So, it’s gonna be Vocals Week on Bird is the Worm.  I didn’t mean for it to happen that way, just got a deluge of vocal jazz albums in all at once (or at least, it felt that way).  I’m really picky about the jazz vocals I like, and I’ve yet to discern any rhyme or reason for what floats my boat, so that should probably be taken into account when reading my little reviews.  However, this site isn’t just supposed to be about what I and I alone likes, but to try to help readers out and point them in the direction of music they might take a shine to.  Anyways, I tried to pick out some albums that either I liked or that I thought might have some appeal to others.  Probably gonna do about two a day, though my track record of accurate predictions on this site is pretty shoddy, but that’s where we’re at.

Let’s begin…

Sue Halloran & Ken Hitchcock – I Can Cook Too

A nice set of originals and standards by jazz vet multi-instrumentalist Ken Hitchcock and talented vocalist Sue Halloran.  With a big band that’s got their back, the duo gives us a nice set of swinging tunes full of snappy beats and lush orchestration.  This ain’t typically my kind of thing, but maybe it was the warmth of the album clashing with the cold winter breeze banging up against the window or maybe it’s just the sign of talented musicians who are able to make a listener enjoy an album that typically ain’t their thing.  Dunno.  Probably both.  In any event, it’s Spring now, and my ear hasn’t really changed its opinion of this album, so I really wanted to give it some ink here, because I’m betting there are some people out there who will really take a shine to it.

Your album personnel: Sue Halloran (vocals), Ken Hitchcock (soprano, alto, tenor, baritone saxes, flute, alto flute, clarinet, bass clarinet), Carlos Franzetti (piano), Mark Soskin (piano), Gary Versace (B3 organ), Mike Holober (Fender Rhodes). David Finck (bass), Chip Jackson (bass), Romero Lubambo (guitar), Ray Marchica, Clint DeGanon (rums/percussion), Nick Marchione, Jim Hynes (trumpets), Keith O’Quinn, Mike Davis (trombone /bs trombone), and The City of Prague Philharmonic.

Some tracks are stronger than others, but even the weaker ones don’t ruin the album or anything, which, actually, counts for a lot in my book.  The title track, in addition to being a fun song, is pretty much ready to serve for a Top Chef credits roll.

The album is Self-Produced.

Available on Amazon: CD | MP3

Cathy Segal-Garcia & Yoon Seung Cho – Bohemian

On Bohemian, vocalist Cathy Segal-Garcia and pianist Yoon Seung Cho display a symbiosis that is communicated more through implication than direct interaction.  Now, that’s not to say that the album is a lesson in subtlety; closer to describe it as a series of coordinated parallels.  Garcia’s vocal inflections don’t always come to a meeting point with Cho’s angular tangents, but their respective parts are so often found in the same vicinity that it gives the impression of collaborators-in-note.  That this is presented in a duet format makes it easy to switch between listening to them individually at the same time, while also interacting with the music as a fused musical expression.  Kinda nifty, actually.

Your album personnel:  Cathy Segal-Garcia (vocals) and Yoon Seung Cho (piano).

There’s a Nick Drake-like serenity to the opening track, though where Drake’s voice was pure velvet, Garcia displays an edge to her notes.  It’s a nice fit for Cho’s piano accompaniment, whose sound is more akin to icicle than rays of sunlight.  It’s their willingness to switch between comfort and clash that induce the better results on the album.

Garcia’s vocals are more successful when she employs a casual bounce, though it’s easy to admire he willingness to stretch out in whichever direction her muse takes her.  While Cho is certainly conversant in a non-sequential dialog on piano, it’s moments when his point of view is more ordered that he shines.  Like on “Everyday’s Own Song,” which midway through, he thrillingly lifts the song up, up, and away.

About half the tracks are originals, and while some of the “other” composer names (Pat Metheny, Sting, Jimmy Rowles, Norma Winstone) offer intriguing possibilities, ultimately it’s the songs with Garcia’s own name that receives accreditation that provide the album highlights.

Worth mentioning that a member of my household, whose taste in music I respect and trust, poked her head in while Bohemian was playing and mentioned a similarity to Joni Mitchell; figured it was worth mentioning, since I’ve been told that Joni Mitchell’s sound has acquired a fan or two.

Released on the Dash Hoffman Records label.  No site or further information found.  Possible it’s Garcia’s own label.

Available at Amazon: CD | MP3

Tiny Reviews, featuring Pommelhorse Pommelhorse, Georg Breinschmid Fire, and John Ambrosini Nine Stories.

Pommelhorse – Pommelhorse

Pommelhorse is a very cool quintet of clarinet, sax, Fender Rhodes, bass, and drums.  Healthy doses of electronic effects.  It has hints of the austere introspection of the Swiss & Nordic Euro-jazz sound, but the ebullient groove like it’s trying to party until happier days arrive.  Nice juxtaposition of the ethereal and the jam.  Cool music.

Your album personnel:  Lukas Roos (bass clarinet), Joel Graf (alto sax), Olivier Zurkirchen (rhodes), Jeremias Keller (bass), and Gregor Lisser (drums).

The embedded song is my least favorite track on the album, but it was all I could find.  When Pommelhorse employs a lighter touch to the composition, they really do shine.  They do moodiness better than jab-and-move, but overall, this is a decent recording with all kinds of promise for future efforts.

Released on the Unit Records label.  Jazz from the Bern, Switzerland scene.

Available on eMusic.

Georg Breinschmid – Fire

Interesting release from Austrian double bassist Georg Breinschmid.  Trained and performed as a classical musician, he also broke into the jazz world with artists like Kenny Drew Jr. and Archie Shepp.  Fire has Breinschmid playing in a variety of settings, some live, and a bonus disk of live and outtakes.  Strong Hungarian folk music influences with some serious swing.  Whimsical, flighty, and fun. Not World Jazz, per se, just Jazz from a different part of the world.  And, actually, ‘different’ is a good word to utilize when talking about this album in many contexts; Fire is, well, it’s a little different.

Your album personnel:  Georg Breinschmid (bass and vocals).  Some of the album has Breinschmid in a duo with Thomas Gansch (trumpet and vocals), and some of the album has Breinschmid in a trio (“Brein’s Cafe”) with Roman Janoska (violin) and Frantisek Jonoska (piano).

Released on the Preiser Records label.  Jazz from Austria.

Available on eMusic.

John Ambrosini – Nine Stories

Nice little straight-ahead release by pianist John Ambrosini.  Featuring a strong line-up of David Binney (sax), Drew Gress (bass), Ben Wittman (drums), and Mike Moreno (guitars), it’s a very likable recording. Nothing revolutionary about the recordings; just strong playing and straight jazz.

The album is Self-Produced.  Jazz from NYC.

Available at eMusic.

That’s it for today’s article, and the second of two parts of the Tiny Reviews from this batch of new arrivals.

Here’s some language to protect emusic’s rights as the one to hire me originally to scour through the jazz new arrivals and write about the ones I like:

“New Arrivals Jazz Picks“, courtesy of eMusic.com, Inc.
© 2012  eMusic.com, Inc.

My thanks to emusic for the freelance writing gig, the opportunity to use it in this blog, and the editorial freedom to help spread the word about cool new jazz being recorded today.

Tiny Reviews, featuring:  Erik Deutsch Demonio Teclado, Tore Johansen Double Rainbow, and Marc Bernstein Good People Music.

Three Tiny Reviews of three very different albums, all with something strong to hear.

Let’s begin…

Erik Deutsch – Demonio Teclado

Interesting new release from keyboardist Erik Deutsch. Very much in the neo-soul jazz family, though Deutsch’s sound has always had a healthy infusion of pop, even as part of the very cool but under-the-radar Colorado country-jazz ensemble County Road X.  On this album, Deutsch lets the electric keyboards sing with plenty of compositions just ready to groove with anyone who’ll listen.  Inclusion of steel guitar is a very nice touch on “Ms. Pelican” and ends the album with resounding proof that Deutsch deserves plenty of attention.

Your album personnel:  Erik Deutsch (keys), Tony Mason (drums), Glenn Taylor (steel guitar), Brandon Seabrook (guitar), Jon Gray (trumpet), Ben Rubin, Jeff Hill (bass), and guest: Jens (tambourine; one track).

Plenty to like here for everyone, jazz and non-jazz fans alike.  Those who still put Beck’s Odelay into the stereo on a regular basis might like what’s going on here, as would people who are into Ray Charles electric period.  Just a real fun album that’s easy to bop along to.

Released on the Hammer & String label, which is Deutsch’s thing.  Jazz from the Brooklyn scene.

Available at eMusic.

Tore Johansen – Double Rainbow

Nice release from trumpeter Tore Johansen. Very much in the style of Nordic jazz; atmospheric, relaxed, rainy-day jazz. Nice balance to the production; instruments each have their equal say, much to the benefit of the listener. Drummer Jon Christensen, who has played on some of the ECM label’s seminal modern albums, absolutely shines here; even when his playing gets more pronounced, he never surrenders his innate elegance.

Your album personnel:  Tore Johansen (trumpet), Vigleik Storaas (piano), Jo Skaansar (bass), and Jon Christensen (drums).

Released on the Inner Ear label.  Jazz from the Trondheim, Norway scene.

Available on eMusic.

Marc Bernstein – Good People Music

Intriguing release by multi-reedist Marc Bernstein, and featuring drummer extraordinaire Billy Hart. A quintet rounded out with drums, piano, and bass.  Compositions with an inquisitive nature that gets the musicians in a searching frame of mind.  Cool, evocative music… the kind of jazz that, when played, can make the mundane seem special just by way of it being the soundtrack to that particular moment.  Highly Recommended.

Your album personnel:  Marc Bernstein (saxophones & bass clarinet, Billy Hart (drums), Jacob Anderskov (piano), and Jonas Westergaard (bass).

NOTE:  The above section is what I wrote for my eMusic Jazz Picks article, but over the last month, this album has become increasingly addictive, so I’ll be looking to write a full length review soon, to be pubbed either on AllAboutJazz or Bird is the Worm.

Released on the Blackout Music label.  Jazz from the Denmark scene.

Available at eMusic.

That’s it for today’s article, and the first of two parts of the Tiny Reviews from this batch of new arrivals.

Here’s some language to protect emusic’s rights as the one to hire me originally to scour through the jazz new arrivals and write about the ones I like:

“New Arrivals Jazz Picks“, courtesy of eMusic.com, Inc.
© 2012  eMusic.com, Inc.

My thanks to emusic for the freelance writing gig, the opportunity to use it in this blog, and the editorial freedom to help spread the word about cool new jazz being recorded today.

My review of Theo Bleckmann‘s album Hello Earth!  The Music of Kate Bush just got published over at AllAboutJazz.  The original article appears HERE, at AllAboutJazz).

*****

The 1980s possessed an incongruous hope for the future against a backdrop of possible nuclear annihilation, as if in the darkest of times, society retreated to a naive state. This is a generalization that doesn’t, obviously, represent the entire gamut of human experience, yet it was there all the same. The majority of singer and composer Kate Bush’s music came from that decade, and there was always something about her music that seemed representative of that cloak of innocence; a touch of fairy tale magic, even when singing about loss, heartbreak or the cost of war.  Since then, cynicism has been adopted by much of society as the interface with the human experience, and so it’s supremely refreshing that singer Theo Bleckmann embraced the magic and optimism from which the source material for Hello Earth! The Music of Kate Bush sprang.

Your album personnel:  Theo Bleckmann (vocals, electronic voice processing, glockenspiel, toy piano, caxixi), Henry Hey (piano, Minimoog synthesizer, Fender Rhodes piano, prepared harpsichord, voice), Caleb Burhans (electric five string violin, electric guitar, voice), Skuli Sverrisson (electric bass, voice), and John Hollenbeck (drums, percussion, crotales, voice).

An appealing aspect of Bush’s music has always been her lack of self-consciousness in baring her heart and soul through her music. It’s the kind of thing that is easy to mock, but the correct reaction is to respect the hell out of it. Bleckmann shows the same courage Bush displayed when recording the original versions.  Of the fourteen album tracks, all but two were recorded in the 1980s, half of which were released on Bush’s Hounds Of Love.

The best example of Bleckmann’s outstanding treatment of the Bush songbook is in opening track, “Running Up That Hill,” which rings with sincerity and beauty, not to mention the glassine shimmer of the Fairlight CMI digital effects that grew in popularity on many pop and rock albums of the 1980s. Bleckmann’s version is an astounding facsimile of the original, a feat outshone by the song’s immaculate tunefulness.

In addition to unabashed sincerity, Bush also had a predisposition to drama bordering on the theatrical. In the hands of a less talented artist, this is the kind of thing that can quickly devolve into the comical. Bleckmann, however, displays the same uncanny knack for making it so easy to buy in, to accept the drama as genuine tension and the theater as the song’s reality.

Another delicious example of Bleckmann taking ownership of the Bush songbook is his transformation of “Army Dreamers,” from Bush’s stately waltz into an a catchy anthem more akin to shouting up at tavern ceilings than spoken elegantly in formal dancehalls. But Bleckmann doesn’t execute full-on costume changes for every Bush composition. Comparing Bush and Bleckmann versions, sometimes the before and after pictures carry a striking resemblance. The details hidden within the differences, however, are often quite breathtaking, as evidenced in how Bleckmann tweaks Bush’s conventional piano solo tune “And Dream of Sheep” into a little lullaby bobbing away on an open sea of ambient effects and vocal looping, or on “Hello Earth!,” in which Bleckmann gains an emotional impact greater than that of the original by adopting a restraint that trades in on some of the sensationalism the Bush’s recording.

The highlight of the album, arguably, is “Cloudbusting,” with its rhythmic marching formations juxtaposed against the piano exuberance of notes scrambling up a flight of stairs, and Bleckmann’s vocal bounce a pleasant fusion of the two extremes. The end result is that “Cloudbusting” is as complex as it is catchy.

The best of tribute albums possess all the soul of the original, while the heartbeat and blood flow is purely that of the music’s adopter. Bleckmann must understand this on some level, because the music he presents makes it easy to fall in love with Bush’s music all over again, while presenting facets so divergent as for Bleckmann’s album to stand on its own two legs, requiring no knowledge or love of the source of the music’s inspiration. In this, Hello Earth! is an unqualified success.

You can stream album tracks at the artist site, here.

Released on the Winter & Winter label.

Available at eMusic.  Available at Amazon: CD | MP3

***

Here’s a video of a live performance of an album song (courtesy of the artist)…