Wallace Roney - Obsession

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1991
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:41
Size: 98,0 MB
Art: Front

(6:12)  1. Obsession
(8:01)  2. Scenario One
(8:56)  3. Alone Together
(7:30)  4. Seven
(7:40)  5. Black Moon
(4:22)  6. Donna Lee

In the early days of his career, trumpeter Wallace Roney was tagged as being yet another Miles Davis-influenced player, though a focused hearing of his fourth CD as a leader will demonstrate how much he was developing his own voice on this exciting hard bop session with tenor saxophonist Gary Thomas, pianist Donald Brown (like the leader, an alum of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers), bassist Christian McBride, and drummer Cindy Blackman. Roney's furious "Obsession" crackles with energy, showcasing the trumpeter, Thomas, and Brown. McBride contributed the loping, bluesy "Black Moon," while Blackman's "Scenario One" is full of twists, dominated by her drums. 

The one standard is "Alone Together," with Roney utilizing a mute, inviting the inevitable comparisons to Miles. But the sizzling take of "Donna Lee" finds Roney very much in his own voice. An enjoyable early effort, Obsession unfortunately lapsed from print with the sale of Muse, and it is increasingly difficult to acquire. ~ Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/obsession-mw0000078455

Personnel:  Wallace Roney - trumpet;  Gary Thomas - tenor saxophone, flute;  Donald Brown - piano;  Christian McBride - bass;  Cindy Blackman - drums

Obsession

---

Cyndi Lauper - At Last

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:59
Size: 114,6 MB
Art: Front

(2:42)  1. At Last
(4:29)  2. Walk On By
(3:15)  3. Stay
(3:35)  4. La Vie En Rose
(4:27)  5. Unchained Melody
(4:27)  6. If You Go Away
(4:40)  7. Until You Come Back To Me
(2:37)  8. My Baby Just Cares For Me
(4:16)  9. Makin Whoopee (Duet with Tony Bennett)
(3:40) 10. Dont Let Me Be Misunderstood
(4:04) 11. You ve Really Got A Hold On Me
(3:33) 12. Hymn To Love
(4:08) 13. On The Sunny Side Of The Street

As the girl who just wants to have fun, Cyndi Lauper became an '80s music icon with her flamboyant style, powerful baby-doll voice, and quirky songs, but as time and tastes moved on, her playful persona wore thin and attempts at becoming a more serious artist failed to regain her dwindling audience. With At Last, Lauper steps even further away from that playful image to become the girl who just wants to sing as she tackles a set of pop standards that showcase her underrated voice. Although occasionally shrill and reckless, Lauper's forceful tones can be quite moving and awe-inspiring when corralled into the proper setting, as with her bluesy take on Etta James' "At Last." With its lazy tempo and minimal arrangement, Lauper is able to relax and convey the lyrics in one of her most mature and affecting performances. Even more low-key is the whisper quiet of "Walk on By," in which she turns Dionne Warwick's midtempo gem into a dark tale of mourning by sadly singing the lyrics over a crawling tempo. Getting a Tori Amos-style ballad treatment is the Animals' "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," which lets Lauper's rock roots rise to the surface with her edgy performance. While some of her song choices work, others fall flat, like "La Vie en Rose," in which her slightly ragged reading is too rough for the delicate song. Also misfiring is her corny duet with Tony Bennett, "Makin' Whoopee," where the voices of these two New Yorkers clash like stripes and plaids. Lauper also has a little too much fun with Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs' "Stay," as she reverts back to her boisterous voice of yesteryear and disrupts the mature tone of the disc. Although the results are mixed, At Last does focus on Cyndi Lauper's best asset her voice and may help to rejuvenate a career in which the personality unfortunately overshadowed the talent. ~ Aarom Latham https://www.allmusic.com/album/at-last-mw0000694563

At Last

---

Ilan Salem - Wild

Styles: Flute Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:19
Size: 117,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:58)  1. Wild East
(6:18)  2. Ballad of a Stream and the Sea
(4:39)  3. Bad Boy
(3:44)  4. Zameru
(6:03)  5. Neula
(4:31)  6. Blessing
(3:29)  7. Le Troubadour
(3:53)  8. Going Wild
(4:25)  9. Song for Anna
(3:36) 10. Anna Boei
(5:39) 11. Ann's Tune

llan Salem, Israel’s best known and most influential flute player releases his third album Wild (Razdaz Recordz, RD4611). A journey through old and new collected from Israel’s musical heritage and his own modern ideas as a composer. Salem’s playing showcases his ability to give the flute a strong and unrestrained voice that leads the other instruments to flow. Born and raised in Israel, Salem began playing the flute at the age of 11, and discovered jazz during his studies at the prestigious Thelma Yellin School of Arts. He continued his studies at Berklee College of Music in Boston USA, and started to perform and tour with groups in the U.S. and Europe. Ilan returned to Israel and has not only become the flute player in Israeli jazz, but a dedicated and talented educator as well. He currently heads the Jazz department at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and founded the Jazz department at the Tel Aviv School for the Arts. Ilan composed and recorded his first album – Songs from the Big City (NMC, 2002) followed by Twists and Turns (Jazz 972, 2005) with Kenny Werner. Ilan Salem is also the 2011 recipient of the Israel Prime Minister’s Composer’s Prize for Jazz. Salem is accompanied on Wild by Amos Hoffman on oud and guitar, Gilad Abro on contrabass, Nitay Hershkovits on piano and Amir Bresler on drums. Bassist and composer, Avishai Cohen who is also the creator of the label Razdaz Recordz, contributes vocals and contrabass on Anna Boei and his own composition, Ann’s Tune. Percussionists Ilan Katcha and Itamar Doari, along with pianist Shai Maestro make unique guest appearances. https://razdazrecordz.com/ilan-salem/

Personnel:  Alto Flute, Flute – Ilan Salem;  Contrabass – Avishai Cohen, Gilad Abro;  Drums – Amir Bresler;  Electric Piano – Shai Maestro;  Guitar, Oud – Amos Hoffman;  Percussion – Ilan Katchka;  Piano – Nitay Hershkovits;  Piano, Vocals – Avishai Cohen;  Tambourine – Itamar Doari 

Wild

---

Bob Berg - Short Stories

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1987
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:30
Size: 127,8 MB
Art: Front

(5:28)  1. Friday Night At Cadillac Club
(7:17)  2. Words
(5:56)  3. Snakes
(8:09)  4. Kalimba
(7:57)  5. The Search
(7:18)  6. Maya
(6:04)  7. That's The Ticket
(7:18)  8. Junior

Bob Berg's third release as a leader (released on a Japanese Denon CD) was his first fairly commercial date. Doubling on tenor and soprano but not sounding too distinctive on either, Berg performs eight funky group originals with a sextet also including keyboardist Don Grolnick, guitarist Mike Stern, bassist Will Lee, drummer Peter Erskine and Robby Kilgore on additional keyboards; altoist David Sanborn drops by to add some heat to "Kalimba." 

The R&B-ish music is very much of the period and sounds a bit dated now, but has its moments of interest due to the high musicianship of the players. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/short-stories-mw0000197671

Personnel:  Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Bob Berg;  Alto Saxophone – Dave Sanborn;  Bass – Jeff Andrews;  Bass, Percussion – Will Lee;  Drums, Percussion – Peter Erskine;  Guitar – Mike Stern;  Keyboards [Additional] – Robby Kilgore;  Producer, Organ, Synthesizer, Piano [Acoustic] – Don Grolnick

Short Stories

---

Brad Mehldau, Kevin Hays - Modern Music

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:48
Size: 109,8 MB
Art: Front

(6:21)  1. Crazy Quilt
(6:25)  2. Unrequited
(5:12)  3. Generatrix
(2:57)  4. Celtic Folk Melody
(5:18)  5. Excerpt From Music For 18 Musicians
(6:27)  6. Lonely Woman
(5:00)  7. Modern Music
(6:19)  8. Elegia
(3:46)  9. Excerpt From String Quartet No. 5

Modern Music, the collaborative recording between longtime colleagues and jazz pianists Brad Mehldau and Kevin Hays, and composer and arranger Patrick Zimmerli (a mutual friend of both) is startling for its deep reliance on modern classical technique and arrangements. Certainly, Mehldau is known for dabbling in all sorts of music, from pop to classical on his recordings and in live performance. Hays, too, has branched out in recent years, from his signature, intelligent, hard swinging post-bop approach to include compositions with modern classical touches, such as those found on Piano Works, Vol. III. Zimmerli, who wrote the charts for this session, played saxophone in his younger years. He composed and chose the lion's share of the material. Three pieces are by Zimmerli, while Mehldau and Hays contribute one each; there are also readings of Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman," an excerpt from Steve Reich's "Music for 18 Musicians," and one from Philip Glass' "String Quartet No. 5." Those seeking a jazz recording should look elsewhere; even Coleman's standard is overly formal, with Mehldau (right channel) playing the melody in various voicings as Hays creates pulsing rhythmic and harmonic patterns in the middle and high registers. The latter begins to swing a bit toward the middle of the tune as Mehldau takes the rhythm line, but even here, the counterpoint dialogue Hays creates moves it far from the beautiful, droning center of Coleman's work. The section from Reich's work, which attempts, in its way, to imitate the mallet instruments, isn't nearly as forceful or convincing. Those complaints aside, Zimmerli's compositions, sauch as "Crazy Quilt," "Modern Music," and "Generatrix," with their busy palettes, intricate cross-keyboard dialogues, and contrapuntal studies are all deeply satisfying. His sense of melody is found in rhythmic approaches; his stuttering half-steps and tonal shifts are especially notable for their ability to play off both pianist's technical and melodic gifts, for all their busy-ness. Hays' "Elegia," too, for its seeming moodiness is more pastoral than one would gather by its title. In sum, Modern Music totals what its title promises, it's not a jazz album, but one in which new considerations of harmonic composition and intra-instrument dialogue are readily apparent and delivered upon with discipline as well as verve. ~ Thom Jurek https://www.allmusic.com/album/modern-music-mw0002184441

Personnel:  Brad Mehldau – piano;  Kevin Hays – piano.

Modern Music

---