Oltre ad essere un’interprete di livello, la cantante Maria Pia De Vito ha al suo attivo progetti sempre interessanti e originali. Ricordiamo Il Pergolese, omaggio jazz alla musica del compositore settecentesco, e il recente Coraçao dedicato alla musica brasiliana con i testi tradotti in napoletano (ne abbiamo parlato in occasione di Umbria Jazz Winter 2017/18). Stavolta la musicista recupera la forma della moresca, antica danza di origine araba con i testi generalmente di carattere grottesco. Nella Napoli, città di origine della solista, questa forma fu molto popolare: uno degli artefici della sua riscoperta in tempi moderni è stato Roberto De Simone che l’ha inserita nella sua Gatta Cenerentola, ma al tempo stesso vari gruppi vocali (King’s Singers e Orlando Consort) la propongono nel loro repertorio.
"What A Wonderful World Of Jazz Singing" one would like to exclaim about the content of this gathering of 21 top jazz singers and their recordings made between 1946 and 1962. A musical spectrum spreads out that comes across as dazzling and multi-layered as these singing personalities, who come from all sources of the infamous American melting pot and have driven their roots deep into all ingredients of American popular music: into the blues of the Mississippi and the metropolises, the swing of the Jazz Age and the black ghettos and the New York ballrooms, the effervescent bebop and the cool jazz of the Californian West Coast…
In 2008, Sony BMG Records (Europe) released a compilation 3-CD Box Set titled Ladies and Gentlemen: The Best of Vocal Jazz. It features a dazzling array of iconic singers and vocal groups who define the jazz genre...
Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. The 1960's represented a very interesting time for musicians of all genres; three particular reasons began a trend for future generations of musical artists. The Beach Boys, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones were the 3 reasons which permanently altered the musical landscape and basically made it impossible for stars of the past to remain economically viable in the present. The only 2 exceptions to the rule of course were Mel Tormé and Frank Sinatra.
Russ Garcia, as arranger and orchestra leader, was credited for this 50s album – and it’s thoroughly deserved as, from the very first moment, you’re drawn into an immaculate marriage of harmony vocals, late night jazz and the very best of the US writers of that era. The resultant tracks feature comparatively sparse instrumentation meshing with, and complementing, the wonderful vocal choir that features the best-known back room girl, Marni Nixon, who takes the highest vocal lines.
Hailed by Jazziz magazine as the "voice of her generation" and a "national treasure," Chicago-born, Durham, North Carolina-based Dr Lenora Zenzalai Helm is a jazz vocal musician, composer, lyricist, bandleader, and a dedicated educator at North Carolina Central University (NCCU). Helm encompasses all of the inventions and dimensions of jazz and the African Diaspora on her new recording, Journeywoman, featuring her Tribe Jazz Orchestra Nonet. Helm's new CD, her eighth as a leader, is a compelling 65-minute, multi-movement 12-track work, where she sings about the life of an allegorical woman named Journey, and her struggles with abuse, birth, death, self-definition and her victories through self-love, perseverance, and affirmation.
Jet Lemon Band was born in 2014. It is an incredible combination of two Russians (Jim Aviva - lead vocal and keyboards, and Sammy Lukas - piano, saxophone back vocal), two Germans- (Benjamin Schlothauer - bass, and Jakob Kufert - drums) and South Koreans Ju Young Cheong - guitars. The initial idea was to cover songs of the great rock bands of the '70s but the inspiration morphed into a desire to honor just one legendary group Led Zeppelin II, recreating the genius of this band in the style of jazz The band welcomes the opportunity to combine two very different kinds of music - jazz and rock into one cohesive album and to capture the imagination of both fan bases.
Nancy Wilson's not the first name in bluesy jazz (check out Dinah Washington and Joe Williams for that), but she usually can enliven the form with her sophisticated and sultry style. That's made clear on her rendition of "Stormy Monday Blues," where she eschews blues clichés in favor of a husky airiness, at once referencing a lowdown mood and infusing it with a sense of buoyancy. This split is nicely essayed on Capitol's Blues and Jazz Sessions, as half the tracks ooze with Wilson's cocktail blues tone and the other find the jazz-pop chanteuse in a summery and swinging mood. Ranging from the big band blues of "I've Got Your Number" to the lilting bossa nova "Wave," Wilson handles all the varying dynamics and musical settings with aplomb. Featuring cuts from her '60s prime with the likes of Cannonball Adderley, Oliver Nelson, George Shearing, Gerald Wilson, and a host of top sidemen, this best-of disc offers a fine, off-the-beaten-path overview of Wilson's Capitol heyday.
Spectacular compiled from two great vocal jazz. Selected 53 great songs, a lot of swing, released 8 May, 2012 on the Rolled Gold Classics label.