ERIC VAN ARO – FRIENDS – “REVIEWS”
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CD
REVIEW: Eric Van Aro - Friends
By
Francesco
Emmanuel
- 04/26/06 - 07:12 PM EST
So,
once again, never judge a book, or in this case a Cd by it's cover. The artwork
on Eric Van Aro's latest release , 'Friends' is a
drawing of a man, so I honestly thought it was classical music (don't ask me
why!).
It turned out to be a pre/post-modern jazz album, with a latin influence, a funk song or two, some old jazz standard
favourites, oh and a pop song here and there and wait a minute, a blues number
as well.
So just what category should we put this guy in? How about just great adult contemporary music.
Eric is
a certified jazz crooner, his mid-range voice is
smoothe, soft and heavy. He does great renditions of Stevie Wonder's 'He's
Misstra Know-it-all'. He sings the entire horns section (and I mean the entire
section!) of 'Pick up the pieces', that 70s funk classic written by R. Ball, H.
Stuart and crew.
Track # 8, is 'Friends' by the Gods of Rock 'n Roll Led
Zepplin, however, it's completely funked up. You can always tell an accomplished
musician, when they can take a song and do it 'justice' by making that piece of
music sound like their very own creation.
Van Aro also does songs by Gino
Vannelli and Paula Cole. His own song 'The Painting in
my heart' appears on this album as well, the groove is solid, jazzed up and
funky. The lyrics are printed inside the CD jacket.
Van Aro also has a
vast array of talented musicians who appear on this album (check out the sweet,
blistering solo on 'Be Somebody'). It is clear to see that Eric is a seasoned
musician, who knows how to make a song come alive, can interpret any artists'
material in his own fashion, and sing it!
The album ends with a soft
piano number, why is it that nothing gets the romance going as a jazz piano
song? oh well, Eric's 'Friends' will be taking up a
permanent spot in my CD player, so thanks Eric, you're a friend of
mine.
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Eric van Aro - "Friends"
Eric van Aro ist ein Gesangsinterpret mit ungeheurer Bandbreite. Von Pop über Jazz und Latin bis hin zu Rock reicht das Repertoire des aus einer namhaften italienisch-deutschen Künstlerfamilie stammenden Sängers mit der weichen Stimme.
Und
so schwingt sich van Aro auf, seine Gesangsqualitäten unter Beweis zu
stellen. Auf "Friends", seiner zweiten CD, widmet er sich mit seinen
Musikerfreunden
Stets hört man van Aro seinen Jazzhintergrund an. Und singen kann er, und zwar ganz phantastisch – was er singt, erscheint nahezu egal, denn: stets hat er einen klaren, starken Ausdruck, springt in den jeweiligen Song hinein und macht ihn sich zu eigen. Es müssen also nicht immer Sängerinnen sein – hier ist die Alternative: Ein neuer männlicher Gesangsstar mit einer ausgezeichneten Band.
Carina
Prange
Italian/German
Artist Eric Van Aro takes some well-known classics and originals and comes up
with an appealing new album titled Friends.
Van
Aro is a veteran in the entertainment business, working in several different
facets over the years. All of his experience pays off on this collection of 12
jazz infused tracks. He has a great voice, filled with warmth and
melody.
“He’s
Misstra Know-it-All” is a lively tune that has an intoxicating rhythm and rhyme
to it while “Gershwin-King-Taylor Medley” is one of the more interesting
adaptations of a pop medley turned into a jazz groove that you would ever hope
to hear. Either you will love it or move on to the next track, there is no in
between. “The Painting In My Heart” plays to the
singer’s strengths quite well; I found it to be one of the best tracks on the
CD, and its quickly becoming one of my favorites and I think its one of his as
well because it’s the only song listed with the words in the CD sleeve. “Not The
Boy Next Door” is superb as well, it has a nice rolling Latin flavoring
punctuated by the signature Van Aro vocal stamp, at times he sounds as if he is
ready to break into a scat (he saves that style of vocalization for “Pick Up The
Pieces”), but stops and the tempo of the song changes. The title track is also a
showcase for the singer and the band’s musical prowess. The bass line drives the
song along while the keyboards get down and funky. He sounds so relaxed and
natural throughout the track, no doubt the soundtrack he sets the vocals to
create that comfort zone. Speaking of highlights, the most prolific track on the
album is “Be Somebody.” The words are aimed straight for the heart; it’s a slice
of life and reality in between musical notes and the voice of an inspired
artist. This one song really put the icing on the proverbial cake for me.
This
kind of album requires a few listens before a concrete opinion emerges. For me,
I liked it on the first spin but only after the third spin did it really hit
home entirely. I ‘heard’ everything that made the recording what it is; I guess
three really is the charm. Who ever said a jazz album was easy to interpret any
way? You will not hear this writer ever say that. Van Aro has a fine group of
musicians from
© Keith
"MuzikMan" Hannaleck November 18,
2005
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© 2005 Jazz-
Eric
van Aro is a man with a multitude of talents. He has worked actively in theatre arts,
been a producer and is familiar with working in mass media. But above all Eric
is a singer. And how he can sing! Although van Aro lives in
This
record -
and it's not the first in van Aro's discography, was made with the help of his
own company, ERAKI Entertainment. The name of Eric's new album means a lot of
different things. First of all, Friends - this is the name of the famous
composition by the group, Led Zeppelin, which van Aro is performing in this
project. Secondly, friends for Eric are both musicians whom he has invited to
take part in the recording (notable amongst them the outstanding Swiss
trumpeter,
The
titles on the album may even seem eclectic to some people. Besides Led Zeppelin
there is also Stevie Wonder and Gino Vanelli, and songs from Chaka Khan's
repertoire. The Gershwin fantasy, The Gershwin Taylor King Medley, carries us
off to the Swing era of the 30's (exceptional work by
Friends - Eric van Aro
Hier kommt einiges zusammen – die Schweiz und Italien; Gino Vannelli, Led Zeppelin und Stephen Sondheim; Catarina Valente und Chaka Khan…Eric van Aro, direkter Nachkomme der großen Entertainerin Catarina Valente, seines Zeichens Vokal-Akrobat und Songschreiber mit Heimstatt in der Schweiz und einem weitverzweigten italienischem Freundeskreis, stellte sich für seine neue Compact Disc ein wohlfeiles Sortiment diverser Fremd-Songs zusammen, deren schier grenzenloser Rahmen u.a. „Friends“ von den Led Zeppelin, „He´s Misstra Know It All“ von Stevie Wonder, Stephen Sondheim´s „Water Under The Bridge“, das schon von Chaka Khan vorgestellte „Miles Blowin´“, sowie (und natürlich ganz besonders…) „Put The Weight On My Shoulder“ des unvergleichlichen Gino Vannelli (dessen „Storm At Sunup“ Schallplatte immer noch das Ultimatum des weissen U-Musik-Schaffens darstellt) ein- und umschließt. Eric macht daraus sein ganz eigenes Programm – immer mit einer Portion des geschmeidigen Jazz, der mal mit ein wenig Latin („He´s Misstra…“ oder „Not The Boy Next Door“) oder Funk („Pick Up The Pieces“) angereichert wird, und so in jedem Moment seinen Swing behält. Das Hör-Ergebnis wirkt erquickend und bezieht zudem spannende Kurzweil durch die immer originellen Bearbeitungen – tauglich für die Advanced-Buzz-Buzzer-Version für ganz große Experten.
jms@soulsite.de 10.12.2005
Gi Dussault Co-Host & Co-Producer Upper Room Radio Show: You need to have this CD in your collection. For all music lovers, no excuse to not have it right now on your CD players. Thanks for the great CD
Marty Scarbrough KASU Program Director Great, unique and diverse selection of material!
Mark o’neill: Love it, from start to finish. I gather that the original artists would like very much what was done to their music, very creative.
RADIO
RPM_FM
Rafel
Corbi: Excepcional release. Eric's voice is with no
doubt wonderful and fits perfectly into the
songs.
Rob Robinson: So good to get something fresh and innovative!
Michael Criddle: This is a great CD!
J.Otis Williams: Eric van Aro’s “FRIENDS” is truly a winner!
2CX
–
Sheril Berkovitch: This man has a really good jazz voice, great timing. The songs are excellent choices. Congratulations on this CD.
Martin Wright: A fascinating mixture of Jazz, Jazz like and contemporary adult music; all presented in a lush, rich format, highlighting the talents of Eric van Aro and his musicians. Some of these tracks are new, some familiar; of the latter many, such as Water Under the Bridge and Not The Boy Next Door, have had new life breathed into them. I enjoyed them all - favourites - definitely The Painting In My Heart, Gershwin Medley and the Latin approach to Peter Allen's Not The Boy Next Boy. After all I am an Aussie.
