Shades of Soul

Sharon Kovacs, who records and performs as Kovacs, is a Dutch singer with a darkly alluring, soul-steeped voice that recalls that of Amy Winehouse. As a youngster, Kovacs played in bands and performed at talent shows, but she didn't make any serious moves until after she graduated high school, when she auditioned for Rock City Institute, a music school based in her hometown of Eindhoven. She was accepted but found that she and her teachers were a poor match. Through social media, she contacted Oscar Holleman and impressed the producer enough to spark a collaboration. The two involved additional songwriters and recorded an album in Holland and Cuba.

Andrew Hill - Shades (1986) {Soul Note SN1113CD}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 253 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 105 Mb
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© 1986 Soul Note | SN 1113 CD
Jazz / Modern Jazz / Post Bop / Piano

Andrew Hill works mostly in a trio here – a great group with Rufus Reid on bass and Ben Riley on drums – but also gets some help from Clifford Jordan's tenor on a few tracks, which really makes the album stand out from other Hill dates of the time! The core group is already great – and Reid and Riley bring a slightly straighter vibe to the date, and a sound that's filled with plenty of soul – and when Jordan joins in, there's almost a classic hardbop approach going on – quite a change from usual for Andrew, and proof that he can handle just about anything that comes his way. Hill still throws out plenty of creative piano lines throughout – those deft, modern moments that are always illuminating, even amidst a straighter swing – with a tension that's not unlike his Grass Roots album.

Joe Bonamassa has moved far past his initial incarnation as a kid guitar wiz with a Stevie Ray Vaughan fascination, and has developed into an elegantly reverent guitarist and a fine singer as well, bringing a little R&B blue-eyed soul to the blues…