Pauline London - Under The Rainbow

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:28
Size: 114,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:10)  1. In Black & White
(3:37)  2. Colors
(4:07)  3. Walkin On The Sand
(3:57)  4. I Still Miss You
(4:11)  5. Amor Para Sonhar
(4:31)  6. The Shadow Of Your Smile
(3:18)  7. Meu Amor Meu Coracao
(3:14)  8. Breakout
(3:14)  9. Moment Of Magic
(3:50) 10. Peace Is The Only Way
(3:28) 11. Change Partners
(3:56) 12. So I
(3:48) 13. Senza Fine

After the important international appraisal which resulted from her first album “Quiet Skies” (2004) Pauline is back with a new cd which tastes like Jazz, Nu-Jazz, Latin-Jazz with hints of authorial pop. Whereas the mentioned first album had an electronic-jazz stamp to it, “Under the Rainbow” represents an evolution towards more acoustic and orchestral sounds. The title of this works calls to one’s mind the famous standard, finding continuity between the important traditional Northern American music and her own personal stroke in composing and interpretation. Staying “under” the rainbow is a way of being in present times, here and now, enjoying the inspirations and creativity this multi-coloured spectrum can offer to us. Thanks to the rainbow we can find once more shades of light after a darker hour, we may regain life blood. This work hence represents continuity with the “musical colours” of “Quiet Skies”, but makes them turn out more maturely and homogeneously. A refined combination of acoustic and digital instruments are the central thread of this album. The whole of it is cleverly constructed by the arrangements here more essential and there cunningly architected  inspired by great Italian maestri Morricone, Trovaioli, Piccioni. This parcours is characterized by Pauline’s voice, which moves with adaptability from samba / bossa-nova inspirated atmospheres, towards more introspective and rarefied moments, passing by pop rock accents and sounds. The album’s thirteen songs unwind offering us original compositions, interpretation of a few standards and pop covers. Amongst unpublished pieces one catches sight of I still miss you with a latin-jazz taste, nostalgic tone, and its constant pitch modulating crescendo.Colors, bright and solar, towards an absorbing and dynamic up-tempo, recalls through composition and lyrics the feeling beheld by the album’s title, the rainbow inside and outside ourselves.”Amor para sonhar” owns the vivid mood of samba with bilingual portuguese and english lyrics. In Black and White represents a more introspective moment marked by an electro-swing style.”Walking on the sand” retro beat. “Meu amor meu curacao” is pure soft samba with a singing chorus to it. So I is an episode with a pushful rock impulse to it, recalling the tradition of Northern American songwriters. 

Peace (is the only way) this song also has a poppy essence to it, but with deep contents. It claims peace, as mentioned in the title, to be the only way. Moment of magic- soft rocking acoustic pace of rythm and strings. Pauline offers a tribute to authors and artists which are part of her background by choosing four “classical” songs each of their own kind. The famous The Shadow of your smile with orchestral interventions in Ennio Morricone’s style, Change Partner a piece in Brasilian style made famous by Sinatra, enriched here by the polyphonic arrangement of 4 guitars. Breakout, a song written by the “Swing Out Sister” which comes from the Anglosaxon 80s pop panorama, is revisited in a latin-samba key which keeps your feet moving. Senza Fine, an emblematic title, both for its last position in the track list, recalling a kind of ciclicity, continuity between an end and a new beginning, and for its celebrity in Italian traditional music. This three quarters is redone as a sophisticated nu-jazz standard Pauline London, singer, songwriter and composer, started performing live at the beginning of the 90s in numerous Italian and European jazz-clubs and festivals. Her versatility brings her to mix efficaciously different styles and sounds. She moves with ease amongst classic and modern standard jazz, proposes pop songs rearranged according to jazz style, and finally composes her original tracks which mix jazz, nu-jazz, latin-jazz, pop and rock suggestions together. Her influences cross from Latin American music through great jazz singers like Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, Mel Tormé, Dianne Reeves, to reach refined and elegant pop such as that of artists like Sade, Seal, Noa, and nu-bossa tendencies similar to Bebel Gilberto. She is also a vocal improviser who reaps from traditional scat singing enriching it with phrasings which come from ethnic, rock and pop music. Her constant research and curiosity on different aspects of vocality also brings her to study extra-European musical systems (particularly, singing in Nothern India and Karnataka singing) as well as Italian popular music. Her first solo album is produced by Funky Juice Records in 2004. The “Quiet Skies” cd meets great appraisal at an international level and is licensed to Sony Columbia Japan. In 2008 she’s a guest at Nu Note Lounge Fest in Moscow. Pauline has worked with many different artists as songwriter and performer. In 2002 her voice features in Barrio Jazz Gang’s “Spectrum” CD, released in different European and extra- European countries among which Australia and Japan. In 2004 she is a guest vocalist on “My favorite Beats” album by Dynamic Four.In 2009 her voice features on some of the tracks of Barrio Jazz Gang’s new album “vol. 2” as well as her lyrics. https://www.funkyjuice.com/en/products/pauline-london-under-the-rainbow/

Under The Rainbow

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Azar Lawrence Quartet - Speak The Word

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:38
Size: 109,9 MB
Art: Front

(6:30)  1. Revelations
(7:29)  2. L.A. Bosa
(6:17)  3. Luxury
(4:03)  4. You Make Me Feel Brand New
(5:49)  5. Speak The Word
(6:26)  6. Aisha
(6:07)  7. Vestida de Solea (Dressed In Solitude)
(4:54)  8. Vestida de Solea (Dressed In Solitude) Pt. 2

The comeback recording of Azar Lawrence in 2008, after many years away from the recording studio, bears mixed results. Playing the soprano saxophone in the main and a little tenor, Lawrence and his West Coast quartet play some of the vibrant modal jazz in which he staked his claim in the McCoy Tyner ensemble of the 1970s, remaining as a premier post-John Coltrane performer. There are commercial concessions and a Latin element that should not be totally unexpected for those who remember his previous efforts 30 years prior, making the recording as a whole uneven and in a way inconsistent. While his personal sound is fairly enjoyable, pushing the limits of his horn only slightly, it sounds as if Lawrence is again searching for his perfect muse. On "Revelations" there's no real melody line, just pure feeling in a modal, loping 3/4 time signature, while "L.A. Bosa" (spelled incorrectly?) has a Brazilian element sidled with a simple singsong style. "Speak the Word" is the signature piece for Lawrence and his ensemble, as modality is mixed with hard bop and a Middle Eastern flair. Pianist Nate Morgan, a veteran of modern California-based jazz and commercial funk (remember him in Rufus with Chaka Khan?) stands out as an inventive and lyrical player based in Tyner's precepts, but also steeped in the lore of Thelonious Monk and mentor Horace Tapscott. 

He plays the prettiest during Tyner's "Aisha," buoying the fluid tenor sax of Lawrence on a 6/8 to 4/4 ballad for the ages. Veering into the slow pop arena, "You Make Me Feel Brand New" and the less obvious "Luxury" seem like unnecessary filler. Then there's the two-part "Vestida de Solea," replete with handclaps, acoustic guitar, and Spanish vocals from Cristobal Osorio in a flamenco stew of rich proportions that suggests a possible new direction for Lawrence but not fully realized here. It seems Lawrence is only scratching the surface with this hasty pudding of a recording, but there's so much potential to be realized, and should be in any follow-up project. ~ Michael G.Nastos https://www.allmusic.com/album/speak-the-word-mw0000809749

Personnel: Azar Lawrence: tenor and soprano saxophones; Nate Morgan: piano; Trevor Ware: bass; Fritz Wise: drums.

Speak The Word

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Harold Land - Eastward Ho: Harold Land in New York

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:22
Size: 88,3 MB
Art: Front

( 6:00)  1. So in Love
( 5:46)  2. Triple Trouble
( 7:02)  3. Slowly
( 7:08)  4. On a Little Street in Singapore
(12:25)  5. Okay Blues

Tenor saxophonist Harold Land and trumpeter Kenny Dorham make for a potent front line on this CD reissue, a superior hard bop set. With an obscure and quietly boppish rhythm section (pianist Amos Trice, bassist Clarence Jones, and drummer Joe Peters) giving suitable backup, Land and Dorham stretch out on five selections, most notably Cole Porter's "So in Love," "On a Little Street in Singapore," and Land's "O.K. Blues," which was dedicated to producer Orrin Keepnews. A fine effort that serves as a strong example of Harold Land's early work. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/eastward-ho%21-harold-land-in-new-york-mw0000691038

Personnel: Tenor Saxophone – Harold Land;  Bass – Clarence Jones;  Drums – Joe Peters; Piano – Amos Trice; Trumpet – Kenny Dorham

Eastward Ho: Harold Land in New York

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Roy Hargrove - Nothing Serious

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:54
Size: 103,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:52)  1. Nothing Serious
(5:27)  2. A Day In Vienna
(5:25)  3. Trust
(4:59)  4. Camaraderie
(5:31)  5. Devil Eyes
(5:52)  6. The Gift
(6:52)  7. Salima's Dance
(6:53)  8. Invitation

Despite the nonchalance of its title, Nothing Serious may be Roy Hargrove's best disc yet. The first working band outing by the genre-leaping trumpeter since 1993's Of Kindred Souls features a cohesive quintet with alto saxophonist Justin Robinson, pianist Ronnie Mathews, bassist Dwayne Burno and drummer Willie Jones III, augmented on three selections by special guest trombonist Slide Hampton. The opening title track, composed by Venezuelan guitarist Leo Quintero, is a melodious Latin jazz tour de force with powerful solos by the always lyrical Hargrove, along with Robinson (employing a thick, convincing Dolphyesque tone) and the veteran Mathews, whose mastery of the Afro-Cuban idiom pushes the music to its highest level, particularly during his montuno section, where the horns riff and Jones thrashes with inspired abandon. Hampton joins the band for his "A Day In Vienna first recorded with Dexter Gordon a straight-ahead cooker with a harmonic richness reminiscent of Horace Silver. Hargrove's "Trust is an evocative ballad constructed of long legato lines and warm harmonies, with stirring solos by Burno, Robinson (flute) and the composer (flugelhorn). "Camaraderie, a second Hargrove original, opens ominously with a dissonant free-form introduction featuring a trumpet-saxophone dialogue over drums, before resolving into a hot boppish blowing section. Burno's "Devil Eyes, a genuinely innovative, daring reharmonization of the standard chord changes to "Angel Eyes framed with a vamp that recalls the introduction to Stevie Wonder's "Too High, inspires exciting solos by Robinson, Hargrove and Jones. "The Gift is an attractive line by Hargrove which abounds with beauty and drama, eliciting passionate playing from each of the group's members. Mathews' potent "Salima's Dance, first recorded by the pianist back in the late '70s, is more than worthy of revival. Hargrove lets loose on this modal composition with his most incendiary solo of the date, followed by Robinson, Hampton and the composer, each one equally electrifying. A series of exchanges with Jones and a collective improvisation by the horns drive the music to a compelling climax. A swinging sextet version of "Invitation closes this satisfying session, which may not seem very "serious" compared to today's many staid and sober recordings seeking the status of classical music. But it is certainly significant in its earnest documentation of a great set of joyous jazz. ~ Russ Musto https://www.allaboutjazz.com/nothing-serious-roy-hargrove-verve-music-group-review-by-russ-musto.php

Personnel: Roy Hargrove: trumpet, flugelhorn; Justin Robinson: alto saxophone, flute; Slide Hampton: trombone; Ronnie Matthews: piano; Dwayne Burno: bass; Willie Jones III: drums.

Nothing Serious

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Jimmy Greene - Gifts And Givers

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:44
Size: 146,9 MB
Art: Front

( 9:26)  1. Mr. McClean
( 7:37)  2. Greene Blues
( 8:49)  3. Forever
(10:10)  4. Magnolia Triangle
( 8:07)  5. 26-2
(10:18)  6. Blue Bossa/Boudreaux
( 9:14)  7. Eternal Triangle

It's probably time to cast aside labels like "up-and-coming" and "rising star" when describing Jimmy Greene. As Gifts and Givers makes clear, the Connecticut-born tenor saxophonist has definitely arrived. An inventive, technically-advanced mainstreamer, Greene made his mark in the bands of Horace Silver, Tom Harrell and Harry Connick Jr., as well as with younger studs like Jason Lindner and Avishai Cohen. On his fifth effort as a leader, he's paired with another young tenor titan, Marcus Strickland. The two saxophonists prove themselves a like-minded and well-matched pair as they lead an explosive rhythm section the superb drummer Eric Harland, bassist Reuben Rogers, guitarist Mike Moreno and promising young pianist Danny Grissett (now he is a "rising star") through a set of compelling originals and nicely varied standards, including John Coltrane's harmonically complex "26-2," New Orleans legend James Black's intricate "Magnolia Triangle" and Kenny Dorham's "Blue Bossa" (with Greene doubling on soprano sax). While they mostly steer away from the sort of twin-tenor battle popularized by Sonny Stitt and Gene Ammons, Greene and Strickland do get into some high-octane, old school jamming, notably on Stitt's bebop chestnut, "Eternal Triangle." 

The opening "Mr. McLean" is a rousing tribute to Greene's mentor, the great alto saxophonist Jackie McLean, with the two tenors expertly capturing McLean's intensity and unique inside-outside sensibility. All in all, it's an impressive outing that should help solidify Greene's reputation as one of the better tenor saxophonists of his generation. 

~ Joel Roberts https://www.allaboutjazz.com/gifts-and-givers-jimmy-greene-criss-cross-review-by-joel-roberts.php

Personnel: Jimmy Greene: tenor and soprano saxophones; Marcus Strickland: tenor saxophone; Mike Moreno: guitar; Danny Grissett: piano; Reuben Rogers: bass; Eric Harland: drums.

Gifts And Givers

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Nicholas Payton - Textures

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:59
Size: 102,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:55)  1. Smooth
(5:09)  2. Sticky
(4:14)  3. Silky
(6:33)  4. Fuzzy
(5:16)  5. Hard
(4:04)  6. Wet
(3:56)  7. Rough
(2:56)  8. Greasy
(6:52)  9. Soft

All great art has a rhythm. Movement. A Pulse. Painting, Music, Dance, Martial Arts, Architecture, Sports. They all have, at their core, a rhythmic undertow. The strokes of a paint brush have a rhythm. They create patterns, lines, curves, shapes, forms, and ultimately a rhythmic flow. They create movement. Their movement create a feeling. Colors also create a rhythm. They make your eyes move from one component to another. They allow your mind to travel. To think. Ultimately a story is told. A feeling is created. A visual beat penetrates one’s mind and soul.What happens when master artist Nicholas Payton is a part of the artistic process of painter Anastasia Pelias? Textures is born. As Nicholas told me, “They are off the cuff tracks done in real time with an artist who paints.”  Nicholas takes the strokes of Anastasia’s brush and mirrors them with a beat. The visual beat becomes an aural beat. A pulse. A movement. The colors become harmonies. The strokes become rhythmic shifts. The two become synonymous with each other. As a listener, you find your own meaning. Every time you listen, a new layer of the story is unveiled. You start to get lost in the music. Have you ever just sat and watched the ocean? At first you see the sand, beach, and waves. Then, as your mind drifts, you start to see beyond the ocean.  You think about the depth of the ocean and its beauty. As the waves crash, one also begins to think of the past, present and future. No wave crashes the same place, or way, twice, yet each is perfect. Each has been here before, but returns in a whole new way.  It is brought to shore as it should.

It flows perfectly, yet is never quite predictable. Each wave has its own direction, and its own identity. Textures does the same. You look out into the horizon and see where the sky meets the water. You begin to reflect on the beauty in the world. This is Textures. Movement of a rhythmic undertow (ocean/waves), with harmony and colors on top (the sky and world). Textures is a master work of art. Created by a master artist. In this case Nicholas Payton uses an instrument he has yet to use on record. As he told me “I set up my keyboard and laptop and Anastasia has a blank canvas and we create a new work in real time.” Nicholas’ instrument here may appear to be a keyboard and laptop at first. But ultimately, his instrument is his mind and soul. Textures flows with perfect clarity, yet takes direction in ways one would not expect. The harmonies take shape in only the way Nicholas’ mind can.  The three basic elements of the mind intellect, feeling, and will are displayed as Nicholas searches from within, and let’s the music pour out of his body, and into our ears.  But once it hits our ears, we too, need to let it penetrate our hearts and soul, so that we can find ourselves. We can create our own work of art in our own mind. Textures exudes compassion. It is radiating with boundless light and compassion. It makes you reflect within to find peace and love. Begin to let the music enter your body. It is music to relax and think to, music to reflect on, and music to dance to. Textures, like an any great art, is drenched with rhythm. It has movement. A Pulse. Listen, as I did, over and over again. Find new meaning each time you listen. Find your own rhythm. https://nicholaspayton.wordpress.com/2016/06/26/textures/

Textures

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Lee Konitz - Pride

Styles: Saxophone Jazz 
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:34
Size: 155,5 MB
Art: Front

( 4:49)  1. Monkian' around
( 6:58)  2. Triste
( 7:04)  3. Come rain or come shine
(13:39)  4. Stellar
( 8:13)  5. Gundula
(11:54)  6. Once I had a secret love
( 8:04)  7. Lover man
( 6:50)  8. Zingaro

Throughout his career, altoist Lee Konitz has always had his ears open and been a musically curious improviser. His brand of relaxed freedom, tied to chordal improvisation but much freer than the usual beboppers, and his cool and distinctive sound have made him a jazz giant for decades. For this set, Konitz is teamed with three musicians (pianist/organist George Colligan, bassist Doug Weiss, and drummer Darren Beckett) with whom he had never played before. However, the combination work well on five standards and three Konitz songs. 

The music always swings, the rhythm section is supportive, and Konitz is as inventive as always. This is also one of the few sessions in which the altoist (on a few cuts) is backed by organ. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/pride-mw0000966063

Personnel: Lee Konitz – alto saxophone; George Colligan – piano, organ; Doug Weiss – bass; Darren Beckett – drums

Pride

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Sylvia Vrethammar & Her Killer-Band - On Invitation Only

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:16
Size: 131,9 MB
Art: Front

( 2:15)  1. Just One of Those Things
( 3:52)  2. Só Danço Samba
( 3:50)  3. Moonlight
(13:09)  4. The World Is Calling
( 3:11)  5. Samba for Vinicius (Samba Pra Vinicius)
( 4:57)  6. Champagne, Champagne
( 4:37)  7. That's the Way of the World
( 4:33)  8. There Will Never Be Another You
( 3:35)  9. Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar
( 3:11) 10. Immer die Boys
( 5:36) 11. The Girl from Ipanema (Garôta De Ipanema)
( 4:25) 12. The Samba in Me

Sylvia Vrethammar ( Uddevalla , 22 of August of 1945 ) is a Swedish singer . In 1974, its original English version of the mega-hit Y Viva España reached the top of the English charts, selling more than 1 million copies and remaining for 39 consecutive weeks on the charts, leading to an entry in the Guinness Book of Records . In 1985, he recorded the album Rio de Janeiro Blue in Brazil, rewriting some songs by Brazilian artists, among them, Luiz Gonzaga's The Chero Da Carolina , Que Bonito É , by Luís Bandeira and Antes Que Seja Tarde , by Ivan Lins. https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_Vrethammar

On Invitation Only

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Stanley Turrentine - Everybody Come On Out

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1976
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:56
Size: 88,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:17)  1. Everybody Come On Out
(3:56)  2. Stairway To Heaven
(6:14)  3. There Is A Place (Rita's Theme)
(4:17)  4. Many Rivers To Cross
(5:51)  5. Hope That We Can Be Together Soon
(3:39)  6. All By Myself
(5:35)  7. Airport Love Theme
(4:03)  8. I'm Not In Love

A very large group session recorded in March 1976 for Fantasy, Everybody Come on Out features Turrentine with Joe Sample, Lee Ritenour, Craig McMullen, Paul Jackson, Harvey Mason, Bill Summers, and Dawilli Gonga. ~ Rovi Staff https://www.allmusic.com/album/everybody-come-on-out-mw0000087309

Personnel: Stanley Turrentine - tenor saxophone, producer; Joe Sample - electric piano, piano; Lee Ritenour - guitar;  Craig McMullen - guitar;  Paul Jackson - bass;  Harvey Mason - drums

Everybody Come On Out

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Anita Harris Quartet - The Wee Small Hours

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:10
Size: 164,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:49)  1. Drop Me off in Harlem
(3:31)  2. Skylark
(4:21)  3. The Surrey with the Fringe on Top
(4:06)  4. Our Day Will Come
(5:23)  5. Isn't It a Pity?
(3:08)  6. Miss Celie's Blues
(4:16)  7. The Touch of Your Lips
(4:22)  8. In the Still of the Night
(4:15)  9. In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning
(5:03) 10. Softly as in a Morning Sunrise
(5:31) 11. The Wailing of the Willow
(3:11) 12. I Wish I Knew
(3:37) 13. A Sunday Kind of Love
(3:59) 14. I Was Doing All Right
(4:00) 15. The Gypsy
(4:38) 16. No Soap, No Hope Blues
(3:52) 17. Some Other Time

Anita Harris is known as an all-round entertainer, singing, acting, and dancing all part of her repertoire. Sharing musical arranger Kenny Clayton with Petula Clark, her clear vocal quality invited comparisons with Clark and other top female singers from the mid- to late '50s. She was born on June 3, 1942, in Midsomer Norton, Somerset, and began her show business career as soon as she had left school, traveling to Las Vegas to train in choreographed skating. Her first professional engagement, however, was a singer with the easy listening vocal ensemble the Cliff Adams Singers, who enjoyed an extended run on BBC radio with the program Sing Something Simple, a selection of mainly MOR ballads and show tunes that ran from 1959 through to the death of its creator, Cliff Adams, in 2001. She made her debut on record backed by the John Barry Seven, but the single, a double A-side of "I Haven't Got You" and "Mr One And Only," was not a success. Moving into acting, she became famous for very cheeky performances in two of the Carry On films, particularly Carry on Doctor and Follow That Camel, both from 1967. This was her peak year for chart activity too as her friend Dusty Springfield provided her with a hit single written by her brother Tom, "Just Loving You," which peaked at number six. Two further singles were released, both cover versions of the songs "Anniversary Waltz" and "Dream a Little Dream of Me." Her one and only visit to the album charts was with the album also called Just Loving You, which hit number 29 early in 1968. In the 1970s, she appeared on various television programs, including The Morecambe & Wise Show, and she also co-hosted the David Nixon Magic Show and was still appearing as herself on programs up to 2001, notably Boom Boom: The Best of the Original Basil Brush Show, French & Saunders, and Bob Monkhouse: A BAFTA Tribute. ~ Sharon Mawer https://www.allmusic.com/artist/anita-harris-mn0000574671/biography

The Wee Small Hours

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Ramsey Lewis Trio - Never On Sunday

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 29:46
Size: 69,8 MB
Art: Front

(2:00)  1. The Ripper
(3:40)  2. I Got Plenty of Nothing
(3:02)  3. Waterboy
(3:35)  4. Thanks for the Memory
(2:37)  5. Cielito Lindo
(3:11)  6. You Just Don't Care
(2:13)  7. Never On Sunday
(4:10)  8. You've Changed
(2:36)  9. The Breeze and I
(2:38) 10. Exactly Like You

The playing time on this LP (under half an hour) means that the ten selections are a bit briefer than usual. Pianist Ramsey Lewis, bassist Eldee Young, and drummer Red Holt had one of the most popular groups in jazz of the era, playing soulful and melodic versions of standards that were both swinging and accessible. Highlights of this LP include "I Got Plenty of Nothing," "The Breeze and I," and "Exactly Like You." ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/never-on-sunday-mw0000471478

Personnel:  Ramsey Lewis - piano; El Dee Young - bass; Issac "Red" Holt - drums

Never On Sunday

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Gil Evans - Paris Blues

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:55
Size: 137,6 MB
Art: Front

( 7:11)  1. Reincarnation Of A Lovebird
( 5:23)  2. Paris Blues
( 9:11)  3. Esteem
(14:38)  4. Orange Was The Color Of Her Dress Then Blue Silk
( 8:47)  5. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
( 5:47)  6. Jelly Roll
( 8:55)  7. Esteem

Recorded just three months before arranger/pianist Gil Evans's death, this duet album teams Evans with the great soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy. In truth, Evans's playing here is generally little more than melody statements and comping behind Lacy and, although the soprano is in top form, little of significance occurs. The duo performs lengthy versions of three Charles Mingus tunes, Duke Ellington's "Paris Blues" and Lacy's "Esteem." Evans was never a masterful keyboardist and clearly was not in Lacy's league as a player, so this CD is of greater interest from a historical standpoint than musical. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/paris-blues-mw0000195937

Personnel:  Gil Evans - piano, electric piano; Steve Lacy - soprano saxophone

Paris Blues

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Gerald Albright, Will Downing - Pleasures Of The Night

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1998
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:56
Size: 120,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:38)  1. Pleasures Of The Night
(7:19)  2. The Nearness Of You
(3:41)  3. Stop, Look, Listen To Your Heart
(3:01)  4. Michelle
(4:45)  5. Like A Lover
(5:17)  6. The Look Of Love
(5:23)  7. Here's That Rainy Day
(5:41)  8. Back To The Roots
(7:01)  9. We'll Be Together Again
(4:03) 10. Girl Blue

Although saxophonist Gerald Albright gets co-billing on this CD and two of the ten selections are instrumentals, this is very much a Will Downing vocal set. The emphasis is on romantic ballads; in addition to some newer material, it includes some older songs like "The Nearness of You," the Beatles' "Michelle," "The Look of Love," and "We'll Be Together Again." Downing has long had a strong, warm, and deep voice, and this type of outing is perfect for him. 

The performances, although touched a little by jazz, are really a soulful blend of middle-of-the-road pop music. The co-leaders are joined by a variety of top rhythm section players, including pianists John Beasley, Bobby Lyle, Patrice Rushen, and Ronnie Foster. This CD serves as an excellent showcase for Will Downing's voice. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/pleasures-of-the-night-mw0000600709

Personnel:  Saxophone – Gerald Albright; Vocals – Will Downing; Acoustic Bass – Kenny Wild, Tony Dumas; Bass – Abraham Laboriel, Jimmy Haslip; Drums – Harvey Mason, John Robinson, Land Richards, Marvin Smith; Guitar – Paul Jackson Jr.; Keyboards – Dave Delhomme, Ronnie Foster; Percussion – Luis Conte; Piano – Bobby Lyle, John Beasly, Patrice Rushen

Pleasures Of The Night

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Jackie Cain, Roy Kral - By Jupiter & Girl Crazy

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 1964
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:39
Size: 94,9 MB
Art: Front

(3:09)  1. Everything I've Got
(3:31)  2. Nobody's Heart
(2:30)  3. Here's a Hand
(4:02)  4. Careless Rhapsody
(2:23)  5. Jupiter Forbid
(3:08)  6. Wait Till You See
(2:46)  7. I Got Rhythm
(4:51)  8. Embraceable You
(3:36)  9. Could You Use Me?
(3:29) 10. Bidin' My Time
(3:27) 11. But Not For Me
(3:41) 12. Treat Me Rough

Jackie and Roy was an American jazz vocal team consisting of husband and wife singer Jackie Cain and singer / pianist Roy Kral. They sang together for 56 years and made almost 40 albums. Kral's obituary in The New York Times said: "Their voices had similar ranges but were an octave apart, creating unusual harmonies." They first joined forces in 1946, and in 1996 they celebrated their 50th anniversary as a vocal duo. Jackie and Roy's stint with Charlie Ventura's band in 1948 and 1949 brought them recognition; Lou Stein's "East of Suez" was an unusual feature for their voices. Shortly after leaving Ventura in June 1949, they were married and worked together on a regular basis thereafter. Jackie and Roy had their own television show in Chicago in the early 1950s, worked in Las Vegas from 1957 to 1960, settled in New York in 1963, and appeared on some television commercials. They recorded many performances for a variety of record labels through the decades, and performed until Roy Kral died in August 2002. Fairly early in their career, Jackie and Roy were befriended by composer Alec Wilder, who wrote the liner notes for one of their earliest albums, Jackie Cain and Roy Kral (1955). They had always favored Wilder's songs and, ten years after his death, paid tribute by recording an entire album of them, An Alec Wilder Collection. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_and_Roy

By Jupiter & Girl Crazy

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Candy Johnson - Sweet As Candy

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1948
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 18:04
Size: 41,9 MB
Art: Front

(2:59)  1. Ebony Jump
(2:55)  2. Stampin'
(3:02)  3. Robin's Horn
(2:45)  4. Southside Saturday Night
(3:16)  5. Daybreak Blues
(3:05)  6. Sunset Jump

Ironically, this go-go dancing scenemaker of the '60s is sometimes confused with a veteran jazz saxophonist who earned the nickname "Candy" the honest way: by chewing on the stuff. Floyd "Candy" Johnson played a lot of different styles of jazz, but at the height of his career was honking out the type of material that Candy Johnson probably boogied to, including the stripper's number one favorite, the immortal "Night Train." So perhaps there was some kind of psychic connection, furthermore linked by the concept of the extended "Johnson" family in frontier legend. One might assume that the go-go dancer would have caused more trouble for the saxophonist's career than the other way around, but there were also disadvantages for the dancer. While females in general would be horrified at having their date of birth published incorrectly and a good 15 years too early, few are actually subjected to such torture. Candy Johnson the dancer was, as most career biographies state, born May 1, 1922 the day the jazz saxophonist was born. Film scholars who have seen her onscreen in any of the four Beach Party movies would handily dismiss the notion that she would have been in her forties at the time these masterpieces of cinema were shot. She had studied dance as a child and continued her studies while going to San Gabriel High in Los Angeles. The Candy Johnson Show first opened in the Safari Lounge of the El Mirador Hotel in Palm Springs, CA, in 1962, attracting standing-room only crowds for two years straight. The 1,500th show of this series was the one that was recorded live and released as Johnson's first disc, but if there was ever an example of recording technology failing to capture the full glory of the moment, then this is it. 

"Is there a video?" would be the inevitable question, but this was the '60s, unfortunately. Johnson took it on the road anyway, as one element of the era that worked in her favor was the repressive recording industry. Independently released "adult" vinyl on indie labels that appeared risqué was a hot property, selling quickly no matter how racy the material actually was. Backed by her Exciters, Johnson sang and danced at many resorts and nightclubs throughout the Southwest, including the Thunderbird Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. Critics tended to use the majority of their column inches to describe her movements on-stage rather than whatever it was she was doing with her vocal pipes. A Las Vegas newsie compared her non-stop wiggling to perpetual movement, leading to the nickname of "Miss Perpetual Motion." To nobody's surprise, the sleazy but constantly enjoyable American International Pictures came to think of her as a sizzling property, maybe to give their aging horror stars such as Vincent Price and Boris Karloff someone to ogle. Conceptually, things were coming together as she released her second album, The Candy Johnson Show at Bikini Beach, which again could never really hope to capture what went on, even if it were to come covered in sand. 

The movie studios were looking at the beaches, too, as settings for new films in which teenagers would cavort in their suits, interrupted by songs from popular rock bands. Plots could also be devised, if deemed necessary. The third film in the Beach Party was where Johnson made her cinematic debut, prompting one of this artist's websites to describe the resulting activity thusly: "...she actually speaks." The film also features some of the songs from her two albums, both of which were released on the artist's own label, a project that was apparently rather short-lived. The company released only the two albums and a half-dozen singles. She started the label with her agent and manager, Red Gilson, credited also as a co-writer on many songs that The Candy Johnson Show released. While her original material did not, the songs she chose to cover actually did have some range. She did a spiritual, "Swing Low," perhaps to shock or excite the sanctimonious in the crowd. She also did jazzy material, such as "Yes Sir, That's My Baby," and obvious choices such as a cover of the torrid Peggy Lee number "Fever." Based on box office receipts of the Beach Party pictures, however, some recording artists felt it was their civic duty to record cover versions of the material, including Johnson's numbers. Was there a post-Beach Party film career for this actress? Some databases credit her as appearing in the 1972 X-rated Behind the Green Door, but followers of the go-go dancer say the actress was actually Kandi Johnson. There have been reports that Johnson has joined the gaggle of exhausted country & western troupers in Branson, MO, working as a choreographer. ~ Eugene Chadbourne https://www.allmusic.com/artist/candy-johnson-mn0001850980

Sweet As Candy

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Claus Ogerman and His Orchestra - Latin Rock

Styles: Jazz Funk, Big Band
Year: 1967
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 27:42
Size: 65,1 MB
Art: Front

(2:34)  1. Tequila
(2:49)  2. San Juan
(1:51)  3. Bang! Bang!
(2:26)  4. Nao Se Acabou (It Didn't End)
(2:20)  5. La Peregrina
(2:51)  6. Un Poco Rio
(2:28)  7. Yambo
(2:13)  8. Tres Hermanas
(2:51)  9. Cuchy Frito Man
(2:49) 10. Paradiso
(2:24) 11. Mas Que Nada

Latin Rock is neither, at least not in the strict sense of the term. The fourth album in Ogerman's mod series for Victor continues the Latin pop of Saxes Mexicanos. The emphasis is on crossover material, such as Joe Cuba's smash "Bang! Bang!" and Cal Tjader's Verve hit "Cuchy Frito Man." With Latin percussion, vibraphone, limited chorus on some tracks, and occasional flute, there's really no room left for anything resembling rock. Ogerman has never arranged with a rock beat ("Tequila" has always been a classic mambo riff), and "Mas Que Nada" is Brasilian, not Latin. But that's OK. 

This can't be called rock, jazz, soul, or pop; instead, it finds smooth new ground of its own. No tracks stand out, but none disappoint, either. Add cheesy jacket art and wacky liner notes by the king of sensational liner notes, Mort Goode, and you have a pleasing, mainstream Latin mod album. ~ Tony Wilds https://www.allmusic.com/album/latin-rock-mw0000766414

Latin Rock

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Eddie Henderson - Phantoms

Styles: Trumpet Jazz 
Year: 1994
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:34
Size: 137,1 MB
Art: Front

( 7:21)  1. Beauty in the bambles
( 5:59)  2. Little girl blue
(10:57)  3. Phantoms
( 8:27)  4. In walked Lila
( 8:01)  5. Jitterbug waltz
( 8:10)  6. Naima
( 5:40)  7. Dolphin dance
( 4:54)  8. Milestones

The master trumpeter from Herbie Hancock’s first band made his first recording for SteepleChase after several years’ absence from the scene. Evolving from the Miles Davis sound of the late 60s Henderson’s playing has developed into a very intriguing personal style.  “ This must be among his best recordings ….” (Jazz Journal)

Personnel: Trumpet – Eddie Henderson; Bass – Wayne Dockery; Drums – Victor Lewis; Piano – Kenny Barron; Vibraphone – Joe Locke 

Phantoms

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Pauline London - Quiet Skies

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:16
Size: 153,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:29)  1. Love Can Sing
(5:17)  2. Stay By My Side
(5:59)  3. Out Of The Winter
(4:02)  4. Sing A Lullaby
(5:52)  5. Fly In The Sky
(5:08)  6. Vibração
(4:45)  7. Bubbles
(5:05)  8. Dance The Life
(5:37)  9. Maybe Yesterday
(4:05) 10. Talkin' To The Moon
(4:39) 11. In Your Eyes
(5:39) 12. Fly In The Sky - Barrio Jazz Gang Remix
(5:34) 13. Maybe Yesterday - Barrio Jazz Gang Remix

Here is the new soloist project of Pauline London, singer, composer and lyricist, whose music is crossed by suggestions jazz, lounge, NuJazz, combined together from an incisive and rarefied vocal style at the same time. Been born as jazz-singer Pauline moves with boldness toward the new electronic scene, succeeding to mix with effectiveness tunes from the taste jazzy to the new bossa sonorities. She participates in the last years in various record projects among which Barrio Jazz Gang as vocalist and author.This is the debut album that reveales a mix of refined and evocative sound, following the succes obtained for the vocal perfomance on the famous LINDA CANCAO track. She is able to capture the listener with its hypnotic taste, both reflexive and sunny, supported by excellent arrangements that now conducts toward a sort of cool-jazz now toward the warm territories of the bossa-nova. She spended a long time singing and studying all the great singers such as Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Carmen Mc Rae, Shirley Bassey on the jazz blues side. Also she a great interpreter of Elis Regina and Astrud Gilberto tracks. The cd is opened with the wonderful deep and intense soulful track “Love can sing“ where she really give us true emotions. “Stay by my side” starts with a quality broken beat programming on pad of orchestra’s s strings while the sweet melody grown in a magic fields. Listen here to her scat jazz vocals and solo. On the third track “ Out on winter “ she is with Paul Innarella that plays the soprano-sax and together they give us a little jewel for that winter days where we all whispering the sunny times………..as a free seagull ! An intimate jazz-guitar break before Pauline closing the track with her tipycal vocalizing, give us a moment of pure visionary pleasure. “Sing a lullaby” is a latin–dancefloor track with a great hook and superb electronic treatments. Her vocals are floating in an atmosphere of a very happy party mood, can be in Rio, Havana, L.A. or in a beach club in the warmth of a tropical summer. The guitar is making a very strong riff that for sure will remain in your mind for long. In the well know track “ Fly in the sky “ Pauline sings in her own inimitable way and remind us the days of Shirley Bassey in English ‘60’ spy movies. Huge heart, great inspiration and expertly crafted.

“Vibraçao “ with his bubbling bass line and acoustic guitars played by Steve take us in an intense brazilian landscape atmosphere, where the exciting flute patterns floats……strong sense of a greater wider vision. Don’t be fooled by the title this 7 track ” Bubbles” is an inspiring glimpse of dark jazz on a sexy voice in the setting of lush. Vibraphone and brass characterized the sound and the mood giving that special jazzy feeling. “Dance the life” is an irresistible down tempo soul track with hammond, acoustic guitar and percussion and again the soprano-sax that duet wih Pauline in the warmest moment of the all cd. “My be yesterday” starts with with a rimshot solid-groove where the eletric guitar riff gives to the rhythm that special ’70’s funky sound. The bassline is circular and also very fat, her voice as usual goes from soul to pop melodies to fantastic scat–beats. Her multi-recording vocals will for sure amaze you. Also featuring Paul on a flute. “Talking to the moon “ is a night ballad with a sad feeling but big hope a love. She said: “…Quiet vision of the night you break the dark of this long long night……….I’m returning to the dreamland………..” These few words exactly catch the meaning of her creative expression of love and feeling to the music that reflects her lifestyle. “In your eyes” is a rhythmic chill-out song that sudddenly slides in a pop-mood sound and create new way to make modern music with a new approach but still maintaining a foot in the tradition. The percussion grooves and the rhythms of the guitars sweep away together with the flute and the strings arrangements. ………Rain or shine I don’t mind ‘cause I’ve got you into my life………………….The first “Barrio Jazz Gang” remix of the “ Fly in the sky “ track start with one of their best jazz broken beat, that is the trademark of their sound. The bassline is very solid and fat while the electric piano chords harmonizes soflty on her beautiful vocals. The bongoes rhythms running fast under the groove and the brass and guitar shots construct a cinematic atmosphere. In the break the snare-drill and the electronic filtering are exalting her magic singing. “My be yesterday” is another “Barrio Jazz Gang” remix exquisitely designed for club jazz dancefloor. The initial Pauline scat and the hammond shots are taking us as usual into a retro-modern atmosphere where she brings the warmth of her voice, filtered and treated with deep knowledge of the electronic machines use. She says : “ Night was made just for us, now it’s easy to believe it………..close your eyes and let you see…………………. “https://www.funkyjuice.com/en/products/pauline-london-quiet-skies/

Quiet Skies

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Charles Lloyd - Lift Every Voice Disc 1 And Disc 2

Album: Lift Every Voice Disc 1

Styles: Saxophone And Flute Jazz
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:19
Size: 141,8 MB
Art: Front

(15:00)  1. Hymn To The Mother
( 4:05)  2. You Are So Beautiful
( 4:42)  3. Amazing Grace
( 9:40)  4. East Virginia, West Memphis
( 5:07)  5. What's Going On
( 3:33)  6. Angel Oak
( 6:47)  7. Te Amaré
( 7:38)  8. I'm Afraid
( 4:43)  9. Hafez, Shattered Heart

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Album: Lift Every Voice Disc 2

Time: 69:07

Size: 159,6 MB

( 7:05)  1. Rabo De Nube

( 5:06)  2. Blood Count

(10:37)  3. Go Down Moses

( 7:51)  4. Beyond Darkness

( 6:12)  5. Nocturne

( 8:35)  6. Wayfaring Stranger

( 6:25)  7. Deep River

( 3:08)  8. Lift Every Voice And Sing

(14:03)  9. Prayer, The Crossing

The initial response of most Americans to the tragedy of September 11th was shock, quickly followed by anger. While many maintain that anger, others have moved on to mourning, contemplation, and hope. Such is the mood for Charles Lloyd’s recording, over two hours of introspection and spiritual resurrection. This recording of two sessions from the winter of 2002 follows two of the most beautiful records Lloyd has ever made. Both The Water Is Wide (2000) and Hyperion With Higgins (2001) showcase Lloyd’s spiritual side and, as these were some of the last recordings made by drummer Billy Higgins, they have an supernatural deliberation about them. In the wake of the events of 9-11, Lloyd reassembled Larry Grenadier and John Abercrombie from the Higgins’ dates and added Geri Allen, and long time companions Billy Hart and Marc Johnson. Lloyd worked these sessions as a quartet with Allen, Grenadier and Hart, then a quintet adding Abercrombie and switching bassists to Johnson. Perusing the titles Lloyd’s purpose becomes apparent. His response to the tragedy is one of lament, longing, and faith. His creed is interdenominational, and multi-racial. He covers music of spirituals, “Deep River,” “Go Down Moses,” and “Amazing Grace,” alongside of the Negro National Anthem as the albums title piece and Islamic poet’s “Hafez, Shattered Heart.” Lloyd’s “Moses” has a certain sense of anger before settling into a comforting blues. His solo taragato on “Hafez” applies a patient yet unresolved inquiry into the Eastern experience of world events. Along with traditional music he plies his own craft, that is jazz, to these statements. Recalling a peaceful response he takes up Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” and Billy Preston’s “You Are So Beautiful.” No grandstanding is allowed here or on any of these tracks. The melodies are touched on with a minimum of soloing as if to focus on the message and not the musician. It’s not that these talented musicians are held back. This disc reminds one of John Coltrane’s ballads recording where less was more. Bringing forth Allen and Abercrombie’s spiritual/folk side is a valued gift. Lloyd’s largess here is his sincerity. The distinctness of this music is a break from the artificiality of many responses to 9-11. Lloyd’s belief in humanity and reliance on the healing and redemptive qualities of music propels this compassionate recording. ~ Mark Corroto https://www.allaboutjazz.com/lift-every-voice-charles-lloyd-ecm-records-review-by-mark-corroto.php

Personnel:  Charles Lloyd - tenor saxophone, flute, tarogato; Geri Allen - piano; John Abercrombie - guitar; Marc Johnson - double bass; Larry Grenadier - double bass; Billy Hart - drums

Lift Every Voice Disc 1 And Disc 2

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Harry Allen - Rhode Island Is Famous for You

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:33
Size: 151,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:48)  1. Rhode Island Is Famous for You
(5:33)  2. Ev'rything I Love
(6:11)  3. Swingin' Down the Lane
(3:16)  4. The Last Dance
(4:37)  5. Walk It Like You Talk It
(5:18)  6. Who Can I Turn To
(5:01)  7. The Last Best Year
(5:32)  8. I Know Your Heart (Like the Back of My Hand)
(4:16)  9. Poor Little Rhode Island
(5:46) 10. Happy You Happened to Me
(7:07) 11. There's a Rainbow 'round My Shoulder
(4:22) 12. Out of Rangoon
(3:40) 13. Where Do You Start?

There was a moment a few years ago, when the late Jim Czak, recording engineer supreme and, quite literally, the best friend of everybody who ever played or even listened to  jazz in New York, passed along to me some interesting news regarding The Children’s Television Workshop and Sesame Street.  The long-running children’s series had, for most of its run, employed a regular staff of studio musicians who were also outstanding jazz players.  Chief among these was Mike Renzi, one of the most prodigiously gifted pianists anyone has ever heard, and an outstanding jazz improviser, in spite of how throughout his considerable career, he has played comparatively little instrumental jazz.  Famously, he accompanied nearly all of the top singers of all time, and when he wasn’t accompanying Mel Torme, he was playing, arranging, and composing for Big Bird. But the word was that PBS, after many decades, was, as is often put rather euphemistically, “going in a different direction,” music-wise.  In other words, the staff of all-star jazz musicians, led by Mr. Renzi, essentially lost their leases on Sesame Street and were importuned to pack up and move to other pastures. But the Cookie Monster’s loss was bound to be a major gain for the rest of us who love good music.  It was regrettable that Mike was losing his “day job,” but we knew that we could look forward to seeing his bearded face (unlike myself, he doesn’t seem to have aged a day since I first started hearing him in the 1970s) and hear his remarkable, distinctive keyboard touch in the jazz clubs and cabaret rooms of Manhattan again.  We were right. Mike then spent several years on the road with Tony Bennett (that’s him on the mega-platinum team up with Lady Gaga), recalling the period when he seemed to be working with Torme, Lena Horne, and Peggy Lee all virtually simultaneously, and has also been heard with some of the newer classier singers, such as Lisa Remick and his protegee, Nicolas King. Still, there are barely a handful of purely instrumental jazz albums that spotlight Mike Renzi, like the 1986 Soft Lights & Sweet Music : Gerry Mulligan Meets Scott Hamilton and his own A Beautiful Friendship (1987) both of which feature the great rhythm section of their age: Mr. Renzi, bassist Jay Leonhart, and drummer Grady Tate.  Kudos then, to Harry Allen, the tenor saxophone savant, who exhibits as much taste in his musical collaborators as he does in selecting songs, for teaming up with Mr. Renzi on a recording that at once re-establishes Mr. Renzi’s bonafides as a swing player, and, at the same time, gives us some of the best playing ever documented by Mr. Allen, whose recorded output is long and filled with treasures. 

The net result of Harry Allen’s decision to work with Mike Renzi is that Mr. Allen sounds better than ever; I wouldn’t have thought it was possible for him to rise any higher in my estimation, but somehow he has.  Too often when we talk about Mr. Allen’s playing, we tend to pigeonhole him as a “swing tenor,” and while that is, admittedly, a rather cozy pigeonhole to be stuck in, he’s actually so much more than that. Among other things, Mr. Allen has developed an entire side career in working with Brazilian groups, and when he gets anywhere near a samba beat (as in here in Cole Porter’s “Everything I Love”), the foundations are much more rooted in the 1960s than the 1940s, more Stan Getz than Ben Webster, though it should be stressed that both of those jazz icons are primarily points of comparison rather than imitation. Here, more than ever, Mr. Allen’s sound is too timeless and too universal to be hitched to any one particular style or musical point-of-departure.  That feeling is underscored by the presence of five new and original songs, more than usual for one of his albums, including two of his own, “The Last Best Year” and “Happy You Happened To Me.”  The former is a slow ballad, and though I haven’t heard the words (by singer Hilary Gardner, she of the Duchess vocal trio), but Allen plays it so expressively, and with such a great sense of narrative, that you feel like you’ve absorbed the entire story even without them.  The other new numbers, by Bruce Brown and Roger Frankham (both individually and as a team) include a jazz waltz (“Out of Rangoon”) and a funk number (“Walk It Like You Talk It”) both of which, I hasten to add, are well outside of the realm of 1940s-style 4/4 swing. The remaining tunes, are, in Mr. Allen’s best tradition, a thoughtful mix of jazz standards and show tunes, including two songs about Rhode Island, one (“Rhode Island is Famous for You” by Schwartz & Dietz, from the revue Inside U.S.A.) rarely heard in an instrumental jazz context and the other (“Poor Little Rhode Island” by Cahn & Styne, from the 1945 film Carolina Blues) rare in any context.  (This is, in fact, only the second recording of the song that I have, the other being by Guy Lombardo.  This one is better.) The two Rhode Island songs, one of which gives the album its title, and the recording location (at Stable Sound, located in the Vanderbilt Stables in Portsmouth, RI, a short drive from Newport) are included in honor of Mr. Renzi’s background in that state. 

Mr.  Allen also “sings” two classic melodies in the shadow of his predecessors, not saxophonists this time, but outstanding popular singers, Al Jolson (who introduced “There’s a Rainbow ‘Round My Shoulder,” and got his name on it) and Frank Sinatra (who commissioned and published “The Last Dance”), which is a slow and romantic dance indeed.   “Who Can I Turn To” is also associated with male singers, including Anthony Newley (who composed and introduced it), Sammy Davis, Jr., and most of all, Tony Bennett; Mr. Allen’s treatment is exuberant, as well as probingly emotional.  Even as Mr. Allen surprises us by moving forward into whole new areas for him, he continues to confirm his place as one of the great interpreters of the classic songbook - and his place as a singer, in the purest sense of the word, is underscored by the presence of the same brilliant collaborator who did so much for Mel, Lena, and Peggy not to mention Mr. Bennett and even Sinatra himself.  The set ends with “Where Do You Start,” simply because nothing could follow it; this may be the most perfect, moving performance of the Mandel-Bergman song - a contemporary classic if ever there was one - that I’ve ever heard. Done strictly as a tenor-and-piano duet, the song almost works better without actually hearing the words again, especially since we already all know them so well. Of all the times I’ve heard this song, I never noticed the central irony of the title before, that one of the best-known statements ever about the end of a relationship uses the word “start” in the title, reminding us that, in its own way, an ending is also a beginning.  Here’s hoping that the “beautiful friendship,” to quote the title of virtually the only album so far under Mr. Renzi’s name, of Harry Allen and Mike Renzi is just beginning. ~  Will Friedwald Will Friedwald writes about music and popular culture for THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, VANITY FAIR & PLAYBOY magazine, and is the author of nine books including the award-winning A BIOGRAPHICAL GUIDE TO THE GREAT JAZZ AND POP SINGERS, SINATRA: THE SONG IS YOU, STARDUST MELODIES, TONY BENNETT: THE GOOD LIFE, LOONEY TUNES & MERRIE MELODIES, and JAZZ SINGING.  He has written over 600 liner notes for compact discs and received ten Grammy nominations.

Personnel: Harry Hallen - Saxophone; Paul Del Nero - Bass; Rodney Green - Drums

Rhode Island Is Famous for You

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