Ida Landsberg - Jazz Sessions

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:54
Size: 92,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:57)  1. Blue Moon
(3:26)  2. They Can't Take That Away from Me
(3:34)  3. Angel Eyes
(4:20)  4. Fly Me to the Moon
(3:40)  5. From This Moment On
(4:09)  6. Close to You
(3:42)  7. How High the Moon
(3:43)  8. Cry Me a River
(3:54)  9. Don't Take Your Love from Me
(4:25) 10. Night and Day

Music is in my life since I can think.In my case music always had been present but for a long time it wasn’t at the centre of my thinking and activities yet. It was more an accompaniment of every of my daily actions, an accessory, an atmosphere, a song to sing or an open ear for sounds and noises. I always had a very sensible ear that hated rumors and couldn’t tolerate notes that weren’t perfectly clean. Who loved high and clear voices and memorized melodies quickly. I didn’t grow up in an artist environment even though my grand-grandmother, from which I had my name Ida, was a sculpturist and lived surrounded by famous 19th Century painters in Kleinmachnow just outside Berlin. One of her friends were Max Liebermann. I know her only from my father’s tellings.

I passed my childhood and adolescence by studying languages, literature and science, but music was my everyday companion, my friend, my breathe. That doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t have been in constant contact with music making. In my earliest childhood, I sang on my grandmother’s balcony and the neighbors listened to me. At the age of 6 I started to play piano, to sing in a church choir and to be part of a children dance theatre.  Also my family enjoyed music. My grandmother played piano, my father accordeon and my mother guitar. They wanted to give us a good musical education. My mother was the one who raise my love for classical music as she took me to the opera house since I was a child. I knew all the arias of Mozart’s “Magical Flute” by heart and sang them the whole day long. She was also the one who forced me to practice piano everyday when I was about to quit at the age of 13. I couldn’t be any more thankful that she insisted.

I was very active at school performances. After a long and intense 70s musical rebel period in my adolescence at the sound of the The Doors, Janis Joplin and the Beach Boys, I discovered jazz music which would have been my strongest passion. Charlie Parker and Dave Brubeck had become my new heroes, Nina Simone and Ella Fitzgerald my idols.  Soon the desire of letting music be a central part of my life became concrete. I was admitted to the Berlin University of Fine Arts and studied music pedagogy there until I left Germany for a student exchange program. My time at the UdK was one of the greatest I can remember. I had a female a cappella trio, sang in different choirs and we made plenty of University productions. It was a busy and fun period. http://www.idalandsberg.net/about-me/

Jazz Sessions

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Geri Allen, Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette - The Life Of A Song

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:29
Size: 150,6 MB
Art: Front

(5:55)  1. LWB's House (The Remix)
(8:08)  2. Mounts & Mountains
(8:15)  3. Lush Life
(6:13)  4. In Appreciation - A Celebration Song
(7:12)  5. The Experimental Movement
(4:40)  6. Holdin' Court
(4:05)  7. Dance Of The Infidels
(5:19)  8. Unconditional Love
(5:24)  9. The Life Of A Song
(4:33) 10. Black Bottom
(5:40) 11. Soul Eyes

Life of a Song is Geri Allen's first recording under her own name in six long years. She teams with the rhythm section of bassist Dave Holland and drummer Jack DeJohnette, whom she worked with on the late Betty Carter's stellar live date Feed the Fire in 1993. Allen composed eight of the album's 11 cuts, and the covers include Bud Powell's "Dance of the Infidels," Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life," and Mal Waldron's "Soul Eyes." This last selection is augmented by the participation of Marcus Belgrave on flugelhorn, saxophonist Dwight Andrews, and trombonist Clifton Anderson. The album's title reflects the depth of commitment to the song forms inherent in jazz. Allen is in fine form here, and one can hear her various instrumental and vocal influences. The album swings, but looks underneath swing for its subtleties and its edges, too. The set opens with a playful, pianistic dissonance on "LWB's House (The Remix)" and lest punters be alarmed, the tune is not "remixed" at all, but is actually an earlier composition reworked. The bluesy funk here is augmented with Afro-Cuban rhythms and a series of tonal shifts where Allen is trying to emulate the African stringed instrument, the kora. Swing is inherent in every chorus, and Holland and DeJohnette keep the pace relaxed yet deeply focused. The interplay between Holland and Allen on "Mounts and Mountains" particularly during the bassist's solo passage are remarkable as she responds with a contrapuntal solo that draws on both Herbie Hancock and Ahmad Jamal. Elsewhere, on the Powell tune her facility to usher it in a relaxed, easy way, and then dazzle with her two-handed counterpoint in the solo showcase Allen's quick wit and dazzling chromatic command. The title cut, with its obvious Hancock homage in the head and swinging head, is one of the album's many high points. This is a trio date that has all the elements: an indefatigable lyricism and honesty of emotion, as well as beautiful colors and deft, even uncanny engagements among the three principals. What a welcome return for Allen, who expertly displays she's been refining her chops and listening deeply to her Muse these past six years. ~ Thom Jurek http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-life-of-a-song-mw0000151431

Personnel:  Geri Allen – piano;  Dave Holland – bass;  Jack DeJohnette – drums;  Marcus Belgrave – flugelhorn;  Dwight Andrews – saxophone;  Clifton Anderson – trombone.

R.I.P.
Born:  June 12, 1957 
Died:  June 27, 2017

The Life Of A Song

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Nina Simone - Here Comes The Sun

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:27
Size: 152.1 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 1971/2015
Art: Front

[3:32] 1. Here Comes The Sun
[4:48] 2. Just Like A Woman
[3:14] 3. O-O-H Child
[4:58] 4. Mr. Bojangles
[4:41] 5. New World Coming
[3:29] 6. Angel Of The Morning
[6:16] 7. How Long Must I Wander
[5:07] 8. My Way
[3:25] 9. Tanywey
[1:39] 10. My Father Dialog
[8:10] 11. Jelly Roll
[3:49] 12. Tell It Like It Is
[8:41] 13. 22nd Century
[4:31] 14. What Have They Done To My Song Ma

Just past the point where a great artist reaches too far for new material, 1971's Here Comes the Sun presented Nina Simone in a contemporary setting with eight covers of recent rock hits. Though the title track isn't very embarrassing -- her voice betrays a few technical faults -- there are few successes with the rest of the material. Simone's versions of "O-o-h Child," "Mr. Bojangles," "Just Like a Woman," and "My Way" are historical curiosities and sound terribly dated (the furious bongos and sweeping strings on the last is a dénouement). Much of the problem lies with the arrangements, though several times these passable rock songs get the best from Simone's interpretive skills. ~John Bush

Here Comes The Sun

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Geri Allen - Timeless Portrait And Dreams

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:27
Size: 134,3 MB
Art: Front

(1:52)  1. Oh Freedom
(7:07)  2. Melchezedik
(2:27)  3. Portraits And Dreams
(5:22)  4. Well Done
(4:21)  5. La Strada
(2:23)  6. I Have A Dream
(4:27)  7. Nearly
(5:40)  8. In Real Time
(2:48)  9. Embraceable You
(4:51) 10. Al-Leu-Cha
(4:21) 11. Just For A Thrill
(5:59) 12. Our Lady (for Billie Holiday)
(5:05) 13. Timeless Portrait And Dreams
(1:38) 14. Portrait And Dreams, reprise

There's a certain purity, perhaps innocence, about jazz that's played without the bells and whistles of modern technology and untainted by commercial trappings. When that purity is combined with superb songwriting, you have the makings of a recording that will never sound old. So it is with Timeless Portraits and Dreams.  A native of Detroit, Geri Allen began taking piano lessons at age eleven. She graduated from Howard University with a degree in jazz studies, and she later earned a master's degree in ethnomusicology from the University of Pittsburgh. Her professional career has included professorships in music at Howard and the University of Michigan; she has earned several awards. As a recording artist, she has collaborated with Mino Cinelu, Mary Wilson and the Supremes, Tony Williams, Ron Carter and Betty Carter, among others. On Timeless Portraits and Dreams, Allen delivers nearly an hour's worth of musical elegance. The stage is set on the opening tracks, "Oh Freedom and "Melchezedik, two originals that feature Allen on solo piano and then joined by her rhythm section of bassist Ron Carter and drummer Jimmy Cobb. On the latter piece, Carter stretches out. Allen is backed by the Atlanta Jazz Chorus on "Well Done, which features guest vocalist Carmen Lundy. Donald Walden introduces "I Have a Dream with a soft tenor sax solo. George Shirley, the first African-American tenor to sing at the Metropolitan Opera, sings lead on this tribute to the famous speech of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., accompanied by the Atlanta Jazz Chorus. 

Trumpeter Wallace Roney takes the lead on "In Real Time, an upbeat original penned by Allen and Roney. Allen's solo in the middle is one of the finer points of the album, aided by Carter's bass. Though he plays in the background for much of the album, Cobb steps up with a drum solo on the cover of Charlie Parker's "Ah-Leu-Cha. Throughout Timeless Portraits and Dreams, Allen's piano and Carter's bass keep the listener engaged. Cobb's drum work is subtle but effective. Lundy, Walden, Roney, Shirley and the Atlanta Jazz Chorus supplement the trio with great results. The collection includes a bonus CD single, "Lift Every Voice and Sing, which features Shirley and the Atlanta Jazz Chorus. Together, they form a gallery of emotions, thought-provoking messages and good jazz.~ Woodrow Wilkins https://www.allaboutjazz.com/timeless-portraits-and-dreams-geri-allen-telarc-records-review-by-woodrow-wilkins.php

Personnel: Geri Allen, piano; Ron Carter, bass; Jimmy Cobb, drums; Carmen Lundy, vocals; Wallace Roney, trumpet; George Shirley, vocals; Donald Walden, tenor saxophone; Atlanta Jazz Chorus, directed by Dwight Andrews.

Timeless Portrait And Dreams

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Donald Brown - Autumn in New York

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:06
Size: 151,3 MB
Art: Front

(6:48) 1. Make Sure You're sure
(7:47) 2. I Can't Give You Anything but Love
(5:14) 3. Strange
(5:41) 4. Miro's Flight
(6:32) 5. I Was Just Thinking About You
(6:20) 6. Dorothy's Love Letter
(8:18) 7. If I Should Loose You
(6:27) 8. Willow Weep for Me
(6:20) 9. Killer Joe
(5:39) 10. Autumn in New York

In spite of a lengthy discography of recordings as a leader, pianist Donald Brown remains a talent deserving of wider recognition. Whether it is due to his soft-spoken nature or the fact that his series of excellent recordings for the French label Space Time is not yet widely enough distributed in the U.S., Brown's abilities as a player, composer, and arranger are never in question. On this trio date with bassist Essiet Essiet and drummer Billy Kilson, the veteran catches listeners off guard with a laid-back opener, a dreamy take of Stevie Wonder's ballad "Make Sure You're Sure." His off-kilter approach to the old warhorse "I Can't Give You Anything but Love" and wailing treatment of "If I Should Lose You" add new life to these time-tested standards. Perhaps his most intriguing arrangement is the bluesy saunter through "Willow Weep for Me." The bright and somewhat funky "Dorothy's Love Letter" is among the three superb originals which Brown contributed to this very enjoyable CD.~Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/autumn-in-new-york-mw0000235054

Personnel: Piano, Liner Notes – Donald Brown; Acoustic Bass – Essiet Essiet; Drums – Billy Kilson

Autumn in New York

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Gloria Lynne - Encore (Remastered)

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 25:16
Size: 57.9 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[2:23] 1. They Didn't Believe Me
[1:58] 2. It Just Happened To Me
[2:45] 3. Bali Ha'i
[2:27] 4. Indian Love Call
[2:58] 5. Please Be Kind
[2:34] 6. One Step From Heaven
[2:37] 7. My Reverie
[2:41] 8. My Prayer For You
[2:17] 9. Intermezzo
[2:31] 10. Try A Little Tenderness

Truly one of America's greatest jazz vocalists, Gloria Lynne was the first jazz artist to have hits in the jazz, r&b, and pop categories simultaneously. She has influenced countless singers with her unique "Soul Jazz" style and continues to inspire new fans with her classic performances. This collection focuses on some of the best performances from her early years for the audiophile Everest label, from the late 1950's through the early 1960's. Featuring "Try A Little Tenderness," "Indian Love Call," "One Step From Heaven" and more. All selections newly remastered.

Encore (Remastered)

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John Surman - Proverbs And Songs

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1997
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:32
Size: 114,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:11)  1. Prelude
(4:55)  2. The Sons
(6:41)  3. The Kings
(7:39)  4. Wisdom
(4:50)  5. Job
(7:42)  6. No Twilight
(5:00)  7. Pride
(4:06)  8. The Proverbs
(5:24)  9. Abraham Arise!

Multi-reedist John Surman returns to his chorister roots and lays bare his compositional prowess with this oratorio commissioned by the Salisbury Festival and premiered in June of 1996. The Salisbury Festival Chorus, founded in 1987 by Howard Moody (of whose compositions the Hilliard Ensemble and Trio Mediaeval have been strong proponents) approaches its Old Testament sources as the composer sets them: that is, with panache, a flair for syncopation, and raw intensity. Add to this pianist John Taylor in an unexpected turn on cathedral organ, and you’ve got a recipe for one of Surman’s most intriguing catalogue entries to date. Despite the forces assembled, it is he who dominates the palette. The “Prelude” immediately places his cantorial baritone amid a wash of organ in a free-flowing Byzantine mode, thereby establishing a rich narrative quality from the start. Our first foray into choral territory comes in the form of “The Sons,” a robust piece that works men’s and women’s voices in an iron forger’s antiphony toward genealogical harmony. At first, the thicketed singing feels more like a shoreline along which reed and pipes crash in pockets of light and bas-relief. Yet as the “The Kings” soon proves, it is capable of the jaunty togetherness at which Surman excels. “Wisdom” has its finger most firmly on this pulse of greater fellowship, for there is a wisdom of Surman’s own in the brushwork of his soprano, which dances for all the world like the world. This being a live BBC Radio 3 recording that was later mixed down at Oslo’s Rainbow Studio, the quality is rather compressed. 

Then again, so is the music, the message of which is as dense as its King James texts. The album’s space is left to Taylor, its images to the voices, its method to Surman’s winds. There is a rusticity to the album’s sound that matches the unadulterated emotions of the music. We hear this especially in “Job,” which like its scripture upholds divine reason in the face of hardship. The chanting here is a form of punctuation, the snaking baritone lines its restless grammar. “No Twilight” continues to unravel the sopranic weave in what amounts to the heart of the album, both in spirit and in execution, and places the voices at the slightest remove to haunting effect. Surman’s streaks of sunlight here the voices of reason add depth of field to this vision, so that the whimsical shallows of “Pride” emphasize the frivolity and fragility of their eponym. The truth comes out in the ruminative organ solo that epilogues the piece. “The Proverbs,” with its ominous recitation, is the freest and builds eddies of judgment and self-reflection (note Surman’s brilliant evocation of the dissenter) until the rays of sacrifice blind with “Abraham Arise!” In light of the stellar body of choral work that ECM has produced, Surman’s forays into the same are not life-changing, if only because they are about unchanging life. True to the lessons at hand, it is more descriptive than it is aesthetic. Its juxtaposition of distinct sonic color schemes is pure Surman, and represents not a detour from but a dive into the kaleidoscope of his discography…and one well worth taking, at that. https://ecmreviews.com/2013/02/15/proverbs-and-songs/

Personnel: John Surman baritone and soprano saxophones, bass clarinet; John Taylor organ

Proverbs And Songs

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Cheryl Bentyne - Let's Misbehave: The Cole Porter Song Book

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:56
Size: 126,5 MB
Art: Front

(5:16)  1. Love For Sale
(4:08)  2. It's Alright With Me
(3:14)  3. My Heart Belongs To Daddy
(3:21)  4. I Love Paris
(3:03)  5. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
(4:14)  6. Night and Day
(2:17)  7. Just One of Those Things
(3:36)  8. What is this thing called Love
(3:34)  9. Begin the Beguine
(3:37) 10. All of You
(6:40) 11. I Concentrate on You
(3:53) 12. It's Delovely
(5:44) 13. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
(2:12) 14. Let's Misbehave

Cheryl Bentyne has maintained an active solo career in addition to her work with the Manhattan Transfer. Let's Misbehave is a fresh look at the Cole Porter songbook, featuring a baker's dozen of his best-known compositions, and showcasing a terrific band including pianist/organist Corey Allen, guitarist Larry Koonse, saxophonist/clarinetist Doug Webb, and bassist Kevin Axt (a member of Tierney Sutton's band), among others. Bentyne's sassy take of "Love for Sale" is buoyed by the piano/organ backdrop and Webb's soulful tenor. She devours the playful, hip Cuban setting of "My Heart Belongs to Daddy," while her interpretation of "I Love Paris" is pure magic. Her vocal gifts can especially be appreciated in "Begin the Beguine," with drummer Dave Tull as her sole accompanist. 

The late James Moody is a special guest on tenor sax for the breezy setting of "What Is This Thing Called Love" and the haunting, deliberate "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye," the latter of which Bentyne sings the words as if she's lived them. Let's Misbehave is clearly one Cheryl Bentyne's best recordings. ~ Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/lets-misbehave-the-cole-porter-songbook-mw0002392520

Personnel:  Vocals – Cheryl Bentyne; Acoustic Guitar – Octavio Bailly, Tom McCauley; Bass, Tuba – Kevin Axt; Drums – Dave Tull; Guitar [Guitar Solos] – Larry Koonse; Mandola – Tom McCauley; Piano, Keyboards, Banjo – Corey Allen; Saxophone, Clarinet – Doug Webb; Tenor Saxophone – James Moody; Trumpet – Chris Tedesco

Let's Misbehave: The Cole Porter Song Book

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Bob James - Once Upon A Time: The Lost 1965 New York Studio Sessions

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:01
Size: 117,4 MB
Art: Front

(5:45) 1. Serenata
(7:00) 2. Once Upon A Time
(7:36) 3. Lateef Minor 7th
(6:22) 4. Variations
(4:42) 5. Airegin
(5:09) 6. Indian Summer
(5:22) 7. Solar
(9:01) 8. Long Forgotten Blues

Most people have heard the music of Bob James. He wrote "Angela," the theme song for the popular television comedy Taxi. The show ran from 1978 to 1983, and reruns are ongoing. The Bob James became one of the fathers and most successful purveyors of the smooth/fusion jazz sound, in recordings under his own name, with the group Foreplay and in teamings with saxophonist David Sanborn. Once Upon A Time: The Lost 1965 New York Studio Sessions takes us to Bob James back in the beginning, in a way we perhaps haven't heard him, before he hit the groove which took him into a lucrative and still vibrant career. The first impression: the music sounds so un-Bob James-y no R & B funk moods, no lush and gorgeous backdrops, no high-polish production, no synthesizer sweetenings. Instead, the two sessions are two-thirds straight ahead piano trio jazz not too far from what pianist Bill Evans was doing at that time mixed with some unexpectedly far out avant-garde.

The first session, laid down in January '65, opens with Leroy Anderson's "Serenata," first recorded in 1949 by the Boston Pops Orchestra. James' take features the bright, light-stepping melody in front of the bounce and shuffle of bassist Larry Rockwell and drummer Robert Pozar. The disc's title tune, a James original, is painted with darker hues than those of the opener wistful and sad, with a shift into an anguished segment of angular piano searchings and arco bass that re-convenes into the engaging melody. Joe Zawinul's "Lateef Minor 7th" begins in a mainstream mode, but shifts into clamorous, low-key disarray, with vocalizations which sound as if they issued from unsettled minds, before the tune finds its way back home. "Variation," another James-penned tune, begins in a stately manner that evolves via the off-kilter instrumental machinations of drummer Posner and bassist Rockwell, along with some more indecipherable vocalizations into straightforward weirdness, with the piano trying mightily to retain a mainstream mood.

The second session, from October 9, 1965, is straight through, straight ahead: Sonny Rollins' "Airegin," the standard "Indian Summer," Miles Davis' "Solar," "Long Forgotten Afternoon," composing attributed to "Unknown," all nicely rendered, with pizzazz. The set, considered in its entirety, seems to say Bob James could have taken a number of different paths in his jazz journey: one on the sunny side of the street as a melodically bright, Ahmad Jamal-style piano trio guy, or taking a wild ride along a zig zagging road to a Stockhausen-esque avant-garde approach, instead of following his muse to wonderful success in the creation and the shaping the fusion/smooth jazz sound. And, it should be mentioned, the guy who recorded these two sessions was George Klabin, founder and co-president of Resonance Records, who was nineteen years old at the time, and continues to find great music from the past, from Eric Dolphy, Bill Evans, Wes Montgomery, Nat King Cole to Bob James and more. ~ Dan McClenaghan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/once-upon-a-time-the-lost-1965-new-york-studio-sessions-bob-james-resonance-records

Personnel: Bob James: piano; Larry Rockwell: bass; Robert Pozar: drums; Bill Wood: bass; Omar Clay: drums.

Once Upon A Time: The Lost 1965 New York Studio Sessions

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Billy May and His Orchestra - You May Swing (Remastered)

Styles: Jazz, Swing
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 33:16
Size: 77,5 MB
Art: Front

(2:43) 1. Bouncin' Runners
(2:47) 2. Second Chance
(3:02) 3. You May Swing
(2:32) 4. Novo Amor
(2:49) 5. You Ain't Makin' It
(2:07) 6. Jornal Do Brasil
(2:54) 7. Silvery Cloud
(2:56) 8. I Don't Know Where I'm Goin'
(3:02) 9. Sunset Colours
(2:43) 10. Santa Lucia
(2:41) 11. Fingers
(2:55) 12. Sooper Sloop

The last of the great arrangers who wrote regularly for Frank Sinatra, Billy May had several varied careers in and out of jazz. His first notable gig was as an arranger/trumpeter with Charlie Barnet (1938-1940), for whom he wrote the wah-wah-ing hit arrangement of Ray Noble's "Cherokee." Later, he worked in the same capacities for Glenn Miller (1940-1942) and Les Brown (1942) before settling into staff jobs, first at NBC studios, then at Capitol Records, where he led his own studio big band from 1951 to 1954. His arrangements for Sinatra, beginning with Come Fly With Me (1957) and ending with Trilogy (1979), are often in a walloping, brassy, even taunting swing mode, generating some of the singer's most swaggering vocals. May also did extensive scoring for television, film, and commercials. Although May was largely inactive in the '80s and '90s , he unexpectedly surfaced in 1996 with some typically bright big band charts for comic Stan Freberg's The United States of America, Vol. 2 (Rhino), 25 years after his contributions to Vol. 1. The veteran arranger died quietly at home on January 22, 2004 at the age of 87.~ Richard S.Ginell https://www.allmusic.com/artist/billy-may-mn0000769388/biography

You May Swing

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Charlie Watts - Warm & Tender

Styles: Jazz, Bop
Year: 1993
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:14
Size: 163,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:49) 1. My Ship
(3:48) 2. Bewitched
(4:46) 3. My Foolish Heart
(5:40) 4. Someone to Watch Over me
(3:42) 5. I'll Be Around
(4:07) 6. Love Walked In
(4:44) 7. It Never Entered My Mind
(4:38) 8. My One and Only Love
(4:26) 9. I'm Glad There is You
(4:05) 10. If I Should Lose You
(4:56) 11. Ill Wind
(4:10) 12. Time After Time
(4:04) 13. Where Are You
(4:25) 14. For All We Know
(4:19) 15. They Didn't Believe Me
(4:26) 16. You Go To My Head

Drummer Charlie Watts is the engine that’s kept the Stones rolling for more than half a century. As the band's most unassuming, workmanlike, and reliably dapper member, he has always projected an air of cool nonchalance that contrasts sharply with Mick Jagger’s peacocking swagger and Keith Richards’ outlaw mystique. But his wrist-cracking snare thwacks are what give early signature singles like 1965’s “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” their agitated energy, while his hard-driving rhythm amplifies the apocalyptic menace of “Gimme Shelter.” And when you consider the Stones’ various stylistic experiments over the years the loose Latin-psych jamming of “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking,” the seedy disco of “Miss You,” the strobe-lit club grooves of “Undercover of the Night” it’s Watts’ steady hand anchoring every muse-chasing moment. Outside the Stones, Watts (born in London in 1941) has indulged a life-long love of blues and jazz that predates his career in rock. In 1991, he formed a quintet in tribute to another Charlie Parker and released a series of albums that reinvigorate bop standards, illustrating his foremost dedication: serving the music. "I don't know what show biz is,” he told the San Diego Union-Tribune that year. "There are people who just play instruments, and I'm pleased to know that I'm one of them.” https://music.apple.com/us/artist/charlie-watts/64374085

Personnel: Alto Saxophone – Peter King; Drums – Charlie Watts; Orchestra – Metropolitan Orchestra; Piano – Brian Lemon; Trumpet – Gerard Presencer; Vocals – Bernard Fowler

R.I.P.
Born: 2 June 1941

Died: 24 August 2021

Warm & Tender

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Richard Galliano - Sentimentale

Styles: Accordian Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:06
Size: 153,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:38) 1. Armando's Rumba
(6:35) 2. Canto Invierno
(7:08) 3. In a Sentimental Mood
(4:43) 4. The Jody Grind
(5:05) 5. Ballade Pour Marion
(6:32) 6. The Island
(5:47) 7. Plus Fort Que Nous
(5:35) 8. Why Did I Choose You
(5:21) 9. Verbos Do Amor
(5:01) 10. Naima
(4:33) 11. Mantiqueira
(5:03) 12. Lili

Accordionist Richard Galliano is a true innovator of both the extemporized role of his instrument and of the fusion of French folk music with jazz. His breathtaking instrumental facility combined with a creative ingenuity makes his oeuvre, particularly the series of superb albums on Dreyfus Jazz, uniquely satisfying. In view of this, his release on the non-for-profit Resonance Label, Sentimentale is a bit of a letdown. A couple of Galliano compositions, and a few jazz, Bossa Nova and pop standards are among the dozen of tracks that constitute the album. Despite the diversity of their origins the superlative quintet's interpretation of these songs makes for a thematically cohesive recording. The musicians, however, both as individuals and as a group, play it safe and do not expand a great deal on the melodies and motifs inherent within each piece.

Saxophonist John Coltrane's "Naima" gets a breezy makeover with Galliano's eloquent solo merely adding some harmonic adornments to the classic. Guitarist Anthony Wilson brings a tad of intrigue with his Indian flavored strums as he takes his turn in the spotlight. Wilson and pianist Tamir Hendelman let loose an elegant cascade of notes on pianist Dave Grusin's effervescent but ultimately lightweight melancholic ballad. Galliano serenades the band with a sublime romanticism. His own impressionistic "Ballade Pour Marion" features his ardent yet subtle performance that conjures images of intimate cafes and a late night ambience. On Brazilian pianist Joao Donato's popular "Verbos Do Amor" Galliano successfully blends European sophistication with South American passion. Drummer Mauricio Zottarelli's energetic beats and bassist Carlitos del Puerto's vibrant thrums drive this sunny, sashaying tune.

The lyrical Galliano penned "Lili" is a hauntingly gorgeous duet between Wilson and Galliano and although short on spontaneity it closes the disc with a refined and poetic touch. Despite being disappointingly smooth and rather superficial in improvisational rigor Sentimentale is highly enjoyable and charming work. This is primarily due to the seamless camaraderie among the band members and their high caliber musicianship. ~Hrayr Attarian https://www.allaboutjazz.com/sentimentale-richard-galliano-resonance-records-review-by-hrayr-attarian.php

Personnel: Richard Galliano: accordion; Tamir Hendelman: piano; Anthony Wilson: guitar; Carlitos Del Puerto: bass; Mauricio Zottarelli: drums.

Sentimentale

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Conrad Herwig - The Latin Side of John Coltrane

Styles: Trombone Jazz
Year: 1996
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 70:04
Size: 161,0 MB
Art: Front

(1:17)  1. Blessing
(6:05)  2. A Love Supreme (Supremo Amor)
(6:52)  3. Blue Train
(9:38)  4. Afro-Blue
(4:41)  5. Naima
(7:59)  6. Satellite
(6:37)  7. Africa
(4:36)  8. After the Rain
(7:26)  9. Impressions
(7:44) 10. India
(5:43) 11. The Drum Thing
(1:20) 12. Blessing (Reprise)

A great idea beautifully executed by New York trombonist Conrad Herwig. The trombonist/arranger/musical director chooses Coltrane's most accessible material from a period that arguably spawned his best, most memorable work (1958-1964), devised simple, exploratory frameworks for each (recalling veteran Chico O'Farrill), then assembled an outstanding collection of musicians. In addition to Herwig's sinewy trombone, there's Brian Lynch on trumpet, Dave Valentin on flutes, Ronnie Cuber on baritone, Richie Beirach (who contributed to some of the arrangements), Danilo Perez and Eddie Palmeri on piano, Andy Gonzalez (from the Fort Apache Band) on bass and Milton Cardona on vocals and percussion. Selections are outstanding: "A Love Supreme," "Blue Train," (where Lynch trades fours with Herwig), "Afro Blue" (great flute solo by Valentine), "Naima" (beautifully featuring Beirach), "After The Rain," "Impressions" and "India." Throughout, Herwig solos flawlessly, with a sensitivity and fire that's reminiscent of the source of his tribute. Herwig's record, more than Joe Henderson's recent big-band event, sounds like a natural conclusion. The arrangements and performances work well together and the Latin environment seems a logical foundation for Coltrane's passions. One last note: Astor Place has done a beautiful job packaging The Latin Side of John Coltrane , sparing no expense for trendy art direction that recalls some of the very expensive covers Limelight Records put out in the mid 60s. Recommended. ~ Douglas Payne https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-latin-side-of-john-coltrane-conrad-herwig-astor-place-review-by-douglas-payne.php

Personnel: Conrad Herwig - trombone, musical director;  Brian Lynch - trumpet;  Alex Sippiagin - trumpet;  Mike Ponella - trumpet;  Ray Vega - trumpet;  Dave Valentin - concert flute, alto flute, bass flute;   Ronnie Cuber - baritone saxophone;  Gary Smulyan - baritone saxophone;   Danilo Pérez - piano; Eddie Palmieri - piano;  Edward Simon - piano;  Richie Beirach - piano;   John Benitez - bass;   Andy González - bass;  Adam Cruz - drums;  Jose Clausell - timbales, percussion;  Richie Flores - congas;   Milton Cardona - vocals, bata, congas, percussion;  John Coltrane - tribute to, composer

The Latin Side of John Coltrane

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Melvin Sparks - I'm Funky Now

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1976
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:31
Size: 80,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:34) 1. I'm Funky Now
(4:25) 2. Disco Booty
(5:02) 3. Make It Good
(3:33) 4. Love Tones
(7:09) 5. The Truth Hurts
(3:47) 6. You're Gonna Make It
(5:57) 7. I'm Gonna Funk You Up

Melvin Sparks (1946–2011) was a talented American Soul Jazz, Hard Bop, Blues and Funk guitarist. The Texas native picked up a guitar at age 11 and was only 13 when he sat in with B.B. King. As a high school student he first joined Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, and then the Upsetters (a touring band formed by Little Richard, which also backed Curtis Mayfield, Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye). Sparks and his guitar were very much in demand during the 60ies-70ies and he was featured on sessions by Idris Muhammad, Lonnie Smith, Charles Earland, Ceasar Frazier, Bernard Purdie…and many others.

During his career Mr. Sparks recorded multiple albums for renowned labels such as Prestige, Muse & Savant and worked as a session musician for Blue Note Records. Melvin Sparks’ songs were sampled countless times by DJ’s and Hip-Hop outfits (including Grandmaster Flash) over the decades.In 1973 Sparks moved into funkier directions and joined the Westbound/Eastbound family where he recorded some of his all-time classics (‘Texas Twister’ & ‘75’). A third record with Westbound was planned for 1976 (called I’m Funky Now) but was never released (although a sequenced production master & and a limited number of acetates were produced) because of the major changes that took place in the music industry at that particular time…clubs were suddenly going for DJ’s instead of bands and the much loved (but less obvious) genre/scene that Melvin Sparks was part of suddenly fell out of grace.

For the I’m Funky Now album Melvin Sparks recorded seven new tracks in Detroit with some of the finest session musicians. Very little is known about the band that backed up Sparks on these recordings, but it’s thought that some of the musicians were from the Funkadelic and Parliament family. The producing credit on this album goes to Westbound/Eastbound veteran Bernie Mendelson, known for his work with Houston Person, Donald Austin and Albert Washington. Over the seven tracks, Melvin Sparks and his band flit seamlessly between soul-jazz, proto-boogie, disco and funk. There are some über-funky dancefloor tracks on this album which would have been destined to become DJ favorites. I’m Funky Now pays lip service to the then-current success of disco-music but doesn’t pander…what you get here is a heavily funky and orchestrated version of his trademark style, with some sweet JB styled basslines and beautiful mellow moments thrown in the mix. Tight rhythm sections, dueling horns, dreamy smooth jazz…Melvin Sparks truly unleashes a genre-melting musical masterclass here. A CD version was produced in 2017 and now after a 45-year wait, Tidal Waves Music is proud to be releasing it for the very FIRST TIME on vinyl.https://lightintheattic.net/releases/6973-i-m-funky-now

I'm Funky Now

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Supersax - Supersax Plays Bird

Styles: Jazz, Bop
Year: 1973
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:54
Size: 85,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:23) 1. Ko Ko
(3:20) 2. Just Friends
(3:31) 3. Parker's Mood
(4:11) 4. Moose The Mooche
(3:36) 5. Star Eyes
(3:43) 6. Be-Bop
(3:05) 7. Repetition
(4:23) 8. A Night In Tunisia
(2:55) 9. Oh, Lady Be Good!
(4:44) 10. Hot House

Supersax's debut recording is still their best. The unusual group, who plays Charlie Parker solos harmonized for a five-piece saxophone section but with no individual sax solos (at least not on record; live they always did stretch out), found their own niche. With Conte Candoli as the trumpet soloist and a rhythm section comprised of pianist Ronnell Bright, bassist Buddy Clark (who along with altoist Med Flory was the original co-leader), and drummer Jake Hanna, on this recording they brought back quite a few of Bird's classic solos, including "Just Friends," "Parker's Mood," "Lady Be Good," "Hot House," and most notably the rapid "Ko-Ko."

Personnel: Alto Saxophone – Joe Lopes , Med Flory; Baritone Saxophone – Jack Nimitz; Bass – Buddy Clark; Drums – Jake Hanna; Piano – Ronnell Bright; Saxophone – Jay Migliori, Warne Marsh; Trombone – Charley Loper, Ernie Tack, Mike Barone; Trumpet – Conti Candoli, Larry McGuire, Ralph Osborn, Ray Triscari

Supersax Plays Bird

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Danish Radio Big Band, The - Charlie Watts Meets The Danish Radio Big Band

Size: 119,9 MB
Time: 51:53
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2017
Styles: Jazz Rock
Art: Front

01. Elvin Suite Pt. 1 (9:16)
02. Elvin Suite Pt. 2 (5:53)
03. (Satis) Faction (6:10)
04. I Should Care (8:00)
05. You Can't Always Get What You Want (7:10)
06. Paint It Black (7:43)
07. Molasses (7:36)

A film director once said that you can't make a great film with a weak script. The same goes for bands of any kind be it jazz or rock or any kind. You can't have a great band without a great drummer. A band can get by with an average bassist or guitarist, but not with an average drummer. It's the heartbeat of any band. One of the things that has made the band Rolling Stones what they are is drummer Charlie Watts and his exceptional and unusual drumming skills. For more than 50 years, Watts has been the propulsive engine that has driven this juggernaut. Few other drummers were as integral to the development of rock and roll music by creating rollicking grooves that were executed with an unhurried elan. Watts is a player you can listen to for his sound alone as he balances the smooth and the jagged with great ease. Contemporary musicians don't come much more graceful in sound or execution than that.

Apart from his long stint as the drummer of one of the most successful and certainly the longest running rock and roll band in the world, it's not a secret Watts's true love has always been jazz and that he has always had a deep appreciation and admiration for this music which hasn't been that much exploited by the press. During the '50s and '60s, Watts fell in love with jazz music through 78 rpm vinyls and the music of musicians like saxophonists Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Gerry Mulligan, trumpeter Miles Davis, to name but a few as well as the drummers they employed. Since then, he has been a passionate jazz aficionado whose knowledge about this music sits between the reverential and encyclopedic. During his sojourn with a marketing agency, he even penned an illustrated book about Charlie Parker as a tribute to him and has been collecting old drum sets used by drumming legends. During the day he would work at the agency and during the night he would play local gigs. And as many of his generation, he has learnt his trade both by listening to record and by observing jazz drummers in the London's London's jazz circles.

As a result, his drumming style has always been unorthodox and original. When he joined the Rolling Stones he used his jazz chops in order to invent his style of playing rock and blues rock that the Stones became known for and is the reason why he is so revered these days. When the Stones played in New York for the first time during their first American tour, he went to Birdland to see performances by his bassist Charles Mingus and saxophonist Sonny Rollins, and the latter would play years later with the Stones on a song named "Waiting on a Friend."

So it wasn't until the '80s and the '90s that Watts began fronting his own jazz bands whenever the demanding tours and work with the Stones would let him. Since then he has formed a number of jazz, boogie-woogie and big band outfits, including Rocket 88, the Charlie Watts Quintet and the Charlie Watts Tentet. Probably that is best portrayed in the thriller movie "Blue Ice" with actor Michael Caine playing a jazz club owner and Watts' band was the house jazz combo that brilliantly rocked the house. Charlie Watts meets the Danish Radio Big Band was instigated in 2009 by English trumpeter Gerard Presencer, who is also a member of the band. The Band had four days of rehearsals and then had a performance at the then newly opened Danish Radio Concert Hall in Copenhagen. All but two of the pieces here are rewrites of earlier, previously recorded selections either with the Rolling Stones or a selection of suits from his duet record with another drumming legend Jim Keltner. But to make a big band work has really very little to do with "star power" and has really everything to do with hard work. If it is played too conservative then everything will sound predictable and everyone will get bored. For a start, this record doesn't break any new ground. The emphasis is more on moods, harmonies and at moments the arrangements do nod at Gil Evans' or Mingus' styled approaches.

The date opens with two parts of "Elvin Suites" which as an original tune from the project with Kelter is a single composition. The original is an African styled piece with African harmonic voices meshed with piano flashes and cymbals. All of that is beautifully arranged here with dry hissing of Watts' brushes that drives the first part. It is indeed difficult to discern between what's arranged and what is spontaneous. The band's rapport is impressive and everything it plays sounds right. The second part emphasizes the drums and there are polyrhythmic runs that drive this piece with saxophonist Uffe Markussen taking the lead and soon the band steps on the gas and ups the game loud.

The Rolling Stones classics are beautifully rearranged and reharmonized. Nothing in these arrangements would hint at the original songs but a solo instrument would take a lead and directly reference the original melody. Even though named as "Faction" as soon as one hears the melody on the flugelhorn it becomes clear that this is "Satisfaction." Watt's subtle and non-flashy rhythm playing is utterly flawless and galvanizes the band. The same goes for the other two Stones classics "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and "Paint it Black." By no means is this a tribute of faithful recreations of these songs. The arranger shows a daring flair for reimagining these songs. Each of them is rethought and remodeled in order to come out with a vibrant new music. With its imaginative blend of melodies and grooves and colorful textures and timbres, these songs are a launchpad for the big band and its soloists to shine.

"I Should Care" is one of the hidden gems in this collection. There is a certain easiness and flow in this composition, but no blandness at all. The various soloists are stimulating and attentive conversationalists, always listening and often picking up on each other's quips. The album closes on a high note with a beautiful stomp "Molasses." Everything here is filled with movement. It's rich and sticky in rhythm and harmony and is exciting and boiling with energy.

This project feels good in the body and soul. The collaborative energy of this band is exhilarating and a joy to listen. More of this, please. ~by Nenad Georgievski

Personnel: Charlie Watts: drums; Per Gade: guitar,Anders Gustafsson: trumpet; Vincent Nilsson: trombone; David Green: acoustic bass; Peter Jensen: trombone; Steen Rasmussen: fender rhodes, piano; Uffe Markussen: tenor sax; Gerard Presencer: flugelhorn; Lars Møller: tenor sax; Steen Nikolaj Hansen: trombone; Nicolai Schultz: flute

Charlie Watts Meets The Danish Radio Big Band

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Paul Desmond - Play Me Again

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 136:59
Size: 314,7 MB
Art: Front

( 5:49) 1. All the Things You Are
(11:44) 2. Balcony Rock
( 9:00) 3. Blues In Time
( 9:37) 4. Body and Soul
( 3:37) 5. Desmond Blue
( 2:37) 6. Down In Honky Tonk Town
( 5:47) 7. Fall Out
( 5:30) 8. For All We Know
( 9:02) 9. How High the Moon
( 3:06) 10. How Long Baby, How Long (Part 1)
( 6:25) 11. You Go To My Head
( 6:29) 12. These Foolish Things
( 7:43) 13. The Way You Look Tonight
( 2:50) 14. The Man I Love
( 6:22) 15. Stardust
( 7:50) 16. Perdido
( 2:49) 17. How Long Baby, How Long (Part 2)
( 2:51) 18. I May Be Wrong
( 3:48) 19. I Should Care
( 4:29) 20. I've Got You Under My Skin
( 4:06) 21. Late Lament
( 3:07) 22. Line For Lyons
( 3:49) 23. My Funny Valentine
( 3:24) 24. My Heart Stood Still
( 4:59) 25. Over the Rainbow

Paul Desmond is widely recognized for his genius as a melodic improviser and as the benchmark of cool jazz sax players. His warm, elegant tone was one that he admittedly tried to make sound like a dry martini. He and Art Pepper were virtually the only alto players of their generation not directly influenced by Charlie Parker. Desmond was influenced by Lester Young, but took it further, into melodic and harmonic worlds never before traveled by reedmen especially in the upper registers. Desmond is best known for his years with the Dave Brubeck Quartet (1959-1967) and his well-known composition "Take Five." He met Brubeck in the late '40s and played with his Octet. The Quartet formed toward the end of 1950 and took final shape with Eugene Wright and Joe Morello a few years later. Jazz at Oberlin and Take Five were considered essential purchases by college students of the era, but Jazz Impressions of Japan was its most innovative recording. Desmond played his loping, slow, ordered, and intricate solos in direct contrast to the pianist's obsession with large chords, creating a myriad of textures for melodic and rhythmic counterpoint unlike any heard in jazz. His witty quotations from musicals, classical pieces, and folk songs were also a watermark of his artistry. When the Quartet split in 1967, Desmond began an intermittent yet satisfying recording career. It included dates with Gerry Mulligan for Verve, various sessions with Jim Hall, and a concert with the the Modern Jazz Quartet. He played his last gigs with the Brubeck Quartet at reunions before dying of lung cancer. Desmond's recordings for RCA have gotten box-set treatment and Mosaic issued one of the complete sessions with Hall. There are also reissues from A&M and CTI, though recordings on Artist House and Finesse remain regrettably out of print.~ Thom Jurek https://www.allmusic.com/artist/paul-desmond-mn0000069348/biography

Play Me Again

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Seth MacFarlane - In Full Swing

Styles: Vocal, Swing
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:57
Size: 113,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:53) 1. The First Time It Happens
(2:48) 2. Almost Like Being In Love
(3:40) 3. Isn't This A Lovely Day (To Be Caught In The Rain?)
(3:08) 4. For You, For Me, For Evermore
(3:26) 5. Like Someone In Love
(2:35) 6. That Face
(3:06) 7. If I Had A Talking Picture Of You
(3:07) 8. I'm Glad There Is You
(2:29) 9. You Couldn't Be Cuter
(3:54) 10. I Like Myself
(2:25) 11. You Can't Love 'Em All
(3:06) 12. Have You Met Miss Jones?
(2:22) 13. A Kiss Or Two
(3:51) 14. But Beautiful
(2:58) 15. Moonlight Becomes You
(2:01) 16. My Buick, My Love and I - Bonus Track

Standing in contrast to the moody 2015 set No One Ever Tells You, 2017's In Full Swing contains some of the sunny brio its title suggests. Chalk it up to the songs Seth MacFarlane selects, of course. There's nary a song of heartbreak among the album's 16 numbers, and he doesn't rely on overly familiar tunes, either. This lighthearted batch of songs is given effervescent arrangements by Joel McNeely, who gladly keeps the proceedings cool and breezy. As always, MacFarlane and McNeely are so besotted with Frank Sinatra's classic long-players for Capitol that their act can seem like a bit of swinging cosplay, with MacFarlane mimicking Old Blue Eyes' finger-snapping charm and McNeely penning love letters to Nelson Riddle, but their execution is expert and, since the touch is light, In Full Swing feels looser and better than its predecessors. MacFarlane and McNeely have taken Frank's advice to take things Nice 'n' Easy to heart, and they're the better for it.~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine https://www.allmusic.com/album/in-full-swing-mw0003085768

In Full Swing

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Jeff Denson, Lee Konitz - Jeff Denson Trio + Lee Konitz

Styles: Contemporary Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:50
Size: 127,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:38) 1. Baby
(5:00) 2. Dust
(4:51) 3. Blue Skies
(4:30) 4. East Thirty-Second
(6:07) 5. Subconscious Lee
(5:46) 6. Body and Soul
(6:34) 7. Background Music
(5:25) 8. Kary's Trance
(4:48) 9. Skylark
(5:13) 10. 317 East 32nd Street
(2:52) 11. Subconscious Lee (Solo)

After more than a decade as a co-leader of the internationally acclaimed trio Minsarah, bassist Jeff Denson is forging into new territory with his trio that features Dan Zemelman on piano and Jon Arkin on drums. Each season, Jeff will select an outstanding featured guest featuring the project as, The Jeff Denson Trio +1. For the 2015/2016 season the special featured guest will be legendary alto saxophonist Lee Konitz. Jeff has performed with Lee since 2007 and was a member of the Lee Konitz New Quartet, the only permanent group that the eminent saxophonist has ever led.

There are a couple of elements that largely set this album apart from other projects that Jeff and Lee have worked on together: Improvisation between the alto saxophone, bowed double bass and their voices. After largely focusing on standards for the last decade, they take a fresh look at some of the Music of the "Lennie Tristano School" (compositions by Tristano, Konitz, Marsh and Bauer). Jeff takes an unusual approach doubling the complex themes of the Tristano School and interweaving the solo lines like the historic duo of Konitz and Marsh. "Jeff is an exceptional musician who is a creative force on the double bass and has an original approach and voice on the instrument." ~ Lee Konitz https://www.jeffdenson.com/jdtkonitz

Personnel: Jeff Denson: bass, vocals; Lee Konitz: alto saxophone, vocals; Dan Zemelman: piano; Jon Arkin: drums

Jeff Denson Trio And Lee Konitz

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Peter Ind - Looking Out

Styles: Post Bop, Jazz
Year: 1960
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 33:29
Size: 77,9 MB
Art: Front

(7:29) 1. Blues at the Den
(3:16) 2. Arak
(6:01) 3. Yesterdays
(3:40) 4. Renee
(9:24) 5. Love Me or Leave Me
(3:38) 6. Ind Imp

This British bass player has been a professional musician since he was in his early twenties, and literally played his way over to the United States by working on the house band (or should we say ship band) on the Queen Mary for three years, beginning in 1949 before finally settling in New York City in 1951. From this new home base, Peter Ind taught music as well as performing and recording with pianist and composer Lennie Tristano and Tristano disciple, alto saxophonist Lee Konitz, with whom Ind worked regularly between 1954-1957. Being associated with Tristano and the musicians who played with him meant a certain style of playing, sometimes described as "cool." These players created quite elaborate melodies, their improvisations sometimes influenced as much by Bach as by "Bird" jazz giant Charlie Parker. A bassist in one of these groups had to develop a very even approach, had to keep time perfectly without any kind of hysterical showmanship, and had to understand how to create an inventively moving harmonic bottom for the many variations, substitutions, and permutations of the chord changes the soloists would come up with. Ind has not totally stuck to this style of playing, however. He performed with a gentleman from the extreme opposite musical conception, drummer and bandleader Buddy Rich, perhaps the greatest jazz showman to ever live. He also performed and recorded with hard bop players such as tenor saxophonist Booker Ervin or the dark-hued, brooding pianist Mal Waldron. Once again in great contrast, this time to Waldron, Ind also recorded an album with guitarist Slim Gaillard, who doesn't seem to be able to play it straight for a minute.

Ind has always had an interest in the recording process that has rivaled his activities as a bassist. His first move once he had earned enough money from his New York gigs was to buy his first tape machine in 1953, a simple single-track tape machine. By 1957, he had laid out the moolah for much more state-of-the-art equipment and was one of the first engineers to record live jazz in stereo. Many recordings were made in Ind's New York loft in the '50s and early '60s, including sessions with tenor saxophonist Zoot Sims, baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan, and dynamic trumpeter Booker Little. Ind set up his own recording studio in 1957, and began his own label, Wave, four years later. This establishes him one of the earlier jazz musicians to realize that self-determination was the only way he would be able to release projects of his own choosing, a typical handicap for musicians such as bassists who are often stuck in the sideman role, but a problem that could also happen to players of any instrument. One of the first projects he assembled for this new label was the album Looking Out (1958-1961), which featured bass solos plus duos with the interesting guitarist Joe Puma and drummer Dick Scott, as well as tracks recorded with a trio and a quartet. He was an early experimenter in the process of overdubbing or multi-tracking, as well as manipulating the speed of a recording. That he was fooling around with such techniques in the '50s is impressive enough, but he was also doing it in the context of jazz, a genre which did not involve itself in studio processes such as this until well into the heyday of the studio-crazy psychedelic rock era, at least 15 years after Ind. Of course at the time, he was criticized by jazz purists. He claims to have created the very first set of rhythm tracks to be recorded apart from a soloist, taped together with drummer Jeff Morton. These were in turn used by Lennie Tristano for his now legendary recordings for Atlantic, including Descent in the Maelstrom. Ind also worked as a sound engineer for labels such as Atlantic, Verve, Bethlehem, and Warwick.

Ind relocated to the West Coast, enjoying the idyllic climate of Big Sur, CA, from 1963-1966. During this period, he began focusing on full performances as a soloist, and was certainly one of the earliest performers to do this. He presented both live concerts and radio broadcasts of his unaccompanied bass music. Eventually, he recorded several solo bass albums, including one consisting totally of walking bass lines for players to improvise over. In 1965, he again played with Konitz and another Tristano disciple, tenor saxophonist Warne Marsh. Ind decided to return to England and continued to perform, teach, and manage his label. Activities with Konitz and Marsh continued, including tours in 1975 and 1976.

In 1984, he began another chapter in his activities. All musicians love to sit around complaining about the clubs they have played and how lousy the managers are, but how many musicians have taken it upon themselves to actually try and manage their own nightclub? Ind did just this when he opened the Bass Clef in London, which for a period was one of the city's most popular jazz clubs. Musicians also liked it, as it is possible that dealing with one of their own in a management capacity might be pleasant. One of Ind's appreciated qualities was his insistence on having decent dressing rooms for the players, as well as the club providing an on-premises set of accommodations for touring acts. Tax problems were attributed to be the single biggest cause of the Bass Clef's demise, and there was even a legendary extension granted when the tax inspector called onto the case turned out to be a jazz fan. Ind has continued to focus on recording projects and his label.~ Eugene Chadbourne https://www.allmusic.com/artist/peter-ind-mn0000329540/biography

R.I.P.

Born: 20 July 1928

Died: 20 August 2021

Looking Out

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Bud Shank, Bob Cooper - The Swing's to Tv (Remastered)

Styles: Saxophone, Flute, Oboe Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:52
Size: 87,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:20) 1. When You Wish Upon a Star (From Disneyland)
(3:09) 2. Put Your Dreams Away (From the Frank Sinatra Show)
(4:31) 3. Thanks for the Memory (From the Bob Hope Show)
(2:55) 4. Tenderly (From the Rosemary Clooney Show)
(4:38) 5. Danny Boy (Londonderry Air) [From the Danny Thomas Show]
(3:22) 6. Dinah (From the Dinah Shore Show)
(3:45) 7. As Long As There's Music (From the Eddie Fisher Show)
(3:39) 8. A Romantic Guy (From the Bob Cummings Show)
(4:12) 9. Steve Allen Theme (From the Steve Allen Show)
(3:16) 10. The Love Nest (From the Burns and Allen Show)

Proof positive that any well-executed idea translates to the jazz idiom snobs and purists be damned The Swing's to TV pairs altoist Bud Shank and tenorist Bob Cooper for a moody, nuanced collection of late-'50s television theme songs. Granted, it's not like the duo is interpreting the opening themes to Gilligan's Island or The Brady Bunch at the time in question, many series employed familiar standards as calling cards but the basic concept behind the session is the kind of populist nod one rarely associates with cool-school jazz. Thing is, The Swing's to TV is great stuff, a cerebral and atmospheric set of ballads performed with sincerity and affection Shank and Cooper always make for a compelling tandem, and songs like "When You Wish Upon a Star" and "Put Your Dreams Away" are well matched to their respective talents.~ Jason Ankeny https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-swings-to-tv-mw0000900673

Personnel: Bud Shank - alto saxophone, flute; Bob Cooper - tenor saxophone, oboe; Claude Williamson - piano; Don Prell - bass; Chuck Flores - drums; Jack Pepper, Eudice Shapiro, Bob Sushel - violin (tracks 1, 2, 4 & 5); Milt Thomas - viola (tracks 1, 2, 4 & 5); Ray Kramer - cello (tracks 1, 2, 4 & 5)

The Swing's to Tv

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Judy Niemack - Long As You're Living

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1996
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:42
Size: 140,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:33) 1. Long As You're Living
(4:20) 2. Waltz For Debby
(6:10) 3. The Maestro
(7:25) 4. Good Bye Pork Pie Hat
(3:13) 5. Caribbean Fire Dance
(7:10) 6. The Island
(3:31) 7. Monk's Dream
(5:01) 8. You've Taken Things Too Far
(3:38) 9. To Welcome The Day
(4:45) 10. Out Of This World
(3:48) 11. I Should Have Told You Goodbye
(6:03) 12. Infant Eyes

The term "jazz singer" has been misused so often so long that one hesitates to employ it. But if it has any meaning at all, the marvelous work of Judy Niemack is a veritable definition. She is a musician in the truest sense, having mastered her instrument (a beautiful one) and her chosen language and crafted her own style (...) There isn't one insincere or tawdry note anywhere in this fine, varied program which displays the full range of Judy Niemack's voice, imagination, and perhaps above all, taste a rare comodity in this or any other age. If you want to know what real jazz singing can be (but rarely is), listen to Judy Niemack, who never takes things too far, just far enough. ~ Dan Morgenstern http://www.judyniemack.com/albuminfo.aspx?ID=905

Personnel: Judy Niemack vocals, Fred Hersch piano, Joe Lovano tenor saxophone (on 1, 4, 8 and 11), Scott Colley bass, Billy Hart drums

Long As You're Living

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Heath Brothers - As We Were Saying

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 1997
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:18
Size: 136,4 MB
Art: Front

(6:21) 1. The Newest One
(7:15) 2. Bop Again
(4:49) 3. For Seven's Sake
(3:32) 4. South Filthy
(7:41) 5. I'm Glad There Is You
(6:09) 6. Dave's Haze
(6:48) 7. DayDream
(8:23) 8. Nostalgia
(8:19) 9. This Is What It Is

Oh man. Does this swing from the get-go, or what? And such a deal. Not only do you get the three Heath brothers: Jimmy on tenor and alto, Percy on bass and cello, and Al ("Tootie") drums, but they’re joined by the one and only Slide Hampton on ‘bone, Stanley Cowell on piano and kalimba, Sir Roland Hanna on piano, Jon Faddis on trumpet and flugelhorn, and Mark Elf on guitar. Plus James Mtume, Jimmy’s son, on percussion.Need I say more? Just look at the CV’s on these guys. The brothers have played with a hall of fame’s worth of masters: Dizzy, Monk, Miles, Trane, the MJQ, on and on and on. Let’s not slight Herbie Hancock, Yusef Lateef, J. J. Johnson, and even, by way of Mtume, electric-funk Miles. This thing charges out of the gate with the delightful "The Newest One," featuring brief but potent solos from Faddis and Hampton, followed by Sir Roland on piano and Jimmy on tenor sounding like they invented jazz and own all the patents. Next time the kids come by with their Counting Crows and Smashing Pumpkins discs, show them what real music sounds like with "Bop Agin," the second track. Yep, everybody plays excellently. Mark Elf wraps things up with a guitar solo and bar-swap with Jimmy that’s sunny but a trifle pro-forma; Elf isn’t a legend, but at this point, who’s counting?

"For Seven’s Sake" is a Coltrane-ish, spiritual number (not to say these guys are derivative. Coltrane probably got the idea from them), more introverted and serious than the first two, with some affecting work by Cowell on kalimba. "South Filthy" is a tribute to the Heath brothers’ lovely home town, featuring the brothers in a jaunty mood joined only by Mtume’s triangle. Jimmy’s horn here is hypnotically assured. It’s really something to hear his complete command of his instrument, a command unmatched by altogether too many younger players. The listener can tell here what it means to perfect a craft over fifty years. Check out his work solo on Jimmy Dorsey’s "I’m Glad There Is You." To borrow a phrase, it’s like watching Michelangelo sculpt.

The other two brothers hold up their end. Percy shines on Fats Navarro’s "Nostalgia" and "Dave’s Haze," another bright number featuring Elf turning in a fine blues line backed up by the solid rock of Percy and Al. The final track is called "This Is What It Is," and no better title could be found for the whole album. Inquirers into jazz should be directly referred to this CD: this is what it is. These three and their sidemen played a large part in making it what it is, and here is a little sampler of what they do with the experience they’ve amassed and the mastery they’ve achieved.

The album is actually called As We Were Saying..., which I take to be a reference to the fact that the brothers haven’t played together since 1983 (They were interrupted by the MJQ and scads of other activity). I’m sorry for the interruptions, but it seems clear that what the brothers have gained in all their years of separate activity is the beautiful ease and control that enriches this disc.~Robert Spencer https://www.allaboutjazz.com/as-we-were-saying-concord-music-group-review-by-robert-spencer.php

Personnel: Acoustic Bass, Cello [Jazz Cello] – Percy Heath; Drums, Percussion – Albert "Tootie" Heath; Guitar – Mark Elf ; Piano – Sir Roland Hanna; Piano, Kalimba – Stanley Cowell; Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Jimmy Heath; Trombone – Slide Hampton; Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Jon Faddis

As We Were Saying

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George Wallington Quintet - The Prestidigitator

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:31
Size: 88,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:59) 1. In Salah aka In Shalah
(5:46) 2. Composin' at the Composer
(6:01) 3. Jouons
(4:30) 4. Rural Route
(5:43) 5. Promised Land
(4:54) 6. August Moon
(6:35) 7. The Prestidigitator

Sicilian-born pianist "George Wallington" (his given name was Giacinto Figlia) had more than ethnicity in common with Dodo Marmarosa. Both men were active in the burgeoning bop scene of the early and mid-'40s, both made important contributions to the evolution of modern jazz, and both withdrew from public activity for protracted periods of time. Most importantly, both of these excellent pianists left enough great music in their wake to warrant a reappraisal of their legacies. Wallington named Mel Powell, Al Haig, and Bud Powell as his favorite contemporaries; primary influences were Art Tatum, Count Basie, and especially Earl Hines. He collaborated and consulted with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Pettiford, and Max Roach during bop's formative years; later he would befriend young Mose Allison and help him to get established as both recording artist and jazz essayist.

Recorded in early April 1957 and released on the East West label the following year, Wallington's album The Prestidigitator is an excellent example of his creative approach to the art of jazz. His quintet/quartet on this album consisted of bassist Teddy Kotick, drummer Nick Stabulas, Detroit-born tenor saxophonist J.R. Monterose, and bass trumpeter Jerry Lloyd, who sounds for all the world like a valve trombonist. Three of the seven pieces were composed by Mose Allison, two by Monterose, one by Lloyd, and only one the quirkily titled "Composin' at the Composer" by Wallington himself. This was the first time that anyone besides Mose Allison recorded Mose Allison's original compositions.

Even Allison hadn't yet recorded "Rural Route" when Wallington worked it into this pleasantly bop-based album of early modern jazz. Allison's "Promised Land" is particularly soulful and straight-ahead. Stylistically, this stuff lands somewhere amongst Art Blakey's early Jazz Messengers, Hank Mobley, Sonny Stitt, Johnny Griffin, and some of that mid-'50s Mingus with John LaPorta. That means it's really good and maybe you ought to check it out. For those who are squinting at a digitally condensed thumbnail reproduction of the album cover and trying to decipher what's going on, it depicts a magician (or prestidigitator) as seen from upstage rather than from the audience's point of view. As he prepares to pull a rabbit out of his inverted hat, the animal is clearly visible inside of a wooden box on a collapsible stand, held in readiness by a child or midget concealed within.~ arwulf arwulf https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-prestidigitator-mw0000565954

Personnel: Piano – George Wallington; Bass – Teddy Kotick; Drums – Nick Stabulas; Tenor Saxophone – J. R. Monterose; Trumpet – Jerry Lloyd

The Prestidigitator

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Swing Out Sister - Where Our Love Grows

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:14
Size: 109,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:19) 1. Love Won't Let You Down
(3:54) 2. Where Our Love Grows
(3:42) 3. When The Laughter Is Over
(4:06) 4. Certain Shades of Limelight
(4:41) 5. From My Window
(4:28) 6. Caipirinha
(2:02) 7. Where Our Love Grows (A Cappella)
(4:01) 8. Let The Stars Shine
(4:01) 9. We'll Find a Place
(4:14) 10. Happy Ending
(3:40) 11. La Source
(4:01) 12. Love Won't Let You Down (More Love)

The opener of Where Our Love Grows, Swing Out Sister's eighth proper studio album, will knock out fans of the group's perfectly huge and swanky production. "Love Won't Let You Down" is a brassy stunner and a great way to high kick the door open, but it gives way to the lesser title track, a sweet number but nothing approaching a single. That's the problem for outsiders looking for another "Breakout," and it's been the problem for a while. So why is this stuck-in-a-rut band so beloved? It's the structure of the songs grand and warm with winks and giggles from the string and horn sections and Corinne Drewery's lovely and powerful voice, as bright here as it ever was. It's a delightful combination and almost enough to carry the listener through the album's low points. The Brazilian-flavored "Caipirinha" is a pointless "ba-ba-ba-bu-da" number that sounds like the band parodying itself, and the reprise of "Where Our Love Grows" stuck in the middle of the album is an instant skip.

Luckily, the album's second half makes up for some of it with the snappy "Let the Stars Shine" and "Happy Ending," which has some twists and turns you'll want to stick with. There's a whole lot of references to time lost, regrets, and other wistful reflections, and the lyrics just hang on, slipping into cliché too often and in dire need of a Hal David touch. Of course, nobody does style over substance better than Swing Out Sister, Where Our Love Grows being a great example. If it's a sunny, breezy day and you're in bubbly love, go ahead. Just don't expect to remember you own a copy come fall.~David Jeffries https://www.allmusic.com/album/where-our-love-grows-mw0000403164

Personnel: Backing Vocals – Gersende Giorgio, Gina Foster, Guitar – Matt Backer, Tim Cansfield, Lead Vocals, Vocals [Ensemble] – Corinne Drewery, Percussion – Luis Jardim, Piano, Organ, Vibraphone, Guitar [Fender Jazz Bass, Keyboards, Synthesizer, Piano [Fender Rhodes], Vocals [Ensemble] – Andy Connell, Saxophone – Nigel Hitchcock

Where Our Love Grows

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Frank Foster - Soul Outing!

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1998
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:52
Size: 83,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:54) 1. Show The Good Side
(4:23) 2. While The City Sleeps
(7:55) 3. Skankaroony
(8:54) 4. Chiquito Loco
(8:45) 5. Night Song

This 1966 session lives up to its title, offering the strong, comfortable appeal of a solid Lee Morgan record. Soul Outing was Foster's second Prestige record after concluding an 11-year stint in the Count Basie band in 1964 (the first, Fearless, was also recently issued on CD). Although he'd developed a reputation as an ace arranger, Foster spotlights his own warm, muscular tenor soulfulness here.

He's in a compatible quintet performing three originals and two numbers from the Broadway play Golden Boy. Foster's "Show the Good Side" has the gospel soul of a Bobby Timmons number. And the Lee Morgan stamp is all over the Sidewinder-swing of Foster's "Skankaroony" and the Latin lilt of "Night Song." The two covers get muscular samba readings and trumpeter Virgil Jones makes a good foil as Lee Morgan to Foster's Hank Mobley. Guitarist Billy Butler is also featured in a small rhythm role on "Show The Good Side" and "Night Song."

Foster went on to form his own jazz orchestra, the Loud Minority, and a stint with Elvin Jones before returning as director of the Basie orchestra. Today he's back to making strong, terrific music like this strong, timeless jazz classic. Recommended.~ Douglas Payne https://www.allaboutjazz.com/soul-outing-frank-foster-fantasy-jazz-review-by-douglas-payne.php

Personnel: Frank Foster: tenor sax; Virgil Jones: trumpet; Pat Rebillot: piano; Billy Butler: guitar; Bob Cunningham: bass; Richard Davis: bass; Alan Dawson: drums, congas.

Soul Outing!

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Joan Chamorro, Marçal Perramon - Joan Chamorro Presenta Marçal Perramon

Styles: Clarinet, Saxophone Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 76:06
Size: 176,4 MB
Art: Front

(5:29) 1. The End of a Love Affair
(4:07) 2. This Year's Kisses
(4:53) 3. Tristeza
(4:52) 4. I Don’t Stand a Ghost of a Chance With You
(5:48) 5. it’s All Right With Me
(4:48) 6. I've Never Been In Love Before
(4:45) 7. Nobody Else But Me
(6:01) 8. Johnny Come Lately
(3:42) 9. Little White Lies
(5:29) 10. Harry's Last Stand
(5:47) 11. Time to Smile
(4:13) 12. Bahia Com H
(6:00) 13. Bluesuses
(6:07) 14. Hey, Look!
(3:58) 15. I'm Confessin' That I Love You

Marçal Perramon, from a family of musicians, started with the clarinet from a very young age. At the age of 11 he began to play the tenor sax, which has become his main instrument. At the age of 12, he was transcribing and memorizing Ben Webster, Lester Young. It was an immense pleasure to teach him. I immediately incorporated him to the Sant Andreu Jazz Band, in which he was between 2012 and 2020. At present, I continue to count on him for other projects. In 2014 he sat in the chair of the first tenor sax of the saxophone string of the SAJB and no longer got up. It has been really wonderful to see its evolution in all aspects. On an instrumental level, as their sound was acquiring with each passing day, more nuances, more depth, more warmth, inspired by the great tenors of jazz history. The phrasing got better every day. The ideas, improvised, based on the language acquired by listening and daily transcription, took a different form as he made them his own.

And all these aspects were accompanied by self-assurance, knowing that he was on the right track. Practice and study, the commitment to music, the love and passion that he shows in every note that comes out of his vintage tenor saxophone (I remember exactly the day he decided to buy it ... what a good decision!) Make Marçal a musician from jazz from head to toe. And all this evolution has been recorded in the more than 30 cd's that he has recorded with the SAJB or with related projects, some with musicians of the stature of Joel Frahm, Scott Robinson, Scott Hamilton, Dick Oatts or Joe Magnarelli himself, that is present on this disc. In this presentation album, Marçal is sublime, both with the tenor saxophone and with the clarinet. His phrasing is forceful in the fast beats, swinging in the middle beats, as well as deep and sensitive in the ballads. It is a disc full of nuances, an album that moves through different sounds with some touches of Brazilian themes, performed by Alba Armengou on vocals, a big band theme with all the Sant Andreu jazz band and a vocal theme performed by Andrea Motis . He also shares a couple of songs with his colleague Joan Martí, who is also releasing a presentation album at the same time. We have luxury guests such as the aforementioned Joe Magnarelli or Perico Sambeat and Carlos Martín. Also the presence of Joan Mar Sauqué on trumpet, on Marçal's own original theme, “Bluesuses” and a wonderful rhythmic section with Joan Monné on piano, David Xirgu on drums and Josep Traver on guitar in some themes. Marçal Perramon is not only a very good musician, sight reader and original improviser. Marçal is a professional you can fully trust. Therefore, if you need a solvent tenor saxophone and clarinetist, don't hesitate, Marçal Perramon is the one.Translate By Google https://santandreujazzband.bandcamp.com/album/joan-chamorro-presenta-mar-al-perramon

Joan Chamorro Presenta Marçal Perramon

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