Alexis Cole - Dazzling Blue: The Music Of Paul Simon (2016) [HDtracks]

Alexis Cole
Winner of the 2007 Jazzmobile competition and an award recipient of the Montreux Jazz Vocal Competition, Alexis was cited as "a rising star in the jazz world" by Hot House Magazine. She continues to perform regularly at jazz clubs in her home base of New York City, as well as throughout the world. A dedicated educator, Alexis has taught privately and at the 92nd St. Y in New York City, and served on the faculty of Berklee College of Music in Quito. Most recently, she's added the position of lead vocalist for the West Point Jazz Knights, the U.S. Military Academy big band, to her eclectic resume.

Inspired by Paul Simon’s contributions, Alexis Cole offers this very special treatment of his music. With Dazzling Blue, vocalist Cole and producers David Chesky and Nicholas Prout sifted through some of Simon’s lesser known compositions. Herein they are presented in unalloyed simplicity, emphasizing the incandescent quality, and unadorned beauty of his lyrics.
Ms. Cole has a marvelous voice of great depth. Her clear, warm resonance strips away all ornamentation and gets you to the marrow of the songwriter’s stories. The vocals are haunting, and a testament to Cole's cross-cultural vocal training. Cole is joined by an excellent group of musicians whose collective body of work is well known to roots music aficionados. Jeff Haynes and Gus Courtsunis on percussion; Marvin Sewell on acoustic and electric guitars; Mark Peterson on bass, Julie Harris on Native American flute, and background vocals from Maria Quintanilla and Evan Sundquist; they are all an integral part of the whole.
Part of the Chesky Binaural + Series, all recorded with a single microphone, the band appears right before you with this spacious, lush and multi-dimensional recording. Now headphone users will hear the same three-dimensional sound and imaging as audiophiles have for the past 25 years with Chesky Recordings. Also these new Binaural+ Series albums capture even more spatial realism for the home audiophile market, bringing you one step closer to the actual event. You will hear some of the most natural and pure music ever recorded.