Dave Douglas - Devotion

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:20
Size: 125,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:15)  1. Curly
(5:14)  2. D'Andrea
(4:50)  3. Francis of Anthony
(4:50)  4. Miljøsang
(5:51)  5. False Allegiances
(6:19)  6. Prefontaine
(7:36)  7. Pacific
(5:33)  8. Rose and Thorn
(4:14)  9. We Pray
(5:34) 10. Devotion

The aptly titled Devotion by trumpeter Dave Douglas, pianist Uri Caine and drummer Andrew Cyrille is both a prayer and a dedication. Like a prayer, the trio resolves to maintain a virtuous approach to their celebration of personal heroes, both musical and cultural. The disc opens with "Curly," dedicated to the iconic guileless Stooge, who along with Moe and Larry reigned as the masters of physical comedy in the early 20th century. While there were Three Stooges, Douglas' composition features only a duo between Caine and Cyrille. The piano and drums skid and dance a rollicking scamper of pratfalls and constructed foolishness.  This trio configuration is ideal.

Caine and Douglas have a long history recording in each other's projects and they released the gorgeous duo Present Joys (Greenleaf Music, 2014) which recreated Sacred Harp Psalm music. Add to their duo the master colorist Andrew Cyrille who has been the percussionist of choice for artists such as Wadada Leo Smith, Cecil Taylor, Bill Dixon, Oliver Lake, and Dave Burrell. His hand galvanizes "False Alligences" (for Carla Bley) with mallets, and "Rose And Thorn" with sleight of hand cymbal work. All of which has a sort of ballyhoo-effect on Caine and Douglas. The latter piece shines with Caine's off-kilter stride piano and Douglas' immaculate waxing horn lines. Their dedication to Dizzy Gillespie "We Pray" is a most gentle and reverent composition that fills the heart with its sweet full-bodied sound. Other dedications are to the Italian pianist Franco D'Andrea, Mary Lou Williams, the Olympian runner Steve Prefontaine, and Aine Nakamura and the Mannes/New School composition class. If the finest compliment one can pay to a recording is that you could listen to it repeatedly all day, grab a chair and begin.By Mark Corroto https://www.allaboutjazz.com/devotion-dave-douglas-greenleaf-music-review-by-mark-corroto.php

Personnel: Dave Douglas: trumpet;  Andrew Cyrille: drums, percussion;  Uri Caine: piano.

Devotion

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Mark Colby and Vince Maggio - Reunion

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:27
Size: 111,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:20) 1. You and the Night and the Music
(4:30) 2. Windows
(4:51) 3. I'm Gonna Laugh You Right Out of My Life
(4:12) 4. O Grande Amor
(4:42) 5. Lester Left Town
(4:45) 6. Soul Eyes
(4:46) 7. Up Jumped Spring
(3:21) 8. Airegin
(4:18) 9. Miyako
(5:13) 10. Felicidade
(4:22) 11. Once in a Garden

Of all the configurations in Jazz, the duo may be the most challenging. Each partner must be unremittingly observant, ready and able to lend support in any and all circumstances, while, on the other hand, disclosing a persuasive voice of his or her own with plenty of engaging things to say. Kindred souls Mark Colby and Vince Maggio have those bases well covered on Reunion, on which the two play together for the first time since they were musically separated by Colby’s move from Miami to Chicago a number of years ago.

It’s a sublime reunion wherein Colby and Maggio interact as irreprovably as if they’d never been apart. Like any top–drawer session, this one leaves one hungering for more. Their skills are so abundant that even such overworked staples of the Jazz canon as “Up Jumped Spring” or “Airegin” sound fresh and alive. Colby, whose modernist point of view embraces stylistic touches from Trane and Rollins to Joe Henderson, Michael Brecker, Joe Lovano, Lew Tabackin and others, has forged from them a commanding vocabulary that is unmistakably his own.

Maggio has his own convincing point of view as well, derived from but seldom imitative of other post–bop sovereigns of the piano. He can be unrelentingly forceful, like McCoy Tyner, Benny Green or Harold Mabern, for example, or warmly lyrical in the image of a Kenny Barron, Tommy Flanagan or Bill Evans. Both qualities are employed here to ably complement Colby’s biting tenor (and lustrous soprano on the entrancing ballads “Once in a Garden” and Wayne Shorter’s “Miyako”).

Colby and Maggio have chosen the repertoire with care, embracing two classics by Jobim (“O Grande Amor,” “Felicidade”), Mal Waldron’s “Soul Eyes,” Shorter’s “Lester Left Town,” Armando Corea’s “Windows,” Joe McCarthy/Cy Coleman’s “I’m Gonna Laugh You Right Out of My Life” and the Howard Dietz/Arthur Schwartz standard, “You and the Night and the Music,” which opens the session on a suitably devil–may–care note. This is one Reunion that cries out for an encore. By Jack Bowers
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/reunion-mark-colby-corridor-records-review-by-jack-bowers

Personnel: Mark Colby: saxophone.

Reunion

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Lluís Coloma Trio - 7 Nights At Central

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:47
Size: 157.5 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 2009
Art: Front

[ 5:04] 1. Hurricane's Boogie
[ 4:14] 2. African Gospel
[ 3:58] 3. Coloma's Boogie
[ 4:51] 4. Sleeping
[ 3:51] 5. Betsy's Silent Movie
[ 4:26] 6. Campi Qui Boogie
[ 3:51] 7. Bumble Boogie
[ 8:05] 8. Darkness Dance
[ 4:58] 9. Longhair's Tribute
[ 6:35] 10. The Spirit Of The Blues
[13:02] 11. Cromatic Boogie
[ 5:46] 12. Georgia On My Mind (Bis)

Lluis Coloma (p), Manolo Germán (b), Marc Ruiz (d).

"This CD includes twelve tracks recorded during a week of concerts at Café Central in Madrid. Seven nights wrapped up by a unique atmosphere and the warm audience of one of the most magic places where we have played. With Marc and Manolo, I have shared more than eight years playing concerts, living experiences, traveling, rehearsing, laughing... which make this CD full of complicity and feeling. A honest taste of our music." ~Lluis Coloma

7 Nights At Central

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Brian Bromberg - The Magic of Moonlight

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:14
Size: 154,4 MB
Art: Front

(6:39) 1. The Magic of Moonlight
(6:57) 2. Nico’s Groove
(3:40) 3. A New Dawn
(5:44) 4. So, You Think You’re All That?
(6:53) 5. Just Another Beautiful Day
(6:02) 6. Last Day of Summer
(5:39) 7. The Third Child
(6:48) 8. The Orient Express
(5:20) 9. Bedtime Story
(5:49) 10. The Pink Moment
(7:38) 11. In the Hands of God

The Magic of Moonlight is both an evocative and an apt title for this latest outing; as opposed to its predecessor, the freewheeling, open-road feel of A Little Driving Music, Bromberg’s latest album is deeply imbued with the shadow-cloaked mystery and twilight romance of an evening under the full moon. The feeling is also captured on the Magic Hour wonder of “The Pink Moment,” the nickname for the multi-hued sunset on the Topatopa Mountains near Bromberg’s home outside Ojai, California.

“There's a little bit of mystique in the moonlight,” Bromberg muses. “This album has some mysterious vibes and spirituality along with the feel-good, positive energy, so the name just seemed to fit.”

Originally from Tucson, Arizona, Bromberg started out on the drums before switching to the bass at the behest of his junior high school band director though that driving, rhythmic foundation has remained a core component of Bromberg’s sound. With the help of bass great Marc Johnson, then touring as a member of the Bill Evans Trio, Bromberg landed a gig with the legendary saxophonist Stan Getz in late 1979, when he was just 19 years old.

Bromberg has hardly stopped for a moment’s breath since then. In the ensuing decades he’s performed, recorded or toured with a stunning roster of artists across a spectrum of genres. While it might be easier to list the names that he hasn’t played with, a partial list of collaborators will have to suffice: Joshua Redman, Roy Hargrove, Sarah Vaughan, Bob James, George Benson, Lionel Hampton, Chris Botti, Najee, Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera, Diana Krall, Dizzy Gillespie, Josh Groban, Mike Stern, Dave Koz, Sting, Michael Brecker, Stanley Clarke, Stanley Jordan even Jerry Lewis. And that’s just scratching the surface.

1986’s A New Day launched Bromberg’s solo career, while his follow-up, Basses Loaded, cemented his place in the front ranks of bass innovators. In the years to follow he released a series of acoustic jazz projects alternating with more electric contemporary outings. He recorded tributes to Jaco Pastorius, Jimi Hendrix and Antonio Carlos Jobim and fronted a full orchestra. Throughout he’s captivated audiences and fellow musicians with his staggering agility on an array of basses: four- and five-string axes, hollowbody electric, acoustic, and the piccolo bass, on which his shredding solos rival the speed and versatility of any electric guitar wizard.

The Magic of Moonlight features an all-star roster of guests tailored to the music that Bromberg has devised for the sessions, supplementing a core band that includes drummers Joel Taylor and Tony Moore, keyboardist Tom Zink, guitarist Gannin Arnold and percussionist Lenny Castro. Smooth jazz sax superstar Everette Harp graces three tunes, playing tenor on the title track and the breezy, wind-in-your-hair “Last Day of Summer,” and soprano on the tender “The Third Child,” lovingly dedicated to Bromberg’s sister.

Fusion sax great Gary Meek, well known for his long association with Airto Moreira and Flora Purim, adds his sinuous soprano to the winsome “Just Another Beautiful Day.” Charlie Bisharat’s mesmerizing violin and Grant Geissman’s sitar guitar combine to add a tinge of otherworldliness to the fusion-driven exoticism of “The Orient Express,” while Lin Rountree’s muted trumpet is the sassy topper on the attitude-fueled funk of “So, You Think You’re All That?”

Though few instrumentalists could combine spellbinding musicianship with entrancing songcraft quite like Bromberg, The Magic of Moonlight is another left-field surprise in a discography full of them. “It's impossible for me to make the same record twice,” Bromberg shrugs. “I like to surprise people. The music comes first.”
https://bassmagazine.com/artists/brian-bromberg-announces-new-album-the-magic-of-moonlight

The Magic of Moonlight

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Nicola Conte - Umoja

Styles: Contemporary Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:17
Size: 141,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:25) 1. Arise
(3:57) 2. Dance Of Love And Peace (Part 1)
(5:54) 3. Life Forces
(5:42) 4. Flying Circles
(8:12) 5. Freedom & Progress
(5:10) 6. Soul Of The People
(5:09) 7. Heritage
(4:13) 8. Into The Light Of Love
(6:55) 9. Umoja Unity
(2:56) 10. Dance Of Love & Peace (Part. 2)
(4:25) 11. Arise (Instrumental)
(4:14) 12. Into The Light Of Love (Instrumental)

Nicola Conte continues on his journey from acid-jazz bohemian to spiritual-jazz sophisticate with this immaculately hip album, fronted on half of its tracks by London-based soul-jazz divas Zara McFarlane and Bridgette Amofah.

Conte began his trajectory with the acid-jazz template Jet Sounds (Schema, 2000), boosted it with Jet Sounds Revisited (Schema, 2002) and, after a brief post-hard-bop detour with Other Directions (Blue Note, 2004), began the spiritual-jazz ascent which has in 2023 reached its new, lofty apogee with Umoja. At all stages, Conte's role has been less that of an instrumentalist and more concerned with composing, arranging, selecting the musicians and producing the sessions.

There is a distinctive, singular thread running through Conte's twenty-three year recorded output. This is a result, in part, of his longtime residence in Bari, an off-the-beaten-track seaport on the heel of Italy's boot on the country's southern Adriatic coast, its location rendering it well placed to shrug off the passing fads and fashions of Rome and Milan. Conte first came to attention in Bari in the 1990s with his Fez Collective, a loose coalition of progressively minded jazz musicians, DJs and cultural activists clustered around the town's alternative club world. Fez was a sort of latter-day musical equivalent of a mid-twentieth century European literary salon.

Continuity has also been created by Conte's collaborator Tommy Cavalieri, at whose Sorriso Studio in Bari Conte's most characterful releases, from Jet Sounds to Umoja, have been recorded.

The new album kicks off with six tracks on which McFarlane and Amofah alternate as lead singers. Within their broadly humanistic paradigm, the lyrics address particular sociopolitical issues such as ethnic identity, and without resorting to prosaic agitprop. The singers are supported by an achingly funky core lineup comprising tenor saxophonist Timo Lassy, multi-keyboardist Pietro Lussu, guitarist Alberto Parmegiani, alternating bassists Ameen Salim, Marco Bardoscia and Luca Alemanno, percussionist Abdissa Assefa and drummer Teppo Mäkynen. Another eleven guest singers and instrumentalists weave in and out (see below for details).

The tracks featuring McFarlane and Amofah are the peaks of the album, for which an honourable mention goes to Lassy, whose sensuous, Pharoah Sanders-like vocalisations behind the singers are terrific. Assefa's percussion work is also noteworthy. And a shoutout, too, for the instrumental tracks "Heritage," featuring flautist Milena Jancuric, and "Arise (Instrumental)," the sans-vocals version of McFarlane's opening track, which features vibraphonist Simon Moullier.

Only on "Into The Light Of Love," featuring male vocalist Myles Sanko, and its album-closing instrumental version, does Conte take his eye, briefly, off the ball, giving us rather too much lurve and a busy but bland quiet-storm vibe. For the rest, Umoja contains some of Conte's most satisfying work to date.

Londoners may like to know that Conte and his band including McFarlane will be performing Umoja at Ronnie Scott's on Thursday 8 June.

The single "Arise" has been released (check the YouTube below). Umoja is scheduled for 30 June 2023.By Chris May
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/umoja-nicola-conte-far-out-recordings

Personnel: Nicola Conte: multi-instrumentalist; Zara McFarlane: voice / vocals; Bridgette Amofah: voice / vocals; Timo Lassy: saxophone; Teppo Mäkynen: drums; Pietro Lussu: keyboards; iAlberto Parmegian: guitar, electric; Abdissa Assefa: percussion; Ameen Salim: bass; Marco Bardoscia : bass, electric; Luca Alemanno: bass
.
Additional Instrumentation: Nicola Conte: composer/arranger/producer; Zara McFarlane: lead vocals (1, 3, 5); Bridgette Amofah: lead vocals (2, 4, 6, 10); Timo Lassy: tenor saxophone; Teppo Makynen: drums; Pietro Lussu: Fender Rhodes, Wurlizter, acoustic piano; Alberto Parmegiani: guitar; Abdissa Assefa: congas, percussions; Ameen Salim: Fender bass and double bass (4, 5, 9); Marco Bardoscia: electric bass (1-3); Luca Alemanno: Fender bass and double bass (6-8); Myles Sanko: lead vocals (8); Simon Moullier: vibraphone (1, 7); Dario Bassolino: Fender Rhodes and Moog (6, 8); Magnus Lindgren: flute (8); Fernando Damon: drums (7); Milena Jancuric: flute (7); Pasquale Calo: tenor saxophone (4); Hermon Mehari: trumpet (5); Paola Gladys: vocals (4, 5); Chantal Lewis: vocals (8); Jaelee Small: vocals (8).

Umoja

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Champian Fulton - Sometimes I'm Happy

Styles: Vocal, Piano Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:27
Size: 131,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:58)  1. When Your Lover Has Gone
(5:30)  2. Just Squeeze Me
(5:35)  3. Pennies From Heaven
(4:37)  4. All Too Soon
(4:35)  5. Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams
(3:50)  6. It's All Right With Me
(4:44)  7. September In The Rain
(4:38)  8. He's Funny That Way
(4:36)  9. Sometimes I'm Happy
(5:11) 10. Darn That Dream
(3:55) 11. Whistling Away The Dark
(5:10) 12. Tea For Two

The daughter of jazz trumpeter Stephen Fulton, Champian Fulton had plenty of early exposure to the music through her father. She began piano lessons at the age of five and as she grew interested in singing as well, she began accompanying herself.  Fulton is a refreshing change from many of the singing jazz pianists of the past two decades, as she excels in both areas while never resorting simply to doing the minimum to get by in her interpretation of standards. She builds on the success of her 2007 debut Champian (Such Sweet Thunder), when she was backed by David Berger's Sultans of Swing. But this time it's a trio date with bassist Neal Miner and drummer Fukushi Tainaka, Fulton playing and singing a dozen timeless pieces that were penned long before her birth in 1985. While Fulton's voice is youthful, her vocals often incorporate the touches of a veteran, including a defiant interpretation of "When Your Lover Has Gone" that has a sassiness reminiscent of Carmen McRae along with her superb vocal inflections and bebop chops in her driving setting of "September in the Rain." 

Fulton also masters slow ballads, such as Duke Ellington's powerful "All Too Soon," in which she communicates the sorrow of lost love desiring a reunion as if she has lived the lyrics. The one piece that is not as well known is "Whistling Away the Dark" (a superb ballad by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercerr, performed in waltz time), which Fulton skillfully interprets as if it has been a part of her repertoire since she began singing. The closing track features Fulton singing "Tea For Two" over Miner's walking bass, before she and Tainaka join him for a swinging instrumental break. Fulton is a gifted musician who is deserving of wider recognition. ~ Ken Dryden  

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=33415#.UulyGrSgsis

Personnel: Champian Fulton: piano, vocals; Neal Miner: bass; Fukushi Tainaka: drums.

Sometimes I'm Happy

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Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:32
Size: 168,5 MB
Art: Front

(7:22) 1. Better Git It in Your Soul
(5:44) 2. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
(5:02) 3. Boogie Stop Shuffle
(3:10) 4. Self-Portrait in Three Colors
(5:51) 5. Open Letter to Duke
(6:17) 6. Bird Calls
(8:13) 7. Fables of Faubus
(9:14) 8. Pussy Cat Dues
(6:17) 9. Jelly Roll
(6:30) 10. Pedal Point Blues
(4:39) 11. GG Train
(4:07) 12. Girl of My Dreams

Charles Mingus' debut for Columbia, Mingus Ah Um is a stunning summation of the bassist's talents and probably the best reference point for beginners. While there's also a strong case for The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady as his best work overall, it lacks Ah Um's immediate accessibility and brilliantly sculpted individual tunes. Mingus' compositions and arrangements were always extremely focused, assimilating individual spontaneity into a firm consistency of mood, and that approach reaches an ultra-tight zenith on Mingus Ah Um.

The band includes longtime Mingus stalwarts already well versed in his music, like saxophonists John Handy, Shafi Hadi, and Booker Ervin; trombonists Jimmy Knepper and Willie Dennis; pianist Horace Parlan; and drummer Dannie Richmond. Their razor-sharp performances tie together what may well be Mingus' greatest, most emotionally varied set of compositions. At least three became instant classics, starting with the irrepressible spiritual exuberance of signature tune "Better Get It in Your Soul," taken in a hard-charging 6/8 and punctuated by joyous gospel shouts. "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" is a slow, graceful elegy for Lester Young, who died not long before the sessions.

The sharply contrasting "Fables of Faubus" is a savage mockery of segregationist Arkansas governor Orval Faubus, portrayed musically as a bumbling vaudeville clown (the scathing lyrics, censored by skittish executives, can be heard on Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus). The underrated "Boogie Stop Shuffle" is bursting with aggressive swing, and elsewhere there are tributes to Mingus' most revered influences: "Open Letter to Duke" is inspired by Duke Ellington and "Jelly Roll" is an idiosyncratic yet affectionate nod to jazz's first great composer, Jelly Roll Morton. It simply isn't possible to single out one Mingus album as definitive, but Mingus Ah Um comes the closest. By Steve Huey
https://www.allmusic.com/album/mingus-ah-um-mw0000188531

Personnel: Charles Mingus – bass, piano (with Parlan on track 10); John Handy – alto sax (1, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12), clarinet (8), tenor sax (2); Booker Ervin – tenor sax; Shafi Hadi – tenor sax (2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10), alto sax (1, 5, 6, 9, 12); Willie Dennis – trombone (3, 4, 5, 12); Jimmy Knepper – trombone (1, 7, 8, 9, 10); Horace Parlan – piano; Dannie Richmond – drums

Mingus Ah Um

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Dorothy Donegan - The Many Faces Of Dorothy Donegan

Size: 168,8 MB
Time: 72:32
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1975/2002
Styles: Jazz: Piano Jazz
Art: Front

01. 12Th Street Rag ( 2:23)
02. Begin The Beguine ( 5:36)
03. Bill Bailey ( 3:03)
04. Donegan's Blues (10:24)
05. Dorothy Runs Away ( 3:35)
06. I Just Want To Sing ( 3:24)
07. If I Love You ( 3:31)
08. Introduction ( 0:32)
09. Just In Time ( 4:34)
10. Lift Every Voice And Sing ( 2:05)
11. Liza ( 1:45)
12. Mack The Knife ( 4:25)
13. Minuet In G ( 2:49)
14. Mistry ( 7:06)
15. Some Of These Days ( 3:45)
16. St. Louis Blues ( 2:48)
17. Stop The World ( 3:16)
18. Willow Weep For Me ( 4:32)
19. You Are The Sunshine Of My Life ( 2:49)

Dorothy Donegan was one of the most exciting of all jazz pianists, a virtuoso who could seemingly play anything she thought of on a moment's notice. She never achieved all that much fame, partly because she recorded so rarely during the 1950s, '60s, and early '70s before she was finally discovered. This CD has nine songs from a French studio date originally released on the Mahogany label in a trio with bassist Arvell Shaw and drummer Panama Francis. Highlights along the way include a very heated version of "You Are the Sunshine of My Life," the lengthy "Donegan's Blues," and a very eccentric version of Beethoven's Minuet in G. This set gives one a good sampling of Donegan's playing just before she finally began to be noticed much more by the jazz world. ~by Scott Yanow

The Many Faces Of Dorothy Donegan

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Annabelle Chvostek - String of Pearls

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2021
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:46
Size: 107,9 MB
Art: Front

(2:46) 1. Je T'ai Vue Hier Soir
(3:17) 2. String of Pearls
(5:32) 3. Cannabin
(5:02) 4. Walls
(3:43) 5. D’être Humain
(3:06) 6. Come Back
(3:27) 7. Belleville Rendez-Vous
(4:03) 8. Just the Right Bullets
(4:37) 9. Halfway Through
(3:35) 10. The Fool
(4:01) 11. Firefly (You Just Love)
(3:31) 12. Baby Baby Baby

The is the sixth album release by Toronto born Annabelle Chvostek and her first for six years. The hiatus was due to Chvostek experiencing a serious health issue, namely severe hearing loss and tinnitus in her left ear, the result of a feedback blast during a soundcheck in 2008. Any kind of deafness is going to significantly impact the output of a musician, but it seems that Chvostek has managed her condition well enough to create an album of quality and interesting songs.

This is a folk record, but perhaps not in a traditional sense. Songs were arranged and produced in Montevideo by composer and Chvostek’s long time collaborator Fernando Rosa and it is this partnership that provides a Canadian/Uruguayan cultural fabric that wraps around the album. Musicians that play on the record are drawn from both communities resulting in quite a heady mix of jazz including Gypsy, vaudeville, swinging there are elements of tango and perhaps even a tinge of French cabaret. There’s lots of fiddle but not country style clarinet and vibraphone, trumpets, rimshots, accordion and, of course, bandoneon.

Some songs are sung in French which challenged the limited schoolboy knowledge of this reviewer, although obviously “merde” held no secrets. “Mon amour, mes cuisses sont chaudes” however was not something immediately recognisable, although even the English translation “My love, my thighs are hot” is not something heard every day. It is a smart album lyrically; on ‘Cannabin’ “We’ve cinnamon and soft mullein/we’ll wear it in our beaks and then/We’ll smooth the edge with Cannabin” and ‘Come Back’ “I’ll sell off all my gadgets and trade them in for wine/Empty empty everything, we’re running out of time.”

Most songs are written or co-written by Chvostek, although there is a Tom Waites cover, ‘Just The Right Bullets’, a song based on a German opera, full of tuba and trombone to add dramatic effect to the story. Standout track is ‘Walls’ which is vocally strong, with a highly effective orchestral string arrangement and which builds to a magnificent crescendo. There are more excellent vocal arrangements on ‘Firefly (You Just Love)’, the penultimate track.

The album does at times veer dangerously close to Bugsy Malone territory, but ultimately manages to steer a steady course. Chvostek’s vocal is rich and strong and delivers these songs extremely well, and given her health issues in recent years, this is a truly marvellous achievement. https://americana-uk.com/annabelle-chvostek-string-of-pearls-3

String of Pearls

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Mark Whitfield - 7th Ave. Stroll

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1995
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:05
Size: 152,8 MB
Art: Front

(5:44) 1. Washington Square Thoroughfare
(8:09) 2. Harlem Nocturne
(6:45) 3. 7th Ave, Stroll
(7:00) 4. A Brooklyn Love
(6:46) 5. Businessman's Bounce
(4:20) 6. Spring In Manhattan
(5:37) 7. Sunday In New York
(4:54) 8. The Bowery Blues
(6:22) 9. Sunset At Waterside
(4:46) 10. Headin' To The Wes' Side
(5:36) 11. Autumn In New York

A talented guitarist influenced by George Benson and versatile enough to play straight-ahead jazz or R&B, Mark Whitfield was originally a bassist. At 15 he switched to guitar and soon won a scholarship to Berklee. After graduating from Berklee in 1987, Whitfield temporarily moved to Brooklyn and appeared at many sessions.

George Benson suggested he work for Jack McDuff and that association was a big break for Whitfield. He has since recorded as a leader for Warner Bros. and Verve, and as a sideman with many players including Jimmy Smith, Nicholas Payton, Ray Brown, and Courtney Pine.
https://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/artist/mark-whitfield

Personnel: Guitar – Mark Whitfield (tracks: 1 to 11); Bass – Christian McBride (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10), Dave Holland (tracks: 2, 5, 7, 9, 11); Drums – Al Foster (tracks: 2, 5, 7, 9, 11), Gregory Hutchinson (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10); Piano – Stephen Scott (5) (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10), Tommy Flanagan (tracks: 2, 5, 7, 9, 11)

7th Ave. Stroll

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André Persiany - André Persiany and His Orchestra

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:16
Size: 166,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:22) 1. Halbe Funf
(2:32) 2. King Porter Stomp
(3:34) 3. Blue Organ
(2:08) 4. Lover Come Back To Me
(2:26) 5. T. Bone Steack
(3:09) 6. Christmas Song
(2:32) 7. Finnts The Prince
(3:27) 8. Mamoune
(3:51) 9. Beer Barrel Bounce
(2:56) 10. Little Story
(1:50) 11. Serenade In Twelve Bars
(2:02) 12. Swingin’ The New A.p. Blues
(3:33) 13. Jean-paul’s Wedding Day
(2:26) 14. Just For Fun
(2:22) 15. Panorama
(4:46) 16. Two Cats And A Piece Of Lung
(0:39) 17. One O’clock Jump
(2:56) 18. Shorty George
(3:45) 19. Blue And Sentimental
(4:46) 20. Miss Thing
(2:53) 21. Swinging The Blues
(4:51) 22. Jive At Five
(5:17) 23. Topsy

There was a special sort of magic in the larger groups on the French scene of the postwar years a quality of playing and arrangement that wasn't the same as American big bands, and which instead brought in some really creative interplay between the instrumental elements in the lineup! It might be said that these groups were born after bop, and also carried some modern jazz ideas forward too and that's definitely the case here, with work from pianist Andre Persiany whose groups on the record are all pretty darn hip!

As indicated by the title, there's some wonderful work from Guy Lafitte on tenor a player who can move between familiar and modern modes with effortless ease and other players inlcude Bill Jackson and Lucian Juanico on trumpets, Michel De Villers on baritone, Maurice Meunier and Jean Claude Fohenbach on tenors, and Teddy Hameline and Michel Attenoux on altos players who move beautifully together under Persiany's leadership.

A number of cuts are originals by the leader, and there's a number of Basie tunes, remade in a great way as the 23 track CD pulls together material from three different 10" album releases, the last of which is Andre Persiany Joue Count Basie. Titles include "Halbe Funf", "Blue Organ", "T Bone Steak", "Beer Barrel Bounce", "Little Story", "Panorama", "Shorty George", "Two Cats & A Piece Of Lung", and "Just For Fun". © 1996-2023, Dusty Groove, Inc.https://www.dustygroove.com/item/114968/Andre-Persiany:Andre-Persiany-His-Orchestra-Featuring-Guy-Lafitte

Personnel: André Persiany (p, org), Guy Longnon, Bill Jackson, Lucien Juanico, Pierre Thibault (tp), Benny Vasseur, Gaby Villain, André Paquinet, Charles Verstraete, Bill Tamper, Claude Gousset (tb), William Boucaya, Teddy Hameline, André Dabonneville, René Godard, Michel Attenoux (as), Guy Lafitte, Maurice Meunier, Armand Conrad, Georges Bessieres, Jean-Claude Fohrenbach (ts), Michel de Villers, Robert Bagneres (bs), Pierre Cullaz (g), Buddy Banks, Benoit Quersin, Paul Rovère (b), Jacques David, Teddy Martin, Christian Garros (d), Fats Sadi (perc)

André Persiany and His Orchestra

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Woody Shaw - In My Own Sweet Way

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1987
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:04
Size: 143,9 MB
Art: Front

( 8:33)  1. The Organ Grinder
( 8:33)  2. In Your Own Sweet Way
( 8:41)  3. The Dragon
(10:02)  4. Just A Ballad For Woody
( 7:21)  5. Sippin' At Bells
( 5:19)  6. Estate
(13:32)  7. Joshua C.

Although trumpeter Woody Shaw never really broke through to gain the recognition he deserved, he also never recorded an unworthy album. This late-period set for the German In & Out label (recorded only two years before his death) features Shaw with the Austrian drummer Alex Deutsch and a couple of talented Canadians: pianist Fred Henke and bassist Neil Swainson. They perform three standards (including Dave Brubeck's "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "Estate"), plus a pair of group originals and Theresa Trainello's "Just A Ballad For Woody." Excellent advanced hard bop.By Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/in-my-own-sweet-way-mw0000176616

Personnel:  Woody Shaw – trumpet; Fred Henke – piano;  Neil Swainson – bass;  Alexander Deutsch - drums

In My Own Sweet Way

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Alex Mendham and His Orchestra - Fascinatin' Rhythm

Styles: Big Band
File: MP3@128K/s
Time: 49:33
Size: 47,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:35) 1. Fascinating Rhythm
(2:56) 2. Limehouse Blues
(3:16) 3. The Charleston
(3:14) 4. You're All The World To Me
(3:48) 5. The Mooche
(2:44) 6. Runnin' Wild
(3:02) 7. From Monday On
(2:39) 8. Pop Goes Your Heart
(2:57) 9. Jealousy
(3:04) 10. Better Think Twice
(3:17) 11. I Wouldn't Change You For The World
(3:18) 12. Doin' The New Lowdown
(2:58) 13. There's Nothing Too Good For My Baby
(3:08) 14. Won't You Stay For Tea?
(2:46) 15. When Day Is Done
(2:45) 16. I'll See You In My Dreams

Mesmerised from a young age by the music of a forgotten time, Essex-born musician, singer, and lyricist Alex Mendham made a name for himself, having burst onto the scene by forming his own orchestra at the tender age of just 20 (and refusing to slow down ever since!).

Alex Mendham spent his youth studying the saxophone and meeting the last surviving dance band musicians from the golden era, living links to the past, including the virtuoso Al Gallodoro, a star of 1920s Paul Whiteman fame. He also spent several years as protégé to Bob Wilber, himself a student of Sidney Bechet.

After the initial performances with his Orchestra, Alex soon realised what was needed was an authentic vocalist and frontman. He exchanged the saxophone for a conductor's baton and the rest as they say is history. https://www.alexmendham.com/alex-biography

Fascinatin' Rhythm

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Bob Seeley - Burnin' The Boogie!

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:50
Size: 127.8 MB
Styles: Boogie woogie, Blues piano
Year: 2016
Art: Front

[3:37] 1. Burnin' The Boogie
[3:33] 2. Rockin' The Kid
[3:33] 3. John Doyle Software Strut
[2:17] 4. J.J. Boogie
[2:10] 5. Dr. Ted's Boogie Dream
[4:06] 6. Basement Boogie
[3:23] 7. Jammin' At The Arches
[4:52] 8. Marrakech Nights
[4:28] 9. Groovin' On I-75
[3:51] 10. Jivin' With Jim
[5:08] 11. Big Band Boogie Medley
[2:51] 12. Shout For Joy
[4:29] 13. Mama Take The Lobsters Off The Ice
[4:02] 14. Jack's Blues
[3:24] 15. Boogie At The Philharmonic

This is the fourth of a series of recordings from one of the world's premier boogie piano players, Bob Seeley. An inductee to the Boogie Woogie Hall of Fame in Cincinnati, Ohio USA, Bob is a classically-trained pianist whose early discovery of boogie woogie is our blessing. Born and raised in Detroit, he learned boogie, stride, and ragtime from recordings and folios. Among his great influences is Pat Flowers (Fats Waller's protégé) and the boogie pioneer Meade Lux Lewis - one of the three giants of boogie woogie (along with Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson).

Burnin' The Boogie!

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Norah Jones - Little Broken Hearts (Deluxe Edition)

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 123:16
Size: 283,9 MB
Art: Front

(3:17) 1. Good Morning
(3:27) 2. Say Goodbye
(3:12) 3. Little Broken Hearts
(3:10) 4. She's 22
(4:06) 5. Take It Back
(3:42) 6. After The Fall
(2:59) 7. 4 Broken Hearts
(3:06) 8. Travelin' On
(3:28) 9. Out On The Road
(3:34) 10. Happy Pills
(4:25) 11. Miriam
(6:29) 12. All A Dream
(3:41) 13. Killing Time (Bonus Track)
(3:34) 14. I Don't Wanna Hear Another Sound (Bonus Track)
(3:22) 15. Out On The Road (Mondo Version / Bonus Track)
(4:15) 16. Miriam (Peter, Bjorn And John Remix)
(6:38) 17. Good Morning (David Andrew Sitek Remix)
(3:47) 18. She's 22 (David Andrew Sitek Remix)
(4:40) 19. Take It Back (David Andrew Sitek Remix)
(4:11) 20. After The Fall (David Andrew Sitek Remix)
(3:20) 21. Good Morning (Live At Austin City Limits, TX / 2012)
(3:32) 22. Say Goodbye (Live At Austin City Limits, TX / 2012)
(3:36) 23. Little Broken Hearts (Live At Austin City Limits, TX / 2012)
(3:26) 24. She's 22 (Live At Austin City Limits, TX / 2012)
(4:27) 25. Take It Back (Live At Austin City Limits, TX / 2012)
(3:55) 26. After The Fall (Live At Austin City Limits, TX / 2012)
(3:44) 27. Out On The Road (Live At Austin City Limits, TX / 2012)
(3:41) 28. Happy Pills (Live At Austin City Limits, TX / 2012)
(4:35) 29. Miriam (Live At Austin City Limits, TX / 2012)
(6:09) 30. All A Dream (Live At Austin City Limits, TX / 2012)
(3:32) 31. Black (Live At Austin City Limits, TX / 2012)

A decade ago Norah Jones defied expectations with her 5th studio album Little Broken Hearts, a striking collaboration with the producer Danger Mouse featuring the standout singles “Happy Pills” & “Say Goodbye” that arrived 10 years after her debut Come Away With Me prompting SPIN to call it “the second essential record of Norah Jones’ career.”

The newly expanded 31-track Deluxe Edition curated by Jones & Eli Wolf includes the original album plus rare bonus tracks, alternate versions, and remixes, as well as a previously unreleased live version of the album that was recorded for Austin City Limits in 2012.
https://store.bluenote.com/products/norah-jones-little-broken-hearts

Little Broken Hearts (Deluxe Edition)

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Barbara Thompson - First Light

Styles: Saxophone And Flute Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 77:42
Size: 179,2 MB
Art: Front

(14:27) 1. The Tie Game
( 6:43) 2. Threnody
(11:57) 3. The Awakening - First Light
(10:03) 4. The Awakening - Second Light
( 4:48) 5. The Awakening - Daylight
( 6:23) 6. Miguel The Speed Freak
( 5:27) 7. Favela
( 4:17) 8. Esmeralda's
( 6:52) 9. Touch Of Blue
( 6:40) 10. Black Pearl

Tremendous lost work from British saxophonist Barbara Thompson a wonderful 70s player who didn't always get her due! The set brings together material from three different sessions, all nicely different really demonstrating the range of expression that Thompson could bring to her work as she blows tenor, soprano, and flute here all in the company of very different groups!

The set begins with a combo that features Peter Lemer on piano a nicely avant group that also includes Johnny Dyani on bass and Laurie Allen on drums, plus some cool wordless vocals from Pepi Lemer at points too on the titles "Threnody" and "The Tie Game". Next is a very striking large ensemble directed by Neil Ardley with Thompson in a very hip lineup that also includes Howard Riley on piano and organ, Henry Lowther and Kenny Wheeler on trumpet and flugelhorn, Don Rendell on reeds, Bill LeSage on electric piano and vibes, and even Norma Winstone on a bit of voice as the group perform the longer "The Awakening" suite of tracks.

Last is the Jubiaba group with Lemer on electric piano, Bill LeSage on vibes, Ian Carr on trumpet, Trevor Tomkins on percussion, and Derek Wadsworth on both acoustic and electric trombones! Titles from that group include "Miguel The Speed Freak", "Favela", "Touch Of Blue", and "Black Pearl". © 1996-2023, Dusty Groove, Inc.
https://www.dustygroove.com/item/152958/Barbara-Thompson:First-Light

Personnel: Ian Hamer, Kenny Wheeler - trumpet, flugelhorn; Henry Lowther - trumpet, flugelhorn, violin; Derek Wadsworth - trombone; Don Rendell, Barbara Thompson - saxes, flutes; Charles Tunnell - cello; Howard Riley - piano, electric piano, organ; Bill LeSage - electric piano, organ, vibes, percussion; Jeff Clyne - bass

First Light

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Bernt Rosengren - Plays George Gershwin's Porgy & Bess

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:09
Size: 126.3 MB
Styles: Bop, World Fusion
Year: 1996
Art: Front

[4:27] 1. Summertime
[2:37] 2. A Woman Is A Sometime Thing
[1:46] 3. Porgy´s Entre The Cotton Hook
[2:08] 4. Gone, Gone, Gone
[1:47] 5. Overflow 1 & 2
[3:42] 6. My Man´s Gone Now
[2:50] 7. Leavin´ For The Promised Lan´
[1:27] 8. I Got Plenty O Nuttin´
[3:54] 9. The Buzzard Song
[6:12] 10. Bess, You Is My Woman Now
[3:30] 11. I Ain´t Got No Shame
[4:08] 12. It Ain´t Necessarily So
[4:19] 13. I Loves You Porgy
[2:42] 14. A Red Headed Woman
[2:23] 15. Clara, Clara
[0:57] 16. Porgy´s Theme
[3:43] 17. There´s A Boat Dat´s Leavin´ Soon For New York
[2:27] 18. Oh, Bess, Oh Where´s My Bess

Acoustic jazz has had a surplus of George Gershwin tributes over the years -- some of them quite memorable, some of them pretty routine. One of the most memorable examples of a jazzman embracing Gershwin's music in the 1990s was this 1996 date by veteran tenor saxophonist Bernt Rosengren. Leading an all-Scandinavian octet that includes Gunnar Bergsten on baritone sax, Tommy Koverhult on soprano sax, Hakan Nyquist on French horn, Sven Berggren on trombone and Peter Nordahl on piano, the Swedish improviser focuses entirely on the music from the 1930s musical Porgy & Bess and provides thoughtful arrangements that recall Miles Davis' orchestral work of the late 1950s.

Although the CD is entirely instrumental, Rosengren called it a "jazz opera" and saw the horns as portraying main characters from the play: while Bergsten is Porgy and Koverhult is Bess, the leader "plays" Sporting Life. But while lovers of the play will find that information of interest, even those who have never seen a production of Porgy & Bess will find Rosengren's arrangements of classics like "Summertime," "I Loves You So" and "It Ain't Necessary So" rewarding. In Sweden, this CD was exalted as one of the saxman's finest achievements, and those who made that claim weren't exaggerating. Coincidentally, Rosengren was born the very year Gershwin died (1937), which underscores the remarkable staying power Gershwin's songs have.By Alex Henderson

Plays George Gershwin's Porgy & Bess

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Alex Mendham and His Orchestra - Puttin' On The Ritz

Styles: Big Band
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:39
Size: 96,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:41) 1. Puttin' On The Ritz
(3:27) 2. Midnight, the Stars and You
(2:57) 3. Baby
(3:01) 4. Please
(3:29) 5. Not So Hard, Sam!
(3:16) 6. I Only Have Eyes For You
(2:29) 7. Some Of These Days
(3:13) 8. I Guess I'll Have To Change My Plan
(2:15) 9. Let's Fly Away
(3:50) 10. Never In A Million Years
(2:54) 11. Shake That Thing
(2:48) 12. Heartaches
(4:15) 13. Happy Feet

Quite simply, Puttin' On The Ritz is very special - In their brand new album, Alex Mendham and His Orchestra celebrates the Jazz Age in a roaring tribute to the wonderful music of the 1920s and 30s. With 15 dazzling tracks, this is the ultimate CD soundtrack as we enter a new decade of the twenties! Recorded in stunning 24-bit clarity, the Orchestra displays it's virtuosity across a huge range of material from hot rhumbas to faithful recreations of the gorgeous movie musical sound of the 30s. Join Alex Mendham as he leads his famed 11-piece orchestra in Puttin' On The Ritz, croons well-loved classics and unveils a few hidden gems in an album guaranteed to kick-start your 2020s! https://www.alexmendham.com/product-page/puttin-on-the-ritz-new-album

Quite simply, Puttin' On The Ritz is very special. In their brand new album, Alex Mendham and His Orchestra celebrates the Jazz Age in a roaring tribute to the wonderful music of the 1920s and 30s. With 15 dazzling tracks, this is the ultimate CD soundtrack as we enter a new decade of the twenties! Recorded in stunning 24-bit clarity, the Orchestra displays it's virtuosity across a huge range of material from hot rhumbas to faithful recreations of the gorgeous movie musical sound of the 30s. Join Alex Mendham as he leads his famed 11-piece orchestra in Puttin' On The Ritz, croons well-loved classics and unveils a few hidden gems in an album guaranteed to kick-start your 2020s! Opiniones Editoriales https://www.amazon.com/Puttin-Ritz-Alex-Mendham-Orchestra/dp/B08J5CSYT8

Puttin' On The Ritz

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Jenna Laurise - Serendipity and All That Jazz

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:22
Size: 109,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:09) 1. My Favorite Things
(3:17) 2. Come What May
(3:15) 3. Dream a Little Dream
(3:12) 4. Serendipity
(3:16) 5. Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars)
(3:41) 6. Walking on Sunshine
(3:06) 7. Cool Beans
(3:08) 8. You Swayed Me
(4:06) 9. Moonsong
(2:38) 10. I've Got Rhythm
(4:44) 11. My Funny Valentine
(3:30) 12. Recharge
(2:53) 13. That Jumpin' Vibe
(2:19) 14. Be Yourself

Hey there! My name is Jenna and I want to share my musical journey with you. I never ever imagined I would become an artist/songwriter, as my biggest dream growing up was to perform on Broadway. I grew up in Denver, Colorado and was inspired by my father who played guitar and sang. As soon as I was old enough to talk, I began to sing and before you knew it we were harmonizing in three-part harmony- my dad, my sister Rachel, and me. He died at a fairly young age, and now part of my journey is to continue his musical tale.

I began performing professionally in musical theatre by the age of 12 and was dead set on becoming successful on Broadway. I was very lucky to have performed in over 100 productions and worked for equity theatre companies all over the country. One of My favorite roles was playing the Evil Queen at Disneyland. I got married while I was still in college to my college sweetheart Eric who is very supportive of my music. Along the way, we've had two AMAZING boys that are the apple of my eye, Cameron and Connor.

In 2007, I got an itch to go back to grad school and deepen my musical abilities and had the fortunate experience of attending DU's Lamont School of Music. While there, I gained amazing training in jazz and contemporary music, and I began to write. At first it was just in my classes for jazz. Then after graduating with my Master of Music in Vocal Performance in Jazz and Commercial Music, I started writing music that I felt had some depth and hopefully some inspiration. At the same time, I started a Voice and Piano Studio and honest to goodness, God has made it grow into something I never dreamed it would be. I consistently teach 40 students every week. My students are amazing and I love developing and training them to be something great!

In 2011, I wrote and sang vocals on several tracks on the grammy nominated Album Moment Between Eternities with Louis Colaiannia. So much fun! In 2014, I released my second CD, Coming Home and several of the songs have been signed with music libraries for film and TV licensing.

I have really enjoyed performing in the live duo Brightenstar since 2015, and we gig quite frequently in Denver and the surrounding areas. I have been fortunate to perform at such venues as: The Soiled Dove, The Walnut Room, Lila B's, Hapa Sushi, Nonna's Bistro, Dazzle Restaurant, Jazz at Jack's, Platte River Bar and Grill, and many more.

I am so lucky to currently be co-writing songs with some award winning songwriters, including Nitanee Paris and Vince Constantino. Several of our songs have been featured on Women of Substance Radio and signed to music publishing.

In 2018, I have been working with an awesome music producer from the Netherlands, Jan Baars on my third CD, Songbird. It is a pop/EDM crossover album that has some very meaningful songs on it that deal with love, loss, life challenges, and more. Impacting the world and individuals in a positive way through well written music is my goal so I really hope you enjoy my music and share it if you like it! https://jennalaurise.com/bio

Serendipity and All That Jazz

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Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga - Cheek To Cheek

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:20
Size: 115,0 MB
Art: Front

(2:03)  1. Anything Goes
(2:50)  2. Cheek to Cheek
(2:36)  3. Don't Wait Too Long
(3:13)  4. I Can't Give You Anything But Love
(4:08)  5. Nature Boy
(2:11)  6. Goody Goody
(3:10)  7. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
(1:57)  8. Firefly
(3:56)  9. I Won't Dance
(1:48) 10. They All Laughed
(4:14) 11. Lush Life
(3:49) 12. Sophisticated Lady
(2:06) 13. Let's Face the Music and Dance
(4:04) 14. But Beautiful
(2:23) 15. It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
(3:43) 16. Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) [Live from Frederick P. Rose Hall, New York 2014]

Lady Gaga has flat-out said that recording the jazz standards album Cheek To Cheek with the legendary Tony Bennett saved her from possible artistic death. It’s the culmination of a lifelong love affair with jazz, which Gaga has said she started singing when she was 13 years old. So, how does Gaga rate next to Bennett, who was well into his second (or third) career resurgence when she was born? Despite the 60-year age difference between the “Applause” singer and the vocal legend, on the 11-track album the pair sound like a match made in heaven. They flawlessly merge their unique styles and show off a charming in-studio rapport that totally translates to the collection of jazz and pop vocal standards. ~ Gil Kaufman  http://www.mtv.com/news/1931065/lady-gaga-tony-bennett-cheek-to-cheek-review-breakdown/

Cheek to Cheek

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Tony Bennett - Here's To The Ladies

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1995
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:35
Size: 153,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:41) 1. People
(3:50) 2. I'm In Love Again
(3:56) 3. Somewhere Over The Rainbow
(5:10) 4. My Love Went To London
(5:40) 5. Poor Butterfly
(3:27) 6. Sentimental Journey
(4:42) 7. Cloudy Morning
(3:45) 8. Tenderly
(2:09) 9. Down In The Depths
(2:52) 10. Moonlight In Vermont
(4:04) 11. Tangerine
(2:49) 12. God Bless The Child
(3:42) 13. Daybreak
(5:29) 14. You Showed Me The Way
(2:55) 15. Honeysuckle Rose
(3:24) 16. Maybe This Time
(1:58) 17. I Got Rhythm
(1:55) 18. My Ideal

For years, it was rumored that Frank Sinatra was going to record an album called Here's to the Ladies, but the Chairman of the Board never got around to actually making the record. However, Tony Bennett did and his record covers a wider range of artists and styles than Sinatra's scheduled record. Naturally, Bennett turns in a thoroughly entertaining, professional performance. It's a solid contribution to his impressively assured and diverse comeback. By Stephen Thomas Erlewine
https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/heres-to-the-ladies-mr0000372200

Personnel: Tony Bennett – vocals; Ralph Sharon – piano; Clayton Cameron – drums; Doug Richeson – double bass; Lew Soloff – trumpet solos; unidentified session orchestra and big band (except for tracks 8, 10, 12, 16, 17 & 18); Jorge Calandrelli – arranger, conductor of the orchestral charts (tracks 2, 4–7, 13–15); Bill Holman – arranger, conductor of the Big Band charts (tracks 1, 3, 9, 11)

R.I.P.

Born: August 3, 1926, Long Island City, New York, United States
Died: July 21, 2023, New York, New York, United States

Here's To The Ladies

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Alex Mendham and His Orchestra - On With the Show

Styles: Big Band
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:48
Size: 99,0 MB
Art: Front

(2:50) 1. Shall We Dance
(2:25) 2. Let Yourself Go
(3:44) 3. Cheek to Cheek
(2:44) 4. Night and Day
(2:30) 5. Caravan
(2:58) 6. I'm No Angel
(2:32) 7. Jeepers Creepers
(3:20) 8. What Is This Thing Called Love?
(2:54) 9. Anything Goes
(2:54) 10. Nobody Cares If I'm Blue
(3:06) 11. Broken Record
(2:23) 12. Hot Lips
(2:39) 13. The Way You Look Tonight
(3:09) 14. Blue Moments
(2:33) 15. Prelude in C# Minor

Mesmerised from a young age by the music of a forgotten time, Essex-born musician, singer, and lyricist Alex Mendham made a name for himself, having burst onto the scene by forming his own orchestra at the tender age of just 20 (and refusing to slow down ever since!). Alex Mendham spent his youth studying the saxophone and meeting the last surviving dance band musicians from the golden era, living links to the past, including the virtuoso Al Gallodoro, a star of 1920s Paul Whiteman fame. He also spent several years as protégé to Bob Wilber, himself a student of Sidney Bechet. After the initial performances with his Orchestra, Alex soon realised what was needed was an authentic vocalist and frontman. He exchanged the saxophone for a conductor's baton and the rest as they say is history.

Alex Mendham and His Orchestra was founded by the debonair, white-tie-and-tails wearing bandleader, to sweep audiences away with the high style and musical glory of the 20’s and 30’s. He and his Orchestra have turned the music of a golden age into a worldwide concert touring show. Initially, Alex Mendham pitched his wild idea to the owners of London's Savoy Hotel, and the Orchestra embarked a long-standing residency in the hotel's hallowed ballroom. Request performances soon followed at many iconic venues around the capital, including the world-famous Ritz Hotel. This vital early period allowed the Orchestra to hone it’s signature style and sound, playing together each night. Soon, the allure of taking their music to the world-stage became too great for Alex and His Orchestra to resist. Beginning with the now legendary sell out show at the Kursaal Concert Hall in Belgium, Alex Mendham has taken his orchestra to new heights internationally performing everywhere from the lush art-deco Cicada Club of Downtown L.A to open-air concerts in the gothic palaces of Russia, via grand scale events upon the romantic canals of Venice. Outside of their live performances, the Orchestra is a mainstay of BBC Radio, and has lent it's talents to productions for film and television. https://www.alexmendham.com/biography

On With the Show

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Champian Fulton - Birdsong

Styles: Vocal, Piano Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:39
Size: 152,8 MB
Art: Front

(7:13) 1. Just friends
(6:36) 2. Yardbird suite
(5:32) 3. This is always
(5:40) 4. Star eyes
(5:07) 5. Quasimodo
(4:49) 6. All God's chillun got rhythm
(4:46) 7. Dearly beloved
(5:06) 8. Out of nowhere
(7:21) 9. If I should lose you
(5:00) 10. My old flame
(9:25) 11. Bluebird

Champian Fulton was introduced to alto saxophonist Charlie Parker during her stay in the womb. The New York-based pianist/vocalist's father, Stephen Fulton held a high opinion ("The most beautiful music that ever was") of Charlie Parker With Strings (Verve, 1950), so he made a cassette tape of the recording and played it during his wife Susan's pregnancy: The sound waves of Charlie Parker and Orchestra traversing maternal flesh to burst into the domain of amniotic fluid to find their way to tiny ear canals, the tympanic membranes, to the ultimate destination the pleasure centers of the growing brain, bringing (we can guess) a bright pre-birth smile that hasn't (no guessing here) faded to this day.

There may or may not have been a method to Stephen Fulton's madness. But if there was a strategy, it must have worked. Thirty some years later, Champian Fulton offers Bird Songs, a joyful celebration of Charlie Parker's centennial. Champian and Company open with "Just Friends," a tune that also sat in the introductory cut position on Parker's With Strings session. A better choice couldn't have been made. The Champian Fulton-led ensemble has a relaxed and fluid swing. Fulton's vocals feature syllables stretched like warm bread dough interspersed with interludes of a horn like sassiness. Saxophonist Scott Hamilton blows a supple and swingingly elegant solo. Fulton covers tunes written by Parker "Yardbird Suite," "Quasimodo," "Bluebird" as well as numbers that Parker made his own...

Making them her own something that Fulton is doing here in her own sweet way, whether it's "Star Eyes," its bounce coming out of the understated, old school style rhythm team, with bassist Hide Tanaka and drummer Fukushi Tainaka, or "Dearly Beloved," with Fulton comping straight up behind Hamilton's sax solo, sounding a bit like Jutta Hipp. "Out of Nowhere" features rumba rhythm and gorgeous, soft-around-the-edges flugelhorn solo from Stephen Fulton (the guy with that cassette tape), while "Bluebird" one of Bird's most recognizable melodies, closes the show with an authentic 1940s, early 1950's atmosphere.Marvelous!By Dan McClenaghan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/birdsong-champian-fulton-self-produced

Personnel: Champian Fulton: piano, Vocal; Fukushi Tainaka: drums; Hide Tanaka: bass; Stephen Fulton: flugelhorn; Scott Hamilton: saxophone, tenor.

Birdsong

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Queen Latifah - The Dana Owens Album

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:48
Size: 104.9 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2004
Art: Front

[3:42] 1. Baby, Get Lost
[3:08] 2. I Put A Spell On You
[4:11] 3. Simply Beautiful
[3:52] 4. The Same Love That Made Me Laugh
[3:59] 5. Moody's Mood For Love
[2:55] 6. Close Your Eyes
[3:42] 7. California Dreamin'
[5:21] 8. Hard Times
[3:27] 9. Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
[3:00] 10. Hello Stranger
[4:04] 11. If I Had You
[4:24] 12. Lush Life

Queen Latifah, vocals; Featuring Herbie Hancock, piano on "I Put A Spell On You"; Featuring Al Green, vocals on "Simply Beautiful"; Featuring James Moody, alto sax on "Mood for Love"; Featuring Mervyn Warren, solo vocal on "Close Your Eyes"; Featuring David "Fathead" Newman, alto sax on "If I Had You"; Produced by Ron Fair, co-produced by Tal Herzberg, except for tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 11 Produced by Arif Mardin, co-produced by Joe Mardin. Track 12 produced by Mervyn Warren.

With this opus Queen Latifah sets aside her rap "crown" for a jewel-encrusted jazz-pop tiara. Tiara?! Yes, a tiara she deserves for the melodic, nostalgic opus she decided to label with her given name: The Dana Owens Album. The artist is notorious for feminist controversy, but the only thing controversial about this album is Latifah's hard departure from the rap genre. But jazz fans can rejoice. She spans a continuum from standards to R&B to the blues and more, but jazz this is, at heart—all selections are done in her own fresh style. The lush orchestral arrangements behind Latifah don't impose; much as Shirley Horn came alive for listeners in such a magnificent way when backed by an orchestra in Here's To Life, Latifah raises eyebrows by keeping chill and jazzy throughout—not a bit of cheese to be found here!

The most serious eyebrow-raiser is "California Dreamin',"? arranged with a focus on Latifah's beautiful voice. The gorgeous guitar work by Raul Midon works very well to evoke, respectfully, a bit of the era from which the tune comes. Between the castanets and the smooth string backgrounds, "Dreamin'"? is easily the most laid back of all the selections on this eclectic journey through what ostensibly are the favorite musical memories of Newark, New Jersey-born Dana Owens.

Standards are represented here: "If I Had You"? is done sweetly, without cloying—and swings nicely, thank you. Fathead Newman adds excitement with a breezy solo. On "Lush Life"? Latifah's voice strains ever so slightly, violating the admonition she gives earlier in the album (on the cut "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy") that one should "never let 'em see you sweat."? Given, however, the difficulty for any singer to bulls-eye that tune, she comes close. "Moody's Mood for Love,"? featuring the composer on sax, is performed here lovingly, like putting on a favorite cardigan. It's apparently a nod not only to the song but to the source: the late "Chief Rocker"? Frankie Crocker on WBLS radio during the 1970s and '80s in the metro NYC area. Some Arthur Prysock fans may be surprised that credit for the arrangement to "Close Your Eyes,"? performed ever-so-soulfully with a fillip of jazz, thanks to a scat solo from Mervyn Warren, is given to a Peggy Lee recording. "Hello Stranger"? replete with electric organ effects and "shoo-bop"? vocal backgrounds is sung by Latifah in a manner so heartfelt and fresh it prevents the song from becoming a caricature of itself.

Rap fans may be dismayed by this release, but fans of soulful jazz have reason to rejoice and will find themselves playing this very approachable disc over and over again. ~Paul Lewis

The Dana Owens Album

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Dave Brubeck & Tony Bennett - The White House Sessions, Live 1962

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:50
Size: 145,3 MB
Art: Front

( 0:52)  1. Introduction Of Dave Brubeck Quartet
( 5:27)  2. Take Five
( 1:19)  3. Band Introduction
(11:09)  4. Nomad
( 8:25)  5. Thank You (Dziekuje)
( 8:49)  6. Castilian Blues
( 0:34)  7. Introduction
( 1:59)  8. Just In Time
( 3:00)  9. Small World
( 2:31) 10. Make Someone Happy
( 1:17) 11. Rags To Riches
( 2:45) 12. One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)
( 3:37) 13. I Left My Heart In San Francisco
( 1:59) 14. Lullaby Of Broadway
( 2:10) 15. Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)
( 3:20) 16. That Old Black Magic
( 3:29) 17. There Will Never Be Another You

Since both were performing their own sets at the White House Seminar American Jazz Concert on the Sylvan Theater grounds on August 28, 1962, Tony Bennett and Dave Brubeck decided to perform an impromptu collaborative set together that day, and although one song from it was eventually released, a version of "That Old Black Magic," the rest of the hour-or-so-long tape ended up lost in the vast Sony catalog vault, filed, as it turned out, with several classical tapes, until it surfaced again shortly after Brubeck's death in 2012. Now finally available, it reveals two master performers at the very top of their respective games. Bennett's signature song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," had been released only a couple of weeks before the concert, while Brubeck's "Take Five" had just begun to take on its iconic significance. 

Brubeck and his quartet, Paul Desmond on alto sax, Eugene Wright on bass, and Joe Morello on drums, played a four-song set, followed by a six-song set from Bennett and his band, with Ralph Sharon on piano, Hal Gaylor on bass, and Billy Exiner on drums. Then came an unrehearsed and impromptu four-song set from Bennett and Brubeck, with Wright on bass and Morello on drums (alto saxophonist Desmond sat out) that included versions of "That Old Black Magic" (the only track previously released before this), "Lullaby of Broadway," "Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)," and "There Will Never Be Another You," each of which purveys a loose, fun elegance that makes this archival find a true treasure. Bennett and Brubeck would not perform together again until both appeared and briefly reunited on-stage at the 2009 Newport Jazz Festival. By Steve Leggett  http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-white-house-sessions-live-1962-mw0002529832