Saturday, May 3, 2014

Kenny Burrell - I'll Close My Eyes

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 49:08
Size: 112.5 MB
Styles: Guitar jazz
Year: 2014
Art: Front

[ 4:46] 1. Close Your Eyes
[12:23] 2. This Way
[ 4:03] 3. Dead Heat
[ 5:10] 4. Pivot
[ 9:27] 5. Little Melonae
[ 4:30] 6. Out Of Nowhere
[ 8:47] 7. Blue Duke

After 40 years as a jazz professional, appearing on several hundred albums as leader and sideman, Kenny Burrell is among the handful of guitar greats who have forever changed the role of their instrument.

Staunch musical integrity and discriminate taste coupled with matchless technique have made the guitarist nonpareil among his peers. "My goal is to play with good tone, good phrasing and to swing," says Burrell, "I strive for honesty in playing what I feel."

"Master instrumentalist and composer," "virtuoso," "historic figure of American guitar." "Ellington's favorite guitar player" - this is a typical sampling of the critical praise routinely bestowed on Burrell, who pioneered the guitar-led trio with bass and drums in the late Fifties. Although he has since worked in countless other formats, from big band to three guitars plus rhythm to solo, he has remained constant in his quest to get the most out of a natural, low-volume, acoustic sound. "My audience has developed so that they come to listen and are quiet," he explains. "Thus I can work in a limited volume range and explore all the subtleties that can happen, which is my favorite part of the music."

I'll Close My Eyes

Lorraine Feather - Language

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 44:25
Size: 101.7 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 2008
Art: Front

[4:12] 1. Traffic And Weather
[3:40] 2. We Appreciate Your Patience
[4:29] 3. Very Unbecoming
[3:56] 4. I Love New York At Christmas
[5:02] 5. Home Alone
[2:24] 6. Hit The Ground Runnin'
[4:12] 7. Where Are My Keys
[3:52] 8. In Flower
[4:02] 9. Waiting Tables
[4:34] 10. A Household Name
[3:58] 11. Making It Up As We Go Along

Over her mere seven-album discography, Lorraine Feather has carved out a fulfilling career as a jazz singer far outdistancing many one-shots, far less talented but successful pop-jazz vocalists, and wannabes. Her talent as a lyricist of wit, sarcasm, and keen observations of the American human condition is her true strength, and not always as acknowledged as her verbal chops and inventiveness. Her language goes beyond the nomenclatures of swing, bop, and contemporary improvisation, as Feather exploits many literary references and well-worn phraseology from various acumens, and keeps the proceedings upbeat and interactive between her words and the musical notes offered by her excellent confreres. Pianist Shelly Berg is closest to Feather as a collaborator, writing the music for Feather's cleverest lyrics. The quick, lithe, bouncy, and brisk "Traffic and Weather" relates to Bay Area commuter congestion, climatological issues, or references to inseparable pairings, and "We Appreciate Your Patience," with a cynical, animated take on annoying automated answering services, teams Feather and Berg in multilevel harmonic and whimsical refrains. Feather is fond of stringing worn-out clichés together, as on "Patience," but is in an especially sharp mood about trite multiple sports adages on the bopper "Hit the Ground Runnin'," featuring a furious Russell Ferrante on piano, and tells the all too familiar thoughts-racing, mouse-on-a-treadmill tale of "Where Are My Keys?," turning a dilemma into fun. Also skillful, aside from their lyric content, are her instrumental ideas, like using a horn section and a drummer only on the sassy tale of a career dilemma "Waiting Tables," or the slinky, bluesy Duke Ellington-like "A Household Name," debunking stardom and alerting you to the pitfalls of the celebrity trap. Feather can also be sentimental, as on her romanticized Billy Strayhorn waltz tribute "In Flower," the melancholy "I Love New York at Christmas," and her most languid, evocative tune, "Making It Up as We Go Along." She is rarely self-conscious or insular, but Ferrante's modal two-chord piano prop-up during "Home Alone" keeps Feather's possible dour mood in check, although she can't help being doting on "Very Unbecoming." On occasion, vocalists Tierney Sutton, Janis Siegel, and Cheryl Bentyne enter in supportive vocal cameos. This may very well be Lorraine Feather's best effort, certainly the one where collaboration is the key, and statements on our disposable, technology-driven, time-consuming society had to be made. Bravo Lorraine, and hang in there! ~ Michael G. Nastos

Recording information: Entourage; Visual Rhythm.

Lorraine Feather (vocals); Janis Siegel (vocals, background vocals); Grant Geissman (guitar); Greg "Frosty" Smith (saxophone); Willie Murillo, Gary Grant (trumpet); Andy Martin (trombone); Michael Lang , Russell Ferrante, Shelly Berg (piano); Michael Valerio (bass guitar); Gregg Field, Michael Shapiro (drums, percussion); Cheryl Bentyne, Tierney Sutton (background vocals). Audio Mixer: Carlos Del Rosario.

Language

Blue Harlem - Me And My Radio

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 46:28
Size: 106.4 MB
Styles: Jump blues, Swing
Year: 2011
Art: Front

[4:00] 1. Ain't Misbehavin'
[3:02] 2. Reelin' & Rockin'
[3:47] 3. Hound Dog
[3:31] 4. Angel City Blues
[2:54] 5. Blue Jean Shuffle
[3:11] 6. I Put A Spell On You
[2:17] 7. Give Me Time To Explain
[4:32] 8. For You My Love
[3:29] 9. The King
[3:41] 10. What A Fool I Was
[2:38] 11. Teardrops From My Eyes
[4:56] 12. Harlem Nocturne
[3:38] 13. On Revival Day
[0:46] 14. On Revival Day (Reprise)

This is the sixth release from Blues and Swing Maestros Blue Harlem and the second to feature fabulous songstress Sophie Shaw.

Me And My Radio

Marlena Studer - Crazy He Calls Me...

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:50
Size: 131,9 MB
Art: Front

(3:56)  1. I'll Remember You
(4:11)  2. Every Time We Say Goodbye
(3:45)  3. Blue Skies
(4:51)  4. Come Rain Or Come Shine
(5:15)  5. Besame Mucho
(4:28)  6. I've Got You Under My Skin
(5:58)  7. You Go To My Head
(6:06)  8. Summertime
(4:29)  9. But Not For Me
(3:24) 10. Cheek To Cheek
(5:31) 11. Cry Me A River
(4:53) 12. Crazy He Calls Me

Over the years, I have sung in a number of venues but it wasn't until I spent ten years in New Orleans that a passion for jazz got into my blood.  While doing my "day gig" as Sociology Professor at Tulane University, I was invited to sing with the big band, Jubilation! and I was hooked.  My appetite for performing jazz standards has grown exponentially since then. I have had opportunities to sing with several bands since then, in Washington DC and Ann Arbor.  After a move to Michigan in 2001, I took a plunge into entrepreneurship and developed my own wine label, Solterra. Also, I began to pursue my dream of producing my own musical recording.  I had the great fortune of joining the Cliff Monear Trio, a terrific jazz trio headed by Cliff Monear, a superbly gifted jazz pianist, along with Nick Calandro (bass)  and Scott Kretzer (drums).  I poured my heart into the CD, "Crazy He Calls Me" striving to make the words count and the moods linger in a selection of timeless tunes that I am "crazy" about.     
~ Bio  http://www.marlenastuder.com/BIO

Adrian Raso & Fanfare Ciocarlia - Devil's Tale

Styles: Guitar Jazz, Swing
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:55
Size: 94,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:06)  1. Urn St. Tavern
(3:10)  2. Swing Sagarese
(4:27)  3. The Absinthe-Minded Gypsy
(2:46)  4. C'est La Vie
(2:39)  5. Quattro Cicci
(2:53)  6. Charlatan's Waltz
(2:53)  7. Devil's Tale
(3:11)  8. Leezard's Lament
(3:16)  9. Cafe Con Leche
(3:34) 10. Spiritissimo
(3:47) 11. Birelli's Waltz
(4:07) 12. Django

Balkan brass bands, who compete fiercely among themselves, are prone to blow away anyone who comes near. Credit, then, to Toronto guitarist Adrian Raso, who has tamed Romania's Fanfare Ciocarlia for a winning collaboration rooted in the "Gypsy swing" of Django Reinhardt. Raso is an eclectic talent; the title track carries the twang of electric surf guitar, the languid Leezard's Lament finds him improvising on banjo, and Spiritissimo dips into flamenco flavours. The 12-piece band are splendidly restrained, swelling gently behind waltzes, contributing accordion and clarinet and only occasionally ripping into their trademark supercharged intricacy. All instrumental and all delightful.     ~ Neil Spencer   http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jan/05/adrian-raso-fanfare-ciocarlia-devils-tale-review

Personnel: Adrian Raso (guitar, banjo, electric bass); Costica "Cimai" Trifan (vocals, trumpet); Oprica Ivancea (clarinet, alto saxophone); Daniel Ivancea (alto saxophone); Paul Marian Bulgaru, Trifan Craciun, Radulescu Lazar (trumpet); Monel "Gutzel" Grifan, Constantin "Pinca" Cantea (tuba); Laurentiu Mihai Ivancea (baritone horn); Constantin "Sulo" Calin (tenor horn); Costel "Gisniaca" Ursu (drums); Nicolae Ionita (percussion).

Scott Hamilton - Tenorshoes

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1979
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:59
Size: 96,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:46)  1. I Should Care
(4:34)  2. Falling In Love With Love
(6:35)  3. The Shadow Of Your Smile
(5:23)  4. The Nearness Of You
(4:46)  5. How High The Moon
(5:34)  6. Our Delight
(6:06)  7. My Foolish Heart
(4:11)  8. O.K.

Tenor saxophonist Scott Hamilton (who can be overly relaxed and comfortable at times) often sounds at his most heated when playing with pianist Dave McKenna, and all of their collaborations are easily recommended. This Hamilton-McKenna effort with bassist Phil Flanigan and drummer Jeff Hamilton mostly emphasizes ballads (although sometimes at medium tempos), plus a cooking version of "How High the Moon" and Hamilton's original "O.K." A typically swinging and consistent Scott Hamilton record which has been reissued on CD. ~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/tenorshoes-mw0000654981

Personnel: Scott Hamilton (tenor saxophone); Dave McKenna (piano); Phil Flanigan (bass); Jeff Hamilton (drums).