Thursday, October 28, 2021

Rosana Eckert - Sailing Home

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:14
Size: 111,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:31)  1. Sailing Home
(3:57)  2. Garby the Great
(4:35)  3. Someone Else's Life
(4:52)  4. Waiting
(4:36)  5. Miles of Blue
(4:06)  6. Blue Flower
(4:49)  7. Coriander Stomp
(3:54)  8. Empty Room
(4:55)  9. Lovely Ever After
(5:37) 10. For Good
(3:19) 11. Meant for Me

Rosana Eckert has made a name for herself as a jazz vocals composer and arranger with her previous recordings, At The End Of The Day (GEM Records, 2003) and Small Hotel (GEM Records, 2010). Bright and imaginative, Eckert draws from a lifetime of music beginning with her childhood in El Paso, Texas, where the musical melting pot was richly seasoned with American, Hispanic, and European influences. Educated at the notable music school, the University of North Texas, she went on to become a faculty member in addition to leading her own band, performing as a wedding singer and recording commercial jingles. This wide-openness to anything musical is Eckert's charm. She has a giving and generous musical personality that manifests in her broad format and genre palette. On Sailing Home, Eckert composes or co-composes eleven disparate jazz songs, each with its own character and texture. Eckert's music is as much tactile as tuneful. This tactile musical nature reveals itself in the intersection of a chosen rhythm and the song arrangements. On the title song, Eckert and pianist Peter Eldridge craft a sonic walk on an uneven path.

Over the circuitous figure, guitarist Corey Christiansen lays an infectious muted electric counterfigure. Ben Whittman's prepared steel drums are just gravy. Eckert's singing is bright, positive and inviting, setting a warm tone to the entire project. "Garby The Great" is a slinky, blues-inflected ballad with Eckert singing with authority and awareness, almost as a spontaneous vocalese. Her scat counterpoint to Young Heo's walking bass leads to Christiansen's octaves, and Heo's muscular solo, tartly accented by Christiansen. If a voice can mimic a fingersnap, Eckert's does so.  "Someone Else's Life" shimmers with dubbed vocals, Eckert studying harmony and sound structure in a forward and progressive manner. Eldridge and Christiansen provide a delicate filigree hung on Heo's spare bass playing. Juxtaposed against this shiny surface is the humid and inviting "Waiting," featuring Ginny Mac's whispering accordion weaving with a lazy Reggae beat. The attention grabber is "Coriander Stomp" initiated by a dirty funk line by Christiansen that gives way to drummer Steve Barnes channelling Little Feat's Richie Hayward in a jaunty street march. Christiansen's solo is boss with fuzz and swing. Eckert sings wordlessly, scatting in and out of the musical celebration, which is a good way to describe the entire recording.. ~ C.Michael Bailey https://www.allaboutjazz.com/sailing-home-rosana-eckert-oa2-records-review-by-c-michael-bailey.php

Personnel: Rosana Eckert, vocals; Peter Eldridge, piano, organ, keyboards; Corey Christiansen, electric/acoustic guitars; Young Heo, acoustic bass; Steve Barnes, drums; Ben Wittman, percussion (1, 4, 9); Gary Eckert, percussion (5, 7, 10); Daniel Pardo, alto flute (8, 9); Brian Piper, piano (7); Ginny Mac, accordion (4).

Sailing Home

Bruce Forman Quartet - Pardon Me!

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1988
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:18
Size: 110,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:35) 1. Count Down
(5:09) 2. Skylight
(6:07) 3. Pardon Me
(5:45) 4. I Thought About You
(4:15) 5. Blues For Wes
(6:07) 6. Picture Window
(5:58) 7. Autumn Leaves
(4:17) 8. Once Again
(7:00) 9. I Hear a Rhapsody

This strong effort finds guitarist Bruce Forman exploring music that is sometimes adventurous (particularly John Coltrane's "Countdown" and Dave Liebman's "Once Again"), along with some more basic tunes (the ballad "I Thought About You" and his "Blues for Wes"). An added plus to the date is that the quartet (which also includes bassist Jeff Carney and drummer Eddie Marshall) co-stars the superb pianist Bill Childs.~Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/pardon-me%21-mw0000199135

Personnel: Guitar – Bruce Forman; Bass – Jeff Carney ; Drums – Eddie Marshall ; Piano – Billy Childs

Pardon Me!

Frank Foster & Frank Wess - Frankly Speaking

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1985
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:38
Size: 114,5 MB
Art: Front

( 6:32) 1. An' All Such Stuff As'Dat
( 6:47) 2. The Summer Knows
( 7:12) 3. When Did You Leave Heaven?
( 4:44) 4. Up And Coming
( 5:01) 5. One Morning In May
( 3:09) 6. Two Franks
(10:22) 7. This Is All I Ask
( 5:47) 8. Blues Backstage

Using the same personnel as the previous year's Two for the Blues (Frank Foster on tenor and soprano, Frank Wess on tenor and flute, pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Rufus Reid, and drummer Marvin "Smitty" Smith), this set gets the slight edge and is an excellent introduction to the playing of the two Count Basie saxophonists. Foster contributes two originals (including the classic "Blues Backstage"), Wess brings in "Up and Coming," and the quintet also performs five jazz standards including "When Did You Leave Heaven," Hoagy Carmichael's "One Morning in May," and Neal Hefti's "Two Franks." Recommended.~Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/frankly-speaking-mw0000649518

Personnel: Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Frank Foster; Bass – Rufus Reid; Drums – Marvin "Smitty" Smith; Flute, Tenor Saxophone – Frank Wess; Piano – Kenny Barron

Frankly Speaking

Jimmy Smith - Got My Mojo Workin'/Hoochie Coochie Man

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 79:08
Size: 181.2 MB
Styles: Soul-jazz
Year: 1997
Art: Front

[5:12] 1. High Heel Sneakers
[4:23] 2. Satisfaction
[4:06] 3. 1-2-3
[5:37] 4. Mustard Greens
[7:59] 5. Got My Mojo Workin'
[3:57] 6. Johnny Come Lately
[3:48] 7. C Jam Blues
[4:28] 8. Hobson's Hop
[5:57] 9. Hoochie Coochie Man
[5:28] 10. One Mint Julep
[5:41] 11. Ain't That Just Like A Woman
[6:13] 12. Boom Boom
[5:25] 13. Blues And The Abstract Truth
[6:08] 14. Tnt
[4:40] 15. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (Alternative Take)

After leading a series of notable jam sessions for Blue Note, organist Jimmy Smith signed a lucrative contract with Verve in 1962. Throughout the remainder of the decade, he recorded songs that ranged from treasures to trash, turning most of the music into bluesy vamps. On this CD, a reissue of the LPs Got My Mojo Workin' and Hoochie Cooche Man, Smith's repertoire ranges from Billy Strayhorn's "Johnny Come Lately" and Oliver Nelson's "Blues and the Abstract Truth" to "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man" and "I Can't Get No Satisfaction." In most cases, Smith's versions bear little resemblance to the original recordings. The earlier set has Smith featured with both a quartet and an octet arranged by Oliver Nelson. The remainder of the CD is a big band with Nelson's charts making the orchestra as exuberant as Smith's solos. Overall, the CD is not as essential as Jimmy Smith's better Blue Note dates, but is a worthwhile acquisition for fans of the jazz organ due to his enthusiasm and his ability to uplift the material. ~Scott Yanow

Got My Mojo Workin'/Hoochie Coochieman