Bill Barron - West Side Story Bossa Nova

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1963
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:05
Size: 56,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:15)  1. Something's Coming
(3:31)  2. One Hand, One Heart
(4:00)  3. Gee, Officer Krupke
(3:57)  4. Cool
(2:22)  5. Maria
(3:23)  6. Tonight
(3:35)  7. America
(3:44)  8. I Feel Pretty
(3:20)  9. Jet Song
(3:53) 10. Somewhere

Bill Barron spent a good deal of his music career as a jazz educator, though he made many valuable recordings in the early '60s and also near the end of his life. Unfortunately, few of them have been reissued during the CD era, so the return of this long-out-of-print studio date (for the long-defunct Dauntless label) is very welcome. The tenor saxophonist's orchestra is actually only a septet, but it's a potent group who puts out a big sound. They include trumpeter Willie Thomas, guitarist Kenny Burrell, bassist Henry Grimes, drummer Charlie Persip, percussionist Jose Soares, and pianist Steve Kuhn, with the leader's now famous younger brother, Kenny Barron, subbing for Kuhn on the opening track, "Something's Coming." Barron's arrangements are brief (all under four minutes each), but very enjoyable, with snappy takes of "Cool" and "America" as well as a brief "Maria," featuring Thomas and Barron swapping solos, and wrapping with an unusually upbeat treatment of the normally low-key ballad "Somewhere." This 1963 session was finally made available once again by Fresh Sound in 2002. ~ Ken Dryden http://www.allmusic.com/album/west-side-story-bossa-nova-mw0000231101

Personnel: Bill Barron (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Kenny Burrell (electric guitar); Willie Thomas (trumpet); Kenny Barron, Steve Kuhn (piano).

West Side Story Bossa Nova

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Mary Coughlan - The House Of Ill Repute

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:13
Size: 111,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:09)  1. The House Of Ill Repute
(3:33)  2. Sleep On It
(2:45)  3. Bad
(3:28)  4. Pornography
(3:15)  5. Love Is Extra
(4:11)  6. Mary Mary
(3:15)  7. Tootsies
(3:38)  8. In Your Darkened Room
(4:02)  9. Some Cats Know
(3:49) 10. Moon In A Taxi Cab
(4:47) 11. Antarctica
(4:35) 12. The Whore Of Babylon
(3:41) 13. Tango

Irish torch singer Mary Coughlan was born in Galway in 1956; after enduring a painful adolescence that included bouts with drugs and alcohol as well as a stay in a mental hospital, she relocated to London at the age of 19, living in a hippie squat. After several lean years of waitressing and sweeping streets, Coughlan returned to Ireland in 1974, where a chance encounter with Dutch musician Erik Visser helped point her towards a singing career; specializing in jazz and blues, she began slowly earning a reputation on the pub circuit, which resulted in a handful of television appearances. From there, she and Visser moved on to sold-out concert dates, and in 1985 Coughlan finally recorded her debut LP, Tired and Emotional, a major hit in her native land. A number of other records followed in the years to come, and she became a critical favorite throughout much of Europe; with 1997's After the Fall, Coughlan made her U.S. debut, soon earning a devoted following on American shores as well. Three years later, Coughlan issued the vibrant tribute album Sings Billie Holiday. Long Honeymoon appeared in spring 2001. ~ Jason Ankeny http://www.allmusic.com/artist/mary-coughlan-mn0000316250/biography

The House Of Ill Repute

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Bruce Gertz - Third Eye

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 1994
File: MP3@224K/s
Time: 75:02
Size: 120,5 MB
Art: Front

(12:02)  1. Small Fortune
( 3:44)  2. Third Eye
( 7:33)  3. Alone Together
( 7:55)  4. Mixed Messages
( 5:14)  5. In Memory
( 6:47)  6. Deep Sea Vent
(16:06)  7. In Your Own Sweet Way
( 7:40)  8. Prime Suspect
( 7:58)  9. The News

Bassist Bruce Gertz's debut for the Italian RAM label is an interesting sampler of today's modern mainstream. The music is sometimes fairly straightahead and sometimes lightly funky while consistently featuring plenty of dynamic solos from Gertz's sidemen (tenor-saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi, guitarist John Abercrombie, pianist Joey Calderazzo and drummer Adam Nussbaum) that, although tied to the tradition, are unpredictable and explorative. Abercrombie switches easily from rock-oriented sounds to a dryer tone reminiscent of his ECM dates. Bergonzi displays a tone influenced by Joe Henderson and John Coltrane, Calderazzo has his spots and Nussbaum is stimulating in support. The impressive Bruce Gertz (splitting his time between acoustic and electric bass) contributes seven of the nine selections, all but the standards "Alone Together" and "In Your Own Sweet Way." Gertz is showcased on "Third Eye" and "Prime Suspect" and has close interplay thorughout with Abercrombie, particularly on "Alone Together."

Overall this is a superior outing by a variety of fine players. As a bonus, Gertz's liner notes (in which he traces the evolution of the jazz bass from the late '50s up to the present) are quite informative. ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/third-eye-mw0000627701

Personnel: Bruce Gertz (acoustic bass, electric bass); John Abercrombie (guitar); Jerry Bergonzi (tenor saxophone); Joey Calderazzo (piano); Adam Nussbaum (drums).

Third Eye

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Bill Doggett - Wow!

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop 
Year: 1964
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:10
Size: 78,9 MB
Art: Front

(2:36)  1. Wow!
(3:52)  2. Oo-Da
(8:06)  3. Ol' Mose Blues
(2:48)  4. Happy Soul Time
(2:42)  5. The Kicker
(2:36)  6. Mudcat
(3:12)  7. Ram-Bunk-Shush
(3:35)  8. Slow Talk
(4:39)  9. Fatso

This 1965 set by organist Bill Doggett's band is well-played and spirited but quite lightweight. The nine selections are mostly blues-oriented jams without any memorable melodies, stirring solos, or moments that lift the program above the routine. The rather brief results are pleasant and groovin' but rather predictable. ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/wow%21-mw0000000416

Personnel: Bill Doggett (organ); Billy Butler (guitar); Andrew Ennis (tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Edwin Starr (percussion).

Wow!

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Matthew Shipp - Invisible Touch At Taktlos Zurich

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:32
Size: 114,1 MB
Art: Front

(0:43)  1. Light Beam
(4:56)  2. Intro Z
(5:46)  3. Instinctive Touch
(1:32)  4. Pocket
(5:50)  5. Gamma Ray
(5:43)  6. Piece Within Piece
(4:07)  7. Tenderly
(7:00)  8. Monk's Nighmare
(4:39)  9. Blue in Orion
(5:14) 10. It
(3:58) 11. Fairplay

Pianist Matthew Shipp is prolific. Under his own name and in collaboration with with numerous other free-thinking jazzers saxophonist Ivo Perlman in the forefront of these CD releases seem to pour out of him. His best under his own name comes in the trio/duo/solo format. Piano Sutras (Thirsty Ear, 2013); The Conduct Of Jazz (Thirsty Ear, 2013); Piano Song (Thirsty Ear, 2017); and a duo set with drummer Bobby Kapp, Cactus, (Northern Spy Records, 2016) attest to his artistic focus and excellence. Cruise the internet for profiles of and interviews with Shipp and he comes off as a prickly personality, a man assured of his own talents and unsympathetic to pigeon-holers, pretentious critics and label prospectors mining for a bunch of words aimed at pinning down his music. His music just is. So here comes a bunch of words concerning Invisible Touch At Taktlos Zurich, a solo piano outing by Shipp. Shipp approaches the piano with a pugilistic mindset. Think of a boxer, throwing hard flurries at the speed bag, then shuffling over to deliver a series of thunderous body shots into the gut of the heavy bag. It's a sound full of vehemence that rises at times to a fury. It's an approach he continues with on Invisible Touch At Taktlos. The set is a continuous, forty-five plus minutes without a pause, until the applause at the end of tune number 11, "It," that leads into a four minute encore. This stream of consciousness style suits Shipp, as it did Cecil Taylor on Olim (Soul Note, 1987). But Shipp is more visceral than Taylor, with more of a feel for interludes of crisp lyricism. His sound is denser. Elaborate, even serpentine phrasings abound, punctuated by muscular chords and endlessly creative even beautiful tangents. "Monk's Nightmare" is a thunderstorm. "Instinctive Touch" wanders frenetically, spewing notes in rapid fire fashion. "Blue In Orion" injects a feeling of solemnity into the proceedings; "Gamma Ray" pulses, pretty and powerful. And in the middle of it all the standard "Tenderly" rises, sounding not all that tender, but rather ominous. Matthew Shipps seems like a guy musically a personally who walks through the world with a chip on his shoulder. On Invisible Touch At Taktlos Zurich the chip is still there, but it sounds as if he sat down at the piano one night with that big, flat, flagstone shard balanced perfectly, and all things life and art were well with his world. The result is one of Matthew Shipp's finest and most riveting recordings. ~ Dan McClenaghan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/invisible-touch-at-taktlos-zurich-matthew-shipp-hatology-review-by-dan-mcclenaghan.php
 

Personnel: Matthew Shipp: piano

Invisible Touch At Taktlos Zurich

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