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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