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Synia Carroll: Water is My Song
by Nicholas F. Mondello
Water is My Song, from Sarasota-based vocalist Synia Carroll, sends up ten terrific vocals, tasteful solos and surprises. Water-related selections and themes span across the date wherein Carroll and her team of fine players hit on the classics, hand-picked gems and uniquely presented traditional fare. “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" starts things swinging with Carroll's “Great Divas of Jazz"-inspired pipes swaying and over a laid-back rhythm bed. Guest artist Houston Person offers a tasty ...
Continue ReadingSynia Carroll: Water is My Song
by Pierre Giroux
Vocalist Synia Carroll's Water is My Song is a journey through musical fluidity. She gracefully navigates the currents of jazz with a collection of offbeat compositions inspired by the ebb and flow of water. The album is enriched by an ensemble of stellar musicians including pianist John Di Martino, bassist Kenny Davis and drummer Jerome Jennings with guests including the impeccable tenor saxophonist Houston Person on two tracks. The ten-track set opens with the Harold Arlen/Eric ...
Continue ReadingAndrea Wolper: Wanderlust
by Jerome Wilson
Andrea Wolper is an active jazz singer, composer, and educator but this album is her first recording since 2011. On it, she reestablishes herself as a creative vocalist and arranger who can excel in many different styles. She also benefits from the support of excellent musicians such as reed player Jeff Lederer and violinist Charles Burnham. Wolper performs several of her own compositions as well as tunes by others such as Abbey Lincoln and Carole King. Among her ...
Continue ReadingAndrea Wolper: Wanderlust
by Dan Bilawsky
Itinerant creatives manifest in both literal and figurative terms. Yes, they most clearly present in true formal fashion, traveling from place to place, sharing their art wherever they may roam. But their venturesome virtues extend to the interior, too. In fact, what's often of the greatest importance and interest is the roving surrounding and propelling their work--exploration of narrow paths, walks through obscured alleys and hideaways, and time spent in secret sanctums that offer peace and space to think in ...
Continue ReadingJudy Niemack - Jay Clayton: Voices in Flight
by Katchie Cartwright
While veteran vocal improvisers Judy Niemack and Jay Clayton have known each other since the '70s, Voices in Flight marks their first time together in the studio. They have performed some of the album material in live shows since the early 2000s, including their medley of “Body and Soul" and Idrees Sulieman's gorgeous contrafact of it, “Orange Blossoms" ("With You"). Niemack sings the Sulieman tune, highlighting her craft in writing texts for instrumental jazz tunes that match the melodic inflections ...
Continue ReadingThe Harry Allen Orchestra: With Roses
by Pierre Giroux
Harry Allen is a tenor saxophonist's tenor saxophonist with an elegant tone and swinging style in the manner of Scott Hamilton, Lester Young or Ben Webster. He has a well-rounded discography of over 70 releases as a leader and many others as a sideman. Over the course of his prolific career, Allen has appeared with the likes of Rosemary Clooney, Tony Bennett, James Taylor and guitarists Bucky Pizzarelli and John Pizzarelli. In this release, With Roses, Allen applies his considerable ...
Continue ReadingMary Foster Conklin: These Precious Days
by Pierre Giroux
Mary Foster Conklin is a New York-based singer with an eclectic approach to the choices she makes in deciding upon a repetoire for her fifth release, These Precious Days. Unafraid to step outside the nine dots, she has focussed the project on lesser-known jazz and popular compositions by predominately female songwriters. Joining Conklin are a number of top shelf New York musicians including pianist and arranger John Di Martino, violinist Sara Caswell, bassist Ed Howard, drummer Vince Cherico, guitarist Guilherme ...
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