Elmo Hope Trio - Elmo Plays His Own Compositions

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:37
Size: 122.7 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 1961/2011
Art: Front

[3:32] 1. Hot Sauce
[4:58] 2. When The Groove Is Low
[4:25] 3. De Dah
[3:44] 4. Abdullah
[3:36] 5. Freffie
[6:42] 6. Stars Over Marakesh
[4:55] 7. Chips
[4:03] 8. Happy Hour
[4:19] 9. Moe's Bluff
[4:27] 10. Mo Is On
[4:36] 11. Maybe So
[4:14] 12. Crazy

Elmo Hope (p), Paul Chambers, Edward Warren (b), Philly Joe Jones, Granville Hogan (d). Recorded in New York City, 1961.

The highly original works of composer/pianist Elmo Hope included in this collection are certainly a landmark in his career and a source of unalloyed joy to his many admirers. Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones, two of the most exciting jazz musicians, are the remaining two-thirds of this extraordinary trio. Within the dazzling framework of Hopes vivid compositions, they form an aggregation with a strikingly individual style.

Elmo Plays His Own Compositions

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Anita O'Day - There's Only One

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:22
Size: 81.0 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 1978/2007
Art: Front

[3:21] 1. It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Thing)
[5:10] 2. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
[2:58] 3. Old Folks
[5:40] 4. What Is This Thing Called Love
[4:16] 5. Ace In The Hole
[5:33] 6. I Cover The Waterfront
[2:29] 7. Chicago
[5:52] 8. I Cried For You

Acoustic Guitar, Guitar – Al Bruno, Billy Webb; Bass – Eddie Jo Downs; Drums – Johnny Greer; Piano – Ed Holtz; Steel Guitar – Silvio Tucciarone; Vocals – Anita O'Day. Recorded at Gold Star Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA.

Quicksilver Records dug out a true treasure when it reissued Anita O’Day’s Christmas of 1977 recordings session. While this recording came at the end of her accomplished career, it windows the singer and her individual and styled approach to song.

Anita O’Day was raised in the music hotbed of Chicago, Illinois during a time when Benny Goodman and Gene Krupa were frequent performers. O’Day worked her way up to landing a gig with the Krupa outfit which featured Roy Eldridge. She soon headed east where her voice was recorded masterfully by Norman Granz’s Verve label. O’Day’s approach to singing while not unique, was not an imitation of anyone. Like Billie Holiday, she moved her words in and out of the rhythm with ease and silky smooth transitions and possessed the scatting skills of artists like Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. It is this style that she continued to develop and perfect up to and including this recording.

On "There’s Only One," O’Day displays her virtuostic phrasing and silky smooth vocals on such standards as ‘It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),” “I Cried For You,” and “I’m Getting Sentimental Over You." What an album of songs that have been recorded many times before does for an artist like O’Day is allow her to display her unique voice and vision with a repertoire that is familiar to most listeners. While many artists strike out with these efforts and release nothing but rehashed arrangements, O’Day succeeds by presenting what stands out as an original voice and top-of-the-line presentation. To prove that point the listener need to listen no further than to O’Day’s crooning and rhythmic toying on the album's opening recording of Duke Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean A Thing.” The recording sounds fresh, original and at the same time maintains much of the original form.

In this age of cramming as much music as possible onto a compact disc, Quicksilver stays true to the original master and lets it speak for itself without the requisite substandard outtakes, live material, and alternative recordings. This approach makes the listening a pleasure from track one through eight and makes the listener leaving with a smile on their face with a desire to hear more – the mark of a great recording and artist! ~Charlie B. Dahan

There's Only One

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Various - The Complete Cole Porter Songbooks (3-Disc Set)

This is not and cannot be the Complete Cole Porter Songbooks, but it's a marvelous collection of 48 timeless jazz interpretations drawn from the Verve catalog. Recorded between 1951 and 1988, these standards, ballads and show tunes are rendered by some 15 vocalists, many of whom appear twice, and about 13 instrumental groups. In addition to the usual suspects (Ella, Louis, Sarah, Dinah, and Lady Day) there are fine performances by Abbey Lincoln, Anita O'Day, Billy Eckstine, Mel Tormé, Blossom Dearie, Shirley Horn, Betty Carter, Helen Merrill, Morgana King and Fred Astaire. The instrumentalists -- and this is most fulfilling because Cole Porter's music is an essential strand in the DNA of swing, bop, and mainstream jazz -- include Ben Webster, Sonny Stitt, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Clifford Brown, Stan Getz, Al Cohn, Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, Bud Powell, Bill Evans, Tal Farlow, and Jim Hall. That makes this a portable jazz library of considerable potency, pungency and depth. Also quite valuable as a tool for learning and appreciating some of Porter's very best songs. First prize for both artistic magnitude and friendly intimacy goes to Louis Armstrong and Oscar Peterson for their fabulously relaxed, nearly nine-minute rendition of "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love." ~arwulf arwulf

Album: The Complete Cole Porter Songbooks (Disc 1)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:04
Size: 153.6 MB
Styles: Easy Listening, Jazz
Year: 1990

[5:26] 1. Dinah Washington - I've Got You Under My Skin
[3:50] 2. Shirley Horn - Love For Sale
[8:41] 3. Louis Armstrong - Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love)
[3:20] 4. Ella Fitzgerald - Anything Goes
[2:54] 5. Mel Tormé - What Is This Thing Called Love
[4:17] 6. Helen Merrill - You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
[2:27] 7. Oscar Peterson Trio - At Long Last Love
[1:57] 8. Anita O'day - I Love You
[4:01] 9. Louis Armstrong - Just One Of Those Things
[2:42] 10. Sarah Vaughan - It's De-Lovely
[2:48] 11. The Russell Garcia Orchestra - Always True To You In My Fashion
[2:42] 12. Fred Astaire - I Concentrate On You
[6:17] 13. Dinah Washington - I Get A Kick Out Of You
[3:47] 14. Billy Eckstine - In The Still Of The Night
[2:59] 15. Billie Holiday - Easy To Love
[3:03] 16. Ella Fitzgerald - Night And Day
[5:47] 17. Betty Carter - Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye

The Complete Cole Porter Songbooks (Disc 1)

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Album: The Complete Cole Porter Songbooks (Disc 2)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:41
Size: 127.5 MB
Styles: Easy Listening, Jazz
Year: 1990

[4:16] 1. Louis Armstrong - I Get A Kick Out Of You
[2:52] 2. Anita O'day - My Heart Belongs To Daddy
[3:10] 3. Ella Fitzgerald - I've Got You Under My Skin
[3:02] 4. Helen Merrill - How's The World Treating You
[4:23] 5. Dinah Washington - So In Love
[2:44] 6. Mel Tormé - Too Darn Hot
[2:29] 7. Sarah Vaughan - Just One Of Those Things
[2:49] 8. Shirley Horn - Get Out Of Town
[2:55] 9. Billie Holiday - Love For Sale
[3:09] 10. Anita O'day - From This Moment On
[4:56] 11. Fred Astaire - Night And Day
[2:37] 12. Blossom Dearie - Give Him The Ooh-La-La
[3:14] 13. Morgana King - Ev'rything I Love
[3:53] 14. Ella Fitzgerald - Miss Otis Regrets
[3:29] 15. Helen Merrill - All Of You
[2:29] 16. Louis Armstrong - You're The Top
[3:04] 17. Betty Carter - Most Gentlemen Don't Like Love

The Complete Cole Porter Songbooks (Disc 2)

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Album: The Complete Cole Porter Songbooks (Disc 3)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:08
Size: 146.8 MB
Styles: Easy Listening, Jazz
Year: 1990
Art: Front

[2:35] 1. Charlie Parker - What Is This Thing Called Love
[4:57] 2. Al Cohn - Love For Sale
[2:53] 3. Art Tatum - Begin The Beguine
[5:58] 4. Dizzy Gillespie - My Heart Belongs To Daddy
[4:49] 5. Max Roach Sextet - Get Out Of Town
[4:43] 6. Sonny Stitt - Easy To Love
[7:36] 7. Max Roach Quintet - I Get A Kick Out Of You
[6:44] 8. Stan Getz - Night And Day
[3:48] 9. Bud Powell - Just One Of Those Things
[4:15] 10. Coleman Hawkins - You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
[5:08] 11. Tal Farlow Trio - Anything Goes
[2:35] 12. All Star Big Band - I Love You
[3:21] 13. Jim Hall - I've Got You Under My Skin
[4:41] 14. Max Roach Sextet - I Concentrate On You

The Complete Cole Porter Songbooks (Disc 3)

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Ricky Nelson - Ricky/Ricky Nelson

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:20
Size: 154.2 MB
Styles: Rock N Roll, Teen Pop
Year: 2001
Art: Front

[2:52] 1. Honeycomb
[1:54] 2. Boppin' The Blues
[1:59] 3. Be-Bop Baby
[1:55] 4. Have I Told You Lately That I Love You
[1:38] 5. Teenage Doll
[1:54] 6. If You Can't Rock Me
[2:09] 7. Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On
[2:19] 8. Baby I'm Sorry
[1:37] 9. Am I Blue
[2:17] 10. I'm Confessin'
[1:59] 11. Your True Love
[2:12] 12. True Love
[2:01] 13. Be-Bop Baby
[1:59] 14. Have I Told You Lately That I Love You
[1:56] 15. If You Can't Rock Me
[1:57] 16. Shirley Lee
[2:52] 17. Someday (You'll Want Me To Want You)
[1:47] 18. There's Good Rockin' Tonight
[2:16] 19. I'm Feelin' Sorry
[2:30] 20. Down The Line
[2:21] 21. Unchained Melody
[2:17] 22. I'm In Love Again
[2:29] 23. Don't Leave Me This Way
[2:31] 24. My Babe
[2:39] 25. I'll Walk Alone
[2:15] 26. There Goes My Baby
[2:34] 27. Poor Little Fool
[1:53] 28. Stood Up
[2:00] 29. Waitin' In School
[2:02] 30. Believe What You Say
[2:01] 31. My Bucket's Got A Hole In It

Rock & roll was still a novelty and singles ruled the record market when 17-year-old Ricky Nelson released his debut album in 1957; it immediately jumped to No. 1 on the Billboard charts. That's why Capitol fleshes out some of its twofer releases of Nelson's Imperial albums with non-album hit singles. It's stunning to hear how well Nelson's debut and sophomore LPs hold up long after their original appearances. Aside from "Be Bop Baby" (and its "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You" B-side), most of the cuts on Ricky are covers, including a wonderfully sedate take on Jimmie Rodgers's "Honeycomb," proving Nelson was indeed the Perry Como of early rockers. It also includes two Carl Perkins covers, including the definitive "Your True Love." The second LP displays growth and rocks harder. ~Bill Holdship

Ricky/Ricky Nelson

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Johnny Hodges - Everybody Knows Johnny Hodges

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:59
Size: 155.6 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 1965/1992
Art: Front

[7:24] 1. Everybody Knows
[3:04] 2. A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing
[6:51] 3. Papa Knows
[4:33] 4. 310 Blues
[2:43] 5. The Jeep Is Jumpin'
[3:26] 6. Main Stem
[4:44] 7. Medley I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart Don't Get Around Much Anymore
[3:09] 8. Open Mike
[3:59] 9. Stompy Jones
[4:24] 10. Mood Indigo
[3:07] 11. Good Queen Bess
[5:09] 12. Little Brother
[5:43] 13. Jeep's Blues
[2:34] 14. Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me
[3:20] 15. Ruint
[3:40] 16. Sassy Cue

The solo projects of Johnny Hodges were not so much individualistic divergences away from his duties with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, but served more as extensions of the vintage, classic style of jazz tailored to his personalized sound away from what he had to compete with sitting next to the raft of talent in Duke's big band. Working here in the mid-'60s with groups ranging from an octet to a 12-member (featuring nine extra tracks not included on the original 33 1/3 LP) or 15-piece group, Hodges showcases many of his original compositions. He primarily employs Ellington personnel, with the exception being the quite able Jimmy Jones at the piano on the majority of these selections. His son Johnny Hodges, Jr. plays drums on two tracks when Grady Tate or Gus Johnson sits out, while bass players chosen by the legendary alto saxophonist include the formidable Ernie Shepard and a young Richard Davis. These quite famous numbers are loaded with pungent solos by cream of the crop jazzmen such as trumpeter Cat Anderson, woodwind specialists Russell Procope and Jimmy Hamilton, the deeply soulful tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves, and nimble trombonist Lawrence Brown. If you are a devout fan, you'll easily recognize favorites like the harmony-strewn evergreen "Main Stem" with fluttering clarinet and a patented Anderson solo, the Billy Strayhorn ballad "A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing" where Hodges is fully featured, "Mood Indigo" where the group is stripped down to four horns in guarded repast, and the very slow "Jeep's Blue" as the piano of Jones takes center stage. Brown's introduction and theme for "Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me" sweetly showcases the underappreciated trombonist. Hodges wrote or co-wrote several of these tracks, including the lesser-known spiky-accented and vibrato-laden "Papa Knows" as offshoots of its precedent, "Mama Knows," and the two-note bass-heavy title track, delivered quicker than the established 4/4 rhythm. "Good Queen Bess" is a basic Count Basie-type bluesy theme, and there's the distinctly Ellingtonian blues "Little Brother" and the always rousing "Stompy Jones," where Procope and the gang trade lines profusely. It would be difficult to pick a favorite or a clunker, and you'd be hard-pressed to find anything more inspired or another project loaded with this much talent. Everybody knows Johnny Hodges and this stellar collection of all-stars, because they are absolutely the best at what they do. ~Michael G. Nastos

Everybody Knows Johnny Hodges

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Seamus Blake, Marc Miralta Trio - Sun Sol

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:00
Size: 123,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:02)  1. Go
(7:29)  2. Cirkle K
(7:50)  3. Boston in 3/4
(8:04)  4. Now and Here
(5:18)  5. Pure Imagination
(7:31)  6. Mr Omaha
(7:41)  7. 70's Child
(5:02)  8. Sunsol

For the first time on record, tenorist Seamus Blake teams up with his old Berklee schoolmate, drummer Marc Miralta. They each contribute three tunes, while the session's bassist, Avishai Cohen, offers the opening minor blues "Go." The one non-original is "Pure Imagination," the Anthony Newley ballad used in the film Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Cohen co-arranged this tune very differently for Claudia Acuña's debut disc Wind from the South. 

The tracks "Circle K," "Now and Here," and "Mr. Omaha" build upon loosely flowing grooves and open-ended blowing, while "Boston in 3/4" and "70's Child" center around more lyrical melodies and structures. The title track, a quasi-African vamp, has more of an experimental flavor than the other tracks. Cohen is never one to restrict himself to basic timekeeping; his playing here is characteristically aggressive and percussive. Blake and Miralta are both masters of their respective instruments, but it is their fine-tuned and highly musical interplay the result of years of collaboration that recommends this album. ~ David R. Adler http://www.allmusic.com/album/sunsol-mw0000728404

Personnel: Double Bass – Avishai Cohen; Drums – Marc Miralta; Tenor Saxophone – Seamus Blake

Sun Sol

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Maysa - Blue Velvet Soul

Styles: Vocal, Soul
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:59
Size: 139,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:39)  1. Beautiful Dreamer
(3:40)  2. Sophisticated Lover
(3:33)  3. Be There
(4:23)  4. Good Morning Sunrise
(4:18)  5. What Can I Do
(4:28)  6. Pouring Rain
(4:09)  7. When Your Soul Answers
(4:18)  8. Put It On Me
(4:18)  9. Inside My Dream
(4:12) 10. When You Touch Me
(4:43) 11. Quiet Fire
(3:10) 12. I Care
(3:43) 13. This Much
(4:52) 14. Nothing But You
(3:27) 15. Love Me Good

Released less than two years after Motions of Love, Blue Velvet Soul also follows the passing of Maysa's mother and the extended bout of writer's block that ensued. Going by the varied strengths of Blue Velvet Soul, one wouldn't know that the singer pulled herself out of a creative rut. Maysa gets some help from familiar and new songwriting and production collaborators, including Incognito's Bluey, Chris "Big Dog" Davis, and Lorenzo Johnson. One of three Bluey collaborations, "Good Morning Sunrise," is a gorgeous and plush midtempo duet, among a handful of highlights from the album's mostly relaxed front half. More notable standouts are saved for the album's back half, which continually shifts gears in pleasing ways. "Quiet Fire," written by Johnny "Hammond" Smith and Cheryl Friberg for Nancy Wilson's 1988 album Nancy Now!, is a surprising and inspired choice and should be a deathless staple of any contemporary quiet storm program. "This Much," produced my Mike City, recalls early-'90s house with its piano-led groove and uplifting spirit. Another Bluey tune, "Nothing But You," begins like an homage to disco-funk band GQ prior to unspooling into airy but confident pure disco. The album is laced with lyrical phrases that are likely to ping a soul fanatic's radar "hangin' on a string," "young hearts run free," "here, my dear," "let a woman be a woman, and a man be a man," and so forth but they all float by inconspicuously, like it's all happenstance, just part of another enjoyable and all-purpose Maysa album. ~ Andy Kellman http://www.allmusic.com/album/blue-velvet-soul-mw0002538252

Blue Velvet Soul

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Irvin Mayfield Sextet - Live At The Blue Note

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:16
Size: 164,3 MB
Art: Front

(12:43)  1. Moanin'
( 9:40)  2. Cherokee
( 6:37)  3. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
(11:32)  4. West End Blues
(14:46)  5. Did You Call Her Today?
( 7:34)  6. You Don't Know What Love Is
( 8:22)  7. Be Bop

The early 20-something trumpeter Mayfield has his sextet solidly planted in the post-to-hard-bop jazz of the late '50s. Trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis and alto saxophonist Wessell Anderson form an impressive young frontline with Mayfield, bassist Carlos Enriquez, and drummer Jaz Sawyer, who get to their business in fine style. It is pianist Eric Reed, however, whose star shines brightly on this blowing club date. Mayfield and Anderson stretch the parameters of their horns prior to Reed cutting loose on the one tune you'd expect this Jazz Messengers-ish type band to blast off on, "Moanin'." Another good old, blowing tune "Cherokee" is done to death, Reed trading fours with Sawyer. The lone duet piece "On the Sunny Side of the Street" has Mayfield and Reed skipping though the classic melody, the pianist in stride mode and also animated as if mocking a player piano's stiffness. The next two pieces are the most stretched-out: "West End Blues," at over 11 and a half minutes, is languid and slow; the 15-minute "Did You Call Her Today?" is an easy, patient, classic JATP-type jam. Mayfield and Marsalis introduce "You Don't Know What Love Is" while the rest join mid-chorus on this pristine ballad. The rip-roaring finale "Be-Bop" does have some fluffed melody notes, but these are hardly noticeable. It's a furious number with Anderson most animated, and Mayfield's tone typifying Dizzy Gillespie's persona during his solo, replete with bleats and high-end charges. Mayfield's future in the pantheon of young trumpeters as Nicholas Payton and Darren Barrett is further secured with the release of this CD. ~ Michael G.Nastos http://www.allmusic.com/album/live-at-the-blue-note-mw0000572074

Irvin Mayfield Sextet:  Irvin Mayfield (trumpet); Wessell Anderson (saxophone); Delfeayo Marsalis (trombone); Eric Reed (piano); Carlos Enriquez (bass); Jaz Sawyer (drums).

Live At The Blue Note

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John McNeil - Clean Sweep

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1981
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:48
Size: 134,9 MB
Art: Front

( 7:02)  1. Early Flight
( 8:49)  2. Zephyr
( 7:54)  3. Tiffany
( 9:46)  4. Just Around the Corner
( 4:35)  5. Clean Sweep
( 9:38)  6. Where's Rialto?
(11:01)  7. Zephyr

John McNeil grew up in Yreka, CA. The little town off of I-5 wasn't exactly brimming with musical knowledge, but the tenacious McNeil still taught himself trumpet and learned to read music on his own. By his late teens the young trumpeter was playing in combos throughout Northern California; by the mid-'70s he was freelancing in New York City and gaining a reputation as an innovative, lyrical player. He performed with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra at the Village Vanguard, and led his own groups at various area clubs. By the latter part of the decade, McNeil had joined the Horace Silver Quartet and secured a solo contract with SteepleChase. The label issued a flurry of McNeil releases, including 1978's Embarkation and The Glass Room, Faun, and (with Tom Harrell) Look to the Sky in 1979. In the 1980s, the trumpeter continued to work as both a sideman and leader. He appeared as a soloist with Gerry Mulligan's band, and formed the John McNeil Trio/Quartet for 1983's I've Got the World on a String. He toured internationally, and was recognized by the contemporary jazz community as a go-to writer, arranger, and producer. McNeil went on to issue a series of critically acclaimed albums, including the Kenny Burger collaborations Hip Deep (1996, Brownstone) and Brooklyn Ritual (1998, Synergy). Released in 2001, Fortuity featured a few pop-inspired numbers, like a Latin-flavored interpretation of the Beatles' "I Will." The Latin influence continued with 2003's This Way Out (Omnitone), which McNeil recorded in Barcelona with tenor saxophonist Gorka Benitez and bassist Giulia Valle. The record was breezy, bold, and curious, and proved that McNeil's hunger for music hadn't diminished an iota from those days learning trumpet in the fields of Yreka. Since then, McNeil has kept busy releasing Sleep Won't Come in 2004, East Coast Cool in 2006, and Rediscovery in 2008. ~ Johnny Loftus https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/john-mcneil/id23880907#fullText

Personnel:  John McNeil (trumpet);  Billy Hart (drums);  Dave Liebman (tenor sax, soprano sax);  Rufus Reid (bass);  Joanne Brackeen (piano)

Clean Sweep

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