CLAUDE BARZOTTI ~ Souvenirs d'Italie

VIDEO

SERGEI PROKOFIEV: "Suite From Romeo and Juliet" + "Peter and the Wolf"

Recorded in 2013, Maestro Riccardo Muti’s performances of selections from Sergei Prokofiev’s "Romeo and Juliet" drew critical acclaim. On this recording, Riccardo Muti conducts selections from both of Prokofiev’s suites derived from his ballet – beginning with "Montagues and Capulets" and taking the listener on a journey through Shakespeare’s story as told by Sergei Prokofiev.

"David Bowie Narrates Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf" is a classical music album containing David Bowie's narration of Sergei Prokofiev's 1936 composition "Peter and the Wolf". Bowie was RCA's third choice to undertake the narration for "Peter and the Wolf" behind Alec Guinness and Peter Ustinov, who had both turned the album down. Bowie later said that it was a Christmas present for his son, Duncan Jones, then 7 years old. Stephen Demorest, reviewing the album in Rolling Stone at the time of its release, describes Bowie's involvement as "engaging and benevolent". Demorest finishes his review by saying Bowie had "found his most charming guise since Hunky Dory." Joe Viglione for AllMusic finds the album as "charming" and Bowie's performance as "splendid" and describes the Philadelphia Orchestra's involvement as "first rate". He finished by saying it was "A remarkable and well-crafted project". The original 1978 US version of the LP album was pressed on green vinyl and included liner notes insert (RCA Red Seal ARL1-2743). Later issues were pressing in standard black vinyl. 

CHIARA CIVELLO: "Canzoni"

Original released on CD Okeh 88843063812

(EUROPE, 2014)

Originally from Rome but now based in New York City, Italian singer/songwriter Chiara Civello is an eclectic, far-reaching artist who brings a variety of pop, jazz, cabaret and Latin influences to the table. Although Civello has performed straight-ahead jazz in the past, she is not a full-time jazz singer or a bebop purist by any means; stylistically, much of the material she has recorded for Verve is closer to Sade, Basia, Norah Jones, Nellie McKay (minus the eccentricity and sharp-tongued humor) or Rickie Lee Jones than it is to hardcore jazz vocalists like Abbey Lincoln, Sheila Jordan and Kitty Margolis. But the jazz influence is almost always present in Civello's pop recordings - and since her arrival in the United States, she has crossed paths with major jazz musicians like alto saxophonist Phil Woods and guitarist Mike Stern. Listing all of Civello's influences could be time-consuming; Civello gives the impression that along the way, she has listened to everyone from Joni Mitchell, Sade and Sting to Ella Fitzgerald, Julie London and Billie Holiday. Brazilian jazz and pop is also a strong influence on Civello, who is obviously well aware of Brazilian greats such as Astrud Gilberto, Gal Costa, Ivan Lins and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Although Civello grew up in a country where Italian is the primary language, much of her writing has been in English. Civello, in fact, has been singing and writing in at least four languages - English, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish - and when she performs in English, Civello sings with only a slight trace of an Italian accent. Her command of the English language is excellent, and her accent is beneficial in that it gives her performances a great deal of character.

Civello was still living in Italy when, at the age of 17, she was hired to perform as a featured vocalist for the Mario Raja Big Bang (as opposed to Mario Raja Big Band). After that, she was employed by Italian jazz drummer Roberto Gatto, who is well-known in Italy and included her in his group the Noisemakers. In 1993, Civello moved to Boston after being awarded a scholarship to the prestigious Berklee College of Music - and by the time she graduated from Berklee in 1998, Civello had received a Boston Jazz Society Award as well as a Cleo Laine Award. In 2000, she left Boston for New York City, where she met veteran producer Russ Titelman, who has worked with a long list of major artists that includes, among others, Paul Simon, Rickie Lee Jones, Randy Newman, Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Gordon Lightfoot, James Taylor and Brazilian star Milton Nascimento. Titelman went on to produce a demo for Civello and introduced her to Ron Goldstein, president and CEO of the Verve Music Group, and Goldstein ended up offering her a contract. Titelman also introduced Civello to veteran pop composer Burt Bacharach, with whom she co-wrote the song "Trouble." "Late Quarter Moon", Civello's first album for Verve, was given a February 2005 release date in the United States. (Alex Henderson in AllMusic)

CHANTAL CHAMBERLAND: "Soirée"

Original released on CD evosound EVSA 291

(HONG KONG 2014, August 4)

CHANTAL CHAMBERLAND: "Autobiography"

Original released on CD evosound EVSA 335

(HONG KONG 2016, February 5)

Every music genre is characterized by a unique style and specific instrumentation. For French Canadian jazz vocalist and guitarist Chantal Chamberland her sensuous, smoky voice is her trademark instrument. With some of Chamberland’s personal musical influences as her canvas, this Quebec born chanteuse delivers knockout performances that are as unforgettable as the singer herself. With 7 contemporary jazz releases, Chantal’s star shines brightly on an international stage. While always avoiding vocal gymnastics, Chamberland moves from quiet and intimate to sultry, sensual and soulful with seamless ease. From multiple appearances at the Montreal International Jazz Festival to headline concerts from Hong Kong to Cartagena, Chantal’s success internationally is not only a testament to her personal evolution but cements her role as one of the finest female interpreters of jazz today.

LILA DOWNS, NIÑA PASTORI Y SOLEDAD: "Raíz"

Original released on CD RCA 88883796812

(ESPAÑA, 2014)

BARB JUNGR Sings Dylan & Cohen

Original released on CD Kristalyn KLCD1

(EU 2014, March 24)

KAREN SOUZA - "Essentials II"

Original released on CD Music Brokers MBB9321

(ARGENTINA, 2014)

By now, it's pretty safe to say that Karen Souza is the great new voice of today's Jazz. After the success of her previous albums "Essentials" and "Hotel Souza", Karen presents now "Essentials II", a carefully selected collection of hit songs from all eras; in exquisite Jazz versions where her unique voice draws us into her intimate and sensual world. This time, the album's production has been helmed by legendary producer and entrepreneur Richard Gottehrer, famous for his work (and guiding the careers) with artists such as Blondie, The Go-Go's, Dr. Feelgood, Richard Hell and The Bongos to name just a few. Recorded at the The Orchard Studios in NYC, "Essentials II" will allow you to hear Karen's voice like never before. Once again she lends her versatile and sultry voice to classics such as Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" and Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams". Her amazing version of "Shape of My Heart" would move Sting himself.

One More Cohen

 Original released on CD Columbia 88875014292

(US 2014, September 22)

Leonard Cohen's "Popular Problems" is an uncharacteristically quick follow-up to 2012's "Old Ideas". That record, cut in the aftermath of a multi-year tour, revitalized him as a recording artist. Producer Patrick Leonard (Madonna, Bryan Ferry) serves as co-writer on all but one tune on "Popular Problems". While Cohen's sound has revolved around keyboards since 1988's "I'm Your Man", Leonard gets that the real power in the songwriter's lyrics are best relayed through his own own simple melodies. Everything here - keys, female backing chorus, acoustic instrumentation, etc. - is in their service. As always, Cohen's songs - delivered in his deepest earth rasp - offer protagonists who are ambivalent spiritual seekers, lusty, commitment-phobic lovers, and jaded, untrusting / untrustworthy world citizens. He is them, they are him: strangers hiding in plain sight. Opener "Slow" is paced by a blues vamp from an electric piano and kick drum. "...You want to get there soon  / I want to get there last..." is delivered in a streetwise croak. It's a fine career metaphor, but the hilarious double entendre is self evident, too: "...All your turns are tight / Let me catch my breath / I thought we had all night." "Almost Like the Blues" employs a 12-bar variant exoticized by hand percussion. Cohen juxtaposes visions of global horror with worry over bad reviews; he's culpable because of his vanity. Gospel provides illustration on some of the better songs - there are no weak ones. It's used with razored effect on "Samson in New Orleans" to address the devastation - physical, emotional, spiritual - left by Hurricane Katrina.

Cohen really attempts to sing "Did I Ever Love You." Though it comes out a measured growl, its impact is searing. It shifts from gospel to country jaunt only to circle back, underscoring the bitter, vulnerable truth in the lyric. He observes: "The lemon trees blossom / The almond trees wither," before asking: "Was I ever someone / Who could love you forever?"; he knows the answer. The keyboards and tablas in "Nevermind," a narrative of treachery and global hypocrisy, create skeletal, tense funk. They're appended by Donna De Lory's Arabic chant for peace and safety in contrast to the lyric's scathing accusations. Gospel returns on "Born in Chains," a gentle but gripping first-person account of spiritual seeking with references to Judaism, Christianity, and Cohen's adopted Zen: "...I've heard the soul unfolds / In the chambers of its longing... But all the Ladders of the Night have fallen / Only darkness now / To lift the longing up." On set closer "You Got Me Singing," Cohen, accompanied only by acoustic guitar and violin, lays out hope: "You got me singing even though the world is gone / You got me thinking I'd like to carry on." It's an open-ended, affirmative sendoff. "Popular Problems" reveals that at 80, Cohen not only has plenty left in the tank, but is at his most confident and committed. This is his finest recording since 1995's "The Future". (Thom Jurek in AllMusic)