Jay McShann, Milt Buckner - Kansas City Memories

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:28
Size: 127.0 MB
Styles: Piano blues-jazz
Year: 1973/2008
Art: Front

[5:54] 1. Vine Street Boogie
[4:00] 2. Cherry Red
[4:32] 3. Milt Jay Bird
[5:52] 4. Yardbird Waltz
[5:37] 5. My Chile
[4:31] 6. Hot Biscuits
[4:23] 7. 'tain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do
[4:16] 8. Doo Wah Doo
[4:35] 9. Funky K.C
[6:20] 10. Please Mister Mcshann
[5:23] 11. Honeysuckle Rose

Jay McShann and Milt Buckner join forces for this CD compilation of two earlier Black & Blue LPs recorded in the early 1970s. While McShann is indelibly associated with both blues and boogie-woogie, Buckner is better known as the swing pianist and organist who popularized the locked-hands style of playing adopted by many later keyboardists. Unfortunately, these sessions aren't nearly as successful, since the two players don't really complement one another's playing all that well. That's not to say the music (which primarily consists of originals by McShann) isn't enjoyable. Buckner seems more at home on organ in the up-tempo blues "My Chile," which also adds guitarist Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, and tenor saxophonist Arnett Cobb. Buckner returns to piano for the soulful "T'ain't Nobody's Business If I Do," with Al Casey taking over on guitar. But the sessions clearly would have worked even better had McShann been the sole pianist. ~Ken Dryden

Kansas City Memories

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Dan Fogelberg - Love Songs

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:00
Size: 100.7 MB
Styles: Soft rock
Year: 1995
Art: Front

[4:15] 1. Heart Hotels
[3:56] 2. Hard To Say
[3:13] 3. Longer
[4:31] 4. Make Love Stay
[4:15] 5. Leader Of The Band
[4:13] 6. Run For The Roses
[5:15] 7. Same Old Lang Syne
[5:25] 8. Lonely In Love
[3:55] 9. A Love Like This
[4:57] 10. Seeing You Again

Ten years removed from his last gold-selling album, Dan Fogelberg retains an extensive catalog ripe for profit-taking, or rather, his label, Epic Records does. That's the rationale for this compilation. The "love songs" theme, as usual with a pop star, is practically meaningless; love is the subject of most pop songs, after all. Here, it is simply a cover for not calling the album "the best-of" Fogelberg, even though, among the ten selections, seven were pop Top 40 hits and two more were AC chart entries. (The exception, drawn from Fogelberg's most recent album, River of Souls, is "A Love Like This.") There are different kinds of love, of course, and in the songs here, Fogelberg goes beyond just romantic love. "Longer" is a song of romantic love, however, and with lyrics so poetic and music so sweet that it could be used as a wedding song, and no doubt has been many times. But the autobiographical "Leader of the Band" is about a son's love of his father, and "Run for the Roses" is a second-person narrative addressed to a racehorse. (Well, OK, who doesn't love horses?) The inclusion of some later, less-well-known songs seems to be an attempt either to reanimate Fogelberg's declining sales or just cover the breadth of his career. But "Seeing You Again" (from Exiles) is a melodramatic, generalized version of a theme he explored to greater effect in "Same Old Lang Syne," which is also included. Most Fogelberg fans will have these tracks already; this is just an unimaginative record company repackaging to squeeze a few more bucks out of his catalog. ~William Ruhlmann

Love Songs

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Sonny Clark - Someone Nice Like You

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 77:13
Size: 176.8 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 2015
Art: Front

[6:47] 1. Until The Real Thing Comes Along
[5:12] 2. Ain't Nothin' But The Blues
[6:02] 3. If I Should Lose You
[6:25] 4. Soy Califa
[5:20] 5. Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry
[8:15] 6. B. G. Mambo
[6:25] 7. Someday My Prince Will Come
[6:24] 8. That's All
[5:44] 9. Black Pearl
[8:42] 10. Outer Space
[6:04] 11. Don't Explain
[5:50] 12. On The Street Where You Live

Like Fats Navarro and Charlie Parker before him, Sonny Clark's life was short but it burned with musical intensity. Influenced deeply by Bud Powell, Clark nonetheless developed an intricate and hard-swinging harmonic sensibility that was full of nuance and detail. Regarded as the quintessential hard bop pianist, Clark never got his due before he passed away in 1963 at the age of 31, despite the fact that it can be argued that he never played a bad recording date either as a sideman or as a leader. Known mainly for seven records on the Blue Note label with a host of players including such luminaries as John Coltrane, Art Farmer, Donald Byrd, Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley, Art Taylor, Paul Chambers, Wilbur Ware, Philly Joe Jones, and others, Clark actually made his recording debut with Teddy Charles and Wardell Gray, but left soon after to join Buddy DeFranco. His work with the great clarinetist has been documented in full in a Mosaic set that is now sadly out of print. Clark also backed Dinah Washington, Serge Chaloff, and Sonny Criss before assuming his role as a leader in 1957. Clark's classic is regarded as Cool Struttin' but each date he led on Blue Note qualifies as a classic, including his final date, Sonny's Crib with John Coltrane. And though commercial success always eluded him, he was in demand as a sideman and played dozens of Alfred Lion-produced dates, including Tina Brooks' Minor Move. Luckily, Clark's contribution is well documented by Alfred Lion; he has achieved far more critical, musical, and popular acclaim than he ever did in life. ~Thom Jurek

Someone Nice Like You

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Art Pepper & Duke Jordan - In Copenhagen 1981 Disc 1 And Disc 2

This was the first and last time Pepper worked with Jordan, and came about as a result of Pepper's usual pianist, George Cables, being unable to make the dates at Club Montmartre in Copenhagen. To Pepper's dismay, Danmarks Radio decided to record the first gig of the Montmartre series. Pepper need not have worried the show was a rousing success, with the band tackling a set of standards (and a couple of Pepper originals) with such verve and determination that relatively simple tunes turned into astounding solo workouts (there are several drum and bass solos to be heard on this record), the amazing highlight of which is a shot at "Besame Mucho" that rounds out to twenty-two minutes. Art Pepper was in the process of dying at the time this recording was made, but there's no lack of energy, no loss of vitality. A two-CD live jazz set that's well worth having and should not be overlooked. ~ Steven McDonald  http://www.allmusic.com/album/art-pepper-with-duke-jordan-in-copenhagen-1981-mw0000649077

Personnel: Art Pepper (alto saxophone); Duke Jordan (piano); David Williams (bass); Carl Burnett (drums).

Disc 1

Styles: Saxophone And Piano Jazz
Year: 1981
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 74:54
Size: 171,7 MB
Art: Front

(14:11)  1. Blues Montmartre
( 9:45)  2. What Is This Thing Called Love?
( 7:34)  3. Over the Rainbow
(16:04)  4. Caravan
(14:40)  5. Rhythm-A-Ning
(12:38)  6. You Go to My Head

In Copenhagen 1981 Disc1

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Disc 2

Time: 70:29
Size: 161,6 MB
Art: Front

(22:25)  1. Besame Mucho
( 8:47)  2. Cherokee
(11:57)  3. Radio Blues
(11:08)  4. Good Bait
(16:10)  5. All the Things You Are

In Copenhagen 1981 Disc2

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Denise Donatelli - Soul Shadows

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:13
Size: 115,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:12)  1. All or Nothing at All
(6:11)  2. No Better
(4:20)  3. Another Day
(4:45)  4. A Promise
(5:29)  5. Soul Shadows
(4:26)  6. Ocean
(5:52)  7. Postcards and Messages
(3:41)  8. When I Looked Again
(4:17)  9. Ange
(5:54) 10. Too Late Now

A late bloomer due to her focusing on parenthood and an earlier career with CNN, vocalist Denise Donatelli has continued to develop with a depth of feeling and a broad musical palette open to exploring many styles of jazz. Her fourth CD (and third for Savant) finds her again with pianist/music director Geoff Keezer and guitarist Peter Sprague, with a supporting cast that varies from track to track. Donatelli puts a new twist on the standard "All or Nothing at All," buoyed by Keezer's catchy, Afro-Peruvian arrangement, and potent solos by Keezer and acoustic guitarist Ramon Stagnaro. The other standard, "Too Late Now," is a lush duet by Donatelli with Keezer as her sole accompanist, where the vocalist's adept phrasing and use of space conveys its lyric perfectly. Two songs were penned by jazz veterans. 

The scoring of Wayne Shorter's "A Promise (Someplace Called Where)" (with a lyric by Dianne Reeves) utilizes strings and soprano saxophonist Tim Garland to provide an intricate backing for the singer. Donald Brown's "Ange" is a demanding, Brazilian-flavored work which Donatelli performs flawlessly as if it had long been part of her repertoire. From there, Donatelli expands her scope to contemporary jazz, pop, and works by singer/songwriters. She shows her playful side in the light-hearted "Another Day," scatting along with Sprague's guitar, followed by Keezer's spry solo, and takes flight in her hip, Brazilian-tinged rendition of Joe Sample's "Soul Shadows." Donatelli captures the essence of "When I Looked Again," a collaborative effort by Christian McBride and Sting that was recorded by them but unissued, with effective overdubbed harmony vocals judiciously used in Keezer's arrangement. With so many jazz vocalists competing for attention, Denise Donatelli easily stands out from the pack with her versatile, creative repertoire and strong voice. ~ Ken Dryden  http://www.allmusic.com/album/soul-shadows-mw0002406654

Soul Shadows

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Tommy Flanagan & Red Mitchell - You're Me

Styles: Piano Jazz, Hard Bop
Year: 1980
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:59
Size: 112,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:31)  1. You're Me
(8:11)  2. Darn That Dream
(4:50)  3. What Am I Here For
(7:31)  4. When I Have You
(6:45)  5. All the Things You Are
(4:59)  6. Milestones
(6:54)  7. Whisper Not
(5:14)  8. There'll Never Be Another You

Any musician was fortunate to have either Tommy Flanagan or Red Mitchell as part of his or her rhythm section, but both of these individuals have made many fine small group recordings. This is a 1980 duo session featuring just the two of them, supporting each other with intricate lines like old friends who've played together for decades, both men are in excellent form thought the date. Flanagan's imaginative approaches to "Darn That Dream" and "All the Things Your Are" demonstrate why he was popular with singers like Ella Fitagerald. A strident take of "What Am I Here For" is powered by Mitchell's booming bass and Flanagan's percussive attack. Miles Davis' "Milestones" (the song recorded with Charlie Parker and not the later unrelated song recorded for Columbia) is full of twists and turns that the two masters handle with ease. 

Mitchell contributed the swinging title track and the pretty ballad "When I Have You." This duo CD is very highly recommended. ~ Ken Dryden  http://www.allmusic.com/album/youre-me-mw0000869700

Personnel:  Red Mitchell – Bass;  Tommy Flanagan – Piano.

You're Me

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