Friday, March 29, 2019

Buddy Tate, Claude Hopkins - Buddy & Claude

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1960
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 74:29
Size: 171,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:22)  1. Is It So
(7:01)  2. Yes, Indeed
(3:26)  3. What's Your Story Morning Glory
(7:21)  4. Willow Weep For Me
(6:27)  5. Empty Bed Blues
(5:35)  6. It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
(4:27)  7. What Is This Thing Called Love
(4:11)  8. Buddy's Tate-A-Tate
(8:14)  9. Groun' Hog
(4:14) 10. All Too Soon
(5:39) 11. Snatchin' It Back
(6:22) 12. #20 Ladbroke Square
(7:04) 13. Take The ''A'' Train

Combining two rare Swingville sessions from the 60’ this disc is an excellent primer for those unfamiliar with the singular sounds of Buddy Tate. Tate served a lengthy tenure in Basie’s band and many other Kansas City collectives before branching out on his own and these sessions visit him in his later years still laying down a voluptuous and sultry swing. His tone on tenor has elements of many of his peers, most noticeably Coleman Hawkins without the bite, but still retains a lilting originality. Hopkins hails from D.C. and his roots in the swing lineage run equally deep. The two men converge on the first session in the company of four other players and work over a highly inviting collection of standards. The emphasis is on maintaining a temperate mood and empathic rapport and the absence of individual bravado is refreshing. It’s also a joy to hear these veterans in their element, doing what they do best under the auspices of modern recording technology. As an added benefit, the technology also allows the players to stretch out past the time limits afforded the recordings of their earlier years. The majority of tunes are taken at a soothing speed and work well off the light interplay between rhythm section and the pairing of Tate and Berry. Berry mainly sticks to muted work on his brass, contributing gently smeared slurs to the ensemble sound on a regular basis. His protracted, but carefully conceived solo on “Empty Bed Blues” is infused with a tasteful discipline that is representative of the entire quintet. 

Over the course of most of the numbers Tate’s solos are usually short and sweet suggesting an admirable economy that many modern players would be advised to take lesson from. Hopkins works magic of the changes of each tune, particularly the bluesy reading of Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean a Thing.” The second date presented here features a completely different group and lacks the effervescent presence of Hopkins. Fortunately his talents are traded in for the equally formidable Flanagan who in concert with Gales and Taylor gives the second half of this disc a decidedly bop-flavored bent. Tate acquaints himself well with the slightly different surroundings and digs into a program comprised of both standards and three pieces derived from Terry’s pen. The tongue-in-cheek piece titled “Buddy’s Tate-A-Tate” wastes no time in giving the saxophonist the chance to test his technique on brisker fare. Terry keeps pace alongside Tate and blows some velvety lines across Taylor’s rollicking drum breaks. On the slower tempo “Groun’ Hog” Terry turns to flugelhorn and the round sound of his larger brass works as an ideal foil for Flanagan’s polished ivories. A lengthy opening bass vamp by Gales sets the mood on “#20 Ladbroke Square” and deposits the players in another easy groove which they explore with the same enthusiastic verve as on the earlier numbers. A faithful run-down of Strayhorn’s “Take the ‘A’ Train” acts as an epilogue for a session imbued with no shortage of swinging grace. Tate and Hopkins are jazz originals and disc’s such as this work as windows into a time when they and their peers were at the top of their art, if not the charts. ~ Derek Taylor https://www.allaboutjazz.com/buddy-and-claude-buddy-tate-prestige-records-review-by-derek-taylor.php

Personnel: Buddy Tate- tenor saxophone; Claude Hopkins- piano; Emmett Barry-trumpet; Wendell Marshall- bass; Osie Johnson- drums. Clark Terry- trumpet, flugelhorn; Tommy Flanagan- piano; Larry Gales- bass; Art Taylor- drums.

Buddy & Claude

Doris Day - The Love Album

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1967
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:25
Size: 101,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:35)  1. For All We Know
(3:26)  2. Snuggled On Your Shoulder
(2:05)  3. Are You Lonesome Tonight?
(2:39)  4. Street Of Dreams
(2:57)  5. Oh, How I Miss You Tonight
(2:56)  6. Life Is Just A Bowl Of Cherries
(2:57)  7. All Alone
(3:42)  8. A Faded Simmer Love
(3:33)  9. Sleepy Lagoon
(3:24) 10. Wonderful One
(4:00) 11. If I Had My Life to Live Over / Let Me Call You Sweetheart
(3:00) 12. Both Sides Now
(2:35) 13. It's Magic
(2:31) 14. Sentimental Journey

In 1967, Grammy Hall of Fame singer-actress DORIS DAY selected her favorite romantic standards and enlisted renowned arranger Sid Feller (Elvis Presley, Dean Martin, Peggy Lee, Mel Tormé, Nancy Wilson) to create THE LOVE ALBUM, representing the most sensual, intimate vocals of Day's legendary career. This special reissue features new artwork and 3 bonus tracks. ~ Editorial Reviews https://www.amazon.com/Love-Album-Doris-Day/dp/B01C8QCYUC

The Love Album

Cecil Payne - Zodiac

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1968
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:51
Size: 96,1 MB
Art: Front

( 7:00)  1. Martin Luther King, Jr. / I Know Lowe
(10:53)  2. Girl, You Got a Home
( 4:25)  3. Slide Hampton
( 7:07)  4. Follow Me
(12:23)  5. Flying Fish

It’s impossible to talk about this album without acknowledging the spectre of death that hangs over it not only is it the third entry in Strata-East Records’ Dolphy Series, a collection of archival recordings from some of the label’s close associates honoring the recently deceased multi-instrumentalist, but it is actually dedicated to two members of the band, Wynton Kelly and Kenny Dorham, who died in between the recording sessions and its release. The point is driven home even further by the fact that the album begins with a tribute from Payne to the fallen Martin Luther King, Jr., a piece that acts as a de facto solo for Dorham his playing all rosy elegance and regal warmth before shifting into the lighter (though equally coolly-paced) “I Know Love,” a showcase for Payne’s sax. While not the most somber jazz track ever recorded, this opening suite is a low-key and mournful way to open the affair, but thankfully the album really picks off and shows these musicians more in their element the rest of the way. “Girl, You Got a Home” is a funky piece, beginning very soulfully with some tight interplay among the rhythm section of Kelly, bassist Wilbur Ware and drummer Albert Heath. 

Ware is in especially fine form on this track, tying together the disparate passages of the piece by grounding the more ponderous moments in a deep funk, while Kelly’s playing is especially ear catching in the way he stabs at his piano like it’s an organ. After the first two tracks take up nearly twenty minutes, the four-minute “Slide Hampton” feels almost impossibly brief, a feeling that’s enhanced by its quick, jittery, and infectious rhythm, driven by some really dexterous work from Kelly. The final track, “Flying Fish,” may be the album’s highlight, a Caribbean-inspired composition that casts the rhythm section as flighty ground for both Payne and Dorham to vamp on. The track is oddly danceable for something released on Strata-East, maybe the most fun moment ever for the label, and relentlessly uptempo. Though this release may be in part defined by the deaths that preceded it, it’s clear that the recording process was actually a lot of fun for everybody, as their enthusiasm and energy jumps right out of the speakers. This is one of the first Strata East records I really got into and is still one of my favorites, a must-hear for any fans of the flightier moments of Dorham or Kelly’s career, and a fitting tribute for both master musicians. https://lightintheattic.net/releases/3745-zodiac

Personnel:  Cecil Payne, baritone, alto saxophone; Kenny Dorham, trumpet; Wynton Kelly, piano, organ; Wilbur Ware, bass; Albert Heath, drums.

Zodiac

Arthur Blythe - In the Tradition

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1979
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 32:38
Size: 75,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:40)  1. Jitterbug Waltz
(7:51)  2. In a Sentimental Mood
(3:07)  3. Break Tune
(5:30)  4. Caravan
(4:39)  5. Hip Dripper
(6:47)  6. Naima

Sometimes the easiest way to get "in" to someone's music is to see how they handle standards. Altoist Arthur Blythe, who although he has been associated somewhat with the avant-garde does not fit easily into any category, is heard on this 1978 studio session exploring four veteran songs plus two of his originals. 

The instrumentation of his quartet is conventional but the musicianship is exceptionally high (pianist Stanley Cowell, bassist Fred Hopkins, and drummer Steve McCall), and it is quite interesting to hear how they stretch such songs as "In a Sentimental Mood," "Jitterbug Waltz," and "Caravan," making them sound fresh and original. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/in-the-tradition-mw0000891072

Personnel: Alto Saxophone – Arthur Blythe; Bass – Fred Hopkins;  Drums – Steve McCall; Piano – Stanley Cowell

In the Tradition

John Abercrombie - Timeless

Styles: Guitar Jazz 
Year: 1975
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:39
Size: 100,8 MB
Art: Front

(12:11)  1. Lungs
( 4:36)  2. Love Song
( 4:56)  3. Ralph's Piano Waltz
( 5:24)  4. Red And Orange
( 4:33)  5. Remembering
(11:58)  6. Timeless

Guitarist John Abercrombie's first in a long line of recordings for ECM was also his debut as a leader. Teamed up with Jan Hammer (who here plays organ, synthesizer, and piano) and drummer Jack DeJohnette, Abercrombie plays four of his originals, plus two by Hammer. These performances differ from many of the guitarist's later ECM dates in that Hammer injects a strong dose of fusion into the music, and there is plenty of spirited interplay between those two with fine support by DeJohnette. Thought-provoking and occasionally exciting music that generally defies categorization. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/timeless-mw0000187635

Personnel:  John Abercrombie – guitar; Jan Hammer – organ, piano, synthesizer; Jack DeJohnette – drums

Timeless