Toots Thielemans - Blues Pour Flirter

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:07
Size: 82.7 MB
Styles: Easy Listening
Year: 1989/2001
Art: Front

[2:44] 1. Winter In Madrid
[5:30] 2. Willow Weep For Me
[2:37] 3. Satin Doll
[3:18] 4. Bag's Groove
[3:46] 5. We'll Be Together Again
[2:23] 6. Hot Toddy
[4:00] 7. Try A Little Tenderness
[3:18] 8. Talk To Me
[2:42] 9. Le Trottoir
[2:57] 10. Honeysuckle Rose
[2:46] 11. Flirt

Double Bass – Roland Lobligeois; Drums – Philippe Combelle; Guitar – Toots Thielemans; Piano – George Arvanitas; Whistling – Toots Thielemans (track 11). Recorded January 3 and 4, 1961 at the Polydor studio, Paris. Digitally remastered on 24-bit.

Although Toots Thielemans is far better-known for his virtuoso harmonica playing, he sticks exclusively to guitar on this pair of studio dates, initially taped in 1961 for Polydor. Accompanied by pianist Georges Arvanitas, bassist Roland Lobligeois, and drummer Philippe Combelle, Thielemans leads a primarily laid-back session with the focus on the leader, covering standards ("Willow Weep for Me" and "We'll be Together Again"), adding a soft wordless background vocal to "Satin Doll," and giving a loping treatment to Milt Jackson's "Bags' Groove." No matter that none of Thielemans' compositions have come close to matching the widespread popularity of his huge hit, "Bluesette"; two blues he wrote for this date, "Le Trottoir" and "Flirt" (the latter of which is the only track to feature his famous whistling), are very enjoyable. Even if this Verve CD reissue falls short of being an essential purchase, any fan of Toots Thielemans will want to acquire it. ~Ken Dryden

Blues Pour Flirter

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Don Hales - Unified String Theory

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:25
Size: 142.9 MB
Styles: Guitar jazz
Year: 2008
Art: Front

[ 6:56] 1. Strawberries-Rasberries
[ 7:05] 2. Seaweed Song-Tic Tac Toe
[ 6:43] 3. Feelings
[ 8:26] 4. Louie The Greek
[ 6:31] 5. Mighty Mouse
[ 6:51] 6. Motivation
[10:51] 7. Breath Of The Blues
[ 8:58] 8. Dance Of The Zodiac

Don Hales - Primary Artist, Guitar; Tony Monaco - Organ; Matt Wagner - Drums; Andy Woodson - Acoustic Guitar, Electric Bass, Acoustic Bass; Kris Keith - Flute, Tenor Saxophone.

Guitarist Don Hales is one of those jazz musicians almost too good to be true, one who has had a lengthy local career who finally bobs to the surface with a head-turning release. The disc is Unified String Theory and Tony Monaco's presence is no accident. Hales grew up in a Toledo neighborhood where he was exposed to a wide variety of ethnic and regional music. He taught himself to play guitar, was tutored by Rusty Bryant and Bobby Shaw. Hales went on to tour with the great Eddie Harris and Bill Doggett before returning home to Columbus to work in the Monaco family Italian Restaurant.

Talk about a well kept secret...Don Hales not only has chops, he is quite the funk master in composing. Six of the eight tunes presented are Hales originals. The two standards are "Feelings" and "Motivation," both dispatched with a Horace Silver soul-jazz sensibility. Hales' compositions all stretch the definition of the typical organ-guitar-tenor combo. Speaking of tenor, Kris Keith's tenor saxophone and flute fit into this quintet like a hand in a glove, a finely crafted glove. Check out "Breath of the Blues" and "Dance of the Zodiac." ~C. Michael Bailey

Incredibly gifted Midwest legend Don Hales makes a statement with this great jazz guitar recording, produced and played on by Tony Monaco. In his hometown, Hales has been performing for years with the Columbus Jazz Orchestra, Columbus Symphony, and ProMusica Chamber Orchestra.

Unified String Theory

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Suzi Woods - Sizzle

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 31:25
Size: 72.0 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[2:58] 1. Let's Face The Music And Dance
[3:05] 2. Fever
[2:38] 3. A-Tisket A-Tasket
[2:59] 4. Summer Wind
[1:48] 5. Big Spender
[3:12] 6. Can't That Away From Me
[2:41] 7. Diamonds Are Forever
[2:28] 8. Mambo Italiano
[2:51] 9. Witchcraft
[4:00] 10. Dance Me To The End Of Love
[2:39] 11. Worrying

Suzi grew up as a Forces child along with her 3 brothers and sister, travelling with her parents to wherever her Father's job took them. Although she wanted to follow music from an early age, she had no background nor instrument to pursue. So instead she graduated in English Literature with her passion for singing and writing left as a guilty secret. She became a backing singer with local band ZooQ and eventually teamed up with guitarist and songwriter Vic Saul to form "Building Rome". In the few years that they existed they were lucky enough to tour with everyone from Tom Robinson, Labi Siffre, John Martyn, Hugh Cornwell as well as notable one-offs with the likes of the late, great Kirsty MacColl.

An 18 date tour support with Jools Holland resulted in their recording their first EP at his studio in Blackheath and the CD picked up Radio 1 airplay via Bob Harris, Johnnie Walker, Neal James and Steve Wright. It also earned them their live TV debut on Alan Titchmarsh's BBC1 show "Daytime Live" and a TV tour of Belgium. However, having achieved so much without any industry backing, they stumbled, owing to the lack of any distrbution for the CD and folded soon after. Vic now works extensively in the States and Suzi took time out to become a "Regular" artist as Receptionist on the BBC1 television series "Casualty". During this time the turmoil of the Record Business was left behind and Suzi enjoyed her new role with just occasional reminders of her musical involvement when she performed at "Casualty's" Christmas and Wrap parties. Things moved on again in the early "noughties" when the TV series revised it's booking policy and Suzi along with many others on the show, found herself without a job. It proved to be the start of her solo journey back into music making and performing.

In 2008 she was invited to become a Headline Artist guesting on most of the various cruise lines all over the world. From Crystal to Oceania via Royal Caribbean and Celebrity as well as Silver Seas and Azamara, she has worked extensively with bands both large and small entertaining in theatres and lounges for audiences of up to 1800. Her repertoire focusses on the American Songbook but mindful of the ever-changing nature of the market has evolved to include more contemporary hits from Nancy Sinatra to Adele and Amy Winehouse. In 2009 she was invited to join BASCA (British Association of Songwriters, Composers and Arrangers) and it reminded Suzi of her roots in music. It re-awakened her songwriting past and spurred her on to record and release many unfinished ideas that had lain dormant for so long. What you see here is the beginning of that re-awakening and it comes with the joy of writing and creating for its own sake.

Sizzle

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Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass - South Of The Border

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 27:40
Size: 63.3 MB
Styles: Jazz-pop, Easy Listening
Year: 1964/2016
Art: Front

[2:08] 1. South Of The Border
[2:36] 2. The Girl From Ipanema
[1:55] 3. Hello, Dolly!
[2:25] 4. I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face
[2:15] 5. Up Cherry Street
[2:11] 6. Mexican Shuffle
[2:40] 7. El Presidente
[1:56] 8. All My Loving
[2:21] 9. Angelito
[2:06] 10. Salud, Amor Y Dinero (Health, Love And Money)
[2:19] 11. Número Cinco (Number Five)
[2:42] 12. Adiós, Mi Corazón (Goodbye, My Heart)

Herb Alpert was still using an array of SoCal studio all-stars as his Tijuana Brass when South of the Border (1964) began to restore the combo's good name after the modest Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, Vol. 2 (1963) failed to ignite a fire in listener's ears. Alpert later commented that the Sol Lake composition "Mexican Shuffle" "opened a new door for me." That passageway meant the loss of the Tijuana Brass' practically forced mariachi style and the rise of Alpert's approach in arranging familiar melodies in fresh, creative settings. Nowhere would this stylistic progression be as pronounced as in the horn-driven updates of several then-concurrent chart hits. For instance, the mod sonic wrinkle in "Girl from Ipanema" emits a darkness veiled in mystery, directly contrasting the light buoyancy of "Hello! Dolly" or the footloose feel of the Beatles' "All My Loving." They seamlessly fit in with Sol Lake's "Salud, Amor y Dinero" and a cover of Julius Wechter's playful, midtempo "Up Cherry Street" -- which Wechter's own Baja Marimba Band had just recorded for their 1964 self-titled debut. The ballads "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face," "Angelito," and "Adios, Mi Corazon" provide contrasts with Alpert's sensitive scores never seeming maudlin or unnecessarily over the top. If the regal "El Presidente" sounds particularly familiar, it may well be due to Alpert's slight renovation of the "Winds of Barcelona" from the Tijuana Brass' previous effort, the less than impressive Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, Vol. 2. It was renamed "El Presidente," presumably to honor the then-recent memory of the slain U.S. leader John Fitzgerald Kennedy. ~Lindsay Planer

South Of The Border

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Maureen McGovern - Naughty Baby: Maureen McGovern Sings Gershwin

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:13
Size: 133.3 MB
Styles: Standards, Traditional pop
Year: 1989
Art: Front

[3:39] 1. Stiff Upper Lip
[1:10] 2. Things Are Looking Up
[1:41] 3. (I've Got) Beginner's Luck
[4:12] 4. How Long Has This Been Going On
[3:08] 5. By Strauss
[3:22] 6. Naughty Baby
[1:49] 7. Love Walked In
[2:21] 8. Embraceable You
[3:40] 9. A Corner of Heaven With You
[5:01] 10. Somebody Loves Me
[3:32] 11. Little Jazz Bird
[2:01] 12. My Man's Gone Now
[3:21] 13. Porgy, I Is Your Woman (Bess, You Is My Woman)
[3:17] 14. The Man I Love
[1:21] 15. Piano Prelude II
[2:50] 16. Summertime
[0:50] 17. Strike up the Band
[1:40] 18. Fascinating Rhythm
[1:00] 19. Clap Yo' Hands
[2:05] 20. They Can't Take That Away from Me
[1:06] 21. 'S Wonderful
[0:50] 22. They All Laughed
[1:04] 23. I Got Rhythm
[3:03] 24. Love Is Here to Stay/Of Thee I Sing

McGovern as sophisticated pop singer, effectively handling an album of Gershwin material. Includes "Of Thee I Sing," the theme from a show in which she starred in 1987. ~William Ruhlmann

Naughty Baby: Maureen McGovern Sings Gershwin

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Freddie Redd Quartet, Jackie McLean - Music From The Connection

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:27
Size: 88.0 MB
Styles: Bop, Piano jazz
Year: 1960/1995
Art: Front

[5:20] 1. Who Killed Cock Robin
[5:55] 2. Wigglin'
[5:49] 3. Music Forever
[6:21] 4. Time To Smile
[4:42] 5. Theme For Sister-Salvation
[5:38] 6. Jim Dunn's Dilemna
[4:39] 7. O.D. (Overdose)

Alto Saxophone – Jackie McLean; Bass – Michael Mattos; Drums – Larry Ritchie; Piano, Composed By [Music] – Freddie Redd. Recorded at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on February 15, 1960.

Freddie Redd composed the music for Jack Gelber's The Connection, a gritty play about musician junkies. Gelber had originally thought that the play would feature real musicians -- who would also double as actors in minor roles -- improvising on blues and jazz standards in the tradition of Charlie Parker, but Redd convinced him to use an original score. The two weaved Redd's original compositions into the score, making it an integral part of the play, but the music holds up superbly on its own. Using the direction "in the tradition of Charlie Parker" as a starting point, the pianist wrote seven pieces of straight-ahead bop, wide open for improvisations, and then assembled a sterling quartet featuring himself, alto saxophonist Jackie McLean, bassist Michael Mattos, and drummer Larry Ritchie. The end result was a set of dynamic straight-ahead bop. While both Redd and McLean show signs of their influences -- the pianist blends Monk and Powell, while the saxophonist has built off of Bird's twisting lines -- they have developed their own voices, which gives the driving, bluesy bop on Music From the Connection an edge. McLean's full, robust tone often dominates, but he never overshadows Redd's complex, intricate playing, and both musicians, as well as Mattos and Ritchie, effortlessly keep up with the changes from hard-hitting, up-tempo bop numbers to lyrical, reflective ballads. Musically, Music From the Connection might not offer anything unexpected, but whenever straight-ahead bop is done this well, it should be celebrated. ~Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Music From The Connection

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Mike Baggetta - Small Spaces

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:25
Size: 108,9 MB
Art: Front

(6:23)  1. The Heights
(7:41)  2. No Gravity
(5:33)  3. Stellar
(3:46)  4. Heartland
(6:44)  5. Olive Tree
(3:51)  6. Small Spaces
(8:27)  7. Hospital Song
(4:55)  8. Trails

New York based guitarist Mike Baggetta has recorded as a band leader before, but Small Spaces is his first CD as the leader of a quartet. This beautifully recorded CD of seven Baggetta originals and one cover, produced by Baggetta himself, shows that his 2009 ASCAP Young Jazz Composer award was well-deserved. Baggetta's guitar playing is characterized by a full, warm, tone whether he's vamping behind band members, soloing or duetting with Jason Rigby's tenor. Rigby's tenor style works beautifully in tandem with Baggetta's guitar: at no time do the instruments clash or work against each other, both musicians always displaying an understanding of what the other is doing. The opening "The Heights" and closer "Trails" are the most open and free-form pieces on this album. "Trails" has a particularly laidback feel to it, with drummer R.J. Miller's brush work and Eivind Opsvik's bowed bass part forming a solid foundation for sparse and atmospheric playing from Baggetta and Rigby. It's the more melodic numbers that work best, however. "Olive Tree," by Taiwanese composer Lee Tai-hsiang, is a delicate ballad with a beautiful melody line, played sparingly and effectively by Rigby after a sympathetic guitar intro in which Baggetta makes good use of harmonics. On "Small Spaces" Miller's drum work moves the tune along with an almost funky beat as Rigby and then Baggetta take solos. The first half of "Hospital Song" is particularly affecting. For the first three minutes Baggetta and Opsvik each play melodic patterns, underpinned by Miller's busy yet sympathetic drums, until Rigby enters and gradually takes over the lead role. Soon after, this the tune becomes less structured and also less effective, but the melodic approach of the tune's opening returns before the end. As a whole, Small Spaces is evidence of a maturing composer and a talented quartet of musicians who are willing to take the occasional risk while still not losing sight of melody and structure. ~ Bruce Lindsay https://www.allaboutjazz.com/small-spaces-mike-baggetta-fresh-sound-new-talent-review-by-bruce-lindsay.php
 

Personnel: Mike Baggetta: guitar; Jason Rigby: tenor saxophone; Eivind Opsvik: bass; R.J. Miller: drums.

Small Spaces

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Niels Lan Doky - Daybreak

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1989
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:32
Size: 134,4 MB
Art: Front

( 7:50)  1. Daybreak
( 6:51)  2. Natural
( 6:27)  3. Jet Lag
(10:44)  4. Final Decision
( 5:35)  5. Why
( 4:53)  6. All Or Nothing At All
( 5:03)  7. The Little Family
( 5:50)  8. Solo piano medley: a) Intro b) I thought about you c) December
( 5:16)  9. Tears

For this project, pianist Niels Lan Doky enlisted a particularly strong group (guitarist John Scofield, bassist Niels Pederson and drummer Terri Lyne Carrington) to perform five of his originals and the standard "All Or Nothing At All." 25 at the time, Doky was most influenced by McCoy Tyner but he manages to find his own niche within that style although Scofield usually takes solo honors. Excellent post bop music. ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/daybreak-mw0000273355

Personnel:  Bass – Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen;  Drums – Terri Lyne Carrington;  Guitar – John Scofield;  Piano – Niels Lan Doky

Daybreak

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Aaron Parks - Arborescence

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:00
Size: 114,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:14)  1. Asleep In The Forest
(6:16)  2. Toward Awakening
(4:28)  3. Past Presence
(7:04)  4. Elsewhere
(5:35)  5. In Pursuit
(2:21)  6. Squirrels
(5:11)  7. Branchings
(3:06)  8. River Ways
(3:24)  9. A Curious Bloom
(4:17) 10. Reverie
(3:59) 11. Homestead

Slowly but surely, over the past several years, ECM Records has forged relationships with some of New York City's most impressive musicians no mean feat given that, despite the Big Apple no longer being the jazz mecca it once was, it certainly remains a lightning rod for some of the world's most creative musicians, ranging from trumpeter Ralph Alessi and saxophonists Tim Berne and Chris Potter, to pianists David Virelles, Jason Moran and Craig Taborn all of whom have been represented, either as guests or leaders, on some of the most uncompromising and impressive music to be released in recent times not just on the heralded German label, but anywhere, period. Add to that list pianist Aaron Parks who, like Taborn's superb first recording as a leader for the label (2011's Avenging Angels), makes his own ECM debut by contributing another fine installment to a label that has, across four decades beginning with Chick Corea's Piano Improvisations Vol. 1 (1971) and Keith Jarrett's Facing You (1972), defined the litmus test against which all subsequent solo piano recordings are measured. Parks is a rarity: a young musician who, at a time when such things are difficult if not impossible, spent his first few professional years mentored by an older musician, in this case Terence Blanchard. The trumpeter met Parks when the pianist was 15, recruiting him three years later and giving him an opportunity to see how it was done both on the road and in the studio, so that when Parks stepped out on his own with the acclaimed Invisible Cinema (Blue Note, 2008), he was well and truly ready.

In the ensuing years, Parks has become increasingly in demand, including membership with the egalitarian James Farm , the promise of its 2011 eponymous Nonesuch debut confidently delivered with more recent live performances, and with Kurt Rosenwinkel, whose Star of Jupiter (Wommusic, 2012) represented yet another career milestone for the upwardly mobile guitarist. None of which prepare for Arborescence, a suite of eleven largely spontaneous creations that reflect a great many touchstones while, at the same time, speaking with a voice that has fully matured, now plainly assertive of its own personality. The opening "Asleep in the Forest" and darkly pastoral "Elsewhere" feel somehow a kinship to French composer Erik Satie, were he to have hailed from the forests of the Northwestern United States (where Parks grew up) instead of the southern estuary of the Seine River in Northwestern France. Minimalistic hints imbue the repetitive motif-driven "In Pursuit," where Parks' virtuosity never an end, just a means is more dominant, while the skewed and, at times, abstruse lyricism of "Branchings" and "Past Presence" hint at Paul Bley's innovations in the realm of spontaneously composition, despite Parks' independent voice a constant delineator throughout this 50-minute set. With Parks turning 30 a week prior to Arborescence's October 15 release, the pianist's milestones continue to accelerate. His past work may have been consistently impressive, but Arborescence represents the true watershed of Parks' arrival as an artist whose future shines brighter with every passing year. ~ John Kelman https://www.allaboutjazz.com/arborescence-aaron-parks-ecm-records-review-by-john-kelman.php
 

Personnel: Aaron Parks: piano.

Arborescence

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Karen Mason - It's About Time

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:51
Size: 133,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:25)  1. It's About Time
(4:05)  2. Finding Wonderland
(2:25)  3. Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart
(3:17)  4. Everything's Coming up Roses
(4:29)  5. What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?
(3:12)  6. Just in Time
(4:51)  7. I Can't Give You Anything but Love
(5:26)  8. Somewhere / Impossible Dream
(4:00)  9. The Man That Got Away
(3:55) 10. A House Is Not a Home
(4:38) 11. Once Upon a Dream Come True
(4:04) 12. Over the Rainbow
(4:51) 13. Fifty Percent
(4:07) 14. Our Love Is Here to Stay

Karen Mason the acclaimed Broadway star and concert artist  releases her new album  It's About Time on Zevely Records. In a variety of settings from a lavishly-orchestrated full-band with exciting brass and lush strings to hushed solo piano, she performs timeless standards (“I Can’t Give You Anything But Love,” “Just in Time”) and theater classics (“Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” “Somewhere/The Impossible Dream”). The album also features fresh original songs by the album’s producer Paul Rolnick, including the album’s lead single, the title track “It’s About Time” which honors our national victory for Marriage Equality. Inspired by her recent turn in the Broadway-bound musical Chasing Rainbows, Karen honors the legendary entertainer Judy Garland with selections such as “The Man That Got Away,” “Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart” and the iconic “Over the Rainbow.” https://www.cdbaby.com/cd/karenmason1

It's About Time

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