Donald Brown - Fast Forward to the Past

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:19
Size: 164,3 MB
Art: Front

(9:25)  1. Eminence
(6:39)  2. Skatterbrain
(7:09)  3. Carter Country
(7:13)  4. The Thing About George Coleman
(5:22)  5. Skain's Domain
(8:04)  6. Gazelle
(4:58)  7. Vera Cruz
(6:35)  8. Never In My Wildest Dream
(8:50)  9. Where Pelicans Fly
(6:59) 10. Don't Forget to Tell Her You Love Her

A fine pianist and educator, Donald Brown has also been a prolific composer. He grew up in Memphis and actually started out on drums and trumpet. By the time he attended Memphis State University (1972-1975), he was playing jazz piano. After years of local work, Brown replaced James Williams with the Jazz Messengers (1981-1982). He went on to teach at Berklee (1983-1985) and the University of Tennessee (starting in 1988), recorded albums as a leader for Sunnyside and Muse, and had his compositions performed and recorded by a wide variety of top modern jazz players. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/artist/donald-brown-mn0000180014/biography

Personnel:  Piano – Donald Brown; Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar – Mark Bolling; Bass – Essiet Essiet, Robert Hurst; Drums – Eric Harland; Electric Guitar – Lionel Loueke; Flute, Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Danny Walsh ; Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Jean Toussaint; Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Bill Mobley; Vibraphone – Steve Nelson

Fast Forward to the Past

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Harold Mabern - The Leading Man

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1993
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:01
Size: 126,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:24)  1. Yes or No
(4:40)  2. Save the Best for Last
(6:48)  3. Full House
(6:27)  4. She/Mr.Lucky
(7:36)  5. Alone Together
(6:11)  6. The Man from Hyde Park
(6:17)  7. B & B
(7:17)  8. T-Bone Steak
(4:17)  9. Mercury Retro

Since his emergence onto the New York scene in 1959, pianist Harold Mabern has become one of the few true living jazz stylists on the piano. Having played with everyone from Lionel Hampton to Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Wes Montgomery, and Lee Morgan, Mabern has the experience and the depth of knowledge sufficient to be called a master. There is no one on the scene who sounds like him, and his sense of lyricism, rhythm, time, and the entire range of dynamics in his playing attract other players as well as listeners. The Leading Man, issued in 1993, is considered a classic, both for its selection of material and the performances of the various ensembles Mabern assembled for the date. But there is something else, too nowhere in Mabern's recorded catalog is there a performance like this from him. His playing, while always inspired, is revelatory in its sense of full orchestration and the shifting timbres of his solos against the bassline (played by Ron Carter). Also on this set are drummer Jack DeJohnette, alto man Bill Easley, fellow Memphian and trumpeter Bill Mobley, guitarist Kevin Eubanks, and vocalist Pamela Baskin-Watson. With the exception of DeJohnette and Carter, all the other players rotate on this stunning collection. The standout track is Montgomery's "Full House," which features Eubanks and Mabern trading eights, then fours, then slipping into solo breaks at the same time, in close harmony and gliding through the arpeggios like a skater on ice. The medley of "She" and "Mr. Lucky," by George Shearing and Henry Mancini, respectively, is a chance for Mabern to show both his lyrical and dynamic abilities by tracing the melodies of each tune through the other, then harmonically combining them in rhythmic patterns of graceful elegance. Easley gets the chance to reveal the depth of his modal style on Wayne Shorter's "Yes or No." Mabern slips phrases from McCoy Tyner's comp book into the body of the tune, but the harmonic architecture and the interval changes in and out of mode are all his. Easley sets the bar high and delivers by blowing through those harmonies, not inside them. There is a bit of everything here, from the aforementioned exercises to the greasy funk of Jimmy Smith's "T-Bone Steak" to Mabern's compositions such as "B&B," where Mobley plays with the emotion of Chet Baker and the melodic chops of Fats Navarro. The last tune, "Mercury Retro," is one of Mabern's too. A piano solo, it begins as an exercise in dissonant counterpoint, transforming itself inside of five minutes into a jazz ballad that becomes a boogie-woogie blues to a classical rondo and even a prelude and fugue; it's just amazing. You never get the feeling the guy is showing off, either. The Leading Man proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that Mabern is just that. ~ Thom Jurek https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-leading-man-mw0000121742

Personnel: Harold Mabern – piano; Ron Carter – bass; Jack DeJohnette – drums;  Bill Mobley – trumpet, flugelhorn; Bill Easley – alto sax; Kevin Eubanks – guitar; Pamela Baskin-Watson – vocals

R.I.P.
Born: March 20, 1936, Memphis,Tennessee,United States
Died: September 19, 2019

The Leading Man

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Donald Brown - Wurd on the Skreet

Styles: Piano Jazz 
Year: 1995
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:34
Size: 156,1 MB
Art: Front

(6:53)  1. Shadow Chasers
(6:00)  2. Judgement Day
(7:01)  3. Grammy's Bathwater
(7:08)  4. L's Bob
(6:32)  5. Granny's Bathwater
(6:39)  6. Easley Said and Done
(7:11)  7. The Thing about Harold Mabern
(6:14)  8. For the lack of a Better world
(4:39)  9. Pressing the Issue
(9:12) 10. Wurd on the Skreet

One of many fine alumni of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers to develop into leading bands of his own, Donald Brown has also been very successful as a composer, arranger, and pianist. Since the end of his association with the now defunct Muse, Brown has recorded a series of exciting sessions for the French-owned Space Time, including these 1995 outings. The exciting opener, "Shadow Chasers," is an uptempo romp mixing hard bop, post-bop, and a Latin tinge as well, with terrific solos by trumpeter Bill Mobley, alto saxophonist Manny Boyd, soprano saxophonist Sam Newsome, and the leader. The delicate "Granny's Bathwater" is introduced by Brown with a thoughtful solo that is full of love; Manny Boyd soon joins him with his warm, lyrical flute, with the piece taking on a brisk waltz setting as the full band is added. Brown's "Song for My Mother" showcases Newsome again on soprano in this richly voiced ballad. "Easley Said and Done" suggests a voice of protest initially, though it quickly segues into a brisk hard bop vehicle. "Wurd on the Skreet," dedicated to Brown's brother Ramone, manages to convey funkiness in a sophisticated composition. Mobley contributed the tense but swinging "Judgement Day," in which he switches to flügelhorn. The rhythm section includes bassist Essiet Essiet (known for his great work with Bobby Watson & Horizon), drummer Billy Drummond, and percussionist Daniel Sadownick, all of whom help to provide a firm foundation for the soloists throughout this highly recommended CD. ~ Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/wurd-on-the-skreet-mw0000222875

Personnel: Piano, Producer – Donald Brown; Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Flute – Manny Boyd; Bass – Essiet Essiet; Drums – Billy Drummond; Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Sam Newsome; Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Bill Mobley

Wurd on the Skreet

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Bill Mobley - Hittin' Home

Size: 132,0 MB
Time: 56:46
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz
Art: Front

01. The Very Thought Of You (6:57)
02. Walkin' (3:43)
03. Hittin' Home (4:17)
04. My Romance (5:58)
05. Jewel (4:08)
06. Old Milestones (5:17)
07. Lil' Red (6:17)
08. Apex (4:12)
09. Peace (5:37)
10. Scene On Seine (4:43)
11. Waltzin' Westland (5:34)

Personnel:
Bill Mobley: Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Kenny Barron: Piano On 1 & 4
Heather Bennett: Piano On 7
Russell Malone: Guitar On 3, 5 & 9
Phil Palombi: Bass On 6 & 8
Essiet Okon Essiet: Bass On 2,3,5,7,9,10 & 11
Clint Mobley: Percussion On 10
Kevin Norton: Marimba On 8

This album presents Mobley in a variety of formations with such musicians like Kenny Barron, Steve Nelson or Russell Malone. The choice of repertoire is particularly welcome, alternating known melodies like The Very Thought of You, Walkin’, Peace or My Romance with original compositions that do fit nicely in. A mellow sound with a post-bop aesthetic and superb playing, this album could be the vehicle to launch Mobley towards that well-deserved wider recognition.

Hittin' Home

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