Rosana Eckert - Sailing Home

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:14
Size: 111,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:31)  1. Sailing Home
(3:57)  2. Garby the Great
(4:35)  3. Someone Else's Life
(4:52)  4. Waiting
(4:36)  5. Miles of Blue
(4:06)  6. Blue Flower
(4:49)  7. Coriander Stomp
(3:54)  8. Empty Room
(4:55)  9. Lovely Ever After
(5:37) 10. For Good
(3:19) 11. Meant for Me

Rosana Eckert has made a name for herself as a jazz vocals composer and arranger with her previous recordings, At The End Of The Day (GEM Records, 2003) and Small Hotel (GEM Records, 2010). Bright and imaginative, Eckert draws from a lifetime of music beginning with her childhood in El Paso, Texas, where the musical melting pot was richly seasoned with American, Hispanic, and European influences. Educated at the notable music school, the University of North Texas, she went on to become a faculty member in addition to leading her own band, performing as a wedding singer and recording commercial jingles. This wide-openness to anything musical is Eckert's charm. She has a giving and generous musical personality that manifests in her broad format and genre palette. On Sailing Home, Eckert composes or co-composes eleven disparate jazz songs, each with its own character and texture. Eckert's music is as much tactile as tuneful. This tactile musical nature reveals itself in the intersection of a chosen rhythm and the song arrangements. On the title song, Eckert and pianist Peter Eldridge craft a sonic walk on an uneven path.

Over the circuitous figure, guitarist Corey Christiansen lays an infectious muted electric counterfigure. Ben Whittman's prepared steel drums are just gravy. Eckert's singing is bright, positive and inviting, setting a warm tone to the entire project. "Garby The Great" is a slinky, blues-inflected ballad with Eckert singing with authority and awareness, almost as a spontaneous vocalese. Her scat counterpoint to Young Heo's walking bass leads to Christiansen's octaves, and Heo's muscular solo, tartly accented by Christiansen. If a voice can mimic a fingersnap, Eckert's does so.  "Someone Else's Life" shimmers with dubbed vocals, Eckert studying harmony and sound structure in a forward and progressive manner. Eldridge and Christiansen provide a delicate filigree hung on Heo's spare bass playing. Juxtaposed against this shiny surface is the humid and inviting "Waiting," featuring Ginny Mac's whispering accordion weaving with a lazy Reggae beat. The attention grabber is "Coriander Stomp" initiated by a dirty funk line by Christiansen that gives way to drummer Steve Barnes channelling Little Feat's Richie Hayward in a jaunty street march. Christiansen's solo is boss with fuzz and swing. Eckert sings wordlessly, scatting in and out of the musical celebration, which is a good way to describe the entire recording.. ~ C.Michael Bailey https://www.allaboutjazz.com/sailing-home-rosana-eckert-oa2-records-review-by-c-michael-bailey.php

Personnel: Rosana Eckert, vocals; Peter Eldridge, piano, organ, keyboards; Corey Christiansen, electric/acoustic guitars; Young Heo, acoustic bass; Steve Barnes, drums; Ben Wittman, percussion (1, 4, 9); Gary Eckert, percussion (5, 7, 10); Daniel Pardo, alto flute (8, 9); Brian Piper, piano (7); Ginny Mac, accordion (4).

Sailing Home

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Rondi Charleston - Love Is The Thing

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:16
Size: 111,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:08)  1. If I Were A Bell
(4:49)  2. You Fascinate Me So
(5:22)  3. Wouldn't It Be Loverly
(3:30)  4. I've Got Just About Everything
(5:17)  5. It Might As Well Be Spring
(3:32)  6. Talk To Me Baby
(3:41)  7. This Is Always
(4:01)  8. Love Is The Thing
(3:15)  9. Easy To Love
(5:28) 10. Something To Live For
(2:01) 11. Nobody Else But Me
(4:07) 12. A Time For Love

Love Is The Thing is a superlative collection of jazz and American popular standards, all united by an emerging musical star. Rondi Charleston proves herself as a jazz singer - she can swing in any tempo and puts a glorious sense of space, soul and simplicity in her ballads. Love Is The Thing features an all-star lineup of some of the world's finest jazzmen. https://www.amazon.com/Love-Thing-Rondi-Charleston/dp/B0002IQNCO

"A magnificent album...we haven't heard anything like this in years. Rondi Charleston is dynamite!" ~ WRTI (NPR)

"Even though Rondi Charleston has the pipes of an angel, she never shows off...utterly honest..." ~ New York Voices

"One of the most romantic albums in recent memory...one rich delicacy after another." ~ Cabaret Scenes

"Utterly delightful...she works her way into her listener's hearts...a joy to hear." ~ New York Times

Personnel: Rondi Charleston (vocals); Rondi Charleston; David Finck (bass instrument); Adam Rogers (guitar); Joel Frahm (alto saxophone); Glenn Drewes (trumpet); Peter Eldridge, Tedd Firth (piano); Erik Charleston (vibraphone); Lewis Nash (drums)

Love Is The Thing

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Kevin Mahogany - Pride & Joy

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:22
Size: 116,1 MB
Art: Front

(2:28)  1. Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours
(6:27)  2. Pride and Joy
(5:26)  3. I Can't Get Next to You
(4:57)  4. Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)
(3:33)  5. The Tears of a Clown
(2:53)  6. Reach Out I'll Be There
(5:11)  7. My World Is Empty Without You
(4:19)  8. Never Can Say Goodbye
(6:14)  9. She's Out of My Life
(3:30) 10. The Hunter Gets Caputured by the Game
(5:19) 11. Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)

The Tamala-Motown songbook...Kevin Mahogany is a bit of a quandary. A very fine jazz vocalist, Mahogany is not content just to recapitulate the standards. His current Pride & Joy and 2000's Pussy Cat Dues The Music of Charles Mingus are both tightly focused efforts intent on shining a light on little illuminated corners of jazz. Pride & Joy is a swinging tribute to Motown. Mahogany opens his tribute with a down-on-the-corner a cappella "Signed, Sealed, and Delivered." Marvin Gaye's "Pr;ide and Joy" is transformed from a Motown template into a swinging jazz vehicle that Mahogany takes for a spin. "Tear's of a Clown" is delivered as an angular ballad with only guitar accompaniment. 

A cappella delivery returns with "Reach Out I'll Be There." "Never Can Say Goodbye" is slickly produced and perfored. Mahogany throws off these gems in the same way George Gordon, Lord Byron could throw off brilliant verse without effort. Pride & Joy is well-conceived and delivered...Signed and Sealed. ~ C.Michael Bailey https://www.allaboutjazz.com/pride-and-joy-kevin-mahogany-telarc-records-review-by-c-michael-bailey.php
 

Personnel: Kevin Mahogany, Gregory Clark, Todd Johnson, Gerald Trottman, Peter Eldridge: Vocals;  Jon Faddis: Trumpet;  James Weideman:  Piano;  Dave Stryker:  Guitar;  Melissa Slocum:  Bass;  Charles Haynes:  Drums/Telephone Books:  Don Alias:  Percussion

Pride & Joy

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Deanna Witkowski - From This Place

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:17
Size: 138,4 MB
Art: Front

(6:44)  1. Let My Prayer Rise (Psalm 141)
(5:34)  2. I Heard The Voice Of Jesus Say
(4:49)  3. From This Place
(2:37)  4. Evening Mass: Kyrie
(3:07)  5. Evening Mass: Gloria
(2:53)  6. Evening Mass: Sanctus
(2:43)  7. Evening Mass: Agnus Dei
(6:53)  8. O, The Deep, Deep Love
(2:52)  9. Christ The Light
(3:19) 10. Never Before
(1:39) 11. Make Your Wonders Known
(5:45) 12. Pass Me Not
(3:51) 13. Keep In Mind
(2:48) 14. Take My Life And Let It Be
(3:36) 15. Song Of Simeon

Deanna Witkowski takes the spiritual road on From This Place through gospel, Catholic liturgy, blues and jazz, and 19th century text to which she has written music. Sacred music and jazz have come together through Mary Lou Williamsand Duke Ellington, to name two, while John Coltrane brought in his own ardent beliefs to several of his compositions. Witkowski's sacerdotal calling is strongl manifested, particularly in the sincerity of her singing.

"Let My Prayer Rise (Psalm 141)" is a gospel tune with Donny McCaslin laying the groove on the tenor saxophone. His warmth embraces the innate fervor with Witkowski adding to the impact with her pure, soaring voice. McCaslin is comfortable in several situations and this is one more for him; he makes it a memorable experience. Laila Biali and Kate McGarry join Witkowski on the a capella "Never Before," the purity of their harmonies circling and descending in a cloak of velvet. The words, written by Witkowski, are a testament to her faith and sound unabashedly naked in their sensibility; they harken back to the time when the human soul sought the spirit of the Lord and found communion with it. The mood is relaxed when Peter Eldridge turns up for a quartet to take on the joyous "Keep in Mind" accompanied by the piano and a melodic turn of phrase on the electric bass by John Patitucci. The juxtaposition of the two works well with the intensity of the first being calmed by the relaxing timbre of the second.

The modern does not escape her and Witkowski gives "Take My Life and Let it Be" and "Song of Simeon" straightforward contemporary turns. They are intensely personal evocations, but "Take My Life and Let It Be" may be in better form because of the harmonies. Witkowski comes up solidly on the side of faith and those who lean towards religious music will be rewarded. ~ Jerry D’Souza  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/from-this-place-deanna-witkowski-tilapia-records-review-by-jerry-dsouza.php

Personnel: Deanna Witkowski: piano, vocals; Donny McCaslin: soprano and tenor saxophones; John Patitucci: acoustic and electric basses; Scott Latzky: drums; Laila Biali: vocals (5, 7, 10, 13); Peter Eldridge: vocals (5, 7, 13); Kate McGarry: vocals (5, 7, 10, 13).

From This Place

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Peter Eldridge - Stranger In Town

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:01
Size: 128,6 MB
Art: Front

(5:35)  1. Spring is Here
(3:03)  2. The Touch of Your Lips
(3:26)  3. Someone to Light Up My Life
(6:10)  4. Out of This World
(2:57)  5. Exactly Like You
(5:28)  6. If You Could See Me Now
(3:26)  7. Every Time We Say Goodbye
(3:11)  8. Gentle Rain
(5:09)  9. Little Did We Know
(3:30) 10. This Nearly was Mine
(5:50) 11. Stranger in Town
(4:47) 12. A Flower is a Lovesome Thing
(3:23) 13. Sweet Lorraine

Peter Eldridge continues to combine all facets of his musical talents into an eclectic mix of performing, recording, composing and teaching. He released his first two solo recordings in 2001 the sophisticated pop of 'Fool No More', a collection of his original music co-produced by Peter and multitalented Ben Wittman, as well as the bittersweet standards found in 'Stranger in Town', produced by Peter and Jean Lignel, featuring an all-star cast of jazz luminaries such as Michael Brecker, Lewis Nash, Claudio Roditi and Romero Lubambo. Both CDs were recorded for the independent label Rosebud Music. This comes after years of dynamic recordings with the Grammy award-winning vocal group New York Voices, which Peter co-founded with Darmon Meader. The group has been touring the world since 1989 and released its sixth CD in 2001, the critically acclaimed Concord album 'Sing Sing Sing', a swinging big band tribute produced by another Grammy winner, Elliot Scheiner. The New York Voices was recently voted "Favorite Vocal Jazz Group" in the 2002 Jazz Times reader poll.

Reaction to Peter's solo projects has been very strong. WICN-FM of Boston gave 'Stranger in Town' its own version of the Grammy award for best jazz album of 2001. The internet music service allmusicguide.com said of 'Fool No More', "Eldridge belongs in the celebrated tradition of melodic poets, most famously represented by such disparate voices as Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Van Morrison: singer/songwriters who create catchy, beautiful tunes with insightful lyrics that are both personal and universal... http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/petereldridge1

Personnel: Romero Lubambo (guitar); Michael Brecker, Donny McCaslin (tenor saxophone); Claudio Roditi (flugelhorn); Andy Ezrin (piano); Jean-Baptiste Boclé (vibraphone); Lewis Nash, Ben Wittman (drums).

Stranger In Town

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