Nicole Henry - Time to Love Again

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2021
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:50
Size: 103,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:02) 1. Feeling good
(4:40) 2. Midnight at the Oasis
(4:10) 3. Your smiling face
(5:41) 4. I didn't know what time it was
(6:52) 5. Is it a crime
(4:50) 6. Until it's time for you to go
(5:46) 7. Wild is the wind
(4:53) 8. Love and affection
(3:50) 9. Overjoyed

Nicole Henry has been making a lot of noise, nicely, with her latest album. It is easy to see why.

While critics compare her to everyone from Natalie Cole to Whitney Houston, she really does sound like herself. She swings elegantly and does not oversing. Her intonation, diction and phrasing are impeccable. Henry is the epitome of good taste. She obviously has chops and range to burn, but keeps both under control. She will neither shatter your nerves nor your windows. One suspects that performance is part of her appeal: better to be in the live audience rather than listening through headphones. But, as the The Rolling Stones reminded us, you can't always get what you want.

Her taste in material is good too, ranging from jazz to rock to soul to pop. None of the tunes are original, but Henry puts a distinctive vocal and rhythmic stamp on them. And her timbre ranges from sultry to sweet, as the tune calls for. "Midnight at the Oasis" is undergoing something of a revival, but Henry's version is just different enough to keep Maria Muldaur at bay, which is not easy. Others have also done "What Time It Was," but there are no intervallic gimmicks here. James Taylor? "Your Smiling Face." Really? Yes, Somehow it works, and works well. "Overjoyed" by Stevie Wonder is another favorite, with an intimation of what energy Henry keeps under wraps.

It may be premature to compare her to Sarah Vaughan, as some of her fans are wont. Time will tell, but she is in the ballpark.By Richard J Salvucci https://www.allaboutjazz.com/time-to-love-again-nicole-henry-banister-records

Personnel: Nicole Henry: voice / vocals; Pete Wallace: piano; Jean Caze: trumpet; Aaron Lebos: guitar; Troy Roberts: saxophone; Eric England: bass, electric; Camilo Velandia: guitar; Eduardo Rodriguez: percussion; Dan Warner: guitar; John Michalak: saxophone, tenor; Richard Bravo: percussion; David Chiverton: drums; Gregoire Maret: harmonica; Teddy Mulet: trumpet; Jim Hacker: trumpet; Jorge Dorbal, Jr: trombone; Tom McCormick: woodwinds; Doug Emery: keyboards.

Time to Love Again

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Paul Bley Trio - The Nearness Of You

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:25
Size: 149.8 MB
Styles: Piano jazz, Avant Garde jazz
Year: 1989
Art: Front

[ 5:29] 1. This Can't Be Love
[12:50] 2. The Nearness Of You
[ 7:23] 3. What A Difference A Day Makes
[ 4:31] 4. These Foolish Things
[11:26] 5. Blues In The Closet
[ 6:15] 6. Lullaby Of Birdland
[10:39] 7. We'll Be Together Again
[ 6:49] 8. Take The A Train

Bass – Ron McClure; Drums – Billy Hart; Piano – Paul Bley. Recorded November 21, 1989

Recorded in 1989 and issued simultaneously on LP and CD, the digital version features two extra cuts and thus weighs in at about 16 minutes longer than the vinyl. The first question is why an artist of Bley's restlessness and vision would record a batch of tunes like these old nuggets in the first place. Bley's trio on this date is an estimable one: Drummer Billy Hart and bassist Ron McClure join the pianist for eight standards that range from the title track by Hoagy Carmichael to Oscar Pettiford's "Blues in the Closet" to George Shearing's "Lullaby of Birdland." Bley has an interesting way of approaching standards, which is why this hard bop rhythm section is key to the performances here. While he may approach Richard Rodgers' "This Can't Be Love" as a bebop tune with a modal sensibility -- he found the mode inside the tune's architecture -- Bley's sense of phrasing falls out of all the traditional jazz boxes. His bebop style is full of angular spaces and odd half notes and his modal mannerisms suggest tonal maneuvers requiring notes that go by at a clip (16th, even a 32nd in a major seventh chord run!) in counterpoint with McClure. Of course, this is what makes the man one of the bona fide geniuses of the music -- his manner of reworking something so it is something totally different yet still sounds like itself. In a ballad like the title tune, Bley allows Hart plenty of room to explore with his brushes by creating huge spaces in the melody, not merely by syncopation but by extending the chordal reach of the tune itself and allowing the tempo to hover rather than move toward any particular measure or melodic invention (of which there is plenty). Strangely, his reading of the Carmichael number is deeply moving, and played in a manner that suggests Mal Waldron's with a lighter touch and a longer reach for harmonic structures. The trio's performance of "What a Difference a Day Makes" seems rushed at first, as the musicians slip through the melody like a breeze through a screen door -- but it's all smoke and mirrors. Bley is moving the melody around to find room for McClure and Hart to lay back and coast on where he's taking the harmony, which is into a realm that suggests Herbie Nichols and Bill Evans. By the time Bley gets to Shearing's tune and the closer, Billy Strayhorn's "Take the 'A' Train," he's convinced us all once again that there is something new in everything. While the Strayhorn stalwart may be one of the most recorded jazz tunes in history, it has never sounded like this. Before the melody falls like dominoes and like lightning from Bley's right hand, he moves through a series of Monkish augmented chords that make no apparent sense harmonically until the melody jumps right out of them. As McClure and Hart move to double time, Bley triples and they're off and running, floating back and forth between pitches and key changes, even slipping in a bit of Ornette's chromaticism at the break. The other cool thing is that Bley manages to quote, however minutely, from every other tune on the session in his solo! This date is Bley at his most relaxed and amiable, playing with two veterans who not only handle his sudden shifts in mood and color but, more often than not, texture them in advance of what's coming -- dig McClure's hammer-on run near the end of "'A' Train" and, as Bley follows him and opens the scale up, you'll get a stunning example. This is Bley at his level jamming best. If this had been a cutting session, I'd have hated to be the horn player. ~Thom Jurek

The Nearness Of You

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Akalé Wubé & Manu Dibango - Anbessa

Styles: Jazz Band
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:25
Size: 85,1 MB
Art: Front

(2:52) 1. Ekedi feat. Manu Dibango
(4:13) 2. Gentlemen de Camp Yabassi
(3:43) 3. Anbessa feat. Manu Dibango
(3:13) 4. Otetena Munja
(4:32) 5. Du Bush A Bush
(4:12) 6. African Pop Session feat. Manu Dibango
(5:34) 7. La Colère des Dieux
(3:45) 8. Tinchel
(4:16) 9. Peaceful Homeland

Akalé Wubé is a Parisian band devoted totally to the grooves of 60s and 70s Ethiopian music. Since their beginnings in 2009, Akalé Wubé have been exploring passionately and meticulously the musical goldmine of Swingin' Addis, which they discovered through the “Ethiopiques” compilation curated by Buda Musique. https://www.discogs.com/artist/1984877-Akal%C3%A9-Wub%C3%A9

Members: Etienne de la Sayette: tenor & baritone saxophone, bansuri flute, washint; Paul Bouclier: trumpet, percussions, krar; Loïc Réchard: guitar; Oliver Degabriele: electric bass; David Georgelet: drums

Anbessa

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Stockholm Swing All Stars !!! Vol. 3: Listen

Styles: Swing
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:18
Size: 108,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:20) 1. Pick Yourself Up
(4:50) 2. Poinciana - Where or When
(4:33) 3. Upper Manhattan Medical Group
(3:12) 4. And Clyde
(7:08) 5. The Preacher
(4:13) 6. If I Had You
(2:41) 7. New Shoes
(6:42) 8. The Unpleasantness
(3:32) 9. mr Sven
(6:02) 10. Don’t Get Around Much Anymore

The idea was to form a band featuring the top jazz and swing players in Stockholm. The four horn players in the front line play an important role in the band. With cleverly written arrangements, mostly by Klas Lindquist and Fredrik Lindborg, the band can play softly like a small group and seconds later explode in a big band fortissimo. The rhythm section gives the band a bouncing ground for the solos and ensembles.

The members of the Stockholm Swing All Stars are considered among the best in their field in Sweden. The band plays swing and jazz music suitable both for concerts and for dancing. They often play at lindy hop and other dance events as well as in concert halls.

The Stockholm Swing All Stars have released five albums and one DVD. The most recent album, “In The Spirit of Duke Ellington”, was released in September 2018. They tour all over Scandinavia, and sell out the Stockholm Concert Hall and the Gothenburg Concert Hall regularly.
https://www.stockholmswingallstars.com/about/

The Stockholm Swing All Stars are: Karl Olandersson – trumpet and vocals Klas Lindquist – reeds Fredrik Lindborg – reeds Dicken Hedrenius – trombone Daniel Tilling – piano Göran Lind – double Bass Mattias Puttonen – drums

Stockholm Swing All Stars !!! Vol. 3: Listen

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Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Allen Eager, Brew Moore - The Brothers

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1989
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:50
Size: 102,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:12) 1. Five Brothers
(3:36) 2. Five Brothers (Alternate Take)
(3:54) 3. Battle Of The Saxes
(3:48) 4. Four And One Moore
(3:33) 5. Four And One Moore (Alternate Take)
(3:23) 6. Battleground
(3:17) 7. Battleground (Alternate Take)
(4:35) 8. The Red Door
(4:22) 9. Zootcase
(4:28) 10. Tangerine
(5:37) 11. Morning Sun

The music on this LP recalls the airy "Four Brothers" sound that tenor saxophonists Stan Getz, Zoot Sims and Herbie Steward, and baritone saxophonist Serge Charloff, plied in Woody Herman's band of 1947. For this outing, Steward and Charloff exit, and four become five with the addition of tenor luminaries Al Cohn, Brew Moore, and Allen Eager. The set appropriately kicks off with Gerry Mulligan's "Five Brothers," a tune reminiscent of Jimmy Giuffre's original "Four Brothers" in its fluid and bouncy arrangement.

Three other attractive and similarly disposed originals (one more by Mulligan and two by Cohn) complete the saxophone session from 1949, all featuring swinging statements by each soloist. A 1952 sextet date led by Sims and Cohn is also included, offering up another round of original and buoyantly swinging cuts, bolstered by lively contributions from trombonist Kai Winding and solid rhythmic support by pianist George Wallington, bassist Percy Heath, and drummer Art Blakey. A fine release that nicely showcases the cool, proto-West Coast bop forged by both these soloists and Miles Davis.~ Stephen Cook https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-brothers-mw0000652734

Personnel: Piano – George Wallington, Walter Bishop, Bass – Gene Ramey , Percy Heath; Drums – Art Blakey, Charlie Perry; Tenor Saxophone – Al Cohn, Allen Eager, Brew Moore, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims; Trombone – Kai Winding

The Brothers

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John Scofield - A Go Go

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1998
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:37
Size: 118,8 MB
Art: Front

(6:35)  1. A Bo Go
(6:45)  2. Chank
(5:26)  3. Boozer
(5:12)  4. Southern Pacific
(4:26)  5. Jeep On 35
(2:14)  6. Kubrick
(5:11)  7. Green Tea
(6:45)  8. Hottentot
(6:21)  9. Chicken Dog
(2:39) 10. Deadzy

For those of us who found ourselves swept away by the funk and soulful precision of early seventies releases like the Crusaders' Chain Reaction, John Scofield's latest offering will find a grateful audience too long spoon fed and spiritually starved on lush over-productions. A Go-Go gets down to business with no-nonsense production values and grooves. Scofield's strings sing through melodies laden with R&B hooks and southern fried blues, wailing, jibing, taunting, and preaching to us the gospel of urban funk. Despite what may be a return to safe, familiar radio-friendly territory for Scofield, instead we're treated to an ambitious and yet genuinely felt jazz-pop instrumental. A Go-Go stands clearly as one of the year's top fusion releases-but these tracks deeply mine Scofield's blues and Blue Note roots, such that the "fusion" label can only be applied here in a narrow and out-of-kilter way. Isn't that the case with all strong jazz in the fusion vein? Not to discount Scofield's chromatic flights into bizzare little vignettes and his athletic, angular progressions. What comes through is how much fun Scofield had in crafting and recording these pieces-the side of Sco that can certainly command applause alongside an Anthony Braxton or Cecil Taylor takes a nap in the back seat for the most part. Here hip-hop shuffles dance to the relaxed pumping of Billy Martin's acoustic traps. "Chank" takes off on a classic James Brown vamp, and the mixed chord voicings of organ and Sco's hollow-body honk with texture richer than molassass; clever and hip melodies give way to ferocious soloing underpinned by slamming grooves.

Scofield's guitar and John Medeski's organ are weaving in and out of a urban tarantella twisted further by an ideal and versatile rhythm section. "Jeep On 35" is that light and airy style of fusion propelled by soulful acoustic strumming, that seems made for a summer day's coastal drive. As the grooves escalate, this funky vehicle increasingly overheats into a steamy, intoxicating funk. Given the tasty chunks of Hammond B3 organ and Wurlizter electric piano thrown into the mix, there's a decidedly early 70s NYC urban fusion vibe.The tracks are arranged meticulously with no shortage of delicious, quirky changes-the kind of stuff you imagine popsters of the Walter Becker/Donald Fagen variety taking their cues from. This is what happens when a serious jazz artist again takes their cues and melodic clues from urban streets Scofield's guitar tells his audience about the realities of fast cars and their thundering radios, clamoring dives, and serpentine swaying hips without need for words or synthesizers. Given the general level of musicianship in evidence, Scofield's tracks make for a perfect Sunday afternoon for all who that like their stiff shot of blues chased by the odd chord so characteristic of pianists like Bill Evans or Dave Brubeck. Such is the singular charm of John Scofield, who serves up a jazz concoction that dances that narrow alleyway between extremely relaxed and extremely serious music, and it has all the earmarks of a "breakthrough" for Scofield in terms of airplay (as if radio could really be this hip). ~ Christopher Hoard https://www.allaboutjazz.com/a-go-go-john-scofield-verve-music-group-review-by-christopher-hoard.php
 

Personnel: John Scofield: guitar; John Medeski: organ, piano; Chris Wood: bass; Billy Martin: drums.

A Go Go

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Allison Wheeler - Winterspring

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:16
Size: 142,8 MB
Art: Front

(5:02) 1. Winterspring
(5:57) 2. Something Good
(6:32) 3. Ophelia
(6:13) 4. The Hazel Wood
(2:35) 5. Lines
(7:31) 6. Nose Dive
(5:25) 7. The Giant
(0:53) 8. A Dream is a Wish
(5:52) 9. Love
(7:48) 10. Going Home
(7:22) 11. Dawn

Downbeat’s 2018 ‘Undergraduate Vocal Soloist of the Year’ Allison Wheeler is a rising talent from California (based in the Czech Republic), who’s now set to release her debut album winterspring. The album features leading Czech pianist Daniel Bulatkin and his trio, Max Makagonoy on double bass, Petr Nohavica on drums, as well as guest guitarist David Doružka and Luboš Soukup on saxophone and clarinet. This impressive instrumental ensemble fuses perfectly with Wheeler’s dynamic and folky vocals, creating an extraordinary sound world that dominates each track on the album. Wheeler successfully constructs a world of her own imagination, fuelled by her expansive vocal improvisation, folk-like nostalgia, and love for impressionism. Through crossing genre boundaries and combining various stylistic techniques, Allison Wheeler has created a contemporary jazz album which frequently borrows from folk and world music traditions. This can also be heard in the work of Wheeler’s musical influences, including Russian-American songwriter and vocalist Regina Spektor, experimental songwriter Fiona Apple and Irish American folk-rock vocalist Aoife O’Donovan.

The album begins with the title track ‘winterspring’ and a single-note piano introduction joined by Wheeler’s soothing vocals. The song slowly builds into a web of shifting time signatures and deviating harmonic structures, which are merged with Wheeler’s overlapping main and backing vocals. The lyrics provide a narrative based on the static and calm natural world, contrasting the busyness of the song's texture. Wheeler finds ways to create contrast throughout the track, with climactic and bustling sections instantly followed by more spacey moments, where her vocals shine through beautifully. The interactivity between the backing and main vocal lines can be heard further on in the song, where the melodies repeat each other canonically like a vocal chain heard in a traditional folk song. The prominence of the backing vocals is apparent throughout the album, particularly in the tracks ‘Ophelia’, ‘The Hazel Wood’ and ‘Nose Dive’.

Though Wheeler’s folk-like style shines through in ‘winterspring’, ‘Ophelia’ and ‘The Hazel Wood’, many of the other tracks on the album explore other contemporary jazz approaches. The second track, ‘Something Good’, with its more electronic and synthesised feel, references the sounds used by various musicians in the contemporary jazz scene. Wheeler’s ability to explore the music of the current jazz world while embracing her distinct style makes this album all the more exciting and unpredictable. The track features the virtuosic playing of Luboš Soukup, heard in his elaborate interjections throughout the verses and in his distinct improvisational style.

Wheeler’s impressive scat-soloing becomes more apparent, especially in ‘Nose Dive’, which spotlights her incredible vocal range and melodic creativity. The subsequent guitar solo also demonstrates dulcet originality, becoming more experimental and tonally explorative. The whole band drives the improvisation section to a climax before dramatically falling to a delicate piano moment, which is extremely effective. ‘The Giant’ also exhibits a more experimental side to Wheeler’s compositional style. The introductory sound world is based around the travelling drum line, with occasional high-pitched interjections from the piano, woodwind, strings, and Wheeler’s vocals. The use of extended performance techniques such as trills and growls create a setting which is sonically vibrant and unique.

‘A Dream is a Wish’ becomes a momentary pause from the chaotic nature of the previous track. Wheeler’s acapella singing of this popular Disney song is both nostalgic and soothing, perhaps allowing the listener to connect with the sounds of their childhood. This leads effectively into the graceful and scalic piano introduction of ‘Love’. The piano solo epitomizes the light-hearted feel heard from the starting melody, musically translating this message of love and warmth. The wordless tenth track ‘Going Home’ translates this message also, not through lyrics, but its introspective and sentimental feel. Each song throughout the album has its own narrative which can be heard through the instrumentation alone, making this album a very special and reflective listen indeed.
By Isabel Marquez https://www.jazzviews.net/allison-wheeler---winterspring.html

Personnel: Allison Wheeler - vocals & music; Daniel Bulatkin - piano/fender rhodes/prophet; Max Makagonov - double bass; Petr Nohavica - drums with special guests: David Doružka - guitar; Luboš Soukup - soprano and tenor saxophone/clarinet strings (tracks 3 &4); Lucie Agopianová - violin 1; Šárka Ozgová - violin 2; Zuzana Korenová - viola; Nozomi Sekine - cello

Winterspring

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Duke Ellington - Early Ellington: The Complete Brunswick & Vocalion Recordings (3-Disc Set)

This three-CD set, which has all of Duke Ellington's recordings for the Brunswick and Vocalion labels, dwarfs all of the earlier reissues that Decca and MCA have put out of this important material. Starting with the first session in which the Ellington Orchestra sounds distinctive ("East St. Louis Toodle-oo" and "Birmingham Breakdown" from November 29, 1926) and progressing through the Cotton Club years, this essential release (which contains 67 performances) adds a few "new" alternate takes and rare items ("Soliloquy" and a few titles by the "Six Jolly Jesters") to make this collection truly complete, at least for MCA's holdings (since Ellington also recorded for Columbia- and Victor-owned labels during the same period). With such major soloists as trumpeters Bubber Miley (and his replacement Cootie Williams), Freddy Jenkins, and Arthur Whetsol, trombonist Tricky Sam Nanton, clarinetist Barney Bigard, altoist Johnny Hodges, baritonist Harry Carney, and the pianist/leader, along with the classic arrangements/compositions, this set is essential for all serious jazz collections. ~Scott Yanow

Album: Early Ellington: The Complete Brunswick & Vocalion Recordings (Disc 1)

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 65:27

Size: 149.9 MB

Styles: Big Band, Early jazz

Year: 1994

[2:51] 1. East St. Louis Toodle-Oo

[2:47] 2. Birmingham Breakdown

[3:02] 3. Immigration Blues

[2:48] 4. The Creeper (1st Take)

[2:46] 5. The Creeper (2nd Take)

[3:00] 6. New Orleans Low-Down

[3:01] 7. Song Of The Cotton Field

[2:41] 8. Birmingham Breakdown

[2:58] 9. East St. Louis Toodle-Oo

[3:16] 10. Black And Tan Fantasy

[3:06] 11. Soliloquy

[2:52] 12. Red Hot Band

[3:07] 13. Doin' The Frog

[2:39] 14. Take It Easy

[2:43] 15. Jubilee Stomp

[3:08] 16. Black Beauty (1st Take)

[3:11] 17. Black Beauty (2nd Take)

[2:55] 18. Yellow Dog Blues

[2:58] 19. Tishomingo Blues

[3:15] 20. Awful Sad

[3:10] 21. The Mooche

[3:01] 22. Louisiana

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Album: Early Ellington: The Complete Brunswick & Vocalion Recordings (Disc 2)

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 65:57

Size: 151.0 MB

Styles: Big Band, Early jazz

Year: 1994

[3:08] 1. Doin' The Voom Voom

[2:52] 2. Tiger Rag (Pt. 1 Take A)

[2:51] 3. Tiger Rag (Pt. 1 Take B)

[2:51] 4. Tiger Rag (Pt. 2)

[3:27] 5. Rent Party Blues

[2:29] 6. Paducah

[3:07] 7. Harlem Flat Blues

[3:30] 8. Black And Blue

[2:44] 9. Jungle Jamboree

[3:18] 10. Ain't Misbehavin'

[3:06] 11. Doin' The New Low-Down

[3:02] 12. Jolly Wog

[2:49] 13. Jazz Convulsions

[3:08] 14. Six Or Seven Times (Take A)

[3:04] 15. Six Or Seven Times (Take B)

[2:31] 16. Goin' Nuts

[2:44] 17. Oklahoma Stomp (Take A)

[2:40] 18. Oklahoma Stomp (Take B)

[3:07] 19. Sweet Mama

[3:00] 20. Wall Street Wail (Take A)

[2:58] 21. Wall Street Wail (Take B)

[3:22] 22. Cincinnati Daddy

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Album: Early Ellington: The Complete Brunswick & Vocalion Recordings (Disc 3)

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 68:59

Size: 157.9 MB

Styles: Big Band, Early jazz

Year: 1994

Art: Front

[3:11] 1. Maori (1st Version)

[3:07] 2. When You're Smiling (Take A)

[3:06] 3. When You're Smiling (Take B)

[2:58] 4. Maori (2nd Version Take A)

[3:03] 5. Maori (2nd Version Take B)

[3:07] 6. Admiration

[2:54] 7. Double Check Stomp

[2:56] 8. Accordion Joe (Take A)

[2:57] 9. Accordion Joe (Take B)

[2:54] 10. Cotton Club Stomp (Take A)

[2:53] 11. Cotton Club Stomp (Take B)

[2:46] 12. Runnin' Wild

[2:55] 13. Mood Indigo

[2:57] 14. Home Again Blues

[2:59] 15. Wang Wang Blues

[3:10] 16. Rockin' Chair

[3:02] 17. Rockin' In Rhythm

[2:57] 18. Twelfth Street Rag

[3:16] 19. The Peanut Vendor

[3:07] 20. Creole Rhapsody (Pt. 1)

[3:18] 21. Creole Rhapsody (Take A)

[2:56] 22. Creole Rhapsody (Take Aa)

[2:20] 23. Is That Religion

Early Ellington: The Complete Brunswick & Vocalion Recordings (Disc 1,2 and 3)

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Charles Sullivan - Genesis

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1974
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:08
Size: 92,0 MB
Art: Front

( 8:26) 1. Evening Song
( 5:55) 2. Good-Bye Sweet John (In Memory Of John Foster: Pianist)
( 3:43) 3. Field Holler
( 4:33) 4. Now I'll Sleep
(17:29) 5. Genesis

Trumpeter, flügelhornist, and composer Charles Sullivan pegged as a poor man's Lee Morgan or Woody Shaw toiled in many mainstream or progressive big bands of the 1970s, languishing in obscurity until breaking through with this, his debut as a leader. Using a spare, warm tone, Sullivan was a cool customer in the firestorm of progressive jazz and fusion of the day, adapting those idioms to his own brand of personalized jazz. Because of his many professional associations, he was able to employ true cream-of-the-crop musicians like pianists Stanley Cowell, Onaje Allan Gumbs, and Sharon Freeman, saxophonist Sonny Fortune, bassist Alex Blake, percussionist Lawrence Killian, and drummer Billy Hart to play his original compositions. Of the five selections, each has its own distinctive flair, taking from different modern jazz elements prevalent to the time frame while not stuck in a rut with any of them.

As the very first piece he ever wrote, "Evening Song" is compelling with its Latin beat and modal montuno piano where Sullivan takes an extended solo, with Cowell also featured before the trumpeter returns for more. A solemn duet with Gumbs for the late pianist John Foster on "Goodbye Sweet John" contrasts with the funky fusion tune "Field Holler," with Freeman's stabbing electric Fender Rhodes chord-driven lines, featuring Alphonse Mouzon's powerhouse drumming and the electric bass of Anthony Jackson, with a lyrical and basic Sullivan sounding influenced by James Brown.

The remainder of the recording is a twofold message of despair and renewal, as Dee Dee Bridgewater sings beautifully in the paradox song "Now I'll Sleep," about suicide, with the lyric that one might "choose to lose, afraid to love" with Sullivan's horn in way late. "Genesis" is a 17-plus-minute workout that rises from those sullen ashes with an Afro-modal stance similar to Frank Foster's Loud Minority of the same era. Cowell's piano and the impressive tandem of Sullivan and Fortune's fiery alto sax push the ensemble to the limits of African-American progressive jazz expressionism. This recording received a five-star rating in Down Beat magazine, and while there are too few Charles Sullivan recordings in the marketplace, it's well deserving of this accolade as one of the very best post-bop efforts of its decade, and now available on CD. By Michael G. Nastos https://www.allmusic.com/album/genesis-mw0001879323

Personnel: Charles Sullivan - trumpet; Sonny Fortune - alto saxophone; Stanley Cowell, Onaje Allan Gumbs - piano; Sharon Freeman - electric piano; Alex Blake - bass; Billy Hart - drums; Lawrence Killian - congas, percussion; Dee Dee Bridgewater - vocals

Genesis

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Dave Stryker - Strike Zone

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1990
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 70:15
Size: 161,4 MB
Art: Front

(6:59)  1. Strike Zone
(8:51)  2. Who Can I Turn To
(8:12)  3. I Wish I Knew
(5:14)  4. Twenty One
(9:02)  5. Undercurrent
(5:14)  6. Evidence
(2:23)  7. Some Other Time
(9:33)  8. Going Home
(8:29)  9. Muddy Waters
(6:15) 10. My Shining Hour

Dave Stryker is undoubtedly one of the most talented of the younger generation of jazz guitarists today. This is the first recording by Stryker on SteepleChase. Born in Omaha, Nebraska on March 30, 1957, Stryker has been playing guitar since he was 10. Unsurprisingly he started out on rock guitar but soon turned to jazz because of George Benson and John Coltrane. Dave moved to New York in 1980 and after a short while established himself in the NY scene as one of the most sought after players playing with among others Lonnie Liston Smith, Jimmy Smith, Stanley Turrentine, Freddie Hubbard, Dizzy Gillespie. “… The specific strengths of this album include consistently top-notch performances and a sense of contemporaneity afforded by Stryker’s attractive original compositions enhanced by a willingness to experiment with sound and stylistic approach .” (Cadence)

Personnel: Guitar – Dave Stryker; Bass – Ron McClure;  Drums – Ronnie Burrage;   Piano, Synthesizer [DX-7] – Marc Cohen;  Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Alto Clarinet – Steve Slagle

Strike Zone

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Yellowjackets - Parallel Motion

Styles: Jazz Fusion
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:06
Size: 129,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:32) 1. Intrigue
(6:44) 2. Challenging Times
(5:33) 3. Parallel Motion
(8:49) 4. Onyx Manor
(4:49) 5. Samaritan
(7:38) 6. Il Mio Amico
(5:02) 7. Resilience
(4:48) 8. If You Believe
(7:07) 9. Early

A mid the oversaturated din of the entertainment landscape, Yellowjackets have been quietly buzzing away for more than 40 years. Their initial albums, like 1983’s Mirage a Trois and 1985’s Samurai Samba, fit squarely in that slick, sophisticated, dawn-of-the-CD era that encompasses Shadowfax, Flim and the BB’s, and early Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. Later on, the band enlisted cream-of-the-crop members like drummer Marcus Baylor and collaborated with greats like Bobby McFerrin, guitarist Mike Stern, trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, and bassist Felix Pastorius.

Their recent work has continued in that collaborative vein; 2018’s Raising Our Voice featured Brazilian vocalist Luciana Souza, and 2020’s Jackets XL was an orchestral team-up with Cologne, Germany’s WDR Big Band. Which brings us to Parallel Motion, featuring only one guest (vocalist Jean Baylor) and no specific angles. It simply comprises a veteran band doing their thing spiritedly, inventively, and imaginatively.

Today’s only original Yellowjacket is pianist/keyboardist Russell Ferrante. But there are no voids in this lineup far from it. Tenor/soprano saxophonist Bob Mintzer has been in the band for more than 30 years, drummer Will Kennedy joined in the late ’80s for a spell and rejoined in 2010, and bassist Dane Alderson is a seven-year ’jacket.

Together on Parallel Motion, they demonstrate remarkable agility, chemistry, and borderline telepathy. “Onyx Manor” marries a buzzy drone with stairstep interplay between Mintzer and Alderson, “Samaritan” is patient and enveloping, and “Il Mio Amico” features a ravishing ascendant melody.

If fusion isn’t your thing but you’re of a certain age, Parallel Motion can act as a cozy fireplace of a listen, reminding one of when bands like this dominated the earth. But if you love this musical sphere, it doesn’t get much better than a seasoned Yellowjackets. And their newest offering simply hits
on whatever terms you want it to.
By Morgan Enos https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/yellowjackets-parallel-motion-mack-avenue

Personnel: Russell Ferrante — piano, keyboards; Bob Mintzer — tenor and soprano saxophones, EWI; Will Kennedy — drums, keyboards; Dane Alderson — electric bass, MIDI sequencing; Jean Baylor — guest vocals (track 8)

Parallel Motion

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Charles Sullivan - Kamau

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:29
Size: 139,2 MB
Art: Front

(11:07)  1. Carefree
(11:57)  2. Dreams Die Young In the Eyes of the Native Son
( 9:33)  3. Malcolm
(12:16)  4. Patrice
( 5:37)  5. Last Embrace
( 9:57)  6. Looking For Love

Charles Sullivan (who changed his name to Kamau Muata Adilifu in 1980) was quite active as a member of various Broadway show orchestras during 1981-95 but had only played jazz on an irregular basis during the interim, most notably with McCoy Tyner's big band. His first date as a leader since a Japanese record in 1974 features Adilifu playing his own originals. The frequently modal music is in some ways a throwback to the acoustic scene of the 1970s in that there are long melody statements and a liberal use of vamps. Adilifu's six originals generally develop slowly but are quite effective in setting moods and serving as viable vehicles for the solos of the trumpeter, tenor saxophonist Craig Handy and pianist Kenny Barron; bassist Rodney Whittaker and drummer Victor Lewis are active and alert in support. Everyone plays up-to-par, making Kamau Adilifu/Charles Sullivan's "comeback" record quite successful as creative jazz. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/kamau-mw0000186257

Personnel:  Charles Sullivan – trumpet; Craig Handy – tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone; Kenny Barron – piano; Rodney Whitaker – double bass; Victor Lewis – drums

Kamau

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Count Basie & His Orchestra - Basie's Beatle Bag

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1998
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:24
Size: 86,2 MB
Art: Front

(2:14)  1. Help
(3:20)  2. Can't Buy Me Love
(2:42)  3. Michelle
(3:19)  4. I Wanna Be Your Man
(2:58)  5. Do You Want To Know A Secret
(4:21)  6. A Hard Day's Night
(2:58)  7. All My Loving
(3:03)  8. Yesterday
(2:49)  9. And I Love Her
(2:43) 10. Hold Me Tight
(2:53) 11. She Loves You
(3:59) 12. Kansas City

Many recording artists covered The Beatles in the '60s; even their own producer, George Martin, released George Martin Instrumentally Salutes The Beatle Girls (One Way, 1966). Pianist/bandleader Count Basie recorded two albums of Beatles tunes in that decade: Basie's Beatles Bag (Verve, 1966) and Basie On The Beatles (Happy Tiger, 1969). Both discs contain vital versions of John Lennon/Paul McCartney classics, but Basie's Beatles Bag is rawer and more cohesive. Arranged by Chico O'Farrill, it selects some of the more rough and ready Beatles songs, back to "Hold Me Tight" and "I Wanna Be Your Man," from With The Beatles (EMI, 1963). Revealing much about the tunes themselves, the album is also a fun party album. The faster hits are there, such as "Help," "A Hard Day's Night" and "Can't Buy Me Love," but the arrangement of "Do You Want To Know A Secret" shows the pure swing era influence in its writing. With its beautiful Johnny Hodges-style saxophone solo, it is far superior to The Beatles' version. "Michelle," also, has the authentic Basie touch, his piano evoking his '30s-era band.

The strong R&B origins of "Hold Me Tight" are clear here, its great back beat making it one of the album's most fruitful recreations. O'Farrill throws elements of Nelson Riddle into "I Wanna Be Your Man" and "All My Loving," his gifted understanding of the music also giving saxophonist Charlie Fowlkes a baritone part on "And I Love Her" (a very imaginative touch). "All My Loving" shows, however, that guitarist Freddie Green was no match for George Harrison's soloing capabilities. Instrumentally daring, the grooving Basie's Beatles Bag casts new light on some classic songs, reveling in the rawer bluesy, swing and R&B roots of The Beatles' music. ~ AAJ Staff  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/basies-beatles-bag-count-basie-verve-music-group-review-by-aaj-staff.php

Personnel: Al Aarons: trumpet; Sonny Cohn: trumpet; Wallace Davenport: trumpet; Phil Guilbeau: trumpet; Henderson Chambers: trombone; Al Grey: trombone; Grover Mitchell: trombone; Bill Hughes: bass trombone; Marshall Royal: alto saxophone, clarinet; Bobby Plater alto saxophone, flute; Eddy Davis: tenor saxophone; Charlie Fowlkes: flute, baritone saxophone; Freddie Greene: guitar; Norman Keenan: bass; Sonny Payne: drums; Chico O'Farrill: arranger; Bill Henderson: vocal (8).

Basie's Beatle Bag

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Brasuka - A Vida Com Paixão

Styles: Post Bop
Year: 2021
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:28
Size: 107,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:47) 1. Samba Jiji
(3:07) 2. A Vida Com Paixão
(4:40) 3. Road to Hermeto
(5:25) 4. Marakandombe
(5:35) 5. Deusa Do Meu Carnval
(5:10) 6. Reina's Song
(5:50) 7. Praia Felix
(3:52) 8. La Higuera
(5:19) 9. Confundido
(3:39) 10. Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band

Brasuka first came together as a side project, led by keyboardist and vocalist Rosana Eckert and percussionist Ricardo Bozas , from out of a Sergio Mendes tribute band. You can still hear these roots in this full-length debut. But you can also hear where and how Brasuka's sound branches out into different styles and frameworks and yet retain the warm, inviting and bright sound of their original inspiration.

Eckert's lead vocal on the title track to A Vida Com Paixão ("A Life With Passion") glows with soft yet intense romance, so much like Janis Hansen's in the original Brasil '66 ("The Look of Love" is a great example), a description offered as both comparison and compliment. Piano and keyboard parts often seem to direct the music other instruments play, just like Mendes seemed to conduct Brasil '66 through his own keyboards. Brasuka's frantic raveup through "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" to close this show places the period at the end of all this 1960s afterglow.

"Road to Hermeto" documents the first tune Brasuka composed together. Eckert's voice floats and whispers like clouds of Flora Purim through a bright, jumping melody inspired by groundbreaking Brazilian composer Hermeto Pascoal, while chattering percussion and rhythmic piano keep everything moving in time. Composed and sung by keyboardist Denny Robinson , "La Higuera" extends another lovely musical invitation written in piano and flute to linger in a groove as sunny and warm as a summer day and culminates in a spirited singalong over thick, pulsating percussion. The title track bounces Portuguese vocals atop Caribbean reggae with clattering drums, and ventures through a pinwheeling electric guitar solo before winding up in another fun singalong.

But the opening "Samba Jiji" is the prototype for this set and the best place from which to start. It immediately showcases Eckert's vocal and Bozas' percussion, both steered by strong piano lines into a luscious musical ride as powerful yet smooth as a luxury vehicle. Its closing verses explode into a joyous vocal chorus shot through with saxophone improvisation, police whistles, and other party sounds. "This song best represents the band. It's based on the Partido Alto rhythm which is a different kind of samba that is modern and funky," Eckert explains. "It's danceable, and like many of our songs, has a big sing-along at the end."

"We're trying to create happy music. We want to tell stories and get people to dance. We want to bring people together."By Chris M. Slawecki https://www.allaboutjazz.com/a-vida-com-paixao-outside-in-music

Personnel: Rosana Eckert: keyboards; Tom Burchill: guitar, acoustic; Brian Warthen: bass; Jose Aponte: drums; Drew Zaremba: flute; Jeff Robbins: saxophone, tenor.

Additional Instrumentation: Ricardo Bozas: percussion; Denny Robinson: keyboards, vocals; Daniel Pardo: flute.

A Vida Com Paixão

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Joan Chamorro - Remembering Toni Belenguer

Styles: Mainstream Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:10
Size: 164,0 MB
Art: Front

(6:22) 1. I Can't Get Started
(9:55) 2. Densificación por Fuga
(7:20) 3. Darn That Dream
(4:01) 4. Close Your Eyes
(5:38) 5. Softly as in a Morning Sunrise
(4:09) 6. My Ideal
(5:11) 7. Motel
(6:02) 8. Polka Dots and Moonbeams
(4:05) 9. Angel Eyes
(6:22) 10. Samba Em Preludio
(5:06) 11. Love Your Spell is Everywhere
(5:03) 12. Riviera
(1:49) 13. Motel (Duet)

There are people who have a light of their own, who give off a special energy. People that each time you meet them, even after a long time, always invade you with a special feeling of joy.

People with whom the embrace is absolutely sincere. You know you can trust them. That they exude love. That their music reflects exactly what they are, how they breathe, how they feel, how they think. Toni Belenguer was one of those people, difficult to find and that, once you meet them, you want them to be close to you, because they are loved, because they bring positive energy, with their genius and their existential doubts, but above all for their generosity and love.

I met Toni Belenguer around 2005, when we started playing together in groups with double bass player David Mengual and drummer David Xirgu. We played a tribute to Gerry Mulligan. We played some gigs at the Jamboree and other venues. I remember that playing with Toni was a constant source of inspiration, both melodically and rhythmically. He never ceased to surprise you with his phrasing, with his ideas of overwhelming coherence. In 2008 I recorded an album called “Baritone Rhapsody”, where he played practically all the songs. That was my first recording with Toni.

After that came other collaborations, both in my personal projects and those related to the Sant Andreu Jazz Band. He participated in the JAZZINGS (that's how the SAJB CDs are called) 5 (2014), 6 vol2 (2015), 7 (2016) and 8 vol2 (2017). He also participated in other CDs of the collection "Joan Chamorro presenta": Rita Payés (2014), Marc Martín (2015), Joan Mar Sauqué (2016), Èlia Bastida (2017), Joan Codina (2017) and also in the album "Joan Chamorro Nonet & More Play Alfons Carrascosa's Arrangements"(2017). When in 2020 I received the sad news that Toni had left us, I thought of paying him a tribute, dedicating a concert to him in the framework of the Jazz Festival that I direct: the Jazzing Festival.

From the collaborations that Toni made with us in previous years came a great part of the repertoire that we would perform and that you can listen to in this CD. Themes that he had played with us and in which he left a sample of his art and originality. That was the reason why I invited Rita Payés (I can't get Started ), Èlia Bastida (My Ideal ), Andrea Motis (Samba em Preludio), Marc Martín (Softly as in a Morning Sunrise and Close your Eyes) and Joan Mar Sauqué (Motel and Polka Dots and Moonbeans).

I contacted Francisco "Blanco" Latino to see if we could do an original song and an arrangement by Toni and, from the proposals he made, we finally performed Densificación por Fuga (original) and Darn that Dream (arrangement). The other 3 themes of the CD are arrangements by Joan Monné in which the trombones have a special participation: Angel Eyes, Love Your Spell Is Everywhere and the original by J.J.Johnson, Riviera. For the concert I invited three important people in Toni's career: Perico Sambeat, Francisco "Blanco" Latino and Carlos Martín, three wonderful musicians who immediately accepted the invitation.

During the concert we read a text dedicated to Toni and we presented Sedajazz with a painting by Enric Bastida (Sedajazz is the project of Latino where Toni grew up, where he took his first steps in jazz music and where he has a classroom named after him). On one wall of that classroom is Toni's painting. The painting is the cover of this album! Thank you, Toni, for everything you offered us.

We will come back again and again to your music to remember and enjoy you. I hope you like, wherever you are, this tribute, and that you enjoy it as we did when we recorded it. Always in our hearts!!!!By Joan Chamorro
https://santandreujazzband.bandcamp.com/album/remembering-toni-beleng

Remembering Toni Belenguer

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Acker Bilk - Acker Bilk Plays Lennon & McCartney

Styles: Clarinet Jazz
Year: 1987
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:56
Size: 105,7 MB
Art: Front

(2:22) 1. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
(3:36) 2. With a Litle Luck
(3:24) 3. Imagine
(2:53) 4. Michelle
(3:33) 5. Woman
(2:55) 6. World Without Love
(3:59) 7. Mull of Kintyre
(3:08) 8. Fool on the Hill
(3:28) 9. Ebony & Ivory
(2:56) 10. Nowhere Man
(3:31) 11. Yesterday
(3:06) 12. She's Leaving Home
(3:09) 13. Here, There & Everywhere
(3:51) 14. Pipes of Peace

Acker Bilk was a solid English Dixieland jazz clarinetist who also crossed over into easy listening albums. Acker Bilk Plays Lennon & McCartney probably won't be enjoyed by most rock or jazz fans but it is an entertaining listening experience. One of the interesting things about it is that it includes as many solo cuts from the careers of Lennon & McCartney as it does tracks that the two wrote for The Beatles.

The album's sweeping string arrangements and insipid keyboard lines sometimes get in the way of Bilk's concise clarinet playing but his musical personality still manages to shine through. Bilk mostly sticks firmly to the melodies of the songs but often starts improvising at the fade out. Ultimately, the album may contain kitschy elevator music but it's of the sort that's played in the better elevators and the tunes do show how melodically gifted both John Lennon and Paul McCartney were.
By Nick Dedina https://www.allmusic.com/album/acker-bilk-plays-lennon-mccartney-mw0000651957

Personnel: Acker Bilk clarinet

Acker Bilk Plays Lennon & McCartney

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Matt Wilson Quartet - That's Gonna Leave a Mark

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:49
Size: 123,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:16) 1. Shooshabuster
(5:44) 2. Arts & Crafts
(4:28) 3. Rear Control
(6:37) 4. Getting Friendly
(4:04) 5. Two Bass Hit
(6:58) 6. Area Man
(3:40) 7. Lucky
(2:21) 8. That's Gonna Leave a Mark
(6:57) 9. Celibate Oriole
(4:03) 10. Come and Find The Quiet Center
(3:37) 11. Why Can't We Be Friends

A drummer whose creativity, drive, dedication and infectious joy have garnered him high honors from fellow musicians and critics alike, Matt Wilson is also a perspicacious and activist bandleader. The Matt Wilson Quartet alto and tenor saxophones doubling clarinets, bass and drums is raucous, rambunctious and high energy. Among piano-less quartets, it's more in the tradition of Ornette Coleman, Max Roach and Charles Mingus than Gerry Mulligan or Gary Burton.

The similarities with Coleman's two-sax quartet that paired him with Dewey Redman's tenor, in whose own quartet Wilson played for over a decade, are palpable on tunes with a post-bop vibe like "Shooshabuster" and the out title track, which pair Andrew D'Angelo's alto (more than a little indebted stylistically to Coleman and Eric Dolphy) and Jeff Lederer's tenor. But Wilson also prizes an eclectic and at times proletarian vision that encompasses the classic bop of "Two Bass Hit," with a drum solo inspired by Philly Joe Jones, and the '70s soul-rock anthem from War, "Why Can't We Be Friends?," a track adding female and child voices to make the title message clear.

It also embraces the spirituality of the traditional hymn "Come and Find the Quiet Center," one of the few quiet moments on this CD, as well the Mingus-like accelerations, decelerations and quirky rhythm change-ups of "Rear Control," D'Angelo's composition featuring bass clarinet and clarinet interweaving in a jaunty tune with broad Raymond Scott cartoon theme gestures. Lederer, with the help of 12 notes chosen by his daughter Maya, contributes another two-clarinet track, "Lucky," while bassist Chris Lightcap is represented by his Ornette-ish "Celibate Oriole." Throughout, Wilson leads the charge, creating myriad driving, shifting rhythms and timbres, especially with his unique attack on drum heads and rims.By George Kanzler https://www.allaboutjazz.com/thats-gonna-leave-a-mark-matt-wilson-palmetto-records-review-by-george-kanzler

Personnel: Matt Wilson: drums; Andrew D'Angelo: alto sax, bass clarinet; Jeff Lederer: tenor sax; Chris Lightcap: bass.

That's Gonna Leave a Mark

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Martin Wind Quartet, Bill Mays, Scott Robinson, Matt Wilson - My Astorian Queen

Styles: Jazz, Bop
Year: 2021
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:27
Size: 126,3 MB
Art: Front

(7:35) 1. Mean What You Say
(5:30) 2. Solitude
(6:06) 3. Broadway
(7:35) 4. Peace Waltz
(5:02) 5. E Preciso Perduar
(7:57) 6. Out in P.A.
(5:30) 7. My Astorian Queen
(4:56) 8. There's a Boat That's Leaving Soon for New York
(3:12) 9. New York, New York

Bassist Martin Wind, born in Flensburg, Germany, moved to New York City in 1996 and has called the area home ever since more specifically, suburban New Jersey where he lives with his wife, Maria, two grown sons and one dog. Wind had been in New York for less than forty-eight hours when he was introduced to Maria who lived in an apartment in a predominantly Greek area of Astoria, Queens; soon afterward, she became Wind's Astorian Queen and lifelong companion. When planning his fifteenth album as leader or co-leader of his own groups, to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of his arrival, Wind turned to some old friends to flesh out his quartet and if it sounds like more than a quartet, that is more than likely because the versatile Scott Robinson plays tenor and bass saxophones, clarinet and trumpet (albeit not simultaneously). And if it sounds considerably better than your average foursome, that is definitely because pianist Bill Mays and drummer Matt Wilson complete the starting line-up.

Wind, who also composes, wrote three of the album's nine selections: "My Astorian Queen," "Solitude" and "Out in P.A.," while Mays wrote the meditative "Peace Waltz." New York is prominently represented with Wilbur Bird's swinging "Broadway" and the last two numbers, George Gershwin's "There's a Boat That's Leaving Soon for New York" (from the folk opera Porgy and Bess) and Fred Ebb & John Kander's iconic salute to the city, "New York, New York." Rounding out the program are Thad Jones' light-hearted "Mean What You Say" and the Latin charmer, "E Preciso Perduar," which was brought to Wind by one of his students, a drummer from Brazil.

Although bassists, even when leading a group, more often than not take on a supporting role, Wind takes the lead on "My Astorian Queen," using his resonant sound and marvelous technique to bring its lovely melody to life. Robinson plays tenor on that theme, as he does on "E Preciso Perduar" and "Out in P.A.," moving to trumpet on "Mean What You Say" and "There's a Boat," clarinet on "Solitude," bass saxophone on "Broadway." Wind also carries the melody on "New York, New York," played by the trio without Robinson, as is "Peace Waltz." Wind plays arco bass there, and on "Out in P.A." As for Mays, he is simply one of the best in the business, whether soloing or comping, and Wilson (who solos smartly on "There's a Boat") fits any milieu like the proverbial glove. With My Astorian Queen, Wind and his colleagues have celebrated his anniversary in grand style. By Jack Bowers https://www.allaboutjazz.com/my-astorian-queen-martin-wind-laika-records

Personnel: Martin Wind: bass, acoustic; Bill Mays: piano; Scott Robinson: saxophone, baritone; Matt Wilson: drums.

My Astorian Queen

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Various Artists - Quiet About It (A Tribute to Jesse Winchester)

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:03
Size: 102,0 MB
Art: Front

1. James Taylor - Payday (3:09)
2. Rosanne Cash - Biloxi (3:24)
3. Jimmy Buffett - Gentleman of Leisure (4:36)
4. Allen Toussaint - I Wave Bye Bye (3:33)
5. Vince Gill - Talk Memphis (4:28)
6. Mac McAnally - Defying Gravity (3:56)
7. Lyle Lovett - Brand New Tennessee Waltz (3:53)
8. Lucinda Williams - Mississippi You're on My Mind (4:25)
9. Emmylou Harris/Vince Gill/Rodney Crowell - Dangerous Fun (3:35)
10. Little Feat - Rhumba Man (5:52)
11. Elvis Costello - Quiet About It (3:10)

To many, Jesse Winchester is still best known for his ideals rather than his music in 1967, rather than join the military and fight in Vietnam, he emigrated to Canada, and spent most of the '70s as an exile of conscience. If Winchester had been a protest singer in the manner of Phil Ochs, this might have made him a hero, but his songs rarely reflected his political views, and instead were compact, painterly meditations on life in the South and the mysteries of life and love (though his physical and emotional distance from his birthplace in Memphis certainly provided a powerful subtext to his music of the '70s).

If Winchester's music never quite clicked with a mass audience due to his inability to tour the United States during the '70s or the shifting tides of popular taste, he's long been a favorite among his fellow songwriters, and 11 noted performers interpret some of Winchester's best songs on Quiet About It: A Tribute to Jesse Winchester. Quiet About It is that rare tribute album that gives each artist room to find their own musical personality in these songs, while the 11 tracks still cohere into a whole that reveals the depth and lyricism of Winchester's work.

This hardly represents every worthwhile tune in his songbook, but the 11 here are all winners, and the songs bring out the best in the artists. Lyle Lovett (who was clearly influenced by Winchester's vocal style) finds every bit of sad beauty in "Brand New Tennessee Waltz," Vince Gill brings just the right swagger to "Talk Memphis," Allen Toussaint's version of "I Wave Bye Bye" is lovely and heartfelt, Lucinda Williams is all rough-hewn grace on "Mississippi You're On My Mind," and Elvis Costello's lo-fi take on "Quiet About It" is stylistically bold but true to the song's nature. James Taylor gives one of his best and liveliest performances in ages with his cocksure version of "Payday," and Jimmy Buffett (who spearheaded the project) reminds us that he was a gifted singer before he discovered how well singing about aquatic alcoholism could pay with a sharp take on "Gentleman of Leisure."

Quiet About It came about when Winchester revealed he'd been diagnosed with esophageal cancer, and the artists involved banded together as a show of support (and to generate some songwriting royalties); thankfully, by the time the album appeared, Winchester was in remission, and this splendid celebration of an underappreciated talent arrived while the man who inspired it is still around to take a bow. If you don't know Winchester's work, Quiet About It is a sure convincer of his talents as a songwriter, and if you're a fan, you'll revel in some top-notch interpretations of his songs. Either way, Quiet About It is a must, and one of the finest tribute albums of recent memory.~Mark Deming
https://www.allmusic.com/album/quiet-about-it-a-tribute-to-jesse-winchester-mw0002418862

Quiet About It (A Tribute to Jesse Winchester)

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Jimmy Smith - The Other Side Of Jimmy Smith

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 1970
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:31
Size: 86,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:31) 1. My Romance
(4:07) 2. Why Don't You Try?
(3:37) 3. Bewitched
(4:10) 4. You Don't Know What Love Is
(2:54) 5. Yesterday
(3:41) 6. Nobody Knows
(4:42) 7. Bridge Over Troubled Water
(2:32) 8. Close To You
(4:20) 9. What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?
(3:53) 10. My Way

Jimmy Smith wasn't the first organ player in jazz, but no one had a greater influence with the instrument than he did; Smith coaxed a rich, grooving tone from the Hammond B-3, and his sound and style made him a top instrumentalist in the 1950s and '60s, while a number of rock and R&B keyboardists would learn valuable lessons from Smith's example.

James Oscar Smith was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania on December 8, 1925 (some sources cite his birth year as 1928). Smith's father was a musician and entertainer, and young Jimmy joined his song-and-dance act when he was six years old. By the time he was 12, Smith was an accomplished stride piano player who won local talent contests, but when his father began having problems with his knee and gave up performing to work as a plasterer, Jimmy quit school after eighth grade and began working odd jobs to help support the family. At 15, Smith joined the Navy, and when he returned home, he attended music school on the GI Bill, studying at the Hamilton School of Music and the Ornstein School, both based in Philadelphia.

In 1951, Smith began playing with several R&B acts in Philadelphia while working with his father during the day, but after hearing pioneering organ player Wild Bill Davis, Smith was inspired to switch instruments. Smith bought a Hammond B-3 organ and set up a practice space in a warehouse where he and his father were working; Smith refined the rudiments of his style over the next year (informed more closely by horn players than other keyboard artists, and employing innovative use of the bass pedals and drawbars), and he began playing Philadelphia clubs in 1955. In early 1956, Smith made his New York debut at the legendary Harlem nightspot Small's Paradise, and Smith was soon spotted by Alfred Lion, who ran the well-respected jazz label Blue Note Records. Lion signed Smith to a record deal, and between popular early albums such as The Incredible Jimmy Smith at Club Baby Grand and The Champ and legendary appearances at New York's Birdland and the Newport Jazz Festival, Smith became the hottest new name in jazz.

A prolific recording artist, Smith recorded more than 30 albums for Blue Note between 1956 and 1963, collaborating with the likes of Kenny Burrell, Stanley Turrentine, and Jackie McLean, and in 1963, Smith signed a new record deal with Verve. Smith's first album for Verve, Bashin': The Unpredictable Jimmy Smith, was a critical and commercial success, and the track "Walk on the Wild Side" became a minor hit. Smith maintained his busy performing and recording schedule throughout the 1960s, and in 1966 he cut a pair of celebrated album with guitarist Wes Montgomery. In 1972, Smith's contract with Verve expired, and tired of his demanding tour schedule, he and his wife opened a supper club in California's San Fernando Valley. Smith performed regularly at the club, but it went out of business after only a few years. While Smith continued to record regularly for a variety of labels, his days as a star appeared to be over.

However, in the late '80s, Smith began recording for the Milestone label, cutting several well-reviewed albums that reminded jazz fans Smith was still a master at his instrument, as did a number of live performances with fellow organ virtuoso Joey DeFrancesco. In 1987, producer Quincy Jones invited Smith to play on the sessions for Michael Jackson's album Bad. And Smith found a new generation of fans when hip-hop DJs began sampling Smith's funky organ grooves; the Beastie Boys famously used Smith's "Root Down (And Get It)" for their song "Root Down," and other Smith performances became the basis for tracks by Nas, Gang Starr, Kool G Rap, and DJ Shadow.

In 1995, Smith returned to Verve Records for the album Damn!, and on 2001's Dot Com Blues, Smith teamed up with a variety of blues and R&B stars, including Etta James, B.B. King, Keb' Mo', and Dr. John. In 2004, Smith was honored as a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts; that same year, Smith relocated from Los Angeles to Scottsdale, Arizona. Several months after settling in Scottsdale, Smith's wife succumbed to cancer, and while he continued to perform and record, Jimmy Smith was found dead in his home less than a year later, on February 8, 2005. His final album, Legacy, was released several months after his passing.By Mark Deming https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jimmy-smith-mn0000781172/biography.

Personnel: Jimmy Smith – organ; Ron Carter – bass; Joe Beck – guitar; Jerome Richardson – flute; Gene Orloff – violin

The Other Side Of Jimmy Smith

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