Coleman Hawkins - Desafinado

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:20
Size: 80.9 MB
Styles: Bossa Nova, Saxophone jazz
Year: 1963/1997
Art: Front

[5:46] 1. Desafinado
[2:49] 2. I'm Looking Over A Four Leaf Clover
[3:54] 3. Samba Para Bean
[1:29] 4. I Remember You
[3:55] 5. One Note Samba
[5:57] 6. O Pato
[4:08] 7. Un Abraco No Bonfa
[7:19] 8. Stumpy Bossa Nova

That Coleman Hawkins jumped on the jazz/bossa nova bandwagon craze initiated by Stan Getz in 1962 was a bit of a surprise to his fans, but that he was comfortable in the idiom should not be off-putting. Able to adapt to any style over his lengthy career, the legendary tenor saxophonist chose classic standards adapted to Brazilian rhythms, music from masters like Antonio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto, and a Manny Albam original. Producer Bob Thiele and music director Albam were strong in their resolve directing Hawkins to do this project, and the results are fairly predictable, especially considering that every single track is played in midtempo. The difference is the deployment of two guitarists in Barry Galbraith (lead) and Howard Collins (rhythm) split into separate stereo channels, with bassist Major Holley and no full kit drummer, although Eddie Locke with a minimal and stripped-down setup, Willie Rodriguez, and even Tommy Flanagan play small Latin percussion instruments. Themes derived from nights in Rio such as the beautifully rendered title track and "One Note Samba" are quite typical, but "O Pato" (The Duck) has a component added on from Duke Ellington's "Take the 'A' Train," while the Hawkins original "Stumpy" is adapted into "Stumpy Bossa Nova," derived from Dizzy Gillespie's "Groovin' High" with a taste of "The Man I Love" tacked on at the end. Albam's "Samba Para Bean" is standardized cool with Locke's accents via brushes on closed hi-hat cymbals, while "I Remember You" is a completely unforced, pretty rendition of this well-worn standard. Gilberto's tribute to Luiz Bonfá, "Um Abraco No Bonfa," sports a guitar lead by Galbraith in a stretched-out frame. The curve ball is a somewhat weird crossbred samba take of "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover," a truly corny song the band tried to make cool, only marginally succeeding. The simplified style of this album overall perfectly suited the amiable, good-natured, and laid-back Hawkins at a time when the world was somewhat in political turmoil regarding Caribbean nations and the role of South America in the emerging so-called Third World. He passed away seven years later, leaving a legacy as the most revered tenor saxophonist in jazz, and this very nice recording in his long discography, unique even unto itself. ~Michael G. Nastos

Desafinado

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Melanie Dahan - Keys

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 56:44

Size: 129.9 MB

Styles: Vocal jazz

Year: 2014

Art: Front

[5:33] 1. Whisper Not

[5:45] 2. I'm Through With Love

[6:04] 3. Poor Butterfly

[5:09] 4. Dedicated To You

[6:00] 5. Beautiful Love

[5:17] 6. Everytime We Say Goodbye

[6:38] 7. Some Other Time-Lucky To Be Me

[4:57] 8. Star Eyes

[5:01] 9. What's New

[6:16] 10. Never Said

Baptiste Trotignon (piano); Thomas Enhco (piano); Pierre de Bethmann (piano); Manuel Rocheman (piano); Franck Amsallem (piano); Thomas Bramerie (doublebass); Lukmil Perez (drums).

Following 2 well-received recordings, French jazz vocalist Melanie Dahan has just recorded a new one. She has a history of working with excellent musicians (pianist Giovanni Mirabassi) and this album continues this fine tradition. The distinctive, continually surprising sound of this new album is the result of an especially satisfying collaboration with 5 pianists, a veritable who's who of the best in France. A smartly conceived concept recording made up of 10 jazz standards where each pianist pays tribute to the American songbook in his fresh and inventive own way. Each one of their unique and contemporary arrangements acts to highlight Dahan's vocal qualities and to make her voice an instrument.

Melanie's strengths - expressive delicacy at low volumes, flexible phrasing - are all here. Above all, there's her voice - light but expressive, engaging and evocative, whether she's singing in English (here), French (in her first album) or Portuguese (in her second album).

Keys

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The Swingcats - Get Happy!

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:17
Size: 151.8 MB
Styles: Contemporary jazz
Year: 2003
Art: Front

[4:00] 1. Lullaby Of The Leaves
[3:53] 2. Christopher Columbus
[4:45] 3. I've Got A Crush On You
[3:35] 4. Get Happy
[3:34] 5. Hallelujah
[4:03] 6. Harlem Nocturne
[5:23] 7. Undecided
[3:09] 8. Jubilee
[3:25] 9. Fools Rush In
[3:47] 10. My Little Suede Shoes
[3:06] 11. C'est Magnifique
[5:31] 12. Tea For Two
[4:11] 13. The Midnight Sun Will Never Set
[3:31] 14. King Porter Stomp
[3:13] 15. Be Bop
[3:30] 16. Laura
[3:32] 17. Crazy Rhythm

Frank Roberscheuten (leader, clarinet, saxophones), Dirk Van Der Linden (piano), Karel Algoed (bass), Moritz Gastreich (drums), Shaunette Hildabrand (vocals).

Perhaps a testament to the greatness of the only original art form to come out of the United States is how well it translates to other musicians in places outside of North America. Certainly this is evidenced in the CD Get Happy by the Swingcats. The Swingcats, made up of musicians from Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, were formed in 1991 and are led by saxophonist and clarinetist Frank Roberscheuten. Get Happy represents the group's cross section of selections ranging from the early jazz of Jelly Roll Morton through more modern styles penned by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Also featured prominently is the group's vocalist, Shaunette Hildabrand, who hails from Oklahoma.

Although there is nothing particularly musically "outside" or adventurous about what the Swingcats perform on Get Happy, there is no doubt they are very competent musicians in great command of their instruments and demonstrate a superlative stylistic understanding of the music. All seventeen pieces on the recording represent jazz standards, including Dizzy Gillespie's "Be Bop," Charlie Parker's "Little Suede Shoes," Jelly Roll Morton's "King Porter Stomp," and selections from the Great American Songbook by George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Harold Arlen, Hoagy Carmichael, and Sammy Kahn. Vocalist Shaunette Hildabrand is a standout on "I've Got a Crush on You," the title cut, "Tea for Two," and "Undecided." Of particular note to this listener is her swinging styling on "Fools Rush In" and "C'est Magnifique" and her beautiful rendition of the classic ballad "Laura." Throughout all of the tunes with vocals, Hildabrand is aptly accompanied by a consistent and tight rhythm section and Roberscheuten's musical asides on saxophone or clarinet.

Jazz aficionados who are particularly interested in groups which hold fast to a swinging groove right down the center of the jazz mainstream and also maintain the repertory and sensibility of jazz of the past will find the Swingcats right up their alley. The group provides an excellent clinic on maintaining the jazz tradition. ~Craig W. Hurst

Get Happy!

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Jake Langley - Diggin' In

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 77:23
Size: 177.2 MB
Styles: Guitar jazz
Year: 2014
Art: Front

[6:36] 1. Ogd
[8:10] 2. God Bless The Child
[8:16] 3. Cheese Cake
[5:30] 4. The Garage
[6:39] 5. Sugar
[8:13] 6. Blues For Jim San
[9:40] 7. Gibraltar
[6:24] 8. Maya
[5:55] 9. Continental Blues
[4:58] 10. Bolivia
[6:58] 11. Desert Sun

Jake Langley, guitar; Joey DeFrancesco, B3 organ; Terry Clarke, drums.

Sometimes it's nice to get exactly what you expect after reading the cover, no more or less. Guitarist Jake Langley's Diggin' In features organist Joey DeFrancesco and drummer Terry Clarke playing mostly standards in a Wes Montgomery vein. Learning that much by reading the CD cover suggests a contemporary Lee Ritenour-style treatment with enough twists from DeFrancesco's presence for an intelligent recreational listen. The sort of album, in other words, for unwinding after a long day when one isn't ready to completely submit to the mental enema of typical contemporary.

Langley, 30, a Toronto resident selected as Canada's guitarist of the year in the National Jazz Awards, possesses stylings that carries over from studies with Pat Martino and Jim Hall, plus plenty of influence from the Montgomery school. Diggin' In, his third solo album, returns to the lower-key trio playing of his debut Doug's Garage after showcasing a collection of funk/acid/Latin originals with a larger cast on Non Fiction. Consistency is a good summary for this set, never venturing into uncomfortably exploration or hollow mailed-in territory. Langley keeps the melodies recognizable and his soloing elaborates rather than reinterprets. His plucking runs the range of leisurely to lively, easily absorbed without being completely predictable. Montgomery's "O.G.D." has a laid back feel, for instance, but Langley spices it up with a rapid series of post bop runs. He also displays a fine command for upbeat blues on "The Garage," the lone original composition on this album. His blues-ballad rendition of Billie Holiday's "God Bless The Child" is a smooth change of pace, although it fails to leave any lasting impressions. The same might be said for the album as a whole—while it's pleasant, it may not linger beyond the moment the listener hits the "off" switch.

DeFrancesco has more acclaimed outings on his resume, but he isn't being called upon to go all out and delivers well for the setting. His tone and a bit of extra kick compared to Langley's treatments, plus offering some extra depth as an accompanist, are what will spur listeners to pick this over similar trio discs when the mood arises. Clarke gets little time on his own, but generally his loose-style playing feels like a living organism propelling things ahead.

Diggin' In doesn't cover any new territory, but does a good job within the one it does occupy as long as listeners are seeking comfort rather than a life-changing experience. It's also comforting knowing Langley is capable of mixing styles album to album, making his past and future efforts worth keeping an eye on if this one satisfies.

Diggin' In

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Agnieszka Hekiert - Night And Day Swing

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:09
Size: 110,3 MB
Art: Front

(6:55)  1. Green Eyes
(4:42)  2. Smile
(3:20)  3. Night and Day
(5:06)  4. They Can't Take That Away From Me
(6:14)  5. Our Love is Here to Stay
(4:16)  6. Route
(6:04)  7. Tea in the Sahara
(2:36)  8. A Tisket a Tasket
(8:52)  9. What a Wonderful World

The jazz singer, Agnieszka Hekiert, has been working with the extraordinary jazz artist Bobby McFerrin since 2009. Her other stage partners include Krzysztof Herdzin, considered by Jazz Forum to be one of the three best jazz pianists in Poland, and the Polish jazz legend Leszek Zadlo. She is currently the most in-demand vocal coach in Poland because she gives the final polish to the voices of young artists in TV shows like X-Factor (2011 TVN), Poland's Got Talent (2010/2011 TVN), My Camp Rock II (2009 Disney Channel) and Star Academy (2008Polsat). 

Agnieszka is there fore able to combine two of her passions: performing on stage as bandleader during jazz concerts and imparting her knowledge and experience as vocal coach to young talents. She still gets to work with the best: WeBe3, Rhiannon, Roger Treece and above all Bobby McFerrin, with whom she sang numerous concerts (Vocabularies Project).

Agnieszka has a degree from the jazz and pop department of the music academy in Kattowitz. Her career began in Poland, where she won many prizes at divers festivals. She then worked with well-known stars of the Polish music scene like Krzysztof cieraski, Wiesaw Pieregorólka, Natalia Kukulska, Maryla Rodowicz, Ryszard Rynkowski and Marek Baata.With the years, her field of activity extended beyond the Polish border. Agnieszka started to perform in both Germany and Austria. This resulted in an ongoing collaboration with the saxophonist Leszek Zadlo, the Bulgarian pianist Konstantin Kostov and the percussionist Nevian Lenkov.The fruits of this collaboration, which can be found on the 2009 album "European Impressions", are an incredible mixture of Slavonian melancholy and Balkan energy. The virtuosity of Leszek Zadlo is combined with the wonderful and expressive voice of Agnieszka with ease and energetic improvisation.

Agnieszka also writes music and lyrics, creates arrangements, directs a Circle singing choir (like Bobby McFerrin) and holds vocal workshops all around Europe. The Süddeutsche Zeitung about Agnieszka: "Unbelievable vocal artistic and phrasing"... and the Tölzer Kurier: "Her music is a pleasure for the ears"; "The finest jazz, that one can just not get enough of"  http://www.hekiert.com/bio-1.html

Night And Day Swing

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Jesper Thilo - Still Movin'

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:06
Size: 148,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:29)  1. Somebody Loves Me
(6:16)  2. Black and Blue
(4:25)  3. Move
(6:37)  4. Day Dream
(5:55)  5. Just Friends
(7:57)  6. Misty
(8:42)  7. That's All
(5:21)  8. Baby Won't You Please Come Home
(7:54)  9. Stars Fell on Alabama
(6:26) 10. West Coast Blues

One of the top European straight-ahead jazz musicians from 1970 onward, Danish reedman Jesper Thilo has appeared on many records with American artists in addition to recording with his fellow countrymen. His tenor sound is reminiscent of Zoot Sims. Thilo, who has also occasionally played alto and clarinet, first recorded as a leader for Storyville in 1973, and in the 1980s and 1990s on Storyville his sidemen at various times included Hank Jones, Kenny Drew, Clark Terry, Roland Hanna, and Harry "Sweets" Edison. Thilo also appeared on Miles Davis' Aura (with compositions and arrangements by fellow Dane Palle Mikkelborg), released by Columbia in 1989. After the turn of the millennium Thilo has continued recording for a variety of labels, including several releases on Stunt Records: Remembering Those That Were (2009), On Clarinet (2010), and Scott Hamilton Meets Jesper Thilo (2011). ~ Scott Yanow  https://itunes.apple.com/gm/artist/jesper-thilo/id31015525#fullText

Personnel:  Jesper Thilo - tenor sax;  Ben Besiakov – piano;  Jesper Lundgaard - bass

Still Movin'

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Amir ElSaffar - Crisis

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:24
Size: 154,5 MB
Art: Front

( 4:54)  1. Introduction - From the Ashes
( 8:50)  2. The Great Dictator
( 3:17)  3. Taqsim Saba
( 8:18)  4. El-Sha'ab (The People)
( 7:05)  5. Love Poem
( 9:45)  6. Flyover Iraq
(13:34)  7. Tipping Point
( 3:29)  8. Aneen (Weeping), Continued
( 7:08)  9. Love Poem

Chicago area native, Amir ElSaffar has been working inside and outside the typical context of jazz since his Two Rivers Ensemble debut, Two Rivers (PI Recordings, 2007). The trumpeter and composer (and master santour player) has built a unique musical architecture based his study of the microtonal techniques of his ancestral Iraqi maqam. While ElSaffar was not raised with a strong sense of father's native culture, his own interest led him to travel extensively in the Middle East. His recent travels coincided with elements of the Arab Spring movements and ElSaffar found himself particularly influenced by the events in Egypt where he had lived for a year and had experienced the cultural turmoil related to the Mubarak regime and its troubled aftermath. Crisis, the third release from ElSaffar's Two Rivers Ensemble, is decidedly more political in nature but treats the music with the same fervent enthusiasm as the group had applied to their more folkloric improvisational recordings. The more abstract elements that ElSaffar had employed on Two Rivers and Inana (PI Recordings, 2011) are circumvented as the emphasis here is on the dualism of purer jazz and authentic Arab styles of music. In this technique, ElSaffar creates a distinctive paradigm.

The intent of Crisis is not in any way veiled. Following the brief opening "Introduction From the Ashes," the suite moves into the "The Great Dictator" with its fluid themes that speak to both repetitive oppression and rare glimmers of light and hope. ElSaffar's solo trumpet improvisation "Taqsim Saba" relies heavily on maqam and Hijaz (a region of Saudi Arabia) influences. The quiet beauty of the piece bleeds into Carlo Derosa's marching bass intro to "El-Sha'ab (The People)" where the mood becomes more confrontational. "Flyover Iraq" adds further layers of complexity combining Turkish melody and the flair of a Chicago horn section. "Tipping Point" is a self-contained study in its own right. The thirteen-plus minute composition opens with DeRosa's cautious bass lines before launching into a narrative that answers to the earlier "The Great Dictator." ElSaffar describes the structure of the composition as ..."simultaneously pulling in multiple directions." There is an endemic sense of potential chaos even in moments of calm as they inevitably explode in remnants of previous pieces that go careering by like shrapnel. The album closes with the melancholy "Aneen (Weeping), Continued," referencing the latter half of the "Two Rivers Suite" from that 2007 recording, and finally "Love Poem" and ancient Sufi poem set to music.

What ElSaffar is doing on Crisis is unique in music. From a perspective of compositional technique, perhaps only multi-reedist/composer Hafez Modirzadeh with his In Convergence Liberation (PI Recordings, 2014) comes close and it's no coincidence that ElSaffar was an integral part of that project. But from a political and historical vantage point, the task of narrating complex global events through instrumental music is more than challenging. 

ElSaffar has not only commendably told this personal and globally important story but has produced a masterpiece of a recording in doing so. ~ Karl Ackermann  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/crisis-amir-elsaffar-pi-recordings-review-by-karl-ackermann.php
 

Personnel: Amir ElSaffar: trumpet, vocal, santour; Ole Mathisen: tenor and soprano saxophone; Nasheet Waits: drums; Carlo DeRosa: bass; Tareq Abboushi: buzuq; Zafer Tawil: percussion.

Crisis

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