Nils - 'Pacific Coast Highway'

Nils (pronounced Neels) is a session guitarist that has worked with The Temptations, George Benson, Marcus Johnson, LA Jazz Syndicate, Paul Brown, Garbriela Anders, Rick Braun, Gerald McCauley, Dean James and Norman Connors. He has also written music for TV and film and has won various music awards. On Pacific Coast Highway Nils presents us with both original compositions as well as a few covers that are suitable for burning. The title track kicks off the CD (many people have written about this long stretch of California highway with the same name, but this is Nils own interpretation) with a up tempo, catchy beat and some interesting guitar licks. "Back Pocket" is more of a mid tempo serving of some typical Smooth Jazz tastings. "Sneakin'" is very inner soulful in melody with Nils reaching deep within on some heartfelt guitar playing. "Hey ya" would make a good radio single because it seems to have the components of songs that Smooth Jazz likes to play. "Baja California" is one of my favorite tracks on the disc. Nils is playing acoustic guitar in that west coast airy, bouncy way that I have loved through out the years. A few big name side musicians help out on various tracks on Pacific Coast Highway including Gerald Albright, Steve Reid, Rob Mullins, Abe Laboriel, Alex Al, Steve Ferrone and Gerald McCauley. I wouldn't say that this CD is a must own because it isn't. The music here isn't breaking any new ground nor is it anything that special, I just enjoyed it, pure and simple.
Review by Jeff Charney [contemporaryjazz.com]

The singer who disappeared

Eight years ago, Madeleine Peyroux's debut album, "Dreamland," was showered with praise.

Critics swooned over her Billie Holiday-like voice, her choice of material (though pigeonholed as a jazz vocalist, her songs included Patsy Cline's "Walkin' After Midnight" and a pair of blues numbers) and her interpretive abilities. The album, despite no hits and little airplay, sold 200,000 copies, an amazing number for an unknown singer.
[CNN]

New Jazz - January 2005

Steve Clarke, Da Bass Is Loaded (Hop-N-Bop, 1/1)
Martin Taylor, Valley (1/4)
Various, Cool Ladies Of Jazz & Blues (Liquid 8, 1/4)
David Sanborn, Closer (Verve, 1/11)
Brazilian Girls, Brazilian Girls, Verve, 1/11)
Jason Miles, "Miles to Miles" Music in the spirit of Miles Davis (Narada, 1/11)
Kazu Matsui, The Stone Monkey (Narada, 1/11)
Ken Navarro, Love Coloured Soul (Positive Music, 1/25)
Pat Metheny Group, The Way Up (Nonesuch, 1/25)
Various (Dulfer, Whte, Mann Beasley, Torres, more), Smooth Jazz Plays Your Favorite Hits (Shanachie, 1/25)
Pamela Williams, Sweet Saxations (Shanachie, 1/25)
Adani & Wolf, Les Seigneurs 1 (Rendezvous, 1/25)
Nils, Pacific Coast Highway (Baja, 1/25)
Various, Smooth Jazz Romance (Native Language, 1/25)
Ladysmith Black Mambaza, No Boundaries (Heads Up, 1/25)
Nicolas Bearde, All About Love (Phantom, 1/25)
[contemporaryjazz.com]

Kazu Matsui - 'The Stone Monkey'

Usually a performer on soundtracks and a producer on wife Keiko Matsui's albums, Kazu Matsui is an able shakuhachi player in his own right. On The Stone Monkey he plays with the genres a bit, mixing his shakuhachi with breakbeats and electronic keyboards. The result is on the order of tribal beats, with some new age aspects and some worldbeat aspects. The music can verge on the trippy from time to time, but the mix is held pretty tight by Matsui, making this an interesting addition to the collection of anyone listening to worldbeat (or a Keiko Matsui fan looking for an original context for her playing). Adam Greenberg [AMG]

JazzTrax Names Top 10 Albums Of 2004

Art Good, creator/host of the syndicated radio show JazzTrax, has announced The Benoit Freeman Project 2 album of the year in his top 10 countdown of the best smooth jazz albums of 2004. Concurrently, he announces the launch of the JazzTrax's weekly top 10 countdown for the show beginning in the New Year. Among Good's picks for 2004's Top 10 are many of the genre's superstars, along with its rising talent and newcomers:
1. DAVID BENOIT & RUSS FREEMAN The Benoit Freeman Project 2
2. DOWN TO THE BONE Cellar Funk
3. VARIOUS Forever, For Always, For Luther
4. GERALD ALBRIGHT Kickin' It Up
5. NORMAN BROWN West Coast Coolin'
6. MINDI ABAIR Come As You Are
7. GEORGE BENSON Irreplaceable
8. PAUL BROWN Up Front
9. JAMES VARGAS James Vargas
10. (Tie) VARIOUS Rendezvous Lounge; VARIOUS The Groove Boutique, Vol. 1

Nominations for the 1st Annual Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards

Canadian Smooth Jazz musicians finally have an awards body to recognize their work - The Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards. The event was created by Doug and Mary Kirk, owners of The Wave in Hamilton and Smooth Jazz Now creator John Beaudin. The awards will be voted on by the fans via www.canadiansmoothjazzawards.com . Voting will begin shortly. Top nominees for the inaugural ceremony include Diana Krall, Eddie Bullen, Brian Hughes, Marc Jordan and Alexander Zonjic all with three.
[smoothjazznow.com]

David Sanborn - 'Closer'

Despite the polished orchestrations that give it an overall glossy sheen, David Sanborn's new collection, "Closer," has its share of moving moments, especially when the alto saxophonist renders ballads and plays with spice. With his stellar pop-star credits as a support instrumentalist and his deep jazz roots, the melody-bound Sanborn tries to straddle both worlds with mixed results. Even though he plays it straight with fine vocalist Lizz Wright, their rendition of James Taylor's "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" falls flat with its no-risks blandness. But he starts the CD with a party ("Tin Tin Deo" by Gil Fuller and Chano Pozo) and buoys the proceedings with Abdullah Ibrahim's catchy "Capetown Fringe." Sanborn saves the best for the end with two heartfelt gems, Michel Legrand's "You Must Believe in Spring," a duet with guitarist Russell Malone, and the saxist's touching, melancholic original, "Sofia."—DO
[Billboard.com]

New Releases from Diane Schuur, Caribbean Jazz Project

Concord Picante will release Schuur Fire, a new album from singer Diane Schuur (pictured), on April 5. Schuur collaborates with Brazilian guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves, who acts as producer and arranger, on the album, as well as the Latin jazz ensemble Caribbean Jazz Project.
Shuur covers Duran Duran’s “Ordinary World” on Schuur Fire, as well as Frank Sinatra’s “More Than You Know,” Ray Charles’ “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” James Taylor’s “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight” and Stevie Wonder’s “As.”

Concord Picate will also release a new album from Caribbean Jazz Project, which is led vibraphonist Dave Samuels. Here and Now- Live in Concert, a two-disc live album recorded at Pittsburgh’s Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild, will be released on February 1. The album includes 14 tracks, mostly all original compositions from Caribbean Jazz Project, including “Five For Elvin,” “Arthur’s Dance and “Caravan.”

Shuur and Caribbean Jazz Project will tour the United States together later this year.
Emily Zemler [jazztimes.com]

Happy New Year

A very Happy New Year year to all visitors of JazzHQ. It's just for fun, but I'm pleased that you found your way here and grateful if you've done it more than once. Best wishes to you all. Good health and peace in the new year.

Artie Shaw, Big Band Leader, Dies at 94

Artie Shaw, the jazz clarinetist and big-band leader who successfully challenged Benny Goodman's reign as the King of Swing with his recordings of "Begin the Beguine," "Lady Be Good" and "Star Dust" in the late 1930's, died today, his orchestra's manager, Will Curtis, said. He was 94 and lived in Newbury Park, Calif.

[NYTimes]

The Best: The Deepest Jazz Grooves

The Deepest Jazz Grooves
By Ben Ratliff [NYTimes]
Joe Lovano's graceful ballads, Elvin Jones's last session with his brother and Soweto Kinch's debut album were among the highlights of the year

Jeff Hedberg - 'The Summer Knows'

Chicago-based trumpeter/flügelhornist/vocalist Jeff Hedberg stands out as a singing musician and makes his voice count on this understated presentation of jazz standards from the Great American Songbook, film scores, and jazz legends Horace Silver and Thelonious Monk. Often compared to Chet Baker, Hedberg's phrasing as a singer has certainly been influenced by his trumpet playing, which is quite apparent on "Let's Get Lost" and "My Funny Valentine," two songs often covered by Baker on several issues of Chet Baker Sings. Hedberg's swinging uptempo offering on "Comes Love" and swaying samba on "Dindi" contrast the quiet romantic moods he sets on "The Summer Knows" and "Cry Me a River." This not only shows his versatility, but is a true testament to the fact that Hedberg is not out to rest his embouchure on these soft ballads, but to show that he can function with finesse on three separate levels — as a leader, instrumentalist, and singer — within one cohesive sextet. His spare approach on "'Round Midnight," has his style technically updated. However, the lonely ambience of his muted horn suggests that Hedberg can play an emotionally appealing set that can stand on its own integrity. Guest artist Judy Roberts offers memorable piano accompaniment that gives this song lift. "My Funny Valentine" is another emotionally appealing ballad that indicates that Jeff Hedberg is capable of expressing his passionate vocal skills on various levels while allowing the listener to interpret and enjoy his brilliant technical skills. He sustains notes on this song without wavering, later double and triple tonguing for more effect. While only a few of today's top brass instrumentalists offer their vocal stylings on their trumpet recordings (Chet Baker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Louis Armstrong all sang and played trumpet), Jeff Hedberg's fans will be delighted to hear his cohesive blend of past and present vocal and brass influences on his debut for Blujazz, The Summer Knows.
Paula Edelstein [allmusic.com]

Determined saxophonist makes music with one hand

Kyung Sun Orr always thought it would be "kind of cool" to start his own jazz band.

The 16-year-old saxophonist recently belted out tunes with a couple of buddies, even though he lost his left arm in an accident two years ago.

Orr plays a one-handed saxophone - one of only two in the nation - when he performs.
[myrtlebeachonline.com]

Jazz: Woody Allen

Allen has never made any secret of the fact that his passion for the clarinet is really an unrequited love. Even after all these years of jamming at Michael’s Pub and elsewhere in Manhattan, the sound he generates is closer to the yelps of an asthmatic fox terrier having its tail pummelled with a mallet.
[timesonline.co.uk]

Joe Pass | Virtuoso in New York

This latest set offers more of what's already available in abundance: Pass by his lonesome in the studio circa summer of '75, trusty hollow-body slung over shoulder, his mind primed to the task of doing what he did best. The disc's title dispenses with vagaries and skips right to the transparent. Pass was a virtuoso, a label I feel more than comfortable ascribing despite my somewhat checkered past with its usage. Over a three-quarter of an hour stretch he spins improvistory fantasias on a septet of chamois-polished standards, the solitary original blues thrown into the mix in two takes. True it's nothing too removed from the usual press of the Pass mold, but like his arguable pianistic counterpart Art Tatum, Pass could make the same old tunes shine under the close scrutiny of brilliant new hues and colors.
Derek Taylor [allaboutjazz.com]