Todd Rundgren

Todd Rundgren - Very Best Of Todd Rundgren - 1997 - Rhino Records (USA)

The legendary Todd Rundgren has composed some of the greatest rock songs in the modern rock era. A vastly underrated singer/songwriter, and a brilliant arranger, this album is a fine example of some of his best work. Check out his album, "A Wizard, A True Star".

TRACKS

1 We Gotta Get You a Woman
2 Be Nice to Me
3 I Saw the Light
4 Hello It's Me
5 Couldn't I Just Tell You
6 Just One Victory
7 A Dream Goes on Forever
8 Real Man
9 Love of the Common Man
10 Love Is the Answer
11 Love in Action
12 Can We Still Be Friends?
13 The Very Last Time
14 Bang the Drum All Day
15 Something to Fall Back On
16 The Want of a Nail

CREDITS

Barbara Imhoff Harp
Buffalo Gelber Bass
Barry Rogers Trombone
Bobby Strickland Sax (Tenor)
Bobby Womack Vocals,
Brent Bourgeois Vocals (Background)
Cecilia Norfleet Vocals (Background)

REVIEWS

The Very Best of Todd Rundgren distills the Runt's career to just the hit singles, which is surprisingly effective. Most casual Todd fans will only want the hits -- "We Gotta Get You a Woman," "I Saw the Light," "Hello, It's Me," "Bang on the Drum" -- and not invest in the double-disc set Anthology (1968-1985), which simply contains too much music for most listeners.... More With The Very Best of, all of the good stuff (including "The Want of a Nail," which is not on Anthology) is here, satisfying the needs of the casual and curious. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
A good, inexpensive single-disc compilation of Rundgren singles may not be what the world's been waiting for, but it's a fine thing nonetheless. Largely avoiding the big pretensions of many of his post-Something/Anything? albums, this record distills 15 years of releases into a hits-just-keep-on-coming set which makes sense of the sensibility that produced the bemusedly soulful "Hello It's Me," the straightforwardly sweet "Dream Goes On Forever," and the outright goofy "Bang the Drum All Day." © Rickey Wright © 1996-2007, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates

BIO

Todd Rundgren's best-known songs -- the Carole King pastiche "I Saw the Light," the ballads "Hello, It's Me" and "Can We Still Be Friends," and the goofy novelty "Bang on the Drum All Day" -- suggest that he is a talented pop craftsman, but nothing more than that. On one level, that perception is true since he is undoubtedly a gifted pop songwriter, but at his core Rundgren is a rock & roll maverick. Once he had a taste of success with his 1972 masterwork, Something/Anything?, Rundgren chose to abandon stardom and, with it, conventional pop music. He began a course through uncharted musical territory, becoming a pioneer not only in electronic music and prog rock, but in music video, computer software, and Internet music delivery as well.
As his career wound into its third decade, Rundgren concentrated on behind-the-scenes innovations, but during the '70s and '80s he maintained a relentless work schedule. He released up to two albums a year either as a solo artist or with his band Utopia, while producing acclaimed, successful records for artists as diverse as Badfinger, Meat Loaf, Grand Funk Railroad, the New York Dolls, and XTC. Given such an extensive catalog, it's not surprising that there's a vast variety of styles within Rundgren's music -- which is either rewarding or frustrating, depending on the album. Also, more often than not, the singles from each record do not offer an accurate indication of what the remainder of the album sounds like. Such an approach severely curtailed his mass appeal, but it helped him cultivate a ferociously dedicated cult audience.
During the '70s, his records were underground favorites, and his albums continued to chart until 1991, nearly 20 years after his commercial peak. In those 20 years, Rundgren may have existed largely on the fringes of pop music, but he produced a body of work that ranks as one of the most intriguing in rock & roll. A native of Upper Darby, PA -- a suburb of Philadelphia -- Rundgren learned how to play guitar as a child, teaching himself after his initial round of lessons ceased. As a teenager, he absorbed pop music from Motown to Liverpool and formed Money, his first band, when he was 16. Following his high-school graduation, he moved to the resort town of Wildwood, NJ, where he regularly sat in with a number of bands. Eventually, he became a member of the blues group Woody's Truck Stop, which soon became based in Philadelphia.
Rundgren stayed with the band for several months, but when the group began to move toward hippie psychedelia, he and Carson Van Osten bailed to form the Nazz in 1967. Taking their name from an obscure Yardbirds song and inspired by a variety of British Invasion groups, from the omnipresent Beatles to the cult favorites the Move, the Nazz were arguably the first Anglophiles in rock history. There had been many groups that drew inspiration from the Beatles and the Stones, but none had been so self-consciously reverent as the Nazz. Playing lead guitar and bass, respectively, Rundgren and Van Osten were joined by drummer Thom Mooney (formerly of the Munchkins) and lead vocalist/keyboardist Stewkey (born Robert Antoni). By September 1967, the group received some financial support from local record store Bartoff & Warfield, who also put them in touch with John Kurland, a record promoter who was looking for a guitar pop band. Kurland took a shine to the Nazz and signed on as their manager.
Kurland and his associate, Michael Friedman, had the Nazz sign with SGC Records -- an offshoot of Atlantic Records and Columbia-Screen Gems -- in the summer of 1968. Their debut album, Nazz, appeared in October, supported by the single "Hello It's Me." Although the song would later become a major hit for Rundgren as a solo artist, the dirgey original version barely scraped the national charts. Despite the lack of success, the record -- particularly the Nazz's self-production of "Open My Eyes" and "Hello It's Me" -- attracted some good notices. Taking these as a cue, the group began work on an ambitious, self-produced double album, named Fungo Bat. By the time it was released in April 1969, it was trimmed to a single album, Nazz Nazz. In the process of editing, much of Rundgren's newer, Laura Nyro-influenced material -- which he had sung himself -- was left on the shelves. Neither the management nor his bandmates gave Rundgren much encouragement to sing, nor was his new introspective direction warmly received by his colleagues. Faced with a no-win situation, Rundgren left the group not long after their summer 1969 tour. Stewkey took control of the Nazz, erased Rundgren's vocals from the album sitting in the vaults, and replaced them with his own. The result was released as Nazz 3 in 1970, but it stiffed.
Rundgren, meanwhile, became an in-house producer and engineer for former Bob Dylan manager Albert Grossman's fledgling studio and label, Bearsville Records. Around the same time, Rundgren formed a band called Runt. In reality, Runt was little more than a front for his burgeoning solo career. He played all of the instruments except drums and bass, which were usually handled by brothers Hunt and Tony Sales. Runt -- either Runt's first album or Rundgren's first solo album, depending on your point of view -- was released on Ampex Records in the fall of 1970. The album slowly earned an audience, with the single "We Gotta Get You a Woman" climbing into the Top 20 in early 1971. His modest success was enough to convince Grossman to sign Rundgren to a long-term contract with Bearsville.
Apart from a re-release of Runt, the first Rundgren album to appear on Bearsville was Runt's final record, The Ballad of Todd Rundgren, a record that was reminiscent of such melodic singer/songwriter peers as King and Nyro, yet it had a subtly bizarre sensibility and quirky sense of humor that gave it a distinctive character. As he pursued his solo career, Rundgren quickly earned a reputation as a talented producer/engineer. His first production was for American Dream, but he quickly graduated to the big leagues thanks to his association with Grossman. In 1970, he engineered the Band's Stage Fright and Jesse Winchester's acclaimed eponymous debut. These two productions set the stage for Rundgren to take the production seat that George Harrison left vacant; the result was Badfinger's Straight Up, which gave him a huge hit with "Baby Blue." It wasn't long until Rundgren had a huge hit of his own. He abandoned the Runt concept before beginning his third album, deciding to record the entire record himself.
The result was Something/Anything?, a double-album set that cemented Rundgren's reputation as a near-genius producer and gifted songwriter. Apart from the fourth side, which was constructed as a tongue-in-cheek operetta about a bar band, he played every instrument, sang every part, and produced the entire album. Hailed in the rock press as some sort of masterpiece upon its early 1972 release, it also won Rundgren a wide audience. The King tribute "I Saw the Light" reached number 16, and while its follow-up (the terrific power pop classic "Couldn't I Just Tell You") stiffed, the third single, a superior re-recording of the Nazz's semi-hit "Hello, It's Me," climbed all the way to number five. In all, Something/Anything? reached number 29 and went gold, spending nearly a full year on the charts. Stardom was handed to him with Something/Anything?, but Rundgren rejected it. He would later state that he had mastered pop songcraft and had no interest to simply repeat himself through endless recyclings of "I Saw the Light" or "Hello, It's Me." That's certainly not what he delivered with A Wizard, a True Star, his 1973 follow-up to Something/Anything? A weird sonic collage encompassing everything from psychedelia and Philly soul to Disney show tunes and vaudeville, the record may not have been an intentional move to shed his mainstream audience, but that was the ultimate effect.
As the legions of listeners who loved "Hello, It's Me" departed, Rundgren's cult following -- the fans who did consider him "a Wizard, a True Star" -- intensified. Rundgren played the role to the hilt, dyeing his hair in a rainbow of colors and turning in extravagant concert performances. His appearance may have flirted with glam or glitter, but his music was getting increasingly progressive. His next album, 1974's Todd, may have had the occasional full-fledged pop song, such as the near-hit "A Dream Goes on Forever," but it had more than its share of lengthy experimental instrumentals. This was the direction he decided to pursue and he decided he needed a full-fledged band to help him continue in the progressive direction. And so Utopia were born. Initially, the group consisted of three keyboardists (Moogy Klingman, Ralph Shuckett, and Roger Powell), a bassist (John Siegler), a percussionist (Kevin Elliman), and a drummer (John "Willie" Wilcox).
Balancing Utopia with his solo career, Rundgren became one of the most prolific artists of the decade. Released just months after Todd, Todd Rundgren's Utopia consisted of only four tracks, all of which were mainly instrumental, none of which were less than ten minutes. Rundgren continued in that direction on his next solo album, Initiation, which was released in the spring of 1975. Its radio-play hit, "Real Man," became one of his concert staples, but the true heart of the album lay in the half-hour-long synth experiment to which the entire second side was devoted. Mere months later, Utopia released Another Live, a wild live album devoted to long synth-driven instrumentals. Another Live proved to be the culmination of the synth experiments and, in some ways, the stretch of willfully difficult records Rundgren made during the mid-'70s.
He kicked off 1976 with Faithful, an album that split into original pop material and re-creations of '60s chestnuts from the Yardbirds, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and the Beach Boys. His resurrection of "Good Vibrations" brought him his first Top 40 hit in three years. That year, he also revamped Utopia, stripping away two of the keyboardists (Klingman and Shuckett), as Elliman and Siegler left. Kasim Sulton joined as the new bassist. Although the new Utopia's first album, Ra, was a prog rock album by any measure, it was less overtly experimental and heavier than before. Ra was released early in February 1977 and was followed seven months later by Oops! Wrong Planet, a record that found the quartet abandoning progressive music for streamlined pop/rock, with a mainstream hard rock bent. By the time The Hermit of Mink Hollow was released in April 1978, it had been two years between Rundgren's solo albums, yet it had been six years since he had delivered an album as unabashedly pop and accessible as Hermit. On the strength of the Top 30 success of the ballad "Can We Still Be Friends," the record became a big hit, spending 26 weeks on the charts and peaking at number 36. He followed the record with the double-live album Back to the Bars, which was split between Utopia and solo material.
As his solo career received a shot in the arm, his production career reached a pinnacle of commercial success with Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell. The shamelessly bombastic record became an unexpected blockbuster, due in no small part to Rundgren's cinematic production. Not only did it reap financial rewards, but it also opened the doors for a variety of production gigs; over the next year, he kept extraordinarily busy, working with everyone from old friend Patti Smith (Wave) to new wave pub rocker Tom Robinson (TRB Two), as well as arena rock goofs the Tubes (Remote Control). Given that Rundgren had been releasing records at such a rapid rate throughout the '70s, it comes as a shock to note that neither he nor Utopia released an album during 1979. That's not to say he wasn't busy. Not only did he have his production work, but during 1979, Rundgren opened Utopia Video Studios, a cutting-edge video production enterprise. Utopia Video Studios' first project was a version of Gustav Holst's The Planets, a demonstration disc for videodisc by RCA SelectaVision. It was a harbinger.
Throughout the next decade, Rundgren began to devote more time to technological developments than his own music. Nevertheless, the early '80s were a robust time for Rundgren -- his last great period of commercial success. He came back swinging in 1980, releasing two albums with Utopia: the shiny pop/rock opus Adventures in Utopia and the cutting Beatles parody Deface the Music. He also released "Time Heals," the first music video to combine computer graphics and live action; it would later be the second video played on MTV. The following year, he released his first solo album in three years, the spiritually inclined Healing. By this point, his relationship with Bearsville Records had become increasingly rocky. Utopia delivered one last album for the label, 1982's Swing to the Right, before departing for the fledgling Network label, releasing Utopia that same year. After completing a groundbreaking solo tour in 1982, which alternated acoustic sets with sets featuring taped backings and video backdrops, he released The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect. Despite the presence of a moderate novelty hit with "Bang the Drum All Day," the album didn't eclipse Healing on the charts.
As he attempted to leave Bearsville, Rundgren found himself in further record company difficulties when Network folded. Utopia then moved to Passport, yet another new record label. In 1983, after he devoted some time off to do technological work, he reconvened Utopia, which released Oblivion in 1984. Oblivion did respectably on the charts, peaking at 74, but the next year's follow-up, POV, tanked -- it reached only 161. Part of the problem was that Utopia's sound had indeed changed, but it was no longer contemporary. Following POV, Rundgren effectively pulled the plug on the group, although he would later reunite the band for an occasional tour. Rundgren's next solo album, A Cappella, featured nothing but his voice, albeit multi-tracked and sometimes processed beyond recognition. Negotiations with Bearsville held up the release of A Cappella for months. Once the deals were completed, Rundgren was finally free of Bearsville and he signed to its new parent company, Warner, which released A Cappella in September 1985. It did fairly well on the charts, but it was treated more as a novelty than a full-fledged record by both critics and fans.
Rundgren spent the next few years working on computers, as well producing. In 1986, he was hired to produce the cult British pop band XTC. Over the course of the recording sessions, tensions grew between Rundgren and the group's main songwriter, Andy Partridge, eventually spilling over into outright hostility. Nevertheless, the resulting album, Skylarking, revitalized XTC's career and Rundgren's producing career. Although he had a few high-profile gigs afterward -- such as with Bourgeois Tagg and the Psychedelic Furs -- he decided to continue with his own technological and musical endeavors. In 1989, he finally released Nearly Human, his soul-spiked follow-up to 1985's A Cappella. Staying on the charts for 11 weeks, it was Rundgren's last album to come close to a mainstream hit, thanks to the radio single "The Want of a Nail." Several songs on Nearly Human were also used in his musical score for the off-Broadway production of Joe Orton's Up Against It, which was originally the script for the unfilmed third Beatles movie.
A collection of new material recorded live, 2nd Wind, appeared in 1991. It was his final record for Warner and the last record he would make for a major label. The following year, he reunited Utopia for a tour of Japan, then he set to work on his first album for Rhino's new music division, Forward. Released under the moniker TR-I -- from this point on, he used TR-I to distinguish his technologically innovative work -- No World Order was an ambitious project. Not only was it released as a conventional CD, it was also released as an interactive CD-ROM through Philips and Electronic Arts. It certainly earned him press, but the reviews didn't lead to sales. Frustrated, he left Rhino, releasing The Individualist on ION in November 1995. Like its predecessor, the album was designed as a groundbreaking technological innovation -- this time, however, it was an enhanced CD. The Individualist earned better reviews than No World Order, particularly among computer-based publications.
During this time, he also worked as a DJ on the acclaimed syndicated radio program The Difference with Todd Rundgren. The show was nominated for several awards, but its production was ceased in November 1996 due to an altered show format. He also did several television and film soundtracks, including the hit Farrelly Brothers movie Dumb and Dumber. In 1997, the fledgling Angel Records offshoot Guardian Records offered Rundgren a significant amount of money to re-record many of his hits and cult favorites as a bossa nova record. Clearly, Guardian was attempting to capitalize on the lounge fad of the mid-'90s, but Rundgren took the bait, supporting the resulting record, With a Twist, with a full-fledged tour. Prior to hitting the road in the U.S., he was one of the first Western artists to perform for the Chinese during the summer Shanghai Festival. That year saw the first release of his Up Against It songs through the Japanese label Pony Canyon. He also inked a deal to host a weekly online radio program called Music Nexus for the EnterMedia network.
In fact, the Internet became the main focus of Rundgren's career by the end of the '90s. In 1996, Rundgren launched Waking Dreams, a collective that developed creative ideas in marketable commodities. Perhaps more importantly to the music industry, Rundgren also founded PatroNet, an innovative device that lets users subscribe to music offered directly from his site -- with no record company middlemen at all. During all this, Rundgren continued to work on new music -- intending to distribute his new material a song at a time through PatroNet -- as well as write his much-delayed autobiography (despite short previews on his official website, it's yet to be published). The late '90s saw Rundgren return to the road for several different tours -- both as a solo performer and as part of Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band, as he also continued to produce other acts (Splender's Halfway Down the Sky, Bad Religion's The New America, etc.).
The emergence of numerous archival projects began to surface in the early-21st century, such as The King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents in Concert and a slew of Japanese-only rarity sets as part of the ongoing Todd Archive Series (by mid-2001, 11 different sets had been issued -- comprised of outtakes, demos, and full concerts over the years featuring Rundgren solo, Utopia, and even the Nazz), as well as a compilation of tracks that has only been available previously on his PatroNet service, titled One Long Year. In the summer of 2001, Rundgren participated in the A Walk Down Abbey Road: A Tribute to the Beatles tour, which also included Ann Wilson (Heart), John Entwistle (the Who), and Alan Parsons (the Alan Parsons Project). Three years later, Rundgren issued his first rock album in over a decade. Liars, a political-heavy concept record, was issued on Sanctuary in spring 2004. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Greg Prato, All Music Guide www.vh1.com/artists/az/rundgren_todd/bio.jhtml

Eric Bibb, Rory Block , Maria Muldaur

Eric Bibb, Rory Block , Maria Muldaur - Sisters & Brothers - 2004 - Telarc

Eric Bibb, Rory Block and Maria Muldaur unite to celebrate their family ties in Sisters & Brothers, a 13 track dynamic collection of blues. A great album from three of the best blues artists in the business.

TRACKS

Rock Daniel;
Don't Ever Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down;
Get Up Get Ready;
Lean On Me;
Bessies Advice;
Good Stuff;
Rolling Log;
Gotta Serve Somebody;
Travelin' Woman's Blues;
Little Rain;
Maggie Campbell;
Give A Little More,
My Sisters And Brothers.

Personnel:

Eric Bibb, Rory Block Guitars, Vocals;
Maria Muldaur Vocals;
Chris Burns Keyboards;
Michael Ward Bass;
Per Hanson Drums.

REVIEWS

What do get when you place three accomplished blues artists inside a comfortable recording space, slowly combine their individual talents, add three seasoned band members and let simmer? You've got the recipe for the new release, Sisters and Brothers (Telarc 2004), featuring, Eric Bibb, Rory Block and Maria Muldaur. The album is a celebration of their musical journey and the bond shared as blues musicians. Their initial steps began in the 1960's, firmly rooted in folk music at the peak of its popularity. During that time, all three became captivated by the sound of acoustic country blues. Their attraction continued to grow, feeling deeply connected to the music beyond just simple fascination. Calling it home, each artist built a musical foundation in traditional country blues. They selected different areas within the genre to reside, reflecting their individual style. After many years of hard work and dedication Bibb, Block and Muldaur enjoy successful solo careers, representing their distinct segment of the blues.
Sisters and Brothers" is a dream come true, reuniting three talented performers who happen to be old friends. Bringing their own unique ingredients to the table, they created a delicious banquet of blues entrees. There's 13 tasty tracks, covering a variety of styles to satisfy any appetite. This threesome cooked some savory blues selections, from country and gospel, to folk and jazz. A full serving of genuine emotion and memorable performances. Albums with an assortment of styles from a specific genre as diverse as the blues, may sound chopped or tossed together. You won't find anything thrown together on this new release. Sisters and Brothers is a perfect example of how an album, covering different styles within a specific genre is suppose to sound. Each track blends smoothly in a natural progression, the thoughtful grouping of certain styles gives the recording a cohesive transition throughout. A true testament to the artists, the band and especially the producer Randy Labbe.
Sisters and Brothers has a spiritual theme, but it certainly doesn't preach. Instead, you'll find a positive, uplifting tone, touching the human spirit. It delivers a clear and simple message of unity and brotherhood, the importance of giving and being there for one another. In a world of uncertainty and fear, the message here is needed now more than ever. The opening track, is an accapella version of the gospel standard, Rock Daniel. A call and response tune with Rory Block singing lead, Eric Bibb and Maria Muldaur providing steady vocal support. Next, Bibb takes the lead on this shuffle tune, Don't Ever Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down. His smooth, soulful, R&B style really shines, the emotion level in his voice slowly rises on every verse. Muldaur jumps in for a verse with her sassy vibrato, then returns with Block singing chorus. Chris Burns tears up the ivories with great riffs and an excellent solo. Get Up Get Ready, finds Muldaur at her best on this swing tune. She drives home the message with her exuberant, sultry vocals, Block adding some jazzy guitar riffs. Michael "Mudcat" Ward on upright bass and Per Hanson on drums, stay front and center as Muldaur leads the way. You can't help but sing along to this one. The albums finest duets come from Block and Muldaur, their first is the Withers classic, Lean On Me. Block delivers a strong, soulful lead, as Muldaur joins in with warm, soaring harmonies. Their duet version of this R&B favorite, adds more depth and harmony without veering too far from the original. Their second duet is on a Block original, Travlin' Woman Blues. Both woman turn up the heat, each bouncing off the other with a healthy dose of steamy, sultry vocals. Burns' piano keeps the fire burning on this honky-tonk tune, tickling the ivories with a sizzling solo. This is one of the albums best tracks, including, Gotta Serve Somebody. Bibb gives this Dylan spiritual a fantastic ride. His smooth as silk voice sounds a bit scratchy, even gritty at times when placing emphasis within a verse. Bibbs slow and soulful variation to this spiritual, adds an authoritative aspect to the original. Block and Muldaur's background vocals sound like a Sunday morning choir, as they echo the chorus. Bibb also exercises his wide vocal range with deliberate emotion. This interpretation is powerful, he'll get your attention without letting go till the very last note. The final and title track, Sisters and Brothers is an uplifting gospel tune. Each voice wraps around the other in waves of warmth and comfort. It's really a shame, being the only track where they sing together as a trio.
Sisters and Brothers is a dynamic collection of blues. There isn't a bad track to be found, each one taking you in a new direction. This threesome gives their very best, never once overshadowing someone else. Each artists expressive originality truly compliments the other, highlighting their strengths and creativity. This trio opens the door to a different side of the blues, the hopeful, uplifting, inspiring side. You'll be pleasantly surprised just how infectious this recording becomes, as you play it again and again. It's a genuine "feel good" album with lots of toe-tappin' energy. I highly recommend you dive right into this one. Copyright 2004, Peterborough Folk Music Society and P. L. Dow. © Pamela L. Dow http://images.google.ie/imgres?imgurl=http://www.acousticmusic.com/fame/g02869.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.acousticmusic.com/fame/p02869.htm&h=317&w=353&sz=21&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=wV-9LyLcPNFhfM:&tbnh=109&tbnw=121&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsisters%2Bbrothers%2Bblock%2Bmuldaur%26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den

Behold, how good and how pleasant for brothers and sisters to dwell together in unity.

?Psalm 133.
I will be damned if I know what biblical translation was used for this quote. But that is no matter. Three journeyman artists have joined forces to bring the sensual and the divine together under the same roof and celebrate them. Eric Bibb, Rory Block, and Maria Muldaur cast a new light on the spiritual and mostly with success.
Recordings like this frighten me because they always seem to be really good ideas and then fizzle out when the idea becomes kinetic. With one or two exceptions, Sisters and Brothers possesses some real religion, sharing it with the listener on the way. These three disparate vocalists, sharing only the blues come together to present the dirty gospel.
The opener, “Rock Daniel,” is a Rosetta Tharp spiritual taken as a loose but effective a?cappella. This song sets the earthy mood of the remainder for the recording. “Bessie?s Advice” is a sensual original made humid by Maria Muldaur?s smoky tone and Michael ward?s walking bass. “Lean on Me” takes on a decidedly more blues-soaked character with Ms. Block?s lead vocals, supported by Ms. Muldaur?s harmony. “Rolling Log” is an old Lottie Beaman tune reprised by Rory Block, containing a good bit of her trademark acoustic guitar. Rory Block continues to provide us with the significant and overlooked contributions of women blues singers of the ?20s and ?30s.
Eric Bibbs? take on Bob Dylan?s “Serve Somebody” is soulful tribute and Jimmy Reed?s “Little Rain” provides Rory Block more exquisite blues fodder for her to transform. These songs project perfectly the collision between Saturday night and Sunday morning. © C. Michael Bailey © 2007 All About Jazz and/or contributing writers/visual artists. All rights reserved. www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=12963
With Eric Bibb’s signing to Telarc Records, the seeds for this recording could finally be planted. Rory Block and Maria Muldaur have already released a number of wonderful efforts for the label. Bibb has done estimable work on a number of labels, and he released his first Telarc disc a few months ago. Sisters & Brothers demonstrates that bringing these three together in an intimate setting in Unity, Maine was an inspired idea.
Please don’t mistake this for an all-star date where the closest the leaders get to each other is the cover photo. Nothing could be further from the truth. Right from the opening track, an a cappella rendition of "Rock David," all three musicians are playing together and singing harmony on one another’s songs. Bibb and Block handle all the guitar playing, backed up by Chris Burns on piano and/or Wurlitzer, Michael "Mudcat" Ward on bass, and Per Hanson on drums.
This is honest, rural, backcountry blues by three artists who were weaned on the stuff, especially Muldaur, who has been singing songs like this her whole life. Listen to her confident handling of Bibb’s "Bessie’s Advise" for a prime example. And the recording meets the standards set by the performances. Vocals are true, instruments are rock-solid, and the soundstage is nicely defined. I hope this is the first in a run of albums featuring these three. Every layer, from CD to stereo SACD through surround SACD is good, better, best (and I’ll leave it to you to decide Don’t let this album’s 24-bit PCM origin dissuade you from giving it a try. This is a wonderfully fine-sounding blues disc. It’s already one of my favorites. © John Crossett www.soundstage.com/music/reviews/rev650.htm

A few decades ago, when they were teenagers, Maria Muldaur, Rory Block and Eric Bibb were living in New York City finding musical thrills in their individual discoveries of blues music. Rory's father even gave Maria violin lessons. In 2003, Maria, Rory and Eric got together and recorded the album "Sisters and Brothers" in a barn in Unity, Maine, with the excellent trio of pianist Chris Burns, bassist Michael 'Mudcat' Ward and drummer Per Hanson. Maria, Eric and Rory work in different combinations on a repertoire that reflects a wide range of 'Blues', from Bill Withers "Lean on Me" to Eric and Maria's minor swing fantasy on "Bessie (Smith's) Advice". © 2007 ABC www.abc.net.au/rn/dailyplanet/stories/2005/1311390.htm

Norah Jones

Norah Jones - Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz (NPR Radio) - 19.1.03 (Unofficial Release)

Marian McPartland, born Margaret Marian Turner, on March 20, 1918 in Slough, England, is a jazz pianist, violinist and host of the legendary Mary McPartland's Piano Jazz on National Public Radio., which began broadcasting on June 4, 1978, and is currently the longest-running cultural program on NPR. On the 25th anniversary of the program, she celebrated with a performance at the Kennedy Center. Peter Cincotti was the program's special guest.. High-profile jazz critic Scott Yanow has said that McPartland is "...a harmonically sophisticated improviser, open to the influence of later stylists including Bill Evans." Her guests have included Tony Bennett, Henry Mancini, Dave Brubeck, Ray Charles, Dizzy Gillespie, Elvis Costello, and Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, (Steely Dan). Marian never gets too technical on “Piano Jazz” for her audience. Critic and author Gary Giddins last year wrote: “The courtliness of it all, and the focus on music-making with only scattered touches of biography, elicit an ingenuous desire to reveal and explain.” She has interviewed all her guests, and played with them. She is now in her late eighties, but still tours. She is one of the worlds leading jazz experts. Her friends have included Duke Ellington, and Louis Armstrong. This unofficial album covers her show with Norah Jones. All conversation and advertisements have been excluded from the disc. A beautiful recording, and a joy to listen to. Check out her own recordings on the Concord Jazz, and Halcyon labels, and the Piano Jazz radio show recordings on the Jazz Alliance label.

TRACKS

September In the Rain (Dubin/Warren)
In The Dark (Little/Green)
Comes Love (Brown/Stept/Tobias)
For All We Know (Doots/Lewis)
I Can't Get Started (V.Duke/I.Gershwin)
Don't Know Why (Jesse Harris)
Peace (Silver)
The Nearness of You (Carmichael)
Beautiful Friendship (Kahn/Styne)

Two Banks Of Four

Two Banks Of Four - Three Street Worlds - 2003 - Red Egyptian

An exciting retro jazz sound from the highly original Two Banks Of Four, who have added a new dimension to nu-jazz/soul jazz with this great recording.

TRACKS

01 Two Miles Before Dawn (4:29)
02 Angels' Walk (4:32)
03 One Day (6:25)
04 Banks Of The Nile (4:18)
05 Stiles (1:20)
06 Blues For Brother (5:20
)07 Unclaimed (4:50)
08 Endless (5:21)
09 Closer (5:55)
10 The Bird Monster (1:34)
11 Three Street Worlds (5:44)
12 Rising (9:00)

MUSICIANS

Rob Gallagher and Demus are 2 Banks of 4, along with vocalists Valerie Etienne, Paul Jason Fredericks, and Bembe Segue, pianist Ski Oakenfull, bassist Andy Hamill, flutist and saxophonist Andy Ross,

REVIEWS

A group that features work from some of our favorite older members of the British scene -- including singer Valerie Etienne, and musicians Chris Bowden and Ski Oakenfull! The album's got a really soaring, spacious feel -- with jazzy roots that stretch back to groups like Kalima, and include Fertile Ground, but an overall sound that's very much in step with the current sound of the 21st Century London scene. The tunes are all incredibly soulful -- driven by warm acoustic basslines and snapping snare percussion -- and the album's got an overall feel that has a lot more real jazz playing than just beats and keys -- something we approve of highly. © 2007 Dusty Groove
Taking inspiration from the radical, spiritual jazz of the late 60's & early 70's, and blending that with a downtempo smokers soundtrack, this amalgamation of renowned producers, DJ and current UK jazz talent goes along way to prove that having one foot in the past doesn't prevent progressive musicmaking. The assorted members ofTwo Banks of Four certainly have the historical credentials to move jazz & dancefusions forward. Messrs Gallagher, Demus & Valarie Ettienne have a combined history that include Galliano, The Brand New Heavies & The Young Disciples, and combine the jazz approach with a template that won't frighten ears used to clubbier sounds. Two Banks of Four may owe a small debt to the jazz & beats feel of 4 Hero, but only for opening a musical door - not providing a roadmap. Thecover ofCarlos Garnett's spiritual jazz/dance classic "Banks of the Nile" juxtaposes nicely with "Stiles" - ablend ofdowntempo, chilled hip hop beats and funky analogue synth sounds. Perhaps slightly incongruous to some - but it demonstrates that collectively their ears are very open. "Blues For Brother" is very live sounding yet is beautifully crafted, blending instrumental technique andnew technologies into a homogenous whole. What has not escaped their attention amongst allthe jazz blowing and beat sampling is the need for melody, musical hooks and the ability to make the essence of the tunes stick in the mind. The retro jazz influences are apparent enough, but the overall soundscape is something that could only have been made in modern times, and in the musical potpourri that is contemporary London. Intentionally this musicis light years from commerciality, but is a rewardingand promising debut. © Greg Boraman (2007-06-21) © www.bbc.co.uk/music/release/p34h/
In the end, it all comes back to jazz. Many of today’s underground music artists cruise adeptly through the twisted corridors of funk, rock, house (broken and unbroken), r-n-b, drum-n-bass, dub, blip-trip-and hip-hop, creating style by recreating what has come before. Style baths the dancefloor—a world savvy metropolis unto itself- swollen with syncopated rhythms, relentless 4/4 throbs, dirty basslines, where high hats and snares strut irreverently, and vocals soar to worlds unimagined. In the end, however, it all comes back. . . Rob Gallagher and Demus are 2 Banks of 4, and along with vocalists Valerie Etienne, Paul Jason Fredericks, and Bembe Segue, pianist Ski Oakenfull, bassist Andy Hamill, flutist and saxophonist Andy Ross, they travel through the grey cityscapes of "Three Street Worlds". Theirs is an eloquent journey attended by an enrapturing soundtrack that transcends the boundaries of musical epochs. One should saunter through “Three Street Worlds”, so as not to miss its subtleties. Meander, with eyes wide open, to see sultry swing of “One Day”; hands ungloved, to feel the heat “Rising” from the bowels of beneath the city; ears poised to the haunting tale of an old woman collecting the “Unclaimed” dreams of those dead; head titled upward, mouth open to drink in the hazy twilit dew falling from the album’s title track. "Three Street Worlds" is a masterful accomplishment in modern music, on par with stellar works throughout the ages. Acknowledgement: In the end, it all comes back to jazz, ‘cos jazz is where it all begins. © Emmerald ©2007 About, Inc., A part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved
THREE STREET WORLDS is a 13-track release by electronic artists Two Banks Of Four, featuring "Two Miles Before Dawn" and "Stiles."Two Banks of Four are Dillip Harris & Robert Gallagher. 'Three Streets World' can be characterized as a modern-day revision of soul-jazz, interlaced with touches of breakbeats, electronic, nu-jazz flavors. Featuring a wonderful melange of sounds & styles, it is an entirely coherent recording from start to finish. ©1996 - 2007 CD Universe

Black & Brown

Black & Brown - Cool Affair - 2000 - Irma

TRACKS

01 Gimme Some Of That Stuff (5:16)
02 Cool Affair (5:23)
03 Song 4v (4:44)
04 Still Under Funk (4:59)
05 Trekking In Kalaw (5:59)
06 Liquid Flies (5:20)
07 Specially That One (1:51)
08 Blue Train (5:36)
09 Take This Mine (5:16)
10 Surfing Wave (4:07)
11 What Time In Tokyo (5:14)
12 A Lick On Your Back (5:06)
13 Hip-Not (5:06)
14 Song 4v (Unity Sky Mix) (5:50)

Released by the Italian jazz funk partnership. Original smooth electronica and acid jazz breakbeats with a very recognizable sound. An all instrumental album with a great Jazz club flavour. Any info on Black & Brown, e.g, other releases, track composers, etc, would be appreciated by A.O.O.F.C

Joey Fehrenbach / Dream Traveler

Joey Fehrenbach - Mellowdrama - 2006 - DT Music, USA

A brilliant album of the ambient/downtempo electronica genre. If you like the works of Brian Eno, then you should like this album. Check out the Dream Music label for some of the best electronic music today, and buy some of the albums.

TRACKS

1 Being Around You (7:35)
2 Runaway Child (4:58)
3 Behold (5:19)
4 Particles (6:08)
5 Beltenebros (3:43)
6 Rain (4:13)
7 I Remember (5:42)
8 The House Of Lost Hope (5:33)
9 The Beginning (5:34)

REVIEWS

Joey Fehrenbach’s Mellowdrama is a very welcome set of ambient/downtempo tracks. At its best, the CD mixes the beautiful otherworldliness of Brian Eno’s ambient classics with mellow beats, creating a future chill-out classic. © www.synthtopia.com/content/2006/05/
Mellowdrama is one of the best received and highly rated Melodic-Electronica/Downbeat albums of the year:

"For fans of forward-thinking electronica, Mellowdrama should not be missed" © Brent Kallmer, Amazon.com

"One of the best downtempo releases of 2006" © Syntopia Magazine

"Gorgeously sculpted, uber-melodic downtempo" © BPM Magazine

"Joey Fehrenbach – Mellowdrama' Verdict? Buy this CD now!" © Buzzoutroom.com

Each track delivers a multitude of unique electronic sounds that exercise the mind." © Slacklineradio.com

Mellowdrama is an enlivening mix of longing, loneliness, and minimalism. One listen, and you may be reminded of Ulrich Schnauss’ A Strangely Isolated Place or Boards of Canada’s The Campfire Headphase, but Mellowdrama is much more than that.

Mellowdrama’s opening track, Being Around You, starts with a minimalist groove that slowly builds without ever meandering aimlessly. The minimal beat is eventually taken over by a catchy synth melody reminiscent of The Cure, which finally gives way to vocoded vocals.

Introducing more atmospheric and organic sounds, a high point of Mellowdrama is the album’s second track, Runaway Child. With its radio friendly beats, male vox, and a haunting, infectious melodic synth hook, the song boasts a reverb so cavernous, it could have been recorded from the farthest corner of the universe.

The atmospheric and organic sounds introduced in Runaway Child are further explored in track three, Behold, via expressive Moog synths and Theramin sounds, which are successfully used to capture emotion. Its melody is as thoughtful, as it is expressive, haunting, and romantic.

Track four, Particles is a more chill, jazzy, and loungy track than can be found elsewhere on the album. As the track builds, it crosses over into more familiar drum and bass territory. The amalgamation of these sounds work together to create one of the album’s stand out tracks.

Continuing with the more chill, loungy vibe is track five, Beltenebros (the title of which comes from Don Quixote and suggests “Dark Beauty”), Fehrenbach originally recorded this as a dance track for the now defunct label, Hooj Choons. Realizing that he had a solid track on his hands, he remixed this with a more downtempo beat to sit neatly on Mellowdrama.

Following Beltenebros is Rain, the only full vocal track on the album, which tells the story of a messy breakup via jaded, haunting vocals wrapped in a dark orchestra of sound.

Conversely, track seven, I Remember, is more optimistic and hopeful. It starts out minimally with synced water drips and a groovy beat, but builds into a bigger sum of its parts, culminating with a detuned synth lead, and bold acoustic guitar hook taking over the mix.

The album’s most upbeat track, The House Of Lost Hope, features acoustic guitar, multiple drum loops, and steel drums that sound like they’re being played from another dimension. Bordering on sexy and carefree, the song’s incredible, melodic hook will stick in your mind for days.

Mellowdrama closes with Fehrenbach’s first attempt at writing an orchestral song The Beginning, is written in "movements.” Beginning with a sublime beat and getting darker and moodier in the middle, the final movement returns once again to the sublime, completed with blissful, radiant beats.

Mellowdrama is a solid debut and takes the listener on an auditory journey through the haunting, dark, lonely, and twisted without dwelling too far in the melancholy. The underlying euphoric and inspiring beats throughout ensure that Mellowdrama is aural pleasure from beginning to end, while being affable and unexpected at the same time. © Dea Lazaro (1212 Media)
Joey Fehrenbach has brought his history to the present with a new release. On Mellowdrama, he creates a fresh, new sound with the insight and influence of a completely opposite style of electronic music. How does one take over 10 years of experience in a different genre to create a downtempo debut? It is obvious that his talent is not limited by the constraints of a single style.
In 1998, Joey Fehrenbach’s Dream Traveler project hit the world stage on Paul Oakenfold’s Tranceport. The popularity of Time on this release put DT on the map of house. Over the years, Joey has kept busy producing his own progressive music as well as collaborating with others including DJ Sasha. Like an actor, musicians can become typecast leading some to believe their achievements are only made in a narrow field. It can be difficult to escape the boundaries of the definitions that are applied. On his downtempo debut, Joey Fehrenbach takes a bold step to do just that.
Apparently, his experience is of immense value on Mellowdrama. Throughout the nearly 50 minutes, Joey creates a well-balanced soundscape of musical layers. Being Around You is a nice prologue for what lies ahead on this album. It introduces the listener to the complexity of the full production. Each track delivers a multitude of unique electronic sounds that exercise the mind. When the listener arrives at I Remember, one cannot help but wonder what memories were the cause for such a nice twist on dub. In the end, Mellowdrama proves to be an excellent starting point for Joey Fehrenbach’s new venture. © www.slacklineradio.com/
Joey Fehrenbach has released numerous dance singles and remixes over the past 9 years under the name Dream Traveler. Joey decided to explore other elements of music and songwriting and the result is Joey's beautifully melodic and haunting debut downtempo album, entitled Mellowdrama. © 2005-2007 PodShow, Inc

BIO

Joey Fehrenbach is a Trance producer from Arizona and co-owner of the Dream Music label. Dream Traveler shot to fame when Paul Oakenfold found heavy favor with his track "Time", and opened his popular Tranceport mix-CD with it. © 2007 Discogs www.discogs.com/artist/Dream+Traveler

Steamhammer

Steamhammer - Mk II - 1969 - CBS UK

This is mainly a well structured blues rock album, with great jazzy improvisations. Steamhammer was a very prominent live act in the sixties, especially in Germany. An unusual band in that their music has been categorised as progressive blues, which was a rather unusual music style in the late sixties. There is nothing groundbreaking here, but the album is enjoyable, and well worth listening to for its variety of expertly played musical fusions.

ORIGINAL TRACKS

1. Supposed To Be Free - White (5:59)
2. Johnny Carl Morton - Jollife (4:38)
3. Sunset Chase - Pugh (3:02)
4. Contemporary Chick Con Song - White/Pugh/Jollife/Bradley/Davy (3:49)
5. Turn Around - Joliffe (3:36)
6. 6/8 For Amiran - White/Jollife (3:04)
7. Passing Through - White (5:17)
8. Down Along The Grove - White (0:47)
9. Another Travelling Tune - White/Pugh (16:23)
10. Fran And Dee Take a Ride - White (2:58)

BONUS CD TRACKS

11. Junior's Wailing (single version) - White/Pugh (3:30)
12. Windmill - Quittenton/White (4:28)
13. Autumn Song - White/Jollife (4:09)
14. Blues For Passing People - Steamhammer (6:26)

BAND

- Steve Jolliffe / flute, harpsichord, keyboards, saxophone (Alto), vocals, wind
- Kieran White / guitar, harmonica, Jew's-Harp, vocals
- Mickey Bradley / percussion, conga, drums
- Steve Davy / bass, guitar (bass), vocals
- Martin Pugh / guitar, guitar (electric), vocals

REVIEW

The second version of the British combo Steamhammer released its first LP utilizing the talents of Steve Davy (bass), Martin Pugh (guitars), and Kieran White (vocals/guitar/harmonica/Jew's harp) from the original band as well as new recruits Steve Jolliffe (woodwind/brass/harpsichord/vocals) and Mick Bradley (drums). It was the blues that initially drove the combo on its debut long-player, Reflection (1969), likewise known as Junior's Wailing. This lineup adds more exploratory and intricate melodies, courtesy of the multi-instrumental talents and sonic sculpting of future Tangerine Dream member Jolliffe. While this version of the band would not remain past this album, its unique fusion would arguably peak on Mountains (1970), the follow-up to MK II (1969). There are definite shapes of things to come throughout this effort, thanks to the aggressive interaction of the new recruits. They immediately step up to the plate, providing a variety of interesting melodic and instrumental textures. These range from the full-speed gallop of Jolliffe's "Johnny Carl Morton" or the Baroque waltz "Turn Around" -- both of which are punctuated by some prominent harpsichord interjections reminiscent of other U.K. progressive groups such as Family and Blossom Toes. Pugh's guitar work is another of the band's conspicuous assets, as he is able to fluidly waft between the acoustic romanticism of the diminutive "Sunset Chase" to the bluesy and tongue-in-cheek "Contemporary Chick Con Song." The latter track includes a stretched-out instrumental jam that captures Pugh's criminally underrated electric fretwork. Steamhammer's various and seemingly disparate musical elements coalesce on the manic "6/8 for Amiran." They blend the complexities inherent in the time signature with a tightly executed and churning blues -- much in the same way that early Jethro Tull was able to do on sides such as "Nothing Is Easy" or "For Our Mothers." The second side consists of a suite containing "Down Along the Grove," "Another Travelling Tune," and "Fran and Dee Take a Ride." This 16-plus minute epic allows Steamhammer to improvise and stretch out. The open structure makes room for the various musical styles to be thoroughly explored with more intricacy than a majority of the three- and four-minute tunes. The double lead electric guitars, courtesy of the song's co-authors, Pugh and White, blend well with Jolliffe's jazzy sax and flute improvisations. Enthusiasts are encouraged not only to seek this platter, but the Mountains (1970) follow-up as well. © 2007 Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide

BIO (Wikipedia)

Steamhammer was a blues-rock band from Worthing, England. The band was founded in 1968 by Martin Quittenton (guitar) and Kieran White (vocals, guitar, harmonica). The first stable lineup consisted of Quittenton, White, Martin Pugh (guitar), Steve Davy (bass), and Michael Rushton (drums). This version of the band acted as backing band for Freddie King on one of his tours of England. The band's first album, Reflection, was released in 1969. It included covers of "You'll Never Know" by B. B. King and "Twenty-Four Hours" by Eddie Boyd as well as original songs by White, Quittenton, and Pugh. Session musicians Harold McNair (flute) and Pete Sears (piano) also played on the album. This album was not commercially successful, but the band became a popular live act, especially in West Germany. In the summer of 1969, Quittenton and Rushton left the band, and Steve Jollife (saxophone, flute) and Mick Bradley (drums) joined the band. This version of the band recorded the album Mk II, released in 1969. It consisted entirely of original songs, and the musical style had more jazz and progressive rock influences. Jollife left the band in 1970. The remaining band members recorded the album Mountains, which was released in 1970. This album included a cover of "Riding on the L & N" by Lionel Hampton and seven original songs. In 1971, White and Davy left the band, and Louis Cennamo (bass) joined the band. This lineup, along with session vocalist Garth Watt-Roy, recorded the album Speech, which was released in 1972. It consisted of three long, mostly instrumental songs. Bradley died of leukemia in 1972, leading to the break-up of the band. Pugh and Cennamo went on to play in Armageddon. After that band broke up, Cennamo joined Illusion. White recorded a solo album, Open Door, which was released in 1975. Quittenton played guitar and co-wrote songs on albums by Rod Stewart. Jollife joined Tangerine Dream in 1978 and played on the album Cyclone.

Two Banks Of Four

Two Banks Of Four - City Watching - 2000 - Toy's Factory (Japan) - Originally released as an 11 track CD in 2000, on the Sirkus label

For those that like non commercial jazz, give this nu-jazz album a listen. It is smooth and funky, with a cafe acid jazz flavour. Very laid back, similar to the approach of "Massive Attack" . Its also got a stylish " Morcheeba" flavour.. Check out their album, "City Watching". Also check out albums by Jazzanova, Koop, & Zero 7.

TRACKS

1-Skylines Over Rooftops (5:18)
2-Theme De La Tete (3:52)
3-Afro Blue (4:32)
4-Time Flies (5:07)
5-Erols Cafe (4:18)
6-Last Dance (5:33)
7-Speedy's Auto Repair (4:14)
8-Perilous Ways (4:40)
9-Hook & A Line (4:53)
10-Routemaster (5:07)
11a-Street Lullaby Pt. 1 (5:35)
11b-Lullaby Reprise
12-Street Lullaby (2 Banks Of 4 Remix) (5:41) - Bonus track for Japan only.
13-Street Lullaby (Fourtet Remix) - Remix - Four Tet (6:28) - Bonus track for Japan only.

CREDITS

Arranged By [Piano And String] - Ski Oakenfull
Reeds : Kate St. John
Bass - Andy Hamill
Featuring [Reeds] - Kate St. John
Guitar - Alias Nelson
Saxophone - Chris Bowden
Scratches - Tony Vegas
Trumpet - Kevin Davey
Violin - Sally Herbert
Vocals - Culture G , Doug & Jean Caramouce , Marsha White , Paul Jason Fredericks , Red Egyptians, The .
Special Thanks To The Singers And Players Who Gave For Little Or Nothing
Produced by 2BO4 (D. Harris & R. Gallagher)
Recorded at Junior Strictly Meals Only Studio
Design by James Sloan, Image Supplied by Tomato

SHORT BIO

Formed in 1999, Rob Gallagher and Demus are Two Banks of Four, a nu-jazz band from London, UK, along with vocalists Valerie Etienne, Paul Jason Fredericks, and Bembe Segue, pianist Ski Oakenfull, bassist Andy Hamill, flutist and saxophonist Andy Ross. Their music has been remixed by artists such as Four Tet, Herbert and Derrick Carter, while 2BO4 have themselves provided remixes for Faze Action and Koop.Known for his production and engineering skills ranging from the Young Disciples classic debut LP through to Zero 7 and IG Culture, Demus is one of the most well respected engineers in the UK. Gallagher honed his craft in Galliano and latterly under the mercurial Earl Zinger guise. As well as these personas, Gallagher has featured on recent albums from Big Bang and Jazzanova. The Two Banks of Four debut album "City Watching" was something of a vanguard release. It was a jazz record, a soul record, a funk record. Their follow up "Three Street Worlds" had a more matures, jazz influenced sound, reaching out to draw inspiration from the classic spiritual soul-jazz of Doug Carn, Max Roach, Andy Bey, Strata East Records and Pharaoh Sanders. Featuring appearances from Valerie Etienne, Paul Jason Fredericks and Bembe Segue, "Three Street Worlds" provided a platform for some strong vocal performances, and skilled musicianship from Chris Bowden, Ski Oakenfull, Robin Mullarkey, Andy Hammill and Chris Storr.

Duke Ellington & Coleman Hawkins

Duke Ellington & Coleman Hawkins - Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins - 1962 - Impulse

There is so much that could be written about these two musical giants. When the two jazz masters met to record this album, they produced a work of genius. They're all great Ellington, or part Ellington compositions, but “Mood Indigo” and “Self Portrait (of the Bean).” are classics. A marvellous track, "Solitude," omitted from the original 1962 album is added to the 1995 CD reissue. The grear Donald Fagen mentions "Limbo Jazz" on the CD " Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz with guests Steely Dan " released on the Jazz Alliance label in 2005. Check out Becker & Fagen's great live studio version on this CD.

ORIGINAL 8 TRACKS

A1 - Limbo Jazz (5:20)
A2 - Mood Indigo (5:55)
A3 - Ray Charles' Place (4:04)
A4 - Wanderlust (4:57)

B1 - You Dirty Dog (4:19)
B2 - Self Portrait (Of The Bean) (3:50)
B3 - The Jeep Is Jumpin' (4:40)
B4 - The Ricitic (5:49)
9. Solitude (Bonus track on 1995 CD reissue)

Credits:

Bass - Aaron Bell
Cornet, Violin - Ray Nance
Drums - Sam Woodyard
Engineer - Rudy Van Gelder
Piano - Duke Ellington
Producer - Bob Thiele
Saxophone [Alto] - Johnny Hodges
Saxophone [Baritone], Clarinet [Bass] - Harry Carney
Saxophone [Tenor] - Coleman Hawkins
Trombone - Lawrence Brown

About Coleman Hawkins, ("The Hawk"), Father Of The Tenor Sax
From the Classic Jazz period to the Swing Era one player had a virual monopoly on the tenor sax, that man being Coleman Hawkins, a.k.a., the Hawk or the Bean. Hawkins (born 1904, St. Joseph, Mo.) was not the first Jazzman to play the tenor but he was the leader in transforming it into a fully expressive, hard driving Jazz instrument. Following a ten year period of getting the hang of that confounded contraption, the Hawk went on to a fifty year career filled with near flawless playing as leader of his own groups as well as with an amazing variety of other combos. He was an inspiration to dozens of top notch Jazz tenor men. © Len Weinstock www.redhotjazz.com/index.htm

About Duke Ellington, ("The Duke")
Born Edward Kennedy Ellington, on 29/4/1899, in Washington, D.C., Duke Ellington was one of the founding fathers of jazz music. He started playing piano at the age of seven, and by the time he was 15, he was composing. A pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer, Ellington and his band played together for 50 years. Some of Ellington's most famous songs include "Don't Get Around Much Anymore," "Sophisticated Lady" and "In a Sentimental Mood."

Blue Six

Blue Six - Aquarian Angel - 2007 - Naked Music

A great CD from Naked Music, a.k.a Jay Denes. A terrific mix of easy listening, smooth house, r&b, with jazz influenced soulful grooves. Every track .has it's own unique jazz-house soundscape, aided by the great vocalists, Ada Dyer, Aya, Gaelle, and Lisa Shaw. Naked Music is creating some great albums. Ckeck their catalogue. For more original music of a downtempo nature, check out the Pork Recordings label.

TRACKS

1. Tropicallia
2. You Just Can't Stop
3. Half Life
4. I've Given Enough
5. A Woman Of The World
6. Harbour
7. Aquarian Angel
8. Here I Come
9. Fast Free Delivery
10. A Woman Of The Sea
11. Real As Anything
12. Tropicalia - (Jay's Bahia Remix)

PERSONNEL

Aya
Catherine Russell - vocals
Dave Boonshoft - bass guitar
J.D. - keyboards
Lisa Shaw
Mark Anthony Jones
Saul Rubin - guitar
Composer: Jay Denes.
Lyricist: Jay Denes.

REVIEWS

Fans of the genre called deep house owe much to pioneers like Jay Denes, whose Beautiful Tomorrow (2002), recorded under the moniker Blue Six, introduced many to a silky and impeccably produced cocktail of jazz-house soundscapes. For fanciers of Tomorrow, Aquarian Angel--which is chock full of the vocal stylings of house sirens Lisa Shaw and LT (Aya)--does not disappoint. On the captivating "Here I Come," Shaw's smoky voice chants "this day's done, build another in its place" over a chilled organ line, and LT's singing makes the title track a spot-on lullaby for the urban set. Like Tomorrow, Angel is house made more for the lounge or beach than the floor, as the lush harmonies of "Half Life" and the Brazilian-inflected "I've Given Enough," whose throaty sax line that would make Chet Baker smile, attest. And while some may find Angel's atmospherics a bit saccharine, Denes's crystalline mixing is truly astounding. There is also a sincerity and dimension to the music that sets Angel apart from the genre's more formulaic productions and lures the listener back to tracks that don't immediately make sense. After all, they call it "deep" house for a reason. © Brent Kallmer Amazon.com

Blue Six, the production alias of Jay Denes, New York-based musician and co-founder of the highly-regarded Naked Music label, will release his eagerly-anticipated second full-length album, Aquarian Angel on March 13, 2007. By blending underground sensibilities with soulful grooves and lyrical seductiveness, Aquarian Angel continues to do what Blue Six and Naked Music are known for - taking dance music to the next level with mature albums that are synonymous with soulful, stylish sophistication.
Originally a production company, Naked Music was formed in 1998 by Jay Denes and his partner, fellow musician Dave Boonshoft. As the signature artist who captured the essence of the label, Blue Six quickly proceeded to capture the attention of the music scene with their underground dance classics "Sweeter Love" and "Music & Wine" rapidly becoming the ubiquitous soundtrack for scores of clubs, restaurants and bars, from New York to London to Paris.
Aquarian Angel is the follow up to Blue Six's full-length Naked Music debut, Beautiful Tomorrow (2004), which was a dazzling collection of tracks that combined dance grooves and R&B vocals with darkly intelligent lyrics. Aquarian Angel takes all the elements that made Beautiful Tomorrow so well loved and evolves into adult dance grooves and R&B-styled vocals that are cross-fertilized with Brazilian beats, ambient backdrops, and elements of jazz. Additionally, the upcoming CD reunites Jay with the three unique voices that helped make Beautiful Tomorrow such a classic: The triumvirate of label mates, Aya, Lisa Shaw and Catherine Russell return to lend their very different vocals styles, three distinct voices that, over the course of the album, combine to create that instantly recognizable Blue Six sound.
Denes spent the time between Beautiful Tomorrow and Aquarian Angel producing solo albums for both Aya and Lisa Shaw. Aya's "Strange Flower" and Lisa's "Cherry" garnered rave reviews and continue to get consistent radio-play worldwide. After these two intense collaborations, he was ready to compose the Aquarian song-cycle, writing each piece with a specific vocalist in mind. Musically, he has concocted a hybrid that combines his own expert manipulation of state-of-the-art computer technology with the warmth and unpredictability of live musicianship. As a result, Aquarian Angel breathes with a life of its own as it caresses your body and plays with your mind. "Tropicalia", a lush Afro-Brazilian track that features Lisa Shaw, is the first single off the album. Its infectious percussion-driven rhythms will entice DJ's of all stripes.
"On Aquarian Angel I threw all my musical preconceptions out the window," says Denes. "My only intention was to communicate my thoughts and feelings as they presented themselves to me. I think the end result is more varied and broader in scope than my previous work and will ultimately be as meaningful to my listeners as it has been to me." © 1996-2007, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates

SHORT BIO

Musician, producer and remixer Jay Denes, better known as Blue Six, was born in Newark, NJ. After moving to N.Y.C., the newcomer failed to get seriously involved in the local music scene until hip-hop producer Bob Power hooked him up with Dave Boonshoff. Jay Denes began working on his own freestyle project soon after naming himself Blue Six. Released by Naked Music, his debut full-length record called Beautiful Tomorrow delivered a mix of electronic music, soulful pop, and smooth jazz, featuring contributions from multi-instrumentalist Marc Anthony Jones. © Drago Bonacich, All Music Guide

Drew Gress

Drew Gress - 7 Black Butterflies - 2005 - Premonition Records

7 Black Butterflies is the follow up to his "Spin & Drift" album, which was critically acclaimed. .7 Black Butterflies contains nine original, and very acessible jazz compositions by Gress, with fantastic harmonic and melodic structures. All these factors, combined with superb improvisation from the excellent musicians involved in this recording, make this a great modern jazz album. The album is produced by experimental guitarist/producer David Torn (ECM).

TRACKS

Rhinoceros;
Bright Idea;
New Leaf;
Zaftig;
Bas Relief;
Blue on One Side;
WIng & Prayer;
Low Slung/High Strung;
Like It Never Was

PERSONNEL

Craig Taborn - piano
Drew Gress - bass instrument
Ralph Alessi - trumpet
Tim Berne - alto saxophone
Tom Rainey - drums

REVIEWS

Along with Scott Colley, Drew Gress must be the most ubiquitous bassist on the New York scene. Gress' broad stylistic reach has allowed him to support artists including pianist Fred Hersch, trumpeter Dave Douglas, and saxophonist Tim Berne since arriving on the scene in the late ’80s. Capable of bringing an unerring sense of tradition to mainstream acts and a free-spirited sense of adventure to those from left of centre, Gress has also been gradually emerging as a composer of note. With his latest release, 7 Black Butterflies, he has fashioned an album that, while as forward-looking as any, also embraces a kind of postmodern lyricism that, rather than spoon-feeding the listener, demands careful and constant attention.
By enlisting Tim Berne’s Acoustic Hard Cell trio—Berne, along with pianist Craig Taborn and drummer Tom Rainey—Gress has built an ensemble with an instantaneous improvisational chemistry and sense of identity. And yet, Gress’ quintet—which also features trumpeter Ralph Alessi—while cashing in on Berne, Taborn and Rainey’s evolved simpatico, doesn’t sound like merely an expanded edition of Hard Cell. Gress’ growing compositional prowess has its own identity, and while there are certain parallels to Berne’s writing in terms of metric complexity, harmonic breadth, and open-ended improvisational liberty, it avoids the kind of mathematical idiosyncrasies that most commonly define Berne’s approach.
Perhaps because he’s a bassist, and perhaps because he’s spent time close to the mainstream, Gress’ music, for all its rich harmonies, contrapuntal depth, and fluid time changes, also has its own refined sense of swing. The tempi may change, but “Blue on One Side” also retains a sense of groove throughout. Gress is also unashamed of vulnerable melodicism; the ballad “Wing & Prayer” manages to be both dark and tender at the same time.
Nor is Gress afraid to tackle more through-composed music. While there’s a certain air of freedom and space about the opening track, “Rhinoceros,” it relies mainly on gradually unfolding repetitions, dynamic development, and time shifts to get its point across. Elsewhere, exploratory élan is the order of the day. “Bright Idea” asserts a complicated, bebop-informed line over a fluid metric base before opening up to strong solos from Gress, Berne, Alessi, and Taborn. While Rainey doesn’t get much solo space on the disc, his interpretive and intuitive abilities form an essential underpinning.
Also essential to the album’s complexion are producer/mixer David Torn’s contributions. Torn finds creative ways to expand the sound of this acoustic quintet, occasionally creating subdivisions within Gress’ compositions through use of stereo panning and sound processing. Twice during Taborn’s solo on “Blue on One Side,” Torn grabs a short phrase and repeats it multiple times, creating an extremely effective artificial tension.
7 Black Butterflies is the compelling result of an artist working in a multitude of contexts, soaking everything up, and then filtering it through his own personal lens to create an album that proves that modernity need not be equated with obfuscation. © John Kelman © 2007 All About Jazz
Drew Gress throws his contender for year’s best in with 7 Black Butterflies, a crackling collection uniting a stellar cast of players who live up to their collective reputation. With Tim Berne, Ralph Alessi, Craig Taborn, and Tom Rainey fully engaged, Gress holds an all-aces hand. His multifaceted compositions provide the tracks for this ride, while the quintet provides the vivid scenery. While Berne, Alessi, and Taborn usually inhabit worlds of sonic phenomena, the simple acoustic setting here spotlights the prodigious pure jazz power each player wields.
Opening with a dizzying panning hiss and Alessi’s choked breathy notes, “Rhinoceros” lumbers in on Gress’ metronome bass. Alessi and Berne harmonize a classic theme only to evaporate, dub style. A tempo change has Taborn and Gress doubling for momentum, urged on by Rainey and Taborn’s chording right hand. Alessi and Berne return to fan flames and blow the structure apart. A loose-jointed neo-bop line dances through “Bright Idea,” opening for a rubbery solo by Gress. Berne spreads low-register alto butter around the prickly rhythm section, while Alessi flashes through rolling time signatures. Rainey simmers under Taborn’s acute chords and melody line.
Taborn plays spaciously heartfelt music on the ballad “Zaftig.” Berne moves the tune into a more frenzied direction, replacing wistfulness with passion. With a theme that seems to occasionally tease with a taste of “Salt Peanuts,” “Blue on One Side” tears along with Taborn and Berne driving, then Alessi plays an inspired and occasionally echoed duet with Rainey. Alessi and Berne slug it out on “Low Slung/High Slung,” the clunky riff chugging with occasional ultra stereo dub effects, causing the horns to take flight. Taborn slows it, only to use his right hand to start fires.
Between nasty multi-time grooves and emotionally satisfying reveries, 7 Black Butterflies convincingly applies for a long-term residency in your CD player. © Rex Butters © 2007 All About Jazz
Bassist Drew Gress consistently delivers, whether he’s playing straightahead or outwardly adventurous music. He maintains a vigorous touring and recording schedule with a swath of the jazz community. Though creatively challenging, this approach has limited the time he has to develop his own music. With 7 Black Butterflies, his third CD as a leader, Gress makes a compelling musical statement with structured and purposeful composition, supported by focused improvisation.
While the tunes are often complex, both rhythmically and harmonically, they flow naturally, and Gress confidently allows his musicians to extrapolate and color the passages. It helps to be surrounded by consummate improvisers with deep, interconnected playing histories like these. Here he taps longtime collaborators alto saxophonist Tim Berne and drummer Tom Rainey, altering the mix with the additions of trumpeter Ralph Alessi and pianist Craig Taborn.
The tunes are dynamic, taking unexpected turns. The textured unfolding of “Rhinoceros” builds intensity to a chaotic flourish, while the boppish groove and unison horns of “Bright Idea” buoy a series of solos from the ensemble, with each player emphasizing elements of the written music while Rainey and Gress prod or rein in the tempo. The deceptively simple-sounding “New Leaf” spotlights a lyrical Berne, his wilder tendencies tempered to support the lush tune. The slower tempo of “Zaftig” takes off behind Berne’s solo, with Rainey matching wits with the saxophonist, until Taborn and Alessi restate the sparse opening theme for resolution. “Low Slung/High Strung” is set up by Taborn’s angular piano pattern, which Alessi and Berne swirl around with oblique counter lines, quickening their pace and threatening to lose control before dropping out entirely. As Taborn rebuilds the intensity, Rainey’s drum break signals the horns to return for a powerful finish.
A reflection of Gress, 7 Black Butterflies contains bold ensemble playing and sophisticated improvisation, kept accessible by a strong melodic sense and clarity. © Sean Patrick Fitzell © 2007 All About Jazz
Most of the music on this exhilarating record defies easy description. Much of it is lyrical, even beautiful. There's some driving, fiery swing. The improvising is of a consistently high order throughout. And Gress contributes his inventive compositions, with structures that challenge the improvisers with knotty harmonies and tempo changes. On 7 Black Butterflies, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, and the parts are extraordinarily good.
Tim Berne's contribution is obvious. The alto saxophonist improvises with heat and originality. He rarely uses the overblowing or noise effects commonly associated with the so-called avant garde. Instead, he plays striking melodies, as if he were a tart-toned Johnny Hodges. He is especially effective on “Zaftig,” his solo climaxing with high, held tones while Alessi intones the song's mournful melody.
But is good as he is, Berne is hardly the only reason to hear this album. There's also Craig Taborn, one of the finest younger pianists out there. He negotiates Gress' structures effortlessly, his comping pushing the horns, his improvising spiky and memorable. He generates a whirlwind of authoritative swing on “Bright Idea.” Alessi, an emerging giant among younger trumpeters, is in typically excellent form.
Drew Gress is the unassuming leader, with his composing, his booming tone, his fine solos, and his solid time. He leads a state-of-the-art rhythm section, sometimes hocketing the time, sometimes uniting in explosive swing. Sometimes his bass lines enter into dialogue with Berne or Alessi, and sometimes he walks the walk. Ultimately, he's the glue that holds this music together, and Rainey's excellent drumming is always at the service of the music.
In the 21st Century, jazz has evolved into many different styles or idioms, and there are always musicians today who strive for something new. The ones who play on 7 Black Butterflies are definitely in this category. So while Gress' tumbling tunes have a faint echo of bebop, he plants both feet in the present, while he and his quintet look forward. © Marc Meyers © 2007 All About Jazz
To say that Drew Gress may be one of today’s premier bassists/composers is a bold statement, but one with considerable merit. The veteran player has profoundly enhanced numerous recordings by names like Uri Crane, Don Byron, and Ravi Coltrane with his distinct sound, dynamic playing, and writing abilities. But his most revealing work has been on his own recordings, of which 7 Black Butterflies is simply a cut above in terms of vision, creative energy, and sheer musicality. This followup to 2001’s Spin and Drift continues to challenge and yield deep rewards with music that is beyond the norm and thoroughly engaging.
Iron sharpens iron, as the band includes the vast talent of saxophonist Tim Berne, trumpeter Ralph Alessi, drummer Tom Rainey, and keyboardist Craig Taborn, who are a perfect mixture for Gress’ fertile concepts. These artists have proven on many recordings that they that can play it straight, but they definitely push towards the edge with their associations with freer jazz idioms. Collectively they are force to be reckoned with, and with Gress as the catalyst, 7 Black Butterflies unflinchingly gives a broader view of his abilities.
Once again the bassist has composed all new material with the goal of creating music that is “modern and beautiful.” This becomes evident starting with the atmospheric “Rhinoceros”—a composition that at first moves slowly and gracefully, then shows dangerous instincts as the tempo swells and charges, with a forceful vamp powered by robust drumming, and then retreats with eerie sax/trumpet siren wails. The remaining eight selections are compositions in the truest sense, allowing optimum creative interaction between the music and musicians.
The album's beauty has many facets, from the cinematic quality of “Zaftig,” with its grand thematic changes, to the uptempo siblings “New Leaf” and “Blue On One Side,” which employ aggressive swing with heated horn arrangements and outstanding solos solidified by Gress’ bass. Beyond his formidable skills as a composer, Gress is an incredibly strong player. To get a full taste, listen to his solo on “Bas Relief,” which is marked by power, nimbleness, and ingenuity, with biting and sustained notes.
The modern nuance of electronics enhances this acoustic setting nicely, but it’s the musicians themselves who create the fifth element, with many memorable performances like “Low Slung High Strung,” with its serrated tempo, where Berne and Alessi converse against complex and feuding horns as Rainey’s drums push the music, Talborn delivering another stellar solo.
The closing ballad “Like it Never Was” recalls ideas from Mingus and Weather Report, but more so from Gress himself. Wondrous, strange, bold, and beautiful are all synonymous of 7 Black Butterflies, one of this year’s most interesting releases. © Mark F. Turner © 2007 All About Jazz

ARTIST INFO

New York bassist Drew Gress became increasingly visible in contemporary improvised music throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In the late '80s, he co-founded the quartet Joint Venture, which released three albums on Enja spanning 1987-1994. Later, Gress led his own N.Y.-based quartet, Jagged Sky, who released their debut, Heyday, in 1998 on Soul Note. The late '90s also found Gress performing and recording in Paraphrase, an improvising trio with Tim Berne and Tom Rainey. Paraphrase released two CDs during the 1990s on Berne's Screwgun label: Visitation Rites in 1997, and 1999's Please Advise. Gress has performed across Europe; Asia; and North, Central, and South America. He has served as artist-in-residence at University of Colorado-Boulder and Russia's St. Petersburg Conservatory, and has received grants from Meet the Composer and the NEA. In addition to the groups already mentioned, Gress also performs in many other projects, including Erik Friedlander's Chimera, the Fred Hersch Trio, the Don Byron Quartet, and Dave Douglas' string group, which released an album on Soul Note entitled Convergence in 1999. © Joslyn Layne. © 2006 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved

BIO

Drew Gress falls into the great tradition in jazz of musician/composer/bandleader that was pioneered by legendary artists such as Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Thelonious Monk and is practiced in the present day by Dave Douglas, Tim Berne and John Zorn, among others. His instrument is the acoustic bass, although he also plays the pedal steel guitar. He is currently one of the busiest bassists on New York City’s jazz and contemporary improvised music scene with touring and/or recording credits that include work with leading artists such as Fred Hersch, Dave Douglas, Don Byron, Tim Berne, Uri Caine, Lynne Arriale, Ray Anderson and Erik Friedlander. As a composer/ bandleader, he has two records under his belt: 1998’s Jagged Sky (Soul Note) and the current Spin & Drift (Premonition). These recordings have earned Gress recognition as a composer of note, an artist in the forefront of creating important new music in the jazz realm.

Born in Trenton, NJ in 1959, Gress grew up in the Baltimore/Washington, DC area and began his career in music there. He attended Towson State University where he was a composition major studying under composer/arranger Hank Levy (Stan Kenton, Don Ellis). He quickly became a first call bassist on the Baltimore/D.C. scene where he could regularly be found playing at clubs like “Blues Alley” backing up artists such as the singer Ethel Ennis. As his graduation neared he earned an apprenticeship at Hanna Barbera Studios in Los Angeles ghost-writing, arranging and fleshing out sketches for “Casper, The Friendly Ghost” cartoons. Three months in the cartoon business proved to him that jazz, and not “functional” music was where his heart was. He moved back to the D.C. area and then on to New York City where he has lived and worked for the past nine years.

Since then he toured North, South and Central America, Europe and Asia and has served as an Artist in Residence at the St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia and at the University of Colorado-Boulder. He has been awarded grants from major arts institutions such as The National Endowment for the Arts and Meet The Composer. And, Jagged Sky and Spin & Drift, album titles that also serve as band names, have both received rave reviews. The New York Times called Jagged Sky, “One of downtown’s most promising bands.” The Village Voice described Spin & Drift as “an intimidating brood whose sundry skills are likely to forge a sense of grand abstraction and disarming cogency. Pregnant with possibility, this is a first-time grouping you hope will sustain itself.”

The San Francisco Examiner said Gress’ music is “full of the jazz spirits of excitement, improvisation and technical brilliance.” With Spin & Drift, Gress lives up to the hype offering up an album featuring indelible melodies, rich harmonies, and hip, offbeat rhythmic structures that leave a lasting impression. © 2005 Premonition Music. All rights reserved

Janis Joplin

Janis Joplin - This Is Janis Joplin - 1965 - Naughty Dog

A great recording from Janis Joplin. This series of songs was recorded in the mid sixties. Recording information is very sketchy, and any info would be greatly appreciated. Joplins immense talent shines through every track. She was a hugely talented blues singer, and this album is a good demonstration of her future potential.

TRACKS

1. Apple of my eye,
2. 219 train,
3. Codine,
4. Down and out,
5. Turtle blues,
6. I aint got a worry,
7. Brownsville

CREDITS

Janis Joplin - Vocals, Guitar
Guiseppe Insingo - Bass 2/4/5
Ras Jab Jimmy - Bass, Tambourine (Name here is vague).
Afucho Cabasa (Name here is vague).
Etaoin Shrdiu - 12 String Guitar (Name here is vague).
Able Perkins - Piano
Hongo Gurley - Drums, Tambourine
St.James Tabernacle Choir - Back Up Vocals
"The Grouchy Old Hillbilly" - Slide Guitars
Mastering - Saint James
Recording - Hit Masters Studio
Engineered & Mixed - Saint James
Album Design - Saint James [Not Available]
Cover Art - Oil Painting On Canvas by Margaret V. Nelson
Technical Support - Jim Holt
Guitars & Basses by Hohner Inc.
Recorded on an unknown date in 1964 or 1965. Location unknown.

Maria Muldaur

Maria Muldaur - A Woman Alone with the Blues - 2003 - Telarc

The brilliantly versatile Maria Muldaur, whose previous albums have paid tribute to some of the great blues women of the '20s, takes on another musical challenge in this set of songs sung by the legendary Peggy Lee. Peggy Lee was probably more talented than many other singers from her era. She co-penned some of her own material, including "I'm Gonna Go Fishin'" with Duke Ellington. Muldaur, similar to Lee in many ways with her cool, sexy voice, really turns it on with "Some Cats Know", "Fever" and "Black Coffee". Full of bluesy, jazzy vibes, this 12 track collection, backed by a talented and tight band, is an extension of Muldaurs vocal talents. Ths recording with it's retro, big band sound, could have been recorded seventy years ago. This is an excellent tribute album by Maria Muldaur. As usual,it is up to her usual extremely high standards. Check out some of Peggy Lee's albums. She has been a major influence on many jazz and blues singers over the years. Also, try and find recordings by the hugely underrated Irish jazz blues singer, Mary Coughlan.

TRACKS

01. Fever
02. I Don't Know Enough About You
03. Moments Like This
04. Winter Weather
05. Some Cats Know
06. Everything Is Moving Too Fast
07. Waitin' For The Train To Come In
08. The Freedom Train
09. Black Coffee
10. A Woman Alone With The Blues
11. For Every Man There's A Woman
12. I'm Gonna Go Fishin'

ALBUM CREDITS

Maria Muldaur Primary Artist, Vocals
David Torkanowsky Piano
Danny Caron Guitar
Dan Hicks Vocals
Jeff Lewis Trumpet
Kevin Porter Trombone, Bass Trombone
Jim Rothermel Clarinet, Flute, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone
Arthur Latin Drums
Neal Caine Bass
Gerry Grosz Vibes
Lincoln Clapp Mastering
John Jacob Engineer
Jim Rothermel Horn Arrangements, Adaptation
Robert Woods Executive Producer
Steve Drown Engineer
Anilda Carrasquillo Art Direction
Randy Labbe Producer

REVIEWS

Singers Peggy Lee and Maria Muldaur have few vocal qualities in common, and yet it works as Muldaur pays homage to Lee on A Woman Alone with the Blues. The point of a tribute CD is not to emulate the honoree’s style but to bring the underlying spirit to life, and that’s the approach Muldaur takes. With a New Orleans horn section, Harry Connick Jr.’s rhythm section, and arrangements that recall Lee’s work with big bands, Muldaur covers classics like “I’m Gonna Go Fishin’,” which Lee co-wrote with Duke Ellington, and “I Don’t Know Enough About You.” For the innocent ballads “Moments like This” and “For Every Man There’s a Woman," the blues belter reins in her worldly side and goes for effective simplicity. She swings “Everything Is Moving Too Fast” and turns “Winter Weather,” with Dan Hicks dueting, into a New Orleans Dixieland number, while using a quiet, smoldering voice for classics like “Some Cats Know,” “Black Coffee,” and “Fever.” Throughout the project Muldaur remains herself yet reveals how deeply she cares about both classic pop singing and an important early influence in particular. © Roberta Penn © 1997-2007 Barnesandnoble.com llc
Flawless recording. Highly recommended. © jazzreview.com

BIO

Best known for her seductive '70s pop staple "Midnight at the Oasis," Maria Muldaur has since become an acclaimed interpreter of just about every stripe of American roots music: blues, early jazz, gospel, folk, country, R&B, and so on. While these influences were certainly present on her more pop-oriented '70s recordings (as befitting her Greenwich Village folkie past), Muldaur truly came into her own as a true roots music stylist during the '90s, when she developed a particular fascination with the myriad sounds of Louisiana. On the string of well-received albums that followed, Muldaur tied her eclecticism together with the romantic sensuality that had underpinned much of her best work ever since the beginning of her career.

Muldaur was born Maria D'Amato on September 12, 1943, in New York. As a child, she loved country & western music and began singing it with her aunt at age five; during her teenage years, she moved on to R&B, early rock & roll, and girl group pop, and in high school formed a group in the latter style called the Cashmeres. Growing up in the Greenwich Village area, however, she naturally became fascinated with its booming early-'60s folk revival and soon began participating in jam sessions. She also moved to North Carolina for a while to study Appalachian-style fiddle with Doc Watson. Back in New York, she was invited to join the Even Dozen Jug Band, a revivalist group that included John Sebastian, David Grisman, and Stefan Grossman; they had secured a recording deal with blueswoman Victoria Spivey's label and she wanted them to add some sex appeal. The young D'Amato got a crash course in early blues, particularly the Memphis scene that spawned many of the original jug bands, and counted Memphis Minnie as one of her chief influences.

Elektra Records bought out the Even Dozen Jug Band's contract and released their self-titled debut album in 1964; however, true to their name, the band's unwieldy size made them an expensive booking on the club and coffeehouse circuit and they soon disbanded. Many of the members went off to college and, in 1964, D'Amato moved to Cambridge,MA, home to another vibrant folk scene. She quickly joined the Jim Kweskin Jug Band and began an affair with singer Geoff Muldaur; the couple eventually married and had a daughter, Jenni, who would later become a singer in her own right. When the Kweskin band broke up in 1968, the couple stayed with their label (Reprise) and began recording together as Geoff & Maria Muldaur. They moved to Woodstock, NY, to take advantage of the burgeoning music scene there and issued two albums -- 1970's Pottery Pie and 1971's Sweet Potatoes -- before Geoff departed in 1972 to form Better Days with Paul Butterfield, a move that signaled not only the end of the couple's musical partnership, but their marriage as well.

Initially unsure about her musical future, Muldaur's friends encouraged her to pursue a solo career, as did Reprise president Mo Ostin. Muldaur went to Los Angeles and recorded her self-titled debut album in 1973, scoring a massive Top Ten pop hit with "Midnight at the Oasis." Showcasing Muldaur's playfully sultry crooning, the Middle Eastern-themed song became a pop radio staple for years to come and also made session guitarist Amos Garrett a frequent Muldaur collaborator for years to come. Muldaur's next album, 1974's Waitress in a Donut Shop, featured a hit remake of her Even Dozen-era signature tune, "I'm a Woman." Three more Reprise albums followed over the course of the '70s, generally with the cream of the L.A. session crop, but also with increasingly diminishing results.

Around 1980, Muldaur became a born-again Christian; she recorded a live album of traditional gospel songs, Gospel Nights, for the smaller Takoma label in 1980, and moved into full-fledged CCM with 1982's There Is a Love, recorded for the Christian label Myrrh. However, this new direction did not prove permanent, and for 1983's Sweet and Slow, Muldaur recorded an album of jazz and blues standards (many with longtime cohort Dr. John on piano) that created exactly the mood its title suggested. 1986's jazzy Transbluecency won a year-end critics' award from the New York Times. Muldaur spent the rest of the '80s touring, often with Dr. John, and also began acting in musicals, appearing in productions of Pump Boys and Dinettes and The Pirates of Penzance. In 1990, she recorded an album of classic country songs, On the Sunny Side, that was specifically geared toward children; it proved a surprising success, both critically and among its intended audience.

Partly inspired by Dr. John's New Orleans obsessions, Muldaur signed to the rootsy Black Top label in 1992 and cut Louisiana Love Call, which established her as a versatile stylist well-versed in the blues, gospel, New Orleans R&B, Memphis blues, and soul. The album won wide acclaim as one of the best works of her career, offering a more organic, stripped-down approach than her '70s pop albums, and became the best-selling record in the Black Top catalog. Her 1994 follow-up, Meet Me at Midnite, was nominated for a W.C. Handy Award. Muldaur next cut a jazzier outing for the Canadian roots label Stony Plain, 1995's Jazzabelle. She subsequently signed with Telarc and returned to her previous direction, making her label debut with 1996's well-received Fanning the Flames. 1998's Southland of the Heart was a less bluesy outing recorded in Los Angeles and was released the same year as a second children's album, Swingin' in the Rain, a collection of swing tunes and pop novelties from the '30s and '40s. 1999's Meet Me Where They Play the Blues was intended to be a collaboration with West Coast blues piano legend Charles Brown, but Brown's health problems prevented him from contributing much (just one vocal on "Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You"); thus, the project became more of a tribute.

Muldaur moved back to Stony Plain for 2001's Richland Woman Blues, a tribute to early blues artists (particularly women) inspired by a visit to Memphis Minnie's grave. Featuring a variety of special guest instrumentalists, Richland Woman Blues was nominated for a Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album. The children's album Animal Crackers in My Soup: The Songs of Shirley Temple appeared in 2002. The next year saw the release of Woman Alone with the Blues, a collection of songs associated with Peggy Lee, on Telarc Records. Love Wants to Dance followed in 2004, also on Telarc. The mostly acoustic Sweet Lovin' Ol' Soul was issued by Stony Plain in 2005, followed by Heart of Mine: Love Songs of Bob Dylan on Telarc in 2006. Songs for the Young at Heart was also released in 2006. The following year, the last in the set of three albums that paid tribute to female the blues singers of the 1920s through 1940s, Naughty, Bawdy and Blue (the other two were Richland Woman Blues and Sweet Lovin' Ol' Soul), came out. © Steve Huey © 2007 All Media Guide, LLC

Oscar Benton

Oscar Benton - The Best Of The Oscar Benton Blues Band - 1972 - Decca

Oscar Benton, b. Ferdinand van Eis in 1949, is a Dutch blues vocalist and guitarist. He formed the Oscar Benton Blues Band in 1967, in Haarlem, Noord Holland, Netherlands. A.O.O.F.C would appreciate any info on this great album. Can anybody post the track composers names?. I am not sure if the recording is from 1969 or 1972. I think it was originally released on the Decca label. Also, the artwork displayed may be incorrect. Please help!


TRACKS


1. Bensonhurstblues
2. Somebody's Love Will Do
3. Helpless
4. I Don't Know
5. Not The Same Dream Anymore
6. Took Me A Long Time
7. The Day A Got Rid Of The Blues
8. Lovin' C.M.B.H.
9 The Long And Winding Road - Lennon/McCartney
10. Busted
11. The Tree Bells
12. It Ain't Nobody's Business
13. I Believe In Love
14. How Can I Just Start Again
15. Bensonhurstblues(ver 2)


BAND

Oscar Benton [Ferdinand van Eis] (guitar, vocals),
Hank 'Jay' Hawkins [Peter van Kouteren] (bass),
Han van Dam (piano, keyboards, vocals),
Tanny Lent [Herman Souverein] (drums),
Gerard Van Doorn (bass)


BIO

This blues band from Haarlem was around between 1967 and 1975 and left an impression at the Loosdrecht jazz festival in 1968. The first line-up was: Oscar Benton (v,g = Ferdinand van Eif), Tanny Lant (dr = Herman Soeverein), Hank Hawkins (b = Peter van Kouten) and Hans van Dam (p).