my Favourite Things

It is fulfilling to attend a Carmen Souza concert just to listen to her breathtaking version of “Donna Lee” alone. However, there is much more to fall in love with than Miles Davis’ chart that Charlie Parker made famous by the singer on Live at Lagny Jazz Festival. Whether it is being mesmerised by her version of the standard “My Favourite Things,” or falling prey to the charms of the magnificent chart of that other famous son of Cape Verde, Horace Silver’s “Son of My Father,” or by Ms. Souza’s and Theo Pascal’s own “Afri Ka,” the effect is the same: breathless. For Carmen Souza is one of a kind - an original as rare as a throat singer and as exquisite as a vocalist who combines the best of Billie Holiday and Elis Regina - whose time has certainly come. Carmen Souza’s star is certainly on the rise…

Son of the Blues, Jazz is one of the deepest expressions in music. With improvisation as its foundation, the genre includes multiple artists that are embedded in gold letters in the history of popular music. Golden Jazz Box is a celebration of that legacy, presenting the 6 best albums of each one of the best singers of the genre: Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Julie London, Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington. Golden Jazz Box works as a true musical encyclopedia, the definitive collection of these wonderful singers in one six-CD box. Golden Jazz Box is a fantastic album, suitable for any moment and mood.

Possessor of one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century, Sarah Vaughan ranked with Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday in the very top echelon of female jazz singers. She often gave the impression that with her wide range, perfectly controlled vibrato, and wide expressive abilities, she could do anything she wanted with her voice. Although not all of her many recordings are essential (give Vaughan a weak song and she might strangle it to death), Sarah Vaughan's legacy as a performer and a recording artist will be very difficult to match in the future…

Sonny Simmons - American Jungle (1995) {Qwest–Warner 9 46543-2 rel 1997}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks) +CUE+LOG -> 333 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 111 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 20 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1997 Qwest Records / Warner Bros. Records | 9 46543-2
Jazz / Post Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz / Saxophone

I rank Sonny Simmons among the best living jazz saxophonists. Never close to being a "household name," even in the restricted world of jazz, he has worked in unstintingly exploratory fashion since the 1960s, producing challenging records and enduring long stretches when it was difficult to bring his music to vinyl or CD. Still, during the 1990s, he enjoyed a bit of a renaissance, even landing a contract with Warner Brothers-owned Qwest, which produced this album and the very fine "Ancient Rituals."