Mora's Modern Rhythmists - Mr. Rhythmist Goes To Town

Styles: Swing, Big Bands
Label: Ace Records
Released: 1999
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 153,9 MB
Time: 67:15
Art: front

1. Georgia Jubilee - 2:42
2. Cavernism - 3:24
3. Joe Turner Blues - 2:23
4. Sweet Sue, Just You - 3:58
5. Blue Minor - 3:24
6. King Of Swing - 3:15
7. Mr. Ghost Goes To Town - 3:58
8. Without That Gal - 2:36
9. Chant Of The Weed - 3:46
10. Ain't Cha Got Music? - 2:51
11. The Mayor Of Alabam' - 3:31
12. Dixieland Shuffle - 3:24
13. Jungle Jazz - 2:52
14. Four Or Five Times - 3:10
15. Dancin' With A Debutante - 2:24
16. Hot Toddy - 2:22
17. Pastorale - 4:08
18. Here Come The British - 3:15
19. Big John's Special - 2:50
20. Smoke Rings - 3:29
21. Night Ride - 3:24

Notes: MORA'S MODERN RHYTHMISTS was formed in 1994 by Dean Mora, a Los Angeles-area pianist whose interest in the 1920s and 1930s was forged early on as a child (he saw "The Sting" when he was 11, and was instantly hooked) and has endeavored to bring the music of this period back to life, utilizing original published arrangements as well as transcriptions from recordings. Following a series of small concerts around the Los Angeles area, the band was booked at the world-famous Derby nightclub in 1997, and remained the Monday night house band for three years, prompting legions of dancers to rediscover some of the dances steps that were popular during this time frame, such as the Shag, the Balboa, and the Charleston.

Since then, the band has played at such venues as The Wiltern Theatre, The Hollywood Palladium, The Avalon Casino Ballroom (Catalina Island), the legendary Blossom Room of The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the historic Biltmore Hotel (downtown Los Angeles) and Argyle Hotel (Hollywood), the Wilshire Ebell Club, The Hollywood Athletic Club, and The Orpheum Theatre. Special events include The Los Angeles Consevancy's Last Remaining Seats series, the Art Deco Society's 1929 Wall St. Crash Bash and Speakeasy Soiree, A&E Network's gala premiere of "The Great Gatsby", as well as numerous corporate and private functions. In the summer of 2001, Mora's Modern Rhythmists had the honor of performing at Lincoln Center in New York City as part of their "Midsummer Night Swing" dance series.

The band has also participated in music festivals, such as the Sweet and Hot Jazz Festival, the SoCal Jazzfest, the San Clemente Dixieland Festival, and the Big Bear Jazz Festival. In the concert arena, Mora's Modern Rhythmists presented an all-Duke Ellington program at the Balcony Theatre in Pasadena as part of the Pasadena Jazz Institute's "Tribute To The Masters" concert series, as well as being the starring ensemble in "Chuck Cecil Presents...", which was held at the Performing Arts Center of Cal State, Northridge, and was very favorably reviewed by esteemed Los Angeles Times jazz critic Don Heckman.

Mora's Modern Rhythmists have released 4 CDs to date, including My Favorite Band, Mr. Rhythmist Goes To Town, Call of the Freaks, and their most recent endevor, Goblin Market, a tribute to Swing Era-arranger and bandleader Spud Murphy, (known chiefly for his arranging work with Benny Goodman).

Mr. Rhythmist Goes To Town

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Stephanie Nakasian - Billie Remembered: The Classic Songs Of Billie Holiday

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 39:13
Size: 89.8 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 2009
Art: Front

[2:47] 1. No Regrets
[2:56] 2. Did I Remember
[2:53] 3. What A Night, What A Moon, What A Boy
[3:41] 4. I Wished On The Moon
[3:45] 5. I Cried For You
[4:51] 6. These Foolish Things
[3:39] 7. What A Little Moonlight Can Do
[4:22] 8. Reaching For The Moon
[2:55] 9. Too Hot For Words
[4:07] 10. If You Were Mine
[3:11] 11. Miss Brown To You

"Billie Remembered," the most recent release of the marvelous American jazz singer Stephanie Nakasian, is indeed, a tribute album to the late, great twentieth century American blues/jazz singer Billie Holiday. But, thankfully, it stays away from that iconic singer's most famous work; it is, instead, a reimagining of an early 1935 recording, now more than 75 years old. Nakasian told an interviewer, "I love the feeling of it. It's very perky and happy. It's some of the more obscure music, which I always love. And I just love doing it. So I decided to try to channel her and get more Billie into my singing, as well. That's part of the reason to do it."

The album, which was featured on a recent episode of "Fresh Air," with Terry Gross, has a life of its own. It gives us eleven songs, and Nakasian has rounded up some distinguished backing musicians to record it, "primus inter pares" her husband and log-time collaborator Hod O'Brien, an outstanding stride player, at piano. Randy Sadke at trumpet; Harry Allen, Tenor Sax; Dan Block, Alto Sax, Clarinet; Marty Grosz, Guitar; Chuck Riggs, Drums; Neil Miner, Bass. Excellent players all, and undoubtedly one of the reasons the album sounds so good: they provide a much fuller sound than the trios and quartets most other Holiday tributes try to get away with. And they give us a sound that sounds artfully, a little bit, dated. While they straight ahead swing. And so does Nakasian. While sounding absolutely beautiful and capturing Lady Day's spirit as well as her phrasing, and strong hints of her voice. ~Stephanie dePue

Billie Remembered: The Classic Songs Of Billie Holiday

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Grassella Oliphant - The Grass Is Greener

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 34:00
Size: 77.8 MB
Styles: Funk-jazz
Year: 1967/2010
Art: Front

[2:42] 1. Get Out Of My Life Woman
[2:50] 2. Ain't That Peculiar
[5:17] 3. Soul Woman
[5:53] 4. Peaches Are Better Down The Road
[6:32] 5. The Yodel
[4:37] 6. Cantaloupe Woman
[3:02] 7. The Latter Days
[3:04] 8. Rapid Shave

Drummer Grassella Oliphant's The Grass Is Greener is as good as it is rare. One of many soulful organ jazz dates that have gained cult status among sample hungry hip-hop and acid jazz devotees, this 1967 Atlantic album is packed with great playing and solid grooves (besides recording only one other album as a leader, his 1965 debut The Grass Roots, Oliphant also appeared on dates by singer Gloria Lynne and organist Shirley Scott, among others). With guitarist Grant Green and B-3 master John Patton completing the classic organ combo setup, the trio particularly stretch out on fine numbers like "Cantaloupe Woman" and Patton's own "Soul Woman." While these cuts are marked by a progressive, almost modal sound, much of the other material, which also features tenor saxophonist Harold Ousley and trumpeter Clark Terry, has a more down home and groove-heavy flavor; this is especially true on Terry's "Peaches Are Better Down the Road" and a cover of Allen Toussaint's classic bit of New Orleans soul, "Get Out of My Life Woman." Other standouts include a rendition of Marvin Gaye's "Ain't That Peculiar" and Ousley's breezy Latin swinger "The Latter Days." A great set. ~ Stephen Cook

Limited Edition 24Bit digital remastering.

The Grass Is Greener

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Esther Phillips - Confessin' The Blues

Bitrate: 320K/s

Time: 48:23

Size: 112.8 MB

Styles: Blues vocals

Year: 1976/1988

Art: Front

[ 5:57] 1. I'm Gettin' Long Alright

[ 3:01] 2. I Wonder

[ 3:01] 3. Confessin' The Blues

[ 3:34] 4. Romance In The Dark

[ 2:48] 5. C.C. Rider

[ 3:15] 6. Cherry Red

[ 2:57] 7. In The Evenin'

[ 4:09] 8. I Love Paris

[ 4:05] 9. It Could Happen To You

[ 4:50] 10. Bye Bye Blackbird

[10:40] 11. Blow Top Blues/Jelly Jelly Blues/Long John Blues

Confessin' the Blues has translated to CD beautifully. The first seven numbers show off Esther Phillips doing sophisticated, big-band blues, backed by a small orchestra led by Onzy Matthews, giving direct and pointed yet elegant performances of "Confessin' the Blues," "I'm Gettin' 'Long Alright," and "C.C. Rider." The last four numbers, which comprise nearly 24 minutes, have Phillips doing a jazzier set to start with, backed by a leaner band (most notably Jack Wilson on piano), in a set produced for record by King Curtis -- the final medley of "Blow Top Blues"/"Jelly Roll Blues"/"Long John Blues" is the highlight of the set, showing Phillips in a bluesy setting. The quality of the recording from both years is excellent and comes out well here. Phillips and her principal accompanists, Herb Ellis (guitar) and Lou Blackburn (trombone), are in excellent form on this 1966 set. ~ Bruce Eder

Recorded at Western Recorders, Hollywood, California on October 7, 1966; United Studio, Los Angeles, California on October 14, 1966; live at Freddie Jett's Pied Piper Club, Los Angeles, California on January 31, 1970. Originally released as Atlantic SD (1680).

"Little" Esther Phillips (vocals); Herb Ellis, Francois Vaz (guitar); Sonny Criss, Gabriel Baltazar, Raymond Triscari (alto saxophone); Teddy Edwards, Louis Ciotti, Ira Schulman (tenor saxophone); Jay Migliori (baritone saxophone); Robert Rolfe, Melvin Moore, Bill Clark, James Smith, Al Porcino (trumpet); Louis Blackburn, Richard Leith, Roland Myers, Peter Myers (trombone); Rodgers Grant (piano); Jack Wilson (piano, electric piano); Ike Isaacs, Victor Venegas (bass); Chuck Rainey (Fender bass); Donald Bailey, Charles Grant (drums). Producers: Nesuhi Ertegun, King Curtis.

Confessin'The Blues   

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Tom Dempsey - Saucy

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 61:42
Size: 141.2 MB
Styles: Guitar jazz
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[5:58] 1. One Hundred Ways
[6:47] 2. Bock To Bock
[5:03] 3. Saucy
[6:44] 4. Ted's Groove
[7:42] 5. Bridge Over Troubled Water
[4:31] 6. Always Around
[7:43] 7. My Secret Love
[7:21] 8. Ceora
[5:05] 9. The Big Bailout
[4:43] 10. Pat-A-Tat-Tat

There's something about the sound of the guitar with the Hammond B3 organ. It's often hard to explain. The nuances of the timbres found in both instruments when combined together in musical interplay that is rooted in the blues, creates a sonic palette like no other. It is this sound that initially attracted me to the jazz guitar. The first recording that I heard of the jazz guitar was Smokin' at the Half Note by Wes Montgomery. While this recording didn't contain the organ/guitar combination in the instrumentation, it soon led me on a musical journey. Being exposed to Wes Montgomery at such a young age led me to this unique relationship between the organ and guitar that I found with Wes Montgomery and Jimmy Smith on The Dynamic Duo and Wes with Melvin Rhyne on Boss Guitar. These records eventually led me to Kenny Burrell and Jimmy Smith together on the record Back At The Chicken Shack. After that I was hooked.

Upon moving to NYC in 1991, I spent many years playing with various organ players. There was Augie's where I played and hung out regularly. But it was in Harlem was where I worked with several different organ players almost nightly. From Showman's Lounge to Lickety Split, Perks, La Famille and others, the music that was coming out of these clubs embodied all that I loved about music. Honesty, self-expression, the blues, raw emotion and virtuosity were all coupled with a social environment that welcomed people from all backgrounds into a collaborative discussion. This opportunity, which continues today, was made possible by the music, the food and the people assembled. This recording showcases the evolution of my experience playing jazz. The tradition of the jazz canon and the lineage of the standard of jazz performance handed down from my heroes (Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, George Benson, Jim Hall and Grant Green) remain at the root of my soul as a musician. But there are many other interests, sounds and musical palettes that resonate inside me.

Saucy

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Oscar Peterson - Oscar Peterson Plays The Duke Ellington Song Book

Bitrate: 320K/s

Time: 39:39

Size: 90.8 MB

Styles: Piano jazz

Year: 1999

Art: Front

[4:05] 1. Don't Get Around Much Anymore

[2:57] 2. Sophisticated Lady

[3:00] 3. Rockin' In Rhythm

[3:15] 4. Prelude To A Kiss

[3:06] 5. In A Mellow Tone

[3:48] 6. Cotton Tail

[3:40] 7. Just A Sittin' And A Rockin'

[3:11] 8. Things Ain't What They Used To Be

[3:15] 9. Take The A Train

[3:11] 10. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)

[2:48] 11. Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me

[3:19] 12. John Hardy's Wife

Digitally remastered using 24-bit technology by Kevin Reeves (Polygram Studios). Twice in the 1950s, pianist Oscar Peterson recorded an extensive series of songbooks devoted to one composer. From 1952-53, Peterson, guitarist Barney Kessel and bassist Ray Brown were extensively documented; in 1959, the pianist joined up with Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen to repeat many of the programs (since the group had changed and the music could now be cut in stereo) plus additional songbooks. This 1999 CD brings together both of Peterson's Duke Ellington tributes; the same dozen songs were recorded with each of the two groups. The Duke Ellington-associated material  which includes two songs by Mercer Ellington and Billy Strayhorn's "Take the 'A' Train"  mostly consist of familiar songs, except for Mercer Ellington's "John Hardy's Wife." ~ Scott Yanow

Recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, California in December 1952; Universal Recording Studios, Chicago, Illinois between July 14 and August 9, 1959.

Oscar Peterson (piano); Barney Kessel (guitar); Ray Brown (bass); Ed Thigpen (drums). Producer: Norman Granz.

Duke Ellington Songbook

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Lynda Carter - At Last

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:17
Size: 90,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:48)  1. You Send Me
(3:44)  2. Where Did Our Love Go
(2:11)  3. Deed I Do
(3:34)  4. Million Dollar Secret
(3:56)  5. Cry Me A River
(3:01)  6. Secret Of Life
(3:41)  7. Blues In The Night
(3:38)  8. Come Rain Or Come Shine Medley
(2:51)  9. At Last
(2:30) 10. Summertime
(2:39) 11. Cloud Burst
(3:39) 12. Oldies Medley

2009 album from the vocalist, actress and performer. Best known for winning our hearts as Wonder Woman, Lynda Carter is an accomplished singer who has performed to rave reviews before sell-out crowds around the world. In addition to her long acting career, Lynda has had the distinction of producing and starring in five highly rated network televisions specials. She has appeared onstage with Ray Charles, tom Jones, Kenny Rogers, Bob Hope, George Benson and Ben Vereen. ~Editorial Reviews 

http://www.amazon.com/At-Last-Lynda-Carter/dp/B002656VLO

At Last

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Ahmad Jamal - Saturday Morning

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:20
Size: 143,3 MB
Art: Front + Back

( 4:09)  1. Back To The Future
( 4:34)  2. I'll Always Be With You
(10:22)  3. Saturday Morning
( 4:47)  4. Edith's Cake
( 7:15)  5. The Line
( 6:37)  6. I'm In The Mood For Love
( 4:05)  7. Firefly
( 4:40)  8. Silver
( 5:36)  9. I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good
( 6:29) 10. One (Ahad)
( 3:41) 11. Saturday Morning

"Play like Jamal," Miles Davis told his pianists in the mid 1950s. The trumpeter was not shy about recruiting band leaders or poaching their musicians, so you might suppose he canvassed Jamal. But the pianist maintains Davis never popped the question. Interviewed in 2012, he side-stepped the subject, saying that he was in any case too busy leading his own band to consider offers from Davis or anyone else. "I lived a block and a half from Miles when I moved to New York," Jamal continued. "But we didn't hang out. We had a quality relationship, not a quantity relationship."

In the 1950s, Davis was attracted to Jamal's interpretations of ballad standards which were so prettily romantic that Jamal's detractors considered him little more than a hyped-up cocktail-bar pianist (and, ludicrously, pointed to his popular success as proof of it). Even Whitney Balliett, the generally tuned-in jazz writer on The New Yorker magazine, failed to get him. Lush ballad readings have continued to be the bedrock of Jamal's style, but, as he increasingly added his own compositions to his set lists, visceral ostinatos became another trade mark. There was a time when Davis would likely have embraced those, too.

Both signatures run through Saturday Morning: La Buissonne Studio Sessions, on which Jamal leads the same quartet that helped take the album's immediate predecessor, Blue Moon (Jazz Village, 2012), into many end-of-year best-of lists. Saturday Morning merits a similarly warm reception.

On both discs, the quartet plays a mixture of standards and Jamal originals, with the pianist producing. This time, though, the band recorded in France rather than in New York, and the proportion of originals is a little higher. Those things aside, everything about Saturday Morning is the same as it was on Blue Moon, and before that on A Quiet Time (Dreyfus, 2010)....and before that, on-the-one ostinatos aside, on practically any Jamal album you can name back to But Not For Me: At The Pershing (Chess, 1958). Which is to say, as close to perfect as it gets.

Out of respect and affection, it is customary to write of any octogenarian musician (Jamal is 83) that he is playing with as much vigour as he did as a young man. With Jamal, however, it is the unvarnished truth. If anything, he is playing with more command. There was no need for a percussionist in Jamal's early groups, but Manolo Badrena, who first recorded with Jamal on 1986's Rossiter Road (Atlantic), fits right in today, supporting not driving the leader's more rhythmically intense flights, and adding textural detail and colour to the gentler passages. Jazz has never been more lyrical than it is in Jamal's hands, and Saturday Morning is yet another high water mark in his inspirational career.~ Chris May  

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=45237#.UkSqmRBsidk

Personnel: Ahmad Jamal: piano; Reginald Veal: double bass; Herlin Riley: drums; Manolo Badrena: percussion.

Saturday Morning

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Maria Tecce - Torch Song

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:43
Size: 97,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:03)  1. All Or Nothing At All
(4:52)  2. Christmas Card From A Hooker
(3:54)  3. Someday
(3:14)  4. No One Needs To Know
(3:32)  5. Mi Gran Amor (The Man I Love)
(3:11)  6. Oh,Lady Be Good!
(4:29)  7. Lush Life
(2:58)  8. Lilac Wine
(3:46)  9. Don't Worry 'bout Me
(3:49) 10. One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)
(2:18) 11. Empty Tables
(2:31) 12. The Other Woman

Maria is a Boston-born singer and actress who moved to Ireland around 1996/97 and began performing in Europe not long after. She began her musical work in Ireland as lead singer and percussionist with members of Irish fiddle player and composer Charlie Lennon's music family, Sean and Ailish Lennon, in the Lennon Quintet and performed around Ireland and on television with them for a year or so. She then based herself in Galway and formed 'The Blow-Ins' with ex-Waterboys saxophonist and mandolin player Anto Thistlethwaite, a local band playing mainly acoustic folk and blues in and around Galway. Going more electric, Maria formed 'Ruby Blue' not long after, a jazzy, bluesy, R&B band playing at Galway venues and festivals. Maria began incorporating jazz into her music around this time and it became increasingly prominent in her sets. She put together The Jazz Exiles in 1999 with ex-Pat Dublin-based musicians and the five-piece band began playing small jazz venues around Dublin.  In 2002, Maria landed on her feet in Dublin while still being based in Galway and began gigs in Dublin and the rest of Ireland as she performed with top Irish musicians, like Ritchie, Hugh, and Michael Buckley, and at the prestigious Guinness Cork Jazz Festival, who have invited her back 3 years running. 

Maria quickly became a regular on the jazz scene and considered by many to be Ireland's most respected and promising female vocalist and jazz performer. Not long after, Maria began chasing gigs at larger venues around Dublin and support slots for visiting international artists, such as the likes of Dionne Warwicke, began to come up regularly for her.  Maria was fast becoming a bright and fiery star on the cabaret scene in Ireland as well and her one-woman jazz/cabaret shows have been lauded by critics and entrancing audiences in Europe. Maria wrote "All About Love" for the Dublin Fringe Festival 2002 and was invited to create "Lush Life" especially for the opulent 'Spiegeltent' during the Dublin Theatre Festival 2003. Both shows played to packed houses and marry three of Maria's skills as a performer – acting, singing, and playing, and most impressive is the fact that Maria writes, designs, and produces all her shows herself. Other one-woman shows quickly followed, "Once Upon A Christmas" (2004), "Torch Song" (2004), and "Night & the City" (2005), and her cabaret shows and straight jazz gigs have now headlined venues in Ireland, UK, Europe, and USA, packing venues and receiving rave reviews wherever she goes.  This tour-du-force performer has shared the stage with such diverse names as Dionne Warwicke and the Irish legend Ronnie Drew of 'The Dubliners' fame and these daysn and launched her first album "All About Love" in April 2003. In September 2006, Maria celebrates the launch of her new album, "Torch Song". 

Maria performs an originals/acoustic gig as well which is folk and blues based, reaching back to her own musical roots in the U.S.. Live in-studio versions of two of Maria's original songs, "Go Back Home" and "This Love Is Through", are included on separate CD compilations featuring Grammy Award Winners John Prine, Bella Fleck, and Bruce Mathiske and Irish artists such as Juliet Turner, Damien Rice, David Kitt, Jack L., The 4 Of Us, Kila, and Mary Coughlan. Maria also has a passion for folk songs of other countries in their original languages and has a repertoire of Spanish, Italian, French, and Polish songs that she adds to and performs regularly; her fluency in Spanish definitely helps. (She's working on her Italian and Polish¦). Voice is Maria's first instrument now but it wasn't always. She was a choral accompanist on piano for 3 years, a concert flautist in Boston for 5 years, and has played guitar since she was a child. She also played saxophone in a jazz swing band for 2 years, and plays a plethora of percussion instruments. http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/tecce2

Torch Song

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