Ken Peplowski, Alan Barnes - Doodle Oodle

Styles: Saxophone And Clarinet Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 70:46
Size: 163,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:04)  1. Doodle Oodle
(6:51)  2. Two Funky People
(4:12)  3. Titter Pipes
(9:03)  4. In Love in Vain
(5:39)  5. Evening
(7:02)  6. Bennie's Pennies
(8:45)  7. Shady Side
(6:37)  8. Hanid
(5:40)  9. Vignette
(5:38) 10. Ready Eddie
(7:10) 11. Fajista

Alan Barnes is around the UK jazz circuit so much, in so many different guises, that it's easy to take his virtuosity, professionalism and love of jazz's most accessible song-rooted manifestations for granted, not to mention his standup skills as the MC to his own work. But Barnes's frequent partnerships with American mainstream swingers who sense a kindred spirit (Scott Hamilton is a regular participant) frequently produce sessions that soar above formulaic trots through the evergreens. This one finds Barnes with the US clarinetist and saxophonist Ken Peplowski, aided and abetted by the UK trio of pianist John Pearce, bassist Alec Dankworth and drummer Martin Drew. Typically, the two reedmen pick -swing-era jazz tunes that haven't been done to death, including Billy Byers's title track (at breakneck tempo, with Barnes boppish on alto, Peplowski earthier on tenor), Al Cohn's Two Funky People (a wry, lyrical clarinet duet), Coleman Hawkins's Hanid (baritone sax and clarinet, with a spirited melody and crisp participation from the rhythm section), Barney Bigard's Ready Eddie (a delicious, drifting, two-clarinet pirouette) and Hank Jones's Vignette (typically bright and balletic). It's a swing album with no pretensions, but it's played by experts who love the feel of the style. … we have a small favour to ask. ~ John Fordham https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/dec/11/alan-barnes-ken-poplowski-doodle-oodle

Doodle Oodle

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Ann-Margret - On the Way Up

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1962
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 30:45
Size: 71,5 MB
Art: Front

(2:36)  1. Oh, Lonesome Me
(2:08)  2. Slowly
(2:52)  3. Fever
(2:32)  4. What Do You Want from Me
(2:26)  5. Heartbreak Hotel
(2:37)  6. I Just Don't Understand
(2:23)  7. His Ring
(2:13)  8. Could It Be
(2:48)  9. What Am I Supposed to Do
(3:00) 10. Let Me Go, Lover!
(2:31) 11. Moon River
(2:36) 12. My Last Date (With You)

Ann-Margret's RCA Victor debut album, And Here She Is..., didn't get much attention in 1961, but she did better with her bluesy single "I Just Don't Understand," which peaked in the Top 20 in September. That set up this, her second solo LP, which featured "I Just Don't Understand," and like it was recorded partially in Nashville under the aegis of Chet Atkins and Dick Pierce. The two naturally brought a slight country feel to some of the tracks, notably the remakes of Don Gibson's 1958 hit "Oh, Lonesome Me" and the 1960-1961 hit "My Last Date (With You)" (aka "Last Date"). But the closest approximation of the sound was the kind of country-inflected pop/rock being pursued by Elvis Presley around the same time, which made a rendition of Presley's first major hit, "Heartbreak Hotel," an appropriate choice. At 20, Ann-Margret was an effective singer, if something of a chameleon, seeming to adopt a different persona for each number. She was at her most seductive singing Otis Blackwell's "Slowly," and she came on like a Latin fireball on "Fever," but was demure on the singles-chart entry "What Am I Supposed to Do" and ingenuously winning on "Moon River." RCA Victor appears to have been hoping it had found a distaff Presley, and it's possible Ann-Margret might have justified such a hope if her film acting career hadn't quickly outpaced her recording career; by the time this album was released, her movie debut, Pocketful of Miracles, had been out for several months and State Fair, which would establish her as a redheaded bombshell, was just getting into theaters. (She was still a mousy brunette on the album cover.) On the Way Up was an appropriate title, but records would soon take a back seat to other career goals. ~ William Ruhlmann https://www.allmusic.com/album/on-the-way-up-mw0000477097

On the Way Up

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Booker Ervin - That's It

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1961
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:18
Size: 99,8 MB
Art: Front

( 7:57)  1. Mojo
( 4:32)  2. Uranus
( 8:04)  3. Poinciana
( 7:12)  4. Speak Low
(10:59)  5. Booker's Blues
( 4:32)  6. Boo

Booker Ervin, who always had a very unique sound on the tenor, is heard in prime form on his quartet set with pianist Horace Parlan, bassist George Tucker and drummer Al Harewood. In virtually all cases, the jazz and blues musicians who recorded for Candid in 1960-61 (during its original brief existence) were inspired and played more creatively than they did for other labels. That fact is true for Ervin, even if he never made an indifferent record. 

In addition to "Poinciana" and "Speak Low," Ervin's quartet (which was a regular if short-lived group) performs four of the leader's originals; best known is "Booker's Blues." ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/thats-it-mw0000196833

Personnel:  Booker Ervin - tenor saxophone; Horace Parlan - piano; George Tucker - bass; Al Harewood - drums

That's It

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Flip Philipp, Renato Chicco - Face to Face

Styles: Vibraphone Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:37
Size: 124,4 MB
Art: Front

(5:40)  1. Black Narcissus
(4:06)  2. 'Til Then
(5:40)  3. Freedom Jazz Dance
(7:09)  4. Isfahan
(4:18)  5. 502 Blues
(5:27)  6. Empty Pockets
(6:01)  7. Around J.C.
(4:18)  8. Little B´s Poem
(6:04)  9. Lou
(4:51) 10. The Loop

The Hammond organ and the vibraphone are arguably the two warmest and most viscerally satisfying instruments ever played in a Jazz context (or any context, for that matter). It is disappointing, but perhaps not so surprising, that so little documentation exists of the two playing together. Most famous perhaps are guitarist Grant Green’s 1964 Blue Note recording Street of Dreams, featuring Bobby Hutcherson and Larry Young (with Elvin Jones) and organist John Patton’s Let ’Em Roll (1965), also on Blue Note and featuring Bobby Hutcherson (along with Grant Green and Otis “Candy” Finch). Other such recorded collaborations include: Lionel Hampton & Milt Buckner, Gary Burton & Larry Goldings, Joe Locke & Barbara Dennerlein, Steve Nelson & Mike LeDonne, Vid Jamnik & Rob Bargad (if I may...), Warren Wolf & Jake Sherman (with saxophonist Mike Tucker), Stefon Harris & Jared Gold (with guitarist Dave Stryker) and at least two fine projectsfeaturing Bobby Hutcherson & Joey DeFrancesco.  The great organist Eddie Louiss has recorded in duo with piano (Michel Petrucciani) and with accordion (Richard Galliano), but the duo of Hammond and vibes (at least to my knowledge), has never been recorded  until now. This elegant CD presents two highly accomplished individuals musically at the top of their game. Renato Chicco has played with some of the world’s greatest Jazz artists, including Jon Hendricks, Clark Terry and Jerry Bergonzi. Flip Philipp is principal percussionist with the Vienna Symphony and has shared the stage with such Jazz greats as Joe Zawinul, Idris Muhammad and Walt Weiskopf. Both are also highly valued and respected teachers of music.

The Hammond and the vibes actually emit very similar tonal ranges, textures, and tamburs. While the mechanics of each instrument are completely different, at the heart of both lie devices if not of similar function, then at least of similar shape and concept: the rotating tonewheels that create the actual sound of the Hammond, and the rotating discs controlling the vibrato speed of the vibraphone. Both can also be played dry (without vibrato and just to be clear, the Hammond’s vibrato is not controlled by the tonewheels, but by various independent vibrato settings). But these related attributes make a successful duo performance an even greater challenge. As with piano and guitar the two are chordal instruments with both accompaniment and solo capabilities. The tendency could easily be to overplay and crowd the music. But in this case, you have two extremely mature, sensitive and highly creative musicians whose collective wealth of musical knowledge and experience is succesfully and delightfully brought to life here, within this unique and demanding setting. ~ Rob Bargad https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/flipphilipp13

Personnel:  Flip Philipp: vibraphone; Renato Chicco: Hammond organ

Face to Face

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Reuben Wilson - Bad Stuff!

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop 
Year: 1972
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:03
Size: 164,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:47)  1. Inner City Blues
(5:31)  2. Creampuff
(6:10)  3. Sugar
(6:26)  4. I'll Take You There
(6:12)  5. The Sweet Life
(4:15)  6. Never Can Say Goodbye
(5:19)  7. The Cisco Kid
(3:57)  8. The Last Tango in Paris
(4:55)  9. Superfly
(4:06) 10. We've Only Just Begun
(7:18) 11. Snaps
(6:47) 12. Groove Grease
(5:15) 13. The Look of Love

This Unidisc label two-fer compiles both of Reuben Wilson's sessions for the Groove Merchant label. The first, 1972's The Sweet Life, follows a series of sugary soul-jazz dates for Blue Note. The title notwithstanding, the session is his darkest and hardest-edged to date, complete with a physicality missing from previous efforts. Credit tenor saxophonist Ramon Morris, trumpeter Bill Hardman, guitarist Lloyd Davis, bassist Mickey Bass, and drummer Thomas Derrick, whose skin-tight grooves sand away the polished contours of Wilson's organ solos to reveal their diamond-sharp corners. The material, while predictable (i.e., standbys like "Inner City Blues" and "Never Can Say Goodbye"), is nevertheless well suited to the set's righteous funk sound. The 1974 follow-up, The Cisco Kid, pairs Wilson with a murderer's-row support unit including guitarist Melvin Sparks, trombonist Garnett Brown, bassist Bob Cranshaw, drummer Mickey Roker, and percussionist Ray Armando. Given the talent involved, it's regrettable that the album adheres to such a pedestrian formula, reimagining the same pop and soul covers as virtually every other jazz-funk session issued at the time. Besides the title cut, a reworking of War's Latin soul monster, the material includes readings of "Superfly," "The Look of Love," and "We've Only Just Begun" the energy and intensity nevertheless ratchet up several notches for the Wilson originals "Snaps" and "Groove Grease," elevating the entire endeavor in the process. ~ Jason Ankeny https://www.allmusic.com/album/bad-stuff-mw0001019718

Personnel:  Organ – Reuben Wilson; Bass [Fender] – Bob Cranshaw;  Congas – Ray Armando;  Drums – Mickey Roker; Guitar – Melvin Sparks; Trombone – Garnett Brown

Bad Stuff!

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