Buddy Rich - No Funny Hats

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 44:18
Size: 101.4 MB
Styles: Big band
Year: 2004
Art: Front

[ 0:08] 1. Intro
[10:27] 2. Grand Concourse
[ 4:00] 3. Bugle Call Rag
[ 7:52] 4. Tales Of Rhoda Rat
[ 6:29] 5. Slow Funk
[ 5:47] 6. Someday My Prince Will Come
[ 9:32] 7. West Side Story Suite

Musically, as he seemed to be in life, Buddy Rich was practically bulletproof. For that reason, Lightyear's recent release of this 1978 performance is really beyond criticism, and for Rich fans, a newly issued live recording is cause for celebration. Regardless, this set is as representative of the power and authority of the drummer and his band in prime form as anything else in his catalog.

The level of performance Rich demanded of his bands and himself is legendary, so it's expected that the performances captured here would be impossibly strong, and they most certainly are, yet No Funny Hats stands out amongst the other mid/late-'70s BR band recordings. A particularly tight ensemble, a thematically well-balanced set, and excellent recording quality are the reasons. That last attribute is certainly a welcome aspect not often expected from live recordings of "vintage performances issued on minor labels.

As might be expected, the setlist highlights the jazz/funk approach that the Rich band was known for in the '70s, and Rich associates Steve Marcus (tenor and soprano saxophones), Andy Fusco (alto saxophone), and Bob Kay (piano) are all in able attendance. Marcus in particular is in fine form, his wide-ranging near-Dolphyisms punctuating through the bass drum bombs on Kay's bluesy "Grand Concourse and his soprano careening effortlessly through Bob Mintzer's "Slow Funk, both Rich band staples. Kay's lyricism adds additional contrast in the lone "trio" tune—the understated (but sprightly) reading of "Someday My Prince Will Come, which also features some wonderfully subtle brushwork by the leader and a lithe electric bass solo by Tom Warrington. The set ends, inevitably, with "West Side Story. Buddy Rich and crew predictably blow the doors down, though the certain calculation to the closer doesn't make the result any less jaw dropping. Throughout, Rich is Rich—no compromises, pushing relentlessly and explosively.

Why No Funny Hats is just surfacing now is a mystery. At the least it represents a welcome addition to the Buddy Rich canon, but clearly it also stands as a testament to a fine band and a leader still in peak form. Recommended. ~Rusty Aceves

Andy Fusco: Sax (Alto); Bill Holman: Arranger; Dave Kennedy: Trumpet; Dale Kirkland: Trombone; Steve Marcus: Sax (Tenor, Soprano); John Marshall: Trumpet; John Mosca: Trombone; Gary Pribeck: Sax (Tenor); Buddy Rich: Drums, Leader; Paul Salvo: Trumpet; Chuck Schmidt: Trumpet; Greg "Frosty" Smith: Sax (Baritone); Tom Warrington: Bass; Chuck Wilson: Sax (Alto)

No Funny Hats

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Shirley Horn - May The Music Never End

Bitrate: 320K/s

Time: 57:19

Size: 131.2 MB

Styles: Standards, Vocal jazz

Year: 2003

Art: Front

[3:27] 1. Forget Me

[4:48] 2. If You Go Away

[4:12] 3. Yesterday

[5:10] 4. Take Love Easy

[5:14] 5. Never Let Me Go

[3:26] 6. Watch What Happens

[7:06] 7. Ill Wind

[7:08] 8. Maybe September

[4:58] 9. Everything Must Change

[6:40] 10. This Is All I Ask

[5:06] 11. May The Music Never End

Shirley Horn has made a remarkably strong and consistent series of records for Verve. On May the Music Never End, her 12th record for Verve, there are two big changes: the absence of Horn's longtime musical partner bassist Charles Ables, who passed away in 2001, and the addition of a pianist to take the place of Horn's quite capable playing. Ed Howard fills in admirably on bass and George Mesterhazy does the same on piano, except for on two tracks ("Maybe September" and "This is All I Ask") where Ahmad Jamal takes over. Horn's trademark sound is the sparse, languid torch song, with atmospheric piano chords and her gentle and soulful vocals caressing the notes as she slowly lets them ease into the listener's ear. Most of the album is in this downcast, nocturnal mood: the highlights are her smoldering version of the Jacques Brel-Rod McKuen song "If You Go Away," the bossa nova-influenced "Watch What Happens," and the heartbreaking and bleak "Ill Wind." She also does a very nice job with the Gordon Jenkins-penned "September of My Years"-style ballad "This Is All I Ask" and the emotional "May the Music Never End." These two tracks taken together almost sound like Horn saying goodbye to music and the world of jazz and will really bring a lump to the throat of Horn fans. She breaks up the somber mood with a few swinging tracks: the rollicking take on "Forget Me"; the lightly swinging "Take Love Easy," with some nice Roy Hargrove obbligatos; and the martial "Everything Must Change," which features one of Horn's most dramatic vocals and a wonderful moment three and a half minutes into the song where the tight rhythm bursts open and the band hits a big up-tempo groove with Horn soaring over top. The only real clunker here is her version of the Beatles' "Yesterday," a song that has been done just about every way possible. Here Horn cuts the tempo, adds some atmosphere, and actually manages to over sing the song. Her voice pushes at the outer reaches of her range, but her phrasing is strangely urgent and she sounds old for the first time. It is a rare misstep on an otherwise very good record by one of the great underrated jazz singers. If it is indeed her swan song, then she went out the same way she came in: as a true classic. ~Tim

May The Music Never End   

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Zachary Breaux - Uptown Groove

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 64:21
Size: 147.3 MB
Styles: Crossover jazz, Easy Listening
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[0:13] 1. Breakfast At The Epiphany
[5:22] 2. After 2 00 Am On The East Coast
[6:04] 3. Café Reggio
[4:28] 4. I Told You
[5:04] 5. Never Can Say Goodbye
[5:08] 6. The Thrill Is Gone
[4:41] 7. After 2 00 Am On The West Coast
[6:33] 8. All Blues
[6:04] 9. Back Into Time
[5:10] 10. Uptown Groove
[4:18] 11. Flavors Of My Mind
[4:40] 12. The 135th St. Theme
[6:29] 13. I Love This Life

With a prickly, doodling jazz chorusey style, the late guitarist Zachary Breaux could fit comfortably into the Earl Klugh light-and-breezy smooth jazz mold-but his willingness to experiment on his strong recording, Uptown Groove set him apart. Breaux, a well-traveled sideman whose touring credits included a stint with Roy Ayers, is all over his instrument, hitting light, high-toned chords on "Cafe Reggio" and trading soulful licks with flutist Hubert Laws on "I Told You." The multi-talented Breaux also sings in an emotive baritone on a dark, urban-contemporized read of B.B. King's "The Thrill is Gone," and proves a creative arranger on an edgy cover of Miles Davis' "All Blues," using harmonica and his own pinging, cornered melody to lend a soulful feel. Likewise, his elastic-ranged spiraling solo work on "Uptown Groove" is given an unexpected '60s soul lift by the backing of a killer horn quartet. With an elastic, easygoing guitar technique recalling George Benson, combined with arranging instincts diverging from tried-and-true commercial formulas, Zachary Breaux was clearly a very promising talent. ~Hilarie Grey

Uptown Groove

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Sandra Cartolari - Twolips

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:35
Size: 136,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:24)  1. Whatever Lola Wants
(5:19)  2. Giugiu
(4:31)  3. Chained To The Blues
(6:26)  4. Besame Mucho
(5:57)  5. Night and Day
(5:31)  6. E Finisce Così
(3:42)  7. Easy
(5:10)  8. 20 Giugno '96
(5:57)  9. Invitation
(2:11) 10. A Singer's Tale
(2:25) 11. The Song Is You
(4:02) 12. Sweet Lorraine
(3:54) 13. My One and Only Love

She was born in Buelach (Switzerland) in 1965, since then she\'s been singing (professionally since 1988) and lately also composing. Her father “Camillo Santamaria” has been playing, since he was a kid himself, accordeon, flute, sax alto and tenor, all over Europe and he still writes music, along with his daughter. Her grand father was a Hungarian well known “Helden” bariton (Kammer Sänger der Wiener Staadt Oper) , born in Szeged and dead under tragical circumstances while performing Wagner ‘s “The Flying Dutchman”, at the Opera of Zürich. His name, Endre Böhm (1901-1952), is inscribed on the Warnai Peter opera lexicon. Some of the beautiful people she has personally learned from: Sheila Jordan, Tiziana Ghiglioni, Nat Adderley, Benny Golson, Reverend Lee Brown; Hèctor Ulises Passarella and well, if you wanna know all of them, please, go to her website and read the whole list: o) Some of the nice words they wrote about her: Patrick Arena from Southern Voice:
Full of light, the italian Cartolari caresses jazz, improv, blues and swing with the aplomb of a seasoned artist. Her voice is welcoming and generous.

With a musical attitude that transmits vocal joy, she weaves her happy way through standards and originals. Twolips as a whole sounds bright and spontaneous and makes you want to hear her work in a live performance. Frank Rubolino from Cadence: Cartolari is a sultry, multi-lingual vocalist who sings to the accompaniment of a strong piano/trumpet/bass Jazz trio on. In any language, she comes across as a congenial artist who fits that elusive definition for a jazz singer. They all come together in a very pleasing excursion of familiar and new songs that showcase Cartolari as a fine vocal talent. It is nicely done.\" More... http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/cartolari

Twolips

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Thad Jones - Mad Thad

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1957
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:17
Size: 106,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:39)  1. Whisper Not
(9:04)  2. Quiet Slip
(7:26)  3. Balled Medley: Flamingo/If You Were Mine / I'm Through With Love / Love Walked In
(5:26)  4. Cat Meets Chick
(8:25)  5. Bird Song
(5:35)  6. Jumping For Jane
(4:40)  7. Mad Thad

Though still a member of the Count Basie band, Thad Jones began to make his mark as a forward-thinking bop trumpeter and writer with recordings such as these from 1956 and 1957. Like its companion release, The Jones Boys, the performances are from a gathering of the leader's namesakes and members of the Basie band. The Detroit connection is also represented by pianist Tommy Flanagan and bassist Doug Watkins, along with Thad and his brother Elvin (on drums for four tracks). The music is cool, swinging bop that has affinities with the transitional sounds of Jones' contemporaries Miles Davis and Clifford Brown. The Basie influence is evident in the insistent, economic pulse of the rhythm section. The young leader's tart, inviting sound finds good company in the energetic, swinging, imaginative work of saxophonists Frank Foster and Frank Wess (who switches to flute for a track). Trombonist Henry Coker sets up some closely voiced Gil Evans-like harmonies on three tracks. The performances are from a December 1956 quintet date that includes two tracks arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones, and from a January 1957 sextet session. The CD includes a ballad medley from the 1957 session that was originally put out on a release shared with Sonny Rollins. With the exception of the medley, the performances have the energy and impact of early bop informed by the harmonic innovations that were evolving in the latter half of the 1950s. The medley ("Flamingo," "If You Were Mine," "I'm Through With Love," "Love Walked In"), on the other hand, has a traditional swing conception that doesn't mesh well with the progressive tendencies of the other tracks. ~ Jim Todd  http://www.allmusic.com/album/mad-thad-mw0000671734

Mad Thad

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Bob DeVos - Shadow Box

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:22
Size: 143,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:39)  1. After Burner
(6:06)  2. Pensativa
(6:46)  3. Wives And Lovers
(6:02)  4. The River's Invitation
(6:27)  5. Shadow Box
(5:14)  6. Blue Print
(5:43)  7. The Wizard
(6:05)  8. Basie In Mind
(6:25)  9. Maine Stay
(4:28) 10. Born To Be Blue
(4:22) 11. Twisted Blues

On the face of it, Shadow Box, Bob DeVos' fifth outing as a leader, is a sixty minute case study of the evolution of the organ combo, one of the music's most popular and enduring formats. DeVos tips his hat to legendary individuals (some of whom he played with in the early stages of his career) like Wild Bill Davis, Jimmy Smith, Trudy Pitts, Charles Earland, Richard "Groove" Holmes, Wes Montgomery with Melvin Rhyne, Jimmy McGriff, and Larry Young. Though you can hear echoes of them in most of the disc's eleven tracks, there's something else at work here. A core trio comprised of DeVos' guitar, the Hammond B3 organ of Dan Kostelnik, and the drums of Steve Johns (tenor saxophonist Ralph Bowen joins them on five tracks), has forged an identity that transcends all influences. The trio's sound is easier to listen than to pigeonhole. On the one hand, their momentum and energy level never flags; on the other, they don't resort to any obvious attention getting devices. A brisk bossa nova treatment of Clare Fischer's "Pensativa" and a lively Latin rendition of Wes Montgomery's "Twisted Blues" generate a considerable amount of heat that's carefully spread out over the course of each track. The effect is sustained, tightly coiled excitement that doesn't boil over or reach a climax. Two factors conspire to make these cuts move in a lively, measured manner. The loose-limbed, agitated movement of Johns' rim knocks and accents to all of the drums introduce an element of badinage inside of an otherwise firm pocket. 

He consistently peppers his cohorts with decisive commentary, but stops short of hitting hard or divisively. DeVos' accompaniment during Kostelnik's share of the heads and on the organist's solos is another, more tightly executed facet of the band's momentum. Firmly embedded inside the music as a whole, his persistent, exacting chords might be easy to take for granted, yet they're every bit as invigorating as Johns' drums. The trio shows another side of its ability to introduce and hold a groove tightly throughout "Blue Print," one of DeVos' five compositions on the disc. The slow-to-medium tempo and familiar, easygoing melody creates an ambiance that's positioned somewhere between studied cool and genuine passion. Like a lot of the trio's work, it doesn't pay off in flagrant ways. It doesn't tear your heart out, and it doesn't leave you limp. Capturing the spirit not the structure of the blues, the track gradually seeps into one's consciousness and doesn't let go. DeVos' solos are fluid, calculated edifices which tread lightly instead of diving into the emotional realm; coupled with his ability to sustain an improvised line without any sign of strain, this reserve contains a kind of tension that's gratifying because of the absence of any resolution. The leader's turn on "Blue Print" never quite divorces itself from the head; in one instance, he returns to the chords that open the tune's bridge. Playing with a full, rounded, lightly ringing tone, amidst a host of carefully etched blues locutions DeVos deftly releases 16th note runs that are as precise as his chording. Each of them has a slightly different character and emphasis. The first one sounds as if it's been lifted by the wind and is gradually floating back to earth. The rest, in varying degrees, maintain the pleasant, behind the beat feel that characterizes the entire track. Kostelnik has stripped down the vocabulary of the modern jazz organ to its bare essentials. There's no fat or excess of any kind. And not unlike DeVos, he has his own take on familiar materials. A short "Blue Print" solo ostensibly sounds like any number of Kostelnik's illustrious predecessors; but listen closely and you hear his earthy, shrewd way of snapping phrases apart and putting them back in order before the slightest hint of disarray ensues.

The five tracks with Bowen on board widen the music's scope without upending the trio's sound. He is, by far, the most effusive, unpredictable voice on the record. There's a striking contrast between the head of DeVos' "Maine Stay," a soulful, carefully constructed theme which contains traces of Thelonious Monk, and the solo which follows. Not unlike any number of contemporary saxophonists, Bowen wrestles with several things in short-order such as rapid shifts in velocity, range, timbre, and timing, as well as an acute awareness of the jazz tradition and puts everything together in a package that's better for not being neatly wrapped. He obsessively reworks a phrase during the course of several bars; makes sudden leaps into the upper register; briefly settles into an assured groove that would draw shouts of approval by chitlin' circuit audiences; and unleashes long, imploding, jackhammer runs that are almost unbearably claustrophobic. The most impressive thing about all of this isn't his superior execution; it's the way in which, despite the fluctuations, Bowen never leaves DeVos, Kostelnik and Johns behind. DeVos might have played things safe, and perhaps made an equally fine record, by presenting the trio in all of its cautious, burnished glory; instead, he chose to embrace the loose ends that Bowen brings to the table. All in all, it was an admirable decision by a mature artist who continues to grow and evolve in ways that matter. 

~ David A.Orthmann  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/bob-devos-shadow-box-by-david-a-orthmann.php
 

Personnel: Bob DeVos: guitar; Ralph Bowen: tenor saxophone; Dan Kostelnik: Hammond B3 organ; Steve Johns: drums.

Shadow Box

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Jimmy Heath - Nice People

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:01
Size: 92,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:52)  1. For Minors Only
(4:02)  2. The Thumper
(3:54)  3. Nice People
(5:37)  4. Who Needs It
(3:29)  5. I Can Make You Love Me
(5:01)  6. Don't You Know I Care
(4:34)  7. For All We Know
(4:15)  8. Two Tees
(4:12)  9. New Keep

The middle of the three Heath Brothers, Jimmy Heath has a distinctive sound on tenor, is a fluid player on soprano and flute, and a very talented arranger/composer whose originals include "C.T.A." and "Gingerbread Boy." He was originally an altoist, playing with Howard McGhee during 1947-1948 and the Dizzy Gillespie big band (1949-1950). Called "Little Bird" because of the similarity in his playing to Charlie Parker, Heath switched to tenor in the early '50s. Although out of action for a few years due to "personal problems," Heath wrote for Chet Baker and Art Blakey during 1956-1957. Back in action in 1959, he worked with Miles Davis briefly that year, in addition to Kenny Dorham and Gil Evans, and started a string of impressive recordings for Riverside. In the 1960s, Heath frequently teamed up with Milt Jackson and Art Farmer, and he also worked as an educator and a freelance arranger. During 1975-1982, Jimmy Heath teamed up with brothers Percy and Tootie in the Heath Brothers, and since then has remained active as a saxophonist and writer. In addition to his earlier Riverside dates, Jimmy Heath has recorded as a leader for Cobblestone, Muse, Xanadu, Landmark, and Verve. Bio ~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/artist/jimmy-heath-mn0000120241/biography

Nice People

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