David Hazeltine - Modern Standards

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 57:28
Size: 131.6 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 2005
Art: Front

[7:09] 1. Witchcraft
[6:42] 2. A House Is Not A Home
[5:17] 3. Yesterday
[5:23] 4. Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)
[5:58] 5. How Deep Is Your Love
[7:54] 6. Moment To Moment
[6:24] 7. A Time For Love
[5:30] 8. Somewhere
[7:07] 9. For The Love Of You

On this set, pianist David Hazeltine performs songs from the 1960s and '70s. While "Witchcraft," "Who Can I Turn To," "Moment to Moment," "A Time for Love," and "Somewhere" (along with, to a lesser extent, "A House Is Not a Home") have all long ago qualified as jazz standards, the other selections, by the Beatles, the Bee Gees, and the Isley Brothers, are a bit off the wall. However, Hazeltine manages to swing each of them, turning the music into viable devices for his trio. Certainly "How Deep Is Your Love" has never been swung this hard. The overall playing is high quality if conventional, with the repertoire and Hazeltine's inventive solos (along with his close interplay with bassist David Williams and drummer Joe Farnsworth) making this outing stand apart from many of the other current trio recordings. ~ Scott Yanow

Recording information: Systems Two Studios, Brooklyn, NY (12/01/2004).

David Hazeltine (piano); David Williams (double bass); Joe Farnsworth (drums).

Modern Standards

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Allison Adams Tucker - Come With Me

Bitrate: 320K/s

Time: 44:02

Size: 100.8 MB

Styles: Contemporary jazz vocals, World music

Year: 2008

Art: Front

[3:33] 1. World On A String

[3:12] 2. My Funny Valentine/Sakura

[2:50] 3. Blue Skies

[3:08] 4. La Vie En Rose

[4:04] 5. I'll Be Seeing You

[3:10] 6. Rosa

[4:08] 7. You Got Me

[4:36] 8. The Sea

[3:34] 9. Volver

[4:42] 10. You Belong To Me

[2:59] 11. O Barquinho

[3:59] 12. Over The Rainbow

Multi-lingual vocalist Allison Adams Tucker has a passion for world cultures and the communication of music that binds us all. She began singing before she could speak, raised in the home of classically trained musician parents in the Southern California city of San Diego, and has performed in front of audiences since her childhood. Her love for studying languages also began at a young age, and she has gone on to live, study, and sing in 6 languages besides her own. Her travels have taken her to over 12 countries, with a large piece of her heart and her life spent in Japan and Latin America. This "wanderlust" is distinctive in the music she chooses today. Give a listen and come with her on a journey that evokes images of sounds, generations, and lands both distant and in our own backyard.

"Come With Me" is Allison's debut release and includes an eclectic mix of swing, ballads, gypsy jazz, and Latin rhythms with a global celebration of songs from Japan, France, Argentina, Brazil, and the U.S.

Recorded and engineered by Peter Sprague at SpragueLand Studios - San Diego, CA.

Featuring: Kamau Kenyatta, piano/arrangement (Hubert Laws, Earl Klugh, Patti Austin) - Peter Sprague, guitar (Chick Corea, Dianne Reeves, David Benoit, Sergio Mendes) - Derek Cannon, trumpet (Natalie Cole, The Four Tops, The Temptations) - Evona Wascinski, bass - Dylan Savage, drums - Fabio Oliveira, percussion - Louisa West, flute - Reiko Obata, Japanese koto harp - Ray Suen, violin - Patrick Berrogain, French guitar - Danny Green.

Come With Me

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John Cocuzzi Quintet - Swingin' And Burnin'

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 65:59
Size: 151.1 MB
Styles: Swing, Straight ahead jazz
Year: 2000
Art: Front

[3:39] 1. Benny's Bugle
[6:48] 2. Broadway
[5:11] 3. What Did I Do To Be So Black And Blue?
[6:48] 4. Things Ain't What They Used To Be
[5:18] 5. Crazy 'bout My Baby
[4:27] 6. Slipped Disc
[6:39] 7. Cheek To Cheek
[3:23] 8. You're Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You
[6:07] 9. I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance With You
[4:23] 10. Oh, Lady Be Good
[3:44] 11. The Curse Of An Aching Heart
[4:52] 12. Comes Love
[4:34] 13. 'tis Autumn

John Cocuzzi is a versatile, talented multi-instrumentalist jazz musician who, with his quintet, stretches out for an entertaining 60 minutes-plus of solid, straight ahead jazz on this very good album. A Washington, D.C. native, Cocuzzi gained an appreciation of jazz at an early age listening to his record collection and to his father, who was a percussionist with the U.S. Marine Band. Initially studying piano and then drums after hearing Lionel Hampton, vibes were added to his arsenal of instruments. Swingin' and Burnin' revisits the small group swing of the '30s and '40s popularized by Benny Goodman, Hampton, Artie Shaw, and others. Cocuzzi adds his own flavor along with some artful arrangements to such warhorses from the past as "Slipped Disc," "Benny's Bugle," and "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You." On the latter, Cocuzzi shows off his vocal skills along with a boogie woogie piano. "Broadway" epitomizes the adroit swinging of the quintet, with each member of the group getting a chance to show their wares during the seven minutes they devote to this Teddy McRae/Bill Bird melody. The New Orleans idiom is represented on the CD as well with "What Did I Do to Be So Black and Blue?" This tune, a favorite of Louis Armstrong, is done slow drag featuring muted vibes' mallet by Cocuzzi working with a very soulful clarinet by Allan Vaché. This track is one of the highlights of the album. This session is in no way limited to up beat "swingin' and burnin'" pieces. There's some pretty slow stuff here as well. "Ghost of A Chance" features electrically enhanced Cocuzzi vibes, coupled with some imaginative bass by John Previti. "Cheek to Cheek" belongs to veteran Washington D.C. guitar player, Steve Abshire. Abshire, who has graced the albums of jazz diva Ronnie Wells, plays in a calm, flowing fashion bringing out the best this lovely melody has to offer. "Things Ain't What They Used to Be', another slow piece, spotlights a bluesy Cocuzzi piano with Big John Maher's drums laying a solid foundation. Vaché and Cocuzzi, on clarinet and vibes respectively, combine on a striking"Comes Love" with Vaché's impulsive and sometimes wailing clarinet recalling Artie Shaw's 1949 rendition. The album's coda brings Cocuzzi's cheerful voice to the mike again in a pretty rendition of "'Tis Autumn" accompanying himself on the piano and showing a romantic side with the ivories. This is an agreeable ending to a highly recommended album. ~ Dave Nathan

Recorded at Mapleshade Studio, Upper Marlboro, Maryland on July 12 & 13, 1999.

John Cocuzzi (vocals, vibraphone, piano); Allan Vache (clarinet); Steve Abshire (electric guitar); John Previti (bass); Big Joe Maher (drums).

Swingin' And Burnin'

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Karen Gallinger - Live At The Jazz Bakery

Styles: Vocal, Jazz
Year: 1994
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:57
Size: 116,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:59)  1. Softly As In A Morning Sunrise
(3:53)  2. Long Ago And Far Away
(5:15)  3. Makin' Whoopee
(7:16)  4. The Song Is You
(5:34)  5. Lost In The Stars
(5:52)  6. Estate (In Summer)
(4:13)  7. It Could Happen To You
(4:20)  8. Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me
(5:34)  9. So Many Stars
(4:56) 10. Scrapple From The Apple

One of Southern California's more active jazz singers, Karen Gallinger makes her recording debut with a live performance at the famous jazz watering hole, the Jazz Bakery. The "active" as it applies to Gallinger means not only the number of gigs she plays, but the way she prances on this album. Upbeat, loose, and definitely hip, Gallinger shines as she delivers a play list of ten tunes, mostly familiar standards she infects with a large dose of freshness. The centerpiece is a seven-minute romping of "The Song Is You." 

Not only does Gallinger take this tune on a hair-raising vocal roller coaster ride, it's also one of the frequent occasions where the fine rhythm section of Jack Reidling, Tom Warrington, and Joe LaBarbera are given the freedom to express themselves. Their playing is important to making this CD as attractive as it is. While the temperature cools down on such tunes as "Estaté," Gallinger's husky, smoky voice still pulsates, here adding a touch of sensuality to help capture the picture of sultry summer this tune creates. Most of the time, Gallinger and her cohorts are moving along at a speedy pace. Gallinger manages to sing up-tempo while keeping her precise diction intact, no slurring of words here. It's also here and elsewhere that Gallinger makes apparent she is well-versed in the importance of selectively using her scatting skills to make a musical point without drowning the tune. The most emotional moment on the session is a poignant rendition of "Lost in the Stars," where Gallinger uses the full force of her vocal skills for her emotional reading, which she dedicates to a friend in need. This album is an excellent first effort by a very talented vocalist. ~Dave Nathan   http://www.allmusic.com/album/live-at-the-jazz-bakery-mw0000126138

Live At The Jazz Bakery

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Beata Pater - Golden Lady

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:32
Size: 126,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:56)  1. Wild Is the Wind
(6:33)  2. The Day It Rained
(4:29)  3. Turned to Blue
(3:33)  4. Save Your Love for Me
(3:00)  5. I Don't Remember Ever Growing Up
(5:30)  6. I Live to Love You
(6:03)  7. This Is All I Ask
(5:29)  8. Golden Lady
(5:52)  9. If You Went Away
(5:27) 10. Someone to Light Up My Life
(3:35) 11. A Little Tear

This is an album created by a uniquely formed jazz trio whose artistic chemistry surpasses cultural distinctions, led by vocalist Beata Pater whose international jazz career earned her a CBS/Sony recording contract during her ten years in Japan.
It was twenty-five years ago on one of the rare day’s that Beata wasn’t performing or traveling Japan that she serendipitously met pianist Hiromu Aoki. Arduously searching for the right pianist to complete her trio  after finding Serbian-born acoustic bass player Buca Necak  she decided to visit a jazz club in her then hometown of Yokohama. It was here that Beata heard a performance by pianist Hiromu Aoki for the very first time. “Immediately I knew he was ‘the one’,” Beata recalls. Instantly drawn to the pianist, she introduced herself after the performance, eagerly convincing him to take the hour’s drive with her into Tokyo to hear the acoustic bass player perform, in spite of them being strangers.

After Aoki heard Buca’s performance, they instantly fell in love with each other’s artistry, as all three perfectly clicked. “Trying to form a band with the [right] chemistry where everyone’s ‘on purpose’,” as Beata explains, “is difficult and contingent on musicianship and style.” That was the night this musical partnership began, continuing to this day - their musical acquaintance over twenty-five years is a natural connection that ignites each time they perform.  http://www.beatapater.com/album/goldenlady/

Golden Lady

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Michael Davis - Tango Bossa

Styles: Jazz, Bossa Nova
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:40
Size: 90,0 MB
Art: Front

(2:14)  1. The Conversation
(3:51)  2. Mambo Alice
(3:58)  3. Simple Smooth
(4:11)  4. The Little Rumba
(5:07)  5. Not Now
(4:06)  6. Romance and Time
(2:22)  7. I Think of You
(4:57)  8. Tango Bossa
(3:16)  9. Paris Nights
(4:33) 10. Samba De Romance

A creative mixture of instrumental Brazilian Jazz, Spanish jazz (tangos and rumbas), and smooth jazz. Original music with a fresh twist of hip harmonic, melodic and rhythmic surprises. Featuring the 7 string guitar in solo, trio and quartet sounds.

“I am a full time guitarist/composer. I write a creative mixture of instrumental Brazilian Jazz, Spanish jazz (tangos and rumbas), smooth jazz and much more. Original music with a fresh twist of hip harmonic, melodic and rhythmic surprises. Featuring the 7 string guitar in solo, trio and quartet sounds.

One of my original compositions, A WARM SMILE, (solo 7 string classical guitar) is featured in Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine, issue 68 (a nationally published magazine). The Warm Smile CD can be purchased at this site.

I write for solo electric and nylon string guitar and small ensembles (bass, keyboard and percussion. I am currently writing rumbas, tangos and smooth jazz with a fresh new sound of harmony and melody. I have recently started a TV/Movie sound track writing company. See my website for details.“

 ~ Michael Davis  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/michaeldavis6

Tango Bossa

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Mike Field - Rush Mode

Styles: Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:30
Size: 108,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:33)  1. Rush Mode
(5:36)  2. Play for You
(5:12)  3. El Sótano
(6:23)  4. Red Eye Blues
(5:37)  5. Intersection
(6:01)  6. The Last of the Summer Days
(5:57)  7. Arizona Avenue
(4:04)  8. Balkan Swing
(4:04)  9. Streets of Santa Monica

The beauty of The Rex is that it’s very cleverly advertised, but not in the way of overt messaging. Rather, its allure lies in the cracked open window that aurally seduces passers-by with its whispers of jazzy music built upon years of promise. And once you resigned yourself to another temptation, you would have been treated to ocher-painted walls and a chandelier giving the stage a warm glow. The only thing missing were the ashtrays and smoky air, rendered obsolete by law.

On Oct. 6, 2013, trumpeter Mike Field was the latest fare to taste, giving jazz fans a wide open look at his latest CD, Rush Mode. Dressed in an open white shirt, single-breasted black jacket and slim fit pinstriped slacks, Field had the crowd eating out of his hand. It was evident that most of the crowd hadn’t just wandered in off the street that night, with the place so filled you could only find a seat or two if you didn’t mind being separated from your pack.

Field’s music selection was so varied and interesting, it was nigh impossible to remember one song as standing above another. “Attic Jump”, a peppy tune, featured Field playing his trumpet bright and snappily the way a good jazz trumpet should sound. It’s easy to lose yourself in jazz and forget how inherently difficult playing it can actually be, and a good musician keeps it that way for the entire song. When Field and Metcalfe worked together in combination, each snapping out individual notes that together created a seamless melody, Field had reached his mark.  http://www.mikefieldjazz.com/blog/item/117-rush-mode-cd-release-concert-review-in-the-examiner

Rush Mode

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