Jackie McLean - The Source Vol. 2

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 70:23
Size: 161.1 MB
Styles: Bop, Saxophone jazz
Year: 1973/1991
Art: Front

[18:36] 1. Half Nelson
[ 7:18] 2. I Can't Get Started
[19:02] 3. On The Trail
[ 0:21] 4. Closing
[13:31] 5. Another Hair-Do
[11:05] 6. Dexter Digs In
[ 0:27] 7. Closing (2)

Veteran tenor Dexter Gordon and altoist Jackie McLean teamed up for a few club dates in 1973 and the results have been released on two Steeple Chase albums; the other one is The Meeting. Unlike the earlier release which focused on lesser-known material, The Source features the saxophonists on three jazz standards (Miles Davis's "Half Nelson," "I Can't Get Started" and Charlie Parker's "Another Hair-Do") in addition to reviving Dexter Gordon's 1947 composition "Dexter Digs In." The music is a bit loose and long-winded ("Half Nelson" is over 18 minutes long) but recommended to straightahead jazz fans. ~Scott Yanow

The Source

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Chet Atkins - It's A Guitar World

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 30:38
Size: 70.1 MB
Styles: Country/Jazz/Pop
Year: 1967/1998
Art: Front

[2:10] 1. What'd I Say
[2:21] 2. Cast Your Fate To The Wind
[3:07] 3. Lara's Theme
[2:38] 4. A Taste Of Honey
[2:04] 5. For No One
[2:18] 6. Pickin' Nashville
[3:03] 7. January In Bombay
[2:17] 8. Ranjana
[3:12] 9. Et Maintenant (What Now My Love)
[2:20] 10. 'na Voce
[2:12] 11. Star Time
[2:50] 12. Sempre

This attractive LP from Chester Burton Atkins purports to leap international boundaries, but for the most part, he stays right home in Nashville. Categories certainly go by the boards as Atkins seamlessly translates "What'd I Say" into his fingerpicking language and Vince Guaraldi's "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" gets a lovely straight-ahead treatment. There are also then-recent hits from the Tijuana Brass ("A Taste of Honey," "What Now My Love"), a quiet solo rendering of the Beatles' "For No One," and some ventures south of the border. The most intriguing, and certainly most bizarre, international experiment is a brief session with Indian sitarist Harihar Rao, who just happened to be passing through Nashville. "January in Bombay" is really "The Battle of New Orleans" with Rao strumming wildly, incoherently, on the gopi (either Rao had gone avant-garde or, more likely, he avant garde a clue), but then Rao gets some responsive sitar licks going as the track fades. "Ranjana" has a sitar lead with Atkins playing in unison, but the tune is quite Western and the backing is straight Nashville country, with a drone and a solo on one chord by Rao, and another by Atkins in his own countrified idiom. Hey, it was 1967, and India was in, but this fusion really needed a shotgun to make it happen. ~Richard S. Ginnell

It's A Guitar World

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DeDe Wedekind - Clear Skies Ahead

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:10
Size: 119.4 MB
Styles: Easy Listening
Year: 2017
Art: Front

[3:02] 1. Let's Fall In Love
[2:55] 2. Blue Skies
[4:35] 3. Psalm On Danny Boy
[3:12] 4. So In Love
[3:57] 5. I Dreamed A Dream
[2:38] 6. For All We Know
[4:13] 7. The Prayer
[3:47] 8. When I Fall In Love
[4:24] 9. Stormy Weather/Can't Help Loving That Man
[3:36] 10. Skylark
[3:27] 11. Til There Was You
[4:59] 12. Someone To Watch Over Me
[3:06] 13. Our Love Is Here To Stay
[4:12] 14. Wishing

DeDe's an award-winning singer & songwriter from Texas. She's currently nominated in 9 CATEGORIES for the IMEA Awards including: ARTIST of the YEAR (2), ALBUM of the YEAR (2), & SONG of the YEAR (5). "The Fairy Tale Song" (Love & Fairy Tales, 2013) was a FINALIST in the International Songwriting Contest in March 2014. "The Plans I Have for You", from the same album, was a FINALIST in the UK Songwriting Competition in Aug. 2013. DeDe was honored as BEST VOCALIST in March 2014 by Singer Universe.com for "Blame It On the Summertime", from Love & Fairy Tales, & was named FIRST Runner-Up BEST SONG on Songwriter Universe.com, also in March 2014 for the same.

DeDe has 3 albums including her latest: World of Christmas, which includes new original songs & arrangements of classics, all by DeDe. This award-winning album was produced by GRAMMY-WINNING Producer of the Year, Jeff Bova (Celine Dion Falling Into You, 1996). This 10 song CD, has been called an album "that will not only touch your heart...but also your soul", by Bova. Grammy- Winner Jason Miles says "(DeDe) is...a superb vocalist, a talent to be watched". LA Music Examiner, Phoenix, of the LA Examiner, says "World of Christmas will turn your 'Silent Night', into a 'Joyful Christmas'!" She's called one of the "best vocalists in music now".

DeDe's 1st album, Clear Skies Ahead, is full of jazzy pop standards all arranged in DeDe's unique creative style. Breathecast.com says: "Wedekind has a way of bringing out something fresh out of each of these covers...some of the most intricate pieces from the American Songbook. When it comes to song interpretation, Wedekind is without peer." ~Timothy Yap.

Clear Skies Ahead

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Ringo Starr - Sentimental Journey

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 33:32
Size: 76.8 MB
Styles: Contemporary Pop/Rock
Year: 1970/1995
Art: Front

[3:24] 1. Sentimental Journey
[2:24] 2. Night And Day
[2:35] 3. Whispering Grass
[2:10] 4. Bye Bye Blackbird
[2:38] 5. I'm A Fool To Care
[3:20] 6. Stardust
[3:17] 7. Blue Turning Grey Over You
[3:04] 8. Love Is A Many Splendored Thing
[2:40] 9. Dream
[2:18] 10. You Always Hurt The One You Love
[2:42] 11. Have I Told You Lately That I Love You
[2:54] 12. Let The Rest Of The World Go By

Cut as the Beatles were disintegrating and released shortly before the group's final album, Let It Be, Ringo Starr's debut solo album was a collection of pre-rock standards dating from the 1920s to the '50s, sung over orchestral tracks arranged by everyone from fellow Beatle Paul McCartney and Bee Gee Maurice Gibb to jazz veterans Quincy Jones and Oliver Nelson. Starr brought a good-natured, nearly humorous tone to his vocals, perhaps because he wasn't trying to compete with the classic pop stylists most identified with these songs, but only to express his nostalgic affection for the material. Coming more than a decade before the fad for standards albums by rock-era pop stars like Linda Ronstadt, the album was taken not as a career move, but as a highly eccentric and expensive novelty of a kind only Beatles could afford to indulge. In retrospect, it remains harmlessly charming, if unexceptional. (Originally released in the U.K. on March 27, 1970, as Parlophone 7101 and in the U.S. on April 24, 1970, as Apple 3365, Sentimental Journey was reissued in the U.S. on August 29, 1995, as Captiol 98615.) ~William Ruhlmann

Sentimental Journey

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Gene Harris & The Three Sounds - Live At The 'It Club'

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:40
Size: 132.0 MB
Styles: Bop, Piano jazz
Year: 1996
Art: Front

[7:42] 1. Funky Pullett
[8:45] 2. I'm Still Sad
[7:19] 3. On Green Dolphin Street
[5:24] 4. Baby Man
[8:15] 5. Love For Sale
[7:31] 6. Sittin' Duck
[4:50] 7. Tammy's Breeze
[7:51] 8. John Brown's Body

Recorded in 1970 but not released until 1996, Live At the "It Club" shows the Three Sounds pulling out funky, gritty rhythms out of their basic bluesy hard-bop sound. The group's funky influences are most noticeable in the rhythm section of drummer Carl Burnette and bassist Henry Franklin, who had been playing with Harris for only a short time when this set was recorded. The rhythm section pushes Harris, making the music loose and swinging -- the groove matters more than anything on the album. Occasionally, the energy of the Three Sounds lags, but Live at the "It Club" is an enjoyable piece of grooving soul-jazz. ~Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Live At The 'It Club'

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Dave Stryker - Guitar On Top

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1991
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:58
Size: 152,4 MB
Art: Front

(7:15)  1. Victor Strikes
(5:29)  2. Listen To Your Heart
(9:50)  3. Guitar On Top
(6:16)  4. Matthew's Waltz
(5:54)  5. Solid
(5:55)  6. Galapagos
(8:09)  7. A Time For Love
(5:30)  8. Goin' To New Orleans
(8:35)  9. Naked City

Features a quartet with Stryker, Mulgrew Miller on piano, Bob Hurst on bass, and Victor Lewis on drums. 

These are extra-special musicians playing seven Stryker originals in modern mainstream plus two standards. It is good to discover and holds many surprises. ~ Michael G.Nastos http://www.allmusic.com/album/guitar-on-top-mw0000613844

Personnel: Dave Stryker (guitar), Mulgrew Miller (piano), Robert Hurst (bass), Victor Lewis (drums).

Guitar On Top

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Lyambiko - Saffronia

Styles: Vocal, Contemporary Jazz  
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:04
Size: 122,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:55)  1. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
(4:13)  2. Feeling Good
(3:33)  3. I Loves You Porgy
(5:05)  4. Don't Smoke On Bed
(4:31)  5. Here Comes The Sun
(7:08)  6. My Baby Just Cares For Me
(3:18)  7. Black Is The Colour Of My True Love's Hair
(4:48)  8. Four Women
(5:33)  9. I Put A Spell On You
(3:54) 10. Ne Me Quitte Pas
(6:01) 11. Mawe Mawe / I Sing Just  To Know That I'm Alive

On February 21, 2008, Nina Simone became one of the greatest icons of jazz, 75 years old. The sixth edition of the quartet around Lyambiko is, however, at most implicitly based on this jubilee. After five albums, she finally feels ready to publish a tribute to the woman, who inspired her eight years ago to go the way as a jazz singer, as the Thuringian woman with Tanzanian roots proclaims in the finest promo pathos. Now, God already quite different came to the idea, Nina Simone original interpretations to covern or further processing. Alone on the Verve Remixed series, which has since become a classic, Simone is represented six times, and even the sports show used the rhythm section of " Do not Let Me Be Misunderstood " as a jingle some 30 years ago. The appeal of cover versions is usually in the reinterpretation, in the success-crowned attempt to create something completely new from something existing. This is precisely the Crux at "Saffronia". Lyambiko is not to be accused of singing at all, but the record is simply sung over long stretches. Sure, everything is a bit fresher and more youthful, and at " My Baby Just Cares For Me " she tries it at least, takes a lot of pace out. The pianonummer, which is in the original, suddenly stimulates a relaxed rocking. That Liz is replaced in the text line "Liz Taylor is not his style" by Meg Ryan, I am at this point simply times. What is missing from Lyambiko is this fusion, this uncompromising identification with the song, which makes up the fascination of Nina Simones to this day. There are also slightly altered arrangements like the percussions in " Four Women ". The fact that one of the four women described in the play has to serve as a name for the record, at this point then also appears somewhat high. So the question is, why I should put Lyambiko, if I can also listen to the more intense original. Honest answer: I do not know. "Saffronia" is nice and not bad, but I still go back to Nina Simone. ~ David Hilzendegen  http://www.laut.de/Lyambiko/Alben/Saffronia-26714

Personnel:  Vocals – Lyambiko;  Backing Vocals – Lyambiko;  Bass – Robin Draganic;  Drums – Heinrich Köbberling;  Grand Piano – Marque Lowenthal

Saffronia

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John Di Martino's Romantic Jazz Trio - Music Of The Night

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@256K/s
Time: 63:38
Size: 120,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:01)  1. All That Jazz (from Chicago)
(6:26)  2. I Dreamed A Dream (from Les Miserables)
(5:12)  3. Music Of The Night (from The Phantom of the Opera)
(5:05)  4. Memory (from The Cats)
(5:54)  5. When You're Good To Mama (from Chicago)
(4:49)  6. All I Ask Of You (from The Phantom of the Opera)
(4:48)  7. Mein Herr (from Cabaret)
(5:38)  8. Maybe This Time (from Cabaret)
(4:32)  9. On My Own (from Les Miserables)
(5:51) 10. Beauty And The Beast (from Beauty And The Beast)
(2:58) 11. Tomorrow Belongs To Me (from Cabaret)
(4:05) 12. Send In The Clowns (from Little Night Music)
(3:18) 13. If You Could See Her (from Cabaret)

The Romantic Jazz Trio, consisting of pianist John Di Martino, bassist Boris Kozlov, and drummer Tim Horner, continue the tradition of covering songs from Broadway musicals, though most of their selections for this CD come from musicals written during the 1970s and later. As many longtime Broadway fans will attest, sellout crowds and long runs don't necessarily mean the songs are the equals of efforts by the greats of earlier decades, like Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, and the like. But the trio manages just fine interpreting songs from Chicago, Les Miserables, Beauty and the Beast, Cats, and the modern standard "Send in the Clowns" from Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music. The problem begins when the focus turns to the lame melodies of Andrew Lloyd Webber; as one veteran jazz musician remarked to an audience, "They begin OK but don't go anywhere." The trio makes a go of it, even bringing some life to the tedious "Memory," but in the end, the weakness of Webber's songs stand out in comparison to the others' works. At least no one requested that the Romantic Jazz Trio record Webber's nauseating, overblown "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina." ~ Ken Dryden http://www.allmusic.com/album/music-of-the-night-mw0001689286

Personnel:  Piano – John Di Martino;  Bass – Boris Kozlov;  Drums – Tim Horner; 

Music Of The Night

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Don Byas - Savoy Jam Party

Styles: Saxophone Jazz

Year: 1946

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 73:48

Size: 169,7 MB

Art: Front

(2:55)  1. Riffin' And Jivin'

(3:39)  2. Free And Easy

(3:14)  3. Worried And Blue

(2:52)  4. Don's Idea

(2:58)  5. Savoy Jam Party

(3:00)  6. 1944 Stomp

(2:59)  7. What Do You Want With My Heart

(3:00)  8. Sweet And Lovely

(2:30)  9. White Rose Kick

(3:02) 10. My Deep Blue Dream

(2:39) 11. Byas'd Opinion

(3:18) 12. Candy

(2:56) 13. How High The Moon

(3:11) 14. Donby

(2:45) 15. Byas A Drink

(3:00) 16. I Don't Know Why

(3:02) 17. Old Folks

(3:01) 18. Cherokee

(2:58) 19. September In The Rain

(2:43) 20. Living My Life

(2:57) 21. To Each His Own

(2:23) 22. They Say It's Wonderful

(2:46) 23. Cynthia's In Love

(2:53) 24. September Song

(2:58) 25. St. Louis Blues

A former two-LP set with 32 tracks becomes a single CD consisting of the first 25 numbers. The packaging was shrunk to the point where the liner notes (which refer to all 32 songs) are nearly microscopic...But at least it is "an exact reproduction." Although this reissue from the Japanese Denon label could have been executed better, the music is excellent. Don Byas, one of the great tenors of the 1940s, is featured with groups ranging from a quartet to a sextet; the sideman include trumpeters Charlie Shavers, Emmett Berry and Benny Harris, altoist Rudy Williams, pianists Clyde Hart, Dave Rivera, Jimmy Jones, Teddy Brannon and Sanford Gold, bassists Slam Stewart and Milt Hinton and drummers J.C. Heard and Max Roach. Byas is in superior form on these late-period swing performances...it will interest those who can't find the original, better-packaged two-LP set (put out by Arista in the 1970s). ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/savoy-jam-party-the-savoy-sessions-mw0000645489

Personnel: Don Byas (tenor saxophone); Rudy Williams (alto saxophone); Charlie Shavers, Emmett Berry, Benny Harris (trumpet); Clyde Hart (piano, celeste); Dave Rivera, Jimmy Jones, Teddy Brannon, Sanford Gold (piano); Slam Stewart, Milt Hinton, John Levy, Frank Skeete, Leonard Gaskin (bass); Max Roach, J.C. Heard, Jack Parker, Fred Radcliffe (drums).

Savoy Jam Party

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Benny Green - Happiness! Live at Kuumbwa

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:12
Size: 115,5 MB
Art: Front

( 0:35)  1. Introduction
( 4:33)  2. The St. Vitus Dance
( 0:16)  3. Announcement
( 6:53)  4. Down Under
( 6:46)  5. Martha's Prize
( 6:37)  6. Sixth Avenue
( 6:12)  7. 50-21
( 4:27)  8. Chant
(10:13)  9. Pittsburgh Brethen
( 3:35) 10. Twisted Blues

Happiness is listening to Benny Green. He brings joie de vivre to the piano keys with his Herculean chops, in-the-pocket soulfulness, and tight arrangements, all of which can be heard in spades on this live date. The scene for this spirited recording was the Kuumbwa Jazz Center a gem of a venue in California that's been a near-annual stop for Green for more than three decades. This particular event, taking place in June of 2016, found him in his favored trio configuration, covering (mostly) lesser known numbers penned by jazz greats. Sounds and styles only vary ever so slightly, as the energy rarely wanes and (hard) bop-based swing largely remains the thing. If you know Green's work already, you'll note right away that he's in his element; and if you've never heard the former wunderkind turned wise veteran, this isn't such a bad place to start.

It's hard to get through a single song here without marveling at some aspect of Benny Green's artistry and/or this trio's chemistry. Take "The St. Vitus Dance" dance, for example. This Horace Silver oldie-but-goodie is putty in this band's hands. A tight head leads straight into solo territory, where the pianist carves out and navigates switchbacks across the 88s and invites drummer Rodney Green into the action before heading back to the familiar. It's a performance that's indicative of the way this trio operates on the whole. Then there's Freddie Hubbard's "Down Under," where a semi-shuffling gait carries things forward until bassist David Wong steps into the spotlight; Cedar Walton's lively "Martha's Prize," which finds piano and bass perfectly in sync and finds the leader delivering some impossibly fast right hand runs; a second nod to Walton in the form of an attractively funky "Sixth Avenue"; a snazzy jaunt through Thad Jones' "50-21" with Rodney Green putting his brushes to good use on the snare; and a hip-as-can be stroll through Duke Pearson's "Chant," a bluesy winner that finds Benny Green digging in with some firm-handed statements.

The longest track on the album "Pittsburgh Brethren," sitting in the penultimate slot also happens to be the sole original on the playlist. It further solidifies Benny Green's hard bop cred not that he needs to do that for anybody at this point and nods toward the jazz history of the Steel City, a land that produced and/or nurtured Ahmad Jamal, Art Blakey, Ray Brown, Billy Eckstine, Sonny Clark, and numerous other giants of this music. There's not much to say after that, so a short and peppy trip through Wes Montgomery's "Twisted Blues" works just fine as a closer. There's no shortage of cooking trio dates in Benny Green's discography already, but there's always room for more when they sound like this. ~ Dan Bilawsky  https://www.allaboutjazz.com/happiness-benny-green-sunnyside-records-review-by-dan-bilawsky.php

Personnel: Benny Green: piano; David Wong: bass; Rodney Green: drums.

Happiness! Live at Kuumbwa

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