Michael Weiss - Soul Journey

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:14
Size: 136,5 MB
Art: Front

(6:21) 1. Optimism
(6:56) 2. El Camino
(5:59) 3. Soul Journey
(6:59) 4. Orient Express
(7:07) 5. Atlantis
(7:14) 6. The Prophecy
(8:05) 7. The Cheshire Cat
(5:54) 8. La Ventana
(4:35) 9. Second Thoughts

Pianist Michael Weiss took home the Grand Prize in the 2000 BMI/Thelonious Monk Institute's Composition Competition for his song "El Camino," which is included on Soul Journey. This Latin-flavored mainstream beauty features three-horn harmonies and tasty soloing all around. "El Camino" is a sure winner, but the CD is full of other fine Weiss-composed songs: the upbeat opener, "Optimism"; the brooding title tune; and the brassy "Second Thoughts." The septet takes a very mainstream approach a three horn front line (trombone/trumpet/alto sax) and a standard jazz rhythm section, plus an additional percussionist. An Art Blakey approach, though with a smoother sound, harmony more in the forefront of the proceedings, and glowing unison blowing. Ryan Kisor stands out on trumpet solos with his buttery smooth tone.

It's the songs, though, that star on Soul Journey. And though Weiss doesn't call attention to himself as an instrumentalist, additional listens reveal a richness to his own solos, a smooth and understated eloquence. He tells stories when it's his turn: structured mini-songs beginning, middle, end slipped into the middle of the compositions. Another listen, and Steve Wilson's trombone solo on "La Ventana" sparkles. Then there's the very "jazzy" workout "The Cheshire Cat", where trumpeter Kisor sings a cool song before altoist Steve Wilson brings things back to a simmer. A standout effort by Michael Weiss and crew.~ Dan McClenaghan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/soul-journey-michael-weiss-sintra-records-review-by-dan-mcclenaghan.php

Personnel: Michael Weiss, piano, Fender Rhodes; Steve Wilson, alto sax; Ryan Kisor, trumpet, flugelhorn; Steve Davis, trombone; Paul Gill, bass; Joe Farnsworth, drums; Danile Sadownick, percussion

Soul Journey

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Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Just Coolin'

Styles: Jazz, Hard Bop
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:57
Size: 89,6 MB
Art: Front

(6:40) 1. Hipsippy Blues
(6:26) 2. Close Your Eyes
(6:22) 3. Jimerick
(4:43) 4. Quick Trick
(5:59) 5. M&M
(8:43) 6. Just Coolin'

This previously unreleased March 1959 studio session captures the Jazz Messengers in a period of transition. Benny Golson had departed; Wayne Shorter had not yet arrived. In the interim, the tenor chair was filled by Hank Mobley, who’d been a member of the original Messengers, appearing on their breakout albums At the Café Bohemia, Volumes 1 and 2, recorded in 1955 and released the following year. Jazz itself was also transitioning during this time; bebop had morphed into the funkier, more roots-driven hard bop (due in no small part to Art Blakey and the Messengers’ pioneering work), and the even rootsier Saturday night/Sunday morning amalgam that became known as soul-jazz was on the horizon (several musicians here, including Lee Morgan and Bobby Timmons, would be central in this development).

Appropriately, then, these six tracks half of them penned by Mobley are buoyed by a hip, streetsy swagger, striding along the nexus between hard bop and soul-jazz. Mobley, alternately beguiling and blues-drenched, sounds in places almost like a tenorized Lou Donaldson, his characteristic flashes of humor adding both spice and hipster irony to his lines; Morgan imbues his usual technical virtuosity with fiery emotionalism, as if to give a workshop in the ongoing bop/hard-bop evolution. Timmons’ solo work is slyly understated but punctuated with spiky jabs, scurries, and curlicues. Blakey may be a bit more restrained than usual, yet he remains determinedly in control, relentlessly inspiring (compelling?) the soloists to alter their mood or rhythmic approach or, sometimes, just ratchet things up to a higher level with a well-placed kick, cymbal fusillade, or press roll. Until now, the only extant documentation of this Messengers unit had been At the Jazz Corner of the World, recorded at Birdland by Alfred Lion a few weeks later. Although the “without-a-net” creative tension of a live performance is necessarily missing here, this is an invaluable opportunity to hear a short-lived but significant incarnation of one of jazz’s most fabled groups. ~ David Whiteis https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/art-blakey-the-jazz-messengers-just-coolin-blue-note/

Personnel: Bass – Jymie Merritt; Drums – Art Blakey; Piano – Bobby Timmons; Tenor Saxophone – Hank Mobley; Trumpet – Lee Morgan

Just Coolin'

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