Standards Live [Live]

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Rediscover some of the world’s most recognizable tunes with CONNIE FRANCIS SINGS THE STANDARDS – LIVE!, a collection of timeless favorites performed live in concert on her American and European tours. From the moment the orchestra strikes the first chord until the last strains of the encore fade, Connie Francis delivers exciting and memorable performances that confirm her status as one of the most renowned vocalists in musical history. Filled with classics such as "The Impossible Dream" and "My Way", as well as a salute to some of Connie’s favorite artists such as Frank Sinatra and a touching rendition of "Wind Beneath My Wings" as a tribute to her late brother George, STANDARDS LIVE will become a favorite of Connie Francis fans and American music enthusiasts everywhere.

Tracks:

Rocker
Autumn In New York
Godchild
The Lady Is a Tramp
It's Only a Paper Moon
My Shining Hour
All Across the City
While We're Young
Last Night When We Were Young

Customer Reviews:

4 ½ stars.......2007-06-04

From Charlap's solo choruses in "Rocker," at once burning hot and supremely cool, to the wistful "Last Night While We Were Young," this is an absorbing and sometimes startlingly good record. Although it doesn't seem right that Charlap tends to get most of the attention - i.e. the focus on Charlap in interviews about the trio's work, his lone cover photo here, and some critics' annoying habit of dubbing the unrelated bassist and drummer "the two Washingtons"- he really is a fine player. His solos are consistently interesting and invigorating; his technique is impressive; and how about the way he uses the piano? Even if one may grow weary of a certain right hand tremolo/trill effect as transitional device, Charlap's quiet but hip comping, use of lower registers, piano-rattling glissandi, and superimposition of left hand and right hand are extremely effective and rather unique. So too are his undulating lines, at once muted and strong, and his enviable ability to create a translucent, ethereal musical space. It is for these reasons that "Autumn in New York" garnered such a reverent response from the Vanguard audience - and "My Shining Hour" such a raucous one.

Speaking of "My Shining Hour," let me not be guilty of the same Charlap-centered commentary I lamented earlier. As the liner notes point out, "the incandescent playing captured here is made possible by trust," a trust which in turn is only possible thanks to the rock-solid foundation provided by Peter Washington on bass and the combustible energy released by Kenny Washington on drums. Although I feel that Peter has not yet been ideally captured on recording, it is quite evident from this album and others that Kenny sets the fire under the band and leads them to "Shining Hour" heights. The very swinging feel of a potentially square tune like "Rocker" and potentially static arrangement of "While We're Young," as well as "Last Night While We Were Young's" magical coda, owe much to Kenny's fire, too.

It should be no surprise, then, that numbers like "Lady is a Tramp" cook when the Charlap Trio plays `em, and ballad arrangements like "All Across the City" are so good they almost hurt. But "While We're Young" also provides indisputable proof that this group can play in 3. So let's hear some more waltzes, and more of that glorious ebb and flow that another pianist named Bill inspired at the same Village Vanguard :) How about more bass and drum solos too?!? (come now, 2 bass solos and 1 drum solo really are not enough for a whole album). Then, consider the possibilities of straight 8, Latin, funk, mixed meter...you know these guys can do it. To me, this would make a visit to see them at the Vanguard or Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola that much more memorable - and their group that much better.

A Great Snapshot of an Excellent Trio.......2007-06-01

After many years of widespread acclaim as one of the best working groups in mainstream jazz, the Bill Charlap Trio has finally issued its first live recording, and the results are most impressive. Individually, the group's members are all virtuoso musicians of the highest caliber, and in any setting they can be counted upon to deliver vivid, engaging performances (see for example Charlap's collaborations with Warren Vaché and Peter Washington's work with the great Tommy Flanagan). However, when they play together their rapport is so strong that each seems to bring out the best in the others, and even on the trio's studio recordings they sometimes attain a level of controlled intensity that is downright mesmerizing, both on uptempo numbers and on slow ballads. Here, they reach that level again and again, and the interplay among them is consistently thrilling; each plays with great energy and creativity, but also with great precision, and they are so perfectly attuned to one another that when they improvise together they do so with a degree of cohesion and unity that is nothing short of astonishing. ("My Shining Hour" provides an especially good example of this.) Their own enjoyment of what they can do is both palpable and infectious, and while they never indulge in the kind of showboating that sometimes mars live recordings, the presence of an attentive and appreciative audience does seem to inspire them. The sounds made by that audience are not the least bit obtrusive, but their applause helps to create a pleasant atmosphere of immediacy, as does the immaculate sound achieved by engineer Joel Moss. The disc is also nicely programmed, though there are fewer rarities than one might expect given Charlap's extensive knowledge of the American songbook and his penchant for reintroducing overlooked but worthy material.

In all, this is a most welcome document of an exceptional group in action. It is also long overdue, so let's hope that volume two will follow in short order!

Average customer rating:

75th Birthday Bash Live!
Kenny Burrell
Manufacturer: Blue Note Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Kids: Duets Live at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola

ASIN: B000O5BP64
Release Date: 2007-06-19

Tracks:

Vivo Tirado
Medley: Stormy Monday/Blues For the Count
Romance
Love You Madly
Sophisticated Lady
Don't Get Around Much Anymore
Footprints
Lament
All Blues
A Night In Tunisia
I'll Close My Eyes
Take the 'A' Train

Amazon.com

Kenny Burrell turned 75 on July 31, 2006. That night he finished a five-day run at Yoshi's in Oakland and then the next day played with the Gerald Wilson Orchestra in Santa Cruz. This CD commemorates the occasion with performances from both nights, presenting Burrell's sparkling guitar in settings that range from an intimate trio to fronting Wilson's 17 -piece band. The material reflects Burrell's long career and broad associations. Among the small group tracks, there's a beautiful quartet sequence of Wayne Shorter's "Footprints," J.J. Johnson's "Lament," and Miles Davis's "All Blues," each demonstrating Burrell's consummate lyricism and absolute mastery of the mainstream modern. The big-band tracks pick up on associations with Duke Ellington, including the elegant "Sophisticated Lady" and "Don't Get Around Much Anymore," with the 88-year-old Wilson providing a sparkling foundation that has Burrell and company soaring. Best of all is the extended "A Night in Tunisia" with a septet that has organist Joey DeFrancesco and flutist Hubert Laws. --Stuart Broomer

Average customer rating:

Nancy does it again
Two Old Underrated Pros at Play

Live at Jazz Standard
Nancy King
Manufacturer: Max Jazz Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Easy To Love
Footprints
From This Moment On
Turned to Blue
In Amsterdam: Live at the Bimhuis

ASIN: B000F6ZP2M
Release Date: 2006-05-09

Tracks:

There's A Small Hotel
I Fall In Love Too Easily
Little Suede Shoes/Day By Day
Everything Happens To Me
Ain't Misbehavin'
If You Never Come To Me (Inutil Pasaigem)
There Will Never Be Another You
Autumn In New York
Four

Album Description

Very few improvisers in vocal jazz have mastered the musical vocabulary like Nancy King. The same can be said for the extremely accomplished pianist Fred Hersch. After many years of circling each other, the two have finally been documented in Nancy's new MAXJAZZ release Live at Jazz Standard. In fact, the two had never met each other before this magical night when the tapes were rolling without Nancy's knowledge. Nothing on this disc was planned or rehearsed. These two talented artists chose songs, keys and tempos along the way, and the end result: jazz at its best.

The stage was set on Saturday, October 23rd, 2004 when Fred Hersch was concluding his second "Duo Invitation Series" at Jazz Standard in New York City, where he played with six different duo partners during the week. Fred was encouraged by Scott Morgan to fly Nancy in for the series. She had not appeared in a major New York venue in many years. Live at Jazz Standard features some wonderful standards performed by two extraordinary musicians.

Customer Reviews:

Nancy does it again.......2007-03-17

This is one of her better ones and they are all good. A real jazz person's jazz not just pop or standard singer. Her phrasing is wonderful and you can understand all of it. Love it~~

Two Old Underrated Pros at Play.......2006-08-30

When I heard that Nancy King and Fred Hersch had recorded an album live, at the Jazz Standard in NYC, of piano-voice duets, I rushed out to get my copy. I expected something fantastic. But that can be a problem due to the fact that disappointment can come crashing down more easily when you have such expectations.

I am not disappointed in the least.

This c.d. confirms two major truths: First, with the passing of Ella Fitzgerald and Betty Carter, Nancy King is the finest living scat singer in the world. Like Ms. Carter, Ms. King sounds like an instrument truly searching for the "less obvious" note that nevertheless fits in the chord. Ms. King is also a great story teller. She didn't make me forget Shirley Horn or Mark Murphy, but at times she certainly reminded me of them here.

Second, Fred Hersch truly is one of the finest piano accompanists in the world. What amazes me about him is that he sounds quite different in accompanying Nancy King than he does in accompanying Janis Siegel, and in turn those recordings sound different than how he accompanies Renee Fleming. He basically knows what works for each singer.

Here, consistently throughout he lets Ms. King take the lead in the first chorus, then gradually gets more adventurous as she scats away. Then, when he solos, he plays even more "outside" than he does ordinarily with most singers--because that's how Ms. King sings. By the time he's done, we the audience have been in for quite a ride.

In the contest of most underrated jazz singer in the world (if there is one), Nancy King now is in the lead. Hopefully, someone soon will overtake her--but that will take some doing. Meanwhile, major kudos to Maxjazz: In the last few years, they have put out superlative vocal jazz recordings with Rene Marie, Dena DeRose, Erin Bode, and now this one. More, please. RC

Average customer rating:

Gives the impression of feeling but does not evoke much
Wynton at his absolute best
Audience ruins it
Another museum piece from Marsalis
Tasty

Live at the House of Tribes
Wynton Marsalis
Manufacturer: Blue Note Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Day Is Done

ASIN: B000A7Q2CI
Release Date: 2005-08-30

Tracks:

Green Chimneys
Just Friends
You Don't Know What Love Is
Donna Lee
What Is This Thing Called Love
2nd Line

Amazon.com

Wynton Marsalis headlines this lively, Night of the Cookers-type gig, recorded in Manhattan in 2002. Joining him on the frontline is his long-time partner, alto saxophonist Wessell "Warmdaddy" Anderson, backed by a rhythm section featuring bassist Kengo Nakarmura, drummers Robert Rucker and Joe Farnsworth, and pianist, Eric Lewis. The material is what you would expect on informal set like this: A riffing romp through Thelonious Monk's "Green Chimney's," two bouncy renditions of "Just Friends," and "What is This Thing Called Love," the enduring ballad, "You Don't Know What Love Is," Charlie Parker's "Donna Lee," delivered at bop-speed, and Paul Barbarin's Crescent City chaser, "2nd Line." Add percussionist Orlando Q. Rodriguez's Latin tinges and brother Delfeayo's on-point production to Marsalis's flawless flights, and you have a document that captures improvisation in the heat of performance, forged by the sacred give-and-take between the artist and the audience. --Eugene Holley, Jr.

Recommended Wynton Marsalis Discography

Black Codes (From the Underground)
Standard Time, Vol. 6: Mr. Jelly Lord
Citi Movement

Customer Reviews:

Gives the impression of feeling but does not evoke much.......2007-04-05

Perhaps a prime example of how a well primed audience (alcohol, etc) can drive the performers of the music into simple areas of loudness, virtuosity for its own sake, and thumpy rhythms. But in the peace of one's home it just does not come off that well. Music being the thing, I have to say the clunky rhythms and unfeeling playing leaves me indifferent. Not a worthwhile investment.

Wynton at his absolute best.......2006-12-22

Jazz critics have been hard on Wynton Marsalis because of his analytical style. If you are familiar with his work I think you can hear what the critics were talking about but I never thought they gave him enough credit for his incredible technique and creativity. On this recording he has created something special and the tired old criticism of his over-analytical style will be put to rest. The venue is intimate and the crowd response adds to the enjoyment of the listening experience. The sound quality is excellent and his ensemble is first-rate. Wynton comes alive in this recording and his improvisation is fresh, exciting and revealing. Wynton has a love for jazz that shines through in this live set. I personally feel it is one of the best jazz albums of the year and should be included in any jazz collection.

Audience ruins it.......2006-02-26

First, let me say that I've followed Wynton for a long time. I first saw him at the Kool Jazz Festival in Philadelphia in 1982 where he got into a cutting contest with Freddie Hubbard, and they blew the roof off the Academy of Music. "Sister Cheryl" from his first album is one of my all time favorite songs. "Hot House Flowers" was the very first audio CD I ever bought when I transitioned from vinyl LPs. And I consider his version of "You Don't Know What Love Is" on Marsalis Standard Time Vol 2 absolutely transcendent.

All that said, I've just listened to "Live at the House of Tribes" for the third time and am fairly certain that I'll never listen to it again. The music isn't bad, but the audience just ruins it for me. It's like sitting next to a table of drunks who won't shut up. Whoever said "this is not posers hooting to get their hipness on record" either doesn't get out much or is far more tolerant than I am.

Another museum piece from Marsalis.......2006-02-16

Marsalis turned his attention to classical music, a critic noted, after "getting his ass kicked every night in Art Blakey's band". He's a very good classical trumpet player- though not of the first rank- and his reputation in both jazz and classical worlds seems to be in large part built on the the novelty of crossing over. His status in non-Jazz circles was established by Ken Burns' documentary, which made him out to me the New Hope of Jazz, and led to his leaving his mark at Lincoln Center, where they don't know much about jazz either.

Marsalis approaches jazz the same way he approaches classical music, which is to say as a museum piece to be dusted off and played none-for-note perfect, devoid of any real fire or imagination. You'll never hear a trumpet player described as playing "in the style of Wynton Marsalis" the way someone might be described as playing "like Miles" because there's simply nothing worth copying in Marsalis' playing.

This album, like all Marsalis albums, consists of very restrained, very controlled playing. There isn't an original lick on it. I suppose it makes great background music, but who wants to pay for that? If you want to hear a really great jazz combo led by a trumpet player, buy ANY album of Miles, Bix, Jimmy McPartland, Bobby Hackett, Clifford Brown, Chet Baker... the list goes on. And you won't find Wynton's name on it.

Tasty.......2006-02-01

This is a good time. Marsalis' playing here is very nice, very confident, full of fun and clearly reveling in the exuberance of the audience. I'm a fan of live jazz recordings that capture a moment in time and give you a sense of the place and the atmosphere of the place. Live At The House of Tribes is successful on both counts. Enjoy.

Average customer rating:

Wondrous, beautiful playing - Stunning, vibrant recording
piano jazz trio
Possibly his best album
Still Live is one of the best by this trio
Still LIve

Still Live
Keith Jarrett Trio with Gary Peacock and Jack De Johnette
Manufacturer: Ecm Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Standards, Vol. 1
Whisper Not (Live in Paris 1999)
Standards, Vol. 2
Keith Jarrett at the Blue Note: The Complete Recordings
Standards in Norway

ASIN: B0000260CN
Release Date: 2000-06-06

Tracks:

My Funny Valentine
Autumn Leaves
When I Fall In Love
The Song Is You

Tracks:

Come Rain Or Come Shine
Late Lament
You And The Night And The Music
Extension/Intro/Someday My Prince Will Come
Billie's Bounce
I Remember Clifford

Customer Reviews:

Wondrous, beautiful playing - Stunning, vibrant recording.......2007-03-04

How to convey the incredible music and inspired music-making here? Words that might give an adequate impression might be: vibrant, ecstatic, sparkling, explosive, swinging, lyrical, poetic, and maybe plenty more besides..., but you would already getting the idea by now.

I couldn't agree more about the stunning performance of 'My Funny Valentine' noted by the reviewer below - it is absolutely spellbinding. It is truly superb, and for me it's simply one of the most moving and magical performances I've experienced in a lifetime of music.

This whole record shimmers with a radiance of some kind. There's an almost electric buzz in the air from start to finish, and it is superbly captured on this recording by ECM's first maestro of the recording art: engineer Martin Wieland. What a beautiful recording!

And what astonishing performances by these great, great players. I've got umpteen recordings by this trio, and yet this one is one of the very finest. It's a very special album indeed. Electrifying performances and pristine, sparking sound. Highest recommendation.

piano jazz trio.......2007-01-24

One of the all time favourite records!
Have been listening to it for years, never got tired of it.

Possibly his best album.......2004-12-24

Possibly the best album Jarrett has ever put out. This would be a great CD to give anyone to introduce them to this jazz piano great. His trio is in top form as they add their unique flavor to these enduring jazz standards. There is not a single bad song on this album. Great for jazz neophytes, fans, and curious listeners alike.

Still Live is one of the best by this trio.......2004-06-24

The best albums by the Standards Trio, in my opinion, is the live recordings. That's where the intimacy and the spontanity has top priority, and that's what makes good music even better. The first disc begins with "My Funny Valentine", followed by the often played "Autumn Leaves" and "When I Fall In Love", and finally "The Song is You". The second disc is also standards only, excluding a short "Extension" and an "Intro".

If you're not new to the trio, you won't be surprised to learn that the form is the same as ever, but that the music is fresh, and that under the immediate layer (the output as such) there's a symbolic layer hidden. That's how _I_ hear the trio: The structure, the melody, the notes, the drums means something more than just mere sound. A philosopher names Schopenhauer once said that "music is the only art form which created direct contact to the world." Call me crazy, but I like the music not for the melody of the songs themselves, but for the deeper thoughts hidden under the surface.

"Still Live" is one of the best by the trio (as I have said), but not the best. If you want the best, go for "Up For It". But "Still Live" is still better than many other by the trio, so buying these two discs won't be a bad decision. However, newcomers should propably start elsewhere.

Still LIve.......2003-06-29

As a trained Musician with 20 years of playing and touring experience with many Jazz ensembles and big bands, and with experience on stage with well known pros, I can say with assuredness, this is one of the finest, most sensitive Jazz albums I've ever heard. The introduction to My Funny Valentine alone will send chills up your spine. For P2P folks, this is one that's hard to find and well worth the money to own.

Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Vol. 3: Music of 1937

Average customer rating:

What a pianist/musician!
Master At Play...

Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Vol. 3: Music of 1937
Dick Hyman
Manufacturer: Concord Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000006IK
Release Date: 1990-06-27

Tracks:

Spoken Introduction
Where Or When
A Foggy Day (In London Town)
Bob White (Whatcha Gonna Swing Tonight)
Some Day My Prince Will Come
The Folks Who Live On The Hill
Bei Mir Bist Du Schon
Loch Lomond
Thanks For The Memory
In The Still Of The Night
My Funny Valentine
Caravan

Customer Reviews:

What a pianist/musician!.......2002-03-24

There is no need to say that Dick Hyman is an impeccable pre-bop piano player. His technique is flawless, his sense of voicing and arranging within a tune is masterful. He is widely respected among other jazz musicians, and rightly so. Furthermore, the Maybeck jazz series is one of the best series of jazz piano recordings made, if not the best. You should own every album in the series just because it is a Maybeck recording. However, that said, for jazz listening experience, Dick Hyman isn't my kind of jazz. He feels too much like he is playing ragtime through every piece. By this I mean his playing feels heavily arranged. It feels like he practiced much too much in his earlier days with the metronome. Where is the let loose careless devil-may-care attitude that marks the best of jazz solo playing? There needs to be the equivalent in pre-bop of what Bud Powell gave to bop -nervous passion and the push beyond the limits of technique. Hyman's technique drives his playing. It should be the other way around. Earl Hines had a fantastic technique, but there was no mistaken that it was in the service of the music he created, and, in this sense, Earl signaled what was to come. But even the great stride pianists had that intensity and let-loose quality. Hyman seems so controlled, so exact, so unexciting, because he always seems to know where he is going. This is mind over -- blood sense? I wish I liked him more because he is one hell of a pianist. For jazz listening, however, I would rather go to the real thing than the repertory of it. Many excellent and highly regarded jazz musicians have done more for musical education than for the music, which is saying a lot - I put Wynton Marsalis in this category as well as Dick Hyman. They have been central in acculturating jazz as repertory music --the latest, and I hope, not the last, form in which jazz gets known beyond the devotees. Ah, give me a little of the down-to-earth and blood-level swinging of Dave McKenna right now, if you know what I mean. McKenna did a Maybeck recording too, and so did Kenny Barron, Hank Jones, and Joanne Brackeen. Now that is my kind of jazz.

Master At Play..........2001-03-28

Concord's decision in the early '90's to record in recital a wide array of the world's greatest jazz pianists was one of the greatest gifts ever bestowed upon the American public. All were recorded in the same venue for virtually the same group of listeners over the course of a number of years, and the sum total is an historic document that will enlighten and enthrall music lovers for generations to come.

Of all of these great recordings, the most completely satisfying may be this performance by Dick Hyman, one of America's greatest musicians. Film composer, arranger, conductor, and historian of jazz and other forms of indigenous music, he is still most astonishing when seated at a keyboard and given the opportunity to "just play." Of course, he can't resist a "theme," and it's staggering to look at the list of great hit songs from 1937, all permanent standards in the repertoire.

Hyman is the rare musician who has the technique to play absolutely anything he can think, and always thinks the extraordinary. Everything on this CD is wonderful, and it's marvelously recorded (there is audience noise, but it's not distracting). I am not a pianist myself, but this has already made my desert island short list. Buy it - you'll enjoy it forever.

Live East/West: Birdland/Yoshi's 2CD Set
Average customer rating:

My favorite Jacqui Naylor album

TO COOL TO BE COOL

A soft 5; But still a 5

Very Good

Magic, pure magic--tell me more and then some

Live East/West: Birdland/Yoshi's 2CD Set
Jacqui Naylor
Manufacturer: Ruby Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0007R8EMM
Release Date: 2005-03-15