Zara Mcfarlane - Until Tomorrow

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:51
Size: 100,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:52)  1. More Than Mine
(4:17)  2. Captured (Part 3)
(3:47)  3. Mama Done
(5:14)  4. Until Tomorrow
(4:04)  5. Blossom Tree
(5:14)  6. Feed The Spirit (The Children And The Warlock)
(2:36)  7. Waking Sleep (Thoughts)
(4:51)  8. Chiaroscuro
(4:10)  9. Desire
(4:41) 10. More Than Mine (Alternate Take)

Until Tomorrow, from young London-based singer and writer Zara McFarlane, is a delight. This is not McFarlane's first recording her 2010 self-produced six-track EP, also called Until Tomorrow, debuted some of these songs, and she has also recorded with the Jazz Jamaica All Stars but it's her first full-length album. Filled with fresh and beautifully crafted compositions, it signals McFarlane's maturing talents as a singer and songwriter with a distinctive take on the art of the song.  McFarlane is no bluesy shouter, but she is most definitely a soulful singer. Her voice moves effortlessly from the plaintive yearning of "More Than Mine," through the slinky soul of "Blossom Tree" and "Chiaroscuro," to the pure and crystalline sounds of "Waking Sleep." There's often a childlike innocence and honesty to her performance, making her a consistently engaging singer. Her lyric, with their tales of lost love, sadness, romance and sensuality, are equally engaging all the more so because they have an air of mystery, often hinting at a narrative but leaving the listener to complete the story. On "Mama Done" McFarlane delivers a flurry of lyrics part sung and part rapped and occasionally threatening to overwhelm the singer over a tight Latin-tinged groove from pianist Peter Edwards, bassist Nick Walsh and drummer Andy Chapman."Until Tomorrow" benefits from a relatively sparse arrangement: delicate and spacious playing from Walsh and Chapman, over which McFarlane's voice floats with sparkling clarity. It also features the album's finest solo, a dazzlingly emotive performance from Edwards. 

The three saxophonists are used sparingly but effectively. The soft, lyrical, solo on "Blossom Tree" and the more frenetic one on "Chiaroscuro" are especially noteworthy sadly, the players' individual contributions are uncredited on the promotional copy of the album. McFarlane also interprets and slightly re-titles two tunes written by Harry Whitaker, best known for his work with Roberta Flack: "The Children & The Warlock" and "Thoughts." McFarlane's versions stay close musically to Whitaker's own, but her lyrics and vocals give both tunes added depth. "Feed The Spirit (The Children & The Warlock)" lets the whole band stretch out, giving the singer's emotionally intense vocal a strong, punchy backing. By contrast, McFarlane's beautiful rendition of "Waking Sleep (Thoughts)" is intense and perfectly measured. The vocal on her own "More Than Mine" is equally intense and affecting, but the backing is freer and builds its intensity over time to convey the singer's despair. In this collection of beautiful and affecting songs, "Blossom Tree" is the most immediately engaging a potential standard in the making. But Until Tomorrow is filled with musical treasures, waiting to be discovered. ~ Bruce Lindsay https://www.allaboutjazz.com/until-tomorrow-brownswood-recordings-review-by-bruce-lindsay.php

Personnel: Zara McFarlane: vocals; Binker Goldings: saxophone; Camilla George: saxophone; Zem Adu: saxophone; Peter Edwards: piano; Nick Walsh: double bass; Andy Chapman: drums.

Until Tomorrow

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Peter Edwards Trio - A Matter Of Instinct

Size: 101,2 MB
Time: 37:44
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz
Art: Front

01. Samba City (5:12)
02. Loved Ones (4:23)
03. Groove Swing Funk (4:11)
04. The Runaround (3:52)
05. A Matter Of Instinct (5:01)
06. Flying High (4:17)
07. Down But Not Out (5:26)
08. Escape Velocity (5:18)

This is the second album by Trinity Laban graduate and 2014 MOBO Awards nominee Peter Edwards, his first being 2014's Safe And Sound. Edwards was a member of a group led by the late trumpeter Abram Wilson and is currently a member of vocalist Zara McFarlane's band. Opening with an infectious Latin beat, "Samba City" recalls the foot- tapping imperative of Chick Corea's Return To Forever era. A calmer mood ensues with "Loved Ones" recalling the blues-infused, chordal-rich piano of Joe Zawinul during his time with the Julian "Cannonball" Adderley Quintet.

The more rhythmically complex "Groove Swing Funk" certainly matches its title and with a memorable theme it conjures-up an evocation of the Dudley Moore Trio in full flight. This album offers a veritable potpourri of styles, such as the lively, swinging "The Runaround" adorned by semi-pastiche Erroll Garner-like swathes of piano.

The title track sees Edwards on slinky Fender Rhodes backed by a keen sheening rhythm from Moses Boyd, the drummer half of the MOBO 2015 award-winning duo Binker and Moses. The straight-ahead "Flying High" with Edwards returning to acoustic piano precedes the slow blues of "Down But Not Out"; reminiscent of Ramsey Lewis it's embellished by an excellent pizzicato bass solo from Max Luthert.

The final number "Escape Velocity" has the trio in expansive mood, the piece distinguished by a repeated hook-like motif which eventually all-but closes-out the piece. Edwards' lithe compositions are matched by the trio's consummate performances, all contributing to a truly compulsive listening experience. ~Roger Farbey

Personnel: Peter Edwards: piano, Fender Rhodes; Max Luthert: bass; Moses Boyd: drums.

A Matter Of Instinct

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Zara Mcfarlane - If You Knew Her

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:09
Size: 124,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:42)  1. Open Heart
(3:34)  2. Her Eyes
(5:58)  3. Move
(3:36)  4. You'll Get Me in Trouble
(6:54)  5. Police & Thieves
(1:20)  6. Spinning Wheel
(4:25)  7. Plain Gold Ring
(7:35)  8. Angie La La
(4:00)  9. The Games We Played
(5:12) 10. Woman of the Olive Groves
(6:47) 11. Love

On her full-length follow up to 2010's EP Until Tomorrow, London-based singer Zara McFarlane perfects her blend of austere instrumentation and mantra-like rhythms supporting her rich and warm voice that owe more to Mongo Santamaria than reputedly Nina Simone or Roberta Flack. An album centerpiece, "Woman in the Olive Groves" undulates like "Afro Blue" while being able to act as its logical prelude. Backed by a traditional rhythm trio, McFarlane fulfills the potential of her subtle and muscular voice which sets perfectly against Brinker Golding's obtuse and probing tenor saxophone solo. Pianist Peter Edwards sinks McCoy Tyner chords into the ground like tent poles erected for elemental cover. It is this brief and honest instrumental and vocal simplicity that McFarlane, in her compositions, brings to this modern amalgam of jazz and soul.  McFarlane's voice swells to the challenge of sparse instrumentation. 

She capitalizes on the music's pulse, that necessary element propelling this collection of sweetly opaque songs forward. On "Move" McFarlane sings of motion and strength among uncertainty, motion provided by the shimmer of Edwards' right melodic hand tacked down by his precise left. The sole non-original composition is Junior Murvin's 1977 "Police & Thieves," later covered by the Clash. McFarlane takes the song far afield of Murvin's original Jah-happy rebellion and the Clash's boiling mercury version into the blended jazz-soul terrain of 21st Century London. A gentle heart is Zara McFarlane's, one that burns in a low smolder of creation. ~ C.Michael Bailey   http://www.allaboutjazz.com/if-you-knew-her-zara-mcfarlane-brownswood-recordings-review-by-c-michael-bailey.php#.U3VaFCi9a5w

Personnel: Zara McFarlane: vocals (all), piano (6), guitar (4); Peter Edwards: piano (2, 3, 5, 9, 10, 11); Gavin Barras: Bass (1, 8); Max Luthert: bass (2, 3, 5, 7, 10); Moses Boyd: drums (3, ; Andy Chapman: drums (2, 10); Taz Modi: drums (8); Binker Golding: tenor saxophone (10); Leron Thomas: trumpet (8); Rachel Gladwin: harp (8).

If You Knew Her

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