Harold Ashby Quartet - Harold Ashby Quartet

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:34
Size: 126,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:23)  1. Candy
(4:26)  2. Quickie
(5:02)  3. There Is No Greater Love
(3:59)  4. Dainty
(5:08)  5. Over the Rainbow
(4:31)  6. Pleading
(4:00)  7. Days of Wine and Roses
(3:49)  8. Cous Cous
(5:00)  9. There Is No Greater Love - Alt-Take 9
(4:04) 10. Days of Wine and Roses - Alt-Take 3
(6:19) 11. Pleading - Alt-Take 1
(3:47) 12. Dainty - Alt-Take 1

An excellent Ben Webster-inspired tenor saxophonist, Harold Ashby fit right in during his period with Duke Ellington. He had played in Kansas City (starting in 1946) and, in the early '50s, in Chicago. While most of his previous work was in R&B and blues bands, he was always a fine swing-based improviser. In 1957, Ashby moved to New York, met Ben Webster, and through the elder tenor was introduced to Duke Ellington. During the next decade he was on the periphery of Duke's world, playing with Mercer Ellington's short-lived band, recording with Ellington stars, and appearing in Duke's My People show. Ashby was more than ready when he joined Ellington in 1968, and he was a major asset to the band up until the leader's death. Ashby continued with Mercer Ellington into 1975, gigged with Benny Goodman and Sy Oliver, and performed often in Europe and led occasional record dates, including 1991's What Am I Here For? and 1999's Just For You, thus keeping the Ellington swing tenor legacy alive. After suffering a heart attack in May of 2003, Harold Ashby was hospitalized in his adopted home of New York. He passed away June 13, 2003 at the age of 78. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/artist/harold-ashby-mn0000667414/biography

Personnel: Harold Ashby (ts); Don Friedman (p); George Mraz (b); Ronnie Bedford (d)

Harold Ashby Quartet

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Marilena Paradisi - I'll Never Be the Same

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:08
Size: 124,0 MB
Art: Front

(5:29)  1. You're My Thrill
(4:14)  2. You Won't Forget Me
(4:02)  3. Slow Hot Wind
(4:07)  4. Too Late Now
(4:41)  5. Laura
(6:40)  6. Detour Ahead
(3:30)  7. If You Go
(5:42)  8. Where Are the Words
(6:34)  9. A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing
(6:15) 10. All Night Long
(2:51) 11. It's All Right With Me

This seems to be singer Marilena Paradisi's debut recording as a leader, though there are no liner notes to provide any background about her career. Accompanied by an excellent rhythm section, which includes pianist Paolo Tombolesi, bassist Piero Leveratto, and drummer Eliot Zigmund (a veteran of pianist Bill Evans' trio), Paradisi contributed all of the arrangements for her rather interesting program. She captures the sassy, self-confident mood of the girl unjustly abandoned in "You Won't Forget Me," while she shines in the bossa nova setting of "Laura." Her wordless introduction to "Detour Ahead" is beautifully mirrored by Tombolesi. But Paradisi especially excels in her two duets: the tasty "If You Go" with Leveratto and the strutting rendition of "It's All Right With Me" with Zigmund (though his drums are a bit too prominent in the mix). Paradisi's enunciation could use some work in a few places, but this delightful singer is well worth checking out. ~ Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/ill-never-be-the-same-mw0000595520

I'll Never Be the Same

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Regina Carter - Motor City Moments

Styles: Violin Jazz
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:48
Size: 116,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:17)  1. Don't Git Sassy
(6:17)  2. Don't Mess With Mr. T
(5:53)  3. For Someone I Love
(3:48)  4. Forever February
(6:56)  5. Higher Ground
(6:24)  6. Love Theme From Spartacus
(3:47)  7. Prey Loot
(4:56)  8. Fukai Aijo
(3:50)  9. Chattanooga Choo Choo
(3:36) 10. Up South

Two years after her stunning debut on Verve, violinist Regina Carter offers listeners her exceptional string virtuosity on ten great songs inspired by her hometown of Detroit, Michigan. Motor City Moments features a stellar collection of songs written by some of the best musicians from Detroit including Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Thad Jones, and Milt Jackson. Regina Carter applies her pure skill, pizzicato, and arco passages to "Don't Mess With Mr. T" and "Higher Ground" with impeccable tuning and multiple approaches. Her string virtuosity on Milt Jackson's "For Someone I Love," is a masterful performance backed adeptly by Mayra Casales on percussion and spotlights a brilliant piano solo by Werner "Vana" Gierig. Two originals, "Forever February" and "Up South," which was co-written with guitarist Russell Malone, provide an interesting contrast of the artist's use of reflective temperament and folk-ornamented cadences. Each song also emphasizes Carter's adept techniques with melodic phrasing and song forms. Accompanied by her touring band of Darryl Hall on bass, Alvester Garnett on drums, percussionist Mayra Casales, Marcus Belgrave on trumpet and flugelhorn, James Carter on bass clarinet and tenor sax, Barry Harris on piano, Lewis Nash, as well as several special guests, Regina Carter has rapidly become one of the most exciting and original violinists to arrive on the jazz scene. ~ Paula Edelstein https://www.allmusic.com/album/motor-city-moments-mw0000672434

Personnel: Regina Carter - violin; Marcus Belgrave -trumpet; James Carter - tenor saxophone, bass clarinet; Werner "Vana" Gierig - piano; Darryl Hall - bass; Alvester Garnett - drums; Barry Harris - piano; Russell Malone - guitar; Lewis Nash - drums.

Motor City Moments

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Adam Birnbaum Trio - Ballade Pour Adeline

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:57
Size: 145,8 MB
Art: Front

(7:05)  1. Nostalgy
(6:39)  2. Ballade Pour Adeline
(6:03)  3. So in love
(6:50)  4. The Way We Were
(5:23)  5. Nocturne No. 2, Op. 9: II
(6:20)  6. Besame Mucho
(6:58)  7. Serenade de l'Etoile
(5:54)  8. Travels
(6:16)  9. Tara's Theme (Movie "Gone With The Wind")
(5:25) 10. Kitano Blues

Adam Birnbaum is emerging as one of the top young voices in jazz piano. Since receiving a graduate Artist’s Diploma in jazz studies from The Julliard School in 2003, he has become a presence on the New York City scene as a leader and sideman, performing in such venues as the Village Vanguard, the Blue Note, Birdland, the Jazz Standard and Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola. He has also performed on many national and world stages, including the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, the Kennedy Center, the Montreal Jazz Festival, The Spoleto Festival, The Red Sea Jazz Festival, The Rockport Chamber Festival, NPR Jazz Christmas, and the Capetown Jazz Festival. As a leader, Birnbaum has released four albums under his name in Japan and the U.S. His first release, Ballade Pour Adeline, received a Gold Disk award from As a leader, Birnbaum has released four albums under his name in Japan and the U.S. His first release, Ballade Pour Adeline, received a Gold Disk award from Swing Journal as one of the top albums of 2006. Adam’s U.S. debut Travels, released in 2009 under the Smalls record label, received enthusiastic reviews in Allmusic.com, All About Jazz and JazzTimes. Birnbaum’s recent release Three of A Mind, featuring bassist Doug Weiss and drummer Al Foster, was hailed as “an eloquent dispatch from the heart of the contemporary piano trio tradition” by the New York Times, and received an Editor’s Pick and four star review in Downbeat magazine. As a sideman, Birnbaum’s wide-ranging versatility and artistry have made him a first call for a wide variety of ensembles. He has performed or toured with established jazz artists such as Al Foster, Greg Osby, Regina Carter, The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, and Jazz at Lincoln Center with Wynton Marsalis, as well as with young artists such as Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society and Cecile Mclorin Salvant. Birnbaum has appeared as a sideman more than 25 albums. Birnbaum is also recognized as a composer and arranger. Allmusic.com reviewer Ken Dryden said “Birnbaum’s compositions prove immediately infectious, each with a hook that draws the listener along for the ride. “A review of Travels in JazzTimes praised the album’s “stellar originals.” In 2009 Birnbaum premiered Dream Songs, a trio suite based on the poetry of John Berryman. The work was commissioned by Chamber Music America. Since 2012 Birnbaum has worked with Chelsea Music Festival each year to arrange Bach, Debussy, Beethoven, etc, for his own trio featuring strings and other guests musicians. Born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, Birnbaum studied at the New England Conservatory of Music before moving to New York City in 2001, one of two pianists selected to participate in the Julliard School’s inaugural jazz studies program. In 2004 he won the American Jazz Piano Competition and became the American Pianists Association's Cole Porter fellow in Jazz. That same year, he became the first jazz pianist to present a recital at the prestigious Gilmore Rising Stars Recital Series. In 2006, he received the first-ever "special mention" prize at the Martial Solal Jazz Piano Competition in Paris. He has toured West Africa and Asia sponsored by Jazz at Lincoln Center and the U.S. State Department. Adam has studied with Danilo Perez, Kenny Barron, and Fred Hersch. Adam Birnbaum is currently an Assistant Professor of Jazz at SUNY Purchase. He is also a Steinway Artist. http://www.adambirnbaum.com/bio

Ballade Pour Adeline

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Keiko Matsui - Echo

Styles: Piano Jazz 
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:47
Size: 102,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:36)  1. Unshakeable
(4:14)  2. Moon Over Gotham
(4:15)  3. Echo (feat. Marcus Miller)
(5:53)  4. Esprit (feat. Kirk Whallum)
(3:51)  5. Marlin Club Blues (feat. Robben Ford)
(4:17)  6. Invisible Rain
(4:57)  7. Spirit Dance (feat. Gretchen Parlato)
(3:11)  8. Now Is The Moment
(4:21)  9. Viva Life
(5:08) 10. Return To Eternity (feat. Kyle Eastwood)

If name-dropping were a crime, keyboardist Keiko Matsui would have a helluva time promoting Echo. The album features a string of well-known artists, including guitarist Robben Ford, saxophonist Kirk Whalum, vocalist Gretchen Parlato, bassists Marcus Miller and Kyle Eastwood, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, and percussionist Luis Conte. Suffice to say, Matsui never wants for good company here, and not just the household-name variety. Trumpeter/flugelhornist Wayne Bergeron, for example, scores high marks on a series of horn charts that enhance the album’s brassy vitality and soulful allure. Which brings us to keyboardist Randy Waldman. The chief architect behind eight of the album’s 10 arrangements, Waldman makes the most of the assembled talent by avoiding tacked-on solos and routine cameos. Matsui shows a similar flair for arranging on the Brazilian-tinged “Spirit Dance,” a sensuous, multi-layered showcase for Parlato’s lithe voice and a reminder of Matsui’s often overlooked stylistic reach. Of course, Echo resonates with spiritual themes and interludes, a Matsui trademark, as the focus shifts between electric and acoustic textures. Yet she and Waldman keep things moving, sometimes pitting horns against percussion during funk excursions, sometimes exuberantly accenting Latin polyrhythms. Guitarist Ford’s input on “Marlin Club Blues” is typical of the guest turns concise and expressive and the same goes for Miller’s sinuous bass turn on the album’s title track. ~ Mike Joice https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/keiko-matsui-echo-shanachie/

Personnel: Piano – Keiko Matsui; Alto Saxophone – Brandon Fields; Bass – Jimmy Johnson; Drums – Vinnie Colaiuta; Guitar – Paul Jackson Jr.; Keyboards, Programmed By [Programming] – Randy Waldman; Percussion – Luis Conte; Trombone – Nick Lane; Trumpet – Walt Fowler

Echo

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