Tuesday, January 07, 2014

NEW RELEASES - CATERINA VALENTE, JIMMY SAPIENZA & CHRIS PANGIKAS, SHEILA JORDAN

CATERINA VALENTE - LIVE AT THE TALK OF THE TOWN / CATERINA VALENTE LIVE

Two different live albums from Caterina Valente – served up here in a single set! Live At Talk Of The Town is one of Valente's great albums in the US – upbeat, swinging, and with a very groovy feel that has Caterina sounding especially nice on some of the album's medley tracks – done with a feel that's a lot less hokey than you'd hear from other artists! The spoken bits show her German accent, but the rest have a groovier swinging feel – and the backings are surprisingly jazzy throughout, handled by Burt Rhodes, with vibes and bongos from the great Fats Sadi! Titles include an excellent "Bacharach Medley", plus "Parade Medley", "Mother Goosanova", "Falling In Love", "Canto De Ossanha", and "Spanish Medley". Caterina Valente Live is a record that's mostly sung in German, but one that also has a really universal appeal – thanks to backing from a cool jazz combo that includes MPS heavyweights Fats Sadi on vibes and bongos, and Sigi Schwab on guitar! Horst Jankowski directs the music, and other great instrumental elements include organ from Gotz Wendland and guitar and flute from Silvio Francesco – both mixed up in these really playful arrangements from Heinz Kiessling that show Valente's great ability to skirt both jazz and pop. There's some nice medley numbers – including "Musical Hit Parade", and "Italian Hit Parade" – plus versions of "Canto De Ossanha", "Singing My Song", "Falling In Love With Love", and "The Windmills Of Your Mind". ~ Dusty Groove

JIMMY SAPIENZA & CHRIS PANGIKAS - AZURE TE

In 2007, Jimmy won an Emmy Award for his participation in the WQED Multimedia television show “Live From Studio ‘A’.” Sapienza’s rendition of “Just A Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody,” along with outstanding performances by Bo Wagner and other great Pittsburgh artists, won the Emmy in the category of “Arts Program or Special”. Sapienza is an expert showman, songwriter and stylist. A 'saloon singer' with a spontaneous, up and slightly offbeat sense of humor, he is one of the last Italian Saloon Singers steeped in the tradition of those great crooners that preceded him. Jimmy is also the leader of his own band, Jimmy Sapienza’s Five Guys Named Moe ™. The Moes are widely known for their crowd-pleasing performances and world-class sound. “Jimmy is the BEST!” said the late KDKA radio personality John Cigna. “He’s like Louie Prima, Sinatra, Dean-O, Tony Bennett and Louis Armstrong, all rolled into one loveable package!” Radio jocks Tony Mowod, Bob Studebaker, Chilly Billy Cardille, and Jack Bogut in the Morning all speak highly of Jimmy and frequently feature him on their programs.
http://www.thejazznetworkworldwide.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network


SHEILA JORDAN - PORTAIT OF SHEILA

One of the only two vocal jazz albums that the Blue Note label ever recorded – and a haunting batch of tracks from a young Sheila Jordan! The style here is quite different than that of Jordan's later, more experimental records – and this early session shows her as an extremely talented young vocalist, with a unique approach that adds a sparkling modernist touch to familiar tunes – yet which still keeps things in a relatively more straightforward fashion. There's a great mixing of older and newer visions in the set – not just in Jordan's vocals, but also in the small combo backing by the trio of Barry Galbraith on guitar, Steve Swallow on bass, and Denzil Best on drums. Titles include great versions of "Baltimore Oriole", "Dat Dere", and "Hum Drum Blues" – plus the tunes "I'm A Fool To Want You", "Am I Blue", "Laugh Clown Laugh", and "Who Can I Turn To?". ~ Dusty Groove


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