John Sheridan And His Dream Band - Swing is Still the King

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:35
Size: 157,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:35)  1. Always
(5:53)  2. Ballad in Blue
(6:36)  3. You Turned the Tables on Me
(4:08)  4. You're a Heavenly Thing
(3:27)  5. Did You Mean It?
(4:11)  6. Sometimes I'm Happy
(4:28)  7. Keep Me in Mind
(4:27)  8. Behave Yourself
(4:24)  9. Shirley Steps Out
(5:05) 10. Don't Be That Way
(4:19) 11. Take Another Guess
(3:33) 12. I Had to Do It
(5:09) 13. These Foolish Things (Remind Me Of You)
(5:00) 14. Gotta Be This or That
(3:12) 15. Goodnight, My Love

Pianist John Sheridan has worked hard to keep the spirit of swing alive, both in other bands and as a leader. On Swing Is Still the King, he furthers his effort with the support of singer Rebecca Kilgore and an ensemble of nine other players, including guitarist Eddie Erickson, cornetist Randy Reinhart, and saxophonist Dan Block. Sheridan has named this combo His Dream Band, and the players are given a chance to strut their stuff on the first three instrumentals, including a nice take of Irving Berlin's "Always" and a six-and-half-minute version of "You Turned the Tables on Me." Although the ensemble is fairly large, the arrangements are spare and flexible.

Kilgore joins the band on the fourth cut, "You're a Heavenly Thing," and her vocals play a large role on Swing Is Still the King, fronting the band on ten of the 15 tracks. Kilgore has good tone and works well within the classic medium of swing, and it's nice that she has chosen songs that are not overly familiar. She delivers a fine version of Mel Powell's "Shirley Steps Out," and is equally at home with ballads and uptempo numbers. With sympathetic vocals, a solid band, and good songs, Sheridan will easily convince listeners that Swing Is Still the King. ~ Ronnie D.Lankford,Jr.  http://www.allmusic.com/album/swing-is-still-the-king-mw0000576897

Personnel: John Sheridan (vocals, piano); Rebecca Kilgore (vocals); Eddie Erickson (guitar); Daniel Block (clarinet, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Ron Hockett (clarinet); Randy Reinhart (cornet); Dan Barrett , Russ Phillips (trombone); Jake Hanna (drums).

Swing is Still the King

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Various Artists - Cohen - The Scandinavian Report

Styles: Vocal, Pop/Rock
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 75:50
Size: 174,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:05)  1. Cookies 'n Beans - First We Take Manhattan
(3:48)  2. Rebecka Törnqvist - Here It Is
(4:31)  3. Moto Boy - If It Be Your Will
(4:46)  4. Jan Malmsjö - Dansa mig till kärlekens slut
(4:31)  5. Ane Brun - Ain't No Cure for Love
(5:31)  6. Bo Sundström - Everybody Knows
(4:10)  7. Sara Isaksson - Hey That's No Way to Say Goodbye
(3:39)  8. Lars Halapi - Sisters of Mercy
(7:06)  9. Mikael Wiehe - USA är redo för demokrati
(3:39) 10. Anders Widmark - Hallelujah
(5:05) 11. Eva Dahlgren - Bird on the Wire
(4:31) 12. Vidar Johansen & Peter Nordberg - In My Secret Life
(4:21) 13. Jenny Wilson - The Partisan
(3:43) 14. Olle Ljungström - Chelsea Hotel #2
(7:12) 15. Sophie Zelmani - Waiting for the Miracle to Come
(5:04) 16. Christel Alsos - Suzanne

On a distinctly grey day in January I got a call from AnR Lars ”Billy” Hansson. After about a minute of comparing the wheather in Stockholm and Skåne , and making sure our families were both well, he asked me: How about making a tribute album to Leonard Cohen? I´ve always been a big fan of Cohens´ music and had two months earlier seen one of the best concerts in my life Leonard Cohen in Göteborg. So, of course, my answer was yes. So, how do you make a tribute album? Well, off course you need to find the right artist for the right song. Next step is to make it sound like one album. How do you achieve that? I had been thinking about this and also trying to find new ways to get presence and vibrance in recordings and I had an idea: 

One place, one time and one band.No safety net. The different artists would come one after another and sing their song. Lars Hansson liked the idea and we started to discuss singers and songs, studios and engineers, and budgets... Eventually we agreed on a list of very fine Swedish and Norwegian artists and to our joy almost everyone were happy to come. Further more we settled for the 17-18 of August at Studio 4, Radiohuset, Stockholm. Lars and I continued to work on the planning and logistics and I contacted all the artists to discuss key, tempo,arrangement and vibe. The C-day finally came. The plan was to record 19 songs in two days. This takes a lot of concentration from a lot of people. Singers, musicians, engineers. It also takes a lot of luck: One late airplane, two hours of computer problems and one artist not happy with the microphone could jeopardise the whole album. I can honestly say I´ve never been so tired, or musically happy, as when we finished the last song 9.30 pm on the 18th. Everybody involved had done their utmost to make this album come alive and the artists all brought their musicality, their personal interpretation, their concentration. And all this with high spirits and lot´s of generousity. I´m deeply grateful. And very proud over this album. http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/swedentrib.html

Cohen - The Scandinavian Report

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Jan Garbarek Quartet - Afric Pepperbird

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1970
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:19
Size: 96,0 MB
Art: Front

( 6:19)  1. Skarabee
( 1:56)  2. Mah-Jong
(12:27)  3. Beast of Kommodo
( 8:41)  4. Blow Away Zone
( 1:53)  5. MYB
( 0:53)  6. Concentus
( 7:58)  7. Afric Pepperbird
( 1:08)  8. Blupp

Long ago, before he achieved relative stardom with his Nordic, somewhat new-agey recreations of medieval music, Jan Garbarek produced a handful of spectacular, robust albums for ECM where the influence of free jazz, particularly Albert Ayler, was paramount. Afric Pepperbird was his first recording for the then fledgling label and it features his quartet at the height of their powers, embellishing his muscular and imaginative compositions with outstanding, individualistic playing. From the eerie keening of the opening "Scarabee," framed by Jon Christensen's pinpoint delicate drums, to the hard-driving "Beast of Kommodo" with the leaders wailing bass sax to Rypdal's manic explorations on Blow Away Zone, this is one stellar effort. 

Add to that three drop-dead gorgeous miniatures by the great and undersung bassist Arild Andersen and the title track, one of the most deliriously infectious melodies you'll ever hear. Together with Sart, Tryptikon, and Witchi-Tai-To (as well as a prior recording on Flying Dutchman), this album represents the strongest, most aggressive portion of Garbarek's career, before he succumbed to what became known as the ECM aesthetic. Very highly recommended. ~ Brian Olewnick  http://www.allmusic.com/album/afric-pepperbird-mw0000315243

Personnel: Jan Garbarek (flute, clarinet, tenor saxophone, bass saxophone, percussion); Terje Rypdal (guitar, bugle); Arild Andersen (xylophone); Jon Christensen (percussion).

Afric Pepperbird

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Snake Davis - Talking Bird

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:21
Size: 106,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:52)  1. Talking Bird
(4:21)  2. Refuge
(3:01)  3. Dragonfly
(4:54)  4. Fuji Sighting
(4:22)  5. Harlem Stroll
(5:43)  6. Dreaming On
(3:02)  7. Day of the Snake
(4:16)  8. Kikbak
(3:49)  9. Shiro Sunset
(4:12) 10. Cross The Line
(4:43) 11. Naima

Well, this might be pretty unoriginal and obvious, but, here goes. What do Chaka Khan, the late James Brown, The Eurythmics, the late Ray Charles, Smokey Robinson, Lisa Stansfield, Tina Turner, and Paul Hardcastle all have in common? That’s right, and you go to the head of the class. It’s an association with Snake Davis, one smooth, soulful and funky sax player with a lot of creativity and imagination. Oh, he’s been away from the scene for a bit, but he’s back with a vengeance here on Talking Bird. Not only proficient on sax and flute, he showcases his expertise on one of my favorite instruments to hear: the shakuhachi. A real treat for me. 

Talking Bird is a cornucopia of style, sound, mystique, funk and brilliance. There’s more than enough here for the most discriminating ear as well as the ear that welcomes a diversity of sound. It’s all here in a neat package of skill and appeal. From the smooth and funky opening track (also the title track) to the soulful utterings on "Refuge," to the exoticism of "Dragonfly," to the sultry, sexy, bluesy midnight ballad "Dreaming On" (umph, umph, umph, will be the response from the Euge Groove/Boney James fans, particularly the ladies), to the up-tempo Latin calor of "Day of the Snake" to all of the other movers and groovers on this well-conceived bit of artistry, Davis lays it all out for all to appreciate and appreciate you undoubtedly will! Davis, who's been hanging out mostly in the United Kingdom (he also did a three-month stint in Japan), is scheduled to embark upon an extensive 2008 tour. 

I certainly hope there will be some stops here in the U.S. That tour will be most incomplete if he doesn’t tap into the enthusiasm and appreciation he most certainly will receive here! Should he plan a few stops here, my advice to all who read this would be: Come one, come all. Let’s all do this because this is one artist and his material not to be missed. ~ Ronald Jackson  http://www.jazzreview.com/cd-reviews/smooth-jazz-cd-reviews/talking-bird-by-snake-davis.html

Personnel:  Snake Davis (saxes, flutes, shakuhachi),  Paul Birchall (keys),  Bryan Hargreaves (drums/percussion),  Neil Fairclough (bass),  Mark Creswell (guitar),  Dave Bowie (double bass),  Sam Hobbs (drums),  Gareth Moulton (guitar),  Veronika Novotna (violins)

Talking Bird     

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