Composer/Arranger Mark Masters continues his pursuit of Jazz excellence with the release of his new CD, "Sui Generis" that features Trumpet virtuoso Tim Hagans. Mark discovered Trumpeter/Flugelhornist Tim Hagans when Hagans was playing in the Stan Kenton orchestra. Mark says " I heard him and thought, Wow, who is this guy?" "Tim is a true original, he's developed his own harmonic language, which not many people have done. The term "sui generis" is a Latin phrase meaning "one of a kind" which absolutely applies to him."
Mark Masters always puts together musicians who are of the highest level of musical skills. On "SuiGeneris" Masters in addition to Tim Hagans brought in Nicole McCabe on Alto and Jerry Pinter on Tenor and Soprano, Dave Woodley on Trombone, John Dickson on French Horn, Jeff Colella on Piano, Chris Colangelo on Bass and Kendall Kay on Drums. Masters arranged to have each of these musicians contribute along side of Tim Hagans.
Master Composer Mark Masters composed and arranged all twelve songs on this album and the music is Jazz at its highest level of excellence.
Multi-talented Jazz Vocalist Judy Wexler has been studying and performing for over 20 years and has become one of the most compelling Jazz Vocalist on the West Coast. She has learned her lessons well over the years and always surrounds herself with the finest West Coast musicians. And when she combines these talented musicians with her ability to selecting songs that are wonderful but not played frequently, Jazz magic occurs. Judy has an intense love for lyrics and takes joy in creating her own interpretations. When she adds her warm voice to a lyric the results create beautiful reborn musical gems. On "No Wonder" Judy unveils a range of emotions and combines her astute blend of storytelling with subtle melodic variations and rhythmic shifts. The arrangements on "No Wonder" were created by Judy's longtime Pianist and Arranger Jeff Colella and they are hip and fresh and fit Judy's vocal style perfectly. This is Judy's first CD of standards and when these songs are combined with Judy's warm voice, her spot- on phrasing and Colella's creative arrangements, the songs seem re-born again.
Judy preforms in Jazz clubs in the LA area to the delight of her many fans. She has also headlined at performing arts centers and Jazz festivals in Montreal, Dubai, Tel Aviv, San Jose and Temecula where she opened for the legendary Mose Allison, If you know anything about Mose Allison, then it will help you understand Judy's long-time love of "Off the beaten path" songs and lyrics.
The list of supporting musicians is an A-listing of the best LA musicians. So, what do you get when you gather a group of fine Jazz musicians in a recording room with a veteran Jazz Vocalist with a beautiful voice and a love for interpretation and phrasing of lyric? You get a beautiful Jazz CD titled "No Wonder"!
I have attached a "YouTube" video with two songs from "No Wonder". The first song is a long-time favorite of mine composed by Leonard Cohen, "Dance Me To The End of Love". The lyric for this Cohen gem has always fascinated me, and I always thought about it as a lovely love poem. I learned from Judy that the lyric is about the Jewish musicians in the Nazi concentration camps who were forced to perform as their fellow prisoners were marched to their deaths. Now, the lyric of the songs takes on a new, deeper emotional meaning for me. Bob Sheppard adds a beautiful Clarinet solo and Larry Koonse has a captivating Guitar solo also. The second song I attached was Judy's up-tempo version of the the 1940 standard, "You Stepped Out of a Dream".
"Dance Me to the End of Love"
"You Stepped Out of a Dream"
PLAYLIST:
1. No Wonder
2. The Summer Knows
4. Never Will I Marry
5. Wish You Were Here
6. Firm Roots
7. Slow Hot Wind
8. I Wish You Love
9. Dance Me To The End of Love
10. That Sunday, That Summer
11. A Weaver of Dreams
12. The Night We Called It A Day
PLAYERS:
Judy Wexler- Vocals
Jeff Colella- Piano, Melodica, All Arrangement except, "No Wonder" Luciana Souza and "I Wish you Love" Brian Swartz
If you are a fan of Jazz Vocals, you will fall in love with Vocalist Tania Grubbs and the Tania GrubbsQuintet. Tania has a smooth, velvety soft voice and phrasing that would please any Sinatra fan. The songs Tania has included in her playlist are not just nice songs. The carefully selected songs on this CD represent examples of the work of some of the greatest lyricists and composers embedded in the Great American Songbook. Lyric and Melody are important to Tania because she has the rare ability to use her voice and phrasing skills to turn word stories into beautiful music. Tania Grubbs is a wonderful storyteller, using her vocal skills to bring written words to life for the listener. As I listened to the 14 songs on this CD, I kept thinking about how great these songs are but also how difficult they are to sing. This list of songs would make a great final exam for a vocalist master class. The members of the Tania GrubbsQuintet supported Tania's singing seamlessly with no gaps or spaces. The group has ties to Pittsburg, Pa and has played together for several years. This amazing CD was recorded by these stellar musicians in one day; one impressive accomplishment!
I have attached two "YouTube" videos for your listening pleasure. The first song is the Gershwin gem, "But Not For Me". The second song is an incredible performance of the Leslie Bricusse and HenryMancini classic, "Two For The Road".
Big band Planet D Nonet has released their new CD, "Echoes Of Harlem: A Salute to Duke Ellington Vol 2" which is a tribute to Duke Ellington and a follow-up to highly successful 2023 CD "Blues To BeThere: A Salute to Duke Ellington". While touring and performing songs from their 2023 CD, the group received very positive responses from their audiences and continued to add new charts to their repertoire. These new charts became the playlist for their Vol 2 CD. The players in Planet D Nonet are skilled musicians who are dedicated to performing a musical review of the Ellington genius while allowing some contemporary interpretations . Listening to this CD gives even young Jazz fans the exact Ellington sound and arrangements experience. A lot of the songs on this CD were unfamiliar to me but welcome additions to my Ellington education. If you are an Ellington fan or new to the Ellington musical world "Echoes Of Harlem" will be a musical present for you!
I have attached two "YouTube" videos so you can sample some of the great sounds on this CD. The first cut is a sensational arrangement of Ellington's classic Jazz composition, "Caravan". The second cut is a less known Billy Strayhorn song, "Blood Count" with a terrific arrangement by Jeff Cury.
PLAYLIST:
1. Happy Anatomy
2. Flirtbird
3. Rocks in My Bed
4. Echoes of Harlem
5. Addi
6. Blood Count
7. Juniflip
8. Azalea
9. La Belle
10. Caravan
11. Frustration
12. I'm Gonna Go Fishin'
13. Happy Reunion
14.. The Shepherd
15. Sophisticated Lady
PLAYERS:
James O'Donnell- Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Vocals & Maracas, Co-leader
Charlie Miller- Trumpet, Flugelhorn
John "Tbone" Paxton- Trombone, Vocals
Alex Colista- Alto Sax, Clarinet
Christopher Tabaczynski- Tenor Sax & Clarinet
Goode Wyche III- Bari Sax, Alto Sax
Michael Zaporski- Piano
Trevor Lamb- String Bass
Sean Perlimutter- Drums, Cowbell
RJ Spangler- Congas, Small Percussion Instruments, Bandleader
Master Guitarist Dave Stryker and Arranger and Composer Brent Wallarab joined forces to create a beautiful new CD, "Stryker With Strings Goes to theMovies". In addition to the outstanding playlist of songs, Wallarab and Stryker decided to employ an unusual instrumental configuration of a 30 piece studio orchestra featuring a Jazz Quartet, Strings, and Trombones, punctuated by solo work from Violinist Sara Caswell, Saxophonist Greg Ward, Flugelhornist Mark Buselli, and Trombonist JimPugh. The Arrangements and musical sounds on this CD are perfect for all Jazz lovers who like to listen to Jazz that respects melody while at the same allows musicians room to show their musical skills.
Stryker picked some outstanding movie songs for his CD; some you will know well but there is a good chance you missed a couple along the way. One example would be "Flirtibird" from the movie "Anatomy Of A Murder". This song was composed by Ellington and Strayhorn and the sensational Wallarab arrangement features Dave Stryker on Guitar, Mark Buselli Plays a great Flugelhorn solo, GregWard adding some wonderful Sax work and master Trombone player Jim Pugh. This cut alone is worth the cost of the Album in my opinion. I have attached a YouTube video of this cut below.
"Flirtibird"
PLAYERS:
Dave Stryker- Guitar
Brent Wallarab- Arrangements and Conducting
Xavier Davis- Piano & Fender Rhodes
Jeremy Allen- Bass
McClenty Hunter- Drums
Featured Soloists:
Sara Caswell- Violin
Greg Ward- Alto Ssxophone
Jim Pugh- Trombone
Mark Buselli- Flugehorn
PLAYLIST:
1. In Your Eyes
2. Cinema Paradiso
3. You Only Live Twice
4. Taxi Driver
5. Theme From Shaft
6. Cavatina
7. Flirtibird
8. Low Key Lightly
9. Moonglow
10. Dreamsville
11. Edelweiss
I haveattached another song from the CD from composers Mancini annd Livingston that fits it's title perfectly; "Dreamsville".
Pianist, Arranger and Vocalist Gino Amato has assembled a remarkable cast of Jazz greats for his new CD, "Latin Crossroads". Amato has picked a wonderful mix of songs from Broadway, The Great American Songbook, Jazz and Pop music and transformed them into beautiful Afro-Cuban Jazz. Amato's objective for "Latin Crossroads" was to present Latin music in an accessible format that would spotlight Latin rhythms. Amato has more than accomplished this objective. His arrangements of these classic songs and his ability to fuse them with Latin rhythms is brilliant and fresh. Looking over the playlist of songs, one certainly wonders how he could accomplish this. Injecting a Latin rhythum into Michel Legrand's "The Summer Knows" and Monk's "Round Midnight " is not an easy task. But Gino Amato accomplished this challenge brilliantly. Think about the difficulty of recording this CD using 46 different musicians. That in itself is a remarkable achievement. I can't image how long it took to finish this CD and the cost must have been considerable. I am delighted to say that the results of Gino Amato's efforts have produced a sensational amount of Latin Inspired music. I am already longing for a "Latin Crossroads II".
I have attached two "YouTube" videos so you can experience the Gino Amato experience for yourself. The first song I choose was Paul McCartney's "Blackbird" that features vocalist Arnold McCuller, Pianist and co-producer Oscar Hernandez, Flutist Andrea Brachfeld and Trombonist Louis Bonilla. The second song is Joaquin Rodrigo's "Concerto For Aranjuez". This classic song was immortalized by Miles Davis and Gil Evans on their "Sketches Of Spain" album.
I have a real treat for you today. Singer, Pianist, Composer and Bandleader, John Ambrosini has recently released an inspiring new CD, "Songs For You". I usually feature songs from the Great AmericanSongbook on my blog but the popular songs that Ambrosini has included in the playlist for his new CD are going to enter the Great American Songbook as they meet the test of time. John has a warm and wonderful earthy voice and style. John plays piano as he sings and that produces a great melodic vibe that quickly puts the listener at easy. This album is a tribute to some of the greatest songwriters of today who have inspired him. The composers included on this CD are like the "Who's, Who" of greatest composers of the last 30 years. Here is a list of these world class modern day Composers: Rickie Lee Jones, Colin Greenwood, Johny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Philip Selway, Thom Yorke, Greg Allman, Kim Payne, Elton John, Bernie Taupin, Donald Fagen, Walter Becker, James Taylor, Jackson Brown, Billy Joel, Stephen Sills, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. John Ambrosini is not just doing covers of these classic newer songs. His style and Arrangements are uniquely his. Ambrosini has added two of his own original compositions that fit perfectly with this classic composer playlist. John has a busy career in NYC performing, Arranging, and Composing Music. He is a brilliant musician and composer who will be at the top of his game for years to come. Ambrosini wanted to pay homage to famous popular songs that inspired him, and you will be inspired after you listen to his CD, "Songs For You".
The support cast of musicians who are featured on this CD are also terrific and make "Songs For You" one of the best new releases this year!
PLAYERS:
John Ambrosini- Piano, Keyboard, Arrangements, Lead Vocals
