Nick Colionne - Influences

Styles: Guitar, Smooth Jazz
Year: 2014
Time: 54:43
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 127,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:04) 1. Slammin'
(4:48) 2. Got To Keep It Moving
(4:36) 3. Nico's Ride
(5:25) 4. Whatcha Gonna Do
(4:06) 5. Born Again
(4:21) 6. When You Love Somebody
(3:50) 7. Here's To You
(3:51) 8. C-Ray
(5:22) 9. Whatta 'bout You
(5:01) 10. Sting Like A King B
(3:44) 11. Got To Keep It Moving (Short)
(4:29) 12. Got To Keep It Moving (Long)

Well into his third decade of making the strings sing with his very own sweet Chicago soul, guitarist Nick Colionne digs deep as he takes musical stock of the people and things that helped propel his career and fully establish his place as one of the real cats, a cat that finds connection with his audience in a way that not many can.

Influences is a musical journey of self re-discovery, offering a palate of moods and flavors born of life experiences, challenges and the effect of the people past and present that have helped shape and mold his sound. Music can be the ultimate healer not only for the creator but also those of us who seek the escapism. Nick gets this and you immediately feel him from the opening strains as he provides lift with this feel good collection of new sides. His chops have never been more exacting, his melodies more exhilarating, his hooks more infectious.

Collaborating again with the great James Lloyd on 'Pieces Of A Dream' and inviting Maysa on the journey gives 'Influences' just the right amount of spice and pop, but in the end it is all about Nick as he bears his soul though this collection of musical chapters in this his latest book, one written with his strings and sings of the places he s been and the places he still has to go.

The lead single Got To Keep It Moving is certain to fire up his legions of fans and find its rightful place atop the radio charts. Never one to take what he has for granted, Colionne knows he has been blessed with a great gift and he will continue to share it as he connects with his fans through live performance in 2014 and share Influences in a way that only he can.By Editorial Reviews https://www.amazon.com/Influences-Nick-Colionne/dp/B00I89Y330

Influences

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Nick Colionne - Just Being Me

Size: 109,4 MB
Time: 47:02
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2018
Styles: Jazz: Smooth Jazz
Art: Front

01. Just Being Me (3:53)
02. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) (3:37)
03. Is This Love I'm Feeling (4:49)
04. Be Urself (4:10)
05. Spend The Night (3:46)
06. Latin Lover (4:24)
07. Nite Train (3:47)
08. Still Connected (4:45)
09. Go Nico Go (4:49)
10. Spend The Night (Extended Vocals) (3:45)
11. Back Down Evergreen (5:12)

Arguably one of the brightest stars in the Trippin N Rhythm constellation, Nick Colionne, (that most engaging of live performers and without doubt the best dressed man in smooth jazz) is back on the scene with ‘Just Being Me’, which will hit the streets April 27. With ten choice tunes and input from the likes of Chris ‘Big Dog’ Davis and the consistently superb James Lloyd it is a scintillating example of top notch contemporary jazz and already destined to be one of the best albums of the year.

There is a lovely symmetry about ‘Just Being Me’ that is created by the way compositions by Davis and Lloyd (plus one eye catching cover) are skillfully book-ended by two of Nick’s own songs. The first, the magically easy grooving title cut is textbook Colionne and later he closes out the collection with another of his own numbers, ‘Back Down Evergreen’. In doing so he connects back to his 2016 CD ‘The Journey’ that featured the spine tingling ‘East Evergreen Revisited’ a track that originally appeared on Nick’s 1994 debut recording ‘It’s My Turn’.

Elsewhere Nick takes a relaxed yet jazzy approach to Marvin Gaye’s seminal ‘How Sweet It Is’ while that ‘one man hit machine’ Chris ‘Big Dog’ Davis contributes four outstanding numbers. The first is the ultra urgent ‘Be Urself’ that, with Colionne’s wonderful playing and Davis’ imperious production, is a real gem and much the same can be said of the radio ready ‘Nite Train’ that might well get in your head and not go away. When the tempo eases a little the result is the delicious ‘Latin Lover’ for which the title says it all but arguably the best of the Chris Davis songs is the old school inclined ‘Spend The Nite’. Presented predominately as an instrumental then again with extended vocals courtesy of Buff Burnette, this soulfully sultry cut is a real winner.

That said, and in terms of personal favorites, the warmly inviting ‘Still Connected’ is right up there with the best that ‘Just Being Me’ has to offer. Penned by James Lloyd, who predictably comes up big on keys, it is in the good company of the decidedly chilled ‘Is This Love I’m Feeling’ that has a real Pieces Of A Dream vibe running right through it.

Lloyd also writes ‘Go Nico Go’ that proves to be a horn infused foot tapper of the highest order and entirely indicative of the chemistry that pulses between these two fine artists.

All things considered, the overwhelming impression of ‘Just Being Me’ is of an artist who, twenty-five years into a glittering career, just keeps on getting better.

Highly recommended ~Smooth Jazz Therapy

Just Being Me

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Nick Colionne - Feel The Heat

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:22
Size: 97,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:30)  1. Some Funky
(3:32)  2. The Windy Dance
(4:24)  3. Let's Spend Some Time
(4:55)  4. The Connection
(3:39)  5. There It Is
(4:39)  6. Midnight And You
(4:02)  7. It's Gonna Be Alright
(5:06)  8. Wessin'
(4:13)  9. Can't Let Go
(4:18) 10. Po' House

In 2006, guitarist Nick Colionne released an album called Keepin' It Cool; five years later, this one is called Feel the Heat. (In between came one called No Limits.) The alternating temperature descriptions are not so much an indication of different styles as of a similarity in conceiving clichés and a way of suggesting that Feel the Heat is a collection of more of the same from Colionne. Happily, that is no bad thing. Though lumped in with smooth jazz musicians, Colionne actually harks back to earlier styles. His hero is Wes Montgomery, and he demonstrates that by putting a Montgomery-like track on every album and labeling it as such. This time there's a tune called "Wessin'." Colionne hails from Chicago, and he usually finds a way of indicating that, too. (Another number is called "The Windy Dance.") The importance of his hometown lies in his musical influences. He is quite cognizant of the city's blues and R&B heritage, and he employs a Chicago funk style to open ("Some Funky") and close ("Po' House") the disc, in between applying himself to a straight electric blues on "Can't Let Go." Keyboard player James Lloyd brings in a pop influence on compositions such as "It's Gonna Be Alright." And when he isn't playing, Colionne is singing in a grainy baritone, contributing vocals to four of the ten tracks, most memorably the loverman ballad "Let's Spend Some Time." There are passages during the album that sound like smooth jazz, but most of the time this sounds like another diverse and rootsy Nick Colionne album, one that ranks with its predecessors.

~William Ruhlmann http://www.allmusic.com/album/feel-the-heat-mw0002155308

Feel The Heat

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