Monday, May 1, 2017

Dodo Greene - Ain't What You Do

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:41
Size: 81.7 MB
Styles: R&B, Jazz vocals
Year: 1959/2004
Art: Front

[2:15] 1. Ain't What You Do
[2:56] 2. Manhattan
[2:40] 3. Baby Won't You Please Come Home
[3:31] 4. Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby
[2:30] 5. Don't Cry Baby
[2:11] 6. I'm Falling For You
[3:34] 7. Black Coffee
[2:01] 8. Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall
[2:29] 9. It's A Pity To Say Goodnight
[1:49] 10. The Breeze (That's Bringing My Honey Back To Me)
[2:22] 11. Til Then
[2:25] 12. My Heart Isn't In It
[2:33] 13. Tell Me
[2:17] 14. Hold On

Dodo Greene was a R&B-inflected jazz vocalist who only recorded a handful of dates during the early '60s. Her one major record was My Hour of Need, a session she cut in 1962 with an impressive stable of Blue Note artists, including Ike Quebec, Grant Green, Herbie Lewis, Milt Hinton, Billy Higgins, and Al Harewood. Greene was the first vocalist Blue Note signed to an exclusive contract, and she was also one of the few vocalist's the label signed during the '60s, which suggests the lack of success the record achieved.

A native of Buffalo, NY, Greene began singing as a child. She continued to sing throughout her teens, although she was planning a career in medicine. Her first big break arrived when she filled in for a sick vocalist in Cozy Cole's band. He asked her to join his group, but she refused. Eventually, she decided to pursue a career in music and began singing regularly at venues along the East Coast, as well as Chicago. Slowly, she built up a following among audiences and fellow vocalists like Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Dinah Washington, and was able to play venues in London and Germany.

Greene recorded her first album for Time Records shortly before she signed to Blue Note in 1962. In April, she recorded the material that comprised My Hour of Need. Five months later, she returned to the studios to cut a follow-up session. Evidently, My Hour of Need was not a success since those recordings, along with a session she recorded in November, remained unreleased until the 1996 CD reissue of My Hour of Need. Greene faded away from the spotlight in the years following the release of her lone Blue Note album. There is no apparent record of her recording again, but she did continue to perform into the early 2000s, mostly at the Anchor Bar  home of the original Buffalo wing  in Buffalo, NY.

Ain't What You Do 

John Swanson - We Can't Party Like We Used To

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:30
Size: 95.0 MB
Styles: Swing, Vocal jazz
Year: 2009
Art: Front

[3:13] 1. I Guess There Are Worse Places To Be
[3:01] 2. New Route 66
[2:53] 3. You Can Thank Me Later
[3:30] 4. Nice As A Day Can Be
[3:36] 5. The Cougar That Got Away
[3:24] 6. Say Hello To Lou
[3:41] 7. We Can't Party Like We Used To
[5:24] 8. Hey Man
[3:01] 9. Crappy Hotel
[3:00] 10. That's My Story (And I'm Sticking To It)
[3:28] 11. Not For All The Tea In China
[3:12] 12. We're Even Now

On his latest release "We Can't Party Like We Used To", Swanson pounds out 12 original vocal jazz cuts with a cool retro vibe. His bluesy swingin' and singin' reminds of giants past and present - Sinatra, Harry Connick Jr., John Pizzarelli come to mind - but his is a distinctly personal sound that is sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, sometimes quirky....but always fresh and entertaining. "We Can't Party Like We Used To" is a can't-miss collection that hooks you right from the first listen.

We Can't Party Like We Used To

Various - Jazz From Catalonia

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:25
Size: 131.4 MB
Styles: Vocals, Latin jazz rhythms
Year: 2015
Art: Front

[1:19] 1. Os Meus Shorts - Akars
[2:08] 2. David Mengual Free Spirits Big Band - El Resumen
[5:06] 3. The Gramophone Allstars Big Band - Scambalena
[3:42] 4. Celeste - Tengo Una Debilidad
[2:39] 5. Marcel·lí Bayer - I, Mentrestant, En Claudi S'abraçava Al Seu Daguerrotip
[4:10] 6. Ignasi Terraza Trio - Imaginant Miró
[5:52] 7. Nu-Roots - Take 15
[7:46] 8. A La Big Bom Band - Fantasia En Blau
[3:44] 9. Bernat Font Trio - Smiling Woo
[4:46] 10. Roger Mas Group - Vegetarian Barbecue
[2:32] 11. Los Mambo Jambo - La Caza
[4:23] 12. D.O. New Ensemble - Correcaminos
[9:12] 13. Albert Sanz - Dolphin's Blues

The aim of this compilation is to give visibility to the music sector in Catalonia and show the vitality of the Catalan record labels. To this end, the CDs are distributed in different fairs where the Department of Culture attends, as well as among international professionals interested in the music produced in Catalonia. The song selection is made by professionals (journalists, programmers, music critics, etc.) based on simple criteria such as quality and internationalization capacity of the different musical ideas. All three discs contain information about each group, as well as the contact details of the record labels and their respective management offices.

Jazz From Catalonia

Kim Hoorweg & Robin Nolan Trio - The Boulevard Of Broken Dreams

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:42
Size: 86.3 MB
Styles: Gypsy jazz
Year: 2015
Art: Front

[2:58] 1. Mood Indigo
[2:56] 2. The Boulevard Of Broken Dreams
[4:15] 3. If I Didn't Care
[2:56] 4. Quiet Whiskey
[3:19] 5. When You're Smiling
[3:02] 6. Si Tu Vois Ma Mere
[2:20] 7. Les Yeux Noirs
[4:27] 8. I Ain't Got Nothing But The Blues
[2:36] 9. It's A Sin To Tell A Lie
[3:23] 10. Granada
[3:02] 11. When You're Lover Has Gone
[2:28] 12. Solitude

Dutch jazzvocalist Kim Hoorweg has adopted New York as her second home. She is known for her clever originals, her clear, warm and pleasant timbre and charming way of reinterpreting old forgotten songs.

She worked with top-notch musicians Trijntje Oosterhuis, Gino Vannelli, Candy Dulfer, Chance Howard (Prince) and Benjamin Herman. Signed with American record label Verve when she was only 14, frequently on Dutch television, performed twice at the North Sea Jazz Festival, worked with the famous Metropole Orchestra and was nominated for the most prestigious Dutch Music Award: the Edison. In 2016, she was working on a new record, in the USA with Raul Midón (collaborated with Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock and many more), widely known as an amazing songwriter, skilled vocalist and guitar virtuoso. Kim is also recording with gypsy-guitarist Robin Nolan to accompany their upcoming tour. You would almost forget that she is only 23 years old!

The Boulevard Of Broken Dreams

Gary Smith - Blues With A Pinch Of Jazz

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:57
Size: 102.9 MB
Styles: Blues-jazz guitar
Year: 2017
Art: Front

[4:25] 1. Hurts Too Bad
[5:04] 2. Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home
[3:08] 3. I Got The Blues
[6:10] 4. Sunday Morning Blues
[4:48] 5. A Cool Winter's Blues
[3:12] 6. She's Gone
[3:42] 7. Soul Of The Gypsy
[5:12] 8. In And Out Of The Blues
[4:36] 9. Blues At Midnight
[4:36] 10. A Sad Night For Lovers

Gary Smith is an avant-garde guitarist, improviser and composer from the United Kingdom. He is known for developing dense extended techniques on electric guitar. Gary Smith has released close to twenty albums in solo, group and live settings.

Blues With A Pinch Of Jazz

Erroll Garner - The Complete Savoy Master Takes (2-Disc Set)

Does it get any better than this? The nearly two hours of music on this double CD set covers Erroll Garner's complete released output for Savoy from January 1945 -- where he was part of the Slam Stewart Quartet -- through the summer of 1949. All of it has been transferred off original acetate sources and very carefully CEDAR-ized to bring out the musical detail in preference to the noise inherent in the masters, and the result is one up-close-and-personal get-together between one's ears and his piano, with bassist John Simmons and drummers Alvin Stoller or Jesse Price providing the underlying beat. From his dazzling first recording of "Laura" through the quieter joys of "I Only Have Eyes for You" (the only rendition that ever eclipsed the Flamingos' more extroverted version as this writer's favorite, with its quietly ornate glory) to "Stormy Weather," the material here is priceless in its alternately serene and playful elegance, and also one of the best cases (if one were still needed) for digital audio and CD playback -- this music is all too quiet to be interfered with by the flaws in vinyl, to be fully appreciated. The annotation is also extremely thorough, and the entire set is a must-own piece for fans of the pianist, or the piano. ~Bruce Eder

Album: The Complete Savoy Master Takes (Disc 1)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:26
Size: 131.5 MB
Styles: Bop, Piano jazz
Year: 2009

[2:43] 1. Laura
[2:46] 2. Star Dust
[2:44] 3. Somebody Loves Me
[2:33] 4. (Back Home Again In) Indiana
[3:00] 5. I Surrender, Dear
[2:57] 6. I Only Have Eyes For You
[3:05] 7. Stompin' At The Savoy
[3:00] 8. I Cover The Waterfront
[2:41] 9. It's Easy To Remember
[2:59] 10. Penthouse Serenade (When We're Alone)
[2:57] 11. Love Walked In
[3:02] 12. September Song
[2:56] 13. Body And Soul
[2:58] 14. All The Things You Are
[2:42] 15. (I Don't Stand ) A Ghost Of A Chance (With You)
[3:03] 16. Yesterdays
[2:56] 17. Goodbye
[2:53] 18. I'm In The Mood For Love
[2:36] 19. I Can't Believe That Your In Love With Me
[2:44] 20. More Than You Know

The Complete Savoy Master Takes (Disc 1)

Album: The Complete Savoy Master Takes (Disc 2)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:15
Size: 135.6 MB
Styles: Bop, Piano jazz
Year: 2009
Art: Front

[2:40] 1. Undecided
[2:41] 2. Red Sails In The Sunset
[2:49] 3. All Of Me
[3:00] 4. Over The Rainbow
[2:57] 5. A Cottage For Sale
[2:18] 6. This Can't Be Love
[2:37] 7. The Man I Love
[2:36] 8. Moonglow
[2:46] 9. I Want A Little Girl
[2:29] 10. She's Funny That Way
[2:50] 11. Until The Real Thing Comes Along
[2:59] 12. (I'm) Confessin' (That I Love You)
[3:07] 13. Stormy Weather
[2:47] 14. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
[3:03] 15. Rosalie
[3:05] 16. Everything Happens To Me
[2:50] 17. A Stairway To The Stars
[2:46] 18. Play, Fiddle, Play
[2:58] 19. Dark Eyes
[2:56] 20. Laff, Slam Laff
[2:53] 21. Jumpin' At The Deuces

The Complete Savoy Master Takes (Disc 2)

Tyrone Washington - Roots

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1973
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:41
Size: 86,6 MB
Art: Front

(5:23)  1. You Are The Sunshine Of My life
(4:51)  2. Spiritual Light Of The Universe
(3:15)  3. Roots
(4:36)  4. Submission
(5:09)  5. War Is Not For Men
(7:52)  6. You Don't Know What Love Is
(6:32)  7. 1980

An air of mystery shrouds Perception Records like morning mist on the Hudson River. Jimmy Curtiss’s New York–based venture existed for five short years and left behind little of the detritus often associated with defunct record labels.“There’s no tapes, no multi-tracks or masters,” stated DJ Spinna in 2012 after compiling a retrospective of the label. “Everything on the compilation for the most part came off of records, so something happened somewhere.” Perhaps equally enigmatic is the story of saxophonist and Perception recording artist Tyrone Washington, whose 1973 LP Roots was one of the last to appear on the label.Backed by bassist Stafford James, drummer Clifford Barconadhii, and pianist Hubert Eaves, Roots is Washington’s critique of the human condition; an all-points bulletin that humanity, if it doesn’t wake up, is heading into the abyss. It was an austere theme that resonated throughout his work. On 1969’s Natural Essence, the first record he cut as leader, he cast a critical eye over the state of humanity. “Man has lost himself in technological and materialistic creation,” he lamented in the liner notes. “We can offer music as a new currency in a sense, and if man can dig that, then he might be able to save himself from suicidal mass destruction.” Over forty years later, one can only assume that Washington sees the Facebook generation edging ever closer to the precipice. Roots opens with a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” but it soon steers into more abstruse waters. Washington-penned numbers, “Spiritual Light of the Universe,” “Roots,” and “War Is Not for Man,” are both transcendent and unnerving in equal measures. Madlib jacked the LP’s most well-known number, “Submission,” in 2000 for “Return of the Loop Digga,” but even thoughts of the comic escapades of Lord Quas can’t detract from the original’s ominous undertones. Perhaps most unsettling is the LP’s final cut, “1980,” a portentous free-jazz prophecy of a decade that would come to typify the materialistic lifestyle Washington warned us about on Natural Essence.After one more LP, 1974’s Do Right, Washington would abandon music and focus on religion. Cold facts about the man are still hard to come by, and the back cover of Roots only adds to his mysterious aura. “Liner notes on this album are totally unnecessary,” it simply states. “Tyrone Washington is incredible.”~ Matthew Court  http://www.waxpoetics.com/blog/features/rediscovery/tyrone-washington/

Personnel:  Saxophone [Tenor] – Tyrone Washington;  Bass – Stafford James;  Drums – Clifford Barbaro Barconadhii;  Piano – Hubert Eaves

Roots

Brian Lynch - Fuchsia/Red

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@256K/s
Time: 70:32
Size: 129,8 MB
Art: Front

( 2:17)  1. Intro
(10:33)  2. Cory's Strut
(15:27)  3. Fuschia/Red
(10:41)  4. Magenta's Waltz
(10:15)  5. Aurora
( 9:32)  6. Mysteries Of Travel
(11:44)  7. J.B's Dilemma

Trumpeter Brian Lynch is famous for playing high-quality hard bop, formerly with the last version of Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers in addition to the Phil Woods Quintet and his own combo dates. Fuchsia/Red is definitely a change of pace because the music mostly falls into the area of fusion. With Brad Turner dominating the ensembles on electric keyboards, Lynch sounds surprisingly comfortable in this setting, performing his originals plus a song by Björk. Some of the music is reminiscent of Freddie Hubbard's better funk projects, while other selections are closer to prime fusion of the late '60s/early '70s, a bit like Miles Davis' groups. "Magenta's Waltz" is a little more mainstream but otherwise this is a date that is more highly recommended to fans of fusion than to Lynch's usual audience. ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/fuschia-red-mw0000304212

Personnel:  Brian Lynch (trumpet); Brad Turner (Fender Rhodes piano); André Lachance (bass guitar); Bernie Arai (drums).

Fuchsia/Red

John Coltrane - Like Sonny

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1959
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 79:29
Size: 184,4 MB
Art: Front

(10:35)  1. One and Four
( 6:21)  2. Exotica (alt.)
( 6:16)  3. Exotica
( 5:28)  4. Like Sonny
( 8:21)  5. Essii's Dance
( 9:21)  6. Doxy
( 8:26)  7. Oleo
( 8:21)  8. I Talk to the Trees
( 9:38)  9. Yesterdays
( 6:36) 10. Angel Eyes

This Blue Note CD combines two unrelated sessions. Coltrane is heard in a quintet with the tuba player Ray Draper (their second album together) playing five standards (including "Doxy" and "Oleo") and Draper's "Essii's Dance." The 1960 performances are more significant because they're the earliest recorded collaborations by Coltrane and pianist McCoy Tyner. Together with bassist Steve Davis and drummer Billy Higgins, they perform "One and Four," "Like Sonny," and two takes of "Exotica," music that barely predates 'Trane's classic quartet and succeeds on its own terms. ~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/like-sonny-mw0000308759

Personnel: John Coltrane (tenor saxophone); Ray Draper (tuba); McCoy Tyner, John Maher (piano); Steve Davis, Spanky DeBrest (bass); Billy Higgins, Larry Ritchie (drums).

Like Sonny

John Klemmer - Barefoot Ballet

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1976
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:16
Size: 117,2 MB
Art: Front

(7:17)  1. Barefoot Ballet
(4:29)  2. Forest Child
(7:53)  3. Crystal Fingers
(5:12)  4. Whisper To The Wind
(7:27)  5. Poem Painter
(3:50)  6. At 17
(7:44)  7. Talking Hands
(5:13)  8. Rain Dancer
(1:07)  9. Naked

Issued on ABC in 1976, John Klemmer's Barefoot Ballet was the follow-up to the tremendously successful Touch in 1975. That set began to wrap up the various places he'd been musically in the early '70s while entering a new phase, where warm, rounded tones became his signature. Klemmer always stood outside of fusion circles, but his use of an Echoplex for his tenor opened many fusion fans to his sound. This date uses the Echoplex a lot less, tames the energy a bit, and looks with a confident gaze toward the era that would become smooth jazz with one major caveat: Klemmer was already a master technician who had come up through the big-boned honking tenors of hard bop and the modalism of John Coltrane. And unlike the hundreds of saxophonists who would follow him, Klemmer was, and remains, a brilliant melodic improviser. This set bears out the laid-back side of that gift. Accompanied by Dave Gruisin on Rhodes piano, Larry Carlton on acoustic guitar, Bernie Fleischer on flutes, bassist Chuck Domanico, drummer John Guerin, and percussionist Joe Porcaro, Klemmer wrote and arranged all but one of these nine tracks. The lone cover is of Janis Ian's classic "At 17," which was issued as a hit single and may indeed be the first track claimed for smooth jazz not a fair co-opting at all, since in Klemmer's reading of the tune, painted beautifully by Carlton and Gruisin, is a much deeper, darker emotionalism and sophisticated musicality than virtually any tune that ever came from the latter genre. Indeed, Klemmer was swinging for the commercial fences, but when the music is of a caliber this high, success should follow, right?

Klemmer creates a vibe on Barefoot Ballet beginning with the opening title track, he allows his rhythm section to expand the pocket enough for him to inhabit and blow out of from the jump. He uses his Echoplex a bit here to paint ribbons of lyric harmony all around the middle and then soars in his solo making the entire cut a song. The shimmering drift of Gruisin's Rhodes on "Forest Child" offers a slow entry to the mellow Latin percussion by Porcaro that Klemmer takes as his inspiration for the melody and later his solo. The West Coast vibe that haunts "Crystal Fingers" is a beautiful moment on this set. Klemmer's melody just sings out of the tune's frame and prompts the rhythm section to pick up the pace very gradually until they literally soar together. The slightly harder blowing on "Poem Painter" adds a soulful bounty -- underscored with Fleischer's flutes; they add a lush, textural effect to the harder Echoplex blowing, and you have something lush enough to make you ache. Klemmer took heart in the popular acceptance of Touch and Barefoot Ballet, and he began to sink deeper into the warm bubbly sound of what can only be called amniotic afterglow. His ensemble records after this began to sound increasingly formulaic for a good long while. Nonetheless, up through this point Klemmer was untouchable as an artist. ~ Tom Jurek http://www.allmusic.com/album/barefoot-ballet-mw0000188274

Personnel:  Tenor Saxophone – John Klemmer; Acoustic Guitar – Larry Carlton;  Bass – Chuck Domanico;  Drums – John Guerin;  Effects [Echoplex] – John Klemmer;  Electric Piano – Dave Grusin;  Flute [African Wood Flute] – John Klemmer;  Flute [Alto] – Bernie Fleischer;  Flute [Bass, Alto] – Bernie Fleischer;  Piano – Dave Grusin

Barefoot Ballet