Tim Warfield - One For Shirley

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 77:41
Size: 178,2 MB
Art: Front

( 9:44)  1. Cristo Redentor/Calvary
( 8:43)  2. Oasis
( 6:22)  3. Lullaby For Nijee
(11:45)  4. The Beat Goes On
( 4:51)  5. Stomping At The Savoy
( 5:34)  6. Make It Last
( 5:12)  7. Sometimes You Got to Let the People Know
( 8:29)  8. Tokyo Girl
( 8:12)  9. One For Shirley
( 8:44) 10. Yours Is My Heart Alone

Tim Warfield, a big-toned, swaggering titan of the tenor saxophone, has decided to make his contribution to the jazz organ group tradition with ONE FOR SHIRLEY. The lady of the title is Shirley Scott, the late queen of jazz organ, with whom Warfield often played in the 1990s, and this set pays tribute to her style of bop-laced soul-jazz. Warfield’s tenor (and soprano) is joined by Terrell Stafford’s trumpet and Pat Bianchi’s organ in a simmering, groove-heavy update of a Scott original as well as swing era and ‘60s pop classics plus some nifty Warfield originals to put the icing on the cake. ~ Mark Keresman  http://www.allmusic.com/album/one-for-shirley-mw0000785116

Personnel: Tim Warfield (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Terell Stafford (trumpet, flugelhorn); Byron Landham (drums); Daniel Sadownick (congas, percussion).

One For Shirley

---

Lisa Ono - Pretty World

Styles: Brazilian Jazz, Bossa Nova
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:39
Size: 108,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:11)  1. Un Homme Et Une Femme
(3:48)  2. I Wish You Love
(4:02)  3. My Cherie Amour
(3:27)  4. Be With Me
(3:38)  5. Pretty World
(2:25)  6. All The Way
(4:59)  7. Mr. Tom
(3:56)  8. I Left My Heart In San Francisco
(3:09)  9. Yesterday
(4:43) 10. This Masquarade
(4:40) 11. You Are The Sunshine Of My Life
(3:39) 12. Every Breath You Take

Asia exclusive album! Originally issued in 2000. Co-produced by Eumir Deodato, who also arranged & conducted this album. Lisa continues her exploration of songs in English, this time with more recent covers & an original song 'Be With Me' written with Deodato. EMI. 2004. ~ Editorial Reviews  http://www.amazon.com/Pretty-World-Lisa-Ono/dp/B000059O50

Pretty World

---

SFJAZZ Collective - The Music of Joe Henderson & Original Compositions Disc 1 And Disc 2

Disc 1
Styles: Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:36
Size: 150,5 MB
Art: Front

( 4:46)  1. Recorda-Me
( 7:53)  2. A Shade of Jade
( 6:43)  3. Big Tent, Little Tent
( 9:16)  4. Cross Currents
( 9:37)  5. Inner Urge
(10:53)  6. Four Stars from Heaven
( 7:12)  7. Eternal Wait
( 9:14)  8. Fire

---

Disc 2

Time: 63:21

Size: 145,5 MB

Art: Front

(6:14)  1. Y Todavia La Quiero

(8:17)  2. Afro-Centric

(3:02)  3. Synthesis of a Band Part 1

(3:58)  4. Synthesis of a Band Part 2

(3:14)  5. Synthesis of a Band Part 3

(6:53)  6. Black Narcissus

(8:27)  7. Locura

(6:16)  8. Evolution

(7:16)  9. Absolvents

(9:40) 10. Jinrikisha

Led by tenor saxophonist Joshua Redman, the SFJAZZ Collective "SF" as in San Francisco is a forward-thinking big band featuring a stellar lineup of musicians both young and old. Besides Redman, the octet includes vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, pianist Renee Rosnes, trumpeter Nicholas Payton, alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón, trombonist Josh Roseman, bassist Robert Hurst, and drummer Brian Blade. The collective released its debut album on Nonesuch in 2005. SF Jazz Collective, Vol. 2 followed a year later. ~ Bio  https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/sfjazz-collective/id65125005#fullText

The Music of Joe Henderson & Original Compositions Disc1,Disc2

---

Walt Weiskopf - Open Road

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:19
Size: 136,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:26)  1. Premonition
(3:30)  2. Let's Spend The Day Together
(4:18)  3. Open Road
(4:10)  4. Nancy (With The Laughing Face)
(5:26)  5. Gates Of Madrid
(4:40)  6. Stage Whisper
(6:03)  7. Invitation To The Dance
(5:46)  8. Tricycle
(4:26)  9. Chronology
(6:37) 10. Angel Eyes
(6:09) 11. Electroshock
(4:43) 12. Leaves of Grass

Walt Weiskopf has a thing or two to say on the saxophone. When he does, he speaks with clarity, concision and swing. Weiskopf comes to work with a level of preparation few can challenge. A veteran of bands led by Buddy Rich and Toshiko Akiyoshi, he’s been a leader for twenty years and also a touring member of Steely Dan for over a decade. Through his innovative teaching and series of books, Walt has opened the secrets of intervallic improvisation pioneered by John Coltrane for players around the world, introducing new colors to the palette of jazz. Open Road is Weiskopf’s second Posi-Tone album and fourteenth as a leader over two decades. It’s a follow-up to 2013’s superb Overdrive, which featured him with a driving quintet. This new album takes a leaner approach, reuniting Weiskopf with pianist Peter Zak and bringing bassist Mike Kam and Steve Fidyk into the fold. 

The disk features Weiskopf’s hard-swinging originals and the standard “Angel Eyes.” Throughout, Walt brings an open heart and tone to his playing. Like Coltrane, his complexities never sound academic or stand in the way of his melodies, but rather enhance them. Open Road will be available from Posi-Tone June 26. Walt’s on tour with Steely Dan in July and August, but you can catch him with the Open Road quartet at Smalls in New York on October 2nd and 3rd. In the meantime, savor this recording! ~ Tim Wilkins, WBGO digital content manager  http://www.wbgo.org/radar/walt-weiskopf-open-road

 

Open Road

---

Freddie Redd - Music For You

Size: 170,6 MB
Time: 73:39
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Jazz: Hard Bop
Art: Front

01. There'll Never Be Another You (7:17)
02. Blues For You (7:43)
03. How High The Moon (6:30)
04. All The Things You Are (10:39)
05. Cherokee ( 6:30)
06. Round About Midnight (7:33)
07. Perdido (8:45)
08. Lover Man (8:32)
09. I'll Remember April (10:05)

Survivors of the original hardbop era are an ever-dwindling fraternity, although attrition isn’t surprising for musical school that had its start well over a half-century ago. At 86, pianist Freddie Redd is still thankfully amongst that persistent number. He was a member of the New York jazz subculture in the Fifties that also included peers like Jackie McLean, Tina Brooks, Kenny Drew and others. An allergy to studio recording kept his discography comparatively slim, but his performance schedule remained healthy.

In 1959 Redd aligned with the city’s Living Theater Company, composing the music for and starring in both the stage production and film version of Jack Gelber’s influential play The Connection. He secured a record contract with Blue Note contemporaneously although only a third of his work for the label was released at the time. His last recording as a leader is nearly thirty years old. As such, Music For You wears its intentions simply and unequivocally as a gift to listeners both seasoned and nascent.

Recommended to producer Nils Winther at the behest of saxophonist Chris Byars, Redd lined up the session. Illness initially curtailed his participation and Stanley Cowell was called in to complete a session with the on-hand rhythm section of bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Billy Drummond in his absence. That music was released under Cowell’s name earlier this year. The session as originally planned is a different animal comprising eight standards that are all well-worn to the point of common currency. Only Redd’s “Blues For You” scripted specifically for the date deviates and it’s a fairly forthright example of its titular form.

Redd’s faculties are sharp and his mood congenial, but it’s clear from the debonair rendering of “There Will Never Be Another You” that he isn’t interested in placing himself or his sidemen through anything resembling a rigorous aggregate of challenges or paces. What then to recommend this date from an august veteran in his advanced age? The answer to that largely rhetorical question arrives in Redd’s measured and instantly ingratiating delivery. “Cherokee”, the perpetual steeplechase of bop tunes, unfolds at a tempo that’s more leisurely stroll than land speed sprint and in the offing is all the better for it. “Round Midnight” trades angular edges and overt melancholy for high melodicism against a gentle, subterranean bass throb and deft brush play before an eleventh hour flirtation with Latin rhythm.

There’s a quote in the liners that distills Redd’s creative philosophy down through colorful imagery: “I’m never going to play like Bud Powell. I could get all the plastic surgery in the world and drink anything I want, but it’s still going to come out Freddie Redd.” As applied in the liberal fashion the pianist favors it’s an approach indicative of resilient audience endearment and an affirmation that there’s much more than mere muscle memory happening here. ~Derek Taylor

Music For You

---

Riona Sally Hartman - Big Starving Thing

Size: 80,8 MB
Time: 34:24
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Jazz/Folk Vocals
Art: Front

01. Handholding (4:17)
02. Show Me (3:58)
03. Frida Kahlo's Delight (4:28)
04. Same But Better (4:39)
05. Broken Woman (1:57)
06. Kamikaze (5:44)
07. Sea Legs (3:29)
08. Daises (3:22)
09. Screamer (2:25)

Dubliner Ríona Sally Hartman is capable of using her voice like an instrument, but she is a writer too, interested in the observations and speculations of the poet.

Her finely-crafted debut album unites the musician and the songwriter, drawing water from many wells, from folk and jazz to alt pop and contemporary lieder.

Her songs unfold like a series of magic realist short stories, pungently told and peopled by loners and weirdos: a lovelorn peeping Tom; an insomniac fortune teller; a Frida Kahlo-obsessed fish.

Yet even as the subject matter challenges and perplexes, the craft of the songs draws you in – delicate vocal harmonies and sparse acoustic settings, fresh and uncliched, perhaps bearing most comparison with intrepid New York singers like Theo Bleckmann and Becca Stevens.

Big Starving Thing

---

Joe Manis - The Golden Mean

Size: 117,5 MB
Time: 50:35
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Jazz: Hammond Organ
Art: Front

01. Three Four For Three (6:19)
02. Black Hole Sun (6:57)
03. Shorter Story (6:58)
04. Broadway (5:27)
05. Paw-Paw (7:13)
06. Goldfinger (6:36)
07. It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing (5:27)
08. Ellery's Song Flute (5:35)

Joe's third album, The Golden Mean, features George Colligan on Hammond B-3 organ and Fender Rhodes, Kevin Congleton on drums, and Lillie Manis on viola. It was recorded at Gung Ho Studio on September 24th and 25th, 2014.

Joe Manis is noted for the strength of his "intense, updated take on the glorious Rollins-'Trane tradition." (Willamette Week) Manis was the recipient of a 2013 Oregon Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellowship. His album for SteepleChase LookOut Records, The Golden Mean, features George Colligan on organ, Kevin Congleton on drums, and Lillie Manis on viola was released in 2015. North By Northwest was released by SteepleChase LookOut Records in 2013.

He released his debut album Evidence in 2009 on the 8Bells label, featuring Manis on tenor saxophone, Kevin Congleton on drums, and Portland luminary Dave Captein on bass: the Willamette Week called the album "explosive,” and said “(Manis) makes Pink Floyd's 'Money' sound like something a young John Coltrane might have played"; the Eugene Weekly said: "Fabulous... Will thrill fans of Monk, Rollins."

The Joe Manis Trio was featured at Rontoms during the 2010 PDX Jazz Festival, a high-energy performance that was a featured Willamette Week "Pick" and received praise from local music critics and bloggers; the Trio returned to the Festival in 2011 and 2013. Recent Joe Manis Trio appearances include Fat Cat NYC, the Shedd Institute’s jazz series, Jimmy Mak's, Tula's, and the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival.

Manis has played with Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited, including a recent performance at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, and appears on their album Rise Up! on Real World Records; he has also performed with the Temptations, comedian Bob Newhart, Wayne Newton, the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra, the Sunriver Music Festival Orchestra, the Eugene Opera, the George Colligan Quartet, and with the Ken Schaphorst Big Band. Manis also appears on Risky Notion (Four stars, DownBeat magazine) on Origin Records with George Colligan's Theoretical Planets.

Manis has presented jazz masterclasses across the country, including at Whitman College, University of Texas at Arlington, University of Oregon, Ferris State University, Willamette University, Portland State University, Southern Oregon University, Portland Community College, and Lane Community College. He received a Master of Music in Jazz Studies-Performance with Academic Honor from the New England Conservatory and a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies from the University of Oregon. Additional studies were at the Eastman School of Music. He currently serves on the faculty of Umpqua Community College. His article "Rhythmic Analysis: Jeff 'Tain' Watts - 'Housed From Edward'" was published in the March 2012 edition of JAZZed Magazine.

The Golden Mean

---

Tanny Mas Band - True Illusions

Size: 123,0 MB
Time: 52:52
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Jazz/Pop/Soul Vocals
Art: Front

01. Ain't No Sunshine (2:54)
02. Mornin' (4:35)
03. El Final (3:29)
04. This Masquerade (3:34)
05. Just The Two Of Us (4:14)
06. Viernes Tarde (3:12)
07. You Are So Beautiful (2:26)
08. Unchain My Heart (3:32)
09. What A Difference A Day Made (5:00)
10. On The Beach (5:27)
11. Georgia On My Mind (4:47)
12. Summer In The City (3:42)
13. What A Wonderful World (2:32)
14. Knock On Wood (3:19)

During his career, Tanny Mas was not only a part of different established music groups, his musical differences brought him to take part of unaccountable projects which made him develop and mature musically, and thanks to this he had the opportunity to meet many musicians who share the same differences.
With these thoughts in mind, Tanny teamed in summer 2009 with the drummer Toni Beltran, he decided to ground his own group, where he plays Bass guitar and is the lead-singer.
The group has developed in different phases. During the development of the Tanny Mas band many musicians have come and gone, and re-shaped the band from trio to quartet, then to quintet to finally after 2 years of reforming to the current formation.
Tanny Mas Band have collaborated with famous jazz and soul musicians, like Max Suñer and the singer Lenny Zacatek from the Alan Parsons Project.
Tanny Mas Band presents itself as a mature band with an eclectic musical range which to inspires to adapt to the wide public, combining a sophisticated repertoire based on jazz standards and jazz-fusions with a lighter repertoire based on contemporary pop, rock, blues and soul classics.

True Illusions

---

Jane Morgan - All The Way

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 32:34
Size: 74.6 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[3:21] 1. All The Way
[2:35] 2. Tammy
[2:32] 3. Melodie D'amour
[2:34] 4. Young At Heart
[2:12] 5. Because
[2:55] 6. Till The End Of Time
[3:01] 7. April Love
[3:07] 8. Till
[2:22] 9. Just A-Wearyin' For You
[2:37] 10. Sunrise
[2:44] 11. Outside Of Heaven
[2:29] 12. From The First Hello

Jane Currier, 25 December 1920, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. A popular singer with a clear, strong voice and an ability to sing in several languages, Morgan was accepted in many parts of the world during the 50s and 60s. Raised in Florida, she trained as a lyric soprano at the Juilliard School of Music in New York, supplementing her income by singing in night-clubs. At one of them, she was spotted by the French impresario Bernard Hilda, who offered her a contract to sing in Paris. Within weeks of arriving in France she became a major attraction and, during the next few years became established throughout Europe. On her return to the USA, she was billed as ‘The American Girl From Paris’, and appeared successfully on television and in night-clubs. Signed for Kapp Records, she had a minor hit in 1956 with ‘Two Different Worlds’, one of the several tracks she recorded with pianist Roger Williams. The following year she had a million seller with ‘Fascination’, adapted from the old French number ‘Valse Tzigane’, with an English lyric by Dick Manning, which became the theme for the Cary Grant-Audrey Hepburn movie Love In The Afternoon. Despite the rock ‘n’ roll revolution, she continued to be successful, especially in Europe, and in 1958, she had a UK number 1 with Gilbert Bécaud and Carl Sigman’s ‘The Day The Rains Came’. Her French version of the song was on the b-side. Among her other hits in the early 60s, were ‘If Only I Could Live My Life Again’, ‘With Open Arms’ and ‘Romantica’, and her 1957 album, Fascination, made the US Top 20. Morgan’s husband, Jerry Weintraub, was instrumental in Elvis Presley’s re-emergence in the early 70s, and managed several top US singers such as John Denver.

All The Way

---

Rafael Rosa - Portrait

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:21
Size: 154.2 MB
Styles: Latin jazz
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[ 5:07] 1. Bomba Oscura
[ 8:53] 2. Sky Floor
[ 6:45] 3. Portrait Wandering
[ 7:11] 4. Portrait Of A Woman
[ 0:58] 5. Portrait Among The Clouds
[ 9:58] 6. New Recruit
[ 8:51] 7. Pensando En Agua
[ 8:00] 8. Devotion
[11:33] 9. Looking For

In jazz terms Puerto Rico has certainly punched above its weight, producing Juan Tizol—a mainstay of Duke Ellington's bands in the 1930s and 1940s, Eddie Gomez and Manolo Badrena—who came to prominence in the 1960s/1970s through their respective associations with pianist Bill Evans and Weather Report—and latterly David Sanchez. Lesser known—though perhaps that's soon to change—is guitarist Rafael Rosa, whose enticing debut reveals a composer and technician of some sophistication.

Carlos Maldonado's barril—a lower pitched Afro-Puerto Rican cousin of the Cuban conga—introduces the lively "Bomba Oscura." Maldonado's variations on the sicá rhythm percolate beneath the driving rhythms of drummer Joel Mateo, bassist John Benitez and the chordal impetus of pianist Carlos Homs. Homs, Rosa and saxophonist Edmar Colon release penetrating solos either side of the Pat Metheny-esque head. Puerto Rican musicians all, their Latin credentials are exceptional, collectively having played with Tito Puente, Chucho Valdes, Eddie Palmieri and Miguel Zenon, amongst many others. It's the most overtly Latin-influenced track and a pulsating ride.

However, a Latin-jazz descarga Portrait is not. With the exception of the miniature "Portrait: Among the Clouds"—a fleeting, ruminative union of guitar and saxophone—Rosa leads the New York-based quintet through well-crafted originals of contemporary hue, whose vibes are more Manhattan than San Juan.

Guest musicians Jean-Michel Pilc and Kenny Werner shine on two separate tunes: on "Pensando en Agua" Pilc spars with Colon's soprano saxophone on a sinewy free-form intro evocative of Wayne Shorter's long-standing quartet. Dan Martinez' bass ostinato and a melodious guitar motif provide ballast, paving the way for highly lyrical solos, first from Rosa and then Pilc. Werner's customary elegance, comping nous and improvisational flare color the episodic "Looking For." The title of Rosa's spoken-word poem sets the tone for the music that follows; a softly yearning quality runs like a thread through the contiguous solos of Rosa, tenor saxophonist Milton Barreto and Werner— the song gradually dissipating in gentle reverie.

Rosa's significant technical facility is matched by his emotive phrasing, where every note counts. The strength and lyricism in his writing, however, is placed in relief by the excellent musicians who contribute much to a genuinely impressive debut. Portrait announces not only the arrival of a noteworthy talent in Rosa, but of a wonderfully convincing quintet too, one that hopefully has legs to run.

Rafael Rosa: guitar; Carlos Homs: piano (1-4, 6, 8); Edmar Colon: saxophones: (1-5, 7-8); Joel Mateo: drums (1-4, 6-9); John Benitez: bass (1-4); Carlos Maldonado: barril (1); Melanie Lozano: vocals (3-4); Michael Rodriguez: trumpet (6); Dan Martinez: bass (6-9); Jean Michel Pilc: piano (7); Kenny Werner: piano (9); Milton Barreto: saxophone (9).

Portrait

---

Phil Woods & The Festival Orchestra - New Celebration

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:51
Size: 157.6 MB
Styles: Big band, Saxophone jazz
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[6:12] 1. Bop'n Bob Don't Stop
[7:59] 2. Hank Jones
[7:33] 3. And It Was Nowhere
[7:28] 4. Before I Left
[7:13] 5. Goodbye Mr. Pepper
[6:45] 6. Get Bird's Word
[6:17] 7. Ballad For Hank
[6:17] 8. Shiny Pants
[6:58] 9. Here's To Alvy
[6:06] 10. You Don't Know What Love Is

Any album with the renowned Phil Woods leading a big band (or jazz orchestra) is cause for celebration, especially so when he has written all but one of the charts and takes the bulk of the alto solos. More than fifteen years have passed since Woods last recorded with the COTA Festival Orchestra from his home precinct in Delaware Gap, PA, and that earlier album (Celebration!, Concord 4770) was nominated for a Grammy Award. This New Celebration, Woods' second recording for Chiaroscuro, deserves no less, as it swings and sparkles from stem to stern and port to starboard, driven ever onward and upward by Woods and his talented colleagues, especially lead trumpeter Nate Ecklund and drummer Tom Whaley.

Even though the ensemble and soloists are exemplary, what sets the album apart from most others are Woods' engaging compositions and arrangements, as persuasive as you are likely to hear on any big-band recording. There are ten tracks in all, and Woods wrote and scored the first eight, while also arranging Johnny Mandel's shuffling salute to the late great Al Cohn, "Here's to Alvy." Cohn arranged the finale (and lone vocal, by Nawja Parkins), "You Don't Know What Love Is," more than half a century ago for the Terry Gibbs Dream Band, and it remains as fresh and exhilarating today as it was then.

The orchestra sets its compass from the outset with Woods' buoyant "Bop'n Bob Don't Stop," which precedes a warm-hearted tribute to pianist "Hank Jones," on which his burnished alto is out front, and a pair of well-masked standards, "And It Was Nowhere" ("Out of Nowhere") and "Before I Left" ("After You've Gone"). Woods next pays homage to Art Pepper (the bossa "Goodbye Mr. Pepper"), Charlie Parker (the ebullient "Get Bird's Word") and a dear friend, the late clarinetist Hank DAmico ("Ballad for Hank") before taking a cue from Frank Foster with the smooth, Basie-style "Shiny Pants." Pianist Skip Wilkins and flugel Chris Persad share solo honors on "Pepper," altos Woods, Matt Vashlishan, Nelson Hill and Jay Rattman on "Bird's Word," Rattman (clarinet) on "Ballad for Hank." Tenors Bob Keller and Tom Hamilton burn rubber on "Alvy," while Persad does likewise on "Bop'n Bob" and he and Hamilton excel on "Shiny Pants." More could be said, but space is limited. Bottom line: a superlative album, among the best to come along since that first Celebration way back in 1997. ~Jack Bowers

Phil Woods: leader, composer, arranger, alto sax; Danny Cahn: trumpet; Nathan Eklund: trumpet; Chris Persad: trumpet; Vanessa Meggiolaro: trumpet; Eddie Severn: trumpet; Patrick Dorian: trumpet; Jay Rattman: alto, baritone sax, clarinet; Nelson Hill: alto sax, flute, clarinet; Matt Vashlishan: alto sax, flute, clarinet; Tom Hamilton: tenor sax, flute, clarinet; Bob Keller: tenor sax, flute, clarinet; Jim Buckley: baritone sax, bass clarinet; Rick Chamberlain: trombone; Sam Burtis: trombone; Fred Scott: trombone; Jim Daniels: bass trombone; Skip Wilkins: piano; Spencer Reed: guitar; Evan Gregor: bass; Tom Whaley: drums; Najwa Parkins: vocal (10).

New Celebration

---

Dave Stryker - Shades Beyond

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:07
Size: 144,9 MB
Art: Front

(9:13)  1. Easy Does It
(7:01)  2. Petals
(7:47)  3. Persimmon
(7:04)  4. Two Twenty
(7:51)  5. Magenta
(9:38)  6. Shades Beyond
(8:03)  7. Apparition
(6:26)  8. Maze

In addition to Stryker's clear precise playing, Shades Beyond gets its feel from electric bassist Terry Burns and David Berkman on Fender Rhodes and organ. They set up a thick rich texture that allow Slagle and Stryker to trade off licks as well as engage in intricate tandem playing. Slagle is also up front with his own compositions, as on the funky opener "Easy Does It" and the bouncy "Two Twenty". Delicately blue guitar chords are warmly colorized by alto clarinet to reach a deep dark "Magenta" until White, on a cooker of a title cut, leads things further out to "Shades Beyond". With his meticulous chordal and solo playing coupled with an expansive feel that melds jazz, funk, blues and rock, Stryker has successfully made the sense of electric Miles his own. ~ Elliott Simon  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/dave-stryker-rides-again-and-shades-beyond-by-elliott-simon.php

Personnel:  Dave Stryker (guitar), Steve Slagle (alto saxophone), David Berkman (organ, Fender Rhodes), Terry Burns (bass) and Lenny White (drums)

 

Shades Beyond

---

Pascale Lavoie - Moods

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2004
File: MP3@256K/s
Time: 39:04
Size: 71,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:00)  1. Change Partners
(3:04)  2. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
(4:18)  3. Speak Low
(3:13)  4. So In Love
(4:57)  5. The Shadow Of Your Smile
(3:01)  6. My Funny Valentine
(1:54)  7. It's Wonderful
(3:17)  8. Night & Day
(2:10)  9. Sway
(2:49) 10. In The Still Of The Night
(3:31) 11. The Best Is Yet To Come
(2:44) 12. Watermelon Man

The label Tone Guide Montreal Jazzgirl Pascale Lavoie, present us their third album Please Belong to me. Accompanied by Michael Berard on guitar, Dave Watts on bass and Jim Doxas Michel Berthiaume and Richard Irwin on drums, it offers us an intimate album with heartfelt interpretations, dedicated to exploring the genre ballad. This third album has a remarkably warm character and an undeniable thread in terms of choice of repertoire: Some love songs. In this context, sound and romantic design Pascale flourish and allow it to make soft and interpretations of great sensuality. His phrasing wispy laid back and influenced among others by Chet Baker and his voice serious and penetrating tones, pack us with its sleek jazz and open to the wealth of instruments. In its design and old fashion style, the singer prefers instrumental improvisations scat vocal, it TEND benefit to modern jazz. Invited to the International Jazz Festival of Montreal several times, and in the privacy of the lounges Jazz, it was after studying law that Montreal is dedicated to jazz. Complete artist she also has a passion for writing, she is currently working on a project of original compositions. His first two albums: You and the Night and the Music and Moods were very appreciated by the public. Translate by google  http://www.pascale.ca/francais/bio.html

"Pascale Lavoie knows how to seduce its audience" ~Johanne De Sablonnière, The Daily, "MOODS A beautiful album" Laurent Paquin, A color issue, Radio Canada TV

Moods

---

Frank Deruytter Quartet - Frank Deruytter Quartet

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:40
Size: 146,5 MB
Art: Front

( 5:52)  1. Bollerol
( 4:40)  2. Wolfken
( 9:09)  3. D.O.P.E.
( 8:35)  4. Proud Harry
(10:20)  5. The Gospel Collector
( 5:59)  6. She Hates Me
( 5:57)  7. Shwung Foo
(13:04)  8. Noenkele

Belgian Saxophonist Frank Deruytter is a multitalented musician. Admired by Jazz aficionados for his unique sound on the Tenor Sax, impeccable technique and unstoppable flow of new and refreshing musical ideas, he is also a gifted vocalist and Bass guitar player. Frank strongly believes in the marriage between Jazz & Funk and critics often compare his style to the way Michael Brecker played. Read more on his work and life in the following paragraphs.

Frank started playing the saxophone at the age of 12. Even at a young age, Frank was already considered one of the great talents on the Belgian music scene. And from a young age, Frank experienced a great deal of success on the road with various jazz, pop, rock, and funk ensembles. At the age of 18, Frank won the Knack Youth Jazz Trophy, which was presented to him personally by the legendary Toots Thielemans. Along his musical path, Frank met Carlo Mertens (trombone) and Nico Schepers (Trumpet), and after several productions and collaborations together, the trio decided to form a horns group. The Heavy Horns was born, the first real horns group in Belgium. Over the years, the Heavy Horns have played on countless national and international productions including CD, Television, and live performances. Frank also met and collaborated with Piet Goddaer (Ozark Henry). Together they composed the music for the CD Sunzoo Manley: To All Our Escapes. Frank plays tenor sax and clarinet, while Stephane Galland (aka Moon, Joe Zawinul syndicate) plays the drums.

In 2005, Frank was honored to be chosen as one of the select artists to perform for the Belgian Royal Family at the Belgium 175 Years celebration event in Brussels, Belgium. His unforgettable solo sax performance will forever remain a defining moment in Belgian music history. In 2012 Frank recorded his first acoustic solo CD, Frank Deruytter Quartet. Frank wrote and composed all the music. The CD includes Peter Erskine on Drums, Eric Legnini on piano, and Bart Denolf on Contrabass. Frank’s teaching credentials include teaching positions at the Music Academies of Kortrijk, Overijse, Tervuren, and Hoeilaart, as well as the Conservatorium of Ghent, and the Jazz Studio in Antwerp. At the request of Maarten Weyler, since 2006, Frank has been teaching saxophone and combo at the Summer Music Camp in Dworp. http://frankderuytter.com/about-the-artist-frank-deruytter/

Personnel:  Bass – Bart De Nolf;  Drums – Peter Erskine;  Piano – Eric Legnini;  Tenor Saxophone, Composed By – Frank Deruytter

Frank Deruytter Quartet

---

Russell Malone - Love Looks Good On You

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:14
Size: 117,7 MB
Art: Front

(7:35)  1. Soul Leo
(6:55)  2. Love Looks Good On You
(5:50)  3. The Elder
(4:51)  4. Ellie's Love Theme
(5:54)  5. Your Zowie Face
(4:04)  6. Mirrors
(7:22)  7. Amsterdam After Dark
(3:07)  8. Life Ev'ry Voice and Sing
(5:33)  9. Suite Sioux

Russell Malone's 2015 effort, Love Looks Good on You, showcases more of the swinging, adroit jazz guitarist's sound. The album follows up his 2010 studio album, Triple Play, and marks his debut for the High Note label. Joining Malone here are pianist Rick Germanson, bassist Gerald Cannon, and drummer Willie Jones III. ~ Matt Collar  http://www.allmusic.com/album/love-looks-good-on-you-mw0002809710

Personnel: Russell Malone (guitar); Rick Germanson (piano); Willie Jones III (drums).

Love Looks Good On You

---

Esther Beckman - Only You

Size: 158,1 MB
Time: 68:04
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2010
Styles: Jazz/Pop Vocals
Art: Front

01. Teach Me Tonight (3:28)
02. Since You Stayed Here (2:42)
03. Let Me Try Again (4:20)
04. Times To Remember (4:43)
05. Laughter In The Rain (3:33)
06. I Just Can't Stop Loving You (3:47)
07. Whatever Happened To Our Love (4:08)
08. You Can't Buy My Love (2:52)
09. Don't Misunderstand (4:57)
10. If I Never Sing Another Song (3:45)
11. Tell Me (3:49)
12. The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing (2:29)
13. I Wish I Knew (4:06)
14. It Could Happen To You (2:44)
15. Don't Let Love Make A Fool Of You (3:11)
16. Is There A Tomorrow For You And Me (4:28)
17. How Can It Be (4:40)
18. Only You (4:15)

Esther Beckman is one of a kind. The rich, vibrant texture that resonates from her voice permits her to vocalize any genre of traditional, popularmusic and she demonstratesthis ability in standards like, "Teach Me Tonight," "Let Me Try Again," and new ballads like, "times To remember," and, "Whatever Happened To Our Love?" as well as in the other fourteen memorable songs embodied in this album. Esther has been singing professionally most of her adult life. In 2007 she made her New York City cabaret debut with a show entitled, "Looking Glass Reflections from Mancini," for which she won the prestigious Manhattan Association of Cabaret Award for best show of its kind that year. That same year she made her jazz debut at the famous Iridium Club in Manhattan. Esther, notwithstanding her gigs in the New York metropolitan area, has been flying under the national radar much too long.

Only You

---

Maria Schneider Orchestra - The Thompson Fields

Size: 178,7 MB
Time: 77:25
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Jazz: Big Band
Art: Front

01. Walking By Flashlight (5:01)
02. The Monarch And The Milkweed (12:07)
03. Arbiters Of Evolution (13:59)
04. The Thompson Fields (10:00)
05. Home (7:46)
06. Nimbus (9:29)
07. A Potter's Song (5:29)
08. Lembrança (13:30)

There's a wealth of information to be found inside the beautiful packaging that accompanies this release, but a brief Theodore Roosevelt quote may be the most telling piece of text to be found there. It reads: "There is nothing more practical in the end than the preservation of beauty, than the preservation of anything that appeals to the higher emotions in mankind." That really says it all about this artist and her work, for there is nobody more capable of harnessing emotions in music and projecting and preserving the beauty and power of the natural world in sound than Maria Schneider. She's demonstrated that time and again, and she does it once more on this awe-inspiring release.

The Thompson Fields arrives after a lengthy gestation: eight years after the last Maria Schneider Orchestra album the stunning Sky Blue (ArtistShare, 2007). But if it takes Schneider that long to give proper birth to this quality of recorded music, so be it. You can't rush perfection, and this music is as close as you can get to that lofty and unattainable goal. Across these eight tracks, the Maria Schneider Orchestra puts ornithological ideals into play ("Arbiters Of Evolution"), works with nebulous themes and foreboding thoughts ("Nimbus"), takes a trip into Brazilian territory ("Lembranca"), pays tribute to one of its own dearly departed members ("A Potter's Song"), and bottles the attractively complex lingering scents of nostalgia and sentimentality.

As always, the singular personalities in this band help to elevate the music. Gary Versace's accordion wistfully traces its way across vast landscapes; Frank Kimbrough's piano is elemental, conjuring thoughts of gentle winds and the morning dew; Scott Robinson turns the alto clarinet into a thing of elegance and beauty ("Walking By Flashlight"); Marshall Gilkes' trombone and Greg Gisbert's fluegelhorn each balance the weighty and the wondrous in their expressions, eventually crossing paths while cresting the waves of the orchestra ("The Monarch And The Milkweed"); and guitarist Lage Lund draws on light and energy, spinning them both back out in controlled fashion. Those are just a few of the notable names, roles, and deeds, but those descriptions, admittedly, fall short. No words can properly convey the wonders embedded in this music.

Maria Schneider is truly fearless in her expression of self, creating grand statements and musical reveries built from intimate memories, thoughts, and feelings. Her willingness to share these experiences, her unparalleled skills at molding them into music, and the talents of the musicians who populate her orchestra all contribute to the success that is The Thompson Fields. ~´ Dan Bilawsky

Personnel: Steve Wilson: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet, flute, alto flute; Dave Pietro: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet, flute, alto flute, bass flute, piccolo; Rich Perry: tenor saxophone; Donny McCaslin: tenor saxophone, clarinet, flute; Scott Robinson: baritone saxophone, bass clarinet, alto clarinet, clarinet; Tony Kadleck: trumpet, fluegelhorn; Greg Gisbert: trumpet, fluegelhorn; Augie Haas: trumpet, fluegelhorn; Mike Rodriguez: trumpet, fluegelhorn; Keith O'Quinn,: trombone; Ryan Keberle: trombone; Marshall Gilkes: trombone; George Flynn: bass trombone; Gary Versace: accordion; Lage Lund: guitar; Frank Kimbrough: piano; Rogerio Boccato: percussion (8); Clarence Penn: drums; Jay Anderson: bass.

The Thompson Fields 

---

Zosja - Around The Sun

Size: 106,6 MB
Time: 45:51
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Jazz/Soul/Pop Vocals
Art: Front

01. Paint The World (4:12)
02. Nature's Gift (5:18)
03. Song About The Sun (3:23)
04. Special Kind Of Love (4:37)
05. Lidlish (5:22)
06. Nadia (5:24)
07. Dreams (4:17)
08. Set Your Mind Free (4:38)
09. Jump Around (3:15)
10. King Without A Crown (5:20)

Zosja brings the listener a new swinging sound. In their music they travel trough different styles such as Jazz, Soul, Funk and African. Melody, groove and virtuosity is what they carry along on this travel. They create their arrangements making use of mystic Arabic sounds to bouncing and highly danceable grooves. The whole sounds energetic, sparkling and optimistic.

On the debut album ''Around the Sun'' most compositions are written by drummer Daniel van Dalen. Along with Pieter Althuis on bass and Lucas Meijers on guitar, lead singer Zosja surprises the audience with their cross-over Jazz sound. On this album special appearances are made by Edison-prize-winner Bart Wirtz on saxophone and jazz-violin player Julia Phillippens.

About Zosja:
Even though the band is named after their singer Zosja, who is known with the Dutch audience because of her participance on the first 'Idols' edition, the quartet is not found solely around the singer.
Within Zosja every band member is an equal and essential component of the music. The players listen well to each other and their is a mutual joy while performing.
They are all raised in a musical environment and they have musical blood running through their veins. They bundle their years of experience in the music scene together and have been performing a lot in the Dutch Jazz scene.

Around The Sun

---

Johannes Zetterberg - Equanimity

Size: 140,8 MB
Time: 59:58
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Jazz: Jazz Fusion
Art: Front

01. Seismic (6:54)
02. Wide Travels (4:48)
03. What About The Lonely Ones (7:28)
04. Anthony Of The Desert (4:02)
05. The Listening Moon (Lullaby For Alicia) (4:07)
06. Vocation (8:11)
07. ...Like Wildfire (5:18)
08. Equanimity (7:51)
09. The Hopes And Fears (3:22)
10. 500 Miles To Heaven (2:04)
11. Second Nature (5:48)

Johannes Zetterberg returns in full force with Equanimity, his first offering in four years. Featuring an almost entirely new cast of characters, this is a brand new collection of original material that draws from a large palette of influences, and is certain to appeal to fusion aficionados around the globe.

Lineup:
Johannes Zetterberg - Fretted/fretless bass & keyboards
Jonathan Lundberg - Drums
Andreas Ekstedt - Percussion
Joel Lyssarides - Acoustic piano & synth
Carl Mörner Ringström - Acoustic/electric guitar
Björn Arkö - Soprano/tenor saxophone & EWI
Jonne Bentlöv - Flugelhorn
Accent & Göran Edman - Vocals
The Tom Walsh Horns:
Tom Walsh, George Hogg & Reuben Fowler - Trumpets
Tommy Laurence - Tenor saxophone

Equanimity

---

Blossom Dearie - Once Upon A Summertime

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 35:34

Size: 81.4 MB

Styles: Standards, Vocal jazz

Year: 1958/1992/2012

Art: Front

[3:19] 1. Tea For Two

[4:15] 2. The Surrey With The Fringe On Top

[1:58] 3. Moonlight Saving Time

[4:15] 4. It Amazes Me

[3:04] 5. If I Were A Bell

[2:01] 6. We're Together

[2:37] 7. Teach Me Tonight

[2:42] 8. Once Upon A Summertime

[1:38] 9. Down With Love

[4:15] 10. Manhattan

[2:15] 11. Doop-Doo-De-Doop (A Doodlin' Song)

[3:09] 12. Love Is Here To Stay

Vocalist Blossom Dearie's Summetime is a low-key collection of chamber-jazz arranged for a small trio. Working with guitarist Mundell Lowe, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Ed Thigpen, Dearie sings the material with a gentle conviction; she may never sound passionate, but she never sounds like she doesn't care. The result is a pleasant record, that might never be a compelling listen, but it's never a bad one. ~Thom Owens

Once Upon A Summertime

---