Maynard Ferguson - Newport Suite

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1960
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:32
Size: 91,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:28)  1. Jazz Bary
(5:11)  2. Foxy
(8:42)  3. Newport
(3:56)  4. Got the Spirit
(2:56)  5. Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child
(7:05)  6. Ol' Man River
(7:12)  7. Three More Foxes

Maynard Ferguson's bands of the early '60s produced many memorable albums, including this studio effort. Sax player and bandmember Willie Maiden contributed two originals. "The Jazz Bary" is a fun feature for baritone saxophonist Frank Hittner and Ferguson (who plays the rarely heard baritone horn), in which they play in unison, in thirds, and trade solos. "Three More Foxes" features trumpeters Dick Hiefer and Don Ellis and the leader, each taking turns soloing. This upbeat blues showcases great comping by pianist Jaki Byard as well. Liner note writer George T. Simon slips in a hilarious pun about Maiden's chart of "Ol' Man River," which "starts flowing with a mad Maiden form." The remaining charts were contributed by Slide Hampton (though he isn't present on the recording itself). "Foxy" is a bluesy feature for young tenor saxophonist Joe Farrell and the leader. "Newport," which was premiered at the 1959 festival there, is an elaborate suite with many flavors: a funeral-like dirge, a powerful uptempo blues that suggests the influence of Duke Ellington's "I'm Gonna Go Fishin'" in spots, and delicious call and response between the brass and reed sections. And he brings out his gospel roots in his scoring of the spiritual "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child," the album's only relatively low-key number. Long out of print (though it was available as part of Mosaic's limited-edition CD box set of Maynard Ferguson's Roulette recordings), this is one of the trumpeter's very best LPs. ~ Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/newport-suite-mw0000883790

Personnel:  Maynard Ferguson - trumpet, valve trombone, baritone horn; Don Ellis, Augustino 'Chet' Ferretti, Rick Kiefer - trumpet; Charles Greenlee, Mike Zagatini - trombone; Jimmy Ford - alto saxophone; Joe Farrell, Willie Maiden - tenor saxophone; Frank Hittner - baritone saxophone; Jaki Byard - piano; Aubrey Tosin - bass; Stu Martin - drums; Slide Hampton, Willie Maiden - arranger

Newport Suite

---

Roy Ayers Ubiquity - Everybody Loves The Sunshine (Reissue)

Styles: Vibraphone Jazz, Vocal, Post Bop
Year: 1976
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:32
Size: 91,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:45)  1. Hey, Uh, What You Say Come On
(3:03)  2. The Golden Rod
(3:45)  3. Keep On Walking
(3:12)  4. You And Me My Love
(6:21)  5. The Third Eye
(3:28)  6. It Ain't Your Sign It's Your Mind
(4:48)  7. People And The World
(3:59)  8. Everybody Loves The Sunshine
(3:02)  9. Tongue Power
(4:03) 10. Lonesome Cowboy

Roy Ayers's had long made his shift into R&B/soul by 1976's Everybody Loves the Sunshine. His recordings of this period can be very hit and miss, and in this particular record, you get both. The title track, "Everybody Loves the Sunshine," is a quintessential song from the mid-'70s. While it might not have slammed the charts like Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music," it's still a revered classic. It evokes that feeling of sweltering concrete in Brooklyn where the only relief is the local fire hydrant. Entirely sung by a choir repeating the same lines throughout, the rhythm section rolls along with a perfectly looped laid-back groove. It moves along lazily, hypnotically, and sluggishly as the sun slows things down to the right speed and "folks get down in the sunshine." The rest of the album contains Ayers classics such as the burning percussive funk of "It Ain't AYour Sign It's Your Mind," the spacey cosmic soul of "the Third Eye," the bumping rubbery disco in "People and the World," and the two horn-scorched closers "Tongue Power," and "Lonesome Cowboy." ~ Sam Samuelson https://www.allmusic.com/album/everybody-loves-the-sunshine-mw0000099169

Personnel:  Roy Ayers – vibraphone, lead vocals, electric piano, synthesizer (ARP, String Ensemble), percussion, background vocals; Philip Woo – piano, electric piano, synthesizer (ARP, String Ensemble); Chano O'Ferral – congas, percussion, lead vocals; Ronald "Head" Drayton – guitar; John "Shaun" Solomon – electric bass; Doug Rhodes – drums; Chicas – lead vocals, background vocals

Everybody Loves The Sunshine (Reissue)

---

Eli Degibri & Kevin Hays Duo - One Little Song

Styles: Saxophone And Piano Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:21
Size: 131,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:27)  1. Spinster
(8:08)  2. Gypsy
(4:59)  3. E.T.
(2:50)  4. Fax To Roni
(8:23)  5. Wish
(6:03)  6. Night In Portugal
(6:55)  7. 8 Ball
(5:20)  8. Cuba
(5:35)  9. What Remains
(3:37) 10. One Little Song

Herbie Hancock noticed Eli Degibiri early. In 1999, the venerable pianist selected the then-unknown saxophonist to perform internationally with his group, citing Eli’s “natural ability toward effective teamwork, focus, willingness to listen, and eagerness to learn, the caliber of which is a rare find in jazz today.” Hancock saw potential: “Eli’s music treads uncharted waters…he has the potential to be a formidable force in the evolution of jazz.” In the last decade, Eli has recorded five albums as a leader, and toured with veterans such as Al Foster, Clark Terry, Jimmy Heath, Eric Reed and the Mingus Big Band. “Don’t miss him,” cautions Ben Ratliff in The New York Times, “He is a very modern improviser, super-artful; his creations are spiky and fractured, but immaculately sculptured.” Kevin Hays has known Brad Mehldau for years; their relationship dates back to high school. On the subject of Hays, his fellow pianist exclaims, “Stellar! Kevin Hays is a true original. Everything he plays has a deep intelligence and swing.” The two artists recently recorded together for the Nonesuch imprint, which is among the latest of Kevin’s dozen releases as a leader or co-leader on labels such as Blue Note, Artist Share, and Steeplechase. Kevin is also highly in-demand as a sideperson, having performed and/or recorded with the likes of Eddie Henderson, Nicholas Payton, Jack DeJohnette, and John Scofield, who proclaims, “[Kevin]’s all-encompassing; phenomenally so!” We’ve been presenting both Eli and Kevin’s groups intermittently since 2002, and we look forward to the second performance by the duo at The Gallery this Thursday, April 26th. This show will launch a short tour for the pair, which also includes stops at An die Musik LIVE (Baltimore), Dazzle (Denver), and SFJAZZ’s Israeli JazzFest (San Francisco). You can stream tracks from One Little Song courtesy of our friends at SFJAZZ (the audio player is on the right towards the bottom). http://www.jazzspeaks.org/eli-degibri-kevin-hays-one-little-song/

Personnel:  Eli Degibri, tenor, soprano sax, vocals; Kevin Hays, piano.

One Little Song

---

Norm Kubrin - Shootin' High: The Songs of Jimmy McHugh

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:45
Size: 108,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:29)  1. It's a Most Unusual Day
(4:07)  2. I'm Shooting High
(5:41)  3. I'm in the Mood For Love
(3:17)  4. Let's Get Lost
(4:27)  5. A Lovely Way to Spend An Evening
(4:04)  6. Exactly Like You
(3:34)  7. I Feel a Song Coming On
(4:24)  8. Don't Blame Me
(4:03)  9. I Can't Believe That You're in Love With Me
(2:03) 10. When My Sugar Walks Down the Street
(4:22) 11. I Can't Give You Anything but Love
(3:07) 12. On the Sunny Side of the Street

Shootin' High: The Songs of Jimmy McHugh was produced by world renowned jazz pianist Ray Kennedy. It features many of New York's finest jazz recording artists including: Ray Kennedy-Piano; Tom Kennedy-Bass; Tony Tedesco-Drums; Joe Cohn-Guitar; Chuck Redd-Vibes; Harry Allen-Sax; Glen Drews-trumpet .Vocalist/pianist Norm Kubrin demontrates his love for the American Songbook in this superb collection of Jimmy McHugh tunes. Kennedy's arrangements and Kubrin's interpretation of these McHugh classics make a most enjoyable listening experience! https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/normkubrin

Shootin' High: The Songs of Jimmy McHugh

---

Deborah Shulman - The Shakespeare Project

Styles: Vocal 
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:21
Size: 104,6 MB
Art: Front

(6:46)  1. All the World's a Stage / If Music Be the Food of Love - As You Like It & Twelfth Night
(3:17)  2. Blow Blow Thou Winter Wind - As You Like It
(4:50)  3. Dunsinane Blues - The Story of Macbeth
(4:37)  4. Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day - Sonnet 18
(1:55)  5. Who is Sylvia - Two Gentlemen of Verona
(4:01)  6. You Spotted Snakes - A Midsummer Night's Dream
(3:43)  7. When to the Sessions of Sweet Silent Thought - Sonnet 30
(2:49)  8. Sigh No More Ladies - Much Ado About Nothing
(3:13)  9. Oh Mistress Mine - Twelfth Night
(2:41) 10. My Love is as a Fever - Sonnet 147
(3:59) 11. Take All My Loves - Sonnet 40
(3:26) 12. Our Revels Now Are Ended - The Tempest

William Shakespeare's works have generated many musical endeavors. Duke Ellington's Such Sweet Thunder (Columbia Records, 1957) and Leonard Bernstein's score for West Side Story are among those which come to mind. In 1941, British composer Arthur Young recorded Shakespeare in Swing (Decca Records, 1941), which featured his compositions over Shakespeare's words. And, in 1964, celebrated British reed player John Dankworth and his wife, Cleo Laine, recorded Shakespeare and All that Jazz, (Fontana Records, 1964), a collection predominantly of Dankworth's jazz tunes with lyrics taken from Shakespeare. With The Shakespeare Project, vocalist Deborah Shulman not only resurrects and refreshes some of the Young/Dankworth-Lane efforts, but adds some terrific new originals from pianist/co-producer, Jeff Colella. Starting with a track which combines Dankworth's "All the World's a Stage" around the up-tempo "If Music Be the Food of Love," it is obvious that this is not going to be a novelty or an over-intellectualized effort. The upbeat tone continues with the modal and swinging, "Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind," which features tasty guitar work from Larry Koonse. Dankworth's "Dunsinane Blues" is an azure head-tilter with Shulman and pianist Collela soulful. The ballad "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day" is a textured, dramatic highlight on which Shulman and all shine bright. A challenge which is met exceptionally well here is Shulman's vocal approach to the 16th century lyric. Her voice is very attractive and swinging. The manner in which she caresses the lyrics is exceptional. Dankworth's "Who Is Sylvia?" is an inquisitive, theatrical Laboriel/Shulman duo. His "You Spotted Snakes" is darker fare with tasty ensemble backing. "When to the Sessions of Sweet Silent Thought," a Colella original, is an introspective piano/vocal duet. Arthur Young's, "Sigh No More Ladies" is a bossa nova swinger with a fine Bob McChesney trombone solo and "Oh, Mistress Mine" is delivered in a lilting swing-groove with Shulman's ace piping and another fine McChesney ride. 

Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn's "My Love Is a Fever" and the swinging "Take All My Loves" were also recorded by Dankworth and Lane and are given a fine fresh coat here. Although the lingo served here is near a half-millennium old, Shulman and her team make this rendering as delicious as fresh-baked Elizabethan pie. Go ahead and pull out a plum. ~ Nicholas F.Mondello https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-shakespeare-project-deborah-shulman-summit-records-review-by-nicholas-f-mondello.php

Personnel: Deborah Shulman: vocals; Jeff Colella, piano; Larry Koonse: guitar; Abraham Laboriel: bass (1, 3, 5, 10, 11); Chris Colangelo: bass (2-4, 6, 7, 12); Bob Sheppard: flute, clarinet, soprano sax, bass clarinet; Bob McChesney: trombone; Kendall Kay: drums (2, 3 ,6, 9, 12); Joe LaBarbera: drums (1, 8, 10, 11).

The Shakespeare Project

---