Alma Micic - Introducing Alma

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 50:02

Size: 114.6 MB

Styles: Jazz vocals

Year: 2004

Art: Front

[5:03] 1. Day Dream

[3:07] 2. Corcovado

[2:52] 3. Close Your Eyes

[6:17] 4. Something To Live For

[4:00] 5. Yesterdays

[6:48] 6. That April Day

[6:55] 7. Sejdefu Majka Budjase

[6:27] 8. Infant Eyes

[3:05] 9. I Remember You

[5:24] 10. But Beautiful

On her début recording, singer Alma Micic presents a program of ten songs from the Great American Songbook or jazz standards with one original and a traditional Montenegrin "Sejdefu Majka Budjase."

Alma Micic has a nice way with a ballad and opens with the Strayhorn/Ellington "Day Dream," then moves on to an up-tempo, non-bossa "Corcovado." She mixes more ballads like "Something to Live For" and "But Beautiful" with swingers like "Yesterdays" and "I Remember You," on which Micic demonstrates a decent scatting ability. The original composition, "That April Day," has traces of the Ellington classic "Chelsea Bridge" and Micic offers a vocal version of Wayne Shorter's "Infant Eyes" with uncredited lyrics.

Of special mention is the piano trio led by Brandon McCune that provides fine support with bassist Sean Conty and drummer Israel Bannerman. McCune demonstrates mastery of block chording in the manner of Red Garland. ~Michael P. Gladstone

Alma Micic, voice; Brandon McCune,piano; Sean Conly, bass; Israel Bannerman,drums.

Introducing Alma

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Milt Jackson, Hubert Laws - Goodbye

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:32
Size: 83.7 MB
Styles: Hard bop, Vibraphone jazz
Year: 1974/2004
Art: Front

[5:47] 1. Old Devil Moon
[6:44] 2. SKJ
[6:43] 3. Opus De Funk
[7:57] 4. Detour Ahead
[9:20] 5. Goodbye

Recorded in 1973 as a foray away from the Modern Jazz Quartet, Milt Jackson's second entry on the CTI label is also one of its highlights. This is one of Creed Taylor's finest productions both in terms of material and sidemen. Drummer Steve Gadd, flutist Hubert Laws, bassist Ron Carter, and pianist Cedar Walton accompany Jackson on the majority of the album. Indeed, Jackson's ability to swing funky is evidenced to delightful extremes on "Old Devil Moon," with a rolling cymbal shakeout from Gadd, whose rim shots and tempo-pushing musculature are a sharp contrast to those of the MJQ's Connie Kay.Likewise, Laws, whose playing is usually over the top, stays inside melodic nuances here and provides Jackson with an essential harmonic foil. And Ron Carter is playing throughout with a popping edge he never had before or since. On Jackson's own SKJ, recorded in December of 1972, Don Sebesky conducted a jazz orchestra for Taylor that included Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, Billy Cobham, Carter, a string section, a reed and woodwind and brass section, and a harp. Sounds sticky, eh? Hardly, Jackson is pure Bags here, playing it blue-black and rolling out around the ends of the turnarounds into deep, funky, post-bop terrain. The orchestra is mixed way down and is added for texture so the sextet is what one hears most -- along with a burning Freddie Hubbard solo. The other number of real note here is a ripping rendition of Horace Silver's "Opus de Funk," which sprawls the slim harmonic edge, rolls it out on a carpet, and turns it inside on itself, before rolling through the blues to move the intervals into a sequence Silver might not have considered when he wrote it, but which Jackson reveals was in there all the time. ~Thom Jurek

Goodbye

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The Jodi Beach Trio - West Of The Moon

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:56
Size: 121,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:42)  1. Stardust
(5:39)  2. Besame Mucho
(3:04)  3. You Stepped Out of A Dream
(5:09)  4. East of the Sun (And West of the Moon)
(3:19)  5. Tenderly
(5:18)  6. Pure Imagination
(3:35)  7. If You Want To Hear I Love You
(3:22)  8. I See A Face In the Clouds
(3:55)  9. One Warm Day
(4:46) 10. Days of Wine and Roses
(3:44) 11. What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?
(5:18) 12. When You Wish Upon A Star

This release features soaringly romantic arrangements of timeless jazz classics book-ending some spicy Latin flavored original love songs. Lush vocals and classic "old school" instrumentals will take you back in time and touch your heart. Moon, stars, & dreams have long been subjects that have fascinated and inspired poets, musicians and artists of all types. I am often drawn to lyrics that reflect these images. There is a fairy tale that tells of a prince who lives in a castle “east of the sun and west of the moon.” It is believed that this story inspired Brooks Bowman to write the dreamy lyrics for his song. “I wish that we could live up in the sky, to live among the stars, the moon, just you and I.” 

Sounds delightful to me! This collection of songs will take you on a musical journey of love through the stars to the moon and back. My hope is that you enjoy them as much as we do! I hope that this music transports you to another place and time...where we can all visit in a place “east of the sun and west of the moon” where we will “live in a lovely way, on love in the pale moonlight”….keep wishing on stars….and believing in the power of your dreams. http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/jodibeachtrio

West Of The Moon

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Denny Zeitlin - Wherever You Are: Midnight Moods for Solo Piano

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:01
Size: 156,7 MB
Art: Front

(6:01)  1. Body and Soul
(6:55)  2. Good-Bye
(7:10)  3. Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars/How Insensitive
(9:16)  4. Last Night When We Were Young
(6:33)  5. I Hear a Rhapsody
(3:51)  6. Time Remembers One Time Once
(9:28)  7. The Meaning of the Blues
(4:24)  8. My Dream Is Yours
(8:49)  9. You Don't Know What Love Is
(4:31) 10. Wherever You Are

There's something magnificent about a top-level artist alone with a piano, immersed in a mood of quiet nights, under quiet stars. Denny Zeitlin, a versatile music maker who wrote the electro-acoustic symphonic soundtrack for the 1978 remake of the science fiction classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers, has released a handful of excellent trio albums on the MaxJazz and Sunnyside labels, but since 2010, has concentrated on solo perforomances. Precipice (Sunnyside Records, 2010) and Labyrinth (Sunnyside Records, 2011) are both live recordings of solo piano outings. Zeitlin continues his solo run with Wherever You Are Midnight Moods for Solo Piano. On previous albums, Zeitlin has always included varied programs, with Midnight Moods though, he tries a different tangent a thematic album. Featuring a sustained mood, dealing in gentle ballads with the kind of extended ruminative atmosphere that Frank Sinatra pioneered with his In the Wee Small Hours (Columbia Records, 1955).

The tunes are familiar standards, some bossa-nova and a couple of classic Zeitlin originals. Opening with the often covered "Body and Soul," from the 1930 Broadway review Three's a Crowd, and brought irretrievably into the jazz cannon by saxophonist Coleman Hawkins' 1939 take on the tune. Zeitlin reharmonizes and injects a stately atmosphere, his exquisite touch and early classical background shining through.Gordon Jenkins' "Good-bye" was covered beautifully in the jazz piano arena by Keith Jarrett and Bobo Stenson, and here Zeiltin explores the fragility of the tune through use of rubato, sounding as if he's feeling his way into uncharted territory. Antonio Carlos Jobim's most beautiful of works, "Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars" transitions into "How Insensitive," then slips back and forth between the two tunes.

Zeitlin also revisits two of his most cherished originals, "Time Remembers One Time Once," from his 1983 ECM Records album of the same name a beautiful duet recording with bassist Charlie Haden and "Wherever You Are." The former evoking the feeling of the universal search for human connection while the latter is a tender description of love's transcendence. Wherever You Are Midnight Moods for Solo Piano is Denny Zeitlin's most intimate and contemplative sets of songs, and perhaps the loveliest work from a top jazz pianist at the height of his expressive powers. ~ Dan McClenaghan  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/wherever-you-are-midnight-moods-for-solo-piano-denny-zeitlin-sunnyside-records-review-by-dan-mcclenaghan.php
 

Personnel: Denny Zeitlin: piano.

Wherever You Are: Midnight Moods for Solo Piano

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Tony Messina - All About Love And Life

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:33
Size: 116,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:26)  1. Wave
(3:59)  2. Yesterday When I Was Young
(3:03)  3. That's Life
(3:21)  4. Desperado
(3:19)  5. New York State of Mind
(4:08)  6. So Many Stars
(3:48)  7. You Woke My Senses
(2:48)  8. Call Me Irresponsible
(3:41)  9. What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?
(3:09) 10. April Smiled
(4:24) 11. Everything Must Change
(3:16) 12. If
(4:21) 13. The Way You Look Tonight
(3:44) 14. Misty

Tony Messina's singing style is classical/jazz fusion with traces of swing with a natural sense of crooning.

"'All About Love and Life' is first rate, elegant and utterly enjoyable."Bob Collins - Music Director WRHU FM New York  Oct 15, 2014

"'All About Love and Life' is a pure delight. This one's keeper". Scott Harper - Host, Tuesday Nite Straight Ahead  KAJX FM Aspen Public Radio Oct 26, 2014  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/tonymessina9

All About Love And Life

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Alberta Hunter - Amtrak Blues

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1980
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:30
Size: 90,8 MB
Art: Front

(5:23)  1. The Darktown Strutters Ball
(3:50)  2. Nobody Knows You When You're Down & Out
(2:38)  3. I'm Having A Good Time
(3:44)  4. Always
(3:49)  5. My Handy Man Ain't Handy No More
(3:24)  6. Amtrak Blues
(4:14)  7. Old Fashioned Blues
(4:12)  8. Sweet Georgia Brown
(3:59)  9. A Good Man Is Hard To FInd
(4:13) 10. I've Got A Mind To Ramble

Alberta Hunter's second recording since launching her remarkable comeback (she was 83 when this album was cut) finds the veteran blues singer (a survivor of the 1920s) still in surprisingly strong form and full of spirit. Such songs as "Darktown Strutters' Ball," "My Handy Man," "Old Fashioned Love" and "I've Got a Mind to Ramble" are given fine treatment by Hunter, who is joined by the Gerald Cook quartet, trombonist Vic Dickenson, trumpeter Doc Cheatham and tenorman Frank Wess on various tracks. 

~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/amtrak-blues-mw0000193668

Amtrak Blues

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Lokua Kanza - Plus Vivant

Styles: R&B
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:46
Size: 122,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:55)  1. Voir le jour
(3:35)  2. Camera dans le coeur
(3:47)  3. Envie d'aventure
(3:18)  4. Tu es l'infini
(3:36)  5. Plus vivant (avec Corneille)
(3:44)  6. Aller simple pour l'infini
(3:44)  7. Laisse-moi le remps
(3:11)  8. Si tu pars
(4:05)  9. Anticyclone
(3:58) 10. A tes cotes
(3:36) 11. La clef des champs
(3:36) 12. Le monde est fou
(4:25) 13. Mal a dire
(0:33) 14. Piololo
(3:37) 15. Plus vivant (solo)

Lokua Kanza has one of the most exceptional voices of Africa. It has a clarity that rings out, calls you from what you're doing and begs you to sit down and listen.His last album, released in 2001, was a piece of work that was close to perfect. Toyebi Te brought Lokua's home country of Congo to the listener in powerful and touching songs, spiced with intricate rhythms tapped out on bottles and call-and-response vocals, in his mother tongue of Lingala. With his children speaking amid the melodies and the sound of the rain coming down, it was a genuine work of art. Four years later, Lokua has brought out Plus Vivantwhichprompts me to ask,what has happened to his Africa? Plus Vivant is a fifteen-track album of guitar introspections; some done in an R&B style ("Le monde est fou"), some haunting acoustic ballads ("Mal a dire"), and some upbeat tracks,which point towards the Congolese style without being overpowering. There's some beautiful piano, some exceptional guitar solos and it's all very pleasant. However, it isn't until track seven, "Laisse moi le temps". that I begin to remember the Lokua of Toyebi Te and I find myself up and moving to this uplifting, finely arranged and rhythmically interesting song. 

The unknown percussion instrument sounds like something beating against a tin roof, the electric guitar resounds like a smile, and the smooth voice of Lokuapulls the whole thing together.The album only peaks like this again in a duet with French R&B singer Corneille, but this is quite a collaboration, and their voices do each other justice in the way that others can only dream of. There's also a thirty two second snippet of something magical, "Piololo", that comes in so briefly with its chimes and humming vocals that it's gone before I can say Toyebi Te.Still, if there are moments when I wonder why Lokua has recorded an album entirely in French, all is redeemed by the sound of his voice. It is as vibrant as ever, allowing me to think of him still as the voice of the African continent. ~ Rose Skelton  http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/9vw6

Plus Vivant

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