Eddie Henderson - Mahal

Styles: Trumpet Jazz 
Year: 1978
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:40
Size: 95,8 MB
Art: Front

(8:08)  1. Butterfly
(5:21)  2. Cyclops
(5:01)  3. Emotions
(5:18)  4. Prance On
(5:40)  5. Amoroso
(4:35)  6. Mahal
(3:28)  7. Ecstasy
(4:04)  8. Cyclops (Disco Remix)

Although Eddie Henderson rounded up a familiar, distinguished roster of help this time including his old employer Herbie Hancock, his old hornmates Bennie Maupin and Julian Priester, plus guest Headhunters Paul Jackson and Bill Summers not much had changed from his first Capitol release to his second. This meant more disco excursions for Capitol's A&R department and more listless themes for Henderson's horn to purvey, although his solo contributions are somewhat more involving this time.

Henderson's version of one of the few memorable compositions on the record, Hancock's lovely "Butterfly" is a disco disaster  all of its subtleties and sophisticated textures grounded away under the beat and Hancock himself can be indicted as a co-conspirator. Oddly enough, through all of the changes in his style and backings, Skip Drinkwater remained Henderson's producer all the way through the '70s which speaks well for loyalty if not for an artistic track record pointedly headed downhill. ~ Richard S.Ginell http://www.allmusic.com/album/mahal-mw0000902102

Personnel:  Eddie Henderson - trumpet, flugelhorn;  Hubert Laws – flute;  Julian Priester – trombone;  Bennie Maupin - tenor saxophone, saxello;  Herbie Hancock - electric piano, clavinet, synthesizer;  Mtume - piano, congas;  John Bowen - synthesizer, programming;  Ray Obiedo – guitars;  Paul Jackson – bass;
Howard King – drums;  Bill Summers - congas, percussion

Mahal

---

Lisa Lois - Breaking Away

Styles: Vocal, Soul
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:08
Size: 99,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:36)  1. Silhouette
(3:12)  2. You Don't Know Me
(3:38)  3. Parachute
(3:56)  4. Cover Up
(3:43)  5. Crazy
(3:36)  6. Breaking Away
(3:48)  7. Not a Love Song
(3:04)  8. Wait
(3:28)  9. Not My Business
(4:00) 10. Overcome
(3:09) 11. Don't You Worry Child
(3:52) 12. Stay (feat. Airto)

Lisa Lois is a Dutch pop singer who rose to chart-topping fame on the television show X Factor in 2009. Born Lisa Hordijk on June 22, 1987, in Wageningen, Netherlands, she was cast on the second season of X Factor. She eventually won first place in May 2009 and made her recording debut shortly thereafter with a version of the Leonard Cohen standard "Hallelujah." The song topped the Dutch singles chart for ten weeks straight. Initially billing herself as simply Lisa rather than Lisa Hordijk, she adopted the moniker Lisa Lois in the wake of her chart-topping debut and made plans to record her debut album with the London-based production team TMS (Tom Barnes, Peter Kelleher, Ben Kohn). 

An album's worth of original English-language material was penned for her by industry songwriters, most notably singer/songwriter Pixie Lott and songwriter/producer Phil Thornalley, both of England. Upon its release at the end of the year, Lois' ten-song full-length debut, Smoke (2009), reached number six on the Dutch albums chart. The lead single, "No Good for Me," written by Lott and Thornalley, was a Top Five hit.  

~ Jason Birchmeier https://itunes.apple.com/jo/album/breaking-away-deluxe-edition/id638925713

Breaking Away

---

Gerald Wilson Orchestra - Monterey Moods

Styles: Jazz, Big Band
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:44
Size: 137,0 MB
Art: Front

( 6:12)  1. Allegro
( 9:09)  2. Jazz Swing Waltz
( 7:09)  3. Ballad
(11:36)  4. Latin Swing
(10:01)  5. Blues
( 2:27)  6. Bass Solo
( 1:40)  7. Hard Swing
( 6:00)  8. I Concentrate On You
( 5:26)  9. The Mini Waltz

A decade ago, when he was commissioned to write music to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the Monterey Jazz Festival, Gerald Wilson produced the memorable, double Grammy Award-nominated Theme for Monterey (MAMA Records,1998). Now the 89-year-old dean of American Jazz composers has scored another triumph, saluting the festival's golden anniversary with a picturesque seven-part suite, Monterey Moods, that musically epitomizes the scope and character of that annual event. The motif is deceptively simple: a three-note idea used in various ways as the bedrock of each movement (Allegro/Jazz Swing Waltz/Ballad/Latin Swing/Blues/Bass Solo/Hard Swing), much as a single melodic phrase was deftly rearranged to underscore each section of Theme for Monterey. Wilson's orchestra introduced Moods at the Monterey Festival and recorded it in a studio for Mack Avenue Records. The album's playing time has been increased to nearly an hour by appending Wilson's atmospheric arrangement of Cole Porter's "I Concentrate on You (featuring son Anthony Wilson's mellow guitar) and his gregarious "Mini Waltz (solos courtesy of trumpeter Jimmy Owens, baritone saxophonist Ronnie Cuber and special guest Hubert Laws on flute). The suite is almost entirely upbeat; even the slower-paced "Ballad simmers in a Basie-like groove behind heated solos by Laws and tenor saxophonist Kamasi Washington. The remaining movements personify their names, using Wilson's spare entrée as a springboard for a series of bright and swinging vignettes marked by powerful rhythms and persuasive solos. The rhythmic muscle is supplied by Anthony Wilson, pianist Renee Rosnes, bassist Peter Washington and drummer par excellence, Lewis Nash. The improvisations for the most part are by Laws, Cuber, Owens, Wilson, trumpeters Terell Stafford and Sean Jones, saxophonists Kamasi Washington, Ron Blake, Antonio Hart and Steve Wilson. Peter Washington is also showcased on the suitably named "Bass Solo. Writing a suite like Monterey Moods would be a daunting task at any age, let alone for someone on the doorstep of his ninetieth birthday. But Wilson has risen to the challenge, composing another in a series of masterful compositions whose evolution began nearly seventy years ago. In the liner notes, Wilson says he's looking forward to "the sixtieth celebration at Monterey. So are we. ~ Jack Bowers https://www.allaboutjazz.com/monterey-moods-gerald-wilson-mack-avenue-records-review-by-jack-bowers.php
 

Personnel: Gerald Wilson: composer, arranger, conductor; Jon Faddis: trumpet, flugelhorn; Frank Greene: trumpet, flugelhorn; Sean Jones: trumpet, flugelhorn; Jimmy Owens: trumpet, flugelhorn; Terell Stafford: trumpet, flugelhorn; Steve Wilson: alto and soprano sax, flute; Antonio Hart: alto and soprano sax, flute; Ron Blake: tenor sax; Kamasi Washington: tenor sax; Ronnie Cuber: baritone sax; Dennis Wilson: trombone; Luis Bonilla: trombone; Jay Ashby: trombone; Douglas Purviance: bass trombone; Renee Rosnes: piano; Anthony Wilson: guitar; Peter Washington: bass; Todd Coolman: bass; Lewis Nash: drums. Special guest: Hubert Laws: flute.

Monterey Moods

---

Joe Henderson - Mirror, Mirror

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1980
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:51
Size: 100,7 MB
Art: Front

(6:00)  1. Mirror, Mirror
(6:18)  2. Candlelight
(9:44)  3. Keystone
(9:45)  4. Joe's Bolero
(4:03)  5. What's New?
(7:58)  6. Blues for Liebestraum

As anticipated, Germany-based MPS' famed audio engineering expertise besides its tenure as a prominent jazz record label  lives up to expectations with a superb remastering effort of the 1980 LP led by tenor sax great John Henderson and a band featuring jazz giants, pianist Chick Corea, bassist Ron Carter and drummer, Billy Higgins. The packaging includes the original liners and a photo of the original master tape box. The 180-gram vinyl offering boasts a detailed soundstage, but more importantly showcases an ensemble that presses all the right buttons amid the respective artists' storied technical gifts and their influential presence within the global jazz community, past and present. Here, the drummer provides a clinic as he lays on top of the beats with crisp accents, snappy bop metrics and paces the group with precision-oriented ride cymbals hits, consummated by his buoyant and near- flawless timekeeping skills.

Henderson's breathy and fluid lines, contrasting inflections and acutely placed dynamics are the ingredients that culminate his authoritative stance, and he can turn an up-tempo piece into a ballad on a nanosecond's notice. Yet, Corea's block chord comping and counterpoint on Carter's piece "Candlelight," is abetted by Higgins' sweeping and delicate brushes across the kit; however, the pianist's unaccompanied solo prior to the Coda is pure icing on the cake. The quartet navigates through another Carter composition "Keystone," which is constructed on a funky and popping groove, where Corea's extended solo complements Henderson's poetic lines as the band combines a quirky and playful mindset throughout. And the leader's horn of plenty comes at you with full force during his comp "Joe's Bolero," featuring Latin accents and a shimmering pulse. The band shifts directions with a floating type ballad on the jazz standard "What's New," followed by the Corea penned bop burner, "Blues for Liebestraum." Sure enough Mirror Mirror weathers the sands of time, especially via this crystalline and full-bodied audio uplift, coupled with the musicians' intuitive interactions and egalitarian course of action. ~ Glenn Astarita https://www.allaboutjazz.com/mirror-mirror-joe-henderson-mps-review-by-glenn-astarita.php

Personnel: Joe Henderson: tenor saxophone; Chick Corea: piano; Ron Carter: bass; Billy Higgins: drums.

Mirror, Mirror

---