Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Charles Mingus - Mingus Three (feat. Hampton Hawes & Danny Richmond)

Styles: Contemporary Jazz
Year: 1957
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:22
Size: 88,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:16) 1. Yesterdays
(5:31) 2. Back Home Blues
(6:31) 3. I Can't Get Started
(3:55) 4. Hamp's New Blues
(4:40) 5. Summertime - 1997 Remaster
(6:54) 6. Dizzy Moods
(6:33) 7. Laura

Most often heard in large ensembles and rarely in a trio context, Charles Mingus joined forces with pianist Hampton Hawes for this 1957 studio date. It features four standards, two originals by the bassist, and a jam by the group credited to Hawes. While there's nothing particularly arresting or startling about the date, the relationship between the two ostensible co-leaders is a good case study in group dynamics when deference between two strong-willed individualists turns into a certain amount of compromise. Drummer Danny Richmond is not so much the peacemaker or even mediator, and he is the one with the most common sense who actually pulls this triad into a simpatico unit, cooling the embers with his steady, willful-in-its-own-right playing. As complex as the music of Mingus tends to be, it's nice to hear what he does in a more simplified area.

His "Back Home Blues" is so basic as his bass leads out, while the Mingus chart "Dizzy Moods" is deeper within an easier swing, allowing darker colors to fully but slowly blossom. Richmond favors the tambourine on "Dizzy Moods" and the hip "A Night in Tunisia"-styled take of "Summertime," while a faster "Hamp's New Blues" bops along effortlessly, chided by the drummer's accents. Hawes shines in his gilded, rearranged concept of "Yesterdays," intentionally messing up the changes for the first few bars before settling in, while slowing the Vernon Duke evergreen "I Can't Get Started" (always a personal staple of the Mingus book) to a crawl. The most intriguing selection comes at the end, as "Laura" sounds derived from "Tea for Two," with the hardy upright of Mingus sallying forth about this imaginary woman made real through this poignant song. Some six years later, Mingus, Duke Ellington, and Max Roach would record the controversial trio effort Money Jungle, so in many ways this album is a prelude to that all-star combination, both one-shots and definitely sidebars to the careers of all of these brilliant jazzmen.~ Michael G.Nastos https://www.allmusic.com/album/mingus-three-mw0000309628

Personnel: Bass – Charles Mingus; Drums – Danny Richmond;Piano – Hampton Hawes

Mingus Three (feat. Hampton Hawes & Danny Richmond)

Gretchen Parlato - Flor

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:44
Size: 108,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:56) 1. É Preciso Perdoar
(4:11) 2. Sweet Love
(4:10) 3. Magnus
(4:32) 4. Rosa
(5:55) 5. What Does a Lion Say?
(4:11) 6. Roy Allan
(6:02) 7. Wonderful
(5:45) 8. Cello Suite No. 1 BWV 1007 Minuet I II
(5:57) 9. No Plan

After an absence of six years dedicated to motherhood, Gretchen Parlato returns with a masterful album for the balance she expresses between refinement, lyricism and intact drive to creatively reformulate the songs. At the head of a new staff enriched by Gerald Clayton on piano and keyboards, Mark Guiliana on drums and Airto Moreira on percussion and voice, as guests the singer from Los Angeles confirms in Flor her position as an absolutely personal interpreter, which is not he can "fear" nothing from the arrival of the splendid last generation vocalists. The path is even more eclectic than the previous records but the result is very homogeneous and mature. Gretchen Parlato expresses her jazz style with always sophisticated choices (repertoire and interpretations) and a compelling vocal style for the play of timbre shading and pauses, for the sensual emotional tension and the refined timing.

The title in Portuguese immediately refers to her great love for bossa nova and other Brazilian music that she sings in the original language with its slightly nasal timbre and that indolent gait that is not so easy to assimilate. The connection with Brazil is accentuated by the staff comprising guitarist Marcel Camargo and drummer Leo Costa, two artists of high value and experience while the presence of the eclectic Armenian cellist Artyom Manukyan is ideal for forays into the classical universe (up to Johann Sebastian Bach). Other valuable reinterpretations come from the repertoires of David Bowie ("No Plan"), Anita Baker ("Sweet Love"), Pixinguinha ("Rosa") and other authors.

The record begins with a bewitching version of "È Preciso Perdoar," a classic by Joao Gilbertowhich Gretchen Parlato interprets in English and Portuguese, supported by an iterative rhythmic base of acoustic guitar and cello underlining. A lively fusion atmosphere, enhanced by Clayton's presence at Fender Rhodes, characterizes the reinterpretation of "Sweet Love" and gives the singer the opportunity to improvise using the voice as an instrument.

Each song is a discovery. The stage of a path carefully conceived on the ground of a colorful and at the same time precious research. A splendid example is the interpretation of "Rosa," a great classic of Brazilian music that Gretchen interprets by vocalizing, in a sumptuous integration with Bachian atmospheres. Another particularly compelling performance is "What Does a Lion Say," a gracefully drawn waltz enhanced by a precious arrangement and intense solos. We can't talk about all the themes but it's really hard to leave out the radiant carioca exuberance of "Roy Allen," song composed by Roy Hargrove.which sees Airto Moreira as a guest, the original reading of a part of Bach's "Cello Suite No. 1, BWV 1007" or the intense and dramatic interpretation of David Bowie's "No Plan". One of the best vocal jazz albums of recent years, and therefore certainly album of the week.

Personnel: Gretchen Spoken : voice / vocals; Marcel Camargo : guitar; Artyom Manukyan : cello; Leo Costa : drums; Mark Guiliana : drums; Gerald Clayton : plan; Airto Moreira : percussion.

Flor