Sophisticated Lady Jazz Quartet - Simpler Times - VINYL LP

45rpm 180g Vinyl LP! Mastered by Steve Hoffman & Bob Attiyeh! Lacquers Cut by Bernie Grundman! Executive producers Craig and Diane Martin. Sophisticated Lady Jazz Quartet pays homage to the Great Tradition of American Jazz but most of their repertoire is written by members of the quartet. Unlike the majority of contemporary jazz recordings, which are carefully and surgically patched together in postproduction, this album remains raw and fresh. These tracks are complete takes, 'live to tape,' without editing. The music on this recording is how Sophisticated Lady plays without the help of digital manipulation. Left Coastin' celebrates bass player and composer Gary Wicks who composed and led improvisations on three of the four tunes on this LP. Pianist Misha Adair Bigos helps us celebrate a busy day and stumble into a quiet night with the last track. The quartet rehearsed and performed some of these tunes before our concert and recording but many are the first time through; the quartet discussed the tunes and who would take what solo in which order but without rehearsal. I wanted the intensity of raw improvisation. This is possible when superb musicians tackle new material together, listening carefully to each other and playing as a single organism. Music cannot get fresher than this. I am always grateful when musicians of this caliber share their talents with us.- Bob Attiyeh, producer Album Tracks 1. Left Coastin' 2. Flutterby Girl 3. Hello 4. Stumbling

More jazz records should be like Sophisticated Lady Quartet-relaxed yet focused, tradition-based yet modern, elegant yet conveying a sure sense of swing. The recording is so pure that you almost feel as if you're eavesdropping on four musicians who seem completely in their element while performing, in a one-take environment, a set that's evenly split between previously rehearsed arrangements and performances where they had one chance to turn a composition into a memorable piece of music. No splicing or editing here-just a live-in-the-studio recording where the mood, playing and sonics are so solid that that jazz lovers will wish that the mostly-classical tag Yarlung wandered over to this side of the street more often. -Jeff Wilson, The Absolute SoundThe Sophisticated Lady Jazz Quartet's debut recording should be of great interest to fans of forward-looking straight ahead jazz. Each of the four musicians is excellent both as soloists and in ensembles, the music that they perform ranges from melodic versions of standards to lyrical originals and freer explorations, and their subtle playing keeps one guessing. This CD is well worth exploring and I certainly recommend it.-Scott Yanow, Los Angeles Jazz SceneLook out Brubeck, Sophisticated Lady's remarkable debut should perhaps be re-titled TAKE ONE. Why? Each tune was captured in one take!The 60 minute CD also celebrates Yarlung's audiophile venture into JAZZ with a splatter of Chet Baker's seductive, kicked-back Californication daubed with a drizzle of Miles at his mellowest.No matter how busy your day, an evening spin through this one will definitely move your mood.-David Thomson, Record Collector News Album Tracks 1. Bicycles 2. Simpler Times 3. Bop Be 4. Stumbling 5. Los Barriles 6. Blue Corn Moon 7. Hello My Name Is 8. Left Coastin' 9. For Sebastian 10. Flutterby Girl 11. Secret Love 12. Sk

'Ilmiliekki Quartet from Helsinki return with their new self-titled album on We Jazz Records on 11 February 2022. The group, including Verneri Pohjola (trumpet), Tuomo Prattala (piano), Antti Lotjonen (bass) and Olavi Louhivuori (drums) is a mainstay in the Finnish scene and the band has been steadily developing their sound for nearly two decades now. It could be said that the group's musicians, each also a solo artist of note these days, has grown with and through performing together with this regularly working quartet. Ilmiliekki Quartet's music has a song-like melodic quality, which pairs naturally with their often freeform search for new musical landscapes. As testament of Ilmiliekki Quartet being a Band with a capital B, the songs on the new album come from each of the four members. As before, the band also takes a borrowed tune in for a loving rendition, this time tackling 'Aila' by the Finnish dream pop group Karina. All in all, there's a deep, moody element to the music, yet at the same time, their sound flows with remarkable ease and lightness of touch. This brings out a wide range of color in their music, which is easy to fall in love with. Album Tracks 1. Three Queens 2. SGR A* 3. Aila 4. Follow the Damn Breadcrumbs 5. Night Song 6. Kaleidoscopesque