Dexter Gordon - Sophisticated Giant

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1977
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:59
Size: 128,9 MB
Art: Front

(7:41)  1. Laura
(6:39)  2. The Moontrane
(8:53)  3. Red Top
(7:55)  4. Fried Bananas
(9:52)  5. You're Blasé
(4:54)  6. How Insensitive
(4:51)  7. Diggin' In
(5:10)  8. It's Only a Paper Moon

This excellent Columbia album was recorded less than a year after Dexter Gordon's well-publicized tour of the United States following a dozen years spent living in Europe. With assistance from such other major players as trumpeters Woody Shaw and Benny Bailey, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson sounds in superlative form on Woody Shaw's "The Moontrane," four standards, and his own "Fried Bananas." In addition to the original program (which features Dexter with an all-star tentet), the 1997 CD reissue adds two 1979 features for vocalese singer Eddie Jefferson ("Diggin' It" and "It's Only a Paper Moon") that were originally released on Gordon's Great Encounters; trumpeter Shaw and trombonist Curtis Fuller co-star with Gordon. An excellent acquisition. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/sophisticated-giant-mw0000674545

Personnel:  Dexter Gordon — tenor and soprano saxophone;  Frank Wess — alto saxophone, flute, piccolo;  Woody Shaw — trumpet, fluegelhorn;  Benny Bailey — lead trumpet, fluegelhorn;  Slide Hampton — trombone;  Wayne Andre — lead trombone;  Howard Johnson — tuba, baritone saxophone;  Bobby Hutcherson — vibes;  George Cables — piano;  Rufus Reid — bass;  Victor Lewis — drums

Sophisticated Giant

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Carmen Souza - Kachupada

Styles: Vocal 
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:55
Size: 111,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:34)  1. Manha 1 de Dezembro
(2:57)  2. Donna Lee
(4:15)  3. Luta
(5:25)  4. My Favourite Things
(3:41)  5. Ivanira
(3:55)  6. Xinxiroti
(4:09)  7. Terra Sab
(0:49)  8. Origem
(3:17)  9. 6 On Na Tarrafal
(3:48) 10. Vida Facil
(2:36) 11. Tchega
(4:20) 12. Koladjazz
(4:04) 13. Novo Dia

Lisbon-born, to a Cape Verdean family, Carmen Souza is now a London resident, but sings (in the words of David Sylvian) ‘in her native creole dialect with an intimacy, sensuality and vivacity, characterised by a tremendous lightness of touch’. She writes the lyrics, producer/bassist Theo Pas’cal the melodies, of most of the songs (in a genre described by Sylvain as ‘world soul’) on this charming album, but there are a couple of nods to the world of jazz: Charlie Parker’s frenetic bop anthem ‘Donna Lee’, and an arrestingly idiosyncratic visit to a standard, the Sound of Music’s ‘My Favourite Things’. ‘Kachupada’ refers to family and friends getting together to eat Cachupa (Cape Verdean soul food), and there is, appropriately enough, an atmosphere throughout this entirely original-sounding album of informality, joyousness and celebration, the arrangements lean but intense, driven by skilfully calibrated percussion and lithe bass playing, and occasionally tastefully augmented by accordion, flute, guitar, saxophone and flugelhorn. Souza’s voice is striking, strong but flexible, with an attractive rasp and the odd sigh or cry emphasising the songs’ sentiments; overall, this is a highly unusual mix of Cape Verdean rhythms, jazz and soul that should see her audience widen way beyond the WOMAD Festival faithful that currently form its core. http://www.londonjazznews.com/2013/02/cd-review-carmen-souza-kachupada.html

Kachupada

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Jackie McLean - Let Freedom Ring

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1962
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:09
Size: 87,9 MB
Art: Front

(13:19)  1. Melody For Melonae
( 6:18)  2. I'll Keep Loving You
(10:00)  3. Rene
( 8:31)  4. Omega

Jackie McLean had always been a highly emotional soloist, so it makes sense that he was one of the first hard bop veterans to find a new voice in the burning intensity of jazz's emerging avant-garde. McLean had previously experimented with Coltrane's angular modes and scales and Ornette's concept of chordal freedom, but Let Freedom Ring was the landmark masterpiece where he put everything together and ushered in the era of the modernists at Blue Note. A number of saxophonists were beginning to explore the ability of the instrument to mimic human cries of passion, and here McLean perfected a long, piercing squeal capable of expressing joy, anguish, fury, and more. The music on Let Freedom Ring remained more rooted in hard bop structure than Coleman's, and McLean was still recognizably himself, but that was precisely what was revolutionary about the album: It validated the avant-garde aesthetic, demonstrating that it had enough value to convert members of the old guard, and wasn't just the province of radical outcasts. There are only four pieces, one of which is the surging Bud Powell ballad "I'll Keep Loving You"; the other three are McLean originals ("Melody for Melonae," "Rene," and "Omega," dedicated to his daughter, son, and mother respectively) that spotlight his tremendous inventiveness on extended material and amaze with a smoldering fire that never lets up. Pianist Walter Davis takes the occasional solo, but the record is McLean's statement of purpose, and he accordingly dominates the proceedings, with the busy, free-flowing dialogues of bassist Herbie Lewis and Ornette drummer Billy Higgins pushing him to even greater heights. The success of Let Freedom Ring paved the way for a bumper crop of other modernist innovators to join the Blue Note roster and, artistically, it still stands with One Step Beyond as McLean's greatest work. ~ Steve Huey https://www.allmusic.com/album/let-freedom-ring-mw0000188382

Personnel:  Jackie McLean — alto saxophone;  Walter Davis, Jr. — piano;  Herbie Lewis — bass;  Billy Higgins — drums

Let Freedom Ring

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Roland Kirk - Left & Right

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1968
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:55
Size: 101,2 MB
Art: Front

( 1:18)  1. Black Mystery Has Been Revealed
(19:36)  2. Expansions
( 3:48)  3. Lady's Blues
( 3:41)  4. I X Love
( 3:24)  5. Hot Cha
( 4:13)  6. Quintessence
( 2:54)  7. I Waited For You
( 3:57)  8. A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing

The title of this album, Left and Right, no doubt refers to the sides of Rahsaan Roland Kirk's brain, which were both heavily taxed in the composing, arranging, conducting, and playing of this recording. For starters, the band is huge 17 players plus a 16-piece string section, all of it arranged and conducted by Kirk, a blind man. None of this would matter a damn if this weren't such a badass platter. Along with Kirk's usual crew of Ron Burton, Julius Watkins, Dick Griffin, Jimmy Hopps, and Gerald Brown, there are luminaries in the crowd including Alice Coltrane on harp, Pepper Adams on baritone saxophone, and no less than Roy Haynes helping out on the skins. What it all means is this: The man who surprised and outraged everybody on the scene as well as blew most away was at it again here in "Expansions," his wildly ambitious and swinging post-Coltrane suite, which has "Black Mystery Has Been Revealed" as its prelude. While there are other tracks on this record, this suite is its centerpiece and masterpiece despite killer readings of Billy Strayhorn's "A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing" and "Quintessence." "Expansions" has Kirk putting his entire harmonic range on display, and all of the timbral extensions he used in his own playing are charted for a string section to articulate. There are subtleties, of course, which come off as merely tonal variations in extant harmony with the other instruments, but when they are juxtaposed against a portrayal of the entire history of jazz from Jelly Roll Morton to the present day then they become something else: the storytellers, the timbres, and the chromatic extensions that point in the right direction and get listeners to stop in the right places. This is an extreme for Rahsaan  extremely brilliant and thoroughly accessible. ~ Thom Jurek https://www.allmusic.com/album/left-right-mw0000661555

Personnel: Roland Kirk: tenor saxophone, manzello, stritch, clarinet, flute, organ, narration, thumb piano, celesta; Jim Buffington, Julius Watkins: french horn; Frank Wess: woodwinds;   Richard Williams: trumpet;   Dick Griffith, Benny Powell: trombone;   Daniel Jones: basoon;  Pepper Adams: baritone saxophone;  Alice Coltrane: harp;   Ron Burton: piano;  Vernon Martin: bass;  Roy Haynes: drums;  Jimmy Hopps: drums;  Warren Smith: percussion, vocals;  Gerald "Sonny" Brown: percussion;  Gil Fuller: arranger

Left & Right

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Arthur Blythe & David Eyges - Today's Blues

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1997
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:55
Size: 135,4 MB
Art: Front

(2:05)  1. The John & The Sam
(4:59)  2. Gee's Minor Mood
(3:28)  3. Calling Mr. Blythe
(2:38)  4. American Forms 2
(2:37)  5. Warne Waltz
(4:42)  6. Eleven + Six
(4:43)  7. Prayer
(2:54)  8. Worker Bee
(3:23)  9. Something Like You
(4:56) 10. N Double Flat
(4:08) 11. My Sun Ra
(4:43) 12. Today's Blues
(2:42) 13. Randy Andy
(4:31) 14. No Solitude
(3:11) 15. Jig Tag
(3:08) 16. Encore

Poor Arthur Blythe's recording history has been analyzed ad nauseum. From great black hope to commercial fizzle, Blythe's early promise has not always been fulfilled, even though he has produced some outstanding albums. This scintillating set of fifteen original duets (with a solo piece thrown in) with cellist David Eyges should help restore the saxophonist's somewhat tarnished reputation. Totally exposed in this format, with plenty of time to stretch, Blythe proves himself a formidable pro, with an acerbic, blues-drenched tone that purrs, caresses, and slices across genres. The underrated Eyges is a stunning stylist, and one of the few masters of the electrified cello. 

Whether as a soloist or in tandem, Eyges brings an exciting and original vision. With a varied mix, and short tracks (nothing more than five minutes), Blythe and Eyges have scored an attractive collection.~ Steve Loewy https://www.allmusic.com/album/todays-blues-mw0000316668

Personnel:  Alto Saxophone - Arthur Blythe;  Cello [Electric Cello] - David Eyges

Today's Blues

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