Showing posts with label Reg Schwager. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reg Schwager. Show all posts

Thursday, August 7, 2025

Diana Panton - Soft Winds and Roses

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2024
Time: 57:52
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 133,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:34) 1. Your Song
(3:48) 2. (They Long to Be) Close to You
(3:18) 3. Secret Heart
(3:54) 4. Sweet Happy Life
(3:46) 5. A Wish (Valentine)
(3:43) 6. How Deep Is Your Love
(3:55) 7. Pussywillows Cat-Tails
(3:37) 8. Here, There And Everywhere
(3:58) 9. You and I (Voce E Eu)
(5:13) 10. And I Love You So
(5:12) 11. Until It's Time For You To Go
(4:19) 12. Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye
(2:47) 13. Snow
(5:39) 14. Both Sides Now

Diana Panton has long been an artist of quiet yet undeniable depth, uniquely transforming melodies into deeply personal narratives. On Soft Winds and Roses, she focuses on modern classics from the 1960s onward, drawing from the songbooks of Elton John, Burt Bacharach, Gordon Lightfoot, Lennon and McCartney, Leonard Cohen, and Joni Mitchell, among many others. In doing so, she creates an album that is both a journey through timeless compositions and a meditation on love's delicate arc, marked by hesitant beginnings, profound connections, and inevitable farewells.

Panton collaborates with two of Canada's most sensitive and intuitive instrumentalists: Don Thompson, whose multifaceted presence on piano, vibraphone, and bass brings nuanced grace to the album, and Reg Schwager, whose guitar lines embody understated elegance. The trio's minimalist approach allows each phrase and silence to resonate with genuine emotion.

From the opening notes of Thompson's subtle piano on Elton John's "Your Song," Panton's singular weightless delivery embodies the tentative blush of new love. In Bacharach and David's " They Long to be Close to You," she offers an invitation wrapped in silk, accentuating its Latin undercurrent with Thompson's vibraphone voicing. The Bee Gee's popular hit "How Deep is Your Love" is filled with emotive modulation beautifully enhanced by Thompson's light- fingered touch. Canada's folk troubadour Gordon Lightfoot wrote "Pussywillows, Cat-Tails," which may be one of his lesser- known songs. Panton gives a heartfelt reading made all the more so by the in-the-moment support from Schwager and Thompson.

The album's middle section finds Panton at her most affecting. Lennon & McCartney's "Here, There, and Everywhere." The number is delivered with aching sincerity, and the simplicity of her phrasing makes the lyrics glow anew. Schwager has a solo that matches his singular reputation. Canadian singer, songwriter, poet and novelist Leonard Cohen wrote" Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye," perhaps the album's most poignant moment. Panton's voice is imbued with a hushed resignation that lingers long after the final note fades. Schwager's probing guitar captures the heartbreak of the moment.

Another internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter is Canadian Joni Mitchell. Her composition "Both Sides Now" carries the weight of wisdom earned. When Panton sings of clouds, love, and life's illusions, she does so with the kind of clarity that only a master interpreter can provide. The album is filled with quiet revelations, where the space between the words holds as much meaning as the words themselves.By Pierre Giroux
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/soft-winds-and-roses-diana-panton-self-produced

Personnel: Diana Panton - vocals; Reg Schwager - guitar; Don Thompson - bass

Soft Winds and Roses

Thursday, July 31, 2025

Reg Schwager - Senza Resa

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2023
Time: 72:23
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 166,6 MB
Art: Front

( 5:26) 1. Another Happening
( 6:08) 2. Rushbrooke
( 5:18) 3. 4jt
( 6:24) 4. The Orient
( 5:36) 5. Tender Love
( 8:44) 6. Blues For Josie
( 7:31) 7. Black Horse
( 6:05) 8. Squagels
( 8:53) 9. Cat From Katmandu
(12:12) 10. Blues For Josie Rose (Live)

Even though Canada's admirable Schwager/Oliver Quintet carefully dots every "I" and crosses every "T" on Senza Resa, something else seems to be missing, and that something could be a clear sense of purpose. This is an album on which everyone plays well, the songs are by and large respectable, and yet the whole somehow adds up to less than the sum of its parts.

That defect could be ascribed in part to the choice of material, nine original compositions (one of which is repeated) that are pleasant enough when uncoupled but leave the overall impression of a group of first-rate musicians who decided for reasons of their own and with no special purpose in mind to come together in a studio and record an album. That is not to say there is not a lot to like here; how could it be otherwise with musicians as savvy and talented as guitarist Reg Schwager and woodwind specialist Ryan Oliver presiding over a rhythm section comprised of keyboardist Nick Peck, bassist Rene Worst and drummer Ernesto Cervini.

Among the songs, Cervini's groovy, bop-flavored "Squagels" (on which Schwager offers one of his best solos) is perhaps the pick of the litter, with Peck's sunny "4JT" and Oliver's "Blues for Josie Rose" vying for runner-up honors. "Josie Rose" was recorded twice, in the studio and (two days before) for a live audience. Oliver (on tenor sax) is especially impressive on "Squagels," as is Peck on acoustic piano. Oliver plays flute on "Another Happening" and the ballad "Tender Love," soprano sax on "The Cat from Katmandu," tenor the rest of the way, while Peck plays organ on "Happening" and "Katmandu," electric piano on "Black Horse" and Schwager's attractive "Rushbrooke."

While Worst and Cervini don't solo often, they make the most of their few chances, with Cervini notably effective (with brushes and sticks) on "Squagels" and "Josie Rose." Meanwhile, Schwager and Oliver do their thing, which means soloing with alacrity and perception. As touched on earlier, there is a lot to admire and appreciate on Senza Resa an Italian phrase that translates as "no surrender"even though the finished product may seem to some ears a step or so removed from special.By Jack Bowers https://www.allaboutjazz.com/senza-reza-reg-schwager-celler-live

Personnel: Reg Schwager - Guitars; Ryan Oliver - Tenor, Soprano saxophones & flute.; Nick Peck - Keyboards; Rene Worst - Upright and electric bass; Ernesto Cervini - Drums

Senza Resa

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Reg Schwager - Songbook

Size: 120,6 MB
Time: 51:54
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2017
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. Bygones (Feat. Jeannette Lambert, Allison Au, Steve Wallace & Michel Lambert) (4:08)
02. Kisses Of Summer (Feat. John Alcorn & Don Thompson) (4:11)
03. O Que Tinha Que Dar (Feat. Luanda Jones, Mike Murley, Allison Au, Amanda Tosoff, Maninho Costa & Fabio Ragnelli) (4:52)
04. Whoop-De-Doo (Feat. John Alcorn & Steve Wallace) (4:21)
05. Splintered Dream (Feat. Jeannette Lambert, Don Thompson & Amanda Tosoff) (4:33)
06. Dreamcatcher (Feat. Jeannette Lambert, William Sperandei & Maninho Costa) (3:55)
07. Valsa Eterea (Feat. Luanda Jones, Kiki Misumi, Allison Au & Amanda Tosoff) (4:47)
08. Another Winter (Feat. Jeannette Lambert & Amanda Tosoff) (3:47)
09. Checkin' Out (Feat. John Alcorn, Steve Wallace & Fabio Ragnelli) (4:15)
10. Provence (Feat. Jeannette Lambert, Michel Lambert & Perry White) (3:56)
11. September's Waltz (Feat. John Alcorn & Don Thompson) (3:52)
12. Crow's Call (Feat. Jeannette Lambert, Brodie West & Michel Lambert) (5:13)

The album introduces some wonderful new songs written by Reg with lyrics by the vocalists on the album, Jeannette Lambert, John Alcorn and Luanda Jones.

As a child prodigy, Reg’s great musical passion was learning as many jazz songs as humanly possible, which eventually inspired his own songwriting. He has always had an affinity for vocal jazz helped by his long standing duo with his sister, vocalist Jeannette Lambert. One of their earliest songs, Bygones, opens the album. Other songs, such as Provence and Crow’s Cry, were written in the past year.

He continues to support and encourage vocal jazz expression in much of his work. This collection of some of his best songs is a testament to that. Jeannette Lambert is a respected singer, poet and multi-media artist. There is an appealing directness and deceptive simplicity to her work that belies an unusual depth of meaning and understanding – like a Miles Davis trumpet solo.

John Alcorn’s lyrics, like his singing, are a perfect blend of emotion and craft, as in the poignant ballad Kisses of Summer. His keen wit is also on display in the devilishly clever Whoop-De-Doo.

Valsa etérea and O que tinha que dar feature lyrics in Portuguese by Luanda Jones. Luanda grew up in a richly musical household in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. From diverse influences she has developed a style that radiates vitality, sophistication and charm.

The album also features inspired musical contributions from Allison Au, Amanda Tosoff, Brodie West, Don Thompson, Fabio Ragnelli, Kiki Misumi, Maninho Costa, Michel Lambert, Mike Murley, Perry White, Steve Wallace and William Sperandei.

Songbook