Thursday, March 2, 2017

Roma Trio - Love Is A Many Splendored Thing

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:05
Size: 137.6 MB
Styles: Contemporary jazz
Year: 2006
Art: Front

[5:11] 1. Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing
[4:35] 2. If I Should Lose You
[8:59] 3. Whisper Not
[4:42] 4. Airegin
[5:22] 5. On Green Dolphin Street
[4:36] 6. I Love You Porgy
[5:28] 7. Tea For Two
[6:46] 8. Claudia's Nightmare
[7:42] 9. Message In A Bottle
[6:44] 10. Everything I Love

Venus owner and producer Tetsuo Hara is known for recruiting various American jazz musicians for record dates during his regular trips to New York City, but he is also spending time in Europe, where he recruited the Roma Trio for this excellent CD. Unless they gain exposure in the U.S. through appearing on American recordings or performing in New York City, European jazz musicians have a tough time getting recognized in the West. But Hara has long since learned the preferences of the Japanese jazz market, which readily seems to absorb bands he has introduced through his label. Pianist Luca Mannutza, bassist Gianluca Renzi, and drummer Nicola Angelucci tackle a program that includes typical standards, a few overlooked chestnuts, time-tested jazz favorites, and more. The often banal "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" is an unusual choice for an opener, but the Roma Trio don't play it strictly as a slow ballad, nor do they take that approach with the popular "If I Should Lose You," preferring to set up the tune and then launch into rapid-fire bop. "On Green Dolphin Street" is often played by jazz groups with little thought, but the addition of Renzi's infectious vamp provides a novel approach. The pianist's adaptation of Sonny Rollins' "Airegin" takes it a bit from the usual path, blending Brazilian rhythms and classical nuances.Angelucci contributed "Claudia's Nightmare," which sets up as a moody Latin ballad, only to detour frequently into brisk bop. One surprise is the ease with which rocker Sting's "Message in a Bottle" is transformed by the trio into an interesting jazz vehicle. It seems likely that the Roma Trio will gain a foothold in the Japanese jazz market with this potent CD, though they deserve greater exposure worldwide. ~Ken Dryden

Love Is A Many Splendored Thing

Mike & The Mechanics - Hits

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:15
Size: 138.0 MB
Styles: Pop/Rock
Year: 1996
Art: Front

[5:39] 1. All I Need Is A Miracle
[3:38] 2. Over My Shoulder
[3:57] 3. Word Of Mouth
[5:29] 4. The Living Years
[4:15] 5. Another Cup Of Coffee
[4:43] 6. Nobody's Perfect
[6:12] 7. Silent Running
[4:19] 8. Nobody Knows
[4:24] 9. Get Up
[4:48] 10. A Time And Place
[4:20] 11. Taken In
[3:54] 12. Everybody Gets A Second Chance
[4:31] 13. A Beggar On A Beach Of Gold

Bass – Tim Renwick; Drums – Gary Wallis, Peter Van Hooke; Guitar – Mike Rutherford, Tim Renwick; Keyboards – Adrian Lee, B. A. Robertson, Paul Carrack, Steve Piggot; Vocals – Paul Carrack, Paul Young.

All of Mike + the Mechanics' biggest hits are included on the 13-track Hits collection. Though there are a fair share of non-hits and mediocre album tracks, Hits is a first-rate compilation, giving the casual fan all of the essential Mike + the Mechanics tracks, from "Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)" and "All I Need Is a Miracle '96" to "The Living Years." ~Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Hits

Dominique Magloire - Travelin' Light With Billie

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:16
Size: 149.4 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 2015
Art: Front

[1:35] 1. One O'clock Jump, Pt. 1
[3:53] 2. Swing Brother Swing
[3:38] 3. They Can't Take That Away From Me
[4:31] 4. Travelin' Light
[5:39] 5. God Bless The Child
[4:00] 6. Solitude
[5:17] 7. All Of Me
[4:49] 8. My Man
[3:29] 9. I Cried For You
[3:22] 10. Don't Explain
[5:02] 11. The Man I Love
[3:06] 12. Why Was I Born
[3:33] 13. Strange Fruit
[3:01] 14. I Can't Get Started
[8:32] 15. Fine And Mellow
[1:40] 16. One O'clock Jump, Pt. 2

À l’occasion du centenaire de la naissance de l’une des plus grandes chanteuses de jazz, Dominique Magloire sort un album hommage à Billie Holliday « Travelin’ light with Billie ». Un album rendu possible grâce à sa collaboration avec Michel Pastre, grand saxophoniste français et la participation des meilleurs musiciens et arrangeurs de jazz français. Cet album a été enregistré comme dans les années 40, avec toute l’équipe réunie dans la même pièce et une prise directe par chanson.

Ce projet est un hommage à cette interprète illustre au parcours parfois chaotique, devenue l’une des plus grandes chanteuses de jazz au monde, mais aussi le symbole de la lutte contre la ségrégation et les violences pratiquées sur les noirs dans le sud des Etats-Unis. Dotée d’une voix sublime, elle a profondément changé la façon de chanter…

Travelin' Light With Billie

The World's Greatest Jazz Band Of Yank Lawson & Bob Haggart - Live At The Roosevelt Grill

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:32
Size: 106.5 MB
Styles: Big band, Dixieland
Year: 1970/2007
Art: Front

[3:25] 1. That's A Plenty
[3:48] 2. Five Point Blues
[5:06] 3. My Honey's Lovin' Arms
[3:25] 4. Black And Blue
[4:12] 5. That D Minor Thing
[3:37] 6. Royal Garden Blues
[5:26] 7. Come Back Sweet Papa
[4:05] 8. Under The Moonlight Starlight Blue
[3:49] 9. Constantly
[5:05] 10. New Orleans
[4:30] 11. The Jazz Me Blues

This all-star group was founded in 1968 by Dick Gibson at his sixth annual Jazz Party. Despite the impossibility of living up to its outrageous name, the band was indeed the finest in Dixieland/classic jazz. Co-led by Yank Lawson and Bob Haggart, and also featuring Billy Butterfield, Bud Freeman, Bob Miller, and Ralph Sutton, the WGJB originally alternated standards with Dixiefied versions of current pop tunes like "Mrs. Robinson," but its finest album (Live on Atlantic) sticks to hot jamming. After the personnel changed a bit (Eddie Miller and Dick Wellstood passed through the band), the group broke up in 1978, although reunions by Lawson and Haggart in later years sometimes revived the name. Their recordings for Project 3, Atlantic, and their own World Jazz label are pretty much all worth getting. ~bio by Scott Yanow

Live At The Roosevelt Grill

Anne Burnell - Blues In The Night: Songs By Harold Arlen

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:21
Size: 140.5 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2005
Art: Front

[4:10] 1. Blues In The Night
[3:38] 2. A Woman's Prerogative
[5:17] 3. Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe
[5:10] 4. I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues
[5:35] 5. Last Night When We Were Young
[5:20] 6. Over The Rainbow
[5:49] 7. Stormy Weather
[5:25] 8. Paris Is A Lonely Town
[4:03] 9. Come Rain Or Come Shine
[5:40] 10. Ill Wind
[6:43] 11. The Man That Got Away
[4:25] 12. Happy With The Blues

Burnell's engaging performance style instantly grabs the ear, and she does here what she does so well. ~ Jeff Rossen, Cabaret Scenes, March, 2005.

Anne Burnell, formerly Anne Pringle, has been performing to sell-out crowds at large festivals and small clubs in the Chicago area for 12 years. She’s been seen at The Taste of Chicago and The Taste of River North, as well as at The Metropole Room (Fairmont Hotel), Toulouse on the Park, Pop’s for Champagne, and Davenport’s Cabaret with her pianist/vocalist Mark Burnell. The Burnell duo have also had successful engagements in New York City at Don’t Tell Mama, Rose’s Turn, and Judy’s*Chelsea, in Amsterdam at Media Café B&W and in Paris at Les Trois Maillets.

Blues In The Night: Songs By Harold Arlen

Sonny Stitt - Kaleidoscope

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1950
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:38
Size: 104,0 MB
Art: Front

(2:35)  1. Stitt's It
(2:38)  2. Cool Mambo
(2:25)  3. Blue Mambo
(2:28)  4. Sonny Sounds
(3:03)  5. Ain't Misbehavin'
(3:01)  6. Later
(3:01)  7. P.S. I Love You
(2:48)  8. This Can't Be Love
(3:26)  9. Imagination
(2:33) 10. Cherokee
(2:41) 11. Can't We Be Friends
(2:47) 12. Liza
(3:00) 13. To Think You've Chosen Me
(2:29) 14. After You've Gone
(3:09) 15. Our Very Own
(2:26) 16. S'wonderful

Deftly handling the alto, tenor, and baritone saxophone, bebop giant Sonny Stitt is heard to perfection here on a variety of early-'50s dates. Stitt not only shows off his patented speed throughout, but he goes a long way in dispelling criticisms of him being all fire and no grace. The 16-track disc kicks off with four tight, Latin-tinged swingers featuring an octet that includes trumpeter Joe Newman and timbales player Humberto Morales. Switching to piano quartet mode for the bulk of the disc, Stitt ranges effortlessly from frenetic blasts ("Cherokee") to golden-hued ballads ("Imagination"). Capping off the set with four bonus cuts featuring the likes of Gene Ammons and Junior Mance, Stitt delivers one of the top sets of performances from the late bebop era. ~ Stephen Cook http://www.allmusic.com/album/kaleidoscope-mw0000272732

Personnel: Sonny Stitt (alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Larry Townsend (vocals); Gene Ammons (baritone saxophone); Joe Newman , John Hunt , Bill Massey (trumpet); Matthew Gee (trombone); John Houston, Charles Bateman, Junior Mance, Kenny Drew (piano); Wesley Landers, Art Blakey, Shadow Wilson, Teddy Stewart (drums); Humberto Morales (timbales).

Kaleidoscope

Jessica Pilñas - Bitter And Sweet

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:07
Size: 126,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:35)  1. There Must Be An Angel
(3:58)  2. Hurry
(4:10)  3. So I Fell
(5:34)  4. Just Not Today
(3:37)  5. Bridge Over Troubled Water
(4:58)  6. Don't Dream It's Over
(4:16)  7. Bitter And Sweet
(5:08)  8. The Winner Takes It All
(5:15)  9. Stupid
(4:37) 10. The More I See
(3:54) 11. Man In A Balloon
(4:59) 12. Don't Explain

Jessica Georganne Pilnäs, (born 5 July 1978 in Åryd, Växjö ), is a Swedish singer perhaps mostly known for her song "Jag ger dig allt" (English: I give you all). She sang the song in Melodifestivalen 1995, and came in third place. In 2000, Her song, "Pretender", which she recorded under the name Isa, also became a hit single in Sweden. Born in Åryd, she is the daughter of Thommy Gustafsson, keyboard player for the Swedish band Sven-Ingvars. She married the guitarist Johan Norberg and by that taking his family name and known as Jessica Norberg although continuing to use her original name Jessica Pilnäs in various recordings and appearances at concerts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Piln%C3%A4s

Bitter And Sweet

Andy LaVerne Trio - Glass Ceiling

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1993
File: MP3@256K/s
Time: 65:49
Size: 120,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:28)  1. Glass Ceiling
(5:57)  2. Daahoud
(7:14)  3. Litha
(4:27)  4. Zoom
(8:29)  5. You're My Thrill
(5:21)  6. Tones for Joan's Bones
(4:44)  7. Green Piece
(8:12)  8. Jordu
(7:07)  9. All of You
(9:46) 10. Joy Spring

Andy LaVerne's series of consistently fresh CDs for Steeplechase kicked off in the late '80s and shows no signs of letting up, making one wonder if record labels in his native land are too busy searching for the latest young jazz superstar to notice his immense talent. This trio session from 1993 features the pianist with frequent collaborator Steve LaSpina on bass and drummer Anton Fig in a program that includes gems written by Clifford Brown (a driving "Daahoud" and an unusual, break-filled "Joy Spring"), a pair of Chick Corea's tunes (a romp through "Tones for Joan's Bones" and an alternately dark and buoyant interpretation of the lesser-known "Litha"), and a brilliantly reshaped arrangement of Duke Jordan's "Jordu." The quirkiness of LaVerne's "Glass Ceiling" and the drama of his "Green Piece" merit additional attention to his considerable skill as a composer. Like all of Andy LaVerne's many Steeplechase sessions, Glass Ceiling is also highly recommended. ~ Ken Dryden http://www.allmusic.com/album/glass-ceiling-mw0000083789

Personnel:  Andy LaVerne (piano); Steve LaSpina (bass); Anton Fig (drums).

Glass Ceiling

Bud Powell - Lover Come back To Me

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1953
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 32:42
Size: 78,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:37)  1. Tea For Two
(3:34)  2. It Could Happen To You
(7:02)  3. Lover Come Back To Me
(2:55)  4. Lullaby Of Birdland
(3:32)  5. I Want To Be Happy
(4:15)  6. Embracable You
(2:46)  7. I've Got You Under My Skin
(3:01)  8. Ornithology

One of the giants of the jazz piano, Bud Powell changed the way that virtually all post-swing pianists play their instruments. He did away with the left-hand striding that had been considered essential earlier and used his left hand to state chords on an irregular basis. His right often played speedy single-note lines, essentially transforming Charlie Parker's vocabulary to the piano (although he developed parallel to "Bird"). Tragically, Bud Powell was a seriously ill genius. After being encouraged and tutored to an extent by his friend Thelonious Monk at jam sessions in the early '40s, Powell was with Cootie Williams' orchestra during 1943-1945. In a racial incident, he was beaten on the head by police; Powell never fully recovered and would suffer from bad headaches and mental breakdowns throughout the remainder of his life. Despite this, he recorded some true gems during 1947-1951 for Roost, Blue Note, and Verve, composing such major works as "Dance of the Infidels," "Hallucinations" (also known as "Budo"), "Un Poco Loco," "Bouncing with Bud," and "Tempus Fugit." Even early on, his erratic behavior resulted in lost opportunities (Charlie Parker supposedly told Miles Davis that he would not hire Powell because "he's even crazier than me!"), but Powell's playing during this period was often miraculous. A breakdown in 1951 and hospitalization that resulted in electroshock treatments weakened him, but Powell was still capable of playing at his best now and then, most notably at the 1953 Massey Hall Concert. Generally in the 1950s his Blue Notes find him in excellent form, while he is much more erratic on his Verve recordings. His warm welcome and lengthy stay in Paris (1959-1964) extended his life a bit, but even here Powell spent part of 1962-1963 in the hospital. He returned to New York in 1964, disappeared after a few concerts, and did not live through 1966. In later years, Bud Powell's recordings and performances could be so intense as to be scary, but other times he sounded quite sad. However, his influence on jazz (particularly up until the rise of McCoy Tyner and Bill Evans in the 1960s) was very strong and he remains one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time. ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/artist/bud-powell-mn0000640675/biography

Personnel:  Bass – Oscar Pettiford;  Drums – Roy Haynes;  Piano – Bud Powell

Lover Come back To Me