Back To Artist
Gary Motley : Seasoning
Log in to add to your wishlist
Jazz interpretations of original and classic holiday favorites
Genre: Jazz: Jazz Vocals
Release Date: 2011
Seasoning
Gary Motley
Record Label: Gary Motley Music Inc
  • Buy CD - $12.97
  • Download Album (MP3) - $9.99

Share This Album

| Share
Preview Song Name Time Buy
1. Winter Wonderland 4:04 + MP3 $0.99
2. I'll Be Home for Christmas (Feat. Veronica Motley) 3:56 + MP3 $0.99
3. Lost in the Stars (Feat. Veronica Motley) 3:16 + MP3 $0.99
4. Seasoning (Feat. Veronica Motley) 4:56 + MP3 $0.99
5. Mood Indigo (Feat. Veronica Motley) 4:52 + MP3 $0.99
6. Shep's Journey 4:38 + MP3 $0.99
7. The Christmas Waltz (Feat. Veronica Motley) 4:37 + MP3 $0.99
8. December Dance 5:12 + MP3 $0.99
9. All That I Am 4:38 + MP3 $0.99
10. Silent Night 4:12 + MP3 $0.99
preview all songs

Album Notes

The Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday season is one of my favorite (music) times of the year. For years I have collected holiday jazz albums (CDs) and have heard some of the worst and some of the greatest. But you only get to hear them once a year, so I try to gobble them down during the 30 days that they are played.

Seasoning by jazz pianist Gary Motley, is among the best I've heard. I have personally heard Gary play in many different settings from jazz vespers to choral/band performances. When Gary plays, he and the piano become one, his heart and soul emanate through the keys and strings of his instrument like plumes of incense. He can play music that makes you want to jump out of your seat and hit the dance floor or present ballads so sweetly that they make you want to reach for the tissue box. Join that together with songbird Veronica Motley and you have Seasoning, the perfect blend of the warmth and coziness of a fireplace on a winter's night...the way a holiday CD should be.

Seasoning features original compositions, including the title track written by Gary & Veronica, as well as unique arrangements of classic holiday favorites. Veronica's vocals on "I'll Be Home For Christmas", "Seasoning", "Mood Indigo", "The Christmas Waltz" and "All That I Am" glide across the tunes with the grace of a professional ice skater lightly touching down on the ice. Gary Motley's touch on the piano keys on the instrumental tracks gives you the audio/visual storytelling of a ballet dancer. Mix the two together along with Atlanta's top professional musicians and educators and you have a musically fresh and superbly produced holiday CD. With Moffett Morris on bass, Justin Chesarek, drums & percussion, Gordon Vernick, trumpet, Sam Skelton, saxophone, Kathleen Bertrand, additional vocals and Dan Baraszu on guitar, Seasoning is the perfect blend of the right ingredients. Enjoy and Happy Holidays with Seasoning.

Captain Mellow WRFG 89.3 FM-Atlanta
Host of "Jazz on the Left Side of the Dial"
Monday Nights from 10PM to Midnight

Read more...

REVIEWS

Something for Everyone
author: Joseph Coble
                            
If you can't find something you like in "Seasoning," if you're not the Grinch himself, you must at least be part of the family. If you like your Christmas music traditional, you should love "Silent Night," "I'll be Home for Christmas," "Winter Wonderland," and "The Christmas Waltz." If you like to sample new treats, you should love three new numbers written by the Motleys: "Seasoning," "December Dance," and "Shep's Journey." If you like your jazz instrumental, you've got "Silent Night," which is just piano at the beginning and end, with bass and percussion in the middle section; "Shep's Journey" and "December Dance," with the trio all the way through; and "Winter Wonderland," which also includes saxophone. If you like vocals, you've got the wonderful stylings of Veronica Motley on six numbers, with accompaniments ranging from piano only on the gorgeous "All That I Am" to the trio plus sax and trumpet on the bouncy "I'll be Home for Christmas." Personally, I love them all. "Seasoning" certainly deserves its place as the title cut. The lyrics, the vocals, and the instrumentals are all very warm and smooth, reminding us of the joys of spending seasons with those we love, seasoning each other's lives. I could give you reasons why each of the 10 cuts is my personal favorite, but I'm sure you're getting tired of reading this review by now. Check this one out. As I said at the beginning, if you can't find something you like here, I don't know why you came to a music website.
Read more...
Sell your music on CD Baby and iTunes! Minimize this Tab Open this Tab