Brian Thomas & Alex Lee-Clark Big Band - Superhero Dance Party

Size: 134,9 MB
Time: 58:12
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz/Funk, Hammond Organ
Art: Front

01. Crawlin' (10:01)
02. Shootin' The $%#! ( 7:00)
03. Superhero Dance Party ( 8:28)
04. Rolo Tomassi ( 7:11)
05. Freetime ( 5:58)
06. New Days Ahead ( 9:21)
07. For Me To Know (10:11)

18 Piece Original Funk/Soul/Hip Hop/Jazz Big Band. This is not your daddy's big band!! (unless your daddy is James Brown!) Featuring a rotating cast of players including Aaron Bellamy, Amy Bellamy, Beau Sasser, Sam Gilman, Mike Tucker, Ben Griffin, Jeff Lockhart, Steve Fell, Ted Sullivan, Pete Levesque, Mark Zaleski, Dino Govoni, Paul Lieberman, Jared Sims, Jeff Galindo, Brian Thomas, Clayton DeWalt, Angel Subero, Yaure Muniz, Alex Lee-Clark, Trent Austin, Doug Olsen & Eric Bloom.

Superhero Dance Party

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Marian Bruce/Jacy Parker - Halfway To Dawn/Spotlight On Jacy Parker

Size: 164,8 MB
Time: 70:20
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz/Pop Vocals
Art: Front

Marian Bruce - Halfway To Dawn:
01. Lucky To Be Me (3:03)
02. Let Me Love You (3:17)
03. It Never Entered My Mind (3:23)
04. Things Are Looking Up (2:42)
05. Something To Live For (3:07)
06. Looking For A Boy (2:58)
07. I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good (3:17)
08. My One And Only (2:45)
09. A Ship Without A Sail (3:21)
10. No One Ever Tells You (2:12)
11. The Gentleman Is A Dope (2:19)
12. Don't Like Goodbyes (3:06)

Jacy Parker - Spotlight On Jacy Parker:
13. I Thought About You (3:02)
14. Guess Who I Saw Today (3:26)
15. Here Comes Trouble Again (3:39)
16. My Ship (3:22)
17. Time After Time (1:55)
18. You're The Cream In My Coffee (2:56)
19. Like The Likes Of You (2:21)
20. Sweet William (1:52)
21. Long Gone Love (3:29)
22. It's You Or No One (3:35)
23. You Mean Old World (2:04)
24. But Beautiful (2:57)

This CD showcases two fine singers who, after starting promising careers, recorded only a single album each.

In similar, intimate settings aimed at both pop and jazz listeners, they showed their sophisticated talents on a series of quality songs. Marian Bruce had perfected her sultry style in the early 50s night clubs of New York, Paris and London. In 1958 trumpeter Clark Terry introduced her to the Riverside label, where she was able to make the most of her warm, strong and beautiful voice on a laid-back, late-night album, aptly titled “Halfway to Dawn”, backed by the superb accompanist, pianist Jimmy Jones, and the subtle, sensitive trumpet of Joe Wilder, with bassist Al Hall and guitarist Everett Barksdale.

Jacy Parker recorded her lone and lovely date for Verve in 1962. Having left her hometown, Chicago, in her mid-20s, she had been singing and playing piano around New York since 1954. “Spotlight on Jacy Parker” captured well the clarity of her voice and her jazz-oriented, musical phrasing. Her style—like that of so many singers of her generation—was marked by the influence of Sarah Vaughan, but her wry, sassy vocals and forward-thinking piano solos are in stark contrast to the prevailing girl singer sensibilities of the time. She is backed by an equally fitting rhythm section, and persuasively supported by Ernie Royal’s insinuating trumpet.

Personnel on #1-12:
Marian Bruce, vocals, accompanied by Joe Wilder, trumpet; Jimmy Jones, piano; Everett Barksdale, guitar; and Al Hall, bass.
Reeves Sound Studios, New York City, April 1958

Personnel on #13-24:
Jacy Parker, piano and vocals, accompanied by Ernie Royal, trumpet; Don Cinderella, bass; Sticks Evans or Roy James (#14,16,24) drums.
Recorded in New York City, March, 1962

Halfway To Dawn/Spotlight On Jacy Parker

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Chuck Israels - Garden Of Delights

Size: 127,6 MB
Time: 55:02
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz
Art: Front

01. The Skipping Tune (6:21)
02. Garden Of Delights (6:31)
03. Mingus (6:29)
04. Speed Bumps (4:07)
05. Natural Beauty (4:45)
06. Bluesman's Holiday (5:07)
07. Warming Trend (5:20)
08. Double Clutching (4:16)
09. Chaconne A Son Gout (5:54)
10. Discretion Advised (6:08)

Best known for his work with the Bill Evans Trio from 1961 through 1966, he is also recognized for his pioneering accomplishments in the Jazz Repertory as Director of the National Jazz Ensemble from 1973 to 1981.

Chuck’s first release with Dot Time Records is entitled “Garden of Delights”, and will be released on April 15, 2016. In addition during the next year, Dot Time Records will also release selected archival recordings of the National Jazz Ensemble. The first release in this series is expected in early 2016.

Recently retired from directing the jazz studies program at Western Washington University, Chuck moved to Portland, Oregon to work in its vibrant jazz community and participate in his favorite Northwest city’s cultural life.

During his distinguished career Chuck has built a strong discography both as a leader and sideman including; “Coltrane Time”, with John Coltrane; “My Point of View”, with Herbie Hancock; “Getz au Go-Go”, with Stan Getz; and many recordings with the Bill Evans Trio, including “The Town Hall Concert”; “The Second Trio”; “Trio ’65; Live at the Trident”; “Time Remembered”; and “Live at Shelley’s Manne Hole.”

The Chuck Israels Orchestra was founded in 2011 to showcase some of the best jazz instrumentalists and vocalists in the Northwest playing finely crafted and demanding arrangements of the most exciting and durable music we know. The band has played at such international events as the Detroit Jazz Festival. Their debut CD, “Second Wind,” received a 4 ½ star review from DownBeat.

Garden Of Delights

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Mark Murphy - Live In Athens, Greece

Size: 169,8 MB

Time: 73:14

File: MP3 @ 320K/s

Released: 2016

Styles: Jazz/Blues Vocals

Art: Front

01. My Funny Valentine (9:43)

02. All Blues (8:16)

03. On Green Dolphin Street (6:32)

04. Summertime (4:41)

05. Autumn Leaves (2:53)

06. When I Fall In Love (8:22)

07. Bye Bye Blackbird (7:08)

08. Miles (2:57)

09. Milestones (8:02)

10. Red Clay (7:57)

11. Inutil Paisagem (6:40)

Why do we need another Mark Murphy album? After all, well over 40 were released in his own lifetime, not counting all the compilations, collaborations, guest appearances and remixes. This live set was recorded at the Gazarte Club, Athens, in 2008, not long after Murphy’s 76th birthday. It features Spiros Exaras (guitar), Thomas Rueckert (piano), George Georgiadis (double bass) and Alex Drakos (drums).

The tune selection veers toward the hackneyed (the ‘bog standards’, as one London gig booker recently designated them): Summertime, Autumn Leaves, Bye Bye Blackbird. Surely, one might think, we don’t need yet more versions of these.

And yet, and yet…. Mark Murphy shows any doubting Thomases what he has been showing anyone prepared to listen over the decades: not only can the sheer power of a standard survive its (over)familiarity, but with the right performer, unsuspected beauties may still be revealed.

Acknowledging the genii loci of Homer and Socrates, Murphy slips straight into My Funny Valentine. It’s a spine-chilling performance. Almost everything you need to know about Mark Murphy can be found in this opening track: the vocal swoops, falsetto lines, scatting, swinging and riffing, plus some good jokes: ‘Is your figure less than Greek? Excuse me, that’s the lyric…’ and ‘Don’t change your hairdo for me’, and ‘Your looks are laughable’, sung with an affectionate chuckle. It’s all very hip and fun – Murphy’s pleasure in performing never seemed to dim.

The band are excellent. Going into double-time on a ballad may seem just another cliché, but on this tune it perfectly fits with the mood established by the singer, and Exaras and Rueckert pull out some dazzling runs. Murphy ends with a held falsetto note that extends into the intro of the next number, All Blues. Here he improvises both wordlessly and on the lyric. Afterwards it’s straight into the verse of On Green Dolphin Street, sung rubato and unaccompanied right through the first head, followed by another unaccompanied chorus in which he goes into time, scatting again and fracturing the tune and its lyric, before the band finally come in behind him.

There are no duff tracks. I particularly love the storming performance of On the Red Clay, and the inclusion of Murphy’s never-forgotten formative influences – Nat King Cole (When I Fall In Love), Miles Davis (both his own composition, the ballad Miles, and his famous version of Milestones, with his own lyric) and Jobim (a medley of Inútil Paisagem and Dindi).

Harbinger Records are currently trying to organise distribution in Europe. In the meantime this wonderful album can be obtained from the US or through the usual digital channels.

Considering the vast recorded output of Mark Murphy, and the thousands of gigs he performed around the world over a 60-year career, Live in Athens must surely be the tip of the iceberg. What other treasures still lie in the vaults? ~by Peter Jones

Live In Athens,Greece                

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Suzanne Lorge - Wild Birds

Size: 110,6 MB
Time: 47:03
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. Out Of This World (5:44)
02. The Touch Of Your Lips (3:05)
03. Better Than Anything (3:01)
04. Gentle Rain (4:49)
05. Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover (3:38)
06. She's Leaving Home (5:34)
07. No More (3:04)
08. Nobody Else But Me (3:15)
09. I Fall In Love Too Easily (3:29)
10. The Very Thought Of You (5:25)
11. If I Loved You (5:54)

Suzanne Lorge has performed extensively as a singer in clubs, theaters, and concerts, from Carnegie Hall to cruise ships to cathedrals. She's also worked as a studio singer on a host of albums, animated films, commercials, and industrials. In live performance she focuses on jazz, theater, and sacred music, preferring vocal compositions with compelling lyrics and soaring melodies.

On her debut solo jazz album, Wild Birds, released February 2016, Suzanne explores the migratory nature of human relationships through a series of swing, bebop, Latin, and re-imagined pop tunes. The album features two different trios of world-class musicians: pianist Frank Kimbrough (currently with Maria Schneider's GRAMMY-winning orchestra), bassist Dean Johnson (Gerry Mulligan's sideman for many years), and drummer Tim Horner (The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra) played on eight of the tracks, and David Budway (Jeff "Tain" Watts, Branford Marsalis, Hubert Laws), bassist Hans Glawischnig (Maynard Ferguson, Chick Corea, Paquito D'Rivera), and drummer Tommy Campbell (Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Kevin Eubanks, Stanley Jordan) played on the remaining three.

Besides vocals, Suzanne contributed two pieces of verse to the project: original lyrics to the jazz waltz "Better Than Anything," a kinetic romp through some of the unforgettable places that she's visited in her world travels, and a poem that shares the album's title, "Wild Birds," a tribute to the wisdom of the natural world. Suzanne work-shopped this poem at the 2015 Bread Loaf Orion writers conference under the tutelage of poet/essayist Alison Hawthorne Deming, a direct descendant of writer Nathanial Hawthorne and a persuasive advocate for art as a bridge between the profane human and the numinous wild.

When not singing, Suzanne writes about culture, music, technology, and finance. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, The Washington Times, Institutional Investor magazine, and All About Jazz. She writes a monthly column on vocal jazz for The New York City Jazz Record and has participated for several years in the NPR Jazz Critics Poll (formerly the Village Voice Jazz Critics Poll) edited by music journalist Francis Davis.

Suzanne holds a BA in Modern Languages & Literature from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC and an MA in Vocal Performance from New York University. At NYU she studied composition with Kenny Werner and Rich Shemaria, percussion with Memo Acevedo, improvisation with Dave Pietro, voice with Brian Gill, and music criticism with Allan Kozinn. She continues to study privately with jazz superstars Jay Clayton and Sheila Jordan.

Wild Birds

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Mike LeDonne - On Fire

Styles: Straight-ahead/Mainstream, Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:53
Size: 167,0 MB
Art: Front

( 9:46)  1. Could It Be I'M Falling In Love
(10:41)  2. Spinky
(13:41)  3. Idle Moments
(10:52)  4. At Long Last Love
(13:07)  5. Prayer for Mary
( 9:43)  6. Bones
( 4:59)  7. In the Bag

The organ combo, a time-tested format, can stick to your ribs like a good meal. Organist Mike LeDonne, tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, guitarist Peter Bernstein and drummer Joe Farnsworth together are a tight working band, displaying all the qualities that make this formation classic and still relevant on their second Savant release, On Fire. LeDonne, best known for his stint in the late Milt Jackson's group as its pianist/musical director, has spent the past several years making the Hammond B-3 organ a focal point in his arsenal. For a long time now, he's been a featured organist at Smoke's Tuesday Hammond B-3 nights in New York. The quartet grooves right off with a cool swinging treatment of the soul classic "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love." Eric Alexander's impressive solo is a quick study of the big tenor sound that many younger players, except for James Carter and Joshua Redman, have forgotten. Alexander fits right in with the melody and form of the piece, tonally hinting at Gene Ammons and playing a few upper register notes that recall the huge, barking upper-register cries of Stanley Turrentine. Peter Bernstein follows with a masterful exercise in taste, letting his Kenny Burrell and Grant Green-influenced tone shine.

LeDonne's admiration for the late great "Mighty Burner," Charles Earland, is reflected in a skyrocket version of the late organist's "Spinky," based on "So What" and "Impressions." Alexander, Farnsworth and Bernstein are all veterans of Earland's combo, and Alexander in particular makes the most of his opportunity as does LeDonne, emulating Earland's stop setting, but infusing his solo and bass lines with some harmonic twists that are refreshing to hear in an organist's approach. Other highlights are a blue-hued take of Duke Pearson's "Idle Moments," featuring Bernstein, while LeDonne tips his hat to Jimmy Smith on a trio feature, Cole Porter's "At Long Last Love." He builds a stomping organ solo and takes us out with a little "squabbling," with great support from Farnsworth, who is what Grady Tate was to Smith: a great partner who didn't overwhelm the music. There is no question that LeDonne has a formidable technique on the organ, and this track should quiet astute jazz organ listeners who may posit that he's a pianist who cannot play organ. By the disc's end, the listener is put in a great mood. Mike LeDonne's organ group put together a satisfying session at Smoke for both those at the club and those listening to the disc at home. Despite the heavy nod in the direction of the jazz organ tradition, there is enough freshness here to make the album far from rote. New jazz organ albums seem more pleasurable these days, perhaps due to the fact the market is not so flooded with such albums as it was in the '60s and '70s. On Fire is fine listening for organ and mainstream jazz fans alike.~CJ Shearn http://www.allaboutjazz.com/on-fire-mike-ledonne-savant-records-review-by-cj-shearn.php
 

Personnel: Mike LeDonne: Hammond B-3 organ; Eric Alexander: tenor saxophone; Peter Bernstein: guitar; Joe Farnsworth: drums.

On Fire

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Dinah Shore - When Dinah Shore Ruled the Earth

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1993
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 75:23
Size: 174,2 MB
Art: Front

(2:44)  1. Introduction/It's De-Lovely
(2:47)  2. I Dream of You
(3:14)  3. Lucky Strike Theme: My Lucky Day/I'll Never Smile Again
(0:25)  4. Dinah Speaks: Lucky Strike Commercial
(2:50)  5. I've Got You Under My Skin
(3:05)  6. Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy
(2:02)  7. Embraceable You
(2:33)  8. Like Someone in Love
(3:32)  9. The Thrill Is Gone
(1:48) 10. I'm Gonna Love That Guy
(2:51) 11. I Wish I Knew
(1:41) 12. Aren't You Glad You're You
(2:56) 13. I Can't Begin to Tell You
(3:05) 14. Laughing on the Outside (Crying on the Inside)
(2:30) 15. Personality
(3:08) 16. The Gypsy
(1:48) 17. Don't Fence Me In
(1:51) 18. Memphis Blues
(3:44) 19. Bill
(2:43) 20. Tea for Two
(1:46) 21. Remember
(2:56) 22. Dixieland Band
(3:02) 23. Now I Know
(3:23) 24. The Man I Love
(2:43) 25. Massachusetts
(1:21) 26. I'm Coming Virginia
(1:38) 27. If I Were a Bell
(1:59) 28. I'll Know
(1:48) 29. Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh!
(3:19) 30. I'll Be Around

Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She reached the height of her popularity as a recording artist during the Big Band era of the 1940s and 1950s, but achieved even greater success a decade later, in television, mainly as hostess of a series of variety programs for Chevrolet. After failing singing auditions for the bands of Benny Goodman, and both Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey, Shore struck out on her own to become the first singer of her era to achieve huge solo success. She had a string of 80 charted popular hits, spanning the years 1940 to 1957, and after appearing in a handful of feature films went on to a four-decade career in American television, starring in her own music and variety shows from 1951 through 1963 and hosting two talk shows in the 1970s. TV Guide magazine ranked her at #16 on their list of the top fifty television stars of all time. Stylistically, Shore was compared to two singers who followed her in the mid-to-late 1940s and early 1950s, Doris Day and Patti Page.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinah_Shore

When Dinah Shore Ruled the Earth

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Danny Sugar & Oli Silk - Duality

Styles: Jazz, Smooth Jazz
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:44
Size: 118,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:17)  1. Duality
(3:36)  2. Everybody Be Cool
(4:13)  3. Real Love [feat. Paula Crawford]
(4:36)  4. Electri-City!
(6:39)  5. The Green Room
(6:05)  6. Love will Follow [feat. John Reid]
(4:57)  7. A.T.S. (Another True Story)
(5:26)  8. Oyster
(6:38)  9. Don't Give Up [feat. Jane Hamilton]
(5:12) 10. L'austin Pace

For the first time I became aware of Sugar & Silk reviewing the album "The Best of Passion Jazz - Volume 2". Sugar & Silk are presented with their tune  "Everybody Be Cool" on this collection. My attention was awaked. During my stay in London I used the opportunity to visit several big cd-shops at Picadilly Circus on the search of "Fact or Friction", Sugar & Silk's debut album. I had luck and have  unpatiently awaited their second album. After a delay of several months the album was finally released in July 2002. Sugar & Silk are Danny Sugar (bass guitar) and Oli Silk (keyboards).  Slamming groovy is the starting song Duality. Take the best of Brian Culbertson and you hit the performance point of Oli's programming and piano skills.

Everybody Be Cool adds to this laidback attitude James Vargas crazy alto sax. One theme is the starting point for several improvisations in sax and piano. Real Love is pure soulful funk with Paula Crawford 's wonderful young voice comparable to Siedah Garrett's best-known vocals. Electri-City! is an electrifying powerful Smooth Jazz tune in Richard Elliot's style. Very enjoing, very dancable. The Green Room reveals the more contemplative side of this amazing duo. A swinging bridge btween the melody strings and some jazzy improvisations showcases the background and the models of the band, which are to find in jazz history as Jaco Pastorius, Dave and Don Crusin and Charles Mingus. But they also respect the members of Fourplay and this is to hear loud and clear. Love Will Follow features John Reid's impressive vocals. Reid, who already appeared on Marsha Raven's dance album "Catch me", deserves a broader attentiveness. He could be the next Luther Vandross. A.T.S ( Another True Story) is perfectly arranged and performed. Be aware that this piece was completely made by only two musicians. It's furthermore an example for good drum-programming and Oli's piano play is UK's answer to Bob James.

James Vargas dynamic alto sax marks excentric notes on Oyster, while Oli's keyboards sounds are responsible for the luscious and impressive atmosphere.  Jane Hamilton is a new discovery on Don't Give Up. Sugar & Silk's website informs: "Jane who hails from Scotland now resides in Leicester. She is a prolific singer/songwriter and comes from a very musical family. Jane’s brother, Steve plays and tours with Bill Bruford. She gigs regularly around the Leicester area performing her self penned repertoire." L'austin Pace is the final tune, written and played for those which believe that Smooth Jazz is jazz. Is this fusion jazz piece the real face of the group?  Critics of this album are throughout positive and I am sure, JazzFM and Solar Radio will aready have tunes of this album at their playlists. Good music is always finding its way to success.http://www.smooth-jazz.de/firstview/SugarandSilk/Duality.htm

Personnel:  Danny Sugar (bass, guitar); Oli Silk (keyboards).

Duality

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Ernie Henry - Presenting Ernie Henry

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1956
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:51
Size: 89,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:24)  1. Gone With the Wind
(5:10)  2. Orient
(5:48)  3. Free Flight
(5:55)  4. Checkmate
(5:03)  5. Active Ingredients
(5:07)  6. I Should Care
(8:22)  7. Cleo's Chant

Long available on LP in the Fantasy Records catalog this reissue marks the first compact disc appearance of Ernie Henry’s auspicious debut as a leader. In the annals of jazz lore Henry has sometimes been discounted as merely a Charlie Parker imitator on alto saxophone. Based on his work on this inaugural album and the handful of others he fronted as a leader before his early demise at age 31 this once popular opinion appears something of an unfair assessment. In addition to possessing an adroit and diplomatic tone on his instrument that nods at Parker, but is clearly his own, Henry also has impeccable taste in associates as substantiated by the crew of hard bop heavyweights he assembled for this date. Dorham and Drew are both in particularly fine form and Ware and Taylor leave a memorable rhythmic stamp on the proceedings. The disc also serves as a chance for Henry to try out a cluster of his own compositions alongside a pair of standards and the quintet seizes the opportunity to play hard and with much gusto. 

Commencing with a bop-flavored reading of “Gone With the Wind” the group cycles through a unison head before Henry, Dorham and Drew all take brief solo statements. Taylor is the focal point on the briskly rendered “Orient” and his series of volcanic press rolls that close the piece take things out in a heated finish. “Free Flight” is less overtly kinetic but follows basically the same succession of solos with Henry, Dorham, Drew, Taylor and even Ware turning in burners. Both “Checkmate” and “Active Ingredients” are cut from the same bop-textured cloth and Henry uses their inherent alacrity to turn the pace of the group up a notch. The cerulean smoothness of “I Should Care,” negotiated at ballad speed, stands in sharp contrast. Henry takes an initial solo chorus before Dorham moves to the fore and caresses one of his most successful solos of session from his horn. The shuffling blues groove of “Cleo’s Chant” serves as a fitting addendum. Henry preaches a persuasive pitch and Dorham and Drew answer with resoundingly unanimous agreement. 

The only glaring disappointment with this disc is the paucity of solos by Ware. One of the greatest bassists in the history of the instrument he often shied away from the solo spotlight on his numerous recordings as a sideman. On this session he exhibits his usual reticence and Henry’s arrangements offer little encouragement for him to step beyond a strictly rhythmic role. Overall though this is a fine slice of vintage hard bop with lots of high points and very few lows.~Derek Taylor http://www.allaboutjazz.com/presenting-ernie-henry-fantasy-jazz-review-by-derek-taylor.php

Personnel: Ernie Henry- alto saxophone; Kenny Dorham- trumpet; Kenny Drew- piano; Wilbur Ware- double bass; Art Taylor- drums.

Presenting Ernie Henry

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