Leslie Lewis With Gerard Hagen Trio - Midnight Sun

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:06
Size: 115,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:30)  1. Love Me Or Leave Me
(7:42)  2. Midnight Sun
(4:39)  3. It's Alright With Me
(5:56)  4. A House Is Not a Home
(4:35)  5. Lover Come Back to Me
(5:39)  6. My Love
(5:03)  7. I Believe in You
(5:38)  8. The Man I Love
(6:20)  9. Where Or When

The lesser-known songs on Midnight Sun Burt Bacharach / Hal David's "A House Is Not a Home," Paul and Linda McCartney's "My Love" are explicit highlights, but by no means the only ones, as Lewis fares equally well at a faster clip, as on "Lover Come Back to Me," "It's All Right with Me," "I Believe in You" and "Love Me or Leave Me" (which includes one of the most bizarre lyrics ever written: "I'd rather be lonely than happy with somebody else." Huh?) Hagen, who doubles as arranger, trebles (offstage) as Lewis' husband. Along with bassist Domenic Genova and drummer Jerry Kalaf, he does his best to keep her in an upbeat frame of mind, as do Foster, Manning and Sellers. When Lewis sings Frank Loesser's "I Believe in You," she may as well be applauding her supporting cast. A pair of first-rate albums by a vocalist who whose singular talents should be more widely heard and appreciated. 

~ Jack Bowers  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/leslie-lewis-midnight-sun-keeper-of-the-flame-by-jack-bowers.php

Personnel: Leslie Lewis: vocals; Gerard Hagen: piano; Domenic Genova: bass; Jerry Kalaf: drums, percussion; Chuck Manning: tenor sax; Joey Sellers: trombone.

Midnight Sun

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Leslie Lewis - Keeper Of The Flame

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:31
Size: 118,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:21)  1. Keeper of the Flame
(5:49)  2. Caravan
(6:17)  3. The Island
(4:46)  4. Spring Is Here
(4:44)  5. Day By Day
(3:42)  6. A Felicidade
(4:04)  7. You Don't Know What Love Is
(4:03)  8. Fotographia
(5:59)  9. Chega De Saudade (No More Blues)
(6:41) 10. Speak Low

Leslie Lewis is all a good jazz singer should be. Her beautiful tone and classy phrasing on tracks like Day by day, You don't know what love is and Speak Low evokes the sound of the classic jazz singers like Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. On the title track Keeper of the Flame Leslie soulful voice plays beautifully with the melodies and tempo changes with Jerry Kalaf adding a powerful drums solo. And her silky, smooth vocals on the jazzy version of Ivan Lins The Island hits you full of emotion. The brazilian influence can be heard all through this album, especially on the tracks Day by day, the jazzy arrangements of Antonio Carlos Jobim A Felicidade, Chega de Saudade and the sublime version of Fotografia. 

On these tracks at times one may hear echoes of the Ella Fitzgerald sings Jobim album, both in tone and phrasing. As a puertorrican I always enjoy listening to Juan Tizol Caravan, one of the most recorded jazz classics. Leslie vocals are just perfect on one of the best version I have heard recently, with interesting rhythmic and harmonic choices. Leslie Lewis vocals are complimented perfectly by her husband, Gerard Hagen Trio, and special guest Gary Foster on sax. ~ Wilbert Sostre  http://jazztimes.com/community/articles/26619-cd-review-leslie-lewis-keeper-of-the-flame

Musicians: Leslie Lewis (vocals), Gerard Hagen (piano), Domenis Genova (bass), Jerry Kalaf (drums, percussions)

Keeper Of The Flame

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Leslie Lewis - Of Two Minds

Bitrate: 320K/s

Time: 41:07

Size: 94.1 MB

Styles: Vocal jazz-pop

Year: 2008

Art: Front

[3:15] 1. In Walked Bud

[5:20] 2. I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good

[4:09] 3. Nature Boy

[4:12] 4. Honeysuckle Rose

[5:51] 5. 'round Midnight

[4:08] 6. Well You Needn't

[4:47] 7. How Deep Is The Ocean

[4:30] 8. Hello Young Lovers

[4:51] 9. But Beautiful

Usually a featured vocalist with an orchestra, a side vocalist with instrumental stars, or a dancer amongst a troupe, Leslie Lewis here presents her take on a number of classic pieces. In the choice of compositions, there's an almost even split between the straightforward, relaxed romances of the Great American Songbook (composers include Irving Berlin, Van Heusen, Rodgers & Hammerstein, etc.) and the off-kilter, exploratory pieces of Thelonious Monk. There's also a stray piece between the two extremes with Eden Ahbez's outstanding "Nature Boy." To her credit, Lewis is able to take on both ends of the spectrum. On the Monk pieces (and incidentally on Fats Waller's "Honeysuckle Rose," a favorite of Monk), she reverts to something of a Lambert, Hendricks & Ross sound, with a scat-like delivery masking a surprisingly smooth voice. "In Walked Bud," the opening track here, stands out as an excellent piece and one that won't often be done by vocalists. Her approach to the songbook pieces is a little more of a nightclub croon, bringing out a little bit of force to put behind the lyrics. Not a bad outing for Lewis, breaking the standard lounge singer aesthetic in favor of some more intimate artistry. ~Adam Greenberg

Of Two Minds

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