Dexter Gordon - Go!

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1962
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:47
Size: 86,7 MB
Art: Front

(6:33)  1. Cheese Cake
(5:23)  2. I Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry
(7:05)  3. Second Balcony Jump
(7:40)  4. Love for Sale
(5:21)  5. Where Are You
(5:42)  6. Three O'Clock in the Morning

From the first moments when Dexter Gordon sails into the opening song full of brightness and confidence, it is obvious that Go is going to be one of those albums where everything just seems to come together magically. A stellar quartet including the stylish pianist Sonny Clark, the agile drummer Billy Higgins, and the solid yet flexible bassist Butch Warren are absolutely crucial in making this album work, but it is still Gordon who shines. Whether he is dropping quotes into "Three O'Clock in the Morning" or running around with spritely bop phrases in "Cheese Cake," the album pops and crackles with energy and exuberance. Beautiful ballads like "I Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry" metamorphosize that energy into emotion and passion, but you can still see it there nonetheless. Gordon had many high points in his five decade-long career, but this is certainly the peak of it all. ~ Stacia Proefrock http://www.allmusic.com/album/go%21-mw0000245374

Personnel: Dexter Gordon (tenor saxophone); Sonny Clark (piano); Butch Warren (bass); Billy Higgins (drums).

Go!

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Tim Hagans & Bob Belden - Re-Animation Live !

Styles: Trumpet And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:43
Size: 145,0 MB
Art: Front

( 0:12)  1. Introduction
( 7:35)  2. Animation/Imagination
( 3:15)  3. Big Moment
(10:34)  4. Hud Doyle
( 5:55)  5. Killer Instinct
( 7:49)  6. 28 If
( 2:58)  7. Dans la Ville Sombre
(10:56)  8. Are You Threatening Me?
( 3:27)  9. Love's Lullaby
( 9:59) 10. Trumpet Sandwich

Given the technical considerations, I didn’t expect that trumpeter Tim Hagans and saxophonist Bob Belden would be able to translate their groundbreaking 1999 project, Animation/Imagination (Blue Note), to the live stage, but they proved me wrong in astonishing fashion. This new disc documents the band’s performance at the Montreal Jazz Festival with Hagans on trumpet, Belden soprano sax, Scott Kinsey keyboards and samples, David Dyson bass, Billy Kilson drums, and DJ Kingsize on the turntables. This project seems to work better on many levels than similar attempts to assimilate techno and jungle elements into jazz. Hagans and Belden chose the ideal meeting point for the two disparate styles: the funk-fusion aesthetic of Miles Davis in the '70s. The results are fresh, enervated and crackling with power. Like many of Miles’ electric albums the tracks here segue seamlessly into one another, keeping the momentum alive. Kilson is an especially strong asset as illustrated by performances like "Hud Doyle" and "Dans la Ville." Hagans is a brooding Dark Magus, and Belden bristles with fiery ideas. If this isn’tthefuture of jazz, at the very least it’s an exciting glimpse into an alternate universe of sound possibilities. ~ Todd S.Jenkins https://www.allaboutjazz.com/re-animation-live-in-montreal-tim-hagans-blue-note-records-review-by-todd-s-jenkins.php
 

Personnel: Tim Hagans: trumpet; Bob Belden" soprano saxophone; Scott Kinsey" synthesizers; David Dyson: electric bass; Billy Kilson: drums; DJ Kingsize: turntables.

Re-Animation  Live !

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Norrbotten Big Band - Future North

Styles: Jazz, Big Band
Year: 1998
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:10
Size: 158,4 MB
Art: Front

(8:46)  1. Future North Suite-Anticipating Sweden
(8:15)  2. Future North Suite-Discovering Norrbotten
(5:48)  3. Future North Suite-Future North
(6:23)  4. Passing Giants
(9:47)  5. Noogaloo
(6:53)  6. Mention The Extension
(6:42)  7. Walking Iris
(6:42)  8. Twist And Out
(9:49)  9. Missed The Ballgame Blues

This is a tour de force of big band writing and playing. American trumpeter Tim Hagans, artistic director of the Lulea, Sweden-based band, composed and arranged the music. As a writer, he has roots in Ernie Wilkins, Thad Jones, and the Gil Evans-Miles Davis collaborations. (Twenty or so years ago, Hagans performed in Scandinavian bands led by Jones or Wilkins.) The charts are rhythmic, intricate, and kaleidoscopic. Hagans’ three-part “Future North Suite” begins with pedal-tone bass and rockish drums. After a punchy horn unison, the band dissolves into a spacey, Bitches Brew-like segment. There’s a collective ad-lib by the full band and a soprano saxophone solo by Hakan Brostrom. The closing ensemble suggests Thad. This is an example of Hagans’ ability to mix and match. On “Waking Iris” he works Birth of the Cool voicings into the chart, which, again, climaxes in a Thaddian style. The band is impeccable, its chops showing in tricky convoluted counterpoint (e.g., “Twist & Out”) as well as in simpler tutti passages where it breathes as one. Hagans solos frequently-the composer dancing through his creation. The Swedish soloists are hip and in tune with the moods of his charts. ~ Owen Cordle https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/norrbotten-big-band-future-north/

Norrbotten Big Band: Tim Hagans (arranger, conductor, trumpet); Hakan Brostrom (alto & soprano saxophones); Jan Thelin (alto saxophone, bass clarinet); Mats Garberg (tenor saxophone, flute); Bangt Ek (tenor saxophone); Per Moberg (baritone saxophone, flute); Bo Strandberg, Dan Johansson, Magnus Ekholm, Tapio Maunuvaara (trumpet, flugelhorn); P-O Svanstrom, Magnus Puls, Peter Dahlgren (trombone); Bjorn Hangsel (bass trombone); Hans Delander (piano, Fender Rhodes); Christian Spering (bass); Jukkis Uotila (drums); Magnus Persson (percussion, didgeridoo).

Future North

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Trilok Gurtu - Remembrance

Styles: Folk, World, & Country 
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:06
Size: 130,9 MB
Art: Front

(3:17)  1. Brindavan dance
(5:43)  2. Expression of love
(6:12)  3. Witness to marriage
(4:45)  4. Our heritage
(5:36)  5. Evening in India
(3:09)  6. Sounds of India
(6:56)  7. Greetings
(3:13)  8. Street song
(3:27)  9. Eastern journey
(3:57) 10. Worship
(4:47) 11. Remembrance

Producer/percussionist Trilok Gurtu has spent the fifteen-odd years since the release of his first solo album Usfret exploring the potential of collaborations between musicians from the Indian, jazz and African traditions. Over the years he's moved from an energetic avant-garde approach to make gentler, more accessible music. Remembrance features musicians of the quality of the sarangi player Ustad Sultan Khan, the flute of Ronu Majumdar, the tabla player Zakir Hussain and the vocalist Shankar Mahadevan. Trilok's mother Shoba Gurtu makes her first recording with her son since Usfret. With this cast list, it's no surprise that the most successful pieces on Remembrance are those most grounded in the classical Indian tradition. The album's opening track 'Brindavan Dance' is a potentially off-putting percussion and programming workout, dated and somewhat unattractive. But on 'Expression Of Love' we hear Shankar Mahadevan and Shoba Gurtu combine over gentle santoor, Sultan Khan's shocking sarangi and Trilok's syncopated trap drums to powerful and atmospheric effect. Although nothing at all like a traditional raga, except perhaps in the passages of impossibly fast extended harmony, it's simultaneously forward-looking and rooted in tradition, combining an unusual arrangement, sophisticated production and extraordinary musicianship. 'Witness to Marriage' follows, with an affecting Bollywood string arrangement and African vocal sample building into something of an epic of insistent funk and north Indian percussion. The light, but enchanting 'Our Heritage' showcases Majumdar's flute. Trilok syncopates trap drums beneath the flute and a rolling synthesiser sequence, giving the tune his rhythmic trademark. It's quickly obvious that the arrangements and the studiocraft here are grounded in pop territory, for all the album's glorious musicianship. 'Greetings', where Zakir Hussain does his 10,000-fingered tabla thing over synth bass and distracting sequenced synthesiser, exemplifies this. Where Remembrance really comes to life, as it does on 'Evening In India', simply harmonium, vocal and percussion, it's really quite splendid. http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/njdp/

Remembrance

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Maysa - Love Is a Battlefield

Styles: Vocal, Soul
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:00
Size: 112,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:23)  1. The Things We Do for Love
(4:43)  2. Can We Talk
(4:58)  3. Love Is a Battlefield
(5:55)  4. Because It's Really Love
(5:13)  5. Inside Out
(4:53)  6. Inseparable
(3:37)  7. As Long As You Love Me
(5:10)  8. Footsteps in the Dark
(4:57)  9. Am I Dreaming
(4:07) 10. Mr. Dream Merchant

Roughly a decade after she released her first Shanachie album, the all-covers Sweet Classic Soul, Maysa recorded another set of reinterpretations, her ninth full-length for the same label. Compared to Sweet Classic Soul, the source material here is broader, pulling from six decades, stretching back to the '60s for "Mr. Dream Merchant," popularized by Jerry Butler. It is highlighted by another Isley Brothers quiet storm staple "Footsteps in the Dark," a stellar duet with All-4 One's Jamie Jones. A few other cuts originate from Maysa's late-'70s/early-'80s sweet spot, including the fiery ballads "Inseparable" (Natalie Cole) and "Am I Dreaming" (Atlantic Starr), and the tears-at-the-rink gem "Inside Out" (Odyssey), all performed faithfully, while the title track (Pat Benatar) gets a measured and restrained makeover. Updates of a couple early-'90s singles Nona Gaye's "The Things We Do for Love" and Tevin Campbell's Top Ten Babyface collaboration "Can We Talk" lead the album. "As Long as You Love Me," not the Impressions song, but the Justin Bieber hit from 2012, is the least expected selection by far. Maysa puts as much into it as she does anything else here, a satisfying companion to Sweet Classic Soul and her other covers LPs. ~ Andy Kellman http://www.allmusic.com/album/love-is-a-battlefield-mw0003033197

Love Is a Battlefield

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