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Mike Greensill
Roberta Donnay: Blossom-ing!
by Pierre Giroux
Pianist, vocalist and composer Blossom Dearie may have been diminutive in stature and voice but certainly never in talent. She began her career in New York in the mid 1940s and then moved to Paris in the early 1950s to form the vocal group The Blue Stars, which eventually morphed into the Swingle Singers. Returning to the US in the 1960s, she began a solo career and gained international recognition through her wry interpretation of unusual song choices as well ...
read moreRoberta Donnay: Blossom-ing!
by Jack Bowers
Blossom-ing! is vocalist Roberta Donnay's tribute to one of the most memorable jazz singers who ever lived, Blossom Dearie. She does so via sixteen songs associated with Dearie including Billie Holiday's Billie's (or Blossom's) Blues," retitled here Roberta's Blues." After leading with that one, Donnay lends her tremulous little-girl voice (eerily similar to Dearie's) to one of Dearie's best-known themes, Peel Me a Grape," before scanning the others. Unlike Dearie, Donnay doesn't accompany herself at the piano, ...
read moreMike Greensill Trio: Live at the Plush Room
by Michael P. Gladstone
This new release from pianist Mike Greensill is exactly what the title suggests, a live appearance at San Francisco's Plush Room, and it's a pleasure to listen to. It's a throwback to the days when diners, drinkers and jazz afficionados could just sit back and soak up a well played set by a jazz piano trio. There are no dazzling pianistic runs or any particular star turns by the group members, just a well coordinated 75 minutes of choice standards ...
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