Showing posts with label jazz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jazz. Show all posts
Sep 1, 2014
First Rain - Inga Swearingen (CD)
First Rain - Swearingen, Inga (CD)
American Songwriter Review
Inga Swearingen’s melodies unfold like Virginia Woolf’s best sentences, patiently building to an expected climax before transcending it like a sweet exhalation of air. First Rain (Rhythome), her newest release, is an exquisitely crafted piece of work that delicately interweaves jazz and folk into a most uncommon singer/songwriter album. Although Joni Mitchell may be her most obvious touchstone, Swearingen possesses the musical chops and intuition to step out of Mitchell’s considerable shadow and into a place all her own. First Rain includes several stellar versions of standards (a Monk-ish take on “Blackbird” is particularly excellent), but Swearingen’s original compositions, in which she utilizes the complexities of jazz harmonics to bring out the emotional undercurrents of her still life observations, are the most inspiring of the collection.
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Jul 1, 2014
Julie London Sings the Choicest of Cole Porter (CD)
Julie London Sings the Choicest of Cole Porter (CD)Summary: The cool, sexy voice of Julie London was the perfect instrument for the sophisticated-yet often suggestive-songs of Cole Porter. Here are I've Got You Under My Skin; Love for Sale; Easy to Love; My Heart Belongs to Daddy; In the Still of the Night , and 11 more of her best Porter performances! -Amazon
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Sep 1, 2013
Jazz: a film by Ken Burns (DVD)
Jazz: a film by Ken Burns (DVD)
Summary: 10 episodes tracing the history of jazz from its roots in the African-American community of New Orleans to its heights and continuing presence.
Review
Accompanied by a menagerie of products, Ken Burns's expansive 10-episode paean, Jazz, completes his trilogy on American culture, following The Civil War and Baseball. Spanning more than 19 hours, Jazz is, of course, about a lot more than what many have called America's classical music--especially in episodes 1 through 7. It's here that Burns unearths precious visual images of jazz musicians and hangs historical narratives around the music with convincing authority. Time can stand still as images float past to the sound of grainy vintage jazz, and the drama of a phonograph needle being placed on Louis Armstrong's celestial "West End Blues" is nearly sublime.
The film is also potent in arguing that the history of race in the 20th-century U.S. is at jazz's heart. But a few problems arise. First is Burns's reliance on Wynton Marsalis as his chief musical commentator. Marsalis might be charming and musically expert, but he's no historian. For the film to devote three of its episodes to the 1930s, one expects a bit more historical substance. Also, Jazz condenses the period of 1961 to the present into one episode, glossing over some of the music's giant steps. Burns has said repeatedly that he didn't know much about jazz when he began this project. So perhaps Jazz, for all its glory, would better be called Jazz: What I've Learned Since I Started Listening (And I Haven't Gotten Much Past 1961). For those who are already passionate about jazz, the film will stoke debate (and some derision, together with some reluctant praise). But for everyone else, it will amaze and entertain and kindle a flame for some of the greatest music ever dreamed. --Andrew Bartlett (amazon.com)
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Jun 1, 2013
The legendary Prestige quintet sessions - Miles Davis Quintet
CD Hotlist Reviews
These 1955/56 quintet sessions mark the point where Miles Davis kicked his drug habit and began to distinguish himself as a major bandleader and innovator. He was fronting his first great quintet, with John Coltrane on tenor sax, Paul Chambers on bass, pianist Red Garland, and drummer Philly Joe Jones. Recorded over two dates in 1955 and 1956, this is some of the most engaging small group jazz of the decade, and resulted in five albums: The New Miles Davis Quintet, Relaxin', Steamin', Workin', and Cookin'. An additional CD includes rare live material from this era, plus enhanced content that includes five transcriptions of Miles Davis trumpet solos. Coltrane's playing is lyrical and expressive, Miles's trumpet is angelic, and the whole groove is gently sublime – these are musical giants, slowly waking to their explosive potential. Essential. (GH) Copyright CD HotList 2006.
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Mar 1, 2013
Charles Mingus/Various Artists - Hal Willner presents weird nightmare (CD)
Summary: On this installment of Hal Willner's series of tribute albums, Willner assembled a house band for his guests (including Keith Richards, Chuck D, Elvis Costello, Bill Frisell, Vernon Reid, Charlie Watts, Gary Lucas, Leonard Cohen, and Henry Rollins) to sit in with. Weird Nightmares - Meditations on Mingus is predictably uneven and wildly entertaining; it is a fitting tribute to the genius of Charles Mingus.
-- All-Music Guide
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