SUSANNAH McCORKLE — Easy to Love : The Songs Of Cole Porter (1996) Two Version | FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

Susannah McCorkle has long been a lyricist's dream. Rather than distort or alter the words she interprets, McCorkle (who has an immediately appealing and likable voice) brings out the hidden beauty in the lyrics. For her latest Concord disc, Susannah McCorkle sings 14 songs written by Cole Porter whose lyrics were among the most sophisticated of the 1930-1960 era. The arrangements by her musical director and pianist Allen Farnham are quite inventive, with exuberant octet numbers (featuring concise but generally memorable solos from trumpeter Randy Sandke, alto Chris Potter, trombonist Robert Trowers, and Ken Peplowski on tenor and clarinet) alternating with more intimate performances including voice-guitar duets with Howard Alden on a slow chorus of "Just One Of Those Things," "Why Don't We Try Staying Home" and the sad "Goodbye Little Dream, Goodbye." Among the other highlights are lengthy renditions of "Anything Goes" and "Let's Do It" which find McCorkle singing every stanza that could be found (the former has many obscure topical references), a boisterous version of "It's All Right With Me" and an emotional "Weren't We Fools?" Scott Yanow  
Tracklist :
1.    Night & Day    4:56
2.    Anything Goes    5:14
The "Spilt Milk" Medley    
3.    Just One Of Those Things    2:57
4.    It's All Right With Me    5:48
5.    Weren't We Fools?    3:37
6.    From This Moment On    3:40
7.    Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?    4:42
8.    Why Don't We Try Staying Home?    4:24
9.    You Do Something To Me    3:19
10.    Easy To Love    6:01
11.    Goodbye Little Dream, Goodbye    3:08
12.    You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To    5:25
13.    Let's Do It    5:57
14.    Ev'rytime We Say Goodbye    6:06
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Chris Potter 
Bass – Steve Gilmore
Drums – Rich De Rosa
Guitar – Howard Alden
Music Director, Piano – Allen Farnham
Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet – Ken Peplowski
Trombone – Robert Trowers
Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Randy Sandke
Vocals – Susannah McCorkle

SUZANNE VEGA — Lover, Beloved : Songs from an Evening with Carson McCullers (2021) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Suzanne Vega has always been a songwriter with a literary sensibility, displaying a feel for character and wordplay that was noticeably more nuanced than her peers. It seems entirely fitting that Vega might wish to honor one of her influences as a writer, and with Lover, Beloved: Songs from an Evening with Carson McCullers, she's done just that. One of Vega's favorite authors is Carson McCullers, who enjoyed critical and popular success in the '40s with her novels The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, The Member of the Wedding, and Reflections in a Golden Eye. In 2011, Vega performed a one-woman show about McCullers' life and work, and five years later she's released Lover, Beloved, which features ten songs she wrote for the show. (Duncan Sheik co-wrote the music with Vega, except for two songs she wrote in collaboration with Michael Jefry Stevens.) The album often has a somewhat different feel than much of Vega's work, especially in the songs in which she takes on McCullers' persona and discusses her early days after leaving Georgia for New York City ("New York Is My Destination"), and dishes about fellow authors she sees as hopeless inferiors ("Harper Lee"). The vintage jazz accents on "Carson's Blues" and "Harper Lee" also take Vega's songs into musical territory that doesn't always seem comfortable to her. However, the less specifically biographical numbers are quite effective, as Vega takes up stories from McCullers' life and work and weaves them into her own creative sensibility. Vega's vocal performances are intelligent and skillful throughout, and the largely acoustic arrangements give this music a vintage sensibility without forcing the issue. Lover, Beloved isn't a radical shift from Suzanne Vega's usual body of work, but it does find her stretching a bit from her comfort zone, and she sails gracefully along on this smart and tuneful song cycle. Mark Deming 
Tracklist :
1.    Carson's Blues 2:56
Accordion – Will Holhouser
Trombone – Roswell Rudd
Ukulele Banjo [Banjo Ukelele] – Mike Merenda
Written-By – Michael Jefry Stevens, Suzanne Vega
2.    New York Is My Destination 3:09
Clarinet – David Rothenberg
Written-By – Michael Jefry Stevens, Suzanne Vega
3.    Instant Of The Hour After    3:07
Written-By – Michael Jefry Stevens, Suzanne Vega
4.    We Of Me 2:52
Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – David Poe, Duncan Sheik, Ruby Froom
Banjo – Mike Merenda
Pedalboard [Hammond Bass Pedals] – Duncan Sheik
Percussion – Doug Yowell
Written-By – Michael Jefry Stevens, Suzanne Vega
5.    Annemarie 3:18
Bass Clarinet – David Rothenberg
Harmonium – Duncan Sheik
Written-By – Michael Jefry Stevens, Suzanne Vega
6.    12 Mortal Men    2:47 
Written-By – Michael Jefry Stevens, Suzanne Vega
7.    Harper Lee 3:43
Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – Duncan Sheik
Banjo – Mike Merenda
Trombone – Roswell Rudd
Written-By – Michael Jefry Stevens, Suzanne Vega
8.    Lover, Beloved 3:24
Bass Clarinet – David Rothenberg
Percussion – Duncan Sheik
Written-By – Michael Jefry Stevens, Suzanne Vega
9.    The Ballad Of Miss Amelia 4:18
Accordion – Will Holhouser
Written-By – Michael Jefry Stevens, Suzanne Vega
10.    Carson's Last Supper 3:32
Accordion – Will Holhouser
Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – David Poe, Duncan Sheik, Ruby Froom, The Garrison Gang
Percussion – Duncan Sheik
Credits :
Double Bass [Upright Bass] – Byron Isaacs
Drums – Yuval Lyon
Guitar, Ukulele, Vibraphone [Vibes], Mandolin – Gerry Leonard
Lyrics By, Vocals – Suzanne Vega
Piano – Jason Hart

NICO – Hanging Gardens (1990) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Loudly touted as Nico's final studio album, Hanging Gardens was, in fact, something of a mishmash, comprising a handful of tracks from her last-ever concert, at the Berlin Planetarium in June 1988, and a clutch more drawn from sessions back in the early '80s. As such, it was a considerable letdown to anybody hoping for a legitimate follow-up to Camera Obscura, although such criticisms can in no way detract from the overall beauty of the collection. Of the four new songs on display, the lyrically brief "I Will Be Seven" is absolutely redolent of the direction in which Camera Obscura might have headed without John Cale's scene-stealing production, while versions of "I'm Waiting for the Man," "You Forgot to Answer," "Vegas," and "Saeta" (mysteriously -- or deliberately -- mistitled "The Line") are only tiresome if you've already gathered up every other available version. As with so many of the posthumous albums issued in Nico's name, Hanging Gardens can in no way be described as essential. But fans will not be disappointed by anything other than the album's brevity. Dave Thompson 
Tracklist :
1.    Hanging Gardens    6:12
2.    The Sound    4:52
3.    You Forget To Answer    3:25
4.    Vegas    3:40
5.    I'm Waiting For The Man    4:23
6.    Your Voice    5:45
7.    Your Word Against Mine    4:06
8.    I Will Be Seven    4:50
9.    The Line    3:31
Credits :
Nico - Composer, Primary Artist, Vocals
Painting [Cover Painting] – Sarah Gregory 

JANE BIRKIN — Baby Alone in Babylone (1983-2001) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist :
1.    Baby Lou 3:00
Lyrics By – Serge Gainsbourg
Music By – Alain Chamfort, Michel Pelay
2.    Fuir Le Bonheur De Peur Qu'Il Ne Se Sauve 3:10
Written-By – Serge Gainsbourg
3.    Partie Perdue 2:57
Written-By – Serge Gainsbourg
4.    Norma Jean Baker 3:10
Written-By – Serge Gainsbourg
5.    Haine Pour Aime 2:52
Written-By – Serge Gainsbourg
6.    Overseas Telegram 3:30
Written-By – Serge Gainsbourg
7.    Con C'Est Con Ces Conséquences 3:08
Written-By – Serge Gainsbourg
8.    En Rire De Peur D'Être Obligée D'En Pleurer 2:42
Written-By – Serge Gainsbourg
9.    Rupture Au Miroir 3:30
Written-By – Serge Gainsbourg
10.    Les Dessous Chics 2:10
Written-By – Serge Gainsbourg
11.    Baby Alone In Babylone 3:57
Arranged By – Serge Gainsbourg
Composed By – Brahms
Lyrics By – Serge Gainsbourg
Credits :
Bass – Brian Odgers
Drums – Dougie Wright
Guitar – Alan Parker
Keyboards, Arranged By – Alan Hawkshaw
Percussion – Jim Lawless
Vocals - Jane Birkin

JUDY WEXLER — Under a Painted Sky (2011) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Few singers would dare dive into music associated with Johnny Mathis, Carmen McRae, Abbey Lincoln and the 1962 film, The Music Man, on the same album; even fewer would be able to pull it off as vocalist Judy Wexler does on Under A Painted Sky. Wexler possesses a voice for the ages, and puts it to good use on a dozen delicious numbers that cover myriad moods and spotlight the stellar instrumentalists in her band.
Wexler's prior releases—Easy On The Heart (Rhombus, 2005) and Dreams And Shadows (Jazzed Media, 2008)— were elevated by classy arrangements and pianistic underpinnings from pianist Alan Pasqua, and this partnership continues to bear fruit on this project. Pasqua paints pictures of a sunny nature ("Wonderful Wonderful"), crafts spine-tingling settings ("Avec Le Temps") and directs swinging scenes that delight in every way ("The Great City" and "Whisper Not"), leaving Wexler free to fully explore the possibilities that reside within each one of these gems.
Wexler's vocals are ebullient and enthusiastic on "Wonderful Wonderful," as the album gets underway, but she isn't all sunshine and splendor. She deals in flirty and sensual singing on "An Occasional Man," delivers enthralling vocals of a haunting nature with Avec Le Temps," touches on the ups-and-downs in the game of love during "And How I Hoped For Your Love,," and utters a wise warning about getting sucked into the quicksand of New York's social scene with "The Great City."
While Wexler needs no help selling any of these songs, the instrumentalists add volumes to each piece, as they mirror the moods that are established through the arrangements and vocals. Tenor saxophonist Bob Mintzer adds some grit to "The Great City," Bob Sheppard's soprano saxophone swoops and soars with a fine balance between grace and gusto on "Till There Was You," and Walt Fowler's flugelhorn emphasizes the dream-like state of "Café." Pasqua and guitarist Larry Koonse blend well, whether dealing with Brazilian-laced music ("And How I Hoped For Your Love") or songs of peace and hope ("Sack Full Of Dreams"), and the bass and drums team of Darek Oles and Steve Hass has a terrific hookup in virtually every stylistic setting.
While both of Wexler's previous albums were outstanding displays of her vocal talent, Under A Painted Sky is her best yet—the third time truly is the charm. web
Tracklist :
1 Wonderful Wonderful  4:34
Sherman Edwards / Ben Raleigh
2 And How I Hoped for Your Love  4:38
Abbey Lincoln / Richard Lynch
3 An Occasional Man  4:19
Ralph Blane / Hugh Martin
4 Don't Wait Too Long   3:59
Sunny Skylar
5 The great City  5:40
Curtis Lewis
6 Avec Le Temps  7:48
Léo Ferré / Alan Wexler
7 A Little Tear  3:59
Eumir Deodato / Ray Gilbert / Paolo Valle
8 Last Time for Love  4:58
Carmen McRae
9 Café  4:45
Egberto Gismonti / Norma Winstone
10 Whisper Not  3:43
Leonard Feather / Benny Golson
11 Till There Was You  5:04
Meredith Willson
12 Sack Full of Dreams  5:30
Gary McFarland / Louis Savary
Personnel : 
Judy Wexler - Vocals
Alan Pasqua - Piano
Darek Oles - Bass
Steve Hass - Drums
Larry Koonse - Guitar
Bob Mintzer - Tenor Saxophone
Bob Sheppard - Soprano Saxophone
Walt Fowler - Trumper, Flugelhorn
Alex Acuna - Percussion