Jesper Thilo Quartet - Jesper Thilo Quartet & Clark Terry

Styles: Jazz, Bop
Year: 1994
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:45
Size: 167,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:10)  1. Sunday
(5:05)  2. Did You Call Her Today?
(4:06)  3. Stardust
(8:05)  4. Frog Eyes
(6:05)  5. Body And Soul
(6:29)  6. Just One Of Those Things
(6:37)  7. Sophisticated Lady
(6:11)  8. Save Your Love For Me
(5:35)  9. Rose Room
(6:41) 10. Wave
(7:16) 11. Ballad For Jesper
(6:18) 12. Cherokee

Between them Jesper Thilo and Clark Terry have covered virtually the entire jazz scene, both with big bands and small groups, and the meeting here produced music which will prove to be timeless. http://www.storyvillerecords.com/products/jesper-thilo-quartet-clark-terry-stcd8204

Jesper Thilo Quartet & Clark Terry

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Ben Webster - Music For Loving (2-Disc Set)

Combining two string albums by Ben Webster and one from Ellington sideman Harry Carney, the two-disc Music With Feeling delivers over two hours' worth of incredible ballad interpretations. Webster, of course, made his name with many an after-hours gem, and he predictably shines here amidst the lush yet tasteful orchestral charts penned by Ralph Burns, Gerald Wilson, and Billy Strayhorn; there are particularly fine renditions here of "Early Autumn" and Strayhorn's misty and mercurial "Chelsea Bridge." Carney, too, is stunning, handling the traditionally cumbersome baritone saxophone with grace and loads of feeling, especially on highlights like "It Had to Be You" and his and Strayhorn's "Chalmeau." Forget all those bachelor-pad compilations and give this collection a spin at your next cocktail party. ~Stephen Cook

Album: Music For Loving (Disc 1)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 74:48
Size: 171.3 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 1995

[3:55] 1. Chelsea Bridge
[4:38] 2. Willow Weep For Me
[3:45] 3. There Is No Greater Love
[4:03] 4. Teach Me Tonight
[4:09] 5. Until Tonight
[4:31] 6. We'll Be Together Again
[5:05] 7. Blue Moon
[4:53] 8. Early Autumn
[3:39] 9. My Greatest Mistake
[4:00] 10. What Am I Here For
[4:48] 11. All Too Soon
[3:21] 12. Love Is Here To Stay
[3:21] 13. It Happens To Be Me
[4:43] 14. Do Nothing 'til You Hear From Me
[4:49] 15. Prelude To A Kiss
[4:25] 16. Come Rain Or Come Shine
[3:21] 17. Love Is Here To Stay
[3:16] 18. Love Is Here To Stay

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Album: Music For Loving (Disc 2)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 79:04
Size: 181.0 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 1995
Art: Front

[4:46] 1. Some Other Spring
[3:37] 2. When Your Lover Has Gone
[4:32] 3. Stars Fell On Alabama
[3:21] 4. Under A Blanket Of Blue
[4:40] 5. Stars Fell On Alabama
[3:31] 6. Under A Blanket Of Blue
[3:20] 7. Under A Blanket Of Blue
[3:22] 8. My Funny Valentine
[3:07] 9. You're Mine, You!
[3:04] 10. Sophisticated Lady
[3:19] 11. Love's Away
[3:59] 12. Almost Like Being In Love
[5:48] 13. (I Don't Stand) A Ghost Of A Chance (With You)
[4:47] 14. Take The 'a' Train
[3:40] 15. We're In Love Again
[3:37] 16. Chalmeau
[3:40] 17. Moonlight On The Ganges
[4:16] 18. It Had To Be You
[4:08] 19. Fantasy
[4:21] 20. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)

Music For Loving (Disc 1), (Disc 2)

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Grace Kelly - All That I Need

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2022
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:01
Size: 36,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:20) 1. All That I Need
(4:11) 2. Spoon
(4:14) 3. A Night In Tunisia
(4:30) 4. Queens
(3:12) 5. We Will Rise
(6:08) 6. The Night Time
(3:58) 7. Good To See You Again
(4:09) 8. Shut Up And Dance
(5:16) 9. And So It Goes

An unequivocal musical prodigy, singer-saxophonist-songwriter-composer and band leader Grace Kelly has rocked the jazz world with sold-out concerts, 14 acclaimed albums and a resume that includes performing at the Hollywood Bowl and as part of the house band for “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” all before reaching her mid-twenties.

Kelly’s early career featured performances at Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration at age 16 and at 14 as a soloist with the Boston Pops playing an original composition arranged for the legendary orchestra; she has since then played over 900 shows as bandleader in 35 countries at venues like the Kennedy Center and Moscow Symphony Hall and for the Montreal, Newport, and Montreux international jazz festivals. Touted for her scorching saxophone stylings and purring vocals, Kelly has performed and recorded with renowned artists including Lin Manuel- Miranda, Dave Brubeck, Lee Konitz, Phil Woods, Huey Lewis, Harry Connick Jr., Gloria Estefan, Questlove, and Wynton Marsalis.

Kelly was named the winner of “Song of the Year” for her single “Feels Like Home” in the 2018 John Lennon Songwriting Contest, and has been named nine times consecutively in the Annual Downbeat Magazines Critics Poll “Rising Star Alto Saxophone” from the age of 17 in 2009 and winning the poll in 2017 (Youngest ever named to Downbeat critics poll in 2009.). She has also won multiple ASCAP Composer Awards, Boston Music Awards, and International Songwriting Awards. She has also appeared as a featured performer in films and television, including acclaimed documentary “Sound of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story”, Amazon’s Emmy-nominated original series “Bosch”, and featured in the 2017 Emmy-winning Yamaha production “The Right Note”

Featured by Vanity Fair as a millennial shaking up the jazz world, Kelly’s state-of-the-art brand of electro jazz-pop and inventive digital content are pushing her to the forefront of the fusion scene, alongside names like Snarky Puppy, Jacob Collier, Cory Henry, Robert Glasper, Jon Batiste, and Too Many Zooz.

My new upcoming album “All That I Need” was inspired by the different emotions that embody the courageous spirit. I found myself on a journey thinking about what the courageous spirit feels and looks like to me. Kelly states, “I wanted to write an album that was fueled by the feeling of courage. Coming out of the pandemic, as an artist, I found myself battling the fear-based thought of: am I ever going to be able to do this thing that I love again for people? But I choose to be an optimist. To move forward with some type of courageous spirit. I always want to step into places that might feel scary or challenging in order to create an opportunity for both personal and artistic growth. That was the initial idea behind “All That I Need.”

The inspiration behind the album came in different forms I found inspiration in the written words of the great poet and activist Maya Angelou. Her bold beautiful words in her poem “And Still I Rise” inspired Grace to write the track, “We Will Rise.” It is a song dedicated to women all around the globe, a song about pushing forward during challenging times and standing up together to advocate and fight for our rights.

For full review please follow the link:
https://smoothjazzdaily.wordpress.com/2022/12/10/grace-kelly-all-that-i-need/

All That I Need

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Kirk Lightsey - Live at Smalls Jazz Club

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2022
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:32
Size: 129,8 MB
Art: Front

(10:01) 1. In Your Own Sweet Way
(12:01) 2. Bro. Rudolph
( 8:57) 3. Pee Wee
( 4:09) 4. Heaven Dance
(13:06) 5. Lament
( 8:17) 6. Blues On The Corner

The new SmallsLIVE Living Masters Series has issued Kirk Lightsey Live at Smalls Jazz Club, their second offering, following this past August’s release of vocalist Sheila Jordan’s Live at Mezzrow. As the series name implies, these recordings honor the best of iconic jazz musicians that are still with us. Detroit native and New York-based pianist Kirk Lightsey has been at his craft for over seventy years, having been born in 1937. For this date, we have Lightsey playing in his wonderful, inimitable style joined by his longtime bassist Santi Debriano, guitarist Mark Whitfield, and drummer Victor Lewis, from the live session on September 13, 2021.

Without delving into a lengthy history on Lightsey, suffice it to say that he cut his teeth with these musicians: Chet Baker, Kenny Burrell, Clifford Jordan, and Sonny Stitt, as well as on his countless ground-breaking recordings as a bandleader, many years of which when he was based in Paris, France. As it turns out, Lightsey, like contemporary Ron Carter at age 85, shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, Lightsey appears on guitarist Simon Belelty’s album Pee Wee, which was released just three weeks ago. So, this live recording enables us to hear Lightsey’s delicate, graceful touch, imaginative melodies, and yes, those lush voicings. Interestingly, these six selections contain only one Lightsey original, “Heaven Dance” although the aforementioned “Pee Wee,” penned by Tony Williams has long been a Lightsey staple that appears on almost every Lightsey project of recent vintage.

Much has been written and debated about the pairing of guitar and piano, but this writer is essentially done with debating the issue as there are so many fine examples of where it works brilliantly including here with Whitfield’s stunning melodicism. This pairing was a clear ‘meant to be.’ The program begins with Dave Brubeck’s “In Your Own Sweet Way” with Whitfield stepping forward immediately and trading lines with the pianist as Debriano and Lewis stir a subtle undercurrent. Jazz fans will recall that just last year Whitfield won a Grammy for his contributions to Christian McBride’s Big Band’s For Jimmy, Wes, and Oliver so his clean, Montgomery-like picking should come as no surprise. Debriano, a veteran of considerable duo work with the pianist, solos nimbly as well with Lewis trading fours on the way out.

The other composers covered, like Brubeck, are no longer with us. They are Eddie Harris, Tony Williams, J.J. Johnson, and McCoy Tyner. Lightsey’s vitality, best exemplified through his ever-vibrant right hand is a marvel as he brightens familiar fare such as “Freedom Jazz Dance” and “Blues on the Corner.” Whitfield is flying on the former and adds a distinctly bluesy tone to Tyner’s oft-covered tune, as the two lead voices lock-in, emitting enough power to light up a New City block. It all comes to hush as first Debriano and then Lightsey improvises lightly around the theme, gradually building it back to a full-throttle quartet explosive close.

As strong as those are, we’d be remiss to overlook Lightsey’s own “Heaven Dance,” first recorded in 1988 with Lightsey’s trio ‘The Leaders’ featuring Cecil McBee on bass and Don Moye on drums. Again, Whitfield adds a new dimension, pushing the tempo across subtle Latin rhythms as he and Lightsey each author brilliant turns with Lewis turning some of his sharpest kit work. As the title implies, J.J. Johnson’s “Lament” is the most tender reading in the set, a vivid portrait of Lightsey’s graceful touch, strengthened by Debriano’s arco technique and Whitfield’s collaborative role.

These are four musicians who never miss a step and seemingly never a note. Live performances don’t come any better. Admittedly, this writer bypassed Lightsey’s solo outing, 2021’s I Will Never Stop Loving You (Jojo) but am returning to it now. Lightsey’s piano playing is as bright as his legendary smile. https://glidemagazine.com/281997/legendary-jazz-pianist-kirk-lightsey-shines-leading-quartet-on-live-at-smalls-jazz-club-album-review/

Personnel: Kirk Lightsey - piano; Mark Whitfield - guitar; Santi DeBriano - bass; Victor Lewis - drums

Live at Smalls Jazz Club

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