Katie Thiroux - Off Beat

Styles: Vocal, Post Bop
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:36
Size: 114,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:15)  1. Off Beat
(5:23)  2. When Lights Are Low
(5:08)  3. Why Did I Choose You?
(5:59)  4. Slow Dance with Me
(5:40)  5. Brotherhood of Man
(3:59)  6. Ray's Idea
(5:54)  7. Some Cats Know
(4:53)  8. When the Wind Was Green
(4:57)  9. Happy Reunion
(4:24) 10. Willow Weep for Me

Katie Thiroux has studied with jazz vocalist Tierney Sutton and bassist John Clayton, and the bassist/vocalist was awarded a scholarship to the Berklee, later teaching at the esteemed College of Music. Her resume is as impressive as it gets, but this is not a woman who rests on her laurels. Her instruments are her calling cards. Off Beat is her sophomore album and is quite impressive. The core lineup of pianist Justin Kauflin and drummer Matt Witek is augmented by the brilliant clarinetist/tenor saxophonist Ken Peplowski, as well as saxophonist Roger Neumann. The ten-song program is filled with familiar and not-so-familiar songs, and mixes vocal tunes with instrumentals. The results are glorious. The title cut opens the program and sets the stage; the old June Christy tune is given a finger-snapping reading that sees Peplowski, Kauflin and Witek backing Thiroux as she sings, "just 'cause I'm different doesn't mean I'm wrong." On Benny Carter's "When Lights Are Low," Thiroux owns the song. Her phrasing has just the right amount of simultaneous tenderness and swing, while Kauflin's solo is a perfect foil. "Why Did I Choose You?," from the 1946 film The Yearling, is a tender ballad. The Thiroux-penned "Slow Dance With Me" is a medium-tempo instrumental, with the band invited to stretch out; everyone shines. An instrumental take on Frank Loesser's "Brotherhood Of Man" is followed by Thiroux scatting on "Ray's Idea," also featuring a delicious clarinet solo. On Leiber and Stoller's "Some Cats Know," Peplowski blows a smoky tenor behind Thiroux's snazzy, lazy vocal ("some cats know how to make the honey flow but if a cat don't know a cat don't know"). "When the Wind Was Green," a Frank Sinatra vehicle with the lyrics "When the wind was red like a summer wine, when the wind was red like your lips on mine, it caressed my face and it tossed my hair, you were there," is given a hip reading that does the original proud. Again, Peplowski's clarinet is prominent. Roger Neumann trades tenor lines with Peplowski on Duke Ellington's classic and classy "Happy Reunion," under which Thiroux and Witek are joined by Kauflin's perfect accompaniment. Closing with "Willow Weep For Me," Thiroux plays bass and sings, unaccompanied. Her bass work, in particular, is impressive. A highly recommended disc by a rising star in the jazz firmament. ~ Mark E.Gallo https://www.allaboutjazz.com/off-beat-katie-thiroux-capri-records-review-by-mark-e-gallo.php

Personnel: Katie Thiroux: bass, voice; Ken Peplowski: tenor saxophone, clarinet; Roger Neumann: tenor and soprano saxophones; Justin Kauflin; piano; Matt Witek: drums.

Off Beat

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Katie Thiroux - Introducing Katie Thiroux

Styles: Vocal, Post Bop
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:34
Size: 106,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:19)  1. There's A Small Hotel
(3:59)  2. Don't Be On The Outside
(3:43)  3. A Beautiful Friendship
(3:48)  4. Wives And Lovers
(4:16)  5. I'm Old Fashioned
(5:33)  6. Ray's Kicks
(4:17)  7. The One I Love (Belongs To Somebody Else)
(4:09)  8. RoseBird
(4:25)  9. Can't We Just Pretend
(4:01) 10. Shiny Stockings
(4:00) 11. Oh What A Beautiful Morning

It seems that nearly every jazz album made today comes with ringing endorsements from jazz greats, PR-driven plaudits, and the participation of one or two (or more) heavy hitters. So how do you separate hype from reality? Simply open your ears and listen. That's how you separate the wheat from the chaff, and that's how you discover true talent like Katie Thiroux. This bassist-vocalist-composer is flat out phenomenal. On her Jeff Hamilton-produced debut, Thiroux walks the classy-and-swinging line favored by Ray Brown and his ilk. She provides in-the-pocket, full-bodied bass lines, warm and inviting vocals that demonstrate a real understanding of a lyricist's intent, and original compositions that place her firmly in the tradition. Across eleven tracks, Thiroux shows that she's the complete package. There's a winning solo bass-and-voice number to admire ("Wives And Lovers"), a smoky and attractive original ballad that operates with a "Mood Indigo"-esque demeanor ("Can't We Just Pretend?"), a bluesy ode to Brown ("Ray's Kicks"), and a swinging Frank Foster classic ("Shiny Stockings") that features Thiroux's sly yet direct vocals. Not enough for you? Then there's also a beautifully-shaped Rodgers and Hart classic ("There's A Small Hotel"), some burning double-time work ("The One I Love (Belongs To Somebody Else)"), and a smile-inducing solo bass capper ("Oh What A Beautiful Morning"). Young guitar phenom Graham Dechter, Hamilton protégé Matt Witek, and veteran saxophonist Roger Neumann join Thiroux here, and all are fully engaged in the music at hand. Neumann cooks on the spry "Rosebird," Dechter burns on "The One I Love (Belongs To Somebody Else)" and wafts along behind Neumann on "Can't We Just Pretend?," and Witek proves to be a model of taste, coating a song's underbelly with gentle brushwork and providing the requisite swing feel in numerous places. Thiroux couldn't have asked for a better set of band mates for a project like this.  Introducing Katie Thiroux may be a first step for this young triple-threat talent, but it plays like the work of a well-seasoned veteran. ~ Dan Bilaswky https://www.allaboutjazz.com/introducing-katie-thiroux-katie-thiroux-basskat-records-review-by-dan-bilawsky.php

Personnel: Katie Thiroux: bass, vocals; Roger Neumann: tenor saxophone; Graham Dechter: guitar; Matt Witek: drums.

Introducing Katie Thiroux

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