Ed Reed - Ed Reed Sings Love Stories / I'm A Shy Guy

Album: Ed Reed Sings Love Stories
Size: 144,1 MB
Time: 62:48
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2007
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. A Sleepin' Bee (6:40)
02. There's A Lull In My Life (4:40)
03. Ghost Of A Chance (6:21)
04. Bye Bye Blackbird (6:31)
05. A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing (5:37)
06. Where Do You Start (3:32)
07. Daydream (6:28)
08. Ask Me Now (7:25)
09. If The Moon Turns Green (5:41)
10. Goodbye (7:08)
11. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child (2:41)

Like many artists of his generation, singer Ed Reed saw his career interrupted by drug use and incarceration. JazzTimes magazine recently ran a piece on the Narcotic Farm, a prison for addicts in Lexington, Ky., known for the jazz players who performed behind bars. San Quentin, where Reed did his time, also hosted some notorious jazz players, including , Frank Butler and . On this Piano Jazz program, Reed describes playing with these and other great players in the prison band.

Reed has emerged from addiction and prison a happy and thankful man. When he sings "Lucky to Be Me," he means it. He says he's been sober since 1986 and continues to work his "day job" as an addiction counselor, though his time is more limited these days given the success of his recent jazz releases. Reed made his professional debut at age 78, with the debut of his critically acclaimed album Love Stories.

"Ed Reed Sings Love Stories" (2007), Ed's critically acclaimed debut album, was recorded February 2006 at Bay Records in Berkeley, CA. Produced by Bud Spangler, the CD features Peck Allmond, trumpet, tenor saxm flutes, clarinets, trombonium, kalimbas; Gary Fisher, piano; John Wiitala, bass;, and Eddie Marshall, drums and recorder.

Ed Reed Sings Love Stories

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Album: I'm A Shy Guy: A Tribute To The King Cole Trio & Their Music
Size: 112,5 MB
Time: 48:56
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2013
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. I Just Can't See For Lookin' (Feat. Randy Porter, Jamie Fox & John Wiitala) (2:36)
02. Baby Baby All The Time (Feat. Randy Porter, Anton Schwartz, John Wiitala & Akira Tana) (3:01)
03. Unforgettable (Feat. John Wiitala, Akira Tana, Jamie Fox, Randy Porter & Anton Schwartz) (3:39)
04. Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby (Feat. Randy Porter, Jamie Fox, Anton Schwartz & John Wiitala) (2:46)
05. I'm A Shy Guy (Feat. Randy Porter, Jamie Fox, John Wiitala & Akira Tana) (3:28)
06. That's The Beginning Of The End (Feat. Randy Porter) (4:43)
07. Meet Me At No Special Place (And I'll Be There At No Particular Time) (Feat. Anton Schwartz, John Wiitala, Akira Tana, Randy Porter & Jamie Fox) (3:45)
08. I'm Lost (Feat. John Wiitala) (4:04)
09. 'tis Autumn (Feat. Randy Porter, Jamie Fox, John Wiitala & Akira Tana) (3:25)
10. It's Only A Paper Moon (Feat. Randy Porter, Anton Schwartz, Jamie Fox, John Wiitala & Akira Tana) (3:12)
11. That Ain't Right (Feat. Randy Porter, Anton Schwartz, John Wiitala & Akira Tana) (4:46)
12. I Realize Now (Feat. Randy Porter, John Wiitala & Akira Tana) (2:53)
13. This Will Make You Laugh (Feat. Jamie Fox) (3:39)
14. Straighten Up And Fly Right (Feat. Randy Porter, Jamie Fox, Anton Schwartz & John Wiitala) (2:54)

San Francisco vocalist Ed Reed is a bona fide contemporary of West Coast jazz luminaries: Art Pepper, Frank Morgan, Dexter Gordon, Wardell Gray and Hampton Hawes. Unlike that august group, Reed remains to tell his story, and by proxy, theirs' in the bargain. Like this same group, drugs (and in the case of Gray, murder) suspended Reed's musical career. Unlike Pepper and Morgan, who staged much heralded late-career comebacks, Reed did not first record until 2007 at age 78. Neither "late bloomer" nor "rising star" adequately describe Reed any more than "senior" or "elderly" do. These terms might apply to mere mortals, but Reed is something else. When he entered the studio to record his debut Ed Reed Sings Love Stories (Blue Shorts Records) he was fully-formed as a singer and performing from a lifetime of anticipating that very moment.

Since Love Stories, Reed has released The Song Is You (Blue Shorts Records, 2008), Born To Be Blue (Blue Shorts Records, 2011) and the present I'm A Shy Guy: A Tribute to the Cole Trio & Their Music. Reed's performance remains at an amazing, even otherworldly, level. Co-producer and jazz vocalist and educator in her own right, Laurie Antonioli reveals of the Cole sessions:

"On the first day of most recording projects, it takes time to get people settled, get the sound right and hopefully you'll get a few tunes out of the deal. This is not what happened with the "Nat" session. On day one, from the very first song it was all there. The sound, the band, the tempos and interaction. But most importantly Ed was in fine voice and was a real pro—like Sinatra or something. I think there are at least five first takes from that first day... My involvement, aside from some minor technical things on the vocal end, was simply to say "Let's keep going." The flow was magical and everyone could feel it... The next day the bulk of the recording was finished."

The danger with such sessions is that it all seems too easy and truly exceptional jazz singing, particularly male jazz singing, is anything but. That said, Reed stepped up and made this recording an effortless affair. Supported by a piano-guitar quintet, Reed spins through better and lesser known Cole book inclusions. Bobby Troupe's "Baby Baby All The Time" and Cole's timeless "Unforgettable" join "It's Only A Paper Moon" and "Straighten Up And Fly Right as the better known pieces. "Can't See For Lookin,'" "That's The Beginning of the End" and "Meet Me At No Special Place" represent the pithier and lesser known Cole classics that comprise this excellent collection where Ed Reed sings Cole like Ed Reed and not someone imitating Cole. It is this touch that makes I'm A Shy Guy: A Tribute to the King Cole Trio & Their Music so exceptional. ~C. Michael Bailey

Personnel: Ed Reed: vocals; Randy Porter: piano; Anton Schwartz: tenor saxophone; John Wiitala: bass; Akira Tana: drums.

I'm A Shy Guy

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Ed Reed - Born To Be Blue

Size: 135,2 MB
Time: 58:01
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2011
Styles: Vocal Jazz
Art: Front

01. Old Country (4:14)
02. Born To Be Blue (4:16)
03. Inside A Silent Tear (5:31)
04. Throw It Away (4:53)
05. All My Tomorrows (3:29)
06. End Of A Love Affair (5:55)
07. She's Funny That Way (3:47)
08. You're Looking At Me (3:26)
09. Some Other Time (5:42)
10. Kiss And Run (4:50)
11. Monk's Dream (3:30)
12. How Am I To Know (4:01)
13. Wee Baby Blues (4:20)

Ed Reed joins fellow West Coasters Art Pepper and Frank Morgan in returning to a critically acclaimed career previously derailed by substance abuse. After 40 years of scuffling, Reed cleaned up, became a chemical dependency treatment professional and began recording in earnest. Reed has released two recordings, Love Stories (Self Produced, 2007) and The Song is You (Blue Shorts Records, 2008), each well-received and now followed up by Born To Be Blue, featuring a youthful and upbeat take on Jon Hendricks' vocalese treatment of Thelonious Monk's "Monk's Dream."

Reed has a unique voice, not overtly powerful but nuanced and experienced. He navigates Hendricks' circuitous phrasing without unnecessary tonal alteration, singing with straight grace and confidence. Pianist Randy Porter and tenor saxophonist Anton Schwartz turn in blazing solos, angular and curious in a hot sort of way. Reed reenters, cooling things off in the coda—the complete professional. This is refined vocal jazz that only a lifetime can produce. ~Review by C. Michael Bailey

Personnel: Ed Reed: vocals; Randy Porter: piano; Robb Fisher: bass; Akira Tana: drums; Anton Schwartz: tenor saxophone.

Born To Be Blue

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Ed Reed - The Song Is You

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:10
Size: 156,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:19)  1. The Song Is You
(5:53)  2. It Shouldn't Happen To A Dream
(8:54)  3. Where Or When
(2:25)  4. I´m Through  With Love
(5:20)  5. All Too Soon
(5:20)  6. I Get Along Without You Very Well
(5:25)  7. I Didn´t Know About You
(4:51)  8. Don´t You Know I Care
(4:01)  9. Lucky To Be Me
(5:54) 10. Don´t Like Goodbyes
(5:25) 11. It Never Entered My Mind
(4:38) 12. Here´s To Life
(4:39) 13. Black Is

Ed Reed is a storyteller, one who pours both his heart and nearly 80 years of life experiences which include vocal studies with Charles Mingus, time in the army and a drug addiction that landed Reed in prison on four separate occasions into a phrase. On his recent first recording, Love Stories (2007), he debuted a lush tone that belied his age.

Here, the inclusion of violinist Russell George's superb jazz phrasing as a part of Peck Allmond's sextet, coupled with Reed's own expressiveness, takes this session from good to great. Reed and company serve as tour guides using tempo and timbre to present exceedingly fresh takes on a selection of songs that leans almost exclusively on the Great American Songbook. The wonderfully contrasting sounds of voice, violin, Jamie Fox' guitar and Allmond's tenor sax imbue new depth to these beautiful ballads. There is heavy representation from Duke Ellington; "It Shouldn't Happen to a Dream," "All Too Soon" and "I Didn't Know About You" all receive exquisite treatment. His "Don't You Know I Care" also benefits from a Latin lilt courtesy of Allmond's flute and drummer Willard Dyson's rhythm. These odes to love and love lost are Reed's forté and a beautiful guitar/vocal duet makes touchingly strong statements on "I'm Through with Love" and "Here's To Life."

While the ballads stand out, in the context of this larger and more varied group of musicians Reed also stretches out a bit with fine results. He swings on the title cut and on a version of "Lucky To Be Me" whose underpinnings are driven by pianist Gary Fisher. A rendering of the Rodgers-Hart chestnut "Where or When" has bassist Doug Weiss, Fox and George drawing on Reinhardt/Grappelli phrasing while Reed extends boundaries by improvising a new section. Those who, upon hearing Reed's first release, said "They don't make albums like this anymore" will again be pleasantly surprised. ~ Elliott Simon  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=29712#.Ul69TRDFrkc

Personnel: Ed Reed: vocals; Peck Allmond: trumpet, tenor sax, flute, clarinet, cornet; Willard Dyson: drums; Gary Fisher: piano; Jamie Fox: guitar; Russell George: violin; Doug Weiss: bass.

The Song Is You

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Ed Reed - I'm A Shy Guy

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:47
Size: 116,5 MB
Art: Front

(2:40)  1. I Just Can't See for Lookin'
(3:05)  2. Baby Baby All The Time
(3:42)  3. Unforgettable
(2:50)  4. Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby
(3:32)  5. I'm A Shy Guy
(4:47)  6. That's The Beginning Of The End
(3:48)  7. Meet Me At No Special Place (And I'll Be There At No Particular Time)
(4:07)  8. I'm Lost
(3:28)  9. 'tis Autumn
(3:16) 10. It's Only A Paper Moon
(4:50) 11. That Ain't Right
(2:57) 12. I Realize Now
(3:43) 13. This Will Make You Laugh
(2:56) 14. Straighten Up And Fly Right

San Francisco vocalist Ed Reed is a bona fide contemporary of West Coast jazz luminaries: Art Pepper, Frank Morgan, Dexter Gordon, Wardell Gray and Hampton Hawes. Unlike that august group, Reed remains to tell his story, and by proxy, theirs' in the bargain. Like this same group, drugs (and in the case of Gray, murder) suspended Reed's musical career. Unlike Pepper and Morgan, who staged much heralded late-career comebacks, Reed did not first record until 2007 at age 78. Neither "late bloomer" nor "rising star" adequately describe Reed any more than "senior" or "elderly" do. These terms might apply to mere mortals, but Reed is something else. When he entered the studio to record his debut Ed Reed Sings Love Stories (Blue Shorts Records) he was fully-formed as a singer and performing from a lifetime of anticipating that very moment.

Since Love Stories, Reed has released The Song Is You (Blue Shorts Records, 2008), Born To Be Blue (Blue Shorts Records, 2011) and the present I'm A Shy Guy: A Tribute to the Cole Trio & Their Music. Reed's performance remains at an amazing, even otherworldly, level. Co-producer and jazz vocalist and educator in her own right, Laurie Antonioli reveals of the Cole sessions:

"On the first day of most recording projects, it takes time to get people settled, get the sound right and hopefully you'll get a few tunes out of the deal. This is not what happened with the "Nat" session. On day one, from the very first song it was all there. The sound, the band, the tempos and interaction. But most importantly Ed was in fine voice and was a real pro like Sinatra or something. I think there are at least five first takes from that first day... My involvement, aside from some minor technical things on the vocal end, was simply to say "Let's keep going." The flow was magical and everyone could feel it... The next day the bulk of the recording was finished."

The danger with such sessions is that it all seems too easy and truly exceptional jazz singing, particularly male jazz singing, is anything but. That said, Reed stepped up and made this recording an effortless affair. Supported by a piano-guitar quintet, Reed spins through better and lesser known Cole book inclusions. Bobby Troupe's "Baby Baby All The Time" and Cole's timeless "Unforgettable" join "It's Only A Paper Moon" and "Straighten Up And Fly Right as the better known pieces. "Can't See For Lookin,'" "That's The Beginning of the End" and "Meet Me At No Special Place" represent the pithier and lesser known Cole classics that comprise this excellent collection where Ed Reed sings Cole like Ed Reed and not someone imitating Cole. It is this touch that makes I'm A Shy Guy: A Tribute to the King Cole Trio & Their Music so exceptional. ~ C.Michael Bailey   http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=45434#.UlV4QRBsidk

Personnel : Ed Reed: vocals; Randy Porter: piano; Anton Schwartz: tenor saxophone; John Wiitala: bass; Akira Tana: drums.

I'm A Shy Guy

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