Kitty Margolis - Heart & Soul: Live In San Francisco

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 74:24
Size: 171,2 MB
Art: Front

( 6:32)  1. Love Walked In
( 7:15)  2. A Sleepin' Bee
(10:06)  3. Summertime
( 8:36)  4. Heart and Soul
( 3:29)  5. Your Mind Is on Vacation
( 8:00)  6. Secret Love
( 5:50)  7. Surrey With the Fringe on Top
( 8:38)  8. Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year
( 3:01)  9. I'm Always Drunk in San Francisco
( 9:27) 10. My Favorite Things
( 3:27) 11. While We're Young

Wow, this woman can sing. Recorded live on her home turf, Kitty Margolis’ fifth disc, Heart and Soul: Live in San Francisco , skillfully whips her audience into an appreciative frenzy, and most of the excitement carries over to those listening to the disc. Live recordings tend to be either very good or bad make a mistake on stage, and it’s impossible to patch over it in the recording studio. This disc is good very good. Margolis writes in the liner notes that “songs are never the same twice and the jazz Gods need to be in the house...” The jazz Gods were rocking June 5th & 6th at the Broadway Studios Nightclub in an Francisco last year. What makes this performance so likeable and varied is Margolis’ ability to make a song her own even when the tune is an old and dear standard many of which are closely associated with other singers. 

Margolis interprets each song uniquely by, for example, changing the song’s tempo (she turns “Heart and Soul” into a slow ballad and pushes the pedal to the metal on “Surry with the Fringe on Top”); throws in remarkable scat (“My Favorite Things”); or playfully renders a bluesy, tipsy “I’m Always Drunk in San Francisco.” Adding to the recipe is the excellent chemistry between Margolis and Michael Bluestein on piano, Jon Evans on bass, and Alison Miller on drums. On “A Sleepin’ Bee” Bluestein sets just the right tempo, never over powering Margolis’ energetic swing. Margolis knows an awful lot about jazz but is quick to acknowledge that “all the skill in the world don’t mean a thing if you can’t make people feel something.” Give Heart and Soul: Live in San Francisco a listen, you’ll definitely feel something guaranteed. ~ Rich Friedman  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/heart-and-soul-live-in-san-francisco-kitty-margolis-mad-kat-review-by-rich-friedman.php

Personnel: Kitty Margolis, Vocals; Jon Evans, Bass; Michael Bluestein, Piano; Allison Miller, Drums.

Heart & Soul: Live In San Francisco

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Kitty Margolis - Evolution

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 1993
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 91:53
Size: 210,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:01)  1. Anthropology
(4:51)  2. I'm old fashioned
(5:03)  3. Evolution
(5:26)  4. Ancient footprints
(5:10)  5. Midnight sun
(3:33)  6. Nothing like You
(5:27)  7. Please send me someone to love
(5:48)  8. You don't know what love is
(4:34)  9. All or nothing at all
(5:08) 10. Tristeza de amar
(2:49) 11. Gone with the wind
(3:48) 12. Someone else is steppin' in
(4:45) 13. When lights are low
(6:19) 14. Where do you start
(5:10) 15. Are what you need
(5:02) 16. Getting to know you
(7:30) 17. I concentrate on you
(5:00) 18. Sophisticated lady
(2:18) 19. We kiss in a shadow

This is an amazing album. There are few jazz singers with the range of expression of Kitty Margolis, a singer equally at home in bop, blues and ballads. Possessed of unerring pitch and flawless enunciation, Margolis can also scat with the best of them. Indeed, her versatility brings to mind Ella Fitzgerald and Carmen McRae. In this album we hear Kitty Margolis in almost every style imaginable. Margolis begins bop anthem “Anthropology” unaccompanied and at a breakneck speed and delivers a truly inspired performance. In “I’m Old Fashioned” the singer turns the tune on its head and gives an intense reading of the old ballad with the able assistance of tenor sax giant Joe Henderson. The two later team up for a swinging version of “Gone With the Wind.” Brazilian composer Ivan Lins’ “Evolution” is the album’s title track and Margolis hits the mood exactly right in this English language song. Joyce Cooling’s guitar solo is a textbook example of understatement and taste. “Midnight Sun” is a tune that has been overlooked for too long by singers. Its sophisticated text and highly chromatic melody is ideally suited for Margolis and she delivers one of the finest recorded versions of the Lionel Hampton/Johnny Mercer song.

Margolis also demonstrates that she knows a thing or two about the blues in “Someone Else Is Steppin’ In” where she gives a throaty performance in the best blues shouting tradition. The album ends with Stephen Sondheim’s “Where Do You Start?” performed by just the singer and Dick Hindman on piano. Sondheim’s tune is all about the pain of separation, and Margolis’ performance makes this pain come alive, a pain that is only matched when you have to separate yourself from listening to this extraordinary album. ~ William Grim  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/evolution-kitty-margolis-mad-kat-review-by-william-grim.php

Personnel: Kitty Margolis, vocals; Joe Henderson, tenor sax; Joe Louis Walker, guitar; Dick Hindman, piano; Joyce Cooling, guitar; Seward McCain, bass; Gaylord Burch, drums; Jay Wagner, keyboards; Kenny Brooks, tenor sax; Tom Peron, trumpet; Jorge Pomar, bass; Art Love, bass; Dave Rokeach, drums; Kent Middleton, percussion

Evolution

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Kitty Margolis - Straight Up With A Twist

Size: 156,7 MB
Time: 67:33
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1997
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

Tracklist:
01. Getting To Know You (4:59)
02. Fever (5:14)
03. The Night Has A Thousand Eyes (4:02)
04. In Walked Bean (4:16)
05. For All We Know (6:05)
06. All Or Nothing At All (4:36)
07. The In Crowd (5:17)
08. We Kiss In A Shadow (6:00)
09. My Romance (4:14)
10. Today I Sing The Blues (5:01)
11. Speak Low (7:20)
12. Wouldn't It Be Loverly (5:38)
13. Prayer For Everybody (To Be Free) (4:47)

Kitty Margolis' third recording for her Madkat label is certainly her most varied and eccentric. Each of the 13 selections has its share of surprises, with Kitty's regular sextet joined by several guest players, most notably including trumpeter Roy Hargrove (heard in a supporting role on three numbers) and Charles Brown (featured in vocal duets with Margolis on a playful version of "The 'In' Crowd" and a barely recognizable "Wouldn't It Be Loverly"). The usually childlike "Gettin' To Know You" is given a complex but logical arrangement that utilizes Kitty's overdubbed voices, the sensuous classic "Fever" is taken in 7/4 time, "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes" gives the singer a chance to shine over Brazilian rhythms, and Thelonious Monk's "In Walked Bud" is made funky, given new lyrics and renamed "In Walked Bean." Other interesting moments include Kitty showing off her bop chops on "My Romance," getting lowdown on "Today I Sing The Blues," and concluding "Speak Low" in surprising fashion by showing off her interest in Indian music with some very odd wordless vocalizing over the closing vamp. Kitty Margolis' continually intriguing set (which is much less bop-oriented than her previous efforts) also has a few misses, but overall is a strong step forward. ~Review by Scott Yanow

Straight Up With A Twist

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Kitty Margolis - ...Live At The Jazz Workshop In San Francisco

Size: 100,8 MB
Time: 43:19
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1989
Styles: Jazz/Pop Vocals
Art: Front

01. I Concentrate On You (7:29)
02. Sophisticated Lady (5:00)
03. All Blues (6:35)
04. With A Song In My Heart (5:35)
05. Nice Work If You Can Get It (3:52)
06. Every Time We Say Goodbye (4:46)
07. All The Things You Are (5:03)
08. Too Marvelous For Words (4:57)

Jazziz Magazine:
"Finally, I must say something about Kitty Margolis, the Bay Area singer who has just debuted on the obscure Mad-Kat Records. Live at the Jazz Workshop is a marvelous, ear opening live recording that introduces not just a fine young vocalist but an important new jazz voice. These eight standards let Margolis bare her imposing arsenal of musical weapons: steely attack, fiery warmth, exuberant pace, legato transitions, razor-sharp pitch, timbral variety, high-voltage scat, and, best of all, the ability o sing a through line, not just fancy riffs. Sheila Jordan summed up her response this way: "After hearing Kitty's wonderful work, I'm sure that the future of jazz singing Is safe and sound!"

Jack Fuller, The Chicago Tribune:
"Unless you have happened to come across her in San Francisco, chances are you have not heard of jazz- singer Kitty Margolis. Do yourself a favor. Take the time and trouble to order this album and discover a hot, energetic new voice. She is the real thing in jazz: stylish, swinging, in love with the risk of improvisation. You can hear a lot of influences in her work from Sarah Vaughan to Al Jarreau. But the-result is so genuinely individual that once you hear it you know you will recognize it if you are lucky enough to hear it again. At the moment about the only way to do that is to write Mad Kat-Records at Box 330425, San Francisco, Cal. 94133. But if any of the major record companies have sense, they will sign her up immediately and make the next album a smash in all the stores."

Bart Grooms, Option Magazine:
"On her debut album, Bay Area native Margolis proves that she is an accomplished, full-blown jazz singer. Not only does she have a strong sense of swing and phrasing, but she attacks the material with an improvisatory gusto. She can also scat up a storm, as befits someone who was the only singer in saxophonist Hal Stein's improv class at S.F. State. Few singers can make this approach work; Betty Carter has probably taken it further than anyone, and Margolis sounds as though she's digested the idiosyncratic Carter (and Sarah Vaughn- as well). Backed by a fine rhythm section . Margolis soars through standards like "I Concentrate On You," Miles Davis' "AII Blues," and "All The Things You Are" (with the Dizzy Gillespie intro). Fine stuff by a lady who's more than ready to strut hers."

Live At The Jazz Workshop In San Francisco

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Kitty Margolis - Left coast life

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:19
Size: 129,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:50)  1. I want to be happy
(6:03)  2. It's you
(6:04)  3. You just might get it
(5:59)  4. Money
(3:27)  5. Lonely at the top
(4:59)  6. Spring will be a little late this year
(5:24)  7. Devil may care
(4:13)  8. Without a song
(4:08)  9. Heart's desire
(5:45) 10. The best is yet to come
(6:24) 11. Take it with me

If the major purposes or at least some of them of a jazz singer are to inject a fresh breath into standards and to make sense of newer material, then San Francisco singer Kitty Margolis sits at the top of the class for achieving these noble goals. The West Coast vocalist is well known for her insightful interpretations of standard and pop material, a reputation she solidly established with her previous three releases for her Mad-Kat label. This latest entry does nothing to diminish her perfect track record nor her reputation. Whether it be the Dorough/Kirk "Devil May Care" or her own "You just Might Get It", with Eric Crystal's surging sax in close support, Margolis energizes with some upbeat romping that will leave the listener gasping. 

On the flip side of the coin, her seductive way with a ballad is in full force on such cuts as Dave Frishberg's "Heart's Desire" where she gets help from Rick Kuhns' accordion. She gives Nancy Marano's version of this tune a real run for the money. Her emotional range from deep huskiness to bright, eager cute is used to good do on "The Best Is Yet to Come" where not only the song, but also Paul Nagel's piano, get a vigorous workout. Margolis unique phrasing comes into play on "Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year", where her purposeful use of the pause gives this tune an unusual but engaging cadence. Jamie Sieber's cello adds to the richness of the cut. Left Coast Life is a major jazz vocal release and is thoroughly recommended. ~ Dave Nathan   

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/left-coast-life-mad-kat-review-by-dave-nathan.php#.U2FMGVeS-PM

Personnel: Kitty Margolis - Vocal; Paul Nagel, Jay Wagner - Piano; John Schiflett, Scott Steed - Bass; Jason Lewis - Drums; Eric Crystal - Saxophones; Mike Spiro - Percussion; Steve Erquiaga, Joyce Cooling - Guitar; John Burr - Organ; Rich Kuhns - Accordion; Jamie Sieber - Cello

Left coast life

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