Lorraine Klaasen - Nouvelle Journee

Size: 102,7 MB
Time: 40:44
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Folk, World
Art: Front

01. Nouvelle Journée (3:24)
02. Ke Tshepile Bafatsi (4:02)
03. Home Sweet Home (4:07)
04. Township Memories (3:56)
05. Polokwane (4:21)
06. Izani Nonke (3:50)
07. Make It Right (4:05)
08. Babalazi (3:37)
09. Where To Now (5:15)
10. Thulandivile (4:02)

Long based in Montreal, singer Lorraine Klaasen continues to make music primarily influenced by her native land of South Africa (she was born in Soweto). She won a 2013 Juno Award for World Music album of the Year for her Tribute to Miriam Makeba, a prime influence (as is famed singer Thandie Klaasen, her mother).

Her latest, Nouvelle Journée, is a truly multilingual album, with songs sung in English, French and South African languages Tsonga, Sotho, IsiZulu and Xhosa. It initially sounds a touch odd to hear a South African-flavoured song done in French, as on the title track, and to these ears, it's the more overtly South African tunes that work best.

Klaasen has a fluent and melodic vocal style, and she's aided by an A-list cast of world music players and fine production by guitarist Mongezi Ntaka. There is a real social conscience evident in such material as "Izani Nonke" and the anti-greed ballad "Where To Now," a song Klaasen wrote 30 years ago that sadly remains relevant today. Strong messages are found within this sweetly rhythmic material, confirming the ongoing appeal of music with a townships vibe.

Nouvelle Journee

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Lena Horne - I Sing...!: Musical Moments To Remember (Remastered)

Size: 144,3 MB
Time: 61:00
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2017
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. I Concentrate On You (From Broadway Melody Of 1940) (2:41)
02. I Surrender Dear (From Broadway Melody Of 1940) (3:25)
03. I Got Rhythm (From Girl Crazy) (2:49)
04. I Get The Blues When It Rains (From Girl Crazy) (3:38)
05. I've Grown Accustomed To His Face (From My Fair Lady) (3:02)
06. I Found A New Baby (From My Fair Lady) (2:07)
07. I'm Confessin' (From My Fair Lady) (3:26)
08. I Ain't Got Nobody (From My Fair Lady) (2:18)
09. I Understand (From My Fair Lady) (3:43)
10. I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart (From My Fair Lady) (2:42)
11. I Only Have Eyes For You (From Dames) (3:18)
12. I Want To Be Happy (From No, No, Nanette) (1:43)
13. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child (From No, No, Nanette) (2:46)
14. Frankie And Johnny (From No, No, Nanette) (5:47)
15. Beale Street Blues (From No, No, Nanette) (3:03)
16. Hesitating Blues (From No, No, Nanette) (3:04)
17. What Is This Thing Called Love (From Wake Up And Dream) (2:38)
18. Stormy Weather (From Wake Up And Dream) (3:19)
19. I'll Wind (From Wake Up And Dream) (2:27)
20. Mad About The Boy (From Words And Music) (2:53)

Lena Calhoun Horne was born June 30, 1917, in Brooklyn, New York. In her biography she stated that on the day she was born, her father was in the midst of a card game trying to get money to pay the hospital costs. Her parents divorced while she was still a toddler. Her mother left later in order to find work as an actress and Lena was left in the care of her grandparents. When she was seven her mother returned and the two traveled around the state, which meant that Lena was enrolled in numerous schools (for a time she also attended schools in Florida, Georgia and Ohio). Later she returned to Brooklyn. She quit school when she was 14 and got her first stage job at 16, dancing and later singing at the famed Cotton Club in Harlem (a renowned theater in which black performers played before white audiences. It was immortalized in The Cotton Club (1984)). She was in good hands at the club, especially when people such as Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington took her under their wings and helped her over the rough spots. Before long her talent resulted in her playing before packed houses. If she had never made a movie, her music career would have been enough to have ensured her legendary status in the entertainment industry, but films were icing on the cake. After she made an appearance on Broadway, Hollywood came calling. At 21 years of age Lena made her first film, The Duke Is Tops (1938). It would be four more years before she appeared in another, Panama Hattie (1942), playing a singer in a nightclub. By now Lena had signed with MGM but, unfortunately for her, the pictures were shot so that her scenes could be cut out when they were shown in the South, since most theaters in the South refused to show films that portrayed blacks in anything other than subservient roles to whites, and most movie studios did not want to take a chance on losing that particular source of revenue. Lena did not want to appear in those kinds of stereotyped roles (and who could blame her?). In 1943 MGM loaned her to 20th Century-Fox to play the role of Selina Rogers in the all-black musical Stormy Weather (1943), which did extremely well at the box-office. Her rendition of the title song became a major hit on the musical charts. In 1943 she appeared in Cabin in the Sky (1943), regarded by many as one of the finest performances of her career. She played Georgia Brown opposite Ethel Waters and Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson in the all-black production. Rumors were rampant that she and Waters just did not get along well, although there was never any mention of the source of the alleged friction. That was not the only feud on that picture, however. Other cast members sniped at one another and it was a wonder the film was made at all. Regardless of the hostilities, the movie was released to very good reviews from the ever tough critics. It went a long way in showing the depth of the talent that existed among black performers in Hollywood, especially Lena. Lena's musical career flourished, but her movie career stagnated. Minor roles in films such as Boogie-Woogie Dream (1944), Words and Music (1948) and Mantan Messes Up (1946) did little to advance her film career, due mainly to the ingrained racist attitudes of the time (even at the height of Lena's musical career, she was often denied rooms at the very hotels in which she performed, because they would not let blacks stay there). After Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956), Lena left films to concentrate on music and the stage. She returned in 1969, as Claire Quintana in Death of a Gunfighter (1969). Nine years later she returned to the screen again in the all-black musical The Wiz (1978), where she played Glinda the Good Witch. Although that was her last big-screen appearance, she stayed busy in television, appearing in A Century of Women (1994) and That's Entertainment! III (1994).

Had it not been for the prevailing racial attitudes during the time when Lena was just starting her career, it's fair to say that it would have been much bigger, and come much sooner, than it was. Even taking those factors into account, Lena Horne is still one of the most respected, talented and beautiful performers of all time--and she's still singing! ~by Denny Jackson

I Sing...!

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Bill Mobley - Hittin' Home

Size: 132,0 MB
Time: 56:46
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz
Art: Front

01. The Very Thought Of You (6:57)
02. Walkin' (3:43)
03. Hittin' Home (4:17)
04. My Romance (5:58)
05. Jewel (4:08)
06. Old Milestones (5:17)
07. Lil' Red (6:17)
08. Apex (4:12)
09. Peace (5:37)
10. Scene On Seine (4:43)
11. Waltzin' Westland (5:34)

Personnel:
Bill Mobley: Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Kenny Barron: Piano On 1 & 4
Heather Bennett: Piano On 7
Russell Malone: Guitar On 3, 5 & 9
Phil Palombi: Bass On 6 & 8
Essiet Okon Essiet: Bass On 2,3,5,7,9,10 & 11
Clint Mobley: Percussion On 10
Kevin Norton: Marimba On 8

This album presents Mobley in a variety of formations with such musicians like Kenny Barron, Steve Nelson or Russell Malone. The choice of repertoire is particularly welcome, alternating known melodies like The Very Thought of You, Walkin’, Peace or My Romance with original compositions that do fit nicely in. A mellow sound with a post-bop aesthetic and superb playing, this album could be the vehicle to launch Mobley towards that well-deserved wider recognition.

Hittin' Home

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Virginia Ayers Dawson - Standards Of Love

Size: 99,6 MB
Time: 41:17
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2017
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. I Wish You Love (3:20)
02. More L-O-V-E (4:10)
03. Where Or When (3:16)
04. It's Love (2:43)
05. Our Love Is Here To Stay (3:02)
06. If I Were A Bell (3:28)
07. Let The Love Begin (5:58)
08. Let There Be Love (2:41)
09. What A Difference A Day Makes (3:17)
10. Dahil Sa Iyo (3:53)
11. Almost Like Being In Love (5:26)

There’s a heartwarming quality that floats from your speakers when blessed to hear someone singing a great song from the depths of their heart and soul. Beyond any stuffy collegiate qualifier of “standard” as appointed excellence, professional expectation or time-tested bar, it’s the delicious, authentically delivered connection of expression which bedazzles the mind and spirit of those who intently listen.

Virginia Ayers Dawson lights up a song like a white hot Hollywood movie set, avidly animating any lyric she chooses to kiss with her soaring soprano voice. The emphasis is always on the way a word or a phrase should make a listener feel via the way it makes her feel. When Virginia sings, she is completely present within each selection while we are rendered enraptured with surrender in her moment.

After lending her singular brand of musical mystique to an array of artists such as rock and roll moon howler Joe Cocker, movie music masters Lalo Schifrin and Marvin Hamlisch, and funk-jazz fusion drummer extraordinaire Ndugu Chancler’s Chocolate Jam Company (the latter’s presence on this album marking the sweetest of reunions), Dawson debuts as an artist in her own right with this inspired and long-overdue collection. Standards of Love is songs of unimpeachable caliber - caught up in the memory of love and offered up by Ayers in heartbeats syncing ours to hers…with heavenly aplomb. ~A. Scott Galloway

Standards Of Love

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Bobby Darin - Things: The Bobby Darin Singles Collection 1956-1962

Size: 181,8+188,0 MB
Time: 76:38+79:21
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2017
Styles: R&B, Pop, Rock, Jazz
Art: Front

CD 1:
01. Rock Island Line (2:52)
02. Timber (2:10)
03. Silly Willy (2:26)
04. Blue-Eyed Mermaid (2:13)
05. Hear Them Bells (2:25)
06. The Greatest Builder (2:44)
07. Dealer In Dreams (2:54)
08. Help Me (2:38)
09. I Found A Million Dollar Baby (In A Five And Ten Cent Store) (2:01)
10. Talk To Me Something (2:16)
11. Don't Call My Name (2:00)
12. Pretty Betty (1:54)
13. Just In Case You Change Your Mind (2:06)
14. So Mean (2:36)
15. Splish Splash (2:11)
16. Judy, Don't Be Moody (2:15)
17. Early In The Morning (2:15)
18. Now We're One (2:12)
19. Queen Of The Hop (2:09)
20. Lost Love (2:22)
21. Mighty, Mighty Man (1:37)
22. You're Mine (2:06)
23. Plain Jane (1:53)
24. While I'm Gone (1:54)
25. Dream Lover (2:30)
26. Bullmoose (2:27)
27. Mack The Knife (3:06)
28. Was There A Call For Me (3:06)
29. La Mer (Beyond The Sea) (2:53)
30. That's The Way Love Is (2:59)
31. Clementine (3:12)
32. Tall Story (2:00)

CD 2:
01. She's Tanfastic! (2:14)
02. Moment Of Love (2:19)
03. Down With Love (2:55)
04. Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home (2:04)
05. I'll Be There (2:07)
06. Beachcomber (2:21)
07. Autumn Blues (2:13)
08. That's How It Went, All Right (3:32)
09. Artificial Flowers (3:23)
10. Somebody To Love (2:15)
11. Christmas Auld Lang Syne (2:42)
12. Child Of God (1:59)
13. Lazy River (2:39)
14. Oo-Ee Train (2:12)
15. Nature Boy (2:32)
16. Look For My True Love (1:56)
17. Come September (2:41)
18. Walk Bach To Me (2:34)
19. You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby (2:13)
20. Sorrow Tomorrow (2:28)
21. Irresistible You (2:39)
22. Multiplication (2:15)
23. What'd I Say, Pt.1 & Pt. 2 (4:04)
24. Ain't That Love (3:02)
25. Things (2:32)
26. Jailer, Bring Me Water (2:28)
27. If A Man Answers (2:20)
28. A True, True, Love (2:25)
29. Baby Face (2:05)
30. You Know How (2:04)
31. I Found A New Baby (2:08)
32. Keep-A-Walking (1:47)

This 2CD set anthologises Bobby Darin's singles releases between 1956-1962, and includes two rare-as-hens-teeth promo's, and a couple of equally rare UK-only B-sides.

Darin was by far the classiest, most versatile singer of his era, and carved out parallel careers as an R&R singer, a teen idol and an interpreter/updater of show tunes, and what is now referred to as The Great American Songbook. 30 of the titles on this 64-track compilation were major US and/or UK chart records.

Includes R&R hits like 'Splish Splash', 'Early In The Morning', 'Queen Of The Hop', 'Mighty, Mighty Man', 'Plain Jane' and 'Dream Lover', alongside finger-snapping hit revivals of 'Mack The Knife', 'La Mer', 'Clementine', 'Bill Bailey', 'Lazy River', 'Nature Boy', 'You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby', and 'Baby Face'.

Plus classy mainstream Pop hits like 'I'll Be There', 'Artificial Flowers', 'Somebody To Love', 'Sorrow Tomorrow', 'Irresistible You', 'Multiplication', 'Things' and 'If A Man Answers', and finally, even R&B, viz his cover of Ray Charles' 'What'd I Say'.

The promo's and many of the rarer B-sides on this collection are exceptionally hard to find elsewhere on CD.

Things CD 1
Things CD 2

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Erik Truffaz & Sly Johnson - Paris

Styles: Vocal And Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:13
Size: 85,5 MB
Art: Front

(5:08)  1. Mr Wyatt
(3:00)  2. Come Together
(4:47)  3. Addis Abeba
(3:01)  4. Nature Boy
(3:57)  5. Nina's Dream
(3:17)  6. La Mouche
(2:55)  7. Goodbye Tomorrow
(3:35)  8. Don't Stop
(6:29)  9. The Fly

Erik Truffaz received an early introduction into the world of a professional musician, thanks to his saxophone-playing dad. When he was ten years old, the French trumpeter began performing in his father's dance band. As he grew older, Truffaz performed with other bands in the region until he was 16 and heard Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. The great jazz trumpeter's music inspired him to learn more, and he set off for Switzerland's Geneva Conservatoire, where he became a student. Truffaz's repertoire expanded to works by Mozart and Verdi, and he performed as part of L'Orchestre de Suisse Romande. He also played in cover bands before establishing a group called Orange. The band concentrated on Truffaz's compositions. Among its members was Marc Erbetta, a drummer who continued to play with Truffaz as the trumpeter evolved.

Truffaz's jazz fusion artistry led France's Jury du Concours National de la Defense to bestow upon him the 1991 Prix Special, that country's coveted jazz award. Within three years, he became a leader with the release of Nina Valeria. In 1991, he made the first of his three appearances on the stage of the Montreux Jazz Festival. For two years beginning in 1994, he toured Europe, Russia, and Brazil, thanks to funds bestowed by the ProHelvetia Foundation. In 2000, Truffaz signed with Blue Note Records and released The Mask, a straight-ahead jazz session with Miles Davis similarities. By his second Revisité and third Mantis discs, however, Truffaz began to stretch the boundaries of contemporary jazz by incorporating drum'n'bass and hip-hop rhythms, establishing himself as a cutting-edge artist in his own right. In 2003, both Walk of the Giant Turtle and Bending New Corners were issued on Blue Note. Saloua from 2005 expanded his interest in hip-hop by adding some rap. From there he continued to release records that blurred genre lines, regularly collaborating with French hip-hop artist Oxmo Puccino. By the time he began recording 2015's Doni Doni it was time for longtime drummer Marc Erbetta to hand over the drumsticks to Arthur Hnatek, a young yet very talented musician known for his work with the likes of Tigran Hamasyan, John Patitucci, and Shai Maestro. ~ Linda Seida & Al Campbell https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/paris-avec-sly-johnson/id693219783

Personnel:  Trumpet – Erik Truffaz;  Vocals – Sly Johnson

Paris

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Astrid Seriese - The Wheel Of Life

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:32
Size: 134,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:53)  1. There's A Land In Us
(3:39)  2. Melting Pot
(4:00)  3. The Wheel Of Life
(5:06)  4. God Give Me Strength
(4:03)  5. Chocolate Jesus
(3:53)  6. Another Hundred People
(3:41)  7. Ibu Saya
(4:18)  8. Trust In Me
(4:01)  9. Meantime
(2:33) 10. Won't Give Up
(3:40) 11. On Children
(3:36) 12. Creation
(3:19) 13. If I Were A Blackbird
(4:54) 14. Secret O'Life
(3:50) 15. No One Is Alone

Astrid Seriese ( The Hague , February 26 1957 ) is a Dutch jazz singer, actress and singing teacher . Seriese was born as the daughter of an Indian mother and a Dutch father as the youngest in a family of five children. After grammar school she attended initial training at the Conservatory in Amsterdam and the Academy for Cabaret in the same place. After a few years they stopped the conservatory.  In 1985 she sang-with Mathilde Santing and Julya Lo'ko - in the Dutch team at the Knokke Song Contest . She then formed a duo with Nedly Morales . In 1987 followed her acting debut in the Dutch film Blonde Dolly .

The years that she performed in several theater productions and toured Europe. In Britain it was in 1991 on the BBC to see if player / singer in the musical television production "M is for Man, Music, Mozart" with video of Peter Greenaway and music of Louis Andriessen . (In the Netherlands broadcast by the AVRO .)  In 1992, she sings along in Fausto, the opera composer Harry de Wit . In 1993 her debut album came out showing crafted covers to hear. "Eclipse" The album is well received in the Netherlands. After a theater tour appeared in 1994 her second solo album "Secret World". Together with Peter Meuris Seriese composed the music in 1995 at the five-part NCRV series "Condemned". In the years that followed Seriese toured the Netherlands and they brought some albums. In 2000 she quit her own shows, because they could no longer financially for life.  In 2006 she began bassist Wim Processed and visual artist Mieke de Haan with performances under the title Charcoal Songs . Bio ~ Trasnslate by google http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrid_Seriese

The Wheel Of Life

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Joe Henderson - Barcelona

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1992
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:10
Size: 87,5 MB
Art: Front

(20:18)  1. Barcelona
( 7:46)  2. Barcelona cont.
( 4:53)  3. Mediterranean Sun
( 5:12)  4. Y Yo La Quiero (And I love her)

Tremendous, frenzied trio date by tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, recently released with bassist Wayne Darling and drummer Ed Soph. After many years of obscurity, Henderson has become famous in the last few years. But the whirling lines, huge tone, and astonishing solos that he routinely offers on this album have been prized by jazz fans since the early '60s. ~ Ron Wynn https://www.allmusic.com/album/barcelona-mw0000097129

Personnel: Joe Henderson (tenor saxophone); Wayne Darling (bass); Ed Soph (drums)

Barcelona

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Kenny Rankin - Because Of You

Styles: Vocal, Piano And Guitar Jazz 
Year: 1991
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:27
Size: 107,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:26)  1. Berimbau
(5:39)  2. What Am I Gonna Do With You...Aime?
(3:04)  3. Haven't We Met?
(3:48)  4. 'Round Midnight
(5:20)  5. Someone To Watch Over Me
(6:27)  6. Erienda
(2:44)  7. I Could Write A Book
(2:30)  8. Always
(4:04)  9. This Old Man
(3:40) 10. Doralice
(4:38) 11. Because Of You

Recording his only CD for the audiophile Chesky label, Rankin moved closer to making a full-blown comeback. His reworking of old favorites such as "Berimbau" and "Haven't We Met," alongside such pop evergreens as "Round' Midnight," "Someone to Watch Over Me," "I Could Write a Book," "Always," and "Because of You," brought some of the old Rankin magic back. The pronounced jazz sound made more sense in light of Rankin's direction at the time, but the album failed to break through to any sizable audience. 

It features some of Rankin's best singing in years, as well as superb sound, making it his best release since The Kenny Rankin Album. ~ Stephen J. Matteo https://www.allmusic.com/album/because-of-you-mw0000271916

Personnel: Kenny Rankin (vocals, piano, guitar), George Young (saxophone, flute), Danilo Perez (piano), David Finck (bass), Dave Ratajczak (drums), Steve Kroon (percussion).

Because Of You

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Will Downing - Soul Survivor

Styles: Vocal, Soul
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:52
Size: 100,9 MB
Art: Front

(1:31)  1. Soul Survivior Theme
(5:02)  2. I Just Want to Say Thank You
(4:46)  3. I'm Feeling the Love (feat. Avery*Sunshine)
(4:44)  4. Since You Been Gone
(3:41)  5. Stop To Start (feat. Phil Perry)
(4:50)  6. Everything I Want in My Lady (feat. Maysa)
(4:36)  7. Our Time
(5:54)  8. Hurry Up This Way Again (feat. Najee)
(4:47)  9. When We Make Love
(3:57) 10. Tell Me About It

Will Downing, widely known as The Prince Of Sophisticated Soul, is an icon in both the R&B and jazz worlds. Having sold more than four million albums in his brilliant career, Will continues to tour nonstop to the delight of his devoted fans! Soul Survivor features special guests Avery Sunshine, Najee, Phil Perry, Maysa and others. Highlights include Will's inspired interpretations of such classics as Blue Magic's "Stop To Start," The Stylistics' "Hurry Up This Way Again," "Tell Me All About It," a hit for both Michael Franks and Natalie Cole, plus a host of great Will Downing originals. ~ Editorial Reviews https://www.amazon.com/Soul-Survivor-WILL-DOWNING/dp/B074D1PZCT

Soul Survivor

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