Rick Braun - Full Stride

Styles: Trumpet And Flugelhorn Jazz
Year: 1998
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:28
Size: 114,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:47)  1. A Very Good Thing
(4:20)  2. Nightfall
(4:47)  3. Hollywood & Vine
(4:45)  4. One Love
(4:55)  5. Moonshot
(5:12)  6. China Bath
(4:28)  7. Magic Moment
(5:18)  8. Soul On Soul
(6:18)  9. South Of Midnight
(4:34) 10. Aqua Funk

A positive, tongue-in-cheek attitude infuses the trumpeter's Full Stride with a certain balmy optimism that contrasts with the dark moods of most of 1997's Body and Soul and recalls the deeply grooving, party time atmosphere on his breakthrough Beat Street (1995). His relaxed, fun-seeking attitude is apparent from the start, with the catchy light funk of "A Very Good Thing" recalling the restless spirit of Beat Street's "Marty's Party"; he floats a percussive melody, complete with irresistible pop hooks, over his own tropical vibe harmony (on synth) and Dave Palmer's alternating deep drum groove and insistent high-hat. More Herb Alpert than Miles. Likewise, he teams with keyboardist Brian Culbertson and former Rufus guitarist Tony Maiden (who backs Braun's flügelhorn with an hypnotic clicking wah-wah effect throughout) to reflect the fast-paced street life of "Hollywood and Vine." On "One Love," he combines his muted trumpet with Culbertson's acoustic piano as a harmonic backdrop to a dreamy, swaying flügelhorn melody; the effect is a cool tension beneath a soaring spirit. "China Bath" plays like background music at an Asian massage parlor. Chuck Kentis finds a synth tone that approximates an Oriental stringed instrument, which he touches gracefully behind a gentle conversation by Braun and Peter White's acoustic guitar, all while a bubbly, trip-hop percussion groove rolls in the background. Then there is Moon Calhoun's croaking synth bass backing Braun's give and take with the echoing electric guitar of Bruce Conte. Following the lead of Chet Baker, Braun even doubles his own gentle vocal scat with the horn on "Magic Moment."~ Jonathan Widran https://www.allmusic.com/album/full-stride-mw0000600639

Personnel: Flugelhorn – Rick Braun,  Bass – Cliff Hugo, John Menzano;  Double Bass [Upright Bass] – Cliff Hugo, Jack Daro; Drums – Dave Palmer, Michael White; Electric Piano – Mitchell Forman; Guitar – Bruce Conte, Carl Verheyen, Jeff Golub, Nils, Tony Maiden); Guitar [Nylon String] – Peter White;  Keyboards – Brian Culbertson, Chuck Kentis, David Garfield, Rick Braun; Keyboards [Additional] – Boney James;  Piano – Curtis Brengle, Mitchell Forman; Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Doug Norwine; Synthesizer [Bass] – Brian Culbertson; Trombone – Nick Lane; Trumpet – Lee Thornburg, Rick Braun;  Vocals – Maysa Leak, Rick Braun

Full Stride

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Christie Winn & The Lowdowns - Closer to Home

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:59
Size: 145,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:06)  1. Here Comes Misery
(4:02)  2. The Profound Song
(4:40)  3. Belle of the Ball
(5:05)  4. Sweetest Surprise
(5:50)  5. Words Move Too Slow
(4:45)  6. Floating Away
(4:46)  7. Will to Fall
(2:55)  8. Bliss
(4:26)  9. Inner City Blues
(4:18) 10. Wish
(3:55) 11. Tiny Tune
(6:33) 12. Lazy Sunday
(3:38) 13. Sou Seu Sabia
(3:55) 14. Por Favor

"Golden Voiced", The San Francisco Chronicle

"With an awareness of the sensual nature of each note, Winn encapsulates feeling, essence and being all in one breath", NE In Tune Magazine

"As songwriters, Winn and Bissinger have a great feeling for the inner connection between lyrics and melody". Gabriel Fehrenbach, Suddeutsche Zeitung

Following up their debut CD "Further Away From Here" this album showcases an expanded band including Christie Winn - vocals, piano, wurlitzer and melodica, Steve Bissinger - guitar and lap steel, Joe Cohen - alto sax, Joel Behrman - trombone, Joseph Hérbert - cello, Geoff Brennan, David Ewell and Daniel Fabricant - acoustic bass and Jim Bove and Eric Garland - drums. Featuring twelve new original compositions by Winn and Bissinger as well as covers by Marvin Gaye and Caetano Veloso "Closer To Home" steers The Lowdowns in some new directions, exploring latin, pop and jazz ballads while not completely leaving behind the amercana/jazz fusion of their first CD. https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/lowdowns2

Closer to Home

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Tom Harrell - First Impressions

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:31
Size: 146,2 MB
Art: Front

( 5:07)  1. Sainte
( 8:14)  2. Voices
(11:49)  3. Perspectives
( 7:28)  4. Beau soir
( 5:57)  5. Rêverie
(11:29)  6. Passepied
( 6:26)  7. Sarabande
( 6:58)  8. Musique du café

Tom Harrell is in a classical mood on his genre-blending First Impressions. This isn’t new for the brilliant trumpeter-composer. The six-part suite The Adventures of a Quixotic Character, off Harrell’s 2014 album Trip, had a classical feel to it, and this new album’s liner notes, by Robert Baird, trace Harrell’s blending of classical music and jazz in his earlier work. But the emphasis of that fusion is heightened on First Impressions, and the jazz/classical recipe is seasoned with tastes of other styles as well. The eight tracks here include Harrell arrangements of four pieces by Debussy (“Beau Soir,” “Reverie,” “Passepied,” “Sarabande”), two by Ravel (“Sainte,” “Voices”) and two new compositions of his own, “Perspectives” and “Musique du Cafe.” They’re performed by his crack working quintet with Wayne Escoffery on soprano and tenors saxophones, Danny Grissett on piano, Ugonna Okegwo on bass and Johnathan Blake on drums, augmented by flute, guitar, violin and cello. Latin influences-bossa, baião, hints of tango and flamenco-insinuate themselves here and there amid all the classical impressionism, as does a touch of hip-hop rhythm beneath the leader’s solo on “Sainte.” The quintet’s straight-ahead prowess is deployed too-Blake’s transitional solo on “Perspectives” and Grissett’s and Escoffery’s deft turns atop the Okegwo-fueled “Reverie” are among the other highlights. Harrell, of course, blows as beautifully as ever. More significant, the 69-year-old master makes clear that it isn’t just millennials who are currently embracing an eclectic approach to jazz composition. “I think all forms of music, even popular music, are close to jazz and classical music,” Harrell declares in Baird’s album notes. “There’s been a revolution in musical composition. Composers are utilizing pop elements, which would have been unheard of a short time ago, but now it’s really accepted.” ~ Bill Beuttler https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/tom-harrell-first-impressions-debussy-and-ravel-project/

Personnel:  Tom Harrell, trumpet & flugelhorn; Wayne Escoffery, soprano & tenor saxophone; Charles Pillow, flute & bass flute; Danny Grissett, piano; Rale Micic, guitar; Meg Okura, violin; Rubin Kodheli, cello; Ugonna Okegwo, bass; Johnathan Blake, drums

First Impressions

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Mike LeDonne, Eric Alexander - Smokin' out Loud

Styles: Post Bop, Straight-Ahead Jazz
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:17
Size: 145,6 MB
Art: Front

(7:56)  1. One for Don
(6:46)  2. Delilah
(6:48)  3. After the Love Has Gone
(4:58)  4. You'll See
(5:44)  5. Superstar
(7:23)  6. Silverdust
(9:12)  7. French Spice
(7:02)  8. They Long to Be Close to You
(7:26)  9. Pisces Soul

Alexander and Farnsworth are both back along with guitarist Peter Bernstein on Mike LeDonne's soul stirring Smokin' Out Loud, the keyboardist's debut disc leading the organ group that he performs regularly with at Smoke. LeDonne's two-fisted sure-footed mastery of the Hammond B3 tradition is evident from the beginning of his burning "One For Don , a dedication to the unheralded organ great Don Patterson. An imaginative arrangement puts a backbeat behind the Brown-Roach classic "Delilah , Alexander nodding in the direction of Stanley Turrentine. The hip rendering of Earth Wind and Fire's "After The Love Has Gone has the soul song swinging lightly. LeDonne pays further tribute to the lineage of jazz organ with an articulate reading of the late Jimmy Smith's "You'll See. Part of the popularity of '60s organ groups stemmed from their interpretation of pop hits and the band does a great job here with the chartbuster "Superstar . LeDonne's "Silverdust is a bluesy dedication to Horace Silver that makes reference to the Jazz Messenger staple "Moanin' . "French Spice , a hip Donald Byrd tune that is part of the band's Smoke repertoire, is recorded here for the first time since its debut on the trumpeter's Free Form Blue Note album. Burt Bacharach's Carpenters hit "Close To You is given a smoking treatment in the style of Charles Earland. The date comes full circle back to Don Patterson to close with "Pisces Soul , a hot Howard McGhee original from the organist's Boppin' and Burnin' record. ~ Russ Musto https://www.allaboutjazz.com/eric-alexander-and-mike-ledonne-dead-center-and-smokin-out-loud-by-russ-musto.php

Mike LeDonne Organ (Hammond) Eric Alexander Sax (Tenor) Peter Bernstein Guitar Joe Farnsworth Drums

Smokin' out Loud

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Steve Davis - Gettin' It Done

Styles: Trombone Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:13
Size: 132,6 MB
Art: Front

(6:58)  1. Village Blues
(5:12)  2. Gettin' It Done
(6:24)  3. Steppin' Easy
(6:39)  4. Sunny
(6:49)  5. Alike
(8:35)  6. The Beacon
(8:15)  7. Longview
(8:17)  8. Wishes

Trombonist Steve Davis has never had a problem getting things done. He instantly joined the slide-wielding elite when he graduated from the Hartt School's Jackie McLean Institute in 1989 and joined up with drummer Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. That gig jump-started his career and he's never looked back. Stints with McLean and pianist Chick Corea followed, helping to raise his profile within the jazz community, and a steady stream of sideman work, leader offerings and dates with the collective super band known as One for All, along with teaching responsibilities at his alma mater, continue to keep him in constant motion. While it's exhausting just trying to keep up with Davis' work and accomplishments, he doesn't seem to have trouble taking it all in stride. Davis gets the job done every time he picks up his horn and this date is no exception. For the appropriately titled Gettin' It Done, he put together a horns-plus-rhythm group that swings like mad and churns out solo after exciting solo. Davis focuses on his own compositions on this date, but includes a pair of covers that come from vastly different sources. Saxophonist John Coltrane's infrequently played "Village Blues" kicks things off and gets the solo juices flowing. Drummer Billy Williams has a little bit of Elvin Jones in his swing feel on this one, and pianist Larry Willis has a vague hint of McCoy Tyner in him, but nobody apes the original recording. Bobby Hebb's covered-to-death "Sunny," which pops up mid-album, still pleases after all these years and the band sounds like it's having a blast with it. The other six tunes put Davis the composer on equal footing with Davis the performer. "Gettin It Done'" is a thrilling burner, while "Steppin' Easy" is a carefree number that lives up to its name, "Alike" is a pleasant ballad that puts Davis' warm and focused tone on display, and "The Beacon" is a funky journey that proves to be an album highlight. In this age of lengthy albums, it's rare that an artist leaves you wanting more, but Davis does just that. Gettin' It Done is another sterling date from one of today's treasured figures of trombone. ~ Dan Bilawsky https://www.allaboutjazz.com/gettin-it-done-steve-davis-posi-tone-records-review-by-dan-bilawsky.php

Personnel: Steve Davis: trombone; Josh Bruneau: trumpet, flugelhorn; Mike DiRubbo: alto saxophone; Larry Willis: piano; Nat Reeves: bass; Billy Williams: drums.

Gettin' It Done

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