Kenny Lattimore - Here To Stay

Styles: Vocal, R&B
Year: 2021
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:13
Size: 88,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:43) 1. Nothing On You
(4:30) 2. Never Knew
(3:47) 3. Only Girl
(3:19) 4. All In
(4:10) 5. What Are You Waiting For?
(5:00) 6. Lose You
(3:12) 7. Take A Dose
(3:32) 8. Pressure
(3:47) 9. Priority
(3:08) 10. Survive

On his ninth solo album, Kenny Lattimore applies his tender tenor vocal stylings and heartfelt lyrics to both the old school and the new school. Maintaining his classic balance of mellifluousness and robust, he effectively secures his relevance in an overcrowded marketplace by keeping in mind both longtime fans and potential new listeners. The first half of Here to Stay incorporates shades of past hits from albums such as Kenny Lattimore and Weekend, while the second expands upon the stylistic diversions hinted at on 2017’s Vulnerable.

Here to Stay opens with the chillaxed yet danceable sway of “Nothing on You,” housing a serene chorus and retro-fitted groove as the backdrop for Lattimore’s assurance of appreciating a good thing: “Heaven ain’t got nothing on you, I wish the Lord could see how much you mean to me…You’re the beat in my chest, nothin’ but assets/They try to buy your love, but can’t afford it.”

The pace is slowed down slightly with “Never Knew,” a crisp midtempo mover bearing a radio-friendly hook imbued by Lattimore with strong phrasing and tonal momentum. Meanwhile, the vibe is breezy on the catchy “Only Girl.” Strong verses surround the assured chorus, as he reflects on the value of resisting temptation when one’s got it good in a relationship: “I can be foolish tonight, I can be careless tonight/She’s my only, she’s my all for life/I would be a fool if I ever let her leave my side/Blessed that she’s mine, and I’ma be all she needs.”

“All In” is a similar ode to a special lady, adding falsetto flourishes into the mix, while “What Are You Waiting For” goes for a club vibe. The groove is good, and Kenny slides in and out of it with finesse. With the melody and pulsations complemented by lyrical passages focused on reclaiming love in one’s life, the track could be especially effective if beefed up with some more vocals and an extension of the percussive elements hinted at here and there. As it stands, it falls short of having a lasting impact.

The second half of Here to Stay, in keeping with its title, makes clear Lattimore’s intent to remain relevant in an era where listening habits are often more particular and hard to predict than ever. While he doesn’t make any overt attempts to pander to a basic sound, the atmosphere of these five tracks is designed more pointedly in line with currently popular production approaches. Thankfully, the lyrical content remains minimally swayed by trends. And while the vocal production is at times heavier than desirable, Lattimore continues to effectively purvey a range of musically emotive qualities.

With the instrumentation pared down on selections like “Lose You” and “Pressure,” it’s striking how little his voice has changed through the years. The high notes are resonant, the flourishes and resiliency smooth and strong. Melodically speaking, most of these cuts fall a bit flat in comparison to the earlier tracks. While they’re solid by contemporary radio standards, they’re not as memorable or soul-stirring as Lattimore classics such as “Never Too Busy” or “Weekend.”

The closing ballad, “Survive,” however, is more impactful with a keyboard-driven arrangement honing in on his sweet falsetto tones and a pretty melody, to boot. With his words on this tune and several others preceding it, perhaps Lattimore gets a bit carried away with the “good man to the rescue” narrative; but that’s highly preferable to the tasteless alternatives for which many artists will settle. Recommended.~Justin Kantorhttps://www.soultracks.com/review-kenny-lattimore-here-to-stay

Here To Stay

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Dutch Swing College Band - Dixieland Goes Dutch

Styles: Jazz, Swing 
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 77:51
Size: 181,2 MB
Art: Front

(2:39)  1. At the Jazz Band Ball
(4:38)  2. Fidgety Feet
(3:02)  3. Beale Street Blues
(3:44)  4. The Sheik of Araby
(3:36)  5. Don't Fence Me In
(3:07)  6. High Society
(3:35)  7. Mood Indigo
(3:43)  8. Royal Garden Blues
(2:34)  9. Big Butter and Egg Man
(2:54) 10. I Ain't Gonna Give Nobody None o' this Jelly Roll
(3:09) 11. Marina
(3:12) 12. Savoy Blues
(2:21) 13. Take Your Pick
(3:58) 14. Wolverine Blues
(3:42) 15. Baby Won't You Please Come Home
(2:15) 16. Bel Ami
(3:19) 17. You Don't Know How Much You Can Suffer
(2:32) 18. Besame Mucho
(3:20) 19. Just a Closer Walk with Thee
(2:54) 20. Wilhelm Tell
(5:51) 21. Bei Mir Bist Du Schon
(3:03) 22. Tiger Rag
(4:32) 23. When the Saints Go Marching In

The Dutch Swing College Band has endured numerous personnel changes in its more than fifty-year history as one of the Netherlands' top jazz ensembles. Although no members remain from the original group, the latest lineup continues to honor the tradition-rooted approach of the founders.  Bob Kaper (1939- ) replaced clarinet player Peter Schilperoort during an illness in 1966, and remained with the band; he has led the Dutch Swing College Band since Schilperoort's death in 1990. 

The fourth leader in the group's history, Kaper succeeds Frans Vink, Jr. (1945-46), Joop Schrier (1955-60), and Schilperoort (1946-55; 1960-1990). Kaper previously led the Beale Street Seven, a group he founded in 1957.  An amateur group from 1945 until turning professional in 1960, the Dutch Swing College Band reached their early peak in the late '40s, when they were tapped to accompany such jazz musicians as Sidney Bechet, Joe Venuti, and Teddy Wilson. The New Melbourne Jazz Band recorded an album, A Tribute to the Dutch Swing College Band, featuring music associated with the Holland-based group. ~ Craig Harris https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dutch-swing-college-band-mn0000130996/biography

Dixieland Goes Dutch

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The Manhattan Transfer - The Manhattan Transfer

Styles:  Vocal Jazz
Year: 1975
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:38
Size: 82,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:05)  1. Tuxedo Junction
(2:28)  2. Sweet Talking Guy
(3:13)  3. Operator
(3:30)  4. Candy
(3:00)  5. Gloria
(2:57)  6. Clap Your Hands
(2:54)  7. That Cat Is High
(3:33)  8. You Can Depend On Me
(2:24)  9. Blue Champagne
(2:47) 10. Java Jive
(3:08) 11. Occapella
(2:35) 12. Heart's Desire

Riding a wave of nostalgia in the '70s, the Manhattan Transfer resurrected jazz trends from boogie-woogie to bop to vocalese in a slick, slightly commercial setting that balanced the group's close harmonies. Originally formed in 1969, the quartet recorded several albums of jazz standards as well as much material closer to R&B/pop. Still, they were easily the most popular jazz vocal group of their era, and the most talented of any since the heyday of Lambert, Hendricks & Ross during the early '60s.  When the group was formed in the late '60s, however, the Manhattan Transfer was a hippie cornball act similar to the Lovin' Spoonful or Spanky & Our Gang. The lone LP that appeared from the original lineup leader Gene Pistilli plus Tim Hauser, Erin Dickins, Marty Nelson, and Pat Rosalia was Jukin', assembled by Capitol. An odd and hardly successful satire record, it was the last appearance on a Manhattan Transfer album for all of the above except Hauser.  After Hauser met vocalists Laurel Masse and Janis Siegel in 1972, the trio re-formed the Manhattan Transfer later that year with the addition of Alan Paul. 

The group became popular after appearances at a few New York hotspots and recorded their own debut, an eponymous LP recorded with help from the jazz world (including Zoot Sims, Randy Brecker, Jon Faddis, and Mel Davis). Featuring vocalese covers of "Java Jive" and "Tuxedo Junction" as well as a Top 40 hit in the aggressive gospel tune "Operator," the album rejuvenated the field of vocalese (dormant since the mid-'60s) and made the quartet stars in the jazz community across Europe as well as America. The Manhattan Transfer's next two albums, Coming Out and Pastiche, minimized the jazz content in favor of covers from around the music community, from Nashville to Los Angeles to Motown. A single from Coming Out, the ballad "Chanson d'Amour," hit number one in Britain. Though Masse left in 1979 for a solo career, Cheryl Bentyne proved a capable replacement, and that same year, Extensions introduced their best-known song, "Birdland," the ode to bop written by Weather Report several years earlier. Throughout the 1980s, the group balanced retreads from all aspects of American song. The 1981 LP Mecca for Moderns gained the Manhattan Transfer their first American Top Ten hit, with a cover of the Ad Libs' 1965 girl group classic "The Boy from New York City," but also included a version of Charlie Parker's "Confirmation" and a surreal, wordless tribute (?) named "Kafka." (The album also earned the Manhattan Transfer honors as the first artist to receive Grammys in both the pop and jazz categories in the same year.) 

The production on virtually all was susceptible to '80s slickness, and though the group harmonies were wonderful, all but the most open of listeners had trouble digesting the sheer variety of material. The group's 1985 tribute to vocal pioneer Jon Hendricks, titled Vocalese, marked a shift in the Manhattan Transfer's focus. Subsequent works managed to keep the concepts down to one per album, and the results were more consistent. Such records as 1987's Brasil, 1994's Tubby the Tuba (a children's record), 1995's Tonin' ('60s R&B), and 1997's Swing (pre-war swing) may not have found the group at their performance peak, but were much more easily understandable for what they were. The group stayed very active and concept-heavy during the 2000s, beginning with a tribute to Louis Armstrong for 2000's The Spirit of St. Louis. They included a pair of Rufus Wainwright songs among the jazz material on 2004's Vibrate, and released An Acapella Christmas the following year. The Symphony Sessions followed in 2006, offering re-recordings of some of their best-known songs with orchestral arrangements. In 2009, the Transfer saluted one of the biggest names in jazz with The Chick Corea Songbook, and featured contributions from Corea, Airto Moreira, Christian McBride, and Ronnie Cuber, among others. During the early 2010s, the group focused more on performing, although both Bentyne and Hauser were forced to find temporary replacements during medical procedures. After spinal surgery in 2013, Hauser returned to the group, but then died suddenly from cardiac arrest in October 2014. ~ John Bush http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-manhattan-transfer-mn0000674749/biography

Personnel: Alan Paul, Janis Siegel, Cheryl Bentyne, Tim Hauser- vocals

The Manhattan Transfer

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Paul Gonsalves, Harry Carney, Mitchell Wood - Stanley Dance Presents The Music Of The Great Ellingtonians (2-Disc Set)

Spanning over five decades (1923-1974), the Duke Ellington orchestra was nursery, proving ground and finishing school for dozens of jazzmen. Three of the greatest, Harry Carney, Mitchell “Booty” Wood, and Paul Gonsalves, here front all-star groups on three albums produced by celebrated jazz critic Stanley Dance. They add up to an engaging example of the unpretentious kind of jazz these musicians liked to play when they were “stretching out”: adventurous but not avant-garde, traditional but not old-fashioned, free-ranging in its moods and full of that sound of surprise which is the lifeblood of jazz—the kind of timeless music, beyond fad and fashion, forever associated with the Great Ellingtonians.

All sessions recorded in New York between September, 1960 and January 1961.

Album: Stanley Dance Presents The Music Of The Great Ellingtonians (disc 1)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:13
Size: 126.4 MB
Styles: Big band
Year: 2011

[4:52] 1. Tree Of Hope
[3:43] 2. Blues For Blokes
[4:17] 3. Baby Blue
[3:48] 4. Jeepers Creepers
[4:03] 5. Rock Me Gently
[5:13] 6. Hand Me Down Love
[3:29] 7. Mabulala
[3:57] 8. Five O'clock Drag
[5:47] 9. Hang In There
[7:11] 10. New Cambridge Blues
[4:03] 11. Easin' On Down Piccadilly
[4:45] 12. Ohso

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Album: Stanley Dance Presents The Music Of The Great Ellingtonians (disc 2)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:37
Size: 152.5 MB
Styles: Big band
Year: 2011
Art: Front

[4:17] 1. Snowstorm
[4:32] 2. Blues In Bones
[3:49] 3. Sunday
[5:06] 4. Our Delight
[4:09] 5. Out Of Nowhere
[8:24] 6. Swallowing The Blues
[5:32] 7. London Broil
[4:46] 8. Midnight Sun
[6:17] 9. Just Squeeze Me
[5:51] 10. Blue Skies
[5:28] 11. Jeeps Blues
[8:22] 12. You Can Depend On Me

Stanley Dance Presents The Music Of The Great Ellingtonians (Disc 1) (Disc 2)

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Michael Brecker - Don't Try This At Home

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1988
File: MP3@128K/s
Time: 55:34
Size: 52,3 MB
Art: Front

(7:43) 1. Itsbynne Reel
(7:51) 2. Chime This
(7:46) 3. Scriabin
(4:59) 4. Suspone
(9:30) 5. Don't Try This At Home
(7:13) 6. Everything Happens When You're Gone
(5:10) 7. Talking To Myself
(5:20) 8. The Gentleman & Hizcaine

Michael Brecker's second album as a leader is almost the equal of his first. Surprisingly, only one song ("Suspone") uses his working quintet of the period (which consists of guitarist Mike Stern, pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Jeff Andrews and drummer Adam Nussbaum) although those musicians also pop up on other selections with the likes of pianists Don Grolnick and Herbie Hancock, bassist Charlie Haden, drummer Jack DeJohnette and violinist Mark O'Connor. Brecker (on tenor and the EWI) is in superb form, really ripping into the eight pieces (mostly group originals). Recommended.~Scott Yanowhttps://www.allmusic.com/album/dont-try-this-at-home-mw0000197612

Personnel: Michael Brecker – tenor saxophone, Mike Stern – guitar; Don Grolnick – piano; Herbie Hancock – piano; Joey Calderazzo – piano; Jim Beard – synthesizer, piano ; Mark O'Connor – violin; Charlie Haden – bass; Jeff Andrews – fretless electric bass; Jack DeJohnette – drums; Adam Nussbaum – drums; Peter Erskine – drums; Judd Miller – synthesizer programming

Don't Try This At Home

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Dave Pike - Noisy Silence - Gentle Noise

Styles: Vibraphone Jazz
Year: 1969
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:59
Size: 87,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:33) 1. I'm On My Way
(4:37) 2. Regards From Freddie Horowitz
(4:40) 3. Somewhat, Somewhere, Somehow
(5:36) 4. Noisy Silence - Gentle Noise
(4:19) 5. Mother People
(3:42) 6. Mathar
(3:19) 7. Vian-De
(3:44) 8. Teaming Up
(3:26) 9. Walkin' Down The Highway In A Red Raw Egg

American vibraphonist Dave Pike gained fame from his work throughout the 60’s with popular jazz flutist Herbie Mann, recording 11 albums with Mann’s groups, also recorded with legendary pianists Bill Evans and Paul Bley. On moving to Europe, the Dave Pike Set became an instant success through the combination of Pike’s vibes play and German Volker Kriegel’s electric, acoustic, guitar and sitar play. Kriegel’s compositions helped create the quartet’s unique sound, encompassing jazz, funk, psychedelia, avant-garde, and ethno. The popish I’m on My Way is followed by the folksy blues Regards From Freddy Horrowitz.

The beautiful ballad Somewhat Somewhere Somehow features Kriegel, and the bluesy title piece jumps into double time with stellar guitar, vibes and bass solos. On Mother People Kriegel reworks a Frank Zappa composition into an unrestrained showpiece. Kriegel grabs the sitar on Mathar as jazz-rock peers East, and the poignant balladic waltz Vian-De highlights the vibes. Teaming Up takes off at breakneck speed with a couple of open-ended detours on the way. Walking Down the Highway celebrates the band’s dilapidated red Citroen, as they maneuver through the 13/4 time signature with ease. The first of six albums Pike recorded for MPS, it exquisitely chronicles the beginnings of a group that achieved popularity while maintaining their uniquely adventurous musical vision.–MPS https://theanalogvault.com/products/the-dave-pike-set-noisy-silence-gentle-noise

Personnel: Dave Pike, vibraphone, tambourine; Hans Rettenbacher, bass; Peter Baumeister, drums; Volker Kriegel, guitar

Noisy Silence - Gentle Noise

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Wayne Shorter - Sony Jazz Portrait

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1996
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:58
Size: 122,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:45)  1. Endangered Species
(7:20)  2. Lusitanos
(5:14)  3. Ponte De Areia
(5:07)  4. Port Of Entry - Live
(5:48)  5. The Three Marias
(5:43)  6. Eurydice
(4:45)  7. When It Was Now
(5:02)  8. Beauty and the Beast
(6:10)  9. Mahogany Bird
(3:01) 10. Diana

Though some will argue about whether ten-time Grammy winner Wayne Shorter's primary impact on jazz has been as a composer or as a saxophonist, few will dispute his importance as one of jazz's leading figures of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Though indebted to John Coltrane, with whom he practiced in the mid-'50s, Shorter eventually developed his own more succinct manner on the tenor horn, retaining the tough tone quality and intensity and, in later years, adding elements of funk. On soprano, Shorter is almost another player entirely, his lovely tone shining like a light beam, his sensibilities attuned more to lyrical thoughts, his choice of notes becoming more spare as his career unfolded. As a composer, he is best known for carefully conceived, complex, long-limbed, endlessly winding tunes, many of which have become jazz standards. Of his mid-'60s albums for Blue Note, most notably Juju and Night Dreamer, the composer and the saxophone stylist meet, showcasing provocative compositions and arrangements performed with both subtlety and force. During his two decades with the six-time Grammy-winning Weather Report from the late '60s through the mid-'80s, and on his solo jazz-funk recordings for Columbia and Verve in the late '80s and early '90s, Shorter showcased both poles of his writing persona the inimitable lyricist and the emboldened tonal seeker who utilized what he'd learned from jazz and applied it to open creative possibilities for funk, even as he sought inspiration from international musical traditions. As a horn player, Shorter's membership in V.S.O.P. revealed he'd continued to grow and experiment. With 2002's Footprints Live!, continued on 2003's Alegria, Shorter showcased a new acoustic quartet dedicated to performing his compositions. In the new century's second decade, Shorter re-signed to Blue Note. Shorter started playing the clarinet at 16 but switched to tenor sax before entering New York University in 1952. After graduating with a BME in 1956, he played with Horace Silver for a short time until he was drafted into the Army for two years. Once out of the service, he joined Maynard Ferguson's band, meeting Ferguson's pianist Joe Zawinul in the process. The following year (1959), Shorter joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, where he remained until 1963, eventually becoming the band's music director. During the Blakey period, Shorter also made his debut on record as a leader, cutting several albums for Chicago's Vee-Jay label. After a few prior attempts to hire him away from Blakey, Miles Davis finally convinced Shorter to join his quintet in September 1964, thus completing the lineup of a group whose biggest impact would leapfrog a generation into the '80s.

Staying with Miles until 1970, Shorter became the band's most prolific composer at times, contributing tunes like "E.S.P.," "Pinocchio," "Nefertiti," "Sanctuary," "Footprints," "Fall," and the signature description of Miles, "Prince of Darkness." While playing through Miles' transition from loose post-bop acoustic jazz into electronic jazz-rock, Shorter also took up the soprano in late 1968, an instrument that turned out to be more suited to riding above the new electronic timbres than the tenor. As a prolific solo artist for Blue Note during this period, Shorter expanded his palette from hard bop almost into the atonal avant-garde, with fascinating excursions into jazz-rock territory toward the turn of the decade. In November 1970, Shorter teamed up with old cohort Joe Zawinul and Miroslav Vitous to form Weather Report, where after a fierce start, Shorter's playing grew mellower, pithier, more consciously melodic, and gradually more subservient to Zawinul's concepts. By now he was playing mostly on soprano, though the tenor would re-emerge toward the end of WR's run. Shorter's solo ambitions were mostly on hold during the WR days, resulting in but one atypical solo album, Native Dancer, an attractive side trip into Brazilian-American tropicalismo in tandem with Milton Nascimento. Shorter also revisited the past in the late '70s by touring with Freddie Hubbard and ex-Miles sidemen Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams as V.S.O.P. Shorter finally left Weather Report in 1985. Still committed to electronics and fusion, his recorded compositions from the period feature welcoming rhythms and harmonically complex arrangements. 

After three Columbia albums during 1986-1988 Atlantis, Phantom Navigator and Joy Ryder and a tour with Santana (represented by the 2005 album Montreux 1988), he lapsed into silence, emerging again in 1992 with Wallace Roney and the V.S.O.P. rhythm section in the "A Tribute to Miles" band. In 1994, now on Verve, Shorter released High Life, an engaging electric collaboration with keyboardist Rachel Z. In concert, he has fielded an erratic series of bands, which could be incoherent one year (1995) and lean and fit the next (1996). He guested on the Rolling Stones' Bridges to Babylon in 1997, and on Herbie Hancock's Gershwin's World in 1998. In 2001, he was back with Hancock for Future 2 Future and on Marcus Miller's M². Footprints Live! was released in 2002 under his own name with a new band that included pianist Danilo Pérez, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Brian Blade, followed by Alegria in 2003 and Beyond the Sound Barrier in 2005. Given his long track record, Shorter's every record and appearance are still eagerly awaited by fans in the hope that he will thrill them again. Blue Note released Blue Note's Great Sessions: Wayne Shorter in 2006. Though absent from recording, Shorter continued to tour regularly with the same quartet after 2005. They re-emerged to record again in February of 2013 with a live outing from their 2011 tour. Without a Net, his first recording for Blue Note in 43 years, was released in February of 2013, as a precursor to his 80th birthday. Just after that release, the Wayne Shorter Quartet performed four of the leader's compositions with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Shorter immediately brought the quartet and orchestra into the studio to record those same four pieces: "Pegasus," "Prometheus Unbound," "Lotus," and "The Three Marias," as a unified suite. The title of this four-composition orchestral suite is also Shorter’s title character for the graphic novel: Emanon, or "no name" spelled backward. Each of the four movements has a corresponding theme in a graphic novel penned by Shorter and Monica Sly, illustrated by Randy DeBurke. It draws inspiration from the concept of a multiverse (where numerous universes co-exist simultaneously) and features a character named Emanon, an action-hero proxy of Shorter, a comic book aficionado since he was a boy. The story alludes to dystopian oppression and was clearly informed by the saxophonist's Buddhist studies. All told, the music  performed by the quartet with and without the chamber orchestra was recorded live in London as well as in the studio; compiled, it created a triple album accompanied by the 84-page graphic novel. Emanon was issued in September of 2018, just after Shorter's 85th birthday. ~ Richard S.Ginell https://www.allmusic.com/artist/wayne-shorter-mn0000250435/biography

Sony Jazz Portrait

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Scott Silbert - Introducing the Scott Silbert Big Band: Jump Children

Styles: Big Band, Swing
Year: 2021
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:04
Size: 112,8 MB
Art: Front

(2:15) 1. Jump Children
(3:12) 2. Annie Laurie
(3:01) 3. In A Persian Market
(3:37) 4. Jumpin' Punkins
(3:08) 5. Edna
(3:05) 6. Tootsie's Rag
(2:46) 7. I Want A Roof (Over My Head)
(3:39) 8. Dusk
(3:25) 9. Lullaby In Rhythm
(2:40) 10. 11:60 P.M.
(3:14) 11. Down For Double
(3:10) 12. Chloe
(3:39) 13. Shipyard Ramble
(2:52) 14. She's Crazy With The Heat
(4:16) 15. Stompin' At The Savoy

The actual title of the album says “Introducing The Scott Silbert Big Band” but this band needs no introduction, as the sounds here are no strangers to your ears. Hopefully, they smoking reads of vintage swing are familiar to you; if not, well, maybe this isn’t an introduction to a new band, but to a better way of life!

Tenor saxist Scott Silbert leads a 15 member ensemble through vintage charts from the 30s-40s as well as a couple Depression Era originals. Four beats to the bar is the thing here, and step right up to it, with Helen Humes-inspired vocalist Gretchen Migley cooing through a Basie-ish beat on “Jump Children” and bold and brassy with trumpeter Josh Kauffman on Harry James’ “11:60 pm”.

Silbert himself is a Louie Prima jive mood on the R&Bish jive of “I Want A Roof Over My Head” while blowing a velvety clarinet on “Lullaby In Rhythm” and Kansas City’d “Stompin’ At The Savoy”. His tenor sears through the patented Jimmie Lunceford two stepper “Annie Laurie” while Leigh Pilzer’s baritone is as thick as molasses with Ken Kimery doing some Krupa’d tom tomming on “Shipyard Rumble”.

This album reminds you that music was made for dancing, not navel gazing, something today’s artists need to keep thinking during their endless cacophonic solos. Here’s why you should like jazz.~George W.Harris https://www.jazzweekly.com/2022/03/the-scott-silbert-big-band-jump-children-kari/

Introducing the Scott Silbert Big Band: Jump Children

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Kenny Werner Quintet - Lawn Chair Society

Styles: Post-Bop, Piano Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:21
Size: 141,3 MB
Art: Front

( 4:48)  1. Lo's Garden
( 6:28)  2. New Amsterdam
(12:25)  3. The 13th Day
( 2:29)  4. 4X
( 7:03)  5. Uncovered Heart
( 5:04)  6. Inaugural Balls
( 3:32)  7. 3X
( 9:39)  8. Lawn Chairs (and other foreign policy)
( 2:39)  9. Loss
( 7:08) 10. Kothbiro

With this upbeat program of original material, pianist Kenny Werner takes his quintet through a swinging confrontation that combines modern innovation with classical training. His music is timeless. Working with an all-star lineup on Lawn Chair Society that features trumpeter Dave Douglas, saxophonist Chris Potter, bassist Scott Colley and drummer Brian Blade, he's at the top of his game. Werner's story is familiar. He studied hard to learn to play piano as well as he does but with all that hard work, however, came a reluctant disposition. He felt that all his "hard work and no play had kept him from becoming completely free. Perfect piano performances had held little allure for him, since one note followed another in phrase after phrase; however, something about the feel of it all bothered him. 

After working with Madame Chaloff in Boston and Juao Assis Brasil in Brazil, he began to relax and enjoy what was happening, lighten up somewhat, and develop into the pianist that he wants to be. That was a long time ago. Werner has continued to grow at the piano for over thirty years. He is a spiritual person. As a composer, his music flows with a natural lyricism that harbors a deep-down blues sensibility. From this session, "Uncovered Heart releases that kind of emotion freely, and Werner's musical partners feel it as well as he does. Other selections capture new and interesting ideas and release them at will. Werner's use of a computer to bring contrasting rhythms to play on several pieces provides a unique thrill. Throughout the session, a tried and true mainstream fiber holds Werner's feet to the jazz fire of our forefathers. As far out as he leans from time to time, we always know that his heart is at the center. Lawn Chair Society sits atop this year's best-of list for its innovation, for its ties with tradition, and for the quintet's superb musicianship. ~ Jim Santella  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/lawn-chair-society-kenny-werner-blue-note-records-review-by-jim-santella.php
 

Personnel: Kenny Werner: piano, keyboards, computer; Dave Douglas: trumpet, cornet; Chris Potter, tenor saxophone, bass clarinet; Scott Colley: bass; Brian Blade: drums; Lenny Pickett, wooden flute.

Lawn Chair Society

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Oscar Peterson Trio - Night Train

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1962
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:29
Size: 157,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:52) 1. Happy-Go-Lucky Local (Aka Night Train)
(3:26) 2. C-Jam Blues
(3:46) 3. Georgia On My Mind
(5:43) 4. Bag'S Groove
(2:55) 5. Moten Swing
(2:45) 6. Easy Does It
(2:24) 7. The Honeydripper
(4:38) 8. Things Ain'T What They Used To Be
(5:08) 9. I Got It Bad (And That Ain'T Good)
(3:55) 10. Band Call
(5:38) 11. Hymn To Freedom
(5:00) 12. Happy-Go-Lucky Local (Aka Night Train) [alternative Take]
(2:49) 13. Volare
(3:57) 14. My Heart Belongs To Daddy
(3:36) 15. Moten Swing [rehearsal Take]
(2:36) 16. Now'S The Time
(5:11) 17. This Could Be The Start Of Something

This classic jazz piano album Night Train was recorded by The Oscar Peterson Trio almost 60 years ago in Los Angeles on December 15 and 16, 1962. It’s a record that belongs in every collection, whether you’re presently a jazz fan or whether you’ve taken a vow against improvised music, thinking it’s incomprehensible and annoying. I’ll give you three reasons why you might just be listening to this record on a regular basis for the next ten or twenty years:

1. No one ever dazzled the piano keys like Oscar did, or swung as hard with a bluesy feeling (okay, so that’s two or three reasons in one).

2. No one ever played in a tighter group than this trio Ed Thigpen on drums and Ray Brown on bass, along with Oscar on ivory, set a standard for ensemble playing which is a model for all musicians, whatever their genre. These guys deliver everything an orchestra could, and more.

3. The joy and intensity of this music will have an impact on your life which will not be forgotten anytime soon.

The original album contained just 11 songs, and the re-released digital version adds several more, which are unnecessary and detract from the beauty of the concept. Speaking of beauty, the cover photograph by Pete Turner of the train in motion is stunning. Verve recordings were always known for their quality of music and the outstanding artwork on their covers. Night Train is one of the most famous jazz albums of all time, and deservedly so on both counts.

The 11 tunes are on the shortish side, none much longer than five and a half minutes, so if you’re thinking that jazz is some form of endless noodling and self-indulgence, this is the album to contradict that notion. With every tune the group snaps to it and you are drawn in right away. Before you know it, the album’s over and you’re eager to listen to it again. This is the kind of precious possession you’d save if your house were burning and you had only a minute to fetch something other than your family. The playing is elegant, restrained, and yet hard-driving. This is the kind of record that gets 15 year old doe-eyed girls in Victoria named Diana to thinking they’re going to grow up to play jazz piano, and it’s the kind of record that makes electric bassists head down to their music store and trade up to an all-acoustic bass fiddle so that they can play with some real bottom end. It’s also the kind of record that makes drummers forget all about John Bonham, and starts them to dreaming of the subtleties they can achieve with brush work. And if you think this is some simple introduction to jazz that was recorded to popularize the form, you’ll need to think again. This stuff is both sophisticated and irresistible.

Take the title tune for instance. It was a classic before this record, but it was meant for a big band, Duke Ellington’s to be precise. Peterson delivers this tune with elegance and amazing dexterity, putting the stamp of his own formidable personality on his arrangement. Then comes ‘C Jam Blues’ , as if to remind the listener that it’s all about the blues. His rendition of ‘Georgia On My Mind’ is a revelation, for this is a song that has been done so many times in so many ways you would it’s impossible to wring anything meaningful from it, yet Oscar’s rendition of this piece is enough to move one to tears. Other standout tracks are ‘Honey Dripper’ and ‘Hymn to Freedom’, the latter being a very stirring and emotional piece that begins as a solo, with Ed and Ray joining in gradually to provide a rousing finish. There the original album ended.

Oscar Peterson was a lifelong Canadian and the winner of seven Grammy awards. He started playing piano at the age of five, and progressed from playing boogie-woogie to being named “the Maharajah of the piano”, heavily influenced by people like Nat Cole and Art Tatum, the masters of jazz piano. It was said of his playing in later years, after a stroke, that “a one-handed Oscar was better than just about anyone with two hands”. Though he passed away in 2007 his music lives on, and will live on for decades to come. Whenever anyone wants to know what the hands of a genius can do with piano, and what can be accomplished with a trio of great musicians, Night Train will be at or near the top of every list.~Brian Miller https://www.vivascene.com/oscar-peterson-night-train-album-review/

Personnel: Oscar Peterson - piano; Ray Brown - double bass; Ed Thigpen - drums

Night Train

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Clifford Brown - Memorial Album (Remastered)

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1953/2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:12
Size: 165,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:14)  1. Bellarosa
(3:56)  2. Carvin' The Rock
(3:14)  3. Cookin'
(3:46)  4. Brownie Speaks
(4:51)  5. De-Dah
(4:19)  6. You Go To My Head
(3:51)  7. Carvin' The Rock (Alternate Take)
(3:08)  8. Cookin' (Alternate Take)
(4:05)  9. Carvin' The Rock (Alternate Take #2)
(4:02) 10. Wail Bait
(4:07) 11. Hymn Of The Orient
(3:56) 12. Brownie Eyes
(3:27) 13. Cherokee
(3:44) 14. Easy Living
(4:34) 15. Minor Mood
(4:07) 16. Wail Bait (Alternate Take)
(3:42) 17. Cherokee (Alternate Take)
(4:01) 18. Hymn Of The Orient (Alternate Take)

Clifford Brown emerged fully formed in 1953, a trumpeter gifted with an ebullient swing and technical skills that added polish and precision to fresh invention. Foregoing both the manic pyrotechnics of Dizzy Gillespie and the laconic introversion of Miles Davis, he also provided a stylistic model for jazz trumpeters that has never gone out of style. This CD combines Brown's first two recording dates as leader, placing him in quintet and sextet settings with some of the core musicians of the New York bop scene. The first nine tracks have Brown in an inspired quintet, prodded by the twisting, off-kilter solos and comping of the brilliant and underrated pianist Elmo Hope and the sparkling complexity of drummer Philly Joe Jones. While altoist Lou Donaldson is deeply in the sway of Charlie Parker, Brown sets his own course, whether it's the boppish "Cookin'" or the standard "You Go to My Head." 

The final nine tracks have Art Blakey's drums driving the sextet, while altoist Gigi Gryce's understated concentration acts as an effective foil to Brown's joyous, dancing lines. Taken at a medium up-tempo, "Cherokee" is one of Brown's most effective vehicles. The alternate takes from each session highlight Brown's spontaneous creativity, while Rudy Van Gelder's remastering adds fresh focus to both his gorgeous tone and the explosive drumming. ~ Stuart Broomer - Editorial Reviews https://www.amazon.com/Memorial-Album-Clifford-Brown/dp/B00005MIZ6

Personnel: Tracks 1-9: Clifford Brown - trumpet; Lou Donaldson - alto saxophone; Elmo Hope - piano; Percy Heath - bass; Philly Joe Jones - drums. Tracks 10-18: Clifford Brown - trumpet; John Lewis - piano; Gigi Gryce - alto saxophone, flute; Charlie Rouse - tenor saxophone; Percy Heath - bass; Art Blakey - drums

Memorial Album

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Charlie Rouse - Bossa Nova Bacchanal

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1962
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:32
Size: 97,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:56)  1. Back to the Tropics
(2:58)  2. Aconteceu
(4:50)  3. Velhos Tempos
(6:18)  4. Samba de Orfeu
(5:56)  5. Un Dia
(5:58)  6. Meci Bon Dieu
(5:29)  7. In Martinique
(7:05)  8. One for Five

About eight or nine years ago, the major record labels finally realized that they could sell more copies of classic jazz CDs if they reissued them with the respect they deserved, including high-quality remastering and packaging. This has proved an unprecedented boon for the jazz fan; never have so many records by so many artists been readily available, even if the inventories are in cyberspace rather than in the attic of the corner shop. However, there is a cloud to this silver lining. There are simply so many old albums in the reissue queue that some artists, particularly those who were more prolific as sidemen than as leaders, are underrepresented. And not just in quantity sometimes whole stylistic forays are lost. A case in point is Charlie Rouse, the vastly underrated tenor man best known for his long tenure with Thelonious Monk in the late '50s and '60s. Thankfully, then, Blue Note has reissued Rouse’s 1962 Bossa Nova Bacchanal as part of its limited edition Connoisseur Series. I know, I know, “not another bossa nova cash-in album!” But keep an open mind; this is no crass marketing ploy. Bacchanal is actually a fine album, and apparently Rouse was very serious about making authentic bossa nova music, recruiting excellent Latin rhythm players alongside the dual guitar line of Kenny Burrell and Lord Westbrook (playing acoustic Spanish guitars). 

The selection of tunes is perfect, too, with really only one bossa warhorse (“Samba de Orfeu”), several refreshingly lesser-known gems (the breezy “Aconteceu,” the ominous “Meci Bon Dieu”), and a Rouse original for good measure. Rouse does nothing to soften his sharp-edged, sinusoidal tone but lacks nothing in melodic invention, and his acerbic lines provide a citric zing where this kind of music is often too sticky sweet. The dual-guitar team is a real treat, providing excellent solos (both Westbrook and Burrell have their chance to shine) and a constant stereophonic percolation in the background. A startling bonus track, however, threatens to steal the show, at least for Rouse fans "One For Five," a non-bossa original from a later, 1965 session with (get this) Freddie Hubbard, McCoy Tyner, Bob Cranshaw, and Billy Higgins. The tune is reminiscent of something that might have fit on Wayne Shorter’s contemporary Blue Notes, and it features a nice Rouse solo different from his Monk guise, as well as fleet work by Hubbard and Tyner. How the rest of this session could remain in the vaults is beyond imagining, and only goes to prove the point made above. So please, Blue Note, put out the rest, and soon but until then, thanks for the Brazilian appetizer. ~ Joshua Weiner https://www.allaboutjazz.com/bossa-nova-bacchanal-charlie-rouse-blue-note-records-review-by-joshua-weiner.php

Personnel: Charlie Rouse, tenor sax; Kenny Burrell and Chauncey "Lord" Westbrook, guitars; Larry Gales, bass; Willie Bobo, drums; Patato Valdes, conga; Garvin Masseaux, chekere. On "One For Five": Rouse; Freddie Hubbard, trumpet; McCoy Tyner, piano; Bob Cranshaw, bass; Billy Higgins, drums

Bossa Nova Bacchanal

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Ellis Larkins - Blues In The Night

Styles: Piano
Year: 1952
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 23:41
Size: 55,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:12) 1. Blues in the Night
(2:51) 2. I'll Wind
(2:56) 3. Over the Rainbow
(2:59) 4. Come Rain or Come Shine
(3:04) 5. Stormy Weather
(2:58) 6. One for My Baby
(2:42) 7. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
(2:56) 8. I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues

Stomping blues, charming ballads, and dazzling interpretations of standards by pianist Ellis Larkins, one of the most underrated players from the swing era still active.~Ron Wynn https://www.allmusic.com/album/blues-in-the-night-mw0000909970

Personnel: Ellis Larkins - Piano

Blues In The Night

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Barbara Knight & The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra - Night & Day

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:37
Size: 102,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:10)  1. The Song Is You
(4:11)  2. Bewitched
(2:50)  3. Bye Bye Blackbird
(5:06)  4. Night And Day
(2:45)  5. Just In Time
(4:33)  6. When You Wish Upon A Star
(4:04)  7. They All Laughed
(2:38)  8. Perdido
(5:17)  9. Like A Lover
(3:26) 10. Teach Me Tonight
(2:20) 11. Just One Of Those Things
(3:12) 12. This Lullaby

Barbara Knight is Northeast Ohio's premier big band jazz singer. She is known for captivating an audience with her tantalizing voice and is recognized by jazz bands and musicians as a truly gifted singer with dynamic stage presence and an intimate knowledge of her repertoire. Her enchanting renditions of the jazz classics will delight you while her melodic vocals will lure you into the song and make listening a truly magical experience. Experience the magic as you discover vocalist Barbara Knight in this exciting debut CD, "Night and Day".

“Barbara Knight's jazz style beautifully combines power and poise. She's a singer's singer, swinging on "Perdido," seductive on "Like a Lover," mysterious on her namecheck tune, "Night and Day," welcoming on "Just in Time." Both queenly and friendly, Knight is particularly comfortable with standards. But she's not afraid to be modern, either. "Night and Day," her CD with the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, effectively demonstrates how well Knight and her favorite backup work together. This lush album is a honey, proving how persuasive mainstream jazz can be. Credit Barbara Knight for making the reminder so resonant.” ~ Carlo Wolff, jazz reviewer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer and contributor to Billboard online, Goldmine and the Boston Globe.

“There’s a rightness about this CD that is hard to define, one that I haven’t heard on anything I’ve ever been on except this. It’s just on another level. Wow!” ~ Jack Schantz, musical director of Cleveland Jazz Orchestra

“Barbara Knight's "Night And Day" is a refreshing change of pace. Knight shows us her love of the songs she sings, by actually just singing them. No self indulgent, vocal exercises on this session. Just Barbara's warm, crystal clear voice bringing life to a collection of very hip charts. What a delight!” ~ Dan Polletta, jazz host, WCPN - FM 90.3

“Barbara Knight sings with confidence and affection. Her interpretations of the great standards are straight from the heart of the music." ~ Tony Mowod, executive producer / jazz host, WDUQ - FM 90.5 http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bkwtcjo

Night And Day

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Adela Dalto - Exotica

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1996
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:32
Size: 128,0 MB
Art: Front

(1:09) 1. Dawning
(6:07) 2. Moon And Sand
(4:51) 3. And When The Clouds Fade Away
(4:51) 4. Dreams Of Paradise
(4:17) 5. Summer Passion
(5:04) 6. Brazilian Summer
(4:06) 7. Chora Coracao
(4:32) 8. Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5
(1:50) 9. Sol Do Meio Dia
(4:19) 10. Pobre De Mim
(3:22) 11. Coração Vagabundo
(4:06) 12. Waiting For Him
(6:53) 13. Afro Sambas

Adela Dalto has been immersed in the highest levels of creative Latin and Brazilian music and has mixed the sophisticated elements of this music with American jazz. Her Latin jazz repertoire also includes her original compositions, combining beautiful vocal sounds with fiery rhythms. She has performed around the world with her musical group including the U.S., Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Japan, China, Indonesia and Egypt. One of her first performances was as a backup singer for Celia Cruz, and she has since performed with some of the top Latin jazz artists including Arturo O'Farrell, Mario Bauza's AFRO CUBAN JAZZ ORCHESTRA and Carlos "Patao" Valdez. Her recordings include world class musicians such as Chucho Valdez, David Sanchez, Jerry Gonzalez, David Valentin, Ray Vega and Claudio Roditi. She has collaborated on albums with Mario Bauzá, Lee Konitz, and Aloisio Aguiar.

As a Latin Jazz vocalist, recording artist and songwriter, with a successful career that spans over 30 years, her performance has been described as "A sublime melding of Latin and jazz styles Dalto is sensuous and spellbinding." (Mark Holston, JAZZIZ). https://elusivedisc.com/adela-dalto-exotica-single-layer-stereo-japanese-import-sacd/

Musicians: Adela Dalto, vocals; Aloisio Aguiar, piano, marimba, celeste, percussion; Romero Lubambo, guitar; David Finck, bass; Portinho, drums; Waltinho, percussion, voice; Mauricio Smith, flute; Jimmy Cruz, percussion, wooden flute; Cidinho Teixeira, accordian

Exotica

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Larry Coryell - I'll Be Over You

Styles: Jazz Fusion
Year: 1994
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:04
Size: 120,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:57) 1. I'll Be Over You
(4:22) 2. Redwing
(4:43) 3. Tonight Is the Night
(3:06) 4. Try a Little Tenderness
(5:17) 5. St. Louis Blues
(5:14) 6. For the Love of You
(4:50) 7. Nightshade
(4:34) 8. This Love of Ours
(4:49) 9. Before Dawn
(4:28) 10. Cumulus
(5:39) 11. Better Get Hit in Yo' Soul

As one of the pioneers of jazz-rock perhaps the pioneer in the ears of some Larry Coryell deserves a special place in the history books. He brought what amounted to a nearly alien sensibility to jazz electric guitar playing in the 1960s, a hard-edged, cutting tone, and phrasing and note-bending that owed as much to blues, rock, and even country as it did to earlier, smoother bop influences. Yet as a true eclectic, armed with a brilliant technique, he remained comfortable in almost every style, covering almost every base from the most decibel-heavy, distortion-laden electric work to the most delicate, soothing, intricate lines on acoustic guitar. Unfortunately, a lot of his most crucial electric work from the '60s and '70s went missing in the digital age, tied up by the erratic reissue schemes of Vanguard, RCA, and other labels, and by jazz-rock's myopically low level of status in certain quarters.

According to Coryell, his interest in jazz took hold at the age of four, and after his family moved from Galveston to the state of Washington three years later, he began to learn the guitar, studying records by Tal Farlow, Barney Kessel, and Johnny Smith. As a teenager, he played in a band led by pianist Mike Mandel, and by 1965 he gave up his journalism studies at the University of Washington in order to try his luck in New York as a musician. Before the year was out, he attracted much attention jamming in Greenwich Village and replaced Gabor Szabo in Chico Hamilton's band. In 1966, he made a startling recorded debut on Hamilton's The Dealer album, where his blues and rock ideas came to the fore, and that year he also played with a proto-jazz-rock band, the Free Spirits. Coryell's name spread even further in 1967-1968 when he played with Gary Burton's combo, and he was one of the most prominent solo voices on Herbie Mann's popular Memphis Underground album (recorded in 1968). He, Mandel, and Steve Marcus formed a group called Foreplay in 1969 (no relation to the later Fourplay), and by 1973 this became the core of the jazz-rock band Eleventh House, which after a promising start ran aground with a string of albums of variable quality.

In 1975, Coryell pulled the plug, concentrating on acoustic guitar and turning in a prolific series of duo and trio sessions with the likes of Philip Catherine, Emily Remler, John Scofield, Joe Beck, Steve Khan, and John McLaughlin. In the mid-'80s, Coryell toured with McLaughlin and Paco de Lucía, and in 1986 participated in a five-way guitar session with his old idol Farlow, Scofield, Larry Carlton, and John Abercrombie for the Jazzvisions series. Coryell also recorded with Stéphane Grappelli, Charles Mingus, Sonny Rollins, and Kenny Barron, and taped Brazilian music with Dori Caymmi for CTI, mainstream jazz for Muse, solo guitar for Shanachie and Acoustic Music, and (for Nippon Phonogram in Japan) an album of classical transcriptions of music by Stravinsky and Rimsky-Korsakov.

Coryell's career in the early 21st century was just as active. The year 2004 saw the release of Tricycles, an excellent trio date with drummer Paul Wertico and bassist Mark Egan. Electric from 2005 found Coryell playing jazz standards and rock anthems with Lenny White on drums and Victor Bailey on electric bass. In 2006 he released the performance album Laid Back & Blues: Live at the Sky Church in Seattle, followed two years later by Impressions: The New York Sessions on Chesky. In 2011 the guitarist joined a group of musicians closely associated with the Bay Area's Wide Hive label for Larry Coryell with the Wide Hive Players. He then returned in 2013 with The Lift, featuring organist Chester Thompson. Two years later, he delivered his third album for Wide Hive, Heavy Feel. In January 2017, Coryell announced he had reunited members of his '70s fusion group Eleventh House, including trumpeter Randy Brecker, for the album Seven Secrets. The album was slated to arrive in early June of that year, with a number of U.S. summer tour dates confirmed in support of the release. However, following a pair of weekend shows at New York City's Iridium club, Coryell died of heart failure in his hotel room on February 19, 2017. He was 73 years old. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/larry-coryell-mn0000124784/biography

Personnel: Larry Coryell - acoustic, electric, 12-string electric & Flamenco guitars; Sharon Bryant - background vocals; David Charles - percussion; Chris Parks - keyboards, programming; Carmen Cuesta - background vocals; Zach Danziger - drums; Mark Herman - keyboards, programming; Mark Sherman - vibraphone, keyboards, percussion, programming; Dan Heymann - piano; Rick Bottari - keyboards; Tracy Wormwood - bass; Steve Ferrone - drums; Chuck Loeb - guitar, electric guitar; Will Lee - bass; Grover Washington, Jr.- soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone; Peabo Bryson - vocals; Donald Harrison - vocals, soprano & tenor saxophones; Lani Groves - background vocals; Vaneese Thomas - background vocals

I'll Be Over You

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Wayne Shorter - Introducing

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1959
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:00
Size: 151,6 MB
Art: Front

( 5:35)  1. Blues A La Carte
( 4:40)  2. Harry's Last Stand
( 9:41)  3. Down In The Depths
( 6:49)  4. Pug Nose
( 6:00)  5. Black Diamond
( 4:27)  6. Mack The Knife
( 5:43)  7. Blues A La Carte (alternate take)
( 4:59)  8. Harry's Last Stand (alternate take)
(10:18)  9. Down In The Depths (alternate take)
( 7:43) 10. Black Diamond (alternate take)

Also known as Blues A La Carte, this Vee Jay disc has tenor-saxophonist Wayne Shorter's first session as a leader and it shows that, even at this early stage, Shorter was far along toward developing his own sound. Teamed up with trumpeter Lee Morgan, pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb, the six selections (five of which are Shorter originals) capture the young tenor shortly after he joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. The music is essentially hard bop and, although none of these Shorter tunes caught on, the music is quite enjoyable. A special treat is the one standard of the date, a swinging version of "Mack The Knife." ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/introducing-wayne-shorter-mw0000036851 

Personnel: Wayne Shorter: Tenor Saxophone; Lee Morgan: Trumpet; Wynton Kelly: Piano; Paul Chambers: Bass; Jimmy Cobb: Drums.

Introducing

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Dutch Swing College Band - Goes Western

Styles: Swing, Big Band
Year: 1965
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 33:13
Size: 77,7 MB
Art: Front

(2:39) 1. Roll Along Covered Wagon
(2:24) 2. I'm An Old Cowhand
(3:07) 3. South Of The Border
(2:50) 4. Home On The Range
(2:34) 5. Take These Chains From My Heart
(2:20) 6. You Are My Sunshine
(2:54) 7. Roll Along Prairie-Moon
(2:43) 8. Tennessee Waltz
(3:38) 9. Don't Fence Me In
(2:44) 10. San Antonio Rose
(2:42) 11. Singing The Blues
(2:34) 12. Red River Valley

The Dutch Swing College Band started out as an amateur-college combo on liberation day (1945, may 5th) and through the years it has grown into a worldfamous jazz ensemble that has toured all five continents to much acclaim. The DSC played a prominent role during the post-war period. At the time many youngsters fell under the spell of the original Amerian music: jazz. The band, which has existed for more than sixty years, has given concerts all over the world and the sounds have been registered on practically all types of sound recordings since 1945. The band also appeared frequently on TV and in film productions. Through the years many big names in jazz music were backed by the DSC, from Sidney Bechet, Joe Venuti and Rita Reys to Teddy Wilson. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL. https://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/artist/dutch-swing-college-band

Goes Western

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Judy Carmichael - Judy

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1994
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:53
Size: 131,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:33) 1. Judy
(4:52) 2. It Don't Mean a Thing
(3:23) 3. Doin' the New Lowdown
(3:33) 4. The Blue Room
(5:27) 5. Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You?
(4:50) 6. If Dreams Come True
(5:27) 7. Lazy River
(3:30) 8. Alligator Crawl
(3:35) 9. Doctor Jazz
(5:05) 10. Ja Da
(2:56) 11. Henderson Stomp
(6:00) 12. When I Take My Sugar to Tea
(4:41) 13. Sweet Sue

Grammy nominated pianist/vocalist, Judy Carmichael is one of the world’s leading interpreters of stride piano and swing. Count Basie nicknamed her “Stride," acknowledging the command with which she plays this technically and physically demanding jazz piano style. Judy’s vocal debut on her CD “Come and Get It” features her singing debut on everything from Peggy Lee inspired standards, to humorous takes on Fats Waller tunes. Her first all-vocal CD “I Love Being Here With You” followed, which is also her first with someone else playing piano, in this case the great Mike Renzi (presently music director for Tony Bennett) with Harry Allen on sax and Jay Leonhart on bass.

A native of California, Judy Carmichael moved to New York in the early 80’s and has maintained a busy concert schedule throughout the world ever since. She has toured for the United States Information Agency throughout India, Portugal, Brazil and Singapore. In 1992 Ms. Carmichael was the first jazz musician sponsored by the United States Government to tour China. The musician that critics have referred to as “astounding, flawless and captivating” (The New York Times) has played in a variety of venues from Carnegie Hall, to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice (the first concert ever presented by the museum) to programs with Joel Grey, Michael Feinstein, Steve Ross and the Smothers Brothers. In addition, Ms. Carmichael has done comic skits and performed her music on radio and TV and performed private recitals for everyone from Rod Stewart and Robert Redford to President Clinton and Gianni Agnelli.

Judy Carmichael is one of a handful of musicians who approach jazz from a perspective of its entire history. Choosing to study jazz piano from its early roots on, she explores the music deeply, infusing it with a “fresh, dynamic interpretation of her own” (Washington Post ). The National Endowment for the Arts rewarded Carmichael’s knowledge of jazz piano with a major grant to present early jazz greats on film and to discuss the history and development of jazz piano with college students across the country. Judy Carmichael’s Grammy-nominated recording “Two Handed Stride” teamed her with four giants of jazz from the Count Basie Orchestra, Red Callendar, Harold Jones, Freddie Green and Marshall Royal.

She has written two books on stride piano, a celebrated memoir Swinger! A Jazz Girl’s Adventures From Hollywood to Harlem and numerous articles on the subject of jazz. She has served on a variety of music panels at the National Endowment for the Arts and is one of the few jazz pianists honored as a Steinway Artist. She has been included in a number of jazz anthologies and at one point, to her utter surprise, turned up in the Simon and Schuster murder mystery Murder Times Two as “the stride pianist Judy Carmichael,” the main suspect’s favorite piano player. Ms. Carmichael is included in Who’s Who in the East, Who’s Who in Finance and Industry in America, Who’s Who in American Woman, American Women in Jazz, Who’s Who in the World, as well as the Encyclopedia of Jazz. Ms. Carmichael has appeared frequently on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion, and has been featured on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, Entertainment Tonight and multiple features on CBS’ Sunday Morning.

She is celebrating her 20th year producing and hosting her NPR Show Judy Carmichael’s Jazz Inspired, broadcast on over 170 stations throughout North America and abroad. Listen to the Jazz Inspired, podcast on all the usual platforms. Her recordings and music books are available at www.judycarmichael.com, on Apple Music or by mail order through C&D Productions, P.O. Box 360 Sag Harbor, New York, 11963.

Personnel: Judy Carmichael-piano; Chris Flory-guitar

Judy

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Bria Skonberg - So Is the Day

Styles: Vocal And Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:26
Size: 148,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:10)  1. Keep Me In The Back Of Your Mind
(7:35)  2. So Is The Day
(7:30)  3. Hip Check
(4:03)  4. I Wish I Hadn't Forgotten
(4:48)  5. Have A Little Heart
(3:45)  6. Far Away
(5:12)  7. Penny In Your Pocket
(4:29)  8. Let Yourself Go
(5:49)  9. Chilliwack Cheer
(4:08) 10. Big Yellow Taxi
(7:48) 11. Gymnopedie
(4:03) 12. My Friend

It's a rare talent that can straddle and dare request membership in the trumpet artist continuum emanating from Louis Armstrong and progressing down through his "Neo Orleans" progeny: Byron Stripling, Wynton Marsalis and Nicholas Payton (whose big band trumpet section Skonberg graces). However, with her bravura performance on So is the Day, Bria Skonberg confirms that she is not only indeed a triple threat musician player, vocalist and composer but also that that esteemed lineage, consummate entertainers all, would heartily approve her membership. This stunningly beautiful British Columbia native plays (and writes and sings) at levels of excellence and maturity far beyond her years. Whether it's plunging and growling away, soaring across the horn's range ferociously, or delivering beautifully constructed lyrical solo lines, Skonberg demonstrates solid chops and great command of her instrument. Displaying artistic flexibility and fire, she unabashedly channels Armstrong, Cootie Williams, Warren Vache, and other legendary players. It's also obvious that Skonberg is an admiring student of the vocal tradition, too. She exhibits stylistic shades of Peggy Lee, Dinah Washington, and Diana Krall. She has a beautiful voice both soul sultry and innocent sweet and an instrumentalist's feel for melodic line and rhythm. Her vocal and horn chops intertwine seamlessly. "Have a Little Heart" is a perfect example. An insightfully versatile composer, Skonberg delivers nine engaging originals, all stylistically unique. 

She's done her homework; the forms and lyric phrasings are classic. "I Wish I Hadn't Forgotten" frames Skonberg with guest John Pizzarelli, a perfect vocal partner, on an elegant guy/gal swinger. "Penny in Your Pocket" grinds blue with Scott Elias' organ. "Hip Check" (a sidewinder turned inside out to 5/4 time) and "Chilliwack Cheer" deal Cajun spice. "Far Away," the most contemporary of her originals, modulates dreamily. Three well-known selections are given refreshed presentations performed with verve. Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" shines with a bouncy Caribbean groove and a beauty of a Skonberg flugelhorn solo. "Let Yourself Go" and Erik Satie's over-recorded "Gymnopedie" are done in Latin-esque treatments. Skonberg's supporting crew is stellar throughout, and seems to relish placing Skonberg in the spotlight. Swinging woodwind artist Victor Goines, trombone stars Wycliffe Gordon and Michael Dease, and a rhythm section of (terrific) pianist Jeff Lashway, the versatile Randy Johnston on guitar, bassist Kelly Friesen, and drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr. collectively and individually energize. So is the Day, while tipping a hat to tradition, appropriately pushes Bria Skonberg to the forefront of today's musical talents. She has it all so does this superb recording. ~ Nicholas F.Mondello  

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/so-is-the-day-bria-skonberg-random-act-records-review-by-nicholas-f-mondello.php
 

Personnel: Bria Skonberg: trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals; Victor Goines: tenor saxophone, clarinet, flute; Wycliffe Gordon: trombone (1, 9); Michael Dease: trombone (11); Jeff Lashway: piano; Scott Elias: organ (7);Randy Johnston: guitar; Kelly Friesen: bass; Ulysses Owens, Jr.: drums; Roland Guerrero: percussion; John Pizzarelli: guitar, vocals (4).

So Is the Day

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Ralph Bowen - Total Eclipse

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:30
Size: 141,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:37)  1. Total Eclipse
(5:36)  2. Behind The Curtain
(5:58)  3. Into The City
(6:31)  4. The Dowsing Rod
(7:02)  5. On Green
(7:18)  6. Arrows Of Light
(9:55)  7. Exosphere
(5:31)  8. Hip Check
(7:57)  9. In My Dreams

Ralph Bowen plays a pure strain of postmodern tenor saxophone. He is hugely proficient technically and consistently spills his guts. Take “Into the City.” Its quick, jagged, asymmetrical head is like a call to arms. Bowen builds from a few repeated adjacent tones to long convoluted lines that sound like onslaughts until you hear that they are actually sets of subtle variations (if in-your-face tenor can be subtle). It follows that he makes good records. His three most recent, Power Play , Due Reverence and Dedicated , all on Posi-Tone, were aesthetic undertakings as tenor saxophone clinics. Total Eclipse might be his best yet. It has Bowen’s hottest band ever.

The guys are relatively new. Jared Gold is an organist who maximizes the resources of his instrument. When he and Bowen combine for maximum unison power, as on “Exosphere,” this quartet hits like a big band. When Gold unleashes the full force of the B3 on a wild, roaring piece like “Hip Check,” he does not so much comp as slam and bash behind Bowen, catapulting him forward. Yet Gold also takes solos of glittering detail and piquant discord, as on “In My Dreams.” Mike Moreno is a free thinker on guitar. He complements the ensemble sound with off-center pinpoints of light, and takes intriguing, ambiguous solos. Rudy Royston, who plays free drums in the tenor trio of JD Allen, operates in a more defined, organized role with Bowen. But he still sounds dangerously volatile. There are eight strong tracks and one tour de force. Bowen’s dash through the head of “Hip Check” is impossibly fast and exact, then he improvises at the same rapid data rate. Royston rockets; Moreno ululates; Gold shrieks. Bowen rivets the theme into place at the end. Another day at the office. ~ Thomas Conrad http://jazztimes.com/articles/54410-total-eclipse-ralph-bowen

Personnel: Ralph Bowen: saxophone; Jared Gold: organ; Mike Moreno: guitar; Rudy Royston: drums.

Total Eclipse

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John Abercrombie & Ralph Towner - Sargasso Sea

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1976
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:09
Size: 98,9 MB
Art: Front

(8:41) 1. Fable
(5:19) 2. Avenue
(4:00) 3. Sargasso Sea
(2:51) 4. Over and Gone
(5:11) 5. Elbow Room
(6:24) 6. Staircase
(3:17) 7. Romantic Descension
(5:24) 8. Parasol

John Abercrombie and Ralph Towner have forever been tied to the ECM roster as leaders and individualists, and initially it was hard to imagine their styles being compatible. As an amplified electric guitarist, Abercrombie's steely, sometime unearthly sound was an uneven puzzle piece alongside the graphic, stoic, classically oriented style of Towner. Yet on Sargasso Sea, there are several instances where they merge together as one, feeling their way through pure improvisations, angular and colorful motifs, or thematic nuances and a certain strata of consciousness that makes a world of common sense. There are selections where they both play acoustic guitars, but it is mostly Abercrombie's hopped up sound through an amp over Towner's bold and beautiful unplugged instrument, tossing in a piano overdubbed on two tracks.

Where selections such as "Fable" are folksy and far from overwrought, "Avenue" lopes gracefully and the exceptional "Parasol" is semi-lyrical. Abercrombie's guitar stands in stark contrast on the near macabre title track, and more so during "Elbow Room" with heavier moans, cries, vibrato, echoplex slide incursions, and Towner as an afterthought. The best track "Staircase," with twin acoustic guitars, sports tricky intricate lines and changes only virtuosi can achieve. In laid-back surrender for "Romantic Descension," and in passive voicings on "Over & Gone," Towner need not strain to make his brilliant voice heard clearly. An uneven recording for many listeners and critics, Sargasso Sea deserves a second chance, not as an absolutely flawed, imperfect, or unbalanced effort. Like a tale of two cities, it stands as a unique project, perhaps deserving a more refined approach. Though there was a follow-up album released, a third-time's-the-charm contemporary revisit from these masterful guitar geniuses would be welcome.~ Michael G. Nastoshttps://www.allmusic.com/album/sargasso-sea-mw0000198776

Personnel: John Abercrombie – electric guitar, acoustic guitar; Ralph Towner – twelve-string guitar, classical guitar, piano

Sargasso Sea

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The Gene Harris Trio - Genie In My Soul

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1959
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 32:49
Size: 76,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:32) 1. There's A Genie In My Soul
(3:10) 2. Cool Mix
(3:37) 3. Walking Shoes
(2:21) 4. I Wanna Go Where You Are
(4:03) 5. That's Oona
(3:28) 6. Love For Sale
(2:38) 7. Mangos
(3:14) 8. You Stepped Out Of A Dream
(3:40) 9. The Thrill Is Gone
(3:02) 10. Tune Up

One of the most accessible of all jazz pianists, Gene Harris' soulful style (influenced by Oscar Peterson and containing the blues-iness of a Junior Mance) was immediately likable and predictably excellent. After playing in an Army band (1951-1954), he formed a trio with bassist Andy Simpkins and drummer Bill Dowdy which was, by 1956, known as the Three Sounds. The group was quite popular, and recorded regularly during 1956-1970 for Blue Note and Verve. Although the personnel changed and the music became more R&B-oriented in the early '70s, Harris retained the Three Sounds name for his later Blue Note sets.

He retired to Boise, ID, in 1977, and was largely forgotten when Ray Brown persuaded him to return to the spotlight in the early '80s. Harris worked for a time with the Ray Brown Trio and led his own quartets in the years to follow, recording regularly for Concord and heading the Phillip Morris Superband on a few tours; 1998's Tribute to Count Basie even earned a Grammy nomination. While awaiting a kidney transplant, he died on January 16, 2000, at the age of 66.~Scott Yanowhttps://www.allmusic.com/artist/gene-harris-mn0000802745/biography

Personnel: Gene Harris - piano; Ben Tucker - bass; Kenny Harris - drums

Genie In My Soul

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Antonella Vitale - The Look Of Love

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:55
Size: 106,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:47)  1. How Long Has This Been ...
(6:16)  2. Notte
(6:12)  3. The Look Of Love
(7:05)  4. Skylark
(5:37)  5. Running in Rome
(4:18)  6. Un Sogno Apparira
(4:32)  7. They Long to Be(Close to You)
(3:35)  8. Presto Amore e Tardi
(3:30)  9. Walk On By

Diamo are welcome to this Italian vocalist who shows a debut CD with a repertoire made up of well-known standards and some original compositions thereof Antonella Vitale, of Andrea Beneventano , pianist and arranger of this CD, and Marina Acerra . There are three songs of Bacharach, including the title track, which also shows a clever presentation skills of the melody very important in the songs of this composer and Vitale has a very clear voice quality and versatile. Perhaps a small flaw can denote English pronunciation a bit '' forced '. But when it comes to improvise Vitale does not hold some back and casually using a valid scat as the ballad Night , in which he plays a nice doubling time, but also in other songs it detects a good command of harmony. 

Very nice original compositions with use of the Italian language that now begins to consolidate among Italian singers. Maybe they will not be very exportable texts but the musicality obtained is undoubtedly original and pleasant. The musicians called to accompany the vocalist ( Lorenzo Tucci , Francesco Puglisi and Andrea Beneventano ) are an excellent and solid foundation, improvise all effortlessly even if there are no particular peaks. ML – Jazzitalia Translate by google  http://www.jazzitalia.net/recensioni/thelookoflove.asp#.VZm9b_maXiQ

Personnel: Andrea Beneventano – Voice , Piano; Francesco Puglisi - Double bass; Lorenzo Tucci – Drums;  Special Guest Aldo Bassi - Trumpet & Flugel Horn

The Look Of Love

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Emily Asher - Dreams May Take You

Size: 125,0 MB
Time: 53:48
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2012
Styles: New Orleans Jazz, Vocals
Art: Front

01. Ory's Creole Trombone (5:50)
02. Lullaby For A Little One (2:19)
03. There'll Be Some Changes Made (Feat. Wycliffe Gordon) (5:26)
04. Sweet Pea (4:39)
05. Hey, Look Me Over (4:15)
06. Emperor Norton's Hunch (3:57)
07. On The Sunny Side Of The Street (5:49)
08. Great Big Wall (Feat. Wycliffe Gordon) (4:11)
09. You Are My Sunshine (Feat. Philip Dizack) (3:39)
10. Muskrat Ramble (4:25)
11. Someday You'll Be Sorry (3:57)
12. Limehouse Blues (5:14)

Something good. And about time! It’s trombonist/singer/composer/arranger/bandleader Emily Asher’s debut CD, sweetly titled DREAMS MAY TAKE YOU.

Along with Emily, you will hear Wycliffe Gordon, on sousaphone and trombone; Bria Skonberg, trumpet, vocal; Philip Dizack, trumpet; Dan Levinson, tenor sax, clarinet; William Anderson, alto sax; Nick Russo, guitar, banjo; Gordon Webster, piano; Kelly Friesen, bass; Rob Adkins, bass; Kevin Dorn, drums; Rob Garcia, drums. For those of you familiar with the hot New York scene, those names are a guarantee of fine swinging inventive jazz.

Much of the repertoire would appear to be “good old good ones,” including SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET and SOMEDAY YOU’LL BE SORRY, but the CD is anything but by-the-numbers. Emily is more than a fine trombonist and a sweetly winning singer: she is an imaginative musician, so the CD doesn’t bog down in the same thing; every track is its own vignette.

It begins with a romping version of ORY’S CREOLE TROMBONE, which Emily delivers with a fine gutty fervor (and her own version of a trombone cadenza). The soloists share Emily’s high-flying enthusiasm, and the rhythm sections couldn’t be better. So the chestnuts have a delightful 2012 Condonite bounce and looseness. The CD’s title comes from an Asher original — by Emily’s father — called LULLABY FOR A LITTLE ONE, on which Miss Asher sings with winsome charm. (And she knows when to leave an audience wanting more: the LULLABY is a delicious cameo, slightly over two minutes.) It’s followed by a New Orleans “second line” version of CHANGES MADE, which would cause the sedentary to start dancing. The original SWEET PEA is part cowboy-ballad, part rocking barcarolle, with touches of Fifties West Coast cool arranging. HEY, LOOK ME OVER is Emily’s childhood party piece — which begins in an easy waltz-time before morphing into sleek swing — that won me over when I saw her do it (with apt choreography) at Radegast. A streamlined EMPEROR NORTON’S HUNCH has shed all its two-beat trappings, and bursts forth gracefully. SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET features the duet stylings of Asher and Skonberg — neatly warbling the hip variations I associate with John Birks Gillespie — before the ensemble gives way to a piano / trombone duet. Emily’s original GREAT BIG WALL will be the only song you know (I would guess) that mixes Latin rhythms and Middle Eastern tonalities. Successfully, I must add. YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE begins with a slide guitar / trombone duet and then blossoms, lyrically. MUSKRAT RAMBLE begins with the Hot Five introduction and rocks from the first note (not too slow, not too fast, either) — with a splendidly tapping drum solo by Kevin Dorn in the middle. SOMEDAY YOU’LL BE SORRY, taken at a brisk clip, is another trombone-piano outing, very delicate in its earnestness, with a straight-from-the-shoulder vocal by Emily, taking the lyrics with a gentle seriousness that would have pleased its creator. And the disc ends with LIMEHOUSE BLUES, a version that had the energy of the World’s Greatest Jazz Band of fabled memory.

Nothing’s dull or forced on this CD: it’s one of those rare creations where you want to play it over again when it ends.

Dreams May Take You

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George Colligan - The Newcomer

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1997
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:05
Size: 154,5 MB
Art: Front

( 7:38)  1. The Big Push
( 8:17)  2. Submersion
( 8:56)  3. The Newcomer
(11:30)  4. #10
( 9:28)  5. So in Love
( 8:46)  6. Empty Canvas
( 7:30)  7. Ricardo's Tune
( 4:57)  8. Evidence

A veteran of groups led by saxophonist Gary Bartz and vocalists Vanessa Rubin and Cassandra Wilson, pianist George Colligan's second recording for Steeplechase is also his first leading a quintet. Colligan is joined by trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, bassist Dwayne Burno, and drummer Billy Drummond as they perform an unusual program of five originals, three by Colligan, one standard, an up-tempo rendition of Cole Porter's "So in Love," and two jazz classics. Originally a trumpeter, the Herbie Hancock-influenced pianist proves himself quite proficient on his chosen instrument, contributing an excellent solo on Wayne Shorter's overlooked "The Big Push." 

Other favorites include the complex "Empty Canvas," where each soloist gets a different meter to play over; "Ricardo's Tune," a Latin-influenced melody that swings on the bridge and during the solos' and one of the fastest versions of Thelonius Monk's "Evidence" that one will ever hear. A fine musical statement from an emerging talent. 

~ Greg Turner https://www.allmusic.com/album/newcomer-mw0000413639

Personnel:   George Colligan - piano; Ingrid Jensen - trumpet, flugelhorn; Mark Turner - tenor saxophone; Dwayne Burno - bass; Billy Drummond - drums

The Newcomer

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