Ramsey Lewis - The Beatles Songbook

Styles: Piano Jazz

Year: 2022  
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:04
Size: 85,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:07) 1. Here, There And Everywhere
(4:11) 2. And I Love Her
(3:44) 3. Hey Jude
(1:56) 4. Blackbird
(2:42) 5. Imagine
(4:00) 6. Hard Day's Night
(1:56) 7. Yesterday
(2:10) 8. Rocky Raccoon
(4:03) 9. Michelle
(3:10) 10. Golden Slumbers
(3:22) 11. The Long And Winding Road
(1:38) 12. Let It Be

Ramsey Lewis Celebrates The Music Of The Fab Four With Posthumous CD 'The Beatles Songbook,' His First Solo Piano Recording

The late, legendary pianist Ramsey Lewis offers an intimate, familiar affair with his solo piano recording The Beatles Songbook: The Saturday Salon Series, Volume One, to be released January 6 on Steele Records. This selection of tunes by the iconic songwriting duo of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, approved for release by Lewis, is also a surprising DIY project, created during livestreamed sessions in Lewis’s own Chicago home.

Lewis, of course, is no stranger to covering of postwar pop music. He had a smash 1965 hit with his cover of Dobie Gray’s “The In Crowd,” which he followed up with a successful version of “Hang on Sloopy.” He has even assayed the Beatles’ catalog before, scoring a minor hit with “A Hard Day’s Night” and even releasing Mother Nature’s Son, an homage to the Beatles’ White Album, in 1968.

He was a latecomer, however, to unaccompanied piano performance. Until recent years, Lewis had almost never performed as a soloist. But the COVID-19 pandemic made it impossible to perform any other way, and during the lockdowns Lewis initiated a series of monthly webcasts called “The Saturday Salon.” Always an artist with a populist touch, Lewis included the Beatles’ songs in his webcasts because it was music that, like his own, had demonstrated universal appeal.

“They have a catalog of songs that can stand up as standards that are fun to play and fun to solo on,” he said. “Their music has been recorded by symphonies and orchestras, rock bands, jazz bands. I don’t know any other pop act whose music has been recorded across the board like this.”

Even with their exhaustive coverage, Lewis is able to unlock new secrets and breathe new life into the tunes. His “And I Love Her” explores the possibilities of both the song’s harmonies and its famous four-note riff. “Rocky Raccoon” gets a beautiful reharmonization. Lewis plays up the gospel roots of “Hey Jude,” and in the ballads “Blackbird” and “Golden Slumbers” he finds previously unknown reservoirs of the blues.

Lifted directly from the 2020 livestream audio, The Beatles Songbook sounds like the home recording it is. But that sound is a feature, not a bug: It amplifies the intimacy of the performance, as if we were hearing a message from a friend, and reminds us that to the end, Lewis was able to work in any circumstances and create great art.

About Ramsey Lewis

Ramsey Lewis was born May 27, 1935 in Chicago. He began playing piano at the age of four, learning classical from teachers, gospel from the church, and jazz from his father’s record collection. Through Wells High School and into Chicago Musical College he intended to become a concert classical pianist, but fate intervened: While working at a record store, Lewis met bassist Eldee Young and drummer Red Holt, fellow jazz lovers who joined with him to form the Ramsey Lewis Trio.

In 1965, after a decade of working together both on bandstands and on Leonard and Phil Chess’s Argo Records, Lewis and the trio achieved a surprise top 10 pop hit with their version of “The In Crowd,” recorded live in Washington DC. The record made Lewis a star, which he compounded with subsequent hits “Hang on Sloopy,” “A Hard Day’s Night,” and “Wade in the Water.” After the trio disbanded, Lewis carried on with new ensembles and continued pursuing pop-jazz success, surfacing on the pop charts again with members of Earth, Wind & Fire on 1974’s Sun Goddess. His popular success continued into the 1980s and ‘90s, when he formed the popular crossover group Urban Knights.

In the 21st century, Lewis became a revered elder statesman of jazz, finding a career renaissance as a composer, broadcaster, educator, and artistic director of the Ravinia Jazz Festival. Lewis was awarded the NEA Jazz Masters fellowship in 2007. He spent his final year working with journalist Aaron Cohen on his memoir, Gentleman of Jazz (to be published May 2023 by Blackstone Publishing), before passing away at his Chicago home on September 12, 2022.

https://www.allaboutjazz.com/news/ramsey-lewis-celebrates-the-music-of-the-fab-four-with-posthumous-cd-the-beatles-songbook-his-first-solo-piano-recording-due-jan-6/

The Beatles Songbook

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Doris Day - Early Day: Rare Songs From The Radio 1939-1950

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:38
Size: 127,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:51) 1. Sentimental Journey
(2:21) 2. Little Sir Echo
(2:13) 3. I'm Happy About The Whole Thing
(2:10) 4. The Joint Is Really Jumpin' Down At Carnegie Hall
(2:10) 5. Salt Water Cowboy (A United States Marine)
(4:16) 6. Take Me In Your Arms
(2:34) 7. Easy Street
(1:46) 8. Wonderful Winter
(4:07) 9. Along The Navajo Trail
(3:28) 10. I Wish I Knew
(1:53) 11. Sunshine Cake (Feat. Bob Hope)
(1:49) 12. Slippin' Around (Feat. Jimmy Wakely)
(2:14) 13. My Darling, My Darling
(2:01) 14. Hair Of Gold, Eyes Of Blue
(2:11) 15. A Little Bird Told Me
(2:25) 16. It's Too Soon To Know
(2:05) 17. Buttons And Bows
(2:31) 18. Havin' A Wonderful Wish (Time You Were Here)
(2:17) 19. Dear Hearts And Gentle People
(1:43) 20. Happy Times
(1:39) 21. Never Again
(1:24) 22. I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine
(0:34) 23. Savings Bond Promotional Spot
(0:44) 24. Ain't Misbehavin'

Wanna know - and wanna hear - how Doris Day became one of the biggest multimedia stars on the planet? This 24-track collection carefully culls Doris' finest and rarest performances from over a decade of appearances on the radio, where her star first really began to shine. First, we begin with a 1944 rendition of one of her signature songs, 'Sentimental Journey,' with the big band that really vaulted her into the stratosphere, The Les Brown Orchestra. Then we double back all the way to her very first radio performances with local Cincinnati bandleader Barney Rapp, who was the man who urged Doris Mary Anne Kappelhoff to change her name to Doris Day.

After that, we're off and running with more mid-'40s appearances with Les Brown, 1950 duets on The Bob Hope Show with Bob ('Sunshine Cake') and Jimmy Wakely ('Slippin' Around'), and a lot more songs from The Bob Hope Show that reunited Doris with Les Brown, who served as the show's musical director. We've found period pictures galore for the package'which, by the way, was put together with the full knowledge and consent of the late, great lady herself'and have commissioned liner notes by Joe Marchese that chart the steep trajectory of Doris Day's career through these radio recordings. Remastered, like our other Doris Day rarities collections, by Mike Milchner at SonicVision'a perfect way to celebrate the Doris Day centennial!

Early Day: Rare Songs From The Radio 1939-1950

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Cory Weeds & Jeff Hamilton Trio - This Happy Madness

Styles: Saxophone Jazz, Bop
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:02
Size: 142,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:07)  1. Blow Your Horn
(7:02)  2. Get Out of Town
(4:01)  3. Early Morning Rain
(6:31)  4. Max
(5:20)  5. Out of the Night Came You
(4:56)  6. This Happy Madness
(6:19)  7. Young At Heart
(6:53)  8. I Thought About You
(6:38)  9. There's a Lull in My Life
(4:16) 10. Secret Love
(5:56) 11. Mr. Baggy Pants

Cory Weeds is at it again with another stellar addition to his impressive discography. Following his critically acclaimed Condition Blue he has teamed up with the always swinging Jeff Hamilton Trio for an invigorating romp through some Great American Songbook tunes, a few originals and a rarely heard Horace Silver tune. The album features the piano stylings of Tamir Hendelman, bassist Christoph Luty and renowned drummer Jeff Hamilton. If you like music that swings This Happy Madness will not disappoint.
~ Editorial Reviews  http://www.amazon.com/This-Happy-Madness-Cory-Weeds/dp/B013BB3W04

Personnel:  Jeff Hamilton ( Drums), Tamir Hendelman (Piano), Christoph Luty (Acoustic Bass), Cory Weeds (Tenor Saxophone)

This Happy Madness

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Patti Page - Tennessee Waltz: Nashville Classics

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:50
Size: 112,9 MB
Art: Front

(2:54) 1. Mister And Mississippi
(2:58) 2. Tennessee Waltz
(2:20) 3. Old Cape Cod
(3:27) 4. No Aces
(2:34) 5. Almost In Love With You Again
(3:23) 6. On The Inside
(2:25) 7. Go On Home
(2:29) 8. You Belong To Me
(3:15) 9. Every Time You Touch Me
(2:42) 10. My Man Friday
(2:37) 11. Mockingbird Hill
(2:23) 12. How Much Is That Doggie In The Window
(2:13) 13. A Poor Man's Roses
(3:01) 14. Croce Di Oro
(1:56) 15. Come What May
(2:45) 16. Changing Partners
(2:32) 17. Why Don't You Believe Me
(2:48) 18. Cross Over The Bridge

The best-selling female singer during the 1950s, Patti Page in many ways defined the decade of earnest, novelty-ridden adult pop with throwaway hits like "The Doggie in the Window" and "I Went to Your Wedding." By singing a wide range of popular material and her own share of novelty fluff, she proved easily susceptible to the fall of classic adult pop but remained a chart force into the mid-'60s.

Born Clara Ann Fowler in Claremore, Oklahoma, she began singing professionally at a radio station in Tulsa and took weekend gigs on the side. (After being billed as Patti Page for a program sponsored by Page Milk, she decided to take the name even after leaving.) Page toured the country with a band led by Jimmy Joy and ended up in Chicago by 1947, where she sang in a small-group outing by Benny Goodman and gained a recording contract with Mercury. Her first hit, "Confess," came that same year and made her the first pop artist to overdub harmony vocals onto her own lead.

After a few more successes, Page gained her first million-seller in 1950 for "With My Eyes Wide Open I'm Dreaming," which cashed in on the novelty effect of overdubbing (the added touch came with listing it as "the Patti Page Quartet"). Also in 1950, "All My Love" became her first number one hit and spent several weeks at the top. That same year produced the biggest hit of her career, "The Tennessee Waltz." Notched at number one for months, it eventually became one of the best-selling singles of all time and prompted no less than six Top 40 covers during the following year.

During 1952 and 1953, Page scored two more huge hits with "I Went to Your Wedding" and "The Doggie in the Window," both of which spent more than two months at number one. She gained her own television program, The Patti Page Show, in 1955 and moved into full-lengths with In the Land of Hi Fi and Manhattan Tower.

Page also proved more resilient to the rise of rock & roll than most of her contemporaries, hitting big in 1956 with "Allegheny Moon" and "Old Cape Cod" the next year. Indeed, she kept reaching the charts (if only in moderate placings) throughout the '60s, paced by the Top Ten theme to the film Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte in 1965. Though she stopped recording for the most part in 1968, she continued performing into the '90s. Patti Page died on January 1, 2013, at a retirement community in Encinitas, California, at the age of 85. By John Bush https://www.allmusic.com/artist/patti-page-mn0000747506/biography

Tennessee Waltz: Nashville Classics

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Joe Magnarelli - New York Osaka Junction

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:13
Size: 145,2 MB
Art: Front

(7:27) 1. New York Osaka Junction
(5:58) 2. Lament For Lorraine
(8:29) 3. What's New
(5:22) 4. Cousin Joanne
(8:39) 5. These Foolish Things
(6:19) 6. Reverend Tsuruga
(6:42) 7. Emily
(6:09) 8. The Wedding
(8:04) 9. The End Of A Love Affair

NYC is one of the most vibrant cities in the world, Osaka will arguably make the second place in that category.

Joe Magnarelli in the past made a couple "junction" albums but this could be the ultimate junction connecting the NY trumpeter with dynamic Osaka-born B-3 player Tsuruga. They are joined by the ace baritone player Gary Smulyan, sharing front line that will make it probably the first trumpet-baritone-organ band.

"Joe is known for his engaging, melodically-rich lines, and his powerhouse rhythm." - Zan Stewart https://www.prestomusic.com/jazz/products/9384822--new-york-osaka-junction

Personnel: Joe Magnarelli - Trumpet, Flugelhorn; Gary Smulyan - Baritone Saxophone; Akiko Tsuruga - Hammond B3 Organ; Rudy Royston Music - Drums

New York Osaka Junction

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Sherry Dyanne & Michiel Borstlap - Lady Sings The Blues: The Music Of Billie Holiday

Size: 117,5 MB
Time: 50:20
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz/Blues Vocals
Art: Front

01. God Bless The Child (Live) (4:20)
02. Body And Soul (Live (3:48)
03. Cry Me A River (Live) (7:09)
04. 24 Hours A Day (Live) (3:01)
05. Loverman (Live) (8:28)
06. Lady Sings The Blues (Live) (3:05)
07. Love For Sale (Live) (3:24)
08. Now Baby Or Never (Live) (2:37)
09. Solitude (Live) (3:13)
10. I Love You Porgy (Live) (5:06)
11. Me Myself And I (Live) (2:44)
12. Strange Fruit (Live) (3:20)

Dutch jazz-singer Sherry Dyanne is one of the most intriguing vocalists who is able to perform true renditions of the repertoire of Billie Holiday. Together with master pianist she toured extensively. This album is beautiful showcase of their love for Billie Holiday.

Sherry Dyanne is a soul and jazz singer with a very distinctive retro sound. This sound teleports you to the days of Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, home cooked apple pie and nostalgic jazz clubs. Sherry has a stunning live reputation and has now released her first album 'Sing me a song'. This debut hosts a selection self-written, beautiful songs and long forgotten tracks from yesteryear. Sherry's love for authenticity in life and music, has succeeded in creating a timeless atmosphere on this heartfelt album.

Lady Sings The Blues

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Michel Sajrawy - Yathrib

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:33
Size: 132,9 MB
Art: Front

(0:27) 1. Intro
(4:55) 2. Yathrib
(5:38) 3. Al-Ein
(9:35) 4. In Memory of Om Kalthoum
(6:31) 5. Flying Carpet
(4:49) 6. Four Commandments
(9:17) 7. Father
(8:43) 8. Spiritual Oasis
(7:33) 9. Karm Al-Sheikh

The nine tracks presented on Yathrib not only attempt to bridge Arabic traditional composition forms, western jazz idioms and progressive rock, they also bridge the cultural differences (Christian, Muslim and Jewish) of the ten players involved, led by amazing guitarist Michel Sajrawy, who also composed each of the pieces. The core ensemble is a quartet of electric and acoustic guitars, drums, electric and string bass, and oud, but they are frequently joined by additional players on violin, viola, jarra, rabab, tabla, rek, and other percussion.

Every one of these cuts is very impressive, each in its own unique way, whether it involves one of the expanded lineups taking a jazz inspired flight, or the core quartet rocking out in some odd time signature with surprise changes at every hairpin turn. There are plenty of subtle microtonal flights herein as well, especially when the violinists come into play. Oud player Darwish Darwish is a flat-out monster on his instrument, though (being the newest member) he's only featured on a few of the pieces. Regardless of where the music goes, bassist Valery Lipets and amazing drummer Ameen Atrash are right there, providing a tasty framework and guiding the other players along to whatever may come next. Those looking for unusual kaleidoscopic fusion in a cross-cultural sense would do well to check this out; it's nothing short of awe-inspiring. By Peter Thelen
http://www.expose.org/index.php/articles/display/michel-sajrawy-yathrib.html

Yathrib

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Kurt Rosenwinkel - Berlin Baritone

Styles: Straight-ahead/Mainstream
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:06
Size: 104,4 MB
Art: Front

(1:28) 1. Peace Please
(6:23) 2. Just Chillin
(4:54) 3. First Impression
(8:30) 4. Feelin the Blues
(7:40) 5. Under it All
(3:56) 6. Mellow D
(5:23) 7. Life of a Flower
(4:30) 8. Zarathustra
(2:18) 9. Metro City

Berlin Baritone is a uniquely intimate release, even in Rosenwinkel’s prolific discography, as listeners get to hear Rosenwinkel discover the timbral world of his new instrument with reverence and curiosity. In this stripped-down and intimate recording, you can hear just how deep and intuitive Rosenwinkel’s playing is.

His taut harmonic inventiveness is still intact, as is the tenderness of his touch, and his improvisational instincts are so sharp they feel almost indistinguishable from composed pieces. It’s as close as many of us will get to hearing Rosenwinkel play for you in his home, unguarded and reveling in the joy of playing his guitar.

The album opens with “Peace Please”, a short and plaintive improvisation that showcases Rosenwinkel at his most delicate and minimalist. There’s “Mellow D”, a breathtaking meditation on counterpoint that owes as much to Bach as George Van Eps. But of course, as much as Rosenwinkel has studied the music of others, he is of course, at this point in his career, most like himself, and his own sensibilities shine bright in the dense otherworldly harmonies of “Zarathustra” and the pianistic chord clusters of “Life of a Flower”.

Kurt Rosenwinkel: “When the instrument provides such a deep world of sound and beauty I find it is easy to lose myself in the music. I find the deeper range of the baritone to be more satisfying on its own than a normal guitar. It is a bit harder to play compared to a regular guitar. But that just leads to different musical things… I think the one who really inspires me on this instrument is definitely George Van Eps. He played a seven-string guitar with that deep bass sound.”https://jazzbluesnews.com/2022/12/02/cd-review-kurt-rosenwinkel-berlin-baritone-2022-video-cd-cover/

Berlin Baritone

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Rosemary Clooney - Love and Learn

Styles: Vocal

Year: 2022  
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:59
Size: 80,9 MB
Art: Front

(3:02) 1. Harbor Lights
(2:47) 2. I Get A Kick Out Of You
(2:34) 3. Love And Learn
(2:12) 4. Always Together
(2:49) 5. When I Sing
(2:54) 6. Goodbye Blues
(2:31) 7. It Just Happened To Happen To Me
(2:18) 8. Mountain Greenery
(2:21) 9. Anyone For Love
(2:30) 10. Witchcraft
(2:02) 11. Time For Love
(2:40) 12. You Got
(2:05) 13. I Love You (My Every Thought Is You)
(2:07) 14. You Ol' Son Of A Gun

A new album from Hindsight Records, Rosemary Clooney "Love and Learn", has been released. The latest project from the label’s Reimagined Series was produced by John F. Forbes and executive produced by Thomas Gramuglia.

“This album is the combination of Rosemary Clooney in her prime, Buddy Cole’s colorful keyboards and John Forbes’ orchestrations, which makes Love and Learn both an excellent introduction to her beautiful singing, and a welcome addition for her longtime fans,” expressed Scott Yanow.

 “Rosemary Clooney has become one of my favorites of all of the singers that I’ve worked with in this series,” shared producer John F. Forbes. “She has a deep resonance in her voice that really touches my heart and for many other listeners. It is easy for me to feel an emotional connection to her with her voice. She has a beautiful tonality, her phrasing is wonderful, and everything that she sings is warm.” He continued and said, “My Dad was a big theater organ fan, as was I. Buddy Cole’s organ was going to be in the mix of these performances with Rosemary Clooney and, rather than fighting it, I embraced it and orchestrated around his sound. I considered this a bit of a balancing act for his trio, which was different than the usual piano trio, and led itself to more orchestration than on the other projects. I used a bassless chamber ensemble that included a few cellos, alto flute, oboe, piccolo, and every now and then, a trumpet. I also added vibes on a couple of songs, although most of the vibes one hears is due to the stops Cole used on the organ, which sound great.”

Session musician Buddy Cole played piano, celeste, harpsichord and organ. The Reimagined Series additional production was recorded, mixed and mastered by John Forbes at Forjam Studios. 

https://www.eastportlandblog.com/2022/12/03/rosemary-clooney-love-and-learn-released-by-hindsight-records/

Jazz journalist Scott Yanow expressed.. “This album is the combination of Rosemary Clooney in her prime, Buddy Cole’s colorful keyboards and John Forbes’ orchestrations, which makes Love and Learn both an excellent introduction to her beautiful singing, and a welcome addition for her longtime fans.”

Love and Learn

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Tete Montoliu - That's All

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1993
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:07
Size: 85,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:11) 1. You Go to My Head
(2:34) 2. When I Fall in Love
(5:35) 3. Round About Midnight
(5:13) 4. A Child Is Born
(4:12) 5. Giant Steps
(5:22) 6. Imagination
(4:50) 7. That's All
(4:07) 8. Solar

The virtuosic Spanish pianist Tete Montoliu is usually heard from in trio settings, making this rare solo outing particularly special. Montoliu digs into eight familiar standards (including "You Go to My Head," "'Round Midnight," "A Child Is Born" and "Giant Steps") and to his credit comes up with fresh new variations. Montoliu's style has Bud Powell's bop approach as its foundation but also incorporates the more modern chord voicings of McCoy Tyner and Bill Evans. This album is a fine example of his talents. By Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/thats-all-mw0000768958

Personnel: Tete Montoliu - Piano

That's All

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Ronnell Bright - The Ronnell Bright Trio

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1958
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:11
Size: 79,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:47)  1. Sail 'Em
(4:18)  2. Things Ain't What They Used To Be
(4:30)  3. Johnny Pate's Blues
(4:49)  4. R & R Groove
(2:33)  5. The Champ
(4:27)  6. Easy Listening
(3:45)  7. Chasing Sarah
(5:59)  8. Doxology

A talented pianist who made an impact at a young age, Ronnel Bright has had compositions recorded by Sarah Vaughan, Cal Tjader, Horace Silver and Blue Mitchell, and collaborated with lyricist Johnny Mercer. He won a piano competition at nine and played with The Chicago Youth Piano Symphony Orchestra in 1944. Bright attended Juilliard and graduated in the early '50s, playing his first jazz dates with a navy band. He later worked in Chicago with bassist Johnny Tate and was Carmen McRae's accompanist in the mid-'50s. Bright moved to New York in 1955, then performed and recorded with Rolf Kuhn and formed his own trio in 1957. He played in Dizzy Gillespie's big band in 1957 and 1958, and was accompanist and conductor for Vaughan, Lena Horne and Gloria Lynne at various times during the late '50s and early '60s. He became Nancy Wilson's arranger, conductor, pianist and music director in 1964, moving to Los Angeles. There Bright became involved in studio work and joined Supersax in 1972. After leaving them in 1974, Bright taught high school for a year. ~ Ron Wynn https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/the-ronnell-bright-trio/451895580

Personnel:  Piano – Ronnell Bright;  Bass – Richard Davis ;  Drums – Art Morgan

The Ronnell Bright Trio

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Peter White - Day to Day

Styles: Guitar
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:55
Size: 99,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:46) 1. Day To Day
(4:07) 2. I Need A Song
(4:41) 3. Where I Belong
(3:36) 4. Honay
(3:41) 5. 24/7
(5:01) 6. That's The Way
(4:03) 7. Where Do You Wanna Go?
(4:53) 8. Driving To The Grocery Store
(4:01) 9. You Can
(4:01) 10. Lullaby

A popular British electric and nylon-string guitarist, Peter White is known for his lyrical and inventive approach to contemporary smooth jazz and fusion. White initially gained fame in the 1970s as a collaborator with singer/songwriter Al Stewart before earning more widespread acclaim as a leader and soloist in his own right. Alongside collaborations with Richard Elliot, Rick Braun, Kirk Whalum, and Everette Harp, he has released a number of Top Ten Billboard Jazz Albums, including 1998's Perfect Moment, 2001's Glow, 2009's Good Day, and 2016's Groovin'.

Born September 20, 1954, to an English father and a French mother in Luton, a town north of London, England, White and his family moved soon after his birth to nearby Letchworth. His brother Danny was born a few years later. As a child, White loved sports, hiking, and tree climbing, but music was most special to him. His father encouraged him to learn many musical instruments recorder, clarinet, cornet, trombone, violin, harmonica, piano but the one instrument his dad couldn't help him with was the guitar; White was on his own. He learned to play simple chords by experimenting and listening with one ear glued to the radio. Like a lot of musicians, White was heavily influenced by the Beatles and the guitar-driven sound of the beat groups of the '60s. Around age 12, White would go over to schoolmate David Visick's house and listen to his large record collection. His favorites were Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, Cream, and Jimi Hendrix. In his early teens, he acquired his first electric guitar and amplifier, which survived just long enough to be burned in a fire. Forced to go acoustic, White developed a love of acoustic music. After leaving school at 18, White worked for a few months in a soup-canning factory before getting his first musical break, a summer engagement at a South of England holiday resort.

When summer ended, he went back to Letchworth, having whet his appetite for more musical adventures. Traveling to London, the guitarist ended up joining a group that was managed by Miles Copeland (Sting, R.E.M., IRS Records). Copeland also managed Al Stewart, so when Stewart's backup band disbanded, White got an audition call to back Stewart on keyboards. Brushing up on his finger dexterity, White learned a few of Stewart's songs, and soon the 20-year-old musician was touring England and the U.S. In the summer of 1975, Stewart asked White to play keyboards and acoustic guitar on his Year of the Cat album (Arista, 1976). Their collaboration lasted almost 20 years, with White co-writing "Time Passages" (number seven pop, number one adult contemporary, fall 1978) and co-producing Famous Last Words (Mesa/Rhino, 1993).

Around 1979, White moved to Los Angeles, where Stewart had relocated, formed a band called Shot in the Dark with other musicians who had played with Stewart, and established a music publishing company called Lobster Music. Meanwhile his brother Danny formed the group Matt Bianco, which included singer Basia Trzetrzelewska. Danny White and Basia eventually left the group to launch the singer's solo career. Danny asked Peter to tour with him and Basia in 1990, just as the guitarist released his first solo album, Reveillez-Vous (Chase). Made up mostly of unused songs that White had written for Al Stewart, the album became a DJ favorite at jazz and emerging smooth jazz radio stations. Epic exec Cliff Gorov was the man who first brought White's music to the attention of contemporary jazz radio. Former Al Stewart drummer Steve Chapman put down his sticks and became the guitarist's manager. White followed his debut with three albums for the Sin-Drome label, including 1993's Promenade and 1994's Reflections; the latter-of-which cracked the top twenty of the Billboard Jazz Albums chart. Around the same time, he contributed to albums by Richard Elliot, Warren Hill, Craig Chaquico, Rick Braun, Marc Antoine, Kirk Whalum, and Everette Harp.

In 1995, White signed with Columbia/Sony and returned the following year with Caravan of Dreams (which hit number four on the Billboard Jazz chart). A string of successful albums followed for the label with 1997's Songs of the Season and 1998's Perfect Moment (which peaked at number three on the jazz charts). In 2001, White again landed near the top of the jazz charts with Glow. The equally well-received Confidential followed in 2004. White then decided to revisit some of his favorite songs from the '60s, '70s, and '80s in his 2006 release Playin' Favourites. The low-key Good Day followed in 2009.

Here We Go arrived in 2012 and featured guest appearances by such artists as David Sanborn, Andrew Neu, and Kirk Whalum. In 2014, White released his 14th studio album, the all-original Smile. 2016's Groovin', his 15th album as a bandleader, featuring reworkings of a number of classic songs from the '60s and '70s. Music for Starlux Airlines arrived in 2019 and featured songs White initially recorded for use by the luxury airline based in Taiwan. Included on the album was the song "Homeward Bound," which featured his daughter Charlotte White on violin. By Ed Hogan https://www.allmusic.com/artist/peter-white-mn0000844255/biography

Day to Day

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Carmen Mcrae - Let There Be Love

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:23
Size: 82,0 MB
Art: Front

(2:13) 1. If You Never Fell In Love With Me
(2:28) 2. Fly Me To The Moon (In Other Words)
(2:33) 3. Let There Be Love
(2:28) 4. It Could Happen To You
(3:08) 5. I've Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
(2:28) 6. Make Someone Happy
(2:15) 7. The Right To Love (Reflections)
(2:36) 8. Watch What Happens
(2:45) 9. I Left My Heart In San Francisco
(2:57) 10. Alfie
(2:02) 11. I'm Gonna Lock My Heart (And Throw Away The Key)
(1:31) 12. Miss Brown To You
(3:10) 13. Stardust
(2:43) 14. Too Close For Comfort

NASHVILLE, TN - (December 2, 2022) - Hindsight Recordshas announced the release of a new album, Carmen McRae Let There Be Love. The new record is part of the Hindsight Records Reimagined Series, a collection of timeless recordings tastefully enhanced for today’s listeners. This new project was produced by John F. Forbes and executive produced by Thomas Gramuglia. Re-recording was done by John F. Forbes with the Sentimental Pops Orchestra. Stream and download Carmen McRae Let There Be Love on Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Apple Music, Pandora and your favorite digital music platform at https://CarmenMcRae.lnk.to/LetThereLove.

“From the start, I loved the tonality of her voice, which really resonated in my heart. She touched me on an emotional level and gave me an immediate connection, more than most singers. Carmen McRae is like an instrumentalist who can play one note and really have a strong effect on listeners,” shared producer John F. Forbes. He continued by saying, “In this music with her trio, there are not as many leading lines as there are with most singers; instead there are moving chords. That gave her a lot more freedom to phrase and reshape the melodies in her own style. It also meant that I had a bit more freedom in writing the orchestrations, following her ideas rather than sticking overly close to the original themes. Since the music was originally recorded in stereo, unlike the earlier ones in this series, they lent themselves to a wider range of orchestration.”

“Carmen McRae comes up with fresh variations on these songs while digging deep into the lyrics, altering the melodies at times, while not losing the essence of these songs,” expressed executive producer Thomas Gramuglia. “The Carmen McRae Trio’s original recordings were enhanced with a few strings, flute, oboe, vibes, occasionally a French horn and bass clarinet, adding a touch of class by The Sentimental Pops Orchestra.”

Studio musicians included Norman Simmons (piano), Frank Severino (drums), Victor Sproles (bass on 1963 session) and Chuck Domanico (bass on 1969 session). The Reimagined Series also included additional production, recording, mixing and mastering by John Forbes at Forjam Studios. https://www.musiccitymelodies.com/post/hindsight-records-releases-carmen-mcrae-let-there-be-love-album

Let There Be Love

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Hilary Kole - Haunted Heart

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:15
Size: 115,6 MB
Art: Front

(2:07)  1. It's Love
(2:41)  2. There's a Small Hotel
(3:32)  3. 'Deed I Do
(3:39)  4. I Didn't Know About You
(3:01)  5. Better Than Anything
(6:27)  6. Like a Lover
(4:59)  7. Blackberry Winter
(3:36)  8. The Snake
(5:01)  9. Old Boyfriends
(2:55) 10. How Am I to Know
(5:19) 11. What'll I Do
(2:05) 12. You for Me
(4:47) 13. Haunted Heart

This listener can't recall in years so smashing a solo CD debut as this winner. Hilary Kole's lengthy runs in cabaret and club appearances with song revues "Our Sinatra" and "Singing Astaire," singing some of the best of the American Songbook, have served her well. The mix here is flawless, ranging from such evergreens as Rodgers-Hart's "There's A Small Hotel" to worthy but lesser known gems such as '40s swinger "'Deed I Do" and Bob Haymes' "You For Me." What's most impressive is how Kole inhabits each with a thoroughness and emotional authenticity that belies her young years. Her delivery of "Better Than Anything," (heretofore owned by wonderful Irene Kral), is breezily knowing. Tedd Firth (piano) and Mark McLean (drums) make for swinging easy company throughout the set. With Alec Wilder and Loonis McGlohon's "Blackberry Winter," it's the American art song at its no-frills finest, evoking the straight- to-the-heart sound of the late Nancy LaMott.

The range of what she can do with a lilting, warm soprano is evident as Kole tosses off "You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in," warbling Oscar Brown, Jr.'s bit of Freudian storytelling, "The Snake." That segues into a dark night take on Tom Waits' toughly nostalgic "Old Boyfriends." Particularly fine on musings from the trenches of love, if Kole's shrewd, swinging take on "How Am I To Know" isn't enough, just wait for her battered but still standing rendition of Irving Berlin's "What'll I Do." Kudos to all, including producer John Pizzarelli. This is a memorable first effort.
~Andrew Velez http://www.allaboutjazz.com/haunted-heart-hilary-kole-justin-time-records-review-by-andrew-velez.php
 

Personnel: Hilary Kole: vocals; Tedd Firth: piano; Paul Gill: bass; Mark McLean: drums; John Pizzarelli: guitar.

Haunted Heart

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Michel Sajrawy - Soul Fingers

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:09
Size: 111,5 MB
Art: Front

( 4:10) 1. Hozam
( 6:19) 2. Chennai
( 9:03) 3. Hijaz
( 4:24) 4. Ajam
( 3:56) 5. Syncretic Beliefs
( 9:46) 6. Kord
(10:27) 7. In Memory of Om Kalthoum

Sajrawy's musical finesse is to reconcile the jazz of western culture with the „Maqamat“ of the Middle East, he has perfectly developed a whole new sound that mends both, all together his music takes you on a beautiful and divine journey.

Maqamat“ these are „oriental“ modes, rooted in ancient traditions, consisting of very special melodic lines based on quarter note steps an exceptional musical vocabulary. Beyond this, each of these „Maqam“ has its very own ethos attributed to it, associating various and very different moods. For example, in the ninth century Safi el-Din gave every hour of the day its own Maqam.

As a rule, oriental guitarists equip their instruments with additional frets in order to be able to create the quarter note steps necessary for “Maqamat”. Unfortunately, this inevitably leads to a lack of precision in the intonation:

The quarter note steps called for here are NOT exact quarter intervals in ascending succession they are a little bit higher accordingly, in descending succession they have to sound a little bit “darker”…and for this the musician alone is responsible.

Michel Sajrawy tackles this difficulty with his own unconventional solution: Having on the one hand tried out the limited suitability of additional frets, he nonetheless rejects the usual use of “fretless guitars”. They do offer complete freedom of intonation, but according to Sajrawy, can only be a compromise for the sound as well as the character. They just don’t do justice to the sound he really wants!

Sajrawy creates the desired quarter note steps by bending the strings. A very unusual, if not unique technique for interpreting “Maqamat”. It spices the original sound with an almost “bluesy” note, and does not require any additional alterations to the instrument. All that can be heard is the virtuoso result of the ingenious interaction of fingers and ear.

Guitarist and composer Michel Sajrawy is from Nazareth - Israel. At the age of nine he started taking guitar lessons. During the years 1990-93 he studied for and received a diploma in electronic engineering. In 1995 he moved to London, England, where he studied and completed a one-year diploma at the Musicians' Institute G.I.T. He began a three-year degree program in music composition at The London College of Music in 1996 under the instruction and assistance of Adam Gorb.. During the years 1999-2000 Michel furthered himself with the assistance of Adam Gorb and Nigel Clark to complete his masters degree in film and TV scoring.

In 2000 he returned to Nazareth and established his own business Dasam Studio (Dasam is a word in Arabic for ''rich food''). As a band leader, he released his debut album Yathrib (Ozella Music 2006) which marked his entrance into the vanguard of crossover artists who see themselves creating an uncompromising jazz sound between traditional and contemporary. In 2009 he released his second album, Writings On The Wall (Ozella Music) which marked a strong turning towards filigree west-eastern acoustic jazz. Among the jazz releases, the album became on the Top List "Best albums of 2009" of Freies Radio Stuttgart in Germany. In 2012 he released Arabop (Ozella Music / Dasam Studio) which was praised and criticized as a high octane, modern Arabic music that isn't like any world jazz or world fusion you've heard up till now.

Michel can easily join the ranks of seminal jazz guitarists. With his band, he played in different parts of the country, toured in Germany and played the Leipzig Jazz Festival (2006), played in Switzerland-Geneva (2007), Jerusalem Festival (2007) where he met and jammed with Nigel Kennedy. He played in the Netherlands (2008), the same year he played in New York (USA). Played the Jordan Festival (2009) and Tel Aviv Jazz Festival (2009). He played the International Oud Festival in Jerusalem (2012). In 2014 he was appointed as a guitar faculty for Spring Semester at Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music (SAM) in India where he shared the stage with Prasanna Ramaswamy, Tom Brislin (Yes/Meatloaf/Robert Plant/Spiraling), Phil Maturano and Steve Zerlin (Dennis Chambers, Carl Filipiak, Jack DeJohnette). In 2014 he performed with Yaron Herman in Paris (France). In 2015 he participated in Munich at the BMW Welt Jazz Award 2015 (Germany) and in 2016 he played at HevHet Festival in Kosice (Slovakia).

He worked with Abboud Abdel'All, Bashir Abdel'All, Ahmed Mukhtar, Samir Jubran, Manfred Leuchter, Mira Awad and Souad Massi. He composed music for several documentary films, arranged the music for theatre, various mini orchestral projects, produced radio jingles for the major brands in the country and he appears regularly as a musician on national TV shows. He collaborated on more than 20 albums worldwide. He is also a free lance guitarist and instructor.

Michel has been awarded the Wilfred Joseph Prize (1998-99 England), Best Title in Music (2002 Israel), the A. M. Qattan Foundation's Performing Arts Grant for the year (2007 West Bank) and Diploma from "Master-Jam Fest" in recognition of musical skill and devotion to jazz art (2012 Odessa - Ukraine).https://www.michelsajrawy.com/index.php/biography

Soul Fingers

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Amina Figarova - Joy

Styles: Piano Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:34
Size: 139,2 MB
Art: Front

(6:49) 1. Joy
(4:56) 2. October Phantasy (Feat. Sasha Masakowski)
(4:25) 3. Green Blues
(5:48) 4. Morning Dew
(5:15) 5. Ruby At Play
(8:29) 6. Suddenly Stars Are Falling From The Sky
(5:46) 7. Road Ahead
(6:51) 8. Only Peace Liberates
(4:45) 9. Getting There
(7:25) 10. Muse

Pianist Amina Figarova released an album in 2005 that was about as far away from the theme of "joy" as could be. September Suite (Munich Records) explored the deadly events of September 11, 2001 (she was in New York at the time; she experienced it). It is an album that she called: "An Ode to Mourning striving to articulate the various stages of grief in musical terms."

In 2022 Figarova turns 180 degrees to embrace optimism and a hope for a bright future with Joy. Born in Azerbaijan and now based in New York and New Orleans, Figarova once again displays her genius for arranging for a mid-sized ensemble, a three horn and a rhythm section sextet. On 2019's Road To the Sun (AmFi Records), perhaps her masterpiece, she enhanced her septet writing, on about half the tracks, with a string trio. It was enchanting, a top disc of the year list shoo-in.

On Joy she goes again with a (mostly) septet approach. The front line: the flute in the hands of Bart Platteau, which gives the sound a feeling of refinement; Alex Pope Norris' trumpet and flugelhorn, along with Wayne Escoffery's soprano and tenor saxophones. As always with the pianist, her group sounds bigger than a sextet. Credit Figarova's arranging mastery. Terrific soloing is heard all around, blowing organically out of the polish and shine of the well-crafted charts on the exuberant "Morning Dew," the reflective beauty of "Ruby At Play." Sasha Masakowski's dream-like vocals are featured on "October Phantasy," a recitation of her poem (included on the inside fold of the album cover) seeping softly into the arrangement with a slightly blurred, ghostly delivery.

Joy, with all compositions and arrangements coming from Amina Figarova's pen, is a magically uplifting experience. Figarova hails from Azerbaijan, and she was based in Europe for several years. Now the U.S. has her and her band and her Joy, and the country in trying times benefits from her consistently gorgeous contributions.By Dan McClenaghan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/joy-amina-figarova-amfi-records

Personnel: Amina Figarova: piano; Bart Platteau: flute; Alex Norris: trumpet; Wayne Escoffery: saxophone, tenor; Yasushi Nakamura: bass; Rudy Royston: drums; Brian Richburg Jr: drums; Sasha Masakowski: voice / vocals; Hasan Bakr: percussion.

Joy

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Naama Gheber - If I Knew Then

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 21:01
Size: 48,5 MB
Art: Front

(2:43) 1. If I Knew Then
(3:33) 2. I'm A Fool To Want You
(2:10) 3. Old Mother Hubbard
(2:47) 4. Dream Dancing
(3:27) 5. The Very Thought Of You
(2:55) 6. Dream Of You
(3:23) 7. You're Driving Me Crazy

New York City-based vocalist Naama Gheber released her debut recording, Dearly Beloved (Cellar Music) in 2020, just before the global COVID-19 pandemic. With live entertainment brought to a halt, Gheber found herself with time on her hands and no way to promote her considerable talent in live performance. Israeli by birth, Gheber was an enfant terrible who ascended quickly professionally. After being trained at the Center for Jazz Studies in Tel Aviv, Gheber was accepted into the jazz program at New York City's The New School For Performing Arts, where she soon honed her craft and began performing throughout the city, accumulating valuable experience as well as critical attention. Just starting to reach professional escape velocity, Gheber recorded and released Dearly Beloved, and then the bottom fell out.

The debut recording generated positive attention, but that did not replace the singer promoting her wares in a live setting. Drawing from Cellar Group alumni, Gheber teamed up with pianist Ben Paterson, bassist Neal Miner, and drummer Evan Sherman early in 2022 to record seven compositions thoughtfully chosen to show off Gheber's freshly conservative ballad singing. Her choice of the traditional jazz piano trio allowed a sonic environment where she would not be competing with other melody instruments, a circumstance both fortunate and challenging, where Gheber had no other choice but to stand and deliver. And did she ever.

Gheber made another strategic decision to release five of the seven selections as singles monthly throughout the summer and fall with the full EP to be released in November. Reviews of these individually released songs are cited at the end of this article, leaving two songs: the title cut and "Dreaming of You" for consideration here. "If I Knew Then (What I Know Now)" was composed and published by Dick Jurgens and Eddy Howard in 1939, with their version charting briefly the same year. Bing Crosby went on to record the song on February 9, 1940, with John Scott Trotter and His Orchestra, placing the song into the canon of the Great American Songbook. Gheber displays a knack for arranging the piece, directing the trio, and its tone for the recording. Gheber's arranging proves dramatically sophisticated and Paterson manifests as empathetically aligned with the singer in providing refined and understated support and soloing.

"Dreaming of You" fits snuggly into Gheber's survey of ballad styles. Composed in 1934 by Jimmie Lunceford, the song would become a performance staple for Helen Merrill 20 years later. Here, the ballad is presented as a bass-voice duet between Miner and Gheber, one that sets a standard for swing in a confined space. The singer is in melodic command while Miner steers the harmony. Gheber sings with light shades of Anita O'Day coupled with Billie Holiday seasoned with a tincture of the corner bar from "Lush Life."

There is a place for this kind of jazz singing. It is like Brahms to Beethoven, a keeper of the flame necessary to inform new generations of how the music sounded at the beginning: simple, inventive, and stunning. By C. Michael Bailey
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/if-i-knew-then-naama-gheber-sassys-back-in-town

Personnel: Naama Gheber: voice / vocals; Ben Paterson: piano; Neal Miner: bass, acoustic; Evan Sherman: drums.

If I Knew Then

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Andy Laverne - Between Earth & Mars

Styles: Piano Jazz 
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:30
Size: 157,7 MB
Art: Front

(8:53)  1. Retrospect
(8:23)  2. Gardenia
(5:35)  3. On Green Dolphin Street
(8:15)  4. Tenderly
(6:04)  5. Blue in green
(8:32)  6. Tri-tones
(8:18)  7. Maiden voyage
(8:39)  8. Between Earth & Mars
(5:48)  9. B.E.

Like label mate Harold Danko, pianist Andy LaVerne possesses talent that should be commensurate with a much broader public awareness. One of sax legend Stan Getz’s favorite accompanists, LaVerne has built a sizable catalog for SteepleChase over the past two decades- some 18 strong- with Between Earth & Mars serving as a reunion with vibraphonist Dave Samuels. Also thrown into the mix is bassist Jay Anderson, who completes this rather atypical trio. Far away from his visibility as a past member of the popular group Spyro Gyra, Samuels contributes a singular performance that reminds us that he is indeed one of the finest practitioners of his craft.

LaVerne strives in this type of configuration as his style is strongly rooted in a deep sense of lyricism and an advanced harmonic knowledge. Anderson does enough to keep things buoyantly afloat to the point that a drummer just isn’t missed. The piano and vibes combination is a real winner- of course Gary Burton and Chick Corea taught us that long ago- and LaVerne and Samuels have developed attractive arrangements that make the most of a smart mix of contemporary standards and originals. “Blue In Green” is especially arresting in this new form, taken a bit faster than the original (check out another fine duo performance of this one by Burton and Ralph Towner). The title cut, a LaVerne tune, is also a highpoint, sporting an intense solo from Samuels. It may have taken almost a decade for LaVerne and Samuels to create a follow-up to Fountainhead but it was well worth the wait. ~ C.Andrew Hovan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/between-earth-and-mars-andy-laverne-steeplechase-records-review-by-c-andrew-hovan.php

Personnel: Andy LaVerne- piano, Dave Samuels- vibes, Jay Anderson- bass

Between Earth & Mars

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Kenny Dorham - The Best Of Kenny Dorham - The Blue Note Years

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1964
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:46
Size: 135,3 MB
Art: Front

( 4:26)  1. Minors Holiday
( 4:16)  2. Lotus Flower
( 6:00)  3. Mexico City
( 5:38)  4. Philly Twist
( 7:57)  5. Blue Bossa
( 7:11)  6. Short Story
(15:16)  7. Una Mas (One More Time)
( 7:58)  8. The Fox

Often lost in the shadows of A-team players like Dizzy Gillespie and Clifford Brown, trumpeter Kenny Dorham quietly made a name for himself throughout both the bebop and hard bop years from the mid-'40s to the mid-'60s. His tart tone and mercurial phrasing ideally framed here, The Best of Kenny Dorham offers newcomers a perfect way to get familiar with one of modern jazz's top composers and players. Starting with 1955's classic Afro-Cuban LP, the eight cuts include such essential Dorham originals as "Minor's Holiday," "Blue Bossa," and "Una Mas." And helping out along the way are tenor saxophonists Joe Henderson and Hank Mobley, guitarist Kenny Burrell, pianist Horace Silver, and drummer Philly Joe Jones. A fine snapshot of Dorham in his eclectic prime. ~ Stephen Cook https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-best-of-kenny-dorham-blue-note-years-mw0000082543

Personnel: Trumpet – Kenny Dorham; Kenny Burrell - Guitar; Paul Chambers - Bass; Richard Davis - Bass; Kenny Drew - Piano; Cecil Payne - Saxophone; Philly Joe Jones - Drums.

The Best Of Kenny Dorham - The Blue Note Years

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Yelena Eckemoff - Adventures of the Wildflower

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2021
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 122:01
Size: 281,3 MB
Art: Front

(6:16) 1. In the Ground
(6:21) 2. Germination
(9:06) 3. Weeding the Garden
(4:25) 4. Dos Chasing a Mouse
(7:05) 5. Rain
(6:58) 6. Hoome by the Fence
(6:09) 7. Chickens
(8:51) 8. Drought
(5:20) 9. Thundershower
(7:43) 10. Winter Slamber
(6:10) 11. Waking up in the Spring
(7:52) 12. Buds and Flowers
(7:47) 13. Butterflies
(5:09) 14. Hummingbirds
(4:48) 15. Children Playing with Seed Pods
(8:51) 16. Dying
(5:49) 17. Another Winter
(7:13) 18. Baby Columbines

The seeds of pianist-composer Yelena Eckemoff's Adventures Of The Wildflower were planted in 2013, when she traveled to Hollola, Finland, to record Blooming Tall Phlox (L&H Productions, 2017) with a group of young Finnish musicians. Several Eckemoff albums came about after that recording, but the experience with her Finnish friends must have exerted a sort of gravitational pull, and in 2019 she made a return trip to the country to team with vibraphonist Panu Savolainen, bassist Antti Lotjonen and drummer Olavi Louhivuori who had all participated in Blooming Tall Phlox and newcomers to her world, multi-instrumentalist Jarmo Saari (guitars, theremin, glass harp) and saxophonist Jukka Perko, who took trumpeter Verneri Pohjola's 'horn" spot in the ensemble.

Eckemoff does concept albums: Lions (2015), Colors (2017), Desert (2018), all on L&H Productions. It is more of the same with The Adventures Of The Wildflower, a deep exploration of the journey of a Columbine flower from babyhood to maturity, as she (note the anthropomorphization) observes the natural world surrounding her. A fanciful idea, perhaps, but not without artistic forerunners the concept of the potential for plant sentience has been artistically explored on Stevie Wonder's soundtrack album Journey Through "The Secret Life Of Plants" (Tamla, 1979), and with science fiction novelist Gregory Bendford's speculative Marsmat, an algae-like growth on the planet Mars that could communicate, planet-wide, with its fellow "Mats." This in his novels Martian Race (1999) and The Sunborn (2005).

The two disc set begins distinctively, with the eerie wavering of a theremin rising above the ensemble sound. To those hanging out at the shore and grooving to the Beach Boys in 1966 or for anyone else in that timeframe with access to a radio the theremin was instrumental (hah!) in the success of the Beach Boys' song "Good Vibrations," the group's third number one hit single. Its eerie, space-age warble sounds like cosmic rays, or a death beam from an attacking UFO, 1950s sci-fi B movie style. Something of a gimmick then, but not so for Eckemoff, or from Jarmo Saari, who incorporates that sound to the mix with a deft hand. And, in part, this new sound, used texturally and sparingly inside Eckemoff's well-shaped arrangements, is a part of what sets Adventures Of The Wildflower above the pianist's earlier work, as does Saari's guitar and glass harp, Panu Savolainen's luminous vibraphone, Jukka Perko's understated but always tasty soprano and tenor sax contributions, combined with the subtle ensemble acumen of drummer Olavi Louhivuori and bassist Antti Lotjonen. Add to this Eckemoff's growth and freedom as a composer/arranger.

The eighteen Eckemoff compositions here are some of her most abstract and sometimes asymmetrical (but beautiful) offerings consider the Columbine flower that boasts a delicate and lovely symmetry; the wild plant from which it blossoms that does not. Taken as a whole, the two disc, two hour set creates intricately placid, mysterious and modernistically spiritual feeling a chamber jazz from a mid-twenty first century church.

It is sometimes playful, and could, at times, fit into the "exotica" category of sounds an exotica influenced, Henry David Thoreau-like, by the everyday goings on in the confines of the church of Yelena Eckemoff's backyard, in tunes entitled "Germination," "Dog Chasing A Squirrel," "Chickens," (yes, her chickens get some glory here, says Eckemoff, with a twinkling eye and a merry laugh), "Butterflies" and "Children Playing With Seed Pods." Things that could be considered mundane, if the artist in Eckemoff hadn't revealed though her complex and unconventionally beautiful music, her sounds full of joy and wonder, that they are not. Eckemoff includes in the album packaging her poems and her paintings, following the Columbine plant's life journey an effort worthy of a children's (or an adult's) book.By Dan McClenaghan
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/adventures-of-the-wildflower-yelena-eckemoff-l-and-h-production

Personnel: Yelena Eckemoff: piano; Jukka Perko: saxophone; Jarmo Saari: guitar, electric; Panu Savolainen: vibraphone; Antti Lotjonen: bass; Olavi Louhivuori: drums.

Adventures of the Wildflower

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