Sunday, May 25, 2014

Søs Fenger - On Holiday

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 35:48
Size: 82.0 MB
Styles: Easy Listening, Jazz vocals
Year: 1992
Art: Front

[3:03] 1. You Better Go Now
[4:19] 2. I'll Be Seeing You
[3:21] 3. You Let Me Down
[3:27] 4. I Wonder Where Our Love Has Gone
[3:57] 5. Maybe You'll Be There
[4:43] 6. The Man I Love
[3:44] 7. I'm Pulling Through
[5:50] 8. I Cover The Waterfront
[3:22] 9. Gloomy Sunday

Fenger, Danish singer, was a member of various rock bands in the 1980s, including Love Construction and News. She made her debut as soloist with the lp Winter Days (1989), among others contained the song Watching you, which achieved great commercial success as a single. Fenger moved stylistically and effortlessly to jazz vocal music on the CD On Holiday (1991), which spotlighted Billie Holiday songs to soft, swinging pop.

On Holiday

Kenny Dorham - Mack The Knife

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 41:52
Size: 95.9 MB
Styles: Trumpet jazz
Year: 1961/2013
Art: Front

[3:00] 1. Mack The Knife
[3:08] 2. Alone Together
[7:35] 3. Blue Spring Shuffle
[4:37] 4. I Had The Craziest Dream
[4:35] 5. Lotus Blossom
[5:08] 6. Old Folks
[5:03] 7. My Ideal
[8:44] 8. Blue Friday

Note: This album was originally released in 1961 as "Quiet Kenny". It has been remastered, renamed and the track sequence changed but this is essentially the same album. The following review is for "Quiet Kenny".

In the liner notes of Quiet Kenny, former Downbeat magazine publisher Jack Maher states that trumpeter Kenny Dorham's music is not necessarily the demure, balladic, rapturous jazz one might associate as romantic or tranquil. Cool and understated might be better watchwords for what the ultra-melodic Dorham achieves on this undeniably well crafted set of standards and originals that is close to containing his best work overall during a far too brief career. Surrounded by an excellent rhythm team of the equally sensitive pianist Tommy Flanagan, emerging bassist Paul Chambers, and the always-beneficial drummer Art Taylor, Dorham and his mates are not prone to missteps or overt exaggerations. One of Dorham's all-time best tunes "Lotus Blossom" kicks off the set with its bop to Latin hummable melody, fluid dynamics, and Dorham's immaculate, unpretentious tone. "Old Folks," a classic ballad, is done mid-tempo, while the true "quiet" factor comes into play on interesting version of "My Ideal" where Dorham gingerly squeezes out the slippery wet notes, and on the sad ballad "Alone Together." The rest of the material is done in easygoing, unforced fashion, especially the originals "Blue Friday" and the simple swinger "Blue Spring Shuffle" which is not really a shuffle. Never known as a boisterous or brash player, but also not a troubadour of romanticism -- until he started singing -- Dorham's music is also far from complacent, and this recording established him as a Top Five performer in jazz on his instrument. It comes recommended to all. ~Michael G. Nastos

Mack The Knife

Bastien Mayras - Salaam Bossa

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 65:39
Size: 150.3 MB
Styles: Flute jazz, Latin jazz
Year: 2014
Art: Front

[4:44] 1. Les Roses De Beauvais
[4:58] 2. En Paix
[1:08] 3. Flutucada Do Sol
[7:38] 4. La Pluie
[7:17] 5. La Maison Grande
[7:40] 6. Nos Anciens
[6:55] 7. Salaam Bossa
[1:05] 8. Nuages
[6:13] 9. Sauveterre
[7:46] 10. Le Voyage D'aicha
[3:27] 11. Koan
[6:44] 12. Salaam Bossa Ghost

"Bastien Mayras, french musician, plays flute since the age of 6. Self tought musician, he plays also bass and saxophones in different projects.

He fell in love with jazz and brasilian music many years ago. After being playing with all the brasilian musicians of Paris for several years, he planned to record an album in tribute to the brasilian music and culture. He composed and arranged all the songs and playes flute, alto flute and piccolo on this album.

Salaam bossa is a jazz/brasilian album offering either strong tracks with great arrangements and solos or very quiet tracks played with deep feeling and musicality. This project is a colored and spicy album, filled with samba, bossa nova, but also some bahian rythms, giving swing and energy to the tunes, with virtuosity and delicacy. It's been recorded during a live session, as a meeting between friends coming from different backgrounds and cultures playing together in a grateful tribute to the brasilian and the jazz music.

This is the kind of album you can listen very carrefully or leave it spreading around peaceful vibes when you want to relax and chill out."

Salaam Bossa

Katrine Madsen Swing Quintet - I'm Old Fashioned

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:48
Size: 125,6 MB
Art: Front

(5:08)  1. Bye Bye Blackbird
(6:23)  2. Somewhere over the Rainbow
(7:24)  3. A Time for Love
(4:17)  4. I'm Old Fashioned
(3:15)  5. I Get Along Without You Very Well
(4:17)  6. The More I See You
(5:40)  7. All of Me
(4:54)  8. Smile
(3:14)  9. Katrine's Blues
(5:55) 10. I've Got the World on a String
(4:15) 11. It Don't Mean a Thing

Katrine Madsen (born 7 March 1972 in Århus ) is a Danish jazz singer, composer and teacher. She studied at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus. In 1994 she formed the group Swing Quintet which debuted with I'm Old Fashioned in 1996, which was followed by Dream Dancing in 1997. She has also appeared in Ed Thigpens Ed Thigpen Rhythm Features, has toured with Lars Moller on saxophone, Jan Lundgren piano, Jesper Bodilsen on bass and Morten Lund on drums in different contexts. In spring 2000, she starred in DR 's television series The spider as nightclub singer, in which she also starred on the soundtrack. In the same year came the album My Secret which got good reviews. On her tour in the My Secret, she was accompanied by guitarist Jacob Fischer and bassist and her husband Jesper Bodilsen. Katrine Madsen has repeatedly worked with Swedish musicians. On the release of Magic Night 2001 allied herself with the Stockholm orchestra Bohuslän Big Band, which also led to a tour in Scandinavia. She has also sung with Claes Crona Trio and Svante Thuresson. About Katrine Madsen wrote Dagbladet Information in April 2003: She has style, [...]. No doubt about it. A singer since the mid-90s preferably have felt called into the classic American jazz tradition with romantic ballads as a specialty. In suited her dark, airy voice and gentle, easy-going style itself, reminiscent in the direction of Shirley Horn, Ruth Cameron and Anita O'Day. And as the great jazz vocal tradition offers, she has arrogated a fragile vibrato that makes her sound older and more old lady-like; an effete quality [...]. The debut album of 1996 was also a manifesto titled I'm Old Fashioned.

At the sixth album Close to You was turned down for the big bigbandlyd in favor of a more intimate musical space. The record total again Madsen's usual rhythm section with Jesper Bodilsen and Morten Lund. This time they were supplemented by Bodil's and Lund's regular trio pianist Stefano Bollani partner and saxophonist Hans Ulrik and Swedish trumpeter Mårten Lundgren. Here binds Madsen way with old standards like Ellington's In a sentimental mood, Burt Bacharach Close to you, and Lennon / McCartney And I love her. The album was nominated for a Danish Music Award Jazz Year vocal release 2005. On release Box of Pearls 2005 Allied Katrine Madsen again with Claes Crona Trio and Svante Thuresson to a collection vocal duets. This studio album was nominated for this year's vocal release for Danish Music Award Jazz in 2006. http://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katrine_Madsen   (Translate by Google)

Players: Katrine Madsen(vo), Finn Odderskov(ts), Hans Esbjerg(p), Jesper Bodilsen(b), Hans Brockstedt(dr)

Cæcilie Norby - Silent Ways

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:52
Size: 114,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:27)  1. Stepping Stone
(3:53)  2. Winter Lady
(3:20)  3. In My Secret Life
(4:39)  4. Papa Was a Rolling Stone
(3:55)  5. Diamonds and Gold
(3:52)  6. Like a Rolling Stone
(4:46)  7. Hurt
(5:08)  8. Hearts and Bones
(3:28)  9. Silent Ways
(4:08) 10. Have You Ever Seen the Rain
(5:03) 11. Black Hole Sun
(4:09) 12. Hymnen

From a classical upbringing, to pop, jazz funk and jazz, Norby listens solely to her heart and evaluates the musical quality of melodies fully free of genre restrictions. It is a path between worlds that her ACT debut 'Arabesque' (9723-2) defined two years ago: She wrote her own lyrics to classical works, from Rimski-Korsakov and Ravel to Michel Legrand, and transported them to jazz with the aid of her husband Lars Danielsson and their band. Now, with her second ACT album 'Silent Ways' she goes back in the other direction to some extent.

She selected a dozen of her favourite singer/songwriter melodies including 'Hymnen' by herself and her husband, and charged them up with classical and jazz influences. A powerful, thrilling, convincing mix, on the classics like Bob Dylan's 'Like A Rolling Stone', John Fogerty's 'Have You Ever Seen The Rain' and Paul Simon's 'Hearts And Bones', on the earthly tracks like Barrett Strong's 'Papa Was A Rolling Stone', the originally bulky works like Tom Waits' "Diamonds And Gold", the Indie-rock anthem "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails genius Trent Reznor or on the loungey title track 'Silent Ways' composed by Wolfgang Haffner, to which Norby contributes her wonderful lyrics. It is 'the sound of the new, European jazz' that vocalist Caecilie Norby stands for like no other, the way she best defines it.  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silent-Ways-Caecilie-Norby/dp/B00C1GBPIM.

Personnel: Cæcilie Norby / vocals; Lars Danielsson / cello, bass, acoustic guitars, tambourine; Leszek Mozdzer / piano; Nguyên Lê / electric guitars, electronics; Robert Mehmet Ikiz / drums & percussion

Silent Ways

Ray Charles - Forever

Styles: R&B
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:28
Size: 113,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:14)  1. A Song For You
(3:42)  2. I'm Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town
(3:10)  3. Ring Of Fire
(3:42)  4. Come Rain Or Come Shine
(4:14)  5. They Can't Take That Away From Me
(4:09)  6. Till There Was You
(4:07)  7. Isn’t It Wonderful
(5:04)  8. None Of Us Are Free
(4:29)  9. Imagine
(4:57) 10. If 1 Could
(4:02) 11. So Help Me God
(3:35) 12. America The Beautiful

Commemorating Ray Charles' deserved appearance on a U.S. postal stamp, Concord's 2013 CD/DVD set Ray Charles Forever rounds up various highlights from the entirety of Charles' career. This is true for both the CD and the DVD, with the latter containing live clips that loosely correspond to the music on the CD, but the emphasis here is on the CD which spotlights not Ray's hits, but Ray singing standards of all kinds. Everything from Leon Russell's "A Song for You," Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire," and John Lennon's "Imagine" to "America the Beautiful," "They Can't Take That Away from Me," and "Till There Was You" are here, and they're familiar enough to compensate for the curious selections from late in Charles' career, such as the lite-funk of "Isn't It Wonderful." 

Generally, there is an overabundance of latter-day tracks over half of the cuts date from 1993 or later; his '50s and '60s prime is represented by a mere two tracks ("I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town" and "Come Rain or Come Shine," respectively)  which does mean this not only lacks big hits (no "I Got a Woman," "Hit the Road Jack," "Georgia on My Mind") but it also isn't quite representative of Charles' peerless musical synthesis, where he blurred boundaries between R&B, gospel, jazz, blues, and country. What shines through is Ray's versatility as a vocalist, as he still sounds powerful and compelling even when his surroundings are synthetic, and that forceful, distinctive vocal style is not a bad way to remember Charles at all. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine   http://www.allmusic.com/album/ray-charles-forever-mw0002570341

Ron Carter - It's The Time

Styles: Jazz, Bop
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:17
Size: 122,6 MB
Art: Front

(2:52)  1. It's The Time
(4:55)  2. Eddie's Theme
(5:42)  3. Mack The Knife
(5:17)  4. Candle Light
(5:36)  5. Softly As In A Morning Sunrise
(8:17)  6. I Can't Get Started
(4:23)  7. Super Strings
(7:52)  8. My Ship
(5:59)  9. Laverne Walk
(2:20) 10. It's The Time (TVCM Version)

It's the Time is a Japan-only solo album by legendary American jazz bassist Ron Carter. With the appearance of the title track as well as Carter himself in a coffee commercial, there was a resurgence in his popularity in Japan, with this album of new recordings the result. ~ Ian Martin   http://www.allmusic.com/album/its-the-time-mw0001630634

Personnel:  Ron Carter-bass;  Mulgrew Miller-piano;  Russell Malone-guitar

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Eva Sur Seine - Eva Sur Seine EP / Singin' Django EP

Album: Eva Sur Seine EP
Size: 48,1 MB
Time: 20:33
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2013
Styles: Jazz Vocals, Gipsy Swing
Label: ESS Music
Art: Front

01. Bernies Tune (2:56)
02. Une Belle Histoire (5:06)
03. Stompin' At The Savoy (2:37)
04. Je Me Voyais Déjà (3:22)
05. Flambée Montalbanaise (2:42)
06. Dream Of You (3:46)

Eva sur Seine is a collaboration between the young and talented jazz singer Eva Scholten (‘86) and the Thomas Baggerman Trio consisting of Thomas Baggerman (‘88), Max Baggerman (‘90) and Machiel Willemsen (‘70).

The combination of Eva’s refined voice and the gentlemen’s virtuoso gypsy jazz creates a very unique and personal sound, which is often compared to musical greats such as The Rosenberg Trio and Ella Fitzgerald. Their repertoire comprises contemporary songs, reworked pieces by Django Reinhardt, French Chansons and Jazz standards.

This young band is currently regarded as one of the most promising talents in the Netherlands.

Eva Sur Seine EP

Album: Singin' Django EP
Size: 48,1 MB
Time: 20:33
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2013
Styles: Jazz Vocals, Gipsy Swing
Art: Front

01. Bernies Tune (2:56)
02. Une Belle Histoire (5:06)
03. Stompin' At The Savoy (2:37)
04. Je Me Voyais Déjà (3:22)
05. Flambée Montalbanaise (2:42)
06. Dream Of You (3:46)

Singin' Django EP

Andre Previn - Don't Worry Be Jazzy By Andre Previn

Size: 276,0 MB
Time: 118:33
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Piano Jazz
Art: Front

01. Sophisticated Lady (2:53)
02. Solitude (2:54)
03. A Touch Of Elegance (3:14)
04. Do It The Hard Way (4:04)
05. I Could Write A Book (4:51)
06. I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart (3:24)
07. I'm Talkin' With My Pal (5:01)
08. Taking A Chance On Love (5:13)
09. It's A Great Big Town (3:33)
10. The Love I Long For (3:35)
11. What Is There To Say (3:53)
12. It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) (3:20)
13. April In Paris (3:42)
14. Autumn In New York (3:49)
15. I Can't Get Started (5:20)
16. Cabin In The Sky (3:59)
17. I Like The Likes Of You (3:43)
18. Round About (4:35)
19. Ages Ago (3:48)
20. Bewitched (5:36)
21. What Is A Man (3:19)
22. That Terrific Rainbow (6:03)
23. What Am I Here For (2:44)
24. A Portrait Of Bert Williams (3:32)
25. I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good (3:22)
26. Le Sucrier Velours (3:00)
27. Perdido (2:33)
28. Prelude To A Kiss (3:07)
29. Satin Doll (2:56)
30. Zip (3:38)
31. Take Him (3:35)

One of the most versatile musicians on the planet, André Previn has amassed considerable credentials as a jazz pianist, despite carving out separate lives first as a Hollywood arranger and composer, and then as a world-class classical conductor, pianist, and composer. Always fluid, melodic, and swinging, with elements of Bud Powell, Oscar Peterson, and Horace Silver mixed with a faultless technique, Previn didn't change much over the decades but could always be counted upon for polished, reliable performances at the drop of a hat.

He started piano lessons in his native Berlin before the Nazi threat forced his family to move to Paris in 1938 and the U.S. the following year. Settling in Los Angeles, the wunderkind Previn began working as a jazz pianist, an arranger for MGM, and a recording artist for Sunset Records while still in high school -- and by his 18th year, his first recordings for RCA Victor had racked up substantial sales. Originally swing-oriented, Previn discovered bop in 1950 just before his induction into the Army. Upon returning to Los Angeles, Previn went into overdrive, gigging as a jazz pianist, scoring films, and playing chamber music. Forming a smooth boppish trio with Shelly Manne and Leroy Vinnegar, Previn scored a huge crossover hit with an album of jazz interpretations of My Fair Lady, which in turn led to a series of likeminded albums of Broadway scores and kicked off an industry trend.

By 1962, Previn started to make the transition away from Hollywood toward becoming a full-time classical conductor, dropping his jazz activities entirely. He stayed away from jazz for 27 years, with the exceptions of a handful of sessions with Ella Fitzgerald and classical violinist/dabbler Itzhak Perlman. Indeed, in 1984, he was quoted as saying that jazz was "an expendable art form" for him. But in March 1989, shortly before resigning from the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a dispute with management, Previn returned to jazz with a trio album for Telarc with Ray Brown and Joe Pass, showing that he had not lost an iota of his abilities. Subsequently, he returned frequently to the studio as a jazz pianist for Telarc, Angel, Deutsche Grammophon, and DRG when not freelancing as a conductor or composing classical scores. ~Biography by Richard S. Ginell

Don't Worry Be Jazzy By Andre Previn

Simone Kopmajer - The Best In You

Size: 132,5 MB
Time: 56:40
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz/Pop Vocals
Art: Front

01. Blue Bayou (4:13)
02. Shoes (4:38)
03. All The Words Are Gone (5:10)
04. The Best In You (4:35)
05. Inseparable (3:29)
06. Lucky Mojo (3:49)
07. Up Here On The Rooftop (3:55)
08. Wichita Lineman (6:05)
09. I Dream Of You (3:27)
10. A Perfect Love (5:54)
11. Stay (4:09)
12. Our Love Is Light (6:07)
13. Mr. Wonderful (1:06)

It was Simone’s idea to take the great songs of different generations and put all together in what could be considered a level playing field. «I love to sing the great jazz standards,» the 20-something Austrian native tells me, «but, great as they are, I don’t want to sing them exclusively.» Thus she mixes it up–going seamlessly from the music of Prince and Motown to that of the Gershwins and Rodgers & Hart. She varies between the old and new, which is entirely logical considering that virtually all of them are considerably older than she is. She also includes music from both Broadway and Nashville–also a logical choice considering that New York and Tennessee are roughly equidistant from Vienna.

Simone takes an evocative country-folk song associated with Alison Kraus, and, with her stunning voice and the combined musicality of herself and co-producer/pianist John di Martino, makes it into something even more special. «I was driving from one show to another in the States, when I heard it on the car radio.» she reports, «I couldn’t get all the details, but I eventually figured out what the song was. Before I could find the sheet music, I wrote out the chords myself.» It’s a beautifully sung and even haunting performance–in more ways than one.

The new CD also includes three excellent original songs, my favorite of which is «Didn’t You Say.» «It’s about these men that promise you all kinds of things, and then in the end, they don’t deliver anything.» She tells me it’s inspired by real relationships, and I tell her she’s too young to be so cynical. However, the Count Basie-style beat provided by the combination of di Martino and ace rhythm guitarist helps negate any possible ill will, and «Didn’t You Say» turns out to be a real romper after all.

Meet a fresh, young singer from Austria, whose US debut in the year 2000 was hailed as "captivating“. Jazz legend Ira Sullivan calls her “a great young talent” with a big future in Jazz.

Simone, now 25 years old, grew up in a family of musicians and started to sing, in her father's band when she was 12. At the same time she studied piano, though singing remained her first love. Early on, she entered and won various talent contests and even made appearances on television in her native land, Austria. As a young performer, she twice toured the Netherlands with the “Euro Big Band” and later appeared in several International Jazz Festivals.

Influenced by some of the great American vocalists, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Jon Hendricks, Simone has developed into a true Jazzsinger, a singer who uses a wide variety of rhythms and excels in her very individual style of scatting. Laurie Antonioli says that “Simone is an excellent musician, with soulful and hip improvising. She digs in and isn't afraid to take risks with the music”.

Simone received her Masters Degree from the University for Music and dramatic Arts in Graz, Austria where she had the opportunity to work with such Jazz luminaries as Mark Murphy, Sheila Jordan, Michele Hendricks, Jay Clayton and the New York Voices.

The Best In You 

Akiko Tsuruga - Sweet And Funky / Oriental Express

Album: Sweet And Funky
Size: 122,3 MB
Time: 52:44
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2007
Styles: Soul-Jazz, Hammond Organ
Art: Front & Back

01. Booga Lou (3:58)
02. Broadway (5:47)
03. DLG (5:19)
04. Meanie Queenie (5:12)
05. Mushi-Mushi (5:28)
06. Polka Dots And Moonbeams (5:54)
07. Saving All My Love For You (5:41)
08. Stormy Weather (4:35)
09. Sweet And Lovely (6:25)
10. Where Is The Love (4:21)

Japanese-born Akiko Tsuruga has lived in New York since 2001. Sweet and Funky is her breakthrough CD, showing that she can hold her own with virtually every other jazz organist. Her style fits well into '60s/'70s soul-jazz and hard bop styles, grooving like Charles Earland, Jimmy McGriff, Jimmy Smith and the other great organists of the era without directly copying any of them. She swings her way through standards, blues and three originals, never losing her momentum, drive or flow of rhythmic ideas. Guitarist Eric Johnson (who takes plenty of fine solos), drummer Vince Ector and percussionist Wilson "Chembo" Corniel all have plenty of experience in this type of organ group and keep the music swinging and grooving. Based on the performances on Sweet and Funky, Akiko Tsuruga ranks as one of the top organists around today and, with luck, this is only the beginning. ~Review by Scott Yanow

Sweet And Funky

Album: Oriental Express
Size: 123,5 MB
Time: 53:02
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2009
Styles: Soul-Jazz, Hammond Organ
Art: Front & Back

01. Bright Eyes (3:48)
02. Closer I Get To You (3:19)
03. Dreamsville (4:28)
04. Frim Fram Sauce (4:55)
05. J's Groove (4:22)
06. Killing Me Softly With His Song (5:26)
07. Magic E (5:43)
08. Oriental Express (4:42)
09. Sidewinder (6:18)
10. Take It Easy (5:48)
11. Teach Me Tonight (4:06)

With her third release as a leader, Japanese-born jazz organist Akiko Tsuruga demonstrates her growth as a player, having distilled the essence of many of the giants of the instrument, including Jimmy Smith, Charles Earland, Mel Rhyne, Brother Jack McDuff, and others. One of relatively few women who has gained exposure playing jazz organ, Tsuruga shows a surprising maturity at the instrument, using a wide variety of dynamics, while her adventurous spirit shows in her improvising and choice of rhythms. Two of her sidemen on these sessions, tenor saxophonist Jerry Weldon and drummer Rudy Perschauer, were members of McDuff's final band and their presence no doubt stimulated the young organist. Also making important contributions are guitarist Eric Johnson and percussionist Wilson Chembo Corniel, both of whom appeared on her previous 18th & Vine CD Sweet and Funky. Her breezy setting of "The Frim Fram Sauce" (a hit for pianist Nat King Cole during the '40s) and funky Latin setting of Lee Morgan's "Sidewinder" are obvious highlights. She's equally adept handling standards like "Teach Me Tonight" and Henry Mancini' lush ballad "Dreamsville," both of which prominently feature Johnson. With this outstanding effort, Akiko Tsuruga is easily one of the fast rising stars on jazz organ. ~Review by Ken Dryden

Oriental Express

Marty Grosz & Hot Winds - The Classic Sessions

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 68:07
Size: 155.9 MB
Styles: Swing, Contemporary jazz
Year: 2009
Art: Front

[4:37] 1. Pardon Me Pretty Baby
[4:12] 2. Rent Party Blues
[3:13] 3. Just One Of Those Things
[3:25] 4. I Must Have That Man
[5:50] 5. Maori
[3:33] 6. I Just Couldn't Take It Baby
[6:49] 7. Wabash Blues
[3:27] 8. Under A Blanket Of Blue
[2:57] 9. My Blackbirds Are Blubirds Now
[5:28] 10. Caught
[3:26] 11. Love And Kisses
[9:22] 12. Riverside Blues
[4:15] 13. The Panic Is On
[5:08] 14. When Buddha Smiles
[2:17] 15. I Gotta Get Up And Go To Work

Rhythm guitarist Marty Grosz has been a central figure squarely placed in the vintage/traditional/swing era/hot jazz style. He's in many ways a one-of-a-kind artist as a performer, while priding himself as an archivist, historian, and song excavator. The Hot Winds band that Grosz surrounds himself for this recording is loaded with multi-instrumentalists like Scott Robinson, Dan Block, and Vince Giordano, wielding an array of woodwind and brass instruments, especially from the clarinet family. Yes, everything on this recording is from that bygone era of jazz, while the tracks are filled with the counterpoint and layered ideas that sparked the initial forays into improvisation that makes jazz vital, enjoyable, unique, and exciting. What Grosz and crew accomplish is pretty much major league in terms of how they sustain interest through and through by mixing and matching front-line instruments, conceiving a new way to play these tunes with every twist and turn. Check out their "fusion" of three different melody phrases during the upbeat original "Love & Kisses," a load of fun for all. Fans of Fats Waller can't be denied their ebullience, and this combo is no different on the bluesy instrumental "Caught" or the uptown strutter "The Panic Is On," with vocals from Grosz. Some very obscure numbers are discovered, like the lively car chase tune "My Blackbirds Are Bluebirds Now" featuring a ribald vocal from Giordano, the straight Chicago-style Rev. Thomas A. Dorsey composition "Riverside Blues," Duke Ellington's "Rent Party Blues" with two clarinets and the banjo of Grosz, and the quite unknown blues "When Buddha Smiles," featuring baritone sax, C-melody sax, and the peckhorn. The one non-swing entity "Maori" is in a calypso beat with the spirited banjo of the leader slyly jutting and ducking. Perhaps the one song that stands apart is the resurrected Ethel Waters song "I Just Couldn't Take It Baby," with the singing of the leader digging deep into the black bottom spectrum. Robinson's clarinet, soprano, baritone sax, or cornet, Block's clarinet, alto, baritone sax, and bass clarinet, Giordano's upright bass, tuba, bass sax, and the mysterious Panic Slim on trombone for five tracks allow the variations and diverse sounds closer to a full-blown big band. For those who enjoy early period jazz as it was invented, this is a marvelous example of how it should be, and still can be done. ~Michael G. Nastos

The Classic Sessions 

Sara Gazarek - Live At The Jazz Bakery

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 53:53
Size: 123.4 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 2007
Art: Front

[4:03] 1. Cheek To Cheek
[2:44] 2. Too Darn Hot
[4:27] 3. More
[4:03] 4. Yours
[3:38] 5. You Are My Sunshine
[3:04] 6. So This Is Love
[4:25] 7. Give Me That Smile
[6:24] 8. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
[4:25] 9. You've Changed
[3:36] 10. Let's Try This Again
[8:09] 11. Don't Know How To Stay
[4:50] 12. Makes Me Feel This Way

Gazarek didn’t discover her calling until her senior year, when her school band flew to New York City to compete in the Essentially Ellington Competition, hosted by the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. It was the first year that the competition included a big band vocal feature, so Gazarek joined the band, and ended up walking away with the first ever Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation Vocal Soloist Award.

When Gazarek arrived at the University of Southern California, she was the only jazz studies vocal major in her class, and quickly discovered that she was way behind her peers when it came to jazz theory. She spent much of the first year off by herself studying for hours every day, listening closely to classic recordings by Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins and Hank Mobley. She studied privately with vocalists Tierney Sutton and Carmen Bradford, pianist Shelly Berg and bassist/arranger John Clayton, who become one of her most important champions.

At USC, Sara helped develop the JazzReach program, spending two years as a jazz choir director with inner city elementary school children. “I was fortunate to have a very passionate jazz educator at my high school, and know that if it wasn’t for Scott, I probably wouldn’t have discovered my own love of jazz. The idea of lighting that flame in even just one young musician is exciting to me.”

Sara Gazarek, voice; Josh Nelson, piano; Erik Kertes, bass; Matt Slocum, drums. Special Guest, Katisse Buckingham, flute

Live At The Jazz Bakery

Blue Mitchell - Blue's Moods

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 40:45
Size: 93.3 MB
Styles: Hard bop, Trumpet jazz
Year: 1974/1994/2006
Art: Front

[5:52] 1. I'll Close My Eyes
[4:04] 2. Avars
[3:57] 3. Scrapple From The Apple
[6:24] 4. Kinda Vague
[6:03] 5. Sir John
[5:39] 6. When I Fall In Love
[4:16] 7. Sweet Pumpkin
[4:26] 8. I Wish I Knew

Of trumpeter Blue Mitchell's seven Riverside recordings, only this set along with three numbers on Blue Soul  feature Mitchell as the only horn. Joined by pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Roy Brooks, the trumpeter is typically distinctive, swinging, and inventive within the hard bop genre. He performs four standards, plus Ronnell Bright's "Sweet Pumpkin," the obscure "Avars," and a pair of originals in fine fashion. ~Scott Yanow

Blue's Moods

Dr. John - Duke Elegant

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 54:57
Size: 125.8 MB
Styles: New Orleans blues-jazz vocals
Year: 1999
Art: Front

[ 5:40] 1. On The Wrong Side Of The Railroad Tracks
[ 5:02] 2. I'm Gonna Go Fishin'
[ 3:33] 3. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
[ 5:05] 4. Solitude
[ 4:45] 5. Satin Doll
[ 6:53] 6. Mood Indigo
[ 5:29] 7. Do Nothing 'til You Hear From Me
[ 6:22] 8. Things Ain't What They Used To Be
[ 6:22] 9. Caravan
[ 5:43] 10. The Flaming Sword

Mac "Dr. John" Rebennack playing songs from the canon of Duke Ellington is as natural as the break of day. But the gris-gris king interprets Ellington in a way unlike anyone else. "Mood Indigo," arranged for Dr. John's six-man New Orleans group, takes on a fresh, heartfelt immediacy with the good doctor's vocals and piano locked into a relaxed groove. He sings another slice of essential Ellingtonia, "Do Nothing 'til You Hear from Me," with a lighthearted nonchalance that epitomizes the worthiest New Orleans performers. Dr. John packages snippets of his keyboard playing as panaceas for the soul on a funked-up interpretation of "Caravan," even spinning off on a "Wade in the Water" tangent before wrapping up the song. But with so many, many Ellington nuggets to dust off for reinterpretation, one wonders why Dr. John elected to go with popular numbers that get covered again and again. To his credit, he does serve up the lesser-known "The Flaming Sword," where his piano is luminous in the Calypso fashion of Professor Longhair, and he offers delightful, fonkified updates of the Ellington obscurities "On the Wrong Side of the Railroad Tracks" and "I'm Gonna Go Fishin'." --Frank-John Hadley

Duke Elegant

Zara Mcfarlane - If You Knew Her

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:09
Size: 124,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:42)  1. Open Heart
(3:34)  2. Her Eyes
(5:58)  3. Move
(3:36)  4. You'll Get Me in Trouble
(6:54)  5. Police & Thieves
(1:20)  6. Spinning Wheel
(4:25)  7. Plain Gold Ring
(7:35)  8. Angie La La
(4:00)  9. The Games We Played
(5:12) 10. Woman of the Olive Groves
(6:47) 11. Love

On her full-length follow up to 2010's EP Until Tomorrow, London-based singer Zara McFarlane perfects her blend of austere instrumentation and mantra-like rhythms supporting her rich and warm voice that owe more to Mongo Santamaria than reputedly Nina Simone or Roberta Flack. An album centerpiece, "Woman in the Olive Groves" undulates like "Afro Blue" while being able to act as its logical prelude. Backed by a traditional rhythm trio, McFarlane fulfills the potential of her subtle and muscular voice which sets perfectly against Brinker Golding's obtuse and probing tenor saxophone solo. Pianist Peter Edwards sinks McCoy Tyner chords into the ground like tent poles erected for elemental cover. It is this brief and honest instrumental and vocal simplicity that McFarlane, in her compositions, brings to this modern amalgam of jazz and soul.  McFarlane's voice swells to the challenge of sparse instrumentation. 

She capitalizes on the music's pulse, that necessary element propelling this collection of sweetly opaque songs forward. On "Move" McFarlane sings of motion and strength among uncertainty, motion provided by the shimmer of Edwards' right melodic hand tacked down by his precise left. The sole non-original composition is Junior Murvin's 1977 "Police & Thieves," later covered by the Clash. McFarlane takes the song far afield of Murvin's original Jah-happy rebellion and the Clash's boiling mercury version into the blended jazz-soul terrain of 21st Century London. A gentle heart is Zara McFarlane's, one that burns in a low smolder of creation. ~ C.Michael Bailey   http://www.allaboutjazz.com/if-you-knew-her-zara-mcfarlane-brownswood-recordings-review-by-c-michael-bailey.php#.U3VaFCi9a5w
Personnel: Zara McFarlane: vocals (all), piano (6), guitar (4); Peter Edwards: piano (2, 3, 5, 9, 10, 11); Gavin Barras: Bass (1, 8); Max Luthert: bass (2, 3, 5, 7, 10); Moses Boyd: drums (3, ; Andy Chapman: drums (2, 10); Taz Modi: drums (8); Binker Golding: tenor saxophone (10); Leron Thomas: trumpet (8); Rachel Gladwin: harp (8).

Cindy Bradley - Bliss

Styles: Smooth Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:48
Size: 116,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:25)  1. Button Legs
(5:14)  2. Bliss
(5:29)  3. Riverside Jive
(6:54)  4. Squeeze Me
(4:33)  5. 49th & 9th
(5:03)  6. Could It Be You
(4:31)  7. Comin' Home to My Baby
(4:22)  8. Lost and Found
(5:21)  9. Sharp a Strut
(3:51) 10. God Bless the Broken Road

It's always difficult when you have set the bar so high as Cindy did with her groundbreaking and highly heralded second recording 'Unscripted', voted 'Critic's Choice 2011' by Jazziz Magazine, and one that spawned back to back #1 Billboard singles, to not only follow but to continue to stretch higher. With the release of BLISS, Bradley's third she again finds Grammy award winning producer Michael Broening at the rudder steering the ship and together again they not only grab hold of the bar they set, but leap over it, carried forward by the current of her wave of popularity.

Bliss is the apropos title for this set of musical sketches that continues to expose the many facets of this extraordinary artist who laid bare her emotions and challenges in 'Unscripted' and now finds a place in her life where she is finding great peace and joy through her perseverance and increase in capacity. These musical portraits painted with a variety of different brushes and strokes cover the gamut of moods and emotions, open, honest and revealing. From her trademark swing and sass to the beauty and sensitivity through which she caresses the muted Harman, it's all here. Her jazz chops are in full display on 'Squeeze Me' a wistful rendering chock full of artistic expression and interplay. Gospel, Funk, House and blues all find appearance in this new exploration of what is Cindy Bradley and the results are robust and satisfying.

Radio is licking its collective chops and Bradley's legions of fans will line up and welcome with full embrace this long awaited expose. The sails are set and this ship is prepared to leave port for destinations unknown. Welcome aboard. ~ Editorial Reviews   http://www.amazon.com/Bliss-Cindy-Bradley/dp/B00JJNLXEG

Cedar Walton - Underground Memoirs

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:47
Size: 124,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:26)  1. Milestones
(6:50)  2. Lost April
(4:38)  3. Someday My Prince Will Come
(4:06)  4. Con Alma
(4:50)  5. Skylark
(6:25)  6. Everytime We Say Goodbye
(5:55)  7. On Green Dolphin Street
(5:53)  8. Underground Memoirs
(5:46)  9. Sophisticated Lady
(4:54) 10. I Want To Talk About You

The strength of any great musical interpreter is his or her ability to see the truth at the core of any great tune. This capability to assess the inner beauty of a memorable tune, regardless of context, can sometimes turn an inspired player into an equally noteworthy composer. That's the case with pianist Cedar Walton, who, now in his early '70s, contributed a number of well-known pieces to the late drummer Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers songbook of the early '60s, and has continued to pen memorable hard bop tunes in the ensuing years. Underground Memoirs is Walton's fourth solo outing in a career that spans six decades and collaborations with a veritable who's who of jazz, including saxophonists John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, and Joe Henderson; and more recently, guitarist Larry Coryell, Manhattan Transfer singer Janis Siegel, and saxophonist David "Fathead Newman. He has chosen to interpret a programme of largely well-heeled standards, rather than contribute from a compositional perspective. Still, Walton understands the concept of a good story well told, adopting a decidedly non-virtuosic approach and remaining true to the material in a way that echoes Keith Jarrett's similarly faithful and uncharacteristically unflamboyant '99 home recording The Melody at Night, With You. That's not to say that Walton and Jarrett share much in common; Jarrett's typical stream-of-consciousness approach is far removed from Walton's more thoughtful, but never overly-considered, means of interpretation. 

But both players, at least on these two recordings, share an apparent common musical goal that places the song first and the ego second, although there is certainly no lack of personality on either disc. Three of the tunes covered by Walton are inspired by the late Miles Davis someone with whom Walton never worked, but whose directness clearly informs his take on "Milestones, as well as two tunes commonly associated with Miles: "Someday My Prince Will Come and "On Green Dolphin Street. Walton retains a stronger hard bop approach than Miles would employ from the early '60s onwards, and he demonstrates an unfailing ability to get inside the melody of everything from Hoagy Carmichael's "Skylark and Cole Porter's "Everytime We Say Goodbye to Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady. He also uses the freedom afforded by the solo setting to be more interpretive in a time sense, also stretching the compositions' harmonic potential while still remaining well inside the mainstream. Walton's better-known role as the consummate accompanist sometimes overshadows his evocative strengths as a soloist, but Underground Memoirs offers an opportunity to hear him in that most exposed of contexts. The result is just under an hour's worth of nuanced reinvention and reverent reimagining. ~ John Kelman   http://www.allaboutjazz.com/underground-memoirs-cedar-walton-highnote-records-review-by-john-kelman.php#.U30BhSi9a5w
 
Personnel: Cedar Walton (piano)

Friday, May 23, 2014

Rosemary Clooney - The Last Concert

Size: 105,6 MB
Time: 44:55
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2002
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. Overture Medley: Tenderly/White Christmas/Half As Much/Sisters This Ole House (4:34)
02. Sentimental Journey (4:14)
03. Dialogue (1:23)
04. I'm Confessin' That I Love You (3:45)
05. Just In Time (2:59)
06. Dialogue 2 (0:48)
07. Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe (4:32)
08. You Go To My Head (4:55)
09. Rockin' Chair (4:08)
10. Dialogue 3 (0:55)
11. Ol' Man River (2:07)
12. The Singer (2:30)
13. They Can't Take That Away From Me (3:47)
14. God Bless America/They Can't Take That Away From Me (4:10)

SwinginRosemary Clooney's performance at the Neal S. Blaisdell Concert Hall in Honolulu, HI, on November 16, 2001, backed by the big band Big Kahuna & the Copa Cat Pack and the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, turned out to be her final show before her death on June 29, 2002. Not surprisingly, though, there isn't anything about it to suggest finality specifically. But, as an appearance by a veteran performer with a long career to draw upon, it necessarily had a retrospective feel and, occurring only two months after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, it concluded with a reverent tone, Clooney's first recording of "God Bless America." Following an instrumental overture canvassing some of her better known songs (none of which she went on to actually sing in the show), Clooney opened with "Sentimental Journey," the first of her borrowings from other "girl singers," since it is associated with Doris Day from her period with Les Brown's band. The song set the stage for a collection of standards written by the likes of Comden and Green and Jule Styne ("Just in Time"), Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg ("Happiness Is Just a Thing Called Joe"), Hoagy Carmichael ("Rockin' Chair"), Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II ("Ol' Man River"), George and Ira Gershwin ("They Can't Take That Away From Me"), and Irving Berlin ("God Bless America"). Clooney also paid tribute to other singers, including her sister Betty Clooney, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra. The album contains many of Clooney's stage remarks, which are punctuated with self-deprecating humor. (She notes, for example, that the last time she played Hawaii was the day it became a state and now she is back "by popular demand.") On the whole, the show is a typically wonderful Clooney show that just happens to have been her last. ~Review by William Ruhlmann

The Last Concert

John Morrison - Swingin' Upstairs (Feat. Andrew Firth, Ian Date)

Size: 166,2 MB
Time: 70:55
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1997
Styles: Mainstream Jazz, Swing
Art: Front

01. You Do Something To Me (4:50)
02. Don't Be That Way (5:19)
03. Sly Mongoose (4:16)
04. I Want To Be Happy (5:29)
05. Petit Fleur (3:38)
06. Yacht Club Swing (4:57)
07. Your Smile (4:16)
08. It's Only A Paper Moon (4:49)
09. S'wonderful (4:32)
10. I'll Get By (3:55)
11. Cotton Tail (3:55)
12. These Foolish Things (4:19)
13. Running Wild (3:05)
14. Tea For Two (3:58)
15. Stranger On The Shore (3:23)
16. Avalon (2:10)
17. China Boy (3:54)

Swingin' Upstairs is a back issue from the catalogue of John Morrison. Recorded in 1997, it features clarinet/sax wiz Andrew Firth, guitarist extraordinaire Ian Date, violin impressario Ian Cooper, and of course the leader of Big Band, Swing City, drummer John Morrison.
A great collection of mainstream and old school standards, this album reflects the legendary Benny Goodman in his small group days, with a touch of Charlie Christian and Stephane Grappelli.
The CD comes with a "Caution Hot" label....so be warned!!!!

Swingin' Upstairs