Eric Alexander Quartet - Lazy Afternoon: Gentle Ballads IV

Styles: Saxophone Jazz

Year: 2015

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 70:46

Size: 163,0 MB

Art: Front

(7:45)  1. Feelin' Good

(6:26)  2. Lazy Afternoon

(6:49)  3. When Love Was New

(7:17)  4. Slow Hot Wind

(7:07)  5. My Funny Valentine

(7:38)  6. Goodbye

(7:13)  7. When We Were One

(7:13)  8. The Good Life

(6:39)  9. Angel Eyes

(6:36) 10. Blue Gardenia

Eric Alexander has had many opportunities to record as a leader for several different labels, though producer Tetsuo Hara, owner of the Japanese label Venus, has become a huge fan, recording him almost any time he travels to New York City. This 2008 session finds the tenor saxophonist with several musicians with whom he is very familiar, including pianist Mike LeDonne, bassist John Webber, and drummer Joe Farnsworth (the latter two who play with Alexander in the co-op band One for All). There's no mistaking the influence of John Coltrane in the loping opener, "Feelin' Good," where Alexander projects a huge tone on his instrument and LeDonne works in a few runs and chords suggestive of McCoy Tyner. The dreamy, free introduction to "My Funny Valentine" segues into a lush, sensitive performance. Alexander is at his emotional peak with his powerful interpretation of the ballad "Goodbye." The late-night feeling is prominent in the quartet's bluesy treatment of "Angel Eyes." This is another superb outing by Eric Alexander. ~ Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/lazy-afternoon-gentle-ballads-vol-4-mw0001975014

Personnel:  Tenor Saxophone – Eric Alexander;  Bass – John Webber;  Drums – Joe Farnsworth; Piano – Mike LeDonne

Lazy Afternoon - Gentle Ballads IV

---

Karin Krog, Morten G. Larsen - In a Rag Bag

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz 
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:24
Size: 228,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:17)  1. Old Piano Roll
(3:02)  2. Euphonic Sounds
(2:58)  3. Way Down Yonder in New Orleans
(7:27)  4. In the Dark / In a Mist
(3:14)  5. I'm Comin' Virginia
(3:59)  6. Dear Bix
(3:28)  7. Going Home
(4:29)  8. Olympia Rag - Norsk Rag no. 5
(4:19)  9. Spanish Steps
(3:42) 10. Feeling too Good Today Blues
(5:12) 11. Ain't Misbehavin' / I`ve Got a Feeling I`m Falling
(3:51) 12. Wild Cat Blues
(4:32) 13. Blue Turning Grey Over You
(2:49) 14. The Joint is Jumpin`

Singer Karin Krog and pianist Morten Gunnar Larsen are two of Norway's most acclaimed jazz musicians with international reputations; Karin most famously for her work with John Surman and their albums on ECM, and Morten for his exuberance as a practitioner of ragtime piano with a modern twist. Inspired by the pioneers of early jazz piano, Morten is a disciple and acknowledge authority on the work of legendary ragtime pianist and lyricist, Eubie Blake. 'In a Rag Bag' features a programme of ragtime compositions ranging from early composers such as Scott Joplin, Bix Beiderbecke and Fats Waller, through to contemporary composers as Leiber & Stoller and Dave Frishberg. Also included is a surprise composition from John Surman that references the style of Eubie Blake. ~ Editorial Reviews https://www.amazon.com/Karin-Krog-Morten-Gunnar-Larsen/dp/B009UUKOAM

Personnel: Karin Krog (vocals), Morton Gunnar Larsen (piano)

In a Rag Bag

---

Bunny Berigan & His Orchestra - I Can't Get Started

Styles: Trumpet, Swing, Big Band
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:12
Size: 115,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:48)  1. I Can't Get Started
(3:20)  2. Trees
(3:25)  3. Jelly Roll Blues
(2:48)  4. 'Deed I Do
(2:46)  5. High Society
(3:24)  6. Black Bottom
(3:07)  7. Russian Lullaby
(4:12)  8. The Prisoner's Song
(3:34)  9. Caravan
(2:27) 10. Swanee River
(3:17) 11. Never Felt Better, Never Had Less
(2:34) 12. (Shango, Shango, Shangoree) Rockin' Rollers Jubilee
(2:52) 13. Frankie And Johnny
(2:55) 14. 'Cause My Baby Says It's So
(3:35) 15. The Wearin' Of The Green

Considered one of the architects of the big band sound, trumpeter Bunny Berigan played an important part in the Goodman, Dorsey, Whiteman and Miller big bands (some of Berigan's trumpet solos were so popular that Tommy Dorsey had the solos written and orchestrated for the entire brass section). This album, from the vaults of RCA, contains Berigan's biggest solo hit I Can't Get Started, plus Caravan, The Wearin' Of The Green and Black Bottom. ~ Editorial Reviews https://www.amazon.com/Cant-Get-Started-Bunny-Berigan/dp/B00005NVZ4

I Can't Get Started

---

Rob McConnell Tentet - Thank You, Ted

Styles: Trombone Jazz
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:52
Size: 140,3 MB
Art: Front

( 9:42)  1. If I Were A Bell
(11:33)  2. Like Someone In Love
( 5:10)  3. Everything Happens To Me
( 6:51)  4. The Outlaw
( 4:30)  5. I'll Never Stop Loving You
( 8:22)  6. Constantly
( 3:40)  7. The Folks Who Live On The Hill
( 6:29)  8. Somewhere In The Night
( 4:31)  9. For All We Know

One can rest assured that whenever Rob McConnell enters a recording studio he’ll be accompanied by a group of the finest jazz musicians Canada has to offer and that the charts he brings with him will flash and gleam like the Aurora Borealis. No exception here, as Rob and his Tentet pay their warm respects to Ted O’Reilly, the amiable host of Toronto’s premier Jazz radio program, “The Jazz Scene,” for twenty-seven years before his retirement last April. Having written and recorded (with the Boss Brass) two of O’Reilly’s theme songs, “T.O.” and “T.O.2,” McConnell the composer takes a holiday here, choosing instead to adapt seven pages from the Great American Songbook to complement Horace Silver’s “The Outlaw” and Vic Dickenson’s “Constantly.” But all the arrangements are his, and as usual, each one is a paragon of graceful lyicism and dynamic group interplay. The Tentet, a pared-down version of the Boss Brass, is so good it makes it harder for one to mourn the loss of the larger ensemble. Of course, most of these gentlemen played with the Brass before McConnell was forced to disband the orchestra, so what we have is a sort of “Boss Brass Lite,” which may have less calories but is every ounce as satisfying as its meatier cousin. The rhythm section, of course, is an indispensable ingredient in any successful recipe, and the Tentet is well-seasoned by the superlative trio of pianist Dave Restivo, bassist Steve Wallace and drummer Terry Clarke, whose zesty cooking gives the ensemble a broad comfort zone in which to collaborate and improvise. McConnell holds the tempos in check, preferring slow to moderate, with only “The Outlaw,” “Constantly” and Frank Loesser’s “If I Were a Bell” exceeding the speed limit, but everyone seems thoroughly at ease within that leisurely framework and there are moments of great charm and beauty in every chart. There are marvelous solos too, with Rob’s expressive valve trombone showcased on “Everything Happens to Me” and (with Terry Promane’s slide trombone) Billy May’s “Somewhere in the Night” (which some may recall as the theme from a ’50s television show, The Naked City ), flugel master Guido Basso passionate on “I’ll Never Stop Loving You,” alto saxophonist P.J. Perry eloquent on “For All We Know,” dueling tenors Mike Murley and Alex Dean loose and swinging on “The Outlaw.” Dean, Wallace and Basso light the scoring lamp on “If I Were a Bell,” Murley, Promane and Restivo on “Like Someone in Love,” McConnell, Wallace and Perry on “Constantly.” A second triumphant album for the irrepressible Tentet, which is doing everything in its power to fill the enormous void created by the unfortunate departure of the Boss Brass. ~ Jack Bowers https://www.allaboutjazz.com/thank-you-ted-review-by-jack-bowers.php?width=1920

Personnel: Rob McConnell, leader, arranger, valve trombone; Steve McDade, trumpet; Guido Basso, flugelhorn; P.J. Perry, alto sax; Alex Dean, Mike Murley, tenor sax; Terry Promane, trombone; Dave Restivo, piano; Steve Wallace, bass; Terry Clarke, drums.

Thank You, Ted

---