George Coleman - Live at Smalls Jazz Club

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:02
Size: 163,3 MB
Art: Front

(11:26) 1. Four
( 6:27) 2. At Last
( 9:34) 3. My Funny Valentine
( 8:39) 4. Meditation
( 8:08) 5. Blues for Smalls
(11:17) 6. Nearness of You
( 7:10) 7. New York, New York
( 8:17) 8. When Sunny Gets Blue

If you are an aficionado of tenor saxophonists with a big, bold, biting tone who can run changes in the blink of an eye, then George Coleman is your man. Now in his 88th year, over the course of his long career, he has had a gamut of experiences including B.B. King (1952/1955-56), Max Roach (1958-59), Slide Hampton (1959-61) and Miles Davis (1963-64). His discography both as a leader/co-leader as well as a sideman covers a panoply of well-known jazz names, but recently the archivist label Reel To Real, under the guidance of saxophonist/producer Cory Weeds, uncovered a couple of unreleased 1970s Coleman sessions. Firstly, in 2020, The George Coleman Quintet in Baltimore (recorded in 1971), and in 2023 Shirley Scott Queen Bee: Live at the Left Bank (recorded in 1972) with Coleman on tenor sax.

Live at Smalls Jazz Club is a quartet session in which Coleman is supported by pianist Spike Wilner, bassist Peter Washington and the always swinging drummer Joe Farnsworth. The eight-tune track list consists of well recognized creations that have been associated with Coleman throughout his professional life starting with the Miles Davis composition "Four." Coleman opens the number with a sly introduction, after which he rips into a long solo with his usual energetic dashing style. The rhythm section is all in and full of propellant swing. The other Davis associated tune is Richard Rodgers' "My Funny Valentine." Coleman's interpretation is full of structural logic and artful restraint. Washington's bass is big and clear throughout.

The blues have been part of Coleman's repetoire since his early years with blues bands, and thus it is no surprise that his own composition "Blues For Smalls" is included in this session. And a rollicking blues it is, filled with Coleman's long, looping runs. Wilner fills his lengthy solo with surging energy, Farnsworth's slick drumming thrusts the number forward, while Washington is his usual clever self with his interjections. The final three tracks"The Nearness Of You," "New York, NewYork" and "When Sunny Gets Blue" continue with the stellar performances that Coleman and his cohorts laid down in the previous cuts. There is no diminution in Coleman's big saxophone sound and his improvisations continue to be crafty and expansive. By Pierre Giroux
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/live-at-smalls-jazz-club-george-coleman-george-coleman-cellar-music-group

Personnel: George Coleman: saxophone, tenor; Spike Wilner: piano; Peter Washington: bass; Joe Farnsworth: drums.

Live at Smalls Jazz Club

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The Spike Wilner Trio - Aliens & Wizards

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2021
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:13
Size: 106,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:54) 1. Righty-O!
(6:56) 2. Non Troppo
(6:32) 3. Adagio
(4:36) 4. Mindset
(4:23) 5. Blue Gardenia
(4:35) 6. Stella By Starlight
(3:18) 7. Aliens & Wizards
(6:10) 8. Prayer for Peace
(5:45) 9. Trick Baby

Spike Wilner generally noted in his native New York City as an excellent jazz pianist, is even more widely known as proprietor of two of the city's leading jazz clubs, Smalls and Mezzrow. Though hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, Wilner has soldiered on, presenting live music whenever possible and forming the SmallsLIVE Foundation, a non-profit arts group dedicated to creating and propagating jazz in New York through recordings, live streaming, archiving, educational initiatives and live performances. Wilner's foundation teamed up with fellow musician and entrepreneur Cory Weeds' Cellar Music Group to produce Aliens & Wizards, a splendid trio date showcasing Wilner, bassist Tyler Mitchell and drummer Anthony Pinciotti.

Besides leading the trio, Wilner, who shows admirable control of the keyboard, wrote six of the album's nine selections to accompany the standards "Blue Gardenia," "Stella by Starlight" and the high-stepping opener, "Righty-O!" Even though Wilner's compositions are laudable, the other three clearly stand among the album's highlights. Wilner earns high marks for the earnest, hymn-like "Prayer for Peace," which modulates to soulful blues and freewheeling jazz before returning to its reverential taproot, and for the fast-paced finale, "Trick Baby" (aka "Love for Sale"), wherein everyone loosens up and lets the sparks fly as they may, as they do earlier on Wilner's double-quick "Non Troppo."

The mercurial "Righty-O!" ("Lady Be Good"?) would test any trio's mettle; Wilner and his mates not only meet the challenge head-on but do a commendable job of taming the beast. Wilner frames a crisp solo, which is followed by dynamic four-bar exchanges with Pinciotti. That leads to a trio of Wilner's amiable charts: "Non Troppo," "Adagio" and "Mindset," followed by "Gardenia" and "Stella," whose inherent charms are earnestly brought to the fore by the trio. Wilner is notably eloquent on "Gardenia," well-spoken and sturdy on "Stella," wherein Mitchell also solos sharply.

As Aliens & Wizards was recorded in August 2020, "at the height of the pandemic," as the liner notes attest, the assumption is that everyone was suitably masked and distanced. Whatever the case, Wilner's trio has recorded an impressive session, which, as icing on the cake, is devoted to a good cause. Let's hope that normal times return soon to Smalls and Mezzrow and, indeed, to every venue in New York City and around the country rekindling the fire and excitement of live jazz for audiences who have for too long been unable to respond to and appreciate its insuperable spirit.
By Jack Bowers https://www.allaboutjazz.com/aliens-and-wizards-spike-wilner-cellarmusic

Personnel: Spike Wilner: piano; Tyler Mitchell: bass; Anthony Pinciotti: drums.

Aliens & Wizards

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Cyrille Aimée + Friends - Live at Smalls

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:00
Size: 155,3 MB
Art: Front

(6:56)  1. September in the Rain
(6:16)  2. Que Reste-Il ( I Wish You Love)
(6:36)  3. Yesterdays
(5:43)  4. East Village Inamorata
(9:38)  5. Love for Sale
(6:47)  6. I Was Beginning to See the Light
(6:07)  7. When I Was a Child
(5:29)  8. Lover Man
(7:40)  9. I Mean You
(5:46) 10. Stand by Me

Cyrille Aimée has consistently proven herself to be an unstoppable, undeniable talent in the modern age of jazz. Her culturally rich background has supplied her with the driving force of Dominican rhythm and the incredible swing of the French Gypsies. Taking these natural abilities with her across the world, she has received rave reviews and a loyal following in each country she graces with her voice. She was a finalist in the prestigious Thelonious Monk Vocal Competition of 2010, performing in front of a jury of Al Jarreau, Kurt Elling, Dianne Reeves, Dee Dee Bridgewater. In 2007, Cyrille won both the first and public prize in the Montreux Jazz Festival Competition. For her SmallsLIVE debut, she is accompanied by jazz legend Roy Hargrove as well as tenor saxophonist Joel Frahm. The rhythm section consists of pianist Spike Wilner, bassist Phil Khuen and drummer Joey Saylor. ~ Editorial Reviews https://www.amazon.com/Cyrille-Aimee-Friends-Live-Smalls/dp/B004NWHVT4

Personnel:  Cyrille Aimée – vocals;  Roy Hargrove – trumpet;  Joel Frahm – tenor sax;  Spike Wilner -  piano;  Phillip Kuehn – bass;  Joseph Saylor – drums

Live at Smalls

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Spike Wilner - Portraits

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 65:54
Size: 150.9 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 1999
Art: Front

[6:03] 1. Wonderful! Wonderful!
[8:01] 2. For The Girl
[6:30] 3. Forever Young
[8:26] 4. Three To Go
[4:33] 5. A Tale Thrice Told
[6:13] 6. In The Still Of The Night
[7:39] 7. The Dennis Jeter (Bug) Waltz
[4:19] 8. Everything I Have Is Yours
[6:07] 9. A Stitch In Time
[7:57] 10. Slow Blues

Michael “Spike” Wilner was born in New York City and started playing piano at an early age. He was inspired by a television program about the life of Scott Joplin to learn to play Ragtime Music. He perused this art form throughout high school and performed Joplin’s “Maple Leaf Rag” at the St. Louis Ragtime Festival. Although it was an informal appearance it, nonetheless, profoundly affected him and drove him to peruse a career in music. In his high school jazz program he met pianist Peter Martin who introduced him and inspired him to learn more modern jazz.

Wilner decided to enter into the New School For Social Research’s Jazz and Contemporary Music department, which was then in it’s first year. Headed by the late saxophonist Arnie Lawrence, this was an experimental forum where young jazz musicians were introduced to masters and left on their own to interact and play together. In this fertile musical environment Wilner met and became friends with many of today’s leading jazz musicians. Students at that time included: Peter Bernstein, Jesse Davis, Larry Goldings, Brad Mehldau, Roy Hargrove, Sam Yahel, Joe Strasser and many others. It was there that Wilner had the good fortune to become the student of the late pianist Walter Davis Jr. as well as the late great Jaki Byard. At this same time Wilner became involved at the Jazz Cultural Theater under the direction a Barry Harris and spent several years studying there.

It was also at this time that Wilner began to work professionally on the New York City jazz scene. He began to play gigs in the various clubs and throughout the years has held down many steady engagements in well-known clubs. Wilner was a house pianist at the legendary, now defunct, Village Gate as well as other long-gone clubs such as Visiones, The Angry Squire and The Village Corner. In 1995, Wilner became involved with the jazz club Smalls under the direction of owner Mitch Borden. At Smalls, Wilner has developed his music and his career.

Portraits

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Spike Wilner - La Tendresse

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 55:47
Size: 127.7 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[5:05] 1. La Tendresse
[3:04] 2. If I Only Had A Brain
[6:26] 3. Solace
[5:24] 4. Silver Cord
[4:32] 5. Always
[4:52] 6. Lullaby Of The Leaves
[5:53] 7. After You've Gone
[4:11] 8. Le Sucrier Velours
[6:00] 9. Little Girl Blue
[4:33] 10. Crepuscule With Nellie
[2:28] 11. I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together
[3:12] 12. Happy Ending

Joy.

But having been told that one word reviews aren't sufficient, how about this: Pianist Spike Wilner's disc La Tendresse is pure joy.

Wilner can probably best be described as an old soul occupying a modernist corpus. His foundations in ragtime and stride piano inform the music heard here, but like Thelonious Monk, he uses the tradition as the architecture for the anatomy of a modern player. Even his take on "Crepuscule With Nellie," the classic Monk expression of hesitation and suspension, is delivered as a tender blues. More importantly, he delivers it without the cartoon clichéd dawdling.

Wilner's approach is to brighten each piece with the energy of his playing. Like his hero, Willie "The Lion" Smith and other Harlem stride pianists, he makes the difficult seem quite simple. The speed at which the trio navigates "After You're Gone" is just short of tumult. Drummer Dezron Douglas and bassist Joey Saylor chase, and then are chased by, the exuberance of Wilner's piano.

He is also quite comfortable carrying the day unaccompanied. As with his previous solo recording Live At Smalls (Smalls Live, 2011), Wilner performs several solo pieces here. The old Carol Burnett sign off tune "I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together" is rationed with the appropriate melancholy, and Harold Arlen's "If I Only Had A Brain" bounces and frolics with a campy stride fitting the dopey scarecrow.

The trio performs Irving Berlin's "Always," raising the bandstand much like early Bill Evans would, interlacing a subtle and intellectual swing with a quasi-classical approach. The highlights of this disc might be Scott Joplin's "Solace" and Bernice Petkere's "Lullaby Of The Leaves." Both tracks beg for comparison to master musician Bebo Valdes' playing. With "Solace," Wilner mixes his ragtime approach with Valdes' Cuban-folk take on American jazz.

There is much rejoicing to be had—or heard—here. ~Mark Corroto

Spike Wilner: piano; Dezron Douglas: bass; Joey Saylor: drums.

La Tendresse

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