Monday, May 20, 2019

Sol Yaged - On Bleecker Street

Styles: Clarinet Jazz 
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 163:19
Size: 376,5 MB
Art: Front

(7:03)  1. Ain't Misbehavin'
(4:04)  2. Body and Soul
(5:42)  3. Candy
(3:09)  4. Cocktails for Two
(3:51)  5. Darn That Dream
(4:27)  6. Dearly Beloved
(3:51)  7. Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans
(4:27)  8. A Foggy Day
(3:35)  9. Frenesi
(5:25) 10. Georgia on My Mind
(6:50) 11. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
(5:03) 12. I Don't Want to Walk Without You
(6:05) 13. I Hadn't Anyone Till You
(5:34) 14. If I Had You
(5:46) 15. I'm Confessin'
(6:22) 16. Isn't It Romantic
(3:01) 17. I've Got a Crush on You
(5:07) 18. June Night
(6:02) 19. Let's Do It
(5:10) 20. Mean to Me
(4:44) 21. More Than You Know
(4:24) 22. My Old Flame
(5:37) 23. Oh Lady Be Good
(5:01) 24. Perfidia
(2:51) 25. Polka Dots and Moonbeams
(4:22) 26. Sugar
(6:53) 27. On the Sunny Side of the Street
(4:00) 28. Its the Talk of the Town
(3:49) 29. The Very Thought of You
(3:20) 30. They Can't Take That Away from Me
(7:54) 31. Willow Weep for Me
(3:35) 32. Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams
(5:57) 33. You'd Be so Nice to Come Home To

Sol Yaged (born December 8, 1922) is an American jazz clarinetist who was strongly influenced by Benny Goodman. Yaged was born in Coney Island, Brooklyn, and began playing clarinet at the age of 12 after hearing Goodman's broadcasts for Nabisco in 1935. He studied under a clarinetist from the New York Philharmonic; but turned down a classical career to play jazz in New York City nightclubs, such as Jimmy Ryan's and the Swing Club. Yaged became a Goodman disciple. Early in his career he imitated Goodman's runs and phrasing and even mimicked his mannerisms and speaking style. He showed up so faithfully at Goodman's engagements and recording dates that Goodman called him ''my shadow'' and would jokingly reprimand him if he showed up late. ''If it hadn't been for Benny Goodman I'd have been a juvenile delinquent,'' Mr. Yaged said. Since serving in the Army for three years during World War II, Yaged has played clarinet continuously, with such musicians as Phil Napoleon, Coleman Hawkins, Red Allen, and Jack Teagarden. Beginning in the 1960s, he began working primarily as an ensemble leader in New York City. Yaged served as a consultant on Benny Goodman's musical style for the 1956 film, The Benny Goodman Story. Has Clarinet, Will Swing Till Wee Hours; Sol Yaged, a Benny Goodman Disciple, Still Plays the Good Old Songs the Good Old Way The swing era is not over. It is stashed away in Sol Yaged's clarinet case, which he still opens nightly in a dark corner of a quiet Upper East Side restaurant.

''I bought this baby in 1938 for $125'' at a store on West 48th Street, Mr. Yaged said recently as he flipped open his worn case and took out his Conn clarinet at the restaurant, Il Valentino, on East 56th Street. The purchase turned out to be a long-term investment. He began playing professionally while still a teenager and has had few nights off since. Back then he had plenty of work on 52nd Street at clubs like the Onyx, the Three Deuces and Jimmy Ryan's. And there was the night on Grove Street, at Arthur's Tavern, when Charlie Parker showed up at the gig without his sax, and had to borrow Sol's clarinet! Sol knew everyone. Those days are long gone, but Mr. Yaged is as busy as ever. From 1999 till 2004 he played five nights a week on Bleecker Street with Bob Arkin (bass) and Albert Garzon (piano). It is from those gigs that "On Bleecker Street" evolved. Since 2004 he has been playing at Il Valentino, which is in the Hotel Sutton and was once a club run by the bandleader Eddie Condon. Each night Mr. Yaged turns back time, playing the same ol' songs the same way he did a half-century ago. This is the Sol Yaged who hired the saxophonist Coleman Hawkins and the drummer Cozy Cole as sidemen and who wrote music for the film ''The Benny Goodman Story,'' teaching Steve Allen to play the clarinet for the title role. Even now Mr. Yaged routinely plays into the wee hours; his business card includes his home phone number and the directive ''Call after 1 p.m.'' The jazz historian and radio-show host Phil Schaap said, ''Sol Yaged has always been a solid musician,'' and noted that Mr. Yaged had played in Max Kaminsky's band on the opening night of the original Birdland. Schaap continued: ''That his fame has evaporated says more about the state of jazz than it does about him. He's still an employed musician in New York, a city with 600 hard-bop bands that can't find work!" The owner of Il Valentino, Mirso Lekic, said, ''The man's a living legend and nobody knows he's still around.'' Mr. Lekic hired him to play quiet, classy music to dine by, and during the dinner hour he does just that, taking a back seat to chatting diners and to waiters reciting nightly specials. But as the evening progresses he seems to grow younger, swinging his group harder, until patrons put down their dessert forks and the dignified northern Italian restaurant turns into a festive jazz club. 

The musicians in his group sit in a corner in chairs backed against the wall, Dixieland style. They play their share of stompers, but their sets generally begin by invoking Goodman's spirit. Like Goodman's small-group ensembles, Yaged's band plays straight-ahead standards with a series of riffing choruses; though things tend to get a bit wild when the crowd grows later in the evening.  Sol is built like a linebacker, and with his shaved head he looks like a cross between Yul Brynner and Knute Rockne. He wore a wide tie with a fat knot and had a threadbare fake rose in his lapel. The gold ring on his beefy pinkie shimmered as his fingers fluttered over the clarinet keys while the group began to play ''Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.'' He plays with a creamy, elegant tone that evokes Goodman's lyricism. On ''Embraceable You'' he treated the melody like a fat balloon that he nonchalantly thwacked into the air. ''I first heard him play this song 50 years ago,'' said a man gripping a glass of Scotch. Sol's tight, swinging ensemble playing is infectious. They did tidy, catchy arrangements of songs like ''I Can't Give You Anything but Love'' and ''Love Is Here to Stay'' with tailgating trombone obbligato and brassy offbeat trumpet punches. Mr. Yaged's best improvising is as a showman. He is an unabashed ham, whether delivering borscht belt one-liners while fixing his reed or fake-clobbering a diner with his clarinet. He often plays with one hand and pours wine for patrons with the other. At one point he joined a discussion at a side table, but leapt up in time to play an ornamental run on the final chorus of ''How Deep Is the Ocean?'' He finished the song leaning against a dessert cart. ''So easy when you know how,'' he chuckled as the diners applauded. At around midnight the place seems like a speak-easy and Mr. Yaged swings the band like a lariat, spurring the musicians on with shouts and comments. When backing up soloists he comes up with simple, floating riffs. He applauds his sidemen's solos, clarinet tucked like an umbrella under his arm. Sometimes, when he particularly likes the way his bandmates end a tune, he will start them up again and have them play it several more times, guffawing gleefully each time. Late on that recent Saturday night a man from the bar wobbled over and stuffed a $5 bill into the tip jar. Mr. Yaged started the band off on a stomping ''St. Louis Blues'' and then ''Flying Home'' and ''King Porter Stomp.'' During ''Alexander's Ragtime Band'' a man leaned over and said, ''When you write your article, say the food's terrible and the waiters are nasty so us old-timers can come and not be swamped with people.'' https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/solyaged

On Bleecker Street

Roseanna Vitro - The Music of Randy Newman

Styles: Vocal 
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:43
Size: 124,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:55)  1. Last Night I Had A Dream
(5:48)  2. Sail Away
(6:16)  3. If I Din't Have You
(4:05)  4. Everytime It Rains
(5:59)  5. Baltimore
(4:35)  6. In Germany Before The War
(4:36)  7. Mama Told Me Not To Come
(6:06)  8. I Will Go Sailing No More
(6:02)  9. Feels Like Home
(5:17) 10. Losing You

With Randy Newman's long-awaited Songbook Vol. 2 (Nonesuch, 2011) and vocalist Roseanna Vitro's album-length salute to his music hitting stores a week apart, it would seem that it's time for revived interest in all things Newman. While the singer/songwriter's release is a solo journey through his own catalog, Vitro's album presents ten of his pieces dressed in newly tailored arrangements from pianist Mark Soskin. Vitro touches on material from throughout Newman's storied career, but she tends to avoid the music that highlights his wry sense of humor and intentionally smarmy delivery in favor of narratives of all shapes and sizes. Some pieces receive radical facelifts ("Last Night I Had A Dream") that brighten up the music and change the overall impression of the work, while others retain their original essence and are simply tweaked to fit this ensemble and genre of music ("Sail Away"). While loyal fans of Newman's music will likely know every tune on the program, from early-career landmarks ("Sail Away") to latter-day songs of love and loss ("Losing You"), those uninitiated in the cult of his compositions will probably favor the two pieces from Pixar films. 

Vitro does a fine job on both, with "If I Didn't Have You," Newman's Academy Award-winning number from Monsters, Inc. (2001) re-imagined as bossa-to-samba journey, and "I Will Go Sailing No More," from Toy Story (1995), performed in an appropriately understated manner. Violinist Sara Caswell is, with the exception of Soskin and Vitro herself, the most important part of this package. She crafts elegant lines ("Sail Away"), sizzles over some Brazilian beats ("If I Didn't Have You"), marries sweeping gestures of sound with sadness and sunshine ("Losing You"), provides understated counterpoint, and helps to define the overall ensemble sound on this record. Vitro is a storyteller nonpareil and a fine vocalist, with a voice that can comfortably go from tender ("Losing You") to sassy ("Mama Told Me Not To Come Home), and her skills help to elevate the large majority of these pieces to great artistic heights. While the album does contain a misstep or two, like a take on "Baltimore" that lacks the necessary despair and seems to be draped in the wrong aural fabric, this has little do with Vitro's vocals. The Music Of Randy Newman deserves to be heard, not only for its unique arrangements and finely crafted performances, but for the beauty and wonder that Vitro injects into the works of an American icon. ~ Dan Bilawsky https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-music-of-randy-newman-roseanna-vitro-motema-music-review-by-dan-bilawsky.php

Personnel: Roseanna Vitro: vocals; Mark Soskin: piano; Sara Caswell: violin; Dean Johnson: bass; Tim Horner: drums (1-5, 7-10); Jamey Haddad: drums, percussion (1, 2, 5, 6); Steve Cardenas: guitar (1, 2, 5, 6).

The Music of Randy Newman

Andy LaVerne Quartet - Four Miles

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1996
File: MP3@224K/s
Time: 70:13
Size: 112,9 MB
Art: Front

(8:28)  1. When you wish upon a star
(4:52)  2. Summertime
(8:22)  3. Maiden voyage
(7:32)  4. Some say my prince will come
(6:41)  5. Song for my father
(7:41)  6. All blues
(7:58)  7. Mr Syms
(7:26)  8. Cantaloupe island
(4:29)  9. Round midnight
(6:40) 10. On green dolphin street

Despite the CD's title, most of the music on this date does not have any close connection to Miles Davis; in fact five of the ten songs were not even recorded by Davis. In addition, trumpeter Randy Brecker, who joins the Andy Laverne Trio (which is comprised of pianist Laverne, bassist George Mraz and drummer Al Foster) sounds closer to Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan than to Davis. However, if one does not think about the tribute aspect (or lack of), the music is quite enjoyable. Laverne and Brecker have many fine solos within the hard-bop tradition on such numbers as "When You Wish Upon a Star," "Maiden Voyage," "All Blues" and "Cantaloupe Island." An excellent modern straight-ahead date that falls just a little short of being essential. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/four-miles-mw0000025762

Personnel:  Piano – Andy Laverne; Bass – George Mraz; Drums – Al Foster; Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Randy Brecker

Four Miles

Les Pommes De Ma Douche - Swing from Paris

Styles: Gypsy Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:24
Size: 133,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:34)  1. Scènes de Paris
(3:14)  2. I Love Paris
(3:10)  3. A Paris
(4:00)  4. Pigalle
(4:51)  5. J'aime Paris au mois de mai
(3:30)  6. Stranger in Paris
(3:30)  7. Swing from Paris
(4:15)  8. Ménilmontant
(5:56)  9. Où es-tu passé mon Saint-Germain-des-Prés
(4:11) 10. Fleur de Paris
(4:57) 11. Quel temps fait-il à Paris?
(3:35) 12. Paris Jadis
(3:26) 13. Paris Swing
(5:08) 14. Revoir Paris

With this fourth CD released in February 2008, Les Pommes de ma Douche, a quintet Blésois that no longer presents have decided this time to celebrate the popular Paris, that of Ménilmuche, Pigalle, the hill and the bastoche. And so it is 14 themes all dedicated to our capital that offers us here our five musicians in full form; while the Delaveau father and son ensure a still very effective rhythm, our three excellent soloists (Dominique Rouquier on guitar, David Rivière on accordion and Laurent Zeller on violin) very verve, compose very pretty solos. If the apples have never claimed to compete with the champions of style, their music is always borrowed nice notes, fun to play and a sense of swing! And then virtuoso point of view, after Tchavolo Schmitt in the first album, it is here the guitarist Raphaël Faÿs who comes to make sing his Argentines on two titles boosted by the maestria of the prestigious guest ( Swing from Paris , Paris once).  And as for the repertoire, beyond the inevitable expected of Trenet ( Ménilmontant, Revoir Paris ), Lemarque ( A Paris ), Aznavour ( I love Paris in May), Maurice Chevalier ( Fleur de Paris ), etc ... Apples had the delicacy to register us some pretty rarities like the deliciously nostalgic Where did you spend my St Germain des Pres signed Michel Legrand and Eddy Barclay or this very nice and very funny Paris Jadis de Caussimon, sung with a lot of heart by all the happy team ... A warm record to listen while strolling between the 18th and the 20th district ...! Translate by Google https://www.djangostation.com/Swing-from-Paris,906.html

Musicians: Dominique Rouquier: solo guitar; Pierre Delaveau: guitar; Laurent Delaveau: double bass; David Rivière: accordion; Laurent Zeller: violin; Guest: Raphaël Faÿs - guitar on 7 and 12

Swing from Paris

V.A.- The Big Band Legends: Go Harlem Swing! Vol.2

Styles: Jazz, Big Band 
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:27
Size: 122,1 MB
Art: Front

(2:53)  1. Lotta Sax Appeal
(2:34)  2. Facts and Figures
(3:19)  3. Trippin In
(2:54)  4. Jump for Joy
(2:58)  5. You Rascal, You
(3:14)  6. Minnie the Moocher
(2:46)  7. Liza
(2:58)  8. Leap Frog
(3:06)  9. Moten Swing
(3:07) 10. Stampede
(3:27) 11. Holiday for Swing
(2:23) 12. Squaty Roo
(2:50) 13. Hotter Than 'ell
(2:21) 14. Go Harlem
(3:01) 15. Good Dip
(2:44) 16. Moten Stomp
(3:05) 17. Spinnin' the Web
(2:40) 18. Pluckin' the Bass

Go Harlem Swing !, Vol.2