Stephen Riley, Peter Zak - Deuce

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:23
Size: 153,2 MB
Art: Front

(7:49)  1. Please
(7:01)  2. Lover Man
(5:50)  3. Everything Happens to Me
(1:30)  4. Interlude, Pt. 1
(6:44)  5. Tetragon
(0:48)  6. Interlude, Pt. 2
(6:06)  7. Who?
(6:28)  8. Shala
(6:16)  9. Pannonica
(1:46) 10. Interlude, Pt. 3
(7:29) 11. Exactly Like You
(8:30) 12. Without a Song

Deuce is an apt appellation for tenorist Stephen Riley’s latest Steeplechase affair in league with pianist Peter Zak. It’s his tenth as a leader for the label, joining another half dozen titles as a sideman or co-conspirator. In the game of tennis, it signifies a tie score and is therefore an apposite summation of the concordant relationship Riley’s forged with Zak in recent years. A prolific purveyor for Steeplechase in his own right, Zak logged two sessions as a member of Riley’s quartet before Haunted Heart, the duo date that predates this one. Riley and Zak are exemplary of a time-tested trend at the Danish imprint. Once signed, artists tend to stay. Riley’s early efforts relied on an intriguing absence of piano, allowing his fluid and floating style freedom from strict chordal tethering while retaining the supple support of bass and drums. Conscripting Zak ran counter to that template, but was auspicious given the pianist’s penchant for spare accompaniment and close listening. This project tilts that script a bit by giving Zak greater prominence, most commonly in a series of mid-piece detours where Riley beneficently drops out. Zak revels in the room relegated, spinning lovely melodic variations that match Riley in both intellect and imagination and enliven even the more conventional pieces with a sense of sly, on the fly derring-do.The program reflects Riley’s usual preference for ancient standards intermixed with occasionally more modern fare. In the case of the latter there’s stirring rendering of Joe Henderson’s “Tetragon” that finds him folding in convincing facsimiles of the composer’s wry tonal tractability. 

Monk’s “Pannonica” also receives a reading with Zak playing relative straight man to Riley’s verdant voicing of the platonically-minded theme. Breaking with previous projects, Riley also threads in a trio of “Interludes”, fleeting improvisations formed from cyclic chord progressions that serve as interstitial palate cleansers. Zak’s “Shala” is the other original, a lush ballad that aligns with the aural pastels and watercolors of the rest of the set.“Everything Happens to Me” stands out amongst the standards with Riley’s signature bifurcated rasp ranging through the theme sans Zak at the outset. The pianist’s entry is suitably reserved and uncluttered as the pair glides across a string of variations that convey a cottony cast of comfort without losing sight of the gentle and genial fatalism at the tune’s core. The icing of this particularly well-concocted confection comes in the close as Riley dials up the texture quotient through his reed and spirals into silence with a cadenza ripe in striated tonal richness. Riley and Zak may be working along the comparative edges when it comes to commercial recognition and remuneration, but their partnership is every bit as deserving of close consideration alongside the classic tandem associations in jazz. ~ Derek Taylor

Personnel:  Stephen Riley - tenor saxophone; Peter Zak - piano

Deuce

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Sophie Milman - Live At The Winter Garden Theatre

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 17:28
Size: 40,4 MB
Art: Front

(6:01)  1. Whatever Lola Wants
(3:27)  2. My Baby Just Cares For Me
(3:37)  3. Ochi Chernye (Dark Eyes)
(4:21)  4. Bye Bye Love

Jazz vocalist Sophie Milman is a sophisticated and torchy singer with a bent toward American popular songbook standards. Born in Russia of Jewish heritage, Milman spent much of her childhood in Israel, where her parents moved after the fall of the Berlin Wall. In the early '90s, Milman's family emigrated once again to Toronto, Canada. Having sung from a young age, the then teenage Milman was already familiar with such iconic vocalists as Ella Fitzgerald, Mahalia Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and others. In 2004, a chance performance at "Real Divas" night a local Toronto jazz series brought Milman to the attention of producer Bill King, who then secured a few showcase performances for the burgeoning star. Subsequently, Milman signed a recording contract with Linus Entertainment and released her self-titled debut album. Make Someone Happy followed on JVC in 2007. ~ Matt Collar https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sophie-milman-mn0000864677/biography

Live At The Winter Garden Theatre

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Walt Weiskopf - Exact Science

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1989
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:47
Size: 119,0 MB
Art: Front

(2:54)  1. Telltale
(4:35)  2. Jay-Walking
(4:59)  3. About You
(5:19)  4. Mr. Golyadkin
(5:58)  5. Intuition
(6:45)  6. Indecisive
(4:57)  7. Sad But True
(5:05)  8. Exact Science
(6:05)  9. Scenes from Childhood
(5:06) 10. Falling in Love with Love

A potent tenor saxophonist and composer firmly in the tradition of John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins, Walt Weiskopf was born in Augusta, GA, and grew up in Syracuse, NY. Upon moving to New York City, he joined the Buddy Rich Big Band in 1981 at the age of 21; two years later, Weiskopf signed on with the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra, concurrently forming his own quartet with brother Joel on trumpet, Jay Anderson on bass, and Jeff Hirshfeld on drums. His debut, Exact Science, appeared in 1989, followed a year later by Mindwalking; Simplicity, released in 1992, topped the European jazz charts for four weeks. After 1993's A World Away, Weiskopf for the first time departed from original compositions to record 1995's Night Lights, a collection of standards; 1997's Song for My Mother, however, returned his own material to the forefront. 

A graduate of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, Weiskopf and fellow Eastman alum Ramon Ricker teamed in 1990 to write the books Coltrane: A Player's Guide to His Harmony and The Augmented Scale in Jazz; in 1994, Weiskopf also published Intervalic Improvisation, a player's guide for broadening the scope of modern jazz improvisation. In 1996, he joined drummer Rick Hollander's quartet, and as a headliner returned in 1999 with Anytown. Siren was issued a year later. ~ Jason Ankeny https://www.allmusic.com/artist/walt-weiskopf-mn0000237531/biography

Personnel:  Tenor Saxophone – Walt Weiskopf; Bass – Jay Anderson; Drums – Jeff Hirshfield; Piano – Joel Weiskopf

Exact Science

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Ralph Sutton - Ralph Sutton At Cafe Des Copains

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1987
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:51
Size: 126,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:13)  1. Laugh Clown Laugh
(4:30)  2. You Can Depend On Me
(3:30)  3. Poor Butterfly
(4:19)  4. Snowy Morning Blues
(4:48)  5. Russian Lullaby
(5:45)  6. Sweet Sue
(5:32)  7. This Is All I Ask
(3:44)  8. Somebody Stole My Gal
(5:43)  9. St. Louis Blues
(3:14) 10. My Blue Heaven
(4:23) 11. Exactly Like You
(4:05) 12. Christopher Columbus

Ralph Sutton is such a consistent pianist that virtually all of his releases are recommended. At the top of his admittedly small field (stride piano has become an almost extinct art form), Sutton always seems to sound inspired no matter how many times he has performed a particular number. This superior solo CD features Sutton live at Toronto's Cafe Des Copains, recorded live for radio during performances in 1983, 1984, 1985 and 1987. The stride pianist's style, which was fully formed by the mid-1950s, did not change during the era, so there is a strong unity to the music (as if it had all been played the same day). Highlights include "Laugh Clown Laugh," "You Can Depend On Me," "Somebody Stole My Gal" and "Christopher Columbus." ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/at-cafe-des-copains-mw0000873850

Ralph Sutton At Cafe Des Copains

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Bruce Barth featuring Jerry Bergonzi - Sunday

Styles: Piano And Saxophone Jazz 
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:57
Size: 127,7 MB
Art: Front

( 7:30)  1. Blue Cube
(11:25)  2. Sunday
( 8:28)  3. Double Billed
(13:10)  4. Afternoon in Lleida
( 6:41)  5. Refuge
( 7:41)  6. Laura

American pianist and composer Bruce Barth pulls together a fine quartet and an attractive repertoire for this superbly recorded 2017 performance. Combining latin and swing styles, the music is rich with atmosphere and brims with joyous sounds and solos. Spanish label Blau Records specialise in recording live shows in as much fidelity as possible. This latest project was recorded at the Espai de la Música Mestre Villa in Bencàssim on 13 May 2017, and brings together a quartet led by Barth and tenor saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi.  Five of the six tracks are originals by one or other, and both are clearly comfortable in their writing roles. Bergonzi’s opening Blue Cube jumps off in a relaxed latin style with a rich-toned sax melody and solo, culminating in a round of audience applause which comes as a shock to those (such as me) who haven’t read the sleeve notes and assume this must be a studio date, so well-balanced and rich is the overall sound. Barth’s Sunday continues the latin feel with its 6/8 lilt, Bergonzi’s solo again building nicely before Barth’s own turn on the piano. Barth has a beautiful style in his soloing, well paced, varied and creating tension-and-release sections which put me in mind of Bill Evans; block chords suddenly giving way to swinging runs, which turn into swirling ostinatos. It’s extremely listenable and rewarding stuff. Drummer Stephen Keogh gets a solo here, plenty of cymbals to the fore as he keeps the groove moving along. The originals keep coming with Bergonzi’s Double Billed, a swinging affair which gives Barth room to stretch out. Double bassist Mark Hodgson’s solo comes across particularly well, again well caught by the mics, sonorous and full. Afternoon In Lleida, another Barth number, is a slower affair, redolent of the Spanish afternoon, starting gently and building into a series of climaxes before subsiding into gentle harmonies. (Perhaps it was that sort of afternoon…?) Refuge is a clean and simple ballad, which serves as a good counterpoint to the drama that has gone before.  The album closes with Bergonzi’s arrangement of David Raksin’s immortal standard Laura. Bergonzi takes the original film score tune and takes it nicely into the band’s sound, with dramatic chords behind the tune before Barth at last get to take the first solo.  All in all this is a very enjoyable collection, beautifully recorded and full of atmosphere. ~ Mark McKergow http://www.londonjazznews.com/2018/03/cd-review-bruce-barth-quartet-ft-jerry.html

Personnel:  Bruce Barth piano; Jerry Bergonzi saxophone;  Mark Hodgson bass; Stephen Keogh drums

Sunday

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