Chicago Soul Jazz Collective (feat. Dee Alexander) - On the Way to be Free

Styles: Jazz Vocal
Year: 2022
Time: 41:19
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 92,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:17) 1. Mama are we there yet? (feat. Dee Alexander)
(6:03) 2. On the way to be free (feat. Dee Alexander)
(5:08) 3. So alive (feat. Dee Alexander)
(4:20) 4. The man is coming back (feat. Dee Alexander)
(5:24) 5. Crazy wrong (feat. Dee Alexander)
(6:41) 6. Carry me (feat. Dee Alexander)
(3:45) 7. Behind the Crusaders
(5:38) 8. Sweet Things (feat. Dee Alexander)

The medium-boil funk workout “Nothing Good Ever Goes Away” is the concluding track on this album; it could easily serve as the mission statement. That mission is clear from the very beginning: The opener, “Mama Are We There Yet?,” is set to a funkified Sly/Rufus/Crusaders groove that establishes the throwback mood yet is also fully contemporary, thanks to saxophonist/songwriter John Fournier’s lyrics (a vivid blend of topical and existential urgency that characterizes his writing throughout) and the creative panache with which Fournier, vocalist Dee Alexander, and the rest of the Chicago Soul Jazz Collective deliver the goods.

Alexander is among our most fearless and versatile vocal stylists. An obvious point of reference for her here is Randy Crawford, the vocalist featured on the Crusaders’ genre-defining 1979 hit “Street Life,” but she also brings her full armamentarium of textures, shadings, and improvisational fire to the mix, giving fresh dimensions to even the most familiar conceits. Guitarist Larry Brown Jr. spices the fatback-flavored deep soul sound usually associated with Stax’s Steve Cropper with a streetsy bluntness that recalls such pioneering fretboard funksters as Chic’s Nile Rodgers and Jimmy Nolen of the J.B.’s; Fournier’s tenor sax work is likewise straightforward yet thrusting and forceful, imbued with deep timbral and emotional colorations.
Again, Fournier’s gifts as a lyricist should be emphasized. This disc brings back memories of the days when we’d purchase a soul or pop album to be inspired by the accessible yet challenging musicianship we knew we’d find, then open the gatefold and read along, equally inspired by the poetry of the lyrics. Yes, “Nothing Good Ever Goes Away”and some good things deserve to be brought back to stay.https://www.jmarqrecords.com/news-wav/2017/2/24/sample-blog-post-04-wav-a2zyf

On the Way to be Free

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Paul Williams - Back to Love Again

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1999
Time: 42:01
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 97,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:57) 1. Back to Love Again
(3:42) 2. Easy Street
(3:44) 3. Somebody's Hero Tonight
(5:36) 4. You're Gone
(4:55) 5. I Won't Last a Day Without You
(4:04) 6. Someone to Believe
(3:35) 7. An Old Fashioned Love Song
(3:53) 8. Rainbow Connection
(4:06) 9. The Prize
(4:26) 10. Till You're Loved

Paul Williams is one of the most beloved and respected music creators in the world today. A lyricist and composer who has won an Oscar Award, three Grammy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, an Ivor Novello International Award and earned induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Williams’ timeless classics range from “We’ve Only Just Begun”, “You and Me Against the World” and “The Rainbow Connection” to “Touch” and “Beyond” on Daft Punk’s chart-topping Album of the Year, Random Access Memories on which he also performed, receiving a Grammy as Featured Artist. As President and Chairman of the Board of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), he is also a leading spokesman for music creators in the digital age.

Williams’ standards have been recorded by such diverse musical icons as Ray Charles, David Bowie, Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Diana Ross, The Carpenters, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Luther Vandross, Willie Nelson, Gonzo and Kermit The Frog. Although Williams is widely known as an actor in dozens of films and on television, it is his musical legacy that continues to inspire. His songs and scores have received six Oscar, nine Grammy, six Golden Globe and two Emmy nominations. “The Rainbow Connection,” from the children’s classic The Muppet Movie, has been added to the Library Of Congress’ National Recording Registry, a collection of “audio treasures worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage.” It is also one of two Williams’ songs that grace the American Film Institute’s List of Top Movie Songs of All Time; the second, “Evergreen,” is from the award-winning Barbra Streisand/ Kris Kristofferson remake of A Star Is Born.

Additional song scores include the cult favorites Phantom of the Paradise and Ishtar, as well as The Muppet Christmas Carol, Bugsy Malone, and Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas, the latter of which has been adapted for the stage and opened to rave reviews. Paul also created the story and wrote the songs for Disney’s Emmy-nominated A Muppets Christmas: Letters To Santa and “I Wish I Could Be Santa Claus” was performed on the Estefan Family Christmas album. Williams’ collaboration with Gustavo Santaolalla has included the animated film, The Book of Life which received a World Soundtrack Award for their “Apology Song” and more recently, “If It’s To Be”, performed by Kali Uchis for Maya and The Three. Paul is currently working on a stage version of Pans Labyrinth with Gustavo, Guillermo del Toro, and JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot LIVE.

In addition to music creators’ rights, Paul is also passionate about recovery and works tirelessly to destigmatize alcoholism and addiction. Sober 35 years, his humorous observations of life, love, and creativity, augmented by the education and knowledge he gained through his studies and certification from UCLA as a Certified Drug Rehabilitation Counselor, has been shared in a best-selling book co-written by Tracey Jackson, entitled Gratitude and Trust: Six Affirmations That Will Change Your Life which was featured on Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday.

While publicly lauded for his work as a songwriter, author and actor, most recently for his role with Billy Bob Thornton in Goliath, Paul predicts he’ll be remembered for playing Little Enos in the Smokey and the Bandit trilogy and for his lyrics to “The Love Boat” theme. However, it is the lyrics from Bugsy Malone that aptly sum up his philosophy: “You give a little love and it all comes back to you; You’re gonna’ be remembered for the things that you say and do”. As a devoted husband to writer Mariana Williams and proud father, Paul considers his son Cole, and daughter Sarah, to be his best work. http://www.paulwilliamsofficial.com/about-1/

Back to Love Again

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James Clay - I Let a Song to Out of My Heart

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1989
File: MP3@192K/s
Time: 68:09
Size: 97,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:46) 1. Things Ain't What They Used to Be
(8:24) 2. My Foolish Heart
(6:31) 3. Rain Check
(6:14) 4. The Very Thought of You
(6:58) 5. I Mean You
(5:07) 6. I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart
(7:20) 7. Just in Time
(7:12) 8. I Can't Get Started
(7:07) 9. John Paul Jones A.K.A. Trane's Blues
(7:25) 10. Body and Soul

James Clay, a thick-toned tenor saxophonist who knew Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry in the 1950s, recorded a bit near the end of the decade, spent ten years touring with Ray Charles, and then in the late '60s moved back to his native Texas. He was not heard from for quite some time, until he worked a bit with Don Cherry in 1988. In 1989 he led his first record date in 29 years and it is excellent, a fine straight-ahead quartet outing with pianist Cedar Walton, bassist David Williams, and drummer Billy Higgins. Although not flawless (there are occasional reed squeaks and a few brief wandering moments), this is one of James Clay's finest recordings. He is well featured on ten jazz standards including "Things Ain't What They Used to Be," "Raincheck," "I Mean You," and "Trane's Blues." Recommended. By Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/i-let-a-song-go-out-of-my-heart-mw0000320510

I Let a Song to Out of My Heart

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Mike LeDonne Groover Quartet - Turn it Up! LIVE At The Sidedoor!

Styles: Jazz
Year: 2025
Time: 129:59
File: MP3 @ 128K/s
Size: 120,3 MB
Art: Front

( 8:03) 1. Slow Freight
( 9:46) 2. Mary Lou's Blues
( 8:15) 3. Love Don’t Love Nobody
(12:13) 4. Who Can I Turn To
( 9:59) 5. I Love Music
( 8:53) 6. This Will Be
( 9:57) 7. Blues For Edith
(10:39) 8. After The Love Has Gone
(12:35) 9. 11 Years
( 9:48) 10. Lament
( 9:42) 11. You'll See
(10:14) 12. Delilah
( 8:52) 13. Cherokee
( 0:56) 14. Trouble (#2)

The concept of these recordings is to give the listener the complete Groover experience as you would hear it live in a club. Many recordings today are limited for time so you don’t get the full experience of hearing solos develop and people stretching out like you do on live dates. And then there’s the energy of the audience feeding the band which I think is an essential part of playing music. These recordings were made as if we weren’t recording at all so the listener gets a completely uninhibited performance that sounds great.

Releasing these 2 recordings together gives the listener a 25 year span of The Groover Quartet. It is very rare to have bands that last decades these days and it’s interesting that we have live material from back in the beginning and from right now. When we recorded the Anniversary Quartet it was back when I first started really focusing on using tunes by the R&B groups I grew up listening to and making them into vehicles for swinging and for improvisation.

The Original Groover Quartet, or “OGQ” are some of the baddest cats on the planet bar none. We were all so young when we started, well at least they were, I have 10 years on them. We’ve been friends for decades, started our families during our time together and have been all over the world. They are my musical family and I think you can hear that in the music.
/> https://mikeledonnegrooverquartet.bandcamp.com/album/turn-it-up-live-at-the-sidedoor

Personnel: Mike LeDonne - Hammond B3 Organ; Eric Alexander - tenor saxophone; Peter Bernstein - guitar; Joe Farnworth - drums

Turn it Up! LIVE At The Sidedoor!

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