Rhoda Scott - Stardust

Styles: Soul Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 1991
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:46
Size: 133,3 MB
Art: Front

(7:03)  1. Stardust
(4:07)  2. Manhattan
(4:13)  3. Groggy
(4:23)  4. Moonlight Serenade
(6:34)  5. Stormy Weather
(5:26)  6. Long Ago (And Far Away)
(4:17)  7. Un Jour Tu Verras
(5:01)  8. Ballade For Michele
(6:02)  9. Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be)
(5:05) 10. Sweet Cool
(5:32) 11. Tenderly

Rhoda Scott (born July 3, 1938) is an American soul jazz organist. Scott was first attracted to the organ in her father’s church at age seven. "It's really the most beautiful instrument in the world", she stated in a recent interview. "The first thing I did was take my shoes off and work the pedals." From then on she always played her church organ in her bare feet, and to this date she has continued the practice. In 1967 Scott moved to France, where she has since spent most of her career. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhoda_Scott

Stardust

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Daryl Sherman - My Blue Heaven

Styles:  Vocal
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:03
Size: 115,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:29)  1. I Walk a Little Faster
(4:26)  2. Wouldn’t It Be Loverly
(5:42)  3. Feel Like Makin’ Love
(4:10)  4. Lets Go Live in a Lighthouse
(3:43)  5. Cycling Along with You
(4:04)  6. Inside a Silent Tear
(3:37)  7. My Blue Heaven/ A O Zora
(4:20)  8. You Turned the Tables on Me
(4:06)  9. Fly Me to the Moon
(3:32) 10. You Wanna Bet
(4:20) 11. The Brooklyn Bridge
(3:29) 12. The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

Singers who perform in public as they must have singular obstacles to face in performance.  Even though the ringing cash register is now a museum piece, there are so many extraneous sounds to surmount even when the audience is properly quiet and (imagine this!) everyone’s smartphone is shut off.  Dishes and glasses clink; the waitstaff murmurs details of the specials, offers a dessert menu, presents the bill.  The presumed answer to this is amplification, which can make a quiet sound audible at the back of the room, but in the process coarsens every nuance. A CD session recorded in a studio has its own set of obstacles: the creative artist may be restricted to one small space, may be burdened with headphones and be banished into a booth . . . but we don’t see these travails, and the sound we hear through our speakers is a kinder representation of the human voice. And the Orchestra with Vocal Refrain is Daryl, piano and vocals, with Harvie S, string bass, on tracks 2 and 10.  It’s a delightfully old-fashioned CD: twelve tracks, fifty minutes, but no need to turn it over. From the start, it’s a wonderful chance to hear Daryl “her ownself”as we might say in the Middle West a century ago.  She is of course her own splendid accompanist, and her two selves never get in each other’s way.  And I would direct some pianists who revere Tatum as their model to her spare, pointed accompaniment. Her voice is the true delight here.  

Daryl sounds so much like herself, and is I think instantly recognizable, although one may call to mind Mildred Bailey, Blossom Dearie, and Dave Frishberg as musical colleagues and inspirations.  I think she’s been undervalued because of what sounds (to the casual listener) like girlish charm, a high sweet voice with a conversational, sometimes wry delivery. But once the listener is into this CD for more than a chorus, the absence of other instrumentalists allows us to hear emotional depth beneath the apparent light-heartedness.  This isn’t to say that the disc veers towards the dark or maudlin, but there is a true adult sensibility that makes even the most familiar material shine as if beautifully polished and lit.  And even if you think you know how Daryl sings and plays, I submit that this CD is her masterpiece to date, sending us gentle immediacy of the most rare kind. It’s a wonderful one-woman show, with nothing to excess, and a CD I’d like to send to many singers to show ’em how it can be done...More https://jazzlives.wordpress.com/2016/09/02/a-private-recital-daryl-shermans-blue-heaven/

My Blue Heaven                 

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Hank Jones Trio - Have You Met This Jones?

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:24
Size: 102,5 MB
Art: Front

(5:03)  1. There's a Small Hotel
(7:37)  2. Portions
(4:23)  3. The Oregon Grinder
(5:12)  4. I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good
(5:45)  5. We're All Together
(4:34)  6. Like Someone In Love
(5:19)  7. Now's the Time
(6:27)  8. Robbins Nest

Hank Jones often worked in The Great Jazz Trio, but this 1977 album came out under his own name, backed by a European rhythm section. Long regarded for his versatility and class, Jones does nothing to change that perception here with a varied set of standards and other tunes. Jones sounds particularly strong on the bluesy “Organ Grinder,” where his playing is both effortless and anchored with a strong narrative line. Jones was always one to have the lightest of touches on a ballad; his take on Ellington’s “I’ve Got It Bad” has an ornate filigree around the edges of the melody that never digresses into overplaying. “Like Someone in Love,” which gets a solo opening before settling in for a gentle pace just above ballad speed, is a classic piece of piano trio work. 

Not known for his oral accompaniment (as opposed to Monk or Keith Jarrett), Jones can be heard clear as day on “We’re All Together” and elsewhere, which speaks to the exceptional recording quality of this album and newly remixed sound for its debut in the digital format. ~ Editors' Note https://music.apple.com/us/album/have-you-met-this-jones/873097291

Personnel: Hank Jones - piano; Isla Eckinger - bass; Kurt Bong - drums

Have You Met This Jones?

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Robert Farnon & His Orchestra - A Portrait of Johnny Mathis

Styles: Jazz, Easy Listening
Year: 1965
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:45
Size: 84,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:49)  1. Misty
(2:17)  2. The 12th of Never
(3:00)  3. It's Not for Me to Say
(2:49)  4. What Will My Mary Say
(2:41)  5. When Sunny Gets Blue
(2:49)  6. Maria, from 'West Side Story'
(3:08)  7. Chances Are
(2:34)  8. A Certain Smile
(3:14)  9. Gina
(2:37) 10. Small World
(3:34) 11. Wonderful, Wonderful
(3:08) 12. Someone

Robert Farnon, a composer of light classical and "mood music," is a rival to figure such as Eric Coates, David Rose, and Percy Faith. He has also been notably successful in the field of film music since the 1940s. Robert Joseph Farnon was born into a musical family in Toronto, Canada in 1917. He showed a natural aptitude as a musician, and at age 19, was already being employed as an arranger with the Canadian Broadcasting Company Orchestra in Toronto, under the direction of Percy Faith. Farnon succeeded Faith as director of the orchestra when Faith departed Canada for America. Farnon's main interest at the time lay in writing serious music, despite the fact that he enjoyed great success with his arrangements. At age 22, he composed his first symphony, which was performed by the Toronto Symphony in 1941, and later by the Philadelphia Orchestra. A second symphony followed a year later, and it, too, received performances in Canada, but Farnon discovered that he had little personal affinity for writing works of that depth and dimension, talented though he might have been. It was during his service with the Canadian army during World War II, when he was assigned as a bandleader and sent to England, that Farnon discovered the light classical music of composers such as Charles Williams and Eric Coates. This was something of a revelation to him their brand of music was internally complex while not overly profound, inventive and expressive without being pretentious. Their work became something of the model upon which he chose to build his career as a composer, and that brand of light classical music led naturally, in turn, to film composition. Farnon made his career in England after the war, writing mood music for Chappell Music, a task at which he was eminently successful, his music not only popular in the broadcasts for which it was intended, but also entering the repertory of numerous pops orchestras in England and around the world. Farnon soon entered the field of film music as well, writing his first score in 1948 for the upper-class romantic comedy Spring in Park Lane, produced by Herbert Wilcox, and the music for its direct sequel Maytime in Mayfair.In 1951, Farnon was assigned to write the score for his first major international film, Captain Horatio Hornblower, based on the exploits of C.S. 

Forrester's naval hero of the Napoleonic era, starring Gregory Peck. A British Warner Bros. production directed by legendary action filmmaker Raoul Walsh, Hornblower was a hit around the world and remains one, as an oft-revived and telecast film; it is Farnon's best-known screen work as well, virtually his magnum opus. He subsequently had assignments for films such as Gentlemen Marry Brunettes and the screen adaptation of The Little Hut, which, as films, left relatively little impression on the public. In the '60s, his screen assignments included some slightly higher profile work, such as the music for the Hayley Mills film The Truth About Spring and also the all-star western adventure drama Shalako. Farnon has remained a top composer in his field for 50 years. In addition to his film scores, his popular instruments include "How Beautiful Is Night," "Journey into Melody," "Pictures in the Fire," "Westminster Waltz," and "A Promise of Spring." In addition to its melodic content, Farnon's music is noted for its deceptively complex internal structure, which makes it as interesting as it is attractive. A quiet, self-effacing man, without the gift for self-promotion that rivals Percy Faith or David Rose showed, Farnon has never had a high-visibility creative role, preferring to work quietly and show himself through his work. In 1992, Reference Recordings issued a CD of Farnon conducting his own concert pieces, and a suite derived of the Captain Horatio Hornblower score. ~ Bruce Eder https://www.allmusic.com/artist/robert-farnon-mn0000831796/biography

A Portrait of Johnny Mathis

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Doc Severinsen and His Big Band - The Look of Love : Big Band Magic

Styles: Trumpet Jazz, Big Band 
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:40
Size: 89,9 MB
Art: Front

(3:16)  1. The Look of Love
(2:58)  2. Flamingo
(4:11)  3. Blues In the Night
(2:49)  4. Granada
(4:00)  5. When Your Lover Has Gone
(2:41)  6. Johnny One Note
(3:06)  7. Lonesome Road
(2:51)  8. My Funny Valentine
(3:26)  9. St Louis Blues
(2:31) 10. Love for Sale
(3:05) 11. I Cried for You { Now It's Your Turn to Cry for Me }
(3:42) 12. Poor Butterfly

For 25 years, Doc Severinsen was arguably the best-known trumpet player in America, appearing on television every weeknight as the leader of the Tonight Show Orchestra. Known for his exceptionally loud wardrobe, Severinsen often bantered good-naturedly with host Johnny Carson, while supplying the show's incidental music (bridging commercial breaks, introducing guests, etc.). Despite the musical limitations of that format, the Tonight Show Orchestra was increasingly considered one of the best big-band jobs available as time passed: generous exposure, steady work, and declining options elsewhere. Severinsen maintained a side career to allow himself to stretch out, recording bop, big-band swing, and crossover-friendly instrumental pop for a series of labels beginning in the '60s. When The Tonight Show was on hiatus, he toured with smaller groups and guested with numerous jazz and pops orchestras around the country. He had his critics in the jazz world, partly because his albums weren't strictly jazz, but also partly because he didn't display his chops very often; he was an able bebop soloist with a bright, clean tone and a tremendous range in the upper register of his horn. In the mid-'80s, he finally brought the Tonight Show Orchestra into the studio for a series of popular and well-received recordings. 

When the orchestra broke up in 1992, Severinsen hit the road with a select group of alumni, and also continued his guest appearances around the country. Carl Hilding "Doc" Severinsen was born on July 7, 1927, in Arlington, OR, and was initially nicknamed "Little Doc" after his father, a dentist. Starting music lessons at age seven, Severinsen originally wanted to play the trombone, although his violin-playing father urged him to take up that instrument instead. As it turned out, the trumpet was the only brass instrument available in their small town, and Severinsen got so good so quickly that he was performing with the local high school band while still seven years old. At age 12, he won the Music Educators' National Contest, and as a high schooler, he toured with Ted Fio Rito's orchestra. Upon finishing school, he joined a succession of touring big bands starting in 1945, including Tommy Dorsey (where he was a featured soloist), Charlie Barnet, Benny Goodman, and Noro Morales. In 1949, he settled in New York, where he worked as a staff musician for NBC and a recording session sideman, backing the likes of Dinah Washington and Anita O'Day. He moved over to television in 1952, and appeared on the original, Steve Allen-hosted Tonight Show as a member of Skitch Henderson's orchestra. In 1962, when Carson took over the show, Henderson made Severinsen his assistant orchestra leader. Around the same time, Severinsen cut the first of a series of albums for the Command label; his earlier efforts were largely standard big-band swing, but by the late '60s he had moved into groovy, swinging instrumental pop in the so-called "now sound" vein, often arranged by Dick Hyman. In 1966, Henderson abruptly departed The Tonight Show under still-mysterious circumstances. Milton DeLugg briefly took over as his replacement, but Severinsen was promoted to the post of orchestra leader and musical director in 1967. His outlandish, brightly colored wardrobe and easy comic chemistry with Carson quickly cemented him into the job, where he would stay for the next 25 years. In the meantime, Severinsen moved from Command over to RCA in the early '70s, and then went to Epic for 1975's Night Journey, a surprisingly credible foray into jazz-funk fusion. Even more surprisingly, Severinsen landed some disco play with the dance-club hits "I Wanna Be With You" and "Night Journey" in 1976. The follow-up LP, 1977's Brand New Thing, offered more of the same. 

In 1985, Severinsen recorded an album for Passport with a new fusion group called Xebron. The following year, he brought the Tonight Show Orchestra into the studio for their long-awaited first recording sessions, cutting a number of swing standards. The resulting album, The Tonight Show Band, was released on Amherst and sold briskly, also winning a Grammy for Best Jazz Large Ensemble Recording. A second, similar album, The Tonight Show Band, Vol. 2, was released in 1987. Facets, which found Severinsen working with crossover fusion ensembles and string orchestras, was a Top Ten jazz hit in 1988. Severinsen returned to the studio with the Tonight Show Orchestra in 1991 for the well-reviewed Once More...With Feeling!; they followed it in 1992 with Merry Christmas From Doc Severinsen and the Tonight Show Orchestra. It proved to be their last hurrah together; Carson's retirement that year ushered in major changes at The Tonight Show, and new host Jay Leno let Severinsen and the band go. Severinsen quickly gathered some of the band's most prominent members, and embarked on a sort of farewell tour of America. He would continue to tour with many of them during the '90s, most notably trumpeters Conte Candoli and Snooky Young, drummer Ed Shaughnessy, saxophonists Ernie Watts and/or Bill Perkins, and pianist Ross Tompkins. Additionally, Severinsen cut an album with the Cincinnati Pops (1992's Unforgettably Doc) and served as guest conductor for symphony orchestras in Minnesota, Milwaukee, Buffalo, and Phoenix; he also made numerous guest appearances as an instrumentalist, led brass workshops and clinics, and even moved into designing and manufacturing trumpets. After a lengthy hiatus from recording, he returned with 1999's Swingin' the Blues, which featured a generous selection of Tonight Show Orchestra alumni. ~ Steve Huey https://www.allmusic.com/artist/doc-severinsen-mn0000167794/biography

The Look of Love : Big Band Magic

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