Leonhart

Also known as the New York Jazz Trio, this combo is a studio-only group who specialize in recording classic standards in a straightforward, post-bop style. The New York Trio features three gifted musicians who are firmly established on the East Coast jazz scene. Pianist Bill Charlap is a member of the Phil Woods Quintet, has accompanied the likes of Tony Bennett, Benny Carter, and Gerry Mulligan, and has recorded a handful of well-received albums for Blue Note as a bandleader. Bassist Jay Leonhart has recorded as a headliner since 1983, while also making a name for himself as a vocalist and songwriter as well as backing up Marian McPartland, Louie Bellson, Lee Konitz, and many others…

Anita O'Day celebrated her 50th year as a professional singer at Carnegie Hall on Friday evening with a program that reviewed her big-band years with Gene Krupa and Stan Kenton and her work with small groups over the past 30 years.
Miss O'Day was relaxed and casually high-spirited, cutting through the formality that a performance in Carnegie Hall suggests.
And when she and Roy Eldridge remembered what they once did with ''Let Me Off Uptown'' with Gene Krupa's band, they both showed that the spirit that created that performance was still there, even though Mr. Eldridge now only sings his part and no longer blows the crackling trumpet he once did since a heart attack five years ago forced him to give it up…

The surreal illustration that covers this Daptone offering vaguely recalls those of Philadelphia International releases by Billy Paul, Monk Montgomery, and MFSB. Among the Olympians' late-'60s/early-'70s inspirations must be the musicians behind those recordings, as well as the crews who contributed to the sessions guided by supreme chamber-soul architects Charles Stepney and Norman Whitfield…

My Romance is an album by the U.S. singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released in 1990. It is her fourteenth studio album, and her sixteenth album overall, as well as being her second album devoted to standards. The album peaked at No. 46 on the Billboard 200, and remained on the chart for 17 weeks. Simon's version of In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning from this album was featured in the hit 1993 film Sleepless in Seattle, as well as being included on the film's soundtrack album.

On one of the first relatively straightahead sessions for GRP, baritonist Gerry Mulligan (accompanied by a rhythm section led by Dave Grusin's keyboards with an occasional horn section) performs six of his then-recent compositions including the title cut. Strangely enough, the most memorable selection is "I Never Was a Young Man" which has a rare but very effective Mulligan vocal.

This double-CD set gave bassist Milt Hinton an opportunity to engage in reunions with many of his old friends from the 1930s. The seven sessions were compiled during a 12-month period and the results are often delightful. The opening "Old Man Time" is sung by Hinton himself, and it is both insightful and humorous. The other highlights include Joe Williams singing "Four or Five Times" (which features some very rare Flip Phillips clarinet), three bass guitar duets with Danny Barker, appearances by Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Clark Terry, Al Grey, Ralph Sutton, and the formation of a group called "The Survivors" that has guitarist Al Casey at age 75 being the youngest member; the latter band also includes 85-year-old trumpeter Doc Cheatham, Eddie Barefield, Buddy Tate and even Cab Calloway. A lot of storytelling takes place during the songs and, in addition to the 92½ minutes of music, there are two "Jazzspeaks." The 13-minute one features Hinton, Calloway, Cheatham and Barefield reminiscing about their experiences in the early days, while a marvelous 45-minute monologue by the bassist covers most of his long and productive life and is consistently fascinating. Highly recommended.

Her last album "Pas de géant" released by Sony two years ago had received a dythirrambic critical reception, Camille Bertault does it again with his new opus entitled "Le Tigre".