Ralph Sutton - Echoes Of Swing (2-Disc Set)

Although stride piano master Ralph Sutton has recorded steadily throughout his career, this double CD (which contains all the music from two sets played at a Hamburg, Germany concert) was his first at the head of a medium-size group since 1981. Joined by trumpeter Jon-Erik Kellso, trombonist Bill Allred, Antti Sarpila on clarinet and soprano, bassist Jack Lesberg, and drummer Gregor Beck, Sutton is in fine form and seems to enjoy the role of being an occasional accompanist. With the exception of the pianist's showcase on Fats Waller's "Clothesline Ballet," the music is dominated by warhorses. However, the fine solos and spirited ensembles make such tunes as "California Here I Come," "Limehouse Blues," "Some of These Days" and "Shine" sound fresh and colorful. ~Scott Yanow

Album: Echoes Of Swing (Disc 1)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:27
Size: 131.5 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 1997

[ 5:58] 1. Fine And Dandy
[ 7:16] 2. Moonglow
[ 7:27] 3. California, Here I Come
[ 4:58] 4. Clothes Line Ballet
[10:38] 5. Song Of The Wanderer
[ 6:15] 6. Sweet Lorraine
[ 5:34] 7. Medley: Happy Birthday/Blame It On My Youth
[ 9:16] 8. Limehouse Blues

Echoes Of Swing (Disc 1)

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Album: Echoes Of Swing (Disc 2)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:20
Size: 122.1 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 1997
Art: Front

[11:33] 1. My Gal Sal
[ 9:04] 2. Beale Street Blues
[ 5:04] 3. Some Of These Days
[ 7:10] 4. Runnin' Wild
[ 5:41] 5. Thanks A Million
[ 8:20] 6. Shine
[ 6:25] 7. Buddy Bolden Blues

Echoes Of Swing (Disc 2)

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Shirley Bassey - Let's Face The Music And Dance

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:41
Size: 93.1 MB
Styles: Vocal, Easy Listening
Year: 1962/1999
Art: Front

[3:05] 1. Let's Face The Music And Dance
[3:53] 2. I Should Care
[3:01] 3. Let's Fall In Love
[4:29] 4. The Second Time Around
[3:59] 5. Imagination
[3:05] 6. All The Things You Are
[2:46] 7. I Get A Kick Out Of You
[3:10] 8. Everything I Have Is Yours
[3:57] 9. Spring Is Here
[2:41] 10. All Of Me
[3:37] 11. I Can't Get You Out Of My Mind
[2:52] 12. What Now, My Love

Bassey's fourth EMI/Columbia album is regarded as the magnum opus of her pre-Goldfinger career, bringing her together with conductor/arranger Nelson Riddle. (Ironically, it was Riddle's still being under contract to Capitol Records which prevented him from working with Sinatra on Reprise at the time, that made this record possible). Riddle approached this album from the standpoint that less is more, providing elegant and subdued accompaniment that emphasized the strings. Bassey's voice comes across with a delicacy of nuance that is startling to hear, achieving new levels of subtlety on this album. One may disagree with the order of the songs -- the moodily expressive "I Should Care," reminiscent of Judy Garland at her best, would be the ideal opener -- but not with the overall content of this album. Throughout Let's Face the Music, one almost gets a sense of Bassey slipping inside these songs, becoming part of them and they her, rather than merely performing them. The interpretations are fresh in other respects as well, with works such as "Let's Fall in Love" or "The Second Time Around" given unexpectedly slow tempos that work beautifully. Riddle is so careful and measured in his every orchestral nuance of this record, that he leaves us open to surprises at many points, perhaps most startlingly the sudden appearance of a harp glissando on "Spring Is Here," after we've been lulled into the expectation that no part of this orchestra will play full-out. Re-released in the late 1990s as part of EMI's anniversary reissue series, remastered in 24-bit sound. ~Bruce Eder

Let's Face The Music And Dance

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Sergio Mendes - The Collection

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:00
Size: 89.3 MB
Styles: Bossa Nova, Latin jazz
Year: 2014
Art: Front

[2:28] 1. Agua De Beber
[1:45] 2. One Note Samba Spanish Flea
[2:22] 3. Roda
[1:51] 4. Bim Bom
[3:13] 5. Berimbau
[2:37] 6. The Joker
[3:03] 7. Day Tripper
[3:14] 8. Chove Chuva
[3:03] 9. Moanin'
[2:53] 10. Upa, Neguinho
[1:52] 11. Gente
[1:57] 12. Só Danço Samba
[2:15] 13. Wave
[3:12] 14. Laia Ladaia (Reza)
[3:08] 15. Lapinha

Mendes was born on February 11, 1941, and raised in Niteroi, Brazil, the son of a physician. He studied music at a conservatory and harbored hopes of becoming a classical pianist.

With his band Brazil ‘66, bandleader Sergio Mendes soared to the top of the popular music charts in the United States during the mid-1960s with covers of songs by Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Burt Bacharach, and Jimmy Webb. The songs featured a rhythmic Latin percussion foundation that percolated beneath the soaring crystalline vocal harmonies of Lani Hall and Janis Hansen (and later Hall and Karen Phillips). The arrangements, first by Mendes and later by Dave Grusin, included ethereal woodwinds, string sections, and keyboards that combined to create a style blending Brazilian bossa nova and American and British pop into a hybrid that was tremendously successful. Dismissed by some critics as easy listening, it was applauded by others for its rhythmic complexity, high production values, and intriguing vocals. After the heyday of the 1960s, Mendes attempted several updated versions of Brazil ‘66, including Brazil 77, and Brazil ‘99, had a major hit single in 1983 with “Never Let You Go,” and pursued his jazz leanings.

The Collection

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The Crew Cuts - Rock And Roll Doo Wop

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 31:05
Size: 71.2 MB
Styles: Doo wop, Pop
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[2:43] 1. Sh-Boom
[2:54] 2. Earth Angel
[2:36] 3. Two Hearts, Two Kisses (Make One Love)
[2:24] 4. A Story Untold
[2:22] 5. Oop Shoop
[2:39] 6. Do Me Good Baby
[2:45] 7. Ko Ko Mo
[2:08] 8. Seven Days
[2:50] 9. Chop Chop Down
[2:35] 10. This Is My Story
[2:31] 11. Gum Drop
[2:33] 12. Angels In The Sky

On most informed lists of rock & roll villains, the Crew Cuts would have to rank near the top. They weren't rock & rollers in the first place: their clean-cut white harmony glee club approach was really in the style of early- and mid-'50s groups such as the Four Aces, the Four Lads, and the Four Freshmen. The Canadian quartet differed from those acts, however, in their concentration upon covers of songs originally recorded by R&B/doo wop vocal groups. Their cover of the Chords' "Sh-Boom" set the pattern, going to number one in 1954 and setting the stage for their other commercially successful pop treatments of R&B hits by the Penguins, Gene & Eunice, Otis Williams & the Charms, the Robins, the Spaniels, the Nutmegs, and others. The Toronto foursome already had a Top Ten hit under their belts with their first major label single, "Crazy 'Bout Ya Baby," before tackling "Sh-Boom"; what's more, their first hit had been a group original, not an R&B cover. When the Crew Cuts got a hold of "Sh-Boom," they gave the song a far more standard, whiter pop treatment than the Chords had, complete with big-band type orchestration. Although the original Chords version still became one of the first Top Ten rock & roll hits, the Crew Cuts' cover outsold it by a wide margin, finding a far easier entrance into established radio formats and mainstream white audiences. The Crew Cuts were regular visitors to the Top 20 over the next couple of years, repeating the "Sh-Boom" syndrome with songs like "Earth Angel," their second-biggest hit at number three (though nobody remembers the Crew Cuts' version today, the Penguins' original having long established supremacy with audiences and on oldies stations). Their strategy of foraging for sources among black R&B vocal singles was widely imitated throughout the industry, by Pat Boone, the McGuire Sisters, Georgia Gibbs, and numerous others. Many rock historians point out -- with a great deal of justification -- that this amounted to an attempt by the music establishment to buck the oncoming threatening storm of the rock era by watering it down into a much more palatable and conventional form that in reality had little to do with rock at all. For a while, it worked -- the white covers frequently outsold the black R&B originals throughout 1954-1956. But after Elvis, Chuck Berry, and others had staked their own claim on superstardom, it became increasingly obvious that teenagers preferred the real article, and that the entrenchment of authentic rock & roll was inevitable. Some revisionists have claimed, dubiously, that the Crew Cuts actually helped pave the way for the acceptance of rock in the mainstream by giving all those doo wop songs a far greater audience than they could have found if they were ghettoized in the R&B community. After a while, however, the Crew Cuts themselves were being widely outsold by their sources; "Young Love" (a cover, of course, although this time of the country classic by Sonny James) was their last Top 20 hit in early 1957. Their Mercury hits are far more properly classified as pop vocal outings than rock & roll, owing much more to pre-rock harmony and band arrangements. By 1958, they'd left Mercury for stints with RCA and other labels; they broke up in 1964. ~ Richie Unterberger

Rock And Roll Doo Wop

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Bob Wilber & The International March Of Jazz All Stars - Everywhere You Go There's Jazz

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:22
Size: 140.5 MB
Styles: Mainstream jazz
Year: 1999/2006
Art: Front

[5:08] 1. Scarecrow
[6:45] 2. Duke's Feeling Sad
[5:50] 3. Stolen Sweets
[3:02] 4. Jeepers Creepers
[4:27] 5. Music Maestro Please
[3:52] 6. With A Song In My Heart
[4:54] 7. Mood Indigo
[6:00] 8. Sherman Shuffle
[3:56] 9. Sweet Lotus Blossom
[4:44] 10. Mahogany Hall Stomp
[4:44] 11. Racing With The Moon
[4:54] 12. Un Hommage A Sidney Bechet
[2:58] 13. Everywhere You Go

Wilber has been heard with smaller ensembles, so it's good to find him with a larger, more interactive group -- a diversely bred bunch of Dixieland-to-swing mavens. Swedes Bent Persson (trumpet/cornet) and Lars Erstrand (vibes), Finnish multi-woodwindist Antti Sarpila, native Brit/Canadian resident vibist Peter Appleyard, straight Brits Dave Cliff (guitar) and Dave Green (bass) join Americans Wilber, trombonist Dan Barrett, pianist Dick Hyman and drummer Ed Metz, Jr. for this 13-track program of classic, early period jazz. Things start off with a tribute to Benny Goodman with his lesser known number "Scarecrow," a good swinger with Wilber's clarinet and alto firing up the band, making way for Green's swing-to-bop guitar accompanied by a background horn chart. Persson's clear Louis Armstrong influence rises during another solid swinger, "Mahogany Hall Stomp." That same stoic rhythm informs the guitar-driven, full-band unison melody on "Sherman Shuffle." An unusual, piano-led waltz treatment of "Mood Indigo" and Wilber's downtrodden blues on clarinet in "Duke's Feeling Sad" are all hat tips to Duke Ellington. Other dedication tracks showcase Wilber's wonderfully ribald soprano sax during his original, seductive, slow tango "Un Hommage a' Sidney Bechet" with Sarpila's soprano following along, and his alto sax á la Johnny Hodges for the Wild Bill Davis song "Stolen Sweets." Wilber's soprano and Sarpila's clarinet during the uptempo "With a Song in My Heart" duel away in counterpointed bliss. A medium-swing take on Vaughn Monroe's pop tune "Racing With the Moon" is a definite improvement on the original, featuring Wilber's alto again Hodges-like and Persson's pronounced trumpet shakes á la Armstrong. Wilber's wife Joanne "Pug" Horton sings four tracks in her slightly flat, Rosemary Clooney-type voice, the best of the four being the ballad "Music Maestro Please," and the most energetic being "Everywhere You Go." She's a bit strained during "Sweet Lotus Blossom," and her corniest performance is on "Jeepers Creepers." Wilber proves time and time again, especially during "Everywhere You Go" why he is an enduring jazz man, especially on clarinet and soprano sax. His bandmates each get brief solos here and there, but it is the group sound of this fine band that will make it worth your while. ~Michael G. Nastos

The nationalities include Finland (Sarpila), Sweden (Persson and vibist Lars Erstrand), Canada (Appleyard), England (Cliff and bassist Dave Green), and the U.S. (Wilber, Barrett, Hyman, drummer Ed Metz, Jr., and Horton).

Everywhere You Go There's Jazz

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Harvey Mason - Funk In A Mason Jar

Styles: Jazz Funk
Year: 1977
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:39
Size: 96,4 MB
Art: Front + Back

(5:13)  1. Pack Up Your Bags
(3:43)  2. Till You Take My Love
(3:36)  3. Space Cadets
(3:36)  4. Freedom Either Way
(1:56)  5. Funk In A Mason Jar
(8:31)  6. What's Going On?
(5:54)  7. Set It Free
(4:29)  8. Phantazia
(4:38)  9. Liquid

Throughout his career, Harvey Mason has been a busy studio musician and a highly versatile drummer able to excel in many different situations. Mason attended Berklee and graduated from the New England Conservatory. Early gigs included four months with Erroll Garner in 1970 and a year with George Shearing from 1970-1971. Soon after leaving Shearing, Mason moved to Los Angeles and quickly became established in the studios, working in films and television. In addition to his anonymous work through the years, Mason has often been part of the jazz world. He played with Herbie Hancock's Headhunters in 1973, Gerry Mulligan for a 1974 Carnegie Hall concert, Freddie Hubbard, Grover Washington, Jr. (appearing on Mister Magic), Lee Ritenour, Victor Feldman, George Benson (playing drums on "This Masquerade"), and Bob James, among many others. In 1998, Mason paid tribute to Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in some local Los Angeles club gigs. The early 2000s found Mason continuing with his steady session work, as well as releasing two solo albums with 2003's Trios and 2004's With All My Heart. In 2014, Mason revisited his '70s Headhunters roots with Chameleon on Concord. ~ Scott Yanow https://itunes.apple.com/gb/artist/harvey-mason/id917601#fullText

Personnel: Harvey Mason, Sr. Funk In A Mason Jar songs (drums); George Benson (vocals, guitar); Debra Laws, Eloise Laws, Julia Tillman Waters, Kim Hutchcroft, Merry Clayton, Paulette McWilliams, Stephanie Spruill, Venetta Fields (vocals); Walker, Jay Graydon, Al McKay, Lee Ritenour , Phil Upchurch, Ray Parker, Jr. (guitar); Dorothy Ashby (harp); Charles Veal (violin); Kenny Mason (trumpet); Bill Watrous (trombone); Chuck Findley, Emilio Castillo, Gary Grant, Richard Hyde, Greg Adams, Jerry Hey, Lenny Pickett , Seawind, Tom Scott, Tower of Power, Mic Gillette (horns); Dave Grusin, David Paich, Jerry Peters, Jorge Dalto, Ronnie Foster, Bob James (keyboards); Ralph MacDonald (percussion); Larry Williams (wind).

Funk In A Mason Jar

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Jacqui Naylor - Shelter

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:53
Size: 135,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:09)  1. Shelter
(3:15)  2. Before I'm  Gone
(4:52)  3. Miss You
(6:03)  4. I Remember You
(4:24)  5. Free My Love
(3:38)  6. All For You
(4:25)  7. Climb Higher
(3:45)  8. Winter
(5:03)  9. Take This Chance
(3:21) 10. Cheese Puff Daddy
(4:06) 11. If You Know Love
(4:38) 12. Love & Affection
(4:32) 13. Tired
(3:38) 14. Fall

There's a joke about jazz vocalists that goes like this: how many jazz singers does it take to sing "My Funny Valentine"? All of them. That joke is making fun of the countless jazz singers who insist on recording nothing but Tin Pan Alley warhorses that as great as they are have been recorded much too often over the years. But not all jazz singers have a warhorses-only policy, and risk-takers like Claire Martin, Cassandra Wilson, and the Philadelphia-based Lou Lanza are doing vocal jazz a huge favor by having adventurous, far-reaching repertoires that aren't limited to Tin Pan Alley. Jacqui Naylor is another risk-taking jazz vocalist with an interesting repertoire, but there's a catch: she's also a folk-rocker and her folk-rock side has the upper hand on Shelter. Naylor has been dividing her time between a folk-rock/adult alternative aesthetic and vocal jazz; she's compelling in both areas, but whether Naylor favors one or the other all depends on what a particular song calls for. 

Interestingly, the most jazz-oriented thing on Shelter is an interpretation of the Rolling Stones' "Miss You"; Naylor has no problem finding the tune's jazz potential, and her jazz side also prevails on Joan Armatrading's "Love and Affection" and the Billie Holiday-ish "All for You" (which Naylor co-wrote with pianist Art Khu). But most of the time, Naylor's folk-rock side wins out on Shelter. Most of the 11 songs she co-wrote with Khu for this album are more folk-rock than jazz, and folk-rock serves Naylor well on introspective tracks such as "Before I'm Gone" and "Free My Love." Some jazz snobs no doubt wish that Naylor would perform straight-ahead jazz exclusively, but she would be selling herself short if she did that and thankfully, Naylor doesn't sell herself short on the memorable Shelter. ~ Alex Henderson http://www.allmusic.com/album/shelter-mw0000597739

Personnel: Jacqui Naylor (vocals); Bob Johnson (saxophone); Matt Brubeck, Marika Hughes (cello); Art Khu, Michael Blustein (piano); Steve Erquiaga, Brian Pardo, Craig Green (guitar); Jon Evans, Todd Sickafoose (bass); Jason Lewis, Jan Jackson (drums); Emiliano Benevides (percussion); John Scott, Pat Shanks, Tina Zenon (background vocals).

Shelter

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Manhattan Transfer - Boy From New York City And Other Hits

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 1997
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:39
Size: 99,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:41)  1. Boy From New York City
(2:48)  2. Java Jive
(3:00)  3. Gloria
(2:57)  4. Helpless
(3:09)  5. Tuxedo Junction
(6:09)  6. Twilight Zone/ Twilight Tone
(5:09)  7. Ray's Rockhouse
(5:03)  8. Mystery
(4:38)  9. Smile Again
(6:01) 10. Birdland

Boy from New York City & Other Hits is a budget-priced collection that features ten original recordings from the popular, kitschy East Coast vocal group Manhattan Transfer. For most listeners, the compilation's namesake will be the only familiar hit, but "Tuxedo Junction," the old Mills Brothers standard "Java Jive," and the ultra-weird "Twilight Zone/Twilight Tone" are decent examples of the group's signature modern vocalese, jazz-pop sound. 

Fans looking for more of a definitive product should hunt down Rhino's two-disc Anthology: Down in Birdland or the less intimidating single-disc Very Best of the Manhattan Transfer. ~ James Christopler Monge  http://www.allmusic.com/album/boy-from-new-york-city-other-hits-mw0000066050

The Manhattan Transfer: Cheryl Bentyne , Janis Siegel, Laurel Massé, Alan Paul, Tim Hauser.

Boy From New York City And Other Hits

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John Zorn - The Mockingbird

Styles: Jazz, Avant-Garde
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:13
Size: 99,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:13)  1. Scout
(4:36)  2. Riverrun
(5:07)  3. Child's Play
(4:54)  4. Porch Swing
(7:13)  5. Innoceence
(4:17)  6. Pegasus
(7:03)  7. A Mystery
(5:46)  8. The Mockingbird

Drawing on his experience in a variety of genres including jazz, rock, hardcore punk, classical, klezmer, film, cartoon, popular and improvised music, John Zorn has created an influential body of work that defies academic categories. A native of New York City, he has been a central figure in the downtown scene since 1975, incorporating a wide range of musicians in various compositional formats. He learned alchemical synthesis from Harry Smith, structural ontology with Richard Foreman, how to make art out of garbage with Jack Smith, cathartic expression at Sluggs and hermetic intuition from Joseph Cornell. Early inspirations include American innovators Ives, Varese, Cage, Carter and Partch, the European tradition of Berg, Stravinsky, Boulez and Kagel, soundtrack composers Herrmann, Morricone and Stalling as well as avant-garde theater, film, art and literature. http://www.hipsroadedition.com/bio.html

Personnel:  Carol Emanuel: Harp;  Bill Frisell: Guitar;  Kenny Wollesen: Vibraphone, Chimes

The Mockingbird

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