THE JAZZ CHILL CORNER NEW RELEASES - CATERINA VALENTE, JIMMY SAPIENZA & CHRIS PANGIKAS, SHEILA JORDAN |  |
- NEW RELEASES - CATERINA VALENTE, JIMMY SAPIENZA & CHRIS PANGIKAS, SHEILA JORDAN
- THE COMPLETE REMASTERED RECORDING ON BLACK SAINT & SOUL NOTE OF OLIVER LAKE, DAVID MURRAY, ANDREW CYRILLE
- NEW RELEASES - KOUDEDE, DAVE REMPIS /JOSHUA ABRAMS / AVREEAYL RA, THE REMPIS / DAISY DUO
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Posted: 07 Jan 2014 07:12 AM PST
 Two different live albums from Caterina Valente – served up here in a single set! Live At Talk Of The Town is one of Valente's great albums in the US – upbeat, swinging, and with a very groovy feel that has Caterina sounding especially nice on some of the album's medley tracks – done with a feel that's a lot less hokey than you'd hear from other artists! The spoken bits show her German accent, but the rest have a groovier swinging feel – and the backings are surprisingly jazzy throughout, handled by Burt Rhodes, with vibes and bongos from the great Fats Sadi! Titles include an excellent "Bacharach Medley", plus "Parade Medley", "Mother Goosanova", "Falling In Love", "Canto De Ossanha", and "Spanish Medley". Caterina Valente Live is a record that's mostly sung in German, but one that also has a really universal appeal – thanks to backing from a cool jazz combo that includes MPS heavyweights Fats Sadi on vibes and bongos, and Sigi Schwab on guitar! Horst Jankowski directs the music, and other great instrumental elements include organ from Gotz Wendland and guitar and flute from Silvio Francesco – both mixed up in these really playful arrangements from Heinz Kiessling that show Valente's great ability to skirt both jazz and pop. There's some nice medley numbers – including "Musical Hit Parade", and "Italian Hit Parade" – plus versions of "Canto De Ossanha", "Singing My Song", "Falling In Love With Love", and "The Windmills Of Your Mind". ~ Dusty Groove  JIMMY SAPIENZA & CHRIS PANGIKAS - AZURE TEIn 2007, Jimmy won an Emmy Award for his participation in the WQED Multimedia television show "Live From Studio 'A'." Sapienza's rendition of "Just A Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody," along with outstanding performances by Bo Wagner and other great Pittsburgh artists, won the Emmy in the category of "Arts Program or Special". Sapienza is an expert showman, songwriter and stylist. A 'saloon singer' with a spontaneous, up and slightly offbeat sense of humor, he is one of the last Italian Saloon Singers steeped in the tradition of those great crooners that preceded him. Jimmy is also the leader of his own band, Jimmy Sapienza's Five Guys Named Moe ™. The Moes are widely known for their crowd-pleasing performances and world-class sound. "Jimmy is the BEST!" said the late KDKA radio personality John Cigna. "He's like Louie Prima, Sinatra, Dean-O, Tony Bennett and Louis Armstrong, all rolled into one loveable package!" Radio jocks Tony Mowod, Bob Studebaker, Chilly Billy Cardille, and Jack Bogut in the Morning all speak highly of Jimmy and frequently feature him on their programs. http://www.thejazznetworkworldwide.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network  One of the only two vocal jazz albums that the Blue Note label ever recorded – and a haunting batch of tracks from a young Sheila Jordan! The style here is quite different than that of Jordan's later, more experimental records – and this early session shows her as an extremely talented young vocalist, with a unique approach that adds a sparkling modernist touch to familiar tunes – yet which still keeps things in a relatively more straightforward fashion. There's a great mixing of older and newer visions in the set – not just in Jordan's vocals, but also in the small combo backing by the trio of Barry Galbraith on guitar, Steve Swallow on bass, and Denzil Best on drums. Titles include great versions of "Baltimore Oriole", "Dat Dere", and "Hum Drum Blues" – plus the tunes "I'm A Fool To Want You", "Am I Blue", "Laugh Clown Laugh", and "Who Can I Turn To?". ~ Dusty Groove   |
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Posted: 07 Jan 2014 06:59 AM PST
OLIVER LAKE - THE COMPLETE REMASTERED RECORDINGS ON BLACK SAINT & SOUL NOTE: HOLDING TOGETHER / PROPHET / CLEVONT FRITZHUBERT / EXPANDABLE LANGUAGE / EDGE-ING / DEDICATED TO DOLPHY / A NEW ORGANIZATION (7-CD)
Some of the greatest work ever recorded by reedman Oliver Lake – all packaged together in one great set! The package shows Lake really maturing both as a player and as a group leader – working with a range of contemporaries to move his sound past the loft jazz modes of the 70s, but still with all the deep spirit of collaboration that always made his contributions to jazz so important. The first few albums are key standouts in the Black Saint catalog, and the later titles are great surprises from some years when folks might have taken Lake for granted, but he was still always able to pull out some new modes of expression. Players on the sessions include Michael Gregory Jackson, Fred Hopkins, Baikida Carroll, Donald Smith, Pheeroan Ak Laff, Russell Gunn, Charles Eubanks, Reggie Workman, and Andrew Cyrille – and the set features 7 full albums, all with original artwork – Holding Together, Orphet, Clevont Fitzhubert, Expandable Language, Edge-ing, Dedicated To Dolphy, and A New Organization. (All albums come in cardboard sleeve replicas of the original album covers!) ~ Dusty Groove
DAVID MURRAY - THE COMPLETE REMASTERED RECORDINGS ON BLACK SAINT & SOUL NOTE: SWEET LOVELY / MORNING SONG / I WANT TO TALK ABOUT YOU / THE HILL / A SANCTUARY WITHIN / BODY AND SOUL / WINWARD PASSAGES (7-CD)
Amazing small group work from saxophonist David Murray – and a body of material that really shows the reedman coming into his own! The Black Saint/Soul Note label was one of the first to really show faith in Murray – and allow him to step from the underground into the limelight of global jazz – working with key players who helped him really find his voice, and show the world that he was a saxophonist who could be freely creative one minute, then damn soulful the next! All albums in the set are classics from this amazing run in Murray's career – and some might argue that they represent a high point in his talents as well – wonderfully expressive sessions that feature players that include Fred Hopkins, Richard Davis, Ray Drummond, or Reggie Workman on bass; Dave Burrell, Sonelius Smith, or John Hicks on piano; Sunny Murray, Joe Chambers, Ed Blackwell, or Steve McCall on drums. The set features 7 full albums, all with original artwork – Sweet Lovely, Morning Song, I Want To Talk About You, The Hill, A Sanctuary Within, Body & Soul, and Windward Passages. (All albums come in cardboard sleeve replicas of the original album covers!) ~ Dusty Groove
ANDREW CYRILLE - THE COMPLETE REMASTERED RECORDINGS ON BLACK SAINT & SOUL NOTE: METAMUSICIANS' STOMP / NUBA / SOMETHING IN RETURN / SPECIAL PEOPLE / THE NAVIGATOR / X MAN / GOOD TO GO, WITH A TRIBUTE TO BU (7-CD)
Some of our favorite work on the legendary Black Saint/Soul Note label – a wonderful set of recordings that really allowed percussionist Andrew Cyrille a chance to express himself freely! Cyrille had been making music on record for almost two decades before he reached this stretch in his careery – but with these albums he really gets a chance to present his music at the height of its expression – in a range of settings and groupings that really get at the wide range of Andrew's skills on drums and percussion. Highlights include a very spiritual session with the Manolo group – David S Ware on tenor and Ted Daniel on trumpet; a set of duets with altoist Jimmy Lyons, a partner of Cyrille in the Cecil Taylor group; a trio date with Jeanne Lee on vocals and Lyons on alto; a trio tribute to Art Blakey; and another recording with Daniel and pianist Sonelius Smith. Every record's a gem, and the set presents them each with original artwork – in a box that includes the albums Metamusicians' Stomp, Nuba, Something In Return, Special People, The Navigator, X Man, and Good To Go. (All albums come in cardboard sleeve replicas of the original album covers!) ~ Dusty Groove
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Posted: 07 Jan 2014 07:00 AM PST
KOUDEDE - GUITARS FROOM AGADEZ VOL. 7
A sweet EP of guitar-laden grooves from Koudede – a Mali musician we've really grown to love from this excellent series! The record's got the strongest punch of any work we've heard from Koudede so far – a growing sense of pride that not only informs the bold rhythms at the bottom, but also the sharpness of his own lead guitar lines and vocals – so powerful and anthemic you can almost get the politics in his music, even if you don't understand the language. Titles include "Adounia", "Taghlamt", "Ewellan", and "Tamidit". ~ Dusty Groove
DAVE REMPIS / JOSHUA ABRAMS / AVREEAYL RA - APHELION
A trio of tracks by a tremendous trio – the wonderfully spiritual combo of Dave Rempis on saxes, Avreeayl Ra on percussion, and Josh Abrams on bass, small harp, and guimbri! Abrams' presence is really felt here – and his growth towards even more soulful styles in recent years seems to bring Ra's music into great focus, and give Rempis a sensitivity that goes even beyond some of his best recent material in other settings. The music is always focused with a cosmic sort of energy – often relatively free, but never too loose – and driven by a shared spirit between the players that really holds the whole thing together. Titles include "Ruah", "Soria", and "Saqiya". ~ Dusty Groove.
DAVE REMPIS / TIM DAISY (THE REMPIS / DAISY DUO) - SECOND SPRING
An amazing showcase for the reed talents of musician Dave Rempis – working here on alto, tenor, and baritone sax – alongside some powerful drum work from Tim Daisy! The duets are great – unbridled, but still with a sense of structure that really shows Rempis' careful execution of his talents – a way of laying out these long, expressive lines on the different instruments – often with a sense of spirit that takes us back to Dolphy at his most out, the best ESP power trios, and some of the high points of the New York loft jazz scene. Titles include "Numbers Lost", "Three Flags", "For R Barry", "Impasto", and "Gerosten & Gesalten". ~ Dusty Groove
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