Randy Brecker & Michael Brecker - Some Skunk Funk

Styles: Trumpet And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:52
Size: 158,3 MB
Art: Front

( 6:26)  1. Some Skunk Funk
( 6:46)  2. Sponge
( 6:26)  3. Shanghigh
( 4:56)  4. Wayne Out
( 6:07)  5. And Then She Wept
( 8:19)  6. Strap-Hangin
( 8:02)  7. Let it Go
( 6:17)  8. Freefall
( 4:58)  9. Levitate
(10:32) 10. Song for Barry

The 2003 performance documented on Some Skunk Funk may be credited to trumpeter Randy Brecker, but his brother, saxophonist Michael, joins in for a Brecker Brothers reunion with the added oomph of Germany's WDR Big Band. And if ever a band's repertoire was custom-made to be retrofitted with a larger horn section, it's that of the Brecker Brothers. Some of the material comes from Randy Brecker's solo career: "Shanghigh" and "Let It Go" from 34th N Lex (ESC, 2003), "Wayne Out" from Hanging in the City (ESC, 2001), and a new tune, "Let It Go." But what's remarkable is how comfortably these tunes fit in with Brecker Brothers material on Brecker Bros. (Arista, 1975) through Out of the Loop (GRP, 1994). The Brecker Brothers emerged as a distinct alternative to the muscular athletics of other fusion bands during the 1970s. As virtuosic as any such group, they played a swaggering downtown New York funk that differentiated them from the higher-octane Mahavishnu Orchestra, the progressive rock leanings of Return to Forever, and the increasingly world music-driven Weather Report. Even the band closest to the Breckers' brand of groove-driven music Herbie Hancock's Headhunters occupied a different space. 

Maybe it's because the brothers didn't feel it necessary to desert the more jazz-centric harmonies they'd learned playing with artists like Horace Silver. As electric and funky as the Brecker Brothers have always been, their jazz aesthetic has also distinguished them from peer fusion bands, making their best material truly timeless. Three of the ten tunes on this album the fiery title track, the greasier "Sponge" and the balladic "Levitate" are taken from their 1975 debut, and they sound as relevant today as they did then. Credit, of course, goes to Vince Mendoza who arranged and conducted the tracks for this expanded Brecker Brothers Big Band. The Breckers' writing has always been characterized by rich orchestration sometimes feeling much bigger than their small ensemble size would suggest. Mendoza's unique voice takes Michael's viscerally funky "Strap-hangin,'" for example, and layers more colors where appropriate, still twisting the arrangement into a new shape that feels like a logical extension, rather than an extensive rewrite. But with a crack core group featuring keyboardist Jim Beard, bassist Will Lee and drummer Peter Erskine, Mendoza also lets the ensemble collapse into smaller, more interactive units where appropriate during the solo sections. Solos from both brothers build on their own. Mendoza reintroduces the horn section at just the right time, pushing them to even greater extremes. And when the two brothers trade off during the song's outro, they remind us of just how powerful shared genetics can be. The rare blood disorder that has kept Michael Brecker on the sidelines for nearly two years makes Some Skunk Funk a bittersweet experience. It's a timely reminder of how important he is, and how critical it is that a stem cell donor be found. To learn more, visit Michael Brecker on the web. ~ John Kelman https://www.allaboutjazz.com/some-skunk-funk-randy-brecker-telarc-records-review-by-john-kelman.php

Personnel: Randy Brecker: trumpet; Michael Brecker: tenor saxophone; Jim Beard: piano, synthesizer; Will Lee: electric bass; Peter Erskine: drums; Marcio Doctor: percussion; the WDR Big Band: Heiner Wiberny, Harald Rosenstein: alto saxophones; Oliver Peters, Rolf Romer: tenor saxophones; Jens Neufang: baritone saxophone; Andy Hadere, Rob Bruynen, Klaus Osterloh, Rick Kiefer, John Marshall: trumpets; Dave Horler, Ludwig Nuss, Bernt Laukamp: trombones; Mattis Cederberg: bass trombone; Paul Shigihara: electric guitar.

Some Skunk Funk

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Lalah Hathaway - Lalah Hathaway Live!

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 78:45
Size: 181,5 MB
Art: Front

( 3:45)  1. Little Ghetto Boy
( 3:21)  2. Baby Don't Cry
( 8:01)  3. I'm Coming Back
( 4:29)  4. You Were Meant For Me
( 5:42)  5. Angel
( 3:01)  6. These Are The Things
( 6:19)  7. Little Girl / Breathe
( 5:12)  8. This Is Your Life
( 7:03)  9. When Your Life Was Low
(11:14) 10. Forever, For Always, For Love
( 7:20) 11. Lean On Me
( 3:53) 12. Mirror
( 5:45) 13. Brand New (Bonus Track)
( 3:35) 14. Whatever (Bonus Track)

Following the release of Where It All Begins, her sixth album, as well as subsequent appearances on recordings by a few other artists, Lalah Hathaway received some long overdue recognition. A live recording with Snarky Puppy  a stupefying update of Brenda Russell's "It's Something," a song she previously covered on her 1990 debut won the 2014 Grammy for Best R&B Performance. The following year, due to her lead on Robert Glasper Experiment's interpretation of Stevie Wonder's "Jesus Children of America," she accepted a Grammy for Best Traditional R&B Performance. The second award could not have been too dusty on April 21, 2015, the night Hathaway and her band played West Hollywood's Troubadour, where her father Donny recorded his 1972-released set of the same title. (Clever touch: copies of the albums can be placed beside one another to make it appear as if two generations of soul royalty are singing to one another.) Like her father's album, Lalah's includes a performance of "Little Ghetto Boy," and the faithful version here opens a set that easily bounces from point to point in her discography. Among the standouts are the consecutive "Baby Don't Cry" and "I'm Coming Back," both originally recorded for Lalah Hathaway, and an 11-minute version of Luther Vandross' "Forever, for Always, for Love" that best displays the increased depth and richness of Hathaway's voice. The singer also does well by Anita Baker with a fine version of the Top Five R&B classic "Angel," a song she has performed both for and with Baker. Topped off with a pair of new, high-quality studio cuts that help fill the compact disc edition to capacity, this is essential for Hathaway fans. ~ Andy Kellman https://www.allmusic.com/album/lalah-hathaway-live-mw0002880847

Lalah Hathaway Live!

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Jim Hall & Joey Baron - Conversations

Styles: Guitar Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:59
Size: 114,7 MB
Art: Front

(2:05)  1. Bag's Groove
(1:20)  2. Reinhardt
(1:01)  3. Pollock
(4:55)  4. Conversations
(5:14)  5. Ballad Painting
(6:10)  6. What If?
(1:19)  7. In Repose
(0:47)  8. Uncle Ed
(4:55)  9. Safari
(0:59) 10. Monet
(9:09) 11. Travelogue
(1:52) 12. At Sea
(2:44) 13. St.Thomas
(1:51) 14. Pocketful of Change
(5:32) 15. Time (Bonus Track)

The art of the duo is nothing new to guitar legend Jim Hall. His one-on-one encounters with bassist Ron Carter have been wowing jazz fans for decades. More recent mano a mano musical encounters with equally sublime artists, like pianist Geoffrey Keezer, and guitarist Bill Frisell, have produced works that challenge but, ultimately, remain largely listenable. Conversations Hall's studio encounter with drummer Joey Baron ultimately, falls into the same general category. The fifteen tracks here are an odd, yet endearing, mishmash of musical material. The album opens with a sensational, and woefully short, take on "Bag's Groove." A deep, irrepressible rhythmic core is present and suggest what Jim Hall might sound like in a jam band setting. While both men could have churned out a whole album of material in this vein, the discussions get deeper and the groove is cast aside for a while. "Reinhardt" doesn't have any genuine gypsy leanings and the music is free, but rhythmically centered. Splashes of sound as opposed to paint are everywhere during "Pollock" and both men remain confident with their clatter. Hall alternates between brittle, auto-harp allusions and Frisell-ian lines at the outset of the title track.

Baron's melodic cymbal sounds and toms end up coalescing into a groove-making entity that evolves through the remainder of the song. "Ballad Painting" is all about Hall's explorations over a wide open vista, but the real ballad painting comes later in the album, with Baron's "Pocketful Of Change." "What If" begins as a series of freely executed solo segments. Baron's inner Elvin Jones comes out during his first statement, but he tempers his tone after Hall has his way. Eventually, both men meet and a noisy ruckus ensues. Hall's alternations between gorgeously strummed chords and single notes is the focus of "In Repose," and Baron provides some dark cymbal hues beneath the guitarist's patient strumming on "Monet." A steady, chugging drum presence and some countrified guitar come to the fore during the forty-seven second life span of "Uncle Ed," and this track signals the return of the groove. The exotica of "Safari" is bolstered by Baron's terrific tom work and his sixteenth note-based hi-hat work on "Travelogue" is central to that song's success. A short trek through "St. Thomas" features more of Baron's slapping, tapping and thwacking on toms, and a different side of this duo comes to light on the bonus track ("Time") that ends the album. "Time" begins in a sparse, tense zone, and it would be easy to imagine this music as an alternate soundtrack to a pre-gunfight scene in a Sergio Leone film. Ultimately, time takes over and a more ordered sense of rhythm and melody comes into play. Both Baron and Hall are restless explorers and musically sensitive painters. Conversations easily attests to these facts. ~ Dan Bilawsky https://www.allaboutjazz.com/conversations-jim-hall-artistshare-review-by-dan-bilawsky.php

Personnel: Jim Hall: guitar; Joey Baron: drums.

Conversations

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Fourplay - Heartfelt

Styles: Jazz, Crossover Jazz  
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:09
Size: 153,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:45)  1. Galaxia
(6:44)  2. That's the Time
(5:43)  3. Break it Out
(4:11)  4. Rollin'
(3:56)  5. Let's Make Love
(6:59)  6. Heartfelt
(5:55)  7. Tally Ho!
(5:18)  8. Café L'Amour
(5:28)  9. Ju-Ju
(5:58) 10. Goin' Back Home
(5:29) 11. Karma
(4:36) 12. Making Up

Breaking from their routine, Fourplay created most of the material on Heartfelt in the studio, through a process of free jamming followed by assembly of the best parts through Pro Tools editing. The differences in the results are subtle and, on balance, not necessarily positive. 

Though all four players are true virtuosos, the band's mellow feel encourages each to avoid excess, or its positive alter ego, adventurism, in their solos, while the improvisational core of the project tends to weaken the compositional foundations. The strongest cuts are those written by one member or two in combination; on these, from the Pat Metheny-inflected title track to Nathan East's velvety vocal showcase "Let's Make Love," the quartet's taste and fundamentally conservative aesthetic shine most brightly. ~ Robert L. Doerschuk https://www.allmusic.com/album/heartfelt-mw0000224952

Personnel:  Bob James – keyboards; Larry Carlton – guitar; Nathan East – bass guitar; Harvey Mason – drums

Heartfelt

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Victor Goines - A Dance at the Mardi Gras Ball

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 78:12
Size: 180,6 MB
Art: Front

( 6:35)  1. Stoit
( 7:25)  2. A Dance at the Mardi Gras Ball
(10:12)  3. Soledad
( 8:20)  4. Her Eyes Smile
( 5:23)  5. Mississippi Mud Shuffle
( 6:58)  6. The Princess and the Troll
( 5:42)  7. The Swaggerer (Calypso Version)
( 7:18)  8. Departure
( 6:54)  9. Blues for the Cedarhurst
( 6:48) 10. You and Me
( 6:32) 11. The Swaggerer (Swinging Version)

A collections of 10 original Goines compositions featuring him on tenor and soprano saxophones. Performing with him is the Chicago based rhythm section of Ron Perrillo, Dennis Carroll and Greg Artry. This is a Swinging, Sultry and Spontaneous experiences! A Dance At The Mardi Gras Ball features the talents of Goines with his Chicago colleagues Ron Perrillo on piano, Dennis Carroll on bass and Gregory Artry, Jr on drums. The repertoire for this recording is a collection of Goines originals demonstrating his diversity as a composer and providing a broad platform of expression. https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/victorgoines2

Personnel:  Victor Goines – Soprano and Tenor Saxophone; Ron Perrillo – Piano; Dennis Carroll – Bass; Gregory Artry Jr – Drums

A Dance at the Mardi Gras Ball

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