Sonny Clark - Standards

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:02
Size: 142.0 MB
Styles: Bop, Piano jazz
Year: 1959/1998
Art: Front

[5:57] 1. Blues In The Night (Short Version)
[4:15] 2. Can't We Be Friends
[4:13] 3. Somebody Loves Me
[3:56] 4. All Of You
[3:32] 5. Dancing In The Dark
[4:41] 6. I Cover The Waterfront
[7:11] 7. Blues In The Night (Alternate Take)
[4:01] 8. Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You
[4:44] 9. Ain't No Use
[3:48] 10. I Can't Give You Anything But Love
[3:23] 11. Black Velvet
[4:28] 12. I'm Just A Lucky So And So
[3:55] 13. The Breeze And I
[3:48] 14. Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You (Alternate Take)

The sessions that comprise the 14-track Standards were recorded by Sonny Clark at the end of 1958, with the intention that his interpretations would be issued as 45-rpm singles. His takes on these 12 standards (two of the tracks are alternate takes) are exceptional. Supported by drummer Wes Landers and, on varying dates, either Paul Chambers or Jymie Merritt on bass, Clark turns in lyrical, sensitive renditions of "Dancing In the Dark," "All of You," "I Cover the Waterfront," "I Can't Give You Anything But Love," "Black Velvet" and "I'm Just a Lucky So And So," among others. Although some of the performances are a little brief, limiting his opportunity to solo, Standards is a lovely collection of beautiful music that's a welcome addition to Clark's catalog. ~Stephen Thomas Erlewine

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Scott Warner - Mindfield

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:13
Size: 117.2 MB
Styles: Bebop, Jazz piano
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[3:52] 1. Mindfield
[5:21] 2. Won't Someone Listen
[3:12] 3. After The Deluge
[6:49] 4. Sojourn
[6:40] 5. Love For Sale
[5:51] 6. In Memoriam
[5:54] 7. Lydia's Song
[5:20] 8. How 'bout Now
[3:21] 9. Evan's Essence
[4:48] 10. A Peaceful Life

This album was recorded in Detroit a few years back and features my friends: Jimmy Greene, tenor sax (Horace Silver, Harry Connick, Jr. Big Band), Rodney Whittaker, bass (Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Big Band), Gerald Cleaver, drums (Bob James, Roscoe Mitchell). Rodney and Gerald lived within blocks of each other in Detroit, and grew up playing jazz together. Its a dream rhythm section. I first played with Rodney when he was 16. We had to pick him up and drove him to the gig. As the long-time bassist for Wynton and the Lincoln Center Band he has become known for his fat swing groove. But he is an unsung lyrical player....listen to the bass solo on "Sojourn" to hear him sing. Hope you enoy!

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Betty Blake - Betty Blake Sings In A Tender Mood

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 31:26
Size: 72.0 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 1961/2014
Art: Front

[1:57] 1. Let There Be Love
[2:14] 2. I'll Be Around
[1:58] 3. Moon And Sand
[2:27] 4. Trouble Is A Man
[2:17] 5. Love Is Just Around The Corner
[5:12] 6. Lilac Wine
[2:32] 7. It's So Peaceful In The Country
[2:32] 8. While We're Young
[2:23] 9. Blue Fool
[2:43] 10. All Of You
[2:32] 11. Don't Say Love Has Ended
[2:34] 12. Out Of This World

Vocalist Betty Blake made one fine recording for Bethlehem in 1960, Betty Blake Sings in a Tender Mood. On the strength of it, she deserved more opportunities and exposure. ~Ron Wynn

If you haven’t figured it out by now, here it is spelled out for you: any release of an obscure vocalist on the Fresh Sound label from Spain is going to impress you, and make you wonder why you’ve never heard of him or her before. Here’s another case in point-Betty Blake. She sang in the 50s for Buddy Morrow’s orchestra, and then after a ’57 session with vibist Teddy Charles, was invited to do an album for Bethlehem Records. After that, she simply disappeared as if abducted by aliens. Maybe they liked jazz on Mars or something, as this album of her 1961 session, as well as her handful of tunes with Charles, are delightful.

Her voice is a kind of husky mix of Chris Connor and June Christy: cool and swinging but with a dash of molasses. She is in the company of some of the classiest guys around, with Mal Waldron/p, Kenny Burrell/g, Ed Shaughnessy/dr, Zoot Sims/ts, Charles/vib, Marcus Belgrave/tp and Charlie Persip/dr just a sample of the rotating team. Even better, she wisely keeps the standards under wraps, and does some wonderful things with obscurities like “Moon and Sand,” “Lilac Wine” and “Blue Fool.” Her reading of “All of You” is rich and inviting, while “I’ll Be Around” has her in warmth and assurance. In a larger setting of an orchestra lead by Jack Zimmerman, she gets a bit Chet Bakery on “But Not For Me.” Who talked her out of more sessions? This one’s a keeper! ~GWJazz

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Mike Longo - 900 Shares Of The Blues

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:54
Size: 86.8 MB
Styles: Jazz/Funk/Soul
Year: 1974/2006
Art: Front

[5:00] 1. 900 Shares Of The Blues
[5:35] 2. Like A Thief In The Night
[6:04] 3. Ocean Of His Might
[5:30] 4. Magic Number
[7:28] 5. Summers Gone
[8:14] 6. El Moodo Grande

Drums – Mickey Roker; Electric Bass, Acoustic Bass – Ron Carter; Flute [Soprano, Tenor] – Joe Farrell; Guitar – George Davis (2); Percussion – Ralph MacDonald; Piano, Electric Piano – Michael Longo; Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Randy Brecker.

Mike Longo is best-known as a reliable and versatile player who was the pianist with Dizzy Gillespie during 1966-1973. He started taking piano lessons when he was three, played professionally when he was 15, and while in high school in Ft. Lauderdale, he had the opportunity to play with Cannonball Adderley. In 1960, Longo worked at the Metropole in New York with Red Allen and Coleman Hawkins, spent 1961 living in Toronto (where he studied with Oscar Peterson), and then returned to New York, where he accompanied some singers. Mike Longo recorded with Gillespie during his period with the great trumpeter and led a few of his own sessions for Mainstream, Pablo (1976), and Consolidated Artists (1981). His career slowed down after that, with his next major release being Explosion in 2000. ~bio by Scott Yanow

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Don Byas - Round About Midnight

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:07
Size: 103.3 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 1962/2011
Art: Front

[4:30] 1. Laura
[2:20] 2. Portrait Of Jennie
[3:45] 3. The Way You Look Tonight
[3:03] 4. Misty
[4:15] 5. I Remember Clifford
[4:10] 6. Autumn In New York
[4:22] 7. Round About Midnight
[2:59] 8. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
[4:46] 9. My Funny Valentine
[3:40] 10. April In Paris
[3:39] 11. Moonlight In Vermount
[3:32] 12. Don't Blame Me

Don Byas (tenor saxophonist) was born October 21, 1912 in Muskogee, Oklahoma and passed away on August 24, 1972 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Both of Byas’ parents were musicians. His mother played the piano, and his father, the clarinet. Byas started his training in classical music, learning to play violin, clarinet and alto saxophone, which he played until the end of the 1920s. Benny Carter, who played many instruments, was his idol at this time. He started playing in local orchestras at the age of 17, with Bennie Moten,Terrence Holder and Walter Page. He founded and led his own college band, “Don Carlos and His Collegiate Ramblers”, during 1931-32, at Langston College, Oklahoma.

Byas switched to the tenor saxophone after he moved to the West Coast and played with several Los Angeles bands. In 1933, he took part in a West coast tour of Bert Johnson’s Sharps and Flats. He worked in Lionel Hampton’s band at the Paradise Club in 1935 along with the reed player and arranger Eddie Barefield and trombonist Tyree Glenn. He also played with Eddie Barefield, Buck Clayton, Lorenzo Flennoy and Charlie Echols.

In 1937, Byas moved to New York to work with the Eddie Mallory band, accompanying Mallory’s wife, the singer Ethel Waters, on tour, and at theCotton Club. He had a brief stint with arranger Don Redman’s band in 1938 and later in 1939-1940. He recorded his first solo record in May 1939: “Is This to Be My Souvenir” with Timme Rosenkrantz and his Barrelhouse Barons for Victor. He played with the bands of such leaders as Lucky Millinder, Andy Kirk, Edgar Hayes and Benny Carter. He spent about a year in Andy Kirk’s band, recording with him between March 1939 and January 1940, including a short solo on “You Set Me on Fire”. In September 1940, he had an eight bar solo on “Practice Makes Perfect”, recorded by Billie Holiday. He participated in sessions with the pianist Pete Johnson, trumpeter Hot Lips Page, and singer Big Joe Turner. In 1941 at Minton’s Playhouse he played with Charlie Christian, Thelonious Monk and Kenny Clarke in after hours sessions.

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Various - The J.J. Johnson Memorial Album

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 77:02
Size: 176.3 MB
Styles: Bop, Trombone jazz
Year: 2003
Art: Front

[3:02] 1. Coleman Hawkins - I Mean You
[3:06] 2. J.J. Johnson - Elysee
[3:43] 3. J.J. Johnson's Boppers - Blue Mode (Take 1)
[4:57] 4. J.J. Johnson - Chazzanova
[8:14] 5. Miles Davis Sextet - Blue 'n' Boogie
[3:10] 6. J.J. Johnson - Bags' Groove
[4:32] 7. Coleman Hawkins - Laura
[4:10] 8. Benny Golson Sextet - Hymn To The Orient
[7:05] 9. J.J. Johnson - Horace
[6:39] 10. J.J. Johnson - Pinnacles
[7:13] 11. Count Basie - Jaylock
[7:56] 12. J.J. Johnson - Concepts In Blue
[3:13] 13. J.J. Johnson - Misty
[3:01] 14. J.J. Johnson - What's New
[2:29] 15. J.J. Johnson - Nature Boy
[4:23] 16. J.J. Johnson - Soft Winds

When J.J. Johnson passed away in 2001, he left a legacy as simply the greatest technically gifted and most admired jazz trombonist in history without much valid argument to the contrary. This compilation features some very good tracks with Johnson as a sideman in or leader from the late '40s up to 1957, as a full-blown frontman in the '70s and '80s, and in small duos or trios up to 1983. Discographical sleuths will note this is not an all-time greatest-"hits" package, due to the absence of his great Savoy, Blue Note, Bethlehem, RCA Bluebird, Columbia, Impulse or 1990s Verve label efforts. These tracks are collected from the family of Prestige, Riverside, Milestone, and Pablo recordings, and while all selections here are quite good, they are not his definitive works. Still, everything here is well rendered, and a few pieces are indeed definitive. The pre-1957 tracks include the Coleman Hawkins deeply rich, horn-saturated septet from 1946 tackling Thelonious Monk's "I Mean You" with Johnson, Fats Navarro, Hank Jones, Max Roach, and the completely obscure alto saxophonist Porter Kilbert. Johnson is teamed with Sonny Rollins and Kenny Dorham in the swirling lines of "Elysee," and Sonny Stitt in the slow "Blue Note" both featuring John Lewis. The Charles Mingus film noir style obscurity "Chazzanova," with four trombonists, the true bop classic "Blue 'n' Boogie" with Miles Davis, Lucky Thompson, and Horace Silver, Johnson, and Kai Winding's take of "Bags Groove," and Benny Golson's unusual harmonics during "Hymn to the Orient" with Dorham and Roach -- all have to be considered standouts. The compilation leaps to 1977 as "Horace" is a soul-jazz bopper with Nat Adderley on trumpet and Billy Childs playing Fender Rhodes electric piano. The memorable post-bop "Pinnacles" has what must be an all-time great configuration with Joe Henderson, Tommy Flanagan on piano and clavinet, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Billy Higgins in tow. The CD ends with "Concepts in Blue," marred by a synthesizer add-on, three intimate sessions, two of them duets with Joe Pass and a trio featuring Pass and Oscar Peterson, plus the finale "Soft Winds" in a sextet featuring tinkling percussion, a great contribution from Kenny Barron, and Johnson alongside fellow 'bonist Al Grey. Though the first half of this collection is pretty solid, the second is hit or miss. Though all cuts remain credible, the uneven nature of this collection, and its lack of a comprehensive focus, makes this an incomplete but still tasteful look at the mighty career of the great J.J. Johnson. ~Michael G.Nastos

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Geoff Keezer - Other Spheres

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1992
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:48
Size: 156,7 MB
Art: Front

( 7:54)  1. Little Minu
( 5:20)  2. Cloudscape
( 7:23)  3. Auntie Matter
( 9:31)  4. Moblike
( 3:30)  5. Event Horizon
( 6:53)  6. We Are Dancing
( 8:14)  7. Night Fire
(10:47)  8. Serengeti Stampede
( 8:11)  9. Flight Simulator

Geoff Keezer first drew notice as a teenager when the pianist served in the final edition of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. At the time of this recording, made in 1992 for DIW when Keezer was still in his early twenties, he was writing and arranging for his own small groups, while his performing skills were already well hewn. While none of these compositions gained widespread attention (probably due to this CD only being issued in Japan), he shows a surprising maturity as an arranger and composer. The haunting blend of Bill Mobley's flügelhorn with Bill Easley's alto flute adds to the beauty of his exotic "Cloudscape." His driving "Auntie Matter" and the explosive "Serengeti Stampede" are excellent post-bop vehicles. Vocalist Jeanie Bryson is added for the bossa nova ballad "We Are Dancing." This CD will be somewhat difficult to acquire due to its limited distribution, but it is worth the effort. ~ Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/other-spheres-mw0000172973

Other Spheres

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Martha Wainwright - Sans Fusils, Ni Souliers, A Paris: Martha Wainwright's Piaf Record

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:58
Size: 126,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:54)  1. La Foule
(3:41)  2. Adieu Mon Coeur
(3:37)  3. Une Enfant
(4:10)  4. L'Accordeoniste
(3:53)  5. Le Brun Et Le Blond
(3:53)  6. Les Grognards
(4:47)  7. C'est Toujours La Meme Histoire
(2:36)  8. Hudsonia
(4:03)  9. C'est A Hambourg
(2:54) 10. Non La Vie N'est Pas Triste
(4:23) 11. Soudain Une Vallee
(3:19) 12. Marie Trottoir
(1:48) 13. Le Metro De Paris
(4:04) 14. Le Chant D'Amour
(3:49) 15. Les Blouses Blanches

Deluxe two disc (CD + PAL/Region 0 DVD) pressing including a bonus DVD that features footage from the performance. . Subtitled: Martha Wainwright's Piaf Record. 2009 album from the talented singer/songwriter (and sister of Rufus), a tribute to the great French vocalist Edith Piaf. Recorded live over the course three nights in New York, Sans Fusils, Ni Souliers, A Paris features 15 Piaf songs chosen from more than 300 that Wainwright researched via friend Hal Wilner. Wainwright called upon some of the best "downtown" NY musicians and worked to keep the quirky twists of Piaf's original productions while adding some bold new strokes. The result is a daring, powerful and personal work that while not for every palate challenges and then rewards.~ Editorial Reviews https://www.amazon.com/Sans-Fusils-Souliers-Paris-Wainwrights/dp/B002R5MPRC

Sans Fusils, Ni Souliers, A Paris: Martha Wainwright's Piaf Record

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The Real Group - The Real Album

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:53
Size: 105,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:30)  1. Bumble Bee
(3:30)  2. Pass Me The Jazz
(3:24)  3. A Lifetime Takes A Lifetime To Fulfill
(3:54)  4. Nostalgia World
(4:30)  5. Lay It In My Hand
(4:02)  6. A Minute On Your Lips
(4:29)  7. The Modern Man
(4:12)  8. The Window That Leads To Your World
(3:12)  9. A Little Kindness
(4:20) 10. Anna's Song
(3:06) 11. Flying High
(3:38) 12. Gee! Mine Or Mozart's?

The Real Group is an a cappella quintet from Stockholm, Sweden, consisting of three men and two women. Inspired by Bobby McFerrin, the unit brilliantly performed bop, vocalese, and a few originals on their Town Crier debut, leading Jon Hendricks himself to say, "I wish I was in this group." ~ Scott Yanow https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/the-real-group/41741489

Personnel:  Alto Vocals – Anders Edenroth, Katarina Wilczewski;  Bass Vocals – Anders Jalkéus;  Soprano Vocals – Margareta Bengtson;  Tenor Vocals – Peder Karlsson

The Real Album

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Barry McGuire - This Precious Time And The World's Last Private Citizen

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:41
Size: 154,8 MB
Art: Front

(2:49)  1. This Precious Time
(2:39)  2. California Dreamin
(2:35)  3. Let Me Be
(2:16)  4. Do You Believe In Magic
(2:52)  5. Yesterday
(4:04)  6. Hang On Sloopy
(4:00)  7. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
(2:57)  8. Upon A Painted Ocean
(2:47)  9. Hide Your Love Away
(3:44) 10. I'd Have To Be Outta My Mind
(3:23) 11. Child Of Our Times
(2:53) 12. Don't You Wonder Where It's At
(2:23) 13. Top O'the Hill
(2:56) 14. Cloudy Summer Afternoon
(2:45) 15. Secret Saucer Man
(2:53) 16. There's Nothin' Else On My Mind
(2:08) 17. Walkin' My Cat Named Dog
(2:34) 18. Masters Of War
(3:41) 19. Inner Manipulations
(3:19) 20. The Grasshopper Song
(2:17) 21. Why Not Stop And Dig It While You Can
(3:35) 22. Eve Of Destruction

Although former New Christy Minstrels singer Barry McGuire scored a fluke novelty hit with the Bob Dylan-styled folk-rock protest anthem "Eve of Destruction" in the summer of 1965, neither he nor producer Lou Adler's startup label Dunhill Records seems to have had a long-term plan for his solo career beyond trying to score another hit single. Naturally, Dunhill quickly issued an Eve of Destruction LP, filling the tracks with McGuire covers of recent folk hits and more originals by P.F. Sloan, who'd penned the hit. Sloan also wrote the follow-up singles "Child of Our Times" and "This Precious Time," neither of which made the Top 40. By the end of the year, Dunhill had another McGuire LP, This Precious Time, again mixing Sloan songs with other people's hits like "Do You Believe in Magic" and "Yesterday." That is the first of two McGuire albums combined on this two-fer CD reissue. The other is McGuire's third and final Dunhill album, 1968's The World's Last Private Citizen, which really was just a contractual obligation release cobbled together from more failed singles and even tracks borrowed from This Precious Time and Eve of Destruction. Thus, most of McGuire's Dunhill output is included on this CD, albeit in jumbled-up sequence. The gruff-voiced singer handles the personal and political angst of Sloan's songs well, and he even turns to a croon for some of the ballads. Oddly enough, he introduced his friends, the members of the Mamas & the Papas, to Dunhill, and they went on to be much more successful than he did. Their first hit, "California Dreamin'," was even recorded as a McGuire track initially, and that's how it's presented here, just with his craggy vocal in place of Denny Doherty's soulful one, and a harmonica solo instead of the flute. The paring of McGuire and the group is odd because his voice, frequently flat, with idiosyncratic phrasing and timing, makes for a strange combination with their ethereal harmonies and precision. On the second half of the disc, things get even stranger, as McGuire keeps looking for another hit by turning psychedelic ("Inner-Manipulations") or trying to repeat the "Eve of Destruction" formula (a cover of Dylan's "Masters of War"). Not surprisingly, Dunhill opted to end his tenure where it had begun, placing "Eve of Destruction" as the last track on his last album for the label. So, at least the one hit by this one-hit wonder is included here. ~ William Ruhlmann https://www.allmusic.com/album/this-precious-time-the-worlds-last-private-citizen-mw0000825293

This Precious Time And The World's Last Private Citizen

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