Pablo Ziegler's - 'From Piazzolla to Ziegler' with Special Guest Singing Sandra Luna

Pablo Ziegler, modern Tango/Jazz Pianist and Composer, is showing his versatilify at Birdland July 12 - 16, with his  Quartet  of Hector Del Curtoon Bandoneon, Pedro Giraudo on Bass,  and Jisoo Ok on Cello, Produced by Pat Philips & Ettore Stratta.


This is a journey of Tango mixed with Classical overtones, the past with the contemporary, the need to redefine and renovate, joined by the incredible vocal talent of Sandra Luna from Buenos Aires in her first performance in New York City.


Pablo Ziegler, Latin Grammy-winning Pianist/Composer blends classical tango rhythms with jazz improvisations adding a new voice to the Tango lexicon.  Howard Reich of The Chicago Times writes "There is no question that Ziegler takes the Tango to levels of sophistication and refinement probably undreamed of by Piazzolla.  Eric Saltzman of Stereo Review writes...'the outstanding representative of the Nuevo Tango in his generation".  Ziegler toured for years with Piazzolla and now out on his own with his quartet and trio has played all over the world - at Carnegie Hall with guests Paquito D'Rivera, Joe Lovano, Gary Burton, has performed 'two pianos' with Emmanuel Ax and also with Christopher O'Riley, performs each year in December "Tango Meets Jazz" with guests such as Branford Marsalis, Regina Carter, Stefon Harris, James Carter, David Sanchez, and many more at The Jazz Standard, also produced by Philips & Stratta.  Now at Birdland, he has invited Sandra Luna to join him on several #'s , Ziegler's 'first' with a Vocalist in NY.


Sandra brings a passionate, sometimes pained voice to both classic and new Tango songs.  "Tango encapsulates the whole life", ...everything that brings the senses to life" she says.  Luna was born into Tango and nurtured in the tangopolis, the subculture of Buenos Aires Tango and moved among the giants of Tango Caucion such as Edmundo Riverom Roberto Goyenache and Nellyomar and has shared sets with Antonio Agri's orchestra Sextet Mayor at Carlos Gardel's house.


On her international debut album 'Tango Varon', Sandra perfomed classics such as Homero Manzi and Aribal Troilo's Che Bandoneon, first recorded by Carlos Gardel as as well as later songs by Piazzolla.  Her vocal style melds the influence of great women tango singers like Mercedes Simone and Nelly Omal with non-tango influences of Edith Piaf and Ella Fitzgerald.


"Classic to Nuevo" -- "Piazzolla to Ziegler", Maestro Ziegler with Special Guest Sandra Luna will be captivating, dazzling, romantic...and reach deep inside ones heart and soul.

Birdland:  315 W. 44th  Street - http://www.birdlandjazz.com/

-- 

Pat Philips,Concert Producer - Stratta Philips Productions
520 East 81 Street, NYC 10028, Penthouse C

Dave Brubeck Digs Disney

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

n the summer of 1957, Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond decided to record an album of well-known tunes from Walt Disney's animated films. ThoughDave Digs Disneywas first issued digitally in 1994, the album for years mysteriously remained on the back burner whenever Columbia producers reached into the vaults to remaster Dave's albums using the latest technology. Now Sony/Legacy has finally reissued the storied Disney album, and it sounds splendid. Best of all, the lemon meringue release includes both mono and stereo versions as well as alternate takes.

Yesterday, I spoke to George Avakian, the album's original producer, about the recording. More with George in a moment.

Dave Digs Disney has been a personal favorite of mine for years. I've long loved its sophisticated bedtime story quality and whimsy. Listening to it always sounds like a visit to a childhood neighborhood as an adult. Having spent hours with Dave on the phone and at his Connecticut home last December, I can tell you that this album is dear to his heart and one of the closest representations of who he is as a sunny, optimistic artist.

According to Sony, Dave Digs Disney is the second most important album in Dave's catalogue after Time Out. The album was recorded over three different dates between June and August 1957—in New York, Los Angeles and again in New York. The original LP was issued only in mono, though stereo tapes were recorded at the time. Typically, mono versions were followed by a stereo release six months later. But back in 1957, at the dawn of the stereo era, there wasn't enough of a market. People simply didn't have the gear in large enough numbers, and Columbia decided to hold off.

So why did Dave bother recording an album of Disney songs anyway? According to George's original liner notes, Dave had called him from Disneyland in California after taking his five children on the rides. Excited by the experience, Dave thought an album of Disney movie songs would be a great idea.

The truth is Dave and alto saxophonist Paul Desmond had been playing a batch of Disney songs since the very early 1950s. Dave loved their lyrical, playful quality, probably from his first-hand experience of taking his kids to the movies before Disneyland opened. After all, The Duke was written in 1954 after dropping off one of his sons at school.

Today, a jazz version of a Disney song is hardly a surprise. But back in the '50s, no one in jazz took Disney movies or their soundtracks seriously. Disneyrepresented Squaresville, a largely white Utopian world in which bad moods, misfortune and unconventional lifestyles simply didn't exist. Even the term "Mickey Mouse" was musicians' code for rinky-dink, not the real deal, and lightweight.

The Dave Brubeck Quartet was the first modern jazz group to treat Disney songs seriously. This, of course, excludes the swing-era big bands that recorded quirky, "Mickey Mouse" adaptations. For instance, Dave's group first recorded Alice in Wonderlandand Give a Little Whistle in 1952 for Fantasy. In each case, the rendition was a robust, adventurous interpretation rather than a sticky embrace. Bill Evans and Miles Davis followed, and soon even John Coltrane was getting into the act with My Favorite Things and Chim Chim Cher-ee.

Here's what George Avakian told me yesterday:

"The Disney theme was Dave's idea, and I was amazed when he called and told me what he wanted to do. I think I said, 'Jesus, what a goofy idea.' But anything Dave wanted short of tearing down the building was fine with me. He was taken with the tunes, and the quintet had been playing them on the road quite a bit. As you know, Dave and Paul had a quirky sense of humor.

"I was little more than a traffic cop on those sessions. It was one of the easiest dates I ever produced. When the record came out, there were a few who said, 'What is Dave doing recording Disney?' The inference was that the album's theme was somehow trite or child-like, and not nearly as serious as Dave’s earlier efforts. None of which was the case then—or now. Dave was ahead of his time tapping into the Disney songbook. Look at how many artists have done the same since."

The new reissue taps into your inner child, is relentlessly upbeat and offers some terrific improvising by Dave and Desmond.

JazzWax tracks: Dave Digs Disney (Sony/Legacy) is available 

Used with permission by Marc Myers (http://www.jazzwax.com/2011/05/dave-brubeck-digs-disney.html)

10 things pub rock bands can learn from jazz musicians (Part Two)

Ah the pub rock band. Where would we be without it? The smell of leather, the bad haircuts, the 2K marshall stack in a room the size of a broom cupboard and the impertinence of youth/dusting off of teenage dreams (delete as appropriate).

Heady stuff. However, just as jazz musicians should take a leaf out of the pub-rock book every now and again, there's a couple of things the badly coiffured, riff-tastic tinnitus brigade could learn from jazz musicians.

If you haven't already, check out part one of this series/rant here. Go ahead, we'll wait.

Done? Then let's continue:

Learn some theory

It would be nice if some of you pub-rockers who 'play by ear' had even the slightest inkling of musical theory. I don't mean that you should be able to harmonise Bach chorales at sight or that you have impeccable knowledge of the idiomatic use of German Sixths, but it would be nice if you learned enough to be able to tell me, say, what notes you're actually playing.

I have played with a few non-jazz outfits in the past (I know, I know, but I was young and needed the money, and they made it look so sexy and glamorous) and having a rock band try to teach you their tunes is as painful as sliding down a nail-studded bannister on the day after you took your only pair of steel underpants to the cleaners.

Pub Rock Guitarist (PRG): Let's do one of our own tunes. We normally start with this one. It's an instrumental called 'Satanic Hamster Phallus Odyssey (Part III)'. Then we go straight into 'Sweet Home Alabama'.

Me: Ok. What key is it in then?

PRG: It's in A. It goes A, B E. A, B E...

Me: Hang on, so it's in E then?

PRG: No it's in A. The first chord is A, then it goes B, E.

Me: (sighing) Ok, then what?

PRG: Then it goes A, B E and then it goes like this...

He slides up the neck somewhere and half-hits a 'chord' that only half-sounds. What's more, there's so much distortion on the sound that the notes that do squeeze out sound like they're coming from a food processor rather than a guitar.

Me: And what chord is that then?

PRG: Erm, I'm not sure. Hang on. It goes A, B, E and then like this...

He repeats the procedure with the same results - this time, pushing the neck of the guitar towards me hopefully, as if it will allow me magically to absorb the 'chord' by some kind of osmosis.

Me: Ok hang on (plays). Is that it? C?

PRG: I dunno, it's just that...

He pushes the neck towards me, plays the strings and makes the food processor noise again.

At this point, the bass player, who has been gazing out of the window the whole time and wearing a look that suggests he smells something unpleasant, decides to intervene:

Pun Rock Bassist (PRB ): That's not how it goes. It goes like this. (plays the bass part)

Me: So the last chord is a semitone higher?

PRG: What? That's what I played! (plays the same progression as before)

PRB: Yeah, and it's not that. It's this. (plays the bass part again)

PRG: Yeah, exactly. (repeats his version)

PRB: No, it doesn't go like that. It's like this (plays bass part again).

PRG: That's what I'm DOING. Listen... (lifts plectrum)

Me:(to guitarist) Wait a minute, I think the bass part finishes on a note a semitone higher than you're playing.

PRG: How do you mean?

Me: The bass part finishes one fret higher than you do.

PRG: Does it? (plays his version again).

PRB: Yeah, and it finishes here (plays the bass part again and pushes the neck towards the guitarist whilst holding down the final note).

PRG: Oh....shit, yeah man. It's doesn't finish there. Hang on.

Three attempts later, the guitarist is now playing the progression finishing on a 'chord' a semitone higher than before.

Me:(looking at bassist) I can't quite hear the chord he's playing there. Is it C# major or minor?

PRB:I dunno. It just goes... (plays bass part consisting entirely of roots)

I look at my watch. Twenty minutes in and this is the first verse of the first song. There are 27 left to learn...

Better gear won't make you sound better

Many pub-rock musicians are infinitely better at buying/talking/reading about instruments than they are at actually playing them. They labour under the illusion that if they can get that limited edition American strat, as opposed to the Mexican one they have now, they'll sound totally different.

"You see", they'll explain at great lengths, "The American strats are made with better quality woods - they're made from either ash or alder. The ash ones are a little lighter, but I don't really feel that ash gives the same sustain as the alder ones. I mean, theoretically, I could put Seymour Duncans on my Mexican, but then I wouldn't get the 22nd fret that you get on the American models, which really expands the tonal range. Once I get the American, my next mod will be on my amp. I'm probably going tweak the tube pre-amps by swapping the 12AX7 for a 5751 so that the gain is lowered and doesn't get dirtied in pre-amp so I can get a huge fat tone when I crank the amp at the output stage."

For some rock musicians, tone is the only thing standing between them and musical immortality. If they could only get that perfect tone then they'd be signed immediately and would get to spend the rest of their lives snorting drugs off naked groupies while trashing hotel rooms.

The fact that they can't hold the form in a blues and have no ideas there are keys other than E and A isn't important. The fact that they consistently fluff notes, clatter chords and generally mess up every 10 seconds is not important. The fact they can't count to four without speeding up doesn't matter one iota. When jazz musicians are practising their scales (and not just the pentatonic ones either), these guys are poring over guitar magazines and searching internet forums for more tips on the killer mod that's going to give them killer tone.

It doesn't matter whether we're talking about guitarists, bass players or drummers, pub-rockers love gear. It's almost like they love the trappings of music and musicianship more than they music itself - and we all know that couldn't possibly be true!

By contrast, jazz musicians don't really care. Sure, there are a few sax pervs out there, but most jazzers are more interested in the music than the gear. Look at Charlie Parker, he happily pawned his sax at every opportunity and there are loads of stories of him playing gigs on borrowed plastic saxophones and still blowing everyone away. Dizzy Gillespie has been playing that trumpet that somebody sat on for years and Wynton Marsalis has never even bothered to replace the mouthpiece that somebody obviously stole years ago.

Jazz musicians know that their time is better spent learning to play than faffing about with gear - and they also know the golden rule when it comes to equipment and musicians: you can't polish a turd.

Tune up every now and then

Let's get one thing straight, unless we're talking about soprano saxes (and why on earth would we want to do that?), jazz musicians are great at playing in tune. I know that you pub-rockers out there may think that jazz is fundamentally out-of-tune, but the reality is that jazz may be dissonant, but not out of tune.

A jazz sax player will meticulously tune up before the gig because he wants you to know that the top harmonic he repeatedly hits is not out-of-tune, it's an totally deliberate, totally-hip Sharp Eleven.

This guy knows you can't play 'outside' the harmony if you haven't tuned up, because nobody would be able to tell when you're 'in'. By tuning up carefully before he starts, a jazz musician can make sure he doesn't play a consonant note all night and everybody will know it's because he's an artist, not because he's a bit tone-deaf.

By contrast, a pub rock band will often turn up, plug in and start playing with no attempt at tuning whatsoever. After the 'sound check' (playing all their favourite riffs individually), they'll lean their instruments against the nearest radiator and go to the bar.

You see, when a rock guitarist plays a chord, what matters is the shape he's playing, not what it sounds like. If he's playing an 'E' shape, then the chord must be E, even if he's a semitone flat. If he does find himself a semitone flat, the answer is NOT to tune up, but instead to put a capo on the first fret.

The alternative solution is just to turn the amp up or add more distortion and it'll be fine. Even if you are a bit tone-deaf, a rock musician knows not to waste valuable money on a digital tuner when it could go towards new pickups, a bigger bass cab or five more AC/DC t-shirts.

Until next time...

http://playjazz.blog.co.uk/2011/05/26/10-things-pub-rock-bands-can-learn-from-jazz-musicians-part-two-11219613/

Steve Kuhn & Daniel Bennett Group

CD Release Concerts

May 26 - Doc's Trattoria (9 Maple St, Kent, CT)
Daniel Bennett Group.  6pm - 10pm.

May 27 - Triad Theatre (158 West 72nd St, NYC)
Daniel Bennett Group and Steve Kuhn (Double Bill).
Buy tickets HERE!

June 4 - Miles Cafe (212 East 52nd St, NYC)
Daniel Bennett Group.  8pm - 10:30pm.

June 5 - Funky Monkey (130 Elm St, Cheshire, CT)
Sunday Jazz Brunch w Daniel Bennett Group.  11am

June 9 - Doc's Trattoria (9 Maple St, Kent, CT)
Daniel Bennett Group.  6pm - 10pm.

June 11 - Tomi Jazz (239 East 53rd St, NYC)
Daniel Bennett Group.  8pm - 10:30pm.

June 25 - Triad Theatre (158 West 72nd St, NYC)
Daniel Bennett Group and Greg Osby Duo

New Jersey Jazz Society

Jazzfest 2011 is the New Jersey Jazz Society’s annual music and crafts festival, featuring nine hours of great jazz, delicious food and a variety of vendors.

Jazzfest is not only one of the region’s most popular summer jazz festivals, but also the longest running.

Moving to the beautiful campus of the College of Saint Elizabeth in Morris Township, the festival will present great music in two air conditioned concert halls and outdoors near the food court.

While enjoying your favorite music, take time to browse our expanded vendor tents, where you can purchase difficult to find jazz CDs and vinyl records, wearables, hand crafted jewelry, food treats and much more! Our food vendors will be open from 12:00 noon until 8:00 PM, serving up a scrumptious variety from coffee and bagels in the morning to lunch, dinner and dessert throughout the day and evening.

Cha Sun Chong et al. - "Our Kindergarten Teacher" {DPRK Music}

Oscar Peterson - Keeping The Groove Alive

A Documentary on Oscar Peterson with some rare archival footage and interviews with Diana Krall and more.
"Perfectionist, practical joker, and one of the all-time greatest exponents of jazz, Oscar Peterson is unlike any music legend that ever was or ever will be."

I Wish I Knew - Harry Edison

The 1945 Harry Warren composition "I Wish I Knew" has been a favourite of trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison for many years.

He performs it here at a jazz party in Vienna Austria with the excellent rhythm group of Milt Hinton bass, Marion McPartland piano, and Louie Bellson on drums Harry "Sweets" Edison (1915 --1999), was born in Columbus, Ohio. At the age of 12, the young Edison began playing the trumpet with local bands.

In 1933, he became a member of the Jeter-Pillars Orchestra in Cleveland. Afterwards he played with the Mills Blue Rhythm Band and Lucky Millinder. In 1937 he moved to New York and joined the Count Basie Orchestra. His colleagues included Buck Clayton, Lester Young (who named him "Sweets"), Buddy Tate, Freddie Green, Jo Jones, and other original members of that famous band.

In the early 1950s, he settled on the West Coast and became a highly sought-after studio musician, making important contributions to recordings by such artists as Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald. In 1956 he recorded the first of three albums with tenor great Ben Webster.

Ih his later years he appeared frequently in Europe and Japan until shortly before his demise..

Memphis vocalist Joyce Cobb's Diverse Set of Tunes

Memphis based vocalist Joyce Cobb has been a part of that city’s scene for decades, first signing with Stax, later having a hot for Cream Records (later Hi Records) and shared stages with numerous musical legends. Her rhythm ’n’ blues stylings decades ago was always imbued with jazzy elements and in more recent years her focus has been more on the jazz side. She has a fascinating new release on Archer Records, the eponymous Joyce Cobb with the Michael Jefry Stevens Trio, Pianist Michael Jefry Stevens is a New Yorker who moved to Memphis and his trio consists of Jonathan Wires and drummer Renardo Ward.

Thee may be some who may find Ms. Cobb’s vocals, described on the publicity materials as “honey sweet,” an acquired taste with her sometimes less than precise diction. Her vocals here suggest was Jimmy Scott and if the performances may not quite pull at the heart strings as much as Scott, her performances still struct these ears in a most positive fashion. It helped that the Stevens Trio provide excellent support and Stevens takes any number of fine solos in addition to his harmonious accompaniments.

She sings classic standards mixed with vocal-ese adaptations of jazz classics including Bobby Timmons’ Moanin’, Fats Waller’s Jitterbug Waltz, Hoagie Carmichael and Johnny Mercer’s Skylark, the juxtaposition of I’m in the Mood For Love with Moody’s Mood For Love, the Ellington-Strayhorn ballad Daydream, and My Heart Belongs to Daddy.


Cobb contributes some atmospheric bluesy harmonica, before launching into Moanin’, delivering the Jon Hendricks lyrics with her overdubbing a backing vocal chorus that perhaps lends a sense that her vocal should have been a bit looser. Jitterbug Waltz is a delightful performance with Stevens accenting her horn like delivery of the lyrics with Wires taking a solo.


Skylark opens with several choruses from Stevens in a reflective, lyrical mode before Cobb wistfully sings about her yearning for her lover. Like a horn, she chants Jon Hendricks’ lyric for Thelonious Monk’s Well That Was a Dream, capturing the angular aspects of Monk’s tune.


Full on: http://inabluemood.blogspot.com/2011/05/memphis-vocalist-joyce-cobb-diverse-set.html

Eliane Amherd "Now and From Now On"

Featuring

Eliane Amherd - voice and guitar
Bill Ware - vibes
Gustavo Amarante - bass
Willard Dyson - drums
Ze Mauricio - percussion

Now And From Now On, the debut American release from the amazing Swiss import singer/guitarist/songwriter Eliane Amherd, introduces US audiences to the freshest new talent to come into the world of jazz, AfroCaribbean and Brazilian music in a very long time.  Hailed as “one of the very best singers in New York” by trumpeter Randy Brecker and “a terrific guitarist” by Marc Ribot, who exclaims, “Eliane rocks!” – Amherd is an equally talented composer/lyricist whose words and music are as refreshing as the air of the Swiss Alps where she was raised.  A natural born storyteller, Eliane’s songs vividly come to life with enthusiasm and humor as she narrates the fascinating tales of her worldly adventures, which are simultaneously personal and universal, with a most appealing drama and wit.

As individual as her lyrics, Eliane’s original melodies are also a reflection of her unique musical background. Growing up listening to sounds from all overEurope and the Americas, without regard to national boundaries, she has developed a personal style blended from so many myriad influences that eachingredient has been smoothly subsumed into her own heady new brew.


Since coming to New York, she has grown her talent in the company of the many likeminded players who share her goal to synthesize the many different sounds they all admire. Here on Now And From Now On, four of her regular colleagues –Brazilians, bassist Gustavo Amarante and percussionist Ze Mauricio and a AfroAmerican jazzmen, vibraphonist Bill Ware and drummer Willard Dyson – join Eliane to come together to make the music (all but Tom Waits’ “Temptation” composed by Amherd herself) so special.

The opening “Now And From Now” is a full frontal funk attack driven by Eliane's soulful James Brown band inspired rhythm guitar and the relentlessly ringing bell sound of vibes and guitar, bolstered by Gustavo’s dancing bassline and Dyson’s rock solid beat with Ware’s melodic vibes providing an airy complement to the tune’s tenacious tone.  Eliane words, as is often the case, take on a dual meaning here. Sung with confident power, the words “now and from now on/it’s your time, it’s your time” are directed both to an entire generation as call-to-action anthem, as well as to that one special someone as a declaration of love.

“As If” is a sublimely entertaining AfroCarribean inflected travelogue – a tale of unsolicited Brasilian seduction sung with a sultry sensuality and more than a hint of sardonic wit – good naturedly reinforced by Ware’s clever quoting of the Ventures’ “Walk Don’t Run” in conjunction with Eliane’s classic American surfer song guitar intro accompanying her singing “as I put my feet into the warm sand.”


The cleverly constructed lyrics (“so I go to the museum of modern art/to do some cultural stuff to play my tourist part/there comes mister intellectual/he wants to chat me up I can tell”) should be easily recognized by any attractive female traveler meeting up with the inevitable local lothario and serves as a friendly reminder to males of how tiresome they can be.    Eliane balances her kittenish “little girl” vocal with a powerful guitar solo that skronks from Santana to Ribot.

The Swiss-French patois titled “Me Fe Tan Pliji” - a joyful song, sung with almost childlike appreciation of tropical delight – is an appreciation of Eliane’s native country’s beautiful river.  Her guitar intro sets a countrified AfroCaribbean tone that is continued in theWest Indian inflected Calypso chorus – “I like to swim in the ocean/I like to swim in the ocean” - that gives the tune it light flowing feel.  The disgruntled tone of the song’s early chorus “what I have ain't what I want/and what I want I do not have” ultimately resolves into one of satisfaction – “now  I float down the river/who thought how much fun this could be’ -- with the realization of the beauty of one’s own home upon returning from a long journey abroad.

“Don’t Give Up On Me” is a beautiful R & B love song in the classic soulmold.  Eliane slowly sings her beseeching words, “Don’t you give up on me/I just need a little bit more time,” with persuasive passion and emotional depth.  Her wide vibrato soloing chords show a thorough assimilation of the jazz soul guitarfrom Wes Montgomery to George Benson to Earl Klugh, with just a hint of Prince.

Eliane’s  “Feel A Little Sorry For Yourself” is another witty, slightly sarcastic lyric that is set over a slow Caribbean line laiddown by Eliane’s Trinidadian/Mexican inflected guitar and Ze’s easy bongo rhythm. Sung in an almost adolescent upper register tone, her words “I’m the institution to give you the absolution/to feel a little sorry for yourself,” are meant to assuage those suffering a setback to take the time to bemoan the situation - but only a little – and then get on with things.

“Where Is Home” imparts a suspenseful jazz ambience that attests to Eliane’s ability to write sophisticated lines.  A song for the restless soul, it opens ominously with the guitarist’s gritty, slightly dissonant chords and Ware’s enigmatic vibes, setting the mood, which begins reminiscent of Sade’s music in its restrained sensuality, but gradually increases in dynamic intensity to where Eliane opens up full throttle to reveal the extent of her vocal power before returning to the softer sound that started the piece.

The happily cavorting “Let Me Explain” is an infectiously appealing melody that hearkens back to sound of Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66, with its classic Great American Songbook styled proclamation-of-love lyric and the easy flowing vocal harmonies.  Eliane’s lead voice and overdubbed backing chorus float over Ze and Dyson’s earthy samba beat with irresistible delight.

The date’s jazzy interpretation of the Tom Waits typically noirish “Temptation” --built around Ware’s dramatic vibes -- is sung in a suitably strident vocal tone over Eliane’s dissonant guitar riffing and Dyson’s complexly rhythmed drum line. The date’s only cover song, its arrangement shows that Eliane is utterly capable of imparting her own touch to the music of others, further proof of her originality.

Trust You” is a dreamy confessional narrative that builds from a whisper to a scream in a manner that is somewhat reminiscent of Peggy Lee’s reading of “Fever” in its rhythmic insistence, revealing her roots as a true jazz singer.

The pretty blues “Steady and Slow” is simultaneously melancholy and optimistic, indicative of the nature of Eliane’s music and its ultimately triumphant tone.  The guitar, electric bass and vibes combination here recalls the sound of early Montgomery Brothers records.  The delicately sung lead vocal is complemented by an overdubbed swing era styled backing chorus that brightens the tune’s mood. 

Batucada is a hip remix of the “Now And From Now On” title track with Ze’s multitracked bateria samba school propelling Eliane’s original guitar and vocals in a dance oriented sound that both takes things back to where they started and someplace completely else.

Now And From Now On by Eliane Amherd is an utterly powerful debut, fully developed in its sound and conception in a way that few maiden voyages have ever arrived on the New York music scene before.  The music’s sheer originality and appeal guarantees that audiences will be hearing plenty more of this multitalented vocalist/guitarist/songwriter from now on.

Artist Website: www.elianeperforms.com

National Publicity Campaign Media Contact

Jim Eigo Jazz Promo Services T: 845-986-1677 E-Mail: jazzpromo@earthlink.net

Sunday Wax Bits

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

As Marcos Valle played and sang his original compositions onFriday night at Birdland, I realized what makes Valle superb: Once you get beyond his addictive melodies, you realize that his chord voicings are captivating. As he accompanied himself on the electric piano and played behind legendary Brazilian singer Wanda Sa and his wife, singer Patricia Alvi, Valle's chord structures and notes were two-handed orchestrations. [Photo by Philip Ryalls]

Jazz piano accompanists do this all the time, of course. Ultimately, what an accompanist bring to the party is taste—the notes and chord choices behind the singer. In the wrong hands, an accompaniment can be a train wreck. But when someone like Valle is filling the spaces, you feel great twice. Valle not only hits the notes you want to hear, he embellishes them with notes you didn't realize you wanted to hear.

Valle and his band—Jesse Sadoc (trumpet) Sergio Brandau (bass) Renato "Massa" Calmon (drums)—played about five originals before Wanda Sa came out and sang a few duets. Then Sa performed and sang alone. The high point of the set (and there were many) was a duet by just Valle and Sa on his ballad If You Went Away. You could hear a pin drop in the room. But as soon as the last note was played, Birdland erupted in thunderous applause. The power of simplicity rules.

On a personal note, before the set began, it was an honor to be singled out by producer Pat Philips [pictured] for my Wall Street Journal article on Valle earlier in the week. To hear one's name over the Birdland sound system is quite a treat, especially in a full house. Catching up with Valle and Sa backstage after the set was rewarding as well. Both artists are class acts.

Here's Sarah Vaughan singing Marcos Valle's If I Went Away,recorded in Rio in 1977...

Snooky Young (1919-2011), the Jimmie Lunceford and Count Basie trumpeter died on May 11 at age 92. Rather than tell you what you already know, let me honor the gallant horn man with this videohere (by the way, that's Ronnell Bright on piano)...

Bob Flanigan (1926-2011), founder of the Four Freshmen, died May 16 in Las Vegas at age 84. At the group's start in the late 1940s, all of the Freshmen doubled on instruments. They appeared in short films at the time singing and playing in tight harmony, often on sets that featured coeds relaxing in college-dorm main rooms. Discovered by Stan Kenton, all four were Kenton fans and visualized their sounds as though they were a trombone section. 

Throughout the 1950s, the Freshmen's popularity soared with the rise of college admissions and campus concerts. By the early 1960s, the group's savvy sound was adapted and updated by the Beach Boys, who went so far as to record Graduation Day, a Freshmen hit.

Flanigan played trombone and recorded several albums on the instrument. Among the best wasTogetherness (1959), with guitarist John Gray.

Here are the Four Freshmen in Japan in 1964, with a fine trombone solo by Flanigan on the first song, Easy Street...

Depression, in living color. We tend to think of the AmericanDepression of the 1930s as a black-and-white event. Like much of history before 1960, what we see in photos is far removed because they are not in color.

Now it seems the Library of Congress is making its bank of color images from the 1930s available online. Suddenly, those hard times seem like yesterday. These images will send a chill up your spine. Hats off to Wrecking Crew drummer Hal Blaine for sending this one along. Go here.

Buck Clayton radio. Today, Symphony Sid Gribetz is hosting a special five-hour show on trumpeter Buck Clayton. Sid will be on the air spinning Clayton platters from 2 to 7 p.m. (EDT) on New York's WKCR. You can listen on your computer from anywhere in the world by going here.

Bill Kirchner radio. Jazz musician Bill Kirchner will host Jazz From The Archives tonight—his 100th show. (Happy 100th, Bill!) Tonight, Bill focuses on his recordings—as player, composer-arranger and bandleader. The show airs tonight from 11 p.m. to midnight (EDT). You can listen on your computer from anywhere in the world by goinghere.

Latin Grammy protest. Today, at 1 p.m., artists, writers and musicians will gather at New York's Nuyorican Poets’ Café (236 East 3rd Street, 212 780-9386) to voice their protest about the recent announcement by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to eliminate Latin Jazz from Grammy consideration. To listen to the press conference live on your computer from anywhere in the world (from 1 to 2 p.m.) go here.

CD discoveries over the week. Just before Bob Dylan left the established folk movement behind, giving up his Woody Guthrie sound and Pete Seeger short-sleeved shirts, he gave a concert at a college gymnasium near Boston in May 1963. The concert was professionally recorded and the tapes sat in critic Ralph J. Gleason's house for 48 years. A few weeks ago, Sony/Legacy released Bob Dylan In Concert: Brandeis University 1963, and the result is a fascinating trip back in time.  

Dylan performed seven original songs at Brandeis and, somewhat amusingly, was part of a larger folk music show. Amusing because in a matter of weeks, he'd begin to change music history. Most of the originals Dylan chose to perform were rooted in social-justice and red-scare issues of years past. Despite having already written and recorded Blowin' in the Wind(his version would be released 17 days later), the song wasn't part of this bill. For whatever reason, Dylan chose quaint throwbacks rather than the rousing songs that would chart a new course.

Nevertheless, this CD remains a gentle document. For one, Dylan's singing is largely ego-less, focusing on his guitar- strumming skills, the power of his exaggerated hay-seed voice, and dagger-like lyrics. For another, the material is as tawny and pastoral as an unmowed field. There's a richness to this twilight moment, coming at the tail end of the '50s folk revival and just before he realized how to ignite the folk-rock decade. Without getting into too much analysis, Dylan forced rock to become more socially aware and and break from pop. To that end, this album serves as an entrance ramp to the '60s movement that would follow. 

You'll find this one at iTunes and here.

A friend of mine alerted me to the piano of Morten Ravn Hansen,who lives in Denmark. Having spent several weeks hitchhiking through the countryside of Denmark in 1979, I completely understand and relate to Morten's creative approach. On the three originals available as downloads, Morten plays a distinct style of jazz that is both bouncy and brooding. His originals remind me of the country's quiet scenery, temperamental skies and homemade jams. I lived on those preserves each time I was picked up and taken home to a driver's home for a full family lunch. In Denmark, there's a special kindness by strangers that doesn't exist anywhere else. At any rate, all of Denmark's spirit rests in the music of Morten's North Sails. You can sample the tracks and download them here.

Oddball album cover of the week. Before she was an esteemed poet, author and autobiographer Maya Angelou was a Calypso dance performer in San Francisco. This album from 1957 was her first. Next, Angelou appeared in an off-Broadway review that inspired the filmCalypso Heat Wave, in which she sang and performed her own compositions. Tiring of the Calypso craze and eager to develop her gifts as a writer, Angelou relocated to New York, and the rest, as they say, is literary history.

Used with permissiona by Marc Myers