Flutist Alexander Zonjic offers a strong mix of familiar pop songs and original material served in a great contemporary jazz setting on Reach for the Sky. Zonjic, who toured with Bob James for nearly ten years, extends his flute playing beyond the classical realm and brings its woodwind magic to a point where listeners can accept its resonant qualities in a smooth jazz context.
Second Life' is the first-ever album featuring both acoustic guitar and string orchestra on each track. Acoustic guitarist Adam Palma is accompanied by one of the greatest European orchestras, The Chamber Orchestra of Polish Radio AMADEUS, led by famous conductor, Agnieszka Duczmal. This album is a very personal record, an intimate look at music and life from the perspective of a man who "regained" his life after waking from a long coma. Recovering gave Adam time to reflect, to review his own musical roots, and to view his life deeply from a new perspective. We hear the songs that the soloist grew up listening to: folk melodies, a scout song, a song belonging to the patriotic trend of music, known film themes, Chopin's compositions (never before performed on the guitar), and Adam's own compositions that show what he himself describes as his Polish soul. All the arrangements have been written by Adam Palma and orchestrated by the outstanding Polish film score composer Krzesimir Debski. On this album, classical music and jazz are intertwined. All this against a background of the characteristic harmony of Polish songs, combining the sound of acoustic guitar and string orchestra!
After its rediscovery in the second half of the 20th century, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons has become so popular that it has become a model of inspiration for similar collections that have the same subject matter, use similar instrumental forces and, often, are commissioned to be played alongside the original. Issued in conjunction with the thirtieth anniversary of the death of Astor Piazzolla (4 July 1992), Sixteen Seasons brings together on disc for the first time the four most famous Four Seasons : hence alongside Vivaldi’s Italian concertos, also the Argentinian Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas of Piazzolla (in the version by Leonid Desyatnikov, a composer of Ukrainian origin), The American Four Seasons of Philip Glass, and the “Vivaldi recompositions” of British Max Richter. To guide us through these seasons – which are spread over different continents, climates and musical styles – is Concerto Mediterraneo, an ensemble made up of musicians from all over Italy and directed by Gianna Fratta, while the eclectic Alessandro Quarta shares the solo violin role with Dino De Palma. The liner notes by historian Alessandro Vanoli and meteorologist Luca Mercalli complete a project that also stands as a reflection on the profound relationship between man and the alternation of the seasons and the role played by climate change from Vivaldi’s day to the present.
Some of the advantages that 2004's Greatest Hits has over 1995's The Best of Alexander O'Neal are apparent from the quickest of glances. The most obvious difference is the quantity of songs: while The Best of Alexander O'Neal functioned as a suitable introduction covering the singer's first three albums, this disc features five more sensibly picked cuts. The most important inclusion here, beyond all the essential chart hits ("If You Were Here Tonight," "Criticize," "Fake," "Never Knew Love Like This," "All True Man," "What Is This Thing Called Love?"), is "Saturday Love," the magnificent 1986 single previously bound to duet partner Cherrelle's catalog. Alexander O'Neal (1985), Hearsay (1986), and All True Man (1991) are all worth owning, but this compilation will do for those on a budget.
'Too Hot For Words' blends the tight-knit swing of the Metropolitan Jazz Octet with the unerring musicianship of Dee Alexander to mark the 60th anniversary of Billie Holiday's departure from the planet, mixing Holiday classics with some of Lady Day's lesser- known repertoire. The arrangements sparkle, and Alexander shines as bright as ever. But at no point does she attempt to mimic Holiday. (What would be the point of that)? And the arrangements don't try to imitate the little 'orchestras' that accompanied Holiday's greatest recordings. (No point in that either.) These new settings respect the songs, but reframe them for our era. The album becomes a sort of telescoping time capsule: sterling musicians of the 21st century, building upon an octet sound crafted 50 years earlier, revitalizing songs that Holiday began recording in the 1930s.
The debut album from jazz piano prodigy Joey Alexander, 2015's My Favorite Things showcases the 11-year-old's stunning keyboard virtuosity. Joining Alexander here is a mix of older and younger associates, including journeyman bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr. Also backing Alexander on various tracks are bassist Russell Hall, drummer Sammy Miller, and up-and-coming firebrand trumpeter Alphonso Horne. Working with Grammy-winning producer Jason Olaine, who previously helmed albums by such jazz luminaries as Roy Hargrove, Chris Potter, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and others, Alexander delivers a handful of jazz standards and songs culled from the American Popular Songbook in adroit, acoustic, swinging fashion.