Tuesday, February 22, 2022
Frank Wess - Suprise, Surprise (Disc 1), (Disc 2)
Styles: Saxophone, Flute Jazz
Year: 1998
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 73:09
Size: 168,5 MB
Art: Front
(11:06) 1. All Or Nothing At All
( 8:05) 2. A Beautiful Friendship
(18:14) 3. My Funny Valentine
(11:15) 4. Estoril Sol
( 8:23) 5. One For Amos
( 7:38) 6. Firm Roots
( 8:25) 7. Nada Mas
Album: Suprise, Surprise (Disc 2)
Time: 57:33
Size: 132,5 MB
(11:14) 1. It Could Happen To You
(14:33) 2. All The Things You Are
(12:56) 3. On Green Dolphin Street
( 8:27) 4. Cottontail
(10:21) 5. Surprise, Surprise
This double CD comprises organized tunes from Wess with his quartet as well as some loose jam sessions withguest soloists over a span of four days aboard the S/S Norway for the Floating Jazz Festival. Wess himself has never sounded better, on tenor sax and especially on flute. Master piano accompanist Richard Wyands lifts the music to a higher level, Lynn Seaton is rock-solid rhythmically and unique amongst melodically oriented bassists, and drummer Winard Harper gives it his all throughout, yielding world-class, swinging results. Beginning with a pair of of good swingers to warm up, "All or Nothing at All" and "A Beautiful Friendship" establish the leader in firm control. Fellow tenor saxophonist Frank Foster then steps up for the tour de force ballad "My Funny Valentine," running over 18 minutes.
Then Wess and the trio take over for the remainder of the side: a Sam Jones-written quick bopper on flute, "One for Amos," with Seaton's grinding vocals á la Slam Stewart on Howlin' Wolf vitamins; the classic Cedar Walton piece "Firm Roots" and Wess' composition "Nada Mas," on which flute dances to a bossa beat. On the second disc it's time to stretch out and improvise at length. Wess and Foster work out on tenors for the romping, stomping "It Could Happen to You." Flip Phillips joins Wess on tenors for the flailing, hard-swinging "Cottontail," Phillips' tart-sweet sound contrasting the more ribald feeling of the leader. Then, with Wess on tenor for the title track finale - another original by Wess -- the quartet dishes out an easy swinger signifying the end of a show. His light blue tenor is chirping brightly, indicating he has plenty left for some other time.~Michael G.Nastoshttps://www.allmusic.com/album/surprise-surprise%21-live-at-the-1996-floating-jazz-festival-mw0000039309
Personnel: Frank Wess, tenor sax, flute; Richard Wyands, piano; Lynn Seaton, bass; Winard Harper, drums
Special guests: Frank Foster, Jimmy Heath and Flip Phillips, tenor sax.
Then Wess and the trio take over for the remainder of the side: a Sam Jones-written quick bopper on flute, "One for Amos," with Seaton's grinding vocals á la Slam Stewart on Howlin' Wolf vitamins; the classic Cedar Walton piece "Firm Roots" and Wess' composition "Nada Mas," on which flute dances to a bossa beat. On the second disc it's time to stretch out and improvise at length. Wess and Foster work out on tenors for the romping, stomping "It Could Happen to You." Flip Phillips joins Wess on tenors for the flailing, hard-swinging "Cottontail," Phillips' tart-sweet sound contrasting the more ribald feeling of the leader. Then, with Wess on tenor for the title track finale - another original by Wess -- the quartet dishes out an easy swinger signifying the end of a show. His light blue tenor is chirping brightly, indicating he has plenty left for some other time.~Michael G.Nastoshttps://www.allmusic.com/album/surprise-surprise%21-live-at-the-1996-floating-jazz-festival-mw0000039309
Personnel: Frank Wess, tenor sax, flute; Richard Wyands, piano; Lynn Seaton, bass; Winard Harper, drums
Special guests: Frank Foster, Jimmy Heath and Flip Phillips, tenor sax.
Suprise, Surprise (Disc 1),(Disc 2)
Renee Rosnes - Live at the Jazzhus Dexter
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:06
Size: 166,1 MB
Art: Front
(10:05) 1. Hackensack
( 6:01) 2. Body And Soul
(10:07) 3. Summer Night
(12:29) 4. With a Little Help From My Friends
( 8:02) 5. Recorda Me
( 5:54) 6. You Known I Care
( 6:49) 7. Little Spirit
( 6:32) 8. Lexicon
( 6:03) 9. Title
Renee Rosnes is one of the premier jazz pianists and composers of her generation. Upon moving to New York City from Vancouver, Canada, she quickly established a reputation of high regard, touring and recording with such masters as Joe Henderson, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Hutcherson, J.J. Johnson, James Moody, and legendary bassist Ron Carter. She was a charter member of the all-star ensemble, the SFJAZZ Collective, with whom she toured for six years.
Ms. Rosnes has released 17 recordings, and has appeared on many others as a sideman. In 2016, Written in the Rocks (Smoke Sessions) was named one of ten Best Jazz Albums of the Year by The Chicago Tribune, one of the Best Albums in all genres of music by The Nation, and was awarded a 2017 Canadian Juno (her fifth Juno award). JazzTimes wrote, “Ms. Rosnes delivers conceptual heft, suspenseful compositions and mesmerizing performances,” and DownBeat praised it as “an exceptional achievement” stating “Rosnes is a virtuoso composer.” The band’s most recent session, Beloved of the Sky (2018) draws inspiration for the title track from Canadian painter Emily Carr, and features master musicians Chris Potter, Steve Nelson, Peter Washington and Lenny White.
Renee has produced concerts at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and the 92nd Street Y in New York City. Renee is also the music director for ARTEMIS, a new all-star international band featuring the vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant, clarinetist Anat Cohen, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana, bassist Noriko Ueda and drummer Allison Miller.
Over her 30 year career, Rosnes has collaborated with a diverse range of artists, from established masters such as Jack DeJohnette and tabla master Zakir Hussain, to younger giants such as Christian McBride, Chris Potter, Nicholas Payton and Melissa Aldana. She is a formidable composer and in 2003 was named SOCAN’s Composer of the Year. Her works have been performed and recorded by Phil Woods, JJ Johnson, Lewis Nash, Joe Locke, the Danish Radio Big Band, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra, and trombonist Michael Dease.
From 2008-2010, Rosnes enjoyed her role as host of The Jazz Profiles, an interview series produced by CBC-Radio. Also in the role of jazz journalist, Renee has contributed two major cover story interviews for JazzTimes magazine, one with Wayne Shorter and his quartet (April 2013) and the other with the late pianist Geri Allen (September 2013).
Aside from her work as a leader, Rosnes is currently a member of bassist Ron Carter’s Quartet, and often performs with her husband, acclaimed pianist Bill Charlap. The couple released Double Portrait (Blue Note) of which Downbeat wrote: “The counterpoint and compatibilities are so perfectly balanced, the selections and arrangements so handsome, that ‘Double Portrait’ is a prize.” The piano duo was also featured on four tracks from the 2016 Grammy award winning album, Tony Bennett & Bill Charlap: The Silver Lining, The Songs of Jerome Kern. https://reneerosnes.com/biography/
Ms. Rosnes has released 17 recordings, and has appeared on many others as a sideman. In 2016, Written in the Rocks (Smoke Sessions) was named one of ten Best Jazz Albums of the Year by The Chicago Tribune, one of the Best Albums in all genres of music by The Nation, and was awarded a 2017 Canadian Juno (her fifth Juno award). JazzTimes wrote, “Ms. Rosnes delivers conceptual heft, suspenseful compositions and mesmerizing performances,” and DownBeat praised it as “an exceptional achievement” stating “Rosnes is a virtuoso composer.” The band’s most recent session, Beloved of the Sky (2018) draws inspiration for the title track from Canadian painter Emily Carr, and features master musicians Chris Potter, Steve Nelson, Peter Washington and Lenny White.
Renee has produced concerts at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and the 92nd Street Y in New York City. Renee is also the music director for ARTEMIS, a new all-star international band featuring the vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant, clarinetist Anat Cohen, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana, bassist Noriko Ueda and drummer Allison Miller.
Over her 30 year career, Rosnes has collaborated with a diverse range of artists, from established masters such as Jack DeJohnette and tabla master Zakir Hussain, to younger giants such as Christian McBride, Chris Potter, Nicholas Payton and Melissa Aldana. She is a formidable composer and in 2003 was named SOCAN’s Composer of the Year. Her works have been performed and recorded by Phil Woods, JJ Johnson, Lewis Nash, Joe Locke, the Danish Radio Big Band, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra, and trombonist Michael Dease.
From 2008-2010, Rosnes enjoyed her role as host of The Jazz Profiles, an interview series produced by CBC-Radio. Also in the role of jazz journalist, Renee has contributed two major cover story interviews for JazzTimes magazine, one with Wayne Shorter and his quartet (April 2013) and the other with the late pianist Geri Allen (September 2013).
Aside from her work as a leader, Rosnes is currently a member of bassist Ron Carter’s Quartet, and often performs with her husband, acclaimed pianist Bill Charlap. The couple released Double Portrait (Blue Note) of which Downbeat wrote: “The counterpoint and compatibilities are so perfectly balanced, the selections and arrangements so handsome, that ‘Double Portrait’ is a prize.” The piano duo was also featured on four tracks from the 2016 Grammy award winning album, Tony Bennett & Bill Charlap: The Silver Lining, The Songs of Jerome Kern. https://reneerosnes.com/biography/
Live at the Jazzhus Dexter
Harold Land - Promised Land
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:50
Size: 128,2 MB
Art: Front
( 8:33) 1. Inner Voice
( 7:16) 2. Ugly Beauty
( 9:17) 3. What's New?
(10:57) 4. Dark Mood
(12:30) 5. Like Someone In Love
( 7:14) 6. Mapenzi
Veteran tenor saxophonist Harold Land returns from a seven-year recording hiatus with Promised Land, featuring Mulgrew Miller on piano, Ray Drummond on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums. (Sadly, this would be one of Higgins's last sessions.) One would expect nothing other than beauty and grace from these four revered players, and that's what they deliver, aided by the Audiophoric label's "m-phoric" recording technology, designed to capture live acoustic performance with exceptional fidelity. (You'll need to increase your volume and give your ears a chance to adjust.) There's a bit of Coltrane and Joe Henderson in Land's playing and perhaps a bit of Charlie Rouse, too, as Monk's "Ugly Beauty" reveals. Miller is in excellent form, dueting with Land on a nine-minute-plus "What's New" and taking crisp, inventive solos throughout. The program is evenly split: three standards and three of Land's fairly straightforward, modal pieces.~David R.Adler https://www.allmusic.com/album/promised-land-mw0000003296
Personnel: Tenor Saxophone – Harold Land; Bass – Ray Drummond; Drums – Billy Higgins; Piano – Mulgrew Miller
Personnel: Tenor Saxophone – Harold Land; Bass – Ray Drummond; Drums – Billy Higgins; Piano – Mulgrew Miller
Promised Land
Nigel Price Organ Trio - Hit The Road
Time: 63:55
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz: Hammond Organ
Art: Front
01. Hit The Road (6:13)
02. Up Jumped Spring (7:55)
03. Chelsea Bridge (8:15)
04. Lover Man (8:40)
05. Dreamsville (7:30)
06. Go! (7:16)
07. Detour Ahead (7:18)
08. Bizzy Bee (6:37)
09. Hot Seat (Chas's Chair) (4:08)
Nigel Price, the British jazz guitarist devoted to such late guitar heroes as Wes Montgomery and Grant Green, cruises through some classic themes and compatible originals with the fine pairing of Pete Whittaker on Hammond organ and Matt Home on drums. But if Price and co tick all the boxes of this style, closer listening reveals their audacity and advanced techniques, particularly notable in the fluency with which they mix tempos and time signatures in between and sometimes within tracks. Up Jumped Spring splices two speeds of swing and fast-waltz passages; Chelsea Bridge gets a Latin feel; Lover Man is a fast samba with stop-start breaks but features some nimble swerves and a Django Reinhardt-like tone from the leader; and the delectable ballad Detour Ahead features the trio at their collective best. Saxophonist Vasilis Xenopoulos helps the band muscle through the hustling finale Hot Seat, a classic swing-to-bop gallop. This is a respectful celebration of a now-smooth tradition, but a very musical one. ~John Fordham
Hit The Road
Monday, February 21, 2022
Johnny Smith Trio - Easy Listening
Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1958/2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 32:27
Size: 76,0 MB
Art: Front
(2:49) 1. When I Fall In Love
(2:50) 2. It Might As Well Be Spring
(2:22) 3. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
(2:34) 4. Black Is The Colour (Of My True Love's Hair)
(2:38) 5. Like Someone In Love
(2:47) 6. You Don't Know What Love Is
(2:55) 7. Isn't It Romantic
(2:09) 8. I Remember The Corn Fields
(3:03) 9. A Foggy Day
(2:45) 10. Scarlet Ribbons
(2:56) 11. People Will Say We're In Love
(2:34) 12. The Nearness Of You
Easy Listening (2005 Remaster)
Year: 1958/2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 32:27
Size: 76,0 MB
Art: Front
(2:49) 1. When I Fall In Love
(2:50) 2. It Might As Well Be Spring
(2:22) 3. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
(2:34) 4. Black Is The Colour (Of My True Love's Hair)
(2:38) 5. Like Someone In Love
(2:47) 6. You Don't Know What Love Is
(2:55) 7. Isn't It Romantic
(2:09) 8. I Remember The Corn Fields
(3:03) 9. A Foggy Day
(2:45) 10. Scarlet Ribbons
(2:56) 11. People Will Say We're In Love
(2:34) 12. The Nearness Of You
Guitarist Johnny Smith will always be best remembered for his 1952 hit recording of "Moonlight in Vermont," a mellow ballad that also features Stan Getz. Smith, whose chordal-oriented style is self-taught, originally played trumpet, violin, and viola before switching to guitar. A studio musician from 1947 on, Smith's impressive technique and quiet sound made him in great demand even before "Moonlight" and, although he never had another hit, he was a popular attraction throughout the 1950s. After moving to Colorado in the 1960s he opened a music store, taught, and maintained a lower profile, occasionally recording in New York. ~ Editorial Reviews https://www.amazon.com/Easy-Listening-Johnny-Smith-Trio/dp/B001J8JTM2
Personnel: Guitar – Johnny Smith; Bass – George Roumanis; Drums – Charlie Mastropaolo
Personnel: Guitar – Johnny Smith; Bass – George Roumanis; Drums – Charlie Mastropaolo
Easy Listening (2005 Remaster)
Nigel Price - Fool's Gold
Time: 55:18
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2004
Styles: Jazz: Guitar Jazz, Hammond Organ
Art: Front
01. Booze Blooze (4:35)
02. Fool's Gold (8:17)
03. Blues Riff (4:54)
04. Friday The 14Th Part 1 (7:40)
05. Straight, No Bounce (6:13)
06. Alfredo (5:02)
07. Benson Edges (6:20)
08. Look For The Silver Lining (6:44)
09. S.O.S. (5:30)
Nigel Price - who led his organ trio to pick up the 2010 Parliamentary Jazz Award for “best jazz ensemble” is one of the most highly regarded and in demand guitarists on the UK jazz scene today.
He spent three years with UK funk legends - the James Taylor Quartet, placed third in the 2014 British Jazz Awards for “best guitarist” and is also a regular performer at Ronnie Scott’s, where he has played over 400 times.
His blend of flowing bebop lines, deep blues feeling and mastery of chording has made him instantly accessible and popular with jazz audiences.
He spent three years with UK funk legends - the James Taylor Quartet, placed third in the 2014 British Jazz Awards for “best guitarist” and is also a regular performer at Ronnie Scott’s, where he has played over 400 times.
His blend of flowing bebop lines, deep blues feeling and mastery of chording has made him instantly accessible and popular with jazz audiences.
Fool's Gold
Conte Candoli Quartet - Conte Candoli Quartet
Year: 1957
File: MP3@160K/s
Time: 31:42
Size: 36,3 MB
Art: Front
(4:06) 1. Something For Liza
(4:28) 2. Walkie Talkie
(3:15) 3. Flamingo
(4:22) 4. Mediolistic
(5:15) 5. Tara Ferma
(3:47) 6. Diane
(2:40) 7. No Moon At All
(3:48) 8. Mambo Blues
Reissued by the V.S.O.P. label, this session features the excellent bop trumpeter Conte Candoli in a quartet with pianist Vince Guaraldi, bassist Monty Budwig, and drummer Stan Levey. In addition to the joy of hearing Candoli so well-showcased, this set is recommended because of the interesting repertoire. In addition to "Flamingo," "Diane," and "No Moon at All," one gets to hear rare selections penned by the likes of Al Cohn, Osie Johnson, Conte's brother Pete Candoli, and the leader himself.~Scott Yanowhttps://www.allmusic.com/album/conte-candoli-quartet-mw0000122673
Personnel: Trumpet – Conte Candoli; Bass – Monty Budwig; Drums – Stan Levey; Piano – Vince Guaraldi
Personnel: Trumpet – Conte Candoli; Bass – Monty Budwig; Drums – Stan Levey; Piano – Vince Guaraldi
Conte Candoli Quartet
Melissa Errico - Out Of The Dark - The Film Noir Project
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 76:43
Size: 176,3 MB
Art: Front
(5:49) 1. Angel Eyes
(5:02) 2. With Every Breath I Take
(4:39) 3. It Was Written in the Stars
(3:57) 4. The Bad and the Beautiful
(5:52) 5. Haunted Heart
(2:58) 6. Amour, Amour
(5:39) 7. Silent Partner
(4:15) 8. Farewell, My Lovely
(4:07) 9. Laura
(5:18) 10. Blame It on My Youth
(3:29) 11. Checkin' My Heart
(4:50) 12. On Vit, On Aime
(4:10) 13. La Solitude
(5:01) 14. The Man That Got Away
(5:54) 15. Detour Ahead
(1:29) 16. Shadows and Light
(4:07) 17. Again
Melissa Errico is a Tony-nominated Broadway actress who has spent 30 years defying definition. While starring on Broadway and working off-Broadway and in television and film, and now as a writer, she has also steadily kept a keen eye on making ever-newer styles of music. Her new album Out Of The Dark, a cycle of “Noir” songs that reaches towards a new sense of what Noir can be, is only her latest adventure in redefining what a concert of great American (and sometimes French) songs can be and do.
Her first appearance on the intimate concert stage was when she became the youngest performer to ever work at the famed Cafe Carlyle, where she spent a month in an acclaimed cabaret act called New Standards, arranged and musically directed by Lee Musiker. Singing two shows a night and discovering how much she loved the 11 pm shows and the nightlife, a taste still reflected in the imagery of Out Of The Dark she was soon signed to a record deal by her first musical mentor, Bruce Lundvall of Blue Note Records. Under his guidance, Melissa’s solo debut album was the eclectic and jazz-inflected Blue Like That, arranged and produced by Arif Mardin, featuring songs from Richard Rodgers to Rickie Lee Jones. It marked the beginning of what has remained her unique position in the Broadway community as a singer who explores jazz and songwriter material with the same attention she gives Stephen Sondheim or any other great storytelling musician.
Closely associated with the music of Michel Legrand, after starring in his only Broadway musical, “Amour,” Melissa went on to make a symphonic album Legrand Affair - The Songs of Michel Legrand with the 100-piece Brussels Philharmonic (and an American jazz trio featuring Steve Gadd on drums) arranged and conducted by Legrand and produced by Phil Ramone, with Legrand at the piano. Upon Legrand’s passing, she was asked to write his eulogy by The New York Times and invited to become the only American performer to participate in the extraordinary two-day memorial to Legrand held in April 2019 at Paris’s Le Grand Rex Theatre. Her re-issued album of Legrand’s music, Legrand Affair Deluxe Edition (Ghostlight/ Warner Music Group), appeared in 2019 and led one critic to proclaim, “Errico is, and will continue to be, the premier interpreter of the musical legacy of Michel Legrand.”
Melissa has also made two studio albums produced by Rob Mathes, the first, Lullabies and Wildflowers (Velour/Universal 2008), was a set of songs about motherhood, while she and Mathes then collaborated a decade later on her path-breaking 2018 album Sondheim Sublime (Ghostlight/ Warner Music Group). Called “The best all-Sondheim album ever recorded” by The Wall Street Journal. The album generated superlatives among the fiercest Sondheim aficionados, with one critic writing that, “with the warm, gentle purr of vibrato that invades her exquisite delivery ever-present Ms. Errico engages, grabs and holds no matter what Sondheim song falls from her lips.”
Melissa’s gifts and ambitions as a writer have also become increasingly evident, with a series of much-talked-of essays in the New York Times, touching, with wit, wisdom, and insider mischief, on the many unseen aspects of the theatrical profession from the pleasures and pains of being a ‘terminal ingenue’ to the ambiguities of auditioning to the sheer pleasure of being fitted for a costume, post-pandemic. She is currently working on a memoir that will include and expand on these “Scenes from An Acting Life,” as the Times, in a rubric specially invented for her work, calls them.
Her vocation as a writer has also led her, in recent years and throughout the pandemic, to writing and performing unique and poignant concert experiences-- ranging from tributes to Sondheim, or Legrand and the French love song, to shows about the history of Manhattan and the Broadway masters of Bucks County. With scripts often co-written with her frequent lyricist and collaborator, the New Yorker essayist Adam Gopnik, Broadway World calls these concerts “one-of-a-kind shows that balance whimsy with intellect, hilarity with empathy, music with conversation, and always in a style so unique, so personal, so original that they might as well make a blueprint!” Another critic has said that “Melissa is in a constant state of creation, looking to grow as an artist, and when she puts out shows like this, she effectively grows the art form of cabaret.”
Her Broadway starring roles include My Fair Lady as Eliza Doolittle, Cole Porter’s High Society, Dracula, White Christmas (playing the role made famous by one of her idols Rosemary Clooney), Anna Karenina, Les Miserables, and Michel Legrand’s Amour; and her many Sondheim roles include Dot in Sunday In The Park With George at The Kennedy Center, opposite Raul Esparza; Clara in the hit John Doyle production of Passion at Classic Stage Company; and Leona in Do I Hear A Waltz? at New York City Center.
In addition, she has sung at The Ravinia Festival, Royal Festival Hall, and The Palladium in London, and with such orchestras as the NSO at The Kennedy Center and Wolf Trap, several times with Marvin Hamlisch conducting her; as well as with The Cleveland Orchestra, The San Diego Symphony, The New World Symphony with Michael Tilson Thomas, and at The Hollywood Bowl, Catalina Jazz in LA, Feinstein’s/54 Below, Birdland Jazz Club and Dizzy’s Club at Lincoln Center.” https://www.thefilmnoirproject.com/about.html
Thank you Flyingfinger!
Her first appearance on the intimate concert stage was when she became the youngest performer to ever work at the famed Cafe Carlyle, where she spent a month in an acclaimed cabaret act called New Standards, arranged and musically directed by Lee Musiker. Singing two shows a night and discovering how much she loved the 11 pm shows and the nightlife, a taste still reflected in the imagery of Out Of The Dark she was soon signed to a record deal by her first musical mentor, Bruce Lundvall of Blue Note Records. Under his guidance, Melissa’s solo debut album was the eclectic and jazz-inflected Blue Like That, arranged and produced by Arif Mardin, featuring songs from Richard Rodgers to Rickie Lee Jones. It marked the beginning of what has remained her unique position in the Broadway community as a singer who explores jazz and songwriter material with the same attention she gives Stephen Sondheim or any other great storytelling musician.
Closely associated with the music of Michel Legrand, after starring in his only Broadway musical, “Amour,” Melissa went on to make a symphonic album Legrand Affair - The Songs of Michel Legrand with the 100-piece Brussels Philharmonic (and an American jazz trio featuring Steve Gadd on drums) arranged and conducted by Legrand and produced by Phil Ramone, with Legrand at the piano. Upon Legrand’s passing, she was asked to write his eulogy by The New York Times and invited to become the only American performer to participate in the extraordinary two-day memorial to Legrand held in April 2019 at Paris’s Le Grand Rex Theatre. Her re-issued album of Legrand’s music, Legrand Affair Deluxe Edition (Ghostlight/ Warner Music Group), appeared in 2019 and led one critic to proclaim, “Errico is, and will continue to be, the premier interpreter of the musical legacy of Michel Legrand.”
Melissa has also made two studio albums produced by Rob Mathes, the first, Lullabies and Wildflowers (Velour/Universal 2008), was a set of songs about motherhood, while she and Mathes then collaborated a decade later on her path-breaking 2018 album Sondheim Sublime (Ghostlight/ Warner Music Group). Called “The best all-Sondheim album ever recorded” by The Wall Street Journal. The album generated superlatives among the fiercest Sondheim aficionados, with one critic writing that, “with the warm, gentle purr of vibrato that invades her exquisite delivery ever-present Ms. Errico engages, grabs and holds no matter what Sondheim song falls from her lips.”
Melissa’s gifts and ambitions as a writer have also become increasingly evident, with a series of much-talked-of essays in the New York Times, touching, with wit, wisdom, and insider mischief, on the many unseen aspects of the theatrical profession from the pleasures and pains of being a ‘terminal ingenue’ to the ambiguities of auditioning to the sheer pleasure of being fitted for a costume, post-pandemic. She is currently working on a memoir that will include and expand on these “Scenes from An Acting Life,” as the Times, in a rubric specially invented for her work, calls them.
Her vocation as a writer has also led her, in recent years and throughout the pandemic, to writing and performing unique and poignant concert experiences-- ranging from tributes to Sondheim, or Legrand and the French love song, to shows about the history of Manhattan and the Broadway masters of Bucks County. With scripts often co-written with her frequent lyricist and collaborator, the New Yorker essayist Adam Gopnik, Broadway World calls these concerts “one-of-a-kind shows that balance whimsy with intellect, hilarity with empathy, music with conversation, and always in a style so unique, so personal, so original that they might as well make a blueprint!” Another critic has said that “Melissa is in a constant state of creation, looking to grow as an artist, and when she puts out shows like this, she effectively grows the art form of cabaret.”
Her Broadway starring roles include My Fair Lady as Eliza Doolittle, Cole Porter’s High Society, Dracula, White Christmas (playing the role made famous by one of her idols Rosemary Clooney), Anna Karenina, Les Miserables, and Michel Legrand’s Amour; and her many Sondheim roles include Dot in Sunday In The Park With George at The Kennedy Center, opposite Raul Esparza; Clara in the hit John Doyle production of Passion at Classic Stage Company; and Leona in Do I Hear A Waltz? at New York City Center.
In addition, she has sung at The Ravinia Festival, Royal Festival Hall, and The Palladium in London, and with such orchestras as the NSO at The Kennedy Center and Wolf Trap, several times with Marvin Hamlisch conducting her; as well as with The Cleveland Orchestra, The San Diego Symphony, The New World Symphony with Michael Tilson Thomas, and at The Hollywood Bowl, Catalina Jazz in LA, Feinstein’s/54 Below, Birdland Jazz Club and Dizzy’s Club at Lincoln Center.” https://www.thefilmnoirproject.com/about.html
Thank you Flyingfinger!
Out Of The Dark - The Film Noir Project
Saturday, February 19, 2022
Lenny McBrowne And The 4 Souls - Complete Recordings feat. Gloria Smyth (Disc 1) And (Disc 2)
Album: Complete Recordings feat. Gloria Smyth (Disc 1)
Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:13
Size: 109,9 MB
Art: Front
(6:27) 1. Soul Sisters
(6:30) 2. Invitation
(4:51) 3. Dearly Beloved
(6:27) 4. Lazinka's Tune
(5:44) 5. Cerise
(2:49) 6. I Married An Angel
(4:04) 7. McBrowne's Galaxy
(2:32) 8. It Don't Mean A Thing
(3:29) 9. Sometimes I'm Happy
(2:14) 10. Running Wild
(2:02) 11. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child
Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:13
Size: 109,9 MB
Art: Front
(6:27) 1. Soul Sisters
(6:30) 2. Invitation
(4:51) 3. Dearly Beloved
(6:27) 4. Lazinka's Tune
(5:44) 5. Cerise
(2:49) 6. I Married An Angel
(4:04) 7. McBrowne's Galaxy
(2:32) 8. It Don't Mean A Thing
(3:29) 9. Sometimes I'm Happy
(2:14) 10. Running Wild
(2:02) 11. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child
Album: Complete Recordings feat. Gloria Smyth (Disc 2)
Time: 43:41
Size: 101,3 MB
(4:32) 1. Saudi
(5:45) 2. No Consideration
(6:15) 3. I Don't Know The Melody
(5:27) 4. Like Someone In Love
(7:41) 5. Eastern Lights
(4:16) 6. Even Dozen
(5:02) 7. Tryin' And Cryin'
(4:39) 8. Chicago Preferred
When Lenny McBrowne and the 4 Souls began gigging in Sacramento and San Francisco clubs they were critically hailed as the greatest promise for the future of West Coast jazz. The leader had gained much of his experience working with Harold Land and playing engagements with Sonny Rollins, Benny Golson and Curtis Fuller. His renowned finesse as a drummer was acquired while mastering the subtleties of his mentor, Max Roach. In these sessions for Pacific Jazz and Riverside, he showed he had become one of the top drummers on the jazz scene, and his young musiciansaverage age 25swing hard as a unit. Terry Trotter, Don Sleet and Daniel Jackson are here on top of the demands he placed on them.
They also gave singer Gloria Smyth strong support in the session she recorded with them, lending distinctive backing to launch the career of this fine young talent. But what stands out here above all is the rare gift of cohesion, thoroughly mastered by Lenny McBrowne and the 4 Souls. https://www.freshsoundrecords.com/lenny-mcbrowne-albums/5470-lenny-mc-browne-and-the-4-souls-complete-recordings-2-lps-on-2-cds-bonus-tracks.html
Personnel: Lenny McBrowne (d), Donald Sleet (tp), Daniel Jackson (ts), Terry Trotter (p), Herbie Lewis (b on CD-1), Jimmy Bond (b on CD-2). Gloria Smyth (vcl on CD-1 #8-11).
Disc 1, Track #11 features only Gloria Smyth accompanied by Terry Trotter and Herbie Lewis.
Personnel: Lenny McBrowne (d), Donald Sleet (tp), Daniel Jackson (ts), Terry Trotter (p), Herbie Lewis (b on CD-1), Jimmy Bond (b on CD-2). Gloria Smyth (vcl on CD-1 #8-11).
Disc 1, Track #11 features only Gloria Smyth accompanied by Terry Trotter and Herbie Lewis.
Conte Candoli - Conte-Nuity
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:42
Size: 158,0 MB
Art: Front
(5:28) 1. Ray's Idea
(3:44) 2. Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me
(5:11) 3. Jive at Five
(5:36) 4. Easy Street
(5:41) 5. Caravan
(7:38) 6. Nostalgia
(6:00) 7. Little Jazz
(6:19) 8. Stockholm Sweetnin'
(4:54) 9. You're a Lucky Guy
(7:30) 10. Rockin' Chair
(6:41) 11. Tun Up
(3:56) 12. Serenade to Sweden
This is another wonderful recording documenting the trumpet artistry of another great trumpet legend. Conte plays with elegance, skill and a tone that is so distinct. The label fresh sounds had done it again to only produce the best in jazz. Conte is a Ray Brown to trumpet players, he is so versatile and has been recording with only the best in the business. To have a solo album featuring Conte you are guaranteed to get the best quality in jazz you can listen to. Conte you are a true legend and this cd is a real gem. This this cd before it gets deleted. https://www.freshsoundrecords.com/conte-candoli-albums/1139-conte-nuity.html
Personnel: Conte Candoli (trumpet); Jan Lundgren (piano); Chuck Berghofer (bass); Joe LaBarbera (drums).
Personnel: Conte Candoli (trumpet); Jan Lundgren (piano); Chuck Berghofer (bass); Joe LaBarbera (drums).
Conte-Nuity
David Benoit - A Midnight Rendezvous
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:10
Size: 105,5 MB
Art: Front
(4:37) 1. A Midnight Rendezvous
(3:57) 2. Pioneer Town
(4:07) 3. The Bones
(5:08) 4. Floating
(4:14) 5. Long Journey Home
(3:21) 6. @Home
(4:59) 7. You Make Me Smile
(5:49) 8. Generations
(5:20) 9. Waiting For Spring
(3:35) 10. Cabin Fever
After a musical career spanning more than 40 years, pianist and composer David Benoit can rightfully be called a legend. He has always eluded stylistic classification, yet his works circle between contemporary jazz, smooth jazz and jazz. Thus, his new album A Midnight Rendevous, which will be released on February 18, 2022 on Shanachie Entertainment, also offers a colorful bouquet of melodies of different styles. The album is one of those rare today, which with concentrated manpower, implement his musical ideas. Details of the musicians involved in the recording can be found in the credits. To top it all off, the album closes with three recordings made with a big band under Benoit's direction.
The theme of the midnight hour has already occupied Benoit with his famous album and song Freedom At Midnight (1987) and has not let him go since. Thus, tying in with this, he opens his album with the title A Midnight Rendezvous. Berry Gordy, legendary founder of Motown Records loved jazz, smooth harmonies, pretty melodies: "When I heard the song, I clapped my hands and thought: My Goodness!" In effect David Benoit has written such a hit with this new song, that immediately puts you under its spell.
On Pioneer Town David meets keyboardist Jeff Lorber who not only accompanies David's superb piano performance with discreet keyboard sounds and his well-known synth bass, but also refines it in a nuanced way. The Bones is a very attractive song by American singer Maren Morris for her album Girl (2019). Regardless of the profound and uplifting lyrics, the melody deserves a very own autonomy, perfectly staged by David Benoit and his friends. With Floating David Benoit returns to the realm of melodious contemporary jazz which hides a story for which storyteller David Benoit is so well known. Justin Klunk sets some smooth accents on soprano sax. Long Journey Home, a collaboration with bassist Roberto Vally, spreads the aura of a crime film score.
The soulful @Home is anew dominated by Justin Klunk's soprano sax who skillfully accompanies David's thoughtful piano playing. Dave Koz has written You Make Me Smile for his album Lucky Man (1993) and presented a fresh version on his album Live From The Dave Koz Cruise (2019). David takes on the theme in his very own way, internalizing it in his contemplative piano playing. The album closes with three pieces that show the most diverse facets, but have one crucial thing in common. The orchestral buildup in a big band arrangement that seamlessly follows the great big band days of the 50s. David Benoit stays true to himself and his style with A Midnight Rendevous and offers his loyal fans exactly what they expect from him. This is what makes him so successful over the many years. http://www.smooth-jazz.de/firstview/Benoit/AMidnightRendezvous.htm
Personnel: David Benoit-Piano, Conductor, Arranger, Orchestrator; Eric Marienthal-Alto sax, Contractor; Sal Lozano-Alto Sax; Gordon Goodwin-Tenor Sax; Jay Mason-Baritone sax; Wayne Bergeron-Trumpet; Dan Fornero-Trumpet; Dan Rosenblum-Trumpet; Francisco Torres-Trombone; Charlie Morillas-Bass trombone; Dan Schnelle-Drums; Roberto Vally-Acoustic Bass; Kei Benoit, June Benoit-Music Preparation
The theme of the midnight hour has already occupied Benoit with his famous album and song Freedom At Midnight (1987) and has not let him go since. Thus, tying in with this, he opens his album with the title A Midnight Rendezvous. Berry Gordy, legendary founder of Motown Records loved jazz, smooth harmonies, pretty melodies: "When I heard the song, I clapped my hands and thought: My Goodness!" In effect David Benoit has written such a hit with this new song, that immediately puts you under its spell.
On Pioneer Town David meets keyboardist Jeff Lorber who not only accompanies David's superb piano performance with discreet keyboard sounds and his well-known synth bass, but also refines it in a nuanced way. The Bones is a very attractive song by American singer Maren Morris for her album Girl (2019). Regardless of the profound and uplifting lyrics, the melody deserves a very own autonomy, perfectly staged by David Benoit and his friends. With Floating David Benoit returns to the realm of melodious contemporary jazz which hides a story for which storyteller David Benoit is so well known. Justin Klunk sets some smooth accents on soprano sax. Long Journey Home, a collaboration with bassist Roberto Vally, spreads the aura of a crime film score.
The soulful @Home is anew dominated by Justin Klunk's soprano sax who skillfully accompanies David's thoughtful piano playing. Dave Koz has written You Make Me Smile for his album Lucky Man (1993) and presented a fresh version on his album Live From The Dave Koz Cruise (2019). David takes on the theme in his very own way, internalizing it in his contemplative piano playing. The album closes with three pieces that show the most diverse facets, but have one crucial thing in common. The orchestral buildup in a big band arrangement that seamlessly follows the great big band days of the 50s. David Benoit stays true to himself and his style with A Midnight Rendevous and offers his loyal fans exactly what they expect from him. This is what makes him so successful over the many years. http://www.smooth-jazz.de/firstview/Benoit/AMidnightRendezvous.htm
Personnel: David Benoit-Piano, Conductor, Arranger, Orchestrator; Eric Marienthal-Alto sax, Contractor; Sal Lozano-Alto Sax; Gordon Goodwin-Tenor Sax; Jay Mason-Baritone sax; Wayne Bergeron-Trumpet; Dan Fornero-Trumpet; Dan Rosenblum-Trumpet; Francisco Torres-Trombone; Charlie Morillas-Bass trombone; Dan Schnelle-Drums; Roberto Vally-Acoustic Bass; Kei Benoit, June Benoit-Music Preparation
A Midnight Rendezvous
Friday, February 18, 2022
Jack Jezzro - Best Of Green Hill Music: The 50s Collection
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 74:25
Size: 173,7 MB
Art: Front
(4:11) 1. Only You
(3:48) 2. My Special Angel
(4:07) 3. Theme From 'A Summer Place'
(3:31) 4. Put Your Head On My Shoulder
(3:58) 5. Love Letters In The Sand
(4:08) 6. Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)
(3:18) 7. The Great Pretender
(4:19) 8. All I Have To Do Is Dream
(4:25) 9. Dream Lover
(4:53) 10. I Only Have Eyes For You
(4:50) 11. Donna
(4:12) 12. Blueberry Hill
(4:19) 13. Twilight Time
(4:21) 14. In The Still Of The Night
(4:06) 15. Secretly
(4:15) 16. Young Love
(3:43) 17. Since I Met You Baby
(3:54) 18. True Love Ways
Jack Jezzro is a musician and producer who has enjoyed a long and successful career as a studio musician, accompanying a wide variety of major artists on their recordings, as well as crafting his own albums in which he shows off his talent and versatility as a guitarist. Jezzro was born in Rivesville, West Virginia on December 2, 1957. He had a keen interest in music from an early age, starting to play the piano when he was just three. He taught himself to play guitar from listening to records by Chet Atkins, and in his teens, he learned to break down the individual parts from songs he loved by Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, and the Doobie Brothers. After high school, Jezzro studied at West Virginia University; their music school didn't have a program for the guitar, but Jezzro could also play the bass, and his skills on the instrument led to him to a membership in the Charleston Symphony Orchestra while still attending WVU.
Jezzro went on to attend the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he was mentored by noted bassist James VanDemark. Just as he did at WVU, Jezzro soon joined the local symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, as a bassist, while also honing his chops as a jazz guitarist. In 1981, he relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, where he became the bassist with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, a position he held for ten years. In the mid-'80s, he made his way into the prestigious world of session work when he became part of the Nashville String Machine, a string section for hire that regularly appeared on recordings by some of the major stars of country and pop music, from Garth Brooks and Faith Hill to Bruce Springsteen and Matchbox 20. In 1988, Jezzro stepped out as a solo artist with the release of his first album as a headliner,
Step on It,which was released in Japan by Pony Canyon Records.(A revised edition of the disc was released in the United States as A Day's Journey.) Over the next 30 years, Jezzro would release a steady stream of jazz, country, pop, Latin, and inspirational albums (most through the Green Hill label) that focused on his tasteful but expert guitar work and his interplay with other musicians. Jezzro also continued to work steadily as a session player and a producer, overseeing his own sessions as well as those of other Green Hill artists. His work as an artist and producer has earned him one Grammy nomination and seven Dove Award nominations to date. The prolific bassist has played on or produced over 300 albums, and in 2017 alone, he produced By Request: Most Requested Songs for jazz pianist Beegie Adair, released his own album Sinatra on Guitar, and brought out a sequel to his 2010 album Christmas Jazz titled Christmas Jazz 2.~Mark Deming https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jack-jezzro-mn0000779112/biography
Jezzro went on to attend the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he was mentored by noted bassist James VanDemark. Just as he did at WVU, Jezzro soon joined the local symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, as a bassist, while also honing his chops as a jazz guitarist. In 1981, he relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, where he became the bassist with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, a position he held for ten years. In the mid-'80s, he made his way into the prestigious world of session work when he became part of the Nashville String Machine, a string section for hire that regularly appeared on recordings by some of the major stars of country and pop music, from Garth Brooks and Faith Hill to Bruce Springsteen and Matchbox 20. In 1988, Jezzro stepped out as a solo artist with the release of his first album as a headliner,
Step on It,which was released in Japan by Pony Canyon Records.(A revised edition of the disc was released in the United States as A Day's Journey.) Over the next 30 years, Jezzro would release a steady stream of jazz, country, pop, Latin, and inspirational albums (most through the Green Hill label) that focused on his tasteful but expert guitar work and his interplay with other musicians. Jezzro also continued to work steadily as a session player and a producer, overseeing his own sessions as well as those of other Green Hill artists. His work as an artist and producer has earned him one Grammy nomination and seven Dove Award nominations to date. The prolific bassist has played on or produced over 300 albums, and in 2017 alone, he produced By Request: Most Requested Songs for jazz pianist Beegie Adair, released his own album Sinatra on Guitar, and brought out a sequel to his 2010 album Christmas Jazz titled Christmas Jazz 2.~Mark Deming https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jack-jezzro-mn0000779112/biography
Best Of Green Hill Music :The 50s Collection
Nancy Wilson - Live At The Syracuse Jazz Disc 1, Disc 2
Styles: Vocal
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:18
Size: 116,9 MB
Art: Front
(16:30) 1. Night in Tunisia
(16:00) 2. Manteca
( 7:36) 3. Things To Come
( 3:32) 4. Strike Up The Band
( 6:37) 5. More Love
Album: Live At The Syracuse Jazz Disc 2
Time: 40:10
Size: 94,1 MB
( 4:10) 1. I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart
( 5:49) 2. I Can't Make You Love Me
(10:09) 3. It Don't Mean a Thing If it Ain't Got that Swing
( 5:09) 4. All Of Me
( 8:34) 5. You'll See-My Funny Valentine
( 6:16) 6. False start-Announcements-Day in, Day Out
American jazz singer Nancy Wilson, an award-winning singer whose beguiling expressiveness in jazz, R&B, gospel, soul and pop, made her a crossover recording star for five decades and who also had a prolific career as an actress, activist and commercial spokeswoman. Wilson resisted the label of “jazz singer” for much of her career, although jazz was the form to which she returned time and again and in which she had her greatest critical and popular success. She considered herself above all “a song stylist,” she once told The Washington Post. “That’s my essence,” she said, “to weave words, to be dramatic.”
She sought to meld the seemingly incongruous styles of her two greatest influences: the ethereal Jimmy Scott and the penetrating and sultry Dinah Washington. Wilson’s singing was at once regal and vulnerable, and she inspired two generations of singers, including Patti LaBelle, Anita Baker and Nnenna Freelon. “She has such a classy sound, but she’s never afraid to be a woman, or to tell it like it is,” Freelon once told the San Jose Mercury News.
Jazz historian and critic Will Friedwald, in his volume “A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers,” called Wilson a formidable presence in pop, jazz and blues - “the most important vocalist to come along after these three genres were codified and move freely among them.” She passed away in 2018 at the age of 81.http://bigozine2.com/roio/?p=5343
She sought to meld the seemingly incongruous styles of her two greatest influences: the ethereal Jimmy Scott and the penetrating and sultry Dinah Washington. Wilson’s singing was at once regal and vulnerable, and she inspired two generations of singers, including Patti LaBelle, Anita Baker and Nnenna Freelon. “She has such a classy sound, but she’s never afraid to be a woman, or to tell it like it is,” Freelon once told the San Jose Mercury News.
Jazz historian and critic Will Friedwald, in his volume “A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers,” called Wilson a formidable presence in pop, jazz and blues - “the most important vocalist to come along after these three genres were codified and move freely among them.” She passed away in 2018 at the age of 81.http://bigozine2.com/roio/?p=5343
Live At The Syracuse Jazz Disc 2
Roland Hanna - Swing Me No Waltzes
Year: 1979
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:33
Size: 157,7 MB
Art: Front
(6:10) 1. I Hear You Knockin' But You Can't Come In - Blues
(1:59) 2. Some Kind Of Folk Song
(3:40) 3. A Little Sweetnin' For Sweden
(4:38) 4. Free Spirit - Free Style
(4:19) 5. Everything But You
(4:04) 6. Swing Me No Waltzes
(4:22) 7. Lullabye For Cedric
(4:35) 8. Antecipacion
(7:08) 9. Roses Not Mums
(2:27) 10. Love For Sale
(3:09) 11. Blue Lou
(5:23) 12. Afterglow
(1:26) 13. Blue Lilly
(3:37) 14. Miles Ahead
(7:00) 15. Autumn Leaves
(4:30) 16. Pastel
This CD reissue brings back the original LP (recorded in 1979) plus seven compatible selections from 1973 that were previously unreleased. Throughout, Hanna (who is usually heard in a trio) plays unaccompanied piano solos. Of the 16 selections, ten are by Hanna, and he proves to be an underrated composer whose songs deserve to be covered by others. Hanna's roots are in swing and Duke Ellington, and that aspect of his musical personality is here, along with some more adventurous moments. A strong outing by a brilliant and distinctive pianist.~Scott Yanowhttps://www.allmusic.com/album/swing-me-no-waltzes-mw0000609492
Personnel: Piano – Sir Roland Hanna
Personnel: Piano – Sir Roland Hanna
Swing Me No Waltzes
Melissa Errico - Sondheim Sublime
Styles: Vocal
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:55
Size: 138,6 MB
Art: Front
(3:34) 1. Sooner or Later
(3:49) 2. Loving You
(4:27) 3. I Remember
(3:56) 4. No More
(4:05) 5. The Miller's Son
(4:50) 6. Losing My Mind
(4:06) 7. Send in the Clowns
(3:42) 8. Not While I'm Around
(4:32) 9. Not a Day Goes By / Marry Me a Little
(4:16) 10. Children Will Listen
(3:35) 11. Isn't He Something
(3:39) 12. Move On
(2:36) 13. Goodbye for Now
(3:20) 14. With so Little to Be Sure Of
(5:21) 15. Children and Art
Sondheim Sublime
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:55
Size: 138,6 MB
Art: Front
(3:34) 1. Sooner or Later
(3:49) 2. Loving You
(4:27) 3. I Remember
(3:56) 4. No More
(4:05) 5. The Miller's Son
(4:50) 6. Losing My Mind
(4:06) 7. Send in the Clowns
(3:42) 8. Not While I'm Around
(4:32) 9. Not a Day Goes By / Marry Me a Little
(4:16) 10. Children Will Listen
(3:35) 11. Isn't He Something
(3:39) 12. Move On
(2:36) 13. Goodbye for Now
(3:20) 14. With so Little to Be Sure Of
(5:21) 15. Children and Art
In Sondheim Sublime, Melissa Errico shows us a side of Stephen Sondheim’s music that no singer has explored so completely before. It’s not the satiric or slyly disillusioned Sondheim – it’s the soulful Sondheim, the heartfelt, hungering Sondheim, author of songs of aching love and slowly dawning wisdom, the exalted, and reflective Sondheim: Sondheim Sublime. Accompanied by pianist Tedd Firth, Errico sings in a tone by turns hushed, electric and ecstatic, giving us a new understanding of the emotional intensity that has always equaled Sondheim’s virtuosic verbal magic. It’s a program of songs of love and life lessons, including a perfectly protective mother’s version of “Not While I’m Around” – while still having time for a provocative “Sooner or Later.” An album to place alongside her earlier Legrand Affair and Lullabies & Wildflowers as part of a uniquely lyrical and romantic library, Sondheim Sublime is an Errico album meant for the three-o-clocks in the mornings of the soul, when love is lost and wisdoms sought from one wise friend. Bio: Melissa is best known for her starring roles on Broadway in the musicals My Fair Lady, Anna Karenina, High Society, Dracula, White Christmas and Amour, which won her a Tony nomination for “Best Actress” and began a longtime association with its composer Michel Legrand. She has also been a recording artist and concert singer, releasing several solo albums and working with some of the world’s best symphonies and in jazz and cabaret spaces. More recently, she has been establishing a reputation as a writer, publishing essays in The New York Times and beyond. Television roles include the series Central Park West by Darren Star, recurring roles on Steven Soderbergh’s The Knick, and Showtime’s Billions. Melissa has also recently finished shooting a role in The Magnificent Meyersons, an Eric Oppenheimer film with Kate Mulgrew. ~ Editorial Reviews https://www.amazon.com/Sondheim-Sublime-Melissa-Errico/dp/B07HC5H94C
Sondheim Sublime
Thursday, February 17, 2022
Dave Brubeck, Tony Bennett - Vocal Encounters
Styles: Vocal, Piano Jazz
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:02
Size: 133,9 MB
Art: Front
(3:18) 1. That Old Black Magic
(3:14) 2. Summer Song
(3:58) 3. My Melancholy Baby (with Jimmy Rushing)
(1:56) 4. It's a Raggy Waltz
(3:06) 5. The Real Ambassador
(2:37) 6. My One Bad Habit
(3:17) 7. Because All Men Are Brothers
(2:06) 8. There'll Be Some Changes Made
(2:48) 9. Weep No More
(4:38) 10. Cultural Exchange
(2:54) 11. Travelin' Blues - Live
(3:21) 12. Ain't Misbehavin' (with Jimmy Rushing)
(5:27) 13. They Say I Look Like God
(2:29) 14. In The Lurch
(2:21) 15. Autumn In Our Town
(2:31) 16. Since Love Had Its Way
(4:37) 17. Blues in the Dark (with Jimmy Rushing)
(2:15) 18. Take Five (with The Dave Brubeck Quartet) - Single Version
Vocal Encounters
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:02
Size: 133,9 MB
Art: Front
(3:18) 1. That Old Black Magic
(3:14) 2. Summer Song
(3:58) 3. My Melancholy Baby (with Jimmy Rushing)
(1:56) 4. It's a Raggy Waltz
(3:06) 5. The Real Ambassador
(2:37) 6. My One Bad Habit
(3:17) 7. Because All Men Are Brothers
(2:06) 8. There'll Be Some Changes Made
(2:48) 9. Weep No More
(4:38) 10. Cultural Exchange
(2:54) 11. Travelin' Blues - Live
(3:21) 12. Ain't Misbehavin' (with Jimmy Rushing)
(5:27) 13. They Say I Look Like God
(2:29) 14. In The Lurch
(2:21) 15. Autumn In Our Town
(2:31) 16. Since Love Had Its Way
(4:37) 17. Blues in the Dark (with Jimmy Rushing)
(2:15) 18. Take Five (with The Dave Brubeck Quartet) - Single Version
Dave and Iola Brubeck wrote most of the songs on this vocal compilation, including excerpts from their show The Real Ambassadors. Culled from several early 1960s releases, each selection features a singer or singers. Two previously unreleased tracks are included: a take of “It’s A Raggy Waltz” with Carmen McRae and an arrangement of “Autumn In Our Town” with whispery singer Ranny Sinclair. The refreshing “Raggy Waltz” works well as a vocal number, while “Autumn In Our Town” proves to be much less effective. The combination of Sinclair’s pure, young and innocent voice alongside harsher pickups of guitar and piano creates problems. Precious moments include Paul Desmond’s few appearances, Tony Bennett’s “That Old Black Magic” thrill, the firm confidence of both Rushing and McRae, Louis Armstrong’s storytellin’ and LHR’s dazzling scat display. Brubeck and Desmond both provide examples of their best solo work on “Ain’t Misbehavin’” with Rushing. Lambert, Hendricks and Ross work hand in hand with Armstrong on The Real Ambassadors selections to remind the world that jazz is indeed a universal language. Featuring its own cast of expressive singers, the Vocal Encounters compilation offers the reader an interesting program on CD. ~ Jim Santella https://www.allaboutjazz.com/vocal-encounters-dave-brubeck-columbia-records-review-by-jim-santella.php
Personnel: Dave Brubeck- piano; Paul Desmond- alto saxophone; Eugene Wright- bass; Joe Morello- drums; Danny Barcelona- drums; Trummy Young- trombone; Joe Darensbourg- clarinet; Louis Armstrong- trumpet, vocal; Tony Bennett, Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, Jimmy Rushing, Carmen McRae, Peter, Paul & Mary, Ranny Sinclair- vocals; other instrumentalists.
Personnel: Dave Brubeck- piano; Paul Desmond- alto saxophone; Eugene Wright- bass; Joe Morello- drums; Danny Barcelona- drums; Trummy Young- trombone; Joe Darensbourg- clarinet; Louis Armstrong- trumpet, vocal; Tony Bennett, Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, Jimmy Rushing, Carmen McRae, Peter, Paul & Mary, Ranny Sinclair- vocals; other instrumentalists.
Vocal Encounters
Jay Azzolina - Past Tense
Year: 2000
File: MP3@128K/s
Time: 62:12
Size: 58,1 MB
Art: Front
( 8:35) 1. Ben Hur, Ben Him
( 7:42) 2. Inside Pies Eyes
( 8:57) 3. Black Waltz
( 7:31) 4. Lil' Red
(10:24) 5. The Totem
( 5:53) 6. Rhythms Change
( 6:53) 7. Marvelous Marvin
( 6:14) 8. My Ship
Known for his pop-fusion work with Spyro Gyra, Michael Franks, and others, guitarist Jay Azzolina steps into the straight-ahead jazz arena with this record. The lineup is heavy: Chris Potter on sax, Charles Blenzig on piano, John Patitucci on bass, and Adam Nussbaum on drums. Fleet-fingered lines and burning swing abound on "Ben Hur, Ben Him" and "Rhythms Change." Darker, more delicate sounds emerge from "The Totem" and "Black Waltz." "Inside Pies Eyes" and "Marvelous Marvin" recall the pared-down trio music of John Scofield’s Shinola and Out Like a Light, while "Lil’ Red" recalls the piano/guitar duels of Scofield’s Rough House. Indeed, Azzolina’s writing and edgy guitar sound owe much perhaps a little too much to Scofield. At times his style is derivative, his tone a bit thin and nasal.
Also on the down side, Azzolina closes the album with a hopelessly cheesy version of Kurt Weill’s "My Ship," featuring his wife Jill Azzolina on vocals. It’s the final uneven moment of this somewhat uneven album. However, Azzolina’s prowess as a player is not in doubt, and his alliances with musicians like Potter and Patitucci promise better things to come.~David Adler https://www.allaboutjazz.com/past-tense-jay-azzolina-double-time-jazz-review-by-david-adler
Also on the down side, Azzolina closes the album with a hopelessly cheesy version of Kurt Weill’s "My Ship," featuring his wife Jill Azzolina on vocals. It’s the final uneven moment of this somewhat uneven album. However, Azzolina’s prowess as a player is not in doubt, and his alliances with musicians like Potter and Patitucci promise better things to come.~David Adler https://www.allaboutjazz.com/past-tense-jay-azzolina-double-time-jazz-review-by-david-adler
Past Tense
Franco Ambrosetti - Cycladic Moods
Styles: Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:11
Size: 146,8 MB
Art: Front
( 8:38) 1. Instant Correlation
( 3:34) 2. Cycladic Suite: Mystic Dawn
( 6:19) 3. Cycladic Suite: Agean Waves
( 3:52) 4. Cycladic Suite: Seven Bofors
( 2:49) 5. Cycladic Suite: Where the Sun Never Sets
( 6:59) 6. In Real Time
(21:31) 7. Mirobop
( 4:56) 8. Blues for My Friends
( 3:28) 9. Peace
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:11
Size: 146,8 MB
Art: Front
( 8:38) 1. Instant Correlation
( 3:34) 2. Cycladic Suite: Mystic Dawn
( 6:19) 3. Cycladic Suite: Agean Waves
( 3:52) 4. Cycladic Suite: Seven Bofors
( 2:49) 5. Cycladic Suite: Where the Sun Never Sets
( 6:59) 6. In Real Time
(21:31) 7. Mirobop
( 4:56) 8. Blues for My Friends
( 3:28) 9. Peace
If piano is the instrument on which Europeans are most prominent in jazz, trumpet is next: Think Tomasz Stanko, Enrico Rava, Kenny Wheeler and, more recently, Mathias Eick. Franco Ambrosetti is in that mix. He often works in groups led by bassist Miroslav Vitous, where his selective contributions can be striking in their off-center lyricism. But Ambrosetti’s latest album as a leader is more nice than striking. In the current jazz marketplace, flooded with CDs, nice does not get you noticed. In his liner notes, Ambrosetti says that working with Vitous exposed him to “a different, wider and surprising world ... away from the well-known orthodoxy.” Yet Cycladic Moods is often predictable, even generic, within in its category of postmodern modal jazz.
Competency is not an issue. Pianist Geri Allen sounds somewhat under wraps, but her measured forays are poetic. Tenor saxophonist Abraham Burton is conventional yet muscular and fluent. Ambrosetti’s own solos, in his wide range of trumpet colors, are always personal. Drummer Nasheet Waits makes this refined music snap. The only weak link is Ambrosetti’s son Gianluca, with his thin, unattractive soprano saxophone tone. The centerpiece is not the suite that gives the album its name, but “Mirobop,” a 21-minute breakout on a line by Vitous. This is the track intended to embody the ensemble objectives announced by Ambrosetti in his liner notes: “free improvisation” and “unexpected new paths” based on “intense listening to each other.” But because the spontaneous exchanges conform to familiar patterns of the free-jazz genre, they are less exciting than Ambrosetti intends. But then you come to the last song, a lovely, fervent reading of Horace Silver’s “Peace” by Ambrosetti and Allen, and you think, perhaps there is no such thing as too many nice jazz albums.
Competency is not an issue. Pianist Geri Allen sounds somewhat under wraps, but her measured forays are poetic. Tenor saxophonist Abraham Burton is conventional yet muscular and fluent. Ambrosetti’s own solos, in his wide range of trumpet colors, are always personal. Drummer Nasheet Waits makes this refined music snap. The only weak link is Ambrosetti’s son Gianluca, with his thin, unattractive soprano saxophone tone. The centerpiece is not the suite that gives the album its name, but “Mirobop,” a 21-minute breakout on a line by Vitous. This is the track intended to embody the ensemble objectives announced by Ambrosetti in his liner notes: “free improvisation” and “unexpected new paths” based on “intense listening to each other.” But because the spontaneous exchanges conform to familiar patterns of the free-jazz genre, they are less exciting than Ambrosetti intends. But then you come to the last song, a lovely, fervent reading of Horace Silver’s “Peace” by Ambrosetti and Allen, and you think, perhaps there is no such thing as too many nice jazz albums.
~ Thomas Conrad
http://jazztimes.com/articles/54359-cycladic-moods-franco-ambrosetti
Massimo Farao,' Francesca Tandoi - La musica di Franco Califano
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:30
Size: 86,4 MB
Art: Front
(6:40) 1. Un Tempo Piccolo
(4:05) 2. Tutto Il Resto E' Noia
(4:51) 3. Semo Gente Di Borgata
(5:02) 4. La Mia Liberta'
(3:30) 5. Io Me Mbriaco
(4:45) 6. L'Ultimo Amico Va Via
(3:56) 7. Tac
(4:38) 8. La Vacanza Di Fine Settimana
MASSIMO FARAO'"The blackest of Italian pianists" was born May 16th, 1965, in Genoa. He studied piano with Maestro Flavio Crivelli and began his career collaborating with musicians from the Genoa Area, especially with the bassist Piero Leveratto. In 1993 he was invited for the first time in the USA. He plays with Red Holloway and Albert "Tootie" Heath on a tour on the West Coast. In the same year he founded "We love Jazz" Workshop, now become one of the biggest events in Europe for jazz teaching.
In 1994 he was hired by "Monad Records" in New York and back in the United States as pianoplayer and music director of Shawnn Monteiro's band, with Keter Betts and Bobby Durham. He has played in several european tours with the Nat Adderley Quintet, composed by Antonio Hart, Walter Booker and Jimmy Cobb. In 2001 he joined the Archie Shepp's "Just in Time" Quartet with Wayne Dockery and Bobby Durham. Since 2001 he is the artistic director for the jazz division of AZZURRA MUSIC label. In 2003 he played at "Jazz Piano Festival" in Lucerne.
In November 2004 he played in Japan, where his albums have become bestsellers. He played in Italy, France, Germany, Corsica, Switzerland, Hungary, Austria, USA, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Dubai, Luxembourg, Spain, Japan, Yugoslavia,Canada. From 2014 he recorded 12 cd for Venus Records the famous japanese jazz label. He has recorded more than 2 hundred Cds with many Italian and foreign musicians.More.. https://www.massimofarao.com/massimofarao1
Personnel: Massimo Farao - piano; Francesca Tandoi - vocals; Davide Palladin - guitar; Cesare Mecca - trumpet; Nicola Barbon - bass; Bobo Facchinetti - drums
In 1994 he was hired by "Monad Records" in New York and back in the United States as pianoplayer and music director of Shawnn Monteiro's band, with Keter Betts and Bobby Durham. He has played in several european tours with the Nat Adderley Quintet, composed by Antonio Hart, Walter Booker and Jimmy Cobb. In 2001 he joined the Archie Shepp's "Just in Time" Quartet with Wayne Dockery and Bobby Durham. Since 2001 he is the artistic director for the jazz division of AZZURRA MUSIC label. In 2003 he played at "Jazz Piano Festival" in Lucerne.
In November 2004 he played in Japan, where his albums have become bestsellers. He played in Italy, France, Germany, Corsica, Switzerland, Hungary, Austria, USA, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Dubai, Luxembourg, Spain, Japan, Yugoslavia,Canada. From 2014 he recorded 12 cd for Venus Records the famous japanese jazz label. He has recorded more than 2 hundred Cds with many Italian and foreign musicians.More.. https://www.massimofarao.com/massimofarao1
Personnel: Massimo Farao - piano; Francesca Tandoi - vocals; Davide Palladin - guitar; Cesare Mecca - trumpet; Nicola Barbon - bass; Bobo Facchinetti - drums
La musica di Franco Califano
Wednesday, February 16, 2022
Pat Martino & Gil Goldstein - We Are Together Again
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:55
Size: 133,0 MB
Art: Front
(7:13) 1. Body and Soul
(7:02) 2. Before You Ask
(5:31) 3. Footprints
(4:46) 4. In a Sentimental Mood
(4:28) 5. City Lights
(7:40) 6. Round Midnight
(6:21) 7. Pompy
(5:12) 8. Portrait
(9:38) 9. Peace
An all-time favorite of guitar players and Martino fans, We’ll Be Together Again has finally been reissued on CD by Joel Dorn’s 32 Jazz, which last year obtained the entire catalog of Muse Records. An intimate duet with pianist Gil Goldstein from a 1976 Muse session, it highlights the guitarist at the peak of his interpretive powers just a few years before the life-threatening aneurism and follow-up brain surgery that would sideline him through the ’80s.
In the context of mostly ballads and backed only by the sparse, sustained chords of Golstein’s atmospheric Fender Rhodes electric piano, Martino speaks eloquently and gracefully, plumbing the depths of emotion in a song’s lyric while occasionally leaping into double-time flurries of those signature breathtaking lines that he spins with such ease.~ By Bill Milkowskihttps://jazztimes.com/archives/pat-martino-well-be-together-again/
Personnel: Guitar – Pat Martino; Piano, Electric Piano – Gil Goldstein
In the context of mostly ballads and backed only by the sparse, sustained chords of Golstein’s atmospheric Fender Rhodes electric piano, Martino speaks eloquently and gracefully, plumbing the depths of emotion in a song’s lyric while occasionally leaping into double-time flurries of those signature breathtaking lines that he spins with such ease.~ By Bill Milkowskihttps://jazztimes.com/archives/pat-martino-well-be-together-again/
Personnel: Guitar – Pat Martino; Piano, Electric Piano – Gil Goldstein
We Are Together Again
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