Rein De Graaff - Bebop, Ballads & Blues

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 60:40
Size: 138.9 MB
Styles: Mainstream jazz
Year: 1990/2000
Art: Front

[5:21] 1. There's No You
[5:03] 2. Blue Skies
[2:17] 3. Darn That Dream
[3:24] 4. Old Folks
[5:43] 5. Take The A Train
[2:58] 6. Improvisation In Confirmation
[1:43] 7. Goodbye
[3:59] 8. Drifting On A Reed
[5:08] 9. I Waited For You
[4:24] 10. Blue Bossa Samba
[4:15] 11. Little Willie Leaps
[5:29] 12. What Is This Thing Called Love
[4:04] 13. My Old Flame
[6:44] 14. Now Is The Time

Take a listen.Great song selection,swinging interpretations and has some fine Dutch aces like Five Diamonds drummer (and two others joining leader and bassist Hank Havehook (if you can find Five Diamonds Brilliant you'll thank me forever) this CD has one of the least appreciated yet still famous tenors of all time, My Man, Charlie Rouse leaving his beautiful tones on Tenor. A must for the Charlie Rouse completion and a fine example of what has always been a vibrant jazz scene in the Netherlands. Maybe not "Kind Of Blue" or Blue Train" nevertheless it's a very good CD worth getting that a hard bop/post bop fan with appreciation for good rendition of standards will enjoy. Cheers. ~Chazz

Bebop, Ballads & Blues

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Judy Wexler - Easy On The Heart

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 58:10
Size: 133.2 MB
Styles: Vocal
Year: 2005
Art: Front

[5:38] 1. Moment To Moment
[4:39] 2. I'm In Love
[3:19] 3. Humdrum Blues
[4:58] 4. Easy On The Heart
[2:46] 5. Nobody Else But Me
[4:22] 6. In My Life
[4:05] 7. Beautiful Love Gorgeous Creature
[5:20] 8. Tell Him I Said Hello
[5:42] 9. Love Is A Necessary Evil
[4:34] 10. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
[3:16] 11. If You Could Love Me
[5:10] 12. Down Here On The Ground
[4:15] 13. I Got Lost In His Arms

Vocalist Judy Wexler makes her recording debut with Easy on the Heart. Wexler is quickly becoming a staple of the Los Angeles jazz scene and, like many other jazz artists in Southern California, deserving of better recognition. Joining her are other LA jazz stalwarts like saxophonist Bob Sheppard, pianist Alan Pasqua (a former member of Tony Williams' Lifetime), bassist Darek Oles, and trumpeter Steven Campos.

Instead of the usual standards, Wexler does well by choosing some lesser-known jazz songs, as well as a couple of pop tunes. Her assertive, no-frills delivery is a dominant and pleasant feature in her singing, as it focuses our attention on the clear and lucid storytelling. The extras in her style are subtle, delicate, well-timed, purposeful, and a testament to her good taste.

Playful and lovely songs like "Nobody Else But Me" and Oscar Brown Jr.'s "Humdrum Blues" are nicely countered with more morose features like Abbey Lincoln's "I'm in Love" and the album's best piece, "Tell Him I Said Hello." Wexler's forte is jazz, though she delves into pop tunes like the Beatles' "In My Life" and Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right." Both are satisfactory, though they lack the dynamic range of the livelier jazz fare. On the album's final offering, for example, Irving Berlin's "I Got Lost in His Arms," she clearly knows what liberties to take, what lines to stretch and, more importantly, how to enchant us fully.

While this album more than meets any demands of a debut effort, here's hoping time and experience challenge Wexler to greater artistry and individuality. Certainly, as heard on Easy on the Heart, her skills are more than ready for such a project. ~Germein Linares

Judy Wexler: vocals; Alan Pasqua: piano; Darek Oles: bass; Tim Pleasant: drums; Bob Sheppard: sax; Steven Campos: trumpet.

Easy On The Heart

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Janet Planet - Evidence

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:34
Size: 102,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:08)  1. The Apology
(3:07)  2. Love Is (Amor Es)
(3:09)  3. Amor Es (Love Is)
(4:28)  4. Come Just As You Are
(3:50)  5. Prayer
(6:45)  6. Children Go Where I Send Thee
(4:34)  7. Lift Me Up
(4:00)  8. Feeling Of Joy
(4:51)  9. Very Last Day
(5:38) 10. How Great Thou Art

Vocal music with an inspirational message, using stylistic influences of jazz, Latin, R&B and classical. This music was inspired by the good news of Jesus Christ. Using harmonies found mostly in Jazz and classical, the message is transformed. Elevating and uplifting the listener while allowing the message to prevail, the message of; Love, integrity, compassion and forgiveness, but above all Love. http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/JanetPlanet3

Evidence

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New York Voices - A Day Like This

Styles: Jazz, Big Band
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:27
Size: 145,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:28)  1. Darn That Dream
(4:32)  2. Noticing The Moment (Moment's Notice)
(4:29)  3. Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing
(3:43)  4. Stoned Soul Picnic
(4:46)  5. A Day Like This
(4:27)  6. Jackie
(6:06)  7. The World Keeps You Waiting
(5:27)  8. In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning
(4:58)  9. On A Clear Day
(4:01) 10. For All We Know
(4:17) 11. Love You Madly
(4:22) 12. As We Live And Breathe
(4:48) 13. No Moon At All
(3:56) 14. Chamego (Betty's Bossa)

With ensemble vocal jazz, the danger is always that tight and complex harmony writing will come across as too smooth and too sweet for some reason, chords that sound sharp and bracing when distributed among reed instruments can sound cloying and overly slick when sung by human voices. The vocal/instrumental quartet New York Voices don't avoid that trap entirely on their latest album (and their first as an ensemble in seven years), but they continue to demonstrate their mastery of the genre with a solid program of new and old songs and innovative arrangements. Their take on "Darn That Dream" is startlingly new (and features a fine bass clarinet solo by Bob Mintzer), and the lyrics that group members added to John Coltrane's "Moment's Notice" work very nicely. Not everyone will agree that the world needed a vocal jazz version of Laura Nyro's "Stoned Soul Picnic," but the New York Voices' version is really lots of fun and is sure to bring a nostalgic tear to more than one baby-boomer eye. Apart from a couple of saccharine moments on "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning," A Day Like This is a pleasure from start to finish. Recommended. ~ Rick Anderson  http://www.allmusic.com/album/a-day-like-this-mw0000780101

New York Voices: Lauren Kinhan, Peter Eldridge, Kim Nazarian (vocals); Darmon Meader (tenor saxophone).

Additional personnel: Chuck Loeb (guitar); Marty Ashby (acoustic guitar); Gil Goldstein (accordion); Paquito d'Rivera (clarinet); Bob Mintzer (bass clarinet); Jim Guerra (alto saxophone); Eric DeFade (tenor saxophone); Mike Tomaro, Jim Germann (baritone saxophone); Steve McKnight, Bob Matchett, Joe Herndon, Joe Magnarelli, Steve Hawk , Ralph Guzzi (trumpet); Frank Greene (flugelhorn); Jay Ashby, Clayton DeWalt (trombone); Chris Carson (bass trombone); Andy Ezrin (piano); Dave Samuels (vibraphone); Paul Nowinski (acoustic bass); Marcello Pellitteri (drums); Lucas Ashby (pandeiro).

A Day Like This

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Steve Kuhn - Mostly Ballads

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1984
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:02
Size: 100,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:22)  1. Body and Soul
(4:22)  2. Emily
(2:40)  3. Lonely Town
(3:20)  4. Airegin
(2:19)  5. Tennessee Waltz
(2:14)  6. Danny Boy
(5:49)  7. Round Midnight
(3:59)  8. Yesterday's Gardenias
(4:34)  9. Don't Explain
(2:16) 10. How High the Moon
(4:10) 11. Lover Man
(2:53) 12. Two for the Road

For a change of pace, adventurous pianist Steve Kuhn performed a dozen standards (mostly at slower tempos) on this New World release. Half of the selections are duets with bassist Harvie Swartz, while the other songs are unaccompanied piano solos. In addition to such notable tunes as "Body and Soul," "Danny Boy," "'Round Midnight," and "Lover Man," Kuhn cooks a bit on Sonny Rollins' "Airegin." An excellent outing. ~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/mostly-ballads-mw0000188420

Personnel: Steve Kuhn (piano); Harvie Swartz (acoustic bass).

Mostly Ballads & More

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Randy Cate - A Different Kind Of Same

Styles: Vocal, Adult Contemporary
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 33:36
Size: 77,6 MB
Art: Front

(2:42)  1. Don't
(2:26)  2. Lullabies and Long Agos
(3:45)  3. Quite Fire
(3:24)  4. Common Ground
(3:16)  5. I'll Never Remember You're Gone
(3:07)  6. Where the Evening Meets the Sun
(4:05)  7. A Different Kind of Same
(3:43)  8. Tanya Duvall
(3:16)  9. Sad Song Writer
(3:48) 10. No More Sadness

This ain't no 70's disco, no 80's big hair show, if you think times were simpler then you've done too much blow. It's not like we don't have the proof, a broken dreams the living truth and truth is just a lie without a name and a different kind of same.

- A Different Kind of Same is a chronology of disgust with the fact that nothing changes.
- Quiet Fire is the complete opposite, it is about a love that might go right.

In her eyes I'm a jester for the king, a harlequin who would fly if he had wings to the arms that are calling with desire as I lay down beside her in quiet fire. I have always been interested in writing songs that tell stories in a variety of genres. What we have here are 10 different songs by the same writer, Randy Cate. http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=9356502&style=music&fulldesc=T

A Different Kind Of Same

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