Patricia Barber – Smash (2013) [MFSL] [SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC]
PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 55:04 minutes | Scans included | 2,22 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 1,03 GB
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab # UDSACD 2136

Patricia Barber is a crack jazz pianist, an innovative composer, a singular vocal stylist, and among the most original lyricists/song-poets to come down the pipe in 40 years. Her use of metaphor and metonymy is woven inextricably into her trademark melodies, which create mental and sonic images that evoke insight and emotion. Smash, Barber’s debut for Concord, is comprised of original material performed by an excellent band that includes guitarist John Kregor, bassist Larry Kohut, and drummer Jon Deitemyer. The predominant subject matter of these songs is love’s loss: the frustrated desire, grief, acceptance, longing, and healing its aftermath brings. Barber is as empathic and insightful as a depth psychologist. Her language is rich, precise, and devoid of trite sentimentality. Lyrically, these songs are wound with the elastic imagery of poetry, but their rhyme schemes are taut, given air by the fluidity of her jazz. Opener “Code Cool” is introduced by Deitemyer’s snare and hi-hat in a constant thrum that emulates the pulse of electronic dance music. It’s underscored by a one-note vamp from Kohut. Barber’s piano illustrates with a series of glissando chords as Kregor fills the space expressionistically, highlighting the well of images and urgency in lyrics which reference science, Keats, and medical treatment before concluding she is “…Michaelangelo’s David/Tested and worn…” Barber employs space between sections, stilling the proceeding with a single chord, before that pulse returns to her protagonist’s realization that she needs to fake it until she makes it: “I will live/As if/I were loving.” “The Wind Song” is a brooding, mysterious ballad, whose lyric drama is spacious, highlighted by brushed symbols, acoustic guitar, nearly gossamer pianism, and a physical bassline to bind it to earth. In the title track’s first half, the piano and bass offer the tender illustration of “the sound of a heart breaking…” But at the halfway point, the physical fury of that emotion is laid bare by Kregor’s screaming electric guitar solo, which allows for the held, breathless emotional power in this and all the previous songs, release. The companion piece is “Scream,” where a jazz piano ballad opens into a nearly full-blown rocker. “Redshift” is a crystalline bossa nova; its lyrics unite love’s loss with physics in clever, hip associations punctuated by a syncopated groove. “Bashful” is a swinging post-bop instrumental that features great soloing by everyone. “Missing” is introduced by Kregor’s acoustic and Barber’s sparse piano. It’s a musically metaphorical illustration of the tune’s subject matter: waiting in vain, hoping against hope that the truth of loss isn’t, in fact, true. It’s raw, vulnerable, and fearful. Kregor’s gorgeous solo and Kohut’s economical bassline offer room for Barber’s piano to illuminate the lyric with tenderness. Smash is an extraordinary achievement. Here, jazz is popular music without being anything other than itself. Its depth, creativity, searing poetry, and artisan musicianship make it a peerless accomplishment.

Tracklist:

01. Code Cool
02. The Wind Song
03. Romanesque
04. Smash
05. Redshift
06. Spring Song
07. Devil’s Food
08. Scream
09. The Swim
10. Bashful
11. The Storyteller
12. Missing

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Patricia Barber – Cafe Blue (1994) [Un-Mastered 2016] [SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC]
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 63:20 minutes | Front, Scans NOT included | 2,54 GB
or FLAC (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/96 kHz | Front Cover, Scans NOT included | 1,27 GB

Premonition Records’ reissue of Patricia Barber’s audiophile classic, Café Blue on Hybrid SACD and un-mastered. For the first time, listeners will be able to hear the mixes as they were done in the studio and not in the mastered -for-release form of all prior releases. This is the closest audio fans will get to the studio mixes – Capitol Studios remix from 2011 – and it is a remarkable experience. Now is a much quieter recording busting with dynamic contrasts.Patricia Barber, who is both a fine keyboardist and an atmospheric singer, contributes roughly half of the material to her Premonition debut. Her dark voice and the generally esoteric program takes awhile to get used to (listeners will have to be patient), but after two or three listens, this thought-provoking and rather moody set becomes more accessible. The music ranges stylewise from sophisticated pop sensitivities to the avant-garde and even touches of minimalism, while not fitting securely into any category. Barber gives a new slant to “The Thrill Is Gone,” “Ode to Billy Joe,” and even “A Taste of Honey,” and her vocals are all quite haunting and contemporary. An added plus to this unusual music is adventurous guitarist John McLean.

Cafe Blue was recorded at Chicago Recording Company in early 1994 by recording engineer Jim Anderson. It was the first release Barber recorded for Premonition Records. Recorded in 16/48 kHz on a 32-track Otari machine, the original multitracks were then transferred and remixed in 2011 at Capitol Studios in Holywood, California.

Cafe Blue itself is so special that it outshines its peers. This recording of an outstanding female vocalist won more than 15 awards of best reviews from international major magazines of music institutions. But the most important aspect of this disc crystallizes in the two songs for which Barber herself has written the lyrics. The down-and-out sophistication of “What A Shame” and the self-effacing wonderment of “Too Rich For My Blood”, show a serious jazz musician exploring the emotional domain normally occupied by pop and rock artists.

“…Premonition has taken an oft-reissued audiophile chestnut, Barber’s 1994 quirky and capitvating Cafe Blue, and handed over the Capitol Studio 2011 mix to the estimable engineer Gun Skinas for a new hybrid CD/SACD disc. Rather than retouching the work of the previous mastering engineers, Skinas has “unmastered: the digitual recording, removing the fine tuning and limiting often engaged to commercial recordings. His intention was to let the benefits of DSD shine particularly in “its ability to preserve the integrity of the very quiet parts of the music” and more specifically to caputre the magic of Capitol’s analog reverb chambers and custom Neve board…the SACD sounds more analog than even the excellent 2011 two-LP set…” – Patricia Barner, The Absolute Sound

“Unlike any other version thus far released. You feel the character of Capitol’s vintage Neve console and you hear all the detail and feel and space of those famous analog reverb chambers”. -— Gus Skinas, The Super Audio Center.

Tracklist:

01. What A Shame
02. Mourning Grace
03. The Thrill Is Gone
04. Romanesque
05. Yellow Car III
06. Wood Is A Pleasant Thing To Think About
07. Inch Worm
08. Ode to Billy Joe
09. Too Rich For My Blood
10. A Taste of Honey
11. Nardis
12. Manha De Carnaval

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Patricia Barber – A Distortion Of Love (1992) [MFSL 2013] [SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC]
PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 59:18 minutes | Scans included | 2,39 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 1,09 GB

Pianist and singer Patricia Barber’s second album (and major-label debut) is a consistently interesting, but not always completely rewarding, array of original instrumentals, vocal standards, and surprise cover versions. The arrangement of “Summertime” that opens the program is eerie almost to the point of creepiness, and all the more effective for it: after a long instrumental prelude, Barber sings the lyrics over the most minimal bass-and-piano unison pedal point, her voice goosed with reverb and wailing softly like a ghost. “Subway Station #5,” the original composition that follows, is nervous, jumpy, barely tonal, and moves niftily from a contrapuntal and polyrhythmic introduction into a straight swing section. The problem is that it lasts almost ten minutes, and by the seventh or eighth minute, its ideas seem pretty well played out. “Or Not to Be” and “Yet Another in a Long Series of Yellow Cars” suffer from similar treatment. But her singing on “You Stepped Out of a Dream” and, especially, her sweet and touching rendition of the soul classic “My Girl” are quietly spectacular. There’s every reason to expect great things of her in the future.

Tracklist:

01 – Summertime
02 – Subway Station, No. 5
03 – You Stepped Out of a Dream
04 – Parts Parallels
05 – Or Not to Be
06 – Yellow Car
07 – Yet Another in a Long Series of Yellow Car
08 – I Never Went Away
09 – My Girl
10 – Be Myself

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Patricia Barber – Verse (2002) [MFSL 2005] [SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC]
PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 51:29 minutes | Scans included | 2,08 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 981 MB

Pianist/vocalist Patricia Barber is the Alanis Morissette of the jazz world. Her serpentine, poetic songs teeter between deftly witty and awkwardly Latinate. Each album is more ambitious than the last, taking her deeper into avant-garde territory both lyrically and instrumentally. Verse is no exception. Case in point: “I Could Eat Your Words,” a canny bit of word play in the tradition of “Peel Me a Grape,” in which Barber barely gets away with words like “provocation” and “syllogistically,” only to sum things up with the devastating line, “sip the spit from your bittersweet rhyme.” The indelible track here, though, has to be “If I Were Blue,” featuring the line, “If I were blue, like David Hockney’s pool/Dive into me and glide under a California sky/Inside your mouth and nose and eyes am I.” It’s perhaps the best thing Barber has ever written — it could be considered serious modern poetry if only it didn’t rhyme. About the biggest complaint one can lodge against Barber is her insistent denial of melody. Her voice is soft, almost matter-of-fact, and she more or less hints at singing. Obviously, lyrical intent is more important to Barber than how she carries a tune, and her voice does seem more suited to whispering torch songs cabaret-style, such as on “Dansons la Gigue,” than delivering any vocal gymnastics. It’s just that sometimes her songs could be showcased better with a consistently delivered vocal melody. However, she makes up for her lack of sonorousness (to use a Barber kind of word) with intricate musical arrangements, this time around augmented by the Miles Davis-cum-Lester Bowie trumpet of Dave Douglas. Barber’s is a world of cloaked intentions, and Douglas’ playful vibrato works like the flame of a candle illuminating her soft, shadowy corners.

Tracklist:

01 – The Moon
02 – Lost In This Love
03 – Clues
04 – Pieces
05 – I Could Eat Your Words
06 – The Fire
07 – Regular Pleasures
08 – Dansons La Gigue
09 – You Gotta’ Go Home
10 – If I Were Blue

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Patricia Barber – Nightclub (2000) [MFSL 2002] [SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC]
PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 57:34 minutes | Scans included | 2,32 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 1,06 GB

Chicago native and classically trained pianist Patricia Barber’s sixth album is a collection of downtempo standards, perfect for a rainy day. Taking on classics like “Autumn Leaves,” “I Fall in Love Too Easily,” “Bye Bye Blackbird,” or even “Alfie” is always a risk, but her confident vocals and interpretations eradicate any doubt that she is a master. Her production is spare, allowing her to sing with such melancholy it’s almost eerie. Not many performers can relay such harrowing feeling without over-emoting, but Barber makes it seem effortless. Nightclub is an appropriate title; listening to these love songs is like being in a smoky room, courted by a lounge singer. This is a classy, solid effort.

Tracklist:

01 – Bye Bye Blackbird
02 – Invitation
03 – Yesterdays
04 – Just For A Thrill
05 – You Don’t Know Me
06 – Alfie
07 – Autumn Leaves
08 – Summer Samba
09 – All Or Nothing At All
10 – So In Love
11 – A Man & A Woman
12 – I Fall In Love Too Easily
13 – Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

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Patricia Barber – Companion (1999) [MFSL 2003] [SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC]
PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 52:27 minutes | Scans included | 2,12 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 982 MB

Companion was recorded in a special three-night series of shows in July, 1999 at Chicago’s famed Green Mill jazz club — an unusually short amount of time to produce a live album. To mine as much material as possible from those nights the performances were run more like recording sessions than live shows, with the crowd reverently hushed. Patricia Barber is in her element and the only thing that seems to have suffered for the recording circumstances is the album’s length — at seven songs and 40 minutes, it walks the line between standard EP and full-length size. One surmises that it might have been longer had there been more album-quality material from the performances. Recalling the energy that was present on her critically worshipped Café Blue album, there is an ease and creativity on Companion which makes her fans’ devotion understandable. Barber has been criticized for being a jazz singer in the loosest sense — her style borrows heavily from R&B and she often covers pop songs (Sonny Bono’s “The Beat Goes On” is a sheer stylish delight), and her song “If This Isn’t Jazz” answers that criticism with a thumb to the nose. What many critics fail to notice, however, is the strength of her musicianship. Sexism within the industry keeps many from seeing female jazz performers playing roles other than those of vocalists — Barber’s warm, breathy voice and creative phrasing are wonderful, for sure, but what really shines are her arrangements. With a talented band behind her, on Companion Barber has made magic with her compositions, her piano playing, and yes, her voice. Intended to be a companion to Modern Cool, this album of mostly previously unrecorded material serves as an excellent introduction to all of her work.

Tracklist:

01 – The Beat Goes On
02 – Use Me
03 – Like JT
04 – Let It Rain
05 – Touch of Trash
06 – If This Isn`t Jazz
07 – Black Magic Woman
08 – You Are My Sunshine

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Patricia Barber – Modern Cool (1998) [MFSL 2002] [SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC]
PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 73:00 minutes | Scans included | 2,94 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 1,35 GB

The dark, smoky voice of Patricia Barber is quite haunting. On Modern Cool, she mostly sings downbeat songs at slow tempos. All but three songs are her own originals, and they deal with such subject matter as a “homage to beauty” that seems to connect painting one’s face with prostitution, loneliness, mindless conformity, the “postmodern blues” and other depressing topics. Even her treatments of “You and the Night and the Music” and “Light My Fire” make one think that she is utterly bored with life. Barber, whose piano playing is mostly very much in the background, comes across on this set as a pop/folk singer. Most of the jazz moments are provided by trumpeter Dave Douglas, who is on half of the selections and adds some much-needed excitement; guitarist John McLean, bassist Michael Arnopol, and drummer/percussionist Mark Walker complete the group. This set is definitely for specialized tastes.

Tracklist:

01 – Touch of Trash
02 – Winter
03 – You & The Night & The Music
04 – Constantinople
05 – Light My Fire
06 – Silent Partner
07 – Company
08 – Let It Rain
09 – She’s A Lady
10 – Love, put on your faces
11 – Postmodern Blues
12 – Let It Rain
13 – Out Of This World

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Patricia Barber – Cafe Blue (1994) [MFSL 2002] [SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC]
PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 63:06 minutes | Scans included | 2,914 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 1,14 GB

Patricia Barber, who is both a fine keyboardist and an atmospheric singer, contributes roughly half of the material to her Premonition debut. Her dark voice and the generally esoteric program takes awhile to get used to (listeners will have to be patient), but after two or three listens, this thought-provoking and rather moody set becomes more accessible. The music ranges stylewise from sophisticated pop sensitivities to the avant-garde and even touches of minimalism, while not fitting securely into any category. Barber gives a new slant to “The Thrill Is Gone,” “Ode to Billy Joe,” and even “A Taste of Honey,” and her vocals are all quite haunting and contemporary. An added plus to this unusual music is adventurous guitarist John McLean.

Tracklist:

01 – What A Shame
02 – Mourning Grace
03 – The Thrill Is Gone
04 – Romanesque
05 – Yellow Car III
06 – Wood Is A Pleasant Thing To Think About
07 – Inch Worm
08 – Ode To Billy Joe
09 – Too Rich For My Blood
10 – A Taste Of Honey
11 – Nardis
12 – Manha De Carnaval

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Patricia Barber – Smash (2013)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 55:03 minutes | 2,23 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Concord Jazz

On “Smash”, her debut on Concord Jazz, Patricia Barber reconfirms her unique position in modern music as a jazz triple-threat – imaginative pianist, dazzling vocalist and brilliant composer. Smash features a dozen new Barber originals that showcase her genius as a singer-songwriter. The album delves into familiar subjects including themes of love and loss. Barber’s chilling vocals and intellect outshine many if not all her contemporaries. Barber’s majestic craft lies in the compelling and empathetic words she sets to music. Barber reunites with long-time recording engineer Jim Anderson. The album is an audiophile dream.Patricia Barber is a crack jazz pianist, an innovative composer, a singular vocal stylist, and among the most original lyricists/song-poets to come down the pipe in 40 years. Her use of metaphor and metonymy is woven inextricably into her trademark melodies, which create mental and sonic images that evoke insight and emotion. Smash, Barber’s debut for Concord, is comprised of original material performed by an excellent band that includes guitarist John Kregor, bassist Larry Kohut, and drummer Jon Deitemyer. The predominant subject matter of these songs is love’s loss: the frustrated desire, grief, acceptance, longing, and healing its aftermath brings. Barber is as empathic and insightful as a depth psychologist. Her language is rich, precise, and devoid of trite sentimentality. Lyrically, these songs are wound with the elastic imagery of poetry, but their rhyme schemes are taut, given air by the fluidity of her jazz. Opener “Code Cool” is introduced by Deitemyer’s snare and hi-hat in a constant thrum that emulates the pulse of electronic dance music. It’s underscored by a one-note vamp from Kohut. Barber’s piano illustrates with a series of glissando chords as Kregor fills the space expressionistically, highlighting the well of images and urgency in lyrics which reference science, Keats, and medical treatment before concluding she is “…Michaelangelo’s David/Tested and worn…” Barber employs space between sections, stilling the proceeding with a single chord, before that pulse returns to her protagonist’s realization that she needs to fake it until she makes it: “I will live/As if/I were loving.” “The Wind Song” is a brooding, mysterious ballad, whose lyric drama is spacious, highlighted by brushed symbols, acoustic guitar, nearly gossamer pianism, and a physical bassline to bind it to earth. In the title track’s first half, the piano and bass offer the tender illustration of “the sound of a heart breaking…” But at the halfway point, the physical fury of that emotion is laid bare by Kregor’s screaming electric guitar solo, which allows for the held, breathless emotional power in this and all the previous songs, release. The companion piece is “Scream,” where a jazz piano ballad opens into a nearly full-blown rocker. “Redshift” is a crystalline bossa nova; its lyrics unite love’s loss with physics in clever, hip associations punctuated by a syncopated groove. “Bashful” is a swinging post-bop instrumental that features great soloing by everyone. “Missing” is introduced by Kregor’s acoustic and Barber’s sparse piano. It’s a musically metaphorical illustration of the tune’s subject matter: waiting in vain, hoping against hope that the truth of loss isn’t, in fact, true. It’s raw, vulnerable, and fearful. Kregor’s gorgeous solo and Kohut’s economical bassline offer room for Barber’s piano to illuminate the lyric with tenderness. Smash is an extraordinary achievement. Here, jazz is popular music without being anything other than itself. Its depth, creativity, searing poetry, and artisan musicianship make it a peerless accomplishment.

Tracklist:

01. Patricia Barber – Code Cool (05:21)
02. Patricia Barber – The Wind Song (03:42)
03. Patricia Barber – Romanesque (02:24)
04. Patricia Barber – Smash (04:20)
05. Patricia Barber – Redshift (04:26)
06. Patricia Barber – Spring Song (04:41)
07. Patricia Barber – Devil’s Food (05:08)
08. Patricia Barber – Scream (05:45)
09. Patricia Barber – The Swim (04:24)
10. Patricia Barber – Bashful (06:11)
11. Patricia Barber – The Storyteller (03:15)
12. Patricia Barber – Missing (05:20)

Download:

Patricia Barber – Monday Night: Live At The Green Mill, Vol. 3 (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:07:44 minutes | 1,25 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Patricia Barber

I have been blessed to have a weekly Monday Night gig at The Green Mill, one of the hippest jazz clubs in the world in one of the most exciting cities in the world, Chicago. enormous thanks to Dave Jemilo for keeping this Chicago treasure alive and for letting me a part of it. Also, thanks to our soundman here Chris Grabowski who increasingly is recognized for his very special “live” sound recordings. On this, the third “Live from the Green Mill ” download, you’ll hear not only the music, but the soft landscape of the club and the city. Larry Kohut is on acoustic bass, Jon Deitemyer is on drums and Jim Gailloreto is on tenor saxophone. The recording is exceptional. I suggest you get one of the better sound file downloads, close your eyes and time travel to this Monday Night at the Green Mill.

Tracklist:

01. Patricia Barber – In Your Own Sweet Way (08:06)
02. Patricia Barber – Romanesque (04:48)
03. Patricia Barber – Fotografia (05:08)
04. Patricia Barber – Crash (08:49)
05. Patricia Barber – I Could Have Danced All Night (04:58)
06. Patricia Barber – The Thrill Is Gone (04:19)
07. Patricia Barber – Moon River (04:12)
08. Patricia Barber – You Gotta Go Home (05:06)
09. Patricia Barber – Stay With Me (06:31)
10. Patricia Barber – Orpheus (Sonnet) (04:32)
11. Patricia Barber – Groovin’ High (11:09)

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Patricia Barber – Modern Cool (1998/2012)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 01:08:23 minutes | 781 MB | Genre: Vocal Jazz, Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Impex Records

The pianist and vocalist Patricia Barber is one of the most famous greats of modern jazz today. With this album, she inspired not only fans of jazz singing, but also followers of more earthy jazz. Her voice is intoxicating and performs feats that you would not have expected on an album with such catchy tracks. Patricia Baber moves from classical poems, for example by E.E. Cummings, to exciting observations of modern society.

Of particular interest is certainly the title Company with its lyric line ‘For Company in the 21st Century, I like lots of MTV’. Trumpeter Dave Douglas and the guitarist John McLean, already known from Café Blue, give Barber’s enchanting voice a solid counterpoint and the Choral Thunder Choir provides almost incredible dynamics. The follow-up album to Café Blue finally established Barber as a serious figure in the jazz business and at the same time made it clear that she did not intend to be put in musical drawers.The dark, smoky voice of Patricia Barber is quite haunting. On Modern Cool, she mostly sings downbeat songs at slow tempos. All but three songs are her own originals, and they deal with such subject matter as an “homage to beauty” that seems to connect painting one’s face with prostitution, loneliness, mindless conformity, the “Postmodern Blues,” and other such topics. Barber, whose piano playing is mostly very much in the background, comes across on this set as a pop/folk singer. Most of the jazz moments are provided by trumpeter Dave Douglas, who is on half of the selections and adds some excitement; guitarist John McLean, bassist Michael Arnopol, and drummer/percussionist Mark Walker complete the group. – Scott Yanow

Tracklist:

1-1. Patricia Barber – Touch of Trash (05:29)
1-2. Patricia Barber – Winter (04:56)
1-3. Patricia Barber – You & The Night & The Music (08:06)
1-4. Patricia Barber – Constantinople (08:27)
1-5. Patricia Barber – Light My Fire (05:23)
1-6. Patricia Barber – Silent Partner (05:09)
1-7. Patricia Barber – Company (05:44)
1-8. Patricia Barber – Let It Rain (05:56)
1-9. Patricia Barber – She’s A Lady (04:18)
1-10. Patricia Barber – Love, put on your faces (05:44)
1-11. Patricia Barber – Post Modern Blues (05:55)
1-12. Patricia Barber – Let It Rain (Vamp) (03:14)

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Patricia Barber – Higher (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 55:17 minutes | 505 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Impex Records

Higher is the new studio album by composer, singer and pianist Patricia Barber. Inspired by classical works and the challenge of making jazz music more expansive, the latest project came to life. And again Barber knows how to create a more artistic side of modern jazz, without denying the traditional roots of American jazz music.It has been six years since Patricia Barber’s latest studio album was released. Smash continued on the path Barber took with Mythologies (2006), by weaving influences of classical music with literature or poetry into an eclectic jazzy work with depth. Barber once promised herself to delve into classical works when she reached the age of 50 and did so. In recent years, the expressionist-minded artist has increasingly immersed herself in the many forms of classical music and, thanks to a friend’s remark, felt challenged to prove that jazz, like classical music, could contain short songs. Just like works by Schumann or Schubert.

The challenge that Patricia Barber had set for herself was a big one. Not because it proves the above view, but simply because Barber is rather purist, and perfectionism suits her whole being. That resulted in years of composing, testing and looking for inspiration to give shape to her project. It was probably the acquired knowledge of her work together with Kenny Werner in combination with her collaborations with the celebrated opera singer Renée Fleming and her own investigations that led to the song cycle that plays the leading role on Higher.

Patricia Barber christened the song cycle “Angels, Birds and I…,” written to be performed by classically oriented artists and suitable for improvisation by jazz musicians, with the song “Higher,” written for her mother, as a central piece in the classically oriented jazz.album, the album delivers a sea of serenity and crystallized works, sometimes full of emotion and then full of hope or even humor. Yes, from a textual and musical point of view, Higher is a poetic gem that far surpasses Barber’s previous works. And that is remarkable for an artist who has set the bar extremely high for herself for three decades.

The harmonic evolution, as Barber calls the path chosen, is a song cycle of eight tracks, which are “just for pure fun” supplemented with three variations on tunes from the Great American Songbook. The cycle is described contextually by a single protagonist, who, speaking from the role of the artist, empathizes with the inability to deliver works of the highest quality on stage (“Muse”) or receives the means for doing so (“Voyager”), aspires to a future in opera (“The Opera Song”) or ponders the pure love of music (“Surrender”).

The distance between human (artists) and the realm of the gods is often reflected in the songs, which combine musical harmony with contemporary jazz in a unique way. Really beautiful is the addition of the saxophone (as usual on her albums fabulously played by Jim Gailloreto) to the winter song “Pallid Angel.” Accompanied by her regular collaborators, Patrick Mulcahy on bass, John Deitemyer on drums, and Neal Alger on acoustic guitar, Barber explores and mixes colors and seasons with objects and emotion. A special mention is needed for the track “The Albatross Song,” where Barber and her band members tell a bluesy story, led by the bass in 5/4 time, of a woman who leaves her boorish capitalist husband for a new, distant relationship with the almost mythical bird–surreal and beautifully interpreted at the same time.

Tracklist:

01. Patricia Barber – Muse (05:44)
02. Patricia Barber – Surrender (05:43)
03. Patricia Barber – Pallid Angel (03:49)
04. Patricia Barber – The Opera Song (04:29)
05. Patricia Barber – High Summer Season (03:30)
06. Patricia Barber – The Albatross (05:25)
07. Patricia Barber – Voyager (04:25)
08. Patricia Barber – Higher (03:12)
09. Patricia Barber – Early Autumn (05:23)
10. Patricia Barber – In Your Own Sweet Way (06:09)
11. Patricia Barber – Secret Love (02:41)
12. Patricia Barber – The Opera Song with Katherine Werbiansky (04:44)

Download:

Patricia Barber – Clique (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/352.8 kHz | Time – 45:26 minutes | 6,57 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Impex Records

Patricia Barber, the performer known for boldly blurring the lines between poetry, jazz, and art song, has announced the forthcoming release of a new all-standards album Clique, due out August 6th in breathtaking hi-fi. The long-awaited successor to Nightclub, her critically acclaimed and fan-favorite first all standards album, Clique features a tracklist of tunes that Barber has frequently performed as encores throughout her illustrious career, including classics by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Stevie Wonder, Lee Hazlewood, Lerner & Loewe, Thelonious Monk and more. After growing an international cult following, earning the first-ever Guggenheim Fellowship awarded to a non-classical songwriter, and becoming an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Patricia Barber is back with a “silk, velvet, languid, warm” journey through music history as she “respects traditions, bends them to make her own points, and freshens them into something new,” as noted in the album liner notes by NPR’s Susan Stamberg.These are relaxed, communal sessions. Her long-time core duo of bassist Patrick Mulcahy and drummer Jon Deitemyer ride up and down, in and out of Barber’s complex, sensitive playing and reflective singing. The support of her long-term players, along with guitarist Neal Alger and saxophonist Jim Gailloretto allow her to shine brightly while digging out striking moments for their own unique contributions. The chemistry is palpable, all-encompassing. This group’s long-developed synergy-painstakingly curated by these musicians for years-provides both a metaphor and the perfect title for her new album.

Impex Records, Patricia Barber, Jim Anderson invite you to experience the music, revel in the mastery, and join the Clique!

Tracklist:

1. Patricia Barber – This Town (04:37)
2. Patricia Barber – Trouble is a Man (04:02)
3. Patricia Barber – Mashup (08:03)
4. Patricia Barber – Samba de Uma Nota Só (One Note Samba) (04:27)
5. Patricia Barber – I Could Have Danced All Night (04:55)
6. Patricia Barber – The In Crowd (04:28)
7. Patricia Barber – Shall We Dance? (04:19)
8. Patricia Barber – Straight No Chaser (06:09)
9. Patricia Barber – All in Love is Fair (04:24)

Download:

Patricia Barber – Clique (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/176,4 kHz | Time – 45:20 minutes | 1,46 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Impex Records

Patricia Barber, the performer known for boldly blurring the lines between poetry, jazz, and art song, has announced the forthcoming release of a new all-standards album Clique, due out August 6th in breathtaking hi-fi. The long-awaited successor to Nightclub, her critically acclaimed and fan-favorite first all standards album, Clique features a tracklist of tunes that Barber has frequently performed as encores throughout her illustrious career, including classics by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Stevie Wonder, Lee Hazlewood, Lerner & Loewe, Thelonious Monk and more. After growing an international cult following, earning the first-ever Guggenheim Fellowship awarded to a non-classical songwriter, and becoming an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Patricia Barber is back with a “silk, velvet, languid, warm” journey through music history as she “respects traditions, bends them to make her own points, and freshens them into something new,” as noted in the album liner notes by NPR’s Susan Stamberg.These are relaxed, communal sessions. Her long-time core duo of bassist Patrick Mulcahy and drummer Jon Deitemyer ride up and down, in and out of Barber’s complex, sensitive playing and reflective singing. The support of her long-term players, along with guitarist Neal Alger and saxophonist Jim Gailloretto allow her to shine brightly while digging out striking moments for their own unique contributions. The chemistry is palpable, all-encompassing. This group’s long-developed synergy-painstakingly curated by these musicians for years-provides both a metaphor and the perfect title for her new album.

Impex Records, Patricia Barber, Jim Anderson invite you to experience the music, revel in the mastery, and join the Clique!

Tracklist:

01. Patricia Barber – This Town (04:37)
02. Patricia Barber – Trouble is a Man (03:52)
03. Patricia Barber – Mashup (08:04)
04. Patricia Barber – Samba de Uma Nota Só (One Note Samba) (04:28)
05. Patricia Barber – I Could Have Danced All Night (04:56)
06. Patricia Barber – The In Crowd (04:28)
07. Patricia Barber – Shall We Dance? (04:19)
08. Patricia Barber – Straight No Chaser (06:09)
09. Patricia Barber – All in Love is Fair (04:23)

Download: