Wynonna Judd - Sing Chapter 1

Styles: Vocal, Country
Year: 2009
File: MP3@224K/s
Time: 46:16
Size: 74,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:05)  1. That's How Rhythm Was Born
(4:05)  2. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
(4:39)  3. Women Be Wise
(2:55)  4. I Hear You Knocking
(3:23)  5. Till I Get It Right
(4:49)  6. Are The Good Times Really Over
(2:33)  7. The House Is Rockin'
(3:19)  8. Ain't No Sunshine
(4:05)  9. I'm A Woman
(4:01) 10. Anyone Who Had A Heart
(4:17) 11. When I Fall In Love
(4:59) 12. Sing

Wynonna Judd's excellent 2003 outing What the World Needs Now Is Love was steeped in rock & roll and country tunes done in her inimitable fashion. It reflected Judd's uncanny ability to sing new music with the passion, style, and finesse of the old gems. Country and pop radio being what they are namely, paranoid frightened defective computers with human faces all but ignored it. The radio and video channel worlds reflect the very definition of insanity: doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. Rather than trying something different by showcasing real quality and individualism, they become narrower and more paranoid with each passing year as they program recycled crap. Update 2009: Wynonna Judd is back with Sing: Chapter 1, a collection of standards and cover tunes that have inspired her throughout her life and career. And it's a stunner. Produced by Brent Maher and Don Potter, this set contains 12 tracks that range from country music standards to blues tunes, R&B nuggets, and American pop radio classics by the masters. The opener is a reading of the prewar 1932 finger-poppin' swinger "That's How Rhythm Was Born" (wherein Judd and Vicki Hampton do their own Andrews Sisters on the backing chorus). Judd delivers it effortlessly with all the good time verve and a smoking Stéphane Grappelli-inspired violin solo by Fats Kaplan the original contained, but with a bit more sass. She counters this with a gorgeous, deeply emotional, string-laden version of Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," that is as dramatic and darkly dreamy as ANYTHING k.d. lang ever attempted.

This is followed by a beautiful version of Sippie Wallace's "Women Be Wise," with all of its sassy natural inflections retained even as Judd updates the context, and then a version of Dave Bartholomew's New Orleans R&B stomper "I Hear You Knockin'" that gives the Dave Edmunds cover a run for its money  and comes damn close to Fats Domino's. Other country classics include Merle Haggard's "Are the Good Times Really Over for Good," Stevie Ray Vaughan's "The House Is Rockin'" (and here it really does), and a completely shocking, utterly bereft deep soul-blues reading of Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine." Here, the simmering, smoldering eros in Judd's voice is tempered with genuine loneliness, accented by the nylon-string guitar and a convincing string arrangement. It's devastating. Add to this a shuffling bluesy rocker in Leiber & Stoller's "I'm a Woman," with some smoking Rhodes piano, and you have the uptempo part of the program covered. But add the three ballads that close the set the Bacharach/David "Anyone Who Had a Heart," the 1952 standard "When I Fall in Love," and the closing title track by Rodney Crowell and you have true classicism. This final track is a new pop country anthem; it underscores Judd's sheer individualism and style, and offers a complete illustration of her gifts as a singer. Sing: Chapter 1 is perfection in performance, material, production, and musical execution. Judd is reinventing herself AS herself: she is a country singer every bit the individual that Patsy Cline was, and is so iconoclastic with her phrasing, tension, shading, and drama that she is a truly unique stylist (a rarity in the 21st century). If you want to hear a singer's singer, one who can move you to the core of your being with her way of interpreting a song, Wynonna Judd's deeply moving, authentic Sing: Chapter 1 is a fine place to begin. This may be her finest hour.~Thom Jurek http://www.allmusic.com/album/sing-chapter-1-mw0000805828

Personnel:  Roy Agee – trombone;  Eddie Bayers – drums; Brian Beatty – background vocals;  Kerry Beatty – background vocals;  Bekka Bramlett – background vocals;  Bob Britt – electric guitar;  Elicia Brown – background vocals;  Jeremy Calloway – background vocals;  Spencer Campbell – bass guitar; Maurice Carter – background vocals; Bruce Dailey – piano;  Mark Douthit – tenor saxophone

Sing Chapter 1

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George Cables Trio - Bluesology

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:45
Size: 157.4 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 1998
Art: Front

[6:45] 1. In Your Own Sweet Way
[6:37] 2. Easy Living
[5:37] 3. There Is No Greater Love
[5:08] 4. Voodoo Lady
[8:06] 5. Come Rain Or Come Shine
[7:56] 6. A Night In Tunisia
[7:19] 7. Hi-Fly
[7:30] 8. Bluesology
[8:58] 9. Ebony Moonbeams
[4:46] 10. How Deep Is The Ocean

George Cables- piano, Jay Anderson- bass, Billy Drummond- drums.

We don't get enough of George Cables these days. You know how it is; record for those little independent labels and somehow you just get lost in the major league shuffle. Look a little deeper and you'll find that Cables has made some great trio music in recent days, with two dates coming to my mind in particular, Night and Day on the Japanese DIW label and Cables' Fables from the pianist's SteepleChase oeuvre. Apparently the alliance with the latter concern has proven productive because there's been a great stream of trio discs to come as the product of that relationship, with Bluesology the most recent to get a Stateside release.

Taking nothing away from its predecessors, Bluesology is a distinguished Cables affair while also being just one damn good piano trio record. The focus is mainly on standards, but what this ensemble does with them is anything but standard fare. Just take the opening Brubeck classic, "In Your Own Sweet Way," which sports a catchy introductory vamp that also provides a launching pad for the solos. Cables' voicings are rich and robust (captured with great finesse by engineer Josiah Gluck), while his improvisational style gains much from a forward momentum, aided further by Billy Drummond's quicksilver drumming. The two Cables originals contained herein are both winners, leaving one with a desire to have had more of his blithe lines thrown into the mix. "Voodoo Lady," as the title might suggest, gets its energy from a rumba beat and thick two-handed block chords from Cables. The lengthier "Ebony Moonbeams" is built upon an eighth-note feel and has an extended form complete with creative periods of tension and release. Then, all of a sudden Drummond kicks into a sprightly samba beat for a spell, only to later find Cables' haunting refrain at the forefront. And yet these are just two highlights among many. Can you say "highly recommended?" ~C. Andrew Hovan

Bluesology

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Alicia Varcoe - Since I Fell For You

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:40
Size: 106.8 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[4:11] 1. The Nearness Of You
[3:54] 2. Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me
[4:01] 3. Good Morning Heartache
[3:45] 4. Deed I Do
[4:51] 5. Since I Fell For You
[4:24] 6. He Loves And She Loves
[4:08] 7. I Could Write A Book
[4:51] 8. I Believe In You
[5:41] 9. Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry
[6:49] 10. Mad As Hell Blues

With a voice described by pianist Gene D’Andrea as “heartfelt” and “full of possibilities,” twenty-two-year old vocalist Alicia Varcoe is breaking into the jazz scene. Already, Alicia has performed for international audiences at such venues as the U.S. Consulate General in Hamburg, Germany, Roskilde Jazz Days in Denmark, and for an audience of over five thousand in The Hague, the Netherlands. She has shared the stage with jazz luminaries such as Ed Neumeister, Steve Abshire, John Brown, Bobby Muncy, Kevin Pace, and Jon Metzger, with whom she studies. Currently, she is the vocalist for the Elon University Jazz Ensemble in North Carolina. Alicia is also a talented pianist, and works as a freelance accompanist for vocalists and instrumentalists. Her debut album, Since I Fell For You premiered March 2013, and features new arrangements of jazz standards, as well as her own original compositions.

Since I Fell For You

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Eddie Calvert - The Best Of Eddie Calvert: The EMI Years

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:34
Size: 124.9 MB
Styles: Easy Listening
Year: 1992
Art: Front

[2:44] 1. O Mein Papa
[1:38] 2. The Poor People Of Paris
[2:36] 3. Stranger In Paradise
[2:10] 4. April In Portugal
[2:35] 5. On A Slow Boat To China
[2:55] 6. Love Is A Many-Splendoured Thing
[3:42] 7. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
[2:09] 8. Sucu Sucu
[2:40] 9. My Son, My Son
[3:13] 10. Il Silenzio
[2:21] 11. Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White
[2:28] 12. Mandy
[2:45] 13. Around The World
[2:41] 14. Forgotten Dreams
[3:26] 15. My Yiddische Momme
[2:31] 16. Summertime
[3:00] 17. John And Julie
[3:01] 18. Little Serenade [piccolissima Serenata]
[3:10] 19. I Love Paris (Can Can)
[2:40] 20. Zambesi

Eddie Calvert, known as the man with the golden trumpet, was born in Preston, Lancashire on the 15th March 1922 as Albert Edward Calvert. As a child he was exposed to his family's love of brass band music and he learned to play many brass instruments but concentrated on the trumpet. He joined the Preston Town Silver Band at the age of 11 but the war interrupted his musical career and by the late 1940s he returned to play in various amateur brass bands, eventually moving to the professional circuit with the dance bands Geraldo and Billy Ternet. Going solo, he appeared on TV with the Stanley Black Orchestra. He signed to the Columbia label, part of the EMI group and released an instrumental trumpet version of the German song Oh Mein Papa which had most famously been covered in English as Oh My Papa by Eddie Fisher. Calvert's instrumental easily won the chart battle in the UK and it remained at no.1 for nine weeks at the beginning of 1954. Over a year later he was involved in another chart battle for supremacy with the song Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White and this time it was much closer with both his and a very similar trumpet version by Perez Prado reaching no.1 in the Spring of 1955. Several other hits followed including a version of Stranger In Paradise, John And Julie and Mandy, while Little Serenade was his final hit in June 1958. When the 1960s provided no change of fortune, Calvert moved away to settle in South Africa where he lived out the remainder of his life, dying on the 7th of August 1978. ~bio by Sharon Mawer

The Best Of Eddie Calvert: The EMI Years

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Clyde McPhatter - All Time Favorites

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 21:41
Size: 49.7 MB
Styles: R&B, Soul
Year: 2015
Art: Front

[2:05] 1. Little Bitty Pretty One
[2:35] 2. Rockin' Robin
[2:27] 3. Don't Let Go
[1:50] 4. I'm Movin' On
[2:43] 5. Money Honey
[2:27] 6. Oh Lonesome Me
[2:52] 7. Pretty Girls Everywhere
[2:08] 8. Sixty Minute Man
[2:31] 9. Such A Night

Clyde McPhatter (November 15, 1932 – June 13, 1972) was an influential African-American R&B singer, born in Durham, North Carolina. He was raised in a religious Baptist family, and formed a gospel group in 1945 after his family moved to New Jersey. They soon relocated to New York City, and McPhatter joined the Mount Lebanon Singers, a popular gospel group. In 1950, McPhatter joined Billy Ward & the Dominoes, and was present for the recording of "Sixty Minute Man", which was a huge hit in 1951, and was one of the earliest rock and roll records. After several more hits, McPhatter quit the group in 1953 because he made little money and gained virtually no fame, in spite of his voice being the lead on most of the group's songs. McPhatter then signed to Atlantic Records after forming a group, The Drifters. "Money Honey", "Such a Night", "Honey Love", "White Christmas" and "Whatcha Gonna Do" became huge hits.

In 1954, McPhatter was drafted but was assigned in the U.S., allowing him to continue recording. He soon left The Drifters and launched a solo career. His first solo hit occurred just after being discharged - "Love Has Joined Us Together" (with Ruth Brown). He released several R&B hits in the next few years, but only made one serious dent in the pop charts with the Brook Benton penned song "A Lovers Question", which made it to #6 in 1958. White groups usually covered his best compositions and achieved more widespread mainstream success. In spite of this, McPhatter became one of the most popular black musicians among white listeners. His 1956 recording of "Treasure of Love" saw him enjoy just one week in the UK singles chart. The lack of any subsequent entry gave him the unenviable tag there of being a one hit wonder McPhatter soon signed to MGM Records, and released several more hits. "I Told Myself a Lie" and "Think Me a Kiss" (1960) became minor pop hits, as was "Ta Ta", his first single for Mercury Records. "I Never Knew" and "Lover Please" (1962) became even bigger pop hits, but his career started suffering due to his alcoholism. Other black artists were following McPhatter's blueprint into pop audiences, including Rudy Lewis, Johnny Moore, Sam Cooke and an all new line-up of The Drifters. McPhatter's unreliability kept him from maintaining his career in the face of this competition. As the 1960s wore on, McPhatter's career kept falling in spite of a few minor hits.

In the early 1970s, McPhatter spent some time living in England, where he still had a significant audience, but this was short-lived. Back again in America, Clyde McPhatter died of a heart attack in 1972, at the age of 39. In 1987, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

All Time Favorites

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Art Tatum - In Private

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 33:57
Size: 77.8 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 2004/2010
Art: Front

[2:58] 1. Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams (And Dream Your Troubles Away)
[2:44] 2. Sittin' And A-Rockin'
[2:22] 3. You're Driving Me Crazy
[3:00] 4. Tenderly
[3:26] 5. Over The Rainbow
[3:18] 6. In A Sentimental Mood
[2:57] 7. You Took Advantage Of Me
[3:25] 8. It's The Talk Of The Town
[2:55] 9. She's Funny That Way
[3:21] 10. I'll Never Be The Same
[3:27] 11. Night And Day

According to legend, Art Tatum recorded a series of piano solos in the home of pianist Buddy Cole on state-of-the-art equipment for Cole's enjoyment, though the location of these dates has never been conclusively verified. Left to his own devices, with a superb, well-tuned piano and minus the noisy distractions he found in nightclubs, Tatum rolls out one gem after another. Fans will delight in his playful romp through "Sittin' and Rockin'," while the pianist can be heard humming quietly along during his inventive take of "You're Driving Me Crazy." Chime-like chords introduce Tatum's showstopping rendition of "Over the Rainbow," while "Night and Day" is filled with lots of the breathtaking runs that dazzled audiences (and other pianists) throughout his career. The sound quality exceeds Tatum's commercial recordings of the period (though he wasn't recording very much at the time). True Art Tatum fanatics will want to acquire this music, but the Storyville CD Complete Jazz Chronicle: Solo Sessions + is a better investment, as it adds eight alternate takes from these sessions, plus a previously unissued 1955 recording made in New York for Radio Sweden. ~Ken Dryden

In Private

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Eric Alexander - Straight Up

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1992
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:34
Size: 148,0 MB
Art: Front + Back

(8:28)  1. Straight Up
(8:29)  2. What are you doing the rest of your life?
(7:54)  3. Be My Love
(8:00)  4. Blues Waltz
(8:06)  5. Laura
(7:25)  6. An Oscar For Treadwell
(8:12)  7. The End Of A Love Affair
(7:57)  8. Love Is a Many Splendored Thing

Tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander finished second in the 1991 Thelonious Monk sax competition, and shows why throughout these eight tracks. He has a full, bright, impressive tone, excellent facility and command of the instrument and is steadily developing a personal sound. While the tracks vary in quality, most are at worst competent and at best outstanding. Alexander is more interesting on uptempo tunes than ballads, where he concentrates more on melodic presentation than thematic exposition.~Ron Wynn http://www.allmusic.com/album/straight-up-mw0000621138

Personnel: Eric Alexander (tenor saxophone); Jim Rotondi (trumpet); Harold Mabern (piano); John Webber (bass); George Fludas (drums).

Straight Up

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Silje Nergaard - Be Still My Heart - The Essential

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:13
Size: 157,0 MB
Art: Front

(5:03)  1. Be Still My Heart
(4:40)  2. We should be happier by now
(4:46)  3. Shame On You
(4:58)  4. Dance Me Love
(4:40)  5. I don`t wanna see you cry
(4:21)  6. If You Leave Me Now
(5:24)  7. On and on
(3:06)  8. Me Oh My
(4:12)  9. The Waltz
(5:00) 10. Tell Me Where You're Going
(5:35) 11. How am I supposed to see the stars
(3:46) 12. Keep On Backing Losers
(4:24) 13. Japanese Blue
(3:39) 14. Lullaby To Erle
(4:33) 15. Ga en annen vei

Silje Nergaard is an award-winning Norwegian jazz-pop singer/songwriter who peaked in popularity after the turn of the century with the chart-topping albums At First Light (2001) and Nightwatch (2003). Born on June 19, 1966, in Steinkjer, Norway, she cites influences that include Al Jarreau and Joni Mitchell. As a teenager she became something of a national sensation when she joined an impromptu jam session at the 1983 Molde Internasjonal Jazz Festival. In 1984 she made her solo recording debut with a 7" single, "One of These Mornings"/"My Funny Valentine," released on PolyGram. Several years later she signed a recording deal with Lifetime Records and made her full-length album debut with Tell Me Where You're Going (1990), the first of three English-language jazz-pop albums produced and co-written by Richard Niles. The highlights of these early albums, the others being Silje (1991) and Cow on the Highway (1995), were later compiled on the best-of collection The Lifetime Years (2005). After parting ways with Lifetime Records, Nergaard released a couple Norwegian-language albums on the label Kirkelig Kulturverksted: Brevet (1995) and Hjemmefra (1996). Upon signing a major-label recording deal with Universal Music, Nergaard broke through to mainstream success in 2000 with Port of Call, a full-length English-language effort comprised largely of cover material. Port of Call was a Top Ten hit on the Norwegian albums chart and set the stage for her chart-topping follow-up albums, At First Light (2001) and Nightwatch (2003). Like Port of Call, these two albums feature a quartet comprised of Tord Gustavsen (piano, Rhodes), Harald Johnsen (acoustic bass), and Jarle Vespestad (drums), in addition to Nergaard (vocals). Almost entirely self-composed, Nightwatch was especially successful, earning Nergaard a Spellemannprisen award for Musician of the Year. In the wake of this success, Be Still My Heart: The Essential (2005), a best-of collection also featuring some new material, was released, along with the aforementioned Lifetime compilation. Subsequent albums Darkness out of Blue (2007) and A Thousand True Stories (2009), both Top Five hits, feature an expanded band and arrangements by Vince Mendoza. ~ Jason Birchmeier https://itunes.apple.com/no/artist/silje-nergaard/id13493860#fullText

Be Still My Heart - The Essential

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Lee Ritenour - This is Love

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1998
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:09
Size: 136,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:47)  1. This is Love
(4:41)  2. Mr. Papa
(5:21)  3. Can You Feel It?
(4:28)  4. Dream Away
(6:01)  5. Alfie's Theme
(5:18)  6. And You Know What ... I Love You
(4:53)  7. Baltimore
(3:50)  8. Ooh-Yeah
(7:35)  9. Street Runner
(5:26) 10. Dreamwalk
(6:45) 11. Pavane

Lee Ritenour's first solo album for his new i.e. music label is a good one, one of his best actually, whether staying in the strict jazz-lite format that marks a lot of his previous work or straying into the other idioms that pop up here. Whether emulating Wes Montgomery's octaves or curling around in single-string fashion, Ritenour's playing is irresistibly tasty and swinging, perhaps more so than ever, and the material has real melodic interest more so than anything his former group Fourplay was performing around this time. Among the most interesting swerves off the track are the title tune, which mixes reggae with Montgomery in a very appealing way, and a surprisingly effective closing take on Fauré's "Pavanne." There are extended samples from Sonny Rollins' Alfie score, with "Alfie's Theme" grooving away in a cool, soulful, organ-jazz seam and "Street Runner" tracking Rollins' recording, its quicksilver post-bop clip juxtaposed with repose. On both tracks, Ronnie Foster supplies authentic Hammond B-3 perhaps fulfilling a Jimmy Smith-meets-Wes Montgomery fantasy. Bill Evans and Ernie Watts take guest turns on tenor on a few cuts; Bob James chips on agreeably on Rhodes electric piano on "Can You Feel It?"; and Ritenour often takes matters into his own hands, programming electronic drums and performing on synthesizers. Hardcore jazzers who wrote Ritenour off as a lightweight ought to hear how he has grown as a mature jazz guitarist on this album. ~ Richard S.Ginell http://www.allmusic.com/album/this-is-love-mw0000039079

Personnel: Lee Ritenour (acoustic & electric guitars, synthesizer, bass, drum programming); Phil Perry, Lisa Fischer (vocals); Larry Williams (saxophone, flute, synthesizer, keyboards); Bill Evans (soprano & tenor saxophones); Ernie Watts (tenor saxophone); Jerry Hey (trumpet, flugelhorn); Gary Grant (trumpet); Bill Reichenbach (trombone); Ralph Morrison (violin); Alan Pasqua (piano, Fender Rhodes); Bob James (Fender Rhodes); Ronnie Foster (Hammond B-3 organ); Frank Becker (synthesizer, programming); James Genus (acoustic & electric basses); Melvin Davis (bass); Dave Weckl, Sonny Emory (drums); Paulinho Da Costa (timbales, percussion).

This is Love

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Sandy Stewart - Sandy Stewart Sings The Songs Of Jerome Kern

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:07
Size: 149.1 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 1995/2015
Art: Front

[3:10] 1. Nobody Else But Me
[4:52] 2. Medley Bill Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man
[4:30] 3. They Didn't Believe Me
[3:54] 4. How'd You Like To Spoon With Me
[2:43] 5. All The Things You Are
[2:34] 6. I'm Old Fashioned
[6:03] 7. The Song Is You
[2:28] 8. All In Fun
[2:57] 9. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
[1:55] 10. Pick Yourself Up
[4:02] 11. Medley Can I Forget You Yesterdays
[4:29] 12. In Love In Vain
[2:43] 13. The Way To Look Tonight
[3:23] 14. Remind Me
[3:27] 15. Day Dreaming
[3:07] 16. You Couldn't Be Cuter
[5:21] 17. The Folks Who Live On The Hill
[3:21] 18. Medley Look For The Silver Lining Till The Clouds ..

THE MARRIAGE OF THE LYRICS TO THE MUSIC THAT KERN wrote is so perfectly realized and so easy to sing because there’s not a line or a note that doesn’t coincide with perfection, as far as I’m concerned. I’ve been singing his songs since I was a little girl. Moose [Charlap, Stewart’s late husband] said once that every jazz composer thinks of Kern’s “All the Things You Are” as the perfect song. It’s like the National Anthem but better. No offense to America—I’m very patriotic! As I get older, I find more creative things to do with the melody and the lyric itself, which hopefully you’ll notice in the show. You just can’t miss with a Kern song.

Kern is a giant. Everybody knows it, it’s common knowledge in America and across the world. I lived in a time in my youth when there was such magic in the theater and such total creativity, and it was not so much competition between the great composers as much as it was a wonderful time on Broadway.

I grew up. I got older. I learned about loss, great loss in my life, great joy in my life, and it’s a matter of using your life experiences and transferring them to your audience. When I sing a great song, I want the audience to know that these people took time and effort and joy and love to write these wonderful stories, and I want to tell it like it is and not just sing the song. How can I explain it? I know one of my great experiences was when I was singing one of the old ballads and after I finished, no one applauded. I thought everyone had left the room. I didn’t know what was going on. But then I realized what a great complement they were giving me, because I touched their hearts, and that’s something I love to do, because my heart was touched and I want to convey that experience to them. ~Theresa Anna

Sandy Stewart Sings The Songs Of Jerome Kern

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Ignaz Dinne, Ron Carter - The Next Level

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:11
Size: 121.7 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 2008
Art: Front

[7:34] 1. The Next Level
[6:13] 2. Think Again
[4:22] 3. Three's A Crowd
[6:17] 4. Petes Place
[6:22] 5. Ask Me Now
[4:51] 6. I'll Be Seeing You
[6:59] 7. Pannonica
[5:40] 8. The Twisting Path
[4:48] 9. Come Sunday

Just past the threshold of his seventh decade, Ron Carter is an iconic bassist whose prolific heartbeat has stirred the lifeblood of jazz for nearly 50 years. Whether he's playing with fellow legends or lending credibility to a burgeoning young lion, his distinctive style and tone has been the underpinning for the 1000+ recordings on which he has appeared.

In contrast to his work on New York Reunion, Carter's playing is comparatively muted on young tenor Ignaz Dinne's The Next Level, steeped in the blues and the classical stylings upon which his technique and solo structures are based. Dinne's ballad "Think Again" includes vintage Carter, his pizzicato complementing feathery tenor and drummer Jochen Rueckert's whispering brushes perfectly. His rubato pushes Pete Rende's excellent piano on "Pete's Place" and his bass on "Ask Me Now" bursts with octaves and doubling of notes. Throughout The Next Level Carter thrives on manipulating the tempos and key signatures, strumming the strings and doubling the chords. Dinne blows with perfect solemnity on Ellington's "Come Sunday," with Carter's masterful pizzicato and Rende's pump organ underscoring the excellent arrangement. But throughout it seems that Carter is holding back, as if he didn't want to overshadow his young charge. ~Terrell Kent Holmes

The Next Level

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Matt Monro, Nelson Riddle - Matt Sings, Nelson Swings

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:34
Size: 102.0 MB
Styles: Vocal, Swing
Year: 2007
Art: Front

[2:33] 1. Brother John
[2:16] 2. Come Back To Me
[2:59] 3. What To Do
[2:32] 4. Let's Face The Music And Dance
[3:01] 5. In The Arms Of Love
[3:16] 6. Walk Away
[2:48] 7. It's Alright With Me
[3:58] 8. Born Free
[5:26] 9. When You Become A Man
[3:16] 10. Shadow Of Your Smile
[4:43] 11. The John F. Kennedy March
[3:16] 12. Softly As I Leave You
[4:25] 13. Strike Up The Band

Neither Matt Monro or Nelson Riddle need any introductions as they are both legends in their own field of work. Matt the versatile crooner with a string of hits and great recordings behind him and Nelson one of the most successsful arrangers and orchestrators ever, having worked for Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee and Nat King Cole amongst many others. This album is a recording of the one and only time that Matt and Nelson worked together. It was recorded in front of an invited audience at the BBC Television Centre in 1967. The recording has been remastered giving it a top quality sound.

Matt Sings, Nelson Swings

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Patrice Monahan - Going Places

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 32:45
Size: 75.0 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2008
Art: Front

[3:30] 1. All Of Me
[4:54] 2. You Go To My Head
[3:39] 3. I Ain't Got Nothin But The Blues
[4:03] 4. East Of The Sun
[2:45] 5. The Tender Trap
[5:04] 6. Cry Me A River
[3:29] 7. Do Nothin Til You Hear From Me
[2:48] 8. Blame It On My Youth
[2:30] 9. Straighten Up And Fly Right

Patrice is a multi-talented performer including: Jazz Vocalist - Pianist, Percussive Tap Dancer, Educator - Music as Therapy.

Versatile Boston based Patrice Monahan has been performing, composing, arranging, directing, coaching and teaching piano, voice and tap dance for over 20 years. "Please don't ask me to pick just one." Her roots are in the simplicity of folk music and its storytelling, the love of the script, dance and lyric through her extensive work in film acting, musical theater and cabaret. She loves the element of improvisational surprise. Patrice's musicians are of "the best." The audience can't help but feel the excitement and pull of the tight ensemble performances. It is the ease of swing in her vocal dance and her clear melodic and lyric connections that make her performances so captivating.

Going Places

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Nicholas Payton, Lew Soloff, Tom Harrell, Eddie Henderson - Trumpet Legacy

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:26
Size: 126.9 MB
Styles: Trumpet jazz
Year: 1997
Art: Front

[7:29] 1. So What
[5:56] 2. Jordu
[5:58] 3. My Funny Valentine
[5:12] 4. Lotus Blossom
[8:44] 5. The Sidewinder
[6:29] 6. There's No You
[4:23] 7. Fire Waltz
[4:25] 8. Nostalgia
[6:44] 9. That's Earl, Brother

Four masters of the trumpet, two generations apart, get together for an inspired session to pay homage to Dizzy, Miles, Satchmo, Clifford Brown, Chet Baker, Lee Morgan, Kenny Dorham, Booker Little, and Fats Navarro. All four play together on the opening "So What" and the closer, Gillespie's "That's Earl Brother"; they split off in different groupings on the other tracks. With Mulgrew Miller on piano, Peter Washington on bass, and Carl Allen on drums, the rhythm section is well in the pocket, and while none of the tunes are copies of their more famous namesakes (no chorus quoting here), the spirit is dead on the money on every track, making for some exciting jazz very well played. Highlights include "Jordu," "Nostalgia," "My Funny Valentine," "The Sidewinder," and "There's No You." An inspired and accessible session. ~Cub Koda

Trumpet Legacy

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Scott Hamilton Quartet - Our Delight!

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:29
Size: 150,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:56)  1. Get Happy
(7:04)  2. Four
(5:27)  3. Lonely Moments
(6:59)  4. Serenade To Sweden
(6:12)  5. Our Delight
(6:53)  6. Change Partners
(7:05)  7. Tee Pee Time
(4:49)  8. Isfahan
(8:27)  9. Taking A Chance On Love
(6:33) 10. In Walked Bud

Scott Hamilton was born in 1954, in Providence, Rhode Island. During his early childhood he heard a lot of jazz through his father’s extensive record collection, and became acquainted with the jazz greats. He tried out several instruments, including drums at about the age of five, piano at six and mouth-organ. He had some clarinet lessons when he was about eight years of age, but that was the only formal music tuition he has ever had. Even at that age he was attracted to the sound of Johnny Hodges, but it was not until he was about sixteen that he started playing the saxophone seriously. From his playing mainly blues on mouth organ, his little band gradually became more of a jazz band. He moved to New York in 1976 at the age of twenty-two, and through Roy Eldridge, with whom he had played a year previously in Boston, got a six-week gig at Michael’s Pub. Roy also paved the way for him to work with Anita O’Day and Hank Jones. Although it was the tail-end of the of old New York scene, a lot of the greats were still playing and he got to work and learn from people like Eldridge, Illinois Jacquet, Vic Dickenson and Jo Jones. 

Eldridge was Scott’s champion, but pulled no punches, and could be extremely critical, something for which Scott has always been grateful. In December of the same year John Bunch got Scott his first recording date, for Famous Door, and was also responsible for him joining Benny Goodman. He continued to work with Goodman at different times until the early 1980s. In 1977 he formed his own quartet, which later became a quintet, with Bunch added to the group. The same year Carl Jefferson heard him, and began recording him for his Concord record label. More than forty albums later he is still recording for them, having made many under his own leadership, several with his regular British quartet of John Pearce, Dave Green and Steve Brown, including his latest, Nocturnes & Serenades. The Quartet plus two guests, Dave Cliff and Mark Nightingale recorded Our Delight! for Alan Barnes’ Woodville label. A new release, Across the Tracks on Concorde is due this May. Along the way he has made albums with Dave McKenna, Jake Hanna, Woody Herman, Tony Bennett, Gerry Mulligan, Flip Phillips, Maxine Sullivan, Buddy Tate, Warren Vache, many with Rosemary Clooney and a number with another of his mentors, Ruby Braff, with whom he played residencies at the Pizza Express Jazz Club, London in the mid-1980s. Over the years Scott has also performed and recorded with such touring bands as the Concord Jazz All Stars, the Concord Super Band and George Wein’s Newport Jazz Festival All Stars. For some years he was based in London, where he first played in 1978, but now travels the world from Italy. Each year, in addition to two or three residencies with the quartet at the Pizza Express Jazz Club, British jazz club dates and festival work including Brecon, where he is one of the patrons, he regularly tours Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Japan, Spain and Italy. He returns to America three or four times a year to play at festivals, including in 2007, the New York JVC festival in June and Irvine, California in September, and in February 2008 for three nights at the Lincoln Centre New York. His playing has best been described by fellow tenor saxophonist and writer, Dave Gelly: “Following a Scott Hamilton solo is like listening to a great conversationalist in full flow. First comes the voice, the inimitable, assured sound of his tenor saxophone, then the informal style and finally the amazing fluency and eloquent command of the jazz language.” Scott was awarded the ‘Ronnie’ for International Jazz Saxophonist of the Year in the 2007 inaugural Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Awards.  It is no wonder that Scott Hamilton is in demand the world over. (Brian Peerless) http://www.scotthamiltonsax.com/

Personnel:  Scott Hamilton (Tenor sax); Mark Nightingale (Trombone); John Pearce (Piano); Dave Cliff (Guitar); Dave Green (Bass); Steve Brown (Drums).

Our Delight!

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Kinga - It's Magic

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:37
Size: 126,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:50)  1. It's Magic
(6:15)  2. Ain't No Sunshine
(4:33)  3. What A Difference A Day Made
(6:09)  4. This Bitter Earth
(4:01)  5. Mood Indigo
(4:22)  6. I Think It's Gonna Rain Today
(3:26)  7. Love Me Or Leave Me
(5:27)  8. Guess Who I Saw Today
(2:42)  9. Swingin' Machine
(5:12) 10. I Must Have Left My Heart
(4:20) 11. What's With You
(3:15) 12. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood

Jazz and pop chanteuse Kinga was born in Poland, then moved with her family to Amsterdam before settling in Ottawa, Ontario. While being baptized at four months of age, she screamed out, and the attending priest predicted that Kinga would become a singer. Her parents gifted Kinga with appreciation for music, including and especially jazz, at an early age: Her father played in a jazz cabaret while her mother constantly played vocal pop and jazz records by The Platters, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra and the like. By age thirteen, Kinga had studied classical piano and voice theory, and began immersing herself classical and contemporary music, both jazz and pop. She soon began performing at recitals and competitions, and helped assemble and lead a jazz quartet (called West Berlin) that played in and around Ottawa until all its members graduated from high school. She also discovered and began learning the repertoires of many great jazz vocalists, including Diana Krall, Dianne Reeves, Sarah Vaughan, Natalie Cole, and especially Ella Fitzgerald.

Kinga moved on to Humber College, studying voice and theory under Trish Colter, Lisa Martinelli, and Lisa Sullivan; she also served as instructor for voice, piano, theory, ear training and improvisation to child and adult students. “The most important experiences during my time at Humber College were working alongside very talented and reputable musicians, learning different aspects of the jazz world, and lastly, winning the Duke Ellington Honoree award in my final year there,” Kinga recalls. Kinga has subsequently spread her vocal talents as smooth, heady and sophisticated as a well-matured brandy  throughout Canada:  She has sung the American and Canadian national anthems for the Toronto Blue Jays, Toronto Maple Leafs (in partial French, for a sold-out contest against the Montreal Canadians), the Toronto Raptors, and internationally-broadcast Hockey Night in Canada. Kinga has performed with pianist Renee Rosnes, flugelhornist Guido Basso, and Don Thompson’s jazz ensemble, and appeared at the National Jazz Awards, the Royal Ontario Museum, Canada’s Walk of Fame, and on CTV and CBC Radio.

Guess Who I Saw Today brings all Kinga’s influences and experiences full circle. Knowing that a great singer’s best friend is a great song, her debut release features new interpretations of Ellington’s classic “Mood Indigo” and such familiar tunes as “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” and “This Bitter Earth.” Its title track was first recorded by Nancy Wilson. Songs by such talented singer-songwriters as Randy Newman (“I Think It’s Going to Rain Today”), Bill Withers (“Ain’t No Sunshine”) and Mose Allison (“What’s With You” and “Swingin’ Machine”) round out the set. Guess Who I Saw Today was arranged and produced by pianist Bill King. “I could tell during our first practice sessions, the voice fit comfortably around the rich melodies and could deliver a heartfelt interpretation of the lyrics,” producer King recalls.For Kinga, the most important thing about this debut is her emotional connection to each track. Each song reflects a time or point in her life where she experienced an emotional roller coaster – whether it was love, happiness, heartache, anger or frustration  and these experiences speak to and through each song on Guess Who I Saw Today. http://www.kinga-jazz.com/

It's Magic

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Ryan Kisor - Donna Lee

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:50
Size: 110,3 MB
Art: Front

(6:48)  1. Songs For My Father
(3:11)  2. Donna Lee
(6:41)  3. Short Story
(5:37)  4. Up Your Tempo
(6:03)  5. Rip Tide
(7:21)  6. I Had The Craziest Dream
(5:32)  7. Work Song
(6:34)  8. Zingaro

One of the youngest of the so-called Young Lions, Ryan Kisor first gained attention when he won the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz's first trumpet competition in 1990 at age 17. He had earlier studied trumpet with his father, played with a local band when he was ten, and started studying classical music two years later. Kisor discovered jazz at 14 and developed quickly, playing both jazz and classical music locally. In the summer of 1988, he was inspired at a jazz camp by Clark Terry. 

After winning the Monk contest, he was signed by Columbia, coming out with a couple of interesting if slightly premature CDs as a leader. Since that time, Ryan Kisor (whose originality has developed gradually) has freelanced around New York, most notably with the Mingus Big Band and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. ~ Scott Yanow https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/ryan-kisor/id31291224#fullText

Personnel:  Ryan Kisor – trumpet;  Sam Yahel – organ;  Peter Bernstein – guitar;  Greg Hutchinson – drums

Donna Lee

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Barbara Dennerlein - Plays Classics

Styles: Jazz, Hard Bop, Post-Bop
Year: 1988
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:42
Size: 98,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:47)  1. Redken Blues
(3:19)  2. Night and Day
(8:03)  3. Georgia On My Mind
(3:38)  4. Meditation
(3:03)  5. How High The Moon
(6:53)  6. Satin Doll
(5:00)  7. Take The A Train
(4:36)  8. Yesterday
(4:18)  9. This Old Fairy

A superb collection of classics by Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Count Basie, Cole Porter, Hoagy Carmichel, Antonio Carlos Jobim, the Beatles and a powerful organ trio with guitar, drums and Barbara’s exceptional left foot playing exciting bass lines.

Perhaps once or twice in a generation a young musician appears out of the blue, breathing spectacular new life into an old musical genre long regarded as passé. So it was with Barbara Dennerlein who was largely responsible for the rebirth of interest in the almost-forgotten Hammond B3. This album, “Barbara Dennerlein Plays Classics”, was recorded when Barbara was only 24 years old, long before worldwide fame that followed. It shows a mastery of the instrument far beyond her years, and stunning bass pedal work that is the envy of other jazz organists. Already by this time, this Munich native had reached the pinnacle of the German and European jazz scene, with far greater fame soon to come. “Barbara Dennerlein Plays Classics” captures that moment in time as a star of the European jazz scene was on the verge of worldwide recognition.  Here, with dazzling Dennerlein style, the Barbara Dennerlein Trio pays homage to some of the unforgettable songs of the ‘50s and ‘60s…. classics that recall names like Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Count Basie, Cole Porter, Hoagy Carmichel, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and later, the Beatles. Barbara leads her trio effortlessly through swing, bop, ballads, blues, and even a tasty bossa, then tops it all off with two of her own compositions. Through it all, it’s all too easy to forget there is no bassist playing that tight bass… it’s just Barbara’s lightning-fast left foot. This is a truly delightful album, bound to become a favorite. In listening, one can easily see why this young 24 year old was already on the road to achieving recognition worldwide. http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/dennerlein10

Personnel:  Barbara Dennerlein Hammond organ & footpedal bass;  Christoph Widmoser guitar;  Andreas Witte drums

Plays Classics

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Diane Johnston, Harry Allen, Grant Stewart, Neal Miner & Phil Stewart - For The Love Of It

Size: 99,6 MB
Time: 43:09
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2012
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. I've Got You Under My Skin (3:45)
02. It Might As Well Be Spring (5:59)
03. Juicy Lucy (4:18)
04. Everything Happens To Me (5:11)
05. You Make Me Feel So Young (6:10)
06. To Donald (4:03)
07. This Can't Be Love (3:53)
08. Secret Love (5:21)
09. Love Walked In (4:26)

This CD is primarily jazz standards with one original tune by Diane Johnston, composer and pianist/vocalist. Diane Johnston is a jazz pianist/singer/arranger who has performed in various clubs and venues in Manhattan and the New England area. The quartet is made up of experienced jazz musicians including Harry Allen ( tenor sax) , Grant Stewart ( tenor sax) , Neal Miner (bass) and Phil Stewart. ( drums) The playing is swinging, mainstream jazz.

MC
Ziddu

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Benny Goodman - Date With The King + Mr. Benny Goodman (Bonus Track Version)

Size: 179,4 MB
Time: 76:30
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz
Art: Front

01. Memories Of You (Rosemary Clooney) (3:33)
02. Can't We Talk It Over (3:15)
03. That's A' Plenty (3:59)
04. A Fine Romance (3:02)
05. It's Bad For Me (2:54)
06. Goodbye (Rosemary Clooney) (3:09)
07. Bugle Call Rag (2:45)
08. One O'clock Jump (3:50)
09. Avalon (3:13)
10. Don't Be That Way (3:01)
11. Down South Camp Meeting (3:08)
12. Sing, Sing, Sing (7:21)
13. Moonglow (3:24)
14. And The Angels Sing (Martha Tilton) (3:11)
15. China Boy (3:33)
16. Goodbye (Instrumental Version) (3:16)
17. Shine (1:04)
18. It's Been So Long (2:55)
19. Alicia's Blues (3:41)
20. Seven Come Eleven (3:37)
21. Memories Of You (Instrumental Version) (3:17)
22. I Got Rhythm (4:27)
23. Let's Dance (0:45)

Complete 1955 album Date with the King which combined the talents of the Benny Goodman sextet and singer Rosemary Clooney her only existing session with the clarinettist, though in fact she only performs three songs on what was originally issued as a 10 inch LP. Other personnel for this session: Buck Clayton (trumpet), Urbie Greene (trombone), Dick Hyman/Claude Thornhill (piano), Aaron Bell (bass), Bobby Donaldson (drums).

Paired with the complete LP Mr Benny Goodman the Benny Goodman Story which was recorded during the same week and featured both a big band and a quintet with Lionel Hampton

Includes seven bonus tracks from the same dates.

MC
Ziddu

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