Kyle Eastwood - Songs from the Chateau

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:27
Size: 116,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:49)  1. Marciac
(6:37)  2. Moon over Couronneau
(5:21)  3. Café Calypso
(5:07)  4. Soul captain
(6:21)  5. Andalucía
(5:12)  6. Over the line
(5:50)  7. Tonic
(5:09)  8. Aperitif
(5:56)  9. Down at Ronnie´s

Kyle Eastwood's career encompasses the writing of film soundtracks, as well as the life of a jazz composer, bandleader and bassist. On those seemingly rare occasions when he isn't working, Eastwood spends much of his time in France. Songs From The Chateau is his fifth album since 1998's debut, From There To Here (Sony), and his fourth for British Candid label. It finds Eastwood recording in the country he loves, at the 15th century Chateau Couronneau in the Bordeaux region. From drummer Martyn Kaine's first emphatic beats on "Marciac," this album simply bursts with energy and, to maintain the French theme, joie de vivre. It's full of strong compositions from Eastwood, and virtuoso playing from every musician, but never feels forced, or competitive: no showboating, no unnecessary technical complexity. The range of styles is wide, demonstrating the influences from across the world that Eastwood has absorbed into his writing and playing. "Moon Over Couronneau" has a dreamlike, ethereal quality, and a standout acoustic piano solo from Andrew McCormack 99. "Café Calypso" is an irresistibly cheerful number, with some jaunty playing from Graeme Blevins and Graeme Flowers. "Soul Captain" is another celestial tune, thanks in particular to Blevins and Flowers' haunting horn lines. Once more, the melody is enticingly simple and insistent. The lovely "Andalucia" is driven by Eastwood's simple, repeated, acoustic bass riff and Kaine's fluid, more complex, percussion. Flowers' trumpet flies over the top, evoking the vastness and beauty of the Andalucian countryside, while Eastwood's solo adds a touch of North African spirit. "Down At Ronnie's" is inspired by London's Ronnie Scott's Club. It's a loose, funky, jam-band, kind of number, that wouldn't sound out of place in an Average White Band set. "Tonic" takes inspiration from more mainstream jazz sources with McCormack and Blevins' beautiful contributions channeling the spirit of Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond.  While Songs From The Chateau is an album of varied moods, rhythms and beats it continuously evokes one particular emotion joy. Eastwood and his band create music from the heart: uplifting, reflective and beautiful. ~ Bruce Lindsay https://www.allaboutjazz.com/songs-from-the-chateau-kyle-eastwood-candid-records-review-by-bruce-lindsay.php

Personnel: Kyle Eastwood: acoustic bass, electric bass; Andrew McCormack: piano, electric piano; Graeme Flowers: trumpet, flugelhorn; Graeme Blevins: soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone; Martyn Kaine: drums.

Songs from the Chateau

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Kyle Eastwood - Metropolitain

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:24
Size: 122,6 MB
Art: Front

(6:35)  1. Metropolitain
(4:53)  2. Bold Changes
(5:01)  3. Hot Box
(6:10)  4. Black Light
(4:33)  5. Bel Air
(7:22)  6. Samba de Paris
(3:24)  7. Song For You
(5:07)  8. Rue Perdue
(4:52)  9. Le Balai
(5:22) 10. Live for Life

Recorded in Paris, Kyle Eastwood's Metropolitain achieves an original jazz sound that combines the tradition of his father, Clint's record collection with a new generation of influences. He hasn't fallen prey to any gimmicks of style and is carving out his own musical voice with elements that combine to appeal to a broad audience. Anyone who has seen a movie recently will realize that modern jazz remains a big partner in bringing emotions to life. Eastwood and writing partner Michael Stevens have contributed to the scores for several of Clint Eastwood's recent films; among them: Changeling (2008), Flags of Our Fathers (2006), Letters From Iwo Jima (2006) and Gran Torino (2008). Don't get the idea that Kyle Eastwood is merely riding on his father's coattails. He paid his dues while living in the Los Angeles area for several years and then New York and Paris. Playing live gigs has given the young bassist and composer a wealth of experience upon which he rides comfortably on Metropolitain. The hottest tracks feature Eastwood on electric bass with plenty of energy kickin' around. He solos comfortably on both electric and acoustic models, showing enthusiasm for the creative spirit that derives from a lifetime of listening. "Live for Life," "Rue Perdue" and "Le Balai" stand out as the album's most creative tracks. With trumpet and piano trading fours on "Samba de Paris," Eastwood leads with majestic bass lines that tell a story of celebration and festivities. "Black Light" runs amok in 5/4 part of the time, representing an adventure that sends chills up and down the spine. "Hot Box" sends out a rhythmic message about jazz in today's entertainment world where instrumental music can tell a story completely, conveying an attitude faster than visual images. Metropolitain has one track with lyrics. "Live for Life" allows vocalist Camille to express a poignant message of wishes fulfilled; take interest in yourself and live life as you please. She also raps a chorus in the song's midsection, emphasizing the central thought forcefully. Eastwood's music allows impressions to exist clearly, with a full-body experience that lives on through his jazz ideas. ~ Jim Santella https://www.allaboutjazz.com/metropolitain-kyle-eastwood-candid-records-review-by-jim-santella.php

Personnel: Kyle Eastwood: double bass (2, 5, 6), electric bass (1-4, 7-10); Manu Katche: drums (1, 3, 6-10); Franck Agulhon: drums (2, 4, 5); Till Bronner: trumpet (1, 2, 4, 6-10); Graeme Blevins: tenor saxophone (2, 4, 8, 10); Eric Legnini: piano (1, 5-7), electric piano (1); Andrew McCormack: piano (2, 3), electric piano (2-4, 7-10), organ (4, 9); Camille: vocals (1, 10).

Metropolitain

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Kyle Eastwood - Candid Kyle

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:38
Size: 159.4 MB
Styles: Contemporary jazz
Year: 2016
Art: Front

[3:36] 1. Big Noise From Winnetka
[5:48] 2. Marrakech Remix
[6:24] 3. Solferino
[3:52] 4. I Can't Remember
[5:29] 5. Song For Ruth
[6:32] 6. Metropolitain
[7:21] 7. Samba De Paris
[3:22] 8. Song For You
[6:18] 9. Andalucia
[5:46] 10. Tonic
[5:17] 11. Café Calypso
[9:47] 12. Big Noise From Winnetka-Live In Tokyo

n the 17 years since the release of From There To Here, Kyle Eastwood’s first album as a leader, the multi-talented double bassist, composer and producer has forged a dynamic musical path. His artistry is eclectic, yet refined and transcends the boundaries of jazz by exploring an ever-widening range of musical influences. While continuing to develop his parallel career as a composer and arranger on his legendary father Clint’s Oscar nominated films “Mystic River,” “Million Dollar Baby” and “Letters from Iwo Jima,” Eastwood has reaffirmed traditions while creating truly contemporary, lyrical and melodic jazz. He has flirted with electro-jazz cool on Paris Blue (2004); delved into 70s-tinged “smooth jazz” accents and grooves on Now (2006); and gone “arty” urban chic on the subtly mixed Metropolitan (2009).

Candid Kyle mc
Candid Kyle zippy

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Kyle Eastwood - The View From Here

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:38
Size: 150,9 MB
Art: Front

(6:01)  1. From Rio To Havana
(4:43)  2. For M.E.
(7:16)  3. The View From Here
(6:40)  4. Sirocco
(8:29)  5. Luxor
(6:01)  6. Une nuit au Senegal
(6:02)  7. The Way Home
(5:22)  8. The Promise
(4:53)  9. Mistral
(4:48) 10. Summer Gone
(5:18) 11. Route de La Buissonne

Kyle Eastwood's boyhood in Carmel, California, may have been where and when he began his love of jazz, but as an adult his love of France seems to impact more and more on his music. Eastwood's sixth album, The View From Here, doesn't always show this influence explicitly but it's there nonetheless and it's giving the bassist's music a distinctive and delightful vibe. As an album title, The View From Here doesn't share the Francophile origins of previous Eastwood releases such as Paris Blue (Candid Records, 2005) or Songs From The Chateau (Candid Records, 2011) but song titles such as "Mistral" and "Route De La Buissonne" (which namechecks the studio in Pernes-les-Fontaines where the album was recorded) certainly give very direct hints. The gently bucolic nature of much of this music suggests that it's not Big City France that gets the Eastwood love. Rather, it's the countryside, the small towns, the mediaeval villages, that inspire him. This inspiration isn't limited solely to the band's leader and bassist. All of the tunes on The View From Here are originals but with the exception of the lovely "Mistral," written by trumpeter Graeme Flowers, Eastwood shares composer credit with at least one other band member. One point to note here the sleeve of the preview CD lists Flowers as the trumpeter in the band but Eastwood's own website names Quentin Collins (who also gets writer credits on two tunes) as the trumpeter. "Mistral"'s mood is carried on through tunes such as "The Promise" and "Luxor" both by Eastwood and pianist Andrew McCormack and "The Way Home," underpinned by a simple yet soulful bass riff and featuring a warm but rather melancholy tenor sax solo from Graeme Blevins. Of course, rural France isn't all quiet starlit nights and romance, it can also be a place to get down and dance. "Route De La Buissonne" has an insistent, funky, groove courtesy of Eastwood's double bass and Martyn Kaine's drums, topped off by an instantly catchy melody from McCormack on piano. "Une Nuit Au Senegal" blends Senegalese rhythms with punchy horn riffs from Flowers (or Collins) and Blevins, once again the result is irresistibly danceable. On the album cover, Eastwood is pictured holding a double bass, but it's his fluid, lyrical approach to the electric bass guitar that results in the album's loveliest moments. His playing on "Summer Gone" is rich and romantic, the upper register phrases on "For M.E." have the precision, speed and lyricism of the great flamenco bassist Carles Benavent. The View From Here is a mature, consistent, recording. No surprises, nothing leaping out of left-field, but plenty of warmth, charm and grace. ~ Bruce Lindsay https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-view-from-here-kyle-eastwood-jazz-village-review-by-bruce-lindsay.php

Personnel: Kyle Eastwood: double bass, electric bass; Graeme Blevins: soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone; Graeme Flowers: trumpet, flugelhorn; Andrew McCormack: piano, electric piano; Martyn Kaine: drums.

The View From Here

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Kyle Eastwood - Paris Blue

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:31
Size: 127,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:38)  1. Big Noise (From Winnetka)
(5:56)  2. Marrakech
(5:48)  3. Muse
(6:43)  4. Le Point Royal
(6:26)  5. Solferino
(5:33)  6. Cosmo
(8:15)  7. Paris Blue
(7:17)  8. Big Noise Remix
(5:51)  9. Marrakech Remix

At last! A recording firmly planted in the jazz tradition of Charles Mingus, but updated and as fresh as this morning's brew. Bassist Kyle Eastwood has brought together a collection of (mostly) original compositions and mixed them with programmed or hip-hop rhythms underneath a mainstream horn section to create an accessible yet challenging listen. On the original "Marrakech," Michael Stevens' keyboards and programming create an exotic Middle Eastern flavor that melds perfectly with the serpentine soprano sax and mourning duduk. "Solferino" creates a mood of haunting moonlight sonatas, featuring the dark and forboding tenor saxophone of Doug Webb. A Freddie Hubbard-like Jim Rotondi spits out bullets over a CTI-era keyboard backdrop on "Cosmo." Eastwood even digs up the Swing Era classic "Big Noise" with whistles and all, grooving it with a heavy beat that is a perfect counterbalance to the bop solos by Webb and trumpeter Lee Thornberg. Paris Blue has something for everyone: creativity, deep grooves and excellent lead solos. Something new is rising from Eastwood. ~ George Harris https://www.allaboutjazz.com/paris-blue-kyle-eastwood-rendezvous-review-by-george-harris.php

Personnel: Kyle Eastwood: bass; Vinnie Colaiuta, Kendall Kay: drums; Jim Rotondi, Lee Thornberg: trumpet; Michael Stevens: keyboards; Alan Pasqua, John Beasley: piano.

Paris Blue

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Kyle Eastwood - Time Pieces

Styles: Jazz, Bebop
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 75:43
Size: 173,9 MB
Art: Front

( 7:08)  1. Caipirinha
( 4:30)  2. Blowin' the Blues Away
( 7:22)  3. Dolphin Dance
( 5:02)  4. Prosecco Smile
( 8:30)  5. Vista
( 6:51)  6. Peace of Silver
( 6:16)  7. Incantation
( 3:41)  8. Letters From Iwo Jima
( 4:35)  9. Nostalgique
( 5:13) 10. Bullet Train
( 5:18) 11. Corner of 3rd and 6th Avenue (Bonus Track)
(11:12) 12. Pfrancing (No Blues) (Bonus Track)

Double bassist, composer and producer Kyle Eastwood unveils a timeless treasure with his seventh album as leader on the sensational Time Pieces, capturing the mood and aura of the 50s and 60s jazz scene blending two standards from the era with rich new compositions incorporating the sensitivities and flavor of that time period. It has been seventeen years since his debut album and along the way, Eastwood also enjoys working on film music where he has composed and arranged scores for his famous father Clint Eastwood's Oscar nominated films "Mystic River," "Million Dollar Baby," and "Letters from Iwo Jima," which is reprised here with a scaled down version arranged for piano and bass. On this album, Eastwood who performs here on the electric, acoustic and fretless bass returns to his jazz roots and influences as he includes music from some of his favorite jazz musicians notably, Horace Silver and Herbie Hancock and admits that much of the originals on this recording, are infused with elements of such influences. The bassist ventures into the modern jazz territory on a ten-piece repertoire where, with the exception of the light melancholy original "Vista,' the brief duet with pianist Andrew McCormack on "Letters from Iwo Jima," and the humbling "Nostalgique," he leads a working quintet of young English musicians in documenting a vibrant session of powerful swinging sounds.

The clock starts ticking on the imaginative and funky original "Caipirinha" featuring the leader on the electric bass, the trumpet voice of Quentin Collins and sharp solos from saxophonist Brandon Allen as the band opens in impressive style. The Silver standard "Blowin' the Blues Away" is s burner of a tune capturing more hard-driving grooves from both the trumpeter and saxophonist but this time, also brings pianist McCormack and Eastwood to the fore with a terrific solo moments supported by strong stick work by drummer Ernesto Simpson. Eastwood introduces the mid-tempo Hancock tune "Dolphin Dance" arranged with a light texture to it also features horn man Collins on a graceful flugelhorn dance that marks the piece which is followed by the perky grooves of the Eastwood/McCormack original "Prosecco Smile." Dedicated to the late Horace Silver who passed away during the recording of the project "Peace of Silver" is another powerful number featuring pronounced solos from Collins on the horn, while the sensual "Incantation," as the press sheet states "finds a direct heart line to the lyricism of Wayne Shorter." Closing out the set as it began, Eastwood and band perform another high-octane number with the energetic and electrifying "Bullet Train" featuring torrid solos from Allen on the soprano, Collins on the trumpet, a piano foray from McCormack, splashing cymbal accents by Simpson and firm steady lines by the leader on the acoustic bass all making for one dramatic clock-stopping exit. There's no question about this one, Kyle Eastwood's outstanding Time Pieces succeeds in delivering a measure of swing, swagger and grace in a musical package that's perfect for any time. ~ Edward Blanco  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/time-pieces-kyle-eastwood-harmonia-mundi-jazz-village-music-review-by-edward-blanco.php

Personnel: Kyle Eastwood: electric bass, acoustic bass, fretless electric bass; Brandon Allen: tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone; Quentin Collins; Andrew McCormack: piano; Ernesto Simpson: drums.

Time Pieces

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