Bob James - Morning, Noon And Night

Styles: Keyboards, Jazz Funk
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:41
Size: 133,1 MB
Art: Front

(6:06)  1. Street Smart
(5:03)  2. Just One Thing
(4:14)  3. Morning, Noon & Night
(5:50)  4. Hands On
(5:54)  5. Over & Over
(4:27)  6. Five O'Clock Chateau
(3:21)  7. When The Love Is Over
(5:41)  8. Nightbeat
(5:52)  9. Baby Cakes
(5:38) 10. Dai Dai Ya
(5:30) 11. Count On It

As one review once put it, James was putting the "smooth" into "jazz" long before the genre had its formal name, and it was fun to take stock of his lengthy quarter-century-plus recording career with 2001's double CD Restoration: The Best of Bob James. Hardly about to rest on his laurels, he's chugging ahead in 2002 with a new Fourplay album (Heartfelt) and this likeable, diverse effort. The idea seems to be to return to the spirit and groove of his classic albums of the '70s and early '80s, but play those licks in the company of latter-day top stars (Rick Braun, Dave Koz, Keiko Matsui, Paul Jackson, Jr., Chuck Loeb). And let's not forget the groovemeisters Vinnie Colaiuta (drums) and Will Lee (bass), so hip and sly on mood-swinging tunes like "Baby Cakes." Considering that the disc mostly focuses on sharply composed, tightly played, and slickly produced tracks by genre hitmakers like Loeb and Paul Brown, it seems curious that James would open with a somewhat alienating, experimental track ("Street Smart"). It opens with scratches, ambience, and darting piano runs that scream "avant-garde," before getting into a heavier groove, classical piano ideas, and finally moving into a brief big band swing section. 

It's interesting, but all over the place. Loeb's tune, "Just One Thing," is the complete opposite, a crisp, dreamy, light funk piece perfect for smooth jazz radio; Jamesand Loeb make good studio bedfellows with a smart, witty repartee and tandem energy. The title track is another excellent middle-of-the-road piece, with Dave Koz providing the genuine smiles and extra commercial melodic thrust. "Hands On" is a bouncy jam piece that evokes the loose energy of James' early albums. And labelmate Braun helps bring the romantic "Five O'Clock Chateau" to a deeper place full of soul and energy. Some of the other tunes seem more artsy and fusion-minded, but all of them have a singular focus. Maybe that's the point -- to provide in a new setting the kind of overview of James' multiple approaches that was captured on the best-of package. ~ Jonathan Widran https://www.allmusic.com/album/morning-noon-night-mw0000225224

Morning, Noon And Night

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Enrico Rava - Italian Ballads

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1996
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:15
Size: 170,8 MB
Art: Front

(1:54)  1. The Song Of Gelsomina
(5:07)  2. Giulietta Degli Spiriti
(5:23)  3. Un Bel Di, Vedremo
(8:30)  4. Il Cielo In Una Stanza
(4:20)  5. Margherita
(4:40)  6. Bella
(3:22)  7. Un Canto
(7:28)  8. Diva
(5:51)  9. Torna A Surriento
(6:07) 10. Senza Fine
(2:58) 11. E Se Domani
(4:52) 12. Due Note
(3:26) 13. Stringimi Forte I Polsi
(6:01) 14. More
(2:09) 15. O Mio Babbino Caro

He is twelve years old, but he shows even more, this record by Enrico Rava's Electric Five dedicated to the evergreens of our local music. Impressive is the fact that the musicians involved  then only partially established, but today great realities of Italian jazz and not only are so impalpable in this work, in which everyone (perhaps with the sole exception of the guests Richard Galliano and Barbara Casini) is limit to accompany the trumpet of the leader, engaged mostly to the mere exposition of the lyric theme from time to time on stage, without adding anything expressive to it. Indeed, sometimes even removing something from the originals, as in "Margherita" or in the unlistenable "Endless". 

What else to say? That these operations (some time too practiced by Rava, especially live) may have some market feedback, but should be avoided for the sake of jazz music. In fact, while banalities of this kind flood the newsstands as attachments to magazines, the clubs are becoming increasingly deserted and the reviews close their doors.On the contrary, it has even come to reprint its fruits ...Translate By Google ~ AAJ Italy Staff https://www.allaboutjazz.com/italian-ballads-enrico-rava-venus-records-review-by-aaji-staff.php

Personnel: Enrico Rava (trumpet), Domenico Caliri (guitar), Roberto Cecchetto (guitar), Giovanni Maier (double bass), UT Gandhi (drums, percussion), Barbara Casini (vocals), Richard Galliano (accordion).

Italian Ballads

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Duke Robillard - Exalted Lover

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:52
Size: 97,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:56)  1. Down Home Country Girl
(3:46)  2. I'll Never Be Free
(2:53)  3. Real Live Wire
(4:59)  4. Exalted Lover
(4:42)  5. Deep Inside
(3:56)  6. How Long Has It Been
(4:12)  7. Tore Up
(4:22)  8. Love Made A Liar Out Of Me
(4:35)  9. Double A Daddy
(3:24) 10. Travelin' Mood

Duke Robillard's second 2003 release could just as well have been titled Living With the Blues, Part 2, since it picks up where his 2002 album of that name left off. Returning to the Roomful of Blues horn sound (where he began his recording career in 1977), Robillard employs brass on the majority of these rocking blues tracks. In fact, both saxist Doug James and trombone player Carl Querfurth (who play on this album) are Roomful alumni, as is pianist Matt McCabe. The horns are used more for embellishment, though, in contrast to Roomful, where they often define the sound. The opening mid-tempo swamp rock of "Down Home Country Girl" kicks things off in tough form with Robillard's gutsy singing fronting the powerful brass, but a short guitar solo fades out just as it builds up a head of steam. Robillard then branches out into classic R&B territory when he duets with Pam Tillis on a sweet and sassy version of "I'll Never Be Free," a tune made popular by Tennessee Ernie Ford, Dinah Washington, Louis Jordan, and others. Rollicking tracks such as "Real Live Wire," "How Long Has It Been" (a crackling vocal and guitar duet with Debbie Davies, returning the favor of Robillard producing her Love the Game album), and a rockabilly-flavored "Love Made a Liar of Me" keep the mood upbeat. The lounge/jazz swing of the title track (with sensual French spoken-word from Aimee Hill along with Robillard playing a guitar synth that sounds like a trumpet) and "Double X Daddy" brings the disc back to the Roomful days with swanky horn solos. "Deep Inside" hearkens back to classic blues/R&B that Robillard does so well. He adds a stinging, staccato, Albert King-styled solo that stabs through the song and is one of the album's finest leads. A percussion-heavy, Bo Diddley-ized version of James Wayne's "Travelin' Mood" closes out an album that shows a few different sides of Robillard, but stays closer to his blues and swing roots. He seems to be having a blast throughout, and even though his voice isn't as polished as his guitar skills, he puts across these songs with exuberance and class. It's another excellent entry to an already strong catalog that continues to improve with age. ~ Hal Horowitz https://www.allmusic.com/album/exalted-lover-mw0000324658

Personnel: Acoustic Guitar – Duke Robillard; Acoustic Bass – Jesse Williams , Marty Ballou; Baritone Saxophone – Doug James; Bass Guitar – Duke Robillard, Jesse Williams; Drums – Mark Teixeira; Electric Guitar – Debbie Davies, Duke Robillard; Guitar [Dobro] – Duke Robillard; Guitar Synthesizer [Roland] – Duke Robillard; Organ – Steve Burk; Piano – Matt McCabe, Steve Burk); Tenor Saxophone – Doug James , Sax Gordon; Trombone – Carl Querfurth; Trumpet – Scott Aruda; Vocals – Debbie Davies, Duke Robillard, Pam Tillis  

Exalted Lover

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The Headhunters - On Top - Live In Europe Disc 1, Disc 2

Album: On Top - Live In Europe Disc 1

Styles: Jazz Funk
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:15
Size: 145,9 MB
Art: Front

( 7:56)  1. 4 String Drive
(10:44)  2. Swamp Thing
( 9:56)  3. Sly
(11:51)  4. Watermelon Man
( 9:10)  5. Loft Funk
(13:35)  6. Butterfly

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Album: On Top - Live In Europe Disc 2

Time: 22:06

Size: 51,5 MB

(8:01)  1. Neckbones

(4:26)  2. 4 String Drive - Radio Edit

(1:22)  3. God Make Me Funky

(5:22)  4. Butterfly - Radio Mix

(2:53)  5. Shekere Elegua

It's been said that true funk can be imitated but never duplicated. But in the case of the Headhunters's 2 CD live recording On Top, the band named after Herbie Hancock's 1973 groundbreaking release, Head Hunters (Columbia) continues to uphold the groove. Master percussionist Bill Summers, one of the original members since the 1970s, has kept the essence of Hancock's music alive through various releases including 2003's Evolution Revolution (Basin Street Records). Recorded in Paris, France, this live document also includes another longtime band member Mike Clark (drums) and newer members TM Stevens (bass), Mark Shim (saxophone), Jerry Z (keyboards), and saxophonist Donald Harrison on one track. The unrelenting performance engages an enthusiastic European audience in a wild party atmosphere (in contrast to typical U.S. jazz concerts); the music is a throwback to the sounds of James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone, and other funk progenitors. Heavy beats, thumping electric bass, iced keyboards, and intense solos are all part of the flow on tracks that include "Swamp Thing" and a most serious cover of "Sly" from Hancock's 1973 recording. Clark's drumming is superlative and Stevens's impressive bass work rivals the playing of three more renowned power bassists Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, and Victor Wooten's Thunder (Heads Up International, 2008). Jerry Z's groovy keyboarding and Shim's deep toned saxophone echoes the voices of Hancock's dazzling keys and Maupin's sinewy bass clarinet on earlier collaborations. Shim is of particular note, bringing not only Maceo Parker soulfulness but also avant-groove chops on "Loft Funk." Summers is like an African jazz/funk griot performing, engaging, and teaching where one of the highlights includes his famous bottle-whistling on the classic "Watermelon Man" as he instructs the audience on the melody's introduction. Another is the ever-smooth "Butterfly" featuring Donald Harrison's splendid horn. The second disk retreads a couple of radio-edit tracks but makes up for them with more live music and an eight minute bonus video of a performance in Bobigny, France. Fusion or jam band, old school or new school, for anyone else who digs da funk, this is the real deal.  ~ Mark F.Turner https://www.allaboutjazz.com/on-top-live-in-europe-headhunters-bhm-productions-review-by-mark-f-turner.php

Personnel: Mike Clark: drums; Mark Shim: saxophone; T.M. Stevens: bass, vocals; Bill Summers: percussion; Jerry Z: keyboards; Donald Harrison: saxophone.

On Top - Live In Europe Disc 1, Disc 2

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