Michael Wollny Trio – Weltentraum (2014)

Michael Wollny (born 25 May 1978) is a German jazz pianist and a professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Leipzig. He has played with international musicians including Joachim Kühn, Tamar Halperin, Marius Neset, Andreas Schaerer, Émile Parisien and Vincent Peirani, and recorded award-winning albums. In his Michael Wollny Trio, he has played with percussionist Eric Schaefer [de] and bassist Tim Lefebvre.

Wollny took piano and violin lessons at the Musikschule Schweinfurt and at the Hermann Zilcher Conservatory in Würzburg until 1997, successfully competing in the Jugend musiziert. He then studied at the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg with Chris Beier [de]. He took the artistic diploma with distinction in 2002, and the master classes diploma in 2004. He also studied with John Taylor and Walter Norris.

From 1998 to 2002, Wollny was a member of the touring Bundesjazzorchester [de]. He also played in a quartet led by Hubert Winter [de]. Wollny’s debut album was recorded with Wolfgang Kriener and Joachim Leyh. Wollny has played with Heinz Sauer from 2001 both as a duo and in a quartet. He was also a member of the trio [em] [de], with bassist Eva Kruse and percussionist Eric Schaefer [de]. He recorded CDs as a member of the group Young Friends (Great German Songbook, 2005), with Winter (Different Kind of Stories, 2003), with Hans-Peter Salentin [de] (Beyond Your Thoughts, Sound of Silence), and with Nils Landgren (The Moon, The Stars and You, 2011), among others. He was a regular pianist at the Staatstheater Nürnberg and the Nationaltheater Mannheim from 1999.

In 2005 Wollny signed a contract with the label ACT Music + Vision on which he released several albums with his trio and in collaboration with other artists, such as Sauer and Nils Landgren. In 2007 he released his first solo album Hexentanz. In 2014 his trio, now with bassist Tim Lefebvre, recorded the album Weltentraum, which made the pop charts. A review in The Guardian noted “They are one of the world’s great jazz-driven piano trios, and Nachtfahrten takes nothing away from this assessment.” In 2017, he was an artist in residence (Fokus Jazz: Michael Wollny) of the Rheingau Musik Festival, interviewed in a Rendezvous, and playing three concerts, improvising with Marius Neset in the first,[8] with vocalist Andreas Schaerer, Émile Parisien and Vincent Peirani in the second,[9] and finally with his trio and the Norwegian Wind Ensemble.

Since 2014 Wollny has lived with his family in Leipzig, where he is a professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Leipzig.

Wollny has been awarded several scholarships and prizes, including the cultural prize of Schweinfurt in 2003, and in 2005 both the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik (for Melancholia with Heinz Sauer) and the Bayerischer Kunstförderpreis. He received the Choc de l’annee 2006 from the French magazine Jazzman (for Certain Beauty with Heinz Sauer), the Jazzpreis of the Nürnberger Nachrichten in 2007, and in 2008 the SWR Jazz Prize [de], again with Heinz Sauer.[3] He was awarded the Echo Jazz in the category Instrumentalist/in des Jahres national – Piano/Keyboards in 2010 when the prize was awarded for the first time.

The trio received Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Award as Most Promising International Newcomer of the Year in London in May 2007. In 2011, they received the Neuer Deutscher Jazzpreis [de] (as a band, and for Wollny as the best soloist), and the Echo Jazz in the category Ensemble des Jahres national.[12] In 2013, Wollny received the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik for his album Don’t Explain – Live in Concert with Heinz Sauer, and the Bayerischer Staatspreis für Musik [de]. The trio received the Echo Jazz as ensemble of the year. Wollny and Sauer were awarded the Binding Culture Prize [de] in 2013. In 2015 and 2016 he was again awarded the Echo Jazz. (wikipedia)

Michael Wollny, best known as being one third of the thrillingly inventive young contemporary piano trio [em], is a musician who knows no boundaries in his search for new jazz ‘standards’. “Not a jazz standard in the traditional sense,” he points out but, “it also simply describes a song as a starting point that enables the musicians to grow a tune on top of it, a great melody and a few chords. In that respect I consider all of these tunes ‘standards’.”

Wollny‘s new trio recording Weltentraum is a stunning example of contemporary interpretation in the hands of a unique, fluidly virtuoso artist. Wollny, with both elegance and wit, explores the connection between songs that are worlds apart in terms of both centuries and cultures on Weltentraum. But in the pianist’s hands, the combination of interpretations of ‘God is a DJ’ by the riot girl power pop star Pink and the piece ‘Lasse!’ by Guiliaume de Machaut (the French Medieval composer and poet) gets to feel entirely natural. With the resourcefulness of a world class contemporary jazz improviser, Wollny finds common value in the songs’ starkly haunting melodies in spite of arriving from hugely diverse sources.

Says Wollny, “The basic idea for the whole album was to collect ‘songs’. At the very beginning Siggi Loch and I discussed the possibility of doing an album with ‘standards’ – not in the usual sense, but songs and music that I would consider “my” standards. this was the starting point. When I then started to think about the terms “standards” and “songs”, I was looking for music, that really “sings” to me – melodies, that touched me, that were speaking to me. The first thing I realised was that I needed to look for music not so much in traditional jazz or contemporary pop and rock, but also in the “lied” and “kunstlied” tradition, which brought me to Alban Berg, Gustav Mahler, Paul Hindemith etc. Also at one point I really got into the idea of doing a ‘night’ album, so this is how David Lynch, Nietzsche and Charlie Kaufman suddenly were in there as well. Some of the themes that were important to me for this album: tonality and atonality; fragility and force, melodic purity, romantic totalism, endless melodies, dark abysses, angels, dream logic, light darkness, gothic beauty.” Welcome to the unique world of Michael Wolllny.

Yet Wollny is also a team player and the assembled trio consists of an important new voice. That’s the New York-based bassist and Wayne Krantz sideman Tim LeFevbre who has been a friend of Wollny’s since [em] played alongside his singular rock-fuelled band Rudder in 2011. “He got to know our music back then and when Eva [Kruse] decided to take some time off for maternity leave, Eric and I figured that Tim would be a natural choice, let alone being a dream come true,” says Wollny. “Tim is one of the most astonishing bass players out there”. They started gigging together as a trio in early 2013. “Tim is just full of ideas, finding counterpoints, taking initiative and of course he is the absolute groove master”. The latter especially gives a vigorously fresh rhythmic grounding to the album.

The other trio member is the drummer Eric Schaefer, Wollny’s regular partner in the internationally renowned [em] a piano trio formed in 2005. “It’s a very inspiring situation to have a trio with two members knowing each other for over 10 years and a third new member, so on the one hand there is all the musical confidence, experience and trust that Eric and me built up over the last decade. On the other hand there is this constant freshness from Tim, who is playing different from Eva [Kruse], therefore keeping us very awake, surprising us, opening new doors.”

Wollny, who’s playing was recently described by The Guardian’s John Fordham as “one of the most exciting recent developments in European jazz”, has built an international reputation with the trio [em], one of the most compelling pianists of the new European jazz scene in the millennium years. With their four albums to date on ACT, the trio has catapulted him to the limelight with a sublime imagination and ferocious technique that draws from his unique mixed heritage of classical, jazz and rock music. But he has also demonstrated a heartfelt intimacy in his duo partnerships over the previous decade: recording four times with luminary saxophonist Heinz Sauer (From Monk to Prince) as well as with pianist Joachim Kühn and Nils Landgren. 2009’s award winning collaboration with harpsichordist Tamar Halperin on Wunderkammer delivered a fresh dimension to his playing; these new dreamily ambient and sonic tone colours are reflected also on the new album Weltentraum. “When the album was recorded, we thought about a title for quite some time, because ‘songs’ or ‘my standards’ didn’t feel right. Finally, Siggi Loch came up with Weltentraum (which is referring to a phrase by Gustav Mahler), and I immediately loved it. The idea of an album as a way of painting a picture of the world with a utopian force and the fragility of a phantastic dream.”

Although consisting of just one vocal track – Pink’s ‘God is a DJ’ features the vocalist Theo Bleckmann – words are of utmost significance to Wollny’s music. “I don’t think it’s possible to separate lyrics from songs. I’ve always been very interested in words and language,” he says. “After all, poetry and literature is simply composition with words. Since we are an instrumental band the only way to employ this aspect is through titles and liner notes; so I wanted the “words” on the album to be simple, utopian, naive, surreal, dark, all at the same time. No concepts, no analysis, no description, no political statements, no definitions, but poetry.”

In spite of being a romantically lyrical virtuoso, Wollny’s subtly investigative approach to improvisation always steers him away from the overly sentimental. What essentially draws Wollny to the fascinating selection of material on Weltentraum is, he says, an endless love of melodies. “Simplicity as space that allows the trio to grow stuff on top of it,” Wollny calls it. “These are simple resonances that lay the ground for complex improv.” (Press release)

Michael Wollny Trio’s dark, subconsious journey through the dreamworlds took pianist and composer Wollny’s increasingly inspired vision to a new level of performance and imagination (Jazzwise)

Personnel:
Tim Lefebvre (bass)
Eric Schaefer (drums)
Michael Wollny (piano)
+
The Bleckmann (vocals, electronics)

Tracklist:
01. Nacht (Berg) 3.31
02. Be Free, A Way (Coyne/Drozd) 3.47
03. Little Person (Kaufman/Brion) 3.38
04. Lasse! (de Machaut) 4.27
05. In Heaven (Lynch/Ivers) 3.31
06. Rufe in der horchenden Nacht (Hindemith) 5.32
07. Fragment an sich I (Nietzsche) 1.04
08. When The Sleeper Wakes (Wollny) 3.57
09. Hochrot (Rihm) 3.39
10. Mühlrad (Traditional) 3.46
11. Engel (Wollny) 4.11
12. Un Grand Sommeil Noir (Varèse) 3.45
13. Fragment an sich II (Nietzsche) 2.37
14. God Is A DJ (Pink/Davis/Mann) 8.43

*
**

The official website:

Lake – Wings Of Freedom (2014)

Lake, or commonly referred to as The Lake in some countries, is a German-British rock music group that formed in 1973 in Hamburg, Germany. In 1975, they were joined by lead singer James Hopkins-Harrison, who gave them their signature sound for the remainder of their recording career.

The band was originally active as The Tornados between 1967 and 1973, before reincarnated as Lake in 1973. They achieved modest success in Europe from the mid-1970s through the early 1980s, particularly in Germany where they were named artist of the year by the German Phono Academy in 1977. That same year, their self-titled debut album reached #92 in the US, and the single Time Bomb reached #83, which would prove to be their greatest success in the US.

The album reached #97 while Time Bomb reached #91 in Canada. Lake toured the US in the late 1970s as the opening act for various headline acts, including Lynyrd Skynyrd, Black Oak Arkansas, and Neil Young. On June 23, 1978, they were the opening act of a rock festival at the Feyenoord football stadium in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and were followed by Eric Clapton, Champion Jack Dupree and headliner Bob Dylan. After their contract with CBS was discontinued the label released previously unavailable live material from stage appearances between May 1979 and October 1980, introducing the Lake 1 (incl. Detlef Petersen) and the Lake 2 (incl. Achim Oppermann) formations on the double live album Live – On the Run. The band was able to sign another contract with the German Polydor label and in 1984 they released album #6, No Time for Heroes.

In 1985 Lake released Voices and in 1986 recorded its final Polydor album, So What. Longtime drummer Dieter Ahrendt left and was replaced by Udo Dahmen. Bassist Jo (Josef) Kappl also left, replaced by Benjamin Hüllenkrämer. So What included “Inside To Outside”, written by Achim Oppermann which had already been performed by former Kajagoogoo lead singer Limahl. Lake ceased to exist by 1986/87. James Hopkins-Harrison died from an overdose of heroin in 1991.

At the beginning of the new millennium, Lake was revived by Alex Conti, including Mike Starrs, Adrian Askew, Mickie Stickdorn, and Michael “Bexi” Becker. In March 2005, the first Lake studio recording in 20 years was released: The Blast of Silence.

After having had to withdraw their 2012 album, Freedom, due to quarrels with their then singer, Lloyd Anderson; their original singer, Ian Cussick, rejoined the band.[1] In February 2014, Lake released their new album Wings of Freedom, which contains most of the material of Freedom (except for three songs which have been replaced by two new songs), with new vocals by Cussick.

And here´s their last studio album:

“Commercial songs – presented in a sophisticated manner,” this was already on Alex Conti´s mind during the time when the well reputed Blues Rock guitarist joined the Hamburg outfit LAKE in October 1975 – “on the second day”, in the ancient biblical sense. A stylistic mix giving The Beach Boys, The Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan a run for their money impressed the Rock scene as well as the media: Backing the sound-defining lead singer James Hopkins-Harrison, this quintet was able to present delicate four-part harmonies as well as Jazz Rock grooves – and their soloing was world class also. In 1973, this German-British Rock group had gone out as a horn-assisted Big Band in Chicago and BS&T style, defined by members of the Hamburg Top 40 gang The Tornados: featuring lead singer Ian Cussick, bass player Martin Tiefensee and drummer Dieter Ahrendt. They were joined by musicians from Gary Glitter’s Boston Showband – organ player Geoffrey Peacey and trumpet player Bernard Whelan.Fort the band´s future West Coast Sound, this line-up seemed hardly typical. In order to arrive at their desired & definite style, they needed the sharp and sensitive voice of the Hanseatic Scotsman James Hopkins-Harrison.

When Alex Conti joined Lake, leaving Germany´s leading rock group Atlantis, the band had found their sonic calling at last. LAKE proceeded to drive the hard slog through the club circuit of the Republic – and soon the songs and arrangements provided by producer Detlef Petersen and singer Hopkins Harrison really worked a treat.The debut album LAKE, excellently sung and played and commercially oriented as it was, had been engineered “out in the country” by Abbey Road soundman Jerry Boys: the famous knob twiddler had served the Beatles, Pink Floyd and Yehudi Menuhin (!) from the other side of his glass partition – any need for a truly “bad” reputation? Jerry Boys and the Lake boys presented a sound which continues to impress even now, in 2010. Their LAKE collection hit the charts in 1976 the same way as the Gospel power single “Jesus Came Down” – pole position for a band which was able to move faster than even their media hype suggested – proved by a nationwide German tour with The Sutherland Brothers and Wishbone Ash. The harmony sound of those “Sailing” brothers Iain and Gavin Sutherland was topped as easily as the twin lead-guitars of Ash´s axemen Powell&Wisefield.Results were the national disc award “Deutscher Schallplattenpreis“ in April 1977, concert appearances with Genesis and gigantic open airs in Nuremburg and Karlsruhe with their role models Santana and Chicago. As far as their rough road anecdotes are concerned, one of them is a real horror nightmare even for our tough Lake warriors: During a US tour in 1977, it turned out that the band not only had a sixth sense in writing vocal harmonies, but also excelled in choosing airplanes. Lake musicians narrowly escaped the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash, because they had been booked for a radio session in Atlanta, Georgia prior to joining a Lynyrd-led festival.This LAKE band has been touring steadily since May 2002, re-constructing their combination of high harmony overkill and high adrenalin riffing and lovingly re-creating unforgotten classics like „Jesus Came Down“ or „Red Lake“ on a never-ending club tour. In February 2004, George Kochbeck decided to leave the LAKE re-incarnation – fully booked with film and TV music projects as he was. He got replaced by the experienced and reliable first rate Atlantis veteran Adrian Askew.Soon, cries for a LAKE comeback album became louder.

The well-oiled new line-up reacted in 2005 with BLAST OF SILENCE – and according to Mickie Stickdorn, “it was recorded in only twelve wonderful session days, with the complete package done and dusted!” LAKE guitarist Alex seemed to have found his ideal line-up, but confirms that the doors remain open for the legendary “Mark II“ section of Tiefensee- Ahrendt-Peacey-Petersen.Certainly, the songs on the new album sound as inspired as those of the “classic” LAKE era – featuring tremendous songs, fleshy riffs and rousing Hammond organ outbursts. Vocal power works in solo renditions courtesy of Mike Starrs and also in the high harmonies of Conti-Becker- Stickdorn-Askew, aided by a precise rhythmic engine room with tons of spare energy – and of course the inimitable guitar courtesy of Alex Conti. „Steely Dan with balls?“ Those veterans can live with that moniker.The line-up continued to play live until 2008. For one year, Adrian Askew was replaced by Ingo Bischof, a German keyboard legend in bands such as Kraan and Karthago, and – what goes around – Alex was happy to have his old Rosebud mate Holger Trull back on board, playing bass.

In 2009, Mike Starrs parted amically from LAKE, and Ingo Bischof went back to his own attractive projects. The new front man and lead singer is Chris Thornton jr – he has been on tour with T.M. Stevens and was a member of Alex´ former retro rousers Rudolf Rock & Die Schocker. On keyboards there is Jens Skwirblies now, who played with Ian Cussick´s band for years and also backed Toto singer Bobby Kimball.The current line-up has already achieved a first major tour with remarkable reviews. At the end of February, the band picked up the unique, one-in-a-million opportunity of supporting the legendary cult band Lynyrd Skynyrd on their German tour. Thus, Alex Conti was able to share the stage with the Southern Rock heroes for an exciting third time in his career. The remainder of 2010 will be spent playing further spectacular gigs – for instance with Foreigner – and of course, the long awaited new CD has now passed the planning stages and is being prepared in earnest! (metal-jukebox.net)

Personnel:
Alex Conti (guitar, background vocals)
Ian Cussick (vocals)
Jens Skwirblies (keyboards, background vocals)
Mickie Stickdorn (drums, background vocals)
Holger Trull (bass, background vocals)
+
Lloyd Anderson (vocals on 02.)
Eddie Filipp (drums, percussion on 03., 04., 08. + 09,)
Jim Hopkins-Harrison (vocals on 05.)

Tracklist:
01. Passionate Eyes (Conti/Randolf) 04:15
02. Silvia (Cussick/Skwirblies) 05:50
03. Die Just A Little (Mendonca) 03:18
04. Stone Crazy (Cussick/Skwirblies) 04:02
05. Nightbirds (Altenbroxter/Becker) 04:18
06. Ted Nugent And The Gunner’s Blues (Conti/Randolf) 05:00
07. Gin And Tonic (Mendonca) 04:14
08. Nineteen Sixties Man (Conti/Cussick) 03:52
09. Freewheeling (Conti/Randolf) 04:39
10. Wings Of Freedom (Conti/Cussick) 05:05

*
**

More from Lake:
The official website:

Leslie West – Silent Night + Roadhouse Blues (2021)

Leslie West (born Leslie Weinstein on 22 October 1945; died 22 December 2020) was an American rock guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter best known as a founding member and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Mountain. He also produced two studio albums and a live release with Cream bassist Jack Bruce under the name West, Bruce and Laing. West released a number of solo albums and was highly respected for his guitar work.

West gained fame the world over during his long career as one of the most innovative and influential musicians in the history of rock music. He is most noted for his role as leader of the explosive hard rock trio, Mountain, which was named by VH-1 as one of the Top 100 Hard Rock Groups of all time. With Mountain, he climbed the heights of rock stardom on the strength of a unique, signature guitar sound and classic songs such as “Mississippi Queen”, “Never In My Life” and “Theme From An Imaginary Western”,and Nantucket Sleighride which are still staples of rock radio to this day.

West earned the admiration of a long list of famous peers. During his career, he recorded or played with a litany of rock icons including Billy Joel, Van Halen, The Who, Mick Jagger and Jimi Hendrix, to name just a few. In fact, Eddie Van Halen, Michael Schenker and Richie Sambora have all cited West as an important influence on their own music.

West’s bold, expressive and unique guitar style is really a mirror of his own personality. Spend a little time talking with this larger-than-life figure, and you’ll realize that he is as charismatic without a guitar in his hands as he is with one. Possessing a sharp sense of humor, he was at once gregarious and gruff while recounting stories from his legendary past. When discussing his music projects, he exuded an infectious enthusiasm and excitement. Such projects could take him outside his traditional roles of guitarist, singer and songwriter.

In 1986, he acted alongside Tom Hanks and Shelley Long in the hit comedy film, The Money Pit and has lent his distinctive voice to the popular animated series, Beast Wars Transformers which ran for three seasons on the WB network beginning in 1996 before going into syndication. He has also contributed the theme music to the new WB show, Mutant X.

West was a popular personality on the Howard Stern Radio Show and was Musical Director for the shock jock’s FOX series, as well as for the late comedian Sam Kinison. Most recently, he lent his production and songwriting skills to an album by Atlantic Records’ modern rock group, Clutch, and has just released his own instructional guitar DVD, Big Phat Ass Guitar. (last.fm)

And here is his contribution to Christmas, a rare single, released in 2021

Silent Night” was recorded in 2015 für the compilation album “Blues Christmas” (can find it here).

And on the B-side of thi single we hear an exciting versions from the “Roadhuse Blues” (recorded in 2014) by The Doors (featuring Brian Auger & Rod Piazza !)

Personnel:
Leslie West (guitar, vocals)
+
Brian Auger (organ on 02.)
Scott Connor (drums)
Rod Piazza (harmonica)

Tracklist:
01. A Silent Night  (West/Gruber) 2.17
02. Roadhouse Blues (Densmore/Manzarek/Krieger/Morrison) 4.13

*
**

More from Leslie West:

Pentatonix – That’s Christmas To Me (2014)

Another Christmay album Pentatonix :

Pentatonix (abbreviated PTX) is an American a cappella group from Arlington, Texas, consisting of vocalists Scott Hoying (baritone), Mitch Grassi (tenor), Kirstin Maldonado (alto), Kevin Olusola (vocal percussion and vocals), and Matt Sallee (bass). Characterized by their pop-style arrangements with vocal harmonies, basslines, riffing, percussion, and beatboxing, they produce cover versions of modern pop works or Christmas songs, sometimes in the form of medleys, along with original material. Pentatonix formed in 2011 and subsequently won the third season of NBC’s The Sing-Off, receiving $200,000 and a recording contract with Sony Music. When Sony’s Epic Records dropped the group after The Sing-Off, the group formed its YouTube channel, distributing its music through Madison Gate Records, a label owned by Sony Pictures. Their YouTube channel currently has over 19 million subscribers and 5 billion views. The group’s video tribute to Daft Punk had received more than 355 million views as of November 20, 2021. (wikipedia)

That’s Christmas to Me is the third studio album by a cappella group Pentatonix. It is their sixth release overall and their second holiday release following their 2012 EP PTXmas. It only features previously unreleased material (except “Let It Go”, a bonus track of the Japanese Edition of Vols. 1 & 2). It was released on October 21, 2014 through RCA Records, peaked at number 2 on the Billboard 200, and has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

The album is named after the eponymous song by Pentatonix, the only original song featured on the album. By year’s end, December 31, 2014, according to Billboard, it reached a final 2014 total of 1.14 million copies sold, becoming the 4th best selling album of 2014 by any artist of any genre. The album is also the highest charting holiday album by a group since 1962. The album has sold 2,200,000 copies in the United States as of December 2016.

That’s Christmas to Me peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 in the United States.[9] and at number 4 on the Billboard Canadian Albums Chart. The album also charted moderately in other countries including Australia, New Zealand and Norway. On December 1, 2014, That’s Christmas to Me was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America and became the group’s first accredited release in the US. By year’s end (December 31, 2014), Billboard reported that the album had sold a total of 1.14 million copies, becoming only the 4th album to sell a million copies in 2014 in any genre (being surpassed only by Taylor Swift’s 1989, the Frozen soundtrack, and Sam Smith’s In the Lonely Hour) and was the Top Selling Holiday Album for 2014. Pentatonix became the first act to top both the Holiday Albums and Holiday Songs charts simultaneously since the Holiday 100 launched as a multi-metric tabulation in December 2011. The album is also the highest charting holiday album by a group since 1962. The album has sold 1,900,000 copies in the US as of December 2016. It is the only Christmas album to appear on the 2010s decade-end chart for the Billboard 200, charted at 75.

A single from the album, the group’s cover of “Mary, Did You Know?”, both debuted and peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 26, number 7 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and at number 44 on the Canadian Hot 100. The album’s title track, “That’s Christmas to Me”, also peaked at number 8 on the Adult Contemporary chart. During the holiday season, seven songs from That’s Christmas to Me charted on the Billboard Holiday Digital Songs chart: “Mary, Did You Know?” at number 1, “White Winter Hymnal” at number 2, “Silent Night” at number 5, “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” at number 8, “Sleigh Ride” at number 12, “That’s Christmas to Me” at number 16 and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” at number 17.

The album received generally favorable reviews by critics. Popdust complimented its “blistery bold arrangements,” and the group’s “truly remarkable, pinpoint precision.” Markos Papadatos from Digital Journal described it as “pure joy and one of the best projects I’ve heard this year.” FDRMX gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars, claiming the album has “a good mix of traditional holiday songs, religious ballads and originals thrown in.”[citation needed] The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel dubbed it a “Christmas miracle,” citing a “streak of beautifully sung, creative arrangements.”

In November 2014, Pentatonix were invited by Australian film director, producer and screenwriter Baz Luhrmann to be involved with the Holiday Window display at Barneys in New York City. Pentatonix performed at the opening night with a medley of songs from That’s Christmas to Me.

On November 27, 2014, Pentatonix participated in the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, performing “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” on the Homewood Suites float. Pentatonix also performed during NBC’s annual Christmas in Rockefeller Center special on December 3, 2014, performing “Sleigh Ride” and “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”.

Pentatonix returned to The Sing-Off, performing a medley of songs from That’s Christmas to Me during the Season 5 holiday special, which aired on December 17, 2014.

Pentatonix’s fourth studio album and second holiday-themed release, 2014’s That’s Christmas to Me, showcases more of the innovative a cappella group’s electronic dance music-influenced vocal sound. The album comes on the heels of the group’s other 2014 release, PTX, Vol. 3, and two years after the Yuletide EP PTXmas. Here, the former NBC Sing-Off season three champions perform a bevy of Christmas classics including “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,” “Silent Night,” and others, as well as the newly minted title track original. (by Matt Collar)

Personnel:
Mitch Grassi (tenor vocals)
Scott Hoying (baritone vocals)
Avi Kaplan (bass, vocals)
Kirstin Maldonado (alto vocals)
Kevin Olusola (vocal percussio, vocals on and backing vocals, lead vocals on “Mary Did You Know?” and “The First Noel”
+
Tori Kelly (vocals on 04.)

Tracklist:
01. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (Wesley/Mendelssohn) 3.12
02. White Winter Hymnal (Pecknold) 2.47
03. Sleigh Ride (Parish/Anderson) 2.16
04. Winter Wonderland / Don’t Worry Be Happy (Smith/McFerrin/ Bernard) 3.27
05. That’s Christmas To Me (Hoying/Olusola) 3.02
06. Mary, Did You Know? (Lowry/Greene) 3.23
07. Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy (Tchaikovsky) 2.07
08. It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year (Pola/Wyle) 3.05
09. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town (Coots/Gillespie) 2.42
10. Silent Night (Mohr/Gruber) 3.13
11. Let It Go (from Frozen) (Anderson-Lopez/Lopez) 3.26

*
**

More from Pentatonix:

The official website:

Gregg Karukas – Soul Secrets (2014)

Gregg Karukas (born 1956) is a smooth jazz pianist from Maryland who first gained notice in Washington, D.C., then moved to Los Angeles in 1983. He backed Melissa Manchester before he co-founded the Rippingtons in 1985.

He experimented with drums, guitar, trumpet, and keyboards as a child, but it was not until his teens that he pursued music professionally as a pianist, having played with the Bowie High School Starliners big band. When he was sixteen, he owned one of the first Minimoog synthesizers.

Karukas spent five years with Tim Eyermann in the band East Coast Offering. After moving to Los Angeles, he worked with Shelby Flint, David Benoit, Richard Elliot, Grant Geissman, Dave Koz, Ronnie Laws, and Melissa Manchester. He was a member of the Rippingtons when they recorded their first album, Moonlighting, in November 1985. He has worked as a sideman with Larry Carlton, Jeffrey Osborne, George Duke, Rick Braun, Brenda Russell, Craig Chaquico, Boney James, and Peter White.

Karukas has received multiple Best Keyboardist nominations at the Oasis and National Smooth Jazz Awards. He has collaborated with Brazilian composer Dori Caymmi and Ricardo Silveira. He produced, arranged, engineered, and co-wrote two albums with Omar Akram, whose Echoes of Love won the Grammy Award for Best New Age Album in 2013.[2]

He owns and distributes most of his music on his label, Nightowl Records (wikipedia)

2013 Grammy winner Gregg Karukas is back with a new collection featuring his signature piano touch, pristine production, and melodies that are both soulful and sophisticated. Organic, funky, and melodic is how the original Rippingtons keyboardist describes his latest, long awaited 12th solo project, ‘Soul Secrets’. Gregg’s elegant grand piano melodies and infectious grooves are everywhere; this time around he digs into his roots, featuring the classic Fender Rhodes, Wurlie, Minimoog and B3 keyboards quite a bit. At a generous and expansive 14 tracks and no covers, ‘Soul Secrets’ reveals Karukas as an artist who has refined his sound to be instantly recognizable while constantly exploring a wide range of styles and grooves – from old school soul-jazz, with hints of gospel, R&B and funk to the world/samba grooves he immersed himself in while touring with Brazilian legends Sergio Mendes and Dori Caymmi. The album’s debut single, ‘Elegant Nights’ is classic Karukas; it was the #1 Most Added Track in its first week on radio. The live interplay sizzles as Gregg surrounds himself with an all-star guest list that includes his friends Rick Braun, Euge Groove, guitarists Ricardo Silveira, Michael O’Neill, Adam Hawley and James Harrah; violinist Charlie Bisharat, Luis Conte, Eric Valentine, Nate Phillips; vocalists Shelby Flint and Ron Boustead and 21 year old rising sax star and occasional touring partner Vincent Ingala. (press release)

Gregg Karukas is a superb musician with an impressive track record. This album is really good and recommended. (Sven Böhlin)

I recently “discovered” this guy, and really like his music, he is an excellent keyboard player, and has some really talented guest musicians playing with him, they clearly enjoy their work – and play some very nice tight riffs. There is a good mix of moody and bouncy numbers too – I really raete him! (Richard Drake)

If you like Smooh Jazz … this album is a must !

Personnel:
Charlie Bisharat (violin on 10. + 14.)
Ron Boustead (vocals on 05.)
Rick Braun (flugelhorn on 02. + 08., trumpet, trombone on 08.)
Shelby Flint (vocals on 05.)
Euge Groove (saxophone on 03.)
James Harrah (guitar on 01.)
Adam Hawley (guitar on 12. + 13.)
Vincent Ingala (saxophone on 01., 06., 07., 09. + 11.)
Gregg Karukas (keyboards)
Michael O’Neill (guitar on 02. – 09. + 11.)
Nate Phillips (bass)
Ricardo Silveira (guitar on 05., 10. + 14.)
Eric Valentine (drums)

Tracklist:
01. Do Watcha Love 5.16
02. Soul Secrets 4.17
03. GK’s Funky Joint 5.04
04. Elegant Nights 3.50
05. Rio Drive 4.53
06. Only You (For Yvonne) 4.45
07. Snack Shack 5.10
08. Cafe Agogo 5.11
09. Secret Smile 6.24
10. Above The Clouds (For Lisa) 5.25
11. Walking On Air 5.16
12. Told You Twice 5.07
13. Randy Heads Uptown 5.10
14. Time Alone (For Ty Malo 4.58

Music composed by Gregg Karukas

*
**

The official website:

Alison Balsom – Paris (2014)

Alison Louise Balsom, Lady Mendes, OBE (born 7 October 1978) is an English trumpet soloist, arranger, producer, and music educator. Balsom was awarded Artist of the Year at the 2013 Gramophone Awards and has won three Classic BRIT Awards and three German Echo Awards, and was a soloist at the BBC Last Night of the Proms in 2009. She was the artistic director of the 2019 Cheltenham Music Festival.

Balsom attended Tannery Drift First School in Royston, Hertfordshire, where she started taking trumpet lessons from the age of seven, followed by Greneway Middle School and Meridian School, whilst also playing in the Royston Town Band from ages eight to 15. Subsequently, she took her A-levels at Hills Road Sixth Form College in Cambridge.

Playing in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain from ages 15 to 18, Balsom studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 2001 with first class honours and the Principal’s Prize for the highest mark. She has also studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and at the Conservatoire de Paris with Håkan Hardenberger

Balsom has been a professional solo classical trumpeter since 2001. She is a former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist, during which time she performed much of the major concerto repertoire for solo trumpet and orchestra with all of the BBC Orchestras,[6] and she released her debut album with EMI Classics in 2002. In 2005, she released her second disc, Bach Works for Trumpet, as part of a contract with EMI Classics. In 2006, Balsom won ‘Young British Classical Performer’ at the Classical BRIT Awards and was awarded the ‘Classic FM Listeners’ Choice Award’ at the Classic FM Gramophone Awards. She won ‘Female Artist of the Year’ at the 2009 and 2011 Classical BRIT Awards.

Her third album (the second disc in the EMI contract), Caprice, was released in September 2006, and her Italian Concertos disc was on the list of New York Times albums of the year. Balsom was a soloist at the 2009 Last Night of the Proms, performing, among other pieces, Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and a jazz arrangement of George Gershwin’s “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” with mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly.

In collaboration with playwright Samuel Adamson, Balsom devised Gabriel, a play using the music of The Fairy-Queen and other pieces by Henry Purcell and George-Frideric Handel, which she performed with actors and The English Concert as part of the 2013 summer season at Shakespeare’s Globe.

Balsom was the principal trumpet of the London Chamber Orchestra.[8] Her main trumpet is a Bob Malone-converted Bach C trumpet.[citation needed] About her natural trumpet playing, Balsom said in 2014, “I have been playing since I was in the 3rd year at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama – so since I was 21. I just fell in love with this instrument as soon as I started learning it, as it makes total sense of the whole Baroque era in terms of phrasing, colour and the difference in keys and certain notes of the scale, which you lose on a modern instrument such as the piccolo trumpet. I play various different makes but my favourite is by Egger of Switzerland.”

She is a Visiting Professor of Trumpet at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

She gave the world premiere of Qigang Chen’s Joie éternelle for solo trumpet and orchestra at the 2014 BBC Proms, and Guy Barker’s Lanterne of Light trumpet concerto at the 2015 BBC Proms. In addition to 14 years of solo appearances at the Proms, Balsom has also appeared at the iTunes Festival, Latitude Festival, Henley Festival, Un Violon Sur le Sable, France and Wege durch das Land, Germany.

In 2014 Balsom was chosen as one of 27 artists, including Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Florence Welch, and Sam Smith, to feature in one of BBC Music’s first broadcasts, an extravagant cover of the 1966 Beach Boys classic, God Only Knows. This track marked a first-time collaboration between the Warner, Sony and Universal Music labels.

She appeared on BBC Radio 4’s long-running Desert Island Discs programme on 4 October 2015.

In 2014, she returned to BBC Young Musician of the Year as a presenter of the category finals and semi-final of the competition alongside Miloš Karadaglić. In 2016 she co-presented BBC Young Musician with Clemency Burton-Hill.

Balsom succeeded Richard Rodney Bennett as President of Deal, Kent Festival in 2015. She was artistic director of the 2019 Cheltenham Music Festival, then stepped down in July 2019 to concentrate on performing and recording.

Balsom was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to music.

She has been awarded Honorary Doctorates from the University of Leicester (2015) [20] and Anglia Ruskin University, and is an Honorary Fellow of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

She has a son with the English conductor Edward Gardner. In 2017, she married film director Sir Sam Mendes. Their daughter was born later that year. (wikipedia)

And here´s her 9th solo album:

Studying in Paris helped to define Alison Balsom’s belief of what a virtuoso trumpet soloist might achieve in the footsteps of her mentor, Maurice André. This potpourri of a recital is, though, very much of its own time, eclectically flavoured in its collaborative elements and juxtaposition of music languages, and deftly underpinned by Balsom’s considered curating.

If the opening Satie Gymnopédie represents something of a beguiling temptress, a pair of Piazzollas reveal the soloist’s inimitable capacity for shaping a melody with the seasoned tonal focus and impeccable intonation which are integral to Balsom’s admired armoury.

For all the ‘loungey’ resonances in the arrangements, there is considerably more skill here than meets the eye. One could never imagine how Michel Legrand’s La valse des lilas could morph successfully into a reimagined vision of Messaien’s ‘Le baiser de l’Enfant-Jésus’ – but it does with almost Ravelian exoticism. Purists who followed Yvonne Loriod’s Vingt regards around the world may run a mile, but the result is an ensemble piece of kaleidoscopic discrimination and invention.

Slow-tempo trumpet discs can take their toll in a single sitting, however fine the playing, but there is a pleasing overall shape here; only in the arrangement of the slow movement of the Ravel concerto does the removal of the composer’s exquisite original textures occasionally outweigh the gains, not helped by some neutral longueurs in the emotional journey. Atmospherically recorded (as if in a smoky Montmartre club), with a high proportion of excellent arrangements to match Balsom’s measured panache, the key to this project’s success lies in how she, Guy Barker and Timothy Redmond have restitched a seam of Parisian music culture and envisaged a world which has taken on a life of its own. (by Jonathan Freeman-Attwood)

Personnel:
Alison Balsom (trumpet)
+
The Guy Barker Orchestra conducted by Guy Barker / Timothy Redmond (on 05.-07. + 09.)
+
Al Cherry (guitar on 11.)
Miloš Karadaglić (guitar on 02.)

Tracklist:
01. Gymnopedie No. 3 (Satie) 2.28
02. Cafe 1930 (Piazolla) 7.06
03. Oblivion (Piazolla) 4.07
04. La Valse Des Lilas (Legrand/Marnay/Barclay) 3.28
05. Le Baiser De L’Enfants Jesus Tres Lent, Calme (Messiaen) 5.46
06. Le Baiser De L’Enfants Jesus, Modere (Messiaen) 4.55
07. Piece En Forme De Habanera (Ravel) 2.43
08. Piano Concerto In G – Adagio Assai (Ravel) 8.18
09. Gnossienne No. 3 (Satie) 3.20
10. Les Feuilles Mortes (Autumn Leaves) (Kosman) 4.58
11. Nuages (Reinhardt) 4.13

*
**

The official website:

Paul Roland – Professor Moriarty’s Jukebox (2014)

Paul Roland (born 6 September 1959 in Kent, England), is a singer-songwriter, author, journalist and paranormal researcher.

Since the release of his first (shared) single “Oscar Automobile” in 1979, Roland has been spinning his tales against a backdrop of gothic rock, psychedelic pop, folk and, occasionally, baroque strings. His character creations include a Regency magistrate, various 19th Century murderers, a retired executioner, an opium addict, and an entire court of medieval grotesques.

Paul has been called “the male Kate Bush” by one-time label-mate Robyn Hitchcock, and “The Lord Byron of Rock” by the French music magazine Les Inrockuptibles.

“Paul Roland has remained a cherished figure on the gothic rock and psychedelic pop periphery for 30 years…a treasury of detail and eloquence…Roland’s impeccable narratives (and) formal, baroque instrumentation…creates the antiquated yet timeless ambience his songs deserve” (Marco Rossi, Record Collector, May 2010).

Joshua Pfeiffer of Vernian Process is quoted as saying “As for Paul Roland, if anyone deserves credit for spearheading steampunk music, it is him. He was one of the inspirations I had in starting my project. He was writing songs about the first attempt at manned flight, and an Edwardian airship raid in the mid-80s long before almost anyone else….”[1]

“Paul Roland writes nice melodies and has a very particular personality but he is too intellectual for me!” (Frank Zappa, 1988). (wikipedia)

A few years back Paul Roland released ‘In Memoriam 1980-2010’ a superb collection highlighting the range of great tracks Paul has produced over 30 years. In his latest release ‘Professor Moriarty’s Jukebox’ Paul has revisited his back catalogue again but this time through a previously unreleased session recorded last year. Like the best sessions and live material these recordings retain the spark that made them so fondly regarded but they are arranged or played differently (sometimes subtlety) so you can listen with fresh ears.

As with all of Paul’s material there’s a distinctly gothic edge to these new versions: from (one of my favourites) 2007’s rock edged ‘Re-animator’ to 1989’s acoustic macabre fan-favourite ‘Nosferatu’. Special mentions must go to ‘Aleister Crowley’ (originally on 1997’s ‘Gargoyles’ album) which as infectious a track as it was almost 20 years ago; and a rougher take on ‘The Puppet Master’ from the previous decade’s ‘Burnt Orchids’ long player.

There’s also an extra 9 tracks of outtakes, remixes and rarities, expanding the set considerably. One gem is his excellent version of The Kinks ‘I’m Not Like Everyone Else’, starting baroquely and cutting loose with fiddle. The track is particularly apt for Paul’s ghoulish tales giving the lyric new meaning. Whilst there’s plenty of Roland originals in these curios, equally as good as the earlier 10 session tracks, I must finish mentioning Paul’s version of Joy Division’s ‘Day of the Lords’. It’s an outstanding gothic remake of this seminal number.

So if you like Paul Roland you’ll love this release, and if you haven’t heard Paul’s work ‘Professor Moriarty’s Jukebox’ it’s another great place to start. (Jason Barnard)

And we hear fantastic violin melodies played by Veronique Rocka

Personnel:
Mick Crossley (guitar, background vocals)
Patryk Korzybski (drums)
Veronique Rocka (violin)
Joshua Roland (bass)
Paul Roland (vocals, guitar, percussion)
+
Derek Heffernan (guitar on 11.)
Simon Jeffrey (drums on 11., percussion on 12.)
John Tracey (bass on 11.)
Geoffrey Richardson (violin on 12. + 18.)
Nico Steckelberg (piano on 15.)

Tracklist:
01. Re-Animator (Roland) 3.48
02. The Crimes Of Dr Cream (Roland) 3.02
03. Cairo (Roland) 2.59
04. I Was A Teenage Zombie (Roland) 3.11
05. Captain Nemo (Roland) 4.35
06. Aleistair Crowley (Roland) 2.40
07. The Puppet Master (Roland) 3.33
08. Tortured By The Daughter Of Fu Manchu (Roland) 3.38
09. The Hanging Judge (Roland) 2.05
10. Nosferatu (Roland) 4.57
11 Meadows Of The Sea (unreleased re-recording 2007) (Bolan) 4.36
12. I’m Not Like Everybody Else (unreleased acoustic version 2007) (R.Davies) 4.29
13. Faeries (unreleased version) (Roland) 2.51
14.  Eight Little Whores (unreleased version) (Roland) 3.35
15. Kali (unreleased acoustic radio session) (Roland) 4.08
16. Bates Motel (unreleased acoustic radio session) (Roland) 5.11
17. I Dared The Devil (remixed from ‘The Devil in Love’ album) (Roland) 4.36
18. Death Of A Clown (outtake from ‘Sarabande’ sessions) (D.Davies) 3.55
19. Day Of The Lords (from ‘Shadowplay’, the Joy Division tribute album) (Curtis/Hook) 4.37

*
**

Professor James Moriarty – as you might imagine him to be:

Various Artists – Midnight Rider (A Tribute To The Allman Brothers Band) (2014)

The Allman Brothers Band were an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969[3] by brothers Duane Allman (founder, slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards, songwriting), as well as Dickey Betts (lead guitar, vocals, songwriting), Berry Oakley (bass guitar), Butch Trucks (drums), and Jai Johanny “Jaimoe” Johanson (drums). Subsequently, based in Macon, Georgia, the band incorporated elements of blues, jazz, and country music, and their live shows featured jam band-style improvisation and instrumentals.

The group’s first two studio releases, The Allman Brothers Band (1969) and Idlewild South (1970) (both released by Capricorn Records), stalled commercially, but their 1971 live release, At Fillmore East, represented an artistic and commercial breakthrough. The album features extended renderings of their songs “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” and “Whipping Post”, and is considered among the best live albums ever made.

Group leader Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident later that year – on October 29, 1971 – and the band dedicated Eat a Peach (1972) to his memory, a dual studio/live album that cemented the band’s popularity and featured Gregg Allman’s “Melissa” and Dickey Betts’s “Blue Sky”. Following the motorcycling death of bassist Berry Oakley one year and 13 days later on November 11, 1972, the group recruited keyboardist Chuck Leavell and bassist Lamar Williams for 1973’s Brothers and Sisters. This album included Betts’s hit single “Ramblin’ Man” and instrumental “Jessica”. These tunes went on to become classic rock radio staples, and placed the group at the forefront of 1970s rock music. Internal turmoil overtook them soon after; the group dissolved in 1976, reformed briefly at the end of the decade with additional personnel changes, and dissolved again in 1982.

The band reformed once more in 1989, releasing a string of new albums and touring heavily. A series of personnel changes in the late 1990s was capped by the departure of Betts. The group found stability during the 2000s with bassist Oteil Burbridge and guitarists Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks (the nephew of their original drummer) and became renowned for their month-long string of shows at New York City’s Beacon Theatre each spring. The band retired for good in October 2014 after their final show at the Beacon Theatre.

Butch Trucks died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on January 24, 2017, in West Palm Beach, Florida, at the age of 69. Gregg Allman died from complications arising from liver cancer on May 27, 2017, at his home in Georgia, also at the age of 69. The band has been awarded seven gold and four platinum albums,[4] and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. Rolling Stone ranked them 52nd on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time in 2004. (wikipedia)

And here´s a fine “tribute album”:

This 12-song collection, helmed and herded by Florida guitarist John Wesley, features new performances of some of the band’s classic songs, including “Midnight Rider,” “Statesboro Blues,” “Ramblin’ Man,” and “Whippin’ Post” done by a host of guitarists and singers, Ronnie Earl, Debbie Davies, Eli Cook, Eric Gales, Pat Travers, among them. It’s fine as a tribute, but only underscores how influential and unique the Allman Brothers Band always was. Nothing tops the ABB versions of these songs, which really should come as no big surprise to anybody. (allmusicguide.com)

Tracklist:
01. Pat Travers: Midnight Rider (Allman) 3.20
02. The Oak Ridge Boys, Tinsley Ellis, Kevin McKendree: Ramblin` Man (Betts) 4.54
03. Molly Hatchet: Melissa (Allman) 4.39
04. Artimus Pyle Band: Blue Sky (Betts) 4.25
05. Jimmy Hall & Steve Morse: Whipping Post (Allman) 5.21
06. Jim Eshelman, Roy Rogers & John Wesley: Jessica (Betts) 7.30
07. Robben Ford & Martin Gerschwitz: One Way Out (Sehorn/James) 4.46
08. Debbie Davis & Melvin Seals: Soulshine (Haynes) 6.42
09. Eli Cook: Statesboro Blues (McTell) 3.40
10. Eric Gales: In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed (Betts) 7.01
11. Commander Cody & Sonny Landreth: Southbound (Betts) 5.13
12. Ronnie Earl, Leon Russell & Reese Wynans: I’m No Angel (Allman) 3.42

*
**

More from The Allman Brothers Band:

Passenger – Whispers I (2014)

Michael David Rosenberg (born 17 May 1984), better known by his stage name Passenger, is an English singer-songwriter and musician.

Previously the main vocalist and songwriter of Passenger, Rosenberg opted to keep the band’s name for his solo work after the band dissolved in 2009.

In 2012, he released the song “Let Her Go” which topped the charts in 16 countries. In 2014, the song was nominated for the Brit Award for British Single of the Year, and he received the British Academy’s Ivor Novello Award for Most Performed Work.

Whispers is the fifth studio album from British singer-songwriter Passenger. It was released between 6 and 10 June 2014 in different countries, through Black Crow Records and Nettwerk. The album includes the singles “Scare Away the Dark” and “Heart’s on Fire”.

On 26 March 2014 Passenger announced details of his fifth studio album, confirming the UK release date as 9 June 2014. When speaking to Digital Spy about the album he said, “This is easily the most ‘up’ album I’ve ever made, it’s quite cinematic. There are lots of big stories and big ideas. There are also some sombre moments about loneliness and death but hey, it wouldn’t be a Passenger album without those.” He released “Heart’s on Fire” as the lead single from the album on 14 April 2014.

“Heart’s on Fire” was released as the lead single from the album on 14 April 2014. Talking to Digital Spy about the song he said, “Heart’s on Fire’ is a nostalgic song. It’s about when the timing with someone isn’t right, even though the person might be. And although you’re not with that person at the time, there may be a moment in the future where the relationship makes more sense.”

The album debuted at No. 12 on Billboard 200, No. 5 on Top Rock Albums, selling 18,000 copies in the first week. The album has sold 71,000 copies in the United States as of August 2016.

“Whispers” received a 2015 Grammy nomination  for Best Recording Package. The art director, Sarah Larnach, was also the artist and designer on the album and credits Mike Rosenberg with creating the concept. “Whispers” is the third Passenger album cover created by Sarah Larnach. (wikipedia)

British singer/songwriter Mike Rosenberg, otherwise known as Passenger, continues exploring the broader sonic palette he developed on 2012’s All the Little Lights with his sixth studio album, 2014’s Whispers. As he did last time, Rosenberg once again teamed up with All the Little Lights producer Chris Vallejo. Together, they deliver a batch of evocative acoustic folk and indie pop songs that are often expanded with orchestral flourishes. That said, Rosenberg’s main instrument of choice here is still the acoustic guitar, and all the songs on Whispers retain the Brighton-based artist’s core intimacy. Influenced by both traditional British folk and more modern singer/songwriters,

Rosenberg’s work here falls somewhere between the earnest classicism of Mumford & Sons and the contemporary pop of Ed Sheeran. Vocally, he has a distinctively poignant chirp of a voice that sounds something akin to an elf who stayed up all night smoking, drinking, and sharing stories with friends. Which isn’t to say he sounds wizened, just world-weary and steeped in a kind of twee ennui. Whether he’s singing about growing older (“27”) or delving into a poetic allegory about loneliness (“Bullets”), Rosenberg has a knack for intimate revelations that still read as universal. He also has a gift for melody, and cuts like the melancholy “Heart’s on Fire” and the similarly hushed “Rolling Stone,” with its Van Morrison-esque woodwind backgrounds, are pleasantly enjoyable songs, perfect for introspective listening on warm summer afternoons. Ultimately, with Whispers, Rosenberg has crafted an album of sweet, hummable anthems for tender-hearted troubadours everywhere. (by Matt Collar)

Great, listen a new generation of singer/songwriters !

Personnel:
Stu Hunter (keyboards, glockenspiel on 07.)
Peter Marin (drums)
Michael David Rosenberg (vocals, guitar)
Cameron Undy (bass)
+
Scott Aplin (piano on 10. + 11.)
Tony Azzopardi (percussion)
Alex Boneham (bass on 05.. 09. – 11.)
Jess Ciampa (percussion)
Nick Garbett (trumpet)
James Greening (trombone)
Glen Hannah (guitar on 08. + 10.)
Tim Hart (mandolin on 03.)
Matthew Keegan (saxophone, clarinet)
+
Enigma String Quartet:
Marianne Broadfoot (violin)
Rowena Macneish (cello)
Kerry Martin (violin)
Shelley Soerensen (viola)
+
background vocals:
Georgia Mooney – Stu Larsen – The Once – Andrew Dale – Geraldine Hollett – Phillip Churchill

Tracklist:
01. Coins !n A Fountain 3.04
02. 27 3.18
03. Heart’s On Fire 4.13
04. Bullets 3.24
05. Golden Leaves 4.04
06. Thunder 2.25
07. Rolling Stone 3.22
08. Start A Fire 4.18
09. Whispers 4.00
10. Riding To New York 5.01
11. Scare Away The Dark 4.35

All songs are written by Mike Rosenberg.

*
**

Akiko (Tsuruga) – Commencement (2014)

Akiko Tsuruga is a jazz composer, Hammond B-3 organist and pianist from Osaka, Japan.

She was born in Osaka. Her parents bought her a small organ when she was three and she started learning to play standards. At high school, she listened to Hammond B3 players including Jimmy Smith, then Charles Earland, Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff and Dr. Lonnie Smith.

A graduate of the Osaka College of Music, she has resided in New York City since 2001. After moving to the US, she had lessons from Lonnie Smith.

In addition to her solo work, she plays as a sideman in various groups in New York. She has accompanied Lou Donaldson since 2007. (wikipedia)

You know, it’s been ten years since Akiko Tsuruga have released her brilliant debut recording, and since then this Queen Of The Organ have made absolutely tremendous progress in her magnificent music career that have resulted in many world tours and seven highly acclaimed albums under her belt including this one. Released in 2014 to glowing reviews, Commencement is another time-honoured addition to the great jazz organist’s ever growing prolific music career as it again showcases a masterful performance as she is gracefully joined by ace drummer Hamilton and John Hart on guitar, in which they create a magical and captivating masterpiece.

By starting off on the opening track Blues For Bandit, the fantastic track set proceed with supercharged skill on ‘new’ original compositions, such as like Funky Girl, Don’t Misunderstood and the title track, as well as another round of direct takes on classic standards like The Bee Gees’ How Deep Is Your Love, Give Me The Simple Life, It’s Easy To Remember and Nat King Cole’s romantic ballad L-O-V-E, which Akiko and the trio performs gracefully with preppy results. So with Commencement, Akiko have again displayed her world class artistry on the Hammond B-3 Organ where she uses her powerhouse B-3 organ stylings to significant effect that results in stellar performing, great taste and an impeccable sense of swing, which gives an extra amount of ears to remind ourselves of just how far this great master of the jazz organ had come and to everything we have come to love about the jazz organ tradition, which makes this a timeless classic. (by RH)

Personnel:
Jeff Hamilton (drums)
John Hart (guitar)
Akiko Tsuruga (organ)

Tracklist:
01. Blues For Bandit (Tsuruga) 5.16
02. Funky Girl (Tsuruga) 5.06
03. When Johnny Comes Marching Home (Gilmore) 5.11
04. How Deep is Your Love (B.Gibb/R.Gibb) 5.54
05. Give Me The Simple Life (Bloom) 5.08
06. Spanish Flea (Wechter) 4.38
07. It’s Easy To Remember (Rodgers) 6.12
08. L-O-V-E (Kaempfert) 6.08
09. Don’t Misunderstand (Parks) 6.09
10. Commencement (Tsuruga) 6.47

*
**