Peter & Will Anderson Trio - Reed Reflections

Styles: Saxophone And Clarinet Jazz 
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:31
Size: 114,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:06)  1. Begin the Beguine
(3:51)  2. My Heart Stood Still
(3:31)  3. Willow Weep for Me
(3:18)  4. Cherokee
(4:59)  5. Yesterdays
(3:08)  6. It's All Right With Me
(3:38)  7. Tea for Two
(3:57)  8. In a Sentimental Mood
(4:42)  9. Bud On Bach
(6:34) 10. Reed Reflections
(3:22) 11. Bye-Ya
(4:22) 12. What Is This Thing Called Love

There’s only one way to fully appreciate the new jazz album by the Bethesda-bred, Juilliard-trained Anderson twins, Peter and Will, and guitarist Alex Wintz: Keep it spinning. Listen to “Reed Reflections” three times: First, to hear the Andersons’ saxophones and clarinets elegantly converge, converse and engage in delightful counterpoint; second, to focus on Wintz’s resonating chordal propulsion and crisp, single-note interludes; and, finally, to hear the arrangements in full, imaginatively unfolding in ways that consistently bring a fresh perspective to such classic pop and jazz tunes as “Cherokee,” “Willow Weep for Me” and “In a Sentimental Mood.” Wonderfully evocative tributes to Thelonious Monk (“Bye-Ya”) and Bud Powell (“Bud on Bach”) offer more reasons to stay tuned. Even then, anyone with a taste for swing, bop and chamber jazz will want to come back for more. The Andersons earned reams of praise for their 2013 debut album, “Correspondence,” which featured pianist Kenny Barron and other well-known artists, but the streamlined “Reed Reflections” is no less impressive. In Wintz, the siblings have a collaborator who can offer pianistic touches as well as evoke the sound of legendary and contemporary jazz guitar masters, from Charlie Christian to Martin Taylor. As a result, the arrangements, which often feature the reeds trading places, have more texture and color than you might expect. And if some of the subdued performances strike particularly soulful notes, the shifting tempos ensure that the trio’s ability to swing effortlessly is never overshadowed for long. ~ Mike Joyce https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/music/anderson-trio-album-review-reed-reflections/2014/05/22/585d65f2-dc62-11e3-8009-71de85b9c527_story.html

Personnel: Peter Anderson, Tenor Saxophone and Clarinet; Will Anderson, Alto Saxophone and Clarinet; Alex Wintz, Guitar

Reed Reflections

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Anna Kolchina - Wild Is The Wind

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:07
Size: 120,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:50)  1. Wild Is The Wind
(5:28)  2. So In Love
(3:30)  3. You Do Somethings To Me
(3:57)  4. Don't Worry 'bout Me
(3:39)  5. You Won't Forget Me
(4:19)  6. Don't Look Back
(4:59)  7. Exactly Like You
(2:09)  8. I Never Told You
(2:55)  9. With A Song In My Heart
(3:18) 10. It Never Was You
(2:52) 11. A Fine Romance
(2:40) 12. You Can Have Him
(3:25) 13. Day By Day
(4:00) 14. A Sinner Kissed An Angel

Anna Kolchina's debut Wild is the Wind is a masterclass in ensemble performance. Backed by pianist John di Martino, bassist Peter Washington, and drummer Willie Jones, Kolchina is more an equal quartet member than a singer backed by a trio. This is experienced immediately on the title piece, where Kolchina's delicately-played voice peeks out from behind Washington's gentle bass playing as it directs the remainder of the arrangement. It is a stunningly organic musical effect that increases the intimacy of the performance greatly. This approach characterizes the remaining tunes, all "standards" to one degree or another. The engineering captures the music three-dimensionally, where the listener can almost walk among the musicians as they perform.  Another element to note about this recording is its programing. The album is made up of 14 love songs... all kinds of love songs. On one hand there is the tentative cynicism introducing "You Do Something To Me," and maturing in "So In Love," while a completely different love aspect is studied in the loss-lessening "Don't Look Back," "It Never Was You," and "You Can Have Him." In all the different settings, Kolchina uses her refined, yet street-smart voice to finely hone the song she is presenting. The totality of approach on Wild is the Wind makes it an event in itself. While Kolchina's voice is less than perfect, it is perfect in that her vocals betray a knowing and aware character not afraid to show its wounds in its vulnerability, while telegraphing a warning to the listener that it has been all places and knows all things. ~ C.Michael Bailey https://www.allaboutjazz.com/wild-is-the-wind-anna-kolchina-venus-records-review-by-c-michael-bailey.php

Personnel: Anna Kolchina #1: Vocals; John Di Martino #2: Piano; Peter Washington #3: Bass; Willie Jones #4: Drums.

Wild Is The Wind

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Bill Frisell - Blues Dream

Styles: Guitar Jazz 
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:39
Size: 142,2 MB
Art: Front

(2:31)  1. Blues Dream
(6:45)  2. Ron Carter
(3:20)  3. Pretty Flowers Were Made for Blooming
(1:38)  4. Pretty Stars Were Made to Shine
(5:19)  5. Where Do We Go ?
(1:34)  6. Like Dreamers Do (Pt. One)
(2:36)  7. Like Dreamers Do (Pt. Two)
(4:18)  8. Outlaws
(7:03)  9. What Do We Do?
(0:48) 10. Episode
(2:39) 11. Soul Merchant
(6:14) 12. Greg Leisz
(2:26) 13. The Tractor
(1:30) 14. Fifty Years
(3:08) 15. Slow Dance
(4:46) 16. Things Will Never Be the Same
(3:04) 17. Dream On
(1:51) 18. Blues Dream (Reprise)

Blues Dream is another winsome album by Bill Frisell. On this Walker Arts Center-commissioned program, the composer-guitarist amalgamates elements and players from past projects to reiterate his bucolic synthesis of American root musics. The two-guitar, three-horn septet gives Frisell great flexibility in his trademark evocations of regional and ethnic dialects. Soloists like trumpeter Ron Miles and guitarist Greg Leisz continue to be fine foils. Certainly, Blues Dream will reinforce the media consensus that Frisell is an American original. However, this is a strangely antiseptic album. The immaculate mix is partly responsible. While the engineering makes a marvel of the burnished horns and the beckoning twang of Leisz’s steel and resonator guitars, it takes much of the bite out of Frisell’s rawest sounds and suspends each instrument in its own isolated space, diffusing the band’s punch. This reinforces the languor of much of the program. Many of Frisell’s tunes are built on materials that hover somewhere between a riff and a theme-they tend to moan, gasp and wheeze more often than they shout and holler. Without exception, each of Frisell’s 18 tunes contributes to the album’s dreamlike synergy of sound and sensibility. Yet Blues Dream is not a compelling album. Shadowy, but benign shapes-a shroudlike willow tree, a bunting-draped bandstand and a distant moonlit cabin-dominate this dream. It’s a pat atmosphere only occasionally disrupted by a busy loop or a blast of distortion from Frisell, or a raucous horn statement (trombonist Curtis Fowlkes and alto saxophonist Billy Drewes round out the section). While one can easily slip into Blues Dream, but nobody’s going to bolt upright in a cold sweat after hearing it. https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/bill-frisell-blues-dream/

Personnel: Bill Frisell – guitars; Greg Leisz – steel guitar, mandolin; Ron Miles – trumpet; Billy Drewes – alto sax; Curtis Fowlkes – trombone; David Piltch – bass; Kenny Wollesen – drums

Blues Dream

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Philly Joe Jones Dameronia - Look, Stop, and Listen

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:16
Size: 128,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:52)  1. Look, Stop and Listen
(5:34)  2. If You Could See Me Now
(5:30)  3. Choose Now
(5:49)  4. Focus
(6:08)  5. Killer Joe
(5:05)  6. Dial B for Beauty
(4:28)  7. Our Delight
(5:52)  8. Theme of No Repeat
(5:41)  9. If You Could See Me Now - 1st Take
(5:12) 10. Look, Stop and Listen - 1st Take

Philly Joe Jones was Tadd Dameron's roommate for nine years and long thought that the pianist/composer's contributions had been pretty much overlooked. He formed the tribute band Dameronia to make explore the late composer's music, debuting with a small group in the spring of 1982. With the help of trumpeter Don Sickler (who makes a pair of rare appearances on tenor sax as well) as musical director, the band expanded by the time of its first recording a few months later to a nonet. By the time of its second recording the following year, the personnel had changed slightly, now including pianist Walter Davis, Jr., tenor giant Johnny Griffin, tenor saxophonist Charles Davis and alto saxophonist Frank Wess (both of whom double on flute), baritone saxophonist Cecil Payne, trombonist Benny Powell, trumpeter Virgil Jones, and bassist Larry Ridley. Sickler's transcriptions of Dameron's arrangements reveal the depth of his music. "Look, Stop and Listen" is a showcase for the leader, while Griffin shines in the richly textured ballad "If You Could See Me Now," backed by the lush flutes and brass. Wess' flighty alto and Powell's sassy trombone are featured in the rarely performed "Focus." Another gem is the infrequently heard "Dial B for Beauty," spotlighting Davis in a ballad setting instead of the driving hard bop often associated with him. The sole composition not by Dameron is a hard-charging take of "Killer Joe," again showcasing Griffin, who was invited as a guest for two songs initially but encouraged by the musicians to hang around and play on other tracks. Not satisfied with the original mix of the LP due to the dominant presence of the leader's drums (due to the fact that he refused to play in an isolation booth), original session engineer Rudy Van Gelder remixed the album, improving the sound and adding two alternate takes. Highly recommended. ~Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/look-stop-and-listen-mw0001954564

Personnel: Philly Joe Jones – drums; Johnny Griffin - tenor saxophone; Don Sickler – trumpet, tenor saxophone, director; Virgil Jones – trumpet; Benny Powell – trombone; Frank Wess – alto saxophone, flute; Charles Davis – tenor saxophone, flute; Cecil Payne – baritone saxophone; Walter Davis Jr. – piano; Larry Ridley – double bass

Look, Stop, and Listen

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John Patitucci - Sketchbook

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 1990
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:23
Size: 137,4 MB
Art: Front

(6:00)  1. Spaceships
(4:52)  2. Joab
(5:23)  3. If You Don't Mind
(6:07)  4. Scophile
(5:28)  5. Greatest Gift
(5:04)  6. From A Rainy Night
(2:50)  7. Junk Man
(6:18)  8. Two Worlds
(3:18)  9. Backwoods
(4:11) 10. They Heard It Twice
(5:17) 11. 'Trane
(4:30) 12. Through The Clouds

Bass player John Patitucci is the musical equivalent of a Porsche: an incredibly fast, technically awesome machine capable of handling a variety of terrain with aplomb. Yet, as his opening set Wednesday night at Elario’s proved, a high-tech machine makes it easy to race through beautiful terrain without pausing to enjoy the scenery. Often, Patitucci didn’t leave sufficient space between his prodigious bursts on his six-string instrument to let the capacity crowd of 120 fully appreciate them. The 30-year-old Wunderkind , who made his initial mark with keyboardist Chick Corea’s Elektric Band, is appearing nightly through Sunday, with a crack band that includes former Weather Report drummer Alex Acuna, Steve Tavaglione on tenor sax and EWI (electronic wind instrument), and John Beasley on keyboards and synthesizer. The band proved to be the ideal setting for Patitucci and his unusual bass, which covers a range from deep, rumbling lows to highs that cross into guitar territory. With Beasley occasionally handling bass parts on synthesizer, Patitucci was free to roam his instrument’s broad neck, producing melodic inventions with amazing speed and fluidity. The group opened with “On the Corner” from Patitucci’s album by the same name, a fast-paced tune that resembles some of the 1980s music made by trumpeter Miles Davis. Patitucci has the snapping, popping funk sound down pat, and he alternated between anchoring the bottom and producing incredibly fast guitar-like lines. On the EWI, Tavaglione ranged from the wail of a soprano sax to a bluesy harmonica sound.The lazy-tempoed “Searching Finding” found Patitucci and Tavaglione doubling up on sections of catchy signature melody, with band members trading solos in between.“Peace and Quiet Time” provided some slower, romantic moments, with Tavaglione and Patitucci again doubling on the melody, this time with a moody, minor sound reminiscent of the Yellowjackets or Weather Report. Patitucci’s playing was especially delicate here. He used a combination of finger picking and wavering vibrato to produce a full sound well-suited to this ballad, as Acuna drove the tune with lightening flourishes on cymbals. The remainder of the set came mostly from Patitucci’s third album, “Sketchbook,” released this year. Tavaglione’s EWI shone on “Scophile,” opening the tune with deep-fathomed blasts that sounded like the sound track from a documentary on whales, proceeding to screaming, guitar-like licks on this tribute to guitarist John Scofield. As if his mastery of six-string bass isn’t enough, Patitucci hoisted an acoustic bass for the set’s last two tunes, going solo for the rhythmically driving “Backwoods,” joining the band again to close the set with “ ‘Trane.” On the larger, more cumbersome instrument, he didn’t lose a step. Unquestionably, Patitucci is the rising young lion of electric bass guitar, and you won’t find him in a tighter band than this one. But now that he has achieved phenomenal technical prowess, a little restraint would heighten the impact of his playing. With chops like his, there is no need for excessive engine revving. He needs to remember that it’s nice to mix high-speed joy rides with scenic Sunday drives. Patitucci continues at Elario’s through Sunday. Shows tonight and Saturday are at 9, 10:30 and midnight. Tickets are $7.50. On Sunday, shows are at 8:30 and 10:30, and tickets are $5.~  DIRK SUTRO https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-12-07-me-6048-story.html

Personnel: Bass – John Patitucci;  Acoustic Guitar – Ricardo Silveira;  Drums – Vinnie Colaiuta; Percussion – Paulinho Da Costa; Piano – David Witham; Vocals – Dori Caymmi 

Sketchbook

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