Word: pianistics
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...Dreamland are immediately arresting. Like Holiday, Peyroux has a bittersweet, brokenhearted alto; she lingers and slides off notes, finding emotion in the slow, sad fade rather than the obvious vocal burst. "When I first heard [Peyroux], I thought, 'Hmmm--this is fascinating,'" says Cyrus Chestnut, an acclaimed young pianist who plays on Dreamland. "A lot of singers do Billie imitations, but this was something completely different. It didn't sound contrived. She had the nuances, the huskiness down. And she has her own story to tell: with her voice, her heart, her spirit...
...jazz with a patient, deeply pleasing rendition of Walkin' After Midnight, a song made famous by country star Patsy Cline. And in a nod to her French roots, Peyroux delivers a vibrant version of Edith Piaf's La Vie en Rose. Dreamland features an impressive cast of supporting players. Pianist Chestnut provides restrained invention on Reckless Blues, guitarist Vernon Reid (formerly of the rock band Living Colour) enlivens Muddy Water, and up-and-coming jazz stars Marcus Printup (trumpet) and James Carter (saxophone) provide lift to several other tracks...
...abandonment and desire. In the Latin-tinged song The First Taste, her voice suggests the distant melancholy of soul singer Sade; in Sleep to Dream she assumes a smoldering anger that comes off like a muted Alanis Morissette; and in the wordy, moody Sullen Girl she evokes arty singer-pianist Tori Amos. But Apple, who plays the piano and writes her own songs, is more than an imitation of her predecessors. By the end of Tidal she's sketched out a musical identity of her own that's articulate and precocious...
Marsalis, 34, comes from a musical family and a musical city. His father Ellis is a pianist and educator; his elder brother Branford is a saxophonist; and one of his younger brothers, Delfeayo, is a trombone player. In New Orleans, a city as overflowing with jazz players as a bubbling pot of gumbo, Wynton was an early standout, a musical prodigy. As a teenager he played with drummer Art Blakey. Before Marsalis turned 22, he recorded a classical album that won a Grammy...
...Master" is Marsalis' respectfully affectionate nickname for pianist Marcus Roberts. Anyone who listens to Roberts' two new albums, due out this week, Portraits in Blue (featuring a re-examination of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, as well as some other, shorter pieces) and Time and Circumstance (a theme album of Roberts' original songs), will hear that mastery made manifest. By taking on what is arguably Gershwin's best composition and at the same time releasing what is his most satisfying and sophisticated record of his own compositions, Roberts demonstrates his technical virtuosity and passionate intelligence in impressive fashion...