Hеlеn Schnеidеr Drеam A Little Drеam We can only guess what fires our drеams. Sure enough, drеams do enrich our lives, making them all the more beautiful and sensuous. Especially when we live our drеams instead of drеaming our lives. Hеlеn Schnеidеr, once a "Rock'n'Roll Gypsy", then the Star of "Cabaret" alongside Hildegard Knef, is a passionate actress and singer with one of the most remarkable voices of our time. On her new album she presents herself as a drеamer and as an object of drеams at the same time. On "Drеam A Little Drеam", the 2006 DIVA-Award-winner and her producers Till Brönner and Christian von Kaphengst devote themselves to an intimate selection of classic standards of Jazz from the "Great American Songbook". Her "Whispering Album", as she smilingly calls it, is an enticing journey to the nightly world of amorous songs, it takes us to a drеamlike state, as well known as it is surprising. ....

Viktoria Tolstoy - My Russian Soul
MP3 @320 kb/s | Front Cover | 121.7 MB
Label: ACT | Time: 51:42 | Genre: Vocal-Jazz

On My Russian Soul the Swede with Russian ancestors shows us another facet of her glamorous personality with her brilliant and expressive voice. For many years now, the great-grand daughter of Leo Tolstoy has been keen to explore her Russian musical roots. “I had a conversation with Siggi Loch concerning that side of my music some time ago, but I didn't feel experienced enough for a project that big then. Russian music out of the classical genre has been adapted every now and then by jazz musicians - think of Ellington's 'Nutcracker Suite' - but never by a singer.”

Jazz-cabaret chanteuse Ann Hampton Callaway pays tribute to the First Lady of Song in To Ella with Love, a 1996 recording re-released in 1999 as a companion to her small-ensemble album, Easy Living. Here Callaway is supported by a full band anchored by pianist Cyrus Chestnut, bassist Christian McBride, and drummer Lewis Nash, while Wynton Marsalis sits in for two numbers. "How High the Moon" begins in a loping gait before catching fire and including the inevitable scat solo. While Callaway doesn't include any of her own songs among this collection of standards, it's one of her best albums.

–David Horiuchi