Jazz | Fusion 390 Items

An'archives presents three documents, three vinyl records carved by the illuminations of Masayoshi Urabe, six performances engraved like epitaphs in the stone that covers the Living World. These are recordings made in small suburban venues in Japan, where

Rebecca Pidgeon, the acclaimed Scottish actress, has also displayed her gift as a singer/songwriter on her several well-received albums. Taking elements from folk, pop, jazz, and Celtic traditions, Pidgeon crafts lilting, intimate poetry. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, she later moved to Edinburgh, Scotland with her family at the age of 5. As a teenager in Scotland, she sang along with the radio and her parents' Beatles and Joni Mitchell records as a light escape from her demanding acting studies. Eventually, she enrolled in London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at 18 where she studied drama, music, and voice. Pidgeon's first Chesky release, "The Raven", featured Pidgeon's stunning version of "Spanish Harlem". "The Raven" went on to become an audiophile classic, thanks to Pidgeon's crystalline voice and Chesky's high-fidelity recording techniques. Her second album, "The New York Girls' Club", brought her unique singing and songwriting to more music lovers. She now resides in Boston and Vermont with her husband and their daughter. Between album projects, Pidgeon has starred in the Mamet plays "Oleanna", "Speed The Plow", "The Old Neighborhood", and the motion pictures "The Spanish Prisoner" and "The Winslow Boy".

Helen Merrill attributed her childhood musical influence to her mother's singing. Truth is, she didn't wait long herself to make a mark as a teenage jazz ingénue, following-up with the notable self-titled LP you have in your hands, newly remastered, and reissued by Analogue Productions.
Helen Merrill arrives, remastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearant Audio, and plated and pressed to 200-gram vinyl by the dedicated crew at Quality Record Pressings, supervised by plating expert and general manager Gary Salstrom. No less than an old-style, tip-on Stoughton Printing gatefold jacket would suffice for such a phenomenal-sounding reissue. Rare photographs inside the gatefold originally appeared as sleeve art for the 7-inch singles recorded and released in conjunction with the original 1955 album release.
Helen Merrill was born in New York City on July 21, 1930. Her professional career began at the age of 15 when, after singing at theatres and winning amateur contests, she landed a job as vocalist with Reggie Charles' Band. Merrill was later signed by Mercury Records to their EmArcy label. "Helen Merrill" is her debut studio album, backed by among others, trumpeter Clifford Brown and bassist/cellist Oscar Pettiford. The legendary Quincy Jones produced and arranged the album when he was just 21-years-old!
The success of Helen Merrill prompted Mercury to sign her for an additional four-album contract. AllMusic reviewer Scott Yanow gave Helen Merrill 4 1/2 stars. »The music is essentially straight-ahead bop, yet the seven standards ... are uplifted by the presence of Merrill (in top form) and Brown.« Her success associated Merrill with the first generation of bebop jazz musicians.
Merrill's career continued with recordings and concerts throughout six decades, until the early 2000s. Her emotional, sensual vocal performances, particularly this engaging debut, stand as testament to her immense talent.
This is a high-quality reissue of a rare and valuable record. Original copies have sold for more than $1,000!

Recording: in mono

Dopppel LP, 2 bisher unveröffentlichte Bonus Tracks (über 20 Minuten).

If one had to embody Eduardo Hopper with a single word, that word would be “virtuoso”- a term the master musicians he worked with often used in reference to him. His unusual harmonic approaches in compositions and in musical interpretations beguile the ear and instil curiosity in the listener. This talent is only matched by Hopper’s technical skills as an instrumentalist, illustrated especially by his mastery of the acoustic and electric guitars.

As a Brazilian music researcher, he travels through diverse and rich universes of sound. Inspired by the instrumentalists Baden Powell, Hélio Delmiro, Lula Galvão and Guinga on one hand, and Pat Metheny, Wes Montgomery, Bill Evans and Sonny Rollins on the other ; Hopper’s perfectionism becomes a tool, which allows him to work relentlessly until he is sure that every resource at his disposal has been used to express his vision.

Besides being a superb guitar player, he also plays the cavaquinho, the bass, the drums and the piano. He teaches music and is renown as a prolific creator of soundtracks for television programs, as well as music for commercials, etc. Throughout the 21 years of his career, he performed alongside many great names in Brazilian music, such as Francis Hime, Johnny Alf, Zimbo Trio, Dominguinhos, André Mehmari and Mônica Salmaso, among many others.

Born in 1983 in Santo André, a big industrial city, Eduardo Hopper began studying music at the precocious age of 4 years old by learning the guitar. He grew up surrounded by a festive and musical family environment. His determination and dedication also came from his parents, who were farm labourers and left the countryside in order to seek a better life. His first musical references were his father and siblings who played and rehearsed with relatives and friends at family gatherings.

Although he played in gospel music groups, he only began attending music school at the age of 13. Three years later, he was invited to replace his own teacher, thus starting his teaching career. In the meantime, he began composing which allowed him to gain entry to some of Brazil’s most prestigious music schools. Firstly, to Fundação das Artes in São Caetano do Sul, where under his teacher, Renato Santoro’s, guidance, he deepened his knowledge of guitar in popular Brazilian music. At the age of 19, he joined the Conservatório de Tatuí, the Institution supported by Hermeto Pascoal, where he further mastered the guitar with Fernando Correa, who was specialised in teaching Jazz and popular music.

At this point he was already touring professionally accompanying different bands and artists. At the Universidade Livre de Música de São Paulo, while he was guided by master Olmir Stocker, he was invited to join the orchestra Jovem Tom Jobim, at the time conducted by the maestro Roberto Sion. In this orchestra he had the opportunity to play with major names of the Brazilian pop music and contributed to the orchestra’s first album Álbum de Estréia.