Burak Bedikyan - Awakening

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:24
Size: 159,7 MB
Art: Front

(7:09)  1. Idée Fixe
(8:56)  2. Mother Earth
(7:50)  3. All Alone
(6:09)  4. Unfair Blues
(8:33)  5. Awakening
(8:47)  6. Memory of a Fading Dream
(5:50)  7. Ad Infinitum
(9:56)  8. Do Not Fear
(6:11)  9. The All Seeing Eye

On his third release as a leader, Istanbul based pianist, Burak Bedikyan seamlessly blends his dual education in western classical and jazz and his national/ethnic heritage into an intriguing and cohesive album. Awakening comprises of nine Bedikyan originals that are elegantly crafted balancing intricate harmonies with deceptively effortless fluidity. The gently rolling refrains on the lilting ballad "Mother Earth," for instance, have a warm, Near Eastern lyricism. Saxophonist Loren Stillman embellishes the melancholic theme with yearning spontaneous phrases filled with passion. Bedikyan fashions his expressive solo with series of resonant notes that ring with wistful poetry. Stillman and Bedikyan trade contemplative and dynamic lines on the dramatic "Do Not Fear." Over Bedikyan's shimmering keys, Bassist Ugonna Okegwo plays a lithe and darkly hued soliloquy with a mystical edge. Stillman's exquisitely tender and emotive improvisation ushers in the piece's conclusion. At times the disc also crackles with visceral energy and breathtaking instrumental acrobatics. On the hard bop-ish "Idée Fixe," Bedikyan lets loose a cascade of dense chords with delightful agility. His arpeggio filled performance ebbs and flows with crystalline lucidity and a vibrant, organic sound. Stillman's vibrato filled muscular alto meanders with nimble dexterity around the band's percolating vamps. Drummer Donald Edwards's thunderous beats and exuberant polyrhythms bring the music back to the gripping head. Stillman opens the expansive "Unfair Blues" with fiery lines and a soulful swagger. Bedikyan weaves an eloquent and earthy melody together with Edwards' thumping kit and Okegwo's reverberating strings. The four men exhibit captivating camaraderie in a stimulating conversation that is one of the tune's highlights.  With Awakening Bedikyan, as a composer and a musician, has achieved his personal best to date. The motifs he utilized in previous recordings, his intelligent inventiveness and charming virtuosity have all coalesced into a superb and mature work. If he stays the course Bedikyan is certainly assured a bright future and a promising career. ~ HRAYR ATTARIAN https://www.allaboutjazz.com/awakening-burak-bedikyan-steeplechase-lookout-review-by-hrayr-attarian.php

Personnel: Burak Bedikyan: piano; Donald Edwards: drums; Loren Stillman; alto and soprano saxophones; Ugonna Okegwo: bass.

Awakening

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Sunna Gunnlaugs - The Dream

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:38
Size: 118,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:42)  1. The Dream
(6:31)  2. Holding Ground
(1:25)  3. Spin 1
(7:33)  4. Vitjun
(2:11)  5. Tear (as in wear)
(7:05)  6. Bump
(1:02)  7. Spin 2
(6:23)  8. Tunnel Vision
(1:38)  9. Spin 3
(5:35) 10. Anima
(1:42) 11. Spin 4
(1:14) 12. Spin 5
(2:30) 13. Kom

Bridging the Brooklyn-Reykjavik jazz divide with European elegance and a fiery, New York drive. The Washington Post described her music as possessing "such timeless virtues as lyricism and grace... elegantly bridges soul- searching passages with uncluttered swing." Sunna Gunnlaugs reaffirms that assesment on her latest CD, "Long Pair Bond" which features fellow Icelander bassist Thorgrimur Jo´nsson and long-time cohort Scott McLemore on drums. It’s her first trio album since her debut in 1997, and now a more mature, more experienced Gunnlaugs presents this music in an unhurried, contemplative fashion. Ironically, it is the spaces she leaves that creates a sense of urgency throughout the recording.

Equally influenced by such American pianists as Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett, and Scandinavians like Bobo Stenson and Jon Balke, Sunna has found a way to make music to which people on both sides of the Atlantic can relate. Her own charming brand of romantic lyricism soaring over a driving American rhythm section appeals to jazzers and non-jazzers alike. As a child growing up on a small peninsula called Seltjarnarnes not far from Reykjavik she began taking lessons on the organ at the urging of her mother. "The idea of playing the piano didn't appeal to me as a kid. I associated it with classical pianists who seemed to have no fun. But on the organ you could play anything, the Beatles, polkas, Strauss and that seemed like more fun." By her teens, having realized that you could in fact play a variety of music on the piano, it was the gift of a Bill Evans trio record (appropriately named "You're Gonna Hear From Me") that sold her on modern jazz. In 1993 she made her way to the US as a student at William Paterson College and began to hone her own distinct musical voice both as an improvisor and a composer while immersing herself in the standards and studying the masters. Just a 15 minute drive from Manhattan, inspiration was not hard to find. "Suddenly being able to go to the Village Vanguard or Bradley's any night of the week and hear amazing pianists was an incredible experience. It was such a stimulating environment," and one that Gunnlaugs had no intention of leaving after graduating in 1996. She moved to Brooklyn and made her debut recording "Far Far Away" with her trio: bassist Dan Fabricatore and drummer (and future husband), Scott McLemore. In New York her focus shifted decidedly to performing her own music. She began appearing at listening rooms such as Cornelia Street Cafe and the Knitting Factory, and rave reviews followed. Gunnlaugs was proclaimed an "impressive newcomer" by the Village Voice. However, the music she was writing began to need more than just a trio. "I had been listening a lot to the Keith Jarrett quartet and Jan Garabrek with Bobo Stenson and the sound of the quartet was so appealing to me." She called upon saxophonist Tony Malaby and bassist Drew Gress. "I was familiar with Tony from his own bands and was stunned by how expressive he was. Drew, I knew from his work with Fred Hersch and Dave Douglas. He always added such a bounce to my tunes, while keeping it really open." In 1999, along with McLemore, the quartet recorded "Mindful" and, with time left over on the same day, they recorded "Songs from Iceland."http://www.sunnagunnlaugs.com/biography.htm

Personnel:  Sunna Gunnlaugs – piano;  Loren Stillman - alto saxophone;  Eivind Opsvik – bass;  Scott McLemore - drums

The Dream

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Kevin MacKenzie & Loren Stillman - Revenge Of The Hammer Ladies

Size: 115,7 MB
Time: 49:49
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Jazz: Post Bop
Art: Front

01. Revenge Of The Hammer Ladies (5:39)
02. Big Cat (5:40)
03. Fearless Dreamer (5:49)
04. Butterfly (7:45)
05. Her Love Was Like Kryptonite (6:29)
06. Gone (5:53)
07. The Brothers Breakfast (7:30)
08. The Nuckins (5:01)

A collaboration between Kevin MacKenzie and Loren Stillman recorded at castle sound studios Edinburgh during the 2012 Edinburgh Jazz Festival. Featuring Loren Stillman: Alto Sax, Kevin MacKenzie: guitar , Dave Ambrosio: Bass Martin France: Drums

Kevin MacKenzie:
Kevin Mackenzie lives in Scotland. He has toured extensively and has recorded on many albums in a variety of styles.
His groups have been featured along side guitarist Robben Fords power trio, Bob Berg and Mike Stern, the Crusaders and Seminal Jazz figure Ornette Coleman.

In 2001 Kevin received the prestigious ‘Creative Scotland Award’, which he used to write and record music for his nine-piece band ‘Kevin Mackenzie’s Vital Signs’. The CD gathered great reviews including album of the month in The Observer and CD of the week in The Guardian.

Loren Stillman:
The music of Brooklyn-based saxophonist and composer, Loren Stillman, has found acclaimed reviews in such publications as The New York Times, Downbeat Magazine, Jazziz, Jazz Times, and National Public Radio, marking him as an innovative voice of modern jazz.

With his training stemming from Lee Konitz and David Liebman to Harvey Pittel, Stillman has performed, recorded, and educated throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan.

Alongside an impressive record of performances, recordings, and master-classes with his own ensembles, Stillman has performed alongside Charlie Haden, Paul Motian Trio 2000+2, Carla Bley, John Abercrombie, Greg Osby, Ralph Alessi, Andy Milne’s DAPP Theory, Michele Rosewoman Quintessence, Eivind Opsvik, John McNeil, Brad Shepik, Russ Lossing, Vic Juris, and The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra.

An early start to his musical career found Stillman as recipient of two Outstanding Performance Awards (1996 &1998) and the Rising Star Jazz Artist Award (2004) from Down Beat Magazine. Stillman attended Manhattan School of Music (1998) and The New School (2002) on full music scholarship, and was a semifinalist in the 2002 Thelonious Monk Saxophone Competition. In 2005, Stillman received the CMA/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming and the ASCAP Young Jazz Composers Award.

Stillman’s original recordings, Winter Fruits (Pirouet 2008) It Could Be Anything (Fresh Sound, 2005), The Brothers’ Breakfast (Steeplechase, 2006), and Blind Date (Pirouet, 2006), received critical acclaim from The New York Times and four star recognition in BBC Jazz Review, Jazz Man Magazine and Downbeat Magazine. Stillman has been featured on WKCR, Weekend America Public Broadcasting, and LIU Radio programming.

Revenge Of The Hammer Ladies

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