Friday, April 3, 2020

Rick Braun - Crossroads

Styles: Trumpet Jazz 
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:48
Size: 107,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:22)  1. Around The Corner
(4:42)  2. Brazz Street
(4:50)  3. Crossroads
(4:26)  4. The Moment I Saw You
(4:42)  5. I Wish
(4:32)  6. Me And You
(5:11)  7. Family
(5:11)  8. Bahia
(3:54)  9. Come With Me
(4:53) 10. Versace On The Floor

One of contemporary jazz’s most popular artists, trumpeter Rick Braun has a sound built on a silken, lyrical horn voice, usually set over grooving rhythms. On Crossroads, he doesn’t stray too far from that formula, but he deploys it in a rich variety of contexts. A collection of stylistically varied originals and covers, Crossroads includes references to (and appearances by) Braun’s family and friends. Braun collaborated on several tracks with keyboardist Philippe Saisse, a longtime friend, and he composed the tune “Me and You” with another friend and frequent collaborator, guitarist Peter White. The laid-back ballad reflects the pair’s genial bonhomie, with White’s guitar responses to Braun’s horn conveying the feeling of old friends chatting. Braun’s cover of Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish” is a joyous, funky jam featuring yet another longtime friend, saxophonist Richard Elliot, who teams with Braun to form a rollicking horn section.

Braun composed the irresistibly catchy “Around the Corner” for his daughter to dance to, and his 17-year-old son plays the keyboard intro to his gentle, lyrical cover of Bruno Mars’ “Versace on the Floor.” The Americana-esque “Family” was partly inspired by Braun’s grandparents, who were both musical. When composing the piece, Braun drew upon his memories of the music they used to play, and he performs the plaintively lovely melody with palpable emotion. The vibe is evocative of wide-open spaces, the melody underpinned by a chugging rhythm suggestive of train wheels. While not really jazz (or contemporary jazz), it’s an intriguing musical direction that well suits Braun’s sound and style. https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/rick-braun-crossroads-shanachie/

Crossroads

Bucky Pizzarelli - Green Guitar Blues / Café Pierre Trio

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 75:00
Size: 174,6 MB
Art: Front

(2:14)  1. Tangerine
(2:39)  2. What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?
(3:13)  3. Medley: Breakfast at Tiffany's / Dreamsville
(2:21)  4. Bizarre
(2:03)  5. The Summer Knows
(3:32)  6. Green Guitar Blues
(2:11)  7. I Don't Know How to Love Him
(3:28)  8. Satin Doll
(3:16)  9. Medley: Cry Me a River / Girl Talk
(3:55) 10. Medley: Adelita / Prelude #4
(1:56) 11. Chicken a La Swing
(2:16) 12. Goodbye
(4:52) 13. Cherokee
(5:33) 14. Invitation
(5:36) 15. Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me
(5:51) 16. Medley: Isn't It Romantic? / Penthouse Serenade / East of the Sun / What Is There to Say?
(3:28) 17. Nola
(4:52) 18. Blues Chromatique
(4:48) 19. Indiana
(4:05) 20. Isfahan
(2:43) 21. My Ship

For more than six decades, the legendary Bucky Pizzarelli has had a stellar career. “The complete jazz musician”, he was a fixture in jazz and the studios since the early ‘50s. The list of big bands and vocalists with whom Bucky has performed and recorded reads like a veritable Who's Who of Jazz. One of the era's most solid rhythm players, Pizzarelli was in high demand, playing and touring with Benny Goodman, Zoot Sims, Bud Freeman, and Stephane Grappelli, and, later, recording with George Van Eps, Carl Kress and George Barnes. His superior mastery of the seven-string guitar is unparalleled. The beloved guitarist has developed a very personal style that sets him apart. He lives in Saddle River, New Jersey, with his wife, Ruth. https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/buckypizzarelli

R.I.P.
Died: April 1, 2020
Born: January 9, 1926

Green Guitar Blues / Café Pierre Trio