists, including Spencer Day, Dave Samuels, Shaun Murphy, Roberta Donnay, The Yellowjackets and Peter Tork. (the former Monkee has a great blues band!)

After earning his BA on flute at Cal State University East Bay he performed with a series of groups, and quickly realized the fortunes of a jazz flautist were capricious at best. “We did one gig where our earnings didn't even pay off our bar tab,” he notes wryly. Later, a stint on piano backing Bobby Freeman (“Do You Wanna Dance”) took Evans to Tahoe and Reno, where watching the rock godfather reiterate the same patter night after night further inspired him to improvise. Life imitates art: in the film Rumor Has It, Kevin Costner and Jennifer Aniston share a conversation while the Joel Evans Combo paints the aural backdrop in the same San Francisco hotel bar where he once worked a steady piano gig. Evans’ Hollywood-sophisticated melodies are often used on screen to evoke sumptuous surroundings like hotel lobbies and upscale restaurants, so it’s no coincidence that he spent years performing in just these types of venues. Swing, big band and jazz: he occupies a decided stylistic niche. “I can’t do everything. I don’t write stuff that sounds like the 'Top 10'. I decided early on to hell with it, I’m going to do what I love.”

Unlike many instrumental composers, Evans usually co-writes complete songs. “Until it Happens to You” from Mini’s First Time provided an improbable soundtrack to a fight scene with stars Jeff Goldblum and Alec Baldwin “trying to kill one another, with my Sinatra style swing thing in the background,” laughs Evans. He notes that one of his most unexpected inclusions was in the gritty rock and roll noir film, Sugartown, where his sweet song, “Moody” played behind, as he delicately phrases it, “The depiction of an act of love. But it fit the scene.” A self-professed team player, Evans enlists first call musicians who can deliver the requisite tones; veterans like Dame Cleo Laine's favorite pianist, Larry Dunlap and David Rokeach from the Ray Charles band; seasoned authorities who helped define the genres his compositions reference. Talented Co-writers like Nashville-based Lisa Aschmann and pop/theatrical writer Adryan Russ contribute their magic to the sterling credibility of the songs. ~Bio by Dan Kimpel

Cozy Cool

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Jennifer Lee - Quiet Joy

Styles: Jazz, Bossa Nova
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:22
Size: 167,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:01)  1. I Hear Music
(5:43)  2. Quiet Joy
(5:16)  3. Menina Da Lua
(5:18)  4. O Barquinho
(5:01)  5. Music Of Your Soul
(4:01)  6. You Knew
(5:31)  7. O Pato
(4:22)  8. Menininha Do Portao
(6:23)  9. Baby Mine
(5:29) 10. I Don't Want To Fall
(5:51) 11. Amor Certinho / S'wonderful
(6:02) 12. Pennies From Heaven
(8:20) 13. On A Clear Day / Never Never Land

You cannot judge a jazz CD by its cover, particularly in this age of frankly shoddy-looking self-produced sleeves that may well detract attention from good music inside. The cover of Jennifer Lee's Quiet Joy is not amateurish on the contrary, it is very tastefully assembled. Nevertheless, it could be misleading. The cover depicts the San Francisco Bay Area-based singer and instrumentalist seated in a leafy flower garden, the details spelled out in a sunny font. The packaging promises the musical equivalent of the herbal tea Lee appears to be savoring earnestly in the photograph: watery, bland, maybe superfluously seasoned with cinnamon or nutmeg. Probably healthy for you.  Not to worry. The inner armature of Quiet Joy is Brazilian music, including samba and bossa nova, musical forms whose liquid equivalent...well, it wouldn't be herbal tea. Lee and her bandmates play this music quite idiomatically, bearing witness to Lee's years leading the Doce Brasil group. The wordless title track (a Lee composition in a decidedly carioca vein) delights with marvelous accents provided by Raul Ramirez's percussion details. 

The Brazilian numbers are exquisitely chosen; on several, Lee accompanies her own vocals on acoustic guitar. These performances compare quite favorably with the celebrated Morelenbaum²/Sakamoto Casa (Sony, 2002), a Jobim tribute. The bossa nova elements share sonic space with straight-ahead jazz, which the Lee group does equally well on a handful of tracks. The medley of Roberto Guimarães's fine "Amor Certinho" paired with Gershwin's "'S Wonderful" is one that embodies the disc's musical philosophy. The best among the jazz tunes is "You Knew," sounding vaguely like a bona fide standard ("I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart" or "Love For Sale"?), but it is in fact another fine Lee original. Lee's piano playing is bright and propulsive, and Bay Area coffee lovers might just swoon when she mentions Peet's Coffee and Tea on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland. Better still than the successful marriage of jazz and Brazilian standards is Lee's singing. The number of pitch-perfect vocalists who come down the pike these days is astonishing, but quite rare are those whose voices have genuine personality. Lee is among the latter. In fact, she sings the way critic Robert Christgau once described Dewey Redman's tenor saxophone playing: technically perfect and full of heart. Quiet Joy is bound to disappoint those looking for the aural version of a tepid chamomile tea, but certain to delight the rest of us. ~ Jeff  Dayton-Johnson  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/quiet-joy-tomeka-reid-review-by-jeff-dayton-johnson.php#.U8NpJbFryM0
 
Personnel: Jennifer Lee: vocals, guitar (2-4, 7-11), piano (6, 12, 13); Peter Sprague: guitar (1-6, 10-13); Bob Magnusson: bass (2, 3, 6, 9, 10, 13); Buca Necak: bass (1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12); Raul Ramirez: percussion (2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11); Duncan Moore: drums (1, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13); Tripp Sprague: harmonica (4, 9), saxophone (6, 11); Carter Dewberry: cello (3).

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Jennifer Lee - J-Walkin'

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:10
Size: 148,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:52)  1. Blue Skies
(6:05)  2. Night And Day
(7:01)  3. I'm Old Fashioned
(4:54)  4. Jaywalkin'
(4:51)  5. Note To My Niece
(5:45)  6. The Inchworm / Inchworm Rap
(4:31)  7. Rosa / Claire De Lune
(6:03)  8. Baltimore Oriole
(6:16)  9. November In The Snow
(4:42) 10. Chega De Saudade
(4:52) 11. Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone
(3:11) 12. Cathy's Song

From the first note of this debut album, one can't help but be smitten with the charm and delivery of this San Francisco-based singer. I would expect that such an effort would be worthy of a jazz chanteuse on the order of Susannah McCorkle or another San Fran singer, Weslia Whitfield. The album was produced by guitarist Peter Sprague, a personal favorite during the late '70s and '80s. I wasn't surprised to find seven Sprague albums in my collection on Xanadu, Concord and Nova. Jennifer Lee is a late-in-life jazz singer who has studied with Kitty Margolis. She is also the house vocalist at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in San Francisco. As a pianist-vocalist, Lee has put together a good mix of standards, some originals and two Brazilian tunes. What is striking is the warmth and clarity of her voice, reminiscent of the June Christy-Chris Connor school of jazz vocals. 

On three of the tunes the title tune penned by Sprague, "Baltimore Oriole," and "November in the Snow" from Bill Mays/Mark Murphy she scats in perfect unison with her own piano solo, the accordion of Rich Kuhns and the tenor sax of Tripp Sprague. The result is a delightful musical experience that I've only heard from Dena DeRose, another talented pianist-singer. "Note to my Niece," a Lee original, is a latter day "Waltz For Debby." The Brazilian entries, "Chega de Saudade" and the lesser known "Rosa," coupled with Debussy's "Claire de Lune," are both sung effectively in Portugeuse. Frank Loesser's "Inchworm," not heard too frequently these days, is given an interesting reading replete with a spoken word "rap." The session closes with an original instrumental, "Cathy's Song," written for an ailing friend.  The remainder of the album, "Blue Skies," "Night and Day," "I'm Old Fashioned" and "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone," could have been given a tired presentation inasmuch as they've been heard so often, but Jennifer Lee gives these songs a respectively bright or reflective treatment. 

All of the musicians chosen for this date play an important part ranging from Sprague and Magnusson's support to the fine tenor sax work of brother Tripp Sprague, subtle percussion from Lewis and Aros, and atmospheric accordion work from Kuhns. I don't know when Ms. Lee will be appearing in the NYC area next, but I do hope that I can be there too. ~ Michael P.Gadstone   http://www.allaboutjazz.com/j-walkin-jennifer-lee-review-by-michael-p-gladstone.php#.U4--Hiioqdl
 
Personnel: Jennifer Lee, vocals,piano; Peter Sprague,guitar; Bob Magnusson,bass; Tommy Aros, percussion; Tripp Sprague,tenor sax; Rich Kuhns, accordion; Jason Lewis,drums