Joan Griffith & Laura Caviani - Sambanova

Styles: Guitar And Piano Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:27
Size: 121,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:58)  1. Sambanova #1 in C
(5:45)  2. La Bellevue
(4:52)  3. Joan's Baiao
(3:58)  4. Pauleando
(5:13)  5. Choro
(6:10)  6. Sertao
(5:09)  7. Sambanova #2 in F Minor
(5:22)  8. Samambaia
(4:55)  9. Triste
(6:01) 10. Samba For Jacob

Antonio Carlos Jobim, Luiz Bonfa, Baden Powell, Ivan Lins... add now the name Joan Griffith, guitarist/bassist/mandolinist/composer who lives in the Twin Cities but whose heart beats in Rio, Sao Paulo and Bahia. From her first fascination with Brazilian rhythms as a teen in Nebraska to the college classrooms where she teaches jazz performance and composition, Joan has inhaled the warmth of bossa nova and choro, exhaling a personal fusion of the African, European and Amerindian traditions that define the soul of Brazil. Sambanova is not only the work of a gracefully lyrical performer but a showcase of Joan’s compositions that infuse the poetry and rhythms of Brazilian forms with modern jazz idioms. And one can not imagine a more sympathetic partner than Laura Caviani, a pianist of exceptional range whose uncanny rhythmic sense and soulful eclecticism offer the perfect musical bond to Joan’s guitar. Of Laura, Joan notes that “I have always loved her playing, her time is impeccable, her solos are breathtaking, but most of all she always plays with her whole heart and soul and with love.” On six of the ten tracks, the due is complemented by master percussionist Cyro Baptista, who Joan describes as “one of the world\'s great ambassadors of Brazilian music.” It has been more than a decade since Joan’s last recording, a duo with vocalist Lucia Newell, Enter You, Enter Love, which showcased several of Joan’s tunes and standards arranged with a Brazilian flair. Inspiration for the largely original Sambanova, says Joan, came from a guitar/piano recording by Cesar Camargo Mariano and Helio Delmira of Mariano’s “Samambaia.” 

In addition to “Samambaia,” Joan included arrangements of Jobim’s “Triste” (a haunting bossa nova) and Joao Lyra’s “Pauleando,” an energetic example of the rhythmically jagged “frevo” style of northeastern Brazil. The seven original tracks pay homage to the musical heroes of Brazil through the heart and mind of Joan Griffith: Opening with “Sambanova No. 1 in C,” Joan fulfills her goal to introduce the recording with “a tune that was upbeat, confident, swinging, a little bluesy...” as well as one that highlights the interplay of guitar and piano, Joan and Laura weaving back and forth with a joy that enhances anticipation for all that follows. “I must have been in a Getz/Gilberto mood” says Joan of her gentle bossa nova, “La Bellevue,” named for the Nebraska town where she spent her teens. No percussion on this track, just two voices, one soul. The Moorish tapestry of “Joan’s Baiao” gives this dance form, rooted in Brazil’s rural northeast, the composer’s intended “relentless and mysterious feeling,” highlighted by a darkly romantic collaboration among piano and percussion. 

The widely emotive form, “Choro” can mean to sing or cry, and here Joan moves us to both, a slow dance in which piano and classical guitar alternately tug the heart. Another baiao, this one from the arid “Sertao” region, has an air of majestic melancholy enhanced by the addition of Joan’s mandolin. Joan based her “Sambanova No.2 in F Minor” on a slow bossa written by her brother Marshall, taking it in a faster, blusier, samba direction. Cyro adds a magical shimmer on pandeiro. Let’s dance! “Samba for Jacob” closes this remarkable set, a tribute to the great choro mandolinist Jacob Bittencourt, aka Jacob do Bandolim. Says Joan, “I wanted to capture his spirit and send the listener off with a little ectasy.” Sambanova and the pen of Joan Griffith give us ten moments of ecstasy.  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/joangriffith

Personnel: Joan Griffith – guitar; Laura Caviani – piano.

Sambanova

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Wendy Zaro & The Laura Caviani Trio - Fly Home Little Heart

Size: 103,8 MB
Time: 44:36
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2010
Styles: Jazz Vocals, Crossover Jazz
Art: Front

01. A Very Precious Love (3:16)
02. Not While I'm Around (4:12)
03. This Love Of Mine (4:01)
04. Fly Home Little Heart (4:00)
05. No One Is Alone (3:41)
06. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (5:03)
07. Bring Him Home (3:49)
08. For You There Is No Song (3:52)
09. In My Life (3:37)
10. How Could I Ever Know (3:39)
11. My Buddy - Old Friends (5:20)

A native born Californian, Wendy Zaro-Mullins has performed to audiences in Europe, Taiwan, and South and North America where critics have hailed her performances as "gripping" with "amazingly powerful vocals" which include a "lustrous robust sound" displaying a "simple, almost effortless, approach."

Zaro-Mullins' concert work includes solo appearances with symphonies throughout the country and abroad. Most recently, Wyoming audiences heard her sing the Verdi Requiem with the Wyoming Symphony and Chorus. She was been featured in Mahler's Second Symphony with the Wichita Symphony and Chorus, and Brahms’ German Requiem with the University of Missouri-Columbia Symphony and Chorus. Numerous appearances with the St. Joseph Symphony and Chorus of Missouri have led to performances of Britten's War Requiem, Verdi's Requiem Mass, and Barber's Summer of Knoxville, 1915. Zaro-Mullins premiered an American debut of Gorecki's Symphony No. 3 with the University of Kansas Symphony Orchestra as well as a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. While a guest of the Paraguayan National Symphony and Orchestra she performed Mendelssohn's Psalm 42 and numerous operatic arias. Minneapolis audiences have heard Zaro-Mullins sing Barber's Summer of Knoxville, 1915 with the Kenwood Orchestra as well as performances of operatic arias with the Symphony of the Lakes.

At home on the opera, music theatre, and concert stages, Zaro-Mullins' credits include San Francisco Opera, American Opera Center, and Eugene Opera. Roles performed by Zaro-Mullins include Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte, Susanna in Susanna, Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, Mimi in La Boheme, Mrs. Nolan in The Medium, Pitti-sing in The Mikado, and Olga in The Merry Widow. Performing in the musical theatre genre, Zaro-Mullins has been featured in the roles of Lady Thiang in The King and I with the Eugene Musical Theatre, Maria and Antonia in The Man of La Mancha with the Coachlight Dinner Theatre in New York, and Iris in The Tempest at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angelas. She has performed for several seasons with the Sacramento Music Circus in California.

Her chamber music includes international recitals with chamber series, encompassing Italy, Taiwan, South America and the USA, presenting the traditional and contemporary vocal repertoire. Zaro-Mullins' versatility can also be heard in the early music genre. For several years, she has performed with the Oregon Baroque Ensemble and with the Spencer Baroque Consort of Kansas.

A scholar and performer, Zaro-Mullins received her doctorate from the University of Oregon in vocal performance and pedagogy, completing her dissertation on the Jugendlieder of Alban Berg. This extensive research led to a premier CD recording of the complete Jugendlieder as well as The Seven Early Songs of Berg. Zaro-Mullins has taught on the faculties of the University of Oregon, Oregon State and Lane Community College in Eugene, North Central University in Minneapolis. St. Olaf College. She was Associate Professor of Voice at the University of Kansas and is currently holding that title at the University of Minnesota.

Zaro-Mullins earned her bachelor and master degrees from the University of Southern California. She attended the Juilliard School and the Conservatorio di G. Verdi in Milan, Italy. She was a member of the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera Workshop where she received extensive training in musical theatre performance. Zaro-Mullins adjudicates nationally at vocal competitions and conducts master classes on interpretation and vocal technique throughout the country. Her major teachers and coaches included Daniel Ferro, Gwendolyn Koldofsky, Exine Bailey, James Miller, Margaret Schaper, Natalie Limonik and Esther Andreas.

Fly Home Little Heart

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Laura Caviani - Going There

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:02
Size: 107,7 MB
Art: Front

(6:14)  1. Going There
(4:27)  2. In The Interim
(3:08)  3. This Is My Song
(4:32)  4. Tobacco Blues
(4:53)  5. Paper Cranes
(4:45)  6. Watching The Game
(4:15)  7. Between The Lines
(6:06)  8. The Guilded Cage
(3:49)  9. In His Hands
(4:48) 10. Cascadia

Laura Caviani is one of the Twin Cities most in-demand pianists, and with good reason. Her musical acumen and versatility make her an easy choice whether the setting is small group, big band, full orchestra or solo. Going There (Caviani Music 2005) is the new CD from Caviani, and it finds her in the setting where her talent shines brightest. Backed by Bob Bowman on bass and Todd Strait on drums, Caviani leads this jazz trio through nine original compositions and one rare cover, displaying a soulful and sympathetic style that is distinctly her own. Whether it is the contemplative title track, the hard swinging shuffle of "Watching the Game," the shimmering and meditative "Paper Cranes," or the bluesy boogie woogie of the CD's sole vocal track "Between the Lines," this trio presents a program that explores a wide range of musical personalities.

Going There is Laura Caviani's fifth release as a leader over her 15+ year career. The Minneapolis Star Tribune hailed her debut recording Dreamlife as "in a word, outstanding." Her second release, As One, was touted as "stunningly fresh" by JazzTimes magazine. Caviani's holiday album, Angels We Haven't Heard, was considered that "season's finest new jazz CD of holiday music" by the St. Paul Pioneer Press. In Your Own Sweet Way (2001) was described in the Minneapolis Star Tribune as a CD "poised right where the salon meets the saloon, with as much spunk as serenity." As a "sideman," Caviani's long list of credits includes tours and recordings with Grammy nominated vocalist Karrin Allyson. Caviani appeared on three Allyson releases on Concord Records during the 1990s, which began the relationship with Bob Bowman and Todd Strait

Caviani joined Allyson on the 2004 and 2005 Concord Jazz Festival tours, where she also accompanied Oleta Adams, Diane Schuur and hot new talent Sara Gazarek. Other jazz luminaries with whom Caviani has performed include Toots Thielemans, Stan Getz, Bob Mintzer and Dave Liebman. In the Twin Cities, Caviani has appeared on many recordings, including: Where's When?, featuring Pete Whitman's X-tet, which received a 4 star review from Downbeat magazine, and Lucia Newell's Steeped in Strayhorn. ~ Editorial Reviews  

http://www.amazon.com/Going-There-Laura-Caviani/dp/B000E3LF52             

"...(they bring) a simmering, shimmering glow to each track, the interactions... falling somewhere between telepathy and mutual admiration." ~ Andrea Canter Contributing Editor, www.jazzpolice.com

"...very personal and soulful... I love this CD and know you will too." ~ Karrin Allyson Concord Recording Artist,liner notes to Going There

"Together and they are very much so they give us piano trio jazz of the highest order." ~ Bob Protzman contributor to Down Beat and host of “Everything Jazz

(This) album did not disappoint! She is very, very good, as a instrumentalist, composer and singer. ~ Peter Kuller Jazz Presenter 101.5fm www.radio.adelaide.edu.au

Going There

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