Quincy Jones - Explores The Music Of Henry Mancini

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 37:52
Size: 86.7 MB
Styles: Crossover jazz
Year: 1968/2009
Art: Front

[2:51] 1. Baby Elephant Walk
[3:14] 2. Charade
[3:48] 3. Dreamsville
[4:09] 4. Bird Brain
[2:42] 5. Days Of Wine And Roses
[2:28] 6. Mr. Lucky
[3:26] 7. The Pink Panther
[2:50] 8. (I Love You) And Don't You Forget It
[3:08] 9. Soldier In The Rain
[3:45] 10. Odd Ball
[2:31] 11. Moon River
[2:54] 12. Peter Gunn

As modern big-band leaders go, Quincy Jones in the '60s would be first choice for many composers who wrote for a television series or the cinema. Though not the original themes, Jones was quite able to produce a full album featuring Henry Mancini's famous songs from movies and the small screen. This collection of the familiar and obscure Mancini done in 1964, preceded famed epic scores written by Jones from films The Pawnbroker and The Deadly Affair. It comprises several well-known hit tunes and a smattering of cuts not easily identifiable as the hummable and memorable Mancini classics. Taken from three separate sessions, the bands assembled by Jones are loaded, including Jerome Richardson, Billy Byers, Urbie Green, Clark Terry, Ernie Royal, Snooky Young, Mundell Lowe, Zoot Sims, Phil Woods, and Seldon Powell, Drummer Osie Johnson plays on all tracks, pianist Bobby Scott is a central figure, as are bassists Milt Hinton and Major Holley. A young saxophonist and flutist named Roland Kirk appears on four tracks, and the emerging vibraphonist Gary Burton is on another eight. A burgeoning talent, Jones was 31 when these recordings were made, and gaining momentum for his talents in Hollywood and Los Angeles. Though everybody knows "Baby Elephant Walk," they might not have heard the thorny electric guitar, staccato bells, and bowed bass and vocals via Holley and Hinton that Jones inserts into this version. Where the cool and slinky theme from "Pink Panther" also has the bassists jiving vocally and using their arco techniques under flutes and finger snaps, "Mr. Lucky" is the epitome of Count Basie like cool, while the spy music of "Peter Gunn" retains the bassists trickery as Burton's electrically echoed marimba and a Phil Woods alto sax solo broaden the scope of "Peter Gunn"'s field.

"Dreamsville" is a luscious ballad with harp and piano featured, "Days of Wine & Roses" starts typically pristine but runs into detailed, progressive interpretations, and "Moon River" is completely changed up into a waltz with Kirk's irresistible small saxello solo. The very hip, easy swinging "Odd Ball" is certainly the least-known Mancini piece not related to any cinematic connection, as quickened horns contrast against the slower beat and the choppy chords of Scott. The obscure "Charade" is really a jewel of the brilliance in re-arrangement Jones proffers, and perfectly deserving of its title. As slowed 3/4 in quicker 6/8 time signatures surface via an obtuse ostinato bassline, the horns accent fully juxtaposing lines swinging amongst a bit of psychedelia. A cute waltz is "Bird Brain," bouncy and fun with the flutes ricocheting off the walls, while "And Don't You Forget It" is a cowboy samba appropriate for any spaghetti western. Harmonicist Toots Thielemans is featured on one track, the ballad "Soldier in the Rain," with the sighing horns as the precipitation. How Jones is able to interpret Mancini's music with such diversity and new ideas is positively amazing, providing a unique listening experience for even the staunchest Q fan. ~Michael G. nastos

Explores The Music Of Henry Mancini

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Quincy Jones - Back On The Block

Styles: R&B, Crossover Jazz
Year: 1989
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:55
Size: 134,8 MB
Art: Front

(1:04) 1. Prologue (Q's Rap)
(6:34) 2. Back On The Block
(5:11) 3. I Don't Go For That
(4:54) 4. I'll Be Good To You
(0:31) 5. The Verb To Be
(3:31) 6. Wee B. Dooinit
(6:28) 7. The Places You Find Love
(2:53) 8. Jazz Corner Of The World
(5:34) 9. Birdland
(5:04) 10. Setembro (Brazilian Wedding Song)
(3:44) 11. One Man Woman
(4:46) 12. Tomorrow (A Better You, Better Me)
(0:54) 13. Prelude To The Garden
(6:40) 14. The Secret Garden

Back on the Block is a 1989 studio album produced by Quincy Jones. The album features legendary musicians and singers from across three generations, including Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Joe Zawinul, Ice-T, Big Daddy Kane, Sarah Vaughan, Dizzy Gillespie, George Benson, Luther Vandross, Dionne Warwick, Barry White, Chaka Khan, Take 6, Bobby McFerrin, Al Jarreau, Al B. Sure!, James Ingram, El DeBarge, Ray Charles and a 12-year-old Tevin Campbell.

Multiple singles were lifted from the album and found success on Pop and R&B radio, including "I'll Be Good to You", "I Don't Go for That", "The Secret Garden (Sweet Seduction Suite)", and "Tomorrow (A Better You, Better Me)" which was originally an instrumental track on the Brothers Johnson's Look Out for #1 set. "Tomorrow" is also noteworthy for introducing a young Tevin Campbell to the music scene. Back on the Block won the 1991 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Jones' track, "Setembro (of brazilian composers Gilson Peranzzetta and Ivan Lins)" was featured on the soundtrack of the 1991 film, Boyz n the Hood. Back on the Block topped the R&B Albums chart at number-one for twelve weeks, and topped the Contemporary Jazz Albums chart as well.

Back on the Block featured the last studio recordings of jazz singers Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. Fitzgerald and Jones had previously worked together on her 1963 album with Count Basie, Ella and Basie!. Jones had produced three albums with Sarah Vaughan when they both worked for Mercury Records. At the 33rd Grammy Awards, Back on the Block won seven Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

In arranging, Jerry Hey, Quincy Jones, Ian Prince and Rod Temperton won the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement for "Birdland", and Glen Ballard, Hey, Jones and Clif Magness won the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s) for "The Places You Find Love". Jones also won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance for "Birdland", and the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical. Bruce Swedien won the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical for his work on the album. Ray Charles and Chaka Khan won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "I'll Be Good To You". The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group went to Big Daddy Kane, Ice-T, Kool Moe Dee, Melle Mel, Quincy Jones III and Jones for "Back on the Block".https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_on_the_Block

Personnel includes: Quincy Jones (vocals, keyboards, programming); Bobby McFerrin (vocals, bass, percussion); Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Chaka Khan, Dionne Warrick, Al Jarreau, Luther Vandross, Barry White, Take 6, Tevin Campell, James Ingram, El DeBarge, Al B. Sure! (vocals); Ice-T, Big Daddy Kane, Kool Moe Dee, Melle Mel (rap vocals); James Moody, Gerald Albright (alto saxophone); Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis (trumpet); Herbie Hancock, George Duke (keyboards); George Benson, Steve Lukather, Paul Jackson, Jr., (guitar); Nathan East (bass); Harvey Mason (drums); Steve Porcaro, Josef Zawinul, Rod Temperton (programming); Paulinho Da Costa (percussion).

Back On The Block

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Dizzy Gillespie - Dizzy In Greece

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1957
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:54
Size: 97,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:40) 1. Hey Pete
(3:47) 2. Yesterdays
(4:18) 3. Tin Tin Deo
(3:22) 4. Groovin' for Nat
(4:06) 5. Annie's Dance
(4:56) 6. Cool Breeze
(4:22) 7. School Days
(3:14) 8. That's All
(4:14) 9. Stable Mates
(3:52) 10. Groovin' High

Dizzy's in Greece, looking very cool in a fez on the cover and really wailing hard with a larger group that includes Billy Mitchell, Charlie Persip, Lee Morgan, Wynton Kelly, and Phil Woods! The mode here is still quite boppish, despite the larger size of the ensemble but Dizzy also manages to bring in some of those wonderfully rich colors that were coming into his later work a tonal depth that's completely amazing, and which pushed Gillespie way past his simple roots of the 40s, into a space that made him one of the most expressive jazz leaders of the 50s. The horn charts alone are totally great and Dizzy's got a wonderful talent for letting the key soloists step out with a really strong voice in the set and although short, the tunes have an incredible reach overall. Titles include "Tin Tin Deo", "Yesterdays", "Groovin' High", "Hey Pete", "Arnnie's Dance", and "Groovin' for Nat". © 1996-2021, Dusty Groove, Inc. https://www.dustygroove.com/item/1776/Dizzy-Gillespie:Dizzy-In-Greece

Personnel: Dizzy Gillespie, trumpet and leader; Joe Gordon, trumpet; Quincy Jones, trumpet; E.V. Perry, trumpet; Carl Warwick, trumpet; Melba Liston, trombone; Frank Rehak, trombone; Rod Levitt, bass trombone; Jimmy Powell, alto saxophone; Phil Woods, alto saxophone; Billy Mitchell, tenor saxophone; Ernie Wilkins, tenor saxophone; Marty Flax, baritone saxophone; Walter Davis, Jr., piano; Nelson Boyd, bass; Charli Persip, drums

Dizzy In Greece

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Milt Jackson - The Ballad Artistry of Milt Jackson

Styles: Vibraphone Jazz
Year: 1959
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:18
Size: 88,0 MB
Art: Front

(2:46)  1. The Cylinder
(3:02)  2. Makin' Whoopee
(4:50)  3. Alone Together
(4:29)  4. Tenderly
(4:03)  5. Don't Worry 'Bout Me
(3:38)  6. Nuages
(3:40)  7. Deep in a Dream
(4:39)  8. I'm a Fool to Want You
(3:45)  9. The Midnight Sun Will Never Set
(3:23) 10. Tomorrow

Vibraphonist Milt Jackson's enormous capacity for invention percolates throughout the sumptuous settings on the "with strings" date, The Ballad Artistry of Milt Jackson. Jackson and the large string section, masterfully arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones, mesh beautifully. Equally critical, the rhythm section is superbly integrated in the arrangements, underpinning the billows of violins and cellos with a distinct jazz pulse. 

Above all, Jackson is himself, bringing his consistently flawless phrasing and subtle, but ever-present, blues feeling to his role as featured solist. Bassist Milt Hinton, drummer Connie Kay, guitarist Barry Galbraith, and pianist Jimmy Jones make up the rhythm section for this 1960 session. ~Jim Todd https://www.allmusic.com/album/ballad-artistry-of-milt-jackson-vibrations-mw0000666544

Personnel: Milt Jackson (vibraphone); Quincy Jones (conductor); Don Hammond (flute); Romeo Penque (reeds); Gloria Agostini (harp); Jimmy Jones (piano); Barry Gailbraith, Chuck Wayne (guitar); Bill Crow, Milt Hinton (bass); Connie Kay (drums).

The Ballad Artistry of Milt Jackson

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Quincy Jones - Swinging the Big Band

Styles: Swing, Big Band
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:16
Size: 131,6 MB
Art: Front

(2:46)  1. Comin' Home Baby
(2:56)  2. Desafinado
(3:36)  3. Invitation
(3:20)  4. Hard Rock Dance
(4:23)  5. Quintessence
(3:12)  6. Bossa Nova USA
(2:27)  7. Straight, No Chaser
(5:32)  8. Chega de Saudade (No More Blues)
(2:56)  9. Baby Elephant Walk
(2:42) 10. Jive Samba
(3:08) 11. Moanin'
(3:12) 12. I Never Has Seen Snow
(3:30) 13. Take Five
(2:04) 14. Samba De Una Nota So (One Note Samba)
(2:29) 15. Strike Up The Band
(3:04) 16. The 'In' Crowd
(3:32) 17. Caravan
(2:19) 18. The Gentle Rain

In a musical career that has spanned seven decades, Quincy Jones has earned his reputation as a renaissance man of American music. Jones has distinguished himself as a bandleader, a solo artist, a sideman, a songwriter, a producer, an arranger, a film composer, and a record label executive, and outside of music, he's also written books, produced major motion pictures, and helped create television series. And a quick look at a few of the artists Jones has worked with suggests the remarkable diversity of his career Miles Davis, Frank Sinatra, Count Basie, Lesley Gore, Michael Jackson, Peggy Lee, Ray Charles, Paul Simon, and Aretha Franklin.  Jones was born in Chicago, Illinois, on March 14, 1933. When he was still a youngster, his family moved to Seattle, WA, and he soon developed an interest in music. In his early teens, Jones began learning the trumpet, and started singing with a local gospel group. By the time he graduated from high school in 1950, Jones had displayed enough promise to win a scholarship to Boston-based music school Schillinger House (which later became known as the Berklee School of Music). After a year at Schillinger, Jones relocated to New York City, where he found work as an arranger, writing charts for Count Basie, Cannonball Adderley, Tommy Dorsey, and Dinah Washington, among others. In 1953, Jones scored his first big break as a performer; he was added to the brass section of Lionel Hampton's orchestra, where he found himself playing alongside jazz legends Art Farmer and Clifford Brown. Three years later, Dizzy Gillespie tapped Jones to play in his band, and later in 1956, when Gillespie was invited to put together a big band of outstanding international musicians, Diz chose Quincy to lead the ensemble. Jones also released his first album under his own name that year, a set for ABC-Paramount appropriately entitled This Is How I Feel About Jazz. In 1957, Jones moved to Paris in order to study with Nadia Boulanger, an expatriate American composer with a stellar track record in educating composers and bandleaders. During his sojourn in France, Jones took a job with the French record label Barclay, where he produced and arranged sessions for Jacques Brel and Charles Aznavour, as well as traveling American artists, including Billy Eckstine and Sarah Vaughan. Jones' work for Barclay impressed the management at Mercury Records, a American label affiliated with the French imprint, and in 1961, he was named a vice president for Mercury, the first time an African-American had been hired as an upper-level executive by a major U.S. recording company. Jones scored one of his first major pop successes when he produced and arranged "It's My Party" for teenage vocalist Lesley Gore, which marked his first significant step away from jazz into the larger world of popular music. (Jones also freelanced for other labels on the side, including arranging a number of memorable Atlantic sides for Ray Charles.) In 1963, Jones began exploring what would become a fruitful medium for him when he composed his first film score for Sidney Lumet's controversial drama The Pawnbroker; he would go on to write music for 33 feature films, including In Cold Blood, In the Heat of the Night, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, and The Getaway. In 1964, Jones' work with Count Basie led him to arrange and conduct sessions for Frank Sinatra's album It Might as Well Be Swing, recorded in collaboration with Basie and his orchestra; he also worked with Sinatra and Basie again as an arranger for the award-winning Sinatra at the Sands set, and would produce and arrange one of Sinatra's last albums, L.A. Is My Lady, in 1984.    

While Jones maintained a busy schedule as a composer, producer, and arranger through the 1960s, he also re-emerged as a recording artist in 1969 with the album Walking in Space, which found Jones recasting his big-band influences within the framework of the budding fusion movement and the influences of contemporary rock, pop, and R&B sounds. The album was a commercial and critical success, and kick started Jones' career as a recording artist. At the same time, he began working more closely with contemporary pop artists, producing sessions for Aretha Franklin and arranging strings for Paul Simon's There Goes Rhymin' Simon, and while Jones continued to work with jazz artists, many hard-and-fast jazz fans began to accuse Jones of turning his back on the genre, though Jones always contended his greatest allegiance was to African-American musical culture rather than any specific style. (Jones did, however, make one major jazz gesture in 1991, when he persuaded Miles Davis to revisit the classic Gil Evans arrangements from Miles Ahead, Sketches of Spain, and Porgy and Bess for that year's Montreux Jazz Festival; Jones coordinated the concert and led the orchestra, and it proved to be one of the last major events for the ailing Davis, who passed on a few months later.) In 1974, Jones suffered a life-threatening brain aneurysm, and while he made a full recovery, he also made a decision to cut back on his schedule to spend more time with his family. While Jones may have had fewer projects on his plate in the late '70s and early '80s, they tended to be higher profile from this point on; he produced major chart hits for the Brothers Johnson and Rufus & Chaka Khan, and his own albums grew into all-star productions in which Jones orchestrated top players and singers in elaborate pop-R&B confections on sets like Body Heat, Sounds...And Stuff Like That!!, and The Dude. Jones' biggest mainstream success, however, came with his work with Michael Jackson; Jones produced his breakout solo album, Off the Wall, in 1979, and in 1982 they teamed up again for Thriller, which went on to become the biggest-selling album of all time. Jones was also on hand for Thriller's follow-up, 1987's Bad, and the celebrated USA for Africa session which produced the benefit single "We Are the World" (written by Jackson and Lionel Richie), and he produced a rare album in which Jackson narrated the story of the film E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial.

Having risen to the heights of the recording industry, in 1985 Jones moved from scoring films to producing them; his first screen project was the screen adaptation of Alice Walker's novel The Color Purple, which was directed by Steven Spielberg and starred Whoopi Goldberg. In 1991 he moved into television production with the situation comedy The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, which gave Will Smith his first starring role. Jones' production company also launched several other successful shows, including In the House and Mad TV. He also produced a massive concert to help commemorate the 1993 inauguration of president Bill Clinton, and at the 1995 Academy Awards won the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, a prize that doubtless found its place beside Quincy's 26 Grammy awards. In 1996 Jones performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival to celebrate his 50th anniversary in the music business. The concert was captured on video and released as a DVD by Eagle Rock. Jones spent the rest of the '90s and first decade of the new century concentrating on his music publishing business and being an "unofficial" cultural ambassador for the United States.   In 2004 he helped to launch the We Are the Future (WAF) project, benefiting children in conflict-inhibited situations all over the globe. The program is the result of a strategic partnership between the Glocal Forum, the Quincy Jones Listen Up Foundation, and Hani Masri, with the support of the World Bank, UN agencies, and corporations. Jones personally lobbied President Barack Obama to create a secretary of the arts position in his cabinet. He also spent considerable time in Brazil, and in 2009 announced his plans for a film about Carnival and some of the nation's musicians and producers. In 2010 Jones released Q: Soul Bossa Nostra through his Qwest imprint, his first album in 15 years. The set featured appearances by popular vocalists Amy Winehouse, Usher, Tyrese, Tevin Campbell, and LL Cool J, among others. Ludacris and Naturally 7 reprised Jones' 1962 hit "Soul Bossa Nova"; the album's lead single/video was a cover of "Strawberry Letter 23" with lead vocals from Akon. In 2013, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a recipient of the Ahmet Ertegun Award. ~ Mark Deming https://www.allmusic.com/artist/quincy-jones-mn0000378624/biography

Swinging the Big Band

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Various - Swingin' Talkin' Verve

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:54
Size: 128.0 MB
Styles: Swing, Big Band
Year: 1998
Art: Front

[ 2:34] 1. Quincy Jones - Air Mail Special
[ 2:32] 2. Louis Jordan - Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens
[ 3:15] 3. Lionel Hampton - Flying Home
[ 3:16] 4. Buddy Rich - Dateless Brown
[ 3:19] 5. Gene Krupa Big Band - Let Me Off Uptown
[ 3:24] 6. Harry James & His Orchestra - Crazy Rhythm
[ 2:53] 7. Lionel Hampton - The Blues Ain't News To Me
[10:03] 8. Buddy Rich - Jumpin' At The Woodside
[ 2:23] 9. Harry James & His Orchestra - Back Beat Boogie
[ 3:15] 10. Louis Jordan - Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby
[14:24] 11. Benny Goodman - Sing Sing Sing Pts. 1 & 2
[ 4:29] 12. Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown - Caldonia

Verve was never much of a label for the kind of music that would sound familiar to those looking for a good swing revival compilation. Still, the label scoured its vaults and came up with Swingin' Talkin' Verve, a variant on their usual series of proto-acid jazz (read: soul-jazz, Afro-Cuban, jazz-funk, etc.). The results aren't bad at all, although several of the tracks don't date from the '40s golden age of swing. Included are Gene Krupa's "Let Me Off Uptown," Buddy Rich's "Jumpin' at the Woodside," Quincy Jones' "Air Mail Special," and Harry James' "Back Beat Boogie." ~Keith Farley

Swingin' Talkin' Verve

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Quincy Jones - Mellow Madness

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:11
Size: 101.2 MB
Styles: Jazz/Funk/Soul
Year: 1975
Art: Front

[3:52] 1. Is It Love That We're Missin'
[2:55] 2. Paranoid
[3:27] 3. Mellow Madness
[6:12] 4. Beautiful Black Girl
[4:16] 5. Listen (What It Is)
[3:28] 6. Just A Little Taste Of Me
[5:25] 7. My Cherie Amour
[3:02] 8. Tryin' To Find Out About You
[4:29] 9. Cry Baby
[7:00] 10. Bluesette

Backing Vocals – Carolyn Willis, Jesse Kirkland, Jim Gilstrap, Joe Greene, Leon Ware, Myrna Matthews, Paulette McWilliams, Quincy Jones, Tom Bahler; Bass – Louis Johnson; Congas, Percussion – Ralph MacDonald; Drums – Harvey Mason; Featuring [Introducing] – Brothers Johnson, Paulette McWilliams; Guitar – George Johnson, Wah Wah Watson, Toots Thielemans; Keyboards – Dave Grusin, Don Grusin, Jerry Peters, Quincy Jones; Saxophone – Ernie Krivda, Jerome Richardson, Sahib Shihab; Trombone – Frank Rosolino, George Bohanon; Trumpet – Bill Lamb, Chuck Findley, Quincy Jones, Tom Bahler. Recorded at The Record Plant, Los Angeles, Westlake Audio, Los Angeles.

Released not long after Quincy Jones was operated upon for life-threatening brain aneurysms, the music community was glad to have this album around (you can almost sense Q's own relief as he holds his forehead on the cover). Basically, though, it continues the polished, percolating soul direction that Q initiated with Body Heat, alienating purists but entertaining R&B audiences that rushed to buy it. The album is given its commercial edge by two new Jones discoveries, George Johnson (guitar, vocals) and Louis Johnson (bass), who would leap to fame the following year on their own as the Brothers Johnson. One attraction for jazz listeners is Toots Thielemans' "Bluesette," in which the Belgian virtuoso does a nice guitar/whistle cameo and Frank Rosolino blows some fine trombone, but the track is not helped by the overdubbed soul voices. ~Richard S. Ginnell

Mellow Madness mc
Mellow Madness zippy

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Clifford Brown - Clifford Brown Big Band in Paris

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1953
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:13
Size: 110,5 MB
Art: Front

(6:06)  1. Brown Skins (take 1)
(6:09)  2. Brown Skins (take 2)
(7:06)  3. Keeping Up with Jonesy (take 1)
(6:29)  4. Keeping Up with Jonesy (take 2)
(3:12)  5. Bum's Rush
(7:52)  6. Chez Moi
(5:20)  7. All Weird (take 1)
(1:58)  8. All Weird (take 2)
(3:56)  9. No Start, No End

Although Lionel Hampton forbid his sidemen from recording during their trip to France in 1953, many of the musicians fortunately ignored his orders; the band broke up soon anyway. Trumpeter Clifford Brown is heard on this LP mostly with a big band actually put together by Gigi Gryce. A few of these tracks are excerpts but the two takes of "Brownskins" and "Keeping up with Jonesy" are fairly long as is a nearly eight-minute "Chez Moi." The music is not essential but Brownie did not live long enough to record anything less than excellent. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/clifford-brown-big-band-in-paris-mw0000199986

Personnel:  Trumpet – Art Farmer, Clifford Brown, Quincy Jones, Walter Williams;  Alto Saxophone – Anthony Ortega, Gigi Gryce;  Baritone Saxophone – William Boucaya;  Bass – Pierre Michelot;  Drums – Jean-Louis Viale;  Piano – Henri Renaud;  Tenor Saxophone – Andre Dabonneville, Clifford Solomon;  Trombone – Al Hayes, Benny Vasseur, Jimmy Cleveland

Clifford Brown Big Band in Paris

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Billy Eckstine & Quincy Jones - At Basin Street East

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 31:55
Size: 73.1 MB
Styles: Big band, Jazz vocals
Year: 1961/2005
Art: Front

[ 2:46] 1. All Right Okay You Win
[ 8:00] 2. I'm Falling For You (Medley)
[ 3:49] 3. In The Still Of The Night
[10:35] 4. Don't Get Around Much Anymore (Medley)
[ 3:58] 5. Work Song
[ 2:45] 6. Ma (She's Making Eyes At Me)

At Basin Street East is a 1961 live album by Billy Eckstine, accompanied by a big band arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones. It was originally released on October 1, 1961 on the EmArcy label, but reissued in 1990 by Polygram. The album was recorded at the Basin Street East nightclub in New York City.

At Basin Street East mc
At Basin Street East zippy

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Quincy Jones - Sounds & Stuff Like That

Styles: Swing, Big Band
Year: 1990
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:45
Size: 82,9 MB
Art: Front

(6:16)  1. Stuff Like That
(3:31)  2. I'm Gonna Miss You In The Morning
(5:13)  3. Love, I Never Had It So Good
(6:45)  4. Tell Me A Bedtime Story
(4:08)  5. Love Me By Name
(5:25)  6. Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)
(4:24)  7. Takin' It To The Streets

With ears dead set on the trends of the moment but still drawing now and then on his jazz past, Quincy Jones came up with another classy-sounding pop album loaded with his ever-growing circle of musician friends. Disco was king in 1978 and Jones bows low with the ebullient dance hit "Stuff Like That" which is several cuts above the norm for that genre  along with a healthy quota of elegantly produced soul ballads. Yet amidst the pop stuff, Jones still manages to do something fresh and memorable within the jazz sphere with a gorgeous chart of Herbie Hancock's "Tell Me a Bedtime Story." Hancock himself sits in impeccably on electric piano, and violinist Harry Lookofsky painstakingly overdubs one of Hancock's transcribed solos on 15 violins. Despite the cast of hundreds that is now de rigueur for Quincy Jones, the record does not sound over-produced due to the silken engineering and careful deployment of forces. ~ Richard S.Ginell https://www.allmusic.com/album/soundsand-stuff-like-that%21%21-mw0000649592

Personnel: Nickolas Ashford (vocals, percussion); Yolanda McCullough (vocals, background vocals); Gwen Guthrie, Luther Vandross, Patti Austin, Tom Bahler, Valerie Simpson, Vivian Cherry, Chaka Khan, Charles May (vocals); David T Sounds; Walker, Eric Gale , Melvin Watson, Wah-Wah Watson (guitar); Gayle Levant (harp); Tom Scott (lyre, flute, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, lyricon); Jerome Reisler, John Wittenberg, Wilbert Nuttycombe, Carl LaMagna, Marvin Limonick, Betty LaMagna, Connie Kupka, Israel Baker, Arnold Belnick, Nathan Ross, Sheldon Sanov, Harry Bluestone, Harry Lookofsky (violin); Meyer Bello, David Schwartz , Leonard Selic, Samuel Boghossian (viola); Gloria Strassner, Dennis Karmazyn (cello); George Young (flute, saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); Hubert Laws, Jerome Richardson, Bill Perkins, Bud Shank, Buddy Collette (flute, saxophone, tenor saxophone); Harold Vick (saxophone, trumpet, flugelhorn); Howard Johnson (saxophone, tuba); David Tofani, Harold Fick (saxophone); Michael Brecker (tenor saxophone); Jon Faddis, Virgil Jones (trumpet, flugelhorn); Chuck Findley, Bill Lamb, Oscar Brashear, Snooky Young (trumpet); Arthur Maebe, David Duke , Sidney Muldrow, Aubrey Bouck, Henry Sigismonti (French horn); Donald Waldrop, Jimmy Cleveland, Robert Payne, Bill Watrous, Charles Loper, Chauncey Welsch (trombone); Alan Raph (bass trombone); Roger Bobo, Tommy Johnson (tuba); Herbie Hancock (piano, electric piano, keyboards); Richard Tee (piano, organ, keyboards); Clark Spangler (synthesizer, programming); Michael Boddicker (synthesizer); Anthony Jackson (bass guitar); Steve Gadd (drums); Ralph MacDonald (percussion); Zachary Sanders, Bill Eaton, Frank Floyd (background vocals)

Sounds & Stuff Like That

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Quincy Jones & Band - I Dig Dancers

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 32:58
Size: 75.5 MB
Styles: Easy Listening, Contemporary jazz
Year: 1960/2010
Art: Front

[2:15] 1. Pleasingly Plump
[6:20] 2. G'wan Train
[2:47] 3. Moonglow
[3:39] 4. Tone Poem
[2:29] 5. You Turned The Tables On Me
[2:40] 6. Chinese Checkers
[3:10] 7. Love Is Here To Stay
[4:31] 8. The Midnight Sun Will Never Set
[2:30] 9. Trouble On My Mind
[2:32] 10. A Sunday Kind Of Love

Original issue of this 1960 album from composer, arranger, producer and Jazz icon Quincy Jones. On I Dig Dancers, Jones doesn't abandon his Jazz direction: her merely steps up the beat and offers a platter of danceable grooves that are infectious and instantly identifiable as delicious Quincy classics. His band on the album includes Benny Bailey, Freddie Hubbard, Melba Liston, Curtis Fuller, Jerome Richardson, Oliver Nelson, Sahib Shihab, Patti Brown and Les Spann.

I Dig Dancers mc
I Dig Dancers zippy

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The Jones Boys - Quincy, Thad, Jimmy, Jo, Eddie & Elvin

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:21
Size: 85.5 MB
Styles: Contemporary jazz
Year: 1973/2010
Art: Front

[5:22] 1. Jumping For Jane
[8:05] 2. Bird Song
[4:30] 3. Mad Thad
[5:12] 4. Cat Meets Chick
[5:26] 5. Whisper Not
[8:45] 6. Quiet Sip

Bass – Eddie Jones; Composed By, Leader – Quincy Jones; Drums – Elvin Jones, Jo Jones; Piano – Jimmy Jones; Trumpet – Thad Jones. Recorded in New York December 12 1956, January 6 1957.

The Jones Boys is a studio supergroup of jazz musicians whose only connection is their last name. The group consisted of Thad Jones, Reunald Jones, Quincy Jones, Jimmy Jones, Jo Jones, and Eddie Jones. They recorded in the 1950's.

Quincy, Thad, Jimmy, Jo, Eddie & Elvin

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Various - The Aretha Franklin Songbook

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:05
Size: 128.4 MB
Styles: Jazz/Soul/R&B
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[4:43] 1. Dr. Lonnie Smith - Think
[4:40] 2. George Benson - Don't Let Me Lose This Dream
[5:39] 3. Stanley Turrentine - Dr. Feelgood
[4:35] 4. Cassandra Wilson - Angel
[4:59] 5. B.B. King - Spirit In The Dark
[4:19] 6. Will Downing - Daydreaming
[7:45] 7. Jimmy Smith - After Hours
[3:46] 8. Grover Washington, Jr. - All The King's Horses
[2:27] 9. Dianne Schuur - Climbing Higher Mountains
[7:13] 10. Quincy Jones - Daydreaming/First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
[5:55] 11. Stanley Turrentine - Dr. Feelgood (Alt. Take)

She is both a 20th and 21st century musical and cultural icon known the world over simply by her first name: Aretha. The reigning and undisputed “Queen Of Soul” has created an amazing legacy that spans an incredible six decades, from her first recording as a teenage gospel star, to her current releases. Her many countless classics include “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” “Chain Of Fools,” “I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)”; her own compositions “Think,” “Daydreaming” and “Call Me”; her definitive versions of “Respect” and “I Say A Little Prayer”; and global hits like “Freeway Of Love,” “Jump To It,” “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me),” her worldwide chart-topping duet with George Michael, and “A Rose Is Still A Rose.”

The recipient of the U.S.A.’s highest civilian honor, The Presidential Medal Of Freedom, an eighteen (and counting) Grammy Award winner – the most recent of which was for Best Gospel Performance for “Never Gonna Break My Faith” with Mary J. Blige in 2008 – a Grammy Lifetime Achievement and Grammy Living Legend awardee, Aretha Franklin’s powerful, distinctive gospel-honed vocal style has influenced countless singers across multi-generations, justifiably earning her Rolling Stone magazine’s No. 1 placing on the list of “The Greatest Singers Of All Time.”

The Aretha Franklin Songbook

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Lucky Thompson, Gigi Gryce - Street Scenes

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1993
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:01
Size: 159,0 MB
Art: Front

(2:41)  1. Quick as a Flash
(2:14)  2. The Parisian Knights
(2:59)  3. Street Scene
(3:16)  4. Angel Eyes
(3:12)  5. To You Dear One
(4:00)  6. But Not For Tonight
(3:00)  7. A Distant Sound
(2:51)  8. Once Upon a Time
(3:01)  9. Still Waters
(3:08) 10. Theme for a Brown Rose
(3:32) 11. A Sunkissed Rose
(3:44) 12. Portrait of Django
(4:16) 13. Paris the Beautiful
(2:52) 14. Purple Shades
(3:36) 15. La Rose Noire
(3:34) 16. Anne Marie
(4:20) 17. Hello
(3:57) 18. Evening in Paris
(3:59) 19. Strike up the Band
(2:40) 20. Serenade to Sonny

Tenor saxophonist Lucky Thompson recorded enough material as a leader during the first half of 1956 (mostly in Paris) to fill up 12 LPs. This CD has music from two of his rarer sessions, featuring Thompson playing 12 songs (ten of which are his originals) with a French octet that includes pianist Martial Solal and some fine sidemen; these sessions were last available as the Xanadu LP Brown Rose. Thompson's warm tenor is well showcased at a variety of tempoes during the high-quality music. None of the songs caught on but the performances are quite enjoyable. In addition, this CD reissue features altoist Gigi Gryce on six numbers cut in France in 1953 when he was touring with Lionel Hampton's Orchestra; those selections are from the same sessions that resulted in classic recordings by trumpeter Clifford Brown although Brownie (who appears on one of these numbers) is not heard from here. The CD concludes with two selections from the same period featuring the young trumpeter Art Farmer in a sextet/septet with trombonist Jimmy Cleveland and altoist Anthony Ortega. Although not essential, this reissue is easily recommended to collectors of 1950s straightahead jazz. ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/lucky-thompson-and-gigi-gryce-in-paris-mw0000172915

Featuring : Gigi Gryce (saxophone), Lucky Thompson (saxophone), Art Farmer (trumpet), Quincy Jones (trumpet), Anthony Ortega (saxophone), Martial Solal (piano)

Street Scenes

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Peggy Lee & Quincy Jones - Blues Cross Country + If You Go (CD 1/2)

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 75:51
Size: 175,0 MB
Art: Front

(2:29)  1. Kansas City
(3:04)  2. Basin Steet Blues
(2:38)  3. Los Angeles Blues
(2:53)  4. I Left My Sugar (In Salt Lake City)
(1:52)  5. The Grain Belt Blues
(3:21)  6. New York City Blues
(2:37)  7. Goin' To Chicago Blues
(2:37)  8. San Francisco Blues
(3:11)  9. Fisherman's Wharf
(2:05) 10. Boston Beans
(2:42) 11. The Train Blues
(2:15) 12. St. Louios Blues
(1:53) 13. Hey! Look Me Over
(2:52) 14. As Time Goes By
(2:43) 15. If You Go
(2:37) 16. Oh Love Hast Thou Forsaken Me
(2:58) 17. Say It Isn't So
(2:49) 18. I Wish I Didn't Love You So
(2:04) 19. Maybe It's Because
(2:48) 20. I'm Gonna Laugh You Out Of My Life
(2:49) 21. I Get Along With You Very Well
(2:30) 22. Gipsy Soul
(3:16) 23. When I Was A Child
(2:50) 24. Here Is Rthat Rainy Day
(2:21) 25. Smile
(2:57) 26. Deep Purple
(3:08) 27. Farewell To Arms
(3:19) 28. Fever

This two-fer from Fresh Sound features a pair of out of print Peggy Lee LP's, If You Go and Blues Cross Country originally issued on Capitol in 1961 and 1962 respectively. The albums highlight 28 songs including "Basin Street Blues," "Goin' to Chicago Blues," "As Time Goes By," and "Here's That Rainy Day." 

This is great material but is geared more toward the collector. Casual listeners would be better served by the one of the many Peggy Lee compilations. ~ Al Campbell http://www.allmusic.com/album/blue-cross-country-if-you-go-mw0002325291

Featuring: Peggy Lee (vcl), with Quincy Jones (arr, cond). Orchestras includes Jack Sheldon, Pete Candoli (tp), Frank Rosolino (tb), Benny Carter, Buddy Collette, Plas Johnson, Bill Perkins (saxes), Jimmy Rowles (p), Dennis Budimir (g), Shelly Manne (d)

Blues Cross Country + If You Go (CD 1/2)

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Roy Haynes & Quincy Jones - Jazz Abroad

Styles: Jazz, Hard Bop
Year: 1954
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:36
Size: 102,5 MB
Art: Front

(6:15)  1. Pogo Stick
(5:32)  2. Liza
(5:39)  3. Jones' Bones
(5:51)  4. Sometimes I'm Happy
(4:49)  5. Little Leona
(5:02)  6. Miss Mopsy
(5:56)  7. Gone Again
(5:29)  8. Hagnes

"Jazz Abroad" was originally a Mercury LP with two totally distinct faces, except that they were both recorded in Stockholm. On one side signed by Quincy Jones, his first session on 10 vovembre leader in 1953, including Lars Gullin and Art Farmer and Alan Dawson on drums. And a B-side dedicated to Roy Haynes, canning 3 October 1954. Four compositions for sextet formed on site (three weeks before a meeting in Paris with a different sextet for the Vogue label). 

Roy Haynes and bassist Joe Benjamin were now on tour with Sarah Vaughan and the concert of the singer in Stockholm was coupled with that of the Illinois Jacquet training which included Shahib Shihab and Adrian Acea. The tenor and trombonist them were the heyday of the local scene ...Translate by google ~ Alex Dutilh  http://www.francemusique.fr/jazz/jazz-au-tresor-roy-haynes-jazz-abroad-18081

Personnel: Bjarne Nerem - Sax Tenor;  Sahib Shihab - Sax Alto, Baritone;  Arne Domnérus - Clarinet, Sax (Alto);  Lars Gullin - Sax (Baritone);  Art Farmer – Trumpet;  Ake Persson - Trombone, Choir, Chorus, Soloist;  Jimmy Cleveland - Trombone, Choir, Chorus;  Adriano John Acea – Piano;  Joe Benjamin, Simon Brehm – Bass;  Roy Haynes, Alan Dawson – Drums;  Quincy Jones - Arranger, Composer, Director

Jazz Abroad

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The Quincy Jones-Sammy Nestico Orchestra - Basie And Beyond

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:07
Size: 146.8 MB
Styles: Mainstream jazz
Year: 2000
Art: Front

[5:38] 1. Ya Gotta Try ... Harder!
[5:14] 2. Belly Roll
[5:19] 3. Grace
[6:23] 4. The Joy Of Cookin'
[4:46] 5. Quintesssence
[7:21] 6. How Sweet It Is
[4:21] 7. Hard Sock Dance
[5:16] 8. The Witching Hour
[4:18] 9. For Lena And Lennie
[5:29] 10. No Time Like The Present
[4:08] 11. Lisette
[5:49] 12. Out Of The Night

Saxophone [Soprano & Tenor] – Kirk Whalum; Saxophone, Woodwind – Dan Higgins, Ernie Watts, Gary Foster, Gerald Albright, Jack Nimitz, Pete Christlieb; Trombone – Bill Reichenbach, Bill Watrous, Charlie Loper, George Bohannon, Reggie Young; Trumpet – Gary Grant, Jerry Hey, Oscar Brashear, Rick Baptist, Warren Luening, Wayne Bergeron; Tuba – Tommy Johnson; Vibraphone [Vibes], Percussion – Emil Richards; Piano – Randy Kerber; Bass [Electric] – Jimmy Johnson;), Neil Stubenhaus; Percussion [Additional] – Paulinho Da Costa; Double Bass – Chuck Berghofer; Drums – Vinnie Colaiuta; Drums [Additional] – Harold Jones; Electric Guitar – Paul Jackson, Jr.; Electric Piano – Greg Phillinganes; Flute – Hubert Laws; French Horn – Brad Warnaar, Greg Williams, Jerry Folsom.

Jones arranged and conducted for Count Basie in the late 1950s and early 60s. Nestico was the prolific workhorse of the Basie arranging staff during the final decade and a half of Basie's life. Their set of old and new arrangements is generally in the style of Basie's New Testament band, with even more of the smoothness and bottom-to-top power that some of his devotees admired and others disdained. Jones expands three of his classic pieces, "Quintessence," "Hard Sock Dance" and "For Lena and Lennie." He adds new versions of "The Witching Hour" and "Belly Roll" and uses an orchestration of "Grace" from his previous album, Q's Juke Joint. "Hard Sock Dance" begins with a conversation between drums and talking guitar that seems to have little to do with what follows, a superior piece of big band writing in the spirit and close to the letter of Jones' original arrangement. Vibraharpist Emil Richards is the featured soloist.

Other soloists are trumpeter Warren Luening reprising Harry "Sweets" Edison, and Hubert Laws on flute in Nestico's "How Sweet It Is;" tenor saxophonist Pete Christlieb, brief and stunning in "The Witching Hour;" Ernie Watts on tenor in "Belly Roll;" saxophonists Dan Higgins and Kirk Whalum in several spots; and Bill Watrous, wild on trombone in "Ya Gotta Try...Harder" and "No Time Like The Present." Whether the electric bass, funk guitar and percussion augmentation in Nestico's "Out of the Night," "The Joy of Cookin'" and a few of his other pieces constitute improvements to the Basie tradition or trendy updates will depend on the listener's perception. In any case, they justify the Beyond of the album title.

The big news here is that Quincy Jones has made his first straightahead jazz album in decades. Maybe he's coming back. ~Doug Ramsey

Basie And Beyond

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Quincy Jones - Free And Easy!

Styles: Jazz, Big Band
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:47
Size: 137,1 MB
Art: Front

( 2:57)  1. Introduction By Olle Helander
( 3:29)  2. Moanin'
( 3:01)  3. Tickle Toe
( 3:44)  4. I Remember Clifford
( 3:50)  5. Whisper Not
(11:08)  6. The Phanton Blues
( 4:20)  7. Birth Of A Band
( 4:37)  8. The Gypsy
( 4:53)  9. Ghana
(13:01) 10. Walkin'
( 4:42) 11. Big Red

Quincy Delight Jones was born in Chicago on March 14, 1933. When he was a still a youngster, his family moved to Seattle and he soon developed an interest in music. In his early teens, Jones began learning the trumpet and started singing with a local gospel group. By the time he graduated from high school in 1950, Jones had displayed enough promise to win a scholarship to Boston-based music school Schillenger House (which later became known as Berklee School of Music). After a year at Schillenger, Jones relocated to New York City where he found work as an arranger, writing charts for Count Basie, Cannonball Adderley, Tommy Dorsey and Dinah Washington, among others. In 1953, Jones scored his first big break as a performer; he was added to the brass section of Lionel Hampton’s Orchestra. With his ability to dig up promising newcomers, Hamp had, among others, enlisted noted altoist-arranger Gigi Gryce, Clifford Brown and Art Farmer on trumpet, trombonist Jimmy Cleveland, pianist George Wallington and singer Annie Ross. In September, Lionel Hampton took his band to Sweden for the first time and made a tremendous impression on the youngsters with his frenetic rhythmical show. 

Hampton’s band continued the tour through Europe and having reached Casablanca it was decided that a return visit to Sweden was imperative and thus Quincy wrote and arranged tunes for a recording with an All Star band from which the iconic Stockholm Sweetin’ track emerged. Three years later, Dizzy Gillespie hired Jones to play in his band and later in 1956 when Gillespie was invited to put together a big band of outstanding international musicians. Diz chose Quincy to lead the ensemble. Jones also released his first album under his own name that year, a set for ABC-Paramount appropriately entitled This is How I Feel About Jazz. In 1957, Jones moved to Paris in order to study with the renowned Nadia Boulanger, an expatriate American composer with a stellar track record in educating composers, bandleaders and musicians. During his sojourn in France, Jones became friends with the now legendary Eddie and Nicole Barclay and they soon engaged Quincy as musical director and he produced and arranged sessions for Jacques Brel and Charles Aznavour, as well as American artists Billy Eckstine and Sarah Vaughan. In late 1959, the now 26 year old Jones was engaged to create the orchestra for a new musical Free and Easy, the songs for which were written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer. The intention was to tour the show throughout Europe before moving to Broadway, however the show ran into difficulties right from the start. 

After engagements in Amsterdam and Brussels and at the Alhambra in Paris in January 1960, by mid-February amongst bitter recriminations it eventually folded and the 18 musicians and their families were stranded. Having put together and rehearsed such a wonderful band Quincy, to his great credit decided to try to tour the band in it’s own right and for almost a year they struggled on playing concerts in many European countries including Scandinavia, Switzerland, France and Italy but exhausted and desperately short of money Quincy inevitably had to call it a day and return to the States. Fortunately several recordings of the “Free and Easy” band and some film footage were made of concerts given by this outstanding orchestra  just some of the awesome achievements this remarkable man has given to the world in his lifetime. http://www.candidrecords.com/product_info.php?products_id=331

Personnel: Les Spann (guitar, flute); Jerome Richardson (flute, tenor saxophone); Porter Kilbert, Phil Woods (alto saxophone); Budd Johnson (tenor saxophone); Sahib Shihab (baritone saxophone); Clark Terry (trumpet, flugelhorn); Lennie Johnson, Floyd Standifer, Benny Bailey (trumpet); Julius Watkins (French horn); Åke Persson, Jimmy Cleveland, Melba Liston, Quentin Jackson (trombone); Patti Bown (piano); Joe Harris (drums).

Free And Easy!

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Various - Jazzin' The Boogie

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 52:22
Size: 119.9 MB
Styles: Boogie woogie, Jump blues
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[2:26] 1. Quincy Jones - Choo Choo Ch'boogie
[2:52] 2. Ella Fitzgerald - Cow Cow Boogie
[2:25] 3. Jimmy Mcgriff - Hob Nail Boogie (Remastered)
[2:47] 4. Count Basie & His Orchestra - Boogie Woogie (I May Be Wrong)
[4:10] 5. Dizzy Gillespie - Joogie Boogie
[3:12] 6. Charlie Barnet & His Orchestra - Andy's Boogie
[2:34] 7. Stan Kenton - Artistry In Boogie
[6:33] 8. Meade Lux Lewis - 620 Boogie
[3:11] 9. Lester Young - Lester's Be Bop Boogie (Remastered)
[3:44] 10. Anita O'day - Boogie Blues
[5:38] 11. Herb Ellis - Big Red's Boogie Woogie
[3:10] 12. Bing Crosby - Pinetop's Boogie Woogie
[3:05] 13. Ben Webster - Boogie Woogie
[3:08] 14. Lionel Hampton Quintet - Hamp's Boogie Woogie
[3:20] 15. Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra - T.D.'s Boogie Woogie

Boogie Woogie was the first and to date the only exclusively piano music to issue from the blues. Boogie Woogie, a term used to describe the blues piano playing that thrived roughly between the years 1920 and 1945, was a highly popular music in tenements. The very name Boogie was another name for the "house rent party." Both terms describe a phenomenon that took place in the crowded tenements of Chicago, Detroit, New York, and virtually every city with a large black population. Because poverty was a way of life, black people learned quickly to depend on each other to band together and to work toward common goals. One such goal was that of simply being able to pay the rent. With unemployment at a normally high level (at least for blacks), men long accustomed to surviving under the most adverse conditions ingeniously devised a technique that served the combined purposes of raising the rent and providing a means of social intercourse.

Jazzin' The Boogie

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Quincy Jones - Q: Soul Bossa Nostra

Styles: R&B
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:34
Size: 150,7 MB
Art: Front + Back

(3:55)  1. Ironside
(3:53)  2. Strawberry Letter 23
(4:08)  3. Soul Bossa Nostra
(3:45)  4. Give Me The Night
(4:31)  5. Tomorrow
(5:00)  6. You Put A Move On My Heart
(3:11)  7. Get The Funk Out Of My Face
(5:53)  8. Secret Garden
(7:05)  9. Betcha Wouldn't Hurt Me
(5:24) 10. Everything Must Change
(4:57) 11. Many Rains Ago (Oluwa)
(4:05) 12. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)
(2:36) 13. It's My Party
(2:56) 14. Hikky-Burr
(4:08) 15. Sanford and Son

Other than a handful of one-offs, producer, composer, and arranger Quincy Jones has been busy outside of the music world, acting as a film producer and a cultural ambassador. Q: Soul Bossa Nostra is his first proper "new" album in 15 years, though it revisits tracks he either composed, recorded, or produced previously with a host of the current era's most popular artists from the R&B, pop, and hip-hop worlds. Given his rep, the star power here is not surprising, but re-recording classic songs with new singers or in some cases adding vocals to a track that never had them at all is risky. Soul Boss Nostra feels like a tribute exercise assembled more for radio play and to attract the holiday and single-track download markets than a creative one. One need only go to the remake of Shuggie Otis' classic "Strawberry Letter 23," which Jones produced for the Brothers Johnson in 1977. The vocal and production by Akon employ shimmering, slippery hip-hop rhythms, Auto-Tune, and layers of programmed keyboards and backing vocals, without the tune's signature bassline! It's thin and hollow. The oft-sampled hit "Soul Bossa Nova" appears here as a collaboration between Naturally 7 and Ludacris (who has sampled it himself). 

Jones' new arrangement is streamlined; it lacks the dynamic punch and humor of the hit. Q composed "Ironside" for the '70s television series; he uses the original orchestral and vocal tracks with a rap by Talib Kweli on top. It's better, but still feels disconnected. Why Jones re-arranged and re-corded "Tomorrow" with John Legend is a mystery; this version is void of the warmth of Tevin Campbell's from 1990. Campbell is here on a remake of Al B. Sure/Barry White track "Secret Garden" that keeps White's original vocal, and adds Campbell's with Robin Thicke, LL Cool J, Usher, and Tyrese. It is utter lacking in finesse or emotion. "Get the Funk Out of My Face," with Snoop Dogg, at least retains the Brothers Johnson feel; his rap almost works. "P.Y.T." is remade here by T-Pain and Thicke with so much Auto-Tune, it sounds like a cartoon soundtrack. Amy Winehouse's remake of "It's My Party" (which Jones produced for Lesley Gore in 1962), is tepid. Bebe Winans' reading of "Everything Must Change" is easily the set's classiest, most soulful track; it stands out beautifully from the dross. Given Jones' legendary stature and reputation for taste, this set feels unnecessary at best, and downright cynical at worst. ~ Thom Jurek   

http://www.allmusic.com/album/q-soul-bossa-nostra-mw0001989335

Q: Soul Bossa Nostra

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