John Boutté - At the Foot of Canal Street

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:20
Size: 119,1 MB
Art: Front + Back

(3:27) 1. Sisters
(4:49) 2. At the Foot of Canal Street
(4:22) 3. A Change is Gonna Come
(5:05) 4. Battle Hymn of the Republic
(6:22) 5. Black Orpheus
(5:10) 6. Someone to Watch Over Me
(3:05) 7. Didn't it Rain
(7:39) 8. This Masquerade is Over
(3:31) 9. Just a Little While to Stay Here
(3:29) 10. All These Things
(4:16) 11. If I Had My Life to Live Over

The Canal Street that John Boutté is referring to in this album's title isn't the one that runs through Lower Manhattan it is the Canal Street of New Orleans, where he grew up. Boutté is not an easy singer to categorize; parts of this superb CD (which was recorded in 1998 and released in 2001) are pure Crescent City soul, but other parts of it are vocal jazz or African-American gospel. Boutté, whose influences range from Sam Cooke and Aaron Neville to Little Jimmy Scott, is a convincing soul singer on "Sisters," the title song, and Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come." But he is equally believable and equally expressive as a torchy jazz singer on "The Masquerade Is Over," the Gershwin standard "Someone to Watch Over Me," and Luiz Bonfa's "Manha de Carnaval" (which is listed as "Black Orpheus" in the credits and is also known as "A Day in the Life of a Fool").

Meanwhile, Boutté favors African-American gospel (as opposed to white country-gospel or modern Christian R&B) on "Didn't It Rain" and "Just a Little While to Stay Here." As unpredictable as this album is, Boutté never comes across as unfocused or confused. Boutté genuinely appreciates a variety of music, and his eclectic nature serves him well on this impressive, consistently rewarding CD. ~ Alex Henderson https://www.allmusic.com/album/at-the-foot-of-canal-street-mw0000119758

Personnel: John Boutte – Vocals; Loren Pickford – Piano, Alto Sax; Bill Huntington – Bass; John Bagnato – Guitar; Joe Vinnittell – Drums

At the Foot of Canal Street

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Warren Vaché Trio - Live at the Vineyard

Styles: Cornet Jazz
Year: 1996
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:30
Size: 119,1 MB
Art: Front

(6:22) 1. Sunday
(7:23) 2. A Time for Love
(5:13) 3. The Best Thing for You
(0:47) 4. Vaché Remarks About Cornet and Trumpet
(6:15) 5. I've Got a Crush on You / Embraceable You
(4:38) 6. Twelve by Twelve
(1:25) 7. Warren Vaché Remembers Roy Eldridge
(7:27) 8. The Song Is You
(5:28) 9. The Touch of Your Lips
(6:27) 10. Cherokee

Warren Vaché, Jr., one in a long line of important cornetists following Bix Beiderbecke, Jimmy McPartland, and Ruby Braff, showcases his effortless lyricism and ability to swing during this 1984 trio concert at New York's Vineyard Theatre. Accompanied by veteran pianist John Bunch and bassist Phil Flanigan, two equally strong musicians, Vaché's intimate interpretations of decades-old standards such as "Sunday" and "The Best Thing for You" prove that this smaller brass cousin of the trumpet is hardly an obsolete instrument. He starts on open horn in a blistering take of "The Song Is You" before adding a mute for a typically sassy solo. The fire of earlier greats can also be heard in his rendition of "Cherokee," which is played at a moderate tempo rather than the all-too-often breakneck pace, also showcasing Flanigan to good effect. Vaché sits out Ron Carter's "Twelve by Twelve," a lively bop duet feature for Bunch and Flanigan. The cornetist's comments about his instrument and jamming with trumpeter Roy Eldridge (who baited him into joining him on the bandstand by explaining he wasn't feeling well!) are priceless. Warmly recommended!~Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/live-at-the-vineyard-mw0000079453

Personnel: Warren Vaché - cornet | John Bunch - piano | Phil Flanigan - bass

Live at the Vineyard

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Sophie Alour - Opus 3

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:28
Size: 102,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:24)  1. Grekerna
(5:01)  2. Mystere et boule de gomme
(5:15)  3. Eloge du lointain
(3:14)  4. Ode a Arthur Cravan
(5:08)  5. Haunted
(3:31)  6. En ton absence
(5:29)  7. Why people always laugh about serious things
(3:12)  8. Pensee vagabonde
(3:04)  9. Caprice
(2:59) 10. Karlston
(3:05) 11. Petite anatomie du temps qui passe...

French saxophonist Sophie Alour's Opus 3 is not only her third album as a leader, it is also her first in a trio setting. The recipient of the French Django D'or award, Alour departs from the electric intensity of her previous release, Uncaged (Nocturne, 2007), to explore her voice as an instrumentalist. The 11 originals are tone poems bearing heavy western classical influences, with occasional peppering of other styles that showcase the leader on both tenor and soprano saxophones.  "Eloge du lointain" for example, has hints of Caribbean rhythms, with Alour's rapid-fire, staccato tenor enhancing the island ambience created by Karl Januska's rhythmic drums. Much like Sonny Rollins ' classic "St Thomas," she extends her improvisation far beyond the tune, although her sound is not as brassy as the legendary saxophonist, but rounder and more fluid.  There is not much distinction made on these tracks between the composed and the improvised. Alour's solos build on a basic foundation, but the final result is a musical construct that is quite imaginative and far-reaching.

Her angular soprano on "Mystère et boule de gomme!" climbs logically up the scales and chords driven by Januska's propulsive drumming and anchored by Yoni Zelnik's resonant bass.  Alour's warm tenor blows softly over Zelnik's undulating notes on "Grekerna," its melancholic melody bearing hints of Eastern European music, while Zelnik's atonal pizzicato carries a conversation with Alour's unpredictable yet never out of place musical ideas on "Ode à Arthur Cravan." The stylistic angularity continues on "Haunted," featuring a lengthy tenor solo that is quite mellifluous with Januska's hyper-rhythmic drums bringing a rock sensibility to the piece.  Alour's fast lines add bop flavor to "Karlston," while the delightful cacophony that ends the march-like "Caprice" reflects Alour's more avant-garde side. The classical influences are most heard on the serpentine romantic song "En ton absence" and atmospheric and explorative sonata, "Petite anatomie du temps qui passe..."  Opus 3 is a more personal and more mature recording than Alour's previous two; although it lacks the energy and the excitement of her Uncaged, it is an intimate portrait of an artist with great promise. ~ Hrayr Attarian https://www.allaboutjazz.com/opus-3-sophie-alour-plus-loin-music-review-by-hrayr-attarian.php

Personnel: Sophie Alour: tenor and soprano saxophones; Karl Jannuska: drums; Yoni Zelnik: bass.

Opus 3

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Randy Sandke - Uptown Lowdown - A Jazz Salute to The Big Apple

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 82:46
Size: 191,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:07) 1. Echoes of Harlem / Drop Me Off in Harlem
(3:37) 2. Jungle Nights in Harlem
(3:33) 3. Boys from Harlem
(2:31) 4. Sugar Hill Penthouse (3:07) 5. Blue Belles of Harlem
(5:28) 6. Harlem Speaks
(3:09) 7. Chinatown, My Chinatown
(6:44) 8. Rose of Washington Square / Broadway Rose
(5:13) 9. Slumming on Park Avenue
(5:59) 10. 42nd Street
(5:48) 11. Scrapple from the Apple
(8:14) 12. Nostalgia in Times Square
(8:31) 13. Grand Central
(4:42) 14. 52nd Street Theme
(7:47) 15. Take the "A" Train
(5:09) 16. What's New

It took a German recording team to enable trumpeter/arranger Randy Sandke to assemble this all-American, 12-piece ensemble for a panorama of New York-inspired tunes, recorded in the Big Apple in the Sylvia and Danny Kaye Playhouse as part of the 1999 JVC Jazz Festival. In doing so, he raided the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, as well as several independent history-minded players in the area, and emerged with a band that fires off the numbers with crisp virtuosity in any idiom called for. Thankfully, there is also more than enough gusto in the playing, due in no small part to the live festival recording situation. "The Harlem Medley," a lengthy leadoff stream of delicacies from the land of Ellingtonia, gets close enough to the Ellington sound to convey the idea without being slavishly imitative or ghostly.

The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra boys know their Ellington craft well and apply the plunger mutes accordingly. From there, the band doubles back to Dixieland, works its way up to swing, and slides without a glitch into bebop ("Scrapple From the Apple"), a Mingus shuffle blues ("Nostalgia in Times Square"), transitional Coltrane ("Grand Central"), and some Monk ("52nd Street Theme"), before being deposited back in Harlem by naturally the "'A' Train." In between the main tour stops, Concord Jazz teammates guitarist Howard Alden and clarinetist Ken Peplowski serve up another of their fluid duets on Irving Berlin's "Slumming on Park Avenue."

Other high points include clarinetist Allan Vaché wailing in the trad flagwaver "Chinatown" and trumpeters Sandke and Warren Vaché duking it out on "42nd Street." In all, a well-recorded souvenir of what sounds like a heartwarming local celebration.~ Richard S.Ginell https://www.allmusic.com/album/uptown-lowdown-a-jazz-salute-to-the-big-apple-mw0000102679

Personnel: Randy Sandke - trumpet; Warren Vaché - trumpet; Wycliffe Gordon - trombone; Ken Peplowski - clarinet, tenor sax; Allan Vaché - clarinet; Scott Robinson - alto sax, tenor sax, flute; Joe Temperley - baritone sax; Howard Alden - guitar; Eric Reed - piano; Mark Shane - piano; Rodney Whitaker - bass; Joe Ascione - drums

Uptown Lowdown - A Jazz Salute to The Big Apple

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