Chris Botti - December

Styles: Trumpet, Christmas
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:14
Size: 105,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:32)  1. The Christmas Song
(2:50)  2. First Noel
(4:03)  3. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
(3:04)  4. Hallelujah
(2:43)  5. Perfect Day
(4:09)  6. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
(3:10)  7. O Little Town of Bethlehem
(3:08)  8. Winter Wonderland
(3:05)  9. Little Drummer Boy
(2:01) 10. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
(3:16) 11. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
(4:59) 12. Silent Night
(4:07) 13. I'll Be Home for Christmas

Season's Greetings from Chris Botti
There are two broad categories of Jazz seasonal discs. One, represented well by Wynton Marsalis' A Crescent City Christmas Card (Sony Special Products 28812, 2002), Oscar Peterson's An Oscar Peterson Christmas (Telarc Jazz 83372, 1995), and Harry Allen's Christmas In Swingtime (Koch Jazz 51409, 2001) are serious, straight-ahead jazz offerings. These recordings will certainly appeal to all jazz fans but perhaps not to the uninitiated. At the other end of the spectrum are Kenny Gorelick's Miracles: The Holiday Album (Arista 18767, 1994), David Benoit's Remembering Christmas (GRP 9852, 1996), and Dave Koz's A Smooth Jazz Christmas (Capitol 33837, 2001), each which sold a sleigh-full of copies and appealed to listeners across all genre lines. Framed like this one could surmise that this is a juxtaposition of mainstream, serious jazz against the backdrop of a more pop-oriented brand of jazz. One would be correct. Having listened to all with some measure of enjoyment and endorsement, this listener has been hoping for recordings that fall somewhere between the two. This type of holiday offering would be lush and attractive as the latter recordings are, yet challenging to the listener in places as the former recordings are. Trumpeter Chris Botti's holiday gift, December, pretty well fits this bill. There is a little something here for everyone. First, this recording could have been entitled, "With Strings," making it similar to Scott Hamilton's recent holiday recording Scott Hamilton with Strings Christmas Love song (Concord Jazz 4771, 1997). 

The strings are tastefully arranged and provide Botti's warm open-bell tone with a plush foundation. Botti also sings. Much has been made in comparing Botti with another trumpeter/vocalist, Chet Baker. Botti's trumpet tone is full, demonstrative, friendly, and sexy. Chet Baker's tone was not. While neither is what I would call an outstanding singer, Botti does infuse his vocals with sincerity and warmth as experienced on Richard Marx's (who also produced the recording) "Perfect Day" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. His horn does the rest of the talking on a Bossa "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," a Crescent City "Walking in a Winter Wonderland," and a James Brown funky "Little Drummer Boy." Botti is plaintive on "The first Noel" and "O Little Town of Bethlehem." He plays these with feeling and empathy. "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" is a provocative duet with guitarist Heitor Pereira and recalls Messiah. The disc contains surprises also. In addition to the very appropriate "Perfect Day," Botti also covers Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" beautifully. Botti challenges us with "Drummer Boy" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." He soothes us with "the Christmas Song" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."Each year, I give Holiday Recordings as gifts. This year, it will be Chris Botti's December. ~ C.Michael Bailey https://www.allaboutjazz.com/december-chris-botti-columbia-records-review-by-c-michael-bailey.php

Personnel: Chris Botti: trumpet, vocals; Billy Childs: keyboards; Anthony Wilson: guitars; Bob Sheppard: saxophones, flute; Jimmy Haslip: bass; Peter Erskine: drums; Vinnie Colaiuta: drums.

December

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Dan Siegel - Origins

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:24
Size: 106.2 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 2018
Art: Front

[4:57] 1. Rite Of Passage
[3:41] 2. When One Door Closes
[4:45] 3. After All
[3:47] 4. Lost And Found
[5:10] 5. Arabesque
[4:54] 6. Moon And Stars
[5:10] 7. Strange Sky
[4:49] 8. Under The Sun
[5:02] 9. Crossing
[4:04] 10. Origins

According to his official biography keyboardist Dan Siegel has already released twenty solo albums. With Origins he has just launched his newest project. Anew a collaboration with bassist Brian Bromberg. Beside Dan and Brian are performing Allen Hinds (electric guitar), Ramon Stagnaro (acoustic guitar), Craig Fundyga (vibraphone), Rogerio Jardim (voice), Vinnie Colaiuta (drums) and Lenny Castro (percussion). All compositions and arrangements are by Dan.

Dan Siegel remains true to his well-established style, which moves in the melodious contemporary jazz without fashionable bonds and technical bells and whistles. His tried and tested team helps him realize his sonic dreams giving the listeners beautiful musical hours for a long time. ~Hans-Bernd Hulsmann

Origins mc
Origins zippy

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Vinnie Colaiuta, Robben Ford, Jimmy Haslip - Jing Chi

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:10
Size: 153.8 MB
Styles: Fusion
Year: 2002
Art: Front

[8:04] 1. The Hong Kong Incident
[5:23] 2. Stan Key
[9:47] 3. Tengoku
[4:58] 4. Crazy House
[6:14] 5. Going Nowhere
[6:14] 6. Go Figure
[8:44] 7. Man In The Ring
[5:28] 8. In My Dream
[7:51] 9. Train Song
[4:22] 10. Aurora

Colaiuta: drums, programming; Robben Ford, guitars, vocals (5); Haslip: bass, keyboards, vocals (8); Brian Auger: organ (7); Dan Morris: tabla (5); Steve Tavaglione: EWI wind synthesizer, programming, keyboards.

Another Tone Center supergroup strikes gold. Ex-Zappa drummer Colaiuta joins Yellowjackets bassist Haslip and blues-jazz guitar god Ford for a pretty damned satisfactory fusion foray. The big ears and fleet fingers required to pull off music like this are present in spades, and Ford's pedigree revives the blues feeling that's been so often absent in jazz-rock outings.

This is actually a fairly relaxed set compared to some of the barn-burners Tone Center has released of late. The impression is that of three friends who decided to sit down and jam on a hot August night, aware of their chops but more interested in a tempered musical conversation. For the most part the strategy works well, keeping Jing Chi from falling into the usual trap of "sound and fury signifying nothing" that tends to plague fusion albums. Like many jazz combos, this bunch seems most at home with the blues, evidenced by Ford's rapturous wailing on tracks like "Crazy House."

There are some nice diversions here, particularly Ford's crystalline acoustic playing on a tense "Train Song" and his head-smashing metallicity on the opening of Colaiuta's "Aurora." Haslip takes a heavily synthesized vocal on the ethereal "In My Dream," a big change of pace. Colaiuta reminds us that he's a master of all kinds of grooves, his polyrhythms setting up obstacle courses for the strings to playfully navigate. Jazz-rock pioneer Brian Auger adds some hot organ to the cool drive of "Man in the Ring," and his interaction with Haslip at solo time is priceless. Steve Tavaglione's EWI synth and programming are present here and there for atmospheric support, buoyant but unobtrusive. This disc is yet another triumph for Tone Center and the great fusion revival. ~Todd S. Jenkins

Jing Chi mc
Jing Chi zippy

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Bill Meyers - All Things In Time

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:59
Size: 112.1 MB
Styles: Jazz/Funk/Pop
Year: 1996
Art: Front

[5:10] 1. High Tide (Feat. Larry Carlton, Lenny Castro & Vinnie Colaiuta)
[4:07] 2. Valdez In The Country (Feat. Sonny Emory & Munyungo Jackson)
[5:28] 3. All Things In Time (Feat. Paul Jackson Jr. & Munyungo Jackson)
[5:12] 4. Lite 'em Up (Feat. Curt Bisquera, Chris Severin, Luis Conte & Tom Scott)
[4:36] 5. Sky (Feat. Earth, Wind & Fire, Sonny Emory & Munyungo Jackson)
[5:44] 6. Changing Times (Feat. Barbara Weathers & Lenny Castro)
[6:04] 7. Marrakesh
[3:18] 8. I've Got The Feelin' (Feat. Chris Severin & Brandon Fields)
[6:45] 9. Across The Water (Feat. Dianne Reeves, Will Wheaton & Brandon Fields)
[2:30] 10. The Heart Remembers

This CD, hard as it is to obtain, is an INCREDIBLE MIX of Jazz. R&B, Pop and Fusion. It features several of the members of Earth, Wind & Fire (Meyers took over the arranging chores from legend Charles Stepney in the late '80's). He infuses World Beat and Brazillian melodies and writes in a very unique but only semi-commercial vein. This is very accessable music, much of it very rhythm/groove oriented. His vocals are pleasant and conveys the mood of the title track (with a tasty groove rhythm). "Valdez In The Country", Donny hathaway's killer hit, is redone here in a uptempo slamming way with finely tuned synth horns and George Duke-style keyboards. "All Across The Water" features Dianne reeves on vocals and has an Afro-centric rhythm feel. It just BREAKS DOWN midway into a SMOKIN Funk romp that you cannot help be pump th evolume on! There is even an update on James Brown's "I Got The Feelin'". But it's the WAY Bill Meyers arranges these tracks that makes this a standout Jazz/Funk/Pop blend that I, for one, certainly enjoyed and cannot stop playing. Thjis album IS a bit hard to categorize, I suppose. I agree that "IMAGES" is Meyer's orchestral tour de force, and is closer to an Alan Silvestri movie soundtrack album (which is STILL good). It IS beautifully done-also impossible to find. But ALL THINGS IN TIME is a fantastic update to Meyer's sound and style. Contemporary Jazz lovers (like me) will find it simply astonishing and beautifully executed. For the curious, to get an idea of Meyer's song style, listen to "RUNNIN" (from E,W&F's "All In All" album). THAT track, is essential Meyers at his Contempo best! ~Contemporary Media Intrispectives

All Things In Time mc
All Things In Time zippy

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