Joanne Brackeen - Pink Elephant Magic (1998)

Joanne Brackeen's 22nd recording as a leader, this CD is one of her best overall recordings due to the high-quality material, the unpredictable arrangements, the variety, and the exciting and inventive solos by the pianist and her sidemen. Brackeen creates a tender version of Dave Brubeck's "Strange Meadowlark" unaccompanied, uses bassist John Patitucci and drummer Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez on of all the other selections, and is joined by trumpeter Nicholas Payton on three songs and Chris Potter (on tenor and soprano) on those three plus one other. In addition, Kurt Elling sings the eccentric "What's Your Choice, Rolls Royce" and soprano saxophonist Dave Liebman is a guest on two numbers. The young giant, Potter, in particular, excels among the supporting cast. All ten selections (seven of which are the leader's originals) have their colorful moments, particularly the whimsical "Pink Elephant Magic," a trio exploration of Jobim's "Wave," the very wide-ranging "Beethoven Meets the Millennium in Spain" and a heated version of "Tico Tico" in 5/4 time. The music is quite unpredictable but joyful and ultimately logical. Highly recommended. ~ by Scott Yanow, AMG.

Arkadia Jazz, 70371, 1999
Recorded 2^nd-3^rd June and 5^th & 25^th August, 1998 At 39th Street Music, NY 

Musicians:
Joanne Brackeen - Piano, Solo (#6)
Nicholas Payton - Trumpet (#1,5,9)
Chris Potter - Soprano Sax (#1), Tenor Sax (#5,8,9)
David Liebman - Soprano Saxophone (#4,10)
John Patitucci - Bass (#1-5,7-10)
Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez - Drums (#1-5,7-10)
Jamey Haddad - Percussion (#5)
Kurt Elling - Vocals (#4) 

Tracks:
01. Pink Elephant Magic {Joanne Brackeen} (6:42)
02. Ghost Butter {Joanne Brackeen} (5:29)
03. Wave {Antônio Carlos Jobim} (5:31)
04. What's Your Choice, Rolls Royce? {Joanne Brackeen} (5:50)
05. Beethoven Meets The Millenium In Spain {Joanne Brackeen} (8:12)
06. Strange Meadowlark {Joanne Brackeen} (7:06)
07. Tico Tico {Don Marcotte, Zequinha de Abreu, Ervin Drake} (5:17)
08. In Vogue {Joanne Brackeen} (8:25)
09. Cram'N Exam {Joanne Brackeen} (6:23)
10. Filene's {Joanne Brackeen} (7:19) 

Total Time: 66:14

Credits:
Executive Producer, Producer, Mixing, Mastering - Bob Karcy
Recording & Mixing Engineer - Dennis Wall
Assistant Engineer - Greg Griffith
Mastering Engineer - Gene Paul
Design - Gregory Downer
Studio Photos - R. Andrew Lepley
Cover Photo - Gene Martin
Liner Notes - Bret Primack

Shigeko Suzuki - Winds Of My Heart (1997)

This recording is another vibrant album released by Shigeko Suzuki who in her own country is considered one of Japan's jazz queens, but elsewhere she is lesser known. It follows in the footsteps of Premiére (1995) and Brisa (1996), both which were well received. For this album she showcases twelve charming and lyrical jazz masterpieces. Shigeko is best at Latin styles such as bossa nova, samba, and rumba, and those talents are certainly highlighted here on a number of the tunes. What makes this album more of a standout is the inclusion of keyboardist Kenny Werner, who also acts as both producer and arranger for the album. Other great strengths are the addition of tenorist Harry Allen and guitarist Jay Azzolina whom both outstandingly input further sensitivity into the chosen pieces. The selected compositions fall roughly into two categories, one is in the Latin-style, and the other embodying some more familiar jazz standards. Shigeo's style is a lot softer than most divas, but she certainly displays her ability to shape notes delightfully and in this regard some of the highlights include "Someone's Waiting For You” - “Over The Rainbow", "Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing" and "What A Wonderful World" made famous by Louis Armstrong. Here, Kenny, re-jigs the tune, making Shigeko's interpretation a lot softer and deeper than the original. At first the album comes across as an easy listening affair, but on further appraisals there is great delicacy and depth conveyed by this fine Japanese vocalist, enjoy! 

Novus J, BVCJ-646, 1997
BMG Records, BVCJ-37592, 2007 

Musicians:
Shigeko Suzuki - Vocals
Harry Allen - Tenor Saxophone
Kenny Werner - Piano, Synthesizer
Jay Azzolina - Guitar
Tony Marino - Bass
Jamey Haddad - Drums, Percussion 

Tracks:
01. Wave {Antônio Carlos Jobim} (6:42)
02. The Shadow Of Your Smile {Johnny Mandel, Paul Francis Webster} (5:49)
03. I Remember You {Johnny Mercer, Victor Schertzinger} (3:47)
04. Colors Of The Wind {Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz} (4:21)
05. Beautiful Love {King, Young, Van Alstyne, Haven Gillespie} (3:40)
06. Someone's Waiting For You { Carol Connors, Sammy Fain, Ayn Robbins } /
Over The Rainbow {Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg} (5:27)
07. Love Is Many-Splendored Thing {Sammy Fain, Paul Francis Webster} (4:53)
08. No More Blues {Antônio Carlos Jobim, Vinícius De Moraes} (3:04)
09. My Cherie Amor {Stevie Wonder, Henry Cosby, Sylvia Moy} (5:00)
10. What A Wonderful World {Bob Thiele, George David Weiss} (5:21)
11. The Gift [Recado Bossa Nova] {Luiz Bonfá, Matt Dubey} (5:15)
12. Two For The Road {Leslie Bricusse, Henry Mancini} (4:41) 

Total Time: 58:00

Dave Liebman Group - Songs For My Daughter (1994)

"...That the music is not all sweetness and light is indicative of unconditional love's travails.... SONGS FOR MY DAUGHTER is as varied and moving a recital as this virtuoso reedman has ever recorded." ~ Cam Jazz.

Essentially, an overlooked album from his vast discography, this album released on the Italian label soul note is a foray into a more the acoustical and programmatic collective. This endeavour is enhanced by the addition of two great players pianist Phil Markowitz and guitarist Vic Juris, not to disparage the rest of his well-versed and stalwart group.

Soul Note, 121 295-2, 1995

Recorded May, 1994 At Red Rock, Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, USA

Musicians:

Dave Liebman - Soprano Saxophone, Wooden Flute

Phil Markowitz - Acoustic Piano

Vic Juris - Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar

Tony Marino - Bass, Electric Bass

Jamey Haddad - Drums, Percussion

Scott Cutshall - Percussion (#7)

Lydia Liebman - Vocals (#9)

Tracks:

1. Little Peanut {Dave Liebman} (7:25)

2. Arrival {Dave Liebman} (6:20)

3. For Lydia {Caris Visentin} (6:30)

4. Innocence {Dave Liebman} (8:43)

5. Tomato Face {Dave Liebman} (5:06)

6. Papoose {Dave Liebman} (8:04)

7. Sins Of The Fathers {Dave Liebman} (8:56)

8. Mommie's Eyes {Dave Liebman} (6:01)

9. You Are My Sunshine {Traditional} (1:17)

Credits:

Producer - David Liebman

Executive Producer - Flavio Bonandrini

Engineer - Kent Heckman

Mastering Engineer - Gennaro Carone at Phonocomp, Tribiano, Milano

Photography - Caris Visentin Liebman

Art Cover - Maria Bonandrini

Liner Notes - Dave Liebman, Bethann Hatfield

Dave says he doesn't welcome new musicians in the tribe until they have been at it for about 10 years. Talent is not all that counts in this genre, although it's paramount. You have to make it work financially, and get used to traveling for 20 hours to experience two on stage. The audiences are not as large as with other styles and the money doesn't always match the level of sacrifice and expertise required. But if you can withstand the pressure you earn your ranks among fellow musicians, Dave explains. This doesn't mean that he is not paying attention to new talent. He acknowledges that the best indications of someone's personality is often found in their early records. ~ Milton D. Carrero, The Morning Call.