Daryl Sherman, Johnny Mercer: A Centennial Tribute

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:57
Size: 146,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:42)  1. I'm Shadowing You
(5:21)  2. Little Ingenue
(5:11)  3. Midnight Sun
(3:20)  4. Jeepers Creepers
(4:38)  5. Come Rain Or Shine
(4:24)  6. The Bathtub Ran Over Again
(6:25)  7. Lazy Bones
(3:00)  8. Peter Piper
(5:38)  9. I Thought About You
(3:21) 10. At The Jazz Band Ball
(4:56) 11. Charade
(4:27) 12. Dream
(4:44) 13. Twilight World
(3:43) 14. Here Come The British

Choosing "I'm Shadowing You" as the opener on Daryl Sherman's fine Centennial Tribute to composer and lyricist Johnny Mercer inevitably recalls Blossom Dearie. Heretofore that tune has pretty much been the exclusive property of the late vocalist. There are also other, more than passing, resemblances between the two singers, both first-class self-accompanists on piano possessing underage sounding voices used effectively to slyly charming ends. With a legacy of 1,500 heartfelt and humorous songs, Mercer's is a rich one from which to choose. Sherman's selections are a welcome mix of classics such as "Come Rain or Come Shine" and "Midnight Sun" with more than a few choice rarities like "The Bathtub Ran Over Again." On the latter Wycliffe Gordon joins Sherman for a delightfully foxy vocal duet. His gravelly sound contrasts perfectly with Sherman's petite smoothness. "Little Ingenue" (co-written with Jimmy Rowles) is another gem. 

Here Sherman's silken glissando, backed by Jerry Dodgion's alto sax, is especially effective in capturing hope in the face of glamour that's a tad shopworn. On "Dream," one of the few songs for which Mercer wrote both music and lyrics, Gordon's trombone provides the most sensitive of accompaniment. As Sherman conjures "smoke rings rising in the air," he is playing heavenly notes behind her. It is a great, great song performed to perfection. The artistry and empathy between Sherman and her fellow musicians makes for a set that is a glowing tribute to one of the great masters of the jazz idiom and the American Songbook. ~ Andrew Velez  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/johnny-mercer-a-centennial-tribute-daryl-sherman-arbors-records-review-by-andrew-velez.php#.VFkx_8mHmtg

Personnel: Daryl Sherman: piano, vocals; Jerry Dodgion: alto sax; Wycliffe Gordon: Trombone, vocals; Howard Alden: guitar, banjo; Jay Leonhart: bass, vocals; Chuck Redd: drums, vibraphone; Marian McPartland: piano, Barbara Carroll: piano.

Daryl Sherman Johnny Mercer: A Centennial Tribute

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Jack McDuff - Hallelujah Time!

Styles: Soul Jazz
Year: 1967
Time: 30:24
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 61,4 MB
Art: Front

(5:44) 1. Almost Like Being In Love
(5:14) 2. East of the Sun
(3:18) 3. Au Privave
(8:03) 4. Undecided
(3:49) 5. Hallelujah Time
(4:14) 6. The Live People

A killer 60s album from Brother Jack McDuff cut at a time when he was one of the most hard-hitting players on the Hammond! The set has a great lineup Red Holloway plays tenor on all cuts, except for "The Live People", which features him and Harold Ousley playing back to back and Joe Dukes is on drums throughout, and the guitar parts are handled by Pat Martino and George Benson all players who really take off under the leadership of McDuff! Cuts include "Au Private", "East of the Sun", "The Live People", and "Hallelujah Time"
© 1996-2024, Dusty Groove, Inc.https://www.dustygroove.com/item/7978/Jack-McDuff:Hallelujah-Time

Personnel: Jack McDuff - organ; Red Holloway (tracks 1-5), Harold Ousley (track 6) - tenor saxophone; George Benson (tracks 2-5), Pat Martino (tracks 1 & 6) - guitar; Joe Dukes - drums

Hallelujah Time!

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Blossom Dearie - Blossom Time at Ronnie Scott's

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 1966
Time: 41:24
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 94,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:55) 1. On Broadway
(4:20) 2. When the World Was Young
(4:45) 3. When in Rome
(4:13) 4. The Shadow of Your Smile
(4:28) 5. Everything I've Got Belongs to You
(3:51) 6. Once Upon a Summertime
(2:48) 7. I'm Hip
(5:05) 8. Mad About the Boy
(2:42) 9. The Shape of Things
(5:13) 10. Satin Doll

Several years ago Blossom Dearie said that of all her recordings, this on-location session from 1966 was her personal favorite. Although artists are notoriously unreliable critics of their own work, it's hard to quarrel with the singer/pianist's preference given the evidence on this reissue. Anyone who has yet to discover the inimitable, Lolita-like voice of this worldly-wise, genuinely hip, surprisingly versatile performer can be assured of making her acquaintance under optimal musical circumstances.

Even devoted fans seem unaware of the girlish-sounding singer's past travels. After performing with Woody Herman as a member of a vocal group, the Blue Flames, she appeared on King Pleasure's quasi-classic recording of "Moody's Mood for Love," made an album limited to piano solos, went to Paris to form a new vocal group, the Blue Stars, and produced a hit recording (in French) of "Lullaby of Birdland." Next, Norman Granz contracted her for Verve records, and she married the highly-regarded Belgian tenor saxophonist/flutist Bobby Jaspar. But her run at Ronnie Scott's in London in 1966 was what cemented her place as a premier cabaret-supper club attraction.

The set gets underway with a rhythmically complex yet feathery-light, smooth-as-glass treatment of "On Broadway," where Dearie and bassist Jeff Clyne half-time the challenging vocal line before catching up with drummer Johnny Butts' crisp brush work on the instrumental chorus. An exquisite ballad, "When the World Was Young," follows immediately half elegiac recitative and half warm, nostalgic reverie with an interpretation by the vocalist that's a trifle sadder but no less wiser than Peggy Lee's memorable version on Black Coffee (Decca, 1953).

Listeners who think they know Cy Coleman's "When in Rome" because of the first Tony Bennett/Bill Evans meeting will discover there are many sides to the Eternal City which, as Dearie's reading of the song suggests, is equal parts humor, sadness and undeniable drama. The range of emotions in the pianist's understated singing stems from two primary sources: first, scaled-down textures that permit the tiniest sliver of light to illuminate an entire scene; and second, the ironies set in play by a guileless, innocent little voice that can afford to ignore adult inhibitions and conventions. There's rarely a hint of torchiness, sultriness or even seductiveness here: she's all candor and refreshing clarity, leaving it to the listener to supply any ironical subtexts.

The singer can take on "I'm Hip," a Frishberg/Dorough parody of countercultural self-congratulation, without regendering lines like "I even read Playboy magazine," "I even call my girlfriend 'Man'" and "I don't wear a beard." Whatever you choose to call it hipness, honesty, objectivity that's Blossom Dearie, too faithful to her material to be an "act, too detached from its emotions to be merely sincere, too unselfconscious, really, to be one of the cultural elite's pop "sophisticates.

Among musicians it's become debatable over the years whether Ellington/Strayhorn's "Satin Doll" is a song or a cliché. When Blossom Dearie closes the set with this tune, it's a composition reborn, but played and sung with such disarming innocence and unflinching directness that even the most jaded listener couldn't be blamed for pronouncing it the best new song of the present millennium.By Samuel Chell
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/blossom-time-at-ronnie-scotts-blossom-dearie-verve-music-group-review-by-samuel-chell

Blossom Time at Ronnie Scott's

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Joe La Barbera - World Travelers

Styles: Jazz, Bop
Year: 2024
Time: 74:20
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 170,8 MB
Art: Front

( 9:50) 1. Blue Notes
( 5:24) 2. Landmarks Along The Way
(10:09) 3. Lake Erie
( 7:24) 4. Barcelona
( 6:43) 5. You Know I Care
( 5:15) 6. It's a Big Wide Wonderful Word
(10:43) 7. Simone
( 9:12) 8. Soultrane
( 9:35) 9. Grand Central

Drummer Joe La Barbera has an extensive and impressive resume. At the age of 20, he played in the second drum chair for the Buddy Rich Big Band before driving the 1972 stellar lineup of Woody Herman's Thundering Herd. In 1978, he was offered the prestigious opportunity to be part of the acclaimed (and what turned out to be the final) line-up of the Bill Evans Trio, where he stayed until the pianist's tragic death in 1980. Later, gigs with Chuck Mangione, Tony Bennett, Art Pepper and Art Farmer, to name but a few, showcased La Barbera's versatility and ability to play in any style, and to steer and complement whatever the leader's vision called for.

Afterwards he settled in Los Angeles and became an in-demand freelancer. In the '90s he formed his own quintet with local friends, trumpeter Clay Jenkins, saxophonist Bob Sheppard and pianist Bill Cunliffe, all of whom have extensive and impressive resumes as well.. Each had stints in big band settings, offering a great understanding of the subtle importance of a song's arrangement. Bassist Jonathan Richards (who replaced founding member Tom Warrington), by far the youngster in the band, is a great find and fits perfectly. This tight-knit group has been (in between occasional side gigs) mainly active ever since. Their debut release was The Joe La Barbera Quintet Live (Jazz Compass, 1999). World Travelers is the group's fifth release.and their first since Silver Streams (Jazz Compass, 2012).

This live record is the perfect vehicle to showcase the band's abilities, strengths and empathy with each other. Four newer originals open the record. Cunliffe's "Blue Notes" sets the table with the bass and drums setting a groove one can drive a truck (and sometimes a high performance sports car) through. It is a sultry bop piece which has twists and turns leading to some captivating duo leads and solos by the horns. The Joe Lovano-penned barn-burner "Landmarks Along the Way" also has an unconventional form, hinting at John Coltrane's "Giant Steps." The crowd's response at the song's end says it all.

La Barbera's original "Lake Erie" begins appropriately with a drum solo. Here, he shows in less than two minutes his prodigious ability and impeccable taste. The song then segues into an old-school Blue Note, Art Blakey-type performance. Pianist Alan Pasqua's composition "Barcelona" is a lovely bossa nova. The interplay and harmonies between Sheppard and Jenkins are simpatico. Sheppard shines on a lilting soprano saxophone (he plays tenor saxophone on all other tracks), while Jenkins' solo is beautifully thought out. It is simple, eloquent and lyrical. Richards shows he belongs with these masters during his break. Here and throughout the record, Cunliffe is the glue that holds everything together, while also showing off his impressive soloing skills.

The remaining cuts are five carefully selected songs which are familiar, but not quite standards. Pianist Duke Pearson's lovely ballad, "You Know I Care" features a sensitive Sheppard, while the other ballad, Tadd Dameron's "Soultrane," showcases Jenkins' expressive vocabulary. "Simone" by Frank Foster is perhaps the album's best-known piece. It is a minor-key blues waltz which includes a lovely bowed bass solo by Richards and a wonderful solo by Cunliffe reminiscent of McCoy Tyner.

The remaining two tracks are up-tempo jam fests. "It's a Big, Wide, Wonderful World" was written for a 1940 Broadway musical, while the classic John Coltrane tune, "Grand Central" is the set's closer. The former has a Latin-tinged intro before the familiar melody appears, while the latter stays true to the original. Both tracks allow all the players a chance to blow. Once again, the groove created by La Barbera and Richards is deep and foundational, allowing plenty of room for everyone to explore the compositions, utilizing their unique sensibilities.

The album was recorded live at the Los Angeles club, Sam First. Recently, the owners decided to start their own label and release albums recorded at their venue. Initially, all releases are digital only, followed later by a very Limited Edition (only 200) vinyl option. For example, the digital files for this album were released in February 2023, but the vinyl LP was released in August.

The Joe La Barbera Quintet comprises extraordinary players, but more than that, they are an experienced, well-oiled group where the whole is even greater than the sum of its talented parts. Put them in a live, intimate setting, with a wonderful mix of great originals and covers and the result is the front-runner for live jazz album of the year.By Dave Linn https://www.allaboutjazz.com/world-travelers-joe-la-barbera-sam-first-records

Line-up/Musicians: Joe La Barbera: drums; Bob Sheppard: saxophone, tenor; Clay Jenkins: trumpet; Bill Cunliffe: piano; Jonathan Richards: bass

World Travelers

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