Friday, January 27, 2023

Oscar Peterson Trio - On a Clear Day: Live in Zurich, 1971

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2022
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:46
Size: 144,5 MB
Art: Front

( 7:33) 1. The Lamp Is Low
( 7:00) 2. Younger Than Springtime
( 6:15) 3. On A Clear Day
(10:28) 4. Young And Foolish/a Time For Love
( 8:10) 5. Soft Winds
( 8:57) 6. Mack The Knife
( 7:38) 7. Where Do I Go From Here?
( 6:42) 8. On The Trail

Pianist Oscar Peterson had some year in 1971. He recorded Oscar Peterson in London (in March), In Tune with the Singers Unlimited (in July), Reunion Blues with the Milt Jackson Quartet (in July), In Concert (in July) and Great Connection (in October). What all of these albums have in common is they were recorded in Europe. Now we can add a sixth On a Clear Day: Live in Zurich 1971 (Mack Avenue) recorded on November 24, 1971 at Zurich's Kongresshaus, a complex of meeting spaces on Lake Zurich that includes the historic Tonhalle Zürich concert hall.

Accompanying Peterson in Zurich and on his entire six-week European tour were bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen and drummer Louis Hayes. Previously unreleased, the music on the new album was recorded originally for a single broadcast on Radio Zurich. After airing, the tape went up on a shelf where it remained until now.

The songs performed are The Lamp Is Low, Younger Than Springtime, On a Clear Day, Young and Foolish / A Time for Love, Soft Winds, Mack the Knife, Where Do I Go From Here? and On the Trail.

Peterson's playing here ranges from terrific to sensational. While the early tracks lean toward pensive and rollicking (The Lamp Is Low, Younger Than Springtime, Young and Foolish and Soft Winds), his keyboard attack virtually explodes on On a Clear Day and the last three tracks Mack the Knife, Where Do I Go From Here? and On the Trail. The drive and speed with which Peterson plays and his cascades of flawless improvisation is hair-raising. [Poster above for a concert on the same tour three days later in Geneva, Switzerland]

Mack the Knife is perhaps the show-stopper. You won't know what he's playing until 4:05, which must have been quite a surprise for an audience wondering what his lengthy introduction was building toward. A sharp ear can pick out where it's heading, but he did a wonderful job of disguising his intention. Another high point are Peterson's chords on Younger Than Springtime. An exhilarating album and a terrific find. We have Kelly Peterson, Oscar's wife and the album's producer, to thank. Oscar Peterson died in 2007 at age 82; Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen died in 2005 at age 58. By JAZZWAX BY MARC MYERS https://www.allaboutjazz.com/news/oscar-peterson-live-in-zurich-1971/

Personnel: Piano – Oscar Peterson; Bass – Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen; Drums – Louis Hayes

On a Clear Day: The Oscar Peterson Trio - Live in Zurich, 1971

Nicki Leighton-Thomas - One Good Scandal

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2022
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:13
Size: 109,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:48) 1. Semi Detached
(4:13) 2. One Good Scandal
(4:01) 3. Overture To Corrupt And Deprave
(4:22) 4. Did We Have Any Fun
(3:43) 5. The Secret Of Silence
(1:59) 6. It's Only A Movie
(5:07) 7. Hyde Side Blues
(4:26) 8. Depravity
(3:48) 9. This Little Love Of Ours
(4:10) 10. Don't Fall In Love With Me
(2:39) 11. The Girl You Can't Forget
(3:51) 12. Stranger

Personnel: Nicki Leighton-Thomas (vocals); Simon Wallace (piano; Alec Dankworth (bass); Rod Youngs, Mike Pickering & Roy Dodds (drums); Dave O’Higgins (saxophones); Paul Stacey (guitar); Steve Waterman (trumpet); Gary Hammond (percussion)

A long time coming but here we have the follow up to Nicki’s excellent Forbidden Games released in 2001, and it does not disappoint. Once again, Nicki focusses on the music of Fran Landesman and Simon Wallace with devastatingly impressive results.

Incredibly Nicki has managed to assemble all the musicians from the original album to record One Good Scandal, with the intervening years finding that all have developed further as musicians and yet retained the freshness and enthusiasm that was so appealing on Forbidden Games.

Fran Landesman and Simon Wallace collaborated on hundreds of songs together, and this presents another issue of which is just which ones do you choose? All in all, Nicki’s songs choices are impeccable.

The opening number ‘Semi Detached’ is a real swinger, with some excellent tenor playing from O’Higgins that frames Nicki’s vocals superbly. This is also true of the title track, taken at a gentle tempo the saxophonist is again totally in tune with the singer and the song.

Nicki Leighton-Thomas now has enough experience to handle the darker side of Landesman’s lyrics, as evidenced on ‘Depravity’ in partnership this time with Steve Waterman’s resigned and melancholy trumpet.

Nicki’s vocals embrace Landesman’s lyrics with pathos, joy, sorrow and resignation, and even a little optimism and levity on ‘This Little Love Of Ours’, with the music provided by on this occasion by Tommy Wolf and performed with just the rhythm section.

Trimming down the line up is a neat trick that Nicki repeats on a couple of delightful duets. The first is ‘It’s Only A Movie’ that feature words and music by Landesman with guitarist Paul Stacey. Stacey made a major contribution to the earlier record, and it is a real pleasure to hear their work further in such an intimate setting.

The other duet is with Wallace on piano on a song that was in fact written for the singer by Landesman, ‘The Girl You Can’t Forget (Nicki)’. Incredibly after singing the title song and ‘Depravity’, Nicki delivers the lyrics with an innocence and touch of naivety that is spellbinding.

From beginning to end the album is a triumph, and dare I say it that Nicki Leighton-Thomas sings with a maturity that is rare. There is total conviction in everything she sings, and this total belief in the song makes this a compelling listen. By Nick Lea https://jazzviews.net/nicki-leighton-thomas-one-good-scandal/

One Good Scandal

Hermine Deurloo - Glass Fish

Styles: Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:49
Size: 98,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:19)  1. Benny's Dream
(6:02)  2. Ode for Tomtem
(4:31)  3. Almost Always Never
(3:18)  4. Zombi Zui
(5:14)  5. Fleurette Africaine
(4:02)  6. Glass Fish
(3:44)  7. Mein Junges Leben Hat Ein End
(3:57)  8. Oktober In Oosterpark
(4:21)  9. Venice Cowboy's
(3:17) 10. Anna Virus

With five CDs under her belt, Hermine Deurloo teams up with Tony Overwater, Joshua Samson, and Jesse van Ruller on Glass Fish. Deurloo is an internationally known jazz chromatic harmonica player who has played with the Willem Breuker Kollectief, Toots Thielemans, John Engels, Candy Dulfer, and Al Jarreau, among others. The light percussive touch and transparency of the instruments on this album are anything but standard!~Editorial Reviews
http://www.amazon.com/Glass-Fish-Hermine-Deurloo/dp/B008QCBFDK

Personnel: Hermine Deurloo (harmonica), Tony Overwater (bass), Joshua Samson (percussion), and guest Jesse van Ruller (guitar).

Glass Fish

Ed Cherry Quartet - The Spirits Speak

Styles: Guitar Jazz, Straight-ahead/Mainstream 
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:41
Size: 135,0 MB
Art: Front

(7:36)  1. Little Girl, Big Girl
(5:46)  2. The Spirits Speak
(7:50)  3. Top Hat
(9:05)  4. Woo! / Sharock
(7:04)  5. Peace
(5:40)  6. Joe's Thing
(7:19)  7. Lennox Ave, 1 A.M.
(8:18)  8. Share a Life

It’s really a shame that so few jazz followers are aware of the talents of guitarist Ed Cherry. He’s been on the scene for quite some tine now, playing gigs with such name artists as Sam Rivers, Paquito D’Rivera, and Tim Hardin, not to mention the fourteen years he spent as a sideman with the legendary Dizzy Gillespie. The Spirits Speak is only the third set as a leader to be cut by the 47-year-old guitarist since Gillespie’s death in 1993. Unique too in the fact that it marks the first time that Cherry is leading an organ combo for his own purposes, let us not forget that he excels in this format as evidenced by two current Big John Patton discs featuring the guitarist (namely Minor Swing and This One’s for Ja, both for DIW/Disc Union). 

You won’t get an argument from anyone when it comes to the company that Cherry keeps. Organist Lonnie Smith and drummer Nasheet Waits hold down the fort, with saxophonist Joe Ford fronting things as a lead voice. There’s really little need for going into detail about individual tracks. With a large number of Cherry’s originals making up the program, the moods are varied and inspired. Inclined to make some sort of recommendation, a clear highlight has to be the electric twang of “Woo!/Sharrock,” where Cherry plays homage to the late Sonny Sharrock. Normally a mellower player with a single note style that recalls the approach of Grant Green, Cherry turns up the distortion on this one and rocks out. Vocalist Laird Jackson appears on a version of Horace Silver’s “Peace” and her own “Share a Life.” While she doesn’t embarrass herself, she also doesn’t necessarily present anything of any great significance to the proceedings. That reservation aside, Cherry adds yet another solid effort to his meager discography and makes another bid for wider recognition.~C.Andrew Hovan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-spirits-speak-ed-cherry-review-by-c-andrew-hovan.php

Personnel: Ed Cherry (guitar), Joe Ford (saxophones), Lonnie Smith (organ), Nasheet Waits (drums), Laird Jackson (vocals on 4 & 8 only)

The Spirits Speak