APOLLO 5 –
WITH A SONG IN MY HEART
'With A
Song In My Heart' is the debut album from the dynamic British a cappella
quintet, Apollo5. The group performs a repertoire ranging from retro jazz, pop
and classical arrangements to Christmas a cappella and has been praised for its
engaging and entertaining performances. Performances in London have included St
Martin-in-the-Fields, the Royal Albert Hall, the Troxy, Café de Paris, the
Houses of Parliament, Pizza Express Jazz Club Soho, The Crazy Coqs and Kings
Place. Recent UK festivals include The City of London Festival, The London A
Cappella Festival and the Petworth Festival. Apollo5 is part of the VCM
Foundation, and is involved in its innovative education programme aiming to
inspire creativity through music. The programme, led by VOCES8, reaches 20,000
young people annually, working in over 200 schools in the UK, France, Sweden,
the USA and Asia. The foundation has its home at the Gresham Centre, at St Anne
and St Agnes Church in the heart of the City of London. In partnership with the
Diocese of London, VCM is establishing a hub for excellence in education,
outreach and the performance of vocal music. The album brings together some of
Apollo5's favourite songs, arrangements of favourites ranging from spirituals,
folk, jazz, soul and pop. Most are arranged by Matt Greenwood, who has written
for the group for several years. ~ Amazon
ELINA DUNI
QUARTET - DALLENDYSHE
On
'Dallendyshe' ("The Swallow"), her second ECM album, Elina Duni sings
songs of love and exile. The troubled history of the Balkan regions has
inspired many such songs and the pieces here, primarily from Albanian
traditional sources, are interpreted with intensity and insight by Elina and
her band. The Tirana-born and Swiss-raised singer has become an exceptional
musical storyteller embodying the songs' narratives, in a way that transcends
genre definitions and language limitations. "This time there is a sense of
lightness to the feeling and energy of the album," says Duni. "Even
though we are dealing with tragic themes of exile it is not as dark as 'Matane
Malit' [her ECM debut]. One of the fascinating things about music of the
Balkans, in a lot of the folk music, is the idea that the pain has to be sung.
And in singing you go beyond it. That's what the blues is about, of course, and
you find a similar sensibility in these Albanian songs about exile and lost
love." Duni's journey to the emotional centre of Albanian song began a
decade ago, when she and pianist Colin Vallon were students at Berne's
Hochschule der Kunste. Looking at Albanian folk music rather than jazz
standards as an improvisational resource led them to a whole range of
discoveries. Elina found her own voice in the old songs, and in reclaiming them
could also free them: the quartet's experimental yet pure acoustic versions
have been received with gratitude in Albania where folk themes were once harnessed
for propaganda purposes. ~ Amazon
WES
MONTGOMERY – IN THE BEGINNING
'In the
Beginning' features rare previously unreleased recordings by jazz guitar icon
Wes Montgomery spanning the years 1949 to 1958. This deluxe 2-CD set includes
26 newly discovered live and studio recordings. The set includes a complete
1955 Epic Records session produced by Quincy Jones, newly discovered 78 RPM
sides with Wes as a sideman recorded for Spire Records (1949), a live recording
from the home of Ervena Montgomery, Indianapolis (1956), live recordings from
the Turf Club (1956), the Missile Lounge (1958) in Indianapolis, and the
C&C Music Lounge in Chicago (1957). 'In the Beginning' features extensive
liner notes, and meticulously designed artwork that have become Resonance
Records' trademarks. The 2-CD version includes a 55-page booklet of liner notes
by journalist and noted jazz historian and biographer Ashley Kahn, legendary
producer Quincy Jones, guitarist Pete Townshend of The Who, alongside rare
never-before-published photos from The Montgomery Estate and friends in
Montgomery's native Indianapolis. Since Wes Montgomery's passing in 1968, only
two other albums of predominantly unreleased material have been released -
'Willow Weep for Me' (Verve, 1968) and 'Echoes of Indiana Avenue' (Resonance,
2012). Resonance Records is pleased to introduce the third such archival
offering with 'In the Beginning'. ~ Amazon
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