Saturday, September 7, 2024

Sergio Mendes - Primitivo

Styles: Bossa Nova
Year: 2023
Time: 29:40
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 68,7 MB
Art: Front

(2:54) 1. Amor em Paz
(2:20) 2. Nana
(4:07) 3. Corcovado
(3:18) 4. Desafinado
(2:44) 5. Coisa NO. 2
(2:24) 6. Ela é Carioca
(2:19) 7. Noa Noa
(2:21) 8. Neurótico
(3:14) 9. Garota de Ipanema
(3:56) 10. Primitivo

One of the biggest crossover Brazilian pop artists of his generation, Sergio Mendes helped define the sound of Latin pop and dance music in the 20th century. For most of the second half of the '60s, Mendes was the top-selling Brazilian artist in the United States, charting huge hit singles like "Mas Que Nada" and LPs like Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 that regularly made the Top Five. His records with his group Brasil '66 regularly straddled the domestic pop and international markets in America, getting played heavily on AM radio stations, both rock and easy listening, and he gave his label, A&M, something to offer light jazz listeners beyond the work of the company's co-founder, Herb Alpert. During this period, he also became an international music star and one of the most popular musicians in South America. Ever evolving, Mendes has continued to develop his sound, including re-exploring Bahian rhythms on 1993's Grammy-winning Brasileiro, and even embracing new sounds including electronic dance music and hip-hop, as he did on 2008's will.i.am-produced Encanto and 2014's Magic.

Born the son of a physician in Niteroi, Brazil, Mendes began studying music at the local conservatory while still a boy, with the intention of becoming a classical pianist. He was living in Rio de Janeiro as the bossa nova craze hit in the mid- to late '50s, and at age 15, he abandoned classical music in favor of bossa nova. Mendes began spending time with other young Brazilian musicians in Rio de Janeiro, absorbing the musical ferment around him in the company of such figures as Antonio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto. Their company was augmented by the periodic visits of American jazz giants such as Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Byrd, Paul Winter, Roy Eldridge, and Herbie Mann. Mendes became the leader of his own group, the Sexteto Bossa Rio, and was heard with them by many visiting musicians. He made his first recording, Dance Moderno, in 1961 on the Philips Records label. By 1962, Mendes and his band were playing at Birdland in New York in an impromptu performance with Cannonball Adderley (who was officially on the bill). Mendes and Adderley cut an album together for Capitol that was released later that year.

His early music, represented on albums like Bossa Nova York and Girl from Ipanema, was heavily influenced by Antonio Carlos Jobim, on whose recordings Mendes worked. Mendes liked what he saw on his visit to New York, and in 1964 he moved to the United States, initially playing on albums with Jobim and Art Farmer, and forming Brasil '65 the following year. The group recorded for Capitol without attracting too much notice at first. In 1966, however, Mendes and his band renamed Brasil '66 were signed to A&M Records and something seemed to click between the group and its audience.

Brasil '66, consisting in its first A&M incarnation of Mendes on keyboards, Bob Matthews on bass, João Palma on drums, Jose Soares as percussionist, Lani Hall (A&M's co-founder) on vocals, and Janis Hansen on vocals, was successful upon the release of its first album for the label, with its mix of light jazz, a bossa nova beat, and contemporary soft pop melodies. Their self-titled debut LP rose to number six nationally, propelled by the presence of the single "Mas Que Nada." Their second album, Equinox, yielded a trio of minor hits, "Night and Day," "Constant Rain (Chove Chuva)," and "For Me," but their third, Look Around, rose to number five behind a number three single of the group's cover of the Beatles' "Fool on the Hill" and an accompanying hit with "Scarborough Fair," based on the Simon & Garfunkel version of the folk song. Crystal Illusions, from 1969, featured a version of Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" and the hit single "Pretty World." Depending upon one's sensibilities, these covers especially "Fool on the Hill" and "Scarborough Fair" were either legitimate, internationalized pop versions of the originals, or they were "elevator music."

During this period, Mendes also made several recordings for Atlantic, principally aimed at a light jazz audience, and several of them in association with Jobim. Art Farmer, Phil Woods, Hubert Laws, and Claire Fisher were among the jazz figures who appeared on these records, which never remotely attracted the same level of interest or sales as his records with Brasil '66. Mendes successfully walked a fine line between international and domestic audiences for most of the late '60s until the end of the decade. Ye-Me-Le was notably less successful than its predecessors, and its single, "Wichita Lineman," was only a minor hit. Mendes seemed to lose his commercial edge with the turn of the decade, and his next two A&M albums Stillness, a folk-based collection that contained covers of Joni Mitchell's "Chelsea Morning" and Stephen Stills' "For What It's Worth" and Primal Roots, an album of traditional Brazilian music failed to make any impression on the charts whatsoever.

The group moved to the much smaller Bell Records label in 1973, and then Mendes jumped to Elektra for his first official solo album, Sergio Mendes. He relaunched his recording career two years later with Sergio Mendes & Brasil '77 to little avail, and then, after a five-year layoff from the public eye, Mendes returned to A&M in 1982. His 1983 comeback album, Sergio Mendes, was his first Top 40 album in nearly a decade-and-a-half, and was accompanied by his biggest chart single ever, "Never Gonna Let You Go," which hit number four. Since then, Mendes has had limited chart success with the single "Alibis" and the LP Confetti. He remained a popular figure internationally, even when his record sales slumped in America, as evidenced by the fact that his entire A&M catalog (and much of his Atlantic work) from the '60s has been reissued on CD in Japan. Indeed, his popularity in the rest of the world, versus America, was even the basis for a comic vignette in one episode of the television series Seinfeld.

Well into his fourth decade as a performer, Mendes continued to work at a steady pace, assembling groups like Brasil '99 and Brasil 2000, and integrating the sounds of Bahian hip-hop into his music. In 1997, A&M's British division released a remastered double-CD set of the best of Mendes' music from his first seven years on the label. Most of Mendes' back catalog was reissued as the 21st century dawned, and in 2006, Concord Records released Timeless, his first album of newly recorded material in eight years. A mere two years later, Encanto appeared, including co-productions from will.i.am of Black Eyed Peas. A third album on Concord, Bom Tempo, was released in 2010.

After appearances at numerous festivals and a global tour, Mendes took a short break before beginning to record again. He signed to Sony's revived OKeh imprint and cut a completely new set of songs in Los Angeles, Salvador, and Bahia, with a host of special guests and old friends, including John Legend, will.i.am., and Brazilian artists such as Carlinhos Brown, with whom he cut the first single, "One Nation," issued on One Love, One Rhythm: The 2014 FIFA World Cup Official Album. Magic was released that September. In 2019, he issued the studio album In the Key of Joy, which was released in conjunction with a documentary film about his life. Included on the album were guest appearances by Common, Hermeto Pascoal, João Donato, and others. It proved to the last LP he releases in his lifetime Sérgio Mendes died on September 6, 2024 at the age of 83 due to complications from the COVID-19 virus. By Bruce Eder
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sergio-mendes-mn0000002330#biography

R.I.P.

Born: Niterói (Brazil), 11 de fevereiro de 1941

Died: Los Angeles, 6 de setembro de 2024

Primitivo

The Big 18 - Live Echoes Of The Swinging Bands (2-Disc Set)

Buck Clayton, Charlie Shavers, Rex Stewart, Billy Butterfield (tp), Lawrence Brown, Lou McGarity, Dickie Wells, Vic Dickenson (tb), Peanuts Hucko (cl), Sam Donahue, Ernie Caceres (saxes), Johnny Guarnieri (p), Milt Hinton (b), Jimmy Crawford (d). Tracks from CD 1, from the 12" album "Live Echoes of the Swinging Bands" (RCA Victor LSP-1921). Tracks from CD 2, from the 12" album "More Live Echoes of the Swinging Bands" (RCA Victor LSP-1983).

The Big 18 was an all star big band that pays tribute to the swinging big bands of the thirties. The original idea came from Fred Reynolds, musical director of RCA Victor at the end of the fifties. He called his library to select numbers that would be characteristic of the orchestras of the swing era. He then commissioned arranger Charles Shirley to listen to the original recordings and transcribe them, keeping as much as possible of the flavor of the original band, leaving space in the arrangements for much longer solos than the original short recordings allowed for. Some of the greatest musicians in each band selected the tunes that were chosen to produce these wonderful sessions. It resulted in some very fine solos and an exciting ensemble sound, plus a superb recording that faithfully captured their spirit.

Album: Live Echoes Of The Swinging Bands (Disc 1)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:41
Size: 95.4 MB
Styles: Swing, Big band
Year: 2011

[4:00] 1. Swingtime In The Rockies
[5:12] 2. Easy Does It
[5:46] 3. Five O'clock Drag
[5:35] 4. Feet Draggin' Blues
[4:19] 5. Summit Ridge Drive
[4:33] 6. Tuxedo Junction
[4:46] 7. Blues On Parade
[3:37] 8. Okay For Baby
[3:48] 9. March Of The Toys

Album: Live Echoes Of The Swinging Bands (Disc 2)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:09
Size: 91.9 MB
Styles: Swing, Big band
Year: 2011
Art: Front

[4:39] 1. Skyliner
[3:50] 2. Parade Of The Milk Bottle Caps
[4:10] 3. Celery Stalks At Midnight
[2:56] 4. I'm Prayin' Humble
[4:42] 5. Hors D'oeuvre
[3:30] 6. Liza
[3:48] 7. The Cambells Are Swinging
[4:32] 8. Organ Grinder's Swing
[5:30] 9. Ton O'rock Bump
[2:27] 10. Quaker City Blues

Live Echoes Of The Swinging Bands (Disc 1)(Disc 2)

Duke Ellington - Ellington Uptown

Styles: Big Band, Swing
Year: 1952
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:01
Size: 123,9 MB
Art: Front

( 7:59)  1. Take the 'A' Train
( 6:36)  2. The Mooche
(13:47)  3. A Tone Parallel to Harlem (The Harlem Suite)
( 8:23)  4. Perdido
( 6:08)  5. The Controversial Suite, Part I (Before My Time)
( 4:16)  6. The Controversial Suite, Part II (Later)
( 6:49)  7. Skin Deep

Even back in the early '50s, Columbia Records took Duke Ellington seriously enough to place this album on its prestigious Masterworks label, heretofore reserved mostly for highbrow classical music and Broadway shows (later in the decade, though, it was retitled Hi-Fi Ellington Uptown and reissued on the pop series with an additional piece, "The Controversial Suite"). Also, this LP explodes the critical line that the early '50s was a relatively fallow period for the Duke; any of these smoking, concert-length tracks will torpedo that notion. The young Louis Bellson was powering the Ellington band at that time, and his revolutionary double-bass drum technique and rare ability to build coherent drum solos are put to astounding use on his self-penned leadoff track, "Skin Deep," which was quite a demonstration piece for audiophiles at the time. 

Old favorites from the Ellington hit parade are given extended treatments, with singer Betty Roche taking the A-train for a bebop-flavored ride, "The Mooche" spotlighting clarinetists Jimmy Hamilton and Russell Procope, and Ellington's boogie-woogie piano kicking off a super-charged "Perdido" for trumpeter Clark Terry. The centerpiece of the disc is a sharply drawn, idiomatically swinging, probably unbeatable performance of "A Tone Parallel to Harlem" that lays waste to any of the "symphonic" versions that turn up frequently at pop concerts. Another feature of this record is the great sound quality, a benefit of being entrusted to Columbia's best engineers. If you can locate an original Masterworks pressing, grab it and run, for the first-generation sound is astonishing for its age (the reissues in the 1980s on CD and LP had to rely upon later masterings and do not sound nearly as powerful as the original). ~ Richard S. Ginell http://www.allmusic.com/album/ellington-uptown-mw0000187980

Friday, September 6, 2024

Massimo Faraò, Emanuele Cisi - Time After Time

Styles: Piano And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 80:53
Size: 188,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:12) 1. I Remember You
(3:11) 2. All God's Chillun Got Rhythm
(5:03) 3. Darn That Dream
(2:53) 4. Dig
(3:23) 5. Half Nelson
(4:26) 6. I Should Care
(3:38) 7. My Shining Hours
(3:20) 8. Time After Time
(4:02) 9. You and the Night and the Music
(4:56) 10. If You Could See Me Now
(5:16) 11. On a Misty Night
(3:05) 12. It's You or No One
(5:03) 13. For Heaven's Sake
(4:53) 14. Star Eyes
(3:46) 15. Weaver of Dreams
(4:01) 16. The End of a Love Affair
(5:13) 17. Easy Living
(4:09) 18. Remember
(3:38) 19. You Stepped out of a Dream
(2:36) 20. I Want to Be Happy

Massimo Farao (16th March 1965 in Genoa) is an Italian jazz - pianist. Massimo Farao studied with Flavio Crivelli and worked with local formations; In 1983 he visited the United States, where he among other things, with the first Red Holloway and Albert 'Tootie' Heath played. In the 1990s he worked with Tony Scott, Adrian Mears, John Enders, Jesse Davis, Franco Ambrosetti, at its Enja -albumsGrazie Italia and Light Breeze he participated. He also played in the Nat Adderley Quintet at a European tour. In 1993 he took for Splasc (h) his debut album For Meon; his teammates included the trumpeter Flavio Boltro and bassist Dado Moroni. In 1995 the album Ciao Baby (on Monad).

In Trio with Ira Coleman and Jeff Tain Watts played Farao 1998 Brooklyn for Enja album Black Inside a; 2000 followed (also on Enja) the recorded in trio and quartet album Thorn on which Drew Gress, Jack DeJohnette and saxophonist Chris Potter participated. In 2001, he was (with Wayne Dockery and Bobby Durham)member of the quartet of Archie Shepp; 2001-2005 was the artistic director of the jazz department Farao the label Azzrra Music. In 2003, he stepped on the Jazz Piano Festival in Lucerne. In 2006 he recorded an album with compositions by Ennio Morricone on; In 2007 he toured in a trio with Joey DeFrancesco through Europe and the USA. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massimo_Farao

Time After Time

Syd Lawrence And His Orchestra - Syd Lawrence And His Orchestra

Styles: Big Band
Year: 1971
Time: 43:05
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 98,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:32) 1. At Last
(4:32) 2. Tuxedo Junction
(2:58) 3. Begin The Beguine
(3:15) 4. Skyliner
(3:43) 5. Leave Us Leap
(3:21) 6. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
(2:54) 7. Pennsylvania 6-5000
(3:30) 8. Nice 'N' Easy
(4:22) 9. At The Woodchopper's Ball
(2:50) 10. What Is This Thing Called Love
(4:19) 11. A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square
(2:48) 12. Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree (With Anyone Else But Me)

Syd Lawrence (1923-1998), was a British bandleader from Chester, England who became famous in the UK for his orchestra's Big Band Sound which drew on the 1940's style of music of Glenn Miller and Count Basie amongst others.

Syd had been a talented trumpet player during the Second World War. He had written and arranged music and his early talent was recognised in those fields as well. He was based in Cairo during the war years, playing and arranging for the RAF service bands. After he left the forces, he played with some of the leading British dance bands of the 1940's, finally being invited to join the BBC's Northern Dance Orchestra in 1953. He stayed with this band for 16 years playing alongside fellow trumpet player Stan Hibbert.

In 1967 Syd teamed up with several of his colleagues at the Northern Dance Orchestra to play the music that he was most enthusiastic about, that of Glenn Miller. Early concerts at the Mersey Hotel in Manchester were a great success, and larger venues were found to play in as the reputation of his band grew.

Yorkshire Television gave The Syd Lawrence Orchestra a regular spot on the comedy show Sez Les. As the music became more popular, Syd and his band started touring around the UK, which they did with great success for many years. Several records were made along with radio and television appearances on variety shows.

Syd retired from touring in 1994 and died of an aneurism in 1998. Following his death, the Syd Lawrence Band continued on and still tours. The orchestra has been led by Brian Pendleton, and presently by Chris Dean
https://www.last.fm/music/The+Syd+Lawrence+Orchestra/+wiki

Syd Lawrence And His Orchestra

Duke Ellington - Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band, 1940-1942 Disc 1, Disc 2, Disc 3

Duke Ellington - Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band, 1940-1942 Disc 1
Styles: Piano Jazz, Big Band
Year: 1940-1942
Time: 79:41
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 209,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:20) 1. You, You Darlin'
(3:19) 2. Never No Lament
(3:21) 3. Dusk (Take 1)
(2:54) 4. Bojangles
(3:10) 5. A Portrait Of Bert Williams
(3:23) 6. Blue Goose
(3:00) 7. Harlem Air-Shaft
(2:50) 8. At A Dixie Roadside Diner
(3:31) 9. All Too Soon
(2:50) 10. Rumpus In Richmond
(3:27) 11. My Greatest Mistake
(3:17) 12. Jack The Bear
(3:25) 13. Sepia Panorama (Take 1)
(3:13) 14. There Shall Be No Night
(3:17) 15. In A Mellotone
(3:19) 16. Five O'Clock Whistle
(3:09) 17. The Flaming Sword (Take 2)
(3:21) 18. Warm Valley (Take 3)
(2:43) 19. Ko-Ko (Take 2)
(3:18) 20. Morning Glory
(2:54) 21. So Far, So Good
(2:59) 22. Conga Brava
(3:20) 23. Concerto For Cootie
(2:55) 24. Me And You
(3:13) 25. Cotton Tail

Duke Ellington - Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band, 1940-1942 Disc 2
Time: 78:19
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 204,8 MB

(3:01) 1. Across The Track Blues (Take 1)
(3:27) 2. Chloe (Song Of The Swamp)
(3:33) 3. I Never Felt This Way Before (Take 1)
(3:15) 4. The Sidewalks Of New York
(3:24) 5. Flamingo
(3:20) 6. The Girl In My Dreams Tries To Look Like You (Take 1)
(2:57) 7. Take The "A" Train
(3:34) 8. Jumpin' Punkins (Take 2)
(3:30) 9. John Hardy's Wife
(3:23) 10. Blue Serge
(3:23) 11. After All
(3:26) 12. Bakiff
(3:06) 13. Are You Stickin'? (Take 1)
(3:36) 14. Just A-Sittin' And A-Rockin'
(3:36) 15. The Giddybug Gallop
(3:03) 16. Pitter Panther Patter (Take 2)
(3:11) 17. Body And Soul (Take 3)
(2:47) 18. Sophisticated Lady (Take 2)
(3:09) 19. Mr. J.B. Blues (Take 1)
(2:40) 20. Ko-Ko (Take 1)
(2:46) 21. Bojangles
(3:24) 22. Sepia Panorama (Take 2)
(3:42) 23. Jumpin' Punkins (Take 1)
(2:56) 24. Jump For Joy (Take 2)

Duke Ellington - Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band, 1940-1942 Disc 3
Time: 78:16
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 206,8 MB

(2:56) 1. Chocolate Shake
(3:21) 2. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good) (Take 1)
(3:01) 3. Clementine
(3:11) 4. The Brownskin Gal (In The Calico Gown)
(2:54) 5. Jump For Joy (Take 1)
(3:15) 6. Moon Over Cuba
(3:14) 7. Five O'Clock Drag
(3:09) 8. Rocks In My Bed
(3:07) 9. Bli-Blip
(2:32) 10. Raincheck
(2:48) 11. What Good Would It Do?
(3:17) 12. I Don't Know What Kind Of Blues I Got (Take 1)
(2:56) 13. Chelsea Bridge
(3:10) 14. Perdido (Take 1)
(2:39) 15. The "C" Jam Blues
(3:00) 16. Moon Mist (Take 2)
(3:27) 17. What Am I Here For?
(2:51) 18. I Don't Mind (Take 2)
(3:10) 19. Someone
(3:14) 20. My Little Brown Book
(2:51) 21. Main Stem
(2:43) 22. Johnny Come Lately
(2:36) 23. Hayfoot, Strawfoot (Take 1)
(3:04) 24. Sentimental Lady (Take 1)
(2:58) 25. A Slip Of The Lip (Can Sink A Ship)
(2:38) 26. Sherman Shuffle

Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band is a 2003 three-disc compilation combining the master takes of all the recordings by Duke Ellington's Orchestra during the years of 1940 to 1942 with an additional nine tracks, including five alternative takes and four additional masters. An expanded version of The Blanton–Webster Band, this reissue, according to Allmusic, "truly worth either an initial investment or reinvestment". All About Jazz: New York observed that these performances, from what is often considered "the band in its prime", "not only set the standard for big bands and jazz orchestras, but created an ideal near insurmountable to improve upon". The Penguin Guide to Jazz selected this compilation as part of its suggested "Core Collection."

An earlier collection of recordings from this period was first issued in 1986 by RCA Bluebird containing 66 tracks. This 2003 version draws on the 1999 transfers first issued in The Duke Ellington Centennial Edition: The Complete RCA Victor Recordings (1927-1973) with an additional nine tracks over the 1986 edition, including the Blanton Ellington duos "Pitter Panther Patter" and "Body and Soul".

Ellington put Blanton front-and-center on the bandstand nightly, unheard of for a bassist at the time, together with tenor saxophonist Ben Webster, thus this era of Ellington's ensemble is referred to the Blanton–Webster band.

Bassist Jimmy Blanton was only with the Ellington orchestra for two years, leaving in 1941 due to tuberculosis, and dying the following year at the age of 23. Blanton does not appear on the final 17 tracks of the 2003 collection (CD3 tracks 10-26), having been replaced on bass by Alvin "Junior" Raglin.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Never_No_Lament:_The_Blanton-Webster_Band

Performance: Duke Ellington – piano, celeste (on track 3.2); Rex Stewart – cornet; Cootie Williams – trumpet; Ray Nance – trumpet, violin, vocals; Wallace Jones - trumpet; Juan Tizol – valve trombone; Joe Nanton – trombone; Lawrence Brown – trombone; Barney Bigard – clarinet, tenor saxophone; Johnny Hodges – alto & soprano saxophone, clarinet; Otto Hardwick – alto saxophone; Ben Webster – tenor saxophone; Chauncey Haughton – clarinet, tenor sax; Harry Carney – clarinet, alto & baritone saxophone; Duke Ellington – piano, celeste (on track 3.2); Billy Strayhorn – piano (on tracks 2.5 & 11, 3.8 & 10–12, 22), celeste (3.20); Fred Guy – guitar; Jimmy Blanton – bass; Sonny Greer – drums; Ivie Anderson – vocals; Herb Jeffries – vocals

Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band, 1940-1942 Disc 1, Disc 2
Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band, 1940-1942 Disc 3

Sylvia Bennett - Amazing Love

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2024
Time: 24:53
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 57,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:17) 1. One Love
(3:12) 2. Amazing Love (Shore Mix)
(3:56) 3. Two Hearts One Soul
(3:53) 4. You
(3:40) 5. Right Before Your Eyes
(3:32) 6. This Love is Real
(3:21) 7. La Mer

Renowned for her enchanting voice that resonates deeply with audiences worldwide, Sylvia Bennett blends jazz sophistication with pop allure. Discovered by the legendary Lionel Hampton, Sylvia is a Grammy-nominated international recording artist and songwriter whose career has spanned illustrious performances at Presidential Inaugurations and alongside icons like Bob Hope and Dizzy Gillespie.

Her musical journey began with Hampton, leading to their Grammy-nominated collaboration on 'Sentimental Journey' and a touching tribute, 'There Will Never Be Another You.' Sylvia's discography boasts twelve albums, including 'Amazing Love,' a poignant ode to her late husband, Hal.

Beyond her music, Sylvia curates the Sylvia Bennett Gift Collection and delights in captivating live audiences with her versatile repertoire, spanning Broadway classics to international hits. Whether singing in English, Spanish, or French, Sylvia's mission remains unwavering: to uplift hearts and spirits through the universal language of music. https://sylviabennett.com/bio

Amazing Love

Tuesday, September 3, 2024

Barbara Thompson's Paraphernalia With NYJO - Bulletproof

Styles: Big Band, Fusion
Year: 2021
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 78:41
Size: 180,6 MB
Art: Front

(10:02) 1. Bulletproof
( 5:30) 2. Safe as Houses
( 6:39) 3. Sax Rap
( 7:24) 4. Ode to Sappho
(11:45) 5. Breathless
( 5:52) 6. In Memory
( 7:42) 7. Jaunty
( 8:07) 8. Little Annie-Ooh
( 7:13) 9. Hero's Return
( 8:23) 10. Blues for Adolphe Sax

This immaculately presented album features still active members from Barbara Thompson's Paraphernalia along with NYJO in a set that is big, bold and raucous, in the best sense of the word. With no hint of nostalgia, the members of Paraphernalia power through theses fresh arrangements (six of the ten tracks were also arranged by Barbara) embracing the youthful exuberance and energy of the big band.

This is encapsulated by the sheer force of the opening title track; 'Bulletproof' that indeed has a swagger of invincibility about it and great solos from all. Continuing in this vein is an outstanding arrangement of 'Sax Rap', originally written for Paraphernalia's 1990 album Breathless, Barbara's writing for NYJO brings a new dynamic to the piece. Listening with headphones, the effect is very much like having a party going on in your head, and altoist Tom Smith makes the most of his solo on this ebullient piece of music making.https://www.jazzmessengers.com/en/88655/barbara-thompson/paraphernalia-with-nyjo-bulletproof

PERSONNEL:

BARBARA THOMSON'S PARAPHERNALIA :
Peter Lemer - keyboards
Billy Thompson - violin
Dave 'Taif' Ball - bass
Ana Gracey Hiseman - vocals

NATIONAL YOUTH JAZZ ORCHESTRA :
Mark Armstrong (musical director)
Tom Smith (as, fl); Alice Leggett (as); Tom Ridout, Asha Parkinson (ts); Claire Shaw (bs, fl); Tom Rabbitt, Brinley Snell, George Jefford, Christos Stylianises, Luke Vice-Coles (t); Daniel Higham, James Wade-Sired, Harrison Maund (tb); Andrew Crampton (b-tb); Max Mills, Alex Temple-Heald (d); Alex Taylor (perc)

Bulletproof

Victor Rydström - Be an Artist

Styles: Contemporary Jazz
Year: 2021
Time: 55:41
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 127,8 MB
Art: Front

(7:12) 1. Not Today
(7:02) 2. How Deep Is The Ocean
(7:54) 3. Be An Artist
(5:48) 4. Discussion
(7:23) 5. Tant Grön
(8:07) 6. Blues For Kenny
(5:31) 7. This I Dig Of You
(6:40) 8. I've Never Been In Love Before

Victor is a guitarist with a clean tone, well balanced frasing and focus on clear lines and an ambition to put the music in first hand. " About the album "To Whom It May Concern" "Victor is a new ability on the Swedish jazz scene. With a very nice sound and understanding of jazz music he have all the tools one need to go far" Erik Söderlind About the album "Powerplay" “The record sounds beautiful, good mix of tunes and grooves. The group is nicely cohesive, with close listening and interaction among the trio members.

Audio quality very nice aswell. Congrats on an excellent release!” - Ben Paterson ”Very nice to hear three Swedish musicians manage the legacy of the classic organ trio setting. Though I feel the sound is more modern and get me thinking of Bernstein, Stewart & Goldings. More of this please!” – Gustav Lundgren ”Beautiful playing and compositions. Great sound too. Congrats!” By Yotam Silberstein
https://www.youtube.com/@victorrydas

Be an Artist

Seldon Powell - Messin' With Seldon Powell

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:24
Size: 94.8 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 1973/2003/2014
Art: Front

[5:11] 1. Messin'
[6:26] 2. Alfie
[3:57] 3. I Want To Be Where You Are
[4:46] 4. One Night Affair
[5:18] 5. Back Stabbers
[4:31] 6. Nobody But You
[5:21] 7. Afro Jazz
[5:49] 8. Weeping

Bass – Bill Sauter, Gordon Edwards; Drums – Bernard Purdie; Guitar – Cornell Dupree, David Barron, ), James C. Boykin, Lloyd Davis; Organ, Piano – Paul Griffin; Percussion – Norman Pride; Piano, Organ – Frank Owens; Saxophone – David Spinozza, Seldon Powell; Trombone – Garnett Brown; Trumpet – Jimmy Owens; Voice – Barbara Massey, Eileen Gilbert, Hilda Harris, Maretha Stewart.

One of the only albums that sax genius Seldon Powell ever cut as a leader -- and a tight smooth set of 70s funk tracks with a stone cold CTI or Kudu Records sound! The set was produced by Bernard Purdie --and features Purdie on drums, plus keyboards by Paul Griffin, trumpet by Jimmy Owens, guitar by Cornell Dupree, and some occasional vocals by Maretha Stewart, Barbara Massey and others. Powell's tone is very right-on -- sounding a lot like Eddie Harris' from the same time. The track selection scans a bevy of some of the most forward looking soul and jazz numbers of the period, including Gamble/Huff's "Back Stabbers" and "One Night Affair", "Afro Jazz", Leon Ware's "I Want To Be Where You Are", Galt MacDermot's "Weeping", Powell's own Messin'" and "Afro Jazz", and more!

Messin' With Seldon Powell

Wayne Escoffery - Alone

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2024
Time: 56:21
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 129,6 MB
Art: Front

(6:31) 1. Moments with You
(8:07) 2. Alone
(6:44) 3. Rapture
(8:15) 4. The Ice Queen
(6:23) 5. The Shadow of Your Smile
(6:08) 6. Blues for D.P.
(9:03) 7. Stella by Starlight
(5:06) 8. Since I Fell for You

Saxophonist and composer Wayne Escoffery reflects on love, loss, and solitude on his stunning new album, an atmospheric and haunting mood piece, Alone, featuring a remarkable all-star quartet with pianist Gerald Clayton, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Carl Allen. In the summer of 2023, saxophonist and composer Wayne Escoffery found himself alone in a way that he’d never quite experienced before.

He was away from home, on sabbatical in Europe with a month to himself between tours. A long-term relationship had just ended, and he was confronted with the loss of friendships that he’d once valued. Worst of all, he’d suffered a broken finger that left him unable to play the saxophone for the first time since he’d picked up the horn in high school. “Normally, my coping mechanism would be the saxophone,” Escoffery laments. “But even that wasn't available to me for about nine weeks, so I just had to be alone in my thoughts.”

He made good use of this alone time, conceptualizing the music that makes up his striking and singular new album. What emerged from that solitude was an extended mood piece, a workunique in Escoffery’s typically wide-ranging catalog for its sustained atmosphere of stark melancholy and searching introspection. Alone was conceived during a time of isolation, heartbreak, regret, and reflection, but the experience of the album is far richer even than that. In the end, “I was forced to reflect on life and what was most important to me,” Escoffery concludes. “The concept of this album grew out of that reflection.
https://www.deejay.de/Wayne_Escoffery_Alone_SSR2405LP_Vinyl__1071809

Alone

Saturday, August 31, 2024

Nat Birchall Unity Ensemble - New World

Styles: Spiritual Jazz
Year: 2024
Time: 41:17
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 94,7 MB
Art: Front

( 8:16) 1. New World
( 4:59) 2. Exaltation
( 8:21) 3. Greetings of Love
( 8:55) 4. Jubilation
(10:44) 5. Elevation

Nat Birchall returns with a new studio album with an expanded Unity Ensemble. Six original compositions played by a seven-piece group featuring the legendary UK tenor saxophonist, Alan Skidmore and guest percussionist Mark Wastell.

Both musicians joined the group onstage at a John Coltrane tribute concert at London’s Café Oto last year, the resulting performance showing just how compatible all the musicians were, so Nat thought it would be propitious to record the group in the studio with their special guests.

Both Nat and Alan are Coltrane devotees of the highest order, but they each have their own individual style, and at the sessions their playing complimented each other’s beautifully. With no trace of anyone attempting to “outdo” the other one the recording dates were a testament to the whole group’s selfless approach to music making.
https://natbirchallmusic.bandcamp.com/album/new-world

Personnel: Nat Birchall – Tenor, soprano saxophone, bells, cabasa; Adam Fairhall – Piano; Michael Bardon – Bass; Paul Hession – Drums; Lascelle Gordon – Percussion

Special guests: Alan Skidmore – Tenor saxophone; Mark Wastell – Percussion

New World

Friday, August 30, 2024

Cheryl Bentyne - The Cole Porter Song Book

Styles: Vocal, Swing
Year: 2009
Time: 55:34
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 127,8 MB
Art: Front

(5:18) 1. Love For Sale
(3:55) 2. It's De-Lovely
(3:16) 3. My Heart Belongs To Daddy
(4:10) 4. It's All Right With Me
(4:18) 5. Night And Day / Find Me A Primitive Man
(3:24) 6. I Love Paris
(3:39) 7. All Of You
(6:44) 8. I Concentrate On You
(3:06) 9. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
(5:47) 10. Everytime We Say Goodbye
(3:36) 11. Begin The Beguine
(3:40) 12. What Is This Thing Called Love?
(2:20) 13. Just One Of Those Things
(2:14) 14. Let's Misbehave

While much of the world knows Cheryl Bentyne as one-quarter of the multi-Grammy-winning Manhattan Transfer, this compelling vocalist has a story all her own - one that includes a solo career that encompasses a variety of musical styles.

Born and raised near Seattle, Washington, Bentyne was exposed to music at a very early age. Her father, a jazz clarinetist and bandleader, held his band's rehearsals at the family's home. It wasn't long before Cheryl was singing in her dad's band. After high school, she performed in Seattle area coffee houses where she met and joined a regional group called The New Deal Rhythm Band. The band combined campy comedy numbers with improvisation and “theatrical” swing. The New Deal served as a training ground for Bentyne to sharpen her performance technique and develop her own distinct style.

While on tour with The New Deal, Bentyne caught the attention of a talent agent who assured her that her singing ability could support a solo career and encouraged her to assemble material for her own show. Within a few months she moved to Los Angeles and was booked regularly at such legendary clubs as the Troubadour and the Bla-Bla Cafe.

In the spring of 1979, Bentyne’s manager told her about an audition that was to change her life. The Manhattan Transfer was searching for a new singer to replace the departing Lauren Masse. What they were looking for seemed like an impossible combination at the time - a soprano who was gifted and agile enough to immediately blend with the group’s unique four-part harmony sound, and yet who also possessed a strong individual musical personality which would contribute to the group's evolution. But Bentyne accomplished the impossible: she landed the job and made a vocal contribution that was immediate and decisive. The Manhattan Transfer won its first Grammy, for “Birdland,” a track from the 1979 album, Extensions (Best Jazz Fusion Performance). Since then, the Transfer has scored ten more Grammys.

Bentyne has sung some of the most memorable solos in the Transfer's repertoire: “Good-bye Love,” Benny Goodman's solo on “Down South Camp Meeting” (both on the 1983 release, Bodies and Souls) and “Meet Benny Bailey” (on their landmark 1985 recording, Vocalese). She won a Grammy (which she shares with Bobby McFerrin) for her arrangement of “Another Night In Tunisia” (also on Vocalese). Her hot performance in the video and single release “So You Say” (from Brasil, 1987) helped broaden the Transfer’s audience via frequent appearances on BET. She also wrote and co-wrote tracks for the Transfer’s 1992 release, The Offbeat of Avenues, including the Grammy winning “Sassy.”

But Bentyne has maintained a solid solo career separate and apart from her work with the world-famous vocal quartet. In 1988, she appeared on bassist Rob Wasserman’s highly acclaimed Duets album. Four years later, she released her solo debut album, Something Cool, a tribute to June Christy and other jazz singers of the 1950s.

Beyond the recording studio and performance stage, Bentyne has also dabbled in recording for motion pictures. She appears on the soundtrack to the 1990 film Dick Tracy, in “Back in Business,” a song she performed with Lorraine Feather and fellow Transfer member Janis Siegel. She also collaborated with trumpeter/composer Mark Isham in the soundtrack to the 1991 Alan Rudolph film, Mortal Thoughts.

In 2000, Cheryl recorded and released an original cast album of her new musical revue based the music and wit of Cole Porter. Dreaming Of Mister Porter has played to sold-out audiences and received rave reviews in Boston and Seattle.

Bentyne joined the Telarc label in 2004 with the release of Talk of the Town, an album that featured a number of standards from the great American songbook. The album also featured a star-studded lineup of session players: pianist Kenny Barron, saxophonist David “Fathead” Newman, flugelhornist Chuck Mangione, percussionist Don Alias and drummer Lewis Nash.

Bentyne’s second Telarc outing released in April 2005, Let Me Off Uptown, is a tribute to legendary songstress Anita O’Day.https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/cheryl-bentyne/

The Cole Porter Song Book

Syd Lawrence And His Orchestra - The Big Sound Of Syd Lawrence

Styles: Big Band
Year: 1989
Time: 69:14
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 158,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:03) 1. My Favourite Things
(3:03) 2. Days of Wine And Roses
(3:23) 3. Deep Purple
(3:26) 4. One O'Clock Jump
(3:40) 5. Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head
(3:06) 6. Alfie
(2:57) 7. April in Paris
(3:17) 8. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
(3:45) 9. Jumpin' At The Woodside
(3:13) 10. As Time Goes By
(2:59) 11. By The Time I Get To Phoenix
(4:36) 12. The Very Thought Of You
(2:35) 13. Spanish Eyes
(3:26) 14. Moog Indigo
(3:17) 15. I'll Be Seeing You
(3:07) 16. There, I've Said It Again
(2:47) 17. Georgia On My Mind
(4:21) 18. At The Woodchoppers Ball
(3:19) 19. The One I Love (Belongs To Somebody Else)
(3:09) 20. All My Loving
(2:33) 21. How Soon

Syd Lawrence (1923-1998), was a British bandleader from Chester, England who became famous in the UK for his orchestra's Big Band Sound which drew on the 1940's style of music of Glenn Miller and Count Basie amongst others.

Syd had been a talented trumpet player during the Second World War. He had written and arranged music and his early talent was recognised in those fields as well. He was based in Cairo during the war years, playing and arranging for the RAF service bands. After he left the forces, he played with some of the leading British dance bands of the 1940's, finally being invited to join the BBC's Northern Dance Orchestra in 1953. He stayed with this band for 16 years playing alongside fellow trumpet player Stan Hibbert.

In 1967 Syd teamed up with several of his colleagues at the Northern Dance Orchestra to play the music that he was most enthusiastic about, that of Glenn Miller. Early concerts at the Mersey Hotel in Manchester were a great success, and larger venues were found to play in as the reputation of his band grew.

Yorkshire Television gave The Syd Lawrence Orchestra a regular spot on the comedy show Sez Les. As the music became more popular, Syd and his band started touring around the UK, which they did with great success for many years. Several records were made along with radio and television appearances on variety shows.

Syd retired from touring in 1994 and died of an aneurism in 1998. Following his death, the Syd Lawrence Band continued on and still tours. The orchestra has been led by Brian Pendleton, and presently by Chris Dean
https://www.last.fm/music/The+Syd+Lawrence+Orchestra/+wiki

The Big Sound Of Syd Lawrence

Elkie Brooks - 'Round Midnight

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1993
Time: 49:51
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 114,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:41) 1. All Night Long
(2:36) 2. What Kind Of Man Are You
(2:50) 3. Since I Fell For You
(3:04) 4. Cry Me A River
(3:20) 5. Don't Explain
(3:09) 6. Just For A Thrill
(2:58) 7. 'Round Midnight
(3:02) 8. Hard Times
(3:02) 9. Black Coffee
(3:19) 10. Travellin' Light
(3:07) 11. Drinking Again
(3:33) 12. Here's That Rainy Day
(3:26) 13. Save Your Love For Me
(2:20) 14. Don't Smoke In Bed
(2:54) 15. Crazy He Calls Me
(3:23) 16. Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most

British pop-jazz-blues crooner Elkie Brooks (born Elaine Bookbinder) dominated U.K. radio in the late '70s with a series of hit singles that established her as "the biggest-selling female album artist in the history of the British pop charts." The Manchester native, who grew up in an extremely musical family, left school at the age of 15 to join a dance band in London. She eventually mad the jump to radio, as well as numerous appearances with legendary jazz bandleader Humphrey Lyttelton, before embarking on a career in pop music.

The early '60s saw the budding young singer releasing singles for Decca and EMI, as well as opening for everyone from Carl Perkins to the Beatles, but commercial success remained elusive. She joined the blues-rock band Dada in 1970, which would eventually find success through a name change (Vinegar Joe) and the arrival of a new vocalist, Robert Palmer. The popular group released three beloved records before disbanding in 1974, and after a brief stint with U.S. Southern rock band Wet Willie, Brooks decided to take another crack at a solo career. The resulting Rich Man's Woman, Two Days Away, Shooting Star, Live & Learn, Pearls, and Pearls II, as well as frequent sold-out tours and numerous silver, gold, and platinum recordings, would go on to cement her reputation well into the 21st century. By James Christopher Monger
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/elkie-brooks-mn0000797077#biography

'Round Midnight

Clarence Penn - Behind the Voice

Styles: Jazz
Year: 2024
Time: 39:25
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 91,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:16) 1. Send One Your Love
(5:36) 2. Come Talk to Me
(4:09) 3. Growing Trade
(5:54) 4. Sometimes It Snows in April
(3:55) 5. Everlong
(4:59) 6. The Heart of the Matter
(3:49) 7. Why Can't It Wait Till Morning
(3:57) 8. Human Nature
(3:46) 9. You Are

Clarence Penn has been one of the most dynamic drummers in jazz since his New York City arrival 33 years ago. His work with Wynton Marsalis, Betty Carter, Diane Reeves and Michael Brecker has been extensively documented, as have his own musical explorations, including 2014's "Monk: The Lost Files." "Behind the Voice" goes a whole new direction as Penn unfurls inventive reimaginings of the works of influential drummers behind some of the greatest pop music created.

Songs by Phil Collins, Levon Helm, Stevie Wonder, Peter Gabriel & Dave Grohl receive expansive modern treatments through Penn's production along with a bevy of collaborators, including vocalists Kurt Elling, Aaron Marcellus & Toku, guitarists Adam Rogers & Gilad Hekselman, and many more. "... a celebration of their artistry, their passion, and their indelible mark on the music we cherish." "... gesture and space surging from a place of heart-felt and fluid integrity... Penn exudes such enthusiasm and love for the music-it is simply impossible not to feel uplifted." By Jazz Time https://www.amazon.com.au/Behind-Voice-Clarence-Penn/dp/B0D1CS2X5R

Behind the Voice

Thursday, August 29, 2024

Glenn Miller Orchestra Scandinavia - A String of Pearls

Styles: Jazz, Big Band
Year: 2011
Time: 61:47
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 145,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:23) 1. Moonlight Serenade
(3:12) 2. In The Mood
(3:07) 3. Perfidia
(3:01) 4. Little Brown Jug
(3:34) 5. Tuxedo Junction
(3:05) 6. Under Blue Canadien Skies
(3:12) 7. A String Of Pearls
(2:57) 8. Everybody Loves My Baby
(4:48) 9. Chattanoga Choo-Choo
(3:36) 10. American Patrol
(2:59) 11. Fifth Avenue
(4:37) 12. In A Sentimental Mood
(3:28) 13. Song Of The Volga Boatmen
(3:21) 14. Serenade In Blue
(3:04) 15. Pennsylvania 6-5000
(3:11) 16. When Johnny Comes Marching Home
(4:38) 17. At Last
(2:26) 18. Caribbean Clipper

The Glenn Miller Orchestra Scandinavia, located in Stockholm, Sweden, started to operate July 1st 2010, with permission and authorization from Glenn Miller Productions, Inc., New York, U.S.A. GMO, Scandinavia operates in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland.

Early in 2010, after several years of negotiations, Glenn Miller Productions, Inc. offered Jan Slottenäs the opportunity to acquire a license of the names "Glenn Miller" and "Glenn Miller Orchestra" in Scandinavia, including Finland, from July 1st of the same year. This resulted in Jan, who was in the middle of arrangements for his own band´s 25th anniversary, immediately travelling to New York to meet with David Mackay, JR, CEO of Glenn Miller Productions, Inc. The agreement was signed on March 12, 2010.

Jan's band, under his own name (also specializing in Glenn Miller´s music) became famous for playing as close to Glenn´s original sound as possible. Jan´s intention is to maintain that line with the Glenn Miller Orchestra Scandinavia. More.......https://glennmillerorchestra.se/index.php/orchestra-portrait

A String of Pearls

Hank Jones, Thad Jones - Phases

Styles: Piano And Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 97:38
Size: 226,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:09)  1. Shadowland
(3:34)  2. Pretty Brown
(4:26)  3. You Are Too Beautiful
(6:35)  4. Buzz-At
(2:39) 5. Bye and Bye When the Morning Comes
(5:01)  6. Six and Four
(3:33)  7. You Don't Know What Love Is
(4:34)  8. Lonesome Road
(6:13)  9. Keepin' up with the Joneses
(6:46) 10. Nice and Nasty
(4:10) 11. There Is No Greater Love
(8:05) 12. Ray-El
(4:57) 13. Three and One
(3:16) 14. On the Alamo
(2:52) 15. Little Girl Blue
(4:50) 16. It Had to Be You
(2:29) 17. Teach Me Tonight
(6:23) 18. Lady Luck
(3:14) 19. Mack the Knife
(6:07) 20. Sput 'N' Jeff
(3:34) 21. Royal Garden Blues

The oldest of the Jones brothers, Hank Jones has been a supreme accompanist and underrated soloist. He's among the most accomplished sight readers in jazz, and his flexibility and sensitive style have kept him extremely busy cutting sessions and working in various groups and styles ranging from swing to bebop. He's worked with vocalists, played in big bands and done many solo, trio, and combo dates.

Born in 1918 in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Jones moved with his family to the Detroit area while still a child, and studied piano early, listening carefully to Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, Earl Hines, and Fats Waller. He began playing in the midwest at age 13, and worked in territory bands. Jones met Lucky Thompson in one of these groups, and Thompson invited him to New York in 1944 to work with Hot Lips Page at the Onyx Club. Jones worked for a while with John Kirby, Howard McGhee, Coleman Hawkins, Andy Kirk, and Billy Eckstine, then began touring in 1947. He worked with Jazz at the Philharmonic, then accompanied Ella Fitzgerald from 1948 to 1953. Jones also cut many sessions for Norman Granz's labels in the late '40s and early '50s, many with Charlie Parker. He worked and recorded in the '50s with Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, Lester Young, Milt Jackson, and Cannonball Adderley before joining CBS' staff in 1959. He worked on such programs as The Ed Sullivan Show and stayed with CBS until they disbanded the staff in 1976. He recorded several sessions with Savoy in the mid- and late '50s, playing with Donald Byrd, Herbie Mann, Wendell Marshall, and Kenny Clarke, among others. He also recorded solo and quartet dates for Epic. His quartet with Osie Johnson, Barry Galbraith, and Milt Hinton became one of New York's busiest during the early '60s, sometimes doing three dates a day. They cut albums for Capitol and ABC in 1958, though Galbraith missed the ABC sessions.

Jones continued recording at Capitol, Argo, and Impulse in the early '60s, at times working with his brother Elvin. He made a host of recordings in the '70s. There were solo dates for Trio and Galaxy, and trio sessions for Interface and Concord, among others in the '70s. There were duo dates with Flanagan for Verve and Galaxy in the late '70s. Jones served as pianist and conductor for the Broadway musical Ain't Misbehavin in the late '70s. He also played in the Great Jazz Trio, originally with Ron Carter and Tony Williams. (Buster Williams replaced Carter on the trio's first recording date.) Jones continued with the trio into the '80s, though Eddie Gomez and Al Foster later became his mates, and Jimmy Cobb replaced Foster in 1982. The trio also backed Art Farmer, Benny Golson, and Nancy Wilson. Jones was the resident pianist at the Cafe Ziegfeld in the early '80s, and toured Japan with George Duvivier and Sonny Stitt. He kept his recording blitz going into the digital era. In 1989, he was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master. In 2004, he was awarded as an ASCAP Jazz Living Legend; five years later, he received a National Medal of Arts; and in 2009, Jones earned a Lifetime Achievement award at the Grammys. One year later, he died in the Bronx while in hospice, just a few weeks after returning from performance dates in Japan. ~ Ron Wynn https://www.allmusic.com/artist/hank-jones-mn0000558339/biography

A harmonically advanced trumpeter/cornetist with a distinctive sound, as well as a talented arranger/composer, Thad Jones (the younger brother of Hank and older brother of Elvin) had a very productive career. Self-taught on trumpet, he started playing professionally with Hank Jones and Sonny Stitt when he was 16. After serving in the military (1943-1946), Jones worked in territory bands in the Midwest. During 1950-1953 he performed regularly with Billy Mitchell's quintet in Detroit and he made a few recordings with Charles Mingus (1954-1955). Jones became well-known during his long period (1954-1963) with Count Basie's Orchestra, taking a "Pop Goes the Weasel" chorus on "April in Paris," and sharing solo duties with Joe Newman. While with Basie, Jones had the opportunity to write some arrangements and he became a busy freelance writer after 1963. He joined the staff of CBS, co-led a quintet with Pepper Adams, and near the end of 1965, organized a big band with drummer Mel Lewis that from February 1966 on, played Monday nights at the Village Vanguard. 

During the next decade the orchestra (although always a part-time affair) became famous and gave Jones an outlet for his writing. He composed one standard ("A Child Is Born") along with many fine pieces including "Fingers," "Little Pixie," and "Tiptoe." Among the sidemen in the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra (which started out as an all-star group and later on featured younger players) were trumpeters Bill Berry, Danny Stiles, Richard Williams, Marvin Stamm, Snooky Young, and Jon Faddis, trombonists Bob Brookmeyer, Jimmy Knepper, and Quentin Jackson, the reeds of Jerome Richardson, Jerry Dodgion, Eddie Daniels, Joe Farrell, Pepper Adams, and Billy Harper, pianists Hank Jones and Roland Hanna, and bassists Richard Davis and George Mraz. In 1978, Jones surprised Lewis by suddenly leaving the band and moving to Denmark, an action he never explained. He wrote for a radio orchestra and led his own group called Eclipse. In late 1984 Jones took over the leadership of the Count Basie Orchestra but within a year bad health forced him to retire. Thad Jones recorded as a leader for Debut (1954-1955), Blue Note, Period, United Artists, Roulette, Milestone, Solid State, Artists House, A&M, Metronome, and many of the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra's best recordings have been reissued on a five-CD Mosaic box set.~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/artist/thad-jones-mn0000133119/biography

Phases

Elkie Brooks & Humphrey Lyttelton - Trouble in mind

Styles: Vocal And Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:48
Size: 95,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:53)  1. Three Long Years
(4:51)  2. Trouble in mind
(5:57)  3. Ev'ry day I have the blues
(4:01)  4. I cried for you
(2:58)  5. If you're goin' to the city
(3:19)  6. Jelly bean blues
(3:25)  7. Yesterdays
(3:03)  8. Mister bad penny blues
(4:50)  9. Rocky mountain blues
(3:23) 10. I'm gonna lock my heart
(4:34) 11. Some other spring
(4:34) 12. Do your duty
(2:54) 13. What's your story mornin' glory

British pop-jazz-blues crooner Elkie Brooks (born Elaine Bookbinder) dominated U.K. radio in the late '70s with a series of hit singles that established her as "the biggest-selling female album artist in the history of the British pop charts." The Manchester native, who grew up in an extremely musical family, left school at the age of 15 to join a dance band in London. She eventually mad the jump to radio, as well as numerous appearances with legendary jazz bandleader Humphrey Lyttelton, before embarking on a career in pop music. The early '60s saw the budding young singer releasing singles for Decca and EMI, as well as opening for everyone from Carl Perkins to the Beatles, but commercial success remained elusive. She joined the blues-rock band Dada in 1970, which would eventually find success through a name change (Vinegar Joe) and the arrival of a new vocalist, Robert Palmer.

The popular group released three beloved records before disbanding in 1974, and after a brief stint with U.S. Southern rock band Wet Willie, Brooks decided to take another crack at a solo career. The resulting Rich Man's Woman, Two Days Away, Shooting Star, Live & Learn, Pearls, and Pearls II, as well as frequent sold-out tours and numerous silver, gold, and platinum recordings, would go on to cement her reputation well into the 21st century. By James Christopher Monger https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/elkie-brooks/id14933100#fullText

Personnel: Elkie Brooks (vocals); Humphrey Lyttelton (trumpet, bongos); Mick Hutton (cuatro, bass guitar); Jimmy Hastings (flute, clarinet, alto saxophone); Kathleen Stobart (tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Pete Strange (trombone); Ted Beament (piano); Adrian Macintosh (drums).

Trouble in mind

Rebecca Pidgeon - SONGS OF L.A.

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2024
Time: 40:09
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 92,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:38) 1. Happy Bottom Club
(2:28) 2. Everybody Learning to Fly
(3:12) 3. Valjean
(3:33) 4. Big As The Sea
(2:59) 5. Murder In My Room
(3:02) 6. Cry
(3:50) 7. The Magical Blend
(3:10) 8. 12733
(3:29) 9. Una Y Otra Vez
(3:14) 10. Eyes Wide Open
(3:32) 11. China Lake
(3:57) 12. Sex Magic

Singer/songwriter Rebecca Pidgeon will be releasing her 11th full-length album Songs of L.A. on February 23, 2024, in CD and digital formats. The album expresses Pidgeon’s longtime “fascination with filmmaking, both its beauty and its seamier exploitative side.” The song and video for “Cry” are out now.

The new songs were composed with long-time writing partner David Batteau, and they focus on figures like the pioneering female aviator Poncho Barnes, who flew stunts in Hell’s Angels and Betty Page, the 1950s pin-up girl who mysteriously disappeared at the height of her popularity.

Sonically, Songs of LA is Rock-oriented, a return to Pidgeon’s 1980s Indie Rock origins. She wrote several of these songs on autoharp, giving them a jangly sound.
https://wildfiremusic.net/2023/12/23/rebecca-pidgeon-explores-a-fascination-with-filmmaking-for-songs-of-l-a/

SONGS OF L.A.