Brother Jack McDuff - Down Home Style

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:54
Size: 89.1 MB
Styles: Jazz, Funk, Soul
Year: 1969/2004
Art: Front

[4:46] 1. The Vibrator
[5:06] 2. Down Home Style
[4:16] 3. Memphis In June
[3:34] 4. Theme From Electric Surfboard
[3:45] 5. It's All A Joke
[4:08] 6. Butter (For Yo' Popcorn)
[5:14] 7. Groovin' (On A Sunday Afternoon)
[8:02] 8. As She Walked Away

Jay Arnold (ts), Brother Jack McDuff (org), Charlie Freeman (g), Sammy Greason (d), recorded in Memphis, TN, June 10, 1969.

A set of gritty electric funk and soulful blues, Down Home Style is an excellent showcase for Brother Jack McDuff's gripping, funky style. Inspired more by the tight grooves of Stax Records than bebop, Down Home Style features McDuff leading a small group through a number of R&B grooves, ranging from the stuttering "The Vibrator" and dirty funk of "Butter (For Yo Popcorn)" to the slow blues of "Memphis in June." Occasionally, the group is augmented by a punchy horn section, but the record is designed as a showcase for McDuff's wild, intoxicating Hammond organ, and he runs with it, demonstrating every one of his tricks. ~Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Down Home Style mc
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Roby Perissin & The Latin Jazz Ensemble - Latino Jazz Club

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:11
Size: 128.6 MB
Styles: Latin jazz, Bolero
Year: 2014
Art: Front

[6:26] 1. Ceora
[5:14] 2. Obsesion
[4:11] 3. Someday My Prince Will Come
[5:52] 4. Tres Palabras (Without You)
[4:51] 5. This Is Always
[5:11] 6. Recado Bossa Nova
[6:40] 7. Linda Chicana
[5:19] 8. My Foolish Heart
[6:40] 9. Claudia
[5:43] 10. Beautiful Love

This is the third CD with Latin Jazz Ensemble, another project that I am proud of. I am very pleased and amazed at having been able to continue the series and to have received the appreciation for the previous CD’s from many listeners around the world. Latin Jazz Ensemble is not simply a band but by now a small community of musicians, professionals, friends that have helped me over the years. First to create, then to keep together, this long lasting project with live gigs all over Italy and abroad in different forms, from duo to sextet. I had the pleasure of involving fine musicians from the Milan scene for these CD recordings and for live gigs, happy to contribute to this project with professionalism and enthusiasm. It might be, they tell me, because of my contagious enthusiasm, passion and energy (that some call “positive folly”) that I put into everything in life and even more into music, my lifetime passion, and in the last few years, my profession. This time I imagined and envision the listener, even the non-jazz aficionado, sipping a good drink with friends, in an imaginary “Latino Jazz Club” accompanied by these beautiful tunes, selected among the many I love and that encompass my music taste, in a few of them also played Latin-American Percussions, another one of my original long time passions.

Tunes like “Obsesion”, “Tres Palabras”, “Claudia” are part of Cuban love song history, “Ceora” (one of the most beautiful songs ever written, to my opinion), “Recado Bossa Nova” and our version of “My foolish heart” are definitely into the bossa nova stream, “Linda Chicana” and “This is Always” are my personal latin jazz homage to Cal Tjader, RIP, who had performed these tunes and has been described as “the man who revolutionized Latin Jazz”. One of my favourite artists ever. “Someday my prince will come” (an exception from the latin mood of the CD) and the closing song of the CD “Beautiful Love” bring positive thoughts and express my undisputed love for life that I have inside of me.

I must again thank my long time “partners in crime” Angelo Bifezzi, Diego Ruvidotti and Paolo Traino, the “core” of Latin Jazz Ensemble, great musicians and friends with whom we worked together for several years. As in the previous CD’s, new friends joined the “Latin Jazz Ensemble” family; I have the honor to have on this CD some more great musicians, both exquisite people: one is Adalberto Ferrari, one of the most complete and refined players I ran into ever, a real “maestro” of one of my favorite instruments, the clarinet. The second is a master of a relatively seldom used instrument in Jazz, but very interesting in the latin atmosphere, the accordion, another fantastic player, Nadio Marenco. With both of these players we added new beautiful sounds to Latin Jazz Ensemble. Last, but not least, I wanted to have for a second time as a guest in the CD, Gino Carravieri, an experienced, versatile drummer, great professional and by now also a friend with whom I have fun playing in “latin” contexts.

Have a drink, relax and unwind into my “Latino Jazz Club”; I hope to have achieved one more time what I wanted: simple Jazz and Latin music, well performed, intense, honest, joyful and peaceful at the same time, a bit like the person I feel I am. Love and Music. ~Roby Perissin

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Mary Lou Williams - Mary Lou Williams Plays In London

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:21
Size: 158.8 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 2016
Art: Front

[2:59] 1. Titoros
[2:58] 2. They Can't Take That Away From Me
[4:32] 3. Round About Midnight
[2:51] 4. Perdido
[2:56] 5. Kool Bongo
[3:13] 6. For You
[3:46] 7. Don't Blame Me
[3:03] 8. Lady Bird
[3:13] 9. Titoros (Alternate Take)
[3:19] 10. They Can't Take That Away From Me (Alternate Take)
[2:48] 11. Round About Midnight (Alternate Take)
[2:30] 12. Azure-Té
[3:07] 13. Flying Home
[2:55] 14. Nickels
[3:57] 15. Yesterdays (Alternate Take)
[2:59] 16. The Man I Love
[2:35] 17. Twilight
[2:32] 18. Just One Of Those Things
[3:42] 19. Why
[3:43] 20. Yesterdays
[2:45] 21. The Man I Love (Alternate Take)
[2:47] 22. Just One Of Those Things (Alternate Take)

Bass – Ken Napper (tracks: 1 to 11), Lennie Bush (tracks: 12 to 22); Bongos – Tony Scott; Drums – Allan Ganley (tracks: 1 to 11), Tony Kinsey (tracks: 12 to 22); Piano – Mary Lou Williams. Recorded in London in 1953 and 1954.

This 22-track reissue compiles the great pianist's two Vogue albums cut in 1953 and 1954, and includes the alternate takes from each. All of this music has been available before, but it is noteworthy that this set marks the first time these recordings have appeared together with their original sequencing.

While touring Europe in the early '50s, Mary Lou Williams made two separate recording trips to London. Each time she was paired with a different rhythm section. The common player on both dates was Tony Scott, who played bongos, thus appending both trios. The songs include standards, Latin tunes, and a few originals. For the most part, these sides were designed to offer a well-rounded portrait of an established American artist to record buyers on the other side of the pond. They accomplish that and more.

On the 1953 session she is accompanied by bassist Ken Napper and drummer Allan Ganley, as well as Scott. The highlights of the program include the hard-grooving swing-to-bop read of "Perdido" and two quite different takes of "Titoros" -- both of the latter make good use of Scott's bongos, which is not always the case here. Williams' "Kool Bongo" underscores these. The alternate take of "They Can’t Take That Away from Me" is done as a cha-cha but the original standard version is stronger. Williams' canny meld of harmony, rhythm, and the use of empty space on Monk's "'Round Midnight" offers elegance without drawing from the wonderful strangeness of its melody. The second date features a considerably lesser known -- but no less intuitive -- rhythm section comprised of lesser-known drummer Tony Kinsey and bassist Lennie Bush. It commences with a sprightly version of "Azure Te," which makes fine jazz use of the bongos, followed by a bluesed-out read of Lionel Hampton's and Benny Goodman's "Flying Home." This entire session feels far more relaxed. Williams' "Nickles" is a fingerpopping number that dances between bebop and swing. Her classy cha-cha tune "Twilight" offers interesting chord embellishments before it transforms into a blues. The alternate takes of standards "Yesterdays" and "The Man I Love" are in different keys than the ones originally issued, and it's arguable as to which are superior. A true highlight from the latter session is the reading of Cole Porter's "Just One of Those Things." The rhythm section plays it at double time while Williams complements and counters their collective energy adding grace, verve, and humor to every line. While this package is obviously designed for collectors who have everything else, it also serves as a fine introduction to Williams' iconic pianism. ~Thom Jurek

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Robert Palmer - Don't Explain

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:50
Size: 146.1 MB
Styles: Blue eyed soul, Adult Contemporary
Year: 1990
Art: Front

[1:16] 1. Your Mother Should Have Told You
[4:25] 2. Light Years
[4:03] 3. You Can't Get Enough Of A Good Thing
[4:23] 4. Dreams To Remember
[3:48] 5. You're Amazing
[4:50] 6. Mess Around
[2:50] 7. Happiness
[4:31] 8. History
[3:25] 9. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight (Feat. Ub40)
[3:11] 10. Housework
[5:56] 11. Mercy Mercy Me I Want You (Medley)
[2:26] 12. Don't Explain
[2:59] 13. Aeroplane
[2:19] 14. People Will Say We're In Love
[4:18] 15. Not A Word
[2:40] 16. Top Forty
[2:24] 17. You're So Desirable
[3:56] 18. You're My Thrill

Don't Explain isn't the smashing success of palmer mid-'80s music, either his own Riptide album or his work with members of Duran Duran in the group Power Station. Still, the record did enjoy some commercial success thanks to a Top 20 medley of Marvin Gaye's Mercy Mercy Me / I Want You, songs he was initially intimidated to perform. Though the Gaye medley has been the album's sole hit, Palmer said he hasn't given up on Don't Explain.

"You make these albums and keep your fingers crossed that some one song is going to bring the record to the public's attention," Palmer says. "You're making something that's designed to communicate. If it sells, ther's some indication that you are. If it doesn't, then you do feel a bit like you've failed." ~Gary Graff

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Jon Faddis, Barcelona Jazz Orquestra - Dizzy's Business

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:00
Size: 109.9 MB
Styles: Big band, Trumpet jazz
Year: 2014
Art: Front

[5:31] 1. Groovin' High
[5:50] 2. Birks Works
[3:07] 3. Groovin' For Nat
[5:33] 4. I Remember Clifford
[4:29] 5. Tin Tin Deo
[4:24] 6. Whisper Not
[3:08] 7. If You Could See Me Now
[4:01] 8. Jordu
[8:53] 9. A Night In Tunisia
[3:01] 10. If You Could See Me Now

Jon Faddis (born July 24, 1953) is an American jazz trumpet player, conductor, composer, and educator, renowned for both his playing and for his expertise in the field of music education. Upon his first appearance on the scene, he became known for his ability to closely mirror the sound of trumpet icon Dizzy Gillespie, who was his mentor along with Stan Kenton trumpeter Bill Catalano.

Jon Faddis was born in Oakland, California, in 1953. At 18, he joined Lionel Hampton‘s big band before joining the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra as lead trumpet. After playing with Charles Mingus in his early twenties, Faddis became a noted studio musician in New York City, appearing on many pop recordings in the late 1970s and early 1980s. One such recording was “Disco Inferno” with the Players Association in which he plays trumpet recorded in 1977 on the LP “Born to Dance”. In the mid-1980s, he left the studios to continue to pursue his solo career, which resulted in albums such as Legacy, Into The Faddisphere and Hornucopia. As a result of his growth as a musician and individual artist, he became the director and main trumpet soloist of the Dizzy Gillespie 70th Birthday Big Band and Dizzy’s United Nation Orchestra; from 1992 to 2002, Faddis led the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band (CHJB) at Carnegie Hall, conducting more than 40 concerts in ten years, during which time the CHJB presented over 135 musicians, featured over 70 guest artists, and premiered works by over 35 composers and arrangers at Carnegie Hall. Faddis also led the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars and the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars Big Band from their inception through 2004, when he was appointed artistic director of the Chicago Jazz Ensemble (CJE), based at Columbia College Chicago in Illinois.

For over a decade, Jon Faddis has taught – and continues to teach – at The Conservatory of Music at Purchase College-SUNY, in Westchester, New York, where he teaches trumpet, classes, and an ensemble. Remaining true to the tradition of honoring mentors, he also leads master classes, clinics and workshops around the world; he often will bring promising students along to his gigs and allow the students to sit in, and also has produced a number of CDs for up-and-coming musicians.

Dizzy's Business mc
Dizzy's Business zippy

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Tish Oney - Dear Peg

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:22
Size: 119.9 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2008
Art: Front

[3:24] 1. It's A Good Day
[3:23] 2. It Must Be So
[3:59] 3. He's A Tramp
[4:02] 4. Where Can I Go Without You
[3:19] 5. I Don't Know Enough About You
[2:32] 6. There'll Be Another Spring
[2:10] 7. I'm Gonna Go Fishin'
[5:16] 8. Burn It Slow
[4:53] 9. Over The Wheel
[2:43] 10. Circle In The Sky
[3:49] 11. Happy With The Blues
[3:13] 12. Boomerang
[5:20] 13. The Shining Sea
[4:14] 14. I Love Being Here With You

This is Miss Oney's second album, a tribute to the songwriting talents of the late Peggy Lee. Miss Oney's arrangements and vocal interpretations of Miss Lee's songs are tremendous; she has given a fine tribute indeed. The tempos and themes of the songs are varied, offering a multi-leveled album that is wonderful to listen to. The only downside to this album is the fact that Miss Oney's own songwriting talents, which are considerable, are not showcased. Her upcoming third album promises to include a plentitude of original songs, which is good news indeed for the jazz scene! ~Carolina Geo

Dear Peg mc
Dear Peg zippy

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John McLaughlin and Shakti - A Handful Of Beauty

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:57
Size: 109.8 MB
Styles: Fusion
Year: 1977/2001
Art: Front

[ 4:50] 1. La Danse Du Bonheur
[ 7:29] 2. Lady L
[12:38] 3. India
[ 3:00] 4. Kriti
[15:13] 5. Isis
[ 4:44] 6. Two Sisters

John McLaughlin- guitar; L. Shankar- violin; Zakir Hussain- table; T.H. Vinayakram- Ghatam.

John McLaughlin should have given this album a different name. Jazz-rock fans of the day (early 1977) did not want to be seen purchasing an album with such a title. It didn't help any to have a picture of John McLaughlin on the cover dressed and smiling as if he were a guru himself. Let’s face facts, even at this time: McLaughlin’s fans came from a rock background. In hindsight the Indo-jazz-fusion Shakti recordings are considered highlights in McLaughlin’s career, but they did cost him most of his early fan base.

In stark contrast to its album cover indicating joy and peace and all the related elements that were stretched beyond endurance in the 1970's, Handful of Beauty was in reality a dark and somber creation. Despite the opening cut, a free-spirited and wildly fun "La Danse Du Bonheur", this album features mostly dense compositions that provoke deep re-appraisals of one's own life. The musical highlight is "India". The tune seems to investigate the underside of the Eastern World and finds McLaughlin ominously bending and twisting notes while Shankar's violin dwells in the lower registers.

Of the three original Shakti albums, Handful of Beauty features the best playing from McLaughlin. Somber does not mean boring. The two master Indian percussionists Zakir Hussain and T. S. Vinayakaram provide the rhythm and much of the dynamic. The incomparable L. Shankar helps provide the mood. (It is too bad he and McLaughlin no longer seem to be friends in real life.) As was later to be the case on the group's Natural Elements, one of the highlights of the two Shakti studio recorded efforts is the high quality of sound engineering. This album should be played relatively loud, late at night, lights-off, while you sip from a cup of tea. Best to be in a reflective mood.

Listening to the tour that supported this recording was a different matter entirely. The same tunes that had led to introspection suddenly led to emotional release. The band was hot and an absolute joy to see, both visually and sonically. ~Walter Kolosky

A Handful Of Beauty mc
A Handful Of Beauty zippy

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