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DL MEDIA
ELIANE ELIAS/Something for You: Elias’ welcome home to Blue Note is kicked off with a fatly tracked set in tribute to Bill Evans in which she really gets inside the tunes in a style that you would expect from her tribute to Jobim but not in the same way so much tipping the cap to Evans. Hitting all the required hot spots and then going deeper, Elias is in touch with her jazz roots all the way, not listening to any outside forces that were telling her how to crossover, how to do this, how to do that… A stylish and tasty return to form, this is a mature Elias hitting new heights.
(Blue Note)
MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY ALL STARS/various: In the tradition of killer jam bands kicking it out at Monterey, last year’s anni assemblage found young to middle age lions gathering around grand master James Moody in a set that stirred it up well. In true jazz session spirit, this was the first time these cats every played together and this set shows they certainly wanted to make it all memorable. A tasty, once in a life time set that you might as well not miss as long as you probably weren’t there when it happened. Jazzbos, be sure to take note.
(Monterey Jazz Fest)
MANHATTAN
ANNE MURRAY/Duets Friends & Legends: Canada’s pride managed to be one of those 70s artists that was the punch line of as many jokes as records she sold, but she managed to laugh all the way to the bank. In these creatively bankrupt times when we are selling the iconography more than the music, Murray has finally risen to the top of the look back bubble and at least she’s given a first class treatment in this new look at her greatest hits. “You Needed Me” still sounds as yukky as ever, but given the Sinatra duet treatment, the other hits are just right for today’s free form Ipod/Jack ways. “Danny’s Song” ,“Snowbird”, “Daydream Believer”, “I Just Fall in Love Again” and the rest sound much better than if they were simply remastered. If you were a fan the first time around, this is a spiffed up, lived in, new treatment that will grab your ears all over again. If you were too cool for school the first time out, maybe you ought to rethink things. Well done.
SARAH BRIGTHMAN/Symphony: She might no longer be the teen tyro Mrs. Webber anymore, but five years away since her last record have given her the chance to age gracefully and into a style that her own without any other’s heavy hand in the mix. Sticking to the pop/classical realm that she was actually one of the contemporary primogenitors of, Brightman leaves certain trappings behind while elegantly bringing herself to new realms in the process. A first class urbane set, this is some seriously well done state of the art adult pop. Check it out, particularly if you weren’t a fan in the past.
Volume 31/Number 75
January 14, 2008
MIDWEST RECORD
830 W. Route 22 #144
Lake Zurich, IL., 60047
CHRIS SPECTOR, Editor and Publisher
©2008 Midwest Record
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