Sam 'The Man' Taylor - Jazz For Commuters / Salute To The Saxes

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:37
Size: 152.5 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz, swing
Year: 2011
Art: Front

[4:19] 1. All Too Soon
[3:03] 2. Westchester Waltz
[4:10] 3. Lester Leaps In
[2:34] 4. Ride, Sammy, Ride
[3:51] 5. Body And Soul
[8:29] 6. Long Island Railroad Blues
[5:01] 7. Bucks County Bounce
[2:48] 8. Do-A-Lu
[2:32] 9. Taylor Made
[3:40] 10. Rockland County Round Trip
[2:29] 11. Cloudburst
[2:46] 12. The Big Beat
[6:30] 13. Air Mail Special
[2:27] 14. Rood Runner
[2:29] 15. Sam's Blues
[3:11] 16. Westport Wail
[2:38] 17. Look Out
[3:31] 18. Flyin' Home

All sessions recorded in New York. The album tracks were recorded on October 15 & 22, 1958. The Bonus tracks (tracks 11-18) came from different sessions cut between March, 1955 and June, 1956. Charlie Shavers, Thad Jones (tp), Frank Rehak, Jimmy Cleveland (tb), Sam “The Man” Taylor, Georgie Auld (ts), Budd Johnson (ts, bars), Haywood Henry (bs), Hank Jones (p), Barry Galbraith, Billy Bauer (g), Milt Hinton (b), Panama Francis (d).

Sam “The Man” Taylor is a saxophonist as adept at swinging jazz as he is at the blues and R&B for which he is most famous. With his unending drive and energy, he stood out in the bands he was in, including those of Cootie Williams, Cab Calloway and others. During the 50s he spent much of his time playing R&B sessions, but he also performed and recorded often with his own combo and, ten years later, he achieved wide recognition in Japan thanks to his ballads. This CD, however, resents an exultant Taylor, deeply rooted in the most genuine jazz, during a swinging 1958 session with great jazzmen like Charlie Shavers, Georgie Auld, Budd Johnson and Hank Jones. As a bonus, there is an example of his more “rocking” side, fronting a group that exudes Taylor’s typically soulful essence.

Jazz For Commuters/Salute To The Saxes

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Sophia Shorai With Tommy Barbarella - Long As You're Living

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:54
Size: 117,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:29)  1. Long As You're Living
(5:25)  2. Black Coffee
(3:44)  3. Brother, Can You Spare A Dime
(4:53)  4. You Don't Know What Love Is
(3:19)  5. Old Devil Moon
(4:17)  6. Everybody Knows
(3:50)  7. In The Wee Small Hours
(4:53)  8. Hellhound On My Trail
(3:40)  9. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
(4:14) 10. Big Brother
(4:21) 11. Peace
(4:45) 12. Waters Of March

What is most exciting about the new crop of singers coming onto the scene is the abundant joy present in much of their work. They're happy to be singing; they're happy to do what their idols and mentors do; they're happy to be sharing their gift. One listen to singer Sophia Shorai's Long as You're Living and the prominence of her enthusiasm is hard to ignore. Featuring twelve jazz and contemporary music covers, and accompanied by pianist Tommy Barbarella, Shorai's project represents the best of what music is all about: good music made by artists who clearly believe in their product.

Long as You're Living is a great display of "do what you love and everything will fall into place." Shorai's voice is sweet and light, while Barbarella best known for his work with Prince and the New Power Generation brings an energy that makes Shorai soar. Shorai is clearly eager to put her own spin on the lyrics, a goal that Barbarella helps the singer accomplish, as long as he's allowed to shine in the process; the two sounding good together, which benefits the music. With themes of love, politics, and social responsibility spread throughout the recording, the standout tracks include the title track, along with "Black Coffee," "You Don't Know What Love Is," "Everybody Knows," "In the Wee Small Hours," and "Big Brother." 

A testament to the good music coming out of Minneapolis, it won't be long before Shorai extends beyond her local setting and becomes a regular fixture all over the air waves. 

~ Bridget A.Arnwine  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/long-as-youre-living-self-produced-review-by-bridget-a-arnwine.php

Personnel: Sophia Shorai: vocals; Tommy Barbarella: piano.

Long As You're Living

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Dave Pell Octet - Young & Healthy

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:52
Size: 83,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:20)  1. Look Who's Dancing
(3:07)  2. East of the Sun
(2:53)  3. You
(3:21)  4. Young and Healthy
(2:34)  5. The Continental
(2:41)  6. Dance for Daddy
(3:02)  7. When I Take My Sugar to Tea
(2:46)  8. If I Had You
(2:55)  9. Cheek to Cheek
(3:10) 10. Let's Face the Music and Dance
(2:57) 11. Prom to Prom
(2:59) 12. Walkin' My Baby Back Home

Dave Pell's behind-the-scenes career may be more familiar to space age pop fans than his own accomplishments as a performer. As head of artists and repertory (A&R) for Liberty Records and United Artists in the 1960s, Pell produced many of the best-known albums by Martin Denny, Si Zentner, the Ventures, Trombones Unlimited, and others. But Pell started as a working musician in the heyday of the big bands. He joined Tony Pastor's band in 1944, spent two years working with Bob Crosby's Bobcats, then moved to Los Angeles and joined Les Brown's new "Band of Renown" group in 1947. As a tenor sax player, Pell became one of the stars of the Brown band, and he remained with them until 1955. He then formed his own group, the Dave Pell Octet, along with trumpeter Don Fagerquist, and adopted a lighter style, very much in the spirit of the West Coast jazz movement. Pell hired some of the best arranging talents available, including Marty Paich, Shorty Rogers, Jerry Fielding, and Bill Holman, and the group's albums sold well. Some critics panned the group as "middlebrow jazz" and Pell himself once referred to it as "mortgage-paying jazz," but its tight ensemble recordings have become highly collectable.

Pell also recorded a series of albums with a larger band, performing in the style of the most famous names from the big band era, for a small budget label he owned called PRI. Several years later, he cashed in on the percussion album craze by hiring drummer Frankie Capp to overdub percussion parts on these recordings and released them as Percussion in a Tribute to ... on Kimberley Records, another label he started. Like many West Coast jazz musicians, Pell moved to the security of studio work as the interest and market for live jazz waned. He joined the staff of Liberty Records and soon became a major contributor. He worked hard on both the technical and musical sides, improving Liberty's studio processes and working to develop its roster of artists. He often collaborated with producer Snuff Garrett and arranger Bob Florence, cultivating both pop and rock artists. He was the first to record singer Vicki Carr, fresh out of stint as a girl singer in Ray Anthony's road show, and produced her first 11 albums, including It Must Be Him, which sold over a million copies. Pell released three albums under his own name on Liberty. The first two, in 1963, featured Florence's arrangements for small combo and jazz chorus. The last, released in 1969, is now a great favorite of soft pop/easy tempo fans, with terrific versions of Piero Umiliani's dippy classic, "Mah-Na, Mah-Na," the Electric Indians' "Kemo Sabe," and the title tune from the nude musical, "Oh, Calcutta."

After Liberty was ingested by United Artists, Pell became creative director for Motown Records, where he hired the Commodores and helped the label through its challenging transition from Detroit to Los Angeles, and from the "Motown sound" to 70s soul and disco. He worked with Garrett again in the 1980s, heading Garrett's Viva label, which had some of the hotter country artists of the period in Shelly West and David Frizzell, and running a music publishing conglomerate that encompassed over 30 different companies. He joined up with another West Coast jazz vet, Lennie Niehaus, and handled the soundtrack recordings for a number of Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds films, including "Sudden Impact" and "Sharkey's Machine" (which included the last known recording by former Liberty cover girl Julie London). He also founded Headfirst, a pioneering digital recording label. Bio ~ http://www.davepell.com/about.html

Young & Healthy

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Bobby Broom - Plays For Monk

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:48
Size: 130,4 MB
Art: Front

(5:15)  1. Ask Me Now
(4:18)  2. Evidence
(5:41)  3. Ruby, My Dear
(5:53)  4. In Walked Bud
(5:55)  5. Lulu's Back in Town
(6:09)  6. Reflections
(7:08)  7. Work
(4:57)  8. Rhythm-A-Ning
(6:28)  9. Bemsha Swing
(5:01) 10. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

Chicago-based guitarist Bobby Broom pays tribute to jazz icon Thelonious Monk on Plays For Monk, a fresh take on eight of the late pianist's compositions, along with a couple of standards associated with Monk's repertoire. Joining Broom for his third release on Seattle's Origin Records are his long time trio mates, bassist Dennis Carroll and drummer Kobie Watkins. Broom does a tremendous job navigating Monk's music in a bare-bones guitar trio setting. His horn-like approach to soloing, relying heavily on single-note runs, gives the trio a stripped-down sound, recalling the piano-less trio recordings of saxophonist Sonny Rollins, whom Broom has been performing with for years. The open space allows for a rich dialogue, especially between Broom and Watkins. Watkins' intense swing on the up-tempo "Evidence" pushes the guitarist to inspired creativity. Broom incorporates lush chord-melody arrangements on Monk's classic ballads "Ask Me Now" and "Ruby, My Dear" and the jam session staple "Rhythm-a-ning."

Harry Warren's "Lulu's Back in Town" and Monk's "Bemsha Swing" swing with the kind of soulful vibe Broom is known for with his popular Chicago group the Deep Blue Organ Trio. "Bemsha Swing" features a rollicking bass solo by Carroll and a spirited back-and-forth between Broom and Watkins. The disc closes with a solo guitar rendition of Jerome Kern's "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," a standard that Monk recorded as a solo piece. Broom's rendition is poignant and honest much like the rest of the disc. Plays for Monk is a stunning addition to Broom's recorded output and speaks to the potential of the guitar trio in modern-day jazz. ~ John Barron  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/plays-for-monk-bobby-broom-origin-records-review-by-john-barron.php

Personnel: Bobby Broom: guitar; Dennis Carroll: bass; Kobie Watkins: drums.

Plays For Monk

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Bobby Caldwell - Bobby Caldwell Croons Big Band Hits & Standards

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:51
Size: 158,2 MB
Art: Front

(2:54)  1. (Love Is) the Tender Trap
(3:25)  2. Beyond the Sea
(1:59)  3. I've Got the World On a String
(2:24)  4. Girl I Dream About
(2:21)  5. All Of Me
(2:56)  6. Day In Day Out
(3:35)  7. Old Devil Moon
(3:42)  8. I Get A Kick Out Of You
(3:55)  9. Only the Lonely
(3:25) 10. April Moon
(3:16) 11. Best Is Yet To Come
(4:04) 12. Stuck on You
(4:41) 13. Come Rain Or Come Shine
(3:30) 14. Tomorrow
(5:00) 15. Luck Be A Lady
(3:25) 16. (I've Got You) Under My Skin
(2:50) 17. Oh (You've Got It Made)
(3:29) 18. Young at Heart
(3:38) 19. Smile
(4:12) 20. Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry

Contemporary jazz singer/guitarist Bobby Caldwell was born August 15, 1951, in Manhattan, NY; his parents, Bob and Carolyn, were the hosts of the television variety show Suppertime and exposed the child to a wide variety of musical influences. Caldwell began studying piano and guitar at age 12; he initially pursued a career in rock & roll but was equally adept at playing jazz and R&B and at 17 took his band on the road to play the Las Vegas circuit. From there the group moved on to Los Angeles, but despite recording an album titled Kathmandu, Caldwell enjoyed little success and eventually returned to his parents home in Miami. 

There he began work on his 1978 breakthrough album What You Won't Do for Love, scoring a hit single with the title cut. Efforts including a 1979 self-titled LP, The Cat in the Hat, and Carry On followed, and although Caldwell enjoyed a strong following at home, he became a superstar in Japan. He shifted creative gears with 1996's Blue Condition, a collection of big band-era standards; the similarly themed Come Rain or Come Shine followed three years later. ~ Bio  https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/bobby-caldwell/id1009920#fullText

Bobby Caldwell Croons Big Band Hits & Standards

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The Tim Cummiskey Trio - Redeeming Time

Size: 139,6 MB
Time: 60:14
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2003
Styles: Jazz: Traditional Jazz Combo, Hammond B3
Art: Front

01. Unit 7 (7:12)
02. Darn That Dream (7:22)
03. Black Nile (5:03)
04. Hank's Riff (6:09)
05. How Insensitive (4:53)
06. Inner Urge (5:52)
07. Invitation (6:18)
08. Time Remembered (5:05)
09. This I Dig Of You (5:34)
10. Fever Dream (6:42)

Just in case Tim Cummiskey is mistakenly described as an "up and coming" jazz guitarist, let the level of playing revealed on this CD serve as living testimony that this artist has already "arrived" The Tim Cummiskey Trio assembled for this project puts Tim in fine company, with Columbus legend Hank Marr on organ and drummer Jim Rupp, an alumnus of the Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson, and Glenn Miller Orchesstras. While Tim Cummiskey has appeared on numerous recordings as a sideman, Redeeming The Time is his second recording as the leader.

The guitar's place in the history of jazz has been both interesting and peculiar. Unlike woodwind and brass instruments that played a prominent role in the development of jazz styles in every major era, the guitar did not become a major jazz voice in the field until the jazz-rock or fusion manifestations of the late 1960s and 1970s. And although the guitar found relatively quick acceptance as a rhythm instrument, it was slower to develop as a solo vehicle. Thanks to Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian in the modern era and on through the pantheon of great guitarists in the postbop period from Wes Montgomery to your favorite at this time, the guitar has given notice and history informs us that the instrument is a voice in the genre of jazz that takes a back seat to no other instrument. Indeed the guitar's role-playing as both a comping and a solo instrument provides a unique opportunity for boundless creative expression.

Upon listening to Tim Cummiskey's Redeeming The Time, one hears the work of a fertile mind that offers boundless creative expression. And I don't just mean heady, cerebral playing, but playing that comes from the heart, as well, with lots of musical sensitivity and imagination. Cummiskey's choice of tunes for this CD reveals his respect and love for the compositions of music masters like Wayne Shorter, Joe Henderson, Bill Evans, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Sam Jones, Hank Mobley, and Lee Morgan, along with Jimmy Van Huesen and Bronslau Kaper. Additionally he includes one of his own compositions and another cowritten with Hank Marr. Tim Cummiskey proves my adage that jazz music is really about rhythm.

If you enjoy swing, you will marvel at the groove set down in Unit 7 or Invitation, two of my favorites. Cummiskey wastes no time in showing you that he has chops galore. While modern stylists since Charlie Parker typically have utilized the double-time figure in their improvisations, Cummiskey's use of double-time figures occurs at any point of the bar. At times they go over the bar, and often are grouped in four, but often appear in triplet, too. The beauty of Cummiskey's rhythms is that they come at you at a virtuosic machine-gun pace that makes you say wow! Sometimes the juxtapositioning of his rapid-fire rhythms create surprise and tension, but they get properly resolved, and besides, he can do all of this and still swing. Listen to the vamp ending of Black Nile, and see for yourself.

If you like the blues, then check out Hank's Riff. Here Cummiskey understands the blues as primary language and reveals his affection for earthy, soulful playing. Of course, with Hank Marr on organ, there is plenty of groove and grease in this kitchen. When Leroi Jones (Amira Baraka) published his seminal work, Blues People, in 1963, he surely must have had Hank Marr in mind, and both Cummiskey and Rupp add their special ingredients to the mix.

Other important aspects of this recording are the rich harmonic vocabulary and beautiful melodic renditions evidenced by Cummiskey in the more relaxed tunes of this session. All guitarists and pianists love Jobim for his beautiful and exquisite harmonies and melodies. Cummiskey's choice of How Insensitive discloses some of his most sensitive playing. The gentle side of Cummiskey comes through in Jobim's pretty, Latin-flavored tune that provides a wonderful template for yet another beautiful and creative ride from Cummiskey.

The ballad Darn That Dream, Bill Evan's Time Remembered, along with Cummiskey's own Fever Dream provide us with more tenderness and introspection. Improvisation is the hallmark and defining essence of creativity in the jazz tradition. Whether listening to Inner Urge or This I Dig Of You, or any of the ten tunes featured on Redeeming The Time, one will be impressed with the improvising prowess of Tim Cummiskey. Sit back, relax and enjoy, and redeem your time listening to the artistry of Tim Cummiskey, jazz guitarist.

Redeeming Time

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Dan Brubeck Quartet - Celebrating The Music And Lyrics Of Dave & Iola Brubeck

Size: 208 MB
Time: 86:21
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Jazz
Art: Front

CD 1:
01. In Your Own Sweet Way ( 6:13)
02. Since Love Had Its Way ( 6:02)
03. Summer Song ( 6:01)
04. It's A Raggy Waltz ( 2:39)
05. Autumn In Our Town ( 4:09)
06. Lord, Lord ( 6:11)
07. Ode To A Cowboy ( 4:10)
08. Blue Rondo A La Turk ( 6:04)

CD 2:
01. Strange Meadowlark ( 7:04)
02. The Desert And The Parched Land ( 6:35)
03. For Iola ( 7:26)
04. The Duke ( 4:29)
05. Weep No More ( 5:08)
06. Take Five (14:08)

The Dan Brubeck Quartet’s two-disc set casts a penetrating light on a brilliant but little-known chapter in the creative alliance between Dave and Iola Brubeck that transformed the way jazz is presented and perceived. Essential for Brubeck fans and an invaluable resource for American Songbook aficionados looking for fresh material, Celebrating… is a strong candidate for jazz vocal album of the year.

Dan, the second youngest of the Dave and Iola’s six children, has long wanted to explore some of the songs and lyrics that his parents collaborated on over the years. The opportunity recently arose with some of the finest jazz players in the Vancouver, Canada, including saxophonist Steve Kaldestad, pianist Tony Foster, and bassist/vocalist Adam Thomas.

In the midst of the Quartet's exceptional talent, Thomas is one of the project’s most delightful revelations. A startlingly soulful singer who puts a personal stamp on a wide array of material, he delivers an impressive vocal debut. Fittingly, “Sweet Way” is the track that opens the album, and like many of the pieces that follow, Iola wrote the lyrics specifically for a jazz legend (Carmen McRae). Iola, who died last year at the age of 90, wrote incisive insider commentary about the songs for album’s liner notes. Dave Brubeck passed in 2012 at the age of 91.

Thomas’s most impressive feat is the easygoing authority he brings to interpreting songs the Brubecks created with Louis Armstrong in mind. He swings joyfully on “Since Love Had Its Way,” and wrings every wistful drop from the masterpiece “Summer Song,” an intoxicating draught of song that has unaccountably remained uncovered until this year (both songs were introduced by Satchmo in the Brubecks’ politically astute jazz musical The Real Ambassadors). Adding to the aching poignancy of “Summer Song” is the fact that the chorus serves as Dave and Iola’s epitaph.

"Celebrating…" is more than an act of filial love. It’s a brilliantly realized statement about the capacity of even the best known artists to surprise. With Thomas’s masterly vocals reintroducing the songs of Dave and Iola Brubeck, it seems unlikely they’ll remain hidden much longer. “I want people to cover these tunes,” Dan says. “They’ve been buried, but once singers hear them, I think a lot of them are going to want to do them.”

Celebrating The Music And Lyrics Of Dave & Iola Brubeck CD 1
Celebrating The Music And Lyrics Of Dave & Iola Brubeck CD 2

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Joscho Stephan - Guitar Heroes

Size: 150,1 MB
Time: 64:19
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Jazz: Gipsy Jazz
Art: Front

01. Blues For Tommy (Feat. Tommy Emmanuel) (3:14)
02. Love's Melody (Feat. Stochelo Rosenberg) (3:21)
03. Hungaria (Feat. Bireli Lagrene) (3:59)
04. Swing 42 (Feat. Tommy Emmanuel) (4:54)
05. Double Jeu (Feat. Stochelo Rosenberg) (3:53)
06. Song For Bireli (Feat. Bireli Lagrene) (4:51)
07. Hey Joe (3:48)
08. Something (Feat. Tommy Emmanuel) (3:42)
09. Blues For Stochelo (Feat. Stochelo Rosenberg) (3:48)
10. Breezin' (Feat. Bireli Lagrene) (6:00)
11. Blue Drag (Feat. Tommy Emmanuel) (4:16)
12. Bye Bye Blues (2:14)
13. Black Orpheus (Feat. Bireli Lagrene) (4:48)
14. Seven Come Eleven (Feat. Tommy Emmanuel) (4:16)
15. Swinging Strings (Feat. Stochelo Rosenberg) (2:49)
16. Samba Pa Ti (4:19)

Feat. Tommy Emmanuel, Stochelo Rosenberg, Biréli Lagrène & Joscho Stephan Trio

Joscho Stephan is well known on the international guitar scene as one of the most creative gypsy-swing players. With a powerful tone and remarkable technical skills, he has an instantly recognizable voice on his instrument. He's also not afraid to combine gypsy swing with a lot of different styles, like klezmer, pop or classical music.

One of Joscho's longtime dreams has been to record an album of songs written by his “guitar heroes.” When he started to work on the project, he thought it would be even more fun to invite the “heroes” of the current guitar scene to the studio with him. So on this new record, Joscho is joined by three world-class guitarists -- Australian guitar legend Tommy Emmanuel, Dutch gypsy swing icon Stochelo Rosenberg, and French “guitar phenomenon” Biréli Lagréne. Together, they present Joscho's own compositions, along with famous tunes in the style of gypsy swing with rock, jazz, and funk influences. The album includes pieces written by such great guitarists as Django Reinhardt, Carlos Santana and George Harrison, plus pieces successfully interpreted by the likes of Jimi Hendrix (“Hey Joe”) and George Benson (“Breezin”).

Guitar Heroes

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Jeff Oster - Next

Size: 118,8 MB
Time: 51:24
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Jazz, New Age
Art: Front

01. Next (Feat. Nile Rodgers) (3:08)
02. Night Train To Sofia (4:17)
03. Gardens Of Varanasi (5:50)
04. Turn Left At San Pancho (4:24)
05. I Can't Make You Love Me (5:33)
06. On Mother's Day (2:52)
07. Half A Cookie (4:18)
08. Ibiza Sunrise (3:58)
09. Avenue D (4:19)
10. The Mystery Of B (5:23)
11. Heroes (Feat. Jeff Taboloff) (3:36)
12. And We Dance (3:40)

Jeff Oster is a New Age artist of a different sort, as his brand of downtempo had long brandished chugging groove while maintaining that airy, celestial feel.next, out April 14, 2015 on Retso Records, does more of the same for the flugelhorn player. And then some.

Oster, as noted back in December, enlisted the services of a fabled rhythm section to hop up the funk factor for five of these tracks. Chuck Rainey and Bernard “Pretty” Purdie turned many of Steely Dan’s songs into dance-beckoning groove constructions starting with The Royal Scam and forty years later they’re sprinkling magic funk dust on Oster’s tunes.

No more so than on the leadoff title track, which features a third old school icon of the rare groove, guitarist/producer extraordinaire Nile Rodgers. Though no one will mistake “next” with, say, Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” or even the new Chic tune, there’s no mistaken Rodgers’ signature rhythm guitar nor the Rainey/Purdie slinky shuffle. Oster’s notes bellow out and dissipate over the all-star groove machine.

Rodgers’ cameo lasted for only that song but the Rainey/Purdie ride continue for four more songs. Rainey’s highly melodic bass line competes with Oster for attention on “Turn Left At San Pancho,” and Purdie’s signature shuffle (along with Todd Boston’s tasteful guitar) gives “Avenue D” a lift much as he elevated “Home At Last” nearly forty years ago. The preciseness of both vets on all of their five performances is reason alone why they still live up to their mythical status in studio circles.

Elsewhere, Jeff Taboloff’s soaring tenor on “Heroes” saxophone provides an alternative horn voice to Oster’s smooth-edged expressions, and the acoustic guitars of Grammy-winning producer/Windham Hill founder Will Ackerman on the concluding ballad “And We Dance” is another way Oster pushes back against any notion that New Age is about programmed, artificial sounds. And soulless? The organ and piano-enhanced “I Can’t Make You Love Me” is overflowing with that vintage kind of soul.

By retaining all the soothing qualities of New Age while making it groove naturally, Jeff Oster has quietly pioneered an organic kind of downtempo — he calls it “New Age Ambient Funk” — that sets it apart from everyone else operating in that space, and in the process has made it more interesting and compelling. With the help of some unlikely contributors, next is the best demonstration of Oster’s homegrown genre thus far. ~S. Victor Aaron

Next

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VA - Introducing M-Base

Size: 157,2 MB
Time: 67:21
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Contemporary Jazz, Vocals
Art: Front

01. Cassandra Wilson - If You Only Know How (5:02)
02. Jean-Paul Bourelly - Irate Blues (4:18)
03. Miles Davis - Blue In Green (4:07)
04. Billy Strayhorn - Chelsea Bridge (5:33)
05. Jean-Paul Bourelly - Drifter (5:03)
06. Geri Allen - For John Malachi (3:30)
07. Kevin Bruce Harris - I'm Going Home (2:58)
08. Cassandra Wilson - Lies (3:43)
09. Greg Osby - Mindgames (5:26)
10. Steve Coleman - Micro-Move (4:16)
11. Steve Coleman - On This (5:07)
12. Steve Coleman - Cüd Ba-Rith (4:57)
13. Robin Eubanks - The Night Before (4:59)
14. Cassandra Wilson - I Am Waiting (3:36)
15. Olu Dara - Electromagnolia (4:40)

The album »Introducing M-Base« introduces early works by important artists associated with the movement M-Base. Two titles of this compilation – »Irate Blues« and »On This« – come from the debut recording »Motherland Pulse« by Steve Coleman. This album was established in 1985, exactly 30 years ago.

Introducing M-Base

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Gene Ludwig - Back On The Track

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:30
Size: 150.0 MB
Styles: B-3 organ jazz, Soul jazz
Year: 1998
Art: Front

[5:37] 1. In Walked Bud
[6:11] 2. Memphis Underground
[6:47] 3. For Lena And Lenny
[6:03] 4. River's Invitation
[5:24] 5. Back On The Track
[5:52] 6. Triste
[9:31] 7. The First String
[7:28] 8. At Last
[4:37] 9. Papa Gee
[7:56] 10. Birk's Works

This CD shows organist Gene Ludwig's unabashed love for soul and blues pure and simple, which is not surprising since he is a native of that area of Pennsylvania which spawned so many of the giants of jazz and blues. Ludwig is no newcomer to the scene, having been performing since the 1960s; he got a big break in 1969 when he recorded with Sonny Stitt and another break when he toured with singer Arthur Prysock. Ludwig has listened to all the great practitioners of the Hammond B3, from the blues/soul promenading of Jimmy Smith to the swinging organs of Bill Doggett and Wild Bill Davis. These listening experiences are reflected on this album as he pulls out all the stops, literally and figuratively, in running through a variety of musical styles. He and guitarist Tony Janflone Sr. team up on "At Last," laying on a melancholy, whimsical sound unique to an organ/guitar combination. The swing comes to the fore with a relaxed medium tempo "Back on the Track," one of Ludwig's compositions. "In Walked Bud" echoes the many bop credentials on Ludwig's extensive resumé. But no matter the genre, swing, bop, ballad, or Latin, they all have that soul tone that has earned the Hammond B3 organ a special niche in jazz. Ludwig is joined by players sympathetic to his musical agenda. In addition to Janflone, fine guitar player Randy Caldwell sits in on three racks and is particularly effusive on the bouncy arrangement of his tune "Papa Gee." The drumming and percussive support by Messrs. Muchoney, Gelispie, and Jones is first rate. Ludwig's first album as a leader since his last recording for Muse almost 20 years ago, the appropriately named Back on the Track successfully welcomes the fine organist back to the fray. The CD is recommended for jazz lovers in general and for jazz organ enthusiasts in particular. ~Dave Nathan

Back On The Track

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Jeri Southern - The Very Thought Of You

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:02
Size: 151.2 MB
Styles: Traditional pop, Vocal jazz
Year: 1999
Art: Front

[2:59] 1. You Better Go Now
[3:03] 2. The Very Thought Of You
[2:05] 3. It's De-Lovely
[3:07] 4. Dancing On The Ceiling
[2:33] 5. All In Fun
[3:03] 6. When I Fall In Love
[2:49] 7. I Hadn't Anyone Till You
[3:10] 8. Remind Me
[3:08] 9. I Don't Know Where To Turn
[3:41] 10. He Was Too Good To Me
[2:29] 11. If I Had You
[3:25] 12. I Remember You
[3:16] 13. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
[3:54] 14. My Ship
[2:31] 15. An Occasional Man
[3:48] 16. Someone To Watch Over Me
[3:48] 17. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
[3:02] 18. Close As Pages In A Book
[2:31] 19. No Moon At All
[4:05] 20. You're Nearer
[3:24] 21. Nobody's Heart

Whether Jeri Southern was a jazz singer or simply a jazz-influenced pop singer has been debated. To be sure, many of her '50s recordings were heavily arranged and devoid of improvisation -- and if you believe that improvisation is a key element of jazz, you have to believe that much of her output was essentially pop. But however you categorize her, Southern was among the finest female singers of her era. This 21-song collection, which came out in 1999, underscores the excellence of her '50s output for Decca. Southern's accompaniment ranges from lush string orchestras to the trio of guitarist Dave Barbour (who was best known for his work with Peggy Lee), and on some selections, she is heard on piano. You could argue that Southern's piano solo on "I Hadn't Anyone Till You" is a jazz solo, but on most of these recordings, pop considerations prevail over jazz considerations. Blessed with a smoky, warm voice, she brings a great deal of charm and vulnerability to "The Very Thought of You," "My Ship," "I Remember You" and other standards. It's such a shame that Southern chose to retire from recording and performing in the early '60s, when she was only 36 -- quite possibly, she could have continued to record first-class pop for another 20 or 25 years. But thankfully, listeners still have fine collections like The Very Thought of You to savor. ~Alex Henderson

The Very Thought Of You

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Michael Radliff Quartet - Night And Day

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:50
Size: 116.4 MB
Styles: Guitar jazz
Year: 2014
Art: Front

[3:19] 1. East Of The Sun
[3:29] 2. Love Is Here To Stay
[6:49] 3. My Funny Valentine
[5:58] 4. I Remember You
[3:18] 5. Embraceable You
[5:28] 6. Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight
[4:55] 7. How Deep Is The Ocean
[7:24] 8. Night And Day
[5:34] 9. When I Fall In Love
[4:31] 10. Rebecca's Waltz

Michael was born into a musical family in Nebraska, and grew up surrounded by instruments, musicians and singers. He pursued piano for several years, along with the trombone in his middle and high school years. The guitar caught his interest at age 15, and he started taking professional lessons. After high school Michael attended the University of Nebraska at Kearney where he played guitar and sang in numerous bands and ensembles.

After graduating with his degree in Music Business, Michael moved to Nashville for an internship at Chordant Distribution. While there, he studied guitar under the supervision of Michael Ripoll, a highly sought after session guitarist and touring musician with credits including Stevie Wonder, Sting, Natalie Cole, Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds, American Idol, India Arie and many others.

The Michael Radliff Quartet plays a variety of tastefully arranged jazz standards, and contemporary pop tunes, with carefully crafted and personalized set lists. Their mix of mellow vocals with the classic sound of a small jazz combo has been compared to Diana Krall, Chet Baker, Nat King Cole, and Frank Sinatra. In addition, the band members have each earned a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in music and have decades of performance experience in venues around the US and Europe, including major international jazz festivals such as Montreux and Vienne.

Night And Day

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Arturo O'Farrill & The Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra - 40 Acres And A Burro

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:34
Size: 157.0 MB
Styles: Big band, Latin jazz
Year: 2011
Art: Front

[6:21] 1. Rumba Urbana
[6:48] 2. A Wise Latina
[5:20] 3. Almendra
[4:57] 4. Um A Zero
[8:43] 5. El Sur
[6:48] 6. She Moves Through The Fair
[4:52] 7. Ruminaciones Sobre Cuba
[6:38] 8. Tanguango
[7:29] 9. Bebê
[4:08] 10. A Night In Tunisia
[6:24] 11. 40 Acres And A Burro

Recording Date; May 19 - 20, 2010. Piano: Arturo O’Farrill; Bass: Ricardo Rodríguez; Drums: Vince Cherico; Congas: Roland Guerrero; Percussion: Joe González. Featured Guest: Paquito D’Rivera (clarinet); Other Guests:Pablo O. Bilbraut (güiro); Heather Martin Bixler (violin); Hector Del Curto (bandoneón); Yuri Juárez (guitar); Freddy “Huevito” Lobatón (cajón, cajita, quijada); Sharon Moe (French horn); Guilherme Monteiro (guitar); Adam O’Farrill (trumpet); Jeff Scott (French horn).

For over 60 years, big bands have been the exception instead of the rule in jazz -- and that is very much a matter of economics. It is a lot easier to pay four, five, or six musicians than it is to pay 19 or 20 musicians. But there are still some great big bands if one knows where to find them, and acoustic pianist Arturo O'Farrill's Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra has been offering excellent big-band Latin jazz since 2003. O'Farrill's outfit celebrated its seventh anniversary in 2010, which was also the year in which 40 Acres and a Burro was recorded. This fine album (which boasts guest Paquito d'Rivera on clarinet) is a perfect example of why O'Farrill calls his big band the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra instead of the Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra; O'Farrill favors a pan-Latin approach, demonstrating that Afro-Cuban music isn't the only type of Latin music that can have a positive effect on acoustic jazz. Certainly, Afro-Cuban rhythms are an important part of the equation; the Afro-Cuban influence serves the orchestra well on material ranging from O'Farrill's "Ruminaciónes Sobre Cuba" (Ruminations About Cuba) to the Abelardo Valdés standard "Almendra" to Dizzy Gillespie's "A Night in Tunisia." But O'Farrill ventures into Brazilian jazz territory on interpretations of Pixinguinha's "Um a Zero" and Hermeto Pascoal's "Bebê," and his big band combines jazz with Argentinian tango on Astor Piazzolla's "Tanguango." But the biggest surprise of all comes when the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra puts a somewhat bolero-ish spin on the traditional Irish-Celtic standard "She Moves Through the Fair"; it's an unlikely choice for a jazz band, but this arrangement successfully unites post-bop, Celtic, and Latin elements with absorbing results. In a perfect world, it wouldn't be difficult for jazz musicians to keep a big band together. But some big bands will excel despite the difficulty, which is exactly what O'Farrill's Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra does on 40 Acres and a Burro. ~Alex Henderson

40 Acres And A Burro

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Joe Thayer - Travelin' With Me And George

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:51
Size: 111.8 MB
Styles: Easy Listening
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[2:48] 1. Sentimental Journey
[3:02] 2. In A Shanty In Old Shanty Town
[4:33] 3. Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans
[3:26] 4. Hit The Road Jack
[4:18] 5. Georgia On My Mind
[3:11] 6. New York, New York
[4:32] 7. Old Cape Cod
[3:30] 8. Moonlight In Vermont
[2:01] 9. Chicago
[3:03] 10. Kansas City
[2:56] 11. Route 66
[3:50] 12. I Left My Heartin San Francisco
[3:55] 13. On The Street Where You Live
[3:41] 14. A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square

Joe Thayer and George Rice met in 2008 at a local restaurant where Joe was playing dinner music. A friendship developed around music. George was returning to music after a forty year break during which he built a very successful business, and Joe was just starting a music career (and just turning 40). Although Joe plays seven nights a week as a solo artist, Monday nights with George became a special event as large crowds would gather to enjoy fine food and listen to the fun tunes by this duo. Their first album, "Me & George", was released in 2010 to a very popular response. On this first CD Joe and George were joined by a true pro, Peter Bonagiano, on drums. Three years later another CD was in the works, so........ Joe, George and Peter got together for a series of recording sessions and produced this new release, "Travelin' with Me& George". The music reflects the fun these guys have whenever they play live. Their wish is that you enjoy the music and the spirit in which the music was created. The Album is called Travelin' because it features tunes about the great places we enjoy, the memories attached to those places, and the wonderful people from those places who make our lives so rich.

Travelin' With Me And George

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Gabriele Bellini & Hal Mooney - The Heritage Of Broadway Vol 1

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:49
Size: 114.1 MB
Styles: Show tunes, Easy Listening
Year: 1960/1994
Art: Front

[1:51] 1. Look For The Silver Lining
[2:04] 2. Yesterdays
[1:48] 3. Why Do I Love You
[2:17] 4. Who
[2:02] 5. All The Things You Are
[2:12] 6. They Didn't Believe Me
[2:13] 7. The Way You Look Tonight
[2:53] 8. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
[1:56] 9. She Didn't Say Yes
[2:11] 10. Make Believe
[2:12] 11. Last Time I Saw Paris
[1:56] 12. Ol' Man River
[2:54] 13. The Best Thing For You
[2:06] 14. Always
[2:24] 15. Marie
[3:16] 16. Cheek To Cheek
[1:39] 17. Easter Parade
[1:31] 18. Let's Take An Old Fashioned Walk
[2:37] 19. Remember
[3:03] 20. Change Partners
[2:31] 21. Let's Face The Music And Dance
[2:02] 22. They Say It's Wonderful

Tracks 1-12: Music of Jerome Kern conducted by Hal Mooney. Tracks 13-22: Music of Irving Berlin conducted by Gabriele Bellini.

Heritage of Broadway, Vol. 1 collects show tunes written by Irving Berlin and Jerome Kern, including classics like Kern's "Look for the Silver Lining," "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," and "The Way You Look Tonight," and Berlin's "Cheek to Cheek," "Let's Face the Music and Dance," and "Easter Parade." ~Heather Phares

Gabriele Bellini studied at the Conservatory in his native Veneto and in Milan, with composition under Luigi Coltro, Bruno Maderna and Franco Donatoni and conducting under Franco Ferrara, Hermann Scherchen, Sergiu Celibidache and Hans Swarowsky. He worked for many years with Claudio Abbado at La Scala in Milan and was later artistic director of the Connecticut Grand Opera in Stamford. He has served as guest conductor in opera and in concerts in major European centres, with works such as L’elisir d’amore, Così fan tutte, Le nozze di Figaro, Tosca, Rigoletto, La Bohème, Falstaff and Macbeth. In Wildbad he has conducted several first performances, including Rossini’s Pezzi sacri lughesi and Mayr’s L’accademia di musica. Further evidence of his achievement has been in television and in the recording studio.

Hal Mooney was one of what Billy May called the "nuts and bolts" arrangers, producing professional, sometimes imaginative, sometimes predictable recordings. Although Mooney studied and played the piano while growing up, his real interest was in composing. He studied composition with New York University professor Orville Mayhood and, later, the renown Joseph Schillinger, whose method of composition influenced countless American musicians. His first professional gigs, though, were as a pianist. Bandleader Hal Kemp first spotted Mooney's talent with the pen, and Mooney, Lou Busch, and John Scott Trotter became the core of Kemp's arranging team. He switched bands, joining Jimmy Dorsey's orchestra just before the start of World War Two, but had to put his civilian career on hold to serve in the U.S. Army. After the war, he settled in Hollywood, where he managed to make his way as a free-lancer at a time when most musicians were tied to studio contracts.

Mooney's arrangements never garnered the kind of attention Nelson Riddle's did, but they were good enough in the eyes of the record companies. In the twenty-plus years before he joined the staff of Universal Studios, he arranged and conducted ensembles behind most of the big-name singers of the time: Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Peggy Lee, Patti Page, Kay Starr, Billy Eckstine, and many others.

The Heritage Of Broadway Vol 1

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Cheryl Bentyne - The Gershwin Songbook

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:15
Size: 131,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:41)  1. Fascinating Rhythm/I Got Rhythm
(3:14)  2. Love Is Here To Stay
(3:50)  3. Isn't It A Pity
(3:23)  4. Summertime
(3:33)  5. A Foggy Day (In London Town)
(3:59)  6. (Oh Sweet And Lovely) Lady Be Good
(5:54)  7. Someone To Watch Over Me
(3:16)  8. How Long Has This Been Going On
(4:01)  9. The Man I Love
(5:35) 10. I've Got A Crush On You
(4:39) 11. But Not For Me
(4:03) 12. Let's Call The Whole Thing Off
(3:41) 13. Nice Work If You Can Get It
(4:20) 14. S'Wonderful

Cheryl Bentyne's The Gershwin Songbook is among the best vocal albums of 2010. A member of The Manhattan Transfer since 1979, she frequently strikes out on her own to record, and has released eight albums in the past two decades. Perfecting her talent in vocalese with The Manhattan Transfer, Bentyne performs jazz choruses with a pitch-perfect soprano in the tradition of Annie Ross, by way of Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. In this set of 15 Gershwin classics, she gets many opportunities to show her vocal dexterity; excelling in all contexts, swinging for sure, and sensitive to every nuance of the lyrics. Pianist Corey Allen is essential to the album's success. Along with another pianist, Ted Howe, he turns out delightfully creative arrangements that are not "by the book" interpretations.

The guest artists are also big factors in giving the recording its distinctive flavor: impeccable clarinetist Ken Peplowski, who shines throughout; flautist Peter Gordon; and guitarist Larry Koonse, in particular a standout on rhythm guitar. Appropriate to the Gershwins, things start with Peplowski's clarinet introduction to "Fascinating Rhythm" echoing "Rhapsody in Blue," evolving into a breakneck scat duet with Bentyne before drummer Dave Tull heralds a transition to "I Got Rhythm."After a dazzling cadenza on "Lady Be Good," Peplowski gives a virtuoso display, backed by a romping piano. Bentyne also really shows her straight-ahead jazz chops. Bentyne is soft and seductive on "I've Got A Crush on You," with Koonse's sensitive solo also prominent. 

On "Isn't It a Pity," her shimmering voice is counterpoint to the piano and Tull's background vocal, while "Summertime" is a standout arrangement, with its Gil Evans-like background, Bentyne's vocalese merging with Gordon's flute. A surprising version of "The Man I Love," with rhythm guitar and clarinet that could have come from Django Reinhardt's Hot Club de France, is an upbeat joy. Overall, every track on The Gershwin Songbook is a happy discovery. ~ Larry Taylor  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-gershwin-songbook-cheryl-bentyne-artistshare-review-by-larry-taylor.php
 

Personnel: Cheryl Bentyne: vocals; Corey Allen: piano; Ted Howe: piano; Kevin Axt: bass; Larry Koonse: guitar: Dave Tull: drums, background vocal; Ken Peplowski: clarinet; Peter Gordon: flute; Mark Winkler: vocalist.

The Gershwin Songbook

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Vincent Herring - Ends And Means

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:07
Size: 130,9 MB
Art: Front

( 7:57)  1. Ends And Means
( 8:29)  2. Tom Tom
( 6:28)  3. The Song Is Ended
( 6:04)  4. Stable Mates
( 5:45)  5. Norwegian Wood
( 5:16)  6. Wingspan
( 5:38)  7. Thoughts
(11:27)  8. Caravan

Ends and Means is Vincent Herring's fourth CD as a leader on the HighNote label. Where Herring once sounded like Cannonball Adderley, he has developed his own distinctive sound over the years, whether on alto or soprano. Herring was one of the young lions of the '80s and early '90s (although unfortunately underrated) and has matured into a respected leader in mainstream jazz. He now seems to be discovering and employing the new generation of young lions, including this time around trumpeter Jeremy Pelt (on four cuts) and pianist Danny Grissett. The date includes the classic "Caravan, plus some two modern standards, Mulgrew Miller's "Wingspan" and Benny Golson's "Stable Mates, and Lennon and McCartney's "Norwegian Wood. Drummer Joris Dudli contributed two compositions. Dudli's playing provides a driving theme on the date, standing out especially in the give and take he has with Herring on "Caravan.

The set begins with the title track, which was composed by former Herring pianist Renato Chicco. Herring gets the affair started with some fiery playing, and given that the tune was composed by a pianist, it is only fitting that Grissett steps forward and shines, as he does on most of the tracks. He is clearly a young player to watch. Irving Berlin's "The Song Is Ended marks Pelt's first appearance. His fluid tone meshes perfectly with Herring's playing, making me wish he was on board for more than just four tracks. "Wingspan is the name of Mulgrew Miller's ensemble and a classic bop tune. Miller and Herring have played on each other's records in the past and are part of the same generation of jazz musicians. This track, the highlight on this session, is given a royal treatment by Herring and Pelt, who soar in unison before taking up-tempo solos. They catch their breath while the rhythm section steps forward to keep things going. The song concludes with Herring and Pelt coming together again for one last dance. While everyone in the band has a chance to shine, this is still clearly Herring's show. And Ends And Means is another excellent addition to his growing catalogue as a leader in the world of modern mainstream jazz. ~ Edward Zucker  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/ends-and-means-vincent-herring-highnote-records-review-by-edward-zucker.php

Personnel: Vincent Herring: alto, and soprano saxophones; Danny Grissett: piano; Essiet Essiet: bass; Joris Dudli: drums; Jeremy Pelt: trumpet (3,6,7,8).

Ends And Means

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Bob Lark - Until You

Styles: Straight-ahead/Mainstream, Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:25
Size: 95,1 MB
Art: Front

(6:13)  1. Until You
(7:21)  2. A Narrow Path
(6:58)  3. Walkin' About
(6:34)  4. The Things We Did Last Summer
(4:38)  5. Rhythm-A-Ning
(6:20)  6. Bye, Bye Blackbird
(3:18)  7. 'Round Midnight

Until You is the second album from Chicago trumpeter/flugelhornist Bob Lark, who also serves as the Jazz Chair at Chicago's DePaul University, where he directs the school's Jazz Ensemble and teaches trumpet and courses in jazz pedagogy and jazz style. Lark poses on the inside cover in a very Chet Baker-ish photo with his flugelhorn. Lark displays a very pure and undiluted tone and performs here on flugelhorn on all but the final two selections. There is a nice mix of two originals, two standards and three jazz standards. Lark opens the album with original compostitions: the title tune, a punchy up-tempo piece with a solo by bassist Kelly Sill, and "A Narrow Path," which allows him to unhurriedly present his solid delivery on the ballad's melody line and solo supported by the very capable Jim McNeely on piano. The pace picks up with Thad Jones' funky "Walkin' About," which likely served the Jones-Lewis band's live appearances. Lark's flugelhorn does more than justice to the Jule Styne/Sammy Cahn ballad "The Things We Did Last Summer," once a jazz favorite but now rarely heard.

Bob Lark must have an affinity for the music of Monk, evidenced by two of the pianist's compositions: "Rhythm-A-Ning," the most up-tempo piece on the album, and a solo muted trumpet take on "'Round Midnight." Still in the Miles-Monk 1950s period, Lark chooses the Miles Davis first quintet's reading of "Bye Bye Blackbird." McNeely plays a blockchorded piano intro, setting up Lark's muted trumpet entry. Parenthetically, Lark also did a Monk tune, "Evidence," on his first recording. ~ Michael P.Gladstone  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/until-you-bob-lark-hallway-records-review-by-michael-p-gladstone.php

Personnel: Bob Lark: flugelhorn, trumpet; Jim McNeely: piano; Kelly Sill: bass; Joel Spencer: drums.

Until You

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Bob Dorough - Small Day Tomorrow

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:02
Size: 140,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:14)  1. Small Day Tomorrow
(5:25)  2. Marilyn, Queen of Lies
(6:44)  3. Antiquated Lore
(3:56)  4. Harry In the Night
(5:11)  5. The Winds of Heaven
(4:12)  6. Feet, Do Your Stuff
(3:31)  7. On Top of Mount Tipsey
(6:45)  8. New Song
(6:35)  9. The Ballad of the Sad Young Man
(4:12) 10. Nothing Like You (An Extravagant Love Story)
(5:06) 11. Never Had the Blues At All
(5:06) 12. Evenin' Wearies

At a party to celebrate his 100th birthday, pianist Eubie Blake, a glass of whiskey in one hand, a cigar in the other, is reported to have observed: "If I knew I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself." Way to go. (Blake died five days later but he'd made his point.) At 82, it sounds like Bob Dorough really has taken care of himself. He's lived in the fast lane since the '50s, but he whoops, hollers, soars and romances through this album like someone half his age, and attacks the piano with the same voracious gusto. It's a remarkable, still out there, high tide performance. Small Day Tomorrow is lifted further above the ordinary by its material. Subtitled Fran Landesman Revisited, the album features twelve top-drawer, mainly mid- to up-tempo songs, all with lyrics by New York-born cafe, cabaret, counter culture, and demi-monde queen Landesman (now 78 and based in London for many years). Some of the songs are well known, others less so. All are wonderful. Landesman's effortless hipness and expressive genius make her the jazz world's answer to Dorothy Parker, and her lyrics are treasures of elegance and insight. Dorough has collaborated with Landesman since the '50s, and he co-wrote "Small Day Tomorrow" and "Nothing Like You (An Extravagant Love Song)."

Dorough is brilliantly served by a demonic band Jamie Cullum's backline of Geoff Gascoyne (bass) and Sebastiaan de Krom (drums), unleashed and on the town, plus tenor saxophonist Derek Nash each of whom plays with electrifying energy and joie de vivre. Nash is massively enjoyable. A chameleon-like musician at home in a variety of styles, he here adopts, with complete conviction, the persona of a bar-walking throwback from the swing/rhythm & blues nexus of the '40s and '50s, fleet-footed, roaring or caressing as required, and totally undemanding of everything but your soul. Gascoyne's partner, Trudy Kerr, who duets ravishingly with Dorough on the bitter sweet "On Top Of Mount Tipsey," takes solo vocal on "Nothing Like You," which recently gained new currency when it was restored to Miles Davis' Sorcerer, in an inferior version sung too fast and too high by Dorough over an arrangement by Gil Evans. If this is old age, bring it on (but not yet). ~ Chris May  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/small-day-tomorrow-bob-dorough-candid-records-review-by-chris-may.php

Personnel: Bob Dorough: piano, vocals; Geoff Gascoyne: bass; Sebastiaan De Krom: drums; Derek Nash: tenor saxophone; Trudy Kerr: vocals (7,10).

Small Day Tomorrow

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