Bill Barron & Ted Curson - Now, Hear This!

Styles: Trumpet and Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1963
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:46
Size: 93,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:41)  1. Around the World
(5:08)  2. Big Bill
(6:25)  3. The Leopard
(5:08)  4. Hurdy Gurdy
(4:05)  5. Dwackdi Mun Fudalick
(4:17)  6. Jes Swingin'
(5:33)  7. In a Monastery Garden
(6:26)  8. You Are Too Beautiful

Bill Barron was an advanced and adventurous tenor saxophonist (doubling on soprano) who never compromised his music or received much recognition. He spent his formative years and beyond in Philadelphia, not moving to New York until 1958. Barron first came to the jazz world's attention through his participation on a Cecil Taylor date in 1959. After recording with Philly Joe Jones, Barron co-led a fine post-bop quartet with Ted Curson. However, Barron spent much of the remainder of his career as an educator, directing a jazz workshop at the Children's Museum in Brooklyn, teaching at City College of New York, and becoming the chairman of the music department at Wesleyan University. His "day job" made it possible for him to consistently record non-commercial music for Savoy (in 1972 he made that label's last jazz record), Dauntless, and Muse. 

Every one of Bill Barron's recordings as a leader uses brother Kenny Barron (16 years his junior) on piano.~Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/artist/bill-barron-mn0000059950/biography

Personnel:  Ted Curson (tp), Bill Barron (ts), Kenny Barron (p), Ronnie Boykins (b), Dick Berk (d)

Now, Hear This!

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Ted Curson - Quicksand

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1974
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:23
Size: 111,9 MB
Art: Front

( 7:53)  1. Spiderlegs
( 8:16)  2. Tears For Dolphy
( 7:26)  3. Typical Ted
( 5:55)  4. Greasy As A Porkchop
( 6:58)  5. Sugar 'N' Spice
(11:52)  6. Quicksand

An excellent and flexible trumpeter, Ted Curson will always be best known for his work with Charles Mingus' 1960 quartet (which also included Eric Dolphy and Dannie Richmond). He studied at Granoff Musical Conservatory; moved to New York in 1956; played in New York with Mal Waldron, Red Garland, and Philly Joe Jones; and recorded with Cecil Taylor (1961). After the 1959-1960 Mingus association (which resulted in some classic recordings), Curson co-led a quintet with Bill Barron (1960-1965), played with Max Roach, and led his own groups. He spent time from the late '60s on in Europe (particularly Denmark) but had a lower profile than one would expect after returning to the U.S. in 1976. 

He led sessions for Old Town (1961), Prestige, Fontana, Atlantic, Arista, Inner City, Interplay, Chiaroscuro, and several European labels. Curson died of a heart attack on November 4, 2012. He was 77 years old.~Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/artist/ted-curson-mn0000022039/biography

Personnel:  Ted Curson - trumpet, piccolo trumpet;  Robin Kenyatta - alto saxophone, soprano saxophone;  Nick Brignola - baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone, saxello;  Kenny Barron - piano, electric piano;  Herb Bushler - bass, electric bass;  Albert Heath – drums;  Butch Curson - drums, percussion;  Lawrence Killian - congas, bell tree;  Chicky Johnson - bongos, timbales

Quicksand

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Gregory Porter - Take Me To The Alley

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:20
Size: 118,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:02)  1. Holding On
(3:18)  2. Don't Lose Your Steam
(5:16)  3. Take Me To The Alley
(3:52)  4. Day Dream
(3:20)  5. Consequence Of Love
(4:34)  6. In Fashion
(3:31)  7. More Than A Woman
(4:18)  8. In Heaven
(5:37)  9. Insanity
(4:31) 10. Don't Be A Fool
(4:12) 11. Fan The Flames
(3:44) 12. French African Queen

The ineffable charms of Gregory Porter can't help but woo and win over the ear. He's the epitome of soulful sophistication part tender poet, part cogent preacher, fully a man of the people and he has a voice that can make the angels weep. While we often bemoan the choices that fame's fickle index finger makes, it pointed in the correct direction this time. Gregory Porter is everything he's cracked up to be and more. Take Me To The Alley, Porter's follow-up to the Grammy-winning Liquid Spirit (Blue Note, 2013) and his fourth album in total, is a passion-fueled collection of music filled with inspired heart-on-sleeve meditations, from-the-mountain-top sermons, glimpses at what could've been, and musical testimonials. It's completely in keeping with his previous work full of emotional highs and lows, built on a blend of the earthy and cosmopolitan and just as addictive. It only takes one listen to get hooked. Each one of Porter's earlier albums produced a number of earworms and emotional wallops. Water (Motéma Music, 2010) gave us politically-charged fire and brimstone in the form of "1960 What?" and introspective gold in the shape of the title track; Be Good (Motéma Music, 2012) had more than its fair share of winners, from the enthusiastic, history-tracing "On My Way To Harlem" to the familial reassurances of "Real Good Hands"; and Liquid Spirit boasted a seemingly endless array of treasures the fragile-turned-resolute "No Love Dying," the exhilarating "Liquid Spirit," the love-stricken "Water Under Bridges," and so on and so on. Take Me To The Alley, likewise, traffics in the eminently lyrical and memorable.

Three of this album's choicest cuts come right at the top of the program. The opener "Holding On" finds Porter sorting out his feelings in an understated setting that's enriched by Keyon Harrold's muted trumpet. It's worlds away from the dance-friendly version of the song that he recorded with British electronic duo Disclosure. Second up is the swoon-inducing "Don't Lose Your Steam," a Stevie Wonder-worthy original with R&B, soul, funk, and rock in its DNA. Porter testifies and brings the thunder, the horns riff, the rhythm section locks in the groove, and organist Ondrej Pivec adds the glissandos and the grease. And then comes the title track, a sedate presentation that finds Porter harmonizing with Alicia Olatuja and exploring the topics of healing and spiritual renewal. Those three numbers, near-perfect as they are, make the album a bit top-heavy. But there are more gems to be found further on. "In Fashion," an irresistible number underscored by Chip Crawford's marcato quarter note chords and focused on a man's paranoia and obsession surrounding the dressings-up and goings-on of a woman, is one; the gospel-inflected, love-concerned "Don't Be A Fool" is another. Those looking for an explanation behind the meteoric rise and continually growing popularity of Gregory Porter need look no further. The explanation is right here in that voice and the songs it sings.~Dan Bilawsky http://www.allaboutjazz.com/take-me-to-the-alley-gregory-porter-blue-note-records-review-by-dan-bilawsky.php
 

Personnel: Gregory Porter: vocals; Alicia Olatuja: vocals; Chip Crawford: piano; Aaron James: bass; Emanuel Harrold: drums; Keyon Harrold: trumpet; Yosuke Sato: alto saxophone; Tivon Pennicott: tenor saxophone; Ondrej Pivec: organ.

Take Me To The Alley

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