Perla Batalla - Heaven And Earth: The Mestiza Voyage

Size: 122,8 MB
Time: 52:40
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2000
Styles: Pop Folk
Art: Front

01. Teotihuacan (7:00)
02. Heaven And Earth (4:36)
03. Tears Of The Sun (4:32)
04. The First Time I Felt Rain (4:58)
05. Burning (4:31)
06. Turtle Island (4:15)
07. Starbound (3:45)
08. Eternity (3:08)
09. Out Of The Labyrinth (5:06)
10. Salvation (5:00)
11. Making Up For Lost Time (5:43)

"Mestiza" refers to a woman of mixed Native American and European ancestry, and it would certainly have been nice if the liner notes to Heaven and Earth: The Mestiza Voyage would have explained to the uninitiated what "Mestiza" means and what this multifaceted, multi-stylistic journey is about -- something to clue listeners in to the overall concept and storyline. Instead, listeners must decipher this worldbeat/folk/rock excursion through travelogue and spacy lyrical images, mainly in English and a few in foreign tongues. Batalla has a powerful, clear voice that can be hypnotic and mystical (on the atmospheric opening track "Teotihuacan") or straightforward and edgy (on the percussive folk-rocker "Heaven and Earth"). "Tears of the Sun" has an emotional intensity about it, but again, the images of sun and Milky Way without an accompanying road map don't make enough sense. "Burning" offers a cool Brazilian lilt, while "Turtle Island" has a '60s "Ode to Billy Joe" kind of air. From titles beginning with "Burning" through "Out of the Labyrinth" and "Salvation," the theme of the Mestiza's spiritual redemption seems to emerge. But Batalla shouldn't make listeners work so hard to figure that out. ~ by Jonathan Widran

Heaven And Earth

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Nicki Parrott - Unforgettable: The Nat King Cole Songbook

Size: 120,4 MB
Time: 51:38
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2017
Styles: Jazz/Pop Vocals
Art: Front

01. Walkin' My Baby Back Home (2:56)
02. Let's Fall In Love (4:46)
03. The Very Thought Of You (5:16)
04. Hit That Jive Jack (3:18)
05. Mona Lisa (3:30)
06. Meet Me At No Special Place (4:10)
07. A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square (4:24)
08. Unforgettable (4:11)
09. Straighten Up And Fly Right (2:28)
10. For Sentimental Reasons (4:11)
11. When I Fall In Love (3:53)
12. L-O-V-E (2:35)
13. Answer Me My Love (2:55)
14. Perfidia (2:58)

Nicki Parrott plays bass and sings Nat King Cole's songbook with the help of fellow jazzmates John Di Martino on piano, Frank Vignola on guitar and Lisa Parrott on saxophone and clarinet.

Born in Newcastle, Australia, Nicki started her musical training at age four with the piano, followed by the flute, soon after. Nicki switched to double bass at the age of 15. After graduating high school she moved to Sydney to study jazz at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music where she began to play with Australian musicians such as Mike Nock, Dale Barlow, Paul Grabowsky, Bernie McGann, and Ten Part Invention. She also toured Australia with Russian musicians Daniel Kramer and Alexander Fischer and American trumpeters Bobby Shew and Chuck Findley. She continued her studies with various bassists including visiting artists Ray Brown and John Clayton.

In June 2000, Nicki began performing on Monday nights at the Iridium Jazz Club with the legendary guitarist and inventor, Les Paul. As part of the Les Paul Trio, Nicki worked side-by-side with guitar greats from Paul McCartney, Slash, Steve Miller to fellow Aussie, Tommy Emmanuel. Since then she has performed with such notable musicians as Michel Legrand, Joe Wilder, Randy Brecker, Clark Terry, Jose Feliciano, Bucky Pizzarelli, John Pizzarelli, Dick Hyman, Patti Labelle & the New York Pops Orchestra, Harry Allen, Marlena Shaw, David Krakauer, Ken Peplowski, Ann Hampton Callaway, Bill Mays, Scott Hamilton, Lillian Boutte, Larry Carlton and Houston Person, just to name a few.

Unforgettable

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Beegie Adair - By Request

Size: 119,9 MB
Time: 51:23
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2017
Styles: Jazz: Piano Jazz
Art: Front

01. Taking A Chance On Love (3:02)
02. East Of The Sun (3:30)
03. Autumn In New York (3:44)
04. Love Nest (3:06)
05. Emily (3:53)
06. I'm Glad There Is You (3:42)
07. I Hadn't Anyone Till You (3:12)
08. Moonlight In Vermont (4:30)
09. Tenderly (4:23)
10. The Shadow Of Your Smile (3:59)
11. I Wished On The Moon (3:17)
12. Don't Blame Me (4:19)
13. Rosetta (3:06)
14. For All We Know (3:34)

Most requested and personal favorites. Pianist Beegie Adair (pronounced B-G) has accompanied such legendary performers as Chet Atkins, Johnny Cash, and Dolly Parton, and worked with such entertainers as Neil Diamond, Mama Cass Elliott, and Peggy Lee in her position as in-house pianist for The Johnny Cash Show for ABC-TV. Adair serves as adjunct professor in jazz studies at Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music and currently teaches singers repertoire at the Nashville Jazz Workshop.

By Request

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Regina Carter - Ella: Accentuate The Positive

Size: 126,6 MB
Time: 54:20
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2017
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive (6:52)
02. Crying In The Chapel (6:18)
03. I'll Never Be Free (5:17)
04. All My Life (5:28)
05. Dedicated To You (7:03)
06. Reach For Tomorrow (6:59)
07. Undecided (6:53)
08. Judy (3:37)
09. I'll Chase The Blues Away (5:49)

A hundred years after her birth, there are still plenty of lessons to be learned from listening to Ella Fitzgerald. But that s not the only takeaway that Regina Carter has gleaned from Ella s storied career. On her new album, Ella: Accentuate the Positive, the virtuoso violinist reveals the many aspects of Fitzgerald that have influenced her own remarkable path in music. That translates to an album that avoids the more obvious song choices in favor of more obscure though no less rewarding tunes from deep inside Ella s bountiful catalogue. Instead of trying to echo Fitzgerald s own choices and arrangements, or attempting the near-impossible task of evoking her beloved voice on the violin, Carter has done what has always set her apart followed her own dauntless instincts, resulting in a singular new take on both familiar and hidden classics.

Carter s enchantment with Ella Fitzgerald continued from childhood into adulthood and she grew to realize how much technique and virtuosity were involved in producing a sound so warm and inviting. The ability to spark that connection was central to Carter s choice of songs for Ella: Accentuate the Positive. From the gospel-tinged performance on the opening Ac-cen-tchu-ate the Positive to the airily funky arrangement of Crying in the Chapel and the bluesy take on I ll Never Be Free that sets the tone for the slinky groove of All My Live.

Regina Carter draws from a diverse well of influences that include classical, jazz, Motown swing, funk, and world music among others. Over a span of more than two decades, she has established herself as an enduring and creative force in jazz, thanks to a string of highly acclaimed solo and collaborative recordings, a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship and a relentless tour schedule that has taken her to all corners of the globe. She has performed with a variety of high-profile jazz and pop artists including Aretha Franklin, Lauryn Hill, Mary J. Blige, Billy Joel, Dolly Parton, Max Roach and Oliver Lake. A master of improvisational jazz violin, Carter s performances highlight the often overlooked potential of the jazz violin for its lyric, melodic and percussive potential.

Ella

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Rebecca Ferguson - Lady Sings The Blues

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:26
Size: 120.1 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2015
Art: Front

[2:48] 1. Get Happy
[2:33] 2. Fine And Mellow
[3:35] 3. Embraceable You
[3:03] 4. That Ole Devil Called Love
[2:46] 5. Blue Moon
[2:59] 6. I Thought About You
[2:46] 7. Summertime
[3:18] 8. I'll Never Smile Again
[3:15] 9. Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be)
[2:35] 10. All Of Me
[3:30] 11. God Bless The Child
[2:34] 12. What Is This Thing Called Love
[3:07] 13. Stormy Weather
[3:33] 14. Lady Sings The Blues
[2:35] 15. Willow Weep For Me
[3:50] 16. Don't Explain
[3:33] 17. My Man

Still the best voice to have come out of a Simon Cowell talent contest, former X Factor 2010 runner up Rebecca Ferguson has a rich, tender, soulful tone, a kind of lived-in essence that oscillates precariously between happiness and sadness. It is a quality familiar in the work of tragic jazz legend Billie Holiday, whose centenary is celebrated this year (2015).

Lady Sings The Blues is a more or less straight run through some Holiday classics (including God Bless This Child, Lover Man, and of course, Lady Sings the Blues), freshened up only by the depth of the contemporary recording sound and the particular personality of Ferguson’s first class vocals. The instrumentation is traditional jazz pop, emphasising piano and horns, with orchestras adding an extra glaze of faux sophistication. These songs are so familiar that no one ever really need record them again and yet the American songbook has become a standard fixture in middle of the road pop careers precisely because this perfect alignment of melody, lyric and emotion works every time. Ferguson is never overwhelmed or in awe, singing with rhythmic sass and feeling. A lean, propulsive reconfiguration of What Is This Thing Called Love offers a brief glimpse at a much bolder album that could have been made with these songs and this voice. ~Neil McCormick

Lady Sings The Blues

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Charles Lloyd - Of Course, Of Course

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:05
Size: 128.4 MB
Styles: Bop, Saxophone jazz
Year: 1966/2014
Art: Front

[4:44] 1. Of Course, Of Course
[2:27] 2. The Song My Lady Sings
[5:16] 3. The Best Thing For You
[6:07] 4. The Things We Did Last Summer
[3:57] 5. Apex
[5:06] 6. One For Joan
[3:36] 7. Goin' To Memphis
[6:42] 8. Voice In The Night
[6:15] 9. Third Floor Richard
[4:53] 10. East Of The Sun (And West Of The Moon)
[3:23] 11. Island Blues
[3:32] 12. Sun Dance

Bass – Ron Carter; Drums – Tony Williams; Guitar – Gabor Szabo; Saxophone [Tenor], Flute – Charles Lloyd.

Charles Lloyd's second album as a leader teams him with guitarist Gabor Szabo (his old friend from the Chico Hamilton group), bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Tony Williams. Although Lloyd was still a member of Cannonball Adderley's group, his playing on the set shows that he was clearly ready to become a leader. Seven of the nine diverse compositions are his originals; he takes "The Things We Did Last Summer" as a duet with Szabo and rips through "Apex," a trio number without the guitarist, but it is this cut most certainly reflects Ornette Coleman's influence (whereas Lloyd and everyone else who played tenor were being written about in the shadow of Coltrane). Certainly Coltrane's flurry of notes and deconstruction of chords is evident in places, but here, it is Coleman's unshakable sense of melody and rhyme that is most prevalent, and it sports is a brief but wonderfully woody solo by Carter. Other notable selections include "Goin' to Memphis" and Sammy Kahn's "Things We Did Last Summer" (where, according to Stanley Crouch's new liner notes, the saxophonist directly quotes the melody of Coleman's "Free at 3:00 of..."). Other cuts that really stand out here are the title track and the serious blowing session of "One for Joan," where the twinning and counterpoint interplay between Szabo and Lloyd is almost synchronous. Whether on tenor or flute, Lloyd was quickly coming into his own as an original voice, and this underrated set is a minor classic. [In 2007, Mosiac Records in its Singles series, reissued the recording for the first time on CD. In addition to a beautiful remastering job that is warm and clean, there are three bonus tracks also recorded in 1965 but not released until Lloyd's Nirvana album in 1968. Two of these, "Island Blues," and "Sun Dance" feature Albert Stinson on bass and Pete La Roca on drums in place of Carter and Williams. Another oddity is that in addition to Szabo's guitar playing, the Band's Robbie Robertson makes an appearance on the Caribbean-flavored latter tune. The other bonus cut, "East of the Sun and West of the Moon," uses the primary rhythm section, and was recorded for the original session, and left off the final version of the LP.] ~Scott Yanow

Of Course, Of Course

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Thomas Quasthoff - The Jazz Album: Watch What Happens

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:02
Size: 112.3 MB
Styles: Classical crossover
Year: 2007
Art: Front

[2:55] 1. There's A Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon For New York
[2:58] 2. Watch What Happens
[4:05] 3. Secret Love
[4:50] 4. You And I
[3:50] 5. Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive
[4:51] 6. I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face
[2:43] 7. Can't We Be Friends
[4:25] 8. Smile
[2:15] 9. They All Laughed
[5:55] 10. My Funny Valentine
[5:42] 11. What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life
[4:30] 12. In My Solitude

Thomas Quasthoff's acquaintance with jazz goes back quite a while to when he sang the music in nightclubs as a voice student. This is an experience he shares with other classically trained singers, although not so many German ones. He sings (and speaks) American English essentially without a foreign accent, and he is justified in his claims that when he sings jazz, he sounds like a jazz singer rather than a classical singer singing jazz. Yet if that were all there were to it, his performances would be less compelling than they in fact are. Quasthoff has the great virtue of approaching standards as songs that have new and personal meaning for him. Indeed, the booklet notes that "all the songs included in the present release are closely related to his own experiences and points of view." The listener can speculate on exactly what that means, but what's beyond speculation is that there's a certain wide-eyed quality of discovery in Quasthoff's jazz singing that's immensely appealing. A greater challenge than learning idiomatic American English for a German singer is learning idiomatic jazz vocal devices for a singer trained in the classics. Quasthoff croons, slides, caresses the microphone, whispers, and bends tones with the best of them. His upbeat numbers (try Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive or They All Laughed) have a solid, chunky rhythmic quality, but perhaps most compelling are the chances Quasthoff takes on some of the slower pieces -- specifically Stevie Wonder's "You and I," which is a song heavily influenced by jazz, to be sure, but that also implies soul vocals in some of the explosive expansions of its melodic line. It is here that one realizes most fully that one is hearing a rare vocal virtuoso, and that one enjoys a rare vocal delight to its fullest. ~James Manheim

The Jazz Album: Watch What Happens

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Charlie Parker - The Platinum Collection

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 74:49
Size: 171.3 MB
Styles: Bop, Saxophone jazz
Year: 2011
Art: Front

[3:16] 1. Lover Man
[3:11] 2. My Old Flame
[3:33] 3. Star Eyes
[2:58] 4. Ornithology
[2:41] 5. Bird's Nest
[3:36] 6. Just Friends
[2:50] 7. Dizzy Atmosphere
[3:22] 8. Embreaceable You
[4:03] 9. Out Of Nowhere
[3:02] 10. Parker's Mood
[3:04] 11. Hot House
[2:46] 12. Don't Blame
[3:01] 13. Moose The Mooche
[2:38] 14. Yardbird Suite
[2:45] 15. Groovin' High
[2:57] 16. Scrapple From The Apple
[3:15] 17. Billie's Bounce
[3:11] 18. A Night In Tunisia
[3:00] 19. Relaxin' At Camarillo
[3:07] 20. Cool Blues
[3:00] 21. Ko-Ko
[2:58] 22. Cheryl
[3:10] 23. Bird Of Paradise
[3:15] 24. Now's The Time

Legendary jazz musician Charlie Parker was born Charles Christopher Parker Jr. on August 29, 1920, in Kansas City, Kansas. His father, Charles Parker, was an African-American stage entertainer, and his mother, Addie Parker, was a maid-charwoman of Native-American heritage. An only child, Charlie moved with his parents to Kansas City, Missouri when he was 7 years old. At the time, the city was a lively center for African-American music, including jazz, blues and gospel.

Charlie discovered his own talent for music through taking lessons at public schools. As a teen, he played the baritone horn in the school band. By the time Charlie was 15, the alto saxophone was his instrument of choice. (Charlie's mother had given him a saxophone a few years prior, to help cheer him up after his father had abandoned the family.) While still in school, Charlie started playing with bands on the local club scene. He was so enamored of playing the sax that, in 1935, he decided to drop out of school in pursuit of a full-time musical career.

The Platinum Collection

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Louis Prima - On Broadway

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1967
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 25:44
Size: 105,3 MB
Art: Front

(2:45)  1. Mame
(2:27)  2. Cabaret
(1:56)  3. Illya Darling
(2:57)  4. I Believe In You
(2:48)  5. Sunrise, Sunset
(3:20)  6. The Impossible Dream
(2:30)  7. Hello Dolly
(2:19)  8. On A Clear Day, You Can See Forever
(2:36)  9. Poor Old Marat
(2:02) 10. My Cup Runneth Over

Louis Prima (December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978) was an Italian-American singer, actor, songwriter, bandleader, and trumpeter. While rooted in New Orleans jazz, swing music, and jump blues, Prima touched on various genres throughout his career: he formed a seven-piece New Orleans-style jazz band in the late 1920s, fronted a swing combo in the 1930s and a big band group in the 1940s, helped to popularize jump blues in the late 1940s and early to mid 1950s, and performed as a Vegas lounge act in the late 1950s and 1960s. From the 1940s through the 1960s, his music further encompassed early R&B and rock'n'roll, boogie-woogie, and even Italian folk music, such as the tarantella. Prima made prominent use of Italian music and language in his songs, blending elements of his Italian identity with jazz and swing music. At a time when "ethnic" musicians were often discouraged from openly stressing their ethnicity, Prima's conspicuous embrace of his Italian ethnicity opened the doors for other Italian-American and "ethnic" American musicians to display their ethnic roots. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Prima

Thank You Scoredaddy!!
On Broadway

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Eric Kloss - Consciousness!

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1970
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:41
Size: 98,0 MB
Art: Front

(10:40)  1. Sunshine Superman
(10:10)  2. Kay
( 6:08)  3. Outward Wisdom
( 7:02)  4. Songs To Aging Children
( 8:39)  5. Consciousness

Eric Kloss is a world renowned alto and tenor saxophonist, a multi-instrumentalist, recording artist, composer, clinician, educator, and television personality. Blind from birth music became his vision. A true child prodigy he performed with his mentor Sonny Stitt at age 12. Backed by jazz guitarist Pat Martino, his recording career began at age 16 with the release of “Introducing Eric Kloss”. Blending hard bob, be-bop, pop, rock, funk, free jazz, classical and world music, he went on to release 22 critically acclaimed recordings on the Prestige and Muse labels. A who’s who of jazz masters appeared as sidemen on his albums including Gerald Veasley, Barry Miles, Don Patterson, Jaki Byard, Gil Goldstein, Richard Davis, Alan Dawson, Cedar Walton, Jimmy Owens, Kenny Barron, Booker Ervin, Leroy Vinnegar, Billy Higgins, Kenny Barron, Bob Cranshaw, and Alan Dawson. His most acclaimed album, Eric Kloss and the Rhythm Section, features the Miles Davis rhythm section of Corea, DeJohnette, and Dave Holland. Kloss toured the USA and Europe for 25 years wowing audiences with his technical brilliance and wild improvisations. Eric was a frequent guest on the PBS TV show Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, second only to pianist Johnny Costa for most appearances by any musician. In 1989 he became a spokesman for Yahoo Music promoting and performing with the sax-like MX-11 wind synthesizer. In the 1990s he began teaching at Duquesne University and went on to become head of the jazz department at Carnegie Mellon University. As an educator and clinician he mentored a new generation of jazz performers and instructors. The Fantasy Jazz label has reissued several of his recordings: First Class, About Time, the 2 CD box set Eric Kloss & the Rhythm Section/Love and All That Jazz, and the 2 CD box set Sky Shadows/In the Land of the Giants. Eric withdrew from teaching and performing in 2001 when he became seriously ill. He continues to write and plans to perform and record if his health improves. The unreleased work Cosmic Adventures demonstrates his musical mastery ~  https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/erickloss

Personnel: Eric Kloss (alto sax) (soprano sax); Dave Holland (bass) (bass guitar); Chick Corea (piano) (electric piano); Jack DeJohnette (drums); Pat Martino (guitar).

Consciousness!

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Sylvie Vartan - Gift Wrapped From Paris

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1965
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 28:21
Size: 71,1 MB
Art: Front

(2:22)  1. One More Day
(2:38)  2. I Can't Make Him Look At Me
(2:19)  3. One More Time
(2:13)  4. I Heard Somebody Say
(2:37)  5. I Made A Choice
(2:05)  6. My Boyfriend's Back
(2:11)  7. Gonna Cry
(2:45)  8. Since You Don't Care
(2:34)  9. I Wish You Well
(2:09) 10. Love Has Laid His Hand On Me
(2:06) 11. Alley Oop
(2:16) 12. It's Not A Game

Although actor/pop singer Sylvie Vartan is Bulgarian, she would eventually receive recognition from the French, usually singing entirely in the language of her adopted homeland. Born August 15, 1944, in Iskretz, Bulgaria, Vartan showed great talent for both acting and singing at an early age, resulting in an appearance in the Bulgarian film Under the Yoke in 1950. Two years later (while only ten years old), Vartan and her family relocated to France. 1961 would prove to be an important year for Vartan's career, as she entered a recording studio for the first time, picked up some TV work, and appeared at the famed Olympia Theater. The early '60s saw the release of a steady stream of singles, EPs, and albums (such as 1962's Sylvie), in addition to further appearances in European movies -- including A Moonlight in Maubeuge and Just for Fun. Other impressive accomplishments for Vartan in the early '60s included recording a pair of songs ("If I Sing" and "Most Beautiful to Go to Dance") with famed country artists Chet Atkins and Ray Stevens, and playing on the same bill as the Beatles at the Olympia in January of 1964. During the mid-'60s, Vartan concentrated on making inroads to the American music market, as she appeared on such TV shows as The Ed Sullivan Show, Hullaballooh, and Shindig, while one of her best singles, "2'35 de Bonheur," hit the charts in early 1967. Subsequently, Vartan kept on issuing albums and touring at a steady rate right up to the 21st century, as 2001 saw the release of the 14-track career overview L'Essential. ~ Greg Prato https://itunes.apple.com/gb/artist/sylvie-vartan/id14974022#fullText

Gift Wrapped From Paris

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Bob Mover Trio - The Night Bathers

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1986
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:17
Size: 107,6 MB
Art: Front

( 6:14)  1. The Night Bathers
( 3:31)  2. Berg-Like
( 1:21)  3. Hélène
(10:23)  4. Suite in 4 Parts
( 1:39)  5. We Burn
( 6:33)  6. Beach Music
( 5:02)  7. Randomland
( 2:06)  8. John's 1st Synthony
( 3:09)  9. Fathoms
( 1:51) 10. Sonny Claws
( 3:22) 11. Angelica

When one considers the instrumentation (alto, piano and guitar) and the personnel (Bob Mover, Paul Bley and John Abercrombie), it is not surprising that this date is full of thoughtful, chance-taking and often lyrical improvisations. Most of the selections are either duets or unaccompanied solos, and although there are some melodies, the music was pretty much all improvised on the spot. An intriguing set. ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-night-bathers-mw0001016781

Personnel:  Bob Mover - alto and soprano saxophones;  Paul Bley – piano;  John Abercrombie - electric guitar, guitar synth

The Night Bathers

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