Bucky Pizzarelli Trio - Three For All

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:57
Size: 149,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:22)  1. All The Things You Are
(7:50)  2. Body And Soul
(5:00)  3. Avalon
(5:41)  4. Snowfall
(5:17)  5. Stompin' At The Savoy
(7:12)  6. If I Had You
(3:01)  7. Stage Fright
(3:08)  8. It's Been A Long, Long Time-Don't Take Your Love From Me
(5:28)  9. Undecided
(3:10) 10. In The Dark
(5:38) 11. I'm Confessin'
(5:31) 12. Three For All
(2:38) 13. I Got Rhythm

Whose line is it anyway? No matter. Whether it’s jazz patriarch Bucky Pizzarelli or his son, fellow seven-string guitar master John, fashioning melodic embellishments and spinning single-note improvisations on Three for All, the level of musicianship is consistently high. What’s more, the same can be said for guitarist Ed Laub’s knowing support, scarcely a surprise given his long association with père Pizzarelli. Not surprising, too, are the songs chosen for this date. “Body and Soul,” “I Got Rhythm,” “All the Things You Are” and “Avalon” are among the vintage pop classics, while lesser-known tunes, including the Dick McDonough-Carl Kress treat “Stage Fright,” round out the collection. 

Even the most weathered selections, however, have a fresh allure after Bucky and John get their fingers on them. Strings of choruses dart along, then dovetail, then dart again. Blue notes tweak the melodies, harmonic substitutions add texture and color, tricky contrapuntal passages abound, and frequent surges of rhythmic propulsion make for some exhilarating moments. Offsetting the most vibrant trio performances are some soulful interludes, a dash of melancholy lyricism and the occasional, deftly executed duet, including a Bucky and Ed pairing. ~ Mike Joyce  http://jazztimes.com/articles/132462-three-for-all-the-bucky-pizzarelli-trio?

Personnel: Bucky Pizzarelli (guitar); John Pizzarelli, Ed Laub (guitar).

Three For All

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Ben Sidran - Blue Camus

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:09
Size: 103,5 MB
Art: Front

(6:58)  1. Soso's Dream
(4:45)  2. Blue Camus
(3:13)  3. "A" Is For Alligator
(4:57)  4. King Of Harlem
(6:20)  5. Rocky's Romance
(4:32)  6. Wake Me When It's Over
(7:23)  7. There Used To Be Bees
(6:58)  8. Dees Dilemma

Blue Camus is the follow up to Don’t Cry For No Hisper.  If the latter spoke to the hipster’s inner monologue, this project reflects the external input source that the hipster has been taking in.  The references in Blue Camus go back almost one hundred years to Garcia Lorca’s poetry (referenced in “The King of Harlem”), Orwell’s fantastic fiction (found in “A is for Alligator”) and a bit more recently to Albert Camus’ philosophy of existentialism. So there is a direct connection from the February afternoon in Mexico when I began writing the songs for Don’t Cry For No Hisper, a somewhat autobiographical, jaundiced view of today’s world through the eyes of a jazz man who has been around for several decades, to Blue Camus.  The classic hipster, as I see him, with his roots going back deep into the jazz life, was a reader of literature and a lover of philosophy, particularly, during the bebop era of the 40s and 50s.  

The starting premise of Camus’ existentialism can be compared to jazz in that in both jazz and existentialism, we begin with a world of open possibilities and rely on our own experiences and emotions to figure out the next move, rather than what we are taught or by following some other theory.  For Camus (and the beboppers) all thought originates in action just as all jazz music originates in swing, not notes. We may be confused, but that could be the good news, because so much is clearly going amok, if we thought we knew what we were doing and that this was it, we’d be in even worse trouble than we already are.  Make sense?  No? Welcome to existentialism! In a world that appears to be swallowing itself whole, jazz and literature, combined here as Blue Camus, provide a starting point to ask some questions about where we are and resolve them in swing. http://bensidran.com/album/blue-camus

Personnel: Ben Sidran - Wurlitzer, Piano, Vocals; Leo Sidran - Drums; Billy Peterson – Bass; Ricky Peterson – Organ; Bob Rockwell – Saxophone, Trixie Waterbed – Backing Vocals

Blue Camus

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Ben Wolfe - No Strangers Here

Styles: Straight-ahead/Mainstream
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:55
Size: 114,5 MB
Art: Front

(7:20)  1. The Minnick Rule
(2:31)  2. No Strangers Here
(3:52)  3. Milo
(3:34)  4. No Pat No
(7:55)  5. The Filth
(3:29)  6. Circus
(5:29)  7. Blue Envy
(7:17)  8. Rosy & Zero
(3:42)  9. Jackie Mac
(4:41) 10. Groovy Medium

Ever since the seminal Charlie Parker With Strings (Mercury 1950), numerous artists have attempted to add symphonic strings to jazz ensembles. Some have succeeded, but many have failed to capture a proper balance, resulting in string arrangements that sound superfluous. Bassist Ben Wolfe's fifth album, No Strangers Here, is one example of a successful merger of two worlds acoustic jazz quartet and classical string quartet. A compelling bassist, Wolfe came to prominence as a sideman for Harry Connick Jr., Wynton Marsalis and Diana Krall. He currently teaches at Julliard and is a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Augmenting a jazz combo with strings is not a novel idea for Wolfe, whose previous album, My Kinda Beautiful (Planet Arts Records, 2004) featured a brass heavy jazz octet with an eight piece string section. 

An extended suite, "From Here I See," was commissioned by the Rubin Museum and revolved around a jazz quartet/string quartet combo. Another long-form composition, "Contradiction: Music for Sextet" was the result of a commission from Chamber Music America. Wolfe's core quartet features saxophonist Marcus Strickland, pianist Luis Perdomo and drummer Greg Hutchinson, all rising stars on the New York scene who execute Wolfe's tightly arranged compositions with palpable commitment and panache. In addition, Wolfe regularly augments the quartet with a traditional string quartet, as well as a handful of special guests. At their most vigorous, Wolfe's pieces recall the forward thinking hard-bop of a mid-60s Blue Note date. "The Minnick Rule" and "Circus" are labyrinthine swingers filled with hairpin rhythmic shifts and understated string accents that resound with dramatic flair. A nostalgic air often permeates the session; the subtly integrated strings reinforce Wolfe's romantic side by adding a layer of euphonious lyricism to his sumptuous writing, most notably on the title track and "Blue Envy." The special guest appearances are well integrated. 

Terell Stafford's buttery trumpet soars on the spirited opening cut and offers supportive nuance on the wistful closer. Saxophonist Branford Marsalis and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts provide muscle to the escalating drama of the noirish "The Filth" while Marsalis' soprano waxes lyrical on the effervescent "Milo." Victor Goines enriches the lush "Blue Envy" with his poetic bass clarinet. The album's string quartet tour-de-force, "Rosy & Zero," regales with expansive sonorities. Alternating austere chamber music inflected excursions with blistering post-bop interludes, the piece unfolds like a long lost, albeit highly successful, Third Stream experiment. From bittersweet nostalgia to cinematic drama, No Strangers Here encapsulates an array of moods, textures and dynamics. Reminiscent of the string augmented ensembles of Max Roach and Charles Mingus, Wolfe's double quartet emboldens the jazz tradition with neo-classical overtones, yet never fails to swing. To quote Wynton Marsalis, "Ben Wolfe swings with authority."     

~ Troy Collins http://www.allaboutjazz.com/no-strangers-here-ben-wolfe-maxjazz-review-by-troy-collins.php
 

Personnel: Ben Wolfe: bass; Marcus Strickland: tenor and soprano saxophone; Luis Perdomo: piano; Greg Hutchinson: drums; Cyrus Beroukhim: violin; Jesse Mills: violin; Kenji Bunch: viola; Wolfram Koessell: cello; Branford Marsalis: tenor and soprano saxophone (3, 5); Terell Stafford: trumpet (1, 10); Victor Goines: bass clarinet (7); Jeff "Tain" Watts: drums (5).

No Strangers Here

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