Dick Hyman - Blues In The Night: Dick Hyman Plays Harold Arlen

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1990
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:27
Size: 129,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:48)  1. As Long As I Live
(4:38)  2. Ill Wind
(2:43)  3. Get Happy
(3:46)  4. Right As The Rain
(4:53)  5. Over the Rainbow
(3:22)  6. I've Got the World On A String
(4:39)  7. Blues in The Night
(3:14)  8. You Said It
(4:27)  9. Stormy Weather
(4:41) 10. Between the Devil and The Deep Blue Sea
(2:26) 11. In Your Own Quiet Way
(4:48) 12. A Woman's Prerogative
(4:13) 13. A Sleepin' Bee
(3:43) 14. It's Only A Paper Moon

This CD is very much a piano recital, as Dick Hyman (on a set of unaccompanied solos) demonstrates his love for Harold Arlen's music. Nine of the fourteen selections that Hyman chose to record are very well-known, three are somewhat obscure and two are somewhere in between. The accent is on Art Tatum's style during some of the songs, along with a few snatches of Teddy Wilson's relaxed stride. Hyman reproduces the ease with which Tatum threw out impossible-to-play virtuosic runs, and (even more impressive) he hints constantly at Art's advanced harmonies without doing strict imitations. He gives a few of the songs unusual twists ("Stormy Weather" becomes a waltz, "Over the Rainbow" has a bossa nova rhythm, the last part of "A Woman's Prerogative" is played in two keys at once, etc.) but the melodies are never far away. Hyman also takes his first real vocal on record, doing a nice job on the lyrics of "In Your Own Quiet Way" with his obviously untrained voice. A fine outing. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/dick-hyman-plays-harold-arlen-blues-in-the-night-mw0000203992

Personnel: Dick Hyman - Piano.

Blues In The Night: Dick Hyman Plays Harold Arlen

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Lorez Alexandria - Lorez Sings Prez: A Tribute to Lester Young

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 31:23
Size: 73,3 MB
Art: Front

(0:33)  1. Introduction
(2:24)  2. Fine And Dandy
(3:31)  3. Fooling Myself
(2:58)  4. D.B. Blues
(1:57)  5. You’re Driving Me Crazy (What Did I Do)
(3:21)  6. Easy Living
(3:00)  7. Polka Dots And Moonbeams
(3:45)  8. No Eyes Blues
(2:30)  9. This Year’s Kisses
(2:31) 10. There Will Never Be Another You
(4:47) 11. Jumpin’ With Symphony Sid

Lorez Alexandria was a superb singer in the Sarah Vaughan tradition. Alexandria recorded more than 20 albums over a 36-year period starting in 1957. Why she isn't a household name today is beyond me. Perhaps it was the smaller labels she was on or her decision to cling to Chicago, a lesser media market, for much of her career. Or maybe one Sarah Vaughan was sufficient. There are no bad Alexandria albums. All have a hip, confident charm.  One of my favorites is her second album, Lorez Sings Pres: A Tribute to Lester Young. Recorded after hours for King in front of an audience of friends at an unnamed Chicago club on November 6 and 13, Alexandria was accompanied by Paul Serrano (tp), Cy Touff (b-tp), Charles Stepney (vib), King Fleming (p), Eldee Young (b) and Vernell Fournier (d). Each of the Chicago players had a celebrated career. Drummer Fournier was a member of the Ahmad Jamal Trio and one of the great brush players. Cy Touff was an exceptional bass trumpeter who recorded many terrific albums as a leader. Paul Serrano shifted from trumpet to record engineering and worked with major jazz, rock, soul and gospel artists, including Michael Jackson and Mick Jagger. He eventually became head engineer at Delmark Records. Stepney would work as a producer for numerous soul artists in the 1960s and '70s. Fleming worked steadily in Chicago throughout the 1960s and beyond. And Eldee Young was a member of the Ramsey Lewis Trio, before leaving the group in the mid-1960s to become the Young in Young Holt Unlimited (Soulful Strut). [Photo above of Vernell Fournier on drums with the Ahmad Jamal Trio]. As the liner notes on the back cover of Lorez Sings Pres points out, all of the songs chosen were recorded by Lester "Pres" Young. Alexandria here proves she had an in-depth feel for Young without succumbing to mimicry. For her, the Young material was simply a springboard to be herself. Interestingly, this album preceds Sarah Vaughan's After Hours at the London House by four months. Makes you wonder whether Lorez's album gave Mercury the idea to record Sassy live in a Chicago club filled with friends. ~ Marc Myers https://www.jazzwax.com/2019/05/lorez-alexandria-sings-pres.html

Lorez Sings Prez: A Tribute to Lester Young

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Joey Calderazzo - Our Standards

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:47
Size: 122,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:45)  1. Prenatal Air
(1:05)  2. Where Is My Duck?
(7:01)  3. Footprints
(5:28)  4. Our Standards
(9:45)  5. There Is No Greater Love
(3:03)  6. We Also Like Big Women
(9:20)  7. My Shinning Hour
(2:48)  8. Wake Up Call
(9:27)  9. Stella By Starlight

A potentially significant pianist playing in the modern mainstream, Joey Calderazzo's career got off to a strong start with a series of fine Blue Note albums. He studied classical piano from age eight, discovered jazz a few years later, and hit the big time when he joined Michael Brecker's band in 1987. He went on to record with Brecker, Bob Belden, Jerry Bergonzi, Rick Margitza, and Bob Mintzer. In addition to his own projects, Calderazzo replaced the late Kenny Kirkland in the Branford Marsalis Quartet. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/artist/joey-calderazzo-mn0000218185/biography

Personnel: Piano – Joey Calderazzo; Bass – Lars Danielsson; Drums – Jacek Kochan

Our Standards

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Walt Weiskopf - European Quartet Worldwide

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:03
Size: 120,6 MB
Art: Front

(5:45)  1. Entebbe
(5:36)  2. Back in Japan
(5:21)  3. Soultrane
(4:14)  4. Russian Roulette
(4:27)  5. Marcie by Moonlight
(4:50)  6. Back in Brazil
(4:44)  7. Oceans
(5:06)  8. The Pawnbroker
(6:48)  9. Scottish Folk Song
(5:08) 10. Coat of Arms

These days a lot of jazz records seem to require a musical concept or an idea that unites the compositions on the album, but it doesn't have to be so complicated. After a tour in January 2019 with his European Quartet, tenor saxophonist Walt Weiskopf went into a studio in Copenhagen with the band, and a few hours later the music on the album Worldwide was in the can. It sounds simple, but it also says something about the level of musical communication that goes on in the quartet. The ability to deliver on the spur of the moment doesn't come after a few days of playing together. The musicians have known each other for some time. Back in 2018, they released European Quartet on Orenda Records, and since then their sound has remained tight. Although Andreas Lang has replaced Daniel Franck on the bass, drummer Anders Mogensen and pianist Carl Winther remain from the original line-up, and they support Weiskopf congenially. Winther can be both romantic and rhythmically inventive, sometimes recalling the powerful elegance of McCoy Tyner, while Mogensen drives the music forward with a light but insistent touch that brings out all the colors in the cymbals. Weiskopf delivers the bulk of the material with eight original compositions, but one of the two covers shows where he is coming from. The reading of Tadd Dameron's "Soultrane" points to John Coltrane's influence and his presence is also felt on "Back in Japan," which draws on the saxophonist's late style. The compositions on the album come across as distinctive and varied, spanning the energetic hard bop vamp of "Coat of Arms" and the soft touch of bossa nova on "Back in Brazil." On the other hand, "Entebbe" sports a repetitive rhythmic piano motif reminiscent of Steve Reich. There is also a nod to the standards with the mid-tempo ballad "Marcie by Moonlight," a rewrite of "Stella by Starlight." With worldwide in the title, and references to Japan, Scotland, Russia, Africa and Brazil, there is in fact a vague geographical concept behind the album. However, it is just an excuse to play a varied repertoire. Worldwide is simply a great modern jazz album, nothing more, nothing less. ~ Jakob Baekgaard https://www.allaboutjazz.com/worldwide-walt-weiskopf-orenda-records-review-by-jakob-baekgaard.php

Personnel: Walt Weiskopf: tenor saxophone; Andreas Lang: bass; Carl Winther: piano; Anders Mogensen: drums.

European Quartet Worldwide

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