Ralph Bowen - Power Play

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:53
Size: 126,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:40)  1. K. D.'s Blues
(6:19)  2. Drumheller Valley
(5:05)  3. Two-Line Pass
(5:27)  4. My One And Only Love
(6:26)  5. The Good Shepherd
(8:22)  6. Bella Firenze
(6:28)  7. Jessica
(5:31)  8. Walleye Jigging
(6:31)  9. A Solar Romance

With over 20 years experience as a recording artist and composer, saxophonist Ralph Bowen has a mastery of straight-ahead jazz that is immediately apparent on Power Play, his third album for the Posi-Tone label. Bowen's first two Posi-Tone releases, 2009's Dedicated and 2010's Due Reverence were quintet recordings. For Power Play, he trims down to an all-new quartet lineup, but it still swings. On the album's opener, "K. D.'s Blues," Bowen jumps straight in with a hard-edged tenor riff that soon develops into a powerful and melodic solo. Drummer Donald Edwards and bassist Kenny Davis, who was Bowen's band mate for a few years in the '80s group Out Of The Blue, also impress from the off, creating a driving rhythm that characterizes much of the recording.

Pianist Orrin Evans matches Bowen solo for solo across Power Play. On the snaky "Drumheller Valley," Evans delivers the opening riff with confidence, while his beautifully varied solo has a soulful vibe which contrasts well with Bowen's more bop-ish approach. He's equally stylish when he joins Davis and Edwards to underpin Bowen's lead playing. It's Bowen's warm and lyrical playing that's to the fore on Guy Wood's standard, "My One And Only Love" but the performance is a genuine quartet affair, with the rhythm players' relaxed, and relaxing, approach central to the mood of the song.  While Bowen's tenor saxophone might be the most prominent instrument on the album it's also the instrument of choice for both of the CD's cover photos he delivers some of his finest playing, with soprano, on his lovely ballads "Jessica" and "A Solar Romance." Power Play is an apposite title: for saxophonist Ralph Bowen is certainly one of the most powerful players in contemporary jazz.

But power alone is seldom, if ever, enough, and Bowen combines power with exceptional control, feeling and tone. The rest of the quartet shares Bowen's characteristics, ensuring that this collection of tunes is constantly rewarding. ~ Bruce Lindsay  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/power-play-ralph-bowen-posi-tone-records-review-by-bruce-lindsay.php

Personnel: Ralph Bowen: saxophones; Orrin Evans: piano; Kenny Davis: bass; Donald Edwards: drums.

Power Play

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Polly Bergen - Polly Bergen's Four Seasons Of Love

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 1960
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:38
Size: 84,2 MB
Art: Front

(2:51)  1. Four Seasons
(2:37)  2. Canadian Sunset
(2:53)  3. Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year
(3:14)  4. Lazy Afternoon
(2:31)  5. September In The Rain
(2:46)  6. June In January
(3:01)  7. It Might As Well Be Spring
(3:25)  8. Moonlight In Vermont
(2:50)  9. Autumn In New York
(3:14) 10. The Things We Did Last Summer
(3:05) 11. Autumn Leaves
(3:06) 12. April In Paris

Actress/singer Polly Bergen was born July 14, 1930 in Knoxville, TN, making her radio debut at the age of 14 and honing her craft on the summer stock circuit before journeying to Hollywood in 1949. She soon made her feature debut in Across the Rio Grande, quickly followed by roles in no less than three Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis comedies At War with the Army, That's My Boy and The Stooge. Increasing dissatisfaction with the roles coming her way prompted Bergen to walk away from a lucrative movie contract in 1953, however, and she soon made her Broadway debut in the revue John Murray Anderson's Almanac; upon recovering from throat surgery, two years later she also recorded her self-titled debut LP for Jubilee, followed later that year by Little Girl Blue. She jumped to Columbia for 1957's Bergen Sings Morgan, and continued recording for the label until the early 1960s; in the meantime she also maintained her stage career, additionally finding success in the business world through a series of ventures including Polly Bergen Cosmetics, Polly Bergen Jewelry and Polly Bergen Shoes.

In 1960, she also authored the first of three books, Fashion and Charm. Bergen returned to film in the 1961 noir classic Cape Fear, although in the decades she was perhaps best known for her many television appearances, including a starring role in the 1983 miniseries The Winds of War and its 1988 sequel War and Remembrance. ~ Jason Ankeny  http://www.allmusic.com/artist/polly-bergen-mn0000350025/biography

Polly Bergen's Four Seasons Of Love

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Kate And Anna McGarrigle - Heartbeats Accelerating

Styles: Vocal, Folk
Year: 1990
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:50
Size: 98,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:40)  1. Heartbeats Accelerating
(4:56)  2. I Eat Dinner
(4:37)  3. Rainbow Ride
(4:21)  4. Mother Mother
(4:47)  5. Love Is
(4:13)  6. D.J. Serenade
(3:47)  7. I'm Losing You
(4:11)  8. Hit And Run Love
(5:16)  9. Leave Me Be
(2:58) 10. St. James Hospital

The sister's 7th album was released on former Tangerine Dream keyboardist Peter Baumann's Private Music label. Their sound was remarkably different from their earlier work with the addition of synthesizers and a more electronic background cushioning their tales of love, loss and life. The title track was covered by Linda Ronstadt on her "Winter Light" album. Critics took particular note of "I Eat Dinner", a haunting masterpiece reflecting the loneliness of a failed relationship. 

Their previous album, the fine but underappreciated Love Over and Over, had found the McGarrigles nodding cautiously toward more explicit pop and rock accents, but their cult-sized audience was likely hoping for a return to the more acoustic atmosphere of earlier records. At first listen, then, Heartbeats Accelerating is a modest shock, laced with coproducer Pierre Marchand's (Sarah McLachlan) moody synthesizers and a slightly chillier feel to the album's overall sound. Yet those modern elements ultimately work, underlining the songs' more fatalistic perspective, especially on the set's bittersweet zenith, "I Eat Dinner." In her inventory of a divorced mother's solitary meal, Kate McGarrigle captures no less than the death of romance, her very restraint making its dry-eyed contemplation of life after love quietly devastating. ~ Sam Sutherland - Editorial Reviews http://www.amazon.com/Heartbeats-Accelerating-Kate-Anna-McGarrigle/dp/B0000000JY

Personnel:  Anna McGarrigle - Vocals, Keyboards, Drum (5);  Kate McGarrigle - Vocals, Accordion, Piano, Guitar, Banjo, Keyboards;  Yves Gigon - Drums (1,3,9), Percussion (3,5);  Daniel Gigon - Bass (1,3);  Michael Breen - Guitar (1,2,7);  Joel Zifkin - Violin (1,7,9);  Pierre Marchand - Keyboards, Accordion, Vocals (7);  Bill Dillon - Guitars (2,3,4,5,6,9);  Michel Dupire - Percussion (3,9);  Jason Lang - Guitars (4,8);  Marc Langis - Bass (3,6);  Norman Barsalo - Bass (5);  Richard Mischook - Guitar (6,8);  Rufus Wainwright - Vocals (7);  Pat Donaldson - Bass and Guitar (9).

Heartbeats Accelerating

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Roland Hanna - Glove

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1987
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 30:24
Size: 69,8 MB
Art: Front

(8:10)  1. Love for Sale
(3:23)  2. I Love You
(3:44)  3. Love Walked In
(4:54)  4. There Is No Greater Love
(5:57)  5. My One And Only Love
(4:16)  6. Lover

Pianist Sir Roland Hanna tears through this live trio studio session, recorded in Japan, without seeming to work up a sweat. He covers six standards on this CD that have "love" in their titles. The opener, "Love for Sale," includes a slow but beautiful, almost Oriental, chimelike introduction that rapidly gives way to an uptempo arrangement. 

Bassist George Mraz has worked with Hanna regularly and provides solid support and several top-notch solos. The choice of drummer is a mystery, Motohiko Hino, whose enthusiastic but often heavy-handed drumming makes it sound as if he were in competition with the pianist instead of supporting him. ~ Ken Dryden  http://www.allmusic.com/album/glove-mw0000311039

Personnel:  Bass – George Mraz;  Drums – Motohiko Hino;  Piano – Roland Hanna

Glove

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