Shannon Butcher - Little Hearts

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:43
Size: 102.4 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[3:17] 1. Joy In My Heart
[4:22] 2. Walk On By
[3:00] 3. The Last Word (Feat. Michael Kaeshammer)
[4:39] 4. Hush
[3:36] 5. Run To You
[5:42] 6. (I Ain't In The Mood For) No Dj
[4:28] 7. Simple Love
[3:57] 8. What'll I Do
[3:41] 9. Smile
[4:36] 10. Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)
[3:20] 11. Better Kisser

Jazz singer Shannon Butcher has come out with another great album and its main strength is in the material she’s chosen to cover. She’s done what I think all modern jazz singers should be doing, i.e. quit covering the done-to-death standards and look to a more modern songbook for fodder. Sure there’s a place for the Gershwin and Porter rehashings now and then - especially in live performance - but when greats like Ella and Sarah have recorded them before, a singer had better be bringing something pretty interesting to the party, or why should we buy it? So when I see 70s and 80s tunes on a CD cover, as is the case with “Little Hearts,” it’s a sign that an artist is thinking outside the box, and that’s what jazz is all about. The Bacharach-David beauty Walk on By gets a moody, heartfelt treatment that reflects the sentiment of the lyrics better than the peppy Warwick original (sorry Dionne!) and Bryan Adams’ Run to You goes Latin American with Daniel Stone on cajon and Rob Piltch doing his usual tasteful nylon string guitar work.

Butcher has also done some very fine songwriting on this album. Joy in My Heart kicks off the disc with a soulful ode to staying positive and the duet with the enormously talented Michael Kaeshammer - The Last Word - is a cute nod to 60s romantic comedies. The one older standard covered here - Irving Berlin’s What’ll I Do - has been given an inventive alt-country facelift courtesy of Piltch’s twangy, plaintive guitar work. ~Cathy Riches

Little Hearts

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Shannon Butcher - How Sweet It Is

Styles:  Vocal
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:36
Size: 90,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:15)  1. Fire and Rain
(3:37)  2. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow
(3:24)  3. No Moon At All
(2:48)  4. Fly Like an Eagle
(4:17)  5. How Sweet It Is (to Be Loved By You)
(3:13)  6. How Comes the Rain Again
(3:26)  7. Here Comes the Sun
(3:27)  8. I Think It's Going to Rain Today
(4:29)  9. Message in a Bottle
(3:20) 10. Take On Me
(2:15) 11. Mother Nature's Son

Shannon Butcher (vocalist) is a Toronto based vocalist, composer, and bandleader. Born in Mississauga, Ontario, Butcher began singing at the age of six. Influenced by her record collection, Butcher began studying jazz at Cawthra Park Arts High School, inspired in part by a school visit by Diana Krall. Butcher pursued classical music studies at the University of Toronto. She also took vocal lessons with Jo-Anne Bentley, Elaine Overholt and Micah Barnes, as well as piano lessons from Frank Falco. In the late 1990s, she formed Swing Rosie, an Andrews Sisters-styled trio formed with Kira Callahan and Chantelle Wilson. Butcher has released a number of recordings under her own name. Her debut album, Words We Both Could Say, was released in 2008. It features an eclectic selection of cover tunes from a variety of composers including Henry Mancini, Tears for Fears, and Jimmy Webb. Her 2010 album, Little Hearts, included tunes by Burt Bacharach, Bryan Adams, Irving Berlin, as well as a number of original compositions. In 2011, Shannon released a duo recording with bassist Ross MacIntyre entitled How Sweet It Is. This recording includes songs composed by James Taylor, Steve Miller, Sting, Annie Lennox, and the Beatles.Butcher’s released Butcher Sings Baker in October 2013. It features Shannon singing songs from the Chet Baker songbook with a quintet featuring Rebecca Hennessey, trumpet; Mark Kieswetter, piano; Ross MacInture, bass; and Maxwell Roach, drums. http://www.canadianjazzarchive.org/en/musicians/shannon-butcher.html

How Sweet It Is

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Shannon Butcher - Words We Both Could Say

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:47
Size: 95.6 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 2008
Art: Front

[3:31] 1. Mad World
[4:02] 2. Wichita Lineman
[3:01] 3. Here, There & Everywhere
[3:54] 4. It Might As Well Be Spring
[5:42] 5. Call Me
[2:31] 6. Just A Girl
[6:07] 7. Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)
[4:00] 8. Slow Hot Wind
[5:36] 9. Strange & Beautiful
[3:18] 10. Walking After Midnight

Bass - Ross MacIntyre; Drums - Mark McLean; Guitar - Rob Pilch; Percussion - Daniel Stone; Piano, Electric Piano [Rhodes] - Michael Shand; Saxophone - Kelly Jefferson; Trumpet - William Sperandei.

Shannon Butcher is quickly becoming a favourite on the Canadian jazz scene for her dynamic voice and fresh spirit. "Jazz isn’t about one label or style; it’s not about one person or time," says Butcher. "It’s about the freedom to bring together all of your experiences; sing in the moment and connect with your audience." Shannon's debut CD, Words We Both Could Say, is a fusion of styles and an open door invitation to transcend expectations. Through her unique jazz transformations of “standards” from artists including the Beatles, Patsy Cline and No Doubt, the Toronto artist has connected with jazz aficionados and new listeners alike. Since its release, Words We Both Could Say has reached the 2 spot on the Canadian Campus Jazz chart and broke through the Top Ten of iTunes Top Jazz Albums. Thanks to her Internet presence Shannon has become a hit on jazz stations in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Words We Both Could Say

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Shannon Butcher & Rebecca Hennessy - Butcher Sings Baker

Styles: Vocal Jazz, Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 25:50
Size: 59,8 MB
Art: Front

(2:50)  1. Do It the Hard Way
(3:10)  2. I'll Remember April
(3:35)  3. Time After Time
(3:20)  4. Almost Blue
(3:29)  5. Happy Little Sunbeam
(3:46)  6. My Heart Stood Still
(5:39)  7. Everything Happens to Me

Shannon Butcher (Vocals) with Rebecca Hennessy (Trumpet) perform the Chet Baker Songbook; saluting one of the Jazz world’s most popular male vocalists and horn players. In their first collaboration together, these two celebrated ladies of the Toronto jazz scene will perform a broad range of material spanning the breadth of Chet Baker’s career, with a focus on his vocal repertoire.  Selections will include works from his later period such as Elvis Costello’s “Almost Blue” along with the classic standards “I Fall In Love Too Easily”, “My Funny Valentine”, “It Could Happen To You”, “Let’s Get Lost” and more!Accompanied by an outstanding Piano, Bass and Drum trio (Mark Kieswetter, Ross MacIntyre and Maxwell Roach), this duo who are known for exploring the “new” come together to explore the inspiration of a jazz icon. Shannon Butcher is a well-loved vocalist in the Canadian jazz scene who achieves steady jazz radio play across the country. She has built her career by creating her own jazz songbook, filled with a unique repertoire of self-composed material and distinctive jazz interpretations of recent pop music. Canadian jazz radio has heartily embraced Shannon’s repertoire as presented on her two solo albums, 2008’s “Words We Both Could say” and 2010’s “Little Hearts”, (albums that contain a combined total of only three traditional jazz interpretations out of a total of 21 tracks), as well as on 2011’s duo album with Ross MacIntyre; “How Sweet It Is” (where only one of eleven tracks is considered a Jazz “Standard”.) Her albums have consistently reached the Top-Ten national jazz airplay charts, and her live performances in her home town of Toronto, as well as at Canadian Jazz festivals and regional theatres (such as The Rose Theatre in Brampton, Mississauga’s Living Arts Centre and the Richmond Hill Centre for the Arts) never fail to charm a crowd.

Rebecca Hennessy (Trumpet) is a sought-after player in the Canadian jazz scene, as well as the indie music scene (where she works with artists such as Ron Sexsmith, Owen Pallett, Broken Social Scene, Feist and Sara Slean).  She is most well known for her work as member of the chamber-jazz quartet “Hobson’s Choice” – who have released two full length CDs and one EP since 2008.  As with her other jazz projects, Rebecca’s focus with Hobson’s Choice has been on original compositions and improvised music. As Shakura S’Aida wrote recently about Rebecca, “she is one seriously talented player, who plays with a sensitivity that never leaves strength behind.”  

http://hughsroom.com/2013/01/butcher-sings-baker/

Butcher Sings Baker

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