Peggy Lee - Love Held Lightly: Rare Songs by Harold Arlen

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1993
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:53
Size: 117,5 MB
Art: Front

(2:40) 1. Look Who's Been Dreaming
(4:18) 2. Love Held Lightly
(3:30) 3. Buds Won't Bud
(3:39) 4. Can You Explain?
(2:31) 5. Wait'll It Happens To You
(4:39) 6. Come On, Midnight
(4:25) 7. Happy With The Blues
(3:27) 8. Bad For Each Other
(2:50) 9. Love's No Stranger To Me
(2:39) 10. I Could Be Good For You
(4:14) 11. Got To Wear You Off My Weary Mind
(2:44) 12. I Had A Love Once
(3:38) 13. Love's A Necessary Thing
(2:35) 14. My Shining Hour

In 1988, Peggy Lee was persuaded to leave her casual retirement by the promise of recording some recently unearthed Harold Arlen songs. Her voice was far less attractive and vivacious than it had been even in the '70s, and health problems forced her to record everything from a wheelchair; what's more, when she heard the results, she refused to let the record be released for another three years. Nevertheless, Love Held Lightly is an important album, not just because it saves a few Arlen compositions from the brink of disaster, but also because Lee's unpretty voice serves this material well. When she sings "Come on, Midnight" or "I Had a Love Once," she sings the twilight years with as much poignancy as she sang middle age on her '60s hit, "Is That All There Is?" Her group featured sensitive accompaniment from Ken Peplowski on tenor and Keith Ingham on piano (the latter also arranged and directed). Another highlight, "Buds Won't Bud," blossoms from just another saloon song into a playful, what-the-hell romp. Eight of the songs received their first recording here, including a Lee/Arlen collaboration from decades previously. The only standard, "My Shining Hour" (lyric by Johnny Mercer), comes last, thus allowing Lee to end on a wise, confident note, accompanied only by acoustic guitar.~ John Bush https://www.allmusic.com/album/love-held-lightly-rare-songs-by-harold-arlen-mw0000093720

Personnel: Peggy Lee (vocals), John Chiodini (guitar), Phil Bodner (alto saxophone, bass flute), Ken Peplowski (tenor saxophone), Glenn Zottola (trumpet, flugelhorn), George Masso (trombone), Keith Ingham (piano), Mark Sherman (vibraphone, percussion), Jay Leonhart (bass), Grady Tate (drums),

Love Held Lightly

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The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra - Absolutely!

Styles: Jazz, Bop
Year: 1994
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:55
Size: 118,0 MB
Art: Front

(7:03) 1. Blues For Stephanie
(4:40) 2. Jazz Party
(5:09) 3. For All We Know
(3:55) 4. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
(7:09) 5. Reverence
(4:56) 6. Black Is Blue
(6:17) 7. Max
(4:34) 8. Prelude To A Kiss
(3:37) 9. A Beautiful Friendship
(3:30) 10. Devotion

Featuring some of Los Angeles' finest jazz musicians, the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra (which has drummer Jeff Hamilton and altoist Jeff Clayton among its three leaders) performs the arrangements of the other co-leader, bassist John Clayton. There are several classic charts on this CD, including "Blues for Stephanie," "For All We Know" and "Reverence"; all ten selections are well worth hearing. The swinging music has its share of subtle surprises and many fine solos, including some by tenors Rickey Woodard and Charles Owens, pianist Bill Cunliffe, altoist Clayton and trumpeters Oscar Brashear, Snooky Young and Clay Jenkins. Highly recommended for big band fans.~Scott Yanowhttps://www.allmusic.com/album/absolutely%21-mw0000122870

Personnel: Alto Saxophone – Bill Green; Arranged By, Conductor – John Clayton; Baritone Saxophone – Lee Callet; Bass – Dave Bjur, John Clayton, Jr.; Drums – Jeff Hamilton; Guitar – Jim Hershman; Piano – Bill Cunliffe; Saxophone, Woodwind – Jeff Clayton ; Tenor Saxophone – Charles Owens, Rickey Woodard; Trombone – George Bohanon, Ira Nepus, Maurice Spears, Thurman Green; Trumpet – Bobby Bryant, Chuck Findley, Clay Jenkins, Oscar Brashear, Snooky Young

Absolutely!

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Al Cohn - The Natural Seven

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1955
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:20
Size: 89,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:33) 1. A Kiss To Build A Dream On
(3:03) 2. Doggin' Around
(3:00) 3. Jump The Blues Away
(3:38) 4. Jack's Kinda Swing
(3:02) 5. The Natural Thing To Do
(2:45) 6. A. C. Meets Osie
(3:06) 7. Baby Please
(3:00) 8. 9:20 Special
(3:32) 9. Pick A Dilly
(3:37) 10. Count me in
(3:28) 11. Freddie's Tune
(2:32) 12. Osie's Blues

Some but not all of the material on this out-of-print LP has since been reissued on CD on a Bluebird set shared by Freddie Green and Al Cohn. Although originally associated with Woody Herman and cool jazz, Cohn always felt equally comfortable playing with swing-styled players. His "Natural Seven" looks toward the Kansas City Seven and includes two members of Count Basie's band (trumpeter Joe Newman and guitarist Freddie Green) among the personnel (which also has trombonist Frank Rehak, Basie soundalike pianist Nat Pierce, bassist Milt Hinton and drummer Osie Johnson). Although the music includes a few Basie-associated songs, Cohn also contributed several of his own swinging originals; Osie Johnson's vocal on "Osie's Blues" is surprisingly effective.~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-natural-seven-mw0000413536

Personnel: Al Cohn – tenor saxophone; Joe Newman – trumpet; Frank Rehak – trombone; Nat Pierce – piano; Freddie Green – guitar; Milt Hinton – bass; Osie Johnson – drums, vocal; Manny Albam (tracks 1, 3, 8 & 12), Al Cohn (tracks 4-7 & 9-11), Ernie Wilkins (track 2) – arranger

The Natural Seven

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Bruce Forman & Cow Bop - Cowlifornia Swing

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:32
Size: 131.7 MB
Styles: Swing
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[4:24] 1. It's All Your Fault
[5:33] 2. Roly Poly
[3:59] 3. Wahoo
[5:13] 4. Mambo Italiano
[2:58] 5. Cattle Call
[4:54] 6. A Gal In Calico
[5:15] 7. I've Found A New Baby
[4:56] 8. Indian Love Call
[6:10] 9. What Is This Thing Called Love
[3:55] 10. Them There Eyes
[4:09] 11. Someday
[6:02] 12. These Boots Are Made For Walking

The Cowbopsters are back with their fourth album called Cowlifornia Swing, and there are plenty of both western and jazz influences apparent. Much like their last album ("Too Hick for the Room") we hear guitarist Bruce Forman, vocalist Pinto Pammy (Forman's wife), bassist Alex King and drummer Jake Reed. The quintet has also added David Wise on saxophone and cornet. On several cuts, guests fill out the new album with tints of piano, fiddle, trombone, cello, mandolin and accordion. All are hot tunesters with solid credentials. Bruce Forman teaches jazz guitar at USC's Thornton School of Music, and others in the band are (or were) students there. Like their last successful album, Thornton alumnus Doug Gerry produced, and faculty member Andrew Garver mastered.

"Spade" Cooley coined the term "Western Swing" in the early 1940s, and it's interesting that "Spade" was a Los Angeles resident like the members of Cow Bop. He had fortune and fame, but was imprisoned in 1961 for murder. Despite the thousands of bands playing all over the West during the heyday of Western Swing, the genre is most closely associated with Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. Cow Bop pays tribute to them with a boss arrangement of "Roly Poly" that wisely includes Phil Salazar's fiddle, the only cut with that classic western swing instrument, albeit played electric on this song.

Cow Bop's approach to bovine boogie also taps jazz standards ("I've Found a New Baby"), pop fare ("These Boots are Made for Walking," "Mambo Italiano"), country ("Cattle Call"), western ("Wahoo"), and some less oft-heard big band tunes ("A Gal in Calico"). The jazz chops predominate in these uplifting tunes and make for an enjoyable listen. We also hear Pinto Pammy's countrified sounds, like yodeling in "Cattle Call" and call-and-response (with David Jackson) in the novelty number "Wahoo." She's also comfortably smooth with a swinging version of "Indian Love Call," quite unlike the rendition done by Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald. Six-minute offerings like "What is this Thing called Love?" and "These Boots are Made for Walking" allow multiple instrumentalists to showcase with improvisation between verses. The arrangements are solid, but I wonder if they write any originals.

While some of Cow Bop's influences are clearly organic and corn-fed, Cow Bop's jazzy twang also provides a copious amount of toe-tapping fun. There may not be many big roadhouses and dancehalls left today, but you can catch this band at fairs, festivals, cafes, rodeos, burger joints and places like the Viva Cantina in Burbank. I haven't ever been there, but I imagine it as a place where young folks, old-timers, friends and neighbors all know each other and gather for listening or dancing the night away. Hailing from busy and heavily populated Southern California, Cow Bop's music conveys a rural ethos, but also demonstrates an urban, contemporary understanding. Cowlifornia Swing is music for dancing so roll up the rug, throw some cornmeal on the floor, invite the neighbors over and throw a party to their music. ~Joe Ross

Cowlifornia Swing

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