Pamela Hines - Moon Germs

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:30
Size: 146,3 MB
Art: Front

(6:10) 1. Let's Fall In Love
(6:47) 2. Itchy
(6:17) 3. Fools Rush In
(5:03) 4. Moon Germs
(7:45) 5. Lavender
(4:40) 6. Complications
(5:16) 7. Variations on Invitation
(6:08) 8. Show Type Tune
(2:59) 9. Zonegar
(5:55) 10. Christopher Street
(6:24) 11. Variations on Invitations (Alternate Version)

Recording the real first varied-style, high energy album of her career, pianist Pamela Hines unveils Moon Germs, titled after the Joe Farrell composition, with longtime band mates, bassist John Lockwood and drummer Bob Gullotti, on an eclectic blend of driving rhythms and freer interpretations of modern jazz. With this album, Hines attempts a different approach and a new twist to some familiar music. She wastes no time accepting the challenge, proceeding to play the opening "Let's Fall In Love" as an up-tempo piece in 5/4 time.

"Itchy" is the first of two pieces featuring trumpeter Darren Barrett and tenor saxophonist Greg Dudziensky as special guests, with an intricate melody that weaves between modern and a New Orleans groove. Hines' ballad "Lavender," is the only other quintet number, offering a warm melody and structure. Johnny Mercer's classic, "Fools Rush In," is the first tune taking the trio into cushy ballad territory, incorporating a series of sensitive piano lines behind Gullotti's delicate brush work.

Originally a funk-oriented blues, the title track is revamped and rearranged, leaving no trace of its funk origin and developing a more modern jazz texture, showcasing Gullotti 's rumbling drum solo. Speaking of revamping original compositions, the 1944 Bronislau Kaper jazz standard, "Invitation," is hardly recognizable in two versions called "Variations On Invitation," as Hines and crew recast the piece as a free jazz number, the album closer providing an alternate take.

Referred to as a trio in the Bill Evans tradition, Hines' group grinds out the piano legend's original, "Show Type Tune," in spectacularly high energy, bop-ish fashion, worthy of comparison. The brief "Zonegar" pays tribute to master saxophonist George Garzone, a founding member of the 1972 The Fringe trio, which also included Hines' band mates Lockwood and Gullotti.

An unconventional reading of modern jazz, Hines ventures into new and exciting territory, presenting a unique approach to a select number of jazz standards to accompany the vibrant originals included on Moon Germs a truly entertaining, accessible and challenging piece of work. By Edward Blanco
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/moon-germs-pamela-hines-self-produced-review-by-edward-blanco

Personnel: Pamela Hines: piano; John Lockwood: bass, Bob Gullotti: drums; Greg Dudziensky: tenor saxophone ( 2, 5 ); Darren Barrett: trumpet ( 2, 5 ).

Moon Germs

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Hal Galper Feat John Scofield - Ivory Forest Redux

Styles: Piano And Guitar Jazz
Year: 2022
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:16
Size: 92,8 MB
Art: Front

(7:36) 1. Ivory Forest
(6:39) 2. Continuity
(6:34) 3. My Dog Spot
(6:02) 4. Monk's Mood
(3:47) 5. Yellow Days
(9:34) 6. Rapunzel's Luncheonette

Around the early 90’s when my John Scofield fascination led me back to his catalog prior to his Miles Davis association, I picked up his 1978 Rough House CD. While the guitarist’s advanced bop vocabulary was already fully developed by this time and he also demonstrated emerging composing chops this early on, this was a very different record than the ones he has made from, say, Still Warm onward. His signature tone wasn’t fully in place yet and he was a more balls-to-the-wall player back then. This is also one of the fairly infrequent times Sco is leading a band that included an acoustic pianist. These recordings don’t present the John Scofield that put him in the elite status he enjoys today but taken on its own merits, Rough House remains a solid jazz record today.

However, this article isn’t about Scofield specifically, it’s about the guy who played piano on that old record, Hal Galper. Less than a year after the two recorded Rough House with Adam Nussbaum on drums and Stafford Jones on bass, Scofield, Galper and Nussbaum with bassist Wayne Dockery made a similar record Ivory Forest, this time under Galper’s leadership.

While not quite a household name, Hal Galper has led a jazz career that can only be deemed a success. He’s worked with luminaries such as Chet Baker, Stan Getz, Joe Williams and Anita O’Day. He had stints in the bands of Cannonball Adderley and Phil Woods. At this writing, he’s on the faculty of both the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music and William Paterson College. But my introduction to Galper came from his late 70’s association with Scofield.

They gigged together, primarily in NYC and Europe, and both made records for the West German Enja label. Ivory Forest, in fact, was originally issued co-headlined by Galper and Scofield, which made sense because this was ostensibly supposed to be a Scofield record but he was unable to officially lead the date due to just signing with another record company.

Scofield even has a track all to himself: an unaccompanied interpretation of “Monk’s Mood” that solves the riddle of Thelonious’ gorgeously elusive melody as he directs his big time chops toward making the song even more beautiful.

But all the originals here are Galper’s, and beginning with the title track, Galper reveals himself to be tradition-anchored but forward-looking. He throws gauntlets at Nussbaum that pushes the ever-shifting rhythm in and out of the jazz idiom, and Nussbaum handles it with equanimity. Meanwhile, Galper’s soloing (and comping) is fresh and contemporary.

While that song is groove-based, “Continuity” is introspective, made even more so by the intimacy of this being a Galper/Scofield duet. Galper uses single-line notes with discretion, showing a bias for the orchestral possibilities afforded by the full chordal capabilities of the piano. For his part, Scofield had noticeably widened his range from the prior year’s recordings.

“My Dog Spot” is a spritely change of pace, a Brazilian samba involving the whole quartet but Galper’s chord changes contain vague echoes of “Giant Steps” and Scofield seems to be mining this festive melodic progression for all it’s worth. “Rapunzel’s Luncheonette,” with its quicksilver and knotty post-bop lines, is the closest this album comes to Rough House but instead of Scofield doing a scorching five-minute run, it’s Galper. Behind his and Sco’s clinics, Nussbaum is putting one on of his own.

Galper takes on Álvaro Carrillo’s standard “Yellow Days” with only Dockery in tow, sticking to a presentation that brings out the pleasing melody that found its way into the repertoire of Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis and Count Basie, among others.

Sadly, Ivory Forest had been out of print stateside for a long time, perhaps twenty years or so. Origin Records had apparently licensed the rights to the masters from Enja and under Galper’s supervision, the tapes were remastered for release in late 2022 as Ivory Forest Redux. Thumbs up on the remaster job, too, as it’s easy to hear the separation between the players and gain a good appreciation of how well they were attuned to one another.

Hal Galper’s Ivory Forest Redux easily justifies the decision to polish up these recordings and take them back out of obscurity. Artists well-known and should be better-known all shine on it. By S. Victor Aaron https://somethingelsereviews.com/2023/01/01/hal-galper-feat-john-scofield-ivory-forest-redux-1979-2022-reissue/

Personnel: Piano – Hal Galper (tracks: 1 to 3, 5, 6); Bass – Wayne Dockery (tracks: 1, 3, 5, 6); Drums – Adam Nussbaum (tracks: 1, 3, 6); Guitar – John Scofield (tracks: 1 to 4, 6).

Ivory Forest Redux

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Fred Hersch & Esperanza Spalding - Alive at The Village Vanguard

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Time: 67:32
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 155,0 MB
Art: Front

( 9:32) 1. But Not For Me
( 7:36) 2. Dream Of Monk
( 9:03) 3. Little Suede Shoes
(12:03) 4. Girl Talk
( 6:35) 5. Evidence
( 8:29) 6. Some Other Time
( 9:37) 7. Loro
( 4:34) 8. A Wish

Alive at the Village Vanguard captures pianist Fred Hersch and vocalist Esperanza Spalding in an intimate yet inventively expressive duo performance. On first glance, the combination of Hersch (a veteran performer known for his lyrical standards work) and Spalding (a virtuoso bassist and singer known for her highly conceptual, genre-bending albums) may seem like an odd pairing.

Yet there's an unconventional, somewhat maverick, streak running through both artists, one that balances a core respect for the jazz tradition with a desire to draw inspiration from other mediums like art, poetry, and literature. It's that vibrant combination that Hersch explored on his Walt Whitman-inspired Leaves of Grass album and one which Spalding brought to her own poetry-driven concept albums like Emily's D+Evolution. That adventurous, poetic spirit also drives Alive at the Village Vanguard. Recorded in 2018 at the storied Greenwich Village club, the album finds the duo communing over a well-curated set of standards that they bend to their boldly expressive improvisational will.

While her early work touched upon standards and bossa nova favorites, Spalding's most recent albums (Twelve Little Spells and Songwrights Apothecary Lab) were more experimental in tone, stylistically closer to prog rock and avant-garde singer/songwriter pop. She doesn't play the bass here, choosing instead to dig deep into her vocals and use each song as a springboard to spin out wholly new lyrics and melodies that make each track her own. Similarly, Hersch is unfettered throughout, offering extended intros and instrumental passages that spiral outward and back again with freewheeling bliss. Together, they seem to magically stumble into unexpected flights of fancy, as when Spalding expounds upon the lyrics to "But Not for Me," analyzing and reframing lyricist Ira Gershwin's Shakespearean word choice with a gleeful sense of irony, singing "'Oh, 'Alas,' I get that one, 'hi-ho,' not so much."

Or how she expounds on Neil Hefti and Bobby Troupe's "Girl Talk," reframing the meaning of the song on the fly with a humorous, slyly feminist point of view and bold harmonic asides that Hersch never fails to underscore with his own colorfully wry chords. Elsewhere, Spalding displays her lithe vocal skills, singing Thelonious Monk's "Evidence" in wordless vocalese, punctuating her lines with a modern tap dancer's guttural swagger as Hersch twirls around her. Much more than simply a lively jazz standards album, Alive at the Village Vanguard captures these two jazz kindred spirits in joyous, creative play. By Matt Collar
https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/alive-at-the-village-vanguard-mr0005869165

Personnel: Piano, Producer – Fred Hersc; Vocals, Producer – Esperanza Spalding

Alive at the Village Vanguard

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Terrell Stafford - This Side Of Strayhorn

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 69:13
Size: 158.5 MB
Styles: Trumpet jazz
Year: 2011
Art: Front

[7:53] 1. Raincheck
[8:54] 2. Smada
[7:17] 3. My Little Brown Book
[7:39] 4. Lush Life
[8:38] 5. Multicolored Blue
[7:07] 6. U.M.M.G. (Upper Manhattan Medical Group)
[8:14] 7. Lana Turner
[7:03] 8. Day Dream
[6:25] 9. Johnny Come Lately

Trumpeter Terell Stafford's 2011 effort This Side of Strayhorn features the hornman performing a series of classic and lesser-known compositions from Duke Ellington's longtime collaborator Billy Strayhorn. Born out of his week-long participation the "Celebrating Billy Strayhorn" fest in Dayton, OH, the album is an urbane and well-crafted affair that finds Stafford wringing much joy improvisationally and otherwise out of these superb compositions. Joining Stafford here are such similarly adept players as saxophonist Tim Warfield, pianist Bruce Barth, bassist Peter Washington, and drummer Dana Hall. To these ends, tracks like "Smada" showcase Stafford's longstanding love of trumpeter Lee Morgan's bluesy and propulsive style, while "Little Brown Book" is a warm, cup-muted number. Elsewhere, the burnished slow-burn blues "Multicolored Blue" and the laid-back and sultry midtempo ballad "Lana Turner" are easily some of the best small group interpretations of Strayhorn you could ever find. ~ Matt Collar

Recording information: Systems Two Recording Studio, Brooklyn, NY (05/17/2010-05/18/2010).

Terell Stafford (trumpet, flugelhorn); Tim Warfield (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Bruce Barth (piano); Dana Hall (drums).

This Side Of Strayhorn

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Mulgrew Miller - Wingspan

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1987
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:18
Size: 124,5 MB
Art: Front

(5:38)  1. Wingspan
(6:48)  2. One's Own Room
(6:08)  3. The Eleventh Hour - Early Take
(5:25)  4. I Remember You
(7:55)  5. Soul-Leo
(7:32)  6. You're That Dream
(7:15)  7. Sonhos Do Brasil (Dreams Of Brazil)
(7:33)  8. The Eleventh Hour - Later Take

A beautiful set from Mulgrew Miller one of his greatest albums as a leader, and exemplary of the kind of underground jazz that was still bubbling strong in the 80s! The set features Miller's quintet with Kenny Garrett on alto and flute, Steve Nelson on vibes, Charnett Moffett on bass, and Tony Reedus on drums led by Miller in a range of expressive styles carried off with effortless ease. There's some really nice numbers on here with a gentle and soulful groove mixing vibes, piano, and alto in wonderful shades of colors and tone. Titles include "Sonhos Do Brasil", "Wingspan", "One's Own Room", "The Eleventh Hour", and "Soul Leo".  © 1996-2019, Dusty Groove Inc.https://www.dustygroove.com/item/476436/Mulgrew-Miller:Wingspan

Personnel:  Mulgrew Miller – piano; Charnett Moffett – bass; Tony Reedus – drums; Rudy Bird – percussion (tracks: 2 5 7); Kenny Garrett – saxophone, flute; Steve Nelson – vibraphone

Wingspan

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Anders Mogensen - Brazilian Moods

Styles: Latin Jazz
Year: 2022
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:23
Size: 88,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:13) 1. That's The Way It Is
(6:32) 2. Pele
(5:15) 3. Estate
(4:46) 4. Pulpo
(5:18) 5. Pacific
(6:45) 6. You And Me
(5:31) 7. Winther

For more than two decades, drummer Anders Mogensen has been one of the most sought after musicians on the Danish as well as the International Jazz scene. He has been a member of ground-breaking bands such as When Granny Sleeps, Jakob Anderskov Trio, Doky Brothers, Kasper Tranberg Yakuza Zhuffle, Lovedale and Copenhagen Art Ensemble. He has toured and recorded with Jazz Greats such as: Bob Berg, David Liebman, Steve Swallow, Marc Johnson, Brecker Brothers, Gary Thomas, Django Bates, Tim Hagans, Cuong Vu, Lew Soloff and Ray Anderson.

Anders holds a position as Associated Professor and head of the Jazzdepartment at Carl Nielsen Academy of Music, Odense. And he has done clinics and workshops throughout Europe, USA, Japan and Brazil.https://www.andersmogensen.dk/

Brazilian Moods

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Dave Liebman - Trust and Honesty

Styles: Saxophone and Flute Jazz
Year: 2022
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:10
Size: 106,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:38) 1. Designs
(5:08) 2. Lover Man
(4:24) 3. Time Remembered (Bonus Track)
(5:32) 4. Come Rain Or Come Shine
(4:43) 5. Stella By Starlight
(1:07) 6. Blind Pig (Bonus Track)
(6:04) 7. Moon And Sand
(2:32) 8. Blue In Green
(5:16) 9. Bye Bye Blackbird
(6:40) 10. Zingaro

Dave Liebman's Trust And Honesty is the third release in Newvelle Records' limited edition audiophile-vinyl autumn 2022 Renewal Collection. It follows Elan Mehler's There Is A Dance and Michael Blake's Combobulate, both previously reviewed on these pages.

Liebman's album is an unassuming little gem. It takes a master musician to take a selection of familiar ballads, give them simple, straightforward readings with an average duration of around four minutes, and come up with something so lovely and compelling. Liebman, more than ably assisted by Ben Monder on guitar and John Hébert on bass, does all of that.

Liebman has essayed a similar venture before, on Classic Ballads (Candid, 1991), in a trio completed by guitarist Vic Juris and bassist Steve Gilmore. On that album, he played soprano saxophone throughout. On Trust And Honesty, he plays soprano on the first seven tracks and flute on the eighth, the closer, Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Zingaro." Monder, heard on electric guitar on the earlier tracks, also switches instruments here, to 12-string acoustic, bringing an understated bossa nova-ish vibe.

Some of the material inevitably brings to mind Liebman's early and mid 1970s employer Miles Davis: Davis and Bill Evans' "Blue In Green," Victor Young's "Stella By Starlight" and Ray Henderson's "Bye Bye Blackbird." Other tunes evoke different, multiple associations: Jimmy Davis, Ram Ramirez and James Sherman's "Lover Man," Harold Arlen's "Come Rain Or Come Shine" and Alec Wilder's "Moon And Sand."

Monder and Hébert drop out for "Blue And Green" but Liebman does not monopolise the album. It is an ensemble affair, all three musicians solo, and on "Stella By Starlight" (also covered on the aforementioned Classic Ballads) he does not enter until over three minutes into the track.By Chris May
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/truth-and-honesty-dave-liebman-newvelle-records

Personnel: Dave Liebman: saxophone,soprano,flute; Ben Monder: guitar; John Hébert: bass.

Trust and Honesty

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Andrea Motis & Joan Chamorro Quintet - Live At Jamboree Barcelona (Feat. Scott Hamilton)

Styles: Vocal,Trumpet And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 75:20
Size: 175,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:24) 1. Exactly Like You
(6:45) 2. Meditaçao
(6:33) 3. I Fall In Love Too Easily
(4:33) 4. Sun Showers
(7:41) 5. Someday My Prince Will Come
(5:45) 6. Moody's Mood For Love
(6:19) 7. Chega De Saudhade
(7:42) 8. Summertime
(6:25) 9. Lullaby Of Birdland
(5:18) 10. Corcovado
(5:16) 11. All Too Soon
(5:27) 12. My Baby Just Cares For Me
(3:06) 13. This Year's Kisses (Bonus Track)

"A friend recommended Andrea to me, and she's definitely a "comer," someone worth a lot of encouragement. I'm frankly tired of guitar-strumming singer-songwriters who do all "original material" because the harmonies of standards (like "Body and Soul" or "All the Things You Are") are totally beyond their reach. Andrea is taking a far more sophisticated path, reminiscent of Chet Baker -in both her singing and trumpet work- than any other musician.

She was in her early teens when this album was made. Her voice lacks mature body and firm, sustaining breath support both her singing and trumpet- but is nonetheless most pleasant, with clear elocution and precise intonation. And her trumpet work sparkles with note choices that are melodic and "hip." You can only hope she has the right teachers and influences to nurture her undeniable talent. Also, one might hope that she doesn't overdo the guitars. I'm not hearing the support of a firm walking bass or of a drummer with a strong hi-hat clap and ringing ride cymbal. Pianos are on the verge of extinction the reason I go back to Bill Evans and Duke Ellington for the majority of my listening. The presence of Scott Hamilton makes this album a no-brainer.
By Samuel Chell https://www.freshsoundrecords.com/joan-chamorro-andrea-motis-albums/6061-live-at-jamboree-barcelona-cd-dvd-featuring-scott-hamilton.html

Personnel: Andrea Motis (vocal, trumpet & Alto sax), Scott Hamilton (tenor sax), Joan Chamorro (bass), Ignasi Terraza (piano & Hammond organ), Josep Traver (guitar), and Esteve Pi (drums).

Live At Jamboree Barcelona (Feat. Scott Hamilton)

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Dave McKenna - Hear Me Now

Styles: Piano Jazz 
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 132:50
Size: 305,9 MB
Art: Front

( 6:39)  1. Lady Be Good
( 5:28)  2. Chinatown, My Chinatown
( 9:10)  3. Once I Loved
( 8:11)  4. I'll Only Miss Her When I Think of Her
(12:02)  5. Comes Love
( 7:18)  6. Fred
( 5:34)  7. September Song
( 9:23)  8. O Grande Amor
( 8:46)  9. The Touch of Your Lips
( 5:44) 10. Life Is Better
(10:34) 11. Holiday in the Sun
( 9:50) 12. Just You, Just Me
( 8:44) 13. Emily
(13:46) 14. It's Alright with Me
( 9:44) 15. On the Alamo
( 1:50) 16. Good Night, Travel Well

One of the top swing-based pianists of the past 25 years, Dave McKenna's hard-driving basslines give momentum to uptempo pieces, and his vast knowledge of superior songs from the 1930s has resulted in many rewarding albums of traditional but fresh music. Although talented from the start, McKenna did not achieve that much recognition until he was already in his forties. He joined the Musicians' Union when he was 15 and picked up early experience playing with Boots Mussulli (1947), Charlie Ventura (1949), and Woody Herman's Orchestra (1950-1951). After two years in the military, McKenna had a second stint with Ventura (1953-1954) and then worked with a variety of top swing and Dixieland players including Gene Krupa, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Eddie Condon, Bobby Hackett, and Bob Wilber (in the late '70s), and was a soloist at piano bars in Massachusetts. 

McKenna had recorded for ABC-Paramount (1956), Epic (1958), Bethlehem (a two-piano date shared with Hall Overton in 1960), and Realm (1963), but in 1973, McKenna's talents finally began to be more fully documented. He led sets for Halycon, Shiah, Famous Door, Inner City (with vocalist Teddi King), and four for Chiaroscuro. And then in 1979 with No Bass Hit (a trio date with Scott Hamilton and Jake Hanna), McKenna debuted with Concord, finding his home. He has made many sessions for Concord ever since, some as a sideman or with small groups, but the best ones being unaccompanied recitals. In the mid-'90s Dave McKenna was at the top of his field. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dave-mckenna-mn0000687586/biography

Hear Me Now

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Charlie Byrd - Forever Cool [feat. Keter Betts & Bill Reichenbach]

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2022
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:08
Size: 150,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:27) 1. Don't Explain
(2:43) 2. Makin' Whoopee
(1:47) 3. Nice Work If You Can Get It
(3:39) 4. My Funny Valentine
(4:42) 5. Satin Doll
(1:30) 6. Interlude
(3:45) 7. Speak Low
(4:15) 8. What's New
(3:24) 9. Django
(1:57) 10. Taking A Chance On Love
(9:41) 11. Taboo
(3:18) 12. My Heart Stood Still
(5:25) 13. Ginny
(3:01) 14. Nuages
(2:22) 15. Um Abraço No Bonfa´.mp3
(2:52) 16. Moonlight In Vermont
(5:45) 17. Four O'clock Funk
(2:05) 18. Cancio´n Di Argentina.mp3
(3:51) 19. Ring Them Harmonics

Charles L. Byrd (September 16, 1925 - November 30, 1999), better known as Charlie Byrd, was a famous jazz guitarist, born in Suffolk, Virginia. He was the only jazz guitarist of that era whose primary instrument was the classical guitar which gave him his uniquely identifiable sound.

Byrd primarily looked up to Django Reinhardt. He moved to Washington, D.C., to study classical guitar with the renowned Sophocles Papas. He later moved to Italy where he studied with Andrés Segovia. In the early 1960's he was on a State Department tour in South America where he was introduced to a new music, the bossa nova, which was the musical passion of Brazil beginning in the late 50's. Jazz saxophonist Stan Getz had been in Brazil about six months earlier than Byrd, also on a State Department tour, where he, too, was exposed to the bossa nova. A short time later Getz called Byrd in D.C. and suggested the idea that they collaborate on a bossa nova album. That album was the introduction of bossa nova to North America.

He is perhaps most well known as a collaborator with Stan Getz on the Jazz Samba album, which featured many themes of bossa nova, and of course, samba.
https://www.last.fm/music/Charlie+Byrd/+wiki

Forever Cool

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Aubrey Johnson & Randy Ingram - Play Favorites

Styles: Vocal And Piano
Year: 2022
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:58
Size: 126,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:09) 1. My Future
(4:58) 2. If Ever I Would Leave You
(1:37) 3. Prelude
(5:32) 4. If I Should Lose You
(4:23) 5. Conversation
(5:38) 6. Olha Maria
(2:34) 7. Didn’t We
(4:57) 8. Chovendo Na Roseira
(4:53) 9. Quem É Você (Close To Home)
(3:58) 10. I’ll Remember April / April
(4:32) 11. Born To Be Blue
(3:51) 12. Bons Amigos
(3:50) 13. My Ideal

Before her 2019 debut album Unraveled introduced her as a songwriter with a keen ear as an arranger and composer, Aubrey Johnson had already earned widespread notice with her bright, crystalline tone and creative versatility via her work supporting fellow vocal explorers such as Bobby McFerrin, Sara Serpa, and Sofia Rei and contributions to recordings by Brian Carpenter’s Ghost Train Orchestra, Joe Phillips’ Numinous Ensemble, and Andrew Rathbun Large Ensemble. Her follow-up, Play Favorites, offers a very different glimpse at an artist who’s still stretching her wings.

Partnering with Randy Ingram, a pianist with a gift for distilling harmonic essentials, the duo project features a ballad-centric program sifted from a wide array of sources, starting with a beguiling take on Billie Eilish/Finneas O’Connell’s “My Future” that accentuates the melody’s gentle contours so that it could have come from the pen of Sara Gazarek. Equally arresting on standards like “If I Should Lose You” and “Born to Be Blue,” Johnson is particularly striking on Joni Mitchell’s “Conversation,” navigating the upper register leaps with the liquid grace.

The brightest thread running through the project is their deep love of the Brazilian Songbook. Singing in Portuguese, Johnson renders Chico Buarque, Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes’ abject lament “Olha Maria” in luminous pastels. Ingram’s love of classical music shines through on their setting of Toninho Horto and Ronaldo Bastos’s “Bons Amigos.” Another standout is Johnson’s take on her uncle Lyle Mays’ “Quem é Você,” which was introduced as Pat Metheny Group instrumental “Close to Home” and recorded most memorably with Luiz Avellar’s lyric by Milton Nascimento. It’s another sublime bloom in a garden, lovingly tended since the mid-20th century, where jazz and Brazilian hybrids proliferate. Johnson’s harvest with Ingram is bountiful indeed.
By Andrew Gilbert https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/aubrey-johnson-randy-ingram-play-favorites-sunnyside/

Personnel: Aubrey Johnson - vocals; Randy Ingram - piano

Play Favorites

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Jan Lundgren - In New York

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:47
Size: 141,8 MB
Art: Front

(7:27) 1. Negotiations
(5:26) 2. East Of The Sun
(7:02) 3. Autumn In New York
(7:36) 4. Stablemates
(4:52) 5. The Gypsy
(7:29) 6. Straight Street
(5:12) 7. M.Z.
(5:51) 8. Cherokee
(4:35) 9. I Can't Get Started
(6:14) 10. This Is For Albert

In sports, coaches like to talk about “putting yourself in position to win.” Jan Lundgren has done exactly that with In New York. He borrowed Bill Charlap’s rhythm section of Peter Washington and Kenny Washington, one of the finest active piano-trio support systems. He recorded at Nola Studios with engineers Jim Czak and Bill Moss and got superb full-bandwidth sound. He assembled a stimulating program of originals, songbook classics (“East of the Sun,” “Autumn in New York,” “I Can’t Get Started”), and jazz standards by saxophonists (Golson’s “Stablemates,” Coltrane’s “Straight Street,” Shorter’s “This Is for Albert”).

Win he does. My only previous exposure to Lundgren’s work was a rather bland album of Swedish folksongs called Landscapes. But on In New York, with the Washingtons smoothing paths for him like two sweepers on the world champion Swedish curling team, Lundgren effortlessly glides and streaks over these songs. His versions of the three songbook pieces are rich, comprehensive and elegantly detailed. The positive energy is powerful and exhilarating. Even Lundgren’s “M.Z.,” for Monica Zetterlund, a wheelchair-bound Swedish singer who died tragically in an apartment fire in 2005, is much more about celebrating her life than mourning her death.
By Thomas Conrad https://jazztimes.com/archives/jan-lundgren-in-new-york/

Personnel: Jan Lundgren (piano); Peter Washington (bass); Kenny Washington (drums)

In New York

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Dave McKenna - Dave McKenna In Madison

Styles: Piano Jazz 
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:37
Size: 144,5 MB
Art: Front

( 4:18)  1. Too Marvelous For Words
(15:25)  2. Vernon Duke Medley
( 3:50)  3. Craziology
( 9:14)  4. Soon Medley
( 5:39)  5. Medley
( 8:19)  6. Exactly Like You
( 5:10)  7. Detour Ahead
(10:39)  8. Time Medley

Too many things have a way of getting forgotten. If you are unfortunate enough not to have experienced pianist McKenna, here's something to think about. I had been hired to start a jazz label. One of my first calls was to McKenna at a hotel in Boston. He was recording on a handshake with Concord at the time and expressed too much loyalty to Carl Jefferson to leave the stable. In coming hedge fund owners changed that dynamic around. The change led him to jazz fan Mat Domber while I was off in other directions. 

The sum total of all that is this live date recorded well away from his stomping grounds. It was never intended to be a record and it's nice to have it escape on a label that'll know what to do with it. Maybe the greatest saloon piano player of our times, this is him simply kicking it out, keeping the audience in the palm of his hand. Whether it was ever supposed to be a record or not, this is a master class of a master at work, doing it solo and swinging like he invented it. A winner throughout. ~ Chris Spector (Midwest Records).

Editorial Reviews https://www.amazon.com/Dave-McKenna-Madison/dp/B07HGBDNXD

Personnel:  Piano – Dave McKenna 

Dave McKenna In Madison

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Chris Hodgkins And His Band - A Salute To Humphrey Lyttelton

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2022
File: MP3@128K/s
Time: 68:23
Size: 63,9 MB
Art: Front

(6:16) 1. Cross a Busy Street
(3:09) 2. Cecil Beaten Strikes Again
(4:30) 3. Tribal Dance
(3:03) 4. Fat Tuesday
(3:34) 5. Susan
(4:09) 6. Holy Main
(3:26) 7. In Swinger
(3:55) 8. Late Night Final
(4:48) 9. Mezz's Tune/Mezzrow
(4:36) 10. We Fell Out Of Love
(3:23) 11. One For Buck
(5:58) 12. Wrestler's Tricks
(4:17) 13. Bad Penny Blues
(4:46) 14. Kath Meets Humph
(8:26) 15. Let's Get Out

This album is dedicated to Kathryn Shackleton and Iain Sutcliffe of Watermill Jazz for their perseverance and hard work in supporting the UK jazz scene. The “Salute to Humphrey Lyttelton” is to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Humphrey Lyttelton’s birth and to showcase his wonderful life, times and music. As a life-long fan of Humphrey Lyttelton, I wanted to highlight how Humph led the way for the jazz revival of the late ’40s and ’50s by bringing jazz to the UK mainstream with ‘Bad Penny Blues’, the first UK jazz record to reach the Top20.

This album and the tour that preceded it is my dedication to Humph to thank him for his huge contribution to and advocacy of the UK jazz scene. What started off as a simple idea ended up with a substantial cast of helpers and supporters to coordinate a consecutive 17 date tour of the UK along with an accompanying album.

I would like to thank: Ina Dittke and Associates for generating the dates; Digby Fairweather and Mark Cass of the Jazz Centre UK for giving me unfettered access to the Humphrey Lyttelton Collection held at the Centre; Steve Voce for patiently answering my questions; Paul Kauffman, Chair of the National Jazz Archive for providing advice on the travelling exhibition and Gina Treadwell who designed the panels; Issie Barratt of the National Youth Jazz Collective who rode to the rescue on “Create Your Tune”, a scheme I devised to highlight how creativity abounds in schools to retirement homes everyday life from raw beginners to aficionados;

Arts Council England and Lottery Funding for generously financing the tour; The 17 promoters, many of whom are volunteer promoters who worked hard to market the tour; Joe Paice of the PizzaExpress Live kicked off the proceedings by booking the first two gigs; Phil Rose at Birmingham Jazz and Elaine Crouch whose knowledge and advice played a large part in securing funding for the project; Jazz London Radio who broadcast my ten-part series “Salute to Humphrey Lyttelton”; Rupert Burley who did a splendid job on the press and PR; Eric Gilchrist and Jane Reid who lent a hand on the leaflets and design; Roger Wilson who road-managed the tour and gave logistical support including driving one of the tour vans ensuring a smooth transition from one hotel to the next;

Selorm Anku for driving the other tour van and being a patient roadie. Susan da Costa, Humph’s manager since 1959 who gave her blessing to create the ‘A Salute to Humphrey Lyttelton”project.

Personnel: Chris Hodgkins | trumpet; Henry Lowther | trumpet/flugheal horn; Charlotte Glasson | baritone sax/clarinet/penny whistle; Diane McLoughlin | alto sax/soprano sax; Alex Clarke | tenor sax/clarinet; Mark Bassey | trombone; Alison Rayner | double bass; Buster Birch | drums; Wayne Wilkinson | guitar; Jinjoo Yoo | piano

A Salute To Humphrey Lyttelton

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Louise Bøttern - Listen Here

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2022
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:00
Size: 103,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:58) 1. Cloudy Treasures
(2:52) 2. I Want To Be A Sideman
(5:38) 3. Listen Here
(4:18) 4. Shine
(3:28) 5. Bye Bye Country Boy
(5:45) 6. A Timeless Place (The Peacocks)
(3:16) 7. Tight
(5:41) 8. Sweet Kentucky Ham
(3:27) 9. Experiment
(4:25) 10. This Could Be The Start Of Something
(2:09) 11. I Like You, You're Nice

Jazz singer Louise Bøttern has always been drawn to the lesser known jazz tunes and particularly to the cool jazz from the 60’s. The american popular songs of the time with a smart and clever wit are still rooted strongly in the jazz tradition. Among the 11 tracks are instrumental originals by Thelonious Monk with added lyrics.

Louise Bøttern was born in Denmark near Randers into a musical family. As a teenager she was singing Chicago blues in the band ”Louis’ Blues Machine”. The blues led her to discover jazz singers like Sarah Vaughan and Carmen McRae and later Irene Kral, Deborah Brown and Nancy King. In fact; Deborah Brown did on two separate occasions compare Louise’s voice to the one of Nancy King.

She studied at the jazz department of The Royal Conservatory in The Hague, The Netherlands and with dedication, hard work and training changed both her speaking and singing voice completely. Studying jazz singing with Rachel Gould and Anette von Eichel she graduated in 2004.

She has been taught by jazz greats as Barry Harris, Mark Murphy, Meredith d’Ambrosio, Sanna van Vliet, Fay Claassen, Deborah Brown and Bob Stoloff.

Now back in Copenhagen she is sharing her passion for singing in her private teaching practice ‘Vokalrummet’. She has played concerts in The Netherlands and around Denmark and while planning upcoming events and doing concerts she is currently working on new material.
https://louiseboettern.com/about/

Listen Here

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The Pointer Sisters - Greatest Hits

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:04
Size: 161.5 MB
Styles: R&B/Pop-Rock
Year: 1989/1999
Art: Front

[6:26] 1. Jump (For My Love)
[5:32] 2. Neutron Dance
[6:16] 3. Dare Me
[3:27] 4. Fire
[6:05] 5. Automatic
[5:38] 6. I'm So Excited
[3:37] 7. He's So Shy
[3:51] 8. Slow Hand
[5:49] 9. I Need You
[6:11] 10. If You Wanna Get Back To Your Lady
[6:19] 11. Freedom
[3:58] 12. American Music
[7:19] 13. Baby Come And Get It

This "Greatest Hits" CD is unlike any of the others that are out by the Pointer Sisters and there are many. This CD gathers all of their biggest hits for Planet/RCA (1978-1985 on this disc). There are only 13 tracks because 8 of the 13 are extended remixes. The material presented here is overall great. The disc only clocks in to 71 minutes because in the late 80s' CDs could only fit a total 74 minutes worth of music. ~Amazon

Greatest Hits

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Judith Lorick - The Second Time Around

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:34
Size: 96,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:42)  1. Why Did I Choose You
(3:22)  2. Lucky to Be Me
(4:54)  3. Wild Is the Wind
(4:38)  4. For All We Know / I'll Be Seeing You
(5:00)  5. He Needs Me
(3:59)  6. If You Could See Me Now
(4:10)  7. I'm Gonna Laugh You Right out of My Life
(5:08)  8. When I Look in Your Eyes
(2:54)  9. Hymne à L'amour
(2:41) 10. The Second Time Around

Lovely sophisticated jazz vocals Judith Lorick – Second Time Around:  An absolutely splendid lineup of players has a lot to do with total success on a new release, and Judith’s got it Down on this one… in addition to her comforting vocal work, you’ll hear piano from Eric Reed, trumpet by Jeremy Pelt, drums from McClenty Hunter, bass by Kiyoshi Kitagawa and tenor saxophone from Chris Lewis… songs like the jaunty “Wild Is The Wind” will make you a believer in Judith’s album, I’ve no doubt – just splendid! (no samples are up yet, since this doesn’t go HOT until the 28th of September; I’ll come back and add them in when it’s live). One thing that would be nice as it gets closer to the official date is a live performance video trailer of Judith’s excellent jazz talent… in the meantime, I can tell you that if it’s “sophisticated” you’re looking for, you’ll find “I’m Gonna Laugh You Right Out Of My Life” very attractive… what’s most unique about Judith’s singing is that she’s (unquestionably) “got the magic”… total groove, as you listen to a piece of her soul not to mention that Eric’s keyboard on this one is pure perfection! If you’ve been feeling “down” or “out”, you won’t be for long when you scope out Judith’s performance on “Lucky To Be Me” her joy simply shines through each and every note on this tune. Of the eleven songs offered up, it’s definitely the classic piece “For All We Know/I’ll Be Seeing You” that is my personal favorite… Judith’s passion in this vocal will dig down deep into your core & bring back memories you’d thought long lost. I give Judith and her fantastic players a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, with an “EQ” (energy quotient) rating of 4.98 for this excellent vocal jazz adventure. http://contemporaryfusionreviews.com/lovely-sophisticated-jazz-vocals-judith-lorick-second-time-around/
 

Personnel:  Vocals - Judith Lorick;  Piano - Eric Reed;  Trumpet - Jeremy Pelt;  Drums - McClenty Hunter;  Bass -  Kiyoshi Kitagawa;  Tenor Saxophone - Chris Lewis.

The Second Time Around

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Aga Zaryan - Sara

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2022
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:33
Size: 112,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:18) 1. Central Park At Dusk
(4:52) 2. Blue Squills
(5:38) 3. Barter
(4:23) 4. Coney Island
(4:37) 5. The Mystery
(5:15) 6. A Little While
(2:19) 7. Summer Night, Riverside
(4:33) 8. Spring Rain
(6:38) 9. Jewels
(5:08) 10. Winter Noon
(4:27) 11. Dzien I Noc.mp3
(0:46) 12. Autumn Dusk

I have been gathering for a few days to write a few words about the new, 11th album in Aga Zaryan's career, because this is not music that is easy to perceive, which can be the background for everyday, prosaic home activities. You have to sit down to listen to this music, just as you sit down in a dark theater hall to watch a performance.

Aga Zaryan, is a Polish jazz vocalist, thanks to her parents (her mother - the author of English textbooks, father a classical concert pianist) part ofShe spent her childhood traveling around Europe and completed her primary education in Great Britain. After returning to Poland permanently, she practiced competitive tennis, winning the Warsaw Championship in the junior category at the age of 14.

Aga Zaryan gained her vocal skills at the State Secondary School of Music. Fryderyk Chopin in Warsaw and in the Policealne Studium Jazzu under the direction of Ewa Bem, obtaining a diploma with honors. As part of the received scholarship, she also participated in jazz workshops at Stanford and Jazz Camp West in the United States.

As the first Polish artist, she can boast of releasing albums under the banner of the legendary label Blue Note Records from New York. She received the Fryderyk Award twice.

Her debut album, My Lullaby , released in 2002, consisted of jazz standards that she sang with the accompaniment of a classic jazz quartet. An important moment in her career was the opening performance of the 2006 Branford Marsalis concert, which took place as part of the JVC Jazz Festival. In the following years, Zaryan performed in numerous clubs and festivals in Poland, Great Britain, USA, Israel, Czech Republic, Sweden, France, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Turkey, Portugal, Russia and Iceland.

The album titled Sara was inspired by the timeless poetry of Sara Teasdale, an American poet living at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1918 for her collection of poems Love Songs . This is not the first time that the singer is inspired by poetry when recording an album ( A Book of Luminous Things to the poetry of Czeslaw Milosz, Jane Hirshfield and Denise Levertov)

The authors of the music on the album, apart from Zaryan, are two outstanding guitarists - Szymon Mika and David Doružka from the Czech Republic. Both musicians are the only ones who performed next to the singer on this extremely intimate album. This unusual instrumental composition makes us deal with a multitude of colors, musical colors, sound spaces, and the musicians themselves play with different styles. In their playing you can hear Pat Metheny, John Scofield or Bill Frisell. Both guitarists have a fascinating dialogue with each other, sometimes even bantering and competing. For me, an unfulfilled guitarist, this instrumental composition provides a completely unusual aesthetic experience.

The voice of Aga Zaryan on the album sounds noble and intimate, and at the same time extremely light. There is a touching sadness in her singing and at the same time a magic difficult to describe, which I absolutely succumb to with each subsequent release of the singer.I definitely recommend Aga Zaryan-Sara's album.>By Jack Bulak
https://wkulturalnysposob-com.translate.goog/2022/12/12/aga-zaryan-sara-intymnie-i-lirycznie/?_x_tr_sl=pl&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc

Sara

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Tom Cabrera - A Standard Afternoon

Styles: Straight Ahead Jazz
Year: 2022
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:11
Size: 150,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:31) 1. This Thing Is
(4:20) 2. This Thing Is (Take Two)
(6:12) 3. Just Us
(5:59) 4. Smiling
(5:35) 5. It's A Mystery
(4:28) 6. Buzz
(7:38) 7. All You Are
(4:51) 8. Fog
(4:23) 9. Fog (Take Two)
(5:27) 10. Especially
(6:09) 11. The Quarter
(5:33) 12. The Wrap

Tom Cabrera’s Unseen Rain recordings include Julie (UR9957) with the Julie Lyon Quintet, the trios Lion Hearted (UR9980) and Sumari (UR9962) and his duo with the quintet’s guitarist Jack DeSalvo have released several albums, among them are Tales of Coming Home(UR9986), Libra Moon (UR9978) and Juniper (UR9966). In addition to being an incomparable jazz drummer, Cabrera is an adept world percussionist, often adding to the proceedings instruments from all over the planet, particularly the middle-east. A Native of Long Island, NY, drummer and multi-percussionist Tom Cabrera began his career in local rock, folk-rock and country bands, but his love of jazz percolated and took over his music making.

Early on both a musician and visual artist/painter, Tom was drawn into the world of graphic arts but music soon took over his life and he became a mainstay on the Hudson Valley NY scene. Cabrera relocated to Orlando, FL, but not before acquiring a frame drum, an event that would prove auspicious to his future work. In Florida Tom gigged constantly, establishing himself as one of the most respected players on the jazz scene there. After meeting his future wife, singer Julie Lyon, they went on to form the Julie Lyon Quartet, a swinging ensemble and released their live album Between Then and Now. Tom and Julie pulled up stakes, settled back up in the New York metropolitan area and assembled a quintet of remarkable musicians for their Unseen Rain Records release Julie (UR9957).
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/tom-cabrera

A Standard Afternoon

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Jesper Thilo Quartet - Jesper Thilo Quartet & Clark Terry

Styles: Jazz, Bop
Year: 1994
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:45
Size: 167,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:10)  1. Sunday
(5:05)  2. Did You Call Her Today?
(4:06)  3. Stardust
(8:05)  4. Frog Eyes
(6:05)  5. Body And Soul
(6:29)  6. Just One Of Those Things
(6:37)  7. Sophisticated Lady
(6:11)  8. Save Your Love For Me
(5:35)  9. Rose Room
(6:41) 10. Wave
(7:16) 11. Ballad For Jesper
(6:18) 12. Cherokee

Between them Jesper Thilo and Clark Terry have covered virtually the entire jazz scene, both with big bands and small groups, and the meeting here produced music which will prove to be timeless. http://www.storyvillerecords.com/products/jesper-thilo-quartet-clark-terry-stcd8204

Jesper Thilo Quartet & Clark Terry

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