Roy Ayers - Stoned Soul Picnic

Styles: Vibraphone Jazz
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:27
Size: 89,3 MB
Art: Front

(9:00)  1. A Rose For Cindy
(2:47)  2. Stoned Soul Picnic
(8:01)  3. Wave
(3:54)  4. For Once In My Life
(6:34)  5. Lil's Paradise
(8:09)  6. What The People Say

Stoned Soul Picnic is vibraphonist Roy Ayers' third and probably best solo album, made in 1968 while he was still a part of Herbie Mann's group. Ayers stands clearly in the shadow of Bobby Hutcherson on this primarily modally-oriented date, sounding nothing like the groove-meister he would become known as later in the 1970s. Producer Mann, always an underrated talent scout, assembles an especially exceptional septet for Ayers here with Gary Bartz on alto sax, arranger Charles Tolliver on trumpet/flugelhorn, Hubert Laws on flute, Herbie Hancock on piano (and probably uncredited organ on the title cut), Ron Carter or Miroslav Vitous on bass and Grady Tate on drums. The program is a typical late 1960s menu, heavy on such Top 40 pop covers as the dated "Stoned Soul Picnic," "For Once In My Life" and "What The People Say." What sets these and the interesting, if unsuccessful, cover of Jobim's "Wave" apart are Tolliver's rather ingenious arrangements. Tolliver seems to tear apart the constraints of these duds (although "Picnic" is beyond hope) by dramatically slowing down the melodies, providing Ayers the time and space to set the mood (Tolliver correctly recognizes Ayers's strengths with ballads) and punctuating with nicely considered horn statements in between. It is the two modal originals here Ayers lovely "A Rose For Cindy" and Tolliver's waltz, "Lil's Paradise" that make this disc worth hearing. Ayers plays some of his finest-ever work on these pieces. You're sure to hear something new and different in these pieces every time. Hancock completists will also be especially pleased with the pianist's performance here (and on "What The People Say" too). Except for the nods toward late 1960s pop-jazz conventions, Stoned Soul Picnic is a marvelous disc well worth investigating. With so much of Ayers's West Coast work of the 1960s (especially with Jack Wilson) lost in limbo, this disc serves as a cogent reminder of the strength of the vibraphonist's chops. And groove lovers might be happily surprised hearing what Ayers was up to before the groove.
~Douglas Paynehttps://www.allaboutjazz.com/stoned-soul-picnic-roy-ayers-32-records-review-by-douglas-payne.php

Players: Roy Ayers: vibes; Gary Bartz: alto sax;  Charles Tolliver: arranger, trumpet, flugelhorn; Hubert Laws: flute;  Herbie Hancock: piano, organ; Ron Carter: bass;  Miroslav Vitous: bass;  Grady Tate: drums.

Stoned Soul Picnic

---

Caesar Frazier - Tenacity: As We Speak

Styles: Soul, Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:46
Size: 110,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:38) 1. Dat Dere
(5:05) 2. Mergin' Traffic
(6:07) 3. Festival el Spanol
(5:17) 4. Just Passin' Thru
(6:56) 5. Polka Dots & Moonbeans
(1:07) 6. Dat Dere (Reprise)
(4:51) 7. A Thought in Minor
(4:19) 8. Excuse Me
(3:14) 9. One Easy Morning
(6:08) 10. Poinciana

Hailing from Indianapolis, Ceasar Frazier was a funky soul-jazz organist who recorded several albums for the Eastbound/Westbound label family during the '70s. First making his mark in 1972 with one of saxman Lou Donaldson's funkier bands, Frazier cut his first album Hail Ceasar! later that year, which featured musicians commonly associated with the Prestige label's jazz-funk outings Melvin Sparks (guitar), Houston Person (tenor), and Idris Muhammad (drums).

The follow-up, Ceasar Frazier '75, featured the likes of guitarist Cornell Dupree and drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie; the album's key track, "Funk It Down," was later sampled by jazz-obsessed hip-hoppers Gang Starr for their "Ex-Girl to the Next Girl." In 1978, Frazier resurfaced as a smooth soul/disco vocalist with the LP Another Life, and while he showed some affinity for the idiom, it failed to reinvent him as a commercial force outside the jazz-funk marketplace. In addition to recording on his own, Frazier also played keyboards in Marvin Gaye's backing band. Thanks to the rare-groove revival, his rare original LPs now fetch generous sums on the collectors'market.
~Steve Huey https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ceasar-frazier-mn0000536319/biography

Tenacity: As We Speak

---

Jackie Cain - So Many Stars

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:47
Size: 168,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:26)  1. Spring Can Really Hang You up the Most
(3:14)  2. Season in the Sun
(3:03)  3. A Face Like Yours
(2:44)  4. Kill 'Em with Kindness
(4:21)  5. Ballad of the Sad Young Men
(2:54)  6. It Could Happen to You
(3:56)  7. Imagination
(2:25)  8. Aren't You Glad You're You
(4:06)  9. Darn That Dream
(3:07) 10. Call Me Irresponsible
(2:28) 11. Thoroughly Modern Millie
(3:01) 12. (So You've Had A) Change of Heart
(2:57) 13. That's My Girl
(3:53) 14. Remember, My Child
(3:08) 15. Mimosa and Me
(3:29) 16. Such a Lonely Girl Am I
(4:03) 17. Walk Pretty
(4:06) 18. Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars (Corcovado)
(3:21) 19. Song of the Jet (Samba Do Aviao)
(4:09) 20. Dindi
(3:46) 21. So Many Stars

Vocalist Jackie Cain is known primarily for her work with her husband, pianist Roy Kral, as the duo Jackie and Roy. This Audiophile release, So Many Stars, spotlights Cain's solo career with over 70 minutes of music. Backing Cain on these sessions are pianist and arranger Loonis McGlohon, bassist Jerry Lassiter, and drummer Jim Lackey.~Al Campbell https://www.allmusic.com/album/so-many-stars-mw0000066748

So Many Stars

---

Jimmy McGriff - Greatest Organ Hits

Styles: Soul Jazz, Hard Bop
Year: 1968
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:18
Size: 91,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:56) 1. All About My Girl
(4:57) 2. M. G. Blues
(2:50) 3. Kiko
(2:40) 4. Topkapi
(4:35) 5. I've Got A Woman
(4:41) 6. Turn Blue
(4:34) 7. One Of Mine
(2:53) 8. Hello Betty
(4:28) 9. The Last Minute
(3:41) 10. Bump De Bump

Organ master Jimmy McGriff may have studied formally at Juilliard and at Philadelphia's Combe College of Music, but there's nothing fancy about his music. It's basic to the bone, always swinging and steeped in blues and gospel. McGriff's brand of jazz is about feeling. "That's the most important thing," he says.

Blues has been the backbone of most of the major jazz organists, including Jimmy Smith and Jack McDuff, but throughout his 42-year recording career, McGriff has stuck closer to the blues than any of them. "People are always classifying me as a jazz organist, but I'm more of a blues organ player," he insists. "That's really what I feel."

McGriff's recordings of "I've Got a Woman" and "All About My Girl" were r&b and jukebox staples during the Sixties. With McGriff Avenue, his fourteenth album for Milestone (counting the five he's cut as co-leader with Hank Crawford), the Hammond organ grinder remains true to the blues grounding for which he's famous. The way things turned out, McGriff Avenue was not just another record date for the organist and his sidemen, as producer Bob Porter recounts in the CD notes. Porter had booked a noon session at Rudy Van Gelder's New Jersey studio for September 11th, 2001, but that morning he quickly realized—especially since bridge and tunnel access to and from Manhattan was cut off soon after the World Trade Center towers were hit—that the session was not going to take place as scheduled.

When the record date was rescheduled for six weeks later, some personnel adjustments were necessary. Although Bill Easley, Ronnie Cuber, and bassist Wilbur Bascomb were able to make both days of recording, Purdie was replaced on the second day by Don Williams. Guitarist Rodney Jones couldn't make the first session, but he contributed the funky title track (and was ably replaced by Melvin Sparks-Hassan).

Saxophonist Gordon Beadle, a veteran of Duke Robillard's band, is new to the McGriff orbit, but the other players have extensive histories with the organist. The great drummer Bernard Purdie has appeared on most of McGriff's Milestone discs, and Don Williams has been a member of McGriff's touring band for years. Likewise Rodney Jones, Ronnie Cuber, Melvin Sparks-Hassan, Wilbur Bascomb, and Bill Easley are all McGriff familiars who deliver the "gospel/blues-kinda flavor" the leader finds much to his liking. The performances on the McGriff shuffle "All About My Girl," Jimmy Forrest's "Soul Street," and the sanctified "America, The Beautiful" make that absolutely clear.

James Harrell McGriff was born on April 3, 1936 in Philadelphia, long the capital of the jazz organ world. Such seminal jazz organists as Milt Buckner and Wild Bill Davis frequently passed through town, and it was there that Jimmy Smith laid the groundwork for modern jazz organ. Other outstanding organists associated with the City of Brotherly Love include Doc Bagley, Shirley Scott, Richard "Groove" Holmes, Joey DeFrancesco, and Charles Earland. In fact, Earland, who had played saxophone on McGriff's very first recording, a 1959 single on the White Marsh label titled "Foxy Due," learned the organ from McGriff.

Although both his mother and father were pianists, McGriff started out on bass and saxophone, later picking up drums, vibes, and piano. He served as an MP during the Korean War and spent two and a half years as a Philadelphia policeman. While on the force, he moonlighted as a bassist at Pep's Showboat, playing behind blues singer Big Maybelle and other stars of the Fifties. The lessons he learned as a bass player would later turn up in his signature organ style, which is marked by strong, swinging bass patterns.

After leaving law enforcement, McGriff turned his focus to organ and studied locally at Combe and in New York City at Juilliard, as well as privately with Jimmy Smith, "Groove" Holmes, Milt Buckner, and classical organist Sonny Gatewood. Of greater importance to McGriff's musical development, however, were his experiences as a young man at Philadelphia's Eastern Star Baptist Church. "They talk about who taught me this and who taught me that, but the basic idea of what I'm doing on the organ came from the church," he says. "That's how I got it, and I just never dropped it."

In 1962, while McGriff was performing in Trenton, New Jersey, a scout from a tiny record label called Jell was struck with the organist's arrangement of "I've Got a Woman" and offered him a contract. As McGriff's single was taking off, Sue Records in New York purchased the master and it became a smash, peaking at No. 5 on Billboard's r&b chart and at No. 20 on the pop list. With that and such subsequent Sue singles as "All About My Girl," "M.G. Blues," and "Bump De Bump," the organist staked out a musical turf all his own, somewhere between the jazz of Jimmy Smith and the r&b of Booker T. & the MGs. After leaving Sue, McGriff recorded prolifically for such labels as Solid State, Blue Note, Capitol, United Artists, Groove Merchant, and JAM. He also cut two albums with the great blues singer Junior Parker.

Renewed interest in the Hammond organ over the past several years has substantially increased the demand for McGriff's music. "People that didn't listen to organ things before listen now," he says. "I'm playing jobs that ordinarily I wouldn't play."

McGriff had used a Hammond B-3 organ at the onset of his career but in recent years has been playing a modified model known as a Hammond XB-3. "The one I got is special 'cause it's built for me," he says. "I can separate the top manual against the bottom manual. I get strings on it, and I get a different kind of bass."

With McGriff Avenue, Jimmy McGriff serves up another satisfying set of the type of blues, swing, funk, and gospel-derived sounds for which he's known and loved. It's music from the soul that, as always, feels mighty good.https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/jimmy-mcgriff

Greatest Organ Hits

---

Capp-Pierce Orchestra - Juggernaut Strikes Again

Styles: Big Band, Vocal
Year: 1982
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:36
Size: 96,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:47) 1. Little Pony
(4:19) 2. One For Marshal
(4:22) 3. I Remember Clifford
(3:36) 4. New York Shuffle
(4:42) 5. Chops, Fingers And Sticks
(3:06) 6. You Are So Beautiful
(6:24) 7. Parker's Mood / Word From Bird
(4:20) 8. Charade
(4:56) 9. Things Ain't What They Used To Be

The 1981 edition of the Frank Capp/Nat Pierce Juggernaut sticks to its vision of being Count Basie soundalike big band. The repertoire is a bit farther reaching than on its previous releases including Pierce's "One for Marshal" (featuring altoist Marshall Royal), "I Remember Clifford," Buck Clayton's then-recent "Chops, Fingers and Sticks" and a medley of Charlie Parker tunes. among the key soloists are Royal, pianist Pierce, tenors Pete Christlieb and Bob Cooper, trombonist Buster Cooper and flugelhornist Al Aarons. Ernie Andrews helps out with two vocals. A typically swinging Juggernaut album; all are recommended.~Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/juggernaut-strikes-again-mw

Personnel: Vocals – Ernie Andrews; Alto Saxophone – Jackie Kelso, Joe Roccisano, Marshal Royal; Baritone Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Bill Green; Bass – Bob Maize; Drums – Frankie Capp; Guitar – Ray Pohlman; Piano – Nat Pierce; Tenor Saxophone – Bob Cooper, Bob Efford, Pete Christlieb; Trombone – Alan Kaplan, Buster Cooper, George Bohanon, Mel Wanzo; Trumpet – Al Aarons, Bill Berry, Frank Szabo, Johnny Audino, Snooky Young, Warren Luening

Juggernaut Strikes Again

---

Stephanie Nakasian - Bitter Sweet

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1992
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:55
Size: 134,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:54) 1. Almost In Your Arms
(6:08) 2. Too Many Tears
(4:55) 3. I'm All Smiles
(3:58) 4. When Your Lover Has Gone
(4:05) 5. By Myself
(5:08) 6. You Ain't Had The Blues
(4:54) 7. A Second Chance
(3:53) 8. Blizzard Of Lies - Little White Lies
(3:52) 9. If I Ruled The World
(4:32) 10. The Moth And The Flame
(5:49) 11. (You May Not Be an Angel But) I'll String Along With You
(3:05) 12. Love Is Just Around The Corner
(3:36) 13. Who Cares?

Born Patricia Stephanie Nakasian, 29 August 1954, Washington, DC, USA. Nakasian’s mother had been a singer in the 40s, working with the popular Meyer Davis band. Raised in Bronxville, New York, she studied classical music, becoming an accomplished pianist and violinist and she also sang in choral groups and studied voice privately. Planning a career in commerce, she attained an economics degree and worked for a while in banking and as a financial consultant. In 1980, she met pianist Hod O’Brien and soon thereafter abandoned her career and began singing with him (and later the couple were married). In the mid-80s, as a member of Jon Hendricks’ group, Company, she began attracting attention and capitalized on this with several well-received solo recordings.

Nakasian has played at many jazz festivals throughout Europe and the USA. With Jim Cullum, she has made numerous broadcasts, often in programmes of songs from the 30s and reflecting upon singers of that era, such as Helen Humes, Peggy Lee, Helen Ward and Lee Wiley. With the Pete Rugolo orchestra, she has appeared in a June Christy tribute and she has also worked with Dick Hyman on shows paying tribute to composers Hoagy Carmichael and Walter Donaldson. Among musicians with whom she has appeared both live and on record are Harry Allen, Wayne Andre, Urbie Green, Scott Hamilton, Milt Hinton, Vic Juris, Joe LaBarbera, Chuck Riggs, Clark Terry, Nabil Totah and Phil Woods.

She has also appeared in Denmark with the Danish Radio Big Band. Nakasian has toured her concert revues, The Great Ladies Of American Song and other tribute concepts, to venues around the USA, especially on the university circuit. One of Nakasian’s concept shows, Band Singers To Broadway, Bebop And Beyond, forms the basis of a course at the University of Virginia that she teaches. She also teaches jazz voice and vocal jazz improvisation at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Additionally, Nakasian conducts seminars and workshops on many aspects of singing at colleges and universities.https://www.allmusic.com/artist/stephanie-nakasian-mn0000024557/biography

Personnel: Stephanie Nakasian - vocal; Vic Juris - guitar; Mark Kirk - alto and soprano saxophones; Hod O'Brien - piano; Steve Gilmore - bass; Bill Goodwin - drums; Ed Hudak - congas

Bitter Sweet

---

Bob Brookmeyer Quartet - The Blues Hot And Cold + 7X Wilder

Styles: Trombone And Piano Jazz
Year: 1960
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:31
Size: 174,8 MB
Art: Front

(6:04) 1. On the Sunny Side of the Street
(5:54) 2. Stoppin' at the Savoy
(7:21) 3. Languid Blues
(4:53) 4. I Got Rhythm
(5:48) 5. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
(7:57) 6. Hot and Cold Blues
(6:09) 7. While Were Young (4:42) 8. That s The Way It Goes
(4:32) 9. The Wrong Blues
(4:04) 10. It s So Peaceful In The Country
(6:07) 11. Blues For Alec
(4:28) 12. I ll Be Around
(4:26) 13. Who Can I Turn To?

Bob Brookmeyer pioneered playing jazz on the valve trombone, and employed an open-ended approach that embraced both cool and chamber jazz elements. This CD combines two of his finest early period albums from 1960 and 1961, playing standards and originals alongside a stock backup piano/bass/drums trio with Jimmy Rowles, and interpreting the music of Alec Wilder in tandem with guitarist Jim Hall. For the latter date, Brookmeyer goes back and forth between trombone and piano, with drummer Mel Lewis on both sessions.

The first group is more sedate on songs like the polite "On the Sunny Side of the Street" and "Languid Blues," but hop it up for the happy swinger "I Got Rhythm," or up and down title track. Brookmeyer has a delicate touch on piano for the waltz "While We're Young" and "The Wrong Blues," but on the trombone bops along for the fun tune "That's The Way It Goes," and epitomizes California cool for classics like the immortal "It's so Peaceful in the Country," paired beautifully with Hall on "Who Can I Turn To?" or on the muted trombone during "I'll Be Around." As you listen, you notice Brookmeyer gets around on his brass instrument as a trumpeter, not with the acumen of J.J. Johnson's slide trombone, but with an attack that combines the subtleties of Chet Baker with the alacrity of Shorty Rogers, who must be a telling influence. These albums were highly rated when they came out, and stand the test of time as excellent early examples of Brookmeyer's performance prowess.
~Michael G. Nastos https://www.allmusic.com/album/blues-hot-cold-7-x-wilder-mw0001359682

Personnel: Valve Trombone, Piano – Bob Brookmeyer; Bass – Bill Crow (tracks: 7 to 13), Buddy Clark (tracks: 1 to 6); Drums – Mel Lewis; Guitar – Jim Hall (tracks: 7 to 13); Piano – Jimmy Rowles (tracks: 1 to 6)

The Blues Hot And Cold + 7X Wilder

---

Friedrich Gulda & His Sextet - At Birdland

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 77:00
Size: 176.3 MB
Styles: Bop, Piano jazz
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[ 0:38] 1. Theme Song Vienna Discussion
[ 0:49] 2. Pee Wee Marquette Introduces Friedrich Gulda And His Sextet
[ 5:21] 3. Scruby
[ 4:29] 4. Dark Glow
[ 4:23] 5. A Night In Tunisia
[ 3:03] 6. Dodo
[ 5:13] 7. Air From Other Planets
[ 3:25] 8. New Shoes
[10:07] 9. Bernie's Tune
[ 3:04] 10. Quintet
[ 3:55] 11. Introvert
[ 8:25] 12. Out Of Nowhere
[ 4:46] 13. Teheran
[ 7:38] 14. All The Things You Are
[ 5:34] 15. Cool Hill
[ 6:01] 16. Lullaby Of Birdland

Alto Saxophone – Phil Woods; Bass – Aaron Bell; Drums – Nick Stabulas; Piano – Friedrich Gulda; Tenor Saxophone – Seldon Powell; Trombone – Jimmy Cleveland; Trumpet – Idrees Sulieman. Live at "Birdland", New York City, June 28 (tracks 1-5, 7, 8, 15 & 16) and 29 (tracks 6, 9 & 14), 1956. Tracks 1-9 from the RCA Victor album "Friedrich Gulda At Birdland" (LPM 1398) Tracks 10-16 from the Decca album "A Man of Letters (LK 4189).

Friedrich Gulda was a classical pianist of international stature who, following a meeting with Dizzy Gillespie in 1951, embarked on an attachment with jazz. This eventually led to his first regular American appearance at Birdland in New York City in 1956 which has been captured in this Fresh Sounds reissue. The impresario John Hammond was the driving force behind this Birdland session which was originally released on two 12" albums, the first by RCA Victor entitled Friedrich Gulda At Birdland and the second by Decca called A Man Of Letters. Hammond was fully aware that, while there might be some curiosity value in such an appearance by a classically trained pianist, he needed to ensure that Gulda had the opportunity to succeed and thus he put together a front line that was supportive and collaborative. The bassist and drummer were also known for their swing and steady timekeeping. The song set was a combination of Gulda original compositions and "head" arrangements of popular and jazz standards designed to engage the audience.

Now while it is accurate to say that all the tracks were recorded at Birdland, not all of them were performed live. All nine Gulda compositions were recorded in the afternoon without an audience, much like a recording studio, and the other five jazz-oriented tunes were done with an audience during the evening sessions. The Gulda compositions are intricately constructed with a chamber jazz feel but allow space for solos by the members of the band. Dark Glow is a sensuous ballad designed to showcase the creative alto sax of Phil Woods. Another piece in the same vein is Cool Hill which has a modelled structure for Woods to shine. Seldon Powell's cool tenor sax is prominently featured on Air From Other Planets. The real goodies on this disc are the live tracks from Birdland and all are swingers. The first substantive taste of Gulda's pianistic style shows up on a trio version of A Night In Tunisia. With Aaron Bell on bass and Nick Stabulas on drums, Gulda romps through the tune with strong single-note phrasing in a Bud Powell mode, but with a percussive note-striking style reminiscent of Eddie Costa. An extended version of Bernie's Tune has all the elements of a jam session, with strong choruses from all members of the band. Out Of Nowhere becomes a vehicle for trombonist Jimmy Cleveland where his creative and enthusiastic offerings are fully evident. Idrees Sulieman, a somewhat under-appreciated trumpeter, shows that he deserves more attention with some fine soloing on All The Things You Are. Finally the George Shearing classic Lullaby Of Birdland allows Gulda to take a block-chord Shearingesque attack on this signature tune. This is an interesting and noteworthy addition to any record collection. ~Pierre Giroux

At Birdland

---

Wayne Shorter - Live At The Detroit Jazz Festival

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:38
Size: 127,6 MB
Art: Front

(14:20) 1. Someplace Called "Where"
(21:43) 2. Endangered Species
( 8:37) 3. Encontros e Despedidas
( 4:41) 4. Drummers Song
( 6:16) 5. Midnight in Carlotta's Hair

Wayne Shorter is arguably the greatest living jazz composer and a key participant in some of the most iconic jazz recordings of all time. Wayne Shorter is arguably the greatest living jazz composer and a key participant in some of the most iconic jazz recordings of all time. Here he is joined on stage by an all star band each of the musicians leaders and jazz icons in their own right. The record also pays tribute to the late Geri Allen, who composed some of the material.https://www.prestomusic.com/jazz/products/9366902--live-at-the-detroit-jazz-festival

Personnel: Wayne Shorter: tenor and soprano saxophone; Leo Genovese: piano and keyboards; Esperanza Spalding: bass and vocal; Terri Lyne Carrington: drums

Live At The Detroit Jazz Festival

---

Lorez Alexandria - Chicago Jazz Festival'80

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1980
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:33
Size: 91,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:09) 1. Michael Cuscuna interviews Lorez Alexandria
(1:40) 2. Introduction
(2:04) 3. On a Clear Day
(6:44) 4. Something Cool
(2:09) 5. Satin Doll
(5:18) 6. Don't Explain
(2:41) 7. You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me
(5:43) 8. But Beautiful
(1:19) 9. Introduction
(2:39) 10. Little Boat
(3:02) 11. Somewhere (There's a Place for Us)
(1:01) 12. Billy Taylor comments

Lorez Alexandria concert at Grant Park at the Chicago Jazz Festival on 8/30/1980. Broadcast on WBEZ FM, Chicago's NPR station. Commentary by Billy Taylor and Michael Cuscuna, of NPR's Jazz Alive series. This was the 4th set of the evening's Jazz Alive broadcast. This evening was dedicated to Chicago Jazz Heritage. Thanks to Mark Rabin for sharing this recording and the festival flyer.
https://archive.org/details/lorez-alexandria-1980-chicago-jazz-fest-npr

Musicians: Lorez Alexandria-Vocals; Willie Pickens-Piano; Dan Shapira-Bass; Robert Shy-Drums

Chicago Jazz Festival'80

---

Friedrich Gulda - Ineffable: The Unique Jazz Piano Of Friedrich Gulda

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1965
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:38
Size: 90,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:02)  1. I Only Have Eyes For You
(2:04)  2. Prelude
(4:34)  3. Ineffable
(5:41)  4. The Horn And I
(4:33)  5. Plant Some Flowers (Plantem und Blomen)
(3:57)  6. I'll Remember April
(4:30)  7. Riverbed
(5:02)  8. Lament
(3:11)  9. Quartet

Classical and jazz pianist and composer, Friedrich Gulda was one of Austria's premiere pianists. Born in Vienna in 1930, Gulda started piano lessons at the age of seven. When he was 12, he enrolled in the Vienna Music Academy, and four years later received first place in the Geneva International Music Festival. In 1949, Gulda toured Europe and South America, earning international acclaim for his treatments of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven, and the following year he successfully debuted at Carnegie Hall. Gulda became more involved in jazz from 1951 on, when he improvised with Dizzy Gillespie following a performance with the Chicago Symphony. Five years later, Gulda played his first American jazz concert at Birdland (N.Y.C.), followed by a performance at the Newport Jazz Festival. 

After this, Gulda formed the Eurojazz Orchestra, a jazz combo and big band which drew from both jazz and classical compositions. In 1966, ten years after his Birdland appearance, Gulda organized a modern jazz competition in his native city. He was awarded the Vienna Academy's Beethoven Ring in 1970, but later returned it to protest what he regarded as a constricting educational system. This only reinforced the public's perception of Gulda as an eccentric. This reputation was not helped when he abruptly called off major performances more than once. A 1988 incident occurred in reaction to objections to his program for a Salzburg music festival that included jazz musician Joe Zawinul; he made another last minute cancellation by faking his own death with a phony obituary only days before a scheduled performance of Mozart. On January 27, 2000, Friedrich Gulda died of an apparent heart attack in Vienna, the city of his birth.
~Joslyn Layne https://www.allmusic.com/artist/friedrich-gulda-mn0000207805/biography

Ineffable: The Unique Jazz Piano Of Friedrich Gulda

---

Denise Jannah & Wolf Martini - Live In Johannesburg

Size: 168,5 MB
Time: 72:12
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2013
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. There Will Never Be Another You (3:43)
02. Announcement (0:50)
03. Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars (5:01)
04. Skylark (4:45)
05. I Thought About You (4:55)
06. Syen (Shame) (4:00)
07. Wys My Die Plek (3:52)
08. Twisted (2:59)
09. My Funny Valentine (6:30)
10. Sondongo (Sunset) (4:51)
11. I'm In The Mood For Love (0:16)
12. Like A Lover (O Contador) (7:09)
13. There Is No Greater Love (3:31)
14. She Walks The Streets (3:32)
15. Somewhere Over The Rainbow (5:32)
16. How Do You Keep The Music Playing (4:57)
17. Moenie Weggan Nie - Ne Me Quitte Pas (5:41)

For more than a decade, the classic honeyed voice of jazz vocalist Denise Jannah has been heard on her solo albums in the U.S., but she has been singing much, much longer. After a childhood spent alternately in Surinam and Holland, she attended the Hilversum Conservatory, graduating in 1971. Her first American release was in 1991 with her album, Take It From the Top. Two others followed, A Heart Full of Music and I Was Born in Love With You. In 2000, Jannah became the first Dutch solo artist to release an album on Blue Note with The Madness of Our Love.

Live In Johannesburg

---

Orrin Evans - Easy Now

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:32
Size: 127,5 MB
Art: Front

(5:49) 1. Captain Black
(5:21) 2. BM
(6:06) 3. For DE
(8:11) 4. Don't Fall Off the L.E.J.
(5:22) 5. Easy Now
(4:21) 6. Bonus Round
(9:29) 7. Dance on the Moon
(2:12) 8. Dorm Life
(7:24) 9. Song for My Father
(1:11) 10. Don't Fall Off the L.E.J. (cont.)

For those who may have been disappointed by the Philadelphia pianist-composer Orrin Evans' recent experiments with backbeats and electric keyboards, Easy Now marks a notable return to swinging on acoustic instruments. But this new venture is primarily a tribute to the late Don Evans, a gifted playwright and educator, as well as Orrin's father.

If these compositions are any indication, Don Evans must have been complex, thoughtful, and unpredictable, perhaps a bit like the jutting measure of 5/4 time that concludes each chorus of "Don't Fall Off The L.E.J.," which is in all other aspects a fast 4/4 cooker. Actually, like most of the musicians who work in the new mainstream of today's jazz world, Orrin Evans uses composition to create modern challenges for modern impovisers. This would also include the drum thwacks that constitute part of the line of "Captain Black."

Further, the playing here is consistently top-shelf, giving these tunes a worthy presentation. Evans often plays percussively, playing clusters, even pounding the piano. But that's hardly all he does. He can play gently and lyrically, or he can spin a long, swinging line. Although he sometimes alludes to Monk, Orrin Evans is very much his own man. Saxophonist Ralph Bowen is also his own man. Heard here on alto and soprano sax rather than his customary tenor, Bowen reveals a lush, warm sound on each horn, almost as if he were trying to combine Eric Dolphy with Benny Carter or perhaps Lucky Thompson. He swings up a storm on "Don't Fall Off The L.E.J." and "Dorm Life."

Finally, J.D. Allen should be singled out for his warm, deeply moving tenor sax playing on "Song For My Father." He and Evans play the Horace Silver classic as a duet, in a stately ballad that may be the highlight of the album.~AAJ Staff https://www.allaboutjazz.com/easy-now-orrin-evans-criss-cross-review-by-aaj-staff

Personnel: Orrin Evans, piano; Ralph Bowen, alto and soprano sax; Mike Boone, bass; Byron Landham, drums. Track 9 only: J.D.Allen, tenor sax. Tracks 5, 7 only: Eric Revis, bass. Tracks 1,2,3, 5 only: Rodney Green, drums.

Easy Now

---

Brian Lynch - Unsung Heroes Vol.1

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:56
Size: 170,7 MB
Art: Front

(8:09)  1. Terra Firma Irma
(7:28)  2. I Could Never Forget You
(9:47)  3. Further Arrivals
(8:02)  4. Saturday Afternoon At Four
(7:26)  5. Household Of Saud
(7:02)  6. Roditisamba
(5:36)  7. Big Red
(7:10)  8. Unsung Blues
(7:11)  9. Wetu

Trumpeter extraordinaire Brian Lynch is always willing, quite rightly, to acknowledge the masters who have gone before him. Some of the finest jazz trumpeters never made it big, while others no longer sit as securely in the minds of jazz fans as they once did. Nevertheless, they are all part, as Lynch writes, of "the jazz trumpet tradition" and their talents as players and composers deserve to be remembered and revisited. Unsung Heroes is Lynch's salute to some of these players. It's a superb album: no mere tribute to past masters, it puts their work firmly in the present living, breathing, exciting music that is as vibrant in the twenty-first century as it was in the twentieth. Like Finnish pianist Iiro Rantala's own reflections on past greats, the stunning Lost Heroes (ACT Music, 2011), Unsung Heroes is the work of an exceptionally talented player. Rantala performed solo, but this record features a kick-ass band. Altoist Vincent Herring and pianist Rob Schneiderman are particularly strong, but every player impresses. One of the most stylish solos comes from bassist David Wong on Idrees Sulieman's "Saturday Afternoon At Four," a bop relative of Kurt Weill's "Speak Low."

Lynch's heroes on this album are players whose own work is predominantly from the bebop era and later, men who could play hard and fast but who could also swing, and play with feeling. The writing skills of many of these trumpeters were also exceptional, giving Lynch some terrific compositions to work with, some of which were never recorded by the writers themselves. Tommy Turrentine's beautiful ballad, "I Could Never Forget You," affords Lynch the opportunity to deliver a masterclass in pure-toned, considered yet emotive playing. Charles Tolliver's "Household of Saud" is a standout ensemble performance as well as featuring one of Lynch's more high-energy solos. Lynch's own tunes are just as enjoyable. "RoditiSamba," dedicated to Claudio Roditi, is smoothly seductive; "Unsung Blues" gives Lynch and Schneiderman the chance to stretch out with a deft lyricism. 

This isn't the first time that Lynch has paid tribute to his predecessors: Tribute To The Trumpet Masters (Sharp Nine) appeared in 2000. Unsung Heroes is volume one of an extended project, which includes some fascinating writing by Lynch on his website. The project is a great idea, and on the evidence of this beautiful recording it's also brilliantly executed. ~ Bruce Lindsay https://www.allaboutjazz.com/unsung-heroes-brian-lynch-hollistic-musicworks-review-by-bruce-lindsay.php

Personnel: Brian Lynch: trumpet, flugelhorn; Vincent Herring: alto saxophone; Alex Hoffman: tenor saxophone; Rob Schneiderman: piano; David Wong: bass; Pete Van Nostrand: drums; Vicente "Little Johnny" Rivero: congas (3, 6).

Unsung Heroes Vol.1

---

Lizz Wright - Holding Space (Lizz Wright live in Berlin)

Styles: Vocal, Neo-Soul
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:00
Size: 153,8 MB
Art: Front

(6:57) 1. Barley
(6:37) 2. Old Man
(4:56) 3. Wash Me Clean
(5:50) 4. Somewhere Down The Mystic
(7:22) 5. The New Game
(8:33) 6. Walk With Me Lord
(3:47) 7. Southern Nights
(5:52) 8. Grace
(3:15) 9. No More Will I Run
(8:04) 10. Seems I'm Never Tired Lovin' You
(5:41) 11. All The Way Here

Lizz Wright’s seventh album, Holding Space, is a glorious declaration of independence. It’s the first release on her artist-centric new label Blues & Greens Records, a platform that allows musicians to retain the masters and rights to their music. Artistically, the project presents Wright at her most elemental, backed by a working combo with guitarist Chris Bruce, bassist Ben Zwerin, keyboardist Bobby Ray Sparks II, and drummer Ivan Edwards.

Recorded in Berlin in the summer of 2018 at the conclusion of a European tour, the album captures Wright in full flight, focusing on music from 2017’s Grace while also drawing from her previous Concord release, 2015’s Freedom & Surrender, and her project with the WDR Big Band. Since the release of her star-making 2003 debut Salt, Wright has tried on several instrumental settings. Her producers tended to gussy up her songs with an array of keyboards and string instruments; the results didn’t always serve her well. Holding Space is Wright unadulterated, from Allison Russell’s carved-oak “Barley” to a lusciously slow version of k.d. lang’s “Wash Me Clean.”

Wright’s own work as a songwriter is also well represented, with the rapturously folk-rocking “Somewhere Down the Mystic” and swampy anthem “The New Game.” Most striking is when Wright seizes a song indelibly linked to another artist and makes it her own, gently wrestling Allen Toussaint’s “Southern Nights” from Glen Campbell and positively pocketing Neil Young’s “Old Man.” (Have two artists ever offered greater tonal contrast?)

Wright’s voice is one of the marvels of the contemporary scene, but it’s her preternatural calm that sets her apart. Rather than evoking the Black church’s ecstatic fervor, she channels her intensity into the density of her sound. Her phrasing flows imperturbably. She’s a rock, and with Holding Space she’s building an edifice of her own.https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/lizz-wright-holding-space-blues-greens/

Holding Space (Lizz Wright live in Berlin)

---

Denise Jannah - Take It From The Top

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 1991
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:46
Size: 134,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:04)  1. Pennies From Heaven
(8:01)  2. Willow Weep For Me
(6:29)  3. Fragile
(4:12)  4. I've Got the World On a String
(7:41)  5. I'm in a Minor Key Today
(3:51)  6. I Get Along Without You Very Well
(4:16)  7. Groovin' High
(5:49)  8. I'm a Fool to Want You
(4:56)  9. A Sleepin' Bee
(8:22) 10. My Funny Valentine

Denise Jannah made her debut as a leader with this 1991 session for Timeless. This native of Surinam (Dutch Guiana) has a strong voice that swings mightily and conveys emotion without ever resorting to sappiness. You have to like a singer who restores the often omitted verse to an oldie like "Pennies from Heaven," then scats up a storm to boot. No one does the verse to the standard "Willow Weep for Me," yet Jannah's haunting introduction, backed solely by pianist Michel Herr, sets up the message of the song perfectly. But nowhere does Jannah pack as big a punch as she does in her moving take of "I Get Along Without You Very Well." Bop fans will love the intricate take of "Groovin' High" featuring a fine alto sax solo by Rolf Delfos and muted trumpet by Angelo Verploegen in which she alternates between adept scatting and singing Kirby Stone's vocalese lyrics. She is also open to contemporary material, delivering a heartfelt interpretation of rocker Sting's "Fragile" in an easygoing bossa nova setting. Though Denise Jannah has made many rewarding CDs following this remarkable debut, this CD is well worth acquiring, too. ~ Ken Dryden http://www.allmusic.com/album/take-it-from-the-top-mw0000426428

Personnel: Denise Jannah (vocals); Jan Verwey (harmonica); Rolf Delfos (soprano saxophone, alto saxophone); Boris Vanderlek (tenor saxophone); Angelo Verploegen (trumpet, flugelhorn); Michel Herr (piano).

Take It From The Top

---

Ernie Andrews - Girl Talk

Styles: Vocal And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:38
Size: 112,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:07) 1. Girl Talk
(5:17) 2. Don't Touch Me
(4:47) 3. Old Man River
(4:45) 4. I Want to Be Loved
(4:14) 5. I Only Have Eyes for You
(5:10) 6. Everybody's Somebody Fool
(4:03) 7. Once in a Lifetime
(5:54) 8. A Cottage for Sale
(3:51) 9. That's What I Thought You Said
(6:24) 10. It Might as Well Be Spring

There were so few male jazz singers active at the beginning of the 21st century that it was a good time to appreciate the singing of veteran Ernie Andrews. For this set, he is joined by a four-piece rhythm section that includes pianist Aaron Graves and guitarist Dom Minasi, plus either Teddy Edwards or Houston Person on tenor. Andrews is quite expressive and bluesy throughout the set, and in particularly fine form on Edwards' "Don't Touch Me," "Everybody's Somebody's Fool," "That's What I Thought You Said" (which is humorous, if repetitive), and "A Cottage for Sale," even if the words for "Girl Talk" are long overdue to be retired. Recommended.~Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/girl-talk-mw0000006645

Girl Talk

---

Dave Brubeck - On Time

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:24
Size: 111,4 MB
Art: Front

(5:23) 1. Take Five
(6:42) 2. Blue Rondo à la Turk (Album Version)
(1:59) 3. Unsquare Dance
(6:59) 4. Out Of Nowhere
(4:13) 5. Somewhere
(1:57) 6. There'll Be Some Changes Made
(5:50) 7. You Go to My Head
(5:54) 8. Besame Mucho (Album Version)
(4:45) 9. Win A Few, Lose a Few
(4:38) 10. Forty Days

In the 1950s and '60s, few American jazz artists were as influential, and fewer still were as popular, as Dave Brubeck. At a time when the cooler sounds of West Coast jazz began to dominate the public face of the music, Brubeck proved there was an audience for the style far beyond the confines of the in-crowd, and with his emphasis on unusual time signatures and adventurous tonalities, Brubeck showed that ambitious and challenging music could still be accessible. And as rock & roll began to dominate the landscape of popular music at the dawn of the '60s, Brubeck enjoyed some of his greatest commercial and critical success, expanding the audience for jazz and making it hip with young adults and college students.

David Warren Brubeck was born in Concord, California on December 6, 1920. Brubeck grew up surrounded by music his mother was a classically trained pianist and his two older brothers would become professional musicians and he began receiving piano lessons when he was four years old. Brubeck showed an initial reluctance to learn to read music, but his natural facility for the keyboard and his ability to pick up melodies by ear allowed him to keep this a secret for several years. His father worked as a cattle rancher, and in 1932, his family moved from Concord to a 45,000-acre spread near the foothills of the Sierras. As a teenager, Brubeck was passionate about music and performed with a local dance band in his spare time, but he planned to follow a more practical career path and study veterinary medicine. However, after enrolling in the College of the Pacific in Stockton, California, Brubeck played piano in local night spots to help pay his way, and his enthusiasm for performing was such that one of his professors suggested he would be better off studying music. Brubeck followed this advice and graduated in 1942, though several of his instructors were shocked to learn that he still couldn't read music.

Brubeck left college as World War II was in full swing, and he was soon drafted into the Army; he served under Gen. George S. Patton, and would have fought in the Battle of the Bulge had he not been asked to play piano in a Red Cross show for the troops. Brubeck was requested to put together a jazz band with his fellow soldiers, and he formed a combo called "the Wolfpack," a multi-racial ensemble at a time when the military was still largely segregated. Brubeck was honorably discharged in 1946, and enrolled at Mills College in Oakland, California, where he studied under the French composer Darius Milhaud. Unlike many composers in art music, Milhaud had a keen appreciation for jazz, and Brubeck began incorporating many of Milhaud's ideas about unusual time signatures and polytonality into his jazz pieces. In 1947, Brubeck formed a band with several other Mills College students, the Dave Brubeck Octet. However, the Octet's music was a bit too adventurous for the average jazz fan at the time, and Brubeck moved on to a more streamlined trio with Cal Tjader on vibes and percussion and Ron Crotty on bass. Brubeck made his first commercial recordings with this trio for California's Fantasy Records, and while he developed a following in the San Francisco Bay Area, a back injury Brubeck received during a swimming accident prevented him from performing for several months and led him to restructure his group.

In 1951, the Dave Brubeck Quartet made their debut, with the pianist joined by Paul Desmond on alto sax; Desmond's easygoing but adventurous approach was an ideal match for Brubeck. While the Quartet's rhythm section would shift repeatedly over the next several years, in 1956 Joe Morello became their permanent drummer, and in 1958, Eugene Wright took over as bassist. By this time, Brubeck's fame had spread far beyond Northern California; Brubeck's recordings for Fantasy had racked up strong reviews and impressive sales, and along with regular performances at jazz clubs, the Quartet began playing frequent concerts at college campuses across the country, exposing their music to a new and enthusiastic audience that embraced their innovative approach. Brubeck and the Quartet had become popular enough to be the subject of a November 8, 1954 cover story in Time Magazine, only the second time that accolade had been bestowed on a jazz musician (Louis Armstrong made the cover in 1949). In 1955, Brubeck signed with Columbia Records, then America's most prestigious record company, and his first album for the label, Brubeck Time, appeared several months later.
(cont.) https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dave-brubeck-mn0000958533/biography

On Time

---

Kent Jordan - Essence

Styles: Flute Jazz
Year: 1988
File: MP3@160K/s
Time: 40:21
Size: 47,4 MB
Art: Front

(7:26) 1. Curtain Call
(5:01) 2. Essence
(5:27) 3. Rio
(4:33) 4. Well You Needn't
(4:51) 5. Moments Notice
(6:39) 6. Stella by Starlight
(6:21) 7. Stablemates

Flutist Kent Jordan's third Columbia set is far superior to his first two rather commercial efforts (No Question About It and Night Aire). Jordan is well-featured on four standards (including "Well You Needn't," which finds him switching effectively to piccolo, and "Moment's Notice"), two tunes by bassist Elton Heron, and Wayne Shorter's "Rio" in a variety of instrumental settings.

With such sidemen as pianists Kenny Barron and Billy Childs, guitarist Kevin Eubanks, bassists Dave Holland and Ron Carter, drummers Jack DeJohnette and Al Foster, and (on the opening "Curtain Call") trumpeter/brother Marlon Jordan and tenor saxophonist Branford Marsalis, among others, Jordan interacts with an all-star cast. Most of the music is fairly straight-ahead, and throughout, the flutist realizes some of the potential that was wasted on his first two recordings.~Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/essence-mw000019508

Personnel: Flute – Kent Jordan; Bass – Dave Holland, Elton Heron; Drums – Al Foster, Tommy Campbell; Piano – Billy Childs, Kenny Barron; Tenor Saxophone – Branford Marsalis; Trumpet – Marlon Jordan

Essence

---

Pete Malinverni - On The Town, Pete Malinverni Plays Leonard Bernstein

Styles: Piano Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:52
gwo Size: 135,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:04) 1. New York New York
(5:36) 2. Lucky to Be Me
(5:18) 3. Somewhere
(5:33) 4. Cool
(6:05) 5. Simple Song
(6:00) 6. I Feel Pretty
(5:56) 7. Lonely Town
(5:04) 8. Some Other Time
(8:04) 9. It’s Love
(6:08) 10. A Night on the Town

Pianist Pete Malinverni's album, On the Town, is subtitled "Plays Leonard Bernstein," and it's an homage he has wanted to put on record for many years ever since he met Bernstein in person while performing at an opening-night party for a production of the opera Tosca at the Met in NYC. Bernstein, he recalls, spent much of the evening hanging around the piano, not with his more celebrated dinner companions. ("Real musicians want to hang out with the band," Malinverni says).

And Bernstein was a real musician, one who loved jazz as well as classical music, as Stan Kenton learned one evening when Bernstein was in the audience for a performance by the Kenton Orchestra of the composer's score for West Side Story. Afterward, Bernstein approached Kenton and said simply, "My music has never sounded better."

Bernstein's music sounds pretty good here too, thanks to Malinverni's discerning piano and unerring support from his blue-chip rhythm section: bassist Ugonna Okegwo and drummer Jeff Hamilton. The music with two exceptions is from Bernstein's Broadway oeuvre (On the Town, West Side Story, Wonderful Town). The outliers are the endearing "Simple Tune" from Bernstein's "Mass" and "(A Night) on the Town," Malinverni's clever harmonic synthesis of several Bernstein tunes, which rings down the curtain.

Bernstein's uncanny ear for a lovely melody is everywhere present, as on "Lucky to Be Me," "Somewhere," "I Feel Pretty," "Lonely Town," "Some Other Time" and "It's Love," each one given its due with a masterful treatment by the trio. The opener, "New York New York," isn't the familiar paean to the Big Apple by John Kander and Fred Ebb but the ebullient anthem sung by a trio of sailors on one-day leave in On the Town.

Malinverni and his mates give each song their tender love and care, refreshing a series of masterworks in a way that surely would have brought a smile to Bernstein's lips and perhaps a tear or two to his eyes. Malinverni is a superb pianist, and there is simply no rhythm section that could lend more earnest and agreeable support than Okegwo and Hamilton. Blend in music by the incomparable Leonard Bernstein, and what's not to like?~Jack Bowers https://www.allaboutjazz.com/on-the-town-pete-malinverni-plays-leonard-bernstein-pete-malinverni-planet-arts-records

Personnel: Pete Malinverni: piano; Ugonna Okegwo: bass; Jeff Hamilton: drums.

On The Town, Pete Malinverni Plays Leonard Bernstein

---