Nighthawks

Nighthawks - As The Sun Sets - 2004 - Warner


A really good nu jazz downtempo recording, with a great sixties soundtrack vibe. There are no real standout tracks here, but it's a great album to relax to, helped by the cool velvety vocals of the great DePhazz vocalist, Pat Appleton. Check out their better Metro Bar album.

TRACKS

01. Descend (vocal Pat Appleton) [06:00]
02. Norways [05:44]
03. Receptions In Brazil (vocal Pat Appleton) [05:09]
04. Managing The Beatles [04:45]
05. Capetown Unvisited (vocal Pat Appleton) [05:51]
06. Departure [01:59]
07. As The Sun Sets (vocal Pat Appleton) [05:14]
08. Jetlag [04:57]
09. Motorcycle Hong Kong [05:38]
10. Farewell [05:22]

Album notes

Composer: Nighthawks .Nighthawks (Jazz): Little Hill (vocals); Ladi Geissler (guitar); Markus Wienstroer (guitars); Michael Rauter (cello); Volker Bertelmann (strings); Reiner Winterschladen (flugelhorn); Steffen Kamper (piano); Jurgen Dahmen (Clavinet); Xaver Fischer (synthesizer); Dal Martino (acoustic bass); Peter Erskine (drums); Piid (drum programming).Additional personnel: Pat Appleton (vocals).This international smooth jazz combo trades in sophisticated, sax-heavy numbers with a cocktail vibe and a knowing sultriness. The theme here is travel, with nods to foreign lands and the act of flying itself. The musical surprises and highlights are plenteous; the title track of this album features a tart, taut sound reminiscent of 1960s spy film music and "Motorcycle Hong Kong" verges on urban R&B.


ABOUT THE ARTIST

It happened in the autumn of 1998 that the duo Nighthawks came onto the scene with their debut album Citizen Wayne. Rare it is that both the media and the public were so united in their appreciation of a high quality German newcomer act whose musical niche in the meantime is called NuJazz. To no ones surprise, two knowledgeable veterans are cloaked by the groups name, producer and bass player Dal Martino and trumpeter Reiner Winterschladen, both well-known musicians of the jazz and pop scene with collaborations previous to Citizen Wayne behind them, including membership in the highly-touted Trance Groove.
In the meantime the Nighthawks have become a presence of their own with their jazz and club/lounge music. Cool grooves and atmospheric arrangements are their hallmark, with the solo trumpets clear voicings intimating big city stories full of yearning and trenchant articulations. As The Sun Sets opens up the latest chapter of the highly intriguing Nighthawks story which the band has enhanced and expanded by a few nuances. Inspired by the famous 1941 Edward Hopper painting of the same name, the Nighthawks, Martino and Winterschladen, are on the hunt, as anyone who takes the time to listen will recognize, for those experiences which only come about after sundown. Not surprisingly, it was also the time of their recording.
Both members are experienced musicians. Dal Martino has been haunting stage and studio with his bass for over 20 years and is also in demand as a producer of film and advertising music in addition to running his own record label. Reiner Winterschladen has also been a professional musician for over 20 years. Presently and since 1995 a permanent member of the NDR Big Band, he has in the past trumpeted for the European Jazz Ensemble, the Manfred Schoof Big Band as well as popular bands like Blue Box, Me & The Heat, Unknown Cases, and Rausch. But it was Trance Groove that brought the two together. Cementing that relationship was a highly satisfactory film project they worked on together resulting in their decision to harness their dual potential for still further collaboration. So, to Dal Martinos home-produced tracks, Reiner Winterschladen laid on melodies or simply improvised. They listened, worked the material over, made changes, rearranged, searched further and found what they were looking for.
The same technique was used for their second album, Metro Bar, a true urban soundtrack as opposed to Citizen Wayne, a mix of spaghetti-western associations with big city impressions. Cool without being cold, Metro Bar landed among the top 3 of the German Jazz Charts in Autumn 2001.
With As The Sun Sets (2004) they decided to go one better and brought in Pat Appleton, the magnificent female vocalist of DePhazz with her voluminous yet satiny voice, topping off an already tasty dish. Listen to how impressively the voice blends with Nighthawks‘ music on titles like Descend, Receptions In Brazil or Capetown Unvisited. Other highlights are the instrumentals, Jetlag and Departure, as well as Managing The Beatles, a homage to bandleader, arranger and composer, Bert Kaempfert. Only with such facets does the jewel show its wholeness. With As The Sun Sets, the Nighthawks live up to their implicit intention of writing jazzy lounge music with a soundtrack vibe on an album that is as stylish as it is emotionally rich, adding another color to the night. © May 5th, 2007 by hbh , © http://smooth-jazz.de/WordPress/?p=64