Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Eli Degibri - Israeli Song

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:51
Size: 131,0 MB
Art: Front

(6:51)  1. Unrequited
(6:26)  2. Mr. R.C.
(5:23)  3. Judy the Dog
(5:46)  4. Jealous Eyes
(6:26)  5. Manic Depressive
(4:24)  6. Bebop
(3:51)  7. Liora
(4:18)  8. Look What You Do to Me
(4:19)  9. Third Plane
(4:21) 10. Somewhere over the Rainbow
(4:40) 11. Israeli Song

Saxophonist Eli Degibri's name may be the least familiar one on the cover of Israeli Song. His quartet mates on this superb disc are of the highest level; it would be hard to find higher profile or finer accompanists. With that lineup two legendary stars in drummer Al Foster and bassist Ron Carter and, in pianist Brad Mehldau, a newer huge talent who keeps gathering momentum it becomes a matter, for the leader, of holding his own. He does so with high energy, aplomb and originality, with both his playing and composing. Degibri penned six of the eleven tunes in the set, but the quartet kicks off with Mehldau's "Unrequited," offered originally on the pianist's Art of the Trio, Volume 3: Songs (Warner Brothers, 1998). Degibri, on soprano saxophone, gives the tune a yearning mood in front of Mehldau's adroit accompaniment and extraordinary solo, evolving from pensive sadness and peaking with anguish, before settling, perhaps, into wistful acceptance. Full of smooth flowing jauntiness, Degibri's "Mr. R.C." features the saxophonist on tenor. Another Degibri-penned gem, "Judy the Dog," rushes full speed ahead, with the leader's tenor sending out flurries of notes in a well-told story, beginning with a smolder and gathering into high flames. The saxophonist covers Dizzy Gillespie's classic "Bebop" in a duet with Foster. The pair seems to push each other into new territories two eloquent musicians arguing a point, batting ideas and back and forth, and coming to a tentative agreement in the end. "Manic Depressive," written by Degibri and Barak Mori, wends its way through the bluesy wee hours, on a tune that sounds like something Ben Webster would have dug into a delivery by the leader and his cohorts full of feeling and deep down soul. Foster and Carter each contribute a tune to the set: the drummer's funky and upbeat "Look What You Do To Me," and bassist's quirky and tight-grooved "Third Plane," which gives the leader another chance to stretch out on tenor. Degibri explores the ever-familiar "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," played straight in simple, beautiful glory, with just a hard-blowing tenor horn and Carter's big, solid bass lines. Degibri then wraps things up with the title tune, an inward piece featuring the leader's tenor and Meldau's lovely, near-classical piano explorations. Degibri, with four previous CDs as a leader to his name, has crafted his breakout set with Israeli Song. ~ Dan McClenaghan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/israeli-song-eli-degibri-anzic-records-review-by-dan-mcclenaghan.php

Personnel: Eli Degibri: tenor and soprano saxophones; Brad Mehldau: piano; Ron Carter: bass; Al Foster: drums.

Israeli Song

The Dutch Swing College Band - Singles Collection Volume II (1948-1955)

Styles: Jazz, Big Band
Year: 1990
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:23
Size: 117,5 MB
Art: Front

(2:58)  1. King Porter Stomp
(3:11)  2. Dutch Swing College Blues
(2:49)  3. Original Dixieland One-Step
(2:43)  4. Absent Minded Blues
(3:04)  5. 1919 Rag
(2:33)  6. Boogietrap
(3:08)  7. Freeze An' Melt
(3:06)  8. Mabel's Dream
(3:09)  9. Buddy's Habits
(3:07) 10. Buddy Bolden Blues
(3:04) 11. Them There Eyes
(2:51) 12. Cake Walkin' Babies Back Home
(2:59) 13. See See Rider
(3:08) 14. Weary Blues
(3:06) 15. Apex Blues
(2:49) 16. Jazz Me Blues
(2:36) 17. Canal Street Blues

The Dutch Swing College Band has endured numerous personnel changes in its more than fifty-year history as one of the Netherlands' top jazz ensembles. Although no members remain from the original group, the latest lineup continues to honor the tradition-rooted approach of the founders. Bob Kaper (1939- ) replaced clarinet player Peter Schilperoort during an illness in 1966, and remained with the band; he has led the Dutch Swing College Band since Schilperoort's death in 1990. The fourth leader in the group's history, Kaper succeeds Frans Vink, Jr. (1945-46), Joop Schrier (1955-60), and Schilperoort (1946-55; 1960-1990). 

Kaper previously led the Beale Street Seven, a group he founded in 1957. An amateur group from 1945 until turning professional in 1960, the Dutch Swing College Band reached their early peak in the late '40s, when they were tapped to accompany such jazz musicians as Sidney Bechet, Joe Venuti, and Teddy Wilson. The New Melbourne Jazz Band recorded an album, A Tribute to the Dutch Swing College Band, featuring music associated with the Holland-based group. ~ Craig Harris https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dutch-swing-college-band-mn0000130996/biography

Singles Collection Volume II  (1948-1955)

Don Grusin - Laguna Cove

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:39
Size: 99,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:56)  1. Laguna Cove
(3:50)  2. No Tanlines
(4:16)  3. Sunburn
(4:05)  4. Sunset @ Peggy's
(4:05)  5. Cats of Carlsbad
(4:36)  6. Heartbeat
(3:44)  7. Kickin' Back
(5:06)  8. Odalisque
(4:09)  9. Naked Truth
(4:47) 10. Crazy

Contemporary Jazz and World music with classic melodies and deep harmonies soaring over grooves that feel good, all supported by strong acoustic piano playing. This project was recorded in Laguna Beach at Award Records by Mike Hatcher and all my guys came down from Los Angeles to play the spirit of the Laguna Beach air, water, hills, sunsets... These players brought their hearts and musical depth to the party:
https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/dongrusinmusic2

Personnel: Gerald Albright - Sax, Sal Marquez - Trumpet, Walfredo Reyes Jr - Drums, Guitarist Wayne Johnson, and Bassist Armand Sabal-Lecco.

Laguna Cove

Vivian Buczek, Norrbotten Big Band - A Womans's Voice

Styles: Vocal, Big Band
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:11
Size: 147,6 MB
Art: Front

( 8:56)  1. Throw It Away
( 9:20)  2. Infant Eyes
( 6:54)  3. Lighthouse
( 7:00)  4. Imorron (Estate)
(11:33)  5. Tales
( 6:13)  6. Here's to Life
( 7:53)  7. Yesterdays
( 6:20)  8. I Think It's Gonna Rain Today

An ambitious project from Sweden: vocalist Vivian Buczek joining forces with the Norrbotten Big Band using song to illustrate life from a woman's perspective. Buczek says: "It's about taking the step from a girl to a woman, looking back in time and then to the future, finding my place in the world and daring to go my own way."  With this album she celebrates some of her main sources of inspiration, artists who have made a lasting impression over the years: Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Abbey Lincoln, Carmen McRae, Wayne Shorter, Sarah Vaughan, Shirley Horn and Sweden's own Monica Zetterlund. She starts with Abbey Lincoln's "Throw it Away," a defiant "no regrets" anthem with a solid, catchy melody, about a woman rummaging through her belongings and trying to make sense of her life. It was by penning such songs that Lincoln celebrated her release from the marital clutches of Max Roach. "Infant Eyes" switches the mood, joyfully celebrating maternity, with lyrics by Jean Carm added to a tune by Wayne Shorter, which amply demonstrates the saxophonist's gift for melody. Buczek draws on her considerable scatting abilities to get the song going, and the big band kicks it into touch with a powerful but sympathetic accompaniment. Next up, "Lighthouse" examines the course of true love from an adult perspective. The imagery is a trifle forced, at times downright pedantic, but its heart is in the right place. "I Morron (Tomorrow)" is about longing for a new start with a new day. It contradicts the nostalgia of Jerome Kern's "Yesterdays" which crops up two numbers further on. "Tales," about an innocent abroad, is musically reminiscent of that awful old chestnut "Nature Boy" and contains some strained imagery concerning "the trenches of your mind." With "Here's to Life" Buczek pays tribute to the late, great Shirley Horn who made the song her own. The closing number, Randy Newman's lachrymose little masterpiece "I Think It's Gonna Rain Today" is unsuited to its big band arrangement. With this Buczek alas! goes out with a rather sad and messy whimper, which is a shame because much of what went before was very good indeed. ~ Chris Mosey https://www.allaboutjazz.com/a-womans-voice-vivian-buczek-prophone-records-review-by-chris-mosey.php

Personnel: Bo Strandberg: trumpet; Jacek Onuszkiewicz, Magnus Ekholm, Dan Johansson: trumpet, flugelhorn; Hakan Broström, Janne Thelin, Mats Garberg, Robert Nordmark, Per Moberg: reeds; Michal Tomaszczyk, Anders Larsson, Christine Carlsson: trombone; Martin Sjöstedt: piano, Fender Rhodes; Petter Olofsson: bass; Johan Löfcrantz Ramsay: drums.

A Womans´s Voice