CD Reviews

The Great American Songbook has been—and will likely remain—a prime source of material for jazz singers. Yet many vocalists strive to find fresh repertoire that works within a jazz context. In this month’s vocal CD reviews, Thomas Cunniffe introduces us to Hilary Gardner, Julie Kelly and Júlia Karosi, whose new discs all feature a wide range of songs.

Over the years, there have been plenty of albums featuring Brazilian music and the music of Duke Ellington, but few have transformed the material as well as Catina DeLuna and Nancy Harms. In this CD review, Thomas Cunniffe discusses how each vocalist has developed this well-worn repertoire through fresh approaches and brilliant arrangements.

All of the singers featured in this month’s vocal CD reviews have been spotlighted in these pages before. The newest releases from Theo Bleckmann, and the groups Double Bass Double Voice (with Emily Braden and Nancy Harms) and Duchess (with Amy Cervini, Hilary Gardner and Melissa Stylianou) offer a wide variety of songs and styles. Thomas Cunniffe reviews the discs.

Standards are part of every jazz vocalist’s repertoire, and the three women featured in this month’s vocal CD reviews all share deep love and knowledge of the standard repertoire. Thomas Cunniffe discusses an autobiographical CD by Cat Conner, a soulful recital with B3 organ by Nancy Kelly, and a direct-to-2-track recording by Melissa Stylianou.

One of the reasons that jazz remains a lively art is that its traditions are both strong and flexible. In this month’s instrumental CD reviews, Thomas Cunniffe explores three artists who have adapted standard album formulas in their own ways without sacrificing either their own integrity or the spirit of the originals.

In this month’s vocal CD reviews, Thomas Cunniffe discusses new albums by three supremely gifted young singers. Rose Ellis offers one of the most impressive debut CDs in recent memory with Like Songs, Like Moons, Alllegra Levy presents a light-hearted approach to relationship issues in Cities Between Us, and Rozina Patkai sings a stunning collection of songs in four languages on Paraiso na Terra.

While most vocal albums include a mix of standard and original compositions, this month’s CD reviews focus on how singers Peter Eldridge, Sara Gazarek and Clare Teal, found creative ways to enhance both types of songs. Thomas Cunniffe provides the commentary.

The Swingle Singers are currently celebrating their golden anniversary with worldwide concerts and a pair of new recordings. Thomas Cunniffe reviews the first of these two albums, which captures the group in transition (with a change in the bass section) and offers recordings of the group’s current repertoire.

While only one of the albums featured in this month’s vocal CD reviews is entirely devoted to the subject of love, all four discs touch upon the topic. Thomas Cunniffe comments on new albums by Camille Bertault, Alexis Cole, Kate McGarry and Norma Winstone.

Jazz duos offer a format where cooperation and communication are found in their purest form, and where each musician has the responsibility to make his partner sound good. By the same token, each musician must retain his own individuality and find places in his partner’s style where a dynamic interaction can take place. Thomas Cunniffe reviews three new duo albums in this CD review.

The words memory and memorial come from the same root, but they hold different connotations. In this month’s instrumental CD reviews, Thomas Cunniffe examines how these concepts are contrasted and combined in albums by saxophonists Jimmy Greene, Houston Person and Dayna Stephens.

Jazz History Online receives several promotional CDs every month, and due to our limited resources, we aren’t able to review every notable album in the month of its release. Thomas Cunniffe reviews three superb recordings by Tom Harrell, Geoff Keezer and Frank Potenza, all released in the last 6 months and just too good to leave on the shelf.

Archie Shepp once said Ballads are the biggest challenge. You can hear every minute of every hour of every year a guy has put in on his horn with a ballad. Many musicians find one or two formulaic ways to handle ballads, but they must find several approaches when they plan an album with several love songs. In this CD review, Thomas Cunniffe examines how Michael Cunningham, Bill Kirchner, and Houston Person create variety within ballads-heavy programs

As Billy Joel’s song has it, New York City is as much a place as it is a state of mind. This month, Thomas Cunniffe reviews new albums by three outstanding (and considerably different) pianists from the Big Apple: Bill Charlap, Steve Kuhn and Leslie Pintchik.