Duke Jordan - As Time Goes By

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:34
Size: 134.1 MB
Styles: Bop, Piano jazz
Year: 1989/1994
Art: Front

[6:47] 1. In A Mellotone
[3:07] 2. Lady Dingbat
[6:34] 3. A Foggy Day In London Town
[3:35] 4. Answer Me
[4:41] 5. Layout Blues
[3:37] 6. Glad I Met Pat
[2:58] 7. W'utless
[5:06] 8. As Time Goes By
[2:41] 9. Jordanish
[6:47] 10. Drawers
[5:32] 11. Lush Life Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
[3:56] 12. When You're Smiling
[3:07] 13. Mellow Mood

Bass – Jesper Lundgaard; Drums – Billy Hart; Piano – Duke Jordan. Recorded July 29, 1985.

A most agreeable set that is both eminently listenable and very enterprising. …Jordan was always a fleetly swinging but subtle pianist whose all-round musicianship has never got the recognition it merits. This fine trio deserves to sell well and spared his name further afield . ~Richard Palmer

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Ottmar Liebert + Luna Negra - The Hours Between Night + Day

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:52
Size: 164.5 MB
Styles: New Age, Flamenco
Year: 1993
Art: Front

[4:15] 1. Bombay (Night Of Dreams)
[3:51] 2. Snakecharmer
[4:07] 3. Ten Piedad De Mi Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)
[4:10] 4. Havana Club
[4:18] 5. Morning Arrival In Goa (Lighthouse Flash Over The Sea)
[5:16] 6. Lone Rider (4 Slick)
[3:08] 7. Buddha's Flower (4 My Sister)
[0:30] 8. Blink Slipping (Intro)
[5:20] 9. Summantra
[4:07] 10. Danza De Los Sentidos
[4:06] 11. Neon Ghost Sensei (Overflowing)
[3:04] 12. Like Fire To Straw
[2:46] 13. Lush Sea Of Sound (Intro)
[3:39] 14. Albatross
[3:02] 15. Sleepless (Distortion System Crash)
[3:39] 16. Adrift In Tangier
[4:29] 17. Fullmoonbeachwalk (4 Jon)
[3:19] 18. Temple Dawn Ultravivid Clouds (Intro)
[4:36] 19. Dream I Just Want 2 Drown In U

Bass, Keyboards, Arranged By [Strings], Mixed By – Jon Gagan; Grand Piano, Keyboards, Arranged By [Horns], Co-producer, Engineer, Mixed By – Domenico Camardella; Guitar – Calvin "El Guerro" Hazen; Guitar, Lute, Producer, Mixed By, Written-By – Ottmar Liebert; Handclaps [Palmas] – David Bryant; Keyboards, Percussion, Arranged By [Horns], Mixed By – Stefan Liebert; Koto – Osamu Kitajima; Percussion – Mark Clark; Vocals – Jose "Grillo" Blanco. Recorded at Sound Design in Santa Barbara.

Breaking new stylistic ground, the 1993 CD The Hours Between Night & Day finds nouveau flamenco guitarist Ottmar Liebert combining the intimacy of the nylon-string acoustic guitar with electric musicianship. Spanish flamenco, the signature sound so strongly associated with Liebert and Luna Negra, is still featured prominantly on The Hours Between Night & Day, perhaps best illuminated on the Spanish language Marvin Gaye rework "Ten Piedad De Mi". This fine CD also includes two bonus tracks and a cover of the Peter Green classic "Albatross". Nominated for a 1993 Grammy.

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Joanna MacGregor, Andy Sheppard - Deep River

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:56
Size: 116.6 MB
Styles: Easy Listening
Year: 2006/2015
Art: Front

[7:38] 1. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child
[4:40] 2. Everybody Help The Boys Come Home
[4:51] 3. Spiritual
[5:54] 4. Georgia Lee
[2:10] 5. Everybody Help The Boys Come Home (Remix)
[3:24] 6. Up Above My Head
[7:05] 7. Deep River
[2:33] 8. Up Above My Head (Remix)
[3:36] 9. Ring Them Bells
[5:25] 10. The Mercy Seat
[3:37] 11. Picture In A Frame

Joanna MacGregor, the pianist who injects free-jazz into Bach, applies the same intensity to Django Bates as Pierre Boulez, and has almost made John Cage's nuts and bolts standard piano currency, has gone back to her childhood for her latest venture, with jazz saxist Andy Sheppard. MacGregor was an evangelical church pianist before she emerged in the 1980s as one of the world's foremost modern-music recitalists, and for the project Deep River she has returned to the gospel songs and blues she first learned on the piano, more or less.

Goldfrapp's Will Gregory and the avant-jazz drummer Seb Rochford contribute to the Deep River CD this gig launched, but they only appeared in the background sounds in this single-set dialogue for MacGregor and Sheppard as a duo. Sheppard didn't know the songs before MacGregor initiated the project, and over the years the pianist has added a wealth of technical and expressive resources to the fundamentals she needed to play them as a child. So neither musician was disposed to play them as covers or museum pieces. That was evident from the opener, the classic Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child.

MacGregor ushered it in with caressing piano chords, and Sheppard began with a high, fluting sound on the tenor sax, descending into dark whispers and noteless puffs of air. Then the pianist began rippling fast treble lines and a steadily boogieing left hand, so eventually the piece turned into a looping, Steve Reichian trance. A delicate soprano-sax line then unfurled over a banging bass-note, and a spinechilling multiphonic tenor wail erupted against a stomping gospel piano-walk on Josh Haden's haunting Spiritual, a song recorded by Johnny Cash. The two then explored a favourite MacGregor piece of Japanese minimalism and an ecstatic, fraught-with-danger Astor Piazzolla tango.

Tom Waits's Georgia Lee was a highlight, a tender soprano saxophone reverie over soft chords that relieved the repeating ostinato-hook feel that slightly overpowered the gig and occasionally cornered Sheppard. The saxophonist's bugged soprano, issuing a Joe Zawinul-like keyboard sound, was also a triumph, and Nick Cave's Mercy Seat (reflections on the electric chair) a terrifying free-blast. This freewheeling partnership, now over a decade old, shows no signs of repeating itself.

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Brazilian Tropical Orchestra - The Beatles In Bossa Nova

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:29
Size: 131.6 MB
Styles: Brazilian jazz
Year: 1990/1999
Art: Front

[2:48] 1. Something
[2:38] 2. Here, There And Everywhere
[2:38] 3. Yesterday
[3:26] 4. The Fool On The Hill
[1:50] 5. For No One
[2:40] 6. I Should Have Known Better
[3:23] 7. Till There Was You
[2:51] 8. Eleanor Rigby
[2:27] 9. Help!
[3:52] 10. Don´t Let Me Down
[2:19] 11. And I Love Her
[2:07] 12. With A Little Help From My Friends
[3:39] 13. Hey Jude
[3:44] 14. Long And Winding Road
[2:52] 15. She´s Leaving Home
[3:16] 16. A Day In The Life
[2:44] 17. Ticket To Ride
[2:40] 18. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
[2:21] 19. Let It Be
[3:04] 20. Here Comes The Sun

This cd is really interesting. The bossa nova tones give to the beatles songs a unique elegancy and pleasant softness. Some outstanding tracks are "The fool on the Hill", "And I love her", and "The long and winding road". Buy this cd, it is really a must for everyone who likes listening beatles songs from a different perspective. ~Mauro Zanuz

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James Porter - The James Porter Songbook

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:13
Size: 80.7 MB
Styles: Smooth jazz
Year: 2011
Art: Front

[4:18] 1. Cold
[3:48] 2. No Body
[3:32] 3. Avant-Après
[2:55] 4. À Montréal
[3:53] 5. Lucy Ditty
[2:38] 6. Don't Look Away
[3:34] 7. Grace
[3:28] 8. Grooveland
[4:13] 9. Until
[2:51] 10. Mr B-One

James Porter writes songs for song lovers to love and jazz improvisers to get a kick out of. The result is jazz neophytes finding themselves taken in by the CD as well as the shows when they had no idea they could ever find an interest in jazz.

The CD was recorded and released in Montreal at the end of a six-year episode of Porter’s life there. Now back in his home country, he is performing again regularly with a new “All Stars” band of brilliant local jazz musicians, songs from the CD as well as dozens of new tunes, in French as well as in English.

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Andy LaVerne Trio - Intelligent Design

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:07
Size: 138,0 MB
Art: Front

(6:06)  1. Short Story
(6:59)  2. Ultra Sound
(6:05)  3. Note Worthy
(6:21)  4. Upside
(7:57)  5. Remembrance
(6:52)  6. Ambrosia
(6:20)  7. Tsunami
(6:25)  8. Can You Glue Do This
(5:58)  9. Intelligent Design

Certainly not your household name by any stretch of the imagination, pianist Andy LaVerne is nonetheless a particularly adept pianist who has worked with many jazz legends over the years including Stan Getz, Frank Sinatra, Michael Brecker and Lionel Hampton. He's also a respected educator and has been largely documented on almost forty dates as a leader for the Danish SteepleChase imprint, including Intelligent Design. It is an out-of-the-ordinary ensemble that LaVerne assembles for the date at hand, although this particular trio has one previous album under its belt, recorded for another label. In hindsight, it's surprising that the piano and organ format has been so rarely utilized in jazz because it makes so much sense. The B3 is able to provide a bass line and a unique textural counterpoint that can complement as well as step forward. Seeing that Gary Versace is an accomplished pianist as well as a B3 practitioner, he makes the perfect foil for LaVerne because he knows how not to get in the way when Andy's up front and his own improvisations are highly musical statements that transcend the instrument itself. A unique group make-up or concept itself does not alone make for a great album and, had LaVerne decided to go for standards or a "grits and gravy approach, it might have actually been the downfall for this set. Instead, it's Andy's superb originals that supply the fodder for this most rewarding collection. The lively bop of "Note Worthy possesses a melody that vaguely sounds familiar, but speaks in its own distinct manner. By contrast, a piece like "Tsunami has more of a through-composed flavor to it, floating and brooding with a darker sense of drama. Somewhere in between is the chipper "Upside, a good primer on how important drummer Danny Gottlieb's musical contributions are to the overall success of this venture. Really one of the most welcomed surprises of the season, Intelligent Design lives up to its name as one of LaVerne's best efforts thus far and one of the finest jazz releases of the year. ~ C.Andrew Hovan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/intelligent-design-andy-laverne-steeplechase-records-review-by-c-andrew-hovan.php

Personnel: Andy LaVerne: piano; Gary Versace: B3 organ; Danny Gottlieb: drums.

Intelligent Design

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Malene Mortensen - Desperado

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:50
Size: 125,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:11)  1. Another Day
(4:16)  2. Desperado
(3:24)  3. Laughin' At Life
(3:45)  4. Morning Sun & Velvet Moon
(3:55)  5. If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody
(4:57)  6. Sea Of Lies
(4:11)  7. City Love
(3:51)  8. Temptation
(3:46)  9. November Came
(4:01) 10. Empty Sky
(3:36) 11. Where Would I Be Without You
(2:33) 12. Aarestrup I Marts
(4:27) 13. I've Got A Date With A Dream
(3:57) 14. All I Want

Malene Winter Mortensen (born May 23, 1982) is a Danish singer. She entered the Danish music scene in 2001, during the first season of Stjerne for en aften, the Danish edition of Star for a Night. She made it to the finals, with her rendition of Moloko's "Sing It Back". The following year, she entered the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix, the Danish national pre-selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2003 she released her debut album called Paradise. This album, revolving around modern jazz, was supported by three of Denmark's best known jazz musicians: Niels Lan Doky (piano), Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (double bass) and Alex Riel (drums). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malene_Mortensen

Desperado

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Walt Weiskopf - Mindwalking

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1990
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:36
Size: 125,4 MB
Art: Front

(6:13)  1. Is That All There Is
(3:44)  2. Antidote
(4:51)  3. Mystery Guest
(5:11)  4. Non-Fiction
(4:29)  5. Mindwalking
(2:45)  6. Blackberry Winter
(4:49)  7. Cousin Of Mine
(3:55)  8. Ghostwriting
(6:23)  9. Salvador
(7:09) 10. Above And Beyond
(5:03) 11. Fundamentally

A potent tenor saxophonist and composer firmly in the tradition of John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins, Walt Weiskopf was born in Augusta, GA, and grew up in Syracuse, NY. Upon moving to New York City, he joined the Buddy Rich Big Band in 1981 at the age of 21; two years later, Weiskopf signed on with the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra, concurrently forming his own quartet with brother Joel on trumpet, Jay Anderson on bass, and Jeff Hirshfeld on drums. His debut, Exact Science, appeared in 1989, followed a year later by Mindwalking; Simplicity, released in 1992, topped the European jazz charts for four weeks. After 1993's A World Away, Weiskopf for the first time departed from original compositions to record 1995's Night Lights, a collection of standards; 1997's Song for My Mother, however, returned his own material to the forefront. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, Weiskopf and fellow Eastman alum Ramon Ricker teamed in 1990 to write the books Coltrane: A Player's Guide to His Harmony and The Augmented Scale in Jazz; in 1994, Weiskopf also published Intervalic Improvisation, a player's guide for broadening the scope of modern jazz improvisation. In 1996, he joined drummer Rick Hollander's quartet, and as a headliner returned in 1999 with Anytown. Siren was issued a year later. ~ Jason Ankeny https://www.allmusic.com/artist/walt-weiskopf-mn0000237531/biography

Mindwalking

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Michael Dease - Reaching Out

Styles: Trombone Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:56
Size: 126,2 MB
Art:

(5:03)  1. Something In Common
(3:55)  2. Live And Let Die
(5:56)  3. Morning Shade
(4:57)  4. Tipping Point
(4:17)  5. More Than Words
(4:18)  6. Double Luminosity
(4:43)  7. The Takeover
(5:48)  8. Ballad
(6:11)  9. The Chameleon Eye
(4:15) 10. Blackfoot
(5:28) 11. Water Runs Dry

Somebody has to be the keeper of the flame, right? In jazz, an art form that has only recently passed the century mark, that responsibility has seemed to diminish in importance. It's not that music schools aren't churning out graduates versed in the traditional repertory, and post-modern players aren't constantly pushing the envelope of possibilities. It's just that we need more musicians like Michael Dease who, to quote Art Blakey, play jazz that "washes away the dust of everyday life." With Reaching Out, his fifth for Posi-Tone Records (a label whose mission is to throw accelerant on that flame) he doubles down on the joy of music making. He seems to always find kindred souls who share in his vision, as shown in previous recordings with the veterans Renee Rosnes, Lewis Nash, Steve Wilson, Christian McBride, and Rodney Whitaker. Here, he recruits two giants of the saxophone Ralph Bowen and Walt Weiskopf to interact with some younger talent players that have the makings of true believers.

What we mean by that is Dease prioritizes the happiness in his jazz. Take the opener, Cedar Walton's "Something In Common," or Steve Turre's "Blackfoot." Both are pieces that are overflowing with a joyful swing. The latter composition, modeled after "Cherokee," is delivered at an auctioneer's hyperspeed with Bowen and Dease chasing drummer Zach Adleman's turbocharged tempo. There is a return to the hipness factor in this music. Dease's original, "The Chameleon Eye," grabs memories of Lee Morgan's funkiness and injects some Herbie Hancock-like rhythm-intensive lines. The composition features the young and talented vibraphonist Behn Gillece (check out his Walk Of Fire (2017)). What makes Dease stand out is his love of melody and ability to craft arrangements to accentuate such. Perfect examples are the three cover tunes, Babyface's "Water Runs Dry," Paul and Linda McCartney's "Live And Let Die," and the 1990s hair metal band Extreme's "More Than Words." McCartney's title track to the James Bond movie of the same name is given all of the dramatic effect of the original, from it's most gentle beginnings to the soulful dramatics and swinging interludes. All of the covers here could, with lesser arrangements, become schmaltzy or sentimental. But like the masters, Coltrane's take on "My Favorite Things" or Miles' "Surrey With the Fringe On Top," Dease champions familiar music and makes it new again. ~ Mark Corroto https://www.allaboutjazz.com/reaching-out-michael-dease-posi-tone-records-review-by-mark-corroto.php

Personnel: Michael Dease: trombone; Ralph Bowen: tenor saxophone; Walt Weiskopf; tenor saxophone, alto saxophone; Behn Gillece: vibraphone; Luther Allison: piano; Peter Brendler: bass; Zach Adleman: drums.

Reaching Out

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Ray Parker Jr. - The Heritage Collection

Styles: Vocal And Guitar Jazz
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:20
Size: 94,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:38)  1. Jack And Jill
(3:24)  2. You Can't Change That
(4:07)  3. A Woman Needs Love
(4:00)  4. Ghostbusters
(4:06)  5. I Still Can't Get Over Loving
(4:17)  6. Jamie
(4:31)  7. For Those Who Like To Groove
(4:05)  8. The Other Woman
(3:55)  9. Two Places At The Same Time
(4:13) 10. Bad Boy

A brief collection of Ray Parker's bubblegum soul hits including the "Ghostbusters" monster from the movie of the same name. Every selection sounds as if it was tailored for 12- year-olds. His only attempts at being hard "Jamie," "For Those Who Like to Groove," and "Bad Boy"never quite get there. Still, the charm in lightweights like "You Can't Change That," "Jack and Jill," and "A Woman Needs Love (Just Like You Do)" is contagious. Someone should compile a CD of Ray's pre-Ray Parker, Jr. and Raydio recordings; he expressed himself more soulfully as a teenager fronting local Detroit groups like the Vows who waxed "When a Boy Loves a Girl."~ Andrew Hamilton https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-heritage-collection-mw0000052908

The Heritage Collection

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