Muriel Grossmann & Uno P. - Here and Now

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:10
Size: 86,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:46) 1. Listening
(5:53) 2. Flügel
(5:16) 3. Magnetic Universe
(4:12) 4. Joachim
(5:04) 5. Interaction
(3:17) 6. Kühn
(4:25) 7. Quintessence
(5:14) 8. Islandwind

Austrian alto, soprano, tenor saxophonist, singer and composer Muriel Grossmann was born in Paris and grew up in Vienna, where she initiated classical studies of flute at the age of five until twenty-one, when she switched to alto and soprano saxophone for further studies. Muriel Grossmann played and toured with various rhythm & blues, funk, world music and jazz groups and artists such as Hans Tschiritsch, Shani Ben Canar, Christoph Kurzmann, Geri Schuller, Pete Hoven, Robert Rehak, The Original Brothers. In 2002 she moved to Barcelona where she started to lead her own bands for recordings and concerts. Muriel Grossmann is resident in Ibiza since 2004, which marks a very fruitful recording and performing period.

Muriel Grossmann played and recorded with Joachim Kuehn, Wolfgang Reisinger, Rolf Kuehn, Martin Klingeberg, Thomas Heidepriem, Mark Vinci, Molly Duncan, Christian Lillinger, Johannes Fink, Robert Landfermann and Muriel Grossmann Barcelona Quartet featuring Radomir Milokovic on guitar, David Marroquin on upright and Marko Jelaca on drums, recording and performing original compositions. Grossmann played in Spain, Austria, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Greece, England, Morocco, South Africa, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary, Italy, performing over 150 concerts a year. 2011-2014 Muriel Grossmann was performing and recording with quartet featuring Radomir Milojkovic (Belgrade) on guitar, Robert Landfermann (Cologne) on upright bass and Christian Lillinger (Berlin) on drums. Since 2014 she is working with Radomir Milojkovic (Belgrade) on guitar, Gina Schwarz (Vienna) on double bass and Uros Stamenkovic (Belgrade) on drums. https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/murielgrossmann

Personnel: Alto Saxophone – Muriel Grossmann; Drums – Uno P.

Here and Now

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Louise Alexandra - Today

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:28
Size: 121,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:17) 1. Today
(3:38) 2. Chain of Life
(4:01) 3. Nature Boy / Everything Must Change
(4:00) 4. Busy Days
(4:12) 5. Until You
(4:03) 6. Desafinado
(5:17) 7. Rewind
(3:12) 8. One Foot in Front of the Other
(5:46) 9. Naima / Skylark
(4:11) 10. The Only Answer
(4:16) 11. Try Something New
(3:37) 12. You Are in Everything
(2:53) 13. L-O-V-E

Vocalist and composer Louise Alexandra's Today requires a bit of unpacking. In 2012, a wunderkind polymath named Louise Van Aarsen released a debut recording, Destiny receiving positive critical attention. Known as Dr. Louise Koopman in her day job as Sr. Research Scientist at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and in the Boston biotech scene, the singer Van Aarsen proved richly multifaceted. At the time a Dutch expatriate, the singer sought the counsel of another singer for training, the incomparable Rebecca Parris (My Foolish Heart, Koch Jazz, 2001). Supremely gifted, Parris nurtured van Aarsen throughout the making of Destiny, remaining a large presence in the singer's life thereafter.

Destiny collects music composed and sung by van Aarsen. It is mature music, grown up music for grownups. Her touchstones are time ("Lately"), love ("Destiny," "Open End") and loss and desire ("Without You"). She is completely comfortable singing of the familial: marriage, children, and happiness. Life centers are buffered in plush arrangements tending toward the southern hemisphere, exacted with a hyper-produced contemporary jazz production. Van Aarsen's voice is well trained and appealing with a solid confidence and command. The influence of Parris is most apparent in the disc's ballad content, her presence more suggestion than command, such a teacher she was.

With regards to the music world, eight years between releases once was an eternity. In real-life terms it is often but a blink with a tear. Between 2012 and today, a great deal changed for Louise van Aarsen. Today, she finds herself back in her Dutch homeland, continuing her science career in Translational Immuno-Oncology at Genmab. In the meantime, she has raised three daughters, while continuing to work with Rebecca Parris between continents on a project that was to become the presently considered Today, under her new artist name Louise Alexandra, only to be interrupted and shelved by the unexpected death of Parris in 2018. After Parris's passing, Alexandra retreated and regrouped, assembling the tracks recorded between 2015 and 2018 under the musical direction of Parris at Peter Kontrimas' PBS Studios. Pianist Doug Hammer doubled his role, providing arrangements with Louise Alexandra and Parris, with final mixing and mastering of the final product. The results can only be considered an evolution from one firmly established place to the next higher order of the same. On Today, Alexandra retains her favor of the Latin clave, seasoning the disc liberally with that humid drive. Except, without the humidity. Alexandra's is a heart informing the head, one that is cerebral as it is organically creative. The singer's alto voice is a deliverer of a punctilious tone that is knowingly resigned without a victim temperament. In her lyrics, Alexandra looks forward and backward like a genius Janus in triumph. She displays this amply on the contemporary-tinged "Chain of Life," the hectic and balladic "Busy Days," and the keenly sharp "Rewind" where the realization of loss is tempered with the knowledge that "if" is only a word that passes not into the future. She propels her lyrics with serial rhymes always carefully selected. The instrumentation is rendered with grace, overall, allowing Mike Turk's deft and slippery harmonica considerably greater room than the same on Destiny.

Alexandra includes thoughtfully presented standards as two diptychs and one standalone. "Nature Boy" is cleverly coupled with "Everything Must Change," creating an integrated whole where the shaman admonishes with the obvious that the present cannot remain static while the change is often slowly realized. Bill Vint's tenor saxophone adds an air of wistfulness and knowing. More challenging and profound is the mashup of John Coltrane's "Naima" with Hoagy Carmichael's "Skylark." The Coltrane melodic line is reduced to an ether blown through the performance by Vint's tart alto saxophone (its tone in search of Paul Desmond's spirit). The collection's coda, Bert Kaempfert and Milt Gabler's Nat King Cole vehicle "L-O-V-E" is a duet with Alexandra's daughter Mae van Aarsen (who was also responsible for the cover photograph and graphic design), who more than holds her own with her mother. What could have been a syrupy indulgence is rather a triumph of the mother-child experience, swinging with a whiplash momentum.

Alexandra does not limit her vocal generosity with only her blood kin. She also shares with her spiritual relatives, vocalists sharing the tutelage of Rebecca Parris. "Today" and the jaunty Supremes dream "Try Something New" include and feature Miriam Waks (So Many Stars, Alberto Pibiri Music, 2020) who tempers Alexandra's built-in seriousness and determination with a sassy reverence. On "The Only Answer" Alexandra is joined by Debbie Lane ( This Happy Madness, Self Produced, 2015) and Sue Sheriff, (Self Produced, 2016). The pair work well with Alexandra, betraying a solid friendship among them. The crowning achievement of the disc is the ballad "You Are In Everything." The piece begins and ends with a metronome clicking, that directional heartbeat of musical constancy. In between, Alexandra observes and personifies the spirit of music and memory while Vint accents with his seamless tenor saxophone. A certain liturgy reveals itself at the end of the coda metronome, a barely heard voice speaking with love and command. This is no ghost, but a guiding spirit and memory of goodness and grace: just like all of Today.~ C.Michael Bailey https://www.allaboutjazz.com/today-louise-alexandra-al-maslakh-recordings

Personnel: Louise Alexandra: voice / vocals; Miriam Waks: voice / vocals; Mae van Arsen: voice / vocals; Debbie Lane: voice / vocals; Sue Sheriff: voice / vocals; Paul McWilliams: piano; Doug Hammer: piano; Fernando Huergo: bass; Martin Vazquez: percussion; Mike Turk: harmonica; Bill Vint: saxophone, tenor.

Today

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Richie Beirach - Round About Monteverdi

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:15
Size: 133,5 MB
Art: Front

(1:34) 1. Lamento D' Arianna
(4:21) 2. Responsorium #5 (From Stabbata Sancto)
(5:53) 3. Eja Mater Fons Amoris (From Stabat Mater)
(4:59) 4. Chant (From Music for Good Friday)
(4:38) 5. Ben Mio, Rimanti in Pace (From the 6th Madrigal Book)
(7:29) 6. Orfeos Lament
(1:14) 7. Fantasy on Orfeos Lament
(2:49) 8. Fantasy on Fili Mi, Absalon
(4:21) 9. Dialog Orfeo Messanger
(3:10) 10. Around Dialog Orfeo Messanger
(6:09) 11. Sancta Mater, Istud Agas (From Stabat Mater)
(6:02) 12. Siciliana
(4:31) 13. Fantasy on Lamento D'arianna

Following early interpretations of the music of Béla Bartók and Federico Mompou, pianist Richie Beirach is once again joined by violinist Gregor Huebner and bassist George Mraz for a series of stunning interpretations of classical music, though most of this CD is devoted to the compositions of early Baroque composer Claudio Monteverdi. The mournful opener, Lamento d'Arianna, is the only remaining fragment of Monteverdi's lost opera Arianna. Beirach opens Don Carlo Gesualdo's Responsorium No. 5 (from his Sabato Sancto) alone, then ducks out as the bowed strings work their magic. Palestrina's Chant opens elegantly, then Mraz switches to a pizzicato line, with Huebner gradually making his way from the outer fringes, with Beirach eventually adding a passionate improvisation. Beirach's moving improvisation of Monteverdi's Orfeos Lament is spacious, followed by a brief fantasy upon the theme featuring wild pizzicato violin and occasionally hand-muted piano in an intense setting. Mraz, who assisted Beirach and Huebner with their arrangements, is solely responsible for Fantasy on Fili Mi, Absalon, a composition by Heinrich Schütz. Rarely heard unaccompanied on bass, Mraz makes the most of this opportunity with a powerful effort. No exploration of Baroque music is complete with venturing into the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, and Mraz's solo improvised introduction to Siciliano is every bit as powerful. He accompanies Beirach's brilliant improvisation, though the theme is never stated until Huebner joins in, taking the music down paths its composer could have never imagined. This outstanding release will cause more than a few jazz fans to search out classical recordings of these timeless works if they aren't already familiar with them.~ Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/round-about-monteverdi-mw0000692174

Personnel: Piano – Richie Beirach; Violin – Gregor Huebner; Double Bass – George Mraz

Round About Monteverdi

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Silje Nergaard - Japanese Blue

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:20
Size: 109,0 MB
Art: Front

(5:53) 1. Be Still My Heart
(5:56) 2. Based on a Thousand True Stories
(4:03) 3. The Waltz
(5:21) 4. I Don't Wanna See You Cry
(5:16) 5. Mercy Street
(5:09) 6. Lullaby to Erle
(4:06) 7. Love of My Life
(6:23) 8. Japanese Blue
(5:11) 9. En Og En

The Norwegian Silje Nergaard is a singer who should be known to everyone who has not heard her sing yet. There is a special occasion for this. The artist is celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of her career this year. Of which Japanese Blue is an element - a thing for sensitive listeners. The soothing sounds that fill this album bring hope and light. A plaster for our aching souls in times of plague. She started out performing pop, and in the early 1990s she released several LPs sung in her mother tongue. She made her debut at the age of only 16. Over the past three decades, she has recorded over a dozen phonograms. He has collaborated with such stars of jazz and popular music as Al Jarreau, Pat Metheny, Toots Thielemans, John Scofield, Nils Petter Molvær or Morten Harket from the famous A-ha group. Her first single Tell Me Where You´re Going (recorded with Pat Metheny in 1990) was an international hit. Silje Nergaard has crowds of enthusiasts on both sides of the Atlantic. She is one of the few Norwegian singers whose albums and concert tours are selling out in Japan, Brazil, Germany, England and even the United States. In the Land of the Rising Sun, where jazz and classical music flow from the loudspeakers even in elevators and supermarkets, one of the types of wine was named in her honor.

The pillars of the bands accompanying her were the masters of Scandinavian jazz: Tord Gustavsen and Jarle Vespestad. The outstanding conductor and arranger Vince Mendoza was nominated for a Grammy in 2011 in the Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist (s) category for his work on the title song from the album A Thousand True Stories, which is a recording of a session with the Dutch The Metropole Orkest. I often reach for this album ... It's high time that Silje herself won a Grammy! At the end of February we received the album Japanese Blue from Silje. It is a set of nine Norwegian hits and a few covers in an intimate arrangement for voice and piano. This disc has a special character because it was recorded at home near Oslo. Nergaard plunged into her cavernous catalog to pick out a few gems. The mid-generation pianist Espen Berg is responsible for the acoustic and minimalistic sound (he played, among others, with the trumpeter Per Jørgensen, saxophonist Marius Neset and with the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra). He is an equal protagonist of Japanese Blue. Silje Nergaard has an original, subtle, light, girly voice with a high register. I would compare her timbre to the vocals of such singing ladies as Blossom Dearie, Stacey Kent, Kat Edmonson, Lisa Bassenge or Lisa Ekdahl. The uncomplicated arrangement, the simplicity of the message, the minimalist approach to famous songs delight from the first sounds while listening to this ascetic album. In addition, there is a noticeable chemistry between the singer and her accompanist. Without fireworks, pompous solutions or pathos, we smoothly move on to the next ballad.

Japanese Blue opens the poignant version of Be Still My Heart. The song is almost 20 years old and first appeared on At First Light in 2001. We also receive an acoustic version of the song Based On A Thousand True Stories. I Don't Want To See You Cry hasn't grown old, on the contrary, in her new interpretation, Silje has matured. Covers of Mercy Street by Peter Gabriel and Love Of My Life by Queen are also interesting. For the finale, the Nergaard / Espen duo serves us the only song sung in Norwegian, En Og En. Japanese Blue is the first Silje Nergaard album that we receive this year. The coronavirus pandemic has thwarted many artist's plans. The schedule for celebrating the jubilee was different. The album with the original compositions was to come out with the acoustic album at the end of February. Forced isolation left a northern European diva trapped in the house. Silje decided to postpone such a premiere. Hamar Stasjon is expected to be finally released in May. Like hundreds of artists from around the world, during the worldwide quarantine, the artist regularly invites us to her living room on Saturday evenings for a live streaming of an intimate concert from the Living Room Session series. I will definitely "visit" Silje to listen to her subtle voice.~ Piotr Peplinski https://jazzpress.pl/plyty/silje-nergaard-japanese-blue

Personnel: Vocals – Silje Nergaard; Piano – Espen Berg

Japanese Blue

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Murat Verdi - Shuara (feat. Nana Vasconcelos)

Styles: Fusion,Brazilian Rhythms,Turkish Folk
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:50
Size: 147,0 MB
Art: Front

(7:52) 1. Mimi Upendo
(5:56) 2. Subindo
(6:02) 3. Beyond the Horizon
(5:54) 4. Kudema
(4:51) 5. Shalimar
(7:41) 6. Ovada
(6:06) 7. Yarin Senin.mp3
(3:31) 8. Corcovado
(9:15) 9. Funky Zeybek
(4:39) 10. Okundu
(8:04) 11. Tulpar

Born in Istanbul, Turkey he started to play percussion at age 6 In his early teens he started to develop interest in rock Music and picked up the drum set and started to play in high school groups and amateur groups which won awards in national competitions, Arif Mardin recommended him to study at Berklee College of Music, where he then studied arranging , composition and drums with great instructors Alan Dawson, Herb Pomeroy, Gary Burton, Michael Gibbs. In NYC further studies at Julliard and NYU Musical associations with Ismet Siral, “Creative Music Studio” in Woodstock, Nana Vasconcelos, Trilok Gurtu, Marilyn Crispell, Karl Berger, Ingrid Sertso, Steve Gorn, Badal Roy, Bai Konte, Tom Cora, Aiyb Dieng and many others, performed in Woodstock and NYC area with various groups at clubs and venues including “Sounsdscape”, “ Circle in the Square” Drummer with“ Free funk avantgarde band” “ Creativity” led by the late guitarist Alfonia Timms, which performed in the NYC area Musical associations and performances in Turkey with Emin Findikoglu, Onno Tunç, Tuna Ötenel, Levent Altindag , Imer Demirer, Misirli Ahmet and many others. As a co founder of the group “ Ritmistanbul” participated in the “Percussion Panorama Festival” Percpan in Salvador Bahia, Brazil, and in the Istanbul Jazz Festival. Recorded and performed several compositions for exhibitions in Istanbul Jazz critic Hülya Tunçag announced him as “one of the secret gems of Turkish jazz Music” https://www.turkishjazz.org/artist/murat-verdi

Juvenal de Holanda Vasconcelos, known as Naná Vasconcelos (2 August 1944 – 9 March 2016), was a Brazilian percussionist, vocalist and berimbau player, notable for his work as a solo artist on over two dozen albums, and as a backing musician with Pat Metheny, Don Cherry, Björk, Jan Garbarek, Egberto Gismonti, Gato Barbieri, and Milton Nascimento. Vasconcelos was born in Recife, Brazil. Beginning from 1967 he joined many artists' works as a percussionist. Among his many collaborations, he contributed to four Jon Hassell albums from 1976 to 1980 (including Possible Musics by Brian Eno and Hassell), and later to several Pat Metheny Group works and Jan Garbarek concerts from early 1980s to early 1990s. In 1984 he appeared on the Pierre Favre album Singing Drums along with Paul Motian. He also appears on Arild Andersen's album If You Look Far Enough with Ralph Towner. He formed a group named Codona with Don Cherry and Collin Walcott, which released three albums in 1978, 1980 and 1982. Between 1984 and 1989, he was the Honorary President of the first samba school in the UK, the London School of Samba. In 1981 he performed at the Woodstock Jazz Festival, held in celebration of the tenth anniversary of the Creative Music Studio. In 1998, Vasconcelos contributed "Luz de Candeeiro" to the AIDS benefit compilation album Onda Sonora: Red Hot + Lisbon produced by the Red Hot Organization. Vasconcelos was awarded the Best Percussionist Of The Year by the Down Beat Critics Poll for seven consecutive years, from 1984 to 1990.[5] He was also honored with eight Grammy Awards. Vasconcelos was diagnosed with lung cancer in mid 2015. He died from the disease on 9 March 2016, in Recife. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nan%C3%A1_Vasconcelos

Shuara (feat. Nana Vasconcelos)

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Lauren Henderson - The Songbook Session

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:48
Size: 99,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:03) 1. While We're Young
(4:55) 2. Day by Day
(4:40) 3. Sabor a Mí
(3:13) 4. People Will Say We're in Love
(7:11) 5. Meditação (Meditation)
(2:31) 6. Beautiful Love
(7:44) 7. Bésame Mucho
(5:14) 8. Tiernamente (Tenderly)
(3:11) 9. Day by Day (Duo Version)

Jazz and Latin Jazz vocalist, Lauren Henderson, paints reflective and impassioned stories with her haunting voice and enchanting compositions. Described as “somewhere between a comforting whisper and a cogent declaration” by The New York Times, Henderson's eclectic influences spread across genres producing a distinct yet versatile sound.Henderson combines her passion for music, philanthropy, and business as the CEO of Brontosaurus Records and an internationally acclaimed recording artist. Recently featured in the Financial Times, Henderson's achievements are celebrated worldwide. Her original music was recently featured in The Drowning, directed by Bette Gordon and starring Julia Stiles, Avan Jogia, Josh Charles and Tracie Thoms, as well as El Juego de Las Llaves, starring Ela Velden, Maite Perroni, and Marimar Vega. Henderson's compositions navigate journeys imposed through the African Diaspora in connection to her Panamanian, Montserratian, and vast Caribbean roots as they interplay with her North American upbringing. The recording artist, composer, and producer from Massachusetts broke the Jazz Week Charts - Top 40 for six consecutive weeks and the Year End Jazz Week Top 100 for 2018 and 2019.Her recent release Alma Oscura (2019) climbed to the Jazz Week Charts - Top 25.

Lauren's music resonates with listeners in the US and abroad. Having completed well over 10 successful international tours, Henderson has performed in France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Norway, Russia, Mexico and South Africa! As the Founder and CEO of Brontosaurus Records, Lauren Henderson graduated with her Executive Master of Business Administration from Brown University (RI) and the IE Business School (Madrid) in May of 2019. Having earned degrees in both Music and Hispanic Studies, at Wheaton College (MA), Lauren continues to combine her love of music and culture. While living in Puebla, México she studied the traditional music of the Yucatán and popular music throughout the country at Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla. Through her international piano and voice studies, she worked on developing her musicianship. In Córdoba, España she studied flamenco and its similarities to jazz at La Universidad de Córdoba.

Henderson began study piano at an early age. She grew up singing in church and school choirs, as well as listening to jazz records her parents and grandparents played in the house. Timid as a young musician, she was always reluctant to sing solos, until given a gentle push by mentors shortly before heading to Wheaton College (MA) to receive her Bachelor of Arts. At Wheaton, she discovered her voice, becoming the Musical Director of VUJ, a member of Jazz Band, studying classical voice and musical theatre, as well as finding inspiration in her professors and master classes with artists like Paquito D’Rivera, Take6, and the legendary Barry Harris at the Barry Harris Workshop. In 2011 Henderson released her debut album, Lauren Henderson. It was recorded almost immediately upon her arrival in New York. Henderson recorded with close friend and musical partner, Sullivan Fortner (piano), along with Ben Leifer (bass), and Jesse Simpson (drums). Intended as a demo to break into New York’s competitive jazz scene, the work was shared with colleagues and fellow musicians and ultimately reviewed by various publications, including DownBeat Magazine, JazzTimes and All About Jazz. Her second release, A La Madrugada (2015), features Sullivan Fortner on piano, Ameen Saleem on bass, Louis Fouche on alto saxophone, Jonathan Powell on trumpet, Riley Mulherkar on trumpet, and Jeremy Bean Clemmons on drums and percussion. It landed in the JazzWeek Top 100 for over 3 consecutive weeks.

In March of 2018, Henderson released ÁRMAME under the direction of Grammy-Nominated Producer and Emmy- Winner, Mark Ruffin! This album will features Terri Lyne Carrington, Josh Evans, Godwin Louis, Sullivan Fortner, Eric Wheeler, Nick Tannura, Nanny Assis, and Joe Saylor. Riptide (2018), Henderson's bold EP, features six original compositions she developed with Nick Tannura (guitar), Chris Pattishall (paino), Eric England (bass) and Joe Saylor (drums). Alma Oscura (2019), Henderson’s fourth studio album is produced by Michael Thurber (Stay Human on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, CDZA, The Royal Shakespeare Company). This album features original compositions that reflect the roster's jazz, Latin jazz, flamenco, folk and classical roots. Featured Artists include Leo Sidran, Joe Saylor, Tessa Lark, Michael Thurber, Sullivan Fortner, Charles Overton, Allan Mednard, Emi Ferguson, Jon Lampley and Mark Dover. Lauren, Leo and Michael teamed up with the great flamenco singer and guitarist, Saúl Quirós, for a remix of the Henderson-Thurber original, Alma Oscura. Stay tuned for the The Songbook Session featuring Sullivan Fortner, Eric Wheeler and Allan Mednard in April 2020. https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/laurenhenderson

The Songbook Session

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Matt Herskowitz - Upstairs

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 70:10
Size: 161,3 MB
Art: Front

(13:36) 1. Dzienkuye
( 7:04) 2. Waltz In Moscow
( 9:02) 3. Cantabile
( 5:27) 4. Träumerei
(12:22) 5. Bella's Lament
( 3:25) 6. Bach à la Jazz
(10:55) 7. But Not For Me
( 8:15) 8. I've Got Rhythm

This CD was recorded before an audience at the Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grill in Montreal where Matt Herskowitz has made his home since 2000 and the first thing that struck me was the phenomenal technique possessed by this Albany-born pianist. The varied program begins with a long over 13 minutes interpretation of the Dave Brubeck composition, Dziekuje which means “thank you” in Polish, and was modelled on Chopin’s Prelude in E Minor. He also includes Cantabile by Michel Petrucciani, Traumerei by Robert Schumann, music by J.S. Bach, two originals, Waltz In Moscow and Bella’s Lament plus a couple of Gershwin songs for good measure But Not For Me and I’ve Got Rhythm.

Herskowitz’ classical training permeates the music, sometimes at the expense of “jazz feeling” but then there are also passages of delicate beauty as shown in Bella’s Lament and Traumerei. To make a comparison between visual art and music, Herskowitz is like, say, a Dali rather than a Mondrian.I have a non-musical complaint on behalf of all of us with less than perfect eyesight. The liner notes are in deep blue against a black background, making them all but impossible to read. I, and a few others I have spoken with, find it extremely frustrating. Designers of CD sleeves please take note.~ Jim Galloway https://www.thewholenote.com/index.php/booksrecords2/jazzaimprovised/23553-upstairs-matt-herskowitz

Upstairs

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Carla Bley, Andy Sheppard, Steve Swallow - Life Goes On

Styles: Piano, Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:44
Size: 130,6 MB
Art: Front

(6:00) 1. Life Goes On: Life Goes On
(4:46) 2. Life Goes On: On
(4:10) 3. Life Goes On: And On
(9:02) 4. Life Goes On: And Then One Day
(4:35) 5. Beautiful Telephones - Pt. 1
(6:13) 6. Beautiful Telephones - Pt. 2
(6:16) 7. Beautiful Telephones - Pt. 3
(5:29) 8. Copycat: After You
(0:17) 9. Copycat: Follow The Leader
(9:51) 10. Copycat: Copycat

The endless staircases of M.C. Escher’s castles don’t demand a soundtrack to be appreciated, but if you bask in Carla Bley’s “Copycat” while absorbing a few of the Dutch artist’s impossible labyrinths, you might be in for extra fun. One of Life Goes On’s three micro-suites, Bley’s piece arrives with a process mandate: Each line of the group’s performance should be an echo or variation of the preceding line. That leads to a wonderfully fluid symmetry. The choices pour forth, pensively at first, and then puckishly, as is often the esteemed composer’s wont. The fourth album in a quarter-century’s worth of collabs by the buoyant trio of the pianist, bassist Steve Swallow, and saxophonist Andy Sheppard, Life Goes On teems with the kind of balance that has marked their previous discs, but it also boasts an extra dose of eloquence.

Though I’m still citing the band’s masterpiece as 2013’s “Utviklingssang” (as finely cut a jewel as the MJQ’s “Django”), the level of detail at work on this latest disc is unmistakable. “Beautiful Telephones,” the pianist’s gibe at 45’s cluckish oogling over the Oval Office’s squawkbox, glows with the ominous tone of an étude penned by Bernard Herrmann. Bley knows we’re in deep shit these days, so her allusion to Chopin’s “Funeral March,” along with wry references to “It’s a Grand Old Flag,” “Yankee Doodle,” and other American chestnuts indicts us all for allowing Trumpian freedom to ring. As each passage inches forward, Sheppard’s concise moves match Swallow’s plush choices. The group’s chemistry is ultra-refined at this late date; the carefully calibrated sharing of duties brings a quizzical serenity to this improv-slanted chamber music.

Bley has told interviewers she’d like to be writing for a big band, but current economics demand a more scaled-down stance. No worries. The 81-year-old’s trademark humor still gets its moments in the sun. For example: “Copycat” ends a 15-minute-long parade of slippery tradeoffs with a curt three-note phrase that finds each musician in perfect accord. Same place, same time, at last. Feel free to put your grinning-face emoji right there.~ Jim Macnie https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/carla-bley-andy-sheppard-steve-swallow-life-goes-on-ecm/

Personel: Piano – Carla Bley; Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Andy Sheppard; Bass – Steve Swallow

Life Goes On

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Pat LaBarbera, Kirk MacDonald Quintet - Trane of Thought: Live at the Rex

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:30
Size: 166,5 MB
Art: Front

( 9:54) 1. On a Misty Night
( 9:40) 2. Village Blues
(10:15) 3. 26-2
(11:43) 4. Naima
(13:29) 5. Impressions
(17:27) 6. Acknowledgement/Resolution (Movements 1 & 2 from A Love Supreme)

Sometimes the name of an album can be a dead giveaway. Clearly, tenors Pat La Barbera and Kirk MacDonald, the co-leaders of this admirable quintet from north of the border, are enthusiastic admirers and champions of the late great saxophonist John Coltrane. Disciples, yes, but leagues away from slavish imitators. LaBarbera and MacDonald have strong and vibrant voices of their own, which come through loud and clear on Trane of Thought, an exemplary and well-received concert date recorded at the Rex Jazz & Blues Bar in Toronto. Even so, this is after all a tribute to Coltrane and his massive influence on generations of jazz musicians, saxophonists or no, and all but one of the half-dozen selections were written by the honoree himself (the exception is Tadd Dameron's silky-smooth curtain-raiser, "On a Misty Night," which Coltrane recorded with Dameron in 1956). "Misty Night" is followed by the enticing "Village Blues," the first song recorded by the quartet of Coltrane, pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Steve Davis and drummer Elvin Jones. While paring down their vast Coltrane-related library (more than 130 songs) to six was no easy task, LaBarbera and MacDonald chose themes from various periods in Coltane's career, and pieces ranging from familiar to lesser-known.

As it turns out, everything on the bill of fare is for the most part straight-ahead and linear, the finale perhaps a touch more free-wheeling, consisting as it does of "Acknowledgement / Resolution," Movements 1 and 2 from "A Love Supreme" (the recording of which by Coltrane's quartet was released in 1965, two years before his passing). LaBarbera solos on "Acknowledgement," MacDonald on "Resolution." For purposes of clarity, the solo order on each track is provided on the album jacket. Whatever the context, LaBarbera and MacDonald are decisively on top of their game, but no more so than the group's superlative rhythm section, in which a second LaBarbera drummer Joe keeps his usual flawless time, ably chaperoned by bassist Neil Swainson and pianist Brian Dickinson. Each of them takes his solo shots as well, and none is found wanting in that quarter. Joe LaBarbera is especially impressive on Coltrane's boppish flag-waver, "26-2," Swainson on the charming ballad "Naima" (wondrously prefaced by the unaccompanied tenors), Dickinson whenever the opportunity presents itself. This is a heartfelt tribute that puts its best foot forward from the outset and never once loses its balance. LaBarbera and MacDonald have immersed themselves in the music of Coltrane, an ardor that is perceptible in every note they play. They and their teammates have put it all together on Trane of Thought, one of the more impressive small-group sessions to saunter into this neighborhood in quite some time.~ Jack Bowers https://www.allaboutjazz.com/trane-of-thought-live-at-the-rex-pat-la-barbera-cellar-live

Personnel: Pat LaBarbera: tenor saxophone; Kirk MacDonald: tenor saxophone; Brian Dickinson: piano; Neil Swainson: bass; Joe JaBarbera: drums.

Trane of Thought: Live at the Rex

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Ellen Andersson - You should have told me

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:42
Size: 96,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:07) 1. You should have told me
(4:39) 2. Once upon a summertime
(3:52) 3. You´ve got a friend in me
(5:38) 4. Just squeeze me
(4:56) 5. Too young
(6:55) 6. The thrill Is gone
(2:59) 7. ´deed I do
(3:59) 8. Blackbird
(3:32) 9. I Get Along Without You Very Well

Ellen Andersson has been described as two voices in one the young, curious and the mature, experienced a person with a rare artistic depth. With a distinctive voice and an unmistakable expression she has, since her debut in 2016 with “I’ll Be Seeing You”, been praised by both critics and audiences quickly establishing herself as one of the most notable artists on the Swedish jazz scene. In November 2020, she released her long-awaited second album “You Should Have Told Me”.

“A vocalist has rarely been this wished-for. Finally!”, Johan Norberg wrote, and her debut album was awarded “Best Album of the Year” by Swedish jazz magazine Orkesterjournalen, as well as “Newcomer of the Year” by Swedish National Radio. Since then, she has been seen and heard on stages across Sweden as well as abroad, often with acclaimed symphony orchestras and big bands but on the new album, she goes back to the core: jazz quartet, an acoustic sound with an infrangible sense of identity and urgency. https://www.ellenandersson.com/about

You should have told me

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Richie Beirach Trio - Romantic Rhapsody

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:29
Size: 142,0 MB
Art: Front

( 6:53) 1. Flamenco Sketches
( 7:00) 2. Spring Is Here
( 7:08) 3. Blue In Green
(10:38) 4. Old Folks
( 6:47) 5. Young And Foolish
( 6:20) 6. Prelude No.20 C Minor
( 5:24) 7. Hudba
( 6:10) 8. I Wish I Knew
( 5:05) 9. The Last Rhapsody

Even after numerous recordings as a leader over his long career, pianist Richie Beirach remains deserving of wider recognition. These 2000 studio sessions with bassist George Mraz and Jack DeJohnette, recorded for the Japanese Venus label, represent some of his best work, in which both his classical training and the influence of Bill Evans are readily apparent, particularly in his dreamy interpretation of "Blue in Green." Beirach finds fresh approaches to several standards, adding a gorgeous, pastoral introduction to an extended workout of "Old Folks," and bringing out the lyricism of the forgotten chestnut "Young and Foolish." The pianist's improvisation upon Chopin's "Prelude No. 20 in C Minor" springs forth with a wealth of ideas. Beirach's two originals are also stunning, including the dramatic, unpredictable "Hudba" and "The Last Rhapsody."~ Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/romantic-rhapsody-mw0000504762

Personnel: Richie Beirach - piano; George Mraz - bass; Billy Hart - drums

Romantic Rhapsody

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Clare Teal - They Say It's Swing

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:18
Size: 121,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:11) 1. Cry Me a River
(4:20) 2. The Song is You
(3:36) 3. Perfidia
(5:39) 4. My Funny Valentine
(3:44) 5. If I Had a Ribbon Bow
(2:40) 6. Tea for Two
(3:51) 7. It's Raining
(2:52) 8. It's a Good Day
(4:12) 9. I Walk a Little Faster
(4:10) 10. They Say It's Spring
(3:59) 11. I Can Dream Can't I
(3:57) 12. Something Happens to Me
(4:01) 13. It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)

After signing to independent label Candid in 2001 and releasing 3 acclaimed titles, it was Clare’s first album for Sony Jazz which became her breakthrough record. Released in 2004, ‘Don’t Talk’ topped the Jazz charts and entered the UK Top 20, garnering extraordinary plaudits and several awards. She has now recorded and released 15 albums to public and critical acclaim, 7 of them on her own label MUD Records. Her most recent album, ‘Twelve O’Clock Tales’, was released in 2016 and recorded with the Hallé, conducted by Stephen Bell and arranged by world-class trumpet and composer Guy Barker.

Clare continues to surge ahead on her mission to bring big band and swing to music lovers everywhere, to demonstrate that this genre is ever evolving and still relevant in today’s world. Accompanied by her Pianist, Trio, 7-piece Mini Big Band, 9-piece Big Mini Big Band or 17-piece Hollywood Orchestra Clare performs up and down the country throughout the year at festivals and high profile venues including the Royal Albert Hall, Cadogan Hall, Cambridge Arts Theatre, Chichester Festival Theatre, Malvern Theatres, Anvil Arts, Sage Gateshead, Love Supreme, Salisbury International Arts Festival, Bristol Jazz and Blues Festival and Glastonbury Festival, as well as singing with renowned orchestras and Big Bands including the Hallé,BBC CO, RTÉ CO, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Centre Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Big Band (hr-Big Band) BBC NOW and BBC SSO. Alongside her concerts, Clare presents her own live show on BBC Radio 2 every Sunday night.

August 2017 saw Clare produce and present her third full scale BBCProm Concertto a packed audience at the Royal Albert Hall. Featuring two roaring Big Bands led by Guy Barkerand Winston Rollinsand some very special guests, ‘Swing No End’ celebratedthe triumphs of big band greats from the ‘30’s and ‘40’s and the show was broadcast on BBC Four and BBC Radio 2 and 3.

Other highlights of Clare’s live work include collaborating with Sir Van Morrisonon his album ‘Duets: Reworking the Catalogue’ resulting in the A listed Radio single ‘Carrying A Torch’,performing with Gregory Porterfor BBC Two’s 2018 Christmas Day show Merry Christmas Baby – with Gregory Porter and Friends, opening twice for Liza Minnelliat Kenwood Houseand the Royal Festival Hall, singing with the BBC Big Bandat Proms in the Park, headlining the Bourbon Street Tent at Glastonbury Festival, storming the Gateshead International Jazz Festivaland producing, presenting and performing ‘The Story of Swing’ in 2015 and the ‘Battle of the Bands Duke Ellington v Count Basie’ in 2014 for the BBC Proms Seasonat the Royal Albert Hall.

Clare won British Jazz Singer of the year in 2005, 2007, 2015 and 2017, BBC Jazz Singer of the Year in 2006 and Boisdale Jazz Singer of the year 2016. She was awarded Arts & Entertainment Personality of the Year in 2004 & 2011 Yorkshire Awards, a coveted Gold Badge by BASCA (British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors) in 2011 and an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Music by the University of Wolverhampton in 2015. https://www.clareteal.co.uk/index.php/clare/

‘We love her’ Ken Bruce

‘She’s a triple threat’ Michael Bublé

‘A sensation in the world of jazz’ Mail on Sunday

They Say It's Swing

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Dick Oatts, Dave Santoro Quartet - Meru

Styles: Saxophone Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 1996
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:49
Size: 146,5 MB
Art: Front

( 6:00) 1. Pale Blue
( 8:56) 2. Creeper
( 7:44) 3. Heckle and Jeckle
( 8:46) 4. South Paw
(10:21) 5. Meru
( 7:30) 6. Lasting Tribute
( 6:30) 7. Osmosis
( 8:01) 8. Leap of Faith

The partnership between veteran saxophonist Dick Oatts and bassist Dave Santoro produced this enjoyable 1996 studio session, accompanied by rising talent Bruce Barth on piano and marking the recording debut of drummer James (Jim) Oblan. Santoro and Oatts each contributed four songs, with Santoro's driving post-bop opener "Pale Blue" (seeming to be distantly inspired by "Giant Steps") and the playful "Osmosis" (featuring Oatts on soprano sax) being the most memorable tracks. Oatts' "Heckle and Jeckle" is a furious piece until it softens to spotlight solos by both Santoro and Oblan, while the saxophonist's mellow "Lasting Tribute" is an inspired ballad. The interaction between these musicians as well as their well-constructed solos make this Italian CD worth tracking down.~ Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/meru-mw0000604386

Personnel: Bass – Dave Santoro; Drums – James (Jim) Oblan; Piano – Bruce Barth; Tenor Saxophone – Dick Oatts

Meru

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Malia - The Garden of Eve

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:56
Size: 97,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:52) 1. Hope
(3:14) 2. Last Show
(3:31) 3. The Thrill Is Gone
(3:06) 4. Me & My Girlfriend
(2:36) 5. Two Seedlings
(2:55) 6. Lord, I Feel so Bad
(4:04) 7. Restoration
(3:39) 8. Death
(3:54) 9. Freedom at Last
(3:52) 10. Moving Away
(3:55) 11. Honeymoon Is Over
(3:12) 12. Love in Vain

Malawi born vocalist Malia moved to London aged fourteen in 1992. Her soul drenched take on jazz standards, ballads and blues was much in demand on the capital's club scene. Influenced in her early life by Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday and Nina Simone, she released her first album "Yellow Daffodils" onto the European market to great acclaim in 2002. Now a firmly established artist in both France and Germany following her award as "International Singer Of The Year" by Echo Jazz magazine she is rapidly gaining worldwide recognition ahead of this her seventh album release.

The recording itself could be described as a twenty first century examination of the blues, with a jazz sensibility and even at times, a glance towards country and soul. The vocalist is the main composer on ten of the twelve compositions with a very fresh and individual take to the lyrical content. It does have a stylistic approach that she has not shown previously. If there is one influence in her writing style, it sounds as if some numbers could have come from the pen of Leonard Cohen. There have been very few vocalists with such precise and near perfect diction that have performed in a blues orientated setting with such conviction. The musicians that she has called upon fit perfectly into the mix with Nis Kotting's atmospheric wurlitzer and the telling guitar interludes from Lars Colin being key to the albums success. Malia is above all a story teller, delivering her message clearly and with a refreshing passion across such diverse subjects of Hope, Restoration, Freedom, Love and even Death. Perhaps this album is not one for the jazz purist, but everything about it is of the highest quality and importantly gives more with each listen. ~Jim Burlong https://www.jazzviews.net/malia---the-garden-of-eden.html

Malia (vcl), Nis Kotting (org, wurlitizer, har), Lars Colin (gtr, bs), (Edward Maclean (bs), Tommy Baldu (drs, perc), Reiner"Kallas" Hubert (drs, perc), Joo Kraus (tpt), Stokely Van Daal bkg(vcl)

The Garden of Eve

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Richie Beirach - Ballads II

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1987
File: MP3@192K/s
Time: 59:12
Size: 82,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:40) 1. My Funny Balentine
(4:27) 2. Chelsea Bridge
(4:11) 3. The Pearl
(4:35) 4. Alone Together
(5:24) 5. Flamenco Sketches
(4:00) 6. Zal
(2:12) 7. Young And Foolish
(4:57) 8. Summer Night
(3:52) 9. D.L.
(2:30) 10. Old Folks
(5:32) 11. Stella By Starlight
(3:33) 12. Anse Des Flamands
(5:12) 13. The Peacocks
(4:01) 14. Night And Day

Richard Alan Beirach was born on 23 May 1947 in Brooklyn, New York City. Having a sheltered childhood, he started playing the piano at the age of 5. From age 6 to age 18, Beirach was given lessons by the pianist und composer James Palmieri. "James Palmieri showed me everything that I know about music,...he made me understand the deeper meaning of music." Palmieri's lessons were strictly classic and until age 13, Beirach exclusively dealt with classical music.When, at the age of 13, he stayed at a friend's place, he heard Red Garland's version of "Billy Boy" from Miles Davis' album "Milestones": "I could hardly believe it. This was exactly what I was looking for, what I needed. Until then, I had only had a classical musical education: Mozart, Beethoven, no improvisation. I took the album to my teacher. He hated it, he hated it a lot…"Beirach realized that he wanted to devote himself to improvisation and Jazz. He tried and got in touch with Jazz musicians, while continuing to take lessons with Palmieri. In the middle of the 1960s, Richard Beirach entered the New York club scene, played innumerable gigs and jam sessions, with, among others, Freddie Hubbard and Lee Konitz, while, at the same time occasionally working as a longshoreman at the docks of New York.In 1967, he went to Boston in order to study at the Berklee College Of Music, where Keith Jarrett, Miroslav Vitous and John Abercrombie were enrolled as well at that time. But he only stayed for one year and returned to New York in 1968, where he started a composition degree with Ludmilla Ulehla at the Manhattan School Of Music, from which he graduated in 1972 with a "Master Of Music".

Soon afterwards, he played in the band of Stan Getz, together with bass player Dave Holland and drummer Jack deJohnette. The band largely went on worldwide tours.In 1973, he joined the group "Lookout Farm" of the saxophone player Dave Liebman. "Lookout Farm" became one of the most outstanding groups of the Fusion movement and the cooperation between Beirach and Liebman beyond the group, which broke up in 1976, developed to a close musical partnership. Together, as a duo, they recorded "Forgotten Fantasies", "Omerta" and "Chant"". In 1976, the first album under Beirach's own name was released: "Eon", recorded with drummer Eliot Zigmund and bass player Frank Tusa. For the label ECM, Beirach worked as a leader, e.g. on the albums "Eon" in 1976, "Elm" in 1979, "Elegy for Bill Evans", and as a sideman respectively (for John Abercrombie and George Adams) from the middle of the 1970s until the beginning of the 1980s.

His first solo album "Hubris" was released in 1977. At that time, he went on tour a lot with, among others, Chet Baker, John Scofield and John Abercrombie.In the 1980s, Richie Beirach focused increasingly on the solo piano and, parallel to that, on the cooperation with David Liebman in their duo and in the band "Quest", which they founded together in 1981, with drummers Billy Hart and Al Forster and George Mraz or Ron McClure on the bass, respectively. Until their break-up in 1991, the band recorded six albums: "Quest", "Quest 2", "Midpoint: Live at the Montmartre", "Natural Selection", "N.Y. Nites: Standards" and "Of one mind", and went on tours throughout Europe, Asia and South and North America. Stylistically, the quartet did not set any limits and thus played both standards and original compositions with the same intensity and freedom. Beirach then devoted himself increasingly to playing solo. The album "Live in Tokyo" (1981) was recorded during a Japan tour. Following albums were "Ballads" and "Ballads 2", which dealt intensely and in a contemporary manner with the Jazz standard repertoire. Records, which are characterized by non-musical influences, from "Waterlilies", compositions impressed by the paintings of Claude Monet, and "Breathing of Statues", after texts by Rilke, to the completely improvised "Self Portraits", "Sunday Songs" and "Live at Maybeck Recital Hall", were created at the beginning of the 1990s. "Inspiration", recorded in 1991 as a member of the RonMcClure Trio, and "Trust", recorded in 1993 under his own name with Dave Holland and Jack deJohnette, showed Beirach in a trio again.

As a co-leader and sideman, he recorded several albums with the trombonist Conrad Herwig, e.g. the duo record "Intimate Conversation", and, with a bigger band, "The Amulet" and "The Latin Side of John Coltrane". Since the middle of the 1990s, Beirach has mostly worked with two different trios; together with his musical fellows George Mraz (bass) and Billy Hart (drums), Beirach recorded the album "The Snow Leopard" in 1996. That was followed by "Romantic Rhapsody" and "What is this thing called love", which showed a fresh view on standards and some own compositions. "No borders" (2002) focuses on classical pieces as a basis for improvisation, and, on the other hand, also contains a completely composed original composition by Beirach: "Steel Prayers", a piece for the victims of 9/11. To take classical pieces and open them for improvisation, without depriving them of their character, is also the basic principle in the cooperation with violinist Gregor Hübner. The trio with Beirach, Hübner and again George Mraz on the bass has released three albums with the label ACT. "Round about Bartok", "Round about Federico Mompou" and "Round about Monteverdi" are each dedicated to the respective composer and try and approach them via improvisation. Since 2000, Richie Beirach lives in Leipzig and holds a professorship for Jazz piano at the Leipzig conservatory "Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy".

Ballads II

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Frankie Ortega - Summertime In Venice

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 25:01
Size: 57,7 MB
Art: Front

(2:31) 1. My Bonnie Lassie
(2:20) 2. The Swedish Rhapsody
(2:55) 3. Summertime In Venice
(2:25) 4. Anema E Core
(2:45) 5. Anna
(2:30) 6. C'est Si Bon
(2:27) 7. Take Me In Your Arms
(2:26) 8. The Third Man Theme
(2:23) 9. Strange Music
(2:16) 10. Swingin' Abroad

With a decidedly organic vocal sound lending substance to his signature style, Frank Ortega navigates his way through the Nashville machine very thoughtfully in order not to sterilize his raw emotion. With three consecutive Billboard charting singles, Frank has performed shows with Dwight Yoakam, The Mavericks and many more. He is the only Latin male solo artist in the world on the American Country Billboard charts over the last decade. He truly is the Latin voice of American Country music. Frank has performed and even hosted CMA sanctioned stages during CMA Fest, he's a registered songwriter with BMI and is forging forward in his own niche of Country music and like some of the greatest country artists before him, Frank is forging his own path.

That path began in Arizona, born in Tempe and raised in Phoenix, Frank is one of five children and the third son of Joe and Jessie Ortega. Growing up in the Ortega household was lively, to say the least as his home was constantly filled with music. Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins, and Buck Owens were regulars on the family turntable along with weekend family gatherings that included Mariachis.. trumpets and all. It came as no surprise to Frank's parents when he asked them to purchase him a trumpet while in the fifth grade, this began Frank's love affair with music.

At 15 Frank began teaching himself to play piano and guitar, at 16 he wrote his first song. When Frank turned 20 he started recording his songs in local Arizona studios and within a year, he heard himself on Arizona radio for the first time and things were never quite the same, he realized the power of radio to share his music with the masses. Now more than ever, Frank has a strong sense of himself as an artist and has a long history of performing, writing and recording.

Frank travels to various radio stations for interviews and performances in support of his music, this Latin tattooed American country music singer knows exactly where he wants to be in life and is truly all about the journey... not the destination. Frank will continue to carve his own path as he always has, he will continue to believe things are said best through a country song and he will go... wherever the music takes him. http://www.frankortega.com/Bio.html

Summertime In Venice

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Richie Beirach - Ballads

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1986
Time: 56:56
Size: 79,2 MB
Art: Front

(6:29) 1. Elm
(4:45) 2. My Foolish Heart
(5:05) 3. Infant Eyes
(3:18) 4. Blood Count
(4:42) 5. Nightlake
(4:15) 6. On Green Dolphin Street
(4:46) 7. Naima
(5:02) 8. Small World
(4:47) 9. Leaving
(3:01) 10. Over The Rainbow
(5:05) 11. You Don't Know What Love Is
(5:35) 12. Sunday Song

Richard Beirach was born in New York in 1947. His stage name is Richie Beirach. He is an innovative jazz pianist. His free and beautiful melody makes him a unique avant-garde jazz master. Richie Beirach was born classically, then devoted himself to jazz , and is committed to its further development. He studied music theory and composition at Berklee College of Music and Manhattan School of Music and obtained a master's degree. Richie Beirach is one of the pillars of ECM. In 1972 , he cooperated with Stan Getz for a period of time and also established a cooperative relationship with ChetBaker . Early Richie Beirach in the 70 's jazz artists who fled the United States worships money and conservative artistic atmosphere, choose Japan as the development of the market, an anti-choice majority in Europe, was in Japan Jazz label Venus has published many great jazz recordings, Among them are mainly played in trio form.

"Balads" is Richie Beirach who was asked by Sony Records in 1986 to record a solo piano album in Tokyo. The recording quality is excellent, with designer Yasutaka Kato 's beautiful blue seascape and artistic design cover. The 16- page brochure contains information and explanations of Beirach's choice of tunes. In the album, Beirach himself composed four works, including Elm, Nightlake , Leaving and Sunday Song . This album can be regarded as the first in a trilogy produced by Richie Beirach for Sony . The other two are " Ballads2" ( 1987 , with the same cover design but green) and " Water Lilies " ( 1987 ) ). It includes Richie Beirach 's musical interpretation of the French painter Claude Monet's paintings, and his fascination with impressionism. Translate By Google https://dsdlove.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=34789

Ballads

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Jeri Brown - Echoes: Live At Catalina Jazz Club

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:24
Size: 130,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:37) 1. Nothing Else but You
(3:51) 2. Echoes
(4:19) 3. All the Things You Are
(1:42) 4. Echo Thoughts
(6:56) 5. The Look of Love
(5:53) 6. I Thought About You
(1:40) 7. African Echo
(5:01) 8. Afro Blue
(8:48) 9. I Got Rhythm
(6:23) 10. No Moon At All
(6:08) 11. The Nearness of You

One of the top up-and-coming jazz singers of the 1990s, the Montreal-based Jeri Brown came from a musical family (her grandfather played sax and her uncle was a trumpeter). After growing up in St. Louis and graduating college, she toured Europe singing light opera and spirituals before switching to jazz. An excellent scat singer and an expressive interpreter of lyrics, Jeri Brown has recorded several excellent sets for Justin Time. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jeri-brown-mn0000270729/biography

Echoes: Live At Catalina Jazz Club

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Paula Atherton - Can You Feel It

Styles: Saxophone Jazz, Smooth Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:54
Size: 126,6 MB
Art: Front

(5:37) 1. A Night in Madrid (feat. Bill Heller)
(4:51) 2. Forget Me Nots
(4:04) 3. Can You Feel It
(4:48) 4. Don't Let Me Wait
(4:44) 5. 20 Miles to Nowhere
(4:32) 6. In the Pocket
(4:56) 7. Calling You
(4:26) 8. Just Can't Stop
(4:17) 9. Summer Song (feat. Nathan Mitchell)
(3:52) 10. Ain't No Denyin'
(4:33) 11. Funkulator (feat. Schuyler Deale)
(4:09) 12. Just Can't Stop - Radio Edit

Saxophonist, flutist Paula Atherton has enjoyed a long and varied career in contemporary and mainstream jazz. Her acumen on her instruments are poised and adept. Her full-length album Can You Feel It has already begun to garner real accolade with her single also titled “Can You Feel It,” landing a #1 hit, three weeks in a row on Billboard. What is even more cementing about this accolade is she also landed #1 slots on Mediabase and #1 on the Smooth Jazz Network. Each track is produced by various producers including, Bill Heller, best known as the legendary keyboardist for the Ripppingtons. Longtime collaborator guitarist Lou Gimenez who has co-written several of Paula’s tunes historically. Other co-writing and production credits include keyboardist Greg Manning, multi-instrumentalist Matt Godina, including multi-instrumentalist Nathan Mitchell, Paul Brown, and the notable Schuyler Deale known for his work with Billy Joel, Michael Bolton, Jeff Lorber, and more. So what does this all-star line-up of producers and contributors add up to for Atherton?

Simply put, a canvas to which Atherton can shine her abilities in the highest preeminent way on her latest album Can You Feel It. New York based sax player/vocalist and songwriter Paula Atherton has shared the stage with such contemporary jazz notables as The Rippingtons, Nick Colionne, Chuck Loeb, Cindy Bradley, Brian Simpson, Althea Renee, Four80East, David Sanborn, Bob James, Marc Antoine, Hiroshima, Gerald Albright and Chieli Minucci. Paula has also worked in the traditional jazz field; one of the notable performances being a week long engagement at the Blue Note NYC with pianist and jazz legend, Hank Jones. .Paula also performed with Grammy award winning singer Dee Dee Bridgewater at the Annenberg Theater, for the Palm Springs Women’s Jazz Festival. Some tour dates include The Bishop Arts Theater in Dallas, The Empire Theater in San Antonio, The John Ruffin Theater in Chicago, Jazz in the Park in Birmingham, AL, Smooth Jazz Festival in Atlanta, Palm Springs Women’s Jazz Fest in CA, Las Vegas Jazz Festival, Capital Jazz fest and Low Country Jazz fest with Jazz in Pink, Smooth Jazz at Sunset in MI (opening for Marc Antoine), Southern Tier Jazz festival in Elmira (opening for Rick Braun), the 3rdannual Women’s Jazz festival in Huntsville, AL, Lake Arbor Jazz Festival in MD, the Hub City Fest in NJ (4 years in a row) and the Pensacola Jazz Festival.

Paula performed at the Hot Smooth Jazz festival in Madrid, Spain, in April 2019 at Maria Guerrero theater. Other 2019 performances include Jacksonville Beach Jazz series, Dauphin County Jazz Fest, Potomac Jazz Festival, Brass City, Grand Rapids, and Legacy Jazz Festival. Paula just released the 1st single from her forthcoming 6th release, entitled “Can You Feel It.” It was produced by Greg Manning, and written by Paula and Greg. As of April 4th, 2020, “Can You Feel It”, was #1 on Mediabase, #1 on the Smooth Jazz Network, (for 4 weeks) and as of May 2nd, has been #1 on Billboard for 3 weeks. Preceding “Can You Feel It,” Atherton has enjoyed 5 Billboard Top 30 charting singles, “Sassy Strut,” “Herbie,” “Between You & Me,” “My Song For You,” and “Into the Night.” Atherton was also featured on Cindy Bradleys’ single, “Girl Talk,” which hit #2 on Billboard. Atherton’s sixth release, Can You Feel It includes music from a few different producers. Including Greg Manning, Paul Brown, Nate Mitchell, Matt Godina, Schuyler Deale (who produced “Herbie” and “Low Rider” on previous releases), and Lou Gimenez, who has produced the majority of Atherton’s music. Eliana Fermi http://paulaatherton.com/biography/

Can You Feel It

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Muriel Grossmann - Golden Rule

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 77:25
Size: 178,4 MB
Art: Front

(11:26) 1. Golden Rule
(11:21) 2. Core
( 9:12) 3. Promise
(10:17) 4. Direction
(14:51) 5. Traneing In
(12:07) 6. Trane
( 8:09) 7. Light

Since 2007, Austrian saxophonist and composer Muriel Grossmann has been assembling a catalog of arresting, deeply moving spiritual jazz from her perch in Ibiza, Spain. While she derives direct inspiration from John Coltrane's example, she employs a unique harmonic and polyrhythmic approach to composition and improvisation. It draws equally on blues, soul, and Eastern and European folk traditions. Adept on soprano, alto, and tenor, her nine previous albums are all linked by a unified sense of musical purpose and labyrinthine explorations of space, texture, and melody.

Golden Rule is Grossmann's tenth album and it's deep. This is the third date with her current quartet, comprising Austrian bassist Gina Schwarz, Serbian guitarist Radomir Milojkovic, and Serbian drummer Uros Stamenkovic. The communicative intuition of this group is not only empathic, it seems telekinetic in its anticipation, coloration, and articulation of Grossmann's inspired compositions informed directly by meditation. The title-track opener commences with soft, squalling sound on the soprano saxophone, gently strummed chords, and a bassline that evokes "A Love Supreme" before Stamenkovic's double-timed multivalent rhythm attack. Grossmann offers an inverted quote from the Coltrane tune as a theme but moves off into a serpentine bluesy solo as Milojkovic delivers his trademark vamp drones. The swirl of sound languages at work here, particularly in the interplay between Schwarz and Stamenkovic, is propulsive and earthy, even as Grossmann and her guitarist find their way into the stratosphere before bringing it back home some 11 minutes later. No matter how intense the exchanges between players, the music remains warm, open, and welcoming. By contrast, her tenor horn on "Core" wraps itself in stuttering trancelike guitar arpeggios before they aggressively dig into modal blues and spiritual funk together. After the abstract opening statement on "Promise," Milojkovic delivers a jagged, inquiring solo that is as cavernous rhythmically as it is harmonically. Perhaps the biggest surprise here is on the nearly-15-minute "Traneing In," where guitar chords, clattering cymbals, and shimmering snares roil up around Schwarz's upright bass in what initially seems to be a psychedelic folk-rock tune. While the cadence circles, Grossmann's soprano begins its departure immediately above this luxuriant din, poetically exploiting the margins, transcending them, and bringing back new ones for her accompanists to explore. She is in constant motion, adding ballast, foundation, and risk to the simple melody, freely allowing the ensemble to whirl around her "singing" on the horn. Milojkovic's solo adds a pointillistic contrast as it weaves rock and jazz traditions through the bassline and crashing cymbal work establishing a wily Eastern groove. On "Trane," she multi-tracks her soprano and tenor horns in a mantra-esque statement backed by restrained waves of electric guitar, minimal bass, and percussion before the ensemble begins to play the skeletally architected meta-melody and Grossmann's delve into the gutbucket modal blues on the tenor. Golden Rule is an 87-minute journey; it soothes, provokes, exhorts, cajoles, and beckons the listener ever deeper into its inner articulations of peace and turbulence in Grossmann's always affirmative language that is as pregnant with spiritual meaning as it is breathtaking sophistication.~ Thom Jurek https://www.allmusic.com/album/golden-rule-mw0003241531

Personnel: Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Muriel Grossmann; Bass – Gina Schwarz; Drums – Uros Stamenkovic; Guitar – Radomir Milojkovic

Golden Rule

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