Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Rickie Lee Jones - Dutch Courage (Live 1979)

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:30
Size: 123,7 MB
Art: Front

( 6:17) 1. High Gear And Young Blood
( 4:36) 2. Young Blood
( 5:57) 3. The Last Chance Texaco
( 3:40) 4. Easy Money
( 3:41) 5. Chuck E's In Love
( 6:10) 6. Weasel And The White Boys
( 3:17) 7. Sentimental Journey
( 5:04) 8. Coolsville
( 3:16) 9. On Saturday Afternoons In 1963
(11:27) 10. Jam

Hilton Als is a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine; advisory editor at Grand Street magazine; has written about photography and prominent members in the field. The Women, his first book, an extended essay about women and self-invention, was published in November by Farrar, Straus, & Giroux. Think of what you are about to read as a documentary film of sorts, replete with close-ups and fade-outs, starring the premiere song-stylist and songwriter of her generation, Rickie Lee Jones. In this film we see: Rickie Lee Jones’ face, her distinctive mouth, and her thick, beyond shoulder length blonde hair as she walks down a road in a bucolic section of Tacoma, Washington, where she currently resides. It is springtime. She does not wear shoes. She carries a guitar. The sky overhead is as shiny as mica. As Jones searches for a place to sit and play in the sun, we see various aspects of her contemporary life come into frame, engaging Jones’ attention as she smiles, and listens, and reflects. We see her daughter, Charlotte Rose; Jones’ mother and siblings; various friends. All of these people come and go, passing in front of, and behind, our primary focus: Rickie Lee Jones playing her guitar and singing any number of her award winning songs: "Chuck E.’s in Love," or her interpretation of the classic, "Making Whoopee," for which she won a Grammy® in 1990.

As Rickie Lee Jones sings, we hear, in voice over: Rickie Lee Jones is the second of three daughters and one son who are of Welsh and Irish ancestry. She was born on November 8, 1954, in Chicago, Illinois. Her parents, Richard Loris Jones and Bettye Jane Jones, both had peripatetic childhoods: her father lived from hand to mouth in a number of transient hotels, and rode the rails, wandering the country. Her mother was an orphan. She has described her family as "lower-middle-class-hillbilly-hipster. The late Mr. Jones was a performer who supplemented his income as a waiter, furniture mover, and gardener. (Richard Jones’own father was a one-legged vaudeville and carny dancer named Peg Leg Jones. Jones says of her paternal grandfather: "I have one clipping of him, advertising his act, where his name is bigger than Milton Berle’s.") Bettye Jones worked as a waitress; later, she became a nurse.

Between jobs, Richard Jones taught his musically inclined daughter how to sing. And to honor that, Jones used to perform, in her early concerts, "The Moon is Made of Gold," a lullaby her father wrote for her. Since her family led a largely marginal existence, Jones lived in Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Arizona, and Olympia, Washington by the time she entered high school. By all accounts, Rickie Lee Jones was an extremely solitary child who was especially close to her older brother, Danny. Nevertheless, she preferred the secret world of her imaginary friends and playmates. In an interview, Bettye Jones said that her daughter’s imaginary playmates had "strange names like Bashla and SlowBeeSlow." She continued, "[Rickie] would take them with her to church." When he was sixteen, Rickie’s brother, Danny, suffered a motorcycle accident that left him with one leg and partial paralysis. At the time, Rickie lived with an aunt. But she visited her brother in the hospital constantly. Her mother recalls that she would sing in the hospital’s elevator shaft. "You could hear it all around the hospital," Bettye Jones has said. "It was the eeriest sound I think I ever heard."

When Rickie was fourteen, she was living in Arizona with her father. Jones has said in an interview that her mother was always afraid she would run away a heartbreak she couldn’t take and so sent her to live with her father; her parents were separated by then. Jones recalls that she once ran away from her father as a result of his need to control his wildly imaginative young daughter, her burgeoning sexuality and charisma, and powerful talent. In an interview for a Rolling Stone cover story published in 1979, Jones said: "I never knew when I was gong to leave. I might be walking over to a kid’s house, then of all a sudden I would just stick out my thumb and hitchhike across three states." In this, Rickie resembles Cissy, the heroine of Tom Robbins’ classic novel, Even Cowgirls Get The Blues, the story of a young girl trying to find the world through the kindness of strangers offering her a ride to anywhere but here. After high school in Olympia, which she had returned to in her mid-teens, Jones began singing more and more. She also wrote lyrics in a little notebook she kept. Sometimes, she’d sing the entire score of "West Side Story," to amuse herself.

By the time she nineteen, Jones was living in Los Angeles, waiting tables and occasionally playing music in out of the way coffee houses and bars. All the while, she was developing her unique aesthetic: music that was sometimes spoken, often beautifully sung, and while emotionally accessible, she was writing lyrics as taut and complex as any by the great American poet, Elizabeth Bishop. In her voice and songs, we saw smoky stocking seams, love being everything but requited. And it was during these years that Jones’ song, "Easy Money," caught the attention of one musician and then the music industry. The song was recorded by Lowell George, the founder of the band, Little Feat. He used it on his solo album, "Thanks, I’ll Eat It Here." Warner Brothers auditioned Jones and quickly signed her to the label.

Her debut on Warners, Rickie Lee Jones, released in 1979, won the Grammy® for Best New Artist. She was hailed by one critic as a "highly touted new pop-jazz-singer-songwriter" and another critic as "one of the best if not the best artist of her generation." In addition to the album’s brilliant songs including the exceptional "On Saturday Afternoons in 1963," the haunting "Last Chance Texaco," and the popular "Chuck E’s in Love"--Jones was becoming a figure whose life was bearing a great deal of emulation by young women and men who found, in her deep and personal and idiosyncratic life and work, a model for the new generation of hipster: She was heralded as a trendsetter in dress (beret, subdresses, heels) and in lifestyle, given her by then famous relationship with two boys she helped to make famous, too: Chuck E. Weiss, a Los Angeles character, and the singer and songwriter Tom Waits, about whom Rickie has said: "We walk around the same streets, and I guess it's primarily a jazz-motivated situation for both of us. We're living on the jazz side of life."More...... https://www.rickieleejones.com/biography.htm

Dutch Courage (Live 1979)

Dmitry Baevsky - Somethin´ Special


Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:57
Size: 98,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:41) 1. Somethin´ Special
(4:39) 2. Fools Rush In
(8:30) 3. Cheesecake
(7:58) 4. Lament
(5:10) 5. Eclypso
(7:08) 6. The End of a Love Affair
(4:48) 7. I Thought About You

“Cheese Cake” (Dexter Gordon) plays. The timbre is that of a tenor saxophone. I wonder to the producer and oh surprise, it's an alto sax! He gave it to me with cheese! I scrutinize criticism and verify that qualified critics also succumbed to his fraud. I reconcile myself to my self-esteem and reaffirm my admiration for Baevsky. Dmitry's sound is warm, thick, dark, with a strong presence and a timbre full of harmonics. In the present work, he has chosen a varied bunch of standards that go a long way with his style. It begins with Somethin 'Special, (Sonny Clark), playing the lie with the timbre of his sax, and with the structure of the theme that begins as a minor blues, to surprise us with an interlude to a ternary rhythm. Piano, drums and double bass talk loquaciously on the song.

It follows a mid-time swing with Fools rush in, (Mercer-Bloom), with a livelier and more cheerful tone and phrasing, in keeping with the title of the song.In the following Cheesecake cut, perfectly installed in the language of Dexter Gordon, Dmitry offers us a masterful version, without abandoning the Gordonian wave but using his own arguments. A great Fabio Miano solo and a few bars alternating between breaks and stubbornness lead to a great Joe Strasser drum solo. The fourth track lowers the rhythmic tension, not the emotional one, with a sense of Lament (JJ Johnson), where Baevsky shows his sensitivity and delicacy by threading this beautiful ballad note by note.

In fifth place appears Eclypso (Tommy Flannagan), a calypso, to tone the mood. The piano takes the voice to deliver the witness to the sax. Baevsky's agile phrasing, halfway between hard and Latin, invites the participation of double bass and percussion, which makes it clear that no rhythm is alien to him. Once on, why stop! Dmitry seems to propose with The end of a love affair (Edward Redding) in sixth place, with a final Latin nod. In seventh and last place appears I thougt about you (Jimmy Van Heusen). The song debuts as a ballad floating between undertones, but mutates into a mid-time swing with fresh and fluid phrasing, inviting you to participate in the conversation at the piano and double bass. In conclusion, a great album by a great sax virtuoso ... alto? Yes, stop, accompanied by great performers.
http://majazzine.com/2016/01/dmitry-baevsky-somethin-special/

Personnel: Saxophone – Dmitry Baevsky; Bass – Ignasi González; Drums – Joe Strasser; Piano – Fabio Miano

Somethin´ Special

Monday, September 21, 2020

Andy Biskin - Early American: The Melodies of Stephen Foster

Styles: Clarinet Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:12
Size: 130,7 MB
Art: Front

(0:41) 1. My Old Kentucky Home, Good-Night!
(2:16) 2. Jeanie With the Light Brown Hair
(5:12) 3. Early American
(3:20) 4. Camptown Races
(3:04) 5. Journey Cake
(3:39) 6. Oh! Susanna
(3:18) 7. Fits and Starts
(2:49) 8. Hard Times Come Again No More
(3:44) 9. Nelly Bly
(3:21) 10. Thin King Thinking
(2:55) 11. Old Folks at Home
(5:31) 12. Old Black Joe
(3:18) 13. Dom Casual
(5:56) 14. There's a Good Time Coming
(3:15) 15. Beautiful Dreamer
(2:56) 16. Kid Proof
(0:51) 17. Old Folks at Home

The songs of Stephen Foster (1826-64) seem to have seeped into our American DNA, especially for those of us of a certain age. We sang "Oh! Susanna," "Old Folks," "Camptown Races" and other Foster gems in elementary school badly, if memory serves me, with an unrestrained, window-rattling youthful gusto on "Oh! Susanna." Those melodies are part of us now. New York-based clarinetist Andy Biskin discovered the simple beauty and straightforward storytelling aspects of Foster's melodies after a chance playing of "I Dream of Jeannie With the Light Brown Hair" on a restaurant gig. He has since developed a deep interest in Foster's material that he brings to the fore on Early American.

Biskin and his cohorts Pete McCann (guitar and banjo), Chris Washburne (trombone, tuba) and John Hollenbeck (drums) craft a sometimes light-hearted and often whimsical sound, infused with warmth and an old-timey feeling, as they play some of Foster's best-known songs. You could call it Americana folk music chamber jazz, with a forward-leaning focus when Biskin's arrangements give the familiar melodies some idiosyncratic twists and turns, updating these timeless sounds with the likes of McCann's searing electric guitar solo on "There's a Good Time Coming."

Biskin slips in six of his own compositions to complement Foster's songs. On his "Thin King Thinking" the clarinet sings the blues in front of a thick tuba growl, before the band slides into an loose-limbed disassemble, like a drunken house band in a mid-19th Century house of ill repute; and on "Kid Proof" the group romps, taking turns, sharing the moments of sound a tuba huff, then a drum clitter-clat and a clarinet trill, the guitar issuing spikey notes all around them. The opening and closing tracks are brief moments (less than a minute each) from just after Foster's time, the tinkle of a wind-up music box from the late-1800s playing "My Old Kentucy Home, Good Night!" and "Old Folks at Home." In between you hear Andy Biskin's updated yet still reverent take on the sounds of Stephen Foster. ~ Dan McClenaghan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/early-american-the-melodies-of-stephen-foster-andy-biskin-strudelmedia-review-by-dan-mcclenaghan.php

Personnel: Andy Biskin: clarinet; Pete McCann: guitar, banjo; Chris Washburne: trombone, tuba; John Hollenbeck: drums, percussion.

Early American: The Melodies of Stephen Foster

Thelonious Monk - Palo Alto

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:23
Size: 109,1 MB
Art: Front

( 7:00) 1. Ruby, My Dear
(13:16) 2. Well, You Needn't
( 6:36) 3. Don't Blame Me
(14:01) 4. Blue Monk
( 4:25) 5. Epistrophy
( 2:02) 6. I Love You Sweetheart Of All My Dreams

The back story makes this album irresistible even before you’ve listened to it: In 1968, a 16-year-old jazz fan at Palo Alto High School in California decides to hold a concert in the school’s auditorium to raise funds for its International Club and convinces Thelonious Monk’s manager that his client should be the headliner. (Not surprisingly, the student, Danny Scher, would soon become a major force in the live-music production world.) As concert day approaches, one of the school’s janitors, an audio enthusiast, offers to tune the piano in exchange for recording the show, a deal that’s quickly agreed to. On the afternoon of October 27, the Thelonious Monk Quartet gives its only known high-school performance. Afterward, the janitor (his name apparently lost to history, though researchers are no doubt still working on that) hands the young promoter a tape. It goes in a box, where it sits for the next 50 years. When its owner rediscovers it, he contacts Monk’s son T.S., who first tickled by the story, then impressed by the recording’s quality sanctions its release.

All praise be to that anonymous janitor. Palo Alto’s sound quality may not be absolutely optimal, but its clarity is astounding. You can hear everything, from the creaks of the piano bench to the quiet, regular swish of Ben Riley’s hi-hat on “Ruby, My Dear” and it’s even in stereo. There are no big surprises here in terms of material: four Monk evergreens (“Well, You Needn’t,” “Blue Monk,” and “Epistrophy” in addition to “Ruby”) and typically jagged solo rollicks through “Don’t Blame Me” and “I Love You (Sweetheart of All My Dreams).” Even so, this is one of the best live Monk recordings available, maybe even the best, and certainly the best by this band. Which brings us to a key point: Monk is known for his compositions, his piano style, and his personal idiosyncrasies. He’s not known so much as a bandleader. But Palo Alto should add ammunition to the arsenal of those who believe his 1964-’68 quartet wasn’t just a great vehicle for his tunes but a superlative band in its own right. Riley, bassist Larry Gales,and saxophonist Charlie Rouse truly understood Monk’s music, and Monk himself, on a basic emotional level in ways that few others did yes, more than Trane, more than Sonny, more than Blakey and that’s clear in every note they play here.

As is the utter joy that Monk and his men take in performing for their young audience. More than five decades since it was recorded, this music simply bounces out of the speakers, the spring in its step only heightened by time. ~ Mac Randall https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/thelonious-monk-palo-alto-impulse-sony/

Palo Alto

Sunday, September 20, 2020

Michael Weiss - Soul Journey

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:14
Size: 136,5 MB
Art: Front

(6:21) 1. Optimism
(6:56) 2. El Camino
(5:59) 3. Soul Journey
(6:59) 4. Orient Express
(7:07) 5. Atlantis
(7:14) 6. The Prophecy
(8:05) 7. The Cheshire Cat
(5:54) 8. La Ventana
(4:35) 9. Second Thoughts

Pianist Michael Weiss took home the Grand Prize in the 2000 BMI/Thelonious Monk Institute's Composition Competition for his song "El Camino," which is included on Soul Journey. This Latin-flavored mainstream beauty features three-horn harmonies and tasty soloing all around. "El Camino" is a sure winner, but the CD is full of other fine Weiss-composed songs: the upbeat opener, "Optimism"; the brooding title tune; and the brassy "Second Thoughts." The septet takes a very mainstream approach a three horn front line (trombone/trumpet/alto sax) and a standard jazz rhythm section, plus an additional percussionist. An Art Blakey approach, though with a smoother sound, harmony more in the forefront of the proceedings, and glowing unison blowing. Ryan Kisor stands out on trumpet solos with his buttery smooth tone.

It's the songs, though, that star on Soul Journey. And though Weiss doesn't call attention to himself as an instrumentalist, additional listens reveal a richness to his own solos, a smooth and understated eloquence. He tells stories when it's his turn: structured mini-songs beginning, middle, end slipped into the middle of the compositions. Another listen, and Steve Wilson's trombone solo on "La Ventana" sparkles. Then there's the very "jazzy" workout "The Cheshire Cat", where trumpeter Kisor sings a cool song before altoist Steve Wilson brings things back to a simmer. A standout effort by Michael Weiss and crew.~ Dan McClenaghan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/soul-journey-michael-weiss-sintra-records-review-by-dan-mcclenaghan.php

Personnel: Michael Weiss, piano, Fender Rhodes; Steve Wilson, alto sax; Ryan Kisor, trumpet, flugelhorn; Steve Davis, trombone; Paul Gill, bass; Joe Farnsworth, drums; Danile Sadownick, percussion

Soul Journey

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Just Coolin'


Styles: Jazz, Hard Bop
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:57
Size: 89,6 MB
Art: Front

(6:40) 1. Hipsippy Blues
(6:26) 2. Close Your Eyes
(6:22) 3. Jimerick
(4:43) 4. Quick Trick
(5:59) 5. M&M
(8:43) 6. Just Coolin'

This previously unreleased March 1959 studio session captures the Jazz Messengers in a period of transition. Benny Golson had departed; Wayne Shorter had not yet arrived. In the interim, the tenor chair was filled by Hank Mobley, who’d been a member of the original Messengers, appearing on their breakout albums At the Café Bohemia, Volumes 1 and 2, recorded in 1955 and released the following year. Jazz itself was also transitioning during this time; bebop had morphed into the funkier, more roots-driven hard bop (due in no small part to Art Blakey and the Messengers’ pioneering work), and the even rootsier Saturday night/Sunday morning amalgam that became known as soul-jazz was on the horizon (several musicians here, including Lee Morgan and Bobby Timmons, would be central in this development).

Appropriately, then, these six tracks half of them penned by Mobley are buoyed by a hip, streetsy swagger, striding along the nexus between hard bop and soul-jazz. Mobley, alternately beguiling and blues-drenched, sounds in places almost like a tenorized Lou Donaldson, his characteristic flashes of humor adding both spice and hipster irony to his lines; Morgan imbues his usual technical virtuosity with fiery emotionalism, as if to give a workshop in the ongoing bop/hard-bop evolution. Timmons’ solo work is slyly understated but punctuated with spiky jabs, scurries, and curlicues. Blakey may be a bit more restrained than usual, yet he remains determinedly in control, relentlessly inspiring (compelling?) the soloists to alter their mood or rhythmic approach or, sometimes, just ratchet things up to a higher level with a well-placed kick, cymbal fusillade, or press roll. Until now, the only extant documentation of this Messengers unit had been At the Jazz Corner of the World, recorded at Birdland by Alfred Lion a few weeks later. Although the “without-a-net” creative tension of a live performance is necessarily missing here, this is an invaluable opportunity to hear a short-lived but significant incarnation of one of jazz’s most fabled groups. ~ David Whiteis https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/art-blakey-the-jazz-messengers-just-coolin-blue-note/

Personnel: Bass – Jymie Merritt; Drums – Art Blakey; Piano – Bobby Timmons; Tenor Saxophone – Hank Mobley; Trumpet – Lee Morgan

Just Coolin'

Friday, September 18, 2020

The Peddlers - How Cool Is Cool Disc 1, Disc 2

Album: How Cool Is Cool Disc 1

Styles: Jazz-Pop
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:39
Size: 146,7 MB
Art: Front

(2:18) 1. Time After Time
(3:41) 2. Girl Talk - From the Motion Picture "Harlow"
(2:34) 3. Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)? - From "The Roar Of THe Greasepaint"
(2:37) 4. Stormy Weather
(3:26) 5. Smile
(3:24) 6. Empty Club Blues
(2:28) 7. You're The Reason I'm Living
(3:43) 8. It Ain't No Big Thing
(3:02) 9. Sneakin' Up On You
(3:30) 10. Pentathalon - Instrumental
(2:01) 11. What Now My Love
(6:06) 12. Lover
(2:27) 13. Say No More
(2:36) 14. Irresistable You (2:43) 15. Murrays Mood - Instrumental
(1:42) 16. Nine Miles High
(2:15) 17. Comin' Home Baby
(3:38) 18. On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
(3:12) 19. Basin Street Blues
(2:40) 20. Nobody Likes Me
(3:23) 21. I'm A Boy In Love


Album: How Cool Is Cool Disc 2

Time: 76:42
Size: 176,6 MB

( 4:01) 1. People - From The Musical Production "Funny Girl"
( 2:53) 2. In The Still Of the Night
( 2:49) 3. Ebb Tide
( 2:34) 4. Just A Pretty Song
( 2:38) 5. Lost Continent
( 4:34) 6. Prime Of My Life
( 3:21) 7. Some Of This Some Of That
( 2:44) 8. Handle With Care
( 2:04) 9. Horses Collar
( 4:11) 10. Where Have All The Flowers Gone
( 3:16) 11. Little Red Rooster
( 2:23) 12. Southern Women
( 3:07) 13. By The Time I Get To Phoenix
( 6:33) 14. Girlie P. S. I Love You
( 2:22) 15. Day In Day Out
( 2:26) 16. City Living
(10:41) 17. Lockshen Pudding - Instrumental
( 4:04) 18. Birth
( 3:05) 19. That's Life
( 3:55) 20. Steel Mill
( 2:50) 21. Wasting My Time

Two CD 42 track set featuring their complete CBS recordings. Once derided as three blokes in matching shirts playing easy listening interpretations of pop hits, they now have a certain retro cool for what keyboardist/ vocalist Roy Phillips describes as 'a sort of pop-art-jazz' and can be seen as an influence on acts as diverse as Air & Lemon Jelly. This double CD compilation gathers the group's three late-60s albums they cut for CBS (Freewheelers, Three in a Cell and Birthday) as well as singles and rare recordings. Unbelievably tight, The Peddlers could swing with the best of them and their rich organ and funky rhythms recall both Ramsay Lewis & Booker T & the MG's. Although The Peddlers did not split up until 1976, the group (and their fans) consider these recordings the finest recordings Peddlers available and listening to them is a pleasure. Imaginative interpretations of 'Little Red Rooster' and 'Stormy Weather' alongside brooding originals make this a definitive set of a seriously underrated '60s act who truly embody the pop-art-jazz thing like no other. Sony Jazz. 2002. ~ Editorial Reviews https://www.amazon.com/How-Cool-Peddlers/dp/B00006L403

How Cool Is Cool Disc 1, Disc 2

Tommy Flanagan, John Coltrane, Kenny Burrell - The Cats

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 1983
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:21
Size: 97,5 MB
Art: Front

( 7:24) 1. Minor Mishap
( 5:55) 2. How Long Has This Been Going On?
( 7:55) 3. Eclypso
( 9:07) 4. Solacium
(11:58) 5. Tommy's Tune

The Cats are John Coltrane, Kenny Burrell, Tommy Flanagan, and Idrees Sulieman, heavyweights that clearly mark this as a Prestige All-Stars blowing session. However, this 1957 recording is actually a showcase for Flanagan, a rising star in his first major role. None of the tunes are all that challenging, following basic blues formulas that befit the nature of the session, which was probably quickly organized and recorded. But as you might expect this gives the players plenty of opportunities to wail.Coltrane demonstrates that he would soon be exploring more harmonically advanced territories than the others, tearing through rapid-fire solos with no trouble whatsoever. Burrell takes a more laid-back approach, stringing together bluesy licks in a relaxed fashion. If there's a weak link here, it's Sulieman, who despite a few nice solos seems tentative in spots and a little directionless in others.
But fortunately this is Flanagan's session, a gifted sideman who provides the right support to make sure that everyone stays on course. Along with the sextet tunes, a trio recording of "How Long Has This Been Going On?" proves that Flanagan was capable of handling the spotlight on his own. The slow, graceful rendering of the standard proves that the pianists had plenty of originality and taste and is the only track on the album that stands out. The Cats isn't the best recording by any of these musicians, who recorded in various combinations elsewhere (the later Kenny Burrell with John Coltrane , which also features Flanagan, is an essential purchase), but nevertheless The Cats is a solid album with plenty of tasty playing.~ David Rickert https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-cats-john-coltrane-prestige-records-review-by-david-rickert.php

Personnel: Tommy Flanagan - piano; John Coltrane - tenor sax; Idrees Sulieman - trumpet; Kenny Burrell - guitar; Doug Watkins - bass; Louis Hayes - drums.

The Cats

Thursday, September 17, 2020

Various Artists - Esquire Jazz Concert - Metropolitan Opera House

Styles: Swing,Dixieland
Year: 1944/2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 74:44
Size: 175,6 MB
Art: Front

(2:00)  1. Esquire Bounce
(4:12)  2. Basin Street Blues
(3:22)  3. Sweet Lorraine
(8:26)  4. I Got Rhythm
(2:52)  5. The Blues
(5:13)  6. Esquire Blues
(4:23)  7. Mop Mop
(3:39)  8. Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me
(4:15)  9. Billie's Blues
(1:28) 10. I'll Get By
(3:43) 11. I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues
(3:25) 12. Tea For Two
(3:06) 13. My Ideal
(2:51) 14. Buck Jumpin'
(3:13) 15. Stompin' At The Savoy
(5:01) 16. For Bass Only
(3:33) 17. Back O' Town Blues
(3:06) 18. I've Got A Feeling I'm Falling
(1:39) 19. Honeysuckle Rose
(2:43) 20. Squeeze Me
(2:23) 21. Muskrat Ramble

The first Esquire All-Star Concert, which took place in 1944, has been well documented on various discs, generally in bits and pieces, but this CD has more of the music than most issues. Originally recorded on transcription discs for distribution by various Armed Forces Radio programs, including One Night Stand, Jubilee, and Swing Session, the music is sometimes briefly intruded upon by an announcer who felt obligated to identify a soloist in the middle of a song. But this is a rare opportunity to hear many jazz masters of the 1940s in a jam session atmosphere, including Louis Armstrong, Jack Teagarden, Lionel Hampton, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge, and Red Norvo, to name a few. But the true star of the evening is the phenomenal pianist Art Tatum, who proves himself as a more than competent pianist in a group setting, something he was always accused of not being able to do. The highlight of the 21 selections on this Italian CD is easily the intense eight-minute workout of "I Got Rhythm," with potent solos by Tatum, Eldridge, Hawkins, and clarinetist Barney Bigard. The sound quality isn't bad for a vintage 1940s broadcast, though the rhythm section isn't always clearly audible. Unfortunately, the spelling of names and song titles is a bit sloppy, the music is out of sequence (unlike most reissues), and the concert took place on January 18, 1944, not January 13 as listed. This memorable concert should be part of any serious jazz collection. ~ Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/esquire-jazz-concert-1944-mw0000927901

Esquire Jazz Concert - Metropolitan Opera House

Randy Brecker, Eric Marienthal - Double Dealin'

Styles: Tumpet And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:17
Size: 114,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:10)  1. Double Dealin’
(5:05)  2. 3 Deuces
(4:48)  3. Fast Lane
(5:34)  4. Mind The Fire - For Chuck
(5:52)  5. Sambop
(4:30)  6. You Ga (Ta Give It)
(5:39)  7. True North
(4:34)  8. The Hipster
(4:15)  9. Jetlagged
(4:46) 10. Habañero

It can be difficult for two giants to share space without colliding into each other. It alternatively can be a bold mix of dynamic forces. Double Dealin' (Shanachie, 2020) robustly falls into the second category. It took many years for Randy Brecker and Eric Marienthal to finally find the right project to come together on. The long wait is rewarded with energetic performances in this funk and groove extravaganza. The title track kicks the record off with more than a splash of what was to follow. Brecker's signature sound pops in new digs and is met by the gliding sophistication of Marienthal's melodic tapestry. Marienthal's own engaging solo is capped by the horn section in a tune that establishes what is to be the thread of the record. "Double Dealin'" is one of five Marienthal and George Whitty co-writes on the album. Whitty, who produced the record, contributed the tune "3 Deuces" to the record. The horn section floats through this Whitty arrangement that features a silky solo from Marienthal. Whitty is to be noted as producing, arranging, composing and playing throughout the record. His skillset left a major imprint on the core foundation of this record.

"Fast Lane" is funk in fifth gear. Dave Weckl and John Patitucci join in and somehow avoid a speeding ticket driving this number hard and creating a furious rhythm section pace for Brecker and Marienthal to ride. Their connectivity is never more apparent, as Brecker plays with gusto and Marienthal reaches in for a growl. It's a high wire act from start to finish. Sequencing to a slow down, the beautifully sentimental "Mind the Fire" is offered as a tribute to late guitarist Chuck Loeb. A long-time friend and band mate of both Brecker and Marienthal, Loeb had a special character to his playing that was honored in this Whitty/Marienthal composition. Played with heart and elegance, Brecker's understated grace brings a soft emotional current to this warm remembrance. The ensemble skyrocketed back to the high-end funk and groove display with Brecker's saucy "Sambop." Brecker breathes life into a nourishing solo, flourishing into a tantalizing, sensational riff that bridges to Marienthal. Grateful for the set-up, Marienthal ignites into a powder keg of his own in this funky barn burner. Patitucci and Weckl's resilient and energetic push are key to this tune's flavor and rhythmic cadence.

Brecker's second compositional entry to Double Dealin' is "You Ga (To Give It)." They give us an exhilarating funk rush that is laced with spirited note selections by Brecker and Marienthal. It's a tune that swings hard with improvisational bliss. The sophisticated "True North" manages to take you to a different place while staying in the bounds, or the aforementioned thread, of the record. The Whitty/Marienthal co-write is to be noted for its synergy and delightfully intelligent play from the horn section as a unit. Some big playing with some big chops by both Brecker and Marienthal as they gravitated due north with significant interplay. It would be remiss not to mention Patitucci's acoustic bass treatment on this number. Whitty's "The Hipster" is just a whole lot of fun. All aboard the funk train. The groovin' locomotive shimmies down the tracks with abandon and no stops along the way. Brecker's trip to the hardware store pays off, as he gets down and blows freely with a plunger mute. Some really great vibes on this tune make for some chill beats and cool moments. Whitty sneaking in to stretch out on a solo is a well-placed secret weapon. Well conducted, everyone is indeed on board and riding in first class. Brecker's wife, talented saxophonist Ada Rovatti, brought a song to the mix entitled "Jetlagged." Slick licks from Brecker and Marienthal are employed here in a song that has more umph than the sleepy title might imply. Creatively written and arranged, it is notable that Rovatti wrote engaging parts for each member of the ensemble. The riffs spew out off of tight edges in perhaps the most wonderfully complex piece on the record.

Double Dealin' finishes in the high style that was ridden and presented from top to bottom. Not surprisingly, "Habanero" is hot and spicy. The fifth Whitty/Marienthal offering is certainly a leave 'em wanting more conclusion. Brecker and Marienthal seize the moment and leave nothing on the table. Brecker did what Brecker does. A note selection gem performed with verve. Marienthal responds in a brisk and flavorful manner with an effervescent solo of his own. The word double is represented here in the scope of appreciation or listening methodology. There is plenty of meat on the bone for the jazz aficionado that wants to dig deep. 

Also, there is the opportunity to just take it easy, ride the grooves, and have some fun/funk. In a year dampened by pandemic woes, Brecker and Marienthal opt to raise spirits in presenting this high-end celebration of music and life. ~ Jim Worsley https://www.allaboutjazz.com/double-dealin-randy-brecker-and-eric-marienthal-shanachie-records

Personnel: Randy Brecker: trumpet; Eric Marienthal: saxophone; George Whitty: keyboards; Dave Weckl: drums; John Patitucci: bass.

Double Dealin'

Wednesday, September 16, 2020

The Cannonball Adderley Quintet - Quintet Plus

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1961
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:23
Size: 125,3 MB
Art: Front

(8:08)  1. Arriving Soon
(6:25)  2. Well You Needn't
(6:55)  3. New Delhi
(6:56)  4. Winetone
(7:05)  5. Star Eyes
(6:40)  6. Lisa - Take 8
(6:59)  7. Lisa - Alternate Take
(5:12)  8. O.P.

For this CD reissue of a Riverside date, altoist Cannonball Adderley's 1961 Quintet (which includes cornetist Nat Adderley, pianist Victor Feldman, bassist Sam Jones and drummer Louis Hayes) is joined by guest pianist Wynton Kelly on five of the eight selections, during which Feldman switches quite effectively to vibes. The music falls between funky soul-jazz and hard bop, and each of the performances (particularly "Star Eyes" and "Well You Needn't") is enjoyable. The CD adds a new alternate take of "Lisa" and the previously unissued "O.P." to the original program. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-quintet-plus-mw0000584171

Personnel: Cannonball Adderley - alto saxophone; Nat Adderley - cornet; Wynton Kelly - piano; Victor Feldman - piano, vibes; Sam Jones - bass; Louis Hayes - drums

The Quintet Plus

Tuesday, September 15, 2020

Jo Stafford - Autumn In New York And Other Classics

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:37
Size: 153,6 MB
Art: Front

(2:42)  1. Autumn In New York
(2:47)  2. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
(2:57)  3. If I Loved You
(2:58)  4. Almost Like Being In Love
(2:27)  5. Make Believe
(2:39)  6. Through The Years
(3:10)  7. Sometimes I'm Happy
(2:48)  8. In The Still Of The Night
(3:12)  9. Some Enchanted Evening
(2:25) 10. The Best Things In Life Are Free
(2:42) 11. Just One Of Those Things
(2:46) 12. Haunted Heart
(2:54) 13. Alice Blue Gown
(2:33) 14. Tell Me Why
(2:40) 15. Let The Rest Of The World Go By
(2:44) 16. Gee, It's Good To Hold You
(2:35) 17. The Wish That I Wish Tonight
(2:51) 18. As Long As I Know You're Somewhere
(3:03) 19. Rockin' Chair
(3:02) 20. Georgia On My Mind
(2:49) 21. Dream - Edit
(3:13) 22. Jamboree Jones
(3:29) 23. Temptation (Tim-Tayshun) - 1949 Version

An early LP for Jo Stafford (and the LP format itself), 1950's Autumn in New York assembled a dozen standards set at ballad tempo and arranged with crying strings by Stafford's primary arranger (and husband), Paul Weston. Most of them were show tunes, some dating back to the '20s, and all seemed tailor-made for Stafford's sweet, pure tone and way with a lovelorn lyric. The title song and "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" earned pride of place, but there simply wasn't a deficient tune in the bunch "Sometimes I'm Happy," "Some Enchanted Evening," "Just One of Those Things" and Stafford treated them all with the reverence and devotion they deserve. The LP was released in several formats, including a collection of 78-rpm EPs, while a 2009 reissue by DRG boasted 11 bonus tracks, including a few previously unreleased songs as well as a pair of big hits: "Jamboree Jones" (featuring Johnny Mercer) and "Tim-Tayshun (Temptation)" (Stafford's cornpone sendup of the Bing Crosby standard). ~ John Bush https://www.allmusic.com/album/autumn-in-new-york-mw0000814176

Autumn In New York And Other Classics

Rickie Lee Jones - Rickie Lee Jones

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1979
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:48
Size: 97,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:29)  1. Chuck E's in Love
(2:31)  2. On Saturday Afternoons in 1963
(3:18)  3. Night Train
(4:03)  4. Young Blood
(3:19)  5. Easy Money
(4:05)  6. The Last Chance Texaco
(4:06)  7. Danny's All-Star Joint
(3:48)  8. Coolsville
(5:59)  9. Weasel and the White Boys Cool
(4:52) 10. Company
(2:13) 11. After Hours (Twelve Bars Past Midnight)

With her expressive soprano voice employing sudden alterations of volume and force, and her lyrical focus on Los Angeles street life, Rickie Lee Jones comes on like the love child of Laura Nyro and Tom Waits on her self-titled debut album. Given the population of colorful characters who may or may not be real people that populate her songs Chuck E., Bragger, Kid Sinister, and others she also might have had Bruce Springsteen in her bloodline (that is, the Springsteen of his first two albums), and her jazzbo sensibility suggests Mose Allison as a grandfather. Producers Lenny Waronker and Russ Titelman, who know all about assisting quirky singer/songwriters with their visions, have brought in a studio full of master session musicians, many of them with jazz credentials, and apparently instructed them to follow Jones' stop-and-start, loud-and-soft vocalizing, then overdubbed string parts here and there. The music thus has a sprung rhythmic feel that follows the contours of Jones' impressionistic stories about scuffling people on the streets and in the bars. There is an undertow of melancholy that becomes more overt toward the end, as the narrator's friends and lovers clear out, leaving her "Standing on the corner/All alone," as she sings in the final song, "After Hours (Twelve Bars Past Goodnight)." It's a long way, if only 40 minutes or so, from the frolicsome opener, "Chuck E.'s in Love," which had concluded that he was smitten by "the little girl who's singin' this song." But then, the romance of the street is easily replaced by its loneliness. Rickie Lee Jones is an astounding debut album that simultaneously sounds like a synthesis of many familiar styles and like nothing that anybody's ever done before, and it heralds the beginning of a potentially important career. ~ William Ruhlmann https://www.allmusic.com/album/rickie-lee-jones-mw0000190561

Rickie Lee Jones

Monday, September 14, 2020

Cybill Shepherd - Talk Memphis To Me

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1997
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:21
Size: 92,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:25)  1. Roll Big Muddy
(3:03)  2. Beal Street Blues
(2:20)  3. Tennessee Waltz
(4:47)  4. Walkin' The Dog - Who's Makin' Love
(4:13)  5. Power Of Love
(3:01)  6. Muddy Water
(3:51)  7. If I Could
(2:55)  8. Mama's Cookin'
(4:35)  9. Find Another Fool
(3:47) 10. Talk Memphis To Me
(3:19) 11. You Never Know

Cybill Shepherd is a one-of-a-kind steel magnolia, a Southern beauty queen who looks soft as a flower petal but who in reality is anything but soft on the inside. Her patrician looks and bombshell figure generated modeling and acting careers while her saucy attitude and flair for comedy won fans for her as well. Most interesting of all, behind the beautiful façade is a woman with brains and talent. She always spoke her mind, as evidenced by a tell-all memoir in 2000 in which she didn't hesitate to spill the beans and name which male co-star failed to finish a horizontal tango, which one tangoed too fast, and who was best equipped for the encounter. In addition to modeling, acting, writing, and producing, Shepherd also sings. She has released seven albums and has performed live in cabarets and other nightspots in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and London. Like many vocalists, Shepherd began with a stint in the church choir as a child. She started taking voice lessons when she was 16 years old. Her repertoire is a mixture of standards, blues, rock, and ballads. Peabo Bryson appears on her Somewhere Down the Road album. Stan Getz joins her on Mad About the Boy, and Phineas Newborn Jr. appears on Vanilla. Another album, Songs From the Cybill Show in 1999, is a tie-in to her similarly named television comedy series which launched in 1995.

A Tennessee native, Shepherd twice took the title of Miss Teenage Memphis, first in 1966 and again two years later. She was named Model of the Year by Stewart Models in 1968. Her photo has graced the covers of such magazines as Vogue, Life, People, and Glamour. One of those covers sparked Peter Bogdanovich's interest in Shepherd, leading to a long-term relationship and a starring role in his 1971 film, The Last Picture Show. The Heartbreak Kid followed the next year. Other films include Texasville, Married to It, Daisy Miller, and Taxi Driver. Her awards include four Golden Globes and an equal number of People's Choice Awards. 

The Hollywood Radio and Television Society dubbed Shepherd and Bruce Willis, her co-star in the Moonlighting television series during the late '80s, Woman and Man of the Year in Broadcasting. Shepherd was married twice. Her 1978 marriage to David Ford ended in divorce in 1982. In 1987 she wed Bruce Oppenheim, but that union, too, ended in divorce in 1990. She has three children. ~ Linda Seiva https://www.allmusic.com/artist/cybill-shepherd-mn0000149345/biography

Talk Memphis To Me

Sunday, September 13, 2020

Sue Ramsay & Mike Stanutz - Reunion

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:27
Size: 89,1 MB
Art: Front

(2:22)  1. Spend A Little Time With Me
(4:18)  2. A Light
(3:31)  3. Bossa Vagabundo
(3:05)  4. Cat
(2:43)  5. VooDoo
(2:32)  6. Reunion
(2:52)  7. Big Green Eyes
(3:02)  8. Cold House Blues
(4:19)  9. Come To Me
(1:33) 10. A Song We'll Always Know
(3:30) 11. You Say
(2:04) 12. Pumpkin
(2:30) 13. Winds Of Change

Reunion, probably the most rewarding and of course tantalizing for me is the original material.  I have Mike Stanutz to thank for that. "Reunion" is our first cd....and is full of joy and hope.   Writing lyrics....listening to a piece of music and creating is so surreal and  intoxicating.  Having a hand in creating what I sing is a privilege.  Once you've had a drop......well I'm not sure how to stop. http://www.suzanne-ramsay.com/music.html

Featured Tracks: A Light - David Matheson keys, Phil Desera guitar, Clark Johnston bass, Mike Stanutz drums, Sue Ramsay vocals  /    Cat - Clark Johnston bass, Sue Ramsay vocals /   A Song We'll Always Know By Heart -  Phil Desera guitar, Sue Ramsay vocals

Reunion

Artemis - Artemis

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:54
Size: 119,6 MB
Art: Front

(7:24)  1. Goddess Of The Hunt
(7:20)  2. Frida
(6:12)  3. The Fool On The Hill
(5:01)  4. Big Top
(3:27)  5. If It's Magic
(5:27)  6. Nocturno
(6:25)  7. Step Forward
(5:29)  8. Cry, Buttercup, Cry
(5:05)  9. The Sidewinder

It's truly exhilarating yet sadly mundane and reductive that a recording as vital and victorious as Artemis will be universally hailed as a first from an all- female supergroup. That it cuts across all generational, cultural, international, and ethnic planes. That Blue Note Records has expanded its ever legendary ranks to include, well, you know, a female supergroup. It's like the more we think we've gotten past these worn, tired types of qualifiers we realize all the more we really haven't.

Until that day we no longer feel the need to identify such things, we turn, as every society does, to our artists to lead, and lead Artemis does. How could it not when pianist and musical director Renee Rosnes joins equally fierce forces with tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana, clarinetist Anat Cohen, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, drummer Allison Miller, bassist Noriko Ueda, and featured vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant for a tough, tight and tenacious nine song set that catches fire immediately with Miller's "Goddess of the Hunt." A wily composition that brings each member to the fore without breaking the ensemble's inherent integrity. On "Goddess of the Hunt" propelled by Rosnes' and Ueda's insistence and Miller's persistence Aldana and Jensen run the gamut as Cohen binds it all together. It's a kick-off not to be to missed.

Aldana's precocious "Frida," one of the tunes the saxophonist didn't include on her emotionally weighted study suite of the painter Frida Kahlo, Visions (Motema, 2019) weaves more space for the five to establish both an intrinsic group synergy and individual personality. Never opting out for ego's sake, Jensen's intricate rendering of John Lennon and Paul McCartney's "The Fool On the Hill" allows for each voice to freely interpret one of rock's greatest ruminations with a real time urgency for the real time absurdity we live through daily. All five minutes of Rosnes' finger snapping, toe tapping "Big Top" is sheer joy to listen to and a virtuoso testament by the septet to the Greek goddess that inspires them. Salvant makes a stunning entrance with Stevie Wonder's elegant 1977 ballad "If It's Magic." Cohen, whose high flights of fancy and in depth explorations of shadow and light throughout the album almost steals the whole show, brings the contemplative "Nocturno" for each player to color. In stark contrast of mood and style, Ueda's punchy swing-fest "Step Forward" lets us marvel at Cohen's acrobatics, Jensen's lyrical agility, and Rosnes' whimsical sense of light. It's a remarkably fluid piece. Which is a fine way to describe the whole of this debut by a crew of veterans. Inspired by the times around them, Artemis returns the inspiration tenfold.~ Mark Jurkovic https://www.allaboutjazz.com/artemis-artemis-blue-note

Personnel:  Renee Rosnes: piano; Allison Miller: drums; Melissa Aldana: saxophone, tenor; Noriko Ueda: bass; Ingrid Jensen: trumpet; Cecile McLorin Salvant: voice / vocals; Anat Cohen: clarinet, bass.

Artemis

Saturday, September 12, 2020

Ciyo - So Inviting

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:54
Size: 158,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:56)  1. So Inviting
(4:00)  2. Hello Happiness
(6:28)  3. We've Got Love to Share
(5:24)  4. Breezin'
(4:45)  5. Love Won't Leave Us Alone
(4:18)  6. Feel the Vibe
(4:15)  7. Kingston Nights
(5:12)  8. Jazzy Mood for Love
(3:52)  9. Come out to Play
(3:45) 10. The Feelings Right
(4:02) 11. Back to Nature
(3:22) 12. San Francisco
(3:17) 13. Let's Fall in Love
(5:30) 14. ….And There She Was
(5:41) 15. Treacle

Biography ‘Born in Jamaica, Ciyo arrived in England at the age of six months old. Though a high academic achiever qualifying as a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives and specialising in the area of housing law, music has always been a dedicated and professionally nurtured constant in Ciyo’s journey through life.

From early beginnings having first been taught to play the guitar at the age of nine by his father, Ciyo has participated musically in theatrical, studio recordings and live performances alongside a parade of internationally acclaimed artists. These have included Caron Wheeler, Ann Nesby, Ruby Turner, Annie Lennox, Suggs, YolanDa Brown, Jason Rebello, soca queen Alison Hinds, Jean Carne, Jazz Warriors, Tomorrow’s Warriors, Talvin Singh, LCGC, East London Gospel Choir, Chevelle Franklin, Andy Hamilton, Eastwood and Saint, Reggae Philharmonic Orchestra, Urban Soul Orchestra, Alex Wilson, Sonny Okusons, internationally acclaimed jazz guitarists Jim Mullen and Dave Cliff, Pee Wee Ellis, Sly and Robbie, Freddie McGregor, Adele, Steel Pulse (where he shared lead guitar duties with Jimmy ‘Senyah’ Haynes on the 1991 album, Victims) and Carleen Anderson. Ciyo has also been appointed as Musical Director for a range or coveted artists to include the likes of Ronnie Laws, Billy Paul, Ann Nesby, Horace Andy, Sylvia Tella and Johnny Clarke.

An in-demand musicians’ musician, Ciyo’s ongoing collaborative works cover a range of genres. His talent has enhanced iconic popular music alongside artists such as Roachford, Linda Lewis, Raghav, Shara Nelson, through progressive Jazz with Soweto Kinch, to the ‘new psychedelia’ Brit-pop/folk influenced music of Bishi. Ciyo’s jazzy guitar contributions are also present in the genres of reggae and lover’s rock and can be found in his live and recorded work with many artists including JC Lodge, Sugar Minott, Bob Andy, Earl ‘Chinna Smith’, Barry Biggs, Dennis Bovell, Pam Hall, Jimmy Lindsay, Earl 16, Lukie D, Paulette Tajah, Susan Cadogan, Lorna Bennett, Kofi, Winston Reedy, Janet Kay and Carroll Thompson.

Ciyo has toured with Courtney Pine, Byron Wallen, Ronnie Laws, Billy Paul, Jean Toussaint, Maxi Priest, Beres Hammond, Horace Andy, Cleveland Watkiss, Steel Pulse and a host of others. He counts quality time spent with George Benson as amongst his most inspiring experiences to date. Ciyo has five album releases to date with two compilations and a new studio album consisting of acoustic guitar-led soulful jazz due for release in October 2012. Current projects also include a focus on his World Music Acoustic Trio featuring Colin McNeish (double bass) and Lenny Edwards (percussion). This project delivers an eclectic mix of musical themes from around the world featuring dynamic arrangements and interpretation underpinned by instinctive and sublime musicianship from a stellar trio of outstanding musicians. https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/ciyo

So Inviting

Jim Hall - Jim Hall Plays Standards

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 143:27
Size: 331,8 MB
Art: Front

( 6:17)  1. 42nd Street
( 5:45)  2. 9:20 Special
( 5:03)  3. Body and Soul
( 5:46)  4. East of the Sun (And West of the Moon)
( 4:14)  5. Easy Living
( 5:44)  6. Groovin' High
( 2:45)  7. I Can't Believe That You're in Love with Me
( 3:32)  8. I Can't Get Started
( 8:40)  9. I Get a Kick Out of You
( 3:31) 10. I Remember Clifford
( 7:28) 11. I Remember You
( 4:52) 12. I Should Care
( 4:29) 13. I'll Be Around
( 4:33) 14. I've Got You Under My Skin
( 8:01) 15. Jumpin' at the Woodside
( 2:41) 16. Laura
(10:11) 17. Moten Swing
( 3:52) 18. My Funny Valentine
( 3:07) 19. Skylark
( 3:59) 20. Stella by Starlight
( 4:41) 21. Stompin' at the Savoy
( 2:58) 22. Swinging on a Star
( 5:49) 23. Things Ain't What They Used to Be
( 2:51) 24. This Is Always
( 5:38) 25. Two Degrees East, Three Degrees West
( 6:31) 26. What's New?
( 5:12) 27. Where Are You?
( 5:05) 28. You Go to My Head

A harmonically advanced cool-toned and subtle guitarist, Jim Hall was an inspiration to many guitarists, including some (such as Bill Frisell) who sound nothing like him. Hall attended the Cleveland Institute of Music and studied classical guitar in Los Angeles with Vicente Gómez. He was an original member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet (1955-1956), and during 1956-1959 was with the Jimmy Giuffre Three. After touring with Ella Fitzgerald (1960-1961) and sometimes forming duos with Lee Konitz, Hall was with Sonny Rollins' dynamic quartet in 1961-1962, recording The Bridge. He co-led a quartet with Art Farmer (1962-1964), recorded on an occasional basis with Paul Desmond during 1959-1965 (all of their quartet performances are collected on a Mosaic box set), and then became a New York studio musician. He was mostly a leader during the following years and, in addition to his own projects for World Pacific/Pacific Jazz, MPS, Milestone, CTI, Horizon, Artist House, Concord, MusicMasters, and Telarc, Jim Hall recorded two classic duet albums with Bill Evans. A self-titled collaboration with Pat Metheny followed in 1999. A flurry of studio albums, reissues, and compilations followed throughout the next few years, with the exceptional Jim Hall & Basses standing out for its bass/guitar duet format. Jim Hall died at his apartment in Manhattan on December 10, 2013; he was 83 years old. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jim-hall-mn0000286483/biography

Jim Hall Plays Standards

Friday, September 11, 2020

James Moody - Last Train From Overbrook

Styles: Saxophone e Flute Jazz
Year: 1959
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 28:16
Size: 65,9 MB
Art: Front

(3:05)  1. Last Train From Overbrook
(2:34)  2. Don't Worry 'Bout Me
(2:25)  3. Why Don't You
(3:31)  4. I'm Free aka What's New?
(1:43)  5. Tico Tico
(2:25)  6. There She Goes
(2:07)  7. All The Things You Are
(3:09)  8. Brother Yusef
(3:44)  9. Yvonne
(3:28) 10. The Moody One

A wonderful album from Moody  one of his "comeback" albums for Chess/Argo, recorded after his release from the Overbrook institution, hence the title. By this point, Moody was writing and playing with much more of an edge than during his bebop days and the record certainly shows that  not only on the title track "Last Train From Overbrook", a jumpy little number that became one of the big new tunes in Moody's book, but on the whole album, which features some well-conceived large charts written by Johnny Pate. Pate and Moody wrote the bulk of the songs, too and titles include "Yvonne", "Brother Yusef", "The Moody One", "There She Goes", "Tico Tico", and "Why Don't You". The album also features a great double-exposed cover photo, and some of the most chilling liner notes you'll ever read about a jazzman's struggles with addiction.  © 1996-2020, Dusty Groove, Inc. https://www.dustygroove.com/item/41999/James-Moody:Last-Train-From-Overbrook

Personnel: James Moody - tenor saxophone, alto saxophone, flute; Flip Ricard, Earl Turner, Sonny Cohn - trumpet; Ethel Merker - french horn on Last Train from Overbrook ; John Avant - trombone; Bill Atkins, Lenny Druss - alto saxophone; Vito Price, Sandy Mosse, Eddie Johnson - tenor saxophone; Pat Patrick - baritone saxophone; Junior Mance - piano; Floyd Morris - piano; Johnny Pate - bass; John Gray - guitar; Red Holt - drums

Last Train From Overbrook

Jon Hendricks - Before Us

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 80:06
Size: 185,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:56)  1. Out of the Past
(4:18)  2. Another Get Together
(2:51)  3. With Malice Towards None
(5:03)  4. The Shouter
(2:54)  5. Pretty Strange
(4:12)  6. If I Had My Share
(2:30)  7. Please Send Me Someone to Love
(3:33)  8. Saturday Night Fish Fry
(2:10)  9. That's Enough
(2:51) 10. Things Ain't What They Used to Be
(3:42) 11. A Good Git-Together
(4:24) 12. Contemporary Blues
(1:02) 13. Everything Started in the House of the Lord
(2:35) 14. Caravan
(2:35) 15. What Would You Do
(5:41) 16. Fast Livin' Blues
(2:23) 17. I'll Die Happy
(3:32) 18. I Don't Know What Kind of Blues I've Got
(2:22) 19. Social Call
(3:06) 20. Good Old Lady
(4:18) 21. Do You Call That a Buddy
(2:26) 22. Everything Started in the House of the Lord II
(3:31) 23. In a Mellow Tone
(3:02) 24. I'll Never Get Enough of You

Jon Hendricks, the pioneering jazz singer and lyricist with the vocal ensemble Lambert, Hendricks & Ross who helped create an inventive jazz vocal technique called “vocalese,” has died. Hendricks died Wednesday in New York City, his daughter, Aria Hendricks, said. He was 96. When Hendricks arrived on the jazz scene in the ’50s, his mastery of “vocalese”an expansion of scat singing had a powerful influence on the musical tenor of post-World War II bebop. The technique combined existing  usually recorded  instrumental jazz solos and newly written lyrics and often replaced instruments with vocalists. In Hendricks’ hands, the result was seen by his fans as rhythmic poetry. Although vocalese was a relatively new jazz art form, Hendricks quickly defined most of its significant elements in Lambert, Hendricks & Ross’ first recording, “Sing A Song of Basie,” based on such Count Basie classics like “It’s Sand, Man,” “Two For the Blues” and “Little Pony.” Not only did Hendricks create full band passages for the three singers to overdub, he also turned the solos of instrumentalists into vocal passages.

The album earned Lambert, Hendricks & Ross a Grammy nomination. Decades later it was honored with a Grammy Hall of Fame award, given to musical recordings considered to have a lasting historical significance. Singer and pianist Carmen McRae called Hendricks “the greatest lyricist in the world” and Al Jarreau said he was “pound for pound the best jazz singer on the planet.” Joni Mitchell, who rarely recorded songs other than her own, featured Hendricks’ songs on both “Court and Spark” and “The Hissing of Summer Lawns” Mitchell said she fell in love with Lambert, Hendricks & Ross’ “The Hottest New Sound in Jazz” as a teenager. “In a way I’ve always considered that album to be my Beatles, because I learned every song off it,” she said. “I don’t think there’s another album that I know every song on, including my own!” Time magazine labeled Hendricks “the James Joyce of jazz” and Times jazz critic Leonard Feather called Hendricks “the poet laureate of jazz.” As Hendricks’ visibility grew, Duke Ellington chose him as the featured soloist in the premiere performance of Ellington’s first Sacred Music Concert, and his music guided groups like The Manhattan Transfer, New York Voices and Take 6.

Born Sept. 16, 1921, in Newark, Ohio, Hendricks and his 14 siblings bounced around before his parents finally settled in Toledo, Ohio.His musical talents were apparent at an early age, and Hendricks was singing on local radio shows by the time he was 7. As a teenager, he expressed ambitions to become a drummer. But opportunities to sing in the company of such major jazz artists as Fats Waller, Art Tatum and Ted Lewis convinced him that his instrument of choice should be his voice. After serving in the U.S. Army from 1942 to 1946, Hendricks returned to Ohio to study law and literature at the University of Toledo. His college funding fell through, however, and he fell back on his musical skills, playing drums and singing with local groups. When Charlie Parker heard him scat singing in a local club, the great bebop saxophonist praised Hendricks’ singing, and advised him to devote himself to music. Parker also urged Hendricks to move to New York, offering to help him make his first contacts in the New York City jazz community.

The introductions began to pay off in 1952 when Louis Jordan recorded Hendricks’ “I Want You to Be My Baby.” A year later, Hendricks recorded “Four Brothers” and “Cloudburst” with the Dave Lambert Singers, setting the stage for the foundation of Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. Hendricks formed the group in 1957, and the trio performed together until 1962, when Annie Ross left for a solo career and was replaced by singer Yolande Bavan. Hendricks and his family lived and performed in Europe between 1968 and 1973. When he returned to the U.S., Hendricks moved to San Francisco, where he wrote about jazz for the Chronicle newspaper and formed a group called the Hendricks Family with his wife, Judith, and children, Michelle and Eric. 

In 1985, Hendricks worked with the Manhattan Transfer on the recording of their album “Vocalese,” which won seven Grammy awards. Hendricks began to teach at the University of Toledo in 2000 and was eventually appointed distinguished professor of jazz studies and granted an honorary doctorate in performing arts. He is survived by a son, Jon; two daughters, Michele and Aria; and three grandchildren. https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-jon-hendricks-snap-story.html

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