Sunday, February 24, 2019

Esbjörn Svensson Trio - Plays Monk

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1996
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:47
Size: 147,9 MB
Art: Front

(6:47)  1. I Mean You
(5:48)  2. Criss Cross
(6:13)  3. Round Midnight
(7:22)  4. Bemsha Swing
(4:03)  5. Rhythm-A-Ning
(6:40)  6. In Walked Bud
(4:05)  7. Little Rootie Tootie
(4:59)  8. Eronel
(5:05)  9. Evidence
(6:41) 10. Crepuscule With Nellie

Esbjörn Svensson Trio Plays Monk from 1996 is a music album by Esbjörn Svensson Trio . The album is a tribute to the jazz pianist Thelonious Monk . https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esbjörn_Svensson_Trio_Plays_Monk

Personnel:   Esbjörn Svensson - piano , percussion , string arrangement; Dan Berglund - double bass , string arrangement; Magnus Öström - drums

Plays Monk

Nancy Harrow - Lost Lady

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1994
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:26
Size: 112,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:30)  1. House On The Low Round Hill
(3:33)  2. Railroad Man
(4:45)  3. If I Want To
(5:46)  4. Lost Lady
(3:38)  5. Happy Days/lost Lady
(3:04)  6. Self-esteem
(2:20)  7. Putting On Airs
(3:54)  8. Angry Blues
(5:44)  9. He's Gone
(3:37) 10. For The Last Time
(2:57) 11. Starting Over
(2:50) 12. This Life Is Mine
(2:44) 13. Happy Days

Singer Nancy Harrow certainly put a lot of work into this project, writing both words and music for all 13 originals. The recording is inspired by Willa Cather's brief novel Lost Lady, although the plot is given a more modern twist. 

Harrow utilizes a second singer (Vernel Bagneris, who serves as the narrator and male counterpoint), a top-notch rhythm section (pianist Dick Katz, bassist Ray Drummond and drummer Ben Riley) and occasionally Phil Woods on alto and clarinet. While this is an interesting recording and everyone plays and sings well, none of the music is really all that memorable, and the songs do not stand alone if heard apart from the story. So it is a mixed success; well-conceived, ambitious and intriguing, if not essential. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/lost-lady-mw0000626767

Personnel:  Nancy Harrow ( Vocal ); Ben Riley ( Drums); Dick Katz ( Piano ); Phil Woods 
( Sax Alto) ); Vernel Bagneris ( Vocal ); Ray Drummond ( Bass )

Lost Lady

Chico Hamilton Quintet - Plays South Pacific In Hi-Fi

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop 
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:57
Size: 85,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:18)  1. A Wonderful Guy
(3:56)  2. This Nearly Was Mine
(3:03)  3. Dites Moi
(3:19)  4. Some Enchanted Evening
(4:43)  5. Bali Ha'i
(3:03)  6. There Is Nothing Like A Dame
(3:34)  7. Younger Than Springtime
(3:00)  8. Happy Talk
(1:55)  9. A Cockeyed Optimist
(4:23) 10. Honey Bun
(2:41) 11. I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out Of My Hair

South Pacific in Hi-Fi is an album by drummer and bandleader Chico Hamilton featuring jazz interpreations of themes from the Broadway musical South Pacific which was released on the Pacific Jazz label. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Pacific_in_Hi-Fi

Personnel:  Chico Hamilton - drums; Paul Horn - alto saxophone, flute, arranger; Fred Katz - cello, arranger; John Pisano - guitar, arranger; Hal Gaylor - bass; Calvin Jackson, Carson Smith - arranger

Plays South Pacific In Hi-Fi

Jackie Gleason - Lover's Rhapsody

Styles: Easy Listening
Year: 1953
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 24:57
Size: 57,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:20)  1. Desire
(3:22)  2. Flirtation
(3:16)  3. Temptation
(3:13)  4. Enchantment
(2:54)  5. When Your Lover Has Gone
(2:36)  6. Tenderly
(3:06)  7. I'm Thru With Love
(3:07)  8. Dark Is The Night (C'est Fini)

Not only was he one of the finest comedians America has ever produced, Jackie Gleason applied his prodigious talents to music as well. With a strong jazz roots background (leaning to mesmerized idolatry when dealing with good trumpet players), Gleason developed a chart-topping series of mood music albums in the '50s, citing his reason for their existence: "Every time I ever watched Clark Gable do a love scene in the movies, I'd hear this really pretty music, real romantic, come up behind him and help set the mood. So I'm figuring that if Clark Gable needs that kinda help, then a guy in Canarsie has gotta be dyin' for somethin' like this!" Gleason began making films in the '40s, but he rose to stardom in the early '50s, thanks to the late '40s/early '50s television series The Life of Riley and Cavalcade of Stars. His television stardom led to a contract with Capitol Records, who released his first album, Music for Lovers Only, in 1953. As a musician, Gleason favored lush, dramatically orchestrated instrumentals, patterned after the mood music of Paul Weston. Gleason wasn't a trained musician, but he was responsible for the musical direction of his records; when he did write a piece, he would dictate to someone who could read and write music.  Music for Lovers Only was a surprise hit, selling over 500,000 copies. Every subsequent Gleason album was a major hit, reaching the Top Ten and selling a large number of copies. Gleason continued to release albums into the '60s, but his popularity dipped dramatically after 1957. After that year, he no longer was able to make it into the Top 15, even though his records continued to appear in the lower regions of the charts. Gleason's records have continued to be popular cult items and they have come to be regarded as definitive mood music albums. ~ Cub Koda https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jackie-gleason-mn0000781399/biography

Lover's Rhapsody

James Moody - Hey! It's James Moody + Flute N The Blues + 3 Bonus Tracks

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 79:40
Size: 183,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:08)  1. Stella By Starlight
(2:38)  2. Indian Summer
(4:31)  3. Don't Blame Me
(2:38)  4. Last Train From Overbrook (Vocal Version)
(4:00)  5. Please Say Yes
(6:19)  6. Blue Jubilee
(3:14)  7. Woody'N You
(2:29)  8. Trouble In De Lowlands
(2:35)  9. Summertime
(2:55) 10. Tali
(4:07) 11. Flute 'n The Blues
(2:32) 12. Birdland Story
(2:42) 13. It Could Happen To You
(2:42) 14. I Cover The Waterfront
(4:23) 15. Body And Soul
(3:20) 16. Breaking The Blues
(3:21) 17. Parker's Mood
(3:51) 18. Easy Living
(3:43) 19. Boo's Tune
(4:41) 20. Richard's Blues
(3:07) 21. Last Train From Overbrook (instrumental)
(3:13) 22. Workshop
(3:18) 23. I'm In The Mood for Love

There is nothing earth-shattering on this collection, which was originally issued as two LPs: Flute'n The Blues (1956) and Hey! It's James Moody (1959). What remains remarkable, though, is how fresh James Moody sounds, even when some of the arrangements show their age and some of the ensemble passages lack precise intonation. Indeed, some of these tracks have passed into jazz lore, including "Last Train from Overbrook (the salute to Moody's return to the scene) with Eddie Jefferson's ebullient vocal, as well as an instrumental take and the classic Moody-Jefferson piece "I'm in the Mood For Love, performed since as "Moody's Mood For Love. The leader excels on alto and tenor, but his full-bodied, soulful and technically sure flute playing deserves special mention. He shines on a languid "Indian Summer that is far too short, and "Trouble In De Lowlands finds him appropriately mournful. "Tali is a bit too precious, but Moody almost salvages it with a far-too-short swinging segment. Likewise, the out-of-tune opening ensemble threatens to sabotage the leader's offering, as well as that of underrated trumpeter Johnny Coles, on "Flute'n The Blues. The closing, riff-based ensemble, however, is tighter. On tenor, Moody soulfully explores "Don't Blame Me, taking his time to build a compelling solo. On "Woody'N You (aka "Algo Bueno ), Dizzy Gillespie's tribute to Woody Herman, he soars again on tenor, using fragments of the melody to launch segments of blowing choruses. His tenor playing, individualized with gruff, acidic traces, is always compelling. Jefferson is featured extensively on pieces including "Birdland Story, "I Cover the Waterfront, the majestically paced "Workshop and the classics "Parker's Mood and "I'm in the Mood for Love (complete with that wild falsetto spot). The latter two are arguably the singer's most moving works on record. This release is a portrait of James Moody's output from the late '50s. Here and there it can sound a bit dated, mainly because the ensembles and tempi are too often too much the same, number after number. Moody's warm, passionate, focused voice, however, stands out. Whether in the studio or in the band box, he was then and remains now exciting, soulful and expressive. ~ Andrew Rowan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/hey-its-james-moody-james-moody-lone-hill-jazz-review-by-andrew-rowan.php

Personnel: James Moody: alto and tenor saxophone, flute. Tracks 1-10: John Gray: guitar; Eldee Young: bass; Clarence Johnston: drums; Eddie Jefferson: vocals (4,9); Tom McIntosh: arranger, conductor. Tracks 11-20: Johnny Coles: trumpet; William Shepherd: trombone; Pee Wee Moore: baritone saxophone; Jimmy Boyd: piano, arranger; John Latham: bass; Clarence Johnston: drums; Eddie Jefferson: vocals (12,14,17); Flip Richard, Earl Turner, Sonny Cohn: trumpet; John Avant: trombone; Bill Atkins, Lenny Druss: alto saxophone; Vito Price, Sandy Mosse, Eddie Johnson: tenor saxophone; Pat Patrick: baritone saxophone; Junior Mance: piano; John Gray: bass; Johnny Pate: bass, arranger, director; Red Holt: drums. Track 22: Johnny Coles, Howard McGhee: trumpet; Musa Kaleem: baritone saxophone; Gene Kee: piano; John Latham: bass; Clarence Johnston: drums; Johnny Coles: trumpet; Donald Cole: trombone; Tate Houston: baritone saxophone: Jimmy Boyd: piano; John Latham: bass; Clarence Johnston: drums; Eddie Jefferson: vocals.

Hey! It's James Moody