Laurence Hobgood, Charlie Haden, Kurt Elling - When The Heart Dances

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:36
Size: 155,6 MB
Art: Front

(6:41)  1. Que sera sera
(4:49)  2. When The Heart Dances
(6:11)  3. First Song
(7:34)  4. Sanctuary
(5:17)  5. Chickoree
(5:26)  6. Stairway To The Stars
(5:39)  7. New Orleans
(6:44)  8. Why Did I Choose You
(5:52)  9. Leatherwood
(4:45) 10. Daydream
(5:33) 11. The Cost Of Living

Man, this is a beautiful album. How could it be otherwise? An intimate, unhurried conversation between Laurence Hobgood, since 1994 vocalist Kurt Elling's musical director, and one of the finest jazz pianists out there, and the magisterial Charlie Haden, featured bassist in bands led by saxophonist Ornette Coleman, pianist Keith Jarrett and guitarist Pat Metheny, among a truck load of other distinctions. The inimitable Elling guests on three tracks  In his liner notes, describing the genesis of When The Heart Dances, Hobgood relates how, at a convention of the IAJE (International Association of Jazz Educators), he was chatting with Haden. Commenting on the mayhem and confusion that is the recording industry in the 2000s, Haden said something like, "I don't know about you, but the crazier things get, the more I think how nice it is to make records where we can just play music.  And just play music is what they do gorgeous, transporting music unalloyed by artifice, gimmickry or any notion to be style jockeys. Within 30 seconds or so of the start of the opening track, Jay Livingston and Ray Evans' lovely "Que Sera Sera," Hobgood and Haden have woven a spell which doesn't let up until the final whispers of Don Grolnick's "The Cost Of Living," and lingers in the memory long after. If music can soothe the savage beast, the medicine doesn't get any more efficacious than that on When The Heart Dances  The pace is measured and moderate even Hoagy Carmichael's "New Orleans" is here more hymn-like than a dancehall romp the interaction deep and easy. Hobgood and Haden get straight to the heart of their source material, five originals and six standards, with a gentle intensity that is utterly beguiling. It's hard to think of many parallels, but the imagination with which the duo explore the hidden corners of the standards is on par with that of pianist Al Haig's The Al Haig Trio (Esoteric, 1954) or 55 years later, pianist Liam Noble and drummer Paul Clarvis's Starry Starry Night (Village Life, 2009). Exquisitely poised, it's music of shimmering beauty. Elling's three tracks slot right into the ambiance, his performance of Haden's rhapsodic "First Song" a masterpiece among masterpieces.  A mention has to made of sound engineer Ken Christianson, who has turned in what is in effect an audiophile recording, perfectly capturing the spectrum of resonances of both Hobgood's Steinway D and Haden's bass, made some 250 years ago by the French luthier Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, and sounding never more like an instrument of the gods than it does here. Elling's warm caress is similarly ennobled. Were it recorded on a mobile phone, When The Heart Dances would be magical enough. By way of Christianson, it's simply irresistible. ~ Chris May https://www.allaboutjazz.com/when-the-heart-dances-kurt-elling-naim-label-review-by-chris-may.php

Personnel: Laurence Hobgood: piano; Charlie Haden: bass (1-3, 5-8, 10, 11); Kurt Elling: vocals (3, 6, 10).

When The Heart Dances

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Laurence Hobgood - Left To My Own Devices

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:22
Size: 135.9 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 2000
Art: Front

[2:35] 1. It Could Happen To You
[7:01] 2. The Heather On The Hill
[4:09] 3. Do Nothin' Til You Hear From Me
[2:40] 4. Panonica
[7:35] 5. The Waltz
[5:07] 6. Say It (Over And Over Again)
[4:53] 7. Goin' Back To Joes
[4:01] 8. The Vocal Tune
[5:41] 9. Witchcraft
[3:59] 10. Cycle
[4:29] 11. The Masquerade Is Over
[4:21] 12. The Inconstant Lover
[2:46] 13. Lovesick Blues

For Laurence Hobgood's debut recording as a leader, he has chosen the solo piano format. It's a challenge for the most skilled of performers, but for the clearly brilliant Hobgood, it all seems as pure and natural as the driven snow of his native Chicago. Ideas easily tumble forth, rearrangements of standards sound renewed and revived, while the original material he plays is infused with a playful intensity and in many instances classical quality. His regular running mate vocalist Kurt Elling appears on four selections as crooner, wise man or surreal romantic soothsayer. Meanwhile it is Hobgood, as impressive a player as there is anywhere, who commands total attention. "It Could Happen to You" is usually played introspectively, but Hobgood infuses it with a buzzing, hyperactive, and minimalist deconstruction, astounding on all levels. Brittle phrases stopped and started, then furiously improvised, is the hallmark for Thelonious Monk's "Panonica," and he does fellow Chicagoan Ed Peterson's "The Vocal Tune" (it's an instrumental) with a kinetic bounce and truly amazing technique. Not completely bent on pyrotechnics, the pianist uses a lean, horse loping bluesy pace for "Do Nothing 'Til You Hear from Me," employs tiny and tender arpeggiated stair step chords for Lerner & Lowe's "The Heather on the Hill," is patient and pristine during "Say It" (Over & Over Again), is reverent and hymnal on "The Inconstant Lover," goes baroque on the David Onderdonk waltz "Cycle," and is spooky and dark for "Witchcraft." The songs with Elling range from a pensive "The Waltz," the classic barroom theme "Goin' Back to Joe's," two-chord song of finality "The Masquerade Is Over," and the straight boogie "Lovesick Blues" with Elling's purposefully strained and campy whine. A solid, complete, and whole project fully realized and executed, it's great to hear Hobgood with and without his bossman Elling, and more so an auspicious debut that should be sought by all fans of contemporary jazz piano. ~Michael G. Nastos

Left To My Own Devices

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Jackie Allen - Tangled

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:30
Size: 113,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:51)  1. When Will I Ever Learn
(3:42)  2. Coal Grey Eyes
(4:17)  3. You're Nearer
(3:26)  4. If I Had (Angel's Lullaby)
(4:25)  5. Tangled
(4:03)  6. Slip
(5:05)  7. You'll Never Learn
(3:36)  8. Everything I've Got Belongs To You
(3:45)  9. Hot Stone Soup
(3:16) 10. Do Wrong Shoes
(5:03) 11. Solitary Moon
(2:56) 12. Living Without You

While it's clearly a pop album, Tangled has a light, jazzy feel. John Moulder's smooth jazz guitar, Steve Eisen's gentle flute and several keyboards back up Jackie Allen's lovely voice with an easy-to-like ambience. Allen delivers an expressive, convincing session. The singer uses her voice, whispery and coated with smooth silk, to interpret this program with a relaxed ease and subtle passion. Allen leaves an enjoyable wake behind every song. Her eighth album, both contemporary and filled with an appreciation for personal forms of communication, is designed for broad audience appeal. Tangled, Allen's title song, features dramatic electric guitar and a deep blues sensation. "If I Had floats on a gentle bossa breeze, while "You're Nearer emphasizes the dramatic qualities of her expressive voice.

A vocalist should be comfortable with folk, country, pop, blues and jazz. With Tangled, we get a little bit of each. Slip features electric piano and a horn section in a soulful strut. "Hot Stone Soup and "Cold Grey Eyes provide reflections of New Age themes. Donald Fagen's "Do Wrong Shoes, the album's best track, provides an opportunity for Allen to swing. As Randy Newman's "Living Without You closes the program with a country & western feel, you can't help absorbing Jackie Allen's emotional pull. She gives her audience a personal reflection of her inner soul that everyone can enjoy. ~ Jim Santella https://www.allaboutjazz.com/tangled-jackie-allen-blue-note-records-review-by-jim-santella.php

Personnel: Jackie Allen: vocals; Steve Eisen: flute, tenor saxophone; Orbert Davis, trumpet; John Molder, guitar; Ben Lewis, piano, electric piano, organ; Laurence Hobgood, piano, electric piano; Hans Sturm, bass; Dane Richeson, drums, percussion; Yvonne Gage, Eric Hochberg, Suzanne Palmer, Sue Conway: background vocals.

Tangled

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Jackie Allen - Love Is Blue

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:11
Size: 108,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:51)  1. Lazy Afternoon
(5:01)  2. Go
(3:29)  3. The Performer
(5:04)  4. Love Is Blue
(4:02)  5. Moon Of Deception
(5:15)  6. Pavement Cracks
(3:52)  7. Here Today
(3:52)  8. Turnin' Around
(4:29)  9. Taste Of Honey
(4:02) 10. You Become My Song
(4:06) 11. I'll Be Around

Although very much a jazz singer, Jackie Allen explores music on Love Is Blue that crosses over style-wise into 1970s pop and singer/songwriter material. There are versions of two veteran standards ("Lazy Afternoon" and Alec Wilder's "I'll Be Around") but most of the repertoire, which deals with the darker side of love, is made up of recent originals (including "Go," which was co-written by the singer) and music taken from the pop world. 

Allen has a flexible voice and sounds fine on the ballad-oriented material, but the lack of mood variation makes this set of less interest than expected. It is well performed but not essential, despite the talents involved. ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/love-is-blue-mw0000204729

Personnel: Jackie Allen (vocals);  Hans Sturm (acoustic bass, double bass);  John Moulder (guitar);  Frank Glover (clarinet);  Laurence Hobgood (piano);  Rob Mathes (Fender Rhodes piano, organ, keyboards);  Dane Richeson (marimba, drums, percussion).

Love Is Blue

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Kurt Elling - Live In Chicago

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 70:25
Size: 163,2 MB
Art: Front

( 3:50)  1. Downtown
(12:17)  2. My Foolish Heart
( 8:29)  3. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
( 3:51)  4. Oh My God
( 8:58)  5. Night Dream
( 5:20)  6. (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons
( 1:44)  7. Intro: (Esperanto)
( 5:16)  8. Esperanto
( 3:38)  9. Don't Get Scared
( 0:44) 10. Intro: (Goin' To Chicago)
( 5:39) 11. Goin' To Chicago
( 0:43) 12. Intro: (The Rent Party)
( 8:18) 13. The Rent Party
( 1:30) 14. Blues Chaser

Fans of Kurt Elling have long known that his recordings, as clever and well-orchestrated as they might be, don't quite match up to the power and charm of his live performances. Years of holding court at the Green Mill and other Chicago clubs are what really have brought Elling his most devoted followers, so it is exciting to see that Blue Note's new Elling album is a document of three special nights spent recording at the legendary Uptown jazz club. And indeed, with a few small exceptions, the album shows off Elling at his best  loose, uninhibited, creative, and solid. His standard backing trio has never been tighter and more balanced, and the performance of pianist (and Elling collaborator) Lawrence Hobgood really shines. Three saxophonists Von Freeman, Ed Petersen and Eddie Johnson manage to blend together in perfectly balanced harmonies, as well as command attention in solos of their own. 

Chicago's own Khalil El'Zabar makes a fine appearance, and a rare contribution by legendary jazz vocalist Jon Hendricks shows that he can still steal a show. The enthusiasm of the highly appreciative audience is captured, as well as more than a little evidence of the noise in the surrounding bar. The three nights of recording produced some fine versions of new and classic songs, including "Esperanto," Elling's pairing of the poetry of Pablo Neruda with the music of Vince Mendoza's jazz classic, "Esperança"; and "The Rent Party," which recalls Elling's jazz-poet days at the beginning of his career. ~ Stacia Proefrock http://www.allmusic.com/album/live-in-chicago-mw0000672757

Personnel: Kurt Elling, Jon Hendricks (vocals); Von Freeman, Ed Petersen, Eddie Johnson (tenor saxophone); Laurence Hobgood (piano); Rob Amster (acoustic bass); Michael Raynor (drums); Kahil El 'Zabar (hand drums).

Live In Chicago

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Laurence Hobgood Trio - Crazy World

Size: 155,5 MB
Time: 66:55
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2005
Styles: Jazz
Art: Front

01. Revival ( 5:11)
02. Prayer For The Enemy ( 8:07)
03. When In Rome ( 4:21)
04. March To Epiphany ( 7:02)
05. Trinity ( 6:32)
06. More Than You Know (Feat. Kurt Elling) ( 6:04)
07. The Dreaded Symphony ( 4:20)
08. Crazy World ( 5:58)
09. Endless Stars (Feat. Kurt Elling) ( 4:58)
10. Windowman (14:18)

Laurence Hobgood, Steinway D piano
Rob Amster, bass
Frank Parker, drums
Kurt Elling, vocals

The Laurence Hobgood Trio have perfected their craft through playing with US jazz vocalist Kurt Elling, who appears on two tracks on Crazy World, the trio's debut album.

Laurence is no stranger to The Naim Label, having recorded several highly acclaimed albums for us. His beautifully light touch is a joy to listen to; fingers which dance over the keys proving to be the perfect third element for bass and drums. Laurence's pianism with its shimmering arpeggios, advanced harmonies and pervasively singing tone is vaguely reminiscent of Keith Jarrett or Bill Evans.

Frank Parker's elegant drumming together with Rob Amster's fluid bass playing combine to produce jazz that is relaxed and distinguished, imprinted with an Olympic calm.

The ten tracks on the album are a mixture of Laurence's original compositions and his own arrangements, with one track by Rob Amster.

Six times Grammy nominee Kurt Elling makes a guest appearance to provide delicate vocal inspiration on two tracks recorded exclusively for this album.

Crazy World is another addition to the label's True Stereo catalogue. It was recorded by Ken Christianson direct to two track Nagra tape machine.

This Crazy World

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