The great Jay Leonhart has always shown a deft touch on his instrument, the double bass. It would be fair to say that he is equally skilled at turning a phrase. Leonhart's storytelling in word and low tones is sure to delight on his new recording, Joy, a wonderful collection of jazz-inflected art songs. // The bassist's favored configuration for his story filled original tunes has been a trio with piano, bass and drums. His current trio features the beautiful stylings of pianist Tomoko Ohno and the impeccable timing of drummer Vito Lesczak. The trio has been a solid unit for some time, performing regularly at Birdland in New York City.
... emotionally direct, unpretentious and irascibly open-hearted... - San Francisco Classical Voice. "Joy" documents the inspired collaborations saxophonist/composer Benjamin Boone experienced while living in Ghana for a year as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar. He performed frequently with Accra-based tenor saxophonist Bernard Ayisa, pianist Victor Dey, Jr., bassist Bright Osei, drummer Frank Kissi and vocalist Sandra Huson, with this set recorded in Boone's final week in country. Bathed in joy, exuberance and dance, the band tackles four Boone originals, Herbie Hancock's "Maiden Voyage," "Curtain of Light" by Ethiopia-based saxophonist Jonovan Cooper, and the title track by the late saxophonist, Gerry Niewood. Following Boone's two previous recordings - critically acclaimed collaborations with U.S. Poet Laureate Philip Levine - "Joy" offers a 'complete body experience,' exploding with movement and fire.
Featuring Special Guests Kim Waters, Marion Meadows, Paul Jackson, Jr. And Kim Scott!! Jazz in Pink, the premier all female all-star smooth jazz ensemble, is the brainchild of Grammy nominated multi-talented composer, key- boardist, producer Gail Jhonson. Gail has also been a long-time collaborator and music director for the Grammy winning smooth jazz superstar, Norman Brown. Joy! #has already garnered 2 Smooth Jazz Radio Hits, "Joy Joy!" and "Keystroke." Jazz InPink has been a featured performer at the Playboy Jazz Festival, The Hollywood Bowl and has shared the stage with the likes of Bobby Womack, Kirk Franklin, Patti Austin, Yanni, and many others! Highlights include the uplifting "Joy Joy!" featuring Kim Waters, the chilled out "All That Jazz"featuring Marion Meadows, the romantic "Into The Nite" and much more.
2018 release. Raymond wants the music of Real Feels to connect to his listeners. So rather than compose complex, over the top pieces, he focused on simplifying and writing music that people could sing along with. The majority of the music on Joy Ride was written during a self-imposed summer retreat in which Raymond made sure to write every day. He also decided to compose at the piano, an instrument on which he is less in command, creating a natural handicap to insure the pieces would be more natural.
Antonio Forcione, Seckou Keita and Adriano Adewale Itauna come from three different continents - Europe, South America and Africa. All virtuosos in their own right, they grew up in three different landscapes, speaking three different languages, and were formed by three different cultures and musical traditions. All these differences have converged in AKA Trio, and the product is 'JOY'. Italian guitarist-composer Antonio Forcione has been travelling the world for over two decades, releasing twenty albums and collaborating with many major artists along the way, including such names as Charlie Haden, Trilok Gurtu, Angélique Kidjo and the Bulgarian Voices, amongst many others. Seckou Keita from Senegal is one of the world’s foremost kora players, involved in many international projects including his ground-breaking duo with Welsh harpist Catrin Finch, Africa Express with Damon Albarn and his Transparent Water project with Cuban pianist Omar Sosa. Brazilian percussionist and composer Adriano Adewale has collaborated with Bobby McFerrin, Joanna McGregor and Benjamin Taubkin and has composed music for orchestras and dance theatre.
Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing in gatefold jacket. Includes digital download. Samara Joy is a singing star in the ascendancy: the young vocalist attracted attention in 2019 after winning the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition. Now, the 21-year-old announces her self-titled debut release, which puts her spin on jazz standards from the Great American Songbook. Produced by Grammy-nominated veteran Matt Pierson, she's joined by jazz guitar virtuoso Pasquale Grasso and his trio (Ari Roland and Kenny Washington) for a release that furthers Joy's reputation as one of America's most promising young jazz vocalists. Joy's interpretations balance the breezy-fresh feel of a relative newcomer with a reverence for a tradition she is now undoubtedly part of. "But Beautiful", "Let's Dream in the Moonlight" and "Jim" pay homage to Billie Holiday's original versions, and she acknowledges the great Nat King Cole with versions of "It Only Happens Once" and "The Trouble with Me is You". "Stardust" is another nod to Cole, showcasing a talent for storytelling well beyond her years. As she says, "There's nothing like hearing someone who understands sing it to you." Moods range from the happy-go-lucky simplicity of "Everything Happens to Me" to the longing of "Lover Man".
CD reissue of this 1977 album from the late Jazz trumpeter. Freddie Hubbard was one of the premier trumpet players in all of Jazz. He issued a wealth of albums from the 1960s until his passing at the end of 2008. Many of his albums have made the Billboard top LP chart, a rare occasion for a Jazz artist. Wounded Bird. 2009.
One of the most talented jazz sidemen in Chicago, Rich Corpolongo stepped forward in 1995 to make his debut recording as leader, Just Found Joy. The multi-reedist (alto and soprano sax and clarinet) displays a complete musical virtuosity and creative focus on eight original compositions. "a marvelous showcase for his writing and improvising talents... he rips through the constraints of bar lines and conventional propriety with controlled abandon. He'll push up to the boundaries of free jazz, but never stray from the structure of the song." - Art Lange "a sleeper hit, and a wake-up call about a brand-new longtime talent" - Jazziz. "*4 Stars*" - Down Beat.
Young violinist Gabriela Balcerek, only just at the beginning of her career, confirms her great talent and natural musicality with her already second album recorded with the Sinfonia Viva orchestra. The repertoire of the album consists of stylistically diverse pieces, from Romanticism to the present; moreover, they represent the most famous violin and chamber miniatures. These are compositions by Polish and foreign composers, in which stylized folklore is intertwined with truly Romantic passion. Arranged by Tomasz Radziwonowicz for solo violin and string orchestra, they gained a new, fresh sound, in which the dense harmonic structure and parts of individual instruments approached as if they were solo instruments draw attention. Young violinist Gabriela Balcerek, only just at the beginning of her career, confirms her great talent and natural musicality with her already second album recorded with the ensemble. This is a cheerful album, at which the listener will smile more than once, following it's title. The joy of love, but also of youth and of celebrating music among artists who share energy and passion, can be heard in every sound.
This 10 track CD reissues recordings of solo piano performances made in the 1980s at Toronto's Cafe des Copains (Apr. 25th, 1984 and Jan. 9th, 1985), showcasing Harold Mabern's powerful style. Two selections, "Indian Summer" and "Manhattan," are issued here for the first time.
On the latest album from the leading statesman of smooth jazz, Bob James takes a joy ride that shatters perceptions and re-energizes both the format and his music. Utilizing various producers and lineups (including all the members of Fourplay), Joy Ride jumps with the energy of creative rebirth, boosted by the huge success of his parallel career in Fourplay. Featured tracks: "Raise The Roof" (feat. Boney James), "It's Alright" (feat. Norman Brown) and "Take Me There."
For their second album on Chandos, Freddie Crowley and his Corvus Consort - joined by the harpist Louise Thomson - turn their attention to a rich vein of choral music written for women's voices and harp. Gustav Holst was a champion of women's voices and taught in several girls' schools, most famously at St Paul's Girls' School, Hammersmith, where he worked for almost thirty years. His contribution to this genre is represented by three works: Two Eastern Pictures, Dirge and Hymeneal, and more substantially his Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda. These works provide a frame for the bulk of the programme - mostly written by British women. Works by Imogen Holst and Elizabeth Poston lead us towards the more recent generations - Judith Weir, Gemma McGregor, and on to Olivia Sparkhall, and Hilary Campbell. The Indian composer Shruthi Rajasekar was invited to compose for this programme in response to the Third Group of Gustav Holst's Choral Hymns. Both Ushas - Goddess of Dawn and Priestess not only add exciting new repertoire for these unusual forces, but explore directly Holst's engagement with ancient Hindu texts.
Delos is thrilled to announce a new collaboration with GRAMMY® Award-winning vocal ensemble Chanticleer. Famed for it's "accuracy of intonation, purity of blend, of color and swagger of style" (Boston Globe), the group makes it's label debut with Joy to the World. This new Christmas collection blends tradition with innovation, combining Renaissance motets and fresh arrangements of classic carols with contemporary compositions, including two new commissions from Joanna Marsh. Showcasing the ensemble's extraordinary ability to move seamlessly and expertly between styles, Chanticleer's first Delos release conjures a wintertime world of magic, light, and wonder.
As a poet and musician, Joy Harjo channels a creative force she describes as a "vibration of love" to connect countless traditions and artforms, countering the despair and heartache caused by power and hate. Insomnia and Seven Steps to Grace, her debut for Smithsonian Folkways, draws on the long-intertwined rhythms of jazz and poetry, the power of improvisation and self-expression through sound, and the vitality of Native culture and spirituality to spark a chain of vibrational energy to engulf the whole world. Harjo's voice is bold and direct, supported producer and bass player esperanza spalding, covering a repertoire that includes a jazz standard, a song written by Harjo's mother and uncovered by her sister, and many originals that speak to contemporary issues and her life as one of the most celebrated American poets of the last century.
Digitally remastered two CD set containing jazz trumpeter Ellis's last two albums for Columbia Records. Tears For Joy, originally a double vinyl album, was recorded in 1971 at Basin Street West in San Francisco, and is regarded by many as his finest album. Connection is Ellis's arrangements of pop hits of the day, featuring his award-winning 'French Connection' theme from the movie. Slipcased with extensive new liner notes.
Veteran alto saxophonist Andy Fusco, despite his long-time active career which had begun with the 5-year tenure with the Buddy Rich Big Band in the late 70s, has been notoriously under-recorded as a leader.
His SteepleChase debut album last year “Whirlwind” SCCD 31811, though it took 12 years before its release, has marked the new era for the virtuoso instrumentalist.
Here on his new album (only one year has passed since the last one) Fusco leads his hand-picked band to present a tasteful and full-blooded program.
“Whirlwind is one of those rare releases that exceeds craft and competence, and establishes its own reasons for being. Among other things, it's a bottomless well of a jazz record. The more you play it, the more discoveries you make. The music offers multiple perspectives and can be enjoyed in a number of ways.” (David A.Orthmann – AAJ on SCCD 31811)
