Hank Jones - Piano Solo (a.k.a. Have You Met Hank Jones)

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:10
Size: 92,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:16)  1. It Had to Be You
(3:15)  2. Heart and Soul
(2:26)  3. Let's Fall in Love
(2:54)  4. But Not for Me
(3:14)  5. Kankee Shout
(3:41)  6. Body and Soul
(2:32)  7. How About You
(3:19)  8. Gone with the Wind
(3:08)  9. Teddy's Dream
(3:16) 10. Have You Met Miss Jones
(4:12) 11. You Don't Know What Love Is
(4:52) 12. Solo Blues

Savoy jazz director, Ozzie Cadena, was the first a&r man to give Hank Jones the amount of record time he deserved. In addition to Joness steadying presence as a sideman on many sessions, Cadena saw to it that he was finally brought before a wider audience than at any previous point in his career. 

This time Cadena chose to present him as a solo performer, an inspired choice, since Jones is a complete jazz pianist in that he can be his own rhythm section if he has to. Underneath the flowing gentleness of his lines is a firm, two-handed beat that sometimes distils stride traces of his early influencesWaller, Tatum, Wilson, and Nat Cole. And because of the intelligence and emotional acumen of his musicianship, he can make even the venerable standards included here sound freshly minted and personal again. https://www.freshsoundrecords.com/hank-jones-albums/4923-hank-jones-piano-solo.html

Personnel: Hank Jones - Piano.

Piano Solo  (a.k.a. Have You Met Hank Jones)

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Jane Morgan - The American Girl from Paris

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:16
Size: 91,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:23)  1. It Might as Well Be Spring
(3:16)  2. I'll Be Seeing You
(3:35)  3. Better Luck Next Time
(2:51)  4. J'attendrai
(2:57)  5. It's Easy to Remember
(4:18)  6. Thanks for the Memory
(3:23)  7. If I Loved You
(3:34)  8. When the World Was Young
(2:55)  9. A Woman Needs to Be Told
(3:03) 10. I Can Dream Can't I
(3:04) 11. Insensiblement
(2:52) 12. I Didn't Know What Time It Was

Vocalist Jane Morgan is known best for her lone Top Ten hit, "Fascination," drawn from the 1957 Billy Wilder film Love in the Afternoon. Born in Boston (as Jane Currier) but raised in Florida, Morgan was an early success as a singer in France. She made the transition back to America as a nightclub act, and signed to Kapp in the mid '50s.  Jane Morgan made her chart debut late in 1956, appearing alongside Roger Williams on "Two Different Worlds." One year later she hit number seven with her theme "Fascination," based on the old French composition "Valse Tzigane." Both "The Day the Rains Came" and "With Open Arms" followed "Fascination" into the Top 40 during the late '50s, but Morgan had disappeared from the charts by the turn of the decade. (Her last hit was also a movie theme, for 1959's Happy Anniversary, directed by David Miller and featuring David Niven.) She continued recording for Kapp until 1962, and resurfaced four years later on Epic for Fresh Flavor, a rock-crossover LP that was only slightly embarrassing (her cover of "Good Lovin'" is a minor moment of kitsch). ~ John Bush https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jane-morgan-mn0000181618/biography

The American Girl from Paris

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Sérgio Mendes - Encanto

Styles: Brazilian Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:01
Size: 135,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:59)  1. The Look Of Love
(4:00)  2. Funky Bahia
(3:58)  3. Waters Of March
(3:50)  4. Odo-Ya
(4:00)  5. Somewhere in the Hills (O Morro Nao Tem Vez)
(4:16)  6. Lugar Comum
(4:43)  7. Dreamer
(4:19)  8. Morning in Rio
(4:18)  9. Y Vamos Ya (...Let's Go)
(3:50) 10. Catavento (Catavento e Girassol)
(4:27) 11. Acode
(4:02) 12. Agua De Beber
(3:53) 13. Waters of March (Les Eaux de Mars) - French Version
(4:19) 14. E Vamos La (...Let's Go)

Though he's always been at the front of the show, Sergio Mendes has often gotten by with the help of his friends. As in 1965, so in 2008. The newest update of Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 feel free to call it Brasil '08 has a varied cast, led by co-producer will.i.am, who adapts his style well to urban and Brazilian forms. It also includes will.i.am's Black Eyed Peas bandmate Fergie, doing "The Look of Love" in a version that may never reach the heights of the original, but never becomes as embarrassing as "My Humps." Surprisingly, it's a good performance from Fergie; although she never approaches the sultriness of Dusty Springfield's original, her quick-paced singing on the verses is some kind of career highlight. Elsewhere, Mendes deserves most of the credit, especially since will.i.am only bookends the album (he produces the first two tracks and the last two). Encanto makes room for a parade of excellent musicians, including Carlinhos Brown, Ledisi, Natalie Cole, and Herb Alpert. (Not to be left out is the rhythm section, anchored by bass veterans Alphonso Johnson or Liminha.) The material breezes over quite a few Brazilian classics of the bossa nova era, and gives them just enough freshness to sound new. "Waters of March," with Johnson's nimble bass, makes room for a fine Ledisi vocal (granted, it's difficult to fail on that song). Mendes takes several solos on acoustic piano or Rhodes, best on the Herb Alpert feature "Dreamer." Overall, Encanto is a difficult record to judge; from the cover and the first two tracks, it appears to be urban all the way. The bulk of the album, however, is modern Brazilian jazz-fusion with an array of excellent musicians. Hopefully, its two potential audiences dance or hip-hop fans and Latin jazz listeners aren't steered away from it by thinking it's only concerned with one or the other. ~ John Bush https://www.allmusic.com/album/encanto-mw0000788394

Encanto

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Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band - Body And Shadow

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop 
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 31:44
Size: 73,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:03)  1. Within Everything
(3:09)  2. Body and Shadow - Noon
(4:32)  3. Traveling Mercies
(1:20)  4. Have Thine Own Way, Lord - Solo
(1:14)  5. Have Thine Own Way, Lord - Band
(1:43)  6. Body and Shadow - Morning
(8:21)  7. Duality
(2:57)  8. Body and Shadow - Night
(5:20)  9. Broken Leg Days

Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2017. Body and Shadow is only their fifth album: they have not recorded prolifically, but each one has been worth the wait. The group occupies a unique space: the sound of Americana (chiefly folk music) is dominant, but played with a jazz sensibility. Despite the considerable technical firepower in the band, it has always kept the focus on the ensemble sound rather than on soloists. For this outing drummer Brian Blade and keyboardist Jon Cowherd have nearly equal compositional input, and the group welcomes a new member in Denver-based guitarist Dave Devine. Blade gets the first word with "Within Everything," an elegiac slow tune with a haunting melody. The first of the "Body and Shadow" entries is next Noon, later followed by Morning and Night. These are gentle explorations of similar material, rather minimal until a theme finally appears in the last one. Cowherd's first contribution is "Traveling Mercies," another folksong-like tune which nonetheless includes a dramatic, contrasting bridge. The feeling of contrast is even stronger in the aptly-titled "Duality," which is made up of two contrasting sections. The longest selection by far, it also has the most pronounced jazz feel. The first half features a long, joyful piano solo by the composer; the second half spotlights alto saxophonist Myron Walden in an electrifying solo turn.  The group's previous album Landmarks (Blue Note, 2014) featured a rare cover, a hymn-like treatment of the traditional song "Shenandoah." This time they up the ante with an actual hymn: "Have Thine Own Way, Lord." Cowherd plays it solo on harmonium first, then the entire band continues the feeling with Blade's arrangement. That it fits in with the original music so well is a testament to the deep traditional roots of the Fellowship Band's music. They have never been a long-winded bunch, but this is an especially succinct collection: the nine tracks run only a little over half an hour. Not a minute is wasted. ~ Mark Sullivan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/body-and-shadow-brian-blade-blue-note-records-review-by-mark-sullivan.php

Personnel: Brian Blade: drums; Jon Cowherd: piano, harmonium, mellotron; Chris Thomas: bass; Melvin Butler: tenor saxophone; Myron Walden: alto saxophone, bass clarinet; Dave Devine: guitar.

Body And Shadow

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