Selma Chekili - Jazz Standards

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 41:11
Size: 94.3 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[3:13] 1. Strollin'
[4:57] 2. My Funny Valentine
[3:13] 3. It's Alright With Me
[4:42] 4. Sophisticated Lady
[3:25] 5. Someday My Prince Will Come
[3:21] 6. For All We Know
[3:35] 7. Speak Low
[3:45] 8. I Wish I Knew
[3:13] 9. Bye Bye Blackbird
[4:41] 10. How Insensitive
[3:01] 11. You Took Advantage Of Me

Recorded in Tunis at Ulysson Studios, featuring Fawzi Chekili on guitar & piano, Nizar Mhadhebi on bass, Mehdi Chekili on drums, Yacine Boulares on tenor sax and Selma Chekili on vocals.

Jazz Standards

---

Oscar Castro-Neves - Live at Blue Note Tokyo

Styles: Bossa Nova, Brazilian Traditions

Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:11
Size: 131,0 MB
Art : Front

(5:09)  1. Ela É Carioca
(4:25)  2. Ponteio
(4:00)  3. My Sweet Sweetiepie
(4:09)  4. Domingo Azul Do Mar / Fotografia
(3:04)  5. Waters of March
(2:23)  6. Rio
(4:58)  7. Caninana
(3:14)  8. Rio Dawning
(5:47)  9. Tatiando
(4:58) 10. Misturada / Tombo
(3:22) 11. Chora Tua Tristeza
(4:07) 12. Canto De Ossanha
(2:58) 13. Deixa (Bonus Track)
(4:31) 14. Manhã De Carnaval

Live at Blue Note Tokyo is a celebration of Brazilian jazz played in one of the foremost jazz clubs in the world a gathering of old friends and the discovery of new friends, all coming together for legendary guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves. A founding father of the bossa nova musical movement, Castro-Neves became a leading figure in the genre, recording historic albums with Antonio Carlos Jobim, Dori Caymmi and Stan Getz, and touring with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Barbra Streisand, Ella Fitzgerald and countless others. On this outing, the guitarist/singer brings together percussionist Airto Moreira and vocalist Leila Pinheiro, both old friends, for an exciting collaboration with new musical partners to record a gem of Brazilian music.

The music is a compilation of performances recorded over a seven-night 2009 stretch at the Blue Note Tokyo jazz club, and features an all-star cast of Brazilian musicians playing three of Castro-Neves' own compositions, as well as songs from Jobim, Moreira, Baden Powell and others. The album was meant to capture only a snapshot of the incredible bossa music produced over the last fifty years. Needless to say, though the fourteen-piece repertoire is diverse, exciting and engaging, it in no way sufficiently documents the history of this great genre with such worldwide appeal. Nevertheless, from the strings of Castro-Neves' guitar, the lips of Pinheiro, and passionate performances from the band, Brazil comes alive with beautiful bossa melodies.

While vocals are certainly the mainstay of this disc, Castro-Neves' original, "My Sweet Sweetiepie," is a gorgeous instrumental collaboration between the leader and pianist Paulo Calasans. The guitarist opens the album with a vocal performance on the lively bossa rhythms of "Ela É Carioca," while on "Ponteio," he is joined by Pinheiro, who provides the lead vocals. There are other notable vocal performances here, including the two Jobim pieces, "Domingo Azul Do Mar/Fotographia," and "Waters of March." The brief but beautiful "Rio" and the classic Powell song, "Canto De Ossanha," are also wonderful vocal spots.

It's been said that jazz seems to be far more popular around the world than it is in the United States, with Japan listed as one country that has fully embraced the music. Audience response to this live recording confirms that the Brazilian sub-genre is just as popular. Led by guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves, one of the most important exponents of the bossa nova, Live at The Blue Note Tokyo showcases an all-star cast of players in a world-renowned setting, delivering the music of Brazil with passion and class. ~ Edward Blanco  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=41948#.Ukdekz9vA1I

Personnel: Oscar Castro-Neves: acoustic guitar, synthesizer guitar, vocals; Airto Moreira: drums, caxixis (3), pandeiro (7, 13), vocals (7, 13); Leila Pinheiro: vocals; Marco Bosco: percussion, voice and bird effects (9); Paulo Calasans: acoustic piano, keyboards; Marcelo Mariano: electric bass.

Oscar Castro-Neves 1940-2013  R.I.P.

Live at Blue Note Tokyo

---

Jill Schoelen - Kelly's Smile

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:48
Size: 109,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:50)  1. Route 66
(3:50)  2. Kelly's Smile
(3:18)  3. Just the Way I Am
(4:58)  4. Cry Me a River
(3:17)  5. For All We Know
(5:24)  6. Meaning of the Blues
(4:41)  7. You're Looking at Me
(3:59)  8. Their Hearts Were Full of Spring
(3:50)  9. Girl Talk
(4:00) 10. Daddy
(3:15) 11. February Brings the Rain
(3:22) 12. If

While mostly recognized for her acting talents, Jill Schoelen (best known for her performances in Phantom of the Opera (1989), That Was Then,This Is Now (1986), Cutting Class (1989), and the original version of the 1987 horror film, The Stepfather) is exploring her other talents and has put out a stellar debut CD, Kelly’s Smile. Singing is not such a far stretch for Schoelen, as music has always been a passion of hers. Her voice is strong, yet not overstated. Schoelen’s style reminds one of Norah Jones, but whereas Jones can lull you off, Schoelen’s upbeat delivery keeps the pace of Kelly’s Smile vigorous. The CD is a profile of Sholean’s close friendship with Kelly Troup, the daughter of composer/actor Bobby Troup and actress Julie London. It was through their friendship with the Troup family that Schoelen learned her love for jazz. And when Kelly Troup passed away in 2002, it was the inspiration for this CD. Nine of the CD’s twelve tracks were penned by Bobby Troup, starting off with his most famous composition, "Route 66." (covered by everyone from The Rolling Stones, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Bob Dylan, to to a drastically distorted version by Johnny Rotten who shouted it for a Mountain Dew commercial in 1996). Schoelen’s take is breathy and atmospheric with an allure that Nina Simone would have been proud of. "Girls Talk" is another charmer, as is her cover of Bread’s "If." Schoelen went to the top in arranging her accompaniment as Larry Koonse guitar is smooth and tasteful and is the perfect complement to Schoelen’s vocals, as is the outstanding bass of the legendary Dave Carpenter (who sadly passed away last year). Kelly’s Smile is truly one of the best debut CDs to come out in some time. ~John Reed  http://blogcritics.org/music-review-jill-schoelen-kellys-smile/

Kelly's Smile

---

John Legend - Love in the Future (Deluxe Edition)

Styles: Soul
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:32
Size: 155,7 MB
Art: Front + Back

(0:40)  1. Love in the Future (Intro)
(3:25)  2. The Beginning...
(3:06)  3. Open Your Eyes
(4:00)  4. Made To Love
(4:52)  5. Who Do We Think We Are (feat. Rick Ross)
(4:29)  6. All of Me
(2:38)  7. Hold On Longer
(3:09)  8. Save the Night
(3:33)  9. Tomorrow
(0:50) 10. What If I Told You? (Interlude)
(2:38) 11. Dreams
(3:06) 12. Wanna Be Loved
(1:24) 13. Angel (Interlude) [feat. Stacy Barthe]
(4:12) 14. You & I (Nobody In the World)
(3:17) 15. Asylum
(3:45) 16. Caught Up
(4:46) 17. So Gone
(4:02) 18. We Loved It (feat. Seal)
(4:18) 19. Aim High
(5:12) 20. For the First Time

This is John Legend's first solo studio album since 2008's Evolver. Between the two releases, he recorded the Grammy-winning Wake Up! with the Roots, scored a gold single with "Tonight (Best You Ever Had)" (from the Think Like a Man soundtrack), was featured on a couple albums' worth of songs by other artists, and somehow managed to be deeply involved in philanthropy. He also got engaged. Although he proposed to model Chrissy Teigen five years after meeting her, much of Love in the Future seems drawn from a romance that was quicker to bloom. "The Beginning…" sets a tone of urgency with a scene from the day after their first night spent together. Legend sings with certitude, "Pick some names, boy or girl/Then we'll change, change the world." That sense of blissful urgency -- of seizing the moment, getting lost, and knowing that the future is set -- is belied in the pacing. Even the album's standard 16-track edition meanders at a crawling pace. It's broken up by the occasional soaring arrangement or some hypnotically clanking/pinging percussion, as heard on highlight "Made to Love," which resembles a latter-day Moby collaboration with distant handclapping, spooky background vocals, and a sample from Lil Louis' noisy house classic "Video Clash." This is a heavy, laboriously made set of songs. The list of producers alone includes Hit-Boy, Bink, 88 Keys, the Runners, Doc McKinney, Q-Tip, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. Kanye West, and Dave Tozer pile on as co-producers and co-executive producers. Perhaps they ensured that the whole album would have its dramatic, slightly eerie tone; even the covers of Bobby Caldwell's "Open Your Eyes" and Anita Baker's "Angel" are a little uneasy. That level of sonic indulgence seems like it should be incompatible with an artist who is, essentially, a piano man, but Love in the Future is among Legend's best work, made for couples who are into one another for the long term while feeling a little daring and crazy. [A Deluxe Edition added four bonus tracks.] ~ Andy Kellman  

http://www.allmusic.com/album/release/love-in-the-future-deluxe-edition-mr0003996905

Love in the Future (Deluxe Edition)

---

Shirma Rouse & Kim Hoorweg - Dedicated To You

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 49:38
Size: 113.6 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[3:11] 1. I'm Beginning To See The Light
[3:23] 2. Jackson
[3:02] 3. China Boy
[4:55] 4. Dedicated To You
[2:43] 5. A Bicyclette
[3:35] 6. Attardi
[4:18] 7. Tennessee Waltz
[3:39] 8. Love Is A Beautiful Thing
[2:58] 9. Drop Me Off In Harlem
[4:13] 10. Lonely Town Lonely Walker
[3:00] 11. Onder De Wuivende Palmeri
[3:23] 12. I Say A Little Prayer
[4:09] 13. A Place Called Home
[3:02] 14. One Love

Two women with two completely different backgrounds: Shirma Rouse, brought up with Antilean music, gospel and soul on the island of St. Eustatius. Kim Hoorweg, who listens since her childhood days to heroes like Jaap Valkhoff, Yves Montand and Johnny Cash. Both young but experienced singers who enter into a musical cooperation on CD and in theatres. They both sing world renowned tracks from music celebrities with whom they grew up.

Kim: “Shirma and I are quite different, but we have a special musical bond. Together we go back to our roots. With my heroes and Shirma, who introduces me to Antillean music, Aretha Franklin and Bob Marley.” Kim Hoorweg has been working on her musical career since she was 14 years and is considered to be the Dutch Jazz vocal-talent.

Shirma: “I come from a family that listened a lot to gospel, soul and reggae music. It was very exciting to unite our ‘roots’ and discover how well they musically fit together, even though we look totally different and have quite different cultural backgrounds.” Shirma Rouse is an experienced vocalist, who worked together as a background singer with a.o. Anouk, Candy Dulfer, Trijntje Oosterhuis and Wouter Hamel.

All tracks on the CD ‘Dedicated To You’ are a re-make of the originals, resulting in a fresh sound, also because of the special arrangement by Erwin Hoorweg for percussion (Martin Verdonk), keys (Erwin Hoorweg) and bass (Boudewijn Lucas).

Dedicated To You

---

Artie Shaw - The Artistry Of Art Shaw & His Bop Band 1949

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 51:49
Size: 118.6 MB
Styles: Bop, Big band
Year: 2004
Art: Front

[3:21] 1. Smooth 'n Easy
[3:18] 2. Krazy Kat
[3:42] 3. Afro-Cubana
[3:40] 4. Stardust
[4:06] 5. Fred's Delight
[3:25] 6. I Get A Kick Out Of You
[0:20] 7. Mucho De Nada
[3:13] 8. I Cover The Waterfront
[3:01] 9. 's Wonderful
[3:26] 10. Similau
[3:41] 11. Aesop's Foibles
[2:52] 12. They Can't Take That Away From Me
[3:22] 13. So Easy
[3:06] 14. Carnival
[2:39] 15. Orinoco
[4:30] 16. Innuendo

In 1949 just before he was about to start yet another big band, Artie Shaw made the following statement: 'We'll find an identity. Perhaps it would be fairer to say I'll find one. Sooner or later all bands that stick find an identity, and find it through their leader. All the sounds, the creative arrangements, the pop tunes and the originals, must be channelized through the leader''. And on September 14, 1949 Artie Shaw was back on the bandstand, opening at Symphony Hall, Boston. The band's book contained both old and new material, and it was the first time Shaw had gone on the road with a band for many years. The 1949 band features a mixture of numbers associated with the Shaw bands of the early 40's and some in a more modern vein from new writers/arrangers such as Tadd Dameron, Johnny Mandel, Gene Roland and George Russell, with the more exotic Latin sounds coming from the pen of John Bartee.

The Artistry Of Art Shaw & His Bop Band 1949

---

Patrick Prouty - Roll The Windows Down

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 38:36
Size: 88.4 MB
Styles: Soul, Funk
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[4:46] 1. Duck!
[5:04] 2. Ms. Lavette
[2:47] 3. New Jersey
[3:40] 4. One For Jamerson
[4:04] 5. Woodward
[3:41] 6. Summer Of '84
[3:44] 7. Roll The Windows Down
[2:51] 8. Between The Stax
[4:13] 9. 1978 Camaro
[3:41] 10. Tumbleweeds

Detroit bassist Patrick Prouty's, Roll The Windows Down is an homage to the music of Stax and Motown. It features 10 original funky/soul instrumentals in the style of Booker T. and The Funk Brothers.

Patrick Prouty is a veteran bassist/composer from Detroit. He began is musical pursuits with piano lessons at age 10 and when he got to high school he started singing an playing guitar in local rock bands. Early on music became his foremost passion! Switching to electric bass in his senior year of high school and without much formal musical training, he decided to pursue a jazz studies degree at Wayne State University in Detroit. After a less than spectacular audition, Professor Matt Michaels agreed to let him enter the jazz program but only after a summer of lessons with Wayne State’s bass instructor Dan Pliskow. Professor Pliskow encouraged Patrick to acquire an upright bass. He found one for sale in the paper, purchased it and three days later did his first gig on it!

In the fertile Detroit jazz and blues scene, Patrick began to make a name for himself as a solid, reliable sideman on both the electric and upright bass and started to make his living as a musician. He began sharing the stage and the recording studio with some of Detroit’s best jazz and blues artists like Marcus Belgrave, and Alberta Adams.

Al Hill, Kevin Grenier- Keyboards; George Bedard, Kris Kurzawa- Guitars; Bill Higgins, Kevin Venney- Drums; Patrick Prouty- Basses; Steve Wood- Saxophones.

Roll The Windows Down

---

Dina Blade - Sentimental Journey Popular Songs From WW II

Styles: Vocal, Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:19
Size: 78,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:29)  1. Accentuate The Positive
(2:10)  2. I Thought About You
(1:58)  3. G.I. Jive
(3:18)  4. Star Dust
(2:52)  5. Perfidia
(4:03)  6. Blues In The Night
(2:51)  7. They Can't Take That Away From Me
(2:56)  8. My Buddy
(3:02)  9. Sentimental Journey
(2:33) 10. White Cliffs Of Dover
(3:00) 11. It's Been A Long Long Time
(2:01) 12. I'll Be Seeing You

This cd’s mellow, “jazzy-bluesy” vibe creates a compelling listening experience that brings a distant era much closer while rekindling its magic. Vocalist Dina Blade “literally breathes new life into old standards” (-Jazziz Magazine), and captures the spirit of these 1930s and 40s wartime megahits with a relaxed and swinging sound that will not only delight listeners already familiar with her work, but establish new fans of both the music and the artist. “Beautiful new album.” ~Carol Newman KMUN radio  

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/dinablade4

Sentimental Journey

---

The Claudia Quintet - September

Styles: Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 70:57
Size: 162,4 MB
Art: Front

( 2:35)  1. September 20th: Soterius Lakshmi
(10:36) 2. September 9th: Wayne Phases
( 6:27)  3. September 25th: Somber Blanket
(10:27) 4. September 29th, 1936:  "Me Warn You"
( 4:48)  5. September 22nd: Love Is Its Own Eternity
(10:35) 6. September 18th: Lemons
( 6:54)  7. September 17th: Loop Piece
( 6:24)  8. September 24th: Interval Dig
( 6:24)  9. September 16th: Mystic Klang
( 5:42) 10. September 12th: Coping Song

“Rich with ambition and empathetic interplay...the Claudia Quintet doesn’t...sound like anybody else. Which is exactly what makes them worth seeking out.” ~ Los Angeles Times

Led by composer, drummer and three-time Grammy nominee John Hollenbeck, The Claudia Quintet have quietly but firmly and definitively recast jazz into shimmering new shapes inflected by classical minimalism, new music, progressive rock and post-rock. They are one of the most influential stylists on other musicians in cutting-edge jazz today and the sound of jazz and what jazz can be in the in our time has changed because of their sound and stance.
Hailed by Nate Chinen of the New York Times for their “clockwork intricacy and crisp premeditation ... [striking an] accord between the factions of progressive jazz, classical Minimalism and low-glare experimental rock,” the Claudia Quintet tackles Hollenbeck’s highly demanding works with a wry improvising spirit and a backbone of surging, mesmerizing rhythm.

The new album, ‘September,’ the group's seventh, pays homage to a time of year when Hollenbeck seeks the isolation and creative focus of artist residencies. In the last dozen years  often in September  he’s spent invaluable time at retreats in places as far afield as Italy, New Mexico and upstate New York. Writes Hollenbeck in the liner notes: "September is a wonderful month and, for me, the equivalent of Thursday, my favorite day of the week which I celebrated in song on the first Claudia Quintet CD!"

In the lineup are two newer players: accordionist Red Wierenga, like Hollenbeck an alum of the Eastman School of Music; and (on four tracks) bassist Chris Tordini, a frequent sub for Claudia’s original bassist Drew Gress. Hugely in-demand as a sideman and an inspired bandleader in his own right, Gress appears on six of the 10 tracks that make up ‘September.’

Clarinetist/tenor saxophonist Chris Speed and vibraphonist Matt Moran, both Claudia members from the start, play with stirring virtuosity and give Hollenbeck’s writing a sonorous warmth, balancing its more technical and rocking side. Unorthodox textures, fragmented beats and “bright tones filled with folky allusions and plaintive undercurrents” (Siddhartha Mitter, Boston Globe) continue to define the Claudia Quintet’s unclassifiable output.

‘September’ marks another departure in that Hollenbeck chose "to create music for the Claudia Quintet that could be communicated and performed without the use of written music." The fact that Hollenbeck taught these labyrinthine pieces to the band largely by ear makes the polish and cohesion all the more astonishing.

Celebrating 15 years of work together with the release of ‘September,’ this NYC ensemble’s sound continues to explore the edge without alienating the mainstream, proving that genre-defying music can be for everyone. 

http://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/september

Personnel : John Hollenbeck - drums, percussion; Chris Speed - clarinet, tenor saxophone; Matt Moran – vibraphone; Red Wierenga – accordion; Drew Gress - acoustic bass (1, 3, 7-10); Chris Tordini - acoustic bass (2, 3, 5, 6)

September

---

Neko Case - The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You

Styles: Alt Country
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:47
Size: 104,8 MB
Art: Front

(2:37)  1. Wild Creatures
(3:45)  2. Night Still Comes
(3:27)  3. Man
(3:00)  4. I'm From Nowhere
(2:16)  5. Bracing For Sunday
(2:31)  6. Nearly Midnight, Honolulu
(2:36)  7. Calling Cards
(4:04)  8. City Swan
(2:18)  9. Afraid
(2:32) 10. Local Girl
(3:26) 11. Where Did I Leave That Fire
(5:13) 12. Ragtime
(3:45) 13. Madonna Of The Wasps
(2:55) 14. Magpie To The Morning
(1:15) 15. Yon Ferrets Return

The cover photo for 2009's Middle Cyclone found indie rock civil defense siren Neko Case warning the masses of potentially deadly weather from atop the hood of a 1967 Mercury Cougar. It was a striking image, and one that perfectly captured both the album's quiet might and her distinctive Patsy Cline-meets-Rosie the Riveter allure. Once again barefoot and wielding a samurai sword, Case squares off against a trio of serpents on the front jacket of 2013's like-minded, yet decidedly more adventurous The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You, a 12-track horn of plenty that taunts, comforts, bruises, and empowers, and like all of her previous offerings, rewards repeated spins with a multitude of riches. Her most vulnerable and permeable collection of songs to date, it's not quite Neko Case unchained, but it's certainly as emotionally raw as it is willfully enigmatic, especially on quieter numbers like "Nearly Midnight, Honolulu," "I'm from Nowhere," and an airy, evocative cover of Nico's "Afraid," all three of which benefit from the barest of arrangements. That said, when Case decides to go big, she doesn’t skimp on the trimmings (guest spots are populated by the likes of M. Ward, Howe Gelb, Mudhoney's Steve Turner, and members of Calexico, Los Lobos, 

My Morning Jacket, Visqueen, and of course, the New Pornographers and longtime shadow Kelly Hogan), but her version of opulence is mired in great taste, which affords superb, midtempo offerings like "Night Still Comes, "Ragtime," and "Local Girl," straight-up dirt road rockers such as "City Swans," and the punk-infused, delightfully subversive single "Man" ("I'm a man, that's what you raised me to be/ I'm not your identity crisis/This was planned") the room they need to flex their considerable muscle while maintaining an air of warm, almost casual bombast that invokes names like Sandy Denny and Dusty Springfield. It's some of her most instantly gratifying work as well, perfectly encapsulating all of her personas, from the erudite, whiskey-shooting provocateur to the sweet and soulful, small town crooner who sounds like she was plucked from the pages of a novel set in the antebellum north. Case has proven time and again that she has the songwriting chops to match her earthy, superlative voice, but never with such authority.~ James Christopher Monger  http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-worse-things-get-the-harder-i-fight-the-harder-i-fight-the-more-i-love-you-mw0002555210.

The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You

---

Mora's Modern Rhythmists - Mr. Rhythmist Goes To Town

Styles: Swing, Big Bands
Label: Ace Records
Released: 1999
File: mp3 @320K/s
Size: 153,9 MB
Time: 67:15
Art: front

1. Georgia Jubilee - 2:42
2. Cavernism - 3:24
3. Joe Turner Blues - 2:23
4. Sweet Sue, Just You - 3:58
5. Blue Minor - 3:24
6. King Of Swing - 3:15
7. Mr. Ghost Goes To Town - 3:58
8. Without That Gal - 2:36
9. Chant Of The Weed - 3:46
10. Ain't Cha Got Music? - 2:51
11. The Mayor Of Alabam' - 3:31
12. Dixieland Shuffle - 3:24
13. Jungle Jazz - 2:52
14. Four Or Five Times - 3:10
15. Dancin' With A Debutante - 2:24
16. Hot Toddy - 2:22
17. Pastorale - 4:08
18. Here Come The British - 3:15
19. Big John's Special - 2:50
20. Smoke Rings - 3:29
21. Night Ride - 3:24

Notes: MORA'S MODERN RHYTHMISTS was formed in 1994 by Dean Mora, a Los Angeles-area pianist whose interest in the 1920s and 1930s was forged early on as a child (he saw "The Sting" when he was 11, and was instantly hooked) and has endeavored to bring the music of this period back to life, utilizing original published arrangements as well as transcriptions from recordings. Following a series of small concerts around the Los Angeles area, the band was booked at the world-famous Derby nightclub in 1997, and remained the Monday night house band for three years, prompting legions of dancers to rediscover some of the dances steps that were popular during this time frame, such as the Shag, the Balboa, and the Charleston.

Since then, the band has played at such venues as The Wiltern Theatre, The Hollywood Palladium, The Avalon Casino Ballroom (Catalina Island), the legendary Blossom Room of The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the historic Biltmore Hotel (downtown Los Angeles) and Argyle Hotel (Hollywood), the Wilshire Ebell Club, The Hollywood Athletic Club, and The Orpheum Theatre. Special events include The Los Angeles Consevancy's Last Remaining Seats series, the Art Deco Society's 1929 Wall St. Crash Bash and Speakeasy Soiree, A&E Network's gala premiere of "The Great Gatsby", as well as numerous corporate and private functions. In the summer of 2001, Mora's Modern Rhythmists had the honor of performing at Lincoln Center in New York City as part of their "Midsummer Night Swing" dance series.

The band has also participated in music festivals, such as the Sweet and Hot Jazz Festival, the SoCal Jazzfest, the San Clemente Dixieland Festival, and the Big Bear Jazz Festival. In the concert arena, Mora's Modern Rhythmists presented an all-Duke Ellington program at the Balcony Theatre in Pasadena as part of the Pasadena Jazz Institute's "Tribute To The Masters" concert series, as well as being the starring ensemble in "Chuck Cecil Presents...", which was held at the Performing Arts Center of Cal State, Northridge, and was very favorably reviewed by esteemed Los Angeles Times jazz critic Don Heckman.

Mora's Modern Rhythmists have released 4 CDs to date, including My Favorite Band, Mr. Rhythmist Goes To Town, Call of the Freaks, and their most recent endevor, Goblin Market, a tribute to Swing Era-arranger and bandleader Spud Murphy, (known chiefly for his arranging work with Benny Goodman).

Mr. Rhythmist Goes To Town

---

Stephanie Nakasian - Billie Remembered: The Classic Songs Of Billie Holiday

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 39:13
Size: 89.8 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 2009
Art: Front

[2:47] 1. No Regrets
[2:56] 2. Did I Remember
[2:53] 3. What A Night, What A Moon, What A Boy
[3:41] 4. I Wished On The Moon
[3:45] 5. I Cried For You
[4:51] 6. These Foolish Things
[3:39] 7. What A Little Moonlight Can Do
[4:22] 8. Reaching For The Moon
[2:55] 9. Too Hot For Words
[4:07] 10. If You Were Mine
[3:11] 11. Miss Brown To You

"Billie Remembered," the most recent release of the marvelous American jazz singer Stephanie Nakasian, is indeed, a tribute album to the late, great twentieth century American blues/jazz singer Billie Holiday. But, thankfully, it stays away from that iconic singer's most famous work; it is, instead, a reimagining of an early 1935 recording, now more than 75 years old. Nakasian told an interviewer, "I love the feeling of it. It's very perky and happy. It's some of the more obscure music, which I always love. And I just love doing it. So I decided to try to channel her and get more Billie into my singing, as well. That's part of the reason to do it."

The album, which was featured on a recent episode of "Fresh Air," with Terry Gross, has a life of its own. It gives us eleven songs, and Nakasian has rounded up some distinguished backing musicians to record it, "primus inter pares" her husband and log-time collaborator Hod O'Brien, an outstanding stride player, at piano. Randy Sadke at trumpet; Harry Allen, Tenor Sax; Dan Block, Alto Sax, Clarinet; Marty Grosz, Guitar; Chuck Riggs, Drums; Neil Miner, Bass. Excellent players all, and undoubtedly one of the reasons the album sounds so good: they provide a much fuller sound than the trios and quartets most other Holiday tributes try to get away with. And they give us a sound that sounds artfully, a little bit, dated. While they straight ahead swing. And so does Nakasian. While sounding absolutely beautiful and capturing Lady Day's spirit as well as her phrasing, and strong hints of her voice. ~Stephanie dePue

Billie Remembered: The Classic Songs Of Billie Holiday

---

Grassella Oliphant - The Grass Is Greener

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 34:00
Size: 77.8 MB
Styles: Funk-jazz
Year: 1967/2010
Art: Front

[2:42] 1. Get Out Of My Life Woman
[2:50] 2. Ain't That Peculiar
[5:17] 3. Soul Woman
[5:53] 4. Peaches Are Better Down The Road
[6:32] 5. The Yodel
[4:37] 6. Cantaloupe Woman
[3:02] 7. The Latter Days
[3:04] 8. Rapid Shave

Drummer Grassella Oliphant's The Grass Is Greener is as good as it is rare. One of many soulful organ jazz dates that have gained cult status among sample hungry hip-hop and acid jazz devotees, this 1967 Atlantic album is packed with great playing and solid grooves (besides recording only one other album as a leader, his 1965 debut The Grass Roots, Oliphant also appeared on dates by singer Gloria Lynne and organist Shirley Scott, among others). With guitarist Grant Green and B-3 master John Patton completing the classic organ combo setup, the trio particularly stretch out on fine numbers like "Cantaloupe Woman" and Patton's own "Soul Woman." While these cuts are marked by a progressive, almost modal sound, much of the other material, which also features tenor saxophonist Harold Ousley and trumpeter Clark Terry, has a more down home and groove-heavy flavor; this is especially true on Terry's "Peaches Are Better Down the Road" and a cover of Allen Toussaint's classic bit of New Orleans soul, "Get Out of My Life Woman." Other standouts include a rendition of Marvin Gaye's "Ain't That Peculiar" and Ousley's breezy Latin swinger "The Latter Days." A great set. ~ Stephen Cook

Limited Edition 24Bit digital remastering.

The Grass Is Greener

---

Esther Phillips - Confessin' The Blues

Bitrate: 320K/s

Time: 48:23

Size: 112.8 MB

Styles: Blues vocals

Year: 1976/1988

Art: Front

[ 5:57] 1. I'm Gettin' Long Alright

[ 3:01] 2. I Wonder

[ 3:01] 3. Confessin' The Blues

[ 3:34] 4. Romance In The Dark

[ 2:48] 5. C.C. Rider

[ 3:15] 6. Cherry Red

[ 2:57] 7. In The Evenin'

[ 4:09] 8. I Love Paris

[ 4:05] 9. It Could Happen To You

[ 4:50] 10. Bye Bye Blackbird

[10:40] 11. Blow Top Blues/Jelly Jelly Blues/Long John Blues

Confessin' the Blues has translated to CD beautifully. The first seven numbers show off Esther Phillips doing sophisticated, big-band blues, backed by a small orchestra led by Onzy Matthews, giving direct and pointed yet elegant performances of "Confessin' the Blues," "I'm Gettin' 'Long Alright," and "C.C. Rider." The last four numbers, which comprise nearly 24 minutes, have Phillips doing a jazzier set to start with, backed by a leaner band (most notably Jack Wilson on piano), in a set produced for record by King Curtis -- the final medley of "Blow Top Blues"/"Jelly Roll Blues"/"Long John Blues" is the highlight of the set, showing Phillips in a bluesy setting. The quality of the recording from both years is excellent and comes out well here. Phillips and her principal accompanists, Herb Ellis (guitar) and Lou Blackburn (trombone), are in excellent form on this 1966 set. ~ Bruce Eder

Recorded at Western Recorders, Hollywood, California on October 7, 1966; United Studio, Los Angeles, California on October 14, 1966; live at Freddie Jett's Pied Piper Club, Los Angeles, California on January 31, 1970. Originally released as Atlantic SD (1680).

"Little" Esther Phillips (vocals); Herb Ellis, Francois Vaz (guitar); Sonny Criss, Gabriel Baltazar, Raymond Triscari (alto saxophone); Teddy Edwards, Louis Ciotti, Ira Schulman (tenor saxophone); Jay Migliori (baritone saxophone); Robert Rolfe, Melvin Moore, Bill Clark, James Smith, Al Porcino (trumpet); Louis Blackburn, Richard Leith, Roland Myers, Peter Myers (trombone); Rodgers Grant (piano); Jack Wilson (piano, electric piano); Ike Isaacs, Victor Venegas (bass); Chuck Rainey (Fender bass); Donald Bailey, Charles Grant (drums). Producers: Nesuhi Ertegun, King Curtis.

Confessin'The Blues   

---

Tom Dempsey - Saucy

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 61:42
Size: 141.2 MB
Styles: Guitar jazz
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[5:58] 1. One Hundred Ways
[6:47] 2. Bock To Bock
[5:03] 3. Saucy
[6:44] 4. Ted's Groove
[7:42] 5. Bridge Over Troubled Water
[4:31] 6. Always Around
[7:43] 7. My Secret Love
[7:21] 8. Ceora
[5:05] 9. The Big Bailout
[4:43] 10. Pat-A-Tat-Tat

There's something about the sound of the guitar with the Hammond B3 organ. It's often hard to explain. The nuances of the timbres found in both instruments when combined together in musical interplay that is rooted in the blues, creates a sonic palette like no other. It is this sound that initially attracted me to the jazz guitar. The first recording that I heard of the jazz guitar was Smokin' at the Half Note by Wes Montgomery. While this recording didn't contain the organ/guitar combination in the instrumentation, it soon led me on a musical journey. Being exposed to Wes Montgomery at such a young age led me to this unique relationship between the organ and guitar that I found with Wes Montgomery and Jimmy Smith on The Dynamic Duo and Wes with Melvin Rhyne on Boss Guitar. These records eventually led me to Kenny Burrell and Jimmy Smith together on the record Back At The Chicken Shack. After that I was hooked.

Upon moving to NYC in 1991, I spent many years playing with various organ players. There was Augie's where I played and hung out regularly. But it was in Harlem was where I worked with several different organ players almost nightly. From Showman's Lounge to Lickety Split, Perks, La Famille and others, the music that was coming out of these clubs embodied all that I loved about music. Honesty, self-expression, the blues, raw emotion and virtuosity were all coupled with a social environment that welcomed people from all backgrounds into a collaborative discussion. This opportunity, which continues today, was made possible by the music, the food and the people assembled. This recording showcases the evolution of my experience playing jazz. The tradition of the jazz canon and the lineage of the standard of jazz performance handed down from my heroes (Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, George Benson, Jim Hall and Grant Green) remain at the root of my soul as a musician. But there are many other interests, sounds and musical palettes that resonate inside me.

Saucy

---

Oscar Peterson - Oscar Peterson Plays The Duke Ellington Song Book

Bitrate: 320K/s

Time: 39:39

Size: 90.8 MB

Styles: Piano jazz

Year: 1999

Art: Front

[4:05] 1. Don't Get Around Much Anymore

[2:57] 2. Sophisticated Lady

[3:00] 3. Rockin' In Rhythm

[3:15] 4. Prelude To A Kiss

[3:06] 5. In A Mellow Tone

[3:48] 6. Cotton Tail

[3:40] 7. Just A Sittin' And A Rockin'

[3:11] 8. Things Ain't What They Used To Be

[3:15] 9. Take The A Train

[3:11] 10. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)

[2:48] 11. Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me

[3:19] 12. John Hardy's Wife

Digitally remastered using 24-bit technology by Kevin Reeves (Polygram Studios). Twice in the 1950s, pianist Oscar Peterson recorded an extensive series of songbooks devoted to one composer. From 1952-53, Peterson, guitarist Barney Kessel and bassist Ray Brown were extensively documented; in 1959, the pianist joined up with Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen to repeat many of the programs (since the group had changed and the music could now be cut in stereo) plus additional songbooks. This 1999 CD brings together both of Peterson's Duke Ellington tributes; the same dozen songs were recorded with each of the two groups. The Duke Ellington-associated material  which includes two songs by Mercer Ellington and Billy Strayhorn's "Take the 'A' Train"  mostly consist of familiar songs, except for Mercer Ellington's "John Hardy's Wife." ~ Scott Yanow

Recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, California in December 1952; Universal Recording Studios, Chicago, Illinois between July 14 and August 9, 1959.

Oscar Peterson (piano); Barney Kessel (guitar); Ray Brown (bass); Ed Thigpen (drums). Producer: Norman Granz.

Duke Ellington Songbook

---

Lynda Carter - At Last

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:17
Size: 90,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:48)  1. You Send Me
(3:44)  2. Where Did Our Love Go
(2:11)  3. Deed I Do
(3:34)  4. Million Dollar Secret
(3:56)  5. Cry Me A River
(3:01)  6. Secret Of Life
(3:41)  7. Blues In The Night
(3:38)  8. Come Rain Or Come Shine Medley
(2:51)  9. At Last
(2:30) 10. Summertime
(2:39) 11. Cloud Burst
(3:39) 12. Oldies Medley

2009 album from the vocalist, actress and performer. Best known for winning our hearts as Wonder Woman, Lynda Carter is an accomplished singer who has performed to rave reviews before sell-out crowds around the world. In addition to her long acting career, Lynda has had the distinction of producing and starring in five highly rated network televisions specials. She has appeared onstage with Ray Charles, tom Jones, Kenny Rogers, Bob Hope, George Benson and Ben Vereen. ~Editorial Reviews 

http://www.amazon.com/At-Last-Lynda-Carter/dp/B002656VLO

At Last

---

Ahmad Jamal - Saturday Morning

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:20
Size: 143,3 MB
Art: Front + Back

( 4:09)  1. Back To The Future
( 4:34)  2. I'll Always Be With You
(10:22)  3. Saturday Morning
( 4:47)  4. Edith's Cake
( 7:15)  5. The Line
( 6:37)  6. I'm In The Mood For Love
( 4:05)  7. Firefly
( 4:40)  8. Silver
( 5:36)  9. I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good
( 6:29) 10. One (Ahad)
( 3:41) 11. Saturday Morning

"Play like Jamal," Miles Davis told his pianists in the mid 1950s. The trumpeter was not shy about recruiting band leaders or poaching their musicians, so you might suppose he canvassed Jamal. But the pianist maintains Davis never popped the question. Interviewed in 2012, he side-stepped the subject, saying that he was in any case too busy leading his own band to consider offers from Davis or anyone else. "I lived a block and a half from Miles when I moved to New York," Jamal continued. "But we didn't hang out. We had a quality relationship, not a quantity relationship."

In the 1950s, Davis was attracted to Jamal's interpretations of ballad standards which were so prettily romantic that Jamal's detractors considered him little more than a hyped-up cocktail-bar pianist (and, ludicrously, pointed to his popular success as proof of it). Even Whitney Balliett, the generally tuned-in jazz writer on The New Yorker magazine, failed to get him. Lush ballad readings have continued to be the bedrock of Jamal's style, but, as he increasingly added his own compositions to his set lists, visceral ostinatos became another trade mark. There was a time when Davis would likely have embraced those, too.

Both signatures run through Saturday Morning: La Buissonne Studio Sessions, on which Jamal leads the same quartet that helped take the album's immediate predecessor, Blue Moon (Jazz Village, 2012), into many end-of-year best-of lists. Saturday Morning merits a similarly warm reception.

On both discs, the quartet plays a mixture of standards and Jamal originals, with the pianist producing. This time, though, the band recorded in France rather than in New York, and the proportion of originals is a little higher. Those things aside, everything about Saturday Morning is the same as it was on Blue Moon, and before that on A Quiet Time (Dreyfus, 2010)....and before that, on-the-one ostinatos aside, on practically any Jamal album you can name back to But Not For Me: At The Pershing (Chess, 1958). Which is to say, as close to perfect as it gets.

Out of respect and affection, it is customary to write of any octogenarian musician (Jamal is 83) that he is playing with as much vigour as he did as a young man. With Jamal, however, it is the unvarnished truth. If anything, he is playing with more command. There was no need for a percussionist in Jamal's early groups, but Manolo Badrena, who first recorded with Jamal on 1986's Rossiter Road (Atlantic), fits right in today, supporting not driving the leader's more rhythmically intense flights, and adding textural detail and colour to the gentler passages. Jazz has never been more lyrical than it is in Jamal's hands, and Saturday Morning is yet another high water mark in his inspirational career.~ Chris May  

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=45237#.UkSqmRBsidk

Personnel: Ahmad Jamal: piano; Reginald Veal: double bass; Herlin Riley: drums; Manolo Badrena: percussion.

Saturday Morning

---

Maria Tecce - Torch Song

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:43
Size: 97,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:03)  1. All Or Nothing At All
(4:52)  2. Christmas Card From A Hooker
(3:54)  3. Someday
(3:14)  4. No One Needs To Know
(3:32)  5. Mi Gran Amor (The Man I Love)
(3:11)  6. Oh,Lady Be Good!
(4:29)  7. Lush Life
(2:58)  8. Lilac Wine
(3:46)  9. Don't Worry 'bout Me
(3:49) 10. One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)
(2:18) 11. Empty Tables
(2:31) 12. The Other Woman

Maria is a Boston-born singer and actress who moved to Ireland around 1996/97 and began performing in Europe not long after. She began her musical work in Ireland as lead singer and percussionist with members of Irish fiddle player and composer Charlie Lennon's music family, Sean and Ailish Lennon, in the Lennon Quintet and performed around Ireland and on television with them for a year or so. She then based herself in Galway and formed 'The Blow-Ins' with ex-Waterboys saxophonist and mandolin player Anto Thistlethwaite, a local band playing mainly acoustic folk and blues in and around Galway. Going more electric, Maria formed 'Ruby Blue' not long after, a jazzy, bluesy, R&B band playing at Galway venues and festivals. Maria began incorporating jazz into her music around this time and it became increasingly prominent in her sets. She put together The Jazz Exiles in 1999 with ex-Pat Dublin-based musicians and the five-piece band began playing small jazz venues around Dublin.  In 2002, Maria landed on her feet in Dublin while still being based in Galway and began gigs in Dublin and the rest of Ireland as she performed with top Irish musicians, like Ritchie, Hugh, and Michael Buckley, and at the prestigious Guinness Cork Jazz Festival, who have invited her back 3 years running. 

Maria quickly became a regular on the jazz scene and considered by many to be Ireland's most respected and promising female vocalist and jazz performer. Not long after, Maria began chasing gigs at larger venues around Dublin and support slots for visiting international artists, such as the likes of Dionne Warwicke, began to come up regularly for her.  Maria was fast becoming a bright and fiery star on the cabaret scene in Ireland as well and her one-woman jazz/cabaret shows have been lauded by critics and entrancing audiences in Europe. Maria wrote "All About Love" for the Dublin Fringe Festival 2002 and was invited to create "Lush Life" especially for the opulent 'Spiegeltent' during the Dublin Theatre Festival 2003. Both shows played to packed houses and marry three of Maria's skills as a performer – acting, singing, and playing, and most impressive is the fact that Maria writes, designs, and produces all her shows herself. Other one-woman shows quickly followed, "Once Upon A Christmas" (2004), "Torch Song" (2004), and "Night & the City" (2005), and her cabaret shows and straight jazz gigs have now headlined venues in Ireland, UK, Europe, and USA, packing venues and receiving rave reviews wherever she goes.  This tour-du-force performer has shared the stage with such diverse names as Dionne Warwicke and the Irish legend Ronnie Drew of 'The Dubliners' fame and these daysn and launched her first album "All About Love" in April 2003. In September 2006, Maria celebrates the launch of her new album, "Torch Song". 

Maria performs an originals/acoustic gig as well which is folk and blues based, reaching back to her own musical roots in the U.S.. Live in-studio versions of two of Maria's original songs, "Go Back Home" and "This Love Is Through", are included on separate CD compilations featuring Grammy Award Winners John Prine, Bella Fleck, and Bruce Mathiske and Irish artists such as Juliet Turner, Damien Rice, David Kitt, Jack L., The 4 Of Us, Kila, and Mary Coughlan. Maria also has a passion for folk songs of other countries in their original languages and has a repertoire of Spanish, Italian, French, and Polish songs that she adds to and performs regularly; her fluency in Spanish definitely helps. (She's working on her Italian and Polish¦). Voice is Maria's first instrument now but it wasn't always. She was a choral accompanist on piano for 3 years, a concert flautist in Boston for 5 years, and has played guitar since she was a child. She also played saxophone in a jazz swing band for 2 years, and plays a plethora of percussion instruments. http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/tecce2

Torch Song

---

Michael Kiwanuka - Home Again

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 42:35
Size: 97.5 MB
Styles: Adult alternative, Contemporary Singer/Songwriter
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[4:07] 1. Tell Me A Tale
[2:20] 2. I'm Getting Ready
[3:25] 3. I'll Get Along
[3:49] 4. Rest
[3:29] 5. Home Again
[3:45] 6. Bones
[4:29] 7. Always Waiting
[4:00] 8. I Won't Lie
[3:37] 9. Any Day Will Do Fine
[4:55] 10. Worry Walks Beside Me
[4:35] 11. Lasan

After several promising EPs, Home Again officially announces Michael Kiwanuka as one of the most exciting talents around, one with a penchant for soulful folk and Afrobeat that has more in common with Marvin Gaye and Shuggie Otis than anyone from his own generation. On opener "Tell Me a Tale," for instance, Kiwanuka unleashes his tenderly gritty vocals over a decidedly lo-fi beat, nearly feeling lost in time before a set of Afrobeat horns kick in, and the result feels strangely modern rather than a mere throwback. Similarly, a song like "I'll Get Along," with its Mayfield-style woodwinds, should evoke hollow nostalgia, but Kiwanuka's charisma and sincerity somehow make it work in 2012: this is a man singing in the way he loves to sing, with lyrics he truly means, and the results often remind you why you fell in love with music in the first place.

Home Again

---