Alan Barnes - Cannonball (20th Anniversary Edition) [Live at Wakefield Jazz Club]

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:52
Size: 165,2 MB
Art: Front

( 8:43)  1. Worksong
( 8:48)  2. Jubilation
(10:00)  3. Clouds
(10:16)  4. Dis Here
( 6:23)  5. Azule Serape
( 7:23)  6. Blue Daniel
(10:31)  7. Dat Dere
( 9:45)  8. Jive Samba

Alan Barnes was born in Cheshire in 1959. He studied at Leeds College of Music and became proficient on alto and baritone saxophones and clarinet. Following graduation in 1980, Barnes led several groups, including Pizza Express Modern Jazz Sextet, and recorded with Dave Newton, Tony Coe, Ken Peplowski, and Warren Vache. He dominated the saxophone and clairnet section of the British jazz awards throughout the '90s and performs at major international jazz festivals. Barnes has also spent time teaching.By Al Campbell https://www.allmusic.com/artist/alan-barnes-mn0000936422

Cannonball (20th Anniversary Edition)

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Patrick Yandall - Dance in the Rain

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:02
Size: 143,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:21) 1. City Boy
(4:25) 2. Find Your Purpose
(4:17) 3. Dance In The Rain
(4:21) 4. House Party
(4:20) 5. Poly Funk
(4:28) 6. Seascape
(4:37) 7. Cool That
(4:08) 8. East Of Nathans
(4:07) 9. Just Dance
(4:42) 10. Backstage
(5:06) 11. Sabishi
(4:11) 12. Sol Food
(4:21) 13. The Joy In You
(4:33) 14. Summer Sky

I used to review a lot of albums by the American guitarist Patrick Yandall. However, this is only the first time that he is discussed on my site.

Patrick grew up in a military family, but was already playing trumpet in fourth grade. In this way he wanted to escape the nomadic life. After a sports accident in Bay City, Michigan, which resulted in a broken hip, Patrick shifted his focus to the guitar.

His father's fondness for jazz led him to a lifelong fascination. When the family settled there, Patrick developed a preference for the progressive styles of Jimi Hendrix, Yes, Steely Dan and George Benson. But he was also influenced by R&B and soul artists such as Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder and Rufus.

A revelation was a concert by Jeff Lorber with a young Kenny G on sax and Roy Ayers. Patrick started playing nightclubs when he was thirteen and learned to mix jazz with rock and R&B. In the early eighties he moved to San Diego and played in cover bands. That led to studio work in LA for Kevin Flournoy, Gene-O Cole, Under The Lake, Will Donato, Rocco Ventrella, Nathan Brown, Rod Best, The Ghost Trio, etc. He also performed with J. Michael Verta, Michael Paulo, among others , Scott Wilkie, Carl Evans, Jr. (Fattburger), Hollies Gentry III, Greg Vail (Kilauea), Tommy Emmanuel, Tom Braxton.

Now he has released a new album, containing smooth jazz, R&B and contemporary jazz. 'City Boy' opens with a nice, cheerful guitar playing, after which 'Find Your Purpose' continues in the same atmosphere. Vocalist Gene-O Cole is a guest on the title track. The party atmosphere is clearly there on 'House Party', followed by the very funky sounding 'Poly Funk'.

After that you can experience the tranquility of 'Seascape', which continues in the mid-tempo of 'Cool That'. 'East of Nathans' maintains that relaxed vibe, while 'Just Dance' encourages you to sway along. Then we pop into 'Backstage'to get acquainted. The Japanese inspired 'Sabishi' sounds a bit melancholic, followed by 'Sol Food'. Joy and cheerfulness are the themes of 'The Joy in You', after which 'Summer Sky' closes with a summer feeling.

Again a nice album interspersed with Patrick's guitar skills. It's up to you to discover this!
http://www.smooth-jazz.de/Patrick/Yandall/DanceInTheRain.htm

Dance in the Rain

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Brother Jack McDuff - Tobacco Road

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 33:44
Size: 77.2 MB
Styles: Soul-Jazz
Year: 1967/2005
Art: Front

[1:59] 1. Teardrops From My Eyes
[2:55] 2. Tobacco Road
[3:49] 3. The Shadow Of Your Smile
[5:08] 4. Can't Get Satisfied
[2:37] 5. Blowin' In The Wind
[4:10] 6. And The Angels Sing
[2:35] 7. This Bitter Earth
[5:54] 8. Alexander's Ragtime Band
[4:33] 9. Wade In The Water

Brother Jack McDuff recorded an enormous number of albums during the '60s, so it can be difficult to figure out where to start digging a little deeper into his output (which Hammond B-3 fans will definitely want to do). 1967's Tobacco Road stands out from the pack for a couple of reasons. First, unlike many of his groove-centric albums, it's heavy on standards and pop/rock tunes (seven of nine cuts), which make for excellent matches with McDuff's highly melodic, piano-influenced style. What's more, about half of the album finds McDuff leading a large ten-piece ensemble arranged and conducted by J.J. Jackson, including a soulful horn section that sounds straight out of Memphis or Muscle Shoals (though this was recorded at Chess studios in Chicago). McDuff himself handles the arrangements on the rest of the material, which is done in a guitar/sax/drums quartet. The LP's style is fairly unified, though -- no matter what format, the tunes are given fantastically funked-up treatments that sound surprisingly natural. And these aren't grooves where everyone just settles back and stays in the pocket; McDuff attacks the arrangements with wildly funky rhythms and solos, and there's a polyrhythmic sense of interplay that recalls the best Southern soul. Arguably the most distinctive track is a cool, grooving quartet version of "The Shadow of Your Smile," complete with snaky bassline and airy flute solos from Danny Turner. Unfortunately, none of the tracks are all that long, in keeping with the jukebox/radio orientation of McDuff's Atlantic period, but that won't prevent soul-jazz fans from thoroughly enjoying Tobacco Road.

Tobacco Road

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Betty Bryant - Lotta Livin'

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2024
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:52
Size: 103,5 MB
Art: Front

(5:27) 1. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
(4:18) 2. Put a Lid on It
(5:04) 3. Baby Baby All the Time
(5:40) 4. Blues to Get Started
(3:21) 5. Chicken Wings
(7:48) 6. Stormy Monday
(4:14) 7. Katydid
(4:46) 8. The Very Thought of You
(4:10) 9. A Lot of Livin’ to Do

First, double-check to make sure there aren't any misprints. No, it's an honest-to-goodness fact that Betty Bryant who sings, plays piano, wrote four of the nine numbers and arranged half a dozen on her fourteenth album really was almost ninety-four years old when Lotta Livin' was recorded in 2023.

Bryant's rough and edgy voice is remarkably strong and steady, while her piano playing simply defies any generational labels. As a vocalist, no note seems out of her reach, and she knows how to swing in any setting. Bryant is a true-blue jazz singer whose years of experience underline her every note and phrase. Besides which, she's a sharp and clever writer, as her quartet of likeable compositions proves.

Bryant's groovy "Katydid" is a linguistic delight, as are "Chicken Wings" and "Put a Lid on It." On her other theme, the breezy "Blues to Get Started," Bryant plays piano all the way and shows she's no greenhorn at the keyboard either. Tenor saxophonist Robert Kyle solos neatly there, as he does on several numbers, and moves to harmonica on "Chicken Wings." Other soloists are trumpeter Tony Guerrero, bassist Richard Simon, guitarist Kleber Jorge and drummer Kenny Elliott. Of course, Bryant has to ring down the curtain with Lee Adams and Charles Strouse's "A Lot of Livin' to Do" from the Broadway smash Bye Bye Birdie, taken at a slower and more amorous pace than usual.

Bryant opens with the standard "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" and appraises Bobby Troup's "Baby Baby All the Time," Ray Noble's "The Very Thought of You" and T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday," all with a style and panache that are clearly her own. She closes "A Lot of Livin' to Do" with a brief look at her bucket list and the affirmation, "ain't life grand" which, in her case, is unarguably true. While others may deem getting out of bed in the morning a triumph at her age, Bryant remains focused, feisty and ready to take on the world. Bravo! Score one for the power of savoir-faire and positive thinking.By Jack Bowers
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/lotta-livin-betty-bryant-self-produced

Lotta Livin'

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