Jimmy Witherspoon & Groove Holmes - Blues For Spoon And Groove

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 32:34
Size: 74.6 MB
Styles: Urban blues
Year: 1965/2009
Art: Front

[2:08] 1. Take This Hammer, Pt. 1
[3:56] 2. Goin' To Chicago
[3:30] 3. In Blues
[2:30] 4. Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You
[2:12] 5. Loser's Blues
[2:26] 6. Please Send Me Someone To Love
[2:25] 7. Key To The Highway
[2:23] 8. Cry The Blues
[2:07] 9. Out Blues (For Big Joe)
[3:28] 10. Since I Fell For You
[2:20] 11. Everything
[3:03] 12. Take This Hammer, Pt. 2

This was originally released as Groovin' & Spoonin' on Olympic (7107). It's a decent if unremarkable set of blues-jazz, heavier on the blues, with organist Groove Holmes being Witherspoon's most important sideman on this date (which also features tenor saxophonist Teddy Edwards). Several of the numbers are shopworn standards like "Take This Hammer," "Key to the Highway," "Please Send Me Someone to Love," and "Since I Fell for You," though everything's performed with taste. If you're looking for Witherspoon blues-jazz with an organ groove, the 1963 album Evenin' Blues (1963) is more highly recommended, though 'Spoon & Groove has no serious flaws. ~Richie Unterberger

Blues For Spoon And Groove

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Ginai - Jazz Island

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:47
Size: 88.8 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2006
Art: Front

[2:16] 1. Them There Eyes
[4:17] 2. Puamana All Blues
[3:33] 3. Take Five
[4:29] 4. The Land Of Make Believe
[3:45] 5. Whisper Not
[4:05] 6. Blue Moon
[4:21] 7. Jazz Island
[3:41] 8. Days Of Wine And Roses
[3:49] 9. Do Nothing Til You Hear From Me
[4:28] 10. Poor Butterly

Talented, versatile Ginai steps up with a new CD, Jazz Island, that is a perfect showcase. If you’ve never been into jazz, this album could change your mind. Maybe divas are not what MTV shows us. Maybe pampered 18-year-olds singing about the loves they are yet to know don’t strike a chord of truth within us. Perhaps they should taste the bitterness of life first before we trust their opinion on things. If that is the case, then Hawaii should be proud at the final unveiling of our own local jazz diva, Ginai. On Friday, March 10, jazz aficionados island wide will finally get a chance to see what they knew all along: Ginai was meant to be one of the pre-eminent jazz solo artists in Hawaii.

The release of this album represents not just a new spin on some jazz classics, but a new lease on life for a woman who has had to battle for it her whole life.

Jazz Island

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James Taylor - Mud Slide Slim And The Blue Horizon

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:54
Size: 84.5 MB
Styles: Soft rock
Year: 1971/2012
Art: Front

[2:40] 1. Love Has Brought Me Around
[4:27] 2. You've Got A Friend
[1:59] 3. Places In My Past
[2:40] 4. Riding On A Railroad
[1:12] 5. Soldiers
[5:20] 6. Mud Slide Slim
[3:45] 7. Hey Mister, That's Me Up On The Jukebox
[2:29] 8. You Can Close Your Eyes
[2:34] 9. Machine Gun Kelly
[2:19] 10. Long Ago And Far Away
[2:40] 11. Let Me Ride
[3:50] 12. Highway Song
[0:54] 13. Isn't It Nice To Be Home Again

James Taylor's commercial breakthrough in 1970 was predicated on the relationship between the private concerns expressed in his songs and the larger philosophical mood of his audience. He was going through depression, heartbreak, and addiction; they were recovering from the political and cultural storms of the '60s. On his follow-up to the landmark Sweet Baby James, Taylor brought his listeners up to date, wisely trying to step beyond the cultural, if not the personal, markers he had established. Despite affirming romance in songs like "Love Has Brought Me Around" and the moving "You Can Close Your Eyes" as well as companionship in "You've Got a Friend," the record still came as a defense against the world, not an embrace of it; Taylor was unable to forget the past or trust the present. The songs were full of references to the road and the highway, and he was uncomfortable with his new role as spokesman. The confessional songwriter was now, necessarily, writing about what it was like to be a confessional songwriter: Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon served the valuable function of beginning to move James Taylor away from the genre he had defined, which ultimately would give him a more long-lasting appeal. ~William Ruhlmann

Mud Slide Slim And The Blue Horizon

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Sonny Stitt, Don Patterson - Brothers 4

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 75:19
Size: 172.4 MB
Styles: Hard bop, Soul-jazz
Year: 1969/1993
Art: Front

[8:51] 1. Brothers-4
[6:49] 2. Creepin' Home
[8:26] 3. Alexander's Ragtime Band
[8:32] 4. Walk On By
[8:25] 5. Donny Brook
[9:57] 6. Mud Turtle
[5:30] 7. St. Thomas
[8:30] 8. Good Bait
[5:52] 9. Starry Night
[4:22] 10. Tune-Up

In September 1969, regular collaborators saxophonist Sonny Stitt and organist Don Patterson recorded together for the last time. For the occasion, they were joined by guitarist Grant Green, forming something of an organ combo supergroup. Patterson's excellent regular drummer Billy James rounded out the quartet. The ten tracks they made together -- four of them found on the original LP, six others added to later editions -- were not the crowning achievement for any of the principals, but they still stand in the front ranks of organ jazz. Three of the LP's tracks clock in at over eight minutes, providing lots of room for stretching out. Patterson's title track -- a classic, driving soul-jazz theme -- is the highlight. James' "Creepin' Home" moves along at a slacker, shuffling pace. Irving Berlin's "Alexander's Ragtime Band" surprisingly becomes a vehicle for impressive solos from the three lead players, once they get through stating the corny melody. The Burt Bacharach/Hal David pop ballad "Walk on By" also features good work from the quartet. [The six tunes not heard on the original LP eventually appeared on the Patterson LPs Donny Brook and Tune Up, then were rounded up here.] ~Jim Todd

Brothers 4

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Freddie Hubbard - Red Clay

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1970
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:32
Size: 157,0 MB
Art: Front

(12:16)  1. Red Clay
( 7:25)  2. Delphia
( 8:49)  3. Suite Sioux
(10:48)  4. The Intrepid Fox
(10:27)  5. Cold Turkey
(18:45)  6. Red Clay

Like Stanley Turrentine, Freddie Hubbard's best work was always in the service of others until he signed with Creed Taylor's CTI label. He then released a trio of albums that represents his crowning achievement as a leader. Red Clay finds him in the company of Herbie Hancock, who played a large part in defining jazz fusion, as well as heavyweights like Ron Carter, Joe Henderson, and Lenny White. The title track kicks off the record with a funky groove that is much more memorable than any such trick attempted on Blue Note releases from the previous decade; the remaining tracks are fairly adventurous explorations of a variety of interesting themes. Hancock, whose electric piano is one of the guilty pleasures of the area, carries the day with funky vamping and tasteful soloing. 

But Hubbard is no slouch either, contributing some of his most memorable solos over the jazzy grooves. Henderson has smoothed out his previous sound, eliminating the stuttering and wailing that defined his style in the sixties. Simply put, Red Clay is one of the relatively few jazz masterpieces from the seventies.~David Rickert https://www.allaboutjazz.com/red-clay-freddie-hubbard-cti-records-review-by-david-rickert.php
 

Personnel: Ron Carter - Bass; Herbie Hancock - Piano; Joe Henderson - Saxophone; Lenny White - Drums; Freddie Hubbard - Trumpet.

Red Clay

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Jeri Southern - A Prelude To A Kiss: The Story Of A Love Affair

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:26
Size: 88,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:34)  1. Prelude To A Kiss
(3:10)  2. Cross My Heart
(2:33)  3. I Don't Want To Walk Without You
(3:24)  4. Please Be Kind
(3:22)  5. Trust In Me
(2:53)  6. Try A Little Tenderness
(3:31)  7. You're Mine You
(3:02)  8. Speak Low
(3:13)  9. Hold Me
(3:20) 10. Close To You
(3:02) 11. Close As Pages In A Book
(3:17) 12. The Touch Of Your Lips

An ambitious concept album that assembles a clutch of familiar romantic ballads into a narrative arc charting the birth of romance, A Prelude to a Kiss: The Story of a Love Affair remains Jeri Southern's most fully realized and consistent effort, evoking Frank Sinatra's classic late-'50s Capitol albums in both scope and tenor. Paired with arranger Gus Levene, whose richly melancholy backings are essential to the album's unified mood, Southern brings a sense of cinéma vérité to songs like "Speak Low" and "The Touch of Your Lips," transforming the familiar lyrics into deeply personal expressions as intimate as diary entries.~Jason Ankeny http://www.allmusic.com/album/a-prelude-to-a-kiss-the-story-of-a-love-affair-mw0000930656

A Prelude To A Kiss: The Story Of A Love Affair

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Eric Le Lann - I Remember Chet

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:43
Size: 130,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:54)  1. For Minors Only
(5:21)  2. If I Should Care
(4:50)  3. The More I See You
(3:01)  4. I Am A Fool To Want You
(4:42)  5. Summertime
(4:30)  6. The Touch Of Your Lips
(4:53)  7. Milestones
(6:40)  8. Zingaro
(6:05)  9. Love For Sale
(7:38) 10. Angel Eyes
(5:05) 11. Backtime

French trumpeter Eric Le Lann has a bit part in Bertrand Tavernier's 1986 film Round Midnight, the story of a French jazz fan's friendship with wayward American jazz musician Dale Turner, played by tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon. Le Lann plays a French jazz trumpeter not much of a stretch. More to the point, the film's story mirrored, however approximately, an episode in his own life, in which Le Lann befriended the expatriate Chet Baker during the latter's troubled final decade. On I Remember Chet, Le Lann pays tribute to the older trumpeter, a quarter century after his death. The record features a cross section of tunes closely associated with Baker; the sole original, Le Lann's "Backtime," fits in well enough. Le Lann's playing would not likely be mistaken for Baker's, but the record makes clear his affinity for several key features of the late trumpeter's playing: particularly, a singing tone, a swinging sense of time and a certain tenderness. At the same time, Le Lann's playing is steely and more forthright than Baker's vulnerable sound. Le Lann favors the lower to middle portion of the trumpet's range. Most important, Le Lann is not in the least intimidated by Baker's mythic reputation, and he and his trio turn in a remarkably strong and satisfying performance.

The record's instrumentation is spare: trumpet accompanied only by Nelson Veras' acoustic guitar and Gildas Boclé's double bass. The Franco-Brazilian guitarist has an enigmatic style, never approaching a solo in a predictable way, never hewing too closely to the written melody but, at the same time, restrained and reverent. As a sideman on this project, Veras is excellent, maintaining a level of improvisational complexity that nicely complements Le Lann's directness. In fact, at times it sounds like Le Lann is encouraged by Veras' elliptical sensibility to develop solos that float a little more freely from the songs' melodic mooring.

Bassist Boclé, meanwhile, is essentially the sole rhythm instrument (Veras is particularly minimalist when he is not soloing, and on a particularly sunny "The Touch of Your Lips," he is absent altogether). Boclé provides a solid beat on what is, after all, a fairly swinging session.~Jeff Dayton-Johnson https://www.allaboutjazz.com/i-remember-chet-eric-le-lann-bee-jazz-review-by-jeff-dayton-johnson.php

Personnel: Eric Le Lann: trumpet; Nelson Veras: guitar; Gildas Boclé: double bass.

I Remember Chet

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Brad Mehldau Trio - Ode

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 75:28
Size: 178,7 MB
Art: Front

(7:46)  1. M.B.
(6:20)  2. Ode
(7:50)  3. 26
(7:25)  4. Dream Sketch
(6:42)  5. Bee Blues
(5:43)  6. Twiggy
(4:57)  7. Kurt Vibe
(5:25)  8. Stan The Man
(9:25)  9. Eulogy For George Hanson
(4:49) 10. Aquaman
(9:01) 11. Days Of Dilbert Delaney

The Art of the Trio: Recordings 1996-2001 (Nonesuch, 2011) provided an opportunity to reassess Brad Mehldau's rapid trajectory, though the trio that established him as one of the past two decades' most important pianists was long gone. If Jorge Rossy's replacement in 2005 seemed to open the trio up more, it's perhaps because drummer Jeff Ballard is a more assertive conversationalist, as demonstrated from the get-go on "Knives Out," the first track on Mehldau's debut with this updated incarnation, Day is Done (Nonesuch, 2005). It's a feeling immediately reaffirmed on "M.B.," the opener to Ode, Mehldau's first trio recording since Live (Nonesuch, 2008). While Mehldau's trio was his primary focus for the first decade of his career, the past seven years have seen him busier in a multiplicity of contexts, from solo performances like the stellar Live in Marciac (Nonesuch, 2011) and the ambitious Highway Rider (Nonesuch, 2010), with its larger cast of characters, to collaborations with guitarist Pat Metheny on Metheny Mehldau (Nonesuch, 2006) and Quartet (Nonesuch, 2007), and his more recent trifecta with pianist Kevin Hays and composer/arranger Patrick Zimmerli, Modern Music (Nonesuch, 2011). If Mehldau's trio plays fewer gigs and records less often these days, that just means that any release is to be eagerly anticipated, and Ode doesn't disappoint.

Ode represents Mehldau's first set of entirely original compositions for trio since Rossy's swan song, House on Hill (Nonesuch) released in 2005 but largely recorded in 2002. That a decade has passed means considerable growth for Mehldau the writer, who covers a lot of territory, from the vibrant opener dedicated to the late saxophonist Michael Brecker to the loose funk of "Dream Sketch," which reflects the same ongoing interest in song form that's compelled Mehldau to cover artists like Radiohead and Nick Drake on previous recordings. That doesn't mean Mehldau's lost sight of the jazz tradition: the ambling and aptly titled "Bee Blues," with its hint of Thelonious Monk-like idiosyncrasy, features Larry Grenadier, Mehldau's bassist of choice since 1995; while the incendiary "Stan the Man" swings at an almost impossible tempo made effortless by Grenadier and Ballard, with the pianist turning in one his most impressive solos of the set, executing a series of blinding unison passages with both hands. Mehldau's ability to accomplish seemingly impossible feats for two hands has also given him additional compositional flexibility; driven by Ballard's hand-played percussion, "Twiggy" may sound like two pianists, but anyone who's watched the Dvd of Live in Marciac knows this is the work of a single set of two hands. 

Few bassists are as instantly responsive as Grenadier, and in more open-ended environs like the rubato "Wyatt's Eulogy for George Hanson" which ultimately dissolves into the freest piece in Mehldau's entire trio repertoire it's the group's inestimable collective empathy that makes it so important and influential. Mehldau may no longer make this trio his primary focus, but with Ode, he makes crystal clear that it remains a vital one, with less frequent releases only serving to more vividly highlight the quantum leaps that Mehldau, Grenadier and Ballard make, both individually and collectively, year after year.~John Kelman https://www.allaboutjazz.com/ode-brad-mehldau-nonesuch-records-review-by-john-kelman.php
 

Personnel: Brad Mehldau: piano; Larry Grenadier: bass; Jeff Ballard: drums.

Ode

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