1 Sem 2014 - Part Five

Daniel Humair 

Sweet & Sour - Parisien/Regard/Peirani



By Dave Gelly at The Observer 
Even if you didn't know that Humair is one of France's top percussionists, you might guess that this was a Gallic offering by the presence of an accordion in his quartet, in place of the customary piano. Not that this is by any means an easy-listening cafe experience. In fact, some if it is so abstract that it's quite hard going, but the way these players develop whole musical narratives out of the simplest initial ideas can be mesmerising, if you give it a chance. The veteran Humair has certainly found kindred spirits in musicians half his age, especially the remarkable accordionist, Vincent Peirani.

Carlos Franzetti & Allison Brewster Franzetti

Alborada



By Dan Bilawsky

Pianist Carlos Franzetti's versatility is one of his many virtues. Few artists could pull off a solo piano project like Mambo Tango(Sunnyside, 2009), and then turn right around and create such moving music for orchestra and piano. Fortunately, Franzetti has the talent, drive and discipline to match his ambitions andAlborada is the proof.
Both Franzetti and his wife, Allison Brewster Franzetti, alternate between the podium and the piano bench throughout the album, and share a similar philosophy about the overall arc of these works. They seem to be in complete agreement that mood should win out over muscle and, while they get their fill of solo space, both pianists wisely prefer to integrate their playing into the overall orchestral web of sound, rather than forcing it to stand too far apart from the general atmosphere of each piece. Some of the music has overt Latin ideals, like Franzetti's tribute to author Gabriel Garcia Marquez ("Mombosa"), while other pieces are more European at heart ("Illuminata"). The latter number moves from a menacing place to placid impressionism and beyond, while the former stays the course that's set from the beginning.
The funky orchestral patterns on "Mirage" almost sound like a vastly reworked version of the rhythmic landscape from Freddie Hubbard's "Red Clay," and Carlos Franzetti takes things further afield into fusion territory with his Fender Rhodes work. "Pasacaglia" is breathtakingly gorgeous and cinematic in scope, and the balance between the orchestra and Allison Brewster Franzetti's piano is simply perfect.
The rhythm duo of bassist Robert Balzar and drummer Jiri Slavicek work their way into the music in subtle ways during the majority of this music, but their presence is essential. They add a little bounce to the music ("Iguazu"), deliver superbly understated swing on the trio-meets-orchestra music of "Song Without Words," and provide finishing touches in other places throughout the album. Maurice Ravel and Bill Evans were the primary inspirations for the A and B sections (respectively) on the title track, and this piece proves to be a wonderful showcase for the female Falzetti.
"Serenata" sizzles with the heat of Latin America and Allison Brewster Franzetti's playing is elegant, yet enticing, as she delivers the most passionate piece on the album. The final composition on the album, "For Ever Milton," is dedicated to Milton Nascimento, and a bit of a Brazilian funk hybrid feel underscores the orchestra and piano. Alborada is truly a triumph for the Franzettis, and a fine example of how jazz and classical can meet on common ground without giving up their own identities in the process.
Track Listing: 

Mombasa; Illuminata; Mirage; Pasacaglia; Iguazu; Song Without Words; Alborada; Serenata; For Ever Milton.
Personnel: 

Carlos Franzetti: piano (1, 3, 5, 6, 9); Allison Brewster Franzetti: piano(2, 4, 7, 8); Robert Balzar: bass; Jiri Slavicek: drums; City of Prague Philharmonic.


Walter Norris & Leszek Mozdzer
The Last Set - Live at the A-Trane




Last Set: Live at the A-Trane album by Leszek Mozdzer / Walter Norris was released Feb 12, 2013 on the Act Music + Vision label. 

Recording information: A-Trane, Berlin (11/02/2008). Last Set: Live at the A-Trane 

Songs Editor: Leszek Mozdzer. Last Set: Live at the A-Trane 

Personnel: Walter Norris (grand piano); Leszek Mozdzer (grand piano).

Liner Note Author: Herb Geller. Last Set: Live at the A-Trane CD music contains a single disc with 8 songs.


Kirk Lightsey

Lightsey to Gladden



By CrissCross
In 1990, when he recorded this scintillating date, now released for the first time, pianist Kirk Lightsey was one of New York's first-call pianists, a regular in the rotation at Bradley's, the legendary New York piano saloon, with the likes of John Hicks, Walter Davis, Jr., Tommy Flanagan, George Cables, and Roger Kellaway.
Here he convenes a cohort of New York A-listers --- trumpet giant and fellow Detroiter Marcus Belgrave; tenor saxophonist and flutist Craig Handy, then making his first impact on the scene; bassist David Williams, who could boast a decade's experience as Cedar Walton's bassist of choice; and drummer Eddie Gladden, Lightsey's bandmate with Dexter Gordon's group before --- to play a program that includes strong repertoire by Lightsey, Wayne Shorter, Detroit drummer Lawrence Williams, and choice standards.

Tracks:
1. Donkey Dust (Kirk Lightsey); 2. Number Nine (Lawrence Williams)
3. Everyday Politics (Craig Handy); 4. Wayne Shorter (Harold Danko)
5. Pinocchio (Wayne Shorter); 6. Moon (D. Durrah); 7. Working Together (Lawrence Williams)
8. Midnight Sun (Lionel Hampton)
Total Time: 66:40
Recorded January 3, 1991 in New York City, NY, USA by Max Bolleman


Gogo Penguin

Fanfares



By Bruce Lindsay

Jazz musicians are some of the most musically imaginative souls on the planet, but their imaginations often desert them when it's time to choose a band name. So thanks must go to whoever decided to name this group GoGo Penguin: it's a suitably imaginative name for a trio full of imaginative music. Three young men who met at the Royal Northern College Of Music in Manchester, with a sound that combines jazz, dance music, electronica and rock: that's Gogo Penguin. Fanfares, on Manchester-based trumpeter Matthew Halsall's Gondwana Records, is an emphatic opening statement for the trio's career.
GoGo Penguin may be a piano trio, but it's by no means a piano-led trio. Grant Russell takes on more than the usual bassist's share of the melodies. Drummer Rob Turner's constantly inventive percussion reveals new joys on repeated listening. The tunes are all originals—the rather minimalist sleeve notes don't give credits for individual tunes, suggesting that they may all be group compositions in some shape or form, and the equally minimalist band website isn't giving much away either.
There are attention-grabbing tunes and performances throughout Fanfares. "Seven Sons Of Björn" wears its influence on its sleeve: the title giving a strong hint, the music—driving, energetic, full of movement—making it clear. This is GoGo Penguin's tribute to theEsbjorn Svensson Trio (e.s.t.). Elsewhere, there are resemblances to pianist Neil Cowley's Trio ("Fanfares") and to Phronesis ("I Am That"), two bands that also share GoGo Penguin's openness, drive and passion.
The hypnotic "Last Words" is underpinned by pianist Chris Illingworth's repetitive three-note bass line, the melody shared between Illingworth's right hand and Russell's bounding bass while Turner's busy, skittering, drumming displays a resemblance to the style of e.s.t.'sMagnus Ostrom. "Unconditional" is another tune built around a hypnotic groove but it's a gentler affair altogether; Russell and Turner keep things cool while Illingworth takes the lead role on this beautiful and melancholy piece. "Akasthesia" begins with Russell's confident and soulful bass solo, becoming a brief drum and bass duet and, with Illingworth's entrance, opening up into a graceful, expansive melody. The punchy, assertive "HF" demonstrates GoGo Penguin's more muscular side, yet Turner's arco playing on the tune has a spectral beauty.
So, GoGo Penguin gets the award for Band Name Of The Year: an impressive accolade in itself, but of little consequence if the band were to fail on a musical level. But Fanfares doesn't fail; this would be an impressive fourth or fifth album, let alone a debut release. 2012 year end Best Oflists await.
Track Listing: 

Seven Sons Of Björn; Last Words; Unconditional; Fanfares; I Am That; Akasthesia; HF.
Personnel: 

Chris Illingworth: piano; Grant Russell: bass; Rob Turner: drums.

Alexi Tuomarila Trio

Seven Hills



By John Kelman

While not entirely rare, it is relatively uncommon to find relationships forged so strongly that the musicians find themselves working together in multiple contexts, where the names remain the same, only the leader changes. Finnish pianist Alexi Tuomarila and drummer Olavi Louhivuori have been working together in a variety of contexts for the past several years, most notably with Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko's quintet responsible for Dark Eyes (ECM, 2010), but together withMats Eilertsen, they've not only worked together as the trio responsible for the pianist'sConstellations (Jazzaway, 2006), they've also been at the core of the Norwegian bassist's SkyDive quintet, heard on its self-titled 2012 Hubro debut.
Reconvening under the pianist's leadership for his trio's long overdue second release, Seven Hills is, however, the first to receive international distribution from UK pianist Dave Stapleton's Edition Records. Continuing to build on the trio's intrinsic chemistry in a program of all-original music, Seven Hills positions Tuomarila as not just a pianist of watch-worthy merit, but a composer of equal value.
These days, when the words "European" and "piano trio" are put together in a sentence, comparisons are made, all too often, to that now defunct superstar of European piano trios,Esbjorn Svensson Trio (e.s.t.), whose career was cut short by the untimely death of its pianist in 2008. More often than not it's a lazy, superficial association so let's get one thing out of the way right now: Alexi Tuomarila Trio is not the next e.s.t., nor does it need to be. Tuomarila's early quartet records, from just after the turn of the millennium, were good enough to capture the ear of American pianist Brad Mehldau, and for good reason: unlike young pianists for whom Mehldau is an obvious touchstone, the distinctive Tuomarila's references are far more subsumed.
On "Prologue"—one of two tracks featuring guest guitarist (and album engineer) Andre Fernades, whose gently overdriven tone further expands the trio's soundscape with quirky, idiosyncratic inevitability—Tuomarila's motivic approach to soloing in the second half of this episodic, irregularly metered piece floats over a modal foundation. The pianist's gently majestic tack during the opening title track's folkloric intro gives way to a fiery solo over Eilertsen's robust 7/4 groove, further bolstered by Louhivuori's flexible mesh of light touch and frenetic polyrhythms, as the trio's mitochondrial connectivity makes the equally graceful "Jibeinia" a rubato tone poem of rare perfection that contrasts with the swinging free-bop of "Visitor Q."
None of these players has yet to reach 40—with Louhivuori the youngest at 31 and Tuomarila the oldest at 39—but they've already amassed such a broad collective resume that none of them have anything left to prove. Virtuosity may be a given—and there are plenty of glimpses to be found throughout Seven Hills—but it's equally clear that this trio's concerns are focus and collective interpretation rather than singular spotlights.
Tuomarila, Eilertsen and Louhivuori represent a different kind of piano trio to e.s.t.-aspirants—one that, based on the commanding, challenging and accessible Seven Hills, values real improvisational acumen reliant on motif-based, in-the-moment development rather than catchphrase predictability and access-driven familiarity.
Track Listing: 

Seven Hills; Cyan; Prologue; Jibeinia; Skuld; Pearl; Visitor Q; Miss; Ceremony.
Personnel: 

Alexi Tuomarila: piano; Mats Eilertsen: double bass; Olavi Louhivuori: drums; Andre Fernades: guitar (3, 9).

1 Sem 2014 - Part Four

André Togni Trio

Lugar de Sal



By vemviverbrasilia
Baterista, compositor e produtor musical, André Togni possui formação jazzística e pesquisa há muito tempo a cultura popular brasileira. Ganhou o Prêmio Tim 2005 como produtor musical, baterista e percussionista do Grupo Casa de Farinha, e participou de diversos festivais no Brasil, Estados Unidos e Europa.
Gravado ao vivo no estúdio Beco da Coruja, o CD "Lugar de Sal" apresenta ao público oito músicas, cinco composições próprias e três interpretações executadas com a formação de trio liderados por André Togni.
A produção de "Lugar de Sal" concretizou um antigo desejo do baterista: gravar um disco de jazz acompanhado por músicos com quem tem grande entrosamento musical, evidenciando as possibilidades das composições, a elasticidade dos arranjos e a liberdade criativa dos improvisos.
Nas oito músicas prevalecem a criação coletiva, a precisão instrumental e uma dinâmica quase telepática entre os músicos. Lugar de Sal tem influências do jazz contemporâneo e ritmos brasileiros, com uma abordagem focada no improviso em, que a voz principal passa de um instrumento para outro como um diálogo.
"O som é impactante e profundo, com muita energia", diz André.

Personnel:
André Togni - drums; Oswaldo Amorim - bass; Serge Frasunkiewicz - piano Yamaha

Kenny Wheeler

Six For Six



By John Kelman

When artists move into their eighties, every new album is a gift. It's difficult enough for any octogenarian musician to maintain his/her game, but especially horn players, for whom embouchure and breath are so essential to tone and reach. Six for Six is, however, a curious gift from expat Canadian trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, who's made Britain his home since the mid-'50s. Recorded in 2008, it's his first sextet recording since 2003's Dream Sequence—and even that album only featured one piece for all six players. What that really means, then, is that Six for Six is Wheeler's first real sextet date since 1980'sAround 6, and his very first with a lineup consisting, in addition to his inimitable horn work, of two saxophones, piano, bass and drums.
It's a curious program: a full six of its eight tracks were heard just last year on Wheeler's superb big band outing, The Long Waiting (Cam Jazz, 2012), but they couldn't be more different, demonstrating just how malleable Wheeler's charts can be. Recorded in 2011, The Long Waiting, "Seven, Eight, Nine" was a relatively concise, mid-tempo swinger that featured just one solo (Wheeler); here, it's broken into two parts spread across the record. The album-opening "Part 1" opens with a powerful a cappella intro from drummer Martin France that sets the tone for an album that's Wheeler's most flat-out incendiary since Double, Double You (ECM, 1984). Unlike The Long Waiting's mixed meter reading of 7/8, 6/8 and 4/4, "Part 1" here sticks with a constant 4/4, but at a much brighter clip—and with plenty more solo space for Wheeler, tenor saxophonist Bobby Wellins and soprano saxophonist Stan Sulzmann.
Excising the original's second theme for further extrapolation, "Seven, Eight, Nine (Part 2)," is taken at a slightly slower pace than "Part 1" (but still considerably brighter than the big band version) and, while significantly shorter, still leaves room for impressive solos from Sulzmann (this time on tenor), Taylor and Wheeler, with Laurence a firm but pliant anchor and France, once again, playing with fire and unfettered freedom throughout this bright 6/8 take.
Wellins is the only new face here, with Sulzmann, pianist John Taylor and bassist Chris Laurenceall longtime Wheeler collaborators; and, although France only made his first recorded appearance with Wheeler on The Long Waiting, he's been gigging with the trumpeter for some time, and has been a member of Taylor's trio since the pianist's superb Angel of the Presence (Cam Jazz, 2006). Still, with Wellins an alumnus of British luminaries like Stan Tracey andTubby Hayes, it's unlikely that this is the first time he and Wheeler have broken musical bread together. On the flip side to more powerful tracks like "Upwards," which more closely mirrors the energy of The Long Waiting's version, albeit with a significantly altered arrangement, Six for Six's fresh look at "The Long Waiting," with its spare duo intro from Wheeler and Taylor, is taken at a slower pace, while the more amiable pulse of the big band's "Four, Five Six" is deserted here for a shorter version that still manages to squeeze in another piano/trumpet intro, a fiery rubato exchange between Sulzmann and Wellins and, finally—and at a faster clip—space for concise but high octane solos from Wellins, Taylor, Wheeler and France.
It's not just because, with the exception of The Long Waiting, Six for Six is Wheeler's first Cam Jazz recording to feature a drummer—though France certainly lights one heckuva fire underneath his band mates, while still proving capable of a gentler disposition on more subdued fare like "Ballad N. 130" and the brighter, but lighter-textured "The Imminent Immigrant," making its first appearance since Wheeler's quartet date All the More (Soul Note, 1997). In a career now approaching its sixth decade, Wheeler's writing has not lost any of the unmistakable lyricism that's been a defining touchstone since early recordings like the classic Gnu High (ECM, 1976), but even as he's passed the 83 mark this year, Wheeler's lost neither his tone nor his remarkable reach—his closing, stratospheric note at the end of "Four, Five, Six" being something to which many trumpeters half his age still aspire.
Not since Double, Double You has Wheeler released an album as exhilarating as Six for Six. With a sextet capable of delivering both the firepower and the poetry, hopefully this won't be another of the one-shot deals that have defined the rest of Wheeler's nevertheless impressive discography.
Track Listing: 

Seven, Eight, Nine (Part 1); Canter N. 6; The Long Waiting; Four, Five, Six; Ballad N. 130; Seven, Eight, Nine (Part 2); The Imminent Immigrant; Upwards.
Personnel: 

Kenny Wheeler: trumpet, flugelhorn; Stan Sulzmann: tenor and soprano saxophone; Bobby Wellins: tenor saxophone; John Taylor: piano; Chris Laurence: bass; Martin France: drums.

Maria Baptist

Music For Jazz Orchestra



By Jack Bowers

Like it or not, a new wave of young composer / arrangers has surfaced, scrupulously guiding big bands into heretofore uncharted waters, now and then smooth, at other times choppy, but always intriguing and inspired. Maria Schneider,George Gruntz, Jim McNeely and Carla Bley were among the pacesetters, followed in short order by such (relative) newcomers as Satoko Fujii, Darcy James Argue, Jamie Begian, Keith Karns,Stan Sulzmann, Cecilia Coleman, Magnus Lindgren, Colin Byrne,John Daversa, Pete McGuinness, Gail Thompson, Mace Francis and many others, each one lending his or her singular voice to the lexicon of big-band jazz. Now comes another strong contender, German-born Maria Baptist, whose musical voice is arguably the clearest since Grammy-winning Schneider burst on the scene some two decades ago.
Baptist's most recent plunge into the big-band sea, appropriately titled Music for Jazz Orchestra,comprises eleven of her forward-leaning compositions and arrangements. Much like Schneider, Baptist sketches word pictures—tone poems, if you will—often bending but never overlooking the basic elements of jazz including melody, harmony and rhythm, all of which can be found in abundance in her provocative charts. The first ten were recorded at a studio in March 2011, the last, "Minotaurus," seven months later at Jazz Fest Berlin. Although Baptist limits her duties to writing and conducting in the studio, her persuasive piano introduces the tasteful "Minotaurus," whose other able soloists are trombonist Lukas Jochner and tenor saxophonist Nils Wrasse. The leader puts her best foot forward with the straight-on opener, "AVUS" (solos by drummer Julian Fau, alto Kati Brien), and follows up with the seductive "Blue Pictures" (Christian Mehler, flugel; Clemens Oerding, guitar; Julian Kulpmann, drums), which builds to a powerful climax, and the sinewy "Ibiza Conversations" (Lukas Brenner, piano; Johannes Roosen-Runge, trumpet).
"On Top of the Mountain" is picturesque and passionate, as are "The Blossom," "Lingering" (with its faint echoes of Rob McConnell) and "Goodbye," whereas "Avenue Walk" (Adrian Hanack, tenor), "Rush Hour" and "36th Street Midtown" find Baptist in a sunnier and more congenial frame of mind, coaxing sharp and brassy ensemble phrases from her finely-tuned orchestra. Baritone Christoph Beck offers an especially engaging solo on "Midtown," which benefits as well from Johannes von Ballestrem's nimble piano. End to end, this is one of the more gratifying contemporary big-band sessions to emerge in quite some time. One puzzle, however, is why this is a two-disc set, as the total running time is a tick or two over 80 minutes, and all eleven numbers might have been squeezed (albeit tightly) onto a single disc. Perhaps that was tried and it didn't work. Be that as it may, everything else on this splendid album works almost perfectly.
Track Listing: 

AVUS; Blue Pictures; Ibiza Conversations; On Top of the Mountain; The Blossom; Avenue Walk; Rush Hour; Lingering; 36th Street Midtown; Goodbye; Minotaurus (live).
Personnel: 

Maria Baptist: leader, composer, arranger, piano (11); Matthias Schwengler: trumpet, flugelhorn (2-7, 9-11); Mathis Petermann: trumpet, flugelhorn (3-6, 8, 11); Johannes Roosen-Runge: trumpet, flugelhorn (1-3, 6, 8-11); Christian Mehler: trumpet, flugelhorn 1, 2, 7-10); Fabian Bogelsack: trumpet, flugelhorn (1-7, 10); Steffen Mathes: trumpet, flugelhorn (1-3, 5-7, 9, 11); Kati Brien: alto, soprano sax (1, 3-5, 7, 11); Markus Harm: alto, soprano sax (2, 6, 9, 10); Julian Bossert: alto sax (2, 6, 9, 10); Florian Walter: alto sax (1 3-5, 7, 11); Adrian Hanack: tenor sax (1, 2, 6, 7-9, 11); Nils Wrasse: tenor sax, flute (1, 3-7, 9, 11); Markus Potschke: tenor sax, clarinet (2-4, 5, 8, 10); Christoph Beck: baritone sax, bass clarinet (6-9, 11); Paul Muhle: baritone sax, bass clarinet (1-5, 10); Friederike Motzkau: flute (2-5, 8, 10 ,11); Charlotte Ortmann: flute (2-6, 8, 10, 11); Rebecca Trescher: clarinet, bass clarinet (2-4, 8, 10, 11); Janning Trumann: trombone (3-6, 9); Timothy Hepburn: trombone (1, 2, 7, 8, 10); Lukas Jochner: trombone (1,2, 7, 8, 10, 11); Raphael Klemm: trombone (3-6, 9); Kerstin Maler: trombone (1, 2, 7, 8, 10); Lisa Stick: trombone (3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11); Juliane Gralle: trombone (all tracks); Clemens Oerding: guitar (1-10); Charis Karantzas: guitar (11); Johannes von Ballestrem: piano (4-7, 9, 10); Lukas Brenner: piano (3-6); Stefan Nagler: piano (2, 8); Reza Askari-Motlagh: bass (1, 6-9, 11); Kenn Hartwig: bass (2-5, 10); Julian Fau: drums (1, 3-6, 8); Julian Kulpmann: drums (2, 7, 9, 11).

Gerald Clayton

Life Forum



By Greg Thomas at NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
On his third recording as a leader, Gerald Clayton expands his musical statement, exploring wider sonic textures.
On “Two-Shade” and “Bond: The Paris Session,” he and his trio mates, bassist Joe Sanders and drummer Justin Brown, established their place as one of the top emerging trios. They displayed deep musical rapport and facility with everything from swinging standards to the heady mix of time signatures, which are all the rage these days.
“Life Forum” contains 12 originals by Clayton. He’s atop the heap of young jazz pianists making a firm mark on the scene, along with Aaron Diehl, Jonathan Batiste and Christian Sands. The songs in “Life Forum” reflect, he says in the CD notes, “events in my life, especially love and life transitions.”
Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet) and Logan Richardson (alto sax) provide the date an element of surprise. Tenor saxophonist Dayna Stephens squeezes the depths of his experience through his horn (sounding a tad like Joe Lovano).
Vocally, Gretchen Parlato emits an ethereal beauty; Sachal Vasandani, a gentle touch of evening.
The takeaway from this suite-like recording is not about individual virtuosity. Rather, it’s like concentric circles with Clayton and his trio in the center, the horns expanding outward, and the voices adding another oval.
On the title cut, the voice is of Carl Hancock Rux, with a poetic-philosophical spoken word opening. Such musings give way to “Future Reflection,” which includes a reach for vision, full of hope, yet comes back to the present. The groove of “Sir Third” is like a basketball team, moving forward together, each person playing a role, intersecting, accelerating, breaking and jumping as necessary.
Gerald Clayton's suite-like 'Life Forum' contains 12 original compositions.
“Deep Dry Ocean” features Parlato and Clayton sharing a melody line over a steady bass vamp. It’s given velvet support by the drummer’s brushes on the snare and tom-tom. The in-between-ness of emotions in relationship is captured in “Dusk Baby,” sounding like a modern pop ballad with the harmonic sophistication of years past.
“Mao Nas Massa” features a samba rhythm, refracted through the joy and pleasure of Clayton’s play with a drumbeat. The interlude “Prelude” leads to “Some Always,” where Ambrose’s abstractions rub against a plush bed of syncopated groove.
“Like Water” places a bowed bass line mirrored by the vocalists, followed by an alto sax journey. Vocals take the lead on “When an Angel Sheds a Feather,” and transitions to a swinging conclusion by tenor sax, bass and piano, but no drums.

John di Martino & Warrem Vaché

Impromptu



By CDbaby
IMPROMPTU is a collection of standard tunes with inspired performances from master cornet player Warren Vache and the elegant and melodically inventive pianist, John diMartino. A duo made in "musical heaven" this CD is breathtaking!

1 Sem 2014 - Part Three - JAZZ ?

Jane Monheit

The Heart Of The Matter



By Christopher Loudon at JazzTimes
There are distinctive Jane Monheit traits—the stretched notes, the dusky mewing, the ever-present tear in her voice—that can be her best or worst assets. Across the 14 tracks that fill The Heart of the Matter, her eighth studio album, the vote is split. When she ambles through the tender lullaby “Little Man You’ve Had a Busy Day” and the similar “Night Night Stars” (the first song she’s recorded that features self-penned words and music), Monheit’s softly maudlin style is affecting. But the pervasive gloom, far more evident here than on any of her preceding albums, can grow wearisome. Despite the best efforts of such accomplished collaborators as producer, pianist and accordionist Gil Goldstein, guitarist Romero Lubambo and bassist Neal Miner, what was surely intended as wistfulness too often turns leaden. When even as relentlessly peppy a number as Joe Raposo’s “Sing” is made to sound sad, you know you’re adrift in a windless sea.
True to her cabaret leanings, Monheit has always been a good storyteller. Here, though, she’s occasionally guilty of distracting scenery chewing, particularly on an overplayed “Two Lonely People” and a too-emotive “Until It’s Time for You to Go.” Intriguingly, all annoyances disappear when she switches to Portuguese for a double dip into the Ivan Lins songbook, beautifully traversing “Dependes de Nós” and “A Gente Merece Ser Feliz.”

Amanda Brecker

Blossom



By Al Campbell
The daughter of the Brazilian pianist/singer Eliane Elias and trumpeter Randy Brecker, singer/songwriter Amanda Brecker had already released two noteworthy albums in Japan in 2008 and 2009. 2012's Blossom is her first album released in the U.S. on the Emarcy label. Brecker reinterprets 11 classic songs that were written mainly by singer/songwriter Carole King. King's soft rock and soul classics are a perfect vehicle for the singer's crossover jazz arrangements, especially on "You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman," "You've Got a Friend," "So Far Away," "Will You Love me Tomorrow," and "It's Too Late." Grammy-winning songwriter Jesse Harris produced the session and, in keeping with the album's theme, employed drummer Russ Kunkel and bassist Lee Sklar, who played on the original Tapestry recording sessions. The release of Blossom also coincides with the 40th anniversary of Tapestry's releas


Roberta Donnay & The Prohibition Mob Band

A Little Sugar



By Jonathan Widran
Among veteran songstress Roberta Donnay's career accomplishments is having her song "One World" selected as a world peace anthem for the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations; it was also the theme for World Aids Day in South Africa. On her delightfully jazzy, sassy, and colorful follow-up to 2008's jazz standards project What's Your Story, the multi-talented singer aims to achieve global unity in a different way: by pouring A Little Sugar on our differences, taking us back some 80 or 90 years and exploring a time of musical Renaissance that can still tug the heartstrings. In exploring the world of Prohibition-proto-jazz, many singers possessing her charming blend of girlishness and saucy conviction could go the easy route and sing some of the Gershwin, Irving Berlin, and Hoagy Carmichael faves we all know. But there's nary a Gershwin tune to be found, and her two jaunts into Berlin's catalog (the elegant and wistful trio piece "Say It Isn't So," the playful Latin romp "(Tropical) Heatwave," and the single dip into the Carmichael canon (a graceful, swaying "Rocking Chair") take her off the beaten path and into the deeper artistry of those composers and their era. Many of Donnay's song choices reflect her love of strong, outspoken female composers and artists whose songs were practically forerunners of the later women's lib movement. Opening with the swinging and sultry, brass-fired "Oh Papa" accomplishes this in two ways, because the song was originally recorded by "Mother of the Blues" Ma Rainey and later under a different title by Bessie Smith. Likewise, the brisk and lively "You Got to Swing and Sway" -- a song that's so danceable one wonders why it is still so obscure -- which was penned by blues singer Ida Cox in the late '30s when she was making a comeback. The stride/Dixieland-influenced "Mama's Gone Goodbye," originally recorded in 1923, invokes another name largely lost to history but which bears some research: Sippie Wallace. Donnay's big-band arrangement of "Sugar Blues" owes more to Ella Fitzgerald's later recording than any that appeared when it was penned in 1920. Perhaps the epitome of the Great American Songbook -- and often recorded by popular artists -- "You Go to My Head" is given a tender, sparse jazz arrangement. Donnay's voice could make any classic material sound wondrous and timeless, but the fact that she digs so deep into American musical history -- and works with some of the Bay Area's top jazz musicians (under the guise of the Prohibition Mob Band) -- makes A Little Sugar not only sweet, but a recording that will stand the test of time.


Kat Edmonson

Way Down Low



By Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Branching away from standards on her second album Way Down Low, Austin-based jazz vocalist Kat Edmonson also expands her musical worldview, going beyond the sophisticated cabaret of her 2009 debut Take to the Sky and creating a breezy neo-tribute to the swinging '60s. That was the decade that produced Brian Wilson's "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times," one of the few covers on Way Down Low and a sentiment that applies to Edmonson but in a different way. Where the Beach Boy was pining for the days before rock & roll, Edmonson would certainly feel more comfortable in either the '60s or '50s, where bossa nova, swing, and pop mingled happily, as they do here. Certainly, these sounds give Way Down Low a distinctly retro vibe, but Edmonson isn't living in the past, she's pledging allegiance to a tradition, a tradition she finds flexible enough to refashion for modern times. And Kat Edmonson is a modern girl -- after all, she funded the production of Way Down Low via Kickstarter, a move that gave her artistic freedom and professional production, taking full advantage of those two elements. Way Down Low is rich and varied, as are Edmonson's girlish vocals, which never succumb to cloying sweetness or stereotypical scatting. She's nimble and creative within the boundaries of her chosen traditions, which is why Way Down Low feels simultaneously fresh and timeless.

Gloria Estefan

The Standards



By Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Gloria Estefan always has had an element of cabaret in her act but she's never tackled that staple of the supper club, the Great American Songbook, prior to 2013's The Standards. Produced by her husband and longtime collaborator Emilio Estefan, The Standards plays it by the book, choosing familiar songs and playing them in familiar ways. Namely, there are plenty of syrupy strings and tinkling pianos, sometimes punctuated by the murmuring saxophone. Occasionally, Estefan shakes things up a little, adding a little Latin flair to "You Made Me Love You" or moving "What a Wonderful World" toward the parameters of adult contemporary soft rock, styles that suit her just fine without abandoning the concepts of the tried and true. While Estefan may not be extremely well-suited for these songs -- she doesn't burrow into their meaning, she doesn't surprise with her phrasing -- she sings them sweetly in a manner suited to the record's spirit. It's designed as comfort music, after all, so it should be performed in a comforting way, which it is.