Title: Clark Terry – Supreme Jazz (2006)
Genre: Jazz
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
Clark Terry, who is said to be one of “Jazzdom’s finest educators”, is also recognized to be one of contemporary music’s greatest innovators – and as a musician of great technical virtuosity and soloist of distinction and quality…
Title: Clark Terry – Portraits (1989/2014)
Genre: Jazz
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
Flugelhornist Clark Terry recorded quite frequently in the 1980s, and his consistency was very impressive. A DR winner in its genre! Terry’s good humor, joyful and immediately distinctive sound, and creative, bop-oriented ideas combined to form a very accessible style. This Chesky CD finds C.T. joined by pianist Don Friedman, bassist Victor Gaskin and drummer Lewis Nash for a variety of superior standards and Terry’s lone original “Finger Filibuster.” The songs all pay tribute to various trumpeters, and some, such as “Pennies from Heaven,” “Little Jazz” and “I Don’t Wanna Be Kissed,” were not performed by the flugelhornist all that often; the resulting music is fresher than usual and often quite inspired. Recommended.
![Clair Marlo - Let It Go (1989) [Reissue 2003]](https://imghd.xyz/images/2025/09/16/Ni04NDQ0LmpwZWc.jpg "Clair Marlo - Let It Go (1989) [Reissue 2003]")
Title: Clair Marlo – Let It Go (1989) [Reissue 2003]
Genre: Jazz, Pop
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
Clair Marlo is a composer, performer arranger and record producer. Her music could be categorized as a combination of pop neo-classical jazz with an ethnic flavoring to it. Her vocals have an ethereal quality to them, while her instrumental and film compositions span many different styles from electronic, to orchestral, to rock. Her music spans wide ranges of emotions just like she does. Here is the ‘Cisco Music’ label reissue, of her highly acclaimed album, with three extra cuts, a different cover photo, and improved sound.
Title: Claire Martin with The Montpellier Cello Quartet – Time & Place (2014)
Genre: Jazz
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
Claire Martin has long been among the most versatile and wide-ranging of singers. Her latest venture, with the Quartet, is no exception. The listener marvels at Claire Martin’s ability and determination to create a wholly new pad of repertoire from zero.
‘Time and Place’ perfectly sums up Claire Martin’s jazz roots beginnings and the inventive, forward-thinking repertoire choices that have framed her enviable career. The majority of arrangements feature The Montpellier Cello Quartet, with whom Claire has developed a unique partnership since they first performed together in 2012. Together Claire and the quartet create a magical sound fusion of jazz-chamber music that encompasses new arrangements from an eclectic group of songwriters including Lennon & McCartney, George Gershwin, David Bowie and Thelonius Monk. With the connections borne of twenty-five years in the business Claire has commissioned imaginative new arrangements, including Joni Mitchell’s ‘Two Grey Rooms’ by renowned composer Mark Anthony Turnage. Pianist Joe Stilgoe guests on his own track ‘Lost For Words’ and delivers a distinctive arrangement of Lennon & McCartney’s ‘She’s Leaving Home’. There are also echoes of The Beatles’ ‘Eleanor Rigby’ on a new arrangement of David Bowie’s ‘The Man Who Sold The World’. Claire’s long-time partnership with Richard Rodney Bennett is acknowledged with both songwriting and arranging credits. ‘Early To Bed’ is quintessential Bennett and Claire gives a heartfelt performance. From album opener via Claire’s own hugely catchy arrangement of ‘Catch Me If You Can’ to the album closer, ‘Goodbye For Now’, ‘Time and Place’ sees Martin return with renewed vigour to pop-crossover territory, a trend she championed long before Norah Jones and Madeleine Peyroux made this style an accepted genre. Known as The First Lady of British Jazz, Claire Martin has previously won Best Vocalist at the British Jazz Awards on six separate occasions, an award she was nominated in 2013. Claire Martin has been a driving force behind the UK jazz scene for the past 25 years and in 2011 was appointed an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for her services to music. The Montpellier Cello Quartet performs and inspires a truly eclectic range of music. They bring the rich, warm sound of four cellos to a diverse mixture of classical music, pop, tango and jazz, performing existing quartet repertoire alongside new works written for them by living composers.
![Claire Martin - Too Darn Hot (2002) [SACD Reissue 2004]](https://imghd.xyz/images/2025/09/16/IFD1q77aa91a3c4d1c0f0.jpg "Claire Martin - Too Darn Hot (2002) [SACD Reissue 2004]")
Title: Claire Martin – Too Darn Hot (2002) [SACD Reissue 2004]
Genre: Jazz
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
Claire Martin concentrates on her core jazz-based strengths, delivering pithy, worldly-wise lyrics with warmth and intelligence, interacting with a sparky, vigorous band. In 2004, Claire Martin’s bestselling album, ‘Too Darn Hot!’, has been re-issued on SACD. From an exciting new arrangement of Something’s Coming from Bernstein’s West Side Story, to Joni Mitchell’s Blue Motel Room arranged by jazz singer Ian Shaw, the album mixes jazz standards with new arrangements to create an original showcase for Claire’s clever musicality and superb vocals. Too Darn Hot! features an enviable line-up of some of Britain’s top jazz talents plus the Tapestry String Quartet.
Title: Claire Martin – Secret Love (2004)
Genre: Jazz
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
Claire celebrates her jazz roots with a splendid line-up of some of Britain’s top jazz talents. Originally released in 2004 ‘Secret Love’ features Gareth Williams and Richard Rodney Bennett on piano, Laurence Cottle on bass, Clark Tracey on drums and Nigel Hitchcock on saxophone. Re-issued on CD in 2011 and in Studio Master quality in January 2007. Claire explores the classic songbook with a mature set of standards from Irving Berlin’s Cheek To Cheek to Bacharach and Costello’s God Give Me Strength, taking in Harold Arlen and Jimmy Van Heusen along the way.
Title: Claire Martin & Richard Rodney Bennett – Witchcraft (2011)
Genre: Jazz
Format: MCH SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC
Since their first meeting in Glasgow in the early 1990s, singer Claire Martin and composer/pianist Richard Rodney Bennett have been what Martin calls ‘firm friends’, their relationship cemented by a common interest in the subtleties of songwriting and jazz singing. Witchcraft is the result of their dynamic collaboration. On this album, they perform as a (delightfully informal but consistently musicianly) duo, her intimate, deceptively unfussy vocal style perfectly complemented by his flawlessly eloquent piano. Their material is all mined from the Cy Coleman songbook. Together, this collection weaves together the opposing talents of the sultry jazz sensation Claire Martin and the polished, savvy keyboard skills and compositional insight of Richard Rodney Bennett. Martin’s strength as one of the best interpreters of the Great American Songbook shines through in this recording. The smoky elegance of her vocal sculpts itself around the smooth flowing textures of the piano accompaniment and the occasional vocal repartee of Bennett. The result of this established partnership is mesmerising music that takes you back to a wonderful and simpler time of yesteryear.
It’s hard to believe that it was almost six years ago that they first got together. It seemed so unlikely at the time, this song-and-piano partnership between a notably feisty jazz vocalist and an esteemed composer. But now it’s accepted that their albums and shows set the standard for classic interpretations of popular songs. This time the work of Cy Coleman gets the treatment – touching, clever, beautifully poised and deceptively casual-sounding. Despite the huge success of songs such as the title number, Coleman’s name is the least well‑known of the great songwriters. This classy selection should help to put that right.
Title: Claire Martin and Richard Rodney Bennett – When Lights Are Low (2005)
Genre: Jazz
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
Following their two previous duo albums, ‘When Lights Are Low’ and ‘Witchcraft’, ‘Say It Isn’t So’ presents a final third chapter in the remarkable musical partnership of Claire Martin and the late Richard Rodney Bennett.
One of the most delightful collaborations in vocal jazz, that of Britain’s pre-eminent female vocalist Claire Martin and chameleonic British composer-arranger-pianist-sometime-vocalist Richard Rodney Bennett, ended with Bennett’s death last December at age 76. A year and a half prior, Martin and Bennett had played to SRO crowds at the Algonquin’s now-dismantled Oak Room, saluting Irving Berlin with a show titled ‘A Couple of Swells’. Two months later, the pair laid down 14 Berlin tunes for what would turn out to be their third and final shared disc. As always, Bennett’s lilting arrangements and refined accompaniment are perfectly tailored to Martin’s smoky warmth. As always, her subtle imagination is enchanting, particularly on a breezy Love, You Didn’t Do Right By Me and an inspired blending of Get Thee Behind Me Satan with I Got Lost in His Arms. As a balladeer Martin remains nonpareil, her bruised Better Luck Next Time and What’ll I do flawlessly rendered. Bennett’s rumbling, gravel-pitted talk-sing still captivates as he travels alone across four tracks, mirroring Fred Astaire’s suavity on Change Partners and jauntily navigating He Ain’t Got Rhythm. In their nightclub act, as on previous albums, Martin and Bennett often sang duets. Here they team just once, waiting until the final track to cosily share Waiting at the End of the Road, an ode to heaven-bound fulfilment that proves a fitting finale for their divine union.
![Claire Martin - Perfect Alibi (2000) [Reissue 2008]](https://imghd.xyz/images/2025/09/16/Mi05ODQ5LmpwZWc.jpg "Claire Martin - Perfect Alibi (2000) [Reissue 2008]")
Title: Claire Martin – Perfect Alibi (2000) [Reissue 2008]
Genre: Jazz
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
With 1998’s Take My Heart, Claire Martin made the transition from jazz to pop, and the British singer continues in a pop-oriented direction on Perfect Alibi. Even if you have a very liberal definition of jazz, this late-1999/early-2000 recording shouldn’t be considered jazz; Perfect Alibi is a pop album, although it’s a pop album with jazz, R&B, and rock references. Not surprisingly, many of England’s jazz enthusiasts are critical of Martin’s pop albums, she was among the most exciting and interesting young jazz vocalists of the 1990s, and they were sorry to see a talented improviser steering clear of improvisation. But from a pop standpoint, Perfect Alibi has a lot going for it. Martin doesn’t improvise on this album, although her performances of Jimi Hendrix’s “Up From the Skies,” the Rascals’ “How Can I Be Sure?,” and other rock and pop songs do have a personal quality. The jazz-oriented Martin of The Waiting Game and Old Boyfriends would have found a way to turn the Stylistics’ “People Make the World Go Round,” Al Kooper’s “More Than You’ll Ever Know,” and Todd Rundgren’s “Wailing Wall” into improvisatory cool jazz. The pop-oriented Martin of Perfect Alibi, however, personalizes those familiar songs without getting into improvisation. As far as Martin’s pop output goes, Take My Heart is a slightly stronger album. But Perfect Alibi is generally likable, although the jazz lovers of 1999 and 2000 hoped that she would get back to recording jazz.
Title: Claire Martin & Kenny Barron – Too Much In Love To Care (2012)
Genre: Jazz
Format: MCH SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC
Too Much in Love to Care’ is Claire Martin’s first US studio recording for fifteen years and guest stars Kenny Barron, ‘one of the top jazz pianists in the world’ (LA Times). It was named ‘Best New Album’ at the 2013 British Jazz Awards.
With musical inspirations like Judy Garland, Ella Fitzgerald and Betty Carter, it is no surprise Claire Martin would succeed as a jazz singer. At twenty-one she fronted a quartet and was signed to Scottish label, Linn. Her debut, The Waiting Game was The Times album of the year and immediately put her among the elite of English jazz singers. Soon after the release of the album, she opened for Tony Bennett (who has become a huge fan) at the Glasgow International Jazz festival. Her pristine vocals and intuitive feel for melodic interpretation shaped her musical vision. Subsequent albums brought the attention of the American music culture, when she recorded a live album at Ronnie Scott’s legendary nightclub. Overall Martin has made thirteen records with Linn Records, collaborating with Martin Taylor, John Martin, Stephane Grappelli, Mark Nightingale, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, Jim Mullen and Nigel Hitchcock. Many of these projects have contained popular modern music and songs of The American Songbook. Ms. Martin has been appointed Officer Of The Order Of The British Empire (O.B.E), in addition she is a co-presenter for Jazz Line Up on BBC Radio 3. Claire Martin’s latest album is a collection of vintage American standards. She has decided to record with piano legend, Kenny Barron. Barron has an extensive career with harmonious jazz arrangement. Backed by Peter Washington (bass), Kenny Washington (drums) and Steve Wilson (saxophone, flute), the band is fully capable of propelling Martin’s talent into American Songbook respectability. Opening the set is a surprising version of the eclectic “Too Much In Love To Care” (apparently unrecorded since Carmen McRae in 1954). Martin’s breezy, sophisticated phrasing is impeccable. The latin-fused quintet (with a jaunty flute by Steve Wilson) swings effortlessly. The singer has always enjoyed a special chemistry with pianists. On the Gershwin classic, “Embraceable You”, she gets to perform a duo with one of the best interpreters of romantic music, Kenny Barron. His playing is concise (almost Basie-like) and lyrical. With a slight up tempo, Martin singing is artistic, reminiscent of her hero, Ella Fitzgerald. Even on a song covered by nearly everyone (“Time After Time”), her take is fresh and vibrant. Barron executes a finger-snapping elegance that shines. Demonstrating a bluesy nuance, “How Long Has This Been Going On” is wistful. Bassist Peter Washington joins with an intricate solo on double bass. Martin possesses all of the requisite elements of jazz singing, including flawless elocution, excellent timing and an ability to intermingle her vocal tones with the ensemble. The band is superb, especially on the saucy cover of “Lazy Afternoon”. Kenny Washington’s drumming is masterful and anchors the stylish, jazzy vibe. The arrangements are never dull. “I Only Have Eyes For You” adopts a gentle swing groove and reinvents itself. There is also a warm familiarity with the material as evidenced by the slow-burning, “I’m Glad There Is You”. Martin injects emotional poignancy, but not excessively. The finale (“Too Late Now”) reunites her with Barron in a heartfelt ballad. Too Much In Love To Care is a superlative album. From the stylistic, “cool” jazz of the quartet to the assured, versatile singing, all of the pieces fit intuitively. The SACD Stereo sound is powerful and engineered with crisp tonality and warmth. The detailed mixing of Martin’s velvet voice and outstanding diction is amazingly clear and distinctive. The separation is first class and uncluttered.