Sheena Davis Group - Matchmaker

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:26
Size: 121,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:02)  1. Jamie's Grin
(5:09)  2. You Don't Know Me
(4:34)  3. Close Your Eyes
(3:31)  4. Matchmaker, Matchmaker
(3:50)  5. Cheek To Cheek
(3:45)  6. At the Start
(5:24)  7. Just For A Thrill
(4:45)  8. Almost Like Being in Love
(4:12)  9. Let's Face the Music
(4:40) 10. Perfidia
(3:35) 11. Spring In My Step
(4:52) 12. Shboom

Vocalist Sheena Davis is one of the UK's leading jazz vocalists and her band, the Sheena Davis Group, has become established as one of Britain's most exciting jazz ensembles. Davis first came to the attention of the jazz world as vocalists with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. Since leaving NYJO in 1998 she has impressed with her stunning vocal ability, her musicality and sheer energy, and her innate sense of swing and dynamic voice.

Davis's new CD is based around the jazz standards to which she has added three original compositions, as well as re-workings of songs associated with the modern popular songbook. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Matchmaker-Sheena-Davis-Group/dp/B000BHAO3U

Personnel: Sheena Davis - vocals, Robert Rickenberg - bass, Tom Pilling - piano, keyboard, Stephen Rushton – drums, Nigel Price - guitar, Derek Nash - tenor saxophone, Steve Vintner - vibes.

Matchmaker

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Louis Durra - Dreaming

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:19
Size: 131,7 MB
Art: Front

(7:18)  1. Falling In Love With Love
(6:08)  2. Honeysuckle Rose
(4:17)  3. 35 Bar Waltz
(4:20)  4. Dreaming
(3:53)  5. Stella By Starlight
(5:21)  6. It's Easy To Remember
(4:31)  7. 18 Bars
(4:48)  8. Ballad For Bonnie
(4:10)  9. Too Many Times
(6:58) 10. Blues For Tomorrow
(5:30) 11. The Nearness Of You

"Jerry, Darek and I had a steady gig for a year before I booked the session that comprises most of Dreaming. We had great communication in that group and I wanted to document some of those moments on tape. We recorded "live to two track" one night a few days after my son's birth. It seemed like a door opened as we played. The music felt fluid and fluent. I decided to release this session years later because the music still moves me. Three of the tunes come from different sessions, yet felt right for the CD. We had a great time recording this music; may the listening be as rewarding!" http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/louisdurra2

Personnel:  Louis Durra – piano;  Darek Oles – bass;  Jerry Kalaf – drums with Don Kasper - bass tracks 3 & 5, Trey Henry - bass on track 7.

Dreaming

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Stefano Battaglia - Pastorale

Styles: Piano, Avant-Garde
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:23
Size: 152,5 MB
Art: Front

(6:28)  1. Antifona Libera
(5:59)  2. Metaphysical Consolations
(3:55)  3. Monasterium
(2:28)  4. Oracle
(3:58)  5. Kursk Requiem
(8:05)  6. Cantar Del Alma
(4:50)  7. Spirits Of Myths
(7:00)  8. Pastorale
(5:50)  9. Sundance In Balkh
(9:48) 10. Tanztheater
(2:56) 11. Vessel Of Magic

In many ways, Italian piano explorer Stefano Battaglia's work with the German ECM label beginning with the opaque beauty and greater extremes of 2006's Raccolto, and continuing with 2007's more ambitious and stylistically far-reaching Re: Pasolini has been leading to this. Pastorale, unlike those previous releases, is a single disc, pared down in other ways as well. Instead of the trios on Raccolto and quintet/sextet of Pasolini, here Battaglia is back with only his longstanding percussionist, Michele Rabbia. The inherent flexibility and intimacy of the duo setting affords Battaglia the opportunity to explore a program of quiet, near-static landscapes and more florid terrain, combining natural acoustic sounds with subtle electronics and delicate prepared piano treatments. Battaglia is a pianist who, rather than straddling the classical and jazz worlds, finds his own meeting place where they come together in remarkable synchronicity. Battaglia also dissolves the line between form and freedom, drawing from the entire musical spectrum as he touches on the Middle East with "Sundance in Balkh." A sketch of a context joins with Rabbia's frame drum to develop a piece that also straddles the fence between minor key plaintiveness and major key celebration, building in intensity and intent over the course of six minutes. On the title track, Battaglia creates an unsettling juxtaposition between right handed lyricism and left-handed dissonance.

Battaglia's use of prepared piano and Rabbia's incorporation of electronic sound sources expands what might appear, on paper, to be a simple pairing of piano and percussion. The arc of Pastorale builds from the ground up, with the melancholy "Antifona Libera" founded on rich, repeated voicings that demonstrate Battaglia's versatile touch; soft, when necessary, strong when demanded. His part grows almost exponentially, as Rabbia's bowed cymbal and other devices create textural, near-lyrical lines that float above Battaglia's mid-register. The beauty of Rabbia's work on this disc is that, while Battaglia's playing could stand on its own, the percussionist's additions whether textural or gently rhythmic don't just enhance the sound, they expand it in significant and profound ways. That this duo builds eminently appealing soundscapes is all the more surprising when it turns more foreboding, as it does on "Spirits of Myths," or busier, as it does on "Oracle" which, with Battaglia's flittering lines and Rabbia's percussion filling the entire three-dimensional audioscape, is more about color and feel than melody and pulse. 

"Metaphysical Consolations" may, in its harmonic and rhythmic stasis, be closer to Morton Feldman territory than anything in the jazz sphere, but with Rabbia's soft brushwork driving the brooding "Cantar del Alma," Battaglia comes closer to the jazz vernacular, albeit impressionistically and imbued with an unmistakable melancholy classicism. An album of contrasting dark thoughts and brighter ideations, the masterful Pastorale strikes an almost immediate subconscious chord. Resonating on a deep level, it's Battaglia's purest, most vividly evocative and provocative album to date. ~ John Kelman  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/pastorale-stefano-battaglia-ecm-records-review-by-john-kelman.php

Personnel: Stefano Battaglia: piano, prepared piano; Michele Rabbia: percussion, electronics.

Pastorale

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Various - The Jazz And Beatles Tribute

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:29
Size: 95.0 MB
Styles: Crossover jazz
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[0:20] 1. M.P.R. - Intro
[3:12] 2. Jazzystics (Feat Deborah Dixon) - Day Tripper
[2:32] 3. Sarah Menescal - Here Comes The Sun
[2:32] 4. Betty Says - Yesterday
[2:36] 5. The Bryan J. White Quartet - Honey Pie
[3:59] 6. Cooltrane Quartet - Oh! Darling
[2:52] 7. Les Crossaders - A Hard Day's Night
[2:38] 8. Scubba - Something
[6:27] 9. Eve St. Jones - Blackbird
[0:23] 10. M.P.R. - Intro, Pt. 2
[3:44] 11. Richard Eastwood - Let It Be
[3:11] 12. 48th St. Collective - Come Together
[3:25] 13. Jamie Lancaster - All You Need Is Love
[3:33] 14. The Smooth Jazz Quintet - Hey Jude

The saga which is already a true classic presents its newest chapter: Jazz And Beatles. This is an album where the most popular material of the Fab Four are reinterpreted with all the warmth and charm of the music born in New Orleans, raised in New York and which forms an integral part of the universal language of sound. In Jazz And Beatles, we witness inspired interpretations of such classics as Here Comes The Sun, Yesterday, Let It Be, Hey Jude, which take on new life, entering in a world full of distinction. Jazz And Beatles will become another favorite album, full of elegance and new takes on old favorites.

The Jazz And Beatles Tribute

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Peggy Lee - Pass Me By

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 24:27
Size: 56.0 MB
Styles: Vocal
Year: 1965/2011
Art: Front

[2:20] 1. Sneakin' Up On You
[2:22] 2. Pass Me By
[2:26] 3. I Wanna Be Around
[2:02] 4. Bewitched
[2:29] 5. My Love, Forgive Me (Amore, Scusami)
[1:43] 6. You Always Hurt The One You Love
[2:04] 7. A Hard Day's Night
[2:03] 8. L-O-V-E
[2:19] 9. Dear Heart
[2:19] 10. Quiet Nights (Corcovado)
[2:15] 11. That's What It Takes

Capitol aimed songs from Pass Me By at several different markets, and the effect is a scattershot LP with several nuggets but no real cohesion. First up is the delightfully tossed-off popcorn tune "Sneakin' Up on You," but it's followed by the title track, a queasy strike-up-the-band march which surprisingly reached the charts. "Dear Heart" leans toward the countrypolitan sound (it would've fit much better as a vehicle for Charlie Rich), and the Beatles cover "A Hard Day's Night" wasn't a good match at all; Lee strains to hit the lower notes, and sounds tentative singing the lyrics. While her vocals are on the weak side from a technical standpoint, Lee's interpretive powers are mostly intact, and her flair on "Sneakin' Up on You" makes it a natural for one of those swinging novelties often heard on '60s compilations. ~John Bush

Pass Me By

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Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis - Leapin' On Lenox

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:51
Size: 132.4 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 2002/2008
Art: Front

[7:03] 1. On Green Dolphin Street
[4:10] 2. Body And Soul
[5:02] 3. Leapin' On Lenox
[3:20] 4. Quiet Nights
[4:24] 5. Just Friends
[4:35] 6. I Can't Get Started
[6:22] 7. The Shadow Of Your Smile
[4:38] 8. Mean To Me
[4:31] 9. Comin' Home Baby
[7:00] 10. Love Is Here To Stay
[6:41] 11. Double Eddie

Sources vary regarding the way in which Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis earned his nickname. Some claim he adopted the moniker at an early recording session while creating titles for his compositions; “Lockjaw” consequently, became not only the name of a tune, but also an important part of his billing. Still others point to Davis’s habit of clamping down on his tenor saxophone with his mouth as the reason his nickname came about, leading observers to call him “Lockjaw.”

But regardless of the cause, Davis became for many the quintessential straight-ahead jazz saxophonist. His sound—aggressive, big-toned, and bluesy yet also capable of great sensitivity—made him a much-emulated player. He was among a handful of players who developed an unmistakably personal sound. According to Derek Taylor on the All About Jazz website, Davis was the “bearer of a sound that could cleanly shift from coarse Rhythm and Blues infused wailing to beautifully textured, romantically voiced poetry. In either incarnation his signature sound, a full-bodied articulation that made ardent use of his instrument’s rich tonal properties, always shone through as distinct and nonderivative.”

Leapin' On Lenox

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Susi Hyldgaard - Magic Words

Styles:  Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:03
Size: 94,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:42)  1. Slow Hot Wind
(2:33)  2. Teach Me Tonight
(4:16)  3. Love For Sale
(4:32)  4. In The Wee Small Hours
(4:05)  5. Kemo Kimo
(2:52)  6. Je Vivrais Sans Toi
(4:55)  7. Moondance
(3:02)  8. Les Parapluies Des Cherbourg
(3:16)  9. In the Summertime
(2:51) 10. When I Fall In Love
(3:55) 11. Baby It's Cold Outside

There's a definite magic feel to Susi's vocals on this set a style that's jazzy, but also quite contemporary spacey vocals on older standards, blended with a 21st Century sense of rhythm and timing! At times, the record gets almost atmospheric just a bit of light backing as the lyrics spin out slowly in space and at other points, the rhythms pick up somewhat, with slight electric touches that almost make the album feel like some of the better vocal work on the Jazzland label in recent years. Titles include "Kemo Kimo", "Je Vivrais Sans Toi", "Slow Hot Wind", "Teach Me Tonight", "Love For Sale", "In The Summertime","Moondance","When I Fall In Love",and "Les Parapluies Des Cherbourg".  http://www.jazzrecords.com/enja/9181.htm

Personnel: Susi Hyldgaard (vocals, accordion, piano, keyboards, electronics); Aldo Romano (vocals); Niels Gerhardt, Erling Kroner (trombone); Kasper Winding (keyboards); Carsten Sonderskov (drums).

Magic Words

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Kai Winding - Swingin' States

Styles: Trombone Jazz
Year: 1959
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:19
Size: 79,2 MB
Art: Front

(2:15)  1. Indiana
(2:47)  2. Carry Me Back To Old Virginny
(2:37)  3. California, Here I Come
(2:32)  4. Louisiana
(2:34)  5. Moonlight in Vermont
(3:02)  6. Georgia on My Mind
(2:22)  7. Jersey Bounce
(3:22)  8. Stars Fell on Alabama
(3:29)  9. Idaho
(3:22) 10. At Last Alaska
(3:15) 11. Mississippi Mud
(2:36) 12. Oklahoma

The gimmick of this out-of-print LP by trombonist Kai Winding is that all dozen songs have a state in their title including "Jersey Bounce," "Carry Me Back to Old Virginia," "California Here I Come" and "Oklahoma." Only "At Last Alaska" (named after the recently admitted 49th state) is an original. At the time Winding was leading a four-trombone septet (which included two bass trombones).

Winding and fellow trombonist Frank Rehak along with pianist Hank Jones split up all of the solo space on the spirited if somewhat lightweight music. https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-swingin-states/id709135405

Swingin' States

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Jonah Jones - Swingin' 'Round The World

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 25:15
Size: 58,5 MB
Art: Front

(1:59)  1. Arrivederci Roma
(1:57)  2. Swingin' 'Round The World
(2:32)  3. South of the Border
(2:03)  4. Foggy Day
(2:15)  5. April In Paris
(1:55)  6. Brazil
(2:02)  7. Madrid
(1:58)  8. Chicago
(2:25)  9. Manhattan
(2:10) 10. Song of the Islands
(2:05) 11. Isle Of Capri
(1:50) 12. Shanghai

Jonah Jones zoomed to popularity in the late 50s. He found a successful formula and used it to brighten the hit charts with a succession of bouncy albums on Capitol Records. His quartet was one of the three newcomers in the Top 10 wide variety of small groups listed in the favorite Instrumental Billboard lists in 1958. This was a time when rock and roll styled disks were flooding the singles record market, jazz combos were having big pop single hits, and Jonah Jones albums were among the most played by the nation s disc jockeys on radio shows throughout the country. 

There s little doubt that in the 1960s jazz and pop music were drawing closer together than they had been for years, and Jonah Jones was one of the best-selling artists in the business. ~ Editorial Reviews  http://www.amazon.com/Jonah-Masterworks-Swingin-Jumpin-Shuffle/dp/B00LOORO8W

Swingin''Round The World

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Mônica Passos - Lemniscate

Styles: Latin Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@256K/s
Time: 58:51
Size: 116,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:28)  1. Aguas de Março
(6:17)  2. Avec le temps
(2:27)  3. Rien de rien
(5:31)  4. Carmen
(4:33)  5. Colchiques dans les prés
(5:23)  6. La mémoire et la mer
(3:33)  7. Valsa do amor perfeito
(4:40)  8. Les Feuilles Mortes
(2:48)  9. A la claire fontaine
(4:18) 10. Jalousie
(3:19) 11. La caravane
(2:23) 12. Tico tico
(2:39) 13. Odéon
(3:23) 14. Lemniscate
(4:03) 15. J.Y.M

Brazilian singer Mônica Passos today published a wonderful new album, "Lemniscate", taking very many standards of French music revisited in its way with its creativity and legendary fantasy. To discover absolutely. After its success, at countless concerts, for its new repertoire composed in collaboration with one of his old friends, the great percussionist Edmundo Carneiro, it will publish "Banzo", a smooth album which will be followed by a series of jazz festivals in France and abroad. In 2005 she was awarded the Django d'Or for "World Music". But if this girl wrapped long flowing gowns of fruit or flowers between two gestures, whistling between his fingers, dialogue with his audience and his musicians, speaks with angels, improvised songs of birds ... surprises, captivates, fascinates , quickly gained a large audience that has become faithful, his strong personality and talent also attracted jazz greats. Among them we must mention Emmanuel Bex, with whom she recorded "Organ Song" Naïve, and gave a series of many concert.

But Monica has not done surprising us nor seduce us, in close collaboration with Jean-Philippe Crespin, its artistic director and principal guitarist, she just concoct "Lemniscate" released today under the label Archieball . A new album in which not merely interpret his latest compositions, she revisits in his way, with his creativity and fantasy usual few DROPS gleaned from universal music. And to give a little more spice to this new creation, this citizen of the world, who now sings in French and English, has amplified its initial formation by enriching woodwinds, brass, violin and a harp. Thus, "In time" in featuring with Archie Shepp, "dead leaves" or "Aguas de Março (Waters of March)" took on an entirely different dimension. Magnificent. Translate by google  http://www.chartsinfrance.net/actualite/news-66144.html

Personnel: Mônica Passos (vocals, guitar); Jean-Philippe Crespin (guitar, programming); Félix Jacquin (guitar); Margot Varret (harp); Jean-Yves Lenoble (alto violin); Bérénice Riollet (flute); Daniel Beaussier (clarinet, oboe, baritone saxophone); Eric Gallois (alto saxophone); Emma Ruiz (trumpet); Stéphane Beaussier (trombone); Edmundo Carneiro (surdo); Thomas Ostrowiecki, Jorge Bezerra (percussion).

Lemniscate

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Joe Williams, Thad Jones, Mel Lewis Orchestra - Presenting

Styles: Jazz
Year: 1994
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:11
Size: 92,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:18)  1. Get Out Of My Life Woman
(2:18)  2. Woman's Got Soul
(4:27)  3. Nobody Knows The Way I Feel This Morning
(2:49)  4. Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You
(2:28)  5. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)
(3:32)  6. Keep Your Hand On Your Heart
(3:22)  7. Evil Man Blues
(3:13)  8. Come Sunday
(3:26)  9. Smack Dab in the Middle
(3:01) 10. It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
(2:58) 11. Hallelujah, I Love Her So
(5:12) 12. Night Time Is the Right Time

This CD reissues one of Joe Williams' finest recordings. Accompanied by the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, the singer is heard at the peak of his powers. The big band primarily functions as an ensemble (Snooky Young gets off some good blasts on "Nobody Knows the Way I Feel This Morning"), but the inventive Thad Jones arrangements ensure that his illustrious sidemen have plenty to play. Many of the selections (half of which have been in the singer's repertoire ever since) are given definitive treatment on this set (particularly a humorous "Evil Man Blues," "Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You," and "Smack Dab in the Middle"), and Williams scats at his best on "It Don't Mean a Thing." Get this one. ~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/presenting-joe-williams-and-the-thad-jones-mel-lewis-jazz-orchestra-mw0000120692

Personnel: Joe Williams (vocals); Thad Jones (flugelhorn); Sam Herman (guitar); Jerome Richardson (alto saxophone); Eddie Daniels, Joe Farrell (tenor saxophone); Pepper Adams (baritone saxophone); Richard Gene Williams , Snooky Young, Bill Berry , Jimmy Nottingham (trumpet); Cliff Heather (trombone, bass trombone); Garnett Brown, Tom McIntosh, Bob Brookmeyer (trombone); Roland Hanna (piano); Mel Lewis (drums).

Presenting

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Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan - Getz Meets Mulligan In Hi-Fi

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:21
Size: 124.4 MB
Styles: Post bop, West Coast jazz, Saxophone jazz
Year: 1957/1991
Art: Front

[6:25] 1. Let's Fall In Love
[3:35] 2. Anything Goes
[6:54] 3. Too Close For Comfort
[5:55] 4. That Old Feeling
[8:44] 5. This Can't Be Love
[5:41] 6. A Ballad
[8:05] 7. Scrapple From The Apple
[8:59] 8. I Didn't Know What Time It Was

Stan Getz tenor sax & Gerry Mulligan baritone sax were consistently voted top dogs on their respective instruments in successive Downbeat polls and sooner or later they were bound to meet up for a recording date. From 1957 a fine jazz album with a unique twist the two men swap instruments on three numbers, producing some interesting comparisons between the styles of both musicians. Quintet is made up by the superb rhythm section of Lou Levy piano, Ray Brown bass, Stan Levey drums.

Getz Meets Mulligan In Hi-Fi

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Suss Von Ahn - Zeldas Park

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:49
Size: 88.9 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 2004
Art: Front

[2:57] 1. When The Lights Go Down
[2:40] 2. Gone Fishing
[2:10] 3. Sunday
[3:24] 4. Welcome To My House
[3:37] 5. Sally
[2:33] 6. Zeldas Park
[3:07] 7. One Of These Days
[3:10] 8. Mrs Blue
[3:44] 9. Everybodyâ's Talking
[3:02] 10. Confession
[2:42] 11. No One There
[3:32] 12. Life Before This
[2:03] 13. Donâ't Wanna Talk About Us

In Sweden Suss has often been compared to Norah Jones and this album shows her fantastic vocal and songwriting abilities in a mixture of jazz and pop. She´s got Sweden's best musicians to back her up with Christer Jansson on drums, Matts Alsberg on bass,Torbjörn Stener,Pelle Robertsson, Robert Öberg and Thomas Tjärnkvist on guitars, Jonas Sjöblom on percussion and Suss plays all the keyboards. Stockholm Power Horns contribute on a couple of songs.

Suss grew up in the northern part of Sweden and as a preacher's daughter experienced the benefits of moving around a lot. She spent 5 years of her childhood in Liberia, on the west coast of Africa . At the age of thirteen she started to write her own songs and learned to play the piano. Shortly after that she became a member in a band in Umeå, Sweden and also the pianist of a gospel choir. A few years later she started her own band. In 1994 her first album was released. She has performed at: Falun Jazz Festival; Umeå International Jazz Festival; Stockholm Jazz Festival just to name a few and many times on Swedish Television.

Zeldas Park

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Bobby Hutcherson - The Kicker

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:43
Size: 123.0 MB
Styles: Post bop, Vibraphone jazz
Year: 1999
Art: Front

[10:31] 1. If Ever I Would Leave You
[ 6:49] 2. Mirrors
[ 7:52] 3. For Duke P. (Aka XYZ)
[ 6:04] 4. The Kicker
[14:16] 5. Step Lightly
[ 8:09] 6. Bedouin

Bobby Hutcherson recorded frequently for Blue Note in the 1960s, though this session remained unissued until 1999. The first half features the vibraphonist in a cooking hard bop session with Joe Henderson and Duke Pearson, starting with an energetic take on the normally slow ballad "If Ever I Would Leave You" and a sizzling Hutcherson original, "For Duke P." Guitarist Grant Green is added for the second half, beginning with the first recording of Henderson's "The Kicker," which became well known from it's later rendition on Horace Silver's highly successful release Song for My Father. Because this is part of Blue Note's limited-edition Jazz Connoisseur series, don't delay in picking it up. ~Ken Dryden

The Kicker

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Jeff Hamilton Trio - The Best Things Happen

Styles: Jazz, Straight-ahead/Mainstream 
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:28
Size: 154,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:40)  1. I Love Being Here with You: I Love Being Here
(5:38)  2. I Concentrate On You
(5:35)  3. We'll Be Together Again
(6:22)  4. I Didn't Know What Time it Was
(6:00)  5. Like a Lover: Like a Lover
(5:03)  6. Poinciana
(3:48)  7. Bennissimo
(4:23)  8. The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing
(6:18)  9. Skylark
(7:15) 10. Moonbird
(6:30) 11. C Jam Blues
(4:51) 12. L'il Old Lady

The Best Things Happen' when you listen to Jeff Hamilton. He's universally acknowledged as one of the greatest drummers in jazz, whether he's swinging the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra or waking up a famous ghost band by sitting in I witnessed that once, and the before/after difference was stunning. Unmatched for chops, ears, and flair, Hamilton has led his own trio for nine years. Previously with the superb Larry Fuller and maestro Lynn Seaton, it now contains players who all live in the same city. Pianist Tamir Hendelman's Eastman composition degree shows in his imaginative arrangements, and bassist Christoph Luty has a fat sound and unerring sense of melody. Together they balance, challenge, and support each other wonderfully, fulfilling Hamilton's mandate that a trio should consist of three equal parts.

But enough with the background. From the irresistible swing of its first track, "I Love Being Here with You," this CD is a first-class ticket to musical fulfillment. The journey includes new twists on old favorites for example, "Poinciana," while explicitly honoring the historic Ahmad Jamal version, lifts and lightens its familiar beat. Luty's innovative arrangement gives "C Jam Blues" a langorous morning-after feel, all slow and stretchy. The spirit of Oscar P. hovers happily over Hendelman check out his precise parallel octaves on the closing burner, Hoagy Carmichael's "L'il Old Lady." 

Hendelman also provides an intriguing new setup to the quietly lustrous "Skylark," and he wrote the jubilant "Bennissimo" in tribute to pianist Benny Green, who trio-ed with Ray Brown and Hamilton in the early '90s. As for the leader' while he's long-celebrated as a fully frontal player, Hamilton's brushwork is exceptionally elegant and judicious. You can hear this most clearly on Larry Golding's lovely "Moonbird" and the graceful "We'll Be Together Again," where his contribution is both crucial and nearly subliminal. All told, this CD is a fabulous ride, and highly recommended. ~ Dr Judith Schlesinger  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-best-things-happen-jeff-hamilton-azica-records-review-by-dr-judith-schlesinger.php

Personnel: Jeff Hamilton (drums), Tamir Hendelman (piano), Christoph Luty (bass)

The Best Things Happen

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Marica Hiraga - Mandelcini

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:00
Size: 119,8 MB
Art: Front

(2:56)  1. Moon River
(4:03)  2. Two for the Road
(3:44)  3. Cinnamon & Clove
(4:41)  4. Emily
(5:04)  5. Charade
(6:13)  6. A Time for Love
(3:35)  7. Moment to Moment
(4:42)  8. The Shadow of Your Smile
(4:38)  9. Close Enough for Love
(3:46) 10. Days of Wine and Roses
(3:17) 11. Loss of Love (Sunflower)
(5:16) 12. Dear Heart

Marica Hiraga is Japan’s leading jazz vocalist with a rich talent both in expression and technique. Her professional career began in 1981 after she was awarded the Asia Music Award in Hong Kong. She has acquired her understanding and feeling of jazz by performing and traveling between Tokyo and New York. Her first Jazz standard album, My Shining Hour, was released in 2001, and won the Best Singing Techniques award at the 19th Japan Jazz Vocal Award hosted by Jazz World magazine in 2003. Her 2nd album, Faith, released in 2006, was recorded with Eric Alexander and Harold Mabern Trio. Faith was selected as “ Swing Journal Gold Disc” and became her breakthrough album. She then worked with the legendary jazz combo, the Manhattan Jazz Quintet, lead by David Matthews, on 3rd album, Close to Bacharach, which was highly praised as the new Bacharach standards. The album was again selected as “ Swing Journal Gold Disc” and she received the Best Vocal award at the 41st Jazz Disc Award, hosted by Swing Journal, one of the most prestigious awards for jazz music in Japan.

In May 2008, she released a collection of mature love songs as 4th album, More Romance, and in November, she released 5th album, Batucada-Jazz‘ n’ Bossa, on which she worked with many prominent musicians including the genius Gil Goldstein, the leading AOR musician Michael Franks, Marcos Valle, Phil Woods, Kenny Garrett and Randy Brecker, as a celebration album for bossa nova’s 50th anniversary. Batucada was again selected as“ Swing Journal Gold Disc” and won her the Best Vocal award at the 42nd Jazz Disc Award. In 2009, she released 6th album, Sing Once More-Dear Carpenters, a tribute album to Carpenters, for which she received the grand prize at the 25th Japan Jazz Vocal Award and the Best Vocal award at the 43rd Jazz Disc Award, making her the first musician to receive this award for 3 consecutive years. In 2011, She released 7th album, Mona Lisa-Tribute to Nat King Cole, a tribute album to the legendary singer, Nat King Cole. Marica Hiraga’s latest album, Sings With The Duke Ellington Orchestra, released in April 2012, The full big band album which becomes the first in self is challenged, and costarring with a historical big band is achieved. She has been performing at numerous concert halls and jazz festivals, and her artistic talents extend to a wide range of activities, such as being a radio personality and contributing as a music magazine columnist. ~ Bio  http://www.last.fm/music/Marica+Hiraga/+wiki

Mandelcini

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Jacques Stotzem, Thierry Crommen - Different Ways

Styles: Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:31
Size: 90,9 MB
Art: Front

(3:59)  1. The Rules of the Game
(3:34)  2. Ljubljana
(4:28)  3. Always There
(5:20)  4. Close to You
(4:17)  5. Blues for Germain
(3:23)  6. La Part Du Rêve
(3:35)  7. Different Ways
(6:42)  8. Lovely Eyes
(4:10)  9. Sombre Histoire

Time passes quickly when Stotzem and Crommen set off a brilliant fireworks of exceptionally well-ripened ideas from melancholic folk, juicy blues, swinging jazz and even driving rock - ideas that they have succeeded in developing during their ten-year professional careers (in part together, but mostly on their individual paths). While Thierry Crommen at home on both the chromatic and the diatonic harmonica, as well as in a great variety of music styles excelled at the world championship for harmonica and participated in countless studio recordings, Jacques Stotzem's star in the acoustic-guitar heavens rose at the beginning of the Nineties. Extensively praised for his inimitably melodious fingerpicking compositions, the spectrum of which ranges from dreamy ballads to snappy jazz and up to practically thundering acoustic rock, Stotzem has in the meantime evoked storms of enthusiasm at festivals on both sides of the Atlantic with his music that is equally exciting and simply beautiful. http://www.acoustic-music.de/jacques-stotzem-thierry-crommen-different-ways/en

Different Ways

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Sarah Jane Morris - Love And Pain

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:48
Size: 117,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:33)  1. Love And Pain
(4:10)  2. I Get High
(3:52)  3. Cowboy Junkies
(3:56)  4. Innocence
(3:35)  5. Nothing Comes From Nothing
(4:55)  6. Arms Of An Angel
(3:38)  7. Mad Woman Blues
(3:59)  8. 'It's Jesus I Love'
(3:42)  9. Blind Old Friends
(3:12) 10. Once In Every While
(5:18) 11. A Horse Named Janis Joplin
(5:50) 12. Fields Of Wheat

To underpin her classic blue-eyed soul voice with electronic swoops and programmed drums is a very clever entrance into Sarah Jane Morris' Love and Pain. The swirling organ and sparse bass do their jobs as well to further bolster the acoustic guitar-driven opening track, "Mad Woman Blues." It serves as the signature, cornerstone piece setting the tone and kicking off a terrifically intriguing series of 12 tunes. These juxtaposed instrumental choices and themes weave in and out of the sonic landscape, making room for other just as titillating production elements such as world-tinged percussion grooves, guitars on the brink of distortion, way-hip sampled bits and beats, processed vocal parts, and more. Morris' smoky voice is the common thread holding it all together. 

Her performances dance from sultry to sassy in the blink of an eye (or the change of a track, as the case may be). From moment to moment, you might think of Garbage, Moby, Alison Moyet, or Primitive Radio Gods, or even reach as far as Erykah Badu. But while those works might seem similar, Love and Pain is something else altogether, and it's pretty darn cool. ~ Kelly McCartney  http://www.allmusic.com/album/love-and-pain-mw0000039761

Personnel: Sarah Jane Morris (vocals); Calum MacColl, Martyn Barker (various instruments, programming); Mornington Lockett (saxophone); Simon Edwards (bass).

Love And Pain

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Herb Geller - That Geller Feller

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:03
Size: 80,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:54)  1. S'pacific View
(5:40)  2. Jitterbug Waltz
(6:15)  3. The Fruit
(4:40)  4. Here's What I'm Here For
(4:39)  5. Marable Eyes
(3:40)  6. An Air for the Heir
(4:12)  7. Melrose and Sam

Herb Geller was a veteran of the Los Angeles jazz scene of the 1950s who played better than ever by the turn of the millennium. Geller played in 1946 with Joe Venuti's Orchestra, and in 1949 he traveled to New York to play with Claude Thornhill. In 1951 he moved back to L.A. and married the excellent bop pianist Lorraine Walsh. Geller was a fixture in L.A., playing with Billy May (1952), Maynard Ferguson, Shorty Rogers, Bill Holman, and Chet Baker, among others; jamming with Clifford Brown and Max Roach (1954); and leading a quartet that included his wife (1954-1955). Lorraine Geller's sudden death in 1958 eventually resulted in the altoist deciding to leave the country to escape his grief. 

He played with Benny Goodman off and on between 1958-1961, spent time in Brazil, and in 1962 moved to Berlin. Geller worked in German radio orchestras for 30 years, played in European big bands, and continued to grow as a musician, although he was pretty much forgotten in the U.S. From the early '90s into the 2000s, Herb Geller returned to the States on a more regular basis, and he recorded tributes to Al Cohn and Arthur Schwartz for Hep. Geller also recorded as a leader in the 1950s for EmArcy, Jubilee, and Atco, and in his later years for Enja, Fresh Sound, and VSOP. Herb Geller died in Hamburg, Germany on December 19, 2013; he was 85 years old. ~ Bio Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/artist/herb-geller-mn0000677067/biography

Personnel: Herb Geller (soprano saxophone, alto saxophone); Harold Land (tenor saxophone); Kenny Dorham (trumpet); Lou Levy (piano); Larance Marable (drums).

That Geller Feller

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George Robert & Dado Moroni - Youngbloods

Styles: Trombone And Piano Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 70:40
Size: 162,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:59)  1. I Remember You
(5:57)  2. Blues For Andy
(3:37)  3. Lush Life
(6:28)  4. Love's Mirror Image
(4:16)  5. East of the Sun
(5:47)  6. Missing You
(3:38)  7. Voyage
(5:09)  8. My Kind Of World
(4:44)  9. Pacific Sunset
(5:09) 10. Easy to Love
(4:28) 11. Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most
(4:15) 12. Stablemates
(4:48) 13. Susanita
(7:17) 14. Body And Soul

This duo date features two of Europe's finest jazz musicians of the 1990s, George Robert and Dado Moroni, in a program that mixes exciting versions of standards and jazz compositions. "I Remember You" gets things off to a fast start, with Robert's alto sax and Moroni's piano inviting comparison to a match of Phil Woods and Kenny Barron. This comparison doesn't last, as these musical chameleons refuse to be pigeonholed; a mesmerizing "Lush Life," a driving "Easy to Love," and an emotional take of "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most." The duo also interprets classics from the jazz canon, such as "Stablemates" and Kenny Barron's "Voyage" (which has become one of the most frequently interpreted works of the post-bop era) with the same level of imagination. 

The only misfires occur when Moroni makes an ill-advised switch to a Fender Rhodes electric piano, badly dating Jimmy Woode's otherwise swinging "My Kind of World," as well as distracting from the beauty of Robert's lyrical clarinet on "Body and Soul" and a bossa nova arrangement of "East of the Sun." Robert also wrote three of the songs, including the lively gospel-flavored "Blues for Andy," the bittersweet ballad "Missing You," and the Latin-flavored "Pacific Sunset." Both of these talented musicians should command wider audiences as the 21st century progresses. ~ Ken Dryden  http://www.allmusic.com/album/youngbloods-mw0000181476

Personnel: George Robert (trombone); Dado Moroni (piano, Fender Rhodes piano).

Youngbloods

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