Thursday, October 15, 2015

Debra Hope Miller - Cat Walk Boogie And Blues

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 33:04
Size: 75.7 MB
Styles: Boogie Woogie, Blues piano
Year: 2008
Art: Front

[2:58] 1. The Dirty Dozens
[3:47] 2. Sweet Lotus Blossom
[1:32] 3. Cat Walk Boogie
[3:24] 4. Amazing Grace-Down By The Riverside Boogie
[3:34] 5. Georgia
[2:35] 6. Otis In The Dark
[3:02] 7. St. Louis Blues
[3:14] 8. After Hours
[3:50] 9. Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans
[2:11] 10. Ain't Nobody's Business
[2:54] 11. How Long Blues

Pianist/Composer/Singer-Songwriter/Arranger/Author. Boogie-woogie, Blues to Classical! 6th Place Nominee for Best Blues/Jazz Artist, 2014 Chicago Independent Music Awards. In 2004, Debra Hope Miller...aka Little Debra, got hooked on the blues and boogie-woogie old time piano playing. She emersed herself in the style. Prior to that time, she played mainly classical piano and a little jazz. With her first CD, Cat Walk Boogie and Blues, Debra plays tribute to old classic blues and boogie-woogie piano from the past. The CD title comes from her original piano piece, Cat Walk Boogie.

As a composer and singer/songwriter, Debra writes in many styles. Her composition Sea of Clouds, combines her piano playing with her singing in a classical/pop type composition. Her composition, Spanish Interlude in G, is a classical composition she composed for piano and had separately orchestrated for piano and ensemble can be heard here as well. Her Piano Concerto in Eb Major is a one movement concerto she wrote and was orchestrated by her nephew, Tyler Katz who is a composer too. And Conversations from Within is another classical piano piece of Debra's combining classical here with a kind of new age feel with Debra on piano. And then back to her blues/pop/jazz side can be heard with her songs What is Freedom to Me, The Meaning of Life (is Within Every One of Us), I Thought Friends Were Forever, I Got the Blues, Parking Meter Blues, River of Tears and other songs she has written.

Cat Walk Boogie And Blues

Cass Elliot - Dream A Little Dream: The Cass Elliot Collection

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:36
Size: 113.6 MB
Styles: Vocal
Year: 1997
Art: Front

[1:16] 1. Introduction Cass Dialogue
[3:17] 2. Don't Call Me Mama Anymore
[3:06] 3. Wild Women
[3:11] 4. California Earthquake
[2:59] 5. It's Getting Better
[3:00] 6. Lady Love
[2:36] 7. Move In A Little Closer, Baby
[2:23] 8. Make Your Own Kind Of Music
[2:54] 9. Who's To Blame
[2:33] 10. I Can Dream, Can't I
[2:08] 11. New World Coming
[2:46] 12. One Way Ticket
[2:52] 13. The Good Times Are Coming
[4:05] 14. Disney Girls
[3:32] 15. My Love
[0:07] 16. Dialogue, Intro
[3:31] 17. I'm Coming To The Best Part Of My Life
[3:13] 18. Dream A Little Dream Of Me

After she left The Mamas and The Papas, Cass Elliot became one of few solo artists to come out of the 60s and the 70s and STILL be well remembered today by people of all ages. Although her life was tragically cut short, she did not leave us before she entertained us with a mature vocal command of her songs that only a great singer could produce. Her vocal style always allowed the nuances of the lyrics to come through and this CD shows that clearly.

In essence, this is a fine compilation album. There are songs recorded live from her TV special/record album entitled "Don't Call Me Mama Anymore;" and there are two infectiously beautiful "bubblegum music" numbers entitled "Move In A Little Closer, Baby" and "It's Getting Better." Watch out, though, because Cass could sing folksy/bluesy songs including "Wild Women" (recorded here when she was with a group called The Big Three) and the rock style song called "California Earthquake." A most versatile singer, indeed! ~Matthew G. Sherman

Dream A Little Dream: The Cass Elliot Collection

Ramsey Lewis - Wrappin' It Up

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 77:23
Size: 177.2 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 2015
Art: Front

[4:01] 1. Please Send Me Someone To Love
[3:26] 2. My Funny Valentine
[5:19] 3. Delilah
[4:39] 4. Mahade Carnaval
[4:01] 5. The Wind
[4:17] 6. Dance Of The Reluctant Drag
[2:26] 7. C.C. Rider
[4:46] 8. Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair
[2:54] 9. Early In The Morning
[3:38] 10. On The Street Where You Live
[3:14] 11. Walls Of Jericho
[4:41] 12. Tres
[4:31] 13. It Ain't Necessarily So
[4:04] 14. Love For Sale
[8:00] 15. The Way You Look Tonight
[2:40] 16. Trouble Is A Man
[4:48] 17. Happiness
[1:59] 18. I Love Paris
[3:50] 19. Consider The Source

Wrappin' It Up

Conrad Herwig - Land Of Shadow

Styles:  Trombone Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:11
Size: 131,2 MB
Art: Front

(10:03)  1. Lullaby Of The Leaves
( 7:35)  2. The Dream Master
(11:02)  3. Land of Shadow
( 4:36)  4. Forbidden Pool
( 7:38)  5. Shadows Of The Past
( 8:19)  6. Gypsy Without a Song
( 7:56)  7. Homeward Bound

Conrad Herwig is a musician on a mission to bring trombone into the front rank of jazz horns. And over his two-decade long career he's succeeded admirably in demonstrating the horn's flexibility. Still, his playing sometimes seems weighted down by that sense of mission. At his best, as he is consistently on Land of Shadow, he lets it rip, with the trombone's natural voice, complete with its slight slurs and slides, coloring the relentless torrent of notes. Though, as on most of his sessions, this date is devoted to his own originals, Herwig opens with a high-powered take on the standard "Lullaby of Leaves," which sets the tone and introduces his sidemen. Pianist David Kikoski is especially impressive here, stretching the tune's harmonic structure to its limits. His more lyrical side is shown on the date's only other cover, Duke Ellington's "Gypsy Without a Song." Trumpeter Tim Hagans complements the leader's ethos, evoking such progressive boppers as Booker Little and Ted Curson. The trumpeter, Hagans, charges through the harmonic mazes with the urgency of a fullback trying to gain a few more yards. 

Saxophonist Ben Schachter is a new voice. An educator from Philadelphia he plays with a tone like a fine carving knife buffed and burnished and sharpened to a fine edge. Drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts slashes across the beat, dealing out rhythmic wisecracks at every turn. Bassist James Genus, like his rhythm section mates a regular participant in Herwig-led sessions, plays the straight man, helping guide the ensemble with an insistent throb on the bottom. This helps the listener as well to negotiate Herwig's intriguing originals. The pieces range from the complex structures such as "The Dream Master" to the open jam on the minor-key blues, "Land of Shadow." Another shining entry into Herwig's impressive body of work. ~ David Dupont  http://www.allmusic.com/album/land-of-shadow-mw0000018422

Personnel: Conrad Herwig (trombone); Ben Schachter (tenor saxophone); Tim Hagans (trumpet); David Kikoski (piano); James Genus (bass); Jeff "Tain" Watts (drums).

Land Of Shadow

Count Basie - Ultimate Big Band Collection

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 32:00
Size: 73,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:02)  1. One O'Clock Jump
(3:05)  2. Lady Be Good
(3:23)  3. Goin' to Chicago Blues
(3:04)  4. Rock-A-Bye Basie
(3:03)  5. And the Angels Sing
(3:12)  6. Lester Leaps In
(2:52)  7. Somebody Stole My Gal
(3:06)  8. Royal Garden Blues
(2:49)  9. Blue Skies
(4:19) 10. Jumpin' At the Woodside

The Count Basie volume in Sony's Masterworks Jazz series is a solid, decent-sounding, budget-priced introduction to some of this fine band's best-known numbers during a peak period in their long tenure. Along with "One O' Clock Jump," "Lester Jumps In," and "Rock-A-Bye Basie," are perennials like "Jumpin' at the Woodside," "Lady Be Good," and "Blue Skies." For those who've not heard much Basie, this will provide a solid starting point because everything in it is a stone-cold classic; it makes for one hell of a swinging jump compilation of big-band jazz Kansas City style. ~ Thom Jurek  http://www.allmusic.com/album/ultimate-big-band-collection-count-basie-mw0002100015

Ultimate Big Band Collection

Jackie Gleason - Music, Martinis And Memories

Styles: Jazz
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:59
Size: 112,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:14)  1. Once In a While
(3:24)  2. I Can't Get Started
(3:25)  3. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
(2:30)  4. My Ideal
(3:02)  5. Yesterdays
(3:15)  6. I Love You (Je T'Aime!)
(3:15)  7. Unforgettable
(2:10)  8. How High the Moon
(3:02)  9. I'll Be Seeing You
(3:28) 10. Shangri-La
(3:11) 11. I Remember You
(2:51) 12. It Could Happen To You
(2:58) 13. Somebody Loves Me
(3:08) 14. Time On My Hands
(3:37) 15. The Nearness of You
(2:21) 16. The Song Is Ended

The arrangements on Music, Martinis, and Memories are really very simple: massed violins play the melody while Bobby Hackett's trumpet flits around the edges, or sometimes Hackett takes the lead over a bed of swelling strings. The music sets a romantic mood, but compared to the arrangements of Percy Faith or Les Baxter, Gleason is plain vanilla. Many of the orchestral pop leaders made a point of boiling down their music to its essentials without fancy flourishes, and their success proves the mainstream appeal of such an approach. 

But if you're looking for depth, you won't find much of it here. Music, Martinis, and Memories is fine dinner music, and Hackett's technique is superb, but the album fails to hold the listener's attention when brought to the foreground. ~ Greg Adams  http://www.allmusic.com/album/music-martinis-and-memories-mw0000193416

Music, Martinis And Memories

Claudio Roditi, Klaus Ignatzek & Jean-Louis Rassinfosse - Beyond Question

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:31
Size: 141,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:59)  1. Pleasant Journey
(7:06)  2. Early Hour
(5:10)  3. Hot Temper
(6:44)  4. Sound of the Sea
(4:37)  5. Change of Air
(5:59)  6. Piccolo Blues
(4:47)  7. Stay Within Sight
(5:42)  8. Hanksome
(5:55)  9. Hidden Secret
(3:55) 10. Other Side of the Coin
(6:32) 11. Love Dance

The Brazilian trumpeter Claudio Roditi, the German pianist Klaus Ignatzek and the Belgian bassist Jean-Louis Rassinfosse are one of today's leading chamber jazz ensembles. They have been playing together for more than 20 years now, they perform mostly their own compositions rooted in jazz and Brazilian music as well as specially arranged versions of standards. Countless concerts throughout Europe stand as impressive documents of their long term collaboration in the trio format. On their latest release Claudio Roditi, Klaus Ignatzek and Jean-Louis Rassinfosse demonstrate one more time that they belong to the top of the jazz scene. Melodic jazz doesn't get much better than this. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Question-Ignatzek-Jean-Louis-Rassinfosse-Claudio/dp/B001J1HBOM

Beyond Question