Adonis Rose, Maurice Brown, Tia Fuller - Piece of Mind

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 91:35
Size: 210,8 MB
Art: Front

(15:45) 1. Keep Your Soul Together
(12:58) 2. Piece of Mind
( 5:50) 3. Entropy
( 9:12) 4. Nostalgic Impressions
( 9:19) 5. Lovely
( 5:38) 6. Maurice's Rap
( 7:06) 7. Sunny Side of the Street
(13:59) 8. Blue Llama Jam
( 5:16) 9. Here Tonight
( 6:26) 10. Little Liza Jane

Caught in concert at Blue Llama Records, drummer Adonis Rose creates a classic sounding post bop team with a front line of Tia Fuller/ss-as, Maurice Brown/tp, Miki Hayama/p Jasen Weaver/b and guest vocalist Sasha Masakowski for a mix of originals and fun standards. Rose flexes his muscles and lets everyone else join in on the groove of Freddie Hubbard’s “Keep Your Soul Together” with Brown searing on some nice Hub tones and Fuller poignant on the alto sax over Hayama’s electric keys. The dreamy “Piece of Mind” has a Brown in a sweeter tone, and Rose supplying a nifty backbeat, while the team is ethereal on mood for backing Masakowski on a lovely “Entropy”. She gives extra salty caramel’d soul to “Sunny Side of The Street” and goes hip hoppy with the trumpeter on the festive “Maurice’s Rap”. Everyone joins in on the 14 minute party of “Blue Llama Jam” with Rose keeping the stallions reigned in just enough to keep the wagon train from toppling over. Purebreds at play. https://www.jazzweekly.com/2020/10/adonis-rose-piece-of-mind/

Personnel: Adonis Rose – drums; Tia Fuller – alto/soprano sax; Maurice Brown – trumpet; Sasha Masakowski – vocals; Miki Hayama – piano; Jasen Weaver – bass

Piece of Mind

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Morgana King - Gemini Changes

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:33
Size: 79.1 MB
Styles: Standards, Vocal
Year: 1967/2009
Art: Front

[3:08] 1. I Have Loved Me A Man
[2:32] 2. This Is My Song
[2:44] 3. The Look Of Love
[3:30] 4. A Time For Love
[2:48] 5. Watch What Happens
[2:06] 6. Sunny
[2:32] 7. Walk On By
[3:12] 8. What's Wrong With Me
[2:35] 9. Once I Loved (O Amor En Paz)
[2:49] 10. Softly Say Goodbye
[3:58] 11. I'd Stay With You
[2:34] 12. On The South Side Of Chicago

The album title might be a tip-off that this record is going to be a bit hokey-dopey, but when Morgana King asks "What's Wrong With Me?," the obvious answer is going to be: "You've changed arrangers!" She is matched with Don Costa for this 1967 album, following two albums in which Torrie Zito had created and conducted arrangements. It is not an example of trading up, although there are examples of better work than this by Costa. The album is about as subtle as an aircraft carrier, and sometimes things really are outright ludicrous. "Softly Say Goodbye," for example, is not a song that needs a big band and string section playing loud enough to be heard on the other side of a bay, unless someone is creating a satire. There is nothing satirical about King, however. She is downright serious and emotive on every number, which combines with the old-school arrangements for a sort of Vera Lynn effect. Nothing wrong with that, but it will be a letdown for listeners who enjoyed the exotic, groovy, and swinging vibe of earlier King Reprise albums. Bossa, samba, and the related world of Burt Bacharach come off best here, although once again the clever touches of Zito are sorely missed. "The Look of Love" pays the cost of Costa's hammy conducting, but "Walk on By" is just right. "Sunny" is an unexpected delight, maybe because Costa must have realized he couldn't out-schlock the hit single by Bobby Hebb. Instead, King is given a chance to use her ultra-relaxed and in-control phrasing to give the song a whole new feel. Some listeners may not even get past the first song, however, a monstrosity entitled "I Have Loved Me a Man." This is a good example of a song that gives off the scent of the wretched from its title alone. After ignoring the singer's cozy feel for swing for the entire album, "On the South Side of Chicago" comes off as a strained finale; Costa should have thought of this sooner, although it would have been a lot better if he hadn't shown up at all. ~Eugene Chadbourne

Gemini Changes

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Kathrine Windfeld, Bohuslän Big Band - Determination

Styles: Piano Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:46
Size: 105,2 MB
Art: Front

(6:46) 1. Crescendo
(6:39) 2. Safe And Sorrow
(6:18) 3. Weaver
(9:43) 4. Determination
(6:10) 5. We Will Depart
(4:03) 6. Block
(6:05) 7. Bloom

Kathrine Windfeld is considered one of the most exciting, and refreshing new Scandinavian jazz composers and arrangers in many years. Pianist, composer, and arranger Kathrine Windfeld was born 1984 in Svendborg on Funen. As a teenager, her strong creative sense was channeled through painting, theatre, singing, and piano playing. During a 5-month stay at a music course at “Den Rytmiske Højskole” in 2003, the piano became her primary means of expression and she started composing her first pieces.

Striving for a further exploration of the world of music, she went to The Department of Musicology in Copenhagen where she took classes in music theory and analysis, arranging for big band, and a master’s degree in choir/ensemble leading. Meanwhile, she played in an experimental and progressive quintet, “Gespenst”, which strongly developed her sense of writing and navigating in complex rhythmical landscapes. This group became her main path to the world of jazz and improvisation, for which reason she dedicated two years at the Swedish jazz school “Fridhems Folkhögskola” to jazz piano playing. In April 2016 KWBB was exclusively selected for a showcase at Jazzahead in Bremen, Germany, where they played for a broad panel of international bookers and jazz labels. KWBB's second album LATENCY was released at the renowned Scandinavian label Stunt Records in March 2017. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/kathrine-windfeld

Determination

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