Brian McKnight - I'll Be Home For Christmas

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 43:03
Size: 98.6 MB
Styles: Holiday, R&B
Year: 2008
Art: Front

[4:35] 1. The Christmas Song
[3:40] 2. Silver Bells
[2:43] 3. Let It Snow (With Brian McKnight Jr & Nikolas McKnight)
[4:06] 4. Christmas You And Me (With Vince Gill)
[3:14] 5. I'll Be Home For Christmas
[3:26] 6. Silent Night (With Noel Schajris)
[2:17] 7. It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
[2:43] 8. Adeste Fideles
[4:38] 9. Who Would Have Thought
[3:35] 10. Angels We Have Heard On High
[3:38] 11. Christmas Medley What Child Is This Away In A Manger The First Noel
[4:23] 12. Bless This House (With Take 6)

Fans of R&B vocalist Brian McKnight probably already own BETHLEHEM, McKnight's 1998 Christmas release. But one good holiday album deserves another, and McKnight's smooth, alluring voice sounds better than ever on 2008's I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS. The tunes are a bit more secular than BETHLEHEM, including "The Christmas Song," "Silver Bells," and "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," while carols "Silent Night" and "Angels We Have Heard on High" balance the contemporary with the traditional, with guests Vince Gill, Josh Groban, and Take 6 stopping by to add color.

I'll Be Home For Christmas

Mo' Albums...
◊ James Taylor - James Taylor At Christmas
◊ Martina McBride - White Christmas

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Bryan Beninghove - Organ Trio

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 56:13
Size: 128.7 MB
Styles: Organ jazz
Year: 2008
Art: Front

[ 4:44] 1. Tape Side Up
[ 4:12] 2. Hey Zeus
[ 7:35] 3. Adam's Apple
[ 4:29] 4. Hear Me Now
[ 7:28] 5. I've Never Been In Love Before
[ 3:39] 6. Same Spade
[ 8:04] 7. Out Of Nowhere
[ 5:02] 8. Everything Happens To Me
[10:57] 9. My Secret Love

Bryan Beninghove is a tireless bandleader whose innovative projects span numerous genres. Originally hailing from Westminster, MD, a rural suburb of Baltimore, Bryan brings a blue collar earthiness to the world of jazz. Before becoming a full time professional musician, he worked for different steel shops, carpenters, & he bartended. Drawing from these diverse experiences, Bryan has always played with an urgent grittiness, a sense of humor, & a strong foundation in the blues.

Bryan has performed with such jazz luminaries as Eddie Henderson, Rufus Reid, Ron Affif, & Jamey Haddad as well as young guns like Mark Guiliana, Sam Barsh, Duane Eubanks, and Rick Parker. Bryan has also performed with the hard rock group Clutch, the indie band Lake Trout, & beatbox extraordinaire Taylor McFerrin.

Currently, Mr. Beninghove has been leading many different projects. The Organ Trio! consists of Kyle Koehler (Lou Donaldson, Bootsy Collins) on Hammond B3 and Don Williams (Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff, Arthur Prysock) on drums. The repertoire is reminiscent of the 60s Newark sound, lots of grits and gravy! Bryan Beninghove & the Hangmen is the latest project, a quintet featuring Rick Parker on trombone, Eyal Maoz on guitar, Kellen Harrison on bass, and Shawn Baltazor on drums. "David Lynch meets Nightmare Before Christmas". Another long time project, Big in Jersey is an electric sextet in the seventies Miles realm. Beninghove also leads Soul Connection, an eight piece funk/dance band that specializes in corporate functions.

Music education has always been a priority in Bryan's life. Since receiving a bachelor's degree in music from William Paterson University, he has spent countless hours teaching privately, running ensembles for all ages, putting on clinics, and running a jazz camp for kids each summer.

Organ Trio

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Claire Martin & Richard Rodney Bennett - When Lights Are Low

Bitrate: 320K/s

Time: 51:28

Size: 117.8 MB

Styles: Easy Listening

Year: 2005

Art: Front

[2:36] 1. My One And Only

[1:59] 2. I Was A Little Too Lonely

[3:15] 3. My Mood Is You

[3:04] 4. World Weary

[2:52] 5. When Lights Are Low

[3:14] 6. Fools Fall In Love

[3:36] 7. I Got A Right To Sing The Blues

[3:25] 8. Baby Plays Around

[4:50] 9. The Very Thought Of You

[2:49] 10. What I Was Warned About

[2:57] 11. Baby, Don't You Quit Now

[3:41] 12. No Love, No Nothing

[3:13] 13. Not Exactly Paris

[2:47] 14. Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home

[3:20] 15. I Keep Going Back To Joe's

[3:43] 16. We'll Be Together Again

A perfectly mixed rusty nail requires three parts scotch to one part Drambuie. It's a potent recipe that accurately describes the first full-length pairing of old pals Claire Martin and Sir Richard Rodney Bennett.

Drambuie is a honey-smooth concoction that masks a powerful kick, and that's Martin. For my money she's not only the finest female British jazz singer of her generation but possibly of all time. Martin handles vocal duty on six of the disc's 16 tracks. The mellow, well-aged scotch is the multitalented Bennett. Though best known for his film-composition work, the dexterous 74-year-old is equally skilled as an arranger and pianist, as demonstrated throughout this masterful olio of familiar standards and lesser-known treasures. It is, though, Bennett the underappreciated singer who here impresses most.

Flying solo on seven tracks, Bennett lends his distinctively bipolar style (simultaneously suggesting the gut-bucket splendor of Dr. John and the black-tie elegance of Fred Astaire) to tunes that delightfully extend from Noel Coward's soigne "World Weary" to Elvis Costello's forlorn "Baby Plays Around." The cherry in this heady cocktail is the trio of tracks on which Martin and Bennett join forces, particularly a sublime interweaving of "The Very Thought of You" and "I Thought About You." Drink up. ~Christopher Loudon

Recording information: Systems Two Studio, Brooklyn, NY.

Claire Martin (vocals); Richard Rodney Bennett (vocals, piano).

When Lights Are Low

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The Earl May Quartet - Swinging The Blues

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 61:40
Size: 141.2 MB
Styles: Swing, Bebop
Year: 2006
Art: Front

[6:20] 1. Swinging The Blues
[3:53] 2. Blame It On My Youth
[4:38] 3. My Foolish Heart
[4:31] 4. Tea For Two
[5:03] 5. Blue Iridescence
[6:35] 6. Make Someone Happy
[6:20] 7. Under African Skies
[4:31] 8. Sioux Suite
[5:11] 9. My Old Flame
[3:10] 10. Confirmation
[2:46] 11. Wishes Are Starting To Don't Come True
[4:43] 12. It's So Divine
[3:53] 13. Lester Leaps In

Over the course of the last half-century, Earl May has been one of the busiest bass players in the New York Area. He spent just about the entire decade of the 1950s with the long-running Billy Taylor Trio. Dr. Taylor arranged for a reunion recording of the original trio (with Percy Brice on drums), which was recorded for Prestige in 2003 as Billy Taylor Trio with Earl May/Percy Brice.

On this latest effort, May shows his ability to provide the pulse of this quartet as well as manage some nimble solos. Recording for Arbors, one of the key labels specializing in post-war swing music, the Earl May Quartet fits right in and then some. Altoist David Glasser takes most of the melody statements, providing the right touch. On the jump tunes, like the Count Basie piece "Swinging The Blues," Glasser sounds very much like Paul Desmond in his prime. On the first ballad, "Blame It On My Youth," Glasser's notes curl inward on the beautiful Oscar Levant/Edward Heyman melody. Dave Glasser also contributes a fine ballad, "Blue Iridescense," and his solo on that composition explores the blues content of the piece.

Earl May's reputation is that of a workhorse who has to be coaxed to take a solo. I am pleased to see that he does get the opportunity on this album, taking a walking bass solo on the title tune, beginning the melody line of "My Foolish Heart" before turning it over to Glasser, and putting in another good one on the Comden & Green/Jule Styne piece "Make Someone Happy." Larry Ham proves a most serviceable pianist, whether providing a romantic cushion for the ballads or fine comping on the up-tempo "Make Someone Happy." After having seen drummer Eddie Locke a number of times, I'd forgotten just how good he can be with brushes. You can hear that throughout the album and especially on Dave Glasser's "It's So Divine." Locke even contributes an original tune, "Wishes Are Starting To Don't Come True." In addition to the standards and originals, the quartet tackles some bebop staples like "Lester Leaps In" and "Confirmation" rather smartly. ~Michael P. Gladstone

Recording information: Nola Studios, New York, NY (02/21/2005/02/22/2005).

David Glasser (saxophone, alto saxophone); Earl May (double bass); Barry Harris , Larry Ham (piano); Eddie Locke (drums).

Swinging The Blues

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The Pied Pipers - Capitol Collectors Series

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 56:30
Size: 129.4 MB
Styles: Vocal harmonies, Early pop
Year: 1992
Art: Front

[2:41] 1. Pistol Packin' Mama
[2:28] 2. Deacon Jones
[2:45] 3. Mairzy Doats
[2:58] 4. The Trolley Song
[3:05] 5. Dream
[3:00] 6. There's A Fella Waitin' In Poughkeepsie
[2:58] 7. Lily Belle
[3:13] 8. We'll Be Together Again
[2:46] 9. Personality
[2:31] 10. Aren't You Glad You're You
[2:38] 11. In The Middle Of May
[2:44] 12. In The Moon Mist
[2:54] 13. Open The Door, Richard
[3:03] 14. Mam'selle
[3:12] 15. The Freedom Train
[2:37] 16. I'm Always Chasing Rainbows
[2:49] 17. Penny
[2:53] 18. Katrina
[2:20] 19. Ok'l Baby Dok'l
[2:46] 20. My Happiness

THE PIED PIPERS CAPITOAL COLLECTION SERIES includes a 15-page booklet with liner notes by Joseph F. Laredo, track annotations by Bob Furmanek and photos. Digitally remastered by Bob Norberg (April 1991, Capitol Recording Studios). A terrific 20-track overview of this early vocal group featuring all of their best-known songs, including "The Trolley Song," "Dream, " "Open the Door, Richard, " "Mam'selle, " and "My Happiness." The remastering is top-notch, and the liner notes contain many anecdotes and a great deal of information. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

The Pied Pipers are accompanied by Paul Weston and His Orchestra.

Capitol Collectors Series

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Christy Baron - Retrospective

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:47
Size: 141,9 MB
Art: Front

(3:39)  1. She's Not There
(3:22)  2. Stand Behind Me
(5:43)  3. Body And Soul
(2:54)  4. Happy Together
(5:05)  5. 'Round Midnight
(5:40)  6. Mercy Street
(2:25)  7. Ain't No Sunshine
(3:49)  8. Night And Day
(3:47)  9. Not While I'm Around
(3:13) 10. Got To Get You Into My Life
(4:06) 11. The Shadow Of Your Smile
(3:52) 12. That Old Devil Moon
(3:13) 13. Ain't No Half Steppin'
(3:52) 14. Overjoyed
(6:58) 15. Somewhere Over The Rainbow

Retrospective is a best-of CD that draws its material from singer Christy Baron's three previous Chesky sets: I Thought About You, Steppin', and Take This Journey. Unfortunately the packaging of this CD does not bother including a list of the personnel; however the selections are well chosen and they feature Baron at her best. In addition to modernized versions of a few standards, she turns a variety of pop and rock tunes into jazz, ranging from the Beatles' "Got to Get You Into My Life" to songs by Carole King, Peter Gabriel, and Stevie Wonder. The backup groups are excellent, Baron has an attractive voice, and there are enough subtle surprises throughout this sampler to make one desire to hear her three previous CDs in full. 

~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/retrospective-mw0000209251

Retrospective

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Nicky Schrire - Space and Time

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:18
Size: 111,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:36)  1. You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You
(4:27)  2. I Wish You Love
(3:01)  3. A Song for a Simple Time
(4:39)  4. Someone to Watch Over Me
(3:57)  5. Teardrop
(2:54)  6. Bless the Telephone
(3:40)  7. And So I Sing
(5:18)  8. Seliyana
(2:35)  9. When You Go
(5:01) 10. Say It Isn’t So
(5:00) 11. Here Comes the Sun
(3:04) 12. Space & Time

New York City-based jazz vocalist Nicky Schrire has two albums to her credit. Freedom Flight (Circavision Productions, 2012) was well received by AAJ colleague Dan Bilawsky, who explained her fresh and well-scrubbed appeal thusly: "The London-born, South African-raised, New York-based vocalist bursts onto the scene with this dazzling debut, but she didn't simply materialize out of thin air. This worldly woman has been honing her skills at the Manhattan School of Music and studying with the crème de la crème of the jazz vocal world, including Peter Eldridge, Theo Bleckmann, Gretchen Parlato, Kate McGarry and Norma Winstone; it's clear that she's taken their lessons to heart."

The beauty of Schrire's exposure to this august group of singers is that their influence is expressed in her originality and not by any audible characteristics in her singing or composing. That is what artistic influence is all about: evolution, not replication. Schrire's sophomore effort, Space and Time, brims with this same originality, distilled into a piano/vocal recital format with three different pianists.

The atomization of all musical genres since the 1950s renders classifications like "jazz," "adult contemporary" and simply "popular" fairly meaningless. But the music must go somewhere, and Schrire deconstructs George Gershwin's "Someone To Watch Over Me" (while, at the same time, completely recasting George Harrison's "Here Comes The Sun"), so she's called jazz. Much of this recording is like a classical art-song recital, maybe one a really hip Schubert would have assembled. 

Schrire's voice is punctilious. Think of Ivory soap: clean and unscented by anything artificial...genuine. The same can be said of her composing. She is not looking to show off with technical fireworks; she is showing off with the unseen and unheard: grace, class and a certain élan. Organically speaking, her instrument is that special gift that is readily recognized as finely tuned and superior, without knowing why. Schrire favors older material for her standards performance. "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You" and Berlin's "Say It Isn't So," not to mention again Gershwin's "Watch," echo from the jazz age and before. Then Schrire sings George Harrison and something as fine as her title piece and anyone trying to pigeonhole this vocalist has lost the critical battle before it has started.  Schrire's support pianists Fabian Almazan, Gerald Clayton and Gil Goldstein each rise to the occasion, following the direction of Schrire, who keeps everything basic and uncluttered. This is music for the soundtrack of life: joy, peace and hope.C.Michael Bailey  

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=45255#.UpZDL-Jc_vs

Personnel: Nicky Schrire: vocals; Fabian Almazan: piano (3, 5, 7, 10); Gerald Clayton: piano (2, 6, 9, 11); Gil Goldstein: piano (1, 4, 8, 12).

Space and Time

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Kenny Drew, Jr - Maybeck Recital Hall Series, Vol. 39

Styles: Jazz
Year: 1994
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:38
Size: 143,5 MB
Art: Front

( 6:25)  1. Stella By Starlight
( 6:00)  2. Peace
( 5:58)  3. After You
( 6:00)  4. Ugly Beauty
( 3:54)  5. Well You Needn't
( 7:26)  6. Coral Sea
( 5:51)  7. Images
( 6:24)  8. Straight, No Chaser
( 4:36)  9. Waitin' For My Dearie
(10:01) 10. Autumn Leaves

A little older than the Young Lions generation yet just as technically gifted and respectful of his elders and the bearer of a semi-famous jazz name at that  Kenny Drew, Jr. tries strenuously to dazzle the Maybeck Hall audience in Vol. 39 of the long-running series. Yet after a short while, all of the rippling chromatic scales, arpeggios, impressionistic streaks, and showy technical displays become rather wearisome. Thelonious Monk's angular stabbing manner, but not his laconic economy, hovers over this pianist most obviously in "Ugly Beauty," "Well, You Needn't" and "Straight, No Chaser" (the latter has a refreshing outburst of boogie-woogie) but also in "Stella By Starlight." The track that comes closest to touching the emotions is his lovely rendition of his father's "Images," recorded three days after the first anniversary of Drew, Sr.'s death. Recommended only for those committed to the Maybeck series. ~ Richard S.Ginell   

http://www.allmusic.com/album/maybeck-recital-hall-series-vol-39-mw0000644552

At Maybeck

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Arnett Cobb - Jumpin' The Blues

Bitrate: 320K/s

Time: 72:25

Size: 165.8 MB

Styles: Saxophone jazz

Year: 2013

Art: Front

[3:01] 1. The Shy One

[2:59] 2. Li'l Sonny

[3:07] 3. Someone To Watch Over Me

[2:52] 4. Open House

[2:50] 5. Whispering

[2:06] 6. Walkin' Home

[2:56] 7. Pay It No Mind

[2:43] 8. Smooth Sailing

[2:39] 9. Big League Blues

[3:04] 10. Flower Garden Blues

[4:17] 11. Jumpin' The Blues

[2:57] 12. Chick She Ain't Nowhere

[2:36] 13. Go Red Go

[2:38] 14. Cobb's Corner

[3:01] 15. Walkin' With Sid

[2:53] 16. I'm In The Mood For Love

[2:34] 17. Still Flying

[2:58] 18. Running With Ray

[3:10] 19. Dutch Kitchen Bounce

[2:45] 20. Arnett Blows For 1300

[2:43] 21. Cobb's Boogie

[5:27] 22. When I Grow Too Old To Dream

[2:53] 23. Top Flight

[3:05] 24. Cobb's Idea

A stomping Texas tenor player in the tradition of Illinois Jacquet, very robust and sometimes raw, who mixes the musical vocabularies of swing, bebop, blues and R&B, and originator of the “Open Prairie” tone and “Southern Preacher” style of playing. Arnett Cobb has that honking, bar-walking saxophone sound that used to blast from jukeboxes coast-to-coast. There was always excitement elicited by Cobb’s uninhibited, blasting style which earned him the label “Wild Man of the Tenor Sax.”

Cobb was a prolific showman, writer, stylist, arranger, and tenor saxophone technician. His saxophone technique and music style directly influenced Illinois Jacquet, Gene Ammons, Johnny Griffin, Houston Person, Sonny Stitt, Stanley Turrentine, King Curtis, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and a generation of musicians in jazz, swing, R&B, soul, and funk music.

Baritone Saxophone – Charles Fowlkes, Johnny Griffin; Bass – Carl Pruitt, Gene Wright, Walter Buchanan; Drums – Al Walker, George Ballard; Piano – George Rhodes; Tenor Saxophone – Arnett Cobb, Willard Brown; Trombone – Michael Wood, Dickie Harris; Trumpet – David Page, Ed Lewis, Lamar Wright, Willie Moore.

Jumpin' The Blues

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Joni Mitchell - Hits

Bitrate: 320K/s

Time: 65:54

Size: 150.9 MB

Styles: Folk, Folk-rock

Year: 1996

Art: Front

[5:04] 1. Urge For Going

[2:30] 2. Chelsea Morning

[7:41] 3. Big Yellow Taxi

[5:26] 4. Woodstock

[4:50] 5. The Circle Game

[3:02] 6. Carey

[3:49] 7. California

[2:38] 8. You Turn Me On I'm A Radio

[3:05] 9. Raised On Robbery

[3:21] 10. Help Me

[3:02] 11. Free Man In Paris

[4:02] 12. River

[5:16] 13. Chinese Cafe/Unchained Melody

[7:29] 14. Come In From The Cold

[4:32] 15. Both Sides Now

All tracks have been digitally remastered using HDCD technology. HITS and MISSES, released on the same day in October 1996, are, amazingly enough, the first compilations of Joni Mitchell's work. Mitchell is one of the most influential singer-songwriters of the rock era. By incorporating poetic lyricism and a jazzy harmonic sensibility into the troubadour tradition, she paved the way for everyone from Rickie Lee Jones to Sting. HITS features some of the best-known songs from her immense repertoire (MISSES highlights equally important, but less commercially successful, compositions). HITS begins and ends with early, acoustic guitar-based material. "Urge For Going" (previously unavailable on CD) and "Both Sides Now" both yielded reams of cover versions by the likes of Judy Collins, Tom Rush and countless others. Moving on through the stylistically divergent phases of Mitchell's career, the lush pop songs "Help Me" and "Free Man In Paris" segue into the starkly confessional piano ballad "River" and the slippery, jazzy feel of "Chinese Cafe/Unchained Melody," adorned by Larry Klein's Jaco-manque fretless bass. HITS can only skim the surface of Mitchell's prolific output; a truly thorough chronicle would require a box set. But every song here is a gem, and this is a perfect place for the uninitiated to begin.

Joni Mitchell (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, dulcimer, piano, electric piano, keyboards); Saskatunes, Lookout Mountain United Downstairs Choir (vocals); Larry Klein (guitar, percussion); Stephen Stills (guitar); James Taylor (acoustic guitar); José Feliciano, Larry Carlton, Robbie Robertson, Steve Lukather (electric guitar); Graham Nash (harmonica, background vocals); Tom Scott (woodwinds, horns); Joe Sample (electric piano); Larry Williams (synthesizer); John Guerin (drums, percussion); Jim Hughart, Russ Kunkel, Vinnie Colaiuta (drums); Alex Acuña & the Unknowns, Alex Acuña, Milt Holland, Bobbye Hall (percussion); David Crosby (background vocals).

Hits

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Robbie Williams - Swings Both Ways

Bitrate: 320K/s

Time: 44:40

Size: 102.3 MB

Styles: Swing, Jazz vocals

Year: 2013

Art: Front

[3:20] 1. Shine My Shoes

[4:29] 2. Go Gentle

[3:29] 3. I Wan'na Be Like You

[3:14] 4. Swing Supreme

[3:56] 5. Swings Both Ways

[3:31] 6. Dream A Little Dream

[3:17] 7. Soda Pop

[3:17] 8. Snowblind

[2:31] 9. Puttin' On The Ritz

[3:13] 10. Little Green Apples

[3:39] 11. Minnie The Moocher

[3:50] 12. If I Only Had A Brain

[2:48] 13. No One Likes A Fat Pop Star

Swings Both Ways, Robbie's much-anticipated tenth studio album is out now and recently earned the title of the UK's 1,000th ever No.1 album, a whole 999 releases after Frank Sinatra's Songs For Swingin' Lovers! became the first.

Following in the toe-tapping footsteps of Robbie's most successful album to date, 2001's Swing When You're Winning, the new record features a mix of classic covers and new material as well as duets with some of pop's biggest names, including Lily Allen, Michael Bublé, Kelly Clarkson, Olly Murs and Rufus Wainwright.

Swings Both Ways is the tenth studio album by British singer-songwriter Robbie Williams. The album is Williams's second swing album after 2001's Swing When You're Winning.

Swings Both Ways  

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Sarah Morrau - To Hold You

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:10
Size: 96,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:52)  1. Autumn Leaves
(2:41)  2. Skylark
(3:21)  3. Voices
(4:51)  4. Both Sides Now
(4:49)  5. Summertime
(4:07)  6. They Can't Take That Away From Me
(3:31)  7. Hold You
(3:35)  8. Suzanne
(3:57)  9. Smile
(2:29) 10. Nobody Knows You (When You're Down And Out)
(3:51) 11. Song Of Bernadette

Some local artists have released new CDs that might be worth a look especially if you're in a quiet mood...captured by local singer/songwriter Sarah Morrau on her new release, ...To Hold You.

Singing both old standards like "Autumn Leaves" and "They Can't Take That Away from Me," and her own compositions, Morrau often sounds like a hybrid of Connie Evingson and Beth Nielsen Chapman, with a little Lisa Loeb (minus the whininess) thrown in.

Morrau's two original compositions on the CD, "Voices" and the title track, are among its prettiest. The latter, particularly, is heartfelt without being schmaltzy in the least (it's particularly reminiscent of Chapman).

[Sarah's] CD, produced here by Barking Dog Records [sic  recorded and co-produced by Mike Coates at Raptor Studios] prove talent runs deep and wide in Fargo-Moorhead.

 ~Tom Pantera  http://www.barkingdogrecords.com/sar.press.html

To Hold You

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Karin Plato - Downward Dancing

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:31
Size: 122,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:41)  1. Gypsy In My Soul
(3:38)  2. Let There Be Love
(6:06)  3. So In Love
(4:35)  4. He Was Too Good To Me
(3:27)  5. Shoe Passion Blues
(4:58)  6. Falling In Love With Love
(4:58)  7. Sometimes I'm Happy
(7:39)  8. You Are Too Beautiful
(4:39)  9. Oh, What A Beautiful Morning
(4:52) 10. Downward Dancing
(3:53) 11. Sometime Ago / Hi Li Li Hi Lo

Passionate swinging standards and tender ballads sensitively sung by this Canadian jazz vocalist and composer. Here on her sixth release she is featured with acclaimed Toronto musicians: pianist Nancy Walker, bassist Steve Wallace and drummer Joel Haynes.  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/plato5

Downward Dancing

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John Pizzarelli - Meets The Beatles

Styles: Revival Swing
Year: 1998
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:03
Size: 108,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:37)  1. Can't Buy Me Love
(2:48)  2. I've Just Seen A Face
(5:04)  3. Here Comes The Sun
(4:16)  4. Things We Said Today
(3:27)  5. You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
(5:03)  6. Eleanor Rigby
(3:57)  7. And I Love Her
(2:45)  8. When I'm 64
(4:04)  9. Oh Darling
(4:01) 10. Get Back
(3:46) 11. Long And Winding Road
(3:12) 12. For No One

Beatles fans love to explain that the key to the successful partnership of John Lennon and Paul McCartney was their contrasting songwriting personalities  Lennon was the tongue in cheek sardonic wit, McCartney the earnest balladeer. On John Pizzarelli Meets the Beatles, a sharply conceived tribute which sets the duo's classics in a jazz trio with big-band arrangements, the singer/guitarist hits the mark more often when he's taking on the Lennon persona. He approaches "Cant' Buy Me Love," "When I'm 64," and "Get Back" with a playful wink, jumping off his speedy melody lines and the rising brass sections for extended improvisational tradeoffs with pianist Ray Kennedy, and adding colorful touches like scatting and even ad libbing his own lyrical verses based on the originals. Likewise, he attacks the all-instrumental "Eleanor Rigby" with a jumpy, swinging aggression. Pizzarelli, however, becomes overly schmaltzy in presenting ballads like "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" and "Long and Winding Road" too seriously, with maudlin, straightforward arrangements that grind the party to a halt. The one exception is the more percussive "Oh Darling," where his intense vocal helps the tune rise above the hotel lounge mentality. ~ Jonathan Widran    http://www.allmusic.com/album/meets-the-beatles-mw0000041997

Meets The Beatles

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Cedar Walton - Live at Maybeck Recital Hall Series, Vol. 25

Styles: Jazz
Year: 1992
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:20
Size: 122,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:01)  1. The Maybeck Blues
(5:52)  2. Stella by Starlight
(3:48)  3. Sweet Lorraine
(5:04)  4. Darn That Dream
(7:19)  5. Zingaro/Caminhos Cruzados
(4:21)  6. Bremond's Blues
(4:09)  7. You're My Everything
(4:04)  8. The Meaning of the Blues
(3:51)  9. I'm Old Fashioned
(5:07) 10. I Didn't Know What Time it Was
(5:40) 11. Just One of Those Things

Although this is hardly Cedar Walton's first attempt to go completely solo, his fans still know him primarily from his ensemble work and will no doubt be surprised and pleased with this album, No. 25 in the Maybeck Recital Hall series. After warming up with an intricate self-composed workout, "The Maybeck Blues," Walton veers into some standards ("Stella By Starlight," "Sweet Lorraine") with the polystylistic twists and turns of an Art Tatum. Walton's other composition "Bremond's Blues" is somehow generated by the changes from "Giant Steps" a neat trick. Beyond the strong Tatum influence, Walton remains a strong hard bopper with his right hand, a manner that takes very well to the characteristically bright, crisp tone of the hall's Yamaha pianos; but he also displays as fully equipped a harmonic arsenal as that of anyone. The CD concludes with a technical tour de force on "Just One of Those Things," which almost, but not quite, ties itself in knots. ~ Richard S. Ginell  

http://www.allmusic.com/album/live-at-maybeck-recital-hall-series-vol-25-mw0000096005

Live at Maybeck Recital Hall Series, Vol. 25

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Martina McBride - White Christmas

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 52:05
Size: 119.2 MB
Styles: Holiday, Country
Year: 1998
Art: Front

[1:46] 1. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
[4:07] 2. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
[2:43] 3. Silver Bells
[2:28] 4. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
[3:55] 5. Do You Hear What I Hear
[3:11] 6. I'll Be Home For Christmas
[3:25] 7. Winter Wonderland
[3:59] 8. O Come All Ye Faithful
[3:28] 9. Away In A Manger
[2:54] 10. Baby, It's Cold Outside
[2:12] 11. Jingle Bells
[3:19] 12. White Christmas
[3:23] 13. Silent Night
[3:39] 14. The Christmas Song
[3:46] 15. What Child Is This
[3:44] 16. O Holy Night

All tracks have been digitally mastered using HDCD technology. On Martina McBride Christmas, the singer delivers heartfelt renditions of "O Holy Night," "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" and "Away in a Manger," putting a welcome new spin on these and eight other seasonal favorites. ~ Marvin Jolly

Ann Richards (flute); Dan Lochrie, Dan Lochrie (clarinet); Bill Woodworth, Bobby G. Taylor , Bill Woodworth, Bobby Taylor (oboe); Mark Wilson Jordan, Mark Jordan (synthesizer); Dennis Wilson Quintet, Dennis Wilson (background vocals); Biff Watson (acoustic guitar); Brent Mason (electric guitar); The Nashville String Machine (strings); Sam Levine (flute); Skip Cleavinger (pennywhistle); Karen Winkelmann (recorder); Lee Levine (clarinet); Jim Medlin, Matt Rollings (piano); Steve Nathan (synthesizer); Joe Chemay (bass guitar); Lonnie Wilson, Shannon Forrest (drums); Eric Darken, Sam Bacco (percussion); Lisa Silver, Marabeth Jordon, Mark Ivey, Bergen White, James Ferguson, Louis Dean Nunley (background vocals).

Recording information: Blackbird Studios, Nashville, TN; Emerald - The Tracking Room, Nashville, TN; Emerald Studios; Love Shack; Masterfonics, Nashville, TN; Ocean Way Studios, Nashville, TN; Seventeen Grand recording; Sound Stage Studios, Nashville, TN; The Money Pit, Nashville, TN.

White Christmas

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Callie Cardamon - Easy Street

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 36:18
Size: 83.1 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[3:28] 1. Easy Street
[3:15] 2. Dream A Little Dream
[4:14] 3. When Sunny Gets Blue
[2:26] 4. Let's Do It
[3:17] 5. Love Jazz
[3:49] 6. Don't Fence Me In
[3:03] 7. When Lights Are Low
[3:01] 8. Moon River
[3:29] 9. Stormy Weather
[2:37] 10. Ain't Misbehavin'
[3:33] 11. I Remember Sky

Easy Street is a delightful collection of jazz ballads presented with simple but effective arrangements that allows the listener to appreciate Callie Cardamon beautiful voice and cool delivery.

As any good jazz singer Callie imprint every song with a bluesy feeling, singing behind the beat, a vocal technique most female jazz singers learned from the great Billie Holiday. "When sunny gets blue" and "Dream a little dream are perfect examples of the application of this technique. On "Dream a little dream" Callie even add some nice scats at the end. The sound of the clarinet played by Rob Lockart, on some of the songs gives the muisc a kind of swing era feeling, reminiscent of Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw. Even though the Billie Holiday delivery style can be heard in other songs like "Stormy Weather", "Don't fence me in" and "Ain't Misbehavin", the arrangements on these songs borders on bluegrass.

Some of the highlights of the album are the Cardamon original jazz ballad "Love Jazz", a song with a touch of broadway; the jazzier and faster version of the classic "Moon river"; the cool, kind of Sinatra approach to "Let's do it" and the heartfelt vocals of the lovely ballad "I remember sky". ~Wilbert Sostre

Callie Cardamon (vocals), Rob Lockart (clarinet), Larry Steelman, Jason Danielson (piano)

Easy Street

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Harry James & His Orchestra - The Hits Of Harry James

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 35:47
Size: 81.9 MB
Styles: Big band
Year: 2009
Art: Front

[2:43] 1. The Mole
[3:30] 2. You Made Me Love You
[2:55] 3. I've Heard That Song Before
[2:39] 4. Trumpet Blues
[3:03] 5. Cherry
[3:07] 6. I'm Beginning To See The Light
[3:08] 7. Sleepy Lagoon
[2:58] 8. Two O'clock Jump
[3:19] 9. I Cried For You
[3:07] 10. Music Makers
[3:38] 11. Velvet Moon
[1:34] 12. Ciribiribin

Harry James was one of the most outstanding instrumentalists of the swing era, employing a bravura playing style that made his trumpet work instantly identifiable. He was also one of the most popular bandleaders of the first half of the 1940s, and he continued to lead his band until just before his death, 40 years later. James was the child of circus performers. His father, Everette Robert James, was the bandleader and trumpet player in the orchestra for the Mighty Haag Circus, and his mother, Maybelle Stewart Clark James, was an aerialist. Growing up in the circus, James became a performer himself as early as the age of four, when he began working as a contortionist. He soon turned to music, however, first playing the snare drum in the band from about the age of six and taking trumpet lessons from his father. At 12, he took over leadership of the second band in the Christy Brothers Circus, for which his family was then working. He attended grade school in Beaumont, Texas, where the circus spent the winter, and when he was 14 he won a state music contest as a trumpeter.

That inspired him to turn professional and begin playing in local bands. James' first job with a national band came in 1935 when he was hired by Ben Pollack. In May 1935, he married singer Louise Tobin, with whom he had two children and from whom he was divorced in June 1943. He made his first recordings as a member of the Pollack band in September 1936. Not long after, he was tapped by Benny Goodman, then leading one of the country's most popular bands, and he began working for Goodman by the end of 1936. He rapidly gained notice in the Goodman band, and by December 1937 he had begun to make recordings under his own name for Brunswick Records (later absorbed by Columbia Records). ~ excerpt from the bio by William Ruhlmann

The Hits Of Harry James

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Cory Jamison - Kemton's Cool School

Styles: Vocal, Cabaret
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:57
Size: 118,9 MB
Art: Front

(2:36)  1. It's a Most Unusual Day
(2:26)  2. Shoo Fly Pie
(3:16)  3. That's All
(2:28)  4. The Lady in Red
(3:01)  5. I Told Ya I Love Ya (Now Get Out)
(4:50)  6. The Night We Called It a Day
(2:37)  7. Ridin' High
(2:48)  8. When Sunny Gets Blue
(4:46)  9. Senor Blues
(4:04) 10. Something Cool
(3:47) 11. A Stranger Called the Blues
(2:08) 12. On the First Warm Day
(3:53) 13. Hallelujah! I Love Him So!
(2:54) 14. All About Ronnie
(2:19) 15. Chiquita from Chi-Wah-Wah
(3:54) 16. My Shining Hour

San Francisco-based Cory Jamison is one of the leading new cabaret artists in America. She has charmed audiences throughout the US with her insightful and sensitive interpretations of American popular song. Jamison is best known for her critically acclaimed interpretations of Hoagy Carmichael's music. Her popular Carmichael tribute, Star Dust Melodies, has been extended numerous times at Toulouse on the Park, Chicago's premier cabaret room, and was called "A masterful homage to Hoagy" by Howard Reich of the Chicago Tribune. Jamison is currently taking Star Dust Melodies on a national tour, which began at New York's Eighty-Eight's cabaret club and continues nationally through 2000.  As the leading interpreter of Carmichael's music, Jamison was the featured Carmichael performer at the 1999 Chicago Jazz Festival with Dick Sudhalter, the Bloomington Pops Carmichael Celebration Concert with Randy Carmichael, and the Chicago Humanities Festival Carmichael Centennial event with Hoagy Bix Carmichael. Further documenting her passion for Hoagy's music, Jamison has recently released a CD tribute, Here's to Hoagy, with accompanist and musical director Dan Stetzel. According to the Chicago Tribune's CD review, "If the centennial of Hoagy Carmichael is going to inspire just one new recording, then this release deserves to be it." The CD is available nationally through LML Music. 

In addition to her Carmichael centennial performances, Jamison is known for her tributes to Johnny Mercer, June Christy, Cole Porter, and most recently, Noel Coward. She joined Patricia Morrison, Steve Ross, Barry Day, Robert Kimball, and Billy Stritch in the Chicago Humanities Festival's Noel Coward Tribute and at The Player's Club's tribute in New York City. This past year, Jamison was a featured performer at the Mabel Mercer Foundation?s Annual Cabaret Convention in New York City, where she was specially selected to perform as part of an evening honoring the 75th birthday of cabaret legend, Julie Wilson. She also performed in the West Coast Cabaret Convention in San Francisco in June of 2000. Some of her other recent appearances include Odette's in New Hope, PA, The Plush Room in San Francisco, The Cinegrill in Los Angeles, and she will be performing on October 19 at the 11th Annual Cabaret Convention at Towne Hall, and November 12 at the Chicago Humanities Festival?s tribute to Johnny Mercer featuring Billy Stritch, Margaret Whiting, and Michael Feinstein. In addition to her cabaret talents, Jamison has numerous theatre credits. In Chicago she performed the roles of Ariel and Belle in Disney?s production of A Hercules Spectacular at The Chicago Theatre. Nationally, she has appeared as Babe in The Pajama Game and in The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas. Cory Jamison is a graduate of Indiana University and a 1998 Eugene O'Neill Cabaret Symposium fellow. ~ Bio  http://www.amazon.com/Cory-Jamison/e/B000APIEZ8/ref=ac_dtp_sa_bio

kemton's cool school

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Paul Anka - Duets

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 76:07
Size: 174,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:32)  1. Walk A Fine Line
(4:39)  2. Find My Way Back To Your Heart
(4:53)  3. Do I Love You (Yes, In Every Way)
(4:07)  4. This Is It
(4:45)  5. I Really Miss You
(5:05)  6. Think I'm In Love Again
(4:12)  7. Pennies From Heaven
(4:45)  8. Crazy
(4:11)  9. You Are My Destiny
(5:03) 10. Les Filles De Paris
(5:11) 11. It's Hard To Say Goodbye
(4:20) 12. She's A Lady
(4:52) 13. Hold Me 'Til The Mornin' Comes
(5:14) 14. My Way
(4:08) 15. I'm Not Anyone
(5:03) 16. Les Filles De Paris

Released as a tie-in to Paul Anka's 2013 memoir My Way (really, would an Anka autobiography bear another name?), the 2013 collection Duets attempts to illustrate the depth of Anka's career through song, letting the singer/songwriter indulge himself with duet partners both expected and unfamiliar. There is a degree of posthumous trickery here  he sings "This Is It" with Michael Jackson and "My Way" with Frank Sinatra, two vocalists long deceased by the time Anka assembled this album  but Anka is such a creature of show biz that this sleight of hand doesn't much matter; arguably, it even enhances the splash and glitz of this deliberately showy album.

There may be a little too much modernity on Duets , Anka succumbs to Auto-Tune here and there, including on "Find My Way Back to your Heart," the only solo song here  and there's the odd sense that he's trying to appeal to every possible audience that may exist in 2013, although nothing here could conceivably be played on modern radio. Instead, Duets plays like a fantasia of pre-MTV pop, songs designed for maximum radio play even when there are no outlets for that sound. There are some pleasant moments here, to be sure  many of them play like throwbacks to 1990, including Tom Jones' new take on "She's a Lady" but it's a sound that belongs to past that's long since gone. 

~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine   http://www.allmusic.com/album/duets-mw0002487037

Duets

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