Kathy Kosins - Uncovered Soul

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:37
Size: 127,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:28)  1. Don't Get Me Started
(4:23)  2. Voodoo
(3:54)  3. Uncovered Soul
(4:41)  4. Ms. Martha
(4:13)  5. The Downtown Lights
(5:12)  6. A to B
(3:59)  7. Dreamin' / Dreamin's Gonna Pull Me Through
(4:55)  8. If Love Could Talk
(5:17)  9. Can We Pretend
(5:59) 10. Any Day Now
(3:50) 11. Could You Be Me
(3:40) 12. Seria Voce Como Eu

In “Uncovered Soul” Kosins (ASCAP awarded composer & lyricist) teams up with Kamau Kenyatta, the stellar long time producer of Gregory Porter, she will re-unite with her soulful and groove skills. A contrast to her previously released and highly acclaimed album, To the Ladies Of Cool“, "Uncovered Soul" follows in the footsteps of Kamau Kenyatta’s three Grammy nominated, Gregory Porter projects. The Grammy nominated CD “Water,” the Grammy nominated single, “Real Good Hands,” from the CD “Be Good” and the Grammy Award winning CD “Liquid Spirit.” “Uncovered Soul” is based on a sonic worldview shaped by the interpersonal and musical landscape of Detroit in the late 60s and 70s. 

“Uncovered Soul” however, is not merely an urban reality: It is also the common thread that binds the relevancy of the words and music of Curtis Mayfield, Gene McDaniels, Bill Withers,The Neville Brothers, Amos Lee and Burt Bacharach to the present. Three original compositions were added to “Uncovered Soul” to provide a contemporary point of view. http://www.kathykosins.com/

Uncovered Soul

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Kathy Kosins - All In A Dream's Work...

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1995
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:29
Size: 104,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:52)  1. I Can't Change You
(4:21)  2. Man Of My Dreams
(4:49)  3. Down To My Last Dream
(5:15)  4. Four
(3:28)  5. Lucky Guy
(4:27)  6. Nightfall
(4:33)  7. Goodbye To Nothing
(3:42)  8. Happy
(5:46)  9. Time Changes Everything
(5:13) 10. Your Smile

The subtitle that Schoolkids gave Kathy Kosins' debut album, All in a Dream's Work, was A Collection of New Standards a lofty, exaggerated subtitle, to be sure. When you're putting out a collection of mostly new, previously unrecorded material by an unknown singer, calling the songs "new standards" is incredibly presumptuous and amounts to excessive hype. But while All in a Dream's Work isn't full of songs that became well-known standards, it's a decent, if unremarkable, debut that ranges from Blue Note-ish hard bop to R&B/pop-influenced quiet storm offerings. The only song on the album that can honestly be called a standard is "Four," which was credited to Miles Davis but is said to have been written by Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson most of the other tunes were co-written by Kosins. While "Man of My Dreams" exemplifies her quiet storm side, "I Can't Change You" and "Lucky Guy" are the type of hard-swinging bop items you would have expected to hear on a Blue Note session in the late 1950s or early '60s. 

If you took away Kosins' expressive vocals and let the songs be heard as instrumentals, it would be easy to picture them on an old Art Blakey, Hank Mobley, or Horace Silver date. This CD demonstrated that while Kosins couldn't be considered a composer of standards in 1995, she was a competent artist who was worth keeping an eye on. ~ Alex Henderson https://www.allmusic.com/album/all-in-a-dreams-work-mw0000175878    

Personnel: Kathy Kosins (vocals); Paul Shapiro (soprano saxophone); Walt Symanski, Walt Szymanski, Walter White (trumpet, flugelhorn); Bobby Routch (French horn); Jeff Franzel (piano); Warren Odze, Damon Duewhite, Steve Wolf, Pete Siers (drums).

All In A Dream's Work...

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Kathy Kosins - Mood Swings

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:04
Size: 115,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:07)  1. I Was There
(5:20)  2. Paradise
(6:02)  3. Foxey Lady
(5:35)  4. Just By Looking in Your Eyes
(3:36)  5. No Ordinary Joe
(5:53)  6. Maybe September
(3:11)  7. Livin' in Style
(3:30)  8. Between Your Heart and Mine
(5:30)  9. Love Me Like a Song
(3:47) 10. Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You
(3:28) 11. Melancholy Serenade

Her self-produced album showcases the Detroit native's songwriting: 7 of the 11 songs are hers. They're refreshing songs. "No Ordinary Joe" is based on the chord changes to "Pennies From Heaven." Kathy Kosins has studied the jazz repertoire, and consumed several years in creating this album. Her thin, light vocal quality, however, deters her from convincing. A veteran of pop music and R&B experiences, she's forced into a direction that holds her tightly in its grasp. Even the light, bossa nova mood on her "Love Me Like a Song" turns into an R&B experience. Other aspects of her project turn out uneven. Howard Levy isn't convincing in a smooth jazz role, while Michael King turns over a Jimi Hendrix "Foxey Lady" quite well. Remember the beautiful theme from Jackie Gleason's CBS television shows? "Melancholy Serenade" was a big, broad and beautiful showcase tune. Kosins uses it to close out the session, and the mood is lost. One high point comes through "Between Your Heart and Mine," with its Lambert, Hendricks and Ross sentiment. An upbeat original, the song swings with lyrics and scat in an uplifting scene. Kosins swings merrily, but not with the soulful expression needed for these mood swings. ~ Jim Santella

Personnel: Kathy Kosins- vocal; Rick Roe, Ellen Rowe, Paul Libman- piano; Gary Nester- synths; Paul Keller, Eric Hochberg- bass; Gerald Cleaver, Danny Cox, Pete Siers- drums; Ruben Alvarez, Dennis Sheridan- percussion; Dave Onderdonk, Michael King- guitar; Larry Nozaro, Keith Kaminsky- alto saxophone; Andrew Bishop, Jim Gailloreto, Shawn "Thunder" Wallace- tenor saxophone; David Luther- baritone saxophone; Rob Parton, Jeff Stout, Paul Finkbeiner- trumpet; Tim Coffman, Chris Smith- trombone; Howard Levy- harmonica on "Paradise;" Jim Gwinn- cymbals on "Melancholy Serenade;" Michael Whalen- vibraphone, strings on "Melancholy Serenade;" Rob Ripho- vibraphone on "Maybe September;" Sunny Wilkinson- added vocal on "Just By Looking In Your Eyes."

Mood Swings

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Kathy Kosins - The Space Between

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:58
Size: 115,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:58)  1. Drowning In A Sea Of Love
(4:08)  2. Song For My Father
(4:02)  3. Don't Be On The Outside
(5:41)  4. Spring Is Where You Are
(3:35)  5. You'd Better Love While You May
(5:45)  6. You Fascinate Me So
(3:06)  7. Social Call
(6:20)  8. I Keep Going Back To Joe's
(3:09)  9. You Were Only Passing By
(6:02) 10. Go Slow
(3:07) 11. Night Bird

So I am heading out to my mailbox in anticipation of what sonic treasures the good people at the U.S. Postal Service left in my box. With The Space Between from Kathy Kosins, Christmas came early. The female jazz vocal pack is a tightly clustered group of individuals that more often than not come across as pre-packaged entities straight from the corporate boardroom of whatever media conglomerate they may be signed to that particular week. Kathy Kosins transcends the world of singer to that of vocal artist by not only having a keen ear for giving life to some rarities that may otherwise go unnoticed but her vocals demand your immediate attention. Tone, timing, pitch, phrasing is all there and all spot on.  The musical cast of co-conspirators here are A list and each a legitimate leader in their own right. Perhaps the hottest pianist going in Tamir Hendelman, Bob Hurst on bass, Eric Harland on drums and Larry Koonse on guitar all bring forth a musical synergy with Kosins as the lyrical focal point of this dynamic recording. Two bonus tracks are included with the first, "Go Slow" recorded live at the Jazz Standard and an homage to her critically acclaimed release aptly titled To The Ladies Of Cool. 

The second track is a perfect vehicle to highlight her deceptively subtle R & B influences with an ambient nu jazz riff on the 1961 Al Cohn tune "Night Bird." The Space Between is cutting edge when held up to some of her contemporaries for critical review. Never taking the easy road of banging out a dozen standards simply because she can, Kosins weaves her magic as a vocal artist and moves straight to the top of the vocal jazz food chain. To be clear, Kathy Kosins is not one of the better female vocalists you may hear but vocalists period. Sometimes working as a critic one feels more like an artistic prospector sifting through hundreds of releases to find that one precious stone that has made his own labor of love well worth the effort. There are far too many vocal releases from artists that would be better served saving their money when in fact their future would clearly have them never leaving the club circuit or happy hour at the local Marriott, Kathy Kosins is not one these artists.  http://www.criticaljazz.com/2013/08/kathy-kosins-takes-giant-step-forward.html

The Space Between

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Kathy Kosins - Vintage

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:09
Size: 132,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:10)  1. Tomorrow Is Another Day
(3:19)  2. Tiptoe Gently
(5:25)  3. Go Slow
(3:44)  4. When In Rome
(4:43)  5. These Boots Are Made For Walkin'
(3:23)  6. Nice Girls Don't Stay For Breakfast
(2:59)  7. Look Out Up There
(6:27)  8. Penthouse Serenade (Album Version)
(2:37)  9. You're A Heavenly Thing (Album Version)
(5:16) 10. When I'm With You (Album Version)
(4:46) 11. I Can't Change You
(4:57) 12. Get Here (Album Version)
(5:18) 13. I Know You Oh So Well

Kathy Kosins has a fine expressive voice and she is joined by a top-notch sextet, but the real star of this set are the songs, which are mostly both very obscure and superior. When was the last time King Pleasure's "Tomorrow Is Another Day," "Tiptoe Gently" (recorded by Carmen McRae in the 1950s), Russ Garcia's "Go Slow," or Bobby Troup's "Nice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast" were performed? The closest songs to standards on this set are Cy Coleman's "When in Rome," the early-'30s Depression tune "Penthouse Serenade," Victor Young's "You're a Heavenly Thing," and "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'," and those tunes are given fresh arrangements. All of the musicians play well, with guitarist Peter Bernstein often taking honors. Throughout the date, Kosins shows versatility, always swings, and uplifts each of the obscurities, making this a particularly memorable outing.  ~ Scott Yanow   

http://www.allmusic.com/album/vintage-mw0000205722              

Vintage

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Kathy Kosins - To The Ladies Of Cool

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 50:08
Size: 114.8 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[5:21] 1. Learnin' The Blues
[5:23] 2. Nightbird
[6:42] 3. Don't Wait Up For Me
[3:53] 4. All I Need Is You
[3:37] 5. Free And Easy
[4:28] 6. Hershey's Kisses
[3:38] 7. Lullaby In Rhythm
[6:42] 8. November Twilight
[3:58] 9. Kissing Bug
[6:20] 10. Where Are You

Kathy Kosins is the rare jazz vocalist who chooses to salute earlier singers by mostly picking less familiar songs they recorded while also putting her individual stamp on them. Pianist Tamir Hendelman, a brilliant accompanist on some of her earlier recordings, provided the arrangements, and the talented cast includes guitarist Graham Dechter, multi-reed player Steve Wilkerson, drummer Bob Leatherbarrow (who doubles on vibes), and trumpeter/flügelhornist Gilbert Castellanos. Kosins has a bit of an R&B flavor in her alto voice, crisp enunciation, and the ability to swing, as best demonstrated in the breezy take of "Nightbird" and the bluesy late-night flavor of "Don't Wait Up for Me," along with her shimmering setting of "November Twilight." Kosins' sassy, playful side is on display in Duke Ellington's World War II-era "Kissing Bug" and in the hip lyric she wrote for Johnny Mandel's tasty "Hershey Bar," renamed "Hershey's Kisses." One obscurity that she rescues from the archive of forgotten gems is the Henry Mancini/Bobby Troup composition "Free and Easy," showcasing Hendelman and Dechter in top form as well. ~ Ken Dryden

Recording information: Rising Jazz Stars Studios, Beverly Hills, CA (05/2011).

Kathy Kosins (vocals); Graham Dechter (guitar); Steve Wilkerson (woodwinds); Gilbert Castellanos (trumpet, flugelhorn); Tamir Hendelman (piano); Bob Leatherbarrow (vibraphone, drums).

To The Ladies Of Cool

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