Billy Taylor & Gerry Mulligan - Live at MCG

Styles: Piano And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:35
Size: 160,1 MB
Art: Front

(6:11)  1. Stompin' At The Savoy
(4:57)  2. Just You Just Me
(7:11)  3. Darn That Dream
(5:11)  4. All The Things You Are
(8:19)  5. Laura
(7:27)  6. Line For Lyons
(8:10)  7. Body And Soul
(6:14)  8. Indiana (Back Home Again In Indiana)
(8:23)  9. Come Sunday
(6:28) 10. Capricious

The typical jazz listener easily tires of hearing standards covered by newer artists. However, it's occasionally good to hear the masters revisit some of these old compositions a way of staying connected. Jazz legends Billy Taylor and Gerry Mulligan have done that with Live at MCG. The Manchester Craftsmen's Guild is a non-profit organization in Pittsburgh, USA whose mission is to preserve, present and promote jazz. In doing so, MCG brings in artists such as Taylor and Mulligan to entertain and educate the jazz public. Taylor is a pianist, composer, teacher, lecturer, radio and television personality, recording artist and author. His career began in 1944, and he's enjoyed working alongside such musical powerhouses as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. Mulligan, who passed away in 1996, was an arranger, composer, saxophonist and conductor, and has shared the stage or studio with icons including Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Lester Young, Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck and Billie Holliday. Live at MCG captures the pair, backed by Taylor's regular sidemen, during a series of 1993 concerts at the MCG Music Hall. The ensemble performs ten songs, including two originals. Mulligan's baritone sax carries most of the lead on the delightful "Stompin' at the Savoy, though Taylor also licks his chops. 

Drummer Carl Allen helps underscore "Just You Just Me with some crisp work on the cymbals and snare. Bassist Chip Jackson opens up during Taylor's solo. One of the original songs is Mulligan's "Line for Lyons. Here, the quartet functions more as a unit than on most other tracks. Mulligan carries the lead, but Taylor, Allen and Jackson also give strong performances. Again, Jackson shows his skills during Taylor's solo, and later delivers a solo of his own. The other original is Taylor's "Capricious, an energetic closer to this collection. As with "Line for Lyons, the foursome is more of a unit than on other tracks. Allen's rim shots and variances on the toms and cymbals help give this an extra kick. Live at MCG serves a dual purpose: It entertains while providing a subliminal lesson in improvisation, a hallmark of jazz past and present. Having these two masters work together enhances the experience. ~ Woodrow Wilkins https://www.allaboutjazz.com/live-at-mcg-billy-taylor-mcg-jazz-review-by-woodrow-wilkins.php

Personnel: Billy Taylor; piano; Gerry Mulligan; baritone saxophone; Chip Jackson; bass; Carl Allen; drums.

Live at MCG

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Betty Roché - Lightly And Politely

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1961
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:05
Size: 84,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:48)  1. Someone To Watch Over Me
(3:30)  2. Why Shouldn't I?
(4:35)  3. Jim
(3:52)  4. Polka Dots and Moonbeams
(2:43)  5. For All We Know
(4:13)  6. Rocks in My Bed
(2:42)  7. Just Squeeze Me
(3:44)  8. I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)
(3:39)  9. Maybe You'll Be There
(2:14) 10. I Had the Craziest Dream

It is ironic that what is arguably singer Betty Roché's finest all-around recording was also her last. For this session, which has been reissued in the OJC series on CD, Roché (backed by pianist Jimmy Neeley, guitarist Wally Richardson, bassist Michel Mulia, and drummer Rudy Lawless) improvises constantly and uplifts a variety of superior standards, including "Someone to Watch Over Me," "Polka Dots and Moonbeams," "I Had the Craziest Dream," and three songs by her former boss, Duke Ellington. It's recommended, particularly to jazz fans not aware of Betty Roché's musical talents. ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/lightly-and-politely-mw0000619973

Personnel: Betty Roché (vocals); Wally Richardson (guitar); Jimmy Neely (piano); Rudy Lawless (drums).

Lightly And Politely

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Nicholas Payton - The Couch Sessions

Styles: Contemporary Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 74:11
Size: 170,8 MB
Art: Front

(8:16) 1. Feed the Fire
(5:05) 2. Bust-a-Move
(6:38) 3. Blossom
(5:31) 4. Pinocchio
(3:15) 5. His Name is Lenny
(6:47) 6. Bleek's Blues
(2:18) 7. Along Came Betty
(3:55) 8. Watch It
(7:30) 9. Fall
(6:36) 10. Christina
(7:06) 11. The Sorcerer
(6:54) 12. Jazz is a Four-Letter Word
(4:13) 13. From a Flicker to a Flame...

Music has the power to heal, a fact that has never been as relevant as it has over the challenging last few years. On his captivating album, THE COUCH SESSIONS, the brilliant multi-instrumentalist and composer Nicholas Payton provides a session of musical therapy that draws on the compositions and words of some of the music’s most visionary artists.

The latest in a series that he has recorded pairing him with dream rhythm sections, Payton is joined by bassist Buster Williams and drummer Lenny White, who not only have forged one of the most distinctive rhythm tandems in recent decades but have also worked with many of the legendary artists to whom this album is dedicated.

“I decided to use Buster and Lenny for their shared history,” Payton says, “not only working with each other but also with my favorite artist ever – Miles Davis. There are a lot of connections between the artists on the album and the lineages that they either came out of or were integral in starting. Working with Buster and Lenny together was a bucket list item for me.”

Throughout The Couch Sessions, Nicholas Payton and his stellar trio play therapist to listeners in need of some vital musical counseling. “In these uncertain new times, the importance of music and the arts has come even more to the forefront,” he says. “With this album, I wanted to speak to music as a healing force, an essential source of light in our lives.”

The Couch Sessions

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Nikki Yanofsky - Nikki By Starlight

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:05
Size: 116,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:42) 1. I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes)
(3:42) 2. Comes Love
(2:30) 3. Crazy He Calls Me (Feat. Greg Phillinganes)
(2:41) 4. I Get A Kick Out Of You
(2:18) 5. Comment Allez Vous
(3:12) 6. Stella By Starlight
(3:42) 7. They Say It's Spring
(3:34) 8. It Never Entered My Mind
(2:52) 9. C'est Si Bon
(2:39) 10. West Coast Blues (Feat. Greg Phillinganes)
(3:19) 11. Let Me Love You
(3:04) 12. Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars (Corcovado) (Feat. Nathan East)
(4:11) 13. Estate (Feat. Arturo Sandoval)
(4:23) 14. You Stepped Out Of My Dream
(4:09) 15. Some Other Time

A celebration of jazz for purists and new generations alike, ‘Nikki By Starlight’ is comprised of 15 standards from legends Frank Sinatra, Chet Baker, Billie Holiday and more. Out October 21st, Nikki By Starlight was co-produced with the JUNO-winning producer/composer Paul Shrofel and features contributions from Stevie Wonder’s bandmate Greg Phillinganes, Nathan East (Bobby Womack, Herbie Hancock, Michael Jackson) and the iconic Cuban-American jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval.

Today she releases the French song “C’est Si Bon,” originally composed in 1947 by Henri Betti with lyrics by André Hornez. Popularized by Eartha Kitt, Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Barbara Streisand, and more, Yanofsky’s poised rendition follows in the footsteps of these classic standard bearers.

Yanofsky describes the process of recording this album as an invigorating and joyful time that allowed her to tap into the purest part of herself again. She reconnected with the classics on her own terms especially as an artist who did her first show at just 12 years old, and sometimes felt like a “party trick” singing songs from a bygone era when she was so young. Even so, jazz was her first love, and this record is a true homecoming.
https://femmusic.com/wp/index.php/2022/09/09/nikki-yanofsky-nikki-by-starlight/

Nikki By Starlight

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