Clark Terry - Having Fun

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:44
Size: 159.6 MB
Styles: Bop, Trumpet jazz
Year: 1980/1992
Art: Front

[4:39] 1. Mumbles
[6:56] 2. Ask Me Now
[4:06] 3. Meet The Flinstones
[5:57] 4. The Nearness Of You
[8:46] 5. It Isn't Easy Being Green
[6:59] 6. Snapper
[3:37] 7. Never
[6:38] 8. Don't Blame Me
[6:42] 9. Imagination
[4:34] 10. Laura
[5:14] 11. Mule's Soft Claw
[5:30] 12. Tee Pee Time

The title of this CD definitely fits not only its music but Clark Terry's career. The colorful flugelhornist is teamed with Red Holloway doubling on tenor and alto, bassist Major Holley (who sings along with his bass in his solos), pianist Jon Campbell and drummer Lewis Nash. Since C.T., Holloway and Holley were all humorists, the music is not only swinging, but quite enthusiastic. With titles like "Mumbles," "Meet the Flintstones," "The Snapper" and "Mule's Soft Claw," the humor isn't unexpected. An excellent and consistently swinging date. ~Scott Yanow

Having Fun

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Vincent Herring - Jobim For Lovers

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:10
Size: 94.2 MB
Styles: Latin jazz, Saxophone jazz
Year: 1999
Art: Front

[3:58] 1. Brigas Nunca Mais
[4:58] 2. Samba De Avaio
[4:58] 3. Ogrande Amore
[5:37] 4. One Note Samba
[4:38] 5. Eusei Que You Te Amar
[4:26] 6. Este Seu Olhar
[6:57] 7. Once I Loved
[5:35] 8. Wave

Do we need another set of Jobim tunes? some listeners may be tempted to ask. To which the only appropriate response is: "Why not?" Alto saxophonist Vincent Herring certainly makes a good case for one more with this relaxed run-through of eight of the Brazilian singer-songwriter's works. The explicit theme pairing Jobim's music with romance treads on the toes of the obvious, but it is the only false step in this delightful dance. Herring, who picks up the tenor for the closer, "Wave," is joined in his efforts by guitarist Romero Lubambo, pianist Gary Fisher, bassist Nilson Matta, and drummer Duduka Da Fonseca. Lubambo is particularly apt in his stylings, the soft resonance of gut strings being so much in keeping with the traditions of Brazilian popular music. Herring himself is unusually relaxed, letting his lyrical side play beautifully in the tropical evocations of the repertoire at hand. ~Bill Bennett

Jobim For Lovers    

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Shirley Horn - Travelin' Light

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 29:53

Size: 68.4 MB

Styles: Vocal jazz

Year: 1965/1994/2014

Art: Front

[2:46] 1. Travelin' Light

[1:42] 2. Sunday In New York

[2:59] 3. I Could Have Told You

[1:59] 4. Big City

[2:48] 5. I Want To Be With You

[2:21] 6. Some Of My Best Friends Are The Blues

[2:55] 7. Someone You've Loved

[2:48] 8. Don't Be On The Outside

[2:21] 9. You're Blasé

[2:17] 10. Yes, I Know When I've Had It

[2:25] 11. Confession

[2:28] 12. And I Love Him

This CD reissue brings back a historic session, vocalist/pianist Shirley Horn's last before she drifted into semi-retirement so she could raise her daughter. Her sidemen on this date include trumpeter Joe Newman, flutists Frank Wess and Jerome Richardson, and guitarist Kenny Burrell, but the main star throughout is Horn. Not all of the material is equally strong and none of the very concise dozen performances clocks in at even three minutes, so this is not an essential session. But Shirley Horn fans and completists will want the generally enjoyable vocal date. ~Scott Yanow

Travelin' Light

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Billy Taylor - The Billy Taylor Touch

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:44
Size: 86.4 MB
Styles: Hard bop, Piano jazz
Year: 1958/2005
Art: Front

[2:54] 1. You Make Me Feel So Young
[4:47] 2. Early May
[4:21] 3. Can You Tell By Looking At Me
[4:11] 4. I Get A Kick Out Of You
[2:42] 5. Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams
[3:29] 6. Willow Weep For Me
[3:01] 7. Good Groove
[3:00] 8. What Is There To Say
[3:11] 9. Thou Swell
[3:21] 10. The Very Thought Of You
[2:42] 11. Somebody Loves Me

Billy Taylor's touch at the piano is supple, stylish, and elegant. It was cultivated in the New York City bop scene of the 1940s, where Taylor played in combos led by Gerry Mulligan, Lee Konitz, Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Pettiford, and others. Taylor's bebop heart and mind are happily at work throughout this CD of upbeat, swinging music. Throughout, Taylor's sophisticated ease of execution, his rich musical imagination, and the strong support of his sidemen make this classy and satisfying. Seven of the tracks for The Billy Taylor Touch were recorded with Taylor's first regular trio in 1951. On these, Taylor, bassist Earl May, and drummer Ed Thigpen are joined by the fine guitarist John Collins, a rhythm specialist who gives the music much of its personality. Collins would make a similar contribution later in the '50s with the Nat "King" Cole trio. ~Jim Todd

The Billy Taylor Touch

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Yvonne Monnett - Thanks For The Memories

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:40
Size: 127.4 MB
Styles: Easy Listening, Piano jazz
Year: 2004
Art: Front

[4:21] 1. On A Slow Boat To China
[3:53] 2. Only Yesterday
[5:44] 3. Thanks For The Memory
[4:31] 4. What A Difference A Day Makes
[4:20] 5. Girl Talk
[4:07] 6. S'wonderful
[6:52] 7. Everything Happens To Me
[4:12] 8. Makin Whoopee
[3:47] 9. Baby It's Cold Outside
[4:17] 10. Only Trust Your Heart
[4:33] 11. Peel Me A Grape
[4:57] 12. Let's Fall In Love

What do Stan Getz and Blossom Dearie have in common? Both offer their listeners an intimate, soothing, romantic and, at times relaxing kind of music. Swinging, simmering. The intersection of those commonalities is right where you’ll find the delightful Yvonne Monnett.

One listen to her debut CD, Thanks for the Memory, confirms those seductive traits. Repeat listenings, as you no doubt will want to do, also reveal this singer/pianist’s sound to be warm, charming, intimate and honest. She’s a knowing veteran of many years on the jazz scene who has lived the songs she loves. In other words, it’s REAL.

Thanks For The Memories

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Hank Crawford - The Soul Clinic

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 34:40

Size: 79.4 MB

Styles: Hard bop, Soul jazz

Year: 1962/2005

Art: Front

[3:28] 1. Please Send Me Someone To Love

[5:26] 2. Easy Living

[4:19] 3. Playmates

[5:28] 4. What A Difference A Day Makes

[4:19] 5. Me And My Baby

[5:35] 6. Lorelei's Lament

[6:03] 7. Blue Stone

Phil Guilbeau (tp); John Hunt (tp, flh); Hank Crawford (as); David 'Fathead' Newman (ts); Leroy 'Hog' Cooper (bs); Edgar Willis (b); Bruno Carr (d). Recorded in New York City.

This inspired and talented group under the leadership of altoist/arranger Hank Crawford, is the Ray Charles band, minus Ray. But it is also a striking unit in its own right. The big-little-band sound is compellingly arranged and orchestrated, equally arresting on incendiary, swinging up-tempo performances as it is on blues-drenched ballads. And it provides a frame for notably lyrical and melodic soloists. The result is a joyous blend combining order and vitality in equal measure. Crawford—who also plays piano, when it is heard—is revealed as a moving and beautifully singing post-Bird alto player whose highly vocalized horn displays an instinctive understanding of structure and the tension-release qualities of good jazz.

And, while bearing a relationship to what became known as "Soul" music, it is also a reaffirmation of the validity of the original concept of that feeling. Remarkably, given the way that jazz and blues suffused its DNA, the unique voice of this gripping Ray Charles smallband operated only in concert or dance halls, outside the jazz club circuit.

The Soul Clinic

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Keely Smith - Swing, Swing, Swing

Styles: Vocal, Swing
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:14
Size: 108,0 MB
Art: Front

(1:40)  1. When You're Smiling/ The Sheik of Araby
(2:52)  2. Let the Good Times Roll
(2:24)  3. Oh Louie
(3:16)  4. Kansas City
(2:59)  5. Jump, Jive an' Wail
(2:34)  6. Keely's Boogie
(2:17)  7. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah
(3:00)  8. Swing, Swing, Swing (Sing, Sing, Sing)
(3:50)  9. Yata Hei
(2:47) 10. I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me
(2:30) 11. Palm Springs Jump
(2:46) 12. House Party Tonight
(3:09) 13. On the Sunny Side of the Street
(2:08) 14. Giddy Up Ding Dong
(3:44) 15. Robin Hood/Oh Babe
(4:12) 16. Swing, Swing, Swing (Sing, Sing, Sing) (Extended)

Nearing the age of 70, without a recording session in more than 15 years, Keely Smith returned on the heels of the '90s rejuvenation of swing music. Recorded for the Concord label, Swing, Swing, Swing does just what the title promises. Smith rips through 16 songs with barely a pause for breath, including plenty of swing standards ("Kansas City," "Jump, Jive 'An Wail," "On the Sunny Side of the Street," "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah," and the title track) as well as a few obscure songs and at least one new one ("Keely's Boogie"). 

The backing by the Frank Capp Orchestra with arrangements by Dennis Michaels and Don Menza is big, brassy, and more than enough to contend with Smith's surprisingly strong voice. Walking a very fine line between nostalgia and real innovation, Swing, Swing, Swing throws enough chestnuts to the younger audience to qualify as generational crossover, but never compromises the high-class swing that Keely Smith has always championed. ~ John Bush  http://www.allmusic.com/album/swing-swing-swing-mw0000055552

Personnel: Keely Smith (vocals); Pat Tuzzolino (guitar, background vocals); Sal Lozano, Danny House (alto saxophone); Don Menza (tenor saxophone, clarinet); Pete Christlieb, Joel Peskin (tenor saxophone); Jack Nimitz (baritone saxophone); Frank Szabo, Pete Candoli, Rick Baptist, Carl Saunders (trumpet); Jim Self (trombone, tuba); Andy Martin, Charlie Loper, Charlie Morillas (trombone); Dennis Michaels (piano, background vocals); Chuck Berghofer, Richard Simon (acoustic bass); Kenny Wild (electric bass); Frankie Capp (drums); Don Williams (percussion); Toni Prima, Luanne Prima (background vocals).

Swing, Swing, Swing

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Kenny Burrell - In A Mellow Tone - The Smooth Swing of Kenny Burrell

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:15
Size: 129,1 MB
Art: Front

(10:01)  1. All Blues
( 6:54)  2. Willow Weep for Me
( 3:44)  3. St. Thomas
( 4:37)  4. You and the Night and the Music
( 5:36)  5. Listen to the Dawn
( 4:27)  6. Flamingo
( 5:27)  7. In a Mellow Tone
( 3:27)  8. Groovin' High
( 5:57)  9. Over the Rainbow
( 6:00) 10. Tenderly

Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931 in Detroit) is an American jazz guitarist. His playing is founded in bebop and blues but works well with other jazz styles, so he has performed and recorded with a wide range of jazz musicians. Burrell made his first recording in 1951, with Dizzy Gillespie. After moving from Detroit to New York City in 1956, he recorded with a wide range of prominent musicians, including John Coltrane, Benny Goodman, Gil Evans, Stan Getz, Billie Holiday, Milt Jackson, Quincy Jones, Oscar Peterson, Sonny Rollins, Jimmy Smith, Stanley Turrentine, and Cedar Walton. He also led his own groups since 1951. 

In the 1970s he began leading seminars about music, particularly Duke Ellington’s (Burrell has a music degree from Wayne State University). A highly popular performer, he has won several jazz polls in Japan and the United Kingdom as well as the United States. He has recorded about 40 LPs, including Midnight Blue (1961), Blue Lights, Guitar Forms, Sunup To Sundown (1990), Soft Winds (1993), Then Along Came Kenny (1993), and Lotus Blossom (1995). Burrell now serves as Director of Jazz Studies at UCLA.  http://www.last.fm/music/Kenny+Burrell/+wiki

Personnel: Kenny Burrell (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar);  Freddie Green (guitar); Rufus Reid (acoustic bass, bass guitar); Larry "Lonnie" Gales, Larry Gales (acoustic bass); Eddie Jones , Larry Ridley, Reggie Johnson (bass guitar); Frank Wess (flute, tenor saxophone); Kenny Clarke, Sherman Ferguson, Ben Riley (drums).

In A Mellow Tone - The Smooth Swing of Kenny Burrell

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Janis Siegel & Fred Hersch - Slow Hot Wind

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 1995
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:24
Size: 148,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:18)  1. For All We Know
(5:07)  2. Love Came On Stealthy Fingers
(5:41)  3. Make Sure You're Sure
(4:01)  4. Softly As I Leave You/ Not Like This
(6:43)  5. Who Are You/ I Remember You
(5:30)  6. For No One
(5:56)  7. Slow Hot Wind/ Moon And Sand
(4:05)  8. The Shining Sea
(4:15)  9. Goldmine
(6:18) 10. Agua
(5:34) 11. Sister Moon
(5:50) 12. Alone Together

Singer Janis Siegel (taking time off from The Manhattan Transfer) and pianist Fred Hersch make for a complementary team on this CD, supporting and occasionally challenging each other. The sources of the compositions they interpret (many are of fairly recent vintage) stretch from Sting and Stevie Wonder to Johnny Mercer and there are quite a few middle-of-the-road pop ballads although Siegel gets to break loose on "Moon and Sand." But overall this well-played and often impressionistic music is consistently melancholy, a bit dull and often outside of jazz without all that much improvisating taking place. ~ Scott Yanow  

http://www.allmusic.com/album/slow-hot-wind-mw0000176740

Personnel:  Janis Siegel – vocals;  Fred Hersch – piano;  Tony Dumas – bass;  Ralph Penland - drums

Slow Hot Wind

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Gene Ammons With Jack McDuff And Joe Newman - Twisting The Jug

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1961
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:09
Size: 87,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:39)  1. Twisting The Jug
(7:20)  2. Born To Be Blue
(6:45)  3. Satin Doll
(4:58)  4. Moten Swing
(8:42)  5. Stormy Monday Blues
(5:42)  6. Down The Line

As a general rule, any derivation of the word "Twist" in a jazz album title from the early '60s is a clue that at best one can look forward to some campy fun. Gene Ammons' 1961 session Twistin' the Jug features not only the powerhouse tenor playing at the top of his form, but a killer set of sidemen featuring the great Hammond organist "Brother" Jack McDuff and conga player Ray Barretto. The results, particularly on the supple, funky title track and a Latinized, uptempo version of the Duke Ellington standard "Satin Doll," are surprisingly appealing. 

The album title is clearly an inappropriate marketing tool; anyone attempting to do the Twist to the opening track, a slowed-down, funky blues take on "Stormy Monday," would nod off halfway through. Still, bad album title or not, this is a fun, listenable early soul-jazz session featuring two of the greats of the field. ~ Stewart Mason  

http://www.allmusic.com/album/twistin-the-jug-mw0000870044

Personnel:  Gene Ammons - tenor saxophone;  Joe Newman – trumpet;  Jack McDuff – organ;  Wendell Marshall – bass;  Walter Perkins – drums;  Ray Barretto – congas

Twisting The Jug

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