Posted on Sunday, January, 5, 2025 | Comments Off on CLAIRE MARTIN – ALMOST IN YOUR ARMS
If there’s jazz royalty in Britain, Claire Martin OBE is definitely ermine clad. Her choice of material is diverse and exemplary and she shines in all kinds of settings, from duo to big band. Her legacy as a live performer and a recording artist is essentially a treasure trove (her work with Richard Rodney Bennett being a personal favourite). And, just in case anyone was inclined to start taking her for granted, she’s conclusively put paid to that by recording a new album that knocks it right out of the ballpark. Her fourth release on the Danish Stunt Records, Almost in Your Arms is something of a Scandinavian extravaganza, being built around the nucleus of Claire’s touring trio of outstanding Swedish musicians. Martin Sjöstedt plays piano and keyboards and is also responsible for the lion’s share of the world-class arrangements on the album. Niklas Fernqvist is on bass and Daniel Fredriksson on drums. They’re supplemented by another leading Swedish player, Karl-Martin Almqvist on saxophone with the album’s producer, James McMillan, playing trumpet, flugelhorn, percussion and additional keyboards and arranging two of the tracks (Apparently, I’m Fine and September Song). Joe Locke is on vibraphone. Guitarist Mark Jaimes fashions a dreamy, floating soundscape on one track, Do You Ever Wonder, which is also a showcase for Fernqvist’s bass. And Nikki Iles takes a break from excelling as a pianist to play accordion on Apparently, I’m Fine. And let’s not forget the star and headliner. From the opening instants of I Feel a Song Coming On, Claire Martin is absolutely in control and at the top of her game,the smooth, husky voice taking the super high speed material in her stride, offering effortless nuanced expression while clearly enjoying herself. The really remarkable thing about this album is the way the quality of the musicians meshes with the calibre of the songs, which have been curated with immaculate — and exhilaratingly catholic — taste. The first big surprise is This One’s from the Heart, written by Tom...
Posted on Sunday, January, 5, 2025 | Comments Off on The Vocal Sound Of Jazz
2025 is a milestone year for The Vocal Sound of Jazz as it marks the beginning of my 45th year of producing the program. The opportunity to create and produce this show each week is something that I have never taken for granted. It’s an opportunity that came to me through a strange happenstance. In the late 1970s I wrote a column for “Metro Magazine”(RIP) a lifestyle publication covering Southeastern, Virginia. The column was lamenting the fact that public radio in our area was almost exclusively a classical music station serving the same market that had a very vibrant and successful full-time commercial classical music station (WGH-FM). They aired no jazz, no alternative music, and very little folk music. Shortly after the column was published, I got a call from the station’s GM and during our conversation he mentioned that the station was making some changes and would be widening its musical scope. I mentioned to him that if that ended up happening that I had an idea for a radio program – a show devoted entirely to jazz vocal music. About a year later my phone rang and the opportunity presented itself. In my wildest imagination it never occurred to me that nearly 45 years later I would still be at it and enjoying it more than...
Posted on Monday, December, 23, 2024 | Comments Off on VANISHA GOULD – SHE’S NOT SHINY, SHE’S NOT SMOOTH
Every performer, whether a musician, orator, thespian, or athlete, knows the sensation: despite everything being pre-planned – from wardrobe and stage plot to the materials and the travel route – inevitably, there will be some unforeseen eventuality that threatens to derail the flawless facade of the performance. Simply put, if the devil is in the details, then the danger is in the design. While to some, this inability to control every element may be a stressor, to vocalist and songwriter Vanisha Gould, the vivacity of every onstage moment is the execution of the craft despite, and even due to, the nature of unavoidable flaws. Armed with a fresh perspective and an indomitable ability to hit the song home regardless of circumstances, Vanisha presents She’s Not Shiny, She’s Not Smooth, an homage to the beauty that abides within and around the flaws in everyone’s perfect plans. Vanisha’s embracing of imperfection was not something that initially came naturally, but was a realization and perspective that came with experience. “All of these little things we do, that I do, to make sure everything goes smoothly – you can bet your bottom dollar that something will go wrong,” Vanisha expresses. “That perfect outfit I finally chose? I’ll sweat through it within ten minutes on the stage. That perfect makeup? It’s gone by the time I get off the subway to the gig.” Amidst the ever-present torrent of potential hangups that encompass daily life for a performer, Vanisha embodied the choice that every individual has to make: either be crippled by the entropy of one’s circumstances, or use the cracks in the wall as a new canvas for something remarkable. “This album was created when I realized I can’t be perfect,” she says. “And you know what? Dammit, I like that. What a relief to embrace that idea.” The timing of Vanisha’s watershed realization could not have been...
Posted on Monday, December, 23, 2024 | Comments Off on MILTON SUGGS – PURE INTENTION
Milton Suggs’ new album “Pure Intention” is a stripped-down jazz project featuring just Suggs and pianist Michael King. The album, rooted in blues, soul, and jazz, is Suggs’ first since 2016. His powerful baritone and dynamic range shine through original compositions and reinterpretations of classics, making this a standout vocal album. Jim Hynes (Makingascene.com)...
Posted on Sunday, December, 22, 2024 | Comments Off on KRISTIN KORB – SWEET DREAMS
The album features 12 reimagined Eurythmics classics, interpreted through Korb’s jazz lens. “Sweet Dreams” features Korb’s long-time collaborators Magnus Hjorth on piano and Snorre Kirk on drums. The album also includes contributions from Danish harmonica player Mathias Heise, Swedish saxophonist Karl-Martin Almqvist, Danish trombonist Steen Nikolaj Hansen, and Cuban percussionist Yohan Ramon. This release further marks Korb’s efforts to blend her jazz background with the iconic 80s sound of the Eurythmics, offering new arrangements and interpretations of well-known songs. Her journey to create a tribute album for the Eurythmics began with her memories of the MTV era, when Annie Lennox’s powerful vocals and innovative sounds dominated the airwaves. The Eurythmics’ music had a significant impact on Korb during her teenage years, with Lennox’s performances becoming anthems for young women seeking empowerment. Initially, the Eurythmics were not on Korb’s radar for a new project. In 2021, she had completed a pandemic-era double album, “What If / Why Not”, which blended new arrangements of pop tunes with standards and as she stated expected to focus on composing new material after the release of that album. However, the idea for the Eurythmics tribute came unexpectedly when promoter Amikam Kimmelman contacted Korb about arranging and organizing a show celebrating a world-famous duo for a festival appearance in October 2023. Given the choice between The Carpenters and Eurythmics, Korb chose the latter, intrigued by the challenge of finding her own voice within Annie Lennox’s powerful legacy. Korb approached the project with the plan to create arrangements that would seamlessly fit her Danish band with the addition of a select number of guest artists.Her creative process involved immersing herself in the Eurythmics catalog and seeking input from fans. Korb carefully selected songs by reading lyrics separately from the music to ensure the stories resonated with her adult self. She took long walks in the forest while...
Posted on Monday, May, 29, 2023 | Comments Off on Janiece Jaffe & Monika Herzig – Both Sides of Joni
The Both Sides of Joni Project was the product of a period of soul searching during the Covid Summer of 2020. Vocalist Janiece Jaffe started listening closely to Joni Mitchell’s music and lyrics with her jazz vocalist ears and found truth and wisdom that inspired her and that she wanted to share with the world to inspire others. She studied the words more deeply and got the urge to re-imagine them in jazz arrangements. “I could almost ‘Hear’ them!” Together with friend and collaborator Monika Herzig, they spent many summer days of 2020 in the barn with keyboard and masks working out arrangements and rediscovering Joni’s music. In March 2021, the arrangements were premiered at the Jazz Kitchen in Indianapolis to most enthusiastic response. Many audience members came together for the first time in over a year and the messages of overcoming challenges, endurance, rebellion, love, and regret rang deep. They decided to record the musicwith a group of outstanding musicians and with community support from a successful Kickstarter Campaign. Just days after the completion of the Master Recording, Janiece left this world unexpectedly after heart surgery. T From the Liner Notes: This album is, first and foremost, about relationships: between Janiece and Monika; between the stretch of time that gave rise to Joni’s songs and the ones we’re living through now; and, most of all, between Janiece and these lyrics. She sings them in a pure and transparent voice, sometimes overdubbing the harmonies she once only imagined, and she moves through a variety of moods: reflective on “Both Sides Now”; startlingly direct on “Don’t Interrupt the Sorrow”; with swinging aplomb on “My Old Man”; longingly, on “River,” her yearning teased out by Dutton’s violin; and, in the middle of “The Hissing of Summer Lawns,” seizing upon the word “darkness,” and then sings wordlessly, in the improvisational style...