Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - The Definitive Collection

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:52
Size: 118.8 MB
Styles: Motown Soul, R&B
Year: 2008
Art: Front

[2:48] 1. Shop Around
[2:38] 2. I'll Try Something New
[3:10] 3. You've Really Got A Hold On Me
[3:11] 4. Mickey's Monkey
[3:02] 5. I Like It Like That
[2:46] 6. Ooo Baby Baby
[2:54] 7. Tracks Of My Tears
[3:05] 8. My Girl Has Gone
[2:44] 9. Going To A Go-Go
[2:28] 10. (Come 'round Here) I'm The One You Need
[2:45] 11. More Love
[2:57] 12. The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage
[2:45] 13. I Second That Emotion
[2:16] 14. Yester Love
[2:20] 15. Special Occasion
[4:00] 16. Baby, Baby Don't Cry
[2:56] 17. Doggone Right
[2:59] 18. Tears Of A Clown

Released by Motown/Universal in 2008, The Definitive Collection is an update of 1998's The Ultimate Collection, albeit one with seven fewer cuts and less information in the liner notes (release dates, chart placements, musician credits). There is no indication that the mastering of the material between the two releases is any different. For the casual Smokey Robinson & the Miracles fan, the truncated tracklisting is not a big deal. The songs not on this disc that were included on The Ultimate Collection were not major; in fact, not one of them cracked the Top 30 of the Black Singles chart. All the basic essentials are here, from 1962's "I'll Try Something New" through 1970's "The Tears of a Clown." ~Andy Kellman

The Definitive Collection

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Marian McPartland - Lullaby In Rhythm

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 32:17
Size: 73.9 MB
Styles: Piano jazz, Mainstream jazz
Year: 2009
Art: Front

[2:55] 1. Lullaby Of Birdland
[2:41] 2. All The Things You Are
[3:23] 3. Once In A While
[3:01] 4. September Song
[3:03] 5. Hallelujuh!
[2:59] 6. Lullaby In Rhythm
[4:04] 7. Manhattan
[3:29] 8. What Is This Thing Called Love
[3:33] 9. Willow Weep For Me
[3:05] 10. The Lady Is A Tramp [previously Unreleased Version]

Marian McPartland, a spirited jazz pianist and self-effacing radio personality whose marriage to cornetist Jimmy McPartland in 1946 enabled her to move to the U.S. and work and record here steadily starting in 1948.

When I interviewed Marian in 2009, I asked her how she first became interested in jazz while growing up in England. "I heard it every day on the radio in the 1930s," she said. "My younger sister was friends with this guy who tried to interest her in jazz. But she wasn’t very interested so he switched from her to me [laughs] because I was fascinated with the music. There was no romance, just someone to play records with. When I started to play jazz on the piano, my parents would simply say, 'Very nice, dear.' So I decided to follow my heart and become a professional musician. Now when audiences applaud, I suppose they're also saying, 'Very nice, dear.' ” ~Marc Myers

Lullaby In Rhythm

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Herbie Nichols - The Complete Blue Note Recordings Of Herbie Nichols (Disc 2 of 3)

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 71:09

Size: 162.9 MB

Styles: Bop, Piano jazz

Year: 1997

Art: Front

[5:11] 1. Shuffle Montgomery (Alt Take)

[4:13] 2. It Didn't Happen

[3:43] 3. Crisp Day

[4:09] 4. Shuffle Montgomery

[4:22] 5. The Gig

[4:29] 6. Applejackin' (Alt Take)

[3:57] 7. Hangover Triangle

[4:21] 8. Lady Sings The Blues

[3:59] 9. Chit-Chatting

[5:36] 10. House Party Starting

[4:09] 11. The Gig

[3:39] 12. Furthermore (Alt Take #1)

[3:36] 13. Furthermore

[4:50] 14. 117th Street (Alt Take)

[4:45] 15. 117th Street

[6:02] 16. Sunday Stroll

The Complete Blue Note Recordings Of Herbie Nichols (Disc 2)

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Harold Land - You're My Thrill

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:30
Size: 83.6 MB
Styles: Post bop, Saxophone jazz
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[4:47] 1. Blue Nellie
[3:35] 2. Take Aim
[7:09] 3. As You Like It
[6:16] 4. Land Of Peace
[8:01] 5. You're My Thrill
[6:38] 6. Reflections

Recorded in 1960, this little-known Blue Note session by tenor saxophonist Harold Land went unreleased until 1980. Land and an obscure supporting cast (trumpeter Martin Banks, pianist Amos Trice, bassist Clarence Jones, and drummer Leon Pettis) perform five hard bop originals and a lyrical "You're My Thrill." The performances, which are now hard to find, should interest Land collectors and fans of the era's modern mainstream jazz, although overall the results are not that memorable.

You're My Thrill

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Gasper Bertoncelj - Caution! Hard Hat Area!

Styles:  Jazz

Year: 2008

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 48:44

Size: 111,9 MB

Art: Front

(8:06)  1. Caution! Hard Hat Area!

(4:35)  2. Medina

(4:55)  3. Delirious

(6:21)  4. Love for Sale

(7:24)  5. Too Slow

(5:36)  6. Ashes

(5:25)  7. What's This?

(6:16)  8. It Happened Again

Jeremy Pelt has become a sought-after sideman and his trumpeting has been tapped for three recording projects here: two auspicious debuts by emerging talents, the other from a veteran West Coast pianist.

Drummer Gasper Bertoncelj is from Slovenia, but his musical allegiances skew more toward hard bop than Eastern Europe. Caution! follows the Blue Note/Prestige approach of bringing together a quintetpared down to quartet or trio on half the tracks to play material (mostly his) in workmanlike, fairly minimal arrangements. The title tune, with a funky shuffle reminiscent of "The Sidewinder," begins with Pelt's Harmon-muted trumpet paired with Vincent Herring's alto sax, the former's solo prancing over the leader's buoyant beats. "Love for Sale," given a Latin flavor and a fast 4/4 in the bridge, is a quartet feature for Pelt's effervescent swing. Pelt echoes Clifford Brown and Lee Morgan on two other hard bop tracks, but it is on bassist Boris Kozlov's ballad "Ashes" that his command of long, lyrical lines shines forth.

Pelt performs admirably on the two tracks featuring him on Relentless, saxophonist Sharel Cassity's debut album. But those two quintet pieces by Cassity in classic hard bop mode are not the norm on the album, one more concerned with the nuances of ensemble presentation. Cassity is an intriguing composer/arranger whose work here includes her multiple-metered "Song of Those Who Seek," winner of the ASCAP Foundation's 2007 Young Jazz Composer Award. Trombonist Michael Dease composed the title tune, a compulsive theme perfectly showcasing Cassity's acerbic, yearning lines and penchant for imbuing notes with a rising density, like yeast in dough. Cassity's galvanizing, slightly serrated tone on both soprano and alto sax is spotlighted and set off by arrangements that employ extra horns or exotic rhythms and ensemble passages. This album reveals deft, nuanced touches.

A definite West Coast cool vibe clings to a lot of pianist Lisa Hilton's Twilight & Blues. There's a wafting quality to the laconic progressions of Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock," a rolling, hypnotic feel to the original "Twilight" and rhapsodic gentleness to the solo "Moon River." Hilton, whose style can be laconic or lyrically incisive, is an impressionist intent on creating and sustaining moods. "Pandemonium," the opening track, is a shuffle bounce (courtesy of drummer Lewis Nash) over a bass ostinato (FLY), the horns (Pelt and tenor sax JD Allen) floating solos separately and together over the beat in what could be called polyphonic noodling. Two versions of "What's Going On," the theme peeking through in piano passages, also feature horns noodling, echoes of the multi-tracking of Marvin Gaye's original recording. Pelt's trumpet is largely a color in Hilton's canvases employed more for his clarion tone than personality. ~ George Kanzler http://www.allaboutjazz.com/jeremy-pelt-threefer-caution-hard-hat-area-relentless-and-twilight-and-blues-by-george-kanzler.php

Personnel: Vincent Herring: alto sax: flute; Jeremy Pelt: trumpet: flugelhorn; Peter Mihelich: piano; Boris Kozlov: bass; Gasper Bertoncelj: drums.

Caution! Hard Hat Area!

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Earl Hines - Plays George Gershwin

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 70:23
Size: 161,5 MB
Art: Front

( 9:03)  1. Rhapsody in Blue
( 4:31)  2. Love Is Here To Stay
( 4:10)  3. They All Laughed
( 7:12)  4. Somebody Loves Me
(10:32)  5. Embraceable You
( 5:59)  6. Let's Call The Whole Thing Off
(11:40)  7. They Can't Take That Away From Me
( 7:55)  8. Love Walked In
( 9:17)  9. Summertime

This excellent two-LP set features the great pianist Earl Hines interpreting ten of George Gershwin's compositions. Highlights of this solo piano session include extensive explorations of "Embraceable You" and "They Can't Take That Away from Me" (both are over ten minutes) and more concise readings of "They All Laughed" and "Love Walked In." Hines recorded so many rewarding records throughout his productive career that what would be considered "best" for some is merely "good" for him. This set is worth picking up, if it can still be found. ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/earl-hines-plays-george-gershwin-mw0000235303

Plays George Gershwin

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Danny Grissett - Promise

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:33
Size: 134,3 MB
Art: Front

(7:25)  1. Moment's Notice
(7:04)  2. Autumn Nocturne
(8:26)  3. Promise
(5:58)  4. Where Do We Go From Here?
(6:59)  5. Cambridge Place
(4:04)  6. You Must Believe In Spring
(5:09)  7. On The Edge
(7:28)  8. Everything Happens to Me
(5:57)  9. Eleventh Hour

The jazz piano trio format has its share of plaudits and pitfalls. One the one hand, it has immense possibilities in terms of orchestration and rhythm. But on the other hand, it's all too easy for the music to turn into background wallpaper for the local cocktail lounge. As such, it's a risky decision to make your debut recording in a trio setting, but pianist Danny Grissett need not worry—he deserves nothing but acclaim for this set, one of the best maiden voyages that I have heard in years. Only making his move to New York City in 2003, Grissett has nonetheless become a valuable sidemen to some heavy-hitting leaders, including Nicholas Payton, Tom Harrell and Vincent Herring. On Promise, the pianist gets together with bassist Vicente Archer and drummer Kendrick Scott for a recital of originals and standards that give full expression to his range of abilities while avoiding any inclination to wear his chops on his sleeves. This later point is particularly important at a time when it seems that a slew of current pianists from Eldar to Hiromi seem to be trying too hard to dazzle with technique. Don't get me wrong, Grissett is highly skilled, but he chooses to channel his abilities into the emotional impact of his performances.

Coltrane's "Moment's Notice" is a time-worn test of a musician's mettle that can merely sound perfunctory in many hands, but Grissett opens the disc on a positive note by breaking up the flow of the rhythm so that instead of an insistent pulse, there are periods of tension and release. "Autumn Nocturne" also gets a makeover, taken at a brisker pace than usual but retaining the sentimentality of the lyrics. Grissett's own tunes explore a multiplicity of moods and are exigent without being cloying. Just listen to how natural he makes 13/4 sound in the original "Where Do We Go From Here?" A closing romp through Mulgrew Miller's quicksilver "Eleventh Hour" finds all the pots on in a blistering performance that illustrates the great rapport that Grissett shares with Archer and Scott. All three of these men are at the top of their game, and collectively they've come up with a piano trio set that is as far away from cocktail piano music as it gets. And that's a good thing indeed! ~ C.Andrew Hovan http://www.allaboutjazz.com/promise-danny-grissett-criss-cross-review-by-c-andrew-hovan.php

Personnel: Danny Grissett: piano; Vicente Archer: bass; Kendrick Scott: drums.

Promise

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Lizz Wright - Freedom & Surrender

Styles: Neo-Soul
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:46
Size: 141,8 MB
Art: Front

(5:05)  1. Freedom
(2:57)  2. The Game
(3:26)  3. The New Game
(5:20)  4. Lean In
(5:25)  5. Right Where You Are
(5:32)  6. River Man
(5:27)  7. Somewhere Down The Mystic
(3:34)  8. Real Life Painting
(5:06)  9. To Love Somebody
(4:28) 10. Here And Now
(5:15) 11. You
(3:40) 12. Blessed The Brave
(6:26) 13. Surrender

A few years after the release of her fourth album with Verve, a gospel-themed set of reinterpretations titled Fellowship, Lizz Wright signed to the Concord label with an eye toward concentrating on original material. The vocalist made a connection with veteran multi-instrumentalist and producer Larry Klein and recorded Freedom & Surrender with a stable backing band that included drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, percussionist Pete Korpela, bassist Dan Lutz, guitarist Dean Parks, and keyboardists Pete Kuzma and Billy Childs. For most listeners, the change of label and mostly new set of supporting musicians will seem transparent. Like Wright's previous albums, Freedom & Surrender is graceful and exacting, yet those qualities come across in a fashion that does not seem deliberate remarkable for material that draws from folk, blues, jazz, soul, and gospel and often fuses two or more of those genres.

Longtime collaborator Toshi Reagon contributes only two songs, "Freedom" and "Surrender," but they neatly begin and end the album in spirited and assured form. David Batteau and Jesse Harris separately collaborated with Wright and sometimes Klein on the writing of seven selections. In "The New Game," one of the grittier moments featuring a contribution from Batteau, Wright delivers the lines that most applicable to the state of her career: "I remember the way in/I got my new dancin' shoes/This is a new game, no tears/Ain't no shame shiftin' gears." Two guest appearances fit into place with ease. Gregory Porter is a duet partner on "Right Where You Are," a languid ballad written by Wright and Klein with J.D. Souther. A spectral version of Nick Drake's "River Man" along with an update of Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody," one of only two covers, and a highlight  features a soft-hued flügelhorn solo from Till Brönner. It's doubtful that Wright and her creative partners could have more effectively synthesized her past work with her current outlook. ~ Andy Kellman  http://www.allmusic.com/album/freedom-surrender-mw0002855681

Freedom & Surrender

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