Rick Braun - Beat Street

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1995
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:32
Size: 124,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:36)  1. Groovis
(5:14)  2. Papa Dee
(5:06)  3. Club Harlem
(5:25)  4. I'll Be There For You
(5:51)  5. Philadelphia
(4:26)  6. Cadillac Slim
(4:49)  7. The Promises
(4:09)  8. Natalie
(4:28)  9. Ian's Blues
(4:57) 10. Walk The Walk
(4:26) 11. Marty's Party

This good-natured release is a very enjoyable compilation of funk-inflected light jazz that fits Rick Braun's trumpet and flugelhorn around some excellent guitar playing (with lots of wah-wahs on show), steady bass and drums, and supportive keyboards (Braun also contributes the keyboard beds, but this aspect of his production tends not to be showy). Braun and his assorted players (who include Boney James, Jeff Golub and Peter White) have crafted some entertaining melodies that are often built on swaying, sneaky rhythms "Cadillac Slim" for one, and the devious "Papa Dee" for another. Braun's liner notes mention War (the band) more than once, and you can certainly pick up that influence this time around. In terms of approach, Braun kept things loose and improvisational for the recording no charts, no formalities, just a few ideas and a collaborative impulse that's paid off in the way the album flows together. Nice warm work that sneaks in under the guards. ~ Steven McDonald https://www.allmusic.com/album/beat-street-mw0000173372

Personnel: Rick Braun - Flugelhorn, Keyboards; G. Chang (track: 3) - Organ [B3];  Matt Harris (track: 7,10), Curtis Brengle (track: 9,11) - Piano; Boney James (track: 1) - Featuring, Tenor Saxophone; Jimmy Roberts (track: 7) - Tenor Saxophone; David Woodford (track: 11) - Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone; Lee Thornburg (track: 11) - Trumpet;  Nick Lane (tracks: 4,11) - Trombone; Carl Verheyen (tracks: 1,4), Jeff Golub (tracks: 5,6,11) - Guitar; Peter White (track: 3) - Acoustic Guitar; Carl Verheyen (track: 3,6,9) - Guitar [Wah Wah]; Stan Sargeant (track: 1) - Bass [On End]; Dave Morotta (tracks: 1,4,9), Cliff Hugo (tracks: 2,5-7,10,11), Jack Daro (track: 3) - Bass; Brad Dutz - Percussion (tracks: 1,7,8), Bongos (track: 3); Dave Palmer (tracks: 1,4-7,9,10), Dave Karasony (tracks: 2,11) - Drums. Fred White (tracks: 4,7) - Vocals.

Beat Street

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Marlene VerPlanck - A Breath of Fresh Air

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1993
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:41
Size: 137,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:07)  1. Mr. Lucky
(2:47)  2. Growing Old Gracefully
(2:22)  3. Brasiliero
(2:19)  4. Where Is Love?
(2:44)  5. There Won't Be Trumpets
(2:28)  6. I Concentrate on You
(2:15)  7. Rainbow Hill
(3:15)  8. Baby Elephant Walk
(2:21)  9. Sunday
(3:41) 10. Show Me
(3:02) 11. This Happy Feeling
(3:35) 12. How Can I Be Sure?
(2:16) 13. Down Here on the Ground
(4:33) 14. I Have Dreamed
(2:26) 15. I'm All Smiles
(2:42) 16. The More I See You
(2:40) 17. Go Fly a Kite
(2:58) 18. Wave
(2:43) 19. Mission Impossible
(2:05) 20. A Little Love Should Rub off on Us
(2:11) 21. I Chase a Rainbow Dream

The jazz content of this CD reissue is pretty light as singer Marlene Ver Planck (who as usual displays a beautiful voice with a wide range) is backed by rather commercial arrangements on a repertoire dominated by then-current show and movie tunes that often sound quite dated today. She certainly does her best (as can be heard on wordless versions of "Baby Elephant Walk" and "Mission Impossible") but Ver Planck's later recordings are much more valuable from the jazz standpoint. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/a-breath-of-fresh-air-mw0000097157

A Breath of Fresh Air

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Courtney Pine - Devotion

Styles: Saxophone, Clarinet And Flute Jazz
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:29
Size: 102,4 MB
Art: Front

(0:49)  1. Into: Release
(4:18)  2. Sister Soul
(6:18)  3. Devotion
(4:43)  4. Bless the Weather
(0:51)  5. Interlude: The Saxophone Song
(4:31)  6. Osibisa
(5:00)  7. Translusance
(4:36)  8. U.K.
(1:19)  9. Interlude: Karma
(4:58) 10. When the World Turns Blue
(4:36) 11. Everyday is Everyday
(2:26) 12. Outro: With All My Love

The management typically frowns on an initial discourse regarding the issuing record label when writing a review, but in the case of Courtney Pine's debut on Telarc Jazz, I feel it is warranted.  Compared with the majority of Telarc's releases (dead middle mainstream) Mr. Pine's new release can only be approached by those of Monty Alexander's with respect to pushing the genre envelope, and honestly, Mr. Alexander has nothing on Courtney Pine. Born March 18, 1964 in London, England, Courtney Pine was to emerge in the mid-1980s as the next John Coltrane at the same time Wynton Marsalis sounded like the heir to Miles Davis.  He grew up playing funk and reggae before migrating to the edge of jazz standards.  He is a master of several instruments, including the soprano and tenor saxophones and that most difficult mistress, the bass clarinet.  He released several fine recordings on Antilles/Island ( Journey to the Urge Within ) but lost direction in the mid-1990s. Devotion is Courtney Pine's first release since 1998's Another Story.  It is a loud, jazzy, funky, reggae, rocking affair bursting at the seams with cross influences and counter rhythms.  The recording is as highly produced as most contemporary and smooth jazz offerings...but contemporary or smooth jazz this is not.  In fact, if I were to have to describe this disc with one line it would be "Devotion is the reincarnation of Julian and Nate Adderley's Band in the 22nd Century."  After an electric introduction the disc blasts off with Pine's "Soul Sister," a transmogrified "Work Song" as a Phil Spector "Wall of Sound" taken to infinity.  The title cut has a reggae vibe with Pine weaving in and out like the ghost of Eddie Harris calling out the name of Les McCann. Pine extends his jazz-funk jones into his compositions "Osibisa," a big band Latin groove, and "Translusance," which contains some nifty off-beat drumming, a killer hook and a sitar (I hear early Rolling Stones and late Beatles here).  "UK" might be the best piece on the record, a cross between the Stax House and 1980s Saturday Night Live Bands.  The instrumental pieces are better than the vocal pieces and there is plenty of Pine for everyone.  Had Mr. Pine been wandering in the desert before, he has emerged into the oasis of his own making. ~ C.Michael Bailey https://www.allaboutjazz.com/devotion-courtney-pine-telarc-records-review-by-c-michael-bailey.php

Personnel:  Courtney Pine--Soprano, Tenor Saxophones, Bass Clarinet, Alto Flute, Pro Tools; Cameron Pierre--Guitars; Chris Jerome--Keyboards; Robert Fordjour--Drums; Thomas Dyani--Percussion; David Mcalmont, Carleen Anderson--Vocals; Robert Mitchell--Piano; Dennis Rollins--Trombone; Byron Wallin--Trumpet; Yousuf Ali Khan--Tabla; Sheema Mukherjee--Sitar.

Devotion

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Robert Farnon And His Orchestra - Pictures In The Fire

Styles: Jazz, Easy Listening 
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:58
Size: 88,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:36)  1. Pictures In The Fire
(2:50)  2. Love Is A Many Splendored Thing
(3:17)  3. To A Young Lady
(3:37)  4. Hey There
(2:48)  5. Secret Love
(3:14)  6. Lazy Day
(2:57)  7. Friendly Persuasion
(2:39)  8. Sophistication Waltz
(3:07)  9. When I Fall In Love
(3:33) 10. A Summer Love
(2:38) 11. The Story Of Tina
(3:36) 12. The Nearness Of You

'Pictures in the Fire' includes three original Farnon tracks apart from the title single, these are: 'Lazy Day and 'Sophistication Waltz' together with the sentimental 'Summer Love'. These contain the touch of the master but his interpretations of Young's, 'When I Fall in Love', Adler's 'Hey There' and the ubiquitous 'Story of Tina' are also as good as it gets. Dutton's remastering brings out the original colour and sweet string sound and David Ades' contribution is an entertaining read altogether. I cannot recommend this album too highly, especially if you enjoy the vintage 50's period which was such a success for light music re-incarnation. http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/d/dut04112a.php

Pictures In The Fire

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George Cables - I'm All Smiles

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year:  2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:24
Size: 134,7 MB
Art: Front

(6:27)  1. Young at Heart
(6:15)  2. I'm All Smiles - From "The Yearling"
(5:46)  3. Speak No Evil
(7:49)  4. Bésame Mucho
(5:59)  5. Ugly Beauty
(7:18)  6. Love Is a Many Splendored Thing
(5:41)  7. Celebration
(4:16)  8. Three Views of a Secret
(5:09)  9. Thermo
(3:40) 10. Monk's Mood

At a time when jazz is being pulled in every direction at once in search of a future some fear may not exist, musicians such as George Cables, Essiet Essiet and Victor Lewis are proving that, for those who listen, there is no place quite like the present. Essiet became the trio's bassist for its 2012 Highnote release My Muse, and has remained since. Cables has been fortunate with drummers throughout his career as a band leader. During the 1970s and 1980s he played with both Billy Higgins and Carl Burnette. In the 1990s future Cookers band-mate Billy Hart would join him for multiple albums, including the excellent Night And Day (DIW, 1991). Since 2001, Victor Lewis has been his drummer of choice; in fact both Lewis and Essiet have been the pianist's most frequent cohorts when taking the live stage as a trio in the 2010s. Though he was hardly gone for long, I'm All Smiles is something of a comeback album. Early in 2018, George Cables lost much of his left leg by way of amputation. It took a year of recovery, physical therapy and crutches to be well enough again to take the stage, both as a member of the Cookers and with this very trio. Cables dedicates I'm All Smiles to "all those people that sent gifts and messages of support and encouragement during the time [he] was dealing with serious medical issues and unable to play the piano or make gigs." Judging by the album's cover art, which features a dapper Cables leaning on a piano and smiling jauntily, he intends to convey that he is back in good spirits. Contrasting sharply with his previous effort, The George Cables Songbook (Highnote, 2016), all of the songs present on I'm All Smiles are covers of other artists' compositions, save for the newly penned "Celebration," which hurdles forward with an unbound energy befitting its self-explanatory title. 

The trio kicks things off with the widely covered "Young At Heart," which became known in the early 1950s as a Frank Sinatra ballad vehicle, before shifting into the title track. It's here that Cables really lets loose his trademark wit and passion. Written by Michael Leonard and Herbert Martin for the 1965 Broadway musical The Yearling, and subsequently covered by Hampton Hawes, Bill Evans and Barbra Streisand, "I'm All Smiles" is the most playful recording this trio has released yet. It's hard to be sure where the song is going until Cables decides to let his left hand draw out the four note lead-in to the chorus. In some ways this is his method of winking at his audience, knowing that at this point in his career they are wary enough to follow along with his amusements. The trio shifts into the album's second act with "Besame Mucho," a standard Cables hasn't recorded since he was part of Art Pepper's most consistent and comfortable group on the 1979 Galaxy album of the same name. Rather than the frantic, "by the seat of your pants" delivery of Pepper's version, Cables now sets his own pace, calmer and more sure-handed. While it's easy to wistfully recall the more wild, impassioned interpretations of that era now four decades past, the trio present here offers a more measured approach which works well within the context of this album. Cables once said "every time I play with somebody different I have to put on a different hat." To his avid listeners, the pianist doubtlessly wears his own cap, and his inimitable playing style now honed over a half-century, is immediately recognizable. That style permeates Thelonious Monk's "Ugly Beauty" and "Monk's Mood." The latter is a solo piano piece which provides a quiet, self-searching end to the album, allowing it to ebb away rather than suddenly break. One of the finer points of discovery during I'm All Smiles is the way the pianist cohabits other musician's works. He shrewdly keeps the soul of a composition such as Wayne Shorter's "Speak No Evil" and Freddie Hubbard's "Thermo" alive while subtly sprinkling his own ingredients into the pot. The result of his efforts are albums like this, wherein a keen-eared listener will find an exercise of intuitive musical expertise which has endured personal strife and tragedy and climbed ever closer to perfection. I'm All Smiles is a triumph the sort of jazz piano album which comes along just once in a while to remind genre fans why they started listening in the first place. ~ Peter Hoetjes https://www.allaboutjazz.com/im-all-smiles-george-cables-highnote-records-review-by-peter-hoetjes.php

Personnel: George Cables: piano; Essiet Essiet: bass (1-9); Victor Lewis: drums (1-9).

I'm All Smiles

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