Art Tatum - The Tatum Group Masterpieces, Vol. 8

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1956
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:15
Size: 132,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:48)  1. Gone With The Wind
(7:15)  2. All The Things You Are
(4:49)  3. Have You Met Miss Jones?
(6:15)  4. My One And Only Love
(5:31)  5. Night And Day
(7:18)  6. My Ideal
(6:28)  7. Where Or When
(4:53)  8. Gone With The Wind [alternate take 1]
(4:51)  9. Gone With The Wind [alternate take 2]
(5:02) 10. Have You Met Miss Jones? [alternate take]

The final volume in this very worthy series is a comparatively relaxed affair, a quartet set with tenor-saxophonist Ben Webster. Webster lets Tatum fill the background with an infinite number of notes while emphasizing his warm tenor tone in the forefront on a variety of melodic ballads and standards. The combination works very well. 

~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-tatum-group-masterpieces-vol-8-mw0000614266

Personnel: Art Tatum (piano); Ben Webster (tenor saxophone); Red Callender (bass); Bill Douglass (drums).

The Tatum Group Masterpieces Vol. 8

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Malene Mortensen - Date With a Dream

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:20
Size: 113,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:28)  1. I've Got a Date With a Dream
(3:58)  2. All I Want
(5:44)  3. Egyptian Moonlight
(5:31)  4. Blur
(4:11)  5. At Last
(5:26)  6. Take Five
(3:50)  7. Mystery Man
(3:28)  8. Giving You The Best That I've Got
(3:41)  9. Off The Beat
(3:16) 10. Gone Before We Know
(5:45) 11. Crashed

Malene Mortensen emerged on the Danish jazz scene with her 2003 recording debut as a leader for Universal in Europe, following it up with this release for Stunt. With her fresh, engaging vocals and the potential to establish a following in both jazz and pop like Norah Jones, Mortenson isn't really an improviser, but she works with top-notch musicians who create fresh arrangements of standards, while she also proves herself to be a capable composer. Of particular interest are her interpretations of standards, including the sensuous, slowly savored "I've Got a Date with a Dream" (where she's backed by her trio plus strings and a lap steel player) and a heartfelt "At Last" (backed by pianist Kasper Villaume and soprano saxophonist Claus Waidtlow). She soars in Villaume's imaginative post-bop arrangement of "Take Five," displaying her soulful side. Mortenson's originals are more pop-oriented, though still catchy and entertaining, especially her infectious "Off the Beat."~ Ken Dryden http://www.allmusic.com/album/date-with-a-dream-mw0000512052

Date With a Dream

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Jazz Crusaders - Happy Again

Styles: Jazz Funk
Year: 1995
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:54
Size: 151,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:36)  1. Lock It Down
(5:59)  2. When You're So Far Away
(4:33)  3. Elephant Walk
(6:46)  4. Top Of The World
(3:39)  5. Fools Rush In
(5:37)  6. Are You Part Of Me
(5:44)  7. Slyzappit
(5:19)  8. Rock Slide
(5:55)  9. La luz Del Dia
(3:46) 10. Jamaica
(5:25) 11. Travelin' Inside Your Love
(3:19) 12. Young Tabbits
(5:11) 13. Uh-huh! Oh-yeah!

When trombonist/producer Wayne Henderson, pianist/keyboardist Joe Sample, sax-man Wilton Felder, and drummer Stix Hooper changed their name from the Jazz Crusaders to the Crusaders back in 1971, it signaled a more R&B-minded direction for the group they were always funky, but in the '70s, they became even funkier. And so, the names the Crusaders and the Jazz Crusaders came to stand for two different things if the Jazz Crusaders were synonymous with a funky yet acoustic-oriented approach to hard bop (à la Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers), the Crusaders were about electric-oriented jazz-funk and fusion. In 1995, Henderson (who left the Crusaders in 1975) resurrected the name the Jazz Crusaders and produced Happy Again for the small, Los Angeles-based Sin-drome Records. Sample objected to Henderson's use of the name the Jazz Crusaders, although Sample and Felder were still part of the Crusaders. Confused? Suffice to say that different improvisers used the two names on different projects in the '90s. On Happy Again, Henderson oversees a lineup that includes Felder as well as trumpeter Donald Byrd, guitarist Larry Carlton, keyboardist Bobby Lyle, vibist Roy Ayers, flutist Hubert Laws, and percussionist Poncho Sanchez (among others). With such an impressive cast, Happy Again should have been exceptional; it isn't, although Henderson does give a generally decent album of electric jazz-funk and pop-jazz. Some might argue that if Henderson was going to resurrect the name the Jazz Crusaders, this album should have been more straight-ahead and bop-oriented and that tracks like "When You're So Far Away" and "Elephant Walk" are too pop-influenced to be called Jazz Crusaders recordings. But while Happy Again is hardly the work of a bop purist, it's still a pleasant, if imperfect, outing, and in 1995 it was nice to hear Henderson taking some trombone solos again.~ Alex Henserson http://www.allmusic.com/album/happy-again-mw0000646561

The Jazz Crusaders includes: Bobby Caldwell (vocals); Wayne Henderson, Wilton Felder, Bobby Lyle, N'Dugu Chancler, Larry Kimpel, Craig T.

Happy Again

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Jed Levy - The Italian Suite

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@256K/s
Time: 70:15
Size: 128,9 MB
Art: Front

(7:04)  1. The Road to Rome
(8:30)  2. Ligurian Sea
(6:05)  3. The Models of Milan
(6:57)  4. Dado's Visit
(8:17)  5. Daniela
(7:20)  6. Giuseppe's Borgo
(7:01)  7. Toscana
(4:56)  8. Bari Blues
(8:44)  9. Palermo
(5:17) 10. Dogs of War

On this his seventh SteepleChase release, Jed Levy the composer takes centre stage and presents an album-length suite, with each section relating to Jed's impression of Italy where he has made numerous trips and has given concerts.For the past two decades saxophonist Jed Levy has been a stalwart of the New York jazz scene, leading his own group or performing with such luminaries as Jaki Byard, Junior Mance, Eddie Henderson, Jack Walrath, Kevin Mahogany and Tom Harrell, among others. "Very Impressive and about as inventive a departure from the standard tenor-and-rhythm conventions as one can hope for...a first-class session."

Personnel: Jed Levy (tenor saxophone), Misha Tsiganov (piano), Thomson Kneeland (bass), Alvester Garnett (drums)

The Italian Suite

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Garrison Fewell - City Of Dreams

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:16
Size: 128,2 MB
Art: Front

(6:23)  1. City Of Dreams
(4:56)  2. Girl With The Groovy Hips
(7:15)  3. Naima
(5:40)  4. Blues For No Reason
(7:05)  5. Afternoon At The Souk
(8:18)  6. Soul Eyes
(7:19)  7. Waltz For The Lonely One
(8:15)  8. Theme For Doris

"Smooth" is not a word most people like to associate with "jazz." Call it a failure of overzealous marketing. (They've changed terms by now anyway, so we're safe to use it as a compliment.) Guitarist Garrison Fewell has the maturity to appreciate the importance of connecting the dots: fitting ideas together and making them work. His smooth, easygoing style on City of Dreams masks a sophisticated understanding of the jazz vocabulary and ensemble sound. While he mostly steers clear of technical demonstrations, it's clear that he has the skills to get around on the guitar. And when he plays a note, even slurred with three others, you have the sense that he chose it carefully. Fewell's quintet, assembled pretty much on-the-spot for this recording, have a remarkably intuitive sense of cohesion. They take these tunes five Fewell originals and three standards and glide effortlessly from heads to solos and back. The moods vary from the tender lyricism of "Soul Eyes," to the off-kilter Eastern sway of "Afternoon at the Souk," to the cocky strut of "Blues for No Reason." In every situation, pianist George Cables works with the guitarist to help define the group's harmony without crowding out the middle ground. Saxophonist Tino Tracanna delivers solos which craftily embody themes within a shifting cascade of sound. Drummer Jeff Williams can lay back and swing, maintain a delicate simmering bossa nova, or leap in and spur the group onward with a few well-placed hits. But this quintet recording is all about the group sound, connecting the dots, and allowing intuition to guide the flow. Smooth indeed. And that's a good thing. ~ AAJ Staff https://www.allaboutjazz.com/city-of-dreams-garrison-fewell-splasch-records-review-by-aaj-staff.php
 

Personnel: Garrison Fewell: guitar;  Tino Tracanna: soprano and tenor saxophone;  George Cables: piano;  Steve LaSpina: bass;  Jeff Williams: drums.

City Of Dreams

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