June 18th, 2009 by admin

June 18th, 2009 by admin

Bassist-composer Charles Mingus had a reputation for volatile creativity and the ability to press his sidemen to their limits. That said, there’s precious little in the Mingus canon that reaches the levels of intensity and unfettered invention of this extraordinary quartet session from November 1960. Mingus and saxophonist Eric Dolphy were clearly at creative peaks. Mingus’s open forms facilitate Dolphy’s freedom, and Dolphy’s virtuosity and vocal expressiveness (laughing, whinnying, crying, shrieking) on alto and bass clarinet lend Mingus the greatest solo voice his music ever enjoyed. They push the principle of musical dialogue to the point where speech seems about to break out on “Folk Forms No. 1″ and in the bass-bass clarinet chatter and grieving of “What Love.”

In a way, speech does break out. “Original Faubus Fables,” previously recorded as “Fables of Faubus” on Mingus Ah Um, gets the lyrics earlier denied it by Columbia Records. Mingus and drummer Dannie Richmond damn Arkansas’s notoriously racist governor, with the bassist calling out, “Why is he so sick and ridiculous, Dannie?” Richmond and trumpeter Ted Curson are excellent players and the sheer tumult carries them to the performances of their careers. Mingus’s writing often uses tension-building repeated figures, and Dolphy and Curson virtually function as reed and brass sections at times. It contributes to the illusion of a much larger group, a cauldron of unspoken pain and fresh energies that seems almost too much for any quartet to deliver.

A fifth performance from the session, an extended-band feature for Dolphy’s alto on Fats Waller’s “Stormy Weather,” has never been included on a CD with the rest of the session. Well worth seeking out, it currently appears on Candid Dolphy. –Stuart Broomer

June 18th, 2009 by admin

It’s Only her Second Album, but What an Impact She Has Had on the Jazz World. Ms. Kent’s Natural Vocal Abilities Are in Full Force Once More on this Wonderful Collection. While the Songs Are Quite Familiar to Most, She Breathes New Life Into Each One with a Distinctive Voice, Superb Diction and Sublime Performance. If You’re a Fan of How They Used to Make ‘em, Guess What? They’re Still Making Em Like They Used To…and Just as Good!

June 18th, 2009 by admin

Grateful singers know that Fred Astaire virtually defined the Great American Songbook, beginning in the ’30s with his legendary film collaborations with George and Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, and Jerome Kern. Stacey Kent pays tribute to Astaire in Let Yourself Go, the third stellar album for the London-based, New York-bred vocalist whose voice resembles a lighter version of Dinah Washington’s. Kent shines on both gorgeous ballads (”They Can’t Take That Away from Me”) and solid swingers (”Shall We Dance”), and adds an easy bossa nova beat to “‘S Wonderful.” Trading lines with her is Kent’s saxophonist-husband Jim Tomlinson, who fronts the solid band. Flexible with the rhythms yet never straying far from the melodies, Kent also pays perhaps the ultimate compliment to many of these songs by including the oft-neglected verses. Tony Bennett’s 1993 Fred Astaire tribute was his breakthrough to the mainstream music scene. Perhaps Let Yourself Go will be the U.S. breakthrough for Stacey Kent. –David Horiuchi

June 18th, 2009 by admin

This has to be Stacey Kent’s finest album yet. With no less than 16 fantastic interpretations of songs made famous by male icons during Stacey’s adolescence, this album features tracks ranging all the way from The Best Is Yet To Come (Tony Bennett), The Boy Next Door (Frank Sinatra) to Dizzy Gillespie’s Ooh Shoobee Doo Bee and James Taylor’s You’ve Got A Friend. This is sure to be a Grammy nominee and a must-have for any lover of the American popular songbook.

June 18th, 2009 by admin

The New York Native who Resides in England is a Formidable Presence on the Modern Jazz Scene. This is her Fourth Album Exploring the Standards and the Reviews have all Been Sterling. The Emphasis Here is on the Ballads and her Breathy Emphasis and Phrasing Are Nothing Less Than Spectacular and Riveting. Her Vocals Are Not “Dressed Up” Or Enhanced by Studio Technique. What You Get is Pure, Raw Singing Talent that Shines Like a Fine Jewel.

June 18th, 2009 by admin

Ms. Kent Marked the 100th Anniversary of Richard Rodger’s Birth with this Stellar Reading of Some of his Greatest Tunes, her Fifth Recorded Opus. While She Has Recorded in the 1990’s and Beyond, her Stylings Would Perfectly Fit in Alongside Other Jazz Greats of Norman Granz’s Verve Label of the 1950’s. Her Performances Are True, Honest and Direct, as Are all her Albums. She Makes it Seem So Effortless with her Boundless Natural Vocal Talent.

June 18th, 2009 by admin

June 18th, 2009 by admin

June 17th, 2009 by admin

This photograph shows Louis Armstrong, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front, looking at trumpet. Photograph by Herman Hiller, 1953.