Showing posts with label Paula Cole. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paula Cole. Show all posts

Friday, April 6, 2018

Gary LeMel - The Best Of Times

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:03
Size: 126.0 MB
Styles: Vocal
Year: 2003
Art: Front

[5:04] 1. Call Me Irresponsible (Feat.Paula Cole)
[3:10] 2. It Amazes Me
[2:22] 3. I'm Old Fashioned
[4:31] 4. Lovely Way To Spend An Evening
[6:14] 5. Skylark
[3:33] 6. I'd Rather Leave While I'm In Love)
[3:57] 7. I Got Lost In Her Arms (Feat. Billy Childs)
[4:30] 8. Here's To Life (Feat. Billy Childs And Bob Hearst)
[3:18] 9. Once Upon A Time
[2:33] 10. When I Fall In Love
[3:08] 11. How Do You Keep The Music Playing
[5:03] 12. My Foolish Heart (Feat.Billy Childs And Bob Hearst)
[3:31] 13. I Remember
[0:22] 14. Interlude
[3:39] 15. Imagination (Feat.Billy Childs And Bob Hearst)

The music on this CD was all out previously on Gary LeMel's earlier albums Moonlighting, Lost in Your Arms, and Romancing the Screen, dating from 1994-2001. LeMel has an expressive voice and is heard here exclusively on very slow renditions of ballads, although sometimes the instrumental sections are taken at faster tempos. A sameness is felt by the third song, and it is difficult for one's mind not to wander. Certainly these renditions of "Call Me Irresponsible" (which co-features Paula Cole), "Skylark," "Here's to Life," and "When I Fall in Love" will not make one forget the definitive versions, and many of the arrangements are overblown. Only the closing "Imagination," which is performed in a combo with prominent playing by bassist Bob Hurst and tenor saxophonist Bob Sheppard, has much life. Overall, the music is heartfelt, but it would be nice to hear LeMel on fresher, spontaneous, and more inspired material. ~Scott Yanow

The Best Of Times mc
The Best Of Times zippy

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Paula Cole - Ballads

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 75:07
Size: 172.0 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2017
Art: Front

[5:12] 1. God Bless The Child
[3:38] 2. I Wish (I Knew How It Feels To Be Free)
[3:46] 3. Naima
[4:47] 4. Ode To Billy Joe
[4:43] 5. You've Changed
[2:27] 6. What A Little Moonlight Can Do
[2:47] 7. I'm Old Fashioned
[6:33] 8. The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll
[2:18] 9. Never Will I Marry
[3:36] 10. Skylark
[7:36] 11. The Ballad Of Hollis Brown
[3:41] 12. Body And Soul
[2:19] 13. Nice Work If You Can Get It
[3:06] 14. Farewell, My Friends
[3:51] 15. I Cover The Waterfront
[3:00] 16. Blue Moon
[1:47] 17. You Hit The Spot
[4:11] 18. Willow Weep For Me
[2:14] 19. Autumn Leaves
[3:26] 20. My One And Only Love

“It is truly my time now, at 50.” – Paula Cole.

More beautiful than ever, in a twenty-plus-year-career, Paula Cole releases Ballads, a twenty-song collection of American jazz and folk classics from the 1930’s to the 1960’s. It is dedicated to her father, Jim Cole. Cole started as a jazz singer and now returns, at nearly 50 years of age, to pay homage to her first love of jazz and folk. A self-described “mother and human being first” Cole is a timeless voice not only in song, but for those who have felt pain, and who still stand shining light, against all odds. With a voice that is big, rich and gorgeous, a mind that is intelligent, and a heart that transforms suffering into beauty, Paula Cole sings for our enlightenment, for our souls.

Ballads is a journey to Billie Holiday and Bob Dylan, to John Coltrane and Nina Simone, to Bobbie Gentry and Nancy Wilson, sung by a stunning Paula Cole we’ve not yet heard. Start pouring the fine wine. Some things get better with age.

Ballads

Sunday, July 23, 2017

Paula Cole - Ithaca

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:15
Size: 110.4 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[6:03] 1. The Hard Way
[5:02] 2. Waiting On A Miracle
[4:00] 3. Music In Me
[4:49] 4. Elegy
[4:54] 5. Come On Inside
[2:51] 6. P.R.E.N.U.P
[4:35] 7. Violet Eyes
[4:25] 8. Somethin' I've Gotta Say
[8:09] 9. Sex
[3:22] 10. 2 Lifetimes

On her fifth album Ithaca, singer and songwriter Paula Cole takes listeners on an intensely emotional, yet uplifting journey through divorce ("The Hard Way," "P.R.E.N.U.P") and the struggle to recover one's identity ("Elegy," "Waiting on a Miracle") before allowing herself to revel in the healing, redemptive power of new love ("Violet Eyes," "Come On Inside," "Sex", "2 Lifetimes"). Along the way, she acknowledges being torn between work and her child ("Somethin' I've Gotta Say"), and ultimately celebrates having music to get her through it all ("Music In Me").

"My albums are Polaroid snapshots of my life," says Cole, whose last album, Courage, was released in 2007. "The writing is the hard part because my process is highly personal and autobiographical. One of my biggest musical heroes is John Lennon because he was so brutally honest. I love the songs he wrote after he left The Beatles. They are so outrageous in their courage. This new album is just me processing things."

Ithaca is a welcome return by one of pop's most compelling vocalists, who has enthralled audiences with her soaring, agile soprano. Born the daughter of musicians, Cole studied jazz singing and improvisation at Boston's Berklee College of Music before attracting rapt attention as a featured vocalist on Peter Gabriel's 1993-1994 Secret World Live tour. Cole released her debut album, Harbinger, in 1994, followed by 1996's self-produced This Fire, which spawned the two smash hits "Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?" and "I Don't Want to Wait." In 1997, Cole was nominated for seven Grammy Awards, including "Producer of the Year" and "Album of the Year," and took home the award for "Best New Artist." In 1999, Cole released her third album, Amen, then decided to take some time off following the birth of her daughter Sky in 2001.

"I needed to get off the giant hamster wheel," Cole says of her music career. "I wanted to find some other meaning to my life and it seemed impossible to combine motherhood with the music business. It was like being at a spiritual stop sign in the road. That's what inspired 'Somethin' I've Gotta Say,' one of the older songs on the album. I thought I was done with the music career after having Sky."

Several years later, Cole was lured back to record-making by a friend, Blood, Sweat & Tears' drummer Bobby Colomby, who produced her intimate, jazz-influenced collection Courage, which she released in 2007 while going through a difficult divorce. After the split was finalized in 2008, Cole moved back to her hometown of Rockport, Massachusetts the inspiration behind her new album's title.

Ithaca

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Chris Botti - To Love Again

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:44
Size: 136,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:26)  1. Chris Botti - Embraceable You
(5:05)  2. Chris Botti Feat. Sting - What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?
(5:41)  3. Chris Botti Feat. Paula Cole - My One And Only Love
(3:12)  4. Chris Botti Feat. Michael Bublé - Let There Be Love
(3:59)  5. Chris Botti - What's New
(6:13)  6. Chris Botti Feat. Jill Scott - Good Morning Heartache
(4:38)  7. Chris Botti - To Love Again
(4:01)  8. Chris Botti Feat. Paul Buchanan - Are You Lonesome Tonight
(4:50)  9. Chris Botti Feat. Gladys Knight - Lover Man
(4:18) 10. Chris Botti Feat. Billy Childs - I'll Be Seeing You
(3:46) 11. Chris Botti Feat. Renee Olstead - Pennies From Heaven
(5:07) 12. Chris Botti Feat. Rosa Passos - Here's That Rainy Day
(4:22) 13. Chris Botti Feat. Steven Tyler - Smile

Clearly a ballad album, To Love Again combines Chris Botti's warm trumpet tone and immaculate articulation with strings on a program designed to cure what ails ya. Guest vocalists make the session appeal to a broad audience, while the trumpeter's focus on his intimate ensemble interpretations remains its healthiest feature. His trumpet mastery has developed into a cornucopia of rich fascination. With familiar standards such as "I'll Be Seeing You," "What's New?" and "Embraceable You," Botti lets his open horn shower its melody as if from on high. Gracefully moving from phrase to phrase with a seamless fragrance, the trumpeter enjoys a vocal-like presence that speaks everybody's language. Throughout the history of civilization, ballads have defined communication in its purest form. From the earliest sacred works to opera, folk, pop and rock, the ballad has always held its own. Botti communicates in that universal language that we've been talking about for ages. 

His original "To Love Again" purrs quietly with a smooth, muted trumpet texture that glides stealthily in the night. If Romeo were to enlist the support of this quintet, he'd win Juliet's heart during the overture; before the curtain ever rises. Botti's guest vocalists prove convincing. Michael Bublé swings with a Sinatra swagger. Paula Cole adds heartfelt passion, while Sting questions with sincere honesty. Jill Scott turns in a hip interpretation of "Good Morning, Heartache" that recalls Billie Holiday (just a little). Paul Buchanan expresses with breathy over-emotion, while Gladys Knight turns in a beautiful interpretation of "Lover Man." She's matched with Botti's golden open horn in a teary-eyed adventure. Rosa Passos sings quietly with a hushed presence, while Steven Tyler closes the album with an aching "Smile." Young Renee Olstead sings an old song, "Pennies from Heaven," with a hearty big band arrangement backing her. She, Botti, and the band swing with a jovial mood that contrasts with the rest of the program. It's one of the best tracks, too, putting the trumpeter in the role of Harry James. Ballads make the world go 'round. Chris Botti can be welcomed into every living room, every automobile sound system, and every portable set of earphones, because he communicates freely in a language that we can all understand. ~ Jim Santella   http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=19527#.U0SaB1dSvro

Personnel: Chris Botti: trumpet; Billy Childs: piano, Fender Rhodes; Anthony Wilson: guitar; Robert Hurst, Arnie Somogyi, Christian McBride: bass; Billy Kilson, Vinnie Colaiuta: drums; Paulinho da Costa: percussion; Heitor Pereira: guitar (2); Dean Parks: guitar (13); Brian Bromberg: bass (14); Richard Cottle: Hammond organ (10); Greg Phillinganes: Fender Rhodes (6); Peter Erskine: drums (10); Paula Cole: vocal (3); Michael Bublé: vocal (4); Sting: vocal (2); Jill Scott: vocal (6); Steven Tyler: vocal (14); Gladys Knight: vocal (10); Renee Olstead: vocal (12); Rosa Passos: vocal (13); Paul Buchanan: vocal (8); London Session Orchestra 2005.

To Love Again