Kenny Dorham - Blues In Bebop

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:47
Size: 166.6 MB
Styles: Bop, Trumpet jazz
Year: 1998
Art: Front

[2:49] 1. The Jitney Man
[2:51] 2. Bebop In Pastel (Take 3)
[2:32] 3. Fool's Fancy
[2:53] 4. Bombay
[2:42] 5. Ray's Idea
[2:31] 6. Serenade To A Square
[2:34] 7. Good Kick
[2:25] 8. Seven Up
[2:39] 9. Blues In Bebop
[2:50] 10. Bebop In Pastel (Take 2)
[2:51] 11. Bebop In Pastel (Take 4)
[2:53] 12. Conglomeration
[2:52] 13. Bruz
[2:38] 14. Roll 'em, Bags
[4:34] 15. Scrapple From The Apple
[3:54] 16. Barbados
[3:14] 17. Be Bop
[6:39] 18. Saucer Eyes
[5:35] 19. Man Of Moods
[6:21] 20. Bringing Up Father
[4:21] 21. Groovin' High

Kenny Dorham was a solid and forward-thinking modernist when he emerged in the mid-to late 1940s. The trumpeter was overshadowed throughout his career by the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan, and Freddie Hubbard, and became the epitome of the word "underrated." Dorham never recorded as a leader for Savoy other than co-leading the Be Bop Boys with altoist Sonny Stitt, so this single CD is just a sampling of his sideman appearances. Definitely not for completists since all but the Bebop Boys date issued here are incomplete, one wonders who the disc is aimed at, particularly since Dorham's most significant work was made a little later on for Blue Note. The trumpeter is heard with the Billy Eckstine Orchestra playing "The Jitney Man"; performing eight numbers (plus two alternate takes) with the Be Bop Boys (a quintet also including altoist Stitt and pianist Bud Powell); on three songs with a band headed by vibraphonist Milt Jackson and including the pioneer jazz French horn player Julius Watkins; on three tunes from a February 12, 1949 broadcast by the Charlie Parker Quintet (and available in much more complete form elsewhere), and on four of the selections from a 1956 album by baritonist Cecil Payne. The bop and hard bop music heard throughout this CD is consistently enjoyable, but the reissue is a bit of a frivolity. The Be Bop Boys date should have been coupled with some other unrelated all-star sessions instead, with the other Dorham sideman dates being reissued in full in more logical sets. ~Scott Yanow

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Emma Harris - Lovelife

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:11
Size: 112.6 MB
Styles: Jazz/blues vocals
Year: 2004
Art: Front

[4:36] 1. My Funny Valentine
[2:55] 2. Perfidia
[5:12] 3. Conscious
[4:16] 4. How Deep Is The Ocean
[3:20] 5. The Rock
[6:31] 6. Desert Kiss
[4:30] 7. Can We Pretend
[2:47] 8. A Sunday Kind Of Love
[5:45] 9. Nell's Song
[4:15] 10. Try A Little Tenderness
[4:59] 11. Dimming Of The Day

I come from a musical family and was brought up on a combination of Reggae and Motown. I started singing at the tender age of five when I went to primary school in North Wales. My headmaster noticed in assembly that I could sing in tune and from there on I was encouraged to do solos in church and school concerts. At seventeen years old I was invited to sing in a reggae band with my Mum (who has a great voice) and Dad on guitar. I had a lot of fun singing harmonies but the band didn't last long.

Six months later the Sax player from the reggae band, David Gunn came round to my house and said "You have a great voice, would you like to sing in a Jazz band?" I said "I would love to but I don't know a thing about Jazz or a single Jazz song. Dave came round every week for months and taught me loads of Standards until one day he announced I was ready to do a gig with the band (whom I had never met, that's Jazz for you) the next week. I turned up, thought I was coming down with flu cause I felt so ill from nerves, walked on stage, head swimming and was introduced to the band.

As the band played the intro I thought "I'm never going to get through this", then I opened my mouth, the song came out with a life of it's own, all my nerves dissapeared and that was the beginning of my very long love affair with Jazz. From then I started a six year stint singing with the Jazz outfit 'Eyebrow Music', singing the songs of greats like Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn and Billie Holiday.

In 1995 Emma moved to the Southwest and went on to explore the Blues spending 3 years gigging with 'Blues Express', a five piece Delta/Chicago style Blues band. Here her warm husky voice was often compared to that of Bonnie Raitt and on a long night, Janis Joplin. It was during this Blues phase that she developed the Bluesy Gospel style that she is well known for now.

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Tito Puente - Carnaval En Harlem (Remastered)

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:02
Size: 84.8 MB
Styles: Latin jazz, Afro-Cuban jazz
Year: 1966/2010
Art: Front

[2:50] 1. Mi Trompeta Tropical
[3:37] 2. Mirame Mas
[2:03] 3. Downtown
[2:19] 4. Pompo
[3:29] 5. Cuando Calienta El Sol
[3:28] 6. Carnaval En Harlem
[3:19] 7. Rumba En El Patio
[1:56] 8. Jumpin' With Symphony Sid
[2:40] 9. Como Esta Miguel
[3:41] 10. Letargo
[3:15] 11. Bluesette
[4:18] 12. Corta El Bonche

Tito Puente was a musical pioneer, mixing musical styles with Latin sounds and experimenting in fusing Latin music with jazz. Born on April 20, 1923, in New York City, Tito Puente, donned the "King of Latin Jazz," was a pioneering force in Latin music, known for fusing styles and putting a big-band spin on traditional Latin music. In 1948, Puente formed a band that would become known as the Tito Puente Orchestra. A decade later, he released his best-selling album, Dance Mania (1958). His most notable songs include "Babarabatiri," "Ran Kan Kan" and "Oye Como Va." By the end of his decades-long career, Puente was deemed a musical legend in Latin music and jazz circles. He died in New York City in 2000, at age 77.

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Vic Juris - Vic Juris Plays Victor Young

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:44
Size: 155.1 MB
Styles: Guitar jazz
Year: 2016
Art: Front

[7:15] 1. Love Letters
[5:45] 2. Street Of Dreams
[6:19] 3. Stella By Starlight
[7:54] 4. Johnny Guitar
[6:02] 5. A Weaver Of Dreams
[6:23] 6. My Foolish Heart
[8:52] 7. When I Fall In Love
[5:04] 8. Golden Earrings
[6:33] 9. Beautiful Love
[7:33] 10. Ghost Of A Chance

VIC JURIS guitar; JAY ANDERSON bass; ANTHONY PINCIOTTI drums; KATE BAKER vocal. Recorded March 2014.

Stella By Starlight, My Foolish Heart, Johnny Guitar, Beautiful Love – just a few of the iconic American Songbook titles by Victor Young, whose music has been an important part of the repertoire of guitarist Vic Juris for many years. Juris dedicates the whole album here to the undisputed giant of the American film music composer of the last century.

“Two outstanding qualities characterize Vic Juris’ playing. One is his embodiment of the jazz tradition, while always stretching his scope and reaching for new possibilities and concepts. The other is his almost uncanny ability to hear and communicate the totality of the music he is playing, from beginning to end, including what is going on around him in the group and his many references to the jazz legacy.” ~Victor L. Schermer

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Jorge Drexler - Eco

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:46
Size: 95.6 MB
Styles: Latin pop-jazz vocals
Year: 2004
Art: Front

[3:20] 1. Eco
[3:42] 2. Deseo
[3:36] 3. Todo Se Transforma
[3:57] 4. Guitarra Y Vos
[4:09] 5. Transporte
[3:53] 6. Milonga Del Moro Judio
[3:55] 7. Polvo De Estrellas
[3:04] 8. Se Va, Se Va, Se Fue
[3:55] 9. Don De Fluir
[3:38] 10. Fusion
[4:32] 11. Salvapantallas

Reissue of Uruguayan singer-songwriter, Jorge Drexler's stunning album ECO. After the success of this album, Drexler was approached by director Walter Salles to write a song for his new film "The Motorcycle Diaries" the song, "Al Otro Lado Del Rio" earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song.

"For many gringos, Uruguayan singer/songwriter Jorge Drexler’s arrival was announced by his quietly strummed performance of "Al Otro Lado Del Rio" during the closing credits of The Motorcycle Diaries. The song wound up winning an Oscar for Best Original Song, but this kind of acclaim is nothing new for talented Drexler: he's already a major pop star in Latin America. Using South American roots styles for subtle flavor, Drexler's music combines a sophisticated blend of modern production, acoustic guitar-based songs and a myriad of different slightly electronic touches. His voice has the same kind of sensual but thoughtful tone we’ve come to expect from Caetano Veloso. While the title track sounds like it could be one Coldplay's sweeping anthems, Drexler gets verbal for the talk/singing "Guitarra Y Vos," which a real highlight. Longtime fans will consider Eco, his seventh album overall, up to his high standards, but this is a real eye opener for those who are just coming to the table." ~Tad Hendrickson

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Polly Bergen - The Party's Over

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 32:30
Size: 74.4 MB
Styles: Easy Listening, Vocal
Year: 1957/2010
Art: Front

[2:53] 1. The Party's Over
[3:25] 2. It Never Entered My Mind
[2:23] 3. Where's The Boy I Saved For A Rainy Day
[2:13] 4. Make The Man Love Me
[2:54] 5. But Not For Me
[2:03] 6. My Melancholy Baby
[2:39] 7. (When Your Heart's On Fire) Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
[2:50] 8. You'll Never Know
[2:54] 9. I'm Thru With Love
[2:13] 10. Ev'rytime We Say Goodbye
[2:44] 11. I Guess I'll Have To Change My Plan
[3:15] 12. You Don't Know What Love Is

Actress/singer Polly Bergen was born July 14, 1930 in Knoxville, TN, making her radio debut at the age of 14 and honing her craft on the summer stock circuit before journeying to Hollywood in 1949. She soon made her feature debut in Across the Rio Grande, quickly followed by roles in no less than three Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis comedies -- At War with the Army, That's My Boy and The Stooge. Increasing dissatisfaction with the roles coming her way prompted Bergen to walk away from a lucrative movie contract in 1953, however, and she soon made her Broadway debut in the revue John Murray Anderson's Almanac; upon recovering from throat surgery, two years later she also recorded her self-titled debut LP for Jubilee, followed later that year by Little Girl Blue. She jumped to Columbia for 1957's Bergen Sings Morgan, and continued recording for the label until the early 1960s; in the meantime she also maintained her stage career, additionally finding success in the business world through a series of ventures including Polly Bergen Cosmetics, Polly Bergen Jewelry and Polly Bergen Shoes. In 1960, she also authored the first of three books, Fashion and Charm. Bergen returned to film in the 1961 noir classic Cape Fear, although in the decades she was perhaps best known for her many television appearances, including a starring role in the 1983 miniseries The Winds of War and its 1988 sequel War and Remembrance. ~ Jason Ankeny

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Scott Hamilton - Ballads For Audiophiles

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:54
Size: 134.8 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 2017
Art: Front

[5:56] 1. Everything Happens To Me
[6:58] 2. All Or Nothing At All
[5:28] 3. The Gypsy
[6:48] 4. Moon River
[7:04] 5. This Is All I Ask
[5:32] 6. Hey There
[5:33] 7. The Shadow Of Your Smile
[6:08] 8. Baby All The Time
[4:11] 9. Se Todos Fossem Iguais A Voçê
[5:11] 10. Goodbye

Scott Hamilton, saxophone; Paolo Birro, piano; Aldo Zunino, bass; Alfred Kramer, drums. Recorded at Hotel Il Castello - Palazzo di Scoto di Semifonte Certaldo Alto (Fi), November 2016. As no editing has been made, all the tracks on this record are heard as they were performed.

Timeless Favorites! Pure ballad albums are not a rarity in jazz, but they are always a daring undertaking. So that such a record does not get boring, kitschy or banal, it needs already a skillful song selection, elaborate arrangements and above all first-class musicians.

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