Saturday, April 15, 2023

Sue Matthews - Love Dances

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1991
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:51
Size: 131,0 MB
Art: Front

(5:58) 1. Love Dance
(5:48) 2. Detour Ahead
(6:41) 3. I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues
(3:17) 4. Easy To Love
(2:53) 5. The Can´t Take That Away From Me
(6:22) 6. How Long Has This Been Going On?
(3:46) 7. Make Me Rainbows
(3:45) 8. With Every Breath I Take
(3:36) 9. I Thought About You
(3:19) 10. Where Or When
(1:47) 11. There Ought To Be A Moonlight Saving Time
(4:28) 12. My Funny Valentine
(5:05) 13. Our Love Is Here To Say

Product Description:
Love Dances is a baker's dozen of some of the most seductive and stylish love songs you'll ever hear. From Lins, Porter, Gershwin, Van Heusen and the team of Rogers and Hart come many of the best jazz standards ever penned. Matthew's intimate delivery of these favorites is backed by a superb rhythm section headed by pianist Stefan Scaggiari (Corcord Jazz) whose arrangements are wisely sparse allowing Sue to showcase her extraordinary style. Scaggiari's sensitivity follows and anticipates Sue's every interpretive nuance. String bassist, Keter Betts (Ella Fitzgerald) sets the mood, enhancing Matthews' subtlety throughout the album. Guitarist, Steve Abshire and drummer Mike Smith round out this first rate quartet, creating the gentle acoustic sound that characterizes LOVE DANCES.

Review:
Matthews'version of "Love Dance"is the sensual invitation to romance Lins intended. Sue Matthews is definitely a jazz singer. She has a soft, intimate voice and definitely sounds involved in everything she sings. She brings a torchy aspect to world-weary pieces like "Detour Ahead" and sings more innocent songs like "How Long Has This Been Going On?" with a wide-eved sense of wonder. She has an excellent sense of dynamics knowing just when to come down hard on the climax of a song as on "Where Or When" and a stomping "I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues". Her backing musicians are on the money as well. Stefan Scaggiari and Steve Abshire back her moods with great sensitivity. Scaggiari tossing out sly blues comments here and there and Abshire kicking out like Les Paul on "Moonlight Savings Time". Keter Betts, who has stints with Dinah Washington and Ella Fitzgerald behind him, also shows he still knows how to back good singers and gets his moment on a hushed vocal-bass duet! By Jerome Wison, Cadence Magazine

About the Artist:
With a voice described as "silky smooth, honey-toned", "expressive" and "smoky", Sue Matthews caresses the jazz standard. Becoming a favorite among jazz lovers, her debut album, Love Dances, and her second release, When You're Around, have brought this talented performer worldwide recognition and critical acclaim. Both albums have received national and international radio play, achieving the "Top 20" berth on the Gavin and R&R Jazz Charts. Her repertiore of jazz standards, contemporary "pop jazz", sultry blues and the classic"torch" are delivered with ease, humor and intectious vitality.
Band Members: Sue Matthews, vocals; Stefan Scaggiari, piano; Keter Betts, bass; Steve Abshire, guitar; Mike Smith, drums.
https://www.amazon.com/Love-Dances-Sue-Matthews/dp/B000000JZ0

Love Dances

Count Basie and His Orchestra - April in Paris

Styles: Piano Jazz, Big Band
Year: 1955
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:02
Size: 159,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:51) 1. April in Paris
(5:18) 2. Corner Pocket
(4:46) 3. Didn't You?
(4:01) 4. Sweetie Cakes
(3:09) 5. Magic
(5:17) 6. Shiny Stockings
(3:24) 7. What Am I Here For?
(3:16) 8. Midgets
(3:26) 9. Mambo Inn
(3:17) 10. Dinner with Friends
(3:55) 11. April In Paris (Alternate Take)
(5:07) 12. Corner Pocket (Alternate Take)
(4:58) 13. Didn't You? (Alternate Take)
(3:50) 14. Magic (Alternate Take 1)
(3:55) 15. Magic (Alternate Take 2)
(4:12) 16. What Am I Here For? (Alternate Take)
(3:11) 17. Midgets (Alternate Take)

One of the staples in the Count Basie discography, April in Paris is one of those rare albums that makes its mark as an almost instant classic in the jazz pantheon. April in Paris represents the reassembly of the original Count Basie orchestra that define swing in the 1930s and 1940s. The title track has come to define elegance in orchestral jazz.

Though only ten tracks in its original release, seven alternate takes have now been incorporated into Verve's re-release of the original session tapes. Other key tracks include "Corner Pocket" and "Magic," both of which are also featured in the alternate takes. Recorded in 1955 and 1956, April in Paris proved Count Basie's ability to grow through modern jazz changes while keeping the traditional jazz orchestra vital and alive. By Christopher Fielder https://www.allmusic.com/album/april-in-paris-mw0000191459

Personnel: Count Basie - piano; Wendell Culley (tracks 1-7 & 9–16), Reunald Jones (tracks 1-7 & 9–16), Thad Jones (tracks 1-7 & 9–16), Joe Newman - trumpet; Henry Coker, Bill Hughes, Benny Powell - trombone (tracks 1-7 & 9–16); Marshall Royal - alto saxophone, clarinet (tracks 1-7 & 9–16); Bill Graham - alto saxophone (tracks 1-7 & 9–16); Frank Wess - alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, flute, clarinet; Frank Foster - tenor saxophone, clarinet (tracks 1-7 & 9–16); Charlie Fowlkes - baritone saxophone, bass clarinet (tracks 1-7 & 9–16); Freddie Green - guitar; Eddie Jones - bass; Sonny Payne - drums; José Mangual, Sr., Ubaldo Nieto - percussion (track 9); William "Wild Bill" Davis (tracks 1 & 11), Neal Hefti (track 10), Frank Foster (tracks 3, 6, 7, 9, 13 & 16), Joe Newman (tracks 8 & 17), Ernie Wilkins (track 2, 4, 12) - arranger

April in Paris

Wayne Escoffery - Like Minds

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:33
Size: 134,2 MB
Art: Front

(6:02) 1. Like Minds
(7:48) 2. Nostalgia in Times Square
(7:26) 3. Sincerely Yours
(7:55) 4. My Truth
(6:38) 5. Rivers of Babylon
(4:57) 6. Song of Serenity
(4:07) 7. Treasure Lane
(6:29) 8. Idle Moments
(6:08) 9. Shuffle

Like Minds, the latest album from saxophonist Wayne Escoffery, focuses on chemistry particularly the chemistry between old friends and bandmates who’ve played together so often their interplay is beyond telepathic. To that end, Escoffery uses his regular bandmates keyboardist David Kikoski, bassist Ugonna Okegwo, and drummer Mark Whitfield, Jr., replacing his late teacher Ralph Peterson, Jr. as the backbone. While this configuration has been a band for only about seven years or so, Escoffery has played with them in so many other contexts they sound like longtime soulmates. The quartet is joined by other Escoffery compadres from across his career, including trumpeter Tom Harrell, guitarist Mike Moreno, and singer Gregory Porter, all of whom grok Escoffery’s vibe well.

None of this is surprising, mind you even if you’re not familiar with the saxist himself, Escoffery’s position as co-director of the Mingus Big Band proves he knows how to lead the troops. In that respect, he takes them to fields of smooth hard bop (“Sincerely Yours”), mystical spirit jazz (Peterson’s “Song of Serenity”), soulful social commentary (“My Truth,” co-starring Porter and Harrell), smoky balladry (Duke Pearson’s “Idle Moments,” made famous by guitarist Grant Green), and funky bop fusion (Charles Mingus’s “Nostalgia in Times Square”). If that sounds too disparate, it ain’t – the tight arrangements, easy chemistry, and Escoffery’s warm tone make every song sound of a piece with the rest. Always smooth but rarely slick, Like Minds goes down like a great big bowl of spicy pho. By Michael Toland
https://bigtakeover.com/recordings/wayne-escoffery-like-minds-sm

Personnel: Wayne Escoffery - saxophone, tenor; David Kikoski - piano; Ugonna Okegwo - bass; Mark Whitfield Jr - drums; Gregory Porter - voice / vocals; Tom Harrell - trumpet; Mike Moreno - guitar

Like Minds