Sonny Clark Trio - Blues In The Night

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1958
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:00
Size: 80,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:20)  1. Can`t We Be Friends
(4:41)  2. I Cover The Waterfront
(4:18)  3. Somebody Love Me
(3:32)  4. Dancing In The Dark
(7:15)  5. Blues In The Night (alt)
(5:59)  6. Blues In The Night
(3:54)  7. All Of You

The piano trio material included in this Japanese reissue, along with another session from late 1958 (see The Art of the Trio, aka "The 45 Sessions"), constitutes a body of work which was never released in LP format during Sonny Clark's tragically short life. Clark was an underrated master of the hard bop genre who had a very subtle, artful touch. On this date, he exhibits the influence of Ahmad Jamal and Red Garland (a lighter sound) and less of the Bud Powell-inspired, hard-driving bebop lines. This material was intended for jukebox release in 45 format. The arrangements are simple and concise; the tunes are all well-known standards. Sonny's conception is quite accessible relaxed tempos and blues-inflected improvisations. His chord voicings and harmonies are exquisite on "I Cover the Waterfront," "Somebody Loves Me," "Dancing in the Dark," and Cole Porter's "All of You." The recording in many ways presages the Three Sounds' approach to a tightly organized, commercially affable piano trio concept. This material is also included in Blue Note's 1998 domestic Sonny Clark release entitled Standards. 

~ Lee Bloom https://www.allmusic.com/album/blues-in-the-night-mw0000536692

Personnel: Sonny Clark - piano; Paul Chambers - bass; Wes Landers - drums

Blues In The Night

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Mary Ann Hurst - Chinese Folksongs In A Jazz Mode

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:38
Size: 131,0 MB
Art: Front

(5:22)  1. North Wind Blows
(5:28)  2. Nanniwan
(4:56)  3. Crescent Moon Rising
(4:58)  4. Swallow
(4:56)  5. Yi Meng Mountain
(4:38)  6. Sanshilipu Village
(7:03)  7. Embroidered Pouch
(7:31)  8. Kangding Village Lovesong
(7:44)  9. Little Cabbage
(3:58) 10. Herdsman Song

This is a great easy-listening CD - the vocals are done in soft-spoken Mandarin and English - and the backing Jazz Band (Small World & Friends) is as classy as they come. A Great Listen for World Music lovers! Realizing a 15-year dream, vocalist Mary Ann Hurst translated traditional Chinese folksongs into English and performs them in the jazz idiom, singing in both Mandarin and English. Liner notes and lyrics are in English, to include lyrics in Chinese characters and the romanization system, Pinyin. Ten traditional Chinese melodies were chosen for their intrinsically lovely melody lines. Instrumental back-up is by top jazz musicians who perfectly interpret the spirit of the project.  https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/mah
Reviews:
“A delight to the ears, thanks to incomparable jazz vocalist Mary Ann Hurst and an exclusive ensemble of Texas-based musicians. Hurst beautifully interprets thematic folks songs through the universal language of melodious instrumentation, chiming in with her flawless Mandarin…a very unique and unorthodox amalgamation of genres. ~ San Antonio Current

"Hurst's voice glides from English to Chinese with a buttery smoothness...belies her years of commitment to both the jazz idiom and the Mandarin tongue" ~ A.P. writer Alexa Olesen

“Highly recommended as a musical experience, and a good way to expand your knowledge of Mandarin Chinese!” ~ Amazon.com

“Your surprising yet fantastic CD [is] indeed a jewel. There are strong elements of light jazz and also poetic reminiscence of Chinese mentality. Anyone with some jazz background will appreciate this album effortlessly. The whole project conveys an artful rendition of your unique understanding of jazz a well as Chinese folk music…a well-blended version of our modern longing to reach out to our roots and to express simple beauty in our common humanity. The jazz motif is a wonderful format for your love of Chinese culture.” ~ C.C. Wang, Metropolitan Museum of Art collector and artist

“A one-of-a-kind record. Mary Ann Hurst lived in China long enough to know deeply the language and the music… a very musical voice, the feeling she gives to these songs is unique…[this is] truly world music.” ~ Francesco Martinelli, Pisa, Italy

Chinese Folksongs In A Jazz Mode

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Walter Wanderley - When It Was Done

Styles: Latin Jazz
Year: 1968
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 30:46
Size: 70,7 MB
Art: Front

(2:39)  1. Open Your Arms (Let Me Walk Right In)
(2:35)  2. Surfboard
(3:35)  3. Baiao da Garoa
(2:37)  4. Reach Out for Me
(2:28)  5. Ole, Ole, Ola
(2:25)  6. Ponteio
(2:24)  7. When It Was Done
(2:46)  8. On My Mind
(2:20)  9. Just My Love and I
(4:20) 10. Capoeira
(2:34) 11. Truth in Peace (Verdade em Paz)

Walter Wanderley moved over to A&M from Verve with producer Creed Taylor, whose influence dominates this heavily produced yet attractive album of mostly Brazilian material. The Wanderley sound is more carefully terraced than ever on this strikingly packaged album, edited and faded for easy airplay. Especially nice is Jobim's "Surfboard," a sleek miniature tone poem. Besides his usual subdued organ work, Wanderley spends almost as much time on the electric harpsichord, upon which he uses a more legato attack than on the organ, a curious reversal of each instrument's properties. He is not helped by the cottonball-textured vocals from a superfluous female trio, who figure most prominently on the two American tunes, Burt Bacharach's "Reach Out For Me" and Jimmy Webb's title track. A few of the usual CTI suspects turn up Hubert Laws on flute, Marvin Stamm on flugelhorn; Don Sebesky provides the overlush string backdrops, with other points in the arrangements entrusted to Eumir Deodato. A young Milton Nascimento makes a cameo appearance on "Open Your Arms," scatting a countermelody that he invented on the spot after awakening from a nap (no, it was jet lag, not a commentary on the session!). ~ Richard S.Ginell https://www.allmusic.com/album/when-it-was-done-mw0001041579

Personnel:  Walter Wanderley - organ, electronic harpsichord; Marvin Stamm, John Glasel - flugelhorn; George Marge, Stan Webb - flute, piccolo; Donald Ashworth, Hubert Laws - flute, piccolo, oboe, English horn; José Marino - bass; João Palma - drums; Lu Lu Ferreira - percussion; Lewis Eley, Harry Glickman, Gene Orloff, Raoul Poliakin, Max Pollikoff, Matthew Raimondi, Tosha Samaroff, Sylvan Shulman, Avram Weiss - violin; Harold Coletta, Harold Furmansky - viola; Charles McCracken, George Ricci - cello; Gloria Agostini - harp; Anamaria Valle, Marilyn Jackson, Linda November, Milton Nascimento - vocals; Eumir Deodato - rhythm arrangements; Don Sebesky - string arrangements

When It Was Done

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Joey DeFrancesco - Goodfellas

Styles: Jazz, Hard Bop
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:45
Size: 126,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:29)  1. Speak Softly Love
(4:14)  2. Volare
(5:13)  3. Fly Me To The Moon
(5:10)  4. All The Way
(4:13)  5. Whack 'Em
(4:04)  6. Malafemmena
(3:49)  7. Young At Heart
(5:12)  8. O Solo Mio
(4:32)  9. Evidence
(6:09) 10. Goodfellas
(4:44) 11. Ya See What I'm Sayin'?
(1:51) 12. Whack 'Em (Reprise) / Tarentella

When you spend your youth growing up in South Philadelphia, the music of Frank Sinatra and the earlier music that influenced him has to have a major lasting impact on you. The timeless nature of standards such as "Young At Heart," "Fly Me to the Moon" and "All The Way" cannot be ignored. Other significant crooners such as Perry Como, Dean Martin, and Tony Bennett have extended the feelings we harbor that these songs will live forever. For his latest album, 28-year-old organist Joey DeFrancesco adds in a little ethnic Italian folk scenery and some Godfather movie theme spice to these standards. The result is an enjoyable trio session that pays its respects to the tradition while folding in a mainstream jazz background. The trio’s best example of mixing the cauldron thoroughly is "O Solo Mio" with its ride cymbal and walking bass. Guitar and organ sound off effectively; the arrangement even includes a Basie ending. DeFrancesco’s Hammond B-3 is particularly hot on "Fly Me to the Moon," as the unit improvises on a familiar theme. Similarly, Frank Vignola swings heartily on most tracks; he’s particularly effective on the blues-based "Whack ‘em." Joe Ascione takes his share of fours and extended solos; the drummer’s steady driving force is particularly notable on "Malafemmena" with its hefty modified New Orleans shuffle beat. 

The title track is a tribute to another Philadelphia "godfather" organist Jimmy Smith. One of DeFrancesco’s mentors and a favorite driving force all over the world, Smith has a way with the blues that won’t quit. The trio captures this mood quite well, swings with passion throughout the session, and does a bang-up job of bringin’ home the good-natured fun. ~ Jim Santella https://www.allaboutjazz.com/goodfellas-joey-defrancesco-concord-music-group-review-by-jim-santella.php

Personnel: Joey DeFrancesco- Hammond B-3 organ; Frank Vignola- guitar; Joe Ascione- drums.

Goodfellas

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Darrell Grant - The Territory

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:34
Size: 140,2 MB
Art: Front

( 1:13)  1. Introduction
( 5:56)  2. Mvt. 1 Hymn to the Four Winds
( 6:04)  3. Mvt. 2 Daybreak At Fort Rock
( 3:10)  4. Mvt. 3 Missoula Floods
( 4:03)  5. Missoula Floods, Pt. 2
( 5:58)  6. Mvt. 4 Rivers
(10:13)  7. Mvt. 5 Chief Joseph's Lament
( 5:48)  8. Mvt. 6 Stones Into Blossoms
( 7:12)  9. Mvt. 7 Sundays At the Golden West
( 2:37) 10. Mvt. 8 Aftermath (Interlude)
( 8:14) 11. Mvt. 9 New Land

The Territory marks Grant's seventh CD as a leader and his first since 2007's critically acclaimed "Truth and Reconciliation," which was selected one of the top 10 CDs' of the year by The Village Voice jazz critics poll. The nine-member ensemble includes Grant's long-time collaborators Grammy award-winning drummer Brian Blade, Grammy award-winning saxophonist Steve Wilson and celebrated vibraphonist Joe Locke, as well as renowned cellist Hamilton Cheifetz, Chicago bassist Clark Sommers, Portland vocalist Marilyn Keller, trumpeter Thomas Barber, and bass clarinetist Kirt Peterson. The Territory captures Grant in an exciting 2013 world premiere performance presented by Chamber Music Northwest in front a sold-out audience at Portland's Kaul Auditorium. https://www.darrellgrant.com/the-territory-album

Personnel: Darrell Grant, piano; Joe Locke, vibraphone & marimba; Steve Wilson, flute, alto flute, soprano & alto saxophone; Brian Blade, drums; Clark Sommers, bass; Marilyn Keller, vocals; Hamilton Cheifetz, cello; Thomas Barber, trumpet; Kirt Peterson, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone

The Territory

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