Bernd Reiter Quintet Feat. Eric Alexander - Workout At Bird's Eyes

Styles: Saxophone Jazz, Straight-ahead/Mainstream 
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:48
Size: 141,8 MB
Art: Front

( 9:01)  1. Workout
(10:35)  2. I Want To Hold Your Hand
(11:53)  3. Gettin' And Jettin'
( 8:36)  4. All The Way
(12:00)  5. Uh Huh
( 9:40)  6. Super Jet

A defiant clatter of snare drum introduces this joyously retro live set from young Austrian drummer Bernd Reiter. Aided by the doyen of New York mainstream tenor saxophone, Illinois-born Eric Alexander, Reiter and his band swing through the kind of collection that might have been cut by Dexter Gordon when he too was on the Danish Steeplechase label in the mid-Seventies. And everyone’s wearing suits on the cover, natch. Not that Alexander possesses the instantly identifiable Gordon tone (he uses vibrato only sparingly), but he does have that effortless authority and melodic style. The sleek Helmut Kagerer on guitar also has his ears fixed on the jazz of the Seventies mainstream in his case, Grant Green springs to mind, but also of course the immortal Wes Montgomery. And pianist Olivier Hutman takes on the Kenny Drew/Wynton Kelly role with terrific panache. One of the many enjoyable things about the album is the length of the tracks. Reiter’s cavalier disregard for the likelihood of radio play makes a nice change there are only six tracks, none of them clocking in at under 8½ minutes. 

So everyone gets to stretch out and blow. As the album’s title suggests, several tunes are taken from Hank Mobley’s catalogue: the title track and Uh Huh (from his 1962 Workout album) plus Getting’ and Jettin’ (from Another Workout, recorded in 1961 but not released until 1985). The other three tracks are an unrecognizable I Want To Hold Your Hand, Jimmy Van Heusen’s All The Way and Tadd Dameron’s Super Jet. The whole enterprise is suffused with energy and warmth. In fact there’s nothing not to like here, apart from a bit of intrusive snare rattle triggered by Viktor Nyberg’s double bass tough to avoid on a live recording. The musicians are all at the top of their game and locked in together in a way that only develops after a good spell on the road. Kids if you want to know how to swing, listen to this. Oldies - listening to Workout is like sinking into a hot bath at the end of a tough working day. ~ Peter Jones http://www.londonjazznews.com/2016/02/cd-review-bernd-reiter-quintet-feat.html

Personnel: Bernd Reiter – drums;  Eric Alexander - tenor saxophone;  Helmut Kagerer – guitar;  Olivier Hutman – piano;  Viktor Nyberg - bass

Workout At Bird's Eyes

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Vikki Carr - Emociones

Styles: Vocal, Latin
Year: 1996
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:17
Size: 116,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:36)  1. Propuesta
(4:53)  2. Qué  tal te va sin mí?
(3:19)  3. Los amantes
(3:58)  4. Emociones
(4:15)  5. La distancia
(3:02)  6. Digan lo que digan
(3:59)  7. Cóncavo y convexo
(3:58)  8. Que no se rompa la noche
(3:51)  9. En carne viva
(3:00) 10. A la antigua
(3:43) 11. Para volver a volver
(5:37) 12. Detalles

After singing in various school functions, local groups, and Pepe Callahan's Mexican-Irish band, Carr began her professional musical career in earnest in the early '60s. Her solo debut was in Reno, supported by the Chuck Leonard Quartet, which led to a record contract with Liberty. While not gathering much attention in the U.S., her first single ("He's a Rebel") was a hit in Australia and led to numerous television appearances, and a spell as a regular on The Ray Anthony Show. In the late '60s, Carr scored three Top 40 hits, including the number three "It Must Be Him." Her American sales dwindled in the beginning of the '70s. With the release of her 1980 album, Vikki Carr y el Amor, Carr gained enormous success in the Latin music world. In 1991, Carr won a Best Latin Pop Album Grammy for her Cosas del Amor. Reta Manda y Provoca followed in 1998, and the next year saw the release of Memories Memorias. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine http://www.allmusic.com/artist/vikki-carr-mn0000806991/biography

Emociones

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Jimmy Heath Quartet - You Or Me

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:46
Size: 141.4 MB
Styles: Bop, Saxophone jazz
Year: 1995
Art: Front

[ 7:25] 1. The Quota
[ 7:49] 2. Rio Dawn
[ 5:46] 3. Ballad From Upper Neighbors Suite
[ 7:50] 4. Is That So
[ 6:50] 5. Fungii Mama
[ 7:12] 6. You Or Me
[ 8:38] 7. All Too Soon
[10:12] 8. Hot House

Jimmy Heath is in top form throughout this quartet session, which took place on the day his elder sister died after a lingering illness. Backed by his brother Albert "Tootie" Heath on drums, guitarist Tony Purrone, and bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa, the tenor saxophonist revisits his fluid blues "The Quota" (which is very appropriately full of interesting quotes, displaying the leader's witty side) and debuts a new work, the enticing "Rio Dawn." He also delves into the works of other important jazz composers, including a lightly swinging treatment of Duke Pearson's "Is That So?," a potent arrangement of Blue Mitchell's lively calypso "Fungii Mama," and an extended workout of Tadd Dameron's "Hot House" that features each of the musicians in the spotlight to good effect. But it is Jimmy Heath's lush rendition of Duke Ellington's ballad "All Too Soon" that leaves the most lasting impression on this outstanding date. ~Ken Dryden

You Or Me                

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Madeline Eastman - The Speed Of Life

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:44
Size: 139.1 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2003
Art: Front

[6:02] 1. Alone Together
[5:25] 2. Someday We'll All Be Free
[3:58] 3. Do I Hear A Waltz
[4:20] 4. Up On The Roof
[3:52] 5. There's A Small Hotel
[4:41] 6. We Kiss In A Shadow
[4:35] 7. Dancing On The Ceiling
[5:00] 8. Wait Till You See Her
[4:11] 9. If I Should Lose You
[7:38] 10. Get Happy
[4:51] 11. Jogral
[6:06] 12. Where Or When

Madeline Eastman - Vocals; Bass – Rufus Reid; Drums – Akira Tana; Percussion – Michael Spiro; Piano – Randy Porter; Trumpet – Mike Olmos.

Have you ever been in a club, or sat listening to a live recording, when a tenor saxophonist blows a solo in the middle of a standard, and it stays pretty much faithful to the theme for a bit, then stretches out into some unexpected – beautifully so – variations of theme, while still hanging onto it? A small, gorgeous musical surprise that makes someone in the audience moan: "Oh!" And a beat latter he sighs: "yeah..."

I found myself doing this with Madeline Eastman's The Speed of Life, at least a couple of times per tune. While a tenor player does it with notes, Madeline Eastman does it with syllables strung together into distinctive phrases. No tenor here; it's the vocalist who's eliciting these responses, with a distinctive and personal style of phrasing and intonation on a set of mostly standards – and, wisely, not the ones you hear every day. I'm a believer – to an extent – of first impressions, and Eastman's disc, on an intitial listen, made me me think of Sinatra, not because she's covering a few of the songs that Old Blue Eyes preferred. Or because she sounds like him. She doesn't. But man, has she developed a personal and very engaging style of phrasing a lyric, matched with a delivery that is seemingly effortless. A palpable self-confidence, a Sinatra-esue aplomb. I doubt she wears a fedora tilted at a rakish angle, but that's the attitude that comes across. Sometimes she whispers, or purrs, or chats confidentially, and sometimes she just belts it out. Forthrightness – another Sinatra attribute – seems to be her stock in trade.

The Speed of Life showcases Eastman's vocal talent in front of a superb quartet (and sometimes quintet, with an additional percussionist) anchored by bassist Rufus Reid's big, round, assertive sound. He seems a perfect and stolid musical soulmate for Eastman. Pianist Randy Porter uses a less-is-more approach, leaving astutely placed silences for Eastman to fill. Eastman has developed quite an original sound with a great vocal range. Mix up Carmen McRae's chops (and a touch of Carmen's attitude) and some Billie Holiday with a dash or two of Ella (though her scatting is not Ella-like at all). Six of the twelve selections on the disc are Richard Rogers tunes, including an almost hip-hop version of "Do I Hear a Waltz" which features Reid's rubbery bass lines puntuated by Akira Tana's snappy rat-ta-tat drums, sliced through with Mike Olmos' muted trumpet work – showing those hip-hop guys how it should be done. The rather subtle Rodgers/Hammerstein gem "We Kiss in a Shadow" starts out a wistful and clandestine mood that gradually swells to a bold proclamation of forbidden love. It's a crowded field, but this is one of the finest lady vocalist discs of the year. ~Dan McClenaghan

The Speed Of Life

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Aaron Neville - Bring It On Home: The Soul Classics

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:15
Size: 135.7 MB
Styles: Soul, Adult Contemporary
Year: 2006
Art: Front

[4:37] 1. Rainy Night In Georgia (Feat. Chris Botti)
[3:37] 2. Ain't No Sunshine
[4:26] 3. (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay
[3:50] 4. Stand By Me
[4:13] 5. You Send Me
[4:04] 6. Respect Yourself (Feat. Mavis Staples)
[3:22] 7. When A Man Loves A Woman
[4:02] 8. Let's Stay Together (Feat. Chaka Khan)
[3:31] 9. It's All Right
[4:05] 10. People Get Ready (Feat. David Sanborn)
[3:57] 11. My Girl
[3:40] 12. Ain't That Peculiar
[4:09] 13. A Change Is Gonna Come
[3:29] 14. (You're Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher
[4:06] 15. Bring It On Home To Me

For Aaron Neville, the impact of Hurricane Katrina could only be expressed through music, specifically on songs that are uplifting, meaningful, and close to the heart. Bring It on Home...The Soul Classics is about recovery: a positive response not only to the natural disaster of the hurricane, but undoubtedly to the blasé attitude about it from the federal government. Tragedy can bring out the best in people, and Neville's disc not only aims to deal with his personal pain, but specifically reaches out to those who survived the storm the best way he knows how. These songs are familiar enough to deliver the listener a sense of warmth which hopefully opens the door to healing, grace, and power. Out of the 13 tracks, four are duets: with Mavis Staples on "Respect Yourself," Chaka Khan on "Let's Stay Together," brother Art Neville with David Sanborn for "People Get Ready," and Chris Botti on "Rainy Night in Georgia." Katrina's aftermath found other musicians reaching out to their audience as well, musicians who have created a few painfully triumphant releases like Dr. John & the Lower 911's Sippiana Hericane, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band's reworking of Marvin Gaye's 1971 album What's Goin' On, and the various artists who contributed to Our New Orleans: A Benefit Album for the Gulf Coast. It's safe to say Aaron Neville's Bring it on Home...The Soul Classics should be added to that list. ~Al Campbell

Bring It On Home: The Soul Classics

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Luis Perdomo - Pathways

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:15
Size: 137.9 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 2008
Art: Front

[5:46] 1. Speak Low
[5:46] 2. Unexpected
[6:03] 3. Shine
[5:40] 4. Fulia Chant
[6:31] 5. Almost Like Being In Love
[5:50] 6. Piensa En Mi
[6:14] 7. Chimanta
[5:16] 8. Baby Steps
[4:56] 9. Sunrise
[5:35] 10. Slap
[2:33] 11. Oblivion

For the first Criss Cross release under his own name, the remarkable Venezuelan-born, New York-based pianist Luis Perdomo has chosen to Interact with an immensely talented pair of longtime friends --- bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Eric McPherson --- in a program that includes eight well-crafted originals, two compositions sourced from the Broadway stage and a particularly memorable Bud Powell tune. A youthful veteran, who's already shared bandstands with Ray Barretto, Dafnis Prieto, David Sanchez, Jerry Gonzalez, Miguel Zenón, and Ravi Coltrane.

With Pathways, he demonstrates his mastery not only on Latin-tinged material but also on straightahead jazz that is, by turns, rhapsodic, gently propulsive and downright boppish.

Pathways

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Miles Davis, Jimmy Forrest - Our Delight

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 73:05
Size: 167.3 MB
Styles: Bop, Trumpet jazz
Year: 1992
Art: Front

[ 8:35] 1. Ray's Idea
[ 8:22] 2. A Night In Tunisia
[10:49] 3. Wee Dot
[ 7:27] 4. What's New
[ 9:22] 5. Perdido
[10:04] 6. All The Things You Are
[ 7:23] 7. Our Delight
[ 6:42] 8. Lady Bird
[ 4:17] 9. Oh, Lady Be Good

Bass – Johnny Mixon; Drums – Oscar Oldham; Piano – Charles Fox; Tenor Saxophone – Jimmy Forrest; Trumpet – Miles Davis. Recorded in performance at 'The Barrel', St. Louis, c. 1952.

In 1992, Prestige/Fantasy combined both of Miles Davis' Live at the Barrel LPs on a 74-minute CD titled Our Delight. For hardcore collectors, the release of Our Delight was very good news. However, there are various reasons why this CD can hardly be called essential. The performances, which find Davis and tenor saxman Jimmy Forrest joining forces in a St. Louis club called the Barrel, are competent and likable but not mind-blowing. And the sound quality, although listenable, is not great (by early-'50s hi-fi standards). So when you add those things up, there is no way that Our Delight should be recommended to anyone who isn't a serious collector. Nonetheless, these performances are not without historic value. Davis and Forrest (who are joined by a St. Louis rhythm section that consists of pianist Charles Fox, bassist John Mixon, drummer Oscar Oldham, and an unknown percussionist) did not play together very much, and Our Delight gives listeners a rare chance to hear them playing side by side on familiar standards like "All the Things You Are," Tadd Dameron's "Our Delight," and Dizzy Gillespie's "A Night in Tunisia." The CD also contains a dusky performance of the ballad "What's New," although ballads are not a high priority. And the type of funky, groove-oriented soul-jazz and honker music that Forrest was famous for is excluded; the musicians don't perform "Night Train" (the saxman's biggest hit), and they stick to a bop/standards program. Our Delight certainly isn't bad, but it doesn't deserve five-star praise either (unlike much of the bop and cool work that Davis offered in the '50s). Even so, collectors will find Our Delight to be interesting -- shortcomings, flaws, and all. ~Alex Henderson

Our Delight

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Jackie Ryan - This Heart of Mine

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:44
Size: 160,5 MB
Art: Front + Back

(3:52)  1. This Heart of Mine
(3:46)  2. Sleepin' Bee
(6:34)  3. Estate (Summer)
(5:50)  4. East of the Sun
(4:00)  5. Jump for Joy
(5:45)  6. Make it Last
(3:59)  7. Anos Dourados
(5:15)  8. Maybe September
(3:39)  9. When I Grow Old to Dream
(5:34) 10. Moon and Sand
(4:13) 11. Come Back to Me, Lover Come Back to Me
(6:48) 12. Sari (Trieste)
(4:49) 13. Velas Icadus (Sails)
(4:34) 14. Seasons of the Heart

You simply cannot sing a song any better than Jackie Ryan does. And you cannot make a better jazz vocal CD than this one. It is perfect. If that sounds too reverent, let me change the praise to “perfectly wonderful.” Each of the elements is truly wonderful: the choice of songs, the arrangements, accompanying musicians, even the ordering of the songs. And, most importantly, of course, Jackie Ryan! She is a smart, sophisticated vocalist for grown ups and this is her finest record and, in fact, may well be the best jazz vocal disc of 2003. If justice does exist, This Heart of Mine should make the San-Francisco-based Jackie a star. She has it all, a luxuriant smoky, rich alto, a feeling for jazz, a deft sense of swing, effortless delivery, stunning presentation and, just as importantly, an unaffected honesty. Each of her four CDs shows the steady growth of this remarkably talented artist, but This Heart of Mine deserves superlatives. How about the spell she weaves on that newest of standards, the jazz elegy to summer, “Estate,” or her moving version of Jobim’s seldom recorded tender “Anos Dourados” (Golden Years) sung in perfect Portuguese. The seldom-performed “Maybe September” is an exceptional song from a very non-exceptional movie (“The Oscar”). 

Alec Wilder’s “Moon and Sand” is getting more attention the past decade, and well it should. Ryan’s version is a wonderful and most tender addition to the growing canon. Other highlights include a gospel-tinged “Jump for Joy” and a graceful “Sleepin’ Bee.” Each track is meticulously constructed but still, the feeling of improvisation so important in jazz abounds. The “construction lines” are not visible only the spontaneity and the joy. You can tell a lot about a singer by the accompanists she keeps and Jackie Ryan keeps the best. This Heart of Mine features two different marvelous core bands. Four Los Angeles-based master musicians include pianist Jon Mayer, drummer Roy McCurdy, guitarist Barry Zweig, and bassist Darek Oles. A San Francisco contingent includes either Leonard Thompson or pianists Amina Figarova, bassists John Wiitala or Ruth Davies, and percussionists Omar Clay or Jason Lewis. The legendary Toots Thielemans adds his lyrical magic on the aforementioned “Estate” and “Maybe September.” Saxophonist Ernie Watts delivers some memorable contributions on three cuts. Yutaka Yokokura provides beautiful strings and Steve Erquiaga gentle bossa guitar rhythms on Jobim’s “Anos Dourados.” Jackie Ryan has a full-bodied voice and she intoxicates with a combination of power and perfume. She can be cute without cloying, sassy without being smug, she can swing but handles ballads with an assured delicacy and depth. Jackie is the real thing, an artist to delight in today and to follow in the future. This Heart of Mine is sixty seven minutes of glorious music. ~ Roger Crane https://www.allaboutjazz.com/this-heart-of-mine-jackie-ryan-openart-review-by-roger-crane.php

Personnel: Steve Erquiaga - Guitar;  Barry Zweig - Guitar;  Ruth Davies - Bass;  Roy McCurdy - Drums;  Jon Mayer - Piano;  Darek Oles - Bass;  Toots Thielemans - Harmonica;  Ernie Watts - Sax;  John Wiitala - Bass;  Jason Lewis - Drums;  Amina Figarova - Piano;  Yutaka Yokokura - Strings; Jackie Ryan - Vocals;  Leonard Thompson - Piano;  Bart Plateau - Flute;  Derek Oles - Bass.

This Heart of Mine

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Joe Lovano, Dave Douglas - Sound Prints

Styles: Saxophone and Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:54
Size: 119,6 MB
Art: Front

( 4:38)  1. Sound Prints
(13:58)  2. Sprints
( 8:32)  3. Destination Unknown
(10:25)  4. To Sail Beyond The Sunset
( 1:34)  5. Weatherman
(12:45)  6. Power Ranger

Named after Wayne Shorter's classic composition "Footprints," the Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas quintet Sound Prints is a collaborative ensemble born out of the duo's involvement in the 2008 SFJAZZ Collective's tribute concert to legendary jazz saxophonist Shorter. Inspired to continue the creative spark they ignited at that event, saxophonist Lovano and trumpeter Douglas conceived of a group that would play original compositions, as well as new material from Shorter. The group's 2015 concert album, Sound Prints: Live at Monterey Jazz Festival, showcases their debut appearance at the famed jazz event. Joining Lovano and Douglas here are pianist Lawrence Fields, bassist Linda Oh, and drummer Joey Baron. That each of these musicians could easily lead their own band only adds to Sound Prints' depth as an ensemble. However, rather than coming off as a jazz supergroup, Sound Prints feel like an organic unit of like-minded individuals working toward creating something new. Along with the palpable Shorter influence, they also recall the ruminative experimentalism of the late trumpeter Kenny Wheeler and his 5tet from the early '90s. To these ends, cuts like the fractured title track and the rambunctious, stream of conscious "Weatherman," combine the free bop of Ornette Coleman's '60s quartet with the expressive earthiness of Douglas' own work with his Tiny Bell Trio. Similarly, the evocative, bluesy "Spirits" brings to mind late-'60s Miles Davis, while the Latin-esque "Power Ranger" recalls latter-day John Coltrane. Elsewhere, Douglas and Lovano deliver two previously unheard Shorter pieces with the sultry, introspective "To Sail Beyond the Sunset" and the languid "Destination Unknown." Ultimately, Sound Prints walk the line between muscular, tangible post-bop and free-flowing, avant-garde playing; a tantalizing dance that never fails to leave an impression. ~ Matt Collar http://www.allmusic.com/album/sound-prints-live-at-monterey-jazz-festival-mw0002824082

Personnel: Joe Lovano (saxophone, tenor saxophone); Dave Douglas (trumpet); Lawrence Fields (piano); Joey Baron (drums).

Sound Prints

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Charlie Haden & Chris Anderson - None But the Lonely Heart

Styles: Piano Jazz,  Straight-ahead/Mainstream 
Year: 1997
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:41
Size: 166,5 MB
Art: Front + Back

(13:19)  1. The Night We Called It a Day
( 7:04)  2. I Hear a Rhapsody
( 6:52)  3. Alone Together
(10:33)  4. Nobody's Heart
( 6:24)  5. Body and Soul
( 5:26)  6. The Things We Did Last Summer
( 9:04)  7. It Never Entered My Mind
( 5:25)  8. CC Blues
( 8:30)  9. Good Morning Heartache

Chris Anderson is one of the unsung heroes of modern jazz piano. A revered figure among musicians, largely for his role as mentor to a young Herbie Hancock, Anderson has long been hindered by illness from aggressively pursuing his rightful place in the jazz limelight. As Charlie Haden poignantly states in the album's liner notes, "Chris is risking his life with every chord, that's how much it means to him." Although he has performed with everyone from Charlie Parker to Sun Ra over the course of his lengthy career, Anderson remains mostly unknown even to serious jazz fans. One hopes that this outstanding new duo effort with bass master Haden on the British Naim label helps to earn him some richly deserved acclaim. A Chicago native reared on the blues and the music of Nat King Cole, Art Tatum, and Duke Ellington, Anderson years ago developed a rich harmonic sensibility influenced by European classical composers like Ravel and Debussy. His playing remains moody, quiet, and impressionistic, built on chordal improvisation rather than speedy right-hand runs, yet he never strays too far from his blues roots. The album's song selection leans towards familiar ballad chestnuts like "Alone Together," "It Never Entered My Mind," and "Body and Soul." Anderson takes his time with these old tunes, focusing on tonality and harmony, to reveal all their melancholy spirit and beauty. And on the album's final two cuts, an original blues and a stirring take on the old Billie Holiday standard "Good Morning Heartache," he shows that for all his harmonic sophistication he can still get down with some old-fashioned barrelhouse blues piano.Haden's accompaniment is sympathetic, never obtrusive, and always right on the money. Clearly this is a bassist who listens and who knows that less is often more. But Anderson is the star here, and one deserving the respect and admiration of every jazz fan. ~ Joel Roberts https://www.allaboutjazz.com/none-but-the-lonely-heart-charlie-haden-naim-label-review-by-joel-roberts.php

Personnel:  Chris Anderson - piano;  Charlie Haden - bass

None But the Lonely Heart

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Lucky Thompson - Bop & Ballads

Styles: Saxophone Jazz

Year: 2016

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 42:23

Size: 97,5 MB

Art: Front

(3:42)  1. Summertime

(3:23)  2. Thin Ice

(5:20)  3. Lover Man

(5:03)  4. Jeannie

(3:52)  5. Deep Passion

(4:03)  6. Brother Bob

(5:12)  7. Yesterdays

(4:05)  8. Cherokee

(4:39)  9. The World Awakes

(3:00) 10. Star Eyes

Born in Columbia, SC, on June 16, 1924, tenor saxophonist Lucky Thompson bridged the gap between the physical dynamism of swing and the cerebral intricacies of bebop, emerging as one of his instrument's foremost practitioners and a stylist par excellence. Eli Thompson's lifelong nickname the byproduct of a jersey, given him by his father, with the word "lucky" stitched across the chest -- would prove bitterly inappropriate: when he was five, his mother died, and the remainder of his childhood, spent largely in Detroit, was devoted to helping raise his younger siblings. Thompson loved music, but without hope of acquiring an instrument of his own, he ran errands to earn enough money to purchase an instructional book on the saxophone, complete with fingering chart. He then carved imitation lines and keys into a broom handle, teaching himself to read music years before he ever played an actual sax. According to legend, Thompson finally received his own saxophone by accident a delivery company mistakenly dropped one off at his home along with some furniture, and after graduating high school and working briefly as a barber, he signed on with Erskine Hawkins' 'Bama State Collegians, touring with the group until 1943, when he joined Lionel Hampton and settled in New York City. Soon after his arrival in the Big Apple, Thompson was tapped to replace Ben Webster during his regular gig at the 52nd Street club the Three Deuces Webster, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, and Art Tatum were all in attendance at Thompson's debut gig, and while he deemed the performance a disaster (a notorious perfectionist, he was rarely if ever pleased with his work), he nevertheless quickly earned the respect of his peers and became a club fixture. After a stint with bassist Slam Stewart, Thompson again toured with Hampton before joining singer Billy Eckstine's short-lived big band that included Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Art Blakey in other words, the crucible of bebop. But although he played on some of the earliest and most influential bop dates, Thompson never fit squarely within the movement's paradigm his playing boasted an elegance and formal power all his own, with an emotional depth rare among the tenor greats of his generation. He joined the Count Basie Orchestra in late 1944, exiting the following year while in Los Angeles and remaining there until 1946, in the interim playing on and arranging a series of dates for the Exclusive label. Thompson returned to the road when Gillespie hired him to replace Parker in their epochal combo he also played on Parker's landmark March 28, 1946, session for Dial, and that same year was a member of the Charles Mingus and Buddy Collette-led Stars of Swing which, sadly, never recorded.

Thompson returned to New York in 1947, leading his own band at the famed Savoy Ballroom. The following year, he made his European debut at the Nice Jazz Festival, and went on to feature on sessions headlined by Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis (the seminal Walkin'). Backed by a group dubbed the Lucky Seven that included trumpeter Harold Johnson and altoist Jimmy Powell, Thompson cut his first studio session as a leader on August 14, 1953, returning the following March 2. For the most part he remained a sideman for the duration of his career, however, enjoying a particularly fruitful collaboration with Milt Jackson that yielded several LPs during the mid-'50s. But many musicians, not to mention industry executives, found Thompson difficult to deal with he was notoriously outspoken about what he considered the unfair power wielded over the jazz business by record labels, music publishers, and booking agents, and in February 1956 he sought to escape these "vultures" by relocating his family to Paris. Two months later he joined Stan Kenton's French tour, even returning to the U.S. with Kenton's group, but he soon found himself blacklisted by Louis Armstrong's manager, Joe Glaser, after a bizarre conflict with the beloved jazz pioneer over which musician should be the first to leave their plane after landing. Without steady work, he returned to Paris, cutting several sessions with producer Eddie Barclay. Thompson remained in France until 1962, returning to New York and a year later headlining the Prestige LP Plays Jerome Kern and No More, which featured pianist Hank Jones. Around this same time his wife died, and in addition to struggling to raise their children on his own, Thompson's old battles with the jazz power structure also remained, and in 1966 he formally announced his retirement in the pages of Down Beat magazine. Within a few months he returned to active duty, but remained frustrated with the industry and his own ability during the March 20, 1968, date captured on the Candid CD Lord, Lord Am I Ever Gonna Know?, he says "I feel I have only scratched the surface of what I know I am capable of doing." From late 1968 to 1970, Thompson lived in Lausanne, Switzerland, touring widely across Europe before returning the U.S., where he taught music at Dartmouth University and in 1973 led his final recording, I Offer You. The remaining decades of Thompson's life are in large part a mystery he spent several years living on Ontario's Manitoulin Island before relocating to Savannah, GA, trading his saxophones in exchange for dental work. He eventually migrated to the Pacific Northwest, and after a long period of homelessness checked into Seattle's Columbia City Assisted Living Center in 1994. Thompson remained in assisted care until his death on July 30, 2005. ~ Jason Ankeny http://www.allmusic.com/artist/lucky-thompson-mn0000302799/biography

Personnel:  Lucky Thompson – ts, ss;  Michael Naura – p;  Hajo Lange – b;  Heinz von Moisy – d;  Guests:  Hans Koller (3, 4, 7-9) – ts;  Georges Grenu (3, 4, 7-9) – ts;  Klaus Marmulla – as;  Helmut Reinhardt (3, 4, 7-9) – bars;  Jimmy Gourley (1, 2, 5, 6, 10) – g;  Wolfgang Schlüter – vib, perc

Bop & Ballads

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Donny Hathaway - In Performance

Styles: Vocal, Soul
Year: 1977
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:52
Size: 94,1 MB
Art: Front

(8:23)  1. To Be Young, Gifted And Black
(5:54)  2. A Song For You
(7:06)  3. Nu-Po
(5:57)  4. I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know
(7:56)  5. We Need You Right Now
(5:34)  6. Sack Full Of Dreams

Though largely revered for his studio recordings, it was on-stage that Donny Hathaway truly became a giant diamond in a sea of gems. Much like his excellent 1972 Live recording and the stellar 2004 These Songs for You, Live!, In Performance features Hathaway taking his audience to church in a way that can only be described as unique, as he truly had an individual stage presence that few others could hope to rival. In Performance isn't necessarily better than those aforementioned excellent records, but it complements them extremely well, with gritty versions of "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" and "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know" leading the charge. 

As usual, Hathaway's delivery is electric and as sincere as a soul artist could possibly get. In Performance's sole flaw is its length. When the audience applause from the finale, "Sack Full of Dreams," has faded, one is likely to find that the 40 minutes spent listening wasn't nearly enough a testament to how potent and powerful Hathaway was in his prime. ~ Rob Theakston http://www.allmusic.com/album/in-performance-mw0000203475

In Performance

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Various - The Aretha Franklin Songbook

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:05
Size: 128.4 MB
Styles: Jazz/Soul/R&B
Year: 2013
Art: Front

[4:43] 1. Dr. Lonnie Smith - Think
[4:40] 2. George Benson - Don't Let Me Lose This Dream
[5:39] 3. Stanley Turrentine - Dr. Feelgood
[4:35] 4. Cassandra Wilson - Angel
[4:59] 5. B.B. King - Spirit In The Dark
[4:19] 6. Will Downing - Daydreaming
[7:45] 7. Jimmy Smith - After Hours
[3:46] 8. Grover Washington, Jr. - All The King's Horses
[2:27] 9. Dianne Schuur - Climbing Higher Mountains
[7:13] 10. Quincy Jones - Daydreaming/First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
[5:55] 11. Stanley Turrentine - Dr. Feelgood (Alt. Take)

She is both a 20th and 21st century musical and cultural icon known the world over simply by her first name: Aretha. The reigning and undisputed “Queen Of Soul” has created an amazing legacy that spans an incredible six decades, from her first recording as a teenage gospel star, to her current releases. Her many countless classics include “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” “Chain Of Fools,” “I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)”; her own compositions “Think,” “Daydreaming” and “Call Me”; her definitive versions of “Respect” and “I Say A Little Prayer”; and global hits like “Freeway Of Love,” “Jump To It,” “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me),” her worldwide chart-topping duet with George Michael, and “A Rose Is Still A Rose.”

The recipient of the U.S.A.’s highest civilian honor, The Presidential Medal Of Freedom, an eighteen (and counting) Grammy Award winner – the most recent of which was for Best Gospel Performance for “Never Gonna Break My Faith” with Mary J. Blige in 2008 – a Grammy Lifetime Achievement and Grammy Living Legend awardee, Aretha Franklin’s powerful, distinctive gospel-honed vocal style has influenced countless singers across multi-generations, justifiably earning her Rolling Stone magazine’s No. 1 placing on the list of “The Greatest Singers Of All Time.”

The Aretha Franklin Songbook

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Jimmy Rushing - The Very Best Of (2 Parts)

He was known as "Mister Five-By-Five" -- an affectionate reference to his height and girth -- a blues shouter who defined and then transcended the form. The owner of a booming voice that radiated sheer joy in whatever material he sang, Jimmy Rushing could swing with anyone and dominate even the loudest of big bands. Rushing achieved his greatest fame in front of the Count Basie band from 1935 to 1950, yet unlike many band singers closely associated with one organization, he was able to carry on afterwards with a series of solo recordings that further enhanced his reputation as a first-class jazz singer.

Raised in a musical family, learning violin, piano and music theory in his youth, Rushing began performing in nightspots after a move to California in the mid-'20s. He joined Walter Page's Blue Devils in 1927, then toured with Bennie Moten from 1929 until the leader's death in 1935, going over to Basie when the latter picked up the pieces of the Moten band. The unquenchably swinging Basie rhythm section was a perfect match for Rushing, making their earliest showing together on a 1936 recording of "Boogie Woogie" that stamped not only Rushing's presence onto the national scene but also that of Lester Young. Rushing's recordings with Basie are scattered liberally throughout several reissues on Decca, Columbia and RCA. While with Basie, he also appeared in several film shorts and features.

After the Basie ensemble broke up in 1950, a victim of hard times for big bands, Rushing briefly retired, then formed his own septet. He started a series of solo albums for Vanguard in the mid-'50s, then turned in several distinguished recordings for Columbia in league with such luminaries as Dave Brubeck, Coleman Hawkins and Benny Goodman, the latter of whom he appeared with at the Brussels World's Fair in 1958 as immortalized in "Brussels Blues." He also recorded with Basie alumni such as Buck Clayton and Jo Jones, as well as with the Duke Ellington band on Jazz Party. He appeared on TV in The Sound of Jazz in 1957, was featured in Jon Hendricks' The Evolution of the Blues, and also had a singing and acting role in the 1969 film The Learning Tree. ~bio by Richard S. Ginnell

Album: The Very Best Of (Part 1)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:36
Size: 166.2 MB
Styles: Jazz/Blues/R&B
Year: 2009

[2:51] 1. Baby, Don't Tell On Me
[3:14] 2. Rock And Roll
[7:37] 3. Evenin'
[4:50] 4. How Long, How Long Blues
[3:13] 5. I Left My Baby
[3:04] 6. Hey Pretty Baby
[2:36] 7. Bye Bye Baby
[2:53] 8. Somebody Stole My Gal
[1:47] 9. Baby Won't You Please Come Home
[2:45] 10. I'm Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town
[4:33] 11. Harvard Blues
[2:49] 12. Money Is Honey
[2:24] 13. Hi-Ho Sylvester
[2:52] 14. Sent For You Yesterday (And Here You Come Today)
[2:48] 15. Where Were You
[2:45] 16. Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out
[3:01] 17. Blues In The Dark
[3:08] 18. Don't You Miss Your Baby
[4:20] 19. How You Want Your Lovin' Done
[2:45] 20. If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight)
[6:12] 21. Every Day I Have The Blues

The Very Best Of (Part 1)

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Album: The Very Best Of (Part 2)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:04
Size: 135.2 MB
Styles: Jazz/Blues/R&B
Year: 2009
Art: Front

[3:39] 1. Boogie Woogie
[1:31] 2. Pretty Little Baby
[3:36] 3. Goin' To Chicago Blues
[2:12] 4. She's Mine, She's Yours
[2:54] 5. Undecided Blues
[2:16] 6. Goodbye, Baby
[2:27] 7. In The Moonlight
[2:53] 8. Blue Skies
[3:22] 9. After You've Gine
[3:05] 10. It's The Same Old South
[2:38] 11. Take Me Back, Baby
[3:16] 12. It's Hard To Laugh A Smile
[3:22] 13. The Blues I Like To Hear
[3:11] 14. Good Morning Blues
[2:40] 15. Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good To You
[4:18] 16. I Want A Little Girl
[3:01] 17. Stop Beatin' Around The Mulberry Bush
[2:29] 18. Draftin' Blues
[2:57] 19. Jimmy's Blues
[3:07] 20. Ain't It Lonesome

The Very Best Of (Part 2)

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Karen Mason - Right Here, Right Now

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:16
Size: 94.5 MB
Styles: Easy Listening
Year: 2008
Art: Front

[3:10] 1. All That Jazz
[3:04] 2. Secret Love
[4:33] 3. Like The Heavens Hold The Stars
[3:37] 4. Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend
[4:35] 5. Help Being Alive
[2:58] 6. Hurry! It's Lovely Here
[2:50] 7. Make Someone Happy
[4:32] 8. Right Here Right Now
[3:09] 9. Get Happy
[4:43] 10. As If We Never Said Goodbye
[1:56] 11. Everything Old Is New Again
[2:03] 12. Look For The Silver Lining

Zevely Records is proud to present the long-awaited new CD from acclaimed vocalist Karen Mason. With her CD recordings, concerts, Broadway stage performances and TV appearances, Karen Mason “has few peers when it comes to ripping the roof off with her amazing voice that knows no bounds” (TheaterScene.net), which her stunning new recording reaffirms. Mason has headlined at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center and has shared concert stages with such musical luminaries as Luciano Pavarotti, Rosemary Clooney, Liza Minnelli and Michael Feinstein.

The nine-time MAC Award winner, including Major Female Vocalist of the Year for six consecutive years, releases her sixth CD, RIGHT HERE/RIGHT NOW. The recording is a showcase for Karen’s dynamic vocals and musical versatility, featuring a mix of classic standards, Broadway and motion picture favorites, as well as two never before recorded songs. Mason maximizes her vocal talents on this shining effort. From her jazz-tinged delivery on "All That Jazz" and "Everything Old Is New Again", Mason also shows her sensitive side, with exquisite, haunting readings on the classic standards "Secret Love", "Make Someone Happy" and "Look For The Silver Lining", giving them a depth and meaning that they never had before. Two of the recording’s high points are brand new songs co-written by Emmy Award-winning composer Paul Rolnick. The album’s title cut "Right Here, Right Now" and "Like The Heaven Holds The Stars" are given heartfelt and emotional performances as only Karen can. Another standout is Karen’s powerful rendition of "As If We Never Said Goodbye", from Sunset Boulevard. Karen had played the lead role of Norma Desmond to critical acclaim and standing ovations on Broadway and in Los Angeles over 200 times. The celebrated stage actress is currently starring as Velma Von Tussle in the Tony Award-winning Broadway smash hit Hairspray. Mason also originated the role of Tanya in Mamma Mia!, for which she was awarded a 2002 Drama Desk nomination as Best Actress and won the Outer Critics Circle Award for her performance in And The World Goes Round.

Right Here, Right Now

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Bob Dorough & Dave Frishberg - Who's On First

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:53
Size: 130.2 MB
Styles: Bop, Vocal jazz
Year: 2000
Art: Front

[2:53] 1. Rockin' In Rhythm
[3:43] 2. Who's On First
[3:04] 3. Lookin' Good
[4:23] 4. Too Long In L.A
[2:42] 5. You Are There
[1:24] 6. Intro: The Underdog
[3:45] 7. The Underdog
[0:28] 8. Intro: Where You At
[3:46] 9. Where You At
[4:13] 10. Health Food Nut
[3:29] 11. Devil May Care
[4:57] 12. Nothing Like You
[3:21] 13. Hong Kong Blues
[1:29] 14. Intro: I'm Hip
[3:59] 15. I'm Hip
[5:00] 16. At The Saturday Dance
[4:09] 17. Conjunction Junction

Bob Dorough and Dave Frishberg (his co-leader on this CD) have a lot in common. Both are swinging pianists, likable vocalists that do not have conventional voices, and superb lyricists with very original wits. They only collaborated once before making this CD, writing "I'm Hip" back in 1965. In recent times Ruth Price of Los Angeles' Jazz Bakery persuaded the pair to perform as a duo and this live recording is the result. After an instrumental version of "Rockin' in Rhythm," Frishberg and Dorough perform a new classic by the former, "Who's on First," which deals with the difficulties of deciding who should perform first during their joint show! Frishberg "won" and he sings and plays the biting "Lookin' Good" which is about the advantages of being good-looking in this society. Other highlights of the delightful program include the touching "You Are There," "Where You At," Dorough's "Health Food Nut," "Hong Kong Blues," "Devil May Care," "Nothing Like You," and, of course, "I'm Hip." Frishberg and Dorough also perform their long overdue second collaboration, "At the Saturday Dance," and the set concludes with Dorough's catchy "Conjunction Function" from Schoolhouse Rock. This is a fun CD that lives up to its potential. ~Scott Yanow

Who's On First

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Lena Horne - The Classic Lena Horne

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:05
Size: 101,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:23)  1. Stormy Weather
(3:22)  2. One for My Baby (And One More For the Road)
(3:26)  3. How Long Has This Been Going On?
(3:13)  4. Love Me Or Leave Me
(3:32)  5. Fun To Be Fooled
(2:51)  6. I'd Do Anything
(2:23)  7. Get Out Of Town
(2:43)  8. Darn That Dream
(2:52)  9. Come On Strong
(2:47) 10. I Hadn't Anyone Till You
(3:15) 11. Someone To Watch Over Me
(3:36) 12. The Rules Of The Road
(3:44) 13. I Get The Blues When It Rains
(2:51) 14. I Got Rhythm

Lena Horne served three separate tours of duty with RCA Victor Records, from 1941 to 1945, from 1955 to 1963, and from 1975 to 1976, making the label the largest repository for her recordings. While RCA has never reissued her work in any comprehensive manner, periodically the label assembles a single-disc compilation, and The Classic Lena Horne, part of its "100 Years of Music" centenary series, is yet another one. For once, terms like "greatest hits" and "best of" are not being used, which is a relief in Horne's case since, as annotator Colin Escott is at pains to point out, she didn't have much in the way of chart hits. Actually, unlike RCA's 2000 Greatest Hits album, this one does have her sole Top 20 hit, "Love Me or Leave Me." Also included is her 1941 recording of "Stormy Weather," made before she sang it in the movie of the same name and it became her signature song. Otherwise, compiler/sequencer Buzz Ravineau has adopted a roughly chronological approach and chosen a couple of other '40s performances ("One for My Baby [And One More for the Road]" and "How Long Has This Been Going On?") to go with various studio recordings made in the '50s and early '60s. Standards like Ira and George Gershwin's "Someone to Watch Over Me" and "I Got Rhythm" are mixed with less-well-known, but nevertheless impressive songs like Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh's "The Rules of the Road." The result is a sampler that is not, and does not claim to be, the best of Lena Horne on RCA, but that is instead a representative sampling of the kind of high-quality work she did for the label. ~ William Ruhlmann http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-classic-lena-horne-mw0000005796

The Classic Lena Horne

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Charlie Haden & Gonzalo Rubalcaba - Tokyo Adagio

Styles: Jazz, Straight-ahead/Mainstream 
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:49
Size: 121,5 MB
Art: Front + Back

( 9:05)  1. En La Orilla Del Mundo
(11:54)  2. My Love And I
( 8:29)  3. When Will The Blues Leave
( 5:47)  4. Sandino
( 9:12) 5. Solamente Una Vez (You Belong To My Heart)
( 7:19)  6. Transparence

Tokyo Adagio is a posthumous release, but one that Charlie Haden ardently desired prior to his passing in July 2014. The album marks the pinnacle of the American bassists collaborations with Gonzalo Rubalcaba, the pianist of genius he first encountered in Cuba in 1986, and with whom Charlie immediately developed a bond bordering on the telepathic. Several recordings the famous Montreal Tapes (1998), the studio albums Nocturne (2001) and Land of the Sun (2004) are evidence of the deep concordance of these two musicians, but no recording had yet captured the communal purity with which the duo displayed for the audience at the Blue Note Tokyo on consecutive evenings in the Spring of 2005. 

Ten years on, Impulse!/Universal Music Classics are happy to publish this unique eyewitness account with a title to Charlies taste, since he often referred to himself as an adagio guy. Tokyo Adagio is both a tribute and a testament to the nobility of his inimitable grace; through this release the spirit of Charlie Haden will endure. Despite the 26-year gap in our ages, he never treated me as an inferior in any sense. We had each other s confidence. We could talk about politics, life, family, business. Spending so much time with him, I learned not only about music, but also about being. Our connection was about love, for the music and for our families, and for each other. ~ Gonzalo Rubalcaba https://www.amazon.com/Tokyo-Adagio-Charlie-Haden/dp/B00WFKXPKK

Personnel: Gonzalo Rubalcaba (piano);  Charlie Haden (bass).

Tokyo Adagio

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Donald Harrison - This is Jazz

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:21
Size: 129,3 MB
Art: Front

( 9:29)  1. Cut & Paste
( 9:52)  2. MSRP
( 5:32)  3. You Are My Sunshine
(11:32)  4. Seven Steps to Heaven
( 8:45)  5. I Can't Get Started
(11:09)  6. Treme Swagger

Saxophonist Donald Harrison's name is writ large on the cover of This Is Jazz, but the album is a collaborative trio in every sense. After all, playing with legendary bassist Ron Carter and drummer extraordinaire Billy Cobham could never be equated with simply hiring sidemen. Recorded live at New York's Blue Note, the six tracks on this album take post- bop expansion to exemplary heights and keep it there for the duration. Harrison has a tight but wandering presence on alto. He drifts off into almost spacey places as he improvises, with peculiar trills and off-key runs, but in doing so he stays fairly close to the beats and, ultimately, the melodies as well. He does a masterful job of engaging in serious explorations without dissolving the framework of the songs.

Carter, with five decades of professional experience and an unparalleled list of cohorts, can play anywhere he wants, for as long as he wants, and he takes full advantage of his seniority. This Is Jazz shows him not only as a great rhythm bassist, but also as an exceptional soloist. He's always rock-solid behind Harrison, but really shines in his solo improvisations, bouncing around against the drums, or, in the case of "You Are My Sunshine," simply playing the whole song by himself. Part of the thrill can be credited to recording engineer Steve Remote of Aurasonic, Ltd. who captures the woodiness, vibrations and scale of the acoustic bass, instead of just low-note tones. The drums are the most understated element of the trio, but the skins are also where the album reveals its deepest subtlety. Cobham is an elegant drummer, with stick work that is supportive and unerringly tasteful, but also quietly complex. Seemingly content in the rhythm role, Cobham doesn't take a solo until the fourth track, Victor Feldman/Miles Davis' "Seven Steps To Heaven," and even then his statement is a tightly considered against the composition. Cobham's drumming reveals class and an attention to detail that should be studied and emulated. This record features three masters showing all the world how this music is really played. Combining a first-rate set list, equal measures of exceptional soloing and ensemble playing, and an energy that should be bottled, This is Jazz truly lives up to its name. ~ Greg Simmons https://www.allaboutjazz.com/this-is-jazz-donald-harrison-half-note-records-review-by-greg-simmons.php
 

Personnel: Donald Harrison: alto saxophone; Ron Carter: bass; Billy Cobham: drums.

This is Jazz

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Preston Reed - Handwritten Notes

Styles: Guitar, Contemporary Jazz 
Year: 2000
File: MP3@256K/s
Time: 55:47
Size: 102,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:58)  1. Night Ride
(3:42)  2. Gianaina
(4:28)  3. First summer without you
(3:50)  4. Tractor pull
(4:45)  5. Crossing open water
(3:01)  6. The Groove is Real
(5:02)  7. What you don't see
(3:22)  8. Accelerator
(3:59)  9. Love in the Old Country
(3:28) 10. Along The Perimeter
(4:33) 11. Lost time
(3:35) 12. Quintana roo
(3:58) 13. After the rain
(3:00) 14. Shinkansen

Preston Reed is a guitarist of many parts - so many parts that when he brings them all into play, first time listeners often find it impossible to believe that they're hearing just the one musician, in real time. At full tilt, Reed's fingers, thumbs, fists and hands at once suggest a drummer, keyboardist, bassist and several guitarists at work. It's a dizzying, exhilarating phenomenon. A portrait of the acoustic guitar as full-on heavy metal band. But impressions of rock bands - and high speed trains and duelling, pulling tractors - are only one side of Reed. While acknowledging that somewhere inside him there is a screaming electric guitarist pacing like a caged lion, Reed is also a player of deep sensitivity who can compose and play a blues or a ballad with a touch reminiscent of his great jazz piano-playing hero, Bill Evans. Reed's entry into this guitar odyssey was inauspicious enough, his path thereafter largely self-discovered. A few chords learned from his guitar playing father, a brief, very brief, flirtation with the ukulele, clandestine practice sessions of his favourite Beatles and Stones songs on Dads guitar.... and then a too-strict classical guitar teacher led to premature retirement.  At 16, however, Reed heard Jefferson Airplane's rootsy blues offshoot, Hot Tuna. His interest was rekindled big time. Acoustic guitar heroes John Fahey and Leo Kottke were studied, their styles absorbed but not imitated, and at this point things really begin to get interesting because, at 17, Reed, by now precociously proficient, played his first live gig, supporting beat poet Allen Ginsberg at the Smithsonian Institute.

Just getting on a train from his native Armonk in New York state to Washington was a cool adventure. And it was just the first of many, not least of which was the one which resulted from his signing his first deal with a major record company, MCA, through the auspices of his friend, country singer-songwriter Lyle Lovett. Determined to make the most of this opportunity, Reed pushed himself to go beyond the standard fingerpicking styles he'd perfected. The result was the beginnings of the startlingly innovative style, with its percussive, two-handed fretboard attack, that you hear today and which as caused guitar luminaries such as Al DiMeola and the late Michael Hedges to describe Reed as "phenomenal" and "inspiring". Reed's compositional talents extend to film soundtracks and prestigious commissions for the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet, and as well as appearances alongside Bonnie Raitt and Linda Ronstadt his major performances include an historic live satellite broadcast on Turkish National Television in 1997 with renowned saz player and composer Arif Sag which reached an audience of 120 million in 17 countries, prompting a flood of international telephone calls to the station from stunned viewers.  Since 1979, he has recorded thirteen albums and three videos and charmed audiences on three continents. He continues to tour with the same hunger and relish that informs his guitar playing and he gives regular workshops where he passes on the techniques he has developed for extending the acoustic guitar's possibilities. The secret, he says, is to relax and let the guitar patterns run by themselves. Which explains how, at full tilt, he may sound like a full-on heavy metal band but he still won't have broken sweat. http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/prestonreed

Handwritten Notes

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