Harry Allen's All-Star Brazilian Band - Flying Over Rio

Size: 179,1 MB
Time: 76:27
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Bossa Nova, Brazilian Jazz
Art: Front & Back

01. Double Rainbow (4:32)
02. A Ship Without A Sail (4:01)
03. The Night Has A Thousand Eyes (7:09)
04. Bonita (4:50)
05. Girl From Ipanema (5:44)
06. Bate Papo (4:44)
07. Copacabana (5:57)
08. Tristeza De Nos Dois (4:31)
09. Eu E A Briza (4:17)
10. Mojave (4:52)
11. Flying Over Rio (4:52)
12. Serra De Estrella (4:08)
13. Lamento No Morro (4:45)
14. Piano No Mangueirra (5:08)
15. Love Dance (6:48)

Personel:
Harry Allen - saxophone
Duduka Da Fonseca - drums
Guilherme Monteiro - guitar
Maucha Adnet - vocals
Klaus Mueller - piano

Saxophonist Harry Allen has teamed with a Latin Group for this CD. A look at the playlist will reveal many by Jobim plus a few which don’t normally get Bossa-Latin treatment. For example, there is “The Night Has a Thousand Eyes” and “A Ship Without a Sail.” Plus there are some originals by pianist Klaus Mueller, bassist Nilson Matta, and Harry. Drummer Duduka Da Fonseca supplied the title tune, “Flying Over Rio.”

Pensacola Jazzfans will remember Harry Allen from his performances here. He played for our first Pensacola Jazz Party in 1989 at age 20! About four years ago he came for Pensacola JazzFest and his most recent visit was two years ago at our JazzFest along with pianist Rossano Sportiello.

The liner notes are by journalist/author Will Friedwald. He writes for the Wall Street Journal and his liner notes have garnered him ten Grammy nominations.

I reached Harry by telephone and he kindly answered questions for me about how this recording came to be. He had been playing with a Latin group so it was a natural progression that they would like to record. Guilherme Montiero, who became a professional guitarist in Brazil at age 15, was new to the group since the regular guitarist was unable to make the recording session. The name Klaus Mueller, the pianist, doesn’t suggest Brazilian or Latin. However, Klaus’ German family has lived in various places including Chile and Japan. Klaus studied piano wherever they resided.

The vocalist is Maucha Adnet. She performed with Antonio Carlos Jobim for the last ten years of his life. She sings in Portuguese as well as English and is married to the drummer Duduka Da Fonseca. I asked Harry how each of the four came to contribute tunes on this album. He replied that the group had been playing them regularly, so it was reasonable that these tunes should be included.

I asked about notable events in the studio. Harry reported that the tune “The Night Has a Thousand Eyes” – the longest tune on the CD at 7:11—required the most arranging. He said he was especially pleased that “Girl from Ipanema” turned out so well. Since that is a much-recorded song, they didn’t want it to sound like everyone else’s. So, Montiero did a guitar solo introduction and thereby a unique presentation.

Another unique aspect of the recording session was that this was the last, or next-to-last, recording in the famous NOLA studio. This studio is on top floor of the Steinway Building and is located in the former residence quarters of the Steinway family. Harry was most complimentary of the staff and their equipment. Sadly, the studio is now closed as there are plans to renovate the building and add more floors.

Flying Over Rio

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Maggie Herron - Good Thing

Size: 127,5 MB
Time: 54:54
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. Things Could Be Better (3:41)
02. The Very Thought Of You (4:22)
03. Je T'aimerais (3:52)
04. Straighten' Up And Fly Right (3:42)
05. Cake (3:41)
06. Woodstock (6:27)
07. You Call It Madness I Call It Love (4:21)
08. Good Thing (2:57)
09. Baby Baby All The Time (3:57)
10. The More I See You (3:41)
11. Moon River (4:57)
12. Le Printemps Est Arrive' (4:28)
13. Body And Soul (4:41)

Wow! Has Maggie Herron ever got a voice on her! Good Thing starts out with one of her own compositions, Things Could be Better, a very cool swingin' song that could easily fit into a balmy summer's hit movie or the Billboard charts…and I mean verrrry easily fit. Her ability to climb from husky reminiscence to vibrant exultancy is rather remarkable. Great lyrics too, capturing that Everyman/woman ethos informing a good deal of the best of Tin Pan Alley in its prime. Then her selection of producer Brian Bromberg, who of course also sits in on bass, was choice because there's a smoothness and sheen satinizing the entirety of the release.

I'm not kidding; Herron possesses a highly trained and superbly honed vocal instrument, never for a second within a continent's distance of a wrong choice, hesitation, or inconfidence. Peggy Lee would sit rapt at one of her Hawaii recitals (Maggie's a permanently transplanted islander). Herron also plays a very respectable piano but never lets it get in the way of her singing. When it comes to the matrixing the lyrics, however, she's her own accompanist along with the rest of a highly adept crew plying the staves and measures, Dave Tull—no relation to Jethro, so far as I know—a versatile drummer beneath it all. She does, however, take solos here and there, and when they arise, each and every one is clean, light, and scintillating.

Maggie's take on Joni Mitchell's Woodstock will have Steve Stills and Graham Nash, not to mention Gracie Slick, taking notice. Joni won't be at all surprised, though, as this is exactly what she'd do with it were she to tackle it again in Don Juan's Reckless Daughter fashion, with Mancini's Moon River a companion, here taken down a notch or two even from Andy Williams' famed mellifluous take. My favorite cut, though, is one Maggie wrote with Dawn Herron (sister?), Le Printemps est Arrive'. The melodics are just sooooo right. Bacharach will be loving it, and the late A.C. Jobim will be right behind him from somewhere in the clouds. Piaf herself would have wanted to sing the cut, it's that good. ~by Mark S. Tucker

Good Thing

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Anne Bisson - Blue Mind

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:49
Size: 110,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:11)  1. Little Black Lake
(3:34)  2. Soothing Your Soul
(4:33)  3. Hoping Love Will Last
(3:28)  4. Dragonfly
(3:12)  5. Do What You Please
(5:02)  6. September In Montreal
(5:06)  7. Camilio
(4:24)  8. Blue Mind
(5:08)  9. Why Is It So
(4:45) 10. Secret Survivor
(4:20) 11. New Start

When singer-pianist Anne Bisson decided to record her first album, she had planned on giving classical music a jazz approach. However, one day as she was sitting by her piano, the muse descended and inspired her to write "Little Black Lake." She discovered an inner trove of songs that emerged from her heart to fill this CD, with one exception Steve Hackett's "Hoping Love Will Last." Bisson, who lives in Montreal, began classical piano lessons when she was six. Five years later she was composing songs on the guitar. It was only when she sat in with the rhythm section of the University of Montreal Big Band that she was touched by jazz. Over the next two years she continued practicing classical music by day while listening to Louis Armstrongand George Gershwin by night and also playing in Montreal jazz bars. 

The songs on the album show that Bisson has an innate sense of composition. The songs are warm and intimate and speak directly to the heart. She makes them all the more evocative with a voice that can be fragile and haunting, gently alluring and inviting, as it wraps itself around the underlying emotion of the lyrics. Bisson's jazz side comes up strong on "Do What You Please." Her vocal is made distinct by her phrasing and timing, but she goes beyond that with her inflections and sense of space that capture the implicit feel of the words. Even when she is in pop mode, she is a stunning communicator. Any of the selections testify to that but "Blue Mind" condenses the core of emotion into stellar story telling. Listening to "Hoping Love Will Last" makes apparent why she chose to sing it. The supple grace of her voice is seen to advantage, as she soars in hope, ponders on the edge of uncertainty and reminisces introspectively to invest the song with her indelible presence. Bisson has a lot going for herself her writing is resolute in its view of human passions and her singing gives voice to those passions with tasteful delicacy. And finally, she has two fine accompanists in Paul Brochu and Normand Guilbeault, who understand, and help enhance the nature of her songs. 

~ Jerry D’Souza  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/blue-mind-anne-bisson-fidelio-music-review-by-jerry-dsouza.php#.VAp5h2MfLP8
 

Personnel: Anne Bisson: piano, vocals; Paul Brochu: drums; Normand Guilbeault: acoustic bass.

Blue Mind

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John Stowell & Dave Liebman - Blue Rose

Styles: Guitar And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:58
Size: 133,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:34)  1. Blue Rose
(9:31)  2. Black Eyes
(2:20)  3. How Deep Is The Ocean
(6:03)  4. Fe Fi Fo Fum
(3:46)  5. Isfahan
(4:23)  6. Everything I Love
(3:44)  7. Time Remembered
(8:11)  8. Until Paisagem
(6:10)  9. Molten Glass
(4:05) 10. My Ideal
(5:06) 11. Everybody's Song But My Own

Saxophonist Dave Liebman joined guitarist John Stowell and bassist Don Thompson on three tunes on Stowell's The Banff Sessions (Origin Records, 2002). More than a decade later, Stowell and Liebman have teamed up on a duo outing, Blue Rose. The two artists' take on a bunch of jazz standards and Great American Songbook tunes has a beautiful fluidity in this pared down setting. Stowell's lines are crisp and clean, while Liebman's keening soprano sax slices sweetly through the guitarist chords, while his tenor has a fiery and undomesticated sound. The duo opens with the title tune, from the Duke Ellington songbook. "Blue Rose," the song, was written by Ellington specifically for vocalist Rosemary Clooney, for an album of the same name, released on Columbia Records in 1956. Stowell and Liebman give the tune a plucky turn. Liebman's blowing the soprano sax here, proving why is is one of the top practitioners of the "straight horn." 

His tone has a sweetness, a purity of tone as his notes twine themselves around Stowell's warm string play. Liebman switches to tenor for saxophonist Wayne Shorter's "Fe Fi Fo Fum." Liebman, on tenor, is one of the more recognizable voices on that particular horn. His tone can be clean, but it will switch, unexpectedly, to segments of gruff, growly blowing that threatens to break out into a free zone. The duo goes back to Ellington territory, with Billy Strayhorn's "Isfaran." Liebman's tenor blossoms out of an extended Stowell solo, giving the tune a forlorn mood. Cole Porter's "Everything I Love" brings back a bright mood, with Liebman's tenor sounding particularly frisky. Liebman, surpisingly, switches to piano for pianist Bill Evans' "Time Remembered," for a poignant and ruminative take on the tune, much in line with Evans recorded versions. Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Until Paisagem" has a restraint, a beautiful delicacy. Liebman's back on soprano, with an added richness to his sound on this Brazilian groove. Two veterans, Stowell and Liebman, take on this set of standard tunes in their own distinctive way. A gorgeous, uncluttered set, exploring the purity and beauty of the familiar.~ Dan Mcclenaghan http://www.allaboutjazz.com/blue-rose-john-stowell-dave-liebman-origin-records-review-by-dan-mcclenaghan.php#.VA-wuxY4zjI
 

Personnel: John Stowell: guitars; Dave Liebman: soprano and tenor saxophones,wood Flute; piano (5).

Blue Rose

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Diana Jones - High Atmosphere

Styles: Folk
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:18
Size: 88,1 MB
Scans:

(2:44)  1. High Atmosphere
(3:15)  2. I Don't Know
(3:17)  3. Sister
(3:17)  4. I Told the Man
(2:43)  5. Little Lamb
(2:46)  6. Poverty
(3:34)  7. My Love Is Gone
(3:52)  8. Don't Forget Me
(3:22)  9. Funeral Singer
(3:25) 10. Poor Heart
(3:04) 11. Drug for This
(2:53) 12. Motherless Children

An adopted child raised in New York, Diana Jones always loved country music, later discovering her grandfather was a Tennessee guitar picker. She's since reclaimed her heritage on two albums steeped in old-time atmosphere but boasting fine new songs about characters enduring in hard times. This third volume is her best, featuring a couple of heart-wrenching instant classics in "I Don't Know" and "Drug For This". Her approach can be austere, on occasion even morbid, but there's intimacy in her drawl and resilience in hoedowns such as "Poverty" and cameos such as "Don't Forget Me", about a reformed jailbird. Classy accompaniments, with fiddle and banjo prominent, complete an impressive, rounded album.~ Neil Spencer http://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/apr/24/diana-jones-high-atmosphere-review

High Atmosphere

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John Basile - Undercover

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:57
Size: 119,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:28)  1. After the Love Is Gone
(4:06)  2. If I Only Had a Brain
(3:58)  3. God Only Knows
(5:24)  4. Seconds Out
(4:35)  5. You Are Everything
(4:40)  6. You'll Never Get to Heaven
(4:35)  7. Caught Up in the Rapture
(3:38)  8. Pure Imagination
(3:45)  9. Break Up to Make Up
(4:36) 10. Walk On By
(4:22) 11. Didn't I Blow Your Mind (This Time)
(3:45) 12. A House Is Not a Home

Artist Notes: Recording cover tunes employs it’s own set of challenges in order to achieve any real lasting interpretation of the original. In the jazz context perhaps even more of a dilemma as many pop songs don’t contain sufficient harmonic material - the palette most jazz musicians rely on to allow for any meaningful improvisation. On “Undercover” we tried to glean material from the 70’s and early 80’s that offered up combinations of great melody and chord changes as well having the advantage of familiarity to the listener.We hope this collection captures a spirit of reflection but also looks ahead as a modern and contemporary statement both musically and technically.

Technical Notes: The advantages of recording guitars and MIDI tracks in Apple’s DAW Logic X provided both opportunity and challenges for this project.Multiple live guitars along with MIDI tr acks all programmed from the guitar represented the rhythm section. These tracks were married with drum/percussion loops and subsequent layers of live guitar improvisations. We hope the results reflect both the musical surprise and integrity evident in both an improvisational context combined with the magic of true 21st century digital recording software.~ John Basile http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/johnbasile2

Undercover

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Christy Baron - Steppin'

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:37
Size: 120,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:54)  1. Will It Go 'round In Circles
(5:40)  2. Mercy Street
(7:05)  3. Tomorrow Never Know
(3:36)  4. Thieves In The Temple
(4:14)  5. This Must Be Love
(6:28)  6. Delays On The Downtown
(3:37)  7. She's Not There
(4:06)  8. The Shadow Of Your Smile
(1:23)  9. Is Love Enough
(3:13) 10. Ain't No Half Steppin'
(3:16) 11. Spooky
(6:03) 12. Nite And Day

Christy redefines “classics,” it’s entirely appropriate that she was signed by Chesky Records, an audiophile label that redefines the modern recording process by returning to the earliest recording techniques. Chesky works with artists who are not only great musicians, but who also must be able to stand up to a unique recording process. Take This Journey was recorded live to two-track over a three-day period at St. Peter’s Church in Manhattan. “On a Chesky recording, one doesn’t have the standard modern-day options,” Christy says. “If you make a mistake, you don’t go back to fix it. There’s no punching in vocals, no overdubs, no compression or EQ.” In approaching Take This Journey, Christy teamed with renowned bassist David Finck, who’s worked with Natalie Cole, Paquito D’Rivera, Rosemary Clooney, Ivan Lins, Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, Andre Previn, and Peter Cincotti. Finck not only played the bass, but also wrote songs, handled the arrangements, and produced the CD. “In selecting material, the most important element of a song, for me, is my ability to connect with it emotionally,” Christy says. 

“The songs I choose need to be able to sustain a jazz treatment, but first and foremost, I have to respect the composer’s and the lyricist’s intention within my interpretation.” Take This Journey includes material by some of Christy’s favorite artists: Wonder, Carole King, Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and Steven Sondheim, as well as David Finck. Christy grew up in a musical family  her mother is a pianist and music teacher who recognized Christy’s abilities early on. She sang with her brothers and sisters  six in all  merging their voices. (She now finds herself more influenced by instrumentalists than vocalists, a result of finding her own voice after her early years of trying to merely blend in.) Her parents listened to the pop music of their time, the music of Cole Porter and George Gershwin music that became standards, and instilled in Christy a reverence for the music of the times, be it music of the 40’s, the 60’s, or the 80’s. By the time she was 16, Christy was performing almost nightly in a club  she was underage, but with the help of her mother, she managed the necessary maneuvers. Her mother had recognized the significance of singing for Christy as a child, she’d suffered petit mal seizures, seizures that fully abated when she sang. 

It was inevitable that Christy would pursue a life in the arts, and when she enrolled at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA, she studied not only music, but also dance and drama. She’s worked as an actress in film, television, and on the stage, (she landed a role in Les Miserables on Broadway, but left when her desire to sing her music overtook her.) And if the words “Wonderful use of iambic pentameter…wameter” sound familiar, it’s because Christy delivered them in her portrayal of a frazzled, baby-talking mommy in a now legendary commercial for Visa. When asked about her two seemingly diverse careers, Christy responds, “I approach both types of performances in a very similar way.” In fact, she likens acting with an ensemble to singing with a band. “The way actors play off each other influences each and every performance so performances differ every night. You have to really listen to each other and react accordingly... listening makes you a better actor. It’s the same thing when working with a band You surround yourself with great musicians... really listen... and it makes you a better singer... and because of these ever-varying conversations between artists, each song sounds unique each time we perform it.” But then again with Christy, each song is bound to sound unique on any given night. She’s fueled by a passion that can’t be contained, and that passion is guaranteed by Christy’s insistence on performing material to which she’s emotionally linked. Like the songs she’s performing, Christy herself is a classic. Bio ~ http://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/christybaron    

Personnel: Curtis King (vocals); David Johansen (spoken vocals); Didier Raxchou (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, nylon-string guitar, congas, percussion, drum programming, percussion programming, sampler); Pauline Kim (violin); Dave Eggar (cello); Andy Middleton (flute, soprano saxophone); William Galison (harmonica); Chris Rogers (trumpet); Dan Zank (piano); Christos Rafalides (vibraphone); John Herbert (acoustic bass); Zach Danziger (cymbals); Jeff Haynes, Gilad (percussion); Doriane Elliot (background vocals).

Steppin'

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Charles McPherson - Siku Ya Bibi (Day Of The Lady)

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1972
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:46
Size: 107,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:21)  1. Don't Explain
(4:53)  2. Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be)
(4:24)  3. God Bless The Child
(4:39)  4. Miss Brown To You
(4:13)  5. Good Morning Heartache
(4:58)  6. For Heaven's Sake
(4:39)  7. I'm A Fool To Want You
(6:56)  8. Lover Come Back To Me
(7:39)  9. My Funny Valentine

For the second of his three Mainstream sessions (one that has been reissued on CD), the bebop altoist Charles McPherson pays tribute to Billie Holiday; in fact, "Siku Ya Bibi" means "Day of the Lady" in Swahili. The emphasis is mostly on ballads, with "Miss Brown to You" and "Lover Come Back to Me" being exceptions. Four of the eight selections find McPherson backed by ten strings arranged by Ernie Wilkins, while the remainder of the date has the altoist joined by a rhythm section that includes pianist Barry Harris. Although not quite up to the level of his upcoming, more freewheeling Xanadu sessions, this is a fine outing. Highlights include the two aforementioned cooking pieces, "Lover Man," "Good Morning Heartache," and "I'm a Fool to Want You." ~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/siku-ya-bibi-mw0000275027

Siku Ya Bibi (Day Of The Lady)

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Jonny Cooper Orchestra - Legends Of Swing

Styles: Swing, Big Band
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:35
Size: 105,2 MB
Art: Front

(2:24)  1. Opus One
(4:12)  2. Sing, Sing, Sing
(3:14)  3. Harlem Nocturne
(3:03)  4. A String Of Pearls
(3:16)  5. In The Mood
(3:18)  6. The Kid From Redbank
(3:41)  7. I'm Beginning To See The Light
(3:57)  8. That Old Black Magic
(2:56)  9. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
(4:26) 10. My Funny Valentine
(4:45) 11. Li'l Darlin'
(3:29) 12. You Made Me Love You
(2:47) 13. Mack The Knife

The Jonny Cooper Orchestra is an American–style dance band from South Africa, of all places, and a fairly decent one at that. On Legends of Swing, which we presume is the orchestra’s recorded debut, trumpeter Cooper and his comrades pay tribute to bandleaders Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller and Harry James, Jazz pathfinder Louis Armstrong, vocalist Ella Fitzgerald and composer Earle Hagen. Even though the charts are unremarkable and the orchestra unassuming, the music is beyond reproach and always a pleasure to hear no matter how unsteady the framework on which it rests. The album begins with a salute to Dorsey, Sy Oliver’s “Opus One,” which includes the first of several bright solos by guest trumpeter Jan Johansson. Basie is next up with Neal Hefti’s “The Kid from Red Bank,” on which pianist Gavin Fullard sits in for the Count, then Ellington (“I’m Beginning to See the Light,” solos by Johansson and tenor Ron Franchitti). 

The JCO employs two vocalists, Kate Normington and Donald Tshomela. Normington is heard on two songs associated with Ella, “That Old Black Magic” and “My Funny Valentine,” while Tshomela presides over the band’s homage to Armstrong, “Mack the Knife.” Drummer McGill Anderson and clarinetist Stuart Goodwin are featured on Louis Prima’s “Sing Sing Sing” (dedicated to Goodman), Johansson on “You Made Me Love You” (ditto to James), Goodwin (alto) on Hagen’s “Harlem Nocturne,” trombonist Clive Sharrock on Dorsey’s familiar theme, “I’m Getting Sentimental Over You.” The JCO saves Miller for last, bowing respectfully to the undisputed monarch of the big–band era with “A String of Pearls” (solos by Franchitti, trumpeter Julian Ford, alto Simon Bates) and Joe Garland’s evergreen, “In the Mood” (Blake, trumpet; Goodwin, alto; Franchitti, tenor). Smooth, pleasant dance music with a touch of Jazz, on the order of that produced by the giants to whom the album is dedicated. ~ Jack Bowers  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/legends-of-swing-jonny-cooper-jc-review-by-jack-bowers.php#.VBBl2xZZjKc

Personnel: Jonny Cooper, leader, trumpet; Mike Blake, Julian Ford, David Abrahams, Lee Thomson, trumpet; Clive Sharrock, Mike Nixon, Sym Yarrow, Lawrence Jacobs, trombone; Stuart Goodwin, alto, tenor sax, clarinet; Simon Bates, alto sax; Ron Franchitti, tenor sax, clarinet; John McBeath, tenor sax; Llewelyn Arnold, baritone sax, clarinet; Gavin Fullard, piano; Martin Nosworthy, guitar; Don Williams, bass; McGill Anderson, drums; Donald Tshomela, Kate Normington, vocals. Guest artist

Legends Of Swing

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Richard Galliano - Ruby My Dear (Live)

Size: 126,3 MB
Time: 54:18
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2005
Styles: Jazz, Post Bop, World Fusion
Art: Front

01. Ruby My Dear (4:51)
02. L'insidieuse (5:10)
03. Historia De Un Amor (5:16)
04. Bohemia After Dark (5:58)
05. Gnossienne No. 1 (5:46)
06. Teulada (4:31)
07. Naïa (6:18)
08. Spleen (8:33)
09. Waltz For Nicky (7:51)

There are two types of accordionists in jazz: Richard Galliano and everyone else. Galliano plays his instrument with the fluidity and looseness of a saxophonist, the technique of a classical pianist, and the individuality of a singer. Few are close to being on his level. The Ruby, My Dear sessions find Galliano in New York, interacting with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Clarence Penn. While the intriguing repertoire includes a tango, a couple of jazz standards ("Ruby, My Dear" and Oscar Pettiford's "Bohemia After Dark"), and a piece by Erik Satie, Galliano's five originals really showcase his playing the best, letting him stretch out over intriguing chord changes. Richard Galliano has made quite a few excellent recordings for Dreyfus; Ruby, My Dear is an excellent place for one to start in discovering his musical talents. ~ Scott Yanow

Personnel: Richard Galliano (accordion); Larry Grenadier (bass instrument); Clarence Penn (drums).

Ruby My Dear

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Audrey Martin - Living Room

Size: 155,7 MB
Time: 67:21
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. Living Room (5:18)
02. Wild Is The Wind (4:51)
03. Summer Me, Winter Me (5:00)
04. Meaning Of The Blues (6:24)
05. Blue (4:00)
06. Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye (5:00)
07. Lazy Afternoon (5:33)
08. I Never Meant To Hurt You (6:24)
09. Calling You (Theme From Baghdad Cafe) (3:59)
10. The Touch Of Your Lips (3:53)
11. My Favorite Things (4:23)
12. I Like You, You're Nice (2:46)
13. April In Paris (4:14)
14. Upstairs By A Chinese Lamp (5:31)

Music and therapy aren't so different. In fact, many view music as therapy; it provides an outlet for expression for those who create, it helps those on the receiving end to find meaning in life, and it provides the means for people on both sides to look inside and beyond themselves. Countless individuals understand the nexus between these two worlds, as it's what draws them toward music in the first place, but vocalist Audrey Martin has actually lived it.

Martin's passion for the arts was evident early on. She studied theater, voice, and dance in college, but she ended up on a different path when she earned her bachelor's degree in psychology and an MA in clinical psychology. Once done with schooling, Martin began her career as a marriage and family therapist, but the draw of the arts pulled her back in. When Martin turned forty, she realized that their was something of a hole in her life; she decided to fill it with music.

At that point, Martin made her way to the Jazzschool in Berkeley, California, connected with vocalist-teacher Stephanie Bruce, and got down to the business of making music. Subsequent years found her working hard to further her art. She studied with Laurie Antonioli in the advanced vocal program at Jazz Camp West, soaked up the wisdom of vocalists Madeline Eastman and Dena DeRose at the Stanford Summer Jazz Program, and, in 2010, completed the Jazzschool's vocal mentorship program with Maye Cavallaro. Now, More than fifteen years after Martin's jazz journey began, she arrives with her debut album, a collection of finely shaped and beautifully rendered performances.

Martin says a lot in subtle ways. Her delivery is gentle and emotive, measured and meaningful, and wholly connected to the spirit of each song. There's something naturally bright about her voice, yet small shadows and more complex hues come out at various times. Martin gravitates toward songs that let her ruminate and chew on her thoughts, but she doesn't dwell on any subject or idea for too long. Pianist Larry Dunlap—Martin's chief collaborator on this project—ably assists her, helping to mold each piece to fit her sensibilities. His arrangements—most notably a swinging "Wild Is The Wind" and a dainty, wistful-meets-lighthearted "April In Paris"—shed new light on old chestnuts. Together, Martin, Dunlap and the rest of the crew work their way through infrequently covered Leonard Cohen ("Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye") and Laura Nyro ("Upstairs By A Chinese Lamp"), a Joni Mitchell classic ("Blue"), a jazz warhorse or two ("My Favorite Things"), and a variety of other choice songs. Through it all, Martin manages to charm without fireworks or deliberate vocal offensives.

It took Audrey Martin an awfully long time to make the leap into jazz and recording, but it was worth the wait. Living Room is a promising debut, a helpful and welcome dose of therapy for the mind and heart. ~Dan Bilawsky

Personnel: Audrey Martin: vocals; Larry Dunlap: piano, synthesizer; John Shifflett: bass (1-4, 6-11, 13, 14); Jason Lewis: drums (1-4, 6-8, 10, 11, 13, 14); Michaelle Goerlitz: percussion (1, 4, 6, 7, 9, 14); Mary Fettig: tenor saxophone (2), soprano saxophone (11), clarinet (13), flute (14); Jeff Buenz: guitar (1, 6, 7, 9).

Living Room

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Clare Fischer Big Band - Pacific Jazz

Size: 172,4 MB
Time: 74:14
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz: Big Band
Art: Front

01. Cherokee (Feat. Andy Martin & Alex Budman) (7:40)
02. Jumping Jacks (Feat. Brent Fischer & Steve Huffsteter) (6:37)
03. Cotton Tail (Feat. Brent Fischer Orchestra) (7:21)
04. New Thing (Feat. Quinn Johnson, Alex Budman & Ron Stout) (5:50)
05. Passion (Feat. Scott Whitfield) (3:18)
06. Sad About Nothing Blues (Feat. Scott Whitfield & Carl Saunders) (6:03)
07. Mood Indigo (7:47)
08. Eleanor Rigby (Feat. Brent Fischer, Rob Verdi & Alex Budman) (3:37)
09. Blues Parisien (Feat. Steve Huffsteter) (5:19)
10. Son Of A Dad (Feat. Don Shelton, Francisco Torres, Ron Stout & Rob Verdiis) (3:42)
11. I Loves You Porgy (7:38)
12. All Out (Feat. Scott Whitfield & Quinn Johnson) (5:28)
13. Ornithardy (Feat. Bob Sheppard) (3:48)

Douglas Clare Fischer was an American keyboardist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. After graduating from Michigan State University (from whom, five decades later, he would receive an honorary doctorate), he became the pianist and arranger for the vocal group The Hi-Lo’s in the late 1950s. Fischer went on to work with Donald Byrd and Dizzy Gillespie, and became known for his Latin and bossa nova recordings in the 1960s. He composed the salsa standard, "Morning", and the jazz standard, "Pensativa". Fischer was nominated for eleven Grammy Awards during his lifetime, winning for his landmark album, Clare Fischer & Salsa Picante Present "2 + 2" (1981), the first of Fischer's records to incorporate the vocal ensemble writing developed during his Hi-Lo's days into his already sizable Latin jazz discography; it was also the first recorded installment in Fischer's three-decade-long collaboration with his son Brent). Dr. FIscher was also a posthumous Grammy winner for ¡Ritmo! (2012).

Pacific Jazz  

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Anjani - I Came To Love

Size: 100,5 MB
Time: 43:08
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz/Folk Vocals
Art: Front

01. Standing On The Stairs (5:40)
02. Love In Between (3:47)
03. Holy Ground (4:00)
04. Song To Make Me Still (3:07)
05. I Came To Love (4:34)
06. The Goal (3:45)
07. Clean Slate (4:27)
08. Love Be A River (4:13)
09. I'd Still Have You (2:55)
10. Weather A Storm With You (6:35)

I Came To Love is the new album by Hawaiian-born singer Anjani Thomas who has strong family connections with Okinawa. Several years ago she made the album Okinawa Time which featured some of her own re-written versions of Okinawan songs by Rinken Teruya. Since that time she has found fame for her collaborations with Leonard Cohen and her last solo album Blue Alert was entirely co-written with Cohen and produced by him.

It’s already eight years since the excellent Blue Alert and a lot has happened since then, though Anjani’s fans must have begun to wonder whether this long promised new album was ever going to materialise. Well, the extended wait has been worth it and I Came To Love stands up very well alongside its predecessor. The album includes three songs co-written with Cohen (one of these an adaptation of an early poem). The other seven compositions are entirely the work of Anjani who plays piano and keyboards with a select band of handpicked musicians including country music giant Larry Campbell, renowned flamenco guitarist Pavlo, and co-producer Jerry Marotta on bass and percussion.

Anjani has obviously absorbed much of the songwriting and recording process from Cohen but at the same time she seems to have grasped a new freedom in following a somewhat different path of her own here and the results are more varied and more interesting than ever. ‘Standing on the Stairs’ begins the album in almost identical fashion to Blue Alert with its minimalist but sophisticated jazzy arrangement complementing her clear and precisely enunciated vocals. But just when we think we know exactly where this is going we get the countrified ‘Love in Between’ and then the folk-bluesy ‘Holy Ground’.

The title track which is the centrepiece of the album expertly contrasts light and shade and almost rocks out in parts as does the following ‘The Goal’. One of the most compelling songs is ‘Clean Slate’ which seems to sum up a theme of rebirth and regeneration which runs through much of an album concerned with love and reflections on life’s twists and turns. In a twist of her own, ‘Love Be a River’ is positively European with its guitar, bouzouki and accordion rising and falling along with the vocal.

I Came To Love was recorded in a variety of locations over a period of six years. It has no obvious standout tracks. Instead the album hangs together as a single statement and the initial impressions get better with every listen.

I Came To Love

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Jake Koffman - The Jake Koffman Quartet

Size: 88,2 MB
Time: 38:05
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz: Saxophone, Bebop
Art: Front

01. Danse Encore (6:56)
02. Turkey Grease (6:21)
03. Drake Lake (5:59)
04. Simmer Low (5:20)
05. For Jezz (4:17)
06. Quicksilver (3:32)
07. Laura (5:37)

Toronto saxophonist Jake Koffman's debut album features a mix of originals and standards in the straight-ahead jazz vein. The all-star rhythm section that accompanies Koffman includes two members who recorded with his grandfather, jazz legend Moe Koffman.

The Album was recorded on May 20th, 2013 at Canterbury Music Company in Toronto, Ontario. The all-star band includes two members of the rhythm section who worked with Jake's grandfather and legendary jazz musician, Moe Koffman. The musicians on the album are:

Jake Koffman (saxophone, flute)
Bernie Senensky (piano)
Neil Swainson (bass)
Morgan Childs (drums)

The music consists of original music by Koffman, Senensky, and Childs, as well as great standards. With tunes ranging from burning bebop to gorgeous ballads, and from boogaloo to soulful blues, this album contains all the ingredients for great listening!

The Jake Koffman Quartet

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Susie Arioli Band - Pennies From Heaven

Styles: Jazz, Swing, Vocal
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:59
Size: 103,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:57)  1. Pennies From Heaven
(2:23)  2. Honeysuckle Rose
(4:55)  3. Night And Day
(3:17)  4. Foolin' Myself
(2:57)  5. Jordan's Boogie
(5:19)  6. Don't Explain
(2:57)  7. I'll Never Smile Again
(3:26)  8. Having Fun
(3:31)  9. Sit Down, Baby
(3:02) 10. Walter's Flat
(3:19) 11. He Needs Me
(3:48) 12. Do Nothing Til You Hear From Me
(2:02) 13. No Regrets

For her second album, Montreal-based singer Susie Arioli has graduated from a smaller label to a major Canadian one, Justin Time. And why not. Arioli has one of the more personable and refreshing vocal styles on today's scene. With impeccable phrasing and timing, an incredible feel for the lyrics all expressed in an engaging vocal fashion, she revives a musical agenda of mostly classic standards peppered with some contemporary material. Jordan Officer once again is with the singer and plays an integral part in the relaxed but vibrant way the music is presented. Moving back and forth between acoustic and electric, Officer has the ability to adjust his guitar styling to the musical concept established for each tune. He opens a plaintive "Pennies from Heaven" with chords straight out of Django Reinhardt. His axe rakes on a Chicago blues timbre for Otis Rush's "Sit Down Baby". Pianist Ralph Sutton shows up for one cut, probably the last time he was in a recording studio prior to his death. He and Officer go at it on a strictly instrumental "Walter's Flat", with the accommodating Officer guitar taking on a Les Paul mien while Sutton does stride. The other members of the Swing Band, Michael Jerome Browne, Solon McDade, Jeff Healey and Colin Bray, perform admirably. But it's Arioli that sells this album. Listen to her subtle, charming musical locution on "He Needs Me" over Officer's guitar making this track another album highlight. Arioli also raps on the snare drum while singing. Asked why, her answer is that she had to find something for her hands to do when she was singing.~ Dave Nathan http://www.allaboutjazz.com/pennies-from-heaven-susie-arioli-review-by-dave-nathan.php#.VA-V2hZZjKc

Personnel: Susie Arioli: vocals, snare drum; Jordan Officer: guitar; Michael Jerome Browne: guitar; Jeff Healey: guitar; Solon McDade: bass; Colin Bray: bass; Ralph Sutton: piano (10).

Pennies From Heaven

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Bobby Watson - Love Remains

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:14
Size: 103,9 MB
Art: Front

(9:06)  1. The Mystery Of Ebop
(9:20)  2. Love Remains
(6:05)  3. Blues For Alto
(3:35)  4. Ode For Aaron
(6:21)  5. Dark Days (For Nelson Mandela)
(4:47)  6. Sho Thang
(5:56)  7. The Love We Had Yesterday

Altoist Bobby Watson has always been a consistent improviser whose roots are in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers but who is open to freer innovations. For this Red album, Watson is joined by pianist John Hicks, bassist Curtis Lundy and drummer Marvin "Smitty" Smith for five of his originals, one by his wife Pamela Watson and Curtis Lundy's "Sho Thang." With such titles as "The Mistery of Ebop," "Blues for Alto" and the title cut, the high-quality music is essentially advanced hard bop and gives Watson a good opportunity to stretch out on some challenging structures. ~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/love-remains-mw0000196231

Personnel: Bobby Watson (alto saxophone); John Hicks (piano); Marvin "Smitty" Smith (drums).

Love Remains

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John Basile - It Was A Very Good Year

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:52
Size: 135,1 MB
Art: Front

(6:18)  1. It Was A Very Good Year
(4:23)  2. Takin The Coltrane
(7:21)  3. Zingaro
(6:58)  4. Ralph's Piano Waltz
(6:37)  5. Baubles, Bangles And Beads
(4:51)  6. Countenance
(5:33)  7. Never Will Marry
(4:35)  8. One Long String
(3:40)  9. First Row
(3:42) 10. Catch Me
(4:48) 11. That Old Feeling

Guitarist John Basile has been cruising the sideman circuit for the past twenty years, in addition to releasing a handful of respected projects as leader. It Was a Very Good Year finds Mr. Basile with a new label boasting the same sumptuous tone listeners to his earlier recordings have come to expect. Basile achieves a wonderful blend of sound, mood, timber and time with his guitar-organ quartet. The title track is a perfect example of this point. Basile's band takes the Sinatra staple at a quiet pace, with Jason Devlin using brushes most effectively. Jerry Z’s accompaniment sounds like Basile dubbed himself into the mix, until the organist begins his cool, understated solo. Cool and warm—warm and cool—this music is a dichotomy, a beautiful enigma.

Basile’s recital choices indicate a well-studied guitarist. He attended Berklee College of Music and graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music. He went on to become an educator himself, developing the Jazz Guitar Curriculum at the New School in New York City. Mr. Basile’s brains and talent illuminate his informed treatments of John Abercrombie’s "Ralph’s Piano Waltz," Red Mitchell’s "One Long String," Joe Pass’ "Catch Me," and Antonio Carlos Jobim’s "Zingaro." He allows his band ample solo space and they all take advantage of this generosity. This is not greasy roadhouse organ jazz. It's ultra-cool music that oddly can warm a room. Rarely does the volume rise above brushes and the gentle purr of the B-3. Bassist Nick Misch provides the low-tone under pinning of the band, rather than the organist’s feet. Misch’s tone is full and round and slightly behind the beat, all contributing to the very cool exterior of this warm music. The result is much much greater than the sum of its parts, making this release one of the finest of this year. ~ C.Michael Bailey http://www.allaboutjazz.com/it-was-a-very-good-year-john-basile-underhill-jazz-review-by-c-michael-bailey.php#.VA-hsRZZjKc

It Was A Very Good Year

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Andrea Celeste & Andrea Pozza - Enter Eyes

Size: 132,9 MB
Time: 57:17
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2009
Styles: Jazz/Pop Vocals, Swing
Art: Front

01. Blackbird (3:16)
02. Taking A Chance On Love (3:41)
03. I'll Be There For You (3:54)
04. Gull's Flight (5:24)
05. This Masquerade (3:51)
06. Dancing Fog (4:05)
07. Love Is The Way (3:29)
08. Black And Blue (3:42)
09. Dinah (3:10)
10. Blue Skies (3:14)
11. All In Love Is Fair (5:37)
12. Pure Immagination (3:22)
13. Bridge Over Troubled Water (5:26)
14. You Don't Know What Love Is (4:59)

Andrea Celeste was born on August 31st 1986 in Pontedera, a small town in the Tuscan countryside close to Pisa. Since her childhood she’s always been keen on music – she spent hours playing her sisters’ keyboard and singing on the stairs outside her home, fascinated by the acoustics of that place. She played with notes and, without being fully aware of it, she started composing her first melodies. Music started as a game and soon became passion and commitment. Celeste was just eleven years old when she started studying piano and classical singing with Vittorio Scali. The encounter with this awesome teacher marked her musical life for good: he taught her the foundations of vocal technique and the strategies to ‘find her own voice’. His personal and technical advice has been fundamental for Celeste.

Her talent is undeniable – still a young girl, she started performing in public, and in her teenage years she started collaborating with important gospel artists like the Massimo Bracci’s St. Jacob’s Gospel Choir. Only a 14-year-old girl, Celeste made her debut in the world of gospel music with this choir and had the chance of meeting American singer Cheryl Porter. Cheryl had been invited to sing with the St. Jacob’s Choir – as luck would have it, one of the choir soloists got ill and Andrea Celeste was picked to replace her. Cheryl Porter had a chance to listen to her singing and was deeply struck by her gorgeous voice. So she invited Celeste to sing at the international workshop Gospel in Castel Brando (2002), where she was awarded a scholarship. Celeste shared the opening stage with Cheryl Porter, with Italian jazz singer Mario Biondi and with several young artists. Performing at the Castel Brando workshop was a chance to meet top artists like Terron Brooks, Ashley Davis, Huntley Brown, Michael and Regina Winans. She carried on studying and improving her vocal technique and she took part to several in-depth courses.

Enter Eyes

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Dan Moretti & The Hammond Boys - Live At Chan's

Size: 148,7 MB
Time: 64:07
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Soul Jazz
Art: Front

01. Moanin' (Live) (6:29)
02. Shuffle Twist (Live) (5:40)
03. Da Du Dah (Live) (6:17)
04. Free For All (Live) (5:43)
05. Soul Underneath (Live) (5:56)
06. No. 1 Green Street (Live) (6:40)
07. Twistin' The Jug (Live) (6:27)
08. Ronnie's Bonnies (Live) (7:29)
09. Low Down (Live) (6:30)
10. Soul Shouting (Live) (6:51)

Dan Moretti and the Hammond boys are alive and cookin with their deep Soul-Jazz performance on this welcome live release.

Veteran Saxophonist Dan Moretti has put together a smokin’ live set of vibrant Soul-Jazz on Dan Moretti and The Hammond Boys “Live at Chan’s”. With fellow musicians Duke Robillard-Guitar, Dave Limina-Hammond Organ, Lorne Entress-Drums and Jessse Williams-Acoustic and Electric Basses the band is alive and cookin in their deep groove and down-home energy.

This recording represents a tribute to the live spirit of the vibrant Soul-Jazz era of the 60’s. Many of the grooves of that era are covered like the double shuffle of “Shuffle Twist”, the flat-tire of “Soul Shouting”, and the boogaloo of “Ronnies Bonnies”, combined with new arrangements like the funk version of “Moanin” by Bobby Timmons, to the slow blues of “Low Down” by King Curtis, and a special tribute to Roland Kirk with a great blues flute performance by Moretti on “Soul Underneath”. These song selections combined with the feel and soulful performances of these jazz and blues veterans makes this Soul-Jazz session a down home and exciting listen.

Saxophonist Dan Moretti’s rich and diverse performing and recording career has spanned over 30 years with just last year a world tour with legendary guitarist-producer Nile Rodgers in support of his 4 Grammys with Daft Punk. Now he has launched a new label “Roots Grooves Records”, with this his 16th new release. Moretti’s recordings have spanned many jazz based styles from straight-jazz to latin-jazz, to Italian roots music and contemporary jazz. Dan Moretti and the Hammond Boys is his long awaited soul-jazz outing. Dan was once asked what kinds of music does he like and his reply was “music that sounds good and communicates” I have to “get it” from an artist. It’s that communal feeling that make this new recording a must play.

Live At Chan's

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Narin Gylman - Back To Base

Size: 114,1 MB
Time: 48:54
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. I Wish You Love (4:16)
02. Back To Base (3:45)
03. Blue Velvet (4:37)
04. Let It Go (2:55)
05. Perpetual Motion (5:00)
06. Spring (4:06)
07. Every Day Lives (2:19)
08. Dance Of Love (2:43)
09. Eternity (4:11)
10. Caught Up In Your Love (3:51)
11. Rockabye You (2:19)
12. True To Myself (4:43)
13. Tomorrow Is Another Day (4:03)

Her album ‘Songs Without Words’ 2001 reached Number 1 on The MP3 charts and a number of tracks remained in the Top 40 for several weeks.

I’m Narin Gylman and I’ve been a pianist, singer/songwriter professional musician, all my life. “A Journey In Time” is my latest live concert programme.

I have played in wonderful venues in many countries throughout Europe, Scandinavia and the UAE including the UK South Bank, Wigmore Hall and for Royal Command at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. I have also performed as accompanist/musical director to international stars and recording artists.

Surrounded with music in the family, my parents fostered and encouraged me when I began piano lessons age six. During my teenage years I studied music with some of the finest musicians and teachers in the UK before becoming professional.

Since the early 1990’s the concerts have evolved through a diversity of my own compositions and my piano/vocal arrangements of Gershwin and many other writers.

My dream was to create a rich, modern, entertaining, sophisticated singer/songwriter programme that was meaningful to my audiences at every concert.

Eventually my dream came true by taking a home in the South of France where I was able to compose, write lyrics and arrange music that marries the unique qualities of both piano and voice. I have now returned to the UK and have made my home in London.

For a performance, all I need is a fine, highly maintained grand piano with quality sound and lighting systems and the music will speak for itself.

Today we are bombarded with synthetic sound, computer/auto adjusted voice pitching and endless pre-recorded tracks spliced together: we crave to hear an authentic, live spontaneous and inspired performance incorporating improvisation and genuine craftsmanship.

Back To Base

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