Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Buddy & Ella Johnson - A Family Affair

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 50:40
Size: 116.0 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 2011
Art: Front

[2:51] 1. One More Time
[2:40] 2. I Don’t Want Nobody Baby
[2:42] 3. Gotta Go Upside Your Head
[3:05] 4. A Pretty Girl Cadillac And Some Money
[2:35] 5. Someday
[2:49] 6. Aint'cha Got Me
[2:51] 7. Doot Doot Dow
[2:22] 8. Well Do It
[2:47] 9. Alright Okay You Win
[3:06] 10. Thats The Stuff You Gotta Watch
[3:02] 11. Mush Mouth
[2:36] 12. Any Day Now
[3:11] 13. That’s How I Feel About You
[3:06] 14. Hittin On Me
[2:26] 15. My Old Man
[3:03] 16. Aint But One
[2:48] 17. Its About To Break My Heart In Two
[2:31] 18. Crazy Bout A Saxophone

Ella Johnson made her mark as the vocalist with her brother Buddy Johnson's big band during the '40s and '50s, and that is the context where she really shines. Her later solo sides for Mercury are pale imitations of her work with the band. Although many of Ella's hits are uptempo (e.g., "I Don't Want Nobody"), it is on ballads and torchy blues that she really brings it together. In fact, her earliest work for Decca during the mid-'40s (much of which has not been reissued) is uncannily good. At her best, Ella sounds pouty, vulnerable, and very sexy. Like so much of her life, it was no affectation. The comparison to Billie Holiday is inevitable, but Ella was her own singer. Ella Johnson passed away February 16, 2004, in New York City. ~bio by Hank Davis

A Family Affair

3 Na Bossa - Amanha Tudo Volta Ao Normal (Bridges)

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 45:49
Size: 104.9 MB
Styles: Brazilian jazz
Year: 2014
Art: Front

[3:07] 1. A Rita
[3:50] 2. Travessia
[3:52] 3. Verde
[2:56] 4. Ná Dá Mais Pra Segurar
[2:46] 5. De Frente Pro Crime
[3:16] 6. Quem Te Viu Quem Te Vê
[3:23] 7. Máscara Negra
[3:55] 8. Ronda
[2:32] 9. Eu Só Quero Um Xodó
[3:42] 10. João E Maria
[2:55] 11. Eu Quero É Botar Meu Bloco Na Rua
[3:42] 12. Você É Linda
[3:23] 13. Se Eu Quiser Falar Com Deus
[2:21] 14. Não Existe Pecado Ao Sul Do Equador

If there’s a Bossa Nova song that the 3 Na Bossa can’t play, it’s because it hasn’t been written yet. They are: the piano player Edmur Hebert, the bass player Eliane do Valle and the drummer Toninho Pinheiro. Edmur and Eliano began playing dances together in combos, and as soon they were old enough to go out at night they became a mobile attraction of São Paulo nightlife. Their extreme good taste and musicianship have helped promoting many São Paulo nightclubs, such as Santo Colomba, Plano’s Bar, Baiúca Jardins, The Place, Paddock, Piano Forte and, lately, L’Angolo, where they were joined by drummer Toninho Pinheiro. As for Toninho, he is Bossa Nova legend in São Paulo. Toninho began in the 60’s as the drummer of Manfredo Fest and Pedrinho Mattar trios. In 1965, with the pianist Cido Bianchi and the bassplayer Sabá, he created the Jongo Trio, that recorded a great instrumental album (Jongo Trio). In that same year, they shook the public of the Paramount Theatre while playing Elis Regina and Jair Rodrigues in the show Dois na Bossa, that has originated a famous record, where their names were not included. In 1966, Toninho and Sabá formed a new group with the pianist César Camargo Mariano: the Som Três. With the Som Três, where he stayed until 1970. Toninho played with Wilson Simonal in thousands of shows (including the ons in which Simonal conducted the public of the Maracananzinho stadium, in Rio) and in all the albums the singer recorded in the period. Toninho then became the drummer of the unforgattable Dick Farmey, with whom he worked for 17 years - until Dick died, in 1987. Since then, Toninho has been playing in São Paulo nightclubs and, ins 2000, he joined Edmur and Eliane, creating 3 na Bossa.

The guitar player and composer Roberto Menescal, producer of this series of five albums, needs no presentation.

Amanha Tudo Volta Ao Normal (Bridges)

Lem Winchester - Will You Still Be Mine

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 75:31
Size: 172.9 MB
Styles: Hard bop, Vibraphone jazz
Year: 2014
Art: Front

[ 7:31] 1. Mysticism
[ 4:11] 2. How Are Things In Glocca Morra
[10:03] 3. Down Fuzz
[ 7:00] 4. Will You Still Be Mine
[ 6:41] 5. The Dude
[ 4:01] 6. If I Were A Bell
[ 5:18] 7. Just Friends
[ 7:59] 8. Lem And Aid
[ 6:52] 9. Your Last Chance
[11:40] 10. Eddy's Dilemma
[ 4:11] 11. Friendly Persuasion

Lem Winchester had great potential as a vibraphonist but it was all cut short by a tragic accident. Influenced by Milt Jackson but developing a sound of his own, Winchester actually played tenor, baritone, and piano before choosing to stick exclusively to vibes. A police officer in Wilmington, Delaware, he made a big impression at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival and was soon recording regularly with such major players as Oliver Nelson, Benny Golson, and Tommy Flanagan. Winchester resigned from the police force in 1960 to be a musician full-time, but then on January 13, 1961, he unsuccessfully demonstrated a trick with a revolver. ~bio by Scott Yanow

Will You Still Be Mine

Champian Fulton With David Berger & The Sultans Of Swing - Champian

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:58
Size: 113,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:58)  1. I Didn't Mean a Word I Said
(3:36)  2. He Ain't Got Rhythm
(3:46)  3. This Is Always
(2:48)  4. They Didn't Believe Me
(3:32)  5. I Can't Give You Anything But Love
(3:18)  6. Get out of Town
(3:17)  7. Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens
(2:53)  8. It's Crazy
(3:23)  9. The Gypsy
(4:26) 10. You Turned the Tables on Me
(3:30) 11. Too Close for Comfort
(4:01) 12. Romance in the Dark
(3:48) 13. Just One of Those Things
(1:34) 14. Never-The-Less

Born in 1985, Champian grew up in Norman Oklahoma with her parents, Stephen and Susan. Influenced at an early age by her father Stephen, a world reknowned Jazz trumpeter, Champian fell in love with Jazz. Surrounded by her father's musician friends, which included Clark Terry and Major Holley, Champian learned the language of the music firsthand. She began to study piano with her grandmother at age 5. As singing became more and more important, Champian began to play Jazz piano to accompany herself at home. Champian's family moved to LeMars Iowa in 1994; where Stephen Fulton became the director of the Clark Terry Institute for Jazz Studies. It was here that Champian formed her first band. The members of the “Little Jazz Quintet” were all under the age of 10, except for the trumpeter - the elder of the group - who was 12 years old.

The “Little Jazz Quintet” performed at many events in LeMars, including Clark Terry's 75th Birthday party. After a short move to New York, Champian and her family returned to Norman Oklahoma in 1998. Champian's full attention turned to Jazz at this time, and by 1999 Champian was performing with her new band all around the region. 1999 included appearances at the Kemah Boardwalk Jazz Festival, the Corpus Christi Jazz Festival, and the Jazz in June Festival held in Norman Oklahoma. 2001 marked the beginning of Champian's stay at Maker's Cigar & Piano Bar in OKC. Maker's, and its owner Clinton Greehaw, were supportive of Champian while she grew musically as a professional performer. Makers made a wonderful musical home for Champian during these formative years. 

The Champian Fulton Trio would continue to perform at Maker's nearly every weekend through 2003, when Champian graduated from Norman North High School as valedictorian and made her move to NYC to attend SUNY Purchase Music Conservatory. In New York City since 2003, Champian has been able to become a part of the Jazz scene. Besides leading her own gigs Champian has been able to play with some world-class musicians such as Louis Hayes, Jimmy Cobb, Frank Wess, and Lou Donaldson. She has been a mainstay at Birdland, the Jazz Corner of the World, and you can catch her at a number of other venues in Manhattan. A perpetual student of Jazz piano and Jazz singing, Champian mentions Erroll Garner, Bud Powell, Sonny Clark, Count Basie, Dinah Washington, and Sarah Vaughn as some of her main influences. It is also a well kept secret, but Champian was an award winning Jazz soloist on her trumpet in high school with state honors. Champian was named as a finalist in the Kathleen B. Turner Jazz Piano Competition at the University of West Florida in spring 2006. That same year she graduated with honors from SUNY Purchase. Champian’s debut album “Champian” was released in 2007 and the new trio CD, “Sometimes I’m Happy” was released in September of 2008. She lives in New York City and continues to play the music she loves with her current trio featuring Neal Miner (bass) and Fukushi Tainaka (drums). Bio ~  http://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/champianfulton

Personnel: Champian Fulton (vocals, piano); Jay Brandford (reeds); Brian 'Fletch' Pareschi, Michael Rodriguez (trumpet); Dennis Irwin (bass guitar); Matt Hong (vocals, reeds); Ryan Keberle (vocals, trombone); Carl Maraghi, Daniel Block, Mark Hynes (reeds); Irv Grossman, Bob Millikan (trumpet); Marshall Gilkes, Wayne Goodman (trombone); Isaac Ben Ayala (piano); Jimmy Madison (drums). Additional personnel: David Berger , The Sultans of Swing .

Champian

Grant Stewart - Grant Stewart + 4

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:57
Size: 137,5 MB
Art: Front

(7:29)  1. You 'N' Me
(8:39)  2. Yesterdays
(6:42)  3. Cohn On The Cob
(5:57)  4. Limehouse Blues
(8:59)  5. The Folks Who Live On The Hill
(8:27)  6. Sabia
(7:22)  7. Lonely Town
(6:20)  8. You Leave Me Breathless

Grant Stewart is a young Canadian tenor saxophonist with a big, burly sound and plenty of drive. On Grant Stewart + 4, he demonstrates his command of both his instrument and the hard bop idiom. He swings without pretense and his top-shelf sidemen move things along with considerable brio. Stewart's improvisations are marked by long, rolling lines and heated swing. He displays a cohesive sense of invention even at the fastest tempos, as on "Limehouse Blues," for example. And while Stewart is deeply indebted to Sonny Rollins, he's clearly looking for his own approach, making interesting and original note choices throughout. His flaring solo on "Lonely Town" is especially good. Guitarist Joe Cohn is also a big part of the success of this album, through sleek, clean solos and clever arrangements, which serve to lift these proceedings well above the usual blowing date. Cohn is highlighted on "Yesterdays," on which he interacts sensitively with Stewart, and where his arrangement adds a fresh dimension to the oft-played chestnut. 

Pianist Bill Charlap nearly steals the album. His improvising is absolutely fresh and distinctive, using space to advantage, varying phrase lengths, and overall providing a classic reminder that jazz is, after all, supposed to be the sound of surprise. In keeping with the sound of surprise, Grant Stewart + 4 successfully mines the tricky terrain of repertoire with rarely played songs, clever originals, and less conventional song treatments. "You Leave Me Breathless," for example, is played as an up-tempo romp, rather than a ballad. In fact, most of the program is played at fast and even faster tempos, and Stewart's cooking rhythm section nails it every time. Even at the fearsome speeds of "Limehouse Blues" and "You Leave Me Breathless," bassist Paul Gill and drummer Willie Jones III maintain solid, vibrant swing. Grant Stewart + 4 may not be innovative, but it is very, very good. ~ AAJ Staff  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/grant-stewart--4-grant-stewart-criss-cross-review-by-aaj-staff.php#.VGgmxcmHmtg

Personnel: Grant Stewart: tenor saxophone; Joe Cohn: guitar; Bill Charlap: piano; Paul Gill: bass; Willie Jones III: drums.

Dennis Chambers - Groove And More

Styles: Jazz Funk
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:19
Size: 125,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:24)  1. Aircraft
(7:29)  2. Time to Time
(4:24)  3. Fall Out - Radio Edit
(4:41)  4. Past and Future
(0:47)  5. Drums Solo Pt 1
(4:56)  6. We Don't Know
(7:18)  7. Virtual Life
(6:40)  8. Fall Out
(4:50)  9. Practice What You Preaching
(6:30) 10. Running On Line
(1:14) 11. Drum Solo Pt 2

A drummer whose propulsive style and versatility have enabled him to play in combos or large groups, and work with fusion and hard bop bandleaders, Dennis Chambers has also released two sessions as a leader. He's also recorded and played with Bob Berg, Bill Evans (sax), Victor Bailey, Bob Belden, Kevin Eubanks and Mike Stern among others. All these musicians currently have sessions including Chambers available on CD.  Bio ~ Ron Wynn  http://www.allmusic.com/artist/dennis-chambers-mn0000816892/biography

Personnel: Dennis Chambers: drums; Scott Henderson: guitar solo on " Virtual life " & " Time to time ";  Brian Auger: Hammond organ solo on " Running on line " & " Aircraft "; Jeff Berlin: bass on " Practice what you preaching "; Patti Austin: vocals on " Practice what you preaching "; Stanley Jordan: guitar solo on " Past and future "; Gregg Kofi Brown: vocals on " Fall out "; Dora Nicolosi: vocals on " We don't know "; Lino Nicolosi: rhythm guitars, guitar solos, percussion programming; Rossana Nicolosi: bass; Pino Nicolosi: keyboards, Hammond organ, Fender Rhodes; Dora Nicolosi: backing vocals & scat on " Fall out " and & scat on " Aircraft "; Gregg Kofi Brown: backing vocals on " Fall out "; Melissa Aldana: tenor saxophone on " Fall out " , saxophone solo on "Aircraft " and soprano saxophone on " Running on line "; Bob Crystal: tenor saxophone & flute solo on " Fall out ", tenor saxophone on " Aircraft ."

Groove And More

Jeff Gladstone - Hell Of A Girl

Styles: Rock And Swing
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:21
Size: 86,1 MB
Art: Front

(1:37)  1. In Vein (feat. Rachel Pomedli)
(2:23)  2. Lazy Susan (feat. Rebecca Hennessy & Shawn Nykwist)
(1:43)  3. One Little Accident Away
(4:04)  4. Lionhearted (feat. Sly Juhas, Tim Hamel, Neil MacIntosh & Sophia Perlman)
(3:41)  5. Good to You (feat. Terra Hazelton, Jay Danley, Sly Juhas, Sophia Perlman, Tim Hamel & Nathan Hiltz)
(3:49)  6. Hell of a Girl (feat. Jay Danley, Nathan Hiltz, Terra Hazelton, Sky Juhas & Sophia Perlman)
(5:44)  7. There May Be a Golden Distance (feat. Jay Danley)
(4:20)  8. Not Your Girlfriend (feat. Jay Danley & Drew Jurecka)
(3:38)  9. Two Birds (feat. Richard Whiteman)
(3:24) 10. My Big Mouth (feat. Nathan Hiltz, Neil MacIntosh & James Thomson)
(2:53) 11. Weatherman (feat. Drew Jurecka, Rebecca Hennessy & James Thomson)

Jeff Gladstone met Terra Hazelton at the Loose Moose Theatre Company in Calgary in 1995. They spent 5 years there, working and studying with Keith Johnstone, performing improv, creating kids shows, and developing a musical improv format called Jamprov. Since then, Hazelton has established herself as one of the top jazz singers in Canada, and Gladstone has built a career as an actor and improviser in Vancouver. Hazelton has made occasional forays into acting (Genie award nomination for FUBAR II) and Gladstone has continued to write music; over 250 original songs, including sound design and musical direction for theatre. Recently Gladstone wrote a song based on a poem by Robert Service, The Lure of Little Voices, which made it on Hazelton’s recent CD That’s All. As a thank-you, Hazelton offered to record a demo of Gladstone’s songs. Work began in 2012 in Hazelton’s apartment with just a microphone, a guitar and a rain storm.

Hazelton started inviting some of her friends and collaborators from her various bands. Musicians like Drew Jurecka, Sly Juhas, Nathan Hiltz, and the entire line-up from The Hogtown Syncopators, nearly all of which have won Juno awards. Hazelton invited each of them because of specific skills she thought would add to each track. In true Loose Moose fashion, the musicians were encouraged to improvise. The collaborative nature of Hell of a Girl continued, as Neil MacIntosh mixed the tracks adding additional percussion, and finally Jordon O’Connor (engineer behind That’s All) mastered the final recordings with Hazelton. Rehearsing Two Birds with Richard Whiteman “With Hell of a Girl, we feel we are on our way to creating a unique and vital example of theatrical songwriting, and that it may help two Canadian artists expand their practice and offer their talents in new ways to the music community, and its growing audience.”  http://jeffgladstone.ca/hell-of-a-girl/hell-of-a-girl-history/

Personnel: Jeff Gladstone: Upright Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals; Terra Hazelton: Vocals, Arrangements; Rachel Pomedli: Cello; Tim Hamel: Trumpet; Sly Juhas: Drums; Neil MacIntosh: Drums; Nathan Hiltz: Electric Guitar; Jay Danley: Acoustic Guitar, Upright Bass, Vocals; Sophia Perlman: Vocals and BG Arrangements; Drew Jurecka: Violin, Clarinet; James Thomson: Electric Bass; Richard Whiteman: Baby Grand Piano, Upright Bass; Rebecca Hennessy: Accordion; Shawn Nykwist: Soprano Saxophone