Harry James & His Orchestra - The Golden Trumpet of Harry James

Styles: Trumpet Jazz, Big Band
Year: 1968
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:55
Size: 82,5 MB
Art: Front

(0:37)  1. Ciribiribin
(1:52)  2. You Made Me Love You
(4:05)  3. Two O'Clock Jump
(1:58)  4. I'Ve Heard That Song Before
(4:21)  5. Ultra
(2:53)  6. By the Sleepy Lagoon
(3:09)  7. All or Nothing at All
(1:40)  8. Cherry
(4:42)  9. Take the "A" Train
(1:58) 10. I Heard You Cried Last Night
(2:52) 11. The Mole
(4:05) 12. Satin Doll
(0:35) 13. Ciribiribin

Harry James captured in glittering "Phase 4 Stereo" with a band that he regarded as his best ever, recutting standards of his own such as "You Made Me Love You," "I've Heard That Song Before," "All or Nothing at All," and "Two O'Clock Jump," plus his versions of "Satin Doll" and "Take the 'A' Train," spiced with a James composition, "The Mole." "Ultra," written by James, features some extraordinarily dexterous playing by the man in several places, while Eric Coates' "By the Sleepy Lagoon" provides James with a perfect spot for some gentle lyricism. The sound throughout is extremely bright and crisp, in keeping with the recording's audiophile origins. The overwritten notes by John Tracy have one major flaw, however it would have been nice to have a list of the personnel with James on these recording dates, since they play so well. ~ Bruce Eder  https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-golden-trumpet-of-harry-james-mw0000188226

Personnel:  Trumpet, Leader [Uncredited] – Harry James ; Alto Saxophone [Uncredited], Clarinet [Uncredited] – Everett Levey, Joe Riggs; Baritone Saxophone [Uncredited] – Jack O'Keefe; Bass [Uncredited] – Don Baldwin; Bass Trombone [Uncredited] – Graham Ellis; Drums [Uncredited] – Sonny Payne; Orchestra – Harry James And His Orchestra; Piano [Uncredited] – Jack Perciful; Tenor Saxophone [Uncredited] – Corky Corcoran; Tenor Saxophone [Uncredited], Flute [Uncredited] – Rod Adam; Trombone [Uncredited] – Jimmy Huntzinger, Ray Sims; Trumpet [Uncredited] – Al Yeager, Bill King, Bob Carter, Harry James, Tony Scodwell

The Golden Trumpet of Harry James

---

Zoe Schwarz - Slow Burn

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:49
Size: 145,4 MB
Art: Front

(5:16)  1. The Meaning of the Blues
(4:03)  2. The Blues Are a Brewin'
(4:55)  3. Was It Something You Siad
(2:28)  4. Baby I Don't Cry over You
(5:02)  5. Angel Eyes
(2:57)  6. Bye Bye Baby See You When I Get Home
(5:43)  7. I Cover the Water Front
(4:32)  8. I Can Dream
(4:27)  9. We're Going Wrong
(5:30) 10. Detour Ahead
(3:29) 11. Blues for Mama
(4:32) 12. Stay Away Baby
(5:45) 13. Willow Weep for Me
(4:04) 14. Sinner's Prayer

British singer Zoe Schwarz is a blues singer in the same way that the late Gene Harris was a blues pianist. Harris often referred to himself as a "blues player with jazz chops." Even his jazziest performances are steeped in the vernacular. For an example, see his famous performance from Ray Brown's Bam Bam Bam (Concord, 1988). Schwarz can belt the blues out with the best of them, but she is also a more than competent jazz singer, one who has used the blues to inform her performance and infuse her delivery in the very same way Harris did with his jazz recitals. A considerable amount of Schwarz's oeuvre is down-and-dirty blues. She did release a fine standards recording with guitarist/husband Bob Koral entitled Celebration (33 Records, 2009) that was quite fetching, and to which the present Slow Burn is a logical followup. Schwarz returns to this recital in the close space of a trio, again in the company of Koral and with the addition of tenor saxophonist Ian Ellis Schwarz provides a more homogenous mix of blues and standards (with some originals thrown in) on Slow Burn, mixing things up nicely. 

The addition of Ellis is inspired, his tenor raspy when necessary and sweet-tone when demanded, particularly on the ballads. The spirit of Billie Holiday is in ample evidence, with "The Meaning of the Blues," "I Cover The Water Front" and "Willow Weep for Me" serving as homage to the singer. Schwarz honors Holiday not with a mere imitation, but an honest acknowledgement of Holiday's uniquely odd phrasing and approach around the beat. Also present is Nina Simone, in whose material Schwarz excels with her own approach. "The Blues are A-brewin,'" "Blues for Mama" and "Sinner's Prayer" all seethe with Simone's own slow burn with Schwarz's own fine port tone added. Koral's expert, more-is-less approach carefully paces the pieces, be they the lowdown blues of Jack Bruce's "We're Going Wrong" or the bouncy novelty of the guitarist's original, "Bye Bye Baby See You When I Get Home." Musical Nirvana is reached on "Angel Eyes" and "Detour Ahead." On the former, Koral sets up an uncharacteristic rhythm, establishing a nervous undertow to this classic and dark ballad, allowing Schwarz free rein in singing. On the latter, the trio's efforts are fully realized, with Koral's fractured chords, Ellis' tentative yet confident obbligato and, finally Schwarz, channeling both Holiday and even pianist Bill Evans on an impressionistic performance of this strangely durable and compelling standard. It is in this performance that the trio's efforts and our expectations are fully rewarded. ~ C. Michael Bailey https://www.allaboutjazz.com/slow-burn-zoe-schwarz-33-jazz-review-by-c-michael-bailey.php

Personnel: Zoe Schwarz: vocals; Rob Koral: guitar; Ian Ellis: saxophone.

Slow Burn

---

Hank Jones - One More - The Music of Thad Jones

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:22
Size: 159,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:37)  1. Subtle Rebuttal
(4:54)  2. Thad's Pad
(6:40)  3. Kids Are Pretty People
(5:49)  4. One More
(7:05)  5. Mean What You Say
(8:02)  6. A Child Is Born
(5:12)  7. Bossa Nova Ova
(7:02)  8. The Waltz You Swang for Me
(5:37)  9. H & T Blues
(5:23) 10. Consummation
(5:27) 11. The Farewell
(2:31) 12. Monk's Mood

Great jazz things have been happening at IPO Recordings, and they have been for a while. One More: Music of Thad Jones is the sixth CD from Executive Producer Bill Sorin, and it continues the generous spirit of tribute that has informed each of its predecessors. Three of the six recordings so far have been among the final recordings of the late piano maestro, Sir Roland Hanna, with another Hanna album on the way later this year. Listeners familiar with the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Band should know that Hanna held the piano chair in the band from its beginning in '66 through '74, and that he often performed Thad's compositions on his own recordings. Hanna is present posthumously on One More, in a recreation of one his classic unaccompanied introductions to "A Child Is Born, arguably Jones' most famous composition. One More indeed pays homage to Jones the composer with stellar performances of 11 of his tunes. The aggregation that performs Michael Patterson's distinctive arrangements is an octet made up of a Who's Who of straight-ahead blowing jazz. James Moody, Benny Golson and Frank Wess appear on tenor and other saxophones, with Wess tripling on flute; Bob Brookmeyer on trombone and Jimmy Owens on trumpet and fluegelhorn comprise the brass section. The superb rhythm section is anchored by Richard Davis on bass and Mickey Roker on drums. One might wonder if Hanna were still alive, he would be on piano. But here we have the redoubtable Hank Jones, Thad's brother, on piano. It is hard to ask for more. Ira Gitler points out in his liner notes, "What Patterson has done is write for this ensemble (and what an ensemble) without losing the spirit of the big band. That's the way Thad wrote, very translatable. With musicians who have no doubt known one another and played together often over many years, there is the feeling here of a reunion, a celebration not only of Thad Jones' talents as a composer but perhaps of the rare chance to play together again. 

For a one-time project, the group is surprisingly tight and polished; everyone really seems to have come to play his best, together. Without slighting any of the other masters, one can't miss the contributions of Hank Jones on piano and Jimmy Owens on trumpet, which are consistently brilliant on this album, on virtually every cut. What an honor for jazz lovers to still have Hank in our midst; here and on his new Great Jazz Trio recordings of late he sounds better than ever. Perhaps Owens' highlight is his solo on "Consummation. Poetic justice: Thad Jones wrote the song for a concert performance by Owens in '69. One More concludes on a rather special note. The final track is an unaccompanied solo performance by Hank Jones of "Monk's Mood, the only tune on the album not by Thad. He is playing an arrangement that he learned, note-for-note, directly from the composer himself, Thelonious Monk, in the mid-'40s, which was a favorite of Thad's. IPO seems headed in a good direction. One More: Music of Thad Jones follows With Malice Toward None: The Music of Tom McIntosh, another great composer, which features some of the same musicians. Who knows? Maybe someday we will see a tribute to the compositional talents of Sir Roland Hanna, another match surely to be made in heaven. ~ Wayne Zade https://www.allaboutjazz.com/one-more-music-of-thad-jones-by-wayne-zade.php

Personnel: Benny Golson (tenor saxophone); James Moody (tenor and soprano saxophone); Frank Wess (tenor and alto saxophone, flute); Jimmy Owens (trumpet and fluegelhorn); Bob Brookmeyer (trombone); Hank Jones (piano); Richard Davis (bass); Mickey Roker (drums) 

One More - The Music of Thad Jones

---

Pete Jolly - Too Much, Baby!

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1965
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 30:42
Size: 71,6 MB
Art: Front

(2:48)  1. I'm All Smiles
(3:20)  2. One Morning In May
(3:03)  3. If I Ruled the World
(2:10)  4. Telephone Song
(3:53)  5. Some Time Ago
(2:23)  6. Same Ol' Huckleberry Finn
(2:24)  7. Do I Hear a Waltz?
(3:55)  8. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
(3:07)  9. Favela
(3:34) 10. On a Wonderful Day Like Today

The heyday of pianist Pete Jolly's jazz career was during the 1950s and early 1960s, when he made the bulk of his recordings as a leader. He had previously focused mainly on studio work in Hollywood for television and films, although he performed regularly in a jazz setting up until his death in 2004. This circa-1965 studio date, Too Much, Baby, is a trio session with bassist Chuck Berghofer and drummer Nick Martinis, concentrating on then-current pop songs and Broadway fare. Unfortunately, there is little room for the group to stretch out, as the songs all run under four minutes and are, for the most part, promptly faded out not long after Jolly completes his solos. His lively interpretation of "Sometime Ago," which includes a solo feature for Berghofer, is easily the album's highlight, though standards such as "One Morning in May" and his take of "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" are also enjoyable. But even long-since forgotten material like "Same Ol' Huckleberry Finn (Up Cherry Street)," made popular by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass (with whom Jolly worked briefly as a sideman) and written by Julius Wechter of the Baja Marimba Band, becomes an unlikely jazz vehicle in Jolly's hands, adding some humorous ragtime into the mix. ~ Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/too-much-baby-mw0000904836

Personnel:  Piano – Pete Jolly; Bass – Chuck Berghoffer; Drums – Nicholas Martinis

Too Much, Baby!

---

Victor Gould - Clockwork

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:44
Size: 149,2 MB
Art: Front

(7:37)  1. Clockwork
(7:07)  2. Room
(5:20)  3. Chaancé
(5:18)  4. Blue Dales
(7:53)  5. The Return
(3:09)  6. Apostle John  (Prelude)
(8:58)  7. Apostle John
(0:44)  8. Sir Carter  (Intro)
(4:50)  9. Sir Carter
(5:36) 10. Nefertiti
(8:06) 11. Three Souls

There are lots of moving parts that make clocks tick. Each has its own function, harmoniously aligned with the others, and every single one helps to sustain the very concepts of time and flow. The analogy can clearly be drawn from these mechanisms behind timepieces to jazz in general, but it's rarely as obvious to the ears as it is on this album in particular. Pianist Victor Gould's debut utilizes a variety of large gears, pinions, and regulators to help fashion his own ideas. You just never know who'll be standing in for which of those parts. The high-octane combination of Gould, bassist Ben Williams, and drummer E.J. Strickland is at the center of each scene, but they're joined, at different times, by a variety of other musicians and instruments saxophones, trumpet, flute, strings, and percussion which help to create an intricate sonic mesh and add a variety of tonal colors to the mix. It's heady modernistic jazz language and high art rolled into one. The album opens on the title track, a bubbly Latin cauldron fired and forwarded by the aforementioned trio in cahoots with percussionist Pedrito Martinez. The pieces that follow "Room," a sunny yet contemplative work in three, and "Chaance," a mellow, strings-enhanced feature that puts the spotlight on Jeremy Pelt's flugelhorn and the composer's piano stand apart in mood and musical complexion, marking Gould as a composer of great ambition and skill. 

While shifting focal points, different emotional tides, and the track-to-track addition and subtraction of musicians all allow the listener to indulge in a variety of musical worlds and fantasies, Gould's voice rings true in each and every one . He excels at every turn, regardless of where those turns may lead. He brilliantly works the beautiful-to-brooding range on the prelude to "Apostle John"; he shows patience and restraint over a throbbing base/bass on that tune proper, standing in stark contrast to the raw intensity that comes from his colleagues; and he delivers a scene-stealer statement full of daring and darting maneuvers on "Blue Dales." It's easy to see what his A-list employers trumpeter Wallace Roney, drummer Ralph Peterson, and saxophonist Donald Harrison, among others see in Gould. He's got the musical world on a string, in his mind, and at his fingertips. ~ Dan Bilawsky https://www.allaboutjazz.com/clockwork-victor-gould-fresh-sound-new-talent-review-by-dan-bilawsky.php

Personnel: Victor Gould: piano; Jeremy Pelt: trumpet (1-3, 6-8, 11); Godwin Louis: alto saxophone (1-3, 5-8, 11); Myron Walden: tenor saxophone (1-3, 6-8, 11); Anne Drummond: flute (3, 7); Ben Williams: bass (1-5, 7, 9-11); E.J. Strickland: drums (1-5, 7-11); Pedrito Martinez: percussion (1, 4, 7); Yoojin Park: violin (3, 6, 7); Heejin Chang: viola (3, 6, 7); Veronica Parrales: cello (3, 6, 7).

Clockwork

---