Nicole Zuraitis - How Love Begins

Styles: Vocal Jazz

Year: 2023
Time: 48:08
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 110,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:16) 1. The Good Ways
(4:24) 2. Travel
(7:16) 3. Reverie
(3:40) 4. Let Me Love You
(3:46) 5. Burn
(5:05) 6. Two Fish
(4:21) 7. We Planned, Well Played)
(4:53) 8. 20 Seconds
(4:59) 9. Like Dew
(5:23) 10. The Garden

Outside In Music is thrilled to announce the release of How Love Begins, the provocative new release from jazz singer songwriter and vocal/instrumental powerhouse Nicole Zuraitis. Co-produced by bass luminary Christian McBride, How Love Begins is an ardent, vulnerable and relatable meditation on modern love that solidifies the GRAMMY nominated Zuraitis’ stature as one of the pre-eminent songwriters of our time. Alongside Zuraitis’ soaring vocals and pianistic refrains, How Love Begins features the aforementioned Christian McBride on the bass, Gilad Hekselman on guitar, Maya Kronfeld on organ, Wurlitzer and Rhodes, and Dan Pugach on drums. The album also features special guests David Cook on piano, Billy Kilson on drums and Sonica – a co-led vocal trio comprised of Thana Alexa, Julia Adamy and Zuraitis.

“Perhaps this album should have been called “How Love Begins… and Ends,”” Zuraitis says wryly, commenting on the duality she distinctly presents in the two-part structure of the release. To illustrate the many phases of love, she divides her 10-track collection in halves titled ‘part I: oil’ and ‘part II: water’. This format, which verifies the idea that “opposites attract”, embodies a story of romance initially blessed with harmony yet eventually plagued with discord.

Propelled by the notion that the polarity of love can often be coincidental, Zuraitis conceptualized ‘Oil’ and ‘Water’ spontaneously after a visceral reaction she had to the work of Spanish conservation photographer Daniel Beltrá. She stumbled upon his collection “Spill”, which at first glance looked to her like paintings with beautiful color patterns created from the brush of an artist. “When I learned that the stunnings works of art, with their swirling colors and perfectly placed hues, were actually aerial photographs of the most devastating oil spill in history, my heart sank,” she describes. “The irony was not lost on me. Just like a love that ends too soon, the common thread is that some of the most beautiful things in life can also be the most heartbreaking.”

The Deep Water Horizon oil spill destruction combined with the beautiful scope of Beltrá’s imagery struck a chord with Zuraitis. In effect, How Love Begins efforts to depict the all-encompassing journey of modern love, including the beauty of taking chances, the complexity of desire, the fragility of emotion, the blemishes left when chapters close and the long standing optimism of starting anew. The album was conceived between Zuraitis and Christian McBride in 2021 after several years of dreaming about collaborating. The musical partners first crossed paths at the Red Eye Grill in New York City where Zuraitis had a longstanding residency, just a few months after she placed in the International Sarah Vaughan Jazz Vocal Competition. Following many years of mutual admiration, the two artists finally come together on this fruitful collaboration.

“Working with Nicole was an absolute thrill. She does everything at the highest level: singing, playing, writing, producing, and arranging,” shares Christian McBride. “I’m putting big, big money on Nicole. I can’t wait to see her career explode.”

Musically, How Love Begins pays homage to many of Zuraitis’ favorite songwriters from Tin Pan Alley to today. Similar to the great composers of yesteryear, Zuraitis succeeded in composing material that is raw and relatable, with the potential of living on for generations. “I don’t want to be the only person singing these songs I write” she adds, fervently insisting that her goal is for jazz enthusiasts and professionals alike to add her songs to their repertoire.

The first section of How Love Begins, ‘part I: oil’, places the listener in a musical depiction of the thunderous excitement of a new flame that is just beginning, with slippery twists and turns. In “The Good Ways,” Zuraitis warns “You’re simply dangerous, like shock waves” and later “A little heat, a lot of spice / mysterious, never plays nice.” The adventure continues with “Travel” on which a broad, cinematic soundscape is presented by the rhythm section over which Zuraitis’ vocals soar, seemingly bursting with the desire to maintain the listeners autonomy and freedom.

She explores the vicissitudes of daydreams in her arrangement of the Debussy classic “Reverie” which has original lyrics penned by Zuraitis that meditate on how the mind grows occupied with “undeniable whirlpools of fantasy.” “Let Me Love You” is a poetic highlight with Zuraitis wrestling with the question: “Will you ever let me love you?” and later “Does this game ever end?” We’ve all been there before. But at least now we have a song that keeps us company.

The final piece of “part I” is “Burn” – an up-tempo and brisk jaunt, beginning with a notable counterpoint between Zuraitis and McBride. The band enters leading to a stellar guitar solo. Hekselman glides through the progression with angular lines, followed by McBride with a punchy, walking solo. The final lyric “I think i’ll finally try a new romance” conveniently sets the listener up for part II, though trepidation lurks.

Beginning the second section, ‘part II: water”, listeners dive into the deep with “Two Fish” where Zuraitis admires, “how great, the depth of their love”, painting a picture of storybook endings. The feel-good but filled with disquieting subtext of “Well Planned, Well Played” outlines a recipe for modern love, featuring “caffeine and affirmations”, despite being “deeply overwhelmed.” The album takes an emotional spiral with two thought-provoking numbers: “20 Seconds” and “Like Dew”. Ominous lyrics like “Alarm bells ring a warning sound” and “change flows like blood to the heart, while we’re growing further apart” set the scene. Though the fire was lit in part I, allusions to tears and water insinuate flames turning to smoke. “The Garden” comes full circle with melancholic optimism and acceptance, with the hope of starting again.

“If you listen a moment past the final track you may find faint glimmers of hope for the future, saved for a rainy day,” Zuraitis insinuates.

How Love Begins

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Kenny Burrell - Earthy

Styles: Guitar Jazz

Year: 1957/2020

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 43:40

Size: 100,0 MB

Art: Front

( 9:23) 1. Earthy

( 7:12) 2. What's Not

( 6:16) 3. I Wouldn't

( 6:14) 4. The Frontline

(14:33) 5. Dayee

One of the leading exponents of straight-ahead jazz guitar, Kenny Burrell is a highly influential artist whose understated and melodic style, grounded in bebop and blues, made him in an in-demand sideman from the mid-'50s onward and a standard by which many jazz guitarists gauge themselves to this day. Born in Detroit in 1931, Burrell grew up in a musical family in which his mother played piano and sang in the Second Baptist Church choir, while his father favored the banjo and ukulele. Burrell began playing guitar at age 12 and quickly fell under the influence of such artists as Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt, Oscar Moore, T-Bone Walker, and Muddy Waters. Surrounded by the vibrant jazz and blues scene of Detroit, Burrell began to play gigs around town and counted among his friends and bandmates pianist Tommy Flanagan, saxophonists Pepper Adams and Yusef Lateef, drummer Elvin Jones, and others.

In 1951, Burrell made his recording debut on a combo session that featured trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie as well as saxophonist John Coltrane, vibraphonist Milt Jackson, and bassist Percy Heath. Although his talent ranked among the best of the professional jazz players at the time, Burrell continued to study privately with renowned classical guitarist Joe Fava, and enrolled in the music program at Wayne State University. Upon graduating in 1955 with a B.A. in music composition and theory, Burrell was hired for a six-month stint touring with pianist Oscar Peterson's trio. Then, in 1956, Burrell and Flanagan moved to New York City and immediately became two of the most sought-after sidemen in town, performing in gigs with such luminaries as singers Tony Bennett and Lena Horne, playing in Broadway pit orchestras, and recording with an array of legendary musicians including Coltrane, trumpeter Kenny Dorham, organist Jimmy Smith, vocalist Billie Holiday, and many others. Burrell made his recorded debut as a leader on the 1956 Blue Note session Introducing Kenny Burrell technically his second session for the label, but the first to see release. From the late '50s onward, Burrell continued to record by himself and with others, and has appeared on countless albums over the years including such notable albums as 1957's The Cats featuring Coltrane, 1963's Midnight Blue featuring saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, 1965's Guitar Forms with arrangements by Gil Evans, and 1968's Blues - The Common Ground.

Beginning in 1971, Burrell started leading various college seminars including the first regular course to be held in the United States on the music of composer, pianist, and bandleader Duke Ellington. He continued performing, recording, and teaching throughout the '80s and '90s, releasing several albums including 1989's Guiding Spirit, 1991's Sunup to Sundown, 1994's Collaboration with pianist LaMont Johnson, 1995's Primal Blue, and 1998's church music-inspired Love Is the Answer. In 2001, Burrell released the relaxed quartet date A Lucky So and So on Concord and followed it up in 2003 with Blue Muse. He celebrated turning 75 years old in 2006 by recording a live date, released a year later as 75th Birthday Bash Live! In 2010, Burrell released the live album Be Yourself: Live at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, recorded at Lincoln Center's smaller club-like venue, followed two years later by Special Requests (And Other Favorites): Live at Catalina's. In 2015, Burrell released The Road to Love, recorded live at Catalina's Jazz Club in Hollywood. Another Catalina's live date, Unlimited 1, appeared in 2016 and featured Burrell backed by the Los Angeles Jazz Orchestra. Besides continuing to perform, Burrell is the founder and director of the Jazz Studies Program at UCLA, as well as president emeritus of the Jazz Heritage Foundation. ~ Matt Collar

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kenny-burrell-mn0000068780/biography

Personnel: Kenny Burrell - guitar; Al Cohn - tenor saxophone; Art Farmer - trumpet; Hal McKusick - alto saxophone; Mal Waldron - piano; Teddy Kotick - bass; Ed Thigpen - drums

Earthy

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Lisa Hilton - Seduction

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1997
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:23
Size: 106,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:39)  1. Evening Song
(5:04)  2. Seduction
(3:11)  3. Close to My Heart
(4:29)  4. 29 Palms
(4:38)  5. Missing You
(3:33)  6. Angry Again
(1:46)  7. The Way You Look Tonight
(3:19)  8. Waterfall
(3:44)  9. Desire
(3:01) 10. Getaway
(4:07) 11. Leslie's Song
(4:21) 12. Spanish Dance
(1:27) 13. Remember

"The piano is my friend, my teacher and a passion which soothes my soul and seduces my senses. In composing, I mix my favorite blues, pop and classical styles for a contemporary solo piano sound which speaks to me of today's life. Listen for the whisper of an evening breeze, the splash of a mountain stream, and the rush of Friday's traffic. Listen for anger, acceptance, love, lust, pleasure, pain, and prayer. Now let the music move through you, and listen to the life we share". A passionate pianist and a prolific composer, Lisa Hilton grew up in a very musical family. Her piano has been compared favorably to fellow pianists Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans and George Shearing but her style is all her own. Hilton's beautiful melodies, catchy beats and emotionally played music appeals to listeners of all ages and is played on radio across the US as well as internationally. https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/lisahilton6

Seduction

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Cindy Bradley - Promise

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:02
Size: 101,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:12) 1. A Little Moxie
(4:30) 2. For The Cool In You
(4:21) 3. Drive
(4:30) 4. Night Flight
(4:25) 5. Gimme The Night
(4:30) 6. Promise
(4:09) 7. Cinco
(4:35) 8. Take The Plunge
(4:20) 9. Ani
(4:25) 10. Evening Zen

Cindy Bradley is back with a new album. It is called Promise, and it is her first set of new music in four years. Bradley always stays current with her sounds and the production is always first class. Greg Manning produced and mixed the ten track effort, which are all originals. Let's check out the songs!

The album starts off with A Little Moxie. The title is apt, as is is sort of a lazy song that also shows off her prowess on that trumpet. We love the layering of the horn parts, and the hook features the piano playing right with the trumpet, which enriches the sound.

If you like those dirty grooves, then For The Cool In You will fit the bill. You will notice the funky drum patch, and Bradley's horn play is really chill. This track shows why Bradley is one of the top horn players out there.

On every album, Cindy is good for an EDM style track. Drive is that song. Some artists have difficulty with some of the uptempo songs, but not Bradley. She can do a whole album of dance style music and we would not be mad at that!

In Night Flight, Bradley takes it down a few notches with a slow jam that will leave a smile on your face. Everything is working here, with the slick guitar, airy chords, and the soothing sounds of the flugelhorn.

Bradley keeps it moving with Gimme The Night. She plays the trumpet, tenor saxophone, and trombone on the track, and the background vocals add an excellent layer to the mix. The overall vibe is chilled, but with a little intensity.

The title track, Promise is next. The bassline will remind you of some of the classic soul tracks of the late 70's and with the flugelhorn, trumpet, and the piano play, this is a track where it all comes together. We get a little festive with Cinco. You cannot go wrong with a little Latin flair on any track. We actually think that this needs an extended version. In Take The Plunge, we get another uptempo track to keep you moving. The horn arrangements are refreshing, and the entire concept of the song is so different than the usual smooth jazz song. you can check it out below.

In Ani, the tempo slows down a bit, and this song just feels like home. Mark Jaimes adds the guitar play, and this is a new song to add to your Stepper's playlist. The set concludes with Evening Zen. Just like the title implies, you can just close your eyes and enjoy the music. You can add this to a Holiday playlist and it will fit right in.https://thejazzworld.com/review-promise-by-cindy-bradley/

Promise

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Lisa Hilton - Getaway

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2013
Time: 61:10
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 140,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:53) 1. Getaway
(3:58) 2. Just for Fun
(3:56) 3. Stormy Monday Blues
(4:11) 4. Stepping into Paradise
(7:58) 5. Evening Song
(6:04) 6. City Streets
(3:55) 7. Lost & Found
(5:13) 8. Emergency
(4:42) 9. Turning Tables
(2:55) 10. Unforgotten
(1:51) 11. Stop & Go
(5:59) 12. Slow Down
(5:30) 13. Huckleberry Moon

Pianist Lisa Hilton has made an art out of balancing the simple and complex. Her work speaks with extreme clarity and serves as a benchmark for a less-is-more style of piano playing that appeals to a wide swath of listeners, but it isn't plain-Jane jazz. Hilton has a way of taking a basic idea and stretching its conceptual fabric to the breaking point. Singsong ideals are twisted, contorted and distorted, and rhythmic ideas are pulled out of focus, blurring the firm-time realities that actually exist underneath it all. This form of musical cunning helped to make Underground (Ruby Slippers Productions, 2011) and American Impressions (Ruby Slippers Productions, 2012) so intriguing, and it serves Getaway just as well. Getaway is both a return to standard form and a departure from the norm for Hilton. 

She's working with musicians who've appeared by her side before, but she's left the quartet comfort zone and ventured into trio territory, where transparency and trickery both seem to thrive. Hilton's most frequent on-record collaborator bassist Larry Grenadier and the man who helped her shake things up and put a darker spin on things drummer Nasheet Waits join up again. They both assist Hilton in painting a bluesy picture, where shadows and light share space and the brooding and bright coexist in equal measures. The album takes flight with a dark, cycling pattern that underlines a song that's both diaphanous and direct ("Getaway"). Things progress with jaunty notions, as playful melodic snippets come and go ("Just For Fun"). Both of these formulas, with certain twists, serve Hilton well in other places, but they don't define the album. The music falls into a state of cinematic reverie at other times ("Evening Song"), but excitement and the unexpected are always lurking around the corner ("City Streets" and "Lost & Found"). 

The majority of the program is given up to Hilton originals, but two covers "Stormy Monday Blues" and Adele's "Turning Tables" give the trio an opportunity to try their hand at music of the past and present. The rarely-encountered marriage between stasis and surprise is central to the success of Getaway. Hilton's left hand often acts as a constant, serving as a steady presence and eye in the storm, and Grenadier often grounds the group, allowing Hilton and Waits to color around his bass. Waits remains the wonderful wildcard, as on Hilton's two previous albums, but he tempers his explosive side. Both Grenadier and Waits are far more technically adept than Hilton and 99% of the playing population but they don't flaunt their musical muscle in this setting. 

They both play in service of the music and all three musicians prove complementary to one another. Getaway, more than any other release thus far, provides a clear picture of Lisa Hilton as artist, conceptualist builder, and sculptor of sounds. It also confirms what was already known: Hilton is a conjurer of musical spells, moods and magic who defies easy categorization.~Dan Bilawsky

(http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=44247#.UhaxtX-Ac1I).

Personnel: Lisa Hilton: piano; Larry Grenadier: bass; Nasheet Waits: drums.

Getaway

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Wynton Marsalis - Louis Armstrong's Hot Fives and Hot Sevens

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 73:43
Size: 169,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:48) 1. Potato Head Blues
(4:01) 2. Twelfth Street Rag
(5:48) 3. Skid-dat-de-dat
(4:00) 4. Jazz Lips
(6:31) 5. St. James Infirmary
(3:56) 6. Weary Blues
(4:07) 7. Melancholy Blues
(5:52) 8. Heebie Jeebies
(6:11) 9. Once In A While
(4:05) 10. Ory's Creole Trombone
(7:58) 11. Basin Street Blues
(6:33) 12. Savoy Blues
(3:59) 13. Cornet Chop Suey
(5:46) 14. Fireworks

Recorded in the 1920s, Louis Armstrong’s Hot Fives and Hot Sevens sides are still hailed as some of the greatest and most influential jazz sessions ever captured; musicians obsess over their warmth, wit, and joy to this day. A new live recording by Wynton Marsalis another acclaimed New Orleans trumpeter reimagines classics from those sessions like “Basin Street Blues,” “St. James Infirmary,” and “Heebie Jeebies” for a whole new generation of audiences.

Performed in 2006, Wynton Marsalis Plays Louis Armstrong’s Hot Fives and Sevens assembles an all-star band of Marsalis collaborators (like trombonist Wycliffe Gordon and pianist Jon Batiste) who, together, recreate the magic of Armstrong’s seminal ensembles. There are perhaps no better interpreters of Armstrong’s legacy than Marsalis and his fellow musicians; and, through transposing the timeless music of the 1920s to the 21st century, these expert players deliver technically flawless performances and prove Marsalis’ assertion that all eras of jazz are integrated. https://wyntonmarsalis.org/discography/title/wynton-marsalis-plays-louis-armstrongs-hot-fives-and-hot-sevens

Louis Armstrong's Hot Fives and Hot Sevens

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Kenny Burrell - Sanremo 1987

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1987
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:08
Size: 98,7 MB
Art: Front

(6:39) 1. Blues No.1
(7:32) 2. Summertime
(7:33) 3. Blues No.2
(6:25) 4. Ballad
(8:18) 5. Blue Bossa
(6:38) 6. Body & Soul

One of the leading exponents of straight-ahead jazz guitar, Kenny Burrell is a highly influential artist whose understated and melodic style, grounded in bebop and blues, made him in an in-demand sideman from the mid-’50s onward and a standard by which many jazz guitarists gauge themselves to this day. Born in Detroit in 1931, Burrell grew up in a musical family in which his mother played piano and sang in the Second Baptist Church choir and his father favored the banjo and ukulele. Burrell began playing guitar at age 12 and quickly fell under the influence of such artists as Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt, Oscar Moore, T-Bone Walker, and Muddy Waters. Surrounded by the vibrant jazz and blues scene of Detroit, Burrell began to play gigs around town and counted among his friends and bandmates pianist Tommy Flanagan, saxophonists Pepper Adams and Yusef Lateef, drummer Elvin Jones, and others.

In 1951, Burrell made his recording debut on a combo session that featured trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie as well as saxophonist John Coltrane, vibraphonist Milt Jackson, and bassist Percy Heath. Although his talent ranked among the best of the professional jazz players at the time, Burrell continued to study privately with renowned classical guitarist Joe Fava and enrolled in the music program at Wayne State University. Upon graduating in 1955 with a B.A. in music composition and theory, Burrell was hired for a six-month stint touring with pianist Oscar Peterson’s trio. Then, in 1956, Burrell and Flanagan moved to New York City and immediately became two of the most sought-after sidemen in town, performing on gigs with such luminaries as singers Tony Bennett and Lena Horne, playing in Broadway pit orchestras, as well as recording with an array of legendary musicians including Coltrane, trumpeter Kenny Dorham, organist Jimmy Smith, vocalist Billie Holiday, and many others. Burrell made his recorded debut as a leader on the 1956 Blue Note session Introducing Kenny Burrell technically his second session for the label, but the first to see release. From the late ’50s onward, Burrell continued to record by himself and with others, and has appeared on countless albums over the years including such notable albums as 1957’s The Cats featuring Coltrane, 1963’s Midnight Blue featuring saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, 1965’s Guitar Forms with arrangements by Gil Evans, and 1968’s Blues The Common Ground.

Beginning in 1971, Burrell started leading various college seminars including the first regular course to be held in the United States on the music of composer, pianist, and bandleader Duke Ellington. He continued performing, recording, and teaching throughout the ’80s and ’90s, releasing several albums including 1989’s Guiding Spirit, 1991’s Sunup to Sundown, 1994’s Collaboration with pianist LaMont Johnson, 1995’s Primal Blue, and 1998’s church music-inspired Love Is the Answer. In 2001, Burrell released the relaxed quartet date A Lucky So and So on Concord and followed it up in 2003 with Blue Muse. He celebrated turning 75 years old in 2006 by recording a live date, released a year later as 75th Birthday Bash Live! In 2010, Burrell released another live album, Be Yourself: Live at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, recorded at Lincoln Center’s smaller club-like venue. Besides continuing to perform, Burrell is the founder and director of the Jazz Studies Program at UCLA as well as President Emeritus of the Jazz Heritage Foundation. ~ Matt Collar https://www.bluenote.com/artist/kenny-burrell/

Personnel: Kenny Burrell - guitar; Dave Jackson - bass; Kenny Washington - drums

Sanremo 1987

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Rock4 - Back to Basic

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2022
Time: 53:05
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 122,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:59) 1. Human
(4:41) 2. Whole Lotta Love
(3:35) 3. Life on Mars?
(3:44) 4. Teardrop
(2:21) 5. Goodbye Blue Sky
(5:03) 6. Wish You Were Here
(4:00) 7. Unfinished Sympathy
(3:04) 8. Bad Guy
(3:42) 9. Feeling Good
(5:54) 10. Black Hole Sun
(4:44) 11. Land of Confusion
(5:34) 12. Moon over Bourbon Street
(2:39) 13. Blackbird

Back To Basic by the Dutch vocal band Rock4 presents a wide array of reinterpretations of mostly rock tracks, sprinkled in with an occasional non-rock selection to show off the group's impressive vocal skillset. While there's no shortage of talent in terms of the group's vocal capability, I find myself latching on to the more hard-hitting tracks, along with a few other standouts.

Rock4 has a knack for rock music. There's no getting around it, and it's easy to believe from listening to Luc Devens's showstopping range, Phillip Schröter's killer percussion, and the skills of Miklós Németh and Lucas Blommers's backing contributions. The four combine to deliver a rocking good time with both flair and style.

Some of my favorite moments on Back To Basic come when Rock4 throws caution to the wind and hits the ground running, like on Whole Lotta Love. The track has edge, due in large part to the animated and quick percussion which gives the song so much life and really takes over in the track's breakdown section. As for Luc Devens's lead, it just captivates from start to finish, knowing exactly when to offer subtlety and when to just go for it. It's all hard rock at its finest.

More of their flair, albeit in a different way, also comes through on Goodbye Blue Sky. While not hard-hitting, the vocals are more methodical in their delivery of rhythmic parts that are simply pure and graceful. The progressive rock track offers a unique balance of light and dark tones, felt beautifully in the chord execution. And the band's versatility continues with their selection of Teardrop, a somewhat trance-inducing track that pushes the creative envelope, demonstrating how well Rock4 can fill so much space with only four voices.

As Back To Basic progresses, there are a few head-scratching moments that leave me wondering about some of the group's creative decisions. For starters, while some vocal groups have been known to include instruments on their tracks, having two tracks with piano accompaniment is a bit more than my liking. Wish You Were Here and Black Hole Sun both showcase adept piano playing, but at the sacrifice of overshadowing the featured vocals. I'm not sure either track adds much to the overall tone of the album.

The inclusion of Bad Guy initially felt intriguing as it's a pulsing song with many creative avenues to explore. Ultimately, the arrangement seems thin and leaves me desiring more. Other tracks such as Life On Mars? and Human also struggle at times to maintain creative momentum or an additional gear to take the song to the next level.

There is very little vocally that is out of place on Back To Basic. I feel that greater focus on those hard-hitting and energizing rock selections, the album's strengths, is what's needed to take this project from good to stellar.By Brian Alexander https://www.rarb.org/reviews/albums/1863-back-to-basic/

Back to Basic

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Lisa Hilton - Coincidental Moment

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2023
Time: 55:59
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 128,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:14) 1. Anxiety Society
(5:19) 2. Jagged Lil' Blues
(5:22) 3. Happily Go Luckily
(5:47) 4. Blue Tropics
(4:50) 5. Blue in Green
(5:57) 6. Enigmatic Adventure
(4:59) 7. Multiple Perspectives
(3:11) 8. West Coast
(5:09) 9. Coincidental Moment
(5:31) 10. Everyday Anthem
(4:34) 11. Uncommon Poetry

As good as Coincidental Moment is, there is an uncharacteristic sense of sameness infused in many of these bossa blues.

As she notes in the liners, lauded and long-trusted pianist Lisa Hilton intended the music to illuminate the cool energies and history of jazz while relating to these hair-shirt times in which we find ourselves privileged to listen to her music . But perhaps it crossed some invisible line where what has been accepted as gospel from Hilton her buoyancy and vivacious musical spirit are kind of pushed to the background.

Yet it is only human for these coincidental times to pare away at all our truths and Hilton, gifted as she is, still is one of us. So Coincidental Moment, as good as it is, does not partake in such celebrations of endurance and dance as her many previous triumphs, notably 2020's Chalkboard Destiny, 2019's Oasis, 2016's Nocturnal, and 2011's assertive Underground, (all on Hilton's own Ruby Slippers label), but inhabits a darker rumbling left of middle C.

Hilton's innate sense of blues and structure is undeniable and most certainly welcome in a world of dissonance and fracture, but it sounds just the same. From the jumpy eye-opener "Anxiety Society" to the jaunty "Jagged Lil' Blues" to the cool '60s spy movie themed "Happily Go Lucky" Hilton holds close her piano's darker tones. Even with her beautiful, never predictable pentatonic runs, "Blue Tropics" gets its momentum from a darker rhythm. A somber, yet beautiful take on "Blue In Green" adds to the encroaching shade. Like speed scrolling, "Multiple Perspectives" leaves one somewhat unsettled.

Lana Del Ray's "West Coast," a melancholy mix of psychedelica and the blues, fits well into the frame of Coincidental Moment, as Hilton, trumpeter Igmar Thomas, and long time compatriots, drummer Rudy Royston and bassist Luques Curtis make the tune one of their very own. Oddly enough, the title track, one of those Hilton ballads one looks forward to hearing with a fervent eagerness, dispels the fog, as does "Everyday Anthem." The closing "Uncommon Poetry" balances the light and dark in a way only these four can. Coincidental Moment is very good. Just in a different way from what is usual from Hilton.
By Mike Jurkovic https://www.allaboutjazz.com/coincidental-moment-lisa-hilton-ruby-slippers-productions

Coincidental Moment

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Hey My Friends!

The problems with the blog have already been solved and I will try to make up for lost time, bringing fresh new albums to compensate you. Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience and support. Giullia

Sarah McKenzie - Without You

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2023
Time: 56:13
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 129,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:25) 1. The Gentle Rain
(5:04) 2. Corcovado (Quiet Nights)
(2:59) 3. The Voice of Rio
(2:11) 4. Mean What You Say
(3:53) 5. Fotografia
(3:38) 6. Quoi, Quoi, Quoi
(4:22) 7. Once I loved
(4:20) 8. Without You
(5:03) 9. Wave
(4:32) 10. Dindi
(4:29) 11. The Girl From Ipanema
(4:27) 12. Chega de Saudade
(4:08) 13. Bonita
(2:33) 14. Modinha

Jazz pianist, composer and singer, Sarah McKenzie's sixth album, Without You, is a Brazilian jazz project that conveys her love for Brazilian music and culture. It includes a generous amount of Antonio Carlos Jobim songs along with four of McKenzie's originals and a few other selections, all played tastefully, and in her own inventive way.

"I've always loved the music of Brazil, Tom Jobim, Elis Regina, and of course Astrud Gilberto," says Sarah McKenzie. "What I especially love about Jobim is the simplicity and clarity of his melodies, songs that one can remember and sing." Rather than simply recording a typical Brazilian heritage album, she reinvigorates the timeless music with fresh ideas and subtle surprises, adding to it's legacy. By Editorial Reviews https://www.amazon.com/Without-You-Sarah-McKenzie/dp/B0CHJZVC34

Without You

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Don Cherry - Inside/Outside

Styles: Jazz Fusion
Year: 2023
Time: 59:07
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 135,7 MB
Art: Front

(12:49) 1. Mother Of The Veil (Live Remastered)
(14:00) 2. Pitch-field Blues (Live Remastered)
(20:24) 3. Last Of The Hitmen (Live Remastered)
(11:53) 4. Pettiford Bridge (Live Remastered)

As mentioned before, Don Cherry played a huge role in my appreciation of music, from the early days when I switched from rock to fusion to jazz. Cherry appeared to be a great bridge for me to move across genres and to appreciate what is best in many genres, including his openness to world music. He played with so many people, and welcomed any stylistic background for the communal celebration of music. That's why I also like to keep track of any additions to his catalogue, both in terms of own work or as tributes by others.

This is a remastered recording from a bootleg that was already circulating of a live concert in Amsterdam on August 14, 1987. I am not sure how legit the production is, but you can find it in full on Youtube. It was also released in Japan last year by the Necromancer label, and listed on streaming services. The musicians are Don Cherry on trumpet, Carlos Ward on alto saxophone, David Murray on tenor saxophone, and bass clarinet, Mark Helias on bass, and Ed Blackwell on drums.

The concert consisted of four long tracks: "Mother Of The Veil", "Pitch-Field Blues", "Last of the Hitmen", and "Pettiford Bridge", which except for the last don't mean anything to me in terms of earlier knowledge. The playing is good, and so is the sound quality, and the audience is very appreciative and present. All five musicians contribute evenly and with equal enthusiasm. By Stef Gijssels https://www.freejazzblog.org/2023/09/don-cherry-archives-tributes-and-re.html

Inside/Outside

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Bill Black's Combo - Greatest Hits

Time: 24:03
Size: 55.1 MB
Styles: Funk/Soul/R&B
Year: 2005
Art: Front

[2:50] 1. White Silver Sands
[2:08] 2. Don't Be Cruel
[2:17] 3. Smokie Part 2
[2:29] 4. Josephine
[2:05] 5. Hearts Of Stone
[2:00] 6. Tequila
[2:15] 7. Happy Organ
[2:09] 8. Memphis
[3:11] 9. Wipe Out
[2:36] 10. Kansas City

Bill Black had two distinct phases of his career in which he made a notable mark on early rock & roll music: first as the rockabilly bass player for Elvis Presley and then as a bandleader of Bill Black's Combo, which scored numerous instrumental hits in the early '60s. Such is the way of the world that his most artistically important contributions, as one-third of the rockabilly trio that Elvis Presley fronted at the beginning of his career, brought him much less commercial reward than the far less remarkable hit records under his own name.

Black first recorded for Sun Records in early 1954 as a member of a country band, Doug Poindexter and the Starlite Wranglers, who also included guitarist Scotty Moore. That group issued just one single for Sun, but that was enough to make the talents of Black and Moore known to Sun head Sam Phillips, who put the pair together with Elvis Presley. Under the billing of Elvis Presley, Scotty, and Bill, they put out five records on Sun in 1954 and 1955, which are usually acknowledged as some of the finest rockabilly records ever done and Presley at his most youthfully uninhibited. Black was an important part of the early Presley sound with his slap stand-up bass and ebullient onstage manner.

Black and Moore continued to work with Presley until 1958, leaving his band in large part due to disputes over financial terms. Black and Moore had taken one-quarter of the royalties at the outset of Presley's career, but even after Presley had rocketed to stardom with RCA starting in 1956, they were on a mere 200 dollars/week wage. Although Moore would eventually work with Presley again, Black never did, joining a Memphis group that evolved into Bill Black's Combo in 1959. Their instrumental "Smokie," released late that year, made the Top Ten.

Bill Black's Combo stuck to the formula of "Smokie" for many of their subsequent singles: a basic shuffle beat, simple bluesy R&B riffs, and some rinky-dink organ and smoky saxophone lines on top. They weren't too imaginative, but they were quite successful, placing eight singles in the Top 40 between 1959 and 1962, including "White Silver Sands," "Josephine," "Don't Be Cruel," "Blue Tango," and "Hearts of Stone." Their sales were greatly boosted by the suitability of their instrumental rock for background music at bars, clubs, and diners, with many of their discs placed in jukeboxes. They were still charting in the Top 100 as late as 1964, the year they also toured with the Beatles during the British stars' first nationwide American tour.

Black, sadly, developed a brain tumor and died in 1965, shortly before his 40th birthday and before rock historians had a chance to allow him to tell his side of the Elvis Presley story. ~Richie Unterberger

Greatest Hits

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Anita O'Day - Anita

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2011
Time: 37:53
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 88,7 MB
Art: Front

(2:25) 1. You're The Top
(3:13) 2. Honeysuckle Rose
(4:00) 3. A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square
(3:14) 4. Who Cares?
(3:53) 5. I Can't Get Started
(2:25) 6. Fine And Dandy
(3:39) 7. As Long As I Live
(2:28) 8. No Moon At All
(4:06) 9. Time After Time
(2:49) 10. I'll See You In My Dreams
(2:54) 11. I Fall In Love Too Easily
(2:40) 12. Beautiful Love

This is Anita is a reissue of Anita, a 1956 album by Anita O'Day that was re-released in 1962.

It was arranged and conducted by Buddy Bregman and was the first in a series of albums recorded by O'Day for Verve. Norman Granz was the producer on this album, and it was the first album to be released under his new label, thus paving the way for the future recordings from Verve, and this album was O'Day's first stint from the big band recordings of the 1940s and early 1950s.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Is_Anita

Personnel: Anita O'Day – vocals; Milt Bernhart – trombone; Joe Howard – trombone; Lloyd Ulyate – trombone; Si Zentner – trombone; Paul Smith – piano, celeste; Corky Hale – harp; Barney Kessel – guitar; Joe Mondragon – double bass; Alvin Stoller – drums

Anita

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Gerry Mulligan Quartet In Concert – Copenhagen, May 21, 1959

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2023
Time: 67:18
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 154,8 MB
Art: Front

( 8:26) 1. Just In Time
( 4:51) 2. What Is There To Say
(10:01) 3. News From Blueport
( 8:03) 4. I Can't Get Started
( 9:45) 5. Spring Is Sprung
( 7:27) 6. Moonlight In Vermont
(14:04) 7. Blueport
( 4:39) 8. Utter Chaos

Never-issued live work from one of our favorite groups ever headed by baritone modernist Gerry Mulligan his wonderful quartet with Art Farmer on trumpet! The mix of Farmer and Mulligan is fantastic here on long tunes that stretch out even more than their studio performances of the period and, like those, given great piano-less accompaniment from the great team of Bill Crow on bass and Dave Bailey on drums!

Farmer is wonderful throughout young and a bit more raspy than later years, maybe in part because he's on trumpet instead of flugelhorn and his pairing really brings out a more relaxed, almost soulful side of Gerry at times. On two tracks, Mulligan switches his horn for a piano equally great on versions of "Spring Is Sprung" and "I Can't Get Started" next to other long tracks that include "Blueport", "What Is There To Say", "Just In Time", and "News From Blueport". © 1996-2023, Dusty Groove, Inc.https://www.dustygroove.com/item/141150/Gerry-Mulligan:Gerry-Mulligan-Quartet-In-Concert-Copenhagen-May-21-1959

Personnel: Gerry Mulligan (baritone sax); Art Farmer (trumpet); Bill Crow (bass); Dave Bailey (drums)

In Concert

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Ramona Horbath Trio - Carmen's Karma

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2023
Time: 49:25
File: MP3 @ 128K/s
Size: 45,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:57) 1. Claire De Bussy
(5:33) 2. Carmen's Karma
(6:08) 3. La Valse Des Asperges Jaunes
(4:55) 4. Lagniappe
(4:40) 5. Portrait de la Comtesse
(5:45) 6. Enescool
(7:18) 7. Fantaisie
(4:33) 8. Winnaretta Song
(4:34) 9. Caipirinha Com Pedro

Ramona Horvath is a virtuoso pianist with a very varied musical universe. Born in Bucharest into a family of musicians and settled in Paris for a few years, Ramona is very active on the international jazz scene. Here is the third part of the collaboration between pianist Ramona Horvath and double bass player Nicolas Rageau. It comes from a constant search for musicality and an obvious joy of playing together. We let ourselves be taken in by the joyful speech and the elegant swing that springs from it. We love.https://www.parisjazzclub.net/en/69424/concert/2020/08/23/ramona-horvath-trio-

Carmen's Karma

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Imogen Ryall - Imogen Ryall sings the Charles Mingus, Joni Mitchell Songbook

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2023
Time: 41:42
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 96,0 MB
Art: Front

(0:37) 1. Boogie Stop Shuffle: Interlude
(4:24) 2. God Must Be a Boogie Man
(5:55) 3. A Chair in The Sky
(1:03) 4. Duke's Choice: Interlude
(6:30) 5. The Wolf That Lives in Lindsey
(6:37) 6. Sweet Sucker Dance
(0:27) 7. I'se a Muggin': Interlude
(5:37) 8. Self-Portrait in Three Colors
(3:25) 9. The Dry Cleaner from Des Moines
(0:41) 10. Better Git It In Your Soul
(6:22) 11. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat

There has been a plethora of vocal albums released this year. Many of them are very good and some are excellent, and this new release from Imogen Ryall falls right into the latter category. Living and working predominantly on the South Coast of England, Ryall may not be as well-known as some of her contemporaries, and that is a crime.

A regular performer around the London area, she has developed a unique voice and is at home in many settings from her role with the Anöna Trio (with Julian Nicholas and pianist Mark Edwards), along with the Jack Kendon Quintet and larger ensembles such as Mark Edwards’s band Cloggz and Terry Pack’s Trees.

A versatile musician she is at home singing jazz standards or improvising wordlessly, she is an excellent scat singer incidentally, and her range and means of communicating the meaning of a lyric exemplary.The album that she draws her influences and repertoire from, Mingus by Joni Mitchell . An album that was made in collaboration with the bassist, with the recording session beginning just prior to his passing in January 1979. Mitchell carried on to finish the album shortly after.

With the original acquiring cult status among collectors, recording some of this material again, and approaching in a contemporary jazz setting may seem a risky if not foolhardy endeavour, but Ryall and the exceptional musicians she works with have produced a magnificent album. The tunes have been tastefully rearranged and have given the music a polish ready for a new audience. That they have done so while still retaining the spirit and passion of the original composition is no mean feat. The emphasis on medium or slow tempos, and this allows Ryall to really get into the song and the lyric delivering both with poise and feeling.

‘A Chair In The Sky’ features Ryall’s voice to stunning effect, and the rhythm section are right behind her helping lift the music to another plane. The other ‘voice’ heard here is that of Julian Nicholas and his soprano saxophone is the perfect foil for the vocalist. This is also true of ‘Sweet Sucker Dance’ with an exquisite vocal from Ryall and another perfectly paced contribution from the saxophonist, this time on tenor. The arrangement also cleverly incorporates a gentle swing section before returning to the ballad tempo.

From an abstract opening, ‘The Wolf That Lives in Lindsey’, the rhythm section settles things down before Imogen with an intensely poignant delivery of the lyric with another beautiful contribution for Nicholas on soprano. Talking of the saxophonist, his tenor introduction to ‘Goodbye Pork Pie Hat’ nearly hijacks the tune before Imogen once again steps in and totally owns the song, which in fairness she has down throughout the album.

If her remarkable vocal performance was not enough, Ryall also demonstrates her prowess as a lyricist contributing the words to two Mingus compositions, ‘Duke’s Choice’ and ‘Self-Portrait In Three Colors’, with this tune featuring another standout tenor solo from Julian Nicholas and a lovely bass solo from Nigel Thomas.

Listening again today to Joni Mitchell’s Mingus from 1979 the rough edges are clear to hear. What is unmistakable though is the quality of the compositions, and the passion and conviction in which the music is delivered.

In revisiting and recasting this music, Imogen Ryall has succeeded in keeping the spirit and passion inherent in this extraordinary album, while bringing something very personal to bear.https://jazzviews.net/imogen-ryall-sings-the-charles-mingus-joni-mitchell-songbook/

Personnel: Imogen Ryall (voice); Julian Nicholas (tenor & soprano saxophones, penny whistle); David Beebee (piano); Nigel Thomas (double bass); Eric Ford (drums & percussion)

Thank You Nobody's Tunes!!

Hey My Friends!

Hey my Friends: I changed my PC from Windows 7 to Windows 10. I should have recorded everything before letting the technician erase everything and put on Windows 10. I must be back soon!!! Happy Sunday to you!!

Harold Land - The Peace-Maker

Styles: Saxophone And Flute Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:32
Size: 81,5 MB
Art: Front

(5:11)  1. The Peace-Maker
(3:37)  2. Stylin'
(4:51)  3. 40 Love
(3:40)  4. Angel Dance
(4:12)  5. Timetable
(3:26)  6. Imagine
(5:33)  7. The Aquarian
(4:58)  8. One for Nini

The first pairing of tenor saxophonist Harold Land and vibist Bobby Hutcherson crackles with the energy and joy of collaboration. Each spurs the other to new zeniths of creativity and craft, yielding one of the finest if little-known jazz LPs of its era. The Peace-Maker is a particularly apt title. The record's serene, supple contours glow with a lyricism that eschews the angularity of bop. Land's graceful sax melds perfectly with Hutcherson's warm, shimmering vibes to create a deeply soulful, even divine sound. His original compositions are no less thoughtful, galvanized by a yearning for harmony that embraces all senses of the term. ~ Jason Ankeny https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-peace-maker-mw0001881640

Personnel: Harold Land - tenor saxophone, flute; Bobby Hutcherson - vibraphone;  Joe Sample - piano;  Buster Williams - bass;  Donald Bailey - drums  

The Peace-Maker

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Grant Green - Born To Be Blue

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:10
Size: 135.5 MB
Styles: Bop, Guitar jazz
Year: 1962/1989
Art: Front

[6:29] 1. Someday My Prince Will Come
[4:56] 2. Born To Be Blue
[4:41] 3. Born To Be Blue (Alternate Take)
[6:05] 4. If I Should Lose You
[8:04] 5. Back In Your Own Back Yard
[5:50] 6. My One And Only Love
[6:21] 7. Count Every Star
[7:57] 8. Cool Blues
[8:44] 9. Outer Space

Bass – Sam Jones; Drums – Louis Hayes; Guitar – Grant Green; Piano – Sonny Clark; Tenor Saxophone – Ike Quebec. Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. B3 recorded on December 23, 1961. All other titles recorded March 1st, 1962. Digitally remastered.

Although Grant Green provided his share of groove-oriented soul-jazz and modal post-bop, his roots were hard bop, and it is in a bop-oriented setting that the guitarist excels on Born to Be Blue. Most of the material on this five-star album was recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's New Jersey studio on December 11, 1961, when Green was joined by tenor titan Ike Quebec, pianist Sonny Clark, bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Louis Hayes. Tragically, Quebec was near the end of his life -- the distinctive saxman died of lung cancer at the age of 44 on January 16, 1963 -- but there is no evidence of Quebec's declining health on Born to Be Blue. He was playing as authoritatively as ever well into 1962, and the saxman is in fine form on hard-swinging interpretations of "Someday My Prince Will Come" and Al Jolson's "Back in Your Own Back Yard." It's interesting to hear Quebec playing bop, for his big, breathy tone was right out of swing and was greatly influenced by Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster. Although Quebec and Green (who was 14 years younger) had very different musical backgrounds, they were always quite compatible musically. They clearly enjoyed a strong rapport on the uptempo selections as well as ballads like "My One and Only Love" and Mel Torme's "Born to Be Blue." Originally a vinyl LP, this album was reissued on CD in 1989, when Blue Note added an alternate take of the title song and a previously unreleased version of Charlie Parker's "Cool Blues." ~Alex Henderson

Born To Be Blue

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