Tracye Eileen - You Hit the Spot

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2022
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 29:12
Size: 67,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:21) 1. I Love Being Here With You
(3:01) 2. You Hit The Spot
(3:11) 3. They Can't Take That Away From Me
(2:40) 4. It's Almost Like Being In Love
(5:31) 5. The Very Thought Of You
(3:52) 6. Just In Time
(2:49) 7. This Can't Be Love
(4:45) 8. The End Of A Love Affair

You Hit the Spot is either the third or fourth album by sultry-voiced, Chicago-based vocalist Tracye Eileen. It was recorded in two sessions: one with a trio (and audience), the other with a sextet. She gets a good head start thanks to a splendid choice of material eight blue-chip tunes, all from the Great American Songbook.

Eileen fares reasonably well with each of them, spreading a bluesy blanket over what are essentially straight-ahead renditions. She has excellent range, and is suitably emotive when required. The diction is fine save on the fast-paced opener, "I Love Being Here with You," wherein a number of words and phrases are less than clear. Elsewhere, no problems. Eileen does make at least one lyric misstep, on Lerner and Loewe's "Almost Like Being in Love," when she sings (twice), "all the music of love seems to be" instead of "all the music of life seems to be," as written, but that's a minor quibble.

"You Hit the Spot" follows "Being Here" and precedes half a dozen winners including "They Can't Take That Away from Me," "Almost Like Being in Love," "The Very Thought of You," "Just in Time" (including a rarely heard verse), "This Can't Be Love" and "The End of a Love Affair" (the only theme aside from the first two sung without an audience). Eileen numbers Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Washington among her role models, but has a style of her own that doesn't mirror any of them.

Eileen's back-up groups are impressive, giving her solid support on every number. While solos are few, there are brief yet effective statements by trumpeter Victor Garcia ("You Hit the Spot"), bassist Paul Martin ("This Can't Be Love"), tenor Steve Eisen ("The End of a Love Affair") and pianists Jeremy Kahn and Dennis Luxion. Even though the music is respectable from start to finish, it must be noted that the album's playing time is a concise thirty minutes. If that doesn't bother you and you appreciate well-written and well-performed songs Eileen and her first-rate groups may "hit the spot."By Jack Bowers https://www.allaboutjazz.com/you-hit-the-spot-tracye-eileen-self-produced

Personnel: Tracye Eileen: voice / vocals; Jeremy Kahn : piano; Jon Deitemyer: drums; Stewart Miller: bass; Steve Eisen: flute; Raphael Crawford: trombone; Victor Garcia: trumpet; Dennis Luxion: keyboards; Paul Martin: saxophone, baritone.

You Hit the Spot

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Seamus Blake - New York Factor Vol 1

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2022
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:16
Size: 104,3 MB
Art: Front

(7:19) 1. Alone Together
(7:54) 2. From The Heart
(5:33) 3. Waltz For Debby
(9:59) 4. Points Of A Star
(6:10) 5. Hearts Alone
(8:18) 6. Willow Weep For Me

New York based tenor saxophonist/composer Seamus Blake is recognized as one of the finest and most creative young players in jazz.

John Scofield, who hired him for his “Quiet Band,” calls him “extraordinary, a total saxophonist.” In February 2002, he took first place in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition in Washington D.C. As the winner, he performed with Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock.

Seamus Blake was born in England and raised in Vancouver, Canada. At age 21, while still a student at Boston's prestigious Berklee College, he was asked to record with legendary drummer Victor Lewis. After graduation, he moved to New York, where he rapidly established himself on the New York jazz scene.

Seamus has released six albums on Criss Cross Records, from his 1993 debut The Call to the 1995 premiere of the "Bloomdaddies," a “funky, alternative grunge jazz band”, to Way Out Willy, which was released in February 2007. He has also recorded as a leader for the Fresh Sound label. "Stranger Things have Happened" (now available on itunes) features Kurt Rosenwinkel as well as Jorge Rossy and Larry Grenadier from the Brad Mehldau trio. Fresh Sound also recorded a Bloomdaddies cd, " Mosh for Lovers" in 2001. In 2009 the Italian label, Jazz Eyes, released "Live in Italy", Seamus' most successful cd to date. It received 4 1/2 stars from Downbeat.

Blake is a long standing member of the Grammy nominated group, the Mingus Big Band, and is featured on the last six albums. He continues to play and record with the Victor Lewis Quintet, as well as with Bill Stewart and Kevin Hays. He has also performed and/or recorded with Franco Ambrosetti, Dave Douglas, Jane Monheit, Kenny Barron, Sam Yahel, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Pat Metheny, Joe Lovano, Joshua Redman, Brad Meldhau, Larry Grenadier, Wayne Krantz, Jorge Rossy, Jack Dejohnette, Brian Blade, Jeremy Pelt, Eric Reed, David Kikoski, Al Foster and many others.

Most recently Seamus has been touring with the Seamus Blake Electric Band which includes Scott Kinsey, Tim Lefebvre and Jordy Rossy.
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/seamus-blake

Personnel: Seamus Blake tenor saxophone; David Kikoski piano; Alex Claffy bass; Bill Stewart drums; Victor Lewis drums

New York Factor vol 1

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Hazel Scott - Piano Prodigy

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1946/1947/2022
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 33:12
Size: 76,5 MB
Art: Front

(2:44) 1. How High The Moon
(2:34) 2. I've Got The World On A String
(2:34) 3. Butterfly Kick
(2:42) 4. Mary Lou
(3:04) 5. Valse In C Sharp Minor
(2:51) 6. Love Will Find A Way
(3:07) 7. A Rainy Night In G
(3:08) 8. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
(3:15) 9. Nightmare Blues
(3:28) 10. Nocturne In B Flat Minor
(3:41) 11. Fantasie Impromptu

Hazel Dorothy Scott (June 11, 1920 – October 2, 1981) was a Trinidad-born American jazz and classical pianist and singer. She was an outspoken critic of racial discrimination and segregation. She used her influence to improve the representation of Black Americans in film.

Born in Port of Spain, Scott moved to New York City with her mother at the age of four. Scott was a child musical prodigy, receiving scholarships to study at the Juilliard School when she was eight. In her teens, she performed at Café Society while still at school.She also performed on the radio.

She was active as a jazz singer throughout the 1930s and 1940s. In 1950, she became the first black American to host her own TV show, The Hazel Scott Show. Her career in America faltered after she testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1950 during the era of McCarthyism. Scott subsequently moved to Paris in 1957 and began performing in Europe, not returning to the United States until 1967........More
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazel_Scott

Piano Prodigy

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Gato Barbieri - Club Jamaica (Buenos Aires) En Vivo 1961

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2022
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:47
Size: 96,2 MB
Art: Front

(7:25) 1. Impressions
(7:07) 2. Round Midnight
(7:11) 3. Village Blues
(7:32) 4. My Shining Hour
(7:47) 5. You Say You Care
(4:43) 6. What Is This Thing Called Love

He began playing tenor with his own band in the late 50s and moved to Rome with his Italian born first wife Michelle in 1962, where he began collaborating with Cherry. The two recorded two albums for Blue Note, “Complete Communion.” and “Symphony for Improvisers,” which are considered classics of free group improvisations. Barbieri launched his career as a leader with the Latin flavored “The Third World,” in 1969, and later parlayed his Grammy winning “Last Tango In Paris” success into a career as a film composer, scoring a dozen international films over the years in Europe, South America and the United States.

From 1976 through 1979, Barbieri released four popular albums on A&M Records, the label owned by trumpet great Herb Alpert. “The Shadow of the Cat,” is a reunion of sorts for the two, with Alpert playing trumpet and trumpet solos on three songs.

Barbieri officially took up the clarinet at age 12 when he heard Charlie Parker’s “Now’s The Time,” and even as he continued private music lessons in Buenos Aires, he was playing his first professional gigs with Lalo Schifrin’s orchestra. “During that time, Juan Peron was in power”, he recalls. “We weren’t allowed to play all jazz; we had to include some traditional music, too. So we played tango and other things like carnavalito.” In Buenos Aires, Barbieri also had the opportunity to perform with visiting musicians like Cuban mambo king Perez Prado, Coleman Hawkins, Herbie Mann, Dizzy Gillespie, and João Gilberto.

Barbieri credits his learning of musical discipline to his years working with Don Cherry while living in Europe. While collaborating with Cherry in the mid ‘60’s, he also recorded with American expatriate Steve Lacy and South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim. Other associations during Barbieri’s free jazz days included time with Charlie Haden, Carla Bley and the Jazz Composer’s Orchestra, as well as dates with Stanley Clarke, Airto Moreira, Chico O’Farrell, and Lonnie Liston Smith.

He had recorded a handful of albums on the Flying Dutchman label in the early 70s and then signed with Impulse where he recorded his classic Chapter Series “Latin America ,” “Hasta Siempre,” “ Viva Emiliano Zapata,” and “Alive in New York .” While at Impulse, “Last Tango”hit, and by the mid-70s, his coarse, wailing tone began to mellow with ballads like “What A Difference A Day Makes” (known to Barbieri as the vintage bolero “Cuando Vuelva a tu Lado”) and Carlos Santana’s “Europa.” Barbieri’s A&M recordings of the late ‘70’s, featured this softer jazz approach, but early 80s dates like the live “Gato…Para Los Amigos,” had a more intense, rock influenced South American sound.

After many years of limited musical activity due to the passing of his first wife Michelle (also his closest musical confidant and manager) and his own triple bypass surgery six weeks later, Barbieri returned stronger than ever with the 1997 Columbia offering “Que Pasa,” the fourth highest selling Contemporary Jazz album of the year.

There have been several recent highlights in Gato’s life: In July of 2003, Long Island University and WLIU combined to give Gato a Lifetime Achievement Award. In September of the same year, Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Tanglewood Jazz Festival headlined Gato Barbieri at the Ozawa Concert Hall. The performance was broadcast live by Boston’s WBGH and New York ’s WBGO; it was the beginning of the fledgling NPR station network as the concert was simulcast over eight stations from New England to Pennsylvania to Chicago .

The 2004 Puerto Rican Heineken Jazz Festival featured Gato as the 2004 Honoree. Late in 2004, Gato was honored by his homeland of Argentina when the Argentine Ambassador presented him with a Lifetime Achievement Award at a special function at the Argentine Consulate in New York City.

Also in 2004, Universal Music released four new compilation CD’s in their world renown “20th Century Masters” series: Sarah Vaughan, Charlie Parker, Carmen McRae, and Gato Barbieri. This association with other jazz icons only serves to once again confirm Barbieri’s legendary status both within the music business community and to the entire world. In 2009 Barbieri released "In Search of the Mystery." Gato's new album "Encounter" will be released in late 2010, featuring Gato Barbieri, Carlos Franzetti, David Finck and Nestor Astorita. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/gato-barbieri

Club Jamaica (Buenos Aires) En Vivo 1961

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