Showing posts with label Paul Asaro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paul Asaro. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Paul Asaro, Neville Dickie - Just You, Just Me

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 77:03
Size: 178,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:57)  1. Just You, Just Me
(5:11)  2. Wolverine Blues
(3:35)  3. Alligator Crawl
(4:29)  4. Smashing Thirds
(3:20)  5. Anitra's Dance
(5:18)  6. Tishomingo Blues
(4:12)  7. High Society
(4:39)  8. Finger Buster
(3:46)  9. All by Myself
(5:05) 10. Blueberry Rhyme
(3:51) 11. Kansas City Stomp
(4:40) 12. After You've Gone
(4:12) 13. If I Could Be with You (One Hour To-Night)
(5:02) 14. Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (And Dream Your Troubles Away)
(2:45) 15. I Wish I Were Twins (So I Could Love You Twice as Much)
(4:00) 16. Doin' the New Low-Down
(3:44) 17. Squeeze Me
(5:08) 18. Tiger Rag

Paul Asaro is known as one of the finest of a select group of pianists who have mastered the demanding two-handed jazz and ragtime piano styles from the first half of the 20th century. The Stride piano of James P. Johnson, Willie “The Lion” Smith and Fats Waller, the New Orleans styles of Jelly Roll Morton, the ragtime of Scott Joplin and Eubie Blake, stomps, boogie woogie and swing, Asaro plays them all with a fine ear for detail, blending the elements into his own personal style. Indeed, most of Paul’s earliest influences were more recent pianists such as Dick Wellstood, Ralph Sutton and Butch Thompson, musicians who worked within these traditions while at the same time developing their own unique approach..

In a career now spanning two decades, Paul has performed at theaters and clubs worldwide and has appeared at such major venues as the Chicago Jazz Festival, Ravinia, the Toronto Jazz Festival, the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal and the Ascona Jazz Festival in Switzerland. He has performed onstage with such musical legends and luminaries as Leon Redbone, Steve Allen, Marian McPartland, Butch Thompson, Jeff Healy and Vince Giordano. He was the featured pianist in the Obie award winning Broadway production of “Jelly Roll! The Music and the Man”, performing solo and accompanying the show’s creator and star Vernel Bagneris. Asaro also played for the national tour and numerous regional theater productions of “Jelly Roll!” including a run in Philadelphia resulting in a Barrymore Award nomination for best supporting actor. Asaro has had long runs as house pianist aboard the legendary New Orleans steamboat “Delta Queen” and in Chicago with Jim Beebe’s band featuring former Louis Armstrong All-Star Barrett Deems and the legendary tenor man Franz Jackson.

Currently Asaro tours the country as accompanist to Leon Redbone, playing concerts as a duo as well as appearing on NPR’s “A Prairie Home Companion” and “Mountain Stage” and recording for Leon’s latest studio album. Paul’s piano can be heard on two recent albums by singer and guitarist Loudon Wainwright III including the 2010 Grammy Award winning “Charlie Poole Project”. Recent appearances include solo and two-piano duets with Butch Thompson and Jon Weber for the Twin Cities Jazz Festival’s “Stride Piano Night”, an extended solo tour for Allied Concert Services, and onscreen with Vince Giordano’s band in the HBO series “Boardwalk Empire”. When not on the road Paul holds down the piano chair in the seven piece jazz band “The Fat Babies”, performing weekly at the long established Chicago jazz club The Green Mill and at the Honky Tonk BBQ. The group plays a wide variety of jazz from the 1920s through the 1940s and has released two albums to critical acclaim with their Delmark Records release “Chicago Hot” being named one of the best jazz album releases of 2012 by the Chicago Tribune. https://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/artist/paul-asaro



Neville Dickie is one England's foremost stride and boogie-woogie pianists. A regular performer on BBC Radio, Dickie has made hundreds of appearances as a soloist or with his trio. One of the few British jazz pianists to score with a hit single "The Robins Return" in 1969  Dickie has continued to be embraced by British jazz enthusiasts. His 1975 album, Back to Boogie, sold more than 100,000 copies. A native of England's County Durham, Dickie spent years playing piano in working men's clubs. After serving a stint in the Royal Air Force, he relocated to London, where he continued to plow his field in the city's pubs. Auditioned by the BBC, Dickie attracted the attention of Doreen Davies, the head of BBC radio 2. With Davies' support, he became one of BBC Radio's leading artists. Dickie remains active, performing in the London area with his trio and with a band, the Rhythmakers, that he formed in 1985. ~ Craig Harris https://www.allmusic.com/artist/neville-dickie-mn0000329656/biography


Monday, May 11, 2020

Paul Asaro, The Fat Babies - What A Heavenly Dream: The Fats Waller Rhythm Project

Styles:  Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:27
Size: 125,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:27)  1. Truckin
(3:56)  2. You're My Dish
(3:29)  3. Abdullah
(3:16)  4. Got No Time
(3:55)  5. Baby Brown
(3:29)  6. Your Feet's Too Big
(5:01)  7. Lonesome Me
(3:40)  8. I Wish I Were Twins
(4:11)  9. Sweet and Slow
(3:12) 10. I'll Dance at Your Wedding
(4:14) 11. Blue, Turning Grey Over You
(3:24) 12. Don't Let It Bother You
(2:59) 13. Winter Weather
(5:08) 14. Ain'tcha Got Music

In this highly-anticipated release, Paul Asaro and The Fat Babies pay homage to the recordings of "Fats" Waller and His Rhythm. Asaro, already well known to jazz aficionados for his long association with Leon Redbone, takes center stage here with piano and vocals that recall the humor, wit, and sublime pianistic talents of Waller without ever resorting to slavish imitation. With him are The Fat Babies, favorites on the Chicago jazz scene, who fully capture the spontaneous excitement of the original Waller recordings with a fresh twist. In addition to Asaro at the piano, the band includes Andy Schumm, cornet; John Otto, clarinet; Jake Sanders, guitar; Beau Sample, bass; and Alex Hall, drums. CD includes a 12-page illustrated booklet with liner notes by Paul Asaro. https://rivermontrecords.com/products/2222?variant=39571024335

What A Heavenly Dream: The Fats Waller Rhythm Project