Chuck Hedges - Swingtet - Live at Andy's (Live)

Styles: Clarinet Jazz
Year: 1994
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:31
Size: 168,3 MB
Art: Front

(6:09)  1. Softly as in a Morning Sunrise
(5:31)  2. New Orleans
(7:53)  3. Cheek to Cheek
(6:04)  4. Nuage
(7:18)  5. It's Allright with Me
(5:04)  6. Gamblers' Waltz
(5:11)  7. Breakfast Feud
(5:50)  8. I Don't Wanna Be Kissed
(4:52)  9. Liza
(5:15) 10. She's Funny That Way
(6:41) 11. Autumn Leaves
(6:38) 12. The Blues (My Naughty Sweetie Gives Me)

The talented clarinetist Chuck Hedges is joined by some excellent Chicago-based players (vibraphonist Duane Thamm, guitarist Dave Bany, bassist John Bany, and drummer Charles Braugham) for a spirited set of superior swing-based tunes. "Softly As in a Morning Sunrise," "It's Allright With Me," "Breakfast Feud," and "I Don't Wanna Be Kissed" are among the high points of this consistently swinging and very enjoyable music, a bit of a throwback to the 1950s. Hedges has rarely been given the opportunity to lead a record session, so that fact (on top of the high quality of the music) makes this successful effort something special. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/swingtet-live-at-andys-mw0000123863

Personnel: Chuck Hedges - clarinet; Duane Thamm - vibraphone, chimes;  John Bany - bass, vocals; Dave Bany - guitar;  Charles Braugham - drums

Swingtet Live at Andy's

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Thelma Gracen - Thelma Gracen / Introducing Milli Vernon

Styles: Vocal 
Year: 1955
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:01
Size: 165,5 MB
Art: Front

(2:50)  1. I’ll Remember April
(3:01)  2. Night and Day
(4:17)  3. I’ll Never Be the Same
(2:34)  4. Tea for Two
(3:40)  5. I’ll Get By
(2:35)  6. Out of Nowhere
(3:55)  7. Solitude
(1:47)  8. Just You, Just Me
(4:14)  9. I’m Yours
(2:46) 10. People Will Say We’re in Love
(3:48) 11. More Than You Know
(1:59) 12. Let There Be Love
(2:19) 13. Weep for the Boy
(2:11) 14. Moments Like This
(2:58) 15. Spring Is Here
(2:48) 16. ST. James Infirmary
(3:14) 17. My Ship
(2:05) 18. This Year’s Kisses
(3:03) 19. Moon Ray
(2:35) 20. Everything but You
(3:02) 21. Every Time
(2:52) 22. Blue Rain
(2:39) 23. I Don’t Know What Kind of Blues I’Ve Got
(3:37) 24. I Guess I’ll Have to Hang My Tears out to Dry

Thelma Gracen
Just where the boundary lies between the singer of popular songs and the real jazz singer is very often difficult to delineate. Thelma Gracen’s name may not ring any bells for neither jazz fan nor pop addict, but don’t let that deter you. After enjoying a few of her songs, you will realize that she had what it takes to be not only a good singer, but a good jazz singer. She has the beat, the feeling, and that special inner understanding of a lyric that can make an indifferent song sound good, a good song sound great, and a great song sound the way it was meant to sound.

Introducing Milli Vernon
Before this recording session, Jazz singer Milli Vernon was virtually unknown, and for good reason. She had served her apprenticeship singing with various bands under the name Pat Cameron, and on club dates in the New York area for about six years. Her voice was pretty and expressive, and she had a strong sense of time, good intonation and a kind of flexible, intimate quality to her voice that makes her sound like no other. For her first album, Milli was backed beautifully by Dave McKenna, Jimmy Raney, Wyatt Ruther, Jo Jones, and on all but three of the tracks by Ruby Braff as well, in a collection of seldom recorded tunes which include Artie Shaws’s moody Moon Ray. https://www.freshsoundrecords.com/thelma-gracen-milli-vernon-albums/46591-thelma-gracen-introducing-milli-vernon-2-lp-on-1-cd.html

Personnel: Thelma Gracen, Milli Vernon (vcl), Ruby Braff (tp), Georgie Auld (ts), Quentin Anderson (tb), Lou Levy, Dave McKenna (p), Barney Kessel, Jimmy Raney (g), Joe Comfort, Wyatt Rhuter (b), Sid Bulkin, Jo Jones (d)

Thelma Gracen / Introducing Milli Vernon

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Dave Stryker - Blue to the Bone III

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:41
Size: 167,9 MB
Art: Front

( 7:57)  1. Stan's Shuffle
( 8:31)  2. Complicity
( 5:21)  3. Crazy House
( 6:05)  4. If 6 Was 9
(11:09)  5. For Jack & T
(11:20)  6. Going Home
(10:01)  7. So Long Eric
(10:43)  8. Soulful Mr. Timmons
( 1:29)  9. Doin' the Bone

Dave Stryker’s Blue to the Bone Band, ongoing since ’96, features the guitarist with three other rhythm players and four horns. Established to showcase his blues side, it covers the jazzier realm of the blues as opposed to primitive, gutbucket territory. The horn section (alto saxophonist Steve Slagle, baritone saxophonist and chief arranger Bob Parsons, trumpeter Brian Lynch, and trombonist Clark Gayton) functions as an extension of Stryker’s guitar sound, and the rhythm section (pianist James Williams, bassist Anderson and drummer Tim Horner) keeps the blues feeling true underneath. Stryker’s “For Jack and T” salutes the late organist Jack McDuff and tenorman Stanley Turrentine, two of the guitarist’s former employers. “Doin’ the Bone” is a short, funky cut with Tower of Power-style horns. Slagle arranged Charles Mingus’ “So Long, Eric,” and Williams and Parsons arranged the pianist’s “Soulful Mr. Timmons,” in which the composer takes a stomping, most satisfying solo. There are solid solos from all hands throughout the album, with the lesser-known Gayton taking honors here and there with his triphammer tonguing. Based on the personnel and the feeling of these performances, I’d like to catch this group live. ~ By Owen Cordle https://jazztimes.com/archives/dave-stryker-blue-to-the-bone-iii/

Personnel: Alto Saxophone – Steve Slagle; Baritone Saxophone – Bob Parsons ; Bass – Jay Anderson; Drums – Tim Horner; Guitar, Liner Notes – Dave Stryker; Piano, Organ – James Williams ; Trombone – Clark Gayton; Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Brian Lynch

Blue to the Bone III

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Ron McClure - Never Forget

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 1991
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:40
Size: 157,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:52)  1. Halfmoon Again
(7:28)  2. Hello Spring
(4:07)  3. Lament for Lost Heroes
(7:26)  4. Belle
(6:39)  5. Never Forget
(8:41)  6. Hey New Day
(6:12)  7. We'll Say Hello Again
(6:32)  8. Illusions Of ...
(6:23)  9. Stinky Fingers
(9:16) 10. Remember Me

A resourceful and flexible bassist, Ron McClure has thrived in hard bop, jazz-rock, and free and bebop sessions and bands. One of the finest upper register players on either acoustic or electric, his rhythmic skills are tremendous. McClure has also been an active educator since the early '70s, teaching at Berklee and Long Island University and doing workshops both nationally and internationally. He started on piano at age five, and later played accordion and bass. McClure studied privately with Joseph Iadone and attended the Hartt School of Music, graduating in 1963. He later studied composition with Hall Overton and Don Sebesky. McClure played with Buddy Rich in the mid-'60s, and worked and recorded with Marian McPartland, Herbie Mann, and Maynard Ferguson during that same period. McClure played in Wyton Kelly's band in 1966, then joined Charles Lloyd in 1967. The Lloyd group also included Keith Jarrett and Jack DeJohnette, and enjoyed unusual popularity and publicity for a late-'60s jazz band. They were the first American group to play at a Soviet jazz festival, and also appeared at the Fillmore, one of the few jazz acts to play there. McClure was a founding member of the jazz-rock band the Fourth Way -- with Michael White, Mike Nock, and Eddie Marshall -- in 1968. They got a good response at the Newport and Montreux festivals in 1970, but disbanded in 1971 after a three-year stint. During the '70s, McClure played with Joe Henderson, Gary Burton, Mose Allison, Jack DeJohnette, Dave Liebman, Thelonious Monk, Tony Bennett, and Jarrett. He recorded with Jerry Hahn, Julian Priester, Cal Tjader, and the Pointer Sisters, and spent three years with Blood, Sweat & Tears in the mid-'70s. McClure played and recorded with George Russell, Tom Harrell, John Scofield, John Abercrombie, Mark Gray, Jimmy Madison, Adam Nussbaum, Richie Bierarch, Vincent Herring, Kevin Hayes, Bill Stewart, and Michel Petrucciani in the '80s and '90s. McClure has done sessions as a leader for Ode, Bellaphon, EPC, Steeplechase, and Ken Music. He has a few dates available on CD. ~ Ron Wynn https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ron-mcclure-mn0000831201/biography 

Personnel: Bass – Ron McClure; Alto Saxophone – Vincent Herring; Drums – Bill Stewart; Piano – Kevin Hays; Trumpet – Eddie Henderson

Never Forget

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The Fat Babies - Chicago Hot

Styles: Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:33
Size: 141,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:18)  1. Snake Rag
(2:42)  2. London Cafe Blues
(4:58)  3. San
(3:41)  4. Alexander's Ragtime Band
(4:04)  5. I Surrender Dear
(4:04)  6. Dardanella
(2:54)  7. Black Snake Blues
(3:21)  8. Here Comes the Hot Tamale Man
(4:31)  9. Froggie Moore
(4:25) 10. Willow Tree
(2:55) 11. Weary Blues
(4:50) 12. Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away)
(4:00) 13. Please
(2:43) 14. Susie
(3:43) 15. Tight Like This
(4:19) 16. Stomp Off, Let's Go

What 's old is new again or maybe it's more accurate to say, what used to be hip is hot again. The Fat Babies' Chicago Hot harkens back to the early jazz-blues amalgamation of King Oliver, and is as vibrantly interpreted by this seven-piece ensemble as it was when the music was originally pressed onto 78 RPMs. In the past decade, Hot Jazz has been steadily gaining fans as many contemporary musicians find new inspiration in these old forms. The Fat Babies is a very talented incarnation of this hep-cat renaissance. Borrowing mainly from the music of Chicago's famous South Side, the Fat Babies also incorporates the phrasing and feel of hot jazz extraordinaire, Bix Beiderbecke thanks to cornetist Andy Schumann. Coupled with the sly lines of clarinetist John Otto, Schumann's inventive and catchy improvisations radiate on tracks like Jelly Roll Morton's "Froggie Moore" and "Black Snake Blues," by blues singer Victoria Spivery. The music really comes to a boil when cornet and clarinet are joined with the propulsion of trombonist Dave Bock's melodic turns. In "Here Comes the Hot Tamale Man," all three wind instruments rise and fall in a torrent of Dixieland bliss trading eights while the others lay down a supportive bedrock. With Otto flying high, Schumann lets loose a swinging, raspy solo invention before giving ground to Bock's rhythmically exciting and melodically spot-on solo. Typical of Chicago style Hot Jazz, most tracks employ a swinging, upbeat style whose format lends itself to inventive, fast-paced soloing. A notable exception is Fats Waller's medium-paced classic "Willow Tree," its beautiful melody allowing the soloists time to intersperse quick melodic darts with glistening, held notes. 

The track is also a great opportunity for the rhythm section; throughout Chicago Hot, these three display remarkable timing as a unit, masterfully weaving together for the fast tempo and quick accent breaks of the Hot Jazz format. On this slower track, however, there's space and time to drink in their combined appeal. Pianist Paul Asaro impresses with his dramatically quiet intro to "Liza (All The Clouds'll Roll Away)" before the tune takes off into a quick, trotting pace, matched beautifully by the pianist's crisp, accentual phrasing. There may not be many second acts in American history, as author F. Scott Fitzgerald claimed, but there is a long tradition of second looks especially in music which has always proven itself extraordinarily malleable and awaits only a young enough audience to appreciate the newness these old sounds can accommodate. 

~ Jack Huntley https://www.allaboutjazz.com/chicago-hot-the-fat-babies-delmark-records-review-by-jack-huntley.php

Personnel: Beau Sample: string bass; Andy Schumm: cornet; John Otto: clarinet, saxophones; Dave Block: trombone; Paul Asaro: piano; Jake Sanders: tenor banjo; Alex Hall: drums; Mike Walbridge: tuba.

Chicago Hot

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