Count Basie, Sarah Vaughan - Count Basie & Sarah Vaughan

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:06
Size: 105.5 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 1962/1995
Art: Front

[2:10] 1. Perdido
[3:56] 2. Lover Man
[2:53] 3. I Cried For You
[3:53] 4. Alone
[3:09] 5. There Are Such Things
[2:48] 6. Mean To Me
[2:43] 7. The Gentleman Is A Dope
[4:50] 8. You Go To My Head
[3:07] 9. Until I Met You
[3:21] 10. You Turned The Tables On Me
[4:50] 11. Little Man (You've Had A Busy Day)
[2:50] 12. Teach Me Tonight
[2:42] 13. If I Were A Bell
[2:48] 14. Until I Met You

Although Count Basie gets top billing, he actually doesn't even appear on this set. Basie's Orchestra and pianist Kirk Stuart are purely in a supporting role behind the magnificent voice of Sarah Vaughan, other than a couple of short spots for trumpeter Joe Newman and Frank Foster's tenor. Sometimes Vaughan sounds overly mannered and seems to give little weight to the words she is singing, but her wide range and impeccable musicianship carry the day. Highlights include "Perdido," "Mean to Me," and "You Go to My Head," and the set is understandably recommended more for Sarah Vaughan fans than Count Basie collectors. [Some reissues add a pair of charming Vaughan duets with Joe Williams, "Teach Me Tonight" and "If I Were a Bell," that were originally released as a single, plus an alternate take of "Until I Met You."] ~Scott Yanow

Count Basie & Sarah Vaughan

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Ben Sidran - On The Cool Side

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:21
Size: 110.7 MB
Styles: Cool jazz
Year: 1985/1999
Art: Front

[5:15] 1. Mitsubishi Boy
[3:03] 2. Lover Man, Pt. 1
[4:54] 3. Lover Man, Pt. 2
[3:52] 4. Brown Eyes
[5:50] 5. On The Cool Side
[3:34] 6. Old Hoagy
[3:56] 7. Heat Wave
[4:16] 8. Take It Easy Greasy
[3:33] 9. Lazy River
[4:25] 10. That's What The Note Said
[5:37] 11. Lost In The Stars

Ben Sidran - Piano, Vocals; Billy Peterson - Bass; Ricky Peterson - Synthesizer; Steve Miller - Guitar, Vocals; Paul Peterson - Synthesizer; Howard Arthur - Guitar; Dr. John - Vocals.

My first step into the world of digital instruments, I used the latest gear at the time (Lynn drum machine, Yamaha DX7, etc.) to capture the spirit of the times, and it did: the sound of this recording is forever locked in the 1980s. Some of the songs, on the other hand, like "Mitsubishi Boy", have had many reincarnations. ~Ben

Ben Sidran's musical persona has always been one of cool-cat hipster, talk-singing his songs in a style reminiscent of his mentor, Mose Allison. On the Cool Side was one of his more commercially viable solo releases, finding an audience in the small coterie of contemporary jazz stations in the mid-'80s. The title track is a classic of the genre, an upbeat, joyous affirmation of life, featuring a backing vocal from old pal Steve Miller. Sidran's take on "Lover Man" adds a whole new funky dimension to that oft-recorded warhorse, as do his versions of "Heat Wave" and "Up a Lazy River," the latter featuring Dr. John on second vocal. The music on this recording is heavily electronicized, with programmed drums, synthesized riffs, and Fender Rhodes piano, but it sure sounds like a lot of fun. And, you'll find yourself walking down the street singing "keep on searching, keep it on the cool side" with a big smile on your face. ~Jim Newsom

On The Cool Side

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The World's Greatest Jazz Band - At Manchester's Free Trade Hall, England 1971 (2-Disc Set)

Bob Wilber (clarinet, soprano saxophone); Bud Freeman (tenor saxophone); Billy Butterfield (trumpet, flugelhorn); Yank Lawson (trumpet); Vic Dickenson, Eddie Hubble (trombone); Ralph Sutton (piano); Bob Haggart (electric bass); Gus Johnson (drums).

With an over-the-top (and perhaps tongue in cheek) name like the World's Greatest Jazz Band, all modesty has been happily tossed out the window. Whether any band can actually live up to such a title is questionable, but At Manchester's Free Trade Hall, England 1971 does qualify as a fine recording of a vivacious live show. This rather large band (nine players), including trumpeters Yank Lawson and Billy Butterfield, and pianist Ralph Sutton, turns back the clock to a jazz form -- Dixieland -- that hadn't been "in" since the 1910s. The set list, "Ain't Misbehavin'," "Carolina in the Morning," and "Bourbon Street Parade," reflects this backward glance. The odd thing about this date for anyone immersed in contemporary jazz (anything from Coltrane on) is how melodic and fun jazz was before it became sophisticated. Sutton and clarinetist Bob Wilbur's freewheeling solos on "Ain't Misbehavin'" concoct an intoxicating mood, while the instrumental interchanges and intertwinings by the band throw the proceedings into high gear. The band offers quite a few variations on the Dixieland style, varying the arrangements and featuring different players on different cuts. This, plus the fact that most of the tracks hover around three- to five minutes, means that these two discs keep the listener tuned in. The only factor that seems a bit old-fashioned here are the song introductions, though they do provide a space to identify the featured musician(s) on each cut. At Manchester's Free Trade Hall, England 1971 delivers over an hour-and-a-half of spontaneous, effervescent jazz, and stands as a worthy testament to the World's Greatest Jazz Band. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.

Album: At Manchester's Free Trade Hall, England 1971 (Disc 1)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:27
Size: 108.7 MB
Styles: Dixieland
Year: 2006

[1:34] 1. Yank Introduces The WGB
[5:42] 2. Panama
[4:56] 3. Dogtown Blues
[5:50] 4. Ain't Misbehavin'
[4:19] 5. Black And Blue
[4:02] 6. Alligator Crawl
[4:42] 7. I Got Rhythm
[5:05] 8. Limehouse Blues
[3:46] 9. Big Noise From Winnetka
[4:02] 10. What's New
[3:25] 11. South Rampart Street Parade

At Manchester's Free Trade Hall, England 1971 (Disc 1)

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Album: At Manchester's Free Trade Hall, England 1971 (Disc 2)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:54
Size: 125.7 MB
Styles: Dixieland
Year: 2006
Art: Front

[4:57] 1. Bourbon Street Parade
[4:02] 2. The Girl On The Beach
[4:38] 3. Just One Of Those Things
[5:27] 4. Summertime
[5:31] 5. Viper's Drag
[5:34] 6. At Sundown
[3:44] 7. Carolina In The Morning
[5:22] 8. In A Sentimental Mood
[6:24] 9. Wolverine Blues
[5:35] 10. Muskrat Ramble
[3:35] 11. Up-Up And Away My Inspiration

At Manchester's Free Trade Hall, England 1971 (Disc 2)

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Kelley Suttenfield, Nick Romano - Among The Stars

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:01
Size: 89.3 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2014
Art: Front

[4:15] 1. Fly Me To The Moon
[4:40] 2. Harvest Moon
[2:49] 3. Beautiful Love
[4:41] 4. Wash Me Clean
[3:31] 5. Just Say I Love Him
[3:50] 6. One Fine Day
[4:34] 7. Try Your Wings
[4:11] 8. People Will Say We're In Love
[3:55] 9. Until It's Time For You To Go
[2:30] 10. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight

Voice and nylon-string guitar. That's it. Nothing else to hear on this one, but nothing else is really needed. Vocalist Kelley Suttenfield's first album—Where Is Love (Rhombus Records, 2009)—was a well-crafted, full band affair that reimagined the works of everybody from Wes Montgomery ("West Coast Blues") to Caetano Veloso ("Coraçao Vagabundo") to The Platters ("Twilight Time"). On her sophomore date, she strips away the band, leaving only guitarist Tony Romano in the picture to help her explore music of the night and songs of love.

Among The Stars offers quiet and absorbing takes on jazz standards along with classics from singer-songwriters like Neil Young and Bob Dylan. In theory, pieces like "Fly Me To The Moon" and "Harvest Moon" may not seem like they belong back-to-back on the same program, but Suttenfield and Romano shape each and every number to fit their aesthetic. "Fly Me To The Moon," for example, has no Sinatra-esque swinging swagger to it, moving instead atop moody lines, and there's no steady strum to calmly propel "Harvest Moon." Actually, there's rarely any steady strum to speak of. Romano isn't a four-chords-to-a-bar accompanist. He's far more interactive with song and singer, dropping his own bass notes into place, connecting the harmonic dots with single note lines, and giving the occasional chordal punctuation or aside. When Romano does wear the rhythm guitarist hat, as on parts of the striking "Just Say I Love Him," he remains understated in his approach.

Suttenfield's voice has been rightly compared to that of Susannah McCorkle in the past, but that connection is really just a surface similarity. McCorkle had great highs and lows in her delivery; Suttenfield works in narrower confines, but she knows her working space extremely well. She doesn't usually look upward toward the heavens or explore the depths, preferring instead to get the most out of the middle ground. These ten numbers come and go in less than forty minutes, but that's more than enough time for Suttenfield and Romano to make a lovely statement. Among The Stars is a real low-key charmer. ~Dan Bilawsky

Among The Stars

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Archie Shepp Quartet - Blue Ballads

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:23
Size: 119.9 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 1996/2007
Art: Front

[ 5:54] 1. Little Girl Blue
[ 7:15] 2. More Than You Know
[ 7:53] 3. Blue In Green
[ 5:09] 4. Blue And Sentimental
[ 7:50] 5. Cry Me A River
[ 7:29] 6. If I Should Lose You
[10:51] 7. Alone Together

Bass – George Mraz; Drums – Idris Muhammad; Piano – John Hicks; Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Vocals – Archie Shepp. Recorded at Clinton Studio "A" on November 24 & 25, 1995 in N.Y.

Recorded in November 1995, saxophonist Archie Shepp's Blue Ballads is a counterpart to True Ballads and Something to Live For, which date from the same period. All three albums feature pianist John Hicks, bassist George Mraz, and drummer Idris Muhammad. These intimate studies in shared introspection, along with Black Ballads and True Blue, document Shepp's astute exploration of the ballad form during the 1990s. On Blue Ballads Shepp mingled time-honored standards such as Rodgers & Hart's "Little Girl Blue," Arthur Schwartz's "Alone Together," and Vincent Youmans' "More Than You Know" with the Miles Davis-Bill Evans masterpiece "Blue in Green" and "Blue and Sentimental," which had served as the feature number for Count Basie's star tenor saxophonist Herschel Evans some 60 years earlier. Once again and in all the best ways, Shepp shines in parallel with his contemporary Pharoah Sanders. Both are skilled balladeers as well as free spirits who simply cannot be bottled or pigeonholed. ~arwulf arwulf

Blue Ballads

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Buck Clayton - Tenderly

Styles: Trumpet Jazz, Swing
Year: 1959
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:09
Size: 86,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:25)  1. I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm
(2:48)  2. Rosetta
(3:09)  3. Lonesome
(3:23)  4. Tenderly
(2:57)  5. Sugar Blues
(2:45)  6. Black And Blue
(2:31)  7. Premier Bal
(2:56)  8. These Foolish Things
(3:07)  9. Louise
(2:45) 10. Pennies From Heaven
(3:24) 11. Stompin' At The Savoy
(2:52) 12. I'm In The Mood For Love

This out-of-print Inner City LP has tasteful playing by Buck Clayton with a French quintet comprised of Jean-Claude Pelletier on piano and organ, guitarist Jean Bonal, bassist Roland Lobligeois and expatraite drummer Kansas Fields. 

The emphasis is on ballads and standards (although there are a pair of obscure Sidney Bechet tunes) but Clayton's appealing sound, naturally melodic style and swinging solos make all of the concise performances of interest to mainstream jazz fans.~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/tenderly-mw0000911536

Personnel:  Buck Clayton – trumpet;  Jean-Claude Pelletier - piano, organ;  Jean Bonal – guitar;  Roland Lobligeois – bass;  Kansas Fields - drums

Tenderly

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Greta Matassa - Favorites From A Long Walk

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:22
Size: 143,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:42)  1. Double Rainbow
(4:46)  2. Inside A Silent Tear
(3:04)  3. Sweet And Lovely
(4:08)  4. He's Gone Again
(3:27)  5. If I Love Again
(6:23)  6. Listen Little Girl
(5:55)  7. I Will Wait For You
(4:55)  8. Look At That Face
(3:55)  9. Late, Late Show
(6:31) 10. Speak Low
(6:20) 11. Never Never Land
(4:44) 12. The Man With A Horn
(3:25) 13. There'll Be Another Spring

A nice album of relatively unknown songs originally done by the great female vocalists of yesteryear. Greta Matassa has a nice way with the music, alternately whispering softly and belting out cadences as the compositions require. Matassa doesn't quite mimic the classic singers, but she does have hints of their styles slyly embedded in her delivery. Ella comes out just a bit when she starts to scat. Carmen McRae comes through a bit on a Jobim number. Sarah Vaughan comes out when she needs to purr a little. Ultimately, there isn't much new to be found here, if one has already heard Matassa's formidable prowess. However, it's a nice round of songs whether it's new or not. Perfect for a slow weekend afternoon. ~ Adam Greenberg  http://www.allmusic.com/album/favorites-from-a-long-walk-mw0000263030

Personnel: Greta Matassa (vocals); Darin Clendenin & Friends, Darin Clendenin (piano); Clipper Anderson (electric bass); Richard Cole (saxophone); Thomas Marriott (trumpet); Mark Ivester (drums).

Favorites From A Long Walk

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Sadao Watanabe - Fly me to the Moon

Styles: Saxophone And Flute Jazz
Year: 1967
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:44
Size: 81,2 MB
Art: Front

(2:35)  1. The Girl from Ipanema
(2:45)  2. Meditation
(3:20)  3. Black Orpheus
(2:54)  4. O Grande Amor
(2:10)  5. Bonita
(4:02)  6. Dindi
(2:20)  7. Mas que Nada
(3:05)  8. The Shadow of Your Smile
(2:16)  9. Fly me to the Moon
(2:41) 10. A Man and a Woman
(3:33) 11. So Danco Samba
(2:56) 12. She is Carioca

Sadao Watanabe has long had a split musical personality. He alternates excellent bebop dates with pop albums. Watanabe learned clarinet and alto in high school, and in the 1950s he moved to Tokyo, joining Toshiko Akiyoshi's bop-oriented group in 1953. When the pianist moved to the U.S. in 1956, Watanabe took over the band. He attended Berklee during 1962-1965 and had the opportunity to work with Gary McFarland, Chico Hamilton, and Gabor Szabo. However, throughout his career Watanabe has remained mostly based in Japan, where he is a major influence on younger players. He has recorded steadily through the years, most notably with Chick Corea in New York (1970) and with the Galaxy All-Stars (1978). Watanabe's bop records are inspired by Charlie Parker, and his pop dates by Brazilian-flavored music. ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/artist/sadao-watanabe-mn0000282544/biography

Personnel:  Sadao Watanabe (Sax, flute); Sadanori Nakamure (Guitar); Masabumi Kikuchi (Piano); Isao Suzuki (Bass); Msahiko Togashi (Drums); Hideo Miyata (Cavasa).

Fly me to the Moon

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Rich Perry - Hearsay

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:49
Size: 184,5 MB
Art: Front

( 9:03)  1. King Baby
( 8:56)  2. Hearsay
(10:14)  3. Sam
( 6:30)  4. Penance
( 8:26)  5. Bigos
( 7:54)  6. Gymel
( 7:39)  7. Then From Now
( 5:03)  8. On Clouds Danced

Rich Perry's eighth Steeplechase disc makes a point of featuring the little-known trumpeter/composer Steve Lampert, who penned all but two of the tunes for the session. Bassist Dennis Irwin and drummer Jeff Hirshfield complete the lineup. The absence of a chordal instrument makes for a lot of harmonic openness, and that serves these sparse, freebop-oriented tunes just fine. Lampert, playing muted all the way through, proves to be a fluid and compelling soloist. As a composer, he gravitates toward unusual rhythmic feels, the best examples being the modified 12-bar blues "Gymel" and the agitated double-time "Penance." Perry seems to thrive on these relatively abstract themes; his interaction with the rhythm section is typically laid-back and imaginative.

Personnel: Rich Perry (tenor saxophone); Steve Lampert (trumpet); Dennis Irwin (bass); Jeff Hirshfield (drums).

Hearsay

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Thomas Marriott - Constraints & Liberations

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:12
Size: 124,4 MB
Art: Front

( 4:14)  1. Diagram
(10:46)  2. Up From Under
( 7:33)  3. Constraints and Liberations
( 6:56)  4. Waking Dream
( 9:35)  5. Early Riser
(10:43)  6. Clues
( 4:22)  7. Treadstone

Trumpeter Thomas Marriott keeps growing as an artist. He has released CDs at a healthy pace since 2005: an introduction for many perhaps unwary jazz fans to some warped country western flavor on Crazy: The Music of Willie Nelson (Origin Records, 2008); cranking an all-star quintet up in a modern mainstream mode on Flexicon (Origin Records, 2009); and letting it rip on a two-trumpet blow fest with fellow brass man Ray Vega on East-West Trumpet Summit (Origin Records, 2010). Constraints and Liberations ups his output to two releases in 2010. Spontaneity has always been a big part of Marriott's jazz game, but with Constraints and Liberations, it seems he has gone deeper into that mode. The set opens with his original "Diagram." A bright splendor of two-horn harmony introduces the tune with a teaming of the leader's open horn and Hans Teuber's haunting tenor saxophone, leading to a shift into brass/reed conversation, with Teuber telepathically finishing Marriott's opening statement. Here, and throughout the set, the rhythm team pianist Gary Versace; bassist Jeff Johnson, and drummer John Bishop maintains a low key tumult that keeps things on edge.

The sound of Constraints and Liberations is often moody and atmospheric, giving the impression of a soundtrack from a movie dealing with impending danger. Marriott is in excellent form, his tone by turns bright or dark, clean or murky, and sometimes anguished, always telling an eloquent story. Teuber's tenor has a distinctive sound, cool and hollow, and somehow diaphanous, like a saxophone played by a disconcerted ghost, while the versatile Versace who has contributed brilliantly to Maria Schneider's orchestra on accordion, and on organ, piano and accordion on numerous sideman dates including drummers John Hollenbeck and Matt Wilson, well as his own discs as leader slips into any accompanist/soloist task at hand, with a fluid sparkle on the title tune, or a quirky solo aside on "Diagram." "Waking Dream" opens with piano teardrops accompanied by a gorgeously introspective muted trumpet. Johnson's bass looms in and lies low, adding, with Bishop's whispering drums, a foundation to the abstraction. "Clues" introduces, in its inception, a late night, foreboding dark alley feeling, bass and drums lurking in the shadows, Marriott and Versace trying to shine a light. Thomas Marriott keeps moving the art forward. Constraints and Liberations may be his best so far. ~ Dan McClenaghan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/constraints-and-liberations-thomas-marriott-origin-records-review-by-dan-mcclenaghan.php

Personnel: Thomas Marriott: trumpet;  Hans Teuber: tenor saxophone;  Gary Versace: piano;  Jeff Johnson: bass;  John Bishop: drums.

Constraints & Liberations

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