Enrico Rava & Paolo Fresu - Shades of Chet

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:47
Size: 134,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:28)  1. Doodlin'
(9:55)  2. My funny Valentine
(5:18)  3. Anthropology
(7:27)  4. Retrato em branco e preto
(7:03)  5. Doxy
(7:34)  6. You can't go home again
(7:15)  7. Line for Lyons
(3:29)  8. Strike up the band
(5:14)  9. Donna

Trumpeter and composer Enrico Rava is one of the Italian musicians even more internationally acclaimed jazz. Born in Trieste in 1939, Rava has learned to play by himself under the influence of Miles Davis and Chet Baker. In the 60s he moved first to Rome, where he began playing with musicians as Gato Barbieri and Steve Lacy, and then in Buenos Aires and New York. During his long career Rava has collaborated with major names in jazz (John Abercrombie, Lee Konitz, Pat Metheny) and pop music (Gino Paoli, Ornella Vanoni) and has also published numerous discs of their group leader. 

~ Mariano Prunes  https://itunes.apple.com/it/artist/enrico-rava/id6473819#fullText

Personnel: Enrico Rava - trumpet, fluegelhorn;  Paolo Fresu - trumpet, fluegelhorn;  Stefano Bollani – piano;  Enzo Pietropaoli - double bass;  Roberto Gatto - drums

Shades of Chet

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Marilyn Scott - Innocent Of Nothing

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:48
Size: 133,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:57)  1. Round & Round
(6:13)  2. 'Round Midnight
(4:44)  3. Icebox
(5:40)  4. Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most
(4:22)  5. Moods
(5:30)  6. It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
(5:54)  7. Share It
(5:34)  8. The Wilderness
(4:49)  9. A Flame
(5:08) 10. A Change
(4:53) 11. Walking With Stranges (Bonus Track)

Throughout her career, singer Marilyn Scott has straddled a line between traditional jazz vocals and the poppier side of fusion. Innocent of Nothing tilts slightly toward the latter, with catchy R&B-based tunes like "Icebox" and "Round and Round" alongside an oddly overwrought version of Bob Dylan's "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" that brings Scott Walker's melodramatics to mind. However, Scott's jazz side reasserts itself on her challenging take on the Thelonious Monk standard "Round Midnight," which Scott approaches with the rhythmic fearlessness of Jeanne Lee or indeed Monk himself. Throughout, producer and bandleader George Duke keeps the emphasis on Scott's vocals, using the tropes of contemporary smooth jazz (lots of fretless bass and electric piano, that sort of thing) while never letting the album devolve into soulless background music prettiness, even on lightweight tunes like "A Flame." In terms of Scott's vocal technique, Innocent of Nothing is something of a step back from 2004's Nightcap, a masterful collection of standards that features some of Scott's finest singing, but as a whole, this album shows that interesting work can still be done in the oft-maligned field of jazz-pop. ~ Stewart Mason  http://www.allmusic.com/album/innocent-of-nothing-mw0000529680

Personnel: Marilyn Scott (vocals); George Duke, John Beasley, Patrice Rushen, Russell Ferrante (keyboards); Jimmy Haslip, Brian Bromberg (bass instrument); Vinnie Colaiuta (drums).

Innocent Of Nothing

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Maynard Ferguson - In Jazz We Trust

Styles: Trumpet Jazz

Year: 2015

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 116:47

Size: 268,5 MB

Art: Front

( 3:11)  1. Easy to Love

( 3:30)  2. Pork Pie

( 3:47)  3. Dancing Nitely

( 3:46)  4. Moonlight in Vermont

( 2:41)  5. Love Me or Leave Me

( 3:30)  6. Never You Mind

( 2:54)  7. Dream Boat

( 3:02)  8. Maiden Voyage

(15:44)  9. Somebody Loves Me

( 2:58) 10. The Way You Look Tonight

(16:06) 11. Our Love Is Here to Stay

( 3:26) 12. The Lamp Is Low

( 2:37) 13. Hymn to Her

(14:08) 14. Night Letter

( 3:13) 15. Wildman

( 3:55) 16. Egad, Martha

(16:51) 17. Air Conditioned

( 3:15) 18. King's Riff

( 4:56) 19. Can't We Talk It over?

( 3:07) 20. Willie Nillie

When he debuted with Stan Kenton's Orchestra in 1950, Maynard Ferguson could play higher than any other trumpeter up to that point in jazz history, and he was accurate. Somehow he kept most of that range through his career and since the 1970s has been one of the most famous musicians in jazz. Never known for his exquisite taste (some of his more commercial efforts are unlistenable), Ferguson nevertheless led some important bands and definitely made an impact with his trumpet playing. After heading his own big band in Montreal, Ferguson came to the United States in 1949 with hopes of joining Kenton's orchestra, but that ensemble had just recently broke up. So instead, Ferguson gained experience playing with the big bands of Boyd Raeburn, Jimmy Dorsey, and Charlie Barnet. In 1950, with the formation of Kenton's Innovations Orchestra, Ferguson became a star, playing ridiculous high notes with ease. In 1953, he left Kenton to work in the studios of Los Angeles and three years later led the all-star "Birdland Dreamband." In 1957, he put together a regular big band that lasted until 1965, recorded regularly for Roulette (all of the band's recordings with that label are on a massive Mosaic box set) and performed some of the finest music of Ferguson's career. Such players as Slide Hampton, Don Ellis, Don Sebesky, Willie Maiden, John Bunch, Joe Zawinul, Joe Farrell, Jaki Byard, Lanny Morgan, Rufus Jones, Bill Berry, and Don Menza were among the more notable sidemen.

After economics forced him to give up the impressive band, Ferguson had a few years in which he was only semi-active in music, spending time in India and eventually forming a new band in England. After moving back to the U.S., Ferguson in 1974 drifted quickly into commercialism. Young trumpeters in high school and colleges were amazed by his high notes, but jazz fans were dismayed by the tasteless recordings that resulted in hit versions of such songs as the themes from Star Wars and Rocky and much worse. After cutting back on his huge orchestra in the early '80s, Ferguson recorded some bop in a 1983 session, led a funk band called High Voltage during 1987-1988, and then returned to jazz with his "Big Bop Nouveau Band," a medium-sized outfit with which he toured the world up until his death from kidney and liver failure on August 23, 2006. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/maynard-ferguson-mn0000397042/biography

In Jazz We Trust 

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McCoy Tyner - Song for My Lady

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1972
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:29
Size: 102,0 MB
Art: Front

(12:59)  1. Native Song
( 8:13)  2. The Night Has a Thousand Eyes
( 7:33)  3. Song for My Lady
( 4:29)  4. A Silent Tear
(11:13)  5. Essence

The early '70s were an exciting recording period for this artist, whose initial forays outside the classic quartet of John Coltrane were just a bit too mellow, as if he was thinking, "Whew! Now I can relax." This was one of several for the Milestone label that burned energetically, although in terms of the pianist's overall career this concentrated thrust of stamina was simply a passing phase. He is captured here a few years before he settled into elder statesman status and began barely breaking a sweat on-stage. The emphasis here is often on pure power, the presence of a non-funky Alphonze Mouzon on drums something of a signature in band attitude. 

The nimble and fleet Calvin Hill is on bass, and Sonny Fortune is present on reeds during a stint of several years with Tyner. What really makes the album special is the enlarged ensemble that creates two of the album's most extended tracks. "Native Song" and "Essence" add flugelhorn, violin, and conga, and the fine-tuning skill of Tyner the arranger becomes present, turning the lineup of three lead instruments into something nearly symphonic. Violinist Michael White is more than a bit overpowered by Tyner, as one would expect, but it is the opposite case in terms of fireworks between brass player Charles Tolliver and the boss. Tolliver fronted a band named Music Inc. during this period who also played hard, heavy, and unrelenting jazz, pianist Stanley Cowell coming on strong with many Tyner-ish-influenced moves. It is a great meeting of the minds, as two players with sympathetic approaches toward the post-Coltrane jazz language engage in high-powered dialogue.

The program is quite typical of some of Tyner's best albums for this label and Blue Note before that. All but one of the tracks are originals, featuring lovely melodies that either wash through a ballad mood or become anthems for rocket launchings, Mouzon splattering away on his cymbals like a happy child. The one standard, "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes," gets a liftoff worthy of Coltrane. This is quite a fine collection of tracks and one of Tyner's six best albums. ~ Eugene Chadbourne  http://www.allmusic.com/album/song-for-my-lady-mw0000198817

Personnel: McCoy Tyner (piano, percussion); Sonny Fortune (soprano & alto saxophones, flute); Charles Tolliver (flugelhorn); Michael White (violin); Calvin Hill (bass); Alphonse Mouzon (drums); Mtume (congas, percussion).

Song for My Lady

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