Monday, January 1, 2018

Stan Kenton - Standards In Silhouette

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:23
Size: 103.9 MB
Styles: Big band
Year: 1960/1998
Art: Front

[5:52] 1. Willow Weep For Me
[4:52] 2. The Thrill Is Gone
[5:24] 3. The Meaning Of The Blues
[4:44] 4. When Sunny Gets Blue
[5:24] 5. Ill Wind
[5:00] 6. Django
[5:06] 7. I Get Along Without You Very Well
[5:30] 8. Lonely Woman
[3:26] 9. Lazy Afternoon

Stan Kenton, piano; Jimmy Campbell, drums; Jim Amlotte, bass trombone; John Bonnie, tenor sax; Bud Brisbois, trumpet; Bill Chase, trumpet; Pete Chivily, bass; Rolf Ericson, trumpet; Marvin Holladay, baritone sax; Bobby Knight, bass trombone; Kent Larson, trombone; Archie LeCoque, trombone; Charlie Mariano, alto sax; Roger Middleton, trumpet; Jack Nimitz, baritone sax; Mike Pacheco, bongos; Clyde Reasinger, trumpet; Don Sebesky, trombone; Dalton Smith, trumpet; Bill Trujillo, tenor sax; Bill Mathieu, arranger

There was always much more to the Stan Kenton band than stratospheric trumpets and walls of sound. Nobody could play a ballad quite like Kenton. Lugubious tempos so slow they added an extra dimension of emotion to the overall effect. Dynamic control so profound that it seemed at times almost superhuman. And arrangements of such startling harmonic complexity that they breathed life into even the most hackneyed tunes from Tin Pan Alley.

Standards in Silhouette is one of Kenton's finest albums of ballads, and is unusual in that it features exclusively the arrangements of the then 22-year old Bill Mathieu. The selection of tunes is outstanding. From well known standards like "Willow Weep for Me" (also recorded previously by Kenton with a vocal by June Christy), Harold Arlen's "Slow Wind" and Hoagy Carmichael's "I Get Along Without You Very Well" to numbers you wouldn't expect to hear a Kenton band performing like John Lewis' "Django," this album is an aural delight for Kenton cognoscenti and newcomers alike. The soloists on this album are among the finest from the many great sidemen who performed with Kenton over the years. Archie LeCoque on trombone adds his name to the illustrious ranks of Milt Berhnard, Kai Winding and Dick Shearer with inspired solos on "I Get Along Without You Very Well," "Willow Weep for Me" and "Lonely Woman." Bill Trujillo and Rolf Ericson are particularly effective throughout the album on tenor sax and trumpet respectively. The legendary alto saxophonist Charlie Mariano produces outstanding solos on "I Get Along Without You Very Well," "The Thrill Is Gone" and swings like a maniac on "Django." As always, the section work is second to none. One song that deserves special attention is Bobby Troup's brilliant but sadly neglected "The Meaning of the Blues." Although there are a few vocal recordings of this work (The Four Freshmen and Janis Siegel immediately come to mind), Mathieu's arrangement is one of the few instrumental versions of this number ever recorded. Rolf Ericson and Bill Trujillo handle their solos brilliantly while the trademark Kenton high trumpets are employed to great effect in the out chorus.

A lot of critics didn't like (and still don't like) Kenton's band, calling it stilted or unswinging or too musically complex to be authentic jazz. Fortunately, real jazz fans ignored the critics because they knew the critics were wrong. Standards in Silhouette shows just how wrong the critics were. ~William Grim

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Carmen Lundy - This Is Carmen Lundy

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:53
Size: 125.6 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 2001
Art: Front

[ 6:19] 1. All Day, All Night
[ 3:58] 2. This Is The End Of A Love Affair
[ 5:28] 3. Now That He's Gone
[ 4:38] 4. Better Luck Next Time
[ 4:47] 5. Send Me Somebody To Love
[10:48] 6. I Dream In Living Color
[ 8:41] 7. Is It Love
[ 6:44] 8. One More River Cross
[ 3:25] 9. Seventh Heaven

Carmen Lundy's first outing on the Justin Time label is also her first to feature all-original material. The classy vocalist is joined by an impressive cast: Curtis Lundy (Carmen's brother/producer) on bass, Onaje Allan Gumbs or Anthony Wonsey on piano, Ralph Peterson or Victor Lewis on drums, Bobby Watson on alto, Mark Shim on tenor, Kevin Louis on trumpet and flugelhorn, and Mayra Casales on percussion. Lundy wrote the music, the lyrics, and the arrangements, and much of it is impressive, particularly the difficult melody line she sings in unison with the horns on "Better Luck Next Time." In the production booth, however, Curtis Lundy relies a bit too heavily on fadeouts. The three/four ballad "Now That He's Gone," the mellow bossa "Send Me Somebody to Love," and the ambitious jam vehicle "(I Dream) In Living Color" would have benefited from real endings; the fades on these tracks sound like the creative equivalent of pulling the plug. Instrumental detail livens up some otherwise pedestrian material (e.g., the horn lick on the outro of "This Is the End of a Love Affair" and Mark Shim's tenor filigree and solo [and Ralph Peterson's brushes] on "Is It Love"). Lundy ups the ante, lyrically speaking, on the last two tracks: "One More River to Cross," co-written with Deborah Ash, deals with spiritual striving and contains a recitation of a Langston Hughes poem, while "Seventh Heaven," dedicated to the late pianist Kenny Kirkland, is a dramatic plea for peace. ~David R. Adler

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Bennie Wallace - S/T

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:42
Size: 123.0 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 1998
Art: Front

[6:57] 1. Beyond The Bluebird
[5:12] 2. Serenade To Sweden
[6:32] 3. Little Surprise
[5:34] 4. Moon Song
[4:51] 5. Over The Rainbow
[6:04] 6. So In Love
[6:13] 7. Prelude To A Kiss
[7:19] 8. UMMG
[4:57] 9. Chelsea Bridge

Tommy Flanagan - Piano; Eddie Gomez - Bass; Alvin Queen - Drums; Bennie Wallace - Sax (Tenor). Recorded on April 29, 1998 - April 30, 1998, Clinton Recording Studios, New York, NY.

For this mostly relaxed date, tenor saxophonist Bennie Wallace (who plays pretty melodically throughout much of the session) is teamed with veteran pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Alvin Queen. Wallace does his best to temper some of his wilder interval jumps but it is such an integral part of his style that he does let loose in spots. The rhythm section is tight and tasteful and the quartet explores seven standards, plus an original apiece by Wallace ("Little Surprises") and Flanagan ("Beyond the Bluebird"). Other highlights include Duke Ellington's rarely played "Serenade to Sweden," "Moon Song" and "So in Love." ~Scott Yanow

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Les Paul, Mary Ford - The Hit Makers

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 27:46
Size: 63.6 MB
Styles: Jazz/Pop vocals & guitar
Year: 1953/2015
Art: Front

[2:05] 1. How High The Moon
[2:00] 2. Josephine
[2:16] 3. Mockin' Bird Hill (Tra La La Twittle Dee Dee Dee)
[1:59] 4. Whispering
[2:51] 5. Vaya Con Dios
[2:53] 6. I'm A Fool To Care
[2:13] 7. The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise
[1:49] 8. Meet Mister Callaghan
[2:05] 9. Tiger Rag
[3:07] 10. Tennessee Waltz
[2:15] 11. I'm Sitting On Top Of The World
[2:07] 12. Whither Thou Goest

A superb 1953 10" LP became an even better 12" LP in 1955 with the addition of four tracks covering a slightly later span of time: "Vaya con Dios," "Whispering," "I'm Sitting on Top of the World," and "I'm a Fool to Care." Three of the newer cuts are shoehorned into side one, while the fourth enlarges side two. All in ultra-clean and sharp native mono, no added reverb or faux stereo effects, and still the sort of sounds that still would have (and did) wowed hi-fi fanatics at the end of the 1950s. And it holds up 50 years later just about as well. ~Bruce Eder

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Bob Dorough - Devil May Care

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 1956
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:06
Size: 110,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:19)  1. Old Devil Moon
(2:55)  2. It Could Happen To You
(2:40)  3. I Had The Craziest Dream
(4:20)  4. You're The Dangerous Type
(4:07)  5. Owl
(3:25)  6. Polka Dots and Moonbeams
(4:56)  7. Yardbird Suite
(3:00)  8. Baltimore Oriole
(2:55)  9. I Don't Mind
(2:52) 10. Devil May Care
(4:02) 11. Midnight Sun
(3:16) 12. Johnny One Note
(5:14) 13. Yardbird Suite (alt. take)

Vocalist-pianist-lyricist Bob Dorough's first record as a leader is a pretty definitive set . Assisted by his longtime bassist Bill Takas, drummer Jerry Segal and sometimes trumpeter Warren Fitzgerald and vibraphonist Jack Hitchcock, Dorough performs near-classic renditions of such songs as "Old Devil Moon," "Yardbird Suite," "Baltimore Oriole," "Devil May Care" and "Johnny One Note." Recommended. [Originally released in 1956, Devil May Care was reissued on CD on 2005 and contains bonus tracks.] ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/devil-may-care-mw0000192982

Personnel: Bob Dorough (vocals, piano); Warren Fitzgerald (trumpet); Jack Hitchcock (vibraphone); Bill Takus (bass); Jerry Segal (drums).

Devil May Care

Maria Williams - Hybrid

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:51
Size: 120,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:54)  1. La Negra Tiene Tumbao
(3:38)  2. No Me Queda Mas
(3:29)  3. Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars
(3:27)  4. Mais Que Nada
(4:29)  5. Somos Novios
(3:12)  6. Berimbau
(3:18)  7. Color Of Rain
(4:33)  8. I'll Close My Eyes
(2:49)  9. Everything's Kind Of Good
(5:39) 10. I Learned That From You
(4:57) 11. Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys
(3:48) 12. Set Her Free
(3:31) 13. Corcovado

Maria Williams has been on the scene as a band leader and lead vocalist over 20 years and it shows. Her performance is stellar, she could literally do any style, her voice is present, emotive and heartfelt. She can conjure the spell of music and so can her band. "Hybrid" is what the title suggests - a walk through Maria and her band's varied repertoire. There are several styles covered on the CD jazz, latin, pop, some country. I personally find Maria and her band to be at their best in the latin (bossa nova, Samba, etc.) and jazz genres. The performance of these songs is really moving - the grooves are perfect and the vocals are soaring. Songs that really stand out are "No Me Queda Mas" (#2), "Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars" (#3), "Mais Que Nada" (#4), "Color of Rain" (#7), and the bonus track "Corvocado" which is a duet with Alan Lett. Overall the CD is impressive but I felt that I would've preferred to hear a more streamlined effort in the latin of jazz genre where I feel Maria and her band shine the most. Overall this is a very tastefully done album, great musicianship all around with some especially outstanding percussion, lead guitar and brass work. The production is also world class. ~ A. Dorian http://www.houstonmusicreviews.com/Reviews/mariawilliams_hybrid.htm

Hybrid

Ivo Perelman - The Other Edge

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:20
Size: 149,9 MB
Art: Front

(10:57)  1. Desert Flower
( 9:29)  2. Panem Et Circenses Part 1
( 4:15)  3. Crystal Clear
(10:51)  4. Panem Et Circenses Part 2
( 5:48)  5. Latin Vibes
( 6:37)  6. Petals or Thorns
( 6:55)  7. Big Band Swing
(10:22)  8. The Other Edge

As we’re reminded with the just-issued Root of Things, Matthew Shipp, Michael Bisio and Whit Dickey make up one of the most formidable acoustic trios in jazz of this day and age. The uncommon telepathy, the feel and the unpretentious emotion are the kinds of things that put them at or near the top of the list.  It’s those same qualities that also make them formidable companions to tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman, a dazzling revelation that came out of their first encounter, 2013’s The Edge. That record is, in my opinion, the best of a solid half-dozen batch of top-shelf encounters Perelman released last year. Now comes the sequel christened, appropriately enough, The Other Edge. Conceived, performed and recorded all at once a mere two months ago, the ad hoc way the record was made already tells you much about the music.  As it was before and as it is with anything involving these musicians, The Other Edge (March 25, 2014, Leo Records) is a series of conversations among very skilled performers who elevate above their skills simply by listening very closely to each other. This ain’t the Matthew Shipp Trio Plus One, it’s an almost completely different quartet, because everyone is accounting for Perelman and Perelman accounts for everyone.

Relying so much on feel and intuition, often the opening sequence of a performance sets in motion a sequence of events that become the song. Shipp introduces motifs on “Crystal Clear” and “Panem Et Circenses Part 2,” Perelman will react to it, adding complexity to the pianist’s open-ended shapes and then the two begin to connect and improvise in sync. “Latin Vibes,” on the other hand, is launched by Perelman’s chirps and squeals and Dickey’s soft rapping on the tom-toms. When Shipp and Bisio make their entry, the urgency level ratchets up.  Even more interesting is the strategy used for “The Other Edge.” Here, Perelman’s sax “chats” with Bisio’s pizzicato bass at the upper register, as Shipp and Dickey meekly nudge their way in then begin to assert themselves. The other two give no ground, though, and a distant storm evolves into the eye of a squall. Shipp and Dickey recede, and the song ends with just Perelman and Bisio again, but this time in a lower register.

“Desert Flower” is an instance where Perelman is seemingly cast against Shipp’s trio. Beginning with Perelman’s unmistakable vernacular alone, the other three soon join in, playing a tonal melody but Perelman doesn’t move off his atonal perch, although his flow follows the flow of the trio. Bisio and Dickey murmur at a perfect volume, not too loud or too soft. The biggest treat comes from “Big Bang Swing”; after a tentative beginning, an actual swing breaks out. However, Perelman doesn’t have to change character to fit his sax into this mainstream setting. The tempo gets on the verge of dissembling at times only to recompose itself, like as if an invisible hand is guiding the band.  Four sentences into his liner notes for the album, Bisio mused that he had “said too much already” about the album. I get that. You can’t sufficiently put it into words though I tried because The Other Edge isn’t at all about scales, tempos, or harmony. It’s about the collective impulsive expression of spirit, and their instruments are just the delivery systems by which they do that. ~ S. Victor Aaron http://somethingelsereviews.com/2014/03/21/ivo-perelman-with-matthew-shipp-michael-bisio-whit-dickey-the-other-edge-2014/

Personnel:  Ivo Perelman - Tenor Sax; Matthew Shipp - Piano;  Michael Bisio - Bass;  Whit Dickey - Drums.

The Other Edge

Steve Turre - The Spirits Up Above

Styles: Trombone Jazz
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:23
Size: 115,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:02)  1. Three for the Festival
(5:03)  2. One for Kirk
(9:22)  3. Medley: Serenade to a Cuckoo/Bright Moments
(4:43)  4. Stepping Into Beauty
(4:37)  5. The Spirits up Above
(4:48)  6. Hand Full of Five
(4:14)  7. E.D.
(5:58)  8. Dorthaan's Walk
(8:33)  9. Volunteered Slavery

You have to have a lot of nerve to pay homage to Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Soul-drenched, steeped in the blues yet progressive in ways that were not to be fully appreciated until after his untimely death in '77, Kirk's music managed to be a bundle of contradictions while, at the same time, a cohesive statement about the true jazz experience. And while more space was often devoted to his eccentricities playing multiple horns at once, dressing flamboyantly, as much a visual performer as a player the reality is that Kirk, whose capabilities ranged from Dixieland to free jazz and everything in between, was arguably one of the most creative musicians of his time. Trombonist Steve Turre not only met Kirk as a teenager, but ended up on the stage with him any time Kirk was in the Bay Area where Turre was growing up, and later again when Turre had relocated to New York. And so it is that Turre is in a unique position to re-evaluate the music and performances of Kirk, and deliver up The Spirits Up Above , as honest and heartfelt an homage as is possible.

With an all-star cast including saxophonists Vincent Herring and James Carter, found here in a setting that eschews his tendency to shtick in his own work, along with pianist Mulgrew Miller, bassist Buster Williams and drummer Winard Harper bolstering the rhythm section, Turre has formed a band that is completely capable of running the gamut of Kirk's material, from the up-tempo swinging blues of "Three for the Festival" to the tender balladry of "Stepping into Beauty," and from the soulful title track, complete with vocal chorus to the modal 5/4 romp "Hand Full of Five." With most pieces running in the four-to-five minute range, the arrangements are tight and the solos, while effusive, are kept short and to the point. In a setting where every player gets to shine, special mention needs to be made of Carter, whose brash tenor solo on "Hand Full of Five" comes closest to capturing the free spirit that was Kirk. But whereas his own work sometimes feels overly considered and contrived, it is clear that here he, like the rest of his bandmates, are just having a whole lot of fun. As entertaining as this record is, the group must be positively incendiary live. Kirk, as a performing musician, proved that there didn't have to be a gap between the audience and the players, that the experience was truly meant to be a shared one, rather than an elite meeting of musicians to which the audience was fortunate enough to be privy. 

Turre and his group manage to capture that same spirit of collaboration. The best music is meant to be a true symbiosis, and The Spirits Up Above goes a long way to breaking down any invisible barriers between those who play and those who listen.  Chorus on "The Spirits Up Above" and "Volunteered Slavery": Andromeda Turre, Akua Dixon, Michael Hill, Whitney Marchell Jackson, Joe Dixon, Steve Turre ~ John Kelman https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-spirits-up-above-steve-turre-highnote-records-review-by-john-kelman.php

Personnel: Steve Turre (trombone), James Carter (tenor saxophone, flute on "Stepping into Beauty"), Vincent Herring (alto and soprano saxophones), Dave Valentin (flute on "Medley: Serenade to a Cuckoo/Brighter Moments"), Mulgrew Miller (piano), Buster Williams (bass), Winard Harper (drums)

The Spirits Up Above

Ron Carter - Piccolo

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 1977
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 75:59
Size: 174,8 MB
Art: Front

(18:22)  1. Saguaro
(15:15)  2. Sunshower
( 8:46)  3. Three Little Words
(12:25)  4. Laverne Walk
( 8:12)  5. Little Waltz
(12:56)  6. Tambien Conocido Como

This double album is mostly recommended to lovers of bass solos. With Ron Carter functioning as the main soloist on piccolo bass, only the solos of pianist Kenny Barron offer a bit of contrast. Bassist Buster Williams and drummer Ben Riley, who complete the quartet, are mostly featured in support. These performances, which are well-played, are almost all quite long, so listeners who prefer more variety in their music are advised to look elsewhere. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/piccolo-mw0000244335

Personnel: Ron Carter  (piccolo bass, cello) Kenny Barron (piano); Buster Williams (bass); Ben Riley (drums)

Piccolo