Ahmad Jamal - Happy Moods

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:51
Size: 84.4 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 1960/2008
Art: Front

[5:13] 1. Little Old Lady
[2:45] 2. For All We Know
[5:45] 3. Pavanne
[3:01] 4. Excerpts From The Blues
[3:18] 5. Easy To Love
[1:34] 6. Time On My Hands
[4:41] 7. Raincheck
[3:00] 8. I'll Never Stop Loving You
[4:53] 9. Speak Low
[2:37] 10. Rhumba No. 2

The immortal 1958 Pershing and Spotlite performances marked the turning point in Ahmad Jamal's career. By 1960, when Happy Moods was recorded, the trio of Jamal (born Fritz Russell Jones on July 2, 1930 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he is 83 at this writing), Israel Crosby and Vernel Fournier (July 30, 1928-November 4, 2000) was a true sensation and had taped various successful albums. Recorded almost two years after his most popular trio album, At the Pershing, Happy Moods is a program of mostly standards, a flirtation with a classical piano piece and two Jamal originals. According to All Music Guide critic Dave Nathan, ''Playing with his patented sneaky left-hand voicings and his jingling right hand, interspersed with block chords all within a lean framework, the performances offered by this album are representative of Jamal's work of the period. He takes a piece of fluff like Little Old Lady and transforms it into a fugue replete with the counterpoint that personifies this classical form. An up-tempo 'Easy to Love', highlighting Fournier's brushes, is tastefully garnished with runs and chords borrowed from fellow Pittsburgher Erroll Garner. Billy Strayhorn's 'Raincheck' features heady arpeggios as well as quotes from 'I'm Beginning to See the Light'.'' The formation would see a change after making live recordings at the Alhambra club in mid-June 1961, for Israel Crosby left the trio to join the George Shearing quartet. A posterior reunion of the classic trio would be tragically impeded by Crosby's untimely death of a heart attack at the age of 43 on August 11, 1962 (he was born in Chicago on January 19, 1919). The new trio, formed in 1963, would include Jamil Nasser on bass and Chuck Lampkin on drums.

Happy Moods mc
Happy Moods zippy

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Nancy Wright - Moanin'

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:26
Size: 138.4 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 2009
Art: Front

[6:19] 1. Jo-Jo
[5:11] 2. Rutabagas
[5:28] 3. Moanin'
[7:13] 4. Lady L
[5:51] 5. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
[5:16] 6. Happy Sergio
[7:56] 7. When Sunny Gets Blue
[3:01] 8. Minority
[8:15] 9. Bugalu
[5:53] 10. Bernie's Blues

Nancy Wright is an Ohio-bred, San Francisco-based musician whose hearty tenor saxophone has graced many discs of Bay Area artists. She has also performed and recorded with blues giants Stevie Ray Vaughan, B.B. King, and Albert Collins. For her debut disc, MOANIN,’ Ms. Wright tips her hat to the blues- and R&B-charged jazz organ combo sound, backed by guitar, organ (Tony Monaco), and drums. She naturally accents the blues side of her musical personality and adds spice to the mix with some nifty New Orleans overtones. ~Mark Keresman

Moanin' mc
Moanin' zippy

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Sam Cooke - Mr. Soul

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:51
Size: 82.1 MB
Styles: Soul, Jazz
Year: 1963/2012
Art: Front

[2:24] 1. I Wish You Love
[2:26] 2. Willow Weep For Me
[2:51] 3. Chains Of Love
[3:25] 4. Smoke Rings
[3:29] 5. All The Way
[2:38] 6. Send Me Some Lovin'
[2:47] 7. Cry Me A River
[3:17] 8. Driftin' Blues
[3:15] 9. For Sentimental Reasons
[2:37] 10. Nothing Can Change This Love
[2:35] 11. Little Girl
[4:02] 12. These Foolish Things

Sam Cooke released two albums in 1963, and the second, Night Beat, is often cited as the best of all his long-players. But the first, Mr. Soul, shouldn't be ignored, despite some flaws in its conception and execution. At the time, the powers-that-were at RCA Victor didn't know which audience to aim for with Cooke's albums. LPs were seldom huge sellers among teenage listeners, so the notion of trying to connect to an adult audience -- à la Nat King Cole -- probably seemed logical, and Mr. Soul suffered somewhat from this uncertainty of purpose and audience; it is a soul album, to be sure, but by the standards of the time a somewhat tentative one in many spots. Unlike Night Beat, which was an exercise in production restraint, Mr. Soul is over-produced and relies too much on strings where they aren't needed and choruses that are overdone, even when they work. But Cooke rises above all of it, and turns even some of the more questionably arranged songs, such as "Send Me Some Lovin'," into mini-masterpieces. A couple of tracks off of this album, "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons" and "Nothing Can Change This Love," were part of Cooke's live repertoire at the time and have, indeed, found a separate life on various compilations, but the rest was unavailable for over 45 years, until Sony/BMG re-released most of Cooke's RCA library. The best of that rest -- which is most of it -- shows him still rising to the peak of his powers, his voice wrapping itself around lyrics and melodies that might seem too familiar ("Cry Me a River," etc.) and bland, and making them much more significant and powerful than they seemingly have a right to be. The strings are overworked at times, but where they are held back, as on "Little Girl," their presence only adds to the impact of the track -- and elsewhere, Cooke quietly overpowers them. Modern listeners should bear in mind that, as a soul album, this is a fairly laid-back record -- those expecting anything like the exuberance of Otis Redding, or Clyde McPhatter or Ben E. King, may be disappointed at first; Cooke does work up a sweat on various parts and phrases, but a lot of what is here, by virtue of the label's wishes for a crossover record, is what might be terms "cool" soul -- smooth and sometimes bluesy, in a low-key way, quietly emotive on numbers such as "These Foolish Things," with the hot moments in special abundance on numbers like "Chains of Love" and "Send Me Some Lovin'." But even in these cool, restrained settings, Cooke's was still one of the finest voices of his century, and worth taking in for every breath and nuance. ~Bruce Eder

Mr. Soul mc
Mr. Soul zippy

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Thomas Quasthoff - Tell It Like It Is

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:44
Size: 129.9 MB
Styles: Soul-Jazz vocals
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[4:38] 1. I Can't Stand The Rain
[4:16] 2. Lost Mind
[4:25] 3. Have A Little Faith In Me
[3:13] 4. Have A Talk With God
[3:01] 5. The Seventh Son
[3:49] 6. Short People
[4:15] 7. Please Send Me Someone To Love
[4:46] 8. Kissing My Love
[4:43] 9. Ain't No Sunshine
[3:55] 10. Rainy Night In Georgia
[3:25] 11. The Whistleman
[4:16] 12. Rider In The Rain
[3:34] 13. Tell It Like It Is
[4:23] 14. Georgia On My Mind

Deutsche Grammophon's best-selling release of bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff's 'The Voice' astonished music lovers with tuneful proof of Quasthoff's ability to sing jazz as superbly as they knew him to sing classical music. With Tell It Like It Is, Thomas Quasthoff floors the music world again with this recording of American Soul with a jazz feeling. This world-class interpreter of Lieder brings the words to life with an immediacy that connects to the listener. Thomas Quasthoff digs into his music with a super quartet: Frank Chastenier, keyboards, Wolfgang Haffner, drums, Dieter Ilg, bass, and Bruno M ller, guitar. Tracks on this album, produced by the legendary Jay Newland, range from Bill Withers's 'Kissing My Love' to ballads such as 'Please Send Me Someone to Love' and 'Tell It Like It Is'.

Tell It Like It Is mc
Tell It Like It Is zippy

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Warne Marsh - Back Home

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:23
Size: 149.7 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 1986/2000
Art: Front

[5:11] 1. Leave Me
[5:37] 2. See Me Now, If You Could
[5:04] 3. Two Not One
[4:53] 4. Big Leaps For Lester
[7:59] 5. Back Home
[5:27] 6. Heads Up
[8:07] 7. Good Bait
[4:27] 8. Rhythmically Speaking
[7:22] 9. Joy Spring
[4:42] 10. Big Leaps For Lester (Alt. Take)
[6:30] 11. Good Bait (Alt. Take)

Warne Marsh, Jimmy Halperin – tenor saxophone; Barry Harris – piano; David Williams – bass; Albert Heath – drums.

Recorded and originally released on vinyl in 1986 (a year and a half prior to Marsh's death), Back Home was reissued on CD by Criss Cross in 2001, with three alternate takes and a previously unheard version of Clifford Brown's "Joy Spring." Together with pianist Barry Harris, bassist David Williams, and drummer Albert "Tootie" Heath, the tenor master and Tristano disciple works through a set of tunes that, in true Tristano fashion, are built entirely upon the harmonic foundations of popular standards. The sole exceptions are "Joy Spring" and Tadd Dameron's "Good Bait." Mark Gardner's liner notes wrongly identify "I Got Rhythm" as the source for "Rhythmically Speaking"; the latter is actually derived, oddly enough, from "Little Willie Leaps." On four tracks Marsh is joined by fellow tenorist and Tristano student Jimmy Halperin, age 27 at the time of the recording -- over 30 years Marsh's junior. The two-tenor pairing recalls Marsh's '50s collaborations with Ted Brown. Marsh's peculiar linear logic and behind-the-beat phrasing are the aural equivalent of well-aged scotch, and his rapport with Barry Harris represents a felicitous union of straight bebop and one of its most enigmatic tributaries, the Tristano school. ~David R. Adler

Back Home mc
Back Home zippy

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Les McCann - Pump It Up

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:21
Size: 129,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:51)  1. Pump it Up
(5:16)  2. Buckshot & Lefonque
(4:45)  3. Let it Ride (the Train)
(6:39)  4. I Can't Stand It
(5:51)  5. So What
(4:57)  6. You Just Can't Smile It Away
(6:20)  7. Tryin' to Make It Real
(6:10)  8. The Truth
(5:23)  9. Daylight
(5:07) 10. Funk It (Let the Music Play)
(0:56) 11. I Can't Stand It - Reprise

The venerable jazz pianist and vocalist Les McCann finds himself a master of funk on Pump It Up. With a “tight as a fist” rhythm section of bass, drums, guitar and Hammond B-3 organ, McCann’s band has a groove funkier than the law allows. Crisp drumming with hammering backbeats, plus chunky bass and organ figures underscore McCann’s vocals that at times more closely resemble a rap recitation than singing. Honking saxophone solos and harmonious background vocals that comment on McCann’s vocal lines in the great Rhythm and Blues tradition complete the package. The performances on the recording include guest appearances by jazz diva Dianne Reeves on the Bill Withers ballad “You Just Can’t Smile it Away,” and veteran keyboard player and vocalist Billy Preston on “Tryin’ to Make it Real” as well as the strongly gospel inspired “The Truth.” Blues singer Bonnie Raitt also makes an appearance on “The Truth,” adding her personal style of delivering “the word.” All in all, Les McCann’s Pump It Up is a delightfully grooving piece of work. It offers high-level musicianship and some incredibly tight playing that could serve as a clinic in how to play in a great funky R&B band. This CD is recommended for Les McCann fans and those whose musical interests expand to include the world of funky Rhythm and Blues. ~ Craig H.Hurst https://www.allaboutjazz.com/pump-it-up-les-mccann-review-by-craig-w-hurst.php
 

Personnel: Les McCann, vocals; Ricky Peterson, Hammon B-3 organ; John Robinson, drums; Paul Jackson Jr., rhythm guitar; Abraham Laboriel, bass; Marcus Miller, bass; Maceo Parker, saxophone; Billy Preston, keyboards; Bill Evans, saxophone; Bonnie Raitt, vocals; Dianne Reeves, vocals; Paulinho da Costa, Latin percussion; Keith Anderson, saxophone; Tom Saviano, saxophone; Bill Churchville, trumpet; Tony Maiden, guitar; Maxaynh Lewis, Margaret Fowler Alan Abrahams, and Jim Gilstrap, background vocals.

Pump It Up

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Sally Oldfield - Femme

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1987
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:20
Size: 83,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:47)  1. Silver Dagger
(3:54)  2. This Is My Song
(3:17)  3. Marlene [Album Version]
(4:22)  4. Strangers In The Dawn
(4:39)  5. I'm Leaving [Album Version]
(3:50)  6. Andromeda Rising
(4:01)  7. Sometimes I'm A Woman
(3:45)  8. Two Different Drummers
(4:42)  9. Giving All My Love

The sister of both Terry and Michael "Tubular Bells" Oldfield, Sally Oldfield got her musical career started by appearing on several of Michael's projects in the '70s. This led to Sally securing her own solo record deal, resulting in such releases as 1978's Water Bearer, and the 1980 U.K. hit single "Mirrors." Sally also appeared on the holiday album Star of Heaven album with her brother Terry showcasing her vocal talents on a 23-minute-long version of "Ave Maria" and a soul stirring reading of "Silent Night." She's issued solo albums throughout the '80s and '90s her first release of the new millennium was the double-disc anthology Mirrors in 2001. ~ Greg Pato https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sally-oldfield-mn0000293715/biography

Femme

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Paul Bollenback - Brightness of Being

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:16
Size: 156,7 MB
Art: Front

(6:42)  1. Together
(9:00)  2. Unchain My Heart
(6:57)  3. Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing
(6:01)  4. Breathe
(4:50)  5. You Don't Know Me
(5:48)  6. A.M. Special
(6:41)  7. El Desierto
(3:12)  8. Dark Eyes of Floria Tosca, Pt. 1
(5:32)  9. Dark Eyes of Floria Tosca, Pt. 2
(2:11) 10. Dark Eyes of Floria Tosca, Pt. 3
(3:38) 11. Philadelphia
(7:38) 12. Siberian Passages

Good music is where you find it, and breadth of stylistic interest needn't dilute a distinguishable voice. Like Bill Frisell's East/West (Nonesuch, 2005), guitarist Paul Bollenback's Brightness of Being brings these points home most effectively. While Bollenback and Vic Juris are two very different players (Bollenbeck is also younger), both remain sadly underappreciated, despite their ability to elevate every project into something special. Looking at Bollenback's substantial catalogue of recorded work, one can find the same pattern emerging which is really a distinct lack of pattern. While unequivocally mainstream, Brightness of Being is no retro relic. There's nary a standard to be found, although Bollenback places some contemporary songs into straight-ahead but fluidly open contexts. Saxophonist David "Fathead Newman appears on two tributes to the late Ray Charles: "Unchain My Heart, which has a '60s Blue Note soul-jazz vibe; and "You Don't Know Me, which Bollenback relocates from country juke joint to late night smoky bar. But Bollenback interprets even familiar material with an open-minded and unencumbered approach. He constructs his solos every bit as well as Pat Metheny does, but they somehow feel looser. He thinks fast on his feet, effortlessly shifting from clean lines to complex chordal passages, yet always relying on a clear conception and strong narrative development.

Bollenback reinvents Stevie Wonder's "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing, which also features saxophonists Gary Thomas and Tim Garland. Opening almost unrecognizably, the three players enter a heated exchange, ultimately finding their way to the complex chord changes that bridge the chorus and verse. They respect Wonder's melodicism, but Bollenback proves adept at improvising in ways that might seem reckless if they didn't make so much sense. The song ultimately ends as it began Bollenback, Garland and Thomas in virtual free fall, with bassist James Genus and drummer Terri-Lyne Carrington offering intuitive and responsive support. Bollenback's ability to envision greater possibilities is especially vivid in his adaptation of Garcia de Leon's "El Desierto, which starts as a gentle tone poem but then picks up steam for his solo. Again, he skirts the edges of abandon but never loses focus a characteristic equally applicable to Garland's nimble soprano solo. Bollenback's imaginative three-part adaptation of Puccini's "Dark Eyes of Floria from Tosca moves from freedom to form, temporal elasticity to loose swing, change-based improvisation to more open-ended modality. Bollenback's writing demonstrates similar adaptability. "Together may sound straightforward, but its inherent complexity challenges everyone to find common melodic threads. The gently Latin-inflected "Breathe, where Bollenback plays classical guitar, features Chris McNulty's sultry tone in a Norma Winstone-like wordless vocal. The set closes with "Siberian Passages, another deceptive piece where McNulty again mirrors Bollenback, who manages to make the elaborate flow with ease while retaining a simmering intensity. No one album can tell the whole story on Paul Bollenback. But certainly more than any record he's led to date, Brightness of Being demonstrates an out-of-the-box thinker working freely in a compositionally refined yet wholly accessible mainstream context. ~ John Kelman https://www.allaboutjazz.com/brightness-of-being-paul-bollenback-elefant-dreams-records-review-by-john-kelman.php

Personnel: Paul Bollenback: guitar; David "Fathead" Newman: tenor saxophone; Tim Garland: soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, bass clarinet; Gary Thomas: tenor saxophone; James Genus: bass; Terri-Lyne Carrington: drums; Ari Hoenig: drums; Chris McNulty: vocals.

Brightness of Being

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Joey Defrancesco - The Champ: Dedicated to Jimmy Smith

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 1998
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:36
Size: 116,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:52)  1. The Champ
(3:37)  2. Mack the Knife
(7:23)  3. When Johnnie Comes Marchin' Home
(7:59)  4. Lover Man
(2:56)  5. Organ Grinder's Swing
(6:27)  6. O.G.D. (Road Song)
(5:50)  7. The Preacher
(5:33)  8. Walk on the Wild Side
(4:56)  9. The Cat

In a way, Joey DeFrancesco's entire career has been devoted to Jimmy Smith. Ever since he arrived in the late '80s, DeFrancesco was known for his dexterous assimilation of Smith's tasteful soul-jazz, and he expanded on that basic sound as the '90s progressed. It was likely just a matter of time before he sat down and recorded a full-fledged tribute to the Master of the Jazz Organ which is exactly what he did with Champ: Dedicated to Jimmy Smith. Working with bassist Randy Johnston and drummer Billy Hart, DeFrancesco keeps the spirit of Smith's classic Blue Note sessions alive, and Champ is indeed an expert emulation of that clean yet funky sound so much so that certain listeners may wonder what the point is and why not just listen to Smith's own albums. That's a valid complaint, since DeFrancesco rarely finds a voice of his own on this record, but the album itself is a good listen for that very reason. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-champ-mw0000667045

Personnel: Joey DeFrancesco (Hammond B-3 organ); Randy Johnston (guitar); Billy Hart (drums).

The Champ: Dedicated to Jimmy Smith

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Phil Markowitz Trio - Catalysis

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:05
Size: 131,6 MB
Art: Front

( 4:32)  1. M.D.A.
( 7:18)  2. For the Sake of...
( 5:16)  3. Breach
( 6:20)  4. Whys and Wherefores
( 9:49)  5. Undercurrents
(11:42)  6. Waiting
( 6:25)  7. Catalysis
( 5:41)  8. Fine

Veteran pianist Phil Markowitz has built an impressive resume over the last thirty years, performing with the likes of Chet Baker, Toots Thielemans, Bob Mintzer and David Liebman. On Catalysis, Markowitz leads the way with an outstanding acoustic trio featuring eight of his original compositons. The trio is rounded out by bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Adam Nussbaum. The level of communication between the members of the trio is of the highest order. After the sneaky unison line on the opening "M.D.A.," supported by Nussbaum's brush-stroke bounce, Anderson performs his first of many clever bass solos, morphing into a swinging piano romp rather seamlessly. "For the Sake of..." begins with subdued, free-form ideas, before the lush, rather abstract harmonic sequence floats to the surface without a hint of hesitation. Following the rhythmic intensity of the up-tempo "Breach," Anderson executes a floating, lyrical solo introduction to set up the contrapuntal "Whys and Wherefores" a disc highlight. The five-note bass ostinato at the beginning of "Undercurrents" serves as the catalyst for a multi-layered piece full of unpredictable twists and turns. On the lengthy ballad "Waiting," Markowitz unravels simplistic themes over a stark, emotive landscape. Nussbaum's quiet presence gives the tune inconspicuous coloration. The hard-swinging title track showcases impressive chops and a tight rhythmic bond between drums and bass. The session ends with "Fine," a light, straight-eighth groove with clustered piano voicings. With no shortage of piano trio recordings being released, Catalysis is a stand-out; an inventive, collaborative effort.
 

Personnel: Phil Markowitz: piano; Jay Anderson: bass; Adam Nussbaum: drums.

Catalysis

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