Mike LeDonne - The Groover

Styles: Jazz, POst Bop
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:56
Size: 143,4 MB
Art: Front

(6:59) 1. Rock With You
(6:36) 2. Blues For McCoy
(6:39) 3. Little Mary
(8:24) 4. I'm Goona Make You Love Me
(7:17) 5. Deep Blue
(5:43) 6. Sunday in New York
(6:03) 7. Bopsolete
(7:58) 8. The Groover
(6:14) 9. On the Street Where You Live

What kind of music "grooves" exactly? Look no further. Hammond B3 organist Mike LeDonne teams with a group of accomplished musicians to put together an album that simply grooves hard all the way to the final chord. Reminiscent of Jimmy Smith and Charles Earland, LeDonne plays with conviction and soulfulness on an album that sounds more like a jam session than a studio release. From the first few bars, it is clear that the casting of this album is impeccable. Guitarist Peter Bernstein's warm, robust sound blends so well with LeDonne's that at times it is difficult to pick out his playing. Drummer Joe Farnsworth complements all the other musicians well, making this group sound even better than it is. Tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander's focused tone is darkened up a bit for this recording, resulting in a well-balanced palette of tonal colors. The catchy opening track, "Rock With You," is almost too arranged and could stand to have a bit more of LeDonne's blowing and less of Alexander's backgrounds in the closing minute. Immediately after, the listener is thrust into a tune better characterized as a burner than a groover, "Blues for McCoy," which lets Alexander do what he does best rip through an up-tempo tune with poise.

The real gem of this album is a simple, child-like melody written by Benny Golson for LeDonne's daughter, entitled "Little Mary." Golson even included an introduction that sounds like music at a carnival, offering a mindset of innocence of joy. As if catching their breath from the last track, all members stay true to the tune and don't get excessively harmonically sophisticated or feel the need to prove themselves. It is very refreshing to hear modern jazz musicians take a simple tune and play some truly beautiful, melodic lines without getting caught up in taking their improvisation outside the changes. "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" leaves something to be desired from LeDonne but Bernstein weaves in and out of the straight-forward progression utilizing a tasty variety of articulation and phrasing. Things get slowed down with LeDonne's original "Deep Blue," where Bernstein again shines. His guitar seems to have the ability to connect with the unique characteristics of every tune he plays. This one is the type of mournful outpouring of the soul that comes at three o'clock in the morning, laid back and reflective.

The most progressive and riveting of all the pieces is the LeDonne powerhouse "Bopsolete," which he fearlessly tears through, without the support of Bernstein or Farnsworth, for a sublime minute long adventure. Farnsworth treats the listener to a melodic and well-structured solo before LeDonne and Alexander join together on the finger-busting head to close out the tune. The title track is a shuffle-style LeDonne original that grooves like no other on this album. The patience shown by Alexander and Bernstein shows their maturity when it comes to tasteful improvisation. LeDonne employs a nice mixture of traditional bluesy lines with a modern intervallic approach. Farnsworth and LeDonne find their strongest chemistry on this track. Closing with a more modern take on "On the Street Where You Live" is somewhat anti-climactic: the track swings hard but doesn't exactly "groove." Regardless, it is a joy to listen to all soloists weave with invention through a more difficult harmonic structure. This album often comes across like a modern parnership between Jimmy Smith and tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, but with a modern twist. To make it even better, LeDonne got his hands on an outstanding guitarist and drummer to boot. These four musicians recorded previously on LeDonne's "Smokin' Out Loud" (High Note, 2004) and "On Fire" (Savant, 2006). Of the three discs, this is without question the most mature. LeDonne sounds more like a B3 player, and less like a pianist attempting to play B3, every time he records with this group.~ Sean Coughlin https://www.allaboutjazz.com/mike-ledonne-the-groover-by-sean-coughlin.php

Personnel: Mike LeDonne: Hammond B3 organ; Eric Alexander: tenor saxophone; Peter Bernstein: electric guitar; Joe Farnsworth: drums.

The Groover

---

Shawnn Monteiro - Visit Me

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:40
Size: 112,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:29) 1. Visit Me
(5:40) 2. After Glow
(4:11) 3. Apartment 101
(5:15) 4. Music That Makes Me Dance
(3:18) 5. The Grass Is Greener
(5:33) 6. My One And Only Love
(4:38) 7. Seven Days 'Til Spring
(6:05) 8. Where Do You Go
(3:58) 9. I'm Ready To Fall In Love
(5:28) 10. The Last Day Of Summer

Exciting, captivating and completely distinctive” is how most jazz cognoscenti describe Shawnn's pulsating lyric style. Whether in the intimacy of a club date or the glitter of a Las Vegas showroom, Shawnn has delighted audiences from USA to Europe with her highly popular jazz repertoire laced with blues-oriented improvisations. Evident in Shawnn's liveliness of lyrical phrasing and intermittent scat variations is the influences of Carmen McRae and Sarah Vaughan, from whom she draws that inner core of creative energy. But good genes help, too. Shawnn's father was the late renowned bassist Jimmy Woode, veteran of the Duke Ellington band. Throw into the mix, a lot of musical inspiration and guidance from her Godfather, Clark Terry, and you come up with a combination that can't miss. Percussion great and latin/jazz impressario Mongo Santamaria discovered Shawnn working in a club in San Jose, California and signed her on the spot to tour with his band. Shawnn electrified audiences as his only vocalist and female percussionist during that two-year circuit where she shared the stage with such greats as Stan Kenton, Celia Cruz, the Fania All-Stars, and Weather Report.

Since then, Shawnn has shared the state with a prestigious list of notables jazz names: Clark Terry, Red Holloway, Ray Brown, Lionel Hampton, Frank Foster and the Basie Band, Nat Adderly, Kenny Barron, Hank Jones, Bobby Durham, James Williams, Jimmy Cobb, Keter Betts, Stanley Jordan, Ed Thigpen, Johnny Griffin, and Benny Golson....to name a few. Ms. Monteiro has delighted audiences from the USA to Europe with her highly popular jazz repertoire laced with blues-oriented improvisations and the American Songbook. The true quality of Shawnn's voice is best experienced in the ultimate setting of the club dates where her warm charisma can be personally felt by those fortunate enough to spend an evening with her, She continues to teach Master Classes all over the world, including one ongoing every summer in Italy since 1995. She is an adjunct Professor at the Hartt School/Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz , University of Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut and also Rhode Island College in Providence Rhode Island.

Her popularity continues to grow as clubgoers from Los Angeles to Rome extol the special feelings they share as she lulls them into a mellow mood as only a sensitive jazz vocalist can do. The true magical quality of Shawnn's exciting voice is best experienced in the ultimate setting of the club dates where her warm charisma can be personally felt by those fortunate enough to spend and evening with her. Shawnn teaches a Master Vocal Class in Rome and Genova, Italy every summer. (Ongoing since 1995. Artist in Residence – 2 Years at Rhode Island College (Jazz Vocals) She is also an adjunct Professor (in Jazz Vocals) at both Rhode Island College, Providence, RI and Harrt School of Music, Univ. of Hartford, Hartford, CT. http://www.shawnnmonteiro.com/biography/

Visit Me

---

Andy Snitzer - Alfie's Theme

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:03
Size: 120,7 MB
Art: Front

(6:06) 1. Alfie's Theme
(6:07) 2. Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
(5:17) 3. Easy Street
(4:53) 4. Tenor Madness
(5:52) 5. The Dream
(4:35) 6. Stan's Shuffle
(6:15) 7. Too Young To Go Steady
(5:12) 8. Softly As In A Morning Sunrise
(7:41) 9. Superstar

Contemporary jazz saxophonist/composer Andy Snitzer was born and raised in Philadelphia; although his first instrument was the clarinet, he turned to the sax at age 15, going on to study music at the University of Miami. There he was discovered by Bob James, touring behind the keyboardist and appearing on a series of albums beginning with 1987's Obsession; Snitzer concurrently earned his MBA at New York University, landing a position at the J.P. Morgan Investment firm while also emerging as a sought-after session musician.

He made his headlining debut with Ties That Bind, scoring the NAC chart-topper "You've Changed"; he also branched out from jazz to pop, touring behind the Rolling Stones and recording with artists from Bette Midler to Aretha Franklin. Snitzer returned in 1996 with In the Eye of the Storm; Some Quiet Place followed three years later.~Jason Ankeny https://www.allmusic.com/artist/andy-snitzer-mn0000047716/biography

Personnel: Andy Snitzer - tenor saxophone; Alain Mallet - piano, organ; Clarence Penn - drums.

Alfie's Theme

---

Allegra Levy - Lose My Number

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:48
Size: 119,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:14) 1. Samba De Beach
(5:55) 2. Livin' Small
(8:06) 3. Tiffany
(6:04) 4. Strictly Ballroom
(7:22) 5. C. J.
(7:05) 6. Dover Beach
(4:02) 7. Ukulele Tune
(4:36) 8. Zephyr
(4:21) 9. Lose My Number

Allegra Levy is a young singer who has made a reputation for herself through her witty songwriting and performing. She has sung a lot of her own songs on previous releases but on this one, she changes things slightly by writing her own lyrics to the music of trumpet player John McNeil. McNeil was Levy's mentor at the New England Conservatory and she complements his slightly off-balance tunes with lyrics that range from the dark and sardonic to the emotional and poetic. Levy's voice flows over the twists and turns of McNeil's melodies with the flexible ease of an Annie Ross or Nancy King. She delivers her acid putdowns of a dance partner on "Strictly Ballroom" and some unidentified scoundrel on "C.J." with a carefree breeziness that belies the sting in her words. In contrast to that, she is very good at conjuring quieter moods on other songs. She conveys innocent wistfulness on "Dover Beach" and "Ukulele Tune" and quiet sensuality of "Zephyr" and "Livin' Small." The music becomes especially dreamy on the last song when Levy's singing mixes with the trumpet of John McNeil himself in one of his three guest appearances on the CD.

Outside of McNeil's cameos and an appearance by Pierre Dorge playing ukulele on "Ukulele Tune," the instrumental work is all done by three female musicians. Carmen Staaf plays piano, Carmen Rothwell is on bass and Colleen Clark plays drums. Their work subtly complements the understated emotions and cunning humor in Levy's singing. The three come off strongest on "Lose My Number" itself. They go through abrupt tempo changes, as Levy tells off another man who can't take a hint, her voice suddenly moving between fast and slow. When Levy breaks into giddy scatting, the band flies excitedly alongside her, disintegrating into abstraction beside her flippant coos, before coming back together for a last chorus. This CD is a sly little romp that sways between dark sarcasm and intimate romance, bringing the writing of John McNeil and the singing of Allegra Levy together into an enjoyable package. Jerome Wilson https://www.allaboutjazz.com/lose-my-number-allegra-levy-steeplechase-records.

Personnel: Allegra Levy: voice / vocals; Carmen Staaf: piano; Carmen Rothwell: bass, acoustic; Colleen Clark: drums.

Lose My Number

---

Ruby Braff - The Things I Love

Styles: Cornet Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 121:30
Size: 279,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:25) 1. On the Sunny Side of the Street
(6:54) 2. Romance in the Dark
(5:06) 3. Sugar
(5:58) 4. When You Wish Upon a Star
(9:18) 5. Sweet Sue, Just You
(6:04) 6. I'm Coming Virginia
(4:08) 7. When It's Sleepy Time Down South
(5:11) 8. Monday Date
(6:58) 9. Squeeze Me
(3:44) 10. Dippermouth Blues
(4:48) 11. It's Wonderful
(5:30) 12. Keep Smiling at Trouble
(7:33) 13. I Can't Get Started
(3:17) 14. Wishing
(7:22) 15. It's Been so Long
(5:10) 16. Struttin' with Some Barbecue
(7:59) 17. Kandee
(6:29) 18. Downhearted Blues
(4:45) 19. Marie
(7:24) 20. (I Don't Stand A) Ghost of a Chance
(3:17) 21. Cornet Shop Suey

One of the great swing/Dixieland cornetists, Ruby Braff went through long periods of his career unable to find work because his music was considered out-of-fashion, but his fortunes improved by the 1970s. A very expressive player who in later years liked to build his solos up to a low note, Braff's playing was instantly recognizable within seconds.

Braff mostly worked around Boston in the late '40s. He teamed up with Pee Wee Russell when the clarinetist was making a comeback (they recorded live for Savoy), and after moving to New York in 1953, he fit easily into a variety of Dixieland and mainstream settings. Braff recorded for Vanguard as a leader, and with Vic Dickenson, Buck Clayton, and Urbie Green. He was one of the stars of Buck Clayton's Columbia jam sessions, and in the mid-'50s worked with Benny Goodman. But, despite good reviews and occasional recordings, work was hard for Braff to come by at times. In the 1960s, he was able to get jobs by being with George Wein's Newport All-Stars and at jazz festivals, but it was not until the cornetist formed a quartet with guitarist George Barnes, in 1973, that he became more secure. Afterward, Braff was heard in many small-group settings, including duets with Dick Hyman and Ellis Larkins (he had first met up with the latter in the 1950s), quintets with Scott Hamilton, and matching wits with Howard Alden. He remained one of the greats of mainstream jazz until his death in 2003.~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ruby-braff-mn0000357057/biography

The Things I Love

---

Joan Chamorro - Tribute to Lars Gullin

Styles: Mainstream Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 75:16
Size: 174,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:38) 1. Happy Again
(6:11) 2. Danny's Dream
(4:54) 3. Hershey Bar
(4:02) 4. Fine Together
(3:49) 5. Primavera
(4:57) 6. Merlin
(5:19) 7. Lars Meets Jeff
(5:03) 8. I Hope It's Spring for You
(6:07) 9. To Lars
(2:23) 10. Those Days With You
(6:34) 11. Hershey Bar - Live
(5:17) 12. Danny's Dream - Live
(3:37) 13. So What - Live
(5:06) 14. Merlin - Live
(3:50) 15. Igloo - Live
(4:24) 16. Lovely Dreams - Live

This work is the third volume of a collection dedicated to the figure of the Arranger, in this case to the Swedish saxophonist and clarinetist Fredrik Carlquist, resident in Catalonia for several years and with whom I have had the pleasure of recording on several of his CDs. This album is also a tribute to the Swedish musician Lars Gullin, one of my favorite baritone saxophonists and who has influenced my playing, as have Serge Chaloff, Scott Robinson, Pepper Adams, Gerry Mulligan, Cecil Payne and a long list of great jazz musicians who dedicated their lives to this beautiful instrument. Thanks to all the musicians who have participated, especially to Fredrik Carlquist for his music, his arrangements and his friendship and to Lars Gullin for being the inspiration for this CD.

Tribute to Lars Gullin

---

Valery Ponomarev Big Band - Our Father Who Art Blakey: The Centennial

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:54
Size: 121,9 MB
Art: Front

(0:41) 1. Overture
(7:21) 2. Tell It Like It Is
(6:16) 3. Are you real?
(7:16) 4. One By One
(8:28) 5. Caravan
(6:22) 6. Webb City
(7:54) 7. Hammer Head
(6:20) 8. Quick Silver
(2:12) 9. Kalypso to Theme Song

Who is Russian-born trumpeter Valery Ponomarev's favorite musician? A clue may be found in the title of Ponomarev's first CD as leader of his New York City-based big band: Our Father Who Art Blakey. The first jazz recording he heard while still in Russia, Ponomarev recalls, was Blakey's Jazz Messengers with trumpeter Lee Morgan playing pianist Bobby Timmons' jazz touchstone, "Moanin.'" Later on, Ponomarev was able to play that song (and many others) as a member of the Messengers in the late '70s, wherein the irrepressible Blakey served as his friend, mentor and "jazz father."

Ponomarev continues to repay that debt, this time transposing tunes associated with the Messengers to a big-band format while adding a pair of his own emphatic charts (the brief curtain-raising "Overture" and spicy "Gina's Cooking") to the mix. The band is reinforced on two numbers ("Moanin,'" "Blues March") by another former Messenger, the illustrious tenor saxophonist Benny Golson (still swinging at age eighty-five), who composed "Blues March" for Blakey himself (drummer Victor Jones sits in admirably for the maestro on this new version). Completing the in-concert program are Freddie Hubbard's "Crisis" and a couple of winners by Duke Jordan, "Jordu" (publicized by the renowned Max Roach / Clifford Brown Quintet) and "No Hay Problemas."

Listening to Ponomarev's arrangements, it's clear that his roots are in bop. Not that anything sounds the least dated, but the harmonic designs and rhythmic patterns would have been right at home on a Blue Note album from the '50s or '60s. Ponomarev has taken those components and redesigned them for a twenty-first century audience. It's a strategy that works well throughout. Ponomarev's lively "Overture," which runs for less than a minute, leads seamlessly to "Moanin'" and the first of Golson's masterful solos. "Crisis," from the 1961 album Mosiac, is a mid-tempo groover that showcases trumpeter Josh Evans, tenor Steven Carrington and trombonist Stafford Hunter. "Jordu" is next (hermetic ensemble work underscoring bright solos by trumpeter Chris Rogers and tenor Peter Brainin), followed by the prancing "No Hay Problemas," featuring Evans, Carrington and drummer Jones.

Baritone saxophonist Anthony Nelson is eloquent on "Gina's Cooking," as are Rogers, alto Todd Bashore and pianist Mamiko Watanabe. Golson takes his second solo, and Ponomarev his first, on the iconic "Blues March," which ends the concert on a buoyant note punctuated by robust statements from Bashore, Watanabe, Jones and trombonist Corey Wallace. In sum, a splendid performance, one that embraces Ponomarev's tradition-bound stance while pointing inflexibly toward the future. Somewhere, Art Blakey must have been smiling broadly.~ Jack Bowers https://www.allaboutjazz.com/our-father-who-art-blakey-valery-ponomarev-zoho-music-review-by-jack-bowers.php

Personnel: Valery Ponomarev: composer, arranger, conductor, trumpet. Tracks 1, 3-6 —Rick Henly: trumpet; Eddie Allen: trumpet; Josh Evans: trumpet; Chris Rogers: trumpet; Todd Bashore: alto sax; Chris Hemingway: alto sax; Peter Brainin: tenor sax; Steven Carrington: tenor sax; Anthony Nelson: baritone sax; Stafford Hunter: trombone; Alvin Walker: trombone; David White: trombone; Jack Jeffers: trombone; Mamiko Watanabe: piano; Ruslan Khain: bass; Victor Jones: drums. Tracks 2, 7 – Waldron Ricks: trumpet (for Eddie Allen); Andrew Gould: tenor sax (for Peter Brainin); Corey Wallace: trombone (for David White); Danny Hall: trombone (for Alvin Walker). Special guest – Benny Golson: tenor saxophone (2, 7).

Our Father Who Art Blakey: the Centennial

---

Christof Sänger Trio, Ken Peplowski - I Follow My Secret Heart

Styles: Piano, Saxophone And Clarinet Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:44
Size: 135,2 MB
Art: Front

(6:13) 1. Lakonia
(5:24) 2. Carioca
(6:44) 3. Gone with the Wind
(6:05) 4. Lagoa Azul
(5:37) 5. I Follow My Secret Heart
(4:07) 6. Get Happy
(6:59) 7. Recado Bossa Nova
(4:56) 8. Vals de las Islas
(7:43) 9. Just One of Those Things
(4:53) 10. Love Locked Out

Christof Sänger (born July 28, 1962 in Wiesbaden ) is a German jazz musician (pianist, composer, lecturer). Singer studied music from 1984 to 1989 at the University of Mainz . He played early in jazz combos and in the State Youth Jazz Orchestra of Hesse , but also in chamber music formations. In 1989 he attracted attention as a finalist of the Concours International de Piano Jazz Martial Solal . From 1990 he worked with musicians as diverse as Dusko Goykovich , Sunny Murray , Daniel Guggenheim and Hermeto Pascoal . With his regular trio (with bassist Christian von Kaphengst and drummer Heinrich Köbberling ) he played among others. that with theAward of the German Record Critics' award for the album "Chorinho" (1992). He also performed with Richie Cole , Bill Saxton and Allan Praskin . Since 1996, he has an international edition of his trio with George Mraz and Al Foster , with whom he also in the jazz clubs of the Big Apple a guest.

In 1996 he was the German contributor to the concert of the European Broadcasting Union . A solo album was recorded at the Montreal International Jazz Festival . He also worked with Keith Copeland , Tom Nicholas , Peter Less and Peter Fessler , introduced his group Cuban Fantasy with Sandro and Giovanni Gulino in 1998 and joined Ernie Watts’s group in 1999 , with whom he released records in 2001 and 2003. He also played with Paquito D'Rivera and the hr jazz ensemble. After giving solo concerts in Japan in 2003, he put on a Japanese edition of his trio for another tour in 2004. Since 2010 he has also been active as a pianist in the Barrelhouse Jazz Band . He also plays in the trio Classic Affairs with Lindy Huppertsberg and Tobias Schirmer .Singer is a lecturer for jazz piano at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts . https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christof_Sänger

Personnel: Christof Sänger - piano; Ken Peplowski - clarinet, tenor saxophone; Rudi Engel - bass; Tobias Schirmer - drums

I Follow My Secret Heart

---

Gabriel Vicéns - The Way We are Created

Styles: Guitar
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:15
Size: 125,4 MB
Art: Front

(9:05) 1. The Way We Are Created
(6:45) 2. It Doesn't Matter
(1:51) 3. Caribeño Pensador
(6:13) 4. The Upcoming
(6:40) 5. A City of Many Mysteries
(1:38) 6. Fuera de Mi Cuerpo
(5:28) 7. Define Purpose
(7:24) 8. To the Unknown
(1:47) 9. Retorno
(7:21) 10. The Mystery of S.T.

Gabriel Vicéns is a Puerto Rican guitarist now resident in New York, and The Way We Are Created is his third album as leader (he’s also a painter it’s his artwork gracing the album cover). His debut Point in Time (2012) showed a similar precociousness to Pat Metheny’s Bright Size Life (1976), Vicéns being only twenty-three at its release but already displaying a striking individuality in his compositions and playing style, and enough musical heft to bring on board the great Eddie Gómez on bass and David Sánchez on saxophone (both of whom, incidentally, are Puerto Rican as well). That individuality also shines on his second album Days (2015) and even more so here on The Way We Are Created, where complex melodies and intricate rhythms inspired by the Puerto Rican music and dance styles bomba and plena showcase his heritage to dazzling effect.

In his sextet he’s found musicians who perfectly match his sensibilities and each other. Alto saxophonist Roman Filiú is Cuban and has played with many big names, including Henry Threadgill, Billy Hart, David Murray and perhaps most revealingly Steve Coleman, as there’s something of Coleman’s restless tonal shifting in Filiú’s soloing. Pianist Glenn Zaleski cites Bill Evans as an influence and has been compared with Brad Mehldau, and has played with bassist Rick Rosato in the trio Stranahan/Zaleski/Rosato, and Rosato in turn has played with drummer E.J. Strickland in the trio of the Cuban pianist Manuel Valera. Completing the line-up is Puerto Rican percussionist Victor Pablo, who plays the barril de bomba (a barrel-shaped drum) and panderos de plena (a hand-held frame drum similar in size and shape to a tambourine).

The eponymous opening track The Way We Are Created builds from quiet guitar riffing to a complex melody with large intervallic leaps, setting up an expectation of musical complexity that’s fulfilled throughout the album. Vicéns favours a clean tone unadorned by pedals and effects, ideal for the intricacy of his soloing and Filiú on alto delivers a fine solo as well. But what’s perhaps most impressive across the whole album are the intricate polyrhythms built up between all six players. Listen, for example, to the complex vamps using yubá, sicá and rulé rhythms from the bomba tradition on It Doesn’t Matter, The Upcoming and A City of Many Mysteries, the latter two tracks also featuring fine piano solos; or to the infectious plena rhythms on To The Unknown.

In dramatic contrast to the ensemble pieces are three interludes of under two minutes each: Caribeño Pensador [Caribbean Thinker] and Retorno [Return] are guitar and percussion duets, and Fuera de mi Cuerpo [Out of my Body] is an eerie guitar solo drenched in clanging reverb. It’s intriguing that these interludes all have Spanish titles while the ensemble pieces all have English titles. Considering how much Puerto Rico and Cuba have brought to this impressive music, Spanish deserves its place at the table just as much as the English of New York and jazz. https://londonjazznews.com/2020/12/21/gabriel-vicens-the-way-we-are-created-release-date-15-january-2021/

The Way We are Created

---

Duke Ellington - The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1971
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:33
Size: 87,2 MB
Art: Front

(8:12) 1. Chinoserie
(3:37) 2. Didgeridoo
(5:23) 3. Afrique
(3:04) 4. Acht O'Clock Rock
(4:43) 5. Gong
(4:46) 6. Tang
(3:36) 7. True
(4:09) 8. Hard Way

Recorded in 1971, The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse reads in many ways like a follow up to the 1967 epic Far East Suite. Compelling, cosmopolitan, and organic, this music comes from Ellington's sifting of travel experiences, and it sounds as if he is using his impressions of places and people rather than appropriations of "authentic" scales and rhythms. "Chinoiserie" is boisterous and fun, with long-tone horn peals forming the melodic cornerstone. Tenorman Harold Ashby takes his place blowing pure swing. "Afrique" is a percussion-based piece, with a liberal layering of the horn players' entrances creating strains that are at first incongruous, then tie briefly together toward the middle of the affair. Preceded by the more even-tempered melodic and rhythmic structures of "Acht" and "Gong," "Tang" takes the picture to the outer limits again with strident opening horn blasts that yield to staccato call-and-responses that chill to the bone. All in all, a textured, cross-cultural treat for the ears.~ Rovi Staff https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-afro-eurasian-eclipse-mw0000675528

Personnel: Piano, Composed By – Duke Ellington; Alto Saxophone, Clarinet – Russell Procope; Alto Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute – Norris Turney; Baritone Saxophone – Harry Carney; Bass – Joe Benjamin; Bass Trombone – Chuck Connors; Drums – Rufus Jones; Tenor Saxophone – Harold Ashby, Paul Gonsalves; Trombone – Booty Wood, Malcolm Taylor; Trumpet – Cootie Williams, Eddie Preston, Mercer Ellington, Money Johnson

The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse

---

Andy Laverne - Rhapsody

Styles: Piano Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:18
Size: 147,8 MB
Art: Front

(9:14) 1. Waltz For Debby
(6:35) 2. Retroactive
(8:48) 3. My Foolish Heart
(5:42) 4. Autumn Leaves
(6:09) 5. Vignette
(8:25) 6. All The Things You Are
(7:38) 7. Lunar
(5:04) 8. Stella By Starlight
(6:38) 9. Rhapsody

Andy LaVerne, a veteran of over five decades in performing, composing and educating often teaches masterclasses at the famed Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshop. At this workshop in 2019 Andy LaVerne met and performed with Zach Brock for the first time. The Grammy Award Winning violinist Zak Brock left huge impression on the pianist. Andy invited Zak to record together three months later. The collaboration between LaVerne the master of reharmonization and contrafacts and Zach the star member of the crossover jazz group Snarky Puppy turned out to be a true rhapsody, with an intriguing program.“The album is filled with stimulating originals, most of which seem to be newly written for the session.... Shangri-La is another valuable addition to Andy LaVerne’s discography.” ~ Ken Dryden, The New York City Jazz Record on ‘Shangri-La’ https://www.horizonsmusic.co.uk/products/andy-laverne-rhapsody

Personnel: Andy Laverne (piano), Zach Brock (violin), Mike Richmond (bass, cello), Jason Tiemann (drums)

Rhapsody

---

Roseanna Vitro - Listen Here

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1984
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:01
Size: 114,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:02) 1. No More Blues
(4:12) 2. You Go To My Head
(4:59) 3. Centerpiece
(4:55) 4. Love You Madly
(5:43) 5. A Time For Love
(3:39) 6. This Happy Madness
(3:06) 7. Listen Here
(3:20) 8. It Could Happen To You
(3:48) 9. Easy Street
(3:49) 10. Sometime Ago
(3:13) 11. You Took Advantage Of Me
(5:10) 12. Black Coffee

Vocalist Roseanna Vitro performer, recording artist, educator and journalist reissues Listen Here, the debut album that launched her career. Featuring veteran pianist Kenny Barron, the project ushered into the spotlight a formidable new artist with chops and sensitivity in equal measure a galvanizing spirit who, having already proven she could move live audiences, now certified her power on vinyl. The accompanying musicians on Listen Here are Kenny Barron (piano), Buster Williams (bass) and Ben Riley (drums). Also joining in are Arnett Cobb (saxophone), Duduka Da Fonseca (percussion), Scott Hardy (guitar) and Bliss Rodrigues (piano, on “Centerpiece”). Arrangements were supplied by Fred Hersch, with liner notes by Steve Allen.Though this is a first recording, Vitro shows herself a mature jazz singer. Representative jazz standards bear that out: “I Love You Madly,” “It Could Happen to You,” “No More Blues” and “You Took Advantage of Me.” She swings and emotes and surrenders herself in the service of the music. She is filled with life. Her subsequent efforts underscored the point. Following Listen Here, she waxed a number of albums that re-imagined the works of popular music’s greatest songwriters and stylists – among them, Ray Charles, Bill Evans, Clare Fischer and Randy Newman. It was through the latter’s artful song narratives that Vitro earned a Grammy nomination (The Music Of Randy Newman).

Vitro bravely ventured through the Americana of her blues and jazz roots, through the music of Brazil. Along the way, she distinguished herself in a host of group configurations from duets to big bands. Hailing from Hot Springs, Arkansas, Vitro began singing professionally in Houston. She soon found herself as a protégé of tenor player Arnett Cobb and singer- educator Ray Sullenger. She became a regular on the Houston jazz scene. Ultimately, she landed a steady gig at the Green Room, where she sang with jazz’s greatest practitioners, including Oscar Peterson, Tommy Flanagan, Bill Evans and countless other notables. Her move to New York City enabled her to jump into the city’s vibrant jazz scene, and helped cement her credentials. Supporters and collaborators soon followed a generational mix of prestigious talents: Fred Hersch, Kenny Werner, Mark Soskin, Christian McBride, George Coleman, Joe Lovano, Kirk Whalum, David “Fathead" Newman, Elvin Jones and Eddie Gomez, to name a few. Vitro decided to re-release Listen Here because the time was right. She and her husband Paul Wickliffe, an accomplished sound engineer with a storied career, recently became grandparents. Their perspective has changed. “It was time to take stock of my life and look back at my career,” she says. “Some of my earlier records were never transferred to a digital format, so they are no longer available. And many reviewers and DJs who have known me over the years have moved on. I think these early recordings stand the test of time, and I want to introduce them to a new generation.” In the meantime, she continues to imagine projects and opportunities that help fulfill her belief in music’s ability to heal. As ever, she seeks to reach people. Esteemed jazz journalist Neil Tesser said in USA Today, “Roseanna can sing rings around half the vocalists you can name. Her warm, confident clarity of tone is immediately noticeable, but most startling is her boldness of phrasing.” He might have added, “her unerring talent for finding the truth through song,through the communal experience of sharing it.” The evidence can be heard easily. Listen Here. https://news.allaboutjazz.com/grammy-nominated-vocalist-roseanna-vitro-reissues-1984-debut-album-listen-here-feat-kenny-barron-trio

Personel: Roseanna Vitro (Vocal), Kenny Barron (piano), Buster Williams (bass) and Ben Riley (drums), Arnett Cobb (saxophone), Duduka Da Fonseca (percussion), Scott Hardy (guitar)

Listen Here

---

Dave Koz - A Romantic Night In (The Love Songs Album)

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:50
Size: 101,6 MB
Art: Front

(5:01) 1. If Not for You
(4:47) 2. Deep Dive
(4:40) 3. Barefoot
(3:11) 4. Summertime in NY
(3:59) 5. It's Always Been You (Live)
(6:04) 6. Love Is on the Way (Live)
(3:23) 7. I'm Waiting for You
(3:21) 8. It’s All Love
(4:40) 9. Paris Nocturne
(4:40) 10. Faces of the Heart (Live)

By virtue of his many achievements, Dave Koz has long been considered the prime contender for contemporary jazz's saxophone throne. Active since 1990 when he arrived on the scene from seemingly nowhere to issue his self-titled leader debut, he climbed onto the Billboard contemporary jazz charts and stayed there for several weeks. The platinum-selling Koz (a rare feat for any jazzman) has been nominated for nine Grammys, hit the top spot on the contemporary jazz charts five times, placed 14 singles in the Top Ten, and earned a total of 20 cuts on the jazz songs charts. Koz is also a seasoned radio and television host, and a best-selling concert and cruise attraction. His sound has more fire and intensity than most of his peers, often recalling that of his musical forebear David Sanborn. Koz's music generally sticks to a production formula he more or less developed that juxtaposes his horn with layers of synthesizers, formatted drums and drum machines, a minimum amount of solo space, and backing vocalists who often make his music cross over to the adult contemporary R&B side of the genre line. Other career highlights for Koz include 1993's Lucky Man, 1999's collaboration-heavy Dance, 2001's holiday treat A Smooth Jazz Christmas (one of four Christmas collections), 2007's At the Movies, and the critically and commercially successful Summer Horns in 2013.

Koz was born one of three children in Encino, California to a dermatologist father and a pharmacist mother. His brother, Jeff, is also a musician. Although he is Jewish, Koz plays both Christmas and occasional Hanukkah songs at his concerts. Commencing his musical education in elementary school, he attended William Howard Taft High School in Woodland Hills (a suburb of Los Angeles) playing saxophone in the school jazz band. He graduated from UCLA with a degree in mass communications in 1986, and only weeks after his graduation, decided to make a go of becoming a professional musician. Within weeks of that decision, he and singer/songwriter and pop jazz pianist Bobby Caldwell went on tour. After returning, he spent the remainder of the decade as a session and touring musician with Jeff Lorber, Richard Marx, and in the house band of CBS' short-lived The Pat Sajak Show (Tom Scott was the bandleader). He also often guested as a saxophonist on The Arsenio Hall Show well into the '90s.

Koz signed a contract with EMI, which released ten of his albums, including 1993's Lucky Man, 1996's Off the Beaten Path, 1999's The Dance, and 2003's Saxophonic which was nominated for a Grammy and an NAACP Image Award and hit number three on the jazz album charts. While working on Lucky Man, Koz was solicited by the producers of ABC's General Hospital to perform the track "Emily" from his debut offering; it was used as part of the show's soundtrack in 1992. After his guest spot on the show, executive producer Wendy Riche commissioned Koz to write a new theme song for the show. He took elements from the show's existing theme, merged it with a new chorus, and transformed it into "Faces of the Heart," which made its debut as a new theme on General Hospital's 30th anniversary show in 1993, and remained unchanged until 2004. In 1994, Koz began hosting the syndicated The Dave Koz Radio Show featuring music and interviews with a who's-who in jazz. He also co-hosted The Dave Koz Morning Show on 94.7 The Wave, a smooth jazz station in Los Angeles, for six years. In 1996, Koz released Off the Beaten Path, his first to display his sung vocals on "That's the Way I Feel About You." While his first holiday-themed set, December Makes Me Feel This Way, appeared in 1997, it didn't chart. The saxophonist scored big with 1999's The Dance; it hit the number two spot on the Top Contemporary Jazz Albums and number three on the Jazz Album charts. His extra media activities only served to raise his profile. He released his second holiday-themed set, A Smooth Jazz Christmas, in September of 2001, and it went all the way to number three on the Jazz Albums chart. His high-charting entries continued through Saxophonic (number two, Jazz Albums). In 2005, Golden Slumbers: A Father's Love didn't chart but the saxophonist didn't fret, he was busy producing the first of his annual Dave Koz & Friends Jazz Cruises. Two years later, his "Just in Time," with the voice of Dean Martin, was a highlight of Forever Cool, an EMI-themed tribute offering. In 2007, he scored with the platinum-selling At the Movies, a collection of cinema themes that peaked at number two on the Jazz Albums list. It was his last outing of new material for EMI.

Koz signed to Concord for 2010's Hello Tomorrow, produced by John Burk and Marcus Miller. It featured his own vocal take on the Herb Alpert/Burt Bacharach tune "This Guy's in Love with You" that landed inside the Top 40 on the Dance Club Songs chart and hit the top spot at Jazz Albums. A pair of live albums, Live at Soho and Live at the Blue Note Tokyo, followed in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Koz emerged in June 2013 with the studio album Summer Horns. Billed to Dave Koz & Friends, it was recorded in collaboration with saxophonists Gerald Albright, Mindi Abair, and Richard Elliot, and featured guest appearances by Michael McDonald, Brian Culbertson, Rick Braun, Jonathan Butler, and Jeffrey Osborne. The material was steeped in '60s and '70s horn-driven R&B, featuring covers by Sly & the Family Stone, Earth Wind & Fire, Blood Sweat & Tears, and Tower of Power, among others. In 2015, Koz's career-spanning compilation of duets and more, Collaborations: 25th Anniversary Collection, topped Billboard's Jazz Albums chart. In 2017 he teamed up with pianist David Benoit, trumpeter Rick Braun, and acoustic guitarist Peter White for the holiday LP Dave Koz & Friends: 20th Anniversary Christmas. The following year, he issued Summer Horns II: From A to Z with Albright, Elliot, Rick Braun, and Aubrey Logan and guest vocalists Jonathan Butler, Kenny Lattimore, and Sheléa. The material ranged from the horn-driven R&B and jazz to funk and hip-hop with covers of songs by Earth Wind & Fire, the Crusaders, Chicago, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Jay-Z, and more. 2020 saw Koz release his 20th studio LP, A New Day, his first collection of original material in a decade.~ Ron Wynn https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dave-koz-mn0000961133/biography

A Romantic Night In (The Love Songs Album)

---

James Clay - A Double Dose of Soul

Styles: Saxophone And Flute Jazz
Year: 1960/2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:21
Size: 93,2 MB
Art: Front

(6:37) 1. New Delhi
(6:36) 2. I Remember You
(5:41) 3. Come Rain Or Come Shine
(8:03) 4. Pockets
(5:59) 5. Pavanne
(4:11) 6. Linda Serene
(3:11) 7. Lost Tears

James Clay only led two record sessions before settling in obscurity in Texas, where he would not be rediscovered until the late '80s. Cannonball Adderley helped present him on Riverside in 1960, so it seemed fair that Clay utilized several of Adderley's sidemen on this session (cornetist Nat Adderley or vibraphonist Victor Feldman, bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Louis Hayes) along with a young Gene Harris on piano. Clay splits his time between his lyrical flute and tough tenor, proving to be an excellent bop-based improviser. [The CD reissue adds two alternate takes to the original LP program, highlighted by Feldman's "New Delhi," "Come Rain or Come Shine," and Nat's blues "Pockets."]~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/a-double-dose-of-soul-mw0000678746

Personnel: Saxophone [Tenor] – James Clay; Flute – James Clay; Bass – Sam Jones; Cornet – Nat Adderley; Drums – Louis Hayes; Piano – Gene Harris; Vibraphone – Victor Feldman

A Double Dose of Soul

---

Jacqui Naylor - The Long Game

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:15
Size: 137,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:03) 1. Like Someone in Love
(3:50) 2. Give Me One More Chance
(5:25) 3. Fix You
(3:20) 4. I'll Be Loving You
(3:29) 5. Love Look What You've Done
(4:18) 6. Walkin' out the Door
(4:35) 7. Smile
(5:47) 8. The Thrill is Gone
(4:19) 9. Space Oddity
(4:55) 10. The Long Game
(5:43) 11. Don't Give Up
(3:32) 12. Speak Low
(3:17) 13. It's the Right Time
(3:34) 14. All My Life

The Long Game is the 11th album from celebrated vocalist and songwriter, Jacqui Naylor. Known for her ability to seamlessly weave genres and styles from different eras, this artist creates a meaningful collection of love songs, replete with R&B inspired original compositions, Latin imbued jazz standards and sensitively crafted rock anthems. The muscianship and camaraderie of Naylor and long-time bandmates shine brightly throughout this thoughtfully produced album.~Opiniones editoriales https://www.amazon.com/Long-Game-Jacqui-Naylor/dp/B08QRXV5BQ

Personnel: Vocals – Jacqui Naylor; Bass, Backing Vocals – Jon Evans, Guitar – Jon Evans; Piano, Organ, Guitar – Art Khu ; Drums, Percussion – Josh Jones

The Long Game

---

Bill Evans - Live at Ronnie Scott's

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1968/2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 99:41
Size: 230,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:58) 1. A Sleeping Bee
(3:01) 2. You're Gonna Hear From Me
(4:53) 3. Yesterdays
(4:45) 4. Turn Out the Stars
(5:53) 5. My Man's Gone Now
(4:46) 6. Emily (Version 1)
(4:59) 7. Spring is Here
(5:58) 8. Embraceable You
(4:25) 9. For Heaven's Sake
(6:26) 10. Someday My Prince Will Come
(5:49) 11. Quiet Now
(6:52) 12. Round Midnight
(3:57) 13. Stella By Starlight
(5:24) 14. Alfie
(3:21) 15. You're Gonna Hear From Me (Version 2)
(5:00) 16. Very Early
(4:13) 17. Emily (Version 2)
(4:57) 18. Waltz for Debby
(4:34) 19. Autumn Leaves
(5:20) 20. Nardis

Bill Evans’ Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby are undoubtedly two of the finest-crafted live recordings in jazz; the musicianship is legendary, the recording pristine. Yet listening to Live at Ronnie Scott’s, a “new” live album that captures Evans with his mythic 1968 trio bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Jack DeJohnette can make those two earlier albums sound a little sterile by comparison.

The 20 tracks heard on Ronnie Scott’s are culled from a multitude of nights over a four-week engagement that the Evans-Gomez-DeJohnette trio had at the London club in 1968, recorded by DeJohnette with a four-track tape machine and a mic set up between the bass and piano. The audio, even after production work by DeJohnette and Zev Feldman, still hisses and audience chatter can be prominent, yet those qualities make this live album feel more alive. Without the formal trappings of an “official” recording, the group can just play; can defy expectation or necessity to let the music take them where it will. On numbers like “Yesterdays,” the drums roar with a raw, almost punkish ferocity, reflecting the trio’s heightening intensity as they entwine in a collectively improvised rapture. Gomez’s fingers dance across the bass strings almost subconsciously, spryly braiding the melody of “Embraceable You” into a balloon animal of a solo that maintains the original’s lightness but holds a captivating new form.

But it’s on “‘Round Midnight” where this trio reaches its zenith. The role of rhythm section was already fluid in Evans’ groups, but here any distinction of timekeeper versus soloist melts away by the song’s two-minute mark. Time is implied, kept by the constant internal pulse of the group as the three musicians thread their own melodies together. A minute later, it’s hard to tell which of them leads as each voice, in constant motion, rises to meet the latest prompt from its fellows.~ Jackson Sinnenberg https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/bill-evans-live-at-ronnie-scotts-resonance/

Personnel: Piano – Bill Evans; Bass – Eddie Gomez; Drums – Jack DeJohnette.

Live at Ronnie Scott's

---

Kenny Werner & Roseanna Vitro - Delirium Blues Project: Serve or Suffer

Styles: Contemporary Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:26
Size: 139,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:59) 1. What Is Hip
(9:05) 2. Goodnight Nelda Grebe, the Telephone Company Has Cut Us Off
(7:40) 3. Blue
(4:24) 4. Be Cool
(8:07) 5. Half Moon
(5:13) 6. In the Dark
(4:45) 7. Cheater Man
(6:42) 8. Everybody's Cryin' Mercy
(8:26) 9. Don't Ever Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down

This all-star jazz-meets-R&B project, recorded live at the Blue Note in August '07 is orchestrated by vocalist Roseanna Vitro and pianist Kenny Werner who contributes several head-spinning arrangements of familiar blues, rhythm and blues, and not-quite-blues. The album certainly gets an "A" for effort. "I found the writing process fascinating. Some of the tunes were very familiar in their original recorded versions, but I still wanted to give them a new spin," enthuses Werner. "That required me to honor the essence of what made them work the first time around whether they were funky or nasty or rockin."Werner's opening rearrangement of the '70s R&B classic "What is Hip?" comes blasting out like a cannonball and smartly retains most of the original Tower of Power horn chart, which maximizes the considerable punch of the Delirium all-star horns: Ray Anderson (trombone), Randy Brecker (trumpet), James Carter (tenor sax) and Geoff Countryman (baritone sax, bass clarinet). "Cheater Man" similarly plays rough and tumble but with the big-band R&B meets blues sound of Roomful of Blues, especially when the horns play cat-and-mouse with Rocky Bryant's whippersnap snare in the bridge.

Joni Mitchell's "Be Cool" fits Vitro's voice and delivery best, with Werner's arrangement wafting comfortably in Mitchell's ethereal and floating jazz-pop fusion, bobbing like a balloon after air punches from its horn chart. Werner's take on "Blue," co-written by Jon Hendricks, echoes the classic "big band with vocalist" sound: Overlaying horns harmonize the introduction, then step aside for Vitro's dance with Werner's acoustic piano to time softly kept by brushes; Vitro steps aside in turn for James Carter's well-trimmed alto solo. Arranged to a rousing blend of classic blues styles the chugging locomotive of electric Chicago blues lugging a boxcar bursting with New Orleans brass "Don't Ever Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down" proves the perfect closer. Vitro tugs and pulls with all her might though she sometimes seems a bit overmatched if not by Werner's arrangements then by the material (Lil Green's "In the Dark," for example). Even so, Werner and guitarist Adam Rogers rip off electric blues solos almost as torrid as the call and response between Brecker and Anderson, who proceeds to blow out all the windows with his trombone solo rampage. ~ CHRIS M. SLAWECKI https://www.allaboutjazz.com/serve-or-suffer-delirium-blues-project-half-note-records-review-by-chris-m-slawecki.php

Personnel: Kenny Werner: keyboards, arrangements; Roseanna Vitro: vocals; Randy Brecker: trumpet; James Carter: tenor sax; Ray Anderson: trombone; Geoff Countryman: baritone sax; Adam Rogers: guitar; John Patitucci: acoustic bass, electric bass; Rocky Bryant: drums.

Delirium Blues Project: Serve or Suffer

---

Chick Corea - Delphi I

Album: Delphi I Side 1
Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1979
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 21:39
Size: 49,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:23) 1. Delphi I
(0:46) 2. Delphi II
(1:13) 3. Delphi III
(2:49) 4. Delphi IV
(0:58) 5. Delphi V
(1:49) 6. Delphi VI
(2:09) 7. Delphi VII
(1:28) 8. Delphi VIII
(4:59) 9. Children's Song #20
(2:03) 10. Stride I

---

Album: Delphi I Side 2
Time: 24:16
Size: 55,6 MB

(5:44) 1. Stride II
(3:00) 2. Stride III
(4:02) 3. Stride IV
(1:13) 4. Stride V
(1:27) 5. Stride VI
(8:48) 6. Stride VII

This set of acoustic piano improvisations by Chick Corea (the eight-part Delphi series, "Children's Song #20" and the seven-part "Stride Time") is surprisingly dull. In the liner notes, Corea states that whatever the message is that he is trying to get across with this music is not complete without the next two volumes. To date they have never been released. This disappointing LP can be safely passed by.~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/delphi-i-solo-piano-improvisations-mw0000870554

Personnel: Chick Corea - Piano

R.I.P.

Delphi I

---

Mary Pearson - You and I

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:52
Size: 124,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:11) 1. Lazy Afternoon
(5:18) 2. The More I See You
(2:59) 3. Take Five
(3:58) 4. What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?
(5:15) 5. I Am Yours / You Are Mine
(4:03) 6. Thou Swell
(5:24) 7. You and I
(4:11) 8. In Your Arms
(5:54) 9. How Long Has This Been Going On?
(3:57) 10. My Funny Valentine
(3:26) 11. I Can't Believe
(5:10) 12. Over the Rainbow

When Nashville is mentioned, jazz, especially jazz vocalizing, is not the first thing that comes to mind in fact, it's likely to come to mind at all for most. Pearson comes from and works out of the country musical capitol of the world, and has been doing so for some time now. With this her first album, she may be driving a small wedge in the monopoly country music enjoys in that city.

There's no ensemble playing on the album. Each tune has Pearson accompanied by just one instrument, ergo the title <|>You and I. With this technique, Pearson has no where to hide, her vocalizing is right out there on the line and she comes off very well. Most of the tracks are ballads. Her duet with drummer Steve Davis "Thou Swell" is the closest thing to an up tempo tune on the album and is as imaginative an arrangement as you're going to hear of this Rodgers/ Hart chestnut. On "The More I See You", it's the piano of Lynn Ariale which backs Pearson's contemplative version of the Mack Gordon/Harry Warren tune written for the 1945 film <|>Diamond Horseshoe. One of the album's highlights is the hushed toned performance of "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" with John Hart's guitar the sole backing for Pearson. It's a sonata for voice and guitar. Lovers of this tune will see in Pearson's version some of Sheila Jordan's 1977 seminal interpretation made with bassist Arild Andersen. Veteran bassist Harvie Swartz (who has worked often with Jordan) takes center stage with Pearson as they wander through "How Long Has This Been Going on?". Pearson's take on this tune as much as any, crystallizes her thorough understanding of the lyrics of the song she is singing and the ability to convey that meaning to the listener. The interplay between Pearson and Swartz on this cut is so good, it is eerie. In contrast to the mood created by "How Long...", "My Funny Valentine" with Lynne Arriale's piano once more in tow, comes across very brightly, even though like all other tracks, it is sung in slow ballad style. Pianist Fred Hersch joins with Pearson on a quirky reading of Paul Desmond's classic "Take Five" and an endearing "Over the Rainbow."

"Contemplative", "introspective", "melancholy" are descriptors which come to mind when listening to this album. Think of an overcast, chilly day with a slow drizzle interrupted from time to time with a slow momentary clearing and you will have a mental picture of this album..an album which is highly recommended. ~ Dave Nathan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/you-and-i-mary-pearson-arkadia-jazz-review-by-dave-nathan.php

Personnel: Mary Pearson: voice / vocals.

You and I

---

Kelley Suttenfield - When We Were Young: Kelley Suttenfield Sings Neil Young

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:59
Size: 115,8 MB
Art: Front

(5:29) 1. Harvest Moon
(3:51) 2. Heart of Gold
(4:48) 3. Only Love Can Break Your Heart
(4:01) 4. The Losing End (When You're On)
(4:57) 5. Flying on the Ground
(5:22) 6. The Needle and the Damage Done
(2:50) 7. Love Is a Rose
(6:13) 8. Down by the River
(3:19) 9. Fool for Your Love
(4:31) 10. Barefoot Floors
(4:32) 11. Old Man

Kelley Suttenfield is an acoustic jazz vocalist whose lush resonance and graceful approach have captivated fans and critics alike. In the words of writer Carol Banks Weber (AXS com), she “breathes her own loving, sensitive and reverent persona into every lyric.” She has just released her thirds album “When We Were Young: Kelley Suttenfield Sings Neil Young” which Jazz Music Archives calls the “number one pick for sleeper, surprise masterpiece of the year.” Plans are underway for tours in US and UK, EPK and additional information can be found at: www.kelleysuttenfield.com. https://www.jazziz.com/new-releases/when-we-were-young-kelley-suttenfield-sings-neil-young/

Personnel: Kelley Suttenfield, vocals; Tosh Sheridan, guitars, back-up vocals (tracks 3, 4); Matthew Fries, piano, Fender Rhodes (tracks 2, 5, 7); Phil Palombi, double bass; Eric Halvorson, drums, percussion (tracks 2, 5, 7, 10); The Memling Ensemble String Trio (tracks 2, 3, 6, 8, 11)

When We Were Young: Kelley Suttenfield Sings Neil Young

---

John Scofield, Steve Swallow, Bill Stewart - Swallow Tales

Styles: Guitar Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:52
Size: 121,7 MB
Art: Front

(9:29) 1. She Was Young
(5:24) 2. Falling Grace
(3:31) 3. Portsmouth Figurations
(9:24) 4. Awful Coffee
(7:10) 5. Eiderdown
(4:11) 6. Hullo Bolinas
(4:50) 7. Away
(4:30) 8. In F
(4:22) 9. Radio

It was Gary Burton who brought Steve Swallow with electric bass in tow into the teaching ranks of the Berklee College of Music in the early 1970s. Burton had already introduced Swallow's songs to the students, one of whom, a fresh-faced John Scofield, would go on to play and record with both men. Scofield and Swallow's musical partnership has proven the more durable, having begun in the late 1970s. Here, the former teacher and student pick up where they left on the Grammy-winning Country For Old Men (Impulse! 2016), with Scofield putting his inimitable stamp on nine Swallow originals. The nine straight-ahead tracks cover almost half a century of Swallow's career, from the early-mid 1960s, when Swallow was part of Burton's innovative groups, up until the early 2010s. Singable melody and harmonic depth are the common threads throughout. "She Was Young," originally tailored by Swallow to a poem by Robert Creeley a major influence and sung by Sheila Jordan on the album Home (ECM, 1980), is a beautiful feast. Bill Stewart no stranger himself to Scofield switches back and forth between brushes and sticks as the music waxes and wanes. Swallow keeps the melody flowing as Scofield, in top form, digs deep, but it is in the trio's extended workout where real sparks fly.

These compositions could almost have been written for Scofield, who revels in the ever-bright melodic terrain, the effortless swing that Swallow and Stewart engender, and the changes that invite fresh improvisational impetus at every turn. Swallow's compositions are rooted, but always moving forward. They are also rather handsome. The aforementioned "She Was Young," and the exquisitely tender ballad "Away," are particularly gorgeous. Scofield is one of the most exciting electric guitarists of his generation, but he is often at his most alluring at relaxed tempi; the slower reworking of "Awful Coffee," which features a typically singsong solo from Swallow, and the gently strolling "Hullo Bolinas" reveal the nuance and soul in Scofield's broad-ranging vocabulary. The modern-day jazz standard "Falling Grace" sees Scofield and Swallow in expansive mode, their respective solos imbibed with the composition's underlying melodic charm. Stewart, a dynamic presence throughout, comes into the spotlight with a solo turn on "Eiderdown," but in truth, his ceaselessly inventive playing throughout the album is a constant source of surprise and delight. Here, Stewart employs his ride cymbal like a cracking whip that spurs Scofield on. "Radio," from the Times Square (ECM, 1978) album with Burton, Roy Haynes and Tiger Okoshi, sees Swallow's deceptive walking bass line and Stewart's more overtly fractured rhtyhms provide the friction that ignites Scofield's blue touch paper. Swallow Tales, Scofield's heartfelt homage to a significant figure in modern jazz, exudes the spontaneity and excitement arising from a single afternoon in the studio. Swallow's playing is as lithe as ever, while his compositions, channelled through such caring, intuitive hands, sound evergreen.~ Ian Patterson https://www.allaboutjazz.com/swallow-tales-john-scofield-ecm-records

Personnel: John Scofield: guitar; Bill Stewart: drums; Steve Swallow: bass.

Swallow Tales

---

Margriet Sjoerdsma - Drawing Circles

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:59
Size: 104,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:55) 1. Better Try My Best
(3:12) 2. I Was Meant To Be
(3:23) 3. Let It All Out
(3:20) 4. All The Way
(2:59) 5. Glow In The Dark
(3:41) 6. Monkey Monday
(6:45) 7. We're OK
(3:07) 8. Drawing Circles
(3:30) 9. Isn't It Funny
(3:08) 10. Been There Done That
(4:14) 11. Give It All Up
(3:37) 12. I Will Recall

After a period of creative reflection, writing and hard work Margriet launched this year already her third album 'Drawing Circles'. Her first albums 'With the whisper of a morning'(2006) and 'Bloom'(2008) has brought her on stage at the North Sea Jazz Festival, the Concertgebouw and the Kleine Komedie. She has also be on tour to Bulgaria, Croatia and South Korea. Margriet studied jazz at the Conservatory but she has always been inspired by artists like Jeff Buckley, Joni Mitchell and Sheryl Crow. On her first two albums particularly jazz influences can be heard. Her album 'Drawing Circles' has a different angle. The condition for this record was that she would start writing songs that she also would like to listen to. She always wrote, but now she forced herself to dive deeper into it. She often could not find the peace to a song or a text to finish. That peace she has taken now consciously. She also wanted to write with others to gain new ideas. For this album she wrote with Louk Boudesteijn, Maarten van Damme, Jan Peter Hoekstra and Martijn van Agt.

"We have written a lot on guitar, which was new to me. It inspired me again to sit alone behind the piano, trying things out. Not from an idea to write, but to see what currently occurs. "Therefore in 'Drawing Circles' the guitar is central instead of the piano. "I have been working closely with pianist / composer Dimitar Bodurov, and asked Martijn van Agt to join me for the recordings on guitar. "Yesterday was the video recording of two songs of her and soon I will share with you the recordings, made by Eric van Nieuwland and Ron Beenen but first the photos of Margriet getting ready for her photoshoot. https://fashionart.patriciareports.nl/2011/12/margriet-sjoerdsma-introduction.html

Drawing Circles

---

Chick Corea - Delphi 2 & 3

Album: Delphi 2 Side One
Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1980
File: MP3@256K/s
Time: 23:06
Size: 44,0 MB
Art: Front

(1:06) 1. New World I
(0:45) 2. New World II
(1:30) 3. New World III
(1:14) 4. New World IV
(1:30) 5. New World V
(1:07) 6. New World VI
(9:42) 7. Sad Song
(2:40) 8. Samba
(3:28) 9. North Brasil

---

Album: Delphi 2 Side Two
Time: 26:30
Size: 49,7 MB

(6:36) 1. Mountain Top
(2:46) 2. Voices
(7:22) 3. Spirits
(4:59) 4. Waltze For My Folks
(2:23) 5. Unicorns I
(2:21) 6. Unicorns II

---

Album: Delphi 3 Side One
Time: 26:43
Size: 51,8 MB

(4:05) 1. Mime I
(4:57) 2. Mime II
(2:43) 3. Ballet I
(0:38) 4. Ballet II
(3:05) 5. Ballet III
(1:10) 6. Ballet IV
(0:32) 7. Ballet V
(1:50) 8. Ballet VI
(0:31) 9. Ballet VII
(0:26) 10. Ballet VIII
(0:20) 11. Ballet IX
(0:55) 12. Ballet X
(0:41) 13. Ballet XI
(0:39) 14. Ballet XII
(4:03) 15. Poem I

---

Album: Delphi 3 Side Two
Time: 27:09
Size: 50,7 MB

(11:33) 1. Concerto Flamenco
( 3:22) 2. Poem II (Liana)
( 3:34) 3. Poem III (Thaddeus)
( 4:59) 4. Poem IV (Remember The Hearts)
( 3:39) 5. Poem V (Remember The Hearts

Innovator and Pioneer:
Since embarking on a solo career in 1966, Chick has been at the forefront of jazz, both as a renowned pianist forging new ground with his acoustic jazz bands and as an innovative electric keyboardist with Return to Forever, the Elektric Band, and now the electro/acoustic Vigil. His extensive discography boasts numerous albums, beginning with his 1968 classic, Now He Sings, Now He Sobs.

Renowned Pianist-Composer Chick Corea - A Prolific Explorer Of Jazz And Classical Music

A DownBeat Hall of Famer and NEA Jazz Master, 23-time Grammy winner, and keyboard virtuoso, Chick Corea has attained living legend status after five decades of unparalleled creativity and an artistic output that is simply staggering. Chick is the fourth-most-nominated artist in the history of the Grammys, with 65 nominations. He's also earned 3 Latin Grammy Awards, the most of any artist in the Best Instrumental Album category.

From straight ahead to avant-garde, bebop to fusion, children's songs to chamber music, along with some far-reaching forays into symphonic works, Chick has touched an astonishing number of musical bases in his illustrious career while maintaining a standard of excellence that is awe-inspiring. A tirelessly creative spirit, Chick continues to forge ahead, continually reinventing himself in the process. https://chickcorea.com/about-chick/

Piano – Chick Corea

R.I.P.

Mariangela Cagnetta - E–Motion

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:43
Size: 110,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:41) 1. Things Ain’t What They Used to Be
(4:55) 2. Afro Blue
(7:12) 3. Nature Boy
(3:32) 4. Lawns
(4:24) 5. Caravan
(2:55) 6. Lazy Afternoon Phunk
(5:19) 7. And I Love Him (Medley)
(2:32) 8. Speak Low
(4:33) 9. Blue in Green
(4:19) 10. Giant Steps
(4:15) 11. Moon River

A glance at the track listing on this album might prompt the title of another tune "So What's New?" However, after a thorough listening, a more appropriate musical response could be "I Never Knew." e-motion is an innovative, fascinating and marvelously performed modern perspective on eleven jazz standards delivered by superior musicians. The ensemble is minimal a vocalist, an electric bassist and a drummer. That's it. The musicians' creative output is anything but. Vocalist Mariangela Cagnetta is an incredibly versatile, talented and mature artist. She has terrific vocal chops across the session. It takes a highly competent and involved singer to walk this type of tightrope. Cagnetta is right at home communicating and responding magnificently with ace bassist, Viz Maurogiovanni and master drummer, Pierluigi Villani. She's a gem.

While the program is familiar, each of the arrangements is creatively unique and precisely structured for the trio format. For example, Duke Ellington's "Things Ain't What They Used to Be" gets a hip, rock re-do, as do "Caravan" and a darker feminine take on The Beatles' pop hit, "And I Love Him." The interplay among and between voice, bass and drums is the the marvel of this album whether it is Cagnetta scatting as a dervish over Maurogiovanni's pulsating bass, Villani's percussive bedrock on "Lazy Afternoon Phunk" or "conversing" in duo with Villani's ace polyrhythmic set and brush work on "Speak Low." Cagnetta's emotional depth and poetic lyric approach is displayed brilliantly on the exotic "Nature Boy," on Mongo Santamaria's "Afro Blue," and the killer closer, "Moon River." Classics "Blue in Green" and "Giant Steps" are recognizable, but delivered with "Lucy in the Sky" kaleidoscope glasses. Bassist Maurogiovanni, a regular contributor to drummer Villani's sessions, is a Miroslav Vitous / {m: Jaco Pastorius = 10148}} acolyte displaying incredible technical proficiency, deep drive and a bopper's heart. Villani has proven over the years that he's hands-down a world-class musician. They are both creatively outstanding on this session.~ Nicholas F.Mondello https://www.allaboutjazz.com/e-motion-mariangela-cagnetta-caligola-records-review-by-nicholas-f-mondello.php

Personnel: Mariangela Cagnetta: vocals, flute, backing vocals; Viz Maurogiovanni: electric bass; Pierluigi Villani: drums.

E–Motion

---

Joey Alexander - Warna

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:12
Size: 143,1 MB
Art: Front

(6:43) 1. Warna
(5:11) 2. Mosaic (Of Beauty)
(5:33) 3. Lonely Streets
(4:25) 4. Downtime
(3:44) 5. Affirmation I
(7:16) 6. Inner Urge
(5:22) 7. We Here
(4:08) 8. Tis Our Prayer
(4:35) 9. Fragile
(5:47) 10. Our Story
(5:47) 11. Affirmation III
(3:37) 12. The Light

Hard to believe that after all of Joey Alexander’s accolades at the tender age of 16 Grammy nominations, a Grand Prix at the Master-Jam Fest, and a personal Jazz at Lincoln Center invite from Wynton Marsalis he’s done it all (and more) without a major-label deal. Warna (“color” in Alexander’s native Bahasa Indonesian) finds him, for the first time, in fine historic company on Verve. And the music? It’s proceeding with nary a hiccup. Youth propels the pianist, to be sure, but he’s hardly a slick trickster or a Warp Nine showoff. Writing 10 of 12 tracks here (with Sting’s “Fragile” and Joe Henderson’s “Inner Urge” thrown in), he distinguishes himself as before, first through simple, elegantly stated figures, then through lively and deep variation (more harmonic than rhythmic) on each.

With due kudos to the man in charge, this album belongs to all who play on it. Bassist Larry Grenadier never fails to deepen and enrich Alexander’s left hand. Drummer Kendrick Scott treats empty space as a tidepool, stirring his sticks to find a variety of rhythmic life in every go-round. Guest percussionist Luisito Quintero sticks steadfastly to Scott until they sound like one man with four hands. The other guest, flutist Anne Drummond, adds a bracing cold-spring ambience to two tracks. A tad jarring compared to the easy familiarity of the other four, but another intriguing direction of which I would have liked to hear more. This album will get plenty of hype; Alexander’s age and seemingly instant cred guarantee nothing less. I was pleasantly surprised, though, by the richness in restraint and the intuitive mastery of space and silence from everyone. By Andrew Hamlin https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/joey-alexander-warna-verve/

Personnel: Piano – Joey Alexander; Acoustic Bass – Larry Grenadier; Drums – Kendrick Scott; Flute – Anne Drummond

Warna

---

Alex Sipiagin - Relativity

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:27
Size: 155,7 MB
Art: Front

(11:26) 1. Relativity
( 6:59) 2. Propagation of Light
( 4:31) 3. Space and Time
( 9:09) 4. Simultaneity
( 6:37) 5. Clocks in Motion
( 8:01) 6. Addition of Velocity
( 6:05) 7. Difficult Cosmos
( 4:51) 8. Spacetime
( 9:44) 9. Unbounded

Some years ago, Alan J. Friedman and Carol C. Donley published a book with the intriguing title Einstein as Myth and Muse, which traces the cultural influence of Einstein's theory of relativity. The impact of Einstein's theory on the public imagination has been profound and its influence on modern jazz as a muse is very artfully evident in the titles of the beautifully performed tracks of the Alex Sipiagin album Relativity: Music of Dave Lisik with performances by Chris Potter, Will Vinson, John Escreet, Boris Koslov, Eric Harland and Alina Engibaryan. As a theoretical physicist specializing in Einstein's theory of relativity, I look at the physical aspect of reality while jazz represents complex musical aspects of reality. Each track on this album highlights a particular aspect of Einstein’s theory. Relativity means looking at reality from different aspects to gain a better perspective of the whole. My ruminations consider what Einstein's theory has to say about the physical aspect of each title of this beautiful album. Let's take a look: Relativity: Einstein's theory of relativity is the result of a conflict between Newton's classical physics of motion and Maxwell's theory of light. This lack of harmony between Newton and Maxwell is what Einstein had to deal with.

Propagation of Light: All the visible information that comes to us from the universe, whether on the large or small scale, is due to light which, like sound, travels as a wave. These light waves travel at a constant speed of 186,000 miles per second. The speed of light does not change whether you're moving towards a light beam or away from it. Ordinary objects like a baseball change their speed if you're running towards the baseball after it is pitched or away from it. Light behaves differently. Space and Time: Newton says that, just like the baseball, light should change its speed depending on whether you're moving towards the source of light or away from it. Einstein said the speed of light doesn't change with the speed of the source and there is an important reason why: the speed of light stays the same because space and time change. Simultaneity: According to Einstein's theory of relativity, events that happen for you at the same time if you're standing still, did not happen for me at the same time if I'm moving relative to you. Time is relative.

Clocks in Motion: Einstein says that time for moving clock slows down. The faster you move, the more your clock slows down. Your heart is a clock so you age less the faster you move relative to everyone else. Addition of Velocity: If someone is running towards you and throws a baseball at you, the baseball will be coming at you faster than if they were standing still when they threw the ball at you. The velocity of the runner is added to the velocity of the baseball. If they are running at you while they are shining a flashlight, according to relativity, the velocity of light beam is the same as if they were standing still. In other words, adding any velocity to the velocity of light does not change the velocity of light. This is because space and time are changing. Difficult Cosmos: Relativity shows that the universe is much richer, deeper and more complex than we had ever thought before. When we look out into the universe, we are looking into the past. The universe we see now is the universe as it was because it takes time for light to reach us. Spacetime: The famous mathematician Hermann Minkowski stated that, because of Einstein's theory of relativity, "space by itself and time by itself are doomed to fade away into mere shadows and only a kind of union of the two will have an independent reality." Space and time are joined into a four-dimensional “spacetime.” Unbounded: The theory of relativity has given us a new view of the universe that is no longer constrained by the mechanical world of Newton. Jazz also gives us a new view of music that is radically different from the classical music of Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. To me, all the pieces in this dynamic album of modern jazz have a have a wonderful har

Personnel: Alex Sipiagin, trumpet and flugelhorn; Chris Potter, tenor saxophone; Will Vinson, alto saxophone; John Escreet, piano; Boris Kozlov, bass; Eric Harland, drums; Alina Engibaryan, voice

Relativity

---

Chick Corea - Plays

Album: Plays Disc 1
Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:09
Size: 135,6 MB
Art: Front

(2:12) 1. Chick Talks Mozart and Gershwin
(4:18) 2. Mozart: Piano Sonata in F, KV332 (2nd Part - Adagio) - Live in Clearwater / 2018
(7:39) 3. Someone To Watch Over Me - Live in Clearwater / 2018
(2:18) 4. Improvisation on Scarlatti - Live in Paris / 2018
(2:07) 5. Scarlatti: Sonata in D minor K9, L413 Allegro - Live in Paris / 2018
(5:39) 6. Yesterdays - Live in Paris / 2018
(0:41) 7. Chick Talks Bill Evans and Antonio Jobim - Live in Berlin / 2018
(7:22) 8. Waltz For Debby - Live in Berlin / 2018
(5:06) 9. Desafinado - Live in Berlin / 2018
(4:14) 10. Chopin: Prelude Op. 28 #4 - Live in Paris / 2018
(5:00) 11. Scriabin: Prelude Op. 11 (Part 1) #4 - Live in Paris / 2018
(0:20) 12. Chick Talks Monk - Live in Berlin / 2018
(4:13) 13. Pannonica - Live in Berlin / 2018
(2:33) 14. Trinkle Tinkle - Live in Berlin / 2018
(4:20) 15. Blue Monk - Live in Berlin / 2018

---

Album: Plays Disc 2
Time: 53:54
Size: 126,3 MB

(5:55) 1. Pastime Paradise - Live in Clearwater / 2018
(0:46) 2. Chick Talks Paco - Live in Clearwater / 2018
(9:33) 3. The Yellow Nimbus - Live in Paris / 2018
(0:58) 4. Chick Talks Portraits - Live in Paris / 2018
(2:22) 5. Portrait: Henrietta - Live in Paris / 2018
(2:08) 6. Portrait: Chris - Live in Paris / 2018
(0:22) 7. Chick Talks Duets - Live in Paris / 2018
(3:57) 8. Duet: Yaron - Live in Paris / 2018
(3:06) 9. Duet: Charles - Live in Paris / 2018
(0:42) 10. Chick Talks Children's Songs - Live in Paris / 2018
(1:43) 11. Children's Song No. 1 - Live in Paris / 2018
(1:12) 12. Children's Song No. 3 - Live in Paris / 2018
(2:36) 13. Children's Song No. 4 - Live in Paris / 2018
(1:24) 14. Children's Song No. 9 - Live in Paris / 2018
(3:49) 15. Children's Song No. 10 - Live in Paris / 2018
(1:33) 16. Children's Song No. 15 - Live in Paris / 2018
(3:43) 17. Children's Song No. 17 - Live in Paris / 2018
(7:57) 18. Children's Song No. 12 - Live in Paris / 2018

As we huddle and binge on our national and moral failings, having as buoyant and engaging an artist come into our homes, as Chick Corea does on Plays, is simply a great, beautiful thing, and one of the core reasons that, even in the face of the daily ire, the majority of us hold tight the better part of ourselves in order to share it with the greater whole. It is not a matter of greatest performance of this or that or whatever, it is a matter of the honesty ringing forth as Corea, seemingly without effort, glides, leaps and bounds, across a host of his inspirations. Featuring agile illuminations of, among others, Scarlatti, Chopin, Bill Evans, George Gershwin, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Stevie Wonder, Thelonious Monk, Corea, his ageless touch and positivity on full display, crafts a shimmering Indra's web that connects the life force that composer has given to the player so that he can now connect deeply with his thankful audience. Music to feel, dance with, make love with, and create.

But that doesn't make any of Plays twenty-six performances (it's a double disc set) background music to the new normal. This gig plays like you're sitting (or standing) in any of the venues where this witty, whimsical set of animated miniatures was captured for posterity. A sincerely warm host, Corea explains his thinking that delights in pairing Mozart with Gershwin, Evans with Jobim. He spontaneously creates tone poems for two audience members. He improvises with two other audience participants who, it was later discovered, were French pianist Charles Heisser, and French-Israeli jazz pianist Yaron Herman. His Cirque du Soleil-styled ballet through three by Monk, "Pannonica," "Trinkle Tinkle," "Blue Monk," deliciously sum up the whole of Plays: It's great to be alive and listening.~ Mike Jurkovic https://www.allaboutjazz.com/plays-chick-corea-concord-jazz

Personnel: Chick Corea: piano

R.I.P.
Born: June 12, 1941, Chelsea, Massachusetts, United States

Died: February 9, 2021

Plays

---