Phineas Newborn Jr, Dennis Farnon & His Orchestra - While My Lady Sleeps

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:41
Size: 103,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:05)  1. Moonlight In Vermont
(5:02)  2. Don't You Know I Care
(5:19)  3. Lazy Mood
(3:58)  4. I'm Old-Fashioned
(4:06)  5. Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair
(6:07)  6. While My Lady Sleeps
(5:00)  7. It's Easy to Remember
(4:18)  8. Bali Ha'i
(5:43)  9. If I Should Loose You

While My Lady Sleeps is an album by American jazz pianist Phineas Newborn Jr. with Dennis Farnon and His Orchestra recorded in 1957 and released on the RCA Victor label. The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow states "Although not as vital as his usual trio dates and Farnon's string arrangements are not too inspiring, the music is pleasing and finds Newborn in his early prime". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/While_My_Lady_Sleeps

Personnel:  Phineas Newborn Jr. – piano; George Joyner – bass; Alvin Stoller – drums; Victor Arno, Len Atkins, Israel Baker, Jack Gasselin, Benny Gill, Henry Hill, Carl LaMagna, Marvin Limonick, Dan Lube, Alfred Lustgarten, Ralph Shaeffer, Jerry Vinci, Eunice Wennermark – violin; Cecil Figelski, Al Harshman, Abraham Hochstein, Harry Hymans, Lou Kievman, Joe Reilich, George Neikrug – viola; Ray Kramer, Ed Lustgarten, George Neikrug – cello; Dennis Farnon – arranger, conductor

While My Lady Sleeps

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Monika Ryan - Windmills

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:56
Size: 108,5 MB
Art: Front

(6:00)  1. The Windmills of Your Mind
(4:07)  2. Cinnamon and Clove
(4:10)  3. The Summer Knows
(5:12)  4. I Have The Feeling I've Been Here Before
(3:55)  5. Moonlight
(3:20)  6. What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life
(4:30)  7. So Many Stars
(3:48)  8. Where Do You Start
(5:39)  9. His Eyes, Her Eyes
(6:11) 10. Love Like Ours

Jazz vocalist Monika Ryan has recorded a series of albums as leader since 2000 with the sensuous and audacious Windmills, a tribute to the lyrics of composers Alan and Marilyn Bergman, one of her latest projects. Voicing a repertoire of beautiful love songs and ballads, Ryan caresses the lyrics of each song with a measure of emotion and taste making for a vocal jazz album that's a pleasure to hear often. Supporting her crisp vocal instrument are a septet of musicians anchored by a rhythm section of keyboards, bass, guitar and drums accentuated by lead players on the sax, trumpet and trombone, altogether establishing a musical background perfect for highlighting her talents as a songstress of note. Though there are moments of swing on this session, make no doubt about the texture of the music, this is a genuine album of light jazz that appeals to the lighter side of one's musical DNA. Opening up with a creative arrangement of the title-track and time-honored standard "The Windmills of Your Mind," Ryan voices a haunting slow introduction to the song that eventually picks up to become a medium-tempo burner with Keith Loftis on the soprano saxophone, Nick Rolfe on the keyboards and guitarist David O'Rourke as featured soloists. One of the swinging moments can be found on the lively rendition of "Cinnamon and Clove" as Ryan and the band light up the lyrics on a gyrating piece of music. The soft and mellow sound returns on the familiar classic "The Summer Knows," followed by a perkier "I Have the Feeling I've Been Here Before" and another warm version of "Moonlight." The singer and keyboardist Rolfe deliver and intimate take in a beautiful duet on the gorgeous love ballad "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life," while the Alan Bergman song made so popular by Sergio Mendes in 1968 and sung by Lani Hall, "So Many Stars," gets a new treatment featuring trumpeter Brad Goode and Ryan doing a terrific impression of Hall. The Bergman/ Michel Legrand collaboration on "His Eyes, Her Eyes" works quite well here as Ryan and Rolfe on the piano provide one of the best renditions of the original around as the music comes to a close on the seductive slow-moving finale "Love Like Ours." As tribute albums go, Monika Ryan's Windmills is a homage project that the Bergman's should be proud of. Classical love songs voiced by a superior singer and backed by a top-notch cast of players, makes this vocal jazz album, a must for those who appreciate the genre. ~ Edward Blanco https://www.allaboutjazz.com/windmills-monika-ryan-self-produced-review-by-edward-blanco.php

Personnel: Monika Ryan: vocals; Keith Loftis: saxophones; Brad Goode: trumpet; Clark Gayton: trombone; Nick Rolfe: keyboards; David O'Rourke: guitar; Rene Hart: bass; Alvester Garnett: drums.

Windmills

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Stephen Scott - Aminah's Dream

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1993
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:19
Size: 132,5 MB
Art: Front

(6:32)  1. Aminah's Dream
(4:35)  2. Behind The Scenes
(6:38)  3. Young Confucius
(5:51)  4. Positive Images (Mother, Father)
(5:24)  5. The Pit And The Pendulum
(7:09)  6. When God Created Women
(4:48)  7. L'Ill Bro'... Life Goes On
(4:39)  8. You Are Too Beautiful
(4:58)  9. Moontrane
(6:40) 10. The Spur Of The Moment

One of the most promising of the "Young Lions," pianist Stephen Scott has a versatile style that can range from McCoy Tyner to Wynton Kelly without resorting to mere copying. On his second release as a leader, Scott holds his own during six trio performances with bassist Ron Carter and drummer Elvin Jones. The other four selections add four nonsoloing horns playing harmonies behind Scott's piano. With eight of the ten songs being his originals, this is a fine all-around showcase for the talented Stephen Scott. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/aminahs-dream-mw0000618597

Personnel:  Piano, Co-producer – Stephen Scott (5); Alto Saxophone – Justin Robinson (tracks: 1,4,6,9); Bass – Ron Carter; Drums – Elvin Jones; Tenor Saxophone – Don Braden (tracks: 1,4,6,9); Trombone – Jamal Haynes (tracks: 1,4,6,9); Trumpet – Terell Stafford (tracks: 1,4,6,9); Tuba – Bob Stewart (tracks: 1)

Aminah's Dream

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Charles Bellonzi - Abracadadrums

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:40
Size: 165,8 MB
Art: Front

(8:23)  1. Négroni's Brothers
(5:19)  2. Is't Time for Love
(5:50)  3. Valse à Montrichard
(3:24)  4. Abracadadrums
(8:30)  5. The Best Memories of Manu
(7:18)  6. Sun Bossa
(3:54)  7. Fast Changes
(5:47)  8. You, My Red Rose
(6:58)  9. Chicken Scat
(7:24) 10. Charles's Stone
(8:48) 11. To Beps With Love

Charles Bellonzi was born in Nice in 1941. He was attracted by music at a very young age, at the age of seven. His uncle played helicon in the municipal band "La Renaissance". He noticed very quickly that he was talented and had a great sense of rhythm. Charles learned the drums from 7 to 13 years old, and then the accordion. He played both with the "Renaissance". His friends introduced him to jazz in 1958. http://www.guitaresetbatteries.com/charles-bellonzi/

Abracadadrums

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Andy Sheppard Quartet - Romaria

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:07
Size: 110,7 MB
Art: Front

(8:06)  1. And A Day ...
(4:48)  2. Thirteen
(5:11)  3. Romaria
(4:21)  4. Pop
(5:56)  5. They Came From The North
(5:53)  6. With Every Flower That Falls
(7:07)  7. All Becomes Again
(6:42)  8. Forever ...

Where so much music treats silence as an exception, Andy Sheppard's recordings find it serving more as the rule. He's never been one for weaving flashy speed runs or feeling pressure to fill space. Even when his sax lines speed up from time to time through Romaria, they serve the mood with tasteful restraint, smoothly evoking the soothing coolness of its cover. Sheppard uses the term "dream band" to describe this quartet, which is appropriate in more ways than one. Dreaminess is the overarching quality of the session and the group's longstanding familiarity lets them trust each other wherever they drift. Sheppard had already explored the chordless trio format with Michel Benita on bass and Sebastian Rochford at the drumkit; the guitar and electronic tones of sometime collaborator Eivind Aarset made an excellent expansion on Surrounded by Sea (ECM, 2015). Their followup here is just a touch more active in comparison, keeping their identity while turning one more facet toward the light. The opening "And a Day..." could serve as the start of a proper ambient album if it wished, full of wide breathing space and gentle sweeps of guitar swaying like waves at low tide. It's not long before Sheppard steps into livelier territory with the mid-tempo lines through "Thirteen," though the album's pace never feels anywhere near rushed. Again Aarset provides an atmospheric backing framework while the other players keep the pulse at the most languid of lulls. The rhythm section is often here to provide shading more than actual rhythm throughout; when the pieces ebb, they judiciously choose their spots with tasteful strums and splashes rather than any recognizable beat. The leader's pieces generally alternate between these two modes to refreshingly tranquil effect. 

The groove builds to a light-floating cruise during "Pop" and "All Becomes Again," then an actual clatter in between with "They Came from the North." Open air takes prominence for the meditative ballad "Every Flower That Falls" and the finale of "Forever..." (bookended with that opener because they were two complementary takes of the same piece). In either mode it's an atmosphere to soak in at leisure. This quartet's easy chemistry creates a pretty soundscape both inviting and intriguing, and Romaria never loses the airy feel of a cozy reverie even at its busiest. ~ Geno Tackara https://www.allaboutjazz.com/romaria-andy-sheppard-ecm-records-review-by-geno-thackara.php

Personnel: Andy Sheppard: tenor and soprano saxophones; Eivind Aarset: guitar; Michel Benita: double bass; Sebastian Rochford: drums.

Romaria

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