Cathy Segal-Garcia & Joe Diorio - Day By Day

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 46:32
Size: 106.5 MB
Label: Dash Hoffman
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 2007
Art: Front

[4:01] 1. How Deep Is The Ocean
[5:27] 2. I Remember Clifford
[3:03] 3. Taking A Chance On Love
[5:08] 4. Estate
[3:59] 5. I Fall In Love Too Easily
[4:45] 6. Day By Day
[6:13] 7. Willow Weep For Me
[5:08] 8. You Are Too Beautiul
[3:47] 9. The Night Has A Thousand Eyes
[4:56] 10. Star Eyes

In 1976 while playing a gig at the jazz club "Donte's" in North Hollywood, I met Cathy for the first time. She asked me if she could sing "Lush Life" with me in Ab. I said, "I have hard enough trouble playing that in Db!" She sang a few tunes and floored us. Well, since then I've been a friend and a fan of hers. She has a sweet and gentle voice that I love. This makes it all the easier to play for her. In 1995 we finally made this CD in a tiny voice-over studio that was cluttered with all kinds of junk. I'm amazed that we got a great CD under such uncomfortable circumstances. But such is the power of music. JOE DIORIO

What a gift for me, to work on a recording with Joe! It turned out to be a ballad album, because every song we moved to, Joe would say, "Hey Cath, how about doing this a little slower?" Joe is a brilliant musician, but he's more than that, because music, of course, isn't all technical prowess... it's soul, spirit, elan vital, the muse, the lovers! That's what he brings to the music. Thank you Joe, and thank to you all for listening. CATHY SEGAL-GARCIA

Day By Day

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Ben Sidran - Dylan Different

Time: 46:10
Size: 107.3 MB
Label: Nardis Music
Styles: Cool, Vocal jazz
Year: 2009
Bitrate: 320K/s
Art: Front

[3:25] 1. Everything Is Broken
[3:18] 2. Highway 61 Revisited
[3:46] 3. Tangled Up In Blue
[4:47] 4. Gotta Serve Somebody
[3:46] 5. Rainy Day Woman
[2:57] 6. Ballad Of A Thin Man
[4:58] 7. Maggie's Farm
[3:51] 8. Knockin' On Heaven's Door
[3:39] 9. Subterranean Homesick Blues
[3:09] 10. On The Road Again
[3:20] 11. All I Really Want To Do
[5:08] 12. Blowin' In The Wind

Upon hearing "Everything Is Broken," the opening track of Ben Sidran's Dylan Different, a collection of Bob Dylan covers that uncovers a near symbiotic connection to his source's material, one wonders what took him so long to record this. Sidran chose a dozen tunes from Dylan's songbook and recorded them over four days in France, applying his requisite musicality, unaffected jazzman's cool, and streetwise yet elegant poetic imagination. There is a decidedly old-school feel to the manner in which this material is recorded that recalls his late-'70s sides. Sidran plays Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, and acoustic piano as well as a Hammond B-3, and is accompanied by a killer backing band that includes trumpeter Michael Leonhart, drummer Alberto Malo, bassist Marcello Giuliani, saxophonist Bob Malach, guitarist Rodolphe Burger, and vocalist Amy Helm. His son Leo did the horn arrangements and played additional piano, B-3, and koto, and there are guests on backing vocals, including Georgie Fame, who duets on "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35," and Jorge Drexler on "Knockin' on Heaven's Door." What it all adds up to is a truly new presentation of Dylan's work that seamlessly fits Sidran's aesthetic without removing the authority of these songs from their historical context. Check the nocturnal funky groove on "Gotta Serve Somebody" or the bluesy dual pianos on "Tangled Up in Blue," on which Sidran does his talk-singing accompanied by female backing vocalists on the chorus and a restrained horn section. He turns the tune into a slippery, finger-popping club number. Dylan's slide guitar anthem "Highway 61 Revisited" is given a lithe Latin treatment with Burger's guitar referencing the original even as the piano and rhythm section make it a funky-butt slow-boiling rhumba. The minor-key swing in "Ballad of a Thin Man" accents the tune's poetry while extrapolating harmonies in the minor-key arrangement. Given Sidran's treatment of the lyric, if you didn't know better, you might think he wrote it. (The bass clarinet solo by Malach is a sweet touch, too.) He took the greatest liberties with "Maggie's Farm," which is not frenetic guitar-based blues-rock here, but a late-night, shimmering piece of beat jazz with an eerie arrangement that extends the reach of the tune's cultural and economic critique into the heart of the new century. Sidran even has the stones to redo "Blowin' in the Wind." He makes it as disturbingly inquisitive and world-weary as the song itself must feel by now, but without losing a measure of its poignancy. Dylan Different reveals Sidran as being in full possession of his jazz and creative gifts but also his ones for interpretive song; by turns, with this fine album, he adds even more weight to the argument that Dylan is a writer of folk songs that transcend their eras of origin in relevancy. ~ Thom Jurek

Ben Sidran (vocals, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, Hammond b-3 organ, Wurlitzer organ); Leo Sidran (guitar, koto, piano, Hammond b-3 organ); Rodolphe Burger (guitar); Bob Malach (flute, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone); Michael Leonhart (trumpet, flugelhorn); Marcello Giuliani (acoustic bass, electric bass); Alberto Malo (drums, percussion); Amy Helm (background vocals).

Dylan Different

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Eddie Higgins Trio - Haunted Heart

Styles: Jazz
Label: Venus Records
Year: 1998
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:17
Size: 115,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:43)  1. My Funny Valentine
(4:40)  2. Haunted Heart
(7:24)  3. Stolen Morments / Israel
(5:31)  4. Lush Life
(6:04)  5. How My Heart Sings
(4:46)  6. Someone To Watch Over Me
(5:11)  7. I Should Care
(6:57)  8. Lover Come Back To Me
(3:56)  9. Isn't It Romantic?

The lonely cover photo and title of this Japanese import give away most of the story; this is a haunted, introspective album of piano-trio jazz very much indebted to Bill Evans and, to a lesser extent, George Shearing. Veteran Eddie Higgins mostly serves up standards from the Great American Songbook -- "My Funny Valentine," "Someone to Watch Over Me," "I Should Care," "Lush Life," the usual suspects -- in a tasteful, unshowy, often gently swinging way, harmonically locked into the mainstream, occasionally throwing in a gentle quote for humor's sake. Elsewhere, "Israel" forms the core of a "Stolen Moments" sandwich, and "Lover Come Back to Me" is given the token bossa nova treatment. Ray Drummond (bass) and Ben Riley (drums) make up the fine rhythm section, and they never miss a cue.~Richard S.Ginell (http://www.allmusic.com/album/haunted-heart-mw0000046753).

Personnel: Eddie Higgins (piano); Ray Drummond (bass); Ben Riley (drums).

Haunted Heart

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Stan Getz - Autumn Leaves: 27 Standards

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 79:19
Size: 186.0 MB
Label: Retrospective Records
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 1980
Art: Front

[3:07] 1. Autumn Leaves
[2:50] 2. Indian Summer
[2:55] 3. There's A Small Hotel
[3:21] 4. What's New?
[2:55] 5. Too Marvellous For Words
[3:17] 6. I've Got You Under My Skin
[2:44] 7. My Old Flame
[2:54] 8. You Stepped Out Of A Dream
[3:05] 9. Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams
[3:16] 10. The Lady In Red
[2:56] 11. Gone With The Wind
[2:46] 12. On The Alamo
[2:48] 13. Yesterdays
[3:01] 14. You Go To My Head
[2:31] 15. Strike Up The Band
[2:24] 16. Imagination
[2:29] 17. Out Of Nowhere
[2:55] 18. 's Wonderful
[2:47] 19. It Might As Well Be Spring
[2:49] 20. This Song Is You
[3:15] 21. Moonlight In Vermont
[3:26] 22. Tenderly
[3:03] 23. The Way You Look Tonight
[3:21] 24. Stars Fell On Alabama
[2:25] 25. Lullaby Of Birdland
[2:27] 26. Fools Rush In
[3:19] 27. These Foolish Things

One of the all-time great tenor saxophonists, Stan Getz was known as "The Sound" because he had one of the most beautiful tones ever heard. Getz, whose main early influence was Lester Young, grew to be a major influence himself and to his credit he never stopped evolving.

Getz had the opportunity to play in a variety of major swing big bands while a teenager due to the World War II draft. He was with Jack Teagarden (1943) when he was just 16, followed by stints with Stan Kenton (1944-1945), Jimmy Dorsey (1945), and Benny Goodman (1945-1946); he soloed on a few records with Goodman. Getz, who had his recording debut as a leader in July 1946 with four titles, became famous during his period with Woody Herman's Second Herd (1947-1949), soloing (along with Zoot Sims, Herbie Steward, and Serge Chaloff) on the original version of "Four Brothers" and having his sound well-featured on the ballad "Early Autumn." After leaving Herman, Getz was (with the exception of some tours with Jazz at the Philharmonic) a leader for the rest of his life. ~excerpt from bio by Scott Yanow

Autumn Leaves: 27 Standards

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Veronica Mortensen - Pieces In A Puzzle

Styles: Vocal
Label: Stunt Records
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:36
Size: 97,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:50)  1. Garden of my past
(3:57)  2. Julie
(4:06)  3. Flavour of the season
(4:44)  4. I am here for you
(3:21)  5. If
(4:30)  6. I't doesn't matter who's to blame
(3:59)  7. Mondays
(3:37)  8. You're on your own
(4:05)  9. Miles and miles apart
(4:21) 10. Running out of time
(2:00) 11. I am here for you

Born in Aarhus (Denmark), singer VERONICA MORTENSEN was raised by her mother in Athens, Greece. At the age of 20, she moved back to Denmark to pursue a singing career – a natural choice, being the daughter of 2 musicians. She started her own soulband, a mini-bigband playing Aretha Franklin covers and Motown-classics, and soon after joined the more experimental acidjazzband Virtual Fantasy. Veronica Mortensen graduated from Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus in the summer of 1996 and took her Diploma exam from Rythmic Conservatory of Copenhagen in 1998. She has performed on several albums and TV-shows, both as a lead singer and as a background vocalist. She also has appeared in rockmusicals like “A tribute to the Blues Brothers”, “Another Brick In The Wall” and “Hair” playing in both Copenhagen and Paris.

Her 2 albums “Pieces In A Puzzle” (2003) and “Happiness Is Not Included” (2007) got very fine reviews by the press and were both chosen for “Album of the week” by the Danish national radio (DR). The albums generated concerts in Denmark and abroad, among them at Bangkok Heineken Jazzfestival (Thailand), Beijing Jazzfestival (China) and at Ladies’ Jazzfestival in Gdynia (Poland). Beside her own music and band, she has also appeared with Peter Vuust Quartet, with whom se recorded the cd “Image Of Falling” (Imogena Records, 2005).

In 2007 Veronica Mortensen received a prize from Danish Songwriters’ Association (DPA), acknowledging her work as a songwriter. Lately she has been working with several Big Bands, among them Athens Big Band (Greece) and swedish Bohuslän Big Band, with whom she’s been touring a number of times in Sweden. She has been a popular guest with Klüvers Big Band from Aarhus (Denmark) for the last 15 years and among many concerts, they have played the Aarhus Jazzfestival, toured Estland and played “Sacred Concerts” of Duke Ellington.

Veronica Mortensens 3rd album “I’m The Girl” is a live recording with Klüvers Big Band from Ridehuset in Aarhus, released in April 2010 on Stunt Records. The album shows what a great live performer she is and contains not only her own material, but also interpretations of other well-known songs. Special guests are Dave Samuels (US) on vibraphone/marimba and Dennis Mackrel (US) on drums. Bio (http://veronica.dk/biography).

Pieces In A Puzzle

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Phil Woods Quintet - Bouquet

Styles: Bop, Hard Bop, Saxophone Jazz, Jazz Instrument
Label: Concord Jazz
Year: 1989
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:35
Size: 118,1 MB
Scans: Front

( 9:26)  1. Theme From Star Trek
( 0:22)  2. Introductory Announcement
(11:20)  3. Bouquet
( 0:25)  4. Introductory Announcement
(10:18)  5. Tune Of The Unknown Samba
( 0:18)  6. Introductory Announcement
( 7:54)  7. Mom
(11:27)  8. Willow Weep For Me

Phil Woods' combos of the 1970s, '80s and '90s have helped to keep the tradition of bop alive by adding to the music's repertoire and featuring creative solos within bop structures; high musicianship and stable personnel have also helped. Recorded live at the 1987 Fujitsu-Concord Jazz Festival in Tokyo, Bouquet is a well-balanced set consisting of five lengthy workouts for the altoist's 1987 quintet (which also includes trumpeter Tom Harrell, pianist Hal Galper, bassist Steve Gilmore and drummer Bill Goodwin). "Theme From Star Trek" is taken at a blazing tempo that is highlighted by a fiery and witty tradeoff of two-bar phrases by Woods and Harrell. The trumpeter's moody ballad "Bouquet" precedes Hal Galper's "Tune of the Unknown Samba," a Latin piece that finds the pianist taking solo honors. Woods' emotional "Mom" and a surprisingly brisk "Willow Weep for Me" (with the altoist hinting at Eric Dolphy) wrap up this fine CD, easily recommended to Phil Woods' fans.

Bouquet

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Wes Montgomery - The Montgomeryland Sessions (CD1) And (CD2)

Styles: Jazz
Label: Phoenix Records
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 77:43 (CD1)
Size: 177,9 MB (CD1)
Time: 79:19 (CD2)
Size: 181,6 MB (CD2)
Art: Front

(CD1)

( 2:33)  1. Finger Pickin'
( 6:57)  2. Sound Carrier
( 4:47)  3. Lois Ann
( 7:33)  4. Bud's Beaux Arts
(10:08)  5. Bock To Bock
( 3:58)  6. All The Things You Are
( 4:41)  7. Billie's Bounce
( 5:55)  8. Far Wes
( 3:30)  9. Leila
( 6:38) 10. Old Folks
( 4:11) 11. Wes' Tune
( 4:37) 12. Hymn To Carl
( 4:03) 13. Montgomeryland Funk
( 4:23) 14. Stompin' At The Savoy
( 3:42) 15. Love For Sale

(CD2)

(4:53)  1. Summertime
(3:57)  2. Monk's Shop
(6:16)  3. Falling In Love With Love
(3:33)  4. Renie
(6:40)  5. Ouverture
(6:19)  6. And This Is My Beloved
(5:01)  7. Fate
(4:55)  8. Stranger In Paradise
(3:29)  9. Baubles, Bangles And Beads
(7:24) 10. Not Since Nineveh
(3:42) 11. A Good Git Together
(3:49) 12. Feed Me
(3:57) 13. Music In The Air
(2:53) 14. Pretty Strange
(5:03) 15. The Shouter
(2:22) 16. Social Call
(4:54) 17. Out Of The Past

Wes Montgomery's admirers have often speculated on what direction his career might have taken had he not died prematurely in 1968. Would he have returned to straight-ahead bop, or would the slick, heavily produced smooth jazz he turned to during the last few years of his life continue to be his primary focus? Would there have been any Montgomery Brothers reunions in the ‘70s? One can only speculate. But what we can say for certain is that when he was still bop-oriented, the influential guitarist made his mark both as a leader and on sessions he co-led with bassist Monk Montgomery and pianist/vibist Buddy Montgomery. The Montgomery Brothers' pre-‘60s output is the focus of The Montgomeryland Sessions; spanning 1955-1959, this two-CD set contains the albums The Montgomery Brothers Plus Five Others and Montgomeryland in their entirety. Also included are live performances from the Kismet album (recorded at the Forum Theater in Los Angeles in 1958) and Jon Hendricks' A Good Git-Together (which finds The Montgomery Brothers backing that risk-taking singer at Fugazi Hall in San Francisco in 1959). 

And collectors will be glad to know that this double-CD contains a rare Montgomery Brothers version of Cole Porter's "Love for Sale" from 1955. The Montgomeryland Sessions isn't the last word on Wes Montgomery's recordings with his brothers; for example, this release doesn't get into their Groove Yard session of 1961. But it takes more than a superficial look at their late-‘50s activities, and even though The Montgomeryland Sessions isn't recommended to casual listeners, it's a release that serious collectors will be glad to have.~Alex Henderson (http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-montgomeryland-sessions-mw0001457396).

The Montgomeryland Sessions (CD1)

The Montgomeryland Sessions (CD2)

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