Monday, October 25, 2021

Django Reinhardt - Compact Jazz: Django Reinhardt In Brussels

Styles: Gypsy Jazz
Year: 1992
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:02
Size: 112,0 MB
Art: Front

(2:53) 1. Place De Brouckere
(2:53) 2. Seul Ce Soir
(2:37) 3. Mixture
(3:06) 4. Bei Dir War Es Immer So Schon
(3:14) 5. Vous Et Moi
(3:01) 6. Distraction
(2:53) 7. Blues En Mineur
(3:04) 8. Studio 24
(2:56) 9. Divine Beguine
(4:10) 10. Nuages
(3:06) 11. Djangology
(3:04) 12. Eclats De Cuivres
(2:36) 13. Django Rag
(2:46) 14. Dynamisme
(2:54) 15. Tons D'Ebene
(2:43) 16. Chez Moi A Six Heures

Django Reinhardt was the first hugely influential jazz figure to emerge from Europe and he remains the most influential European to this day, with possible competition from Joe Zawinul, George Shearing, John McLaughlin, his old cohort Stephane Grappelli and a bare handful of others. A free-spirited gypsy, Reinhardt wasn't the most reliable person in the world, frequently wandering off into the countryside on a whim. Yet Reinhardt came up with a unique way of propelling the humble acoustic guitar into the front line of a jazz combo in the days before amplification became widespread. He would spin joyous, arcing, marvelously inflected solos above the thrumming base of two rhythm guitars and a bass, with Grappelli's elegantly gliding violin serving as the perfect foil. His harmonic concepts were startling for their time making a direct impression upon Charlie Christian and Les Paul, among others and he was an energizing rhythm guitarist behind Grappelli, pushing their groups into a higher gear. Not only did Reinhardt put his stamp upon jazz, his string band music also had an impact upon the parallel development of Western swing, which eventually fed into the wellspring of what is now called country music. Although he could not read music, with Grappelli and on his own, Reinhardt composed several winsome, highly original tunes like "Daphne," "Nuages" and "Manoir de Mes Reves," as well as mad swingers like "Minor Swing" and the ode to his record label of the '30s, "Stomping at Decca." As the late Ralph Gleason said about Django's recordings, "They were European and they were French and they were still jazz."

A violinist first and a guitarist later, Jean Baptiste "Django" Reinhardt grew up in a gypsy camp near Paris where he absorbed the gypsy strain into his music. A disastrous caravan fire in 1928 badly burned his left hand, depriving him of the use of the fourth and fifth fingers, but the resourceful Reinhardt figured out a novel fingering system to get around the problem that probably accounts for some of the originality of his style. According to one story, during his recovery period, Reinhardt was introduced to American jazz when he found a 78 RPM disc of Louis Armstrong's "Dallas Blues" at an Orleans flea market. He then resumed his career playing in Parisian cafes until one day in 1934 when Hot Club chief Pierre Nourry proposed the idea of an all-string band to Reinhardt and Grappelli. Thus was born the Quintet of the Hot Club of France, which quickly became an international draw thanks to a long, splendid series of Ultraphone, Decca and HMV recordings.

The outbreak of war in 1939 broke up the Quintette, with Grappelli remaining in London where the group was playing and Reinhardt returning to France. During the war years, he led a big band, another quintet with clarinetist Hubert Rostaing in place of Grappelli, and after the liberation of Paris, recorded with such visiting American jazzmen as Mel Powell, Peanuts Hucko and Ray McKinley. In 1946, Reinhardt took up the electric guitar and toured America as a soloist with the Duke Ellington band but his appearances were poorly received. Some of his recordings on electric guitar late in his life are bop escapades where his playing sounds frantic and jagged, a world apart from the jubilant swing of old. However, starting in Jan. 1946, Reinhardt and Grappelli held several sporadic reunions where the bop influences are more subtly integrated into the old, still-fizzing swing format. In the 1950s, Reinhardt became more reclusive, remaining in Europe, playing and recording now and then until his death from a stroke in 1953. His Hot Club recordings from the `30s are his most irresistible legacy; their spirit and sound can be felt in current groups like Holland's Rosenberg Trio.~Richard S.Ginell https://www.allmusic.com/artist/django-reinhardt-mn0000136220/biography

Compact Jazz: Django Reinhardt In Brussels

Charles Kynard - Legends Of Acid Jazz

Styles: Soul Jazz
Year: 1999
File: MP3@224K/s
Time: 76:46
Size: 123,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:57) 1. Afro-Disiac
(5:07) 2. Bella Donna
(9:07) 3. Trippin'
(7:14) 4. Odds On
(7:56) 5. Sweetheart
(5:05) 6. Chanson Du Nuit
(7:55) 7. Wa-Tu-Wa-Zui (Beautiful People)
(4:38) 8. Winter's Child
(6:11) 9. Zebra Walk
(9:30) 10. Something
(9:03) 11. Change Up

Charles Kynard (1933-79) had a brief, rather low-key career as an organist. By day, he maintained a full-time career working with kids with special needs and taught piano between gigs and his job. He only recorded infrequently, doing sessions and two albums under his own name for Pacific Jazz in the early 1960s and several sessions and three records under his own name for Mainstream Records during 1971-74. But it is, perhaps, the four records he did for Prestige between 1968 and 1970 that the organist is best known for. Legends of Acid Jazz combines the last two of these, Afro-Disiac and Wa-Tu-Wa-Zui. On both, Kynard showcases his remarkable ability to exploit the heck out of an interesting groove. The best of his originals usually sticks to variations of the blues or out-and-out boogaloos. But it's the machine-gun attack of his left hand and the churning grind he maintains with his feet - despite the ever-presence of a bassist - that separates Kynard's playing from the crowd.The counterpoint he offers with his right hand is what usually puts the fun in his funk.

Afro-Disiac pits the organist in a quintet with tenor staple Houston Person and elevated by the presence of guitarist Grant Green. This was a reunion of sorts for Kynard and Green, the two having appeared together on 1968's The Soul Brotherhood. The originals, mostly by Kynard's school chum Richard Fritz, and Kynard's eloquent cushioning offer an ideal environment for the guitarist - much more favorable than Green's own recordings from the period. Kynard is more of a featured presence on the Wa-Tu-Wa-Zui, adding his electric piano stylings to "Winter's Child" and the dance floor classic, "Zebra Walk." Here, Kynard revels in a sextet that features the much-lamented honker Rusty Bryant, trumpeter Virgil Jones and guitarist Melvin Sparks. The tunes aren't as memorable as the first session and the playing doesn't have the edge or energy that Kynard could generate elsewhere (for evidence, check out the monster Reelin' with the Feelin', which is paired with Wa-Tu-Wa-Zui on the British BGP CD). But this "legend of acid jazz" is worth hearing and exploring and for fans of guitarist Grant Green, the first six songs are required listening. ~Douglas Payne https://www.allaboutjazz.com/legends-of-acid-jazz-charles-kynard-prestige-records-review-by-douglas-payne

Players: Charles Kynard: organ, electric piano; Houston Person, Rusty Bryant: tenor sax; Virgil Jones: trumpet; Grant Green, Melvin Sparks: guitar; Jimmy Lewis: Fender bass; Idris Muhammad, Bernard Purdie: drums.

Legends Of Acid Jazz

Georgia Mancio & Alan Broadbent - Quiet Is The Star

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:14
Size: 95,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:34) 1. I Can See You Passing By
(5:11) 2. When You're Gone From Me
(4:44) 3. Let Me Whisper To Your Heart
(5:19) 4. Tell The River
(2:46) 5. All My Life
(4:45) 6. If I Think Of You
(4:50) 7. Night After Night
(4:50) 8. If My Heart Should Love Again
(3:11) 9. Quiet Is The Star

Quiet Is The Star is the new album by vocalist/lyricist Georgia Mancio and Grammy-winning pianist/composer Alan Broadbent and the much anticipated companion to their 2017 Songbook. The album spotlights the purity and parity of the duo setting in 9 co-written songs exploring the ties we weave in life: sisterly, maternal, romantic, universal. One voice, one piano, one dialogue. Georgia’s deeply nuanced singing (“sublime, clarity and poise personified, intimate yet dynamic”, Jazzwise) is embraced by Alan’s rhapsodic solo piano, indicating the breadth of his musicianship, from accompanist to Big Band/orchestral leader. Recorded in late 2019, it re-unites with Songbook producer Andrew Cleyndert and artist Simon Manfield, whose bespoke watercolours perfectly accompany the subtle variations of mood. The album will be released 27 March 2021, alongside The Songs Of Alan Broadbent & Georgia Mancio a book of 33 co-written works from both albums (Songbook and Quiet Is The Star) and many more besides. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/album/quiet-is-the-star-georgia-mancio

Personnel: Georgia Mancio (voice & lyrics); Alan Broadbent (piano & music)

Quiet Is The Star

Jennifer Wrobleski - Jennifer Wrobleski

Styles: Vocal Jazz, Bossa Nova
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 31:17
Size: 72,0 MB
Art: Front

(2:11)  1. So Nice
(2:46)  2. Daddy
(3:27)  3. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
(2:17)  4. One Note Samba
(2:51)  5. I Don't Know Enough About You
(3:03)  6. Chega De Saudade
(3:01)  7. Triste
(5:49)  8. A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square
(5:48)  9. Giant Steps

Jazz Vocalist Extraordinaire, Jennifer Wrobleski is a sought-after recording artist on New York’s Jazz scene and abroad.  She is from Pittsburgh and currently resides in Bronx, New York. 

She began her studies in classical music at Boston’s New England Conservatory.  Thereafter, she moved south to perform in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom CastleShow as Cinderella.  Spending four years in Orlando, Jennifer stayed busy with voiceover work and performed in other Disney shows.  She performed as Belle in MGM’s Beauty and the Beast and Flora in the world’s longest running dinner theatre show:  The Hoop Dee Doo ~ Review at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort.

At the same time, Ms. Wrobleski lead her own Jazz quartet, playing local clubs such as Disney’s Pleasure Island Jazz Company, House of Blues Orlando, The Starlight Lounge, Nikki Beach Miami.  In addition to performing,  she was also the creator and host of the Jazz radio show “Interview with the Artists” on WLOQ-FM, Orlando, Florida.  The  program rapidly grew in popularity with interviews of Ramsey Lewis, Michael Buble and other notables in the Jazz world.  The segment became so popular that it ultimately evolved into a summertime concert series.   In addition to leading her own group, Ms. Wrobleski has also worked with Jazz icon and master Harold Mabern, Jeremy Pelt, Dwayne Burno, Joe Farnsworth, Curits Lundy and others.  She has also made guest appearances with the Joe Gransden Big Band and the Michael Andrew Big Band.  She has performed at major Jazz clubs in New York such as Dizzy’s Coca-Cola Club, Smoke Jazz & Supper Club, and others.  She can be seen regularly at The Refinery, Club Macanudo, Cafe du Soleil, Chez Lucienne.  Her self-titled debut recording was released in 2010. ~ Bio  http://jenniferwrobleski.com/biography.html

Dave Young, Phil Dwyer Quartet - Fables And Dreams

Styles: Bop, Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1993
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:04
Size: 132,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:58)  1. Darn
(7:34)  2. NPS
(6:16)  3. All Of Me
(9:47)  4. Fables Of Faubus
(6:21)  5. Himh
(6:59)  6. Shifting Emphasis
(6:41)  7. Winter Song
(5:57)  8. Dobro
(3:29)  9. Whims Of Chambers

This CD features a quiet quartet that is often filled with inner tension and low-volumed heat. Bassist Dave Young engages in close interplay with guitarist Rob Piltch (whose tone is sometimes reminiscent of the late Jimmy Raney's), Phil Dwyer contributes lyrical tenor solos and some moody piano (sometimes sounding a bit like McCoy Tyner on the latter instrument) while drummer Michel Lambert is fine in support. Five of the nine songs are originals by bandmembers while the other pieces (including an abstract "All of Me" and a rather passionless version of Charles Mingus's "Fables of Faubus") almost sound like new compositions; the closing tenor-bowed bass duet on "Whims of Chambers" is most memorable. If the overall results on this session are are not all that unique, the well-played set does serve as a a good example of today's modern mainstream acoustic jazz and should satisfy most listeners. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/fables-and-dreams-mw0000963650   

Personnel:  Phil Dwyer - tenor saxophone, piano, composer;  Michel Lambert - drums, composer;  Rob Piltch - guitar;  Dave Young - acoustic bass.

Fables And Dreams