Sunday, March 17, 2019

Jutta Hipp Quintet - New Faces - New Sounds From Germany

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1954
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 27:23
Size: 63,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:21)  1. Cleopatra
(3:05)  2. Don't Worry 'Bout Me
(3:33)  3. I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance
(3:26)  4. Mon Petite
(4:45)  5. What's New
(2:54)  6. Blue Skies
(3:07)  7. Laura
(3:09)  8. Variations

This date, rather brief at under 28 minutes, originally appeared as a 10" LP in the U.S., although it was recorded in Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany. It features Jutta Hipp leading an all-German quintet through a session consisting mostly of American standards, including "Variations," an enjoyable group improvisation based on the chord changes to "Tea for Two." Alto saxophonist Emil Mangelsdorff has a soft, dry tone comparable to Paul Desmond, most noticeable in "Ghost of a Chance." Tenor saxophonist Jaki Freund's "Cleopatra"'s sound could easily be mistaken for West Coast jazz. Hipp is joined by the rhythm section only for the intriguing fugue-like treatment of "What's New" and a brisk run through "Don't Worry 'Bout Me." She also wrote "Mon Petit," which has superb interplay between the two saxophonists. 

This reissue is labeled as part of the RVG series, though legendary recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder's name is never specifically listed in English anywhere in the packaging, he evidently did the remastering. Long out of print on LP and an unlikely reissue candidate for Blue Note due to its brevity and obscurity, this session was briefly available as a CD reissue through the Japanese label Toshiba-EMI, but was soon deleted. The Spanish Fresh Sounds imprint picked it up and re-released it as part of its New Faces series. ~ Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/jutta-hipp-quintett-new-faces-new-sounds-from-germany-mw0000372886

Personnel:  Piano – Jutta Hipp; Alto Saxophone – Emil Mangelsdorff; Bass – Hans Kresse; Drums – Karl Sanner; Saxophone – Joki Freund

New Faces - New Sounds From Germany

Morgana King - The Ultimate Collection

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 140:43
Size: 326,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:20)  1. Ev'rything I Love
(2:38)  2. You're Not So Easy To Forget
(2:36)  3. I'll Never Smile Again
(4:10)  4. Body And Soul
(2:40)  5. A Foggy Day
(3:27)  6. And The Angels Sing
(2:40)  7. At Sundown
(3:58)  8. Lonesome Road
(1:58)  9. Perdido
(2:41) 10. I'll Remember April
(2:28) 11. You Always Hurt The One You Love
(2:49) 12. Undecided
(3:09) 13. Down In The Depths
(2:49) 14. Bill
(2:25) 15. I Love You Much Too Much
(3:07) 16. For You, For Me, Forever More
(2:16) 17. Delovely
(2:43) 18. Frankie And Johnny
(2:54) 19. I've Found A New Baby
(2:40) 20. The End Of A Love Affair
(3:28) 21. Mean To Me
(3:02) 22. I Can't Get Started
(4:05) 23. That Ole Devil Called Love
(3:19) 24. There's A Lull In My Life
(3:30) 25. Mad About The Boy
(3:33) 26. Let Me Love You
(3:58) 27. Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man
(2:15) 28. How High The Moon
(3:18) 29. When Your Lover Has Gone
(3:25) 30. If You Could See Me Now
(2:02) 31. Just You, Just Me
(2:46) 32. Take The A Train
(2:32) 33. In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning
(3:47) 34. Something To Remember You By
(3:58) 35. I See Two Lovers
(3:12) 36. Here I'll Stay
(3:58) 37. Why Was I Born
(3:17) 38. I'll String Along With You
(3:39) 39. Mad About Him, Sad Without Him, How Can I Be Glad Without Him Blues
(4:06) 40. More Than You Know
(2:21) 41. The Song Is You
(2:01) 42. All Or Nothing At All
(3:02) 43. Everything I Got
(3:09) 44. You Don't Know What Love Is
(2:23) 45. Lullaby Of Birdland
(2:50) 46. It's Only A Paper Moon

None of the more than 30 albums recorded by singer Morgana King beginning in the mid-'50s were embraced by the size of the audience that bought tickets to see the first two chapters of The Godfather film trilogy, in which King acted in the role of Mama Corleone. But it would be wrong to assume she had more impact as an actress than as a vocalist. Her acting roles, few and far between, were chosen with care, but did not have the resonance of some of her finest recordings. Millions saw her onscreen in the Godfather films, but her performance was certainly overshadowed by performers such as Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino, not to mention the famous turn by Marlon Brando as her husband. Another role of King's was in the 1997 film A Brooklyn State of Mind; she also appeared in several television productions. It is possible that there are actors and actresses who have named Morgana King as a great inspiration. Yet, the results of a simple Internet search under her name only yielded dozens of quotes from vocalists and other musicians about the great influence of her recordings and singing style, not her work before the camera. It might not be a surprise when a young female singer gushed about King's albums, but these fans also included deeper thinkers such as classical bass virtuoso Gary Karr. References to her music also show up regularly in fiction as a kind of mood-setting device, such as: "It was a beautiful day in Malibu. He got up, made a coffee and put on a Morgana King record." Some record collectors might be surprised to realize that a complete set of King sides might eliminate any elbow room for, say, the discography of one of the prolific blues guitarists with this regal surname. 

Morgana King sides can be divided into several periods. It took her almost eight years to peak at whatever commercial success she was going to have with the 1964 A Taste of Honey album, thus ending the early years. She was then absorbed into the Atlantic and Reprise corporation and an exemplary series of releases by singers such as Big Joe Turner, Ruth Brown, Lavern Baker, and Ray Charles. The label's greatest producers stared the oncoming rock & roll in the eye, never forgetting their basic R&B orientation. Within a few years, a subcategory developed, seen through paisley glasses. The material became more philosophical, the increasing intellectual depth not surprisingly accompanied by the audience stampeding in the opposite direction. This might make sense, though; while 1965's The Winter of My Discontent is a masterpiece, 1968's Gemini Changes is laughably pretentious. By the early '70s she was eager to get into films, the music business pushing away any and all veteran talent. Later in the decade she launched the mature period of her career, though, once again recording as more of a jazz-flavored artist for Muse, a label which in itself indicates a disinterest in pop culture. The label was loyal to her, regularly recording her through the following decade. This material was reissued in the late '90s by the 32 Jazz label, whose honcho, Joel Dorn, also presided over the reissue of her Reprise sides. If a special sort of bittersweet feeling pervaded her later performances, perhaps it had something to do with this return to her jazz singing roots. Her father had been a performer of folk and popular music on voice and guitar, and she had begun singing in nightclubs such as Basin Street in New York City when she was in her mid-twenties. Only a few years earlier, she had been immersed in classical studies at the Metropolitan School of Music. Basin Street may have been in the same city, but it must have seemed like a completely different musical world. The formal training undoubtedly filled in aspects of her musical walk where some of her peers might have had to limp. For this reason alone, some listeners find her efforts the most swinging of the '60s generation of pop singers. It meant much critical acclaim during her career, if not great commercial success. At many stages, King seemed to have been making other plans. For the 1960 Encyclopedia of Jazz by Leonard Feather, she listed this ambition: "To become a dramatic actress."~ Eugene Chadbourne https://www.allmusic.com/artist/morgana-king-mn0000501436/biography

The Ultimate Collection

Marty Grosz,The Fat Babies - Diga Diga Doo

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:54
Size: 170,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:48)  1. Why Couldn't It Be Poor Little Me?
(5:16)  2. A Jazz Holiday
(1:13)  3. Intro to Blue (And Broken Hearted)
(3:33)  4. Blue (And Broken Hearted)
(4:23)  5. In a Little Spanish Town
(4:21)  6. Sweet Sue (Just You)
(4:44)  7. My Daddy Rocks Me
(2:49)  8. Prince of Wails
(3:45)  9. Hold Me
(4:11) 10. Diga Diga Doo
(3:28) 11. Forevermore
(4:41) 12. Rose of Washington Square
(4:34) 13. How Deep Is the Ocean
(3:55) 14. A Good Man Is Hard to Find
(5:12) 15. Church Street Sobbin' Blues
(3:52) 16. Strut Miss Lizzie
(0:45) 17. Intro to the Lady in Red
(3:22) 18. The Lady in Red
(4:54) 19. Marty Talks

Fledgling jazz musicians take note. In his annotations to this lighthearted collection of vintage tunes, Marty Grosz, the 85-year-old guitarist, banjoist, crooner and raconteur, offers some sage advice: “I suggest that you take up an instrument, study and practice until you become accomplished, and then attach yourself to someone who can support you.” Of course, failing that, you can always find ample joy in the music itself, as Grosz demonstrates here. Clearly inspired by the setting and the selection of tunes, he sounds as pleased as can be, playing with a group of kindred spirits and occasionally providing deadpan commentary (“Banjos never die-they just sound that way”). The lineup includes pianist James Dapogny, reedman Jonathan Doyle and, key to the album’s considerable charm and vitality, the Fat Babies, a hot-swing septet out of Chicago led by bassist Beau Sample. Doyle and John Otto, on clarinet and tenor and baritone saxophones, are largely responsible for the album’s shining lyricism, while Dapogny and fellow pianist Paul Asaro craft wonderfully evocative accompaniment. Cornetist Andy Schumm also distinguishes himself in a crucial role, and Grosz certainly does his part, contributing concise breaks and steady propulsion. Some tunes are classics, such as “How Deep Is the Ocean,” though it receives a Louis Armstrong-inspired overhaul. But often, the more obscure or sadly neglected the tune, the better. Take the album’s title track, for example, a Cotton Club favorite that colorfully kicks off this session and presages similar pleasures to come. ~ Mike Joyce https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/marty-groszfat-babies-diga-diga-doo-hot-music-from-chicago/

Personnel: Marty Grosz (guitar, banjo); John Otto (clarinet, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Jonathan Doyle (clarinet, tenor saxophone); Andy Schumm (cornet); Panic Slim, Dave Bock (trombone); Paul Asaro, James Dapogny (piano); Alex Hall (drums).

Diga Diga Doo

Joe Morris, Nate Wooley - Tooth And Nail

Styles: Guitar, Trumpet
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:17
Size: 125,3 MB
Art: Front

(7:16)  1. Metronorth
(8:22)  2. Gigantica
(4:35)  3. Steelhead
(5:22)  4. Noble Reasoning
(7:31)  5. Forrest Grove
(6:31)  6. Barberchaired
(8:04)  7. Hook In Cheek
(6:33)  8. A Terriffic Snag

That of duo is a fine and stimulating art but also risky and relentless. You can't cheat, you can't hide, you are "naked to the goal" and only marked sensitivity, open ears, communicative ability, true expressive urgency can lead to significant results. This is what happens in this Tooth and Nail where two innovators such as guitarist Joe Morris and trumpeter Nate Wooley give life to a meeting of considerable intensity by sharing their musical visions that go beyond the established rules of harmony, tonality and rhythm. But it is not on this ground that we must focus our attention rather on that of a profound research on the limits of the instruments and on the possibilities of the musician to exploit every innermost resource for communication purposes. Wooley radicalizes the evolution of the jazz trumpet by returning to the elements that constitute its basic approach, namely breath, lip position, use of the language, exasperating its functionality. Morris, on the other hand, works on the strings by plucking, gliding, hitting, using all the physical space allowed by the instrument and when something similar to the phrasing takes shape this has the essentiality of the single notes and the expressive force of an entire orchestra. "Whisper and shout" we could define Tooth and Nail, paraphrasing one of Ingmar Bergman's masterpieces. More whispers than screams because the recording atmosphere is intimate with the two musicians who reveal their emotions in a seemingly messy, irregular and nervous way. But once in tune with the particular sound universe created by Morris and Wooley, a fascinating and precious world opens up for the listener.~ AAJ Italy Staff https://www.allaboutjazz.com/tooth-and-nail-joe-morris-clean-feed-records-review-by-aaji-staff.php

Personnel:  Acoustic Guitar, Liner Notes – Joe Morris; Trumpet – Nate Wooley

Tooth And Nail

Mike LeDonne - Night Song

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:43
Size: 142,3 MB
Art: Front

(6:43)  1. Night Song
(5:31)  2. JB
(7:36)  3. After the Rain
(7:54)  4. I Should Care
(8:06)  5. Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing
(6:25)  6. In a Sentimental Mood
(7:14)  7. Toys
(7:27)  8. Continuum
(4:42)  9. Alone Together

Pianist Mike LeDonne, whose main influence is McCoy Tyner, mostly sounds pretty original throughout this swinging trio set. Teamed with bassist Ron Carter and drummer Joe Farnsworth, LeDonne contributes two originals and comes up with fresh variations on a variety of jazz standards. Among the highlights are LeDonne's "JB," John Coltrane's "After the Rain" (which is not recorded very often), "I Should Care," and "Alone Together." While Carter and Farnsworth get their spots to solo, Mike LeDonne is the main star throughout and is heard in prime form. Recommended. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/night-song-mw0000719505

Personnel:  Piano – Mike LeDonne; Bass – Ron Carter;  Drums – Joe Farnsworth

Night Song