Frank Lowe Quintet - Soul Folks

Styles: Saxophone, Free Jazz
Year: 1998
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:19
Size: 150,8 MB
Art: Front

(8:24) 1. Tubby's Night Out
(7:42) 2. Eddie's Dream
(5:27) 3. Nothin' But Love
(8:37) 4. Ms. Bertha's Arrival
(3:40) 5. Inappropriate Choices
(6:32) 6. Mirror Minded Rose
(6:35) 7. Soul Folks
(5:30) 8. Grand Valse
(6:36) 9. Addiction Ain't Fiction
(6:12) 10. A Bill For Evans

Warehouse find of the last copies of this long unavailable 2001 release Soul Folks is a live date from 1998, a celebration of Frank Lowe's lyrical side. The group explodes with raw beauty and emotion. There is a sweet soul that enraptures you upon listening as the music swings hard.
https://www.forcedexposure.com/Catalog/lowe-quintet-frank-soul-folks-cd/NOMORE.010CD.html

Featuring Frank Lowe (saxophone), Bertha Hope (piano), Jack Walrath (trumpet), Steve Neil (bass) and Ralph Peterson (drums).

Soul Folks

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Bertha Hope Trio - In Search Of Hope

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:41
Size: 150.4 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 1991
Art: Front

[ 4:36] 1. In Search Of -
[10:19] 2. Pas De Trois
[ 6:48] 3. You Know Who
[ 5:21] 4. A Wise And Wonderful Book
[ 4:49] 5. Roll On
[ 7:27] 6. Nieta
[ 5:26] 7. Mother Of Fortune
[ 7:22] 8. Release Yourself
[ 6:22] 9. Lament
[ 7:08] 10. Mitzi's First Night Out

Bass – Walter Booker; Drums – Billy Higgins; Piano – Bertha Hope. Recorded in October 1990.

This is a state of the art jazz piano trio playing compositions by bertha, first husband elmo, second husband and bassist walter booker, and other jazz musicians. Beautiful touch on the piano. Three great players who mesh perfectly. The other albums, with cobb replacing higgins, are also excellent, although the recording balance is not always as good as here. ~D. Perrine

This is the first leader recording by Elmo Hope’s widow Bertha Rosemond Hope (b. November 8, 1936 in Los Angeles). She started playing piano at the age of three. She became interested in jazz through Bud Powell and turned pro in the early 50s. She has been in the shadow of her legendary husband for a long time but deserves wider recognition on her own.

Spain’s Compact magazine put it correctly, “ No es una viuda, es una extraordinaria pianista .”

In Search Of Hope

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Bertha Hope - Elmo's Fire

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:39
Size: 127.4 MB
Styles: Bop, Piano jazz
Year: 1991
Art: Front

[ 6:52] 1. Low Tide
[ 2:13] 2. Mirror-Mind Rose
[ 9:12] 3. Bai Tai Blues
[ 9:16] 4. For Duke And Cannon
[11:57] 5. Bellarosa
[ 7:16] 6. Luna Negra
[ 8:50] 7. Elmo's Fire

Bertha Hope was married to pianist Elmo Hope for just seven years prior to his death in 1967, but she only recorded a few piano duets with him until getting back into the studio in the early 1990s. On this session, she proves herself to a more than capable pianist, composer and arranger as she leads a strong quintet featuring trumpeter Eddie Henderson, tenor saxophonist Junior Cook (with Dave Riekenberg taking over on "Bellarosa"), bassist Walter Booker and drummer Leroy Williams. Her snappy "Bai Tai Blues" stands up against anything her late husband recorded during his career, while there is plenty of blowing space for Cook and Henderson. The lovely ballad tribute "For Duke and Cannon," composed by Sonny Fortune, is a subtle feature for Hope with Booker's tasty bass and Williams' crisp brushwork. She offers effective interpretations of her late husband's works, especially the sauntering "Bellarosa" and the breezy "Elmo's Fire," which showcases the leader extensively. Sadly there are no liner notes to give more background about the leader and the making of this session. Bertha Hope, a superb talent worthy of wider recognition in her own right, should be a regular visitor to the recording studio. ~Ken Dryden

Elmo's Fire

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