Miki Howard - Love Confessions

Size: 102,3 MB
Time: 43:54
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1987
Styles: R&B, Soul
Art: Front

01. Baby Be Mine (5:28)
02. You've Changed (3:31)
03. That's What Love Is (4:29)
04. In Too Deep (4:01)
05. Crazy (4:20)
06. Bitter Love (4:20)
07. I Wanna Be There (4:02)
08. Reasons (4:06)
09. Love Confession (5:01)
10. Edge Of Love (4:32)

The substantial success of “Baby, Be Mine” and “That’s What Love Is” helped define Miki Howard as a master of the simmering love song. The latter song, co-performed by Gerald Levert, is a great example of Howard’s ability to bring crackling intensity to what might otherwise be a fairly simple piece of pop-oriented R&B. But that’s the kind of singer Howard was—she made her partners better and elevated her material, even when it was somewhat generic. Some of the best songs on 1987’s Love Confessions are its least heard. The skipping, shimmering “Bitter Love,” with its call-and-response chorus, provides a fresh twist on Howard’s gospel roots, while “Edge of Love” is one her smoothest, catchiest tunes. As a vocalist, Howard was so light on her feet that it’s somewhat surprising that these uptempo gems didn’t become her biggest hits. Then again, when you experience the smoldering atmosphere of “Reasons” and “Crazy,” or even the more traditional “You’ve Changed,” it’s obvious why fans loved the singer when she slowed down. Where the lusty material might have engulfed other singers, ballads only served to heighten Howard’s focus.

MC
Ziddu

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Marcos Amorim - Sea Of Tranquility

Size: 133,6 MB
Time: 57:52
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz
Art: Front

01. Dance Of The Five Princesses (6:56)
02. Bolero (8:59)
03. January Ashes (4:22)
04. Pedras Rolando (6:45)
05. Sea Of Tranquility (5:33)
06. The Further Away The Closer I Get (5:46)
07. Sea Time (6:25)
08. My African Goddess (7:17)
09. Wooden Face Blues (5:45)

Sea of Tranquility marks the fifth Adventure Music release for acclaimed Brazilian guitarist, Marcos Amorim. The album features Marcos on guitar, Rafael Barata on drums, Augusto Mattoso on bass, and Itamar Assiere on piano and Rhodes. ''Apollo 11 finally landed on the SEA OF TRANQUILITY, said the speaker on TV. I remembered astronaut Neil Armstrong floating in slow motion in a psychedelic dance as he picked up pebbles of the moon. A lonely and poetic image. That's what I felt at that time. When I wrote and named this this song, I wanted to exactly portray the sensation of peace and solitude that I felt in 1969, at the age of five. It makes sense. ''SEA OF TRANQUILITY still represents to me today, that same peace that Leo felt. ~Marcos Amorim, Rio de Janeiro, January 2016.

MC
Ziddu

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Cheryl Fisher - Quietly There

Size: 126,1 MB
Time: 54:13
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz/Pop Vocals
Art: Front

01. Quietly There (5:32)
02. Let There Be Love (3:36)
03. It Amazes Me (4:21)
04. Flowers In The Sink (4:26)
05. I Never Went Away (4:12)
06. You're Looking At Me (3:49)
07. He Never Mentioned Love (5:07)
08. You Go To My Head (5:02)
09. Some Other Time (5:30)
10. You Taught My Heart To Sing (3:47)
11. I'm In Love Again (3:36)
12. Here's To Life (5:08)

For her sixth CD, Canadian vocalist Cheryl Fisher has recorded an album unique in both its repertoire and her approach. Purposefully chosen to be on the quieter side, Fisher puts a personal stamp on these beautiful, rarely heard songs, applying her musicianship and gift for vocal interpretation in celebration of love, or the mourning of love lost. Although they come from the era of the Great American Songbook, Fisher has given them a modern jazz treatment with the brilliant accompaniment of pianist/arranger John Toomey, the singular Portland guitarist John Stowell, the bass & drum team of Jeff Johnson & John Bishop, and acclaimed woodwind artist Eric Allison.

Review:
'Concept albums aren't what I usually do, but sometimes you just want to sit by the fireplace, have a glass of wine, put on an album and let it play right through, letting its mellow mood merge with your own. ' '. . . vocal command that deepens with each recording. ' --Washington Post

MC
Ziddu

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Seamus Blake, Chris Cheek & Reeds Ramble - Let's Call The Whole Thing Off

Size: 144,2 MB
Time: 62:14
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz
Art: Front

01. Let's Call The Whole Thing Off (9:03)
02. Choro Blanco (5:41)
03. Lunar (7:39)
04. La Cancion Que Falta (9:37)
05. Limehouse Blues (8:04)
06. Surfboard (8:33)
07. Count Your Blessings (8:07)
08. Little Evil (5:26)

Deepening a two-tenor partnership that dates back to the mid-'90s, saxophonists Seamus Blake and Chris Cheek follow up their quintet release "Reeds Ramble" with Let's Call the Whole Thing Off, featuring the same powerful band lineup (Ethan Iverson on piano, Matt Penman on bass, Jochen Rueckert on drums).

While they stand apart as gifted soloists, Blake and Cheek always flourish as a team, bringing luster to every tune with their lyrical unison melodies and beautifully harmonized theme statements.

Spontaneity plays a big role, as it should when improvisers of this caliber get together (Iverson's versatility and off-kilter eloquence comes through with particular strength).

But foremost, what distinguishes this group is the logic and efficiency of its arrangements, whether slow and spacious or brisk and complex; from originals and modernist classics to standards of '20s and '30s vintage.

MC
Ziddu

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The Hot Sardines - French Fries & Champagne

Size: 118,1 MB
Time: 41:37
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. Running Wild (3:23)
02. People Will Say We’re In Love (3:26)
03. When I Get Low I Get High (Feat. Alan Cumming) (3:47)
04. Addicted To Love (3:26)
05. Sweet Pea (2:20)
06. Medley Comes Love (L'amour S'en Fout) (5:08)
07. Here You Are Again (3:36)
08. Until The Real Thing Comes Along (4:49)
09. French Fries & Champagne (3:01)
10. La Fille Aux Cheveux Roux (Weed Smoker’s Dream) (4:25)
11. Gramercy Sunset (4:12)

After the incredible success of their debut self-titled album, The Hot Sardines return to the spotlight with a new album entitled French Fries & Champagne.

While the new album continued to show the Paris-meets-New York backgrounds of the bands leaders, vocalist Miz Elizabeth and bandleader/pianist Evan Bibs Palazzo, French Fries illustrates the duality of the Hot Sardines ethos: on one side, they are a rollicking, lowbrow, gutbucket R&B and Hot Jazz band, who love to let the good times roll, reveling in the simple pleasures of a good plate of fried food and a sizzling foot-stomper from the 40s and 50s American South.

On the other Champagne side, the Sardines are the elegant, smooth, soft and luxurious lovers of lush orchestral arrangements of ballads about newfound love, loss and loneliness.

Tracks range from Running Wild, the hit from the 1959 Billy Wilder classic rom-com, Some Like It Hot starring Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis, to People Will Say We re In Love, from the 1943 Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway smash, Oklahoma!.

Theres even a jazzy version of the 1985 smash Pop hit, Addicted To Love, made famous by the late British blue-eyed soul singer Robert Palmer and the Power Station.

A highlight of the album is When I Get Low, I Get High. Originally recorded in 1936 by Ella Fitzgerald and Chick Webb and His Orchestra, the Lindy Hop sensation is here now interpreted Sardines-style by Miz Elizabeth duetting with the Tony Award-winning (Cabaret), 2x Emmy and Golden Globe nominee (The Good Wife), Alan Cumming.

MC
Ziddu

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Malene Mortensen - Malene ...To All Of You

Size: 114,0 MB
Time: 48:02
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2007
Styles: Jazz Vocals, Xmas
Art: Front

01. I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm (3:42)
02. Driving Home For Christmas (3:18)
03. Once Upon A Christmas Song (3:59)
04. Silent Night (4:18)
05. Winter Wonderland (3:21)
06. The Christmas Waltz (2:50)
07. Jingle Bells Rock (2:15)
08. This Christmas (2:55)
09. We've Only Just Begun (3:46)
10. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (3:01)
11. The Christmas Song (3:06)
12. Last Christmas (3:46)
13. Warm December (2:26)
14. Let It Snow (2:01)
15. Maria Gennem Torne Gar (3:12)

Christmas albums are a fine tradition. Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Diana Krall and many others have interpreted the seasonal songs, and quite a few of these collections have become classics. Here at last is a Danish Christmas album guaranteed to endure! A wonderful recording - warm, swinging and enticing in a tasteful production. We guarantee 100% Christmas spirit.
Lovely Malene Mortensen and her band sing and play their way through a collection of well-known Christmas favorites and lesser known tunes including Silent Night, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Last Christmas, I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm, Let It Snow, Driving Home from Christmas, Winter Wonderland and many others – as well one Danish phsalm: Maria gennem torne går. The collection also includes a newly composed song, Once Upon A Christmas Song, which has everything it takes to become a new Christmas standard.

Malene Mortensen continues to develope her great talent and has been rewarded in recent years with popularity all across the world. Her latest release “Malene” reached the bestseller listsin Japan and Germany. It is currently placed on a 15 spot on the French bestseller list and is for sale just about everywhere in the world. During this past year, her tours have taken her to Germany, Russia, Britain, France, Sweden, Norway, Thailand, Poland, Israel– and naturally Denmark. Everywhere, she has spellbound large audiences. A Danish star!

On her fourth album, the 25-year old vocalist swings persuasively and seductively through a well-known - and for that very reason
- challenging repertoire. Please also take note of pianist Henrik Gunde, who recently released the highly praised album, “Gunde On Garner”. And listen to the elegant bass and drum duo of Kasper Vadsholt and Jeppe Gram. Among others, saxophonist Jesper Loevdal visited the studio, and most remarkably, the French harmonica-player Olivier Ker Ourio, who lends his golden tone and incredible musicality to three tracks.

Luckily Christmas is not far off! Have a great season with Malene....

MC
Ziddu

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Zoot Sims, Bucky Pizzarelli - Elegiac

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:58
Size: 157.9 MB
Styles: Bop, Saxophone jazz
Year: 1980/1996
Art: Front

[4:25] 1. Lester Leaps In
[7:23] 2. Willow Weep For Me
[5:16] 3. Limehouse Blues
[5:50] 4. My Old Flame
[4:17] 5. In A Mellow Tone
[2:21] 6. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
[2:38] 7. Satin Doll
[2:52] 8. Take The A Train
[6:32] 9. Fred
[6:46] 10. Jean
[5:42] 11. Stompin' At The Savoy
[5:52] 12. Memories Of You
[4:26] 13. Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise
[4:32] 14. The Girl From Ipanema

This generally interesting but only adequately recorded set, which was issued for the first time on this 1996 CD, features duets played by Zoot Sims (doubling on tenor and soprano) and guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli. The pair mostly sticks to swinging standards, other than Neal Hefti's "Fred" and Rod McKuen's "Jean," and there are some strong moments (particularly on "Lester Leaps In," "Limehouse Blues" and "Softly As In a Morning Sunrise"), but one does miss the bass and drums after awhile. ~Scott Yanow

Elegiac

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Isaac Valenzuela - Hush Little Baby

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:55
Size: 141.7 MB
Styles: Smooth jazz
Year: 2011
Art: Front

[4:50] 1. Hush Little Baby
[4:58] 2. Corazón (Feat. Amparo Sánchez)
[5:02] 3. Call On Me
[4:19] 4. Come What May (Feat. Jacob Valenzuela)
[4:49] 5. Hush Little Baby (Feat. Eric Mcnair & Kyndal Robertson)
[4:34] 6. Come Rain Or Shine
[4:31] 7. In Season
[5:02] 8. Call On Me (Feat. Linda Lee)
[3:41] 9. New Day
[5:00] 10. Corazón (Instrumental)
[3:30] 11. Hola Mi'jito (Instrumental)
[3:58] 12. Where From Here
[4:02] 13. Cachinnate
[3:33] 14. Hola Mi'jito

This dynamic album features distinguished musicians of Texas such as drummers Sean McCurley, Jason Thomas, and Chris Knox. Renowned musicians also include Jacob Valenzuela on trumpet, producer Joel McCray on keyboards, Todd Parsnow on guitar, and Sean Byrd on bass. A dynamic debut album with heart touching & captivating melodies flowing through various rhythms of celebration and romance with illustrious vocals by Amparo Sánchez, Eric McNair, & Kyndal Robertson. You're gonna love it!

Hush Little Baby

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Lenny Welch - Since I Fell For You

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 28:11
Size: 64.5 MB
Styles: Middle of the road, R&B
Year: 1965
Art: Front

[2:52] 1. Since I Fell For You
[2:37] 2. A Taste Of Honey
[2:37] 3. Ebb Tide
[2:28] 4. You Can Have Her
[2:15] 5. I Need Someone
[2:35] 6. Mama, Don't You Hit That Boy
[2:45] 7. You Don't Know Me
[2:35] 8. Stranger In Paradise
[2:26] 9. Are You Sincere
[2:26] 10. It's Just Not That Easy
[2:29] 11. I'm In The Mood For Love

Lenny Welch (born Leon Welch, May 15, 1938), is quite the MOR (Middle of the Road)/pop singer/songwriter! Lenny possesses a wonderful gift: he can entertain millions with his songs! This album proves that Lenny has the vocal chops to perform anything her wants; and that's grand. In addition, I should note that this review is for the record album version of this album; there are two additional versions of the album on CD, one of the Collectables label and the other on the Neon label. If you choose one or even both of the CD versions of this album you'll get several different tracks; this gives people the opportunity to choose and that's a plus.~Martin G. Sherwin

Since I Fell For You

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Clark Terry - OW

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:38
Size: 143.4 MB
Styles: Bop, Trumpet jazz
Year: 1996/2003
Art: Front

[5:39] 1. My Secret Love
[7:26] 2. Ow
[9:45] 3. Just An Old Manuscript
[6:47] 4. Georgia On My Mind
[6:12] 5. Mack The Knife
[6:17] 6. Take The A Train
[5:33] 7. Straight, No Chaser
[6:56] 8. God Bless The Child
[7:59] 9. Rebecca

Bass – Dewey Sampson; Drums – James Martin; Piano – Johnny O'Neal; Trumpet – Clark Terry.

This is the first-time release of a live (Atlanta, Georgia) club session from 1981, and contains nine tunes with 63 minutes of playing time. Besides Clark Terry, the rhythm section consists of prominent U.S. musicians, of which Detroit pianist Johnny O’Neal is best known. The repertoire – chosen by Terry, himself, from among his own favorites songs - includes both jazz evergreens like ”God Bless the Child” and ”Georgia On My Mind” and bebop standards like Monk’s ”Straight, No Chaser” and Clark Terry’s own ”Rebecca”. Clark Terry was an early major influence on Miles Davis, performed in both the Count Basie (late 40’s) and Duke Ellington (1951-59) Orchestras, and wrote many several jazz standards. The live setting of this performance clearly inspires both Terry and the rhythm group to even greater heights than in the studio, with the tunes lasting an average of 7 minutes. Throughout his career, Clark Terry performed his brand of explosive, joyful music countless times; fortunately a few memorable occasions were documented – and saved – for posterity, including this very special performance at E.J.’s in Atlanta.

OW

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Eric Gale - Touch Of Silk

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1980
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:43
Size: 89,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:46)  1. You Got My Life In Your Hands
(5:06)  2. Touch Of Silk
(4:19)  3. War Paint
(4:33)  4. Once In A Smile
(6:32)  5. With You I'm Born Again
(8:42)  6. Au Privave
(4:42)  7. Live To Love

In 1980, guitarist and composer Eric Gale came off the commercial success of 1979's Part of You (produced by Ralph MacDonald) and didn't do the obvious thing. Rather than make another record that swung for the smooth jazz fences, he made a darker, deeper, funkier, and bluesier album with legendary New Orleans producer Allen Toussaint. The sessions included the cream of the Crescent City's jazz-funk crop as well as mates Charlie Earland, Grover Washington, Jr., and Idris Muhammad, three of soul-jazz's greatest lights with special guest Arthur Blythe on the Charlie Parker nugget "Au Privave" as a curve ball. Toussaint wrote four of the album's seven tracks, and they range from the murky blue soul-jazz of "You Got My Life in Your Hands" to the sweet, boudoir-perfect urban-styled title track. Gale is a consummate soloist, full of lilting and biting grooves, with stunning phrasing that maximizes the rhythmic effect of his high strings (such as on "War Paint"), and he never plays an extra note. The beautiful ballad "With You I'm Born Again" has Washington playing some of his most haunting soprano, and the wildly funked-up "Au Privave," a holdover from the bop generation that keeps its original flavor despite the three-instrument front line of Earland's B-3, Blythe's alto, and Gale's chunky bottom strings (which are accented in his comping through the changes), is nothing short of astonishing. This is one of the great versions of the tune, especially in this modern context, and offers solid proof of Gale's bebop roots. This is an even better side available in the U.S., but only as an expensive Japanese import.~Thom Jurek http://www.allmusic.com/album/touch-of-silk-mw0000740343

Personnel:  Bass - David Barard;  Drums - Idris Muhammad, James Black;  Guitar - Eric Gale;  Keyboards - Allen R. Toussaint, Robert Dabon;  Organ - Charles Earland;  Percussion - Kenneth Williams;  Producer - Allen R. Toussaint;  Saxophone - Arthur Blythe,Gary Brown, Grover Washington, Jr., Harold Vick

Touch Of Silk

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Dee Dee Bridgewater - Eleanora Fagan To Billie With Love

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:55
Size: 119,4 MB
Art: Front + Back

(3:32)  1. Lady Sings the Blues
(3:01)  2. All Of Me
(5:10)  3. Good Morning Heartache
(4:43)  4. Lover Man
(5:10)  5. You've Changed
(2:14)  6. Miss Brown To You
(6:14)  7. Don't Explain
(4:55)  8. Fine and Mellow
(2:47)  9. Mother's Son-in-Law
(5:13) 10. God Bless the Child
(4:33) 11. Foggy Day
(4:16) 12. Strange Fruit

It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Dee Dee Bridgewater chose to record a tribute album to Billie Holiday. In quick succession beginning in the mid-'90s Bridgewater cut tribute albums to Ella Fitzgerald, Horace Silver, and Kurt Weill, and prior to that, in the late '80s, she was nominated for an award for her one-woman star turn in a European theater production of Lady Day, the Holiday story. That Bridgewater would eventually turn to Holiday (whose given name of Eleanora Fagan explains the title) for an album-length exploration was almost a given it was just a question of when. It's one of her grandest efforts, too. With arrangements by Edsel Gomez (who also provides piano) and a stellar cast of participants including bassist Christian McBride, saxophonist/flutist/bass clarinetist James Carter, and drummer Lewis Nash, Bridgewater doesn't attempt to mimic Holiday's mannerisms or inflections but, as one would expect of such a gifted artist, to absorb and reframe Holiday this is pure Bridgewater, not another performance of Lady Day. Gomez, for his part, quite often pulls the arrangements squarely away from Holiday territory to reinvent these classic songs for a modern audience. The opening "Lady Sings the Blues" is both instantly recognizable yet freshly reconceived as something of an uptempo blues packed with polyrhythmic punch. "All of Me," which follows, is taken at near-breakneck speed, Bridgewater jumping ahead of the beat, following Carter's thrilling soprano sax solo with a raging scat that's more Ella than Billie. Not everything is meant to redefine, though: "God Bless the Child" is mostly true to the original, though Carter's soprano solo again brings the tune into the new century, and "Lover Man," though livelier than Holiday's take, is offered in a somewhat timeless and straightforward manner. 

As one might expect, there's no way a singer with Bridgewater's commitment to jazz history could release a Holiday tribute without tackling "Strange Fruit," the controversial anti-lynching landmark that remains Holiday's most daring moment, and it's saved for last here. It's an eerie, ominous interpretation, Bridgewater's raw vocal up front and fraught with emotion. Carter's brooding bass clarinet and McBride's bass lend a foreboding quality to the take, Nash relies heavily on his cymbals to dramatic effect, and Gomez's piano is subtle, allowing the nakedness of Bridgewater's voice at times unaccompanied  to retell this story that can never be told enough. It's a stunning finale to one of the finest Billie Holiday homages ever recorded.~Jeff Tamarkin http://www.allmusic.com/album/eleanora-fagan-1915-1959-to-billie-with-love-from-dee-dee-mw0001957190

Personnel: Dee Dee Bridgewater (vocals); Edsel Gomez (piano); Lewis Nash (drums).

Eleanora Fagan To Billie  With Love

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Pat Metheny - 80/81 Disc 1 And Disc 2

Disc 1
Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1980
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:33
Size: 95,4 MB
Art: Front

(20:52)  1. Two Folk Songs: 1st, 2nd
( 7:31)  2. 80/81
( 6:00)  3. The Bat
( 7:08)  4. Turn Around

Disc 2
Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1980
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:43
Size: 88,9 MB
Art: Front

(14:31)  1. Open
( 6:58)  2. Pretty Scattered
(13:19)  3. Every Day ( I Thank You )
( 3:52)  4. Goin' Ahead

Pat Metheny's credibility with the jazz community went way up with the release of this package, a superb two-CD collaboration with a quartet of outstanding jazz musicians that dared to be uncompromising at a time when most artists would have merely continued pursuing their electric commercial successes. From the disbanded Keith Jarrett American quartet came bassist Charlie Haden and tenor Dewey Redman who alternates with and occasionally plays alongside tenor Michael Brecker and Jack DeJohnette provides more combustible drumming than Metheny had ever experienced on record before. Yet Metheny's off-kilter wandering on solo electric guitar is a comfortable fit for the post-bop rhythmic crosscurrents of this music. Indeed, Haden and Metheny are in total sympathy, perhaps celebrating their mutual Missouri roots, and Metheny's difficult "Pretty Scattered" which he mockingly described as "Guitar Revenge!" nearly manages to stump even Redman and Brecker. The first of the "Two Folk Songs" is a great example of the Metheny folk-jazz fusion, with furious strummed guitar underpinning Brecker's melodic line and excursions on the outside and DeJohnette's spectacular drums. Another remarkable track is "Open," a group improvisation that finds DeJohnette shaping the track's direction with a pushing solo and Metheny and the saxes emerging at the end. The two original LPs were organized so that the more distinctive Metheny fusions were on sides one and four and the overt jazz tracks occupied sides two and three.~Richard S.Ginell http://www.allmusic.com/album/80-81-mw0000649642

Personnel: Pat Metheny (guitar, acoustic guitar); Michael Brecker (saxophone, tenor saxophone); Dewey Redman (tenor saxophone); Jack DeJohnette (drums, snare drum, cymbals).

80/81 Disc 1 And Disc 2

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