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Darlene Love's "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"
David Letterman appearance 12/23/11
Paul McCartney has announced that his next solo album, as yet untitled, will be a collection of romantic ballads and standards, with jazz pianist Diana Krall and her band accompanying the ex-Beatle. The album will be released by Concord/Hear Music on February 7. In addition to the cover material, the album will include two new McCartney originals, “My Valentine” and “Only Our Hearts.”
The album was produced by Tommy LiPuma and, in addition to Krall and band, features an orchestra on some tracks, as well as guest appearances by Eric Clapton and Stevie Wonder. Bassist John Clayton also reportedly plays on the album.
According to a press release from McCartney’s publicist, “This is the album Paul has been thinking about making for more than 20 years, and probably the last thing his fans are expecting. ‘In the end it was “Look, if I don’t do it now, I’ll never do it,’” the release quotes McCartney as saying.
“When I kind of got into songwriting, I realized how well structured these songs were and I think I took a lot of my lessons from them,” McCartney further says in the press release. “I always thought artists like Fred Astaire were very cool. Writers like Harold Arlen, Cole Porter, all of those guys—I just thought the songs were magical. And then, as I got to be a songwriter I thought it’s beautiful, the way they made those songs.’”
McCartney also says that he and John Lennon based several early Beatles compositions on standards from the early part of the 20th century.
The press release says that during the recording McCartney, for the first time in his career, “performed exclusively in the vocal booth without no instrument—no guitar, no bass, no piano.”
He added, “It was important for me to keep away from the more obvious song choices, so many of the classic standards will be unfamiliar to some people.”
The album was recorded at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, New York and London throughout 2011.
Last spring, McCartney told Rolling Stone, “I've wanted to do that kind of thing forever, since the Beatle days. But then Rod [Stewart] went mad on it. I thought, ‘I have to wait so it doesn't look like I’m trying to do a Rod.’”
Adam Rudolph: Can You Imagine... The Sound Of A Dream
Alexey Kruglov: Identification
Anita O'Day: Trav'Lin Light
Anthony Braxton: Tillium E
Archie Shepp: First Take
Archie Shepp: Gemini
Arrigo Cappelletti: Mysterious
Arrigo Cappelletti / Giulio Martino: Mysterious
Benjamin Sanz Quintet: Mutation Majeure
Benny Carter: Further Definitions
Bill Dixon: Complete Remastered Recordings On Black Saint And Soul Note
Bill Evans (Trio): Sunday At The Village Vanguard
Bill Evans (Trio): Waltz For Debby
Cal Tjader: Agua Dulce
Carl Perkins: Dance Album
Coleman Hawkins: Hawk Relaxes
Dave Brubeck: Countdown: Time In Outer Space
Complete Remastered Recordings On Black Saint & Soul Note
David Murray: Complete Remastered Recordings On Black Saint & Soul Note
Don Ellis: New Ideas: Don Ellis
Eric Dolphy / Booker Little: At The Five Spot Complete Edition
Fats Waller: Live At The Yacht Club
Fourth Page: Blind Horizons
Freddie Hubbard: Splash
Fredrik Kronkvist: Altitude
Helen Forrest: Them There Eyes
Ibrahim Maalouf: Diagnostic
Influences Behind The Beatles: Influences Behind The Beatles
John Coltrane: Africa / Brass
Jonathan Kreisberg: Trioing
Joseph Patrick Moore: XYZ Factor - Download
Julie London: London By Night
Katja Cruz: Light And Shade
Katja Cruz / Carolyn Hume: Light & Shade
Lisa Mezzacappa & Nightshade: Cosmic Rift
Louis Armstrong / Duke Ellington: Great Summit
Luis Gasca: Collage
Miles Davis: At Carnegie Hall
Miles Davis: Dark Magus
Oscar Peterson Trio: Trio: Live From Chicago
Oscar Peterson Trio: Sound Of The Trio
Oscar Peterson Trio: Put On A Happy Face / Something Warm
Paul Motian: Complete Remastered Recordings On Black Saint And Soul Note
Phineas Newborn Jr.: World Of Piano
Pleasure: Accept No Substitutes
Ray Barretto: Selecciones Fania
Romane Quintet: Integrale, Vol. 2
Integrale Quintet: Complete Romane, Vol. 2
Romane Quintet: Integrale Quintet: Complete Romane, Vol. 2
Ron Thompson: Just Pickin'
Roy Orbison: Lonely & Blue
Second Approach: Pandora's Pitcher
Second Approach Trio: Pandora's Pitcher
Shelly Manne: Complete Live At The Manne-Hole
Spontaneous River: Symphony Of Souls
Stan Getz: Stan Getz & Oscar Peterson Trio
Time Exposure/Find Out!/Hideaway
Stanley Clarke: Time Exposure/Find Out!/Hideaway
Steve Lacy: Evidence With Don Cherry
Taylor Ho Bynum: Apparent Distance
Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet: Apparent Distance
Teddy Edwards / Howard McGhee: Together Again
Theo Jorgensmann: Melencolia
Tim Trevor-Briscoe: Underflow
Wes Montgomery: Groove Yard
Woody Allen: Swing In The Films Of Woody Allen
Reissues
Chet Baker: Sings
Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
Miles Davis: Milestones
Miles Davis: Porgy & Bess
Miles Davis: Someday My Prince Will Come - SACD
Miles Davis: Workin With The Miles Davis Quintet
The first single from In The Zone explodes at radio as the album garners acclaim
Soul-jazz saxman Richard Elliot has been blowing up radio with the funky single “Boom Town,” which has taken command of Billboard’s BDSradio.comsmooth jazz national airplay chart for the past four weeks. The track, produced by Elliot and fusion pioneer Jeff Lorber, is the debut single from Elliot’s October release, In The Zone, and the latest of more than a dozen #1 singles registered by the genre-defining Artistry Music recording artist.
Elliot’s 16th solo collection, In The Zone salutes the seminal instrumentalists that most influenced the saxophonist in his formative years of the 1970s and ‘80s including Grover Washington Jr., Bob James and David Sanborn. Elliot and Lorber penned the nine original songs that comprise the disc as well as dishing up a sweltering version of the gritty Marvin Gaye classic, “Inner City Blues (Makes Me Wanna Holler).”
Concert dates are presently being booked for next spring and summer for Elliot to reteam with trumpeter Rick Braun to tour as RnR, a dynamic duo that held the #1 spot captive on the radio airplay charts for an astonishing 15 weeks with the self-titled, title track from their 2007 album collaboration.
In addition to sweeping the nation’s radio waves, In The Zone has been receiving critical praise. Smooth Jazz Magazine selected it as the #1 album of 2011. Below are highlights from some reviews.
All Music Guide: “Elliot's sense of time when soloing is deadly. The melody is as infectious and celebratory as it is sexy…”
Digital Jazz News: “Richard Elliot lives his passion. A uniquely personal release and a natural progression and follow up to Rock Steady (Artistry, 2009), Richard Elliot shares his own soulful musical statement with In The Zone…Elliot is an incredibly lyrical instrumentalist with improvisational chops to work on the fly while having that nice fat tenor sound of a Hank Mobley throw-back player…Contemporary jazz has taken some hits over the past year for lacking originality, spontaneity and passion. A perfect ebb and flow on this release provides all three from an artist with a sincere desire to be known as someone that can play from the heart not just the head. Musical honesty and integrity is rare commodity these days but it is clear that it is Richard Elliot's passion that has him ‘In The Zone’ and with one of the finest contemporary releases of the year!”
The Smooth Jazz Ride: “…the iconic saxophonist with the distinctly soulful touch turns it on with jazzy runs, soulful rhythms, memorable melodies, and tight, catchy hooks…Full of sweet grooves, spunk, and
slick but not frenzied drive.”
Sounds of Timeless Jazz: “Elliot brings his informed knowledge of such great musicians as Grover Washington, Jr., David Sanborn and Bob James and his own great saxophonics to this inspired project…innovative music that will just blow you away.”
The Urban Music Scene: “It’s a Winner!!...In The Zoneis a 10 song horn oriented delight…In The Zone again proves why Richard Elliot is such a joy to listen and see in concert...”
Smooth Jazz Daily: “With In The Zone Richard Elliot garners anew the Triple A of smooth jazz. Eclectic music with a well-crafted musicianship on every track that attracts all music lovers.”
Kirk Whalum duets with his brother, Kevin, to remake a classic album in a Romance Language of their own
Grammy winning saxophonist’s reimaged take on the Coltrane/Hartman collaboration will be released on Valentine’s Day
Most artists would be daunted at the thought of remaking a classic work of art made by legends, but not Grammy winner Kirk Whalum. The multidimensional saxophonist adeptly steps into the role of John Coltrane and tapped his brother, vocalist Kevin Whalum, to fill the shoes of Johnny Hartman on an unabashedly romantic collection of duets originally recorded in 1963 by the seminal artists. Romance Language, due to be released on Valentine’s Day by Rendezvous Music, consists of all six songs that comprise the Coltrane/Hartman recording along with a handful of modern ballads to complete the disc produced by Kirk Whalum and John Stoddart.
In addition to the traditional CD and digital version, an extended and enhanced digital version of Romance Language will be released as the world’s first complete LiveAudiooptimized album for JAMBOXby JAWBONE, a leader in personal mobile technology devices. LiveAudio allows music to be enjoyed in a 3D-like, surround sound experience from a single, small Bluetooth wireless speaker. This one-of-a-kind version of Romance Language will be available exclusively at www.kirkwhalum.com/JAMBOX.
In conjunction with the album release, Kirk & Kevin Whalum will perform a Valentine’s Day concert at the Hilton Portland Downtown in Oregon that will stream live to a global audience through Kirk Whalum’s website, www.kirkwhalum.com.
The Whalum brothers approached the half-dozen standards from the original recording with admiration and veneration. Kirk Whalum and Stoddart crafted fresh arrangements that place the time-tested songs such as Irving Berlin’s “They Say It’s Wonderful,” Sammy Cahn’s “Dedicated To You,” Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life” and Richard Rodgers’ “You Are Too Beautiful” in present day R&B-adult pop and jazz settings. The newer songs – including renderings of contemporary hits written by Terry Lewis & James “Jimmy Jam” Harris, Eric Benet, and Joe (Thomas) - maintain the mood, feel and ambience of the storied set. Throughout Romance Language, Kevin Whalum’s suave, velvety voice is cool and in command while Kirk Whalum’s sax solos and fills are inspired, warm and nuanced etchings. The amorous album unfolds with the grace of an intimate hand-penned love letter - seductively sweet, genuinely heartfelt, and poetically passionate. Recorded “live” at Dark Horse recording studios in Nashville with very little overdubbing, the musicians accompanying the Whalum’s were Stoddart (piano, keyboards, organ, backing vocals), Marcus Finnie (drums), Braylon Lacy (bass), Kevin Turner (electric guitar), Michael “Nomad” Ripoll (acoustic guitar), Ralph Lofton (organ), George Tidwell (flugelhorn, trumpet), and percussionists Bashiri Johnson and Javier Solis. Kirk & Kevin Whalum’s 83 years-young uncle, Hugh “Peanuts” Whalum, poured his distinctive, emotion-charged voice into the broken-hearted “Almost Doesn’t Count” and the poignant bonus track, “You Are So Beautiful.”
“Romance Language, now so elegantly completed, absolutely qualifies for my bucket list. Having been a fan of Kevin's luscious voice for over 30 years and a fan of the Coltrane/Hartman recording for at least that long, this project is more of a consummation than just serendipity. Every time I listened to the Coltrane/Hartman recording, I thought of Kevin and mused at the idea of redoing the whole album with my little brother. Kevin caressed each and every note. My other ‘brother,’ John Stoddart ‘dined’ with me on these arrangements. My touring band embraced each performance as we recorded ‘live’ in the studio––virtually no overdubs, over-takes or over-production. Just sheer joy and love, respect and reverence for the original recording as well as these amazing compositions,” said Memphis native Kirk Whalum, who will tour with Kevin in the spring to support Romance Language. “Oh... and boy is this album romantic. I invite you to take it on a test drive. Drive slow.”
Romance Language is Kirk Whalum’s 19th album as a front man since his 1985 solo debut, Floppy Disk. He topped the Billboard contemporary jazz album charts twice (And You Know That! and Cache) and amassed 11 Grammy nominations. Whalum took home a coveted Grammy earlier this year for a duet with Lalah Hathaway that appeared on his The Gospel According to Jazz: Chapter III. An ordained minister who earned a Master’s degree in the Art of Religion, Kirk Whalum has forged an unparalleled career path in both the secular and the non-secular music words, garnering hits, awards and accolades for his jazz, R&B and gospel recordings. His soulfully expressive tenor sax voice is unique and has appeared on literally hundreds of recordings by Barbara Streisand, Quincy Jones, Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross, George Benson, Al Jarreau, Michael McDonald, Stanley Clarke, George Duke, and Larry Carlton as well as on collaborative albums with Bob James, Rick Braun and Norman Brown. When not recording or performing, he educates and mentors the next generation of musicians in his role as president/CEO of the STAX Music Academy and the STAX Museum of American Soul Music. Additional information is available at www.kirkwhalum.com.
The songs contained on Kirk Whalum’s Romance Language are:
Al Di Meola: Tour De Force: Live/Scenario
Albatrosh: Yonkers
Brad Mehldau: Art Of The Trio Recordings: 1996-20
Art Of The Trio: Live At The Vanguard
Brad Mehldau: Art Of The Trio: Live At The Vanguard
Buddy Cole: Swingin At The Hammond Organ: 4 Stereo Albums
Dark Chocolate: Caper
Dark Chocolate: Box Of Dark Chocolate
Django Reinhardt: Swing Guitars
Complete Masters 1935-55
Ella Fitzgerald: Complete Masters 1935-55
Fred Van Hove: Tschus
Fred Wesley: Lost Album
Full Blast: Sketches And Ballads
Full Blast & Friends: Sketches & Ballads
Ein Halber Hund Kann Nicht Pinkeln
Han Bennink: Ein Halber Hund Kann Nicht Pinkeln
Han Bennink / Peter Brotzmann / Fred Van Hove: Balls
Jazz In The Charts: Vol. 80 - 1945 (Track 1749 - 1771)
Jazz In The Charts: Vol. 90 - 1948 - 1949 (Track 1979 - 2001)
Jazz In The Charts: Vol. 91 - 1949 (Track 2002 - 2022)
Jazz In The Charts: Vol. 92 - 1949 - 1950 (Track 2023 - 2045)
Jazz In The Charts: Vol. 93 - 1950 - 1951 (Track 2046 - 2067)
Jazz In The Charts: Vol. 94 - 1951 (Track 2068 - 2088)
Jazz In The Charts: Vol. 95 - 1951 - 1952 (Track 2089 - 2107)
Jazz In The Charts: Vol. 96 - 1952 (Track 2108 - 2126)
Jazz In The Charts: Vol. 97 - 1952 - 1953 (Track 2127 - 2147)
Jazz In The Charts: Vol. 98 - 1953 (Track 2148 - 2168)
Jazz In The Charts: Vol. 99 - 1953 - 1954 (Track 2169 - 2191)
Jazz In The Charts: Vol. 100 - 1954 (Track 2192 - 2211)
Kenneth Nash: Heartcore Praise
Othin Spake: Nethack Dictionary
Roy Ayers: Step Into Our Life/Prime Time
Stanley Clarke: Time Exposure/Find Out!/Hideaway
Wayne Shorter: Complete Albums Collection
When saxophonist Candy Dulfer steps onto the stage or into the studio, everything is immediately up for grabs and anything can happen. This sexy, high-energy vibe – seemingly out-of-control, yet always carefully calculated – is a direct result of her consistently hot and sweet confection of jazz, funk, R&B, soul, pop, techno and more. It’s a no-holds-barred recipe that has served her and her worldwide fan base well since her earliest recordings at the start of the 1990s.
Candy pushes the whole musical experience to the edge once again on her new recording, Crazy, set for release on, Tuesday, January 31, 2011, on Listen 2 Entertainment Group/Razor & Tie. The 13-song set includes numerous tracks co-written and produced by multi-instrumentalist Printz Board – whose mile-long list of credits includes musical director for the Black Eyed Peas for more than a decade, as well as work with a broad range of artists: Macy Gray, Mariah Carey, Sergio Mendes Gomez, Katy Perry, Burt Bacharach and dozens more.
“I wanted to return to working with Ulco Bed, a great guitarist and my songwriter partner since we were both very young,” says Candy, a native of the Netherlands and the daughter of jazz saxophonist Hans Dulfer. “We hadn’t recorded together for a long time, so I was looking forward to connecting with him again. But I also wanted to work with someone who could show me something new, something I’d never done before. When I met Printz, I knew right away that we could do something great together. I was surprised at how easy it was. I would put a beat down and just play a few licks, and it would be enough to inspire him to put together a whole chord sequence and write a song.”
It’s the kind of versatility and adaptability that comes from working with such a diverse spectrum of talent over the years. “I just go with the energy that’s in the room,” says Printz. “I try not to work with anybody whom I haven’t at least hung out with for a little while. I need a chance to get to know their energy and their personality. When Candy and I got started on this project, we knew the goal. We knew what we were going for. It just grew organically. I don’t think either of us knew what the end result would be, but we’re very excited with what it turned into.”
Like just about every other recording in Candy’s body of work, Crazy kicks off like a party. Literally! The opening track is a churning saxophone riff, supported by a swell of voices in full party mode. It all comes to a halt when a neighbor puts a damper on things by demanding some quiet.
Fat chance. The title track picks up where the noisy room leaves off, and keeps the intensity level well beyond the acceptable range of peace and quiet. Built on a call-and-response between Printz’s lyrics and Candy’s punchy alto riffs, the song is inspired by Printz’s recent heady experiences with a new romance. “You don’t know what to do with yourself,” he says. “You just want to see this person, and talk to this person, and hang out with them. The title is no mystery. I was just crazy about this woman.”
“Hey Now” starts in a midtempo groove, with generous doses of low-end electronic dance beats holding it together. “But there’s a moment when it really kicks into high gear and gets wild,” says Candy. “It’s that moment when I want people to say, ‘Wow, this is really something I didn’t expect. This is something amazing.’”
“Complic8ted Lives” is less about specific solos and parts, says Candy, and more about generating an overall mood. “It was just a really spontaneous track,” she says. “We made it in five minutes, but it was a beautiful song. It’s really about a specific feeling. You can take the vocals off and you can still hear what the song is about in the chord progression and in my saxophone work.”
Midway through the party, the neighbors are apparently getting increasingly frustrated. One tries to make a call, but there’s no hearing the phone amid the revelry.
The inspiration for “Electric Blue” originally came from the neon blue lights of Tokyo, says Printz. Candy adds quirky sax lines on top, while Printz inserts some slide instructions that culminate with the simply stated “Get your ass on the floor.” The throbbing backbeat dares the listener to defy the command.
Printz indulges his fascination with the vocorder on “Rocket, Rocket,” a track that morphs his voice into an electronic layer that merges seamlessly with his keys and Candy’s fresh alto licks. “We just recently started playing this live,” says Candy. “We didn’t know how it would go live, but we had people of every age dancing to this one.”
The riffs are still coming when the police arrive at the door, accompanied by the same irritated neighbor. Their efforts are apparently ineffective, because the music keeps coming for just a bit longer.
In the home stretch, it’s the sultry and suggestive “Please Don’t Stop,” followed by the “Too Close,” a quiet instrumental ballad that shifts the festivities into a more laid back vibe. Powered by a distinctly Euro groove,
“I’m very happy with this record,” says Candy. “It’s been a super-positive experience. In the last ten years, I was always in a safe environment with my own friends, and it was beautiful. This was a big leap for me, so it’s nice to see that the rewards for that risk were so great. It’s nice to be rewarded for taking risks. And on the other hand, reconnecting with Ulco has been great. It brought back a lot of beautiful memories. We realized that we can still make great music together.”