Showing posts with label Mads Tolling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mads Tolling. Show all posts

Monday, January 23, 2017

Mads Tolling & The Mads Men - Playing The 60s

Size: 158,2 MB
Time: 67:52
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2017
Styles: Instrumental/Vocals Jazz
Art: Front

01. A Taste Of Honey (4:57)
02. Meet The Flintstones (3:55)
03. Georgia On My Mind (5:21)
04. My Girl (Feat. Kalil Wilson) (3:51)
05. The Pink Panther (4:55)
06. All Along The Watchtower (4:35)
07. The Look Of Love (Feat. Spencer Day) (3:58)
08. Mercy Medley (5:23)
09. Mission Impossible (4:20)
10. A Time For Us (3:34)
11. The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (4:04)
12. What A Wonderful World (Feat. Kenny Washington) (5:44)
13. Peter Gunn (3:41)
14. Hawaii 5-0 (4:44)
15. Beautiful Savior (Feat. Stanley Clarke) (4:42)

Mads Tolling is a Danish classically trained violinist currently living in San Francisco. After touring with jazz bassist Stanley Clarke and an eight year stint plus two Grammy Awards with the jazz string ensemble the Turtle Island Quartet, he is now on his own.

His press release states that his new release, Playing The 60s, “draws material from the era evoked by the award-wining series AMC series Mad Men.” I’m not sure how much the series influenced the song selection, but Tolling manages to take an eclectic group of ‘60s material and give them jazz interpretations.

The violin is a rarely used jazz instrument, but in the right hands it and setting, it can provide an interesting sound. Tolling surrounds himself with keyboardist/accordion player Colin Hogan, bassist Sam Bevan, drummer Eric Garland, and singers Kalil Wilson, Spencer Day, and Kenny Washington. Also on hand as a guest is his former boss Stanley Clarke. Together, they provide a nice foundation for Tolling to improvise on the various melodies.

Television themes such as “Peter Gunn,” “Hawaii 5-0,” “Mission Impossible,” “The Pink Panther,” and “Meet The Flintstones” are modernized nostalgic pieces.

The old Herb Alpert hit, “A Taste Of Honey,” undergoes a number of tempo changes and concludes with a tasty drum solo. “Beautiful Savior” is an old German hymn that is a vehicle for a violin/bass duet between Tolling and Clarke. Perhaps the most interesting track is his Latin version of the rock classic “All Along The Watchtower.”

The vocal tracks travel in a number of directions. Spencer Day gives an understated vocal on “The Look Of Love.” Kalil Wilson fuses a soul vocal with a jazz foundation on “My Girl.” Kenny Washington presents the most traditional interpretation with “What A Wonderful World.”

Mads Tolling’s sound is a little unusual but is brilliant in places. His ability to use his jazz training as the impetus for his jazz sets him apart from most of his contemporaries. Playing The 60s is a nice introduction to a musician with an unusual approach to his craft. ~by David Bowling

Playing The 60s

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Mads Tolling Quartet - Celebrating Svend Asmussen

Size: 149,4 MB
Time: 64:32
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz
Art: Front

01. After You're Gone (3:00)
02. Libertango (6:57)
03. Take Off Blues (5:50)
04. Someone To Watch Over Me (6:12)
05. Latino (6:15)
06. June Night (6:46)
07. Honeysuckle Rose (6:11)
08. I Got Rhythm (5:52)
09. Hambo Om Bakfoten (4:55)
10. Nadja (8:02)
11. Scandinavian Shuffle (4:27)

Jazz violinist Svend Asmussen will celebrate his 100th birthday on 28 February and a tribute will be paid him at this concert featuring Mads Tolling and his Danish quartet – as well as the solo vocalist Sinne Eg.

The 99-year-old Asmussen has stopped making public appearances, but who is Mads Tolling?

For over 40 years, Mads Tolling has lived in USA and was educated at Berklee College of Music in Boston. His many years abroad have so far led to two Grammy Awards and several years’ collaboration with Turtle Island Quartet and the bass player Stanley Clarke. In San Francisco he leads his own group, the Mads Tolling Quartet, and their CD “The Playmaker” received fine reviews in, among others, Downbeat Magazine and Washington Post.

“Since at the age of 15 I had this burning desire to play jazz on a violin, I contacted Svend Asmussen; he was fortunately in the telephone directory. He told me that he did not teach, but that I should simply listen to Stuff Smith. Which I did, and Svend and I have kept in contact ever since. A few years ago, he gave me a large part of his collection of sheet music – included a lot of handwritten stuff – a fine gesture, I felt. He also wanted to pass on something of what he has stood for to the younger generation. Since that gesture, I have felt like paying a tribute to him and his wonderful music, Mads Tolling says.

When Mads at the age of 14 listened for the first time to Svend Asmussen at a concert in Hørsholm, the young guitarist Jacob Fisher was a part of Asmussen’s quartet. Now, almost twenty years later, Mads and Jacob have come together again and tour northern Europe in honour of their mentor.

The programme is a mix of Svend Asmussen’s collaboration with Ulrik Neumann and his recent quartet, and it naturally includes some of Svend’s signature tunes, such as ‘June Night’ and ‘Scandinavian Shuffle’. Also featured are a couple of Tolling’s and Fischer’s own compositions.

Mads Tolling Quartet:
Mads Tolling, violin
Jakob Fischer, guitar
Kasper Tagel, bass
Snorre Kirk, drums

Celebrating Svend Asmussen