Sunday, August 20, 2023

Dutch Swing College Band - Digital Dixie

Styles: Swing
Year: 1981
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:46
Size: 119,8 MB
Art: Front

(1:39) 1. Way Down Yonder in New Orleans
(4:48) 2. Knee Drops
(4:20) 3. West End Blues
(4:42) 4. At A Georgia Camp Meeting
(5:25) 5. I Want a Little Girl
(4:04) 6. China Boy
(4:48) 7. Creole Belles
(3:28) 8. Sugar
(5:57) 9. The Kazoos
(3:29) 10. Down Home Rag
(5:11) 11. On Green Dolphin Street
(3:49) 12. Everybody Loves My Baby

The Dutch Swing College Band "DSCB" is a traditional dixieland band founded on 5 May 1945 by bandleader and clarinettist/saxophonist Peter Schilperoort.

Highly successful in their native home of The Netherlands, the band quickly found an international following. It has featured such musicians as Huub Janssen (drums), Henk Bosch van Drakestein (double bass), Kees van Dorser (trumpet), Dim Kesber (saxes), Jan Morks (clarinet), Wout Steenhuis (guitar), Arie Ligthart (banjo/guitar), Jaap van Kempen (banjo/guitar), Oscar Klein (trumpet), Dick Kaart (trombone), Ray Kaart (trumpet), Bert de Kort (cornet), Bert Boeren (trombone), Rod Mason, Rob Agerbeek (piano) among many others.

The band provided the interval act for the Eurovision Song Contest 1976 presented live from Den Haag.

The band continues to tour extensively, mainly in Europe and Scandinavia, and record directed by Bob Kaper, himself a member since 1967, following the former leader, Peter Schilperoort's death on 17 November 1990. Schilperoort had led the band for more than 45 years, albeit with a five-year sabbatical from 13 September 1955, when he left to pursue an engineering career before returning to lead the band again officially on 1 January 1960.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Swing_College_Band

Digital Dixie

Chris Connor - Chris Connor (Hd Remastered)

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1956/2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:46
Size: 94,9 MB
Art: Front

(1:54)  1. I Get a Kick out of You
(3:17)  2. Something to Live For
(3:11)  3. Get out of Town
(3:51)  4. Where Are You?
(2:18)  5. Anything Goes
(3:28)  6. When the Wind Was Green
(3:47)  7. He Was Too Good to Me
(2:51)  8. You Make Me Feel so Young
(3:50)  9. Everytime
(2:32) 10. Way out There
(2:47) 11. My April Heart
(2:14) 12. Almost Like Being in Love
(2:04) 13. Circus (Bonus Track)
(2:35) 14. Flying Home (Bonus Track)

Stunningly repackaged, remastered, and featuring new liner notes by leading jazz writers, the Warner Jazz Masters Series includes best sellers as well as rare, sought-after gems. The first jazz vocal LP ever released on Atlantic Records, Chris Connor's self-titled album is one of her best (among considerable competition). Connor's coarse, throaty tone, sweet phrasing, and unerring rhythm were peaking during the late '50s, and the results are delightful tweaks of the standards "Anything Goes" and "Almost Like Being in Love." With similarly excellent results, Connor also transforms a couple of Sinatra's evergreens: "I Get a Kick Out of You," taken at breakneck pace with a small group including pianist John Lewis, bassist Oscar Pettiford, and drummer Connie Kay; "Where Are You"; and "You Make Me Feel So Young," with a ten-piece featuring tenor Zoot Sims and bassist Milt Hinton.
By Editorial Reviews https://www.amazon.com/Connor-Chris/dp/B0009QQ6I0

Chris Connor (Hd Remastered)

Karen Oberlin - Live at the Algonquin: The Songs of Frank Loesser

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:31
Size: 109,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:08)  1. If I Were a Bell
(2:40)  2. Lovelier Than Ever
(3:12)  3. Why Fight the Feeling?
(2:31)  4. My Time of Day
(3:18)  5. Love Isn't Born (It's Made)
(5:20)  6. Heart and Soul / I Wish I Didn't Love You So
(5:19)  7. Traveling Light / Wanting to Be Wanted
(3:09)  8. Hamlet
(2:57)  9. What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?
(0:17) 10. Spoken Intro: Animals
(5:42) 11. The Inch Worm / Snug As a Bug in a Rug
(2:40) 12. Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year
(0:29) 13. Spoken Intro: I Believe in You
(3:34) 14. I Believe in You
(3:08) 15. More I Cannot Wish You

Multi award-winning Oberlin received these raves, among others, for her three-week engagement at the legendary Oak Room at the Algonquin, when this CD was recorded: “Karen Oberlin is a demure pop-jazz singer who radiates a subdued glamour… Beyond having a pretty voice, poise and interpretive insight, Ms. Oberlin is a thorough researcher who placed many of the songs in a historical or personal context… A smart, polished show.”~Stephen Holden, The New York Times “A Christmas tree angel named Karen Oberlin is lighting up the Algonquin’s Oak Room with a show that sends you out humming. I loved the bebop jawbreakers, and she excels on the love songs. Subtle, elegant and musically spot on, the lovely Ms. Oberlin is such a welcome addition to the often noisy and pointless cabaret scene that one can even imagine her accompanied by a celesta without causing the slightest hint of boredom. She’s a keeper.”~Rex Reed, New York Observer

“How would you like your own private one-to-one performance by a sophisticated singer? All right, so there are other people with you in the Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel. But everyone seems to fade away as Karen Oberlin has a love affair with the music and lyrics she has chosen and sings so intimately that it’s as if her songs are meant only for you. She sets the bar for her purity of tone and interpretation at the outset with “If I Were a Bell” from “Guys and Dolls,” sung with utmost clarity and attention to detail. She liltingly sings such ballads as “I Don’t Want to Walk Without You” (music in this case by Jule Styne), “I’ve Never Been in Love Before” from “Guys and Dolls,” and “I Wish I Didn’t Love You So” from the 1947 film “Perils of Pauline.” Honoring the prolific composer and lyricist could not be in better hands.”~William Wolf, William Wolf’s Entertainment Guide

"Her voice warms like melting butter to infuse her love songs with emotion and passion. With shades of the whispery Doris Day intimacy, she luxuriates over the long lines and romantic intent of "Wanting to Be Wanted", an intense song cut from Most Happy Fella just before its New York opening... With her warmth and introspection, Frank Loesser's songs come to us as fresh and contemporary as the annual question, "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?". Karen Oberlin has followed a straight upward path since she began her career. In a three-week engagement in the Oak Room, she proves her audiences were right and her critical acclaim is well-deserved."~Elizabeth Ahlfors, Curtainup.com

“Like a breath of spring, Karen Oberlin’s lush vocal renditions of the songs of one of America’s foremost writers of the American theater filled the air of the historic Oak Room. Oberlin, always in control, cleverly weaves lyrical wonders whether it’s a sensitive and plaintive “I Don’t Want to Walk Without You” (music by Jule Styne) or a meticulously sung novelty, “Hamlet” (1949 film: Red, Hot and Blue). Musical Director Jon Weber, skillful in his accompaniment and arranging, added vocal counterpoint to a sultry “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” From Pulitzer Prize winner How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (slated for a Broadway revival in 2011), Oberlin showed off flawless styling on “I Believe in You.” A mix of pop and jazz with an easy delivery, it feels as if she hugs each lyric, Oberlin is joyous to behold.”~Sandi Durell, Cabaret Scenes Magazine http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/karenoberlin

Live at the Algonquin: The Songs of Frank Loesser

Roni Ben-Hur - Signature

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:07
Size: 142.2 MB
Styles: Bop, Guitar jazz
Year: 2005
Art: Front

[4:17] 1. Mama Bee
[9:28] 2. Bacchianas Brasileiras, No. 2 Aria
[8:22] 3. Blues In The Night
[8:01] 4. Eretz
[6:32] 5. Slowly But Surely
[6:33] 6. Choro, No. 1
[5:54] 7. Time On My Hands
[6:19] 8. Luiza
[6:35] 9. So In Love

Bass – Rufus Reid; Drums – Leroy Williams; Guitar – Roni Ben-Hur; Percussion – Steve Kroon (tracks: 2, 6, 8, 9); Piano – John Hicks. Recorded September 12, 2004 at Avatar Studios, NYC.

The person and musician who is Roni Ben-Hur comes shining through on Signature. The record so full of joy that it is easy to just sit back, relax and enjoy a hour's worth of fine music—and it's much more than just good playing. The late pianist John Hicks, a pro's pro if there ever was one, is in sync with Ben-Hur every step of the way through the varying emotions and styles of these tunes.

Ben-Hur is clearly out of the Wes Montgomery mold (at least) and is extremely secure in his technique—so much so, in fact, that it fades into the background, allowing his musical ideas to come to the fore. He uses a clear tone and his playing is very clean and precise. Indeed, partly what makes the album so enjoyable is that Ben-Hur is never predictable. He manages to surprise time after time in an extremely satisfying way. The material comprises an interesting mix of immediately recognizable standards ("Blues In The Night," "Time On My Hands" and "So In Love") and originals ("Mama Bee" and "Eretz" by Ben-Hur, "Slowly But Surely" by Hicks), plus three unusual choices: "Bachiana Brasileiras No. 2, Aria" and "Choro No. 1" by Heitor Villa-Lobos and the relatively lesser-known "Luiza" by Antonio Carlos Jobim.

My interest in Signature was piqued by the South American tunes and Ben-Hur's "Eretz." Villa-Lobos, whose compositions form part of the core repertoire of classic guitar players, is a master of understatement, producing beautiful melodies and harmonies from seeming simplicity. His music is very direct, straightforward and highly emotional. The Aria played here was originally composed for eight cellos and soprano voice, so the first task was to arrange it for the band, allowing some room for soloing in a composition that changes meters often. Ben-Hur makes the second task seem natural: he fills every note with the passion and emotion that the composer put into the piece. The Choro will be familiar to any classic guitarist, and this arrangement is very true to the spirit of the original. Jobim's "Luiza" might not be recognized by most people who know his other, more popular tunes. Nevertheless, it is far from a lesser work, and Ben-Hur sings it through his guitar in a simple arrangement that lets the music speak for itself. Finally, Ben-Hur's own "Eretz" speaks directly from the heart of someone with a love of his homeland, in this case Israel. The tune's emotions, as complex as Israel's history, deliver "... a prayer, my prayer for peace." ~Budd Kopman

Signature