Sonny Stitt - Deuces Wild

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1967
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 33:50
Size: 78,6 MB
Art: Front

(5:23)  1. Deuces Wild
(4:42)  2. My Foolish Heart
(4:16)  3. Blues Ahead
(4:00)  4. Sittin' in with Sitt
(6:19)  5. In the Bag
(3:17)  6. Me 'n' You
(5:50)  7. Pipin' the Blues

Originally released on Atlantic in 1967, this welcome reissue of an above-average sax/organ date finds Sonny Stitt in a familiar setting with familiar company. The organist is listed as Wilmer Mosby, but one listen makes clear that it's the great Don Patterson working the B-3 with his customary drive, taste, and imagination. (The pseudonym may have been necessary for contractual reasons.) The core trio is rounded out by drummer Billy James, a longtime collaborator with Patterson and Stitt, who supports with a supple, active style. The performances are concise, blues-based blowing numbers. What they lack in compositional refinement they make up for in energetic execution. The one exception is the flaccid reading of the ballad standard "My Foolish Heart." Saxophonist Robin Kenyatta's serpentine facility brings a progressive dimension to the tracks "In the Bag" and "Me 'n You." Stitt, in turn, responds with a slightly more outward-bound approach on these two Kenyatta originals, the second of which is, unfortunately, flawed by an abrupt edit near the end of Patterson's solo. The final track, "Pipin' the Blues," includes a jazz rarity...bagpipes. Sounding like an electric organ (Farfisa not Hammond), piper Rufus Harley's single-note lines fit right in with Stitt's blues groove. A whole album of soul-jazz bagpipes might wear thin, but as a one-off, Harley's performance here is more than mere novelty. ~ Jim Todd https://www.allmusic.com/album/deuces-wild-mw0000011960

Personnel: Sonny Stitt - alto saxophone, tenor saxophone; Robin Kenyatta - alto saxophone, soprano saxophone; Wilmer Mosby - organ; Billy James - drums; Rufus Harley - bagpipes

Deuces Wild

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Marlena Shaw - Love Is In Flight

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1988
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:32
Size: 84,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:07)  1. Before You Know It
(4:28)  2. I Want To Know
(4:27)  3. I'll Remember You
(4:18)  4. This Time
(4:04)  5. Love Is In Flight
(5:02)  6. Loving You
(5:46)  7. I Must Be In Love
(4:18)  8. With You

A charismatic and versatile jazz vocalist, Marlena Shaw's performances are marked by an artful blend of pop standards and straight-ahead jazz tunes. Her extroverted stage presence gives her an edge over other vocalists, and clearly, singing live before an audience is where she feels most comfortable. After her uncle Jimmy Burgess introduced her to the recordings of Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis, she caught the jazz bug and purchased records by Al Hibbler, a vocalist who had a big influence on her singing style. When she was ten she performed at Harlem's Apollo Theater, and despite the enthusiastic reception she received in front of one of the world's toughest audiences, her mother refused to let her go on the road with her uncle, a trumpet player. Shaw attended the State Teachers' College in Potsdam, New York, but later dropped out. For some time in 1963 she worked around New England with a trio led by Howard McGhee. By the mid-'60s she was performing regularly for audiences in the Catskills, Playboy Clubs, and other New York area venues. In 1966, she recorded "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" for Cadet Records, and the single sold very well for an unknown singer. The success of the single, a rare vocal version of the tune, prompted executives at Cadet to encourage her to record a whole album for the label in 1967. 

The diversity of styles, including blues, jazz, and pop standards, was reflected in the album's title, Out of Different Bags. Through her accountant, she was brought to the attention of bandleader Count Basie, and she ended up singing with the Basie band for four years.  In 1972, after leaving the Basie Orchestra, Shaw was the first female vocalist signed to Blue Note Records, and she toured for a while with the Sammy Davis, Jr. She recorded five albums and several singles for Blue Note, and critics likened her singing style to Dinah Washington and Sarah Vaughan. At her club shows, Shaw dazzled audiences with her intoxicating blend of straight-ahead jazz, soul, pop, and classic R&B, but her recordings also satisfied those fans of traditional jazz who had no prejudices about blues and R&B. In 2014, Blue Note Records (Europe) began reissuing her catalog titles, and in 2017 Akshin Alizadeh delivered two remixes of her signature "Woman of the Ghetto" track as a limited-edition single on Cold Busted. The recording was spun by Gilles Peterson and made club DJ playlists across Europe, Asia, and the United States. ~ Richard Skelly https://www.allmusic.com/artist/marlena-shaw-mn0000847756/biography

Love Is In Flight

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Larry Willis - How Do You Keep The Music Play

Styles: Piano Jazz 
Year: 1992
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:20
Size: 146,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:04)  1. Gloria's step
(7:33)  2. How do you keep the music playing
(6:23)  3. All of you
(7:33)  4. Northwest
(7:49)  5. Slick Rick
(7:29)  6. Missing you
(5:24)  7. Ezekial saw the wheel
(7:23)  8. Dance cadaverous
(8:36)  9. Alone together

Once identified with on-the-edge free music, keyboardist Larry Willis had a profitable flirtation with fusion in the '70s, then moved to hard bop in the '80s and '90s. Willis' playing has been frenetic, ambitious, and interesting, but during his jazz-rock and fusion days it was funky but greatly restrained and simplistic. A devotee of Herbie Hancock, Willis has found a good balance, with expertly constructed modal solos and also lyrical, relaxed statements. Willis graduated from the Manhattan School of Music in the early '60s, then played with Jackie McLean and Hugh Masekela. He recorded with Lee Morgan and McLean in the mid-'60s, and worked with Kai Winding and Stan Getz, as well as recording with Robin Kenyatta in 1969. Willis turned to synthesizer and electric piano in the '70s, doing sessions with Cannonball Adderley, Earl May, Joe Henderson, Richard "Groove" Holmes, and Masekela again. He joined Blood, Sweat & Tears in 1972, recorded with Alphonse Mouzon in both 1972 and 1973, and did dates as a leader and freelance session musician. Willis also recorded with Ryo Kawasaki and Sonny Fortune in the late '70s, and with David "Fathead" Newman and Carla Bley in the '80s. Willis toured and recorded with Nat Adderley in the '80s and joined Woody Shaw's quintet in 1986. He's done sessions as a leader for Groove Merchant, Steeplechase, Audioquest, Brunswick, and Mapleshade, among others, including Blue Fable and Offering on Highnote in 2007 and 2008, respectively. ~ Ron Wynn https://www.allmusic.com/artist/larry-willis-mn0000114935/biography

Personnel: Larry Willis – piano; David Williams – bass; Lewis Nash – drums

R.I.P.
Born: December 20, 1942

Died: September 29, 2019

How Do You Keep The Music Play

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Hal Singer - Blues and News

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1971
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:07
Size: 103,8 MB
Art: Front

(7:37)  1. It's My Thing
(4:38)  2. Lina
(8:38)  3. Malcolm X
(6:17)  4. Pour Stéphanie
(6:07)  5. Du Bois
(6:20)  6. Lina - Unissued
(5:27)  7. Blues For Hal

The other great Hal Singer album from his years on the French scene and a record that we'd say is even better than his legendary Paris Soul Food set! Although Singer is often most associated with an older style of swing-based jazz, he's working here in a loose, free mode that's got plenty of 70s soulful touches often funky at the best moments, but even more importantly openly rhythmic with a progressively soulful style that's really outta site! The group features Art Taylor on drums, plus an assortment of European players led by Siegried Kessler who plays some great piano and flute on the album, and also handled the arrangements. The album features Singer's wonderful tune "Malcolm X" the kind of a track that we'd rank right up there with some of the most righteous soul jazz groovers of the time. Other highlights include the modal "Pour Stephanie", the jagged "Blues For Hal", and the groovy "It's My Thing". CD also includes the bonus track "Lina".

Personnel: Hal Singer - tenor saxophone; Jacques Bolognesi - trombone;  Jean-Claude Andre - guitar; Siegfried Kessler - piano; Patrice Caratini - bass; Art Taylor - drums

Blues and News

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Sant Andreu Jazz Band, Joan Chamorro - Jazzing 9 Vol.1

Styles: Jazz, Big Band
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 77:52
Size: 181,0 MB
Art: Front

(5:24)  1. The Good Life
(2:39)  2. No Moon at All
(5:20)  3. Where or Where
(2:33)  4. Take It Like You Give It
(5:21)  5. Round Midnight
(4:26)  6. Donna Lee
(5:03)  7. I Could Write a Book
(6:08)  8. Sophisticated Lady
(6:40)  9. Insensatez
(4:19) 10. Sugar
(5:36) 11. Blue Gardenia
(3:46) 12. On the Sunny Side of the Street
(5:30) 13. Le Coiffeur
(5:07) 14. So What
(4:23) 15. Blues After Dark
(5:28) 16. Brighter Day

This new work, although it includes many vocal themes, also contains so many instrumental themes in which the increasingly numerous soloists of the orchestra have their opportunity to share their creativity, their ability to generate their own discourse, in a continuous evolution. https://santandreujazzband.bandcamp.com/album/jazzing-9-vol-1

Jazzing 9 Vol.1

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