Teresa Brewer & Stephane Grappelli - On the Road Again

Styles: Vocal, Violin Jazz
Year: 1983
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:19
Size: 81,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:46) 1. On The Road Again
(2:49) 2. It Had To Be You
(3:52) 3. Come On And Drive Me Crazy
(2:58) 4. Smile
(4:50) 5. After You've Gone
(2:57) 6. I Love A Violin
(2:57) 7. Don't Take Your Love From Me
(5:15) 8. Them There Eyes
(5:50) 9. As Time Goes By

Teresa Brewer started out as a spunky novelty vocalist in the 1950s and weathered the rise of rock to emerge as an exuberant jazz singer in the 1970s. Though some find it disconcerting to hear her cutesy, slightly nasal Your Hit Parade-style delivery in a jazz context, at her best she can swing with a loose and easy fervor, aided greatly by the distinguished company she often keeps on her records.

Brewer started singing on Major Bowes' Amateur Hour at the age of five and scored her first big hit as a teenager in 1950 with the diabolically catchy "Music! Music! Music!" That ditty found its way onto almost every jukebox in the land and launched a series of hit singles on Coral stretching all the way to 1961. Her marriage to record producer Bob Thiele in 1972 led to her re-emergence via a long string of albums for Thiele's labels (Doctor Jazz, Signature, Red Baron), often in tandem with such luminaries as Count Basie, Benny Carter, Duke and Mercer Ellington, Stephane Grappelli, Earl Hines, and Clark Terry. By Richard S.Ginell https://www.allmusic.com/artist/teresa-brewer-mn0000017882/biography

Personnel: Vocals – Teresa Brewer; Violin – Stephane Grappelli; Acoustic Guitar – Diz Disley; Bass – Jack Sewing; Electric Guitar – Martin Taylor

On the Road Again

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Herb Alpert - Midnight Sun

Styles: Trumpet Jazz

Year: 1992

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 51:28

Size: 119,1 MB

Art: Front

(6:06)  1. Midnight Sun

(3:54)  2. All The Things You Are

(5:18)  3. Someone To Watch Over Me

(5:53)  4. In The Wee Small Hours

(4:22)  5. Friends

(6:52)  6. A Taste Of Honey

(5:47)  7. Mona Lisa

(5:09)  8. I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face

(3:51)  9. Silent Tears And Roses

(4:13) 10. Smile

Having recently sold A&M to PolyGram for a cool $500 million, and with his short but hugely affecting association with the late Stan Getz on his mind, Herb Alpert finally took the plunge and recorded what he called a jazz album, his last for the label he co-founded. But this would not be a conventional blowing session; rather it is an intimate, inward, wee-small-hours kind of album where, muted and not, Alpert's horn sighs, laments and sings over a conventional rhythm section and underneath a blanket of lush strings. Without a doubt, Miles Davis in his introspective '50s mode is Herb's primary inspiration always has been  and he uses space between the notes in similar ways, but always with his own tone and distinct phrasing. Two old favorites from the TJB days, "A Taste of Honey" and "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face," are revisited; "Taste" is completely transformed into a dark elegy that breaks into the light before turning back to the shadows. One track, "Friends," was left over from 1990, where Herb was joined by a luminous-sounding Getz; they really play like intimate friends together. This is not a terribly spontaneous album Alpert is too much the master of structure to leave very much to chance but it creates a mood of melancholy serenity that is difficult to resist.
By Richard S.Ginell http://www.allmusic.com/album/midnight-sun-mw0000612559

Personnel: Herb Alpert (vocals, trumpet); Larry Carlton, John Pisano, Barry Zweig (guitar); Stan Getz (tenor saxophone); Frank Collett, Eddie del Barrio (piano); Monty Budwig (bass); Harvey Mason, Jeff Hamilton (drums).

Midnight Sun

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Quincy Jones - Explores The Music Of Henry Mancini

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 37:52
Size: 86.7 MB
Styles: Crossover jazz
Year: 1968/2009
Art: Front

[2:51] 1. Baby Elephant Walk
[3:14] 2. Charade
[3:48] 3. Dreamsville
[4:09] 4. Bird Brain
[2:42] 5. Days Of Wine And Roses
[2:28] 6. Mr. Lucky
[3:26] 7. The Pink Panther
[2:50] 8. (I Love You) And Don't You Forget It
[3:08] 9. Soldier In The Rain
[3:45] 10. Odd Ball
[2:31] 11. Moon River
[2:54] 12. Peter Gunn

As modern big-band leaders go, Quincy Jones in the '60s would be first choice for many composers who wrote for a television series or the cinema. Though not the original themes, Jones was quite able to produce a full album featuring Henry Mancini's famous songs from movies and the small screen. This collection of the familiar and obscure Mancini done in 1964, preceded famed epic scores written by Jones from films The Pawnbroker and The Deadly Affair. It comprises several well-known hit tunes and a smattering of cuts not easily identifiable as the hummable and memorable Mancini classics. Taken from three separate sessions, the bands assembled by Jones are loaded, including Jerome Richardson, Billy Byers, Urbie Green, Clark Terry, Ernie Royal, Snooky Young, Mundell Lowe, Zoot Sims, Phil Woods, and Seldon Powell, Drummer Osie Johnson plays on all tracks, pianist Bobby Scott is a central figure, as are bassists Milt Hinton and Major Holley. A young saxophonist and flutist named Roland Kirk appears on four tracks, and the emerging vibraphonist Gary Burton is on another eight. A burgeoning talent, Jones was 31 when these recordings were made, and gaining momentum for his talents in Hollywood and Los Angeles. Though everybody knows "Baby Elephant Walk," they might not have heard the thorny electric guitar, staccato bells, and bowed bass and vocals via Holley and Hinton that Jones inserts into this version. Where the cool and slinky theme from "Pink Panther" also has the bassists jiving vocally and using their arco techniques under flutes and finger snaps, "Mr. Lucky" is the epitome of Count Basie like cool, while the spy music of "Peter Gunn" retains the bassists trickery as Burton's electrically echoed marimba and a Phil Woods alto sax solo broaden the scope of "Peter Gunn"'s field.

"Dreamsville" is a luscious ballad with harp and piano featured, "Days of Wine & Roses" starts typically pristine but runs into detailed, progressive interpretations, and "Moon River" is completely changed up into a waltz with Kirk's irresistible small saxello solo. The very hip, easy swinging "Odd Ball" is certainly the least-known Mancini piece not related to any cinematic connection, as quickened horns contrast against the slower beat and the choppy chords of Scott. The obscure "Charade" is really a jewel of the brilliance in re-arrangement Jones proffers, and perfectly deserving of its title. As slowed 3/4 in quicker 6/8 time signatures surface via an obtuse ostinato bassline, the horns accent fully juxtaposing lines swinging amongst a bit of psychedelia. A cute waltz is "Bird Brain," bouncy and fun with the flutes ricocheting off the walls, while "And Don't You Forget It" is a cowboy samba appropriate for any spaghetti western. Harmonicist Toots Thielemans is featured on one track, the ballad "Soldier in the Rain," with the sighing horns as the precipitation. How Jones is able to interpret Mancini's music with such diversity and new ideas is positively amazing, providing a unique listening experience for even the staunchest Q fan. ~Michael G. nastos

Explores The Music Of Henry Mancini

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Patty Lomuscio - Star Crossed Lovers

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:37
Size: 95,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:20) 1. Lullaby (For Ambra)
(4:08) 2. Star Crossed Lovers
(3:37) 3. This Can't Be Love
(6:34) 4. Left Alone
(5:09) 5. You're My Everything
(4:40) 6. E Se
(4:23) 7. Cedar's Blues
(5:24) 8. Body & Soul
(3:17) 9. Love Walked In

The Italian singer Patty Lomuscio had long dreamed of making an album in New York with pianist Kenny Barron. Now she has done so. Alongside Barron is drummer Joe Farnsworth, bassist Peter Washington and Vincent Herring on alto saxophone.

The title track, comes across really well. Lomuscio's talents start to shine through and then with the next offering, "This Can't Be Love," it becomes obvious that a certain British Dame has influenced this Mediterranean songstress: her scatting is reminiscent of Cleo Laine and indeed so is the general style here. Joe Farnsworth's drum solo is also really enjoyable. A Billie Holiday song fills slot four with piano and sax solos bringing extra enjoyment to "Left Alone."

"You're My Everything," which comes from the 1931 revue The Laugh Parade is competently sung. Conversely, unless one speaks Italian, one won't understand the lyrics of "E Se." It was written for Lomuscio by her friend Mario Rosini and its meaning is close to her father. It would not sound amiss in a James Bond film as the hero walks into a cocktail bar and sees the beautiful woman singing on the stage.

"Body and Soul" is another 1930s composition, this time penned by Edward Heyman, Robert Sour and Frank Eyton. Last is the George and Ira Gershwin number "Love Walked In." Patty Lomuscio has produced an emotional and enjoyable album. By Paul Beard https://www.allaboutjazz.com/star-crossed-lovers-patty-lomuscio-challenge-records

Personnel: Patty Lomuscio: voice / vocals; Kenny Barron: piano; Vincent Herring: saxophone; Peter Washington: bass; Joe Farnsworth: drums.

Star Crossed Lovers

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