Jim Rotondi - Destination Up

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:39
Size: 136,9 MB
Art: Front

( 5:41)  1. Designated Hitter
(10:10)  2. Evening Shades Of Blue
( 6:08)  3. Last Ditch Wisdom
( 6:47)  4. Miller Time
( 8:43)  5. Park Avenue Petite
( 6:25)  6. Remember
( 6:45)  7. Reverence
( 8:55)  8. Yams

Among the current crop of mainstream jazz trumpeters, Jim Rotondi stands head and shoulders above the crowd. With a crackling extroverted style akin to that of Lee Morgan, Rotondi possesses an incisive harmonic sense and the knack for telling a story. Via his work with the hard bop collective One For All and a reliable set of albums as a leader for Criss Cross, Rotondi has emerged as a major talent deserving of wider recognition. Rotondi’s first release for Sharp Nine also happens to be among his best to date, feeling very much like a classic in the making. That should come as no surprise considering the ensemble makeup, with the trumpeter sharing lead with vibraphonist Joe Locke. In the same way that Bobby Hutcherson added so much to classic Blue Notes such as Grant Green’s Idle Moments or Joe Henderson’s Mode For Joe, Locke provides a lush carpet that enhances the advanced charts. Holding down the fort, Mulgrew Miller, Peter Washington, and Joe Farnsworth form a tight-knit rhythm team, with the latter two gentlemen especially familiar with Rotondi’s modus operandi. It’s another old buddy, trombonist/composer Steve Davis who sits in on two tracks and contributes one of the date’s finest compositions, “Evening Shades of Blue.” Typical of Davis’ distinguished writing, this long form tune with a catchy tag is the longest performance of the disc and allows all key members a chance to stretch out at length. Equally enticing are three tunes from Rotondi’s pen, including the bop-tinged “Designated Hitter,” a bluesy tribute to Mulgrew Miller entitled “Miller Time,” and the lovely waltz “Reverence.” As for appreciating Rotondi’s maturity as a soloist, look no farther than “Park Avenue Petite,” a ballad feature that finds the trumpeter taking his time, looking for the silence between phrases, and holding our interest in a way that only the finest improvisers can. In similar fashion, Rotondi avoids the flashy technical displays and other trite inventions and maybe that’s what makes Destination Up such a keeper. ~ C.Andrew Hovan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/destination-up-jim-rotondi-sharp-nine-records-review-by-c-andrew-hovan.php

Personnel: Jim Rotondi (trumpet, flugelhorn), Joe Locke (vibes), Steve Davis (trombone),Mulgrew Miller (piano), Peter Washington (bass), Joe Farnsworth (drums)

Destination Up

---

Jorge Rossy - Stay Here

Styles: Vibraphone Jazz
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:35
Size: 118,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:49)  1. Who Knows About Tomorrow
(4:32)  2. Portrait
(4:05)  3. Artesano
(5:16)  4. Blessed
(2:00)  5. Mark's Mode
(5:48)  6. The Newcomer
(6:19)  7. W Waltz
(4:23)  8. Pauletta
(7:04)  9. Mmmyeah
(6:15) 10. Stay Here

Jorge Rossy’s work as a drummer has been so celebrated that casual listeners may be unaware of his chops as a multi-instrumentalist. His repertoire of skills includes trumpet and piano, and Stay There further extends his range to vibraphone and marimba. He’s joined for this 10-track excursion by a sterling band that has previously toured as the Jorge Rossy Vibes Quintet: tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, guitarist Peter Bernstein, bassist Doug Weiss and drummer Al Foster. Rossy’s approach to the mallets is as clean and melodically engaged as his drumming. He tackles his solos from a shade behind the beat, giving his lines the subtlest flavoring of tension and drama. The vibraphonist is also the composer of seven of this album’s tracks, his tunes providing his musicians plenty of airy, open ground on which to interact and assert themselves. “Portrait” proceeds from Bernstein’s burnished intro to reverb-heavy Rossy atmospherics and wailing phrases from Turner. Foster guides the malleable dynamics of “Who Knows About Tomorrow” with equal parts lightness of touch and rhythmic force. On “MMMyeah,” the drummer’s tinging cymbals mesh with Weiss’ firm-handed flow to craft a steady-rolling undercurrent for sharp-edged solos from Bernstein and Rossy. Turner’s gift for emotional clarity is spotlighted on the understatedly mysterious “Mark’s Mode,” and the title track’s smooth, shuffling rhythm sets up a Rossy solo that is simultaneously his most straightforward and expressive playing of the album. Guillermo Klein’s “ArteSano” offers chiming marimba chords, African-inflected support from Foster and a bracing solo by Weiss. 

“The Newcomer,” composed by Rossy’s sister Mercedes, is a pensive ballad coaxing gently felt statements from Weiss, Bernstein and an especially warm-toned Turner. Foster contributes the breezy “Pauletta,” where Rossy adds glistening accents and Bernstein takes a quietly cheerful solo. The tune’s effect epitomizes the entire album: easily enjoyable music, unimpeachably well played. ~ Matt R.Lohr https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/jorge-rossy-stay/
 

Personnel:  Jorge Rossy - vibes, marimba;  Mark Turner- tenor saxophone;  Peter Bernstein - guitar;  Doug Weiss - bass, Al Foster - drums.

Stay Here

---

Buddy DeFranco - Wholly Cats: The Complete 'Plays Benny Goodman And Artie Shaw' Sessions, Vol. One

Styles: Clarinet Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:53
Size: 164,6 MB
Art: Front

( 5:55)  1. Benny's Bugle
( 6:39)  2. A Smooth One
( 4:37)  3. Air Mail Special
( 5:23)  4. More Than You Know
(11:49)  5. Wholly Cats
( 2:28)  6. Goodbye
( 4:45)  7. Seven Come Eleven
( 3:55)  8. My Blue Heaven
( 4:45)  9. Stardust
( 4:48) 10. Cross Your Heart
( 5:09) 11. Frenesi
( 3:31) 12. Medley: Dancing In The Dark / Moonglow / Time On My Hands
( 3:31) 13. Indian Love Call
( 4:31) 14. Summit Ridge Drive

5 complete LPs presented on 2 companion volumes! Featuring Carl Perkins, Jimmy Rowles, Barney Kessel and Don Fagerquist! Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw were among the most famous and beloved figures in swing music both as clarinet soloists and orchestra conductors. Th ey were still very active musically in 1957, when Buddy De Franco decided to record a series of sessions paying homage to them. Thirty-five performances were recorded (including four medleys containing three songs each) in four extended sessions made on four consecutive days and with two different groups (guitarist Barney Kessel, however, is present on most of the tracks). 

The first two sessions included trumpeter Don Fagerquist, tenor saxophonist Georgie Auld and pianist Carl Perkins. The second group includes trumpeter Ray Linn and another modern jazz pianist: Jimmy Rowles. These two companion volumes include the complete LPs FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER ON CD!: "I Hear Benny Goodman & Artie Shaw", "Buddy De Franco plays Benny Goodman", "Buddy De Franco plays Artie Shaw", "Wholly Cats" and "Closed Session". https://www.freshsoundrecords.com/buddy-defranco-albums/4708-wholly-cats.html

Personnel:  Buddy DeFranco (cl), Don Fagerquist (tp), Georgie Auld (ts), Victor Feldman (vib), Carl Perkins (p), Barney Kessel (g), Leroy Vinnegar (b), Stan Levey (d)

Wholly Cats

---

Kirk Knuffke - Lamplighter

Styles: Cornet Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:28
Size: 125,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:56)  1. Rise
(4:49)  2. Brightness
(4:41)  3. Lamplighter
(5:14)  4. Odds
(5:46)  5. As Always Am
(5:45)  6. Madeleine
(4:35)  7. Glows
(3:43)  8. Smash
(5:06)  9. Blanks
(4:52) 10. How Much Money Does It Really Take
(5:55) 11. Tomorrow And Later

"Although Knuffke topped Downbeats 2015 Rising Star poll, this will almost certainly be the last time hell be described as new talent. Since arriving in New York over a decade ago the 35-year-old cornettist has recorded with such luminaries as Butch Morris, Mark Helias and Mary Halvorson, not to mention one of the citys most happening groups, Allison Millers Boom Tic Boom. With over a dozen pending releases and more than twice that number already under his belt, 2015 looks set to be his breakthrough year. At once rooted in tradition and subversively skewed, the somewhat unusual instrumentation of Lamplighter makes a striking and immediate first impression. Neither Wollesen nor Goodwin play with a full kit, their orchestra of small instruments bringing a tremendous unpredictability and richness to Knuffkes elastic grooves. Rise opens with a simple pulse from Wollesens bass drum, quickly lurching into swing-time as Goodwins snare and cymbals animate the leaders expressionistic half-valve glisses. Takeishis rather boxy acoustic bass guitar takes some getting used to, but when the ears adjust his note placements are often little short of sublime (nowhere more so than on the splendidly languid title track). Blanks summons the dancing spirit of Knuffkes one-time mentor Ornette Coleman, whist Tomorrow And Later rides an almost martial beat redolent of Henry Threadgills off-kilter funk. The sheer joy of Knuffkes solo on Odds is utterly infectious, but its dangerously turbulent undertow is a reminder of a broad musical catholicism. All in all this is a wonderfully individual set, and if youre searching for sounds of surprise youll find them right here." ~ Fred Grand -Jazz Journal (October, 2015) https://www.freshsoundrecords.com/kirk-knuffke-albums/6299-lamplighter.html

Personnel:  Kirk Knuffke (cnt), Stomu Takeishi (b), Kenny Wollesen (perc), Bill Goodwin (d, perc)

Lamplighter

---

Jimmy Heath Big Band - Turn Up The Heath

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 73:52
Size: 170,3 MB
Art: Front

(7:02)  1. Big P
(7:16)  2. Heritage Hum
(9:23)  3. Gemini
(4:52)  4. Like A Son
(8:59)  5. I'm Glad There's You
(8:06)  6. One For Juan
(6:29)  7. Project S
(6:42)  8. Sources Says
(8:47)  9. No End
(6:12) 10. Basic Birks

Back in the early '90s I asked tenor saxophonist Jimmy Heath if he planned a followup to his Grammy-nominated album, Little Man Big Band (Verve, 1992). As I recall, he smiled politely but didn't really answer the question. Now he has and with an exclamation point. Describing how his latest superb album, Turn Up the Heath, came about, Jimmy writes, "The Jazz Masters award [from NEA and IAJE] in 2003 made it possible. As to why: "...there were so many orchestrations I wanted to document. There are also special people he wanted to praise and remember, and it is entirely appropriate that Heath should begin with "Big P, a brisk and warmhearted salute to his late brother, bassist Percy Heath. "Gemini was written for Heath's daughter, Roslyn; "Basic Birks for Dizzy Gillespie; "Like a Son for alto saxophonist Antonio Hart; "Heritage Hum for "my people, and the snappy samba "One for Juan for that ubiquitous purveyor of Colombian coffee, Juan Valdez. Completing the program are Heath's "Project S and "Sources Say," and his arrangements of Kenny Dorham's "No End and the standard "I'm Glad There Is You (the last an exquisite showpiece for Heath's fluent, evocative tenor and Jeb Patton's lucid piano). Heath's tenor is also heard on "Heritage Hum, "Gemini, "One for Juan, "Project S and "Basic Birks, his soprano on "No End. As for his colleagues, Heath says he met many of them "while playing with the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Star Band, a reasonable assertion, as each one is an all-star, whether soloing or hunkering down as a member of the ensemble. The rhythm section, comprised of Patton, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Lewis Nash, is as solid and perceptive as they come, and Washington does Percy's memory proud on "Big P. The remarkable cavalcade of commendable improvisers includes Patton; Washington; Hart; trumpeters Greg Gisbert, Sean Jones, Terell Stafford and Michael Philip Mossman; trombonists Benny Powell, Slide Hampton, Steve Davis, Jason Jackson and John Mosca; alto Mark Gross; tenors Charles Davis, Bobby LaVell and Andres Boiarsky; baritones Jay Branford and Gary Smulyan; and flutist Lew Tabackin, a standout on "Gemini. Heath's charts are delightful, fairly bursting with energy and good humor, and if I have my personal favorites, I'm sure you will too. Even fourteen years onward, this is one sequel that was well worth the wait. Turn Up the Heath, crank up the volume, relax and enjoy.
 

Personnel: (Tracks 1,2,4-7) Jimmy Heath: leader, tenor sax; Frank Greene, Nick Marchione, Michael Philip Mossman, Terell Stafford: trumpet; Mark Gross: alto sax, flute; Antonio Hart: alto, soprano sax, flute; Bobby LaVell, Charles Davis: tenor sax; Jay Branford: baritone sax; John Mosca, Slide Hampton, Benny Powell: trombone; Douglas Purviance: bass trombone; Jeb Patton: piano; Peter Washington: bass; Lewis Nash: drums. (3,8-10) Jimmy Heath: leader, tenor sax; Greene, Mossman, Greg Gisbert, Sean Jones: trumpet; Gross: alto sax, flute; Hart: alto, soprano sax, flute; LaVell, Andres Boiarsky: tenor sax; Gary Smulyan: baritone sax; Mosca, Steve Davis, Jason Jackson: trombone; Purviance: bass trombone; Patton: piano; Washington: bass; Nash: drums. Guest artists: Lew Tabackin: flute (3); Joe Gonzales: congas (2)

Turn Up The Heath

---

Esko Linnavalli Sextet - Day Is Over

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1975
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:48
Size: 82,7 MB
Art: Front

(7:04)  1. 458 R.T.
(2:26)  2. Day Is Over
(3:54)  3. New Day
(5:34)  4. Playtime
(5:43)  5. Tanja
(2:56)  6. Summer Tune
(4:02)  7. Muggleton Air
(4:05)  8. Clear Dream

Day is Over, an album often credited to Esko Linnavalli Quintet but without any mention of performing group on the cover, was born during a series of Finnish Jazz Music Workshop events, led by Heikki Sarmanto and Esko Linnavalli, out which the New Music Orchestra UMO was born.A UMO-anticipating 14-headed workshop band gathered to rehearse at the rock club Tavastia in 1974. Out of that group emerged a quintet, who took a trip to Stockholm to record Day Is Over. The album appeared on Scandia Records in 1975 and has since become one of the most valuable jazz rarities of the seventies in Finland. The Svart edition is the first time this remarkable album is available after its very brief original run.
 

Personnel:  Esko Linnavalli: electric piano;  Eero Koivistoinen: saxophone;  Allan Botschinsky: trumpet;  Niels-Henning Örsted-Pedersen: double bass;  Esko Rosnell: drums

Day Is Over

---

Didier Lockwood - 'Round About Silence

Styles: Violin, Saxophone And Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1998
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:05
Size: 130,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:32)  1. Remember Alby
(4:35)  2. La Javalseuse
(2:19)  3. Grenouille
(4:44)  4. Sao Luis
(5:46)  5. Madiva
(3:30)  6. Extrasystoles
(4:06)  7. 'Round About Silence
(4:56)  8. Bossa Pour Didier
(4:44)  9. Nicou
(4:22) 10. Epique Ou Rien
(3:11) 11. Hati
(4:17) 12. Rue De La Forêt
(2:39) 13. Ballade Des Fées
(2:18) 14. Jour De Pluie

Didier Lockwood (born February 11, 1956) is a French jazz violinist. He was born in Calais and studied classical violin and composition at the Calais Conservatory. However, his brother Francis made him receptive to forms of music other than the classical and he quit his studies in 1972. Didier was entranced by the improvisation of Jean-Luc Ponty on Frank Zappa's King Kong album and took up the amplified violin. He joined the progressive rock group Magma, touring and notable featured on their 1975 Live/Hhaï album. Lockwood was also influenced by Polish violinist Zbigniew Seifert and Stéphane Grappelli, whom he joined on tour. Didier Lockwood in concert (1992)He has also played with Quebecois fusion group Uzeb on their Absolutely Live album. He is famous for exploring new musical environments and for performing various sound imitations on his amplified violin, such as seagulls or trains.On July 23, 1982, in Montreux, Switzerland, he performed in concert with guitarist Allan Holdsworth, drummer Billy Cobham, bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, and keyboardist David Sancious.Didier Lockwood created a string instruments improvisation school, CMDL (Centre des Musiques Didier Lockwood), in 2001.He is married to singer Caroline Casadesus Throughout 2006 Didier has been touring with Martin Taylor the Jazz guitarist. In these performances it is noticeable to see that he is very involved in improvisation. https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/didierlockwood

Personnel: Didier Lockwood / violin, alto sax (10,13), trumpet (7,13), mandolin (5); Benoît Sourisse / piano;  Marc-Michel Le Bévillon / double bass; André Charlier / drums;  Caroline Casadesus / vocals (4,7); Biréli Lagrène / guitar (2,8); Marc Berthoumieux / accordion (4,11); Eric Séva / soprano (5,7) & tenor (10) saxes; Dominique Marc / tenor sax (13); Damien Verherve / trombone (10);  Claude Egéa / trumpet & fluegelhorn (10)

'Round About Silence

---

Irene Reid - One Monkey Don't Stop No Show

Styles: Vocal 
Year: 2002
File: MP3@256K/s
Time: 45:56
Size: 84,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:48)  1. I'm Getting Tired
(4:22)  2. Things We Said Today
(4:17)  3. Ain't Nobody Sleepin' In My Bed
(5:22)  4. One Monkey Don't Stop No Show
(4:08)  5. I've Gotta Be Me
(7:30)  6. You're the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me
(5:50)  7. I Took the Backdoor Out
(5:00)  8. If the World Should End Tomorrow
(4:37)  9. Time's Getting Tougher Than Tough

Imagine a well-aged Billie Holiday imbued with Dinah Washington’s rollicking blues sensibility and you’ll begin to appreciate the magic of Irene Reid. Like so many gifted jazz singers of her generation, Reid burned briefly hot in the early 1950s, retired too young, eased her way back into the business in Europe, then became an underappreciated staple at various New York nightspots. In recent years, the Savannah-born sexagenarian has been enjoying a richly deserved renaissance thanks to a solid series of albums for Savant. One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show, Reid’s fourth Savant release, shows her in top form, surrounded by such terrific sidemen as guitarist Randy Johnston, trumpeter James Rotondi and tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, with Bobby Forrester pumping away on the Hammond B-3 organ that Reid’s so fond of. Moving through an eclectic assortment of covers, she takes the Beatles’ “Things We Said Today” for a jaunty spin, serves up a warmly sedate version of the Gladys Knight anthem “You’re the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me” and rescues “I’ve Gotta Be Me” from Sammy Davis overdrive, reminding us that it was always meant to be an unadorned salute to quiet self-respect. Reid is even more satisfying when dipping into the blues basket for such Dinahesque paeans to satisfied self-reliance as “I’m Gettin’ Tired,” “Ain’t Nobody Sleepin’ in My Bed” and Joe Tex’s quirky title track, originally made famous by Big Maybelle. But none of One Monkey’s tunes can quite compare to Reid’s stirring interpretation of O.C. Smith’s “If the World Should End Tomorrow.” Quite simply, a spectacular song spectacularly well done. ~ Christopher Loudon https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/irene-reid-one-monkey-dont-stop-no-show/

One Monkey Don't Stop No Show

---

Eric Wyatt - Look To The Sky

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:52
Size: 159,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:16)  1. E-Brother
(8:38)  2. Look To The Sky
(7:44)  3. My Favorite Things
(7:08)  4. Jolley Charlie
(8:30)  5. A Psalm For Phennie
(4:34)  6. One Finger Snap
(8:06)  7. Afro Blue
(7:04)  8. Starting Point
(5:48)  9. Tenderly

Look To The Sky is a story of family, navigating the world of jazz, and extolling those who helped light the way. To call it a tribute record would be to frame it inaccurately, but it's most certainly built around the personalized song of praise. Saxophonist Eric Wyatt, a brawny Brooklynite with a heart of gold, uses this date to honor his parents, touch on touchstones, and walk down memory lane with his bandmates. He doesn't feign nostalgic sentiments or lean on sappy ideals, but there are clear echoes of the past in his instruments and the stories they tell. Opening on pianist Benito Gonzalez's "E-Brother," the first of three numbers influenced by Wyatt's mother's passing, this band wastes no time establishing a take-no-prisoners approach to music-making. The two other pieces honoring her the bounding cut-and-slash title track, asserting the new heavenly home for the family's late matriarch, and "A Psalm For Phennie," a cathartic outpouring with a spiritually-paved entrance come at her life force in different yet complementary ways. Right beside that aforementioned psalm sits the sonic spirit of Wyatt's father, the man responsible for ushering him into the world of jazz. A rough-and-tumble tune driven by bassist Eric Wheeler's relentless walking, enlivened by the back-and-forth between Wyatt and drummer Kyle Poole, and giving Gonzalez a blank slate to paint over, "Jolley Charlie" perfectly encapsulates this leader's broad knowledge of the horn while highlighting the deep affection he carries for his musical guiding light. Four of the five remaining tunes on the playlist are classics that, while nodding to the masters, were actually pulled into the present by circumstance and use: A charged and racing take on Herbie Hancock's "One Finger Snap" recalls the first time Wyatt and trumpeter Keyon Harrold ever played together; a 4/4 take on "Afro Blue," complete with a dicey undercurrent, carries status as a crowd-pleaser in Wyatt's live sets; soprano staple "My Favorite Things" was a condition of employment for his band at a jazz festival in Kuala Lumpur; and "Tenderly," performed as a piano-and-sax duo, instantly replaces this artist's tough-minded image with that of a romantic. There are some minor quips to be made here the vocals on "My Favorite Things" detract a bit from the performance, the production doesn't always seem to display true depth of field but that's all they are. In the end, Look To The Sky's edgy soul-searching and songcraft win out. ~ Dan Bilawsky https://www.allaboutjazz.com/look-to-the-sky-eric-wyatt-whaling-city-sound-review-by-dan-bilawsky.php

Personnel:  Eric Wyatt: tenor saxophone, alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, vocals;  Benito Golzalez: piano;  Keyon Harrold: trumpet;  Eric Wheeler: bass; Shinnosuke Takahashi: drums;  Kyle Poole: drums (4-6);  Andrea Miller: vocals (3).

Look To The Sky

---

Bob Brookmeyer - Electricity

Styles: Trombone Jazz
Year: 1991
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:47
Size: 160,4 MB
Art: Front

(16:47)  1. Farewell, New York
(10:33)  2. Ugly Music
(11:40)  3. Wihite Blues
( 7:15)  4. Say Ah
(13:14)  5. No Song
(10:15)  6. The Crystal Palace

Electricity is another one of an infrequent series of recordings by Bob Brookmeyer, who used to pop up all over the place throughout the 1950s and 1960s. While he's always been rooted firmly in the mainstream (Gerry Mulligan, the Concert Jazz Band, the Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra and his own records on Verve), Brookmeyer has also consistently approached creative music in unorthodox ways (his two-piano quartet with Bill Evans, and his trombone jazz samba records). His greatest gifts, though, are his contributions to orchestral jazz. His tonal palette has many more shades than one expects. As a result, his compositions and arrangements often require more than one listen. There's much to appreciate in his music's richness and depth. Even though in his notes to Electricity , Brookmeyer writes, "I think that I'm looking more for meaning and worrying less about coloring the orchestra," he manages to achieve both here. But Electricity , as its title may suggest, is by no means a look backwards. Many of Brookmeyer's six long tunes (ranging from seven to sixteen minutes each) are framed by John Abercrombie's thrashing electric guitar or cushioned by his tasteful guitar synth or other electronic keyboards. This March 1991 recording finds Brookmeyer fronting the excellent WDR Big Band (which also supports Mike Gibbs, Bernard Purdie and Eddie Harris on other recent Act Jazz releases). The German WDR Big Band, like the Dutch Metropole Orchestra, are all that remain of the great jazz orchestras many of which Brookmeyer has successfully contributed to since the early 1950s! 

All of these pieces have a progressive, story-like pattern to them, utilizing Abercrombie as the principal storyteller. "Farewell New York" is a 16-minute dirge that begins with Abercrombie's dissonant guitar-synth wail then progresses into march-like cadenzas to eventually find the guitarist in a more contemplative mood. Its intensity oddly recalls Elton John's "Funeral for A Friend." The album's strongest tracks, "Ugly Music" and "Say Ah" bring to mind those cool, jazzy soundtracks of Italian mystery films from the 1970s (i.e.: Deep Red ). Abercrombie is simply amazing throughout. He can mine the wealth of innovations from Hendrix and Montgomery to Farlow and Frisell and yet never lose his own multiply talented identities. One senses that Electricity more successfully achieves much of what Gil Evans was trying to accomplish in the late 1970s and 1980s with his own big bands. Aside from the lovely, almost simplistic harmonies and rhythmic patterns, Brookmeyer's choice of a main soloist with multiple talents (in this case, Abercrombie) is perfect. Some listeners may be discouraged that Brookmeyer didn't showcase his own beautiful and distinctive valve trombone (his only real features are brief ones in "No Song" and "The Crystal Place"). But that's a small gripe. Brookmeyer always reveals so much more as a musician in his orchestrations. For the small group fans, however, Challenge Records recently issued Brookmeyer's Paris Suite , a 1993-94 session which finds the valve trombonist leading a Dutch quartet. Electricity is highly recommended to those who appreciate the lost art of orchestral jazz in a contemporary setting and, most especially, to fans of John Abercrombie who is nothing short of brilliant in his varied roles here. ~ Douglas Payne https://www.allaboutjazz.com/electricity-bob-brookmeyer-act-music-review-by-douglas-payne.php

Personnel:  Valve Trombone, Composed By, Liner Notes, Mixed By [Remixed] – Bob Brookmeyer;  Bass – Dieter Ilg;  Drums – Danny Gottlieb;  Guitar – John Abercrombie;  Keyboards – Frank Chastenier, Rainer Brüninghaus;  Orchestra – WDR Big Band Köln;  Saxophone – Heiner Wiberny, Olivier Peters, Paul Peucker, Rolf Römer;  Trombone – Bernt Laukamp, Dave Horler , Roy Deuvall;  Trumpet – Andy Haderer, Klaus Osterloh, Rick Kiefer

Electricity

---

Tony Kofi And The Organisation - Point Blank

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:09
Size: 148,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:04)  1. Minor League
(5:49)  2. Bossallegro
(5:50)  3. Theme from Mr Lucky
(6:07)  4. Search for Peace
(5:56)  5. L S Blues
(5:26)  6. Cisco
(4:49)  7. Full House
(5:48)  8. Moontrane
(4:57)  9. Summer in Central Park
(6:15) 10. Ready and Able
(9:05) 11. Ode to Billie Jo (Bonus Track)

British saxophonist Tony Kofi has made a specialism of heritage projects. Among the best of them is the Monk Liberation Front, a band which Kofi co-founded with pianist Jonathan Gee in 2003 and which performs Thelonious Monk's music. The work of Julian "Cannonball" Adderley is the focus of another venture. An early spin-off from the Front was the Tony Kofi Quartet's paradigm tweaking Plays Monk: All Is Know (Specific, 2004). The Adderley project has yet to be recorded. In late 2017, Kofi also put together the band which accompanied harpist Alina Bzhezhinska in a London concert headlined by Pharoah Sanders and dedicated to the legacy of John Coltrane and Alice Coltrane. The same band is featured on Bzhezhinska's sublime Inspiration (Ubuntu, 2018). Kofi moves effortlessly between soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones, and it is the baritone which he plays on Point Blank. The disc co-stars The Organisation, a guitar / organ / drums trio which specialises in soul jazz and funk, and with whom Kofi first performed in 2010. The ten-track album features jazz standards and lesser-known material written by Duke Pearson, Pepper Adams, Henry Mancini, McCoy Tyner, Lonnie Smith, Pat Martino, Wes Montgomery, Woody Shaw, Horace Silver and Jimmy Smith. "I don't think I set out to create a retro concept," says Kofi, "but because I grew up in the 1970s, the music of that era is deeply rooted within my musical ear." The title Point Blank is inspired by John Boorman's 1967 movie of the same name, which starred Lee Marvin as a gangster engaged in a war of attrition with his former colleagues in a Mafia-like outfit called The Organization. The soundtrack for the film was written by Johnny Mandel, and Kofi rather missed a trick by not including something from Mandel's luscious songbook on the disc.  The music on the album is performed with elan and given a refreshing twist by the use of baritone rather than tenor saxophone, the default horn featured with most bands such as The Organisation. Further, despite the organ, the disc, particularly on the ballads, sometimes evokes Gerry Mulligan's keyboard-less (and guitar-less) quartet with Chet Baker an added bonus. Point Blank does not go anywhere we have not gone before, but it is an enjoyable ride nonetheless. ~ Chris May https://www.allaboutjazz.com/point-blank-tony-kofi-the-last-music-company-review-by-chris-may.php

Personnel: Tony Kofi: baritone saxophone; Pete Whittaker: organ; Pete Cater: drums; Simon Fernsby: guitar.

Point Blank

---

Musica Nuda - Live At Paris

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 97:46
Size: 224,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:32)  1. Anninnia
(3:26)  2. Come Together
(3:11)  3. Roxanne
(5:03)  4. Prendila Cosi'
(2:01)  5. Il Casio Con Le Pere
(5:40)  6. I Wil Survive
(5:20)  7. Sacrifice
(3:56)  8. Mamma Mia Dammi Cento Lire
(3:54)  9. Lascia Ch'io Pianga
(3:02) 10. Voglio Di Vita Uscir
(3:43) 11. Non Ho L'eta'
(3:48) 12. Like A Virgin
(3:36) 13. Io Sono Meta'
(6:30) 14. Nature Boy
(5:15) 15. You`re The One That I Want - Il Cammello E Il Dromedario
(3:02) 16. La Vie En Noir
(2:36) 17. Couleur Cafè
(4:59) 18. Non Andare Via
(4:40) 19. Tuca Tuca
(8:46) 20. Sirene
(3:58) 21. Guarda Che Luna
(6:47) 22. Imagine

The Musica Nuda duo was born in 2003, in a club in Tuscany. The singer Petra Magoni, born July 28, 1972 in Pisa, comes from the world of lyrical art and early music that had become famous in pop, jazz, rap or electro, and was to give a singing tour with a guitarist in the club. The latter, who got sick of the old concert, is replaced by contrabassist and composer Ferruccio Spinetti of the Avion Travel group. Musica Nuda then quickly enters the studio to record the CD "Musica Nuda" around a repertoire of eclectic covers: Lennon / McCartney ("Blackbird", "Imagine"), Sting ("Roxane"), Fekaris / Perren / Gaynor ( "I Will Survive"), Monteverdi ("Voglio di vita uscir", "Maledetto sia the aspetto"). The record is greeted by the critic Michel Contat on the magazine Télérama. Their success on stage, during a Live at Fip in the first part of Stefano di Battista, is such that he leads them on a grand tour through France and Italy. he second discographic part, "Musica Nuda 2", has two discs. The first one includes the original compositions "Io sono metà" and "Le due corde vocali", as well as covers of Brel ("Do not leave me"), Nougaro ("La Vie en Noir"), Gainsbourg ("Couleur Coffee "), Beatles (" Come Together ") or Madonna (" Like a Virgin "). After a DVD "Live in Paris" (2006) and a "Live à Fip" (2007), Musica Nuda released "55/21" this time proposing their Italian version, with Stefano Bollani, of "The Song of the Old Lovers "by Jacques Brel," While My Guitar Gently Weeps "by The Beatles," Crocodaïl "with Jacques Higelin, or" It Had Better Be Tonight "by Henry Mancini with Sanseverino. Translate By Google http://www.jazzradio.fr/artiste/singer/5975/musica-nuda

Personnel:  Petra Magoni (voce) e Ferruccio Spinetti (contrabbasso)

Live At Paris

---

Allan Holdsworth & Gordon Beck - The Things You See - Sunbird

Styles: Guitar And Piano Jazz
Year: 1979
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:42
Size: 161,5 MB
Art: Front

( 4:49)  1. Golden Lakes
( 2:56)  2. Stop Fiddlin'
( 4:32)  3. The Things You See
( 8:17)  4. Diminished Responsability
(11:59)  5. She's Lookin', I'm Cookin'
( 3:18)  6. At The Edge
( 3:47)  7. Up Country
( 2:45)  8. The Gathering
( 6:21)  9. Halfway House
( 5:03) 10. Sunbird
( 6:49) 11. Second Summer

Allan Holdsworth has long been considered a brilliant guitarist who, although most of his career has been spent playing rock, has always had a strong interest in jazz and playing his instrument like a keyboard. He teams up with his longtime musical partner pianist-keyboardist Gordon Beck on the quartet date The Things You See/Sunbird, performing the seven songs originally released as The Things You See plus four other selections. Beck is actually featured at least as much as Holdsworth, some of the briefer selections are mere throwaways that end before they seem to get going, and the overall music is not as memorable as one would hope. Still there are some bright moments, close interplay, and a few sparks felt along the way. It isn't a classic but this release should interest Holdsworth fans who wish to hear him in a different context than usual. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-things-you-see-sunbird-mw0001884531

Personnel:  Allan Holdsworth – vocals, guitar, electric violin;  Gordon Beck – Rhodes piano, piano

The Things You See - Sunbird

---

Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen - Uncharted Land

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 1992
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:59
Size: 140,1 MB
Art: Front

( 5:14)  1. Moving Pictures
( 4:13)  2. Uncharted Land (vocal)
( 2:51)  3. Natten er Se Stille
(18:12)  4. Nordavind
( 6:55)  5. A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square
( 2:27)  6. Someday My Prince Will Come
( 6:24)  7. Joron
( 5:47)  8. Too Many Names
( 3:01)  9. Uncharted Land (instrumental)
( 5:50) 10. Blank Space

A virtuoso who mostly played in bop-oriented settings, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen was in great demand since he was a teenager. One of many superb European bassists to emerge during the 1960s, Pedersen originally studied piano before starting to play bass with Danish groups when he was 14. He had to reluctantly turn down Count Basie's offer to join his orchestra when he was just 17, but worked steadily as the house bassist at the Club Montmartre and as a member of the Danish Radio Orchestra. Whenever American jazzmen passed through Scandinavia, they asked for Pedersen; during the 1960s he played with Sonny Rollins, Bill Evans, Roland Kirk, Dexter Gordon, Bud Powell, and even Albert Ayler (although the latter's session was not too successful). In the 1970s, Pedersen was featured in a duo with Kenny Drew. Starting in the mid-'70s, he was an occasional member of the Oscar Peterson Trio and he recorded several dates as a leader for SteepleChase. Pedersen also recorded in many different settings for Pablo Records during the era. He remained very active until his sudden death in April 2005. He was 58. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/artist/niels-henning-%C3rsted-pedersen-mn0000404907/biography

Personnel: Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen - acoustic bass, co-producer; Jan Garbarek - tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, programming; Steve Swallow - electric bass, producer;   Michel Petrucciani - piano;  Mehmet Ozan - acoustic guitar;   Marilyn Mazur - percussion;  Søs Fenger - vocals;  Ole Kock Hansen - piano;  Ars Nova - ensemble;  Bo Holten - conductor;  Bente Vist - soprano vocals;  Helle Petersen - soprano vocals;  Hilde Ramnefjell - soprano vocals;  Ulla Munch - alto vocals;  Tine Jarl - alto vocals -  Mette Greiffenberg - alto vocals;   Ivan Hansen - tenor vocals;  Palle Jensen - tenor vocals;  Villy Nielsen - tenor vocals;  Johan Reuter - bass vocals;  Claus Hansen - bass vocals;   Hans Henrik Råholt - bass vocals

Uncharted Land

---

Kate Rusby - 20 Disc 1 And Disc 2

Album: 20   Disc 1

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:24
Size: 104,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:36)  1. Awkward Annie

(4:34)  2. Unquiet Grave

(3:45)  3. Sun Grazers

(5:50)  4. The Lark

(3:30)  5. Planets

(4:39)  6. Wandering Soul

(4:19)  7. Who Will Sing Me Lullabies

(5:36)  8. Jolly Plough Boys

(4:19)  9. Sho Heen

(5:10) 10. Bitter Boy

---

Album: 20   Disc 2

Time: 45:16

Size: 104,0 MB

(4:42)  1. I Courted A Sailor

(3:25)  2. Mocking Bird

(4:09)  3. The Good Man

(5:36)  4. Annan Waters

(5:14)  5. All God's Angels

(3:48)  6. Elfin Knight

(5:12)  7. Wild Goose

(3:50)  8. Home

(3:43)  9. Underneath The Stars

(5:31) 10. Bring Me A Boat

It’s hard to believe that ’Barnsley nightingale’ Kate Rusby has been making music for 20 years now. As with Spiers & Boden’s The Works, this appropriately titled record sees the singer revisiting some classic songs from her canon, and rerecording them with a highly impressive line-up of guest musicians. The resulting album illustrates Rusby’s charming musical history perfectly, while the guestlist shows that during her two decades in the business, she has amassed some seriously talented fans and friends. The album begins with Awkward Annie, perhaps Rusby’s calling card. Its playful, animal-themed lyrics suit her uplifting, smiley singing voice. Chris Thile adds gentle backing vocals and mandolin, augmenting the song while not imposing himself on it.It seems a while since Rusby recorded traditional songs, and 20 serves as a reminder of her considerable ability in this field. Unquiet Grave is solemn and wistful, while Annan Waters, to which Bob Fox lends his voice, is a quite different proposition to those familiar with Nic Jones’ version harmonies, pipes and strings lending it a calmer, more mournful air. Jones is one of many impressive collaborators on an album many folkies will enjoy playing ’guess the guest’ to - his backing vocals on the tender The Lark hit the mark perfectly. Elsewhere, Jim Causley and Sarah Jarosz deserve particular praise for their beautifully balanced vocals, on I Courted a Sailor and Planets respectively, while Dick Gaughan and Mary Chapin Carpenter also make predictably impressive contributions. Paul Weller is arguably the most famous guest on 20, singing alongside Rusby on the album’s only new song, Sun Grazers. Strangely, his pained delivery seems to fight against, rather than work with, Rusby’s voice, resulting in an unusually grating track. As her fans will know by now, the Grimethorpe Colliery Band complement Rusby beautifully. 

Their previous work together has evidently informed a musical understanding, and Underneath the Stars is lifted to a moving, melancholy level by the band’s evocative brass arrangement. The album does sometimes become trapped in pleasant-but-uninspired territory, and some will find the arrangements at times samey and safe. The Good Man, for example, is a little on the twee side, while a languorous version of the Elfin Knight rattles along enjoyably enough without really pulling the listener into the story. But perhaps this is forgivable on a 20-track double album. And it is compensated for, particularly on the CDs’ final tracks. Disc two’s closer, Bring Me a Boat, is a peaceful, warm way to end, but the first CD’s finale, The Bitter Boy, is absolutely lovely, featuring a lush-yet-tasteful string arrangement, achingly sad lyrics and sensitive vocals from Rusby’s husband, Damian O’Kane. As an introduction to Rusby, 20 is perfect, while the new collaborations and arrangements offer her loyal fans plenty more to enjoy. Perhaps only the diehards will love every track, but there’s certainly at least something for everyone here. http://brightyoungfolk.com/records/20-kate-rusby

20 Disc 1, Disc 2

---

Andrew Hill - Nefertiti

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1976
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:32
Size: 98,4 MB
Art: Front

(14:10)  1. Blue Black
( 5:29)  2. Relativity
( 8:08)  3. Nefertiti
( 3:47)  4. Hattie
( 7:33)  5. Mudflower
( 3:23)  6. Unnatural Man

Originally recorded for the Japanese East Wind label and only made available domestically on a 1979 Inner City LP, this trio outing by pianist Andrew Hill also features bassist Richard Davis and drummer Roger Blank. Hill performs six of his unpredictable originals ("Nefertiti" is his tune, not the more famous composition by Wayne Shorter) and, although the music seems slightly more conservative than usual for a Hill set, the music is consistently stimulating; too bad it's so difficult to locate. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/nefertiti-mw0000311943

Personnel:  Andrew Hill, piano;  Richard Davis, bass;  Roger Blank, drums.

Nefertiti

---

Rosemary Clooney - The Girl Singer

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:52
Size: 93,8 MB
Art: Front

(2:20)  1. Clap Hands! Here Comes Rosie
(2:59)  2. Without Love
(3:16)  3. How About You ?
(2:55)  4. How Am I To Know ?
(2:06)  5. Corazn De Melon (Watermelon Heart)
(2:27)  6. Angry
(1:47)  7. Buffalo Gals (with Bing Crosby)
(1:54)  8. Sweet Besty From Pike
(2:15)  9. Get Me To The Church On Time
(2:46) 10. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
(2:20) 11. Aren't You Glad You're You ?
(2:23) 12. Shine On Harvest Moon
(2:42) 13. Sway
(2:37) 14. Cabin In The Sky
(2:24) 15. Something's Gotta Give
(3:36) 16. Love Won't Let You Get Away (with Bing Crosby)

The Girl Singer, Rosemary Clooney's volume in the Bluebird's Best series, spotlights her talents as a swinging post-big band vocalist between 1958 and 1961, when she was basically hitless but still recording some great material (including many arrangements by Nelson Riddle and excellent duet albums recorded with Bing Crosby and Pérez Prado). Although 16 tracks for a digital-era compilation is basically short shrift, there are highlights galore  starting with "Clap Hands! Here Comes Rosie," a nice piece of fluff that introduced an album of the same name. Also great is an update (with Crosby) of "How About You?" to include references to Gypsy, Marlon Brando, and the Pittsburgh Pirates (Crosby was a co-owner). The two tracks with Prado find the exuberant Clooney matching the outboard orchestra. The Girl Singer also includes a version of "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" recorded in Nashville with Floyd Cramer and (probably) a Chet Atkins arrangement. (No, Cassandra Wilson wasn't the first to treat it as a vocal standard.) For jazz or vocal fans curious about a great vocalist but with no wish to revisit "Come on-a My House" or "This Ole House," The Girl Singer is a solid collection. 

~ John Bush https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-girl-singer-bluebird-mw0000979054

The Girl Singer

---

Keith Brown - The Journey

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:02
Size: 156,5 MB
Art: Front

(6:24)  1. 4G
(5:14)  2. Close Your Eyes and Believe
(4:19)  3. Human Nature
(6:13)  4. Capt'n Kirk
(5:48)  5. Prelude for the One
(7:40)  6. The Journey
(4:50)  7. The Narrow Road
(7:33)  8. Ten Years of Turmoil
(6:02)  9. Deception of the Heart
(6:03) 10. F.R.C.
(3:02) 11. The Biscuit Man
(4:48) 12. (I've Got a) Golden Ticket

Son of Donald, one of the countless talents discovered by Art Blakey, and like him pianist, Keith Brown is not a well-known name. He has worked as a session man in various areas of black music, from soul to jazz, and has already recorded a good record in trio a few years ago. With 'The Journey', the young Brown raises the shot and offers us an ambitious job, a real journey through all his experiences as a musician, synthesized in a fresh jazz with a contemporary cut, innervated by soul, neo-soul, funk , hip-hop - colors, melodies, rhythms and arrangements are clear, even if the group is often acoustic. From this point of view, we can think of points of reference such as Lafayette Gilchrist and especially Russell Gunn , two true master predecessors in the synthesis between jazz and the rest of contemporary black music. 'The Journey' is a complex work, but never difficult: on the contrary, the themes are always very catchy, improvisations, certainly imaginative, work within the harmonic outline, unhinging it gradually, almost without attracting attention. Great importance of the prodigious battery of Terreon Gully, which makes an insistent use of rim-shot in short repeated, broken and recombined polyrhythm patterns, reproducing in this way the typical effect of hip-hop rhythms. On the sax we find musicians in the world such as Kenneth Whalum III, Greg Tardy and Jamal Mitchell, while the bass by Clint Mullican and the Mike Seal guitar complete the training by adding jazz-funk pulsations and further colors to the ensemble moments, arranged in a new way. soul. Ah, and Keith Brown? His style, percussive and bluesy, with considerable independence in his hands and a marked taste for melodic ornamentation and chiselling, is the direct son of musicians such as John Hicks and Kenny Kirkland (to whom 'Capt'n Kirk' is dedicated), to the youngest Marc Cary. Almost all the compositions - except for the 'Human Nature', where for the most part the sax repeat the theme while the rhythm section is unleashed, dictating the dynamics and the development of the piece, then releasing the tension at the time of the sax solos, and '(I've Got a) Golden Ticket' (yes, that of the classic 'Willie Wonka And The Chocolate Factory'!), enunciated by the piano that alludes to the stride, slowed in a wrap-around soul jazz by the band and finally closed by a suspended electric piano tail. To have heard it before, 'The Journey' would have finished straight into the top 10 of the past year. Patience. Beautiful album of pure modern jazz at the highest level, excellent also to bring neophytes closer to this music. (Negrodeath) Translate by Google http://freefalljazz.altervista.org/blog/?p=14914
 

Personnel:  Keith Brown on piano;  Terreon "Tank" Gully on drums;  Gregory Tardy on saxophones;  Kenneth Whalum III on saxophones;  Jamel Mitchell on saxophones;  Mike Seal on guitar;  Clint Mullican on bass

The Journey

---

Chico Freeman - Tangents

Styles: Post-Bop, Progressive Jazz
Year: 1984
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:06
Size: 109,6 MB
Art: Front

(7:52)  1. Tangents
(5:40)  2. Sir Tashi And The Yetti
(3:23)  3. Ballad For Hakima
(5:12)  4. Fifty Tenth Street
(5:42)  5. Computerized Indifference
(4:59)  6. Sangoma And Nelly
(7:22)  7. You Are The One
(6:53)  8. Spook And Fade

An interesting if quite diverse set, this album is best remembered for featuring up-and-coming singer Bobby McFerrin on a few selections. McFerrin has his moments, as does tenor saxophonist Chico Freeman and such notable sidemen as altoist Steve Coleman, John Purcell on reeds, either Kenny Werner or Mark Thompson on piano, Freeman's longtime bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Billy Hart, among others. 

The material (by Freeman, Thompson and Werner) is actually not that significant, and the date on a whole is less memorable than many of Chico Freeman's earlier sets, but it has its enjoyable spots. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/tangents-mw0000800513

Personnel:  Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Steve Coleman;  Bass – Cecil McBee, John Koenig;  Drums – Billy Hart, James Bradley, Jr.;  Drums, Percussion – Frederick Waits;  Piano – Mark Thompson ;  Piano, Synthesizer – Kenny Werner;  Vibraphone – Jay Hoggard;  Vocals – Bobby McFerrin;  Woodwind – John Purcell;  Woodwind, Percussion – Chico Freeman

Tangents

---

Eli Degibri - Soul Station (A Tribute to Hank Mobley)

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@256K/s
Time: 38:25
Size: 70,6 MB
Art: Front

(5:58)  1. Remember
(4:51)  2. This I Dig of You
(4:45)  3. Dig Dis
(8:32)  4. If I Should Lose You
(3:54)  5. Split Feelings
(4:58)  6. Soul Station
(5:23)  7. Dear Hank

You can understand why musicians cover entire albums when the subject is an epic like Kind of Blue or A Love Supreme. It’s a little harder to see what would prompt someone to do a track-by-track remake of saxophonist Hank Mobley’s Soul Station. It may be Mobley’s best record, but it doesn’t crack the 200 recommended recordings in either Ben Ratliff’s book of essential LPs or The Rough Guide to Jazz, and Mobley merits barely a passing mention in Ted Gioia’s landmark book The History of Jazz. Israeli saxophonist Eli Degibri, however, says Soul Station is his touchstone and lifelong inspiration. His challenge in covering the whole thing is to find something new to say through it. Degibri’s timbre is slighter and more pointed than Mobley’s round, warm tone, but his performance is no less expressive. His blowing is often reserved, to the point where one sometimes strains to hear him cut through the rhythm section. He takes several tunes at a slightly faster tempo than Mobley did, though one selection “If I Should Lose You,” the best tune here is slowed to a lush ballad. He switches to soprano sax a couple of times, whereas Mobley stuck to tenor. It would be hard to top Mobley’s rhythm section of pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Art Blakey, but Mobley’s group steps up. Pianist Tom Oren and bassist Tamir Shmerling both turn in nifty solos on the title tune, and drummer Eviatar Slivnik throws in extra fills on “Remember” rather than trying to imitate the legend who preceded him. Degibri adds an original composition, a nice piece called “Dear Hank” that sounds like it might be derived from “Blues in the Night.” Degibri’s is a good album, but aside from that gorgeously languid cover of “If I Should Lose You,” he hasn’t done enough to make Soul Station his own. 

~ Steve Greenlee https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/eli-degibri-soul-station/

Personnel: Eli Degibri:Tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone; Tom Oren: Piano; Tamir Shmerling: Bass; Eviatar Slivnik: Drums

Soul Station (A Tribute to Hank Mobley)

---