Vanessa Perica Orchestra - The Eye Is the First Circle

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:02
Size: 115,0 MB
Art: Front

(7:01) 1. The Eye Is the First Circle
(7:34) 2. What a Time to Be Alive
(6:14) 3. Hill of Grace
(7:29) 4. Meet Me at Phoenix Street
(6:56) 5. Song for Cleo
(9:47) 6. Still We Rise
(4:58) 7. Love and War

Czech pianist/composer Kristina Barta's Endless Questions and Answers opens on a rather ominous tone. Drummer Marek Urbanek plays on his toms a shadowy, esoteric rhythm. Tenor Jure Pukl flares in. Barta enters slowly, barely audible with bassist Peter Korman riding shotgun. But soon she controls the barely controllable rush that embodies "Breaking Through Some Border," the breakthrough opener to a fine, fine recording.

Barta a graduate from the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and a finalist in the 2016 Euroradio Jazz Competition in the Netherlands keeps the action chugging along. "The One Who Believes" is a full bore slice of Euro post-bop: airy, articulate, unfussy. Clean and propulsive. The trio of Urbánek, Korman, and Pukl hold the landscape to task allowing Barta to muse about the sweeping terrain's many highway and byways.

The almost-too-ballady ballad "No Time Ritual" echoes just enough of the other eighheen-million ballads out there to kind of halt the forward spread of motion the previous two tracks had given themselves to. The slow, unfolding, knotty structure of "Everything's Changed" breaks that spell. It is soon followed by "Without Anxiety" where Barta balances her melodic balladry and her instinct for jumpy improv with keen nuance.

The quartet revels in that jumpy bop energy on "Fictional Trips." Barta is all over the Cecil Taylor/Marilyn Crispell playbook and it is a pure rush to listen to. Pukl, his tone classic sax sharp but not strident, resonant with metro narrative pulls with and against Barta, busting space for Urbánek's muscle and Korman's insistence to rule the day. Despite the couple of originals that sound a tad over-studied, Endless Questions and Answers does not disappoint and delivers if not many answers, certainly many promises.By Mike Jurkovic
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/endless-questions-and-answers-kristina-barta-alessa-records-jazz-and-art-second-records

The Eye Is the First Circle

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Victor Assis Brasil - Esperanto / Toca Antonio Carlos Jobim

Size: 194,5 MB
Time: 83:54
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2018
Styles: Jazz
Label: Far Out Recordings
Art: Front & Back

01. Ginger Bread Boy ( 6:14)
02. Children (10:14)
03. Marilia ( 6:44)
04. Quarenta Graus A Sombra ( 9:12)
05. Ao Amigo Quartin ( 5:07)
06. So Tinha De Ser Com Voce ( 4:01)
07. Wave ( 9:49)
08. Bonita (11:43)
09. Dindi ( 5:01)
10. Marilia (Alternative Take) ( 7:52)
11. Ao Amigo Quartin (Alternative Take) ( 7:51)

Over the course of the 1960s, Roberto Quartin released more than 20 albums in Brazil on his label Forma, by artists including the likes of Eumir Deodato, Quarteto Em Cy, Baden Powell and Vinicius De Moraës. Selling the rights of Forma to Polygram in 1969, Quartin struck out for pastures new at the dawn of the 1970s with the launch of his self-titled label. Significant works and high-water marks for Brazilian music overall followed in that decade’s first year. These singular gems in Brazilian music, difficult to categorise yet compellingly beautiful, have for too long gone unheard.

Gifted his first saxophone by his aunt at the age of fourteen, only four years later the inherently gifted and determined young musician Victor Assis Brasil recorded his debut album, with a second to follow only a year later. The prodigious young carioca was subsequently granted a place to study at Berklee College of Music, where he played alongside the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Chick Corea and Ron Carter. It was also during this period he recorded Esperanto and Toca Antonio Carlos Jobim with Roberto Quartin, upon returning to Brazil in the summer of 1970.

Recorded in the same sessions as the Toca Antonio Carlos Jobim album, Esperanto consists of five deep jazz cuts: original compositions except for a heavy-swinging latin-jazz cover of Jimmy Heath’s ‘Ginger Bread Boy’, alongside more moments of wild frenetic jazz, like ‘Quarenta Graus A Sombra’, amongst more melancholic, but no less captivating compositions like ‘Marilia’ and ‘Ao Amigo Quartin’. Esperanto’s influences span both American continents, finding a meeting point for Latin jazz and North American post-bop, with Roberto Quartin’s perfectionist approach to sound elevating the already incandescent music to divine new heights. The band consists of some mercurial greats of Brazilian music: Dom Salvador (bass), Edison Machado (drums), Helio Delmiro (guitar) and Edson Lobo (Bass).

Victor Assis Brasil passed away aged just thirty-five, due to a rare circulatory disease, but by this point his status was already cemented as one of the most talented musicians in Brazil’s history.

This issue of Esperanto also features a track previously unreleased on vinyl, ‘Children’. All the releases in the Quartin series have been re-mastered from the original 2” tapes, and pressed to high quality heavyweight vinyl.

Esperanto / Toca Antonio Carlos Jobim

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Cal Tjader - Catch The Groove (Live at The Penthouse 1963-1967)

Styles: Vibraphone Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 146:53
Size: 340,4 MB
Art: Front

(6:15) 1. Take The A Train
(7:02) 2. In Your Own Sweet Way
(5:20) 3. It Never Entered My Mind
(5:35) 4. Morning Of The Carnival (Manha De Carnaval)
(2:41) 5. Insight
(5:13) 6. Sunset Boulevard
(3:59) 7. Here's That Rainy Day
(4:46) 8. Davito
(3:28) 9. Pantano
(5:13) 10. Leyte
(4:14) 11. Half And Half
(7:33) 12. On Green Dolphin Street
(4:27) 13. Love For Sale
(5:38) 14. Reza
(5:09) 15. Maramoor Mambo
(4:45) 16. The Shadow Of Your Smile
(7:09) 17. Bag1s Groove
(5:38) 18. Morning
(4:15) 19. Mambo Inn
(8:37) 20. On Green Dolphin Street
(5:41) 21. I Can't Get Started
(4:58) 22. Soul Burst
(3:49) 23. Cuban Fantasy
(5:18) 24. O Morro Não Tem Vez
(9:32) 25. Fuji
(5:51) 26. Lush Life
(4:36) 27. Along Comes Mary

It would be unusual to hear vibraphonist Cal Tjader mentioned alongside the all-time greats on his instrument. He is not remembered for being a fearless improviser like Bobby Hutcherson, or as deeply soulful as Milt Jackson, or as hard-swinging a presence as Lionel Hampton. Moreover, one will search in vain in his biography for the hard-fought personal struggles that have typically been the bread and butter of jazz legend: no tortured tales of substance abuse, or bouts with poverty or unappreciative audiences. By all accounts, he led a happy and satisfied life on the West Coast, far removed from the bustle (and prominence) of New York; he never toured Europe. But he did make a pivotal contribution to jazz through his work in Latin music an idiom that he helped to establish firmly within the jazz world. And that contribution is well-documented in Catch the Groove, a three-LP (or two-CD) collection of live recordings Tjader made at the Penthouse in Seattle during the mid-60s.

Listening to these performances, which include a range of dates and sidemen, one is struck by just how effortless Tjader's improvisations could sound perhaps another reason he has not won as much acclaim as some of his contemporaries. And although there is an abundance of Latin jazz on this release, as one would expect, some of the biggest surprises are found in the non-Latin material: hearing Tjader dig into "Take the 'A' Train" at the outset of the February 1963 concert is a delight, with enough harmonic invention and dynamic swing to belie the misconception that he was a one-dimensional Latin popularizer. Elsewhere it is Tjader's lyrical facility with a ballad that impresses, as on "Here's that Rainy Day," where his note perfect solo's luminescence has a deceptively simple purity.

But although there are more than enough jazz standards here to demonstrate Tjader's breadth, the Latin pieces are more reflective of his core impulses and indeed, are why the title of the release is so appropriate. Helped by percussionists Bill Fitch and Armando Peraza, the groups assembled here are most at home when they are finding a Latin groove and the work of pianists Clare Fischer, Lonnie Hewitt and Al Zulaica are also essential in that regard. Hewitt's bluesy licks are fundamental to the sinuous momentum of "Pantano," and his punchy block chords help propel the feisty "Maramoor Mambo" at the close of the 1965 set. Zulaica's own churning rhythms enliven "Mambo Inn" on the 1966 recording. Even a Latinized take on the Association's 1966 pop hit "Along Comes Mary" fares well in Tjader's hands. These musicians have impeccable instincts for a range of Latin styles, and they do justice to all of them.

In general, the recording quality is very good, with a nice balance between the instruments and not too much tape hiss. One can question producer Zev Feldman's decision to compress the material from these six concerts onto six LP sides, however. This led to fading out a couple of the tracks, namely "Insight" on the first set (after a mere two and a half minutes) and "Half and Half" on the second, with the latter unfortunately in full flight during the fade-out. But the folks at Jazz Detective can perhaps be forgiven these relatively minor transgressions, especially given the label's typically fine packaging and informative liner notes, including some illuminating reflections from modern-day vibe legends Gary Burton and Joe Locke on Tjader's undersung legacy. Kudos to Feldman and company for bringing this music to a wider audience. By Troy Dostert https://www.allaboutjazz.com/cal-tjader-catch-a-groove-live-at-the-penthouse-1963-1967-jazz-detective

Catch The Groove (Live at The Penthouse 1963-1967)

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Joan Chamorro - Joan Chamorro Presenta Sant Andreu Reunion Band

Styles: Jazz, Big Band
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:07
Size: 128,1 MB
Art: Front

(2:59) 1. Let’s Dream in the Moonlight
(3:54) 2. Femininity
(3:50) 3. That’s Life
(2:49) 4. Orange Colored Sky
(2:52) 5. Nevertheless
(3:01) 6. You and I
(2:52) 7. Chiclete com Banana
(4:29) 8. Green Green Grass of Home
(3:42) 9. Let’s Do It
(4:02) 10. You’ve Changed
(4:26) 11. Noite dos Mascarados
(2:41) 12. Haven’t We Met
(2:38) 13. Samba da Minha Terra
(3:52) 14. Del Sasser
(3:33) 15. Every Time We Say Goodbye
(3:21) 16. Old McDonald

The idea behind the Sant Andreu Reunion Band is to create a group in which all the musicians form or have formed part of the Sant Andreu Jazz Band. I always try to give opportunities, beyond the project, to all those who are working well: 1) Either through the collection of cds Joan Chamorro presents, or 2) counting on them, already as professionals, in the different groups I create. I continue to work with musicians who have not been in the orchestra for years and at the same time new musicians are joining, as they grow personally and musically.

More than 80 young musicians have already passed through the Sant Andreu Jazz Band, the vast majority of whom are or will become professional musicians. The result is that in each project new soloists appear, new voices that little by little have their own voice. Possibly next year we will see new faces in other groups. For the time being, here we have this new meeting of musicians where, once again, the voice is the protagonist through six singers with very varied styles, and all of them great instrumentalists. Completing the group we have the rest of the band who are great soloists and who, occasionally, also do vocals in some themes.

The arrangements, for the most part, are by Joan Monné. To be able to count on Scott Hamilton in some songs is an honour for us. I hope and wish to continue supporting young musicians through projects like this one. We continue Sant Andreu Jazz Band 18 years of jazz.
https://jazztojazz.com/en/product/joan-chamorro-presenta-sant-andreu-reunion-band-2/

Joan Chamorro Presenta Sant Andreu Reunion Band

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Adi Braun - Night and Day (The Cole Porter Songbook)

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:26
Size: 84,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:30) 1. Love for Sale
(3:13) 2. Just One of Those Things
(4:09) 3. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
(4:00) 4. I've Got You Under My Skin
(4:05) 5. Night and Day
(3:50) 6. In the Still of the Night
(3:17) 7. Get out of Town
(3:30) 8. I Concentrate on You
(3:22) 9. Too Darn Hot
(3:24) 10. What Is This Thing Called Love?

Adi Braun's love affair with the music of Cole Porter runs long and deep. The acclaimed Toronto jazz and cabaret chanteuse has long covered his tunes in her performances and on record. She describes the music of her favorite Great American Songbook writer as delicious, a great combination of naughty, provocative, sensuous, witty and devastatingly beautiful.

I am also smitten by the fact that he wrote both lyrics and music, and his use of sexy Latin beats and rhythms is another major drawing card for me.Braun's affection for the work of the masterful songwriter has now reached full bloom with Night And Day (The Cole Porter Songbook), an album comprising ten classic Cole Porter songs given vibrant new life. Her sixth full-length record, it will be released on Sept. 15, 2023 on noted Toronto independent record label, ALMA Records.Adi's most ambitious album yet,

Night and Dayis a collaboration with Emmy-winning Canadian keyboardist, songwriter, producer,and arranger Don Breithaupt (Monkey House, Brass Transit). The pair had long had a mutual admiration for each other's work, as Don explains.Adi was one of the first singers to record songs by the Breithaupt Brothers, on her 2005 album The Rules Of TheGame, and I've always respected her sound, her nuance as an interpreter, and her international approach to jazz.

I contacted her in 2021, as I had a feeling I could help her cook something great. The minute we zeroed in on the Cole Porter songbook, a bottomless well of great melodies and lyrics, we had our focus. The material on Night and Dayneatly showcases the broad emotional and musical range of Cole Porter's work, as exemplified in the title. Adi explains that I find his songs illuminate different aspects of love, in a fascinating way.The tunes Braun interprets here range from light and bubbly romps to such powerfully emotional songs as Love For Sale and In The Still Of The Night.
By Editorial Reviews https://www.amazon.com/Night-Day-Cole-Porter Songbook/dp/B0CBQFJ4BF

Night and Day (The Cole Porter Songbook)

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Ray Benson - Beyond Time

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:32
Size: 106.6 MB
Styles: Country
Year: 2003
Art: Front

[3:32] 1. Sorry
[3:48] 2. Annabelle
[4:10] 3. Mary Anne
[4:50] 4. Hands Of Time
[2:57] 5. Isn't It Strange
[2:49] 6. Let's Get Lost
[4:17] 7. Haven't Gotten To You Yet
[2:40] 8. Leave That Cowboy Alone
[4:39] 9. Small Town
[5:12] 10. El Paso
[3:00] 11. Ain't Chet Yet
[4:35] 12. Clearin' Up

Most people know Ray Benson as the deep, rich voice of Western swing revivalists Asleep at the Wheel. After more than three decades behind that wheel, Benson finally decided to step out with an album of his own songs. While a couple of the tunes (the roadhouse blues stomp "Mary Anne," the Bob Wills-indebted "Leave that Cowboy Alone") wouldn't sound out of place on an Asleep at the Wheel album, the bulk of the songs run quite a bit further afield. It's hard to imagine Benson's band tackling the Don Williams-like 1970s-sounding country/pop of "Annabelle," the big-band ballad "Sorry," or the (non-Western) swing-inflected, jazzy "Let's Get Lost" (not the Chet Baker tune of the same name). It's also hard to imagine someone without as much experience, confidence, and just plain talent as Benson pulling off such a varied and resolutely non-commercial record as this in the lowest-common-denominator world of 21st-century American popular music.

Beyond Time

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Harry Allen & Ken Peplowski & Scott Hamilton - Like The Brightest Star

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:47
Size: 165,5 MB
Art: Front

(9:58) 1. You And The Night And The Music
(7:24) 2. Like The Brightest Star
(7:39) 3. Somebody I Just Met
(8:51) 4. Topsy
(3:42) 5. It Was So Beautiful
(5:33) 6. Das Blues
(6:59) 7. The Shadow Of Your Smile
(4:59) 8. That Old Black Magic
(5:32) 9. Old Folks
(9:04) 10. Sleep

The three major masters of Tenor Saxoph, Harry Allen & Ken Peplofski & Scott Hamilton This masterpiece allows you to fully listen to the charm of the Jazz Tenor Sax in an ensemble by Solo. Recorded at The Hideaway Studio in California at February 19 & 20, 2019.
https://www.amazon.com/Like-Brightest-Star-Three-Tenors/dp/B07Y1XMMHJ

Personnel: Harry Allen Harry Allen - tenor sax; Ken Peplowski - tenor sax; Scott Hamilton - tenor sax; Tom Lanier - Tom Ranier - piano; David Stone - bass; Kevin Canner Kevin Kanner - drums

Like The Brightest Star

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Miles Davis Quintet in Concert Live at the Olympia, Paris, November 30 - 1957 (Live)

Styles: Jazz
Year: 2023
Time: 72:36
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 167,2 MB
Art: Front

(7:24) 1. Solar
(6:27) 2. Four
(3:29) 3. What's New?
(8:08) 4. No Moe
(7:25) 5. Lady Bird
(4:40) 6. Tune Up
(6:24) 7. I'll Remember April
(7:29) 8. Bags' Groove
(5:11) 9. 'Round Midnight
(6:18) 10. Now's the Time
(7:15) 11. Walkin'
(2:20) 12. The Theme

Another live Miles Davis recording. Well, once the studio outtakes have dried up, this is the only seam left to mine. Happily, with advances in sound technology, old radio broadcasts are increasingly being dusted down and treated to a little digital TLC. Since 1983, Fresh Sounds Records has been a leading light in reissues and archival releases (see Fresh Sound Records and the Legacy of Recorded Jazz), in addition to producing many hundreds of contemporary artists. This one from Jordi Pujol's Barcelona label has rarity value, representing the first unabridged release of Davis' concert at the Olympia, Paris, in 1957. At this historic venue, the trumpeter was backed by top French musicians and old sparring partner from Minton's Playhouse days, drummer Kenny Clarke.

The set is a typical one for that time in Davis' trajectory post-bop, swing, blues and ballads. Given that Davis had undergone a throat procedure just two months prior to this late-November date, he is in remarkably good form. Local musicians Rene Urtreger on piano, bassist Pierre Michelot and tenor saxophonist Barney Wilen are well up to the task. Wilen, who despite his youthful twenty years had already recorded an album as leader at the start of the year, had impressed Davis on the American's visit to Paris the year before, and little wonder. Listening to Wilen's solos on "Tune Up" and "I'll Remember April," to pick just two gems, we hear a saxophonist confident enough not to be imitative.

Davis sits out three songs the hard-working Wilen plays overtime on "Now's the Time"but otherwise leads from the front, switching between mute and open bell on one extended solo after another. Fired up on "No Moe" and "Bags' Groove," Davis is hauntingly tender on "Round Midnight" and "What's New?" This latter sounds like a ghostly forerunner of "Blue in Green" from Kind of Blue (Columbia, 1959), a tune generally credited to Bill Evans. Regardless of tempo, the trumpeter's playing is unfailingly emotive.

Michelot and Urtreger enjoy their moments in the spotlight but impress most for locking in rhythmically with the dynamic Clarke. The great drummer, a Paris resident, is in wonderfully feisty mode, his trademark ride cymbal and bass-drum bombs driving the music and injecting an edge into otherwise fairly safe material. Notable too, however, is his subtly persuasive brushwork.

Four days later this same line-up would go into the studio to record the music for Louis Malle's film Ascenseur pour l'eschafaud (Fontana, 1958). Almost entirely improvised, Davis' atmospheric noir soundtrack asks more of the musicians, and is the more remarkable recording for that. Still, the evident passion of this live performance from the Olympia, created in no small part by an engaged Parisian audience, makes In Concert at the Olympia, Paris 1957 a welcome extract from the Davis mine that keeps on giving.By Ian Patterson
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/in-concert-at-the-olympia-paris-1957-miles-davis-quintet-fresh-sound-records

Miles Davis Quintet in Concert Live at the Olympia, Paris, November 30 - 1957 (Live)

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Janet Evra - Meet Me in Paris

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2023
Time: 37:35
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 86,7 MB
Art: Front

(2:34) 1. C'est Si Bon
(3:26) 2. Mia Mia
(3:06) 3. Turnaround / Suis-Moi
(2:49) 4. Comment Te Dire Adieu
(4:05) 5. La Vie En Rose
(2:57) 6. C'est Magnifique
(4:38) 7. Paris (Encore)
(3:15) 8. Sympathique
(3:20) 9. Un Homme Et Une Femme
(3:19) 10. Zou Bisou Bisou
(4:00) 11. La Mer / Beyond the Sea

One can, it is said, always find new wine in old bottles, assuming you have a good grapes to harvest and a knowledgeable vintner. Janet Evra, of British birth but now based in St Louis Missouri, is one such maker of good wine. The materials are, for the most part, familiar, but the genre is French as are many of the names associated with the tunes. Meet Me In Paris is indeed a pleasant treat. If your taste runs to Edith Piaf, Charles Trenet or Claude Lelouch films, Evra's most recent recording may indeed be welcome.

While Evra also plays string bass (with a distinctly American four strings), that is not really much in evidence here. The music is about her voice and stylings, a slightly come-hither tone entirely suited to the music at hand. Evra's band supports her very well; the musicians understand their function is to embellish and support the singing, not to overwhelm it. This they do quite capably and set a very relaxed mood.

Of course, not everything here is, in a strict sense, of French vintage. Evra adds a few originals ("Mia Mia," "Paris Encore"), and Cole Porter's "C'est Magnifique," but the rest is hardcore boite de nuit fare. "La Mer/Beyond the Sea" is often associated with Bobby Darin, but Evra puts her own distinctive stamp on it. But if one's taste runs to "La Vie en Rose" or "C'est Si Bon," here they are.

Some of Evra's other recordings suggest desire to broaden her audience, and to perform with topflight jazz players like Randy Brecker and Benny Benack. So much the better because these and other instrumentalists add rhythmic variation and dynamic modulation. They only serve to render her instrument a lovely voice more appealing. Sometimes, the bossa nova artists who Evra also admires were able to accomplish this by only a slight inflection in voice or even a well-placed breath. Who could forget Antonio Carlos Jobim's unforgettable "aaaah" in "Girl from Ipanema" Getz/Gilberto (Verve, 1964)?

Jazz belongs to everyone and to every language. French, Brazilian, British, and, of course American English too.By Richard J Salvucci https://www.allaboutjazz.com/meet-me-in-paris-janet-evra-plum-jazz

Meet Me in Paris

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The Flying Horse Big Band - A Message from the Flying Horse Big Band

Styles: Jazz, Big Band
Year: 2023
Time: 51:18
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 118,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:56) 1. Free for All
(5:34) 2. Hipsippy Blues
(6:02) 3. Room 608
(5:42) 4. This Is for Albert
(5:03) 5. Mosaic
(4:38) 6. Peace
(5:50) 7. Gregory Is Here
(5:50) 8. Lester Left Town
(2:38) 9. Whisper Not
(5:01) 10. On the Ginza

The Message on the Florida-based Flying Horse Big Band's sixth album comes straight from the "messengers" themselves drummer Art Blakey's legendary Jazz Messengers, whose music is admirably presented here, and to whom the album is dedicated.

Its ten songs were composed by members of the Jazz Messengers ayne Shorter, Hank Mobley, Horace Silver, Cedar Walton, Benny Golson and two were re-scored for a large ensemble by former Messenger Michael Philip Mossman, with other charts by Mark Taylor (four), Harry Allen (two), Don Sickler and Billy May. As was true of Blakey's ensembles, swinging is always on the front burner and, even though none of the themes was written for a big band, the Flying Horses and their masterful arrangers make them seem as though they have always belonged there.

It is hard to overpraise the section work, as brass, reeds and rhythm are strong and coherent throughout, working overtime to breathe life into these superlative charts. It is almost as if the Messengers had been revitalized, larger and more impressive than ever. And, as for the charts, there is not one that is less than eloquent and charming. Even so, special mention must be given to Taylor's clever arrangement of Shorter's "Lester Left Town," as he translates what is usually a mournful homage to the great Lester Young into a thundering flag- waver worthy of Woody Herman or Buddy Rich at their high-octane best.

The session opens and closes with seductive burners by Shorter "Free for All," arranged by Mossman, and "On the Ginza," arranged by Taylor. The Horses fly high on both, as they do on every number in between, thanks to splendid preparation by director Jeff Rupert, spotless section work and resourceful solos by all hands. "Free for All" seldom pauses for breath, nor does "On the Ginza." The temperature remains high on Mobley's "Hipsippy Blues," Silver's "Room 608," Shorter's "This Is for Albert" and Walton's "Mosaic," the first trimly arranged by Allen, the last by Sickler, and those in between by Taylor.

Even Silver's relatively easy-going "Peace" swings in its own sweet way, thanks to Allen's sparkling arrangement, after which the tempo accelerates on Silver's "Gregory Is Here" (arranged by Mossman) and "Lester Left Town." Golson's lone composition, and May's only chart, "Whisper Not," is yet another highlight, as the Horses gallop in harmony behind earnest solos from tenor saxophonist Edmund "Quint" Johnson and alto saxophonist Micah Silverstein. That leaves the postscript to "On the Ginza" and, again, no one disappoints, as the band plays with its usual gusto while alto saxophonist Paul van Wormer and trumpeter Josh Mercado lend their solo talents.

Although soloists are named, the only omission, improbably enough, is drummer James Fortune who has powerhouse turns on "Free for All" and "Mosaic." Fortune shares timekeeping duties with the equally talented Jamesly Jean-Mary. Mercado takes every trumpet solo, and the same holds true for trombonist Dan Parrish, while van Wormer owns every alto saxophone solo save one, Silverstein's on "Whisper Not." Guitarist Noah Charles shines another bright light on "Room 608," "Gregory Is Here" and "Lester Left Town." Trumpets and trombones face a number of arduous passages, every one of which is navigated with ease and assurance, while the rhythm section not only keeps pace but adds its own vitality to the partnership.

The Flying Horse Big Band is never less than superb, and its dynamic Message comes through loud and clear. Even those whose big-band library is bursting at the seams must find space enough to accommodate this marvelous album. It is a decision that won't cause any regret.By Jack Bowers https://www.allaboutjazz.com/a-message-from-the-flying-horse-big-band-flying-horse-records

A Message from the Flying Horse Big Band

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Lisa Hilton - My Favorite Things

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:06
Size: 115,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:22)  1. Let's Go!
(3:16)  2. My Favorite Things
(4:01)  3. Take Five
(4:10)  4. Midnight Sky
(3:59)  5. Alice in Wonderland
(4:45)  6. Desafinado
(3:47)  7. Baja Nights
(3:16)  8. Alfie
(3:27)  9. Clearly
(2:58) 10. Seduction (remix)
(3:28) 11. So This Is Love
(2:45) 12. They Can't Take That Away from Me
(3:12) 13. Thinking of You
(3:34) 14. Changes

Southern California pianist, Lisa Hilton, is justifiably proud of her new CD My Favorite Things: Everyone’s Jazz Favorites. The pianist involved herself in all aspects of its creation. Hilton’s seventh album in nine years is not only self-produced but the pianist composed eight original pieces and penned the arrangements of the remaining jazz standards. Her tasty reading of George and Ira Gershwin’s "They Can’t Take That Away From Me" is reminiscent of jazz pianists of the late 1930s and particularly of Teddy Wilson. Hilton handles the 1937 classic in a solo performance. The award-winning pianist is joined by some fine studio musicians on My Favorite Things. Reedman, Eric Marienthal, handles the flute and saxophone duties sympathetically.

Marienthal is fresh from appearances with The Rippingtons and Chick Corea. Drummer, Tal Bergman, worked in all genres including sessions with Billy Idol, Chris Botti and Joe Zawinul. Bassist, Reggie McBride, is probably one of the finest electric players on the scene. Over the years, the Detroit born bassist, provided the heartbeat for many greats including Aretha Franklin, Elton John, James Brown, Al Jarreau, Ry Cooder and Van Morrison. Many will recall his exciting recordings with Rare Earth in the 70s. Lisa Hilton dishes out some classy interpretations of several standards and Paul Desmond’s "Take Five" really stands out. This writer was most impressed with Hilton’s original tunes. "Baja Nights" is an exciting percussive melody with nice passages by the pianist accented by Bergman’s tasteful drumming. Our particular favorites are the bluesy "Seduction" and the closing tune titled "Changes." The latter song is a charmer in every sense of the word. The somewhat simple melody just demands a replay. ~ Richard Bourcier  http://www.jazzreview.com/cd-reviews/smooth-jazz-cd-reviews/my-favorite-things-by-lisa-hilton.html

Personnel: Lisa Hilton (piano); Reggie McBride (bass instrument);  Eric Marienthal (flute, saxophone);  Tal Bergman (drums).

My Favorite Things

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Tal Wilkenfeld - Transformation

Styles: Fusion
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:23
Size: 111,1 MB
Art: Front

(6:20)  1. BC
(6:23)  2. Cosmic Joke
(6:38)  3. Truth Be Told
(5:00)  4. Serendipity
(7:41)  5. The River Of Life
(7:51)  6. Oatmeal Bandage
(8:28)  7. Table For One

Some artists emerge slowly, taking years to find their way to public attention; others leap seemingly instantaneously into the public eye. Australian-born, US-based bassist Tal Wilkenfeld has gone from sitting in with Allman Brothers Band in 2006 to working with pianist Chick Corea and Jeff Beck, heard recently on the guitarist's Performing This Week...Live at Ronnie Scott's (Eagle Records, 2008). What's not apparent on Beck's CD but can be seen on the DVD version of the same release is his almost constant state of disbelief when watching the diminutive, early-twenties Wilkenfeld. There are plenty of bassists with staggering technique and chops, but few can make the instrument truly sing, as Wilkenfeld does on Beck's CD during an all-stops-out solo on Stevie Wonder's "'Cause We've Ended as Lovers."

Wilkenfeld possesses all the requisite chops and uses them to terrific advantage on Transformation, her 2007 debut as a leader, released prior to hitting the road with Beck. As with Beck, she proves herself a potent groove-meister, in this case working hand-in-glove with Keith Carlock, best-known as Steely Dan's recent drummer of choice, both on the road and on its last release, Everything Must Go (Reprise, 2003). The grooves are rich and visceral on this set of Wilkenfeld originals (one, the beautifully balladic "Truth Be Told," co-written with Transformation's keyboardist, the ever-tasteful Geoffrey Keezer), with solo space aplenty and a less restrictive format allowing Carlock greater freedom than in The Dan's more defined context. Possessing a deep lyricism rare enough in electric bassists, but especially in this largely fusion-esque context, Wilkenfeld's a fingers-only player who largely eschews string-popping and slapping techniques, though she heads for that territory briefly on "Serendipity," managing to be be both rhythm anchor and lead voice. Largely, however, she aims for a warm tone and a way of sliding in and around her notes reminiscent of ex-Weather Report bassist Alphonso Johnson and King Crimson/Peter Gabriel alum Tony Levin. 

Wilkenfeld's writing is filled with knotty, often high velocity lines either in counterpoint or concert with guitarist Wayne Krantz, who delivers some of his most focused, funkified and harmonically outré playing in years; a strong foil for Wilkenfeld and a player who's always deserved more cred than he's been afforded. Saxophonist Seamus Blake, normally heard on more modern mainstream settings, combines spare soulfulness with bop-inflected lines on the medium tempo "Table for One," while Keezer delivers one of his best solos of the set on the fierier "Oatmeal Bandage," while also features a rare solo spot for Carlock that suggests he, like Krantz, deserves considerably more attention. But even when the music is filled with complex, intertwining lines that prove the mettle of everyone involved even as they avoid any trappings of excess, it still grooves in a booty-shaking way even when Wilkenfeld challenges with shifting meters. For those who've discovered Wilkenfeld via her work with Jeff Beck, the thoroughly exciting Transformation provides an even broader window into this remarkable bassist with a promising future. ~ John Kelman  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/transformation-tal-wilkenfeld-self-produced-review-by-john-kelman.php#.VEGCWxawTP8
 

Personnel: Tal Wilkenfeld: bass; Wayne Krantz: guitar; Geoffrey Keezer: piano, keyboards; Keith Carlock: drums; Seamus Blake: tenor saxophone.

Transformation

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Marianne Solivan - Mood For Love

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:28
Size: 113,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:09) 1.Look For Me I’ll Be Around
(5:12) 2.I’m In The Mood For Love - Moody’s Mood For Love
(4:07) 3.Lonely Woman
(4:54) 4.It’s Like Reaching For The Moon
(5:16) 5.Look No Further
(3:07) 6.I’m Gonna Lock My Heart
(5:07) 7.Some Other Time
(3:10) 8.My Gentleman Friend
(5:55) 9.Zingaro
(4:14) 10.On A Clear Day
(3:12) 11.Spark

Quickly becoming one of the most buzzed about jazz singers on the New York scene, Marianne Solivan does not remember an “ah-ha” moment that brought her to the music she has devoted herself to: “I don’t recall having a big moment that made me like jazz. I just dug it.”

It is that same simplicity of statement with its intrinsic honesty that characterizes Solivan’s style. The infallible swing of Ella, the daring of Betty Carter, the matter-of factness of Carmen McRae…They can all be found in the voice of Marianne Solivan, whom trumpeter Jeremy Pelt has called “the modern-day paradigm to which all singers should aspire.”

It is no coincidence that the 2009 Jazzmobile Vocal Competition finalist has graced recital halls, jam sessions and club stages with such noted musicians as Roy Hargrove, Steve Lacy, Jeremy Pelt, Ray Gallon (Ron Carter, Art Farmer, Lionel Hampton, T.S. Monk), Ugonna Ukegwo (Tom Harrell, Jacky Terrason) and Jane Monheit’s sidemen Neal Minor and Michael Kanan.

Born in Queens, New York, Solivan’s family lived in Venezuela and New Jersey before settling in Massachusetts, where she attended high school. Already an alto sax student, it was in secondary school that she began singing seriously, studying classical voice and appearing in musical theater productions. Upon graduating, she entered Boston Conservatory on scholarship with a concentration in musical theater. After her first year in college, Solivan took time off from school and drifted away from singing, not returning for three years. The urge to resume singing lessons and go back to school coincided with her discovery of the voice that would become her greatest influence: Ella Fitzgerald.

She recalls, “I purchased the four oddest recordings for a jazz newcomer: one of those Ella Fitzgerald songbook compilations, a Dominique Eade recording, Nina Simone Sings The Blues and At the Village Vanguard: Betty Carter.” Fitzgerald, especially, made a great impression on her: “There’s such tremendous hopefulness in all her music. No matter how sad the ballad, no matter how bad the break-up song, there’s always a silver lining.”

Solivan was singing pop when she entered Berklee College of Music, but quickly decided she wanted to learn this music called jazz. Earning a dual degree in Music Performance and Education, she taught music for a year before entering New England Conservatory and graduating with a Master’s degree in Jazz Studies.

Armed with two prestigious degrees and formidable talent, Solivan moved back to the city of her birth in 2007, placing in the Jazzmobile Vocal Competition, appearing as the only featured vocalist on clarinetist Darryl Harper’s The C3 project recording, Stories in Real Time, and touring France as the lead vocalist in an innovative staging of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.

Solivan is as likely to pop up at jazz institution Smalls Jazz Club with a full band as she is an intimate restaurant with only a piano accompanist. Regardless, jazz lovers and musicians alike are captivated by her sound and her style. Not all are able to articulate what attracts them as well as Pelt. Ultimately, they just dig it. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/marianne-solivan/

Mood For Love

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The Jazz Sapiens - Remembrance: 1955 to 1963

Styles: Contemporary Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:26
Size: 36,7 MB
Art: Front

(1:15) 1. God's Band
(3:42) 2. Bandung Conference
(4:52) 3. No Justice for Emmett Till (Mourning Song)
(3:32) 4. The State Department
(3:52) 5. Valley of the Kings
(4:29) 6. Trouble in Little Rock
(3:16) 7. A Different Kind of Diplomacy
(4:29) 8. Reflections
(4:45) 9. Will Change Ever Come
(4:09) 10. The Power of Music

The Jazz Sapiens Big Band is an exciting new collective made up of London's finest jazz musicians. Between them they have played with a Who’s Who of leading contemporary music artists including Jamiroquai, Incognito, John McLaughlin, Laura Mvula, Gregory Porter, Steve Winwood, The Brand New Heavies and the James Taylor Quartet.

The music is an eclectic mix of contrasting moods: from reflective to intense, the spontaneity and virtuosity of the band’s live performances will keep you enthralled.

The band came together to record the original score for the Peabody Award-winning documentary, 'The Jazz Ambassadors'. The themes composed by Michael J McEvoy, were inspired by events that took place during the civil rights movement when African American musicians were sent overseas by the US State Department to perform in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.

This album is a live studio recording of the main themes composed for the film with extended solos and expanded arrangements by Mike and saxophonist Paul Booth.

Personnel: Mark Mondesir (Drums); Karl Rasheed Abel (Dbl Bass); Mike McEvoy (Piano); Kevin Robinson (Trumpet/Flugelhorn); Freddie Gavita (Trumpet/Flugelhorn); Tom Walsh (Trumpet/Flugelhorn); Paul Booth (Tenor Sax); Graeme Blevins (Alto Sax); Robbie Harvey (Tenor Trombone); Richard Henry (Bass Trombone)

The Jazz Sapiens - Remembrance: 1955 to 1963

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Sant Andreu Jazz Band - Jazzing 13 Disc 1, Disc 2

Album: Jazzing 13 Disc 1
Styles: Jazz, Big Band
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:14
Size: 107,1 MB
Art: Front

(1:56) 1. Easy To Love
(5:57) 2. Sweet Georgia Brown
(7:25) 3. Midnight Blue
(4:25) 4. In A Mellow Tone
(3:11) 5. Prelude To A Kiss
(5:06) 6. Recordame
(2:57) 7. You Make Me Feel So Young
(5:07) 8. Laverne Walk
(3:46) 9. When Sunny Gets Blue
(2:44) 10. People We Say We're In Love
(3:35) 11. Go To Hell

Album: Jazzing 13 Disc 2
Time: 52:19
Size: 121,1 MB

(3:37) 1. A Tisket A Tasket
(4:20) 2. Blue Moon (2:21) 3. It's A Lovely Day Today
(4:22) 4. You Stepped Out Of A Dream
(4:24) 5. Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams
(4:25) 6. Sunny
(4:43) 7. Nice Work If You Can Get It
(3:48) 8. The Last Time I Saw Paris
(4:25) 9. I Wish I Knew How It Would To Be Free
(4:57) 10. Just A Closer with Thee
(5:42) 11. Corner Pocket
(5:09) 12. Tain't What You Do

Sant Andreu Jazz Band is a youth jazz band from Barcelona, featuring 7- to 20-year-olds. The bandleader is Joan Chamorro.

The band was founded in 2006 at Escola Municipal de Música de Sant Andreu. The band has performed at numerous concerts and festivals in Catalonia, and other regions of Spain as well as in neighbouring countries (for example France, Switzerland, Denmark).. They released their first live CD/DVD Jazzing: Live at Casa Fuster in 2009, featuring alongside established jazz musicians, the precocious 14-year-old, Andrea Motis among other young talents.

2010 was a breakthrough year for the band, with appearances at more than 20 festivals including Valls, Terrassa, Girona, Barcelona, Platja d'Aro, and venues like el Jamboree, Palau de la Música Catalana, JazzSi, Hotel Casa Fuster, featuring international performers like Dick Oatts, Ken Peplowski, Bobby Gordon, Perico Sambeat, Ignasi Terraza, Matthew Simon, and Esteve Pi. The band also released their second recording Jazzing vol.2.

In 2012 the film director Ramón Tort made the documentary A film about kids and music based on the band's work and efforts. The film was awarded best feature film at the Lights. Camera. Help. festival in Austin, Texas, US in 2013.

In 2021, Sant Andreu Jazz Band celebrated their 15-year-anniversary with concerts during the Barcelona jazz festivals. They received the 2021 Alícia prize "for the Educational Project", awarded by the Acadèmia Catalana de la Música.

Small combos of older members perform worldwide, for example with WDR Big Band in Cologne and in Bengaluru (India) Several band members have contended in international jazz after their time in the band, particularly Motis and Rita Payés.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sant_Andreu_Jazz_Band

Jazzing 13

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Sal Salvadore - Tribute To Gerry Mulligan

Styles: Guitar Jazz, Cool Jazz
Year: 1985
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:32
Size: 86,0 MB
Art: Front

(6:52) 1. Bernie's Tune
(4:12) 2. Five Brothers
(3:58) 3. Song For Stray Horn
(4:14) 4. Elevation
(5:06) 5. Walkin' Shoes
(3:16) 6. Lime Light
(3:50) 7. Walk On The Water
(6:00) 8. Line For Lyons

Gerry Mulligan, in addition to being one of the top jazz baritonists ever, was a major if underrated composer. On this set, guitarist Sal Salvador, in groups ranging from a sextet to a quartet, interprets eight of Mulligan's better songs, including "Bernie's Tune," "Song for Strayhorn," "Walkin' Shoes," and "Line for Lyons."

With fine playing from the supporting cast (trumpeter Randy Brecker, baritonist Nick Brignola, vibraphonist Paul Johnson, bassist Gary Mazzaroppi, and drummer Butch Miles), Salvador is heard in top form throughout the consistently inspired and swinging effort. Highly recommended.By Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/plays-gerry-mulligan-mw0000897373#

Tribute To Gerry Mulligan

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Lisa Hilton - Twilight & Blues

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:33
Size: 115,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:57)  1. Pandemonium
(6:31)  2. Woodstock
(4:44)  3. What's Going On (Extended Take)
(6:11)  4. City Streets
(3:03)  5. Turbulent Blue
(5:20)  6. Twilight
(5:31)  7. Kozmic Blues
(4:58)  8. Blue for You
(6:36)  9. Moon River
(3:38) 10. What's Going On

Acclaimed Jazz pianist/composer Lisa Hilton's 11th release features in her band top jazz musicians, all current DownBeat Magazine Critic's Choice winners: Lewis Nash (drums), Larry Grenadier (bass), Jeremy Pelt (trumpet), and J.D. Allen (tenor sax). Recorded at the famed Avatar Studio in NYC by 18-time Grammy Award-winning engineer/ producer, Al Schmitt. Hilton's own piano shimmers throughout on five originals and five iconic covers by artists such as Joni Mitchell, Janis Joplin, Marvin Gaye and Henry Mancini. Hilton continues to receive outstanding reviews, strong radio play, and has developed a broad fan base for her melodic instrumental Jazz approach.

"The whole disc has an ambience that draws you in while swinging with emotion. Thoughtful and well crafted from start to finish, this is a must have for jazz fans." ~ George Harris, All About Jazz

"Hilton uses blue notes to create an intimate world of beauty that is true to the artist she is. Hilton's originality of vision is her strength, and her light touch is a lovely as she is and as addictive as the waves breaking near her Malibu home." ~ Brad Walseth, JazzChicago.net

"Exciting for the listener...hot stuff." ~ Chris Spector, Midwest Record  

http://www.amazon.com/twilight-blues-Lisa-Hilton/dp/B002AR24AA

Twilight Blues

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Gemma Sherry - Songs I Love

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:48
Size: 131,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:51) 1. Some Other Time
(4:20) 2. You Don't Know What Love Is
(3:10) 3. I Fall in Love Too Easily
(3:37) 4. Satin Doll
(3:11) 5. Here's That Rainy Day
(5:39) 6. Lush Life
(6:08) 7. Spring Can Really Hang You up the Most
(5:11) 8. When Sunny Gets Blue
(3:56) 9. Blame It on My Youth
(3:23) 10. Peace
(3:39) 11. You Go to My Head
(5:19) 12. Round Midnight
(4:18) 13. Save Your Love for Me

Is it remotely possible that we need yet one more collection of standards from the Great American Songbook? Are computer servers not clotted to the point of infarction with the detritus of recordings by everyone who thinks he or she is a jazz singer? But here is a recording that reminds us why a collection of old songs, performed true to the melody, is so important to American music and her sacred Songbook. Gemma Sherry's Songs I Love is such a recording. With a bell-like coquettish, yet wholesomely scrubbed clarity, Sherry polishes the best that Tin Pan Alley has to offer, returning it as an integrated collection and informative whole. For this recording, Sherry is backed by the rhythm section of pianist Billy Woodman and bassist Mike Waite, the two sharing a solid musical empathy. They are in the mix, neck-and-neck, just behind Sherry. It is a warm and comfortable setup.

Hailing from Down Under and presently calling Philadelphia, PA home, Sherry approaches her performance with a refined understatement that translates into a true affinity for melody and the composers' intentions. Her recital of this baker's dozen standards is similarly fashioned. What is not here? Gratefully, "My Funny Valentine," "Feelings" and "The Man I Love." What is here orbits "love" in all of its grandeur, excitement, misery and longing. The enduring loss of "Some Other Time" with the optimism of "Satin Doll," the bookend double-barrel schizophrenia of "You Don't Know What Love Is" with "I Fall in Love Too Easily," and the perfectly in tune triptych of "Here's That Rainy Day," "Lush Life" and "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most" all act as miniature suites highlighting the challenge and triumph of love. But Sherry does not stop there. She is in cahoots with Woodman, who has arranged all of the material simply and with grace. These are head arrangements that feature the familiar introduction-vocals-piano solo-vocals-coda format. All effort is saved to the melodies as conceived by their composers and words, their lyricists. It is bliss. The disc ends with another triptych made up of "You Go to My Head," "'Round Midnight" and "Save Your Love for Me." It is the lifespan of love: heady excitement, heartbreak and memory, prayer for reconciliation.~C.Michael Bailey https://www.allaboutjazz.com/songs-i-love-gemma-sherry-tunley-records

Personnel: Gemma Sherry: voice / vocals; Billy Woodman: piano; Mike Waite: bass; Patsy Gamble: saxophone.

Songs I Love

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Keyon Harrold - The Mugician

Styles: Trumpet Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:40
Size: 115,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:41)  1. Voicemail
(6:12)  2. The Mugician
(5:04)  3. MB Lament
(1:38)  4. When Will It Stop?
(6:14)  5. Wayfaring Traveler
(5:15)  6. Stay This Way
(0:28)  7. Lullaby
(4:34)  8. Her Beauty Through My Eyes
(4:27)  9. Ethereal Souls
(0:53) 10. Broken News
(4:21) 11. Circus Show
(5:48) 12. Bubba Rides Again

The sophomore album from Keyon Harrold, 2017's ambitious, socially conscious The Mugician, finds the New York-based, Ferguson, Missouri-raised jazz trumpeter laying out an intensely felt, genre-bending vision of jazz in the 21st century. As the title somewhat cheekily implies, Harrold is not simply a musician, but also a magician, or "mugician"; a notion evoked by director Don Cheadle when trying to describe the trumpeter's spellbinding work on the 2016 Miles Davis biopic Miles Ahead. Just as Davis broke down musical boundaries throughout his career, Harrold works to bridge genre gaps here, crafting expansive, often cinematic soundscapes that are equal parts improvisational jazz, psychedelic hip-hop, ruminative R&B balladry, and pointed social critique.

It's an approach one might expect from a musician who counts both post-bop trumpeter Charles Tolliver and rapper Common as major influences. Joining Harrold on The Mugician are several longtime associates like guitarist Nir Felder, saxophonist Marcus Strickland, bassist Burniss Travis, drummer Mark Colenburg, and others. There are also a handful of special guests, including acclaimed pianist Robert Glasper and vocalists Jermaine Holmes and Georgia Anne Muldrow, all of whom commune on the atmospheric, '70s soul-infused "Wayfaring Traveler." Similarly, idiosyncratic R&B singer Bilal helps the trumpeter evoke the woozy '90s trip-hop of Massive Attack on "Stay This Way," and rapper Pharoahe Monch applies his acute wordplay to the sultry, minor-key grooves of "Her Beauty Through My Eyes." Also making notable contributions are singers Gary Clark, Jr., actor/comedian Guy Torry, reggae vocalist Josh David Barrett, and more.

Harrold even makes room for a heartfelt, motivational voicemail from his mom that he frames with Darin Atwater's wide-screen orchestration. Along the way, he touches upon a bevy of timely, thoughtfully rendered topics from racism and bigotry to romantic fidelity and the environment. Throughout all of The Mugician, Harrold lives up to the album's title, conjuring rounded, clarion trumpet lines, spinning off his collaborators one second, and commanding the spotlight the next with an alchemical swagger. ~ Matt Collar https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-mugician-mw0003099629

The Mugician

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Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Have yourself a Merry little Christmas, let your heart be light.

May this Christmas season bring you closer to all those that you treasure in your heart.

Wishing you and your family health, happiness, peace and prosperity this Christmas and in the coming

New Year. 

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year!

Giullia