Monday, November 9, 2015

Richard Elliot - Lip Service

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:20
Size: 97,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:15)  1. Desire
(4:33)  2. Lip Service
(3:58)  3. Givin' It Up
(3:55)  4. Sweet Spot
(3:36)  5. Sookie Sookie
(4:13)  6. All The Way
(3:33)  7. When I Was Your Man
(4:49)  8. Shining Star
(3:58)  9. City Lights
(5:26) 10. Anytime

With Lip Service, Richard Elliot has come full circle as one of the reigning merchants of Soul Jazz and cementing his role as one of the great contemporary sax players in the world. While working on Summer Horns in 2013, he had the opportunity to revisit his roots as one of the founding members of Tower of Power by performing "So Very Hard To Go" and working alongside arranger Greg Adams again. This led to Greg Adams arrangement for the Grammy-nominated "Shining Star" on Lip Service. ~ Editorial Reviews  http://www.amazon.com/Lip-Service-Richard-Elliot/dp/B00KDKM0IC

Lip Service

Dave Valentin - Live at the Blue Note

Styles: Flute Jazz, World Fusion
Year: 1988
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:18
Size: 131,8 MB
Art: Front

(5:30)  1. Cinnamon and Clove
(5:12)  2. Columbus Avenue
(4:52)  3. Footprints
(4:01)  4. Mountain Song
(5:30)  5. Marcoshino
(5:56)  6. Shamballa
(6:54)  7. Blackbird
(5:29)  8. Monkey Buttons
(6:10)  9. Dansette
(7:40) 10. Afro Blue

Aggressive and incendiary, yet also languid and sensitive, Dave Valentin's Live at the Blue Note not only demonstrates this artist's wide range, but the rich possibilities for the Latin jazz genre at large. Performing material from the pen of some of the great voices of his day, including Milton Nascimento's "Cinnamon and Clove" and Dave Grusin's "Marcosinho," Valentin brings a variety of both well- and lesser-known compositions to the table. All are treated with sensitive individuality, ranging in style from three-fourths samba to rhumba to funk, all performed expertly. This is thanks, no doubt, to the A-list players on the date, including premier Afro-Cuban drummer Robby Ameen, conga virtuoso Giovanni Hidalgo, the brilliant Lincoln Goines on bass, and Latin jazz staple Bill O'Connell on piano and keys. 

To the modern listener, this 1988 date might sound dated at times, thanks primarily to the compressed, fat tone of the recording, and the occasional yet liberal application of processors on the part of Valentin. It is because of these considerations that Valentin enthusiasts are no doubt thankful that this is a live recording, and hence dodged some of the era's greater production sins. All things considered, Live at the Blue Note escaped the late-'80s virtually unscathed. Bursting with energy and stylistic innovation, this could be Valentin at his very finest. ~ Evan C.Gutierrez  http://www.allmusic.com/album/live-at-the-blue-note-mw0000652648

Personnel: Dave Valentin (flute, bamboo flute, pan flute, pipe); Bill O'Connell (electric piano); Robby Ameen (drums); Giovanni Hidalgo (congas, percussion).

Live at the Blue Note

June Christy With The Kentones - The Uncollected (1946)

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1986
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:27
Size: 86,7 MB
Art: Front

(1:56)  1. Don't Worry 'Bout Me
(1:55)  2. Mean to Me
(3:25)  3. Lover Man
(2:55)  4. The One I Love
(2:31)  5. Lullaby in Rhythm
(2:31)  6. Sweet Lorraine
(3:41)  7. September in the Rain
(2:57)  8. Moonglow
(2:09)  9. Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams
(3:14) 10. This is Romance
(2:42) 11. June's Blues
(1:36) 12. I Can't Believe that you're in Love with Me
(3:02) 13. How Long Has This Been Going On?
(2:48) 14. Get Happy

The well-recorded radio transcriptions on this album predate all of singer June Christy's regular solo recordings; she had only been with Stan Kenton's Orchestra for about a year at the time. The identification of the backup personnel has been lost to history (despite the anonymous title of "the Kentones"), but Christy is the star of the 14 concise performances anyway. June Christy had the ability to swing in any song she was given, and in this case, all of the selections (except for "June's Blues") were superior standards. The young singer is heard in her early prime on such numbers as "Don't Worry 'Bout Me," "The One I Love," "September in the Rain," "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams" and "Get Happy." ~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-uncollected-june-christy-with-the-kentones-1946-mw0000613588

Personnel: June Christy (vocals).

The Uncollected  (1946)

Michel Legrand - Lost in Music: Sounds of Summer

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 103:48
Size: 238,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:19)  1. Blue and Sentimental
(3:29)  2. The Windmills of Your Mind
(2:52)  3. Baby, Just for Me
(2:55)  4. 'Round Midnight
(2:39)  5. This Can't Be Love
(1:36)  6. People Will Say We're in Love
(5:15)  7. Blue Moon
(2:27)  8. Falling in Love With Love
(3:20)  9. Wild Man Blues
(2:26) 10. There's a Small Hotel
(2:31) 11. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
(3:15) 12. Too Marvelous for Words
(2:34) 13. My Funny Valentine
(5:07) 14. The Lady Is a Tramp
(3:44) 15. Stompin' At the Savoy
(2:14) 16. A Wonderful Guy
(2:30) 17. Some Enchanted Evening
(2:35) 18. Summertime
(3:16) 19. I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)
(2:24) 20. Have You Met Miss Jones
(5:15) 21. Jitterbug Waltz
(2:32) 22. It Might as Well Be Spring
(2:26) 23. Getting to Know You
(4:11) 24. Django
(2:49) 25. You're Just the Kind
(3:10) 26. Yesterdays
(2:28) 27. Old Devil Moon
(2:20) 28. Nuages
(3:16) 29. In a Mist
(2:10) 30. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
(5:49) 31. A Night in Tunisia
(2:33) 32. Marie
(1:04) 33. With a Little Bit of Luck
(3:02) 34. If I Loved You

Michel Legrand has made his fame and fortune from writing for films, but he has done significant work in jazz on an occasional basis. In 1957, he arranged a set of Dixieland and swing standards for a French orchestra (recorded on Philips), in 1958 he used three different all-star groups for the classic Legrand Jazz (with such sidemen as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Phil Woods, Herbie Mann, Bill Evans, Ben Webster, Art Farmer, and others), in 1968 he recorded a strictly jazz set with a trio and Legrand has written for albums led by Stan Getz (1971), Sarah Vaughan (1972), and on several occasions, Phil Woods. Several of his songs (such as "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life," "Watch What Happens," and "The Summer Knows") have been recorded many times by jazz musicians. ~ Scott Yanow  https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/michel-legrand/id10943#fullText

Lost in Music: Sounds of Summer

Nelson Rangell - Blue

Styles: Flute Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:58
Size: 152,7 MB
Art: Front

(6:36)  1. Little Face
(6:42)  2. Dizzy
(6:23)  3. Le Tombeau De Couperin
(6:28)  4. Children's Games
(5:54)  5. Peter and the Wolf
(6:42)  6. Sweetest Somebody I Know
(2:29)  7. I Loved You
(6:15)  8. Pavane
(7:09)  9. Free as a Bird
(5:16) 10. Ao Mar
(6:00) 11. The Magician (El Mago)

Nelson Rangell has primarily played pop-jazz throughout his career, although he did a credible job playing some soulful alto with the straight-ahead GRP All-Star Big Band. The records he cut for GRP in the early '90s made him into a popular contemporary jazz attraction in the David Sanborn tradition. A native of Denver, CO, Rangell learned how to play flute at the age of 15, and within six months, he was studying music at the Interlochen Arts Academy. Shortly afterward, he learned the saxophone, and in 1979 he won Down Beat's Best High School Jazz Soloist competition. Following his graduation from high school, he attended the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston; this time, he won the Down Beat contest on the college level. In 1984, Rangell moved to New York. He spent three years in New York playing clubs and working as a sideman, not only on jazz sessions, but also on jingles and pop records. Rangell finally began his solo career in 1987, releasing To Begin Again on the Gaia label. 

Two years later, he moved to GRP, where he released Playing for Keeps. His second album became a major contemporary jazz hit, and with each subsequent release, his popularity grew. His next four albums Nelson Rangell (1990), In Every Moment (1992), Truest Heart (1993), Yes Then Yes (1994) were all popular on the contemporary jazz charts. In addition to recording his solo albums, Rangell was involved in the GRP All-Star Big Band, playing both in the studio and on the road. Destiny, an album that found Rangell incorporating hip-hop rhythms into his sound, was released in 1994. It was followed in 1997 by Turning Night into Day; Far Away Day appeared three years later. In 2003, Rangell released his 12th album, the typically smooth and eclectic Look Again, followed by a collection of Christmas essentials (All I Hope for Christmas) and the instrumental pop tribute album My American Songbook, Vol. 1. Soul to Souls was released in 2006. ~ Scott Yanow & Stephen Thomas Erlewine  https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/nelson-rangell/id75477#fullText

Blue