Montreal Jazz Chanteuse Susie Arioli Goes “All the Way” On New Jazzheads Release
Set to perform at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola in New York City on June 19, 2012
Since first joining forces in 1998 with guitarist and kindred spirit Jordan Officer in her Swing Band, Montreal-based singer Susie Arioli has been casting her seductive spell on jazz fans throughout Canada, and in Europe. Her sultry voice, clear articulation and fondness for the Great American Songbook places her squarely in the camp of such classy jazz divas from the 1950s as Peggy Lee, Chris Connor, June Christy, Julie London and Lee Wiley, with allusions to jazz vocal icons Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday in her powerfully emotive delivery.
On All the Way, Arioli’s new CD release on Jazzheads through an exclusive arrangement with the Montreal-based Spectra/Musique, the Juno-nominated artist again puts her own distinctive stamp on standards by the likes of Rodgers & Hart, Jimmy Van Heusen, Sammy Cahn, Jules Styne, Harold Arlen, and George and Ira Gershwin. This delicious offering should establish her in the United States and the jazz community at large as a talent deserving of wider recognition. Guitarist-arranger Officer is once again onboard, as he has been for all seven of Arioli’s outings. The band is rounded out by pianist Jeff Johnston, bassists Bill Gossage and Frederic Garnier, drummers Tony Albino and Michel Berthiaume, saxophonist Cameron Wallis, trumpeter Jerome Dupuis-Cloutier and vibraphonist Francois Grenier.
Arioli’s upcoming appearance on June 19 at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, in Manhattan’s prestigious Jazz at Lincoln Center facility, will kick off her stateside release of All the Way. It’s all part of the process of increasing Susie Arioli’s presence beyond Canada. According to Jazzheads president Randy Klein, ”I heard Susie’s 2008 recording Night Lightsand immediately felt the purity of her vocal approach to these songs and knew that a larger audiences should experience the beauty of her music.”
Jazzheads Jazz Festival Took Place In New York City On May 4-5, 2012
This year Jazzheads celebrates its 20th anniversary as a label. The first annual Jazzheads Jazz Festival took place at the Players Club in New York City on May 4-5, 2012. The Players Club is the beautiful 18th century townhouse that belonged to Edwin Booth, the great Shakespearean actor and brother to John Wilkes. The townhouse has a performing banquet hall with wonderful acoustics and ambiance. It is a place to listen good performance space to listen to improvised music from some very fine musicians!
Friday night, Dave Frank performed a stellar set of solo piano pieces. This guy has super chops! It was followed by the fine and subtle playing of New York Jazz Initiative. Then, vocalist, Gabriele Tranchina group entertained with groove and joy. Closing the night was the flute maestro, Mark Weinstein with his rhythmic Afro-Cuban Jazz Ensemble. The players played their hearts out and the audience lucky enough to hear the music, responded with grand applause.
Saturday night was more of the same with an inspiring set by Jeff Lederer’s Sunwatcher group. Jeff takes the saxophone to new places and keeps the audience involved. The Randy Klein’s Two Duos project with Nik Munson and Alex Skolnick was subtle and musical. Nik Munson has a rich and alluring vocal sound and Alex Skolnick is a fine Jazz guitarist, with Randy Klein’s excellent piano accompaniment. Duo playing at its best! The evening ended with the screaming and enormously educational and fun Bobby Sanabria Big Band. Bobby is a master of the stage and this is one of the best big bands out there. This night the music was happening!
Jazzheads thanks to all the players and volunteers who made the festival a musical success! Look for more to come from Jazzheads in the future!
Randy Klein Visits Brooklyn Frontiers High School
On May 3, 2012 Randy Klein joined with other panelists in the music industry in a visit to the Music Entrepreneurship class at Brooklyn Frontiers High School. The school is a new partnership between the Dept. of Education and Good Shepherd Services to serve students who have not been succeeding in traditional high school settings. Randy was there to offer insight and advice to the student-run record label “Frontier Sounds” which is releasing their first CD of all original student work on June 9, 2012. The students were delighted to hear Randy’s perspectives after 20 years of running his own record label, Jazzheads. Perhaps even more importantly, Randy shared his passion for music-making and the process of getting your voice out into the marketplace and into the world. It was a real treat for the students and they are looking forward to his next visit to the school - Jeff Lederer
Many thanks to Jeff Lederer for the invitation!
Source: randyklein
The NYC Jazz Record reviews “Mad About Thad”
What Derke and his players have done is revitalize and refresh the music of a composer whose work deserves to be heard and reheard. - The New York City Jazz Record (May 2012)
Rob Derke will be playing at the Jazzheads Jazz Festival on Friday, May 4 2012 at The Players Club NYC. Tickets available at the door.
On April 26, 2012 Chris DiGirolamo and Randy Klein were interviewed by Sharif Abdus-Salaam on Columbia University Radio, WKCR 89.9FM. They discussed mentoring students and the business of music from the side of an experienced press representative and a record label. Two For The Show Media and Jazzheads have been working together as a team for many years and the back and forth conversation between Chris and Randy was informative and entertaining. Sharif played cuts from Jazzheads CDs and announced the upcoming Jazzheads Jazz Festival at the Players Club on May 4-5, 2012. Randy gave away a pair of tickets for each night to the shows. The phones rang off the hook and the winners will be the guests of Jazzheads for the big 20th Anniversary concert celebration! Thank you Sharif and WKCR for your continued support of Jazzheads music!
Source: randyklein
Celebrate Tito Puente’s Birthday
Tito Puente, the undisputed King of Latin music and jazz. What better way to celebrate maestro Puente’s birthday this past week (4/20/23) and his incredible legacy. This recording from Bobby Sanabria and the Manhattan School of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra was nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2011 and made many top 10 lists. It features incredible new updated arrangements of his majestic works for big band. Part of the purchase price goes to the Manhattan School of Music Scholarship fund.
Also available on iTunes
Susie Arioli launching her new album “All the Way”
Available on iTunes http://goo.gl/ltPai
Jazzheads Jazz Festival Line-up announced!
Join the EVENT PAGE on Facebook!!
Space is limited, so make reservations: reservations@theplayersnyc.org or call 212-475-6116
Susie Arioli Shines On Her Latest Album, “All The Way”
Susie Arioli’s All the Way and Night Lights are now available in the US on iTunes released by Jazzheads
All About Jazz - Source: VIVO MUSIQUE INTERNATIONALE, Published: 2012-04-02
Another step in her rich and inspired career finds Susie Arioli pushing the limits of her art with a new album appropriately titledAll the Way. The sparkling singer invites us to follow her on a sublime adventure as she brings her finely modulated voice to bear on thirteen numbers drawn from the immortal repertoire of the Great American Songbook. Displaying the maturity of performers who are in it for the long haul, Arioli brings her singular touch to legendary themes that she tackles with heartwarming delight. This seventh studio recording reveals a vocal range that reaches further than ever, and yet is very much in keeping with the unique sensibility that has been captivating an ever-growing public for many years now.
In the wake of the success of her critically acclaimed and gold-certified yuletide album Christmas Dreaming, All the Way will be released internationally, first in Canada on March 27 on the Spectra Musique label, and this summer on Jazzheads Records in the U.S. (# JH1192, jazzheads.com) and on Harmonia Mundi/Jazz Village in Europe, Asia and Oceania.
The spiritual heritage of Chet Baker, Sarah Vaughan and other masters of the genre occupies an essential place in this project, one in which Susie Arioli evokes sources of inspiration that she holds dear. Transcending these influences, she imbues standards like “My Funny Valentine”, “There’s a Lull in My Life” and “Time on My Hands” with her distinctive energy. Still backed by Jordan Officer, with whom she shares arranging and production duties, the singer puts her snare drum aside for the time being and leaves her musicians to build a remarkable setting for performances that are as moving as they are perfectly conveyed. Standing tall on orchestrations of a richness hitherto unmatched in her career, Susie Arioli makes sure as she always does, to leave the limelight to the songs themselves, illuminating them in their purest essence. Thus, the memory of Sinatra is deftly celebrated with the title piece, “All the Way”, halfway between fifties ballad and jazz song, and in the emblematic “Here’s to the Losers” where the horns provide backup to formidable effect. Meanwhile, the lesser-known French version of “What a Difference a Day Makes”—“Un jour de différence”—leads us on a happy rediscovery of this classic from the late 1950s. With an album that gives off a rare quality of emotion, Susie Arioli invites faithful listeners to fall under her spell yet again, continuing a special relationship with them that has led to sales of over 250,000 albums to this point.
A number of talented collaborators were involved in lending All the Way its sense of unity and above all its exceptional musicality. Jordan Officer, to begin with, whose fluid and inventive guitar permeates everything with a continually renewed relevance, solidly supported by a rhythm section composed of bassist Bill Gossage alternating with drummers Tony Albino and Michel Berthiaume. Pianist Jeff Johnston, saxophonist Cameron Wallis, vibraphonist François Stevenson, trumpeter Jérôme Dupuis-Cloutier and bassist Frédéric Grenier also take their places in a geometrically variable lineup, everything rounded out on occasion by a horn section (Al McLean, Averil Parker, Ben Henriques) adroitly led and orchestrated by Wallis.
