Whitney James - The Nature Of Love

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:51
Size: 116,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:50)  1. Tenderly
(5:57)  2. Whisper Not
(6:42)  3. A Timeless Place (The Peacocks)
(3:41)  4. Long Ago and Far Away
(6:04)  5. My Love Is You
(5:18)  6. The Very Thought of You
(7:42)  7. How Deep Is the Ocean
(5:13)  8. Be Anything
(5:19)  9. In April

The Nature Of Love is singer Whitney James' debut, although the maturity and sophistication of her performance makes this hard to believe. Across an intriguing set of songs James demonstrates an impressive vocal range and a command of phrasing and intonation that usually come only with years of experience. James' voice is expressive and sensual, and apart from its range it also has real strength and power. At times, when James is singing in her upper register, this power translates to a slight harshness in the voice for example, during "In April." 

But such moments are relatively rare; James' version of Abbey Lincoln's "My Love is You" is masterful, and her upper register vocals are genuinely affecting. There are familiar standards here. Ray Noble's "The Very Thought of You" is particularly fine, with a seductive vocal from James and some lovely piano from Joshua Wolff. But to the singer's credit, she also interprets lesser known songs, the most striking being Jimmy Rowles and Norma Winstone's "A Timeless Place (The Peacocks)." James' version sticks close to the arrangement and tempo of Winstone's original, a challenge for any vocalist. 

Her vocal performance sounds less relaxed than Winstone's, but it's still a fine interpretation of this beautiful, sad song. James receives strong and sympathetic backing from all of the musicians. Ingrid Jensen guests on trumpet and flugelhorn, adding color to the arrangements with her measured and sympathetic playing. James shows a real jazz sensibility in her vocal style, a prime example being the introduction to Benny Golson and Leonard Feather's "Whisper Not," where she weaves her voice around the freeform playing of bassist Matt Clohesy and drummer Jon Wikan.  The Nature Of Love is a great example of an ensemble vocal album, with all the performers singer and players responding to each other to create a real gem. A fine singer and interpreter of songs, James is unafraid of taking risks with challenging material risks which pay off on this impressive debut. ~ Bruce Lindsay  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-nature-of-love-whitney-james-damselfly-productions-stir-stick-music-review-by-bruce-lindsay.php
 

Personnel: Whitney James: vocals; Ingrid Jensen: trumpet and flugelhorn (1-3, 6, 7); Joshua Wolff: piano; Matt Clohesy: bass; Jon Wikan: drums.

The Nature Of Love

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Nora McCarthy & Joshua Wolff - A Time For Love

Size: 158,7 MB
Time: 68:29
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2013
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. A Time For Love (9:11)
02. Better Than Anything (6:26)
03. Small Day Tomorrow (6:31)
04. I Like You You're Nice (4:05)
05. Love Came On Stealthy Fingers (7:23)
06. It Isn't So Good It Couldn't Get Better (2:56)
07. Blue Gardenia (5:04)
08. I Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry (7:23)
09. Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most (7:30)
10. You Are There (7:00)
11. Lucky To Be Me (4:54)

A Time For Love, is comprised of music written by some of the most beloved contemporary composers and lyricists of Great American Music namely: Johnny Mandel, Tommy Wolf, Fran Landesman, Jules Styne, Sammy Cahn, Dave Frishberg, Leonard Bernstein, Bill Loughborough, David Wheat, Bob Russell, and Blossom Dearie. With timeless pieces such as, “A Time For Love,” “Small Day Tomorrow,” “Blue Gardenia,” “Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most,” “You Are There ” and, “I Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out to Dry,” among others, the musical chemistry between McCarthy and Wolff is palpable and their near telepathic, spontaneous, and compelling performance is unforgettable.

The music on this CD was captured on May 28, 2010, at the internationally acclaimed jazz cabaret, The Metropolitan Room, NYC. It was a magical night of remembering, honoring, sharing , friendship, and love.

Nora McCarthy has thus far had a very productive and significant musical career. Recently listed in the "Best Jazz of 2012 for Female Singer and Top Vocal Jazz Album" categories by Arnoldo DeSouteiro, Journalist, Founder and CEO of JSR (Jazz Station Records), for her CD, In the Language of Dreams, she is known as a brilliant improviser. A poet and a songwriter in addition to being a highly original singer, she is an important force in the advanced New York jazz vocal scene since 1996 when she recorded her first of thus far six CD’s, red&blue. Nora's burnished alto voice is rich, subtle and laced with varying degrees of earthy blues and soulful phrasings that are rooted in the Jazz tradition.

From Seattle, Washington, Joshua Wolff was known for being a strong soloist and sensitive accompanist. His performances took him all over the United States and to Europe including several tours to Japan with legendary jazz singers Mark Murphy and Sheila Jordan. One of the first gigs Wolff performed in NYC was with the beautiful, talented singer Nora McCarthy on December 31, 1998. Wolff recalled “It was love at first sight and sound . . . I knew right away that she had something magical about her. It was more than her sense of intonation and time; she simply understood the music and was able to share it in a very personal way. This is a very rare quality in any musician. I knew at that moment, that this was the beginning of a very wonderful musical relationship.”

"....Joshua Wolff was more than a competent accompanist; he was a unique voice, an artist of the highest caliber, a musical architect who had incredible ears, a wonderfully percussive technique—excellent sense of timing, and tremendous emotional capacity. The journey we embarked upon this night was unpredictable and it would also be one of our last together. I will forever treasure the music and memory of this evening. This night we were not just a singer with piano accompaniment, No, we were two artists playing together, making music, telling our story, dancing our dance together, and on this night our music became immortal; Joshua Wolff passed away, May 19, 2013 of pancreatic cancer...." Nora McCarthy

This CD reminds that life is about embracing every moment, living to the fullest, squeezing every drop of delicious juice from it, taking chances, having no regrets, surrendering your all, touching hearts and leaving your mark with dignity and love.

A Time For Love

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