CD Review: Ron Boustead "Unlikely Valentine"

Ron Boustead has a long and solid reputation as one of the most talented Vocalist and Lyricist performing today.  For the past 34 years, Ron has been performing and writing lyrics since he was just 16.  His many past credits include recording a vocal CD featuring lyrics he had written to tunes by the likes of Chet Baker,  Chick Corea, and Freddie Hubbard.  Over his career, he released three more CDs and learned a new trade. He became a top-notch mastering engineer, worked at the legendary Precision Mastering where he cut CD and vinyl masters for artists like Prince, Rolling Stones, Seal, Kiss, R.E.M., and many others.  After all of these achievements, Ron thought it was time for him to make a CD that reflected his evolving tastes and growth as an artist.  His new CD "Unlikely Valentine" is cool and hip.  Ron put together a mix of tunes that include lyrics he provided and a fresh take on lesser-done standards.  When Boustead began thinking about this project, he decided he wanted the music to be upbeat and bebop-oriented, yet accessible to people who aren't necessarily hard-core Jazz fans.  In my opinion, he has reached these goals!  His new CD is fresh and live and his lyrics seem real and natural.  His performance on the tune he wrote, "Coffee" is outstanding in style and lyric and Ron's vocal is perfect and "Sinatra-like".  If you like straight ahead Jazz vocals, you will love this new CD that is being released on February 14, 2017.  It will be available on Amazon, iTunes and CD Baby.

The Band:  

Ron Boustead, Vocals and Lyrics

Bill Cunliffe, Piano and Arrangements

Mitchel Forman, Piano and Arrangements

Pat Kelly, Acoustic and Electric Guitar

Bob Sheppard, Sax and Flute

Bob McChesney, Trombone

Ron Stout, Flugelhorn

John Leftwich, Bass

Jake Reed, Drums

Playlist:

1. "Unlikely Valentine"

2. "Love Potion # 9"

3. "Coffee"

4. " I Won't Scat"

5. "Til Now"

6. "Autumn Leaves"

7. "Love's Carousel"

8. "Along Came Betty"

9. "I Love My Wife"

10. "Love Came On Stealthy Fingers"

I found and attached a couple of "YouTube" videos that I think you will enjoy.  The first is Ron telling his story about his new CD and the second I just had to share,  Ron singing my number one greatest song, "The Nearness of You".  Enjoy!

 Ron Boustead Tell the Story of His New CD, "Unlikely Valentine"

       
                                                 Ron Boustead "The Nearness of You"

CD Review: Alison Lewis, "Seven"

Alison Lewis released her first solo CD, "Seven" on June 16, 2016.  In my role as a music reviewer, I usually receive about 25 to 30 new CDs each month.  Sometimes it is hard to get to each one, but I make the effort knowing that all these musicians have put their life and soul on the line composing and recording their songs.  The majority of these CDs are good, a few are excellent and every once in a while I find a gem that blows me away.  Alison Lewis' CD "Seven" is one of those gems, a new CD in a world of its own!

Alison Lewis is one of the best singers I have heard in quite a while.  Why you ask?  First, her voice is pure and strong, she has perfect pitch and a unique understanding of lyrics.  But what puts her over the top is her vocal and musical arrangements that are new, fresh and a treat for the ears!  Alison describes her arrangement method as a "re-imagining process" where she may alter a song's rhythm, melody and/or the underlying chords in order to uncover a new and deeper appreciation for its meaning.  She attributes the success of each composition to equal doses of intuition, thoughtful listening, and inspiration.  I could listen to Alison sing all day and so will you.  Get this CD; it's like listening to a master class in the art of vocal performance. There are 7 songs on the playlist, 5 great standards and 2 songs composed by Alison.

I had a difficult time picking just one cut from her CD for you to preview so I have attached two cuts.  First is a "YouTube" of Alison singing her fabulous take of "My Funny Valentine" and the second "YouTube" is Alison singing the Lennon and McCartney song "Blackbird".  Enjoy!

PLAYLIST:

1. Blackbird
2. Cheek to Cheek
3. Like a Rolling Stone
4. Mr Right for Right Now
5. Seesaw
6. Midnight Sun
7. My Funny Valentine

The Players:
Alison Lewis: Vocals and arrangements
Mitchel Forman: Piano (Tracks 1,2,7) Fender Rhodes (Track 3) Hammond B3 Organ (Track 4)
Kevin Axt: Bass (Tracks 1,3,4,6)
Ray Brinker: Drums (Tracks 1,3,4) and Hand Percussion (Track 3)
Andrew Synowiec: Lap Steel and Acoustic Guitars (Tracks 1,3,4)
Eddie Reyes: Cajon and Udu (Track 1)
Adam Shulman: Piano (Track 5)
Paul Eastburn: Bass (Track 5)
Ricky Carter: Drums (Track 5)
Jude Gold: Acoustic Guitar (Track 5)
Anne King: Muted Trumpet (Track 7)

  

MUSIC REVIEW: The Jeff Golub Band Honors "The Three Kings" Of The Blues, B.B. King, Albert King and Freddie King On New CD Being Released on June 28,2011

Jeff Golub

Jeff Golub

Jeff Golub

I just had the opportunity to review an advanced copy of the Jeff Golub Band CD, "The Three Kings". The CD is a tribute to B.B. King, Albert King and Freddie King and it will not disappoint.  Jeff Golub continues to surprise his followers with his skill and appreciation of many different genre of music and sounds.  According to Jeff, his career really started to soar during his early years in New York City. "I heard that Billy Squire was holding auditions and looking for a guitarist", Golub said. "So I went to the audition and he was really impressed. I learned something during my time with him, namely that I really enjoyed doing rock as well as jazz and that I could do some imaginative things within that classic rock structure".

Jeff's public and professional recognition really started to rocket when he joined Rod Stewart from 1988-1995.  The best trait I admire in Jeff Golub is that he doesn't think about categories, labels or popularity when it comes to music.  Instead, his major concern is something far more basic: honesty.  "I love all kinds of music and I really only look at one thing when it comes to any style or type: if it truly comes from the heart". If you need any proof that Jeff lives within these words, just take a look at the outstanding musicians he has put together in his band!  You won't find this kind of thinking too often today when the major concern of performers is not creative quality but just pure market sales numbers and expenses.

Jeff has put together a great group of musicians on "The Three Kings" CD:

Jeff Golub- guitar

Henry Butler- piano & vocals

Andy Hess- bass

Josh Dion- drums/percussion/vocals

SPECIAL GUESTS

Robben Ford- guitar

Sonny Landreth- slide guitar

Chris Palmaro- B3

Nick Lane- trombone/horn arrangements

Rick Braun- trumpet

Euge Groove- tenor sax

Dave Woodford- bari sax

Mitchel Forman- synth strings and string arrangements on "The Thrill Is Gone"

Jeff's new CD has 13 cuts on it and I can tell you with all honesty, they are all just great.  And if you are a classic blues fan, I am positive the CD will quickly become your "go to" CD.  As I have expressed before in "The Music Man Blog", I always believed that when a performance is recorded live, the additional emotion generated from the musicians can rarely be captured in a closed studio recording session. This CD is an exception!  According to Jeff "Other than some minimal overdubbing we played it live and tried to keep it sounding fresh and spontaneous". Well Jeff, mission accomplished! The only

element separating this CD from a live recording is applause.

It's really difficult to pick my favorite songs on this CD because I like them all. So I will just mention four tracks that I think are terrific, otherwise, I would be listing all 13 tracks.

Henry Butler excels on this CD with both his vocals and his piano excellence. His brilliant piano work at times just puts the listener in awe.  I love his solos on the B.B. King classic, "The Thrill Is Gone"  The string arrangement by Mitchel Forman fits with the band and Butler's voice better than you might expect. Butler also does a great vocal on "Born Under A Bad Sign" and the band is really in a groove on this one.  I think "Side Tracked" could make it as a single again today thanks to the great guitar work by Robben Ford.  "Freddie's Midnight Dream" is also wonderful.

This CD is just not another cover of some great old songs.  It's a fresh, new approach by a group of fine musicians paying tribute to the best classic blues guitarists in American music history while at the same time bringing something of their own to these great songs.  

Jeff Golub deserves a great deal of credit for producing this CD not only for his fine guitar playing but because of how difficult it is to bring all this high-level talent together and have them perform as one unit.  This is clearly Jeff Golub's band. Under his control, vision and his unifying strength these great talented musicians joined together perfectly to produce the great sounds on this CD. Every time I get to hear Jeff he seems to get better and better.  His guitar phrasing and dexterity is always creative and clear as a bell.

Congratulations Jeff for you performance and production efforts on this fine CD.  I look forward to many more CD's from "The Jeff Golub Band".