Dave Blenkhorn, Harry Allen - Under a Blanket of Blue

Styles: Saxophone And Guitar Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:08
Size: 108,8 MB
Art: Front

(5:05) 1. There's a Small Hotel
(5:17) 2. We'll Be Together Again
(4:23) 3. Dindi
(4:53) 4. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
(4:01) 5. Under a Blanket of Blue
(6:31) 6. Street of Dreams
(4:22) 7. La Mer
(4:13) 8. Imagination
(3:49) 9. The Bloody Happy Song
(4:29) 10. Solitude

Conceived from the same stressors catalyzing The Bloody Happy Song, Under A Blanket Of Blue added an additional level of complexity and challenge to the new COVID conception-production paradigm. In this case, Allen had been touring Europe with France-based, Australian guitarist Dave Blenkhorn in March 2020, when Allen received a telephone call from his wife, summoning him home due to the COVID travel ban to be instituted two days hence. Allen went home with a conversation he had with the guitarist in mind regarding recording at home ringing in his ears. So, with both musicians secure in their respective homes in New York City and Bordeaux, France, they recorded a collection of nine standards and one original (Allen's "The Bloody Happy Song" from the previous review) over a two-month period, working on one or two songs per week.

The two artists took a queue from classical music period performance specialists, deciding to go old school instrument and recording-wise. Allen recorded performing on a 1938 Selmer Balanced Action tenor saxophone captured through a Royer R10 ribbon microphone, while Blenkhorn used a 1958 Gibson 175 model guitar. A Django Reinhardt enthusiast, Blenkhorn brought a 1920 "Hot Club" vintage sound to the performances while maintaining Joe Pass-inspired walking-bass figures interspersed among his tasteful chording. That guitar environment proved to be money for Allen, who played at the top of his form.. Novel conception and recording method apart, the musical duet is the most intimate performance setting. It requires that two individuals cooperate and coalesce artistically, creating something not heard before. Sure, all of the songs in this recital have been performed and recorded every which way, some many times, before. But these songs as presented by Harry Allen and Dave Blenkhorn re freshly minted That alone makes them special, unique. Casual and close, the two musicians bring music together from across an open.

The repertoire is tried and true, with the closing songs defining the collection: Victor Young's 1932 "Street of Dreams" receives a breezy introduction from Blenkhorn before assimilating a first timid Allen into its confines. The song gathers swing density ending on a well conceived coda. Charles Trenet's "La Mer" (Columbia, 1946) bounces with tuneful glee, with Allen gently coaxing the melody through the harmonic underpinning provided by Blenkhorn's guitar. Jimmy Van Heusen's "Imagination" rubs its baladic backside against Allen's original "The Bloody Happy Song" reprised here from the same-titled recording above. The two end with an introverted performance of Duke Ellington "Solitude," proving again that the Great American Songbook continue tp provide an endless source of inspiration.~ C.Michael Bailey https://www.allaboutjazz.com/harry-allen-tenor-saxophone-in-the-time-of-covid-harry-allen

Personnel: Harry Allen (ts), Dave Blenkhorn (g)

Under a Blanket of Blue

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Dado Moroni - The Way I Am

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1994
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:26
Size: 155,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:11) 1. The Cup Bearers
(4:28) 2. Not Without You
(2:34) 3. Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams
(6:20) 4. I Can't Get Started
(4:59) 5. Improvistion in G Minor
(3:10) 6. Time Will Tell - Medley
(5:27) 7. The Man from Potter's Crossing - Medley
(5:00) 8. Yesterdays
(7:42) 9. Blue Dado
(8:47) 10. Ruby My Dear / Pannonica / Round Midnight - Thelonious Monk Medley
(2:43) 11. What Am I Here For
(5:00) 12. Lotus Blossom
(7:04) 13. S.K.J.

The renowned jazz musician Edgardo ‘Dado’ Moroni was born on this day in 1962 in Genoa. Moroni, who learned at the feet of some of the greats of American jazz music in Italian clubs in the 1980s and 90s, has recorded more than 25 albums, having released his first when he was only 17. He has appeared as a guest on many more albums and built such a reputation as a pianist and composer that he was able to become part of the American jazz scene himself in the 1990s, when he lived in New York. Moroni attributes his love of jazz music to his father’s passion for the genre, which meant that he grew up listening to the likes of Earl Hines, Fats Waller and Count Basie.Using a piano his parents had bought for his sister, Monica, he taught himself to play many of the songs he heard on the record player, receiving his first informal tuition from his mother, who played the accordion.

Formal piano lessons were arranged for him with the Genoa jazz pianist Flavio Crivelli, who introduced him to the music of Charlie Parker, Bud Powell and Dizzy Gillespie and contemporary pianists like Bill Evans, Ahmad Jamal and Oscar Peterson. Moroni progressed so rapidly he was able to play professionally in clubs from the age of 14. The Italian jazz scene while he was growing up was popular but not wealthy. Club owners were keen to hire famous artists but could not always afford to pay for support musicians. This worked to the advantage of up-and-coming Italian musicians such as Moroni, who were more than happy to make up the numbers. Moroni found himself accompanying such internationally renowned names as Harry “Sweets” Edison, Freddie Hubbard, and even greats such as Peterson and Gillespie when they were on tour in Europe. It was Gillespie, Moroni said, who persuaded him to back his own talent and pursue a career in music after doubts about his ability to make a living had led him to embark on studies for a law degree.

Moroni began a collaboration with two other Italian jazz musicians, Tullio de Piscopo and Franco Ambrosetti. At just 17 years old, he recorded an album with De Piscopo and the American bassist Julius Farmer and another with Ambrosetti and the Danish bass player Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen. Through the 80s, he played at festivals and clubs across Europe, often with a trio led by Duke Ellington’s former bassist, Jimmy Woode. In 1987, at the age of just 25, he was invited as the only European musician to be part of the jury of the Thelonious Monk international piano award held in Washington in 1987. Moroni moved to the United States in 1991 and became part of the New York jazz scene, performing with several bands and contributing to the rich heritage of Italian musicians in America. He appeared at the most prestigious jazz clubs in the city, such as the Blue Note, Birdland, Bradley’s and the Village Vanguard. In 1995 he returned to Italy to join the classical pianist Antonio Ballista in a project called “Two Pianos, One Soul”, which played some of Italy’s major theatres, among them the Teatro Comunale in Ferrara, the Teatro Regio in Turin, the Teatro Verdi in Florence and the Teatro Carlo Felice in his native Genoa. Moroni won the prestigious Umbria Jazz Award in the same year. In 2007 he won the "Best Jazz Act" at the Italian Jazz Awards. He is now based permanently in Italy and continues to record and tour, while at the same time teaching jazz piano at the Como Conservatory of Music. https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/10/dado-moroni-jazz-musician-dizzy-gillespie.html

The Way I Am

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Pat Coil - Music for Humans...and Other Species

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:30
Size: 145,2 MB
Art: Front

(8:01) 1. Lost & Found
(4:28) 2. Ellie's Bell
(6:33) 3. One to One
(7:54) 4. 3 'Til Midnight
(4:42) 5. Papa's New Groove
(5:46) 6. Tears for Parkland
(7:20) 7. November Song
(6:46) 8. Here & Back Again
(7:58) 9. Now & Then
(2:58) 10. For Travis

Pat is an accomplished pianist, composer, producer, arranger, teacher, and highly respected studio musician. His credits span the musical spectrum of jazz, R&B, pop, country and gospel. Touring Europe, Japan, South America, Canada and the United States with exceptional artists; Pat is privileged to tour with Michael McDonald, and has previously toured with Carmen McCrae, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Woody Herman, Larry Carlton and Olivia Newton John. Partial recording credits include: Natalie Cole, Nancy Wilson, Carmen McRae, Trisha Yearwood, Ernie Watts, Michael McDonald, George Strait, Peter Cetera, Scott Henderson & Tribal Tech, Barry Manilow, Michael Feinstein, Kenny Rogers, Travis Tritt. https://www.jazziz.com/new-releases/music-for-humans-other-species/

Personel: Pat Coil - piano/keys; Danny Gottlieb - drums; Jim White - drums; Marcus Finnie - drums; Jeff Coffin - sax; Mark Douthit - sax; Brian Allen - bass; Todd Parks - bass; John Estes - bass; Steve Kovalcheck- guitar; Pat Bergeson - guitar; James Westfall - vibes; Eric Darken - percussion; Brendan harkin - recording engineer; Scott Gerow - recording & mix engineer

Music for Humans...and Other Species

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George Benson - Giblet Gravy

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1968
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:31
Size: 133,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:02) 1. Along Comes Mary
(2:56) 2. Sunny
(5:32) 3. What's New?
(4:50) 4. Giblet Gravy
(3:26) 5. Walk On By
(4:42) 6. Thunder Walk
(3:08) 7. Sack Of Woe
(2:46) 8. Groovin'
(8:40) 9. Low Down and Dirty
(6:14) 10. Billie's Bounce
(5:41) 11. What's New? - alternative take 1
(5:28) 12. What's New? - alternative take 2

Simply one of the greatest guitarists in jazz history, George Benson is an amazingly versatile musician whose adept skills find him crossing easily between straight-ahead jazz, smooth jazz, and contemporary R&B. Blessed with supreme taste, a beautiful, rounded guitar tone, terrific speed, a marvelous sense of logic in building solos, and, as always, an unquenchable urge to swing, Benson's inspirations may have been Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery, but his style is completely his own. Not only can he play lead brilliantly, he is also one of the best rhythm guitarists around, supportive to soloists and a dangerous swinger, particularly in a soul-jazz format; skills he first garnered attention for as a member of Brother Jack McDuff's band in the early '60s. Benson can also sing in a lush, soulful tenor with mannerisms similar to those of Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway. In a sense, he is the guitar-playing equivalent of Nat King Cole, a fantastic instrumentalist whose smooth way with a pop vocal helped solidify his prowess in the marketplace. It is this combination of singing and guitar playing that has garnered him numerous accolades and chart success, including most notably his 1976 breakthrough Breezin', which topped the pop, R&B, and jazz charts and took home Grammy Awards for Best Pop Instrumental Performance and Record of the Year. Benson has remained a chart and awards season favorite, releasing more Top Ten jazz albums, including 1980's Grammy-winning Give Me the Night, 1993's Love Remembers, and 2006's Grammy-winning Givin' It Up with Al Jarreau. Along with his original studio albums, Benson has paid tribute to his idols, releasing 2013's Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole and 2019's Fats Domino- and Chuck Berry-inspired Walking to New Orleans.

Born in 1943 in Pittsburgh, Benson actually started out professionally as a singer, performing in nightclubs at the age of eight, recording four sides for RCA's X label in 1954, and forming a rock band at 17 while using a guitar that his stepfather made for him. Exposure to records by Christian, Montgomery, and Charlie Parker got him interested in jazz, and by 1962, the teenage Benson was playing in Brother Jack McDuff's band. After forming his own group in 1965, Benson became another of talent scout John Hammond's major discoveries, recording two highly regarded albums of soul-jazz and hard bop for Columbia and turning up on several records by others, including Miles Davis' Miles in the Sky. He switched to Verve in 1967, and, shortly after the death of Montgomery in June 1968, producer Creed Taylor began recording him with larger ensembles on A&M (between 1968 and 1969) and big groups and all-star combos on CTI (from 1971 to 1976).

While the A&M and CTI albums certainly earned their keep and made Benson a guitar star in the jazz world, he gained yet more commercial acclaim after signing with Warner Bros. in 1976. His first album for Warner Bros., Breezin', became a Top Ten hit on the strength of its sole vocal track, "This Masquerade," and this led to a string of hit albums in an R&B-flavored pop mode, culminating with the Quincy Jones-produced Give Me the Night. However, jazz remained at the core of his sound, as showcased on 1989's standards album Tenderly, as well as 1990's Big Boss Band with the Basie band, the latter of which featured his guitar more prominently. In 1993, he scored another number one contemporary jazz album with Love Remembers, and followed with several more chart-topping albums, including 1996's That's Right and 1998's Standing Together. The Latin-infused Absolute Benson arrived in 2000 debuting at number one on the Billboard Jazz chart, and was followed by 2004's number five-charting Irreplaceable. He then paired with vocalist Al Jarreau for 2006's Givin' It Up, which topped the contemporary jazz chart and took home Grammy Awards for Best Pop Instrumental Performance and Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance. In 2009, Benson signed to Concord and released Songs and Stories for the label; he followed it with his first primarily instrumental album in 35 years, Guitar Man, in 2011. Two years later, Benson released Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole, featuring arrangements by Nelson Riddle and Randy Waldman. In 2019, he returned with a second tribute album, Walking to New Orleans: Remembering Chuck Berry and Fats Domino. A concert album, Weekend in London, arrived in 2020.~ Richard S.Ginell https://www.allmusic.com/artist/george-benson-mn0000201760/biography

Personnel: Guitar – Carl Lynch (tracks: 1), Eric Gale (tracks: 2, 4, 5, 7), George Benson; Baritone Saxophone – Pepper Adams (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8); Bass – Bob Cranshaw (tracks: 2, 4, 5), Ron Carter (tracks: 1, 3, 6 to 12); Bass Trombone – Alan Ralph (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8; Congas, Tambourine – Johnny Pacheco; Drums – Billy Cobham; Piano – Herbie Hancock (tracks: 3, 6, 9 to 12); Trumpet – Ernie Royal (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8), Snooky Young* (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8); Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Jimmy Owens (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8)

Giblet Gravy

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Dado Moroni - With Duke in Mind (Piano Solo)

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1994
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:09
Size: 148,8 MB
Art: Front

(1:19) 1. What Am I Here For - Entrance
(3:22) 2. There Was Nobody Looking
(6:08) 3. Main Stem
(6:39) 4. All Too Soon
(4:47) 5. Pleadin' for Love
(5:02) 6. So
(3:46) 7. Black Beauty
(5:00) 8. Day Dream
(3:11) 9. Cottontail
(5:50) 10. Isfahan
(6:02) 11. Caravan
(4:59) 12. Warm Valley
(5:19) 13. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
(2:44) 14. What Am I Here For - Exit

Born Edgardo Moroni, 20 October 1962, Genoa, Italy. Moroni began playing piano as a tiny child, encouraged by a very musical family background. Although his father was a dance band singer and his grandfather an opera singer, he turned to jazz and in his early teenage years also took up the bass. Some of his early influences came through his father’s record collection, which included artists such as Erroll Garner, Earl ‘Fatha’ Hines, Art Tatum and Fats Waller. During the 70s and early 80s his experience and his reputation grew and he worked not only with noted Italian musicians, such as Franco Ambrosetti and Gianni Basso, but also with visiting American artists. Over the years, these included Freddie Hubbard, James Moody and Clark Terry.

He was a member of a trio led by Jimmy Woode, played with Mingus Dynasty, and toured extensively with a wide range of mainstream, hard bop and contemporary jazz artists. His reputation solidified in the USA owing to numerous visits and high profile concerts and well-received albums, on which he appeared as a sideman, with Ray Brown, Jesse Davis, Tom Harrell, and Lee Konitz. Although his stylish and vigorous playing is heavily bop influenced, Moroni’s performances often reveal touches of those early piano influences, Waller and Tatum for example, which help bring to his playing a satisfyingly broad texture. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dado-moroni-mn0000665243/biography

With Duke in Mind (Piano Solo)

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Mike LeDonne - The Groover

Styles: Jazz, POst Bop
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:56
Size: 143,4 MB
Art: Front

(6:59) 1. Rock With You
(6:36) 2. Blues For McCoy
(6:39) 3. Little Mary
(8:24) 4. I'm Goona Make You Love Me
(7:17) 5. Deep Blue
(5:43) 6. Sunday in New York
(6:03) 7. Bopsolete
(7:58) 8. The Groover
(6:14) 9. On the Street Where You Live

What kind of music "grooves" exactly? Look no further. Hammond B3 organist Mike LeDonne teams with a group of accomplished musicians to put together an album that simply grooves hard all the way to the final chord. Reminiscent of Jimmy Smith and Charles Earland, LeDonne plays with conviction and soulfulness on an album that sounds more like a jam session than a studio release. From the first few bars, it is clear that the casting of this album is impeccable. Guitarist Peter Bernstein's warm, robust sound blends so well with LeDonne's that at times it is difficult to pick out his playing. Drummer Joe Farnsworth complements all the other musicians well, making this group sound even better than it is. Tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander's focused tone is darkened up a bit for this recording, resulting in a well-balanced palette of tonal colors. The catchy opening track, "Rock With You," is almost too arranged and could stand to have a bit more of LeDonne's blowing and less of Alexander's backgrounds in the closing minute. Immediately after, the listener is thrust into a tune better characterized as a burner than a groover, "Blues for McCoy," which lets Alexander do what he does best rip through an up-tempo tune with poise.

The real gem of this album is a simple, child-like melody written by Benny Golson for LeDonne's daughter, entitled "Little Mary." Golson even included an introduction that sounds like music at a carnival, offering a mindset of innocence of joy. As if catching their breath from the last track, all members stay true to the tune and don't get excessively harmonically sophisticated or feel the need to prove themselves. It is very refreshing to hear modern jazz musicians take a simple tune and play some truly beautiful, melodic lines without getting caught up in taking their improvisation outside the changes. "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" leaves something to be desired from LeDonne but Bernstein weaves in and out of the straight-forward progression utilizing a tasty variety of articulation and phrasing. Things get slowed down with LeDonne's original "Deep Blue," where Bernstein again shines. His guitar seems to have the ability to connect with the unique characteristics of every tune he plays. This one is the type of mournful outpouring of the soul that comes at three o'clock in the morning, laid back and reflective.

The most progressive and riveting of all the pieces is the LeDonne powerhouse "Bopsolete," which he fearlessly tears through, without the support of Bernstein or Farnsworth, for a sublime minute long adventure. Farnsworth treats the listener to a melodic and well-structured solo before LeDonne and Alexander join together on the finger-busting head to close out the tune. The title track is a shuffle-style LeDonne original that grooves like no other on this album. The patience shown by Alexander and Bernstein shows their maturity when it comes to tasteful improvisation. LeDonne employs a nice mixture of traditional bluesy lines with a modern intervallic approach. Farnsworth and LeDonne find their strongest chemistry on this track. Closing with a more modern take on "On the Street Where You Live" is somewhat anti-climactic: the track swings hard but doesn't exactly "groove." Regardless, it is a joy to listen to all soloists weave with invention through a more difficult harmonic structure. This album often comes across like a modern parnership between Jimmy Smith and tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, but with a modern twist. To make it even better, LeDonne got his hands on an outstanding guitarist and drummer to boot. These four musicians recorded previously on LeDonne's "Smokin' Out Loud" (High Note, 2004) and "On Fire" (Savant, 2006). Of the three discs, this is without question the most mature. LeDonne sounds more like a B3 player, and less like a pianist attempting to play B3, every time he records with this group.~ Sean Coughlin https://www.allaboutjazz.com/mike-ledonne-the-groover-by-sean-coughlin.php

Personnel: Mike LeDonne: Hammond B3 organ; Eric Alexander: tenor saxophone; Peter Bernstein: electric guitar; Joe Farnsworth: drums.

The Groover

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Shawnn Monteiro - Visit Me

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:40
Size: 112,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:29) 1. Visit Me
(5:40) 2. After Glow
(4:11) 3. Apartment 101
(5:15) 4. Music That Makes Me Dance
(3:18) 5. The Grass Is Greener
(5:33) 6. My One And Only Love
(4:38) 7. Seven Days 'Til Spring
(6:05) 8. Where Do You Go
(3:58) 9. I'm Ready To Fall In Love
(5:28) 10. The Last Day Of Summer

Exciting, captivating and completely distinctive” is how most jazz cognoscenti describe Shawnn's pulsating lyric style. Whether in the intimacy of a club date or the glitter of a Las Vegas showroom, Shawnn has delighted audiences from USA to Europe with her highly popular jazz repertoire laced with blues-oriented improvisations. Evident in Shawnn's liveliness of lyrical phrasing and intermittent scat variations is the influences of Carmen McRae and Sarah Vaughan, from whom she draws that inner core of creative energy. But good genes help, too. Shawnn's father was the late renowned bassist Jimmy Woode, veteran of the Duke Ellington band. Throw into the mix, a lot of musical inspiration and guidance from her Godfather, Clark Terry, and you come up with a combination that can't miss. Percussion great and latin/jazz impressario Mongo Santamaria discovered Shawnn working in a club in San Jose, California and signed her on the spot to tour with his band. Shawnn electrified audiences as his only vocalist and female percussionist during that two-year circuit where she shared the stage with such greats as Stan Kenton, Celia Cruz, the Fania All-Stars, and Weather Report.

Since then, Shawnn has shared the state with a prestigious list of notables jazz names: Clark Terry, Red Holloway, Ray Brown, Lionel Hampton, Frank Foster and the Basie Band, Nat Adderly, Kenny Barron, Hank Jones, Bobby Durham, James Williams, Jimmy Cobb, Keter Betts, Stanley Jordan, Ed Thigpen, Johnny Griffin, and Benny Golson....to name a few. Ms. Monteiro has delighted audiences from the USA to Europe with her highly popular jazz repertoire laced with blues-oriented improvisations and the American Songbook. The true quality of Shawnn's voice is best experienced in the ultimate setting of the club dates where her warm charisma can be personally felt by those fortunate enough to spend an evening with her, She continues to teach Master Classes all over the world, including one ongoing every summer in Italy since 1995. She is an adjunct Professor at the Hartt School/Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz , University of Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut and also Rhode Island College in Providence Rhode Island.

Her popularity continues to grow as clubgoers from Los Angeles to Rome extol the special feelings they share as she lulls them into a mellow mood as only a sensitive jazz vocalist can do. The true magical quality of Shawnn's exciting voice is best experienced in the ultimate setting of the club dates where her warm charisma can be personally felt by those fortunate enough to spend and evening with her. Shawnn teaches a Master Vocal Class in Rome and Genova, Italy every summer. (Ongoing since 1995. Artist in Residence – 2 Years at Rhode Island College (Jazz Vocals) She is also an adjunct Professor (in Jazz Vocals) at both Rhode Island College, Providence, RI and Harrt School of Music, Univ. of Hartford, Hartford, CT. http://www.shawnnmonteiro.com/biography/

Visit Me

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Andy Snitzer - Alfie's Theme

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:03
Size: 120,7 MB
Art: Front

(6:06) 1. Alfie's Theme
(6:07) 2. Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
(5:17) 3. Easy Street
(4:53) 4. Tenor Madness
(5:52) 5. The Dream
(4:35) 6. Stan's Shuffle
(6:15) 7. Too Young To Go Steady
(5:12) 8. Softly As In A Morning Sunrise
(7:41) 9. Superstar

Contemporary jazz saxophonist/composer Andy Snitzer was born and raised in Philadelphia; although his first instrument was the clarinet, he turned to the sax at age 15, going on to study music at the University of Miami. There he was discovered by Bob James, touring behind the keyboardist and appearing on a series of albums beginning with 1987's Obsession; Snitzer concurrently earned his MBA at New York University, landing a position at the J.P. Morgan Investment firm while also emerging as a sought-after session musician.

He made his headlining debut with Ties That Bind, scoring the NAC chart-topper "You've Changed"; he also branched out from jazz to pop, touring behind the Rolling Stones and recording with artists from Bette Midler to Aretha Franklin. Snitzer returned in 1996 with In the Eye of the Storm; Some Quiet Place followed three years later.~Jason Ankeny https://www.allmusic.com/artist/andy-snitzer-mn0000047716/biography

Personnel: Andy Snitzer - tenor saxophone; Alain Mallet - piano, organ; Clarence Penn - drums.

Alfie's Theme

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Allegra Levy - Lose My Number

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:48
Size: 119,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:14) 1. Samba De Beach
(5:55) 2. Livin' Small
(8:06) 3. Tiffany
(6:04) 4. Strictly Ballroom
(7:22) 5. C. J.
(7:05) 6. Dover Beach
(4:02) 7. Ukulele Tune
(4:36) 8. Zephyr
(4:21) 9. Lose My Number

Allegra Levy is a young singer who has made a reputation for herself through her witty songwriting and performing. She has sung a lot of her own songs on previous releases but on this one, she changes things slightly by writing her own lyrics to the music of trumpet player John McNeil. McNeil was Levy's mentor at the New England Conservatory and she complements his slightly off-balance tunes with lyrics that range from the dark and sardonic to the emotional and poetic. Levy's voice flows over the twists and turns of McNeil's melodies with the flexible ease of an Annie Ross or Nancy King. She delivers her acid putdowns of a dance partner on "Strictly Ballroom" and some unidentified scoundrel on "C.J." with a carefree breeziness that belies the sting in her words. In contrast to that, she is very good at conjuring quieter moods on other songs. She conveys innocent wistfulness on "Dover Beach" and "Ukulele Tune" and quiet sensuality of "Zephyr" and "Livin' Small." The music becomes especially dreamy on the last song when Levy's singing mixes with the trumpet of John McNeil himself in one of his three guest appearances on the CD.

Outside of McNeil's cameos and an appearance by Pierre Dorge playing ukulele on "Ukulele Tune," the instrumental work is all done by three female musicians. Carmen Staaf plays piano, Carmen Rothwell is on bass and Colleen Clark plays drums. Their work subtly complements the understated emotions and cunning humor in Levy's singing. The three come off strongest on "Lose My Number" itself. They go through abrupt tempo changes, as Levy tells off another man who can't take a hint, her voice suddenly moving between fast and slow. When Levy breaks into giddy scatting, the band flies excitedly alongside her, disintegrating into abstraction beside her flippant coos, before coming back together for a last chorus. This CD is a sly little romp that sways between dark sarcasm and intimate romance, bringing the writing of John McNeil and the singing of Allegra Levy together into an enjoyable package. Jerome Wilson https://www.allaboutjazz.com/lose-my-number-allegra-levy-steeplechase-records.

Personnel: Allegra Levy: voice / vocals; Carmen Staaf: piano; Carmen Rothwell: bass, acoustic; Colleen Clark: drums.

Lose My Number

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Ruby Braff - The Things I Love

Styles: Cornet Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 121:30
Size: 279,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:25) 1. On the Sunny Side of the Street
(6:54) 2. Romance in the Dark
(5:06) 3. Sugar
(5:58) 4. When You Wish Upon a Star
(9:18) 5. Sweet Sue, Just You
(6:04) 6. I'm Coming Virginia
(4:08) 7. When It's Sleepy Time Down South
(5:11) 8. Monday Date
(6:58) 9. Squeeze Me
(3:44) 10. Dippermouth Blues
(4:48) 11. It's Wonderful
(5:30) 12. Keep Smiling at Trouble
(7:33) 13. I Can't Get Started
(3:17) 14. Wishing
(7:22) 15. It's Been so Long
(5:10) 16. Struttin' with Some Barbecue
(7:59) 17. Kandee
(6:29) 18. Downhearted Blues
(4:45) 19. Marie
(7:24) 20. (I Don't Stand A) Ghost of a Chance
(3:17) 21. Cornet Shop Suey

One of the great swing/Dixieland cornetists, Ruby Braff went through long periods of his career unable to find work because his music was considered out-of-fashion, but his fortunes improved by the 1970s. A very expressive player who in later years liked to build his solos up to a low note, Braff's playing was instantly recognizable within seconds.

Braff mostly worked around Boston in the late '40s. He teamed up with Pee Wee Russell when the clarinetist was making a comeback (they recorded live for Savoy), and after moving to New York in 1953, he fit easily into a variety of Dixieland and mainstream settings. Braff recorded for Vanguard as a leader, and with Vic Dickenson, Buck Clayton, and Urbie Green. He was one of the stars of Buck Clayton's Columbia jam sessions, and in the mid-'50s worked with Benny Goodman. But, despite good reviews and occasional recordings, work was hard for Braff to come by at times. In the 1960s, he was able to get jobs by being with George Wein's Newport All-Stars and at jazz festivals, but it was not until the cornetist formed a quartet with guitarist George Barnes, in 1973, that he became more secure. Afterward, Braff was heard in many small-group settings, including duets with Dick Hyman and Ellis Larkins (he had first met up with the latter in the 1950s), quintets with Scott Hamilton, and matching wits with Howard Alden. He remained one of the greats of mainstream jazz until his death in 2003.~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ruby-braff-mn0000357057/biography

The Things I Love

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Joan Chamorro - Tribute to Lars Gullin

Styles: Mainstream Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 75:16
Size: 174,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:38) 1. Happy Again
(6:11) 2. Danny's Dream
(4:54) 3. Hershey Bar
(4:02) 4. Fine Together
(3:49) 5. Primavera
(4:57) 6. Merlin
(5:19) 7. Lars Meets Jeff
(5:03) 8. I Hope It's Spring for You
(6:07) 9. To Lars
(2:23) 10. Those Days With You
(6:34) 11. Hershey Bar - Live
(5:17) 12. Danny's Dream - Live
(3:37) 13. So What - Live
(5:06) 14. Merlin - Live
(3:50) 15. Igloo - Live
(4:24) 16. Lovely Dreams - Live

This work is the third volume of a collection dedicated to the figure of the Arranger, in this case to the Swedish saxophonist and clarinetist Fredrik Carlquist, resident in Catalonia for several years and with whom I have had the pleasure of recording on several of his CDs. This album is also a tribute to the Swedish musician Lars Gullin, one of my favorite baritone saxophonists and who has influenced my playing, as have Serge Chaloff, Scott Robinson, Pepper Adams, Gerry Mulligan, Cecil Payne and a long list of great jazz musicians who dedicated their lives to this beautiful instrument. Thanks to all the musicians who have participated, especially to Fredrik Carlquist for his music, his arrangements and his friendship and to Lars Gullin for being the inspiration for this CD.

Tribute to Lars Gullin

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Valery Ponomarev Big Band - Our Father Who Art Blakey: The Centennial

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:54
Size: 121,9 MB
Art: Front

(0:41) 1. Overture
(7:21) 2. Tell It Like It Is
(6:16) 3. Are you real?
(7:16) 4. One By One
(8:28) 5. Caravan
(6:22) 6. Webb City
(7:54) 7. Hammer Head
(6:20) 8. Quick Silver
(2:12) 9. Kalypso to Theme Song

Who is Russian-born trumpeter Valery Ponomarev's favorite musician? A clue may be found in the title of Ponomarev's first CD as leader of his New York City-based big band: Our Father Who Art Blakey. The first jazz recording he heard while still in Russia, Ponomarev recalls, was Blakey's Jazz Messengers with trumpeter Lee Morgan playing pianist Bobby Timmons' jazz touchstone, "Moanin.'" Later on, Ponomarev was able to play that song (and many others) as a member of the Messengers in the late '70s, wherein the irrepressible Blakey served as his friend, mentor and "jazz father."

Ponomarev continues to repay that debt, this time transposing tunes associated with the Messengers to a big-band format while adding a pair of his own emphatic charts (the brief curtain-raising "Overture" and spicy "Gina's Cooking") to the mix. The band is reinforced on two numbers ("Moanin,'" "Blues March") by another former Messenger, the illustrious tenor saxophonist Benny Golson (still swinging at age eighty-five), who composed "Blues March" for Blakey himself (drummer Victor Jones sits in admirably for the maestro on this new version). Completing the in-concert program are Freddie Hubbard's "Crisis" and a couple of winners by Duke Jordan, "Jordu" (publicized by the renowned Max Roach / Clifford Brown Quintet) and "No Hay Problemas."

Listening to Ponomarev's arrangements, it's clear that his roots are in bop. Not that anything sounds the least dated, but the harmonic designs and rhythmic patterns would have been right at home on a Blue Note album from the '50s or '60s. Ponomarev has taken those components and redesigned them for a twenty-first century audience. It's a strategy that works well throughout. Ponomarev's lively "Overture," which runs for less than a minute, leads seamlessly to "Moanin'" and the first of Golson's masterful solos. "Crisis," from the 1961 album Mosiac, is a mid-tempo groover that showcases trumpeter Josh Evans, tenor Steven Carrington and trombonist Stafford Hunter. "Jordu" is next (hermetic ensemble work underscoring bright solos by trumpeter Chris Rogers and tenor Peter Brainin), followed by the prancing "No Hay Problemas," featuring Evans, Carrington and drummer Jones.

Baritone saxophonist Anthony Nelson is eloquent on "Gina's Cooking," as are Rogers, alto Todd Bashore and pianist Mamiko Watanabe. Golson takes his second solo, and Ponomarev his first, on the iconic "Blues March," which ends the concert on a buoyant note punctuated by robust statements from Bashore, Watanabe, Jones and trombonist Corey Wallace. In sum, a splendid performance, one that embraces Ponomarev's tradition-bound stance while pointing inflexibly toward the future. Somewhere, Art Blakey must have been smiling broadly.~ Jack Bowers https://www.allaboutjazz.com/our-father-who-art-blakey-valery-ponomarev-zoho-music-review-by-jack-bowers.php

Personnel: Valery Ponomarev: composer, arranger, conductor, trumpet. Tracks 1, 3-6 —Rick Henly: trumpet; Eddie Allen: trumpet; Josh Evans: trumpet; Chris Rogers: trumpet; Todd Bashore: alto sax; Chris Hemingway: alto sax; Peter Brainin: tenor sax; Steven Carrington: tenor sax; Anthony Nelson: baritone sax; Stafford Hunter: trombone; Alvin Walker: trombone; David White: trombone; Jack Jeffers: trombone; Mamiko Watanabe: piano; Ruslan Khain: bass; Victor Jones: drums. Tracks 2, 7 – Waldron Ricks: trumpet (for Eddie Allen); Andrew Gould: tenor sax (for Peter Brainin); Corey Wallace: trombone (for David White); Danny Hall: trombone (for Alvin Walker). Special guest – Benny Golson: tenor saxophone (2, 7).

Our Father Who Art Blakey: the Centennial

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Christof Sänger Trio, Ken Peplowski - I Follow My Secret Heart

Styles: Piano, Saxophone And Clarinet Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:44
Size: 135,2 MB
Art: Front

(6:13) 1. Lakonia
(5:24) 2. Carioca
(6:44) 3. Gone with the Wind
(6:05) 4. Lagoa Azul
(5:37) 5. I Follow My Secret Heart
(4:07) 6. Get Happy
(6:59) 7. Recado Bossa Nova
(4:56) 8. Vals de las Islas
(7:43) 9. Just One of Those Things
(4:53) 10. Love Locked Out

Christof Sänger (born July 28, 1962 in Wiesbaden ) is a German jazz musician (pianist, composer, lecturer). Singer studied music from 1984 to 1989 at the University of Mainz . He played early in jazz combos and in the State Youth Jazz Orchestra of Hesse , but also in chamber music formations. In 1989 he attracted attention as a finalist of the Concours International de Piano Jazz Martial Solal . From 1990 he worked with musicians as diverse as Dusko Goykovich , Sunny Murray , Daniel Guggenheim and Hermeto Pascoal . With his regular trio (with bassist Christian von Kaphengst and drummer Heinrich Köbberling ) he played among others. that with theAward of the German Record Critics' award for the album "Chorinho" (1992). He also performed with Richie Cole , Bill Saxton and Allan Praskin . Since 1996, he has an international edition of his trio with George Mraz and Al Foster , with whom he also in the jazz clubs of the Big Apple a guest.

In 1996 he was the German contributor to the concert of the European Broadcasting Union . A solo album was recorded at the Montreal International Jazz Festival . He also worked with Keith Copeland , Tom Nicholas , Peter Less and Peter Fessler , introduced his group Cuban Fantasy with Sandro and Giovanni Gulino in 1998 and joined Ernie Watts’s group in 1999 , with whom he released records in 2001 and 2003. He also played with Paquito D'Rivera and the hr jazz ensemble. After giving solo concerts in Japan in 2003, he put on a Japanese edition of his trio for another tour in 2004. Since 2010 he has also been active as a pianist in the Barrelhouse Jazz Band . He also plays in the trio Classic Affairs with Lindy Huppertsberg and Tobias Schirmer .Singer is a lecturer for jazz piano at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts . https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christof_Sänger

Personnel: Christof Sänger - piano; Ken Peplowski - clarinet, tenor saxophone; Rudi Engel - bass; Tobias Schirmer - drums

I Follow My Secret Heart

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Gabriel Vicéns - The Way We are Created

Styles: Guitar
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:15
Size: 125,4 MB
Art: Front

(9:05) 1. The Way We Are Created
(6:45) 2. It Doesn't Matter
(1:51) 3. Caribeño Pensador
(6:13) 4. The Upcoming
(6:40) 5. A City of Many Mysteries
(1:38) 6. Fuera de Mi Cuerpo
(5:28) 7. Define Purpose
(7:24) 8. To the Unknown
(1:47) 9. Retorno
(7:21) 10. The Mystery of S.T.

Gabriel Vicéns is a Puerto Rican guitarist now resident in New York, and The Way We Are Created is his third album as leader (he’s also a painter it’s his artwork gracing the album cover). His debut Point in Time (2012) showed a similar precociousness to Pat Metheny’s Bright Size Life (1976), Vicéns being only twenty-three at its release but already displaying a striking individuality in his compositions and playing style, and enough musical heft to bring on board the great Eddie Gómez on bass and David Sánchez on saxophone (both of whom, incidentally, are Puerto Rican as well). That individuality also shines on his second album Days (2015) and even more so here on The Way We Are Created, where complex melodies and intricate rhythms inspired by the Puerto Rican music and dance styles bomba and plena showcase his heritage to dazzling effect.

In his sextet he’s found musicians who perfectly match his sensibilities and each other. Alto saxophonist Roman Filiú is Cuban and has played with many big names, including Henry Threadgill, Billy Hart, David Murray and perhaps most revealingly Steve Coleman, as there’s something of Coleman’s restless tonal shifting in Filiú’s soloing. Pianist Glenn Zaleski cites Bill Evans as an influence and has been compared with Brad Mehldau, and has played with bassist Rick Rosato in the trio Stranahan/Zaleski/Rosato, and Rosato in turn has played with drummer E.J. Strickland in the trio of the Cuban pianist Manuel Valera. Completing the line-up is Puerto Rican percussionist Victor Pablo, who plays the barril de bomba (a barrel-shaped drum) and panderos de plena (a hand-held frame drum similar in size and shape to a tambourine).

The eponymous opening track The Way We Are Created builds from quiet guitar riffing to a complex melody with large intervallic leaps, setting up an expectation of musical complexity that’s fulfilled throughout the album. Vicéns favours a clean tone unadorned by pedals and effects, ideal for the intricacy of his soloing and Filiú on alto delivers a fine solo as well. But what’s perhaps most impressive across the whole album are the intricate polyrhythms built up between all six players. Listen, for example, to the complex vamps using yubá, sicá and rulé rhythms from the bomba tradition on It Doesn’t Matter, The Upcoming and A City of Many Mysteries, the latter two tracks also featuring fine piano solos; or to the infectious plena rhythms on To The Unknown.

In dramatic contrast to the ensemble pieces are three interludes of under two minutes each: Caribeño Pensador [Caribbean Thinker] and Retorno [Return] are guitar and percussion duets, and Fuera de mi Cuerpo [Out of my Body] is an eerie guitar solo drenched in clanging reverb. It’s intriguing that these interludes all have Spanish titles while the ensemble pieces all have English titles. Considering how much Puerto Rico and Cuba have brought to this impressive music, Spanish deserves its place at the table just as much as the English of New York and jazz. https://londonjazznews.com/2020/12/21/gabriel-vicens-the-way-we-are-created-release-date-15-january-2021/

The Way We are Created

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Duke Ellington - The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1971
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:33
Size: 87,2 MB
Art: Front

(8:12) 1. Chinoserie
(3:37) 2. Didgeridoo
(5:23) 3. Afrique
(3:04) 4. Acht O'Clock Rock
(4:43) 5. Gong
(4:46) 6. Tang
(3:36) 7. True
(4:09) 8. Hard Way

Recorded in 1971, The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse reads in many ways like a follow up to the 1967 epic Far East Suite. Compelling, cosmopolitan, and organic, this music comes from Ellington's sifting of travel experiences, and it sounds as if he is using his impressions of places and people rather than appropriations of "authentic" scales and rhythms. "Chinoiserie" is boisterous and fun, with long-tone horn peals forming the melodic cornerstone. Tenorman Harold Ashby takes his place blowing pure swing. "Afrique" is a percussion-based piece, with a liberal layering of the horn players' entrances creating strains that are at first incongruous, then tie briefly together toward the middle of the affair. Preceded by the more even-tempered melodic and rhythmic structures of "Acht" and "Gong," "Tang" takes the picture to the outer limits again with strident opening horn blasts that yield to staccato call-and-responses that chill to the bone. All in all, a textured, cross-cultural treat for the ears.~ Rovi Staff https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-afro-eurasian-eclipse-mw0000675528

Personnel: Piano, Composed By – Duke Ellington; Alto Saxophone, Clarinet – Russell Procope; Alto Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute – Norris Turney; Baritone Saxophone – Harry Carney; Bass – Joe Benjamin; Bass Trombone – Chuck Connors; Drums – Rufus Jones; Tenor Saxophone – Harold Ashby, Paul Gonsalves; Trombone – Booty Wood, Malcolm Taylor; Trumpet – Cootie Williams, Eddie Preston, Mercer Ellington, Money Johnson

The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse

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Andy Laverne - Rhapsody

Styles: Piano Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:18
Size: 147,8 MB
Art: Front

(9:14) 1. Waltz For Debby
(6:35) 2. Retroactive
(8:48) 3. My Foolish Heart
(5:42) 4. Autumn Leaves
(6:09) 5. Vignette
(8:25) 6. All The Things You Are
(7:38) 7. Lunar
(5:04) 8. Stella By Starlight
(6:38) 9. Rhapsody

Andy LaVerne, a veteran of over five decades in performing, composing and educating often teaches masterclasses at the famed Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshop. At this workshop in 2019 Andy LaVerne met and performed with Zach Brock for the first time. The Grammy Award Winning violinist Zak Brock left huge impression on the pianist. Andy invited Zak to record together three months later. The collaboration between LaVerne the master of reharmonization and contrafacts and Zach the star member of the crossover jazz group Snarky Puppy turned out to be a true rhapsody, with an intriguing program.“The album is filled with stimulating originals, most of which seem to be newly written for the session.... Shangri-La is another valuable addition to Andy LaVerne’s discography.” ~ Ken Dryden, The New York City Jazz Record on ‘Shangri-La’ https://www.horizonsmusic.co.uk/products/andy-laverne-rhapsody

Personnel: Andy Laverne (piano), Zach Brock (violin), Mike Richmond (bass, cello), Jason Tiemann (drums)

Rhapsody

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Roseanna Vitro - Listen Here

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1984
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:01
Size: 114,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:02) 1. No More Blues
(4:12) 2. You Go To My Head
(4:59) 3. Centerpiece
(4:55) 4. Love You Madly
(5:43) 5. A Time For Love
(3:39) 6. This Happy Madness
(3:06) 7. Listen Here
(3:20) 8. It Could Happen To You
(3:48) 9. Easy Street
(3:49) 10. Sometime Ago
(3:13) 11. You Took Advantage Of Me
(5:10) 12. Black Coffee

Vocalist Roseanna Vitro performer, recording artist, educator and journalist reissues Listen Here, the debut album that launched her career. Featuring veteran pianist Kenny Barron, the project ushered into the spotlight a formidable new artist with chops and sensitivity in equal measure a galvanizing spirit who, having already proven she could move live audiences, now certified her power on vinyl. The accompanying musicians on Listen Here are Kenny Barron (piano), Buster Williams (bass) and Ben Riley (drums). Also joining in are Arnett Cobb (saxophone), Duduka Da Fonseca (percussion), Scott Hardy (guitar) and Bliss Rodrigues (piano, on “Centerpiece”). Arrangements were supplied by Fred Hersch, with liner notes by Steve Allen.Though this is a first recording, Vitro shows herself a mature jazz singer. Representative jazz standards bear that out: “I Love You Madly,” “It Could Happen to You,” “No More Blues” and “You Took Advantage of Me.” She swings and emotes and surrenders herself in the service of the music. She is filled with life. Her subsequent efforts underscored the point. Following Listen Here, she waxed a number of albums that re-imagined the works of popular music’s greatest songwriters and stylists – among them, Ray Charles, Bill Evans, Clare Fischer and Randy Newman. It was through the latter’s artful song narratives that Vitro earned a Grammy nomination (The Music Of Randy Newman).

Vitro bravely ventured through the Americana of her blues and jazz roots, through the music of Brazil. Along the way, she distinguished herself in a host of group configurations from duets to big bands. Hailing from Hot Springs, Arkansas, Vitro began singing professionally in Houston. She soon found herself as a protégé of tenor player Arnett Cobb and singer- educator Ray Sullenger. She became a regular on the Houston jazz scene. Ultimately, she landed a steady gig at the Green Room, where she sang with jazz’s greatest practitioners, including Oscar Peterson, Tommy Flanagan, Bill Evans and countless other notables. Her move to New York City enabled her to jump into the city’s vibrant jazz scene, and helped cement her credentials. Supporters and collaborators soon followed a generational mix of prestigious talents: Fred Hersch, Kenny Werner, Mark Soskin, Christian McBride, George Coleman, Joe Lovano, Kirk Whalum, David “Fathead" Newman, Elvin Jones and Eddie Gomez, to name a few. Vitro decided to re-release Listen Here because the time was right. She and her husband Paul Wickliffe, an accomplished sound engineer with a storied career, recently became grandparents. Their perspective has changed. “It was time to take stock of my life and look back at my career,” she says. “Some of my earlier records were never transferred to a digital format, so they are no longer available. And many reviewers and DJs who have known me over the years have moved on. I think these early recordings stand the test of time, and I want to introduce them to a new generation.” In the meantime, she continues to imagine projects and opportunities that help fulfill her belief in music’s ability to heal. As ever, she seeks to reach people. Esteemed jazz journalist Neil Tesser said in USA Today, “Roseanna can sing rings around half the vocalists you can name. Her warm, confident clarity of tone is immediately noticeable, but most startling is her boldness of phrasing.” He might have added, “her unerring talent for finding the truth through song,through the communal experience of sharing it.” The evidence can be heard easily. Listen Here. https://news.allaboutjazz.com/grammy-nominated-vocalist-roseanna-vitro-reissues-1984-debut-album-listen-here-feat-kenny-barron-trio

Personel: Roseanna Vitro (Vocal), Kenny Barron (piano), Buster Williams (bass) and Ben Riley (drums), Arnett Cobb (saxophone), Duduka Da Fonseca (percussion), Scott Hardy (guitar)

Listen Here

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Dave Koz - A Romantic Night In (The Love Songs Album)

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:50
Size: 101,6 MB
Art: Front

(5:01) 1. If Not for You
(4:47) 2. Deep Dive
(4:40) 3. Barefoot
(3:11) 4. Summertime in NY
(3:59) 5. It's Always Been You (Live)
(6:04) 6. Love Is on the Way (Live)
(3:23) 7. I'm Waiting for You
(3:21) 8. It’s All Love
(4:40) 9. Paris Nocturne
(4:40) 10. Faces of the Heart (Live)

By virtue of his many achievements, Dave Koz has long been considered the prime contender for contemporary jazz's saxophone throne. Active since 1990 when he arrived on the scene from seemingly nowhere to issue his self-titled leader debut, he climbed onto the Billboard contemporary jazz charts and stayed there for several weeks. The platinum-selling Koz (a rare feat for any jazzman) has been nominated for nine Grammys, hit the top spot on the contemporary jazz charts five times, placed 14 singles in the Top Ten, and earned a total of 20 cuts on the jazz songs charts. Koz is also a seasoned radio and television host, and a best-selling concert and cruise attraction. His sound has more fire and intensity than most of his peers, often recalling that of his musical forebear David Sanborn. Koz's music generally sticks to a production formula he more or less developed that juxtaposes his horn with layers of synthesizers, formatted drums and drum machines, a minimum amount of solo space, and backing vocalists who often make his music cross over to the adult contemporary R&B side of the genre line. Other career highlights for Koz include 1993's Lucky Man, 1999's collaboration-heavy Dance, 2001's holiday treat A Smooth Jazz Christmas (one of four Christmas collections), 2007's At the Movies, and the critically and commercially successful Summer Horns in 2013.

Koz was born one of three children in Encino, California to a dermatologist father and a pharmacist mother. His brother, Jeff, is also a musician. Although he is Jewish, Koz plays both Christmas and occasional Hanukkah songs at his concerts. Commencing his musical education in elementary school, he attended William Howard Taft High School in Woodland Hills (a suburb of Los Angeles) playing saxophone in the school jazz band. He graduated from UCLA with a degree in mass communications in 1986, and only weeks after his graduation, decided to make a go of becoming a professional musician. Within weeks of that decision, he and singer/songwriter and pop jazz pianist Bobby Caldwell went on tour. After returning, he spent the remainder of the decade as a session and touring musician with Jeff Lorber, Richard Marx, and in the house band of CBS' short-lived The Pat Sajak Show (Tom Scott was the bandleader). He also often guested as a saxophonist on The Arsenio Hall Show well into the '90s.

Koz signed a contract with EMI, which released ten of his albums, including 1993's Lucky Man, 1996's Off the Beaten Path, 1999's The Dance, and 2003's Saxophonic which was nominated for a Grammy and an NAACP Image Award and hit number three on the jazz album charts. While working on Lucky Man, Koz was solicited by the producers of ABC's General Hospital to perform the track "Emily" from his debut offering; it was used as part of the show's soundtrack in 1992. After his guest spot on the show, executive producer Wendy Riche commissioned Koz to write a new theme song for the show. He took elements from the show's existing theme, merged it with a new chorus, and transformed it into "Faces of the Heart," which made its debut as a new theme on General Hospital's 30th anniversary show in 1993, and remained unchanged until 2004. In 1994, Koz began hosting the syndicated The Dave Koz Radio Show featuring music and interviews with a who's-who in jazz. He also co-hosted The Dave Koz Morning Show on 94.7 The Wave, a smooth jazz station in Los Angeles, for six years. In 1996, Koz released Off the Beaten Path, his first to display his sung vocals on "That's the Way I Feel About You." While his first holiday-themed set, December Makes Me Feel This Way, appeared in 1997, it didn't chart. The saxophonist scored big with 1999's The Dance; it hit the number two spot on the Top Contemporary Jazz Albums and number three on the Jazz Album charts. His extra media activities only served to raise his profile. He released his second holiday-themed set, A Smooth Jazz Christmas, in September of 2001, and it went all the way to number three on the Jazz Albums chart. His high-charting entries continued through Saxophonic (number two, Jazz Albums). In 2005, Golden Slumbers: A Father's Love didn't chart but the saxophonist didn't fret, he was busy producing the first of his annual Dave Koz & Friends Jazz Cruises. Two years later, his "Just in Time," with the voice of Dean Martin, was a highlight of Forever Cool, an EMI-themed tribute offering. In 2007, he scored with the platinum-selling At the Movies, a collection of cinema themes that peaked at number two on the Jazz Albums list. It was his last outing of new material for EMI.

Koz signed to Concord for 2010's Hello Tomorrow, produced by John Burk and Marcus Miller. It featured his own vocal take on the Herb Alpert/Burt Bacharach tune "This Guy's in Love with You" that landed inside the Top 40 on the Dance Club Songs chart and hit the top spot at Jazz Albums. A pair of live albums, Live at Soho and Live at the Blue Note Tokyo, followed in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Koz emerged in June 2013 with the studio album Summer Horns. Billed to Dave Koz & Friends, it was recorded in collaboration with saxophonists Gerald Albright, Mindi Abair, and Richard Elliot, and featured guest appearances by Michael McDonald, Brian Culbertson, Rick Braun, Jonathan Butler, and Jeffrey Osborne. The material was steeped in '60s and '70s horn-driven R&B, featuring covers by Sly & the Family Stone, Earth Wind & Fire, Blood Sweat & Tears, and Tower of Power, among others. In 2015, Koz's career-spanning compilation of duets and more, Collaborations: 25th Anniversary Collection, topped Billboard's Jazz Albums chart. In 2017 he teamed up with pianist David Benoit, trumpeter Rick Braun, and acoustic guitarist Peter White for the holiday LP Dave Koz & Friends: 20th Anniversary Christmas. The following year, he issued Summer Horns II: From A to Z with Albright, Elliot, Rick Braun, and Aubrey Logan and guest vocalists Jonathan Butler, Kenny Lattimore, and Sheléa. The material ranged from the horn-driven R&B and jazz to funk and hip-hop with covers of songs by Earth Wind & Fire, the Crusaders, Chicago, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Jay-Z, and more. 2020 saw Koz release his 20th studio LP, A New Day, his first collection of original material in a decade.~ Ron Wynn https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dave-koz-mn0000961133/biography

A Romantic Night In (The Love Songs Album)

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James Clay - A Double Dose of Soul

Styles: Saxophone And Flute Jazz
Year: 1960/2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:21
Size: 93,2 MB
Art: Front

(6:37) 1. New Delhi
(6:36) 2. I Remember You
(5:41) 3. Come Rain Or Come Shine
(8:03) 4. Pockets
(5:59) 5. Pavanne
(4:11) 6. Linda Serene
(3:11) 7. Lost Tears

James Clay only led two record sessions before settling in obscurity in Texas, where he would not be rediscovered until the late '80s. Cannonball Adderley helped present him on Riverside in 1960, so it seemed fair that Clay utilized several of Adderley's sidemen on this session (cornetist Nat Adderley or vibraphonist Victor Feldman, bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Louis Hayes) along with a young Gene Harris on piano. Clay splits his time between his lyrical flute and tough tenor, proving to be an excellent bop-based improviser. [The CD reissue adds two alternate takes to the original LP program, highlighted by Feldman's "New Delhi," "Come Rain or Come Shine," and Nat's blues "Pockets."]~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/a-double-dose-of-soul-mw0000678746

Personnel: Saxophone [Tenor] – James Clay; Flute – James Clay; Bass – Sam Jones; Cornet – Nat Adderley; Drums – Louis Hayes; Piano – Gene Harris; Vibraphone – Victor Feldman

A Double Dose of Soul

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Jacqui Naylor - The Long Game

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:15
Size: 137,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:03) 1. Like Someone in Love
(3:50) 2. Give Me One More Chance
(5:25) 3. Fix You
(3:20) 4. I'll Be Loving You
(3:29) 5. Love Look What You've Done
(4:18) 6. Walkin' out the Door
(4:35) 7. Smile
(5:47) 8. The Thrill is Gone
(4:19) 9. Space Oddity
(4:55) 10. The Long Game
(5:43) 11. Don't Give Up
(3:32) 12. Speak Low
(3:17) 13. It's the Right Time
(3:34) 14. All My Life

The Long Game is the 11th album from celebrated vocalist and songwriter, Jacqui Naylor. Known for her ability to seamlessly weave genres and styles from different eras, this artist creates a meaningful collection of love songs, replete with R&B inspired original compositions, Latin imbued jazz standards and sensitively crafted rock anthems. The muscianship and camaraderie of Naylor and long-time bandmates shine brightly throughout this thoughtfully produced album.~Opiniones editoriales https://www.amazon.com/Long-Game-Jacqui-Naylor/dp/B08QRXV5BQ

Personnel: Vocals – Jacqui Naylor; Bass, Backing Vocals – Jon Evans, Guitar – Jon Evans; Piano, Organ, Guitar – Art Khu ; Drums, Percussion – Josh Jones

The Long Game

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