Pat Patrick & The Baritone Saxophone Retinue - Sound Advice

Styles: Saxophone And Flute Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:37
Size: 110,8 MB
Art: Front

(0:50)  1. Stablemates - Intro
(7:05)  2. Funny Time
(4:42)  3. Uptightedness
(9:26)  4. Eastern Vibrations
(7:05)  5. Sabia
(8:46)  6. East of Uz
(8:32)  7. The Waltz
(1:08)  8. Stablemates

Baritone saxophonist and flautist Pat Patrick was a member of Sun Ras's Arkestra for 35 years, and also played with Duke Ellington, Eric Dolphy, Thelonious Monk, and John Coltrane; in 1977 he assembled this 12-piece band with 8 baritone sax players, 4 of them doubling on flute, to present incredible versions of original work and modern standards. "Originally released in 1977 by Sun Ra's El Saturn label, this 2017 reissue includes printed inner sleeve. As composer, bandleader, and full-time member of the Sun Ra Arkestra, Pat Patrick was a visionary musician whose singular contribution to the jazz tradition has not yet been fully recognized. As well as holding down the baritone spot in the Arkestra for 35 years, Patrick played flute and alto, composed in both jazz and popular idioms, and was a widely respected musician, playing with Duke Ellington, Eric Dolphy, Thelonious Monk, and John Coltrane, with whom he appeared on Africa/Brass (1961). But he is best known for his crucial contributions to key Sun Ra recordings including Angels and Demons at Play (1967), Jazz in Silhouette (1959), and The Nubians of Plutonia (1967), among dozens of others. But as a bandleader, Patrick only released one LP the almost mythical Sound Advice, recorded with his Baritone Saxophone Retinue, a unique gathering of baritone saxophone masters including Charles Davis and Rene McLean. Sound Advice is a deep-hued exploration of this special instrument, a lost masterpiece of Arkestrally-minded Ellingtonia on which higher adepts of the lower cosmic tones are heard in rare conference. Unissued since original release, this unique jazz masterpiece now returns to the limelight. Released in collaboration with the Pat Patrick estate."-Artyard

Personnel:  Pat Patrick - Baritone saxophone, flute; Rene McLean - Baritone saxophone, flute; George Barrow - Baritone saxophone, flute; Reynold Scott - Baritone saxophone, flute;  Charles Davis - Baritone saxophone;  Mario Rivera - Baritone saxophone;  Kenny Rogers - Baritone saxophone;  James Ware - Baritone saxophone;  Hilton Ruiz - Piano;  Steve Solder - Drums;  Jon Hart - Bass;  Babafemi Humphreys - Conga

Sound Advice

---

The Ken Peplowski Quintet - Sonny Side

Styles: Saxophone And Clarinet Jazz
Year: 1989
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:01
Size: 116,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:46)  1. Ring Dem Bells
(5:25)  2. Bright Moments
(4:47)  3. Don't Take Your Love From Me
(4:32)  4. When I Take My Sugar To Tea
(4:12)  5. Ugly Beauty
(5:48)  6. Sonny Side
(4:01)  7. Everything I Love
(3:57)  8. Who Wants To Know?
(4:26)  9. Half Nelson
(4:39) 10. Alone At Last
(3:25) 11. Hallelujah

Switching between tenor, clarinet and alto, Ken Peplowski is hard-swinging and consistently brilliant throughout this quintet set with guitarist Howard Alden, pianist Dave Frishberg, bassist John Goldsby and drummer Terry Clarke. The music is mostly mainstream swing, with the highlights including "Ring Dem Bells," "When I Take My Sugar to Sea," Sonny Stitt's "Sonny Side" and "Hallelujah." 

As if to show that he is aware of later styles, Peplowski also does a good job on Rahsaan Roland Kirk's "Bright Moments," Thelonious Monk's "Ugly Beauty" and Miles Davis' "Half Nelson." Recommended. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/sonny-side-mw0000199765

Personnel:  Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet – Ken Peplowski;  Bass – John Goldsby;  Drums – Terry Clarke;  Guitar – Howard Alden;  Piano – Dave Frishberg

Sonny Side

---

Diva Jazz - A Swingin' Life

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:46
Size: 127,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:53)  1. What The World Needs Now Is Love Sweet Love
(6:32)  2. Nothin'
(5:03)  3. All My Tommorrows
(2:45)  4. All Of Me
(6:09)  5. The Very Thought Of You
(4:38)  6. Pennies From Heaven
(4:17)  7. Blues Medley [Goin' To Chicago Blues; Kansas City; Every Day I Have The Blues]
(5:15)  8. Blackberry Winter
(2:58)  9. Wonder Why
(6:38) 10. Nocturne #6 Opus 9, Number 2
(5:34) 11. Blues For Hamp

What do you get when you have fifteen talented and swinging female jazz musicians in an orchestral setting? The answer, drummer Sherrie Maricle and the DIVA Jazz Orchestra offering A Swingin' Life as proof that hard-charging big band music is not the exclusivity of the male gender. Building upon the work of more than a dozen previous albums, DIVA presents music from the Great American Songbook and more, capturing eleven audacious tracks recorded live by Jazz at Lincoln Center at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola in New York and, at the renowned Manchester Craftsman's Guild in Pittsburgh.  Adding to the experience of these live performances are two very special guests, two giants of the business, two vocalists who have left their mark on the jazz world. Legendary singers Marlena Shaw and Nancy Wilson lend their vocal charm on five beautiful charts and while some are certainly swinging tracks for sure, there are a couple of ballads that take your breath away. Wilson takes the Van Heusen/Sammy Cahn standard "All My Tomorrows," to another level expressing heart-felt emotion as the band plays humbly. Vocalist Shaw lays down a warm and gentle performance delivering a fantastic interpretation of Alec Wilder's "Blackberry Winter" for the two soft spots of the album.  However, the limited tender material here is the exception and not the rule as the swinging times obviously carry the date. Opening up with a rousing rendition of Burt Bacharach's "What The World Need Now Is Love," the DIVA's announce their intentions with a full blast of the brass and reeds capped off by a solo from tenor saxophonist Janelle Reichman. 

Appearing once again as one of the main soloist, Reichman, this time on the clarinet, joins trumpeter Jami Dauber on the Stanley Kay piece "Nothin,'" another perky burner showcasing the band. On another of the few light tunes, Nadje Noordhuis on the flugelhorn is simply enchanting on the time-honored Ray Noble classic "The Very Thought of You" as Maricle is heard on the soft brushes making this number, one to remember. The group gets back to some hard-driving sounds on the swinging version of "Pennies from Heaven." Maricle and the girls get real bluesy on "Blues Medley," a fusion of "Going to Chicago Blues," "Kansas City," and "Every Day I have the Blues," featuring singer Shaw. 

The DIVAs show their powerful instrumental voices on the last three tunes showcasing their reach on "Wonder Why," "Nocturne #6 Opus 9, Number 2," and the Terry Gibbs arranged finale "Blues For Harp," demonstrating quite ably why this orchestra is regarded as one of the best jazz bands in the business. Kudos to Sherrie Maricle and the DIVA Jazz Orchestra as they roar through a splendid repertoire of big band jazz on A Swingin' Life, combining instrumental muscle with the elegant vocals in a live setting that is thankfully, documented well here. ~ Edward Blanco https://www.allaboutjazz.com/a-swingin-life-diva-jazz-mcg-review-by-edward-blanco.php

Personnel: Sherrie Maricle: drums; Sharel Cassity: alto saxophone, flute; Karoline Strassmayer: alto saxophone (3, 4); Leigh Pilzer: alto saxophone, flute, baritone saxophone (3, 4); Kristy Norter: alto saxophone (3, 4); Janelle Reichman: clarinet, tenor saxophone (3, 4); Anat Cohen: clarinet, tenor saxophone (3, 4); Roxy Coss: tenor saxophone; Scheila Gonzalez: tenor saxophone (3, 4); Lisa Parrott: baritone saxophone; Tanya Darby: lead trumpet, Flugelhorn; Liesl Whitaker: lead trumpet (3, 4); Jami Dauber: trumpet , Flugelhorn; Barbara Laronga: trumpet (3, 4); Carol Morgan: trumpet, Flugelhorn; Nadje Noordhuis: trumpet, Flugelhorn; Deborah Weisz: trombone; Jennifer Krupa: trombone; Lori Stuntz: trombone (3, 4); Leslie Havens: bass trombone; Tomoko Ohno: piano; Chihiro Yamanaka: piano (3, 4); Noriko Ueda: bass; Nancy Wilson: vocals (3, 4); Marlena Shaw: vocals (7, 8, 9).

Swingin' Life

---

Dexter Gordon & Johnny Griffin' - Great Encounters

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1979
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:50
Size: 102,9 MB
Art: Front

(14:05)  1. Blues Up And Down
( 4:52)  2. Diggin' In
(12:04)  3. Cake
( 8:41)  4. Ruby, My Dear
( 5:08)  5. It's Only A Paper Moon

The two great tenors, Dexter Gordon and Johnny Griffin, battle it out on in exciting fashion on live versions of "Blues Up and Down" and "Cake." Bop singer Eddie Jefferson and trumpeter Woody Shaw join Gordon and his quartet (pianist George Cables, bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Eddie Gladden) on "Diggin' In" and "It's Only a Paper Moon" and Gordon takes Thelonious Monk's ballad "Ruby My Dear" as his feature. Everything works quite well on this diverse but consistent LP, one of Dexter Gordon's later efforts. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/great-encounters-mw0000421077

Personnel:  Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin (Tenor Saxophone); Rufus Reid (Double Bass); Eddie Gladden (Drums); George Cables (Piano); Curtis Fuller (Trombone); Woody Shaw (Trumpet); Eddie Jefferson (Vocals).

Great Encounters

---

David 'Fathead' Newman - Davey Blue

Styles: Flute And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:39
Size: 123,0 MB
Art: Front

( 6:10)  1. Cellar Groove
( 6:47)  2. Cristo Redentor
( 5:33)  3. For Stanley
( 5:49)  4. A Child is Born
( 5:34)  5. Black
( 4:17)  6. Amandla
(13:00)  7. Davey Blue
( 6:26)  8. Freedom Jazz Dance

This excellent session does a fine job of showing off David "Fathead" Newman's jazz talents. Newman is heard on tenor sax on four selections, taking two songs apiece on flute and alto. Joined by pianist Cedar Walton, the fine if underrated vibraphonist Bryan Carrott, bassist David Williams, and drummer Kenny Washington, Newman stretches out on such numbers as "Cellar Groove," "Cristo Redentor," "Freedom Jazz Dance," and a tribute to Stanley Turrentine, "For Stanley," sounding at his prime on each of his instruments. Recommended. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/davey-blue-mw0000657383

Personnel:   David "Fathead" Newman - flute, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, producer;  Bryan Carrott - vibraphone;   Cedar Walton - piano;  David Williams - bass;   Kenny Washington - drums

Davey Blue

---

Tom Grant and Rebecca Kilgore - Winter Warm

Styles: Vocal, Piano, Christmas 
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:00
Size: 115,5 MB
Art: Front

(2:29)  1. Christmas Waltz
(3:17)  2. Santa Claus is Coming to Town
(3:22)  3. Christmas Time is Here
(3:39)  4. I'll Be Home for Christmas
(4:06)  5. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
(4:49)  6. The Christmas Song
(3:11)  7. A Song for Christmas
(2:30)  8. Let it Snow
(4:50)  9. Winter Warm
(4:12) 10. Winter Wonderland
(3:30) 11. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
(4:02) 12. Sleigh Ride
(2:43) 13. Christmas Dreaming
(3:14) 14. Snowbound

Warm is a treasure from two Northwest jazz icons. Pianist Tom Grant has produced over twenty albums of chart-topping smooth jazz and singer Rebecca Kilgore, a featured regular on Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion and Terry Gross’ Fresh Air (both on NPR), is an acclaimed performer of the Great American Songbook. Rebecca tours the world with her own band and has sung on over 30 records. Famed guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli has said of her “If Benny Goodman were alive today, he’d hire Becky to sing in his band.” Dick Hadlock, author and jazz host on KCSM-FM, San Mateo CA says that Rebecca “has refined her vocal gifts and stands now….as a leading interpreter of America’s classic popular songs.” She has toured with the famed pianist, humorist-composer Dave Frishberg and they have recorded together as well. He says of Rebecca “she has a great sense of swing…and a heartfelt unpretentiousness.” Tom Grant has toured the world with such jazz greats as Joe Henderson, Tony Williams and Charles Lloyd. Jeff Lorber says “Tom is a terrific improviser and writer. He plays with an inventiveness, elegance and economy. He is one of the best players on the scene today.” He has recorded on Verve Forecast, Windham Hill and many smaller labels and during the 80’s and 90’s had sales of 30-50 thousand units on various titles.

Tom Grant is a fixture on the Northwest music scene. He was a pioneer of jazz fusion and adult contemporary jazz. His longtime group, the Tom Grant Band, was one of the biggest drawing bands of the ’80s and ’90s. Tom’s numerous recordings consistently landed at the top of the New Adult Contemporary and Smooth Jazz charts, a genre Tom helped pioneer in the mid-80s. Over the years he has played with numerous jazz icons, including Jim Pepper, Woody Shaw, Tony Williams and Joe Henderson. He plays jazz piano with the harmonic sophistication and deep sense of swing that comes from more than three decades on the bandstand, and his smooth crooning voice blends perfectly with Day’s clear-cut interpretations of the classics. Grant was recognized for his lifetime of work by the Jazz Society of Oregon, being its inductee to the Hall of Fame for 2004. The material on this Holiday record reflects Rebecca’s unique gift for finding little-known song gems. The title track “Winter Warm”, is a Burt Bacharach/Hal David song whose only prior recording is by the relatively obscure 50’s artist, Gale Storm. Another great track is the singularly quirky (and jazzy) Frishberg winner, “Snowbound”. Tom and Rebecca do a charming duet on a slightly obscure Sinatra classic called “Christmas Dreaming.” Another rare beauty is “A Song for Christmas” which Rebecca sings with a tenderness that touches the soul. http://tomgrant.com/winter-warm

Winter Warm

---

Five Play - Live At the Deer Head Inn

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop 
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:30
Size: 141,6 MB
Art: Front

( 7:13)  1. Que Sera, Sera
( 6:55)  2. Struttin' With Some Barbeque
( 7:51)  3. I'm in the Mood for Love
( 7:29)  4. Beo Dat May Troi
( 7:30)  5. Seesaw
( 5:26)  6. La Americana
(11:25)  7. Shenandoah
( 7:38)  8. Organ Grinder's Swing

I haven't been to the Delaware Water Gap in Pennsylvania in years. But if I make it there, I hope to time my visit to coincide with Five Play at theDeer Head Inn, which bills itself as the "oldest continuously running jazz club in the country." Long may it prosper, for there are good musical things happening there. Big bands and their leaders have always had small groups:from Benny Goodman to Stan Kenton, and Woody Herman and Tommy Dorsey inclued. This is the first time I've heard Five Play in this configuration. I was pleasantly surprised. They give you a lot of looks, some Blakeyish, some Ornette, and some distinctively themselves. The can bop, swing and bossa, sometimes in disconcerting juxtaposition.And they do their share of originals. Nothing staid about their repertoire. The live set opens with that famous jazz standard "Que sera,sera." I'm being facetious. It's been a few years since I heard it, and certainly not the arch reading that Fiveplay gives it. There are romping solos by Tomoko Ohno and Noriko Ueda, two thirds of a seriously cooking rhythm section. Janelle Reichman , who doubles on clarinet and tenor sax makes a nice statement. Reichman's clarinet playing is, to say the least, technically assured, but it can be quite beautiful and thoughtful as well, as her solo on "I'm in the Mood for Love" shows. She takes a long solo on "Struttin' With Some Barbecue" as does Jami Dauber who plays very nice and extremely tasteful jazz. 

Her trumpet lead gives the group a much bigger sound and presence than I would've expected. As to adventuresomeness, the originals by Ohno and Ueda are supplemented by "Bao Dat May Troi," a Vietnamese folk song that works very well. There is the traditional Shenandoah, beautifully played too. I will never accuse Maricle of sticking to the tried and true with Diva, her big band, again. As for Sherrie, well, Sherrie plays like Sherrie. For someone ostensibly inspired by Buddy Rich, she is awfully musical. She really plays the drums, including the bass drum, in a way that I'd associate more with Mel Lewis. Her brushwork is inspired and occasionally, her time just seems to float. But she has help. Dauber plays a wonderfully reflective muted solo on "I'm in the Mood for Love" that put me in mind of Warren Vache not that she needs anyone's endorsement. You want up-tempo shouting? The session closes out with "Organ Grinder's Swing" which really gets rolling, propelled by hot choruses by Dauber and Reichman. Everyone gets into the act. So there's a lot of good stuff going on in the recording, and it opens up to further thought as you listen over again, always the mark of something special. These are remarkably talented musicians, and to put it in Maricle's terms, they swing hard, but make it sound easy. I have only one question. What if the group is short Dauber or Reichman some night? What do you call the quartet? Let me guess. ~ Richard J.Salvucci https://www.allaboutjazz.com/live-at-the-deer-head-inn-five-play-deer-head-records-review-by-richard-j-salvucci.php

Personnel: Sherrie Maricle (D); Jami Dauber (TPT); Janelle Riechman (T Sax/CL); Tomoko Ohno (P); Noriko Ueda (B)

Live At the Deer Head Inn

---

Carolyn Leonhart - Carolyn Leonhart

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1992
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:04
Size: 137,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:46)  1. I Saw You in Sofi
(2:59)  2. Come Rain or Come Shine
(4:56)  3. Whisky
(4:43)  4. The Way You Look Tonight
(4:21)  5. Manhattan Lullaby
(2:45)  6. Teach Me Tonight
(5:49)  7. There Used to Be Colors
(6:14)  8. Bei Mir Bist Du Schon
(6:40)  9. The Island
(3:46) 10. Autumn Leaves
(9:44) 11. All Blues
(3:16) 12. My Funny Valentine

Carolyn Leonhart is a jazz singer with one foot firmly planted in the rock/pop universe. She is the daughter of veteran bassist Jay Leonhart, so her jazz sensibilities flow from her upbringing. Yet she gained wide exposure during the '90s as a backup vocalist for the reunited Steely Dan. Her jazz style is tinged with the edginess of a soul or R&B singer. Her first U.S. album, an inspired collaboration with pianist/songwriter Rob Bargad titled Steal the Moon, was released in 2000. ~ David R.Adler https://www.allmusic.com/artist/carolyn-leonhart-mn0000183584/biography

Carolyn Leonhart

---

The John Wright Trio - Nice 'N' Tasty

Styles: Piano Jazz 
Year: 1960
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:38
Size: 93,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:47)  1. Things Are Getting Better
(6:16)  2. The Very Thought of You
(5:28)  3. Witchcraft
(5:08)  4. Pie Face
(5:42)  5. You Do It
(5:47)  6. Darn That Dream
(4:03)  7. The Wright Way
(4:22)  8. Yes I Know

John Wright was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1934 and moved to Chicago with his family two years later. As a child, he was immersed in the gospel music of his mother’s church; he learned jazz piano while stationed in Germany in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, where he also met Dizzy Gillespie and Dexter Gordon. His first recording in 1960, with the John Wright Trio, was entitled South Side Soul, a phrase that became his nickname. Over a lengthy musical career, and work as a librarian in the Cook County Department of Corrections, he has also had many political involvements. In 2008, he was inducted into the Wendell Phillips High School Hall of Fame, and in 2009 he was awarded the Walter Dyett Lifetime Achievement Award by the Jazz Institute of Chicago. ...Read More.. https://never-the-same.org/interviews/john-wright/

Nice 'N' Tasty

---

Horace Parlan - Up & Down

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1961
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:58
Size: 103,3 MB
Art: Front

( 9:49)  1. The Book's Beat
( 6:10)  2. Up And Down
( 7:08)  3. Fugee
(11:41)  4. The Other Part Of Town
( 4:06)  5. Lonely Blues
( 6:02)  6. Light Blue

I have a new hero: Pianist Horace Parlan. Until recently, I had heard of Parlan, but never really heard him. I certainly never knew his back story. It's inspirational and his music is pretty damn good, too. Parlan had a handicap. As a child, he lost some function in his right hand due to polio. Various bios disagree on the extent of the loss. Some say two fingers, others three. Either way, it's the kind of injury that makes a career as a pianist sound impossible. Yet Parlan found a way to compensate something to do with developing a powerful left hand. In any event, he had a long, successful career as a bop pianist. Of course the music stands on its own, regardless of how it's made. Handicap or no handicap, if the music weren't terrific, there would be nothing to talk about. And it is terrific. (For example, catch him on Charles Mingus' 1959 classic Mingus Ah Um.)  Up and Down, a 1961 bop-and-blues album, is the perfect introduction to Horace Parlan. It features three remarkable solists: Parlan on piano, Booker Ervin on tenor, and Grant Green on guitar. Together, they make wonderful, swinging music that borders on soul-jazz.  While some pianists made their names with jaw-dropping speed and technique think Art Tatum or Oscar Peterson  Parlan (by necessity or choice) goes the other way. He is wonderfully inventive. At times, he sounds almost Monk-ish, choosing unusual chords and odd notes. On every tune, without exception he is soulful and bluesy. Grant Green, of course, is tasteful, as always. Like Parlan, Green does not amaze with lightning-fast runs. Instead, he wrings the blues for every drop of emotion he can find, including the quiet spaces between notes. He is the perfect complement for Parlan.  Finally, there's Booker Ervin. Unlike Parlan and Green, Ervin can shred with the best. On Up and Down, he turns it on and off. On the opener, "Books Beat," Ervin is sassy and aggressive. On the ballad "Lonely One," he is all swirling smoke. And on the closer, "Light Blue," Ervin shows off his technique a toe-tapping, happy blues that sends the listener off with a smile. Up and Down is a great ensemble album. It's full of clever, swinging music. I could listen to it all day. And while you don't need know anything about Parlan's bum right hand to appreciate the music, it helps. The man is an inspiration.

Personnel:  Horace Parlan - piano;  Booker Ervin - tenor saxophone;  Grant Green - guitar;  George Tucker - bass;  Al Harewood - drums

Up & Down

---

Giacomo Gates - G8S EP

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 16:46
Size: 38,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:55)  1. A Different Thing
(5:12)  2. Why Try to Change Me Now
(3:36)  3. Come Along with Me
(4:02)  4. Hungry Man

2018 worldwide news reports have detailed all sorts of technologically-assisted archaeological finds. In the US, a previously unreleased John Coltrane album and other musical discoveries have popped up. And whaddya know? here is an unreleased and enhanced set of tracks from the Hipster to the Hip, Giacomo Gates. And it is a helluva find, you dig? G8S, originally laid down in 2005, is a short-form release of four tunes performed by Gates and a hip vibes and rhythm quartet. It is yet another in a series of fine recordings which affirms why Gates retains the vocalese Heavyweight Crown.  Jay Hoggard's vibes sets the hard bop ambiance on Gates' original, "A Different Thing," before His Hipness bops into things swing. The tune is a stone cooker. Tony Lombardozzi, long a Gates sidekick, and Hoggard offer neat solos over Rick Petrone's bass and Joe Corsello's drums. If you hear "Paper Moon" on Hoggard's intro on the swinging "Come Along with Me" (itself a take on 50s "space race" mania) you've got ears. Gates covers Eddie Jefferson's vocalese which itself parrots Lester Young's "Paper Moon" solo. On this session and on all of his performances, Gates demos a marvelous sense of rhythm and hard swing. Notes are placed precisely into swing-syllables with ultimate flair. The guy just never misses. His baritone is robust, but never a bust. He's a jazz Everyman and as genuine as it gets. Gates covers Bobby Troup's gastronomically tinged "Hungry Man" in a tasty, swing groove. (He later re-recorded the tune on his 2008 recording Luminosity on Double Dave Records). The dining here is cool and swinging. This type of tune is a Gates speciality he can make lyrics pop and swing his plates off the table. His sassy scat leads into Hoggard's fine vibe solo. Lend an ear to Petrone's drive here. "Why Try to Change Me Now" is the gorgeous ballad feature. It is another of those great tunes that seem to get unfairly neglected. Balladic and soulful, Giacomo's baritone adds such genuineness to the story. Catch Gates' rhythm interpretation here. His triplets are hiplets, for sure. Kudos to all Gates' rhythm mates here. They lay things out perfectly throughout. Also to Christian O'Dowd for the discovery of the tape and to engineer/producer Rob Fraboni, who used his technical wizardry to give us a nice vinylized feel here. One has to wonder what other gems are hidden in recording studio racks or folks' garages. Surely, there are going to be other finds down the line. G8S sets the quality bar high. ~ Nicholas F.Mondello https://www.allaboutjazz.com/g8s-giacomo-gates-9th-note-records-review-by-nicholas-f-mondello.php

Personnel: Giacomo Gates: vocals; Jay Hoggard: vibraphone; Tony Lombardozzi: guitar; Rick Petrone: bass; Joe Corsello: drums.

G8S

---

Roy Brooks and the Artistic Truth - Ethnic Expressions

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 1973
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:45
Size: 112,4 MB
Art: Front

(16:03)  1. M'Jumbe
( 8:13)  2. The Last Prophet
( 5:53)  3. The Smart Set
( 5:33)  4. Eboness
(13:00)  5. Eboness (Kwanza)

Ethnic Expressions by Roy Brooks & the Artistic Truth is one of two recordings drum master Roy Brooks cut for the tiny Afrocentric New York imprint Im-Hotep. Released in 1973, it has been one of the most sought-after "Holy Grail" recordings on the collector's market, with copies selling at auction for over $1,200. The reason is not merely its rarity, but the stellar quality of its music and the focus of its vision reinventing the unity of African-American self-determination through music. Recording at Small's Paradise in Harlem on the tenth anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, this large collective of musicians created a positive, musically sophisticated, emotionally powerful performance that epitomized 1970s jazz as it incorporated the free, progressive, and spiritual jazz elements of the 1960s in a setting that also included soul and blues expression. The personnel includes Brooks on drums and percussion; Olu Dara and Cecil Bridgewater on trumpets and flügelhorn; Hamiet Bluiett, Sonny Fortune, and John Stubblefield on saxophones, flute, and bass clarinets; pianists Joe Bonner (acoustic) and Hilton Ruiz (Rhodes); bassist Reggie Workman; and Richard Landrum and Lawrence Williams on African percussion. Vocalist Eddie Jefferson also appears on the "The Smart Set" and "Eboness," at his most expressive and soulful. The album's five tracks include two longer pieces in "M'Jumbe" (whose arrangement reflects the time Brooks spent with Charles Mingus a year earlier) and the closing "Eboness (Kwanza)," as well as three middle-length pieces  The 16-minute "M'Jumbe" begins in a free call and response between trumpet, percussion, and bowed bass, gradually adding more instruments until its groove emerges at two minutes and its melody unfolds near the three-minute mark. Even as the horn sections quote the theme, improvisation moves in and out, funky themes are introduced with another melodic statement, and brief moments of free playing slip through before formal solos are taken. 

The tune is always circular due to its impeccably preeminent rhythmic elements. "The Last Prophet" showcases the band's groove side with stellar piano work from Bonner and a horn section in full swagger. The interplay between Workman and Brooks is magical. Jefferson's hip R&B roots are brought into play on the finger-popping "The Smart Set" and his blues authority on "Eboness," with some deep soul work from Workman and Ruiz as well as a fine flute solo from Fortune. On "Eboness (Kwanza)," the vocalist referred to as "Black Rose" is Dee Dee Bridgewater. This is a bona fide jazz classic; its importance as an example of the best that jazz had to offer in the 1970s cannot be overstated. [Ethnic Expressions slipped out of print in 1975, and remained out of print until Japan's P-Vine made it available for a limited time on CD in 2009. In 2010, however, Great Britain's Jazzman was able to license and reissue it on both CD and LP, making it widely available and affordable worldwide.] ~ Thom Jurek https://www.allmusic.com/album/ethnic-expressions-mw0001746882

Personnel:  Roy Brooks – drums & various percussion instruments;  Olu Dara – trumpet & E-flat horn;  Hamiet Bluiett – baritone sax & clarinet;  Reggie Workman - bass;  Joseph Bonner - piano; Black Rose – ethnic expressionist;  Eddie Jefferson – vocalist;  Cecil Bridgewater – trumpet & flugelhorn;  Sonny Fortune – alto sax & flute;  John Stubblefield – tenor sax, flute & bass clarinet; Hilton Ruiz – piano (Fender Rhodes);    Richard Landrum – African percussion;  Lawrence Williams – African percussion

Ethnic Expressions

---

Rondi Charleston - Who Knows Where The Time Goes

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:16
Size: 117,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:16)  1. Who Knows Where The Time Goes
(4:30)  2. Overjoyed
(4:31)  3. Wave
(4:47)  4. Your Spirit Lingers
(4:13)  5. I Hear Music
(3:24)  6. Everything You Were Meant To Be
(4:25)  7. This Nearly Was Mine
(3:01)  8. Please Send Me Someone To Love
(4:20)  9. Dance Of Time
(5:27) 10. Land Of Galilee
(2:26) 11. Song For The Ages
(4:49) 12. Freedom Is A Voice

Rondi Charleston knows the importance of a story well told.  This talent, which served her well as an Emmy and Peabody award-winning producer at ABC News, has continued to blossom over the years.  Charleston is a jazz vocalist who matches superior musicianship with a unique ability to craft resonant narratives.  “I feel that the artist’s job is not only to capture what’s going on in the world around her, but to reflect on what’s going on; to try to make sense out of chaos, so to speak.  Hopefully, I can also entertain, inspire, and leave audiences with a feeling of hope for the future,” she insists.  “My challenge is to write music and lyrics that do all three.”  She has been meeting the challenge since 2009 in a series of impressive releases on the Motema Music label, and reveals new depths as a vocalist, composer and bandleader on Resilience, her newest release. Along the way, she has collaborated with some of the jazz world’s most highly respected musicians.  With pianist Fred Hersch, she co-wrote the song, “The Cave Knows” for the film No Place On Earth, which had worldwide theatrical release with Magnolia Pictures.  

With pianist Lynne Arriale, she co-wrote “A Song For The Ages” for the 2008 presidential inauguration of Barack Obama which was featured on Entertainment Tonight.   She has been featured at the Women In Jazz Festival at Jazz at Lincoln Center,  Birdland, Blue Note, Joe’s Pub, and Lyrics and Lyricists in New York, and around the country at Yoshi’s, Dakota Jazz, Catalina’s, and Mayne Stage in Chicago. “I’ve had several chapters in my life.  I’ve gone from being an actor and opera singer at Juilliard, to the world of investigative journalism at ABC News, and now, back to my first love, which is traditional and contemporary jazz,” Charleston explains.  “There’s a lot more uniting all these things than meets the eye.  In each case, you’re telling a story and in it, hopefully, revealing a powerful truth, whether it’s a corporate cover-up or a deep, hidden emotion. “ Music has surrounded Rondi Charleston her entire life.  Her father, an English professor, at the University of Chicago, was a jazz fan who took the then six-year-old and her brother, Erik (now a renowned New York percussionist) to hear Duke Ellington, her mother, a singer and voice teacher specializing in contemporary classical music.  Admitted to Juilliard as an acting student, Charleston also studied classical music.  After graduation, early years singing opera led to frustration and a change of careers. “Being small, I was always cast as the maid, never the countess,” she notes, “it was frustrating not to ever get the meaty parts, so I decided to shift gears, and learn to be a cultural reporter like my idol, the late Charles Kuralt.”  She was admitted to the NYU Masters program, where she won an award for an investigative report that led to a job at ABC News.  Beginning as a researcher, Charleston ultimately became a field producer, winning Emmy and Peabody awards in that capacity for her work with Diane Sawyer. Yet Charleston had hardly abandoned music.  During lunch breaks, she took voice lessons from Peter Eldridge of New York Voices, and at night she played cabaret gigs in the village.

“I put jazz singers on the highest pedestal, and never thought of myself that way at the time,” she admits, “but Peter saw that I had something special, I guess, and could swing, and he really helped make the transition organic.”   In fact, Eldridge ended up producing Charleston’s first jazz album, Love Is the Thing, on the LML Label.  When her daughter, Emma, was born, Charleston realized that she didn’t want her life controlled by the demands of her job. “So,” she explains, “I decided to focus on motherhood, return to my first love  music, and see what would happen.” What has happened is a series of increasingly ambitious and powerful albums In My Life, Who Knows Where The Time Goes?  and Signs of Life featuring what has become a working ensemble of unique sensitivity and range.  “I consider myself extremely fortunate to be able to create exciting new music with such incredible musicians and human beings,” Charleston says of pianist Brandon McCune, bassist Ed Howard, drummer McClenty Hunter and percussionist Mayra Casales, and “being on the road has only deepened the whole experience on and off the bandstand.”  She reserves special praise for guitarist, co-composer and musical director Dave Stryker. “Dave is my musical alter-ego, mind-reader and sage advisor.  He brings a deep well of jazz knowledge, musical sensitivity, creative juice and endless patience to the table.” In addition to recording and touring, Rondi has recently co-created Resilience Music Alliance, a mission-driven record label, with her husband, political/social activist and arts patron,  Steve Ruchefsky.   RMA is dedicated to empowering artists who celebrate and challenge the human condition of Resilience.  To this end, Rondi is conducting a series of webcast interviews, “The Resilience Conversations” which explore the theme of resilience with visionaries such as Deepak Chopra, Cory Booker and others.  “It’s thrilling  to have the chance to talk with such deep thinkers, and I look forward to sharing their insights with our community of like minded people.” http://rondicharleston.com/biography-rondi-charleston/

Who Knows Where The Time Goes

---

Ray Conniff - Always in My Heart

Styles: Vocal, Trumpet

Year: 1988
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 28:28
Size: 66,2 MB
Art: Front

(2:10)  1. Maria Elena (Always in My Heart)
(3:04)  2. Ramona
(3:20)  3. Don't Cry for Me Argentina (From "Evita")
(2:33)  4. La Violetera (Who Will Buy My Violets)
(3:27)  5. La Vie En Rose
(3:26)  6. Fernando
(2:12)  7. Theme from "A Summer Place" (A Tribute to Percy Faith)
(2:47)  8. Valencia
(2:44)  9. Blowin' in the Wind
(2:39) 10. Adios Muchachos

The kitsch enthusiast or novelty seeker will get a kick out of Ray Conniff's 1988 album Always in My Heart. Known primarily for orchestral versions of contemporary pop songs, his recordings during the late-1960s and early 1970s as Ray Conniff and the Singers included many straightforward recordings of current pop hits. 

This 1988 collection, sans singers, includes songs by Edith Piaf, Bob Dylan, Percy Faith, and from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Evita! This fun easy listening album has decent track listing, but, at barely over 20 minutes, will be worthwhile only if you want to hear a specific song in the set. ~ JT Griffith https://www.allmusic.com/album/always-in-my-heart-mw0000198812

Personnel:  Ray Conniff - vocals, trumpet; Pete Jolly - piano, electric piano; Gene Merlino - vocals; Zeke Zarchy - trumpet

Always in My Heart

---

Mike Mainieri - Love Play

Styles: Vibraphone Jazz
Year: 1977
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:02
Size: 98,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:23)  1. High Life
(4:25)  2. Magic Carpet
(3:30)  3. Latin Lover
(6:17)  4. I'm Sorry
(4:24)  5. Silkworm
(5:14)  6. Easy To Please
(4:51)  7. Sara Smile
(8:54)  8. Love Play

Mike Mainieri, a talented and distinctive vibraphonist, has had a productive and diverse career. He first played vibes professionally when he was 14, touring with Paul Whiteman in a jazz trio called Two Kings & a Queen. He played with Buddy Rich's bands for a long period (1956-1963) and then became a busy studio musician, appearing on many pop records. Mainieri had opportunities to work with Benny Goodman, Coleman Hawkins, and Wes Montgomery (1967-1968), among many others, and played in the early fusion band Jeremy & the Satyrs. During 1969-1972, he led a 20-piece rehearsal group called White Elephant that included the Brecker Brothers and other studio players. In 1979, he formed Steps (which later became Steps Ahead), an all-star jazz-oriented R&B/fusion band that included such players as Mike Brecker, Don Grolnick, Eddie Gomez, and Steve Gadd in its original lineup. Mainieri has revived the group several times since, with such musicians as saxophonist Bendik, Warren Bernhardt, Eliane Elias, Rachel Z, Mike Stern, Tony Levin, Victor Bailey, Peter Erskine, and Steve Smith making strong contributions. In 1992, Mainieri founded the NYC label and recorded the adventurous An American Diary. Prior to NYC, Mike Mainieri had recorded as a leader for such labels as Argo (1962), Solid State, Arista, Artists House, Warner Bros., and Elektra. ~ Scott Yanow https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/love-play/372869030

Personnel:  Mike Mainieri - vibraphone, producer, arranger, marimba, cowbell, kalimba, vocals, percussion, synthesizer, Mellotron, bells, gong, zither, writer

Love Play

---

Jane Bunnett - In Dew Time

Styles: Flute, Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1988
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:28
Size: 104,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:27)  1. Big Alice
(8:38)  2. The Wanderer
(8:49)  3. Limbo
(6:34)  4. Utviklingssang
(6:26)  5. In Dew Time
(9:32)  6. Five/As Long as There's Music

Jane Bunnett's debut album uses different personnel on every selection. She starts out quite strong (playing flute in a duet with pianist Don Pullen on his catchy "Big Alice") and continues the momentum throughout a set that includes two of her originals, an obscure Carla Bley song, the title cut (written by her husband-trumpeter Larry Cramer) and a medley of her "Five" and the standard "As Long As There Is Music." At that point in her career, Bunnett was a little more original on flute than on soprano but already quite talented on both. In addition to members of her Canadian group (Cramer, pianist Brian Dickenson, bassist Scott Alexander and drummer Claude Ranger), Bunnett welcomes Don Pullen, tenor great Dewey Redman and the french horn of Vincent Chancey on some of the selections. The inside/outside music is quite colorful, unpredictable and ultimately logical. A very impressive debut. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/in-dew-time-mw0000910546

Personnel:  Jane Bunnett, flute, soprano saxophone;  Scott Alexander, bass;  Claude Ranger, drums;  Vincent Chancey, french horn;  Brian Dickenson, piano;  Don Pullen, piano;  Dewey Redman, tenor saxophone;  Larry Cramer, trumpet

In Dew Time

---

The Diva Jazz Trio - Never Never Land

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop

Year: 2009
File: MP3@256K/s
Time: 56:31
Size: 104,0 MB
Art: Front

(7:09)  1. If I Only Had A Brain
(6:17) 2. Piano Nocturne #6 Op. 09 No. 2 - Frédéric Chopin
(3:49)  3. Virgo
(6:42)  4. I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face
(6:13)  5. My Favorite Things
(4:33)  6. I Could Have Danced All Night / I Won't Dance
(4:22)  7. Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin'
(4:36)  8. I'm Walkin'
(6:00)  9. Never Never Land
(6:45) 10. Love For Sale

About the nicest compliment one can pay the DIVA Jazz Trio's debut recording, Never Never Land, is that the threesome's irrepressible enthusiasm and energy (not to mention their consonance and artistry) are reminiscent of the great Oscar Peterson's classic trio with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen. Pianist Tomoko Ohno isn't Peterson, nor does she try to be, but she dwells in the same exalted realm, while bassist Noriko Ueda and drummer Sherrie Maricle offer stalwart impressions of Brown and Thigpen. If the trio's accord seems remarkable, a part of the reason lies in the fact that it doubles as the rhythm section for the superb all-women's big band, DIVA. The group's choice of music is as inclusive as it is entertaining. After opening with a happy-go-lucky version of Harold Arlen/Yip Harburg's "If I Only Had a Brain" from The Wizard of Oz, the trio puts a sunny Latin spin on Chopin's graceful "Piano Nocturne No. 6" before addressing exemplary compositions by Horace Silver (the high-octane "Virgo"), Lerner and Loewe, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Fats Domino (yes, Fats Domino) and Cole Porter, plus Betty Comden/Adolph Green's wistful title selection from Peter Pan. Lerner and Loewe contribute "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" and "I Could Have Danced All Night," Rodgers and Hammerstein "My Favorite Things" and "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning," and Porter the venerable "Love for Sale." If Domino/Dave Bartholomew's "I'm Walkin'" seems somewhat out of place among those celebrated standards, the trio makes it hum like a high-grade Swiss watch. 

Besides working extremely well together, each member of the group is a first-class soloist, an appraisal that is borne out whenever one of them has the floor, while Maricle excels with brushes or sticks, providing taut and tasteful support in every circumstance. Ohno has impeccable technique, swings in every context, and shows she's not only able but eager to roll up her sleeves and get down and dirty on "I'm Walkin.'" As for Ueda, she does far more than simply orchestrate the tempo even though she's a steady and invaluable time-keeper. She and her teammates make Never Never Land a delightful introductory cruise by three remarkably talented young women. ~ Jack Bowers https://www.allaboutjazz.com/never-never-land-diva-jazz-arbors-records-review-by-jack-bowers.php

Personnel: Sherrie Maricle: drums; Tomoko Ohno: piano; Noriko Ueda: bass.

Never Never Land

---

Valentina Casula - This is Always

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1995
File: MP3@224K/s
Time: 52:23
Size: 84,1 MB
Art: Front

( 6:40)  1. I Remember You
( 7:18)  2. My Funny Valentine
( 3:53)  3. Time After Time
( 5:47)  4. Like Someone In Love
( 6:03)  5. I'm A Fool To Want You
( 6:29)  6. My Foolish Heart
( 4:00)  7. But Not Fot Me
(12:09)  8. This Is Always

A native of Sardinia, Valentina Casula is a musician, singer and composer. She also teaches singing and provides musical direction for several plays. She began her musical career with classical studies of oboe, singing and choral conducting in Italy at the National Conservatory of Cagliari and continued her apprenticeship with a jazz formation focusing on singing, saxophone and arrangement in Siena and UMass in the United States.

Settled in Paris since 1993, Valentina has appeared in numerous jazz clubs and festivals as a singer of jazz, world music and contemporary music. Following a first album (1995) paying tribute to trumpet player Chet Baker, Valentina is embarking on a more personal path by completing a project on Keith Jarrett's music alongside Alain Jean Mairie, Gilles Naturel Philippe Soirat and Paolo Fresu .

From 2002 to 2004 she made several tours in duet with the pianist Giovanni Mirabassi. Alternately fascinated by the diversity and richness of popular music as well as the expressiveness of languages, Valentina collaborates with the composer Philippe Kadosch on the show Babeleyes, a project focused on endangered languages.

She then participates in the electro-world Click Here project and performs alongside Dj Click and gypsy musicians from Romania and India in major festivals in Europe as well as in China, Japan, Korea, India and in South Africa. A collaboration that will lead to two albums.

In 2012, Valentina receives the Maria Carta Award in Italy for her international career. Eclectic at the same time and engaged in a real approach around the sound and the voice, Valentina is invested in a work of research around the traditional songs of the world. A true invitation to travel, a bridge built between its origins and unknown lands. This research leads to her current project with guitarist Jean-Luc Roumier and contrabassist Nicola Cossu. This trio offers a repertoire of songs from popular and gypsy culture, arranged and interpreted in twenty different languages.

Valentina Casula is currently preparing the release of the cd "Harom" in which she performs with the Italian pianist Nico Morelli and the Hungarian saxophonist Kristof Bacso a repertoire of compositions and arrangement of traditional Mediterranean themes. https://www.valentinacasula.com/bio

This is Always

---

Anat Cohen - Claroscuro

Styles: Clarinet And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:35
Size: 155,5 MB
Art: Front

(6:46)  1. Anat's Dance
(6:21)  2. La Vie En Rose
(8:51)  3. All Brothers
(6:01)  4. As Rosas Nao Falam
(4:23)  5. Nightmare
(7:41)  6. Tudo Que Voce Podia Ser
(7:44)  7. And The World Weeps
(6:06)  8. Olha Maria
(2:42)  9. Kick Off
(4:45) 10. Um A Zero
(6:10) 11. The Wedding

Art begets art on Anat Cohen's Claroscuro. The Israeli-born, New York-based multi-reedist leaves the confines of Benny Goodman's world behind, following her clarinet-only sojourn into king of swing territory, Clarinetwork: Live At The Village Vanguard (Anzic, 2010), with a wide-ranging musical treatise on the balance between light and dark. Cohen addresses each end of the color spectrum on its own terms during this eleven-song program but, more often than not, plays one off the other within a single performance. She's savvy enough to know that dark doesn't exist without light and that the contrast and marriage between the two is what makes them stand apart. Jason Lindner's "Anat's Dance" opens the program and focuses on Cohen's sunny clarinet work, Lindner's moody piano and the shifting rhythmic terra firma that morphs beneath them. Cohen's bass clarinet connects with Paquito D'Rivera's clarinet as they move over a primal percussion foundation on her "Kick Off, while pan-global rhythmic purpose and open exploration collide on drummer Daniel Freedman's "All Brothers." These prove to be the only originals on this album, but originality resides in every second of music. Cohen delivers her most soulful tenor performance to date on "The Wedding," produces some poignant soprano work at the start of "Tudo Que Voce Podia Ser," and walks a line between seductive and mournful on "As Rosas Nao Falam." She shares a deep and abiding love for choro music with D'Rivera ("Um A Zero"), engages in a Louis Armstrong-based love affair with trombonist/vocalist Wycliffe Gordon ("La Vie En Rose") and calls on her famous Cuban clarinet companion again for a trip through clarinetist Artie Shaw's psychosis-slathered theme song ("Nightmare"). Both men join Cohen on one track, Dr. Lonnie Smith's "And The World Weeps," and the results are electric; the song goes from mannered dirge to bluesy epic in Duke Ellingtonian fashion. Cohen's omnivorous musical persona is well-documented on Notes From The Village (Anzic, 2008), where she jumped from saxophonist John Coltrane and singer Sam Cooke to pianist Fats Waller with ease, and Noir (Anzic, 2007), where she hit a homerun merging "Samba de Orfeu" and "Struttin' With Some Barbeque," but she works the musical diversity concept in a different way on this one. Notes From The Village was pleasing in a hard-to-pin-down way and Noir was fueled by passion, but Claroscuro succeeds on poise and shapeliness. The unrestrained enthusiasm that Cohen beautifully exhibits in other places is replaced here by a more deliberate and controlled balance of highs and lows, ups and downs....and light and dark. Claroscuro is a colorful date that confirms what's already been said about Anat Cohen on numerous occasions: she's one of a kind. ~ Dan Bilawsky https://www.allaboutjazz.com/claroscuro-anat-cohen-anzic-records-review-by-dan-bilawsky.php

Personnel: Anat Cohen: clarinet, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone; Jason Lindner: piano; Joe Martin: bass; Daniel Freedman: drums; Wycliffe Gordon: trombone, vocal; Paquito d’Rivera: clarinet.

Claroscuro

---

Nick Hempton - Catch and Release

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:07
Size: 120,0 MB
Art: Front

(6:27)  1. Hanging for Dear Life
(7:39)  2. Change for a Dollar
(7:32)  3. Target Practice
(5:09)  4. Montauk Mosey
(5:44)  5. The Third Degree
(6:18)  6. Nordberg Suite
(6:23)  7. Catch Up
(6:52)  8. Catch and Release

When it come to music release methods, there's nothing more stubborn or persistent than the single. Music has fallen in and out of love with so many different formats over the years, but the one-song-at-a-time method of digestion has weathered every shift, spat, and alteration that life and technology have thrown at it. In fact, it's stronger than ever in this download and post-download age. So what, pray tell, does that have to do with this album? Everything.  In 2014, saxophonist Nick Hempton decided to use a novel concept to tap into the single-seeking listener base. The premise was a simple and familiar one: release one song at a time. But the twist came with the hit-and-run approach behind these singles. Instead of recording an album's worth of music and dropping one song at a time, each song was an island or an album unto itself. A makeshift studio was put together in New York's Smalls Jazz Club on multiple occasions. Then Hempton and company would have a midday session where they would record a single song, later to be mixed and sent on its way all by its lonesome. Each and every part of the process was documented for all to see on a blog. The whole thing was dubbed the "Catch and Release Experiment," and it produced a good number of strong performances that existed as completely separate entities. Now, in a reversal of strategy, Hempton is catering to the album-loving crowd by bundling all of these pieces together on CD. The album opens on the hip "Hanging For Life," a casual swinger that downshifts for a spell before returning to its original feel. Then Hempton welcomes guest tenor saxophonist Jerry Weldon to the party for the lively, bop-leaning "Change For A Dollar." The band sounds tight, the two saxophonists have a chance to bat things around with traded solos, pianist Tadataka Unno gets a chance to shine, and the multiple winks at "Laura" are a smile-inducing cherry on top. Then there's "Target Practice," a number in three that gives drummer Dan Aran a little space to shine; "Montauk Mosey," which finds Hempton and guest pianist Rosanno Sportiello working in a wonderfully relaxed vein together; the Peter Bernstein-enhanced "The Third Degree," a Latin-inflected winner that would've felt right at home on a '60s Blue Note album; and "Nordberg Suite," a cheery, drummer-less small group number that brings trumpeter Bruce Harris into the mix.

The final two pieces on the album dispense with the guests and focus on a core quartet of Hempton, Aran, pianist Jeremy Manasia, and bassist Dave Baron. Together they shift from uncertain terrain to a Coltrane-ish blues feel in five on "Catch Up" before closing out the album with the energetic title track. While this was initially a single-centric project, Catch And Release makes a very favorable impression as a full album. When you consider the facts these tracks were each recorded at different times, personnel changed from number to number, engineer Andrew Swift had to basically rebuild a studio setup each time Hempton wanted to record you start to realize that this could've turned out to be an incredibly inconsistent release in terms of sound quality, vibe, and group dynamics. But it isn't. Hempton's vision and leadership, Swift's skills on the recording side, and the talented individuals on these tracks all help to make Catch And Release a solid and satisfying listen from start to finish. ~ Dan Bilawsky https://www.allaboutjazz.com/catch-and-release-nick-hempton-self-produced-review-by-dan-bilawsky.php

Personnel: Nick Hempton: saxophones; Dan Aran: drums; Dave Baron: bass; Tadataka Unno: piano (1-3); Jeremy Manasia: piano (5-8); Jerry Weldon: tenor saxophone (2); Rossano Sportiello: piano (4); Peter Bernstein: guitar (5); Bruce Harris: trumpet (6).

Catch and Release

---