Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band - The Phat Pack

Styles: Big Band
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 75:12
Size: 173,6 MB
Art: Front

(6:07)  1. Cut n’ Run
(3:39)  2. Too Close For Comfort
(6:36)  3. Count Bubba’s Revenge
(6:13)  4. Play That Funky Music
(6:39)  5. The Phat Pack
(4:47)  6. Hunting Wabbits 2 (A Bad Hare Day)
(7:36)  7. La Almeja Pequena (The Little Clam)
(6:53)  8. Get in Line
(5:09)  9. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
(5:30) 10. Under the Wire
(6:28) 11. Whodunnit?
(5:20) 12. It Was a Very Good Year
(4:08) 13. Ever Braver, Ever Stronger (An American Elegy)

The suave and irrepressible Rat Pack, whose urbane image was shrewdly nurtured for so many years by Ol' Blue Eyes, meistersinger Frank Sinatra himself, is no longer with us. Luckily, we have as partial solace The Phat Pack, the convivial third recording by jack-of-all-trades Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band. Goodwin bows respectfully to his illustrious predecessors by reprising two songs closely associated with members of the Rodent Gang, Sinatra's "It Was a Very Good Year" and Sammy Davis Jr.'s "Too Close for Comfort," also appending an evocative title song that could have served as the Pack's overture in a cabaret or concert hall. One of the more engaging aspects of any album by Goodwin's exemplary ensemble is that one never knows quite what to expect from moment to moment as the music veers in a heartbeat from straight-ahead swing to funk, Latin, neo-hip shuffle and back again not to mention such wild anomalies as "Hunting Wabbits 2," Goodwin's quirky salute to Elmer Fudd and those incomparable Warner Bros. cartoons from the '40s and '50s (for "Hunting Wabbits 1," see the BPB's previous album, XXL). Needless to say, the all-star band is razor-keen throughout, lending power and charisma to Goodwin's personable compositions and charts. 

Soloists aren't named, but that has to be Eric Marienthal's nimble soprano on "Wabbits," his aggressive alto on "Get in Line" and "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes," Andy Martin's supple trombone on "Tomatoes," Wayne Bergeron's screaming trumpet on "La Alma Pequena (The Little Clam)." That's ironic, as clams are almost never a part of Bergeron's musical diet. As usual, Goodwin has invited several well-known guest artists to sit in, and all of them are superb. Vocalist Dianne Reeves positively nails "Too Close for Comfort," alto David Sanborn is suitably raunchy on "Play That Funky Music," ace clarinetist Eddie Daniels burns rubber on the grueling "Under the Wire," and the vocal group Take 6 takes charge on "It Was a Very Good Year." Another Goodwin staple is the patriotic finale, in this case the poignant "Ever Braver, Ever Stronger (An American Elegy)." So much to say, so little space remaining. Highlights (besides those already mentioned) include "Cut 'n Run," "Count Bubba's Revenge," "Whodunnit?" Well, let's be honest. Everything else. And it should be noted that the disc is accompanied by a DVD with soundtrack, photos, lyrics and other extras. Alas, I was unable to play my copy, as it requires a compatible Direct Show DVD player, which I don't have. As Sinatra would have intoned, "That's Life." Goodwin's debut album, Swingin' for the Fences, was Grammy-nominated, XXL earned one (in a minor category), and if this isn't a leading contender for the top big band prize, I'll eat broccoli (yuck!) with my supper (please don't tell my wife I said that). ~ Jack Bowers https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-phat-pack-gordon-goodwin-immergent-records-review-by-jack-bowers.php

Personnel: Gordon Goodwin: leader, composer, arranger, piano, tenor saxophone; Wayne Bergeron, Dan Fornero, Bob Summers, Dan Savant, Pete DeSiena (4,6,12): trumpet; Eric Marienthal: alto, soprano saxophone, flute; Sal Lozano: alto saxophone, flute, piccolo; Brian Scanlon, Jeff Driskill: tenor saxophone, clarinet; Jay Mason: baritone saxophone, bass clarinet; Andy Martin, Alex Iles, Charlie Morillas, Craig Ware, Craig Gosnell (2): trombone; Grant Geissman, Carl Verheyen (4): guitar; Rick Shaw: acoustic, electric bass; Bernie Dresel, Ray Brinker (10,11,13): drums; Luis Conte, Brad Dutz (4,6,12): percussion. Special guests: Dianne Reeves (2): vocal; David Sanborn (4): alto saxophone; Eddie Daniels (10): clarinet; Take 6 (12): vocal.

The Phat Pack

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Hollyridge Strings - Christmas Favorites

Styles: Christmas
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 28:10
Size: 65,9 MB
Art: Front

(2:40)  1. Winter Wonderland
(2:50)  2. Jingle Bells
(2:50)  3. The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)
(2:17)  4. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
(2:20)  5. Santa's Got A Brand New Bag
(2:34)  6. Jingle Bell Rock
(2:58)  7. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
(2:34)  8. White Christmas
(2:35)  9. I'll Be Home For Christmas
(2:14) 10. Little Saint Nick
(2:13) 11. Do You Hear What I Hear?

The Hollyridge Strings was a catchall name for the group of largely interchangeable studio musicians who recorded a series of easy listening instrumental albums for Capitol Records at the peak of the British Invasion era. The project was masterminded by music industry veteran Stu Phillips, a composer and producer who previously headlined his own series of Capitol easy listening records including Organ and Strings in Stereo before leaving the label in 1960 to become head of A&R for Colpix Records, where he produced a series of pop smashes including the Marcels' "Blue Moon," Shelley Fabares' "Johnny Angel," Paul Petersen's "My Dad," and James Darren's "Goodbye, Cruel World." In 1964 he returned to Capitol, where his familiarity and dexterity with the rock idiom made him the logical choice to cash in on Beatlemania with a record targeted at a more mature audience; the first Hollyridge Strings record, The Beatles Song Book, was a Top Ten hit, and resulted in similarly syrupy collections of hits by Elvis Presley, the Beach Boys, the Four Seasons, and Simon & Garfunkel. At one point in time, no fewer than three different Hollyridge Strings LPs hovered in the Billboard Top 20, and their success spurred copycat projects from labels including Vee-Jay (the Castaway Strings), Liberty (the Sunset Strings), and MGM (the Fantabulous Strings). During his Capitol stint Phillips also headlined his own Feels Like Lovin', a minor classic of '60s soft pop that added vocals to the signature Hollyridge Strings sound. ~ Jason Ankeny https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/christmas-favorites/715549502

Christmas Favorites

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John Wright - Makin' Out

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:57
Size: 87,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:53)  1. Makin' Out
(4:31)  2. Like Someone In Love
(4:13)  3. Back In Jersey
(4:36)  4. Sparkie
(4:33)  5. Soul Search
(4:18)  6. It Could Happen To You
(3:14)  7. Street
(7:36)  8. Kitty

John Wright was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1934 and moved to Chicago with his family two years later. As a child, he was immersed in the gospel music of his mother’s church; he learned jazz piano while stationed in Germany in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, where he also met Dizzy Gillespie and Dexter Gordon. His first recording in 1960, with the John Wright Trio, was entitled South Side Soul, a phrase that became his nickname. Over a lengthy musical career, and work as a librarian in the Cook County Department of Corrections, he has also had many political involvements. In 2008, he was inducted into the Wendell Phillips High School Hall of Fame, and in 2009 he was awarded the Walter Dyett Lifetime Achievement Award by the Jazz Institute of Chicago. ...Read More.. https://never-the-same.org/interviews/john-wright/

Personnel:  Piano –John Wright;  Bass – Wendell Marshall;  Drums – Roy Brooks;  Tenor Saxophone – Eddy "Cat-Eye" Williams

Makin' Out

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James Moody - Heritage Hum

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1971
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:40
Size: 112,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:03)  1. Heritage Hum
(5:55)  2. Sound For Sore Ears
(4:32)  3. Road Runner
(5:21)  4. Can't Fool Around With Love
(6:09)  5. Rainy Days
(7:32)  6. Travel On
(7:27)  7. Soul Searching
(4:10)  8. Parker's Mood
(2:27)  9. Pennies From Heaven

While not as all-out funky as some of the other Perception jazz LPs from the time (including Moody's own The Teachers), this one's got a great slinking groove to it, and features nice playing by Michael Longo, who was also in Dizzy's funky 70s group at the time. Eddie Jefferson sings vocals on a hilarious version of "Pennies From Heaven", and other titles include "Heritage Hum", "Road Runner", "Soul Searching", and "Travel On".  © 1996-2018, Dusty Groove, Inc. https://www.dustygroove.com/item/22942/James-Moody:Heritage-Hum

Personnel:   Saxophone, Flute – James Moody;  Acoustic Bass – Samuel Jones;  Drums – Frederick Waits;  Piano – Michael Longo;  Vocals – Eddie Jefferson

Heritage Hum

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Marianne Faithfull - Negative Capability

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:32
Size: 123,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:04)  1. Misunderstanding
(3:40)  2. The Gypsy Faerie Queen
(3:52)  3. As Tears Go By
(4:21)  4. In My Own Particular Way
(3:39)  5. Born to Live
(4:57)  6. Witches Song
(5:01)  7. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (Re-Recorded)
(3:40)  8. They Come at Night
(4:20)  9. Don't Go
(4:56) 10. No Moon in Paris
(2:52) 11. Loneliest Person
(3:26) 12. No Moon in Paris (Radio Edit)
(3:36) 13. They Come at Night (Alt. Version)

Recorded in Paris with Bad Seed Warren Ellis and PJ Harvey collaborator Rob Ellis, who back her with unshowy, sympathetic orchestration, Marianne Faithfull’s 21st album is a masterly meditation on ageing and death. Coming in the wake of health problems, struggles with loneliness and the loss of some of her closest friends, her lyrics are characteristially unflinching, from In My Own Particular Way’s admission that “I know I’m not young and I’m damaged/ But I’m still pretty kind of funny” to Born to Live’s tribute to Anita Pallenberg and the unbearably raw Don’t Go, about the death from cancer of her former guitarist Martin Stone. There’s a foray into wider global events too: They Come at Night, a Mark Lanegan co-write, is a furious reaction to the Bataclan terror attack of 2015. Faithfull’s reprise of As Tears Go By, 54 years after her version of the Jagger/Richards/Oldham song launched her career, has a real poignancy, the line “It is the evening of the day” in particular carrying a new-found emotional heft. Comparisons with such late-career highlights as Johnny Cash’s American Recordings albums and Leonard Cohen’s You Want It Darker are inevitable, but Negative Capability really does belong in such exalted company. … we have a small favour to ask. Three years ago we set out to make The Guardian sustainable by deepening our relationship with our readers. The same technologies that connected us with a global audience had also shifted advertising revenues away from news publishers. We decided to seek an approach that would allow us to keep our journalism open and accessible to everyone, regardless of where they live or what they can afford. More than one million readers have now supported our independent, investigative journalism through contributions, membership or subscriptions, which has played such an important part in helping The Guardian overcome a perilous financial situation globally. We want to thank you for all of your support. But we have to maintain and build on that support for every year to come. Sustained support from our readers enables us to continue pursuing difficult stories in challenging times of political upheaval, when factual reporting has never been more critical. The Guardian is editorially independent – our journalism is free from commercial bias and not influenced by billionaire owners, politicians or shareholders. No one edits our editor. No one steers our opinion. This is important because it enables us to give a voice to those less heard, challenge the powerful and hold them to account. Readers’ support means we can continue bringing The Guardian’s independent journalism to the world. If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps to support it, our future would be much more secure. https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/nov/04/marianne-faithfull-negative-capability-review-five-stars

Personnel:  Marianne Faithfull – vocals; Nick Cave – backing & additional vocals, piano; Rob McVey - guitar, piano, synthesiser, backing vocals; Ed Harcourt - piano, bass guitar, baritone guitar, keyboards, wurlitzer, rhodes, organ, harmonium, backing vocals; Warren Ellis - viola, synthesiser, violin, keyboards, piano, alto flute, backing vocals, producer

Negative Capability

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