Tuesday, February 11, 2014

NEW RELEASES: ZARA MCFARLANE - IF YOU KNEW HER; ISLAND RECORDS PRESENTS ROOTS: 37 ESSENTIAL ROOTS ANTHEMS; CATHERINE RUSSELL - BRING IT BACK

ZARA MCFARLANE - IF YOU KNEW HER

If You Knew Her is Zara McFarlane's follow-up album on Gilles Peterson's Brownswood Recordings. This new, emotionally charged body of work sees her blossoming as a lyrically conscious songwriter, cementing what her debut album Until Tomorrow revealed - an artist composing original songs, telling her own stories (a rarity among jazz singers), demanding attention for their daring brilliance. Over half the tracks are stripped bare, revealing Zara's voice in all its variety and subtlety. Leaving her full trio behind, she performs in different settings, most poignantly with just understated accompaniment from the dazzling pianist Peter Edwards or, as on the album's opening masterpiece, "Open Heart," with just bass and hang. Yet when she employs her full impressive band, magic is made. "Woman in the Olive Groves," one of the album's stand-out tracks, is a spellbinding thought-provoking song and a standard in the making. The albuma also includes some unexpected covers including a wonderful jazz reworking of "Police and Thieves," the Junior Murvin classic. ~ Giant Step

ISLAND RECORDS PRESENTS ROOTS: 37 ESSENTIAL ROOTS ANTHEMS

Righteous roots music from the vaults of Island Records – a host of mid 70s killers that were arguably the style of reggae that the label did best! The vibe here is positive and progressive all the way through – and the set list mixes classics with some lesser-known gems, including a number of tracks appearing here on CD for the first time ever! The music is some of the most spiritual to ever come from the Kingston scene - and titles include "Kude A Bamba" by Ras Midas, "Congo Man" by The Congos, "Africa" by Rico, "Freedom Song" by Third World, "Going Back To Ethiopia" by The Righteous Foundation, "Police & Thieves" by Junior Murvin, "Soul Fire" by Lee Scratch Perry, "Gold Spoon" by Hosbah Lawrence, "Dubbing Is A Must" by Pablo Moses, "Roots Man Reggae" by Zap Pow, "Jah Heavy Load" by Ijahman Levi, "Sons Of Garvey" by Joe Higgs, "Feel The Spirit" by The Wailing Souls, and "Real Ranking" by Trinity. ~ Dusty Groove

CATHERINE RUSSELL - BRING IT BACK

With Bring It Back, vocalist Catherine Russell digs deeper into a rich vein of musical treasures. Mining legendary collaborations between her father, Luis Russell and the great Louis Armstrong, Russell brings along her team from two previous chart-topping albums, the latest of which won the Prix du Jazz Vocal from L'academie du Jazz and Grand Prix du Hot Club de France. Gems from the jazz age and swing era, performed with new arrangements for ten-piece orchestra blend seamlessly with reinventions sourced from Blues icons Esther Phillips, Al Hibbler, Wynonie Harris and Little Willie John. Russell personifies the living heart and proud history of each song. ~ Amazon







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