LaVern Baker - Sings Bessie Smith

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:47
Size: 95.7 MB
Styles: R&B/Blues/Jazz vocals
Year: 1958/1988
Art: Front

[3:06] 1. Gimme A Pigfoot
[3:36] 2. Baby Doll
[3:12] 3. On Revival Day
[2:50] 4. Money Blues
[4:03] 5. I Ain't Gonna Play No Second Fiddle
[4:41] 6. Back Water Blues
[4:50] 7. Empty Bed Blues
[2:41] 8. There'll Be A Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight
[3:55] 9. Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out
[3:08] 10. After You've Gone
[2:49] 11. Young Woman's Blues
[2:50] 12. Preaching The Blues

Baritone Saxophone – Jerome Richardson, Sahib Shihab; Bass – Wendell Marshall; Drums – Joe Marshall; Guitar – Danny Barker; Piano – Nat Pierce; Tenor Saxophone – Paul Quinichette; Trombone – Jimmy Cleveland, Urbie Green, Vic Dickenson; Vocals – LaVern Baker. This record was recorded in January, 1958 and previously released as Atlantic 1281 (20th of October 1958).

This is an album that should not have worked. LaVern Baker (a fine R&B singer) was joined by all-stars from mainstream jazz (including trumpeter Buck Clayton, trombonist Vic Dickenson, tenor-saxophonist Paul Quinichette and pianist Nat Pierce) for twelve songs associated with the great '20s blues singer Bessie Smith. Despite the potentially conflicting styles, this project is quite successful and often exciting. The arrangements by Phil Moore, Nat Pierce, and Ernie Wilkins do not attempt to re-create the original recordings; Baker sings in her own style (rather than trying to emulate Bessie Smith), and the hot solos work well with her vocals. ~Scott Yanow

Sings Bessie Smith

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Gerardo Nuñez, Ulf Wakenius - Jazzpaña Live

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:08
Size: 144.5 MB
Styles: Guitar jazz, Flamenco
Year: 2015
Art: Front

[11:45] 1. Calima
[ 8:48] 2. Alma De Mujer
[ 6:32] 3. Para Chick
[ 6:18] 4. Siboney
[ 3:17] 5. Blues For Pablo
[12:17] 6. El Vito
[14:08] 7. Calima (Encore)

Gerardo Núñez / flamenco guitar; Ulf Wakenius / jazz guitar; Chano Domínguez / piano; Ramón Valle / piano; Omar Rodriguez Calvo / bass; Liber Torriente / drums; Christof Lauer / saxophone; Cepillo / percussion.

Connecting the unexpected: Jazzpaña – Flamenco meets Jazz - a special multicultural statement. After Jazzpaña.(1992) and Jazzpaña.II (2000) now alailable as live version. And even a third world has been added: Flamenco - Jazz - Kuba. Recorded at the Berlin Philharmonic and at the WDR 3 Jazzfest Dortmund.

“Music for people with open ears and open minds. Far removed from a predefined style. Without any fear of mixing genres.” In 1992, this was the understanding of jazz that producer Siggi Loch based the launch of his ACT adventure on. The label’s very first recording, Jazzpaña, was to become a milestone and synonym for ACT’s philosophy, and became a double Grammy nominee in the process. Jazzpaña brought the stars of the “Nuevo Flamenco” from Spain together with US jazz greats such as Michael Brecker, Peter Erskine and Al Di Meola, backed by the sound of the WDR Big Band. The arrangements came from Vince Mendoza, though a little-known artist at the time, he is now one of the most versatile and prolific composer-arranger-conductors of the last two decades, a multi-Grammy Award winner.

Jazzpaña Live

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Herb Miller Jazz Band - Let The Good Times Roll

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:29
Size: 166.0 MB
Styles: Swing, New Orleans jazz
Year: 2011
Art: Front

[4:03] 1. At The Jazz Band Ball
[3:08] 2. Let The Good Times Roll
[5:08] 3. Ain't Misbehavin
[3:20] 4. Dippermouth Blues
[5:29] 5. Saint Louis Blues
[6:16] 6. Bourbon Street Parade
[4:53] 7. Blue Turning Grey Over You
[3:03] 8. T-Bone Shuffle
[4:32] 9. Martinique
[6:08] 10. Keepin Out Of Mischief Now
[4:35] 11. Seven Come Eleven
[3:41] 12. Black And Tan Fantasy
[5:05] 13. Mama's Gone Good Bye
[4:13] 14. Cornet Chop Suey
[5:27] 15. Worried Life Blues
[3:22] 16. Choo Choo Ch Boogie

The first CD of the HERB MILLER JAZZ BAND contains a cross-section through the versatile repertoire of the experienced band. As with the live concerts, the CD begins with the opening piece "At the Jazz Band Ball". In the following, popular and popular jazz standards such as the "Bourbon Street Parade" or "Saint Louis Blues" and "Is not Misbehavin", but also less well-known titles such as "Dippermouth Blues" or "Mama's gone Goodbye". Of course, the blues are also represented, for example with "T-Bone Shuffle" or "Worried Life Blues" and, of course, with the title track and "Theme Song" of the new CD "Let the Good Times Roll"!

Herb Miller, who led a band emulating that of his late brother, Glenn, in the United States and Europe, played trumpet in Charlie Spivak's band, but quit to get his master's degree at the University of Michigan in 1939. There, he started his own band, which toured the country at the same time Glenn Miller was storming the United States with his popular group. After the outbreak of World War II, Glenn Miller joined the Army Air Force and was leading a band in England when a plane he was on disappeared on Dec. 15, 1944, on a flight to Paris.

In 1981, Herb Miller came to London and formed a band with his son, John, as lead singer, performing such Glenn Miller favorites as "String of Pearls," "Moonlight Serenade," "American Patrol" and "In the Mood."

Let The Good Times Roll

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Hannah Svensson - Each Little Moment

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:54
Size: 112.0 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2014
Art: Front

[4:35] 1. What A Little Moonlight Can Do
[3:47] 2. Is You Is Or Is You Ain´t My Baby
[5:34] 3. My Foolish Heart
[3:36] 4. Ev´rything I´ve Got
[5:26] 5. Fine And Mellow
[4:00] 6. Them There Eyes
[5:41] 7. Too Late Now
[3:55] 8. Lover, Come Back To Me
[4:10] 9. A Foggy Day
[5:08] 10. It's Easy To Remember
[2:57] 11. I Got Rhythm

A young talented singer has emerged on Sweden’s jazz scene. With a beautiful voice, Hannah Svensson interprets jazz standards as if she hasn’t done anything else in her life. Her new album Each little moment, with Jan Lundgren on piano and Hannah’s father Ewan Svensson on guitar, was released 3 March 2014.

Hannah Svensson was born in 1986. Brought up in a stimulating musical environment, she became interested in music early on. At the age of nineshe started taking piano lessons and learned to play guitar. Her father Ewan Svensson, a famous jazz guitarist, has always been her great source of inspiration. As a teenager Hannah played instruments in various bands with no thoughts of starting to sing. Until she heard Eva Cassidy sing in a TV program and immediately was moved to tears. Her interest in singing took off and she made her first singing performance 18 years old.

By now Hannah has managed to do quite a lot of live performances. And she enjoys being on the stage and behind the microphone – you can tell. With an emotional and natural tone she leads you through a band of pearls from The American Songbook. Together with Jan Lundgren, the producer of the album and pianist on all songs, and her father Ewan Svensson playing the guitar. The other musicians are Morten Ramsbøl, bass and Kristian Leth on drums. Hannah is a very promising jazz singer who surely has a bright career ahead. Lean back and enjoy!

Each Little Moment

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Uralsky All Stars, Chris Barber - We'll Meet Again

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:54
Size: 137.1 MB
Styles: Contemporary jazz
Year: 1995
Art: Front

[4:38] 1. Volga Boatman's Song
[6:10] 2. Back Home Again In Indiana
[4:57] 3. Dream A Little Dream Of Me
[5:57] 4. Nobody's Sweetheart
[4:11] 5. Just A Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody
[6:09] 6. Night Train
[4:04] 7. Amapola
[7:19] 8. Night And Day
[5:48] 9. Struttin' With Some Barbecue
[5:41] 10. Meet Me Tonight In Dreamland
[4:55] 11. We'll Meet Again

Banjo, Whistle, Backing Vocals – Sergei Noskov; Bass, Vocals – Sergei Ouzkikh; Clarinet, Vocals – Vyacheslav Chachkov; Drums, Vocals – Andrei Makarov; Piano, Vocals, Directed By [Musical] – Oleg Plotnikov; Trombone – Chris Barber; Trombone, Vocals – Nail Zaguidoulline; Trumpet, Vocals – Yuri Klishin; Vibraphone – Hein De Jong.

The Uralsky All Stars are very popular in Netherlands. They bring pleasant old jazz, joining a large audience. On We'll Meet Again is heard as a guest trombonist Chris Barber, who immediately already strong soloist in the opening song, the Russian folk song Volga Boatman's Song. Total recorded on this CD eleven songs, including: Back Home Again in Indiana, Nobody's Sweetheart, Amapola, Struttin 'With Some Barbecue and the title track. For lovers of (old) jazz it must be a pleasure to listen to this second CD of Uralsky All Stars at the Timeless label. (Translated from Dutch.)

We'll Meet Again

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Illinois Jacquet - Swing's The Thing

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:19
Size: 78.6 MB
Styles: Bop, Jump blues, Saxophone jazz
Year: 1957/2012
Art: Front

[6:16] 1. Las Vegas Blues
[4:31] 2. Harlem Nocturne
[6:43] 3. Can't We Be Friends
[5:06] 4. Achtung
[5:56] 5. Have You Met Miss Jones
[5:44] 6. Lullaby Of The Leaves

Illinois Jacquet (ts), Roy Eldridge (tp), Jimmy Jones (p), Herb Ellis (g), Ray Brown (b), Jo Jones (d). Recorded in Los Angeles, October 16, 1956

This collection includes Jacquet's complete October 16, 1956 album 'Swings The Thing,' with Roy Eldridge, Jimmy Jones, Herb Ellis, Ray Brown and Jo Jones. This is essential Jacquet.

Swing's The Thing

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The Bob Brookmeyer Quartet - Oslo

Styles: Trombone Jazz
Year: 1986
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:50
Size: 106,0 MB
Art: Front

(5:18)  1. With The Wind And The Rain In Your Hair
(5:11)  2. Oslo
(5:07)  3. Later Blues
(8:13)  4. Detour Ahead
(4:15)  5. Tootsie Samba
(5:17)  6. Alone Together
(5:24)  7. Who Could Care
(6:02)  8. Caravan

Bob Brookmeyer has been so busy as a writer since the mid-'60s that his valve trombone playing has been somewhat underrecorded. This quartet set with pianist Alan Broadbent (who also plays a bit of synthesizer), bassist Eric Von Essen and drummer Michael Stephans) finds Brookmeyer in top form on four standards and a quartet of his originals (including "Later Blues," "Tootsie Samba" and "Who Could Care"). His valve trombone playing had grown and evolved through the years and, although he still had the cool tone, Brookmeyer's solos are often quite complex while not completely abandoning chordal improvisation. This Concord release is well worth picking up. ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/oslo-mw0000192909

Personnel: Bob Brookmeyer (trombone), Alan Broadbent (piano), Eric Von Essen (bass), Michael Stephans (drums).

Oslo

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Basia - From Newport to London: Greatest Hits Live… and More

Styles: Vocal,  Jazz Pop
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 77:36
Size: 180,5 MB
Art: Front

(5:25)  1. Third Time Lucky
(4:42)  2. Drunk On Love
(4:29)  3. Cruising For Bruising
(4:25)  4. How Dare You
(3:10)  5. If Not Now Then When
(3:02)  6. Love Lies Bleeding
(4:41)  7. I Must
(4:20)  8. Astrud
(4:02)  9. New Day For You
(3:48) 10. A Gift
(4:58) 11. An Olive Tree
(4:41) 12. From Now On
(4:08) 13. Promises
(4:09) 14. Time And Tide
(4:54) 15. Copernicus
(4:17) 16. There's A Tear (Acoustic)
(3:44) 17. Wandering
(4:33) 18. From Newport To London

Unlike her first concert collection, 1995's Basia on Broadway, Basia's second live disc, From Newport to London: Greatest Hits Live… and More, despite its title, finds her back in her home country, performing in Lódz, Poland, in June 2011. (The title actually refers to one of the three studio tracks that augment the 15 live songs, a wistful new tune called "From Newport to London.") The set does include the hits she scored in the late '80s and early ‘90s, "New Day for You," "Time and Tide," "Promises," "Cruising for Bruising," and "Drunk on Love," along with other songs from her studio albums Time and Tide, London Warsaw New York, The Sweetest Illusion, and the 2009 comeback disc It's That Girl Again. "That girl" is now 51, but she has grown noticeably as a singer since the commercial heyday she enjoyed in her late twenties and early thirties. Now, she is a far more expressive vocalist, bringing more emotion and meaning to her English lyrics while retaining the near-vocalese musical quality she exhibited earlier. Frequently shadowed by backup singers Veronique Clarisse and Annick Clarisse-Willequet, she employs a small band including her musical partner, Danny White, on keyboards, Giorgio Serci on guitar, Andy Lafone on bass, Marc Parnell on drums, Paul Booth on saxophone, and Kevin Robinson on trumpet. They provide a much less produced sound than was heard on the studio recordings, resulting in an approach that is jazzier and earthier, not the light disco of the early days. This is all to the good, and when Basia returns to the studio to remake "There's a Tear" from It's That Girl Again in a stripped-down, "unplugged" style, she demonstrates that she can put across a sad ballad with feeling, something she never could have attempted 20 years ago. ~ William Ruhlmann http://www.allmusic.com/album/from-newport-to-london-greatest-hits-live-and-more-mw0002191508

Personnel: Giorgio Serci (guitar); Paul Booth (alto flute, saxophone, percussion, background vocals); Kevin Robinson (trumpet, flugelhorn, percussion, background vocals); Danny White (keyboards); Marc Parnell (drums); Veronique Clarisse, Annick Clarisse-Willequet (background vocals).

From Newport to London

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Hilton Ruiz - Steppin' Into Beauty

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1977
File: MP3@224K/s
Time: 50:25
Size: 80,8 MB
Art: Front

(18:20)  1. Origin
( 5:26)  2. Steppin' into Beauty
( 7:20)  3. The Last Profit
( 6:50)  4. The Goal
(12:27)  5. Excition

Jazz pianist Hilton Ruiz was a musician of uncommon versatility, shuttling seamlessly between the complex improvisations of the avant-garde and the relentless rhythms of Afro-Cuban music. Born in New York City on May 29, 1952, Ruiz was a child prodigy who performed at Carnegie Recital Hall at age eight. In addition to classical studies, he explored jazz under the tutelage of the legendary Mary Lou Williams, and at 14 made his recorded debut with the Latin soul outfit Ray Jay and the East Siders. His remarkable improvisational gifts nevertheless cemented Ruiz's decision to pursue a career in jazz, and while still in his teens he backed everyone from Freddie Hubbard to Joe Henderson. Ruiz vaulted to global renown in 1973 when he joined the famously eclectic saxophonist/flutist Rahsaan Roland Kirk, proving his mettle as a gifted interpreter of a repertoire spanning from the blues to the avant-garde via cult-classic LPs including The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color and The Return of the 5000 Lb. Man. After a four-year tenure with Kirk, Ruiz toured Egypt and India with Clark Terry; upon his return to New York, he was a first-call sideman for acts including Betty Carter, Abbey Lincoln, and Chico Freeman, and also founded his own group, continuing a headlining career that began with the 1975 Steeplechase effort Piano Man. Over the span of acclaimed LPs including 1977's Steppin' Into Beauty, 1988's El Camino (The Road) and 1991's A Moment's Notice, Ruiz honed a Latin jazz fusion approach that resulted in collaborations with Tito Puente and Paquito d'Rivera; he also moonlighted in film, contributing to the soundtracks of Woody Allen's Crimes and Misdemeanors and Sam Mendes' Oscar-winning American Beauty, and with Richard Bradley authored 1987's three-volume Jazz and How to Play It. During a visit to New Orleans, where he was scheduled to work on a Hurricane Katrina benefit project, Ruiz suffered a fall in front of a French Quarter bar and slipped into a coma. He never regained consciousness, dying just a week after his 54th birthday on June 6, 2006. ~ Jason Ankeny  https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/hilton-ruiz/id105215#fullText

Personnel: Hilton Ruiz (piano); Frank Foster (tenor saxophone); Richard Gene Williams (trumpet); Steve Solder, Roy Brooks (drums); Buster Williams (bass).

Steppin' Into Beauty

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John Abercrombie Quartet - Up And Coming

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:15
Size: 109,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:12)  1. Joy
(2:53)  2. Flipside
(7:18)  3. Sunday School
(5:51)  4. Up And Coming
(7:34)  5. Tears
(7:06)  6. Silver Circle
(6:21)  7. Nardis
(5:57)  8. Jumbles

Starting the new year with, if not precisely a bang, a nevertheless unforgettable record whose strength lies in pristine lyricism, nuanced group interplay and writing that capitalizes on the entire quartet's appreciation of subtlety over gymnastics and refined lyricism over angularity, John Abercrombie's Up and Coming ECM's first release of the year is also founded strongly on the concept of relationship. The guitarist has been playing with Marc Copland since the pianist's days in the early '70s as a saxophonist before deserting it entirely for a career and discography that's as rich and rewarding as Abercrombie's. And the two have continued working together regularly since Copland's switch to piano: before coming to ECM on Abercrombie's critically acclaimed 39 Steps (2013), the pair had recorded in a group under Copland's name, first for Savoy Jazz with 1996's Second Look, then Hatology for 2003's Marc Copland And..., and finally with Pirouet on 2008's Another Place. And that excludes other projects, such as their 2010 quintet recording with Dave Liebman as Contact, Five on One (Pirouet), a 2011 duo recording, Speak to Me (Pirouet) and two trio recordings with the late Kenny Wheeler, including Brand New (Challenge, 2005). But the relationship doesn't end there. Bassist Drew Gress' far-reaching ubiquity is only matched by his ability bring a personal sound to everything from the more avant-leaning The Claudia Quintet and Dave Douglas to contemporary mainstream spaces with artists including pianist Fred Hersch and Tim Hagans not to mention a small but strong discography of his own, including 2013's The Sky Inside (Pirouet). He is not only a charter member of the same Abercrombie (or Copland, depending on the date) quartet, beginning with Second Look; he has a longstanding relationship with the pianist in other contexts, including 2009's New York Trio Recordings, Vol. 3: Night Whispers (Pirouet) and 2005's Some Love Songs (Pirouret), while joining the guitarist on a rare saxophone-infused date, Within a Song (ECM, 2012).

Joey Baron whose joyous approach and willingness to try anything has turned him into a similarly in-demand musician may be the relative youngster to this collective relationship, but he's far from new. He not only replaced original quartet drummer Billy Hart on Another Place and 39 Steps; his relationship with Abercrombie goes even farther back to the guitarist's four string-heavy recordings with violinist Mark Feldman, from 2002's Cat 'n' Mouse (ECM) through to 2009's Wait Till You See Her (ECM). But as strong as relationships can be in building a group chemistry as potent as that found on Up and Coming, there has to be more to it. Guitar and piano do not always make for comfortable bedfellows, as the potential for stepping on each other's toes, harmonically speaking, is always a risk; but one of Abercrombie and Copland's greatest combined strengths is their ability to listen and intuit...there are never any of the "train wrecks" that so often run the risk of scuttling multiple harmonic instruments brought together. Instead, the pair seems to effortlessly complement one another with an appealing harmonic ambiguity that has become one of the group's touchstones; its open-ears approach extending, of course, to Gress and Baron, who manage to bring both sinewy strength and elegant understatement to this quartet's music. From Up and Coming's relatively brief, introspective opener, the guitarist's curiously titled "Joy," the quartet combines elegant interpretation of a less-than-common yet still eminently singable theme with Abercrombie and Copland mere nanoseconds apart, creating a delicious sense of tension and release, to brief but eminently lyrical solos from the pair the pianist, in particular, bolstered by the empathic Gress and Baron, builds this rubato tone poem to its clear climax...and suggests another definer of this wonderful quartet: its capacity for evoking broad dynamic contrasts with, sometimes, the subtlest of gestures.

Copland's delicate touch and use of his instrument's pedals to create even more expansive harmonies has long been a measure of his best work; a touchstone that fits, hand-in-glove, with Abercrombie's similarly less-traveled voicings and soft attack, the latter stemming from his move, in the mid-'90s, from plectrum to his thumb's yielding flesh. Together, the pair evoke remarkable strength without ever resorting to the obvious; both have managed to create instantly recognizable yet never predictable approaches that rely on a deeper melodic and harmonic language rather than more obvious signatures. But as soft and lush as their collaborative sound is and as much as it sometimes feels necessary to almost lean forward to fully capture their work that shouldn't suggest that Abercrombie's quartet lacks muscle. The guitarist's more buoyant "Flipside" another miniature that doesn't even break the three-minute mark swings with powerful fluidity, its theme once again iterated in ever-so-slightly staggered fashion by the guitarist and pianist before Gress and Baron enter, the bassist walking hard and Baron delicately driving the brief solos with a persistent quarter-note cymbal pulse...but punctuated, on his snare and toms, as empathically as they are joy-filled. Anyone who has seen Baron in performance knows that a smile and sometimes flat-out laughter never seems to leave his face, as he approaches whatever music he's playing with a kind of reckless exhilaration, flexible interpretation and sheer joy that's rarely so visible in concert...and is, indeed, absolutely audible on record as well.

In an LP-length program that brings together five Abercrombie compositions with two contributions from Copland, it's particularly gratifying to hear this quartet approach Miles Davis' classic "Nardis" a song that the guitarist has played often but never recorded under his own name. It is, perhaps, the best example of how inimitably Abercrombie, Copland, Gress and Baron collaborate; following a rubato intro, even when the group begins to play in tempo and irrespective of this often-played song's melody the quartet's loose, open-ended and surprise-laden approach renders this most familiar of compositions as unpredictable as anything else to be found on the record. Yes, the changes are always there: sometimes more direct, other times so subtly intimated as to be barely recognizable; and yet, when Abercrombie, Copland and Baron solo, their allegiance to the song's heart is paradoxically crystal clear while, at the same time, being somehow opaque. All of these qualities characterize Up and Coming's entire 48-minutes duration, from Abercrombie's abstract yet melody-rich "Jumbles," waltz-time "Sunday School" and ambling title track to Copland's darker, more dramatic "Tears" (featuring a particularly memorable solo from Gress) and "Silver Circle" the album's most unfettered and impressive example of everything that makes this group so special. Beginning with an open vamp, largely driven by Gress, it ultimately resolves into another singable but uncommon melody, setting up modal-based and motif-driven opportunities for both Abercrombie who lends Up and Coming its only hint of grit with some slight overdrive and Copland, who demonstrates that a soft touch can, indeed, possess plenty of inner strength.

All told, it may be Abercrombie's shortest album since his 1990 trio with Vince Mendoza and Jon Christensen, Animato; but like that often (and unfairly) overlooked album, Up and Coming's brief duration only renders it more appealing, like the perfect live performance that leaves an audience sated but, at the same time, hungry for more. That Copland has finally, in the past few years, found his way to ECM in addition to Abercrombie, with bassist Gary Peacock, whose Now This (ECM, 2015), also featuring Baron, was one of the year's best recordings seems, in retrospect, not only inevitable but overdue. The quartet Abercrombie has shared with Copland and Gress for over two decades, irrespective of who is listed as the leader, is finally being recorded with the clarity and transparency it deserves, while the creative input provided by label head/producer Manfred Eicher drives the music in directions it might not otherwise go.
All of which make Up and Coming, ECM's first record of 2017, a success on all fronts. This is a group whose collaborative capabilities have only strengthened over the years, growing deeper and more telepathic. Of the tradition while, at the same time, challenging it with a unique and instantly recognizable combination of grace-filled subtlety, rich melodism, improvisational élan, mitochondrial chemistry and a profound harmonic language, Up and Coming starts 2017 with an album that is already a strong contender for its year-end best-of lists. ~ John Kelman https://www.allaboutjazz.com/john-abercrombie-quartet-up-and-coming-by-john-kelman.php
 

Personnel: John Abercrombie: guitar; Marc Copland: piano; Drew Gress: double bass; Joey Baron: drums.

Up And Coming

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Don Cherry & Willie Nelson - It's Magic

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:11
Size: 94,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:44)  1. It's Magic
(3:14)  2. What A Wonderful World
(2:32)  3. Summer Wind
(3:09)  4. By The Time I Get To Phoenix
(3:47)  5. Green Green Grass Of Home
(3:13)  6. Again
(3:32)  7. Sweet Memories
(3:18)  8. You've Changed
(3:35)  9. After The Lovin'
(3:46) 10. Try To Remember
(2:30) 11. Give Me The Simple Life
(3:45) 12. Portrait Of My Love

Willie Nelson joins his long-time friend pop singer and pro golfer Don Cherry in a ""beyond awesome"" album ""It's Magic. ~Amazon.com

"...Bing Crosby wasn't the best singer who could play golf. The all-time best golfer/singer, singer/golfer is Don Cherry." Dan Jenkins ~ Golf Digest

"We think that Mr. Don Cherry sings the Country Western music better than anybody in the business, but how he can do it so well and not "DRINK" is something we can't figure out. But he is Great." Dean Martin Frank Sinatra ~ Dean Martin's autobiography

Arnold Palmer's Favorite CD? "Band of Gold by Don Cherry, who's a friend. I beat Don in the 1954 U.S. Amateur." ~ Golf Magazine, September 2003

Don, those CD's are terrific. Thanks so much. ~  personal letter to Don from President George HW Bush

Personnel:  Don Cherry, Willie Nelson (vocals);  Roddy Smith (guitars);  Charlie McCoy (harmonica);  Tom Cherry , Boots Randolph (saxophone);  Bobby Ogdin (keyboards);  Ray VonRotz (drums);  Buzz Cason (background vocals).

It's Magic

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Charlie Haden, Kenny Barron - Night And The City

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 70:47
Size: 162.0 MB
Styles: Piano jazz, Easy Listening
Year: 1998
Art: Front

[12:44] 1. Twilight Song
[10:46] 2. For Heaven's Sake
[10:20] 3. Spring Is Here
[10:25] 4. Body And Soul
[ 7:00] 5. You Don't Know What Love Is
[ 8:28] 6. Waltz For Ruth
[11:01] 7. The Very Thought Of You

Bass – Charlie Haden; Piano – Kenny Barron. Recorded live on September 20, 21, 22, 1996 at The Iridium, N.Y.C.

The third in a series of Charlie Haden duet projects for Verve in the 1990s finds the increasingly nostalgia-minded bass player working New York City's Iridium jazz club with pianist Kenny Barron. Moreover, it is entirely possible that we are getting a skewed view of the gig; according to Haden, he and his co-producer wife Ruth tilted this album heavily in the direction of romantic ballads, eliminating the bebop and avant-garde numbers that the two may have also played at the club. Be that as it may, this is still a thoughtful, intensely musical, sometimes haunting set of performances, with Barron displaying a high level of lyrical sensitivity and Haden applying his massive tone sparingly. Most of the seven tracks are fantasias on well-known standards, although one of the most eloquent performances on the disc is Barron's playing on his own "Twilight Song." If Haden deliberately set out to create a single reflective mood, he certainly succeeded, although those coming to Haden for the first time through this and most of his other '90s CDs would never suspect that this man once played such a fire-breathing role in the jazz avant-garde. ~Richard S. Ginnell

Night And The City

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Curtis Stigers & The Danish Radio Big Band - One More For The Road

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 33:34
Size: 76.9 MB
Styles: Jazz-pop, Adult Contemporary
Year: Jazz
Art: Front

[3:20] 1. Come Fly With Me
[3:50] 2. I’ve Got You Under My Skin
[3:38] 3. Don’t Worry ‘bout Me
[3:03] 4. You Make Me Feel So Young
[2:44] 5. My Kind Of Town
[2:57] 6. Fly Me To The Moon
[3:19] 7. Summer Wind
[3:12] 8. They Can’t Take That Away From Me
[3:16] 9. The Lady Is A Tramp
[4:12] 10. One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)

Just in case the title One More for the Road didn't suggest Sinatra, Curtis Stigers underscores his debt to the Chairman of the Board by patterning the artwork for this 2017 collaboration with the Danish Radio Big Band after 1966's Sinatra at The Sands. In fact, One More for the Road is something of a salute to that 1966 record, containing eight songs from that double album and adhering to the snazzy swing of late-period Frank. Stigers even channels that sensibility into "Summer Wind," a gentle breeze of a single, and that's one of the distinguishing factors of One More for the Road. Another distinguishing factor is the cheerful blare of the Dutch Radio Big Band, who are big and brassy without overwhelming the singer. For his part, Stigers doesn't mimic Sinatra, appropriating just a bit of swagger -- and, sometimes, the arrangements -- but plays with his phrasing and alternates between crisp enunciation and elongated notes. This is enough to make One More for the Road something a bit different than a straight-up tribute to Ol' Blue Eyes because it shows how Stigers can hold his presence on-stage while sharing the spotlight with his idol. ~Stephen Thomas Erlewine

One More For The Road

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Fay Victor - Darker Than Blue

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:40
Size: 154.9 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2001
Art: Front

[4:13] 1. Eclipse
[5:58] 2. Zootoon
[8:14] 3. Tonight (House Party Starting)
[4:26] 4. My Reverie
[4:47] 5. Strollin' (Nostalgia In Times Square)
[7:00] 6. Last Night's Dinner
[9:12] 7. Star Eyes
[4:47] 8. What A Little Moonlight Can Do
[4:15] 9. Sometimes
[7:09] 10. In The City (Sham Time)
[7:35] 11. Detour Ahead

Fay Victor: Vocals; Anton Goudsmit: Guitar; Vijay Lyer: Piano; John Herbert Bass; Steve Hass: Drums; Marc Mommaas: Tenor Saxophone.

If American expatriate Fay Victor assimilates the grace of Nancy Wilson, the delivery of Betty Carter, and the courage of Cassandra Wilson, her guitarist, Anton Goudsmit channels the tone of Kenny Burrell, the image of Charlie Christian and the attitude of James Blood Ulmer. This is fairly well illustrated on "Tonight," Ms. Victor's take on Herbie Nichols' "House Party Starting." This song is populated with Victor's elastic vocals and Goudsmit's elastic plectra. Goudsmit's extended solo is full of crags and hallows, devoid of regard for time or rhythm. In short, refreshing and daring. This delivery is reminiscent of Cassandra Wilson's Miles Davis deconstructive vision. Not a mere copy, but certainly influenced by it.

So it is with Ms. Victor's delivery. She and her band take this most ill behaved composition and spank it into total rebellion before turning it into the quiet eight-minute tour de force it is. "Tonight" also illustrates another core characteristic of this disc, that of "less is more." The majority of the instrumentation is spare and spread out, as on the voice, bass, drum treatment of Debussy's "My Reverie." The music is almost self propelled, sporting a sharp efficiency, music stripped to the bone. Even upbeat pieces like "Strollin'" a characterized by a certain economy that can only derive from practice and reference. If the earlier Herbie Nichols piece was not challenging enough, Victor bases "Strollin'" on Mingus' ("Nostalgia in Times Square").

Fay Victor shows she knows her way around standards on "Star Eyes" and "What A Little Moonlight Can Do." She sings these not so much straight as expelling them with some creative entropy. She possesses a voice and a style that will have to be honestly confronted by the astute listener. Fay victor is a thinking person's jazz vocalist. ~C. Michael Bailey

Darker Than Blue

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Paul Bryant - Groove Essence

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:27
Size: 81.2 MB
Styles: Blues-jazz guitar
Year: 2014
Art: Front

[3:46] 1. Doesn't Really Matter
[3:52] 2. Smoothus Groovus
[2:37] 3. She's Trouble
[3:56] 4. Gettin' Funky
[3:25] 5. Stylin'
[4:27] 6. Other Things To Do
[3:56] 7. Shake What Ya Got
[3:24] 8. Don't Waste Away
[3:03] 9. Father Time
[2:56] 10. The Cat Walk

A premier Blues guitarist from Los Angeles, Paul is highly regarded as an authentic Blues player. He is proficient in all styles of Blues and is a leading innovator of West Coast Swing and Jump. Paul got his first "break" in 1982, when "PeeWee" Crayton asked him to join his band. During this period he got a real education, working with such Blues Legends as "Big Joe" Turner, Lowell Fulson, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Lee Allen, Guitar Shorty, Joe Houston, and Harmonica Fats. Paul hit the National Blues Scene in 1986 as Grand Prize Winners of the Long Beach Blues Festival Talent Search, with "Luke & The Locomotives," a band he co-founded with Audioquest Recording Artist Robert Lucas.

Since then, he has toured internationally with "Canned Heat", William Clarke, King Ernest, Robert Lucas, "Luke & The Locomotives," and Smokey Wilson, to name a few. Paul can be heard on the "Luke & The Locomotives" CD release on Audioquest Records, the Robert Lucas CD release, "Layaway," also on Audioquest Records, the King Ernest CD release, "King of Hearts," on Evidence Records, the Jimmy Morello CD release, "Can't Be Denied," on JSP Records, and the Lester Butler CD release "13", on High Tone Records. Paul has also shared the stage with Carey Bell, Frankie Lee Sims, Finis Tasby, Slash, "Big Daddy" Kinsey, Johnny Dyer, Frank Frost, Lester Davenport, Big Jack Johnson, Charlie Musselwhite, George Thoroughgood, James "Supe" Bradshaw, Henry Butler, Mitch Kashmar, Johnny Rivers, Phillip Walker, Jimmy Vivino, Spencer Davis, R.J. Mischo, A.C. Reed, Janiva Magness, Harvey Mandel, Debbie Davies, Rod Piazza, James Harman, and many others.

Groove Essence

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Bobby Timmons - From The Bottom

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 33:08
Size: 75.9 MB
Styles: Bop, Piano jazz
Year: 1964/2000
Art: Front

[4:59] 1. From The Bottom
[4:17] 2. Corcovado (Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars)
[3:37] 3. Medley: You're Blase/Bewitched
[4:51] 4. If I Should Lose You
[3:20] 5. Samba Triste
[6:31] 6. Someone To Watch Over Me
[5:31] 7. Moanin'

Bass – Sam Jones; Drums – Jimmy Cobb; Organ – Bobby Timmons; Piano – Bobby Timmons; Vibraphone [Vibraharp] – Bobby Timmons.

Pianist Bobby Timmons final recording for Riverside (cut right before the label went broke) was not released for the first time until 1970. Bobby Timmons, a highly influential funk pianist, is in generally excellent form. Most of the songs feature his trio with bassist Sam Jones and drummer Jimmy Cobb, but a ballad medley of "You're Blase" and "Bewitched" finds Timmons unaccompanied and he surprisingly switches to organ on his old hit "Moanin'" (his only recorded appearance ever on that instrument) and vibes on "Quiet Nights" and "Someone to Watch over Me." ~Scott Yanow

From The Bottom

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Cinzia Roncelli - Cinzia Roncelli Sings Swallow - Willow: A Jazz Suite

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:25
Size: 116,2 MB
Art: Front

(1:18)  1. Introducing
(4:45)  2. 1st movement - Muddy In The Bank
(4:45)  3. 1st movement - Ponytail
(0:19)  4. 1st movement - Interlude #1
(2:36)  5. 1st movement - Thinking Out Loud
(0:46)  6. 1st movement - Interlude #2
(1:29)  7. 1st movement - Sunset
(3:45)  8. 2nd movement - Playing With Water
(0:35)  9. 2nd movement - Hey Miss
(2:00) 10. 2nd movement - Outfits
(5:07) 11. 2nd movement - Better Times
(1:18) 12. 2nd movement - In The Dark
(7:02) 13. 3rd movement - Wrong Together
(0:41) 14. 3rd movement - Let's Go
(3:21) 15. 3rd movement - Please Let's Go
(4:05) 16. 3rd movement - Falling Grace
(6:27) 17. Finale - Willow

The Vocalist Cinzia Roncelli, which is experiencing a time of great successes and great collaborations, presents his latest work in which celebrates one of the most important contemporary jazz musicians in the world: Steve Swallow bass player, and it does so using just the great musician, together another outstanding overseas musician, drummer Adam Nussbaum, saxophonist and pianist Nicolò Ricci Giovanni Mazzarino, true architect of this musical meeting. A true, authentic and today philological work on Unique Music of the great bassist / American composer Steve Swallow. The art project that already exists since 2001 (Mazzarino / Swallow / Nussbaum) is embellished using the extraordinary artistic caliber of singer Cinzia Roncelli. A suite divided into five movements written by the composer Giovanni Mazzarino. The Suite explores not only the music of the American composer but also his solos turning them into authentic songs with lyrics written by the talented Sicilian singer Daniela Spalletta, thus taking the form of a vocalese. The work record came out attached to the prestigious JAZZ magazine in the month of February 2014.  Translate by Google  https://www.wikieventi.it/milano/index.php?id_evento=67771
amp;evento=Cinzia_Roncelli_sings_Steve_Swallow_Willow_a_Jazz_Suite

Cinzia Roncelli Sings Swallow - Willow: A Jazz Suite

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Joe Bonner Quartet - The Lost Melody

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1987
File: MP3@224K/s
Time: 53:21
Size: 86,9 MB
Art: Front

(7:14)  1. You And The Night And The Music
(9:11)  2. Easy Living
(7:57)  3. Vibeke
(4:57)  4. Have You Met Miss Jones?
(7:22)  5. The Lost Melody
(7:25)  6. The Song Is You
(9:12)  7. Manuella

A fine pianist who was originally heavily influenced by McCoy Tyner, Joe Bonner is an excellent interpreter of modal-based music and advanced hard bop. He studied music at Virginia State College and early on played with Roy Haynes (1970-1971), Freddie Hubbard (1971-1972), Pharoah Sanders (1972-1974), and Billy Harper (late '70s). Bonner, who recorded as a leader for Muse, Theresa, and most prominently Steeplechase, has been based in Colorado since the 1980s and remains a talented improviser. ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/artist/joe-bonner-mn0000785721/biography

Personnel: Joe Bonner (piano); Bob Rockwell (soprano & tenor saxophones); Jesper Lundgaard (bass); Jukkis Uotila (drums).

The Lost Melody

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Don Cherry - Home Boy

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1985
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:57
Size: 95,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:44)  1. Butterfly Friend
(3:11)  2. I Walk
(6:48)  3. Rappin Recipe
(4:11)  4. Reggae To The High Tower
(2:52)  5. Art Deco
(4:35)  6. Call Me
(6:08)  7. Treat Your Lady Right
(3:43)  8. Alphabet City
(5:41)  9. Bamako Love

Imagination and a passion for exploration made Don Cherry one of the most influential jazz musicians of the late 20th century. A founding member of Ornette Coleman's groundbreaking quartet of the late '50s, Cherry continued to expand his musical vocabulary until his death in 1995. In addition to performing and recording with his own bands, Cherry worked with such top-ranked jazz musicians as Steve Lacy, Sonny Rollins, Archie Shepp, Albert Ayler, John Coltrane, and Gato Barbieri. Cherry's most prolific period came in the late '70s and early '80s when he joined Nana Vasconcelos and Collin Walcott in the worldbeat group Codona, and with former bandmates Charlie Haden and Ed Blackwell, and saxophonist Dewey Redman in the Coleman-inspired group Old and New Dreams. Cherry later worked with Vasconcelos and saxophonist Carlos Ward in the short-lived group Nu. Born in Oklahoma City in 1936, he first attained prominence with Coleman, with whom he began playing around 1957. At that time Cherry's instrument of choice was a pocket trumpet (or cornet) a miniature version of the full-sized model. The smaller instrument  in Cherry's hands, at least got a smaller, slightly more nasal sound than is typical of the larger horn. Though he would play a regular cornet off and on throughout his career, Cherry remained most closely identified with the pocket instrument. Cherry stayed with Coleman through the early '60s, playing on the first seven (and most influential) of the saxophonist's albums. In 1960, he recorded The Avant-Garde with John Coltrane. After leaving Coleman's band, Cherry played with Steve Lacy, Sonny Rollins, Archie Shepp, and Albert Ayler. In 1963-1964, Cherry co-led the New York Contemporary Five with Shepp and John Tchicai. With Gato Barbieri, Cherry led a band in Europe from 1964-1966, recording two of his most highly regarded albums, Complete Communion and Symphony for Improvisers. Cherry began the '70s by teaching at Dartmouth College in 1970, and recorded with the Jazz Composer's Orchestra in 1973. He lived in Sweden for four years, and used the country as a base for his travels around Europe and the Middle East. Cherry became increasingly interested in other, mostly non-Western styles of music. 

In the late '70s and early '80s, he performed and recorded with Codona, a cooperative group with percussionist Nana Vasconcelos and multi-instrumentalist Collin Walcott. Codona's sound was a pastiche of African, Asian, and other indigenous musics. Concurrently, Cherry joined with ex-Coleman associates Charlie Haden, Ed Blackwell, and Dewey Redman to form Old and New Dreams, a band dedicated to playing the compositions of their former employer. After the dissolution of Codona, Cherry formed Nu with Vasconcelos and saxophonist Carlos Ward. In 1988, he made Art Deco, a more traditional album of acoustic jazz, with Haden, Billy Higgins, and saxophonist James Clay. Until his death in 1995, Cherry continued to combine disparate musical genres; his interest in world music never abated. Cherry learned to play and compose for wood flutes, tambura, gamelan, and various other non-Western instruments. Elements of these musics inevitably found their way into his later compositions and performances, as on 1990's Multi Kulti, a characteristic celebration of musical diversity. As a live performer, Cherry was notoriously uneven. It was not unheard of for him to arrive very late for gigs, and his technique never great to begin with showed on occasion a considerable, perhaps inexcusable, decline. In his last years, especially, Cherry seemed less self-possessed as a musician. Yet his musical legacy is one of such influence that his personal failings fade in relative significance. ~ Chris Kelsey & Craig Harris https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/don-cherry/id394729#fullText

Personnel:  Don Cherry - pocket trumpet, vocals, doussn’ gouni, piano, synthesizer, melodica;  Ramuntcho Matta – guitar;  Jannick Top – bass;  Negrito Trasante - bongos, congas, talking drum, rhythm box;  Polo Lombardo – konks;  Claude Salmieri – drums;  Fil Mong – bass;  Jean-Pierre Coco - congas; Abdoulaye Prosper Niang – drums; Elli Medeiros - backing vocals

Home Boy

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Kevin Hays - Go Round

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1995
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:17
Size: 156,7 MB
Art: Front

( 7:55)  1. Daybreak
(10:23)  2. Early Evening
(10:33)  3. Go Round
( 5:59)  4. When I Wake
( 6:01)  5. The Run
( 5:54)  6. Sutra
( 8:14)  7. Quiet
(10:19)  8. Invitation
( 2:55)  9. Sutra (Reprise)

Pianist Kevin Hays shows individuality on this CD and he certainly takes chances. The compositions (all but "Invitation" were penned by Hays) must be quite difficult to play because according to the liners "Daybreak" is 12 bars with a couple of bars in 5/4, "The Run" has sections in 5/4, 4/4 and 3/4 in every chorus and "Invitation" is completely altered. Both of the tenors (the obscure Steve Hall and Seemus Blake) somehow manage to sound comfortable and creative in this format which is an extension of the controlled freedom of Wayne Shorter and Andrew Hill. On some tracks Hays plays an electric piano and, with Hall's Shorter-influenced tenor, one thinks of early Weather Report or 1970s Herbie Hancock; Blake adds to the atmosphere by sometimes electrifying his sax. The alert and versatile playing of bassist Doug Weiss and drummer Billy Hart is also quite impressive. This is thought-provoking music that grows in interest over time. ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/go-round-mw0000174907

Kevin Hays (piano & Fender Rhodes), Steve Hall (tenor saxophone), Seamus Blake (tenor & soprano saxophone), Doug Weiss (bass), Billy Hart (drums) & Daniel Sadownick (percussion).

Go Round

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