Andy LaVerne
Three's Not A Crowd
By Jazzloft
The “Three” of “The Three Is Not A Crowd” goes way back to 1977 when Andy LaVerne, Mike Richmond and Billy Hart comprised the rhythm section for the great Stan Getz quartet.
Andy LaVerne cut his debut album with Richmond and Hart that year in Copenhagen which was released as “Another World” (SteepleChase SCCD 31086).
35 years later the “Three” convened in a NJ studio to record. The result here is not just a reunion but a new world of creative outpouring by the three mature artists. Recorded December 2011.
ARTISTS:
Andy Laverne (piano); Mike Richmond (bass); Billy Hart (drums)
TRACKS:
Fourth Right
Three's Not A Crowd
Bird Song
As Always
Flashback
Embrace
Leave the Blues Behind
Destiny
Kate McGarry
Girl Talk
By Mark Corroto
Someone should tell vocalists today—at least the ones we see on those TV talent hunts—that singing doesn't have to be some exercise in screaming self-annihilation, that beauty and style is more about composure and command. You could tell them, or you can hip them to Girl Talk, by Kate McGarry.
McGarry, a jazz vocalist, has covered various pop and folk songs by the likes of Peter Gabriel, Sting, Björk and Joni Mitchell on prior recordings. Her style defies categorization. Or, perhaps she has been saying that jazz has become 21st century folk music.
Like her previous disc, If Less Is More... Nothing is Everything (Palmetto, 2008), she employs a first-rate jazz band that includes her guitarist/husband Keith Ganz, keyboardist Gary Versace, bassist Reuben Rogers, and drummer Clarence Penn. The quartet, along with Matt Balitsaris of Palmetto Records, ensures that the sound is top rate.
On Girl Talk she forgoes pop music for a more traditional, popular jazz sound. Like her role models Betty Carter, Sheila Jordan and Carmen McRae, you can call it jazz or pop, to them it's just singing. Like her vocal mentors, she delivers with an assured sprezzatura—that effortless style that sounds innate but can only be delivered after intense study and practice.
The title track, a bit of patronizing misogyny, gets turned on its sarcastic head, much in the manner that fellow singer Tony Bennett covered the song in 1966. McGarry's bluesy, loping delivery is balanced by the throwback sounds of Versace's organ and Ganz's guitar. The guitarist is featured throughout, and plays a duet with McGarry on the ballad "Looking Back," doubling on acoustic and electric guitars.
What's to love here is the casual nature of this remarkable ensemble. McGarry makes the complex seem unpretentious. She can move between speaking and singing through a song without a perceptible difference between the two, as she does on "I Just Found Out About Love." Maybe that's why her voice fits hand-in-hand with singer/orator Kurt Elling on the Brazilian "O Contador." She endears herself with the flirty track "I Know That You Know," a scat-filled "It's a Wonderful World," and the bachelor (or bachelorette) pad tango, "Charade."
Kate McGarry certainly has that "thing" that Duke Ellington wrote a song about, and her music does mean a thing.
Track Listing:
By Doug Collete
Gregoire Maret's first album under his own name is both more and less than a Music lover following the harmonicist's career might expect. After years of collaborating with the likes of guitarists Pat Metheny and Charlie Hunter, and vocalist Cassandra Wilson, Maret (mostly) wisely but ambitiously places his instrument in a variety of settings that highlight various aspects of his playing.
The sum effect of hearing his eponymous debut is to appreciate how much Maret has brought to the music of others. "Lucilla's Dream" recalls Maret's collaboration with Metheny on The Way Up (Nonesuch, 2005), and not just so obviously with the inclusion of wordless vocals; the performance builds through a series of carefully wrought crescendos and concludes emphatically with Clarence Penn's drum break. On a leisurely stroll through Metheny's co-composition with pianist Lyle Mays, "Travels," Maret takes the time to explore its melodic nuances with exquisite patience.
Maret's distinctive presence as a musician also comes forth clearly on his rendition of Stevie Wonder's "The Secret Life of Plants," written by the one-time Motown wunderkind when he'd long since left his own harmonica behind for synthesizers and a variety of other keyboards. As he does throughout the CD, Maret brings a vivid tone to his playing in the straightforward arrangement, no small achievement given that his harmonica, by its very nature, puts forth a light breezy air.
"Crepuscule Suite" is one of a pair of extended pieces here, and its body offers the opportunity for Maret to vigorously improvise with the other participants, including bassist James Genus and keyboardist Federico Pena. The other is "Children's Suite," one of the three Maret originals, and it highlights the harmonicist's playing in a series of delicious contrasts with strings as well as acoustic piano. Ultimately, this becomes the gateway to the slow unfolding of the album's track sequencing that conjures up a dream-like quality.
For all the indisputably impeccable musicianship and production, however, Maret's album sounds as if he was too anxious to present his definitive artistic statement in one fell swoop. The track featuring mentor Cassandra Wilson is the most representative of that labored approach: the sole cut featuring a traditional vocal, her voice is as arresting as Maret's playing but is, in the end, simply too obvious a tribute/homage to the artist with whom Maret has collaborated.
More than compensating for that understandable lapse, though, are those memorable moments within the orchestrated "O Amor E O Meu Pais." Here, fellow harmonicist Toots Thielemans appears to interact fluently with Maret, and the gusto in the pair's playing is unmistakable. The sound of their instruments and their interplay is stirring, but deceptively so, as is the case through most of the tracks on Gregoire Maret.
Track Listing:
By Mark Corroto
Someone should tell vocalists today—at least the ones we see on those TV talent hunts—that singing doesn't have to be some exercise in screaming self-annihilation, that beauty and style is more about composure and command. You could tell them, or you can hip them to Girl Talk, by Kate McGarry.
McGarry, a jazz vocalist, has covered various pop and folk songs by the likes of Peter Gabriel, Sting, Björk and Joni Mitchell on prior recordings. Her style defies categorization. Or, perhaps she has been saying that jazz has become 21st century folk music.
Like her previous disc, If Less Is More... Nothing is Everything (Palmetto, 2008), she employs a first-rate jazz band that includes her guitarist/husband Keith Ganz, keyboardist Gary Versace, bassist Reuben Rogers, and drummer Clarence Penn. The quartet, along with Matt Balitsaris of Palmetto Records, ensures that the sound is top rate.
On Girl Talk she forgoes pop music for a more traditional, popular jazz sound. Like her role models Betty Carter, Sheila Jordan and Carmen McRae, you can call it jazz or pop, to them it's just singing. Like her vocal mentors, she delivers with an assured sprezzatura—that effortless style that sounds innate but can only be delivered after intense study and practice.
The title track, a bit of patronizing misogyny, gets turned on its sarcastic head, much in the manner that fellow singer Tony Bennett covered the song in 1966. McGarry's bluesy, loping delivery is balanced by the throwback sounds of Versace's organ and Ganz's guitar. The guitarist is featured throughout, and plays a duet with McGarry on the ballad "Looking Back," doubling on acoustic and electric guitars.
What's to love here is the casual nature of this remarkable ensemble. McGarry makes the complex seem unpretentious. She can move between speaking and singing through a song without a perceptible difference between the two, as she does on "I Just Found Out About Love." Maybe that's why her voice fits hand-in-hand with singer/orator Kurt Elling on the Brazilian "O Contador." She endears herself with the flirty track "I Know That You Know," a scat-filled "It's a Wonderful World," and the bachelor (or bachelorette) pad tango, "Charade."
Kate McGarry certainly has that "thing" that Duke Ellington wrote a song about, and her music does mean a thing.
Track Listing:
We Kiss in a Shadow; Girl Talk; I Just Found Out About Love; The Man I Love; O Cantador; This Heart of Mine; I Know That You Know; Looking Back; Charade; It’s a Wonderful World.
Personnel:
Personnel:
Kate McGarry: vocal; Keith Ganz: guitars; Gary Versace: piano, organ; Reuban Rogers: bass; Clarence Penn: drums, percussion; Kurt Elling: vocal (5).
Grégoire Maret
By Doug Collete
Gregoire Maret's first album under his own name is both more and less than a Music lover following the harmonicist's career might expect. After years of collaborating with the likes of guitarists Pat Metheny and Charlie Hunter, and vocalist Cassandra Wilson, Maret (mostly) wisely but ambitiously places his instrument in a variety of settings that highlight various aspects of his playing.
The sum effect of hearing his eponymous debut is to appreciate how much Maret has brought to the music of others. "Lucilla's Dream" recalls Maret's collaboration with Metheny on The Way Up (Nonesuch, 2005), and not just so obviously with the inclusion of wordless vocals; the performance builds through a series of carefully wrought crescendos and concludes emphatically with Clarence Penn's drum break. On a leisurely stroll through Metheny's co-composition with pianist Lyle Mays, "Travels," Maret takes the time to explore its melodic nuances with exquisite patience.
Maret's distinctive presence as a musician also comes forth clearly on his rendition of Stevie Wonder's "The Secret Life of Plants," written by the one-time Motown wunderkind when he'd long since left his own harmonica behind for synthesizers and a variety of other keyboards. As he does throughout the CD, Maret brings a vivid tone to his playing in the straightforward arrangement, no small achievement given that his harmonica, by its very nature, puts forth a light breezy air.
"Crepuscule Suite" is one of a pair of extended pieces here, and its body offers the opportunity for Maret to vigorously improvise with the other participants, including bassist James Genus and keyboardist Federico Pena. The other is "Children's Suite," one of the three Maret originals, and it highlights the harmonicist's playing in a series of delicious contrasts with strings as well as acoustic piano. Ultimately, this becomes the gateway to the slow unfolding of the album's track sequencing that conjures up a dream-like quality.
For all the indisputably impeccable musicianship and production, however, Maret's album sounds as if he was too anxious to present his definitive artistic statement in one fell swoop. The track featuring mentor Cassandra Wilson is the most representative of that labored approach: the sole cut featuring a traditional vocal, her voice is as arresting as Maret's playing but is, in the end, simply too obvious a tribute/homage to the artist with whom Maret has collaborated.
More than compensating for that understandable lapse, though, are those memorable moments within the orchestrated "O Amor E O Meu Pais." Here, fellow harmonicist Toots Thielemans appears to interact fluently with Maret, and the gusto in the pair's playing is unmistakable. The sound of their instruments and their interplay is stirring, but deceptively so, as is the case through most of the tracks on Gregoire Maret.
Track Listing:
Lucilla's Dream; The Secret Life Of Plants; The Man I Love; Travels; Crepuscule Suite: 5:37 PM (Intro);Crepuscule Suite: Crepuscule; Crepuscule Suite: 4:28 AM Outro; Manha Du Sol; Prayer; Lembra De Mim; Children's Suite: The Womb; Children's Suite: Children's Song; Children's Suite: Outro; O Amor E O Meu Pais; Ponta De Areia (M. Nascimento).
Personnel:
Personnel:
Grégoire Maret: harmonica, vocals; Federico G Pena: piano, taicho harp, percussion, vocals; James Genus: electric bass, vocals, acoustic bass; Clarence Penn: drums, vocals; Bashiri Johnson and Mino Cinelu: percussion; Brandon Ross: soprano acoustic guitar, 6- and-12 string acoustic guitar; Jean-Christophe Maillard: acoustic guitar, taicho harp; Jeff "Tain" Watts: drums; Alfredo Mojica: percussion; Cassandra Wilson: vocals; Stephanie Decailet: violin; Johannes Rose: viola; Fabrice Loyal: cello; Marcus Miller: fretless bass; Janelle Gill, Adia Gill, Clyde Gill, Micai Gill: vocals; Toots Thielemans: harmonica; Robert Kubiszyn: acoustic bass; Krzystol Herzdin: string arrangement; Gretchen Parlato: voice. Soumas Heritage School of Music Ensemble; Sinfonia Viva Orchestra
Bobo Stenson Trio
Indicum
By Joe Lang
It had to happen sooner or later. After playing on the Cole Porter piano at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City for almost 15 years, DARYL SHERMAN has released an album of songs by the talented gentleman who owned the piano in question.
For the recording of Mississippi Belle: Cole Porter in the Quarter (ACD-342), Sherman opted to travel down to New Orleans, engage Jesse Boyd on bass, and Tom Fischer on clarinet and tenor sax, and explore 13 Porter gems.
In choosing tunes for her program, she used her imagination, selecting familiar songs, "Let's Do It," "Get out of Town," "Rosalie," "Looking at You," "From This Moment On" and "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To;" some that are heard occasionally, "Tale of the Oyster," "Use Your Imagination," "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and "Where Have You Been;" a few truly obscure, "Ours" and "By the Mississinewah;" and one never previously recorded, "Mississippi Belle."
An added bonus is the appearance of Banu Gibson, a fine jazz vocalist and New Orleans institution, as a duet partner on "By the Mississinewah."
Sherman's intimate vocal style, fabulous phrasing and inventive self accompaniment on piano are combined with the fine musicianship of her cohorts to produce an album that would surely have pleased Mr. Porter, and will have a similar effect on his legions of admirers.
Personnel:
Daryl Sherman: vocals, piano
Jesse Boyd, Bass
Tom Fischer, Clarinet/Tenor sax
special guest, Banu Gibson, (vocal/Track 7)
By Thom Jurek
Any listener familiar with Bobo Stenson's work knows that extensive range is a trademark on his records.Indicum is no exception. With longtime bassist Anders Jormin and drummer Jon Fält, he takes on works by Bill Evans, George Russell, contemporary sacred composition, free group improv, traditional hymns, and jazz reads of Carl Nielsen on this 12-track set. Stenson opens with a brief solo reading of Evans' "Your Story," dedicated to the late Paul Motian, who had held the drum chair on the Trio's 2005 album, Goodbye. It's elegant, emotive, and bears the hallmarks of Stenson's sparse yet striking chords. "Indikon," the first of three group improvs, commences with Fält's solo. The pianist enters with an abundant lyricism, weighted by Jormin's slow, studied pulse. As the players engage and trade the foreground, an organic process emerges and begins its evolution. On "Indigo," dark minor keys emerge from the tune's body to create dramatic tension. Jormin's low end adds a force to Stenson's argument, but Fält's shimmering cymbals and flat snare counter it all, creating balance. The set includes version of Wolf Bierman's protest song "Ermutigung," which shimmers even as it swings; its melancholy overtones embraced and articulated fully in Jormin's song-like solo. The inclusion of Argentinian composer Ariel Ramirez's "La Peregrinacion" illustrates how subtle, even hidden aspects of rhythmic interplay are evoked inside this group's lyric improvisation. The other end of the folk spectrum is highlighted in the Norwegian traditional "Ave Maria." The sacred melody is pronounced, then shifted to find the margin. In its place, a haunting improvisation/dialogue illustrates the many harmonic possibilities in its formal architecture. Jormin's "Sol" is a fine vehicle for him and Fält. Stenson doesn't enter until two minutes into the conversation. When he does, it's via a series of carefully spaced triads that frame Jormin's arco. Before the tune gels, it hints at post-bop without indulging it, yet its graceful sense of swing is implicit. Album-closer "Ubi Caritas" is a choral piece by contemporary composer Ola Gjeilo. In intent, it walks a line between modern and medieval music. But Stenson uses its structural evocation of plain chant in his chords and allows Jormin a soprano-like quality with his bow. Fält skeletally and spaciously accents it all, keeping the tune's mysterious quality intact. The Stenson Trio is the rarest of bands, one that approaches its material as a series of queries to be summarily explored, rather than statements to be made. As such, Indicum succeeds in spades.
Daryl Sherman
Any listener familiar with Bobo Stenson's work knows that extensive range is a trademark on his records.Indicum is no exception. With longtime bassist Anders Jormin and drummer Jon Fält, he takes on works by Bill Evans, George Russell, contemporary sacred composition, free group improv, traditional hymns, and jazz reads of Carl Nielsen on this 12-track set. Stenson opens with a brief solo reading of Evans' "Your Story," dedicated to the late Paul Motian, who had held the drum chair on the Trio's 2005 album, Goodbye. It's elegant, emotive, and bears the hallmarks of Stenson's sparse yet striking chords. "Indikon," the first of three group improvs, commences with Fält's solo. The pianist enters with an abundant lyricism, weighted by Jormin's slow, studied pulse. As the players engage and trade the foreground, an organic process emerges and begins its evolution. On "Indigo," dark minor keys emerge from the tune's body to create dramatic tension. Jormin's low end adds a force to Stenson's argument, but Fält's shimmering cymbals and flat snare counter it all, creating balance. The set includes version of Wolf Bierman's protest song "Ermutigung," which shimmers even as it swings; its melancholy overtones embraced and articulated fully in Jormin's song-like solo. The inclusion of Argentinian composer Ariel Ramirez's "La Peregrinacion" illustrates how subtle, even hidden aspects of rhythmic interplay are evoked inside this group's lyric improvisation. The other end of the folk spectrum is highlighted in the Norwegian traditional "Ave Maria." The sacred melody is pronounced, then shifted to find the margin. In its place, a haunting improvisation/dialogue illustrates the many harmonic possibilities in its formal architecture. Jormin's "Sol" is a fine vehicle for him and Fält. Stenson doesn't enter until two minutes into the conversation. When he does, it's via a series of carefully spaced triads that frame Jormin's arco. Before the tune gels, it hints at post-bop without indulging it, yet its graceful sense of swing is implicit. Album-closer "Ubi Caritas" is a choral piece by contemporary composer Ola Gjeilo. In intent, it walks a line between modern and medieval music. But Stenson uses its structural evocation of plain chant in his chords and allows Jormin a soprano-like quality with his bow. Fält skeletally and spaciously accents it all, keeping the tune's mysterious quality intact. The Stenson Trio is the rarest of bands, one that approaches its material as a series of queries to be summarily explored, rather than statements to be made. As such, Indicum succeeds in spades.
Daryl Sherman
Mississippi Belle: Cole Porter In The Quartet
By Joe Lang
It had to happen sooner or later. After playing on the Cole Porter piano at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City for almost 15 years, DARYL SHERMAN has released an album of songs by the talented gentleman who owned the piano in question.
For the recording of Mississippi Belle: Cole Porter in the Quarter (ACD-342), Sherman opted to travel down to New Orleans, engage Jesse Boyd on bass, and Tom Fischer on clarinet and tenor sax, and explore 13 Porter gems.
In choosing tunes for her program, she used her imagination, selecting familiar songs, "Let's Do It," "Get out of Town," "Rosalie," "Looking at You," "From This Moment On" and "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To;" some that are heard occasionally, "Tale of the Oyster," "Use Your Imagination," "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and "Where Have You Been;" a few truly obscure, "Ours" and "By the Mississinewah;" and one never previously recorded, "Mississippi Belle."
An added bonus is the appearance of Banu Gibson, a fine jazz vocalist and New Orleans institution, as a duet partner on "By the Mississinewah."
Sherman's intimate vocal style, fabulous phrasing and inventive self accompaniment on piano are combined with the fine musicianship of her cohorts to produce an album that would surely have pleased Mr. Porter, and will have a similar effect on his legions of admirers.
Personnel:
Daryl Sherman: vocals, piano
Jesse Boyd, Bass
Tom Fischer, Clarinet/Tenor sax
special guest, Banu Gibson, (vocal/Track 7)
Jane Scheckter
Easy To Remember
By Edward Blanco
Music from The Great American Songbook is getting quite a workout these days, with more musicians and singers spinning their renditions of old standards and classics than ever before. On the stellar Easy To Remember, jazz-cabaret singer Jane Scheckter taps into the well, lending her interpretations to songs from this repertoire with an all-star cast of players. This is the fourth album for the veteran vocalist using a standard trio format. Pianist/arranger Ted Firth and bassist extraordinaire Jay Leonhart, who both appeared with Scheckter on In Times Like These (Doxie, 2003), return for this follow-up engagement, with drummer Peter Grant rounding out the core band.
There is plenty of good music to enjoy on this 17-song release, and while the trio provides the main instrumental support, the personnel is expanded to add jazz luminaries such as guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, cornet specialist Warren Vaché, tenor saxophonist Harry Allen and others. Scheckter's enticing vocal style has been compared to the great Ella Fitzgerald. This is not to suggest that her vocal range compares, but her approach and general sound does bring to mind the icon's swagger. Borrowing from legendary composers Irving Berlin and Ray Noble, Scheckter begins painting her canvas of the American Songbook with swinging reads of "The Best Thing For You" and "I Hadn't Anyone Till You," with lively contributions from the Pizzarelli, Vaché and Allen.
Beautiful ballads come into play with "I Have the Feeling I've Been Here Before," which features Scheckter at her best, accompanied well by a delicate cornet solo from Vaché. The singer turns in another sensitive performance on the Richard Rodgers title piece before sharing vocals with Tony DeSare on Duke Ellington's "I Didn't Know About You." Scheckter seems comfortable with ballads, delivering more tender moments with lush performances on "A Face Like Yours," "Stuck In A Dream With Me," "I'm Glad There Is You" and the Cy Coleman standard, "I Walk A Little Faster." The Rodgers and Hart standard "Where Or When" features the singer in a duet of sorts with harmonicist Gil Chimes.
Scheckter swings well on such classics as "How Little We Know," "Accidents Will Happen" and "Along With Me." Adding a bit of creative innovation to the project, the album closes with a version of "Will You Be Mine" with new lyrics supplied by Bob Feinberg. His text includes clever and humorous references to Donald Trump, Hugh Hefner, Paris Hilton and even Fox News—all germane to the 2011-2012 political landscape. One thing is certainly "Easy To Remember," Jane Scheckter is an uncommon songbird whose voice and music will not soon be forgetten.
Track Listing:
The Best Thing For You; I Hadn't Anyone Till You; I Have The Feeling I've Been Here Before; I Was A Little Too Lonely; Easy To Remember; I Didn't Know About You; Don't Let It Get You Down; Will You Still Be Mine; A Face Like Yours; Where Or When; How Little We Know; Stuck In A Dream With Me; Accidents Will Happen; I'm Glad There Is You; Along With Me; I Walk A Little Faster; Bonus! Will You Be Mine.
Personnel:
Personnel:
Jane Scheckter: vocals; Tedd Firth: piano; Jat Leonhart: bass; Peter Grant: drums; Bucky Pizzarelli: guitar; Warren Vaché: cornet; Harry Allen: tenor saxophone; Aaron Weinstein: violin; Tony DeSare: vocals (6); Gil Chimes: harmonica (10).
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