Friday, May 15, 2015

Trish Hatley - I Remember: 2nd Set

Size: 134,5 MB
Time: 57:36
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing!) (3:00)
02. Loverman (5:02)
03. Shadow Waltz (3:23)
04. I Don't Want To Hurt You (3:43)
05. Four Brothers (2:50)
06. Robbin's Nest (4:14)
07. I'm Glad There Is You (4:08)
08. A Sleeping Bee (3:41)
09. Why Don't You Do Right (3:22)
10. Midnight Sun (4:32)
11. S'wonderful (3:06)
12. An Occasional Man (3:22)
13. Smile (4:18)
14. Beyond The Sea (4:20)
15. Thou Swell (3:37)
16. That's All (0:49)

Five years ago, West Coast vocalist Trish Hatley pleased her many jazz fans with an album full of classics from the past in I Remember. Familiar to Baby Boomers, Hatley faithfully covered beloved standards such as “Fascinatin’ Rhythm,” “Cry Me A River,” “Sophisticated Lady,” “Tangerine,” and of course, “Stardust.” Warm and comforting like a quilt on a winter’s night, surrounded by family, the 12-track medley of old favorites brought back fond memories to many of the listeners who first heard the songs on record players, the radio, and live in a big band, with jazz legends leading the charge.

She’s back on the second set with most of the musicians from the first, fulfilling the dream of executive producers Frank and Joy Wili, some of her biggest fans. They imagined Hatley bringing even more jazz classics — from the 1940s-‘60s — back to life. They called Hatley “the 21st century version of the great jazz singers of yesteryear” and entrusted her again with “the truly American art form.”

Released this year, I Remember – 2nd Set brings Hatley back with many familiar musicians: pianist/associate producer/co-arranger Darin Clendenin, bassist/co-arranger Larry Holloway, saxophonist/co-arranger John Anderson, drummer Ken French, percussionist Jeff Busch, guitarist Dave Peterson, flugelhornist Paul Mazzio, and trombonist Dan Marcus. With Hatley at the helm as producer, she and her fellow musicians proceeded to do due diligence to a second set of jazz classics, popular songs of their era: “It Don’t Mean A Thing,” “Lover Man,” “’S Wonderful,” “An Occasional Man,” “Smile,” and “Beyond The Sea.” And these only cover less than half of the second collection.

The vibe for the entire second set is easygoing swing, nothing too out there, no egomaniacal solo swaps — just pure lyricism, serving the silhouettes and the romanticism of a lovely, popular song.

The musicians two-step a light samba in “Shadow Waltz,” with well-intonated brassy tones and a percolating percussion fix. Then they borrow a mini-big band splendor in an Ella Fitzgerald-inspired “Robbins Nest,” with a horn section kept in time by pianist Clendenin and a lively whistling skip and a jump from Hatley. Ballads fall in line behind “Midnight Sun,” a showcase of Clendenin’s quietly moving touch. He arranged this and most of the other classics, allowing Hatley enough room to elaborate almost just below the mystery line. Hatley has a knack for letting certain pivotal points of a song hang in the air and linger. This is most true for the languid rhythm in “Midnight Sun” and “Lover Man,” her vocals taking on the role that perhaps a saxophonist might, or answering the horn’s beck and call.

The finishes of these numbers curl every edge, as yellowed postcards and photographs of a bygone time, slipping out of a forgotten attic-tucked scrapbook. From the fun, Pink Panther slink of “It Don’t Mean A Thing,” to the sentimental, tear-inducing vocal embrace of a surprisingly sturdy “Smile,” Trish Hatley shows that less is more, so much more.

I Remember: 2nd Set

Paul Desmond - Cool Imagination

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 70:27
Size: 161.3 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 2002
Art: Front

[4:04] 1. Imagination
[6:18] 2. A Ship Without A Sail
[3:38] 3. Desmond Blue
[5:41] 4. Glad To Be Unhappy
[5:44] 5. That Old Feeling
[6:41] 6. Out Of Nowhere
[5:36] 7. Samba Cantina
[5:38] 8. Here's That Rainy Day
[6:48] 9. Alone Together
[6:21] 10. Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered
[5:42] 11. Autumn Leaves
[3:49] 12. My Funny Valentine
[4:24] 13. Samba De Orfeu

Anyone remotely familiar with “Take Five” will recognize Paul Desmond’s dry, feathery alto instantly. However, Desmond often lived in Brubeck’s shadow, and many may not know that Desmond also recorded several fine albums as a leader as well. Brubeck and Desmond had an unwritten contract that the altoist would not play with any other pianist, and Desmond was lucky enough to enlist guitarist Jim Hall as a sideman. Hall has a light, nuanced style more suited to Desmond’s approach than Rollins’ on the previous album, and the two crafted five albums of excellent understated cool jazz.

Cool Imagination is probably all the Desmond that anyone will really need, although the devoted will want to seek out the excellent RCA set that collects all of Desmond’s recordings with Hall. If there’s a fault to this compilation, it’s that the selection leans too heavily on the ballads and the whole thing comes off as a bit maudlin and sentimental; only “Alone Together” documents Desmond’s ability to swing at a faster tempo. Also, the selections from the over-represented Desmond Blue, saturated by orchestration from Bob Prince, sound like the soundtrack to Disney movies and may not be to everyone’s taste. Also included are two fine tracks featuring Gerry Mulligan, off of Two Of A Mind, a disc not included in the RCA box.

Despite its faults, Cool Imagination demonstrates how Hall’s shimmering chords and Desmond’s cool alto were a great match. Fans of Brubeck will definitely enjoy this collection, as will anyone who enjoys the cool school of jazz improvisation. ~David Rickert

Cool Imagination

Knaus Trio - Polka Dots And Moonbeams

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:23
Size: 101.6 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 2008
Art: Front

[8:10] 1. Misty
[4:47] 2. Miles
[5:10] 3. When I Grow Too Old To Dream
[4:59] 4. Blue Bop
[7:56] 5. Polka Dots And Moonbeams
[2:38] 6. Work Song
[2:58] 7. My One And Only Love
[4:11] 8. Alfredo Blues
[3:29] 9. When You Wish Upon A Star

Torbjørn Knaus - piano , Eilert Kolberg - bass, Stein Erik Evenstad - drums

Polka Dots And Moonbeams

Cynthia & The Swing Set - Whoopsie Doo!

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:20
Size: 103.8 MB
Styles: Retro swing
Year: 1999
Art: Front

[3:12] 1. Boogie Woogie Woman
[3:02] 2. Whoopsie Doo! (Vocal Version)
[2:56] 3. What'd I Do
[3:41] 4. How Come You Do Me Like You Do
[4:13] 5. Baby's Blue
[4:04] 6. Geraldine
[3:35] 7. My Heart Belongs To Daddy
[2:57] 8. Whoopsie Doo! (Instrumental Version)
[3:37] 9. Adios
[2:52] 10. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
[4:22] 11. I Don't Care If You Don't Care For Me
[2:44] 12. Them There Eyes
[3:58] 13. Doncha Cross Mama (Or Mama Will Cross You Off)

If you are sick of Retro Swing acts that are more rock than retro, check out Cynthia and the Swing Set. Their raucous mix of Jump Blues and Swing shows you where rock 'n' roll came from without diving into any modern production devices or big beats. Well played and sung, this will appeal to a broad audience -- finally something to unite grandparents and their grandchildren while the parents are left clutching their Rolling Stones records.

Whoopsie Doo!

Fats Waller - The Chronological Fats Waller 1940-1941

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:56
Size: 160.1 MB
Styles: Stride, Early jazz, Piano jazz
Year: 1998
Art: Front

[3:19] 1. Original E-Flat Blues
[3:30] 2. Stayin' At Home
[2:47] 3. Hey! Stop Kissin' My Sister
[2:54] 4. Everybody Loves My Baby
[3:14] 5. I'm Gonna Salt Away Some Sugar
[2:57] 6. T'aint Nobody's Bizness If I Do
[3:22] 7. Abercrombie Had A Zombie
[2:39] 8. Blue Eyes
[2:39] 9. Scram!
[2:27] 10. My Melancholy Baby
[2:39] 11. Mamacita
[3:01] 12. Liver Lip Jones
[3:27] 13. Buckin' The Dice
[3:01] 14. Pantin' In The Panther Room
[3:09] 15. Come Down To Earth, My Angel
[2:40] 16. Shortnin' Bread
[3:24] 17. I Repent
[3:15] 18. Do You Have To Go
[2:59] 19. Pan-Pan
[3:16] 20. I Wanna Hear Swing Songs
[3:25] 21. You're Gonna Be Sorry
[2:43] 22. All That Meat And No Potatoes
[2:57] 23. Let's Get Away From It All

Just a few days short of his 37th birthday, Thomas "Fats" Waller recorded five outstanding piano solos. These would turn out to be the last unaccompanied studio piano records of his career, with the exception of those somewhat alcohol-driven V-Disc platters from September of 1943. The 1941 Victor solos are studies in immaculate ease. The artist's choices are fascinating: two pleasantly reflective Hoagy Carmichael reveries, James P. Johnson's throw-down showpiece the "Carolina Shout," a delicate rendering of Duke Ellington's "Ring Dem Bells" and the ultimate interpretation of Waller's own "Honeysuckle Rose." The original 78rpm label bore the distinctive subtitle: "à la Bach-Beethoven-Brahms-Waller." Classics (1068) would be worth having just for the piano solos, even if it didn't convey all the excitement of Waller's small and large band recordings from this very transitional year. "Twenty Four Robbers" is particularly funny, and "Sad Sap Sucker" is an example of the kind of song Waller wrote in collaboration with his manager Ed Kirkeby. They also came up with several saucy numbers that Fats would record with his big band in Los Angeles during the summer of '41. The "Rump Steak Serenade" is an over-the-top paean to red meat, resounding with Waller's refrain: "let me stick my fork in the gravy!" The boisterous "Come and Get It" has more than vaguely sexual overtones, but "Ain't Nothing to It," which posed the question "Gettin' much lately?" was considered too near the bone and remained unissued until many years after Waller's demise. "Chant of the Groove" has a shouted scat intro by the pianist. Interestingly, his first two syllables come out as "be bop," but this is straightforward big band swing. The small group session of October 1, 1941 is most notable for Al Casey's guitar work on "Buck Jumpin'," Gene Sedric and John "Bugs" Hamilton's lively interplay in front of Waller's bubbly Hammond organ on "Clarinet Marmalade" and a lovely understated opus inspired by "The Bells of San Raquel." While "That Gets It, Mr. Joe" is rowdier, and the more-than-somewhat misogynistic "Bessie, Bessie, Bessie" is much saltier, "San Raquel" allows Waller to reveal the quieter side of his personality. For this reason the song never makes it on to any Waller "Best Of" collections. Be grateful that we have the Classics chronological series, for this is the only way to truly get to know someone who was so complex. "Winter Weather" is another heartwarming example of that marvelous creature, the relaxed Fats Waller. "Cash for Your Trash," an entire song devoted to the subject of metal recycling, was his first contribution to the war effort. By December 1943 he had literally worked himself to death by entertaining troops at all hours and selling U.S. bonds on the air. These 1941 sides could be considered the first of what would be his last studio recordings. ~arwulf arwulf

The Chronological Fats Waller 1940-1941

Diane Hoffman - Someone In Love

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:16
Size: 106,9 MB
Art: Front

(3:08)  1. If I Should Lose You
(5:23)  2. I Didn't Know About You
(2:57)  3. I'll Close My Eyes
(4:07)  4. I'm Old Fashioned
(4:23)  5. I Ain't Got Nothin' But The Blues
(4:16)  6. Come Fly With Me
(4:35)  7. Never Let Me Go
(2:57)  8. Like Someone in Love
(4:06)  9. Don't Worry 'Bout Me
(3:48) 10. Come Closer To Me
(4:15) 11. There's A Lull In My Life
(2:14) 12. I Wish I Knew

Diane Hoffman is a multi talented powerhouse ... at a recent performance a fan remarked, "You can just see and feel the music moving through you." Diane is a truly inspiring performer. Her disciplined good taste pleases aficionados and her emotional directness stirs audiences to their feet. Diane grew her talent the old fashioned way...through hard work. Her grandfather was a much beloved musician in Cambridge, Mass. As a young teen, Diane made her way through the Harvard Square coffee houses and backwater juke joints. She was always an individualist, striving to find her own way. She sought the unusual, the true. She designed and made her own clothes. She set out for California and earned a BFA at the California School of Arts. She spent a year in independent study near Patzcuaro, Mexico. All the while she played her guitar, wrote and sang. She exhibited her paintings for more than fifteen years and is now represented in the U.S and internationally. Seeking more direct audience contact than the art world could provide, Diane moved from the gallery to the stage. She joined a large chorale, studied with a Cantor and NYC Opera member, and to this day enjoys performing the great liturgical works of Brahms, Bach, Handel and company. But, Diane's greatest love was and is the jazz song. 

She honed her skills with members of the Carnegie Jazz Ensemble, The Count Basie Orchestra, Mannes College, and the many gifted sidemen who have graced her trios and quartets. Diane's singing is unique, nuanced and textured. She searches for truth in the lyric, the phrasing, the tempo, and in the playful spontaneity of the moment. Musicians who accompany Diane always have a good time. Even her two grown sons love to play with her, one on the tenor and the other on drums. Diane is a tireless and driven musician. Her repertoire is always expanding and her renditions always growing and evolving. In short, she is a real jazz musician. Diane performs regularly in the NYC area and in the summer on the LI winery scene. She appeared on the SS Norway Jazz Cruise in 1999 and 2001, on the MS Maasdam Jazz cruise in 2002 and 2003 and on the MS Zenith in 2004. http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/dianehoffman

Scott Hamilton & Dany Doriz - Scott Hamilton Plays with the Dany Doriz Caveau de la Huchette Orchestra

Styles: Vibraphone And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:38
Size: 146,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:24)  1. Slipped Disc
(5:13)  2. Dropsy
(4:34)  3. Cotton Tail
(7:38)  4. Amen
(5:44)  5. Hershey Bar
(4:30)  6. Air Mail Special
(7:30)  7. Que Reste-T-Il De Nos Amours
(6:39)  8. Place Du Tertre
(9:01)  9. Cherokee
(3:22) 10. Fanfreluche
(4:58) 11. Race Point

When Scott Hamilton appeared in the mid-'70s fully formed with an appealing swing style on tenor (mixing together Zoot Sims and Ben Webster), he caused a minor sensation, for few other young players during the fusion era were exploring pre-bop jazz at his high level. He began playing when he was 16 and developed quickly, moving to New York in 1976. Hamilton played with Benny Goodman in the late '70s, but he has mostly performed as a leader, sometimes sharing the spotlight with Warren Vache, Ruby Braff, Rosemary Clooney, the Concord Jazz All-Stars, or George Wein's Newport Jazz Festival All-Stars. 

Other than a few sessions for Famous Door and Progressive, Hamilton has recorded a long string of dates for Concord that are notable for their consistency and solid swing. 
~ Bio  https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/scott-hamilton/id738551911#fullText

Personnel: Scott Hamilton (Sax ténor), Dany Doriz (Vibraphone), Philippe Duchemin (Piano), Patricia Lebeugle (Contrebasse), Didier Dorise (Batterie),Ronald Baker (Trompette), Marc Fosset (Guitar).

Brian Culbertson - Dreams

Styles: Jazz Funk, Smooth Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:38
Size: 120,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:55)  1. Later Tonight
(4:53)  2. No Limits (feat. Stokley Williams)
(4:41)  3. Your Smile
(4:19)  4. Still Here (feat. Vivian Green)
(5:22)  5. In the City
(4:46)  6. You're My Music (feat. Noel Gourdin)
(3:42)  7. Dreams
(4:37)  8. Madelena
(7:08)  9. Lights Off
(6:09) 10. The Journey

On Dreams, Brian Culbertson attempts to dig further into the vein he opened on 2010's XII, where he seamlessly married adult-oriented R&B to contemporary jazz. In fact, Dreams feels like a bookend of sorts. He employs an alternating cast of studio aces who include Alex Al, John "Jubu" Smith, Eric Marienthal, Michael Stever, Ray Parker, Jr., Rex Rideout, and Rob "Fonksta" Bacon, as well as a trio of vocalists: Stokley Williams (Mint Condition), Vivian Green, and Noel Gourdin. There are some stellar numbers here, including the Williams vehicle, "No Limits," a midtempo babymaker. Culbertson's acoustic piano, Smith's guitar, and some pronounced loops ride atop the bassline to frame the singer's mellifluous tenor. This cut is the sweet spot where neo-soul, adult R&B, and contemporary jazz create a classy pop sound. Green's moment, "Still Here," juxtaposes her taut vocal against acoustic piano and Rideout's fat synth bass with an insistent loop. The result is dramatic. Opening instrumental "Later Tonight" features some nice horn work from Marienthal, Stever and Culbertson on trombone and very fine guitar from Bacon. Its melody is instantly recognizable with the horns being used sparely but effectively in the mix. 

"In the City" may be the strongest of the instrumentals, with a deep bass groove and chugging, almost dubwise, rhythm. Here too, the horns fill the backdrop as Smith's guitar accents the bassline. All of these cuts are in the first half of the album. "You're My Music," sung by Gourdin, is a nice soul-pop bubbler and the title track, with its infectious melody and contrasting acoustic and electric guitars, offers a wonderful palette of textures. The three closing instrumentals, however, are less distinguishable. They seem to blunt the impact of the set's previous cuts rather than provide the kind of balance one suspects Culbertson was looking to create. As "Chapter Two" of XII, this works well, but as an album, Dreams doesn't reach its predecessor's heights. ~ Thom Jurek  http://www.allmusic.com/album/dreams-mw0002361474

Cassandra Wilson - Coming Forth By Day

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:19
Size: 134,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:34)  1. Don't Explain
(5:07)  2. Billie's Blues
(6:18)  3. Crazy He Calls Me
(4:08)  4. You Go to My Head
(4:05)  5. All of Me
(3:50)  6. The Way You Look Tonight
(4:56)  7. Good Morning Heartache
(4:09)  8. What a Little Moonlight Can Do
(4:13)  9. These Foolish Things
(4:54) 10. Strange Fruit
(6:08) 11. I'll Be Seeing You
(5:50) 12. Last Song (For Lester)

Cassandra Wilson is the most important jazz vocalist of the past thirty years. There. I said it. I meant it. It is out in the open (not that this was any secret).

After an impressive jazz debut with Point of View (JMT, 1985), Wilson would release seven more well- received, if not underrated, recordings before she changed the entire jazz vocals setting with Blue Light 'til Dawn (Blue Note, 1993). Wilson's singing and instrumentation had evolved into an expansive and spacious sonic landscape modelled after Miles Davis' earthy and provocative reading of the DuBose Heyward / George Gershwin song, "My Man's Gone Now" from We Want Miles (Columbia, 1982). This sound was an aurally golden fleece that Davis chased through five jazz genres and over fifty years. It was Wilson who perfected it. One of the hallmarks of Wilson's sound was her use of conventionally American Folk instruments dispersed among the traditional jazz instrumentation, all contained in 40 acres of Miles' Davis' "space." Spacious and expansive sound one can get out of the car and walk around inside. Resophonic guitars, slide guitars, banjos, upright pianos: Wilson's sound was one of a mixture of old and new. A musical eutectoid transformed into the perfect solution. Sparkling trumpet beside dead (no reverb) drumming made of a heady mix; miniature acoustic guitar against tenor saxophone...and Wilson populated her subsequent recordings with such novel formatting. New Moon Daughter (Blue Note, 1995), Rendezvous (with Jackie Terrason, Blue Note, 1998), and Traveling Miles (Blue Note, 1999) perfected her approach while reaching its apex. Her releases were of such high quality that they could not be seriously questioned.

That is not to say that perfection could not wear thin. Wilson released an additional six searching recordings before the approaching Billie Holiday. These were very good recordings in the guise of the logistics she set forth in the 1990s. And with the patience of the gods, Wilson planned this present project to be given birth on April 7, 2015, that would mark the centenary of the birth of Eleanora Fagan and that recording is Coming Forth By Day. With this recording, Wilson proves that she cannot only improve on her past, but can send her art to its zenith and beyond. Not to put too fine a point on it, Coming Forth By Day is a perfect recording. Wilson has left her organic roots and claimed the 21st Century in her music. The results are an ethereal musical climax to the memory of the legendary jazz vocalist Billie Holiday. Worthy of mention at the outset are the individuals surrounding this recording. Nick Launay, Nick Cave's producer for the last decade, a new and ground-breaking sound is brought to the already evolutionary miracle of the Cassandra Wilson 1990s. What they have collectively done is perfect the deep-bottom sonic landscape flirted with by Bob Dylan on this recent standards offering, Shadows in the Night (Columbia, 2015). On that recording, Dylan brilliant recasts the pedal-steel guitar to build low register of dark chocolate and clove with a splash of bay rum and old whiskey, poured neat on the whole affair. What Wilson does on her recording is take Dylan's intention, light that on fire and let it burn.

Coming Forth By Day features eleven re- interpretations of the Great American Songbook associated with Holiday (both "standards" and Holiday originals) plus the Wilson original "Last Song (For Lester)," conceived as an homage from Billie to her musical soulmate, Lester Young. Wilson recorded her Tour de Force in Los Angeles at the Seedy Underbelly studios with guitarists T Bone Burnett and Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, string arranger Van Dyke Parks and rhythm section from The Bad Seeds (drummer Thomas Wydler and bassist Martyn P. Casey). This is considerably different from her more organic recordings of the 1990s. It is very much updated, and not in a cheap way. While updated, Wilson's atmospheric approach remains intact using her outstanding voice (as unique and singular at Holiday's) to defy space-time musically. If I was to make a 21st Century Film Noir, I would use this music for the soundtrack. It is music noir. There is a pungent and sensual darkness to this recording. This is forward-thinking arranging and orchestrating that favors deep hues and dark colors. It is slick without being cheap and clever without being too much so. There is a level of musical thinking above what Duke Ellington considered "good" music. This is simply "it." Ten standards and one original. What makes a perfect recording? First, the repertoire. One must be careful here. This is a well-trodden path and if the warhorses of the literature are to be presented, they must be scrubbed free of nostalgia and expectations and presented in a way that is not only novel, but translational. Second is theme. Intelligently conceived recordings enhance their own beauty and importance. Coming Forth by Day was a no-brainer. Wilson and this material came together at the right time in an act of synergy hard to imagine, much less equal. And finally, third is presentation. It is hard to make the old new effectively. Wilson excels in all of these categories.

While these performances have few, if any, stylistic comparison, an internal analyses might illustrate the beauty of these treatments. So focused and refined is this vision of Wilson's, that this recital can be divide in three parts: the first that is traditional ballads (save they are anything but). "Don't explain" kicks the recording off with something that will not scare the pats off the listener (that comes later). First and foremost, Wilson summons the deep blues in this music. It permeates every corner, nook and cranny of the music. Understanding this is the key to the rest of the disc. Think Eddie "Son" House before anything and this recording comes into focus. Her voice is not honey and morphine. It is just morphine... in a Sigmund Freud injection, and not just that. It is Morpheus... the god of dreams, the analogy, the simile, the metaphor. This is music of essence, not of tangibility. So don't waste your time looking for the tangible, fools. This music exist only in your most creative dreams. "Don't Explain," "All of Me" "These Foolish Things" "I'll Be Seeing You" all catch Wilson honoring the naive and hopeful Holiday (but not too much). Holiday was much too worldly for that...that one who believed all would be okay before she learned otherwise. "All of Me" "These Foolish Things" "I'll Be Seeing You," these are the straightest pieces on the disc. Wilson's low register is employed to the maximum and every positive vibe of the past is pulled forth. Then Wilson produces a post-Modern 1960s vibe that smacks of Percy Faith or Ray Conniff in an opium dream. Van Dyke Parks string arrangements, divine a sound that every Eisenhower baby and Clinton offspring will equally appreciate. "Your Go to My Head" is no longer a Charlie Parker invitation to a listener. Instead, it is a Frank (as in Frank Sinatra) invitation to bliss from Nelson Riddle. Wilson assimilates it into all that reflects the way things should be not as they are.

From there Wilson directs things in a slightly different direction. Think of an emulsion of the 21st century experience violently coupling with the Ray Conniff / Percy Faith white-bread vision of the Civil Rights Movement with the real thing. "You Go to My Head" "The Way You Look Tonight" "What a Little Moonlight Can Do" illustrated in, Wilson's performance, the work that remains to be done by all of us. "Your Go to My Head" and "Crazy He Calls me" are Mississippi Delta earth- rich thoughts that are more basic than the composers ever intended. The centerpiece of the recording is the sublime ballad, "The Way You Look Tonight." There may be no more perfect song sung by anyone. Wilson and her handlers make it a piece of perfection that proves that when a piece is composed, the appropriate performer may not yet exist. Introduced by the sublime bass clarinet into a 1950's musical environment, Wilson sings slowly those words of love and longing. It is a perfect performance of a standard. But Wilson reserves some spine rattling performances for a rare few pieces. "Billie's Blues" "Crazy He Calls Me" "Good Morning Heartache" "Strange Fruit" "last Song (For Lester). "Billie's Blues" is a transformed piece of 12-bars that is shot well ahead of us by ingenious production. The dirt and grit of Charlie Patton and Blind Lemon Jefferson are brought into the world of T Bone Burnette. Sex is no longer a fecund and aromatic act of procreation but an experience of pleasure enjoyed only by the gods. "Good Morning Heartache" is five minutes of the most terrifying Great American Songbook you will ever hear. This is the darkest part of the whole disc. Wilson is lowered to the very basic of human experience. She twists the African America experience into the real. Billie Holiday would tremble. Aside from the Holiday parallel, Wilson's collection here amply show that the Great American Songbook is anything but dead. Every so often, an artist emerges as a breath of fresh air through the Songbook, thereby transforming it. Few efforts achieve the completeness and perfection of transformation that Coming Forth by Day does. Bob Dylan's recent Shadows in the Night does its part falling short with Dylan's less-than-perfect voice. Wilson's recording totally honors this approach, providing us a fine survey of not only Billie Holiday's oeuvre, but that of the Great American Songbook. 
~ C.Michael Bailey  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/cassandra-wilson-coming-forth-by-day-by-c-michael-bailey.php
 
Personnel: Cassandra Wilson: vocals, guitar (10); Thomas Wydler: drums, percussion; Martyn Casey: bass; Jon Cowherd: piano, rhodes; Kevin Breit: guitar; banjo (7); Robby Marshall: saxophones, bass clarinet, melodica; Ming Vauz: guitar string effects; T Bone Burnett: baritone guitar (2, 7); Nick Zinner: guitar (4), loops (6, 8); Paul Cantelon: accordion (5); Eric Gofain: violin (11); The section Quartet, VDP Orchestra: strings.

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Ismael Reinhardt - You Must Believe InSpring

Size: 101,0 MB
Time: 41:39
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. Day In Day Out (2:30)
02. East Of The Sun (3:31)
03. You Must Believe In Spring (Feat. Greetje Kauffeld) (3:27)
04. Copacabana (3:55)
05. Close Your Eyes (3:20)
06. Schau Her Zu Mir (3:50)
07. You Go To My Head (5:36)
08. Change Partners (2:45)
09. Lover (1:59)
10. I've Got You Under My Skin (3:06)
11. Just One Of Those Things (3:24)
12. Ganz Leise Kommt Die Nacht (4:11)

As Ismael’s name suggests, he comes from a family musical tradition rich in gypsy guitar. It’s no surprise then that the music of relative Django Reinhardt is a big influence on his jazz style that mixes equal parts of gypsy music with swing and old-time standards to create the perfect sampling of sounds. As he says in the liner notes, "my heart burns for the music of Django Reinhardt, and always will — this is my identity.”

You Must Believe InSpring

Roger Davidson Trio - Live At Caffe Vivaldi Vol. 2

Size: 155,6 MB
Time: 66:42
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Jazz: Brazilian Jazz
Art: Front

01. Journey To Rio (5:28)
02. Roxo (4:09)
03. Dream Samba (3:54)
04. Fico Feliz (6:57)
05. Caminhada De Verao (3:36)
06. Garota De Ipanema (5:27)
07. Celia (7:21)
08. Gentle Ocean (5:56)
09. Oraçao Para O Amor (6:46)
10. Brisa Morna (2:54)
11. Spring Samba (6:18)
12. Ocean Breeze (5:08)
13. To Brazil With Love (2:43)

Personnel:
Roger Davidson, piano
David Finck, bass
Adriano Santos, drums

For Roger Davidson, music is a world without boundaries. Though commonly termed a classical artist, Roger has developed a fearlessly eclectic reach, both as a composer and pianist. “Music is for the world,” says Roger, whose acclaimed catalog ranges from chamber, symphonic, and choral pieces to jazz, tango, Klezmer, children’s music, a wide span of Latin and Brazilian projects, and most recently, a Solo Piano project – Temple of the Soul: Rhapsodies and Meditations for Solo Piano – an adventurous and spiritual album that bridges the next stage of his life, and leans more toward Contemporary Instrumental/New Age piano than any of the genres for which he is previously known.
Michael G. Nastos of All Music Guide termed him an “extraordinary” pianist devoted to “reaching for the inner soul.” His remarkable flair for melody helps him cross stylistic lines with ease, which is apparent in Temple of the Soul. Roger says this, more than any previous album, embraces his musical past and merges it with his ongoing passion for Sacred Music, which manifested in 1982 with Unispace (for choir, organ, piano, and percussion), inspired by a United Nations conference of the same name on the peaceful uses of outer space. His Sacred Music recordings include One God, One World and Missa Universalis (Soundbrush Records), both of which include choral works representing the beginnings of what he later termed “Universal Sacred Music.”

In 2000, Roger created the Society for Universal Sacred Music (SUSM) as part of his lifelong commitment to creating a repertoire of sacred music that celebrates the unity and unconditional love of God. The Society has commissioned, performed and recorded over 50 works, and organized five Festivals of Universal Sacred Music, featuring performers and composers from around the world.

Cross-cultural celebration is the theme of Soundbrush Records, the celebrated company that Roger founded. He has developed an impressive roster of hand-picked musicians from around the world and a rich, diverse catalogue including tango master Raúl Jaurena, whose 2007 Soundbrush release, Te Amo Tango, won a Latin GRAMMY®. Soundbrush is also the home of many of Roger’s eighteen albums including the recent Journey to Rio, a double-CD of his Brazilian compositions, recorded in Rio de Janeiro with a band of top-flight Brazilian players and produced by Pablo Aslan, the gifted Argentine bassist and bandleader.

International co-mingling is in Roger’s blood. He was born in Paris in 1952 to a French mother and an American father; when he was one year old, the family moved to New York. He started playing piano at four, and taking violin lessons at eight. He has studied at St. Olaf College, earning a B.A. in German Language and Asian Studies in 1974, at Boston University where he earned a master’s degree in composition in 1980, and then – at the suggestion of early baroque music scholar Sidney Beck – Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, where Roger began writing choral music and earned a master’s degree in choral conducting in 1985. In 1983 and ‘84, Roger took his first steps toward a professional jazz career when he twice attended the Stanford Jazz Workshop at Stanford University in California, studying under visiting teachers Stan Getz and Dizzy Gillespie. As a jazz pianist, Roger went on to be mentored by Helen Keane, who later produced his first jazz album, and to whom he dedicated the tribute album We Remember Helen (2012). JazzTimes has since called him an “impeccable player.”

“It’s been a great blessing that I’ve been able to do so many things well, and that they feel natural, as part of the global musical vocabulary I’ve developed,” Roger says. “I feel a lot of empathy for all kinds of good music – music that really comes from the heart and that seeks to communicate passion and positive feelings.”

In 2013, Roger produced and recorded his first solo piano album, Temple of the Soul: Rhapsodies and Meditations for Solo Piano (2014), on an impeccably-restored Steinway at the studio of two-time Grammy®-winner Adam Abeshouse. Roger maintains that this album is not a diversion from other genres, but rather a forward-moving culmination of his inspirations, lifelong studies, world-wide collaborations, and interest in Sacred Music. In a way, it may very well be a holistic stepping-stone to the next stage of Roger’s life as an ordained minister, which will include continuing his spiritual work, creating new music and disseminating music from SUSM. The new album, he says, is “not just a journey of the spirit; it’s an intuitive journey around the world. When you have the right color and the right kind of brush to express a feeling or a quality of life, it instinctively comes up and becomes part of the fabric of each piece.”

Live At Caffe Vivaldi Vol. 2

Black Coffee & Martine Thomas - Yo Yo

Size: 118,2 MB
Time: 50:51
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Jazz/Pop Vocals
Art: Front

01. Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough (4:48)
02. If I Ain't Got You (5:15)
03. Fragile (3:56)
04. Killing Me Softly With His Song (4:59)
05. Sunny (3:19)
06. Yo Yo (5:15)
07. Caruso (4:22)
08. Higher Ground (4:52)
09. E Se Domani (5:05)
10. You Are So Beautiful (5:31)
11. New York State Of Mind (3:24)

Established in 1993 in the city of Split, this famous jazz group are regarded as one of the best jazz fusion bands in Croatia. The group has an enviable discography of 11 albums, are winners of three Porin Awards, and have performed at many renowned jazz festivals in Croatia, Austria, Slovenia and Italy. They have collaborated with a number of renown Croatian and foreign artists including Bosko Petrovic, Matija Dedic, Zdenka Kovaèièek, Gabi Novak, Arsen Dedic, Tedi, Tammy McCann, Robin Brown, Carlos Werneck, Georgie Fame, Marcelo Godoy and Daniele di Bonaventura.

Merging for the first time in Croatian music history two musical idioms – the traditional Dalmatian music (Dalmatia is a Mediterranean part of Croatia ) with traditional Jazz – they have created their own specific musical idiom which makes them unique on the Croatian scene and abroad.

Structured around the bassist Renato, drummer Jadran, pianist Ivan, in recent years the band have been performing with Martine Thomas - a Haitian singer with a beautiful voice that for many years sang in the clubs of Paris and New York.

Yo Yo

Bernard Berkhout's Swingmates - Pennies From Heaven

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:39
Size: 129.7 MB
Styles: Contemporary jazz
Year: 1992
Art: Front

[8:36] 1. I Got Rhythm
[8:35] 2. Lullaby Of Birdland
[5:56] 3. Louise
[3:01] 4. You Couldn't Be Cuter
[5:13] 5. Alice In Wonderland
[8:09] 6. Body And Soul
[9:18] 7. Pennies From Heaven
[7:46] 8. Bag's Groove

My favorite jazz combo in the Netherlands is Bernard Berkhout's Swingmates. For years, I am a great admirer of Bernard Berkhout and Frits Landesbergen, a great breed of artists with a large dose of musical talent far beyond our borders. They made the best jazz albums of recent years. An absolute must for every loyal jazz fan. ~Skip Voogd

Pennies From Heaven

Windy 'Goddess' Barnes - Them There Eyes

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:06
Size: 91.8 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2006
Art: Front

[2:25] 1. Them There Eyes
[3:27] 2. Honey Suckle Rose
[6:03] 3. When Sunny Gets Blue
[2:12] 4. Orange Colored Sky
[7:17] 5. My Funny Valentine
[3:41] 6. Our Love Is Here To Stay
[2:11] 7. Crossin' The Line
[3:52] 8. Lush Life
[6:22] 9. Lover Man
[2:31] 10. Straighten Up And Fly Right

Windy Barnes, just back from a highly successful four month tour at the five-star Portman Ritz-Carlton in Shanghai, China, is gearing up for more opportunities in the global entertainment arena. The exceptionally talented vocalist, who has been so aptly called the "Goddess of song" is abundantly blessed. In addition to possessing a mesmerizing voice that moves effortlessly from jazz to pop and R&B; her magnetic personality and commitment to hard work have been key factors in her touring with some of the most respected icons in the music industry. Barnes has graced the stages of Stevie Wonder, Julio Iglesias, Michael Bolton, Anita Baker, Billy Preston, O.C. Smith, Johnny Carson, Arsenio Hall, and many others.

Them There Eyes

Roy Lanham - The Most Exciting Guitar

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 31:13
Size: 71.5 MB
Styles: Guitar jazz, Western swing
Year: 1961/2014
Art: Front

[3:01] 1. Lost Weekend
[2:32] 2. Where Or When
[2:14] 3. Body And Soul
[2:51] 4. Song Of India
[3:16] 5. A Smooth One
[3:13] 6. These Foolish Things
[1:43] 7. Steel Guitar Rag
[3:15] 8. Lover Come Back To Me
[2:51] 9. As Time Goes By
[1:29] 10. Wildwood Flower
[1:51] 11. Kerry Dance
[2:52] 12. Old Joe Clark

Roy Lanham is not a well-known name in the music world, but the songs he played on are. Whether you know it or not, you’ve heard the incredible guitar talents of Roy Lanham, on everything from The Delmore Brothers to Hank Penny to The Fleetwoods to Roy Rogers to The Sons Of The Pioneers to obscure rockabilly artists like Whitey Pullen and Jimmy Patton. Roy Lanham was a virtuoso musician who could pull off everything from country to jazz, and recorded a landmark album in 1959 (released in 1961) called ‘The Most Exciting Guitar.’ Strangely, this album has remained out of print and hard to find for decades, and Bear Family now remedies that with a glorious new re-issue.

This album smokes, with ‘Exciting’ being an apt description. This isn’t your Grandpa’s sleepy jazz guitar, this is an album that swings like mad and rocks like crazy! Lanham, along with bassist Red Wooten and the legendary rock and roll/rhythm and blues drummer Earl Palmer, literally take this list of jazz and country standards and redefine them. Even standards like Body And Soul and Steel Guitar Rag are turned inside out and taken to a whole new level. If you like country, western swing, jazz and guitar, this album is absolutely essential, and once you’ve heard it, you’ll be a converted Roy Lanham disciple for life. ‘The Most Exciting Guitar,’ indeed!

The Most Exciting Guitar

                       

Leah Stillwell - So This Is Love

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:23
Size: 108,9 MB
Art: Front

(3:46)  1. I'm Old Fashioned
(5:37)  2. Gentle Rain
(4:30)  3. Mountain Greenery
(4:13)  4. On a Clear Day
(3:48)  5. Sermonette
(4:14)  6. Nature Boy
(4:11)  7. But Not for Me
(5:45)  8. It Never Entered My Mind
(5:24)  9. Old Devil Moon
(4:09) 10. Our Love Is Here To Stay
(1:43) 11. So This Is Love

“Leah’s easy, swinging vocal style goes to the essence of vocal jazz… she captures the essence of these jazz standards and makes them her own, always inviting the listener to join you on this musical journey… Reminiscent of vocalists like Anita O’Day, Chris Connors, and other greats…The ensemble work is tasty and very musically creative… I’ll be still listening with great joy” ~ Overton Berry  http://www.ponyboyrecords.com/files/stillwell/leah.html

Personnel: Leah Stillwell (vocals); Darin Clendenin & Friends (piano, organ); Mark Ivester (drums); Greg Williamson (percussion).

Michael Lington - Soul Appeal

Styles: Saxophone Jazz, Smooth Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:41
Size: 123,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:51)  1. Soul Appeal
(4:44)  2. Taking Off
(5:11)  3. Uptown Groove
(4:44)  4. Gonna Love You Tonite (feat. Kenny Lattimore)
(4:38)  5. Manhattan Nights
(5:17)  6. In the Pocket
(5:25)  7. Leave Me You (feat. Ryan Shaw)
(5:27)  8. Going Home
(4:46)  9. Double Down
(5:41) 10. Memphis Soul Stew
(2:51) 11. Follow Your Heart

The most recent release from Michael Lington, Soul Appeal, contains elements of jazz, instrumentals and soulful melodies that really bring this album to life. Soul Appeal has strong jazz influences and that is the main highlight of every track on the album. The album has a way of combining these more classical elements of music into a way that feels modern and upbeat. The record also features a variety of other musicians that come together to form a jam band session feel. So, it feels organic that these artists come together in order to produce this high quality of musicianship. Lington plays the alto and tenor sax on the record, which stand out on every track. Other musicians that are featured on Soul Appeal include Shedrick Mitchell, Paul Jackson Jr., Ray Parker Jr. and Phil Hamilton. 

At times, the album does have a very classic, throwback feel when the alto and tenor sax highlighted like on tracks like "Manhattan Nights" and "Follow Your Heart," but overall the album has a more modern and strong creative tone that can be felt in the musicianship and arrangements. The tracks that will really appeal to more Top 40-driven fans will be "Gonna Love You Tonite" and "Leave Me You," which features the vocals of Ryan Shaw. "Gonna Love You Tonite" features the vocal work of Kenny Lattimore. It is refreshing to hear the influences and styles that are often sampled for popular songs in 2014 brought back to life in its full glory once again. Other stand out tracks on the album include "Uptown Groove," "Going Home" and "Double Down." ~ Chelsea Lewis  http://thecelebritycafe.com/reviews/2014/07/michael-lingtons-soul-appeal-album-review

Personnel: Michael Lington (alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); Paul Jackson, Jr., Ray Parker, Jr., Phil Hamilton (guitar); Adam Schroeder (baritone saxophone); Michael Stever (trumpet); Barry Eastmond (piano), Fender Rhodes (piano), Wurlitzer (organ); Shedrick Mitchell (Hammond b-3 organ); Teddy Campbell (drums); Lenny Castro (percussion).

Richard Tee - Inside You

Styles: Jazz Funk, Soul
Year: 1989
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:46
Size: 114,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:20)  1. Inside You
(4:39)  2. Thinking of You
(5:10)  3. Chalk It All Up
(5:21)  4. Precious Thing
(4:29)  5. Crying in My Sleep Tonight
(4:49)  6. Louisiana Sunday Afternoon
(4:31)  7. Lullabye
(5:13)  8. So Hard to Handle
(3:57)  9. Will You Be There
(4:29) 10. Changes
(2:44) 11. Wishing

Tee graduated from The High School of Music & Art in New York City and attended the Manhattan School of Music. Though better known as a studio and session musician, Tee led a jazz ensemble, the Richard Tee Committee, and was a founding member of the band Stuff. In 1981 he played the piano and keyboard for Simon and Garfunkel's Concert In Central Park.

Tee played with a diverse range of artists during his career, such as Paul Simon, Carly Simon, The Bee Gees, Barbra Streisand, Roberta Flack, Aretha Franklin, Donny Hathaway, Peter Allen, George Harrison, Diana Ross, Duane Allman, Quincy Jones, Bill Withers, Art Garfunkel, Nina Simone, Juice Newton, Billy Joel, Etta James, Grover Washington, Jr., Eric Clapton, Kenny Loggins, Patti Austin, David Ruffin, Lou Rawls, Ron Carter, Peter Gabriel, George Benson, Joe Cocker, Chuck Mangione, Tim Finn, Peabo Bryson, Mariah Carey, Chaka Khan, Phoebe Snow, Doc Severinson, Leo Sayer, Herbie Mann and countless others. He also contributed to numerous gold and platinum albums during his long career and joined the band Stuff led by bassist Gordon Edwards. Other members of the band included guitarist Cornell Dupree, drummer Chris Parker, and late adding Eric Gale and Steve Gadd to the line up.

Tee was born and spent most of his life in Brooklyn, New York, living with his mother in a brownstone apartment building. After a 16-year relationship with Eleana Steinberg Tee of Greenwich, Connecticut, the couple was married in Woodstock, New York, by New York State Supreme Court Justice Bruce Wright. The couple moved to the Chelsea Hotel in 1988, and later to Cold Spring, New York. Tee died of prostate cancer on July 21, 1993 in Cold Spring, New York. He is buried in the Artist Cemetery in Woodstock, New York. 
~ Bio  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Tee

Sheena Davis Group - Smile

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:31
Size: 115,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:59)  1. It Might As Well Rain Until September
(5:00)  2. Smile
(3:43)  3. Dancing Leaf
(3:46)  4. Beyond the Sea
(4:49)  5. I'm Into Something Good
(2:40)  6. Three Little Words
(6:52)  7. Travelin' light
(4:36)  8. Forever Autumn
(3:27)  9. Orange Colored Sky
(4:48) 10. My Guy
(2:04) 11. Sum de Dum Do
(3:41) 12. The Very Thought Of You

I really wish I could become more enthusiastic about this album. Sheena Davis is a very good singer, and her accompanists are about as solid as Gibraltar. But when it comes to vocalists I’m a tough sell, and in spite of her obvious assets a well–trained voice, adequate range, admirable intonation Davis somehow fails to impress, because like many other young singers she’s trying too hard to do so. In other words, I can hear her working at it, and I shouldn’t be able to, nor should you. Without making any comparisons, which would be patently unfair, one of the things I loved about, say, Frank Sinatra or Mel Torme (and still love about Rosie Clooney) is that one almost never hears them working to impress. They simply sing, and the emotion flows naturally from within some wellspring of life and experience. Perhaps their choice of material has something to do with that, but Davis has made some splendid choices on Smile, not the least of which is the title selection itself, which she interprets in the breathily theatrical way she evidently fancies on ballads (such as “Travelin’ Light,” “Forever Autumn,” “The Very Thought of You” and, to some extent, Petula Clark’s hit, “My Guy”). 

Davis does write a good tune, having collaborated with bassist Robert Rickenberg on two of the album’s highlights, “Dancing Leaf” and “Dum de Dum Do” (which is much better than its name indicates). After singing / scatting through that one at breakneck speed, Davis reveals a keen sense of humor with the closing remark, “I’m not doing that one again.” Must have been a first take! The session opens in a charming groove with “It Might as Well Rain Until September,” which shows how talented her back–up crew is (stalwart support from Rickenberg, pianist Tom Cawley and drummer Pete Cater, topnotch solos by Cawley and Rickenberg). Guitarist Jim Mullen sits in on “Smile,” “Something Good,” “Three Little Words” and “Forever Autumn,” and raises the ante on every hand he’s dealt. Mullen is a consistently sharp improviser, as is Cawley. But this is a vocal album, and it is Davis who bears the lion’s share of responsibility for its success or lack thereof. While one listener remains essentially unmoved, his could well be a minority opinion. As we conceded at the outset, Davis is a very good singer, and her album may cause many less finicky music–lovers to smile quite often. ~ Jack Bowers  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/smile-jazzizit-review-by-jack-bowers.php

Personnel: Sheena Davis, vocals; Tom Cawley, piano; Rob Rickenberg, bass; Pete Cater, drums. Special guest Jim Mullen, guitar.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Ellen Robinson - Mercy! Ellen Robinson Live

Size: 137,6 MB
Time: 59:16
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2006
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. Fly Away (4:15)
02. Everybody's Cryin Mercy (4:35)
03. Let's Fall In Love (4:37)
04. The Dimming Of The Day (6:32)
05. My Baby Just Cares For Me (4:44)
06. Still Crazy After All These Years (4:08)
07. How I Wish - Ask Me Now (6:11)
08. Them There Eyes (3:11)
09. Where Do You Start (3:16)
10. One Of You And Me (3:22)
11. Heaven Down Here (4:58)
12. Hold On (2:38)
13. It Goes Like It Goes (3:28)
14. The Fiddle And The Drum (3:15)

"Hers is a white chocolate sound, intense and pure, swinging and bitter-sweet." Carol Sloane

Swinging and straight-from-the-heart vocals from this adventuresome singer with loads of presence and a diverse selection of songs. Ellen Robinson is known for her ability to sing with a vocal palette that has a wide variety of colors in both her choice of material and also the range of emotions she covers in a performance. Her second CD "Mercy! Ellen Robinson Live" captures those transparent moments and one-of-a-kind performances in a compilation of songs selected from four different concerts since her first CD “On My Way To You.”

Ellen is backed by an array of talented musicians: pianist Ben Flint, bassists John Schifflett and John Wiitala, drummers John Arkin, Andrew Eberhard and Jeff Marrs, and reedman Charles McNeal.

Mercy! Ellen Robinson Live