CD Review Review: Fleur Seule "Standards and Sweet Things"

The Fleur Seule Band, pronounced "Fleur" "Sull", has recently released their 5th studio album "Standards and Sweet Things" that captures the heart and soul of what this band is all about.  It turns out that this band is about fabulous songs played by musicians who appreciate and understand the great music played in America during the 1940's.  The heart of the band is represented by their beautiful and talented bandleader and vocalist, Allyson Briggs.   When I played the first song on this CD, "Taking A Chance On Love" I immediately liked Allyson Briggs' voice and phrasing along with the outstanding musicians that supported her perfectly.  By the time I had listened to all 16 classic songs on this CD, I was in love with Allyson's voice.  In this CD, the band takes us on a multilingual journey, from the Swing Era days of Old New York, to Paris during WWII, to the tropical sounds of Puerto Rico.   The talented bandleader and vocalist Allyson Briggs sings in 7 languages and speaks 4.  Her voice is dead-on perfect for the song gems that are included in the CD.  Listening to this CD is like listening to an old friend who is warm, friendly and comfortable!  

The Fleur Seule Band has been performing in New York for many years and I can't believe that this is my first experience with them.   The band has performed to sold out crowds at Dizzy's Club, Coca Cola, The Friar's Club, Birdland Jazz Club and a 5 year residency as the house band of Tavern on the Green.   This CD would be a fabulous Christmas present for any of your friends or family.  

The great Michael Feinstein had this to say about Allyson Briggs, "One of the most incredible talents out there today!".  I fully agree, Allyson Briggs singing is as near perfect as one can get.

Playlist:

1. "Taking a Chance on Love"

2. "Piel Canela"

3. "I Only Have Eyes For You"

4. "Zou Bisou Bisou"

5. "Sabor A Mi

6. "Them There Eyes"

7. "Tenderly"

8. "Manuelo"

9. "Misty"

10. "Shoo-Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy"

11. "Con Los Anos Que Me Quedan"

12. "Almost Like Being In Love"

13. " La Vie En Rose"

14. "Sweet Happy Life"

15. "Embraceable You"

16. "S Wonderful"

Players:

Allyson Briggs- Vocals, Bandleader, Producer

Andy Warren- Trumpet, Arranger, Musical Director

Jason Yeager- Piano

Michael O'Brien- Bass

Paul Francis- Drums

Richard Miller- Guitar

Ivan Llanes- Percussion

Martina DaSilva, Vanessa Perea, Marg Davis- Background Vocals

Music Mixed by John Kilgore

I have attached 3 "YouTubes" for your enjoyment that cover the wide range of talents of Allyson Briggs and the Fleur Seule Band.  Take particular note of Allyson's vocal timing singing  "Tenderly",  its as good as any vocalist can produce.  Take my strong recommendation and the next time you find yourself in New York City and Fleur Seule is performing, catch their act for a night of pure enjoyment of songs from the "Great American Songbook". 

"Them There Eyes"

"Tenderly"

"La Vie En Rose"

CD Review: Joan Ellison- "Retrophonic Gershwin"

This will be my last review of the year and I wanted to thank all my fellow Jazz lovers for your support during the past year.  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!  The CD I have reviewed below is perfect for reflecting back on past years.

Just found a great new CD for anyone who loves Broadway and the Gershwins, and who doesn't?  The lead artist is singer Joan Ellison who Michael Feinstein called " A rare combination of artist, archivist, and arranger.  This album also features singer Mark Flanders and duo-pianists Jason Aquila and Jodie Ricci.  This talented group of musicians has created some authentic and unique arrangements based on original Gershwin recordings of the 1920's, 1930's and 1940's.  In order to make the sound historically correct, the CD was recorded on a RCA-44 reproduction microphone and a pair of 9-foot Steinways at Oberlin Conservatory's Clonick Hall and then mixed and mastered by Grammy-winning audio engineer Robert Friedrich of Five/Four Productions.

Joan Ellison has been praised for her vocal skills and her crystal-clear voice.  All well-deserved compliments as you will hear in the YouTube I have attached below.  Joan has an excellent musical resume including Symphonic appearances in  "Get Happy! Judy Garland In Hollywood" with the Wheaton Symphony,  "Songwriting Giants of Broadway" with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra and "The music of Richard Rodgers" with the Erie Philharmonic.

Mark Flanders has had a remarkable career which includes tap-dancing in a production of  "The Boys From Syracuse" under choreographer Donald Saddler at the Ohio Theater in Cleveland, Ohio, the same stage on which Fred Astaire  and Adele Astaire performed, "Lady Be Good!" in 1925.  Mark has also played numerous roles in musical theatre including "A Little Night Music", Juan Peron in "Evita", Joey in "Pal Joey" and Dr. Carrasco in "Man of La Mancha".

Pianist Jason Aquila holds a master of Music degree in Collaborative Piano and Chamber Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music.  He was recently appointed Opera Coach at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory, and was the assistant music director for Baldwin Wallace's production of La Boheme with conductor Constantine Kitsopoulos.

Pianist Jodie Ricci's experience includes music direction at Cain Park for "Sweeney Todd", "Harold and Maude","Oliver" and "Kiss Me Kate".  Her teaching experience includes instruction in piano and music theory at Baldwin Wallace.  Jodie is currently a member of the performing arts faculty at Hawken School in Lyndhurst, Ohio.

           Album Tracks
1. "Syncopated City Overture"
2. "I Got Rhythm"
3. "Where's the Boy? Here's The Girl"
4. "Who Cares?"
5. "Boy! What Love Has Done To Me!"
6. "Treat Me Rough"
7. "But Not For Me"
8. "Do-Do-Do"
9. "A Foggy Day"
10. "The Man I Love"
11. "They All Laughed"
12. "They Can't Take That Away From Me"

I attached a few wonderful songs from the CD I found on YouTube to share the beautiful sounds from this album.

                                                                  "I Got Rhythm"

                                                          "They All Laughed"


Hit the attached site below and you can hear and see how one of the Gershwin songs on this Cd was developed.


http://www.joanellison.com/blog/2015/4/23/howigotrhythm  

Spotlight on Contemporary Outstanding Singers: Hilary Kole

Over the past few years, I have been involved in many conversations with friends who would remark that there are very few young singers performing today that compare with the great singers of the past.  I think my friends believe this because they have not been exposed to all the great young singers on the music scene today.  How do people find out about today's great singers?  This is one of the main reasons this blog was established, to shine a light on musicians from around the country who have exceptional talent.

I am introduced to a lot of great musicians by recommendations from friends, musicians and materials sent to me by music producers.  I would like to introduce them to you by starting a new series of postings to highlight musicians that come into my life that are simply terrific.  I hope some of these musicians become favorites of yours also.

My first musician spotlighted in this series is the multi-talented Singer/Arranger/Pianist Hilary Kole. Hilary has a wonderful musical resume and has performed in top New York City venues like Town Hall, Birdland, Blue Note, Tridium, 54 Below, Jazz at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall with Michael Feinstein and the The New Pops.  Her career was interrupted for over 2 years because of a dispute with her management company that stopped her from recording.  She won her release from her former contract in April 2013 and has since been rebuilding her musical direction.  She is currently working on a Judy Garland tribute album that should be terrific.  A friend forwarded a "YouTube" of Hilary singing "Over The Rainbow" that I thought was an example of Hilary's wonderful vocal work.  I wanted to share the "YouTube" with followers of my blog.

CD Review: Catherine Russell's "Strictly Romancin"

I just received an advance copy of Catherine Russell's soon to be released new CD, "Strictly Romancin".  Catherine has been singing and paying her Jazz dues for a long time backing artists like Carrie Smith, Steely Dan, David Bowie, Cyndi Lauper, Paul Simon, Jackson Browne, Michael Feinstein and Rosanne Cash. She finally released her 1st CD, "Cat" in 2006 to rave reviews. Her 2nd CD, Sentimental Streak", was released in 2008 and she won the prestigious German Record Critics' Award and a Hot Club of France Discovery Award. Catherine's 3rd CD, "Inside This Heart of Mine" reached #1 on JazzWeek, Roots Music Report and iTunes Jazz Charts.

"Strictly Romancin" Catherine's 4th CD was my first introduction to Catherine Russell and I was just knocked out by her voice, her style and her approach to lyrics. This CD contains a collection of great old jazz tunes out of the "Great American Songbook" that even avid Jazz lovers don't get to hear much these days. And why don't we hear these songs sung today? One reason is because they are simply not easy to sing. These songs require an emotional understanding of the story the lyric is telling and requires the singer to sing the story with style and clarity. I believe one needs to call upon past life experience to perform these songs in a way that can bring the listener in. Catherine brings a refreshing honesty and clarity to these songs. The first song on the CD is "Under the Spell of The Blues. The original was covered by Chick Webb/Ella Fitzgerald. When I first heard Catherine singing this song, I heard sounds that reminded me of Ella, Peggy Lee and Sinatra-like lyric stylizing. Please don't misunderstand, Catherine is not copying any of these mega performers, she is approaching her trade with her own great interpretation that makes her refreshingly unique.  The 4th cut on the CD is "Ev'ntide" and it has quickly become one of my personal favorites.  This tune was written by the great Hoagy Carmichael in 1936 and Louis Armstrong recorded it. Sadly the tune has rarely been recorded until now. Catherine has given us the gift of rediscovery. The 6th cut, "I'm Checkin Out Goom'bye" is an Ellington-Strayhorn song about breaking up and it includes some great trombone work from John Allred.

What puts this CD over the top, is the group that supports Catherine.  They are all perfect in their musical support and fit with Catherine like a hand going into a glove.  The producer of this CD was Paul Kahn and the recording engineer Katherine Miller and they both deserve praise for the smooth and effective way all parts of this CD were put together and mixed. The wonderful supporting cast of performers consists of Musical Director/Guitarist/banjoist/Arranger, Matt Munisteri, trumpet Jon-Erik Kellso, trombonist John Allred, Sax/clarinetist Dan Block, Saxophonist/arranger Andy Farber, accordion Joe Barbato and violin Aaron Weinstein, Piano Mark Shane. Bass Lee Hudson and drums Mark McClean. 

Catherine was born to musical royalty. Her dad, the late Luis Russell was a pioneering pianist/composer/bandleader and Louis Armstrong's long time side-kick.  Her mother, Carline Ray, is a bassist, guitarist, and vocalist who has performed with Mary Lou Williams and The International Sweethearts of Rhythm.

The CD is scheduled to be released on February 14, 2012 and I strongly recommend it. 

For those readers in New York/New Jersey area, Catherine will be performing at Shanghai Jazz in Madison, NJ on New Year's Eve.  It is a great way to bring in the New Year with great sounds and great food!