Plas Johnson - This Must Be The Plas!

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1959
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:13
Size: 85,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:00)  1. Too Close For Comfort
(3:32)  2. I Hadn't Anyone Till You
(2:38)  3. Heart And Soul
(3:36)  4. Poor Butterfly
(3:13)  5. Memories Of You
(2:15)  6. Just One Of Those Things
(2:57)  7. There Is No Greater Love
(3:11)  8. If I Had You
(3:09)  9. My Silent Love
(3:18) 10. Day In - Day Out
(2:53) 11. My Old Flame
(3:26) 12. S'il Vous Plait

This Must Be the Plas is a 1959 album by saxophonist Plas Johnson. The initial Billboard magazine review from November 30, 1959 chose the album as one of its "Special Merit Spotlights" and commented that "Eye-catching photo of curvaceous red-head gives package solid display value. Johnson's tasteful, warm sax solo work is heard to advantage on a group of oldies...Spinnable wax for jazz jocks and hip pop deejays". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Must_Be_the_Plas

Personnel: Plas Johnson - tenor saxophone; Larry Bunker - vibraphone; Victor Feldman - vibraphone; Gene Estes - vibraphone; Paul Smith - piano; Ernie Freeman - Hammond organ; Howard Roberts - guitar;  Bill Pitman - guitar;  Red Callender - bass;  Earl Palmer - drums

This Must Be The Plas!

---

The Howard Roberts Quartet - Whatever's Fair

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 28:02
Size: 64.2 MB
Styles: Easy Listening, Guitar jazz
Year: 1966/2014
Art: Front

[2:33] 1. The Shadow Of Your Smile
[2:34] 2. Sweet September
[2:33] 3. Pussy Cat
[2:25] 4. Whatever's Fair
[2:01] 5. This Is The Life
[2:36] 6. On A Clear Day You Can See Forever
[2:33] 7. I'll Only Miss Her When I Think Of Her
[2:40] 8. Manha De Carnaval
[2:57] 9. Michelle
[2:38] 10. A Taste Of Honey
[2:27] 11. Bye Bye Blues

Bass Guitar – Chuck Berghofer; Drums – Earl Palmer; Guitar – Bill Pitman, Howard Roberts; Organ – Henry Cain; Percussion – Jill Roberts.

We're still in the wild '60s when Howard Roberts was on a roll producing some very fine pop-oriented guitar jazz as was the fad these days, a fact easily witnessed by this magnificent Capitol LP. Forget rock 'n roll for a moment, this is expertly crafted Daiquiris-by-the-pool music by the top session men.

Whatever's Fair mc
Whatever's Fair zippy

---

King Pleasure - Golden Days

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 30:49
Size: 70.6 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 1960/1981
Art: Front

[2:55] 1. Moody's Mood For Love
[2:59] 2. The New Symphony Sid
[2:55] 3. Don't Worry About Me
[2:24] 4. Little Boy, Don't Get Scared
[2:47] 5. Parker's Mood
[3:47] 6. Golden Days
[4:39] 7. Tomorrow Is Another Day
[5:13] 8. No, Not Much
[3:06] 9. All Of Me

Bass – Wilfred Middlebrooks; Drums – Earl Palmer; Piano, Arranged By – Gerald Wiggins; Tenor Saxophone – Harold Land, Teddy Edwards; Trombone – Matthew Gee.

In many ways, King Pleasure wrote the book on bop vocalese, composing and performing lyrics to famous jazz solos. If not the first to do it, he was certainly the first to have hit records doing it, including "Moody's Mood for Love," based on James Moody's version of "I'm in the Mood for Love"; Gene Ammons's "Red Top"; and "Parker's Mood." In the process, he led the way for other jazz singer-lyricists such as Jon Hendricks and Annie Ross. On this 1960 session, the original scat vocalist is heard recapping some of his greatest successes, including the famous James Moody and Charlie Parker solos. He's joined by two of the most underrated modern jazz tenor saxophonists, Harold Land and Teddy Edwards. After being impressed by the verbal wit and gymnastic diction that Pleasure's art demands, listeners may be struck by how much his mellow sound resembles that of Land or Moody. ~Stuart Broomer

Golden Days mc
Golden Days zippy

---

Eddie 'Cleanhead' Vinson - The Original Cleanhead

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:08
Size: 96.5 MB
Styles: West Coast blues, R&B
Year: 1970/2014
Art: Front

[2:32] 1. Cleanhead Blues
[6:22] 2. Pass Out
[2:34] 3. Alimony Blues
[3:50] 4. Cleanhead Is Back
[3:18] 5. Juice Head Baby
[3:19] 6. Old Maid Boogie
[6:56] 7. One O'clock Humph
[2:50] 8. I Needs To Be Be'd Wid
[4:08] 9. Cleanhead Blues
[3:23] 10. I Had A Dream
[2:53] 11. Person To Person

Bass – Arthur Wright; Drums – Earl Palmer; Guitar – David Cohen, Joe Pass; Piano, Organ – Artie Butler; Tenor Saxophone – Plas Johnson; Vocals, Alto Saxophone – Eddie "Cleanhead" VInson.

By the mid-60s Eddie Vinson was fondly remembered and semi-retired. He had blazed a trail through the early days of post-War black music as one of the pioneers who pushed the last days of swing into the first days of rhythm and blues. In an exhilarating period in the mid to late 40s he went from being the featured vocalist in the Cootie Williams Big Band to fronting his own group. If you listen to his recordings from that time, you can hear the music developing in front of your ears. ‘Red Blues’, his first hit, sounds very much like a swing record. ‘Somebody’s Got To Go’, his final chart-topper with Williams from two years later, is a blues. Jump forward a couple of years, to his records with smaller groups for Mercury and King, the music has become rhythm and blues.

In the 50s, as the hits dropped off, Vinson made a dignified retreat to his hometown of Houston,Texas, emerging only occasionally to make a new record or perform a short tour. He became more revered in doing so. His time with Williams, and the calibre of the sidemen in his own band, meant he was remembered not just for his blues voice, but also his bop-influenced alto saxophone playing. He was properly placed in people’s minds as a retired star, rather than a has-been.

Bob Thiele had made a record with Vinson in 1967 for ABC’s Bluesway label. When Thiele launched his BluesTime imprint a couple of years later, he tempted Vinson out toLos Angelesto record again. Unlike other albums for BluesTime, there was no attempt to modernise his music. “The Original Cleanhead” was unadulterated swinging R&B, the missing link between Louis Jordan and rock’n’roll, featuring versions of several of his old classics, a new tune and some instrumentals to show off the players’ chops. Along with his performance at the 1971 Montreux Festival, the album reintroduced Vinson to the touring circuit, which he continued to play until his death in 1988. ~Dean Rudland

The Original Cleanhead

---

Julie London - Sings The Choicest Of Cole Porter

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 48:44

Size: 111.6 MB

Styles: Jazz vocals

Year: 1991/2010

Art: Front

[4:33] 1. All Through The Night

[1:44] 2. What Is This Thing Called Love

[2:57] 3. Get Out Of Town

[2:40] 4. My Heart Belongs To Daddy

[4:07] 5. So In Love

[2:13] 6. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To

[2:39] 7. In The Still Of The Night

[3:27] 8. At Long Last Love

[1:48] 9. I Love You

[3:02] 10. I've Got You Under My Skin

[2:37] 11. Love For Sale

[2:29] 12. Easy To Love

[2:28] 13. Make It Another Old-Fashioned, Please

[2:16] 14. You Do Something To Me

[2:46] 15. My Heart Belongs To Daddy

[2:29] 16. Always True To You In My Fashion

[4:22] 17. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye

Julie London (vocals), Bud Shank (alto saxophone, flute), Barney Kessel, Al Viola, Joe Pass, Howard Roberts (guitar), Jimmy Rowles, Russ Freeman (piano), Emil Richards (vibraphone), Ray Leatherwood, Don Bagley, Red Mitchell, Monty Budwig (bass), Earl Palmer, Colin Bailey (drums).

In celebration of what would have been Cole Porter's 100th year, EMI collected all of Julie London's studio recordings of the master's work onto one compact disc. Ten of the 17 tracks come from 1965's exceptional All Through the Night, which finds the sultry vocalist proving her cool jazz mettle once again with a quintet led by Bud Shank. The other seven songs are culled from London's sessions with Barney Kessel, Jimmy Rowles, and various studio orchestras. If anyone doubts that London was a jazz-based singer at heart (and there are many doubters out there), listen to the two versions of "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" that are included here. London sticks to the melody in each but offers completely different emotional and musical interpretations that relate to the type of backing band. This was EMI's first Julie London CD reissue and it remains one of the best out. ~ Nick Dedina

Sings The Choicest Of Cole Porter

---