Fay Victor - Blackity Black Black Is Beautiful - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Big Crown Records is proud to present Float Back To You, the debut full length album from Holy Hive. Homer Steinweiss, the Brooklyn based soul/funk drummer, always had a soft spot for folk music. Paul Spring, a young idealist folk singer traveling the country with his guitar, always had a beautiful falsetto in his back pocket. A family introduction would lead to Homer producing a few solo records of Paul's, which would eventually lead to the creation of Holy Hive. The two enlisted Joe Harrison on bass and started out recording their first tunes as a group. A tour with soul legend Lee Fields would turn out to have an unexpected effect on their sound as they played their material to crowds of soul fanatics looking to dance. It was this realization that forced the next step in their evolution and gave birth to a sound unique to Holy Hive, a sound that walks a line so perfectly it necessitated a new genre, Folk Soul. Listening to their debut album, their different experiences and influences have all shown up. From the heavy downbeat of the lead single InchBroomInch to their intimate cover of Honeybus' InchBe Thou By My Side,Inch Float Back To You showcases their songwriting prowess as well as their impeccable musicianship. Spring's fondness for ancient mythology shows up in a few places on the album as well adding another level to their work. They adapt the Greek poet Sappho's InchFragment 31Inch to music on InchEmbers To AshInch and completely rework the Irish folk tune InchRed Is The RoseInch into a modern day two stepper. Another standout track is the already classic InchOh I Miss Her So,Inch which first showed up on their 2018 Harping EP and features accomplished harpist Mary Lattimore and trumpet by Dave Guy of The Roots. The symbiotic relationship of Homer and Paul has been likened to that of an oxpecker and a black rhino. Paul's delicate falsetto and fluttering gui

When Fay Victor found herself struggling to break into New York City's jazz scene in the '90s, the singer and composer took a gamble on moving to Amsterdam to reinvent herself. By day, she'd ride her bike to the library and pick up albums and sheet music to play on her piano at home. During nights, she immersed herself in the city's vivid avant-garde music clubs and venues-a move that transformed Victor from a straight ahead jazz singer into a daring vocal improviser. Over 20 years later, Victor has revisited these Amsterdam compositions for Barn Songs, her tenth album as a bandleader. Recoding alongside cellist Marika Hughes and alto saxophonist Darius Jones, the experimental project came to fruition in a tumble-down barn Hughes owns in the northern foothills of the bucolic Catskills Mountains. The trio turned the building into an organic recording compound for three days, complete with passings birds and squirrels adding naturalistic ambience to the mix. Remarkably, the songs Victor wrote while living another life in another country reveal themselves to be prescient commentary on the modern way we live today.1. Dream State2. Last Night's Dinner3. Stealaway4. Sometimes5. Talk Talk (pt 2)6. Nico7. There They Are Album Tracks 1. Dream State 2. Last Night's Dinner 3. Stealaway 4. Sometimes 5. Talk Talk (PT 2) 6. Nico 7. There They Are

Acclaimed vocalist-lyricist-arranger Fay Victor & her Herbie Nichols SUNG Quintet celebrate & thoroughly reconsider the rich legacy of jazz composer Herbie Nichols with Life Is Funny That Way, and bring it singing boldly into this century. Following on Billie Holiday, who famously wrote InchLady Sings The BluesInch to Nichols' InchSerenade,Inch Victor developed this deep love project over the course of decade, after years of exploring the late composer's work. This landmark album marks the first time that a full program of lyrics have been written & recorded for Nichols' compositions. The innovative arrangements -also by Victor- are brought to vibrant life by a dedicated & deeply gifted quintet of veteran performers; Michaël Attias (alto & baritone sax), Anthony Coleman (piano), Ratzo Harris (bass), and Tom Rainey (drums).   The source material is from Nichols' Blue Note sessions of 1955-56, plus three compositions not recorded in his lifetime. With erudite & extensive liners by Kevin Whitehead. Album Tracks 1. Life Is Funny That Way 2. The Bassist 3. Bright Butterfly 4. Sinners, All of Us! 5. The Culprit Is You 6. Shuffle Montgomery 1. Tonight 2. Lady Sings the Blues 3. Twelve Bars 4. Descent Into Madness 5. Non-Fraternization Clause