Merry Christmas !!!!!

Anne Sofie Von Otter & Elvis Costello - For The Stars

Styles: Vocal And Guitar Jazz
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:43
Size: 146,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:37)  1. No Wonder
(3:12)  2. Baby Plays Around
(2:50)  3. Go Leave
(3:56)  4. Rope
(3:12)  5. Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)
(4:06)  6. Broken Bicycles/Junk
(3:36)  7. The Other Woman
(5:03)  8. Like An Angel Passing Through My Room
(4:37)  9. Green Song
(2:52) 10. April After All
(3:09) 11. You Still Believe In Me
(2:41) 12. I Want To Vanish
(2:00) 13. For No One
(3:46) 14. Shamed Into Love
(4:18) 15. Just A Curio
(4:38) 16. This House Is Empty Now
(3:17) 17. Take It With Me
(2:45) 18. For The Stars

For the Stars is the kind of record rock critics tend to instinctively praise because they just aren't sure if they get it, and they're afraid to lay themselves on the line. If they pan it, well, they're just junk-addled boors. If they praise it, they risk seeming uninformed, since they don't really know if it works as a classical work or not. The thing to remember is, that these kind of rock/classical crossovers belong to neither realm. They exist outside of both worlds, which is their charm and their curse. 

This is what plagued The Juliet Letters, Elvis Costello's 1993 collaboration with the Brodsky Quartet, which managed to delicately walk the line between chamber music and baroque pop. For the Stars, a collaboration with opera vocalist Anne Sofie von Otter, is more accessible, yet it isn't as successful, largely because its mannerisms are front and center. This is a deliberately "classy" project, pitched squarely at the NPR audience the very audience that embraced Painted From Memory because it helped put Bacharach in the context of the great composers. This won't likely do the same for von Otter, because its execution is a little haphazard, even if it is exactly what the two planned. For the Stars winds through a number of pop songs, ranging from new Costello songs to pop standards, from old Elvis favorites to covers of the Beach Boys, Paul McCartney, Ron Sexsmith, ABBA, and Tom Waits. Most of this is executed in a manner similar to The Juliet Letters, finding a middle ground between classicist pop and chamber music without bowing to the conventions of either. Above all, this is frequently interesting music, but that's not really the same thing as compelling. 

It's easy to appreciate the passion and craft behind this music, but it often feels unfulfilled, even when it feels complete. This is not the fault of either musician von Otter's performances are always impassioned, Costello's few vocals are strong, the selection of material always makes sense, and the production is suitably understated. Still, this is a record that clicks cerebrally, not emotionally, and while it has its own character, it's hard to envision fans of either artist returning to it all that often. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine http://www.allmusic.com/album/for-the-stars-anne-sofie-von-otter-meets-elvis-costello-mw0000001209

Personnel : Elvis Costello (vocals, baritone guitar, Lowrey organ, bass); Annie Sofie Von Otter (vocals); Johan Lindstrom (acoustic & pedal steel guitars, clarinet, accordion, loops); Svante Henryson (celtar, cello, upright bass); Billy Bremner, Ola Gustafason (acoustic guitar); Bebe Risenfors (clarinet, tenor saxophone, accordion); Steve Naive (piano, celeste, organ); Mats Schubert (piano, harmonium, Moog bass); Bengt Forsberg (piano, Hammond B-3 organ); Benny Andersson (piano, Synclavier); Magnus Pierson, Michael Blair (vibraphone, bass drum, percussion).

For The Stars

---

Dave Stryker - Keystone

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:58
Size: 161,0 MB
Art: Front

( 8:26) 1. Keystone
( 8:49) 2. Can't Buy Me Love
( 8:31) 3. Sentinelese
( 5:25) 4. Lady Sings The Blues
( 6:43) 5. The Rose
( 9:20) 6. First Strike
(10:01) 7. Tenderly
(12:38) 8. Watch What Happens

Since earning his spurs playing with Jack McDuff during the 1980s, guitarist Dave Stryker has recorded frequently and effectively as a leader in the decades that followed. Keystone is a solid session with tenor saxophonist Stephen Riley, drummer Quincy Davis, plus up-and-coming organist Jared Gold. Stryker touches many familiar bases, including a driving, funky setting of the Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love" and a lush ballad setting of "Lady Sings the Blues" (penned by the neglected pianist Herbie Nichols with lyric by Billie Holiday), the latter showcasing Riley's whispering vibrato-laden sax. The standard "Tenderly" has long been a favorite of jazz musicians. This easygoing midtempo rendition features Riley with a breezy background, though it changes to a strutting flavor once Stryker steps into the spotlight. The guitarist has his band stretch out in their performance of "Watch What Happens," giving everyone a taste in a snappy arrangement that never loses steam. The leader's originals also command attention. "Keystone" evolves from a simple riff into a breezy, infectious blues. "The Rose," written for a friend who died far too young, gently sways with tenor and guitar in unison, followed by Stryker's introspective solo. This is yet another outstanding CD in Dave Stryker's vast discography.~Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/keystone-mw0002062826

Personnel: Guitar – Dave Stryker; Drums – Quincy Davis; Organ [Hammond B3 Organ] – Jared Gold; Tenor Saxophone – Stephen Riley

Keystone

---

Roy Haynes, Rene Thomas, Frank Foster, Henri Renaud - The 1954 Paris Sessions

Styles: Jazz, Bop
Year: 1954
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 78:22
Size: 180,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:52) 1. Red Rose
(4:35) 2. A Mountain Sunset
(2:42) 3. Laffin' and Cryin'
(5:08) 4. Minor Encamp
(3:02) 5. Subscription
(3:34) 6. Dillon
(5:09) 7. Burt's Pad
(2:52) 8. Chicago
(3:00) 9. Autobuzz
(2:03) 10. Indiana
(3:30) 11. Get Ou Of Town
(4:28) 12. 'Tis Autumn
(4:27) 13. Thomasia
(6:08) 14. My Heart Stood Still
(4:53) 15. Fat Shoes
(5:25) 16. I'll Take Romance
(4:42) 17. Escale A Victoria
(4:03) 18. The Things We Did Last Summer
(4:40) 19. Just 40 Bars

A veteran drummer long overshadowed by others, but finally gaining recognition for his talents and versatility, Roy Haynes has been a major player since the 1940s. He worked early on with the Sabby Lewis big band, Frankie Newton, Luis Russell (1945-1947), and Lester Young (1947-1949). After some engagements with Kai Winding, Haynes was a member of the Charlie Parker Quintet (1949-1952); he also recorded during this era with Bud Powell, Wardell Gray, and Stan Getz. Haynes toured the world with Sarah Vaughan (1953-1958); played with Thelonious Monk in 1958; led his own group; and gigged with George Shearing, Lennie Tristano, Eric Dolphy, and Getz (1961). He was Elvin Jones' occasional substitute with John Coltrane's classic quartet during 1961-1965, toured with Getz (1965-1967), and was with Gary Burton (1967-1968). In addition to touring with Chick Corea (1981 and 1984) and Pat Metheny (1989-1990), Haynes has led his own Hip Ensemble on and off during the past several decades. When one considers that he has also gigged with Miles Davis, Art Pepper, Horace Tapscott, and Dizzy Gillespie, it is fair to say that Haynes has played with about everyone.

He led dates for EmArcy and Swing (both in 1954), New Jazz (1958 and 1960), Impulse (a 1962 quartet album with Roland Kirk), Pacific Jazz, Mainstream, Galaxy, Dreyfus, Evidence, and Storyville. In 1994, Haynes was awarded the Danish Jazzpar prize, and two years later, he received the prestigious French Chevalier des l'Ordres Artes et des Lettres. In the late '90s, Haynes formed a trio with pianist Danilo Perez and bassist John Pattitucci, and they released their debut album, The Roy Haynes Trio Featuring Danilo Perez & John Pattitucci, in early 2000 on Verve. Haynes' son Graham is an excellent cornetist. Haynes paid tribute to Charlie Parker in 2001 with Birds of a Feather, his fourth release for the Dreyfus Jazz label, which was subsequently nominated for a Grammy in 2002; Fountain of Youth followed two years later. Also released in 2004, Quiet Fire compiled two of his prior releases for Galaxy (1977's Thank You Thank You and 1978's Vistalite) into one back-to-back record. Whereas appeared in mid-2006, and it earned Haynes a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo.~Scott Yanowhttps://www.allmusic.com/artist/roy-haynes-mn0000290464/biography

Personnel: Baritone Saxophone – Jay Cameron; Bass – Jean-Marie Ingrand, Joe Benjamin; Drums – Jean-Louis Viale, Roy Haynes; Guitar – Jimmy Gourley , René Thomas; Piano – Henri Renaud; Tenor Saxophone – Barney Wilen, Frank Foster; Trumpet – Buzz Gardner

The 1954 Paris Sessions

---

Fred Hersch - Let Yourself Go: Live at Jordan Hall

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:18
Size: 138,2 MB
Art: Front

(8:06)  1. Black Is The Color / Love Theme From Spartacus
(7:58)  2. Speak Low
(6:35)  3. My Old Man
(7:01)  4. I Loves You Porgy
(7:39)  5. Moon & Sand
(6:41)  6. ...Departed
(4:41)  7. Let Yourself Go
(6:45)  8. Blue monk
(4:46)  9. The Nearness Of You

Fred Hersch is a well-respected session pianist and bandleader who has taught at the New School and is currently on the faculty of the New England Conservatory in Boston. This disc documents a faculty recital he played in October of 1998, a concert that was never intended to be released commercially. But Hersch, who hadn't played a full concert in public for over six months before his recital at Jordan Hall, was so pleased with this performance that he agreed to allow Nonesuch to issue it on CD. He was right. The program opens with a gently stunning rendition of the folk song "Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair," which then segues into the love theme from Spartacus, a tune generally associated with the late Bill Evans, and one which Hersch plays with an impressionistic delicacy that harks back explicitly to Evans. There are other standards, including the Gershwin classic "I Loves You Porgy" and Hoagy Carmichael's "The Nearness of You," as well as a rather meditative rendition of Thelonious Monk's "Blue Monk," on which Hersch uses open chords in manner that evokes the Balkan modalisms of Bartok.

One of the more touching performances here is his piano arrangement of the Joni Mitchell song "My Old Man." Everything is played with virtuosic flair, but Hersch never shows off his technique or lapses into noodling self-indulgence. The result is a solo album of rare insight and musicality. Highly recommended. ~ Rick Anderson  http://www.allmusic.com/album/let-yourself-go-live-at-jordan-hall-mw0000239170

Personnel: Fred Hersch (piano).

Let Yourself Go: Live at Jordan Hall

---