Tuesday, June 15, 2021

Randy Sandke - Trumpet After Dark

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:11
Size: 155,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:47) 1. Quiet is the Night
(5:45) 2. Nocturne
(4:36) 3. Being Human
(4:41) 4. Goodbye For Now
(4:41) 5. Star Crossed Lovers
(4:16) 6. Etude in E
(4:06) 7. Le Jour Ou La Colombe
(4:43) 8. Monk's Mood
(5:04) 9. A Blues Serenade
(3:19) 10. Can She Excuse My Wrongs
(6:16) 11. Lullabye for Karen
(4:58) 12. Blues for Sandy
(5:38) 13. Lush Life
(5:15) 14. Soul Eyes

There is much to admire in this album, subtitled Jazz In A Meditative Mood. Trumpeter Randy Sandke has been actively recording since 1985, largely in a postwar swing and mainstream style, although Mainstream Meets the New Music, his 2002 venture into free jazz, raised some eyebrows and garnered new fans. Sandke is comfortable working in a "jazz with strings" setting, and his arrangements here are quite attractive. Many of these selections recall the albums that cornetist Ruby Braff made under a "Mood Jazz" heading with strings or brass ensembles during the 1950s. However, Trumpet After Dark improves on the past. Sandke's jazz quartet features pianist Bill Charlap, bassist Greg Cohen, and drummer Dennis Mackrel. He has chosen a viol quartet, Parthenia, and it is likely that this is the first instance in which the viola da gamba has been used in a jazz context. Parthenia's deep sonorous timbre, as heard in the opening of "Being Human,"sounds like Renaissance music before Sandke's clarion melody statement, without seeming out of place.

Randy Sandke has contributed five originals, of which two, "Quiet Is The Night" and "Nocturne," were written specifically for this album. Both "Nocturne" and and "Lullabye For Karen" are standouts. Most of these tunes are performed in ballad or mid-tempo with, oddly enough, the swingingest track being Chopin's "Etude In E." I enjoyed the eclectic choice of material from a variety of sources, such as a song taken from a Nana Mouskouri album, another from English composer John Dowland, and a piano duet with Charlap on "Monk's Mood." In addition, the standards "Lush Life" and "Star Crossed Lovers" blend in well. Throughout the album, Bill Charlap provides his usual sensitive accompanist role, as well as soloing to match Sandke's lyrical trumpet work.~ Michael P.Gladstone https://www.allaboutjazz.com/trumpet-after-dark-randy-sandke-evening-star-records-review-by-michael-p-gladstone.php

Personnel: Randy Sandke: trumpet; Bill Charlap: piano; Greg Cohen: bass; Dennis Mackrel:drums; Rosamund Morley: treble viol; Beverly Au: treble and bass viol; Lawrence Lipnik: tenor viol; Lisa Terry: treble and bass viol.

Trumpet After Dark

Duke Pearson - Introducing Duke Pearson's Big Band

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 75:17
Size: 172.3 MB
Styles: Bop, Big band, Piano jazz
Year: 1968/2000
Art: Front

[3:04] 1. Ground Hog
[6:01] 2. New Girl
[5:28] 3. Bedouin
[7:00] 4. Straight Up And Down
[2:56] 5. Ready When You Are C.B
[5:34] 6. New Time Shuffle
[2:32] 7. Mississippi Dip
[5:27] 8. A Taste Of Honey
[4:08] 9. Time After Time
[5:50] 10. Disapproachment
[5:30] 11. Tone's For Joan's Bones
[6:38] 12. Minor League
[4:24] 13. Here's That Rainy Day
[4:38] 14. Make It Good
[6:00] 15. Days Of Wine And Roses

Alto Saxophone, Flute, Bass Clarinet – Al Gibbons; Alto Saxophone, Flute, Piccolo Flute – Jerry Dodgion; Baritone Saxophone, Clarinet – Pepper Adams; Bass – Bob Cranshaw; Bass Trombone – Kenny Rupp; Drums – Mickey Roker; Piano – Duke Pearson; Tenor Saxophone – Frank Foster, Lew Tabackin; Trombone – Benny Powell, Garnett Brown, Julian Priester; Trumpet – Burt Collins, Joe Shepley, Marvin Stamm, Randy Brecker. Recorded At – Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

Duke Pearson had always displayed a flair for arranging, even on small combo albums, so it shouldn't have come as a surprise that he would attempt his own big band record. What is a surprise is how successful Introducing Duke Pearson's Big Band actually is. Pearson leads 13 other musicians through a selection of nine songs, including four originals, two contemporary jazz tunes by Chick Corea and Joe Sample, and three standards. His originals are continually unpredictable and memorable, and his arrangements, especially of the standards, are provocative and intriguing. While it might not appeal to fans of Pearson's wonderful small-group hard bop sessions, it is unquestionably an experiment that works, and one that confirms his remarkable skills and talents. ~Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Introducing Duke Pearson's Big Band

Gary Smith - Jazz Around the World

Styles: Guitar Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:12
Size: 109,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:51) 1. A Night in San Juan
(4:38) 2. You're Never Far Away
(4:01) 3. Groovin High
(3:25) 4. Echos of Andalucia
(3:38) 5. Samba De Amor
(3:52) 6. Te adoro
(4:03) 7. Spirit Dancer
(4:23) 8. Young Again
(3:46) 9. The Girl from Varadero
(3:00) 10. Django Moods
(3:32) 11. Mountain Greenery
(3:59) 12. Fado de portugal

Gary Smith is an avant-garde guitarist, improviser and composer from the United Kingdom. He is known for developing dense extended techniques on electric guitar. Gary Smith has released close to twenty albums in solo, group and live settings with Shoji Hano, Rhys Chatham, John Stevens, Hugh Hopper, Masayoshi Urabe, Chie Mukai, Aufgehoben No Process, and Bill Fay. Gary now discovered the smooth jazz genre. Consequently he has released the album Jazz Around The World (2021), which is available on all digital platforms. https://smoothjazzdaily.wordpress.com/2021/05/12/gary-smith-jazz-around-the-world/

Jazz Around the World