B.B. King - Reflections

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:09
Size: 105.7 MB
Styles: Contemporary blues
Year: 2003
Art: Front

[3:19] 1. Exactly Like You
[3:20] 2. On My Word Of Honor
[2:47] 3. I Want A Little Girl
[3:29] 4. I'll String Along With You
[3:01] 5. I Need You
[2:56] 6. A Mother's Love
[3:28] 7. (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons
[4:25] 8. Neighborhood Affair
[3:34] 9. Tomorrow Night
[3:26] 10. There I've Said It Again
[3:54] 11. Always On My Mind
[4:28] 12. Cross My Heart
[3:55] 13. What A Wonderful World

B.B. King was 77 years old when Reflections was released, which perhaps entitled him to reflect back on the song standards the album contained. Despite advancing age, King had already been unusually busy on the recording front for a septuagenarian, turning out the gold-selling duets album Deuces Wild in 1997, Blues on the Bayou in 1998, Let the Good Times Roll: The Music of Louis Jordan in 1999, the double-platinum Riding With the King with Eric Clapton and Makin' Love Is Good for You in 2000, and the seasonal recording A Christmas Celebration of Hope in 2002. For Reflections, he again worked with Simon Climie, who produced Riding With the King, and collaborated with a session band including such notables as Joe Sample, Nathan East, and Doyle Bramhall II. The songs ranged from pop evergreens like "I'll String Along With You" and "For Sentimental Reasons" to blues favorites such as Lonnie Johnson's "Tomorrow Night," with oddities like "Always on My Mind" thrown in and even a couple of remakes of the earlier King songs "Word of Honor" and "Neighborhood Affair." The arrangements, which included horn and string parts, left room for King's distinctive blues guitar work, but really supported his always expressive voice. The result was a confident, easygoing album that stylistically could have been made in 1953 as easily as 2003. Blues purists and aficionados of blues guitar would find it only partially satisfying, but it reflected the breadth of musical taste of an artist who always played the blues but never restricted himself only to blues music or blues fans. ~William Ruhlmann

Reflections

---

Marian McPartland - Yesterdays: Marian McPartland The First Lady Of Jazz Piano

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:06
Size: 94.1 MB
Styles: Piano jazz, Standards
Year: 2006
Art: Front

[2:44] 1. Strike Up The Band
[3:14] 2. It Might As Well Be Spring
[2:51] 3. Yesterdays
[2:47] 4. Love Is Here To Stay
[2:27] 5. Love For Sale
[2:57] 6. Gypsy In My Soul
[2:41] 7. All The Things You Are
[2:21] 8. Liza (All The Clouds'll Roll Away)
[3:43] 9. Embraceable You
[3:47] 10. The Lady Is A Tramp
[3:06] 11. A Foggy Day
[4:02] 12. Manhattan
[4:19] 13. I've Got The World On A String

This recording is one of the best of Marian Mcpartland who is one of the great ones whose style always centers on a strong melody with smooth harmonies that never leave the melody behind. Over the years her radio show has displayed the breadth of her library of the great pieces in the spirit of what is known today as the "Great American Songbook". I never grow tired of her arrangements where I can always find something new even after listening to a piece times after the first play. ~Ernie Dossin

Yesterdays: Marian McPartland The First Lady Of Jazz Piano

---

Mel Tormé - Tormé

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:22
Size: 99.3 MB
Styles: Vocal, Standards
Year: 1958/2003
Art: Front

[3:26] 1. That Old Feeling
[5:11] 2. Gloomy Sunday
[3:34] 3. Body And Soul
[1:49] 4. Nobody's Heart
[2:52] 5. I Should Care
[2:49] 6. The House Is Haunted (By The Echo Of Your Last Goodbye)
[8:03] 7. Blues In The Night
[3:03] 8. I Don't Want To Cry Any More
[3:25] 9. Where Can I Go Without You
[3:21] 10. How Did She Look
[3:11] 11. 'round Midnight
[2:32] 12. I'm Gonna Laugh You Right Out Of My Life

Most of Mel Tormé's albums for Verve and Bethlehem during the 1950s concentrated on material either carefree (usually up-tempo) or reflective (mostly down-tempo), but 1958's Tormé blended the two. For every bouncy single like "That Old Feeling" or "I'm Gonna Laugh You Out of My Life," Tormé sinks into the depths with "Gloomy Sunday," "The House Is Haunted (By the Echo of Your Last Goodbye)," or his dramatic eight-minute reading of "Blues in the Night." All this makes for a bit of emotional confusion while listening to Tormé, but the LP pulls together for the most part. ~John Bush

Tormé

---

Coleman Hawkins & Pee Wee Russell - Jam Session In Swingville

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 78:08
Size: 178.9 MB
Styles: Bop, Swing, Saxophone jazz
Year: 1961/1992
Art: Front

[ 9:30] 1. Jammin' In Swingville
[10:40] 2. Cool Sunrise
[ 7:53] 3. Spring's Swing
[ 7:15] 4. Love Me Or Leave Me
[ 2:43] 5. I Want To Be Happy
[ 7:15] 6. Phoenix
[ 5:31] 7. So Glad
[ 6:47] 8. Things Ain't What They Used To Be
[ 6:33] 9. I May Be Wrong
[ 3:54] 10. Vic's Spot
[10:00] 11. Years Ago

This single CD has all of the music reissued in the mid-'70s on a two-LP set. Although sometimes issued under the names of Coleman Hawkins and Pee Wee Russell, the two great jazzmen actually do not appear together. The music, which is performed by two all-star groups with arrangements by either Jimmy Hamilton or Al Sears, is generally modern swing. Hawkins' band is comprised of trumpeter Joe Newman, trombonist J.C. Higginbottham, clarinetist Hamilton, altoist Hilton Jefferson and a four-piece rhythm section. Pianist Cliff Jackson plays "I Want to Be Happy," and clarinetist Russell's outfit also features trumpeter Joe Thomas, trombonist Vic Dickenson and both Al Sears and Buddy Tate on tenors. Nothing all that memorable or innovative occurs, but the performances are enjoyable. ~Scott Yanow

Jam Session In Swingville

---

Bud Shank featuring Chet Baker - Michelle

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1966
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 24:55
Size: 57,4 MB
Art: Front

(2:28)  1. Michelle
(2:42)  2. Petite Fleur
(2:24)  3. Girl
(2:10)  4. As Tears Go By
(2:27)  5. You Didn't Have To Be So Nice
(2:27)  6. Love Theme, Umbrellas Of Cherbourg
(2:36)  7. Sounds of Silence
(2:39)  8. Turn! Turn! Turn!
(2:39)  9. Yesterday
(2:19) 10. Blue on Blue

Bud Shank’s December 1965 recording, Michelle, consisted primarily of recent pop hits by the likes of the The Beatles, The Byrds and The Mamas and The Papas, arranged for the easy listening market by Bob Florence. Drenched in saccharine strings and given a choral backing, it proved to be a surprise hit, reaching #54 on the US album charts. “Chet showed up late, and wanted to borrow twenty dollars,” Shank later recalled. “Past that, everything was all right. He did exactly what he had to do and did it well.” http://www.funnyvalentine.org/funnyvalentine.org/Michelle.html

Personnel: Bud Shank (alto saxophone, flute); Bob Florence (arranger, conductor)

Michelle

---

Renée Fleming - Dark Hope

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:26
Size: 111,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:59)  1. Endlessly
(3:41)  2. No One's Gonna Love You
(4:15)  3. Oxygen
(3:22)  4. Today
(4:19)  5. Intervention
(5:33)  6. With Twilight As My Guide
(3:53)  7. Mad World
(5:01)  8. In Your Eyes
(3:26)  9. Stepping Stone
(3:11) 10. Soul Meets Body
(7:39) 11. Hallelujah

It’s fitting that Renée Fleming, “the people’s diva,” would make an album of pop songs that feels more like a labor of love than a crossover attempt. Dark Hope is filled with songs and arrangements that wouldn’t appear on a typical attempt to bring a classical vocalist into the mainstream witness her dark, intricate take on the Mars Volta’s “With Twilight as My Guide.” It should almost go without saying that Fleming's voice is just as remarkable here as it is in her usual milieu, but the album proves time and again that she is game for just about anything. Fleming learned how to sing in the more intimate, confessional style that Dark Hope's singer/songwriter and alternative rock fare requires just for this project; combined with her interpretive gifts, she does a masterful job of remaining true to the spirit of the original songs while offering her own twists on them. Her voice dances over the wordy, syllable-heavy lyrics of Willy Mason's “Oxygen,” brings a mature moodiness to “Stepping Stone” that was lacking in Duffy's spitfire version, and remains connected to the intimacy in the Arcade Fire’s “Intervention” even as the song swells around her. Indeed, Dark Hope's swelling arrangements are as much a weakness as they are a strength: at times, it feels like the album’s producers didn’t trust that her gorgeous voice singing these songs would be enough of a draw. Quite a few tracks have busy instrumentation that detracts from Fleming's singing; others have arrangements that try too hard to be tastefully contemporary, and dilute the songs’ impact. 

Fleming is divinely torchy on Muse's “Endlessly,” but her trip-hop-tinged surroundings are no match for her rich vocals. Her interpretation of Band of Horses' “No One’s Gonna Love You” is let down by an arrangement that sounds like generic alt-pop though, on the other hand, it’s a relief that it doesn’t sound like A String Tribute to Band of Horses. Despite these problems, both of these songs are among Dark Hope's standout tracks, along with the subtly sultry electro-folk turn on Jefferson Airplane’s “Today” and the urgent yet airy reading of Death Cab for Cutie's “Soul Meets Body.” It’s just frustrating that even songs as revered as Leonard Cohen's “Hallelujah”which is virtually a standard at this point are burdened with anything that takes away from a voice as remarkable as Fleming's singing a melody that powerful. She deserves credit for undertaking such a bold enterprise, but unfortunately Dark Hope's execution lets down the concept. 

~ Heather Phares  http://www.allmusic.com/album/dark-hope-mw0001989615

Dark Hope

---

One For All - No Problem

Styles: Jazz, Post-Bop
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:23
Size: 145,5 MB
Art: Front

(8:18)  1. Our Father Who Art Blaky
(8:23)  2. No Problem
(8:31)  3. Moanin'
(7:53)  4. Whisper Not
(6:15)  5. Ugetsu
(7:43)  6. Time Off
(7:51)  7. Prelude To A Kiss
(8:28)  8. One For All

This starlit group hits the ground running with drummer Joe Farnsworth's driving tribute to Art Blakey: it's an introduction that says, "we have arrived, folks, just buckle up and ride." Not a hard thing to do and great fun to boot. Recorded at New York's historic Avatar Studios in April of 2003, the sextet's combined mastery and energy are impressive to say the least. "One for All" includes some of the brightest lights in jazz today, who apply themselves to a spirited program of classics and two band originals the aforementioned blistering "Our Father..." and trombonist Steve Davis's infectious closer, "One for All."

Fans of Eric Alexander's masterful tenor work will be especially delighted by his solo on "No Problem." So will David Hazeltine fans, and Jim Rotondi fans, and....in fact, the consistently strong solos are some of the many pleasures of this disk, along with the band's ability to play together as a driving force. The fact that the arrangements of classics like "Moanin'" and "Whisper Not" are pretty standard detracts nothing from the pleasure of their rendering by a group of this caliber. 

On "Time Off," where trombonist Steve Davis first displays the group's communal intention to take no prisoners, I was reminded of the old Maxell ad where the music blows the listener's hair straight back. The guys finally take a breath on "Prelude," in an interesting arrangement where Alexander evokes the ghost of Coltrane's ballad playing and Drummond steps up to the melody. Recorded so frontally that it sounds live, "One for All" is a powerful supergroup recording that cures the winter blues. ~ Dr. Judith Schlesinger  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/no-problem-one-for-all-venus-records-review-by-dr-judith-schlesinger.php

Personnel: Joe Farnsworth (drums), David Hazeltine (piano), Eric Alexander (tenor sax), Jim Rotondi (trumpet), Steve Davis (trombone), Ray Drummond (bass)

No Problem

---

Mark Murphy & Metropole Orchestra - The Dream

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 2000
File: MP3@224K/s
Time: 64:28
Size: 103,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:25)  1. The Dream
(5:20)  2. Since I Fell For You
(4:27)  3. So Many Stars
(3:39)  4. Laura
(4:19)  5. This Is New
(4:54)  6. Sometimes When You're Lonely
(5:58)  7. Gone (Dedicated to Sarah Vaughan)
(3:57)  8. Estate
(5:41)  9. Down Here On The Ground
(1:22) 10. Hopeless (A Blue Girl In a Red Sunrise)
(4:01) 11. Stairway To Paradise
(4:29) 12. I See Your Face Before Me
(3:16) 13. All In Love Is Fair
(3:52) 14. We Can Try Love Again
(4:41) 15. When The World Was Young

Mark Murphy is one of the world's greatest and hippest jazz vocalists performing today. On this album you will find very special and rare recordings, made in Holland with the METROPOL ORCHESTRA in several sessions from the late 60s till early 90s. GREAT arrangements and a great selection of songs! His coterie of fans includes tap dancer Gregory Hines, who spontaneously jumped up on stage at Mark's Las Vegas engagement in 1995 to join him for an impromptu duet. Legendary composer Alec Wilder said of Mark, 'I was quite literally amazed. Mark's musicianship, range, intonation, diction, inventiveness and incredible rhythmic sense are all of a piece and all marvelous.' Vocal greats Betty Carter, Peggy Lee, Cleo Laine and Shirley Horn all sing Murphy's praises as one of the best in he business and the legendary Ella Fitzgerald declared 'he is my equal.' A six-time Grammy nominee, Mark Murphy has enjoyed a prolific 40-year recording career, with over 40 releases to date. His original lyrics to 'Stolen Moments,' 'Red Clay' and more are known the world over. His innovative projects range from the work of Nat 'King' Cole to Jack Kerouac to Ivan Lins to Eddie Jefferson. Stereo Review dubs Mark 'one of the major artists of our age.' Mark Murphy is a jazz singer. 'For decades the question 'What exactly is a jazz singer' 'has had two easy answers, Betty Carter. And Mark Murphy.' writes the New York Post. 'He is arguably the best male jazz singer in the business,' declares Rex Reed. 'Mark Murphy is to jazz singing what Bobby Fisher is to chess.' Jazz journalist Dan Morgenstern writes, 'I can't help relishing his sure and swinging time, his musical and ever-inventive phrasing and that certain quality of sound and feeling combined with time and taste that to me spells jazz.'

Murphy is 'a hipster's hipster,' writes the New York Post. Jazziz magazine concurs, 'he is one of the true remaining jazz hipsters of our time.' 'Mark has devoted a long career to singing the hippest music with the best musicians,' states Leonard Feather. 'Consider the company he has kept on records. In the '60s, Clark Terry, Dick Hyman, Roger Kellaway. In the '70s, David Sanborn and the Brecker Brothers. In the '80s, Frank Morgan, Richie Cole and the Azymuth Trio. Consider the jazzmen to whose instrumental works he has composed and sung lyrics: Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Pat Metheny, Charlie Parker, McCoy Tyner, Charles Mingus, Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter.' It was Sammy Davis, Jr. who first discovered the young Mark Murphy in 1953 at a jam session in Murphy's hometown of Syracuse, New York. Impressed with Murphy's talent, Davis invited him to his show that night, where he asked Mark to join him on stage. Davis -- to whom Murphy devoted his Muse release, 'What a Way to Go' -- was supportive of Mark throughout the years and was responsible for getting Murphy on the 'Tonight Show' with Steve Allen. It was Allen's composition, 'This Could Be the Start of Something Big,' that Mark recorded a hit rendition of in 1959. More...http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/markmurphy

The Dream

---