Bill Hardman - Focus

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1980
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:36
Size: 89,1 MB
Art: Front

(6:03)  1. Avila & Tequila
(6:19)  2. Cubicle
(6:07)  3. Too Little, Too Late
(5:39)  4. Focus
(9:14)  5. My One And Only Love
(5:11)  6. Minority

Always a bit underrated and overshadowed, trumpeter Bill Hardman was a solid soloist in the tradition of Clifford Brown. He led three Muse albums during 1978-81, of which this was the second. Matched as usual with his fellow hard bop stylist, tenor saxophonist Junior Cook, along with trombonist Slide Hampton, pianist Walter Bishop, Jr., bassist Leroy Williams and drummer Stafford James, Hardman is heard in top form on such numbers as Hank Mobley's "Avila & Tequila," Tadd Dameron's "Focus" and "Minority." ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/focus-mw0000923787

Personnel:  Bill Hardman - trumpet;  Junior Cook - tenor saxophone;  Slide Hampton - trombone;  Walter Bishop Jr. - piano;  Stafford James - bass;  Leroy Williams - drums;  Mark Elf - guitar

Focus

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Peggy Lee - The Man I Love / If You Go

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1997
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 73:12
Size: 174,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:47)  1. The Man I Love
(4:14)  2. Please Be Kind
(4:05)  3. Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe
(2:53)  4. Just One Way To Say I Love You
(2:55)  5. That's All
(3:16)  6. Something Wonderful
(4:13)  7. He's My Guy
(2:31)  8. Then I'll Be Tired Of You
(2:47)  9. My Heart Stood Still
(2:24) 10. If I Should Lose You
(3:40) 11. There Is No Greater Love
(3:40) 12. The Folks Who Live On The Hill
(2:52) 13. As Time Goes By
(2:43) 14. If You Go
(2:37) 15. Oh Love Hast Thou Forsaken Me
(2:58) 16. Say It Isn't So
(2:49) 17. I Wish I Didn't Love You So
(2:04) 18. Maybe It's Because (I Love You Too Much)
(2:48) 19. I'm Gonna Laugh You Out Of My Life
(2:49) 20. I Get Along Without You Very Well
(2:30) 21. (I Love Your) Gypsy Heart
(3:16) 22. When I Was A Child
(2:50) 23. Here's That Rainy Day
(2:21) 24. Smile

Digitally remastered edition of 2LP's on a single CD of two truly classic albums from one of the greatest female vocalists of all time. Miss Lee made more than 700 recordings and more than 60 albums. Her own favorite album, 'The Man I Love,' was recorded in 1957 with arrangements by Nelson Riddle and an orchestra conducted by Frank Sinatra . 'If You Go' includes laid back themes with stunnning arrangements from Quincy Jones. 

~ Editorial Reviews https://www.amazon.com/Man-Love-If-You-Go/dp/B000005RRT

The Man I Love / If You Go

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Stéphane Grappelli - Le Toit de Paris

Styles: Swing, Gypsy
Year: 1969
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:18
Size: 87,5 MB
Art: Front

(2:40)  1. Rain Check
(3:44)  2. Camélia
(3:11)  3. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
(3:16)  4. Andrée
(3:27)  5. What Am I Here For
(2:39)  6. Tabou
(2:34)  7. Denise
(3:02)  8. Flamingo
(2:25)  9. Time On My Hands
(2:26) 10. Zelda
(2:47) 11. Anna
(2:20) 12. Light
(1:40) 13. So Long

Stephane Grappelli's career was beginning to take off once again around the time of this 1969 session in Paris; the swinging violinist is accompanied by pianist Raymond Fol, guitarist Tony Ovio, bassist Jack Sewing, and drummer Andre Hartmann. While the leader and his pianist play rather well, the rest of the rhythm section is burdened by Ovio's rather hackneyed accompaniment. The best tracks are the standards, including a very brisk "Rain Check" and "What Am I Here For" (the latter of which opens with a bit of pizzicato violin), as well as a breakneck "Tabou" (sometimes spelled "Taboo" or "Tabu" on other records). Less inspired are labored renditions of "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)" and "Time on My Hands." One factor separating this date from the typical Grappelli release is the heavier concentration of original material; Grappelli contributed two fairly nondescript ballads ("Andree" and "Light") and the intense swinger "Denise," while Fol penned the bland ballad "Camelia" and a somewhat corny waltz, "Anna." Fol switches to celeste on a couple of numbers, neither of which are particularly remarkable. An odd note on the back cover apologizes for using the original album cover art with the leader's name misspelled Stephane Grappelly, which was actually the original spelling and the way he still signed autographs 20 years after the recording session! While this album (reissued on CD by RCA France in 1994) is hardly a prime example from Stephane Grappelli's considerable discography, there are enough enjoyable tracks for swing fans to considering purchasing it. ~ Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/le-toit-de-paris-mw0000530949

Personnel:  Violin -  Stéphane Grappelli;  Bass – Jack Sewing;  Drums – Andre Hartman;  Guitar – Tony Ovio;  Piano – Raymond Fol

Le Toit de Paris

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Curtis Mayfield - Curtis

Styles: Soul, Funk
Year: 1970
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:43
Size: 95,6 MB
Art: Front

(7:52)  1. (Don't Worry) If There's Hell Below We're All Gonna Go
(4:03)  2. The Other Side of Town
(3:44)  3. The Making of You
(6:05)  4. We The People Who Are Darker Than Blue
(8:55)  5. Move on Up
(3:00)  6. Miss Black America
(3:18)  7. Wild and Free
(3:43)  8. Give It Up

The first solo album by the former leader of the Impressions, Curtis represented a musical apotheosis for Curtis Mayfield  indeed, it was practically the "Sgt. Pepper's" album of '70s soul, helping with its content and its success to open the whole genre to much bigger, richer musical canvases than artists had previously worked with. All of Mayfield's years of experience of life, music, and people were pulled together into a rich, powerful, topical musical statement that reflected not only the most up-to-date soul sounds of its period, finely produced by Mayfield himself, and the immediacy of the times and their political and social concerns, but also embraced the most elegant R&B sounds of the past. As a producer, Mayfield embraced the most progressive soul sounds of the era, stretching them out compellingly on numbers like "Move on Up," but he also drew on orchestral sounds (especially harps), to achieve some striking musical timbres (check out "Wild and Free"), and wove all of these influences, plus the topical nature of the songs, into a neat, amazingly lean whole. There was only one hit single off of this record, "(Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Down Below We're All Going to Go," which made number three, but the album as a whole was a single entity and really had to be heard that way. ~ Bruce Eder https://www.allmusic.com/album/curtis-mw0000112083
 

Personnel:  Musicians - Leonard Druss, John Howell, Harold Lepp, Loren Binford, Clifford Davis, Patrick Ferreri, Richard Single, Rudolph Stauber, Donald Simmons, Robert Lewis, Harold Dessent, Ronald Kolber, Harold Klatz, John Ross, Sol Bobrob, Sam Heiman, Elliot Golub, Henry Gibson, Robert Sims, Gary Slabo, Philip Upchurch

Curtis

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Roy Brooks - Beat

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop 
Year: 1963
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 31:13
Size: 71,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:16)  1. Homestretch
(4:48)  2. If You Could See Me Now
(4:36)  3. Passin' The Buck
(4:31)  4. Soulin'
(5:07)  5. Soulsphere
(6:54)  6. My Secret Passion

Recorded for Berry Gordy's short-lived Workshop Jazz imprint, Roy Brooks' simply but authoritatively titled Beat fuses the intellectual rigors of the modern idiom with the physical prowess of soul-jazz to create a record of uncommon scope and reach. Working with Horace Silver Quintet colleagues Blue Mitchell, Junior Cook, and Gene Taylor alongside Detroit contemporaries George Bohannon and Hugh Lawson, Brooks channels influences spanning the breadth of the Motor City scene, resulting in a clutch of challenging but engaging performances with the unmistakable patina of the embryonic Motown sound. While their technical proficiency is stunning, Brooks' rhythms never lose sight of the almighty groove, and for its hard bop stridency, the record has the proverbial good beat and you can dance to it. ~ Jason Ankeny https://www.allmusic.com/album/beat-mw0000383433

Personnel: Drums – Roy Brooks;  Bass – Eugene Taylor;  Piano – Hugh Lawson;  Tenor Saxophone [Tenor Sax] – Junior Cook;  Trombone – George Bohanon;  Trumpet – Blue Mitchell

Beat

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