New Jazz Adds – 9/17/2018
New Jazz Adds – 9/17/2018
Dennis Llewellyn Day – Bossa, Blues And Ballads (DDMG): Veteran singer and composer Dennis Llewellyn Day offers a variety of songs and styles in celebration of his own singing career and the performers he admired, some of whom he had performed with over the years. Songs included are standards like “Without A Song” and Autumn Leaves”, more modern hits like “Superstition” and covers of some jazz greats like “Naima”. Day’s voice shows a bit of road wear, but generally he is in good form. His backing musicians include Anthony Wonsey, Harold Mabern or Jack Glottman (piano); Eric Wheeler, Paul Boeaudry or Alex Lane (bass); Brandon Sanders or Billy Kaye (drums); Mark Cross or Elijah Shiffer (alto sax); James Zollar (trumpet); Nanny Assis (percussion); Marvin Horn or Paul Myers (guitar); Ray Blue (tenor sax); Bennett Paster (B3) and James Zeller (trombone). Click here to listen to samples of the songs on this disc.
Yelena Eckemoff – Better Than Gold And Silver (L&H): “The prolific Russian-born, North Carolina-based pianist/composer Yelena Eckemoff adds a sacred dimension to the ambitious series of concept albums in her extensive catalogue…. While the album’s lyrics — beautifully sung by tenor Tomás Cruz and mezzo-soprano Kim Mayo — are word-for-word verses from the King James Bible (the album’s title is based on verse 72 from Psalm 119: “The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver”), Eckemoff explains in her liner notes that the music is what she “heard behind the words.” (http://yelenamusic.com/wp/album/better-than-gold-and-silver/) There is a second disc that expresses each psalm instrumentally. The players on both disc are Yelana Eckemoff (piano), Tomas Cruz (tenor vocal), Kim Mayo (mezzo soprano), Ralph Alessi (trumpet), Ben Monder (electric guitar), Christian Howes (violin), Drew Gress (violin) and Joey Baron (drums). This is a beautiful blend between the two styles of music. Click here for a beautiful introduction to this project.
Andrew Gould – First Things First (Outside In Music): This is Andrew Gould’s first release as a leader and it certainly stands out. Gould (alto, soprano sax, FX) wrote all but the one song which was composed by keyboard player Steven Feifke. The other members of the group are Marco Panascia (bass) and Jake Goldbas (drums, percussion) and there are two guests: Scott Wendholt (trumpet on 2 songs) and Ioana Vintu with an absolutely amazing vocal on the song “On A Darker Moon”. The interplay is sensational, but Gould is phenomenal! Essential listening! Click here and scroll down to listen to the songs on this disc.
Enrique Haneine – The Mind’s Mural (Elegant Walk): “The Mural of the Mind: the given, the inherited, the accumulation. The process of perceiving, interpreting, reacting… The mirror of our own perception. Breathe, feel, connect, aim for the transcendental value.The reflection of your own self consequence, in art, in life, which belongs to the aggregate. Search beyond, find your self existence….” (liner notes) What begins as an exhilarating blast off continues to push farther and farther out. It’s a challenging ride, but there is some amazing playing on the disc as well. In addition to Haneine (drums, cymbals, udu drums), the players are Anna Webber (tenoe sax), Catherine Sikora (tenor and soprano sax) and Carlo de Rosa (bass). Click here to listen to samples of the songs on this disc.
Lonnie McFadden – Live At Green Lady Lounge (Self-produced): Veteran trumpet player Lonnie McFadden, who also sings and tap dances, takes us back to an older form of style and jazz, but this nostalgic tour also recognizes its own limitations and its own pleasures by shifting the compositions from current to past chestnuts. Nearly half of the songs were composed by McFadden with a couple of compositions from bassist DeAndre Manning while others are drawn from the likes of Benny Moten with the older classic style. The remaining players are Tyree Johnson (drums) and Andrew Ouellette (piano). The program ends with McFadden tap dancing, a final reminder that the old and new can merge and share the joy of jazz. Click here to listen to samples of the songs on this disc.
Nate Najar – Under Paris Skies (Woodward Avenue): Guitarist Nate Najar has been recognized as “One of the finest classical guitarists in the business today….” (Allaboutjazz) and as “One of the most consistently interesting and stylish young guitarists on the jazz scene.” (All Music Guide) He is accompanied by Tommy Cecil (bass) and Matthew Home (drums) with Chuck Redd adding vibes on two songs. The song selection is quite lovely and varied. Songs range from public domain to Django Reinhardt and include Charles Aznavour and Michel Legrand. The overall sound is wonderful and the program is fresh and varied. Click here for an introduction to the beauty of this set.
Jeff Rupert & Richard Drexler – R&D (Self-produced): Jeff Rupert (sax) and Richard Drexler (piano) offer a set of standards from the American songbook and older jazz compositions, including “The Song Is You” (Hammerstein-Kern), “Edelweiss” (Rodgers-Hammerstein), “Imagination” (Van Heusen-Burke) and some more recent ballads, including “Johnny Come Lately” (Strayhorn), “O Grande Amor” (Jobim-Moraes) and “Soul Eyes” (Waldron). Their playing is exquisite throughout and they expand on the originals beautifully. Mellow and refreshing. These recordings are from live performances in 2015. I regret I am unable to find any samples from this disc.
Jeff Rupert & Veronica Swift – Let’s Sail Away (Self-produced) Tenor saxophonist Jeff Rupert is teamed up with former Charlottesville resident, daughter of Hod O’Brien and Stephanie Nakasian, and vocalist extraordinaire Veronica Swift in a musical set that ranks with the best I have ever heard. The communication between the two reminds me Ella Fitzgerald dueling with Roy Eldridge (insert your horn player choice here). The program covers terrific ground from the Great American Songbook, like “Pennies From Heaven” and Rhapsody In Blue”, more recent gems like Johnny Mandel’s “Pernod” and Vince Guaraldi’s “Ginza Samba” to originals by Jeff Rupert who also co-composes with Swift on “Beauty Becomes Her” and with William Shakespeare on “My Mistress’ Eyes”. Other musicians are Richard Drexler (piano), Marty Morell (drums) and Charlie Silva (bass). Horns are added on “Rhapsody In Blues” by Dan Miller (trumpet), Christian Herrera (trombone) and Saul Dautch (bari sax). With its terrific variety and fabulous performances, this release from 2017 is exquisite from beginning to end. Click here to listen to listen to samples of the songs on this disc.
Paul Simon – In The Blue Light (Legacy): Paul Simon takes a look at ten songs from his catalogue giving them mostly subtle changes that often make shifts in the instrumental backing and add some gravity to the versions he recorded earlier. The music comes from as far back as 1973’s “One Man’s Ceiling Is Another Man’s Floor” and 1975’s “Some Folks’ Lives Roll Easy” to as recently as 2011’s “Can’t Run But” and “Questions For The Angels”. It’s a very nice update, though many of the changes are instrumental or offer only a slight shift in his vocal style. Nonetheless, it’s interesting for a comparison, as much for the changes as for a sense of just how subtle or as one reviewer called it, fussy, his thinking is. Click here to listen to samples of the songs on this disc.
Helen Sung – Sung With Words – A Collaboration with Dana Gioia (Stricker Street): Pianist Helen Sung began her musical training by studying classical piano and expected to teach and perform in a classical setting, however, in her last year at University of Texas (Austin), she was invited to go see Harry Connick in concert. “He performed with his big band and they were very entertaining. But in the middle of the concert, he sat down and played some solo piano pieces. I remember wanting to jump out of my skin, this music was so alive…I remember thinking “I didn’t know you were allowed to play the piano like that!” …while she finished her classical studies, Sung enrolled in beginning jazz courses, convinced the Jazz Piano Professor to give her lessons, and immersed herself in jazz recordings and books at UT’s music library.” (http://www.helensung.com/biography.html) UT didn’t offer a degree in jazz at that time, so she looked over options and secretly applied to a new program at the New England Conservatory and was accepted (the only pianist in the new program which only planned for a septet). Her mentor while there was Ron Carter. Over the two year program she also worked with Clark Terry, Jackie McLean, Sir Roland Hanna, Jimmy Heath, Wynton Marsalis, Barry Harris, and Jon Faddis! This is her sixth release as a leader and her design is wonderfully unique. In addition to her playing piano, Fender Rhodes and organ, Sung is breaking new ground by working with poet and speaker Dana Gioria, John Ellis (tenor, soprano sax and bass clarinet), Ingrid Jensen (trumpet), Reuben Rogers (bass), Kendrick Scott (drums) and Samuel Torres (percussion) with guest vocalists Jean Baylor, Christie Dashiell, Carolyn Leonhart and Charenee Wade. The vocalists shift from solo to duets during the course of the recording. Gioia composed the spoken parts as well as co-writing some pieces with Sung. The performance is amazing in every possible way – an amazing melange of jazz, poetry and vocals! Click here to listen to samples of the songs on this disc.
Veronica Swift – Lonely Woman (HodStef Music): This is a 2015 release from Charlottesville’s Veronica Swift which features Daryl Johns (bass) and Scott Lowrie (drums) and, of course, the fantastic craft and voice of Swift. Her father, Hod O’Brien, plays piano on two tracks and her mother Stephanie Nakasian sings on one, while Emmet Cohan adds piano on three songs, Matt Wigler plays piano on six and Gene Kniffic hits the keys on two. Benny Bench III sings on two songs and plus trumpet on one; Lowell Ringel (bass) and Kyle Swan (drums). Swift also composed one song and added lyrics to a song by O’Brien and one by Matt Wigler. Covers include songs by Horace Silver & Jon Hendricks, Cole Porter, and Benny Carter, among others. It’s the amazing craft and style that makes this such a wonderful disc! I regret I am unable to find a sample from this disc. That being said, It is a fantastic set of performances! Click here to listen to a live version of a song on this disc.
Stephane Wrembel – The Django Experiment III (Self-produced): Guitarist Stephane Wrembel has released at least ten discs so far and he has a reputation around the world as perhaps the top gypsy style guitarist playing today. While it is clear that Django Reinhardt is his greatest influence, he also explores new directions in jazz as well. Wrembel is accompanied by Thor Jensen (guitar), Ari Folman Cohen (bass), Nick Anderson (drums) and Nick Driscoll (saxophone, clarinet). This disc is a must for fans of gypsy jazz and/or international folk jazz. Fortunately, even though a live performance at the Prism Coffeehouse was cancelled because of the threat of Hurricane Florence, a new date will be set for a later performance. In the mean time, check out this fantastic disc! Click here and then on the album cover that appears to listen to samples of the songs on this disc.
Kopasetically,
Professor Bebop
