Marvin Stamm Quartet - Alone Together

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 73:35
Size: 169,1 MB
Art: Front

(13:51)  1. Alone Together
( 9:35)  2. Come Out and Play
(13:30)  3. Invitation
( 7:35)  4. Baubles, Bangles, and Beads
( 7:09)  5. Lagrima Agradecida
( 6:16)  6. Fun House
( 6:49)  7. When She Looks At Me
( 8:48)  8. T's Butter

Alone Together is not only another splendid album by trumpeter Marvin Stamm's quartet (does he ever produce anything less?), it also comes with a bonus a Dvd whose playing sequence duplicates the Cd and allows one to see and hear Stamm, pianist Bill Mays, bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Ed Soph as they study one another, alertly interact and carefully work things out in a concert taped on November 2006. The quartet as it now stands has been performing together for more than a dozen years, and the rapport and camaraderie are readily apparent. These gentlemen are longtime friends who obviously take pleasure in playing together. You can hear it on the Cd, and see it in their faces on the Dvd. Stamm underscores the point in his cogent liner notes: "Our sensitivity to one another is the only boundary; and because this is an innate quality within each of us, it allows us complete freedom of expression. This is the joy of our playing together. 

That freedom is immediately visible on "Alone Together, on which Mays "plucks the piano strings to lend a bracing twist to his solo, and surfaces elsewhere throughout the invigorating session. This is especially true on Mays' playful "Fun House, which swings happily along behind gregarious solos by Mays and Stamm. Mays also wrote "Lagrima Agradecida, Stamm the ballad "When She Looks at Me and the mercurial "T's Butter, Reid the lively "Come Out and Play. Completing the program are Bronislau Kaper's haunting "Invitation, Robert Wright and George Forrest's "Baubles, Bangles and Beads (from the Broadway musical Kismet) and the title song by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz. The recording is crystal clear, albeit slanted a bit too heavily toward Mays' piano. No problem during solos, but his comping is at times intrusive. Not his fault, of course. Soph and Reid fare better, balance-wise. Reid has a number of tasteful solos, while Soph unleashes his impressive arsenal on "T's Butter, following the last of Stamm's admirable solos. As both the Cd and Dvd have playing times approaching an hour and a quarter, there's no cause for complaint in that area. Any written appraisal, of course, only scratches the surface. As Stamm observes, "One can talk and write about the music, but in reality, it is all in the listening. The suggestion here is that you take his advice and listen (and see) for yourself. ~ Jack Bowers https://www.allaboutjazz.com/alone-together-marvin-stamm-jazzed-media-review-by-jack-bowers.php

Personnel: Marvin Stamm: trumpet, flugelhorn; Bill Mays: piano; Rufus Reid: bass; Ed Soph: drums.

Alone Together

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Viktor Lazlo - Amour(s)

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:52
Size: 140,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:53)  1. Orage
(4:33)  2. Fleur
(4:11)  3. En Cas D'Amour
(3:57)  4. Les Passagers Du Vent
(5:06)  5. If One More Day
(4:18)  6. Danse
(4:18)  7. Si Moi, Si Lui
(3:33)  8. Don't Ask (English version of
(4:02)  9. The Sound of Expectation
(3:57) 10. Un Million D'Annees
(3:27) 11. Besame Mucho
(3:45) 12. It's a Message For You
(4:19) 13. Overjoyed
(3:32) 14. Tout Contre Lui
(3:53) 15. Someone (English version of Or

A stylish and sensual singer, Sonia Dronier became Viktor Lazlo when Belgian producer Francis Depryck discovered her and put together a package inspired by strong sexuality and black-and-white film. Born in Lorient, France, Dronier spent her college years studying and modeling in Brussels, Belgium. After she spent some time singing backup vocals in Depryck's band Lou & the Hollywood Bananas, the producer rounded up a set of nostalgic and noir-flavored songs and renamed her after a character in the Humphrey Bogart classic Casablanca. The stylish full-length She began her career in 1985 with a mix of songs sung in French, English, and Spanish. A French-language cover of Julie London's "Cry Me a River" ("Pleurer des Rivières") became a big hit across Europe a year later. In 1987 she hosted the televised broadcast of the Eurovision contest, which was held in Belgium that year. That same year she had another Euro hit with "Breathless," a duet with American singer James Ingram. After a move back to France in 1989 she released a series of successful albums before the ambitious Verso appeared in 1996 with funk and dub influences and a guest appearance from the classic reggae rhythm section of Sly & Robbie. Critical response to the album was so overwhelmingly positive that Dronier claimed interviews promoting the release had focused on her music instead of her clothes for the first time in her career. ~ David Jeffries https://www.allmusic.com/artist/viktor-lazlo-mn0000622920/biography

Amour(s)

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Lee Morgan - Lee-Way

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1960/2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:25
Size: 90,7 MB
Art: Front

( 9:25)  1. These Are Soulful Days
( 9:41)  2. The Lion And The Wolf
(12:09)  3. Midtown Blues
( 8:10)  4. Nakatini Suite

This date was one of trumpeter Lee Morgan's more obscure Blue Note sessions, but fortunately, it has been reissued on CD. Matched with altoist Jackie McLean, pianist Bobby Timmons, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Art Blakey, Morgan interprets two of Cal Massey's compositions, McLean's "Midtown Blues" and his own blues "The Lion and the Wolf." The music is essentially hard bop with a strong dose of soul; the very distinctive styles of the principals are the main reasons to acquire this enjoyable music. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/lee-way-mw0000125017

Personnel:  Lee Morgan - trumpet; Jackie McLean - alto saxophone; Bobby Timmons - piano; Paul Chambers - bass; Art Blakey - drums

Lee-Way

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Buddy Morrow - Music for Dancing Feet

Styles: Trombone Jazz
Year: 1957/2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 32:53
Size: 77,1 MB
Art: Front

(2:40)  1. Music for Happy Feet
(2:07)  2. Who's Sorry Now
(3:06)  3. Scrub-A-Dub-Dub
(2:46)  4. So All Alone
(2:29)  5. Buddy's Blues
(2:42)  6. The Man with the Golden Arm
(2:08)  7. Bone Dance
(2:10)  8. Muskrat Ramble
(2:30)  9. Ron's Folly
(2:04) 10. Georgia Bop Dance
(2:25) 11. Ling Ting Tong
(5:40) 12. Carioca

Throughout his career, Buddy Morrow loved playing with big bands and doing what he could to keep nostalgic swing alive. He began playing trombone when he was 12 and within two years was working locally. Morrow developed quickly and moved to New York, where he studied at the Institute of Musical Art. He made his recording debut in 1936 with singer Amanda Randolph and trumpeter Sharkey Bonano. Morrow known as Moe Zudekoff until he changed his name in the early 1940s kept busy during the swing era, working with Artie Shaw (1936-37 and 1940), Bunny Berigan, Frank Froeba, Eddie Duchin, Tommy Dorsey (1938), Paul Whiteman (1939-40) and Bob Crosby. After serving in the Navy (1941-44) he was with Jimmy Dorsey's Orchestra (1945). In 1945, at age 26, Morrow formed his own big band but it quickly failed. He became a studio musician for the remainder of the decade. In 1950 he formed a new orchestra that had strong success, giving an R&Bish sound to older standards and having a hit with "Night Train." Morrow spent most of the 1960s and '70s as a studio musician but he worked a bit with the World's Greatest Jazz Band in 1970; in the late 1970s he took over Tommy Dorsey's ghost band. Since then Morrow has been one of the few full-time big band leaders, performing melodic dance music based in the swing era. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/artist/buddy-morrow-mn0000537569/biography

Personnel:  Trombone – Buddy Morrow

Music for Dancing Feet

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Microscopic Septet - Off Beat Glory

Styles: Progressive Jazz, Post Bop 
Year: 1986
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:09
Size: 97,5 MB
Art: Front

(5:39)  1. Brooklyn In The Fifties
(4:44)  2. Baghdad Blues
(5:16)  3. Crepuscule With Nellie
(7:34)  4. In The Mission
(2:44)  5. March Of The Video Reptiles
(5:13)  6. I Saw You In Utah (Idaho)
(4:01)  7. I Am The Police
(6:54)  8. By You, Do You Mean You Or Me?

The Microscopic Septet's third album may not have differed too much in spirit from their first two and certainly covers no particularly new ground, but there's still a good deal of enjoyment in listening to these strange fellows go about their business. The off-kilter melodies tinged with noir, the tight, richly arranged horn lines, and, above all, the mischievous humor of the compositions are all still intact. Pieces like co-leader Phillip Johnston's "Baghdad Blues" are still apt to turn on a dime from a smoky torch song to a carousing, rhythmic dynamo. There is, perhaps, something of a drop-off in the level of manic enthusiasm that made their first release, Take the Z Train, so surprising and gripping; some of the tunes drag just a bit. On the other hand, this was the first recording to feature tenor saxophonist Paul Shapiro, who brought a wonderful robustness and soul to the band; he's featured on Johnston's delightful (and delightfully titled) "I Saw You in Utah (Idaho)," with its jaunty hoedown echoes. 

When it came to song titles, it was tough to surpass the Micros, and "By You, Do You Mean You or Me?," which closes out the album, is a fine encapsulation of what the band was about: A romantic, winsome opening theme on soprano merging into a raucous rhythm & blues stomper, with baritone player Dave Sewelson on top roaring while the band layers riff after inspired riff behind him and eventually lapses into a gorgeous dirge. Off Beat Glory isn't the best of the four records they released, but it contains more than enough special moments to make it well-worth the purchase. ~ Brian Olewnick https://www.allmusic.com/album/off-beat-glory-mw0000890167

Personnel:  Tenor Saxophone – Paul Shapiro; Soprano Saxophone – Phillip Johnston; Alto Saxophone – Don Davis ; Baritone Saxophone – Dave Sewelson ; Bass, Tuba – David Hofstra; Drums – Richard Dworkin; Piano – Joel Forrester

Off Beat Glory

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