Rick Derringer - Free Ride

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:18
Size: 112.9 MB
Styles: Jazz-pop guitar
Year: 2002
Art: Front

[3:57] 1. Jazzy Koo (Rock & Roll, Hoochie Koo)
[4:05] 2. Hot & Cool
[4:11] 3. Celestial Love
[4:15] 4. Free Ride
[4:08] 5. Big City Loneliness
[4:50] 6. Good 2 Go
[4:08] 7. Frankenstein (Smooth Frank)
[3:09] 8. Hold
[4:24] 9. Blue Velvet
[5:07] 10. Jump, Jump, Jump
[6:59] 11. Rhapsody In Red

An instrumental jazz-pop album from Rick Derringer? That isn't the sort of project that one ordinarily expects from the singer/guitarist who is best known for his hard-rocking 1974 smash, "Rock & Roll, Hoochie Koo," but in fact, Free Ride is primarily an album of instrumental jazz-pop. Derringer doesn't get into any crunching hard rock guitar on this 2002 release; instead, his guitar playing brings to mind George Benson's more commercial work. Blending jazz, funk, and pop, Derringer takes dead aim at the smooth jazz market. But for the most part, he maintains his integrity and avoids outright elevator music -- someone who appreciates Benson's Breezin' but finds Kenny G and Dave Koz boring will likely find Free Ride to be generally pleasant, if slightly uneven. Most of the songs are Derringer originals, although he puts an instrumental spin on three '70s classics: "Rock & Roll, Hoochie Koo," Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein," and the title song (which Dan Hartman wrote when he was with Winter). The latter is the most disappointing of the three; "Free Ride" ends up being turned into elevator music, while Derringer's remakes of "Rock & Roll, Hoochie Koo" and "Frankenstein" have more bite. The only tracks that find Derringer singing are "Hold" and the melancholy "Big City Loneliness," both of which are likable adult contemporary items à la Gino Vannelli. Free Ride isn't the masterpiece that it could have been; Derringer has killer chops, and from a creative standpoint, he would have been better off providing an album that has more blowing, more improvisation, and less production -- not necessarily hard bop, but perhaps something along the lines of the jazz-funk that Grant Green gave listeners in the early '70s. Nonetheless, Free Ride is generally decent, and it is superior to most of the stuff that smooth jazz stations are quick to play. ~Alex Henderson

Free Ride

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Sidney Bechet - The Best Of Sidney Bechet

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:03
Size: 146.6 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz, New Orleans jazz
Year: 1994
Art: Front

[4:09] 1. Summertime
[4:45] 2. St. Louis Blues
[4:24] 3. Blue Horizon
[3:38] 4. Muskrat Ramble
[3:08] 5. Porto Rico
[3:05] 6. Way Down Yonder In New Orleans
[3:46] 7. Bechet's Fantasy
[2:56] 8. Blame It On The Blues
[4:11] 9. Old Stack O'lee Blues
[3:05] 10. I Found A New Baby
[3:03] 11. I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate
[2:59] 12. When The Saints Go Marching In
[3:15] 13. Basin Street Blues
[2:48] 14. Copenhagen
[2:54] 15. I Ain't Gonna Give Nobody None Of My Jelly Roll
[3:33] 16. Black And Blue
[4:04] 17. All Of Me
[4:09] 18. Rose Of The Rio Grande

Sidney Bechet was jazz's first great saxophone soloist. When Alfred Lion began Blue Note Records, he made Bechet one of his cornerstone artists. Bechet recorded for Blue Note from 1939 into the 1950s, making several stunning recordings in the traditional New Orleans jazz vein. Although no single disc collection could adequately depict Bechet's contributions, this 18-track set contains several outstanding blues, stomps, ballads and jams, featuring Bechet alongside many fellow luminaries. From wailing slow tunes to feisty exchanges and sentimental melodies, this is an excellent batch of Sidney Bechet performances. ~Ron Wynn

The Best Of Sidney Bechet

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Lena Horne - The Essential Lena Horne: The RCA Years (2-Disc Set)

A scintillating and seductive singer, a great beauty, an enduring star and an African-American woman who profoundly influenced the world around her throughout a long,richly varied career. Lena Horne was a unique figure in American culture during the 20th century. Winner of four Grammys and a Tony Horne made some of her finest recordings for RCA Victor in the 1940s and 1950s,and they return to the catalogue in this collection of golden standards that begins and ends with the irreplaceable versions of her haunting signature song, "Stormy Weather".

Album: The Essential Lena Horne: The RCA Years (Disc 1)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:48
Size: 148.4 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2010

[3:21] 1. Stormy Weather
[3:20] 2. Good-For-Nothin' Joe
[2:55] 3. I Ain't Got Nothin' But The Blues
[2:41] 4. Where Or When
[3:22] 5. How Long Has This Been Going On
[3:21] 6. One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)
[2:39] 7. What Is This Thing Called Love
[3:09] 8. Love Me Or Leave Me
[3:15] 9. Let Me Love You
[2:55] 10. Mad About The Boy
[1:52] 11. From This Moment On
[3:15] 12. Love Is The Thing
[2:50] 13. If You Can Dream [from Meet Me In Las Vegas]
[2:10] 14. It's Love
[2:51] 15. Summertime
[3:06] 16. New-Fangled Tango
[2:15] 17. That Old Feeling
[3:29] 18. Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home
[4:30] 19. Mood Indigo I'm Beginning To See The Light
[7:20] 20. Cole Porter Medley How's Your Romance After You Love Of My Life It's

The Essential Lena Horne: The RCA Years (Disc 1)

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Album: The Essential Lena Horne: The RCA Years (Disc 2)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:27
Size: 147.6 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[1:59] 1. Just One of Those Things
[2:58] 2. Honeysuckle Rose
[4:02] 3. Ain't it the Truth
[2:32] 4. Give Me Love [From I, Mobster]
[3:11] 5. Someone to Watch over Me
[2:25] 6. Push de Button [From Jamaica]
[3:26] 7. Speak Low
[3:33] 8. The Rules of the Road
[2:12] 9. You Don't Have to Know the Language
[3:53] 10. Napoleon
[2:38] 11. At Long Last Love
[2:40] 12. I Concentrate on You
[3:02] 13. Take It Slow, Joe [From Jamaica]
[7:15] 14. Jule Styne Medley A Ride on a Rainbow Never Never Land I Said No Some
[2:43] 15. I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart
[4:20] 16. The Man I Love
[3:58] 17. Watch What Happens
[3:41] 18. I Will Wait for You (Je Ne Pourrai Jamais Vivre Sans Toi)
[3:51] 19. Stormy Weather

The Essential Lena Horne: The RCA Years (Disc 2)

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Bruno de Filippi - Evergreen

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:47
Size: 84.2 MB
Styles: Harmonica jazz
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[4:14] 1. Alfie
[3:42] 2. Bolero
[4:00] 3. Estate
[4:31] 4. I Know Why/As Time Goes By
[2:40] 5. Parlami D'amore Mariù
[4:22] 6. Passione
[3:14] 7. St. Thomas
[4:20] 8. Stardust
[2:21] 9. Tenderly
[3:17] 10. The Entertainer

Sensitive to every high-quality music style, in the sixties and seventies Bruno De Filippi plays his guitar in the recordings of the most famous Italian singers: Mina, Caterina Valente, Johnny Dorelli and Ornella Vanoni. During his forty-years carrer he also works with the most important jazz musicians on the international scene (Louis Armstrong, Bud Shank, Gerry Mulligan, Astor Piazzolla, Les Paul, etc.), and in Italy (Tullio De Piscopo, Enrico Intra, Franco Cerri, Guido Manusardi, Renato Sellani, Lorenzo Petrocca, etc.).

During the seventies he starts playing chromatic harmonica in solos with Mina, Pino Daniele, Toquiño, Rossana Casale, Caterina Valente, Gino Paoli. Since 1986 onwards he records in his name the album “Harmonica”, “Sweet Jazz from Italy”, “Portrait in Black and White”and “Different Moods” that has the special feature of containing the jazz- suite “Metamorfosi” (mastered and republished by M.A.P. in 2000), composed by Bruno for harmonica and strings quartet.

Evergreen

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Django Reinhardt - All Star Sessions

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:11
Size: 108.0 MB
Styles: Gypsy jazz, Continental jazz, Guitar jazz
Year: 2001
Art: Front

[2:23] 1. Montmartre
[2:59] 2. Low Cotton
[2:18] 3. Finesse
[2:30] 4. I Know That You Know And You Know That I Know
[3:00] 5. Solid Old Man
[2:44] 6. Honeysuckle Rose
[2:59] 7. Crazy Rhythm
[3:17] 8. Out Of Nowhere
[2:59] 9. Sweet Georgia Brown
[3:01] 10. I'm Coming Virginia
[3:13] 11. Farewell Blues
[3:03] 12. Blue Light Blues
[3:11] 13. Blue Moon
[2:58] 14. Avalon
[3:20] 15. What A Diff'rence A Day Made
[3:10] 16. Stardust

The studio sessions within this CD were produced by Charles Delauney in Paris during the late '30s, when a number of prominent Americans were either passing through or temporarily taking up residence in Europe. Django Reinhardt was a relative newcomer to jazz, but quickly became a leading player on the continent, and is present on four very different sessions in this collection. A quartet led by cornetist Rex Stewart includes fellow Ellington veterans Barney Bigard on clarinet and bassist Billy Taylor, though the Americans and their gypsy guitarist eschew the Ellington songbook and find their own sound in a date dominated by originals written by Stewart or Taylor. Reinhardt is prominently featured as a soloist and proves himself in ensembles as well as backing others' solos. The only standard present is a swinging "I Know That You Know." The guitarist is part of Michel Warlop's orchestra with special guest Coleman Hawkins for a 1935 session, though the rather square arrangements haven't stood the test of time too well. The highlight of this date is "Star Dust," which includes Hawkins with only the rhythm section of Reinhardt, Stephane Grappelli (on piano), and bassist Eugene d'Hellemmes. Reinhardt and Grappelli (again, exclusively on piano) are both present in an all-star ensemble led by Hawkins, which also features Benny Carter (on both alto sax and trumpet). Carter's swinging arrangements make these four tracks a joy to hear, though Reinhardt only solos on "Honeysuckle Rose." Although most of these selections have appeared regularly on a number of earlier CDs and LPs, this current collection is worth acquiring, especially for the small-group date led by Stewart. ~Ken Dryden

All Star Sessions

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Phil Woods - Ornithology: Phil Salutes Bird

Styles: Saxophone Jazz

Year: 1994

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 74:07

Size: 170,1 MB

Art: Front

(11:08)  1. How High The Moon

( 7:41)  2. Don't Blame Me

( 7:36)  3. Star Eyes

(12:11)  4. Lover Man

( 7:43)  5. Steeplechase

(10:31)  6. All The Things You Are

( 9:08)  7. Just Friends

( 8:08)  8. Night And Day

There's little doubt that no alto saxophonist alive is more qualified to do a tribute to Charlie Parker than Phil Woods; he has mastered the bop repertoire of Bird in a career that is approaching the half-century mark, and he has developed a sound that is very distinctly his own and can be readily identified in seconds. Woods has made numerous recordings for this Italian label, which he jokingly referred to as his "retirement plan" during a 1990 interview, but this quartet date is among his best for Philology. With an Italian rhythm section led by the fine pianist Franco D'Andrea, Woods explores at length eight of Parker's favorites. An extended "How High the Moon," a rhapsodic "Lover Man," and the Latin flavored "Night and Day" are among the date's many highlights. Highly recommended! ~ Ken Dryden  http://www.allmusic.com/album/ornithology-phil-salutes-bird-mw0000995536

Personnel: Phil Woods (alto saxophone); Franco D'Andrea (piano); Gianni Cazzola (drums); Attilio Zanchi (Bass)

Ornithology: Phil Salutes Bird

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Gabrielle Goodman - Travelin' Light

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 1993
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:17
Size: 101,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:16)  1. Travelin' Light
(4:21)  2. Cherokee
(3:52)  3. Over The Rainbow
(5:59)  4. Manila
(4:23)  5. Never Too Late
(3:19)  6. Blues Walk
(6:40)  7. My Funny Valentine
(4:52)  8. Use Me
(6:30)  9. Don't Explain

Sounding like a combination of Sarah Vaughan and Chaka Khan seasoned with a dash of Roberta Flack, Gabrielle Goodman is joined by a motley crew of modern musicians, swoops, scats, and whoops through a playlist of standards and originals, one of them by Goodman herself. For the most part, it seems that the arrangements, including those of the standards, are "popularized." That is, they have been designed to be attractive to fans of contemporary popular music. One exception is the Gershwin Brothers' "Someone to Watch Over Me," where Goodman opens the verse with just Kevin Eubanks' subdued guitar (one of few subdued moments on this disc) behind her. Additional instrumentation, especially Gary Thomas' tenor, joins in for a very relaxed chorus. (Thomas and his saxophones are very prominent on this disc.) But on most of the cuts, Goodman's voice soars to the heavens. "Over the Rainbow" becomes a bop aria, and on "Travelin' Light," her voice becomes a horn, competing with Thomas' tenor for the dominating position on this tune. Goodman's rendition will not remind anyone of Judy Garland's. 

The Goodman composed "Manila" is a major production. The pulse is established by drummer Buddy Williams' back beat. Barry Miles' synthesizer weaves in and out with Goodman's voice as she overdubs the background vocals. Clifford Brown's "Blues Walk" flirts with the avant-garde, as Goodman sings wordless vocals, Thomas' serendipitous sax wailing with her. This tune, with Goodman and Thomas as a two-person ensemble, is one of the album's highlights. Once more she relies on the laid-back guitar of Eubanks in her thoughtful, emotional offering of "Don't Explain," another of the album's strong performances. Many will have to give this album more than a single play before fully appreciating it, but they will assuredly be drawn to Goodman's wide-ranging, unusual but haunting presentation of the music. Travelin' Light will be particularly appreciated by those who prize a singer willing to take some major risks. [Fortunately, the lyrics are reprinted in the liner notes.] ~ Dave Nathan  http://www.allmusic.com/album/travelin-light-mw0000107892

Personnel: Gabrielle Goodman (vocals, background vocals); Michael Cain (piano); Anthony Cox (bass instrument, acoustic bass); Rubén Rodríguez (bass instrument, electric bass); Tony Bunn (electric double bass); Tony Bunn (electric bass); Mark Feldman (vocals, violin); Kevin Eubanks (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Wolfgang Muthspiel (guitar, electric guitar); Gary Thomas (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Barry Miles, David Bunn (piano, synthesizer); Mike Cain (piano); Buddy Williams (drums); Don Alias (congas, percussion).

Travelin' Light

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Leroy Vinnegar - Presenting Oscar Moore with Leroy Vinnegar

Styles: Jazz, Bop
Year: 1962
File: MP3@256K/s
Time: 27:31
Size: 50,6 MB
Art: Front

(2:55)  1. I Can't Get Started With You
(2:44)  2. There's a Small Hotel
(2:30)  3. Angel Eyes
(3:49)  4. To a Wild Rose
(4:45)  5. It's a Pity to Say Goodnight
(3:08)  6. Tangerine
(2:44)  7. Sweet Loraine
(3:16)  8. If You Were Mine
(1:35)  9. Taborra

An excellent guitarist influenced after 1939 by Charlie Christian, Oscar Moore was an invaluable part of the Nat King Cole Trio during 1937-1947, appearing on virtually all of Cole's records during the period. He also recorded with Lionel Hampton, Art Tatum (1941), the Capitol Jazzmen, and Lester Young. Unfortunately, Moore's post-Cole career was not that successful. He played with his brother Johnny Moore in the Three Blazers from 1947 to the mid-'50s (the group declined in popularity after pianist/singer Charles Brown left) and he recorded three records for Verve and Tampa during 1953-1954, but then was largely outside of music with the exception of a 1965 Cole tribute album. 

~ Scott Yanow  https://itunes.apple.com/mu/artist/oscar-moore/id366552#fullText

Personnel: Leroy Vinnegar (Bass);  Oscar Moore (Guitar).

Presenting Oscar Moore with Leroy Vinegar

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