Harry Allen - Henry Mancini Songs With Strings

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:36
Size: 137,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:38)  1. Breakfast At Tiffany's
(5:32)  2. Charade
(5:57)  3. Dear Heart
(4:15)  4. Days Of Wine And Roses
(5:14)  5. Shadow Of Paris
(5:34)  6. Send A Little Love My Way
(6:02)  7. Moon River
(4:34)  8. Too Little Time
(7:12)  9. Whistling Away The Dark
(3:45) 10. Mr. Lucky
(4:32) 11. Dreamsville
(3:13) 12. Two For The Road

A swinging jazz saxophonist, Harry Allen is a highly regarded performer whose musical inspiration and interpretive approach come from the giants and innovators of mainstream saxophone, including Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Stan Getz, Illinois Jacquet, and Lester Young. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Allen has generally eschewed the modern, avant-garde, and impressionist schools of jazz of John Coltrane, Archie Shepp, and Ornette Coleman. Born in Washington, D.C. in 1966, Allen grew up in a musical family as the son of big-band drummer Maurice Allen. He started off with accordion lessons before there was a fortuitous switch to saxophone. Attending Rutgers University, Allen studied with Sahib Shihab, Bob Mintzer, and John Purcell. While there, he got his first gig with the help of master bass player Major Holley, replacing Zoot Sims in a studio recording with John Bunch, George Masso, Bucky Pizzarelli, and Ruby Braff.

Wholley also led Allen to Oliver Jackson, whom Allen subsequently accompanied on several tours to Europe. A 1986 session with Kenny Barron was Allen's first recording date. After that, Allen made his debut as a leader on 1988's How Long Has This Been Going On?  From there, he delivered a steady stream of recordings under his name for such labels as Progressive, Audiophile, and Nagel-Heyer. Later, his recordings were with major-label RCA-Victor, including 1999's Harry Allen Meets the John Pizzarelli Trio and 2000's Plays Ellington Songs. Three of his albums were awarded a Gold Disc by Swing Journal magazine, and his CD Tenors Anyone won both the Gold Disc and New Star awards. He has also recorded as a sideman with Bucky Pizzarelli (with whom he performs quite frequently), Warren Vache, and Jeff Hamilton.  Allen continues to record extensively and makes frequent appearances at jazz festivals and concerts. Highly prolific, he delivered a slew of well-regarded albums for BMG in the 2000s before moving back to boutique labels like Arbors, Sackville Records, and Challenge for albums like 2007's Cocktails for Two with Joe Temperley, 2009's New York State of Mind, and 2010's When Larry Met Harry with pianist Larry Goldings. He then paired with longtime associate Scott Hamilton for 2012's 'Round Midnight, and explored bossa nova rhythms on 2015's Something About Jobim. The following year he delivered The Candy Men: Harry Allen's All-Star New York Saxophone Band, featuring fellow saxophonists Grant Stewart, Eric Alexander, and Gary Smulyan. ~ Dave Nathan https://www.allmusic.com/artist/harry-allen-mn0000668457/biography

Personnel:  Tenor Saxophone – Harry Allen;  Bass – Johannes Weidenmueller;  Cello – Dorothy Lawson, Leo Grinhauz;  Composed By – Henry Mancini;  Drums – Tim Horner;  Harp – Park Stickney;  Percussion – Gilad;  Piano, Synth, Arranged By, Conductor – Kenny Werner;  Vibraphone [Vibes] – Laura Friedman;  Viola – Kenji Bunch, Ralph Farris;  Violin – Conway Kuo, Heidi Stubner, Joyce Hammann, Laura Seaton, Todd Reynolds

Henry Mancini Songs With Strings

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Rodney Kendrick - The Colors Of Rhythm

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:25
Size: 94,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:11)  1. Music DNA
(4:24)  2. Honeysuckle Rose
(5:48)  3. Remembering
(7:05)  4. Round Midnight
(3:44)  5. Cindy
(5:54)  6. Body And Soul
(3:31)  7. Caravan
(4:44)  8. Aminata

For many years, Rodney Kendrick was the musical director and pianist for Abbey Lincoln. The 54 year old pianist and keyboarder wanted to express, as he states in the liner notes of his new trio album “The Colors Of Rhythm” (Impulse), “the sweet and the sour, the dark and the light, the bad and the good, as well as the brilliant overlooked beauty that is intrinsically woven throughout this music.” Over the years, Kendrick, who was born in Philadelphia and raised in Miami, has learned from and played with the greatest. Barry Harris taught him the literacy of the music and once he arrived in New York, soon after he was part of the Art Blakey Breakfast Jam, a session that started early in the mornings and went on for hours with a lot of peers attending. One of the artists from those days is Cindy Blackman Santana who Kendrick is using as his drummer for the new album. He even named a song after her (“Cindy”) which is a rather short, but effective showcase for the vibrant musician. Kendrick has released some fantastic, but somehow overlooked albums in the past. There’s the world music style, exotic “Last Chance For Common Sense” from 1996, or the Hip Hop, Rap and Funk infused “No Dress Code” from 2000. But he always went back to the good old trio format in between. His old pal Curtis Lundy rounds out his band on bass and of the eight tracks in total, half of them are his interpretations of classics like “Body And Soul” or “Round Midnight”, all played with a heavy Gospel and Blues background. More convincing are his own compositions and he ends his new album with a nod to his former boss, Abbey Lincoln, who was also known as Aminata Moseka, who was his musical mother. The track sums up the essence of what Abbey Lincoln’s music was about: beauty and the pursuit of something bigger and better.

Personnel:  Piano – Rodney Kendrick;  Double Bass – Curtis Lundy;  Drums – Cindy Blackman Santana.

The Colors Of Rhythm

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Philip Catherine - I Remember You

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1991
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:06
Size: 138,1 MB
Art: Front

( 6:16)  1. Nardis
(11:05)  2. Twice A Week
( 6:01)  3. I Remember You
( 7:35)  4. Soul Role
( 5:49)  5. From This Time, From That Time
( 3:56)  6. Songflower
( 7:57)  7. Funk In Deepfreeze
( 6:09)  8. My Funny Valentine
( 5:14)  9. Blues For G.T.

A wonderfully sparse and subtle offering from guitarist Philip Catherine, featuring Tom Harrell on flügelhorn and Hein Van de Geyn on bass. This drumless trio pays memorial tribute to Chet Baker with a tranquil, melancholy set of standards and originals, beginning with Miles Davis' "Nardis" and continuing with an extended Catherine original titled "Twice a Week." The set also includes a swinging "I Remember You," a mid-tempo "My Funny Valentine," and a nod to hard bop with Hank Mobley's "Funk in Deepfreeze." Harrell contributes two originals, "From This Time, From That Time" and "Songflower," while Van de Geyn weighs in with a dark waltz, "Soul Role." 

Catherine closes the album with his own angular, altered "Blues for G.T." Catherine's bright, twangy sound and tasteful use of vibrato, harmonics, octave leaps, and volume and chorus effects distinguish him from many other straight-ahead jazz guitarists. Van de Geyn proves himself to be not only an excellent timekeeper, but also a conversational ensemble player. And this stripped-down setting especially flatters the velvety, lyrical brilliance of Tom Harrell. ~ David R.Adler https://www.allmusic.com/album/i-remember-you-mw0000278490

Personnel:  Guitar – Philip Catherine;   Flugelhorn – Tom Harrell;   Bass – Hein Van de Geyn

I Remember You

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Woong San - I'm Alright

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:23
Size: 122,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:56)  1. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
(3:28)  2. Heartless
(4:29)  3. Bear Walk
(4:38)  4. Too Far
(5:06)  5. Love Is A Losing Game
(4:22)  6. I’m Alright
(3:41)  7. You And The Night And The Music
(5:27)  8. Forget Regret
(6:41)  9. I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know
(5:37) 10. I Can’t Stand The Rain
(3:53) 11. Tell Me Why

WoongSan (born Kim Eun Young) is an award-winning South Korean musician, actress and TV show host. She has been a leading figure in the jazz music scene in Korea and Japan for over a decade, having performed live over 500 times since her 1998 Japanese debut. She is the first Korean-born musician to perform at New York City's historic Blue Note Jazz Club and has collaborated with many other well-known jazz musicians including Benny Green, Lonnie Plaxico, Rodney Green, Conrad Herwig and Suzuki Hisatsugu. She is also well known for training Ali (South Korean singer), a popular K-pop singer. When she was 18, WoongSan spent a year and a half at a Buddhist temple in the Korean countryside. During her training she had a powerful realization: her calling in life was music.  Initially she played in a college rock band, but after a friend played her a Billie Holiday record, she began to dedicate herself to jazz. She spent several years performing as a solo artist then released her first album accompanied by a jazz ensemble in 1996. By the end of 1998 she was a recognizable figure in both Korea and Japan, and since then, she has released six albums, garnered numerous awards and critical acclaim, and continues to tour prolifically. She has also written many songs for films. Last year, she proved her career was an ongoing path as a music performer on the stage collaborated with Lee Ritenour.

WoongSan's style is a distinctive blend of jazz, blues, Latin and funk style. Her mid-low voice does not span as much tonal ground as other famous singers, but what she lacks in range she more than makes up for in creativity and malleability. As an independent lyricist, Woong San has penned powerful ballads, cozy love numbers and everything in between. Buddhism has played a prominent role in her life, and it shines through in her songwriting: she often explores the themes of freedom, mindfulness and the beauty of change in her songs. Her work has been described as "soulful, fearless, sultry." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WoongSan

I'm Alright

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