62nd Street Adds, Reviews

Sarah Moule – Songs From the Floating World

Leave a comment

moule300-1Sarah Moule – Songs From
The Floating World (Red Ram)
Released – September, 2014

Fran Landesman was a lyricist, and what one might call a free spirit. In her 2011 obituary (She died at 83), the New York Times said she “made her life into an art form — not least because of the exuberantly public extramarital sex life she delighted in sharing with London tabloids.”

For years, BBC Radio has featured a program called “Desert Island Discs,” inviting guests to pick their favorite records, and the one luxury item with which they’d want to be stranded. In a 1996 episode, Ms. Landesman caused a bit of a stir when she said her luxury would be cannabis seeds.

The Times obit goes on to say, “…her lasting footprint was the mordant, biting, yet strangely tender lyrics she used to chronicle the world’s lovers, lunatics and losers.” Probably the two most-recorded from her body of work are “Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most,” and “The Ballad Of The Sad Young Men.”

Lyrics by Ms. Landesman. Music by Simon Wallace. Unforgettable interpretation by Sarah Moule.

My introduction to Ms. Moule came in an email: “I am married to Simon Wallace and have been recording his and Fran’s songs since 2002….I wonder whether you would be interested in a CD of mainly Fran Landesman and Simon Wallace songs.”

The disc opens with echoes of St. Augustine in “Lord, I Want To Be Good,” one of six Landesman-Wallace tracks getting their recorded debut here, and this track hooked me for the rest, a very pleasant (if somewhat melancholy) trip through titles like “Don’t Fall In Love With Me,” along with “Did I Break Your Heart,” and “Scars,” which is more tender than the title would suggest:

Don’t be ashamed | Everybody’s got Scars,
From our various wars | On the way to the stars

Don’t try to hide | Everybody’s got scars,
From crash landing on Mars | With these egos of ours

moule300-2

And yet, if I had to choose a single track, it would be Cole Porter’s “Under My Skin,” delivered with such longing that it took me a little while to exit my own reverie, remembering my own tales of little romantic infatuations. These songs aren’t for kids. Ms. Moule isn’t just technically perfect, she proves that one needs more than a few life experiences to instinctively deliver these lyrics the way they were written. She’s not only revealing her own soul – she seemed to be looking into mine.

It’s good that I don’t have to pick just one. Neither should you. Highest recommendation for this handcrafted set – this work of art.

Website – Facebook – YouTube – Twitter

Tracks in bold have been added to the playlist at 62ndStreet.com.

62nd Street Adds, Reviews

Miel de Botton – Magnetic

Leave a comment

Miel de Botton - MagneticMiel de Botton – Magnetic
(Miel Creations)
Released – March 9, 2015

Quite a woman, this Miel de Botton. Google the name, and you find that she’s a Swiss contemporary art collector and philanthropist; the daughter of a pioneer in contemporary asset management, and the sister of Alain de Botton, a philosopher and TV presenter. Dig deeper, and you find that she’s the former wife of banker turned film producer Angus Aynsley. From an article in the UK’s Evening Standard: “She studied law at Oxford, worked as a clinical psychologist and focused on bringing up her two children. But last year, at the age of 44, she began to make an album.”

The album drops in the US this week, with a sixties vibe, which Ms. de Botton acknowledges, “From the 60s, I adore Leonard Cohen, Janis Joplin, Albert Hammond, Françoise Hardy, Serge Gainsbourg, the Beatles…These were some of the artists that my parents played to me, I feel that they have infiltrated my being.”

The eight tracks are lush and strikingly shiny in their execution – Ms. de Botton weaves her angelic alto through the entrancing arrangements – all originals, all big-girl stuff. She writes, “I write about emotions that I’ve had, difficult and joyful situations that I’ve been in. In my songs I often call for things I’m wishing for in my life. A true love, communion with others, an end to violence, joy…”

debotton300-2

“Bad Men” is the first single released from this set, a personal story, she says – telling that same Standard interviewer that it’s, “…a cry of having enough of people who seem to be close to you and then suddenly walk away. I wanted the song cathartically to make things change.” The other English single released is “Dazzle Me Diamond,” the story of a disillusioned bride: “After the party’s over | the wedding bed is cold.”

Rare is the first outing as polished as this. Ms. de Botton credits producer Andy Wright, who has worked with acts like Simply Red and the Eurythmics: “I feel I have entered a new world where I can fully express myself in exciting ways…”

Handcrafted songs, polished by the team she describes as “…wonderful people and so talented. It is often a really steep learning curve but I want to keep on learning and giving as much as I can.”

Very highly recommended.

Website – Twitter – YouTube – Facebook – Instagram

(Tracks in bold have been added to the playlist at 62ndStreet.com)

Here’s the “Bad Men” video, a witty mini-movie in itself.

62nd Street Adds, Reviews

Amy Steinberg – Broken Open

Leave a comment

Amy Steinberg - Broken OpenAmy Steinberg – Broken Open
Released – February 2015

Performers are quick to tell you if they’re a “triple threat” – can sing, dance and act. A triple threat of a different bent, Amy Steinberg is a singer/songwriter, performer, choir director, and artist who works with acrylics.

A vocal artist who can channel Joni Mitchell one moment, Natalie Merchant the next, and Melissa Etheridge after that, although she names Bette Midler, Ani DiFranco, Christy Snow and George Carlin as influences. Blending spirituality and humor, or as she puts it, “…marrying the sacred and profane – fusing the dreamlike nature of spirit with the rooted realness of sexuality and humor.”

If every song tells a story, these are handcrafted and intense stories told by a gifted storyteller, who has been to dark places and back, lived to tell that story and find the positive things from the experience. Or as she puts it, “There is always a spark that the dark can’t deny.”

Favorites here include the opener, “Burning Into The High,” along with “Sawyer’s Song,” and “Letting Go,” and I’ll be adding these three at 62ndStreet.com.

That said, the stories are so personal, that’s it’s more than likely you’ll find your own favorites among this set, which is highly recommended.

Website – Facebook – YouTube – Twitter

Uncategorized

Szandra Szoke Quintet – Memory Palace

Leave a comment

szoke300-1Szandra Szoke Quintet –
Memory Palace
Released – March, 2015

It takes a certain boldness to – in the space of just over a year – begin a new musical endeavor, and to populate the debut album with all original music. That’s what Szandra Szoke has done with this first outing, and the result is a solid set of very personal lyrics and music.

Interestingly, seven of the nine tracks are in English. “Writing in English comes more naturally in this period of my life,” Ms. Szoke writes, “…than writing in Hungarian. It also helps that I am a great fan of the language. Singing in English as a Hungarian allows me to be extremely personal and somewhat protective of my deepest self at the same time.”

The liner notes call it a “…delicate, daydreaming, curious kind of music,” and indeed – this material is much more than three verses and a bridge. Ms. Szoke’s intense alto is in command of her lyrics – whether challenging (“Wool“), or wistful (“Memory Palace“). Those are two of my favorites from this album. Another is “Whitewater,” a track that reminds me very much of the stereotypical sixties jazz/poetry performances. Those three were added to the playlist at 62ndStreet.com.

And if it’s a bold outing, Ms. Szoke says she feels as if she has plenty of support. “…I feel like being on a playground, everyone around me is highly skilled and extremely creative, it feels like I can do anything, because I can be sure they are there to catch me if I fall.”

That backing group includes Gabor Cseke on piano, Istvan Fekete on trumpet, Peter Olah on bass, and Cszba Pusztai on drums. Does so intensely personal music defy commercial success?

Let’s hope not. I’ll look for more from Ms. Szoke and her group. This disc is recommended.

62nd Street Adds, Reviews

Uptown Vocal Jazz Quartet – Vocal Madness

Leave a comment

Uptown Vocal Jazz QuartetUptown Vocal Jazz Quartet –
Vocal Madness
Released – November 7, 2014

Dedicated to the late Tim Hauser, who founded the Manhattan Transfer – this east-coast based foursome joins with saxophonist Richie Cole (Lionel Hampton, Doc Severinsen, Eddie Jefferson) for a dozen cool tracks.

Ginny Carr leads the group. Her alto is joined by Andre Enceneat on Bass, soprano Holly Shockley, and tenor Robert McBride.

I’ve added Mr. Cole’s original “Bossa Nova Eyes,” along with “I Love Lucy” (yes, that Lucy), and Ms. Carr’s tribute to Eddie Jefferson, “He Was The Cat” to the playlist at 62ndStreet.com. But buy the album, and spring for the whole dozen. And forget the old standards. These tight harmonies and hand-crafted lyrics will have you believing they’ve been around for forever.

Highly recommended.

Uncategorized

Jamila Ford – The Deep End

Leave a comment

Jamila Ford - The Deep EndJamila Ford – The Deep End
(Skinny Chick Records)
Released – September 9, 2014

Jamila Ford has backed names like Bonnie Pointer (Pointer Sisters) and Melody Gardot; she gets her turn front and center on this five track EP.

Not wasted. Confident and powerful, Ms. Ford motors through four off-the-beaten-track jazz standards, and one of her originals, “Silencio.” That’s the one that got my attention, standing up alongside the standards, but…well, original.

As my kid, the musician, says, “Anyone can do a decent cover. Do you have the chops to make something original stand out?”

Yep.

The whole album is worthy of a five-spot. My favorites include “All Blues,” the opener, along with “Gentle Rain.”

And “Silencio.” All three added to the playlist at 62ndStreet.com.

But buy the whole thing.

Highly recommended.