Record Reviews

ILONA DAMIECKA / FRANCESCA BERTAZZO HART ~ MONK`S MIDNIGHT HEVHETIA 0128 (Barcode: 8588005257831) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016 This is the third album by Polish pianist / vocalist Ilona DamieckaFind albums by this artist and her second recording with the Italian guitarist / vocalist Francesca Bertazzo HartFind albums by this artist. The international quartet is completed by Polish bassist Pawel UrowskiFind albums by this artist and American drummer Eric AllenFind albums by this artist. The album, as the title suggests, presents ten Thelonious MonkFind albums by this artist compositions, nine of which feature lyrics mostly written by Jon HendricksFind albums by this artist. Monk´s music is for me a temple of Jazz spirituality and incredible intellectual depth and albums like this one, which turn his music into "entertainment for the masses" really make me very angry. They might popularize the great composer´s music, but they also trivialize it, by leaving the thin melodic layer on the surface, rather than trying to explore it in depth. After all there are already so many albums similar to this one, why would anyone attempt to make another one. As if the ad meritum problems of this album were not enough, it also suffers from the usual predicaments involving nonnative English speaking vocalist singing in English, which here are painfully obvious, although not equally shared by the two vocalist Ladies. The instrumental parts are fine, nothing spectacular of course just straightforward Bebop played by European (well almost) musicians, which sounds exactly as expected. There is no iota of innovation, ambition or effort to create something meaningful here. The vocalese parts sadly are a pale shadow of what Jazz vocalist have been doing for many decades already. Oh yes! The CD is gold plated!

Updated: 12/09/2016Posted: 12/09/2016

CD 1 Digipak Gold Recommend To A Friend

JON HENDRICKS ~ CLOUDBURST ENJA 4032 ~ USA ~ Jazz AMG Review: This live gig from Munich, Germany, partially fills the ten-year gap in Hendricks´ discography in the ´60s and ´70s with reprises of older material, some newer things, more than a dash of bossa nova, and plenty of ebullient spirits. Perhaps the solo versions of things like "Shiny Stockings" and "Cloudburst" don´t have the geyser-like pizzazz of the Lambert Hendricks and Ross versions. But Hendricks has his own humorous, jivey charm, and he swings quite agreeably with the trio of Larry Vuckovich (piano), Isla Eckinger (bass), and Kurt Bong. Despite the fact that his voice wasn´t too suited for ballad tempos on this given day, he need not apologize for a performance of "Here´s That Rainy Day" that is full of soulful feeling. Inevitably the high spot of mirth is Hendricks´s rendition of "Gimme That Wine," and he satirizes Clark Terry´s satire on the blues with his own "Jon´s Mumbles." The last third of the disc is taken up by two rare Hendricks excursions into the music of Brazilian composer Edu Lobo, "Arrastao" (better known in English as "For Me"), and, for CD buyers only, a nine-minute workout on "Reza." 1 last copy in stock!

CD 1 Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend

LAMBERT, HENDRICKS & ROSS ~ SEVEN CLASSIC ALBUMS REAL GONE JAZZ 415 (Barcode: 5036408153128) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 1957 - 1962 Released: 2013 This is a reissue of all the recordings by the legendary American vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & RossFind albums by this artist, which consisted of Dave LambertFind albums by this artist, Jon HendricksFind albums by this artist and the British born Annie RossFind albums by this artist. This set collects recordings made between 1957 and 1962, which present the trio shaping the future of Jazz vocals for generations to come. The seven albums included here are: "Sing A Song Of BasieFind albums with this title" from 1957, "Sing Along With BasieFind albums with this title", from 1958, "The SwingersFind albums with this title" from 1958, "Lambert, Hendricks & RossFind albums with this title" from 1960, "Lambert, Hendricks & Ross Sing EllingtonFind albums with this title" from 1960, "The Real AmbassadorsFind albums with this title", a soundtrack of a Jazz musical which also features Dave BrubeckFind albums by this artist and Louis ArmstrongFind albums by this artist, from 1962 and the final album they recorded "High Flying With Lambert, Hendricks & RossFind albums with this title" from 1962. The trio´s usage of vocalese (i.e. wordless singing) advanced the idiom of Jazz vocals considerably, contributing to the voice being recognized as having instrumental abilities equal to those of traditional instruments used in Jazz. Although they were undoubtedly pioneers, they were almost immediately overshadowed by the French vocal group Les Double SixFind albums by this artist, which pushed the innovative vocal concepts to the next level and beyond, later followed by The Swingle SingersFind albums by this artist and many other vocal ensembles. Overall this is a fascinating collection of great vocal Jazz music performed by the best vocalists at the time, and which has additionally also an enormous historical value. I can’t imagine any true vocal Jazz fan missing this set! Side Note The Real Gone JazzFind albums on this label label releases hundreds of album collections, which include usually between three to eight original albums in a two to four CDs sets. Most of these albums were recorded and released in the 1950s and early 1960s. These collections provide the track lists and lineups of the original albums, but no recording information, liner notes and any background information whatsoever. The label takes advantage of the copyright law in UK, which limited the length of the copyright protection of recorded works to 50 years, after which recorded works become public domain. In 2013 UK implemented a correction of the copyright law extending the protection of recorded works to 70 years (like the rest of Europe), but the correction does not apply retroactively, which means that recordings which entered the 50 years rule prior to January 1, 2013 (i.e. recorded before January 1, 1963) remain public domain. There are two great advantages to these releases: they are really inexpensive and they bring back to life many albums not reissued previously on CD, which means it would cost a collector an arm and a leg to get a copy of them. Many of these albums are absolute gems and essential pieces of Jazz history. The disadvantages are: the lack of proper information, original cover art, combining tracks of several original albums on one CD and the sound quality, which depends on where the label gets the source material. From my experience most of the releases have quite excellent sound quality but I have not listened to all of them and some people have complained about it.

Updated: 27/05/2018Posted: 29/09/2016

CD 4 Remastered Recommend To A Friend