Ralph Moore - Furthermore

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1990
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:04
Size: 113,7 MB
Art: Front

(7:59)  1. Hopscotch
(8:00)  2. Monk's Dream
(8:08)  3. 310 Blues
(5:56)  4. Phoebe's Samba
(6:57)  5. Girl Talk
(7:44)  6. Into Dawn
(4:17)  7. Line D

Tenor saxophonist Ralph Moore offers up a satisfying array of neo hard bop numbers on Furthermore which features some of the up and coming stars of the Wynton Marsalis retro trad jazz school, including trumpeter Roy Hargrove, pianist Benny Green, and bassist Peter Washington, as well as veteran drummers Kenny Washington (Peter's brother) and Victor Lewis. The CD opens with the thematically rich Moore original "Hopscotch" (reminiscent of Coltrane's "Moment's Notice") and works its way through Green's driving "Phoebe's Samba" and Hargrove's Wayne Shorter inspired mood piece "Into Dawn," with all three tunes providing prime vehicles for the innovative yet restrained soloing of these young players. Abetted by streamlined sound production, the urbane and cool mood of this recording crystallizes in Moore's sinuous tenor lines and mellifluous tone heard to great effect on his readings of Neal Hefti's pop gem "Girl's Talk" and his own "310 Blues." 

Moore and company leave the full-blown delivery of Ben Webster and Coltrane behind in favor of economical performances, and as was the case with many of the original hard bop albums, it takes its cues from Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Colossus and Lee Morgan's Sidewinder. Furthermore does not break the mold so much as provide a pleasurable listening experience of the highest order. A potential dinner party classic; subtle enough not to disturb the guests, but provocative enough to elicit comments.~ Stephen Cook https://www.allmusic.com/album/furthermore-mw0000309674

Personnel: Tenor Saxophone – Ralph Moore;  Trumpet – Roy Hargrove (tracks: 1,3,4,6);  Bass – Peter Washington;  Drums – Kenny Washington (tracks: 1,3,5), Victor Lewis (tracks: 2, 4, 6,7);  Piano – Benny Green

Furthermore

---

Norah Jones - Pick Me Up Off The Floor

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:30
Size: 105,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:42)  1. How I Weep
(3:21)  2. Flame Twin
(3:26)  3. Hurts To Be Alone
(4:12)  4. Heartbroken, Day After
(4:58)  5. Say No More
(2:38)  6. This Life
(4:28)  7. To Live
(4:16)  8. I'm Alive
(5:16)  9. Were You Watching?
(3:53) 10. Stumble On My Way
(4:16) 11. Heaven Above

Once she came to the end of the promotional cycle for 2016's Day Breaks, Norah Jones decided to challenge herself by recording a series of swift sessions with a rotating cast of collaborators. The intention was to release the results quickly, issuing them as a digital single at a time, and Jones followed through on this plan, releasing a new song every few months throughout 2018. These tunes were rounded up on 2019's Begin Again, but that wasn't the end of the project. Jones cut a number of songs during these sessions that were unreleased but not forgotten by the singer/songwriter. She kept listening to the rough mixes, eventually coming to the conclusion that these tracks would make a strong album of their own accord. Pick Me Up Off the Floor proves her instincts were correct. Lacking the purposeful digressions of Begin Again an album where the digressions were the entire point Pick Me Up Off the Floor is a tighter affair than its companion record, firmly rooted in the after-hours jazz-folk-pop hybrid that's Jones' calling card. Some of the cohesion may be due to how a good chunk of the album is anchored by her standby drummer Brian Blade, but it's also true that this record's collaboration with Jeff Tweedy is the amiably rambling "I'm Alive," a number that is firmly stationed within Jones' wheelhouse. The same could be said about Pick Me Up Off the Floor in general. There are accents and flourishes that distinguish the tunes "Flame Twin" is charged by curlicues of guitars and smears of organ, "To Live" is graced by muted horns straight out of the Big Easy but as a collection of songs, Pick Me Up Off the Floor winds up emphasizing how Jones slyly and elegantly synthesizes a pop sensibility with a jazz execution, a fusion that is comforting yet relies on her idiosyncratic twists. This blend of warmth and invention is what's so appealing about Pick Me Up Off the Floor: the shape may seem familiar, but the construction of the songs and the inventiveness of the performance keeps it fresh and surprising even after the first listen.~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine https://www.allmusic.com/album/pick-me-up-off-the-floor-mw0003360325

Pick Me Up Off The Floor

---