Lou Donaldson - Midnight Creeper

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1968
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:11
Size: 83,0 MB
Art: Front

(6:32)  1. Midnight Creeper
(7:46)  2. Love Power
(5:37)  3. Elizabeth
(9:44)  4. Bag of Jawels
(6:30)  5. Dapper Dan

As he delved deeper into commercial soul-jazz and jazz-funk, Lou Donaldson became better at it. While lacking the bite of his hard bop improvisations or the hard-swinging funk of Alligator Bogaloo, Midnight Creeper succeeds where its predecessor, Mr. Shing-A-Ling failed: it offers a thoroughly enjoyable set of grooving, funky soul-jazz. The five songs including two originals by Donaldson and one each by Lonnie Smith (who also plays organ on the record), Teddy Vann, and Harold Ousley aren't particularly distinguished, but the vibe is important, not the material. And the band Donaldson, Smith, trumpeter Blue Mitchell, guitarist George Benson, and drummer Leo Morris strikes the right note, turning in a fluid, friendly collection of bluesy funk vamps. Donaldson could frequently sound stilted on his commercial soul-jazz dates, but that's not the case with Midnight Creeper. He rarely was quite as loose on his late-'60s/early-'70s records as he is here, and that's what makes Midnight Creeper a keeper. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine  http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-midnight-creeper-mw0000063286

Personnel:  Lou Donaldson (alto saxophone), Blue Mitchell (trumpet), George Benson (guitar), Lonnie Smith (organ), Idris Muhammad (drums).

Midnight Creeper

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Lola Haag - The Sarah Vaughan Songbook

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:34
Size: 117,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:56)  1. How Long Has This Been Going On?
(4:51)  2. It Might As Well Be Spring
(2:35)  3. Whatever Lola Wants
(3:40)  4. Don't Blame Me
(2:44)  5. Watch What Happens
(2:47)  6. Misty
(3:33)  7. Lullaby Of Birdland
(5:51)  8. Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most
(3:59)  9. East Of The Sun (And West Of The Moon)
(3:10) 10. Moonlight In Vermont
(3:14) 11. Can't Get Out Of This Mood
(3:08) 12. All The Things You Are
(3:21) 13. Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year
(3:39) 14. Poor Butterfly

Welcome, baby. Can't you feel your stress dissolving away already? Lola's romantic jazz stimulates the intellect as well as the senses. Her music provides the perfect backdrop for romance or relaxing. "Her voice is like a rubdown with a velvet glove". So, you're an incurable romantic? Well, if you are, you're in good company. Looking for the perfect cuddling music to play when you curl up in a lap blanket by the fireplace? Or to play in your car when you're on your way home from a stressful day at work? Well, you've come to the right place. Lola has been making the rounds at parties too, providing slow dance music whenever her CD is popped into the player. So, add a little extra romance to your life. It's easy. The song, Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets whispers a provocative invitation, "Give in, Give in, Give in."

Thus quoth Sarah: Lola's favorite quote by Sarah Vaughan: "There are notes between those notes, you know." Lola's second favorite quote by Sarah Vaughan (from 1957): "I dig Doris Day."

Some of Lola's CD liner notes: This album is my tribute to the great vocalist, Sarah Vaughan, or as she was called by her musician friends, Sassy. Although we have kept the flavor of the Sarah Vaughan arrangements, I want to clearly state that I am NOT vocally anything like Sarah Vaughan! And I don't try to duplicate her interpretation. I may be crazy but I'm not stupid! Instead, I try to bring something of myself to the raw material of her work, the songs she chose to sing. Yes, the AMAZING songs. I have a ball with "her" songs. Throughout her entire career, Sarah made her vocals seem so easy. Perhaps because of the wealth of her talent, some of it was easy for her. What wasn't easy, I'm sure, was to consistantly give stellar performances and to remain creative for several decades. I have always admired her stamina and her willingness to give to her audiences what they have come to expect from her... her best, which was amazingly good. I hope this album prompts the listener to pull out those Sarah Vaughan compilations and re-experience the amazing gifts that Sarah Vaughan has given to the jazz world... her soul and her wonderful voice. http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/lolahaag

Personnel: Harry Allen (tenor saxophone); Spanky Davis (trumpet); Hod O'Brien (piano); Jackie Williams (drums); Lola Haag (Vocal).

The Sarah Vaughan Songbook

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Roland Kirk - Gifts And Messages

Styles:  Hard Bop, Avant Garde Jazz
Year: 1964
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 78:48
Size: 184,3 MB
Art: Front

( 0:17)  1. Ronnie's Intro
(12:07)  2. Bags' Groove
( 2:23)  3. Roland's Intro
( 6:30)  4. It Might As Well Be Spring
( 9:32)  5. (On A) Misty Night
( 5:44)  6. Come Sunday
( 9:47)  7. Avalon
( 6:56)  8. My Ship
(10:01)  9. A Stritch In Time
(12:37) 10. Gifts And Messages
( 2:50) 11. Reeling And Rhyming

This CD has previously unreleased music featuring the remarkable Rahsaan Roland Kirk in 1964 during a London gig at Ronnie Scott's club. Joined by the talented pianist Stan Tracey, bassist Rick Laird and drummer Allan Ganley, Kirk puts on quite a show. He plays conventionally on tenor in spots (particularly during the opening "Bags' Groove") in addition to wailing on three horns at once and showing off his talents on manzello, stritch, flutes and what he called a saxophonium (a saxophone without a mouthpiece). There is a great deal of humor on this set including many song quotes, a wild version of Tadd Dameron's "On a Misty Night" that is worthy of Richie Cole, some wicked laughing and a few short monologues that are both witty and quite insightful. Although Rahsaan Roland Kirk really had to be seen to be fully appreciated (much of what he did was simply impossible), this CD gives one a fine overview of his unique abilities. ~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/gifts-and-messages-candid-mw0002022122

Personnel:  Bass – Rick Laird;  Drums – Allan Ganley;  Piano – Stan Tracey;  Tenor Saxophone, Flute, Nose Flute, Siren, Voice, Instruments [Manzello. Stritch, Saxophonium] – Roland Kirk

Gifts And Messages

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Les McCann & Eddie Harris - Swiss Movement

Styles: Piano And Saxophone Jazz

Year: 1969

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 47:51

Size: 109,7 MB

Art: Front

(8:56)  1. Compared to What

(7:08)  2. Cold Duck Time

(6:15)  3. Kathleen's Theme

(7:34)  4. You Got It in Your Soulness

(9:12)  5. The Generation Gap

(8:43)  6. Kaftan

One of the most popular soul jazz albums of all time, and one of the best, although Harris (and trumpeter Benny Bailey) had never played or rehearsed with the Les McCann Trio before, and indeed wasn't even given the music. Perhaps that's what sparked the spontaneous funk coming through clearly on the tape of this show, recorded at the Montreux Festival in 1969. It's actually much more of a showcase for McCann than Harris, although the tenor saxist's contributions are significant. The sole vocal, a version of Gene McDaniels' "Compared to What," remains McCann's signature tune. [Some reissues add a nine-minute bonus track, "Kaftan."] ~ Richie Unterberger  http://www.allmusic.com/album/swiss-movement-mw0000054231

Personnel: Eddie Harris (vocals, saxophone, tenor saxophone, electric saxophone, trumpet, piano); Les McCann (vocals, piano, keyboards); Benny Bailey (trumpet); Donald Dean (drums).

Swiss Movement

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