Danny Walsh - D's Mood

Styles: Saxophone Jazz 
Year: 1997
File: MP3@256K/s
Time: 60:58
Size: 111,7 MB
Art: Front

(8:23)  1. D's Mood
(6:54)  2. Danny Boy
(9:59)  3. You Stepped out of a Dream
(5:54)  4. Daydream
(7:35)  5. Shiny Stockings
(9:09)  6. I Hear a Rhapsody
(5:54)  7. Sweet Bubby
(7:07)  8. Fizzology

Leave it to SteepleChase producer Nils Winther to have the fortitude for discovering and then giving recording opportunities to the likes of Ari Ambrose, Michael Cochrane, Dave Ballou, and George Colligan in recent years. Now add to this list the name of alto and tenor saxophonist Danny Walsh. Although he has been heard these days with Joe Locke, Lenny White, Elvin Jones, and Charles Fambrough, Walsh remains largely unknown outside of New York circles. It is therefore hoped that the new U.S. release of his 1997 SteepleChase set, D’s Mood will turn the tides of popularity for this professional who has been an active musician for over two decades now.  First and foremost, Walsh is a compelling tenor man with a persuasive and bristling sound and a heady imagination. His solo spot on the title track is chock full of melodic and textural ideas that he logically develops in a manner that is bracing and agreeable at the same time. Then, he’s no slouch on the alto horn either. 

As he starts his several choruses on “I Hear a Rhapsody,” the piano and guitar drop out and Walsh subsequently cooks with just the backing of bass and drums, spurred on by the audible vocal encouragement of his crew. This is not the only tune where Walsh is accompanied solely by the strolling of Anderson and Drummond and it just goes to prove how strong a soloist he can be. The closing “Fizzology” also sports a Walsh and Drummond duo moment that catches fire immediately. Even as assured a player as Walsh clearly is, his supporting troupe is equally worthy of a mention. Pianist Joey Calderazzo and guitarist Dave Stryker are no strangers to fans of the current jazz scene and each one brings a vivacity and conviction of purpose to the proceedings that seem to keep everyone on their toes, bolstered so artfully by drummer Billy Drummond. While a bit lean on originals, Walsh’s statements on D’s Mood are of such a high caliber that this one comes highly recommended. ~ C.Andrew Hovan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/ds-mood-danny-walsh-steeplechase-records-review-by-c-andrew-hovan.php
 

Personnel: Danny Walsh- tenor & alto saxophone, Joey Calderazzo-piano, Dave Stryker- guitar, Jay Anderson- bass, Billy Drummond- drums

D's Mood

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Club Des Belugas - Nine Disc 1 And Disc 2

Album: Nine   Disc 1

Styles: Soul, Nu Jazz
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:08
Size: 145,9 MB
Art: Front

(3:44)  1. It's Only Music feat. Ashley Slater
(4:04)  2. Pogo Porn feat. Karlos Boes
(4:39) 3. Ai Mi Morena (Mo'Horizons / Club Des Belugas Remix)
(5:46)  4. Quiet Dawn (The Cosmic Surf Club / Club Des Belugas Remix)
(3:27)  5. What the Butler Heard
(3:15)  6. I Just Want to Make Love to You feat. Brenda Boykin
(3:45)  7. Les Boulevards de Paris (Antoine Villoutreix / Club Des Belugas Remix)
(4:11)  8. Full Crazy feat. Brenda Boykin
(4:32)  9. Mirando Al Mar (Bahama Soul Club / Club Des Belugas Remix)
(3:39) 10. Manteca (WDR Big Band & Arturo Sandoval / Club Des Belugas Remix)
(5:29) 11. Some Like it Hot (Jojo Effect & Gardener of Delight Remix)
(4:14) 12. The Beat Goes On (Jojo Effect / Club Des Belugas Remix)
(4:32) 13. Wheelspin (Los Cuatro de la Sala / Club Des Belugas Remix)
(4:47) 14. Hip Hip Chin Chin (Schizoid Sista Remix)
(2:56) 15. Animal Parade

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Album: Nine   Disc 2

Time: 66:39

Size: 153,9 MB

(6:49)  1. Hard Swing Travellin' Man (Brenda Boykin / Club Des Belugas Remix)

(4:39)  2. Serious Woman feat. Brenda Boykin

(4:06)  3. Not with me (Jojo Effect / Club Des Belugas Remix)

(3:38)  4. Save a Little Love for Me (Zouzoulectric Remix)

(6:41)  5. Better Run feat. Dean Bowman

(4:00)  6. Mambo Tonight (Iain Mackenzie / Club Des Belugas Remix)

(4:46)  7. Iko Iko (Papa Cobana Remix)

(5:02)  8. But Rich Rhythms (Bahama Soul Club / Club Des Belugas Remix)

(3:37)  9. Quicker with the Trigger feat. Anna Luca

(4:31) 10. You and I (Audiogold / Club Des Belugas Extended Remix)

(3:39) 11. Round Around (Zouzoulectric / Club Des Belugas Remix)

(5:03) 12. Under The Neon Light feat. Veronika Harcsa

(4:09) 13. Moon Lagoon

(2:04) 14. Mojo's Walk

(3:48) 15. Bye Bye Baby I Won't Come Back feat. Anna Luca

Club des Belugas is one of the leading lounge & nujazz projects in Germany, perhaps in Europe. They combine Contemporary European Lounge & Nujazz Styles with Brazilian Beats and American Black Soul of the fifties, sixties and seventies, using their unique creativity and intensity. Main members are Maxim Illion & Kitty the Bill, with such exquisite guests as the Californian Jazz Lady Brenda Boykin, trumpeter Reiner Winterschladen (Nighthawks), Swedish singer anna.luca, London based Jazz singer Iain Mackenzie, Anne Schnell from Jojo Effect, Dean Bowman from New York and trumpet player Thomas Siffling.

Club des Belugas started their career in 2002 with their first album "Caviar at 3 a.m." In 2003 they released their 2nd album "Minority Tunes", which included the German Club Charts no.1 hits "hiphip chinchin" and "Gadda Rio". In 2006 Club des Belugas enriched the world of music with a real masterpiece called "apricoo soul". The 12" vinyl "Wildcats gotta move" reached German Club Charts #3 and stayed in the Top Ten for 8 weeks (march & april 2006). The Album included Club des Belugas' Remix of Dean Martin's "Mambo Italiano" and was the first worldwide legal remix of any Dean Martin track, authorized by Capitol/EMI and the Dean Martin Family themselves . Club des Belugas tracks have been licensed for compilations more than 220 times. They have also been licensed for advertisements and TV commercials from companies like: Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Lexus (Toyota), Ford Mondeo, Smart, KIA motors, Campari, Martini, Strenesse, The German National Soccerteam, Kaufhof, Burlington, Unilever, Telekom Germany, Telekom South Korea, IGEDO…This time the stress is more on jazz, less on electronics with use of interesting samples, and featuring vocalists Dean Bowman, Iain Mackenzie, Anna Luca, and Brenda Boykin.  http://www.last.fm/music/Club+Des+Belugas/+wiki

Nine Disc 1, Disc 2

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André Previn - All Alone

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1967
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:55
Size: 81,7 MB
Art: Front

(2:08)  1. More Than You Know
(2:18)  2. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
(2:33)  3. Everything Happens To Me
(3:38)  4. You Are Too Beautiful
(3:12)  5. How Deep Is The Ocean
(2:56)  6. Angel Eyes
(2:40)  7. When Sunny Gets Blue
(2:31)  8. As Time Goes By
(3:34)  9. Remember Me
(3:30) 10. Yesterdays
(2:49) 11. Dancing On The Ceiling
(3:00) 12. Here's That Rainy Day

Successful as pianist, composer, and especially as conductor, André Previn has frequently bridged the gap between popular and so-called "serious" music, and in doing so broadened the horizons of both. His father was an accomplished pianist (though a lawyer by profession) and determined that his son would follow in his musical footsteps. The talented young André received instruction on the piano at the Berlin Hochschule, and also absorbed music in a less formal environment during the many private recitals given in the Previn home. In the mid-1930s the Jewish family fled to France where André continued as a scholarship student at the Paris Conservatoire. In 1939, the Previn family relocated to southern California. Life was difficult for the family (all their possessions had been left behind in Europe, and Previn's father was qualified only in German law), and though barely ten years old, André supplemented the family income by accompanying films at movie houses and playing in jazz clubs. At 14 he started working at MGM (Charles Previn, André's great uncle, was head of music at Universal Studios), orchestrating and arranging film music, and slowly saved enough money to study composition with Castelnuovo-Tedesco. At 18 André was asked to compose his own full-length film score (The Sun Comes Up, 1949), which resulted in his first experience on the podium in front of a real orchestra  Previn quickly realized that his future lay in conducting, though he understood the gulf between film music and serious conducting to be a wide one indeed.

Previn, who had taken U.S. citizenship in 1943, serving in San Francisco during the Korean War, where he had the opportunity to study conducting with Pierre Monteux. Following discharge from the army, Previn left MGM, but continued to compose, conduct, and arrange film music throughout the 1950s. He also recorded and released a series of best-selling jazz albums (something he would continue to do sporadically throughout the decades). In 1963, having won four Academy Awards in as many years, Previn found the courage to abandon Hollywood and pursue his dream of becoming a respected conductor. His professional debut occurred that same year with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, and he spent the next several years traveling around the country conducting various little-known orchestras in an effort to gain exposure and develop his own skill on the podium. His first big break occurred in 1967 when he was asked to succeed Sir John Barbirolli as music director of the Houston Symphony. When offered the job of principal conductor for the London Symphony Orchestra in 1968, Previn left Houston. During his 11 years with the orchestra (1969-1979) a series of BBC television productions entitled André Previn's Music Hour made the LSO (and Previn) a household name around the world. Other conducting appointments have included the Pittsburgh Symphony, from 1977 to 1985; the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in the 1985 and 1986 seasons; and, from 1987 on, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1993 he was named conductor laureate of the London Symphony Orchestra, and he continues to make frequent appearances around the globe as a guest conductor. Previn readily admits that he is not driven to compose, but only does so on occasion, and then only on specific request. Nevertheless he has composed a generous quantity of concert music, including a piano concerto for Vladimir Ashkenazy and cello sonata at the request of Yo-Yo Ma. His musical play, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, was produced in London in 1978. The year 1998 saw the release of his full-length opera, A Streetcar Named Desire at the San Francisco Opera. In 2009, Houston Grand Opera presented his Brief Encounter, based on the film of the same name and the Noël Coward play, Still Life. 

~ Blair Johnston http://www.allmusic.com/artist/andr%C3%A9-previn-mn0000030250/biography
 

Thank You Scoredaddy!!!!

All Alone

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Ernestine Anderson - I Love Being Here With You Disc 1 And Disc 2

Album: I Love Being Here With You (Disc 1)

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2002
File: MP3@224K/s
Time: 39:46
Size: 64,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:46)  1. I Love Being Here With You
(7:03)  2. All Blues
(5:30)  3. Down Home Blues
(4:26)  4. As long As I Live
(6:50)  5. Please Send Me Someone To Love
(3:30)  6. I Let A Song Go Out Of My My Heart
(4:00)  7. Spring is Here
(4:37)  8. Street Of Dreams

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Album: I Love Being Here With You (Disk 2)

Time: 55:25
Size: 89,1 MB

( 7:32)  1. Blues In The Closet (instr)
( 4:42)  2. I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart
(10:21)  3. I Should Care
( 5:22)  4. There Is No Greater Love
( 7:14)  5. Skylark
( 4:57)  6. On My Own
(15:14)  7. Never Make Your Move Too Soon

This nicely packaged, but hard to follow (I'm still not completely sure who's playing what on which CD) two CD set compiles excerpts from four live performances by Ernestine Anderson, mostly as a guest. The album covers three live performances from 1987 and one from 1990, when the singer was doing some very good work. The CD 2 is a complete replication of the Live at the 1990 Jazz Festival album. Since as far as I know, this album is still available, why it is included here is a bit of a mystery to me. CD 1 is the far more engaging of the two. One of the compilations's highlights for me is Anderson's appearance with the Frank Capp/Nat Pierce Juggernaut Band from Live at the Alley Cat. This was the last of that high flying big band's albums due to the death of co-leader Nat Pierce. Anderson did four numbers on that album. The work on the "Street of Dreams" and "I Let a Song Go out of My Heart" is recommendation enough to run out and try and located that Frankie Capp/Nat Pierce CD. At one point during his career, pianist George Shearing seemed determined to record with just about every singer he could get his arms around. He cornered Anderson for two cuts on his 1987 release Dexterity. He and Shearing come together nicely on the cuts on which Anderson appears, "As Long As I Live" and "Please Send Me Someone to Love". The other album on this medley, again from 1987, and this time features the Concord All-Stars with such luminaries as Dave McKenna, Red Holloway and Dan Barrett occupying seats. There are three cuts from this album, with Anderson and McKenna working out on "I Love Being Here with You" the top item. This album will certainly appeal to Anderson's many fans as well as to those who just love a good singer behind a good band especially the Capp/Pierce outfit. ~ Dave Nathan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/i-love-being-here-with-you-ernestine-anderson-concord-music-group-review-by-dave-nathan.php

Personnel: Dan Barrett, Charlie Loper, Garnett Brown, Buster Cooper - Trombone;  Ed Bickert, Ken Pohlman - Guitar;  Scott Hamilton, Bob Cooper,  Frank Wess - Tenor Sax;  Red Holloway - Alto & Tenor Sax;  Dave McKenna, George Shearing, Gene Harris, Nat Pierce - Piano; Jimmie Smith, Frank Capp, Harold Jones - Drums; Warren Vache - Trumpet; Steve Wallace, Neil Swainson, Chuck Berghofer, Lynn Seaton - Bass; Snooky Young, Frank Szabo, Conte Candoli, Bill Berry; Dave Edwards, Joe Romano, Marshal Royal - Alto Sax; Bill Green - Baritone Sax

I Love Being Here With You (Disk 1) And (Disk 2)

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Ethan Iverson & Lee Konitz - Costumes Are Mandatory

Styles: Piano And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:10
Size: 130,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:23)  1. Blueberry Ice Cream take 2
(7:03)  2. Try a Little Tenderness
(1:05)  3. It's You (Tempo Complex)
(4:54)  4. It's You
(5:33)  5. What's New
(4:47)  6. 317 East 32nd
(5:50)  7. Body and Soul
(4:42)  8. Blueberry Hill
(2:01)  9. A Distant Bell
(2:12) 10. Bats
(1:19) 11. Mr.Bumi
(2:36) 12. My New Lovers All Seem So Tame
(7:04) 13. My Old Flame
(3:34) 14. Blueberry Ice Cream take 1

Costumes Are Mandatory is very collegially advertised as a collaborative album featuring Ethan Iverson, Lee Konitz, Larry Grenadier, and Jorge Rossy. And while the music may indeed be collaborative, even multi-improvisational at times, it's Iverson's date and he's very clearly the leader. The record is envisioned as an homage to "a dialogue with," according to the liner notes the late blind pianist Lennie Tristano, who in addition to generally being credited as a founder of the 'cool school' (an oversimplification, to be sure), and an early avant-garde pioneer, was also a primary teacher and influence on Konitz (as well as tenorist Warne Marsh). Though he is often thought of as being a somewhat separate musical line from bebop, he was nonetheless a great admirer of Charlie Parker, playing on many of Bird's early recordings in the late 1940s, and later serving as a pallbearer in his funeral. Strangely, given its stated intent, there isn't a single composition credited to Tristano on the record. Iverson is well represented though, opening with his "Blueberry Ice Cream take 2" a relatively conventional blues with a quick walking bass line and catchy melody. The direct connection to Tristano is, of course, Konitz who's own playing in recent years has become freer, with very little melodic structure. Iverson lays out for Konitz' compact solo which has an airiness to it that floats above the straight-ahead structure of the tune. Iverson's piano work is, in places, more reminiscent of Thelonious Monk than Tristano.

The intro to "Try A Little Tenderness" is very reminiscent of Tristano's melancholy "Requiem" featuring broad, well- sustained chords before Konitz and the rhythm section rejoin with the melody. Konitz' straight ahead statement of the tune is uncharacteristic of much of his recent playing, and he barely deviates at all leaving the improvisation to Iverson. "It's You (Tempo Complex)" pulls a Tristano trick right out of the hat by overdubbing two pianos to psychedelic, effect. At only one minute long it's enough to convey the effect without overpowering the surrounding tracks. The following straight acoustic version of the song delivers some of Konitz' best most Konitz-like improvisations: loose and searching, endlessly inventive, but still melodic and delightful. According to the liner notes Konitz declined to play on "Blueberry Hill" stating "Sounds like something The Bad Plus should play instead." Costumes Are Mandatory might work best because the music and the musicians have either approached Tristano with completely different competing musical influences, or in the case of Konitz, having completely absorbed then transcended his former mentor. They're not trying to imitate Tristano, but they forge just enough of a connection to make a truly interesting record that's worth seeking out. ~ Greg Simmons https://www.allaboutjazz.com/costumes-are-mandatory-larry-grenadier-highnote-records-review-by-greg-simmons.php
 

Personnel: Ethan Iverson: piano; Lee Konitz: alto saxophone, vocals (track 13); Larry Grenadier; Jorge Rossy.

Costumes Are Mandatory

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Joel Harrison - Urban Myths

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:38
Size: 128,9 MB
Art: Front

( 6:35)  1. You Must Go Through a Winter
( 6:06)  2. 125 and Lenox
(11:18)  3. Mood Rodeo
( 7:58)  4. Last Waltz for Queva
( 6:19)  5. Straight No Chaser Variatioons
( 8:44)  6. Between the Traveler and the Setting Sun
( 5:00)  7. Urban Myths
( 3:35)  8. High Expectation Low Return

With a string of outstanding records that began with his personal look at the music of George Harrison on Harrison on Harrison (HighNote, 2005), continued with an all-original pairing with guitarist Nguyen Le on Harbor (HighNote, 2007) and culminated with the ambitious The Wheel (Innova, 2008), guitarist Joel Harrison has, over the last few years, been setting an increasingly high bar both compositionally and as a player.Most remarkable is that he's managed, each time, to reach that bar and, in many cases, surpass it. Urban Myths may be an homage of sorts, but it still possesses his personal imprint, avoiding the retro feel of so many others of its kind. Instead, this largely original tribute to electric music of the mid-to-late '70s from legends including Joe Zawinul, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and John McLaughlin is as modern as they come, while still unmistakably referencing the music that Harrison grew up with back in the day.

Urban Myths has grooves aplenty, but they're couched in the kind of episodic writing that's been an increasing Harrison trademark, turning what is largely an impressive blowing session for friends including altoist David Binney and über-violinist Christian Howes into a series of intriguing compositions that transcend mere heads or vamp-based jams. What traces of Harrison's influences exist are so subsumed in his expansive approach to writing that they're more elemental than direct. Not unlike Binney, Harrison finds new ways to couch his roots in complex structures, as on the fiery "You Must Go Through a Winter," where Howes' fervent solo is supported by the relentless energy of bassist Stephan Crump and drummer Jordan Person. The groove gets darker and greasier on "125 and Lenox," with a staggered melody that concurrently references Shorter and, during Daniel Kelly's Rhodes solo, Headhunters-era Hancock though the rhythm section's open-ended approach is like nothing either artist did in the day. "Mood Rodeo" finds an odd nexus between mid-'70s Miles Davis and Jean-Luc Ponty's irregular metered fusion again, despite sounding like neither of these players, with writing of far greater compositional weight. "Last Waltz for Queva" may be a countrified ballad, but its innate lyricism goes beyond western roots with a melody that's sophisticated yet simple; a tad oblique, but equally memorable and singing.

Harrison delivers some of his best solos to date. His blues-drenched Telecaster on "Last Waltz" navigates its gospel-inflections with deep feeling, while his massively overdriven solo on "125 and Lenox" is the definition of reckless abandon; a visceral foil for solos throughout from Binney and Howes that match Harrison's unbridled passion and clear invention. Urban Myths may appear, on the surface, less challenging than Harbor or The Wheel, but Harrison nevertheless manages to create a more contemporary tribute to decade-old music more often aimed at lengthy soloing. Skewed as only Harrison can, Urban Myths is an homage with a difference, and continues to assert his growing reputation as a writer and performer of great significance. ~ John Kelman https://www.allaboutjazz.com/urban-myths-joel-harrison-highnote-records-review-by-john-kelman.php
 

Personnel: Joel Harrison: guitar; David Binney: alto saxophone; Christian Howes: violin; Daniel Kelly: keyboards; Stephan Crump: acoustic bass; Jordan Person: drums; Fima Ephron: electric bass (2, 8); Ambrose Akinmusire: trumpet (4, 5, 7); Corey King: trombone (4, 5, 7); Jerome Sabbag: tenor saxophone (4, 5).

Urban Myths

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John Hollenbeck, Alban Darche, Samuel Blaser, Sebastien Boisseau - JASS

Styles: Avant-Garde Jazz 
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:26
Size: 114,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:55)  1. Recurring Dreams
(3:07)  2. Saj's
(5:27)  3. Jazz Envy
(5:36)  4. Water
(6:38)  5. Limp Mint
(5:45)  6. Driving License
(6:16)  7. No D
(4:49)  8. Miss Universe 2031
(3:25)  9. It Began to Get Dark
(3:24) 10. Tricephale

J.A.S.S. as in the first letters of the names of American drummer John Hollenbeck, French saxophonist Alban Darche and double bassist Sébastien Boisseau and Swiss trombonist Samuel Blaser. But Jass also as the term used by the Original Dixieland Jass Band in March 1917 for the very first jazz-album recording or just the name of centuries-old popular card game in Switzerland and Austria.  All of the above references relevant to this quartet who first played together in Berlin in July 2011 and recorded its debut after an artist's residency in Nantes, France, the hometown of Darche and Boisseau. The music features the highly personal, distinct compositional skills of Hollenbeck, Darche and Blaser, observing in an amused manner on the history of jazz, and packed with strong, playful and nuanced melodies. This collective quartet keeps a delicate balance between its four musicians, emphasizing the organic highly melodic flow within its compact, well-constructed compositions. Darche and Blaser's playing stresses a beautiful singing and conversational quality while Hollenbeck and Boisseau vary the rhythmic basis constantly, alternating between loose pulses, exploratory sounds, and light swinging ones.

The quartet enables Hollenbeck to re-contextualize some of his past compositions within a new setting. "Jazz Envy," which he previously performed, and Jazz Bigband Graz on Joys & Desires (Intuition, 2005), is anchored within a strong pulse, but within this rhythmic framework the musicians have the freedom to keep exploring its theme. "Limp Mint," originally from Claudia Quintet's Semi Formal (Cuneiform, 2005) retains its dramatic story narrative, delivered now from four sonic angles that intensify its enigmatic story lines. "No D," from Claudia Quintet debut (CRI, 2002) has the most complex and demanding structure, shifting between pulses and cyclical loose, and dense forms of interplay. Darche's "Water" and "Driving License" highlights the immediate, intuitive bond with Blaser. Both exchanging back and forth ideas, constructing thick, detailed articulations. His ironic "Miss Univers 2031" and "Tricéphale" unfold like a dense stories with many twists. Blaser's two compositions, "Recurring Dreams" and "It began to get gark," stress his unique, searching vocabulary on the trombone. Highly impressive debut that calls for following meetings of this quartet. ~ Eyal Hareuveni https://www.allaboutjazz.com/jass-john-hollenbeck-alban-darche-sebastien-boisseau-samuel-blaser-yolk-records-review-by-eyal-hareuveni.php
 

Personnel: Samuel Blaser: trombone; Alban Darche: tenor saxophone; Sébastien Boisseau: double bass; John Hollenbeck: drums.

JASS

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Annekei - Tsuki

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:21
Size: 125,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:31)  1. Tsuki
(3:17)  2. That's All
(4:46)  3. Arigato Gozaimasu
(3:49)  4. Only You
(4:52)  5. Both Sides Now
(4:48)  6. Dirt in Your Pocket
(4:15)  7. Everly
(3:35)  8. Why?
(3:46)  9. Refill of Inspiration
(5:12) 10. What You Like
(3:59) 11. What is Your Problem?
(4:23) 12. Towani
(3:00) 13. At Home

Annekei grew up in a family of music. Her parents were both jazz musicians and her 4 brothers - just like herself - mastered their instruments at a very young age.  She sings, plays the piano and guitar in addition to writing and arranging her own material.  At 19-years-old, Annekei moved from her home country, Denmark, to pursue her musical ambitions in New York City. Since her arrival in 2002, the young singer has been performing venues as varied as Joe's Pub, Pianos, The Metropolitan Cafe, Rockwood Music Hall, The Living Room, Bowery Poetry Club, Suite 16, The Cutting Room, Blue Note, The Bitter End and Fez under Time Cafe. In 2003 she made it to the finals of the amateur night competition on the TV show, "Showtime at The Apollo", performing her original song "Close Your Eyes". 2 years later, her single "More Of Your Love" broke on the club scene in the UK. In 2006 she signed with a Japanese label and released her self-titled debut album in September the same year. The single "Brother" made it to #4 on the Japanese charts within 2 weeks of release, rose to #1 vocal album on Japanese iTunes and landed her the title: "Best New Foreign Artist" at the AD LIB AWARDS 2006. Her second solo album "Tsuki" dropped only 9 months after the debut, followed up by the collaboration project "Letter" with Korean guitarist Jack Lee. In June this year Annekei released her 3rd solo album "Touch" produced by legendary guitarist Lee Ritenour and featuring a prolific group of musicians from Los Angeles. She is currently touring Asia in support of the record, as well as bi-coastal'y writing and recording for her 4th album. http://annekei.com/files/html/bio.html

Tsuki

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Gary Peacock & Bill Frisell - Just So Happens

Styles: Jazz, Post-Bop
Year: 1994
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:47
Size: 118,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:40)  1. Only Now
(6:14)  2. In Walked Po
(3:21)  3. Wapitis Dream
(3:30)  4. Home on the Range 1
(5:05)  5. Home on the Range 2
(2:54)  6. Through a Skylight
(3:01)  7. Red River Valley
(4:34)  8. Reciprocity
(5:25)  9. Good Morning Heartache
(4:53) 10. N.O.M.B.
(8:05) 11. Just So Happens

In the early 90’s, the folks at “Postcards” consistently produced some of the finest jazz recordings to hit the stores while featuring artists such as Alan Pasqua, Reggie Workman and here, the teaming of guitarist Bill Frisell and bassist Gary Peacock. Thankfully, Arkadia records have taken ownership of the catalogue and from all appearances, retain the original artwork and packaging. The pairing of Bill Frisell and Gary Peacock is sheer delight as their respective careers in jazz and beyond are well documented. Peacock’s deep, resonant wooden tone along with Frisell’s at times cosmic inventions work extremely well in this setting. Pieces such as “Only Now” and “In Walked Po” are engaging forays into inventive dialogue, brief jagged statements and clever articulations. The duo often sound as if they were putting a jigsaw puzzle together from scratch! Their rendition of the American classic “Home On The Range” is often bluesy in scope yet with Frisell’s astonishing technique and gregarious phrasing, the tune evolves into an ethereal dreamscape. On “Reciprocity” Peacock displays his commanding presence as Frisell’s weaving tapestries of tonal colors offer elegance and contrasts well with Peacock’s deft single note statements. Frisell picks up the acoustic guitar on the laid back “Good Morning Heartache” while vivid imagery prevails on “Just So Happens”. Throughout, Frisell and Peacock lay it on the line via simple elegance, finesse and improvisation of the highest order although most if these compositions are structured yet maintain a relaxed and loose vibe. Recommended. ~ Glenn Astarita https://www.allaboutjazz.com/just-so-happens-gary-peacock-postcards-review-by-glenn-astarita.php

Personnel: Gary Peacock (bass); Bill Frisell (guitar).

Just So Happens

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Albert Heath, Ben Street & Ethan Iverson - Philadelphia Beat

Styles: Jazz, Post-Bop
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:25
Size: 115,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:24)  1. Bag's Groove
(3:50)  2. Reets and I
(3:44)  3. I Will Survive
(4:49)  4. Concorde
(6:15)  5. Memories of You
(3:04)  6. Con Alma
(3:02)  7. Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme
(3:30)  8. Bye-Ya
(4:52)  9. Everything Must Change
(4:09) 10. Speak Low
(3:19) 11. Pentatonic Etude
(5:22) 12. Bakai

Eighty years of fragrance are those of Albert "Tootie" Heath , judging by the quality of the game basted in a trio with the plan of Ethan Iverson and the bass of Ben Street , a game now in its third and most successful hand, voted in the rules unwritten of the jazz school in Philadelphia. A Magisterium, to Heath, formed on lightness, taste subtraction, it said in decades of acquaintances at the top of the history of jazz (asArt Farmer to Yusef Lateef , as Dexter Gordon to John Coltrane, down to Anthony Braxton and Roscoe Mitchell ...) This trio seems to deepen the attitude of Iverson to break down to a minimum the syntax of the standards: where with the Bad Plus pianist uses the art of a baroque masked, with an overload of dynamics, here on the contrary he seems even to dry the pasta of the agreements, insisting on a melodic cantabile whose irregularities mention with continuous syncopations and thin contour colors. The bank that the low Street is able to offer the pianist stands out tonally sense that rhythm, chasing osmosis perfectly realized. The percussion of the great Heath start dancing and lead with extraordinary skill, suggesting unexpected openings, ironic asides, punctuation scathing. It is a different way short of remaking the classic feel of this formula, in a path that draws Iverson still following in the footsteps of a genealogy piano: John Lewis , Lennie Tristano ,Bud Powell , Thelonious Monk , Mal Waldron .

There is the scent of Modern Jazz Quartet in several episodes, the initial "Bag's Groove" to an enchanting "Concorde" which cites the beginning Heath the "I'm an Old Cowhand" rollinsiana. The Powell-Monk line (so to speak ..) passes through the beauty of "Reets and I" up to a luxury "Bye-Ya" which pays tribute to Heath Art Blakey and feels ... An alienating treatment is reserved the cult of the album "I Will Survive," loved by Iverson to the point of even sing live (heard years ago in trio Billy Hart ): here the theme is announced by a whirlwind of color scales and slightly dissonant harmony. But think now not too speculative transactions: the music remains clear and fresh, even in the simple magic tricks. How to confirm the literal reading of "Everything Must Change," with reference to that of Mal Waldron of almost thirty years ago, and the Afro-Cuban of "Bakai" which closes the program.  Libretto of very well done CD, with introductions to individual pieces of Iverson , vintage photos of Tootie with Hi-Tones and Bee-Boppers and other current, taken to the mythical Clef Club next door to friends Buster Williams , Mickey Roker , Sam Reed. ~ Stefano Merighi  https://www.allaboutjazz.com/philadelphia-beat-albert-tootie-heath-ethan-iverson-ben-street-sunnyside-records-review-by-stefano-merighi.php (Translate by Google)

Personnel: Albert Tootie Heath: drums; Ethan Iverson: piano, electric piano; Ben Street: bass.

Philadelphia Beat

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Joel Harrison - 3 + 3 = 7

Styles: Guitar Jazz 

Year: 1996

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 55:52

Size: 128,7 MB

Art: Front

(5:19)  1. Ratrace

(2:32)  2. Protest

(6:10)  3. Kali

(7:12)  4. Seven Angels

(4:21)  5. Broderick Crawford's Throat

(7:37)  6. Lovingkindness

(9:44)  7. Someday Earth (For Don Cherry)

(5:14)  8. Child's Dream

(4:25)  9. Cold Day In New York

(3:16) 10. Skin Frontier

San Francisco's guitarist Joel Harrison debuted with the ambitious 3+3=7 (1996) for three guitars and three percussionists, but then wasted his talent on the brief vignettes of Range of Motion (1997) and the confused hodgepodge of Transience (2001).  After relocating to New York, he continued to alternate off lightweight works such as Free Country (2003), a country-music tribute featuring Norah Jones on vocals, Dave Binney on alto sax, violinist Rob Thomas, pianist Uri Caine, and Tony Cedras on accordion, and its follow-up So Long 2nd Street (2004), not to mention the George Harrison tribute Harrison on Harrison (2005), with important and difficult projects such as the post-fusion Harbor (2007), featuring guitarist Nguyen Le, David Binney, and Jamey Haddad, The Wheel (2008), a six-movement suite for guitar and double quartet (string quartet and jazz quartet),  Passing Train (2008) is a collection of songs. Urban Myths (2009) sounds like a tribute to jazz-rock of the 1970s (including the funky Mood Rodeo). Search (2012), featuring saxophonist Donny McCaslin, pianist Gary Versace, violinist Christian Howes, cellist Dana Leong, bassist Stephan Crump, and drummer Clarence Penn is a mixed bag but it contains two of his high-brow compositions: Grass Valley and Beyond and A Magnificent Death.  Holy Abyss (Cuneiform, 2012) was a collaboration with Italian bassist Lorenzo Feliciati featuring trumpeter Cuong Vu, drummer Dan Weiss and keyboardist Roy Powell. http://www.scaruffi.com/jazz/harrison.html

Personnel:  Scott Amendola (Dumbek, Drums, Sound Effects);  John Schott (Guitar, Guitar (Electric));  Joel Harrison (Guitar, Producer, Guitar (Electric), Arranger);  Garth Powell (Drums, Drums (Bass), Sound Effects, Berimbau, Bird Calls);  John Holmes (Cymbals, Drums, Indian Bells, Telephone Voice, Cajon); Brad Dutz (Chimes, Maracas Mbira, Telephone Voice, Frame Drum, Udu, Cowbell, Djembe, Conga, Sound Effects, Tabla, Timbales, Cymbals);  Steve Cardenas (Guitar, Guitar (Electric));  Alex Cline (Chimes, Cymbals, Gong, Bells, Drums);  Glenn Cronkhite (Chimes, Gourd, Bell Tree, Shaker, Drums, Sound Effects);  John Golden (Mastering).

3 + 3 = 7

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Friend 'N Fellow - Home

Size: 119,9 MB
Time: 50:30
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2006/2016
Styles: Jazz/Soul/Blues Vocals
Art: Front

01. One More Day (4:50)
02. Home (3:55)
03. You (3:14)
04. I Wonder (4:34)
05. Livin' In A World (2:35)
06. Bluebird (2:35)
07. How Will I Know (3:19)
08. All Of It (2:55)
09. Liar (2:26)
10. I Gave It All (4:12)
11. I Know (4:34)
12. This Love (2:04)
13. Love Child (2:56)
14. Other Side (3:12)
15. Cajun Moon (3:01)

Constanze Friend and Thomas Fellow performed more than 1000 concerts together and travelled from BEIJING (China Millenium Park) to SHANGHAI (Anting New Town Open Air), from MALAYSIA (Kuala Lumpur/Penang Jazz Festival) to NEW YORK (World Trade Center) and from PARIS (Elyssees Montmartre) to LONDON (The 100 Club) and shared the stage with legends as RAY CHARLES, LUTHER ALLISON and AL JARREAU. Meanwhile they became one of the most successful acoustic acts in the junction where BLUES, JAZZ and SOUL meet. Their music combines the intensity of the blues with the freedom of jazz and the sound of soul in inimitable fashion.

"You knocked me out with your playing" – Bill Evans
"I really enjoy your work" – Al Jarreau
"Killing! It absolutely sounds like a whole band" – Tommy Emmanuel
"A top-notch duo" Welt am Sonntag
"The sound of the new century" Luther Allison
"The voice of an angel" Keb' Mo'

Concerts in London, Paris, New York, Peking, Vienna, Zurich, Lucerne Festival (Lucerne, Switzerland), Tollwood-Festival Munich, Festival Internacional de la Porta Ferrada (Spain), 1st Blues & Soul Weekend (Zurich, Switzerland), Simmen Lörrach, Jazzrally Dusseldorf with Ray Charles, Al Jarreau, Simply Red, Marianne Faithful, Maceo Parker.

Constanze Friend started her musical career in the band "Mr. Adapoe" with performances at international top festivals and as the support act to James Brown and others.

Thomas Fellow won several prizes at international competitions for classical guitar and played concerts in India, South America and the USA. Prof. Thomas Fellow is the head of the education "ACOUSTIC GUITAR (concert music/worldmusic/jazz) at the Hochschule für Musik "Carl Maria von Weber" in Dresden (Germany) and "WORLDMUSIC" at the Hochschule für Musik Weimar and lead masterclasses at different conservatories and festivals in Europe and the USA. He is also the artistic director of the STRING SPRING FESTIVAL DRESDEN and the EUROPEAN GUITAR AWARD, one of the most prestigious competitions for creativ guitarplayers (next time spring 2012). He developed a comprehensive schoolbook for the guitar as a comping instrument (FELLOWBOOK).

Home

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Peter Edwards Trio - A Matter Of Instinct

Size: 101,2 MB
Time: 37:44
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz
Art: Front

01. Samba City (5:12)
02. Loved Ones (4:23)
03. Groove Swing Funk (4:11)
04. The Runaround (3:52)
05. A Matter Of Instinct (5:01)
06. Flying High (4:17)
07. Down But Not Out (5:26)
08. Escape Velocity (5:18)

This is the second album by Trinity Laban graduate and 2014 MOBO Awards nominee Peter Edwards, his first being 2014's Safe And Sound. Edwards was a member of a group led by the late trumpeter Abram Wilson and is currently a member of vocalist Zara McFarlane's band. Opening with an infectious Latin beat, "Samba City" recalls the foot- tapping imperative of Chick Corea's Return To Forever era. A calmer mood ensues with "Loved Ones" recalling the blues-infused, chordal-rich piano of Joe Zawinul during his time with the Julian "Cannonball" Adderley Quintet.

The more rhythmically complex "Groove Swing Funk" certainly matches its title and with a memorable theme it conjures-up an evocation of the Dudley Moore Trio in full flight. This album offers a veritable potpourri of styles, such as the lively, swinging "The Runaround" adorned by semi-pastiche Erroll Garner-like swathes of piano.

The title track sees Edwards on slinky Fender Rhodes backed by a keen sheening rhythm from Moses Boyd, the drummer half of the MOBO 2015 award-winning duo Binker and Moses. The straight-ahead "Flying High" with Edwards returning to acoustic piano precedes the slow blues of "Down But Not Out"; reminiscent of Ramsey Lewis it's embellished by an excellent pizzicato bass solo from Max Luthert.

The final number "Escape Velocity" has the trio in expansive mood, the piece distinguished by a repeated hook-like motif which eventually all-but closes-out the piece. Edwards' lithe compositions are matched by the trio's consummate performances, all contributing to a truly compulsive listening experience. ~Roger Farbey

Personnel: Peter Edwards: piano, Fender Rhodes; Max Luthert: bass; Moses Boyd: drums.

A Matter Of Instinct

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Laura Fygi - Jazz Love

Size: 101,4 MB
Time: 43:16
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz/Pop Vocals
Art: Front

01. Like A Star (4:01)
02. La Vie En Rose (3:48)
03. Cupid (3:57)
04. If I Ain’t Got You (5:06)
05. Vincent (4:00)
06. Your Love Is King/Smooth Operator (4:08)
07. And I Love Him (2:55)
08. Sunny (3:56)
09. Right Here Waiting (4:07)
10. Our Day Will Come (3:25)
11. La Vie En Rose (French Version) (3:47)

Everywhere that Laura Fygi visits, she is a veritable vision of exotica. In her home country of the Netherlands, they know her as the woman who was raised in Uruguay as the daughter of an Egyptian belly dancer; in the Far East she is the emancipated Western lady who many others aspire to be. But wherever she may be, there is one common factor in all of those locations: that instantly recognisable voice which has won her hearts all over the globe.

Since her dance hits with the girl group Centerfold in the early 1980s, Laura has travelled down numerous musical pathways, such as jazz, Latin, and chansons, not shying away from any genre or style. That wilful quest for renewal has rendered collaborations with such music luminaries as the late Toots Thielemans, Michel Legrand and Michael Franks. Laura has also been presented with various gold and platinum discs and awards, as well as playing the lead role in Singapore of her favourite musical Victor/Victoria.

Laura has performed throughout Europe, South America and Asia. As a Dutch singer, she even managed to conquer the Chinese market, a unique achievement! In 2012 she signed a contract with one of China’s largest record companies and recorded the CD Flower specifically for the Asian market. It contains original Chinese compositions that Laura had arranged in her own style. Some songs were translated into English and French, but she also sang four songs in the original Chinese!

What is the secret of her success? It is the combination of a number of things. First of all she has a husky voice with a beautiful diction and great timing, which has already been compared to that of Peggy Lee, and the intimacy of Julie London . She has an international appearance which enables her to perform in Ronnie Scott ‘s Jazz club in London’s Soho with the same ease as on the biggest stages in most of the world cities. She looks beautiful and is as Latin as Jazzy . But the most important thing Laura is a storyteller, someone who knows how to turn a song into a story that touches you directly from her heart to yours. While it still swings like crazy!

In 2015 Laura celebrated her 25th anniversary as a solo artist but there is no way of stopping her! Previously being under contract with Universal Music Netherlands, her career has moved to the Asian part of the world so the next step was a logical one… She recently signed a worldwide record deal with Universal Music in Asia and this year a brand new CD will be released titled Jazz Love. Laura selected a number of popular pop songs and had arrangements written in her own unique style. Bossa, swing, soft jazz, songs from Sade, the Beatles, Alicia Keys and Don McLean gain a whole new dimension!
The jazz diva still has many plans of which performing is her favorite activity. She will make sure people have a good time and that is what she does best, entertaining!

Jazz Love

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Bruce Williams - Private Thoughts

Size: 135,2 MB
Time: 58:05
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz
Art: Front

01. Mata Leon (4:24)
02. Private Thoughts (5:03)
03. Premonitions (4:36)
04. Forever Asking Why (5:03)
05. Old Forester (5:41)
06. Last Visit In The Mirror (3:50)
07. The Void (6:01)
08. The Price We Pay For Peace (7:02)
09. I Still Carry On (6:07)
10. View Through A Street (6:23)
11. Past Tense (3:49)

Williams' fourth recording as a leader is his first featuring solely original music. The Bard College and Juilliard Jazz professor has graced the horn sections of The World Saxophone Quartet, as well as groups led by Stanley Cowell and the like. On Private Thoughts, Bruce Williams asserts himself as a stirring composer and triumphantly underscores the emotion, and acceptance of life's fragility. Bruce Williams: alto & soprano saxophone, Josh Evans: trumpet, Frederick Hendrix: trumpet & flugelhorn, Brad Williams: guitar, Brandon McCune: piano, Alan Palmer: piano, Chris Berger: bass, Vincent Ector & Chris Beck: drums.

Private Thoughts

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Barb Jungr - Come Together: Barb Jungr & John McDaniel Perform The Beatles

Size: 135,8 MB
Time: 58:26
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz/Pop Vocals
Art: Front

01. Got To Get You Into My Life (3:46)
02. Things We Said Today (3:39)
03. Eleanor Rigby (4:29)
04. Mother Nature’s Son (2:13)
05. And I Love Her - All My Loving - All You Need Is Love (4:43)
06. I Will (2:17)
07. Getting Better - Here There And Everywhere (4:18)
08. For No One (2:19)
09. Back In The USSR (3:43)
10. It’s For You - Step Inside Love (3:42)
11. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (3:11)
12. The Fool On The Hill (4:26)
13. Something - The Long And Winding Road (4:30)
14. Come Together (4:08)
15. In My Life (3:23)
16. Golden Slumbers - Carry That Weight - The End (3:31)

The critic Chris Ingham has summed up the significance of the Beatles as follows: “[They] represent one of the few times in musical history when the most popular was also the best”. In our current cultural moment, the most popular is so very far from being the best that Ingham’s comment might make you wince with nostalgia. In their terrific new show, “Come Together”, however, Barb Jungr – one of Britain’s finest interpreters of popular song – and John McDaniel – the award-winning American composer and pianist – bring the past vibrantly into the present with a programme of innovatively re-arranged Beatles songs.

Jungr and McDaniel are new collaborators, and they’ve been performing this show over the past few months, including stints at the Edinburgh Festival and across the US, with more New York dates forthcoming in January. Londoners got their first chance to experience the show over four nights last week in the cosy confines of the St. James Studio. It was an occasion not to be missed.

The Beatles could hardly be described as a band that have lacked for tributes over the years, of course. But “Come Together” is about as far removed as can be imagined from the likes of a thrown-together jukebox show such as the hit West End musical Let It Be. Celebrated for her incisive and arresting treatments of the work of songwriters including Brel, Dylan, and Cohen, Jungr, whose shows at the Southbank Centre and City of London Festival have been among 2015’s cultural highlights in the capital, brings a similar approach to bear on The Beatles’ material, her vocals supplemented only by McDaniel’s supple piano-work and her own occasional harmonica-playing. McDaniel also provides harmonies throughout the set, and takes creditable leads on two White Album gems: “Mother Nature’s Son” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”.

The stark and dynamic presentation afforded by the cabaret context allows every word in the songs to resonate afresh. With her terrific phrasing, protean delivery, and expressive physicality that turns every track into a fully embodied experience, Jungr digs so deeply into the songs that they emerge new-minted in pretty much every case, with lyrics that you’ve barely noticed before held up to the light and revealed as the very crux of a particular composition.

Given the incredible stylistic diversity of the Beatles’ output, the range of material covered in the show is impressive, the set encompassing both oft-performed classics and album obscurities. “Got to Get You into My Life” was an infectiously exuberant opener, less a straightforward love song (or drugs paean) in this account than a joyous hymn to openness and inclusivity. “Eleanor Rigby”, with haunting high harmonies and delicate piano from McDaniel, was taut, disconsolate and deeply affecting. “The Long and Winding Road” wound itself into stridency that was equal parts desperate and cathartic, Jungr briefly transforming herself into a figure blown by the gales as she reached “the wild and windy night” lyric. Augmented by harmonica and great foot-stamping, “Back in the U.S.S.R.” was equally exhilarating.

Opening the second half, “Hello Goodbye” was delivered as a pleasingly goofy duet. By contrast, “The Fool on the Hill” was mesmerizingly intense, the track slowed and stripped of any hint of jauntiness in this arrangement, the better to quietly celebrate an outsider’s insights and secret strength. Lifting her tear-filled eyes aloft, Jungr seemed momentarily overcome by the emotion the track evoked, before moving elegantly into a drop-dead gorgeous “Something”.

Throughout, Jungr applied her customarily intelligent approach to sequencing the set, with some songs juxtaposed and combined to form story cycles and suites. A wry, sharply pointed “Piggies” mutated into a delicious “Penny Lane”: “very strange”, perhaps, but wonderfully effective. A medley comprising a gender-switched “And I Love Her”, “All My Loving” and “All You Need Is Love” (the latter stripped of obvious anthemic associations to become simply conversational) charted youthful hope and longing leading to the affirmation of “I Will”. Segueing into an exquisite “Here, There and Everywhere”, a blistering “Getting Better” traded menacing, punky verses for redemptive choruses that implied the taming of male belligerence through love. Yet ultimately the narrative concluded with the separation of the couple poignantly evoked in “For No One”, Jungr ending the song on a surprising, perfectly judged note that suggested both mature ruefulness and resolve on the part of the abandoned male.

As presented here “For No One” took on the contours of a reflection on the challenges and liberations of feminism. Indeed, bantering affectionately with McDaniel between songs, Jungr also provided some characteristically quirky, thoughtful commentary on The Beatles’s significance in pop and counter-culture, reflecting (as she did with Cohen and Dylan) on the contrasting personas of Lennon and McCartney, and also suggesting how the band’s music not only mapped but also inspired social changes. The drugged-up craziness of “Come Together” was a supreme closer, Jungr acting her way through the most surreal lyrics with furious aplomb before she and McDaniel returned to the stage for the single-song encore of “In My Life”, delivered as a radiant and gracious benediction.

“Come Together” is very much the kind of show that one can imagine shifting and expanding as Jungr and McDaniel continue to tour it, perhaps taking on different songs and arrangements. (Personally, I’d swap a pair of charming but fairly inconsequential Cilla Black-associated tracks for something meatier. “A Day in the Life”, perhaps? Oh boy.) Thrilling and revelatory, the show is that rarity: an Anglo/American collaboration that’s actually worth celebrating, and that’s enough to restore your faith in “the Special Relationship”, after all. ~by Alex Ramon

Come Together

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Melanie Marod - I'll Go Mad

Size: 123,7 MB
Time: 53:00
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz/Pop Vocals
Art: Front

01. I'll Go Mad (3:46)
02. Spanish Harlem (3:42)
03. Dance Me To The End Of Love (2:44)
04. Love Ain't Easy (3:51)
05. Smile (4:59)
06. Running Back To You (3:07)
07. Corcovado (4:16)
08. Candy (3:32)
09. Quizas, Quizas, Quizas (2:38)
10. People Will Say We're In Love (3:41)
11. Isn't This A Lovely Day (4:05)
12. Somewhere Over The Rainbow (4:54)
13. Besame Mucho (3:35)
14. Everybody's Talkin' (4:03)

Melanie was born and raised in Grand Haven, Michigan where she began singing and expressing her love for music at the age of seven. By age ten, she had performed in the musical Sweeney Todd with Tony Award Winner, George Hearn and Pamela Meyer.

Melanie graduated from Hope College with a B.A. in Musical Theatre. She has studied opera in Buenos Aires, Argentina at Instituto Universitario Nacional de Arte and trained at Hillsong College in Sydney, Australia.

Since moving to New York City she has sung at Birdland, The Algonquin, The Oak Room at The Plaza Hotel, The Carlton as well as various venues throughout the city. Her influences are Stacey Kent, Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, and Nat King Cole.

I'll Go Mad

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Peggy Lee - Spotlight On... Peggy Lee

Styles: Vocal 
Year: 1995
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:51
Size: 116,1 MB
Art: Front

(2:21)  1. I've Got The World On A String
(2:46)  2. When A Woman Loves A Man
(1:47)  3. I'm Beginning To See The Light
(3:37)  4. There Is No Greater Love
(2:22)  5. Too Close For Comfort
(2:28)  6. Unforgettable
(2:18)  7. Close Your Eyes
(2:23)  8. If I Should Lose You
(2:07)  9. I'm Just Wild About Harry
(2:58) 10. Deep Purple
(2:20) 11. It's Been A Long, Long Time
(3:44) 12. The Man I Love
(3:21) 13. The Best Is Yet To Come
(2:37) 14. Come Rain Or Come Shine
(3:22) 15. Fever
(2:28) 16. I Wanna Be Around
(2:08) 17. I Hear Music
(3:36) 18. The Folks Who Live On The Hill

Peggy Lee spent a good many years with Capitol, and it was there that she cut some of her best sides. Save for a few years in the late '40s (and several early hits), Lee hit her stride with the label during the end of the '50s and throughout the '60s. Working in a variety of settings, from string orchestras to jazz combos, Lee applied her vocal talents to swing, blues, Latin, and cabaret. This edition of Capitol's classy Spotlight series rounds up 18 of Lee's best performances. And while many of the hits are missing ("Black Coffee," "Is That All There Is," etc.), the disc makes up for it with stunners like "The Best Is Yet to Come" and "The Folks Who Live on the Hill." Plus, there's the charts and conducting work of such luminaries as Benny Carter, Nelson Riddle, Bill May, Quincy Jones, and even Frank Sinatra. A fine sampler from Miss Lee's prime. ~ Stephen Cook http://www.allmusic.com/album/spotlight-on-peggy-lee-great-ladies-of-song-mw0000628187

Spotlight On... Peggy Lee

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Albert Heath, Ethan Iverson & Ben Street - Tootie's Tempo

Styles: Jazz, Post-Bop
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:09
Size: 108,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:42)  1. The Charlston
(4:52)  2. Charade
(2:18)  3. Danube Incident
(5:39)  4. Stompin At The Savoy
(6:12)  5. Violets For Your Furs
(4:04)  6. The Intimacy Of  The Blues
(5:07)  7. How Insensitive
(3:44)  8. Fire Waltz
(1:46)  9. Cute
(4:28) 10. It Should Have Happened A Long Time Ago
(5:12) 11. Tootie's Tempo

At 78 years old, Albert “Tootie” Heath is certainly a link to jazz history. This is due to both his lineage as the youngest of the three jazz-playing Heath brothers and his many accomplishments as a musician on his own. Here, pianist Ethan Iverson and bassist Ben Street join Heath, and the results are as satisfying as a visit with a favorite old uncle. The music is straight-down-the-middle bebop with a strong emphasis on ballads and relaxed midtempo gems. Ever the gentleman, Heath plays here with subtlety and elegance, setting his tempos and throwing in little rhythmic wrinkles rather than banging away on solos. Just listen to his playing on “The Intimacy of the Blues,” the title track, and “Cute” to see what we mean. The often-pensive material here ranges from a fun, un-flapper-like version of “The Charleston” to the lovely theme from the film Charade to an earthy take of the bossa nova classic “How Insensitive.” Then things do pick up for a robust version of “Fire Waltz.” It's highly recommended for fans of classic jazz. ~ Itunes Reviews https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/tooties-tempo/id676272985

Personnel:  Bass – Ben Street;  Drums – Albert Heath;  Piano – Ethan Iverson

Tootie's Tempo

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Joel Harrison 7 - Search

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:12
Size: 133,3 MB
Art: Front

(11:18)  1. Grass Valley and Beyond
(15:00)  2. A Magnificent Death
( 8:24)  3. All The Previous Pages Are Gone
( 6:24)  4. The Beauty of Failure
( 8:26)  5. Whipping Post
( 6:19)  6. O Sacrum Convivium
( 2:18)  7. Search

For over a decade, Joel Harrison has been steadily expanding his palette as a composer, although his penchant for unorthodox instrumental combinations and multicultural folk forms encompass only one facet of his inclusive aesthetic. Harrison's most recent efforts have borrowed heavily from Western neo-classical tenets; The Wheel (Innova, 2008) included an expansive five movement suite for jazz quintet and string quartet, while The Music of Paul Motian (Sunnyside, 2011) featured stately arrangements performed by two electric guitarists and a traditional string quartet. Search contains some of Harrison's most seamlessly integrated writing for disparate forces to date. Supported by an archetypal jazz rhythm section, comprised of pianist Gary Versace, bassist Stephan Crump and drummer Clarence Penn, Harrison is joined by tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin and two string players: violinist Christian Howes and cellist Dana Leong, who have both collaborated with the guitarist in similar contexts before.

The septet's broad instrumental palette lends the album a wide dynamic range that keenly exploits Harrison's versatile gifts as a composer; he solos infrequently however, allowing his sidemen ample opportunity to express themselves. Harrison's harmonious contrapuntal themes underscore the bulk of the record, as typified on the panoramic opener, "Grass Valley and Beyond," where Versace's prismatic cadences and McCaslin's intervallic salvos paint a vibrant aural canvas; the saxophonist's dramatic altissimo crescendos and multiphonic flourishes punctuate the proceedings like rich impasto accents. Howes and McCaslin engage in spirited interplay with the cagey rhythm section on the capricious swinger "All the Previous Pages Are Gone," while "A Magnificent Death" and "The Beauty of Failure" exhibit a range of classicist tendencies; the former ascends from hypnotic minimalist motifs to a rapturous climax, the later weaves lyrical thematic variations into a romantic coda. 

The session concludes with two unrelated, but unexpectedly complementary covers: a vivacious reading of Allman Brothers Band's "Whipping Post" and a sublime interpretation of Olivier Messiaen's "O Sacrum Convivum." The classic rock staple is given respectful treatment, but surprisingly, it's Leong's sinuous cello that drives the bluesy number, bolstered by Penn's pugilistic drumming. Conversely, Harrison's introspective fretwork accentuates the mystical ethereality of Messiaen's recast choral motet, setting the stage for the titular closer, a fugue-like postlude for solo piano that incisively encapsulates the date's multifaceted approach reconfirming Harrison's sophisticated compositional acumen in the process. ~ Troy Collins  https://www.allaboutjazz.com/search-joel-harrison-sunnyside-records-review-by-troy-collins.php
 

Personnel: Joel Harrison: guitar; Donny McCaslin: tenor saxophone; Gary Versace: piano, Hammond B-3; Christian Howes: violin; Dana Leong: cello; Stephan Crump: bass; Clarence Penn: drums.

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