CD Review: Rose Mallett, "Dreams Realized"

 I was delighted when I received a review copy of Rose Mallett's new CD from Jazz Promo Services.  I have had the pleasure of knowing  Jazz and Blues vocalist Rose Mallett for 15 years.  I first met her when I visited the Escena Country Club Lounge in Palm Springs California.  Rose had recently moved to the desert and was taking any gigs she could find.  I was immediately impressed with Rose's voice and her confidence as a performer.  The setting at a Country Club Lounge was not a perfect setting for Rose's soft lush voice but it was a gig and she knew that in order to improve, she had to sing wherever she had the opportunity.  I did a Rose Mallett Trio review at the Escena Lounge on February 28th, 2012.  Since my first review of Rose Mallett,  I have periodically done reviews on Rose and her progress as listed below:

   " Simply A Great Jazz Singer "  2/11/14

    "Rose Mallett's Favorite Top 10 Songs"  4/4/14  

    "Woody's in Palm Springs"  2/22/15

    "Vicky's of Santa Fe"  1/20/18

I encourage you to look up these past posts on my blog as they will provide you with a good feel of the hard work Rose has expended to reach her current level of accomplishment.  It brings to mind a comment I heard from Bobby Darin, "It's taken me 25 years to become an "Overnight" success".  The music industry has never been easy and I have personally witnessed many of the negative experiences Rose has had to face during her career and I can tell you that she handled every bump in the road with style and grace.  Unlike many vocalists I observe who reach a level of popularity and then stop their growth, Rose has always worked to improve her  voice, phrasing and performances.  The result has put Rose Mallett into the rare group of top Jazz and Blues singers performing today,  I encourage you to buy her CD and also next time you find yourself in the Coachella Valley desert area, I encourage you to look up Rose because she is still performing in several venues in the California desert. 

PLAYERS:

Rose Mallett- Vocals

Robert Kyle- Producer/Arranger/Sax/Flute

Jamison Trotter- Piano

Trey Henry- Bass

Mike Shapiro- Drums

"Munyungo" Jackson- Percussion

PLAYLIST:

1. Ain't Nobody

2. Feelin' Good

3. My Funny Valentine

4. Creepin

5. Send In The Clowns

6. The Snake

7. The Way He Makes Me Feel

8. Building Dreams

9. It's Impossible

10. Rock Me Baby

11. If I Never Sing Another Song

I have attached two "YouTube" videos that show Rose's versatility.  The first is a down and dirty Blues standard, "Rock Me Baby"  and the second is a tender ballad that Rose handles perfectly, "If I Never Sing Another Song".

                                                                    "Rock Me Baby"

                                                                "If I Never Sing Another Song"

  

CD Review: Karen Mack, "Catch & Keep"

 Vocalist Karen Mack is a regular at some of the top New City Jazz venues, but I clearly hear the influence of West Coast Jazz in the way she uses her velvety smooth voice to tell her musical stories.  Karen can Swing but she can also handle a ballad with clarity and sensitivity.  Being stuck at home during the pandemic gave Karen time to reevaluate what she wanted to do for herself as an artist.  "I wanted to lift people up and find my own voice.  For me, that involves having the freedom to improvise and to explore new ways of creating music and storytelling".  Karen's Jazz debut Album  "Catch and Keep" makes it clear that she chose the right musical direction for her and her Jazz audience.  "Catch and Keep' contains a diverse group of songs, some well-know standards, some terrific but lesser known standards,  Some original songs written by women composers and two songs written by Mack and her old friend and renowned Jazz artist, Peter Eldridge.  "Catch and Keep" is a wonderful present to all Jazz vocalist lovers!  The vibe on this CD is so refreshing you will find yourself playing it over and over again.  Karen has the rare ability to sing lyrics with the same comfort and understanding you would get having an easy conversation with an old friend.

Karen worked closely on this CD with Peter Eldridge, a founding member of the internationally acclaimed vocal group, New York Voices.  Eldridge did the arrangements on the CD and also played Piano and Organ.  Eldridge and Mack brought in a group of some of the most talented musicians in New York to support them on this Album and the results show it.  The fit between Karen's vocals and her supporting musicians is perfect. 

PLAYERS:

Karen Mack- Vocals

Peter Eldridge- Piano, Organ, Arrangements

Jesse Lewis- Guitars

Matt Aronoff- Upright Bass

Jared Schonig- Drums, Percussion

      Special Guests:

Darmon Meader- Saxes on tracks# 3, 4,6, and 8

Nadje Noordhuis- Trumpet on track# 1, Flugelhorn on track# 10

Elliot Roth- Piano, Vocals, Arrangement, on track# 12

PLAYLIST:

1. Nothing Like You

2. Imagination

3. From Now On

4. Come To Baby Do

5. This is Always

6. I'm So Repentant

7. November Day

8. Hurry Up and Wait

9. Here Is Everything

10. Our Love Rolls On

11. I Wanna Get Married

12. It's Hard To Say Goodbye

I have attached two "YouTube" videos to listen to.  The first is a Bob Dorough and Fran Landesman song titled "Nothing Like You".  It features a tasty Trumpet solo by Australian Nadje Noorhuis.  The second attachment is a classic standard "This Is Always".  I was not familar with this song but as soon as I heard it, I put it on my favorites list.   It was written by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon and the medley and lyric are stunning.   I was also very impressed by "It's Hard To Say Goodbye" that was written by the great LA Jazz  composer and singer Vocalist, Betty Bryant.  

    

                                                                     "Nothing Like You"

                                                                       "This is Always"

Music Man Blog Hits A New Milestone

 

The first article on The Music Man Blog was published in November 2009.  It doesn't seem possible that I have been posting reviews and articles for 15 years.  The purpose of my blog has always been to support musicians, shine a light on new artists and new CDs and to keep the "Great American Songbook" alive.  We know that great progress has been made achieving these goals because of the feedback that we have received from hundreds of musicians who have been spotlighted on the blog.  The majority of today's musicians are clearly both underappreciated and underpaid and yet the music they create provides us with hours of joy and satisfaction every day of our lives. In spite of being underappreciated and underpaid, they continue to perform and create new music for all of us to enjoy.  They are true artists. We are the beneficiaries of their sacrifices and have an obligation to support them in any way we can.  We all need to attend live performances wherever we can find them and not forget to leave a tip for the musicians after we enjoy their performances.  They are paid so little for their live gigs that tips are very important to their well-being.   We need to continue to buy their CDs even though the music industry has decided that CDs are no longer relevant.  And lastly, we need to thank musicians whenever we get a chance.  

I am delighted to report that last month the Music Man Blog celebrated more than one million page views on our site.  For a narrowly focused blog, this is a massive amount of page views.  And the number of people checking into the Music Man Blog continues to grow. In the most recent months, the average monthly page views have been over 30,000.  Over the past 15 years we have published 626 blogs covering the efforts of thousands of musicians and their bands.  The Music Man Blog has steadily grown its audience in over 20 countries.  I have listed the top 10 highest page views from countries with Jazz lovers who are reading our postings:

    1.United States

    2. Germany

    3. China

    4. Singapore 

    5. Ukraine

    6. Hong Kong

    7.  Iran

    8. Russia

    9. Sweden

    10. Canada

My reward for the personal time and efforts I have expended on this blog is knowing that I am helping to support musicians, live performances and helping to keep the "Great American Songbook" relevant for younger people who may experience this wonderful music.  I have also had the opportunity to meet and get to know hundreds of musicians.  Honestly they are some of the finest people I have ever met.