Brian Dickinson & Jerry Bergonzi - Soul Mission

Styles: Piano And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:16
Size: 149,7 MB
Art: Front

( 6:16)  1. Soul Mission
( 7:58)  2. Pardon Me
( 9:23)  3. Delaware Daze
( 7:29)  4. Splurge
( 7:45)  5. Sam's Song
( 7:18)  6. With Reference
(11:04)  7. Crazy Makers
( 8:01)  8. Tribute

Brian Dickinson and Jerry Bergonzi meet in Soul Mission , a record recorded in 2002 and released by Dodicilune records . A non-leading but indispensable players in this musical dialogue are Jim Vivian's double bass and Ted Warren's drums , the rhythmic section of the Dickinsonquartet . Bergonzi and Dickinson share the music. Four original compositions each, almost of the same duration, the same number of solos, but a more precious presence of the saxofonosta professor. Jerry Bergonzi In fact, it offers a lesson in sax, improvisation, cleanliness and roundness; his notes come down precise, they roll like perfect spheres to highlight, again, the possession of a sublime technique and a closeness admired by the sound, however inimitable, of Coltrane. 

In the composition of both dominates the tradition, the elegance of a jazz that we have the need to define as classic, the exception is the energetic Crazy makers signed by Dickinson in which Vivian and Warren are in the foreground . Attention returns to the piano and sax immediately after, in Tribute di Bergonzi , for the closure of this work. The lesson is over the spherical notes drawn by the fingers and the breath are still, immobile like a " soul " listening. ~ Alessandro Armando for JazzItalia http://www.jazzitalia.net/recensioni/soulmission.asp#.XIuyMiJKiUl

Personnel:  Jerry Bergonzi - tenor sax; Brian Dickinson - piano; Jim Vivian - double bass; Ted Warren - drums

Soul Mission

---

Dianne Reeves - Light Up The Night: Live In Marciac

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:29
Size: 139,8 MB
Art: Front

(8:52)  1. Dreams
(6:44)  2. Minuano (Six Eight)
(6:05)  3. Nine
(8:09)  4. Infant Eyes
(8:12)  5. All Blues
(7:02)  6. Heavens
(9:20)  7. Cold
(6:02)  8. Beautiful

Dianne Reeves has been one of the top singers in jazz ever since the late '80s. A logical successor to Dinah Washington and Carmen McRae (although even she can't reach the impossible heights of Ella and Sarah Vaughan), Reeves is a superior interpreter of lyrics and a skilled scat singer. She was a talented vocalist with an attractive voice even as a teenager when she sang and recorded with her high school band. She was encouraged by Clark Terry, who had her perform with him while she was a college student at the University of Colorado. There have been many times when Reeves has explored music beyond jazz. She did session work in Los Angeles starting in 1976, toured with Caldera, worked with Sergio Mendes in 1981, and toured with Harry Belafonte between 1983 and 1986. Reeves began recording as a leader in 1982 and became a regular at major jazz festivals. Her earlier recordings tended to be quite eclectic and many of her live performances have included original, African-inspired folk music (which is often autobiographical), world music, and pop. After signing with Blue Note in 1987, however, and particularly since 1994, Reeves has found her place in jazz, recording several classic albums along the way, most notably I Remember, The Grand Encounter, The Calling: Celebrating Sarah Vaughan, and A Little Moonlight. In 2005, she appeared onscreen singing '50s standards in the George Clooney film Good Night, And Good Luck. When You Know was released in 2008. Reeves left Blue Note in 2009. After touring and an extended break, she eventually signed with Concord and began working on a new record produced by Terri Lynne Carrington. The pair enlisted an all-star cast including Esperanza Spalding, Sheila E, Robert Glasper, and George Duke (who passed away shortly after the album was completed). Beautiful Life was released just in time for Valentine's Day, 2014. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dianne-reeves-mn0000211570/biography

Light Up The Night: Live In Marciac

---

Bridge Quartet - Night

Styles:  Jazz, Bop
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:02
Size: 166,1 MB
Art: Front

(12:22)  1. Wouldn't It Be Lovely
(13:59)  2. Green Dolphin Street
(11:38)  3. A Face Like Yours
( 9:01)  4. Strode Rode
( 9:54)  5. Isfahan
(15:05)  6. Bemsha Swing

For jazz fans with some historical listening under their belts, the word "Bridge" will bring to mind Sonny Rollins' album, The Bridge (Bluebird/RCA, 1962), a set that Rollins released after a three-year hiatus, and changed the saxophonist's musical trajectory from Ornette Coleman-influenced freedom to a more traditional mainstream, but still adventurous, sound. The Bridge Quartet works very much in that Rollins-esque, post-Bridge mode. It's Phil Dwyer's full-bodied saxophone in front of an inspired rhythm team, featuring pianist Darrell Grant, bassist Tom Wakeling, and drummer Alan Jones. The group's previous set, Day (Origin Records, 2008), was a studio affair, recorded in the same 36-hour period as Night, which showcases the ensemble in a live setting. The feeling on both sets is much the same, with Night, as one would expect of a live recording, featuring the tunes in a more stretched out mode, with more room for soloing all around. Much like Rollins, the Bridge Quartet takes on familiar melodies with a fiery gusto, beginning with the buoyant 12-minute take on the Lerner and Lowe gem, "Wouldn't It Be Loverly," moving into an energized and freewheeling rendition of "Green Dolphin Street," with Dwyer wrapping up the roll down that familiar avenue in a "Surrey With the Fringe on the Top." "A Face Like Yours" opens with Darrell Grant's gorgeously supple piano sound before Dwyer blows in with a yearning feeling. 

It's 11 minutes-plus of heart-rendering, breathtaking beauty in the middle of a mostly high octane affair that proves the Bridge Quartet has its own sweet way with a ballad. "Strode Rode," from the pen of Sonny Rollins, blasts full speed ahead, full of muscle and grit, and Billy Strayhorn's "Isfahan" steps lightly, in pretty and contemplative fashion. The set closes with "Bemsha Swing," one of Thelonious Monk's most brilliant tunes. It opens on a smooth rolling rhythm before the saxophone slices in. Pianist Grant gets a lot of space, and he shines in it, smoothing out the Monk-ian angles and taking things into a dance groove before Dwyer shifts things into a freer gear, and addresses the sharp corners of Sonny Rollins' "East Broadway Rundown," from the 1966 Impulse! Records set of the same name, along the way, bringing an especially fine jazz set to a close. ~ Dan McClenaghan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/night-origin-records-review-by-dan-mcclenaghan.php

Personnel: Phil Dwyer: saxophone; Darrell Grant: piano; Tom Wakling: bass; Alan Jones: drums.

Night

---

Native Soul - Soul Step

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop

Year: 2011

Time: 69:18

Size: 96,8 MB

Art: Front

(5:39)  1. Soul Step
(7:49)  2. End of a Love Affair
(5:52)  3. Deep Blue
(4:42)  4. Inner Search
(7:17)  5. Mingus
(5:29)  6. Slipstream
(7:22)  7. Castles Made of Sand
(5:26)  8. Into the Night
(9:04)  9. Talking Drum
(5:26) 10. One for Op

(5:38) 11. Gift Within

Native Soul Soul Step is a stylistically coherent and well executed effort. The quartet a classic keyboards, saxophone, bass and drums lineup plays mostly straight-ahead, but adds enough instrumental and musical variation to keep it fresh throughout. Keyboardist Noah Haidu is the collective's founder, and is the source of a good portion of the music's diversity. By switching between piano and Fender Rhodes with a dash of B-3 organ and synthesizer he adds just the right touch of funk and nostalgia to the set, making a credible effort at evoking several distinct styles of jazz. The title track opens with a funky bass vamp, overlaid by some bell-like keyboard tones and Peter Brainin's soprano saxophone. Collectively they recreate a sound that could have easily come from a 1973 date on the CTI label, but that vibe immediately gives way to a more modern feel, as Brainen and Haidu switch to piano and tenor respectively, for "End of a Love Affair," employing some bold, modal chord blocking. Brainin's "Mingus" is a 3/4 vehicle for his grooved tenor improvisation, while Haidu employs a chopped waltz background comp, giving the track a smoky club feeling. The funk reemerges in a big way when bassist Marcus McLaurine breaks open Jimi Hendrix's "Castles Made of Sand." The band really nails this one, using the original melody judiciously as an opening statement and as a framework for improvisation, restating the theme enough to be recognizable, but altering it sufficiently so as to avoid outright imitation. In the collectively written liner notes, the band reminisces about the days when music was not a ubiquitous digital commodity, but something into which people had to put some thought. Getting one's paws on the latest releases wasn't always as simple as making a few keystrokes on a computer. Perhaps Native Soul longs for the opportunity to have its CD prominently featured in the new releases section at the front of the store. Soul Steps might have gotten some traction from music shoppers looking for a solid effort from a group of really fine musicians. ~ Greg Simmons https://www.allaboutjazz.com/soul-step-native-soul-talking-drum-records-review-by-greg-simmons.php

Personnel: Peter Brainin: tenor and soprano saxophones, flute; Noah Haidu: piano, keyboards; Marcus McLaurine: electric and acoustic bass; Steve Johns: drums.

Soul Step

---