George Gee & His Make Believe Ballroom Orchestra - Swingin' Live

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 59:00
Size: 135.1 MB
Label: Swing 46
Styles: Big Band, Swing
Year: 2005
Art: Front

[5:38] 1. Come On In
[4:53] 2. Blues For Stephanie
[5:20] 3. Down For The Count
[2:30] 4. Let The Good Times Roll
[4:57] 5. Where Or When
[6:27] 6. Shiny Stockings
[5:19] 7. Four-Five-Six
[4:26] 8. Street Of Dreams
[5:09] 9. April In Paris
[4:23] 10. Here's That Rainy Day
[6:37] 11. Wailin' Caylen
[3:17] 12. Splanky

Principally recorded live at Irving Plaza, New York, New York on January 26, 1997. Includes liner notes by George Gee. This is the first recording by THE GEORGE GEE BIG BAND (formerly known as The Make-Believe Ballroom Orchestra) recorded live at a big band swing dance for The New York Swing Dance Society in January of 1996 at Irving Plaza in New York City. Features selections arranged by legendary jazz writer Frank Foster and two songs sung by 1999 Grammy-nominee jazz vocalist Carla Cook.

George Gee (leader); Carla Cook (vocals); Cleave Guyton (piccolo flute, alto saxophone); Ed Pazant (alto saxophone); Lance Bryant, Marshall McDonald, Benny Russell (tenor saxophone); Al Acosta (baritone saxophone, bass clarinet); Dave Stahl, Kenny Rampton, Walt Szymanski, Irvin Stokes (trumpet); Charles Stephens, Eddie Bert, Joe Fiedler (trombone); Wayne Coniglio (bass trombone); Richard Liberson (guitar); Jon Cowherd, Sara Jane Cion (piano); Daryl Hall (bass); Dave Gibson (drums).

Swingin' Live

---

Various - Come Together: Guitar Tribute To The Beatles

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 58:42
Size: 136.1 MB
Label: NYC Music
Styles: Album rock, Alternative rock, Guitar jazz
Year: 1993
Art: Front

[4:51] 1. Mark Whitfield - Come Together
[6:04] 2. Toninho Horta - She's Leaving Home
[5:54] 3. Ralph Towner - Here, There, And Everywhere
[8:19] 4. Steve Khan - Within You, Without You/Blue Jay Way
[5:13] 5. Zachary Breaux - Eleanor Rigby
[2:16] 6. Adrian Belew - Blackbird
[5:24] 7. John Abercombie - And I Love Her
[4:54] 8. Allan Holdsworth - Michelle
[5:53] 9. Leni Stern - Norwegian Wood
[5:41] 10. Larry Coryell - Something
[4:09] 11. Toots Thielemans - Yesterday

Strictly speaking, this isn't just a guitar tribute to the Beatles, although stringed instruments that are plucked, strummed, and otherwise manipulated are in abundance, representing styles and sounds that will recall Django Reinhardt at one moment and the Mahavishnu Orchestra at the next. Toots Thielemans adds some astonishingly tasteful harmonica (and whistling) to "Yesterday" and Thomas Dawson's organ is almost a lead instrument on "Come Together." But it's the guitars (plus some superb bass) that make up the core of this delightful recording. Larry Coryell, Steve Khan, Ralph Towner, Adrian Belew, John Abercrombie, Allan Holdsworth, Toninho Horta (whose Brazilian-flavored rendition of "She's Leaving Home" is worth the price of admission by itself), and others do what they do best, and the results are revelatory and dazzlingly entertaining. This reviewer's favorite cut was Khan's medley of "Within You, Without You/Blue Jay Way," but that's just because it's that much more unexpected than anything else here. Mark Whitfield's lead work on the title cut, which is also the leadoff track, sets the bar pretty high for the rest of the CD, but everyone clears it and then some, each in his own way. One only wishes there'd been a follow-up album. ~Bruce Eder

Come Together: Guitar Tribute To The Beatles

---

Stan Getz - Big Band Bossa Nova

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 33:29
Size: 77.3 MB
Label: Verve
Styles: Saxophone jazz, Bossa Nova
Year: 1962, CD in 2008
Art: Front

[5:46] 1. Manha De Carnaval (Morning Of Carnival)
[2:59] 2. Balanco No Samba
[4:40] 3. Melancolico
[2:58] 4. Entre Amigos
[4:09] 5. Chega De Saudade (No More Blues)
[4:55] 6. Noite Triste
[3:26] 7. One Note Samba
[4:32] 8. Bim Bom

Fresh from the sudden success of Jazz Samba and "Desafinado," Stan Getz asked the 28-year-old, strikingly gifted Gary McFarland to arrange a bossa nova album for big band as a follow-up. Getz is always his debonair, wistful, freely-floating self, completely at home in the Brazilian idiom that he'd adopted only a few months before. McFarland usually keeps things nice and spare (although "One Note Samba" is uncharacteristically cluttered and a bit too discordant for the material), letting his pungent voicings stab the air now and then, while allowing the soloists all the room they want within the confines of producer Creed Taylor's tight timings. Four of the eight songs are by McFarland (none of which would become standards), and Getz makes relaxed impressions with "Manha de Carnival" and "Chega de Saudade." Jim Hall takes the role of acoustic guitarist from Charlie Byrd with his usual fluidity, and Hank Jones ruminates in a boppish way on piano. This album also charted quite respectably (number 13) in the first flush of the bossa nova boom. ~Richard S. Ginnell

Big Band Bossa Nova

---

Sylvia McNair - Romance: A Collection Of Latin Love Songs

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 46:47
Size: 107.1 MB
Label: IUMusic/LAMC
Styles: Latin vocal jazz
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[5:03] 1. Dindi
[4:12] 2. The Boy From Ipanema
[3:09] 3. Perfidia
[4:07] 4. Besame Mucho
[5:29] 5. Faceira
[2:54] 6. Corcovado
[2:59] 7. Chorinho Pra Ele
[4:19] 8. Insensatez
[4:15] 9. Agua Debeber
[4:12] 10. Quizas, Quizas, Quizas
[3:18] 11. Solamente Una Vez
[2:43] 12. Sway

Featuring Grammy-award winning vocalist Sylvia McNair, and the stellar performances of Indiana University Jacobs School of Music jazz faculty Tom Walsh, Jeremy Allen and Luke Gillespie, Romance takes us through the soulful and intoxicating experience of Latin American love songs. Romance conjures images of platonic, playful, and contented love along with stories of passion, betrayal, and heartache, told through the rhythms of bossa nova, bolero and cha cha cha from Brazil, Cuba, and Mexico. Produced by IU's Latin American Music Center, with participation by the young leaders of its Latin American Popular Music Ensemble under the direction of Guido Sanchez-Portuguez, Romance includes famous songs by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Agusti­n Lara, and Consuelo Velasquez among several other classics of the genre. Singing in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, Sylvia McNair shows us a new facet of her vocal virtuosity, and joins the ranks of famous American singers like Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and Linda Ronstadt in their embrace of the great Latin love songs.

Romance is an IUMusic-LAMC production from the Indiana Jacobs School of Music.

Romance: A Collection Of Latin Love Songs

---

Fats Waller & His Rhythm - A Handful Of Keys

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 58:46
Size: 134.6 MB
Label: Buddha
Styles: Piano jazz, Traditional jazz
Year: 1999
Art: Front

[1:05] 1. Ain't Misbehavin'
[3:01] 2. The Joint Is Jumpin'
[3:01] 3. Inside (Aka Inside This Heart Of Mine)
[2:15] 4. I Had To Do It
[2:49] 5. E Flat Blues
[2:28] 6. Hold My Hand
[2:54] 7. Stop Beatin' 'round The Mulberry Bush
[2:31] 8. What's The Matter With You
[1:35] 9. Hallelujah!
[3:26] 10. What's Your Name
[2:38] 11. I Simply Adore You
[2:29] 12. My Best Wishes
[1:57] 13. Handful Of Keys
[3:16] 14. The Sheik Of Araby
[4:01] 15. The Flat Foot Floogie
[1:58] 16. St. Louis Blues
[3:34] 17. Pent Up In A Penthouse
[3:40] 18. Honeysuckle Rose
[2:37] 19. I Got Rhythm
[2:12] 20. Some Of These Days
[2:01] 21. After You've Gone
[3:10] 22. Yacht Club Swing

A HANDFUL OF KEYS features previously unreleased live radio transcriptions originally broadcast in 1938. Recorded live at NBC Studios and The Yacht Club, New York, New York in 1938. Includes liner notes by Will Friedwald. As a label, the U.K. 's Proper does a pretty decent job of assembling a great cross-section of tracks, decent sound, and fairly annotated notes (though labels names seldom if ever appear either in liner notes or in track notations, only catalog number... hmmmm) all for a really great price. Hardcore fans of most artists will either have most or all of the material in their boxes, but those curious enough to look deeper into an artist than a single- or double-disc hits package will want to investigate Proper's catalog. This set of Fats Waller material covers the years 1922 -1943, virtually his entire professional career. Each disc has its own title and runs basically chronologically, from his solo work through his many ensembles. This is a laymen's collection, and is hardly exhaustive of any period, rather merely representative. True fans will want to seek out the RCA sets which are exhaustive in their research, presentation and execution. This is a fine introductory package, but that's it. ~ Thom Jurek

Fats Waller (vocals, piano); Gene Sedric (tenor saxophone, clarinet); Herman Autrey (trumpet); Al Casey (guitar); Cedric Wallace (bass); Slick Jones (drums). Producers: Mike Ragogna, Glenn Korman, Will Friedwald.

Recording information: NBC Studios, New York, NY (07/05/1938-10/18/1938); Yacht Club, New York, NY (07/05/1938-10/18/1938).

A Handful Of Keys

---

Poncho Sanchez - Keeper Of The Flame (2-Disc Set)

Released in 2001, Keeper of the Flame isn't a compilation, an anthology, or a best-of. Instead, this package finds Concord reissuing Poncho Sanchez' first two Picante dates, 1982's Sonando and 1983's Bien Sabroso, as a two-CD set. Those albums weren't Sanchez' first ones ever -- before signing with Concord, the conguero recorded two LPs for Discovery in 1979 and 1980, respectively. Neither Sonando nor Bien Sabroso ever went out of print, and those who already have those albums on CD have no reason to acquire Keeper of the Flame. However, this double-CD is well worth obtaining if you don't have those albums on CD.

Back in 1982-1983, Sonando and Bien Sabroso set the tone for Sanchez' Concord output -- like his subsequent albums, both are dominated by instrumental Latin jazz but contains a few salsa vocal numbers as well. The noteworthy salsa tracks on Keeper of the Flame include the spirited "Este Son" (featuring vocalist Jose Perico Hernandez) and the infectious cha cha "Sonando," which is based on Ray Barretto's "Cocinando." As solid and rewarding as this material is, Sanchez would only get better as the 1980s progressed. But Keeper of the Flame reminds listeners that his association with Concord got off to a promising start with Sonando and Bien Sabroso. ~ Alex Henderson

Recorded at United/Western Studios, Hollywood, California in August 1982. Includes liner notes by Leonard Feather & Virginia Escelante.

Poncho Sanchez (congas, percussion, background vocals); Dick Mitchell (flute, saxophone, tenor saxophone); Gary Foster (flute, saxophone); Steve Huffsteter (trumpet, flugelhorn); Mark Levine (trombone, valve trombone); Charlie Otwell (piano); Ramon Banda (drums, timbales); Luis Conte (bongos, bata, percussion, background vocals); David Romero (bongos); Tony Banda (background vocals).

Album: Keeper Of The Flame (Disc 1)
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 42:12
Size: 97.7 MB
Label: Concord
Styles: Latin Jazz
Year: 2001
Art: Front

[4:07] 1. A Night In Tunisia
[5:33] 2. Sonando
[4:35] 3. The Summer Knows
[5:29] 4. Con Tres Tambores Bata Un Quinto Y Un Tumbador
[5:52] 5. Este Son
[5:14] 6. Almendra
[3:13] 7. Sueno
[3:55] 8. Cal's Pals
[4:10] 9. Peruchin

Keeper Of The Flame (Disc 1)

---

Album: Keeper Of The Flame (Disc 2)
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 40:08
Size: 93.0 MB
Label: Concord
Styles: Latin Jazz
Year: 2001
Art: Front

[3:55] 1. Ahora
[4:09] 2. Bien Sabroso (Very Tasty)
[4:44] 3. Nancy
[5:44] 4. Keeper Of The Flame
[3:39] 5. Brisa
[4:13] 6. Sin Timbal
[4:13] 7. Una Mas
[3:22] 8. Half And Half
[6:04] 9. Ican

Keeper Of The Flame (Disc 2)

---

Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra - Rumba Collection 1992-1997

Time: 52:30
Size: 122.9 MB
Label: Epic
Styles: Flamenco, New Age
Year: 1998
Bitrate: 320K/s
Art: Front

[4:56] 1. Reaching Out 2 U (Todos Bajo La Misma Luna) Salsa 4 Peace
[3:52] 2. Snakecharmer
[4:32] 3. Montana Walking
[4:10] 4. Havana Club
[4:54] 5. Merengue De Alegrias (Candy 4 My Soul)
[4:52] 6. Butterfly + Juniper 4 Kelly
[4:10] 7. Turkish Night (with fade)
[3:40] 8. 'Black Hair In The Wind'
[4:06] 9. Ocean Blvd. / Miami
[4:44] 10. Lone Rider (4 slick) (with fade)
[4:47] 11. Tremulo (De Mi Corazon) (Unreleased Edit)
[3:42] 12. Barcelona Nights/Speed Merengue '97 (Unreleased Version)

Rumba Collection: 1992-1997 is an excellent summation of Ottmar Liebert's rumba recordings of the '90s, capturing some of his very best performances of the decade. Ten of these tracks are drawn from his popular albums for Epic -- Solo Para Ti, The House Between Night and Day, Viva! and Opium -- while two other cuts are previously unreleased: an edited version of "Tremulo" and a "speed merengue" version of "Barcelona Nights." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Rumba Collection 1992-1997

---

Bette Midler - Jackpot: The Best Bette

Time: 67:40
Size: 154.9 MB
Label: WEA/Rhino
Styles: Adult Contemporary, Soft rock
Year: 2008
Bitrate: 320K/s
Art: Front

[2:41] 1. In The Mood
[3:06] 2. This Ole House
[3:48] 3. Beast of Burden
[3:55] 4. Just My Imagination [Running Away With Me]
[3:35] 5. The Rose
[4:59] 6. When A Man Loves A Woman
[1:31] 7. I've Still Got My Health
[5:31] 8. Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most
[4:18] 9. Hello In There
[3:17] 10. The Glory Of Love
[3:12] 11. Tenderly
[4:55] 12. Wind Beneath My Wings
[2:44] 13. Do You Want To Dance
[2:27] 14. Baby Mine
[4:39] 15. From A Distance
[2:18] 16. Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
[2:55] 17. Friends
[5:11] 18. Something Your Heart Has Been Telling Me [Demo Version]
[2:29] 19. Cool Yule

This 20-track collection is the second "Best of Bette" collection & is a good overview of Bette's career. Early hits like "Do You Want to Dance?," "In the Mood," & her signature song "Friends" are balanced with newer recordings like "Cool Yule," which went to #1 on my personal top ten last Christmas. Always, fans will have favorites songs like "In These Shoes," "Shining Star" or "Mambo Italiano" that were not included. However, this volume is well-engineered. The booklet is informative. Several tracks from films are included like the Carole King-David Foster-Carole Bayer Sager tune "My One True Friend" & "Baby Mine" from "Beaches." The previously unreleased demo from 1984, "Something Your Heart Has Been Telling Me," is a delightful track co-penned by Bette, "Last night I heard you calling, I heard you calling out a name I did not know." Two tracks shine here in replay, the Rolling Stones' "Beast of Burden" pops out of the speakers with some burning electric lead guitar; and the Temptations' #1 hit "Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)" shimmers delightfully. "Jackpot!" is an excellent overview from this consummate actress-singer. Bravo! ~Lee Armstrong

Jackpot: The Best Bette

---

Wes Montgomery - A Day In The Life

Time: 34:53
Size: 79.9 MB
Label: A&M
Styles: Guitar jazz
Year: 1967/1990
Bitrate: 320K/s
Art: Front

[5:49] 1. A Day In The Life
[2:45] 2. Watch What Happens
[2:55] 3. When A Man Loves A Woman
[2:32] 4. California Nights
[2:50] 5. Angel
[3:08] 6. Eleanor Rigby
[4:35] 7. Willow Weep For Me
[2:22] 8. Windy
[4:28] 9. Trust In Me
[3:25] 10. The Joker

As is usual on Wes Montgomery's later recordings, underneath all the orchestrated strings, horns, and windwinds, there's a killer rhythm section hard at work, and A DAY IN THE LIFE is no exception, with Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Grady Tate holding everything together. It's hard not to measure everything Montgomery did after 1963 against the four years of cooking, small-group albums he made for Riverside starting in 1959; the later, more arranged material is certainly less pure in terms of jazz content.

But the Verve and A&M albums were conscious attempts to market the guitarist to a wider audience, and as successful pop records, they gave Montgomery some degree of financial security after years of struggling to support a family of six on a jazzman's income. What's remarkable in retrospect is the amount of blowing that does occur here. On "Eleanor Rigby," of all places, the band lays down a groove for Wes to riff over before the strings come cascading back in, and good things happen also on the two standards, "Watch What Happens," and "Willow Weep For Me."

Recorded at Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, New Jeresey on June 6-8 & 26, 1967.

Wes Montgomery (vocals); Margaret Ross (harp); Harry Glickman, Lewis Eley, Julius Brand, Harry Urbont, Tosha Samaroff, Leo Krucczek, Sylvan Shulman, Peter Buonconsigilio, Mac Ceppos, Jack Zayde, Harry Katzman, Gene Orloff (violin); Harold Coletta, Emanuel Vardi (viola); Stanley Webb (bass flute, woodwinds); George Marge, Joe Soldo, Romeo Penque (bass flute); Phil Bodner (woodwinds); Ray Alonge (French horn); Herbie Hancock (piano); Grady Tate (drums); Jack Jennings, Joe Wohletz, Ray Barretto (percussion).

A Day In The Life

---