Paulette McWilliams 

Air Date: 11/29/2020  

If you are a regular listener of the Sunday Jazz Brunch, you may have noticed during the past couple of months that I have been playing a lot of tracks from Paulette McWilliams' new CD, A Woman's Story. This is the type of CD where you start with one track, and that makes you want more. Then you find another track that is really good, and then you want more, and so on. 

I started with Ms. McWilliams' version of Janice Ian's At Seventeen, which made me think "Here's a version of a song that is as good as the original, in its own way..." - a reaction I find somewhat uncommon. From there I progressed to Life is The Fountain, a really great song co-written by McWilliams and trumpeter Tom Harrell. In fact, the song started out as a chord progression titled Fountain by Mr. Harrell, and then Ms. McWilliams added the melody and lyrics. You can hear Mr. Harrell's original version on his 2007 release Light On.

At this point I was so very happy to have found a CD with two really fine tracks that I could spin for you. So I kept going. Next: Donny Hathaway's Chasing the Sun (co-written with Tennyson Stephens). Another fine track! 

During Hour Two you'll hear a song entitled If You Give Them More Than You Can, written by Barcelona-born artist Andrea Motis. 

Paulette McWilliams is a professional singer with a wide vocal range whose talent covers jazz, soul, and R&B. She's collaborated with many big names in the music industry, like Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, and Luther Vandross. Check out her new CD; it's one of the best female vocal jazz releases in 2020.

Your Contemplative Hour has some tasty piano work. Rick Gallagher's debut release from 2002 features several tracks that I like to think of as 'inspirational.' One of those is included here. 

Also we have the final recording of Larry Willis, in a session at the Rudy Van Gelder studio in New Jersey. Willis, who for awhile was a member of the jazz/pop band Chicago, became known to me when I heard him with Buster Williams and Al Foster on the 2006 release The Big Push. This was also where my ears were opened up to the unique bass playing of Mr. Williams, and so the CD has a special place in my heart!

Other items of note in the first hour: Joanne Tatham sings a female-point-of-view version of Harry Nilsson's 1971 pop classic Without Her, here retitled of course as Without Him. Also I reprise the spoken and musical tribute to Lena Horne from Clairdee's excellent release from earlier in the year, A Love Letter to Lena. Tom Ranier's new CD is so good, as I described in a previous blog. And pianist Chris Rottmayer's new CD Sunday at Pilars just came in, and it opens the show.

For brand new material in Hour Two I have pianist Ben Rosenbaum as well as Mr. Rottmayer. Also I dig in a bit further to Pete Malinverni's new CD with violinist Julie Kurtzman. While perhaps a bit unconventional for a jazz CD to have this type of duet, I find the music grows on me over time. And of course I have more Tom Ranier and Gregory Porter for you, among others.

Brazil/World kicks off with new material from clarinetist Eddie Daniels. Night Kisses is a tribute to Ivan Lins, and so it immediately caught my attention, as I am a huge Lins fan (who isn't?). Daniels has a beautiful lush sound that only improves with the addition of Bob James (of Fourplay) on keys. Almost everything in this hour was released just this year. 

I'm really enjoying the new release from Jazz in Pink featuring Gail Jhonson - you might just have to get up and dance when their songs come on! Also new for Groove Hour is a release from thirteen-year-old pianist Justin-Lee-Shultz.It seems every couple of years we get a young savant, and he would appear to be this year's version, and quite a good one at that! Also during Groove Hour I reprise Corrine Bailey Rae's hit from 2006 Green Aphrodisiac, a song that I find complex and satisfying in a way that makes me ask "Where does such creativity come from?" In the olden days they used to attribute the gods. Maybe they were right.

For my American friends, I hope your Thanksgiving was also satisfying - maybe too much so if you found it hard, like I did, to get out of the seat following the main course!🦃

Be careful out there! Best wishes to you and yours.

Marty

 

HOUR ONE: Contemplative Morning

  1. Chris Rottmayer-Sunday at Pilars-09 Trocadero-2020
  2. Tom Ranier\This Way\06 Trio Vision 2020
  3. Joanne Tatham-out of my dream-02 Without Him 2015
  4. Rick Gallagher-Sweet Potato Eyebrows-08 Everything Is Good (Olivia's Song) 2002
  5. Clairdee\A Love Letter To Lena-09 Soul Mates (Spoken Interlude) 2020
  6. Clairdee\A Love Letter To Lena-10 Something To Live For 2020
  7. Dan Costa\Suite Três Rios\Aria
  8. La Tanya Hall\Say Yes\10 Pannonica_ConAlma 2020
  9. Larry Willis-I Fall in Love Too Easily (The Final Session at Rudy Van Gelder's)-06 Let's Play-2020

HOUR TWO: New and Newer, Plus

  1. Chris Rottmayer-Sunday at Pilars-06 Emily-2020
  2. Pete Malinverni\Candlelight Love In the Time of Cholera\Oblivion 2020 feat Julie Kurtzman
  3. Gregory Porter-All Rise-09 Modern Day Apprentice-2020
  4. Chico Pinheiro\City Of Dreams\11 Up in the Air 2020
  5. Kandace Springs-The Women Who Raised Me-09 The Nearness of You-2020
  6. Tom Ranier\This Way\Rhapsody 2020
  7. Paulette McWilliams\A Woman's Story\02 - If You Give Them More 2020
  8. Dan Costa\Suite Três Rios\02 Chorinho
  9. Ben Rosenblum\Kites and Strings\01 Cedar Place 2020
  10. Gregory Porter-All Rise-01 Concorde-2020
  11. Graciliano Zambonin - Angico - One Seven 2020
  12. Jeremy Pelt-The Art Of Intimacy, Vol. 1-04 I've Just Seen Her-2020

HOUR THREE: Brazil/World

  1. Eddie Daniels-Night Kisses-12 A Noite-2020
  2. Behn Gillece-Walk of Fire-02 Fantasia Brasileria 2017
  3. Josie Falbo\You Must Believe In Spring\Tristeza 2020
  4. Diego Figueiredo-Broken Bossa-09 Caravan 2015
  5. Tom Ranier\This Way\Desafinado 2020
  6. Miguel De Leon\Malandro\01 A Volta do Malandro 2020
  7. Al Daniels - Brasiliana - 04 Samba de Romanza 2020
  8. John Carrozza\Defining Moment\Reflections 2020
  9. Mike Metheny-Old Wine,New Bossa-03 Old Wine,New Bossa-2011
  10. Chico Pinheiro\City Of Dreams\11 Up in the Air 2020
  11. CeCe Gable\More Than A Song\Fotografia 2020
  12. Miguel De Leon\Malandro\05 A Voz do Morro2020

HOUR FOUR: Groove, Baby

  1. Jazz In Pink featuring Gail Jhonson - Smoother 2020
  2. Justin Lee Schultz\Gruv Kid\Gruv Kid 2020
  3. Maysa-Back 2 Love-03 Heavenly Voices 2015
  4. Corrine Bailey Rae-06 Green Aphrodisiac (2016)
  5. Jazz Funk Soul-Life And Times-08 Room W Vu 2019
  6. Leslie Odom Jr.-Mr-12 Remember Black 2019
  7. Earl Klugh-Peculiar Situation-09 Before You Go 1999
  8. Dianne Reeves-Beautiful Life-08 Wild Rose 2014
  9. Will Downing-Soul Survivor-03 I'm Feeling The Love 2017
  10. Euge Groove - sing my Song -The Journey Ahead 2020
  11. Basia - Brave New Hope - From Now On (Band Version)
  12. Brian Simpson\Out of a Dream\Let's Get Away 2020

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