Anthony Wonsey - Anthonyology

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1995
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:41
Size: 130,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:37)  1. Inception
(5:08)  2. In the Blue of the Evening
(6:05)  3. Faces of a Clown
(5:24)  4. Temperance
(4:46)  5. Conception
(7:05)  6. Black Fairy Tales
(6:17)  7. Autumn Nocturne
(6:02)  8. Hey Jimmy
(4:41)  9. Daahoud
(5:32) 10. It Might as Well Be Spring/Sweet Lorraine

Originally released in Japan in 1995, this is pianist Anthony Wonsey's debut as a leader. On Anthonyology, the Chicago native enlists the services of bassist Christian McBride and drummer Carl Allen to perform three originals, three standards, and four jazz compositions. Only 24 at the time of this recording, Wonsey doesn't dazzle with technique, but displays lyricism and soulfulness in the tradition of influences Hank Jones, Tommy Flanagan, and Mulgrew Miller, while McBride and Allen, two-thirds of pianist Benny Green's trio during the early '90s, offer solid support. Favorites include up-tempo versions of McCoy Tyner's "Inception" and Clifford Brown's "Daahoud"; a swinging version of Wynton Kelly's rarely played "Temperance"; and Wonsey's "Hey Jimmy," a relaxed swinger named for a Boston cab driver who taught Wonsey some of Bud Powell's music. This is a delightful debut from a fine young musician. ~ Greg Turner http://www.allmusic.com/album/anthonyology-mw0000190385

Personnel:  Anthony Wonsey (piano); Christian McBride (bass); Carl Allen (drums).

Anthonyology

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Chiara Civello - Last Quarter Moon

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:24
Size: 111,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:57)  1. Here Is Everything
(4:23)  2. The Wrong Goodbye
(5:33)  3. Ora
(3:05)  4. Caramel
(6:26)  5. Parole Incerte
(4:13)  6. Last Quarter Moon
(4:19)  7. Nature Song
(3:04)  8. In Questi Giorni
(1:37)  9. Sambaroma
(4:15) 10. Trouble
(3:48) 11. Outono
(2:37) 12. I Won't Run Away

While she's a fresh and exotic voice on the recording scene, the multi-talented, Italian-born, internationally minded singer and musician has been keeping great company. With a vocal range and style that quickly bring Dianne Reeves to mind, she's recorded with Tony Bennett and James Taylor; so impressed Burt Bacharach that he collaborated here on the lush, emotional ballad "Trouble"; snagged legendary rock producer Russ Titelman to helm the recording; and is roundly adored by no less than '80s pop queen Cyndi Lauper, who crowed, "This record is haunting and she's just fantastic...her voice just captivates you." What Cyndi says. Civello's not quite as crisp vocally as Lizz Wright, but her jazz-soul heart is in the same place while traversing many borders singing in English, Italian, and Portuguese. While gently swinging numbers like the Brazilian-flavored, hypnotic "Ora" are more compelling, slower and smokier tunes like "Parole Incerte" offer her deepest modes of expression. Her skills as a songwriter are firmly on display, but she chooses a few interesting, somewhat obscure covers in samba-flavored cuts like Suzanne Vega's graceful "Caramel" and Rosa Passos/Fernando DeOliveira's "Outono." That sort of globe-trotting will set her apart from the pack of great female singers currently dotting the jazz landscape. ~ Jonathan Widran http://www.allmusic.com/album/last-quarter-moon-mw0000397350

Personnel: Chiara Civello (vocals, shaker, percussion); Adam Rogers (guitar); Mark Stewart (cello); Alain Mallet (melodica, piano, Fender Rhodes piano); Miguel Zenón (alto saxophone); Larry Goldings (Hammond b-3 organ); Rob Mounsey (keyboards); Mike Mainieri (vibraphone); James Genus, Ben Street (bass instrument); Clarence Penn, Steve Gadd , Dan Rieser (drums); Jamey Haddad (percussion, bells); Alex Alvear (background vocals).

Last Quarter Moon

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David Friesen - Star Dance

Styles: Jazz, Post-Bop
Year: 1976
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:29
Size: 110,1 MB
Art: Front

(6:00)  1. Winter's Fall
(4:15)  2. Duet and Dialogue
(3:48)  3. Dolphin in the Sky
(3:45)  4. Star Dance
(3:05)  5. 1 Rue Brey
(4:13)  6. Fields of Joy
(6:06)  7. A Little Child's Poem
(3:26)  8. Clouds
(3:50)  9. Children of the Kingdom
(2:57) 10. Mountain Streams

The Inner City CD reissue series has many fine recordings listed, and depending on your point of view and taste level, any of them might be considered important coming out of jazz in the mid- to late '70s. Bassist David Friesen's debut album, Star Dance, has to be considered pivotal and central in the stance of contemporary music for many reasons, not the least of which being that the playing of the musicians is excellent. It also sets a tone for the coming together of world musics in the spirit of the pioneering ensemble Oregon and has within its grasp both spiritual and earthy elements that few groups were able to merge. With elements culled from Friesen's upbringing in the Pacific Northwest, progressive jazz of the '60s, folk-rooted sounds, chamber music, and New York City funk, Friesen and his band sound as unique unto themselves as any band before, during, or after this time period. Paul McCandless (on loan from Oregon), fellow Pacific Northwest friend/electric guitarist John Stowell, and Big Apple studio drummer Steve Gadd are unlikely bedfellows with Friesen, yet achieve common-ground status within this broad mix of styles. McCandless plays the double-reeded English horn on the majority of these selections, and for the outstanding "Winter's Fall" coalesces with Friesen's sky church bowed harmonic bass alongside Stowell's tiny guitar notes, as Gadd's 7/8 beat takes over the three in a 4/4 funky midsection. 

The title track is a trio sans Gadd, which strikes a much more baroque and rural pose in unison lines. "Dolphin in the Sky" is dedicated to friend Jack Howell, a somber, slow tearjerker as if at a gravesite during a funeral, extracting great emotional depth, especially from McCandless. Dancing gleefully, "Mountain Streams" is a flowing, dense, and textural piece that taps into the natural, feminine side of life. On his more familiar oboe, McCandless plays with the full quartet during "Clouds," as the title suggests in a slow, wafting motif, while "Fields of Joy" is also unmistakably similar to the ancient and present music of Oregon, very composed, traipsing through rows of daisies, and breaking into a samba beat. There's a bass/drums duet improvisation, "1 Rue Brey," and an unaccompanied bass solo, "Children of the Kingdom," which readily reveals Friesen's religious center with strummed harmonics and a thematic-based ostinato for improvising off of. The sonic footprint created by this ensemble is both arresting and disarming a sound that uniquely speaks to a higher power and universal dialect. Now that the album is once again in print, there's no excuse to pass on this excellent recording, fused from many disparate elements and brilliantly performed by all the participants. ~ Michael G.Nastos http://www.allmusic.com/album/star-dance-mw0000877461

Personnel: David Friesen (acoustic bass); John Stowell (electric guitar); Paul McCandless (oboe, English horn); Steve Gadd (drums).

Star Dance

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Richard Davis With Junior Mance - Blue Monk

Styles: Jazz, Hard Bop, Post-Bop 
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:57
Size: 136,9 MB
Art: Front

(7:52)  1. Blue Monk
(7:50)  2. Summertime
(6:55)  3. Single Petal Of A Rose
(9:48)  4. There Is No Greater Love
(5:43)  5. Blue Bossa
(7:29)  6. Dear Old Stockholm
(6:53)  7. On The Trail
(6:23)  8. In A Sentimental Mood

Bassist Richard Davis has always been a genius and even in his later years, he continues to create these magical sounds that nobody else can touch! Davis steps out here in so many unusual, sublime styles that we're newly impressed with his talents – has he bows the bass on some numbers, plucks it on others, and even plays a bit of piano sometimes in collaboration with Junior Mance, who accompanies the bass on some tracks although the album clearly gives Davis plenty of space to move freely on his own! The recording quality is superb, so that all the subtle elements of Richard's playing come through right away although the album's got a power that's far from subtle, too even in some of it's mellower moments. 

Titles include "Summertime", "Blue Bossa", "Dear Old Stockholm", "Blue Monk", and "On The Trail" but all in versions that are quite striking and original! (SHM-CD pressing!) © 1996-2016, Dusty Groove, Inc. https://www.dustygroove.com/item/774594

Personnel:  Richard Davis (bass);  Junior Mance (piano).

Blue Monk

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The Jeff Lorber Fusion - Soft Space

Styles: Jazz Funk, Fusion 
Year: 1978
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:33
Size: 86,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:15)  1. The Samba
(5:51)  2. Katherine
(5:39)  3. Black Ice
(5:59)  4. Curtains
(4:43)  5. Proteus
(4:07)  6. Soft Space
(5:56)  7. Swing Funk

Jeff Lorber is one of the top jazz-fusion keyboard players of the late 70s & early 80s. He had numerous jazz albums that made the regular Billboard album charts. He still makes albums & even recently won a Grammy. His very first two albums were originally on the Inner City label in 1977. They have never been issued on CD anywhere in the world until now. Soft Space features guest appearances by Chick Corea & Joe Farrell. Wounded Bird. 2008. ~ Editorial Reviews https://www.amazon.com/Soft-Space-Jeff-Lorber/dp/B0015I2PYA

Personnel:  Terry Layne (flute, saxophone); Jeff Lorber (keyboards, synthesizer, Moog synthesizer); Lester McFarland (bass guitar); Dennis Bradford (drums); Ron Young (congas, percussion); Joe Farrell (saxophone); Chick Corea (mini-Moog synthesizer).

Soft Space

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