Cindy Blackman - Music For The New Millenium Disc 1 And Disc 2

Album: Music For The New Millenium Disc 1

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop 
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:16
Size: 111,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:25)  1. Abracadabra
(5:26)  2. Seven
(4:52)  3. Insight (Past Wisdom)
(6:27)  4. Letter to Theo
(8:29)  5. Black Town (For Harlem)
(2:50)  6. Insight (Right Now)
(6:36)  7. For Wayne (Shorter That Is)
(4:12)  8. The Infinite (For My Grandmother)
(4:55)  9. The ONE (for God)

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Album: Music For The New Millenium Disc 2

Time: 44:55

Size: 104,1 MB

(4:27)  1. Sam Pei

(2:00)  2. The Drums and Me

(7:57)  3. Stars in Eyes

(2:32)  4. Insight (From My Father)

(8:44)  5. Theme To Ginger's Rise

(4:45)  6. All I Want

(5:47)  7. Insight (From My Mother)

(7:23)  8. Insight (The Future)

(1:16)  9. I Come To The Garden Alone (As played by Martha Blackman-Higby)

Drummer Cindy Blackman's solo output has been sporadic since touring and recording with retro-rocker Lenny Kravitz for the past fifteen years. Recorded in 2005 with her regular working quartet, Music For The New Millennium is a double disc collection of inspired post-bop that heralds her return as a session leader. A persuasive reminder of her technical prowess, it reveals a stylistic allegiance to past masters while keeping an eye to the future. Blackman is heavily influenced by the enigmatic writing of saxophonist Wayne Shorter, which fueled Miles Davis' classic second quintet. Like Davis, she shares an affinity for Shorter's dark, impressionistic streak. Embodying the key instrumental elements of Davis' classic electro-acoustic line-up, keyboardist Carlton Holmes plays percolating Fender Rhodes and tastefully subtle synth alongside stalwart bassist George Mitchell. Tenor saxophonist J.D. Allen delivers soulful phrases with a leisurely cadence and dark timbre, reminiscent of Shorter's esoteric approach. Propelling harmonically sophisticated melodic patterns worthy of Art Blakey and Max Roach with a kinetic momentum equal to Tony Williams' legendary fusillades, Blackman launches an endless salvo of tuneful volleys. Like her forefathers, she keeps rhythm, tempo, dynamics and color in constant flux, never merely playing straight time. The album encapsulates a wide variety of moods, from the dreamily understated "Stars In Eyes" and "Sam Pei" to the simmering boil of the brooding "Black Town." Five assorted variations of "Insight" are scattered across the two discs, serving as recurrent thematic motifs, veering from the brisk, hard-boppish "(From My Father)" to the unassuming, meditative "(From My Mother)." The thunderous "Abracadabra," offers a dynamic, incisive performance, updating a roiling M-Base styled groove with a shadowy Milesian chiaroscuro. "Seven" delves further into metrically intricate rhythms, shifting through fractured tempos with a funky, cubist sensibility Transcending typical notions of accompaniment, "All I Want", finds Blackman furiously modulating rhythmic combinations on the theme while Holmes unfurls waves of shimmering Fender Rhodes arpeggios over an ominous synth-bass ostinato. The brief, punchy "The Drums and Me" is Blackman's only unaccompanied solo feature; she magnanimously offers the final word to Holmes, who closes the album with a touching solo piano rendition of the hymn "Come To The Garden Alone."  welcome return to her jazz roots, Music For The New Millennium is a powerful and passionate effort from one of the finest drummers on the scene. It's good to have her back. ~ Troy Collins https://www.allaboutjazz.com/music-for-the-new-millennium-cindy-blackman-sacred-sound-records-review-by-troy-collins.php

Personnel: Cindy Blackman: drums; J.D. Allen: tenor saxophone; Carlton Holmes: Fender Rhodes, synthesizers; George Mitchell: bass.

Music For The New Millenium Disc 1, Disc 2

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Rodney Kendrick - The Colors Of Rhythm

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:25
Size: 94,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:11)  1. Music DNA
(4:24)  2. Honeysuckle Rose
(5:48)  3. Remembering
(7:05)  4. Round Midnight
(3:44)  5. Cindy
(5:54)  6. Body And Soul
(3:31)  7. Caravan
(4:44)  8. Aminata

For many years, Rodney Kendrick was the musical director and pianist for Abbey Lincoln. The 54 year old pianist and keyboarder wanted to express, as he states in the liner notes of his new trio album “The Colors Of Rhythm” (Impulse), “the sweet and the sour, the dark and the light, the bad and the good, as well as the brilliant overlooked beauty that is intrinsically woven throughout this music.” Over the years, Kendrick, who was born in Philadelphia and raised in Miami, has learned from and played with the greatest. Barry Harris taught him the literacy of the music and once he arrived in New York, soon after he was part of the Art Blakey Breakfast Jam, a session that started early in the mornings and went on for hours with a lot of peers attending. One of the artists from those days is Cindy Blackman Santana who Kendrick is using as his drummer for the new album. He even named a song after her (“Cindy”) which is a rather short, but effective showcase for the vibrant musician. Kendrick has released some fantastic, but somehow overlooked albums in the past. There’s the world music style, exotic “Last Chance For Common Sense” from 1996, or the Hip Hop, Rap and Funk infused “No Dress Code” from 2000. But he always went back to the good old trio format in between. His old pal Curtis Lundy rounds out his band on bass and of the eight tracks in total, half of them are his interpretations of classics like “Body And Soul” or “Round Midnight”, all played with a heavy Gospel and Blues background. More convincing are his own compositions and he ends his new album with a nod to his former boss, Abbey Lincoln, who was also known as Aminata Moseka, who was his musical mother. The track sums up the essence of what Abbey Lincoln’s music was about: beauty and the pursuit of something bigger and better.

Personnel:  Piano – Rodney Kendrick;  Double Bass – Curtis Lundy;  Drums – Cindy Blackman Santana.

The Colors Of Rhythm

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Wallace Roney - Obsession

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1991
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:41
Size: 98,0 MB
Art: Front

(6:12)  1. Obsession
(8:01)  2. Scenario One
(8:56)  3. Alone Together
(7:30)  4. Seven
(7:40)  5. Black Moon
(4:22)  6. Donna Lee

In the early days of his career, trumpeter Wallace Roney was tagged as being yet another Miles Davis-influenced player, though a focused hearing of his fourth CD as a leader will demonstrate how much he was developing his own voice on this exciting hard bop session with tenor saxophonist Gary Thomas, pianist Donald Brown (like the leader, an alum of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers), bassist Christian McBride, and drummer Cindy Blackman. Roney's furious "Obsession" crackles with energy, showcasing the trumpeter, Thomas, and Brown. McBride contributed the loping, bluesy "Black Moon," while Blackman's "Scenario One" is full of twists, dominated by her drums. 

The one standard is "Alone Together," with Roney utilizing a mute, inviting the inevitable comparisons to Miles. But the sizzling take of "Donna Lee" finds Roney very much in his own voice. An enjoyable early effort, Obsession unfortunately lapsed from print with the sale of Muse, and it is increasingly difficult to acquire. ~ Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/obsession-mw0000078455

Personnel:  Wallace Roney - trumpet;  Gary Thomas - tenor saxophone, flute;  Donald Brown - piano;  Christian McBride - bass;  Cindy Blackman - drums

Obsession

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Wallace Roney - Intuition

Styles: Trumpet Jazz

Year: 1988

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 48:03

Size: 110,2 MB

Art: Front

(5:48)  1. Intuition

(5:45)  2. Opus One Point Five

(7:59)  3. Ahead

(5:54)  4. Taberah

(5:40)  5. Sometimes My Heart Cries

(8:28)  6. For Duke

(8:27)  7. Willow Weep for Me

For this somewhat adventurous but still mostly straight-ahead date, trumpeter Wallace Roney explores three of his originals (including "For Duke," which is slightly reminiscent of "Upper Manhattan Medical Group"), two by drummer and underrated composer Cindy Blackman, and one by bassist Ron Carter. Roney, Blackman and Carter are joined by pianist Mulgrew Miller, tenor saxophonist Gary Thomas and altoist Kenny Garrett (quite an all-star group), and the music is as strong as one would expect, reflecting Roney's long stint with the Tony Williams Quintet. ~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/intuition-mw0000652207

Personnel: Wallace Roney (trumpet), Kenny Garrett (alto saxophone), Gary Thomas (tenor saxophone), Mulgrew Miller (piano), Ron Carter (bass), Cindy Blackman (drums).

Intuition

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Eddie Allen - Summer Days

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:44
Size: 144,0 MB
Art: Front

( 3:56)  1. Eye of the Hurricane
( 7:27)  2. You Were Never Lovelier
( 6:13)  3. You Say
( 7:46)  4. Summer Days
(11:01)  5. Always
( 8:07)  6. Stablemates
( 5:58)  7. Inner Glimpse
( 1:09)  8. Mystic Dreams
( 8:17)  9. The Crusade
( 2:47) 10. Later

Trumpeter Eddie Allen (also known as E.J. Allen) performs music ranging from hard bop to post bop on this enjoyable quintet date. Joined by Dan Faulk on tenor and soprano, pianist Anthony Wonsey, bassist Richie Goods, and drummer Cindy Blackman, with trombonist Steve Turre being a major asset on four of the ten songs, Allen performs six of his originals plus two standards and a pair of obscurities. The results are modern mainstream jazz of a high caliber, featuring an attractive blend between Allen's mellow horn and Faulk's reeds, a tight rhythm section, and some fine individual moments. ~ Scott Yanow   http://www.allmusic.com/album/summer-days-mw0000101472

Personnel: Eddie Allen (trumpet); Dan Faulk (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Steve Turre (trombone); Richie Goods (bass); Anthony Wonsey (piano); Cindy Blackman (drums).

Summer Days

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Cindy Blackman - In The Now

Styles: Hard Bop, Jazz
Year: 1998
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:56
Size: 146,5 MB
Art: Front

( 6:48)  1. In The Now
( 3:25)  2. A Banana For Ron
( 6:44)  3. Passage
(15:05)  4. A King Among Men
( 7:28)  5. Sophia
( 7:17)  6. Prince Of Darkness
( 4:37)  7. Happy House
( 4:33)  8. A Strawberry For Cindy, A
( 7:56)  9. Let Love Rule

Sometimes it takes the loss of a parent to bring about a heightened sense of maturity and clarity of purpose in oneself. In many ways, Tony Williams was Cindy Blackman's spiritual father, certainly her biggest role model. His passing has inspired the drummer-composer to go deep within and reflect on Tony's contribution as well as her own gifts. The result of that introspection is her most profound and heartfelt statement to date. Tony's influence looms large on her sixth album as a leader. There was a time, back in the early '80s, when Blackman played like she had something to prove. She's gotten well beyond that now. While her playing is still aggressive, her touch is more brisk and her ideas more organically integrated into the fabric of the compositions. Like Tony, she is a thinking, reacting drummer who propels the music forward while shaping and coloring it from measure to measure with well-placed tom and snare accents and cymbal splashes. 

In the Now features her most mature, interactive playing on record while also highlighting her evolving sophistication as a composer. Jacky Terrasson's use of Fender Rhodes on Blackman originals like "Passage" and the title track, as well as on a savvy cover of pop star Lenny Kravitz's "Let Love Rule," immediately triggers a Miles in the Sky/Filles de Kilimanjaro vibe. Ron Carter's pedalling and walking basslines complete the connection to that time and place. Ravi Coltrane responds to this surging, expansive attitude with some probing and highly personal work on tenor (and soprano on "Passage"), with a few nods to Joe Lovano along the way. The centerpiece of this excellent album is "A King Among Men," Cindy's heartfelt tribute to her hero, Williams. The 15-minute suite moves through a variety of moods marked by her conversational approach to the kit. Coltrane's tenor playing is particularly lyrical here as well as on swinging renditions of Wayne Shorter's "Prince of Darkness" and Ornette Coleman's "Happy House." The brooding ballad "Sophia" is a fine example of Blackman's alluring brushwork, underscored by Carter's sparse, zenlike presence on bass, while she holds nothing back on the dynamic go-for-it traps showcase "A Strawberry for Cindy."  After years of trying to find her own place in the music, Cindy Blackman arrives in high style with In the Now. ~ Bill Milkowski   http://jazztimes.com/articles/8709-in-the-now-cindy-blackman

Personnel: Cindy Blackman (drums); Ravi Coltrane (soprano & tenor saxophones); Jacky Terrasson (piano), Fender Rhodes (piano); Ron Carter (bass).

In The Now

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