Steve Gadd Band - Gadditude

Styles: Crossover Jazz, Fusion 
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:53
Size: 130,3 MB
Art: Front

(8:08)  1. Africa
(7:46)  2. Ask Me
(5:58)  3. Country
(6:40)  4. Cavaliero
(6:12)  5. Green Foam
(6:11)  6. The Mountain
(5:55)  7. Who Knows Blues
(5:40)  8. The Windup
(4:20)  9. Scatterbrain

Drummer Steve Gadd, the man responsible for some of the most memorable grooves and explosive drum solos on record, is often looked at as a perpetual sideman and session giant. Over the past four decades he's laid down the rhythmic law for everybody from Steely Dan to James Taylor and Chick Corea to Paul Simon, but he's been making more time for himself of late; in a three year span, he's managed to deliver four albums that highlight his versatility and supreme musicality: The hard grooving Live At Voce (BFM Jazz, 2010), billed to "Steve Gadd And Friends," a pair of albums from The Gaddabouts, a roots-y outfit which puts Gadd behind vocalist Edie Brickell and some studio heavyweights, and this earthy instrumental session. Gadditude finds the man of the hour fronting/backing a band that's been backing Taylor for years. Together, without Taylor, they deliver a program that's alternately about fun, feel and depth. Gadd's partners on this journey bassist Jimmy Johnson, trumpeter Walt Fowler, guitarist Michael Landau and keyboardist Larry Goldings are all supremely gifted players with shared musical values, making them ideally suited for this project. They all know how to simply throw it down and have a good time ("The Windup"), but they're also capable of extreme sensitivity when the music calls for different-and-precise aural coloring ("Scatterbrain").

Gadditude moves from spacy to grounded and airy to dense as the members of the Steve Gadd Band demonstrates why they're the first call guys for so many other musicians. As the album takes flight, the light textured fusion of Landau's "Africa" leads to the mellow and intriguing "Ask Me Now." Things become more reflective when Gadd and company explore Keith Jarrett's "Country," recast in three here, but that mood doesn't linger; Goldings' "Cavaliero," which comes next, has a bit more bite, thanks in large part to Landau's guitar work. As the album continues, Gadd and his companions tackle the blues ("Green Foam"), add a dash of old school American soul to pianist Abdullah Ibrahim's music ("The Mountain"), and have a party on their return visit to Jarrett territory ("The Windup"). Gadd doesn't deliver any chops-heavy solos or eye-popping fills here, but he does what he does best: create grooves and rhythmic foundations that support the music and accentuate the core concepts of each song. ~ Dan Bilawsky https://www.allaboutjazz.com/gadditude-steve-gadd-bfm-jazz-review-by-dan-bilawsky.php
 

Personnel:  Steve Gadd: drums;  Walt Fowler: trumpet, flugelhorn;  Larry Goldings: keyboards;  Jimmy Johnson: bass;  Michael Landau: guitar(s);  Arnold McCuller: vocals (3, 9);  David Lasley: vocals (3, 9).

Gadditude

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Chuck Mangione - The Feeling's Back

Styles: Flugelhorn Jazz 
Year: 1998
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:00
Size: 132,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:51)  1. Mountain Flight
(7:39)  2. Consuelo's Love Theme
(6:36)  3. Leonardo's Lady
(6:05)  4. Fotografia
(3:34)  5. Quase
(5:06)  6. Aldovio
(5:59)  7. Once Upon A Love Time
(8:25)  8. Manhã De Carnaval
(3:51)  9. Maracangalha
(4:50) 10. Le Vie En Rose

Chuck Mangione, who all but disappeared from the radar screens after his enormously successful run of best-selling albums in the mid- to late-'70s, says "the feeling's back" and, if we are to judge from his even-tempered debut for Chesky Records, so is Chuck, who seems to be playing his dulcet flugel as well as ever. He's always had a well-developed ear for beguiling melodies, and that too seems as keen as ever. While one may question the music's Jazz content, none can doubt its loveliness or charm. The downside is that much of the date is rather dreamy and atmospheric, as if everyone were reaching for another crossover chart-buster such as "Land of Make Believe," "Chase the Clouds Away," "Feels So Good" or "Hill Where the Lord Hides." In that respect, there are several noteworthy candidates including "Consuelo's Love Theme," "Leonardo's Lady," "Aldovio" and "Once Upon a Love Time," each of which appears to have been written by Mangione with that purpose in mind. Equally lovely are the relatively more familiar "Mountain Flight" by Toninho Horta; Jobim's "Fotografia"; Luis Bonfá's "Manhã de Carnaval," and Edith Piaf's mega-hit from the '50s, "La Vie en Rose." There are only two songs designed to stir one's blood and quicken the pulse rate, Dori Caymmi's "Maracangalha" and Mario Adnet/Carlos Sandroni's "Quase," and even they simmer more than cook. Also, this is Chuck's show all the way, with the flugel commanding the spotlight and everyone else remanded to the chorus. Nothing wrong with that (it is his gig), but one should be aware that Mangione isn't playing much Jazz these days; the session is long on melody but short on improvisation. 

If you heard any of Chuck's well-received albums of a generation ago, you'll pretty much know what to expect.  The Feeling's Back is in many ways a throwback. Whether it can recapture the special magic of the '70s remains to be seen. ~ Jack Bowers https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-feelings-back-chuck-mangione-chesky-records-review-by-jack-bowers.php
 

Personnel: Chuck Mangione (flugelhorn);  Cliff Korman (piano, keyboards);  Jay Azzolina (guitar);  Paulo Braga (drums);  Sanders (vocals);  Gerry Niewood (flute, alto flute);  Sarah Carter (cello);  David Finck (acoustic & electric basses); Kip Reid (electric bass); Cafe (percussion).

The Feeling's Back

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Kirk Knuffke & Ted Brown - Pound Cake

Styles: Cornet And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:30
Size: 141,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:16)  1. Arrive
(5:38)  2. Jazz Of Two Cities
(7:24)  3. Pound Cake
(5:35)  4. Feather Bed
(5:53)  5. Gee Baby Ain't I Good To You
(5:53)  6. Slippin' & Slidin'
(7:37)  7. Swivel
(7:08)  8. Lennies
(5:27)  9. Dig It
(5:35) 10. Blimey

It seems that cornetist Kirk Knuffke, in addition to his many more adventurous projects, has made it his personal mission to document a good deal of the jazz tradition as well, through an ongoing set of recordings with SteepleChase.  (See the reviews on this site of his “tribute” discs with Jesse Stacken: his Mingus record, Orange Was the Color, and his Like a Tree, which includes compositions by Carla Bley, Ornette Coleman, and Misha Mengelberg.  Although unlike those other discs this one includes some originals, some of the standout tracks are the jazz standards, which include Lester Young’s “Pound Cake” and Don Redman’s “Gee Baby Ain’t I Good to You.”  Considered collectively, these albums aren’t destined to become Free Jazz Blog classics, as they’re considerably more mainstream than the majority of recordings we review. Nevertheless, they’re still quite compelling in their own right, as Knuffke manages to infuse them with enough energy and creativity to avoid having them become staid repertory exercises.

It helps that he has such talented bandmates: in this case, his senior partner Ted Brown, a longtime “cool”-styled tenor saxophonist who has recorded with Lennie Tristano, Warne Marsh and Lee Konitz; bassist John Hébert; and drummer Matt Wilson, like Knuffke also a veteran of both outside and inside recording sessions.  Each offers his distinctive voice as an essential part of the collective whole.  Brown has a restrained yet self-assured tone, and his studied explorations of these tunes, including a number of his own originals, are consistently interesting.  Hébert can generate a nice swinging bass line when he needs to, but he’s also able to open things up a bit, using more space in his playing to give the others room to work.  Wilson is right there with him in this regard, as he can provide some punch when it’s called for, but he is typically willing to limit himself to occasional light snare and cymbal accents so as not to overwhelm the proceedings, especially on the quieter tracks. For his part, Knuffke shows himself to be a virtuosic presence, ranging from impressive flurries of notes (particularly on the title track) to more careful, measured passages that are more subtle and spare.  While his technique is remarkable, he always manages to put it in the service of the music as a whole, and he’s particularly sensitive when joining in with Brown, as the two engage in some thoughtful interaction on a few of the tracks a great example being “Swivel,” one of the two Knuffke compositions on the record, in which the two horns intertwine nicely during the last third of the tune. Every now and then it’s good to hear a well-played mainstream record that does justice to the ongoing vitality of the jazz tradition, and this certainly qualifies.  I’m not at all sure how Knuffke manages to find time for all his varied projects, but this is a worthy one. ~ Troy Dostert http://www.freejazzblog.org/2013/11/kirk-knuffke-and-ted-brown-pound-cake.html

Personnel:  Kirk Knuffke – Cornet;  Ted Brown - Tenor Saxophone;  John Hebert – Bass;  Matt Wilson - Drums

Pound Cake

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Tim Warfield - Inspire Me!

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:45
Size: 123,7 MB
Art: Front

( 5:49)  1. Monkee See Monkee Doo
( 5:33)  2. Robert Earl
(10:34)  3. Ny Daze Ny Knights
( 6:06)  4. When I'm Alone With You
( 8:24)  5. Inspire Me!
( 6:44)  6. What If's
( 4:36)  7. A Tinge of the Melancholy
( 5:56)  8. Monkee See Monkee Doo(Alternate Take)

Saxophonist Tim Warfield has a lot of irons in the fire. While serving as "artist-in-residence" at Messiah College, attending to his duties as an adjunct faculty member at Temple University, appearing live under his own name and working with high profile artists like trumpeter Terell Stafford, he also found time to deliver three albums in an eleven month span Tim Warfield's Jazzy Christmas (Self Produced, 2012), Eye Of The Beholder (Criss Cross, 2013) and the record under discussion here; if that's not musical multi-tasking, nothing is.  Warfield a once-upon-a-time "young lion" and finalist in the 1991 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition is one of the most consistently engaging saxophonists in the game, yet he rarely gets the credit and attention he deserves from the listening public. Fortunately, those inside the jazz community know the real score when it comes to Warfield. He's something of a musician's musician, as demonstrated by the fact that he's played and recorded with everybody from trumpeter Nicholas Payton and vibraphonist Stefon Harris to organist Joey DeFrancesco and pianist Orrin Evans, and his pillowy-to-billowy range and no-nonsense approach have served him well in all of those situations; those same attributes are also ever-present on Inspire Me!.

While Warfield gets top billing here, the album is something of a collaboration between Warfield and Herb Harris. Harris produced the record, wrote all of the material and released the album on his own imprint. If that wasn't enough, he also adds vocals in a few places and picks up his tenor saxophone for one number ("NY Daze NY Knights"). Harris is, essentially, the man behind the album, but Warfield is the man upfront on the album. Every track, from the bluesy "Monkee See Monkee Doo" to the mellow "Robert Earl" to the simply swinging "When I'm Alone With You," serves as a showcase for his horn. 

Harris and Warfield, ultimately, deserve the most ink for putting this project together, but a few other noteworthy individuals make some important contributions. Kevin Hays contributes some sterling piano solos and support, trumpeter Antoine Drye stands tall next to Warfield on five of the eight album tracks, bassist Greg Williams is rock solid from top to bottom, and drummer Rodney Green serves as the driving force behind the strongest track on the album "NY Daze NY Knights." Harris' vocals, which come off wonderfully on "A Tinge Of Melancholy" but sound a bit less comfortable on the skyward reaching melody of "What If's," create another dimension here, helping to bring variety to the table.  Inspire Me! manages to live up to its titular mission while showcasing an incredible saxophonist and his ace backing band. Who could ask for anything more? ~ Dan Bilawsky https://www.allaboutjazz.com/inspire-me-tim-warfield-herb-harris-music-review-by-dan-bilawsky.php
 

Personnel: Tim Warfield: tenor saxophone; Herb Harris: vocals (6, 7), tenor saxophone (3); Antoine Drye: trumpet (1, 2, 3, 5, 8); Kevin Hays: piano; Greg Williams: bass; Rodney Green: drums.

Inspire Me!

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Anna Danes - Find Your Wings

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:45
Size: 108,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:30)  1. When You Were My King
(4:42)  2. I Will Wait for You
(4:25)  3. It's Crazy
(4:18)  4. I Want to Be Around / Cry Me a River
(3:12)  5. Find Your Wings
(4:07)  6. That's All
(3:45)  7. Long Distance
(3:29)  8. In the Wee Small Hours
(3:52)  9. See You in L.A.
(5:03) 10. Mr. OMG
(3:21) 11. The Voice
(1:55) 12. I Love You

On her 2014 debut, San Diego's Anna Danes came across as what she admittedly was: A woman who only came to singing in her 40s, who had limited training, only a rudimentary grasp of technique and theory -in short, a beginner. The voice was unpolished, the delivery often hesitant, the choice in material suspect for someone aspiring to be a serious jazz musician. Danes proves herself an adept student of the art, though, on "Find Your Wings," her follow-up album. An exquisite duet with British actor Richard Shelton of "That's All," the smoldering romantic standard, is unlike anything heard on her first release. Her singing voice exhibits a bottom half barely evident previously, her pacing is nearly languid, and she's learned how to caress space as well as notes, to dance atop the band instead of marching alongside it. She shows herself, in fact, a jazz singer. While "That's All" alone would be worth obtaining the album to possess, the other 11 songs here are a nice mix of jazz standards and newly written originals. If Danes is still finding her feet as composer, her sometimes uneven originals are still an improvement over some of the pop covers on her first release.

Her interpretations of the Great American Songbook range from standards like "In the Wee Small Hours" (an obvious and lovely homage to the 1970s Tony Bennett -Bill Evans sessions) and "Cry Me a River" (which swings like Anita O'Day in her prime) to lesser known gems like Sammy Cahn's "It's Crazy" (featuring more wonderful interplay between Danes and pianist Rich Ruttenberg). Of the half-dozen originals that Danes wrote or co-wrote, "The Voice" is the strongest of the bunch, with the most memorable melodic theme every bit as good as the songs written by more established songwriters Michel Legrand and Janiva Magness. The backdrop provided by the jazz trio of Rich Ruttenberg (piano), Trey Henry (bass) and John Ferraro (drums) frames every song in its best possible light. It is a serious jazz combo -and one Danes shows she is capable of fronting without fear of exposing herself as the weak link.

For the sake of jazz fans, one hopes that this is merely another step in Danes' growth as singer -that she spends the coming decades continuing to learn, and putting that knowledge to work in the recording studio. One also hopes the borderline cheesy and definitely embarrassing marketing of Danes' attractiveness on the first two albums with the slinky dresses and hither come yon flirtation on the covers -goes by the wayside. Market her voice, her growing artistry, her increasing command of the jazz idiom.  Anything less is an insult to her work. ~ Jim Trageser https://www.allaboutjazz.com/find-your-wings-anna-danes-self-produced-review-by-jim-trageser.php

Personnel: Anna Danes: vocal;  Rich Ruttenberg: piano; Trey Henry: bass;  John Ferraro: drums.

Find Your Wings

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