Chris Connor - Try A Little Tenderness

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 44:07
Size: 101.0 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[3:01] 1. Try A Little Tenderness
[2:56] 2. All About Ronnie
[2:30] 3. How Long Has This Been Going On
[4:12] 4. Ridin' High
[2:14] 5. Everything I Love
[2:17] 6. I Hear Music
[2:52] 7. Spring Is Here
[2:24] 8. Stella By Starlight
[1:48] 9. All Dressed Up With A Broken Heart
[2:21] 10. Lullaby Of Birdland
[2:17] 11. Gone With The Wind
[2:26] 12. It's All Right With Me
[3:40] 13. Angel Eyes
[3:09] 14. Suddenly It's Spring
[3:04] 15. In Other Words
[2:48] 16. You Make Me Feel So Young

Along with June Christy, Helen O'Connell, and Julie London, Chris Connor epitomized cool jazz singing in the 1950s. Influenced by Anita O'Day, the torchy, smoky singer wasn't one for aggression. Like Chet Baker on the trumpet or Paul Desmond and Lee Konitz on alto sax, she used subtlety and restraint to their maximum advantage. At the University of Missouri, Connor (who had studied clarinet at an early age) sang with a Stan Kentonish big band led by trombonist Bob Brookmeyer before leaving her native Kansas City for New York in 1947. Quite appropriately, she was featured in the lyrical pianist Claude Thornhill's orchestra in the early '50s. After leaving Thornhill, Connor was hired by Kenton at Christy's recommendation, and her ten-month association with him in 1952-1953 resulted in the hit "All About Ronnie." Connor debuted as a solo artist in 1953, recording three albums for Bethlehem before moving to Atlantic in 1955 and recording 12. Connor reached the height of her popularity in the 1950s, when she delivered her celebrated versions of Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life" and George Shearing's "Lullaby of Broadway," and recorded such excellent albums as The Rich Sound of Chris Connor and Lullabies of Birdland for Bethlehem and Chris Craft and Ballads of the Sad Cafe for Atlantic. Connor made a poor career move in 1962, the year she left Atlantic and signed with a label her manager was starting, FM Records -- Connor had recorded only two albums for FM when they folded. Connor's recording career was rejuvenated in the 1970s, and she went on to record for Progressive, Stash, and Contemporary in the '70s and '80s. Connor maintained a devoted following in the 1990s and continued to tour internationally. ~bio by Alex Henderson

Try A Little Tenderness

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Pepper Adams - The Complete Regent Sessions

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 59:53
Size: 137.1 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 2008
Art: Front

[ 9:32] 1. Watkins Production
[ 8:18] 2. Stop
[ 9:09] 3. Redd's Head
[10:13] 4. Bloos, Bloos, Blues
[ 7:21] 5. Seein' Red
[ 7:33] 6. Like... What Is This
[ 7:45] 7. Skippy

A companion release to Hollywood Quintet Sessions, The Complete Regent Sessions (including tracks from the LPs Art Pepper/Sonny Redd, Jazz Is Busting Out All Over, and The Cool Sound of Pepper Adams), also from 1957, features emerging baritone saxophone star Pepper Adams in a series of lengthy jazz jams, unlike the shorter and compact studio recordings he did with West Coast musicians. These two East Coast dates done during the early winter in Hackensack, NJ, at Rudy Van Gelder's house studio feature Adams' running mates who matriculated from Detroit to New York City with him, including Doug Watkins (who was also on the Hollywood tracks), Elvin Jones on all selections, Hank Jones, and Bernard McKinney. These long-winded originals loaded with extraordinary solos mark yet another progression for Adams -- that of a keen improviser the likes of which jazz had rarely heard on his instrument short of Harry Carney, Serge Chaloff, and peer Gerry Mulligan. The first three tracks team Adams with the tart sweet and sour alto saxophonist Sonny Red, offering an interesting contrast to the warmer, dulcet low-end sounds of the bari. Two calypso or Latin swing tunes kick things off -- "Watkins Production," where you clearly hear the impressive solo chops of the principals, and the obscure Fats Navarro number "Stop," sped up and rushed by an atypically anxious Elvin Jones. "Redd's Head" is bop at its best, a hard-driving swinger with a distinctive melody and choppy lead-in to solos that hint at rhythm & blues. Of the remaining five selections, Adams and McKinney emphasize exclusively underground timbres on the opposite ends of the audio spectrum. Stealthy, sneaky, low-down detective music is extracted on "Bloos, Blooze, Blues," and McKinney's variation of "What Is This Thing Called Love?," retitled "Like...What Is This?," reharmonizes the famous standard in a cunning, circular, and hot adaptation. A Barry Harris composition, "Seein' Red," might be a reference to Sonny Red in its ribald and hard bop construct, but cools to a slow simmer, while "Skippy," from the pen of Adams, seems easy as pie and simple for these masters. Bassist George Duvivier contributes a fabulous bouncy and solid solo on "Skippy," and credit must given to the brilliant pianists -- Wynton Kelly on the cuts with Sonny Red, and Hank Jones with homeboys Adams, McKinney, and Elvin Jones. These definitive dates, as well as the Bethlehem label document Motor City Scene with Donald Byrd and Jazzmen Detroit, the earlier Savoy recording led by Kenny Burrell, all belong in the collection of any fan and admirer of Park Pepper Adams III. ~Michael G. Nastos

The Complete Regent Sessions

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Vinícius De Moraes - Pure Bossa Nova

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 47:16
Size: 108.2 MB
Styles: Bossa Nova, Brazilian jazz vocals
Year: 2005
Art: Front

[4:04] 1. Minha Namorada
[1:48] 2. Chega De Saudade (With Caetano Veloso)
[3:26] 3. Canto De Ossanha (With Elis Regina)
[2:48] 4. Agua De Beber (With Antonio Carlos Jobim)
[3:57] 5. Insensatez (With Sylvia Telles)
[3:19] 6. Sabe Você (With Os Cariocas)
[2:52] 7. Samba Da Volta
[3:31] 8. Samba Em Preludio (With Odette Lara)
[2:36] 9. Samba De Orly (Samba De Fiumicino) (With Toquinho)
[3:10] 10. Pra Que Chorar (With Alcione)
[2:33] 11. Ela É Carioca (With Os Cariocas)
[3:38] 12. Se Todos Fossem Iguais Á Você (With Agostinho Dos Santos)
[6:48] 13. Samba Da Benção
[2:38] 14. Carta Ao Tom 74 (With Toquinto)

Verve Records has been releasing their reasonably-priced Pure Bossa Nova series through the years, but the 50th anniversary of the bossa nova style in 2008 saw the reissue of many of the compilations, as well as some new entries. This excellent collection is based around the lyrical talents of Vinicius De Moraes, one of the main co-writers of the bossa movement, and features recordings of slinky sambas by the best singers of the era. Jazz and pop fans will enjoy the fiery emoting of Elis Regina, the smooth stylings of Toquinho, the uber-cool of Caetano Veloso, and others.

Pure Bossa Nova

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Kevin Mahogany - Big Band

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 51:05
Size: 117.0 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2005
Art: Front

[4:34] 1. Moonlight In Vermont
[4:26] 2. It Don't Mean A Thing
[7:04] 3. Centerpiece
[4:42] 4. In The Evening
[6:53] 5. One For My Baby
[7:14] 6. Three Little Words
[4:36] 7. Dear Ruby
[3:22] 8. There Will Never Be Another You
[4:31] 9. It's Alright With Me
[3:37] 10. Don't Get Around Much Anymore

Kevin Mahogany, the Kansas City cyclone, would sound terrific singing in the shower or standing on his head. The presence of a big band (actually four) on nine of the ten selections on his newest album is merely icing on the cake. No, this isn't actually "the Kevin Mahogany Big Band, but the four bands represented here will do quite nicely, thank you..

Mahogany is blessed with a voice that is instantly seductive—smooth as butter, sweet as honey and deep as a freshly dug well. When he sings "There Will Never Be Another You, the "you to whom the avowal is aimed is quite likely swooning with rapture. There's an occasional nod to the great Joe Williams, as on "In the Evening, but for the most part Mahogany sounds like no one but himself, which is, to borrow Cole Porter's phrase from track nine, "All Right with Me.

The ensemble on the first six numbers is led by Mahogany's good friend, the late composer/pianist Frank Mantooth, who arranged everything save Ellington's "It Don't Mean a Thing (scored by Matt Harris). Track seven features a band led by drummer T.S. Monk (in an arrangement by Don Sickler), track eight the Kansas City Boulevard Big Band, track nine the Big City Swing Jazz Band, on which Mahogany shares the Porter lyric with Veronica Martell. The finale, Ellington's "Don't Get Around Much Anymore, the only non-big band track, is a charming duet with the late pianist James Williams.

A couple of minor points—"Three Little Words isn't the Harry Ruby/Bert Kalmar standard but an original composition by Mahogany and Paul Hofmann, while "Dear Ruby is of course Monk's "Ruby, My Dear (lyric by Sally Swisher). Roy Hargrove delivers a tasteful flugel solo on that showpiece, and there are a number of meaty statements elsewhere, notably by tenors Scott Robinson, Pete Christlieb and Pat LaBarbera; trumpeters Bobby Shew and Danny Barber, pianist Ramsey Lewis, alto Kim Park and trombonist Paul McKee (Mantooth Orchestra), alto Craig Treinen (KC Boulevard Band), alto Jon Gordon and tenor Bob Sheppard (Big City Swing Band).

But it is Mahogany whose persuasive magnetism overshadows the enterprise and makes every aspect rewarding. Talent like his doesn't arrive often, and if it weren't for his love of jazz (I hesitate to say this, as I wouldn't want to give him any ideas), Mahogany could probably make it big as a pop singer. From what I've heard, there aren't many who could hang with him. For now, let's be happy he has chosen jazz, and chosen to sing with big bands, where his rich voice and easygoing manner seem perfectly at home.

Kevin Mahogany: vocals. With the Frank Mantooth Jazz Orchestra (1-6); T.S. Monk (7); the Kansas City Boulevard Big Band (track 8); the Big City Swing Jazz Band (9); James Williams: piano (10).

Big Band

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Malene Mortensen - You Go to My Head

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:33
Size: 128,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:09)  1. Your Love Is Digital
(4:29)  2. My Shining Hour
(5:10)  3. Ambiguous Blues
(5:00) 4. 209 Words to Bridge the Gap Between Perception and Reality
(5:29)  5. Tell Him You Got a Hidden Tattoo
(7:04)  6. The Constant Companion
(5:50)  7. Misty
(5:13)  8. Thinner Than a Shell
(5:30)  9. You Go to My Head
(6:35) 10. No Halo

Malene Mortensen is ready to release her sixth album, “You Go To My Head”, at the age of only 29 years – an impressive activity for the young talent. With considerable studio and live experience, she has decided to take matters into her own hands on the recording sessions for the new album. Without help from any outside producers, guest musicians or such the album has been made as a continuation of the inspiring collaboration with her live band throughout many concerts. Malene’s new album “You Go To My Head” contains a wonderful mixture of jazz standards, which are close to her heart, such as “Misty” by Erroll Garner, “My Shining Hour” by Harold Arlen and the title track “You Go To My Head” by J. Fred Coots. In addition to these, Malene has written seven original compositions in collaboration with Carl Mörner Ringström, who is the guitarist in the band and also Malene’s co-producer on the production. 

“I’m so happy with the dream band I’ve recorded with. The process of practicing leading up to the days in the studio has been the best experience in making an album so far; intense, creative and with lots of involvement from the musicians”. Over the recent years Malene Mortensen and her band have been playing more than 150 concerts in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany, England, France, Poland and not least in Asia. It’s been a passionate and growing cooperation that has been the inspiration for this second self-produced release. You’ll notice how Malene and her band come together in perfect harmony as a result of the close relationship that has developed during touring. Malene’s expression has taken a turn from standard acoustic jazz, known from her first four releases, towards a more electric sound, which you’ll hear on “Agony & Ecstasy”. “You Go To My Head” contains a perfect blend of standards in surprising new arrangements mixed with Malene’s original tracks and it shows a fresh and updated sound of 2012!   http://calibrated.org/portfolio/malene-mortensen-2/

You Go to My Head

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Maggie Herron - Listen

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:50
Size: 82,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:19)  1. I'll Be There for You Baby
(3:40)  2. There Is Love
(2:48)  3. Give It What You Can
(4:23)  4. If I Had You Beside Me
(3:43)  5. Thinking Of You
(3:37)  6. Listen
(4:09)  7. Who Becomes The Stranger?
(3:53)  8. When It's Dark And Light?
(3:18)  9. Why Did You Leave Me?
(2:55) 10. Where Does It Go?

Maggie is the 9th of 12 children. Her parents, Martha and Ed Herron raised their children in Muskegon, Mi. where they owned and operated a grocery store. All of the kids worked shifts at the store stocking shelves, cleaning and running the cash register. Home was filled with siblings practicing on musical instruments, listening to Sinatra, pop and rock of the 50's and 60's while Maggie immersed herself in classical music. Her mother and oldest sister Mary mentored her in study that started with private lessons when she was 6 years old. By the age of 10 she was the church organist and vocalist. As a teenager she won first place honors to perform Beethoven's 2nd piano concerto with the Muskegon symphony orchestra and soon after won a scholarship to the summer music program at Interlochen. Maggie was in the top five finalists there for the piano concerto competition. Throughout High shcool she acted in school dramas and musicals and performed semi annual recitals from a classical piano and voice repertoire. 

She performed in Seattle from 72‘-76‘ at the Camlin hotel, The Sorrento Hotel, University Towers and other local venues. She was a soloist during that time playing the piano and singing a wide repertoire of music. While there, she met and became the featured guest in concerts by George Winston and Scot Cossu of the Windham Hill label. In 1976 she moved to the Big Island from Seattle and was offered a steady performing engagement. Over the next decade she won the Hawaii Homegrown contest for best song and performance out of 300 entries. She opened concerts for Dave Brubeck, Richie Havens, Taj Mahal, Olomana, and The Jazz Crusaders, and produced 2 albums of her music and countless demos while performing locally several nights a week. As a keyboardist and vocalist with both Cecelio and Kapono in club and concert venues she worked with 4 and 5 piece groups as lead singer for 3 years in Honolulu at Shelby’s and Nick’s Fishmarket. 

Maggie left for California in 1987 where she was active as a song writer and recording artist for 3 years, opening concerts for Phoebe Snow and Michael Franks, she was also the president of the Santa Barbara Song Writer’s Guild for 2 years. She performed in Santa Barbara, Ventura and Westlake, as well as a long engagement in L.A. at the Hyatt on Sunset Blvd. with special engagements at At My Place and was hired by MGM to write and perform songs for the film, Spellbinder. Being a lover of nature and quiet surroundings she returned home to Hawaii in 1990, chosing to live on Lanai where she was the principle musician for 12 years at Manele Bay Hotel. For 3 years she hosted a jazz show as "Radio Maggie" for a local Hawaii station which featured jazz of all eras with commentary from Maggie. Maggie now lives in Honolulu and performs in the Lewers Lounge every Tues.-Sat. nights. ~ Bio   http://www.maggieherron.com/new/index.html

Listen

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Geraldo Beckett - The Messenger

Styles: Flute Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:45
Size: 130,3 MB
Art: Front

(1:14)  1. The Messenger
(5:20)  2. Anticlimax
(5:16)  3. Little Brown House
(7:30)  4. Idle Moments
(5:57)  5. Lupe's Ride
(4:54)  6. Bittersweet
(5:23)  7. Sunset Place
(5:07)  8. Mr Softee
(5:15)  9. Tempus Fugit
(4:42) 10. Sularin's Dogma
(5:08) 11. Searching The Unknown
(0:52) 12. The Messenger (Reprise)

Flautist Gerald, born in Beaumont, Texas, started playing alto saxophone at the age of 11. As a freshman at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas he switched to playing the flute. During his years as an undergraduate at UNT he played with various local bands. Mindful of how unpredictable making a living as a musician could be, he studied business and received his BBA in Administrative Management. It wasn't until moving to San Francisco in 1985 that he began immersing himself in the jazz scene. He started listening to various flutists, from Eric Dolphy, Frank Wess, Herbie Mann, Hubert Laws, to Dave Valentin, Paul Horn, and others. He spent 8 years studying flute at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music under Yada Weber, giving recitals of works by Mozart, Telemann, Gluck, and Ernest Bloch. 

He also studied with classical flutist Esther Landau. He enjoys featuring the flute on songs that have not been over played and takes every opportunity to showcase the many facets of the instrument and it's uniqueness to the jazz genre. He has conducted Jazz Flute Mastersclasses in San Francisco, Marseille, and Paris. Gerald has played in several venues in San Francisco either as a leader or as a sideman, such as, Rassales Jazz Club, Sheba's Lounge, Anna's Jazz Island, San Francisco State University, The Fillmore Jazz Festival, The Showroom, The Elbo Room, OZ lounge, 57th Street Gallery, and Yoshi's Lounge. In New York at Temple M and The Bass Line.  In France Eaubonne Jazz festival (Eaubonne), Gebelin Musique Store (Marseille), Caminito (Paris), and Swan Bar (Paris). ~ Bio   http://www.geraldbeckett.com/bio.html

Personnel: Gerald Beckett (flute, alto flute, bass flute, piccolo); Gary Zellerbach (guitar, acoustic guitar); Ruben Salcido (alto saxophone); Steve Heckman (tenor saxophone); Steve McQuarry (piano); Greg Germann (drums); Bill Keaney (percussion).

The Messenger

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Jazz Soul Seven - Impressions of Curtis Mayfield

Styles: Soul Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 73:57
Size: 171,1 MB
Art: Front

(6:22)  1. Freddie's Dead
(5:40)  2. It's All Right
(7:52)  3. Move On Up
(4:32)  4. We're A Winner
(8:25)  5. Superfly
(6:13)  6. Beautiful Brother Of Mine
(6:47)  7. Check Out Your Mind
(7:01)  8. I'm So Proud
(6:47)  9. Keep On Pushing
(4:29) 10. People Get Ready
(5:15) 11. Gypsy Woman
(4:29) 12. Amen

Paying homage to one of the most influential and important artists in the past century, the Jazz Soul Seven collective tips its hat to Curtis Mayfield on Impressions of Curtis Mayfield, an instrumental re-imagining of twelve of the R&B, funk and soul singer's most popular compositions. A voice of African-American pride, Mayfield was a socially-conscious artist who led The Impressions, delivering political musical statement during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Author of many funk and soul compositions during that decade and the one that followeed, Mayfield may be best associated with the soundtrack to the groundbreaking Superfly (1972), its main theme reprised here behind energizing performances from drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, trumpeter Wallace Roney and guitarist Phil Upchurch.

The group borrows two more songs from the hit Superfly (Rhino, 1972) album, opening the tribute with a hard-charging version of "Freddie's Dead," featuring versatile saxophonist Ernie Watts blowing strong and funky. With a terrific bass line introduction from Bob Hurst, "Check Out Your Mind" is the other Superfly track, highlighting pianist extraordinaire Russell Ferrante and the prowess of recently deceased percussionist master Henry Gibson Jr. Reprising his role on the original recording, Henry's mid-song conga break on "Move On Up" is one of the features of this version, along with solos from Roney, Upchurch and Watts. The classic "It's All Right" is always a joy to hear, but this jazzed-up rendition is particularly sweet, offering Wes Montgomery ike riffs from Upchurch setting the rhythm, while the group's horns set the chart a blaze on the rambunctious "People Get Ready," a piece often reprises by R&B and gospel artists. From his sophomore solo album Roots (Rhino, 1971), recorded when he was 29 years old, "Beautiful Brother of Mine" is one of those social pieces penned by Mayfield specifically for the African-American community. In the same keeping, "I'm So Proud" is a gently reflective number, led by Watts and Roney with inspirational performances. The group's soulful flair comes out splendidly on "Keep On Pushing," but is truly expressive on the defining "Gypsy Woman," the song that put Mayfield on the map when he performed it with The Impressions more than fifty years ago.

The Jazz Soul Seven does it real justice on this album as it turns out to be one of the best moments of this disc. Speaking of soul, the album ends with The Impressions' 1964 chart topper "Amen," propelled by Roney's muted horn expressions capping off one soulful tribute to a giant of the R&B and soul genres. Mayfield was a songwriter whose music carried a social message above all else. It is indeed appropriate that the all-stars who comprise the Jazz Soul Seven express his message of freedom and justice so eloquently on Impressions of Curtis Mayfield, using the once revolutionary and liberating musical medium of jazz to document this well-deserved tribute. ~ Edward Blanco   http://www.allaboutjazz.com/impressions-of-curtis-mayfield-jazz-soul-seven-bfm-review-by-edward-blanco.php#.U4dfJSioqdk

Personnel: Terri Lyne Carrington: drums; Russ Ferrante: piano; Master Henry Gibson: percussion; Bob Hurst: bass; Wallace Roney: trumpet; Phil Upchurch: guitar; Ernie Watts: saxophone.

Impressions of Curtis Mayfield

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Cyrus Chestnut - Soul Food

Bitrate: 320K/s

Time: 54:13

Size: 124.1 MB

Styles: Bop, Piano jazz

Year: 2001

Art: Front

[8:37] 1. Soul Food

[6:01] 2. Brother With The Mint Green Vine

[6:12] 3. Cerebral Thoughts

[3:46] 4. Fantasia

[3:57] 5. Swing Low Sweet Chariot

[5:34] 6. Brother Hawky Hawk

[4:24] 7. Minor Funk

[2:35] 8. Coming Through The Rye

[6:24] 9. In The Underground

[5:14] 10. Welllllll!

[1:24] 11. Goodnight

Cyrus Chestnut’s latest Atlantic release Soul Food provides a veritable smorgasbord of musical delicacies. Combining original and classic material, Chestnut and his band mates deliver a complete and balanced diet of delectable bites of sound performed at an epicurean level of artistry that would satisfy any jazz gourmet.

Joining Chestnut on Soul Food are bassist Christian McBride, Lewis Nash on drums, trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, Marcus Printup on trumpet, saxophonists James Carter and Gary Bartz and Stefon Harris on marimba and vibes.

Soul Food   

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Rochelle House - Songs From A Bookmark

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 48:24
Size: 110.8 MB
Styles: Folk, Vocal
Year: 2014
Art: Front

[2:19] 1. Carry Me Home
[3:38] 2. Queen Of The World
[4:01] 3. Father Of My Children
[3:31] 4. I Don't Expect To Hear From You
[3:02] 5. It's 8 30
[3:53] 6. Fee Fi Fo Fum
[3:47] 7. I Call You Up
[3:21] 8. So You Want To Touch Your Lips To Mine
[3:04] 9. Apprentices
[5:00] 10. David
[4:08] 11. It's Not Easy
[4:34] 12. Progress
[4:00] 13. Midwife's Song

I was looking through a pile of papers. I found a bookmark with a list of song titles and chord symbols written on it’s back. I remembered these songs that I wrote while sitting out in the garden when my 4 children were little, mostly during nap times. They are strange and kind of pretty songs.

During that period I didn't have a piano and I only knew how to play the chords on the guitar that my father had shown me when I was little. I was devoted to Joni Mitchell and under the spell of Springsteen's "Nebraska" while living surrounded the 80s music scene in Los Angeles. I was living completely in denial of the music theory and jazz music that I had loved so much before my children came along.

My recordings are not merely captured moments of sound; they are Art pieces. Using the very high quality recording and mastering studios, engineers, and musicians, and artists we are recording, manufacturing and releasing the ‘Songs from a Bookmark‘ c.d.

Songs From A Bookmark

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The Bud Powell Trio - Strictly Powell

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 40:22
Size: 94.1 MB
Styles: Piano jazz, Bebop
Year: 1956/2004
Art: Front

[3:41] 1. There'll Never Be Another You
[3:46] 2. Coscrane
[3:21] 3. Over The Rainbow
[5:42] 4. Blues For Bessie
[3:09] 5. Time Was
[4:40] 6. Topsy Turvy
[2:54] 7. Lush Life
[3:50] 8. Elegy
[3:19] 9. They Didn't Believe Me
[2:34] 10. I Cover The Waterfront
[3:21] 11. Jump City

Recorded in New York on October 5, 1956.

Bud Powell's two dates for RCA in 1956-1957 are better than expected. Although troubled, Powell actually plays better on Strictly Powell than on his Verve dates of the period. Backed by bassist George Duvivier and drummer Art Taylor, the pianist is heard in fine form during a program of mostly mid-tempo and slower performances, particularly on "There'll Never Be Another You," "Time Was," "They Didn't Believe Me" and five of his originals. Bud Powell collectors already owning his classic Blue Note dates should give this music a listen. [There are no extra cuts on the LP-length CD reissued in 2004.] ~ Scott Yanow

The Bud Powell Trio: Bud Powell (piano), George Duvivier (bass), Art Taylor (drums).

Strictly Powell

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Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band - Act Your Age

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 67:10
Size: 153.8 MB
Styles: Swing, Big band
Year: 2006
Art: Front

[4:52] 1. Hit The Ground Running
[5:25] 2. Watermelon Man
[4:27] 3. September
[3:16] 4. Yesterdays
[4:57] 5. Senor Mouse
[5:01] 6. Punta Del Soul
[5:45] 7. Act Your Age
[7:32] 8. Chance Encounters
[8:02] 9. Backrow Politics
[5:10] 10. East Coast Envy
[6:08] 11. El Macho Muchacho
[6:30] 12. Gumbo Street

Act Your Age, the fourth album by Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band (not counting its soundtrack for the film Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas), is of a piece with the group’s first three releases, another relentlessly eclectic collection that is, at least for most of the first half of its running time, less interested in developing the modern possibilities of the big band than in merging the big-band sound to other styles. Goodwin has always brought in seemingly unlikely guest stars to create pop and rock hybrids, whether it was Johnny Mathis singing “Let the Good Times Roll” (on 2003’s XXL) or David Sanborn leading the group on “Play That Funky Music” (on 2006’s The Phat Pack). He has been rewarded with unusually strong sales for jazz, in the range of 14-20,000 copies per release.

And he’s up to the same sort of thing here, for example bringing in Patti Austin to sing Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September,” with Lee Ritenour adding rockish electric guitar solos. Other guests include Chick Corea (revisiting “Señor Mouse”) and electric bassist Nathan East (thumb-popping his way through “Act Your Age”). Ritenour returns along with Dave Grusin on piano for “Punta Del Soul,” which a casual listener, happening into the room, could easily mistake for Steely Dan. All of that may give traditionalists pause, but they are likely to reserve special ire for the version of “Yesterdays” that employs “Art Tatum” on piano. Not only has Tatum been gone these 50-plus years, of course, but the piano track is actually a Diskclavier recreation, not a recording of Tatum himself.

Yet these unorthodox approaches to big-band music should give some indication of Goodwin’s aggressive desire to reinvent the form, and for about half of the album, that’s what he and his group do, sans guests and gimmicks. The writing is full of interesting juxtapositions of the sections and surprising rhythmic turns, and the playing is consistently sharp and engaging. Since this is a 75-minute disc (including the reggae-tempo download-only bonus track “Floating Home”), even without the tricks there is a full-length album’s worth of excellent modern big-band music here. ~William Ruhlmann

Act Your Age

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Louise Gibbs - More Questions Than Answers

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:27
Size: 120,5 MB
Art: Front

(5:14)  1. Out Of This World
(6:53)  2. How Deep Is The Ocean?
(4:10)  3. What Am I Here For?
(3:09)  4. What Lies Within?
(4:30)  5. Who Do you Think You Are?
(3:52)  6. Where Or When?
(4:31)  7. All Or Nothing At All
(4:06)  8. Any Questions
(3:47)  9. So What
(3:51) 10. Rhythm-A-Ning
(8:20) 11. Crystal Question

“But the most impressive thing of all was that Louise Gibbs, Jonathan Gee, Winston Clifford and bassist Steve Rose were to be found just over an hour after the Jazz Factor had finished, launching the evening’s programme in style with a polished and seriously musical set which showed no sign of flagging energy or invention.” ~ Ron Simpson – ‘The Jazz Rag’  http://louisegibbs.co.uk/recordings/more-questions-than-answers/

Personnel:  Louise Gibbs (vocals); Jonathan Gee (piano); Jeremy Brown (bass); Winston Clifford (drums); and Renato D’Aiello (tenor saxophone)

More Questions Than Answers

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Sally Night - Phases Of Love

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:20
Size: 156,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:13)  1. Somebody Loves Me
(5:14)  2. Darn That Dream
(3:40)  3. I Wish I Knew
(4:53)  4. Teach Me Tonight
(5:12)  5. The Nearness Of You
(5:58)  6. I Could Write A Book
(3:05)  7. Close Your Eyes
(5:29)  8. S'Wonderful
(4:55)  9. Early Autumn
(5:44) 10. But Not For Me
(5:46) 11. Get Out Of Town
(5:07) 12. Solitude
(5:00) 13. What's New
(3:58) 14. That's All

”Sally Night is a great new Singer, Songwriter & Performer with a beautiful full voice”~ Billboard Live Club, Tokyo, Japan

Since her recent arrival in New York & USA Sally Night has recorded 2 new albums for Venus Records, made an opening performance at the 1st Miami- Nice Jazz Festival in Miami, Florida, made several appearances at Birdland Jazz Club NYC, performed in Tokyo at the Billboard Live Club for AXN TV and has been invited to sing as a guest singer with Jazz legends Cedar Walton, Buster Williams, Bucky Pizzarelli & performed and recorded with a polithera of other Internationally acclaimed musicians.

“Sally Night is a Sassy swing vocalist with excellent technique and a powerful voice” ~ TIME OUT, London

“An effervescent live performer with echoes of Ella and Sarah, innately gifted vocalist Sally Night swings like a true diva”~ JAZZ CLUB SOHO, Pizza Express, London

“Ms. Night is that rare new singer who backs up the chutzpah, talent and confidence needed to succeed in the jazz scene in New York & America. It didn’t take me long to start programming Ms. Night’s music on Real Jazz, Sirius XM and I think the jazz scene is better for it. Believe me there aren’t enough good singers around” ~ MARK RUFFIN, Real Jazz, SIRIUS XM, North America & Canada

“Sally is one of the new 'Greats' ! She has an amazing voice & talent both as a singer and a composer”.~  FRANK OMAR, of FRANKLY SPEAKING, arts & cultural Chanel 34 MNN.

“British singer Sally Night adroitly sang her own compositions and standards, backed by the Florida International University jazz big band to open the Miami Nice Jazz Fest” ~ JOHN RADANOVICH, DOWNBEAT Magazine

“US-based UK vocalist & songwriter SALLY NIGHT is an accomplished singer with a sultry, lissom contralto voice & sensuous delivery, who can also swing & put a fresh spin on old classics. “ ~ CHARLES WARING for RECORD COLLECTOR & JAZZ COLLECTOR Magazine

“I love Sally's albums, they are terrific and Sally's new song 'Yes I Do' is Brilliant” ~ BRUCE LUNDVALL, BLUE NOTE RECORDS /EMI

“Sally has a Beautiful voice...Keep Singing Sally!”~  SHEILA JORDAN , Singer & NEA JAZZ MASTER 2012

“Sally sounds wonderful...I put her album directly into my itunes, I love listening to it” ~ MICHAEL FEINSTEIN, Singer/Pianist multi-platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated artist

Sally Night's first love is music. She grew up singing in church, her various schools, playing various instruments & listening to Jazz, Classical music, Opera and other styles of music at home. Her Farther & Mother loved jazz and performed locally. Although she studied and was trained to sing Opera and has a great love of that music, she found it too restrictive. After a long musical break and extensive traveling, Sally started to sing and perform Jazz in France. Then she started to tour Europe and work with the great Philadelphia born drummer Bobby Durham (who accompanied Ella Fitzgerald & Oscar Peterson) who taught her how to swing and encouraged her to start composing. After recording a couple of albums and receiving great reviews in Europe for her live shows & recordings and several visits to New York, Bruce Lundvall, EMI-Blue Note Records persuaded Sally to move to New York in 2012!  http://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/sallynight#.U4E4xSioqdk

Personnel:  vocalist Sally Night, pianist Massimo Farao, Carmelo Leotta on double bass and Roberto Bobo Facchinetti on drums

Phases Of Love

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Roy Eldridge - Little Jazz

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1989
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:19
Size: 143,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:03)  1. (Lookie, Lookie, Lookie) Here
(2:40)  2. When I Grow Too Old To Dream
(3:04)  3. Christopher Columbus
(2:59)  4. Big Chief De Sota (Grand Terra
(3:09)  5. Blue Lou
(2:59)  6. Stealin' Apples
(2:57)  7. Mary Had A Little Lamb
(3:11)  8. Too Good To Be True
(3:17)  9. Warmin' Up
(3:22) 10. Blues In C Sharp Minor
(3:09) 11. Wabash Stomp #1
(3:11) 12. Wabash Stomp #2
(2:57) 13. Florida Stomp
(2:37) 14. Heckler's Hop
(2:34) 15. Where The Lazy River Goes By
(3:02) 16. That Thing
(3:01) 17. After You've Gone
(3:13) 18. Wham! (Be-Bop-Boom-Bam)
(2:48) 19. Falling In Love Again
(2:57) 20. I'm Nobody's Baby

This CD contains the best recordings from the early years of the fiery trumpeter Roy Eldridge. Eldridge, one of the great swing trumpeters and a powerful player into the 1970s, is heard with Teddy Hill's orchestra, backing singer Putney Dandridge, on four titles with Fletcher Henderson (including the hit "Christopher Columbus"), starring on a four-song session with Teddy Wilson, joining Billie Holiday on "Falling in Love Again," soloing on two numbers with Mildred Bailey (his "I'm Nobody's Baby" solo is years ahead of its time), and, best of all, leading a small group through six songs (plus an alternate) from his own explosive sessions of January 1937. This brilliant music is essential for all serious jazz collections. ~ Scott Yanow   http://www.allmusic.com/album/little-jazz-cbs-mw0000201768.

Little Jazz

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Madeline Eastman - Point Of Departure

Size: 104,3 MB
Time: 44:42
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1990
Styles: Jazz Vocals, Standards
Art: Front

01. Kisses (5:20)
02. Wild Is The Wind (4:27)
03. You Are My Sunshine (3:48)
04. Little Boat (4:11)
05. Inner Urge (4:40)
06. Nobody Else But Me (4:07)
07. No More (2:48)
08. Little B's Poem (3:10)
09. The Island (5:17)
10. I Only Have Eyes For You (4:08)
11. Calling You (2:41)

Jazz vocalist Madeline Eastman's debut is quite impressive. With strong assistance from trumpeter Tom Harrell, pianist Mike Wofford (Paul Potyen fills in on one song), bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Vince Lateano, Eastman performs a wide ranging set. Highlights include such unlikely singing material as "Wild Is the Wind," and a minor-toned "You Are My Sunshine" (inspired by Mose Allison's version), Joe Henderson's "Inner Urge," and Bobby Hutcherson's "Little B's Poem" along with "Little Boat," "Nobody Else But Me" and "I Only Have Eyes for You." Lots of chances are taken on this enjoyable CD and Madeline Eastman shows that she has a flexible enough voice to handle all of the creative challenges. Highly recommended. ~Review by Scott Yanow

Point Of Departure

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Rossano Sportiello, Harry Allen, Joel Forbes - I Walk With The Music: The Hoagy Carmichael Songbook

Size: 163,9 MB
Time: 70:33
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2013
Styles: Mainstream Jazz
Art: Front

01. Moon Country (6:37)
02. In The Cool, Cool, Cool Of The Evening (5:17)
03. I Get Along Without You Very Well (3:21)
04. New Orleans (7:17)
05. The Nearness Of You (5:49)
06. I Walk With Music (5:22)
07. Two Sleepy People (3:55)
08. Rockin' Chair (6:36)
09. One Morning In May (5:53)
10. Georgia On My Mind (6:37)
11. April In My Heart (6:32)
12. Jubilee (4:24)
13. Skylark (2:47)

What does Hoagy Carmichael’s music sound like in your mind? I think of leaves rustling and water flowing over small stones; I think of a musical playfulness allied with deep feelings, sadness and joy. His music has been given life on a million pianos and by tens of millions of singers and instrumentalists — but it is sublimely expressed on a new CD by the trio of Harry Allen, tenor saxophone; Rossano Sportiello, piano; Joel Forbes, string bass.

I WALK WITH MUSIC: THE HOAGY CARMICHAEL SONGBOOK is both familiar and fresh, both embracing and sweetly surprising. Harry, Rossano, and Joel are masters of small-group playing: each of them is a superb soloist, able to entrance us all by himself. But they excel at swing synergy, so that this trio is much more than the three soloists assembled in a room. Their deep empathy for Hoagy’s melodies comes through: they do not use the chord changes as a reason to convert the composer’s deep melodic lines into a series of ninths and thirteenths. Indeed, this CD is a master class in singing through instruments.

I Walk With The Music

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Ike Moriz - At Last

Size: 118,6 MB
Time: 50:51
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Blues/Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. The Devil Is Real In Your Mind (3:11)
02. To Cape Town (2:38)
03. Smooth And Nice (4:31)
04. At Last (3:49)
05. Forevermore (2:56)
06. Senorita Blues (3:16)
07. This Could Be Love (3:21)
08. It Ain't Necessarily So (4:12)
09. Think I'm A Millionaire (3:49)
10. Until Their Lights Are Out (Alien Blues) (2:58)
11. Hound Dog (2:46)
12. Disillusion Blues (4:26)
13. Georgia On My Mind (3:30)
14. These Eyes Are Not Yours (2:55)
15. You Are My Sunshine (2:26)

Ike Moriz takes the Blues to South Africa & brings it back to the world with a fresh new face! Since releasing his latest album in 2012, South Africa's international singing sensation Ike Moriz has written exciting new material in the blues rock genre for his 14th studio album to date - the title: 'AT LAST'. Moriz has taken the blues 'To Cape Town' - his home of choice (and the title of one of his new songs) at the southernmost tip of Africa where he rounded up some of the best musical talent the country has to offer to create his version of classic blues. Inspired by his recent marriage, the birth of his daughter and his tour through Southern Europe & Northern Africa, he has crafted an array of songs reflecting these experiences of the past 2 years.

The album opens with a song that already sounds like it could be a classic blues standard: 'The Devil Is Real In Your Mind'. Minimalist, clear & strong lyrics with a highly dynamic arrangement to get Ike's message across. The song is followed by the aforementioned 'To Cape Town', an upbeat blues folk/rock song about arriving in Ike's hometown - one of the most beautiful cities in the world. If you are looking for Ike's typical tongue-in-cheek stories, then look out for 'Think I'm A Millionaire', 'Disillusion Blues' and 'Until Their Lights Are Out (Alien Blues)'.

Besides his original songs we can also find a couple of covers in fresh new arrangements like Horace Silver's classic jazzy 'Señor Blues' with slightly altered lyrics to fit ike's message, as well as Gershwin's Porgy & Bess rebel 'It Ain't Necessarily So'. Moriz also breathes new life into the 1952 Elvis hit 'Hound Dog' and Hoagy Carmichael's standard 'Georgia On My Mind' with the incredibly gifted navy big band leader Willie van Zyl on saxophone and clarinet. The CD ends on a high note with a song that most parents have sung to their children: 'You Are My Sunshine' by Oliver Hood.

The general theme of the album can be summarised with the words 'At Last'. Have a listen to find out why!

At Last

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Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein, Bill Stewart - Ramshackle Serenade

Size: 146,0 MB
Time: 62:22
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Contemporary Jazz
Art: Front

01. Roach (5:46)
02. Luiza (8:37)
03. Simple As That (7:02)
04. Ramshackle Serenade (4:30)
05. Mr. Meagles (8:18)
06. Sweet And Lovely (7:43)
07. Blue Sway (8:18)
08. Useless Metaphor (6:12)
09. Peace (5:51)

Personnel:
Larry Goldings: hammond organ
Peter Bernstein: guitar
Bill Stewart: drums

This trio is an unusual camaraderie of world-class players. From the moment you first hear the trio you can sense the deep respect the musicians have for one another. Three musicians who never make a big deal about what they are up to, thereby generating an infectious strength through their extraordinarily subtle control of all the musical parts. Their intensely sensual music grooves and glistens. With the trio's extensive use of the music's dynamic possibilities, the passion and joy of this amazingly versatile instrumental lineup is there for all to hear. Sophisticated music - just let yourself go, and enjoy.

Ramshackle Serenade

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Sammy Nestico & The SWR Big Band - Basie Cally Sammy

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 74:09
Size: 169.7 MB
Styles: Big band
Year: 2007
Art: Front

[2:16] 1. Dimensions in Blue
[3:23] 2. Sweet Georgia Brown
[6:30] 3. 88 Basie Street
[4:15] 4. Fancy Pants
[4:58] 5. Time Stream
[4:19] 6. No More
[5:00] 7. Li'l Ol' Blue Note
[6:47] 8. High Five
[4:57] 9. Ja-da
[2:24] 10. The Heat's On
[3:33] 11. Samantha
[5:22] 12. Ain't Nobody Gettin' Younger
[3:51] 13. Satin Doll
[5:33] 14. It's a Wonderful World
[6:47] 15. How Sweet It Is
[4:06] 16. Wind Machine

Some people are born to rule, others to serve. Sammy Nestico, it seems, was born to swing. From his early years as chief arranger for the US Air Force Airmen of Note and later for the irrepressible Count Basie Orchestra, Nestico prized swinging above all else, and that's no less true on Basie-cally Sammy, his warmhearted homage to the Count with Germany's superlative SWR Big Band, which marks their second collaboration in as many years. The album swings buoyantly from start to finish, thanks to Nestico's intrepid charts and the SWR's casual mastery of them.

There are a number of old favorites here—classic charts like "Sweet Georgia Brown, "88 Basie Street, "Fancy Pants, "Ja-Da, "The Heat's On, "Satin Doll, "It's a Wonderful World, "How Sweet It Is and "Wind Machine (the last a "bonus track recorded in concert)—and several charming newcomers as well, most notably "Time Stream, "No More, "Li'l Ol' Blue Note, "High Five and "Ain't Nobody Gettin' Younger (even though, at age 81, Nestico doesn't appear to be gettin' any older either). The band gives each one an exhilarating ride, swinging like Basie while sounding like SWR.

The ensemble comes out smokin' on Nestico's "Dimensions in Blue, which I believe was written for the Airmen of Note (if memory serves, it may still be their theme song), and unleashes more of its awesome firepower on the voluptuous "Georgia Brown. After introducing "Georgia," pianist Klaus Wagenleiter, one of a bevy of impressive soloists, is featured on the ambling "88 Basie Street, alto Klaus Graf on "Samantha, tenor Axel Kühn on "No More and "The Heat's On. Trumpeter Don Rader, who has either relocated from Australia or was imported especially for this date, is the flugel soloist on "Satin Doll and is heard again, on trumpet, with Wagenleiter, bassist Decebal Badila, alto Steffen Weber and Kühn (flute) on "How Sweet. Others who step up to the plate and swing for the fences are trombonists Marc Godfroid, Ian Cumming and Ernst Hutter; trumpeters Karl Farrent and Claus Reichstaller; tenor Andi Maile; baritone Pierre Paquette; guitarist Klaus-Peter Schöpfer, and drummer Holger Nell. Schöpfer fills rhythm guitarist Freddie Green's shoes nicely, while Nell has no problem sitting in for Sonny Payne, Butch Miles and Basie's other renowned timekeepers.

This is a dynamic blowing session, one you don't have to love Basie to appreciate. And when Sammy says he hasn't "had this much fun in years, it's a clear indication of his happiness with SWR's respect for his music, not to mention the ensemble's remarkable ability to transcribe it. This is "basie-cally big band jazz with an unequivocal kick, precisely the kind that the irrepressible Kid from Red Bank gave free rein to and ardently endorsed.

Sammy Nestico: music director; Felice Civitreale, Claus Reichstaller, Karl Farrent, Rudolf Reindl, Don Rader: trumpet; Klaus Graf: alto sax, clarinet, flute; Steffen Weber: alto sax, flute, alto flute; Axel Kohn, Andreas Maile: tenor sax, flute, alto flute; Pierre Paquette: baritone sax; Marc Godfroid, Ernst Hutter, Ian Cumming, Georg Maus: trombone; Klaus- Peter Schopfer: guitar; Klaus Wagenleiter: piano; Decebal Badila: bass; Holger Nell: drums.

Basie Cally Sammy

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