Oscar Brown, Jr. - Sin & Soul... And Then Some

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:45
Size: 107.1 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 1961/1996
Art: Front

[2:31] 1. Work Song
[2:53] 2. But I Was Cool
[1:27] 3. Bid 'em In
[3:58] 4. Signifyin' Monkey
[2:36] 5. Watermelon Man
[3:05] 6. Somebody Buy Me A Drink
[3:41] 7. Rags And Old Iron
[2:49] 8. Dat Dere
[3:05] 9. Brown Baby
[1:58] 10. Hum Drum Blues
[2:28] 11. Sleepy
[2:38] 12. Afro Blue
[2:02] 13. Mr. Kicks
[2:41] 14. Hazel's Hips
[3:30] 15. World Of Grey
[3:31] 16. Forbidden Fruit
[1:41] 17. Straighten Up And Fly Right

Oscar Brown, Jr.'s debut recording, Sin & Soul, is a true classic. A brilliant lyricist, a dramatic singer, and a highly individual genius in his own way, Brown performed a dozen memorable selections for this album. His lyrics to "Work Song," "Watermelon Man," "Afro-Blue," and particularly "Dat Dere" are famous; "But I Was Cool" and "Signifyin' Money" are humorous; "Bid 'Em In" is a chilling depiction of a slave auction; and "Rags and Old Iron" is quite touching. Essential music from an underrated great. ~Scott Yanow

Sin & Soul... And Then Some

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Peggy Sarlin - Friends And Family

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:45
Size: 79.6 MB
Styles: Jazz-blues vocals
Year: 2016
Art: Front

[3:37] 1. How Come It's Raining
[3:45] 2. Friends And Family
[3:53] 3. Key Lime Pie
[3:20] 4. When Love Walked By My Side
[2:55] 5. Comfort Zone
[3:47] 6. Imperfect People
[2:55] 7. My Man Moved And The Blues Moved In
[4:02] 8. Where Else Would I Be
[3:15] 9. Big Boy Pants
[3:11] 10. New York Brought Me You

Vocals: Peggy Sarlin; Keyboards: Jeff Franzel; Guitar, Bass, Drums: Yuri Zwadiuk; Trumpet: Marty Bound; Guitar, Brass: Maverick Aquino. Recorded and Mixed at YZ Studio, Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

I hope these songs resonate with you, too. The emotional intensity of the last few years has sparked a blaze of fellow feeling in me for anyone who gets walloped by life and tries to respond with a little kindness, humor, and panache. Maybe that’s you. The title track, “Friends and Family,” reflects my gratitude to the many people who continue to ease our difficulties. Are you blessed with friends and family, too? If so, you might want to share this song with them. Who doesn’t like a little appreciation now and then? ~Peggy

Friends And Family

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Johnny O'Neal - In Good Hands

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 58:27

Size: 133.8 MB

Styles: Post bop, Piano jazz

Year: 2002

Art: Front

[2:44] 1. In Good Hands

[6:54] 2. Born To Be Blue

[4:55] 3. What Is There To Say

[4:51] 4. Tricotism

[3:34] 5. Ghost Of A Chance

[5:09] 6. Mornin'

[8:09] 7. In A Mellow Tone

[7:09] 8. My Ship

[5:50] 9. Half Breed

[4:32] 10. Alfie

[4:34] 11. Nesxt Spring

Pianist Johnny O'Neal's peers have likened his playing to the late, great Oscar Peterson and Art Tatum, which is a heck of an acknowledgement. He's an orchestral pianist, meaning that, like Peterson and Tatum, O'Neal swings across every inch of the piano, hammering chords and tickling melodies. Blues licks lurk beneath the surface of his solos, gospel too, and he sometimes breaks into singing, either seriously or bawdily, in a deep cavernous voice. A late bloomer, O'Neal started playing jazz piano well into his teens and mostly taught himself. His fascination with the mammoth instrument started in church and grew after hearing his dad, Johnny O'Neal Sr. who was popular around town back then sing and play the piano at a neighborhood house party. And young O'Neal wanted to follow in his footsteps.

"He bought me my first piano, and he told me that I had two choices: I was either going to play the piano or I was going to eat it," O'Neal recalled during a telephone interview from his new home in Newark, having recently relocated from Detroit. O'Neal talked about his musical roots and wanderings, and how his return to the New York jazz scene in June  Detroit's loss  has reignited his music career. ~Charles L. Latimer

In Good Hands

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Illinois Jacquet - Jacquet Jumps

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:01
Size: 103.1 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 2011
Art: Front

[2:40] 1. Saph
[2:40] 2. Little Jeff
[3:09] 3. Jacquet's Dilemma
[3:19] 4. Heads
[2:50] 5. Mambocito Mio
[2:53] 6. Jatap Conga
[4:30] 7. September Song
[3:06] 8. Blue Nocturne
[3:27] 9. It's The Talk Of The Town
[2:53] 10. R.U. One
[3:16] 11. On Your Toes
[1:48] 12. Jacquet Jumps
[8:24] 13. The Kid And The Brute

Although Illinois Jacquet may be best remembered as the tenor saxophonist who defined the screeching style of playing the instrument, his warm and sensitive tone may also be heard on countless jazz ballads and medium groove-tempo numbers since the mid 1940s.

Illinois Jacquet was born Jean-Baptiste Jacquet October 30th, 1919 in Broussard, Louisiana. His mother was a Sioux Indian and his father, Gilbert Jacquet, was a French-Creole railroad worker and part-time musician. The nickname Illinois came from the Indian word "Illiniwek," which means superior men. He dropped the name Jean-Baptiste when the family moved from Louisiana to Houston because there were so few French-speaking people there. Jacquet, one of six children, began performing at age 3, tap dancing to the sounds of his father's band. He later played the drums in the Gilbert Jacquet band but discovered his true talent when a music teacher introduced him to the saxophone.

Jacquet played C-Jam Blues with former President Bill Clinton, an amateur saxophonist, on the White House lawn during Clinton's inaugural ball in January 1993. He also performed for Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.

Illinois Jacquet’s flashy playing, which worked countless crowds into a frenzy throughout his career, will likely be what the tenor great is remembered by most. However true jazz and swing fans will also take into account his numerous sides done at slower tempi that communicate the sensitive side of the last of the big toned swing tenor saxophonists.

Jacquet Jumps

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Isabelle Antena - Mediterranean Songs

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:18
Size: 90.0 MB
Styles: Latin rhythms
Year: 1997
Art: Front

[3:29] 1. The Best Is Yet To Come
[3:36] 2. Mediterranean Song
[2:36] 3. Under Your Closed Eyelids (From Boondocks S02)
[4:08] 4. Sleeping Prince
[4:39] 5. Too Young
[3:28] 6. I Forget You
[2:42] 7. Step By Step
[4:05] 8. Oliver's Hopscotch
[3:52] 9. Scenario
[3:01] 10. God Only Knows
[3:37] 11. The One You're Waiting For

From Camino del Sol to Bossa Super Nova, electro-samba pioneer turned jazz-pop polymath Isabelle Antena continues to delight fans around the world with an accomplished blend of cool latin, bossa, jazz and funk vibes, while at the same time remaining a staple of hip DJ record boxes from Ibiza to Goa to New York City.

Isabelle remains an artist of great integrity - proudly independent, and faithful to the bold philosophy she espoused to NME back in 1984. "The fact that we have had to struggle quite a lot to get to even where we are now is not important. I think there is always a value in people whose music is not mainstream. I know that in another time people were blaming Debussy and Ravel because they were playing different things to the mainstream. What is hard to listen to today might be easier to listen to tomorrow. The good thing about music is that anything is possible."

Mediterranean Songs

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Matt Dennis - Welcome Matt

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:01
Size: 80.2 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[2:34] 1. Show Me The Way To Go Home
[3:31] 2. You Make Me Feel At Home
[2:52] 3. By The Fireside
[2:45] 4. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
[3:01] 5. Back In Your Own Back Yard
[2:01] 6. Welcome Mat
[2:16] 7. Home
[2:45] 8. My Blue Heaven
[3:09] 9. Your Family
[4:00] 10. Cheek To Cheek
[2:42] 11. A Cup Of Coffee, A Sandwich, And You
[3:20] 12. Let's Put Out The Lights

Songwriter, pianist, and singer Matt Dennis composed hit pop songs for Tommy Dorsey's band and Frank Sinatra during the 1940s and 1950s. Born into a vaudeville family in Seattle in 1914, Dennis learned how to play the piano at a young age, leading to a job with Horace Heidt while Dennis was still in his teens. He eventually moved to Hollywood, where he worked in clubs accompanying singers such as Martha Tilton, Merry Macs, and the Pied Pipers. Dennis was still with the Pipers when they joined up with Tommy Dorsey, and served as arranger, composer, and coach for Dorsey. During his service in WWII, Dennis did radio work and arranged music for Glenn Miller's AAF Orchestra, among others. Dennis' chief collaborator was lyricist Tom Adair, and his best-known tunes include "Will You Still Be Mine?," "Let's Get Away from It All," "Everything Happens to Me" (1941), and "Angel Eyes" (1953), but he also penned "We Belong Together," "We've Reached the Point of No Return," and "You Can Believe Me." Dennis also did a series of recordings for the Glendale, RCA, Jubilee, and Kapp labels. He later worked on television, radio, and as a nightclub entertainer into the 1960s. ~Joslyn Layne

Welcome Matt

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