Customer Reviews

Everlasting

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

As an admirer of Rachel Z's music for many years- I have been impressed with the variety and scope of work that she has covered.

It is interesting to listen to an artist whose life does show up completely in her music (sorry- I am a bit tired of an over produced Norah Jones with a rich Daddy or another Miles re-re-release with another 2 minutes of never before heard material- not to mention D. Krall... don't even get me started !!)

It is good to hear something fresh and new- interpretations of songs that I do admire outside of Jazz (sorry I am not a pure Jazz fan - but an admirer of music and good songwriting as a whole..)

Get it- you won't be dissappointed...

. . . until they hit on their exact right MO?

Rachel Z, an exceptionally talented keys player, has struggled to find the proper outlet for her extraordinary talent. In her handful of previous releases, she hasn't really hit on it.

Like so many others of late, she's found it here: the jazz trio.

The difference from previous releases is that she's playing just about all Nu pop classics in an acoustic trio format.

What she seems to have done is take the best from several other worlds: Brad Mehldau's and The Bad Plus's raiding of the current pop songbook; Hiromi's expansion of the jazz trio into a more flexible and morphing unit (mainly from the drum chair, in the case of Rachael Z); and the inclusion of an authentically avant-garde player (Tony Levin), a move perhaps borrowed from Marion Alter's brilliant If, which included Greg Cohen as the bass player.

Recording for a hip, not-to-be-pinned-down label, Tone Center, also helps. One gets the feeling she's free to create just about any kind of music she wants. Some of the tunes scarcely resemble their pop analogues at all: "Wild Horses," gorgeously reconfigured as a sad waltz, with only fragmentary though stunningly nuanced hints at its beautiful melody; "Here Comes the Sun," again, almost unrecognizable, though, amazingly, tracking with its original sensibility; "Fields of Gold," retaining its inherent burnished melancholy, but gloriously reworked into a tune of intense longing and even loss.

Hip, nuanced, smartly Postmodern, finely wrought, this is music of the highest order.

Two thumbs WAY up.

From Wayne Shorter to Al Dimeola to the fusion group Vertu Rachel Z has proven there are few in her versatile class. Where as artists like Diana Krall (old songbook) and Norah Jones (country folk) are being billed as "Jazz Divas", Rachel Z has quietly been trail blazing a career for twice as long. This CD, Everlasting, borders on being a masterpiece. New standards, rock soul and such attention to detail! I rarely get the chance to experience it done this well. Rachel, unlike many of her peers, makes music for the people not just the old jazz purists and muzak outcasts. The songs that I find most refreshing of these pieces on Everlasting are Mortal, Ring of Fire, Kiss from a Rose and Field of Gold. They are approached from a modern flair and a jazz lioness' finesse. So much so that I find it hilarious that Z is compared to Norah Jones (whose every song sounds the same). Norah Jones is a country artist disguised as a jazz artist and Diana Krall is caught in a time warp. Bobbie Rae and Tony Levin are brilliant. This is music for the present and the future.

As a relative newcomer to the world of Rachel Z- I first heard her CD "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and I was floored!! She opened my eyes and ears to so much music that I did not listen to on a regular basis. "Everlasting" is a collection of beautiful songs rearranged with a Pop-Jazz ear that is soothing and invigorating. I highly recommend it.

Yeah-another amazing Rachel Z album! This is completely on par in terms of excellence with Rachel's other albums-Moon at the Window, On the Milkway Express, Love is the Power, Trust the Universe, and Room of One's Own. I try to make it to Rachel's shows whenever she is in town -because her talent is truly remarkable. There are few jazz pianists who have the capability to play with Wayne Shorter one minute and Peter Gabriel the next. Rachel was, is, and always will be amazing--!

This Cd is really brilliant. My soul was totally elated when I first heard these tracks especially Ring of Fire-which utilizes McCoy Tyner voicings and phrasing over an obviously difficult solo section with odd harmonic rhythm. The Cd is the epidomy of great innovative jazz today because it takes fine pop tunes and reharmonizes them in the styles of jazz greats. It is a subtle but sophisticated approach.The combination of originals and NEW Standards gives me something I can relate to as a person seeking new music to try out.The original song Mortal moved me to tears along with Red Rain that had a hot piano solo which gets the blood going! On the whole the CD has influences from Keith Jarrett and Herbie Hancock standards and shows that women can really play at the highest level unlike Nora Jones milktoast approach to jazz.( This woman has undeniable jazz credibilty from her work with Wayne Shorter,Al Di Meola ,Bobbie Watson, and Stanley Clarke and Lennie White to name a few) Yet this CD shows incredible attention to presenting accessable,warm,and melodic music for both those who don't usually listen to jazz to Coltrane lovers.I really love this CD because the groove of Bobbie Rae is innovative,Z really shreds, andTony Levin's artistry is undeniably great! What a gem of an album.

In an era when country artists (nora)get jazz praises and muzac artists (Diana) are hailed as the jazz queens,rachel z puts them to shame time and time again.This is the stuff of radio gold!The melodic choises are unreal,.the phrasing cool and sensual.her command of her instrument damn near flawless.The songs soar in a selfless yet intense melodic ark.The rythim section is the best I have heard rachel with. Bobbie rae is just mindboggling and who can touch toni levin?The treatments she gives (wild horses,mortal,feilds of gold) reaffirm my belief in real forward thinking music.With this disc I hear a future for jazz beyond country fakers and big budget messes.This c.d rocks!!

This CD is a collection of new standards like Black Hole Sun,Tonight,Tonight,and Ring of Fire. The treatments of these songs are inventive and sophisticated. Z is to these songs as Keith Jarett and Miles are to Tin Pan Alley Songs. This is a cool concept and has a bit more edge than the wonderfully excellent Bad Plus and Brad Meldau. I loed this music and highly recommend that you check it out too!

MY! MY! MY! It seems to me that Rachel is getting better with age. Not just better, but spectacular (with both her talent and looks, mind you.) This is by far her best album ever and it is an instant classic. What I appreciate the most about this album is her finger playing the piano at light speed and making spontaneous changes and adjustments for your pleasure. I notice that most of the songs were popular songs from previous years by other artists; however, the way she strikes her chords make you forget and think that the song is all hers. I am thoroughly impressed. Also, too, Tony Levin is spectacular on the bass, and Bobbie Rae gets it right on target with the drums and the percussions. There's so much rhythm and swooshing symbals to last a lifetime on this CD.

My favorite songs are "Kiss From A Rose" which she does even better than SEAL's version (which I never would have thought to be possible), "Red Rain", in which they perfectly duplicate this underrated song (the influence of Peter Gabriel has really brought out the best in Rachel), "Mortal", her fantastic original composition (which I would really like to hear more of), and of course, "Kid Charlemagne", the pulse pounding segment of the CD (again, unimaginably better than Steely Dan's version.) Also, "One Night", "Kiss of Life", "Tonite, Tonite", and "Fields of Gold" are very good. And the other songs still light a fire, too.

All in all, I can't stop listening to this CD. Even my non-conformist-to-jazz-music friends have spoken words of appreciation for this album, since I play it to death for them. This has made me skyrocket Rachel all the way up to ninth place on my all-time favorite jazz artist list. She's burning like a comet and may move up even higher in a few months. Also, she will easily win "Artist of the Year" as this album made me buy two other albums by her. So, buy this album and tell all your friends about the "Z" factor. (Of course, I'm a big fan of Rachel Z, so I'm going to talk her up. But believe me, this album is not overrated!)

WOW! I can't believe I finally got to hear my favorite songs dressed up in my favorite style of music. Its like heaven because I love the attitude of grunge and I love the sophistication of jazz. I never heard of this artist before I saw Peter Gabriel in Boston where she totally rocked( I thought she was mainly a singer). Plus,the band is really cool with Tony Levin on bass and this purely energetic and swinging Bobbie Rae on drums.Now, I am a devoted fan-this CD is pure love!