2 Sem 2012 - Part Thirteen

Cyrus Chestnut Trio

Moonlight Sonata: Swingin' Classics



By EastWind
Venus Records has recently been releasing many "jazzified classical music" albums, all performed by first-rate jazz musicians and singers. Now, Cyrus Chestnut has joined the list. An established name in the US, Chestnut grew up with gospel music and studied classical music before he became a full-fledged jazz pianist. He has recorded for Venus in other people's albums, such as Joel Frahm's Caminhos Cruzados and Marilyn Scott's Every Time We Say Goodbye, but this is his first album he recorded for Venus as a leader.
Chestnut decided to record with his current regular trio, with bassist Dezron Douglas and drummer Neal Smith. The approach and spirit here is pure jazz: driving, hard-boiled and dynamic. There is nothing soft or pretty that you might imagine when you hear the concept of "jazzified classical music." More accurate description would be "straight ahead jazz that happens to use classical melodies as improvisational springboards." Recommended!
Produced by Tetsuo Hara and Todd Barkan. Recorded at Avatar Studio in New York on March 30 and 31, 2011. Engineered by Katherine Miller. MIxed and Mastered by Tetsuo Hara.
Album Tracks:
1. Solfeggietto (E. Bach)
2. Swan Lake (Tchaikovsky)
3. Prelude in E Minor (Chopin)
4. Siciliano (J.S. Bach)
5. Moonlight Sonata (Beethoven)
6. Love's Dream (Liszt)
7. Romance from Masquerade (Khachaturian)
8. Kinderszenen (Shumann)
9. Hungarian Dance No. 5 (Brahms)
10. Moonlight Sonata - Reprise (Beethoven)


Simone Graziano Trio

Lightwalls


By Roberto Paviglianiti

Esce per la etichetta discografica DodiciluneLightwalls, il disco d'esordio del pianista Simone Graziano, a capo di un trio dall'alto spessore tecnico ed espressivo, composto da Ares Tavolozzi al contrabbasso e Stefano Tamborrino alla batteria.
Ci troviamo di fronte ad un album che racchiude due sentite riletture - un'imprendibile "The Man Who Sold the World," nel finale legata con i tratti salienti di "A Night in Tunisia," e "Here's that Rainy Day" di Jimmy Van Heusen - e cinque interessanti passaggi originali. Il pianista toscano mostra una buona determinazione sotto il profilo compositivo, e sviluppa dei temi di grande cantabilità, come quello dell'iniziale "Darkness," ma anche dalle traiettorie imprevedibili ("Seven Steps Dream") e pensose all'occorrenza ("Corsica"). Situazioni movimentate che si alternano a scenari dove si respira un'aria più classicheggiante ("Noir de Lumière"), dovuti a un imprescindibile legame di Graziano con autori del passato come Debussy e Ravel.
Lightwalls è un disco che sa emozionare ed è suonato in maniera pressoché ineccepibile, nel quale si possono apprezzare le doti pianistiche di Graziano - si presti attenzione alla perfetta indipendenza delle mani -, alcuni soli di rara efficacia di Tavolozzi e l'ottimo lavoro svolto sui piatti da Tamborrino. Esordio maiuscolo e giovane leader da tenere d'occhio.
Visita il sito di Simone Graziano Trio.
Valutazione: 4 stelle
Elenco dei brani:
1. Darkeness; 2. Seven Steps Dreams; 3. Noir de Lumière; 4. The Man Who Sold the World; 5. Corsica; 6. Here's That Rainy Day; 7. Colour's Tale.
Musicisti:
Simone Graziano: pianoforte; Ares Tavolazzi: contrabbasso; Stefano Tamborrino: batteria.

Bruce Barth

Three Things Of Beauty



By Lloyd Sachs at Jazztimes
Pianist Bruce Barth and vibraphonist Steve Nelson, who have teamed up in various situations over the years, may never have clicked more winningly than they do onThree Things of Beauty , a quartet date that is Barth’s first non-duo or non-trio album in more than a decade. Ranging from Tyner-esque intensity to Basie-like cool, he is at his most expansive, while Nelson plays with a depth of expression he lacked earlier in his career, and bassist Ben Street and drummer Dana Hall provide sumptuous support. The album is so engaging, it deserves a title upgrade: How about Ten Things of Beauty?
Barth’s title cut reveals his detail-oriented approach as a composer. The song begins as a wistful, gently flowering ballad, but gains speed and power, keyed by Hall’s springy, propulsive strokes and fueled by some of Nelson’s hardest-edged lyrical playing. “The Rushing Hour,” another original, radiates bright expectation through serial changes in time, tempo and tone, building on and shadowed by subtle Afro-Cuban accents.
Three Things of Beauty is full of surprises, including a nifty spin on Monk’s “Bemsha Blues” via Barth’s “Be Blued.” The band moves from Modern Jazz Quartet-like ease to bluesy swagger on John Coltrane’s “Big Nick,” and luxuriates in deeper-pocketed tradition on Barth’s “Wise Charlie’s Blues,” dedicated to a departed friend. The album is bracketed by standards: a dashing uptempo reading of “My Man’s Gone Now” and flowing rendering of “The Song Is You.” The latter’s graceful reharmonization shows off the light touch that is one of Barth’s calling cards.

Carmen Spatafora

Fotografia



By Roberto Paviglianiti
Prende il nome da un brano di Jobim l'album firmato dalla vocalist Carmen Spatafora, quel "Fotografia" che chiude una scaletta di dieci tracce - arrangiate con estrema cura stilistica da Giovanni Mazzarino - cantate e interpretate con classe autentica e suonate con altrettanta generosità espressiva da una band di ottimo livello.
Il lavoro, nel quale si alternano standard e brani originali, è caratterizzato da atmosfere dense, a tratti quasi immobili nel loro incedere millimetro dopo millimetro, frase dopo frase ("Never Let Me Go"), senza mai dare né la sensazione di semplice posa né tanto meno di fretta risolutiva ("Have You Met Miss Jones"). La leader sfoggia un timbro caldo, avvolgente, molto profondo, capace di vibrare anche verso le tonalità più basse ("On Green Dolphin Street"). Al suo fianco si muovono in scioltezza le altre "voci" di questo progetto, altrettanto snelle e decisive nel contesto generale, come quelle prodotte dal sax di Giuseppe Asero e soprattutto dalla tromba di Dino Rubino, apprezzabile in diverse situazioni.
Nelle note di copertina si legge l'aforisma di Nietzsche secondo il quale "senza musica la vita sarebbe un errore," affermazione forte, condivisibile o meno, ma che ben identifica l'intensità e la passione che questi musicisti hanno saputo riversare in Fotografia.
Visita il sito di Carmen Spatafora.
Valutazione: 3 stelle
Elenco dei brani:
1. Have You Met Miss Jones; 2. Evening Blues; 3. Pannonica; 4. Never Let Me Go; 5. Ray of Light; 6. Misty; 7. Your Picture in My Heart; 8. On Green Dolphin Street; 9. A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square; 10. Fotografia.
Musicisti:
Carmen Spatafora: voce; Dino Rubino: tromba, flicorno; Giuseppe Asero: sax alto; Giovanni Mazzarino: pianoforte; Riccardo Fioravanti: contrabbasso; Stefano Bagnoli: batteria.


Joey DeFrancesco

40

By Jack Bowers
With 40, Joey DeFrancesco—the world's foremost contemporary jazz organist—heralds his fortieth birthday by presiding over a trio session that is typically dexterous and engaging from start to finish. As good as it is, however, a DVD would be even more persuasive, as DeFrancesco's consummate mastery of his chosen instrument should really be seen as well as heard to be thoroughly appreciated. His right hand is so virtuosic that he seldom has need for the left, using it sparingly to append an obligatory chord every now and then. Seeing and hearing DeFrancesco perform is a remarkable experience, one not to be missed.
On the other hand, simply hearing DeFrancesco in his element, leading a polished and enterprising trio, is quite a pleasurable experience in and of itself. On this studio date, recorded in June 2011, two months after he turned forty, DeFrancesco is as brilliant as ever, and is steadfastly supported at every twist and turn by drummer Ramon Banda and guitarist Rick Zunigar. Zunigar also adds a second solo voice, his laidback guitar in marked contrast to DeFrancesco's ebullient keyboards (the plural is necessary because the leader plays the classic Hammond B-3 on some numbers, the innovative digitally-designed Numa—especially created for him by Studiologic—on others; Pete Fallico's liner notes don't disclose which).
As for the music, DeFrancesco wrote six of the nine selections, the first three for his children ("Donny's Tune," "Ashley Blue") and wife, "Gloria." The others are Ray Charles' high-stepping "I Got a Woman" (DeFrancesco's earnest tribute to Jimmy McGriff) and the seldom-heard originals "One Hundred Ways" and "Caruso" (which should be heard more often). While there is ostensibly only one blues ("Bluz 'n' 3"), the truth is that almost every note DeFrancesco plays is submersed in the blues tradition, so there's an element of that genre even in straight-ahead burners like "Donny's Tune" and "Life Is Good" or ballads such as "Gloria" and "Caruso." DeFrancesco, who has been known to sing from time to time, does so once, on the heartfelt homage to Mrs. D, whose plainspoken lyric he apparently wrote.
When it comes to traditional organ trios, there aren't many—if any— that can reach this level, let alone sustain it from prelude to coda. Recommended? Without pause.
Track Listing: Donny's Tune; Ashley Blue; Gloria; 100 Ways; I Got a Woman; V&G; Life Is Good; Bluz 'n' 3; Caruso.
Personnel: Joey DeFrancesco: Hammond B-3 organ, Numa organ, vocal (3); Ramon Banda: drums, percussion; Rick Zunigar: guitar.

Jessica Wiliams

Songs Of Earth

By Dan McClenaghan 
Jessica Williams, with her last four CDs on Origin Records, is like a butterfly coming out of its cocoon. Earlier in her career, Williams—who once held the piano chair in drummer Philly Joe Jones band—wrapped her artistry in the Great American Song on Some Ballads Some Blues (Red and Blue, 1999), along with stellar tributes to departed star pianists Art Tatum and Thelonious Monk.
Around the beginning of her teaming with Origin Records—in conjunction with the creation of her own Red and Blue Records label—Williams, always a top level musician with huge technique, began to blossom. With her Origin Records discs—Song for a New Century (2008), The Art of the Piano (2009), and, especially, Touch (2010)—Williams veered in a new and very personal direction, feeling her way through the music and finding a new voice of freedom and stunning beauty.
Now there is Songs of Earth, another push forward.
The music here is mostly spontaneously composed by Williams alone at the piano, recorded live during several sessions at Seattle, Washington's Triple Door and put together by Williams to create an expansive aural novel full of majesty and mystery, tenderness and awe. Williams is nearly unrivaled in her ability to marry a classical level of technical proficiency to her joyous sense spontaneity and endless sense of wonder.
"Deayru" opens the book, a lush solo piano symphony shifting from a strong percussive depth to an ephemeral fragility, setting the stage for all that follows. "Poem" is one of three tunes here not composed in complete spontaneity, along with "Little Angel" and saxophonist John Coltrane's "To Be." But, as Williams explains in the disc's liner notes: ..."the amount of notes actually written is far outnumbered by the amount improvised spontaneously," which sounds like it could serve for a partial definition of jazz in general.
Williams' influences are many. Her latest is the late Spanish guitarist Carlos Montoya. In her 2009 interview with All About Jazz, Williams said of Montoya's playing of traditional Spanish tunes: "He improvised like crazy...with an abandon in his playing. He did anything he wanted to." That abandon—under the influence of enormous skill and audacity—is what Williams' music is now all about. On "Montoya," she extracts almost guitar-like sounds from the piano and glides into a gorgeous and poetic Spanish-hued prayer.
Coltrane was also an author of musical prayers. Williams closes with "Trane's" "To Be." Proving herself one of the saxophone legend's finest interpreters with Freedom Trane (Origin Records, 2011), this searching, ten minute-plus ode to existence mirrors Coltrane's approach, with Williams taking her search for truth and beauty—here and on the entire set—up above the earthbound steeple tops.
Track Listing: 

Deayru; Poem; Montoya; Joe and Jane; Little Angel; The Enchanted Loom; To Be.
Personnel: Jessica Williams: piano.

JESSICA WILLIAMS's HEALTH PROBLEM ! 

Lumbar L5/L4/S1 cage-fusion Recovery fund - please donate - Sep 10 2012
Please donate to my spine surgery recovery fund using Paypal or my PO Box - and see my icky MRI pictures too - it was either this or give up my career and live out my short life in a cave. The neat thing about PayPal is that you can use any of your credit cards and circumvent them to the degree that they don't share or even store your iformation unless you want to open an account. That's why I chose them - that's MY business model too.
My surgery date was July 25th, 2012. DONE. NOW, I hate asking for money - I won't be able to play for awhile, and I wanna have something special to bring back to you. I have some lots of music I need to give you. If I had made a living at this, I wouldn't be asking for money now.
Anyway, it's like being hit by a big truck. It went well, I think. I was asleep or dead or something.
The really sad part was that I had to sell my piano (below). But I'm the pianist, slightly more important.
And you, friends, are responding with unbelievable generosity. I want to thank you, but the only way to do that is to make more music, and it'll be a Philadelphia Minute before I can do that... but ASAP! 6 pedicle screws, 3 titanium cages with cadaver or donor bone, titanium plates, and 2 bendable carbon rods. I'm 2 inches taller than before. And 20 pounds lighter. My hair turned orange and white (weird...)
I realize, I have insurance, and if I didn't, I'd die. Everybody dies. This is natural and makes a lot of sense, considering some of the morons that are running this circus. But I wanna stay just a while longer, please. I am so lucky and thankful that I live where I live. These donations are for the 6 months to a year that I'll be unable to play. I'll be doing physical therapy and taking less and less pain medications and learning to walk again. And learning to use the pedals (on the piano) again.
I showed the DICOM MRI to a friend and he said - "those are some scary blueprints you got there, girl." He's a back veteran too. That observation scared me worse than my surgeon's diagnosis. So if you have a moment and some extra money that would better go to me than either political party, here's the page with the icky MRI photos and the PO Box and the PayPal button to push.

And a picture of the handsome - and incredibly gifted - neurosurgeon, Dr Richard Rooney. Abi Gezunt! Health is everything! - JW, Aug 12, 2012
SONGS OF EARTH
My newest International Release is called Songs of Earth. The cover work is by John Bishop, the CEO/drummer/art department/idea-man behind Origin Records. The photo is by Jimmy Katz of NYC fame, THE go-to man for photographs of musical artists. And I wrote the liner notes. THIS IS THE ONE I LOVE THE MOST. Until the next one. Hear it and buy it here. Remember, new buyers get one free CD with any first purchase, and my signature too, if they want it. First review (Audiophile) gives it five stars. get it (and more) here.
Stay happy, or at least go for it! -JW, May 14, 2012
The one that got away
Below, my last piano (bought in Nov, 2011). An early Baldwin, unnumbered, estimated to have been built in 1897. It's just shy of 6.5 feet long. Unfortunately, I had to sell it. See here for reasons.

2 Sem 2012 - Part Twelve

Max Ionata & Dado Moroni

Two For Duke

By Franco Fayenz
E' con un omaggio a Duke Ellington che Dado Moroni e Max Ionata hanno deciso di incrociare il loro percorso artistico dando vita e suono al cd "2 for Duke", prodotto da Jando Music, che verrà presentato in anteprima, venerdi 18 maggio alla Casa del Jazz di Roma.
Un viaggio di sola andata per Ellingtonia, una terra creata da due tra i più importanti artisti del ‘900, Duke Ellington ed il suo alter ego Billy Strayhorn, un uomo che amava stare nell'ombra, a detta di molti il vero ispiratore dell'estetica ellingtoniana. Ma non importa chi abbia fatto cosa. Ciò che conta è che questi due geni contemporanei abbiano lasciato un'impronta indelebile su tutta la musica, non solo nel Jazz. Ellington e Strayhorn hanno inventato qualcosa che prima non esisteva, gettando le basi armoniche e melodiche di un linguaggio che anticipava i tempi di parecchi decenni.
Prodotto da Jando Music, in collaborazione con Via Veneto Jazz, questo disco è lo specchio della passione che Dado e Max hanno da sempre per la musica del "Duca" che li ha fortemente influenzati facendone nel tempo due Ellington "maniacs".
Nel raffinato dialogo a due tra piano e sax c'è tutta la passione, l'amore e l'ammirazione per l'eredità musicale che il genio del grande jazzista americano ha lasciato al mondo.
Dado Moroni, tra l'altro, ha collaborato a lungo con Jimmy Woode e Sam Woodyard, contrabbassista e batterista storici di Duke Ellington, consentendogli di immergersi a pieno nelle sonorità originali di colui che, da molti, è considerato il più grande compositore jazz di tutti i tempi. Sonorità che ritroviamo in "2 for Duke" anche grazie alle straordinarie capacità interpretative del sax di Max Ionata. Dado Moroni in un brano del disco suona anche il contrabbasso e in ultro coniuga la voce con la tastiera.
"Questo è un disco bellissimo. Perché è suonato con intensa partecipazione da due eccellenti solisti fra loro complementari. Originale e pregevole è l'idea di proporre un'interpretazione creativa in duo di musiche di Duke Ellington e di Billy Strayhorn: da un lato c'è il pianoforte di Dado Moroni (che in Just Squeeze Me usa anche il contrabbasso e in Solitude coniuga la voce con la tastiera); dall'altro Max Ionata che fa letteralmente cantare il suo sax tenore.
Di Max Ionata, ne ho apprezzato dal primo ascolto, qualche anno fa, il bel fraseggio sicuro e il suono del suo sax tenore che mi piace definire quasi intimo e privato e soprattutto "suo", in quanto non ci sono somiglianze da citare, neppure – direi – dagli esperti che ne fanno deprecabile abuso. Qui ho trovato la migliore conferma, e la più continuativa, delle sue qualità e della capacità di immergersi nel nobile e complesso mondo ellingtoniano.
Quanto a Moroni, lo considero da oltre vent'anni il più "americano" e il più completo dei pianisti italiani di jazz, e so di non scoprire alcunché con una simile affermazione. Dado ha trovato queste particolarità nella sua indole, nella sua tecnica, nella sua consapevolezza di intenditore di musica e le ha perfezionate decidendo di vivere fra l'Italia e New York. E' un pianista-jazzman a proprio agio in qualsiasi situazione, capace di trascorrere da momenti di stride tradizionale a un gioioso mainstream e a inattese torsioni informali. E non si dimentichi, per quanto riguarda <2 duke="duke" for="for">, la sua lunga collaborazione con Jimmy Woode e Sam Woodyard che furono sidemen storici di Ellington.
Ma sembra il caso di rilevare, dopo l'ascolto ripetuto di questi undici brani uno più bello dell'altro nella composizione e nell'esecuzione, il vecchio problema del rapporto artistico Ellington-Strayhorn, per il quale si cercava di capire fin dove arrivasse il maestro e dove invece prevalesse il discepolo. E' un problema insoluto, tuttavia è bene cogliere l'occasione per rievocarlo. Sei brani di <2 duke="duke" for="for"> (cioè la maggioranza, ed è giusto) sono di Ellington; uno è di Ellington-Strayhorn insieme, tre sono di Strayhorn e infine c'è Perdido firmato da Juan Tizol. Strayhorn si presentò nel 1939 a Ellington con umiltà come paroliere di canzoni, ma lo impressionò assai con due brani, lo stupendo Lush Life e Something to Live for (un titolo simile a What am I here for?). Le differenze stilistiche ed estetiche sono minime e portano acqua, caso mai, al mulino di Strayhorn. Non credo che simili pensieri da azzeccagarbugli fossero presenti a Moroni e a Ionata, ma li hanno ridestati con la scelta dei brani e anche per ciò questo è un disco bellissimo".


Robert Lakatos Trio

Bumerang



By EastWind

One of the premier pianists from Hungary, Robert Lakatos has released quite a few great albums through Japanese label Atelier Sawano. His latest release is another high-quality trio recording of originals and a few standards. All the qualities that made his previous work wonderful are here -- the warm, beautiful tone, flowing improvisations with singing quality and lyricism.
On three tracks, Lakatos expands his group to a quartet by adding an up-and-coming tenor saxophonist Gabor Bolla. Bolla's soulful sound and performance increases the bebop quotient and brings an entirely new dimension to the proceedings. Recommended!
Recorded 2011.

Performed by:

Robert Lakatos (piano)
Christian Lakatos (bass)
Dre Pallemaerts (drums)
Gabor Bolla (tenor sax)

Album Tracks:
1. You Must Believe In Spring
2. Felteni Kell
3. Bumerang
4. Solar
5. Love Letters
6. Steps of the Lord
7. Butter and Sol
8. Spring Is Here
9. Passing Months
10. Homage to Bach


Pat Metheny

Unity Band

By Thom Jurek
On Unity Band, Pat Metheny reveals that he can look in two directions at once. The group he's assembled here is an all-star ensemble. Drummer Antonio Sanchez has been with him for a decade, while double bassist Ben Williams makes his first appearance with the guitarist, as does tenor saxophonist Chris Potter (whose soprano and bass clarinet playing are on display, too). Metheny makes full use of this ensemble's possibilities. That said, he looks back through his catalog and composes for this band from some of the information gleaned there. One can recall the swirling melodic euphoria of the Pat Metheny Group in the guitar and guitar-synth interplay in "Roofdogs." On the ingenious "Come and See," Metheny's many-stringed Picasso guitar meets Potter's bass clarinet to create a tonal inquiry beforeWilliams and Sanchez establish a deep blue groove. When Potter adds his tenor and Metheny his electric, we get a Latinized swinging pulse that is ever so slightly reminiscent of the 80/81 band with Michael Brecker and Dewey Redman (this isn't the only place that happens here). Fans of Metheny's more abundantly lyrical side will appreciate the breezy sway of "Leaving Town," though its melody -- twinned by his guitar and Potter -- is full of compelling tight turns, before the rhythm section evokes a deep, swinging blues and the guitarist gets refreshingly funky in his solo. On "Signals" Metheny uses his Orchestrion and guitar with live loops; the band employs live loops throughout the intro on top. Potter's tenor solo is emotive, grainy, and reaching, while the atmosphere recalls -- only generally -- the album the guitarist cut with Steve Reich. The nocturnal, smoky "Then and Now" has a torch ballad quality due to Potter's utterly songlike solo. Set closer "Breakdealer" begins at the boiling point and gets hotter. The title hints at what Sanchez does throughout the tune while pushing forward, but Williams not only keeps up, he adds propulsive shades of his own and rocks the arpeggiated changes fluidly. Metheny and Potter are free to sprint and they do; both dazzle with their lyric invention and knotty, imaginative, nearly boppish solos. The two front-line players are surely at their best in one another's company on the date; you expect them to be. Yet it's the rhythm section that astonishes thoroughly. Their interplay is not only intuitive, it's informative; it points to new corners for Metheny and Potter to explore. Given the guitarist's more compositional solo experiments of the last few years -- all of which have been very satisfying --Unity Band is a return to what he does best: composing for, and playing with, a band of top-shelf players.

Luciana Souza

The Book Of Chet



By Donnagene O. Palmer
Numerous "tribute" albums to Chet Baker have been done; but, in my opinion, none have captured the essence of his style until this one by Luciana Souza. Not only is her delivery slow and quiet, but she TELLS the listener in song a love story rather than appearing to show us her singing style and expertise. Since Chet Baker was first a musician and secondly a singer, his approach, to me, was to use the lyric to give a glimpse into his soul, instead of being concerned with the rules a "good" singer should follow. I commend Luciana Souza for doing justice to the memory of a great jazz artist.

Borja Cao Trio

Match-Ball



By EastWind

Borja Cao is a young Spanish pianist with tremendous talent. This CD, recorded live (without an audience) on a theater stage, shows his great skills both as pianist and composer. Throughout the all-original program, his songs and performance are characterized by power, drive, colorful harmonies, sophisticated melodies, tension and dynamism. A very exciting piano trio album!

Performed by: 

Borja Cao (piano)
Juan Canada (bass)
Max Gomez (drums)

Album Tracks:
1. El cielo debe esperar
2. Something For You
3. Ons Blues
4. Nada sigue igual
5. Gambeteando con swing
6. House Party
7. Xogo bonito
8. Reflexiones
9. Love lanzado
10. Sientelo

2 Sem 2012 - Part Eleven

Denny Zeitlin
Wherever You Are: Midnight Moods For Solo Piano



By Ken Dryden
Denny Zeitlin has balanced careers as a psychiatrist, medical school professor, and jazz pianist/composer since earning his MD at Johns Hopkins in 1964. Equally at home performing with his working trio and as a solo pianist, Zeitlin focuses on the latter in this striking session which he recorded himself in his home studio. His imaginative arrangements of the familiar standards that make up much of this collection put them into a new light, perfect for late-night listening with someone special. "Body and Soul" has been recorded so frequently in the decades since Coleman Hawkins' landmark 1939 record that it would seem that there is little left to explore within it, but Zeitlin's lush reharmonization reveals new glistening facets in this timeless gem. "Good-Bye," long associated with Benny Goodman as his sign-off theme, packs an even greater emotional punch with Zeitlin's deliberate, thoughtful setting. Jazz musicians have often turned the '40s ballad "I Hear a Rhapsody" into an uptempo swinger, though Zeitlin's introspective rubato treatment returns it to its romantic roots, seducing the listener with his lyrical playing. The pianist's fresh rendition of the poignant ballad "You Don't Know What Love Is" begins with him improvising on its bridge and slowly working his way into it, adding a subtle Latin undercurrent as he reharmonizes its familiar theme. Zeitlin also revisits two of his originals, the mysterious "Time Remembers One Time Once" and the richly textured "Wherever You Are." This compelling solo piano CD is destined to become one of Denny Zeitlin's landmark recordings.


Rita Marcotulli/ Javier Girotto/ Luciano Biondini

Variazioni Su Tema

By PianoSolo
“Comporre le immagini, radunare ombra e luce, canone e fuga in un racconto legato armonicamente, è il segreto di una partitura paziente, è conoscere la corrispondenza [musicale e cromatica] fra tono e tono, fotogramma dopo fotogramma, fino alla formula che, improvvisa, spalanca il mondo: musica da vedere, ogni tasto del pianoforte come un fotogramma…” così scrive nelle note di copertina di questo cd Francesco Giardinazzo.
Fotogrammi, ovvero musica da film questa che la pianista Rita Marcotulli compone per il suo nuovo trio di insolita costituzione: l’argentino Javier Girotto al sax soprano e baritono e Luciano Biondini all’accordion. Tre voci con forte personalità che danno corpo ai dodici brani, dodici “Variazioni su tema” che non sono altro che dodici racconti in musica, scene di cui ci sembra di carpire uno svolgimento visivo perché nascono da un contesto in cui è l’immagine a dominare: il cinema appunto. Rita Marcotulli consolida così un’esperienza compositiva che già da anni conduce con passione: la scrittura di musica per il cinema, che le ha fatto guadagnare il Ciak d’oro, il Nastro d’argento e il David di Donatello per la sua colonna sonora del film “Basilicata coast to coast” di Rocco Papaleo e per le sue composizioni dedicate al cinema di François Truffaut. Basta leggere i titoli di questi dodici brani per comprendere il carattere evocativo di questa musica.
“L’amore fugge” è ritmicamente incalzante, come una cadenza di passi in corsa trafelata, un passo marcato dal pianoforte di Rita Marcotulli, qualcosa di imprendibile, qualcosa che se ne va senza poter essere afferrato, mentre la voce dell’accordion di Luciano Biondini echeggia dolcezza, essenza dell’amore, una vena di malinconica tenerezza che il sax di Girotto completa con l’elemento ardore. “La vanità” esibisce se stessa prima con spudoratezza, per poi indugiare in un momento di ampio e profondo respiro, sospesa nella contemplazione di sé, quasi drammatica ammissione della propria vacuità con gli inserti insinuanti del sax di Girotto, differente da ciò che ritroviamo poco dopo ne “La vanità apparente”, in cui cambia l’atmosfera, cambia il sentimento, e la vanità è solo vezzo, maschera esteriore che nasconde un’anima larga e ricca, e sono le voci del trio che si intrecciano in melodie cantabili, quasi arie.
Il pianismo di Rita Marcotulli in questo lavoro non rinnega una delle caratteristiche del suo stile: la capacità evocativa mediante linee melodiche ampie e liriche nella loro sostanza espressiva, ma si trasforma al tempo stesso in potente sezione ritmica del trio al momento opportuno. Interessante l’incedere lento e riflessivo del brano di apertura “L’essenza dell’essere”, in cui l’incipit della nuda voce del pianoforte della Marcotulli ci ricorda persino Satie in un’essenzialità del suono che fa pensare a un movimento verso le cose. Questo movimento ci conduce però in un luogo dove qualcosa di magico sta accadendo, una scena che si popola di cose e persone, lo spazio in cui nasce una storia.
Track list:

1.L’essenza dell’essere/ 2.I due ubriaconi/ 3.L’amore fugge/ 4.La vanità/ 5.Il piccolo Principe/ 6.Nothing lasts for long/ 7.I danzatori delle stelle/ 8.Vanità apparente/ 9.Bambini nel tempo/ 10.Interludio/ 11.Nel mare colore del vino/ 12.Varia.

Pablo Seoane Trio

Falou



By EastWind
Pablo Seoane is a bright, young jazz pianist whose star is rising fast in Europe. He has a very modern style that is based on modal jazz with a post-Brad Mehldau sensibility. At the same time, he has a wild, passionate side to his playing. The all-original compositions are wonderful, combining the heritage of traditional jazz, modern harmonies and varied rhythmic devices. Recommended!
Album Tracks:
1. Alceo negro
2. Se acabo la molicie
3. Poplitea
4. Trevas de Queluz
5. Cambio cidades por mapa
6. Drologo
7. Rua conselheiro La Fayette
8. Sly en Lubeck

Olivier Antunes Trio

Theme From Elvira Madigan

By EastWind
Olivier Antunes, born in Paris in 1973 and grew up in Denmark, is arguably the premier jazz pianist from that country. His three albums from the Japanese label, Marshmallow Records, have firmly established him in my mind as the most lyrical and imaginative pianist of the Bill Evans school.
In this relatively early recording (originally released in 2003), Antunes is backed by two legendary Danish musicians: bassist Mads Vinding who became a star on Duke Jordan's Flight to Denmark<.b> and drummer Alex Riel who has played with Ben Webster, Bill Evans, Dexter Gordon and more recently with Jan Lundgren. This superb trio collected beautiful melodies from many different corners of the musical world, including the great American songbook, classical music (Mozart, Grieg), and tunes written by by Ennio Morricone, Nat Adderley, and Elton John.
These beautiful melodies are played beautifully, with imagination, subtlety and thoughtfulness. A beautiful piano trio album that should be treasured by many jazz fans for many years. Very highly recommended!
Produced by Makoto Kimata.

Album Tracks:
1. Someday My Prince Will Come
2. Chi Mai
3. The Old Country
4. Boy on a Dolphin
5. Theme from Elvira Madigan
6. My Foolish Heart
7. Solveigs Song
8. Hush-A-Bye
9. Can You Feel The Love Tonight
10. Den Bla Anemone (The Blue Anemone)  

Dena DeRose

Travelin' Light: Live In Antwerp, Belgium



By JazzCorner
The First Solo Recording of Her Illustrious Career.
Dena DeRose is a swinging jazz pianist, a gifted vocalist and a talented composer and arranger. Renowned for her intelligent interpretation of standards and her distinctive voice, DeRose's new solo recording, "Travelin' Light," features her in the intimate venue, The Chromatic Attic in Antwerp, Belgium. For this recording, DeRose digs deep into the Great American Songbook unearthing some little-known gems along with other well-known classic compositions.
"This recording is one that I have wanted to make for years. Solo...just me and the piano. Live. I've received many requests to do a solo recording. I wanted to make it happen, but it took awhile to find the right time to do it, the right songs, the right audience and the right room for such a recording. The perfect setting was the Chromatic Attic in Antwerp, Belgium, operated by Herman Van Hove. I was encouraged to record there by my good friend and great jazz pianist, Jack Van Poll, and Herman ‘handpicked' the audience, so the evenings were ‘right' in every respect.
To do a ‘live' solo recording seemed daunting at first, but at the same time it gave me a sense of comfort as it reminded me of how I began this whole journey of singing and playing jazz. I started my career in my hometown of Binghamton, NY performing solo, weekly for about 2 years ...singing and playing piano in the corner of a hotel bar on an old Wurlitzer upright with a very supportive, encouraging and ‘regular' crowd that came by every week!
The songs I chose for this recording are quite dear to my heart. Some were challenging and new for me, while some were songs I've done for more than 20 years, but not in a solo format until now. I fell in love with Nice ‘n Easy and Travelin' Light when I heard the great Shirley Horn perform them live in NYC many times. Two Different Worlds has a story that many people can relate to as the world becomes a smaller place with people living and working in countries other than where they grew up, meeting and falling in love with someone of another culture, nationality or color of skin. This is a song inspired by vocalist Sammy Davis, Jr. Portrait in Black and White has a wonderful English lyric by Roger Shore. It's a Brazilian song written by the great Tom Jobim, but, Shore's story hit home for me a few years back and I'm sure the lyrics will speak to many who hear it.
Why Did I Choose You? is from the movie ‘The Yearling' written in 1966 (a great year!). I remember watching the movie when I was very young and I liked the song.
Blue in Green is a Miles Davis (and Bill Evans) tune, but with a lyric by the incredible lyricist Meredith d'Ambrosio (a true Renaissance woman!!). She titles it "Blue and Green." Meredith's lyric really brought this song to my attention again after having played this tune many times through the years. I Never Told You has a heart breaking story by the incomparable Arthur Hamilton and the music is from one of my all time favorite composers, Johnny Mandel. A rare gem! Twilight World by Marian McPartland and Johnny Mercer has an interesting story that one can see...very visual, very clear, very clever as many Mercer lyrics are. Marian's music truly makes the lyrics come alive. The rest of the tunes I just love - period. I hope you will enjoy them as much as I do."

Nesin Howhannesijan Trio

Sonocore

By EastWind
Once again, Atelier Sawano of Japan discovered a talented European jazz musician who deserves our attention. Born and raised in Berlin, German bassist Nesin Howhannesijan began playing violin at age six and later switched to bass. His trio, with pianist Kelvin Sholar and drummer Ernst Bier, exudes quiet tension, flowing lyricism and tight interplay.
The program of original compositions shows influences from different genres of music and displays quiet emotions and soulfulness under the surface of well-constructed beauty. The sound quality of this CD is also superb.
Release Date : 10/22/2011
Recording : 2010
Personnel :

Nesin Howhannesijan (bass)
Kelvin Sholar (piano)
Ernst Bier (drums)

Track list :
1. Seven Seals
2. Circles
3. Ballad New
4. Sonocore
5. Monolyth
6. Gypties
7. Homecoming
8. 1915
9. Stereotype Threat
All Compositions are by Howhannesijan
*Except Gypties by Sholar

Matteo Negrin

Jouer Sans Frontières

By  Marco Buttafuoco per Jazzitalia
Brezze leggere e cieli tersi, piccole storie, malinconie leggere. Quella di Matteo Negrin e una musica rassicurante, che prende per mano l' ascoltatore e lo porta - senza mai farlo perdere - in luoghi aperti, calmi, rassicuranti.
A volerlo, un po' forzatamente, inquadrare "Jouer sans frontieres" potrebbe essere definito come una proposta "easy listening" di classe, basato com'è su temi ricorrenti e leggermente ipnotici (un po' alla Ludovico Einaudi. mai troppo scavati, mai troppo sviluppati o variati). Il chitarrista torinese ed i suoi compagni di viaggio sembrano puntare più sulla bellezza e sulla purezza del suono che sull'esplorazione del loro materiale musicale. Ed in questo senso occorre dire che il loro lavoro è perfettamente riuscito, perché il disco è molto piacevole da ascoltare. La musica, lo dice il titolo basato forse sull'identico vocabolo che in francese si usa per giocare e suonare, è ricca di echi non invadenti di varie culture musicali: profumi di Sud America, di Medio Oriente, di jazz, ovviamente. Il tutto risulta alla fine molto gradevole anche se, a parere di chi scrive, fin troppo minimalista. Un po' troppo bozzettistico. Un pizzico di energia in più non avrebbe, forse, guastato.
Una parola di elogio meritano i tre musicisti che collaborano col leader, che completano con eleganza e buon gusto il quadro sonoro proposto da Negrin.

Wynton Marsalis, or ... 2+3+5+7+3 = 2

Wynton Marsalis 1984 at the Grammy Awards

By Claudio Botelho
For those who have nothing better to do, we’ve been putting some thoughts on line for some time now. Our blog is called by me “The Zero Comments Blog”, for reasons I think I don’t have to align.
The fact that art critics can’t be objectively valued (as art itself) encourages us to say the things we say without fear of being objectively contradicted. The fact that we talk about jazz puts our responsibility still farther and, being laymen as we are, father still.
The other day, I was watching a TV program about Wynton Marsalis. It was an old one, as he was still mustached, slim and very young. Probably his famous once contractor Art Blakey was with us by that time. By them, Marsalis was already a great instrumentalist, better than today. He was still sporting, in his playing, that inner flame he’s lost for a long time now and was, in that program, alternating playings with fierce criticisms about jazz critics. The playing was faultless, the critics were terrifying and showed, to big effect, an autocratic man, filled with prejudice, unable to receive any appraisal with which he didn’t concur. In his mind, laymen assessments were no more than exercises of belittlement or shallow praise.
According to his words, one cannot make any negative statement about jazz, and – who knows? – even a mere suggestion, unless he understands the fundaments of playing music. So, if you don’t know key signatures, pitches, modes, glissandi, textures, compass, scales and the likes, please, don’t ever open your mouth to say you didn’t like some playing, OK? If you don’t cook, eat anything they give to you in silence…
Oh, I almost forgot: it’s also sine qua non to know and understand an entity called New Orleans to have the right to be any derogatory or complimentary about this art…
He was also critical of those who found Louis Armstrong as an “intuitive genius”. He said he didn’t know what this could mean: “’Intuitive genius’, what is it?” If Armstrong was a success for so long, he obviously knew what he was doing and that was no doubt a consequence of hard work.
So, in this domain, no laymen can express his opinion! “Intuitive geniuses” like Erroll Gardner, for instance, a distinctive piano player who never learned to read music and composed “Misty”, was just a fictional entity which infests the minds of certain dumb-opinionated ones.
Composers like Antônio Carlos Jobim, Cole Porter, George Gershwin and many other creative music composers were only by-products of hard work in conservatories and their very peculiar styles were given to them by their teachers!
Well, I have no doubt Marsalis studied in better music schools than Jobim (Julliard, for instance) and, most probably, was a more diligent student, if we judge this by the personality of each one. But, would you say Marsalis’ compositions (not his playing, for that matter…) bettered Jobim’s in any reasonable way? I think not. So, time to talk about innate talent: that factory equipped asset that comes along with certain products… Jobim was one of them, as was Gardner and, obviously, Armstrong.
Why does music exist? Is it to please those knowledgeable enough to dissect it in all its structures; those who can quantify and qualify all its components or was it created to please the senses, to make our thoughts wander, to give us goosebumps, to give us all sort of emotions, after all? I think even Marsalis will agree: music exists to enliven our souls!
As a subjective mean, it is prone to cause the most mixed emotions and, therefore, be the subject of all kinds of appreciations. Some will like a certain song as much as another will hate it or be completely indifferent. On account of this, considering its intangibility, the praise of one is the scorn of another and any artist should be receptive to take both.
I have a hunch there’s much more to learn from a bad honest critic than from a praiseful one, but it only works if the receptor is humble enough to accept it in its own terms, irrespective of the ‘possible intention’ of its author. To begin with, let’s accept it as truthful; let’s consider it a viable truth and let’s learn from it. Let’s work with it, make comparisons to other views and make our certainty. Then, use it in our benefit…
Of course, those inhabited by aggressive narcissism, having a grandiose sense of self worth and lacking somewhat to accept responsibility for his own actions, will have a predilection to never feel receptive to critics and, therefore, won’t pick up any lesson from them…
Marsalis, a recipient of an inordinate number of awards, probably the most honored of contemporary jazz musicians and certainly one of the most heralded musicians of these days, has received many critics from his jazz colleagues, but not only on account of his aversion to pundits. Although he’s never produced an ill note using his super-duper wind instruments, he has, in the esteem of many jazz musicians, a narrow view of jazz: too traditionalist and this has had (I guess) a great weight in his playing, which, as much as I’ve seen, lacks spontaneity and radiance. Everything is too much in the right place, being the old established cannons always de rigueur followed. But, where is the brilliance, the adventure, the unexpected? You should search elsewhere… Like someone has said, as a jazz musician, he’s a good classical instrumentalist. I wholeheartedly agree with it!
(I don’t know, but I suspect that those hi-tech trumpets he uses, whose structural body seem to be made out of a single billet of brass take away from the music some of its intrinsic vibrations and, in turn, give it a touch of coldness; a kind of sterility that deprives it of their natural warmth. Musicians like Tomasz Stanko and Enrico Rava (which, to the best of my knowledge, use more conventional instruments) sound extremely vibrant and the sound of their horns seem much stronger and richer, as opposed to the constricted sound of their more up-to-date counterparts. Sometimes, ultra perfectionism, as much as art is concerned, results in backward movements…)
Nobody is critic-proof, even and specially the critics themselves. After all, they will be evaluated by their readers… The profession of playing music in front of an audience is certainly risky and those who make up their minds to do it may be always sure they will be the subject of appraisals and scorns.
As a jazz player, Marsalis is his fiercest critic and this showed undoubtedly when he decided to give up the natural life of a jazz musician, deciding not to expose himself in abandon for fear of not being up to the task. So, while refraining to accept all unwanted critics, he decided to follow other paths which, I admit, he’s done with considerable merit, although at the cost of jeopardizing somewhat the jazz in his country for a long time now.
At what extent? I don’t know.
Why talking about a register done so long ago? Because it represents a turning point in the story of jazz in the USA, which has been trapping the opinions of many of its aficionados to these days…

Hal David 1921 - 2012

Oct. 17, 2011: Legendary songwriters Bert Bacharach, left, and Hal David pose with singer Dionne Warwick at the "Love, Sweet Love" musical tribute to Hal David on his 90th birthday in Los Angeles, Calif. (AP)

By Fox News
Hal David, who along with partner Burt Bacharach penned dozens of timeless songs for movies, television and a variety of recording artists in the 1960s and beyond, has died. He was 91.
David died of complications from a stroke Saturday morning in Los Angeles, according to Jim Steinblatt, spokesman for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. David was a longtime member and former president of ASCAP.
Bacharach and David wrote many top 40 hits including "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head," "Close to You" and "That's What Friends Are For."
"As a lyric writer, Hal was simple, concise and poetic -- conveying volumes of meaning in fewest possible words and always in service to the music," ASCAP's current president, the songwriter Paul Williams, said in a statement. "It is no wonder that so many of his lyrics have become part of our everyday vocabulary and his songs... the backdrop of our lives."
Many lyrics and tunes from Bacharach and David continue to resonate in pop culture, including "Do You Know the Way to San Jose" and "I Say A Little Prayer" to "What The World Needs Now Is Love." Their music was recorded by legendary singers including The Beatles, Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Neil Diamond and their longtime partner Dionne Warwick.
In May, Bacharach and David received the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song during a White House tribute concert attended by President Barack Obama.
Bacharach, 83, thanked Obama, saying the award for his life's work topped even the Oscars and Grammys he won for individual projects. David could not attend because he is recovering from a stroke. His wife, Eunice David, accepted on his behalf.
More than 55 years after their first songs hit the airwaves, Obama said "these guys have still got it." He noted their music is still being recorded by such artists as Alicia Keys and John Legend.
"Above all, they stayed true to themselves," Obama said. "And with an unmistakable authenticity, they captured the emotions of our daily lives -- the good times, the bad times, and everything in between."
David and Bacharach met when both worked in the Brill Building, New York's legendary Tin Pan Alley song factory where writers cranked out songs and attempted to sell them to music publishers. They scored their first big hit with "Magic Moments," a million-selling record for Perry Como.
In 1962 they began writing for a young singer named Dionne Warwick, whose versatile voice conveyed the emotion of David's lyrics and easily handled the changing patterns of Bacharach's melodies. Together the trio created a succession of popular songs including "Don't Make Me Over," "Walk On By," "I Say a Little Prayer." "Do You Know the Way to San Jose," "Trains and Boats and Planes," "Anyone Who Has a Heart," "You'll Never Get to Heaven" and "Always Something There to Remind Me."
Bacharach and David also wrote hit songs for numerous other singers: "This Guy's in Love with You" (trumpeter Herb Alpert in his vocal debut), "Make It Easy on Yourself" (Jerry Butler), "What the World Needs Now is Love" (Jackie DeShannon) and "Wishin' and Hopin"' (Dusty Springfield). They also turned out title songs for the movies "What's New, Pussycat" (Tom Jones), "Wives and Lovers" (Jack Jones) and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence" (Gene Pitney).
In a 1999 interview, David explained his success as a lyricist this way: "Try and tell a narrative. The songs should be like a little film, told in three or four minutes. Try to say things as simply as possible, which is probably the most difficult thing to do."
The writer, who lived in New York, often flew to Los Angeles, where he and Bacharach would hole up for a few weeks of intense songwriting. Sometimes they conferred by long-distance telephone; "I Say a Little Prayer" was written that way.
The hit-making team broke up after the 1973 musical remake of "Lost Horizon." They had devoted two years to the movie, only to see it scorned by critics and audiences alike. Bacharach became so depressed he sequestered himself in his vacation home and refused to work.
Bacharach and David sued each other and Warwick sued them both. The cases were settled out of court in 1979 and the three went their separate ways. They reconciled in 1992 for Warwick's recording of "Sunny Weather Lover."
David, meanwhile, went on to collaborate successfully with several other composers: John Barry with the title song of the James Bond film "Moonraker;" Albert Hammond with "To All the Girls I've Loved Before," which Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson dueted on; and Henry Mancini with "The Greatest Gift" in "The Return of the Pink Panther."
Born in New York City, David had attended public schools before studying journalism at New York University.
He served in the Army during World War II, mostly as a member of an entertainment unit in the South Pacific.
After the war, he wrote lyrics for several composers until that fateful Brill Building meeting with Bacharach.
A longtime member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, David served as the organization's president from 1980 to 1986.
He married Anne Rauchman in 1947 and the couple had two sons.

http://www.haldavid.com
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2012/09/01/iconic-songwriter-hal-david-dies-at-1-in-los-angeles/?intcmp=features#ixzz25V5IOJDf