Joe Bushkin - Live At The Embers 1952

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:15
Size: 115.0 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 2016
Art: Front

[ 5:58] 1. But Not For Me
[ 6:03] 2. After You've Gone
[ 8:49] 3. Ballad Medley: Easy Living/I've Got The World On A String/ If You Were Mine/Body And Soul
[ 4:30] 4. St Louis Blues
[ 5:22] 5. You're Just In Love
[ 7:16] 6. Honeysuckle Rose
[12:14] 7. Medley: Memories Of You/Yesterdays/September Song/California Here I Come

JOE BUSHKIN piano; BUCK CLAYTON trumpet; MILT HINTON bass; “PAPA” JO JONES drums.

One night in early 1952, violinist and innovative audiophile David Sarser lugged one of the first Ampex reel-to-reel tape decks into a popular Manhattan nightclub on East 54th street called The Embers to record some of the excellent music being served up nightly by four of the world's top Jazz musicians at the top of their game. To hear Clayton live in 1952 on this previously unreleased recording is a revelation. When Bushkin's quartet opened at The Embers for a two-week engagement in the Fall of 1951, they caused such a sensation that owner Ralph Watkins held them over for 16 weeks. Patrons would congregate nightly at the El Morocco club across the street to wait for a table at The Embers to open up.

Live At The Embers 1952

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The Jeff Steinberg Orchestra - The Sound Of Swing

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 46:55

Size: 107.4 MB

Styles: Swing

Year: 2012

Art: Front

[3:08] 1. Don't Be That Way

[3:49] 2. After You've Gone

[3:12] 3. Taking A Chance On Love (Feat. Jaimee Paul)

[4:52] 4. Moonglow

[3:22] 5. Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen

[3:27] 6. Flying Home

[4:59] 7. How Long Has This Been Going On? (Feat. Jaimee Paul)

[4:32] 8. Pennies From Heaven

[4:45] 9. Body And Soul

[3:44] 10. Why Don't You Do Right (Feat. Jaimee Paul)

[3:14] 11. Avalon

[3:46] 12. Goodbye

Denis Solee, clarinet ; Chris Walters, piano ; Roger Spencer, bass ; Chris Brown, drums ; Steve Patrick, trumpet ; Roy Agee, trombone ; Jaimee paul, vocals ; Jeff Steinberg, vibes, add'l keyboards. Produced and arranged by Jeff Steinberg. A tribute to the Benny Goodman sound and the music of the 30s and 40s.

After more than thirty-five years as a composer, arranger/orchestrator, pianist, producer and music educator, Jeff Steinberg's work continues to span the professional spectrum which includes spectacular Jazz, Big Band, and Orchestral recordings as well as original scores for advertising, television, and film.

Upon graduating from the Berklee School in 1969, he joined The Glenn Miller Orchestra under the direction of Buddy DeFranco and toured the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Japan. Since then, he has worked with such luminaries as Maynard Ferguson, Count Basie, Stan Kenton, Perry Como, and Michel Legrand, and produced and arranged music for the advertising campaigns of General Motors, McDonald’s, ALCOA, The Monsanto Company, TimeLife and others. He has arranged, conducted, and performed with and for The London Symphony, Scottish National Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, the orchestras of Nashville, Detroit and Tampa, as well as Randy Newman, Anne Murray, Art Garfunkel, Roberta Flack, Michael Feinstein, Olivia Newton-John, and Paul Anka.

The Sound Of Swing)  

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Mose Allison - Hello There, Universe

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 36:09

Size: 82.8 MB

Styles: Bop, Piano jazz

Year: 1970/2006

Art: Front

[2:14] 1. Somebody Gotta Move

[4:55] 2. Monsters Of The Id

[2:38] 3. I Don't Want Much

[3:48] 4. Hello There, Universe

[3:42] 5. No Exit

[2:23] 6. Wild Man On The Loose

[4:53] 7. Blues In The Night

[2:52] 8. I'm Smashed

[6:21] 9. Hymn To Everything

[2:17] 10. On The Run

Alto Saxophone, Flute – Jerome Richardson; Baritone Saxophone – Pepper Adams, Seldon Powell; Bass – Bob Cranshaw, John Williams; Drums – Joe Cocuzzo; Tenor Saxophone – Joe Farrell, Joe Henderson; Trumpet – Jimmy Nottingham, Richard Williams; Vocals, Piano, Organ – Mose Allison.

This obscure Mose Allison LP has the pianist/singer/lyricist using a larger band than usual, an octet with Richard Williams and Jimmy Nottingham on trumpets, altoist Jerome Richardson, either Joe Henderson or Joe Farrell on tenor, Pepper Adams or Seldon Powell on baritone, Bob Cranshaw and John Williams on bass, and drummer Joe Cucuzzo. The truth is, most of the other musicians are really not needed, for their solos take away from Allison's vocals and piano solos. Allison (who also plays a bit of organ) contributed nine of the ten songs on the album (all but "Blues in the Night"), best known of which are "Hello There, Universe" and "Wild Man on the Loose," although there are no hits or future standards included. This album, therefore, is a gap-filler rather than an essential recording. ~Scott Yanow

Hello There, Universe    

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Barbara Raimondi - Singin' Ornette!!!

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:04
Size: 119.2 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2014
Art: Front

[5:57] 1. The Missing (The Blessing)
[4:05] 2. Una Muy Bonita
[2:02] 3. Kathelin Gray (Intro)
[3:24] 4. Katheline Gray (Theme)
[4:39] 5. Turn Around Me (Turnaround)
[5:41] 6. Tone Dialing (Congeniality)
[4:21] 7. Check Up
[7:38] 8. Is It Forever
[5:57] 9. Mr. Ornette (Peace)
[8:16] 10. Lonely Woman

Barbara Raimondi works in the music field for over 25 years; has, to its active, posting five CDs as a soloist and has numerous collaborations, both in the jazz field that part of pop music. Subsequently he faced opera studies and has participated in many contemporary music productions. She graduated from the Conservatory of Turin and is currently professor of jazz singing at the Conservatory of Cuneo and Training Programs Music of the City of Turin (Civic School). (Translated from Italian text)

Singin' Ornette!!!

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The Mike Sammes Singers - It Had To Be You

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:27
Size: 140.7 MB
Styles: Easy Listening, Harmony vocal group
Year: 1996/2004
Art: Front

[3:30] 1. I've Heard That Song Before
[3:03] 2. Last Of The Summer Wine
[3:19] 3. I'm Comin' Home
[3:25] 4. You Are My Hearts Delight
[2:00] 5. Remember
[3:23] 6. The Mafair Ladies' Quartet
[2:42] 7. I've Told Ev'ry Little Star
[3:06] 8. Humming Bird
[3:15] 9. As Time Goes By
[3:00] 10. We'll Meet Again
[2:35] 11. It Had To Be You
[3:06] 12. All The Things You Are
[2:58] 13. You And I
[2:19] 14. All Alone
[2:40] 15. If You Were The Only Girl In The World
[3:05] 16. Laughter In The Rain
[2:29] 17. What'll I Do
[2:33] 18. So In Love With You
[3:12] 19. Once In A While
[3:06] 20. Strollin'
[2:33] 21. Ta-Ra

Michael Sammes was born in Reigate, Surrey, and studied cello, singing, and arranging. He went to work for a music publisher and formed the Mike Sammes Singers during the mid-'50s. A vocal ensemble of varying size whose members were often divided up into smaller ensembles for session work, the Mike Sammes Singers were busy from the start, making regular appearances on the BBC, singing on the bill of variety shows at the London Palladium, doing guest appearances on television programs, and singing on recording sessions backing up various singers. The group intersected with skiffle and rock & roll surprisingly early, singing backup to the Vipers Skiffle Group. Members of the Mike Sammes Singers were also present for the first recording session by Cliff Richard & The Shadows on July 24, 1958, where they backed the band up singing "Schoolboy Crush," the original A-side of their first single (which was quickly flipped over in favor of the harder rocking Ian Samwell original "Move It"). They were very busy during the '60s, primarily in the pop field, though they also provided the choral backing for a critically acclaimed studio cast recording of the Wright/Forrest musical Kismet, conducted by Mantovani for Decca/London's Phase 4 label, featuring Robert Merrill. They later had a contract with Fontana Records, which led to a recording featuring the group performing Gilbert & Sullivan's The Mikado under conductor John Gregory. The group also had its own BBC program, Sammes Songs. The group and several of its members intersected with the Beatles on two key recordings -- that was the Mike Sammes Singers backing up the band on their recording of "I Am the Walrus," and they would also turn up singing the choral backing on "Good Night." The Mike Sammes Singers remained very busy into the '70s, doing recordings for television (Secret Service) and appearing on the small screen (The Val Doonican Show, 1971). They worked on sessions with Olivia Newton-John and were still doing studio recordings into the next decade and beyond. ~bio by Bruce Eder

It Had To Be You

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John Stein - Raising The Roof

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:01
Size: 130.5 MB
Styles: Jazz guitar
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[6:47] 1. Nica's Dream
[5:07] 2. Moanin'
[6:24] 3. A Child Is Born
[8:19] 4. Elvin!
[7:30] 5. Invitation
[6:34] 6. Vivo Sonhando (Dreamer)
[5:13] 7. Beautiful Love
[4:45] 8. Wild Woods
[6:18] 9. The Boys From Syracuse Falling In Love With Love

John Stein: guitar; Koichi Sato: keyboards; John Lockwood: acoustic bass; Zé Eduardo Nazario: drums and percussion.

Raising the Roof is a hard-swinging and thoroughly enjoyable album by Boston-based guitarist John Stein. Featuring an all-star quartet, with keyboardist Koichi Sato, bassist John Lockwood and drummer Zé Eduardo Nazario, the group plays together with a sense of cohesion that borders on the realm of ESP. While this level of communication and familiarity is to be expected by world-class jazz musicians such as these, what is surprising is that they were able to play in this fashion with such a quick rehearsal and recording schedule, another testament to their masterful musicality. The tunes are a mix of freshly-arranged jazz standards and Stein's original compositions. Stein's arrangements stick fairly close to the original composers' intents, but go beyond the realm of simple head charts. A master of subtlety, as both a player and writer/arranger, Stein finds small ways to breathe new life into these classic jazz tunes.

Stein guitar playing on Raising the Roof is simplistic in the best sense of the word. Modern jazz soloists, especially guitarists, are often guilty of overplaying and of making the music complex for the sake of being so, something that has simultaneously raised the intellectual level of the music and isolated the general audience. There's a strong sense that his ears are guiding his notes, not his technique, which is something that can only come from spending as many years on the bandstand as Stein has. Using all of these approaches, Stein draws his audience in, allowing it to be a part of the music—something of a lost art on the jazz scene in recent years.

Raising the Roof is not going to reinvent jazz or change the way people think about jazz guitar. What it will do is provide an hour of musical enjoyment for musicians and non-musicians alike. Far too often jazz is criticized because the musicians seem to be creating music, either for themselves or the enjoyment of other jazz musicians. Stein successfully keeps the music intellectually relevant, while at the same time enjoyable and broadly accessible; not an easy feat to accomplish in any musical genre. ~Matthew Warnock

Raising The Roof

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Niels Lan Doky, Daniel Humair, Chris Minh Doky, Randy Brecker - Paris by Night

Styles: Piano, Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 1993
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 74:37
Size: 171,7 MB
Art: Front

(11:37)  1. Invitation
( 7:29)  2. Blue 'n' Boogie
( 8:34)  3. Lover Man
(13:13)  4. Sonnymoon for Two
(10:52)  5. Dreams
(12:16)  6. Secret Love
(10:33)  7. Someday My Prince Will Come

While this is ostensibly a shared session, with pianisron  Niels Lan Doky, drummer Daniel Humair, bassist Chris Minh Doky and trumpeter Randy Brecker equal participants, it's Brecker's mix of mellow solos, bent notes, slurs and superb statements that dominate the date. While the others play nicely, Brecker's melodic and harmonic inventiveness dominates such songs as "Invitation," "Lover Man" and "Sonnymoon For Two." It's been many years since he's demonstrated such facility and command in a straight jazz setting, and those times he lays out the energy level dips considerably. The results are outstanding when Brecker's featured, and otherwise interesting, but subdued. ~ Ron Wynn http://www.allmusic.com/album/paris-by-night-mw0000623104

Personnel: Neils Lan Doky (piano); Daniel Humair (drums); Chris Minh Doky (bass); Randy Brecker (trumpet).

Paris by Night

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Andy LaVerne Quartet - Stan Getz In Chappaqua

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1997
File: MP3@256K/s
Time: 59:29
Size: 109,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:30)  1. Lester Left Town
(7:55)  2. Dear Old Stockholm
(5:57)  3. Early Autumn
(5:54)  4. Eiderdown
(4:18)  5. Blue Serge
(7:36)  6. Windows
(5:48)  7. Desafinado / O Grande Amor / The Girl From Ipanema
(6:14)  8. 500 Miles High
(6:38)  9. Stan's Blues
(3:33) 10. Stan Getz in Chappaqua

Andy LaVerne was Stan Getz's pianist from 1977 to 1981; this tribute CD is primarily a standard quartet covering some of the late tenor giant's favorite songs, although LaVerne never recorded any of them with him. Don Braden's approach to the tenor is not as powerful or lush as Getz but he is more than adequate. Highlights include the sensuous "Early Autumn," the snappy "Eiderdown" and a strolling version of Getz's hit "Dear Old Stockholm." Especially worth hearing is the LaVerne-Braden duet of the title track, a retitled remake of the an original piece "Chappaqua" that he recorded as a member of the Getz Quartet. Bassist Steve LaSpina, drummer Danny Gottlieb and guitarist Dave Stryker (who performs only on the Jobim bossa nova medley) round out the excellent rhythm section. Andy LaVerne's output in the 1990s has been consistently excellent, yet he still hasn't drawn the critical attention he deserves; this CD out to help put him on the map. ~ Ken Dryden http://www.allmusic.com/album/stan-getz-in-chappaqua-mw0000049605

Personnel: Andy LaVerne (piano, keyboards); Dave Stryker (guitar); Don Braden (tenor saxophone); Danny Gottlieb (drums).

Stan Getz In Chappaqua

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Archie Shepp And Roswell Rudd - Live In New York

Styles: Saxophone And Trombone Jazz
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 74:01
Size: 174,2 MB
Art: Front

( 2:11)  1. Keep Your Heart Right
( 8:23)  2. Acute Motelitis
( 7:33)  3. Steam
( 8:27)  4. Pazuzu
( 5:46)  5. We Are The Blues
( 9:16)  6. Ujamma
( 5:46)  7. Bamako
(11:57)  8. Slide By Slide
( 3:59)  9. Deja Vu
(10:38) 10. Hope No 2

The year was 1994. The venue: the Eilat Red Sea Jazz Festival. Hundreds of sweltering Jazz aficionados waited in a huge converted cargo shed to witness reedman Archie Shepp and his quartet a marquee coup for the Israeli festival. When Shepp swaggered onto the stage, the more discerning members of the audience (including this reviewer) could scarcely conceal their disappointment. Here was the 1960s hero of radical Jazz conservatively bedecked in two–piece gray suit and tie. He might as well have emerged from Wall Street. More disconcerting was that this aging maestro and his group played mostly standards, and Shepp’s vocals were not always up to the task. With a lineup that included a shaky–looking but strong–sounding Horace Parlan on piano, one couldn’t help but be dismayed. Fast forward to 2000.   On Roswell Rudd and Archie Shepp Live in New York, Shepp (playing tenor sax, piano and crooning) is in top avant-garde form in the company of trombone titans Roswell Rudd and Grachan Moncur III, percussionist extraordinaire Andrew Cyrille and ever surprising bassist Reggie Workman. The CD sizzles with excitement. The one downer  as odd as a seven–dollar bill  is the inclusion of Amiri Baraka (“We Are the Blues”) with a hideously boring poem about the blues. 

One of the most endearing aspects of this collaboration  recorded live at the Big Apple’s Jazz Standard last September is the seamless way in which Rudd and Shepp move between the orbits of furious abandon (“Acute Motelitis”) and engagingly mellow pieces (“Steam,” “Déjà Vu”). The Paris–based saxophonist’s deft and delicate piano playing and crooning is a major highlight of this disc. Shepp shines on saxophone too, with his trademark vibrato and lyrically sculpured phrasing. The influence of Herbie Nichols and Elmo Hope overwhelms but never threatens to suffocate the proceedings. Tunes like “Acute Motelitis,” “Ujamma” and “Hope No. 2” bear out this tendency. Located somewhere between the stylings of Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk, these numbers bristle with their own unique harmonic sense. 

Reggie Workman has been such a ubiquitous presence in Jazz circles for nearly fifty years that one could say he “hides in plain sight.” From straight-ahead blues to avant-garde situations, this creative bassist anchors this particular live session with great flair. Ditto Andrew Cyrille who has been grossly overlooked in terms of his contribution to the percussive lexicon. His sheer prowess in punctuating and parsing the pulse of each of the compositions on Live in New York is breathtaking. For the more discerning Jazz aficionado, this new Rudd / Shepp collaboration will not disappoint. ~ John Stevenson https://www.allaboutjazz.com/live-in-new-york-roswell-rudd-universal-music-group-review-by-john-stevenson.php

Personnel: Archie Shepp, tenor saxophone, vocals, piano; Roswell Rudd, trombone; Grachan Moncur III, trombone; Reggie Workman, bass; Andrew Cyrille, drums; Amiri Baraka, poetry.

Live In New York

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