Steve Grossman - In New York

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1991
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:56
Size: 167,2 MB
Art: Front

(13:15)  1. Speak Low
( 9:46)  2. My Ship
(12:09)  3. Softly as in a Morning Sunrise
(10:15)  4. Impressions
( 9:30)  5. Over the Rainbow
( 8:56)  6. Love for Sale
( 9:02)  7. Good Bait

For his second Dreyfus Jazz album, Grossman ventures into New York's Sweet Basil club, with a stellar piano trio (McCoy Tyner, Avery Sharp, Art Taylor) in tow. With this kind of firepower, the listener is usually guaranteed a satisfying level of cooking jazz, and that's certainly what we get here, though it seldom rises above that into a higher region. Grossman's tune choices are mostly predictable standards, the one exception being his own cheeky title "Love for Sal," a bop-style number where the bass and then the piano double the tune's lead sax statement. Throughout, Grossman likes to fire away the eighth notes in that pungent, Sonny Rollins-influenced tenor tone, with Tyner often temporarily (and generously) dropping out so that the saxophonist can develop freer melodic patterns over the bass and drums. "Impressions" taken virtually at Tyner's late employer John Coltrane's tempo does achieve a special ignition, driven hard by Taylor, with some exploration of multiphonics by an inspired Grossman. Otherwise, a mostly solid live session of post-bop.By Richard S.Ginell http://www.allmusic.com/album/in-new-york-mw0000627313

Personnel: Steve Grossman (tenor saxophone); McCoy Tyner (piano); Avery Sharpe (bass); Art Taylor (drums).

In New York

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Toninho Horta - Foot on The Road

Styles: Latin Jazz
Year: 1994
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:22
Size: 115,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:55) 1. Party In Olinda
(3:44) 2. Afternoons In Thailand
(4:05) 3. Moon River
(7:04) 4. Akiko's Song
(5:28) 5. Encantament
(7:29) 6. Tecno Burger
(3:48) 7. Where Are You
(6:20) 8. Foot On The Road
(3:38) 9. Nenel
(3:47) 10. Mocidade

Toninho Horta is a virtuoso electric and nylon-string guitar player; his music could be defined as (jazz influenced) Brazilian music. He has developed his own very personal style. His compositions are marked by beautiful harmonies and rich melodies often with surprisingly virtuoso right hand grooves. Besides being a strong composer and player, he worked many years as arranger or/and guitarist for many of the biggest stars in the Brazilian pop music scene such as: Elis Regina, Milton Nascimento, Maria Bethania, Joao Bosco, Airto Moreira, Edu Lobo, Nana Caymmi, Flora Purim, Gal Costa, Sergio Mendes, Chico Buarque, Flavio Venturini, Joyce, Johnny Alf, Wagner Tiso, Francis Hime and Beto Guedes (to mention but a few).

His beautiful compositions and original guitar playing has influenced a whole generation of musicians in Brazil. Pat Metheny, who considers him to be "one of the world's great composers on nylon-string guitar (named violao in Brazil)," comments, "He (Toninho) plays such great voicings with such a cool time feel... I've often described him to other musicians as the Herbie Hancock of Bossa-Nova guitarists ...in short, Toninho Horta is an incredible musician, the rare guitarist who understands harmony in its most intimate ways..." (Pat Metheny's words on the booklet of Toninho's "Diamond Land"). Pat's strong admiration for Toninho's music can be heard on many of his own compositions.Among Toninho's most beloved compositions are Beijo Partido (Broken Kiss, on Diamond Land), Gershwin, Pedra da Lua and Manuel o Audaz (the last three on Moonstone. The last two appear with English titles consecutively Moonstone and Eternal Youth).
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/toninho-horta

Foot on The Road

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Brandee Younger 4tet - Live At the Breeding Ground

Styles: Harp Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:01
Size: 131,9 MB
Art: Front

( 4:33)  1. Soul Vibrations
( 3:59)  2. Wax and Wane
( 4:56)  3. Essence of Ruby
( 6:28)  4. Hortense
( 4:46)  5. Respected Destroyer
( 5:45)  6. Games
(13:10)  7. Blue Nile
( 7:24)  8. He Has a Name (Awareness)
( 5:55)  9. Effi

While a list of currently operating notables on nearly any given instrument could fill anywhere from a chapter to a book or two, a rundown of head-turning active jazz harpists might only fill out a very small portion of a leaflet. The most important among them Latin jazz trailblazer Edmar Castaneda, refined role model Carol Robbins, and wide-ranging experimentalist Zeena Parkins, to name just a few all manage to say something unique with the instrument, pushing it into places where it wasn't always welcome or expected before. Brandee Younger, who manages to do the same here with a post-Alice Coltrane/Dorothy Ashby brand of soulful and mystical jazz that's coated with a twenty-first century urban glaze, has earned her place on that short list. On Live At The Breeding Ground, Younger taps into the spiritual well that fueled the art of both Ashby and Coltrane, yet she remains ever-cognizant of the time in which she lives and plays. Younger goes in a heavy and funky direction with some help from E.J. Strickland's hard-hitting drum work and Dezron Douglas' bubbly bass ("Soul Vibrations"), builds easy-to-absorb melodies atop slick foundational grooves ("Essence Of Ruby"), sparkles aside soprano saxophonist Stacy Dillard ("Hortense"), and creates music that's simultaneously powerful, sophisticated, hypnotic, and sly (Stanley Cowell's "EFFI"). 

Younger's most direct allusions to the aforementioned female harp pioneers Coltrane's "Blue Nile"; Ashby's "Wax And Wane" and "Games"serve as fitting tributes. "Blue Nile" veers close to Coltrane's version, speaking directly of the weighty blues spirit that exists within her legendary husband's music. The Ashby tunes offer more surprises. The free-your-mind aesthetic of the original "Wax and Wane" is washed away by a flow of energy, transforming the very nature of the piece, and the pseudo Afro-Brazilian vibe of Ashby's version of "Games" is replaced by a measured, searching sound that gives way to a more outwardly soulful statement. While Younger, as mentioned, isn't alone in elevating and broadening her instrument's place in jazz, this album certainly indicates that she's carved out her own niche and done her part. She's as hip as harpists come. 

~ Dan Bilaswky https://www.allaboutjazz.com/live-at-the-breeding-ground-brandee-younger-self-produced-review-by-dan-bilawsky.php

Personnel: Brandee Younger: harp; Dezron Douglas: bass; E.J.Strickland: drums; Chelsea Baratz: tenor saxophone; Stacy Dillard: soprano saxophone.

Live At the Breeding Ground

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Threestyle - No Matter What

Styles: Smooth Jazz
Size: 119,3 MB
Time: 50:53
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2024
Art: Front

1. No Matter What (4:15)
2. Love of My Life (4:03)
3. Special to Me (4:04)
4. No Looking Back (4:22)
5. Spend a Little Time (4:07)
6. Be with you (4:25)
7. Don´t take your Love away (4:00)
8. It´s a Jam Tonight (4:06)
9. Lift Them Up (4:07)
10. Memories of you (4:50)
11. Don´t Know What to do (4:15)
12. Track No Matter What Instrumental (4:15)

Threestyle is a contemporary smooth jazz band known for their unique blend of jazz, R&B, funk, and pop influences. Their music is characterized by catchy melodies, soulful grooves, and intricate harmonies. The Munich-based formation has also made a name for itself on the Internet. Even in these times, when musicians are finding it difficult to assert themselves with their music, the group has released their new album No Matter What (2024).

The album is featuring Robert Fertl on guitars & production, twin sisters Magdalena (saxes, keys) and Gabriela Chovancova (drums), Damon Dae (vocals), James L. Manning (bass) and Lew Laing (keys). All songs were written by Magdalena Chovancova, Robert Fertl, Damon Dae and James L. Manning.

The album opens with No Matter What, a song that singer Damon Dae has put his stamp on. Stylistically, the title song can easily be categorized as R&B. Love Of My Life is a theme that has been explored by singers from Freddie Mercury to Céline Dione. Damon Dae finds his own interpretation, which Threestyle also sets in the right instrumental framework.

Damon has written all lyrics of this album and the themes are mostly about love. This is how Damon describes his special love in Special To Me, which is only now making him realize his own emptiness.

The album comprises a total of 12 songs. All the tracks are R&B with the exception of the radio-edited version of the title track, which can be classified as smooth jazz.

Both instrumentally and vocally, the album is of a high standard and confirms Threestyle's strong development. No Matter What's overall concept, however, focuses more on the R&B community.
http://www.smooth-jazz.de/firstview/Threestyle/NoMatterWhat.htm

No Matter What

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