Michael Wolff - Love and Destruction

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:58
Size: 130,0 MB
Art: Front

(5:06)  1. Tell Me
(2:51)  2. Falling In Love
(1:27)  3. Almost Everything
(5:34)  4. Everything In It's Right Place
(5:08)  5. Underwater
(5:20)  6. Hallelujah
(3:47)  7. Ya Ya
(4:27)  8. Stop In The Name Of Love
(4:12)  9. Miss You
(4:03) 10. Mellow Yellow
(5:28) 11. Tango
(3:03) 12. Hostage O
(5:27) 13. Everytody's Got To Learn Sometime

Michael Wolff has a strong reputation as a versatile and swinging jazz pianist. Love and Destruction is a major change for him; on this set he is cast as a singer/songwriter, performing modern folk music and sounding a bit (tone-wise) like Michael Franks but with a weaker voice. His website claims that this set of music is a mixture of rock, pop and world music and it is true that his jazz piano and improvising are greatly de-emphasized. But the messages Wolff sings about (including on five of his originals) are not that compelling, the covers are not particularly memorable, the musicians have little to do, and Wolff's voice will not impress many listeners. Hopefully Love and Destruction is only a temporary departure from Michael Wolff's musical strengths. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/love-and-destruction-mw0000563341

Personnel:  Michael Wolff - Piano, Hammond B3, Rhodes, Vocals; John B. Williams -  Electric Upright Bass; Richie Goods - Electric Bass; Mike Clark -  Drums; Chuck Morris - Drums; Badal Roy - Tablas; Brad Dutz -  Percussion; John Guth - Guitar; The African Children's Choir - Vocals, Sloan Wainwright;- John Guth -  Background Vocals

Love and Destruction

---

Michael Wolff - Jumpstart

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1995
Time: 54:02
Size: 49,8 MB
Art: Front

(5:30)  1. Pinocchio
(5:31)  2. Ballade Noir
(6:03)  3. Cannonblues
(4:53)  4. Little M
(3:51)  5. Fall
(4:50)  6. Shades of Gray
(6:06)  7. Nefertitti
(5:36)  8. Jumpstart
(6:52)  9. I Fall in Love Too Easily
(4:47) 10. All Of You

From the first cunning abstractions the pianist improvises on Wayne Shorter's classic "Pinocchio," it's clear that Michael Wolff is more than just another one-trick pony. As the leader of Arsenio Hall's musical posse, Wolff proved himself an adept bandleader and sidekick, performing in a variety of styles, particularly in the jacked up contemporary funk mode the audience came to expect. However, as Jumpstart! makes plain, Michael Wolff is a modern jazz player with authentic credentials in the post-'60s idiom. This virtuoso keyboardist plied on his trade with numerous leaders, most notably Cannonball Adderley, whose heady blend of soul, hard bop, funk and modality made him one of jazz's most respected improvisers before his untimely death. Wolff evokes his presence through the tippling tempo, jagged harmonies, funky grace notes and teetering melodic runs of "Cannonblues." Like many pianists enamored of the '60s, Wolff is clearly indebted to the free-form inventions of Herbie Hancock, but throughout Jumpstart! Wolff betrays a knowledge of pre-bop piano evoking the likes of Milt Buckner when employing a bouncing two-handed attack. On the jittery starts and stops of the title tune, Wolff's jagged snaking lines, sudden rhythmic rushes of consonant and dissonant variations, and his agitated layers of chords indicate a broad romanticism of "I Fall In Love Too Easily" and his own "Ballade Noir" are indicative of a graceful touch and elegant melodic conception. https://www.allmusic.com/album/jumpstart-mw0000177266

Personnel:  Michael Wolff - Piano; Christian McBride - Bass; Tony Williams - Drums

Jumpstart

---

Michael Wolff Trio - 2 AM

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1996
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:04
Size: 133,2 MB
Art: Front

( 3:15)  1. U'n'I
( 5:52)  2. The Conversation
( 4:27)  3. Jamaican Turnaround
( 5:16)  4. Mama Tell Me
( 5:29)  5. 2 AM
(10:13)  6. Nat Is Here
( 7:41)  7. Poppy
( 4:47)  8. Thanatos
( 5:26)  9. The Mews
( 5:32) 10. Nita

Michael Blieden Wolff (born July 31, 1952) is an American jazz pianist, composer, producer, and recording artist. He was honored as a Steinway Artist and obtained a Broadcast Music, Inc. award. Wolff has Tourette syndrome; he is the chairman of the Tourette Syndrome Association (TSA) and is involved in mentoring children with Tourette's through the chapters of the TSA.

Wolff was the musical director for jazz singer Nancy Wilson and later became the bandleader for the Fox syndicated late night talk show Arsenio Hall (1989–94), where he met his wife when she appeared as a special guest. Wolff provided the score and co-produced The Tic Code (1999). He also co-starred and produced the music for the film The Naked Brothers Band (2005). By early 2007, it became the pilot to the Nickelodeon musical comedy series of the same name, which he co-starred in with his sons Nat and Alex and earned a BMI Cable Award for producing the series' music. Wolff was the leader of the jazz band Impure Thoughts. Reconstructed as Wolff & Clark Expedition, it is a jazz-funk group. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Wolff

Personnel:  Michael Wolff – piano;  Christian McBride, John B. Williams (#3,4) – bass; Tony Williams, Terry Lyne Carrington (#3,4) - drums

2 AM

---

Wolff & Clark Expedition - Wolff & Clark Expedition 2

Size: 151,0 MB
Time: 64:34
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Jazz
Art: Front

01. Clark Bar (7:37)
02. Sunshine Of Your Love (4:38)
03. Israel (4:08)
04. Madiba (8:27)
05. Monk's Dream (5:26)
06. Stray (4:55)
07. Gingerbread Boy (3:13)
08. Mulgrew (6:23)
09. 1999 (4:56)
10. A Night In Tunisia (5:50)
11. Invisible (3:30)
12. In Walked Bud (5:25)

The WOLFF & CLARK EXPEDITION — pianist Michael Wolff and drummer Mike Clark — release their 2nd Expedition, with bassist Christian McBride, saxophonist Hailey Niswanger, trumpeter Wallace Roney and young bass phenom Daryl Johns (sharing duties with McBride). With unique covers of tunes by Prince, Monk, Ornette, and Cream and beguiling originals from the leaders, this is an excursion that should not be missed! Truly a “Band without boundaries,” WOLFF & CLARK combine elements of Jazz, Funk, and Soul in an intelligent, accessible way to create their own brand of burning music.

Wolff & Clark Expedition 2

---