Larry Carlton - Room 335 (2 parts)

Before he transitioned completely to a solo career, Carlton became one of the most in-demand studio musicians of the past three decades. Carlton’s catalog of work includes film soundtracks, television themes and work on more than 100 gold albums. Ultimately, Carlton began scaling back his session work substantially, while continuing to perform and record with the Crusaders. He shifted his emphasis to the challenges of arranging and producing, and built his own studio-Room 335-in his home. During this period he arranged and produced projects for Barbra Streisand, Joan Baez and Larry Gatlin, as well as producing and co-writing the theme for the hit sitcom Who’s The Boss and co-writing (with Michel Columbier) and arranging the acclaimed movie soundtrack for Against All Odds.

As his association with the Crusaders began to draw to a close, Carlton signed with Warner Bros. Records in 1977. Between ’78 and ’84, Larry recorded six solo albums for Warner Bros. Records: Mr. 335: Live In Japan, Friends; Eight Times Up; Sleep Walk; Strikes Twice; Larry Carlton. The latter self-titled album was released hot on the heels of his debut session with rock supergroup Steely Dan. Rolling Stone magazine lists Carlton’s tasty ascent on Steely Dan’s Kid Charlemagne as one of the three best guitar licks in rock music.

With more than 3000 studio sessions under his belt by the early 1980s, Carlton had picked up four Grammy nominations. In addition to winning a Grammy (`81) for the theme to "Hill Street Blues" (a collaboration with Mike Post), he also was voted NARAS’s "Most Valuable Player" for three consecutive years. NARAS then named him "Player Emeritus" and retired him from eligibility.

Album: Room 335 (Part 1)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 85:42
Size: 196.2 MB
Styles: Guitar jazz
Year: 2018

[5:37] 1. Room 335 (Long Version)
[4:33] 2. Sleepwalk
[5:04] 3. 10 00 P.M
[4:56] 4. You Gotta Get It While You Can
[4:55] 5. Fingerprints
[3:46] 6. Song For Katie
[5:20] 7. Nite Crawler
[5:18] 8. Last Night
[4:29] 9. Blues Bird
[4:56] 10. Point It Up
[4:34] 11. (It Was) Only Yesterday
[5:28] 12. Chicks With Kickstands
[4:56] 13. All Thru The Night
[4:19] 14. Deep Into It
[6:09] 15. Gracias
[4:13] 16. Put It Where You Want It
[7:00] 17. Rio Samba

Room 335 (Part 1) mc
Room 335 (Part 1) zippy

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Album: Room 335 (Part 2)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 85:36
Size: 196.0 MB
Styles: Guitar jazz
Year: 2018
Art: Front

[4:44] 1. Iit's A Groove Thang
[3:46] 2. Closer To Home
[4:46] 3. Silky Smooth
[5:42] 4. Lazy Susan
[7:03] 5. Crying Hands
[7:31] 6. Upper Kern
[6:02] 7. Don't Give It Up
[4:32] 8. Frenchman's Flat
[4:24] 9. I Can't Tell You Why
[5:09] 10. Like Butta'
[4:51] 11. Slave Song
[3:59] 12. Don't Break My Heart
[4:15] 13. Morning Magic
[6:45] 14. The Storyteller
[4:15] 15. 'til I Hurt You
[4:15] 16. I Apologize
[3:28] 17. Where Did You Come From

Room 335 (Part 2) mc
Room 335 (Part 2) zippy

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Hubert Laws, Earl Klugh - How To Beat The High Cost Of Living

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 31:30
Size: 72.1 MB
Styles: Crossover jazz
Year: 1980/2017
Art: Front

[2:20] 1. Down River
[5:22] 2. Night Moves
[4:27] 3. Piccolo Boogie
[3:35] 4. Dream Something
[4:04] 5. It's So Easy Loving You
[2:15] 6. The Edge
[2:27] 7. The Caper
[1:35] 8. Ready To Run
[2:13] 9. The Scuffle
[3:07] 10. Song For A Pretty Girl

After a series of low-quality commercial releases for Columbia, Hubert Laws came up with this surprisingly worthwhile album. Featured along with acoustic guitarist Earl Klugh, the flutist performed Patrick Williams' music for the film How to Beat the High Cost of Living, which starred Susan Saint James, Jane Curtin, and Jessica Lange. While the light comedy has been long forgotten and none of these ten selections caught on, the music is largely straight-ahead, with some strong melodies, and finds Laws and Klugh playing very well. They are backed by a six-piece rhythm section including keyboardist Michael Lang and both Tim May and Mitch Holder on guitars. This out of print LP (which probably will not get reissued on CD anytime soon) is well worth acquiring. ~Scott Yanow

How To Beat The High Cost Of Living

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Bud Shank - Magical Mystery

Styles: Saxophone Jazz 
Year: 1968
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:54
Size: 84,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:33)  1. Blue Jay Way
(2:54)  2. I Am The Walrus
(3:41)  3. The Fool On The Hill
(4:01)  4. Flying
(3:23)  5. Hello Goodbye
(2:46)  6. Your Mother Should Know
(2:59)  7. Paper Cup
(2:53)  8. Windy
(2:56)  9. Never My Love
(2:19) 10. I Wanna Be Free
(3:25) 11. I Say A Little Prayer

By late 1966, Chet’s playing was in such poor shape he asked Dick Bock to pay for him to have dentures fitted. He struggled to play for several months, and eventually emerged one year later, appearing on a handful of songs on Bud Shank’s ‘Magical Mystery’ album. Chet’s playing still sounds extremely tentative at times the first few bars of his playing on ‘Hello Goodbye’ find him struggling to hold a note and it is probably for this reason that a second recording session was arranged with a new band, this time featuring Gary Barone on flugelhorn. The arrangements, still by Bob Florence, are slightly more interesting than on Bud Shank’s previous ‘pop’ albums, suggesting a move away from the ‘easy listening’ market to a more current,‘psychedelic’ sound.http://www.funnyvalentine.org/funnyvalentine.org/Magical_Mystery.html

Personnel: Bud Shank (as, fl), Chet Baker (flh),Gary Barone (flh), Dennis Budimir (g), Herb Ellis (g), Robert West (b), John Guerin (b), Victor Feldman (perc).

Magical Mystery

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Patrice Rushen - Anything But Ordinary

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1994
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:00
Size: 124,7 MB
Art: Front

(6:28)  1. I Do
(4:47)  2. Tell Me
(5:34)  3. Whatcha Gonna Do
(4:19)  4. I Only Think Of You
(5:24)  5. My Heart, Your Heart
(5:59)  6. Anything But Ordinary
(4:57)  7. Top Of The Line
(5:44)  8. State Of Mind
(5:11)  9. Caravan
(5:34) 10. Be With You

In the late 1970s and early to mid-'80s, Patrice Rushen was red hot. Anyone who was seriously into R&B at the time remembers hits like "Haven't You Heard," "Forget-Me-Nots" and "Never Gonna Give You Up." But by the end of the 1980s, the jazz pianist turned R&B singer was in trouble commercially. Switching from Elektra to Arista with 1987's Watch Out! proved to be a mistake, and it wasn't until 1994's Anything But Ordinary on the small Sin-Drome label that Rushen recorded again under her own name. Though this CD isn't in a class with Pizzazz or Posh, sleek R&B/pop tunes like "I Do," "My Heart, Your Heart" and "Tell Me" showed that the L.A. native could still hold her own as a singer, composer and producer. Rushen experiments with hip-hop influences on a few selections, but on the whole, the disc is quite similar to her Elektra output. While Anything didn't return Rushen to the top of the R&B charts, her more devoted fans were glad to see her back in the studio.~ Alex Henderson https://www.allmusic.com/album/anything-but-ordinary-mw0000122797

Anything But Ordinary

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Stefano Bollani & Luigi Tessarollo - Homage To Bill Evans & Jim Hall

Styles: Piano And Guitar Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:17
Size: 134,4 MB
Art: Front

( 5:56)  1. I've Got You Under My Skin
( 4:01)  2. My Funny Valentine
( 4:58)  3. Darn That Dream
( 6:03)  4. My Man Has Gone How
(10:37)  5. Il Mondo Di Fabio
( 5:24)  6. Romaine
( 5:00)  7. Border Line
( 6:36)  8. Turn Out The Stars
( 6:39)  9. Il Barbone Di Siviglia
( 2:57) 10. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You

"Stefano Bollani, one of the young stars of Italian jazz-piano, and Luigi Tessarollo, one of the most important guitarists of the Italian scene, take on the repertoire associated with the historic duets of Bill Evans and Jim Hall...An exemplary conversation in music, in which the partnership between the two protagonists recalls the historic sessions of the two American masters..."

Personnel:  Luigi Tessarollo ( Guitar);  Stefano Bollani ( Piano )

Homage To Bill Evans & Jim Hall

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Charlie Byrd - The Great Byrd

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1968
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:19
Size: 85,0 MB
Art: Front

(2:47)  1. Wichita Lineman
(2:41)  2. For Once In My Life
(3:01)  3. Those Were The Days
(2:48)  4. Scarborough Fair / Canticle
(3:16)  5. Happy Together
(3:05)  6. Hey Jude
(4:02)  7. Abraham, Martin And John
(3:13)  8. I'll Never Fall In Love Again
(4:28)  9. Lullaby From Rosemary's Baby
(3:12) 10. I Don't Have To Take It
(2:40) 11. Who Is Gonna Love Me

Tasteful, low-key, and ingratiatingly melodic, Charlie Byrd had two notable accomplishments to his credit applying acoustic classical guitar techniques to jazz and popular music and helping to introduce Brazilian music to mass North American audiences. Born into a musical family, Byrd experienced his first brush with greatness while a teenager in France during World War II, playing with his idol Django Reinhardt. After some postwar gigs with Sol Yaged, Joe Marsala and Freddie Slack, Byrd temporarily abandoned jazz to study classical guitar with Sophocles Papas in 1950 and Andrés Segovia in 1954. However he re-emerged later in the decade gigging around the Washington D.C. area in jazz settings, often splitting his sets into distinct jazz and classical segments. He started recording for Savoy as a leader in 1957, and also recorded with the Woody Herman Band in 1958-59. A tour of South America under the aegis of the U.S. State Department in 1961, proved to be a revelation, for it was in Brazil that Byrd discovered the emerging bossa nova movement. Once back in D.C., he played some bossa nova tapes to Stan Getz, who then convinced Verve's Creed Taylor to record an album of Brazilian music with himself and Byrd. That album, Jazz Samba, became a pop hit in 1962 on the strength of the single "Desafinado" and launched the bossa nova wave in North America. Thanks to the bossa nova, several albums for Riverside followed, including the defining Bossa Nova Pelos Passaros, and he was able to land a major contract with Columbia, though the records from that association often consisted of watered-down easy listening pop. In 1973, he formed the group Great Guitars with Herb Ellis and Barney Kessel and also that year, wrote an instruction manual for the guitar that has become widely used. From 1974 onward, Byrd recorded for the Concord Jazz label in a variety of settings, including sessions with Laurindo Almeida and Bud Shank. He died December 2, 1999 after a long bout with cancer.~ Richard S.Ginell https://www.allmusic.com/artist/charlie-byrd-mn0000204968/biography

Personnel: Charlie Byrd - guitar;  Mario Darpino - flute;  Bernard Purdie - drums;  Vinnie Bell - electric guitar

The Great Byrd

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Hank Crawford - Mr. Blues Plays Lady Soul

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:46
Size: 84.2 MB
Styles: Jazz/Funk/Soul
Year: 2005
Art: Front

[2:37] 1. Groovin'
[3:34] 2. I Can't See Myself Leaving You
[3:26] 3. Never Let Me Go
[3:38] 4. Baby, I Love You
[3:11] 5. Lady Soul
[3:32] 6. Soul Serenade
[3:54] 7. Ain't No Way
[2:13] 8. Since You've Been Gone (Sweet Sweet Baby)
[3:12] 9. Take A Look
[7:24] 10. Going Down Slow

Alto Saxophone – Frank Wess, Hank Crawford; Baritone Saxophone – Pepper Adams; Bass – Charles Rainey, Jerry Jemmott; , Ron Carter; Drums – Bernard Purdie; Guitar – Eric Gale; Organ, Piano – Paul Griffin; Tenor Saxophone – Seldon Powell; Tenor Saxophone, Flute – David Newman; Trombone – Benny Powell, Jimmy Cleveland; Trumpet – Bernie Glow, Ernie Royal, Snookie Young, Joe Newman.

With an unmistakable blues wail, full of emotion and poignancy, altoist Hank Crawford bridges the gap between that tradition and that of jazz more completely than any other living horn player. Born in Memphis, Crawford was steeped in the blues tradition from an early age. He began playing piano but switched to alto when his father brought one home from the army. He claims his early influences as Louis Jordan, Earl Bostic, and Johnny Hodges. Crawford hung out with Phineas Newborn, Jr., Booker Little, and George Coleman in high school. Upon graduating, Crawford played in bands fronted by Ike Turner, B.B. King, Junior Parker, and Bobby "Blue" Bland at Memphis' Palace Theater and Club Paradise. In 1958 Crawford went to college in Nashville where he met Ray Charles. Charles hired Crawford originally as a baritone saxophonist. Crawford switched to alto in 1959 and remained with Charles' band -- becoming its musical director -- until 1963. The phrasing and voicings he learned there proved invaluable to him as the hallmark of his own sound. He also wrote and arranged a tune for Charles. The cut, "Sherry," his first for the band, was put on the Live at Newport album. Crawford cut a slew solo albums for Atlantic while with the band, and when he formed his group, he remained with the label until 1970. He signed with Creed Taylor's Kudu in 1971 and cut a series of fusion-y groove jazz dates through 1982. In 1983 he moved to Milestone and returned to form as a premier arranger, soloist, and composer, writing for small bands -- that included guitarist Melvin Sparks, organist Jimmy McGriff, and Dr. John -- as well as large. Crawford has been constantly active since then, as a leader and sideman, recording the best music of his long career. ~ Thom Jurek

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Brubeck Brothers Quartet - Timeline

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:58
Size: 160.2 MB
Styles: Cool Jazz
Year: 2018
Art: Front

[7:28] 1. Blue Rondo A La Turk
[6:52] 2. Far More Blue
[6:11] 3. Easy As You Go
[5:41] 4. Since Love Had Its Way
[6:30] 5. Boundward Home
[7:43] 6. Tritonis
[4:35] 7. The Golden Horn
[6:29] 8. 3 Wise Men
[4:32] 9. North Coast
[7:00] 10. Prime Directive
[6:51] 11. Thank You (Dziekuje)

Chris Brubeck: electric bass, bass trombone; Dan Brubeck: drums, hand drums, percussion; Mike DeMicco: guitar; Chuck Lamb: piano.

This album by the Brubeck Brothers—led by Chris and Dan Brubeck, sons of legendary pianist Dave Brubeck—commemorates the 60th anniversary of "President Eisenhower's Special International Program for Cultural Presentations," the 1958 State department tour in which prominent jazz musicians traveled to 14 countries to give 80 concerts in 90 days. This grueling schedule was endured by such luminaries as Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, and the Dave Brubeck. For Brubeck, the inspiration was mutual, reflected in compositions that incorporated the local musical traditions he was hearing. Several of these are included on this record. Probably the most well-known is "Blue Rondo a la Turk," in which Dave melds the 9/8 rhythms of Istanbul's street musicians with American jazz and blues, creating a unique and indelible composition that has been covered by everyone from Al Jarreau to The Canadian Brass. Here, this beloved tune is freshened by master trombonist/bassist Chris Brubeck's arrangement, which begins with dazzling drummer Dan Brubeck's electric hand drumming and moves through sections that are separated just enough to highlight their different origins. This twist provides a new perspective on music that is so often played, reminding the listener of the global influences that were merged during that historic trip.

Apart from its historic value—enhanced by the intriguing factoids in the liner notes—this is an exciting and varied outing, recorded crisply and with great warmth. The "Timeline" it reflects is not just in years, but also in a legacy which—lucky for all of us—continues its powerful forward movement today. ~Dr. Judy Schlesinger

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Pere Soto - Gypsy Jazz 2018

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:02
Size: 98.5 MB
Styles: Gypsy jazz
Year: 2018
Art: Front

[4:56] 1. 1000 Years No Gigs
[3:15] 2. A Second Love
[3:19] 3. Dancing With Mr. Joan Marti
[4:05] 4. Prisoner Of Love
[3:53] 5. Menor-K Blues
[5:44] 6. Rumbatron
[5:35] 7. The Ballad Of The Moons
[4:45] 8. Pomping Into A Black Hole
[4:25] 9. Esperant La Lluna Plena
[2:59] 10. Hele Guify

Born in Badalona (Catalonia, Spain). Guitar player, composer, arranger, music producer. His family was of humble class, and for this reason, he could never afford a quality electric guitar until he was 20 years old, seeing his dad who was accumulating credibility thanks to his concerts, radio programs and the local press decided to buy his first guitar, a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe. It was the first left-handed Gibson guitar that came to Spain, they told him at the New-Phono music store in Barcelona. Until that moment He had always been asking for borrowed a guitar to anyone, either by a friend or like once happens by a missionary from the Carmelite Church, where he was playing every Sunday in the church band. That missioner lent him a guitar "Framus" for a long time. Perhaps that is the reason that at present he can also play the guitar with the strings upside down (since he is left-handed) because of the habit of playing with "normal" borrowed guitars for so long.

At age 17 he decided to finish his studies in mercantile expertise after a problem of mental exhaustion because he worked ten hours a day, and another four continued his studies at night and on weekends playing wherever he could. Apart combined all that with his favourite hobby was to play Ping Pong (table tennis) at a club in the city and becoming champion of Badalona later on. That took him to a level of stress that caused an emotional relapse and nervous breakdown of great magnitude. Then he had no choice but to stop working on anything that was not music which caused him a big problem with his father, who was an entrepreneur and one of the best European printing technicians. It should be added that every time he tried to study at the music conservatory in his city, regularly he was forbidden to examine and get the degree, himself because he was left-handed and in those moments that the country was governed by the dictatorship of General Franco that was forbidden. He understood that his training should be self-taught and launched for it.

He is known in the international scene for his esthetical flexibility that covers styles as unalike as gypsy jazz, free jazz, Avantgarde, jazz fusion, Bebop and, in classical music, contemporary and electroacoustic music, mostly XX century styles. Currently, his work as a composer exceeds the amount of 1000 registered compositions at the SGAE, (Sociedad General de Autores de España) among Jazz music and classical music. He is also currently active as a music producer, with his own recording studio and as a consultant-engraver for music publishing companies, schools, etc. He is publishing his works with three publishing Co.; from Catalonia - Clivis publication and La Ma de guido, and from Denmark - Bergmann Edition.

Gypsy Jazz 2018 mc
Gypsy Jazz 2018 zippy

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Lucy Ann Polk - Lucky Lucy Ann

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:04
Size: 78.0 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 1957/1985
Art: Front

[2:50] 1. Sitting In The Sun
[1:46] 2. How About You
[3:54] 3. I'm Just A Lucky So And So
[2:52] 4. Squeeze Me
[3:03] 5. When The Sun Comes Out
[2:54] 6. Makin' Whoopee
[2:29] 7. Don Cha Go Way Mad
[3:20] 8. Sittin' And A'rockin'
[2:37] 9. Memphis In June
[2:16] 10. Time After Time
[3:21] 11. Easy Living
[2:38] 12. Looking At You

Bass – Buddy Clark; Drums – Mel Lewis; Guitar – Tony Rizzi; Piano – Marty Paich; Tenor Saxophone – Bob Hardaway; Valve Trombone – Dick Noel. Recorded on July 1957, Hollywood, California.

Lucy Ann Polk's lone Mode/VSOP session pairs the singer with a sextet led by pianist and arranger Marty Paich, whose nuanced, spacious orchestrations perfectly complement Polk's sultry yet supremely controlled style. The strength of Lucky Lucy Ann is its subtlety -- not a note is wasted or extraneous, and for all the modernist elements converging in Paich's arrangements, he never obscures the clarity of perennials like "Makin' Whoopee" and "Time After Time." Polk likewise shades the universal themes of the lyrics with a style and fierce intelligence all her own -- for all the power of her voice, it's her restraint that rings loudest and clearest. ~Jason Ankeny

Lucky Lucy Ann                

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Burton Cummings - Massey Hall

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 75:58
Size: 173.9 MB
Styles: Rock
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[5:51] 1. No Sugar Tonight / New Mother Nature
[3:08] 2. Albert Flasher
[4:21] 3. Clap For The Wolfman
[3:17] 4. Laughing
[4:13] 5. Guns Guns Guns
[4:43] 6. Stand Tall
[3:47] 7. Hand Me Down World
[3:57] 8. Above The Ground
[4:45] 9. Runnin' Back To Saskatoon
[3:48] 10. Undun
[4:41] 11. I'm Scared
[3:48] 12. We Just Came From The Usa
[3:57] 13. These Eyes
[4:55] 14. American Woman
[4:11] 15. Timeless Love
[2:39] 16. Star Baby
[4:44] 17. No Time
[5:03] 18. Share The Land

Cummings was born and raised in the Canadian city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, as were all of the other original members of The Guess Who. In 1969, The Guess Who scored an international hit with “These Eyes”, co-written by Cummings and guitarist Randy Bachman. It was followed up by hit “Laughing”, again written by Cummings and Bachman. Another Guess Who song “Undun” featured Cummings on a jazzy flute solo. In 1970, the band hit no. 1 in Canada with “American Woman.”

Ultimately, conflict between Cummings and bandmate Randy Bachman – partially ignited by Bachman’s then-deepening Mormon religious beliefs—caused a rift in the band. Bachman left and went on to form the band Brave Belt with former The Guess Who mate Chad Allan, which later evolved into Bachman–Turner Overdrive.

Cummings became the band’s leader and continued to chart with songs such as: “Share the Land,” “Hand Me Down World,” “Albert Flasher,” “Rain Dance,” “Sour Suite,” “Glamour Boy,” “Star Baby,” “Clap for the Wolfman,” and “Dancin’ Fool.”

Massey Hall mc
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Chuck Folds & His Sweet Basil Friends - Remember Doc Cheatham

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:02
Size: 142.0 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 2000
Art: Front

[2:51] 1. I Double Dare You
[2:21] 2. A Kiss To Build A Dream On
[5:48] 3. After I Say I'm Sorry
[2:04] 4. I Thought About You
[1:39] 5. Love Will Find A Way
[5:16] 6. That Old Gang Of Mine
[4:23] 7. The Man I Love
[5:24] 8. My Buddy
[3:56] 9. Sweet Lorraine
[4:16] 10. Duke Ellington Medley
[2:13] 11. I've Got A Feeling I'm Falling
[7:11] 12. Lover Man
[3:26] 13. Someday You'll Be Sorry
[5:10] 14. I Want A Little Girl
[3:06] 15. Medley Don't Worry 'bout Me; How Am I To Know'
[2:50] 16. Medley

Chuck Folds, piano; Spanky Davis, trumpet; Irvin Stokes, trumpet; Frank Tate, bass; Jackie Williams, drums.

In his solo work, Chuck Folds plays piano with a gentleness and grace that arises from the popular songs of faraway decades. He can then effortlessly shift into a rollicking New Orleans style solo, competing with the extraverted trumpets of Irvin Stokes and Spanky Davis. All of this fun can be heard on the new release: Chuck Folds and his Sweet Basil Friends Remember Doc Cheatham.

The great trumpet master Doc Cheatham played a regular Sunday gig in the Greenwich Village club Sweet Basil from 1980 to 1997, until his death at the age of 92. The musicians on this disc had various musical relationships with Doc Cheatham. Pianist Chuck Folds and the drummer Jackie Williams were regular band members throughout the Sweet Basil years. During this time either trumpet player, Stokes or Davis, would substitute for Cheatham or share the bandstand with him. Frank Tate, the bassist, was a regular sub during the Cheatham years, and since 1998 has been the house bassist.

These long musical relations have resulted in band with a comfort level that is palpable. Take a listen as “The Duke Ellington Medley” shifts from the delicately beautiful piano trio of “Drop Me Off In Harlem” to Spanky Davis’ warm trumpet solo on “Do Nothin’ Till You Hear From Me.” These are musicians who know where they’ve been and know where they are going. Irvin Stokes’ slowly unfolding trumpet solo on “Lover Man” is one of the highlights of this recording; it’s a heartfelt performance worthy of continual listening. The ease of exchange between these two excellent trumpet players is vigorously displayed on “My Buddy” in which the solos flash back and forth at an exhilarating rate. Throughout Jackie Williams’ and Frank Tate’s good sense and thoughtful touch keeps everyone on course. In short, this spirited tribute to Doc Cheatham is a CD full of delights from an era when the pianist could play sweet and then the whole band could play hot. ~Mike Neely

Remember Doc Cheatham mc
Remember Doc Cheatham zippy

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Bill Perkins - Just Friends

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1956
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:59
Size: 92,4 MB
Art: Front

(5:12)  1. Just Friends
(3:57)  2. A Foggy Day
(4:34)  3. All Of Me
(3:09)  4. Diane-A-Flow
(3:19)  5. Limehouse Blues
(5:22)  6. What Is This Thing Called Love
(4:32)  7. Solid Desylva
(5:06)  8. Sweet And Lovely
(3:43)  9. Zenobia

Tremendous work from tenor saxophonist Bill Perkins  easily one of our favorite talents of the LA scene of the 50s, heard here on material from 2 rare albums! On these 50s recordings, Bill's got a great tone that really deserves to be heard  as lean and cool as fellow LA scenester Bud Shank, but also with a soulful quality that recalls some of the alto work coming out of Boston at the same time. Half the CD features titles from the Pacific Jazz album Just Friends  and Perkins plays tenor on most of the album, plus a bit of flute and bass clarinet  in the company of Art Pepper, Richie Kamuca, Jimmy Rowles, and Hampton Hawes. Tracks include "Solid De Sylva", "Zenobia", "Diane A Flow", and "Just Friends". The remaining tracks are from the even more obscure Liberty album Tenors Head On  a tight small group session that matches the horns of Perkins and Richie Kamuca, alongside rhythm from Pete Jolly on piano, Red Mitchell on bass, and Stan Levey on drums. https://www.freshsoundrecords.com/bill-perkins-albums/4380-just-friends-tenors-head-on.html

Personnel:  Art Pepper (as) Bill Perkins (ts,bclar,f) Richie Kamuca (ts) Jimmy Rowles/ Hampton Hawes (p) Ben Tucker/ Red Mitchell (b) Mel Lewis (d)

Just Friends

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Joe Pass - Summer Nights

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1989
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:28
Size: 111,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:23)  1. Summer Night
(4:44)  2. Anouman
(4:55)  3. Douce Ambiance
(3:08)  4. For Django
(3:11)  5. D-Joe
(4:45)  6. I Got Rhythm
(5:43)  7. E-Blue Eyes
(4:00)  8. Belleville
(3:27)  9. In My Solitude
(4:48) 10. Tears
(2:50) 11. In A Sentimental Mood
(2:29) 12. Them There Eyes

During the last few years of his life, guitarist Joe Pass enjoyed having reunions with the same musicians who played with him 25 years earlier for the classic For Django recording: rhythm guitarist John Pisano, bassist Jim Hughart and drummer Colin Bailey. This 1989 recording could almost be called For Django 2, for it is the same vein as the original. Pass takes his remake of "For Django" unaccompanied and performs four of Django's tunes, along with five standards from the 1930s and three originals. Pisano, who was instrumental in organizing the session and the repertoire, sticks to acoustic guitar, while Pass alternates between acoustic and electric. 

Although Joe Pass' main influence was Charlie Christian and he really does not sound like Reinhardt, he manages to evoke the spirit of Django while swinging in his own fashion. It is particularly nice hearing such tunes as "Belleville," the haunting "Tears" and "For Django" in newer versions. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/summer-nights-mw0000309426

Personnel:  Joe Pass – guitar;  John Pisano – guitar;  Jim Hughart – bass;  Colin Bailey – drums

Summer Nights

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Chihiro Yamanaka - Utopia

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:45
Size: 128,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:51)  1. Utopia
(4:16)  2. La Priere D'une Vierge
(4:40)  3. Mambo
(3:25)  4. Rhapsody In Blue / Strike Up The Band
(6:44)  5. Le Cygne
(5:34)  6. Piano Sonata No. 4
(5:35)  7. Orchestral Suite No. 2 - Badinerie / Ricochet
(5:57)  8. Arpeggione Sonata
(3:13)  9. I Loves You, Porgy
(4:00) 10. Shinda Otokono Nokoshita Monowa / Hope For Tomorrow
(2:39) 11. Hungarian Dance No. 5
(5:45) 12. Songs My Mother Taught Me

Chihiro Yamanaka is an internationally renowned, hard-swinging jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader, whose fluid, athletic technique has drawn rave reviews and very favorable comparisons to legends such as Oscar Peterson and Art Tatum. She is based in New York.Yamanaka was born in Kiryu, in Japan's Gunma Prefecture, in 1976. At age four she began formal piano studies. While she began with classical music and still practices it, she shifted her focus to jazz studies in high school. After graduation she attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston as part of the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead residency program. She played with a wide range of musicians in Boston and in New York before heading back home to Japan after she graduated from Berklee in 2000 with honors  and took first place in Down Beat's Outstanding Performance Award competition. Temporarily returning to Japan, she began her recording career there in 2001 with Living Without Friday, the first of four annually released titles issued by the Japanese label Atelier Sawano. Nonetheless, Yamanaka's long-player gained notice immediately from critics and radio stations. Her 2002 follow-up, When October Goes, hit the top rungs of the Japanese jazz charts, and word began to spread among fans and critics across the Pacific back to America. Yamanaka had reached the level where she could tour not only in her home country but also Europe and select U.S. dates. During this time she was also a member of DIVA, the all-female big band led by drummer Sherrie Maricle. Yamanaka also performed with the DIVA spin-off quintet Five Play, who backed Marlene VerPlanck on her 2003 album It's How You Play the Game, all while continuing to tour and release her own recordings. In 2005 she signed a worldwide deal with Universal's Classics and Jazz division and issued her North American debut with the trio effort Outside by the Swing, recorded in New York City with drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts and bassist Robert Hurst. Yamanaka immigrated to the States and issued the audio-video package Lach Doch Mal in 2006 with Larry Grenadier and Jeff Ballard. 

While neither record made the jazz charts in the States, they reached the Top Five in Japan and upped the pianist's reputation to the degree that she became a global nomad, touring in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Arriving in 2007, Abyss was her first recording to feature drummer Kendrick Scott and bassist Vicente Archer, who became her working trio. She broke the trio mold with 2009's Runnin' Wild, where her piano fronted a sextet. On 2010's Forever Begins, bassist Ben Williams replaced Archer in her trio. The following year saw the release of Reminiscence, which placed a live performance at the Iridium in New York with a studio album that featured Yamanaka in three different trio settings. In 2012 Yamanaka released the first of two tribute albums, Because, a loving nod to the Beatles on which she backed by a quartet played not only piano but synthesizer, organ, guitar, ukulele, and harmonica. Because was followed by the standards releases After Hours and After Hours 2. In 2013, she offered her tribute to classical music with Molto Cantabile. In 2014, Yamanaka moved from Verve to the Universal-owned Blue Note label just in time for its 75th anniversary. Her debut, Somethin' Blue, was a sextet offering, and in addition to originals offered striking renditions of Bud Powell's "Un Poco Loco" and Herbie Hancock's "I Have a Dream." It reached into the Top Five on the jazz charts. She followed it the same year with Syncopation Hazard, her tribute to Scott Joplin. Yamanaka returned to the trio format for 2016's Blue Note-issued Guilty, which placed her original compositions alongside select pieces by Hoagy Carmichael. Near the end of 2017, Yamanaka produced and arranged Monk Studies. She played acoustic and electric piano, synth, and Hammond B-3 organ in an almost exclusively Monk program backed by drummer Deantoni Parks and bassist Mark Kelly. ~ Thom Jurek https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/utopia/1384328786

Utopia

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The Paul Horn Quintet - Here's That Rainy Day

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 31:19
Size: 71.7 MB
Styles: Easy Listening
Year: 1966/1990
Art: Front

[2:35] 1. Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)
[2:20] 2. Here's That Rainy Day
[2:46] 3. How Insensitive
[3:16] 4. The Shadow Of Your Smile
[3:54] 5. In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning
[3:13] 6. Girl Talk
[1:53] 7. Moment To Moment
[4:39] 8. Ecstasy
[3:17] 9. Laura
[3:22] 10. On A Clear Day (You Can See Forever)

Bass – Bill Plummer; Chorus [With The] – Ralph Carmichael Singers; Clarinet – Paul Horn; Drums – Bill Goodwin; Flute [Alto], Flute [Bass] – Paul Horn; Piano – Mike Lang; Vibraphone – Lynn Blessing.

This a fabulous Paul Horn album, but you must accept that it is something of a "period piece" which was designed to have broad, mass, commercial appeal at that time (1966)…and, for whatever reason, simply did NOT (...and I like to think that that was because it was simply too good!... :-) Paul's tone on the flute, alto flute and bass flute (often without any vibrato) is gorgeous and his musical concept is unique. The tunes are very short, so Paul doesn't get a chance to stretch out much, but it does't really matter, because the stark simplicity in his lines (both on the heads and the improvising) is every bit as bold as it is striking. And (...you may be surprised to hear me say this...but I mean it!...) his musical style has the same stark clarity, simplicity and honesty that I have only heard from John Coltrane on the classic "Ballads" album (Impulse). That is an all too rare thing for ANY musician to achieve, on ANY instrument! So, please, ignore the meagre AMG rating and, if you can listen closely to this and get beyond the quite lush production - all of the "ooo's" and "ahh's" of the voices and the plucks of the harp (though, actually, Ralph Carmichael did an OUTSTANDING job with the arrangements, as well as in leading the choir, as did Paul Horn's quintet consisting of Mike Lang on piano, Lynn Blessing on vibes, Bill Plummer on bass and Bill Goodwin on drums) - then you will see what a truly remarkable work this is. It is actually my favourite Paul Horn album, and the one I return to most often. Finally, one of my favourite cuts on the album is missing here ("In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning") and, even with all of the 10 original tracks (rather like Trane's classic "Ballads" album), this one clocks in at not much more than 30 minutes...but it is heavy!...And I have no hesitation or compunction in mentioning BOTH of these Horn/Coltrane albums in the same breath!... ~Bill McBirnie

Here's That Rainy Day mc
Here's That Rainy Day zippy

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Jerry Vivino - Coast To Coast

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:01
Size: 121.4 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz, Cool jazz
Year: 2018
Art: Front

[6:08] 1. Coast To Coast
[5:12] 2. Spud Time
[4:03] 3. Body And Soul
[4:36] 4. Sam I Am
[5:34] 5. Paterson
[7:11] 6. Category 5
[4:38] 7. Here's That Rainy Day
[4:57] 8. Lew's Blues
[5:06] 9. Honeysuckle Rose
[5:34] 10. Miracles

If you don't know Jerry personally, you certainly have heard him play. Featured on countless recordings, TV commercials and movie soundtracks, his resume reads like a Who's Who In Entertainment. Jerry has played with Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Son Seals, Paul Shaffer, Frankie Valli, Al Kooper, Dion, James Brown, Phoebe Snow, Donald Fagen, Dr. John, Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis and the legendary Keely Smith, to name just a few.

Jerry's true passion in music is Jazz and R&B. In addition to being a member of the Max Weinberg 7, he can be heard playing with his brother Jimmy in the Vivino Brothers Band. He also is the leader of a really fun group with bass player Mike Merritt, drummer James Wormworth, keyboard player Brian Charretteand frequent guests, trumpet player Lew Soloff and guitarist Melvin Sparks.

Jerry's saxophone influences include Ben Webster, John Coltrane, King Curtis, Johnny Hodges, Cannonball Adderly, Michael Brecker, Sonny Rollins and Dexter Gordon. Clarinet influences include Benny Goodman, Buddy deFranco, Aker Bilk, Pete Fountain, Sidney Bechet and Eddie Daniels. Flute influences include Jean Pierre Rampal, Hubert Laws, James Galway and Ian Anderson. However, Jerry's favorite musician is his wife, flutist Laura (Renino) Vivino.

Coast To Coast mc
Coast To Coast zippy

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Van Morrison - Moondance

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:45
Size: 88.7 MB
Styles: Album rock, Blue eyed soul
Year: 1970/2018
Art: Front

[4:29] 1. And It Stoned Me
[4:31] 2. Moondance
[2:34] 3. Crazy Love
[5:01] 4. Caravan
[3:26] 5. Into The Mystic
[2:29] 6. Come Running
[3:52] 7. These Dreams Of You
[5:09] 8. Brand New Day
[3:30] 9. Everyone
[3:40] 10. Glad Tidings

The yang to Astral Weeks' yin, the brilliant Moondance is every bit as much a classic as its predecessor; Van Morrison's first commercially successful solo effort, it retains the previous album's deeply spiritual thrust but transcends its bleak, cathartic intensity to instead explore themes of renewal and redemption. Light, soulful, and jazzy, Moondance opens with the sweetly nostalgic "And It Stoned Me," the song's pastoral imagery establishing the dominant lyrical motif recurring throughout the album -- virtually every track exults in natural wonder, whether it's the nocturnal magic celebrated by the title cut or the unlimited promise offered in "Brand New Day." At the heart of the record is "Caravan," an incantatory ode to the power of radio; equally stirring is the majestic "Into the Mystic," a song of such elemental beauty and grace as to stand as arguably the quintessential Morrison moment. ~Jason Ankeny

Moondance mc
Moondance zippy

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Catherine Howe - Because...

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:43
Size: 123.0 MB
Styles: Folk
Year: 2015
Art: Front

[ 3:19] 1. Because It Would Be Beautiful
[ 3:20] 2. Shine Like A Star
[ 4:31] 3. Hot Night
[ 2:36] 4. Who Would Know
[ 4:08] 5. What A Beautiful Place
[ 3:22] 6. This Old Peg
[ 4:34] 7. Charlie Bender
[ 2:58] 8. Mayfair Cot
[ 1:45] 9. Mr G.T
[ 3:28] 10. It's Good
[ 4:37] 11. I'd Make Him Happy
[ 1:24] 12. Mr M.G
[ 2:50] 13. Welcome To My Garden
[10:46] 14. Don't Look Away

A great new album of songs recorded as a collaboration with Ric Sanders (the violin of Fairport Convention). Vo Fletcher and Michael Gregory. This album is a wonderful mixture of Howe's distinctively pure voice and Fletcher's fine guitar playing, along with Ric Sander's violin and Michael Gregory's drums and percussion.

Catherine is an Ivor Novello Award winner who has earned critical acclaim in dozens of music magazines both in the UK and the US, including Folk Album of the Year from The Sunday Times. Catherine began an acting career in the late 1960s, and has since gained a following in folk music: Record Collector in 2007 called her "one of the great unrecognised voices". Observer Music in 2007 said "Catherine Howe was a Kate Bush before her time".

Because... mc
Because... zippy

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Andrew Hill - Black Fire

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:36
Size: 118.1 MB
Styles: Bop, Piano jazz
Year: 2004
Art: Front

[5:21] 1. Pumpkin
[8:01] 2. Subterfuge
[6:56] 3. Black Fire
[5:39] 4. Cantarnostion
[5:48] 5. Tired Trade
[2:58] 6. Mcneil Island
[5:48] 7. Land Of Nod
[5:18] 8. Pumpkin
[5:43] 9. Black Fire

Black Fire, Andrew Hill's debut record for Blue Note, was an impressive statement of purpose that retains much of its power decades after its initial release. Hill's music is quite original, building from a hard bop foundation and moving into uncharted harmonic and rhythmic territory. His compositions and technique take chances; he often sounds restless, searching relentlessly for provocative voicings, rhythms, and phrases. Black Fire borrows from the avant-garde, but it's not part of it -- the structures remain quite similar to bop, and there are distinct melodies. Nevertheless, Hill and his band -- comprised of tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, bassist Richard Davis, and drummer Roy Haynes -- are not content with the limitations of hard bop. Much of the music is informed by implied Afro-Cuban rhythms and modal harmonics, resulting in continually challenging and very rewarding music. Hill's complex chording is thoroughly impressive, and Henderson's bold solos are more adventurous than his previous bop outings would have suggested. Their expertise, along with the nimble, unpredictable rhythm section, help make Black Fire a modern jazz classic. ~Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Black Fire mc
Black Fire zippy

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