Monday, October 17, 2022

Deelee Dube - Trying Times

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:39
Size: 109,4 MB
Art: Front

(5:15) 1. Tryin' Times
(3:49) 2. Still Trying (feat. Russell Malone)
(4:13) 3. On a Clear Day
(4:15) 4. Ugly Beauty (Still We Dream)
(5:36) 5. 500 Miles High
(3:44) 6. Thou Swell
(3:38) 7. Lazy Afternoon (Feat. Russell Malone)
(6:14) 8. Joy
(6:38) 9. Unity
(4:13) 10. Still We Try (Spoken Word Tone Poem)

Five years ago, the annual Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Competition named Deelee Dube its first British winner and (2016) Sassy Award recipient, landing Dubé a spot at the Montreal International Jazz Festival and recording contract for this Concord Records debut.

Trying Times marks a major label debut, but Deelee Dube is no artistic novice. She started violin lessons when she was four and put together her first band when she was fourteen. Her 2016 release Tenderly was produced and arranged by Italian tenor saxophonist Renato D'Aiello and performed with D'Aiello's quartet. In early 2017, they teamed to present Sarah Vaughan Reimagined: Deelee Dubé Sings Sarah Vaughan with the Renato D'Aiello Quartet at Royal Albert Hall. Dubé is also a published poet and her project artwork has been exhibited at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.

Trying Times begins with its title track, opened by Dubé's strong and soulful unaccompanied voice, which here lands somewhere between Miss Sarah's sassy swing and Anita Baker's gospel of soul. The instrumental accompaniment builds into a classic, inventive jazz sound, with dissonant horns smudging the lyrics about trouble and pianist (arranger and producer) Benito Gonzalez slipping and sliding into a funky blue haze.

Then Dubé and company thoroughly conquer the series of powerful, challenging tunes that form the backbone of this debut. After romping through a sharp and energetic "On a Clear Day," they downshift into the version of "Ugly Beauty (Still We Dream)" which pairs Carmen McRae's lyrics with the only waltz Thelonious Monk ever wrote. Pianist Gonzalez smudges several "wrong notes" to honor Monk's unique style, just like he mines the sound of Horace Silver from the opening title track, and the singer's hushed final verse dishes a delicious blend of naivete and misterioso.

Next, Dubé's voice detonates "500 Miles High," originally written by Chick Corea to feature vocalist Flora Purim in Return to Forever, into liftoff and orbit. It leaps and bounds like quicksilver its hard-driving and twisting melody, making each note ring and shine. "500 Miles High" divebombs into a full- bore roadrunner's take on "Thou Swell," where pianist Gonzalez, bassist Corcoran Holt and drummer Mark Whitfield Jr. trade flurries of notes and chords like sparring partners, so fast and furious that your ears can barely keep up. "Thou Swell" closes with an explosion of vocalese fireworks, and then downshifts into a tender duet with Russell Malone's guitar on a languid "Lazy Afternoon."

Altogether, Trying Times presents an incredible range of material energetically performed by a singer and band with the chops to back it up. It's a most impressive debut. (Here's hoping that arranger Gonzalez tries to take on a "On a Clear Day You Can See 500 Miles High" medley for Dubé's follow-up.)By Chris M. Slawecki https://www.allaboutjazz.com/tryin-times-deelee-dube-concord-music-group

Personnel: Deelee Dube: voice / vocals; Benito Gonzalez: piano; Russell Malone: guitar, electric; Corcoran Holt: bass; Mark Whitfield Jr.: drums; Eric Wyatts: saxophone, tenor; Duane Eubanks: trumpet; Andrae Murchison: trombone.

Trying Times

Antonio Adolfo - Jobim Forever

Styles: Piano Jazz, Bossa Nova
Year: 2021
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:00
Size: 112,5 MB
Art: Front

(5:31) 1. The Girl from Ipanema
(5:09) 2. Wave
(5:20) 3. A Felicidade
(5:25) 4. How Insensitive
(5:20) 5. Favela (O Morro Não Tem Vez)
(6:11) 6. Inutil Paisagem
(4:04) 7. Agua De Beber
(7:00) 8. Amparo (Intro: Por Toda a Minha Vida)
(4:57) 9. Estrada Do Sol

Really, is there anyone who does not like Antonio Carlos Jobim (Tom)? Antonio Adolfo, the pianist, arranger, and producer behind this wonderful recording, seems to have lived in a parallel universe to many of us. He says, and it rings true, at the age of twelve, Jobim's music was "love at first sight" in Brazil. Well, it was love at first sight in New Jersey too, via Stan Getz and "A Garota de Ipanema" ("The Girl from Ipanema"). Getz may have been the vehicle, but the message was Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes. Years later, living in Latin America, Jobim seemed to be everywhere to a listener. It was hard to walk into a pretty common restaurant chain and not hear his music. "Wave" was, no less, the melodic identifier for an FM station in Mexico City in the 70s. The Brazilians had done their work and done it well.

Here is mostly Tom Jobim from the '60s, and beautifully done it is too. Hearing his oeuvre together makes a listener realize that Jobim, too, had favorite devices, harmonies, and licks. But somehow they always managed to sound fresh, fetching, and alluring. He drew you into his music by pure sensuality. The fact that sensational musicians were drawn to his work did not hurt much either. And that remains true of this recording. The playing is very impressive.

We get "Ipanema," "Wave," "Felicidade," "Insensitive," "Agua de Beber," and a few less familiar items, including "Amparo," "Inutil Paisagem" and "Estrada do Sol." The players, primarily Brazilian, one assumes, are simply first-rate, as are the arrangements, which are fresh, if familiar. Comparisons are invidious, but Jesse Sadoc on trumpet and flugelhorn is as good as you will hear. Antonio Adolfo, who both produced and arranged the session, is a compelling pianist in this idiom. Danilo Sinna and Marcelo Martins on reeds and flutes surface repeatedly, springlike, to spread beauty everywhere. "Estrada de Sol," features Martins on a gorgeous, evanescent flute solo.

When Lula Galvão joins on guitar, the magic is nearly complete, until Adolfo enters once more. Gil Evans of "Quiet Nights" comes to mind to a listener of a certain age, but with far less dissonance. This is a beautiful, spellbinding recording. If you dig Tom Jobim and Brazilian music from the '60s, how can you miss?
By Richard J Salvucci https://www.allaboutjazz.com/jobim-forever-antonio-adolfo-aam-music__28422

Personnel: Antonio Adolfo: piano; Jesse Sadoc: trumpet; Marcelo Martins: woodwinds; Danilo Sinna: saxophone, alto; Rafael Rocha: trombone; Lula Galvão: guitar; Jorge Helder: bass, acoustic; Rafael Barata: drums; Dada Costa: percussion; Paulo Braga: drums; Zé Renato: voice / vocals.

Jobim Forever

Tiny Grimes With Coleman Hawkins - Blues Groove

Styles: Guitar And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1958
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:59
Size: 103,2 MB
Art: Front

(17:40)  1. Marchin' Along
( 5:59)  2. A Smooth One
( 6:48)  3. Blues Wail
( 6:43)  4. April In Paris
( 7:47)  5. Soul Station

True to its title, the focus here is the blues, as played by a group with an encyclopedic mastery of the genre and an equally impressive depth in swing styles. Leader Tiny Grimes may be playing a four-string guitar, but his Charlie Christian-influenced sound is big, fluid, and expressive. Teamed with Coleman Hawkins' timeless tenor, Grimes performs with passion, skill, and down-home joy. The impressive lineup also includes pianist Ray Bryant, whose supple technique and easygoing virtuosity fuel the music with relentless drive and eloquent, bluesy solos. Four of the five tracks include Musa Kaleem on flute.

Kaleem, known as Gonga Musa when he worked as a tenor player with Art Blakey in the late '40s, contributes an effective counter to Hawkins' smoky tone. Bassist Earl Wormack and drummer Teagle Fleming Jr. are the well-recorded heartbeat in these blues grooves. The set opens with the leader's 17-minute-plus "Marchin' Along," a mid-tempo blues that affords Grimes, Hawkins, and Bryant each a lengthy stretch of choruses on the tune's basic riff structure. The performances are rounded out by two more good blues from Grimes, Benny Goodman's "A Smooth One" and a memorable version of "April in Paris" that is executed with a light, swinging touch. This music will appeal to fans of Grimes' vintage electric guitar and to those interested in an opportunity to hear Hawkins take an extended foray into the blues. ~ Jim Todd https://www.allmusic.com/album/blues-groove-tiny-grimes-with-coleman-hawkins-mw0000119526

Personnel :  Tiny Grimes – guitar;  Coleman Hawkins – tenor saxophone;  Musa Kaleem – flute;  Ray Bryant – piano;  Earl Womack – double bass;  Teagle Fleming Jr. – drums

Blues Groove

Steve Turre - Generations

Styles: Trombone Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 70:18
Size: 162,5 MB
Art: Front

(8:46) 1. Planting the Ceed
(6:58) 2. Dinner with Duke
(6:34) 3. Blue Smoke
(4:54) 4. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
(5:01) 5. Don D.
(8:30) 6. Pharoah's Dance
(8:29) 7. Flower Power
(6:54) 8. Good People
(6:04) 9. Sweet Dreams
(8:04) 10. Resistance

Steve Turre was passed the jazz torch early in his career by some of the music’s greatest masters Art Blakey, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Woody Shaw and Ray Charles, among others. In recent years he’s kindled the same flame in a younger crop of rising stars. On his new album, Generations, Turre brings the eras together, inviting still-vital legends to join a gifted band of rising starts to pay tribute to the elders who have helped shape his sound.

Generations features players including the trombonist’s own son, drummer Orion Turre, as well as trumpeter Wallace Roney Jr., whose late father was a close friend and collaborator of Turre’s. In addition, the youthful core band includes pianist Isaiah J. Thompson and bassist Corcoran Holt.

Over the course of the album this stellar group is joined by saxophonist James Carter, guitarists Ed Cherry and Andy Bassford, keyboardist Trevor Watkis, bassists Buster Williams and Derrick Barnett, drummers Lenny White and Karl Wright, and percussionist Pedrito Martinez.

“There's a balance between youth and age,” Turre says, “Age brings wisdom and knowledge, and youth brings enthusiasm and energy. Playing with each of them stretches me in a different way. The elders stretch me in ways of wisdom, but the youngsters fire it up. All of that is inspiring.”

That inspiration bears fruit in one of the most scintillating and eclectic recordings of Turre’s storied career. “I always like to play with musicians that challenge me,” Turre concludes. “So, coming up, I would usually play with people older than me. My challenge now comes from the youthful energy of the younger players. Jazz is not dead!”

Personnel: Steve Turre - trombone & shells (7); Wallace Roney Jr. - trumpet (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10) flugel (8); Emilio Modeste - tenor & soprano sax (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10); James Carter - tenor saxophone (9); Ed Cherry - guitar (3); Isaiah J. Thompson - piano; Corcoran Holt, bass (1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 10); Buster Williams, bass (3, 4, 8, 9); Orion Turre - drums (1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 10); Lenny White - drums (3, 7, 8); Pedrito Martinez, percussion (4, 6, 8); Andy Bassford, guitar (5); Trevor Watkis, Rhodes (5); Derek Barnett - electric bass (5); Karl Wright, drums (5)

Generations