Jimmy McGriff - McGriff Avenue

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:00
Size: 135.1 MB
Styles: B-3 Organ jazz, Soul-jazz
Year: 2002
Art: Front

[ 7:46] 1. All About My Girl
[ 7:32] 2. McGriff Avenue
[10:46] 3. Soul Street
[ 8:10] 4. The Answer Is The Blues
[ 6:43] 5. The Great Unknown
[ 8:33] 6. Dissertation On The Blues
[ 6:28] 7. The Worm
[ 2:59] 8. America, The Beautiful

Don Williams - Drums; Ronnie Cuber - Baritone Sax; Bill Easley - Tenor Sax; Rodney Jones - Guitar; Jimmy McGriff - Organ; Gordon Beadle - Tenor Sax; Melvin "Sparks" Hassan - Guitar; Bernard "Pretty" Purdie - Drums; Wilbur Bascomb, Jr. - Bass.

Jimmy McGriff was originally slated to record this album on September 11, 2001 at Rudy van Gelder's studio in New Jersey, but the tragic events of that day led to an obvious need for rescheduling. As a result, the session was split in two, with somewhat different lineups at each. However, fans of the organist's trademark down-and-dirty B-3 blues and funk can rest assured: despite the complications, the results are pure McGriff.

McGriff assembled a top notch lineup of soul jazz veterans for these sessions, among them saxophonists Ronnie Cuber and Bill Easley, guitarists Rodney Jones and Melvin "Sparks" Hassan, electric bassist Wilbur Bascomb, and the funkiest of funk drummers, Bernard Purdie. Together, they rumble through a set of new and vintage McGriff material, including new arrangements of his hits "All About My Girl" and "The Worm." The title tune recalls the old school funk that was McGriff's bread and butter in the '60s, while a nearly 11-minute workout on Jimmy Forrest's "Soul Street" gives everyone room to strut their blues chops. The finale is a deep-gospel take on "America The Beautiful," done a la Ray Charles, an obvious, though moving nod to 9-11.

While no new ground is broken here, McGriff and company evoke the down home mood of the classic soul jazz years. It ain't quite as greasy as the old days, but it still tastes good. ~Joel Roberts

McGriff Avenue

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Grant Stewart - Tenor And Soul

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:48
Size: 127.8 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz, Mainstream jazz
Year: 2005
Art: Front

[6:15] 1. Hush A Bye
[6:32] 2. Willow Weep For Me
[6:49] 3. Old Devil Moon
[6:14] 4. Alacant
[8:02] 5. On Green Dolphin Street
[7:00] 6. Tijuana Gift Shop
[7:58] 7. Quiet Sip
[6:55] 8. Dr. Bob's Nightmare

Grant Stewart sounds like a throwback to earlier eras on this 2005 session. His full-bodied tenor sax has a bit of Coleman Hawkins and Dexter Gordon at times, though he is very much finding his own voice. The bluesy "Willow Weep for Me" is as much a feature for guitarist Joe Cohn (son of the late master tenorist Al Cohn), while the breezy setting of "Old Devil Moon" features the leader's explosive solo. The Latin setting of "On Green Dolphin Street" seems almost obligatory for jazz musicians, though Stewart's lush tenor makes it worthwhile listening. The brisk take of Charles Mingus' rarely performed "Tijuana Gift Shop" is a welcome change from standard jazz repertoire. Two originals add trumpeter Ryan Kisor: the intricate "Alacant" and the hip, slinky "Dr. Bob's Nightmare." ~Ken Dryden

Tenor And Soul

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Rosa Passos, Ron Carter - Entre Amigos

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:54
Size: 118.8 MB
Styles: Bossa Nova, Brazilian jazz
Year: 2003
Art: Front

[3:39] 1. Bahia Com H
[5:54] 2. Insensatez
[4:47] 3. Desafinado
[3:58] 4. Sorriu Para Mim
[4:09] 5. A Primeira Vez
[3:20] 6. Garota De Ipanema
[4:30] 7. Por Causa De Voce
[6:30] 8. Caminhos Cruzados
[4:31] 9. Feitio De Oracao
[5:51] 10. Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar
[4:41] 11. O Grande Amor

Rosa Passos made her recording debut as a leader in 1979, but this 2003 Chesky CD may be her first to be released outside of South America. The Brazilian singer is paired with veteran bassist Ron Carter, who provides a solid melodic foundation for her throughout the date; the delightful Brazilian guitarist Lula Galvao; percussionist Paulo Braga, and, on a few tracks, veteran session musician Billy Drewes on tenor sax or clarinet. While the focus is clearly on the soft, effective vocals of Passos, who is extremely effective in her interpretations of bossa nova classics such as "Insensatez," "Desafinado," "Caminhos Cruzados," and "O Grande Amor," Carter's solos are also subtly swinging. Not satisfied with sticking exclusively to a well known repertoire, Passos is a superb interpreter of less familiar songs like Jobim's "Por Causa de Voce" (a duet with Carter, whose playing is phenomenal on this track) and the lively "Feitio de Oracao." The warm, very intimate sound throughout this studio date makes this a particularly memorable bossa nova release. ~Ken Dryden

Entre Amigos

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Eric Ineke - Let There Be Life, Love And Laughter

Time: 67:44
Size: 155.0 MB
Styles: Contemporary jazz
Year: 2017
Art: Front

[ 5:19] 1. Body And Soul
[11:00] 2. Stablemates
[ 5:31] 3. Wee
[ 8:24] 4. Bye Bye Blackbird
[11:03] 5. Let There Be Life, Love And Laughter
[ 7:16] 6. Prayer To The People
[ 7:52] 7. Lady Bird
[11:15] 8. Walkin'

Rein de Graaff (tracks 1, 3, 6), Rob Abergeek (tracks 2, 8), Rob van Bavel (track 4), Rob Madna (track 7): piano; Koos Serierse (track 1, 3, 6), Hank Haverhoek (track 2), Marius Beets (track 4, 5), Ruud Jacobs (track 7), Rob Langereis (track 8): bass ; Eric Inke, drums (all tracks).

Eric Ineke is a long time drummer, residing in the Netherlands, who is one of a coterie of sidemen favored by American expatriate jazz musicians for their European gigs. This fine compilation of his work with nine of the great tenor saxophonists gives the listener a golden opportunity to listen to some of their best workouts and compare their styles and approaches. The recording dates cover almost a half century from 1968 (Lucky Thompson) to 2014 (Dave Liebman and John Ruocco). The genres are bebop, hard bop, and everything in between, with only the slightest hints of John Coltrane and the avant-garde that had already made their impact in the 1960s. This conservative platform makes the music supremely pleasurable listening, but perhaps at the sacrifice of experimentation and novelty. The sound on all tracks is transparent and has the comfortable feel of analog and vinyl recordings which many aficianados prefer to the strictly digital format..

This album serves as a tribute to the exceptional European rhythm sections who did yeoman's work supporting the American expats who found greater acceptance on the Continent than in their home country. But the three-ring prize goes to these legendary saxophonists who have always brought great satisfaction to the ears of anyone who listens to them. In jazz. so much of the music is an expression of the player's individuality, and this album affords ample comparative demonstration of that fact. ~Victor Schermer

Let There Be Life, Love And Laughter

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Jerry Gonzalez, The Fort Apache Band - Rumba Para Monk

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:46
Size: 164.3 MB
Styles: Latin jazz, Trumpet jazz
Year: 1989/1995
Art: Front

[11:13] 1. Monk's Mood
[ 6:42] 2. Bye-Ya
[ 5:36] 3. Nutty
[ 9:45] 4. Little Rootie Tootie
[10:03] 5. Misterioso
[ 7:26] 6. Ugly Beauty
[ 9:30] 7. Reflections
[11:28] 8. Jackie-Ing

Jerry Gonzalez - trumpet, flugelhorn, percussions; Steve Berrios - drums, percussions; Andy Gonzalez - bass, Carter Jefferson - tenor sax, Larry Willis - piano.

"Inspired not only by Monk's originality and power, but by the spirit of dance and celebration that inhabited his music, Gonzalez has done considerably more than graft Latin elements onto Monk tunes. He has analyzed the natures of the compositions and infused then with the Latin rhythms he finds inherent in them." ~Doug Ramsey

Rumba Para Monk

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Sonny Rollins - The Bridge

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:29
Size: 92.7 MB
Styles: Bop,
Year: 1962/2000
Art: Front

[7:26] 1. Without A Song
[5:08] 2. Where Are You
[7:43] 3. John S.
[5:57] 4. The Bridge
[7:25] 5. God Bless The Child
[6:48] 6. You Do Something To Me

Sonny Rollins - Saxophone; Bass – Bob Cranshaw; Drums – Ben Riley, H. T. Saunders; Guitar – Jim Hall. Recorded in RCA Victor's Studio B, New York City.

Tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins' first recording after ending a surprising three-year retirement found the great saxophonist sounding very similar to how he had played in 1959, although he would soon start investigating freer forms. In a pianoless quartet with guitarist Jim Hall, bassist Bob Cranshaw, and drummer Ben Riley, Rollins explores four standards (including "Without a Song" and "God Bless the Child") plus two fiery originals, highlighted by the title cut. The interplay between Rollins and Hall is consistently impressive, making this set a near-classic and a very successful comeback. ~Scott Yanow

The Bridge

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Ithamara Koorax - Love Dance - The Ballad Album

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:41
Size: 124,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:15)  1. Ligia
(2:17)  2. I loved you
(7:21)  3. Love Dance
(4:15)  4. La Puerta
(9:54)  5. Man Alone
(5:36)  6. Amparo
(4:20)  7. Someday
(4:58)  8. Flame
(2:12)  9. April in Paris
(7:30) 10. Blauauge

Ithamara Koorax has released several albums in Brazil and Japan, but Love Dance is only the second US album for this star from Rio, the follow-up to her debut Serenade in Blue. With her unmistakable voice, Koorax sings English, Portuguese, and Spanish love songs composed by such masters as Antonio Carlos Jobim, Luiz Bonfá, Marcos Valle and Ivan Lins, plus songs by Claus Ogerman and Jurgen Friedrich (in German). Her voice manifests this diversity to its advantage: Koorax does not sound like a Brazilian singer or an American singer or a jazz singer or a pop or Latin singer. She sounds like she can sing just about anything. Subtitle this set “The Dedication Album”: the soothing and seductive opening version of Jobim’s “Ligia” is dedicated to Stanley Turrentine; “Man Alone” to Jimmy Scott; “Blauauge,” a duet with composer Friedrich on piano, to Art Farmer; and the title track to Mark Murphy (whose 1988 Milestone session, September Ballads, inspired this Dance ). With "Love Dance," performed with Azymuth, Koorax transforms one of Brazilian composer Ivan Lins’ finest moments into one of her own finest moments, too. 

She sails with this smooth fusion band, letting the last few notes of a phrase throatily fade in a husky whisper (like Stan Getz on sax), sharpening and rounding notes’ edges, then exploding like brilliant sunlight to close. Love Dance also features John McLaughlin’s first date supporting a vocalist (“Man Alone”) and album notes by Ira Gitler, neither honor a small one. ~ Chris M.Slawecki https://www.allaboutjazz.com/love-dance-the-ballad-album-ithamara-koorax-fantasy-jazz-review-by-chris-m-slawecki.php

Personnel: Personnel: Ithamara Koorax (vocals); Nelson Angelo (acoustic guitar, piano); Luiz Bonfá (acoustic guitar); John McLaughlin (electric guitar); Jose Carlos Ramos (flute); Juarez Araújo (clarinet); Mario Castro-Neves (piano, keyboards); Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Jurgen Friedrich (piano); Marcos Valle (keyboards); Manuel Gusmao, Sergio Barroso (acoustic bass); Jorjao Carvalho, Alex Malheiros (electric bass); Jorge Pescara (fretless bass); Cesar Machado, Ivan Conti, Joao Palma (drums); Sidinho Moreira, Dom Um Romao, Arnaldo DeSouteiro (percussion).

Love Dance - The Ballad Album

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Yo-Yo Ma - Soul Of The Tango: The Music Of Astor Piazzolla

Styles: Tango, Classical Crossover 
Year: 1997
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:39
Size: 146,2 MB
Art: Front

( 3:10)  1. Piazzolla: Libertango Tango Suite
( 3:45)  2. Piazzolla: Tango Suite: Andante
( 6:07)  3. Piazzolla: Tango Suite: Allegro
( 6:03)  4. Piazzolla: Sur: Regreso Al Amor
(11:38)  5. Piazzolla: Le Grand Tango
( 3:47)  6. Piazzolla: Fugata
( 6:21)  7. Piazzolla: Tango Remembrances
( 5:08)  8. Piazzolla: Mumuki
( 3:10)  9. Piazzolla: Tres Minutos Con La Realidad
( 6:40) 10. Piazzolla: Milonga Del Ángel
( 7:46) 11. Piazzolla: Café 1930

Inspired by a general love of the tango, and more specifically the tango of Astor Piazzolla, on the part of Yo-Yo Ma, the Soul of the Tango album is a masterful work of the nuevo tango, played by Ma's cello and many of Piazzolla's former associates. Piazzolla's old guitarists Sergio and Odair Assad even showed up to work on a pair of tracks arranged by Sergio: the Tango Suite (consisting of Andante and Allegro). The sheer beauty of one of Piazzolla's tangos is generally enough to warrant the purchase of an album involving them. An album such as this one, where all of the songs (save one: Tango Remembrances, where Ma plays along with outtakes from Piazzolla's recording of The Rough Dancer and the Cyclical Night album) are compositions by Piazzolla is even better. Add to this the masterful playing of Ma, and the surprising facility in which the cello fits into the tango, and you've got what could become a classic album, if only it weren't on the classical label from Sony. The album begins with Libertango, a composition from Piazzolla's first album that became the theme song for the movie The Tango Lesson. Following is the pair of tracks in the Tango Suite from Sergio Assad. Then comes Sur: Regreso al Amor, a softer work, though with some definite virtuosity displayed. Le Grand Tango is an eleven minute tour de force in the tango, and Fugata is a tango written under the guidelines of a classical fugue. The next work is the aforementioned Tango Remembrances, which is a particularly nice work, probably due to the appearance of Piazzolla's own playing. Mumuki is a more complicated composition, and Tres Minutos con la Realidad is a choppier, peppier work. Milonga del Angel is a seemingly sentimental work that shows off Piazzolla's ability to express the emotions of a song perfectly and purely. To finish the album, Ma presents Café 1930, a rather slow paced work, but again, as in Milonga del Angel, expresses emotion very fully in its nostalgia. Overall, the album is a stunning work of art, and even those that may not have heard of Piazzolla could easily be lured to his music via this single album. ~ Adam Greenberg https://www.allmusic.com/album/soul-of-the-tango-the-music-of-astor-piazzolla-mw0000713665

Personnel: Cello – Yo-Yo Ma; Bandoneon – Nestor Marconi; Bass – Edwin Barker, Hector Console;  Guitar – Horacio Malvicino, Sergio & Odair Assao;  Piano – Frank Corliss, Gerardo Gandini, Kathryn Stott, Leonardo Marconi;
Violin – Antonio Agri

Soul Of The Tango: The Music Of Astor Piazzolla

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Pat LaBarbera, Kirk MacDonald Quartet - Silent Voices

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:52
Size: 158,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:02)  1. Days of Old
(6:44)  2. Walk the Talk
(9:23)  3. We Three
(4:52)  4. Messin' with Messiaen
(7:40)  5. Silent Voices
(4:18)  6. Message to Andre
(5:36)  7. Manhattan Getaway
(6:10)  8. Sideways
(7:33)  9. Baby Blue
(5:12) 10. 22nd Street Waltz
(5:14) 11. The Hang
(3:02) 12. Days of Old (take 2)

The oxymoronic title of Silent Voices belies and simultaneously validates interesting things about this recording. Far from silent in its artistic message, it is an intelligent, evocative, and brilliantly communicative effort. Its "voices" dominate, ring loud, and are intensely passionate. Most stentorian, they emanate from deep within the respective creative wellsprings of these four superior performers. Pat LaBarbera Kirk MacDonald Quartet and Kirk MacDonald, both esteemed woodwind men (and colleague professors at Toronto's Humber College), show that their respective jazz chops are in outstanding order throughout and they also offer original compositions of depth and tantalizing complexities. The ensemble and solo work here is nothing short of, well, name your superlative. The interplay between the two front men is umbilical and non-competitive. Their work with bassist Overs and drummer Nussbaum there's no pianist is superb. The lack of a piano adds to the interaction the Toronto Tenors have with Overs and Nussbaum. This is a textbook lesson on jazz intra-group rapport and creative communication.

The album intrigues from Cut One. "Days of Old" is a slow-moving elegiac effort which grows deeply melancholic. "Walk the Talk" is struttin' sax stuff. Hard. Masculine. Driving. "We Three" is a freer, slow-drawing tone painting. "Messing with Messiaen" is another pounding cooker with lots of exotic, pentatonic "plumbing." The title tune, "Silent Voices" is a stone heart-wrencher a slow, beautiful black and white scene depicting a sad aria of longing souls. "Get Happy" is a quirky-jerky jaunt. "Manhattan Getaway" is a fierce burner with the two sly foxes chasing young rabbits. "Sideways" is an M. C. Escher-like walk through melody and chord  think post-Modern Monk. "Baby Blue" is a straight-ahead "Melancholy Baby" contrafact. "22nd Street Waltz" is an endless lilting wind-blown moebius-like ribbon of "He says He says." "The Hang" it's an "I've Got Rhythm" variant  burns as if Fred and Wilma Flintstone were throwing acid around. A "Days of Old" second take returns to neatly bookend the session. Actually, a very nice production touch. Silent Voices is an impactful, stimulating effort from a quartet of musicians whose passion for the art, their instruments, and their colleagues is palpable. The work has so much "weight" that these voices will resonate both initially and on many repetitive listenings. And, it screams so very, very loudly. ~ Nicholas F.Mondello https://www.allaboutjazz.com/silent-voices-pat-labarbera-kirk-macdonald-quartet-jazz-compass-review-by-nicholas-f-mondello.php
 

Personnel: Pat LaBarbera: tenor and soprano saxophones; Kirk MacDonald: tenor and soprano saxophones; Kieran Overs: bass; Adam Nussbaum: drums.

Silent Voices

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