Diana Krall - Jazzaldia Festival, San Sebastián, Spain 24 July 2008

Diana Krall was born in British Columbia, Canada. She was raised in Nanaimo, a small community on Vancouver Island, where she began performing professionally at age 15 as a jazz pianist. In 1981, Diana won a Vancouver Jazz Festival scholarship to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston and, after a year and a half of serious study, she returned to British Columbia. Renowned bassist Ray Brown heard her playing one night in Nanaimo and convinced Diana to move to Los Angeles where she obtained a Canadian Arts Council grant to study with Jimmy Rowles. Jimmy encouraged Diana to explore her vocals to supplement her already blossoming piano skills. With several successful CDs to her credit, Diana has won numerous awards including Canada's Juno Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album (2000) and a Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance (2000). She received the Order of British Columbia in 2000 for being a good-will ambassador for British Columbia and epitomizing Canadian culture. The greatest talent in the jazz field to come along in a generation, she frequently acknowledges her roots in Nanaimo where she began . She epitomizes Canadian culture and is an outstanding citizen and good-will ambassador for British Columbia.

James Taylor - Live at the BBC , England -1970

James Taylor was the pre-eminent singer/songwriter of the Seventies and has remained a solid musical craftsman and performer. Born in Boston in 1948, Taylor grew up in the university town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He summered with his family on Martha’s Vineyard, where he met fellow guitarist/songwriter Danny “Kootch” Kortchmar and began performing. Beset by drug problems, he voluntarily institutionalized himself and began writing songs during his

stay. Moving to New York , Taylor formed the Flying Machine with Kortchmar in 1966. After their breakup, he headed to London, where he lived for a year. He cut a demo tape that got him signed to the Beatles’ Apple Records by A&R man Peter Asher, who became his manager and producer. The debut album James Taylor (1968) contained Taylor’s classic “Carolina in My Mind.”

In 1969, he signed to Warner Bros. and moved to California, where he recorded the classic Sweet Baby James with a band that included guitarist Kortchmar and Carole King on piano. Released in March 1970, the album offered its share of signature songs, including “Fire and Rain,” “Sunny Skies,” “Country Road” and “Sweet Baby James.” Its phenomenal success helped usher in an age of “new troubadours"--including such singer/songwriters asJoni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, and Crosby, Stills and Nash--who pointed popular music in a quieter, more introspective direction after the turbulent Sixties.

His third album, Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon (1971), found Taylor-mania in full swing. It was certified platinum the month of its release and reaches #2 on Billboard’s album chart. Taylor’s version of Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend” became his first--and, to date, only--#1 single. It won Grammys both for Taylor (Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male ) and King (Song of the Year). A 1971 cover story in Rolling Stone proclaimed James Taylor and his musical siblings--sister Kate and brothers Livingston, Alex and Hugh--"the first family of the new rock.”

Taylor remained a prolific recording artist throughout the Seventies, releasing a string of solid albums: One Man Dog (1972), Walking Man (1974), Gorilla (1975) and In the Pocket (1976). Such breezy, soulful singles as “How Sweet It Is (to Be Loved by You)” and “Mockingbird,” a duet with Carly Simon, made the Top Five. His reign as a pop icon culminated in the December 1976 release of Greatest Hits, which has sold more than 11 million copies. Taylor’s combined catalog has sold an astonishing 30 million copies to date.

In 1977, Taylor moved to Columbia Records, where he debuted with JT, an album that found him in peak form as a folk-pop stylist whose songcraft cut deeply. The pace of his releases has slowed over the years, but his work has intensified in its depth and craft. His later albums, notably New Moon Shine (1991) and Hourglass (1997), rank with his best. In fact, Hourglass won Taylor a coveted Grammy for Best Pop Album in 1998. Taylor’s hit-filled live shows are renowned for their exquisitely polished musicianship. James Taylor (LIVE), A double CD released in 1993, was a career-spanning triumph that documented his exacting artistry onstage.

Here in this video you will see him singing - Sweet Baby James. The entire video featured the very talented James Taylor. Held at BBC Studios, England during the 70's. Everybody would probably notice that James still has his precious long blonde hair. Which matches his very unique voice and perhaps the best composer of all time. Just love seeing and hearing his voice again! An hour of singing through the old melodies of James Taylor.....

Richard Galliano Trio, feat. Gary Burton28th Leverkusener Jazztage, Leverkusen/ Germany, 4th November 2007

Fifteen years after his death, tango legend Astor Piazolla influence continues to be felt. Both accordionist Richard Galliano and vibraphonist Gary Burton have released tributes to the late composer/performer, and so it's no surprise that the two have joined up to mine Piazolla's music.

They explore the paradoxical romanticism and melancholy of tango, but also delve into music as far-reaching as singer Edith Piaf, composer J.S. Bach and pianist Bill Evans. Defined by elegance and grace, it possesses the kind of near-perfection that defined both musicians careers.

Bassist Philippe Aerts, a well-traveled but often undervalued player, works alongside drummer Clarence Penn, whose breadth as a player becomes more evident with every new project. Here Aerts and Penn are all about support and subtlety, with Penn playing so lightly at times that it feels like he's breathing on his drums rather than hitting them. If one sign of the complete musician is the ability to place music ahead of ego, then it would be hard to find a better rhythm section.

With Aerts and Penn providing the kind of support that leaves Burton and Galliano in a position of complete trust, the vibraphonist and accordionist are able to deliver dramatic performances that never become melodrama, and lyrical simplicity that never becomes mundane or predictable. When in accompanist role, each works with Aerts and Penn to explore dynamic nuances in ways that are, at times responsive, at other times driving. It may begin as a brooding and spacious slow-tempo tango but Burton's vivid solo on Piazolla's Milonga is Coming� builds in intensity—with Galliano and Aerts pushing the beat—before dropping out for Burton as acapella spot that is a remarkable mix of understatement and virtuosity.

It's not all about melancholy, however, though it often finds its way into even the most buoyant of tunes. Piazolla's genius was the evolution of a relatively straightforward dance form into near-classical episodic complexity, with the shifting tempos and moods of the relatively brief melody endings. Galliano and the quartet navigate Piazolla's complex material with natural and effortless aplomb. 1 hour of pure quality jazz music!

TOKYO JAZZ FESTIVAL - 2008 - VOLUME - 1-2-3-4-5

Since 2002 the Tokyo Jazz Festival is the largest International Jazz Festival in Japan. The main program focus is jazz, and all its varying styles and beyond. The festival features four days of music with a diverse program of leading artists ranging from funk, fusion, to big band jazz.

An all Star studded jazz concert held in Tokyo, Japan. Witness and see all your favorite jazz artists gathered here in this yearly Jazz event. The entire Jazz concert held in different scheduled dates last August of 2008 were fully attended by jazz fans all over the world. It was an spectacular Jazz concert. The entire Tokyo Jazz Festival concert lasted for 4 days and were all captured in HD video. 5 dvd's and each dvd disc has the capacity of atleast an hour of playing. Overall run is upto to 5 hours of endless jazz.....

Trijntje Oosterhuis Sings Burt Bacharach with the Metropole Orchestra and Conductor - Vince Mendoza

This is a Dutch singer. Hence the name, all those consonants and just two vowels in the first name. I know it may seem strange but hold on.


Judith Katrijntje Oosterhuis was born on February 5, 1973 in Amsterdam. She is currently the leading vocalist in The Netherlands.

The short story is that she started out and became a major success in Holland working with her brother in a pop band called Total Touch. As their bio notes: they sold “more than a million records over a four-year period (1996-1999) – in a small country where 80.000 is already considered platinum.” Total Touch was all the rage until Trijntje decided that was not the way she wanted to go with her career.

The short story is t all the rage until Trijntje decided that was not the way she wanted to go with her career.

So she did some solo outings in her transition from the fame/fortune of Total Touch to her next plateau. Another platinum seller was her live album of Stevie Wonder songs. And then record companies showered her with offers. She ended up on EMI/Blue Note.

She produced two albums that had a contemporary urban pop sound. Representative of that direction I’ve included one cut, “All Around The World” from her 2003 self titled album, Trijntje Oosterhuis.

She could have easily gone that way except she was more interested in two other genres: soul and jazz.

Trijntje did a jazz album that focused on the music of Billie Holiday and George Gershwin, big band arrangements with strings. The music was buffed to a radio-friendly sheen and again enjoyed great success.

The cut “Man I Love” is from her 2004 Strange Fruit album which, despite the title, had a romantic and optimistic sound. The album went double-platinum. Then another adult pop album. Back and forth, all commercially successful.

For me this music is one (medium) step removed from expensive wallpaper, by which I mean there is a certain attractiveness to it as background but I don’t find it particularly engaging for serious listening. Nevertheless, I am clearly in the minority of those who have been exposed to these recordings. I suspect my hard jazz heart just doesn’t respond to this direction, which sounds suspiciously like a kissing cousin of smooth jazz.

Next came a major development an album of Burt Bacharach songs—they even got Bacharach to play piano on a couple of cuts. That was both safe and dangerous for a female singer to undertake—safe because so many Bacharach songs had been hits, dangerous because so many of them are indelibly associated with Dionne Warwick.

The gamble paid off big time with a major selling album, 2007’s Look of Love: Burt Bacharach Songbook. “The Look of Love,” “Alfie” and “Anyone Who Had A Heart (Live)” are all from that album. The live version of “Anyone” is a bonus cut on the second edition of Look of Love. FM radio loves this stuff and, to be fair, the production is first rate: real strings, professional arrangements, there is nary a miscue or mistake.

Listen to the intro of “Alfie.” With an eye toward international sales, Trijntje Oosterhuis is now billed as “Traincha.” This is music for baby boomers and the challenge is how does one keep this stuff fresh, especially as its designed to stay on the shelf for years with a long period of appealing to folks in their late forties to early sixties who remember these songs as the music of their youth.

The live cut, “Anyone Who Had A Heart” has a bit more bite to it and as such is more to my taste. Sales were so brisk that Blue Note did what most majors do when they have a winner: they double down and try to cash in. In Trijntje’s case they produced a second album of Bacharach songs, Who’ll Speak For Love (2008).

Enjoy 1 hour of good jazz concert from the no.1 jazz singer of Netherlands and beautiful arrangements of Vince Mendoza. Vince has been notably known from some of the best jazz artists he has been with. Like Herbie Hancock, Joni Mitchell, Joe Zawinul and so on....

Cassandra Wilson - Jazz Festival de Jazz Vitoria, Gazteiz - SPAIN - 2008

Cassandra Wilson is often described as not only an accomplished jazz vocalist and composer but also as a lyricist, producer, musical director, guitarist and pianist. Born in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1955, Cassandra Wilson has been singing and performing since she sang at her brother’s kindergarten graduation at the age of five. The youngest of three children, Wilson began playing the piano and guitar at the age of nine. Cassandra attributes her interest in music to her parents. Her mother, who is a retired elementary school teacher, and father, who is a bass guitarist, often sang to her as a small child. Her father introduced her to jazz . Jazz was not a very popular form of music during the 1960’s, but Cassandra loved it so much that she wanted to share it with others .

A former classmate, Dr. Phillip Nelson, recalls a time when she shared her newfound love for jazz with the entire student body at a Jackson's Powell Junior High School talent show. “You have to remember that at that time the only thing we listened to was R&B, and she got on stage with a guitar and played a type of music no one had really heard before. It was much like a ballad, and although she didn’t get a lot of attention (there was a lot of talking going on), she didn’t get booed off stage either. I was impressed by the courage she demonstrated to sing an alternative selection. She sang well. She had great stage presence, and although she didn’t play anything popular, she was good enough to have people stand there and listen to her, and that’s when I realized that she had broader experiences, at least musically, than most people at that age. She sang that song because she loved it, and she didn’t care if you liked that song or not, and I respected her for that” .

When Cassandra was in the ninth grade, the schools were desegregated in Mississippi. Her ninth and tenth grade years were difficult as Cassandra recalls but were better for the remainder of her high school years. Despite the racial tensions that were present at her new school setting, she eventually adjusted to her environment. In the eleventh grade she got the leading role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. “ For all the negative aspects, experiencing things that were different from what I knew was also exciting,” says Cassandra in an interview for The Oxford American in it’s 1997 music issue . Obtaining the star role in the high school musical was not the first time Cassandra stepped over the color lines and made a mark for herself and others. During her last years in high school, Wilson formed a musical group with two young men who were both white. “She had difficulty (with classmates) because of the relationship she chose to have, but you had to respect the choice she made.” Wilson saw her interracial music group as a growing period for her life as well as for others. “Music was the way we (blacks and whites) came together. We traded albums at school. I remember hearing James Taylor and then really getting into Joni Mitchell. I turned some of my friends on to jazz they hadn’t heard before” .

After obtaining a degree from Jackson State University in mass communication, Wilson moved from Mississippi to New Orleans and worked as an assistant in Public Affairs at a local television station. In 1982, Wilson moved to New York. She began recording widely in the 80’s initially with Steve Coleman and Henry Threadgill’s New Air group. She became the main vocalist with their M/Base collection. During her first decade in New York, she released seven records on the JMT/Verve label while she also sang on other innovative projects for other singers (Woodworth 31). By 1993 she had sung on ten albums produced by JMT records with a wide variety of New York musicians, including Mulgrew Miller and Greg Osby .

Cassandra music is a bit off-beat jazz with a little twist of Joni Mitchell's style. Her progress in the jazz world has improved a lot and has become one of the best jazz singers today. Her performances here in this concert simply displays her outmost best in jazz singing. Playing along with her most innovataive jazzband. Singing mostly standard jazz and some familiar tunes from her past albums. 1 hour of full entertainment.

Stephane Grappelli Trio - Warsaw Jazz - 1991

Stephane Grappelli was born on January 26, 1908 in Paris, France. After learning to play keyboard instruments, Grappelli took up the violin, later studying it formally. In the mid-20s he played in dance bands in Paris, gradually turning more to jazz. In the early 30s he met Django Reinhardt and with him formed the Quintette du Hot Club de France.

Until this point in his career Grappelli had been playing piano and violin, but now concentrated on the latter instrument. Performances and especially records by the QHCF alerted the jazz world to the arrival of both an intriguing new sound and, in Reinhardt, the first authentic non-American genius of jazz. In these years Grappelli was still learning, and his early popularity was largely as a result of that of his collaborator.

Shortly before the outbreak of World War II Grappelli settled in London, where he played with George Shearing. In the post-war years he worked briefly with Reinhardt again but spent the late 40s and 50s playing to diminishing audiences across Europe. In the 60s he enjoyed a revival of popularity, making records with other violinists such as Stuff Smith and Joe Venuti.

In the early 70s he appeared on UK television performing duets with classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin, and the records they made together sold well. However, Grappelli's real breakthrough to the big time had come when, at the urging of Diz Disley, he made appearances at the 1973 UK Cambridge Folk Festival (accompanied by Disley and Denny Wright). Grappelli was a sensation. For the rest of the decade, throughout the 80s and into the early 90s he was on a non-stop tour of the world, playing the most prestigious venues in the UK, Europe, the USA and the Far East.

In January 1994, he celebrated his 86th birthday in concert with Stanley Black at London's Barbican Hall. He made records with several backing groups, played duets with Gary Burton, Earl Hines, Martial Solal, Jean-Luc Pony and many other leading jazzmen. He also ventured into other areas of music and, in addition to the duets with Menuhin, he has recorded with the western swing fiddler, Vassar Clements.

At ease with a repertoire based upon his early career successes, Grappelli's flowing style steadily matured over the years and the occasional uncertainties of his early work with Reinhardt are long forgotten. Perhaps at odd moments in his later years he seemed to be coasting, yet some of his recorded performances are very good while several of those from the mid- and late 70s are amongst the most distinguished in the history of jazz violin.

Of particular merit are Parisian Thoroughfare, recorded with the rhythm section of Roland Hanna, George Mraz and Mel Lewis, and a set recorded at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London in 1973 when he was backed by Disley and Len Skeat. Grappelli's late flowering much to prompt appreciation of the old tradition of jazz violin playing. His death on December 1, 1997 left a gap in music that is unlikely to ever be filled, and certainly never to be bettered.

In this concert in Warsaw, he was gladly playing all his favorite tunes. Very cool and relaxed, expressing all his effortless jazz playing. The audience loved him. 1 hour of full jazz delight.