Sonny Clark - My Conception

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:51
Size: 139.3 MB
Styles: Bop, Piano jazz
Year: 1959/2003
Art: Front

[7:26] 1. Junka
[7:13] 2. Blues Blue
[6:43] 3. Minor Meeting
[6:57] 4. Royal Flush
[6:15] 5. Some Clark Bars
[4:41] 6. My Conception
[6:51] 7. Minor Meeting
[8:11] 8. Eastern Incident
[6:30] 9. Little Sonny

Sonny Clark's conception of modern jazz is not far removed from his peer group of the late '50s, in that advanced melodic and harmonic ideas override the basic precepts of swing and simplicity. What sets Clark apart from other jazz pianists lies in his conception of democracy to allow his bandmates to steam straight ahead on compositions he has written with them in mind. Though the bulk of this session features the marvelous trumpet/tenor tandem of Donald Byrd and Hank Mobley, it is drummer Art Blakey whose demonstrative presence is heard in full force. He's kicking the band in his own distinctive, inimitable way, rambling through the opener "Junka," based on the changes of "You Go to My Head" with his brand of bomb drops, hard accents, and indefatigable swing. Simply put, this is hard bop at its very best. Several of Clark's very best works are present and accounted for, including two takes of the definitive "Minor Meeting." The second version with Byrd and Mobley has a wonderfully subtle, Asian flavored ascending and descending melody, but the so-called initial recording includes guitarist Kenny Burrell, tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan, and drummer Pete LaRoca, and sounds quite different. A calypso intro from the drummer yields a different palate, as Burrell in particular takes charge. "Eastern Incident" with the Burrell-Jordan tandem also takes a Far East tack, a completely relaxed line with Jordan smoother than Mobley. "Royal Flush" is also one of Clark's all-time keepers, a true beauty in Latin dress with slight harmonic inferences. This is for the most part a hard swinging date, the exceptions being the cute, sweet, basic shuffle "Blues Blue," a dramatic two-chord progression on "Some Clark Bars," and the third track featuring a Grant Green styled Burrell for the fleet "Little Sonny." Kudos to the great bassist Paul Chambers who plays on all of these cuts with Clark, and is unquestionably in his prime. Except the extraordinary Leapin' and Lopin, this album of contrasts, depth, and spirit showcases Clark's dual concepts brilliantly, and is only a half step below his best. ~Michael G. Nastos

My Conception

---

The Spitfire Band - Big Time

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:19
Size: 90.0 MB
Styles: Big band
Year: 1997
Art: Front

[2:38] 1. Just in Time
[3:04] 2. Time After Time
[3:20] 3. I've Heard That Song Before
[3:29] 4. New York, New York
[2:11] 5. It's Been a Long, Long Time
[3:02] 6. Baubles, Bangles and Beads
[2:04] 7. The More I See You
[3:27] 8. As Time Goes By
[2:39] 9. Witchcraft
[4:53] 10. Hey There
[4:22] 11. What Kind of Fool Am I
[4:06] 12. Serenade in Blue

Jackie Rae (vocals); Dave Caldwell (saxophone, trumpet); Jack Zaza, Bob DeAngelis, Bill Ruttle (saxophone); Arnie Chycoski, Dave Woods, Micky Erbe, John MacLeod, Mike Malone (trumpet); Bob Hamper, Bob Livingston, Dave McMurdo, Laurie Bower (trombone); Gary Gross (piano); John Summer, John Sumner (drums).

When I picked up this album, I had a nagging feeling that I had seen it before. A check of my data base indicated that it's a reissue of a disc that the Canadian based Spitfire Band did for Columbia Records several years ago called In Flight. A call to the album's producer, Bill Lawrence confirmed this. It's a bit misleading not to include this information on the back cover of the album so that prospective purchasers are aware they are in a sense buying a used car. Also, it's really a partial reissue since not all the tunes from the original release have been included resulting in a relatively meager under 40 minutes worth of music. Moreover, the liner notes also don't identify the personnel from this fine Canadian band..The personnel appearing below are from the liner notes of the earlier release and I think it's safe to assume they are the same.

The good news is that Alanna Records, as it has done with other Spitfire Band releases, has remastered the album and the sound is wonderfully clear and crisp, just right for big band music. And the music is all familiar, as are the arrangements. Charlie Barnet is honored with "Skyliner", Xavier Cugat with "Brazil", Tommy Dorsey with "Marie", although the trombone solo here is not nearly as smooth as Dorsey's. There's also a vocal solo, with the band helping out, as they did when Jack Leonard sang the original. And the train still pulls out of the station as it did on Glenn Miller's "Chattanooga Choo Choo" which reached number 1 on the pop charts in 1941. But there's no Tex Beneke and the Modernaires vocal like there was way back then. Not all cuts are from the 1940's big band era. The Count Basie 1966 arrangement of "Days of Wine and Roses" is given a reworking.

This album is like instant replay. If you heard the original, nothing's changed. But the Spitfire Band is made up of excellent musicians, several of whom are also part of Rob McConnell's Boss Brass aggregation. This is a neat album to play in the car while on a trip and you need something to keep the adrenalin flowing so you don't fall asleep or to drown out the kids. ~Dave Nathan

Big Time

---

Jane McDonald - The Singer Of Your Song (Deluxe Edition)

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 68:40

Size: 157.2 MB

Styles: Easy Listening

Year: 2014

Art: Front

[3:18] 1. The Rose

[3:18] 2. Here Comes The Sun

[3:22] 3. We've Got Tonight

[4:55] 4. The Singer Of Your Song

[4:01] 5. Betcha By Golly Wow

[4:51] 6. When I Look At You

[4:16] 7. I've Never Been To Me

[3:48] 8. Love Is All

[3:47] 9. If You Go Away

[3:15] 10. Yesterday When I Was Young

[2:53] 11. God Only Knows

[2:46] 12. Guess Who I Saw Today

[4:13] 13. When October Goes

[4:17] 14. You've Made Me So Very Happy

[2:44] 15. At Last

[4:27] 16. Going Out Of My Head

[3:45] 17. From This Moment On

[4:35] 18. I'll Be There

Jane rocketed to stardom in 1998 when she first appeared on our screens in the BBC 1 docusoap The Cruise, as top of the bill on board the ship 'The Galaxy'. The series attracted 13 million viewers and Jane McDonald emerged as a star and household name, an incredible 13 years later her career continues to take her to amazing heights.

Jane’s first album outsold her nearest rivals by four to one and gained Jane a place in the Guinness Book Of Records. It remained at Number One for three weeks and achieved platinum status staying in the Top 10 for 8 weeks. Each of Jane’s subsequent 4 major albums have all reached gold and silver status. 2009 saw the first album release under her own label. Simply titled Jane the CD entered the Official UK Album Chart at Number 7 and achieved silver status within 6 weeks.

Jane oversees everything to do with her own company Jane McDonald Ltd. She puts her heart and soul into her sell out performances, produces her own albums on her own label, is executive producer on her latest CD/DVD, Live at the London Palladium and works along side her Musical Director on arrangements and recordings. She has her own design label, The Jane McDonald Collection where she works closely with her own designer on all her couture gowns featured in her concert tours. For almost 14 years Jane has built up a phenomenal theatre audience, performing incredible live concerts across the United Kingdom and Southern Ireland. During that time selling out the Royal Albert Hall, and the London Palladium twice. Jane has also played to a sold out audience at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas.

The Singer Of Your Song (Deluxe Edition)

---

Count Basie & His Orchestra - April In Paris

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 67:26

Size: 154.4 MB

Styles: Swing, Big band

Year: 1956/2014

Art: Front

[3:46] 1. April In Paris

[5:14] 2. Corner Pocket

[4:42] 3. Didn't You

[3:57] 4. Sweetie Cakes

[3:05] 5. Magic

[5:13] 6. Shiny Stockings

[3:18] 7. What Am I Here For

[3:12] 8. Midgets

[3:22] 9. Mambo Inn

[3:05] 10. Dinner With Friends

[3:47] 11. April In Paris

[5:00] 12. Corner Pocket

[4:49] 13. Didn't You

[3:43] 14. Magic

[3:49] 15. Magic

[4:05] 16. What Am I Here For

[3:12] 17. Midgets

One of the staples in the Count Basie discography, April in Paris is one of those rare albums that makes its mark as an almost instant classic in the jazz pantheon. April in Paris represents the reassembly of the original Count Basie orchestra that define swing in the 1930s and 1940s. The title track has come to define elegance in orchestral jazz. Though only ten tracks in its original release, seven alternate takes have now been incorporated into Verve's re-release of the original session tapes. Recorded in 1955 and 1956, April in Paris proved Count Basie's ability to grow through modern jazz changes while keeping the traditional jazz orchestra vital and alive. ~Christopher Fielder

April In Paris

---

Jeff Golub - The Vault

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:14
Size: 108.1 MB
Styles: Crossover jazz, Guitar jazz
Year: 2015
Art: Front

[3:46] 1. Funky As Funky Does
[3:48] 2. One More Excuse To Play The Blues
[3:29] 3. Open Up
[4:32] 4. Gimmie Some
[4:15] 5. Swagster
[4:13] 6. Keep The Ball Rolling
[4:43] 7. Jeff's Blues
[3:51] 8. Groanin'
[5:01] 9. Atlanta Nights
[9:32] 10. Naked City

The posthumously released all-star Jeff Golub benefit album, The Vault, brings together reworked and previously unreleased versions of songs the guitarist recorded prior to being diagnosed with the rare brain disease progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) in 2014. A debilitating condition, PSP robbed Golub of his eyesight and left the adept, genre-bending blues and jazz musician unable to play his guitar. Tragically, complications from the disease also led to his death in January 2015. Prior to his passing, however, several of Golub's longtime friends and collaborators, including trumpeter Rick Braun, music executive Bud Harner, and producer/engineer Steven Miller, assisted Golub in compiling these tracks. Golub then handpicked many of his favorite artists to add their own contemporary style to the recordings and create something fresh. Although many of the songs on The Vault, such as "Funky Is as Funky Does," off 1994's Avenue Blue and "Groanin'," off 1999's Out of the Blue, will be familiar to Golub's longtime fans, these are not the same tracks featured on the original albums. On the contrary, these are alternate versions reworked with newly recorded additions from such artists as Dave Koz, Mindi Abair, Kirk Whalum, Boney James, Jeff Lorber, Gerald Albright, Peter White, Richard Elliot, and others. ~Matt collar

The Vault

---

Dick Hyman & John Sheridan - Forgotten Dreams: Archives of Novelty Piano 1920's-1930's

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:14
Size: 141,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:50)  1. Echo of Spring
(2:54)  2. Concentratin'
(2:53)  3. Morning Air
(2:55)  4. Finger Buster
(3:09)  5. In the Dark
(3:47)  6. Soliloquy
(4:14)  7. Spring Fever
(3:12)  8. Southern Charms
(2:54)  9. Aunt Jemima's Birthday
(3:20) 10. Dancing Tamourine
(3:46) 11. Midsummer's Nightmare
(2:27) 12. Nickel in the Slot
(3:59) 13. Grandfather's Clock
(2:55) 14. My Pet
(2:17) 15. Lace Embroidery
(4:06) 16. Southern Exposure
(2:39) 17. Hobson Street Blues
(2:43) 18. Eye Opener
(3:05) 19. The Legend Of Lonesome Lake

When I first got into Jazz, I considered anything written and produced before, say, 1999 to be "Novelty" Jazz. So, it was with more than a little surprise that I popped Forgeotten Dreams into the CD player and was amazed to not hear Kenny G covers, but the style of music that had brought me into the Jazz realm. A fantastic album of songs penned by such greats as Zez Confrey, Willie "the Lion" Smith and Rube Bloom. All 19 cuts on this collection of hauntingly beautiful pieces is masterfully performed by the two men Sheridan and Hyman. 

Both men, performing on identical pianos for this recording, have shown that their 15+ years playing together has really created a unified flow to what they do. There are times when the two pianos are panned seperately into the speakers, so that one can distinguish the parts being play. There are times, particularly in "Finger Buster" when the two parts though panned are indistinguishable in a collision of sonic fury. An absolutely perfect companion for reading and/or writing, this album is certain to please any avid fan of Novelty Piano. ~ AAJ Staff  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/forgotten-dreams-archives-of-novelty-piano-1920s-1930s-dick-hyman-arbors-records-review-by-aaj-staff.php 
 

Personnel: Dick Hyman-Piano; John Sheridan-Piano

Forgotten Dreams: Archives of Novelty Piano   1920's-1930's

---

Dinah Washington - After Hours With Miss D

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 2006
File: MP3@256K/s
Time: 51:03
Size: 100,5 MB
Art: Front

( 7:52)  1. Blue skies (edited version)
( 6:58)  2. Bye bye blues
( 3:14)  3. Am i blue
( 2:31)  4. Our love is here to stay
( 7:59)  5. A foggy day
( 7:02)  6. I let a song go out of my heart
( 2:17)  7. Pennies from heaven
( 2:12)  8. Love for sale
(10:54)  9. Blue skies (unedited version)

Any self-respecting jazz musician would leap at the chance to record an afterhours session with Dinah Washington. One of the finest musician's singers, Washington demanded respect from her band and paid in return by giving her fellow players plenty of room for solos, on record or in concert. Her Dinah Jams LP from 1954 isn't just one of the finest jazz-meets-vocals dates, it's one of the best jam sessions ever released. One year earlier, she began recording the songs heard on After Hours With Miss D, a date sparked (as the original liner notes explained) by her enjoyment of the time after a standard recording date, those late hours when she could sing what she wanted, stretch out and treasure her notes while her musicians relaxed the rhythm. (The record also helped feed the appetite of many record-buyers, who would only after the fact hear tales of unmissable sessions at neglected clubs.) Listeners expecting a record of narcoleptic torch songs, however, may well be shocked by the dynamic range of this date, comprising ebullient stormers as well as slow blues. (Just because the band relaxes the rhythm certainly doesn't mean they have to slow it down.) 

The results of three sessions recorded one year apart, After Hours With Miss D featured a hand-picked band including Clark Terry on trumpet and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis or Paul Quinichette on tenor, plus Washington's rock-solid rhythm section of bassist Keter Betts, drummer Ed Thigpen, and usually pianist Junior Mance (who made his debut with Dinah on the first of these dates). The first two selections are the best, the opener "Blue Skies" a studied introduction for all the principals (each of them heard in extended form on the eight-minute track), and the second a runaway train with Clark Terry's hyper-inflated trumpet as the conductor and the rest of the band carried along for the ride. Organist Jackie Davis leads the group into traditional afterhours territory, setting into a bluesy groove for "Am I Blue?" and "Pennies From Heaven." Washington meanwhile is at her interpretive best, whether tormented ("Love for Sale") or reflective ("A Foggy Day") or tranquil ("Pennies From Heaven"). Everyone gets to solo, as it should be, and the controlled environment makes this session a tighter display of finesse than the live-in-the-studio, completely frenetic Dinah Jams LP. ~ John Bush  http://www.allmusic.com/album/after-hours-with-miss-d-mw0000324908

Personnel: Dinah Washington (vocals); Rick Henderson (alto saxophone); Eddie Chamblee, Eddie" Lockjaw" Davis, Paul Quinichette (tenor saxophone); Clark Terry (trumpet); Gus Chappell (trombone); Clarence "Sleepy" Anderson, Junior Mance (piano); Jackie Davis (organ); Keter Betts (bass); Candido Camero (conga); Ed Thigpen (drums).

After Hours With Miss D

---

Laurindo Almeida - Guitar from Ipanema

Styles: Guitar Jazz, Brazilian Jazz

Year: 1964

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 30:07

Size: 69,2 MB

Art: Front

(2:20)  1. Girl from Ipanema

(3:10)  2. Manhã de Carnaval

(2:08)  3. Sarah's Samba

(2:59)  4. Winter Moon

(2:34)  5. Izabella

(2:49)  6. Choro for People in Love

(2:43)  7. Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars

(3:51)  8. Old Guitaron

(2:13)  9. Um Abraço No Bonfa

(3:04) 10. Twilight in Rio

(2:10) 11. The Fiddler's Wolf Whistle

It is a bit ironic that guitarist Laurindo Almeida found himself in the 1960's jumping on the bossa-nova bandwagon a bit late for he had actually pioneered the movement a decade earlier. The Brazilian guitarist plays well enough on the 11 bossa tunes included on this out-of-print Lp (mostly originals plus covers of "The Girl From Ipanema," "Manha De Carnaval" and "Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars") but the arrangements (which sometimes utilize the whistling of Jack Marshall, George Field's harmonica and flutist Harry Klee among others) are commercial and overly concise; all but two of the songs are under three minutes. Irene Kral's two vocals (quite early in her career) are a plus and the music is quite pleasing but there are no surprises. ~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/guitar-from-ipanema-mw0000573855

Personnel: Laurindo Almeida (guitar); Irene Kral (vocals); Jack Marshall (whistling, guitar); Al Hendrickson (guitar); Fafá Lemos (violin); Harry Klee (flute); George Fields (harmonica); Djalma Ferreira (organ).

Guitar from Ipanema    

---

David Reinhardt - Spiritual Project

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:48
Size: 125,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:07)  1. Deux anges
(2:23)  2. There Is a Quiet Place
(4:31)  3. Paix sur terre
(5:32)  4. Conversion
(4:26)  5. Gloire et honneur
(6:29)  6. Nouvelle naissance
(6:16)  7. Jean 3.16
(4:04)  8. Tu Palabra
(5:00)  9. Je veux etre pret
(4:05) 10. Geneza
(3:59) 11. Who Would Imagine a King
(3:50) 12. Oh Happy Day

"This new album is born following an upheaval in my personal life. I asked myself many questions about life, death ... and I had a great need for spirituality. So I made a U-turn on myself and changed direction. This has inevitably been felt on my music. I wanted to convey these experiences but how? With words it's so hard! So I started composing. First "Conversion" and "New Birth." Then appeared in me the desire to start a band with musicians who share these values and want to convey a message of peace and love. 

It was then that I composed "Peace on Earth". For this album, I wanted a real sound group, each of the musicians put to music service, and "Glory and honor" who returns to duty .... I wanted to add to the original compositions masterpieces gospel directory such that "There is a quiet place" arranged by the group that my father introduced me to when I was three. This is my first memory of music " ~ David Reinhardt http://davidreinhardt.fr/spiritual-project/

Spiritual Project

---