Friday, April 11, 2014

Joscho Stephan - Swing News

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 52:12
Size: 122.3 MB
Styles: Gypsy jazz
Year: 2001
Art: Front

[3:25] 1. Swing News
[3:03] 2. I'll See You In My Dreams
[2:18] 3. I've Had My Moments
[4:20] 4. Caravan
[2:16] 5. Les Yeux Noirs
[2:25] 6. Crazy Valse
[2:38] 7. All Of Me
[4:25] 8. Sweet Georgia Brown
[2:45] 9. China Boy
[3:42] 10. Body And Soul
[4:04] 11. Mocca
[2:13] 12. Stompin' At Decca
[2:55] 13. Sweet Sue
[3:52] 14. November Night
[3:00] 15. Dinah
[4:43] 16. Black Orpheus

German Gypsy prodigy Joscho Stephan set the Gypsy jazz world alight with his debut album, 1999’s Swinging Strings. The CD was dazzling in its fresh playing, handful of original compositions, and the fact that the whole album was a collection of first takes. Stephan’s second CD was eagerly awaited. This new disc has its highlights as well as its letdowns. After proving that he can play guitar on his first album, Stephan now appears to want to see how fast he can play it. Some of the songs here are machine-gun melodies that lose any sense of musicality, like the breakneck version of Les Yeux Noirs that is largely a medley of every other Gypsy Jazz guitarist’s best solos and clichéd licks. Other cuts are downright bizarre in their choice of stylings. The version of Sweet Georgia Brown features a slapped electric bass solo that would be more at home on a George Clinton Funkadelic album. It’s downright strange. And then there is Stephan’s version of Caravan that is ethereal in its beauty—and worth the cost of the CD alone. Stephan can obviously play guitar with the best of them. He also has an original style when he works at being himself and not aping Django Reinhardt or the other masters. And ultimately the highlights here outshine the oddities. It will be interesting to see what Stephan chooses to do on his next album. —Michael Dregni

Swing News

Shirley Horn - I Remember Miles

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 53:05
Size: 121.5 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 1998
Art: Front

[ 5:34] 1. My Funny Valentine
[ 5:40] 2. I Fall In Love Too Easily
[ 4:59] 3. Summertime
[ 7:23] 4. Baby, Won't You Please Come Home
[ 3:39] 5. This Hotel
[ 3:39] 6. I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'
[ 5:30] 7. Basin St. Blues
[10:39] 8. My Man's Gone Now
[ 5:59] 9. Blue In Green

No thanks to the paucity of musical genius in the latter half of the 1990s, tribute albums to the departed just kept pouring forth, although in Shirley Horn's case, she was repaying an old personal debt to her subject. After all, it was Miles Davis who originally got Horn out of D.C. in 1960 as his opening act at the Village Vanguard and contributed his trumpet to one of her comeback albums (1990's You Won't Forget Me). Not only that, Horn's understated, laconic, deceptively casual ballad manner is a natural fit for the brooding Miles persona, and she doesn't have to change a thing in this relaxed, wistfully sung, solidly played collection. She doesn't actually perform any Davis compositions; everything here consists of standards that Miles covered or transformed in the 1950s, including three numbers from Porgy and Bess. Roy Hargrove adds his effective muted Miles imitations on "I Fall In Love Too Fast" and open flurries on "I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'"; and Toots Thielemans makes like a long, lonesome train whistle on "Summertime." Former Davis cohorts Ron Carter and Al Foster join the rhythm section in a remarkably searching, extended "My Man's Gone Now," the only track which takes note of the electric music that consumed so much of Miles' output (in this case, inspired by the We Want Miles version, not the more familiar Gil Evans interpretation). In a sad way, the very idea of a Miles tribute is an oxymoronic denial of the ever-restless spirit of this genius who didn't believe in looking backwards. But Shirley Horn certainly serves the man's sensitive side well. ~Richard S. Ginnell

I Remember Miles

Jimmy Raney - In Three Attitudes

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 73:14
Size: 167.6 MB
Styles: Guitar jazz
Year: 2011
Art: Front

[5:35] 1. So In Love
[4:27] 2. Indian Summer
[3:59] 3. Fanfare
[5:17] 4. Last Night When We Were Young
[4:58] 5. On The Rocks
[4:12] 6. Passport To Pimlico
[4:51] 7. Strike Up The Band
[5:17] 8. Up In Quincy's Room
[4:05] 9. Isn't It Romantic
[4:30] 10. How Long Has This Been Going On
[4:19] 11. No Male For Me
[4:10] 12. The Flag Is Up
[4:10] 13. Get Off That Roof
[4:02] 14. Jim's Tune
[4:57] 15. No One But Me
[4:16] 16. Too Late Now

Two of Jimmy Raney's most remarkable albums make up this set. The performances on the first feature Bob Brookmeyer, Al Cohn, and Red Mitchell, all felicitous choices, since, in addition to being compatible and inventive soloists, their presence adds to the tonal palette and avoids the similarity in tonal color of most guitar records. But Raney also shows that his superiority in the quick, alert swinging of the up tempo tunes is balanced by his lyric work on the ballads. For the second album he teamed up once again with Brookmeyer, adding Osie Johnson, Teddy Kotick, adding pianists Dick Katz and Hank Jones, who combine taste and imagination with swinging time, on four tunes each. Among the several virtues of this quality example of the art of improvisation on relatively challenging thematic-and-chordal structures is the lucidity and logic with which all here approach, develop, and round off their solos. And, as with all of Raney's work, the music is polished, coherent and formidably well conceived and performed.

In Three Attitudes

Holly Shelton - Errand Girl for Rhythm

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:33
Size: 87,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:32)  1. I'm an Errand Girl for Rhythm
(5:18)  2. When October Goes
(3:09)  3. Why Don't You Do Right?
(4:48)  4. Sophisticated Lady
(3:46)  5. The Frim Fram Sauce
(3:06)  6. Beale Street Blues
(3:22)  7. Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out
(3:49)  8. Guess Who I Saw Today
(3:33)  9. The Rose Of Washington Square
(3:04) 10. Some Other Time

Rave reviews and repeat engagements are the norm for this six-foot tall beauty. Holly studied piano, guitar, violin, and ballet, earned a BFA in Theatre Performance, practices Pilates, and has totally mastered the art of Singer/Entertainer. She can turn on her southern charm, the ditsy humor displayed in “Jeopardy” TV commercials, the tasty touch of a Heinz Ketchup spot, the great body displayed in Clint Eastwood’s “Heartbreak Ridge”, the mellifluous voice on a nostalgic Bob Hope show, and the spell binding virtuosity that captivates everyone within earshot  all the while moving like satin from table to table, turning heads, and winning hearts. Based for several years at the 4-Diamond Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach, Alabama, she is in demand at jazz festivals, cabaret venues, organizational gatherings, et al. Stunning shows and costume accessories pizzazz the act and punctuate her versatility. From Memphis to Morocco to the Mediterranean, whether accompanied by piano alone, or with her eclectic group of exciting musicians, every event becomes special indeed. Audiences tap their toes and enthusiastically clap their toes for Holly. ~ Bio  http://www.last.fm/music/Holly+Shelton/+wiki

Personnel: Holly Shelton (vocals); Tim Jackson (flugelhorn, trombone, tuba); John Wynn (drums).

Al Cohn - Play It Now

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:47
Size: 92,5 MB
Art: Front

(6:08)  1. You're My Everything
(9:47)  2. Lover
(5:00)  3. Play It Now
(6:56)  4. Irresistable You
(6:16)  5. Georgia on My Mind
(5:39)  6. It's Sand, Man

Tenor saxophonist Al Cohn did some of his finest playing during his period (1975-80) with Xanadu. For this quartet set, Cohn is ably backed by the great bop pianist Barry Harris, bassist Larry Ridley and drummer Alan Dawson. Cohn, who had spent much of his career as a successful arranger/composer, contributed only one of the six numbers ("Play It Now") on the album and was content to jam spiritedly on such tunes as "Lover," "Irresistible You" and "It's Sand, Man." ~ Scott Yanow   
http://www.allmusic.com/album/play-it-now-mw0000897852.

Personnel:  Al Cohn tenor sax, Barry Harris piano, Larry Ridley bass, Alan Dawson drums

Play It Now

Martina McBride - Everlasting

Styles: Country
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:25
Size: 112,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:33)  1. Do Right Woman, Do Right Man
(3:51)  2. Suspicious Minds
(3:32)  3. If You Don't Know Me By Now
(2:20)  4. Little Bit of Rain
(3:34)  5. Bring It on Home to Me (feat. Gavin DeGraw)
(2:58)  6. Come See About Me
(3:51)  7. What Becomes of the Brokenhearted
(3:48)  8. I've Been Loving You Too Long
(3:06)  9. Wild Night
(2:39) 10. In the Basement (feat. Kelly Clarkson)
(3:09) 11. My Babe
(2:42) 12. To Know Him Is to Love Him
(4:48) 13. By Your Side (Bonus Track)
(4:28) 14. Perfect (Bonus Track)

Contemporary country singer Martina McBride rose to stardom in the late '90s, starting out with a more traditionalist approach and later moving into more pop-friendly territory. She was born Martina Mariea Schiff in 1966 in Medicine Lodge, Kansas, and discovered country music through her father, who led a local band called the Schifters. By her teen years, she was singing and playing keyboards with the Schifters, and after high school she gigged around Kansas with several different bands. She married soundman John McBride, and in 1990 the couple moved to Nashville, where John worked for artists like Charlie Daniels and Ricky Van Shelton. Martina, meanwhile, worked as a demo singer and enlisted her husband to produce her demo tape, which got her signed to RCA in 1991. Around the same time, John was hired as Garth Brooks' production manager, which helped land Martina an opening slot on tour with Brooks.  Her debut album, The Time Has Come, was released in 1992, offering a set of songs indebted to traditional honky tonk and progressive-minded country-folk. The pop-inflected 1993 follow-up, The Way That I Am, was her commercial breakthrough, with the lead single "My Baby Loves Me" zooming up the country charts to the number two position. The affecting story-song "Independence Day" became something of a signature number, and another single, "Life #9," also reached the Top Ten. 

McBride's 1995 follow-up, Wild Angels, gave her a second Top Five hit in "Safe in the Arms of Love," and its title track became her first-ever number one single. Released in 1997, Evolution became her first Top Ten country album, and the Jim Brickman duet "Valentine" not only went Top Ten, but crossed over to become her first big hit on the adult contemporary charts. Evolution went on to spawn two number two hits ("Happy Girl" and "Whatever You Say") and two number one hits ("A Broken Wing" and "Wrong Again"), and sold over two million copies, launching McBride into the top rank of country stardom. She issued a Christmas album in late 1998 and returned with a proper follow-up, Emotion, in 1999. Its lead single, "I Love You," hit number one on the country charts and also crossed over to adult contemporary radio, and the follow-ups "Love's the Only House," "There You Are," and "It's My Time" were all successful as well (the first two also reached the Top Ten).  The Greatest Hits compilation released in 2001 was the first McBride album to top the country charts, and sold well enough to make the pop Top Five as well. It contained four new tracks, all of which were eventually released as singles; "Blessed" hit number one, and "When God-Fearin' Women Get the Blues" and "Where Would You Be" both reached the Top Ten. The self-titled Martina from 2003 celebrated womanhood, while 2005's Timeless was a collection of country classics; both became Top Ten album hits, the latter reaching number three. Waking Up Laughing appeared in 2007 from RCA Records. The CD/DVD set Live in Concert was issued in 2008, followed by Shine in 2009 from RCA. McBride next moved to the Republic Nashville label, which released her 11th studio album, the aptly named Eleven, in 2011. Returning to the studio at the end of 2013, McBride started recording her 12th album, 2014's Everlasting. Produced by Don Was, Everlasting was a departure that found McBride singing mainly soul and R&B covers, including Aretha Franklin's "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" and the Supremes' "Come See About Me," and featured a duet with Kelly Clarkson on Etta James' "In the Basement."~Bio https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/martina-mcbride/id215278#fullText

Marty Grosz & Orphan Newsboys - Rhythm For Sale

Styles: New Orleans Jazz Revival
Year: 1996
File: MP3@224K/s
Time: 67:35
Size: 109,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:07)  1. Rhythm For Sale
(4:17)  2. Satan Takes A Holiday
(3:20)  3. Miss Annabelle Lee
(5:39)  4. Del Mar Drag
(4:05)  5. In A Little Spanish Town
(4:35)  6. Up Jumped You With Love
(4:33)  7. Rose Fo The Rio Grande
(4:35)  8. Ready For The River
(4:14)  9. Twenty-Four Hours A Day
(3:42) 10. Happy Feet
(5:04) 11. I Found A Million-Dollar Baby
(4:10) 12. I Love You
(3:21) 13. Let Yourself Go
(4:30) 14. Popinjay
(3:18) 15. One, Two, Button Your Shoe
(3:59) 16. Make Believe

Guitarist/vocalist Marty Grosz made a long string of rewarding and very enjoyable recordings for Jazzology throughout the 1990s. This particular CD features him in six settings from three different occasions, playing in settings ranging from a quartet to an octet. Ranging from classic jazz to small-group swing, the music features such notable players as cornetist Peter Ecklund, Dan Block (on alto and clarinet), clarinetist Bobby Gordon, Scott Robinson on reeds and pianist Keith Ingham among others. Grosz, who takes vocals on five of the 16 numbers, sounds typically joyful as he leads the troops through such numbers as "Satan Takes a Holiday," "Miss Annabelle Lee," "Happy Feet," "Let Yourself Go" and "Make Believe." Easily recommended to pre-bop jazz collectors. ~ Scott Yanow   http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-rhythm-for-sale-mw0000727953.

Personnel: Marty Grosz (vocals, guitar); Peter Ecklund (whistling, cornet); Jack Stuckey (clarinet, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone); Daniel Block (clarinet, alto saxophone); Bobby Gordon (clarinet); Scott Robinson (alto clarinet, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Vince Giordano (bass saxophone); Pierre Calligaris (piano); Keith Ingham (celesta); Hal Smith , Arnie Kinsella (drums).

Rhythm For Sale