Milt Jackson - Jazz 'n' Samba

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 33:11
Size: 76.0 MB
Styles: Hard bop
Year: 1964/2006
Art: Front

[5:41] 1. Blues For Juanita
[2:40] 2. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
[4:45] 3. Big George
[3:43] 4. Gingerbread Boy
[2:11] 5. Jazz 'n' Samba
[3:06] 6. The Oo-Oo Bossa Nova
[4:36] 7. I Love You
[3:24] 8. Kiss And Run
[3:00] 9. Jazz Bossa Nova

This is an odd LP. The first session is a conventional one with vibraphonist Milt Jackson, tenor-saxophonist Jimmy Heath, pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Richard Davis and drummer Connie Kay performing Heath's recent "Gingerbread Boy," Duke Ellington's "I Got It Bad" and a pair of Jackson originals. The flip side substitutes two guitars for Flanagan's piano and uses bossa nova rhythms in hopes of getting a hit. Milt does play well on "I Love You" and Lillian Clark's vocal on "Jazz 'N' Samba" is fine but "The Oo-Oo Bossa Noova" is strictly for those listeners who are nostalgic for Car 54, Where Are You. ~Scott Yanow

Jazz 'n' Samba

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Tom Harrell - Labyrinth

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:36
Size: 150.2 MB
Styles: Hard bop, Trumpet jazz
Year: 1996
Art: Front

[4:19] 1. Samba Mate
[5:54] 2. Marimba Song
[9:16] 3. Cheetah
[8:16] 4. Blue In One
[7:26] 5. Hot Licks On The Sidewalk
[7:59] 6. Majesty
[3:09] 7. Sun Cycle
[6:47] 8. Darn That Dream
[8:00] 9. Bear That In Mind
[4:25] 10. Labyrinth

Tom Harrell has been gradually gaining recognition as one of the most consistently creative brassmen in jazz. Although his soft tone can sometimes be a little reminiscent of Chet Baker, Harrell's technique is on a higher level and he is a more advanced player. Harrell is heard in fine form throughout this CD which is split between appearances with his impressive quintet and with a nonet/tentet. The trumpeter, who contributed nine of the ten selections, is quite generous in allocating solo space and in keeping his improvisations relatively brief and to the point. The selections display variety within the hard bop/post bop idiom, ranging from rhythmic pieces such as "Marimba Song" and "Samba Mate" to the tongue twister "Cheetah" and several numbers which make the augmented group sound like a big band.

Of the sidemen, tenor saxophonist Don Braden and pianist Kenny Werner have several good spots, Gary Smulyan's deep-toned baritone (the personnel listing mistakenly has him down as playing bass clarinet) is a highlight of "Blue in One" and Rob Botti's oboe is an important voice on "Majesty." Harrell, who plays both piano and overdubbed flugelhorn on a solo interpretation of "Darn That Dream," continues to grow as an original improviser. ~Scott Yanow

Labyrinth

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James Booker - Let's Make A Better World: Live In Leipzig

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 65:46

Size: 150.6 MB

Styles: Jazz-funk-soul

Year: 1991

Art: Front

[4:59] 1. Life

[3:11] 2. Sunny Side Of The Street

[5:50] 3. Junco Partner

[4:12] 4. Tico Tico

[6:32] 5. One Helluva Nerve

[0:56] 6. Booker's Original

[2:40] 7. Baby Face

[4:32] 8. So Swell When You're Well

[6:20] 9. Since I Fell For You

[2:34] 10. Black Night Is Falling

[4:06] 11. Come On In This House

[4:47] 12. Let's Make A Better World

[4:46] 13. People Get Ready

[3:00] 14. Chopin's One Minute Waltz

[4:10] 15. Little Tune For Lefty

[3:03] 16. Malaguena A La Louisiana

This record will never win a prize, will never go gold, will never be a hit. At least, a competent music magazine wrote about the concert, from which this recording is drawn: „James Booker toured London, Germany and Switzerland Oct 18 – Dec 9. His concert in Leipzig (German Democratic Repuplic) was one of the best he gave.“

This is now 17 years past and much has changed. Booker is dead – he died on November 8 1983 at the Charity Hospital in his hometown of New Orleans – and this German Democratic Republic, with all its strange institutions and facilities, doesn’t exist anymore. It survived this great piano player by 6 years, almost on the day. Taking account of the psychological-sociological aspect, there is a lot to be added, before this record fulfills its claim to be a audio document with a historical background. ~Lily

Let's Make A Better World: Live In Leipzig

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Deborah Latz - Lifeline

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:33
Size: 218,5 MB
Art: Front

(6:04)  1. Les Feuilles Mortes
(3:50)  2. I Get Along Without You Very Well
(4:25)  3. Witchcraft
(2:41)  4. Tea For Two/Day In - Day Out
(5:12)  5. Make Someone Happy
(3:36)  6. Jump In
(3:13)  7. Waltz For Debby
(7:00)  8. My Favorite Things
(4:40)  9. Que Reste-t-il De Nos Amours
(5:52) 10. Don’t Explain
(4:19) 11. The Sweetest Sounds
(3:57) 12. I Didn’t Know What Time It Was
(2:55) 13. How Deep Is The Ocean
(2:41) 14. La Vie En Rose

Deborah Latz is a bold singer with a strong sense of her own musical identity. So sure-footed is she that it's hard to imagine her needing a lifeline she's more the type to throw one to the sinking. Lifeline does just that the 14 tunes pull the listener into Latz's fast-moving ship as it skims across her repertoire of standards to safety on the opposite shore. Latz kicked off the CD at New York's The Kitano on October 1, 2008, and for the most part the show and the CD paralleled each other. Latz's opener, "Les Fueilles Mortes," which features guest saxophonist Joel Frahm during the contemplative, improvised intro, shows off her effortless technique: her free vocal line is clear and perfectly centered. Her technical facility is most evident, however, when she sustains a pitch at a pianissimo for several measures as at the end of the second tune, "I Get Along Without You Very Well." Despite the softness of the sound this trick requires a vocal strength and melodic sensitivity to make it work. On both the CD and in performance Latz uses an ample amount of vocal improvisation and her ideas seem to hail from a variety of sources. In one moment she'll invoke a standard jazz lick and a minute later she'll let loose in an open-throated caterwaul; these devices turn "My Favorite Things," the tune that Latz calls the "nucleus" of the album, into something that Rodgers and Hammerstein had not imagined, perhaps. Around this revolve other tunes that surprise for their innovation or delight for their inspiration a medley of "Tea For Two" and "Day In/Day Out"; "Waltz For Debbie"; "Don't Explain and Latz's closing number, a sweetly romantic rendition of "La Vie En Rose." Behind all of Latz's innovation and inspiration lies a strong rapport with her band. She records and performs with the same group of musicians: Frahm, Daniela Schachter (piano), Bob Bowen (bass) and Elisabeth Keledjian (drums). The band is a tight and unobtrusive bunch, leaving most the spotlight for Latz, stepping into it only long enough to distinguish themselves as soloists. In short, each is a first-rate accompanist, a job that is often much harder to execute than a well-phrased solo. ~ Suzanne Lorge  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/lifeline-deborah-latz-june-moon-productions-review-by-suzanne-lorge.php

Lifeline

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Dan McMillion Jazz Orchestra - A Big Band Style! Disc 1 And Disc 2

The two disc set presented here provides a comprehensive overview of the Don McMillion Jazz Orchestra in the late 1960's and early 1970's, mixing the standards he often played in the early years peppered with the hits of the modern era including big band arrangements of the Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love" and Jimmy Webb's "MacArthur Park." All selections newly remastered. ~ Editorial Reviews  http://www.amazon.com/Big-Band-Style-Digitally-Remastered/dp/B007WVJX1M

Disc 1
Styles: Jazz, Big Band
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:25
Size: 143,8 MB
Art: Front

(2:32)  1. How High the Moon
(4:30)  2. I Remember Clifford
(4:13)  3. Night In Tunisia
(3:08)  4. Take the "a" Train
(2:56)  5. Perdido
(4:57)  6. Birdland
(4:31)  7. Milestones
(5:42)  8. Watermelon Man
(4:36)  9. Lady Bird
(3:10) 10. Four
(5:39) 11. On Green Dolphin Street
(2:58) 12. Manteca
(4:18) 13. Round Midnight
(2:32) 14. Hey There
(3:32) 15. Danny Boy
(3:02) 16. Maria

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Disc 2
Time: 67:14
Size: 154,8 MB

(4:04)  1. Hot House
(3:13)  2. People
(4:28)  3. Gonna Fly Now
(3:08)  4. Norwegian Wood
(4:39)  5. Just Friends
(3:57)  6. Bridge Over Troubled Water
(9:09)  7. So In Love
(4:47)  8. Brazil
(4:37)  9. MacArthur Park
(3:57) 10. My Funny Valentine
(4:16) 11. It Don't Mean A Thing
(4:25) 12. What's New
(3:25) 13. You Go to My Head
(4:49) 14. It's A Wonderful World
(4:14) 15. Can't Buy Me Love

A Big Band Style!  Disc 1

A Big Band Style!  Disc 2

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Deep Blue Organ Trio - Folk Music

Styles: Jazz, Straight-ahead/Mainstream
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:13
Size: 150,4 MB
Art: Front

(7:33)  1. A Deeper Blue
(5:27)  2. This I Dig Of You
(9:20)  3. I Thought About You
(6:21)  4. The Chant
(6:39)  5. She's Leaving Home
(9:45)  6. Never Knew Love Like This Before
(8:27)  7. Ceora
(4:52)  8. Short Story
(6:44)  9. Sweet Sticky Thing

Since 1992, Deep Blue Organ Trio has been working tirelessly to keep the flames of classic organ jazz burning. They've held down a weekly gig at Chicago's Green Mill and have released two highly acclaimed discs for Delmark Records: Deep Blue Bruise (2004) and Goin' to Town: Live at the Green Mill (2006). On Folk Music, the trio's first release for Origin Records, guitarist Bobby Broom, drummer Greg Rockingham and organist Chris Foreman dig deep into the well of organ trio grease. Throughout the disc's nine tracks, the spirit of past B3 pioneers is strongly felt. The styles of Jimmy Smith, Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff, etc. are fused together seamlessly to create an electrifying, vibrant release.

The no-nonsense swinging session, a mixture of hard-bop staples, standards and R&B hits, is highlighted by "A Deeper Blue, with feel-good blues to get things warmed up; Foreman's soulful rendering of "I Thought About You, the Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Mercer standard; the relentless swing of the 1980 Stephanie Mills hit "Never Knew Love Like This Before, and the Lee Morgan classic "Ceora. Broom is playing at the top of his game. The blistering guitarist turns in one soulful solo after another, managing to stretch the boundaries of tradition without ever losing sight of it. Rockingham, who spent a decade with organist Charles Earland, proves himself the consummate organ trio drummer. His rock-solid playing emphasizes impeccable groove and hip solo fills. Foreman, a true artisan of the Hammond B3 style, manipulates the full range of his instrument. His slow burn on Victor Feldman's "The Chant is appropriately down and dirty. There isn't an ounce of pretension on Folk Music. Quite simply, it's a soulful good time. Keep it coming fellas. ~ John Barron  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/folk-music-deep-blue-organ-trio-origin-records-review-by-john-barron.php 

Personnel: Bobby Broom: guitar; Greg Rockingham: drums; Chris Foreman: Hammond B3 organ.

Folk Music

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