Dizzy Reece - Nirvana: The Zen of the Jazz Trumpet

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:26
Size: 102,0 MB
Art: Front

( 1:06) 1. Introduction
( 6:41) 2. Ananda's Heart
(11:49) 3. Samadhi Junction
(10:23) 4. Maya's Dance
( 1:23) 5. Text
(13:01) 6. Nirvana

Alphonso Son "Dizzy" Reece is a hard bop jazz trumpeter with a distinctive sound and compositional style.

Reece was born January 5, 1931 in Kingston, Jamaica, the son of a silent film pianist. He attended the Alpha Boys School (famed in Jamaica for its musical alumni), switching from baritone to trumpet at 14. A full-time musician from age 16, he moved to London in 1948 and spent the 1950s working in Europe, much of that time in Paris.

He played with Don Byas, Kenny Clarke, Frank Foster and Thad Jones, among others. Winning praise from the likes of Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins, he emigrated to New York City in 1959, but found New York in the 1960s a struggle. Too little heard-from in the intervening years, he had a reissue on Mosaic in 2004 that gave fans hope of a comeback.https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/dizzy-reece

Personnel: Trumpet – Dizzy Reece; Piano – Mike Longo; Bass – Lee Hudson; Drums – James Worth

Nirvana: The Zen of the Jazz Trumpet

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The Dizzy Gillespie Reunion Big Band - 20th And 30th Anniversary

Styles: Trumpet Jazz, Big Band
Year: 1969
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:21
Size: 99,8 MB
Art: Front

( 7:29)  1. Things To Come
( 7:07)  2. One Bass Hit
( 8:17)  3. Frisco
(10:33)  4. Con Alma
( 8:01)  5. Things Are Here
( 1:51)  6. Theme (Birks Works)

Highlights radiate through the history of the Berlin Jazz Days, and November 7, 1968 was a particularly memorable one. On that evening Dizzy Gillespie visited the city on the Spree river; that alone would be enough for every jazz fan to jump for joy, since by that time the incomparable trumpeter was one of the few remaining constants in modern jazz. And he hadn’t brought just any orchestra with him – Dizzie’s combo included outstanding soloists from every phase of his career: saxophonist Cecil Payne and trombonist Ted Kelly from the Forties, colleague Curtis Fuller out of Dizzie’s Fifties groups, and from the younger generation representing the Sixties, Gillespie protégé trumpeter Jimmy Owens. These are only a few of the creative heads in Dizzie’s star-studded “Reunion Big Band”. 

Put together by Gillespie’s long-time musical companion Gil Fuller, the band only needed a few days’ rehearsals before they were breathing as one and ready to conduct their triumphant European tour. They strut their stuff in six pieces, from the exuberant, animalistic energy of “Things To Come” through Paul West’s swinging bass work on “One Bass Hit” on to “Frisco”, pianist Mike Longo’s composition with its chromatic ostinato resounding like a gangster movie soundtrack. From the Latin-saturated “Con Alma” with Dizzy dancing through the piece, through to the precisely arranged “Things Are There”, a wild chase that, after a series of excellent solos, ends in Candy Finch’s drumming fireworks. Dizzy Gillespie commented back then that it was his best big band of the last 20 years. After listening to the music you’ll have to agree. ~ Editorial Reviews https://www.amazon.com/Dizzy-Gillespie-Reunion-Big-Band/dp/B01JQUBHK6

Personnel: Dizzy Gillespie - trumpet; Jimmy Owens - trumpet; Dizzy Reece - trumpet; Victor Paz - trumpet;  Stu Haimer - trumpet;  Curtis Fuller - trombone; Tom McIntosh - trombone; Ted Kelly - trombone;  Chris Woods - saxophone;  James Moody - saxophone; Paul Jeffrey - saxophone; Sahib Shihab - saxophone; Cecil Payne - saxophone;  Mike Longo - piano;  Paul West - bass; Candy Finch - drums

20th And 30th Anniversary

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Mike Longo - Talk With The Spirits

Styles: Piano Jazz

Year: 1976

Time: 43:59

Size: 100,9 MB

Art: Front

( 7:50)  1. Wyyowa

( 6:25)  2. Roma

( 7:08)  3. The Proclamation

( 9:14)  4. Angel Of Love

(13:19)  5. Talk With The Spirits

Pianist Mike Longo, still best known for his longtime membership in Dizzy Gillespie's group (1966-73), had his recorded debut as a leader on this Pablo LP (not yet reissued on CD). Longo gathered together an impressive sextet also including trumpeter Virgil Jones, tenor saxophonist Harold Vick, guitarist George Davis, bassist Bob Cranshaw and drummer Mickey Roker, and also welcomed Dizzy himself, who made cameo appearances on conga and a vocal, but not on trumpet. The music, five of Longo's originals, is less memorable than the solos, but this remains a fine effort that ranges from lightly funky to straight-ahead. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/talk-with-the-spirits-mw0000878801

Personnel:  Piano, Written-By – Mike Longo; Bass – Bob Cranshaw; Congas, Vocals, Producer – Dizzy Gillespie; Drums – Mickey Roker; Guitar – George Davis;  Saxophone [Tenor] – Harold Vick; Trumpet – Virgil Jones

Talk With The Spirits

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Mike Longo - Step on It

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:18
Size: 131,5 MB
Art: Front

(5:54)  1. Impressions
(6:31)  2. Poinciana
(3:35)  3. Step on It
(7:14)  4. Nefertiti
(5:25)  5. Ana Maria
(5:22)  6. Cantaloupe Island
(5:36)  7. Black Narcissis
(4:55)  8. Black Nile
(5:26)  9. My Ship
(3:04) 10. Blue 'n Boogie
(4:13) 11. Tico Tico

If you want to hear what pianist Mike Longo enjoys, and how he thinks, you listen to his big band The New York State Of The Art Jazz Ensemble which is featured on Live From New York! (Consolidate Artists Productions, 2013); if you just want to hear Mike Longo, you listen to this trio. Step On It is the third go-round for this group, following Sting Like A Bee (Consolidated Artists Productions, 2009) and the trio-plus-guests To My Surprise (Consolidated Artists Productions, 2011). Both of those albums contain plenty of familiar songs, as does this standards-heavy date, so some might wonder what can really be said here that hasn't been said before. The answer comes through the music and with an analogy that Longo makes: The veteran pianist shrewdly notes that "jazz is like a baseball game." Nothing is really new, yet things are different every single time the ball is in play. Participants in both scenarios react to different stimuli, creating something unique every time they get together play. Longo and his well-seasoned teammates bassist Bob Cranshaw and drummer Lewis Nash immediately make it clear that they're looking to do their own thing with many of these songs. They start the album with a slower-than-usual swing-funk take on John Coltrane's "Impressions" and a version of "Poinciana" that has no Vernell Fournier beat beneath it. As things continue, Longo and company continue to play with expectations, striking close to the norm on some tunes and taking a divergent path on others. The band waltzes its way through Joe Henderson's "Black Narcissus," delivers a from-the-mold take on Herbie Hancock's "Cantaloupe Island," and visits the work of Longo's erstwhile employer with a driving take on trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie's "Blue N' Boogie." While plenty of greats are referenced during this program, saxophonist Wayne Shorter's work gets the most attention. His enigmatic-yet-universal tunes prove to be great choices for this group, as Longo and company deliver a mellow "Nefertiti," an elegant, Brazilian-laced "Ana Maria," and a buoyant-and-lively "Black Nile." Nobody knows exactly what will happen when players like Longo, Cranshaw and Nash get together, but it's easy to ballpark it and safe to say that some sparks will fly. That they do during Step On It. ~ Dan Bilawsky https://www.allaboutjazz.com/step-on-it-mike-longo-consolidated-artists-productions-review-by-dan-bilawsky.php

Personnel: Mike Longo: piano; Bob Cranshaw: bass; Lewis Nash: drums.

Step on It

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Mike Longo & The New York State of the Art Jazz Ensemble - Live from New York

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:27
Size: 109,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:39)  1. Whisper Not
(6:36)  2. Afro Desia
(7:40)  3. Yoko Mama
(5:23)  4. Over the Rainbow
(3:47)  5. I'm Old Fashioned
(5:17)  6. Muddy Waters
(8:34)  7. Inner City Hues
(5:28)  8. Wee

When trumpet titan Dizzy Gillespie left this earth he left no shortage of disciples behind. His now-legendary peers (i.e. saxophonists Jimmy Heath and Benny Golson), a cadre of killer Cubans (Arturo Sandoval, multi-reedist Paquito D'Rivera, pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba, etc.) and a pride of young lions all worked with him, learned from him, and sang his praises, both before and after he departed; so did/does pianist Mike Longo, though too few people seem to recognize him. Part of the problem, as illustrated above, is that Longo never fit neatly into a category. He was too young to be considered one of Gillespie's peers and too old to be considered on-the-cusp-of-the-new when he left Gillespie's employ. Perhaps that's why he doesn't get the credit he deserves for his work, Gillespie-related or otherwise. The truth is that he's been keeping the flame alive, teaching the next generation and furthering his own craft during his regular Tuesday night gigs at the John Birks Gillespie Auditorium in the New York City Baha'i Center. This recording is a snapshot of one such performance. On a Tuesday in July of 2013, Longo and his big band The New York State Of The Art Ensemble held court at the aforementioned auditorium. In prepping for the recording, producer/saxophonist Bob Magnuson had enough time to set up two tube microphones, say a few words to the soloists about them, hit "record" and take his seat in the reed section; in other words, he didn't over think it and try to suck the life out of the recording. Magnuson simply wanted to capture the sound of Longo's band in action and he succeeded.

The album contains three Longo originals, three vocal features that showcase singer Ira Hawkins and a pair of classics that can be connected to Gillespie Golson's "Whisper Not" and Denzil Best's "Wee." Those classics bookend the album and turn out to be the standout tracks. A barnstorming and bluesy "Muddy Water" is the strongest of the three vocal tracks, as Hawkins channels Joe Williams, but he also does an admirable job on his own arrangement of "I'm Old Fashioned" and Longo's unique take on "Over The Rainbow." Voice and material just seem to be a bit mismatched on those occasions, as Hawkins' deep and resounding voice seems destined for glory through the blues rather than ballads or easygoing swingers. Longo's originals speak to some different ideas altogether. The laidback, lightly funky "Afro Desia" possesses a simple charm, "Yoko Mama" sounds like it could've been in the Buddy Rich book in the '70s, and "Inner City Hues" is an understated gem. Longo's band like Longo himself may be under-recognized because it occupies a place in an artistic middle ground. It's not pushing progressive art or living out its days as a museum piece, but it fills an important niche somewhere in between those two poles and it sounds great doing it. ~ Dan Bilawsky https://www.allaboutjazz.com/live-from-new-york-mike-longo-consolidated-artist-productions-review-by-dan-bilawsky.php

Personnel: Mike Longo: leader, composer, arranger, piano; Chris Rogers: trumpet; John Replogle: trumpet; Brian Davis: trumpet; Waldron Ricks: trumpet; Bob Magnuson: alto sax; Lee Greene: alto sax; Frank Perowsky: tenor sax: Mike Migliore: tenor sax; Matt Snyder: baritone sax; Sam Burtis: trombone; Nick Finzer: trombone; Nick Grinder: trombone; Earl McIntyre: bass trombone; Tom Hubbard: bass; Mike Campenni: drums; Ira Hawkins: vocals (4-6).

Live from New York

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Mike Longo - 900 Shares Of The Blues

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:54
Size: 86.8 MB
Styles: Jazz/Funk/Soul
Year: 1974/2006
Art: Front

[5:00] 1. 900 Shares Of The Blues
[5:35] 2. Like A Thief In The Night
[6:04] 3. Ocean Of His Might
[5:30] 4. Magic Number
[7:28] 5. Summers Gone
[8:14] 6. El Moodo Grande

Drums – Mickey Roker; Electric Bass, Acoustic Bass – Ron Carter; Flute [Soprano, Tenor] – Joe Farrell; Guitar – George Davis (2); Percussion – Ralph MacDonald; Piano, Electric Piano – Michael Longo; Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Randy Brecker.

Mike Longo is best-known as a reliable and versatile player who was the pianist with Dizzy Gillespie during 1966-1973. He started taking piano lessons when he was three, played professionally when he was 15, and while in high school in Ft. Lauderdale, he had the opportunity to play with Cannonball Adderley. In 1960, Longo worked at the Metropole in New York with Red Allen and Coleman Hawkins, spent 1961 living in Toronto (where he studied with Oscar Peterson), and then returned to New York, where he accompanied some singers. Mike Longo recorded with Gillespie during his period with the great trumpeter and led a few of his own sessions for Mainstream, Pablo (1976), and Consolidated Artists (1981). His career slowed down after that, with his next major release being Explosion in 2000. ~bio by Scott Yanow

900 Shares Of The Blues mc
900 Shares Of The Blues zippy

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