Roberta Gambarini

The combination of James Moody and Hank Jones, excepting a few minor instances, has not been documented since the 1963 Argo LP Great Day. So this match-up of two jazz giants, with a collective experience of some 170 years at the time of this recording, is long overdue and exceedingly welcome. Concentrating on the music of Dizzy Gillespie and Tadd Dameron, these living legends of mainstream bop and hard bop turn this stack of standards and a handful of originals into a refined, relaxed and easygoing program of pleasing and accessible tunes. Every cut sports excellent solos, unforced refrains, and, as the title suggests, a delightful repertoire. Moody's tenor has never sounded better, while the ever elegant Jones supports the band with the ultimate in supple subtleties. Bassist Todd Coolman (who also wrote the insightful liner notes) turns in a usually reliable and steady performance, while the great but still unsung drummer Adam Nussbaum displays a restraint and high level of taste that shows both of their unwavering respect for the icons they are backing.

Joel Holmes began teaching himself tunes by ear at age 10. He grew up playing with local bands and primarily in church. His family soon moved from Virginia to Baltimore so that he could attend the Baltimore School for the Performing Arts. Later, Joel Holmes became the Director of Jazz at his alma mater. He attended the Peabody Conservatory of Music at John Hopkins University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Jazz Performance.

At the age of 21, vocalist Dana Lauren has a command of her instrument that many professional singers twice her age would envy. Lauren has a voice that's one part Roberta Gambarini and one part Diana Krall, with a dash of soul thrown in to spice things up, and she puts it good use on this ten song program. Her debut album—Stairway To The Stars (Dana Lauren, 2008)—produced by and featuring trumpeter Arturo Sandoval—covered oft-performed standards like "How High The Moon," "Devil May Care" and "Corcovado" but the follow-up digs a little deeper into the catalogs of Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers and the like. A few heavily covered favorites, like "That Old Black Magic" and "On The Sunny Side Of The Street," make an appearance but they're given facelifts that keep them from coming across as stale.

"Killing Me Softly" is a studio album by American singer-songwriter Roberta Flack, released on August 1, 1973, by Atlantic Records. She recorded the album with producer Joel Dorn for 18 months. "Killing Me Softly" reached #3 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape and #2 on the Soul LPs chart. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album Gold on August 27, 1973, and double Platinum on January 30, 2006, denoting shipments of two million copies in the United States. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year, which it lost to Stevie Wonder's 1973 album "Innervisions". The album's title track was released as a single and topped the Billboard Hot 100. It won the 1974 Grammy Award for Record of the Year.

"Killing Me Softly" is a studio album by American singer-songwriter Roberta Flack, released on August 1, 1973, by Atlantic Records. She recorded the album with producer Joel Dorn for 18 months. "Killing Me Softly" reached #3 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape and #2 on the Soul LPs chart. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album Gold on August 27, 1973, and double Platinum on January 30, 2006, denoting shipments of two million copies in the United States. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year, which it lost to Stevie Wonder's 1973 album "Innervisions". The album's title track was released as a single and topped the Billboard Hot 100. It won the 1974 Grammy Award for Record of the Year.

Legendary guitarist Larry Carlton & the SWR Big Band team up for a new production! Combining his roots in blues and jazz with a crossover pop rock sensibility, Carlton's unmistakable sound is marked by his signature warm tone, bright melodies and soulful guitar solos. Four time Grammy winner, Titan of Tone award recipient and legendary guitar great, Larry Carlton is one of the most influential, prolific and original guitarists in the industry. Carlton established himself from his first recording, A Little Help From My Friends. His studio credits include musicians and groups like Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, Michael Jackson, Sammy Davis Jr., Herb Alpert, Quincy Jones, Bobby Bland, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and literally dozens of others. He went on to perform with the Crusaders and then with the multi platinum jazz super group Fourplay. With 30 albums to his credit and having performed on over 100 albums that have gone Gold or Platinum, Larry Carlton has set a standard for artistry that spans three decades.

"I'm The One" is an album by Roberta Flack released in May 1982 which reached #59 on the album chart in Billboard whose R&B album chart afforded the album a #16 peak. The Burt Bacharach/Carole Bayer Sager-produced "Making Love", which appeared in the film of the same name and in the spring of 1982 had afforded Flack her final solo Top 40 hit (#13 on the Billboard Hot 100), was included on the I'm the One album along with eight new tracks co-produced by William Eaton, Ralph MacDonald, William Salter and Flack herself. The track "I'm the One," given parallel single release with the album, peaked at #42 on the Hot 100 where it marked Flack's final solo appearance, although she'd return to the Hot 100 in 1983 with the duets "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" (#16) and "You're Looking Like Love to Me" (#58) (both with Peabo Bryson) and again in 1991 with "Set the Night to Music" (with Maxi Priest/ #6). A third single from the I'm the One album: "In the Name of Love", reached #24 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.

"Born to Love" is a 1983 studio album of duets by American singers Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack. It was released by Bryson's label Capitol Records on July 22, 1983 in the United States. The album yielded the hit single "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love", written by Gerry Goffin and Michael Masser. The track "Maybe" was written and recorded for the film Romantic Comedy (1983).