Wayne Shorter - High Life

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1995
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:14
Size: 122,4 MB
Art: Front

(7:24)  1. Children Of The Night
(7:30)  2. At The Fair
(5:12)  3. Maya
(5:35)  4. On The Milky Way Express
(6:20)  5. Pandora Awakened
(6:46)  6. Virgo Rising
(6:28)  7. High Life
(5:54)  8. Midnight In Califoria
(2:02)  9. Black Swan ( In Memory Of Susan Portlynn Romeo)

Wayne Shorter's debut for Verve was his first release as a leader in quite a long time and his most rewarding recording since the prime years of Weather Report, 15 years before. Shorter and keyboardist Rachel Z spent a year working on developing and orchestrating his ideas and the results are these nine originals. Although use was made of orchestral horns and strings, most of the backing in these often-dense ensembles is by a standard rhythm section (which includes Marcus Miller on electric bass and bass clarinet) and Rachel Z's synthesizers. The pieces set moods rather than state singable melodies, are not afraid to utilize electronic rhythms now and then in an unpredictable fashion, and are both intelligent and largely danceable. However, Shorter's playing (not only on soprano and tenor but a bit of alto and baritone) is always distinctive and he sounds very much as if he is pushing himself. In fact, his emotional statements and the complexity of the ensembles push this music way above virtually all of the so-called "contemporary jazz" (which is often merely a synonym for jazzy pop) into the idiom of creative music. It helps for listeners to have a liking for the sound of Weather Report (even though this group is not a copy), but even Shorter's older fans will find his playing here to be quite stimulating. ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/high-life-mw0000645761

Personnel: Wayne Shorter (arranger, soprano, alto, tenor & baritone saxophones); Marcus Miller (conductor, bass clarinet, bass, programming); Jon Lewis, Rob McGregor (trumpet); Steven Holtman, Robert Payne (trombone); Daniel Kelley, Joseph Meyer, Brad Warnaar (French horn); Linda Muggeridge, Leslie Reed (English horn); Kazue McGregor, Annarenee Grizell, Sarah Weisz (flute); Joyce Kelley-Clark (oboe); Emily Bernstein, Ralph Williams (clarinet); Julie Feves, Michele Grego (contrabassoon); Bruce Dukov, Armen Garabedian, Suzie Katayama, Edith Markman, Sid Page, Michele Richards (violin); Robert Becker, Denyse Buffum, Ralph Fielding, Harry Shirinian, Evan Wilson (viola); Larry Corbett (cello); Rachel Z (piano, synthesizer); David Gilmore (guitar); Will Calhoun, Terry Lyne Carrington (drums); Lenny Castro, Airto Moreira, Munyungo Jackson, Kevin Ricard (percussion).

R.I.P.

Born: August 25, 1933, Newark, New Jersey, United States

Died: March 2, 2023


High Life

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Dominick Farinacci - Lovers, Tales & Dances

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:55
Size: 139,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:22) 1. Don't Explain
(6:30) 2. Libertango
(5:52) 3. Estate
(6:27) 4. Vision
(5:09) 5. Ne Me Quitte Pas
(3:32) 6. E Lucevan Le Stelle
(3:53) 7. Erghen Diado (Song Of Schopsko)
(6:19) 8. Silent Cry
(3:54) 9. Love Dance
(3:41) 10. Bibo No Aozora
(6:51) 11. Lonely Woman
(4:18) 12. The Theme From The Pawnbroker

The mass appeal of a jazz recording does not necessarily compromise its value or its artistic integrity; it simply means that the artist has mastered the difficult task of balancing the creative and the commercial. Trumpeter Dominick Farinacci has done just that on his debut album, Lovers, Tales & Dances.

Farinacci sounds a lot like Clifford Brown, with the same lyricism albeit without the same range, mastery and fluidity. Some of the material also hints at Brown's recordings with strings and female vocalists. The tracks with string arrangement are a tad on the smooth side, but Farinacci's trumpet rescues them from becoming mundane through his brilliant improvisations. The vocal number is reminiscent of Helen Merrill with Clifford Brown (Emarcy, 19554), but singer Hilary Kole lacks Helen Merrill's emotional intensity. The leader elevates this track once again if not to the CD's high point then to a level where it does not sound out of place, despite adding little to the whole.

The choice of material again reflects the balance between artistic creativity and popular appeal. Songs vary from Jacques Brel's "Ne me quitte pas" and Astor Piazzolla's "Libertango," to the Billie Holiday standard, "Don't Explain," and Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman," which represents the real high point of this record.

The sidemen include Joe Lovano, Kenny Barron and Lewis Nash, but despite being in the company of masters, Farinacci not only maintains his own but remains the dominant voice throughout, successfully interacting with these seasoned veterans during the ensemble work.

Despite the faults of a few, too-smooth string arrangements, an average vocal number and the debutant style of the leader, this impeccably mastered recording is a very promising first work by an artist who, if he maintains the momentum demonstrated here, may well become one the pillars of jazz in the near future.By Hrayr Attarian https://www.allaboutjazz.com/lovers-tales-and-dances-dominick-farinacci-koch-records-review-by-hrayr-attarian

Personnel: Dominick Farinacci: trumpet, flugelhorn; Joe Lovano: tenor saxophone; Joe Locke: vibraphone; Kenny Barron: piano; James Genus: bass; Marc Johnson: bass; Lewis Nash: drums; Jamey Haddad: percussion; Hilary Kole: vocals; Guilherme Monteiro: guitar; Rich DeRosa: strings and horns conductor.

Lovers, Tales & Dances

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Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Kyoto

Styles: Jazz, Hard Bop
Year: 1991
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 32:24
Size: 74,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:57) 1. The High Priest
(5:49) 2. Never Never Land
(5:04) 3. Wellington's Blues
(8:30) 4. Nihon Bash
(7:04) 5. Kyoto

Reissued on Fantasy's OJC series, this album finds Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers paying tribute to Japan (where they had toured to great acclaim) on two selections, featuring Art Blakey's cousin as a vocalist on "Wellington's Blues" (a real rarity in The Jazz Messengers' discography) and debuting Curtis Fuller's "The High Priest." With trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, tenorman Wayne Shorter and trombonist Fuller in fine form, this is one of literally dozens of recommended Jazz Messengers recordings.~Scott Yanowhttps://www.allmusic.com/album/kyoto-mw0000315032

Personnel: Art Blakey - drums; Freddie Hubbard – trumpet; Curtis Fuller – trombone; Wayne Shorter - tenor saxophone; Cedar Walton - piano; Reggie Workman - bass; Wellington Blakey - vocals (track 3)

Kyoto

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Christian McBride's New Jawn - Prime

Styles: Post-Bop, Straight-Ahead Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:33
Size: 126,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:47) 1. Head Bedlam
(7:29) 2. Prime
(4:44) 3. Moonchild
(8:05) 4. Obsequious
(8:48) 5. Lurkers
(7:16) 6. The Good Life
(5:04) 7. Dolphy Dust
(7:17) 8. East Broadway Rundown

The second album from Christian McBride's outré quartet New Jawn, 2023's Prime is somehow even more expressive and harmonically adventurous than its predecessor. Unlike his other projects, including his trio and Grammy-winning big band, the bassist's New Jawn is a maverick ensemble whose frenetic sound shares little in common with the straight-ahead swing and modern jazz McBride is known for. This is exploratory, free-leaning post-bop and avant-garde jazz that's easily some of the most adventurous music of the bassist's career.

Once again joining him are trumpeter Josh Evans, saxophonist and bass clarinetist Marcus Strickland, and drummer Nasheet Waits. The album opens with a brassy yawp on McBride's "Head Bedlam," as Evans and Strickland scream at the sky while McBride and Waits pummel the ground below them. They build with a primal intensity until giving way to a slow, thumping funk groove over which they each solo with a menacing, snake-like attitude. Yet more-thrilling moments follow, as on "Obsequious" and "Dolphy Dust," propulsive free-bop workouts that evoke the dangerous alchemy of saxophonist Eric Dolphy's mid-'60s group with trumpeter Booker Little.

More atmospheric are tracks like "The Lurkers," with its bowed bass, and "Moonchild," with its airy, baroque trumpet and bass clarinet harmonies. Along with the originals, they dive into spry readings of Ornette Coleman's "The Good Life" and Sonny Rollins' "East Broadway Rundown." The Coleman and Rollins' covers work to underline the influences at play in New Jawn, showing just how adept McBride and his group are at pulling from jazz' avant-garde past while continuously pushing towards its expansive, improvisational future. By Matt Collar
https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/prime-mr0005872356

Personnel: Christian McBride: bass (all tracks);Josh Evans: trumpet (all tracks); Marcus Strickland: tenor sax (2, 4, 6-8); bass clarinet (1, 3, 5); Nasheet Waits: drums (all tracks)

Prime

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