Kenny Rankin - Here In My Heart

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:27
Size: 123,9 MB
Art: Front

(3:29) 1. A Day In The Life Of A Fool
(4:06) 2. Life In The Modern World
(4:54) 3. Puzzle Of Hearts
(5:31) 4. Those Eyes
(4:14) 5. A Lover's Touch
(4:48) 6. Stay
(4:21) 7. A Slight Infatuation
(3:21) 8. I've Just Seen a Face
(3:31) 9. This Happy Madness
(4:25) 10. Even You and I
(3:04) 11. Come Rain or Come Shine
(3:12) 12. Art of Survival
(4:26) 13. Here In My Heart

It seems like every jazz artist (and even some pseudo-jazz artists) is destined to record at least one Brasilian music album during their career. Here's singer/songwriter Kenny Rankin's entry into this well-trodden field.

Everything about this disc looks like it should be great. There's a remarkable cast of players from both Americas. From Brasil, we have producer Oscar Castro-Neves, Luis Bonfa, Teo Lima, Gilson Peranzzetta, Ricardo Silveira, and many more. From the U.S., there's Don Grusin, Brian Bromberg, Michael Brecker, and Ernie Watts. Toots Thielemans, who has issued two Brasilian CDs on the same Private Music label, is on hand as well. Then there's the choice of material. There are four Ivan Lins tunes, a Djavan, a Jobim, a Bonfa, and several other Brasilian composers, plus a tune each by Lennon-McCartney and Johnny Mercer-Harold Arlen, and two Rankin originals.

So why is this CD such a disappointment? First, I think maybe this concept has now been worked to death. Oscar Castro-Neves has already produced numerous all-star recordings from this same bag. The arrangements and the performances are uninspired and lifeless. But the major reason this CD is such a disaster is Rankin's vocal performance. He has severe intonation problems throughout the album, singing so flat at times that it's painful. Plus, he seems to be in musical territory that's unfamiliar to him, so he seems to have few ideas about how to interpret and deliver these tunes. I'm sure you can find other releases in Kenny Rankin's discography that display his talents much more favorably, and you can certainly find a plethora of better Brasilian CDs.~ Dave Hughes https://www.allaboutjazz.com/here-in-my-heart-kenny-rankin-private-music-review-by-dave-hughes

Personnel: Kenny Rankin: vocals

Here In My Heart

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Benny Carter - Benny Carter Songbook Vol II

Styles: Saxophone Jazz 
Year: 1997
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 76:04
Size: 174,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:26)  1. My Mind Is Still On You - Joe Williams
(5:10)  2. Echo Of My Dream - Dianna Krall
(6:00)  3. Rock Me To Sleep - Ruth Brown
(4:04)  4. Stop Me Before I Fall In Love Again - Billy Stritch
(8:33)  5. He Doesn't Need Me Now - Nancy Marano
(6:05)  6. Doozy - Jon Hendricks
(5:10)  7. Nevermore - Billy Stritch
(7:05)  8. Malibu - Lainie Kazan
(5:53)  9. Blue Moonlight - Marlena Shaw
(5:30) 10. Evening Star - Kenny Rankin
(4:46) 11. Slow Carousel - Nancy Marano
(4:05) 12. Whisper To One - Barbara Lea
(5:56) 13. I'm The Caring Kind - Weslia Whitfield
(4:16) 14. When Hilma Smiles

The 1997 release of this CD helped Benny Carter celebrate his 90th birthday, featuring 14 of his original ballads by a dozen guests, in addition to a warm tribute to his wife of many years, "When Hilma Smiles," sung by Carter himself in a friendly, unpretentious manner. His smooth alto sax hasn't lost anything over the decades, and the top-notch cornet of Warren Vaché is also a nice touch. 

The highlights among the guest vocalists' contributions include Nancy Marano's emotional version of "He Doesn't Need Me Now" and Wesla Whitfield's sassy take of "I'm the Caring Kind." ~ Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/songbook-vol-2-mw0000028108

Personnel: Benny Carter (vocals, alto saxophone); Joe Williams, Weslia Whitfield, Ruth Brown, Billy Stritch, Nancy Marano, Jon Hendricks, Lainie Kazan, Marlena Shaw, Kenny Rankin, Barbara Lea, Diana Krall (vocals); Warren Vache (cornet); Chris Neville (piano); Steve LaSpina (bass); Sherman Ferguson, Roy McCurdy (drums)

Benny Carter Songbook Vol II

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Dan Siegel - Going Home

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1991
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:04
Size: 95,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:53)  1. Dee-Ah
(4:23)  2. Going Home
(3:32)  3. Next To You
(4:41)  4. Dark Rain
(4:53)  5. Don't Let Go
(4:04)  6. The Untraveled Path
(2:50)  7. Can't Remember
(4:36)  8. Sojourn
(4:20)  9. Searching
(3:48) 10. The Last Dance

Smooth jazz keyboardist Dan Siegel has been helping to shape the genre since his recording debut in 1980. Born in Seattle and raised in Eugene, OR, Siegel started taking piano lessons at age eight and was fronting a rock band at 12. After attending the Berklee College of Music in Boston, he received a degree in composition from the University of Oregon and began recording his own works. Soon thereafter, well-known independent jazz label Inner City Records signed the young keyboardist, releasing 1980's Nite Ride, which featured guitarist Lee Ritenour. Siegel's second album for Inner City, 1981's The Hot Spot, was more successful and spent ten weeks in the Top Ten of Billboard's jazz chart. In 1983, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue film and television work, as well as a more active recording career. Spending half of the decade composing TV and film scores as well as releasing several albums of varying interest, he signed with Epic in 1986 and began moving away from the ailing jazz fusion scene and into the adult contemporary jazz sound that he had been toying with all along. Highlights of this era include 1994's worldbeat-influenced Hemispheres and the urban-flavored Clairvoyance, released in 1998. Siegel spent the 1990s recording for a variety of labels, working with some of the bigger names in smooth jazz (Boney James, Larry Carlton, John Patitucci), and leading the hard bop combo Birds of a Feather. In 2000, Legacy Recordings released a greatest hits compilation called Along the Way: The Best of Dan Siegel. ~ Zac Johnson https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dan-siegel-mn0000566054/biography 

Kenny Rankin (Vocals); Michael Landau, Allen Hinds, Richard Smith, Grant Geissman (Guitar); Ernie Watts, Jeff Kashiwa, Everette Harp, Gary Herbig, Mark Hollingsworth (Saxophone); Abraham Laboriel, Jimmy Johnson, Ed Alton, Neil Stubenhaus, Dwayne Smith, Alec Milstein (Bass); Vinny Colaiuta, Bobby Colomby, Moyes Lucas Jr., Randy Drake, Dave Miller (Drums);  Luis Conte, Alex Acuña (Percussion); Dan Siegel (Keyboards, Vocals).

Going Home

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Kenny Rankin - Because Of You

Styles: Vocal, Piano And Guitar Jazz 
Year: 1991
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:27
Size: 107,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:26)  1. Berimbau
(5:39)  2. What Am I Gonna Do With You...Aime?
(3:04)  3. Haven't We Met?
(3:48)  4. 'Round Midnight
(5:20)  5. Someone To Watch Over Me
(6:27)  6. Erienda
(2:44)  7. I Could Write A Book
(2:30)  8. Always
(4:04)  9. This Old Man
(3:40) 10. Doralice
(4:38) 11. Because Of You

Recording his only CD for the audiophile Chesky label, Rankin moved closer to making a full-blown comeback. His reworking of old favorites such as "Berimbau" and "Haven't We Met," alongside such pop evergreens as "Round' Midnight," "Someone to Watch Over Me," "I Could Write a Book," "Always," and "Because of You," brought some of the old Rankin magic back. The pronounced jazz sound made more sense in light of Rankin's direction at the time, but the album failed to break through to any sizable audience. 

It features some of Rankin's best singing in years, as well as superb sound, making it his best release since The Kenny Rankin Album. ~ Stephen J. Matteo https://www.allmusic.com/album/because-of-you-mw0000271916

Personnel: Kenny Rankin (vocals, piano, guitar), George Young (saxophone, flute), Danilo Perez (piano), David Finck (bass), Dave Ratajczak (drums), Steve Kroon (percussion).

Because Of You

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Kenny Rankin - Hiding In Myself

Styles: Vocal, Adult Contemporary
Year: 1988
File: MP3@224K/s
Time: 53:23
Size: 86,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:49)  1. Lovin' Side
(5:33)  2. Before The Fall
(4:05)  3. Delila
(3:48)  4. Hiding Inside Myself
(4:12)  5. Trouble Man
(4:02)  6. Keep The Candle Burnin'
(4:37)  7. Lets Get It On
(5:22)  8. She Knows Me Well
(3:43)  9. Down The Road
(5:33) 10. Velez
(3:36) 11. Muddy Creek
(3:59) 12. She Moves, Eyes Follow

Returning to recording after nearly eight years, Rankin bounced back with this one and only album for the A&M subsidiary label, Cypress. With crack support from such jazz and session aces as Lee Sklar, Robben Ford, Steve Lukather, and David Benoit, along with old friends John Sebastian and David Crosby, Rankin made up for some lost ground. The fine balance between light jazz and soft rock fit in nicely with the growing genre of adult pop that would morph into Triple A radio a few years later. Still, the songs are not Rankin's best and, aside from his efforts on a couple of admirable Marvin Gaye covers and one Jimmy Webb interpretation, Rankin's stronger talents do not come through. Also, the album includes only two tracks on which Rankin plays guitar. Nonetheless, it was a clear signal that Rankin was beginning to re-emerge, and future albums would bear the fruit of his labors during this period. ~ Stephen J.Matteo http://www.allmusic.com/album/hiding-in-myself-mw0000197469

Hiding In Myself

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Kenny Rankin - The Kenny Rankin Album

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:55
Size: 80.0 MB
Styles: Soft rock, Adult contemporary
Year: 1976/2008
Art: Front

[3:03] 1. A House Of Gold
[2:35] 2. Here's That Rainy Day
[2:59] 3. Make Believe
[3:28] 4. On And On
[3:50] 5. You Are So Beautiful
[4:11] 6. Groovin'
[4:42] 7. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
[2:59] 8. When Sunny Gets Blue
[4:23] 9. I Love You
[2:40] 10. Through The Eye Of The Eagle

Long before Linda Ronstadt, Natalie Cole, and countless other pop, rock, and soul artists attempted to cover standards, Kenny Rankin did it and with excellent results. Enlisting the arranging talents of Don Costa (Frank Sinatra), Rankin created a lush, romantic album that also maintains the mellow vibes of '70s singer/songwriter pop. Rankin succeeds beautifully, tackling such evergreens as "Here's That Rainy Day" and "When Sunny Gets Blue." In addition, without interrupting the mood, he does beautiful readings of more contemporary artists, such as Stephen Bishop on "On and On," and particularly the Rascals on "Groovin." His moody and heartfelt rendition of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," his second recording of the song, demonstrates once more his ability to adopt Beatles songs as his own. Of all the R&B, rock, and pop artists to work with orchestras interpreting the great American songbook, few have matched the originality and fine results of this release. ~Stephen J. Matteo

The Kenny Rankin Album

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Kenny Rankin - A Song For You

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:57
Size: 100.6 MB
Styles: Standards, Adult Contemporary
Year: 2002
Art: Front

[6:08] 1. When The Sun Comes Out
[3:24] 2. Where Do You Start
[3:45] 3. 'round Midnight
[4:10] 4. She Was Too Good To Me
[4:26] 5. Spanish Harlem
[5:23] 6. Then I'll Be Tired Of You
[3:28] 7. The Way You Look Tonight
[3:16] 8. I've Just Seen A Face
[3:57] 9. Love Walked In
[5:55] 10. A Song For You

The great Kenny Rankin makes a subtle shift in stylistic focus on this label debut, titled A Song for You. The recording shows just how rewarding the marriage of songs from the Great American Songbook with the smooth jazz style can be when played by a talent of Rankin's stature. His singing explores new musical trails on such great compositions as Harold Arlen's "When the Sun Comes Out," the Lorenz Hart favorite "She Was Too Good to Me," and "Love Walked In" by George & Ira Gershwin. Rankin also reprises his vocal version of "'Round Midnight," the Thelonious Monk standard previously released on his 2001 CD Haven't We Met?. This vocal version is performed with harmonically viable guitar strumming, with Rankin making it a much easier task than one who may be trying to de-emphasize the difficult piano stylings associated with Monk. Other songs deserving noteworthy mention are the subtle sensuality of "Spanish Harlem" and "I've Just Seen a Face" by Lennon/McCartney. The results of this great variety of musical planning are distinctly even and make for nearly an hour of great smooth jazz fused with excellent material from the songbooks of some of the world's greatest composers. ~Paula Edelstein

A Song For You

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