Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band - Against The Wind

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:18
Size: 92.3 MB
Styles: Album Rock
Year: 1980/2016
Art: Front

[4:02] 1. The Horizontal Bop
[3:59] 2. You'll Accomp'ny Me
[3:51] 3. Her Strut
[3:42] 4. No Man's Land
[4:16] 5. Long Twin Silver Line
[5:32] 6. Against The Wind
[4:02] 7. Good For Me
[2:51] 8. Betty Lou's Gettin' Out Tonight
[3:31] 9. Fire Lake
[4:26] 10. Shinin' Brightly

Though there are still some traces of the confessionals that underpinned Beautiful Loser through Stranger in Town, Against the Wind finds Bob Seger turning toward craft. Perhaps he had to, since Against the Wind arrived after three blockbuster albums and never-ending tours. Even so, this record winds up not feeling as immediate or soulful as its predecessors, especially since it begins with a tossed-off rocker called "The Horizontal Bop," possibly his most careless tune since "Noah." It's fun, but once it's done, the record really starts to kick into high gear with "You'll Accomp'ny Me," a ballad the equal of anything on its two predecessors. Throughout Against the Wind, Seger winds up performing better on the ballads than the rockers, which, while good, tend to sound a little formulaic. Still, Seger's formula is good and if "Her Strut" and "Betty Lou's Gettin' out Tonight" would have been second stringers on Stranger in Town, they offer a nice balance here, and the rest of the record alternates between similarly well-constructed rockers and introspective ballads like "Against the Wind" and "Fire Lake." Compared to its predecessors, this does feel a little weak, but compared with its peers, it's a strong, varied heartland rock album that finds Seger at a near peak. ~Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Against The Wind

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Ginger Blues - Berlin Nights

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:24
Size: 101.7 MB
Styles: Jazz-blues vocals
Year: 2017
Art: Front

[3:09] 1. Shake That Thing
[3:24] 2. I'll Drown In My Own Town
[4:32] 3. Fine And Mellow
[3:38] 4. My Baby Upsets Me
[5:18] 5. Tennessee Whisky I'd Rather Go Blind
[3:12] 6. Fishing Blues
[3:29] 7. God Bless The Child
[3:01] 8. Roll 'em Pete
[2:35] 9. Up Above My Head
[3:20] 10. In The Dark
[5:43] 11. Voodoo Woman
[2:58] 12. Nightlife

Jan Hirte (guitar, vocals); Jessie Gordon (vocals, ukulele); Dorian Gollis (double bass); Matthias Falkenau (piano, keyboards, Hammond); Stefano Ronchi (guest vocals – #5,9).

You can imagine what you want under Berlin nights. From the very first moment on, Ginger Blues' "Berlin Nights" is undoubtedly one of the musical events you will not forget. What takes place in just under three-quarters of an hour - in the truest sense of the word - is music from the top shelf. Jan Hirte and Jessie Gordon are also accompanied by an excellent band. We find Dorian Gollis (contrabass) and Matthias Falkenau (piano, keyboards and Hammond) as well as a guest of the Italian Stefano Ronchi, who was convincing with his album I'm Ready. Some readers will think: No drums? Right! But you do not miss it. (Translated from German.)

Berlin Nights

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Howard Levy's Acoustic Express - Time Capsules

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 55:53

Size: 127.9 MB

Styles: Jazz/blues harmonica

Year: 2010

Art: Front

[4:00] 1. The Sidewalk Blues

[4:50] 2. Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen

[5:12] 3. Nuages

[7:06] 4. Jovano Jovanke

[5:48] 5. Kind-Hearted Woman

[4:41] 6. I Felafel Blues

[5:40] 7. Lay Lady Lay

[3:19] 8. Oh Lady Be Good

[6:21] 9. A Voz Doce

[3:48] 10. Karlov's Gankino

[5:04] 11. In My Life

Multiple Grammy- Award Winner Howard Levy is an acknowledged master of the diatonic harmonica, a superb pianist, innovative composer, recording artist, bandleader, teacher, producer, and Chicago area resident. His musical travels have taken him all over the geographical world and the musical map. Equally at home in Jazz, Classical music, Rock, Folk, Latin, and World Music, he brings a fresh lyrical approach to whatever he plays. This has made him a favorite with audiences worldwide, and a recording artist sought after by the likes of Kenny Loggins, Dolly Parton, Paquito D’Rivera, Styx, Donald Fagen, and Paul Simon. As a sideman, Howard has appeared on hundreds of CDs and played on many movie soundtracks.

He is perhaps best known for the four CD’s he recorded with Bela Fleck and The Flecktones, a unique band that set the musical world on its ear back in the early 1990’s. He got back together with the band in 2010 and recorded the CD Rocket Science. They toured extensively in 2011-2012, and Howard won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition for “Life in Eleven”, which he wrote with Bela Fleck.

Taking its shape from the famous acoustic swing bands featuring Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli, this quartet features Howard on harmonica with two guitarists: Chris Siebold and Pat Fleming, and Larry Kohut on bass. It’s all Acoustic- no amps, sometimes no monitor speakers or PA.The Players and Their Instruments Pat and Chris both use National Steel or Dobro-type guitars with steel resonators embedded in the top.Together, the two guitarists achieve a unique sonic blend. Larry (one of the most in-demand bassists in Chicago who tours with artists like Kenny Werner, Lynne Arriale, and Vinnie Colaiuta) plays acoustic bass. Howard, of course, plays harmonica, piano and occasional hand percussion.The Music Stylistically, the music ranges from early Jazz and swing tunes like “Nuages”, “Lady be Good”, and Jelly Roll Morton’s “Sidewalk Blues”, through Delta Blues, Beatles and Dylan tunes, Eastern European and Middle Eastern music, Yiddish Songs, Bluegrass, Brasilian music- no stylistic limits, but always unity of sound. There are some original compositions as well, and all four musicians are featured as soloists

Time Capsules

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Charlie Barnet - Giants Of The Big Band Era

Styles: Big Band, Swing
Year: 1990
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 33:52
Size: 79,8 MB
Art: Front

(2:57)  1. East Side West Side
(3:25)  2. Cherokee
(2:25)  3. Pomton Turnpike
(2:41)  4. Volga Boatmen
(2:46)  5. Castle of Dreams
(3:25)  6. Good for Nothing
(3:21)  7. Barcarolle
(2:13)  8. All I Desire
(2:33)  9. Busy as a Bee
(3:04) 10. Skyliner
(2:56) 11. I Can't Remember to Forget
(2:02) 12. Uptown Blues

Charlie Barnet was unusual in several ways. One of the few jazzmen to be born a millionaire, Barnet was a bit of a playboy throughout his life, ending up with a countless number of ex-wives and anecdotes. He was one of the few white big band leaders of the swing era to openly embrace the music of Duke Ellington (he also greatly admired Count Basie). Barnet was a pioneer in leading integrated bands (as early as 1935). And, although chiefly a tenor saxophonist (where he developed an original sound out of the style of Coleman Hawkins), Barnet was an effective emulator of Johnny Hodges on alto in addition to being virtually the only soprano player (other than Sidney Bechet) in the 1930s and '40s. And yet Charlie Barnet was only significant in jazz for about a decade (1939-1949). Although his family wanted him to be a lawyer, he was a professional musician by the time he was 16 and ironically in his career made more money than he would have in business. Barnet arrived in New York in 1932 and started leading bands on records the following year, but his career was quite erratic until 1939. Many of Barnet's early records are worthy but some are quite commercial as he attempted to find a niche. Best is a sideman appearance on a 1934 Red Norvo date that also includes Artie Shaw and Teddy Wilson. In 1939, with the hit recording of "Cherokee" and a very successful run at the Famous Door in New York, Charlie Barnet soon became a household name. In addition to the fine trumpeter Bobby Burnet (who soloed on many of Barnet's Bluebird records), such sidemen as guitarist Bus Etri; drummer Cliff Leeman; singers Lena Horne, Francis Wayne, and Kay Starr; pianist Dodo Marmarosa; clarinetist Buddy DeFranco; guitarist Barney Kessel; and even trumpeter Roy Eldridge spent time with Barnet's bands. Although at the height of his popularity during 1939-1942 (when his orchestra could often play a close imitation of Ellington's), Barnet's recordings for Decca during 1942-1946 were also of great interest with "Skyliner" being a best-seller. By 1947 Barnet was starting to look toward bop. Clark Terry was his star trumpeter that year, and in 1949 his screaming trumpet section included Maynard Ferguson, Doc Severinsen, Rolf Ericson, and Ray Wetzel. Barnet, however, soon lost interest and near the end of 1949 he broke up his band. Semi-retired throughout the remainder of his life, Charlie Barnet occasionally led swing-oriented big bands during short tours and appearances, making his last recording in 1966. ~ Scott Yanow https://itunes.apple.com/kz/artist/charlie-barnet/id269417

Giants Of The Big Band Era

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Harcsa Veronika - Speak Low

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:02
Size: 105,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:49)  1. Whisper Not
(5:32)  2. The Look Of Love
(4:26)  3. I Put A Spell On You
(3:50)  4. Speak Low
(4:19)  5. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
(4:27)  6. What's New
(2:58)  7. After You've Gone
(4:24)  8. Parole Parole
(3:15)  9. Lullaby To An Anxious Child
(3:10) 10. All Blues
(2:04) 11. Nature Boy
(3:43) 12. La Belle Damme Sans Regrets

She started university at Budapest University of Technology and Economics, but graduated from the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest in 2008, and got her Master degree in 2014 at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. Her current main project is a duo with guitar player Bálint Gyémánt. Their second duo album Tell Her was released on Traumton Records in February 2017 to a critical acclaim.  Veronika founded her first jazz band in 2005. Between 2006 and 2011 the quartet released four albums, two of which reached the top of the vocal jazz charts at Tower Records, Japan. Besides her jazz career, she gained success in the Hungarian alternative music scene, collaborating with the Erik Sumo Band and the Pannonia Allstars Ska Orchestra. Being a uniquely versatile artist, she also featured two albums of the experimental electronic trio Bin-Jip as well as a musical and literary project based on works by the Hungarian avant-garde poet Lajos Kassák. She also won the award of Budapest Fringe Festival in 2007 in the category of "The best voice of Budapest Fringe". In 2014 she became permanent artist in residence at the Valley of Arts Festival in Hungary, where she is responsible for the jazz program of the cultic ten days festival. In 2014-15 Veronika Harcsa ran a monthly concert series in Berlin, inviting guests from the local scene. Musicians such as David Friedman, Julia Hülsmann, Samuel Blaser or David Helbock accepted her invitation. The duo with Bálint Gyémánt was selected to showcase at the Jazzahead! 2015 European Jazz Meeting. Harcsa has performed at festivals and clubs in over 25 countries worldwide. She worked together with Erik Truffaz, Enrico Pieranunzi, Kris Defoort, Nicola Conte, the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, Concerto Budapest and many others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veronika_Harcsa

Speak Low

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Billy Drummond Quartet - The Gift

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop 
Year: 1994
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:26
Size: 140,8 MB
Art: Front

( 5:04)  1. Car Tunes
( 7:39)  2. The Common Law
( 8:00)  3. Ode To Angela
( 6:30)  4. Apex
( 7:31)  5. The Gift
( 7:47)  6. Garoyles
(12:22)  7. Dear Old Chicago
( 6:31)  8. Devil May Care

Born 19 June 1959, Newport News, Virginia, USA. Drummond began playing drums at the age of four, following the example of his drummer father. He played in high school and local bands and thanks to hearing his father’s record collection began taking an interest in the masters of modern jazz. In his teens he attracted attention in New York and became one of several young musicians recorded by Blue Note Records in their series of bands named Out Of The Blue. He became a member of Horace Silver’s band, thereafter touring and sometimes recording with artists including Sonny Rollins, Pat Metheny, J.J. Johnson, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Tommy Smith, Vincent Herring, Jon Faddis and Renée Rosnes. He has played on several records with the latter and she plays in his band, Native Colours, which also includes Steve Wilson. An exceptionally accomplished technician, Drummond is a highly supportive player, always listening and eager to bring out the best in the musicians he accompanies. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/billy-drummond-mn0000767592/biography

Personnel:  Billy Drummond (drums); Seamus Blake (soprano & tenor saxophones); Renee Rosnes (piano); Peter Washington (bass).

The Gift

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Herb Ellis - Roll Call

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1991
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:28
Size: 126,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:26)  1. Just Blue
(3:49)  2. Naptown Blues
(4:19)  3. Isn't It Romantic
(4:55)  4. Till The Hurt Goes Away
(3:58)  5. Lime House Blues
(4:39)  6. Blues For Junior
(3:52)  7. Sugar Hill Stomp
(4:41)  8. Once I Loved
(8:46)  9. Detour Ahead
(4:55) 10. Blues For Bernie
(5:05) 11. Amazing Grace

Herb Ellis' first full set as a leader since leaving the Concord label (where he had been during 1973-88) finds him in inspired form. The veteran guitarist is heard in a trio with the recently rediscovered organist Mel Rhyne and drummer Jake Hanna plus guest violinist Johnny Frigo and Jay Thomas on tenor and flugelhorn. A fire seemed to have been lit under Ellis for he plays on the well-rounded program with much more passion than he had on most of his later Concord albums. This CD is highlighted by "Just Blue," "Limehouse Blues," "Sugar Hill Stomp," and "Detour Ahead" but all 11 selections are worth hearing. Recommended. ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/roll-call-mw0000115665

Personnel:  Herb Ellis (guitar);  Jay Thomas (tenor saxophone, flugelhorn);  Johnny Frigo (violin);  Mel Rhyne (Hammond B-3 organ);  Jake Hanna (drums).

Roll Call

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