22 March 2010
By Lyov
In Jazz
Silver Rain
Marcus Miller is foremost known as a Grammy-winning bass player, but as he proves on Silver Rain, Miller is equally formidable as an arranger. Taking songs from a disparate mix of artists that includes Stevie Wonder, Duke Ellington, Jimi Hendrix, Edgar Winter, Beethoven and Prince, Miller’s skills are in almost embarrassing abundance here. On Edgar Winter’s 70s rock jam “Frankenstein”, his band (including the likes of Kirk Whalum on tenor and Kenny Garret on alto) flat out wails, but Miller’s slapping bass keeps the groove completely locked down. In contrast, his take on Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” sets the stage for Miller’s mellow-groove skills while the cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Boogie On Reggae a Woman” is Miller at his intricate, funky best....
Go To Listen
bass, Funk, fusion, Jazz, jazz fusion, Marcus Miller
21 March 2010
By Lyov
In Jazz
The Rise & Fall of Ruby Woo
On record you can’t see the many costume changes into stunning ’30s vintage dresses, or be impressed by the trio’s mugging or musical chops — Marcella Puppini plays piano and accordion and Stephanie O’Brien plays credible jazz fiddle. This leaves the vocalizing, and while the trio isn’t half bad, its members are not spectacular or particularly adventurous singers. On their second album they follow the template of their first. There are a couple of standards including “It Don’t Mean a Think If It Ain’t Got That Swing,” and contemporary numbers — “Spooky,” “Walk Like an Egyptian” — delivered in ’40s vocal trio-style arrangements. Fine as far as it goes, but the joke is wearing thin. The Puppini Sisters’ salvation is clearly in their original material. All three Sisters write solid tunes; the sooner they can come up with a full album’s worth of original tunes, the better their career prospects will be. Puppini’s “I Can’t Believe I’m Not a Millionaire” is a blues full of arch humor, and her “Jilted” sounds like it would have been a natural for Peggy Lee, a sultry, sexy tune with a strong hook and a great lyric. O’Brien contributes “Soho Nights” a jump tune with a strong vocal arrangement, a perfect evocation of the era they obviously love. Kate Mullins may be the strongest writer of the three. Her “It’s Not Over (Death or the Toy Piano)” is another song in the big-band mode, but its complex melody and inventive lyric make it one of the album’s strongest tracks....
Go To Listen
50s, british, female vocalists, Jazz, swing, The Puppini Sisters, The Rise & Fall of Ruby Woo
20 March 2010
By Lyov
In Jazz
When You Know
Singer Dianne Reeves has proven herself one of the most popular and enduring jazz performers of the `00 decade. (Her appearance in the George Clooney film GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK certainly didn’t hurt.) WHEN YOU KNOW is more a “pop” album with jazz overtones however. This time, Reeves wraps her compassionate, slightly dusky voice around such classic `60s/’70s radio hits as Minnie Riperton’s first hit “Lovin’ You” and the Temptations’s “Just My Imagination.” The set is a nice mix of acoustic (a string quartet) and electric (Russell Malone’s bluesy guitar) elements, making for an attractive and thoughtfully varied listen....
Go To Listen
Dianne Reeves, female, female vocalists, Jazz, jazz vocal, vocal jazz, When You Know
18 March 2010
By Lyov
In Jazz
Olivia
Olivia is a Singaporean singer who made her debut with songs in the English vernacular. She subsequently progressed to singing in Japanese upon the progression of her career in Japan.
Likened to Keiko Matsuda, she won a singing contest and was signed to a Japanese recording company at the age of 15....
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bossa nova, female vocalists, Jazz, Olivia, Olivia Ong, singapore, singaporean
16 March 2010
By Lyov
In Pop, R&B
Ten
On paper, Gabriella Cilmi is quite the force to be reckoned with. She’s won six ARIA Awards in her native Australia and performed on the main stage at Glastonbury. But despite this, she’s known for little more than one runaway single and several ad soundtracks. Whether second album Ten will redress the balance remains to be seen, but it certainly comes with a very clear message....
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australian, female vocalists, Jazz, Pop, singer-songwriter, Ten
16 March 2010
By Lyov
In Jazz
Palindrome
Billy Cobham, born May 16, 1944 in Panama, is one of the world’s most influential drummers, best known for his jazz fusion in the 1970s, with John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra, where he pioneered a powerful style of drumming with jazz, rock and funk influences.
He is the first drummer to unseat Buddy Rich in the Down Beat music polls....
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Billy Cobham, drums, Funk, fusion, Jazz, jazz fusion, Palindrome
15 March 2010
By Lyov
In Jazz, Lounge
Third And Double
Gabin (pronounced GAAH-ban) is the Italian based duo of Filippo Clary and Max Bottini. Their name is a reference to the most popular French actor of the ’30s and ‘40s- Jean Gabin, a classic world-weary screen antihero. It has now been two years since the release of their self-titled debut album featuring the international hit “Doo Uap, Doo Uap, Doo Uap”. Quite unexpectedly, this Italian duo found themselves with not only a Top Ten hit in their homeland, but international success around the globe, encompassing over 35 countries from the US to New Zealand; Argentina to Russia. Now, Gabin are back with a seductive new album of blues and blue note-influenced uptempo grooves entitled, Mr. Freedom....
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Acid Jazz, Chillout, downtempo, Gabin, Jazz, Lounge, Third And Double
Bobby Byrd
Eros Ramazzotti 
Gipsy Kings
Queen Latifah
Liza Minnelli
