Aaron Parks - First Romance

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:42
Size: 113,9 MB
Art: Front

(6:21)  1. First Romance
(9:02)  2. Stella by Starlight
(5:14)  3. The Wizard
(7:41)  4. All the Things You Are
(8:00)  5. Someday My Prince Will Come
(6:30)  6. Beatrice
(6:52)  7. Oleo

First Romance, 16-year-old jazz pianist Aaron Parks' second CD, is a compilation of mostly live recordings made in and around Seattle, Washington. In addition to performing with his original trio mates, Evan Flory-Barnes and Eric Peters, he also performs here with Larry Holloway on bass and Julian MacDonough on drums. The title track, First Romance, along with his award winning tune, The Wizard, were composed by Aaron Parks. Also included are classic standards, such as All the Things You Are, Stella by Starlight, and Oleo. The trio's stunning rendition of Sam Rivers' Beatrice, comes from a University of Washington performance which has been listed by the Seattle Times as one of the top 10 notable jazz acts of 1999. 

The Aaron Parks Trio, with Evan Flory-Barnes on Bass, and Eric Peters on Drums, was awarded Northwest Emerging Group of the Year for 1999 by Seattle's Earshot Jazz. Aaron Parks has also received awards as a Yamaha Young Performing Artist, Presiden! tial Scholar in the Arts, Clifford Brown/Stan Getz Fellow, National High School Grammy Ensemble member, and Betty Carter Jazz Ahead participant. Most recently, he earned Third Place in the international Jas Hennessey Piano Solo Competition held at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Summer 2000. Aaron Parks is currently a student at Manhattan School of Music, studying under piano great, Kenny Barron. ~ Editorial Reviews https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004YW6R?_encoding=UTF8&isInIframe=0&n=5174&ref_=dp_proddesc_0&s=music&showDetailProductDesc=1#product-description_feature_div

Aaron Parks is one of the brightest, most talented musicians I have ever worked with... His music is beautifully intense ~ Marc Seales, jazz pianist, Director of Jazz Studies, University of Washington

This is the mark of musical genius, the kind of story-telling feel one gets from players such as Stan Getz and Jarrett ~ Paul de Barros, The Seattle Times, November 24, 1999

Though prodigies are not unusual in jazz think of Clifford Brown, and Wynton Marsalis genius is rare... This kid's the real thing ~  Paul de Barros, First Romance Liner Notes, July 1999

[Aaron Parks] is a vital, fresh, new, creative force ready to begin his career in the jazz world ~ Joanne Brackeen, jazz pianist & composer

Personnel:  Aaron Parks - piano Larry Holloway - base (1,3,5,7) Evan Flory-Barnes - base (2,3,6) Julian MacDonough - drums (1,3,4,5,7) Eric Peters - drums (2,6)

First Romance

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Fred Hersch - Breath By Breath

Styles: Piano Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:28
Size: 107,4 MB
Art: Front

(6:52) 1. Begin Again
(4:13) 2. Awakened Heart
(6:22) 3. Breath By Breath
(4:01) 4. Monkey Mind
(5:02) 5. Rising, Falling
(4:39) 6. Mara
(3:41) 7. Know That You Are
(5:24) 8. Worldly Winds
(6:10) 9. Pastorale

Fred Hersch’s Breath by Breath is a special album by any standard. Compositionally, the implementation of a string quartet into his pieces is breathtaking. Fred Hersch‘s Breath by Breath is a third-stream masterpiece. In addition to enlisting bassist Drew Gress and drummer Jochen Rueckert, the veteran pianist has opened the sound up to include percussionist Rogerio Boccato and all four members of the Crosby Street String Quartet. Breath by Breath sounds like a jazz piano trio album with string additions on some tracks. On others, the lines between jazz and classical music will start to blur. As the genre continues to dreamily float in some in-between zone, musical emphasis shifts between piano and string quartet. Compositionally, Hersch’s implementation of the string quartet into his pieces is breathtaking.

It turns out that Hersch had been pondering the inner workings of a string quartet for most of his life. “I grew up listening to string quartets as a very young musician in Cincinnati,” he writes in the album’s liner notes. “My piano teacher was the wife of the cellist in the famous LaSalle Quartet. I used to lie on the rug in their living room as an elementary school student while they rehearsed, quietly following along, hearing how the viola part meshed with the first violin, or the second violin and the cello.” Hersch then describes how he began studying composition at age eight. You read that right. That means Hersch has had close to 60 years to think about how best to loop a string quartet through his piano compositions or the other way around.

Of the nine pieces on Breath by Breath, eight make up “The Sati Suite”. “Sati” roughly translates to “mindfulness” or “awareness”, thus making the 40 minutes of music revolve around meditation. Some titles don’t need much explanation, like “Breath by Breath”, “Rising, Falling”, and “Know That You Are”. Others are a bit more abstract, like “Monkey Mind” and “Mara”, if you are unfamiliar with stories of the Buddha. The theme lies within the subject rather than the music itself, allowing Hersch to do whatever he likes stylistically. “Mara”, named for a god that tempted Buddha with material desires, makes Boccato the star of the show. Like clockwork, his light percussive touch is the only pulse behind cellist Jody Redhage Ferber as she introduces Hersch’s tenuous solo. The sleepy drone that Boccato creates is an atmosphere not unlike something Cyro Baptista would record for Tzadik.

The opener, “Begin Again”, leans towards the jazzier side of the third stream spectrum, though Rueckert’s beat is more Latin-influenced than swing. “Awakened Heart” is pure melancholy, starting with a molto string quartet and handing things over to Hersch as he searches for a new link between the spirit of Bill Evans and mindful meditation. “Breath by Breath” begins as a quartet piece but soon finds Rueckert escorting them with brushwork, thereby morphing into a quiet piece of lounge jazz. “Worldly Winds”, the concluding movement, sees the two approaches fully immersed with one another. The quartet get a track to themselves with “Know That You Are”, a Romantic piece of shifting chords and unclear resolution. “Monkey Mind”, named for distracting thoughts that get in the way of meditation, leaps over the Romantic era with string pizzicato and wide interval hopping from Hersch.

The one track that is not part of “The Sati Suite” is placed at the end, “Pastorale (Homage a Robert Schumann)”. Hersch begins the piece with a pretty unassuming pattern that continually rises as more and more is added to the mix. That all stops at one point and turns into a plucked string quartet melody that ushers in Hersch staccato melody. If this is an homage to “The Merry Peasant”, then said peasant must have gotten lost somewhere along the way – or took a detour to a tavern. By the time the rest of the piano trio returns, the harmony has turned to a shifting state of bewilderment. But as all conflict is soon followed by resolution, Hersch takes everything back to an agreeable place of rest with both piano and strings.

Breath by Breath is a special album by any standard. Whether one considers it a crossover project or just an enhanced jazz album, the compositions and performances can’t be improved. Together, the continuity they produce can only be enhanced from repeated listens.~ John Garratt https://www.popmatters.com/author/john_garratt

Personnel: Piano – Fred Hersch; Bass - Drew Gress; Cello – Jody Redhage Ferber; Drums – Jochen Rueckert; Viola – Lois Martin; Violin – Joyce Hammann, Laura Seaton

Breath By Breath

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Kellye Gray - Blue And Pink, The Pink Songs

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:49
Size: 151,3 MB
Art: Front

( 7:49)  1. Honeysuckle Rose
(11:28)  2. Well You Needn't
( 6:47)  3. Speak No Evil
( 5:30)  4. Do Nothing
( 8:58)  5. Footprints
( 8:08)  6. Blue Skies
( 6:22)  7. Billie's Bounce
(10:43)  8. Well You Needn't (Bonus Track)

The Pink Songs are the be-bop, swings and out tunes from the Blue and Pink concert recordings. They were recorded in February 2002 in Houston, Texas at Ovations Nite Spot. Kellye Gray has been a jazz recording artist since 1990. Her first disc, Standards In Gray (Justice Records) sold an impressive 60,000 plus CD's. Standards and her second recording, Tomato Kiss (Proteus) charted in the top 20 of the Gavin Report. “Powerful”, “imaginative”, “emotionally uplifting” are some of the adjectives critics use to describe the talents of singer Kellye Gray. Most importantly, Kellye is that breed of jazz singer who has developed a sound that is truly their own. Her style is post-modernist and she uses her voice like an instrument within the ensemble. She possesses what critics like to call  “musicianly chops”. Singing and performing since the age of five, Kellye caught the "bug" very early on in life. She has studied voice, speech, acting and music for over 20 years in Texas, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. She has released four CDs as a solo artist and has appeared on many others as a featured vocalist or as part of a compilation. 

Gray, a native Texan, began her career in the most unlikely of places. She cut her teeth up and down Austin’s own Sixth Street during the 1980’s where the music was more rock and roll and covers than be-bop and swing. On a Kellye Gray date back then it was not unusual to hear Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, a Madonna or Prince cover all in the same set. But, creative choices and great taste allowed “the KGB (the Kellye Gray Band)” to attract not only a college crowd but also a more sophisticated crowd of up-and-coming baby-boomers. The group quickly became a frequent headliner at many of Austin’s festivals, like Aqua Fest and Old Pecan Street Festival. Kellye was recognized as one of the Austin Chronicle’s favorite singers and jazz groups several years in a row.  Kellye moved to Houston in 1987 performing nightly at the Blue Moon. 

There she developed a strong following that attracted the fledgling Justice Records to her door. She recorded Standards In Gray (Justice Records) in 1989 and the disc soared to the top of the Gavin Report as well as other jazz charts. She was named a member of the Texas Jazz Heritage Society, a group founded by the late Arnett Cobb. More...https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/kellyegray2

Blue And Pink, The Pink Songs

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Jean Goldkette - Jean Goldkette Bands 1924-1929

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 70:57
Size: 162.5 MB
Styles: Vintage dance band
Year: 2003
Art: Front

[3:10] 1. In The Evening
[2:45] 2. It's The Blues
[2:46] 3. Play Me Slow
[3:01] 4. Dinah
[3:04] 5. Drifting Apart
[2:39] 6. Gimme A Little Kiss, Will Ya Huh
[3:00] 7. Lonesome And Sorry
[3:02] 8. My Ohio Home
[3:14] 9. So Tired
[3:09] 10. Here Comes The Show Boat (1)
[3:07] 11. Here Comes The Show Boat (2)
[3:06] 12. Just A Little Kiss From A Little Miss
[2:58] 13. Just Imagine (1)
[2:55] 14. Just Imagine (2)
[2:56] 15. Just Imagine (3)
[2:58] 16. That's Just My Way Of Forgetting You
[2:47] 17. That's What Puts The Sweet In Home Sweet Home
[2:49] 18. My Blackbirds Are Bluebirds Now (1)
[2:50] 19. My Blackbirds Are Bluebirds Now (2)
[2:55] 20. Don't Be Like That (1)
[2:58] 21. Don't Be Like That (2)
[2:52] 22. Take A Good Look At Mine
[2:55] 23. Ya' Comin' Up To Night, Huh
[2:51] 24. Birmingham Blues

Although he was a fine classically trained pianist who emigrated to the United States in 1911, Jean Goldkette's importance to jazz is as a bandleader in the 1920s. Goldkette actually had over 20 bands under his name by the mid-1920s, but it was his main unit (which recorded for Victor during 1924-29) that is the only one remembered today. This 24 track collection features Don Murray, Joe Venuti, Steve Brown, Hoagy Carmichael, Frank Trumbauer and others.

Jean Goldkette Bands 1924-1929

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Mose Allison - My BackYard

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:47
Size: 101,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:15)  1. Ever Since I Stole The Blues
(2:57)  2. You Call It Joggin'
(4:19)  3. Big Brother
(3:25)  4. Sentimental Fool
(3:45)  5. Stranger In My Home Town
(4:13)  6. Was
(4:13)  7. Gettin' Paid Waltz
(3:05)  8. Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
(3:32)  9. That's Your Red Wagon
(3:52) 10. Long Song
(3:26) 11. Sleepy Lagoon
(3:38) 12. My Backyard

Mose Allison's career in his golden and quite fruitful years has yielded many surprises and challenges, not the least of which is this delightful offering. He continues to write attractive, bouncy, and fun tunes carried by his signature roiling piano style and sly lyrics. For this effort, producer and Allison disciple Ben Sidran hooked him up with musicians from the modern New Orleans jazz scene, including Astral Project members the extraordinary drummer John Vidacovich, tenor saxophonist Tony Dagradi, and guitarist Steve Masakowski. Veteran bassist Bill Huntington rounds out this very talented ensemble that happily works with Allison step by step to produce some of the singer/songwriter/instrumentalist's most enjoyable music, a tall order but easily recognizable once the listening commences. John D. Loudermilk's "You Call It Joggin'," with the retort "but I call it runnin' around," is one of the all-time classic skeptical lyric lines, as applicable to contemporary lifestyles as anything in the urban lexicon. His revisit of "That's Your Red Wagon" is another timeless tale of emotional baggage; Percy Mayfield's "Stranger In My Own Hometown" is purely autobiographical; while "Sleepy Lagoon" is an easygoing, romantic fantasy theme. Of the eight Allison originals, "The Getting Paid Waltz" depicts every musician's nightmare playing in a nightclub, impatiently waiting for the cheapskate owner eventually to pay up. "Was" is a light waltz for has-beens; "Sentimental Fool" talks about the paradox that he "messed around and got humanized"; and the New Orleans shuffle "Big Brother" including smart tradeoffs with Dagradi is a post-technology cautionary tale, even more relevant in modern times with the advent of Skype, Twitter, and Facebook. 

A statement on the music industry and jazz in particular, the slinky "Long Song" delineates in four minutes what need and not need be present in popular commercial or creative progressive music, and is a perfect companion to his song "My Top 40 Hit Record." Allison is always a delight to hear, a consistently marvelous piano player, and in very good company with this expert band that suits his style and personality perfectly. My Backyard is one of the best records of his career. ~ Michael G.Nastos http://www.allmusic.com/album/my-backyard-mw0000655065

Personnel:  Bass – Bill Huntington;  Drums – John Vidacovich;  Guitar – Steve Masakowski;  Piano – Mose Allison;  Tenor Saxophone – Tony Dagradi;  Vocals – Mose Allison

My BackYard

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Eli Paperboy Reed - Down Every Road

Styles: Vocal, Guitar
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:00
Size: 80,0 MB
Art: Front

(2:14) 1. Mama Tried
(2:30) 2. I'm Bringing Home Good News
(3:33) 3. Somewhere Between
(2:26) 4. Teach Me to Forget
(2:47) 5. It's Not Love, But It's Not Bad
(2:49) 6. If We Make It Through December
(2:35) 7. Silver Wings
(2:25) 8. I'm Gonna Break Every Heart I Can
(2:53) 9. I'm a Lonesome Fugitive
(3:29) 10. One Sweet Hello
(3:37) 11. Workin' Man Blues
(2:36) 12. Today I Started Loving You Again

Some may look sceptically at the idea of Eli Paperboy Reed’s new album. Can a young soulman credibly interpret the songbook of one of country and western’s greatest icons? Absolutely.

After all, Ray Charles famously got here back in 1962 with two volumes of Modern Sounds in Country and Western. Those groundbreaking albums, where Charles dug his voice into music seldom tackled by anyone outside of Nashville at the time, made it clear that the line between C&W and soul was thin enough for it to be blurred by those with enough talent. Eli Paperboy Reed fits such a bill.

While he’s no Ray Charles (to be fair, who is?), Reed’s six previous releases show him to be a powerful, rugged and above all expressive singer, inspired by the greats of the genre he calls home. Yet Reed has been a Haggard fan for years; this covers project was put on the back burner until his own career got underway. The pandemic fanned those flames enough for him to realize that now was the time to take the plunge. Reed digs deep into Hag’s work, with at least half these songs relatively unknown to all but serious fans. Although ringers such as the opening ‘Mama Tried’ (a tough Stax/Otis Redding-style makeover), the sweet ‘Silver Wings’ (a slinky Solomon Burke groove layered with a surprise trombone solo) and the closing ‘Today I Started Loving You Again’ (now a duet with singer Sabine McCalla) are recognizable, the majority are more obscure.

Reed goes full Wilson Pickett, ramping up the funk on a spirited ‘Break Every Heart’. He closes it with a trademark Pickett growl as he transforms the song from its self-deprecating original into a strutting proclamation of purpose. He takes ‘Teach Me to Forgot’ into Muscle Shoals territory with horns that punctuate the chorus, before transforming ‘One Sweet Hello’ into a rhythmic waltz about a relationship that went sour, with all the pathos such words imply; “From one sweet hello / to one sad goodbye”.

The gloomy, holiday-themed ‘If We Make It Through December’ might have been written as a soul ballad if Haggard had heard Reed’s melancholy version, its bittersweet horns underpinning the words “It’s the coldest time of winter” as a female voice brings the church. Reed’s music emerges from the rugged, red dirt South as opposed to anything from Motown, Philadelphia or Chicago cities known for their often smoother, slicker soul scenes. It makes his interpretations more relevant to Haggard’s hard-boiled tales of the brokenhearted and troubled common man, still proud but aware things aren’t likely to improve.

Everything is expertly arranged and performed; Reed’s voice tearing into these slices of life as if he has lived every one. It’s produced with the same unvarnished touch characteristic of the 60’s music that informs his artistic sensibility. The only frustration is that these dozen tracks barely break a half hour. Hopefully, we don’t have to wait for another pandemic to hear a follow-up Haggard’s rich catalog is ripe for such interesting reinterpretation.~Hal Horowitzhttps://holler.country/reviews/album-review/eli-paperboy-reed-down-every-road-eli-paperboy-reed-sings-merle-haggard

Personnel: Guitar, Vocals – Eli Paperboy Reed; Backing Vocals – Kendra Morris, Saundra Williams; Baritone Saxophone – Michael Buckley; Bass – Michael Montgomery; Drums, Percussion – Noah Rubin ; Keyboards – Colin Brown; Tenor Saxophone – Morgan Price; Trombone – Nadav Nirenberg; Trumpet – Billy Aukstik

Down Every Road

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Becca Stevens, Rebecca Martin, Gretchen Parlato - Tillery

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:21
Size: 102,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:21) 1. Take Me With U
(3:25) 2. O I Long To Feel Your Arms Around Me
(4:27) 3. No More
(2:59) 4. Magnus
(5:31) 5. God Is In The Details
(2:37) 6. I Wanna Fly So Free
(6:01) 7. Sweetheart
(3:26) 8. I Asked
(3:29) 9. To Up And Go
(3:03) 10. Push Me Away
(5:57) 11. Tillery

TILLERY is a collaborative project created by Rebecca Martin, Gretchen Parlato and Becca Stevens. Individually, Rebecca Martin, Gretchen Parlato and Becca Stevens are three of New York’s most acclaimed and respected vocalist/songwriters. Together, as Tillery, they’re a potent collective force that’s more than the sum of its already formidable parts. The threesome’s seamless creative chemistry and organic personal rapport makes for a powerful collaboration that’s been wowing live audiences since the trio first joined forces in 2010. United equally by an abiding friendship and a mutual admiration for one another’s talents, Tillery finds these three unmistakable individuals converging into a distinctive and deeply compelling whole. Tillery’s members are already renowned for their individual musical achievements. Maine-born Rebecca Martin is a widely respected two-decade veteran whose vocal and songwriting talents have allowed her to effortlessly straddle the worlds of jazz and pop. She’s released half a dozen acclaimed albums, on which she’s worked with many of jazz’s most esteemed players, including Brian Blade, Paul Motian, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Martin’s husband, bassist Larry Grenadier.

Native Californian Gretchen Parlato is one of the jazz world’s most celebrated rising vocalists. She first rose to prominence when she finished in first place in the 2004 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition. Since then, she’s released three solo albums, as well as lending her voice to more than 50 albums, including high-profile releases by Kenny Barron, Terence Blanchard, Lionel Loueke and Esperanza Spalding. Although a relative newcomer, North Carolina-bred Becca Stevens has quickly emerged as one of the jazz scene’s brightest young lights. In addition to releasing two albums of her original compositions with the Becca Stevens Band, she has sung with Travis Sullivan’s Bjorkestra, and performed and/or recorded with such esteemed musicians as Taylor Eigsti, Eric Harland and Brad Mehldau. The seeds for Tillery were planted in late 2010, when the three artists met and became fervent admirers of each other’s work. Although all three hail from diverse backgrounds and belong to different age groups, they quickly recognized each other as kindred spirits, striking up a personal bond as well as a budding creative collaboration.

The circumstances that spawned the partnership were initially set in motion when a mutual friend of all three artists brought Gretchen Parlato to a Rebecca Martin performance at Manhattan’s Jazz Standard. “Her voice and songs brought me to tears,” Parlato confides. “She has such a warm, loving energy, and I immediately felt like she was someone I wanted to be around and share my time and music with.” The same friend had also been singing the praises of Becca Stevens to Parlato, inspiring her to attend one of Stevens’ shows at the Cornelia Street Cafe. “I was in complete awe of her,” Gretchen notes. “She has the kind of intensity that, from the very first sound out of her mouth, you know that something deep is happening. We got to know each other better when we sang together in Taylor Eigsti’s band Free Agency. We realized that we understood and processed music in the same way, and that we laughed and joked about the same things. And knowing both Rebecca and Becca, I felt like their energies would relate and bond.”

Stevens, meanwhile, had long been aware of both Martin and Parlato.“They were the women in jazz who I could admire when I was coming up,” she says. “I felt totally humbled by the brilliance of Gretchen’s craft, so when she came to my gig, I was really flattered. I had a similar feeling when, after being aware of Rebecca for so many years, she sent me an email out of the blue introducing herself. I finally met her at Cornelia when I went to one of her shows. Gretchen was there too, and the three of us took a picture together after. I laugh when I look at that picture now, because even then, we had the same goofy, spontaneous energy that we have now.” When they subsequently reunited for an all-girl getaway weekend at Martin’s house in upstate Kingston, NY in late 2010, it seemed inevitable that they would end up making music together. “At some point, I picked up my guitar and said ‘Let’s sing something,’ and that was it,” Martin recalls. “There wasn’t any thought put into it. It just happened, and it just made sense.”

“Rebecca taught us one of her songs, and then another,” Stevens remembers. “The three of our voices and the warm receptive energy in the room created this sound that was like… love butter. You just want to spread it all over everything.” A week later, Gretchen and Becca joined Rebecca on stage to sing a few songs at her record-release party, and it quickly became apparent that the informal arrangement should become a permanent one. The new trio made its official debut at the Cornelia Street Cafe in January 2011, as part of a series of shows that Stevens was booking at the venue. After initially operating under the tongue-in-cheek handle Girls Gone Mild, Martin, Parlato and Stevens eventually adopted Tillery (also the title of a Stevens composition) as their permanent monicker. Their work together emphasizes the wide common ground, both musical and personal, that Martin, Parlato and Stevens share. That collective spirit is strong in Tillery’s live shows, which combine songs written specifically for the group, material drawn from the members’ individual repertoires and a surprise-filled assortment of cover tunes.

“I’ve had so many moments on stage with Becca and GP where I’ve felt transported,” Martin states. “I think that we allow our own unique and authentic selves to come through in the music. Both Becca and GP have gratitude and humility in their lives, which allows us all to enjoy and share all aspects of ourselves when we come together.” While continuing to hone their skills as a live unit, and having undertaken a teaching stint at the prestigious Stanford Jazz Workshop (where Martin has headed a songwriting program since TK), the threesome are allowing Tillery to maintain its original intimate spirit and develop at its own pace. “We’ve managed, without trying, to maintain the same energy that we felt together that first night that we sang together at Rebecca’s house,” Stevens observes. “I think there’s something really refreshing about a performance where the performers love and admire each other so completely.” “We all just take this project as it comes,” Parlato concludes. “It’s all very natural and nothing is forced, and because of this, we always approach it with open arms, open hearts. There’s no pressure to do or create anything. It just happens when it happens. It’s always magical, and it always feels like it was meant to be.” https://rebeccamartin.com/bio/tillery-rebecca-martin-gretchen-parlato-becca-stevens/

Tillery

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Paco de Lucia - Castro Marin

Styles: Guitar
Year: 1987
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:23
Size: 83,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:47) 1. Monasterio de sal
(4:59) 2. Gitanos andaluces
(4:17) 3. Castro Marín
(5:39) 4. Herencia
(5:13) 5. Convite
(7:27) 6. Palenque
(3:59) 7. Huida

One of the least well-known of the extensive body of work recorded by the Algeciran, which contains some of the tracks that he would include months later on his 1981 record Solo Quiero Caminar with The Sextet. On two songs he counts on the participation of John McLaughlin and Larry Coryell, both of whom collaborated on a series of virtuoso trio performances, an idea promoted by Paco’s manager, Barry Marshall, towards the end of 1978 (Al di Meola soon took the place of Larry Coryell). After an American tour in 1981, Paco recorded 7 tracks in Tokyo between the 25th and 27th of December 1980. It takes the form of a preparation of Solo Quiero Caminar in a format for a solo guitar, in duet with the acoustic guitar of Larry Coryell on ‘Corvite’, and in a trio, joined by McLaughlin with a twelve string acoustic guitar on ‘Palenque’. The other five tracks are played solo by Paco (often accompanying himself on another track). Castro Marin is the name of the village where his mother, Luzia, who was Portuguese, was born, and is situated on the Spanish border at the mouth of the river Guadiana. This album is a memory of his beloved mother. In 1998 he dedicated another to her. http://www.pacodelucia.org/en/disc/castro-marin

Personnel: Paco de Lucía - Flamenco guitar; Larry Coryell - Acoustic guitar; John McLaughlin - Acoustic guitar, 12 string guitar; Carles Benavent - Bass guitar

Castro Marín

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Warren Vache, Alan Barnes, The Woodville All-Stars - The London Sessions

Styles: Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:49
Size: 165,7 MB
Art: Front

( 5:51) 1. You'd Be So Nice to Come Home to
( 5:24) 2. My Funny Valentine
( 7:45) 3. The End of a Love Affair
( 6:00) 4. Sophisticated Lady
(11:14) 5. Molasses
( 7:38) 6. Taking a Chance on Love
( 6:57) 7. My One and Only Love
( 6:09) 8. I'll Close My Eyes
( 8:25) 9. A Walkin' Thing
( 6:21) 10. Love For Sale

1977-80 Alan studied saxophone, woodwinds and arranging at the Leeds College of music. In 1980 he moved to London, playing with the Midnight Follies Orchestra and the following year was with the Pasadena Roof Orchestra, touring Europe until 1983. In that year he left to join the hard bop band of Tommy Chase where he attracted considerable attention on the UK jazz scene for the first time. He left Chase in 1986 to co-lead The Jazz Renegades with rock drummer Steve White travelling as far afield as Japan and recording four well received albums. In 1988 Alan was asked to fill the chair recently vacated by Bruce Turner in the Humphrey Lyttleton band where he stayed until 1992. 1987-97 he also found time to lead the Pizza Express Modern Jazz Sextet with Gerard Prescencer and Dave O'Higgins.

Since leaving the Lyttleton band, Alan has concentrated on his freelance career. Alan has enjoyed a prolific career as a sideman, playing and recording for many bands. He broadcast regularly over a ten-year period with the BBC Big Band and Radio Orchestra and has toured and recorded with big band leaders, Dick Walter, Kenny Baker, Bob Wilber, Don Weller, Stan Tracey, Mike Westbrook and John Dankworth. Other bands he has toured and recorded with include the Tina May Trio, Bill LeSage's Genetically Modified Quintet, Spike Robinson's Tenor Madness, Clare Teale, and a sextet with Don Weller playing the music of Cannonball Adderley. Alan has also toured the U.K. with Freddie Hubbard. Alan has long associations with pianist David Newton, going back to their college days, and with blistering be-bop trumpeter Bruce Adams, with whom he has co-led a quintet since the early nineties.

Alan has been featured on many jazz recordings from his first record date as co-leader in 1985 with Tommy Whittle and as leader of his own quartet in 1987 right up to recent record dates with Scott Hamilton, Warren Vache and Harry Allen. He has appeared on the Concord, Fret, Miles Music, Nagel Hayer and Specific labels with various projects. Alan has recorded a large number of sessions with pianist Brian Lemon on the Zephyr label. Amongst these sessions are duet, quintet, sextet and octet sessions with Warren Vache, Tony Coe, KenPeplowski, Gerrard Prescencer and Mark Nightingale. Alan has performed as a member of Clark Tracey's “Tribute to Art Blakey” and was featured on the David Newton/Clark Tracey recording Bootleg Eric.

He has also appeared as a session musician on albums by Selina Jones, Bjork, Van Morrison, Bryan Ferry, Clare Teal, Jamie Cullum and Westlife and can also be found on film and television soundtracks including “Chicago” and jingles such as the Tetley Bitter series of adverts featuring his solo baritone. Alan has appeared regularly as a member of the Laurie Holloway orchestra on television's Michael Parkinson show and Strictly Come Dancing. In 1999 Alan toured America and Europe with Bryan Ferry's band, returning to the U.S.A. in early 2000 to record and tour for ten weeks with Warren Vache's eleven-piece band - a project for which he had written most of the arrangements. He returned to Kansas City in 2001 to perform as a guest soloist at the Topeka jazz Festival. That November he featured on Baritone and clarinet at the Blue Note Clubs in New York and Tokyo with the Charlie Watts Tentet and followed this with a stay in South Africa as a solo artist.

Over the years Alan has won many British Jazz awards in alto, baritone, clarinet and arranging categories. In 2001 and 2006 Alan received the prestigious BBC Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year award and in November 2003 was made a fellow of the Leeds College of Music 2003 also saw the inception of Alan's own record label Woodville Records. Compositions and commissions include “The Sherlock Holmes Suite”, two series of jazz songs written with playwright Alan Plater - “Songs for Unsung Heroes” and “The Seven Ages of Jazz”, “The Mabella Suite”, and settings of E.E. Cummings and other poets arranged for Jazz octet. Latest projects include a clarinet led trio with Jim Hart on vibes and Paul Clavis on drums and an all star octet playing the music of Duke Ellington. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/alan-barnes

Personnel: Bass – Andrew Cleyndert; Bass Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Producer – Alan Barnes; Cornet – Warren Vaché; Drums – Bobby Worth ; Piano – John Pearce; Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Flute, Clarinet – Andy Panayi; Trombone – Mark Nightingale

The London Sessions

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Ray Brown - Some of My Best Friends Are Sax Players

Styles: Contemporary Jazz, Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1995
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:28
Size: 171,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:27) 1. How High the Moon
(4:42) 2. Love Walked In
(6:36) 3. Polka Dots and Moonbeams
(3:48) 4. Crazeology
(6:18) 5. Port of Rico (Stanley Turrentine)
(5:23) 6. Moose the Mooche (Jesse Davis)
(6:14) 7. Easy Living
(4:09) 8. Just You, Just Me (Joshua Redman)
(5:31) 9. Fly Me to the Moon
(7:08) 10. (When it's) Sleepytime Down So
(5:59) 11. These Foolish Things
(6:59) 12. God Bless the Child (Stanley Turrentine)
(0:54) 13. In Conversation with Joe Lovano
(1:05) 14. In Conversation with Benny Carter
(0:31) 15. In Conversation with Stanley Turrentine
(0:27) 16. In Conversation with Jesse Davis
(0:28) 17. In Conversation with Joshua Redman
(0:43) 18. In Conversation with Ralph Moore

As a follow-up to bassist Ray Brown's previous record in which he collaborated with several of his favorite pianists, Some of My Best Friends Are...The Sax Players features six major saxophonists (tenors Joe Lovano, Ralph Moore, Joshua Redman and Stanley Turrentine plus altoists Benny Carter and Jesse Davis) on two songs apiece with his regular trio. Although more than 60 years separate the ageless Carter from Redman, each of the saxes originally developed their own voice in the straight-ahead jazz tradition. Highlights of the colorful set include Benny Carter's playful rendition of "Love Walked In," Moore's cooking solo on "Crazeology" (a Benny Harris bop classic which the record mistakenly lists as written by Bud Freeman), Davis ripping through "Moose the Mooche" and Turrentine's romp on the blues "Port of Rico."

Pianist Benny Green and drummer Gregory Hutchinson provide suitable accompaniment (Green's solos are consistently excellent) and all dozen of the songs are successful and swinging. As an extra bonus, on the latter part of the CD each of the saxophonists has a brief chat (between 26 seconds and a minute apiece) with Brown about their early influences. There is so much good feeling and obvious mutual respect shown that one wishes these talks were at least twice as long; the Benny Carter segment is most memorable.~Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/some-of-my-best-friends-arethe-sax-players-mw0000184898

PERSONNEL: RAY BROWN, bass; BENNY GREEN, piano; GREGORY HUTCHINSON, drums

With: BENNY CARTER & JESSE DAVIS, alto sax; JOE LOVANO, RALPH MOORE, JOSHUA REDMAN & STANLEY TURRENTINE, tenor sax

Some of My Best Friends Are Sax Players

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Paco De Lucia - Cancion de Andaluza

Styles: Guitar
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:32
Size: 81,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:53) 1. María De La O
(4:43) 2. Ojos Verdes
(4:00) 3. Romance De Valentía
(3:31) 4. Te He De Querer Mientras Viva
(3:20) 5. La Chiquita Piconera
(4:03) 6. Zambra Gitana
(6:07) 7. Quiroga Por Bulerías
(5:51) 8. Señorita

Canción Andaluza (English: Andalusian Song) is the final studio album by Spanish musician Paco de Lucía, released on April 29, 2014 through Universal Music Spain. It was released posthumously after his death on February 25, 2014 and features collaborations with Oscar D'León, Estrella Morente and Vicente Castro "Parrita". The album was recorded at his studio in Mallorca, Spain. The production of the album appeared in the 2014 documentary film Paco de Lucía: La Búsqueda, directed by Francisco Sánchez Varela. At the 15th Annual Latin Grammy Awards, the album won Album of the Year, becoming the first flamenco music album to win the award, also the album won Best Flamenco Album, being the third time he wins that category after receiving the award for Cositas Buenas in 2004 and En Vivo Conciertos España 2010 in 2012https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canci%C3%B3n_Andaluza

Personnel: Guitar, Mandolin, Ney, Mandola – Paco De Lucía; Guitar – Hermanos Conde, Lester Devoe, Pepe Romero; Guitar, Guitarrón – Tony Morales; Mandola – Ricardo Sanchís

Cancion de Andaluza

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Hal Galper Trio - Trip the Light Fantastic (feat. Jeff Johnson & John Bishop)

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:19
Size: 102,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:01)  1. Alice in Wonderland
(6:57)  2. Babes of Cancun
(5:52)  3. Get Up & Go
(7:49)  4. Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry
(5:56)  5. Suspension
(8:07)  6. Trip the Light Fantastic
(5:34)  7. Be My Love

About eighty percent of the jazz piano players out there can fit into one of two schools: that of the introspective, harmonically rich Bill Evans mode; or the more percussive and gregarious Bud Powell bebop approach. There's also a small slice of the that pie that draws it primary inspiration from bright and splashy Art Tatum/Oscar Peterson pre-bop playing style, along with various subsets. Then there are those who take a foundation of one of those approaches and craft something quite unique, the path that Hal Galper has taken over the past decade. A veteran of the groups of trumpeter Chet Baker and alto saxophonist Phil Woods, Galper can certainly claim a bebop foundation. But he has taken that foundation and flown free with it, as documented in his recent Origin CDs Furious Rubato (2007) and E Pluribus Unum (2010) where he explored the rubato style of playing, an approach that lends elasticity to time and tempo, and often engenders wildness and abandon. Galper opens the set with Sammy Fain/Bob Hilliard's "Alice in Wonderland," a tune famously covered by Evans on his masterpiece Sunday at the Village Vanguard (Riverside Records, 1961). 

This is not a floating Evans version, however; Galper and band mates drummer John Bishop and bassist Jeff Johnson take the tune on a furiously tumultuous ride, full of urgency, pushing in the direction of flying out of control, without ever doing so. Jule Styne's standard "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry" is more restrained, a deeply ruminative and intimate conversation between Galper and Johnson that leads into the ominous Galper original, "Suspension," which puts the trio's edgy interactivity and ability to sustain a prickly momentum on full display. The title tune, another Galper original, has a swaying, fractured grandeur, an off-center, freewheeling beauty full of mystery and intrigue. The trio wraps it up with "Be My Love," a film tune written for vocalist Mario Lanza. Bishop's drums sizzle and detonate unpredictably; Johnson's bass rumbles; and the piano notes careen with a scintillating, headlong freedom, closing out Galper's finest trio outing to date. ~ Dan Mcclenaghan   

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=40802#.UwzZuoVZhhk
 

Personnel: Hal Galper: piano; Jeff Johnson: bass; John Bishop: drums.

Trip the Light Fantastic (feat. Jeff Johnson & John Bishop)

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Lani Hall (feat. Herb Alpert) - Seasons Of Love

Styles: Vocal,Trumpet Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:05
Size: 81,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:13) 1. Happy Woman
(3:40) 2. Seasons Of Love
(2:40) 3. Lovely Day
(3:39) 4. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
(4:08) 5. Waters Of March
(3:08) 6. You Are
(4:24) 7. No Te Vayas No (I Don't Want You To Go)
(3:18) 8. Now You Know
(3:23) 9. Sorri
(3:28) 10. Here Comes The Sun

Vocalist and author Lani Hall has not released an album of her own in 20 years. That is our loss, for sure. Her last effort not counting her work with husband Herb Alpert on his tours and on a number of his fine Grammy-winning sessions was in 1998. With Seasons of Love Hall's stepping out in front shows nothing has changed. She still has an outstanding voice with plenty of walloping emotional impact. She "returns" with this effort, delivering ten fine songs most well-known which are all beautifully performed, impeccably presented, and superbly produced.

The title track is a dramatic take on the well-known feature from the Broadway hit Rent and it is a highlight. The late Bill Withers' upbeat "Lovely Day" is taken straight up by Hall, and builds over a terrific rhythm bed with Alpert's horn singing along with strings. It is a strong, involving track. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" is an intimate play on the Roberta Flack classic. Hall caresses the rich lyric over an accompanying acoustic guitar and, later, with strings. Her approach is elegant and avoids any hint of being sappy or saccharine.

Hall's voice is full and right on point. It is a more seasoned sound than on the early Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 days. She is up front, direct, and honest with outstanding emotional depth, dynamic precision, and killer diction. Her approach to the lyrics is pristine and emotive. There is a ton of dramatic presentation across the session, as well. Herb Alpert handles the instrumental solos and sounds better than ever. His improvised accompaniment lines are well-chosen, lush, melismatic, and frame the vocals superbly without stepping on heels. The accompanying musicians are simply superb throughout.

The Bossa classic "Waters of March" puts Hall on a re-harmonised bed and is dramatically moving. "You Are" has Hall rhythmic over an energetic percussion platform with Alpert blowing on the chorus and a slick modulation. The dramatically lovely "No Te Vayas No (I Don't Want You to Go)" has Hall singing in impeccable Spanish. "Now You Know" is a very moving track with Hall accompanied by piano and strings and Alpert's trumpet filling a simply glorious experience. "Sorri" is a lush Bossa take on Charlie Chaplin's "Smile" where the suave syllabication of Hall's Portuguese lends a romantic and intimate flavoring to the optimistic focus of the tune. George Harrison's "Here Comes the Sun" has Hall's vocal sunshine all over it, closes the date and is very "all right."

As with anything Alpert, this is an impeccably produced and engineered production which plays perfectly to vocal, trumpet, percussion, and all background textures. Seasons of Love is almost an hour of excellent music. A very minor flaw is that a couple of the tracks, as great as they are, seem to end when listeners could certainly want more. But, then again who is to argue with genius?

Personnel: Lani Hall: voice / vocals; Herb Alpert: trumpet; Bill Cantos: piano; Hussain Jiffry: bass, electric; Mitchell Long: guitar; Andre De Santanna: bass; Rafael Padilla: percussion; Eduardo DelBarrio: piano.

Additional Instrumentation: Herb Alpert: vocals, flugelhorn; Bill Cantos: keyboards, strings;

Seasons Of Love

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Ray Brown Trio - Some of My Best Friends Are...Guitarists

Styles: Contemporary Jazz, Guitar Jazz
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:04
Size: 152,3 MB
Art: Front

(7:28) 1. Squeeze Me
(3:36) 2. I Want To Be Happy
(5:30) 3. Heartstrings
(3:13) 4. Blues for Ray
(5:12) 5. Fly Me To The Moon
(5:01) 6. The Song Is You
(7:47) 7. Little Darlin'
(6:01) 8. Blues For Junior
(4:27) 9. Tangerine
(6:04) 10. My Funny Valentine
(4:42) 11. Blues For Wes
(6:56) 12. Soulful Spirit

The fifth in Ray Brown's series of recordings pairing his working trio with several different musicians from the same family of instruments (although one volume was exclusively singers) features a half-dozen guitarists, ranging from fellow Oscar Peterson alumni Herb Ellis (who worked with Brown in the pianist's most famous trio) and Ulf Wakenius to veteran Kenny Burrell, as well as seasoned players like John Pizzarelli and Bruce Forman and the rising star Russell Malone. Each song sounds as if the group could be a working quartet, due to the great interaction between the trio and each guest. Pizzarelli shines in a bluesy, strutting take of Duke Ellington's "Just Squeeze Me" (erroneously labeled as Fats Waller's "Squeeze Me") which has a nice series of exchanges between the guitarist and the leader.

Ellis brings back memories of the Oscar Peterson Trio with a heated performance of "I Want to Be Happy" during which pianist Geoff Keezer is up to the task of carrying on where Ellis left off. Wakenius is the guest on a particularly moody take of "My Funny Valentine." Burrell, Forman, and Malone also fare nicely on each of their pair of tracks, so it's very easy to recommend this very enjoyable disc.~Ken Drydenhttps://www.allmusic.com/album/some-of-my-best-friends-are-guitarists-mw0000224992

Personnel: Ray Brown - Bass; Geoff Keezer - Piano; Karriem Riggins - Drums; Kenny Burrell, Herb Ellis, Bruce Forman, Russell Malone, John Pizzarelli, Ulf Wakenius - Guitar.

Some of My Best Friends Are...Guitarists

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Sinne Eeg - Remembering You

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:24
Size: 108,9 MB
Art: Front

(3:55)  1. Talking To Myself
(6:09)  2. Remembering You
(2:17)  3. Just You, Just Me
(6:18)  4. Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most
(3:26)  5. Up From The Skies
(5:20)  6. Moonbeam
(3:48)  7. Unpredictable Love
(3:05)  8. You and I
(5:30)  9. In a Sentimental Mood
(2:28) 10. It's Alright With Me
(5:03) 11. My One and Only Love

Sinne Eeg has blown away audiences and critics alike since her debut in 2003, the 2006 follow up as well as the most recent and critical acclaimed 'Kun en Drøm'. With tremendous success in her native Denmark and increasingly abroad, Sinne Eeg has already established herself as one of today's foremost Scandinavian jazz vocal singers. Her elegant vocal mesmerizes her audience and tells a story that you don't want to let go. As a singer she is influenced by Nancy Wilson, Betty Carter and Sarah Vaughan, but with her personal touch of soft darkness, Sinne keeps the Scandinavian melancholy settled in her music. http://www.reddotmusic.net/artists/1/

Personnel: Curtis Stigers (vocals); Jacob Fischer (guitar); Christian Ellegaard, Andreas Birk, Rune Tomsgaard Sorensen (violin); Bastian Schneider (cello); Peter Rosendahl (whistle); Marc Berthoumieux (accordion); Peter Fuglsang (alto saxophone); Randy Brecker (flugelhorn); Jacob Christoffersen (piano); Chris Minh Doky (acoustic bass); Rasmus Kihlberg (drums).

Remembering You

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Adrienne West - Live in Bremen

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:42
Size: 91,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:38) 1. Can You Dig It
(5:12) 2. They Call It Jazz
(5:13) 3. Make Someone Happy
(5:41) 4. Pearls
(3:45) 5. Close Your Eyes
(5:09) 6. The View
(3:10) 7. I Love Being Here With You
(6:50) 8. Both Sides Now

A native New Yorker, Adrienne is an internationally respected vocalist of many different genres. She has performed at jazz festivals and clubs all throughout Europe, Africa and Asia. Her performance formations range from duo(s) to big band. Adrienne also directs Masterclass Workshops designed for voice and performance. Past and present, she performs with prominent musicians including: Billy Cobham, Sebastian Altekamp, Enzo Zirilli, Peter Washington, Dado Moroni and more. Adrienne’s new live recording project, Live in Bremen, (marking her second album release on Dot Time Records) is due out April 15, 2022, and features Sebastian Altekamp on piano, Uli Wentzlaff-Eggebert on acoustic bass and Yonga Sun on Drums and Percussion.

Personnel: Adrienne West - Vocals; Sebastian Altekamp - Piano; Uli Wentzlaff-Eggebert - Bass; Yonga Sun - Drums, Percussion

Live in Bremen

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Kenny Rankin - Here In My Heart

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:27
Size: 123,9 MB
Art: Front

(3:29) 1. A Day In The Life Of A Fool
(4:06) 2. Life In The Modern World
(4:54) 3. Puzzle Of Hearts
(5:31) 4. Those Eyes
(4:14) 5. A Lover's Touch
(4:48) 6. Stay
(4:21) 7. A Slight Infatuation
(3:21) 8. I've Just Seen a Face
(3:31) 9. This Happy Madness
(4:25) 10. Even You and I
(3:04) 11. Come Rain or Come Shine
(3:12) 12. Art of Survival
(4:26) 13. Here In My Heart

It seems like every jazz artist (and even some pseudo-jazz artists) is destined to record at least one Brasilian music album during their career. Here's singer/songwriter Kenny Rankin's entry into this well-trodden field.

Everything about this disc looks like it should be great. There's a remarkable cast of players from both Americas. From Brasil, we have producer Oscar Castro-Neves, Luis Bonfa, Teo Lima, Gilson Peranzzetta, Ricardo Silveira, and many more. From the U.S., there's Don Grusin, Brian Bromberg, Michael Brecker, and Ernie Watts. Toots Thielemans, who has issued two Brasilian CDs on the same Private Music label, is on hand as well. Then there's the choice of material. There are four Ivan Lins tunes, a Djavan, a Jobim, a Bonfa, and several other Brasilian composers, plus a tune each by Lennon-McCartney and Johnny Mercer-Harold Arlen, and two Rankin originals.

So why is this CD such a disappointment? First, I think maybe this concept has now been worked to death. Oscar Castro-Neves has already produced numerous all-star recordings from this same bag. The arrangements and the performances are uninspired and lifeless. But the major reason this CD is such a disaster is Rankin's vocal performance. He has severe intonation problems throughout the album, singing so flat at times that it's painful. Plus, he seems to be in musical territory that's unfamiliar to him, so he seems to have few ideas about how to interpret and deliver these tunes. I'm sure you can find other releases in Kenny Rankin's discography that display his talents much more favorably, and you can certainly find a plethora of better Brasilian CDs.~ Dave Hughes https://www.allaboutjazz.com/here-in-my-heart-kenny-rankin-private-music-review-by-dave-hughes

Personnel: Kenny Rankin: vocals

Here In My Heart

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Richie Cole - Cannonball Feat. Reggie Watkins

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@256K/s
Time: 65:13
Size: 120,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:18) 1. Del Sasser
(4:27) 2. Dat Dere
(5:03) 3. The Stars Fell on Alabama
(3:32) 4. Matchmaker, Matchmaker
(5:53) 5. Jeannine
(6:39) 6. Jive Samba
(4:16) 7. Bell of the Ball
(5:28) 8. Sack O' Woe
(3:27) 9. Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
(5:00) 10. Save Your Love for Me
(3:37) 11. Toy
(3:34) 12. Azule Serape
(4:53) 13. Unit 7
(5:00) 14. Save Your Love for Me (Bonus English Version)

A Charlie Parker/Phil Woods disciple through and through, and a master of the be-bop idiom, it may surprise many to learn that Richie Cole cites Julian 'Cannonball' Adderley as his favourite alto saxophonist. In this warm and most welcome dedication to the great saxophonist, Cole never seeks to emulate but merely serves up some of his favourite tunes associated with Adderley and delvers them in his own inimitable style.

'Del Sasser' kicks things off nicely, and this is more than matched by by a hard driving 'Jeannine' by Duke Pearson, that has been a Cole staple for decade and one that I first heard Richie play four decades ago on his Return To Alto Acres album from the 1980's. No Cannonball tribute would be complete without a version of 'Sack Of Woe' and indeed Cole plays this with relish and a big helping of passion thrown in for good measure., with trombonist, Reggie Watkins firing in a cracking solo matching the leader for creativity and all driven along by drummer Roger Humphries, a former member of Horace Silver's Quintet.

Zawinul's 'Mercy, Mercy, Mercy' was also a much loved number played by Adderley, and is delivered up here with a fine arrangement by Richie.Indeed it is Cole who has arranged all the material here, all of which has a vibrancy and joie de vivre that would have put a smile on Adderley's face, as would Richie's original composition 'Bell Of The Ball' named after Cannonball's alto saxophone, that has fine solos from Cole, trombone man Watkins and guitarist, Eril Susouff.

All in all an intensely joyous and uplifting set that will send many of us scurrying back to our collections to dig out some of our original Cannonball albums, but hey... not before we hit the repeat button again to celebrate this wonderful music with Rcihie and his cohorts.~Reviewed by Nick Lea https://www.jazzviews.net/richie-cole---cannonball.html

Personnel: Richie Cole (alto saxophone); Reggie Watkins (trombone); Eric Susouff (guitar); Kevin Moore (piano); Mark Perna (bass); Vince Taglieri (drums); J.D.Chaisson (trumpet); Rick Matt (tenor saxophone); special guests Roger Humphries (drums); Kenny Blake, Tony Campbell (alto saxophone); Kenia (vocals)

Cannonball Feat. Reggie Watkins

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Erin Bode - Over And Over

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 57:21
Size: 131.3 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 2006
Art: Front

[4:29] 1. Holiday
[4:20] 2. Over And Over
[9:08] 3. Graceland
[3:12] 4. Feet Off The Ground
[5:35] 5. Long, Long Time
[2:37] 6. Send Me Up A Sign
[4:01] 7. St. Louis Song
[4:30] 8. Perfect World
[3:52] 9. Something More
[4:02] 10. Holding Back The Years
[2:47] 11. With The Radio On
[6:26] 12. Flying Colors: Alone Together
[2:16] 13. Home Again

Although jazz-pop singer Erin Bode most often gets compared to Norah Jones, a closer point of comparison is the British indie duo Everything But the Girl. Although he doesn't get front-cover credit, Over and Over is effectively a duet album between Bode's warmly appealing, low-key vocals and her primary collaborator, Adam Maness, whose piano and acoustic guitar are at the heart of the arrangements and who co-wrote nearly all the songs. Maness is Ben Watt to Bode's Tracey Thorn, an empathetic collaborator rooted both in cool jazz and acoustic folk, and the pair create a hybrid of the two styles matched to a fondness for the reflective side of singer/songwriter pop that's best revealed on the album's two pop covers. Paul Simon's "Graceland" is transformed from the South African country ramble into something closer to Joni Mitchell's late-'70s fusion period, and Simply Red's near-forgotten ballad "Holding Back the Years" is overhauled from the unashamedly slick chart pop of the original into a stark duet performance of Maness' close-miked, echoing acoustic guitar and Bode's haunted, mournful vocals that changes the entire feel of the tune. Those tracks aside, however, it's the Bode/Maness originals that are the most intriguing part of this quiet but engrossing album, particularly "Send Me Up a Sign" (the most overtly Everything But the Girl-like song on the album) and the utterly charming, winsome lost-love tune "With the Radio On," which wouldn't sound out of place on a mid-'90s twee pop single by the likes of Softies or Lois until Seamus Blake's playful sax solo shows up. That cross-genre appeal is what makes Over and Over such a good record: Erin Bode isn't interested in staying in one particular stylistic box. ~Stewart Mason

Over And Over

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Kellye Gray - And, They Call Us Cowboys

Size: 100,5 MB
Time: 42:14
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2013
Styles: Crossover Jazz, Alt. Country/Pop
Art: Front

01. Help Me Make It Through The Night (4:01)
02. In The Ghetto (4:15)
03. If I Needed You (4:03)
04. Dang Me (4:36)
05. Deep In The West (5:15)
06. Sailing (5:24)
07. Only The Lonely (4:09)
08. Always On My Mind (6:47)
09. Night's Lullaby (3:40)

Ever wondered what would happen if a fearless woman grabbed hold of a bunch of classic country-type songs and jazzed 'em up? Well, And They Call Us Cowboys answers that curiosity, starting off with a breezy version of Kristofferson's Help Me Make It through the Night, a cut that has samba, lite jazz, mellow rock, and soul. The real basis for the CD is to pay attention to Texas musicians, of which Gray is one, as well as a couple almost-Texans who dug the groove and knew the strut.

Gray's intent is clearly shown in her take on Mac Davis' In the Ghetto, which comes across first as a reproving Plains mom haranguing one and all to hush the hell up and give a damn about someone else for a change…just before she turns the number into an Ella Fitzgerald jazz-scat. Roger Miller's immortal Dang Me gets the Ben Sidran treatment so thoroughly that it's damn near unrecognizable…except when you suddenly hafta blurt out "Yow! That's waaaaay the hell cool!" It also reminds the attentive that Miller had a jazzy underside in a bunch of his perkier stuff. Then there's the just as mutated take on Christopher Cross' Sailing, as though Betty Davis (Miles' wife, not the queen bitch actress) and Nina Simone decided to team up in one voice with a starry Mark Egany bass (Chris Maresh) ambientalizing the atmosphere in spare tonal poetics. Trust me, you'll never again hear this song, my favorite here, done so coolly and so outrageously at the same time. Gray must have extra wrinkles in her brain just to be able to think that way.

Orbison's Only the Lonely comes through in Marvin Gaye Trouble Man waves, a nightclub number in low lights where you can almost hear the clinking of wine glasses and the crowd's digging-it murmur. If you want to know what's really meant by interpretation, then you have to get this disc 'cause, frankly, I can't remember the last time I heard a set of tunes this radically reworked while remaining faithful to the intent and flavor of the originals. You just know that more than one of the composers here is going to hear Cowboys and think "Damn! I sure wish I'd written it THAT way!"

And, They Call Us Cowboys

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