John Campbell - Workin' Out

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:08
Size: 142.3 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 2001
Art: Front

[ 7:20] 1. Four In One
[10:08] 2. Sky Dive
[ 8:29] 3. Duke Ellington's Sound Of Love
[ 3:30] 4. Steps
[ 7:17] 5. Maiden Voyage
[ 6:56] 6. Wonderful
[ 4:34] 7. Fall
[ 8:52] 8. Sea Journey
[ 4:59] 9. I Waited For You

A powerful pianist who often gets overlooked, John Campbell is heard in top form throughout this trio set. Teamed with bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Billy Drummond, Campbell makes such tunes as Thelonious Monk's "Four In One," Freddie Hubbard's "Sky Dive," Wayne Shorter's "Fall" and Chick Corea's "Sea Journey" sound simple. This consistently enjoyable and often hard-swinging set serves as a perfect introduction for listeners who are not familiar with the brilliant playing of John Campbell. ~Scott Yanow

Workin' Out mc
Workin' Out zippy

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Denise King, Massimo Farao Trio - La Vie En Rose

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:09
Size: 124.0 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2017
Art: Front

[5:47] 1. Save Your Love For Me
[4:35] 2. The Shadow Of Your Smile
[6:11] 3. Skylark
[5:08] 4. La Vie En Rose
[6:27] 5. Estate
[5:29] 6. The Very Thought Of You
[5:16] 7. My Romance
[3:23] 8. Let's Do It
[4:51] 9. I've Got A Crush On You
[5:15] 10. Do It Again
[1:42] 11. Where Or When

Denise King, vocals; Massimo Farao', piano; Aldo Zunino, bass; Steve Williams, drums.

Denise King is a singer whose naturally beautiful voice, vibrato and phrasing please musicians as well as fans. Listening to her warm tone, impeccable phrasing, and the absolute control she has of her voice is mesmerizing. Whether she’s singing a Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald or Sarah Vaughan standard, or an Aretha Franklin cover, she puts her heart and soul into every note. Denise has mastered the art of making a song her own no matter what the genre.

In the past 25 years, Ms King has sung at almost all of the top venues in Philadelphia, several in New York, Paris, Turkey, Brazil, Africa, Germany and Japan. She is a self-proclaimed torch bearer, a keeper of the flame holding the preservation and presentation of the traditional style of jazz singing close to her heart. No gimmicks, no pyrotechnics, just an intense focus on the melody and the lyrical content.

With a voice described as velvet smooth, warm and steeped in sophistication, she captivates you and holds you with every note. In this age of auto-tune, quick fixes and artistic gimickery, her love of people, performance style, and energy have ensured her a spot in the jazz community for a long time.

"Denise King sings pop and jazz standards with touches of the blues, soul and even gospel in a voice steeped in a sophisticated, swinging, sometimes soulful, satin style much like one of her idols, Sarah Vaughan." ~ All About Jazz

La Vie En Rose mc
La Vie En Rose zippy

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Sonny Stitt - Just In Case You Forgot How Bad He Really Was

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:12
Size: 149.3 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 2009
Art: Front

[ 5:25] 1. Dig Dr. Woody
[ 7:09] 2. Star Eyes
[ 3:13] 3. Everything Happens To Me
[ 5:44] 4. The Night Has A Thousand Eyes
[12:11] 5. Ballad Medley: How Deep Is The Ocean, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, My Foolish Heart, Over The Rainbow, Serenade In Blue
[ 3:50] 6. Solo Excerpt
[11:44] 7. Lover Man
[ 4:08] 8. Laura
[10:14] 9. Wee
[ 1:31] 10. Outro

Recorded at the Keystone Korner in San Francisco less than a year before saxophonist Sonny Stitt suffered a fatal heart attack, this 65-minute session includes saxophonists Richie Cole and John Handy, pianist Cedar Walton, bassist Herbie Lewis, drummer Billy Higgins, and vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson. The jam session, billed as a "bebop alto summit," was recorded before an enthusiastic club audience over a two night period and produced by Dr. Herb Wong, but never released. With about half the session spotlighting the leader on both alto and tenor, and with impeccable sound recording, the comfortable session is a welcome surprise, and presents Sonny Stitt in fine performing form.

Jazz critic Dr. Herb Wong produced the 1981 session and provides the liner notes. The opening track, "Dig Dr. Woody," is Stitt's tribute to the dentist who had recently reconstructed the saxophonist's front teeth with a fixed bridge; that dentist was Dr. Woody Wong, brother of Dr. Herb Wong. On "Dig Dr. Woody" and "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes," Stitt works out on tenor accompanied by the veteran rhythm section, and evokes moods ranging from loose and comfortable to quasi-dramatic. Similarly, Stitt sits in the solo spotlight for the ballads "Everything Happens To Me" and "Laura," this time on alto. The saxophonist offers a firm lyrical approach to the ballad, maintaining spirit throughout and seeming to enjoy the opportunity to express.

This "bebop alto summit" approach allows room for solo choruses from each of the member of the ensemble as well as ample three-saxophone interplay. "Star Eyes," "Wee," and "Lover Man" provide space for the alternating soloists. On alto, Stitt, Cole, and Handy exhibit slightly different timbres, in much the same way that singers possess distinctive voices. For "Lover Man," Stitt opens and closes the number, turning it over to Handy, Hutcherson, Walton, and Cole in that order. Each has a lot to say, and again on "Wee" this order of soloing is preserved, except for Walton's piano solo and Higgins' extended drum solo. The medley of ballads affords an opportunity for Stitt, Cole, Hutcherson, Walton, and Handy to accept the feature for a song each. The individual solo work, the ensemble interaction, and their effect on the enthusiastic audience make this a memorable session. Highly Recommended. ~Jim Santella

Just In Case You Forgot How Bad He Really Was mc
Just In Case You Forgot How Bad He Really Was zippy

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Antonio Carlos Jobim - Wave: the Antonio Carlos Jobim Songbook

Styles: Vocal, Brazilian Jazz
Year: 1962
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:32
Size: 146,2 MB
Art: Front

(2:52)  1. Wave
(5:50)  2. So Danço Samba (Jazz Samba)
(3:14)  3. Happy Madness
(3:12)  4. Chovendo Na Roseira
(5:53)  5. Desafinado
(2:48)  6. A Felicidade
(4:46)  7. O Grande Amor
(4:03)  8. Insensatez
(4:48)  9. Amor Em Paz (Once I Loved)
(4:16) 10. Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars)
(5:20) 11. Triste
(2:31) 12. The Boy from Ipanema
(5:18) 13. Samba de Uma Nota Só (One Note Samba)
(5:26) 14. Vivo Sonhando
(3:08) 15. Wave

The sequel to the popular The Girl from Ipanema anthology basically reshuffles the deck, duplicating nine of the earlier CD's songs and adding six new ones, using mostly the same performers with a few additions. The new wrinkle is that the artists perform different tunes, a game that one imagines could be continued indefinitely on future issues. Among the highlights: Ella Fitzgerald has a marvelous time bouncing to the rhythms of "So Danço Samba," Wes Montgomery  the consummate musician scores again with a lovely "Amor Em Paz," and Oscar Peterson is a surreal speed demon on "Triste." Lowlight: Sarah Vaughan's awkwardly mannered "The Boy from Ipanema." Again, there is plenty of Stan Getz along with his tenor sax successor in matters Jobim, Joe Henderson plus Astrud and João Gilberto, Dizzy Gillespie, Toots Thielemans, Charlie Byrd, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, and Jobim himself. As a jazz buff's introduction to Jobim, either Songbook will do, but Verve's The Man from Ipanema triple album is the best, most comprehensively idiomatic choice overall. ~ Richard S.Ginell https://www.allmusic.com/album/wave-the-antonio-carlos-jobim-songbook-mw0000648316     

Personnel includes: Antonio Carlos Jobim (vocals, piano, guitar); Cesar Camargo Mariano (piano, electric piano); Joao Gilberto (vocals, guitar); Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Elis Regina, Astrud Gilberto (vocals); Stan Getz, Joe Henderson (tenor saxophone); Dizzy Gillespie, Donald Byrd (trumpet); Romeo Penque (flute, piccolo, clarinet, oboe, English horn); Danny Bank (flute, alto flute); Phil Woods (clarinet); Toots Thielemans (harmonica); Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Oscar Peterson, Lalo Schifrin, Eliane Elias (piano); Pat Metheny, Wes Montgomery, Charlie Byrd, Oscar Castro-Neves (guitar); Ron Carter, George Duvivier, Sam Jones (bass); Grady Tate, Paulo Braga (drums); Candido Camero (conga); Milton Banana (percussion); Gil Evan's Orchestra, Frank Foster's Orchestra.

Wave: the Antonio Carlos Jobim Songbook

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Viktor Lazlo - She

Styles: Vocal, Jazz Pop 
Year: 1985
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:19
Size: 85,5 MB
Art: Front

(1:38)  1. She
(5:15)  2. Sweet, Soft N'lazy
(4:04)  3. Ain't Gonna Come
(4:30)  4. Canoe Rose
(2:47)  5. Put The Blame On Mame
(4:19)  6. I Don't Wanna Love Again
(3:48)  7. Pleurer Des Rivieres
(3:38)  8. Last Call For An Angel
(3:43)  9. Backdoor Man
(3:31) 10. Loser

A stylish and sensual singer, Sonia Dronier became Viktor Lazlo when Belgian producer Francis Depryck discovered her and put together a package inspired by strong sexuality and black-and-white film. Born in Lorient, France, Dronier spent her college years studying and modeling in Brussels, Belgium. After she spent some time singing backup vocals in Depryck's band Lou & the Hollywood Bananas, the producer rounded up a set of nostalgic and noir-flavored songs and renamed her after a character in the Humphrey Bogart classic Casablanca. The stylish full-length She began her career in 1985 with a mix of songs sung in French, English, and Spanish. A French-language cover of Julie London's "Cry Me a River" ("Pleurer des Rivières") became a big hit across Europe a year later. In 1987 she hosted the televised broadcast of the Eurovision contest, which was held in Belgium that year. That same year she had another Euro hit with "Breathless," a duet with American singer James Ingram. After a move back to France in 1989 she released a series of successful albums before the ambitious Verso appeared in 1996 with funk and dub influences and a guest appearance from the classic reggae rhythm section of Sly & Robbie. Critical response to the album was so overwhelmingly positive that Dronier claimed interviews promoting the release had focused on her music instead of her clothes for the first time in her career. ~ David Jeffries https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/she/358461037

She

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Wayne Shorter - The Soothsayer

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1965
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:07
Size: 115,0 MB
Art: Front

(7:16)  1. Lost
(4:51)  2. Angola
(6:42)  3. Angola (alternate take)
(8:23)  4. The Big Push
(9:40)  5. The Soothsayer
(5:36)  6. Lady Day
(7:37)  7. Valse Triste

A good month for tenor saxophone connoisseurs, April 2008, with a second Rudy Van Gelder re-master released alongside Ike Quebec's signature Blue & Sentimental (Blue Note, 2008). The Soothsayer may be comparably less of a benchmark in Wayne Shorter's discography, and remains to some extent overshadowed by its close contemporary Speak No Evil (Blue Note, 1964), but it's a solid and enduring album despite 15 years between the recording session and the original LP release. Things were happening big time for Shorter in early 1965, when The Soothsayer was recorded. After five years with drummer and band leader Art Blakey as musician, composer and, finally, musical director, the saxophonist had recently joined trumpeter Miles Davis' second great quintet. With Davis, Shorter would record six studio albums over the next three years the first, E.S.P. (Columbia, 1965) was recorded two months before The Soothsayer plus a further four under his own name. There was an embarrassment of Shorter riches around, and The Soothsayer was initially shelved to make way for the release of the more structurally adventurous The All Seeing Eye (Blue Note, 1965). When Shorter left Davis and joined Weather Report, The Soothsayer, temporarily, was overtaken by events. It was finally released in 1980. The album finds Shorter in the company of two Davis quintet colleagues bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams together with pianist McCoy Tyner, then a member of saxophonist John Coltrane's classic quartet, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and the relatively unsung alto saxophonist James Spaulding. Hubbard and Carter had been retained from Speak No Evil; Tyner had been featured on the earlier Shorter albums Night Dreamer (Blue Note, 1964) and Ju Ju (Blue Note, 1964). Spaulding and Williams were new recruits. Shorter's virile playing aside, the album is worthwhile for the presence of drum prodigy Williams (Shorter's regular drummers of the time were Elvin Jones and Joe Chambers) who turns in an inventive solo on "Angola" and for the strength of Shorter's writing. The triple meter, medium groove "Lost," the opener, is quintessential Shorter of the period. Eight years before the release of The Soothsayer it was featured on Weather Report's Live In Tokyo (Columbia, 1972). "Angola," which follows, sounds like it could have been written earlier, for Blakey's band. The haunting "Lady Day" is a ballad tribute to singer Billie Holiday. Of interest too is Shorter's re-arrangement of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius' pretty "Valse Triste" on Speak No Evil, Shorter had credited Sibelius as a key inspiration for that album's "Dance Cadaverous." The word "deconstruction" may not have been common jazz parlance in 1965, but deconstruct is exactly what Shorter does here, sensitively and engagingly. ~ Chris May https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-soothsayer-wayne-shorter-blue-note-records-review-by-chris-may.php

Personnel: Wayne Shorter: tenor saxophone; James Spaulding: alto saxophone; Freddie Hubbard: trumpet; McCoy Tyner: piano; Ron Carter: bass; Tony Williams: drums.

The Soothsayer

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Joey DeFrancesco - The Champ: Round 2

Styles: Jazz, Hard Bop
Year: 1998
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:18
Size: 156,7 MB
Art: Front

(8:37)  1. The Champ
(5:37)  2. Back at the Chicken Shack
(5:04)  3. Bayou
(6:44)  4. I'm an Old Cowhand
(5:53)  5. The Sermon
(7:56)  6. The Boss
(6:56)  7. Oh No, Babe
(4:38)  8. Hackensack
(8:19)  9. Greensleeves
(8:29) 10. The Champ (The Rematch)

The Champ: Round 2 is the second volume of Joey DeFrancesco's tribute to mentor and Hammond B3 groove master Jimmy Smith. While 1999's The Champ was an entertaining and honorable tribute, Round 2 produces only patchy rewards even with the swinging camaraderie provided by guitarist Paul Bollenback and drummer Byron Landham. Compared to the first volume in which the initial freshness of the idea was more palatable, Round 2 suffers from slight stagnation (two versions of "The Champ" on this disc!) for the same reason. Following the late-'90s studio releases of The Champ, Goodfellas, and the live set Incredible, three discs that rely mainly on standards and jazz classics, this disc is ultimately disappointing, finding DeFrancesco repeating challenges we have already heard him acheive. ~ Al Campbell https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-champ-round-2-mw0000620309

Personnel: Joey DeFrancesco (Hammond B-3 Organ); Paul Bollenback (guitar); Byron Landham (drums).

The Champ: Round 2

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