Andy Cowan - Troubadour Nights

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:29
Size: 115.6 MB
Styles: Soul-blues
Year: 2006
Art: Front

[3:01] 1. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
[3:53] 2. Pacing The Cage
[3:49] 3. Motherless Child
[2:46] 4. In My Life
[3:56] 5. I'm Your Man
[3:22] 6. Finally Home
[4:33] 7. Don't Think Twice, It's Alright
[4:24] 8. One
[3:21] 9. Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying
[3:32] 10. To Love Somebody
[4:05] 11. Ruby's Arms
[2:57] 12. Don't Let It Bring You Down
[3:50] 13. Guilty
[2:51] 14. Til There Was You

One of Australia's Most Experienced and Talented Singer/Songwriter/Pianists in the Soul-blues-rnb Idiom, Andy Has Been Described Justifiably as the "King of the Keys". He Ripples, Rolls and Rocks Through Original Compositions with Passionate and Soulful Vocals, Wrapping the Audience in his Energy and Weaving an Emotional and Spellbinding Magic. His New Album "Troubador Nights" is a Collection of Andy's

Interpretations of his Favourite Songs Including the First Single "Don't Let it Bring Me Down", to Love Somebody, Guilty and Motherless Child.

Troubadour Nights

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André Previn Quartet - Previn's Touch

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 77:05
Size: 176.5 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 2011
Art: Front

[2:38] 1. Let's Get Away From It All
[3:18] 2. Moonlight In Vermont
[3:07] 3. It Happened In Sun Valley
[3:14] 4. Serenade To Sweden
[3:26] 5. Island In The West Indies
[2:30] 6. Flying Down To Rio
[2:49] 7. Honolulu
[3:42] 8. How Are Things In Glocca Morra
[3:20] 9. On A Slow Boat To China
[3:25] 10. London In July
[2:56] 11. San Francisco
[2:23] 12. Sidewalks Of Cuba
[2:40] 13. Let's Get Away From It All
[3:23] 14. Moonlight Becomes You
[3:06] 15. It's Easy To Remember
[3:44] 16. Invitation
[2:52] 17. Let's Fall In Love
[3:04] 18. I Fall In Love Too Easily
[3:28] 19. Too Late Now
[4:08] 20. Laura
[3:18] 21. You Are Too Beautiful
[3:01] 22. It Could Happen To You
[2:03] 23. When You Wish Upon A Star
[2:09] 24. My Foolish Heart
[3:10] 25. But Beautiful

Andre Previn kept his feet in two camps -- the Hollywood celluloid cosmos where he was musical director at MGM and the LA jazz scene in which he ventured out to play in clubs with a small combo. Two LPs from 1955/56. "Let's Get Away from It All" themed around holiday destinations while the follow-up "Hollywood at Midnight" is made up of favourite standards. On both the prodigiously talented pianist gives his own personal touch to familiar tunes. ~John Chadwick

With Al Hendrickson (guitar), Red Mitchell/Carson Smith (bass), Irv Cottler/Shelly Manne (drums).

Previn's Touch

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Marty Elkins - Fuse Blues

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:10
Size: 133,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:47)  1. Day In, Day Out
(5:59)  2. Born to Be Blue
(2:54)  3. Soon
(4:08)  4. Never Never Land
(3:15)  5. You're Blase
(4:26)  6. Stars Fell On Alabama
(6:58)  7. Moonray - No Moon At All
(3:41)  8. In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning
(4:25)  9. As Long as I Live
(3:36) 10. When Your Lover Has Gone
(4:50) 11. We'll Be Together Again
(5:12) 12. Fuse Blues
(4:54) 13. There's No You

Whitebread in a Good Way. Marty Elkins swings her ass off. In a gentle sort of way, I might add. She has got a Betty Carter delivery that is just inside of the ballpark of the boldness of Carter. Elkins is very exact, taking some chances vocally, but only those she is confident of claiming. This is no mean criticism, Marty Elkins is Anita O'Day without the hyperkinetic scat. There is nothing to not enjoy (double negatives and all). Gosh, I can really find little wrong with this disc. Elkins has done her homework and she is accomplished in all corners of her craft. "Day In, Day Out" is a straight-ahead romp, "Stars Fell on Alabama" is almost colloquial and "In The Wee Small Hours" sounds as if it could have been included in the score of The Wizard of Oz with "Over The Rainbow". 

Most outspoken in the rhythm section is Greg Skaff on guitar. He makes all things mellow, providing a plush bedrock rhythm. Herb Pomeroy played his tasteful trumpet and Houston Person, his tenor saxophone. But the true star here is Elkins. She is a unique talent. ~ C.Michael Bailey  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/fuse-blues-marty-elkins-review-by-c-michael-bailey.php

Personnel: Marty Elkins: Vocals; Herb Pomeroy: Trumpet; Houston Person: Tenor Saxophone; Tardo Hammer: Piano; Greg Skaff: Guitar; Dennis Irwin: Bass; Mark Taylor: Drums.

Fuse Blues

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Vic Juris, Dave Stryker, Tony Purrone - Jam Session, Vol. 2

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:54
Size: 139,2 MB
Art: Front

( 7:33)  1. Billie's Bounce
( 8:04)  2. Strikezone
( 9:03)  3. Who Cares
( 5:43)  4. Subway
( 9:00)  5. Bluebird
( 9:31)  6. Twenty Five J-P-S (Juris)
(10:57)  7. Wee

Whether he's leading his own group, Blue to the Bone, or playing as a sideman to great jazz musicians like vocalist Kevin Mahogany, guitarist Dave Stryker's style has strong blues and soul-drenched undercurrents. Stryker was raised in Omaha, NB, but has made New York City and suburban northern New Jersey his home since 1980. Stryker began playing guitar at age 10, and by the time he was 12, he'd discovered the blues. He learned to play from listening to records, and recalled the first record he bought as a youngster was Cream's Disraeli Gears. That legendary recording showcases the talents of a young Eric Clapton. Within months, Stryker was paying attention to Freddie King, Albert King, and B.B. King, and the innovative ways that all three guitar greats were making blues accessible to white audiences. (One could credit innovative promoters like Bill Graham, too, for Graham often paired blues musicians with rock acts in his '60s and '70s concerts in San Francisco and New York.) 

By the time Stryker was in high school, he began paying more attention to jazz, but, having been raised in the '60s, he paid as much attention to then evolving blues-rock guitarists like Johnny Winter as he did to serious jazz improvisers like Miles Davis. Brother Jack McDuff, the late Hammond B-3 organist, gave Stryker his first big break when he had the chance to go on the road with his group in 1984. He spent the next two years traveling all over the U.S., Canada, and Europe with McDuff's blues-heavy soul-jazz group. In 1986, he met saxophonist Stanley Turrentine at a club in Harlem. Stryker spent the next decade touring with Turrentine, where he really got his chops together, coming into his own as a unique guitar player with his own distinctive approach.

Stryker has recorded more than a dozen releases under his own name. For blues fans, two for the Denmark-based SteepleChase Records are worth seeking out: Blue to the Bone a 1996 release, and Blue to the Bone III, a 2002 release. Both recordings showcase his playing, as well as that of his bandmates, in a variety of genres: blues guitar-based swing music, New Orleans funk, soul-jazz, and blues-rock. He pays homage to his guitar influences on both recordings, including Freddie King and legendary vocalist Chester Burnett, better known as Howlin' Wolf.  Stryker credited his time on the road with two old school veteran musicians, McDuff and Turrentine, as being "the kind of education that's just not available anymore. A lot of guys never get that chance and it was a really good opportunity." Given his strong résumé and abilities as a bandleader and composer, there's no reason to expect that Stryker will be slowing down his prolific pace of recording anytime soon. 

Fans of blues-based jazz can hear Stryker's playing on recordings by Kansas City-based vocalist Kevin Mahogany for Warner Bros., but they can also explore Stryker's jazzier dimensions with recordings like his tribute to trumpeter and composer Davis, Shades of Miles. Bio ~ https://itunes.apple.com/br/artist/dave-stryker/id14652775#fullText

Personnel: Dave Stryker, Tony Purrone, Vic Juris (guitar); Keith Copeland (drums)

Jam Session, Vol. 2

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Joe Pass, Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen - Chops

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1979
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:31
Size: 116,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:00)  1. Have You Met Miss Jones?
(5:27)  2. In Your Own Sweet Way
(5:07)  3. Oleo
(5:35)  4. Lover Man
(5:10)  5. L5 Blues
(4:31)  6. Come Rain Or Come Shine
(5:14)  7. Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars
(6:00)  8. Tricrotism
(4:49)  9. Old Folks
(3:34) 10. Yardbird Suite

The word "chops" is a major understatement when describing the talents of guitarist Joe Pass and bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen. Their duo Pablo date (which has been reissued as a CD in the OJC series) is as exciting and full of inventive interplay as one would hope. Pass and Pedersen play an ad-lib blues, nine jazz standards including a three-quarters version of "Lover Man," plus "Oleo," "Quiet Nights," "Tricrotism," and "Yardbird Suite." Pass in particular sounds stimulated during this session and comes up with some of his hottest playing.

 ~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/chops-mw0000104426

Personnel: Joe Pass (guitar); Niels-Hennings Orsted Pedersen (bass).

Chops

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John Scofield - Flat Out

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1989
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:10
Size: 117,5 MB
Art: Front

(2:54)  1. Cissy Strut
(4:00)  2. Rockin' Pneumonia
(5:54)  3. Secret Love
(7:38)  4. All The Things You Are
(4:48)  5. In The Cracks
(4:35)  6. Softy
(4:42)  7. Science And Religion
(7:00)  8. The Boss's Car
(5:54)  9. Evansville
(3:40) 10. Flat Out

Guitarist John Scofield's final in a long series of releases for Gramavision (he would soon sign with Blue Note) finds him looking ahead toward his future directions. His sidemen organist Don Grolnick, acoustic bassist Anthony Cox, and either Johnny Vidacovich or Terri Lyne Carrington on drums join him for standards including "Secret Love" and "All the Things You Are," some New Orleans R&B grooves (most notably on "Rockin' Pneumonia"), and a variety of Scofield's originals. The funk element heard on most of his earlier recordings is downgraded in favor of swinging in spots, and despite his trademark distorted tone, Scofield plays some solos that are almost boppish. ~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/flat-out-mw0000199244

Personnel: John Scofield (guitar); Johnny Vidacovich, Terri Lyne Carrington (drums).

Flat Out

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Paula Gardin - Two Of Cups

Size: 142,1 MB
Time: 61:23
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. Two Of Cups (3:55)
02. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow (6:11)
03. Estate (4:22)
04. 27 (5:51)
05. Love Me Them Leave Me (4:44)
06. Mean To Me (5:05)
07. I Think You're Lying (5:48)
08. Baby Don't Go (4:59)
09. Too Many Miles (5:34)
10. Once In A While (4:54)
11. Les Parapluies De Cherbourg (4:36)
12. The Ballad Of The Sad Young Men (5:19)

Paula Gardin is a Canadian Jazz singer/songwriter from the Toronto area. She is a passionate and powerful performer whose music reflects her life experiences. Her latest album, “Two of Cups”, after the tarot card symbolizing love, was released December 9th, 2014 at the Jazz Bistro in Toronto to a sold out audience, which led to an encore performance on January 29th, 2015. The CD is an ode to being loved and being left, with five angsty and emotional originals, and seven romantic, yet deep classic jazz tunes. The CD features Nancy Walker on piano, Kieran Overs on bass, Kirk MacDonald on saxophone and Steve Heathcote on drums.

Recorded at the Juno award-winning Drive Shed in Toronto, and engineered by Juno award-winner John “Beetle” Bailey, “Two of Cups” is already garnering airplay on JazzFM91.1 radio in Toronto and several stations in the United States and Europe.for Spendel on his production “Cool Street”, which was recorded in New York in 1992.

Two Of Cups

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Christoph Spendel - Back In Town

Size: 166,3 MB
Time: 71:47
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Contemporary Jazz, Electronic, Chill Out
Art: Front

01. Back In Town (5:45)
02. Late Summer (5:27)
03. City At Dark (4:41)
04. Electric Spring (4:21)
05. Ibiza Calling (6:40)
06. Kid Books (6:10)
07. Rainy Sunday (5:10)
08. Secret Place (5:23)
09. Winter Dub (4:12)
10. Silent Circus (5:24)
11. Lights Of Yaiza (5:59)
12. Playa D'en Bossa (Nova) (6:24)
13. The Silence Of St. Rafael (6:04)

Christoph Spendel - German jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, composer, arranger, producer, music professor and music journalist has omitted nothing in his thirty year career in the different styles of jazz, rock, Latin, classical and modern ambience Music.

He received his first lessons at the age of five from his mother, a music teacher and pianist. He continued his studies at the Robert Schumann Institute in Duesseldorf with Prof. Bernhard Roderburg and at the Folkwankhochschule in Essen with Prof. Irma Sehlbach-Zucca. Spendel's professional career began in the Duesseldorf scene with the band Jazz Track, who performed live in 1975 at the Berlin Jazz Festival at the Philharmonic. That same year he received the Cultural Award by the city of Duesseldorf. Later he worked with leading German musicians such as, Albert Mangelsdorff, Klaus Doldinger, Christof Lauer, Wolfgang Schlüter, Manfred Schoof, Michael Sagmeister, and many more. American musicians such as Lee Ritenour, Don Grusin, Alphonze Mouzon, Airto Moreira, Jim Pepper, Miroslav Vitous and Eddie Harris invited him to tour and record productions in Germany. In the nineties, he spent five years in New York. During this time he was a permanent member of the Fusion Band "Special EFX". During this time, he performed as a regular at the famous jazz club "Blue Note" and various tours led him through concert halls and jazz clubs in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Montreal, Panama and many more. During this time Spendel also worked with musicians such as Chuck Loeb, Dave Liebman, Randy Brecker, Michael Urbaniak, Jeremy Steig, Dave Samuels, Lenny White, Steve Kahn and Dave Valentin, to mention only a few. The rhythm section of the cult band "Weather Report" with drummer Omar Hakim, bassist Victor Bailey and percussionist Mino Cinelu played for Spendel on his production “Cool Street”, which was recorded in New York in 1992.

Back In Town

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Leni Stern - Kindness Of Strangers

Size: 121,7 MB
Time: 52:34
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2000
Styles: Jazz/Pop Vocals, Guitar Jazz
Art: Front

01. I Call You ( 4:34)
02. Rescue My Heart ( 5:10)
03. La Soledad ( 3:54)
04. Kindness Of Strangers ( 5:02)
05. Carry Me ( 5:18)
06. You Won't Forget Me ( 6:08)
07. Vedo Il Tuo Viso (I See Your Face) (18:53)
08. Resonance ( 3:33)

Originally from Germany, guitarist/ vocalist /composer/ orchestrator LENI STERN is a formidable woman: uncompromising artist, businesswoman, cancer survivor and social advocate.

She is also one of the foremost female musicians performing today.

In her 15-year recording career, Leni has been recognized five consecutive times as the Gibson Female Guitarist of the Year and her new album, Kindness of Strangers - released on her own label - may be the work that catapults her to well-deserved recognition as one of the most complete, affecting musicians performing today.

Kindness Of Strangers is Leni's first full-length album of new material in three years and finds her achieving yet another new artistic level: orchestrator. Featuring eight new songs, framed in a lush orchestral setting, the music astounds the listener with both its beauty and its meaningful impact. The album's centerpiece, the epic mini-concerto "Vedo Il Tuo Viso (I See Your Face)," was commissioned for the Agosto 2 festival held annually in Bologna, Italy. The festival commemorates a neo-facist terrorist attack in a train station which left 85 people dead - mostly children - and more than 160 seriously injured.

As Leni writes in her liner notes, "I wrote the song when I discovered the story of Marco, a six-year- old who had half of his face ripped apart by the explosion. He grew up to be a famous painter... Marco's father sent me a pile of books that had been written over the years about the events of August 2nd. Among them was a transcript from the trial that showed...photographs of most of the victims along with a list of names. Some 80 little faces lay over my scoring paper as I wrote the last movement by setting their names to music. This piece is dedicated to them."

The CD also features the new songs, "I Call You", "Rescue My Heart", "Carry Me", "Resonance", and the title track "Kindness Of Strangers," which Leni wrote after encountering a homeless man on Madison Avenue in her hometown of New York City. This is music in the vein of Pat Metheny's "Secret Story", Gil Evans' work with Sting, as well as Steely Dan and Joni Mitchell.

Then again, Leni Stern belongs in her own category.

Kindness Of Strangers

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Peter Asplund - Aspiration

Size: 145,6 MB
Time: 62:49
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Jazz: Trumpet Jazz, Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. The Meaning Of The Blues (8:50)
02. The Song Is You (2:55)
03. A Sleepin'bee (7:07)
04. Waltz For Debby (4:43)
05. Get Happy (4:50)
06. My Way (6:26)
07. Someone To Light Up My Fire - This Happy Madness (5:10)
08. That Old Black Magic (7:00)
09. Yesterday I Heard The Rain (4:52)
10. Come Rain Or Come Shine (6:03)
11. Brotherhood Of Man (4:48)

Personnel:
Peter Asplund (SE): Trompete & Flügelhorn
Anke Helfrich (D): Piano
Hans Andersson (SE): Bass
Johan Löfcrantz Ramsay (SE): Drums

Peter Asplund, Swedish jazztrumpetplayer, singer and composer, born in 1969.

Peter got his education at the Royal academy of music in Stockholm, where he also has been teaching jazztrumpet and ensam- ble playing. After six cd's under his own name, Golden records and grammy nominations, Peter has developed a very personal approach to both his dynamic, energy-filled trumpet playing and his melodic compositions.He has been described as "a fantastic musician who always plays straight from the heart".

He has undertaken many long tours involving clubs, concert halls and festivals in Sweden, as well as playing in U.S.A, Canada, England, Germany, Australia, Poland, Switzerland, former Jugo- slavia, Romania, Ireland, Mexico, Argentina, and naturally, the rest of Scandinavia.
Peter can be heard playing not only with his own tributed group "Peter Asplund Quartet", as soloist with diffrent big bands and trios.Together with saxophonist Magnus Lindgren, he is also the leader of the "Blue House Jazz Orchestra, the Stockholm concert halls own big band.

Peter often appears as guestsoloist behind many popular Swe- dish artists both on stage and in the recording studios, especially with the Swedish popgroup Bo Kaspers Orkester. Well worth noting is also the project Peter Asplund – Martin Sjöstedt Dektet- te "Plays the music of Marty Paich and Mel Tormé, where Peter sings Mel Tormé.

Aspiration

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Kyoko Satoh & Her Little Orchestra - Everlasting

Size: 122,6 MB
Time: 53:04
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Jazz New Age
Art: Front

01. Hope ( 8:37)
02. Metamorphose Part 1 (10:07)
03. Metamorphose Part 2 (10:59)
04. Metamorphose Part 3 ( 6:29)
05. Metamorphose Part 4 (10:33)
06. Yuyake Koyake ( 6:18)

Kyoko started playing the alto saxophone when she entered Yokohama National University. She participated in the jazz club activity at the University and learned jazz theory and how to play the alto saxophone on her own. Later she began to take private lessons with Atsushi Ikeda, one of the great jazz saxophonists in Japan. She received a Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Arts from the University. After her graduation, she entered Berklee College of Music as the Berklee scholarship student, also supported by the Rotary Foundation (Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship).

At Berklee, she was a jazz composition major and mainly studied composition and arranging under the tutelage of such great teachers as Ted Pease, Greg Hopkins, and Phil Wilson (Grammy nominee). Also, she studied saxophone with Frank Tiberi, George Garzone and Shannon LeClaire, performance with Dave Santoro, Ed Tomassi, and Hal Crook, and conducting with Valerie Taylor. She has received two awards from Berklee, the "Toshiko Akiyoshi Award" and the "Woodwind Department Achievement Award" in recognition of outstanding performance and composition abilities. She appeared in some Jazz Festivals including the JVC Jazz Festival.

After graduated from Berklee, she moved to New York City, she played many gigs, offered compositions/arrangements for various styles of bands, instructed from teenagers to elderly people in both New York and the Boston area. Now she is very active as a performer and composer in Tokyo, leading her own orchestra and small group.

Everlasting

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Scott Hamilton & Friends - Blues, Bop & Ballads

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:15
Size: 147.1 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 1999
Art: Front

[3:51] 1. I Mean You
[8:05] 2. Blue Harlem
[7:02] 3. Rhythm Riff 127
[5:45] 4. Skylark
[5:27] 5. Wabash
[6:29] 6. Fish Market
[5:25] 7. Answer Me (My Love)
[6:24] 8. Stuffy
[7:45] 9. Smile
[7:58] 10. Good Bait

Big-toned tenor saxophonist Scott Hamilton leads a swinging small group session that concentrates mostly on songs that didn't receive much attention in the 1990s. "Answer Me (My Love)" is a potent ballad feature for the leader that reveals the influence of Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster, while Hamilton also has fun with lively riff tunes like his own "Rhythm Riff #127," and Hawkins' "Stuffy." Trumpeter Greg Gisbert is outstanding throughout the date, while trombonist Joel Helleny and guitarist Duke Robillard only appear on three tracks each, but make valuable contributions with their solos. This delightful CD stands up well to repeated listening, and is one of Scott Hamilton's best recordings. ~Ken Dryden

Blues, Bop & Ballads

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Pete Fountain - Big Bands Of The Swingin' Years

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 32:45
Size: 75.0 MB
Styles: New Orleans jazz
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[3:09] 1. St. James Infirmary
[3:10] 2. Lazy River
[4:04] 3. Jazz Me Blues
[2:31] 4. Sunset In Paradise
[2:54] 5. Margie
[2:53] 6. That's A-Plenty
[3:53] 7. When The Saints Go Marching In
[3:16] 8. High Society
[3:59] 9. Moanin' Low
[2:52] 10. South Rampart Street Parade

The greatest ambassador of New Orleans jazz since Louis Armstrong, clarinetist Pete Fountain epitomizes the sound of New Orleans and has always remained true to the roots of Dixieland jazz. Presented here is some of Fountain's most treasured classic recordings including "St. James Infirmary Blues," "Up A Lazy River," "When The Saints Go Marching In" and "High Society." All selections newly remastered.

Big Bands Of The Swingin' Years

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America - Homecoming

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 32:55
Size: 75.4 MB
Styles: Soft rock, Pop-folk
Year: 1972/1995/2008
Art: Front

[3:30] 1. Ventura Highway
[3:10] 2. To Each His Own
[2:29] 3. Don't Cross The River
[3:40] 4. Moon Song
[3:17] 5. Only In Your Heart
[2:09] 6. Till The Sun Comes Up Again
[4:17] 7. Cornwall Blank
[3:46] 8. Head And Heart
[3:02] 9. California Revisited
[3:30] 10. Saturn Nights

Homecoming, America's finest album, refines and focuses the folk-pop approach found on their debut release. The songs here are tighter and more forthright, with fewer extended solo instrumental sections than before. The sound quality is clear and bright; the colorful arrangements, while still acoustic guitar-based, feature more electric guitar and keyboards. The performance quality is more assured, among the most urgently committed the group would ever put on vinyl. Verses are still sometimes banal and clunky ("You can't disregard your friends/But life gets so hard when you reach the end") or cryptic ("Sorry, boy, but I've been hit by purple rain"), but a number of the song subjects here exhibit a yearning sense of wanderlust and love of the outdoors that proves to be highly evocative and compelling (particularly on "Moon Song," "Ventura Highway," "California Revisited," and "Cornwall Blank"). Chordal progressions are sophisticated and contain many subtle surprises. A few new style wrinkles can be seen in the country-influenced "Don't Cross the River," the drivingly gutsy "California Revisited" (perhaps the hardest-rocking song the group would ever produce), and the hushed yet mildly funky "Head & Heart." Chart hits from this release include "Ventura Highway," "Only in Your Heart," and "Don't Cross the River," but each song here has something to recommend it. This top-flight album is a very rewarding listen. ~David Cleary

Homecoming     

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Sue Raney - Listen Here

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:42
Size: 127.5 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[3:08] 1. Listen Here
[4:12] 2. My Melancholy Baby
[3:02] 3. A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square
[4:35] 4. The Bad And The Beautiful
[3:36] 5. The Music That Makes Me Dance
[5:49] 6. He Was Too Good To Me
[5:04] 7. You'll Never Know
[4:46] 8. Skylark
[3:51] 9. It Might As Well Be Spring
[3:17] 10. It Never Was You
[5:16] 11. You Must Believe In Spring
[5:05] 12. There Used To Be A Ballpark
[3:54] 13. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

One of the most underappreciated jazz vocalists of the past half-century, Sue Raney is also proving one of the most durable. Raney, who has been singing professionally since age 14, delivered a trio of excellent albums for Capitol while still in her teens and early 20s, then endured a peripatetic recording career that involved multiple labels and occasionally lengthy gaps (filled with teaching and jingle work—as both writer and performer). Through it all, she has never stopped plugging and, remarkably, still sounds as vibrant and clarion-pure as ever.

In recent years, Raney has formed a mutually beneficial alliance with pianist Alan Broadbent. It was Broadbent at the helm, as arranger, conductor and accompanist, on Raney’s previous album, the silken Doris Day tribute Heart’s Desire. Here it’s just Broadbent and Raney, two thoroughbreds shaping an exemplary exercise in simpatico intimacy. They open with Dave Frishberg’s tenderly introspective “Listen Here,” then keep the tempo on simmer through a spectrum of major league ballads, extending from the romantic coziness of “My Melancholy Baby” and “You’ll Never Know” to the hazy heartache of “He Was Too Good to Me” and “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.”

The pace quickens slightly for a sprightly “It Might as Well Be Spring” and a shimmering “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square.” But the standout piece in this sea of marvelous tracks is Raney and Broadbent’s gorgeously realized treatment, neither too maudlin nor too wistful, of Joe Raposo’s “There Used to Be a Ballpark.” ~Christopher Loudon

Listen Here

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Joe Diorio Trio - Live

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:11
Size: 153.8 MB
Styles: Guitar jazz, Post bop
Year: 2006
Art: Front

[14:28] 1. Lover Man
[11:30] 2. Corcovado
[10:19] 3. Green Dolphin Street
[10:08] 4. A Child Is Born
[10:38] 5. Yesterdays
[10:05] 6. The Night Has A Thousand Eyes

Although this live gig by guitarist Joe Diorio was released for the first time in 2006, the music dates from a lost 1991 recording uncovered by his wife, with the guitarist joined by bassist Bob Magnusson and drummer Jim Plank. This entirely unrehearsed set focuses on standards, all played in extended form with imagination and plenty of risk-taking. The trio members eschew the normal approach to the ballad "Lover Man," instead slowly working their way into it, repeating a series of chords before finally loosening up and increasing the tempo as they play straight-ahead. The leader softly hums to himself during his unaccompanied introduction to the old warhorse "On Green Dolphin Street," though this standard sounds very fresh in the hands of the trio, featuring terrific breaks by each musician. The slowly savored interpretation of Thad Jones' lush "A Child Is Born" is yet another highlight, as is the intense workout of "Yesterdays." It seems unfair that Joe Diorio has not been more widely recognized within the jazz community, but those who discover the music on this highly recommended CD will quickly become devoted fans. ~Ken Dryden

Live

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Ella Fitzgerald needs no introduction to most jazz fans because the "First Lady of Swing" had a remarkably productive recording and performing career that spanned from the mid '30s until around 1990, when multiple health problems forced her into retirement. Ella was 44 in 1961, recording several albums a year for Verve and managed by impresario Norman Granz, who was very interested in seeing that the singer earned a hefty income from concert bookings and record royalties.

This four-CD set consists of live performances made at the Crescendo over 10 nights in 1961, plus a two-day return to the club the following year, during which Granz arranged to record every set. This vast volume of tape produced only one LP, Ella in Hollywood; while some of the songs within it are repeated, none of the issued performances are included in this boxed set. 74 previously unheard selections are the set's bounty. It is peculiar that this relatively small venue had an unusually loud audience response on the earlier album; there is no such artificial applause added to this collection. Although Fitzgerald rarely was recorded in a club setting, she reacts to the intimacy of the venue by connecting with her audience as if she is performing for a small group of close friends. The listener feels like they are at a front-and-center table, taking in Fitzgerald's effortless swing and energy, with her matchless scatting plus lots of fun ad-libs and song quotes, along with recognizing friends and fellow celebrities in the audience.

The energetic interpretation of "Lover, Come Back to Me" signals that Fitzgerald is on fire from the opening of the show. Her slowly savored take of "Baby, Won't You Please Come Home" interpolates both "Am I Blue" and "Blue and Sentimental" in a bluesy setting. Extended workouts of "Perdido," "Take the A Train" and "How High the Moon" feature her matchless scat singing, with the latter song including numerous interpolated song quotes (often messing with the lyrics such as "Sweat Gets in My Eyes") and her campy imitation of a bowed bass. She milks the childish humor in her long-popular hit "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" and swings through an engaging take of "Lullaby of Birdland." The breezy "Joe Williams Blues" is another obscurity in Fitzgerald's discography, as only one other version has ever been released; she never runs out of ideas in her seven-plus minute workout, detouring into "Alright, Okay, You Win," "Fever" and even "Georgia on My Mind" while also scatting up a storm.

Fitzgerald reprises her cheerful rendition of Steve Allen's "This Could Be the Start of Something Big" (though her studio version recorded earlier in the year remained unreleased until the expanded 1989 reissue of Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie). When she recognizes Mack David in the audience, she decides to tackle an impromptu version of "Candy," which she claims not to know and jokes that "Those are the only records of mine that sell." She has trouble remembering the words and continues "The lyrics are not handy / I'm messing up your song" to the delight of the audience. The grand finale consists of Fitzgerald's hilarious series of vocalist impressions in "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home," which prompts a brief encore of the piece.

Pianist Lou Levy, guitarist Herb Ellis, bassist Wilfred Roland Middlebrooks and drummer Gus Johnson make up Fitzgerald's band on discs 1-3, while pianist Paul Smith and drummer Stan Levey join Middlebrooks on the final disc. The musicians primarily serve a supporting role, as Fitzgerald is the show, though their accompaniment is flawless throughout the collection. The audio is generally excellent (minor miscues like a bumped microphone), with detailed notes and lots of photos in the package, though some fans may be disappointed with the open-top CD cardboard sleeves, which leave the discs exposed to dust and possible scratching. Fitzgerald was always at her best performing live (and thus many of her finest albums are concert recordings). Fans of jazz, vocals and just excellent showmanship will enjoy this limited edition boxed set, which is clearly music for the ages. ~ Ken Dryden  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/ella-fitzgerald-twelve-nights-in-hollywood-by-ken-dryden.php

Personnel: Ella Fitzgerald: vocals; Lou Levy: piano; Paul Smith: piano; Herb Ellis: electric guitar; Wilfred Middlebrooks: bass; Gus Johnson: drums; Stan Levey: drums.

Album: Ella Fitzgerald - Twelve Nights In Hollywood (Disc 1)

Styles: Vocal Jazz  

Bitrate: 320K/s

Year: 2009

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 60:25

Size: 140,2 MB

Art: Front

(0:48)  1. Introduction

(1:55)  2. Lover Come Back To Me

(2:39)  3. Too Close For Comfort

(3:01)  4. Little White Lies

(2:49)  5. On The Sunny Side Of The Street

(2:53)  6. Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive

(3:47)  7. Baby Won't You Please Come Home

(2:28)  8. I Found A New Baby

(2:25)  9. On A Slow Boat To China

(3:15) 10. My Heart Belongs To Daddy

(6:52) 11. Perdido

(2:23) 12. I've Got A Crush On You

(2:10) 13. But Not For Me

(3:03) 14. You Brought A New Kind Of Love To Me

(2:00) 15. Across The Alley From The Alamo

(3:15) 16. I'm Glad There Is You

(3:37) 17. 'Round Midnight

(6:45) 18. Take The 'A' Train

(4:10) 19. Mr. Paganini

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Album: Ella Fitzgerald - Twelve Nights In Hollywood (Disc 2)

Styles: Vocal Jazz  

Bitrate: 320K/s

Year: 2009

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 53:23

Size: 124,0 MB

Art: Front

(2:30)  1. Nice Work If You Can Get It

(3:31)  2. I Can't Get Started

(1:53)  3. Give Me The Simple Life

(2:05)  4. Caravan

(4:18)  5. One For My Baby

(3:16)  6. Lorelei

(1:54)  7. A-Tisket, A-Tasket

(3:04)  8. Witchcraft

(2:31)  9. Gone With The Wind

(3:45) 10. Happiness Is Just A Thing Called Joe

(2:15) 11. It's De-Lovely

(2:41) 12. The Lady Is A Tramp

(3:33) 13. That Old Black Magic

(2:08) 14. Lullaby Of Birdland

(0:39) 15. Ella Introduces The Band

(2:41) 16. Imagination

(3:09) 17. Blue Moon

(7:21) 18. Joe Williams' Blues

Twelve Nights In Hollywood (Disc 1) (Disc 2)

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Album: Ella Fitzgerald - Twelve Nights In Hollywood (Disc 3)

Styles: Vocal Jazz  

Bitrate: 320K/s

Year: 2009

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 75:20

Size: 174,5 MB

Art: Front

(1:39)  1. The Lady's In Love With You

(3:34)  2. Love Is Here To Stay

(3:36)  3. Come Rain Or Come Shine

(2:26)  4. Anything Goes

(2:25)  5. This Could Be The Start Of Something Big

(5:07)  6. Candy

(3:49)  7. Little Girl Blue

(3:30)  8. You're Driving Me Crazy

(2:33)  9. It's All Right With Me

(2:49) 10. Just Squeeze Me (But Please Don't Tease Me)

(2:28) 11. 'S Wonderful

(6:20) 12. How High The Moon

(2:17) 13. Deep Purple

(3:33) 14. In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning

(3:53) 15. Mack The Knife

(4:30) 16. Exactly Like You

(3:35) 17. Rock It For Me

(6:49) 18. Stompin' At The Savoy

(4:11) 19. Love For Sale

(6:05) 20. St. Louis Blues

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Album: Ella Fitzgerald - Twelve Nights In Hollywood (Disc 4)

Styles: Vocal Jazz  

Bitrate: 320K/s

Year: 2009

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 62:32

Size: 145,2 MB

Art: Front

(3:15)  1. All Of Me

(2:38)  2. Hard Hearted Hannah

(2:47)  3. Broadway

(2:42)  4. My Kind Of Boy

(3:56)  5. It Had To Be You

(3:28)  6. C'est Magnifique

(2:49)  7. How Long Has This Been Going On?

(2:10)  8. When Your Lover Has Gone

(2:23)  9. Taking A Chance On Love

(4:24) 10. Good Morning Heartache

(3:24) 11. Clap Hands! Here Comes Charlie!

(2:19) 12. Hallelujah, I Love Him So

(3:25) 13. Angel Eyes

(3:13) 14. Ol' Man Mose

(3:06) 15. Teach Me Tonight

(1:10) 16. Medley: Too Darn Hot • Ella's Twist

(2:42) 17. Too Darn Hot

(5:19) 18. Bewitched

(3:41) 19. Bill Bailey

(3:32) 20. Bill Bailey (Reprise)

Twelve Nights In Hollywood (Disc 3) (Disc 4)

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Jeremy Pelt - Tales, Musings and Other Reveries

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:06
Size: 133,0 MB
Art: Front

(11:04)  1. Glass Bead Games
( 7:19)  2. Vonetta
( 5:59)  3. Harlem Thoroughfare
( 5:36)  4. Everything You Can Imagine Is Real
( 6:46)  5. Ruminations On Eric Garner
( 6:32)  6. I Only Miss Her When I Think Of Her
( 6:54)  7. Nephthys
( 7:52)  8. The Old Soul Of The Modern Day Wayfarer

Jeremy Pelt's 12th studio album, 2015's Tales, Musings and Other Reveries, finds the trumpeter continuing on his trajectory of making swaggering yet artful and introspective post-bop. The album follows up his equally compelling releases, 2013's Water and Earth and 2014's Face Forward, Jeremy. As with those albums, Pelt succeeds here in combining all of his disparate stylistic inspirations from swinging, straight-ahead jazz to expansive modalism to soulful fusion into one cohesive sound that is never anything but organic. Even his bold choice of using two drummers here, Billy Drummond (heard in the right channel) and Victor Lewis (heard in the left), never gets in the way of creating utterly lithe, buoyant, and often gorgeous music. Also joining Pelt here are pianist Simona Premazzi and maverick, genre-defying bassist Ben Allison, who add their own forward-thinking touches to Pelt's sophisticated compositions. ~ Matt Collar  http://www.allmusic.com/album/tales-musings-and-other-reveries-mw0002798073

Personnel: Jeremy Pelt (trumpet); Simona Premazzi (piano); Victor Lewis, Billy Drummond (drums).

Tales, Musings and Other Reveries

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Jay Geils, Gerry Beaudoin & The King Of Strings - St

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:32
Size: 146,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:19)  1. Desert Sands
(4:06)  2. The Flat Foot Floogie
(2:56)  3. Jackie's Serenade
(3:48)  4. Sweet Georgia Brown
(7:46)  5. All Blues
(6:26)  6. In a Mellow Tone/ Rose Room
(6:15)  7. Out of Nowhere
(4:26)  8. Blue Benedetto
(4:33)  9. Here's That Rainy Day
(3:10) 10. Minor Swing
(5:49) 11. I Thought About You
(5:04) 12. Take the A Train
(4:49) 13. Sweet One

Veteran guitarists Jay Geils and Gerry Beaudoin, aka the Kings of Strings, welcome to their jazz den a cub, young fiddle phenom Aaron Weinstein. Beaudoin is a Grammy-nominated guitarist and Jay Geils is the iconic founder of the eponymous rock & roll J.Geils Band. Together they hit some nice grooves and breeze us gently through an eclectic, easy-going set of Tin Pan Alley and Swing Era classics, with a few original blues and a timeless bop blues update.

Personnel: Gerry Beaudoin-guitar, Jay Geils-guitar, Aaron Weinstein-violin & mandolin, Bob Nieske-bass, Les Harris Jr-drums

Jay Geils, Gerry Beaudoin & The King Of Strings

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Easy Livin' Organ Trio - Slow News

Size: 53,9 MB
Time: 23:08
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz: Hammond Organ
Art: Front

01. Mr. B's Blues (3:52)
02. I Love Lucy (2:58)
03. Seventh Train (3:40)
04. Borderline (4:16)
05. Dan's Theme (3:08)
06. Slow News (5:12)

Personnel: Lorrie Goodman, Steve Gallatin, Daniel Johnson

Easy Livin Organ Trio is a contemporary jazz trio dedicated to honoring the tradition of swing and blues while reaching out to a new generation of jazz audiences.

Slow News

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