Sam Most - The Amazing Mr. Sam Most

Styles: Flute, Clarinet Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 30:24
Size: 70,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:46)  1. It Might as Well Be Spring
(6:09)  2. You Stepped Out of a Dream
(3:10)  3. Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise
(4:20)  4. Lover Man
(4:31)  5. Alone Together
(6:25)  6. When Your Lover Has Gone

One of the first great jazz flutists, a cool-toned tenor, and a fine (if infrequent) clarinetist, Sam Most was the younger brother of clarinetist Abe Most. He picked up early experience playing with the orchestras of Tommy Dorsey (1948), Boyd Raeburn, and Don Redman. By the time he led his first session (1953), Most was a brilliant flutist (among the first to sing through his flute) and he briefly had the jazz field to himself. Most recorded fine sessions for Prestige, Debut (reissued on Xanadu), Vanguard, and Bethlehem during 1953-1958, doubling on clarinet. He also worked in different settings with Chris Connor, Paul Quinichette, and Teddy Wilson. After playing with Buddy Rich's Orchestra (1959-1961), he moved to Los Angeles and became a studio musician. Sam Most worked with Red Norvo and Louie Bellson, gained some new prominence with his Xanadu recordings of 1976-1979, and became a local fixture in Los Angeles, sometimes playing in clubs with his brother. Most died of cancer in June 2013; he was 82 years old. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sam-most-mn0000240834/biography

Personnel:  Sam Most - flute,  clarinet; Hall Overton - piano; Jimmy Raney - guitar; Addison Farmer - bass; Roy Haynes - drums

The Amazing Mr.Sam Most

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Grace Knight - Gracious

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1999
Time: 43:50
Size: 70,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:16)  1. The Ability To Swing
(4:31)  2. Cry Me A River
(5:04)  3. Pappa Was A Rolling Stone
(3:50)  4. Good Morning Heartache
(4:21)  5. Moondance
(4:01)  6. Teach Me Tonight
(3:13)  7. Don't Set Me Free
(3:57)  8. I Need A Little Sugar In My Bowl
(3:47)  9. Come In From The Rain
(3:18) 10. Steamroller Blues
(3:28) 11. Que Sera Sera

After leading the successful Australian act the Eurogliders, U.K.-born singer Grace Knight launched a solo singing career which saw her become one of Australia's leading jazz divas. In her early teens, Knight sang in folk clubs and first met musician Bernie Lynch while singing on a cruise ship. They would form the highly successful Eurogliders in 1980 and go on to international success. After the Eurogliders split in 1989, Knight sang backup vocals in the Tania Bowra Band before recording the soundtrack to the ABC-TV miniseries Come in Spinner with jazz musician Vince Jones. The album featured 1940s jazz standards and marked a career change for Knight. The singles "I've Got You Under My Skin," "The Man I Love," and "Sophisticated Lady" propelled the album to number five on the national charts in May 1990. Her debut album, Stormy Weather (September 1991), reached number 14 on the national chart in October, and another cover, "Fever," was released as a single. Her second album, Gracious, contained more jazz standards and covers such as "On a Clear Day," "Moondance," "Cry Me a River," and "Papa Was a Rolling Stone." Knight released her fourth album, Live, in February 1996, a double album recorded over three nights at Sydney's jazz venue the Basement. She released her fourth solo album, Zeitgeist, in 2000, a collection which featured several original songs penned by Knight. ~ Brendan Swift https://www.allmusic.com/artist/grace-knight-mn0000194742

Gracious

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Andy Laverne - Shangri-La

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:11
Size: 147,7 MB
Art: Front

(6:48)  1. Noteification
(5:59)  2. Give and Take
(5:56)  3. It's All Good
(6:47)  4. Waltz King
(6:51)  5. Bluestrain
(7:12)  6. Shangri-La
(5:45)  7. Resolute Pursuit
(9:11)  8. Guiding Light
(9:40)  9. Two in One

The previous recording in Andy LaVerne’s large SteepleChase discography (Faith, 2017) featured trumpeter Alex Sipiagin, bassist Mike Richmond, and drummer Jason Tiemann. This new album adds Jerry Bergonzi on tenor saxophone. Some good news about Shangri-La: Sipiagin and Bergonzi are special players. Sipiagin’s solos are complete bold statements and his tone on both trumpet and flugelhorn is penetrating and pure. Bergonzi’s tenor sound is delightfully impure, full of flutters and abrasions and nasal intensities. LaVerne writes some graceful themes. “Guiding Light” is one of two tunes here for the late John Abercrombie, LaVerne’s friend and collaborator. Sipiagin and Bergonzi take turns with the melody in heartfelt calls and responses, touching new emotions of love and loss on each pass. Nine LaVerne originals, balanced among blues, ballads, and postbop shout-outs, are carefully crafted. Some other news about Shangri-La: LaVerne’s well-made tunes sometimes sound generic. “Noteification” is rather like at least 100 convoluted anthems on at least 100 records since the birth of bebop. “Bluestrain” is also vaguely familiar because it could be anybody’s blues. 

When LaVerne solos, the level of creativity drops. His innocuous, pleasant piano work lacks compelling ideas. An unqualified success is the recorded sound of engineer Chris Sulit. In an era when great studios (Systems Two, Avatar, Bennett) keep closing, Sulit, working in his Trading 8s Studio in Paramus, New Jersey, has become a keeper of the flame. Shangri-La is a vivid, dynamic sonic portrayal of an accomplished new-millennium jazz quintet. ~ Thomaz Conrad https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/andy-laverne-shangri-la-steeplechase/

Personnel: Andy Laverne - piano; Alex Sipiagin - trumpet, fluegelhorn; Jerry Bergonzi - tenor saxophone; Mike Richmond - bass; Jason Tiemann - drums

Shangri-La

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Walter Davis, Jr. - Scorpio Rising

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1989
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:54
Size: 140,1 MB
Art: Front

(6:50)  1. Backgammon
(8:55)  2. Why Did I Choose You?
(8:10)  3. Just One of Those Things
(7:04)  4. Pranayama
(6:44)  5. Two Different Worlds
(8:36)  6. Four Hundred Years Ago, Tomorrow
(5:30)  7. Skylark
(9:02)  8. Scorpio Rising

Near the end of his life, Walter Davis, Jr. was starting to get the recognition he long deserved. But this Steeplechase CD turned out to be his swan song, as he died the following year. Accompanied by bassist Santi Debriano and drummer Ralph Peterson, the pianist concentrates primarily on his provocative original works. "Backgammon" initially signals a bit of gospel influence before evolving into a solid but innovative hard bop vehicle, featuring solid solos by all three musicians. "400 Years Ago Tomorrow" also throws a curve with an initial Caribbean influence before taking flight into a furious setting. His most famous composition, "Scorpio Rising," is not just a rehash of earlier recordings but a blistering performance complemented by his rhythm section's intuitive playing. The standards are also worthy of praise. His spacious interpretation of "Skylark" and funky introduction to "Just One of Those Things" (before returning to his hard bop roots with Peterson's crisp brushwork) prove very refreshing. Two bonus tracks were added to the CD reissue, adding to its already considerable value. ~ Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/scorpio-rising-mw0000424075

Personnel:  Piano – Walter Davis Jr.; Bass – Santi Debriano; Drums – Ralph Peterson

Scorpio Rising

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'Wild' Bill Davison - Swinging Wild

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:32
Size: 116,8 MB
Art: Front

(7:31)  1. Struttin' with Some Barbecue
(4:30)  2. Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams
(7:10)  3. Rose Room
(6:56)  4. What's the Use
(4:52)  5. I Can't Give You Anything but Love
(8:00)  6. Big Butter and Egg Man
(5:20)  7. Memories of You
(6:10)  8. Sweet Georgia Brown

Wild Bill Davison played in Europe quite a bit during the second half of the 1960s. While in England the cornetist was usually joined by the Alex Welsh band but this particular set (the 1965 date is an educated guess) teams Davison with a fine sextet filled mostly with players from Freddie Randall's band of the period. The music, released for the first time in 1999, finds Wild Bill in typically exuberant form playing seven of his favorite warhorses (including "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams," "Memories of You," and "Sweet Georgia Brown") ,plus the relative obscurity "What's the Use." The ensembles are loose but coherent, Bruce Turner (on alto and clarinet) and trombonist Bert Murray get some solo space, and Wild Bill is in fine spirits. Solid Dixieland. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/swinging-wild-mw0000603684

Swinging Wild

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