Music Review:Chris Connor: Chris Connor Sings Gentle Bossa Nova ova

Article first published as Music Review: Chris Connor - Chris Connor Sings Gentle Bossa Nova on Blogcritics.

Back in the fifties when jazz vocalist Chris Connor was at her peak, it always seemed that like most of the other female singers of the period, she took a back seat to Ella Fitzgerald. It was as though there was Ella, and there was everyone else. Now while there is no question Ella Fitzgerald was a remarkable talent who deserved every accolade she received, Connor and others deserve some time out from under her shadow. This is not to say that the singer had no recognition in her day. Her records were best sellers and her appearances in legendary jazz clubs like Birdland and the Village Vanguard were sell outs. And although she made her share of TV appearances, she never quite achieved the mass appeal of Fitzgerald.

Perhaps that's why in 1965, after leaving her long term relationship with Atlantic Records, she would join with producer Kenny Greengrass and arrangers Pat Williams and later Don Sebesky to turn out a couple of albums with a pop flare much more likely to have an appeal to a larger audience. Unfortunately, if that were the intention, like many of the best laid plans, it didn’t quite pan out as hoped: for whatever reason the records never went very far. And that is doubly a shame, because they show the singer at her accessible best. Luckily of us the first of these, Chris Connor Sings Gentle Bossa Nova, is soon to be re-released by Just A Memory Records. Old timers will have the luxury of revisiting one of the great voices of their youth; youngsters will have the joy of discovery.

Connor's smooth styling and crystalline tone were made for the mellow dance rhythms of the bossa nova, the jazzy Brazilian import which was sweeping the country with the Stan Getz '64 recording of "The Girl From Ipanema" with the Astrud Gilberto vocal. Not only did the Latin transplant have pop cache, saxophone master Getz gave it jazz credibility as well. As repertoire for Connor it was a no brainer. Nearly all of the songs they chose for the album had been popular hits. There was a nice variety and Williams' arrangements swing. It should have been a smash, and even a cursory listen to the album today has to make you wonder why it wasn't.
The album opens with the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" and follows with the Petula Clark hit, "Downtown." There are tunes from Hollywood: "Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte" from the Bette Davis, Olivia de Haviland horror flick and a really fine version of "The Shadow of Your Smile" from The Sandpiper. "Baby the Rain Must Fall," also from a film, is something of a disappointment with its chirpy arrangement, especially for anyone who remembers the drama of Glen Yarborough's recording. There are some show tunes including what for my money is the highlight of the album a smoky version of the classic "Feeling Good" that is as good as any you are likely to hear. Her sultry version of "A Taste of Honey," trumpeter Herb Alpert's instrumental hit, is another winner.

All in all, Chris Connor Sings Gentle Bossa Nova was an album that deserved a better fate. Lori Muscarelle, Connor's manager and partner, describes their disappointment that the beautiful piece of work Connor and Williams had produced "just got buried somewhere." This re-release should give it a real shot at resurrection.

Music Review: Sharon Isbin and Friends-Guitar Passions

Article first published as Music Review: Sharon Isbin and Friends - Guitar Passions on Blogcritics

Equally at home whether she's playing "The House of the Rising Sun" as part of the "Joan Baez Suite" or the Vivaldi Concerto in D major, celebrated classical guitar virtuoso Sharon Isbin has never limited herself to any one particular repertoire, and that's a lucky thing for music lovers of all tastes. Her eclecticism has produced an awful lot of spectacular music that might never otherwise have seen the light of day, and her latest effort, Guitar Passions in which she joins with some of her guitar playing buddies in a kind of homage to the instrument, is just one more joyful expression of the woman's enviable range. It is a recording, she explains in the liner notes, in which "I pay tribute to my guitar heroes, artists that I admire from the classical, rock and jazz worlds. . . . It is our shared passion for the guitar and for musical discovery that brings us together."

Joining her on various tracks in this tribute to the guitar are Stanley Jordan, Steve Morse, Romero Lubambo, Nancy Wilson, Steve Vai, Rosa Passos, Guadencio Thiago de Mello and Paul Winter. Sometimes in collaboration, sometimes on her own, Isbin offers twelve tracks inspired by South American and Spanish roots, seven of which are premieres. All in all it is a collection of a dozen pieces, each one a gem.

That said, if one has to pick out favorites, the world premiere of Laurindo Almeida's arrangement of the absolutely transcendent Adagio from what is probably the greatest piece for the classical guitar, certainly the best known, Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez played by Isbin, Lubambo and Morse stands out. It is a fusion of classical, jazz and a pinch of rock that is indeed a tribute to the great composer. Isbin's acclaimed lyricism is on display in the Wilson sisters "Dreamboat Annie" with a vocal by Nancy, the two pieces from "La Catedral, and in Jorge Cardoso's soulful guitar setting of "Alphonsina y el Mar." Andrés Segovia's transcription of Isaac Albéniz's "Asturias" with its flamenco flavors gives her an opportunity to showcase the dynamic power of her playing.

She and Jordan join in a premiere of a two part guitar setting of "Sonidos de aquel dia" a solo guitar piece by Quique Sinesi, an Argentinian composer. De Mello's jaunty uptempo "O Presidente has a folk quality which she says "evokes the colorful sounds of the rain forest." She is joined on the track by Paul Winter on soprano sax and de Mello's organic percussion. Organic percussion refers to instruments de Mello has fashioned out of materials found in the jungle and is also featured on "Carinhoso." Singer/ guitarist Rosa Passos who does the vocal also wrote the guitar accompaniment. The guitar solos which open and close the song were arranged by Carlos Barbosa-Lima. Steve Vai improvises on Paraguayan composer Augustin Barrios Mangoré's "Allegro" and Romero Lubambo collaborate on adapting and performing Barbosa-Lima's arrangement of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Chovendo na Roseira."

Guitar Passions is an album filled with the work of some of the finest composers and arrangers for the instrument. Sharon Isbin and her friends not only play with skill, they imbue that work with passion and excitement. This is an album that won’t grow old.