Bruce Barth - Live at the Village Vanguard

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:33
Size: 148,1 MB
Art: Front

( 6:50)  1. Little Dirty
(10:03)  2. Star Eyes
( 5:23)  3. Rosalie: In the Still of the N
( 5:01)  4. Song for Alex
( 5:31)  5. San Francisco Holiday
( 5:00)  6. Evidence
( 6:36)  7. Let's Call This
( 8:35)  8. Days of June
( 5:45)  9. Prospect Avenue Blues
( 5:46) 10. When the Sun Comes Out

On Live At The Village Vanguard, Cole Porter’s “In The Still Of The Night” charges straight ahead with the zip, the zig, and the zag of a hound dog chasing a rabbit through open sagebrush. While Bruce Barth is totally unpredictable in places, he is sure to bring back the familiar melody to us before we get lost. His melodies are pretty, but what captures the listener’s ear is the pianist’s spontaneous approach to improvised adventure. Four originals emphasize melody. Barth’s “Prospect Avenue Blues,” however, gets down and dirty with a genuine mood. 

All the same, embellished melody and steady meter can become tiresome when used for too long a time. Fortunately, the leader called in reinforcements during his Village Vanguard performances last year. With Monk to the rescue, Barth perks up his session with a rollicking “San Francisco Holiday,” a dark, solo piano sojourn through “Evidence,” and a medium tempo blues walk through “Let’s Call This.” Monk provides the ammunition to make any performance sizzle and swing. Ugonna Okegwo and Al Foster, who accompany with faithful support, contribute heartily. 

While the pianist’s Village Vanguard session brought cheers those two August nights, it stands marred by the unfair ratio of too little adventure to middle-of-the-road, laid-back rambling. ~ Jim Santella  

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=11402#.Uyjn4oUqPro
 

Personnel: Bruce Barth- piano; Ugonna Okegwo- bass; Al Foster- drums.

Live at the Village Vanguard

---

Paul Desmond - Summertime

Styles: Jazz
Year: 1969
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:53
Size: 94,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:32)  1. Samba With Some Barbecue
(5:36)  2. Olvidar
(2:15)  3. Ob-La-Di,Ob-La-Da
(4:53)  4. Emily
(3:09)  5. Someday My Prince Will Come
(3:03)  6. Autumn Leaves
(5:36)  7. Where Is Love?
(3:10)  8. Lady In Cement
(4:34)  9. North By Northeast
(3:59) 10. Summertime

In the midst of lolling away his time in semi-retirement after the Dave Brubeck Quartet broke up in 1967, Paul Desmond allowed himself to be lured back into the recording studio by producer Creed Taylor, who knew exactly what to do with his idle, but by no means spent, alto player. The result is a beautifully produced, eclectic album of music that revives Desmond's "bossa antigua" idea and sends it in different directions, directly toward Brazil and various Caribbean regions, as well as back to the jazzy States. "Samba With Some Barbecue" is a marvelous bossa nova treatment of Louis Armstrong's New Orleans rouser "Struttin' With Some Barbecue," whose opening bars bear an uncanny resemblance to those of "Samba de Orpheus" (which the erudite Desmond was no doubt aware of). No matter how many times you've heard "Autumn Leaves," Desmond's bossa nova treatment will give you a fresh jolt as he offhandedly tosses off the most exquisitely swinging ruminations; too bad it fades after only three minutes. 

In a pliable mood, Desmond even consents to record a then-new Beatles tune, "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da," samba-style, quoting "Hey Jude" along the way (it's very possible that he was attracted by the main character of the lyric, a fellow named Desmond), and he makes potent music out of movie tunes like "Emily" and even the snazzy "Lady in Cement." Don Sebesky brings in some intelligently crafted arrangements for big band augmented by French horns, Herbie Hancock turns in some often brilliant solo work in several featured spots, Ron Carter is on bass, and Leo Morris and Airto Moreira alternate on drums. Never before had Desmond's alto been recorded so ravishingly Rudy Van Gelder's engineering gives it a new golden-mellow glow and the original LP had a great, sarcastic cover: gleaming icicles. ~ Richard S.Ginell   

http://www.allmusic.com/album/summertime-mw0000530335

Summertime

---

Linda Ciofalo - Sun Set / Dancing With Johnny

Album: Sun Set
Size: 140,1 MB
Time: 60:20
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2007
Styles: Jazz: Vocals
Art: Front

01. Oh What A Beautiful Morning (4:40)
02. You Took Advantage Of Me (3:39)
03. Orange Blossoms In Summertime (6:47)
04. Here Comes The Sun (4:35)
05. Comes Love (4:16)
06. Love Is Stronger Far Than We (6:20)
07. La Isla Bonita (3:33)
08. I'll Follow The Sun (4:51)
09. Midnight Sun (7:46)
10. Lazy Afternoon (4:00)
11. Blame It On The Sun (5:13)
12. The Last Day Of Summer (4:35)

Linda Ciofalo's Sun Set has connected all the dots to make for an impressive listening experience. Starting with a concept—songs with the word "sun" in the title, or sun-related—the package offers an eclectic collection of selections, innovative arrangements and performances by an engaging vocalist with major chops and choice instrumentalists: John di Martino (piano), John Hart (guitar), Marcus McLaurine (bass), Joel Frahm (sax) and Matt Wilson (drums).

Ciofalo's vocal clarity is refreshing and she knows what to do with her instrument. She can deliver a ballad reading with warmth, but also has enough of an edge to swing when necessary. The opening track, "Oh! What A Beautiful Morning," features Ciofalo's vocal floating over a 6/8 tempo accompanied by Frahm's fills. On "You Took Advantage of Me," Ciofalo swings, backed only by Wilson's wonderful hand drumming, and a straightforward reading of George Harrison's "Here Comes The Sun" takes us back to Beatletime. Another interesting material choice is a lovely and haunting reading of "Love Is Stronger Far Than We" from the film A Man and A Woman.

There is something to be said for every track. The players are well-attuned to each other and comprise a tight ensemble. Di Martino's piano work is outstanding; his harmonies and ability to play exactly what needs to be played behind a vocalist well on display. Frahm also delivers, wailing on his "Summertime" solo and also on "Midnight Sun." Hart has some shining moments on guitar and McLaurine's solid bass work throughout completes the picture. But, most of all, this is a vocalist's album and Ciofalo shows off her talent from start to finish. The CD bears more than one listening to discover all of its pleasurable dimensions. ~Review by Marcia Hillman

Personnel: Linda Ciofalo: vocals; John di Martino: piano; John Hart: guitar; Marcus McLaurine: bass; Joel Frahm: sax; Matt Wilson: drums.

Sun Set

---

Album: Dancing With Johnny
Size: 119,6 MB
Time: 51:17
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2010
Styles: Jazz: Vocals
Art: Front

01. Tangerine (4:06)
02. Talk To Me Baby (3:52)
03. I'm Old Fashioned (3:10)
04. The Days Of Wine And Roses (3:38)
05. That Old Black Magic (4:28)
06. Early Autumn (4:34)
07. P.S. I Love You (4:30)
08. Skylark (4:46)
09. Day In,day Out (3:18)
10. Moon River (3:22)
11. One For My Baby (4:47)
12. I Remember You (3:37)
13. Come Rain Or Come Shine (3:04)

Linda Ciofalo may have missed the Johnny Mercer centenary by a few months, but her addition to last year’s mini-flood of tribute albums serves as a lovely, inventive coda. As the title suggests, Ciofalo’s overarching goal was to interpret Mercer for your dancing pleasure and, more specifically, to assist you in refining your samba skills. Latin rhythms, ranging from soothing to scorching, invade all 13 tracks, invariably enhancing Mercer’s lyrical intent. Ciofalo’s early training as a big-band vocalist shines through on the sizzling opener, “Tangerine,” and a flame-licked “That Old Black Magic,” both superbly propelled by Brian Lynch’s trumpet.

As effective as Ciofalo is on the swinging numbers, her sound, with its enticing hint of Boz Scaggs-esque nasality, is most appealing in simpler settings. Atop percussionist Little Johnny Rivero’s bongos, she achieves precisely the right tone of conversational intimacy on “P.S. I Love You,” perfectly captures the Lynch-enfolded mistiness of “Early Autumn,” shimmers through the slithery slyness of “Talk to Me Baby” and, amid gentle waves from Paul Meyers’ nylon-string guitar, bathes in the dreamy reflection of “Moon River.” Most poignant is Ciofalo’s “One for My Baby,” neither sorrowful nor self-pitying yet brilliantly manifested in the soul-deep heartache that only a sympathetic bartender and a few too many can allay. ~By Christopher Loudon

Dancing With Johnny

---

The Three Tenors Of Swing - On Stage

Size: 167,2 MB
Time: 71:46
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2013
Styles: Jazz: Swing
Art: Front

01. Bean Stalking - Idaho (1:57)
02. Shake It And Break It (3:08)
03. Black And Tan Fantasy (4:00)
04. The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise (5:13)
05. Attibert Wropila (5:22)
06. Jubilee Stomp (5:15)
07. La Vie En Rose (4:44)
08. South Rampart Street Parade (6:16)
09. Lester's Bounce (4:51)
10. Six Cats And A Prince (5:17)
11. The Mooche (5:27)
12. I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart (5:37)
13. Till Tom Special (5:53)
14. Misty Morning (3:51)
15. Websterity (4:46)

Antti Sarpila, Frank Roberscheuten, Engelbert Wrobel

Inspired by their shared love of and enthusiasm for the swing - jazz and from pleasure and joy of making music together in this tradition , three of the most renowned saxophonist and clarinetist of the European jazz scene have joined forces : Antti Sarpila from Finland, the Netherlands Frank Roberscheuten and Engelbert Wrobel from Germany . With plenty of power and drive , they allow taking a look back at the big time of swing and inspire their audiences with skillful arrangements , mainly from his own pen , and exciting improvisations. All three soloists and stand for years before his own formations .

With a wink, taking the headline reference to the famous " three tenors " from the Opera area. "The 3 Tenors of Swing " but might as well "The 3 Clarinets " or "The 3 Altos Of Swing " hot , or they would have to imagine as "The 3 Reed Men Of Swing" , because these three protagonists are all multi-instrumentalists - everyone plays both tenor and another saxophone, and clarinet - and each of these instruments masterfully.
The sound on the CD is wonderful, the musicians delightfully inspired, and the repertoire varied. I was listening to it for the first time this afternoon, and when the disc was about halfway through, I stopped it, and said to myself, “I have to write about this right now. It is so good.” It features Antti Sarpilla, Frank Roberscheuten, and Engelbert on reeds, with a rhythm section of Rolf Marx, guitar; Chris Hopkins, piano; Henning Gailing, string bass; Oliver Mewes, drums.

On Stage

---

Lisa Kirchner - Umbrellas In Mint

Size: 130,4 MB
Time: 55:48
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2013
Styles: Jazz: Vocals
Art: Front & Back

01. Salty And Blue (I Don't Believe In Romance) (4:32)
02. A Billion Stars Ago (In The Shadow Of A Cow) (4:28)
03. What About You (3:48)
04. The Hudson Bay Inn (5:20)
05. Umbrellas In Mint (4:22)
06. Tim (5:00)
07. Let Us Go Then (5:31)
08. Under The Paris Moon (Manhattan Under The Paris Moon) (4:19)
09. At The Closing Of The Fair (5:06)
10. Old Shoes (4:13)
11. Southern Starlight (Charleston For You) (5:57)
12. Quarters And Dimes (3:07)

When Lisa Kirchner last appeared in these pages, I commented that though production credits went missing, it appeared she was the top dawg in the process and that this element appeared to endow the outing with its several defects among many strengths. This time, out, she is indeed the producer, and the difference, in just one year, is highly discernable. Recruiting an intriguing new backing band loaded with notables who were unafraid to mess around with the traditional aspects of the fare, the entirety of Umbrellas in Mint is everything that Charleston for You pointed towards. This is shown very early in A Billion Stars Ago (In the Shadow of a Crow), the second cut and an excellently blended mélange of cabaret, stage, and jazz, upbeat and reflective simultaneously, with even a short injection of delightfully contrasty bump and grind just before the number fades.

Every song here was in fact written by the wild-maned Kirchner and, for me, brings back tangs of the underlauded Robert Kraft, among others, as the Carmichaelish What About You? (LOVE that "A ceiling at midnight, where stars shine on cue" line!) demonstrates. A wide palette of world influences invade the entire cycle here, subordinated beautifully to the dominantly Broadway ambiance. Don't know what happened in the past year, but Kirchner got waaaaay the hell serious, not only maturing miles beyond expectations, but immersive in the literacy of her chosen milieu. Part of the credit goes to the immaculate choice of musicians (I could've done with a bit more of guitarist Ron Jackson, whose offbeat tempo play is intriguing for its colorations, but, hey, the emphasis is rightly on Kirchner's vocals, lyrical narrative, and cinematic textures), but then it also must be noted that they're rightly operating within her parameters, which have cinched up the aesthete factor rather breathtakingly.

Expect generous doses of Rogers & Hart, Brel, Hammerstein, and a bunch of others in the Songbook milieu, but there are also a number of surprisingly Brechtian tinges, as Kirchner's unafraid of the shadows populating boulevards and hearts. She knows those darksome dimensions are just wellsprings, and saxist Sherman Irby leans into 'em more than once, often with a suppressed grin, lighting up the corners. In sum, Umbrellas is an exhilarating escapade, a collection of songs wrought for a stage musical yet to be put beneath the lights, but, now having heard the disc, I'm not so sure that's even necessary, as the CD does quite well on its own, needing no further explication…though it'd be intriguing as hell to see what could be done with them visually. ~by Mark S. Tucker

Umbrellas In Mint

---

Jeff Elliott - Facing West

Size: 143,0 MB
Time: 61:30
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz: Crossover Jazz
Art: Front

01. Magic Jazz Dance (7:23)
02. Out Of The Fog (6:20)
03. Happy Village (5:46)
04. Things Change (5:35)
05. Mad Traffic Jam (5:29)
06. Western Man (5:01)
07. Mine Tonight (5:33)
08. War Zone (6:26)
09. I've Lived 100 Lifetimes (6:20)
10. Resolution (Feat. Ernie Watts) (7:33)

Jeff Elliott – the trumpet leader – has been “jazz is in my veins” since his father, clearly a wise man, bought him a real trumpet in 1963. This album celebrates not only that gift of 50 years ago, but adds up to Jeff’s life in music in the decades since.

These days, he decided to sum it all up, and this album reveals how much Jeff has in his veins because of those 50 years.

Back in the 1960s, Jeff’s father made sure Jeff heard the records of Chet Baker, Miles Davis, Stan Getz, Jonah Jones, the high standard bearers and blowers of jazz then. But, when his father left the room, Jeff grabbed his own guitar and played along with The Beatles.
In high school, he dreamed of being a rock star, even if the school sat him in its orchestra’s first chair, as first trumpet.

As Jeff Elliott grew into his twenties, he began thinking of himself as “a musical mutt,” a guy with more than just one style and instrument in his repertoires. And to help this mixture, whether Mutt or purebred, Jeff was blessed with perfect pitch.

Jeff Elliott always craved being “in the band,” whether it was a concert band or a jazz big band. Which didn’t matter, because Jeff grew up playing professionally at least those two loves: jazz trumpet and rock everything. Over the years, he has blended those genres into his own styles, passions, and beliefs about music.

As Jeff matured, playing with his and other bands and appearing night after night with West Coast clubs out on the Pacific shores, his ears began to hear a fresh style of music.

That style is not to be put in words here. It is best defined in your ears.

He thinks of it as and refers to it as “Pacific” and describes the ten compositions on this album as “another branch to the left of the great music tree: The West side, where I am from, facing west to the ocean and the sun.”

And thus this CD, which compiles the influences of Jeff’s past: jazz, folk, rock, orchestra, ethnic, funk, and concert band.

It’s amazing what you can create in only 50 years, if you’ve put all your different hearts into an album like this.

Facing West

---

Madeline Eastman - Can You Hear Me Now?

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:45
Size: 129,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:49)  1. You Say You Care
(7:33)  2. Make Someone Happy
(4:55)  3. Show Me
(2:34)  4. Pent Up House
(5:44)  5. Slow Boat to China
(6:37)  6. Don't Look Back
(0:42)  7. Intro Baubles
(5:02)  8. Baubles, Bangles and Beads
(4:58)  9. Gone with the Wind
(5:05) 10. Haunted Heart
(3:53) 11. I Love You
(4:46) 12. Epistrophy

Californian Madeline Eastman, blessed with an absolutely perfect voice, can run rings around just about any jazz singer, but chooses not to blow you away with animated or histrionic acrobatics, preferring to dig deep into a sophistication that is quite easy to enjoy and if you listen closely, she mainlines straight to the heart of any matter. This live concert date at the famous Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society, at Half Moon Bay near the San Francisco area, features Eastman with her prime elements of playfulness, heightened emotion, abstract cool, and deftly enunciated phrasings that mark her as one of the few original jazz singers who refuses to compromise commercially. Her outstanding band with pianist Randy Porter and the imported East Coast pros of peerless bassist Rufus Reid and lithe, limber drummer Matt Wilson supplies all the top-notch musicianship required to match Eastman's hip, literate, and precise vocal legerdemain step for step. Her cut-up version of the Sonny Rollins favorite "Pent Up House" is an "aw shucks" tune with her original lyrics, a tale where she eventually tells a recent acquaintance she "forgot your name." The band tears up "I Love You" and the solid swinger "You Say You Care" with extrapolated second and third choruses, and she extols the virtues or perils of shopping for jewelry on television on the intro before the cute "Baubles, Bangles and Beads." 

Eastman and Jeff Pittson's arrangement of "Slow Boat to China" wedded to Herbie Hancock's "Maiden Voyage" works very well, a nice twist and corollary, where the soulful, modal "Show Me" could easily have been charted by Horace Silver. Vocalists have a thing for doing a duo with their bassists, and Reid is her perfect foil during the midtempo "Gone with the Wind," while the closer, "Epistrophy," is a perfectly funky get-up/get-down affair. Madeline Eastman has produced several very good recordings, but she's at the top of her game when captured live, and cheesy cell phone slogan title notwithstanding, she should be listened to by a larger chunk of the general populace. Her kind of jazz singer is far from a dime a dozen. ~ Michael G. Nastos   http://www.allmusic.com/album/can-you-hear-me-now-madeline-eastman-live-mw0000797780

Madeline Eastman (vocals); Randy Porter (piano); Rufus Reid (bass instrument); Matt Wilson (drum).

Can You Hear Me Now?

---

Manhattan Jazz Quintet - Latino-Bop

Styles: Post-Bop, Latin
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:38
Size: 132,5 MB
Art: Front

(7:55)  1. El Cumbanchero
(8:42)  2. Besame Mucho
(6:23)  3. Volare
(7:08)  4. Libertango
(5:01)  5. La Malaguena / Granada
(8:00)  6. Sway (Quien Sera)
(7:16)  7. Taboo
(7:10)  8. Passion Fruit

The Manhattan Jazz Quintet are an unusual group in that they very rarely perform as a unit in the United States (much less Manhattan) but have been a major hit in Japan, both for their recordings and occasional tours. Originally comprised of leader/pianist David Matthews, trumpeter Lew Soloff, tenor saxophonist George Young, bassist Eddie Gomez, and drummer Steve Gadd, the band (which emphasizes straight-ahead hard bop swinging) first came together in 1983 at the suggestion of the King label and the top Japanese jazz magazine Swing Journal. To everyone's surprise, its first recording (simply called Manhattan Jazz Quintet) became such a big seller that it was awarded Swing Journal's annual 1984 Gold Disk Award as the number one album in Japan. Several years later the group broke up when Gomez and Gadd needed more time to pursue their individual projects and all of the quintet members later became quite successful in their own careers but this edition of the MJQ recorded reunions in 1990 (which found John Scofield guesting on a few selections) and in 1993. 

Victor Lewis replaced Gadd that year, and subsequently Young was replaced by Andy Snitzer and Gomez by Charnett Moffett. The Manhattan Jazz Quintet recorded primarily for King in Japan (those dates were mostly made available in the U.S. by Projazz) during the 1980s, although they cut some later recordings among the comparative very few that actually took place in Manhattan! for the Sweet Basil label. During the new millennium the Manhattan Jazz Quintet have recorded regularly for Video Arts. Bio ~ https://itunes.apple.com/nz/artist/manhattan-jazz-quintet/id79729527#fullText.

Personnel: David Matthews – Piano; Lew Soloff – Trumpet; Andy Snitzer - Tenor Saxophone; Francois Mutin – Bass; Victor Lewis - Drums

Latino-Bop

---

Bruce Gertz - Shut Wide Open

Styles: Jazz
Year: 1998
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:20
Size: 145,4 MB
Art: Front

( 7:37)  1. Letter From Ghana
( 8:17)  2. Toots
( 6:17)  3. Shut Wide Open
( 8:49)  4. Tenerife
( 7:04)  5. Pluto Was Here
( 4:07)  6. I See You
( 5:31)  7. Booga Chacha Lu
( 5:07)  8. Blueprint
(10:27)  9. Revolving Door

The art of the ensemble, led here by bassist Gertz and trumpeter Cervenka, displays itself in a lively and diverse set of originals by band members Jerry Bergonzi (tenor) and Bruce Barth (piano). What's consistent is the good taste and mutual understanding, which extends itself even to the new compositions, which sound confident enough to have been around for ages: Gertz's breezy "Letter From Ghana," based on Cole Porter's "Love for Sale," flows flawlessly into the next track, a whimsical tribute to "Toots" by Bergonzi. Cervenka's title tune is a post-bop scamper built on "Rhythm" changes, while "Tenerife" is a kind of "Caravan" for the '90s, resonating with open horn harmonies and imaginative solos. Drummer Jorge Rossy neatly splashes his cymbals to underscore all the fun, which goes south for a samba on Gertz's "Pluto Was Here," loosely based on Jobim's "Triste" and a cha-cha on Barth's "Revolving Door," sustaining the excitement and good vibes to the album's final measure. ~ Jeff Kaliss   http://jazztimes.com/articles/10376-shut-wide-open-bruce-gertz-ken-cervenka.

Personnel: Bruce Gertz (bass); Ken Cervenka (trumpet); Jerry Bergonzi (tenor saxophone); Bruce Barth (piano); Jorge Rossy (drums).

Shut Wide Open

---

Nancy Wilson - Hollywood - My Way

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1963
File: MP3@224K/s
Time: 46:50
Size: 75,8 MB
Art: Front

(1:57)  1. My Shining Hour
(3:26)  2. The Days Of Wine And Roses
(2:07)  3. Moon River
(3:05)  4. Secret Love
(2:13)  5. Dearly Beloved
(2:39)  6. I'll Never Stop Loving You
(2:56)  7. When Did You Leave Heaven?
(2:30)  8. Almost In Your Arms
(2:50)  9. Wild Is The Wind
(2:53) 10. The Second Time Around
(3:44) 11. Did I Remember
(2:34) 12. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
(3:04) 13. Alfie
(2:26) 14. The Look Of Love
(3:14) 15. More (Theme From 'mondo Cane')
(2:01) 16. The Shadow Of Your Smile
(3:04) 17. Watch What Happens

Like one of her biggest selling CDs Yesterdays Love Songs/Tomorrow's Blues, Hollywood My Way is filled with strong material, fine arrangements, and more than enough evidence of Wilson's considerable and elegant vocal talents. One thing the Hollywood My Way doesn't have, though, is a big hit like Yesterday's Love Song's "Guess Who I Saw Today" and that goes a long way in explaining Capitol's reticence about releasing it. Regardless, this collection of movie songs ranging from 1931's "When Did You Leave Heaven" to 1962's "Days of Wine and Roses" with stellar Jimmy Jones' arrangements is one of Wilson's best. As usual she deftly works through a variety of tempi with aplomb. "My Shining Hours"' breakneck speed arrangement is kept in check by her behind-the-beat, elongated phrasing, while the ballad tempo in "Days of Wine of Roses" is ignited with an assured and dramatic vocal buildup. Wilson's supple voice seems especially fit for the bossa nova treatment of "Moonriver"; she easily shifts from a whisper to full-throated dynamics over the lilting, yet steady beat. Equally impressive is her urbane blues delivery on "When Did You Leave Heaven." [The 2006 CD reissue added five bonus tracks.] ~ Stephen Cook  http://www.allmusic.com/album/hollywood-my-way-mw0000571551

Personnel: Nancy Wilson (vocals); Nancy Wilson; Herb Ellis, Howard Roberts , Al Hendrickson, John Collins (guitar); Ann Mason Stockton (harp); Justin Gordon (reeds, saxophone); Bob Richards, Jules Jacob, Jack Nimitz, Abe Most, Plas Johnson , Bill Perkins, Skeets Herfurt, Buddy Collette (reeds); Harry Klee, Wilbur Schwartz (saxophone); Don Fagerquist, Harry "Sweets" Edison , Ray Triscari, John Audino, Tony Terran, Bud Brisbois (trumpet); Dick Noel, Lew McReary, Bill Schaefer, Vern Friley, Tommy Pederson (trombone); Donn Trenner (piano, harpsichord); Ronnell Bright (piano); Mike Melvoin (organ); Buster Williams (bass instrument); Larry Bunker (percussion); Pete Candoli (trumpet); Earl Palmer (drums, percussion, bells).

Hollywood - My Way

---

Rick Vito - Band Box Boogie

Styles: Swing, West Coast Blues
Released: 2003
Label: Hypertension Records
File: mp3@320K/s
Size: 123 MB
Time: 49:05
Art: full

1. Rhythm - 2:19
2. Blues Town - 4:32
3. Last Change To Mambo - 3:39
4. Little Sheba - 4:16
5. Band Box Boogie - 2:49
6. Where Did You Go Bettie Page ? - 3:39
7. The Ways Of Sin - 4:46
8. Baby's In The Big House - 4:04
9. The Gypsy Serenade - 3:45
10. Message From Mister Jordan - 5:19
11. Hungry Man - 3:21
12. I Cant't Stop Rockin' - 3:28
13. Jack Knife Jump - 3:03

Notes: This CD blends Rick's unique brand of tasty guitar flash on material that incorporates elements of jump blues, cool swing and sensual slide guitar-driven rock and roll.
Backed by a pumping rhythm section that features the sax work of Jim Hoke, acoustic bassist Glen Worf, and drummer Ian Wallace (among others), Rick makes an impressive vocal delivery on tunes such as "Where Did You Go, Bettie Page?," "Last Chance to Mambo," and "Little Sheba," and tears up the frets on "Blues Town," and the fiery swing instrumental title track, "Band Box Boogie."
This is a great guitar-lovers CD, and will also be appreciated by those who appreciate their bluesy rock & roll with a jump and jive feel to it.
"BAND BOX BOOGIE" received a five star pick from Guitar Techniques magazine ("...an album that took our breath away from track one!"), and will soon receive featured reviews in both Guitar Player, and Vintage Guitar magazines.
We're betting that you'll love this one!

Band Box Boogie

---

Deborah Shulman & The Ted Howe Trio - Get Your Kicks: The Music & Lyrics Of Bobby Troup

Size: 114,9 MB
Time: 49:06
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2013
Styles: Jazz: Vocals
Art: Front

01. You're Looking At Me (5:11)
02. Route 66 (3:34)
03. Nice Girls Don't Stay For Breakfast (3:08)
04. Daddy (3:43)
05. Baby All The Time (5:09)
06. Girl Talk (5:19)
07. Lemon Twist (4:15)
08. February Brings The Rain (3:06)
09. The Three Bears (4:58)
10. It Happened Once Before (5:41)
11. Meaning Of The Blues (4:56)

Songwriter Bobby Troup was a master at composing conversational lyrics, and vocalist Deborah Shulman is a master at interpreting such lyrics. That the two come together on Get Your Kicks: The Music and Lyrics of Bobby Troup should be no surprise; also, it is about time that Troup received an homage treatment like this. His lyrics were always 1950s chic, written in a day before political correctness ended the evolution and expansion of the Great American Songbook. What Shulman does is bring an honest understanding of both a music and its period of popularity.

Ted Howe joins Shulman again after their collaboration with trombonist Larry Zalkind on Lost In The Stars: The Music Of Bernstein, Weill & Sondheim (Summit, 2012). Here, leading his trio, Howe's approach to arrangement is striking and illustrated in the rather dark "Route 66" and pathologically forlorn "Nice Girls Don't Stay For Breakfast." In Shulman's hands these are ballads of experience—too much, in fact, rather than a blushing socialite after an evening tryst.

One of Troup's most striking and controversial songs, "Girl Talk" is give a golden treatment, with Shulman navigating the period's sexism and making the song more ironic than a 1950s vision of women in the Eisenhower era. Get Your Kicks: The Music and Lyrics of Bobby Troup is a wholly conceived project by two masters at the top of their respective games. ~Review by C. Michael Bailey

Personnel: Deborah Shulman: vocals; Ted Howe: piano; Kevin Axt: bass; Dave Tull: drums.

Get Your Kicks

---

Deborah Shulman & Larry Zalkind - Lost In The Stars: The Music Of Bernstein, Weill & Sondheim

Size: 159,1 MB
Time: 67:54
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2012
Styles: Jazz: Vocals
Art: Front

01. Something's Coming (3:53)
02. Lucky To Be Me (6:03)
03. Mack The Knife (5:44)
04. The Ladies Who Lunch (3:29)
05. Children Will Listen (5:17)
06. It's Love (4:21)
07. I Feel Pretty (5:35)
08. Losing My Mind (5:34)
09. September Song (4:34)
10. Ain't Got No Tears Left (4:42)
11. My Ship (2:28)
12. Leave You (4:42)
13. Lost In The Stars (5:08)
14. Medley No One Is Alone - Not While I'm Around (6:18)

The respective output from compositional icons Leonard Bernstein, Kurt Weill and, to a lesser extent, Stephen Sondheim has frequently been putty in jazz musicians' and arrangers' hands, proving that malleability is a sine qua non for long-range success in writing; genius-level composing skills, of course, also tend to help.

While the actual act of interpreting the work of these three men is hardly original at this point, the fashion by which vocalist Deborah Shulman, trombonist Larry Zalkind and their talented compatriots dig into their music is wholly unique. They look at each of these fourteen selections as individual opportunities to honor each composer's original intention, while painting their own innovative brushstrokes atop these masterworks. While it would be easy to commit to a single strategy for a project like this, be it art song haughtiness, classical stringency or out-and-out nightclub jazz, Shulman and Zalkind take the high road, touching on everything but committing to no single avenue or approach. Zalkind's tone, honed through his work as the principal trombonist with the Utah Symphony, and Shulman's theatrical delivery hide no secrets about their respective stylistic comfort zones, but both artists prove to be just as malleable as the songs they interpret.

Four different arrangers were tapped for this project and each man brings something different to the table. Jeff Colella gives "Something's Coming" a terrific odd-metered makeover and brings a light-handed approach to "I Feel Pretty," while Terry Trotter moves "It's Love" from easy-does-it swing to Brazilian shores. Brad Warnaar turns "My Ship" into a rich and rewarding piece for a Zalkind overdubbed trombone choir, and Ted Howe removes the happy-go-lucky-swing shackles that often keep "Mack The Knife" from reaching its full potential. Here, it's reborn with chamber grace, riding atop a flowing 12/8 feel with graceful strings, accordion and, of course, trombone, helping to resurface its well-worn exterior.

Studio aces like guitarist Larry Koonse and drummer Joe LaBarbera deserve some credit for helping to shape and mold these songs into their final state, but this is really the Shulman and Zalkind show. Shulman's clear diction and artful interpretations of these songs, and Zalkind's fine and focused trombone work make for a winning combination. ~Review by Dan Bilawsky

Personnel: Deborah Shulman: vocals; Larry Zalkind: trombone; Jeff Colella: piano; Chris Colangelo: bass; Joe LaBarbera: drums; Larry Koonse: guitar; Roberta Zalkind: viola; Matthew Zalkind: cello; Frank Marocco: accordion; Steve Schaeffer: drums; Terry Trotter: piano.

Lost In The Stars

---

Rick Wurzbacher - Rick Wurzbacher Live Feat. Joey DeFrancesco

Size: 154,0 MB
Time: 66:46
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2003
Styles: Jazz: Hammond Organ
Art: Front

01. The Sermon ( 7:01)
02. The Reverand ( 8:06)
03. All Blues (12:25)
04. The Champ (11:21)
05. Lenny ( 5:48)
06. Champagne Glass Blues (11:10)
07. Mac Tough (10:52)

Rick Wurzbacher LIVE with very special guest "The Incredible JOEY DEFRANCESCO" on the B-3 organ. This cd was recorded LIVE at Blues Alley, Georgetown DC on July 30, 2001. There are many significant features about this CD; Rick goes into the audience and borrows a patron's champagne glass and uses it as a slide on the guitar. Joey plays the organ, bass lines, and trumpet all at the same time. Bertell Knox plays incredible percussion at the age of 74. This album was mixed and produced at Racetrack Sound Studios' Les Paul Control Room by Paul Chiacchierini and Rick Wurzbacher. Mastering was completed at John Oram's Analogue Barn in Meopham, Kent, England, by JOHN ORAM "The Father of British EQ", assisted by Dave Cherry and Ash Phipps using the patented British Analogue Mastering technique with Maximum Saturation Technology. The results are stunning!

Rick Wurzbacher Live Feat. Joey DeFrancesco

---

Nancy Walker - 'Til Now Is Secret

Size: 149,1 MB
Time: 64:37
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz: Chamber Jazz
Art: Front

01. 'Til Now Is Secret (7:13)
02. Night On Earth (9:44)
03. Arctic Willow (6:27)
04. Folding (3:28)
05. Shade Of Many Shades (8:23)
06. Mock Turtle (3:02)
07. Luna Llena (6:28)
08. Buzz Theory (8:42)
09. Chemin Des Cascades (5:19)
10. I Read It Somewhere (5:47)

Pianist/composer Nancy Walker has been recognized with honours Canada-wide, including the National Jazz Awards Keyboardist Of The Year Award, the Montréal International Jazz Festival’s prestigious Grand Prix de Jazz, a JUNO nomination for Instrumental Album Of The Year, and an induction into the Mississauga Music Walk Of Fame.

Nancy has a solid background as a pianist and keyboard player for a variety of international recording and concert acts, both in and outside the jazz idiom. She’s recorded and toured with children’s entertainer Raffi, folk artist Sylvia Tyson, pop icons The Parachute Club, balladeer Roger Whittaker, and the late well-loved composer Hagood Hardy. As the pianist in the John Geggie Trio, Nancy held the piano chair in the house rhythm section for The Ottawa International Jazz Festival’s nightly jam sessions for over a decade. She can be heard on recently released recordings by Kirk MacDonald Jazz Orchestra, Fair/Galloway Quintet, John Geggie + Donny McCaslin (this Plunge Records release garnered rave reviews and made several "best of" lists), and Swedish guitarist Mikko Hildén.

Nancy also has several discs to her credit as leader. Her most recent release is 'Til Now Is Secret. Showcasing ten of her original compositions, the recording features multi-reed player Shirantha Beddage, guitarist Ted Quinlan, bassist Kieran Overs and drummer Ethan Ardelli.

"Nancy Walker has played enough piano to know how to keep listeners interested however hard she pushes the boundaries of familiarity." - Geoff Chapman, The Whole Note Magazine

'Til Now Is Secret

---

Jade De Lafleur - Jaded EP

Size: 73,4 MB
Time: 31:45
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz/Blues/R&B Vocals
Art: Front

01. The Way You Look At Me (3:54)
02. Fly (2:23)
03. Smokin' In My Car (Feat. James Fauntleroy) (4:47)
04. Stormy Weather (3:11)
05. Jaded (3:31)
06. Freedom (Feat. James Fauntleroy) (3:29)
07. Blue Notes And Green Trees (3:00)
08. So Long (Feat. Da From Chester French) (3:48)
09. Brown Box (3:37)

The 9 track EP features the singer/songwriter’s experimental mix of R&B, jazz and blues as well as songwriting and production from James Fauntleroy, D.A. from Chester French, Corey “Chorus” Gibson, The Page Brothers and LaFleur herself. To celebrate the release of the project, LaFleur exclusively premiered a stream of the EP on Noisey.

Jaded features the single, “Blue Notes & Green Trees” and the title track, “Jaded”, which was also featured on Solange’s Saint Heron compilation album. Other standout tracks include “Smoking In My Car” featuring James Fauntleroy, “So Long” featuring D.A. from Chester French and “Brown Box”. The EP tells the story of Jade’s first experiences moving to New York City and is a collection of her thoughts, heartbreaks, feelings and humbling moments.

2014 is already shaping up to be a great year for Jade as she has already won the praise and support of such outlets as Complex, VIBE, Billboard, Essence, CMJ and Centric who named her as one of “14 R&B Artists You Need to Know In 2014” along with such names as Jhene Aiko, Sampha and Kelela.

Jade de LaFleur is poised to change the landscape of R&B and Jaded is just the first taste of what is to come. Go ahead and take listen to the artist everyone is raving about!

Jaded

---

Gill Manly - With A Song In My Heart

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:28
Size: 131,6 MB
Art: Front + Back

(3:41)  1. Midnight Sun
(3:08)  2. Robbin's Nest
(6:04)  3. With A Song In My Heart
(3:51)  4. A Night In Tunisia
(4:29)  5. Daydream
(7:24)  6. Taxi Driver - Love For Sale
(3:55)  7. Take Love Easy
(5:57)  8. September Song
(3:00)  9. Sittin And a-Rockin'
(5:02) 10. Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most
(3:18) 11. Where Or When
(3:22) 12. Lush Life
(4:10) 13. I Keep Going Back To Joe's

Gill who? Until a decade or so ago, Gill Manly was a familiar face, a versatile singer who - like her friends Barb Jungr and Ian Shaw - could skip between blues, jazz and pop and who had built an impressive reputation as a teacher and all-round ideas machine. Serious illness then interrupted her career, and her devotion to Buddhism carried her off on a different path all together. Now she is back with an album that is easily one of the best vocal efforts of the past 12 months. 'With a Song in my Heart' is a desperately old-hat title, to be honest, and the bland cover photograph of the artist, microphone in hand, is not likely to stop many punters in their tracks. It is only when you delve deeper that you truly sense the level of sophistication. It is, perhaps, the sort of record that can only have been made by someone who has done her share of living. 'Lush Life' is the ultimate test, and Manly passes it in style. Her Soho date was a slightly more easy-going affair, the singer - who now walks with a cane - remaining seated for the most part as her band, directed by that understated pianist Simon Wallace, blew an unpretentious path through songs from the album. Guy Barker stepped up to add peppery trumpet obbligatos. It was not all torch songs. Manly let rip on 'I Ain't Got Nothing But the Blues' and swung gently on 'Sittin' and a Rockin', the drummer Ralph Salmins and bassist Mark Hodgson setting up a nonchalant pulse. If the choice of material was conceived as a homage to Ella Fitzgerald, the finished product bears the stamp of Manly's own personality. Her performance, particularly on 'Midnight Sun' and 'Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most', had an intensity that made the work of many of her younger rivals seem callow by comparison. ~ The Times

It's been a decade since the last album from singer Gill Manly, and it's good to have her back. She's a wonderful interpreter of top-drawer songs and this new CD oozes class. The programme is designed as a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, so the programme is packed with timeless standards, as well as a few less familiar choices. Manly is superb, her rich voice bringing the best out of the lyrics, and her interpretations are coloured by a sense of improvisation, not least on a duet with the super-hip Mark Murphy on 'I Keep Going Back to Joe's'. ~ Yorkshire Post

Jazz singing is so much more difficult than many of the new jazz singers believe. It's so exposing, for a start - there is no external instrument to hide behind, no place to hide. One note hit not quite in the centre, one shaky rhythmic moment, one verse which doesn't quite convince the listener... it's just so easy to fall. Have you ever heard of Gill Manly? Nope, neither had I. I think we might be excused our ignorance as this is her first recording in over a decade and even before then she was working mostly locally in London. For a while she turned to a spiritual quest, convinced her singing career was behind her. She picked up the mic again two years ago and this is very much the work of an artist given a much valued and strongly embraced second chance. 

It's inspired by Ella and there are moments when an individual sample, subjected to a voice pattern test, might throw up an uncanny similarity in phrasing and timbre. To be able to approach the vocal near-perfection of the great Ms Fitzgerald is an achievement in itself. But this is certainly not to suggest that Gill Manly is an imitator for nothing could be further from the truth. It's truly remarkable and truly inspiring to hear a 'new' singer who is this good. The songs are mostly familiar ones  'September Song', 'Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most', 'Midnight Sun', 'Lush Life' but the insights Gill gives, both to their melodic and harmonic content, and to their lyrical meaning are fresh and original. She is just as comfortable at quicker, swinging paces as in slow ballads, and her vocal technique is both impeccable and apparently effortlessly delivered. She has a strong trio behind her, led on piano by Simon Wallace, Guy Barker adds some tasty trumpet and Mark Murphy pops in for a duet. I've searched this disc for some failure, some fall from grace, but I have searched in vain. It's as near perfection as we humans can manage. ~ The Jazz Breakfast  (Editorial Reviews)   http://www.amazon.com/With-Song-Heart-Gill-Manly/dp/B001PA7O4O

With A Song In My Heart

---

Lisa Hilton - Kaleidoscope

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:04
Size: 115,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:53)  1. Simmer
(4:40)  2. Whispered Confessions
(5:00)  3. Labyrinth
(5:07)  4. When I Fall in Love
(3:41)  5. Bach, Basie, Bird Boogie Blues Bop
(3:51)  6. Kaleidoscope
(4:30)  7. Midnight Mania
(3:12)  8. Blue Horizon
(5:28)  9. Stepping Into Paradise
(3:51) 10. One and Only
(4:46) 11. Sunny Side Up

“Lisa Hilton’s signature style is impressively on display.”  George Harris/JazzWeekly

“Lisa Hilton is a jazz musician of incredible sensibility and nuance that, along with a beautifully evocative style of playing, places her at the very top. The track Midnight Mania is insanely great music, one of several by the way, where Hilton and JD are in perfect sync, with bassist Grenadier and drummer Marcus Gilmore pushing the beat in some truly fascinating ways.” ~ Hugh Carson/KVNF Radio

“We play a boat-load of Lisa Hilton’s music, & have quite a few fans on our staff.” ~ Mark DeBoskey/ KSDS Radio

 “LOVE IT! Nice arrangements/feel/music.  I really like the composed/impressionistic aspects, plus the lush recording.” ~ Todd Steed/WUOT Radio

 “Under the deft touch and considerable artistic vision of Lisa Hilton, modern and traditional jazz come together as one. The new sound for improvisational music is only enhanced with the prolific rhythm section of bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Marcus Gilmore when you toss in the King of improvisational minimalism in tenor player, J.D. Allen, then things just got serious. Nine of the eleven tunes on Kaleidoscope are originals further solidifying Hilton as a composer of note. In somewhat the same lyric vein as Allen there has been a zen-like less is more quality to Hilton’s work, yet with Allen the harmonics and the lyric flow are more open ended and there is a deceptively subtle sense of urgency smoldering just beneath the surface. Hilton moves effortlessly between classical and jazz with Bach/Basie/Bird Boogie Blues Bop while doing her own riff on Horace Silver and Herbie Hancock with the opening tune, Simmer. There is a shift, a lyrical and harmonic adjustment within the more traditional ranks of jazz and Lisa Hilton is now leading the charge. A formidable quartet with adventurous original compositions banged out by some of the finest musicians of our time. It doesn’t get much better than this”.  ~ Brent Black/Critical Jazz.com 2014     http://lisahiltonmusic.com/?p=1337

Personnel: Lisa Hilton (piano); J.D. Allen (tenor saxophone); Marcus Gilmore (drums).

Kaleidoscope

---

Nils Gessinger - Ducks'N'Cookies

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1995
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 73:13
Size: 167,9 MB
Art: Front + Back

(4:35)  1. Ducks`N`Cookies
(4:55)  2. Angel
(6:34)  3. Late Nite
(3:25)  4. Mind Overload
(6:27)  5. Nighttalk
(4:40)  6. Pem Pem
(5:08)  7. Central Park
(4:39)  8. Casacajun Girl
(5:26)  9. Smoothin´
(5:49) 10. Nilas
(6:05) 11. Afif
(4:45) 12. Bobo´s Blues
(6:06) 13. Almost Seven
(4:32) 14. Friends & Gloves

In the 1990s, smooth jazz was the whipping boy of the jazz world everyone from hard boppers to Dixieland revivalists to fusion guitarists railed against the schlock that filled NAC play lists. And their anger was often justifiable; elevator versions of Michael Bolton hits shouldn't be described as jazz. However, commercial pop-jazz doesn't have to be bloodless elevator Muzak, and the German keyboardist/organist Nils Gessinger was obviously well-aware of that fact when he recorded 1995's Ducks 'N' Cookies for GRP. Make no mistake: Ducks 'N' Cookies is commercial music. The pop-jazz instrumentals that dominate the CD are meant to be accessible and groove-oriented, and when Gessinger features a vocalist on occasion, he tends to favor soul-influenced pop/rock melodies along the lines of Steely Dan (but minus the cryptic, abstract lyrics that Walter Becker and Donald Fagen were known for). In fact, Ducks 'N' Cookies often sounds like it could have been recorded in the late '70s or early '80s instead of 1995  the CD recalls a time when artists like David Sanborn, the Crusaders, Ronnie Laws, and the late Grover Washington, Jr. were providing commercial pop-jazz that had some meat on its bones. Not a masterpiece but generally respectable, Ducks 'N' Cookies could easily be described as "smooth jazz with a difference." ~ Alex Hernderson   http://www.allmusic.com/album/ducks-n-cookies-mw0000646773.

Personnel Billy King – vocals, Nils Gessinger - piano, Hammond B-3 organ, Fender Rhodes

Ducks`N`Cookies

---

Nancy Wilson - Broadway My Way

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1963/2006
File: MP3@224K/s
Time: 45:29
Size: 73,0 MB
Art: Front

(2:08)  1. A Lot Of Livin' To Do
(4:42)  2. You Can Have Him
(2:33)  3. Tonight
(3:17)  4. Make Someone Happy
(2:02)  5. I Believe In You
(2:29)  6. As Long As He Needs Me
(2:35)  7. Getting To Know You
(3:14)  8. My Ship
(2:04)  9. The Sweetest Sounds
(3:56) 10. Joey, Joey, Joey
(2:12) 11. Loads Of Love
(2:31) 12. I'll Know
(2:07) 13. Hello, Young Lovers
(2:57) 14. If Ever I Would Leave You
(1:45) 15. I'm All Smiles
(2:35) 16. Come Back To Me
(2:12) 17. Don't Rain On My Parade

This fine album was one of many solid Capitol releases Nancy Wilson cut during the first half of the '60s. Having already visited Tinseltown's back catalog on Hollywood My Way, Wilson now turns to the wealth of Broadway songs for this 1964 offering. Along with material from familiar shows like Bye Bye Birdie "A Lot of Livin' to Do"), The King and I ("Getting to Know You"), and West Side Story ("Tonight"), Wilson also dives into stock from such relatively obscure stage excursions as Lady in the Dark ("My Ship") and No Strings ("Loads of Love"). All the performances are top-notch and feature the stellar charts of Jimmy Jones and a memorable cast that includes pianist Lou Levy, guitarist Bill Perkins, and trumpeter Dan Fagerquist, among others. [The 2006 CD reissue added five bonus tracks.] ~ Stephen Cook   http://www.allmusic.com/album/broadway-my-way-mw0000573152

Personnel: Nancy Wilson (vocals); John Michael Gray, Al Hendrickson (guitar); Paul Horn (reeds); Bill Perkins, Justin Gordon, Bill Hood, Buddy Collette (saxophone); Don Fagerquist (trumpet); Lew McCreary (trombone); Lou Levy (piano); Shelly Manne, Kenny Dennis (drums); Emil Richards (percussion).

Broadway My Way

---