Jazz Play

Carol Robbins | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 15, 2005)
• Original Release Date: October 14, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Jazzcats
• ASIN: B000BKP5O0
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #286,490 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist

Carol Robbins grew up in Los Angeles, where piano lessons at an early age inspired her to experiment with jazz improvisation. By age ten she was studying harp and eventually became one of the handful of students ever accepted by the late pioneering harpist Dorothy Ashby. One of the world’s few jazz harpists, Ms. Robbins has recorded and performed with an eclectic variety of artists including Billy Childs, Linda Ronstadt, Teddy Edwards and Frank Sinatra. Her memorable television credits include Cheers, Frazier and The Tonight Show. Highlight appearances in 2004 included a live radio broadcast on KCRW with Australian singer Sia, a duo with Bea Arthur at the Hollywood Bowl in A Tribute to Peggy Lee, and an engagement as performer and instructor at the Lyon Healy International Harp Conference in Salt Lake City. Several of her jazz arrangements for harp have been published by Vanderbilt Editions, and her three independently-produced jazz CDs, Three and Four, Chords In Blue and Jazzplay are available on Amazon.com

Product Description

Jazzplay is a collection of seven Carol Robbins originals and six jazz standards played by one of the worlds best jazz harpists along with a group of outstanding musicians. Jazzplay expands on Robbins’ previous CDs by adding the world-class talents of guitarist Larry Koonse and trumpeter Steve Huffsteter. She brings back reknowned saxophonist Bob Sheppard and plays with a new rhythm section, which consists of Darek Oles on bass and Tim Pleasant on drums. The tracks on the CD offer various combinations of these musicians. All players are given a chance to showcase their individual voices through solos, counter melodies and interplay. Collectively, these gifted musicians have performed with such artists as Chick Corea, Billy Childs, Michael Brecker, Natalie Cole and Joni Mitchell. Producer Buddy Halligan has worked with musical greats Ray Charles, Anita baker, Freddy Hubbard, Hubert Laws, Barry White and Johnny Cash.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Bill Evans of the jazz harp..., July 26, 2006

By 

svf - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jazz Play (Audio CD)

Quick: Name a jazz harp player... any jazz harp player.

Stumped? Perhaps you came up with Alice Coltrane. If you're really hip, you might even know about Dorothy Ashby.

Now you can add Carol Robbins (who actually studied with Ashby) to this very short list. It's tempting to call her the "Bill Evans of the jazz harp" -- and so I just did. And this is a good thing.

Joined in various combinations by guitarist Larry Koonse, reedman Bob Sheppard, drummer Tim Pleasant, Derek Oles on bass, and Steve Huffsteter on trumpet and flugelhorn, Ms. Robbins has crafted a charming and enjoyable "ballads and bossas" outing here, with a more-or-less equal balance of standards and original tunes.

Jazz Play is elegant, classy, and seductive "dinner jazz" mood music that also rewards dedicated listening. If you're not already hip to the rare and unlikely beauty of the jazz harp, Carol Robbins will make you a believer.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bright, Uplifting Music, January 2, 2006

By 

Michael F. Hopkins "A Deeper Groove" (Buffalo, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jazz Play (Audio CD)

For many people, JAZZ PLAY will be their

introduction to the finely attuned artistry

of harpist Carol Robbins. For those familiar

with this Music, the fact that Robbins was

an acolyte of acclaimed harp pioneer Dorothy

Ashby should be enough to make one highly

interested. For anyone with a thirsty ear,

this album from the Jazzcats label will be

a very welcome addition to any library,

regardless of individual

preference.

JAZZ PLAY is a stunning collection of

originals and standards treated with

consummate taste and daring; handled

with a poise which eases highly

intricate harmonics into a listener's

soul with smiling warmth. With all

the swing that one could want, the

subtle dance of Robbins' presentation

makes the work of JAZZ PLAY all the

more compelling.

That Robbins is a master of her

instrument becomes very clear very

quick. Her overall ability to highlight

the group effort, then, is as exemplary

as her frequent bravura outpourings

throughout the album. With an

instrumentation of brass, reed, guitar,

bass and drums, Robbins' harp provides

the nexus point for a refreshingly

fluid sound which reminds us that

genuine Jazz -at its most mellow- is

full of spirit and fire.

With an itinerary which runs from Bobby

Troup and Antonio Carlos Jobim to John

Lewis, Jerome Kern and more, JAZZ PLAY

is a reflective, often haunting voyage

of mystery and delight. Full of mastery

and aesthetic pedigree, it is the set's

winning joie de vivre which makes JAZZ

PLAY such an attractive presentation

for all listeners.

Serious play, indeed.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hip jazz cd, July 24, 2006

By 

Frank J. Battaglia "Old Rip" (Houston, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jazz Play (Audio CD)

Wonderful musicians with great material equal a great jazz cd. Her original ballad Emilia played by the incredible Bob Sheppard is well worth the price of the CD. Check out the swinging version of I Am Old Fashion. I keep this cd in my car to calm my nerves in traffic