Branford Marsalis - Eternal

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 73:53
Size: 169,4 MB
Art: Front

( 8:55)  1. The Ruby and the Pearl
( 7:53)  2. Reika's Loss
(12:43)  3. Gloomy Sunday
( 9:05)  4. The Lonely Swan
( 8:02)  5. Dinner for One Please, James
( 4:16)  6. Muldoon
(17:46)  7. Eternal
( 5:09)  8. Body and Soul

When you hear that an artist is doing a ballad record, the first thing that comes to mind is "accessible product, commercial album for the masses." And, truth be told, some records seem to fit that description perfectly Michael Brecker's Nearness of You: The Ballad Book , for example, sported an ace team of players but was ultimately unsatisfying featherweight music best suited as background dinner fare. This year, however, has seen two ballad albums with loftier ambitions: Joe Lovano's I'm All for You managed to be accessible without sacrificing any musical commitment; and now, saxophonist Branford Marsalis' Eternal , which may be the weightiest, most significant ballad record to come out in years. Even when the quartet, featuring pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts, tackles more traditional fare like "Dinner for One Please, James," the tender ballad retains a substantive feel that, while completely accessible, reveals many layers on repeated listens. Watts, normally thought of as a powerhouse drummer, is outstanding in his pure simplicity, with brushwork that dovetails perfectly with Revis' equally modest playing. And yet, while this album is for the most part somewhat restrained, it is still imbued with deep feeling and rich subtext. Calderazzo, a player with more of a reputation as a post-Tyner burner, displays a subtlety and lyrical depth that, for all its austerity, is filled with passion.

As much as the album is about poignancy and a certain romantic sense, there is always the feeling that there is something more substantive lying just beneath the surface. Revis' "Muldoon," a duet between Calderazzo and Marsalis, is a rubato tone poem that conjures images of darker loss and brighter redemption. Marsalis' lush tone seems to go deep inside the tune, being more about finding the inner essence of the piece as opposed to merely contriving clever ways to navigate it. 

A characteristic of the whole album is, in fact, how the quartet manages to transcend the simple parameters of the material and instead finds something more basic, more elemental. This is not an unusual goal, but somehow when faced with a programme of material that is so deeply emotional while at times so deceptively simple, Marsalis and the group succeed in finding the place where music becomes the purest representation of feeling. The playing is so inspired and intuitive that one forgets about more conceived musical concerns and, instead, finds oneself in that same moment the musicians are so clearly in. While there is little to compare on a musical basis, somehow the ghost of Coltrane is watching over Eternal , especially on the 17-minute title track that closes the album. There is a spiritualistic sense coupled with a sense of adventure that makes this more than simply a collection of slow tempo pieces. Instead, Eternal goes to that deepest place, the core of human experience and, consequently, may be Marsalis' most fully realized record to date. ~ John Kelman  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/eternal-branford-marsalis-marsalis-music-review-by-john-kelman.php

Personnel: Branford Marsalis (saxophones), Joey Calderazzo (piano), Eric Revis (bass), Jeff "Tain" Watts (drums)

Eternal

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Alan Broadbent - Over The Fence

Styles: Piano Jazz

Year: 1990

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 68:39

Size: 157,7 MB

Art: Front

(7:07)  1. Adam's Apple

(8:08)  2. How Deep Is The Ocean

(5:57)  3. A Night In Tunisia

(5:11)  4. Heart's Desire

(6:52)  5. Waiting For Charlie

(4:33)  6. Blue Daniel

(6:27)  7. Ablution

(8:08)  8. What Is there To Say

(6:33)  9. Better Days

(5:47) 10. Laura

(3:52) 11. Over The Fence

Alan Broadbent was born in Auckland, New Zealand and in 1966, at the age of 19, received a Downbeat Magazine scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston. In 1969 he was asked to join Woody Herman's band as his pianist and arranger for 3 years. In 1972 he settled in Los Angeles, beginning a musical relationship with the legendary singer Irene Kral (no relation to Diana Krall). Soon he was also invited into the studio scene as a pianist for the great Nelson Riddle, David Rose and Johnny Mandel. In the early 90s he was asked to be a part of Natalie Cole's famous "Unforgettable" cd, at which time he toured as her pianist and, a little while later, as her conductor. At this time he wrote an orchestral arrangement for her second video with her dad, "When I Fall In Love", which won him his first Grammy for "best orchestral arrangement accompanying a vocal".

Shortly after, he became a member of Charlie Haden's Quartet West, touring the festivals of Europe, UK and the USA. It was while with this group that he won his second Grammy, an orchestral accompaniment written for Shirley Horn of Leonard Bernstein's "Lonely Town". As a soloist and with his jazz trio, Broadbent has been nominated for Grammys twice for best instrumental performance, in the company of such artists as Herbie Hancock, Sonny Rollins and Keith Jarrett. In 2007 he was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit, an honor he holds in high regard. Broadbent is Diana Krall's conductor for her occasional orchestra concerts and is the conductor on her "Live in Paris" DVD. Recently he has been the arranger on Glenn Frey's cd with strings, "After Hours", and wrote six string arrangements for Sir Paul McCartney's "Kisses On The Bottom" with the London Symphony. He has just returned from solo piano concerts in the UK, Poland and France. It has been his lifelong goal, through his orchestral arrangements and jazz improvisations, to discover, in popular music and standard songs, deeper feelings of communication and love.  https://www.alanbroadbent.com/biography.php

Personnel:  Alan Broadbent (piano);  Andy Brown (bass); Frank Gibson (drums).

Over The Fence

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Miranda Sage - On This Day

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:23
Size: 123,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:40)  1. I Remember You
(3:55)  2. Return to Isfahan
(3:50)  3. Dreamer
(4:08)  4. Don't Fight the Future
(5:02)  5. Fat Cat
(6:45)  6. On This Day
(4:37)  7. The Way You Look Tonight
(4:33)  8. Our Love Is Here to Stay
(4:57)  9. All or Nothing at All
(5:01) 10. The Shadow of Your Smile
(5:50) 11. A Time for Love

Atmospheric sophisticated vocal jazz including swing, latin, ballads, blues and originals with masterful arrangements and nine of Canada's finest musicians. Wow!

Miranda and I have done five CDs together this one being the fifth but in many ways, for me at least it's the first. All of our previous collaborations have been in what to me were unfamiliar surroundings. Fine musicians but some of whom I was playing with for the first time and studios and pianos with which I was unfamiliar made it a somewhat less than ideal recording situation. This project was done in my very favourite studio with a beautiful Steinway and the greatest engineer I've ever known and all the musicians were old friends. What could possibly go wrong? The repertoire includes two great originals written by Miranda as well as her lyrics to Isfahan (Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn) and to one of my tunes. Most of the band charts were arrangements I'd written through the years for my ensemble at Humber College.This CD puts Miranda in a whole new and wonderful world and I've never heard her sound better. She takes command of every tune and works perfectly with the musicians and the arrangements.The band is loaded with some of Canada's greatest musicians and we are treated to some amazing solos from Phil Dwyer on tenor, Kevin Turcotte on trumpet and Reg Schwager on guitar.I must say thank you to Chad Irschick, whose love of music and unbelievable attention to details were a huge factor in the success of the whole venture.I think this is a beautiful CD and I hope you all enjoy our music.  Don Thompson OC (Order of Canada)  https://www.cdbaby.com/cd/mirandasage3

On This Day

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Jerry Lee Lewis - The Session

Styles: Rock & Roll
Year: 1973
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 76:07
Size: 206,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:38)  1. Drinking Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee
(4:37)  2. Music To The Man
(3:59)  3. Baby What You Want Me To Do
(2:37)  4. Bad Moon Rising
(3:54)  5. Sea Cruise
(4:40)  6. Jukebox
(5:23)  7. No Headstone On My Grave
(3:44)  8. Big Boss Man
(2:23)  9. Pledging My Love
(4:03) 10. Memphis
(5:49) 11. Trouble In Mind
(3:30) 12. Johnny B. Goode
(3:28) 13. High School Confidential
(4:14) 14. Early Morning Rain
(4:00) 15. Whole Lot Of Shakin' Goin' On
(3:38) 16. Sixty Minute Man
(3:29) 17. Movin' On Down The Line
(5:00) 18. What'd I Say
(3:52) 19. Rock & Roll Medley

The Session was done in London in 1972, at the tail-end of the vogue for recording '50s rock & roll and blues stars with backup by a younger generation of British rock musicians. Although it wasn't a highlight of Lewis' career, it was actually, as hard as it might be to believe, his only album to reach the Top 40, also yielding a single that stopped just short of the Top 40 in his remake of Stick McGhee's "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee." It wasn't exactly Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, and members of the Rolling Stones backing Lewis, it was more a rotating assortment of rockers a little shy of the U.K. A-team, including Rory Gallagher, Peter Frampton, Albert Lee, Alvin Lee, Kenney Jones, Gary Wright, Matthew Fisher of Procol Harum, and Klaus Voormann. 

As for the record itself, which was a return to his rock & roll roots after a few years on which he'd concentrated on country music, it wasn't bad, lacking only when directly compared to his early classic rock & roll recordings. Lewis' singing and piano playing are undiminished, and the band backs him competently on a program dominated by '50s oldies remakes. There's also some more contemporary material, though, including Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising" and a country-rockish take on Gordon Lightfoot's "Early Morning Rain" that might be the album's most interesting cut, if only because it doesn't sound as much like he's just retreading old glories. 

The problem is that if you're familiar with Lewis' Sun era, this can't help but come off as rather unnecessary, and inferior to his older rock & roll recordings, particularly on the inevitable remake of "Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On." ~ Richie Unterberger  http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-session-mw0000650415

Personnel includes: Jerry Lee Lewis (vocal, piano, percussion); Kenneth Lovelace (guitar, violin); Ray Smith (guitar, percussion); Peter Frampton, Rory Gallagher, Albert Lee, Alvin Lee, Mickey Jones, Delaney Bramlett, Gary Taylor (guitar); Tony Ashton (piano, organ, percussion); Matthew Fisher (organ, percussion); Andy Bown, Gary Wright (organ), Chas Hodges, Klaus Voormann (bass), Kenny Jones, Pete Gavin, Mick Kellie (drums, percussion), Brian Parrish, Gary Taylor, Tony Colton, Brian Parrish, Steve Rowland (percussion), Casey Synge, Dari Lallou, Karen Friedman (background vocals).

The Session

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