Lluís Coloma - Rockin' My Blues In Chicago

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:06
Size: 89.5 MB
Styles: Blues/Jazz piano
Year: 2011
Art: Front

[3:11] 1. Vicksburg Blues
[2:53] 2. Chicago Breakdown
[2:37] 3. Marie
[2:40] 4. How Long Blues
[2:45] 5. Shreveport Farewell
[3:15] 6. St. Louis Blues
[2:51] 7. Pinetop's Boogie Woogie
[3:51] 8. After Hours
[2:36] 9. Izy Mae
[2:32] 10. Honky Tonk Train Blues
[2:38] 11. Yancey Special
[3:27] 12. St. James Infirmary
[3:46] 13. I Keep On Drinking

Lluis Coloma (piano solo). Special appearance: Barrelhouse Chuck (vocal on #13). Recorded, mixed & mastered at Steve Yates recording Studio, Chicago, November 15,16 & 17, 2010. Produced by Barrelhouse Chuck.

If pianist Lluís Coloma is not the only practitioner of a genre that might be called "Latin boogie-woogie," he must be the major one. He demonstrates what that means at the outset of his sixth album, Rockin' My Blues in Chicago, on "Vicksburg Blues," in which he introduces an unusually syncopated left-hand pattern, and he reminds listeners of his Spanish roots in his version of "St. Louis Blues" by employing a tango rhythm. Elsewhere on a solo piano album devoted to standards of ragtime, stride, boogie-woogie, and blues, he can be more traditional. His version of "How Long Blues," for instance, presents it as a conventional slow piano blues, and his "Shreveport Farewell" shows a mastery of form in its ragtime playing, while "Chicago Breakdown" uses a typical boogie-woogie rhythm, nothing fancy. But Coloma does introduce his own embellishments into "St. James Infirmary," playing some cascading runs in the right hand. And throughout, he always keeps his rhythm playing lively, focusing on movement rather than the beat. This album represents his treatments of the classics in his field, and he manages to put his own individual stamp on them. ~William Ruhlmann

Rockin' My Blues In Chicago

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Deborah Latz - Fig Tree

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 76:39
Size: 175.5 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[6:37] 1. Blue Skies
[3:52] 2. Hi-Fly
[6:39] 3. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
[4:16] 4. É Luxo Só
[5:44] 5. I'm Having A Good Time
[4:44] 6. You Are
[5:03] 7. Fevgo
[6:07] 8. S'wonderful
[5:10] 9. Fig Tree
[5:16] 10. Corcovado (Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars)
[2:51] 11. Embraceable You
[5:27] 12. Ill Wind
[7:30] 13. She Was
[7:17] 14. Moon River

Deborah Latz: vocals; Jon Davis: piano; John Hart: acoustic and electric guitars; Ray Parker: bass; Willard Dyson: drums, percussion; Peter Apfelbaum: tenor and soprano saxophones, flute, percussion; Abdoulaye: voice (13).

West Coast/East Coast vocalist Deborah Latz has released two well- received CDs to date: 2004's Toward Love and 2008's Lifeline (both on June Moon Productions). Coming from a stage background, Latz has no problem instilling drama into her interpretations and does so without sounding like she is trying too hard, a pitfall of many of her contemporaries. Latz has a probing and brilliant alto voice that can achieve several ends at the same time. She can readily conquer the sharp edges of progressively arranged standards like the opening "Blue Skies" while sustaining an always challenging, ultra-slow tempo as on the wholly transformed Cole Porter, "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To." Latz's approach to the standard material is fiercely unique and comparable only to the Tierney Sutton Band's recent recordings, American Road (BFM, 2011) and Desire (Telarc, 2008). "Blue Skies" is given a nervous, urban instrumental treatment, with Latz stretching the phrasing dramatically to the point where the phrasing threatens to lose momentum. But there is no loss, the power velocity is rock steady. Guitarist John Hart provides a jagged edge in his solo, as well as his obligato behind Latz. Jon Davis' piano adds a taste of the islands bolstered by Willard Dyson's deft drumming. "You'd Be So Nice..." is completely reimagined as a Shirley Horn blues slow-drag, introduced with piano and arco bass before establishing its reharmonized direction. Davis channels Gene Harris' blues sensibility in his solo. In "I'm Having A Good Time," Latz finds her Billie Holiday muse, bolstered by Hart's tasty blues guitar and Davis' two-fisted piano playing. "Embraceable You" and "Corcovado" make an interesting internal diptych, the former experimental and bracing (Latz and bassist Parker duet) and the latter sleek and smooth, as breezy as it should be, again featuring Hart's handy guitar work. The closing "Moon River" is somber and slightly dissonant and easily the slowest tempo on the record. Singing slow is one of the most challenging things for a singer to do. Latz with there with the best of them: Horn and Rebecca Parris.

Latz's original compositions are provocative. "You Are" features Peter Apfelbaum tenor saxophone sparing with Latz to a draw, giving equal attention to both voices in this unusual duet. Edgy and unsettled "You Are" only anticipates the equally challenging "She was." Latz is not a devoted genre-breaker, opting to color within the lines, just sometimes she moves those lines. ~C. Michael Bailey

Fig Tree

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Pearl Django - Eleven

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:43
Size: 116.1 MB
Styles: Gypsy jazz, Swing
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[5:53] 1. Sonara
[4:30] 2. Jeannine
[3:14] 3. Prozac Musette
[4:35] 4. Endless Fields Of Green
[2:55] 5. Rumbatism
[5:03] 6. Serafina
[5:11] 7. Eleventh Hour
[3:53] 8. Rue De Dinan
[3:53] 9. Bella Deluxe
[3:32] 10. Pannonica
[3:38] 11. Jive At Five
[4:22] 12. Zimovia

We are very excited about our CD titled Eleven. We are joined by the magnificent guitarist, Martin Taylor on three tracks. Martin penned two of the compositions he can be heard on and the third is a reworking of a tune Martin had recorded with the great Stephane Grappelli. . If you have been listening to our recent CDs you know we have been recording more and more originals and this CD continues that trend. We hope you like it.

Eleven

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Sarah Menescal - The Voice Of The New Bossa Nova

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 34:50

Size: 79.8 MB

Styles: Bossa Nova, Jazz vocals

Year: 2014

Art: Front

[4:08] 1. Don't Speak

[3:28] 2. Time After Time

[2:33] 3. Here Comes The Sun

[3:51] 4. Alive And Kicking

[2:38] 5. Something

[3:51] 6. Every Beat Of My Heart

[4:15] 7. Ticket To Ride

[3:39] 8. Caravan Of Love

[2:33] 9. In My Life

[3:49] 10. Angels

Sarah Menescal es la cantante que ha traído al bossa nova hasta un lugar absolutamente nuevo. Dueña de una magnífica voz y rodeada de una increíble tripulación de productores y músicos, ha llegado a los estudios discográficos con una sólida trayectoria en su espalda. (Vintage Café, Jazz y series de los años 80, etc).

Su primer album " The Voice of the New Bossa Nova ", lanzado en el año 2014 obtuvo un exito mundial. En este año 2016 nos regala su segundo Trabajo "Consequence of Love" , donde una vez mas, nos enamora con sus versiones jazz & bossa sobre grandes clásicos de la historia musical.

The Voice Of The New Bossa Nova 

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Vic Juris - Songbook

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:45
Size: 145.9 MB
Styles: Bop, Guitar jazz
Year: 2000
Art: Front

[4:46] 1. Billie's Bounce
[6:37] 2. I Won't Dance
[5:07] 3. Luiza
[4:17] 4. All The Things You Are
[7:08] 5. Soul Eyes
[5:38] 6. Touch Me Lightly
[5:58] 7. Nuages
[7:05] 8. Moment To Moment
[3:28] 9. Time Remembered
[7:53] 10. Songbook
[5:44] 11. Milestones

Following up on his ambitious Eric Dolphy tribute, Vic Juris returns to the basics: a straight-ahead guitar trio, playing all standards and jazz classics (save for Juris' title track). Songbook offers an especially clear and sustained look at the artist's approach to standard harmony. His rhythm section players, bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Jeff Hirshfield, give him expert support, as they've done over the course of several albums. Juris sounds decidedly Metheny-esque at times, but he makes even the most visited material his own, particularly "All the Things You Are," played as a duo with Hirshfield. In a new twist, Juris plays nylon-string acoustic guitar on "Luiza" and "Nuages," the latter a breathtaking duet with Anderson. He also offers an unaccompanied steel-string acoustic rendition of Bill Evans' "Time Remembered." This is certainly one of Juris' most representative recordings to date. ~David R. Adler

Songbook

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Roy Hargrove - Moment to Moment

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:38
Size: 157,5 MB
Art: Front

(6:06)  1. You Go to My Head
(5:48)  2. Always and Forever
(5:25)  3. Natural Wonders
(6:17)  4. Moment to Moment
(5:51)  5. I'm a Fool to Want You
(5:34)  6. How Insensitive
(5:57)  7. I'm Glad There Is You
(6:11)  8. A Time for Love
(5:57)  9. The Very Thought of You
(5:58) 10. Peri
(4:07) 11. I Fall in Love Too Easily
(5:23) 12. Another Time

A public figure or celebrity has "made it" when his face appears on the cover of TIME magazine or perhaps when a parade in her honor is held in New York. For a jazz artist, 'making it' means recording with an orchestra. Charlie Parker With Strings may have been the first in a long line of jazz records to court the romance of a string section. For trumpeters, Clifford Brown and Chet Baker's orchestral albums come to mind. Trumpeter Roy Hargrove was known early in his career (1989 or so) as a hard-bop descendant of Clifford Brown. His early Novus recordings (the best being The Vibe ) showed a fire in his belly for all things breakneck. A natural talent, Hargrove developed his lyrical side with explorations of the jazz tradition, the albums Family (1995) and an often overlooked trio (with Stephan Scott and Christian McBride) tribute to the music of Charlie Parker entitled Parker's Mood displayed a matured horn. His Cuban jazz record, Crisol opened a new door and returned the fire to his music with a Latin sound. Lately he has been working with a big band, I suspect a recording of which should surface soon. 

Hargrove has reached a jazz pinnacle, his story has made the cover of jazz magazines and this With Strings record is his parade. But for Hargrove and his bandmates, the twelve ballads presented sound like a Ferrari driven at 10mph. His band, which includes the Cannonball Adderley descendant Sherman Irby and a pure hard-bop rhythm section seem to ooze energy restraining themselves. Moment To Moment, better than anything Terence Blanchard has produced, is Hargrove's ticket to score upcoming movies. 

The Monterey Jazz Festival Chamber Orchestra, whose arrangements were written by Larry Willis, Gil Goldstein, and Cedar Walton, are tastefully minimal. Perhaps the recording venue, the Monterey Peninsula, and the music choice: Mandel, Cahn, Mancini, Jobim, Dorsey, and Methany-ballads account for the quixotic feelings exuded here. A first-class recording and beautiful sound mark Hargrove's sophistication as an artist. He has painted the final scene to a very heartbreaking melancholy film in my mind. I couldn't watch it everyday, but it certainly serves it's purpose. ~ Mark Corroto https://www.allaboutjazz.com/moment-to-moment-roy-hargrove-verve-music-group-review-by-mark-corroto.php

Personnel: Roy Hargrove - Trumpet, Flugelhorn;  Sherman Irby - Alto Saxophone;  Larry Willis - Piano;  Gerald Cannon - Bass; Willie Jones, III -  Drums;

Moment to Moment

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Hilary Kole - Moments Like This

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:56
Size: 130,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:20)  1. Moments Like This
(3:28)  2. I Wanna Be Loved
(3:27)  3. You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To
(3:58)  4. Can't We Be Friends?
(4:39)  5. Close Your Eyes
(3:37)  6. The Folks Who Live on the Hill
(5:12)  7. You and the Night and the Music
(4:37)  8. Don't Ever Leave Me/Once Upon a Summer Time
(3:35)  9. The End of a Love Affair
(4:25) 10. Too Late Now
(5:09) 11. Come Back to Me
(2:32) 12. Nobody Else But Me
(1:57) 13. Through a Thousand Dreams
(2:43) 14. Cry Me a River
(4:10) 15. Kisses in the Rain

Hilary Kole co- created and originated the lead female roles in the critically acclaimed, award winning Off-Broadway musicals, "Our Sinatra." (2000 MAC Award) and "Singing Astaire." Ms. Kole has been hailed by critics as a "musical marvel!" (Rex Reed, New York Observer. ) In reviewing Kole's performance in the New York Times, Stephen Holden wrote,"swinging…sultry….sexy with a sharp-edged hint of brass in her voice…Kole locates the desperation and impatience lurking in Cole Porter's besotted lyrics." And Robert Daniels from Daily Variety said "Kole is quite the prettiest young thrush on the club circuit…it's torch singing at its apex." Ms. Kole began her professional career at the legendary Rainbow Room as the youngest singer ever to grace the stage. From there, she appeared in a sold-out run at the famed Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel, made her concert hall debut at Lincoln Center as part of the "American Songbook Series" with Jonathan Schwartz, and in June of 2007, appeared at Carnegie Hall during a Tribute to Oscar Peterson, and in January, 2008, at the Canadian Tribute to Dr. Peterson at Roy Thompson Hall alongside Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, and Nancy Wilson. Hilary has appeared as a headliner in New York City at Town Hall (Nightlife Awards), Birdland, The Blue Note, Iridium, the Jazz Standard, and at Carnegie Hall with Michael Feinstein. Apart from appearing throughout the country with her two shows, "Our Sinatra" and "Singing Astaire," Hilary is also a favorite at the Continental Airlines Arena, singing the National Anthem for sporting events,as well as been featured at the 92nd Street YMHA concert series "Lyrics and Lyricists" and "Jazz in July" with pianist Dick Hyman. In 2005, Hilary debuted in Perugia, Italy, at the famed Umbria Jazz Festival, as well as the Nairn Jazz Festival in Narin, Scotland, and throughout Spain.

In the past year, Hilary had the honor of recording with Jazz legands Oscar Peterson and Hank Jones, as well as master composer, Michel LeGrand. Ms. Kole has also appeared alongside Alan Broadbent, Lee Musiker, Dave Frishberg, Roger Kellaway, Tedd Firth, Houston Person, Harry Allen, Joel Frahm, Russell Malone, John Pizzarelli, Paul Meyers, Gene Bertoncini, Lewis Nash, Mark McLean, and Paul Gill among others. Kole's television appearances include CNN's Showbiz Today, Fox's Good Day New York, PBS, NBC's Today in New York, as well as a half hour feature on CN8's 'One on One with Steve Adubato'. Hilary began singing and playing the piano at age five. At twelve, she received a scholarship to attend the Walden School for music composition, where she spent her next 6 summers. Her compositions garndered three National Federation of Music Awards. She is also the recipient of the prestigious Delius Award for her work "Piano Trio No.1" which received its world premiere with the Jacksonville Symphony. Upon graduating high school, she was granted a scholarship by the Oakley Foundation to study composition at Manhattan School of Music. Hilary's compositions have been performed by the New England Brass Quintet, the Peabody Trio, and the Manhattan School of Music Jazz Vocal Ensemble, among others. Hilary has entertained at some of Manhattan's most prestigious events, including a Democratic Fundraiser for President Bill Clinton; an Emmy party in honor of Oprah Winfrey's Lifetime Achievement Award; the Helen Hays Awards, and as the featured entertainer at the movie premier parties for Maid in Manhattan starring Jennifer Lopez, and Mona Lisa Smile and Stepmom starring Julia Roberts. Hilary also appeared at the 2004 Super Bowl at the Houston Astrodome. https://www.last.fm/music/Hilary+Kole/+wiki

Moments Like This

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Monty Alexander - Goin' Yard

Styles: Piano Jazz 
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:58
Size: 144,7 MB
Art: Front

( 3:05)  1. The Serpent
( 7:01)  2. Grub
( 5:27)  3. King Tubby Meets the Rockers Uptown
( 4:52)  4. Could You Be Loved
( 5:57)  5. Trust
( 4:39)  6. Sight Up!
( 6:23)  7. Hurricane
( 6:57)  8. Hope
(10:19)  9. Exodus
( 4:54) 10. Skankin' Lennox
( 3:18) 11. Day-0

Monty Alexander has been flirting the recording of Jamaican music, the music of his homeland, for over the past two decades, when he started recording his Ivory And Steel albums on Concord. Even those initial Ivory And Steel efforts were recorded eight years apart, and the bulk of his recording activity and the bulk of his reputation have relied on his feel-good jazz swing. Accompanying singers, performing solo or in his own trio or playing as part of a larger band like Dizzy Gillespie’s, Alexander has spent over 40 years following the muse of Louis Armstrong, who inspired him to develop his jazz chops when Alexander heard him in Kingston. Ever since Alexander signed with Telarc, he has gone back to his roots and has in effect revitalized Jamaican music, now that some of the original practitioners of the music, like Bob Marley, are gone. First Stir It Up: The Music Of Bob Marley, then Monty Meets Sly And Robbie and now Goin’ Yard (meaning “going home”) have solidly identified Alexander as one of the leading proponents of the music. It seems that, despite his versatility, he’s going to stay with Jamaican music for the foreseeable future. And why not? It’s fun, it’s relatively neglected, and it’s a genre that needs a well-known contemporary proponent. So well-known is Alexander’s work that the Jamaican government last year bestowed upon him the Order Of Distinction, Commander Class.

Yet, Alexander’s recent work with Jamaican music still doesn’t seem to be recognized by the general public, and with good reason: They’ve been listening to decades of his straight-ahead jazz recordings. So, when Alexander’s Goin’ Yard group started on “The Serpent” in Pittsburgh’s Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild, the audience’s initial reception was quiet. Or so it seemed. It certainly wasn’t quiet when the performance ended. “Day-O” at the end of the CD seems to be an encore tune that the crowd’s wild applause demanded. In between “The Serpent” and “Day-O,” Alexander presents a percussive program, as is his style, of infectious music honoring some of his island musician friends and creating musical impressions of some of the Caribbean country’s characteristics, such as Alexander’s rumbling introduction to “The Hurricane.” Taking out the horns that were on Monty Meets Sly And Robbie and the steel pans that were on the Ivory And Steel albums, Alexander maintains the lead throughout the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild performances over the two nights there in October. With guitar lines and some keyboard embellishment, for the most part, Goin’ Yard is piano-led, an unusual phenomenon for Jamaican music. Yet, the same earthy spirit remains, one that makes people get up and dance and clap.

Musically paying tribute to some of Alexander’s friends and influences, Goin’ Yard introduces us to an early associate of his, bassist Carlton “Grub” Messam, who was murdered in Kingston. Alexander doesn’t mourn, but rather elevates “Grub’s” spirit. Then there’s “King Tubby,” a Jamaican recording engineer who added various sound effects to albums produced by the island’s musicians. Alexander doesn’t neglect the fact that boxer Lennox Lewis insists that producers play reggae music when he enters the ring. Alexander lightly swing on “Skankin’ Lennox,” throwing occasional jabs and darting accents for punctuation. Of course, Alexander includes some Bob Marley tunes as well: “Could You Be Loved” and a combination of Marley’s funk and Ernest Gold’s lushness on “Exodus.” Even though Monty Alexander is goin’ deeper and deeper into the Jamaican music revitalization, his work on the last three albums has varied the instrumentation and approach so that it remains fresh. An optimistic street music, reggae’s power for musical inspiration and its sly way of encouraging social awareness deserves to be perpetuated. And now that Monty Alexander has turned his attention solely, it seems, to the liveliness of Jamaican music, its popularity is continuing. ~ AAJ Staff  https://www.allaboutjazz.com/goin-yard-monty-alexander-telarc-records-review-by-aaj-staff.php?width=1920

Personnel: Monty Alexander, piano; Wayne Armond, guitar, vocal; Robert Browne, guitar; Dwight Dawes, keyboards; Glen Browne, bass; Desmond Jones, drums; Robert Thomas, Jr., hand drums

Goin'Yard

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Steve LaSpina Quartet - Story Time

Styles: Jazz, Post-Bop
Year: 2010
File: MP3@256K/s
Time: 59:13
Size: 110,2 MB
Art: Front

( 6:17)  1. In the sky
( 9:08)  2. Story time
( 7:26)  3. That day
( 6:53)  4. Fanfare
(11:52)  5. Skylark
( 6:08)  6. Scott's bop
( 5:11)  7. It's no party without you
( 6:15)  8. Il volo di florindo

Here’s another captivating CD by Steve LaSpina, a highly talented and imaginative composer and resourceful leader as well as the outstanding bass instrumentalist. On his composition, Mark Gardner writes, “ His writing is neither fussy nor over-emphatic. It allows everyone to ‘breathe’ while enhancing the listener’s enjoyment… ”

Personnel:  Steve LaSpina - bass, writer;  Billy Drewes - tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet;  Vic Juris – guitar; Jeff Hirshfield - drums

Story Time

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Peter Erskine and the Dr. Um Band - Second Opinion

Styles: Fusion, Crossover Jazz
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:17
Size: 131,6 MB
Art: Front

(7:42)  1. Hipnotherapy
(4:59)  2. Eleven Eleven
(5:54)  3. Street of Dreams
(7:01)  4. Not so Yes
(7:07)  5. Did It Have to Be You?
(4:45)  6. Lida Rose
(6:39)  7. Solar Steps
(5:22)  8. Dreamsville
(7:42)  9. Willow Weep for Me

Following the success of Peter Erskine's 'Dr. Um and the Lost Pages,' Peter and his Dr. Um Band are ready to offer a Second Opinion. With a slew of new compositions plus some tasty standards from Henry Mancini and Victor Young, 'Second Opinion' reaches new heights for fun, funk, swing and interactive blowing . . . all in Hi-Fi sound! Peter says that this is his 'favorite album yet. ' Building upon terrific media coverage and reviews for 'Dr. Um,' Second Opinion will easily find its audience of Erskine fans, Beasley fans, Bob Sheppard fans, and soon-to-be Benjamin Shepherd (bassist) fans. ~ Editorial Reviews https://www.amazon.com/Second-Opinion-Peter-Erskine/dp/B01N0PBZ0I

Personnel:  Peter Erskine - drums, percussion;  John Beasley – keyboards;  Bob Sheppard - saxes, flute;  Benjamin Shepherd - bass

Second Opinion

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