Bing Crosby - Bing Sings The Johnny Mercer Songbook

Styles: Vocal, American Popular Song, Swing
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:40
Size: 142,8 MB
Art: Front

(2:10)  1. P.S. I Love You - 1934 Version
(2:39)  2. I'm An Old Cowhand (From The Rio Grande) - Single Version
(3:06)  3. Too Marvelous For Words - Single Version
(2:54)  4. You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby - Single Version
(2:12)  5. Day In, Day Out
(3:00)  6. I Thought About You
(2:40)  7. Mister Meadowlark
(2:56)  8. Skylark
(3:12)  9. Blues In The Night
(2:47) 10. That Old Black Magic
(3:12) 11. On The Atchison, Topeka And The Santa Fe - Single Version
(2:41) 12. Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive - Single Version
(2:56) 13. Lazy Bones
(2:49) 14. Autumn Leaves
(2:01) 15. In The Cool Cool Cool Of The Evening
(3:34) 16. Jamboree Jones
(3:06) 17. When The World Was Young (Ah, The Apple Trees)
(2:48) 18. Glow Worm
(2:01) 19. Jeepers Creepers
(3:20) 20. And the Angels Sing
(1:59) 21. Something's Gotta Give
(3:26) 22. P.S. I Love You - 1953 Version

Bing Crosby was a media superstar during the first half of the 20th century. He was the best-selling recording artist of all time until the rock era hit, having sold over a half-billion records, and he was a movie star, too, the biggest box office draw of the 1940s. None of this would have been possible if he couldn't sing, but he could, defining the very template of a crooner, and his vocal style, warm and natural, was influential everywhere. Crosby had a particular fondness for songs by Johnny Mercer, his friend and frequent collaborator, and he tracked 100 or so of them during his long career. 

This generous set collects 22 of these recordings on a single disc, including several previously unreleased radio performances, and fun duets with the Andrews Sisters, Louis Armstrong, and Mercer himself, among other valuable archival gems. ~ Steve Leggett https://www.allmusic.com/album/bing-sings-the-johnny-mercer-songbook-mw0002570937

Bing Sings The Johnny Mercer Songbook

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Tex Beneke - 1946 Live In Hi-Fi At The Hollywood Palladium

Styles: Jazz, Big Band
Year: 1946/2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:06
Size: 126,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:02)  1. Introduction / Jeep Jockey Jump
(3:30)  2. Falling Leaves
(3:13)  3. A String Of Pearls
(2:44)  4. Here We Go Again
(2:37)  5. Sun Valley Jump
(2:43)  6. Troop Movement
(3:22)  7. Juke Box Saturday Night
(3:53)  8. Anvil Chorus
(3:08)  9. The Volga Boatmen
(3:13) 10. Serenade In Blue
(5:02) 11. Meadowlands
(3:17) 12. Tuxedo Junction
(3:17) 13. St. Louis Blues
(3:20) 14. American Patrol
(3:00) 15. Texas Tex
(3:36) 16. I Hear You Screamin' / Closing

1946 Live in Hi-Fi at the Hollywood Palladium features some fine broadcast remotes from the post-war Glenn Miller Orchestra when it was being fronted by Tex Beneke. Tex was not the first leader to pilot the Miller organization after the major disappeared forever over the English Channel; Jerry Gray performed the unenviable task of filling the big man's shoes in Miller's AEF Band while it was still overseas. When Gray obtained his honorary discharge in November 1945 he decided to take a well-deserved break from the strain of being Glenn Miller's stand-in. Miller's widow, Helen, contacted Beneke, himself only recently discharged from a stint leading a Navy dance band at the unlikely location of Norman, OK, and asked him to take up the job of leading a new Miller "civilian" orchestra. Beneke was an interesting choice; Miller himself had fired him from the civilian orchestra on July 12, 1942. But of all the star soloists and singers who'd appeared with Miller over the years, it was clear that Beneke was the one the public recognized and cherished the most. So in January 1946, the new Glenn Miller Orchestra opened with Beneke at its head, and he would stay in this job through the end of 1949 when he finally decided he was fed up with the Miller Orchestra's management and their policy not to update or change anything about the band's sound. The Hollywood Palladium was one of the Beneke-Miller band's friendliest venues; they first played there on September 5, 1946. In what may have been the last blast of the big-band era, a December 1947 Beneke-Miller show at the Palladium drew a record crowd of more than 6,000 souls. Many of Beneke's appearances with the new Glenn Miller Orchestras of the late '40s were broadcast as remotes on the CBS network. 

These broadcasts have never been properly accounted for or identified, but they seem to survive in great numbers, and have been parceled out in bits and pieces over the years on LPs and through dissemination on tapes in the Old Time Radio underground. This disc claims to represent "the band's first engagement at the Hollywood Palladium in 1946," but it is obviously drawn from at least six or seven remotes, and it is impossible to tell if they are all from the Hollywood Palladium or even all from the year 1946. If some are, then the pianist in the band was 22-year-old Henry Mancini, although the only evidence of his presence is a little piano tinkling heard here and there in quiet passages. Nonetheless this is a choice selection of Beneke-Miller goodies, most played with real verve and fire with only a couple of exceptions, for example a tentative reading of "Tuxedo Junction." Standout tracks include great, swinging performances of "St. Louis Blues March" and rarities such as "Jeep Jockey Jump" and "Troop Movement." The broadcasts used here probably are pretty early due to the heavy reliance on numbers written for the band's book by Jerry Gray. "Meadowlands" is identical to the piece recorded as "Russian Patrol" on the last-known broadcast done by the Miller AEF Band during Miller's own lifetime, on that occasion led by Gray. The sound here varies from source to source, but generally is very good for broadcasts of the period, though not quite "Hi-Fi" as promised on the front cover. There are little bits and pieces missing here and there from certain tracks, perhaps due to imperfections in the sources, but just as likely the result of over-eager "tic" removal. The whole ending of "Falling Leaves" is swallowed up for some reason. About a minute's worth of "Moonlight Serenade" is heard at the end of the disc, but mention of it appears nowhere in the notes. Despite these admittedly minor complaints, 1946 Live in Hi-Fi at the Hollywood Palladium is well worth seeking out, and is a pleasing general representation of the live sound of the immediate post-war Glenn Miller band. ~ Uncle Dave Lewis https://www.allmusic.com/album/1946-live-in-hi-fi-at-the-hollywood-palladium-mw0000055438

1946 Live In Hi-Fi At The Hollywood Palladium

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Grachan Moncur III Octet - Exploration

Styles: Trombone Jazz
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:04
Size: 124,7 MB
Art: Front

(8:11)  1. Exploration
(5:26)  2. Monk In Wonderland
(8:48)  3. Love And Hate
(9:54)  4. New Africa
(7:34)  5. When?
(6:59)  6. Frankenstein
(2:55)  7. Excursion
(4:13)  8. Sonny's Back!

Ralph Ellison once wrote a great essay in which he seemed to predict jazz's ultimate dependence on a music industry driven (and subsidized) by a star system. The irony, Ellison suggested, is that jazz is largely created by anonymous musicians, who because they are "devoted to an art which traditionally thrives on improvisation [...] very often have their most original ideas enter the public domain almost as rapidly as they are conceived to be quickly absorbed into the thought and technique of their fellows." There is a bittersweet implication here as if it's somehow nobler to be an unknown, poverty-stricken musician, and as if becoming a jazz celebrity inevitably involves selling out. But I don't know if you could convince trombonist and composer Grachan Moncur of either of these propositions. Though he may agree that the star system is a horrible invention, he recently had the opportunity to reestablish his own reputation, and I can almost hear him thanking [insert the deity of your choice here] for that. After all, until this chance came along, Moncur was coming very close to total obscurity and from what I can tell, he wasn't enjoying it, materially or philosophically. In the '60s, he had been a participant and leader in several stellar Blue Note sessions (now collected on a Mosaic box set), but he more or less hadn't been heard from again until, well, last year. Why? It could be that his (smart) impulse to control his own publishing rights got him blacklisted by the Blue Note big wigs. Or maybe that blacklisting had something to do with his turn toward the avant-garde. Or perhaps it was something else altogether something even more painful (see Fred Jung's AAJ interview with Moncur for several moving allusions). 

In any case, here at last is one of the rewards of a jazz culture that has become downright curatorial in recent years (a fact sometimes too-quickly decried by those of us who prefer our music in the clubs): at least we're starting to value the contributions of lesser-known veterans. To be sure, Moncur's new album, Exploration, is markedly different from his '60s output. Here, he is dealing with a much larger ensemble (an octet featuring such varied personages as Gary Smulyan, Billy Harper, and Andrew Cyrille), for which Mark Masters' compelling, dense arrangements are perfectly suited. True to its name, Exploration is not a simple repackaging of Moncur's work, but, rather, a sincere statement of artistic growth (a noble thing any age, but particularly when you're in your late 60s). A brief summary: "New Africa" is a gorgeous suite whose creation was apparently assisted by Moncur's wife, Tamam. "Sonny's Back" weighs in on the "almost-bop" side of things and is named after Moncur's friend, Sonny Rollins. And speaking of friends in high places, Moncur's signature tune ("Monk in Wonderland") is named after another fellow traveler (you-know-who), who I suspect is his biggest influence. (I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the amazing alto solo on this tune, incidentally. Thanks, Gary Bartz.) "Love and Hate" is strangely named; it sounds like all love to me (slow, mellow, sweet). And for the hardcore fan, "Excursion" is a more or less totally free several minutes. I could go on, but you get the idea. Bottom line: welcome back, Grachan. We missed you. ~ Andrew Durkin https://www.allaboutjazz.com/grachan-moncur-iii-exploration-by-andrew-durkin.php

Personnel: Personnel: Grachan Moncur III, trombone; Mark Masters, arrangements; Tim Hagans, trumpet; John Clark, French Horn; Dave Woodley, trombone; Gary Bartz, alto sax; Billy Harper, tenor sax; Gary Smulyan, baritone sax; Ray Drummond, bass; Andrew Cyrille, drums.

Exploration

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Don Ellis - Live in India

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:23
Size: 157,0 MB
Art: Front

(13:00)  1. Fine Line
( 6:26)  2. TR'S Theme
( 7:16)  3. Storyville
(12:26)  4. Open Wide
( 8:40)  5. Dark Curved Eyebrows
(10:47)  6. Desire
( 9:46)  7. Image of Maria

A talented trumpeter with a vivid musical imagination and the willingness to try new things, Don Ellis led some of the most colorful big bands of the 1965-75 period. After graduating from Boston University, Ellis played in the big bands of Ray McKinley, Charlie Barnet, and Maynard Ferguson (he was featured with the latter on "Three More Foxes"), recorded with Charles Mingus, and played with George Russell's sextet (at the same time as Eric Dolphy). Ellis led four quartet and trio sessions during 1960-1962 for Candid, New Jazz, and Pacific Jazz, mixing together bop, free jazz, and his interest in modern classical music. However it was in 1965 when he put together his first orchestra that he really started to make an impression in jazz. Ellis's big bands were distinguished by their unusual instrumentation (which in its early days had up to three bassists and three drummers including Ellis himself), the leader's desire to investigate unusual time changes (including 7/8, 9/8, and even 15/16), its occasionally wacky humor (highlighted by an excess of false endings), and an openness towards using rock rhythms and (in later years) electronics. Ellis invented the four-valve trumpet and utilized a ring modulator and all types of wild electronic devices by the late '60s. By 1971, his band consisted of an eight-piece brass section (including French horn and tuba), a four-piece woodwind section, a string quartet, and a two-drum rhythm section. A later unrecorded edition even added a vocal quartet. Among Don Ellis's sidemen were Glenn Ferris, Tom Scott, John Klemmer, Sam Falzone, Frank Strozier, Dave MacKay, and the brilliant pianist (straight from Bulgaria) Milcho Leviev. The orchestra's most memorable recordings were Autumn, Live at the Fillmore, and Tears of Joy (all for Columbia). After suffering a mid-'70s heart attack, Ellis returned to live performing, playing the "superbone" and a later edition of his big band featured Art Pepper. Ellis's last recording was at the 1977 Montreux Jazz Festival, a year before his heart finally gave out. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/artist/don-ellis-mn0000180060/biography

Personnel:  Trumpet – Don Ellis; Bass – Leon Gaer; Drums – Dave Crigger; Piano – Randy Kerber; Voice – Emilie Diehl

Live in India

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Teri Thornton - Sings Open Highway

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1963
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:06
Size: 134,5 MB
Art: Front

(2:52)  1. Open Highway (Route 66 Theme)
(4:21)  2. This Is All I Ask
(3:12)  3. Baby, Won't You Please Come Home
(2:21)  4. You Don't Know
(3:35)  5. Seems Like Old Times
(2:49)  6. Where Are You Running
(2:00)  7. Everytime I Think About You
(3:48)  8. The Day I Stop Lovin' You
(4:03)  9. Goodbye Is a Lonesome Sound
(3:31) 10. Music, Maestro, Please
(3:48) 11. Born to Be Blue
(2:49) 12. You
(2:53) 13. Why Don't You Love Me
(2:23) 14. Won't Someone Please Belong to Me
(2:46) 15. Where Are You Love?
(2:00) 16. To Remember You By
(2:29) 17. Cold, Cold Heart
(2:22) 18. Either Way I Lose
(2:55) 19. The Secret Life

Teri Thornton was a jazz singer on her way at the time of this album's original release; but she plummeted into a world of drug addiction and didn't record another release for nearly 35 years, shortly before her death in 2000 from cancer. Her attractive, rich voice is a highlight of this CD reissue, which has seven additional tracks evidently recorded for a planned follow-up that never saw the light of day. Sadly, this release is plagued by inconsistency in the choice of material and the rather dated arrangements of conductor Larry Wilcox, which make this release seem targeted more to the easy listening crowd. There are relatively few standards present, though her warm rendition of "This Is All I Ask" and the very jazzy (and thankfully string-free) take of "Baby, Won't You Please Come Home," with its almost conversational rejoinders from Clark Terry's muted trumpet, are highlights of the release, while "Born to be Blue" has some of the best orchestral writing on the date. She delves into a Ray Charles-like R&B vein with the campy "Every Time I Think About You" and the uneven ballad "The Day I Stopped Loving You." Nelson Riddle's "Open Highway" (the theme to the television series Route 66) seems like it might have had potential, but the overwhelming strings and Bobby Scott's monotonous piano don't stand the test of time. Particularly disappointing are the lack of solo opportunities for the strong supporting cast (Joe Newman, Ernie Royal, Eddie Bert, Jerry Dodgion, Kai Winding, and Billy Byers) on eight of the first dozen tracks. The additional material has little to recommend it, as most of the songs are extremely forgettable, especially the a hokey treatment of country singer Hank Williams' "Cold, Cold Heart," complete with syrupy strings and corny backing vocals. ~ Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/open-highway-mw0000586673

Sings Open Highway

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Dick Sisto - Spirit of Life

Styles: Vibraphone Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:28
Size: 144,6 MB
Art: Front

(5:04)  1. Angelica
(3:53)  2. Heavan
(4:04)  3. Rain Check
(5:12)  4. Lotus Blossom
(3:38)  5. Don't You Know I Care
(3:58)  6. Ninety-Nine Per Cent
(8:04)  7. Wise One
(5:55)  8. Dear Lord
(6:10)  9. After the Rain
(4:47) 10. Equinox
(6:37) 11. Acknowledgment
(5:00) 12. Resolution

Dick began studying the vibes in Grammar school with marimba master Jose Bethancourt of the Chicago Symphony. He attended Notre Dame H.S., which also produced pianists Jim McNeely, Al Pheeney and trombonist James Pankow. While there he was awarded "best soloist" at the state competition. He attended North Texas State Univ. for one year and took a quartet to the Collegiate Jazz Festival where he was judged, "an excellent player" by Julian "Cannonball" Adderley.( see Press Clips ) The following year he attended Northwestern Univ. playing in the lab band as a soloist along side David Sanborn. He left Northwestern to form The Quartet Four with drummer Maurice White, who later founded Earth, Wind and Fire. After moving to northern California in the 70's Sisto recorded with guitarist Jerry Hahn, drummer George Marsh, saxophonist Rich Fudoli, and pianist composer Bill 'Allaudin' Mathieu on Tom Buckner's ground breaking album entitled Ghost Opera. He receieved a California Arts Council Grant, composing and performing music for the poetry of Gary Snyder and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. He relocated to Louisville Kentucky and played clubs and festivals throughout the midwest including The Jazz Showcase and the Green Mill in Chicago as well as The Jazz Kitchen In Indianapolis and the Blue Wisp in Cincinnatti . He has toured Great Britain five times, where he played prominent venues including the Pizza Express in London, where he received rave reviews. A few of the musicians he performed at Jazz Festivals with are Milt Hinton, David "Fathead' Newman, Willie Pickens, Ira Sullivan, Fred Hersch and Barry Ries. As music director of the famous Seelbach Hotel (as seen in films The Hustler and The Insider), Sisto's trio worked with numerous players including Joe Morello, Joe and Pat Labarbera, Kevin Mahagony. 

Bobby Shew, Fred Hersch, Drew Gress, Barry Ries, Bob Shephard, David Hazeltine, Rufus Reid, Bobby Broom, Dave Samuels, Rich Perry, Andy LaVerne, Walt Weiskoff and many others including gigs with guitarists Larry Koonse in LA and Ben Monder in NYC. Sisto has given clinics and master classes throughout the U.S. including the Univ. of N. Texas, Queens College in N.Y. and at Leigh Howard Stephen's World Vibe Congress in Asbury Pk. New Jersey. He is the author of the popular Jazz Vibraphone Book, which is used as a text in many schools and has been the Vibraphone teacher at the Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshops for many years. He is a Musser vibraphone artist and has two Signature mallet models with Mike Balter Mallets. As the host of two long-running Public Radio shows for the Louisville Public Media NPR affiliate station, Sisto has interviewed and performed with Phil Woods, Toots Thielmans, Fred Hersch, Kenny Werner , Don Braden, Barry Ries, Rufus Reid, Bob Bodley and many of the others mentioned in other contexts. He has recorded four CD's with Fred Hersch, Drew Gress, Tom Rainey, Kenny Werner, Barry Ries, Bobby Broom, Dennis Irwin, Jim Anderson and Mike Hyman. All the releases received heavy national airplay and were "charted". After releasing American Love Song he was signed with Atlantic Records just before their demise. Sisto appears as a sideman on several albums including Mark Colby's tribute to Stan Getz. The original music on the CD Soul Searching was used as the sound track for the DVD documentary of the same name about the life of the monk, writer Thomas Merton, whom Sisto knew in the 60's. The DVD has been aired several times on PBS. His wife Penny is the internationally acclaimed fabric artist and son Jeremy is the accomplished actor of stage and screen. http://www.dicksisto.com/bio.asp

Spirit of Life

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Urbie Green - 'Round Midnight

Styles: Trombone Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 32:19
Size: 74,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:23)  1. Round Midnight
(2:32)  2. Baby, Won't You Please Come Home
(2:39)  3. Cherokee
(3:15)  4. Dinner For One, Please James
(3:23)  5. Home, Cradle Of Happiness
(3:33)  6. I Ain't Got Nobody
(3:27)  7. I Won't Dance
(3:16)  8. It Must Be True
(3:39)  9. Let's Face The Music And Dance
(3:08) 10. Little John

A fine jazz player with a beautiful tone who has spent most of his career in the studios, Urbie Green is highly respected by his fellow trombonists. He started playing when he was 12; was with the big bands of Tommy Reynolds, Bob Strong, and Frankie Carle as a teenager; and worked with Gene Krupa during 1947-1950. Green had a stint with Woody Herman's Third Herd, appeared on some of the famous Buck Clayton jam sessions (1953-1954), and was with Benny Goodman off and on during 1955-1957. He played with Count Basie in 1963, and spent a period in the 1960s fronting the Tommy Dorsey ghost band (1966-1967), but has mostly stuck to studio work. Urbie Green recorded frequently as a leader in the 1950s up to 1963 (for Blue Note, Vanguard, Bethlehem, ABC-Paramount, and dance band-oriented records for RCA and Command). He has appeared much less often in jazz settings since then, but did make two albums for CTI in 1976-1977. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/artist/urbie-green-mn0000300013/biography

'Round Midnight

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Dick Hyman & Ruby Braff - Manhattan Jazz

Styles: Piano And Cornet Jazz
Year: 1984
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:43
Size: 101,5 MB
Art: Front

(2:44)  1. Jubilee
(3:26)  2. You're Lucky to Me
(7:13)  3. The Man I Love/How Long Has This Been Going On/He Loves and She Loves
(3:20)  4. I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby, and My Baby's Crazy 'Bout Me
(3:14)  5. Some Day You'll Be Sorry
(4:58)  6. Don't Worry About Me
(4:01)  7. Jeepers Creepers
(4:40)  8. I'm Just Wild About Harry
(6:55)  9. The Man That Got Away/If I Only Had A Brain/Over The Rainbow
(3:06) 10. Blues for John W.

Every duet album by pianist Dick Hyman and cornetist Ruby Braff is magical. The pair of distinctive musicians always seem to react immediately to each other and they consistently play highly expressive versions of prebop standards. This outing has its memorable moments and is highlighted by "Jubilee," "You're Lucky to Me," "I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby" and "Jeepers Creepers"; Hyman takes "I'm Just Wild About Harry" as an unaccompanied solo. The CD is easily recommended to mainstream collectors. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/manhattan-jazz-mw0000197685

Personnel:  Dick Hyman - piano; Ruby Braff - cornet.

Manhattan Jazz

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Chris Connor - Sings Ballads Of The Sad Cafe

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:46
Size: 87,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:37)  1. These Foolish Things
(3:14)  2. Bargain Day
(3:48)  3. The End Of A Love Affair
(3:30)  4. Glad To Be Unhappy
(5:00)  5. Ballad Of The Sad Cafe
(4:23)  6. Good Morning Heartache
(4:27)  7. Something I Dreamed Last Night
(4:51)  8. Lilac Wine
(4:52)  9. One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)

Chris Connor uses several different musical settings for this album of torch songs, but the main distinction is between the arrangements that employ strings, such as "The End of a Love Affair," and those that use horns, such as "Bargain Day." The backgrounds color Connor's vocal interpretations, and she often interacts with the musicians, notably with flautist Eddy Jaspar in "These Foolish Things," a virtual duet. But her primary goal is to render the lyrics with a combination of precision and emotional distance. In this sense, the heart of the album is "Glad to Be Unhappy," which Connor begins by singing the rarely heard introductory verse, then gives musical coloration to by varying the notes at the end of each line. The listener is not meant to believe the emotions the lyrics describe, but rather to savor them along with the singer. Charles DeForest's "Ballad of the Sad Café," which takes nothing but its title from Carson McCullers' popular 1951 novella, is nevertheless literary in its descriptions of lonely people, and Connor, again through note alteration, gives it a reading that puts it at a further emotional remove. The trick, of course, is that the singer's posture puts her in an even darker position than that of the songwriters; at least they are still feeling something, while she seems to be so far from love that she is denying all feeling. And in that denial, her torch burns all the brighter. ~ William Rulhmann https://www.allmusic.com/album/sings-ballads-of-the-sad-cafe-mw0000478244  

Personnel:  Vocals – Chris Connor; Alto Saxophone – Marshall Royal, Phil Woods; Baritone Saxophone – Charlie Fowlkes; Bass – Don Payne, Eddie Jones; Cello [Violoncello] – Dave Soyer, Maurice Brown; Conductor, Arranged By – Ralph Sharon; Drums – Billy Exiner, Ed Shaughnessy, Sonny Payne; Flute – Bobby Jaspar; Guitar – Barry Galbraith, Freddie Green, Kenny Burrell; Piano – Stan Free ; Reeds [Saxes] – Bobby Jaspar, Jerry Sanfino, Morton Lewis, Stan Webb, Steve Perlow Tenor Saxophone – Frank Foster, Seldon Powell; Trombone – Al Grey, Eddie Bert, Frank Rehak, Dick Hixon, Wayne Andre,  Willie Dennis; Trumpet – Donald Byrd, Ernie Royal, Harry Edison, Joe Newman, Snooky Young; Viola – Dave Markowitz, Isadore Zir; Violin – Gene Orloff, George Ockner, Harry Katzman, Harry Melnikoff, Harry Urbont, Leo Kruczek, Mac Ceppos, Ray Free, Sam Rand, Sylvan Shulman, Tosha Samaroff;

Sings Ballads Of The Sad Cafe

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Harry Connick, Jr. - Occasion

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:04
Size: 150,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:40)  1. Brown World
(5:13)  2. Valentine's Day
(3:00)  3. Occasion
(5:56)  4. Spot
(5:05)  5. I Like Love More
(5:56)  6. All Things
(6:03)  7. Win
(4:10)  8. Virgoid
(7:07)  9. Remember The Tarpon
(5:50) 10. Lose
(3:15) 11. Steve Lacy
(2:16) 12. Chanson Du Vieux Carre
(6:25) 13. Good To Be Home

While singer/pianist Harry Connick Jr.'s opening performance at this year's Ottawa International Jazz Festival was entertaining in a lightweight kind of way, his two shows the following evening were the most revealing. On this world premiere, and two of only three live performances with his lifelong friend, saxophonist Branford Marsalis, Connick debuted material from Occasion: Connick on Piano 2, an even greater departure from his more widely-accepted crooner image than his '03 Marsalis Music release, Other Hours: Connick on Piano 1. Other Hours was a solid showcase for Connick as a pianist and composer in a group context, but Occasion puts him in the more inherently risky environment of the duo, where there's no safety net and both players are completely exposed. Recorded over three days earlier this year, it was originally intended to combine a handful of duet recordings with Marsalis with whom Connick has played on occasion over the years, most recently on Marsalis' Romare Bearden Revealed with a series of solo piano pieces. But the bond between the two players was so strong that Connick supplemented the pieces brought to the session with further writing done on the fly, and Marsalis ultimately contributed two pieces of his own the appropriately titled "Steve Lacy and the more traditionally-informed title track. 

It's often said that a player's personality is reflected in their music, and when I had the opportunity to see Connick in performance with Marsalis, his levity and often dry humour were in clear evidence throughout. Refreshingly, Connick's roots aren't in the post-Evans school of musical thought; rather, he comes directly and equally from the idiosyncratically irreverent Thelonious Monk and the behind-the-beat stride work of Erroll Garner. While Connick is capable of elegance and delicacy, as he demonstrates on the poignant "I Like Love More, a touch of classical influence on "Valentine's Day, and even a certain degree of abstraction on the dark-hued "Chanson Du Vieux Carre, he's generally more disposed towards a weightier but never overbearing touch. You can almost hear his New Orleans drawl on the bluesy "Good to Be Home and the modernized ragtime of "Spot. As in their live performance, the simpatico between Connick and Marsalis is palpable. Marsalis, always a versatile player, demonstrates a different side to his own roots on "Win and "Lose, which are two sides of the same coin sharing a theme but demonstrating just how far apart two takes on essentially the same piece can be. While Marsalis remains perhaps closer to the centre than in his own work, his ability to play tag team with Connick results in a surprising unpredictability throughout. During the first Ottawa show, Connick bemoaned how he's always wanted to be the pianist in Branford's band. Occasion may not make a strong case for him in that context, but it certainly presents a picture of him as a far more diversely capable player than fans of his crooner material and even his previous instrumental albums could possibly imagine. ~ John Kelman https://www.allaboutjazz.com/occasion-connick-on-piano-2-harry-connick-jr-marsalis-music-review-by-john-kelman.php

Personnel: Harry Connick Jr. (piano); Branford Marsalis (tenor and soprano saxophones)

Occasion

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Rob McConnell Tentet - Music of the Twenties

Styles: Trombone Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:44
Size: 165,4 MB
Art: Front

(8:53)  1. Thou Swell
(6:26)  2. Remember
(8:49)  3. Lover, Come Back to Me
(5:19)  4. Can't We Be Friends
(5:43)  5. Always
(6:12)  6. I Can't Believe That You're in Love With Me
(7:54)  7. Indian Summer/Summertime
(6:54)  8. How Long Has This Been Going On
(4:13)  9. You Do Something to Me
(7:33) 10. With a Song in My Heart
(3:44) 11. What I'll Do

To anyone who may be wondering why Rob McConnell would devote an entire album to music that is almost eight decades old, all I can say is, “listen.” Not only don’t they write ‘em like that anymore, they almost never play ‘em this way either. Irving Berlin, Rodgers and Hart, the Gershwins, Cole Porter, Victor Herbert, Sigmund Romberg, Jimmy McHugh and other legendary Tin Pan Alley tunesmiths have seldom sounded fresher or more fashionable than in this dazzling tour de force by McConnell’s spectacular Tentet, thanks on the one hand to Rob’s bright and imaginative arrangements (and one by Rick Wilkins) and on the other to the ensemble’s scintillating performance. Almost everyone in the all-star Tentet is showcased on at least one number, and everyone gets into the solo act on the hot-blooded opener, Rodgers and Hart’s “Thou Swell” (from A Connecticut Yankee, 1927). “I’ve often wondered how I could feature everyone in this band on one number,” Rob writes. “This is the answer.” And what an answer it is, with McConnell’s nimble valve trombone pointing the way toward shimmering solos by all hands. R&H are also represented by “With a Song in My Heart” (1929; solos by tenor Mike Murley, pianist Dave Restivo), Berlin by “Remember” (1925; chart by Wilkins, solos by Restivo and bassist Steve Wallace), “Always” (1925; featuring Guido Basso, flugelhorn) and “What’ll I Do” (1924; Steve McDade, trumpet). Alto P.J. 

Perry is the headliner on Romberg’s mercurial “Lover Come Back to Me” (1928). Trombonist Terry Promane softly caresses the melody and Murley solos on the Gershwins’ “How Long Has This Been Going On” (1927), while McConnell and Restivo are the main men on McHugh’s “I Can’t Believe That You’re in Love with Me” (1926), tenor Alex Dean and drummer Terry Clarke on Porter’s “You Do Something to Me” (1929). Romberg’s carefree “Indian Summer” (1929) is briefly paired with the only song that doesn’t date from the ‘20s, “Summertime,” written in 1935 by George and Ira Gershwin, DuBose Heyward and Dorothy Fields for the folk opera Porgy and Bess. The soloists are Dean and Wallace (“Indian Summer”) and Basso (muted on “Summertime”). “I decided,” says Rob, “that a small tribute to Miles Davis and Gil Evans with a bit of ‘Summertime’ at the end [of ‘Indian Summer’] would be OK.” And indeed it is. That covers everything except the loosely swinging Kay Swift / Paul James standard from 1929, “Can’t We Be Friends,” on which McConnell states the melody and Wallace is the featured soloist. About the only decision one has to make when listening to McConnell’s Tentet (as was true of the late and grievously lamented Boss Brass) is, which is more impressive, Rob’s arrangements or the ensemble itself? And as is always the case, the “competition” has to be ruled a draw. When all is said and done, it’s simply impossible to choose between perfect and flawless. One thing is sure, and that is that whenever McConnell and his ensemble come together to record, there is more musical talent in that one studio than in all the rock bands in the universe. No matter what the era, the Rob McConnell Tentet makes every song truly irresistible. Another clear-cut winner. ~ Jack Bowers https://www.allaboutjazz.com/music-of-the-twenties-rob-mcconnell-tentet-review-by-jack-bowers.php

Personnel: Rob McConnell, Terry Promane, trombone; Guido Basso, Steve McDade, trumpet, flugelhorn; P.J. Perry, alto sax; Mike Murley, Alex Dean, tenor sax; Dave Restivo, piano; Steve Wallace, bass; Terry Clarke, drums.

Music of the Twenties

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Danny Barker - Save The Bones

Styles: New Orleans Jazz
Year: 1988
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 33:19
Size: 76,6 MB
Art: Front

(2:22)  1. Ham & Eggs
(3:03)  2. Save The Bones
(2:55)  3. Bill Bailey
(3:26)  4. I'm A Cowboy
(2:51)  5. Hard Hearted Hannah (The Vamp Of Savannah)
(2:30)  6. Nevertheless (I'm In Love With You)
(3:38)  7. You Got The Right Key But The Wrong Keyhole
(4:07)  8. St. James Infirmary
(3:47)  9. You Gotta Get Yourself A Job Girl
(2:31) 10. Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out
(2:03) 11. When You're Smiling

Veteran guitarist Danny Barker made a countless number of sessions through a five-decade period as a sideman, but only two full-length dates as a leader. This CD is quite definitive, for Barker is heard singing and playing guitar unaccompanied on a variety of ancient standards and obscurities. Barker's version of "St. James Infirmary" (which contains many of his own lyrics and asides) is classic. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/save-the-bones-mw0000269788

Personnel:  Guitar, Vocals – Danny Barker; Producer, Backing Vocals – Carlo Ditta

Save The Bones

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Wynton Marsalis - Big Train & The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra

Styles: Trumpet Jazz, Big Band
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:50
Size: 122,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:48)  1. All Aboard
(5:05)  2. Observation Car
(5:52)  3. Union Pacific Big Boy
(5:08)  4. Smokestack Shuffle
(2:50)  5. Northbound-Southbound
(2:23)  6. Dining Car
(2:24)  7. Night Train
(6:38)  8. Engine
(3:50)  9. Bullet Train
(3:27) 10. Sleeper Car
(2:10) 11. Station Call
(7:08) 12. The Caboose

All Aboard. In keeping with the Duke Ellington precedence, Wynton Marsalis has been composing longer and longer jazz pieces, music that approximates suites. Starting with The Majesty of the Blues (Columbia, 1989) and proceeding through Blue Interlude (Columbia, 1992), Citi Movement (Columbia, 1993), In This House, On This Morning (Columbia, 1994), Jump Start and Jazz (Columbia, 1997), and the Pulitzer Prize winning Blood on the Fields (Columbia 1997). Add to this list Big Train. Big Train is perhaps Marsalis most cogent and consistent composition in the suite genre. It is precisely composed and performed. Happy Go Lucky Special. The overwhelming influence here is Ellington. The rhythm of this disc is saturated with his unique saxophone express. What Marsalis brings to the mix is a more judicious use of space and the rhythm section. Ellington may never have written a note that was not necessary, but his compositions are busy pieces, even if blindingly brilliant. Marsalis, through the LCJO's rhythm section sets up an easy rhythm, sometimes chugging, sometimes walking, always propelling forward. If you find that hard to believe, compare "Union Pacific Big Boy,"Northbound-Southbound," and "Engine." But Ellington is not the only influence. "Smokestack Shuffle" is as much a Thelonious Monk piece as is "Friday the 13th." This disc is also quite instrument specific. As typical of a Marsalis composition, the listener is drowning in plunger-muted brass. Always a fan of the clarinet, Marsalis has written a good deal of clarinet into this piece with all of his reed players contributing on clarinet. This is a fun ride. The Big Train Reprise. Big Train is the fourth installment in the eight volume Swinging into the 21st Century set. It continues the provocatively creative trend that Marsalis has begun with the release of his Standards Volume 5 collection of Monk tunes. Marsalis is (not so) quietly creating a body of work within traditional jazz that should endure the future nicely. ~ C.Michael Bailey https://www.allaboutjazz.com/big-train-wynton-marsalis-columbia-records-review-by-c-michael-bailey.php?width=1920

Personnel: Wynton Marsalis: Trumpet and Director; Seneca Black: Trumpet; Ryan Kisor: Trumpet; Marcus Printup: Trumpet; Riley Mullins: Trumpet; Wayne Goodman: Trombone; Wycliffe Gordon: Trombone, Tuba; Ronald Westray: Trombone; Wessell Anderson: Alto and Sopranino Saxophone, Clarinet; Ted Nash: Alto and Soprano Saxophones, Piccolo, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Flute; Walter Blanding, Jr.: Tenor, Alto, and Soprano Saxophones, Clarinet; Victor Goines: Tenor, Alto, and Soprano Saxophones, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet; Joe Temperley: Baritone Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, Soprano Saxophone; Farid Barron: Piano; Rodney Whitaker: Bass; Herlin Riley: Drums; Roland Guerrero: Percussion; Doug Wamble: Guitar and Banjo.

Big Train

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Diane Tell - Chimères

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1982
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:32
Size: 84,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:20)  1. Souvent longtemps énormément
(3:31)  2. Tes yeux
(4:55)  3. La falaise
(3:38)  4. Mon ami-e
(3:06)  5. Les trottoirs du boulevard St-Laurent
(4:36)  6. On a beau
(3:56)  7. Les différents
(4:23)  8. Le bonhomme digital
(4:04)  9. L'addition s.v.p.

Born in Quebec, Diane Tell learned to play the guitar at youg age and moved to Montreal where she performed in bars around the area and gradually gained popularity. Diane's album "En Fleche" appeared in 1980 and sold 150,000 copies with hit single "Si j'étais un homme". Listening to her 2 albums "En flêche" and "Chimeres" (1982), is a pure pleasure for a westcoast music fan. Diane seems to have been inspirated by Foster/Graydon/pages sounds and melodies at this period of her life. https://noted.blogs.com/photos/westcoast_from_france/chimere.html

Musicians: Background vocals: Diane TELL, Carl MARSH, Karen YOUNG; Piano, keyboards: Carl MARSH, Stéphane MONTANARO - Guitars: Jean Marie BENOIT - Drums: Paul BROCHU - Percussions: Jimmy TANAKA - Bass: Bob WRAY - Horns: Alan RUBEN, Jon FADDIS, Jim PUGH, George YOUNG, David TAYLOR, Lewis SOLOFF - Wind instruments: Julian FERNANDEZ, Adolfo BORNHTEIN, Gratiel ROBITAILLE, Ugène HUSARUK, Marc BELANGER, William LUNN, Jean Luc MORIN, Michael CARPENTIER .

Chimères

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The Slide Hampton Octet - Two Sides of Slide

Styles: Trombone Jazz 
Year: 1961
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:28
Size: 168,5 MB
Art: Front

(9:10)  1. Newport
(3:24)  2. Autumn Leaves
(4:00)  3. Althea
(4:21)  4. Jazz Corner
(3:00)  5. Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child
(5:53)  6. Go East, Young Man
(3:42)  7. Patricia
(4:10)  8. Woodyn' You
(3:45)  9. There's a Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon for New York
(3:47) 10. Bess, You Is My Woman Now
(4:32) 11. Summertime
(2:36) 12. I Love You Porgy
(4:53) 13. It Ain't Necessarily So / The Cloister (Dance Suite)
(4:39) 14. Part I Impression
(4:11) 15. Part II Obsession
(2:57) 16. Part III Expression
(3:20) 17. Part IV Possession

The two octets Slide Hampton uses on this recording are quite similar in content but different in the way they execute this music, and much of it has to do with the distinct difference in personnel, and the two years that separate their recording dates. The first half deals with hard to post-bop modifications and the way the group approaches a bridge between the two, while the other end of the program concentrates on interpretations the music written by George Gershwin, plus an extended four-part suite written by Hampton. These dual sides of Slide Hampton combine to form a complete picture of what the emerging arranger and trombonist offered as a individualist aside from peers (Quincy Jones, J.J. Johnson, Lalo Schifrin, et. al.) who concentrated on movie soundtracks. The sessions from 1959 include Bernard McKinney on the baritone horn, three different drummers (Kenny Dennis, Charlie Persip, and Pete LaRoca) on select tracks, and fledgling young trumpeters Booker Little and Freddie Hubbard, even though Burt Collins does all of the lead brass work with Hampton. "Newport" starts the set in a modal walk, the intro initially similar to "You Don't Know What Love Is," then merges into a steady streaming freight train jam. Four other Hampton originals range from the Latin unison call outs and boogaloo/bop "Althea" (assumedly for tennis star Althea Gibson), the regal "Go East, Young Man" based on the changes of "Milestones," the much quieter post-bopper "Jazz Corner," and the simple straight bop of "Patricia." 

Standards "Autumn Leaves," "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child," and "Woody 'n' You" feature add-ons from the originals like chatty, choppy horns, more anthemic than normal hues, and a harder, abundant, modified line, respectively. A slightly less potent but still talented lineup from 1961 plays the five Gershwin pieces, with "There's a Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon for New York" again richly enhanced with a little rock & roll beat tossed in; "Summertime" is performed via high drama, and "It Ain't Necessarily So" is dressed in Latin trim. George Coleman is the lone artist besides Hampton and baritone saxophonist Jay Cameron on the entire date, and the always effervescent tenor saxophonist gets a laid-back solo during "I Loves You Porgy." The "dance" suite "The Cloister" is impressionistic within ballad, easy swing, slightly urgent waltz, and frantic bop segments, with some call and response at the end. Other than some drum fills from Lex Humphries, the piece is played to strict tolerances, and over some 14 minutes, is not as memorable as the other tracks, although hinting at future projects of Hampton's. As solid musically as any mainstream jazz fan might need, this is an important prelude to other large ensemble projects Slide Hampton assembled, and deserves repeat listenings to fully reap its rewards. ~ Michael G.Nastos https://www.allmusic.com/album/two-sides-of-slide-hampton-mw0000369027

ON TRACKS [1-8]: Recorded in New York, 1959: SLIDE HAMPTON, trombone; FREDDIE HUBBARD, BOOKER LITTLE, BURT COLLINS, trumpet; BERNANRD McKINNEY, baritone horn; GEORGE COLEMAN, tenor sax & clarinet; JAY CAMERON, baritone sax, bass clarinet; GEORGE TUCKER, bass; PETE LaROCA, KENNY DENNIS, CARLIE PERSIP, drums

ON TRACKS [9-17]: Recorded in New York, 1961: SLIDE HAMPTON, BEN JACOBS-EL, trombone; HOBART DOTSON, WILLIE THOMAS, trumpet; GEORGE COLEMAN, tenor sax; JAY CAMERON, baritone sax; EDDIE KAHN, bass; LEX HUMPHRIES, drums

Two Sides of Slide

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Grachan Moncur III - Inner Cry Blues

Styles: Vocal, Trombone Jazz 
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:55
Size: 140,0 MB
Art: Front

(11:36)  1. G Train (For Duke Ellington)
(10:23)  2. Inner City Blues
(10:00)  3. Hilda
( 8:39)  4. A For Pops (For Louis Armstrong)
(11:25)  5. Blue Rondo (For Jackie McLean)
( 8:49)  6. Sonny's Back!: I. Sonny's Back / II. Clifford Browning

Given the small number of recordings under his own name, and how sporadically those have appeared, that Grachan Moncur III has released a follow-up to his fine 2004 offering Exploration in just three short years is remarkable in and of itself. The former set was filled with all-stars and legends from Billy Harper and Gary Bartz to Ray Drummond and Andrew Cyrille. Tim Hagans, Gary Smulyan, and John Clark were also part of that octet proceeding. The scene on Inner Cry Blues is a different one. Moncur's best-known sideman here is vibraphonist Ben Adams, who has issued three solid dates under his own name on his tiny Lunar Module imprint, where this disc appears as well. Other members of the group are Sameer Gupta on drums, Erik Jekabson on trumpet, tenor Mitch Marcus, and bassist Lukas Vesely. The subtitle of Inner Cry Blues is "Dedication Album, Volume 1." Of the six cuts, here four are dedicated to jazz legends: "G Train" for Duke Ellington, "A for Pops" for Louis Armstrong, the two-part suite "Sonny's Back" for Sonny Rollins, and, of course, "Blue Rondo" for longtime friend and collaborator the late Jackie McLean. This is one of those Moncur dates that walks the tightrope. It walks the inside line of post-bop and modal jazz a lot. In fact, it never strays far from them. But the sense of space, color, and texture in his compositions pushes their boundaries a bit. All of these tunes range on the long side; the shortest, "A for Pops," is over eight-and-a-half minutes. The two-part suite for Rollins is 8:49, and the others are at or over the ten-minute mark. This is a plus. Since this is a young band, Moncur's rule of conduction is apparent everywhere here. He allows solo space, plenty of it in fact, but as with his best music it is seamless, without messy edges and quick-change corners. It's all about flow here, and yes, it does swing, everywhere, subtly, with introspection, elegance and grace. "G Train," with its three horns and vibes front line, offers a breezy if somewhat elaborate lithe melody for the rest of the players to get behind. The role of Vesely's bass is unusual, it's right in front of the mix on this session, and here it leads the band in a relaxed mid-tempo groove that unfolds in all sorts of interesting harmonic ways. Moncur's own solo, right in the blues pocket, is full of short, choppy lines, whereas Adams, on the vibes, struts out elongated, complex lines that never lose their rhythmic focus. The title track is a soul blues that has as much to do with New Orleans funeral music as it does with Southern soul in general. The entire cut feels like a coda, but develops from there without losing that feel. 

The stops and starts are all pronounced, even exaggerated, and the arco work by Vesely just unfolds so slowly and beautifully. It is a rich tune that keeps bits and pieces of ragged but right blowing directly in the mix: check the tone on Marcus' tenor and Jekabson's trumpet. They could bust out at any moment, but they keep playing these phrases repetitively and each soloist stays right in the blues with his fills throughout. "Hilda" begins as a strolling, old-school swing tune, with a catchy, almost nursery rhyme phraseology in the lyric. Gupta's kit work, pops in and out of the box on the rhythm, breaking it, double- and triple-timing it with a restrained hand, adding to the dancing, swing feel of the cut. Moncur sings on a pair of these cuts  the Armstrong and Rollins tributes but it works. His voice isn't great, but in terms of the informal, laid-back feeling of this date it just inserts itself as another part of the equation, grooving right in time and space and lending immeasurably to its fingerpopping charm. Though everything here is hip, full of soul and groove as well as execution, "Blue Rondo," for McLean, is the brightest moment. The interplay between the three horns and vibes is actually rather astonishing. There are call and response lines in the melody, all winding around one another, and some of these are in an uncanny counterpoint. Moncur uses tropes from both his own and McLean's hard bop music, pushing at the edges to bring them back into the center of the music's roots without losing his sense of space and stretched time. It's not just a fitting tribute, it's a mad, swinging affair with huge wood by Vesely and wonderful, lush add-ins from Adams. Marcus' solo hints at the edges that McLean and Moncur were looking at in the early to mid-'60s, but never loses the center of the rhythm, either. In sum, Inner Cry Blues is a welcome return from a composer, bandleader, arranger, and soloist we hear far too little from. This set has everything a jazz fan would want, and has enough compelling rhythmic invention and hard blues thematics to interest a younger generation whose tastes range from hip-hop to funk and R&B. Not because this music is any of those things, it's not. It's tough post- and hard bop jazz that is fresh, spirited, cool, and timeless. It will appeal to anyone with half an ear for the real thing. ~ Thom Jurek https://www.allmusic.com/album/inner-cry-blues-mw0000491239

Personnel:  Grachan Moncur III - trombone, vocals; Erik Jekabson - trumpet; Mitch Marcus - tenor saxophone; Ben Adams - vibraphone, producer; Lukas Vesely - bass; Sameer Gupta - drums

Inner Cry Blues

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Cal Tjader, Willie Bobo, Mongo Santamaria - Latino!

Styles: Latin Jazz, World Fusion
Year: 1994
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 73:31
Size: 171,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:49)  1. Manila
(3:30)  2. Key Largo
(6:43)  3. Tumbao
(3:04)  4. Bludan
(3:24)  5. Chispita
(3:42)  6. September Song
(3:32)  7. Cal's Pals
(3:26)  8. Para Ti
(4:37)  9. Mamblues
(6:32) 10. Afro Blue
(6:29) 11. Cuban Fantasy
(5:56) 12. Rezo
(4:20) 13. Mambo Terrifico
(8:34) 14. A Night In Tunisia
(4:45) 15. The Continental

Vibraphonist Cal Tjader is heard leading five different groups throughout this set, but the identities of the flutists, bassists, and pianists are less important than knowing that Tjader, Willie Bobo (on drums and timbales), and the great conga player Mongo Santamaria are on every selection. The music really cooks, with torrid percussion, inspired ensembles, and occasional solos from the sidemen (which sometimes include pianists Lonnie Hewitt or Vince Guaraldi, bassist Al McKibbon, and flutist Paul Horn). Highlights include Latinized versions of "Key Largo" and "September Song," "Night in Tunisia," "The Continental," and a definitive version of Santamaria's "Afro Blue." This is Latin jazz at its finest. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/latino-con-cal-tjader-mw0000626426

Personnel:  Vibraphone – Cal Tjader; Backing Band – The Eddie Cano Big Band; Bass – Al McKibbon, Eddie Coleman , Victor Venegas; Congas – Mongo Santamaria; Drums, Timbales – Willie Bobo; Featuring – Al McKibbon, Eddie Cano, José "Chombo" Silva , Lonnie Hewitt, Mongo Santamaria, Paul Horn, Vince Guaraldi, Willie Bobo; Flute – José Lozano, Paul Horn, Rolando Lozano; Flute, Alto Saxophone – Modesto Briseno ; Piano – Eddie Cano, Lonnie Hewitt, Vince Guaraldi Remastered By – Phil De Lancie; Tenor Saxophone – José "Chombo" Silva; Trumpet – Tony Terran 

Latino!

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Cleo Laine And The Tubby Hayes Quartet - Round Midnight

Styles: Vocal 
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:13
Size: 97,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:16)  1. Round Midnight
(2:36)  2. Hand Me Down Love
(2:45)  3. Mean to Me
(3:51)  4. Old Devil Moon
(3:25)  5. Just A'Sittin' and A'Rockin
(6:42)  6. All Members
(7:44)  7. Ah-Leu-Cha
(7:51)  8. Young and Foolish
(2:59)  9. I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter

With a multi-octave voice similar to Betty Carter's, incredible scatting ability, and ease of transition from a throaty whisper to high-pitched trills, Cleo Laine was born in 1927 in the Southall section of London, the daughter of a Jamaican father and English mother. Her parents sent her to vocal and dance lessons as a teenager, but she was 25 when she first sang professionally, after a successful audition with the big band led by Johnny Dankworth. Both Laine and the band recorded for Esquire, MGM and Pye during the late '50s, and by 1958, she was married to Dankworth. With Dankworth by her side, Laine began her solo career in earnest with a 1964 album of Shakespeare lyrics set to Dankworth's arrangements, Shakespeare: And All That Jazz. Laine also gained renown for the first of three concert albums recorded at New York's Carnegie Hall, 1973's Cleo Laine Live! At Carnegie Hall. She also recorded two follow-ups (Return to Carnegie and The 10th Anniversary Concert) the latter of which in 1983 won her the first Grammy award by a Briton. She has proved a rugged stage actress as well, winning a Theater World award for her role in the Broadway musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood, (in addition to Tony and Drama Desk nominations as well). In 1976 she recorded a jazz version of Porgy and Bess with Ray Charles, and also recorded duets with James Galway and guitarist John Williams. Laine and Dankworth continued to tour into the 1990s, and she received perhaps her greatest honor when she became the first jazz artist to receive the highest title available in the performing arts: Dame Commander. ~ John Bush https://www.allmusic.com/artist/cleo-laine-mn0000120273/biography

Round Midnight

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Charles Mingus Quintet - Chazz

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:26
Size: 97,9 MB
Art: Front

(6:56)  1. Jump Monk
(6:04)  2. Serenade In Blue
(8:44)  3. Percussion Discussion
(6:34)  4. Work Song
(7:06)  5. Septemberley
(7:00)  6. All the Things You Are In C Sharp

The Jazz Workshop of 1955 is in superb form, caught in performance at the Caf Bohemia in New York. Max Roach only appears for a "Percussion Discussion" with Mingus, but the forgotten Willie Jones is no slouch either. A typically adventurous set of tunes includes two montages. ("Septemberly" combines "September in the Rain" and "Tenderly", while "All the Things You Can C-Sharp" is a blend of "All the Things You Are," Rachmaninoff's "Prelude in C-Sharp" and "Clair de Lune.") It's a very spirited date, ranking with his best work in the period. 

A further disc, Charles Mingus Quintet Plus Max Roach (Fantasy 86009), derives from the same date; these were combined as Prestige P-24010. And the boxed set of the Complete Debut Recordings (Debut 12-CDC-4402-2) includes an additional hour of previously unissued material. ~ Stuart Kremsky https://www.allmusic.com/album/chazz-mw0000901355

Personnel:  Bass – Charlie Mingus; Drums – Max Roach, Willie Jones; Piano – Mal Waldron; Tenor Saxophone – George Barrow; Trombone – Eddie Bert

Chazz

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Horace Silver - Total Response

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop 
Year: 1971
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:39
Size: 94,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:24)  1. Acid, Pot Or Pills
(3:37)  2. What Kind Of Animal Am I?
(3:55)  3. Won't You Open Up Your Senses
(3:46)  4. I've Had A Little Talk
(4:15)  5. Soul Searchin'
(5:19)  6. Big Business
(3:46)  7. I'm Aware Of The Animal Within Me
(6:15)  8. Old Mother Nature Calls
(5:18)  9. Total Response

When jazz critics complain about the decline of Blue Note in the late '60s and early '70s, Total Response is the kind of album they have in mind. A sprawling, incoherent, and just plain weird mess of funk, fusion, soul-jazz, African spirituality, and hippie mysticism, Total Response aims at the transcendent and stumbles upon its own ludicrous ambitions. Building from familiar, funky soul-jazz vamps, Silver wrote a set of nine songs that were designed to "bring a little more Health, Happiness, Love and Peace into your life." Appropriately, the album is filled with songs about the evils of the modern world ("Acid, Pot or Pills," "Big Business") and how self-awareness ("What Kind of Animal Am I?," "I'm Aware of the Animal Within Me") and open minds ("Won't You Open Up Your Senses," "Soul Searchin'," "I've Had Little Talk") can lead to spiritual peace and fulfillment ("Total Response"). All this may be true, but the way that it's said -- laid-back, featureless fusion vamps with awkward lyrics by Silver ("Our water isn't pure/When fluoride we endure") that are wailed tunelessly by Salome and Andy Bey -- is terribly clumsy and ridiculous. It wouldn't matter that there is "little jazz content" to the music if these fusions of soul, funk, jazz, and poetry worked, but since they fail so miserably, the lack of improvisation and inspiration from Silver, saxophonist Harold Vick, trumpeter Cecil Bridgewater, guitarist Richie Resnicoff, bassist Rob Cranshaw, and drummer Mickey Roker only emphasizes what a mess Total Response is. ~ Stephen Tomas Erlewine https://www.allmusic.com/album/total-response-phase-i-mw0000876702

Personnel: Horace Silver - electric piano; Cecil Bridgewater - trumpet, flugelhorn; Harold Vick - tenor saxophone; Richie Resnicoff - guitar; Bob Cranshaw - electric bass; Mickey Roker - drums; Salome Bey, Andy Bey - vocals

Total Response

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