The Dan DeChellis Trio - My Age Of Anxiety (2012)

Dan DeChellis has worn many hats as a musician, from performing in rock bands, freely improvised music, classical and ambient electronic music as well as traditional jazz. "My Age of Anxiety" combines all of these experiences and passions into his own unique voice. This is a collection of 14 original pieces that bring the uncomplicated harmonies of pop/rock, the soaring melodies of classical music, the freedom of purely improvised music and the openness and space of ambient music together.

As well, being instrumental music, and no lyrics to define the meanings of the tunes, DeChellis drew from experiences of the past few years of hardship he and his family have endured. Incorporating these ideas into his compositions and performance has turned this into a highly personal record on many levels, yet moments of playfulness hide among the somber moments.

credits

released 26 June 2012
All songs written by Dan DeChellis
Dan DeChellis - piano
Mitch Shelly - bass
Zack Martin - drums 

The Dan DeChellis Trio @ bandcamp

GENE ESS - A Thousand Summers (SIMP 2012)

Timeless jazz songs interpreted by award winning guitarist Gene Ess and by the renowned Nicki Parrott (Les Paul Trio). Joined by a stellar band of Gene Jackson, James Weidman, and Thomson Kneeland.


The album “A Thousand Summers” from guitarist Gene Ess is a collection of timeless beautiful songs from the jazz canon. Having concentrated on original compositions and instrumental music in his last 3 albums, this new album gives a peak into Gene’s roots of coming up with the jazz standards.

The music is arranged carefully in such a way as not to destroy the essence of the songs but still allow the musicianship of the ensemble to cut through. In another words, the musical integrity was not compromised in order to present popular jazz material. In order to accomplish this musical goal, bassist Thomson Kneeland was recruited to arrange half of the material to add another musical perspective to the presentation. If you listen carefully, it is uncanny how Gene and Thomson’s sense of music is very much on the same page and yet each brings a different shade of color to the music.

Much of the songs on this album are about love and the accompanying yearning, joy, and pain it can give to all of us. Music being a universal language is perfect to express the human feelings of love which is certainly understood by all humankind of every creed, race, and religion. Matter of fact, love transcends any artificial border that we may put amongst ourselves and is one of the true gifts of being human and makes life on earth perhaps even bearable. To love is to be human and the music on this album is full of musicians who truly love playing this music for the listening audience. 

Nicki Parrott is the featured vocalist on this album. Nicki is a renowned vocalist and bassist and have worked in the late Les Paul’s trio here in NYC. The trio now continues as the “Tribute to Les Paul Trio” and plays ever Monday at the famed Iridium Jazz Club. Nicki brings her superior sense of melody and has a great ear for this music. Her singing is succinct, vulnerable, and understated yet undeniably beautiful and true. She’s the perfect messenger for the melody and lyrics for these arrangements of the songs and for Gene Ess.

The band led by Gene Ess includes Gene Jackson on drums, James Weidman on piano, and Thomson Kneeland on the bass. Gene Ess and Gene Jackson have worked together since 1995 and share a great camaraderie musically. Gene Jackson seems to know exactly where Gene Ess wants to go on the solos in an effortless manner. James Weidman contributes musical comping throughout and acts as the harmonic glue for the music. Thomson Kneeland keeps the music swinging throughout with his virtuosic bass playing and his solos are very deep. With a team of musicians of this high level and empathy, Gene Ess plays some of his most musical solos to date. All of his solos are very lyrical and adds positively to the music and gets into the organic aspect of the music. 

Cindy McLeod of Jazz Review says "Gene Ess has firmly cemented his place as a major jazz artist of the new millennium. His post-bop work is delivered with adventurous spirit and intense ethos, offering a powerful, unique voice to the idiom. A guitarist of virtuosic proportions, Ess plays fluid chromatic lines that float and weave through the harmony. His performance is simply stated, yet reveals stunning technical fluency, the signature of all true greats. There's a delicious sense of tension/release with his performance riding over the rhythm section, Ess is a master of the art of creating dynamic interplay. Supple, sanguine, and superb are the three words that kept popping into my head as I listened, this recording knocked my socks off and will be in my CD player on a regular basis for many years to come."
cdbaby

MEREDITH D’AMBROSIO - By Myself (Sunnyside 2012)

"Arthur Schwartz and his lyricists made these 14 songs as stage and screen entertainment. Yet Meredith d’Ambrosio illumines them with beauty and emotional intensity as profound as any collection of Schubert lieder or Granados canciones. Among d’Ambrosio’s 17 albums, this is the first devoted to the work of a single composer. Schwartz and his songs are products of the uniquely American alchemy that shaped jazz from a mishmash of ingredients and then melded its spirit with elements of Viennese operetta and the British music hall to create Broadway and motion picture musicals." Sunnyside

Something To Remember You By - 4:14
Dancing In The Dark - 3:16
Then I\'ll Be Tired Of You - 5:27
Why Go Anywhere At All? - 3:17
I See Your Face Before Me - 3:04
Haunted Heart - 6:09
By Myself - 4:43
Through A Thousand Dreams - 4:51
Once Upon A Long Ago - 4:35
If There Is Someone Lovelier Than You - 4:29
All Through The Night - 6:08
High And Low - 4:47
I Guess I\'ll Have To Change My Plan - 3:06
You And The Night And The Music - 4:43

Brian Bromberg - Compared to That (Artistry Music 2012)

01. Compared To That [8:26]

02. Rory Lowery, Private Eye [9:54] 

03. If Ray Brown Was A Cowboy? [6:36] 

04. Hayride [7:30]

05. A Little New Old School [7:19] 

06. Forgiveness [5:19] 

07. Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? [4:52] 

08. I'm Just Sayin' [7:42]

09. The Eclipse [8:59] 

10. Give It To Me Baby [4:19]

Personnel:

Brian Bromberg — Arranger, Bass, Producer

Jeff Lorber — Piano, Piano (Electric)

Randy Brecker — Flugelhorn, Trumpet

Vinnie Colaiuta — Drums, 

George Duke — Piano

Alex AcuNa — Percussion

Corey Allen — Orchestration

Gannin Arnold — Guitar (Rhythm)

Charlie Bisharat — Violin

Bela Fleck — Banjo, 

Mitch Forman — Piano

Larry Goldings — Hammond B3

Tony Guerrero — Trumpet

Rick James — Composer

Gary Meek — Sax (Tenor)

Willie Murillo — Trumpet

The Rising Sun Orchestra 

Jason Thor — Trombone

Vince Trombetta — Sax (Tenor)

Mark Visher — Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone)

Tom Zink —  Piano, String Arrangements

Clotilde Rullaud-In Extremis (Nota Bene Prod. 2011)

"Si la chanson est cet oiseau-mouche perché sur le grand mur du son comme le chantait Nougaro sur une musique de Michel Legrand, Clotilde Rullaud chanteuse autant que vocaliste en est une belle incarnation. Sa voix agile d'un mezzo swinguant et profond, est de celles qui viennent de loin, tout simplement de la nécessité de chanter, comme un souffle sorti directement de l'âme. C'est une jeune artiste bien dans son temps qui dans le programme qu'elle nous propose, fait fi des chapelles musicales chères aux marchands de musique. Au fil de cette balade où Bill Evans croise Gainsbourg, Piazzolla précède Monk, où Sting voisine avec Duruflé ou Baden Powell, sans oublier des compositions originales, Clotilde fait preuve d'un grand raffinement dans le choix du répertoire et sa voix, telle un fil d'Ariane, donne sa cohérence à ces univers musicaux en apparence éloignés. Au delà d'un simple éclectisme de bon aloi, Clotilde et ses musiciens n'ont aucune difficulté à passer d'une rive à l'autre, tendrement bossa ou furieusement funk, d'une milonga lente à un beat africain ou encore une chanson française. Mention spéciale à eux, (Olivier Hutman piano/claviers, Dano Haider guitare/ basse, Antoine Paganotti batterie/percussions) qui tissent autour de la voix une élégante trame musicale sans décorum ni démonstration. De la musique de chambre sans esprit de sérieux mais toujours sensuelle, pour un vrai disque de jazz, ce creuset inlassable des musiques populaires. C'est peut-être le sens du titre de cet album " In extremis ".Les extrêmes s'ils ne se rejoignent pas, peuvent se reconnaître, alors les frontières s'abolissent et la musique s'incarne, toujours sur un fil. Nous y revoilà . C'est la voie de Clotilde . Naissance d'une passion. Il est temps d'y prêter l'oreille."

Tutu Puoane - Breathe ( Soulfactory Records 2012)

01. Us
02. Through The Years
03. Her Beauty
04. Moratuwa
05. Waiting For You
06. Cape Town
07. Dream
08. Dream On
09. Love Ends
10. Breathe

Tutu Puoane - vocals, udu, tambourine, shaker, hand claps. Ewout Pierreux - piano, fender rhodes, hand claps. Nicolas Thys - upright & electric bass, guitar on Dream & extra floor tom on 'Dream On', hand claps. Lieven Venken - drums.
http://www.tutupuoane.info

Espen Eriksen Trio - What Took You So Long (Rune Grammofon 2012)

On their second album this most melodic trio continue in the same tradition as on their highly acclaimed debut from 2010, a tradition that implies typically Scandinavian elements such as folk music, melancholia and the deep woods. In that respect it´s fair to say that he belongs to the same tradition as Tord Gustavsen and the late Esbjörn Svensson, even Jan Johanson in some respects, but without sounding like any of them. It´s also fair to say that the trio´s less is more approach is in stark contrast to many contemporary piano trios, with shorter tunes and strong focus on melodic content. On ”What Took You So Long” you will find eight new Eriksen compositions and two quite unlikely cover versions. ”Oslo”, the lovely and captivating track that ends the album, was written in the shade of 22nd July and captures both grief and optimism in a simple and unsentimental way.
Will also be available as a 2LP addition with a different sleeve. This includes their first album "You Had Me At Goodbye" and full mp3 download of both
Rune Grammofon