Kool & The Gang - Best Of Kool & The Gang

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:30
Size: 92.7 MB
Styles: Pop/Funk/R&B
Year: 2000
Art: Front

[3:38] 1. Celebration
[3:02] 2. Jungle Boogie
[3:27] 3. Ladies Night
[3:58] 4. Joanna
[3:31] 5. Get Down On It
[3:26] 6. Hollywood Swinging
[3:57] 7. Cherish
[3:47] 8. Fresh
[3:45] 9. Too Hot
[4:01] 10. Take My Heart (You Can Have It If You Want It)
[3:53] 11. Big Fun

This CD is un-funking believable. This Greatest Hits encompasses not only some of the best known tracks by funkmasters Kool and The Gang, but some of the most essential songs of the seventies and eighties in general. The group leaves no level of good R&B behind. The smash "Jungle Boogie" contains awesome horn arrangements. Pop flavoring with an R&B feel makes "Celebration" one of the biggest party jams of all time. The light love songs like "Cherish" and "Joanna" are very effective and romantic. A totally new side to the funksters but that hot R&B sound continues on the rest of the tracks like "Get Down On It" and the discoey "Ladies Night". Kool and The Gang is one of the all time best funk bands around on this CD shows the diversity of the group to change to funk to pop light and modern R&B ("Fresh"). The group is very inspirational to many artists in modern urban music with a sound that is infectious and clever. The CD is really "Big Fun". ~Vincent M. Mastronardi

Best Of Kool & The Gang

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Aaron Goldberg - At the Edge of the World

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:03
Size: 106,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:47)  1. Poinciana
(4:50)  2. Luaty
(5:20)  3. Isn't This My Sound Around Me
(8:22)  4. When You Are Near
(5:25)  5. Effendi
(4:26)  6. En La Orilla Del Mundo
(5:34)  7. Black Orpheus (Manhã De Carnaval)
(6:15)  8. Tokyo Dream

In a departure from his longstanding trio with Reuben Rogers and Eric Harland, virtuoso New York jazz pianist Aaron Goldberg ventures into new territory, luring idiosyncratic drummer/percussionist Leon Parker back from self-imposed obscurity in France. Together with bassist Matt Penman, Goldberg and Parker lead off with the Ahmad Jamal signature piece “Poinciana” and immediately make it their own, not least of all through Parker’s unique “embodirhythm” practice (percussion played literally on one’s body). 

Through selective use of body rhythm, vocal percussion, and a scaled-down drum set, Parker activates sonic and rhythmic possibilities that Goldberg seizes upon, whether they’re playing classics by McCoy Tyner (“Effendi”) and Bobby Hutcherson (“When You Are Near,” “Isn’t This My Sound Around Me”), Cuban and Brazilian gems, or sparkling originals by Goldberg himself (“Luaty,” “Tokyo Dream”). ~ Editor's Note https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/at-the-edge-of-the-world/1437570153

Personnel:  Piano – Aaron Goldberg;   Bass – Matt Penman;  Drums, Vocal Percussion – Leon Parker 

At the Edge of the World

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Kyle Asche Organ Trio - Five Down Blues

Styles: Guitar Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:08
Size: 124,7 MB
Art: Front

(7:02) 1. Five Down Blues
(6:45) 2. Dorothy
(7:30) 3. Pretty Eyes
(5:28) 4. Delirium
(7:57) 5. Light, Life, Love
(5:44) 6. Never Let Me Go
(7:04) 7. Dirty Fingers
(6:34) 8. Dig Deep

It has been well documented that the Covid-19 pandemic has played havoc with the careers of the participants in the arts. The members of the Kyle Asche Organ Trio have also felt its sting. But fortunately they have a musical snapshot of the final time they made music together in March 2020, which forms the basis of this release entitled Five Down Blues. In this live eight track session, guitarist Asche along with Pete Benson on Hammond Organ and drummer George Fludas demonstrate what it means to be a "working"jazz trio.

The compositions used in this outing, in addition to a few originals and several standards, include two numbers from the pen of organist Melvin Rhyne, who was best known for his time with guitarist Wes Montgomery. The trio opens with the title track, "Five Down Blues," which has a slinky funky groove lead by Asche's fleet fingered guitar riffs. As Benson picks up the theme, he shows the expansive sound he develops on the instrument, while Fludas is musically expressive on the drum breaks. Up next is the first of the Rhyne tunes, "Dorothy," followed somewhat later by "Life, Light, Love." The first has a Latin flavour built on an ascending chord structure with an interesting balance of tempo and time. The latter is a lovely ballad in which Benson gives full measure with long drawn out notes and sly warmth. Asche works his way up and down the fretboard with a strong linear framework.

A couple of jazz icons have also contributed compositions to the recording. Pianist Horace Silver's " Pretty Eyes" and tenor saxophonist Harold Land's "Delirium," each offer a different style and tempo. On the former, there is a Latin vibe that drives a sensational melody with lyrical phrasing. Asche's guitar spins a sonic path that conveys a sense of forward motion. The latter number is an up tempo flow of single notes on which both Asche and Benson devise their improvisations, giving depth to the composition.

The closing track, an original from Asche called " Dig Deep" is an appropriate bookend to this outing. It has a melody that is filled with intimacy and rhythmic imagery that seems to impart a sense of collegiality among the members of the group. It is a fitting reminder of the attributes that sustain performing musicians. ~ Pierre Giroux https://www.allaboutjazz.com/five-down-blues-kyle-asche-organ-trio-cellar-records

Personnel: Kyle Asche: guitar; Pete Benson: organ, Hammond B3; George Fludas: drums.

Five Down Blues

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