Jazzis Web Shop News 04/2007

As we celebrate today Israel's 59th Independence Day, it's only appropriate I'd add an Israeli album today, this time something quite unique:

GOLDBERG, HAGIT ~ MUSICAL & JAZZ
PRIVATE EDITION ~ ISRAEL ~ Jazz
Recorded: 2005 Released: 2005
Although the Israeli Jazz scene developed rapidly in the last two decades, with a constant stream of new talent appearing at an ever-increasing paste, one area remains sadly almost completely uncovered - the jazz vocals. Since the early days of Jazz in Israel) going back 40 years or so) only a handful of female jazz singers (and no male singers at all) made any significant impact: Rimona Francis, Edna Goren, Iris Portugaly and Hagit Goldberg. Hagit has been around for quite a while. She started her singing career with the Israeli Airforce Big Band (which was at a certain period the best Israeli Big Band) and later on she left for the US to study at the Berklee College of Music. She stayed in the US (NY) for several years, performing in Musicals and with her jazz ensemble. Upon returning to Israel few years ago she started to perform on a regular basis and also to teach singing at the Rimon School and the Jerusalem Academy of Music. Over the years she gained a considerable performing experience and polished her act, but sadly never recorded a proper album. Therefore it is a joy to have her first solo album out finally. On the album she's accompanied by a most sympathetic quintet, consisting of some of the best Israeli jazz players, led by bassist Arie Volinez, who also arranged the music. The repertoire includes a carefully selected set of songs, all of which originate from Broadway musicals. Hagit performs the songs with panache and wonderful taste and her beautiful, sexy voice fills the space with presence and tension. Her interaction with the band is absolutely fantastic, with short but excellent instrumental solos fitted just in the right spots. Listening to the album is an uplifting musical experience, highly recommended to all vocal jazz lovers. It was worth the long wait and one can only hope that the next one will come really soon.

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102265

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The Stock Clearing Sale continues! A substantial 15 % discount on ALL items will apply until the stock reaches the target level. This is a unique opportunity to get great music at a fantastic price. BIG thanks to all the people of good will who already ordered - thank you for your support.

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Have Fun!

Today's addition is the new brilliant album by the reunited legendary French group Zao:

ZAO ~ IN TOKYO
MUSEA 4699 (Barcode: 3426300046994) ~ FRANCE ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 2004 Released: 2007
The legendary French band Zao, formed in 1973 by two ex-Magma members François "Faton" Cahen and Yochk'o Seffer was probably the best and most interesting musical phenomenon on the scene at the time. The band reformed for a short period of time in 1994 to record one album ("Akhenaton") and then again a decade later for a Japanese tour, where this album was recorded live. To make things even more interesting, the Japanese violinist and member of KBB Akihisa Tsuboy joined the group to complete the sextet (the original group included the legendary French violinist Didier Lockwood). The music is everything one would expect from Zao - breathtakingly beautiful avant-garde with strong jazz backbone. The new vocalist fills the difficult role with flying colors and all the musicians perform superbly. The material is a great mixture of older material (newly arranged) and new pieces, all composed by Cahen and Seffer. The lengthy pieces allow for extensive solos by all musicians and the album has a wonderful natural flow to it. In short, people who love improvised modern adventurous music will love this immensely. Essential!

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102267

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The Stock Clearing Sale continues! A substantial 15 % discount on ALL items will apply until the stock reaches the target level. This is a unique opportunity to get great music at a fantastic price. BIG thanks to all the people of good will who already ordered - thank you for your support.

=====================================

Have Fun!

Today's addition is the first item in a series of newly remastered and expanded Jon Anderson reissues:

ANDERSON, JON ~ ANIMATION (EXPANDED EDITION)
OPIO 01 (Barcode: 604388679423) ~ UK ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 1982 Released: 2006
3rd album by the legendary Yes founding member and singer Jon Anderson. Anderson recorded over the years extensively as solo artists in parallel to his work with Yes, accumulating an impressive musical legacy. This album is considered to be his strongest and most consistent release. Recorded by a stellar cast of over 30 musicians, including Clem Clempson (Colosseum), Simon Phillips, David Sancious, Jack Bruce and many others, with brass and string sections and arrangements, this is one impressive piece of music. As usual in Anderson's case this is a concept album, based on a story written by him. The convoluted lyrics are as unclear and mystical as ever, to the delight of his fans and a source of mockery by his critics. Whatever one might think about Anderson's literary talents, the music - composed entirely by him - is excellent, with strong fusion (and even some jazz) undertones, played brilliantly all the way. The new expanded edition adds bonus material recorded at the same session, including the almost 12 minutes long epic track called "The Spell". An absolute must to all Yes fans and a very strong Prog album overall. Recommended.

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The Jazzis Web Shop Stock Clearing Sale will end on midnight (PST) Monday, April 30, 2007. That means that you all have less than 3 days to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to get some great music for a great price and at the same time help me to get back on my feet financially and continue the operation of my site.

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Have Fun!

Today's addition - the last for this month - is another superb album by UK avant-garde jazz pianist Howard Riley:

RILEY, HOWARD ~ DUALITY
JAZZPRINT 113 (Barcode: 604388474424) ~ UK ~ Jazz
Recorded: 1981 Released: 2002
This solo piano recording by the legendary UK pianist Howard Riley is one of the cornerstones of his illustrious career, as it crystallizes his approach to improvised music. The duality (as referred to in the album's title) applies to two quite different avenues the artist travels when he performs his music. The first (as demonstrated by the first track on this album, which is over 20 minutes long) symbolizes the process of spontaneous composition / improvisation, based on some basic preconceived musical ideas, which get developed in the process of free-form improvisation. This type of music making requires a high degree of control of the instrument (something that Riley possesses without a doubt) and an incredible flow of musical ideas transferred instantaneously to the artist's hands and from there to the piano. The other (as demonstrated by the rest of the tracks on this album) symbolizes more the composer rather than the virtuoso performer, with much shorter pieces, also brilliantly performed, each devoted to a different harmonic / rhythmic idea. In spite of this duality, the album flows beautifully from one piece of music to another, casting a musical spell of rare quality over the attentive listener. As with all demanding music, the more difficult it is the more pleasurable it becomes once the listener submits himself to its charms. Absolutely essential for all free jazz lovers, especially for connoisseurs of the UK branch of the genre.

https://www.jazzis.com/shop/default.asp?item=102271

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The Jazzis Web Shop Stock Clearing Sale will end today - midnight (PST) Monday, April 30, 2007. That means that you all have just a few hours left to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to get some great music for a great price and at the same time help me to get back on my feet financially and continue the operation of my site.

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Have Fun!