Don Byron - Do The Boomerang: The Music Of Junior Walker

Styles: Clarinet Jazz, Post Bop 
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:24
Size: 118,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:08)  1. Cleo's Mood
(4:39)  2. Ain't That The Truth
(3:09)  3. Do The Boomerang
(3:20)  4. Mark Anthony Speaks
(4:53)  5. Shotgun
(7:21)  6. There It Is
(5:21)  7. Satan's Blues
(2:48)  8. Hewbie Steps Out
(3:55)  9. Pucker Up, Buttercup
(3:59) 10. Tally-Ho
(3:51) 11. What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)
(2:55) 12. (I'm A) Roadrunner

Anybody interested in Don Byron gets his range, and his willingness to try almost anything that tickles his fancy, whether it be klezmer, swing, funk, out jazz, blues or funky soul. He explores and leaves his mark on something and moves on. From Music for Six Musicians and Tuskegee Experiments to Nu Blaxploitation and Bug Music, from Fine Line: Arias and Lieder and Plays the Music of Mickey Katz to Ivey-Divey, Byron has explored not usually reverently -- his inspirations and curiosities with mixed results, but it's the investigation that counts for him in the first place. Do the Boomerang: The Music of Junior Walker is a curious outing in that Walker didn't always write his own material, but he wrote enough of it (five cuts on this set) and, like Byron, put an indelible stamp on anything he took on, from singing to blowing the saxophone. Byron assembled a dream band for this offering that includes guitarist David Gilmore, B-3 organist George Colligan, drummer Rodney Jones and bassist Brad Jones as the core group. The guests who augment the proceedings are Curtis Fowlkes, Chris Thomas King and Dean Bowman. Is the music reverent? Nope; but it's totally recognizable as Walker's. Byron doesn't set out to re-create anything exactly. His concern is for that thing he can't put his finger on, and discovering the place where the magic happens. But this is no academic set of Walker tunes, it's funky, it swings, and the grooves are deep and wide. Walker was a killer vocalist and Byron enlisted bluesman King on four cuts (he plays guitar on a pair as well) and Bowman. 

The set begins on a late-night smoky groove with "Cleo's Mood," the B-3 carries it in with Gilmore's guitar playing in the gaps before the tune's melody slithers to the fore with Byron and Bowman, and from here it's the blues as read through post-bop, soul-jazz, and the ghost of Leon Thomas through Bowman's vocal solo that sounds right at home here. Byron is in the pocket with this band. They aren't reaching for margins, but exploring how much was in Walker's music to begin with, there are traces of many things in the tune, and Byron finds them all. Digging into the classic "Shotgun," King's vocal delivery on the title track struts and steps to Byron's clarinet floating in the boundaries as Colligan's B-3 and Gilmore's meaty guitar heighten the groove to the breaking point. On "Shotgun," Byron plays it close to home and King's vocal is brilliant. This, like the title cut, is a dance tune on par with James Brown's; the lyrics are particularly compelling for the times we live in. Walker acknowledged the influence James Brown had on him readily and on "There It Is," both Bowman and King pump themselves to front this band that is so greasy and nasty one would never know that this is Byron's group. This joint burns the house down, baby! While there isn't a dud in the set, other big standouts include "Satan's Blues," "Pucker Up, Buttercup," and the ballad "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love.)" 

Here the bass clarinet is distracting for a moment, but transposing the opening saxophone part and letting King and Gilmore play sweet and slow lays a fine ground for both the hypnotic B-3 chart and King's lonesome vocal. Byron uses clipped, right phrasing with the airiness of his horn, solos around the fringes of the tune, and brings it back inside and underscores the fact that this is a soul tune. King's vocal could have been a bit tougher and leaner, but that's a really small complaint. Ending the set on Holland-Dozier-Holland's "Roadrunner" takes it out on a honking high point. Byron's done justice not only to Walker here, but to his Muse and to the grand tradition of funky jazz records on Blue Note hopefully they'll get it in the A&R department and bring the groove back wholesale. This baby is a smoking slab of greasy soul with a jazzman's sense of adventure. ~ Thom Jurek https://www.allmusic.com/album/do-the-boomerang-the-music-of-junior-walker-mw0000729295

Personnel: Bass Clarinet – Don Byron; Clarinet – Don Byron;  Bass – Brad Jones; Drums, Tambourine – Rodney Holmes; Guitar – Chris Thomas King, David Gilmore; Organ [Hammond B-3] – George Colligan; Saxophone [Tenor] – Don Byron;  Trombone – Curtis Fowlkes; Vocals – Chris Thomas King , Dean Bowman

Do The Boomerang: The Music Of Junior Walker

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Rebecca DuMaine, The Dave Miller Trio - Happy Madness

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:57
Size: 118,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:06)  1. Nobody Else but Me
(4:04)  2. Samba Saravah
(4:37)  3. Like Someone in Love
(3:45)  4. Take a Chance
(4:36)  5. So Nice
(4:22)  6. It's Alright with Me
(2:50)  7. I'm Old Fashioned
(6:07)  8. This Happy Madness
(2:40)  9. Here, There and Everywhere
(3:44) 10. The More I See You
(4:12) 11. Destination Moon
(3:06) 12. Haven't We Met
(3:44) 13. Spider Man

There's a natural appeal in Rebecca DuMaine's vocal work. Perhaps it's due to her straightforward approach, reflective of a theater background yet undeniably tethered to pure jazz. She puts a song across with a smile, capitalizing on her innate ebullience, and she gives the impression that she knows of what she sings. On this, DuMaine's fourth album on the Summit imprint, she continues her work with the Dave Miller Trio. She has a longstanding connection to this group the leader-pianist is her father, and the trio has accompanied her on all of her previous releases and that makes for a hand-in-glove fit. 

There may be slight changes in personnel from past albums a different bassist, the addition of one new guest (and the return of one familiar one) but it's basically business as usual for this crew. DuMaine's sunny side is tapped to the fullest extent over the course of these thirteen tracks. Everything is emotionally upbeat, regardless of tempo or style, and there's a glimmer in every musical action. Some numbers launch with swinging verve ("Nobody Else But Me") and others enter with lights-are-low intimacy before settling in ("Like Someone In Love"). DuMaine finds comfort in myriad settings along the way, gaily waltzing along ("Haven't We Met"), exploring a classic from The Beatles with only her father at her side ("Here, There And Everywhere"), delivering a "Sing, Sing, Sing"-esque spin on a famous thematic ode to the world's favorite web-slinger ("Spider Man"), and mining Brazilian music and rhythms to good effect on a number of occasions. Through it all, DuMaine is ably assisted by Miller, bassist Perry Thoorsell, drummer Bill Belasco, and, on occasion, guitarist Brad Buethe and saxophonist Pete Cornell. Everybody on that list helps to accentuate the mood(s) at hand by playing to the songs and adding concise solo statements at one time or another. If there's one potential drawback here, it's that things may be a bit too orderly and proper. This isn't risk-taking music. But should you really consider refinement and clarity of expression a flaw? Probably not. DuMaine, Miller, and the rest of the crew are a polished bunch, and these songs show it. 

If you're looking for a ray-of-sunshine statement capable of blocking out the negative energy in the world, this is it. ~ Dan Bilaswsky https://www.allaboutjazz.com/happy-madness-rebecca-dumaine-summit-records-review-by-dan-bilawsky.php

Personnel: Rebecca DuMaine: vocals; Dave Miller: piano; Perry Thoorsell: bass; Bill Belasco: drums; Brad Buethe: guitar; Pete Cornell: saxophone.

Happy Madness

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Avery Sharpe Trio - Autumn Moonlight

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop 
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:09
Size: 136,4 MB
Art: Front

(5:25)  1. Boston Baked Blues
(7:26)  2. Fire and Rain
(4:37)  3. Autumn Moonlight
(4:16)  4. Take Your Time, But Hurry Up!
(8:55)  5. Palace of the Seven Jewels
(6:20)  6. Organ Grinder
(7:23)  7. Intrepid Warrior
(4:21)  8. Lost in a Dream
(5:23)  9. Visible Man
(4:57) 10. First Time We Met

Highly regarded bassist Avery Sharpe has been a first-call session musician due to his long affiliation with pianist McCoy Tyner and others of note. Moreover, he's a viable solo artist, evidenced here on this multicolored 2009 piano trio venture. Sharpe is the traffic director here, though it's a democratic engagement, comprised of covers and original compositions, all enamored by a lithe framework consisting of jazz-induced soul, funk, swing and other genre-fusing stylizations. The trio often projects a flotation-like soundscape. On "Autumn Moonlight" Sharpe's wordless vocals serve as an additional instrument in harmony with pianist Onaje Allan Gumbs' melodic inventions, all shaded with a Brazilian hue. Even when the band swings hard and navigates through complex unison phrasings, it makes it all sound effortless. Yet it can also lower the temperature, as on the quaint ballad, "Palace Of The Seven Jewels." Sharpe's rendition of trumpet great Woody Shaw's "Organ Grinder" is a strong vehicle for Gumbs, who re-engineers the primary theme via his fluent improvisational excursions. However, the bassist takes center stage on numerous pieces via his booming, earthen-toned lines, and lyrically charged solo spots. Gumbs' lower register block chords offer a fertile underpinning for drummer Winard Harper's explosive solo on "Intrepid Warrior," where the band generates high-heat and pulls out the proverbial stops. It's a congenial studio date, as Sharpe pitches an upbeat vibe that casts a divergent outlook without any hint of pretension. Expertly performed, the musicians also transmit a synergistic group-centric aura. It's easy to discern that a good time was had by all during the session and that notion alone conveys one of the many redeeming traits of this indubitably engaging album. ~ Glenn Astarita https://www.allaboutjazz.com/autumn-moonlight-avery-sharpe-jknm-records-review-by-glenn-astarita.php

Personnel: Avery Sharpe: Acoustic Bass; Onaje Allen Gumbs: piano; Winard Harper: drums.

Autumn Moonlight

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Vassar Clements - Dead Grass

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:01
Size: 109,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:17)  1. Brown-eyed Women
(3:49)  2. Casey Jones
(4:22)  3. Attics Of My Life
(4:01)  4. Broke-down Palace
(3:40)  5. Alabama Getaway
(4:19)  6. Ripple
(4:38)  7. U.s. Blues
(2:53)  8. Dire Wolf
(5:07)  9. Friend Of The Devil
(4:50) 10. It Must Have Been The Roses
(5:00) 11. Mexicali Blues

Combining jazz with country, Vassar Clements became one of the most distinctive, inventive, and popular fiddlers in bluegrass music. Clements first came to prominence as a member of Bill Monroe's band in the early '50s, but he never limited himself to traditional bluegrass. Over the next four decades, he distinguished himself by incorporating a number of different genres into his style. In the process, he became not only one of the most respected fiddlers in bluegrass, he also became a sought-after session musician, playing with artists as diverse as the Monkees, Hank Williams, Paul McCartney, Michelle Shocked, Vince Gill, and Bonnie Raitt. Clements taught himself to play fiddle at the age of seven. Soon afterward, he formed a band with two of his cousins. By the time he was 21, Clements' skills were impressive enough to attract the attention of Bill Monroe. Monroe hired the young fiddler and Clements appeared on the Grand Ole Opry with the mandolinist in 1949. The following year, the fiddler recorded his first session with Monroe. For the next six years, Clements stayed with Monroe's band, occasionally leaving for brief periods of time. In 1957 he joined Jim & Jesse's Virginia Boys, and stayed with the band for the next four years. In the early '60s Clements was sidelined for a while as he suffered from alcoholism. By the end of the '60s he had rehabilitated, and he returned to playing in 1967. That year he moved to Nashville and began playing the tenor banjo at a residency at the Dixieland Landing Club. In 1969 he toured with Faron Young and joined John Hartford's Dobrolic Plectorial Society. The band only lasted ten months, and after its breakup Clements joined the Earl Scruggs Revue; he stayed with that band for a year. Clements began playing sessions in 1971, appearing on albums by Steve Goodman, Gordon Lightfoot, David Bromberg, J.J. Cale, and Mike Audridge over the next two years. In 1972 he was featured on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's hit album Will the Circle Be Unbroken, which helped establish him as a country and bluegrass star. Clements capitalized on the record's popularity in 1973, when he released his first solo album, Crossing the Catskills, on Rounder Records and began touring the festival and college circuits. That same year, he appeared on a number of albums, including the Grateful Dead's Wake of the Flood, Jimmy Buffett's A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean, and Mickey Newbury's Heaven Help the Child. 

In 1974, Clements signed a record contract with Mercury Records, releasing two albums for the label Vassar Clements and Superbow the following year. That same year, he appeared in the bluegrass supergroup Old & in the Way, which also featured Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, Peter Rowan, and John Kahn. He also had a cameo role in Robert Altman's film Nashville in 1975. In 1977, Clements released two albums for two different labels The Vassar Clements Band on MCA Records and The Bluegrass Session on Flying Fish. It would be four years before he released another solo album. During that time, he toured constantly and appeared on numerous albums. Clements reappeared in 1981 with Hillbilly Rides Again and Vassar, which were both released on Flying Fish. During the '80s and '90s, Clements continued to record sporadically, but he cut numerous sessions for other artists and played numerous concerts every year. In 1995, Clements reunited with Old & in the Way, which released That High Lonesome Sound in 1996. The solo Back Porch Swing followed three years later; Full Circle appeared in spring 2001. In 2004 he released Livin' With the Blues, his first blues-based album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine  https://www.allmusic.com/artist/vassar-clements-mn0000245039/biography

Personnel: Fiddle – Vassar Clements; Backing Vocals – Jeff White;  Bass, Vocals – Ryan Harris ; Guitar, Banjo – Reggie Harris; Mandolin – Butch Baldassari; Pedal Steel Guitar – Doug Jernigan; Vocals – Gwen Vaughn

Dead Grass

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