TOOTS THIELEMANS - One More for the Road (2006) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

These sessions by harmonica virtuoso Toots Thielemans are a mixed bag of vocal and instrumental interpretations of works by Harold Arlen. Unfortunately, the project comes across as more of a crossover date, featuring several vocalists who will be of little interest to many jazz fans, while conductor Jurre Haanstra's orchestrations are rather bland and sometimes a bit syrupy. Thielemans' own solos tend to be fairly short, while his regular pianist, Kenny Werner (switching to Fender Rhodes on a few tracks), isn't utilized enough as a soloist. The best selections include "This Time the Dream's on Me," which features Till Brönner on both trumpet and vocals in a warm and unpretentious setting, a campy treatment of "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" by Madeleine Peyroux, along with Trijntje Oosterhuis' warm rendition of the nearly forgotten "I Wonder What Became of Me." But several tracks don't make the cut, including Jamie Cullum's pop-infused "One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)," Beth Hart's dreadful "I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues," and urban contemporary singer Oleta Adams' lackluster version of "Stormy Weather." This CD falls short of being an essential Toots Thielemans release. by Ken Dryden  
Tracklist:
1    Come Rain Or Come Shine 4:41
Acoustic Guitar, Slide Guitar – Bert Meulendijk
Trumpet – Ruud Breuls
Vocals – Lizz Wright
2    Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea 2:40
Engineer [Protools] – Jay van den Berg
Vocals – Madeleine Peyroux
3    Last Night When We Were Young 5:14
Bass – Ruud Jacobs
Piano – Hans Vroomans
Vocals – Silje Nergaard
Written-By – E.Y. Harburg
4    Ill Wind    3:55
Written-By – Harold Arlen / Ted Koehler
5    One For My Baby (And One More For The Road) 5:09
Vocals – Jamie Cullum
6    I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues 3:05
Vocals – Beth Hart
7    I Wonder What Became Of Me 4:04
Bass – Ruud Jacobs
Piano – Hans Vroomans
Vocals – Trijntje Oosterhuis
8    That Old Black Magic    4:18
Written-By – Harold Arlen / Johnny Mercer
9    This Time The Dream's On Me 4:47
Electric Guitar – Bert Meulendijk
Electric Piano – Jurre Haanstra
Rhythm Guitar – Martijn van Iterson
Vocals, Trumpet – Till Brönner
10    Stormy Weather 5:33
Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar – Bert Meulendijk
Electric Piano – Jurre Haanstra
Vocals – Oleta Adams
11    It's Only A Paper Moon 3:46
Vocals – Laura Fygi
12    Over The Rainbow 5:49
Bass – Stefan Lievestro
Drums – Hans Van Oosterhout
Keyboards, Piano – Mike del Ferro
Written-By – E.Y. Harburg
Credits:
Arranged By, Conductor – Jurre Haanstra
Bass – Aram Kersbergen (tracks: 1, 2, 4 to 6, 8 to 11)
Drums – Marcel Serierse (tracks: 1, 2, 4 to 11)
Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes] – Kenny Werner (tracks: 1, 4, 8, 11)
Guitar – Martijn van Iterson (tracks: 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 11)
Harmonica – Toots Thielemans
Keyboards – Jurre Haanstra (tracks: 1, 4, 10)
Percussion – Eddy Conard (tracks: 4, 8, to 10)
Piano – Kenny Werner (tracks: 2, 5, 6)
Vibraphone – Frits Landesbergen (tracks: 1, 4, 11)
Written-By – Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer (tracks: 1, 5, 7 to 9, 11), Ted Koehler (tracks: 2, 4, 6, 10)

THE GEORGE SHEARING QUINTET WITH DAKOTA STATON - In the Night (1957-2003) RM / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

With its progressive-leaning jazz and modernist blues vocals, In the Night was the prototype for the piano-vocals collaboration record that George Shearing would remake with Peggy Lee, Nat King Cole, and Nancy Wilson while at Capitol (and many others afterwards). In July 1957, just after Dakota Staton's immense success with "The Late, Late Show," Capitol recorded two of its biggest jazz stars together for what would turn out to be one of the finest teamings in either's career. Staton appears on every other song, lending her blend of post-bop vocal prowess and late-night melodrama to a set of well-chosen songs including "In the Night" and "I Hear Music." (Ironically, the version of "The Late, Late Show" heard here is an instrumental.) Shearing and Staton are joined by the pianist's group at the time, including Emil Richards on vibes, the splendid Toots Thielemans on guitar, and a few features for Latin percussionist Armando Peraza. The group's finest features are the opener, "From Rags to Richards," a fine Shearing original with excellent solos from Richards and Shearing, and Ray Bryant's "Pawn Ticket," with fine work from Thielemans and Richards. by John Bush  
Tracklist:
1 From Rags To Richards 3:12
2 I'm Left With My Blues In My Heart 2:53
Featuring [Vocals] – Dakota Staton
3 Pawn Ticket 2:19
4 In The Night 1:59
Featuring [Vocals] – Dakota Staton
5 Easy 2:39
6 I Hear Music 2:30
Featuring [Vocals] – Dakota Staton
7 Senor Blues 3:45
8 Confessin' The Blues 2:43
Featuring [Vocals] – Dakota Staton
9 Later 2:49
10 The Thrill Is Gone 3:04
Featuring [Vocals] – Dakota Staton
11 The Late, Late Show 2:31
12 I'd Love To Make Love To You 2:43
Featuring [Vocals] – Dakota Staton
Credits:
Bass – Al McKibbon
Bongos, Congas [Conga Drum] – Armando Peraza
Drums – Percy Brice
Guitar, Harmonica – Jean ''Toots'' Thielemans
Piano – George Shearing
Vibraphone – Emil Richards

JACKIE RYAN - This Heart of Mine (2003) APE (image+.cue), lossless

On the surface, this seems to be just another excellent vocal jazz recording by a popular San Francisco-based singer whose best-known longtime gig is the London club Ronnie Scott's. Yet the exotica of Ryan and the music she chooses is so much a part of the story, from her sultry Italian on "Estate" to her crafty Portuguese on Jobim's joyful samba "Anos Dourados." Her bio makes multiple mentions of her multiethnic background -- Mexican, Irish, and French -- perhaps to justify her ability to tackle the foreign tunes. Yet at heart, she's an honest to God jazz singer in the Sarah Vaughan/Betty Carter mode who seems coziest on lush ballads like the title track and fun swingers like "A Sleepin' Bee" and Ellington's "Jump for Joy," which starts as a sparse, stylish duet with voice and John Wiitala's bass before incorporating Allen Smith's playful muted trumpet. Each song has a credited arranger, an obvious ode to the care with which Ryan chose and interpreted this varied material. Although her name is still not on the lips of mainstream jazz fans, Ryan's association here with legends like Toots Thielemans (who adds harmonica romance to tunes like "Estate") and Ernie Watts (whose inimitable tenor infuses three tunes), along with her diverse talents, will help expose her to a well-deserved wider audience. by Jonathan Widran 

Tracklist:    

1    This Heart of Mine 3:52 
Arthur Freed / Harry Warren
2    A Sleepin' Bee 3:46 
Harold Arlen / Truman Capote
3    Estate (Summer) 6:34 
Bruno Brighetti / Bruno Martino
4    East of the Sun 5:50
Brooks Bowman
5    Jump for Joy 4:00 
Duke Ellington / Sid Kuller / Paul Francis Webster
6    Make It Last 5:45       
7    Anos Dourados 3:59   
Chico Buarque / Antônio Carlos Jobim
8    Maybe September 5:15 
Ray Evans / Percy Faith / Jay Livingston
9    When I Grow Too Old to Dream 3:39 
Sigmund Romberg
10    Moon and Sand 5:34   
Morty Palitz / Alec Wilder
11    Come Back to Me/Lover Come Back to Me 4:13 
Burton Lane / Alan Jay Lerner / Sigmund Romberg
12    Sari (Trieste) 6:48     
Amina Figarova / Denise Jannah
13    Velas Içadus (Sails) 4:49     
14    Seasons of the Heart 4:33
Jackie Ryan / Leonard Thompson

Credits:

Omar Clay - Arranger, Drums

Ruth Davies - Bass

Steve Erquiaga - Guitar

Amina Figarova - Arranger, Composer, Piano

Jason Lewis - Drums

Jon Mayer - Arranger, Piano

Roy McCurdy - Drums

Darek Oles - Bass

Bart Plateau - Flute

Jackie Ryan - Arranger, Composer, Liner Notes, Producer, Vocals

Toots Thielemans - Guest Artist, Harmonica

Leonard Thompson - Arranger, Composer, Piano

Ernie Watts - Guest Artist, Sax (Tenor)

John Wiitala - Arranger, Bass

Barry Zweig - Guitar (Acoustic)

SYLVIA SYMS - ... Then Along Came Bill : A Tribute to Bill Evans (1989) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Sylvia Syms sang everything from cabaret to pop and jazz during her long career, and this tribute to the pianist Bill Evans, recorded nearly a decade after his death and just a few years prior to her passing at the age of 79, is a fine effort. Accompanied by Evans' longtime bassist Eddie Gomez, Evans' final drummer Joe LaBarbera, pianist Mike Renzi, and several guests who recorded with the late pianist on occasion, Syms brings out the essence of each of the 14 songs, though only one is an Evans' composition. Syms, who often described herself as a saloon singer and counted Frank Sinatra among her admirers, has a slightly smoky voice with a touch of vibrato due to being in her late seventies, but she knows how to make the most of her pipes. Renzi wisely doesn't attempt to mimic Evans' style at the keyboard, while the guests include flugelhornist Art Farmer, harmonica player Toots Thielemans, guitarist Kenny Burrell, and drummer Grady Tate (who spells LaBarbera on four tracks). Among the highlights are the soft bossa nova treatment of "The Touch of Your Lips," the playful rendition of "A Sleepin' Bee," and the touching finale of "Waltz for Debby." by Ken Dryden  

Tracklist:

1 Like Someone in Love 3:23

Johnny Burke / James Van Heusen

2 My Romance 4:34

Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers

3 A Sleepin' Bee 5:01

Harold Arlen / Truman Capote

4 I Believe in You 5:13

Frank Loesser

5 Polka Dots and Moonbeams 5:40

Johnny Burke / James Van Heusen

6 Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo 5:18

Helen Deutsch / Bronislaw Kaper

7 How About You? 3:34

Ralph Freed / James Van Heusen / Burton Lane

8 The Touch of Your Lips 3:56

Ray Noble

9 My Foolish Heart 5:08

Ned Washington / Victor Young

10 But Beautiful 4:48

Johnny Burke / James Van Heusen

11 Nobody Else But Me 5:16

Oscar Hammerstein II / Jerome Kern

12 After You, Who? 3:25

Cole Porter

13 Lucky to Be Me 3:15

Leonard Bernstein / Betty Comden / Adolph Green

14 Waltz for Debby 2:04

Bill Evans / Gene Lees

Credits:

Kenny Burrell - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric)

Art Farmer - Flugelhorn

Eddie Gomez - Bass (Acoustic)

Mike Renzi - Arranger, Conductor, Fender Rhodes, Piano

Sylvia Syms - Vocals

Grady Tate - Drums

Toots Thielemans - Harmonica