Friday, May 3, 2019

Urbie Green - Thou Swell

Styles: Trombone Jazz
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 26:55
Size: 62,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:22)  1. Thou Swell
(3:03)  2. Paradise
(2:48)  3. One For Dee
(2:50)  4. Warm Valley
(1:52)  5. Frankie And Johnny
(4:23)  6. You Are Too Beautiful
(2:07)  7. Limehouse Blues
(3:19)  8. Reminiscent Blues
(3:06)  9. Am I Blue

A fine jazz player with a beautiful tone who has spent most of his career in the studios, Urbie Green is highly respected by his fellow trombonists. He started playing when he was 12; was with the big bands of Tommy Reynolds, Bob Strong, and Frankie Carle as a teenager; and worked with Gene Krupa during 1947-1950. Green had a stint with Woody Herman's Third Herd, appeared on some of the famous Buck Clayton jam sessions (1953-1954), and was with Benny Goodman off and on during 1955-1957. He played with Count Basie in 1963, and spent a period in the 1960s fronting the Tommy Dorsey ghost band (1966-1967), but has mostly stuck to studio work. Urbie Green recorded frequently as a leader in the 1950s up to 1963 (for Blue Note, Vanguard, Bethlehem, ABC-Paramount, and dance band-oriented records for RCA and Command). He has appeared much less often in jazz settings since then, but did make two albums for CTI in 1976-1977. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/artist/urbie-green-mn0000300013/biography

Thou Swell

Eileen Farrell, Luther Henderson And His Orchestra - Here I Go Again

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:29
Size: 96,6 MB
Art: Front

(5:06)  1. My Funny Valentine
(3:01)  2. Fly Me To The Moon (In Other Words)
(3:58)  3. I Got It Bad And That Ain’t Good
(3:00)  4. Somebody Loves Me
(3:20)  5. Dreamy
(2:48)  6. Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams
(3:44)  7. The Man I Love
(3:22)  8. Solitaire (The Game Of Love)
(3:25)  9. To Be In Love
(3:15) 10. A Foggy Day
(3:31) 11. The Second Time Around
(2:52) 12. Taking A Chance On Love

While opera singers who dabble in popular music are common, those who do so successfully are rare, and those with large dramatic voices who do so are rarer still. Eileen Farrell was as authentic and natural a blues and jazz singer as she was an operatic soprano. She was in fact much more comfortable on the concert stage, on radio, and in the recording studio than in the opera house. She sang relatively few fully-staged performances and was ambivalent about opera and particularly opera house management throughout her entire career (when she taught at Indiana University, she hung a sign outside her office that read, "Help stamp out opera.") Her voice was huge, but capable of great nuances in volume and expressiveness as well as rapid and accurate coloratura, letting her sing bel canto roles such as Cherubini's Medea, the spinto-coloratura Leonora in Verdi's Il trovatore, the verismo Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana, and the great Wagner parts of Isolde and Brünnhilde (in concert). Her parents were both singers, The Singing O'Farrells, and recognizing her potential, sent her to study voice in New York. She auditioned for various radio shows and was hired by CBS for chorus and ensemble work. In 1941, she got her own program, Eileen Farrell Sings, where she performed songs and lighter classical music. She remained with them until 1947, when she began to explore other venues, including the Bach Aria Group. 

She also began studying with Eleanor McLellan, who helped her hone her vocal technique, particularly helping her develop a pianissimo. In 1955, she sang for the film dramatization of singer Marjorie Lawrence's life, Interrupted Melody (Eleanor Parker acted the role), and the music, ranging from folk to Brünnhilde's immolation scene, showed off her power, rich voice, and versatility. In 1957, she appeared for the first time on the opera stage, as Santuzza in Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana in Tampa, FL, and two years later, sang for the first time in London, in a recital. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1960 in the title role of Gluck's Alceste, and in 1962, won a Grammy for her recording of Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder and the "Immolation Scene" from Götterdämmerung, conducted by Leonard Bernstein. Her relationship with Met management was an uncomfortable one, partly due to differences of personalities and her finding the repertoire they offered unchallenging, and her contract was allowed to drop in 1965. Towards the end of the decade, her voice was beginning to show signs of wear at the very top, and Farrell moved back into jazz and blues recordings, and taught music at Indiana University. She made her last record in 1993, at the age of 72. Farrell died on March 23, 2002. ~ Anne Feeney https://www.allmusic.com/artist/eileen-farrell-mn0000179714/biography

Here I Go Again

Kenny Barron Trio - Minor Blues

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:56
Size: 168,0 MB
Art: Front

(6:35)  1. Minor Blues
(6:57)  2. Beautiful Love
(6:54)  3. Emily
(9:03)  4. For Heaven's Sake
(8:20)  5. How Deep Is The Ocean
(8:37)  6. Too Late Now
(6:33)  7. Don't Explain
(6:25)  8. Hush - A - Bye
(6:51)  9. I've Never Been In Love Before
(6:37) 10. My Ideal

Kenny Barron was honored as an NEA Jazz Master on January 12, 2010, and it was a recognition that was due. Since entering the jazz scene in the early '60s, he has made his mark as a sideman (especially with Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Getz), solo pianist, leader, and composer. These 2009 sessions pair him with frequent collaborator Ben Riley and fellow veteran George Mraz on bass. While most of the focus is on familiar standards, the opener is Barron's slinky "Minor Blues," in which Barron and Mraz both shine backed by Riley's brushwork, though the drummer switches to sticks for his breaks. The leader's jaunty take of "Emily" and driving treatment of "How Deep Is the Ocean?" sizzle. His richly textured setting of "Too Late Now" doesn't require its lyrics to get across the mood of the song, while his breezy Latin arrangement of Billie Holiday's "Don't Explain" casts this ballad in a new light. This is yet another fine example of Kenny Barron's superb chops in a small-group setting. ~ Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/minor-blues-mw0001969830

Personnel:  Kenny Barron – piano; George Mraz – bass; Ben Riley – drums

Minor Blues

Duke Ellington - The Pianist

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1974
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:17
Size: 98,0 MB
Art: Front

(2:33)  1. Don Juan
(3:58)  2. Slow Blues
(2:53)  3. Looking Glass
(5:47)  4. The Shepherd - Take 1
(6:32)  5. The Shepherd - Take 2
(2:50)  6. Tap Dancer's Blues
(6:35)  7. Sam Woodyard's Blues
(3:40)  8. Duck Amok
(4:26)  9. Never Stop Remembering Bill
(2:58) 10. Fat Mess

Duke Ellington had so many talents (composer, arranger, bandleader, personality) that his skills as a pianist could easily be overlooked. Fortunately he did record a fair amount of trio albums through the years so there is plenty of evidence as to his unique style which was both modern and traditional at the same time. The Pianist has trio performances from 1966 and 1970 and finds Ellington shifting smoothly between styles and moods while always remaining himself. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-pianist-mw0000201685

Personnel: Duke Ellington – piano; John Lamb (tracks 1-7), Paul Kondziela (tracks 8-10), Victor Gaskin (tracks 8-10) - bass; Sam Woodyard (tracks 1-7), Rufus Jones (tracks 8-10) - drums

The Pianist

Didier Lockwood - The Kid

Styles: Violin, Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:19
Size: 93,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:29)  1. Sunny Sonny
(3:08)  2. Sleight of Hands
(4:59)  3. Something Sweet
(3:37)  4. Bloody Mary
(4:01)  5. A Time to Touch
(3:28)  6. The Kid
(5:32)  7. La Ballade De Francis
(5:22)  8. Impressions
(5:39)  9. My Favorite Dream

Didier Lockwood (born February 11, 1956) is a French jazz violinist. He was born in Calais and studied classical violin and composition at the Calais Conservatory. However, his brother Francis made him receptive to forms of music other than the classical and he quit his studies in 1972. Didier was entranced by the improvisation of Jean-Luc Ponty on Frank Zappa's King Kong album and took up the amplified violin. He joined the progressive rock group Magma, touring and notable featured on their 1975 Live/Hhaï album. Lockwood was also influenced by Polish violinist Zbigniew Seifert and Stéphane Grappelli, whom he joined on tour. Didier Lockwood in concert (1992)He has also played with Quebecois fusion group Uzeb on their Absolutely Live album. He is famous for exploring new musical environments and for performing various sound imitations on his amplified violin, such as seagulls or trains. On July 23, 1982, in Montreux, Switzerland, he performed in concert with guitarist Allan Holdsworth, drummer Billy Cobham, bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, and keyboardist David Sancious. Didier Lockwood created a string instruments improvisation school, CMDL (Centre des Musiques Didier Lockwood), in 2001. He is married to singer Caroline Casadesus. Throughout 2006 Didier has been touring with Martin Taylor the Jazz guitarist. In these performances it is noticeable to see that he is very involved in improvisation. https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/didierlockwood

Personnel:  Didier Lockwood (Violin, Alto Saxophone, Violin [Violectra]); Barry Finnerty (Electric Guitar); Jean-Michel Kajdan (Acoustic Guitar); Alphonso Johnson (Bass); Richie Morales (Drums); David Sancious (Keyboards); Sydney Thiam (Percussion).

The Kid