Jesse Van Ruller - Spirits High

Styles: Guitar Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:36
Size: 214,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:56) 1. Tideline
(4:40) 2. Bye, Bye, Big City, Bye
(3:34) 3. Drops
(3:54) 4. Sonder
(5:40) 5. Spirits High
(5:34) 6. First Steps, Born Again
(5:13) 7. Apollo
(5:06) 8. Robin
(2:33) 9. First Steps (reprise)
(4:24) 10. Fantail
(2:55) 11. Into Silence

Van Ruller was born in Amsterdam on 21 January 1972. He started playing the guitar at the age of seven. "He continued his studies at Miami University, Ohio (MM 1995), and in 1995 won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Guitar Competition in Washington, DC." Van Ruller recorded two quintet albums for Bluemusic: European Quintet in 1996 and Herbs, Fruits, Balms and Spices two years later. He went on to record three albums for Criss Cross Jazz. These were Here and There and Circles in 2002, and Views in 2005. The guitarist composed almost all of the pieces played on the last two. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_van_Ruller

Personnel: Alto Saxophone – Maarten Hogenhuis; Electric Guitar – Jesse Van Ruller

Spirits High

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Joyce - Timeless

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:42
Size: 93.2 MB
Styles: Latin jazz
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[3:31] 1. Everything
[5:09] 2. Sometimes When We Touch
[4:47] 3. One Moment In Time
[3:24] 4. Time After Time
[4:10] 5. If We Hold On Together
[4:24] 6. Love Of A Lifetime
[4:06] 7. For The First Time
[4:07] 8. Time After Time
[3:46] 9. So Nice (Summer Samba)
[3:13] 10. All The Time

James Moody - Flute 'n the Blues

Styles: Saxophone And Flute Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:00
Size: 88,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:11) 1. Flute 'n the Blues
(2:34) 2. Birdland Story
(2:46) 3. It Could Happen to You
(2:46) 4. I Cover the Waterfront
(4:26) 5. Body and Soul
(3:24) 6. Breaking the Blues
(3:25) 7. Parker's Mood
(3:56) 8. Easy Living
(3:46) 9. Boo's Tune
(4:41) 10. Richard's Blues

This fairly rare Lp (which has fortunately been reissued on a Chess CD along with Last Train To Overbrook) features James Moody's septet of 1956, a fine bop-based unit that also includes trumpeter Johnny Coles and pianist Jimmy Boyd. Moody, who had just begun to play flute, is heard on that instrument along with tenor and alto; an added plus are Eddie Jefferson's three vocals (including his alternate lyrics for "Parker's Mood"). The basic material (mostly standards and blues) are given spirited and swinging treatment by the underrated group.~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/flute-n-the-blues-mw0000313322

Personnel: James Moody - tenor saxophone, alto saxophone, flute; Johnny Coles - trumpet; William Shepherd - trombone ; Pee Wee Moore - baritone saxophone; Jimmy Boyd - piano, peck horn; John Latham - bass; Clarence Johnston - drums; Eddie Jefferson - vocals

Flute 'n the Blues

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Swedish Swing Society - Live At Regina

Styles: Swing
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:34
Size: 147,0 MB
Art: Front

(5:25) 1. Rosetta
(4:49) 2. Softly as in a Morning Sunrise
(6:09) 3. Poor Butterfly
(5:04) 4. Sweet Georgia Brown
(2:57) 5. I'll See You in My Dreams: I'll see you in my dreams
(5:05) 6. If I Had You
(4:11) 7. Chinatown, My Chinatown
(4:45) 8. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
(5:18) 9. I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)
(4:11) 10. Alexander's Ragtime Band
(5:09) 11. Lady, Be Good: Oh! Lady Be Good
(5:18) 12. Smiles: Time on My Hands
(5:06) 13. What a Little Moonlight Can Do

In 1935 Benny Goodman put together the famous trio with Teddy Wilson at the piano and Gene Krupa on the drums. The first recordings resulted in an immense success. The concept of letting the left hand of the pianist work together with the bassdrum, in the absense of a bassplayer, and Goodmans joyful ease created an airy sound that brought fourth the elegant technique of the musicians and an ecceptional swingexperience. In 1936 vibraphonist Lionel Hampton was added to the group. This quartet became the model for the popular Swedish group that Ove Lind and Lars Erstrand put together. Ulf Johansson Werre overtook the pianostool from Bengt Hallberg and later Bjorn Sjodin inherited the drummer position from Ronnie Gardiner.

After the decease of Ove Lind Antti Sarpila joined the group. Now, after the decease of Lars Erstrand the group continues as the original, chambermusical trio with which Goodman set style in 1935. SWEDISH SWING SOCIETY (SSS) cares and develops this inheritance in a way that has given response among audiences and critics over the world. ”World class” is often mentioned when referring to the appearances of the group, for example at Carnegie Hall in New York at a celebration of the National Day of Sweden.

”The interplay between Ulf, Antti and Bjorn is brilliant.It sounds so easy and natural when these musicians make their elegant and swinging versions that it puts You in a great mood".

Translated By Google http://www.bjorntjanst.com/SwedishSwingSociety.html

Personnel: Antti Sarpila, clarinet; Ulf Johansson Werre, piano; Lars Erstrand, vibraphone; Björn Sjödin, drums

Live At Regina

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Chuck Mangione - Main Squeeze

Styles: Crossover Jazz, Easy listening
Year: 1976
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:32
Size: 80,0 MB
Art: Front

(8:04)  1. (The Day After) Our First Night Together
(8:01)  2. If You Know Me Any Longer Than Tomorrow
(4:46)  3. Love The Feelin'
(4:33)  4. I Get Crazy (When Your Eyes Touch Mine)
(3:36)  5. Doin' Everything With You
(5:28)  6. Main Squeeze

More and more a creature of the studio, Mangione employs a coterie of '70s New York session players on an album that wears its make-out-music intentions right on its velvet sleeve. All of the titles reflect some aspect of a love affair; the playing is intricate but highly controlled and not terribly exciting. Oddly enough, Chuck effectively attaches a wah-wah pedal to his flugelhorn on a few tracks shades of Miles Davis' "jungle band" period and he gets off his best non-electronically modulated solo on "If You Know Me Any Longer Than Tomorrow." There are orchestrations, but the arrangements are just decorations, not an integral part of the material. But then, after all of the warm, fuzzy stuff has run its course for five tracks, the last cut "Main Squeeze" acts as an ecstatic release, a fine, funky jam session where all seem to be thoroughly enjoying themselves. ~ Richard S.Ginell https://www.allmusic.com/album/main-squeeze-mw0000651826

Personnel: Chuck Mangione - Flugelhorn, Fender Rhodes; Tony Levin - Bass; Rubens Bassini - Percussion; Steve Gadd - Drums, Percussion; Ralph MacDonald - Percussion; Don Grolnick - Acoustic Piano, Fender Rhodes; Richard Tee - Organ; John Tropea - Electric & Acoustic Guitars; Bob Mann - Electric & Acoustic Guitars; Gene Orloff - Concertmaster; Bob Carlisle, Fred Griffen, Jimmy Buffington, John Clarke - French Horns; Bill Watrous, David Taylor, Tom Malone, Wayne Andre - Trombones; Alan Rubin, Jeff Tkazyik, Jon Faddis, Lew Soloff - Trumpets

Main Squeeze

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John Hicks Trio - Moanin' - Portrait of Art Blakey

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1997
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:43
Size: 113,7 MB
Art: Front

(7:25)  1. No Problem
(7:05)  2. Whisper Not
(8:14)  3. Nica's Dream
(7:18)  4. Moanin'
(7:13)  5. Blues March
(7:26)  6. A Night In Tunisia

A longtime fixture of the New York City jazz landscape, pianist John Hicks was an artist of uncommon versatility, moving effortlessly from pop standards to the avant-garde while retaining the dense physicality and intense energy that were the hallmarks of his approach. Born December 12, 1941, in Atlanta, Hicks was still an infant when his preacher father relocated the family to Los Angeles. He spent the better part of his teen years in St. Louis, and counted among his classmates there the young Lester Bowie. Hicks' mother was his first piano teacher, and after a stint at Lincoln University in Missouri he attended the Berklee School of Music and the Juilliard School; he later cited influences spanning from Fats Waller to Thelonious Monk to Methodist church hymns, and his catholic listening tastes were instrumental in shaping his far-ranging skills as a player. After touring in support of bluesman Albert King and hard bop tenor saxophonist Johnny Griffin, Hicks backed singer Della Reese during a 1963 New York club residency, and the city remained his home for the rest of his life. In the wake of stints with Kenny Dorham and Joe Henderson, Hicks joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in 1964, collaborating alongside the likes of trumpeters Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard. Two years later, he signed on with singer Betty Carter, like Blakey a keen judge of emerging talent. Upon exiting Carter's band in 1968, Hicks spent the remainder of the decade with Woody Herman and entered the decade to follow as a first-call sideman. He also moonlighted as an educator, and during the early '70s taught jazz and improvisation at Southern Illinois University.

After backing Carter on her 1976 date Now It's My Turn, Hicks returned to her backing group full-time. The exposure vaulted him to new renown, and in 1979 he finally led his own studio effort, After the Morning. With 1981's Some Other Time, cut with bassist Walter Booker and drummer Idris Muhammad, Hicks also emerged as a gifted composer, writing his best-known effort, "Naima's Love Song," in honor of his young daughter. He recorded prolifically in the years to follow, concentrating on solo and small ensemble work including stints as member of the Power Trio and the Keystone Trio. He also served as the regular pianist with the Mingus Dynasty Band and for a time led his own big band. Hicks enjoyed his greatest commercial success with a series of tribute LPs celebrating the music of his mentors and influences, highlighted by 1998's Something to Live For (a collection of Billy Strayhorn compositions), 2000's Impressions of Mary Lou (Williams, of course), and 2003's Fatha's Day (honoring Earl Hines). Hicks' longest and most rewarding collaboration was his partnership with flutist Elise Wood, which launched in 1983 and after several studio sessions and tours culminated in marriage in 2001, around the time of the release of their duo recording Beautiful Friendship. Hicks died suddenly on May 10, 2006. Just three days earlier, he delivered his final performance at Harlem's St. Mark's United Methodist Church, where his father served as a minister prior to his own death. Hicks was 64 years old. ~ Jason Ankeny http://www.allmusic.com/artist/john-hicks-mn0000224920/biography

Personnel:  Piano – John Hicks;  Bass – Marcus McLaurine;  Drums – Victor Lewis

Moanin' - Portrait of Art Blakey

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Suzanne Pittson - Resolution: A Remembrance of John Coltrane

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:44
Size: 139,2 MB
Art: Front

(6:06) 1. Liberia
(6:09) 2. My One and Only Love
(1:09) 3. Prelude to Resolution
(7:19) 4. Resolution
(0:58) 5. Introduction to Pursuance
(6:17) 6. Pursuance
(2:59) 7. Remembrance
(8:25) 8. The Night Has A Thousand Eyes
(6:54) 9. I Wish I Knew
(7:09) 10. African Skies
(6:14) 11. You Don't Know What Love Is

Countless instrumentalists have paid tribute to John Coltrane, but rarely have jazz vocalists provided Coltrane tributes. Resolution: A Remembrance of John Coltrane is a rare example of a singer paying homage to the seminal saxophonist. Hard-swinging but melodic, Suzanne Pittson thinks like a post bop saxophonist her appreciation of saxmen like Trane, Wayne Shorter, and Michael Brecker comes through whether she's embracing lyrics or scatting. So she was a logical person to record this fairly ambitious project, which ranges from interpretations of the Coltrane classics "Resolution," "Liberia," and "Pursuance" (all of which the Bay Area singer and/or her husband, pianist Jeff Pittson, wrote lyrics for) to various standards that Coltrane recorded. "You Don't Know What Love Is" and "I Wish I Knew" recall Trane's versions from Ballads, while "My One and Only Love" fondly remembers his historic 1963 encounter with Johnny Hartman. But through it all, Pittson's own personality never becomes obscured. Resolution is one jazz vocal CD that can hardly be called generic.~ Alex Henderson https://www.allmusic.com/album/resolution-a-remembrance-of-john-coltrane-mw0000243387

Resolution: A Remembrance of John Coltrane

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Adam Rogers, David Binney - R&B

Styles: Guitar And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:57
Size: 153,7 MB
Art: Front

(6:47)  1. Ah-Leu-Cha
(7:34)  2. Introspection
(6:35)  3. In Love In Vain
(7:05)  4. Africaine
(7:21)  5. Don't Misunderstand
(9:03)  6. Sippin' At Bell's
(7:23)  7. Skydive
(7:14)  8. My Ship
(7:50)  9. I Feel A Song Coming On

From his many Criss Cross dates as a leader to his extraordinary sideman work with Chris Potter, the late Michael Brecker and many more, Adam Rogers continues to blaze a path as one of jazz's most compelling guitarists. His longtime associate David Binney, alto saxophone great and an influential composer and producer, has also distinguished himself with numerous innovative sessions for Criss Cross and others. On R & B, Rogers and Binney unite to co-lead a lean and hard-swinging quartet with bassist Reuben Rogers (no relation) and drummer Gerald Cleaver. In a departure from their usual focus on original material, Rogers and Binney aim straight for bebop, ballads and classics by Thelonious Monk, Freddie Hubbard and Wayne Shorter, among others. ~ Editorial Reviews  http://www.amazon.com/R-Adam-Rogers-David-Binney/dp/B00US68XZA

Personnel: David Binney (alto saxophone); Adam Rogers (guitar); Gerald Cleaver (drums), David Binney (Saxophone).

R&B

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Stockholm Swing All Stars - Stockholm Swing All Stars ! ! ! Vol. 1

Styles: Swing
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:49
Size: 117,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:41) 1. The Man I Love
(6:25) 2. I Got It Bad
(4:23) 3. Fly Me to the Moon
(3:29) 4. Blue and Sentimental
(4:57) 5. Caravan
(3:27) 6. Like Bonnie
(4:29) 7. Segment
(5:33) 8. Where's Your Heart
(3:41) 9. Li´l Darling
(5:57) 10. My Romance
(4:42) 11. Wings and Things

The Stockholm Swing All Stars formed in 2002. The idea was to form a band featuring the top jazz and swing players in Stockholm. The four horn players in the front line play an important role in the band. With cleverly written arrangements, mostly by Klas Lindquist and Fredrik Lindborg, the band can play softly like a small group and seconds later explode in a big band fortissimo. The rhythm section gives the band a bouncing ground for the solos and ensembles. The members of the Stockholm Swing All Stars are considered among the best in their field in Sweden. The band plays swing and jazz music suitable both for concerts and for dancing. They often play at lindy hop and other dance events as well as in concert halls. The Stockholm Swing All Stars have released five albums and one DVD. The most recent album, “In The Spirit of Duke Ellington”, was released in September 2018. They tour all over Scandinavia, and sell out the Stockholm Concert Hall and the Gothenburg Concert Hall regularly. https://www.stockholmswingallstars.com/about/

Personnel: Karl Olandersson – trumpet and vocals; Klas Lindquist – reeds; Fredrik Lindborg – reeds ; Dicken Hedrenius – trombone; Daniel Tilling – piano; Göran Lind – double Bass; Mattias Puttonen – drums

Stockholm Swing All Stars ! ! ! Vol. 1

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Joanne Brackeen - Breath Of Brazil

Styles: Piano Jazz, Brazilian Jazz
Year: 1991
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:04
Size: 154,0 MB
Art: Front

(6:38)  1. Madalena
(5:52)  2. Velas
(6:15)  3. Aquas De Março
(3:39)  4. Guessing Game
(4:38)  5. Breath Of Brazil
(7:12)  6. Sue Encanto
(4:27)  7. Loro
(5:33)  8. So Many Stars
(5:40)  9. Anos Dourados
(6:29) 10. Brasileiro Escondido
(5:14) 11. Flora
(5:20) 12. Samba Do Soho

Pianist Joanne Brackeen is one of the best non-Brazilian interpreters of Brazilian music on the scene today. For many years a sideman in a wide variety of jazz combos, Brackeen has a natural flair for Brazilian and Latin rhythms as it quite clear from her brilliant album Breath of Brazil that features the works of a number of composers including Ivan Lins, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Sergio Mendes. “Madalena” and “Velas” are two songs by Ivan Lins that have become standards. Brackeen’s interpretation of “Velas” is particularly satisfying and is a model of the deceptively smooth laid-back performance style of the bossa nova that masks an underlying rhythmic intensity.  A very interesting work is “Guessing Game” with its angular modal melody and rhythmic tricks. Brackeen features her supporting musicians to great advantage, especially bassist Eddie Gomez who figures prominently in “Breath of Brasil” and in Sergio Mendes’ “So Many Stars.” Having “So Many Stars” begin with the melody in the bass is an interesting and unexpected twist.  No Brazilian album would be complete without Jobim, and Brackeen selects two of the master’s best songs, “Aguas de Marcos” and “Anos Dourados.” Jobim considered “Aguas de Marcos” to be his masterpiece and most performers have agreed with his self-assessment. The versatility of the song is remarkable and it has been interpreted in a variety of ways, from Elis Regina’s playful way with the song’s text in her famous duet with Jobim himself to hard-driving instrumental versions such as the one offered here by Brackeen. Joanne Brackeen is an excellent jazz pianist who deserves much wider recognition. Breath of Brasil is a good introduction to this fine performer, and if you’re already a fan it’s another “must have” for the cd collection.~William Grim https://www.allaboutjazz.com/breath-of-brazil-joanne-brackeen-concord-music-group-review-by-william-grim.php
 

Personnel: Joanne Brackeen: piano; Eddie Gomez: bass; Duduka Da Fonseca: drums; Waltinho Anastacio: percussion.

Breath Of Brazil

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Fleurine - Meant to be!

Styles: Vocal Jazz, Brazilian Jazz
Year: 1996
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:23
Size: 158,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:41)  1. Lazy And Satisfied
(6:14)  2. My Souldance With You
(6:14)  3. Favorite Love Affair
(5:59)  4. Velejar
(3:52)  5. Meant To Be
(5:11)  6. My Hearts Escapade
(3:59)  7. I've Got Just About Everything
(4:50)  8. When I Think Of One
(3:23)  9. Escolher
(4:45) 10. It's All In The Mind
(5:42) 11. Better Call Me Now
(4:07) 12. One Dream Gone
(4:25) 13. High In The Sky

Fleurine is a Dutch vocalist with an impressive international resume. She studied at the Amsterdam School of High Arts / Conservatory for four years, and then left The Netherlands to live in New York and has been working on both continents since 1993. Wanting to sing songs of Jazz in a different way, thinking it would be hard to add anything to the repertoire of her favourite vocalists, she set out to write her own lyrics to compositions of famous Jazz composers such as Thelonious Monk , Kenny Dorham, Ray Briant, Curtis Fuller and Thad Jones, but also to songs of contemporaries such as Tom Harrell and Joshua Redman, thus creating a brand new vocal repertoire, writing in English and in Portuguese. She recorded these songs on her debut Album "Meant to Be!" in N.Y, with a band consisting of Tom Harrell(tp), Ralph Moore(ts), Renee Rosnes(p), Jesse van Ruller (g), Christian McBride(b), Billy Drummond (d) and Grammy Award winning Producer Don Sickler (who produced a/o Joe Henderson, Jimmy Smith, Christian McBride and Mark Whitfield). The Album, which was received excellently by the International Press, (see reviews) was released on English Independent label "Bluemusic". (1996). It immediately became a regular Jazz Hit in a/o The Netherlands and England. Shortly after, Fleurine toured all over the world, performing with her own band at renowned Jazz clubs such as Birdland and Blue Note(recorded for TV) in New York, the renowned PizzaExpress Jazzclub in London and at International festivals such as the Montreal Jazz Festival and the Edmonton Jazz festival in Canada, the Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy, the Istanbul Jazz Festival in Turkey and the North Sea Jazz Festival, where she performed seven times since 1994.

She also debuted as a Producer on guitarist Jesse van Ruller's first album as a leader: "European Quintet"(1997) .This album became a top seller in Japan in 2000. Fleurine was soon noticed in the International Jazz scene and got invited to tour as a guest vocalist with bands such as the Roy Hargrove Quintet, at the Havana Jazz Festival in Cuba in 1996, and with the T.S. Monk Band in Canada and at the 1997 North Sea Jazz Festival where she met Brad Mehldau. Mehldau heard Fleurine sing, and invited her to sit in with his Trio at the famous Village Vanguard in New York. The combination turned out to be a great success, and the idea for a tour together was born. In the meantime Fleurine's debut Album "Meant to be!" had sold so well that she got an offer to record for Universal. Fleurine and Brad Mehldau went into the studio in New York in June '99 and recorded the fresh material they had just toured in Europe. The Album is a duo-collaboration, for which Brad Mehldau wrote exquisite string-arrangements on a couple of tracks. (a "primeur!")  Fleurine chose the material for the album, continuing to create new vocal standards by writing lyrics to beautiful compositions of Pat Metheny and Brad Mehldau, composing a song of her own, and interpreting contemporary songs by Jimi Hendrix and Supertramp as well as three classic composers, Michel Legrand, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Johnny Mandel.  Fleurine's duo album with Brad Mehldau is entitled "Close Enough for Love", released by  EmArcy/ Universal (157 548-2) in February 2000.

Fleurine and Mehldau subsequently toured the world, playing in Paris, London , Berlin, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Prague, Utrecht, Los Angeles, New York, Montreux, The Hague, Sao Paulo (Brazil) , Buenos Aires (Argentina) with great success.(see reviews). Fleurine's debut Album, "Meant to be!", has been re-released by Universal, and is available in many new countries since 2000 under catalogue number EmArcy/Universal 159 085-2. For her new release, "Fire", Fleurine collaborated with producer Robert Sadin, who recently produced Herbie Hancock's Grammy winning "Gershwin's World" with Stevie Wonder and Joni Mitchell, and Wayne Shorter's latest release "Alegria". Sadin has also conducted, arranged and produced for a wide range of leading artists, including Kathleen Battle, Wynton Marsalis, Milton Nascimento, Dee Dee Bridgewater,  and the New York Philharmonic.

Sadin was so enthusiastic about Fleurine's previous recordings that he offered to produce her next album. Fleurine was thrilled to work with Sadin and their musical chemistry brought forth an exceptional album. Fleurine continues to be bold and original, this time arranging famous pop hits by Peter Frampton, Bruce Springsteen, Nick Drake, Paul Simon and The Pretenders in a jazz context, while at the same time reinterpreting a Gabriel Fauré's classic sung in French, showcasing that jazz has no limits. Her great love for Brazilian grooves and language, always present on all of Fleurine's albums is featured on the title track "Fire", as well as on two brand new Brazilian originals and one classic Jobim.  The album features top players from two continents; New York's finest -drummer Jeff Ballard, saxophonist Seamus Blake, accordionist Gil Goldstein, pianist Brad Mehldau and guitarist Peter Bernstein, and from Europe,  Fleurine's  treasured band-members of 10 years: Holland's premier guitarist Jesse van Ruller and Dutch bass ace Johan Plomp. With "Fire" Fleurine continues to create her own unique niche in the world of jazz.  http://www.fleurine.com/Biography/biography.html

Meant to be!

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Sarah Partridge - Beautiful Minds: Celebrating Extraordinary Women

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:23
Size: 116,4 MB
Art: Front

(5:02) 1. Sky Sweeper
(7:54) 2. Blues in Maryam's Truth
(4:58) 3. A Double Life
(3:24) 4. Stella Splendida (Bright Star)
(4:10) 5. Against the Current
(5:20) 6. She Who Stayed to Prove the Day
(6:12) 7. Courage Is a Woman
(4:08) 8. Rise Up!
(5:28) 9. Queen of Disguise
(3:43) 10. Adorn the World

Jazz vocalist Sarah Partridge releases her seventh recording, a project two years in the making. Comprised of ten original songs written by Partridge and mostly members of her band, each piece is a musical portrait of a notable woman in STEM. (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). A stunning example of art meets science, these compositions bring each woman to life with a variety of international grooves, and lyrics that poetically celebrate each woman. This is a concept album like no other, and Partridge has assembled a masterful ensemble of players and composers.

From Maria Mitchell, the first female astronomer in the 1800’s to film star and inventor, Hedy Lamarr, to current climate scientist Nicole Hernandez Hammer, this is an inspiring exploration into jazz like never before. Partridge says, “My hope is to introduce the world to these courageous women through music: Women who have overcome mountains of challenges to achieve what they have.

I’d like the music to embody the flavor of their lives so that it inspires women everywhere to enter the STEM fields, and hopefully embrace jazz music!”~Scott Thompson Public Relations https://www.allaboutjazz.com/news/sarah-partridge-beautiful-minds-extraordinary-women

Beautiful Minds: Celebrating Extraordinary Women

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Michael Feinstein & Maynard Ferguson - Big City Rhythms

Styles: Piano Jazz, Bop
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:03
Size: 149,6 MB
Art: Front

(2:58) 1. Close Your Eyes
(5:31) 2. The Very Thought of You
(3:34) 3. Let Me Off Uptown
(5:08) 4. Girl Talk
(4:34) 5. You Can't Lose 'Em All
(3:55) 6. One Day at a Time
(5:54) 7. The Rhythm of the Blues
(5:26) 8. The One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else
(4:30) 9. Ev'rything You Want Is Here
(2:28) 10. Johnny One Note
(2:39) 11. Swing Is Back in Style
(3:27) 12. Love Is Nothin' But a Racket
(3:26) 13. Lullaby in Rhythm
(5:00) 14. Medley: When Your Lover Has Gone/The Gal That Got Away
(3:40) 15. New York, New York
(2:44) 16. How Little We Know

Michael Feinstein steps out from behind his piano to front a big band, and not just any band, but Maynard Ferguson's. Extending the jazzy course he started in his first Concord album, Michael & George, Feinstein sounds at ease whether the swing is light ("Girl Talk") or hard ("Let Me Off Uptown"). He also contributes two of his own songs ("The Rhythm of the Blues", "Swing Is Back in Style"). While occasional piercing trumpet lines remind us who the bandleader is, Ferguson doesn't spend that much time in the stratosphere partly because he's now over 70 and partly because this crack band works beautifully in support of Feinstein. Released shortly after the singer opened his New York club, Feinstein's, Big City Rhythms will get your fingers snapping. ~David Horiuchi https://www.amazon.ca/Big-City-Rhythms-Michael-Feinstein/dp/B00001ZSTC

Personnel: Piano – Earl MacDonald, Michael Feinstein; Alto Saxophone – Gary Foster, Matt Catingub; Baritone Saxophone – Sal Lozano; Bass Trombone – Bryant Byers; Drums – Albie Berk, Dave Throckmorton; Flugelhorn – Bobby Shew, Maynard Ferguson ; Guitar – Dennis Budimir; Leader – Maynard Ferguson; Tenor Saxophone – Dan Higgins, Jim Brenan; Trombone – Alex Iles, Reggie Watkins, Tom Garling; Trumpet – Adolfo Acosta, Bobby Shew, Brian Ploeger, Maynard Ferguson, Wayne Bergeron; Tuba – Jim Self

Big City Rhythms

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Allan Harris - Open Up Your Mind

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:12
Size: 115,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:29)  1. Can't Live My Life Without You
(5:04)  2. Hold You
(5:29)  3. Fly Me To The Moon
(3:42)  4. Color Of A Woman
(7:00)  5. There She Goes
(3:58)  6. Autumn
(3:55)  7. Shores Of Istanbul
(5:41)  8. Inner Fear
(5:34)  9. Open Up Your Mind
(5:15) 10. I Do Believe

There is Allan Harris the romantic troubadour, serving up platters of Billy Strayhorn, Ellington and Nat King Cole tunes with his distinctly Cole-esque baritone. There is also Harris the singer-storyteller, two volumes 2006’s Cross That River and its 2009 companion Cry of the Thunderbird into his vibrant saga of unsung black cowboys, their trials and triumphs. Not until now, however, as his recording career enters its third decade, has an entire album been devoted to a meeting of Harris the romantic and Harris the songwriter. The inescapable Cole-ness that defined so much of his earlier work has all but disappeared. (Intriguingly, it only surfaces on the album’s sole cover, a gently funkified “Fly Me to the Moon,” suggesting that original material unleashes a more original Harris.) Instead, he eases into a smooth R&B groove more evocative of Teddy Pendergrass and Luther Vandross. 

The material, though consistently charming, is occasionally derivative. “Color of a Woman” suggests a mellower take on Sinatra’s mid-’60s quasi-hit “Tell Her (You Love Her Each Day),” the sparkling “Hold Me” sounds as if it was plucked from the Stylistics’ ’70s songbook, and “There She Goes” echoes countless other if-only-she’d-notice-me laments. But when Harris examines more distinctive sentiments, such as the swirling, mysteriously exotic “Shores of Istanbul” or the sinister, duplicitous “Inner Fear,” the results are impressively fresh and invigorating. ~ Christopher Loudon  http://jazztimes.com/articles/28872-open-up-your-mind-allan-harris

Open Up Your Mind

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Odyssey The Band - Back In Time

Styles: Big Band
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:23
Size: 301,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:39) 1. Last One
(6:12) 2. Open Doors
(5:52) 3. Happy Time
(5:16) 4. Little Red House
(5:29) 5. Water Tree
(5:18) 6. Love Nest
(5:45) 7. Woman Coming
(7:08) 8. Channel One
(5:09) 9. Let's Get Married
(4:30) 10. Free For Three

Every performance by guitarist James “Blood” Ulmer is a trip “back in time.” You can hear field hollers in Ulmer’s music. You can hear Africa. But you can also hear the shrieks of demons that live out beyond the free-jazz frontier. No one covers more historical and spiritual bandwidth than Ulmer, from raw backwoods blues to high-voltage thrash guitar to harmolodics learned directly from his one-time boss and landlord, Ornette Coleman. But the title of Ulmer’s new album refers to a particular past moment. In 1983 (during a brief three-album tenure with Columbia), Ulmer released a trio recording called Odyssey, with violinist Charles Burnham and drummer Warren Benbow. It has been out of print for years and it may be Ulmer’s best record. These three players had not been in a studio together for 22 years. They reunite for Back in Time and take up where they left off. Their group sonic signature still freezes you right in your chair. Burnham’s violin is often smeared through a wah-wah pedal, and Ulmer’s guitar is all whining sustains and shuddering double-stops. At the bottom, drummer Benbow kicks pure, relentless, unapologetic funk.

But any written description of Odyssey the Band is no longer valid by the time the ink dries. This group redefines itself every few moments. The opener, “Last One,” starts as the meanest of grooves, but two minutes later Ulmer’s snaking, jangling insinuations have detached themselves from Benbow’s beat, and so have Burnham’s moans and sighs. The next piece, “Open Doors,” proves that Ulmer could have gotten rich in rock ‘n’ roll. No one, not even Ulmer’s exact contemporary, Jimi Hendrix, has ever played filthier, nastier guitar. But Ulmer’s creative process is more than brute force and distortion. He goes right to the edge of the atonal abyss, where very few rock guitarists have ever dared venture. If Back in Time contained more tracks like “Open Doors,” it would be a monster. But “Love Nest” and “Channel One” are subdued, textural pieces that are content to revel in the evocative sonorities of that otherworldly guitar/violin blend. The two vocals, “Little Red House” and “Let’s Get Married,” sound like they come from a different session, restricting Ulmer’s vast instrumental abstract expressionism to a single verbal storyline. But even when he sings, Ulmer always disrupts expectation, blowing up whole verses with harmolodic riffs. And if Benbow’s gutbucket shuffles sometimes become reductive, like self-conscious simplifications, he is also capable of sliding off the beat and making you search for it. His solo on “Woman Coming” is perfect–deadpan yet erotic.

Odyssey the Band is, after all, a collective. What makes it an ideal showcase for Ulmer’s art is the transcendent hook-up with Burnham, whose reemergence on this album is the latest compelling example of the violin renaissance now occurring in jazz. (Think Billy Bang, Jenny Scheinman, Mark Feldman, Mat Maneri, et al.) Within the bare-bones trio format, Ulmer’s unison tuning enables his instrument to fill in, at least by implication, the missing bass parts. Burnham’s violin twists around Ulmer’s guitar to make a single, seething treble voice. It is an ensemble sound like no other, and engineer Bob Musso adequately captures its sting. By Thomas Conrad https://jazztimes.com/archives/odyssey-band-back-in-time/

Personnel: James "Blood" Ulmer – guitar, vocals; Charles Burnham – violin; Warren Benbow – drums

Back In Time

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Renee Rosnes - Kinds of Love

Styles: Piano Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:11
Size: 130,4 MB
Art: Front

(5:24) 1. Silk
(5:47) 2. Kinds of Love
(6:09) 3. In Time Like Air
(6:35) 4. The Golden Triangle
(7:29) 5. Evermore
(7:17) 6. Passing Jupiter
(5:20) 7. Life Does Not Wait (A Vida Não Espera)
(6:35) 8. Swoop
(5:31) 9. Blessings in a Year of Exile

Renee Rosnes has a reinvigorated appreciation for the many different shapes that love can take.With her new album Kinds of Love, the Canadian pianist and composer reflects on the many forms of love in her own life of a romantic partner, of family members, of nature, of the arts and of the close relationships she’s forged with fellow musicians. Kinds of Love features an all-star quintet with saxophonist Chris Potter, bassist Christian McBride, drummer Carl Allen, and percussionist Rogério Boccato.

For many of them, the recording date was one of their first times back in a studio after the long silence of 2020. During that time, Rosnes had taken the opportunity to write a full album’s worth of original compositions with these particular musicians in mind. “I’ve tried to look at the pandemic as a gift of time, and the knowledge that I would soon be recording with my friends inspired much of the music,” Rosnes says. “It was thrilling to experience the humanity of making music again in the moment. Each of these musicians are profound, humble virtuosos and, on a human level, enlightened spirits. Kinds of Love is a reunion of sorts for Rosnes, Potter and McBride, who last recorded together on Rosnes’s acclaimed Blue Note release As We Are Now in 1997. Allen enters the fold after having performed with Rosnes many times over the years, while Boccato is the pianist’s most recent acquaintance.

“We are longtime friends who share a lot of history and camaraderie,” Rosnes says. “Having an unusual amount of quietude to work kept me creatively motivated during the past year. As I composed, I thought about each musician’s essence, and was truly inspired by all the possibilities.”

Kinds of Love is Rosnes’s first album of her own original material since the 2018 releases Beloved of the Sky and Ice on the Hudson, the latter a joint effort with lyricist David Hajdu. However, Rosnes made a major splash in 2020 as the musical director of Artemis, the international supergroup whose debut album was one of the most critically acclaimed jazz releases of the year.” https://jazz.fm/renee-rosnes-kinds-of-love-new-album/

Kinds of Love

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Suzanne Pittson - Out Of The Hub: The Music Of Freddie Hubbard

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:43
Size: 158,3 MB
Art: Front

(6:51) 1. Our Own (Gibraltar)
(8:18) 2. Up Jumped Spring
(6:10) 3. Out Of The Hub (One Of Another Kind)
(9:18) 4. Bright Sun (Lament For Booker)
(4:22) 5. True Visions (True Colors)
(5:46) 6. You're My Everything
(6:57) 7. We're Having A Crisis
(5:51) 8. Moment To Moment
(4:53) 9. Lost And Found (The Melting Pot)
(4:19) 10. Like A Byrd (Byrd Like)
(5:53) 11. Betcha By Golly, Wow!

The vocalese and scatting tradition is alive and well in singer Suzanne Pittson. With Out of the Hub: The Music of Freddie Hubbard, Pittson continues to establish herself as one of the best singers on today's jazz scene. Out of the Hub includes tunes written by or associated with trumpet legend Freddie Hubbard, with Pittson writing or co-writing five lyrics, which Hubbard approved just three months before his passing in 2008. To honor Hubbard, Pittson recruited a group of extraordinaire musicians, including trumpeter Jeremy Pelt and bassist John Patitucci, who add along with saxophonist Steve Wilson and the rest of Pittson's quintet dazzling improvisations throughout.

More than just a singer, Suzanne Pittson is a jazz musician. With a fluid phrasing and stunning tone, Pittson use her voice as another instrument, improvising and playing with the melodies. Pittson's striking sense of melody and amazing vocal range allow her to express a vast palette of colors and textures on swinging tracks like "True Vision," "You're My Everything" and "We're Having a Crisis," and on ballads including "Bright Sun," Moment to Moment" and "Betcha by Golly, Wow!" Following in the steps of the great Ella Fitzgerald, Pittson is also a master of the scatting technique, as shown on "Our Own" and "Out of the Hub." All the arrangements are by pianist/husband Jeff Pittson, and the cover design is a creation of their son Evan, who also wrote the lyrics to "Out of the Hub."~ Wilbert Sostre https://www.allaboutjazz.com/out-of-the-hub-the-music-of-freddie-hubbard-suzanne-pittson-vineland-review-by-wilbert-sostre.php

Personnel: Suzanne Pittson: voice; Jeremy Pelt: trumpet, flugelhorn; Steve Wilson: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone; Jeff Pittson: piano; John Patitucci: bass; Willie Jones III: drums

Out Of The Hub: The Music Of Freddie Hubbard

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Steve Kuhn Trio - To And From The Heart

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:42
Size: 109,3 MB
Art: Front

( 7:49)  1. Thinking out Loud
( 6:15)  2. Pure Imagination
( 6:00)  3. Away
( 4:38)  4. Never Let Me Go
( 5:29)  5. Into the New World
(16:29)  6. Trance / Oceans in the Sky

Now an octogenarian, Steve Kuhn's career has in 2018 spanned nearly sixty years, never having a long lull of time without recording new music. It becomes something of a marvel then that after all this time, the pianist still finds something new to say; he is still able to surprise listeners with songs they don't expect and improvisations they don't anticipate. He continues with the same trio he used on his previous release, At This Time... (Sunnyside, 2016) It should surprise no one how well these three mesh, considering their history. Kuhn and bassist Steve Swallow have worked together as far back as the 1960s, when they recorded with trumpeter and flugelhornist Art Farmer, who had yet to help create the Flumpet. Joey Baron meanwhile, has played drums on four albums with Kuhn, dating as far back as 1995. The trio has To And From the Heart open with the radiant "Thinking Out Loud," an original composition by Swallow, before easing perfectly into a beautiful and instantly recognisable rendition of the now classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory tune, "Pure Imagination." With it's warm, romantic tone the song conjures the images of a crisp, cool city night, strolling hand in hand past pool halls, restaurants, and towering hotels. Swallow's long electric bass solo is rained over by Baron's cymbals before Kuhn masterfully brings the melody around for a final pass. In both these first songs it becomes clear how perfectly complementary the members of this trio are to each other. 

It's a kind of chemistry often taken for granted, but which exists only within a group of musicians such as this one. "Pure Imagination" is followed by two tender ballads, "Away" and "Never Let Me Go," the former of which is the second Swallow original and a simple, romantic song that feels just at home on the album.  Baron's cymbals spur Kuhn forward on Michika Fukumori's mid-tempo "Into the New World" before descending into a 16-minute long convalescence of two of Kuhn's original compositions, titled "Trance/Oceans in the Sky." The lengthy, latter half of this musical concoction is a wonderful, emotional ride. At times ominous, at others hopeful, yet never jarring. It's this song that draws the listener in, demanding full and complete attention to the band's technical prowess. Baron's drums weave through speakers left and right while Kuhn's piano lays out a remarkable turn reminiscent of the spectacular finale to a fireworks show. It's not just the perfect ending to a thoughtful, emotional album, it's the song that makes the entire 50 minute ride memorable. Despite the relative age of the group, To and From the Heart never feels geriatric. Meting out innovation with the sort of self assured aplomb which comes from experience and long-honed talent, the Steve Kuhn Trio has yet another solid addition to their catalogue. ~ Peter Hoetjes https://www.allaboutjazz.com/to-and-from-the-heart-steve-kuhn-sunnyside-records-review-by-peter-hoetjes.php

Personnel: Steve Kuhn: piano; Steve Swallow: electric bass; Joey Baron: drums.

To And From The Heart

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Jack McDuff - Sanctified Samba (Live in New Jersey)

Styles: Soul Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:17
Size: 90,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:50) 1. Sanctified Samba
(5:11) 2. Whistle While You Work
(6:37) 3. It Ain't Necessarily So
(6:40) 4. Rock Candy
(7:42) 5. A Real Goodun'
(8:16) 6. Undecided

A marvelous bandleader and organist as well as capable arranger, "Brother" Jack McDuff has one of the funkiest, most soulful styles of all time on the Hammond B-3. His rock-solid basslines and blues-drenched solos are balanced by clever, almost pianistic melodies and interesting progressions and phrases. McDuff began as a bassist playing with Denny Zeitlin and Joe Farrell. He studied privately in Cincinnati and worked with Johnny Griffin in Chicago. He taught himself organ and piano in the mid-'50s, and began gaining attention working with Willis Jackson in the late '50s and early '60s, cutting high caliber soul-jazz dates for Prestige. McDuff made his recording debut as a leader for Prestige in 1960, playing in a studio pickup band with Jimmy Forrest. They made a pair of outstanding albums: Tough Duff and The Honeydripper. McDuff organized his own band the next year, featuring Harold Vick and drummer Joe Dukes. Things took off when McDuff hired a young guitarist named George Benson. They were among the most popular combos of the mid-'60s and made several excellent albums. McDuff's later groups at Atlantic and Cadet didn't equal the level of the Benson band, while later dates for Verve and Cadet were uneven, though generally good. McDuff experimented with electronic keyboards and fusion during the '70s, then in the '80s got back in the groove with the Muse session Cap'n Jack. While his health fluctuated throughout the '90s, McDuff released several discs on the Concord Jazz label before succumbing to heart failure on January 23, 2001, at the age of 74. ~ Ron Wynn and Bob Porter https://www.iheart.com/artist/jack-mcduff-31483/

Sanctified Samba (Live in New Jersey)

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Lisa Hilton - Transparent Sky

Styles: Piano Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:54
Size: 89,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:51) 1. Santa Monica Samba
(3:31) 2. Random Journey
(3:48) 3. Nightingales & Fairy Tales
(3:44) 4. Living in Limbo
(3:04) 5. God Bless the Child
(3:17) 6. Chromatic Chronicles
(5:21) 7. Fall Upon a Miracle
(3:10) 8. Infinite Tango
(4:02) 9. Extraordinary Everyday Things
(5:01) 10. Transparent Sky

As America and other countries re-emerge from the limitations of 2020, Lisa Hilton and her trio with Rudy Royston and Luques Curtis, enthusiastically embrace the moment with a vibrant new jazz offering titled Transparent Sky, that will inspire, uplift and motivate us all. Rich with glorious harmonies and unique compositions, Hilton's swinging band radiates a sun bleached aura to listeners. Throughout the album Hilton, Royston and Curtis develop a surprisingly wide range of rhythmic ideas from a variety of genres, masterfully blending classic traditions with new approaches and upbeat style. The recording jumps in with the Latin tinged "Santa Monica Samba," quickly following with the equally energetic "Random Journey" on this collection of nine originals, plus one cover. "What developed this year was a LOT of movement and richer chords and harmonies - which makes sense when you consider how static last year was. As musicians we need to challenge and also entertain ourselves, so I think that's why I subconsciously wrote in so many rhythm changes and multiple harmonic directions," says Hilton. "Living In Limbo," "Chromatic Chronicles," "Fall Upon a Miracle" and "Infinite Tango," highlight the multiple creative rhythms of Hilton's compositions and showcase ample opportunities for Curtis's agile bass, and the delightful details of Royston's drums.

Hilton has a way with ballads, and "Nightingales & Fairy Tales" is no exception. With it's slight nod to Bill Evans in the sixties, this has the making of a jazz classic for a twenty first century audience. In the same vein, a cover of "God Bless The Child," co-written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog Jr, is a charmer, and like all the tracks here, is skillfully and originally presented without being forced. "For a long time I've been trying to record cover songs by women who were composers, because there is very little attention paid to them in jazz. I think it's important to give women recognition for their range of talents, and by promoting them, maybe we will see less discrimination in music", Hilton muses. Slowing towards the album's end, "Extraordinary Everyday Things" is a calm and expressive soundscape, but with a surprise twist, Hilton finishes up with the title track, "Transparent Sky" as a sonorous piano solo. "The melody is beautiful and has a bit of swing, but the harmonic ideas are quite chromatic and dissonant with overlapping/lingering sonorities between bar lines. " She says. "This piece needs to be played sensitively or it will sound harsh, but that is like our lives today - we are living in sensitive times and need to be aware of how we connect and communicate. The solo piano clearly delivers those delicate harmonies along with the emotions. It's about accepting our world as it is, whatever may be happening at that moment. Tomorrow will bring what it will, but there is still beauty to be found if we look for it, amid the dissonance of our times." Hilton explains. https://millsrecordcompany.com/UPC/806314102627

Transparent Sky

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