Monday, May 29, 2023

New York Jazz Lounge - Trio Masterpieces, Vol. 4

Styles: Jazz, Swing
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 78:21
Size: 180,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:57) 1. Round Midnight
(5:12) 2. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
(5:00) 3. Perdido
(7:44) 4. Star Dust
(4:34) 5. Corcovado
(4:02) 6. I Can't Get Started
(4:19) 7. Tea for Two
(5:23) 8. Just the Way You Are
(4:06) 9. One Note Samba
(4:00) 10. Cantaloupe Island
(5:10) 11. The Days of Wine and Roses
(4:27) 12. Michelle
(4:40) 13. The More I See You
(5:28) 14. All Blues
(4:16) 15. Maiden Voyage
(4:55) 16. Mercy, Mercy

Where would jazz be without New York’s “joints’ of the 1920’s – 1950’s? If Ellington hadn’t been hired to play the Cotton Club, what direction would his orchestra have taken? Without the Royal Roost, would Parker play with Miles and Max Roach, and would Miles have had a venue to perform “Birth of the Cool” in? And, where would Monk and Coltrane have played if not at the Five Spot?

I came upon this terrific history today, “Jazz Joints Through the Ages.” Written by noted jazz historian Ashley Kahn and originally published in Jazz Times in 2006, the feature provides short biographies of many of the most important clubs in jazz music’s past. It is an incredibly entertaining read…

Jazz joints come and jazz joints go especially in New York City. From tightly packed bars downtown to spacious dinner clubs uptown, it’s a historic lineage. Much has changed over the years (Birdland’s smoky elegance in the ’50s would be impossible with Mayor Bloomberg’s ban on indoor smoking) and much has not, like set lengths, drink minimums and the apparent majority view that jazz sounds best in New York City one floor below street level (Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola notwithstanding).

One jazz rule seems immutable: Before musicians can reach those grand uptown theaters or the big festival stages, they must first make it in the clubs of New York City. They are still the proving ground. It’s been that way since the ’20s. The nightclubs that follow are celebrated less for being the most popular in their day many were not and more for accurately representing the music and spirit of the time. Often they predicted sounds and societal shifts just around the corner.

It was a challenging process selecting one from each decade. Some eras, like the ’40s when 52nd Street was in full swing, offered far too many choices: Every club on “The Street” (Three Deuces, Onyx Club) and, of course, Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem held the seeds of modern jazz. Also, to which decade does the Village Vanguard belong? It has consistently presented visionary music during its 71-year history. And what about all those great neighborhood bars in Brooklyn? The list was limited to venues with a Manhattan address. Save for one, none remain standing in their original form.
https://jerryjazzmusician.com/short-history-new-yorks-iconic-jazz-clubs/

Trio Masterpieces, Vol. 4

Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass - Greatest Hits

Styles: Trumpet Jazz, Easy Listening
Year: 1970
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 32:01
Size: 76,6 MB
Art: Front

(2:20) 1. Lonely Bull
(2:11) 2. Spanish Flea
(2:15) 3. Getting Sentimental Over You
(3:05) 4. Love Potion #9
(2:45) 5. Never On Sunday
(2:15) 6. Mexican Shuffle
(2:48) 7. Taste Of Honey
(2:10) 8. Tijuana Taxi
(2:13) 9. South Of The Border
(2:52) 10. America
(2:39) 11. Whipped Cream
(4:24) 12. Zorba The Greek

Released in 1970, a bit too late to capitalize on the Tijuana Brass at the peak of their appeal, this early hits collection compounded the error of its tardy timing by only including selections from the TJB's first five albums.

Still, since the CDs of three of the five albums are currently out of print, this can serve as a decent, if brief, overview of the development of Herb Alpert's vehicle from its clever ethnic novelty beginnings into a cosmopolitan septet that could actually bridge the yawning generation gap of the 1960s. But for a more sweeping look at the TJB, there are better, more economical packages around. By Richard S. Ginell
https://www.allmusic.com/album/greatest-hits-mw0000194109

Greatest Hits

Radka Toneff - Butterfly

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:42
Size: 118,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:12) 1. It's Been a Long Long Day
(3:58) 2. Pre-Dawn Imagination
(4:16) 3. Antonio's Song
(3:47) 4. Nature Boy
(5:43) 5. Sometime Ago
(4:37) 6. Like That
(2:11) 7. The Butterfly
(2:53) 8. Before Love Went Out of Style
(4:31) 9. Black Coffee
(5:37) 10. My One and Only Love
(6:18) 11. He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother
(3:33) 12. Don't Weep for the Indy

Born Ellen Radka Toneff on 25.06.1952, died on 21.10.1982.

Radka was a Norwegian/Bulgarian jazz composer and singer. She was born in Oslo, and was the daughter of the Bulgarian folk singer, Toni Toneff.

From 1975 unto 1980 she played in the group "Radka Toneff Quintet" with, among others, Arild Andersen and Jon Eberson.

Radka leaves us the legacy of three albums; "Winter Poem", "It don't come easy", and "Fairytales" (the last one actually released after her death).

Posthumously: "Live in Hamburg" and "Her finest moments", has been released
.
Her album "Fairytales" was the first Norwegian album to be digitally recorded, it also reached nr 12 in the contest "Best Norwegian album ever made".
https://www.last.fm/music/Radka+Toneff/+wiki

Personnel: Radka Toneff -vocals; Jon Balke / Steve Dobrogosz-Piano; Jon Eberson - Guitar; Arild Andersen - Doublebass; Jon Christensen / Alex Riel - drums

Butterfly

Pardon Me Boys - Pardon Me Boys

Styles: Swing
Year: 1987
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 31:46
Size: 73,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:08) 1. Beat Me Daddy
(3:08) 2. Shoo Shoo Baby
(2:12) 3. I-Yi, Yi, Yi, Yi
(5:08) 4. Hot Voodoo & Monkey Doodle Doo
(2:41) 5. Embraceable You
(3:58) 6. Lounging At The Waldorf
(2:31) 7. Rhythm Is Our Business
(2:30) 8. Double Trouble
(3:40) 9. Perfidia
(2:46) 10. Choo Choo Ch-Boogie

Pardon Me Boys were a short lived Australian swing jazz-cabaret band. The group released one studio album which peaked at number 63 on the Australian charts in 1988.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pardon_Me_Boys

Members: Monica Trápaga; Ignatius Jones; William O'Riordan; Backing Vocals – Rocio Trápaga; Saxophone – Jason Breuer, Julian Gough;Trombone – James Greening; Trumpet – Michael Bukowski

Pardon Me Boys