Eric Alexander Quartet - Gentle Ballads VI

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:00
Size: 128,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:20) 1. So In Love
(6:46) 2. Say It
(6:10) 3. Let The Silence Speak
(5:48) 4. Moon And Sand
(6:00) 5. You're My Thrill
(5:23) 6. Hush-A-Bye
(4:59) 7. Estate
(5:46) 8. I See Your Face Before Me
(4:09) 9. Bright Moments
(5:34) 10. What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life

The jazz quartet composed of saxophonist Eric Alexander has been recording the Gentle Ballads series since 2004. This time, this series has been released to the sixth series, and it can be released to the sixth series. Of course, it is attractive, except for Eric Alexander's wonderful colors In addition to the Shifeng playing, there are also co-production performances by several members, and the selected music is all very lyrical and pleasant. However, this album Eric Alexander has different partners, namely John Di Martino, a famous pianist, Dezron Douglas, a bass player, and Wille Jones, a drummer. Although the partners are different, they are also quite in tune when listening carefully, and the music content is similar to The previous albums are just as good! And I like the sixth Hush-A-Bye the most. This song has a beautiful melody and Eric Alexander's seductive playing, which makes me listen to it again and again. In addition, the ninth Bright Moments is quite special, not only lyrical, but also a little bit The feeling of jumping skin is worth recommending to everyone.

If you have listened to the records released by Venus, you will know that the recordings are of high quality, but this time I listened to this Gentle Ballads VI, I think the sound is better and better than before. The first one I have heard a few instruments are very transparent and clear. The texture, the sound and video are exquisite and embossed, do you really know it has something to do with the Diptyque DP 160 ELEGANCE pair of speakers? Of course, there are loudspeakers that can broadcast beautiful sound, but without the beautiful sound recording, it is difficult for me to have such a beautiful sound. After that, I flipped through the information on this Gentle Ballads VI CD. Venus Records will record in different studios, and this time this recording was recorded at Tedesco Studio in New York in June 2021. The sound engineer was Tom Tedesco, and Venus was found. Check out the previous releases to see if they were produced in the same studio. Finally, I found Aaron Heick's Smooth Operator was recorded in the same studio with the same engineer in January 2021, and this CD has been shared with you before. , the sound is also outstanding. Does this Gentle Ballads VI sound have anything to do with the studio and the sound engineer? I'm going to spend some more time looking into it, but in any case, the Gentle Ballads VI and Smooth Operator, if you like lyrical jazz and have a requirement for recording, these two CDs should be fine.Translated By Google https://www-hifi388-com

Personnel: Eric Alexander - Saxophone; John Di Martino - Piano; Dezron Douglas - Bass; Wille Jones - Drums

Gentle Ballads VI

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European Jazz Trio - Dancing Queen

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:12
Size: 144,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:40) 1. Dancing Queen
(4:41) 2. Fragile
(5:55) 3. Itsumo Nandodemo
(5:56) 4. For Once In My Life
(4:43) 5. Look Of Love
(4:45) 6. Message In A Bottle
(5:56) 7. Calling You
(5:24) 8. We Can Work It Out
(5:29) 9. Snooky
(4:35) 10. Time After Time
(3:57) 11. Tonight (West Side Story)
(5:04) 12. Three Times a Lady

The European Jazz Trio, comprising Marc van Roon on Piano, Frans van der Hoeven on bass and Roy Dackus on drums has been recording and performing since 1995, when it released a CD of Beatles' songs in fresh arrangements. On each album, the trio has taken songs in every style, shape and color, and has given them a jazz interpretation. For the trio 'Jazz' means to have the freedom to combine and mix styles, melodies, sounds and rhythms to create something fresh and surprising.

Van Roon: "A Specialty of the trio is to try and find some unusual material - unusual in a jazz setting - and to arrange it for the trio. It works both ways: You can take the sound of a jazz trio and give it a fresh voice, a new approach; likewise, you can take the music that everybody knows - pop tunes and classical tunes - and give people a chance to hear them in a different way."

The European Jazz Trio pushes the envelope of jazz music by adding to it its own sound and rhythm, a result of the music that has influenced the trio's members. "We grew up in the seventies and eighties with pop, rock, classical, rap and lots of fusion music. It wasn't only jazz anymore. Being musicians, we try to absorb everything like a sponge and use it somehow. The classical music we perform we really admire, it's very close to us to our European side." With every song the trio records the main focus is on the essence and the inner beauty of the composition.

"You cannot approach each song in the same way. And it doesn't have so much to do with what we as a trio want to do. It's contained within the song, it's already there. So it's more about what we can leave out, what we don't have to play. This makes each performance unique and special." The European Jazz trio has been recording new albums every year since the release of 'Memories of Liverpool' in 1995. All recording are produced by Makoto Kimata, a highly appreciated jazz producer based in Tokyo. Recent albums have been co-produced by Hiro Yamashita from the record label M&I / Pony Canyon Tokyo. http://www.europeanjazztrio.com/story.html

Dancing Queen

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Charles Tolliver - Mosaic Select

Disc 1

Styles: Jazz
Year: 2005
Time: 67:52
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 155,7 MB
Art: Full

( 9:22) 1. Drought
( 8:25) 2. Felicite
(17:37) 3. Orientale
( 8:26) 4. Spanning
(10:37) 5. Wilpan's
(13:23) 6. Our Second Father

Disc 2

Styles: Jazz
Year: 2005
Time: 49:36
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 114,1 MB
Art: Full

(12:22) 1. Drought
(10:42) 2. Stretch
( 7:07) 3. Truth
(10:46) 4. Effi
( 8:38) 5. 'Round Midnight

Disc 3

Styles: Jazz
Year: 2005
Time: 75:27
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 173,4 MB
Art: Full

(13:34) 1. On The Nile
(18:46) 2. Ruthie's Heart
( 8:52) 3. Repetition
( 7:33) 4. Impact
(20:16) 5. Our Second Father
( 6:24) 6. Earl's World

Mosaic gets plenty of accolades for its expansive (and sometimes exhaustive) limited-edition box sets of historic jazz recordings, and deservedly so. Some years after they started their project, president Michael Cuscuna and company got the idea to release smaller, three-disc sets by artists who either weren't as appreciated as they should be, or had recordings that were unavailable and that filled in important eras in their careers. The Mosaic Select series has a tremendous catalog with triple-disc sets by Curtis Amy, John Patton, Carmell Jones, a pair by Andrew Hill, Grachan Moncur, Johnny Mercer, Onzy Matthews, Bobby Hutcherson, Art Pepper, Randy Weston, Johnny Richards, and more. Charles Tolliver's volume in this series is an important one. First of all, these recordings were not owned by Blue Note or any of Capitol's subsidiaries; they are owned by the artist, and originally appeared on Strata East, a label he co-founded with the pianist on these dates, Stanley Cowell. It was a musician's label that recorded some of the greatest jazz music of the 1970s and was well distributed. (Unfortunately, with very few exceptions and a real comment on the record industry here in the U.S. the only way to procure most Strata East recordings on CD these days is from Japan.) Secondly, most of these sides were cut live at Slug's Saloon, a legendary, long gone spot on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in a space now occupied by the Nuyorican Poet's Café (at least it was put to great use). Slug's was the go-to joint for musicians who were still developing the "new thing" after Coltrane, who played regularly and collaborated with one another. Its audience was hip and sophisticated and deeply interested in what was going on musically in the '70s. Lastly, Tolliver himself went all out to find more of the music recorded on these dates, and there are six selections, roughly a full CD, of completely unreleased music from the Slug's gigs.

Disc one contains both previously released Strata East volumes of Music, Inc and Live at Slug's, recorded during a weekend engagement by the group in 1970 at the height of the club's popularity. The band was a heady one, with Tolliver's trumpet being the only horn, pianist Stanley Cowell, bassist Cecil McBee, and drummer Jimmy Hopps. The material was completely exploratory but deeply rooted in latter-day hard bop, freely exploring modal music and the edges. That said, all one needs to do is let track one, "Drought," with its wonderfully Eastern tinge in a minor mode open itself up, with Tolliver's chanting incantory trumpet and Cowell's big chords played a couple notes at a time for full droning effect, and McBee's bowed cello and Hopps' whispering cymbals building up the tension. When it releases, however, it's not a free blowing wail, but a tough hard bop number with edges and wonderfully circular moves, particularly in Cowell's solo which comes first. At 9:20, the band gets to stretch, and indeed they do on every number there are only three cuts on each of the original Slug's volumes. Doesn't matter, this is a taste of what's to come. McBee's "Felicite," which starts as an utterly lovely lilting ballad, follows with languid melody lines by Tolliver before it turns inside out and becomes an intervallic exploration for a few seconds before coming back to that rich melody. Cowell's playing a gorgeous harmonic extrapolation behind Tolliver, Hopps slips in steadily but quietly with brushes, and McBee articulates the changes and rhythmic structure with enough elegance to carry the thing himself, especially as his chords show up in contrast to Cowell's. He begins walking it out and the tune becomes a shimmering finger snapper that comes right out of the blues. Cowell's "Orientale" took up the entirety of side two on the original LP, and clocks in at over seventeen-and-half minutes; it's a breathtaking ride through modal improvisation that never leaves the bop tradition very far behind. His ways of turning chords in on themselves and then whispering out of the picture when Tolliver engages the rhythm section are not only tasteful, but a testament to the structure and dynamics of the tune -- his own solo is one of his finest on record. Volume two closes out this disc, with two tunes by Tolliver and one by McBee, and are all monsters. The heat was turned up on the second evening, and it shows particularly in the smoky Latin tinges in the rhythmic make up of "Spanning," and in the freest thing here, "Our Second Father," dedicated to Coltrane.

Disc two contains five tracks recorded and released on Strata East as Charles Tolliver Music Inc. Live in Tokyo, from a gig in December of 1973 with Tolliver and Cowell backed by the rhythm section of Clifford Barbaro on drums and Clint Houston on bass. While the name value may not be as high, the Tokyo gig kicks from top to bottom, especially the interplay between the trumpeter and pianist, which is symbiotic by this time. The full-tilt post-bop on Tolliver's "Drought" that opens the set is a great example. "Stretch," also by Tolliver, opens with a five minute bass solo that becomes a noirish, strolling blues with killer block chords by Cowell that force the band into full-on swinging mode. The gig ends with an elegant, mid-tempo ballad by Cowell that ramps up with its cross sections of knotty runs and gradual harmonic changes moving from blues to Latin to Eastern modalities and begins in waltz time. Its final number is a radical reading of Thelonious Monk's "'Round Midnight" that has to be heard to be believed.

The last disc here, of unreleased music, is split between the Slug's shows and the Tokyo gig. With three tracks each, it's a wild contrast, but nonetheless essential listening for the simple reason that it seems this music was only left off the original albums because there wasn't enough material for a complete Live at Slugs, Vol. 3, or for a triple-LP from the Tokyo sets. The Slugs tunes are wonderfully varied and long; the ballad exploration "Ruthie's Heart," dedicated to Tolliver's mother, is over 18 minutes, and full of long journeys through the world of jazz's lyric history. "On the Nile," which opens the disc, is one of Tolliver's greatest compositions as its melody and long striated modal and rhythmic interlocutions are still ahead of their time. There's a sprinting bop consideration of Neal Hefti's "Repetition" with some beautiful rhythmic invention on Afro-Cuban clave by Hopps. The final three cuts are all Tolliver's, highlighted by an even longer version of "Our Second Father" at over 20 minutes, and "Earl's World," a popping, Afro-Latin, harp bop number penned for Tolliver's brother. (Kenny Dorham would be proud.) The sound on this last disc especially can be a little thin, but it's a tiny complaint in an overwhelmingly brilliant set of recordings, and worth every dime. For anyone who has ever been intimidated by the more outside, adventurous releases on Strata East, these Music, Inc. dates are a prime introduction. For those who have these sets on withering LPs it's time to replace them.~Thom Jurek https://www.allmusic.com/album/mosaic-select-charles-tolliver-mw0000504618

Mosaic Select 20 Disc 1

Mosaic Select 20 Disc 2

Mosaic Select 20 Disc 3

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Harold Danko - Rite Notes

Styles: Piano Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:26
Size: 138,8 MB
Art: Front

( 7:51) 1. Premonitions And Reflections
( 8:36) 2. Future Cast
( 3:20) 3. Address Unknown
( 8:22) 4. No Escape
( 6:59) 5. Rival Revelries
( 5:04) 6. Nirigama
( 4:59) 7. Rising Aspirations
(10:07) 8. Mystic Dancers
( 5:03) 9. Sprung

Pianist/composer Harold Danko is best known for his long-term associations with an impressive list of jazz legends including Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, Lee Konitz and Woody Herman. Beginning his piano studies at the age of five, Harold became serious about pursuing a career in jazz at the age of fifteen when he commenced studies with Gene Rush in Youngstown, Ohio. After graduation from Youngstown State University and a stint in the Army band, Harold landed the piano chair in Woody Herman's Thundering Herd, which launched his career as a much sought after jazz musician. He also developed a reputation as a respected jazz educator and served on the faculties of the Manhattan School of Music, the New School/Mannes, and Hartt College.

He has performed at major jazz venues throughout the world as well as on recordings, television and video. As a band leader he has been featured in Lincoln Center's “Meet the Artist” series, Washington (DC) Performing Arts Society series at J.F.K. Center, the Rochester International Jazz Festival, and numerous jazz festivals both in the USA and abroad. In 1995 he was awarded an NEA Fellowship to perform his own works in a series of concerts in New York City. Throughout the 90s Harold performed with and composed for his own quartet with Rich Perry (tenor saxophone), Scott Colley (bass) and Jeff Hirshfield (drums) and more recently a trio with Hirshfield and Michael Formanek (bass) with whom he has recorded a series of highly acclaimed CDs on the SteepleChase label. For more than two decades, Harold has won ASCAP awards, based on “the unique prestige value of [his] catalogue of original compositions.”

He accepted an appointment from the Eastman School of Music in 1998 and now chairs the Jazz and Contemporary Media department. He teaches jazz piano, directs the Jazz Performance Workshops, and heads the Eastman Jazz Trio, whose first CD was released in 2003. In addition to his own educational video, Jazz Keyboard Techniques, available only in Brazil, he can be seen and heard on video performances with Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, and Lee Konitz. Harold's featured column, “Solo Piano”, appeared in Keyboard Magazine for more than five years, and his keyboard improvisation method, the Illustrated Keyboard Series, is a widely used reference. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/harold-danko

Rite Notes

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Vince Jones - For All Colours

Styles: Vocal And Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1984
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:07
Size: 90,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:24) 1. For All Colours
(3:50) 2. Old For The New
(2:50) 3. Never Let Me Go
(5:51) 4. PartyTime
(2:35) 5. Blue
(2:47) 6. All Or Nothing At All
(2:39) 7. C’Est La Vie
(5:02) 8. Straighten Up And Fly Right
(7:13) 9. Drinking Again
(1:51) 10. Call Of The West

This is the third album of songs from Vince Jones. On this album he paints with all his colours, from the most haunting melancholy blues to the most passionate scarlet. Half of the tracks were written by Vince Jones,further establishing him as a song writing talent.This cd is the most popular of all his recordings.~ https://www.vincejones.com.au/album/for-all-colours/

Musicians: Vince Jones – trumpet, vocals; Doug de Vries – guitar; Peter Jones – piano; Paul Williams – tenor saxophone; Wilber Wilde – tenor saxophone; Peter Whitford – drums; Gary Costello – bass

For All Colours

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Eric Reed - It's All Right To Swing

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1993
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:31
Size: 155,0 MB
Art: Front

(5:59)  1. Wade In The Water
(6:43)  2. Come Sunday
(7:37)  3. In A Lonely Place
(8:07)  4. You Don't Know What Is Love
(8:46)  5. Boo-Boo Strikes Again
(6:55)  6. Undecided
(6:38)  7. Blues For Akmad
(7:06)  8. Third Degree
(3:24)  9. He Cares
(6:12) 10. Pineus Coneus

Pianist Eric Reed is one of a large number of talented musicians who emerged from Wynton Marsalis' bands to pursue a rewarding solo career in his own right. Born in Philadelphia in 1970, Reed's first exposure to music came through his father, a minister and local gospel singer; he began playing piano at age two and soon discovered jazz, quickly developing into a musical prodigy. He entered music school at age seven, and resisted classical training in favor of jazz, inspired early on by Dave Brubeck, Ramsey Lewis, Art Blakey, and Horace Silver. Four years later, he moved with his family to Los Angeles, where he digested enough jazz history that he was able to begin playing around the city's jazz scene as a teenager, both as a leader and a sideman for the likes of Gerald Wilson, Teddy Edwards, John Clayton, and Clora Bryant. He first met Wynton Marsalis at age 17, and toured briefly with the trumpeter the following year (his first and only at Cal State-Northridge). In 1989, Reed officially joined Marsalis' band as the replacement for Marcus Roberts; the following year, he issued his debut album as a leader, A Soldier's Hymn, on Candid, with backing by his regular trio of bassist Dwayne Burno and drummer Gregory Hutchinson.

In 1991 and 1992, Reed worked with Freddie Hubbard and Joe Henderson as a sideman, returning to Marsalis' group by the end of 1992. He cut a pair of well-received albums for MoJazz, It's All Right to Swing and The Swing and I, in 1993 and 1994, and in 1995 embarked on his first tour as leader of his own group. Two more dates for Impulse!, 1996's Musicale and 1997's Pure Imagination, found his style maturing and his critical and commercial success growing; he also spent 1996-1998 playing with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. 1999's Manhattan Melodies, his first outing for Verve, was a colorful and sophisticated tribute to New York City; that year, he also undertook the most prominent of several film-scoring projects, the Eddie Murphy/Martin Lawrence comedy Life. Reed also continued to record with Marsalis up into the new millennium. 2001 brought the acclaimed Happiness on Nagel-Heyer, and the next year saw two releases, the well-received From My Heart and a duet album with frequent cohort Wycliffe Gordon on trombone, We. He recorded and played frequently during subsequent years, including a second volume with Gordon (We, Vol. 2) and several sessions for Savant. In 2009, Reed released the gospel-inspired Stand! and returned the following year with Plenty Swing, Plenty Soul, a duet album with Cyrus Chestnut. Beginning with 2011's The Dancing Monk, Reed embarked on an ongoing recording project of Thelonious Monk's music; a theme he revisited on 2012's Baddest Monk and 2014's The Adventurous Monk. 

Bio ~ https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/eric-reed/id27950#fullText

Personnel: Eric Reed (vocals, piano); Carolyn Johnson-White (vocals); Patrick Wessel Anderson III (alto saxophone);  Rodney Whitaker (acoustic bass); Gregory Hutchinson (drums).

It's All Right To Swing

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Geri Allen - Open On All Sides In The Middle

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1987
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:17
Size: 101,5 MB
Art: Front

(6:49) 1.Open On All Sides / The Glide Was In The Ride...
( 4:26)  2. Forbidden Place
( 2:36)  3. The Dancer
( 4:06)  4. In The Middle
( 4:22)  5. Ray
(12:48) 6. I Sang A Bright Green Tear For All Of Us This Year...
( 2:29)  7. Drummer's Song
( 5:05)  8. In The Morning (For Milton Nascimento)
( 1:34)  9. The Dancer Pt. 2

Electric and acoustic pianist Geri Allen joins with fellow Detroiters for one of her more ambitious projects, offering a large ensemble featuring bassist Jaribu Shahid, drummer Tani Tabbal, soloists David McMurray and trumpeters Rayse Biggs and Marcus Belgrave, and New Yorkers as saxophonist Steve Coleman and trombonist Robin Eubanks. The tour de force "I Sang A Bright Green Tear For All Of Us This Year" is stunning, featuring the wonderful vocals of Shahida Nurullah, insistent rhythm, haunting refrains from Allen's keyboards, and shifting dynamics that are compelling. The rest of the material is not as innovative within a jazz-funk/M-Base framework, but contrasts her piano trio work. Not essential, but still an invigorating session. ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/open-on-all-sides-in-the-middle-mw0000196997

Personnel: Geri Allen (piano), Steve Coleman (saxophone), Marcus Belgrave (trumpet), Robin Eubanks (trombone), Jaribu Shahid (bass), Lloyd Storey (tap dancer), Shahita Nurallah, David McMurray, Racy Biggs, Mino Cinelu.
 

R.I.P.

Open On All Sides In The Middle

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Vince Jones - One Day Spent

Styles: Vocal And Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1990
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:46
Size: 100,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:47) 1. Detour Ahead
(3:09) 2. Let's Get Lost
(5:29) 3. I Wish You Love
(4:20) 4. Since I Fell for You
(5:10) 5. The After Thought
(4:42) 6. I Thought About You
(3:40) 7. Time After Time
(3:51) 8. Never Let Me Go
(4:46) 9. Save Your Love for Me
(3:47) 10. There'll Never Be Another You

This CD was recorded in New York,the recording process was in three parts one day to rehearse,one day to record and one day to mix. Hence the title “One Day Spent” the ambiguity of the title is realised in the beautiful ballads. The players on this recording were the best available of the young “New Breed”players on the NY jazz scene. Benny Green, Charnett Moffat, Carl Allen, Dale Barlow and myself put together an elegant performance of these jazz standards. This CD hit the US billboard charts reaching number 14 selling over 100,000 CD’s. https://www.vincejones.com.au/album/one-day-spent/

Musicians: Benny Green – piano; Dale Barlow – tenor sax; Carl Allen – drums; Charnett Moffatt – double bass; Vince Jones – trumpet & vocals

One Day Spent

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Ellington Trio - Things Ain´t What They Used to Be

Styles: Jazz, Bop
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:58
Size: 140,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:44) 1. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
(4:57) 2. Just A-Sittin' and A-Rockin´
(4:51) 3. Things Ain't What They Used to Be
(6:06) 4. Azure
(3:50) 5. Cotton Tail
(6:44) 6. I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)
(4:40) 7. I'm Gonna Go Fishin'
(4:58) 8. In a Mellow Tone
(4:13) 9. Angelica
(5:18) 10. Brown-Skin Gal (In the Calico Gown)
(4:36) 11. Perdido
(2:47) 12. I Ain't Got Nothin' but the Blues
(4:07) 13. I Like the Sunrise

With the Ellington Trio, the three musicians have created a rare feat: they have formed a band with their own sound, which also consists of three expressive soloists. As the name suggests, they refer to the great master of swing jazz, Duke Ellington. The trio draws inspiration from their repertoire and - like the Duke himself - spans the gap between tradition and avant-garde. The chamber music cast consisting of piano, double bass and vocals offers the three artists a very special freedom. Together they develop sophisticated and sensitively interwoven arrangements and have developed their very own and very delicate playing culture.

In doing so, they stage their outstanding solo skills and at the same time create an unmistakable overall sound that has developed organically in the band's history, which has now lasted several years. The collective conceptual and organizational collaboration makes them a species that is now rare to find: a real band. The line-up, which has existed since 2015, has now invited a special guest on their second album "Things ain't what they used to be" : Frederik Köster (trumpet). Together with him they enter into a lively conversation and enter new, exciting sound spaces. The Ellington Trio not only attaches great importance to the highest level of artistic design, but also wants to enthrall and entertain their audience in the spirit of Duke Ellington.

The artists can build on plenty of experience as a bandleader and soloist: With her multi-faceted voice, Barbara Barth transports enormous expressiveness and virtuosity. As a singer and composer, she is active in the jazz scene with several CD releases for various projects and teaches jazz singing, improvisation and ear training at the Saar University of Music and the IfM at the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences. As a member of the PENG collective, which was awarded the WDR Jazz Prize, she is also successfully involved as a cultural worker and advocate for equality and equality. www.barbarabarth.de

Gero Körner is considered to be one of the country's most versatile keyboard instrumentalists. In addition to his work as a jazz pianist and band leader (including the Gero Körner Trio), he is also a popular guest soloist in many other genres of music and can look back on more than 40 album releases in a wide variety of genres. But he also appears with various occupations as Hammond organist. He also works as a piano teacher at the Folkwang UdK and as a music producer.www.gerokoerner.com

Caspar van Meel is a much sought-after bassist, bandleader, composer and arranger. In addition to an enormous stylistic variety, ranging from "traditional" to "modern jazz", he moves in an accompanying bass-typical function just as elegantly on his instrument as as a soloist. He can be heard on a variety of different album releases, has won several awards and performed at international festivals such as the North Sea Jazz Festival, the WDR Jazz Night and the Leverkusen Jazz Days. Van Meel recently released a highly acclaimed debut album with his quintet, joining an exclusive group of jazz bassists who also leave a lasting impression as band leader and composer. www.casparvanmeel.com

Barbara Barth - vocals; Gero Körner - piano; Caspar van Meel - bass; feat. Frederik Köster - trumpet https://www.ellingtontrio.com/

Things Ain´t What They Used to Be

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Ella Fitzgerald and Andre Previn - Nice Work If You Can Get It

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 1983
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:08
Size: 83,1 MB
Art: Front

(6:10) 1. A Foggy Day
(5:15) 2. Nice Work If You Can Get It
(3:54) 3. But Not For Me
(2:47) 4. Let's Call the Whole Thing Off
(5:01) 5. How Long Has This Been Going On
(4:31) 6. Who Cares
(4:57) 7. I've Got a Crush On You - Someone to Watch Over Me - Embraceable You
(3:28) 8. They Can't Take That Away From Me

Don't be put off by the Al Hirschfeld image on the front of this one because the record's a nicely laidback effort that gets way past the show biz cover! The sound here is extremely spare and Ella's singing with only the piano of Andre Previn for accompaniment possibly the first time she ever worked this way, in a manner that has all the intimacy of a late nite, small club performance. The tunes are all Gershwin numbers, but presented in ways that differ greatly from Ella's Verve Songbook reading of them a few decades before and titles include "A Foggy Day", "Nice Work If You Can Get", "They Can't Take That Away From Me", "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off", and "But Not For Me". © 1996-2022, Dusty Groove, Inc. https://www.dustygroove.com/item/587233

Ella Fitzgerald, who in the late '50s recorded the very extensive George and Ira Gershwin Songbook, revisits their music on this duet outing with pianist André Previn. Her voice was past her prime by this point, but she was able to bring out a lot of the beauty in the ten songs, giving the classic melodies and lyrics tasteful and lightly swinging treatment. Nice Work If You Can Get It is not an essential CD but is a reasonably enjoyable outing.~Scott Yanowhttps://www.allmusic.com/album/nice-work-if-you-can-get-it-mw0000188151

Personnel: Ella Fitzgerald - vocals; André Previn - piano; Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen - double bass

Nice Work If You Can Get It

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Caro Emerald - Deleted Scenes From The Cutting Room Floor

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:28
Size: 106.4 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[3:47] 1. That Man
[4:03] 2. Just One Dance
[3:27] 3. Riviera Life
[3:51] 4. Back It Up
[5:31] 5. The Other Woman
[2:45] 6. Absolutely Me
[3:52] 7. You Don't Love Me
[3:01] 8. Dr. Wanna Do
[4:29] 9. Stuck
[4:15] 10. I Know That He's Mine
[3:45] 11. A Night Like This
[3:38] 12. The Lipstick On His Collar

2010 debut album from the Dutch Jazz vocalist. Caro Emerald is the new kid on the block, but, boy, does she sound like she's been around! A voice so seductive and sultry, it's hard to believe she just recorded her debut album, a mix of 1950's-inspired ballroom Jazz, cinematic Tangos, groovin' Jazz tracks, infectious Mambos and banging beats.

Deleted Scenes From The Cutting Room Floor

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Brew Moore - The Brew Moore Quintet

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1956
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:02
Size: 92,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:55) 1. Them There Eyes
(4:05) 2. Them Old Blues
(5:03) 3. Tea For Two
(4:40) 4. Rose
(4:23) 5. I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me
(4:21) 6. Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear To Thread)
(4:21) 7. Rotation
(3:24) 8. I Want A Little Girl
(4:46) 9. Five Planets In Leo

That Brew Moore was a disciple of Lester Young is a cliché ¢y now, but too few are aware of how good a saxophonist Brew Moore could be. The Brew Moore Quintet was originally recorded in 1956. It has been recently re-mastered, presenting Moore in a relaxed setting playing solo after solo of swinging, soulful jazz.

Moore is obviously very comfortable with this attentive San Francisco band. These musicians play a supportive role, highlighting Moore's extended solo work while adding their own concise solo statements. Dickie Mills on trumpet is a consistently interesting contributor with a warm, bluesy tone. Pianist John Marabuto adds thoughtful solos throughout. Max Hartstein and Gus Gustofson on bass and drums are tasteful and low-key, providing a solid, swinging foundation.

During the late 1940's and early 1950's, Brew Moore was a young, talented tenor on the New York scene before moving to the West Coast and later to Europe. His erratic career has not been well documented but we can be thankful for this recording of standards and blues. Moore's rhythmic and melodic gifts are most evident on slower and medium tempo numbers. His long solos on "I Want A Little Girl" and "I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me" are particularly memorable. In short, this is a warm, appealing session that gets better and better with repeated listening. Moore may sound at times like Lester Young, but on this recording I'd say he sounds like "late" Lester Young on a night when the ideas were flowing and the local band was tight.~ Mike Neely https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-brew-moore-quintet-brew-moore-fantasy-jazz-review-by-mike-neely

Personnel: Brew Moore, tenor saxophone; Dickie Mills, trumpet; John Marabuto, piano; Max Hartstein, bass; and Gus Gustofson, drums.

The Brew Moore Quintet

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Barcelona Clarinet Players - Fantasias Barcelonicas: A Tribute to Paquito D'Rivera

Styles: Jazz, Tango
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:40
Size: 133,2 MB
Art: Front

(8:37) 1. A Farewell Mambo
(3:46) 2. Monk-Tuno
(6:05) 3. Kites over Havana
(9:36) 4. The Elephant and the Clown
(4:01) 5. Wapango
(5:35) 6. Cuban Sharks
(3:26) 7. La Fleur de Cayenne
(6:00) 8. La sombra del viento
(4:25) 9. Mamblues pal Tete
(4:40) 10. Choro Gaudiano
(1:24) 11. Bachrinets

From my very first visit in the summer of 1980, the city of Barcelona fascinated me in all it's senses, from Montjuic, Las Ramblas and the monumental cathedral of La Sagrada Familia to the Palau de la M sica, La Boquer a market and Plaza de Espa a. This must have influenced positively in my relationship with the members of the "Barcelona Clarinet Players," which was love at first sight that began in 2018 during my conversation with the outstanding Cuban-Spanish pianist Pepe Rivero at the AIE headquarters in Barcelona. That afternoon they told me about the arrangement they had made of my "Afro" for a music program for children, so when I got back home I started sending them pieces of mine adapted from versions for previous formats, such as "Cuban Sharks", "A Farewell Mambo", "The Elephant and the Clown", "La Fleur de Cayenne","Kites over Havana" or "Wapango".

All of this until one fine day the restless Barcelona Clarinetists got excited at commissioned me an original work for this very special musical ensemble."Fantas as Barcel nicas"was born, moved by three emblematic Catalan artists whom I have admired for years: The inspired novelist Carlos Ruiz Zaf n, who narrated the mysteries of the night in Barcelona, the charismatic pianist Tete Montoliu, whose sense of swing and jazz improvisation are an indispensable part of the soundtrack of the city where Mir and Caball were born; and finally the brilliant architect Antoni Gaud , who with his amazing and luminous style, fills the streets of his native land with unrepeatable architectural gems. The fact that this extraordinary group of fellow clarinetists decided on recording a CD with works of my own honors me by offering me the opportunity to sing publicly my love for this magical city and my devotion to some of his most beloved children.~ Paquito D'Rivera, December 2021 https://sirenrecords.com/UPC/016728456128

Fantasias Barcelonicas: A Tribute to Paquito D'Rivera

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Fabia Mantwill Orchestra - Em.Perience

Styles: Saxophone And Vocal Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:31
Size: 136,6 MB
Art: Front

(7:56) 1. Ophelia
(6:48) 2. Pjujeck
(2:45) 3. Sasa Ndio Sasa Opening
(7:15) 4. Sasa Ndio Sasa
(5:54) 5. Erwachen
(7:53) 6. Kumbukumbu
(5:54) 7. Trio.Logy
(8:02) 8. Mélodie De La Rivière
(7:01) 9. Festival At High Noon

Fabia Mantwill is a saxophonist, composer, and vocalist that has become an important part of the German Jazz Scene with a significant international focus. On May 21, 2021, she released her debut album entitled EM.PERIENCE, which features the 23-piece Fabia Mantwill Orchestra and guest soloists Kurt Rosenwinkel, Ben Wendel and Nils Landgren. Mantwill has been writing for the Metropole Orkest (NL) feat. Becca Stevens and has worked with Vince Mendoza. Her orchestra work Sasa ndio Sasa was premiered at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg with the Junge Norddeutsche Philharmonie and the Large Ensemble Hamburg, where Mantwill was featured as a composer, conductor, and soloist. She was selected for the International Workshop for Jazz and Creative Music at Banff Centre Canada, curated by Vijay Iyer and Tyshawn Sorey.

She will also receive the Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead Residency by the John F. Kennedy Center of the Performing Arts. Mantwill holds a Master of Music (by the HfMT Hamburg) and a Bachelor of Arts (by the Jazz Institute Berlin & Sibelius Akademie Helsinki), played concerts at the Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.) and the Apollo Theater (New York City) and toured in China, India, Brazil, West Africa, Canada, USA, and Europe. Since the beginning of 2019, she curates her own interdisciplinary concert series called ART.IST, where she presents collaborations of international artists and musicians.

Our first experience with the young composer’s writing is the first song, “Ophelia.” The 23-piece orchestra creates a haunting soundscape for Mantwill’s soft singing to dance upon. Her orchestration is balanced, and the various hues and pastels developed within the orchestra are stunning. The through-composed form is rich in string colors that build to the midway point where a groove is established. There is a sense of majesty and building as each section has unique orchestration colors. Mantwill’s compositional style and vision is undoubtedly something special, and even after only hearing the first selection, it is obvious the praise and hype around this artist are well deserved.

“Trio.logy” finds Mantwill on saxophone and is a rhythmically diverse selection that is a real gem. Mantwill leads a stirring performance, capturing the music’s energy and character quite well from the opening motif that is developed throughout the composition. The theme has the right seductive atmosphere, and the various counterpoints and orchestrations work’s to never let the interest drag, keeping the listener engaged and satisfied. Mantwill’s solo is a powerful and virtuosic statement and further displays her many talents.

EM.PERIENCE is a beautiful debut for the very talented Mantwill. The couplings of balanced writing for the 23-piece orchestra, excellent playing and interesting material make the recording ever more appealing. Mantwill’s power as a composer displays a control of section movements, symphonically proportioned orchestrations, and methodical development of themes and motifs. The ensemble performance easily holds its own against any working band out there, and for those reasons, EM.PERIENCE is a very appealing program.~Nolan DeBuke https://thejazzword.com/2021/06/fabia-mantwill-em-perience-review/

Em.Perience

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Joey van Leeuwen - Retrospect

Styles: Jazz, Bop
Year: 2021
File: MP3@128K/s
Time: 37:04
Size: 34,6 MB
Art: Front

( 4:09) 1. Jaya
( 7:10) 2. Black Narcissus
( 2:42) 3. Late Bloomer
( 5:52) 4. Time Remembered
( 4:35) 5. Reflection
(12:34) 6. Heyoke

Joey van Leeuwen is a virtuosic and multidimensional drummer and composer. He performs music of a wide variety of improvisational, classical, traditional and contemporary styles, synthesized into his own unique and modern approach.

Born and raised in Rochester, NY, he grew up on jazz music which he learned both in the classroom and in the streets and clubs of New Orleans. Notable performances include the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, French Quarter Fest, and the Xerox-Rochester International Jazz Festival. He has worked in Haitian Voudoun temples with Damas “Fan Fan” Louis and played Fon traditional music for His Majesty Hougan Dada Dagbo Hounan Houna II.

For many years, he has also studied Carnatic music and has learned under Vidwan Umayalpuram Mali and Dr. Rajna Swaminathan. Joey has also performed with Carnatic percussion superstar Dr. S. "Ghatam" Karthick and innovative musician Vishnu R, inventor of the Navtar hybrid guitar. He performed with Brazilian guitar virtuoso Geovane Santos for several years and has toured the US with singer-songwriter Daphne Lee Martin as well as performing in India as a the leader of his own jazz group. Joey holds a Master's in Contemporary Improvisation from New England Conservatory and a Bachelor's in Jazz Studies from the University of New Orleans. He officially endorses Saluda Cymbals. https://www.joeyvanleeuwen.com/bio

Retrospect

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Johnny Griffin & Eddie Lockjaw Davis - Ow! Live at the Penthouse

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1962/ 2021
File: MP3@320k/s
Time: 58:38
Art: Front

1. Intermission Riff I.Introduction by Jim Wilke (Live)(0:53)
2. Blues Up and Down (Live) (6:48)
3. Ow! (Live) (8:20)
4. Spoken Outro I. (Live) (0:09)
5. Bahia (Live) (8:43)
6. Spoken Introduction I. (Live) (0:05)
7. Blue Lou (Live) (4:11)
8. Second Balcony Jump (Live) (7:14)
9. Spoken Outro II. (Live) (0:09)
10. How Am I to Know? (Live) (10:14)
11. Spoken Introduction II. (Live) (0:09)
12. Sophisticated Lady (Live) (4:03)
13. Spoken Introduction III. (Live) (0:09)
14. Tickle Toe (Live) (6:36)
15. Intermission Riff II. Outro by Jim Wilke (Live)(0:56)

In the 1960s a weekly radio show hosted by Jim Wilke was broadcast live from the Penthouse jazz club in Seattle, Washington. Over 200 performances there were recorded by the radio station KING-FM. In recent years several labels have tapped into this large, rich tape archive. OW! is the second Penthouse release by a new historical label, Reel to Real.

In the culture of hard-bop tenor saxophone, Johnny Griffin and Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis were keepers of the flame. From 1960 to 1962 they teamed up as the “Tough Tenors” and made nine LPs on the Prestige and Jazzland labels. The folklore of the “tenor battle” was in the air, and the debut “Tough Tenors” album was called Battle Stations.

But what Griffin and Davis did together was not a competition. It was collaboration, mutual inspiration and a special art form based on similarity and contrast.~ByThomas Conrad https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/johnny-griffin-eddie-lockjaw-davis-quintet-ow-live-at-the-penthouse-reel-to-real/

Featuring: Johnny Griffin & Eddie Lockjaw Davis: tenor saxophones, Horace Parlan piano, Buddy Catlett bass, Art Taylor drums

Retrospect

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Oscar Peterson - The Best of the MPS Years

Styles: Piano Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 80:22
Size: 185,7 MB
Art: Front

(6:10) 1. All the Things You Are (Remastered)
(5:21) 2. Triste
(4:43) 3. Day by Day
(5:00) 4. The Windmills of Your Mind (Remastered)
(6:03) 5. Wave (Remastered)
(4:37) 6. Fly Me to the Moon
(5:15) 7. I've Got a Crush On You (Live)
(2:54) 8. Wandering (Remastered)
(4:41) 9. Alice in Wonderland (Live)
(5:05) 10. Sometimes I'm Happy (Live)
(3:58) 11. Give Me the Simple Life (Remastered)
(3:42) 12. A Child Is Born (Remastered)
(3:05) 13. Eleanor Rigby (Remastered)
(4:46) 14. Exactly Like You
(5:11) 15. I Love You (Remastered)
(4:21) 16. On a Clear Day (You Can See Forever) (Live)
(2:40) 17. Ode to Billy Joe (Remastered)
(2:41) 18. Children's Game (Remastered)

When the world-renowned Canadian pianist came to Villingen in 1961, there was a mood of intense excitement all round. Hans-Georg Brunner-Schwer (HGBS), former owner of the hifi dynasty SABA who died in 2004, had just set up the first version of his studio, equipped with the most advanced recording technology of the time, above the living-room in his villa. This was the bait used by the piano enthusiast to attract the famous pianist to the Black Forest. After a guest performance in Zurich, Peterson climbed into a limousine and embarked on a journey across the mountains. As soon as he arrived, along with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen, the international star was led to the Steinway grand in the living-room where a number of excited guests were eagerly waiting.

"I listened to him play 'til four o'clock in the morning and lost the desire to ever hear the Beatles again!", says Matthias Brunner-Schwer, HGBS' son, still starry-eyed half a century later. The legendary pianist himself was equally delighted when he listened to the recording of the nocturnal living-room performance, never before having heard such a direct and pristine piano sound on tape. It sounded to him as if he was still there at the grand piano, undisturbed by distracting nightclub sounds yet surrounded by a wonderfully intimate atmosphere. Peterson's enthusiastic response marked the beginning of a long-term friendship and spiritual kinship with Brunner-Schwer.

In the following years, the Canadian pianist returned again and again to the Black Forest with various line-ups to capture his musical vision on tape. As Peterson was still under contract to Verve, the recordings could not be released before 1968. The legendary "Exclusively For My Friends" series was the first release for Brunner-Schwer's newly-established MPS label. Never before had a recording captured every aspect of Peterson's ground-breaking sound so vividly: the virtuosity and the speed as well as the delicate inspiration he brings to the subtle and reflective moments. The touch of light-hearted wit and the depth of lyrical feeling. Elegance and swing, interspersed with moments of intensity and explosive outbursts. The art of improvisation - simultaneously confident and imaginative - fuelled by harmonic and ornamental inventiveness. These recordings, made over a short period of five years, also reflect the transformation from equal member of a trio to soloist. https://elusivedisc.com/oscar-peterson-the-best-of-the-mps-years-2lp/

The Best of the MPS Years

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Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band - I'm BeBoppin' Too

Styles: Jazz, Big Band
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:16
Size: 157,1 MB
Art: Front

(2:37) 1. I'm BeBoppin' Too
(5:08) 2. Cool Breeze
(7:37) 3. Round Midnight
(5:38) 4. Manteca
(4:52) 5. Birks Works
(7:12) 6. If You Could See Me Now
(4:38) 7. Dizzy's Blues
(7:45) 8. Una Mas
(6:00) 9. I Can't Get Started
(4:55) 10. One Bass Hit
(6:19) 11. Tin Tin Deo
(5:30) 12. Lover Come Back To Me

Tribute bands are often bland affairs, because they become too predictable, while often omitting any artists who played with the deceased artist. Fortunately, this third CD by the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band mixes veterans who worked with the trumpeter and talented younger players who acquit themselves very well. Trombonist Slide Hampton contributed a fresh chart of Dizzy's "Manteca" that is a bit more introspective and less percussive and shouting, with potent solos by pianist Cyrus Chestnut. Tenor saxophonist Jimmy Heath scored the subtle, hip treatment of Kenny Dorham's "Una Mas," showcasing alto saxophonist Mark Gross, trombonist Douglas Purviance, and baritonist Gary Smulyan.

Vocalist Roberta Gambarini's solid performance of "'Round Midnight" (and Hampton's fresh arrangement) trump those who claim that this landmark Thelonious Monk composition is recorded all too often; there is always room for a top-notch recording such as this one. Gambarini also guests in Heath's setting of Tadd Dameron's bittersweet ballad "If You Could Seem Me Now" and Hampton's snappy setting of "Lover, Come Back to Me." Nor should the brass players be overlooked: Roy Hargrove's lush playing in "I Can't Get Started," plus his comic vocal in the jive piece "I'm BeBoppin' Too," are complemented by Greg Gisbert's searing trumpet and Michael Dease's brief, effective trombone solo. Recommended.~Ken Dryden https://www.allmusic.com/album/im-beboppin-too-mw0000820620

Personnel: Slide Hampton - musical director, trombone; James Moody - tenor sax, flute, vocals; Jimmy Heath - tenor sax; Antonio Hart - lead alto sax, flute; Gary Smulyan - baritone sax; Frank Greene - lead trumpet; Greg Gisbert - trumpet; Roy Hargrove - trumpet, vocals; Claudio Roditi - trumpet; Jason Jackson - lead trombone; Steve Davis - trombone; Michael Dease - trombone; Douglas Purviance - bass trombone; Cyrus Chestnut - piano; John Lee - bass, executive director; Lewis Nash - drums; Roberta Gambarini – vocals

I'm BeBoppin'Too

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Barbara Lea - Remembering Lee Wiley

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1978
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:41
Size: 167,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:45)  1. I Left My Sugar Standing in the Rain
(2:56)  2. Soft Lights and Sweet Music
(5:08)  3. Time on My Hands
(3:57)  4. Easy to Love
(3:54)  5. This Is New
(2:05)  6. I'll Follow My Secret Heart
(4:27)  7. Chicken Today and Feathers Tomorrow
(3:34)  8. Oh! Loot at Me Now!
(3:19)  9. Down to Steamboat, Tennessee
(3:21) 10. Someone to Watch over Me
(3:16) 11. Sugar
(2:59) 12. A Ship Without a Sail
(2:29) 13. Let's Fall in Love
(3:53) 14. Fun to Be Fooled
(3:33) 15. Supper Time
(1:08) 16. Anytime, Anyday, Anywhere
(3:24) 17. Who Can I Turn To
(2:52) 18. I've Got the World on a String
(2:25) 19. Wherever There's Love
(3:06) 20. Fools Fall in Love
(2:22) 21. I've Got a Crush on You
(3:36) 22. Basin Street Blues

Lee Wiley has long been one of Barbara Lea's idols, so her tribute to the swing-era singer is heartfelt and full of sympathy. Lea recorded 11 songs in 1976 and three in 1977 using a trio led by pianist Loonis McGlohon, with guest spots for clarinetist Bob Mitchell. When the music was being made ready for its CD reissue in 1995, Lea got together with McGlohon and a different rhythm section (plus Randy Reinhart on trumpet and trombone) to cut eight more songs. Although Lea lacks Wiley's quiet intensity and understated sensuality, she does an excellent job throughout the ballad-oriented set; highlights include "I Left My Sugar Standing in the Rain," "Time On My Hands," "Down to Steamboat Tennessee," "Sugar" and "Wherever There's Love." ~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/remembering-lee-wiley-mw0000527543

Personnel: Barbara Lea (vocals); Bob Mitchell (clarinet); Randy Reinhart (trumpet, trombone); Loonis McGlohon (piano); Tony Cooper (drums).

Remembering Lee Wiley

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Brew Moore - Special Brew

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:20
Size: 127,1 MB
Art: Front

(9:02) 1. Manny's Tune (ver. 1)
(6:30) 2. I Want To Be Happy
(8:18) 3. Yardbird Suite
(3:54) 4. Tiny's Blues
(7:25) 5. Scrapple From The Apple
(9:03) 6. Manny's Tune (ver. 2)
(6:39) 7. My Funny Valentine
(4:26) 8. Special Brew

The tenor saxophonist Brew Moore (Milton Aubrey Moore) was born in Indianola, Mississippi on March 26th 1924. He showed musical prowess at an early age. As a child of 7 he started playing popular tunes on a toy harmonica that he had received as a gift for his birthday. After a few years he played in his junior high school’s band and after graduating he entered Mississippi University to study music but left after only one semester to pursue a career as a tenor saxophonist. He arrived in New Orleans nearly broke but was quickly hired by the Fred Ford’s Dixielanders. For the next six years he played with different local bands in both New Orleans and Memphis. In 1948 he moved north to New York and started his own quartet. Although this remained his favorite format through out his life, he also briefly played in Claude Thornhill’s orchestra in 1949. In addition he played with different sextets around town led by Kai Winding, Machito and Howard McGee to name a few. His first appearance on record as a sideman was with Howard McGee entitled Howard McGhee's All Stars. For the next few years he continued to record as a sideman with the different groups and sat in on jam sessions with Charlie Parker in New York. In 1953 Brew Moore moved to San Francisco. ?

His firs record as a leader The Brew Moore Qunitet was released in 1955. In 1959 due to alcoholism he fell seriously ill but recovered and in 1960 went on a tour of the Far East. Shortly after that, in 1961, he permanently moved to Scandinavia and lived in both Sweden and Denmark. He remained there the rest of his life, except for a brief time spent in the Canaries, working regularly in local clubs, touring and recording; he led 9 recording session during his dozen years in Scandinavia. After finishing playing at a Copenhagen club on March 19th 1973, a few days shy of his 49th birthday, Brew Moore fell down a flight of stairs. He died on his way to hospital.

From the Jazz Profestional: Long after they die the majority of jazzmen are still remembered. Mention the names of Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Sidney Bechet, Duke Ellington, Lester Young, Benny Goodman, Stan Kenton to the man in the street and he will more than likely reply “Jazzmen weren't they?” But ask the average jazz lover, “Who was Brew Moore?” and you'll probably receive a blank stare.

One can hardly blame them, because Moore was unknown to the majority of jazz buffs, due to the fact that very little of his work has been re-issued. If one were prepared to travel the length and breadth of the country it might be possible to track down a few of his recordings, but one would certainly have to search exclusively at the jazz specialist record shops.

Brew Moore was probably more heavily influenced by Lester Young than any other tenor saxophonist. Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Herbie Steward, Bill Perkins and many others may have begun their careers by emulating Lester Young, but went on to develop their own styles later on. This does not mean that Brew intentionally copied Young but just felt comfortable and at ease with that particular sound. Moore never became a member of Woody Herman's 'Four Brothers' sax section, as did Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Herbie Steward, Al Cohn and baritone saxophonist Serge Chaloff. One can only assume that there was never a vacancy at the appropriate moment, or perhaps he didn't want the job, feeling insecure or trapped when touring with a big band for any length of time. Big Bands were not Moore's forte although he was with the Claude Thornhill band for approximately six months and also recorded with Machitos Afro-Cubists. He felt happier in small band surroundings or leading his own quartet.

Perhaps one should begin with the conception of the boy from the small southern town of Indianola, Mississippi, where Milton Aubrey Moore was born on March 26th 1924. When he was seven years old his mother gave him a harmonica for his birthday. He soon taught himself to play the popular tunes of the day and by the time he was eleven he was a member of the local junior high school band.

At the age of eighteen he spent a very short time at Mississippi University, leaving after only a few months. He now possessed a secondhand tenor saxophone, arrived in New Orleans with only three dollars, and quickly found his first professional engagement with Fred Ford's Dixielanders. Moving from the south to New York in 1943, Moore formed his own quartet which was to be his favourite format during the coming years. As already mentioned, Brew played briefly with the big band of Claude Thornhill, who, like Woody Herman, was delving into the be-bop cult during the mid-forties.

Brew Moore was a regular participant at the Roost and Bop City where he played with trombonist Kai Winding's sextet, which spotlighted Gerry Mulligan on baritone sax, and cut several recordings: Crossing the Channel, Sleepy Bop, Broadway and Waterworks. The first two numbers were issued on American Roost, the last one on the New Jazz label. Moore also recorded with a sextet led by the trumpet player, Howard McGee, that also featured J.J. Johnson on trombone. Apart from the standard I'll Remember April the numbers recorded were mostly originals. Fuguetta, Fluid Drive Donellon Square, Meciendo, and Lo Flame were all originally recorded on the Blue Note label.

Moore did eventually record with the Four Brothers team, Getz, Sims and Al Cohn, plus another 'Lester' man, Allen Eager. The title of the album was Battleground. It gives one an insight as to how these tenor saxophone players related to each other musically. They were entirely compatible.Whenever Charlie Parker came to town, Brew Moore was always happy when invited to sit in on his jam sessions. Everything seemed to be happening around the clubs in Greenwich Village, New York, in the '50s. Moore's was always a familiar face, when playing with the jazz greats or featuring himself with a quartet.

When the modem jazz scene faded for a while during the mid-fifties in New York, Brew managed to get a lift in an old Buick with country and western men, Billy Faier, Jack Elliott and Woody Guthrie. They stopped off in Texas to buy some hamburgers and alcohol. After the meal, Faier suggested that Brew should play something with them. Moore did not care for country music. He remarked, “I don't play in your style, it wouldn't mix.” Billy said, “We'll play some blues.” After he heard Moore's version of the blues Guthrie refused to have anything else to do with him, so Moore left to catch the bus to San Francisco. The atmosphere of San Francisco appealed to him, both musically and socially. He made many appearances at the famous Black Hawk, a favourite nightspot with the jazz people. On some occasions, Moore played with a Dixieland band led by Bob Meilke's Bearcats, which of course wasn't his milieu, but as he pointed out to a journalist, “I go where the work is.”

In 1959, through overwork and alcoholism, Moore became seriously ill, but quickly recovered and resumed work to play on a Matson steamer heading for the Far East. Shortly after he toured this exotic part of the world. It was now drawing close to 1961 and numerous top jazz musicians were leaving the States for Scandinavia and Europe. Sidney Bechet, Colman Hawkins, Benny Carter, Bud Powell, Kenny Clark, Oscar Pettiford, Teddy Wilson, Stan Getz, all found the Europeans very receptive to jazz generally. Moore found no difficulty in obtaining work in Sweden and Denmark and alternated between the two countries. He surrounded himself with the best musicians in Scandinavia and with the many Americans who had taken up residency there.

He recorded a fine session in Denmark in 1962, with a line-up that consisted of himself on tenor, Sahib Shibab alto saxophone, Lars Gullin baritone sax, Louis Hjuland, vibes, Ben Axen piano, Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen bass and William Schiopffe, drums. After a few years Moore took the opportunity to go further south, to the Canaries, where it was certainly much warmer and less expensive than living in Scandinavia. He returned in 1970 to Sweden and formed a fine quartet, consisting of himself on tenor sax, Lam Sjostens, piano, Sture Norden bass and Frank Noren drums.

The album was released on Sonet records, catalogue number SNJF624. It features a wide selection of material. The up-tempo of Lars Sjosten's “Kong” (yes, not 'King') Fredrik's Blues is a medium to fast tempo number, the same applies to Bait, composed by the late Tony Fruscella. On the album is Stockholm Dews, the last number to be heard and composed by Brew. Moore was once again invited back to Denmark and after a successful gig in Copenhagen on March 19th 1973, fell down a flight of stairs. He died in the ambulance on the way to hospital. He was just one week short of his forty-ninth birthday. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/brew-moore

Personnel: Brew Moore saxophone; Harold Goldberg piano; Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen bass; Alex Riel drums

Special Brew

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