Don Shirley - Bewitched

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:15
Size: 88,1 MB
Art: Front

(2:38)  1. Bewitched
(8:17)  2. Love for Sale
(2:15)  3. And This is My Beloved
(7:04)  4. Medley from 'New Faces'
(4:28)  5. September Song
(4:59)  6. Blue Moon
(3:21)  7. My Funny Valentine
(5:08)  8. Dancing on the Ceiling

Pianist, composer, and arranger Don Shirley was born in Pensacola, Florida, on January 29, 1927. He began playing piano at age two, and seven years later had developed his skills so rapidly, he was studying theory at the prestigious Leningrad Conservatory of Music. Shirley made his concert debut with the Boston Pops in 1945, while the following year, the London Philharmonic Orchestra performed one of his first major compositions. In the ensuing years between 1954 and 1968, Shirley performed as a soloist and as a member of several symphonies, including the Boston Pops, Detroit Symphony, Chicago Symphony, and the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington. Shirley also composed several organ symphonies, a piano concerto, two string quartets, and numerous pieces for piano. His musical language also encompassed tastefully mastered combinations of standards, show tunes, ballads, spirituals, and jazz performed with his own trio. Incredibly, Shirley also found time between performing and recording to obtain a PhD of Music, Psychology, and Liturgical Arts. Throughout the '50s and '60s, he released numerous albums on the Cadence label. In 1999, Collectables began reissuing several of those albums as two-for-one sets. Shirley died of heart disease on April 6, 2013. ~ Al Campbell https://www.allmusic.com/artist/don-shirley-mn0000160561/biography

Bewitched

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Jessica Elbert - A Moment in Jazz

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 15:58
Size: 37,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:20)  1. The Touch of Your Lips
(3:27)  2. The Gentleman Is a Dope
(3:17)  3. I Like You You're Nice
(4:53)  4. All or Nothing At All

The first words out of Jessica Elbert's mouth weren't spoken, they were sung. Raised in a family of singers, Jessica got her start in church and school choirs. Jessica was fourteen when she began formal classical vocal training with Joan Kaplon in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and has since studied with a variety of notable vocal teachers, including Lisa Campbell Albert in St. Louis, Missouri, Judy Niemack in Naperville, Illinois, and Ellen Shade and Phil Hall in New York City. During her college years, Jessica was the recipient of numerous vocal awards, including 'Best Soloist' by the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) in 2001 and other nods from Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (CARA) as a runner up for the 'Best Mixed Collegiate Song' for one of her solo works, and was also included on the Best of Collegiate A Cappella (BOCA) in 2002 for another of her solo works. Since graduating from Washington University in St. Louis in 2002, Jessica has lived in New York City, pursuing her singing career. After exploring a number of musical genres during her early years in New York, a chance series of events led her to study with Peter Eldridge and Jay Clayton, both noted Jazz Musicians and teachers. Jessica has focused on the study and performance of Jazz ever since, regularly performing in the New York metropolitan area, and along the East Coast. Jessica released her debut album "Anlage" in late 2006. "Anlage" is an exciting collection of songs with accompaniment by such notables as tenor saxophonist Joel Frahm, and is a blend of popular standards (I Remember You, Midnight Sun) and Brazilian classics (Dindi, A Little Tear), all that showcase Jessica's remarkable talent and stunning ability so early into her career. https://www.smallslive.com/artists/568-jessica-elbert/

A Moment in Jazz

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Scott Colley - Seven

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:21
Size: 109,8 MB
Art: Front

(5:50)  1. Fragment
(6:54)  2. Tangled Reality
(6:07)  3. Low Down
(4:10)  4. Don't Rise
(4:53)  5. Few Words
(6:52)  6. Bridge of Dawn
(4:50)  7. The Return
(5:06)  8. Legacy
(2:35)  9. Three Visitors

Multi-Grammy nominated Scott Colley, “one of the leading bassists of our post-bop era, and a composer- bandleader ofquietly serious resolve,” has composed incredible new works for his recently formed band, Current, which features trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson, drummer Nate Smith, and pianist Kevin Hays. ArtistShare is proud to submit Scott’s stunning new recording, Seven, for nomination consideration in the 60th Grammy Awards. The writing and performance is unparalleled, combining beautiful melodicism with exhilarating rhythmic structures. The band navigates sometimes surprising territory, including Kevin Hays’ vocal performance on “Don’t Rise.”~ Brian Camelio https://news.allaboutjazz.com/artistshare-is-proud-to-submit-scott-colleys-seven-for-nomination-consideration-in-the-60th-grammy-awards.php

Personnel:  Acoustic Bass, Composed By, Arranged By, Photography By [Cover] – Scott Colley; Drums – Nate Smith; Piano, Vocals – Kevin Hays; Trumpet – Jonathan Finlayson

Seven

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Jack Reilly - Blue Sean Green

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1974
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:03
Size: 99,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:21)  1. Halloween
(6:19)  2. Waltz For Fall
(7:27)  3. Unichrom
(4:57)  4. 526, AKA(Resurrection)
(5:48)  5. Allegretto
(3:08)  6. La-No-Tib
(6:38)  7. Blue Sean Green
(3:22)  8. Floral Space

Jack Reilly Trio (Blue-Sean-Green) Unichrom Ltd. Jack Reilly is an interesting study in contrasts, Bill Evans is omnipresent in his playing, but there is a classical edge that gives him a unique style [with] musical depth. Jack Six on Bass and Drummer Joe Cocuzzo provide the ideal accompaniment. Ever the spear carriers, they do not overplay but perform superbly in support. 'Halloween' This tune is a treat with tricky machinations by Reilly. Delicious humor with a hint of darkness dancing just below the surface. Jack Reilly gleefully explores the 88's. Spirited playing by all. 'Waltz For Fall' Shades of Bill Evans with the leader's personal touch. '526' There is a musical story here played with much feeling, highlighted by a jazzy finish. 'Blue-Sean-Green' Some blues and some quirkily swinging piano with a mention of Monk in an early phrase. Hip stuff. 'Floral Space' A truly romantic theme with a touch of sadness. Beautifully executed by all. ~ AAJ Staff https://www.allaboutjazz.com/jack-reilly-trio-jack-reilly-unichrom-review-by-aaj-staff.php

Personnel: Jack Reilly, Piano, Jack Six, Bass, Joe Cocuzzo, Drums.

Blue Sean Green

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Bireli Lagrene - Storyteller

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:34
Size: 141,4 MB
Art: Front

(5:18)  1. One Take
(6:27)  2. Estate
(5:43)  3. Wave
(5:43)  4. Stella by Starlight
(4:47)  5. Freedom Jazz Dance
(4:43)  6. Sunny
(8:50)  7. My One and Lonely Love
(5:56)  8. There Is No Greater Love
(3:43)  9. More
(4:58) 10. On Green Dolphin Street
(1:21) 11. Life in the Folds
(3:59) 12. Storyteller

Ever since he stunned listeners at age 13 with jaw-dropping guitar technique and mastery of the jazz manouche idiom eternally associated with Django Reinhardt, France’s Biréli Lagrène has grown continually more beastly on the instrument. His musicality, however his deep appreciation for songs and the people he plays them with guides his decisions more than chops alone. On Storyteller, with bassist Larry Grenadier and percussionist Mino Cinélu, he begins with the purest, most beautiful acoustic tone but then stretches it sonically with software to create radical sustain and added color. Chords linger and wave like aurora borealis. Organic elements of his playing harmonics, slides, bends, fall-offs, scrapes, vibrato become enhanced and almost surreal. Yet the intimacy of his touch is never lost or covered over. One could call it acoustic fusion, a blending of two paramount interests of Lagrène’s over the decades. Playing mainly well-trodden standards, he devours them like a lion, exposing every harmonic nuance and rhythmic possibility. But with the title track, he closes on a tantalizingly futuristic note. https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/storyteller-feat-larry-grenadier-mino-cin%C3%A9lu/1438005730

Personnel: Biréli Lagrène (g); Larry Grenadier (b); Mino Cinelu (per)

Storyteller

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