CD Review: The Dave Miller Trio, "The Mask-erade is Over"

If you like to listen to a great traditional straight ahead Jazz piano trio playing, Dave Miller's new CD "The Mask-erade is Over" will be perfect for you.  Dave Miller who has his own playing personality can at times remind you of some your favorite Jazz pianists like George Shearing, Bill Evans and Ahmad Jamal.  Bill covers a lot of ground in this CD and brings his Jazz personality center stage on a great selection of standards. 

Dave's daughter is the super-talented singer Rebecca DuMaine and Dave and his trio have often recorded with Rebecca on her CDs.  

I have selected two YouTubes videos for your listening pleasure.  The first song is "Be Careful It's My Heart".  Dave was inspired by Peggy Lee's version with one of his Piano heroes, George Shearing.  The second song is a Dave Brubeck gem, "In Your Own Sweet Way".  The playlist of songs on this CD are from a diverse outstanding group of composers:  Charlie Parker, Bill Evans, Noel Coward, Irving Berlin and Ray Henderson.   Take a moment to review the fun playlist below.

                                                              "Be Careful It's My Heart"

                                                               "In Your Own Sweet Way"

PLAYLIST:

1. Anthropology

2. Be Careful It's My Heart

3. The Masquerade Is Over

4. The Opener

5. Someday I'll Fine You

6. You Don't Know What Love Is

7. Yardbird Suite

8. Estate

9. In Your Own Sweet Way

10. The Blue Room

11. Dusty

12. Why Did I Choose You

13. Hallucinations

14 Just Imagine

PLAYERS:

Dave Miller- Piano

Andrew Higgins- Bass

Bill Belasco- Drums

 

CD Review: Rebecca DuMaine With The Dave Miller Trio, "The Consequence of You".

"The Consequence of You" is the third Album from Rebecca Dumaine and The Dave Miller Trio.  This new Album is different from the first two in that Rebecca and Dave wanted to do a "Straightup Jazz record--everyone gets solos, everyone gets featured".  Miller brings his two favorite players with him again on this CD, Mario Suraci on Bass and Bill Belasco on Drums but adds Guitarist Brad Buethe to the group.  According to Rebecca, "We  knew we wanted another voice, but we weren't sure what kind of instrument it would be".  They decided it had to be a guitar, and Brad Buethe was a terrific addition to the group.

Rebecca Dumaine has a wonderfully relaxed style that makes singing feel like a lot of fun.  She take complex songs and lyrics and sings seemingly without effort.  Her song selections on the Album are outstanding.  Rebecca is a trained actress and as a result, song lyrics must bring her a narrative she can relate to and believe in.  She has included 12 wonderful songs out of the "Great American Songbook" some very familiar and others maybe not so familiar.  But the key among all the songs on this CD is they all have great melodies and lyrics.  They allow Rebecca to capture the listener with wonderful stories and melodies. Rebecca DuMaine is a major league star in the long and proud tradition of Jazz vocalists.

The Dave Miller Trio with the addition of Brad Buethe produces simply magical Jazz music. They get room to show their stuff on this CD, but they also have the professional experience to give Rebecca the room she needs to shine.  Oh by the way, Dave Miller is Rebecca's Dad.  Dave you should be very proud of your talented daughter.  The apple never falls far from the tree!

          Playlist:
1. "Beautiful Love"                                    2. "Pure Imagination"
3. "One Note Samba"                                4. "Exactly Like You"
5. "Down With Love"                                6. "You've Changed"
7. "Put On A Happy Face"                        8. "The Face I Love"
9. "There Will Never Be Another You"   10. "They Say It's Spring"
11. "Too Close For Comfort"                    12. "If I Were A Bell"

Featuring:
Rebecca DuMaine: Vocals
Dave Miller: Piano
Mario Suraci: Bass
Bill Belasco" Drums
Bard Buethe: Guitar

I found a cut from the CD on YouTube that I have attached for your listening pleasure.  Rebecca DuMaine singing "There Will Never Be Another You".

Pre-Release CD Review: Rebecca MuMaine & The Dave Miller Trio "Better Than Anything"

                                       

I just finished listening to a new CD, "Better Than Anything" by Vocalist Rebecca DuMaine and the Dave Miller Trio and it's terrific. It's a swinging album that spotlights Rebecca's rich voice and her great sense of timing. The arrangements written by Rebecca and her father, Dave Miller, are fresh, new and outstanding. Lovers of music from the "Great American Songbook" will love this CD. Rebecca covers 15 standards putting her own delightful spin on each one. 

Rebecca DuMaine's music is grounded by her early musical influences which included Blossom Dearie, Shirley Horn and Peggy Lee. All these singers had one great talent in common, the ability to sing the lyric and give life to the emotion of the words. Rebecca has this talent too! 

What makes this CD even more special is the wonderful interaction between Rebecca and her Dad, Dave Miller. The timing on these songs are perfect as a result of the solid understanding between vocalist daughter and pianist father. You can feel the warmth and closest of Rebecca and her father throughout the album.

Dave Miller has been playing in the San Francisco Bay area for many years and is highly respected. Any vocalist would kill to have him as their pianist. How great that he has a daughter with such a great singing voice enabling them to record together.  Mario Suraci is on Bass and his long musical resume is outstanding.  He has toured and recorded with many renowned performers, including Frank Sinatra, Benny Goodman, Joe Pass, Mel Torme Bernadette Peters and Elvis Presley. Bill Belasco is on Drums and is Dave Miller's longtime collaborator.  This trio is terrific in its own right, and I could listen to them play all night.  The addition of Rebecca's wonderful rich voice puts the group over the top! 

This wonderful CD was produced by Rebecca DuMaine and Dave Miller for Summit Records. It will be released on February 11, 2014 and would make a perfect Valentine Day gift for any Jazz loving special person.

Track Listing:

1. Better Than Anything                             2. You For Me

3. Sometime Ago                                          4. Oh Look At Me Now

5. No More Blues                                         6. What Is There To Say

7. I'm Gonna Go Fishin'                             8. Telephone Song

9. I Just Found Out About Love                10. It Might As Well Be Spring

11. Cheek To Check                                     12. It's Love

13. Dreamer                                                  14. Lucky To Be Me

15. That's All

I have attached a YouTube video of Rebecca and the Dave Miller Trio singing "It Might As Well Be Spring". Enjoy!