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"

CD Review: Calabria Foti, "In The Still Of The Night"

Writing a music blog requires a lot of time and effort with very little pay.  Come to think of it, isn't that what all my musician friends face every day in their professional lives too?  But the real payment I receive for reviewing new artists and their songs is in the pleasure I receive when I discover a wonderfully-talented musician who I would have most likely missed if not for researching new talent to publish for my followers.  Calabria Foti is no newcomer to the national music scene, but I would bet a lot of my readers have never heard her sing.  I would also bet that you will love her vocal style and impeccable intonation within minutes of first hearing her sing.

Her new album "In The Still Of The Night" contains 11 award-winning songs by the great Cole Porter made new by the wonderful arrangements from Michael Patterson. Patterson is a Grammy and Emmy award-winning composer who has worked across multiple genres and instrumental ensembles including orchestral and chamber music for concert halls, Jazz arrangements and original compositions for big bands and solo artists.  Patterson put together a group of A-listed musicians, including the Clarinet virtuoso, Eddie Daniels, Gene Bertoncini on Guitar, Richard Locker on Cello, Bob McChesney on Trombone, Ike Sturm on Bass and Jared Schonig on Drums.  These guys are as good as you can get.  "Best is breed" as Jim Kramer likes to say.  Eddie Daniels is without question one of the best Jazz/Classical Clarinet players performing today!

What makes Calabria's singing so special?  Her voice is soft and lush and her ability to perform these Cole Porter remarkable melodies and lyrics almost effortlessly is divine!  According to Daniels, "Calabria Foti was the perfect choice, with her tone and musical depth, to bring the delicate sensibilities of Cole Porter's music to life.  I love Cole Porter. His songs are so heartfelt and the sound of Calabria's voice just touches me, I can't help it."  This quote coming from a Clarinet virtuoso tells all that one needs to know about Calabria's wonderful singing!  In case you need more proof of the quality of her singing, Calabria has been called a "Master of improvisation and interpretation".  She is an accomplished Vocalist, Violinist, Composer, Author and Educator.  Now that's what I call doing it all.  Her 2014 single, "Let's Fall in Love" which Calabria recorded with TV's Seth MacFarlane, received a Grammy nomination.

"In The Still Of The Night" was released on July 17, 2017 and you can sample the track "It Was Just One Of Those Things" on: Soundcloud:hhtp://bit.ly/2q 8sxnE.  You can also hear and see Calabria Foti sing and talk about her new CD on the "YouTube" below.

I also attached a second "YouTube" From her CD, "When a Man Love a Women".

PLAYLIST

1. "Just One of Those Things"
2. "Miss Otis Regrets"
3. "Anything Goes"
4. "What Is This Thing Called Love"
5. "Night and Day"
6. "I Concentrate on You"
7. "Every Time We Say Goodbye"
8. "Get Out of Town"
9. "It's All Right With Me"
10. "So In Love"
11. "In the Still of the Night"