Sara Gazarek - Thirsty Ghost

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:41
Size: 148,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:58)  1. Lonely Hours
(3:47)  2. Never Will I Marry
(4:47)  3. I'm Not the Only One
(4:18)  4. Easy Love
(5:43)  5. I Get Along Without You Very Well
(5:43)  6. I Believe (When I Fall in Love)
(4:34)  7. Jolene
(5:27)  8. Gaslight District
(6:59)  9. The River/River Man
(0:33) 10. Intro: Chrysalis
(5:53) 11. Cocoon
(6:11) 12. Distant Storm
(4:45) 13. Spinning Round

Sara Gazarek has been working as a professional jazz singer since 2004. You can find plenty of vintage YouTube clips of her singing Great American Songbook material in a breezy, polished manner. A few years ago, things began to happen in her life. There was near-death tragedy in her family, her marriage fell apart and she began to wonder about her professional future. On this, her sixth album, her reactions to all this have resulted in a broadening and deepening of her art. She sings here with a new-found power and earnestness and draws her repertoire from a wide array of sources including Stevie Wonder, Nick Drake and her own writing. The music on the set includes funky fusion tracks, acoustic ballads and hybrids of differing styles. Hoagy Carmichael's "I Get Along Without You Very Well" gets a simple treatment with wistful voice against a piano trio while Frank Loesser's "Never Will I Marry" is buoyed by a bubbly African rhythm. Cuts like"I'm Not The Only One" and Stevie Wonder's "I Believe When I Fall In Love" have plush electric funk or soul backing and are brought to life through the earnest humanity of Gazarek's singing. She shows a more subtle sensuality on "Easy Love," cooing over sophisticated jazz-pop led by Larry Goldings' organ and Stu Mindeman's piano. The drama really comes out in Dolly Parton's classic country ballad, "Jolene." Over a turbulent rumble of piano and drums, Gazarek's voice starts out intense and gets harder and angrier as the song goes on. By the end she is practically screaming at Jolene to keep away from her man.

Over its last few tracks, the CD takes a more philosophical turn. "Gaslight District" is a calming combination of jazz and folk impulses with Gazarek's vocal supported by sensitive reeds. The horn section also provides a soothing backdrop to her singing of a Sara Teasdale poem "The River" which segues into Nick Drake's magical "River Man" sung over a gently rocking electric piano. Bjork's typically dreamlike "Cocoon" allows Gazarek to stretch her voice in a weightless atmosphere surrounded by softly pulsing bass and percussion and ghostly electric piano. Finally she sings her own words over the open sky landscapes of Brad Mehldau's composition, "Distant Storm," her voice firm with quiet conviction as she climbs through the folk-tinged melody with help from a rich alto solo by Josh Johnson and an elegant vocal interlude by her friend and mentor, Kurt Elling. This is the finest music of Sara Gazarek's career to date. Her voice is still glossy and polished but now it also has purpose and maturity. She sounds like a woman who has faced challenges and survived. The music on these tracks goes in several different directions but the depth and honesty of Gazarek's singing ties them all together. As the picture on the CD cover suggests, this work comes directly from her heart. ~ Jerome Wilson https://www.allaboutjazz.com/thirsty-ghost-sara-gazarek-self-produced-review-by-jerome-wilson.php

Personnel: Sara Gazarek: voice; Stu Mindeman: piano, rhodes; Alex Boneham: bass; Christian Euman: piano; Josh Johnson: alto saxophone; Danny Janklow: alto saxophone; Ido Meshulam: trombone; Brian Walsh: bass clarinet; Erin Bentlage, Michael Mayo: background vocals; Keita Ogawa: percussion (2); Aaron Serfaty: percussion (6); Larry Goldings: organ (4,8); Kurt Elling: voice (12).

Thirsty Ghost

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Mark Winkler - The Company I Keep

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:56
Size: 128.0 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 2017
Art: Front

[4:12] 1. Walk Between The Raindrops (With Jackie Ryan)
[5:12] 2. Strollin' (With Cheryl Bentyne)
[4:27] 3. Midnight In Paris
[3:30] 4. But It Still Ain't So (With Steve Tyrell)
[5:42] 5. That Afternoon In Harlem
[3:15] 6. They Can't Take That Away From Me
[4:58] 7. Stolen Moments (With Claire Martin)
[4:27] 8. Love Comes Quietly
[5:18] 9. Rainproof (With Sara Gazarek)
[5:20] 10. The Sum
[4:00] 11. Lucky To Be Me
[5:28] 12. Here's To Life

Mark Winkler: vocals; Jackie Ryan: vocals (1); Jamieson Trotter: piano (1, 2, 4, 6, 7), Hammond B-3 (4); Lyman Medeiros: bass (1, 2, 4, 6, 10, 11); Mike Shapiro: drums (1, 2, 6, 10); Bob McChesney: trombone (1, 5, 7); Ron Blake: trumpet (1, 7); Brian Swartz: trumpet (1, 7); Bob Sheppard: saxophone (1, 4, 7, 9, 10), clarinet (11); Cheryl Bentyne: vocals (2); Larry Koonse: guitar (2, 3); Rich Eames: piano (3, 12); John Clayton: bass (3, 7-9); Jeff Hamilton: drums (3, 5, 7-9); Don Shelton: clarinet (3); Paul Cartwright: violin (3); Bob Mann: guitars (4); Kevin Winard: drums (4), percussion (10); Eric Reed: piano (5, 8); John Beasley: piano (10); David Benoit: piano (11).

The utility of music, at its very core, is entertainment. It is not all about dissonance and consonance, tonal conflict and resolution; heart and intellect, pathos and ethos. Somewhere in everything music has to offer, there must be a smile. It is in music's smile that vocalist Mark Winkler exists. An elegant West Coast mainstay, vocalist/lyricist/composer Winkler, drove across my radar first with his 2011 recording Sweet Spot (Café Pacific Records). I was struck by how well Winkler could skirt the orbit of con brio cabaret singing, with its fun, entertainment core, and remain completely fixed in his capacity of jazz singer and composer.

Winkler followed Sweet Spot with his bold 2013 release, The Laura Nyro Project (Café Pacific Records). An exceptional duet recording with The Manhattan Transfer's Cheryl Bentyne, West Coast Cool (Summit Records, 2013) came next, followed by the fun and good-natured Jazz and Other Four Letter Words (Café Pacific Records, 2015).

Winkler had a period of personal loss in 2016 that would have crushed lesser musical mortals. Rather than dwell in the loss, Winkler circled his wagons, and, by wagons I mean his friends, producing the present recording, The Company I Keep. The recording is tacitly a duets recording, where Winkler shares singing duties with the likes of Jackie Ryan "Walk Between the Raindrops" and Steve Tyrell "But It Still Ain't So." Sometimes the duets are with musicians: pianists David Benoit, Josh Nelson and Eric Reed join Winkler regular Jamison Trotter in providing the singer support. Add to this the contributions of reeds player Bob Sheppard and a picture is complete. With friends like that, how can one go wrong.

The recording, engineering, and sonics are exceptional, as well as the arrangements (mostly by Trotter). The project is composed of a a dozen pieces, half with lyrics composed by Winkler and half carefully selected by him and his cohorts. Beautifully, the "standards" (if you will) are not so standard. Donald Fagan's "Walk Between Raindrops," shared with Ryan and Prince's "Strollin'" shared with Cheryl Bentyne are pure genius in song selection. What is amply apparent is that Winkler is enjoying himself and his friends and vice versa. "Stolen Moments" with Claire Martin (using the late Mark Murphy's lyrics) and "Rainproof," sung with Sara Gazarek (this latter with Winkler lyrics) demonstrates Winkler's artistic resilience and determination.

Winkler's complete dedication to his friends is also expressed in the cover art, which includes West Coast dignitaries well known to our electronic pages (in no particular order): Lauren White, Jeffrey Gimble, Barbara Brighton, Andrew Abaria, Richard Winkler, Judy Wexler, and Dolores Scozzesi. Mark Winkler, I am so glad you (we) have them all. ~C. Michael Bailey

The Company I Keep mc
The Company I Keep zippy

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Sara Gazarek & Josh Nelson - Dream In The Blue

Size: 126,2 MB
Time: 53:43
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. Blackbird - Bye Bye Blackbird (4:14)
02. O Pato (3:27)
03. Sunny Side Of The Street (4:13)
04. All Again (4:24)
05. I Can't Make You Love Me (4:16)
06. Mood Indigo (3:55)
07. No Moon At All (5:26)
08. Petit Papillon (3:58)
09. I Don't Love You Anymore (3:47)
10. Father Father (5:05)
11. Behind Me (4:28)
12. Cello Song - Without A Song (6:24)

The success of a story often hinges on the art of the telling. Listen to vocalist Sara Gazarek with pianist Josh Nelson and you immediately see that to be true. These two use ripples of inflection to elicit tidal waves of emotion, uncover new wrinkles in the oldest of thematic fabrics, paint scenes and/or inhabit characters so deeply and convincingly that they blur or erase the lines separating true self from role, and willingly reveal all that this world has to offer—blessings, drama, and slings and arrows included. On Dream In The Blue, Gazarek and Nelson alternately elicit tears of joy and sorrow by moving from escape to reality, heaven to earth, and mirth to melancholy, reaffirming their collective position as one of the most arresting voice-and-piano pairings out there in the process.

While their musical relationship is at the heart of all four of Gazarek's previous albums, it's never been highlighted to this degree before. Through duo work these two have discovered an even deeper bond than those formed over their many years of collaboration; it's a bond built on the mutual acceptance of art as a reflection of life.

There's certainly more darkness and woe here than usual for Gazarek and Nelson, but there's no lack of light. The triptych that introduces the album makes that clear. First up is their signature marriage of "Blackbird" and "Bye Bye Blackbird," a beautiful medley filled with hopefulness and reflection. A perky performance of "O Pato" follows. Gazarek moves effortlessly from Portuguese to English, shades of "Take The 'A' Train" materialize in the harmonic framework of the song, and effervescence rules the day. Then optimism continues to shine through with a version of "On The Sunny Side Of The Street" that finds Gazarek matching moves with Nelson on some daring, wordless, well-choreographed maneuvers.

Everything is looking up at this point in the album, but then the realization that nobody rides life's highs forever is swiftly set upon the listener. With "All Again," a radio-worthy Nelson original, a balance point is achieved between darkness and hope; a poignant and nuanced performance of the Bonnie Raitt-associated "I Can't Make You Love Me" tears the heart apart; and a highly personalized rendition of "Mood Indigo," harmonically tweaked and rooted to sixteenth notes, brings out the dark blue meaning in the title better than most.

The second half of the album is no less intriguing in its emotional and musical blend. The seductive "No Moon At All" swings and sings just as it should, demonstrating a straightforward approach that still offers a few surprises. An amalgamation of musical lightness and subject heaviness appears with "Petit Papillon," a Gazarek-Nelson work that uses the plight of a captured and damaged butterfly as an analogue for a woman snared in love, wounded by its daggers, and left in the dust. Then there's "I Don't Love You Anymore," a collaboration between these two and songwriter Cliff Goldmacher that's built around an emotional wallop of a post-breakup encounter. It comes softly but hits hard. This is the point where heartbreak is piled upon heartbreak.

The album then moves toward its conclusion with Laura Mvula's hymn-like "Father Father," Nelson's "Behind Me" (with new lyrics from Gazarek), and a medley of Nick Drake's "Cello Song" and "Without A Song." That last entry, bridging two distinctly different forms of popular music from different eras, conceptually complements the album's opening number and brings things to an ideal conclusion.

Convincingly selling this wide variety of material in such an intimate setting is no easy feat, but Sara Gazarek and Josh Nelson are uncommonly gifted communicators who have no problem getting these stories across in just the right way(s). Dream In The Blue is a testament to the strength of their relationship. It's an album that's likely to endure in hearts and minds. ~Dan Bilawsky

Personnel: Sara Gazarek: vocals; Josh Nelson: piano.

Dream In The Blue

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John Proulx - The Best Thing For You

Styles: Vocal and Piano Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:27
Size: 164,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:56)  1. The Best Thing For You (Would Be Me)
(5:36)  2. Sing
(4:31)  3. Jogger Chronicles
(5:17)  4. Love Is For Dreamers
(4:50)  5. I Can't Give You Anything But Love
(5:56)  6. Angel
(5:24)  7. Wabash
(5:33)  8. Before We Say Goodnight
(4:38)  9. Push Hands Anna
(5:29) 10. And So It Goes
(4:12) 11. Two of a Kind
(5:04) 12. In the Days of Our Love
(3:46) 13. Here's to the "Chuckster"
(5:07) 14. Proulx's Blues

While female jazz vocalists outnumber male jazz vocalists five to one, it would be a fallacy to believe there is not a wealth of talent among the men singers. With Louis Armstrong and Chet Baker now memories, and Mark Murphy and Jon Hendricks in twilight, as Kurt Elling ascends their throne, there exists a vocal diaspora of the most refined and sonically appealing voices singing, and they are all men. Andy Bey, Beat Kaestli, Henry Darragh and John Proulx all have beautifully sweet and slightly androgynous voices that are able to flatter a broad range of song types. Proulx, who has previously released the uniformly excellent Moon and Sand (2006) and Baker's Dozen: Remembering Chet Baker on Maxjazz, proves again, on The Best Thing For You, that he is the leader of this pack.

The Best Thing For You weighs heavier with Proulx originals than standards and the entire assembly hangs as if born together. Proulx has great empathy with Irving Berlin, spinning his title tune into a tale that can only be described as delightful. Proulx channels Berlin's stage spirit in his own tunes, like the "Push Hands Anna," which is almost a throwback to the wartime Andrews Sisters, but sings perfectly now. Proulx programs the McHugh/Fields chestnut "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" with his own "Love Is For Dreamers," which he duets with Sara Gazarek. His excellent vocals and piano smooth the two rather different songs together into a homogenous whole, making perfect sense.

Proulx's core trio includes bassist Chuck Berghofer and drummer Joe LaBarbera, who also supported the singer on his two previous outings. Guitarist Larry Koonse, trumpeter Ron Stout and reed multi-instrumentalist Bob Sheppard all appear in different contexts. Pianist Bill Cunliffe shares production and song arrangement services with Proulx, while playing piano on Marian McPartland's "In The Days of Our Love." Proulx sings Peggy Lee's lyrics like they were penned yesterday. The duet between Cunliffe and Proulx is very effective. He also duets with the Berghofer on "Here's to The Chuckster," a song Proulx penned in honor of the bassist. Proulx is not a blues singer per se, but does demonstrate his affinity for the style on the piano, rendering a swinging "Proulx's Blues," which closes this most excellent recital. ~ C.Michael Bailey  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-best-thing-for-you-john-proulx-maxjazz-review-by-c-michael-bailey.php

Personnel: John Proulx: vocals. piano; Chuck Berghofer: bass; Joe La Barbera: drums; Sara Gazarek: vocals (4, 6, 8); Michael Feinstein: vocals (11); Bill Cunliffe: piano (12); Bob Shepphard: soprano, tenor saxophone & flute (1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 11); Larry Koonse: guitar (2, 4, 7-9); Ron Stout: trumpet (1, 3, 7, 11); Jeremy Boersma: cello (6).

The Best Thing For You

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Sara Gazarek - Live At The Jazz Bakery

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 53:53
Size: 123.4 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 2007
Art: Front

[4:03] 1. Cheek To Cheek
[2:44] 2. Too Darn Hot
[4:27] 3. More
[4:03] 4. Yours
[3:38] 5. You Are My Sunshine
[3:04] 6. So This Is Love
[4:25] 7. Give Me That Smile
[6:24] 8. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
[4:25] 9. You've Changed
[3:36] 10. Let's Try This Again
[8:09] 11. Don't Know How To Stay
[4:50] 12. Makes Me Feel This Way

Gazarek didn’t discover her calling until her senior year, when her school band flew to New York City to compete in the Essentially Ellington Competition, hosted by the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. It was the first year that the competition included a big band vocal feature, so Gazarek joined the band, and ended up walking away with the first ever Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation Vocal Soloist Award.

When Gazarek arrived at the University of Southern California, she was the only jazz studies vocal major in her class, and quickly discovered that she was way behind her peers when it came to jazz theory. She spent much of the first year off by herself studying for hours every day, listening closely to classic recordings by Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins and Hank Mobley. She studied privately with vocalists Tierney Sutton and Carmen Bradford, pianist Shelly Berg and bassist/arranger John Clayton, who become one of her most important champions.

At USC, Sara helped develop the JazzReach program, spending two years as a jazz choir director with inner city elementary school children. “I was fortunate to have a very passionate jazz educator at my high school, and know that if it wasn’t for Scott, I probably wouldn’t have discovered my own love of jazz. The idea of lighting that flame in even just one young musician is exciting to me.”

Sara Gazarek, voice; Josh Nelson, piano; Erik Kertes, bass; Matt Slocum, drums. Special Guest, Katisse Buckingham, flute

Live At The Jazz Bakery

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Sara Gazarek - Yours

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:05
Size: 117,0 MB
Art: Front + Back

(3:13)  1. My Shining Hour
(4:02)  2. Yours
(5:12)  3. Amazing
(3:41)  4. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
(3:58)  5. Cheek To Cheek
(4:27)  6. You Got By
(5:55)  7. Blackbird / Bye Bye Blackbird
(5:07)  8. The Circle Game
(6:53)  9. All Or Nothing At All
(4:59) 10. Too Young To Go Steady
(3:34) 11. You Are My Sunshine

When an older jazz singer warns a younger jazz singer that vocal jazz is an extremely crowded, brutally competitive field, it isn't just rhetoric vocal jazz (like just about any other area of music) has a lot more applicants than openings or opportunities. Therefore, aspiring young jazz singers need to do everything possible to stand out and make a personal statement  and on the more memorable parts of her debut album, Yours, Sara Gazarek stands out. While the West Coast singer (who was in her early twenties when bassist John Clayton produced this album in April 2005) still has some growing and developing to do, she definitely has potential. Gazarek's approach is best described as vocal jazz by way of a singer/songwriter aesthetic; one hears influences like Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, and Abbey Lincoln in her vocals, but a healthy appreciation of Carole King and Joni Mitchell asserts itself as well. In fact, one of the best things on the album is an interpretation of Mitchell's "The Circle Game." Unfortunately, the warhorse factor is much too strong on this 51 minute disc; do listeners really need to hear a singer who was born after the '70s embracing "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye," "My Shining Hour," "Cheek to Cheek," and other Tin Pan Alley warhorses that have been totally beaten to death over the years? 

There is so much jazz history attached to those songs that younger, newer jazz singers are better off avoiding them and turning their interpretive powers to gems that haven't been beaten to death  "The Circle Game," for example. But an excess of warhorses doesn't erase the fact that Gazarek has an appealing vocal style; although subtle and understated, she projects a lot of warmth and gets her emotional points across. All things considered, Yours is a noteworthy, if inconsistent, debut and Gazarek is certainly worth keeping an eye on. ~ Alex Henderson   http://www.allmusic.com/album/yours-mw0000659871

Yours

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