Lakis Tzimkas Trio Feat. Mark Whitfield - The Meeting

Styles: Avant-garde Jazz
Year: 2017
File: MP3@128K/s
Time: 48:02
Size: 44,5 MB
Art: Front

(7:29) 1. Kosmos
(1:21) 2. Jamming
(5:06) 3. Ballad for Harris
(5:48) 4. Blues for Teo
(5:46) 5. Different faces
(2:06) 6. Walking in the city
(5:01) 7. Rainy Wednesday
(5:51) 8. Martini
(1:59) 9. Lullaby
(7:32) 10. Blues for my baby

The programme includes compositions by Lakis Tzimkas from her most recent work in collaboration with Mark Whitfield and other compositions by Whitfield.

Mark Whitfield is one of the most important jazz guitarists in the world, continuing in the footsteps of George Benson, with collaborations with Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, Bradford Marsalis, Sting, D’ Angelo, Jill Scott, and many others.

Lakis Tzimkas has collaborated with jazz musicians such as Sheila Jordan, Terrence Blanchard, Airto Moreira, Milcho Leviev, Adam Nussbaum, Greg Hutchinson, and others. Christos Germenoglou has been a collaborator of Lakis Tzimkas for many years in the Plan3 and Free Call groups, a collaborator of Sakis Papadimitriou, and has had many international collaborations on the jazz and avant-garde scene.http://www.tch.gr/default.aspx?lang=en-GB&page=3&tcheid=2226

Personnel: Lakis Tzimkas Trio: Mark Whitfield Guitar; Lakis Tzimkas Double bass; Christos Yermenoglou Drums

The Meeting

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Lee Konitz, Brad Mehldau & Charlie Haden - Alone Together

Styles: Saxophone, Piano Jazz, Bop
Year: 1997
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 73:39
Size: 168,7 MB
Art: Front

(13:45) 1. Alone Together
(12:55) 2. The Song Is You
(10:59) 3. Cherokee
(11:32) 4. What Is This Thing Called Love ?
(12:49) 5. Round Midnight
(11:36) 6. You Stepped Out Of A Dream

Alone Together, Lee Konitz's first recording for Blue Note, is a special event. The saxophonist teamed up with legendary bassist Charlie Haden and young lion pianist Brad Mehldau, and the trio's interaction on this set of relaxed bop is astonishing. On paper, the music on Alone Together a collection of standards should just be straightahead cool bop, but all three musicians are restless and inventive, making even the simplest numbers on the disc vibrant, lively and adventurous. It's a wonderful record, one that makes a convincing argument that Konitz remains a vital force even as he reached his seventieth year.~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine https://www.allmusic.com/album/alone-together-mw0000596268

Personnel: Lee Konitz – alto sax; Brad Mehldau – piano; Charlie Haden – bass

Alone Together

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Roy Ayers - Stoned Soul Picnic

Styles: Vibraphone Jazz
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:27
Size: 89,3 MB
Art: Front

(9:00)  1. A Rose For Cindy
(2:47)  2. Stoned Soul Picnic
(8:01)  3. Wave
(3:54)  4. For Once In My Life
(6:34)  5. Lil's Paradise
(8:09)  6. What The People Say

Stoned Soul Picnic is vibraphonist Roy Ayers' third and probably best solo album, made in 1968 while he was still a part of Herbie Mann's group. Ayers stands clearly in the shadow of Bobby Hutcherson on this primarily modally-oriented date, sounding nothing like the groove-meister he would become known as later in the 1970s. Producer Mann, always an underrated talent scout, assembles an especially exceptional septet for Ayers here with Gary Bartz on alto sax, arranger Charles Tolliver on trumpet/flugelhorn, Hubert Laws on flute, Herbie Hancock on piano (and probably uncredited organ on the title cut), Ron Carter or Miroslav Vitous on bass and Grady Tate on drums. The program is a typical late 1960s menu, heavy on such Top 40 pop covers as the dated "Stoned Soul Picnic," "For Once In My Life" and "What The People Say." What sets these and the interesting, if unsuccessful, cover of Jobim's "Wave" apart are Tolliver's rather ingenious arrangements. Tolliver seems to tear apart the constraints of these duds (although "Picnic" is beyond hope) by dramatically slowing down the melodies, providing Ayers the time and space to set the mood (Tolliver correctly recognizes Ayers's strengths with ballads) and punctuating with nicely considered horn statements in between. It is the two modal originals here Ayers lovely "A Rose For Cindy" and Tolliver's waltz, "Lil's Paradise" that make this disc worth hearing. Ayers plays some of his finest-ever work on these pieces. You're sure to hear something new and different in these pieces every time. Hancock completists will also be especially pleased with the pianist's performance here (and on "What The People Say" too). Except for the nods toward late 1960s pop-jazz conventions, Stoned Soul Picnic is a marvelous disc well worth investigating. With so much of Ayers's West Coast work of the 1960s (especially with Jack Wilson) lost in limbo, this disc serves as a cogent reminder of the strength of the vibraphonist's chops. And groove lovers might be happily surprised hearing what Ayers was up to before the groove.
~Douglas Paynehttps://www.allaboutjazz.com/stoned-soul-picnic-roy-ayers-32-records-review-by-douglas-payne.php

Players: Roy Ayers: vibes; Gary Bartz: alto sax;  Charles Tolliver: arranger, trumpet, flugelhorn; Hubert Laws: flute;  Herbie Hancock: piano, organ; Ron Carter: bass;  Miroslav Vitous: bass;  Grady Tate: drums.

Stoned Soul Picnic

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Caesar Frazier - Tenacity: As We Speak

Styles: Soul, Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:46
Size: 110,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:38) 1. Dat Dere
(5:05) 2. Mergin' Traffic
(6:07) 3. Festival el Spanol
(5:17) 4. Just Passin' Thru
(6:56) 5. Polka Dots & Moonbeans
(1:07) 6. Dat Dere (Reprise)
(4:51) 7. A Thought in Minor
(4:19) 8. Excuse Me
(3:14) 9. One Easy Morning
(6:08) 10. Poinciana

Hailing from Indianapolis, Ceasar Frazier was a funky soul-jazz organist who recorded several albums for the Eastbound/Westbound label family during the '70s. First making his mark in 1972 with one of saxman Lou Donaldson's funkier bands, Frazier cut his first album Hail Ceasar! later that year, which featured musicians commonly associated with the Prestige label's jazz-funk outings Melvin Sparks (guitar), Houston Person (tenor), and Idris Muhammad (drums).

The follow-up, Ceasar Frazier '75, featured the likes of guitarist Cornell Dupree and drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie; the album's key track, "Funk It Down," was later sampled by jazz-obsessed hip-hoppers Gang Starr for their "Ex-Girl to the Next Girl." In 1978, Frazier resurfaced as a smooth soul/disco vocalist with the LP Another Life, and while he showed some affinity for the idiom, it failed to reinvent him as a commercial force outside the jazz-funk marketplace. In addition to recording on his own, Frazier also played keyboards in Marvin Gaye's backing band. Thanks to the rare-groove revival, his rare original LPs now fetch generous sums on the collectors'market.
~Steve Huey https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ceasar-frazier-mn0000536319/biography

Tenacity: As We Speak

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