Count Basie, Zoot Sims - Basie & Zoot

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:17
Size: 108.2 MB
Styles: Piano blues/jazz
Year: 1976/2008
Art: Front

[4:40] 1. I Never Knew
[5:37] 2. It's Only A Paper Moon
[6:34] 3. Blues For Nat Cole
[6:37] 4. Captain Bligh
[6:25] 5. Honeysuckle Rose
[4:42] 6. Hardav
[6:33] 7. Mean To Me
[6:06] 8. I Surrender, Dear

This is a classic encounter in the Original Jazz Classics series. Pianist Count Basie (in his best-small group outing of the 1970s) and tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims were mutually inspired by each other's presence and, with the tasteful assistance of bassist John Heard and drummer Louie Bellson, they can be heard playing at the peak of their creative powers. Every listener interested in swinging jazz should pick up this disc, if only to hear these hard-charging versions of "I Never Knew," "It's Only a Paper Moon," and "Honeysuckle Rose." A gem, and essential music. ~Scott Yanow

Basie & Zoot

---

Jane Bunnett, Don Pullen - New York Duets

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:52
Size: 139.4 MB
Styles: Bop
Year: 1989
Art: Front

[ 5:47] 1. Bye-Ya
[ 5:37] 2. Ginastera
[11:12] 3. Double Arc Jake
[ 4:01] 4. For Merceditas
[ 8:03] 5. Main Street
[ 4:40] 6. Make Someone Happy
[ 4:53] 7. Nice Work
[ 5:00] 8. The Wanderer
[ 6:10] 9. Gratitude
[ 5:25] 10. Little Rootie Tootie

This strong outing matches together Jane Bunnett on soprano and flute and the great pianist Don Pullen. The adventurous music holds on to the tradition of chordal improvisation yet is also quite free in spots. Pullen's rhythmic playing makes his solos seem more accessible and traditional than they really were and it is to Bunnett's great credit that she keeps up with him. In addition to six of their originals, the duo performs a pair of complex Thelonious Monk songs ("Bye-Ya" and "Little Rootie Tootie") and a Cuban theme "For Merceditas." Thought-provoking and unpredictable music. ~Scott Yanow

New York Duets

---

Kenny Ball - Now

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:17
Size: 117.4 MB
Styles: Dixieland
Year: 1998
Art: Front

[3:48] 1. At The Jazz Band Ball
[2:40] 2. Them There Eyes
[4:38] 3. Chimes Blues
[2:32] 4. I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'
[4:10] 5. Ode To Ed
[3:52] 6. Basin Street Blues
[4:47] 7. Mjuskrat Ramble
[3:23] 8. Ory's Creole Trombone
[3:26] 9. Pennies From Heaven
[3:37] 10. Teddy Bear's Picnic
[3:06] 11. Your Feet's Too Big
[5:18] 12. The Preacher
[2:13] 13. I Shall Not Be Moved
[3:38] 14. Stevedore Stomp

Trumpeter Kenny Ball was at the height of his popularity in the early 1960s, when he had a big hit in "Midnight in Moscow" and was an active participant in England's trad boom. He has managed to continue working since then, despite the change in musical trends, and this 1990 recording (reissued on a 1998 Jazzology CD) finds Ball playing Dixieland in prime form. Heading a fine septet which also includes trombonist John Bennett, clarinetist Andy Cooper, John Fenner on banjo, and guitar, pianist Hugh Ledigo, bassist John Benson, and drummer Ron Bowden, Ball takes many fine solos and shares occasional vocals with Cooper and Benson. Highlights of the superior set include "At the Jazz Band Ball," "Muskrat Ramble," "Ory's Creole Trombone," and "I Shall Not Be Moved." ~Scott Yanow

Now

---

Bobby Lyle - Joyful

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:18
Size: 138.0 MB
Styles: Smooth jazz
Year: 2002/2007
Art: Front

[4:52] 1. You And I
[4:27] 2. Give Me Your Heart
[4:56] 3. Sweetest Taboo
[5:15] 4. Rain Walkin
[4:50] 5. Don't Make Me Wait
[5:21] 6. Genie In A Bottle
[4:27] 7. Spankin
[5:10] 8. Caught Up
[3:54] 9. I Love Your Smile
[4:51] 10. Millennium Dance
[4:30] 11. T.S.F
[4:17] 12. Midnight
[3:21] 13. How Do You Keep The Music Playing

This master of the elegant funk tune launched a promising solo career in the late '70s, long before the term "smooth jazz" was coined, then hit again in the late '80s and early '90s with a series of hits on Atlantic. Bobby Lyle has been out of the loop in that radio format for a few years, but pianist/Three Keys Music founder Marcus Johnson -- a big fan from childhood -- had the insight to sign the versatile Lyle on to help launch his new label of music best described as "metropolitan smooth." No doubt Lyle's old fan base would have come out of the woodwork to support a recording with 13 fresh tracks that range from radio friendly to wild, jamming, and improvisational, but a little big-name support couldn't hurt. Fortunately, Lyle doesn't let his popular cohorts overshadow the melodic foundations of his keyboards and acoustic piano. He enjoys doubling with Norman Brown's crisp guitar licks on the easy funk of "Give Me Your Heart," then going to the high register for a few extra notes. The song plays like a laid-back conversation between old pals. "Rain Walkin" is a bright and bouncy retro-soul piece that also plays like happy chatter between Lyle's catchy melody and Peter White's responsive acoustic guitar harmony. Lyle jumps squarely into the new millennium groovewise on the chunky "Spankin," whose melody harks back to his early days via Fender Rhodes. He plays all the verses, then joins with Rick Braun's trumpet and Gerald Albright's sax for a jamming, percussive chorus. The same trio effect works well on the more lighthearted acoustic piano jaunt "Millennium Dance," which features a unique call and response by Lyle's own high- and low-register lines. Not that he needs cover tunes, but his take on Sade's "Sweetest Taboo" is fairly sensual, though less thoughtful than "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" Bridging today's pop scene with his own history (his 1977 debut was called The Genie), he can't resist a feisty, blues-drenched romp through Christina Aguilera's "Genie in a Bottle," featuring a few bars of Middle Eastern exotica and Everette Harp on sax and EWI. ~Jonathan Widran

Joyful

---

Nicholas Payton & Sonic Trance - Live In New York 1.24.04

Styles: Trumpet Jazz 
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:40
Size: 135,5 MB
Art: Front

( 0:22)  1. Intro
( 2:27)  2. Seance
( 6:12)  3. Fela
( 4:44)  4. Cannabis Leaf Rag
(10:01)  5. Concentric Circles
( 3:05)  6. Go Round
( 5:55)  7. Blu Hays
( 7:35)  8. Two Mexicans On The Wall
( 4:15)  9. I'm Trying To Swing As Little As Possible
( 6:12) 10. Stardust
( 6:47) 11. Silence

On the surface, Nicholas Payton's Sonic Trance is a fusion band. The leader occasionally tricks out his horn with effects, pianist Scott Kinsey moves over to electric keyboard from time to time, and percussionist Daniel Sadownick does his best to establish an Agharta vibe on congas. But there is no electric guitar in Sonic Trance, and Vicente Archer lays down the groove over the course of this hour-long concert solely on acoustic bass. Every trumpet player is forced at one time or another to confront Miles' legacy, and the better the trumpeter, the closer he can get to meeting it. Nicholas Payton succeeds with originality, clarity and a fresh eclecticism. Miles is quoted briefly by saxophonist Tim Warfield on "Blu Hays," but the influences range much farther. Hugh Masekela and Fela Kuti on a track named for the Afrobeat legend, Scott Joplin and "Fascinatin' Rhythm" on "Cannabis Leaf Rag," and Monk on "I'm Trying to Swing as Little as Possible," which if judged relative to its title, fails utterly; Warfield can't help himself. "Two Mexicans on the Wall" begins by quoting "99 Bottles of Beer" mariachi-style and Payton turns in a guileless performance of "Stardust" before the tune is given over to Archer's funky wormy bass line. Warfield, featured chiefly on soprano for the first part of the disc, lets go on tenor for "Silence" before Kinsey takes over with wah-wah trombone and trumpet-splat keyboard effects. "Silence" doesn't last long enough. Recorded live at the 2004 International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE) conference, Payton's music is so organically conceived and so correct in its variety and logical choices that the whole hour passes much too quickly. This is a good thing, of course. When too many recordings fail to hold up beyond two or three listens, Sonic Trance sends you back to push play again and again. ~  Jeff Stockton https://www.allaboutjazz.com/live-in-new-york-12404-nicholas-payton-kufala-recordings-review-by-jeff-stockton.php
 

Personnel: Nicholas Payton, trumpet; Tim Warfield, saxophones; Adonis Rose, drums; Vicente Archer, bass; Scott Kinsey, keyboards; Daniel Sadownick, percussion

Live In New York 1.24.04

---

Barbara Cook - Loverman

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:15
Size: 113,2 MB
Art: Front

(1:35)  1. Let’s Fall in Love
(2:31)  2. What A Wonderful World
(4:31)  3. Loverman
(4:34)  4. When Sunny Get’s Blue
(3:28)  5. More Than You Know
(3:41)  6. House of the Rising Sun/Bye By
(2:29)  7. The Nearness of You
(2:25)  8. I Can’t Give You Anything But Love
(3:06)  9. I Don’t Want Love
(3:07) 10. I Hadn’t Anyone But You/It Had
(3:03) 11. If I Love Again
(2:27) 12. Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall In Love)
(4:28) 13. New York State of Mind
(3:39) 14. Georgia On My Mind
(4:03) 15. Makin’ Whoopee

Aged to perfection such is Barbara Cook. The doyenne of New York cabaret has, at 83, never sounded more appealing than she does across this 15-track set almost entirely arranged and orchestrated by Ted Rosenthal. The lyric soprano that propelled Cook to major Broadway stardom decades ago has lost its crystalline purity and, in the process, become far more interesting, intimate and inviting. Though Cook often performs with larger ensembles, here she wisely opts for small-group coziness: just Rosenthal at the piano and Jay Leonhart on bass, plus percussionist Warren Odze and woodwinds player Lawrence Feldman. It goes without saying that the theatrically trained Cook is an outstanding storyteller, among the few who can be considered the equal of Mabel Mercer. It’s a skill that serves her well when interpreting timeworn standards, effortlessly hitting the emotional bull’s-eye of “More Than You Know,” “When Sunny Gets Blue,” the too-rarely recorded “If I Love Again” and the title track. Her narrative gift proves just as affecting across such jauntier numbers as “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” and “Makin’ Whoopee.”  Nor does Cook allow herself to be limited by Broadway and Tin Pan Alley. Her reading of Dan Hicks’ “I Don’t Want Love,” a breezy list song worthy of Bobby Troup, is a playful delight, and her stark reading of “The House of the Rising Sun,” sung a cappella until Rosenthal tiptoes in with “Bye Bye Blackbird,” is a masterpiece of bruised deliberation. ~ Christopher Loudonhttp://jazztimes.com/articles/66410-loverman-barbara-cook

Loverman

---

Jed Levy - One Night At The Kitano

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@256K/s
Time: 71:14
Size: 133,2 MB
Art: Front

( 8:55)  1. A Great Week
(14:00)  2. Fallen Eagle
( 9:57)  3. Reversible You
(10:07)  4. A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing
(13:16)  5. Limited Means
( 8:32)  6. Match Point
( 6:25)  7. Blues Excerpt

Some live jazz albums transport the listener. If you shut your eyes, you can picture the dim lights of the candles on the tables, the clinking sound of ice cubes falling into glass tumblers... you might even find yourself looking around for someone to take your drink order. One Night at The Kitano makes you feel like you are out at the midtown jazz spot.  Joined by Bill Mays on piano, Ugonna Okegwo on bass and Billy Drummond on drums, saxophonist Jed Levy delivers one of the most enjoyable albums of the year. It's also accessible, straight-ahead music that everyone can enjoy. Novice listeners will say "now, that's jazz I'd pay to see live." That's not to say that it won't appeal to seasoned jazz veterans. Musical complexity and inventiveness abound, especially on the Levy original "Reversible You," which (as the title suggests) applies some structural adjustments to a familiar standard to superb effect. The set consists of six Levy compositions, as well as one standard: a ten-minute rendition of Billy Strayhorn's "A Flower is a Lovesome Thing," with the leader and Mays at their most inspired. The disc's opening number, "A Great Week," pays tribute to an engagement Levy once played with the late John Hicks. The loving homage offers a lively, up-tempo celebration of the pianist's legacy, with excellent support from Mays. The rest of the program features a number of mid-tempo swingers that afford plenty of solo time for the featured players. Levy's tenor doesn't recall the gruff aggressiveness of a Dexter Gordon or a Ben Webster, being more akin to that of Stan Getz. He's able to navigate the high register and achieve a mellow, romantic tone that, at times, makes you think he's switched over to alto.~ George Kanzler https://www.allaboutjazz.com/one-night-at-the-kitano-jed-levy-steeplechase-records-review-by-george-kanzler.php?width=1600
 

Personnel:  Billy Drummond: drums; Jed Levy: tenor sax;  Bill Mays: piano; Ugonna Okegwo: bass.

One Night At The Kitano

---

Grant Green - Alive

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1970
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:57
Size: 87,9 MB
Art: Front

( 8:42)  1. Let The Music Take Your Mind
(11:19)  2. Time To Remember
(11:10)  3. Sookie, Sookie
( 6:45)  4. Down Here On The Ground

Alive! is the hardest funk LP Grant Green recorded during the later phase of his career, capturing a storming gig at Newark's Cliché Lounge. The sweaty club atmosphere adds something to the music that's difficult to pin down, yet unmistakably present a certain organic quality that isn't as noticeable on Green's studio albums of the time. Moreover, Green sounds more like the captain of his ship, with greater assurance in his musical direction and more strut on the R&B material. Drummer Idris Muhammad is a monster in this live setting, and he helps push Green (plus the rest of the band, which includes organist Ronnie Foster) even farther with his kinetic, continually evolving funk rhythms. That's especially true on the swaggering Kool & the Gang cover "Let the Music Take Your Mind," but Don Covay's "Sookie, Sookie" grooves almost as powerfully. What's most surprising about the set, though, is that Green finds ways to work in bits of the modal style he had been pursuing in the mid-'60s on slower pieces like the Earl Neal Creque ballad "Time to Remember" and "Down Here on the Ground," which was later sampled by jazz-rap pioneers A Tribe Called Quest. Green's continued interest in modal jazz is reinforced on the CD reissue, which contains a spacy, grooving cover of Herbie Hancock's classic "Maiden Voyage" as a bonus track (the other two are contemporary R&B covers "Hey, Western Union Man" and "It's Your Thing"). Still, this is the most convincing and consistent Green had been as a funkster and, while nearly all of his albums from the early '70s feature at least some worthwhile material for acid jazz and beat-sampling junkies, Alive! is probably the best place to start. ~ Steve Huey http://www.allmusic.com/album/alive!-mw0000101535

Personnel: Grant Green (guitar); Claude Bartee, Jr., Claude Barlee (tenor saxophone); Neal Creque, Ronnie Foster (organ); Billy Bivens, William Bivens (vibraphone); Idris Muhammad (drums); Joseph Armstrong (congas).

Alive

---

Eric Dolphy - Music Matador

Styles: Flute And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1963
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:11
Size: 111,0 MB
Art: Front

( 7:13)  1. Jitterbug Waltz
( 9:28)  2. Music Matador
(13:29)  3. Alone Together
( 6:29)  4. Come Sunday
( 8:13)  5. Ode To C.P.
( 3:17)  6. Love Me

Amazing work from Eric Dolphy a record that's come out on a number of different labels, under a number of different names but which is one of his most perfectly-realized sessions of the 60s, and one of his most spiritual albums ever! The record features a shifting lineup of players almost presaging the ensemble modes that would rise more strongly in the post-Coltrane years and Dolphy's chosen a strong group of associates, including Bobby Hutcherson on vibes, Woody Shaw on trumpet, Clifford Jordan on soprano sax, Prince Lasha on flute, and Sonny Simmons on alto and bass clarinet. Dolphy plays flute, alto, and bass clarinet and titles include "Love Me", a solo alto tune by Dolphy; "Alone Together", a duet with Davis' bass; a seminal take on "Jitterbug Waltz", completely reinventing the tune for new generations; and the massive "Music Matador". © 1996-2016, Dusty Groove, Inc. https://www.dustygroove.com/item/812508?incl_oos=1&incl_cs=1&kwfilter=Bobby+Hutcherson

Personnel:  Alto Saxophone – Sonny Simmons;  Bass – Eddie Kahn, Richard Davis (2);  Drums – Charles Moffet, J.C. Moses;  Flute – Prince Lasha;  Flute, Bass Clarinet, Alto Saxophone – Eric Dolphy;  Soprano Saxophone – Clifford Jordan;  Trumpet – Woody Shaw;  Vibraphone [Vibes] – Bobby Hutcherson

Music Matador

---