Dinah Washington - The Swingin' Miss 'D'

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:52
Size: 116.5 MB
Styles: R&B, Vocal jazz
Year: 1956/1998
Art: Front

[2:43] 1. They Didn't Believe Me
[3:28] 2. You're Crying
[2:25] 3. Makin' Whoopee
[2:26] 4. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
[2:24] 5. But Not For Me
[2:36] 6. Caravan
[3:22] 7. Perdido
[2:41] 8. Never Let Me Go
[2:55] 9. Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby
[3:56] 10. I'll Close My Eyes
[2:31] 11. Somebody Loves Me
[3:07] 12. I'll Drown In My Tears
[2:25] 13. You Let My Love Grow Cold
[2:50] 14. Bargain Day
[2:41] 15. Relax Max
[2:43] 16. Tears To Burn
[2:22] 17. The Kissing Way Home
[3:06] 18. I Know

Dinah Washington was accompanied by an orchestra organized and conducted by Quincy Jones on this 1957 album, and she was singing to arrangements mostly written by the young bandleader, swing charts of pop standards by the likes of Cole Porter, George Gershwin, and Duke Ellington. The result had much in common with the swing albums of Frank Sinatra in the same period, especially because Jones' arrangements were heavily influenced by Billy May and Nelson Riddle. Sinatra's records were regarded as "pop, " of course, and Washington's, at least when released on the EmArcy subsidiary of Mercury Records, as "jazz, " but her precise articulation and attention to lyrical meaning left little room for improvisation, and while Jones allowed for brief solos from a band that included Charlie Shavers, Clark Terry, Urbie Green, and Milt Hinton, the jazz categorization was actually arbitrary. Whatever musical genre you assign it to, however, this is an excellent Washington album. [For the 1998 reissue, Verve added seven bonus tracks recorded around the same time and with much the same personnel, though they were intended as singles and thus are inferior contemporary tunes. Often, however, Washington sounds more comfortable and enthusiastic on these pop and R&B songs than she does on the standards.] ~William Ruhlmann

The Swingin' Miss 'D'

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Jerry Weldon, Michael Karn - Head To Head

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:53
Size: 150.8 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 1999
Art: Front

[7:12] 1. Captain Morgan
[8:01] 2. Sweet And Lovely
[6:25] 3. Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)
[8:39] 4. Big D
[6:17] 5. Late Last Summer
[5:28] 6. All The Way
[6:48] 7. Ow!
[5:49] 8. Far East
[6:21] 9. If Ever I Woild Leave You
[4:48] 10. Koko

Jerry Weldon (Ts); Michael Karn (Ts); Bruce Barth (P); Peter Washington (B); Billy Drummond (D). Recorded June 9, 1998 in Brooklyn, NY, USA by Max Bolleman.

These two guys are great. But put them together and they are FANTASTIC. They are to the tenor sax, what Phil and Quill (Phil Wood and Gene Quill) were to the Alto. Their playing is faultless. The group inculdes Jerry Weldon and Michael Karn on Tenor sax, Bruce Barth on piano, the always great Peter Washington on Bass and Billy Drumond on drums. This CD, recorded in Brooklyn in 1998 sounds like the great sounds of the Bop, Be-Bop and Hard Bop eras. One would never know that it was recorded in the late nineties. I'm a lover of the 1950 to 1963 era of Jazz before all the fusion, avante garde and acid jazz that I can't stomach. It very encouraging to know that guys in this day and age are playing the kind of jazz that was popular back in the Golden Age of post Big Band Jazz. I really feel that these two guys are the best living Tenor sax players living today (along with Joel Frahm of course). I hear shades of Jimmy Griffin, the great tone of Charlie Rouse, the influence of Sonny Rollins and Dexter Gordon when I listen to this CD. The whole album is great, but my favorite is their GREAT version of the immortal Charlie Parker tune "Ko-Ko". You will NOT be disappointed if you like jazz from that era done by two of todays great players. A must have. By the way, the recording quality is great as well. None of that "Bass in your Face" mixing that ruins so many great recording nowadays. Kudo's to the recording engineer Max Bolleman. A Desert Island must ~Tony NYC

Head To Head

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Galen Weston - Plugged In

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 76:15
Size: 174.6 MB
Styles: Guitar jazz
Year: 2015
Art: Front

[ 5:08] 1. Funk Opus #2
[11:56] 2. Song For Daphne
[ 6:01] 3. Bensonite
[ 6:25] 4. The Yellow Guitar
[ 8:49] 5. Rose Garden
[ 5:03] 6. Country
[ 7:00] 7. Galen's Vice (A Tribute To The 80s)
[ 5:26] 8. Austin
[ 4:36] 9. Tasteless
[ 6:27] 10. Like Someone In Love
[ 3:35] 11. Late And Never
[ 5:43] 12. Rock Jam

My latest CD Plugged In features 12 tracks including 10 originals and arrangements of Keith Jarrett's "Country"and Jimmy Van Huesen's "Like Someone in Love".

Musicians: Galen Weston guitar; David Woodhead bass; Al Cross drums; Simeon Abbott keyboards on #1; Matt Horner piano; Richard Underhill saxophone; Rick Shadrach Lazar percussion; Lenka Lichtenberg vocals.

Plugged In

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Bob Haggart & Yank Lawson - World's Greatest Jazz Band Of Bob Haggart & Yank Lawson

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:19
Size: 106.1 MB
Styles: Dixieland
Year: 1985/2008
Art: Front

[3:29] 1. I Can't Give You Anything But Love
[4:04] 2. Midnight Sun
[3:58] 3. Diane
[2:31] 4. 42nd Street
[3:51] 5. Sometimes
[3:40] 6. Lonesome
[3:36] 7. Big Noise From Winnetka
[5:33] 8. Squeeze Me
[3:28] 9. At The Jazz Band Ball
[7:06] 10. St. Louis Blues
[4:59] 11. Jazz Me Blues

By 1985 the World's Greatest Jazz Band (which had last recorded in 1977) had been history for quite a few years. However under their original title, the former co-leaders (trumpeter Yank Lawson and bassist Bob Haggart) put together a talented octet for a European tour that also included clarinetist Abe Most, tenor saxophonist Eddie Miller, trombonist Bob Havens, pianist Lou Stein, guitarist Marty Grosz and drummer Nick Fatool. The liner notes to this album often confuse the composers with which musicians get featured (Abe Most did not write "I Can't Give You Anything but Love") but the disc is worth searching for by Dixieland collectors. Although Yank Lawson and Eddie Miller were both 74 at the time, they emerge as the main stars and sound quite strong. Highlights include "At the Jazz Band Ball," "St. Louis Blues" and "Jazz Me Blues." ~Scott Yanow

World's Greatest Jazz Band Of Bob Haggart & Yank Lawson

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The Jay McShann Trio - Hootie!

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 70:45
Size: 162,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:49)  1. Cruisin' the Blues
(4:06)  2. Moonlight in Vermont
(8:28)  3. Kewpie Doll
(4:24)  4. Yardbird Suite
(4:57)  5. You're Driving Me Crazy/Moten Swing
(6:55)  6. Flippin' the Blues
(5:02)  7. All of Me
(6:22)  8. As Time Goes
(6:17)  9. Sweet Georgia Brown
(3:20) 10. My Chile
(2:43) 11. 'Fore Day Rider
(4:21) 12. Crazy Legs and Friday Strut
(7:52) 13. Moanin' Blues
(1:03) 14. Closing

Like many of producer Hank O'Neal's jazz cruises recorded aboard the S. S. Norway, this live set by pianist Jay McShann is a delight from start to finish. The blues veteran is in great form as he devotes nearly half of the release to his trio, which includes bassist Keter Betts and drummer Jackie Williams, and occasionally lightly sings along. The opener, "Cruisin' the Blues," features McShann's lively yet economical style of playing, along with a fine solo by Betts, while his lush interpretation of the old chestnut "Moonlight in Vermont" achieves a new degree of romanticism. But many fans will devour the appearances with special guests. Phil Woods, the greatest living alto saxophonist, sits in during McShann's sauntering blues "Kewpie Doll" and a rollicking take of Charlie Parker's "Yardbird Suite." 

Tenor saxophonist Flip Phillips, in his eighties (as was the leader) at the time of the performance, jointly improvises with McShann the strutting "Flippin' the Blues," and they follow it up with a swinging "All of Me." Phillips' impressive blowing belies his age during the timeless ballad "As Time Goes By" and an energetic "Sweet Georgia Brown." David "Fathead" Newman sits in for two McShann originals, the funky "Crazy Legs and Friday Strut" and the gospel-tinged "Moanin' Blues." Too bad there's no video of this music. Highly recommended. ~ Ken Dryden  http://www.allmusic.com/album/hootie!-mw0000608939

Personnel: Jay McShann (vocals, piano); Phil Woods (alto saxophone); Flip Phillips, David "Fathead" Newman (tenor saxophone); Keter Betts (bass); Jackie Williams (drums).

Hootie!

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Lena Horne - Love Songs

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:13
Size: 115,9 MB
Art: Front

(2:16)  1. It's Love
(3:12)  2. Love Me Or Leave Me
(3:21)  3. The Man I Love
(3:35)  4. You're The One
(3:25)  5. People Will Say We're In Love
(3:09)  6. Don't Take Your Love From Me
(3:20)  7. Love Is The Thing
(3:15)  8. Someone To Watch Over Me
(2:41)  9. At Long Last Love
(3:27) 10. I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)
(3:05) 11. Love Me A Little Little
(3:19) 12. Let Me Love You
(3:08) 13. Mad About The Boy
(3:00) 14. I'm Through With Love
(2:41) 15. What Is This Thing Called Love?
(3:14) 16. You're My Thrill

Some of the more jazz-oriented highlights of Lena Horne's recording career are on this CD. Unfortunately the full personnel is not given, although the recording dates and the various orchestra leaders are. As one can ascertain from the CD's title, the emphasis is on love songs, but most of the music swings too. Horne is heard with the orchestras of Charlie Barnet in 1941 ("You're My Thrill"), Artie Shaw in 1941 ("Don't Take Your Love From Me" and "Love Me a Little Little" which also include uncredited solos from trumpeter Henry "Red" Allen and altoist Benny Carter), Lou Bring (also 1941), Marty Gold (1961), and her husband, Lennie Hayton (1955 and 1958). Among the highlights are "Love Me or Leave Me," "At Long Last Love," "I'm Confessin'," and "Mad About the Boy." If the packaging was more complete and the music programmed in chronological order, the rating would have been higher, for the music is quite good. ~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/love-songs-2000-mw0000673007

Personnel: Lena Horne (vocals); Artie Shaw (clarinet); Benny Carter (alto saxophone); Charlie Barnet (tenor saxophone); Henry "Red" Allen (trumpet).

Love Songs

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Stephane Grappelli & Phil Woods - Anything Goes

Styles: Jazz, Hard Bop
Year: 1987
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:51
Size: 90,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:59)  1. All Of Me
(4:19)  2. Star Eyes
(4:34)  3. Anything Goes
(5:06)  4. Don't Blame Me
(2:38)  5. Moonlight In Vermont
(4:55)  6. It Might As Well Be Spring
(4:05)  7. Have You Met Miss Jones
(3:16)  8. Love Song
(3:56)  9. Sing Hallelujah

The 1987 session featured on Stephane Grappelli's edition of the Who's Who in Jazz series has been released on a variety of labels and is the only recorded meeting between Grappelli and Phil Woods. With guitarist Marc Fossett and bassist Jon Burr (two of the violinist's regular sidemen), plus the great Louis Bellson on drums, the musicians clearly are enjoying themselves as they delve into nine standards and Grappelli's "Love Song." No one musician dominates, as the solo breaks are generally short and passed around between everyone. 

The resulting music is quite unlike anything else in either Grappelli's or Woods' vast discographies. Highlights include a pulsating "Caravan," with Woods' boisterous solo, "Have You Met Miss Jones?" (with Woods switching to clarinet), and Grappelli's lyrical samba-flavored interpretation of "It Might as Well Be Spring." Two proofreading blunders by Who's Who in Jazz should be noted; the opening track is not "All of Me" but actually "You Took Advantage of Me," while the final selection is correctly titled "Hallelujah." ~ Ken Dryden  http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=1130267&style=music&fulldesc=T

Personnel: Stéphane Grappelli (violin); Marc Fosset (guitar); Phil Woods (clarinet, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); Louis Bellson (drums).

Anything Goes

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Emily Remler - Take Two

Styles: Guitar Jazz

Year: 1982

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 44:27

Size: 102,1 MB

Art: Front

(4:54)  1. Cannonball

(4:58)  2. In Your Own Sweet Way

(6:48)  3. For Regulars Only

(5:23)  4. Search for Peace

(6:50)  5. Pocket Wes

(6:41)  6. Waltz for My Grandfather

(2:30)  7. Afro Blue

(6:20)  8. Eleuthra

Emily Remler's second recording as a leader finds the 24-year-old guitarist still very much playing in the Wes Montgomery vein, although showing her own musical personality here and there. She is joined by pianist James Williams, bassist Don Thompson, and drummer Terry Clarke on a challenging set of material filled with obscurities. Certainly such numbers as Cannonball Adderley's "Cannonball," Dexter Gordon's "For Regulars Only," McCoy Tyner's "Search for Peace," and Monty Alexander's "Eleuthra" are rarely performed. Better known are "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "Afro Blue"; Remler also contributes two originals. Throughout the date the guitarist displays a great deal of potential, much of which would sadly go unrealized due to her early death. ~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/take-two-mw0000076188

Personnel: Emily Remler (guitar), James Williams (piano), Don Thompson (bass), Terry Clarke (drums).

Take Two

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Pat Martino - Stone Blue

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:52
Size: 137.0 MB
Styles: Guitar jazz
Year: 1998
Art: Front

[ 4:25] 1. Uptown Down
[ 6:46] 2. Stone Blue
[ 9:15] 3. With All The People
[ 7:26] 4. 13 To Go
[ 8:08] 5. Boundaries
[ 3:39] 6. Never Say Goodbye
[ 6:13] 7. Mac Tough
[13:24] 8. Joyous Lake
[ 0:32] 9. Two Weighs Out

One could viably look at the recordings of renascent guitar hero Pat Martino's recordings of the last few years and pose the musical question: will the real Martino stand up? His Muse releases showed an artist in recovery from his life- and music-threatening brain aneurysm operation of 1980, and his 1996 album The Miracle may be his boldest complete effort yet in the post-op years. Last year's Blue Note debut, All Sides Now, was an odd hit-and-miss affair, a set of dialogues with guitarists with whom he didn't always have much to talk about with. He gets along well with the musicians on his newest album, a quasi-reunion with drummer Kenwood Dennard and keyboardist Delmar Brown, who played with him on his legendary 1976 album Joyous Lake.

Joined here by the admirable tenor saxist Eric Alexander and reliable bassist James Genus, the group navigates through a set of Martino originals that revisit his own corner of the fusion landscape. Mostly, the playing is intense-Martino's own, instantly identifiable style, the eloquent, clean-toned scramble-and the material builds off its built-in tensions, as in the opening "Uptown Down," the fast little postlude "Two Weighs Out," and the title track. The breezy tonalities of "With All the People" may veer a bit too close to smooth jazz for comfort, but the lyricism of his ballad "Never Say Goodbye" is darkly sweet.

Ironically, Brown's overly digital sounds now sound dated, in this age when the raw beauties of older keyboard sonorities are the rage. What sounds timeless here is the leader, wailing with a kind of concurrent wisdom and go-for-broke commitment to improvisational abandon. The truth is that Martino stands up every time he plays. Hints of Martino's unique power is contained in each episode of his work, this latest chapter included. ~Josef Woodland

Stone Blue

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Madeline Eastman - Art Attack

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:32
Size: 122.6 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 1994
Art: Front

[4:08] 1. The Thrill Is Gone
[4:39] 2. Gypsy In My Soul
[3:32] 3. Sonhos
[4:38] 4. I Like You, You're Nice I Like You
[4:38] 5. The Boy Next Door
[3:33] 6. Evidence
[5:00] 7. Say It Isn't So
[3:05] 8. My Heart Stood Still
[5:23] 9. Nefertiti
[3:09] 10. Telephone Song
[3:35] 11. MC
[2:44] 12. It Never Entered My Mind
[2:38] 13. You Can't Go Home Again
[2:44] 14. Love Came On Stealthy Fingers

Singer Madeline Eastman's third release for the Mad-Kat label shoots out in a lot of different directions, some more successful than others. Eastman is at her best on explorative workouts (such as a wordless version of "Nefertiti" in which she is joined by The Turtle Island String Quartet), uptempo pieces where she can scat and swing and on sensuous ballads such as "The Thrill Is Gone." In contrast, her treatment of "Gypsy in My Soul" comes across as overly pushy, the lyrics of Blossom Dearie's "I Like You, You're Nice/I Like You" are not too inspired and Eastman's decision to sing in Portuguese (as heard on Ivan Lins's "Sonhos") is a mistake. An energetic version of Thelonious Monk's "Evidence" and a hard swinging "My Heart Stood Still" are much better. The supporting cast includes a trio with pianist Kenny Barron and drummer Tony Williams on half of the program; Bay Area musicians were enlisted for most of the other tracks. To Madeline Eastman's credit, she consistently stretches herself and is not afraid to take chances. The hits far outnumber the misses on this very interesting release. ~Scott Yanow

Art Attack

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The Dave Bailey Sextet - One Foot In The Gutter

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 75:36
Size: 173.1 MB
Styles: Bebop, Contemporary jazz
Year: 2007/2012
Art: Front

[11:02] 1. One Foot In The Gutter
[12:58] 2. Well you needn't
[19:41] 3. Sandu
[17:13] 4. Blues For J.P
[ 7:55] 5. Two Feet In The Gutter
[ 6:44] 6. Our Miss Brooks

Bass – Peck Morrison; Drums – Dave Bailey; Piano – Horace Parlan; Tenor Saxophone – Junior Cook; Trombone – Curtis Fuller; Trumpet – Clark Terry. Recorded at Columbia 30th Street Studio, New York City, on July 19 and 20, 1960. Digitally remastered at La Source Mastering Paris, France.

All sides here were recorded during a series of blowing sessions that put great emphasis on the soloists. The moving spirit behind them was drummer Dave Bailey. All musicians involved play without strain, generating the kind of explosion only jazz can create. The three opening tunes were issued on the album One Foot in the Gutter, the first Bailey did as a leader, and as he himself explained in the original liner notes, “we had unusual freedom throughout, not only in what we played, but in what we did, and at one point you can hear Clark Terry and Junior Cook enthusiastically applauding one of Curtis Fuller’s solos. That was the spirit of the session, and the audience joined right in.”

One Foot In The Gutter

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Chet Atkins - Read My Licks

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:17
Size: 96.8 MB
Styles: Country-pop guitar
Year: 1994
Art: Front

[3:14] 1. Young Thing
[4:09] 2. Mountains Of Illinois
[3:29] 3. After You've Gone
[3:01] 4. Every Now And Then
[4:06] 5. Somebody Loves Me Now
[3:41] 6. Norway (Norwegian Mountain Song)
[4:33] 7. Read My Licks
[3:55] 8. Take A Look At Her Now
[3:42] 9. Around The Bend
[4:34] 10. Dream
[3:48] 11. Vincent

Chet Atkins is one of the most influential personalities to ever come out Nashville. Credited with creating the commercial middle-of-the-road "Nashville Sound," Atkins--a guitar virtuoso as well as a keen-eared record executive--remains at the forefront of the country music scene. READ MY LICKS won him a Grammy in 1995.

Tackling such diverse fare as pop standards and folk rock, Atkins is equally adept at capturing the breezy jazz feel of Johnny Mercer's string-accented "Dream" as he is with a spare, solo interpretation of Don McLean's "Vincent." Incorporating vocal assistance from sweet-voiced Suzy Bogguss and meaty instrumental backing from guitarist Mark Knopfler, fiddler Stuart Duncan and country piano legend Floyd Cramer, Atkins constructs a full spectrum of sound. But it is Atkins' own nimble and intricate fingerpicking that is the true centerpiece here. Country-based, with jazz, blues, pop and classical inflections, Atkins gracefully glides through styles as if he were skating on smooth ice. There is a constant motion when he plays, utilizing the three-finger-style Travis technique, with the melody floating above the booming lower notes. This method makes the solo "Vincent" as full-sounding as any of the more orchestrated tracks. ~AMG

Read My Licks

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Pee Wee Russell - Pee Wee Russell In England

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:29
Size: 165.9 MB
Styles: Clarinet jazz
Year: 1965/2006
Art: Front

[ 6:48] 1. There'll Be Some Changes Made
[ 5:23] 2. Sugar
[ 8:41] 3. Rose Room
[ 8:20] 4. Rosetta
[ 8:11] 5. If I Had You
[ 7:58] 6. 'deed I Do
[ 5:47] 7. Pee Wee's Blues
[14:28] 8. Untitled Blues
[ 6:49] 9. Indiana (Back Home...)

Pee Wee Russell with John Armatage (drums), Ray Crane (trumpet), Pete Strange (trombone), Cyril Keepher (tenor sax), Archie Sample (clarinet), Collin Bates (piano), Dave Green (bass), and Sandy Brown (clarinet). Recorded at Manchester Sports Guild, England, October 17th, 1964.

The idiosyncratic jazz clarinetist Pee Wee Russell is heard in a live 1964 performance backed by a band led by the British drummer Johnny Armatage. Recorded in Manchester, U.K., the set includes a variety of traditional jazz favorites, such as "There'll Be Some Changes Made," "Back Home Again in Indiana," and "If I Had You."

Pee Wee Russell In England

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Clémentine - Les Voyages

Styles: Vocal, Brazilian Jazz
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:57
Size: 106,0 MB
Art: Front

(1:58)  1. Catavento
(2:58)  2. Liebestraum
(3:01)  3. Les Voyages
(4:18)  4. Tristeza (Goodbye Sadness)
(2:16)  5. Pourquoi Pas
(3:37)  6. Aquarela Do Brasil
(3:15)  7. Nos Vimos Ya (Haven't We Met)
(1:04)  8. Rendez-Vous A Montmartre
(2:46)  9. Syracuse
(3:04) 10. Tudo Bem, Tudo Bom
(2:10) 11. Saint-Tropez Blues
(2:19) 12. Crepuscule Au Pont De Tolbiac
(4:53) 13. Águas De Março
(4:27) 14. Nina
(3:44) 15. Al Anochecer

Clémentine is a French singer and songwriter based in Japan. She debuted in France in 1988 with the single, "Absolument Jazz". In addition to many releases as a singer, she has appeared regularly on the entertainment segment for NHK Educational TV "French TV". Collaborates frequently with other artists, mostly in Japan. Recently she has often collaborated with her daughter, Solita, who is also a singer.

Born in Paris but traveled widely as a child. With her father transferring first to Mexico and later around the world, she grew in touch with Bossa Nova and other local flavors of music. Returned to France and started Piano lessons at age 10 and Jazz school at age 12. Started her professional career in 1987 by sending a demo tape to Jazz greats Johnny Griffin and Ben Sidran, and was subsequently given an opportunity to record several songs with them. In 1988 released her first single, "Absolument Jazz" with CBS France. Signed a contract with Sony Music Entertainment Japan in 1990, and released many singles and albums. From 2003 to 2005 switched to the Epic Records Japan label, and from 2005 to 2008 to Toshiba EMI. Returned to Sony Music Entertainment in 2008.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cl%C3%A9mentine_%28musician%29

Les Voyages

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Charles Lloyd - The Water is Wide

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:27
Size: 156,9 MB
Art: Front

(6:38)  1. Georgia
(5:02)  2. The Water Is Wide
(4:36)  3. Black Butterfly
(3:45)  4. Ballade And Allegro
(5:13)  5. Figure In Blue
(5:39)  6. Lotus Blossom
(8:35)  7. The Monk And The Mermaid
(7:37)  8. Song Of Her
(7:29)  9. Lady day
(4:15) 10. Heaven
(5:13) 11. There Is A BalmIn Gilead
(4:19) 12. Prayer

Tenor saxophonist Charles Lloyd pursues a slightly different angle on his new and seventh “ECM” release titled, The Water Is Wide. Lloyd continues to utilize the exemplary talents of drummer Billy Higgins and guitarist John Abercrombie, who both performed on the artist’s previous effort, Voice In The Night. While the saxophonist also enlists young wunderkind pianist Brad Mehldau and bassist Larry Grenadier who comprise two thirds of the pianist’s working trio. 

Perhaps Lloyd is plotting a new course in contrast to his earlier ethereal dreamscape style recordings as the saxophonist directs his strategies towards bluesy and moody renditions of Hoagy Carmichael’s “Georgia” and the traditional “The Water Is Wide”, among other standards and Lloyd originals. Throughout, the saxophonist’s infamous Coltrane inspired angular attack and tantalizing inflections meld wonderfully with Mehldau’s warm, thoughtful phrasing and Abercrombie’s poignant undercurrents. Yet the combined rhythmic artistry of Billy Higgins and Larry Grenadier proves to be indispensable throughout this rather ubiquitous mix, which also includes Billy Strayhorn’s endearing “Lotus Blossom”, and Duke Ellington’s lesser known, “Heaven”.

The saxophonist’s rich melodious phrasing and soulful expressionism on Cecil McBee’s “Song Of Her” offers the optimum in softly executed sentiment and lush balladry whereas you can almost hear Billie Holiday’s voice seeping through Lloyd’s sultry and altogether deeply moving lines on his original composition, “Lady Day”. Simply put, Charles Lloyd has rarely sounded better as the musicians seemingly interrogate each other’s souls during these sixty-eight enlightening minutes. Without a doubt, The Water Is Wide should find it’s way into quite a few top ten lists for the year 2000. Highly recommended. ~ Glenn Astarita  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-water-is-wide-charles-lloyd-ecm-records-review-by-glenn-astarita__23485.php

Personnel:  Charles Lloyd; Tenor Saxophone: Brad Mehldau; Piano: John Abercrombie; Guitar: Larry Grenadier; Double-Bass: Billy Higgins; Drums

The Water is Wide

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Georgie Fame - Lost in a Lover's Dream

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:35
Size: 116,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:11)  1. Wide-Eyed and Legless
(5:10)  2. My Foolish Heart
(4:35)  3. Skiing Blues
(2:04)  4. Blossom
(3:24)  5. Say When
(4:57)  6. Don't Blame Me
(3:37)  7. Medley: There's No More Blue Time / Breezin' All the Way
(3:42)  8. Singing Horn
(4:56)  9. Cry Me a River
(4:44) 10. I Can't Get Started (With You)
(4:12) 11. How Blue
(4:58) 12. Lost in a Lover's Dream

Thanks to the million-selling success he achieved with “The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde” in 1967, British vocalist and keyboardist Georgie Fame is often misbranded as yet another pop star who turned to jazz when the hits stopped coming. In fact, Fame’s jazz leanings date to the beginning of his career (“Night Train” was the lead track on his 1964 debut album). He’s toured with the Basie band, recorded with Annie Ross and paid tribute to Mose Allison alongside Ben Sidran and Van Morrison. Allison’s influence on Fame has been tremendous. His loping, drawling style is eerily similar. Indeed, anyone unfamiliar with Fame’s history might, upon hearing Lost in a Lover’s Dream, be easily fooled into thinking he grew up with Allison in Mississippi.

Recorded in Slovenia with just guitar (Primoz Grasic) and bass (Mario Mavrin), the album is split fairly evenly between standards and Fame’s own compositions. Most of the original tunes have appeared on previous discs but sound fresh against such beautifully minimalist backing. Fame opens with “Wide-Eyed and Legless,” a paean to unconquerable bad habits worthy of Tom Waits; revisits his witty “Skiing Blues,” the mountainside littered with double entendres; and reprises “Blossom,” the sweet bouquet to Blossom Dearie he first recorded in 1969 (two years earlier, Dearie ignited their musical flirtation with “Sweet Georgie Fame”). As for covers, Fame proves a sublime balladeer across “Don’t Blame Me,” “My Foolish Heart” and “Cry Me a River,” and sprinkles a marvelous “I Can’t Get Started” with references to his multifarious jazz history. ~ Christopher Loudon  http://jazztimes.com/articles/66412-lost-in-a-lover-s-dream-georgie-fame

Personnel: Georgie Fame (vocals), Primoz Grasis (guitar), Mario Mavrin (bass guitar).

Lost in a Lover's Dream

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Tom Tallitsch - Heads Or Tales

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:51
Size: 121,6 MB
Art: Front

(5:19)  1. Coming Around
(6:20)  2. Tenderfoot
(6:02)  3. Double Shot
(5:31)  4. Perry's Place
(5:15)  5. Flat Stanley
(5:58)  6. Travel Companion
(5:17)  7. The Lummox
(6:45)  8. Dunes
(3:20)  9. Don't Let It Bring You Down

Lots of sharp changes here deft tenor work from Tom Tallitsch, really cooking strongly alongside the Hammond of Jared Gold! Gold's fast becoming one of our favorite contemporary players on his instrument  and for this sweet little set, he brings out a lot of Larry Young-like lines arcing and curving with an angular feel that's really great and setting fire to Tom's tenor nicely, as it runs alongside the organ with a Joe Henderson sort of vibe. Guitar is from Dave Allen, drums from Mark Ferber, and titles include "Tenderfoot", "Coming Around", "Double Shot", "Flat Stanley", "Travel Companion", and "Dunes".  https://www.dustygroove.com/item/619310

Personnel:  Tom Tallitsch - tenor saxophone;  Dave Allen – guitar;  Jared Gold – organ;  Mark Ferber - drums

Heads Or Tales

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Bilgeri - A Man And A Woman

Styles: Pop/Rock
Year: 1993
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:01
Size: 183,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:58)  1. I'm GonnaTake You home
(4:20)  2. A Man And A Woman
(3:56)  3. Don't Stop
(4:10)  4. Breaking Free
(3:35)  5. I've Gotta Get A Message To You
(4:11)  6. Deep In My Heart
(3:39)  7. Step Back In Time
(3:48)  8. It's You
(4:08)  9. Just A Heartbeat Away
(4:15) 10. Captain Midnight

Reinhold Bilgeri forms to become a teacher in secondary German, geography, philosophy and psychology and teaches at the gymnasium of Feldkirch until 1981. During the 1970s, he formed with writer Michael Köhlmeier duo Bilgeri & Köhlmeier  (de). He enjoyed success in 1973 with the song Oho Vorarlberg. Bilgeri also has a regional reputation with his rock band "Clockwork" until the beginning of his solo career in 1981. With Videolife, it ranks among the best sellers in Austria that year. With other titles like Love Is Free or Some Girls Ladies are there between twenty times in the pop charts.In the early 1990s, he married model and actress Beatrix Kopf  (de). They have a daughter, Laura, born in 1995. 

In December 2002, the title Silver Bell is widely distributed on the German radio and television. After a compilation of his success in 2005, he published a jazz album Jazzz it - Songs von Gershwin bis Deep Purple including collaborations with Joe Meixner  (de), Harry Sokal  (de), Willi Langer  (de), Christian Lettner  (de) or The RounderGirls. Furthermore, Bilgeri written. In 2005 he published Der Atem des Himmels ("Heaven's Breath"), a novel inspired by the catastrophic avalanche in the Großes Walsertal  (de) in 1954. In late 2006, his show mixes his jazz pieces and passages readings his novel. In 2009, he signed the film adaptation and realization of the movie  (in) comes out in 2010. Translate by Google  https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinhold_Bilgeri

A Man And A Woman

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John Fedchock New York Big Band - Like It Is

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:56
Size: 160.1 MB
Styles: Big band
Year: 2015
Art: Front

[7:17] 1. You And The Night And The Music
[6:19] 2. Like It Is
[5:49] 3. Never Let Me Go
[7:04] 4. Just Sayin'
[8:25] 5. Ojos De Rojo
[7:39] 6. Hair Of The Dog
[7:52] 7. (Unknown) -Havana
[5:40] 8. Just Squeeze Me
[5:32] 9. For Heaven's Sake
[8:14] 10. Ten Thirty 30

John Fedchock: trombone; Mark Vinci: alto saxophone, flute; Charles Pillow: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone; Rich Perry: tenor saxophone; Walt Weiskopf: tenor saxophone; Gary Smulyan: baritone saxophone (1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9); Scott Robinson: baritone saxophone (2, 7, 8, 10); Tony Kadleck: trumpet, flugelhorn; Craig Johnson: trumpet, flugelhorn; Scott Wendholt: trumpet, flugelhorn (2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 20); John Bailey: trumpet, flugelhorn (1, 4, 9); Barry Ries: trumpet, flugelhorn; Keith O'Quinn: trombone; Clark Gayton: trombone; George Flynn: bass trombone; Allen Farnham: piano; Dick Sarpola: bass; Dave Ratajczak: drums; Bobby Sanabria: percussion (2, 5, 7).

Veteran trombonist and big band leader John Fedchock, has had a history of showcasing some of the finest contemporary ensemble music ever presented, and on the audacious Like It Is, keeps that tradition alive on the fifth album from his 16-piece New York Big Band. A group by the way, that has been around and swinging for over two decades boasting a personnel listing of all-stars and jazz luminaries which, have garnished the eventual Grammy nods with the four previous recordings. The inspiration for the album, may have been the desire to present large orchestrations with a respect and feel of the past big band voice augmented by an infusion of the modern approach to ensemble music, offering a terrific, propulsive and engaging big band sound "like it is" now!

Featured here are five Fedchock originals and five new dynamic arrangements of jazz standards from composers Arthur Schwartz and Ray Evans to Duke Ellington and Cedar Walton offering a blast from the past with a new twist, together with a percolating pop from the present essentially, affirming the main theme of the album. Drummer Dave Ratajczak introduces the sizzling opener "You and the Night and the Music," followed by solo moments from the leader, Mark Vinci on alto and Rich Perry on tenor saxophone turning the familiar melody into a challenge to discern but certainly accomplishing the goal of sounding new and vibrant.

The percussive beats of the title track has a Latin-tinge and features the great Charles Pillow on an alto solo accompanied by the hard-blowing trumpet of Barry Ries leading the band. Continuing with the Latin theme, Fedchock introduces a superb arrangement of Walton's classic "Ojos De Rojo" featuring pianist Allen Farnham doing his utmost to sound like a Latin jazz artist of note. Other players featured on this gyrating piece are all-stars Scott Wendholt on trumpet and the legendary baritone master, Gary Smulyan. While not a Latin jazz project, Fedchock does includes one more Latin-styled piece with the Afro-Cuban rhythms of "Havana," showcasing Bobby Sanabria's percussions and Vinci's voice on the flute.

The Evans classic composition "Never Let Me Go," allows Fedchock the opportunity to take center stage on his own recording as he offers a warm and intimate voice on the piece making it a trombone feature and the first soft balladic tune of the album. On the swinging side of the musical ledger you have the original "Just Sayin,'" the powerful-sounding "Just Squeeze Me," and the brassy hard-driving finale tune "Ten Thirty 30."

The Fedchock band has so many top-notch players providing stellar solo moments that it seems all deserve mention such as standouts like alto saxophonist Walt Weiskopf, baritone man Scott Robinson, bassist Dick Sarpola and Tony Kadleck among many others. Trombonist/band leader John Fedchock and his amazing New York Big Band turn in another special performance delivering a muscular sound in a finesse manner and in the finest tradition of big band music just Like It Is and should be. ~Edward Blanco

Like It Is

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Frank Sinatra - Christmas

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 29:50

Size: 68.3 MB

Styles: Holiday, Vocal

Year: 2013

Art: Front

[3:57] 1. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

[2:16] 2. Mistletoe And Holly

[3:10] 3. The Christmas Waltz

[3:02] 4. Whatever Happened To Christmas

[1:59] 5. Jingle Bells

[2:35] 6. White Christmas

[3:26] 7. The Christmas Song

[1:39] 8. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

[3:09] 9. I'll Be Home For Christmas

[2:07] 10. Christmas Memories

[2:26] 11. Silent Night

Sinatra's best holiday tunes in one package.

Christmas

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