Claire Martin & Richard Rodney Bennett - Say It Isn't So

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:40
Size: 85,0 MB
Scans: Front

(2:20)  1. Steppin' Out with My Baby
(2:40)  2. Change Partners
(3:45)  3. Get Thee Behind Me, Satan - I Got Lost In His Arms
(2:13)  4. He Ain't Got Rhythm
(2:48)  5. Love, You Didn't Do Right by Me
(3:22)  6. How Deep is the Ocean
(3:00)  7. Lonely Heart
(2:44)  8. Shakin' the Blues Away - Blue Skies
(2:58)  9. Better Luck Next Time
(3:13) 10. Say It Isn't So
(3:44) 11. What'll I Do?
(3:37) 12. Waiting at the End of the Road

Following their two previous duo albums, 'When Lights Are Low' and 'Witchcraft', 'Say It Isn't So' presents a final third chapter in the remarkable musical partnership of Claire Martin and the late Richard Rodney Bennett.

Like 'Witchcraft' the new album is a songbook, focusing here on the work of the great Irving Berlin. Such is the rapport between the duo that every one of the 12 songs strikes vocal jazz gold: the emotional honesty, the perfect pacing and the genuine warmth of the music-making is heard in every phrase, not to mention Linn's superb recorded sound.

Martin sprinkles her magic over everything she touches here, from an effervescent ‘Steppin' Out' to a heart melting ‘What'll I Do'. I've never heard the latter sung more beautifully. Bennett really shines in a terrific arrangement of ‘He Ain't Got Rhythm', clearly having a ball with the lyric (He attracted some attention/When he found the fourth dimension/but He Ain't got Rhythm). A magnificent finale to a unique collaboration.
http://www.linnrecords.com/review-claire-martin-richard-rodney-bennett-say-it-isnt-so-jazzwise.aspx

Say It Isn't So

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Rodney Jones - When You Feel The Love

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1980
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:49
Size: 109,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:05)  1. The Gift
(6:21)  2. When You Feel The Love
(6:09)  3. Gaze
(6:34)  4. The Joy Of Now
(3:24)  5. I'll Always Be With You
(5:02)  6. Just Because
(8:23)  7. Another Bag
(6:48)  8. Song For Jean

Rodney Jones is an excellent guitarist whose style sometimes hints at George Benson, R&B and soul jazz. On this fairly rare 1988 CD, Jones gets into the groove on eight of his originals with a group also including keyboardist Kenny Kirkland, electric bassist Marcus Miller, drummer Buddy Williams, percussionist Rick Cutler and the woodwinds of Fred Lipsius. The music is reasonably enjoyable and lightly funky, if not too substantial. 

~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/when-you-feel-the-love-mw0000652879

Personnel:  Guitar – Rodney Jones;  Bass – Marcus Miller;  Drums – Buddy Williams;  Percussion – Rick Cutler;  Piano – Kenny Kirkland;  Reeds – Fred Lipsius

When You Feel The Love

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Horace Silver - Song for My Father

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1964
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:28
Size: 97,2 MB
Art: Front

(7:20)  1. Song for My Father
(6:12)  2. The Natives Are Restless Tonig
(8:32)  3. Calcutta Cutie
(7:49)  4. Que Pasa
(5:27)  5. The Kicker
(7:06)  6. Lonely Woman

One of Blue Note's greatest mainstream hard bop dates, Song for My Father is Horace Silver's signature LP and the peak of a discography already studded with classics. Silver was always a master at balancing jumping rhythms with complex harmonies for a unique blend of earthiness and sophistication, and Song for My Father has perhaps the most sophisticated air of all his albums. Part of the reason is the faintly exotic tint that comes from Silver's flowering fascination with rhythms and modes from overseas the bossa nova beat of the classic "Song for My Father," for example, or the Eastern-flavored theme of "Calcutta Cutie," or the tropical-sounding rhythms of "Que Pasa?" Subtle touches like these alter Silver's core sound just enough to bring out its hidden class, which is why the album has become such a favorite source of upscale ambience. 

Song for My Father was actually far less focused in its origins than the typical Silver project; it dates from the period when Silver was disbanding his classic quintet and assembling a new group, and it features performances from both bands. Still, it hangs together remarkably well, and Silver's writing is at its tightest and catchiest. The title cut became Silver's best-known composition, partly because it provided the musical basis for jazz-rock group Steely Dan's biggest pop hit "Rikki Don't Lose That Number." Another hard bop standard is introduced here in the lone non-Silver tune, tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson's "The Kicker," covered often for the challenge of its stuttering phrases and intricate rhythms. Yet somehow it comes off as warm and inviting as the rest of the album, which is necessary for all jazz collections -- mainstream hard bop rarely comes as good as Song for My Father. ~ Steve Huey   http://www.allmusic.com/album/song-for-my-father-mw0000241423

Personnel: Horace Silver (piano); Carmell Jones, Blue Mitchell (trumpet); Joe Henderson, Junior Cook (tenor saxophone); Teddy Smith, Gene Taylor (bass); Roger Humphries, Roy Brooks (drums).

RIP

Set/1928-Jun/2014

Song for My Father

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Charlie Barnet & His Orchestra - Hop On The Skyliner !!

Styles: Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:03
Size: 80,6 MB
Art: Front

(2:59)  1. Skyliner
(3:19)  2. Strollin'
(3:01)  3. Xango
(3:03)  4. Smiles
(3:12)  5. Gulf Coast Blues
(2:40)  6. The Moose
(2:37)  7. Things Ain't What They Used To Be
(3:06)  8. Oh! Miss Jaxson
(2:44)  9. Pow-Wow
(2:18) 10. Drop Me Off In Harlem
(2:52) 11. Shady Lady
(3:06) 12. The Great Lie

Charlie Barnet was unusual in several ways. One of the few jazzmen to be born a millionaire, Barnet was a bit of a playboy throughout his life, ending up with a countless number of ex-wives and anecdotes. He was one of the few white big band leaders of the swing era to openly embrace the music of Duke Ellington (he also greatly admired Count Basie). Barnet was a pioneer in leading integrated bands (as early as 1935). And, although chiefly a tenor saxophonist (where he developed an original sound out of the style of Coleman Hawkins), Barnet was an effective emulator of Johnny Hodges on alto in addition to being virtually the only soprano player (other than Sidney Bechet) in the 1930s and '40s. And yet Charlie Barnet was only significant in jazz for about a decade (1939-1949). Although his family wanted him to be a lawyer, he was a professional musician by the time he was 16 and ironically in his career made more money than he would have in business. 

Barnet arrived in New York in 1932 and started leading bands on records the following year, but his career was quite erratic until 1939. Many of Barnet's early records are worthy but some are quite commercial as he attempted to find a niche. Best is a sideman appearance on a 1934 Red Norvo date that also includes Artie Shaw and Teddy Wilson. In 1939, with the hit recording of "Cherokee" and a very successful run at the Famous Door in New York, Charlie Barnet soon became a household name. In addition to the fine trumpeter Bobby Burnet (who soloed on many of Barnet's Bluebird records), such sidemen as guitarist Bus Etri; drummer Cliff Leeman; singers Lena Horne, Francis Wayne, and Kay Starr; pianist Dodo Marmarosa; clarinetist Buddy DeFranco; guitarist Barney Kessel; and even trumpeter Roy Eldridge spent time with Barnet's bands. Although at the height of his popularity during 1939-1942 (when his orchestra could often play a close imitation of Ellington's), Barnet's recordings for Decca during 1942-1946 were also of great interest with "Skyliner" being a best-seller.

By 1947 Barnet was starting to look toward bop. Clark Terry was his star trumpeter that year, and in 1949 his screaming trumpet section included Maynard Ferguson, Doc Severinsen, Rolf Ericson, and Ray Wetzel. Barnet, however, soon lost interest and near the end of 1949 he broke up his band. Semi-retired throughout the remainder of his life, Charlie Barnet occasionally led swing-oriented big bands during short tours and appearances, making his last recording in 1966. Bio ~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/artist/charlie-barnet-mn0000166767/biography

Hop On The Skyliner !!

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