Jeff Lynne - Long Wave

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 24:28
Size: 56.0 MB
Label: Frontier Records
Styles: Pop/rock
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[2:19] 1. If I Loved You
[2:30] 2. So Sad
[2:51] 3. Mercy, Mercy
[2:14] 4. Running Scared
[2:18] 5. Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered
[2:30] 6. Smile
[2:32] 7. At Last
[2:29] 8. Love Is A Many Splendored Thing
[1:49] 9. Let It Rock
[2:52] 10. Beyond The Sea

When Jeff Lynne was growing up, he listened to music on longwave radio, soaking up all the sounds coming through the big radio in the living room. His 2012 tribute to these days, appropriately called Long Wave, is a far-reaching salute to the glory days of pop in the years before the Beatles. It's too easy to peg this as a standards album, a designation that isn't quite accurate. Lynne may cover many show tunes along with '50s favorites of big-band vocalists but he spends nearly as much time with rock & roll, and not just the operatic pop of his fellow Traveling Wilbury Roy Orbison, either. He cranks through Chuck Berry's "Let It Rock," slides into the silken harmonies of the Everly Brothers on "So Sad," and grooves through Don Covay's "Mercy, Mercy." These are the cuts that stick the closest to the original hit recordings. When Lynne tackles Rodgers & Hammerstein ("If I Loved You"), Rodgers & Hart ("Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered"), Fain & Webster ("Love Is a Many Splendored Thing"), and Chaplin ("Smile"), he breaks the song down to its melodic basics then builds up candied, layered arrangements that are distinctly his own, suggesting the gorgeous cascades of sound that were the signature of prime ELO. Indeed, when these sweet reinterpretations are combined with the straight-ahead rockers, Long Wave adds up to a blueprint in reverse for Lynne; by going to back to his beginnings, he winds up figuring out why he went in the direction he did. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Jeff Lynne (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards, vibraphone, drums, background vocals); Marc Mann (strings); Steve Jay (shaker, tambourine).

Long Wave

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Tom Rust & The Malcolm Edmonstone Trio - Are We There Yet?

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 44:09
Size: 101.1 MB
Label: Swing Out
Styles: Contemporary jazz vocal, Easy Listening
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[4:41] 1. Tv Blues
[3:04] 2. The Coffee Song
[4:50] 3. Learning The Blues
[5:12] 4. Saturday Night
[3:12] 5. Witchcraft
[3:45] 6. The Bare Necessities
[3:51] 7. I Only Have Eyes For You
[4:29] 8. Ruby Baby
[4:09] 9. Honey Suckle Rose
[3:54] 10. That's Amore
[0:00] 11. I Keep Going Back To Joe'sâ
[2:57] 12. Orange Coloured Sky

Are we there yet? is another collaboration with The Malcolm Edmonstone Trio. The jazz trio features Malcolm Edmonstone on piano, Andrew Bain on drums, Julian Jackson and Alec Dankworth on bass. This "Radio friendly" recording has a considered vocal approach and intimacy of recording that takes the listener through a thoroughly entertaining journey. Edmonstone's arrangements give the impression of a big band, with confident vocals from the slightly altered lyrics of the opening track TV Blues, right through to the snappy arrangement of Orange Coloured Sky. Rust has dedicated this CD to beautiful and precious gifts, his two children.

Tom Rust - Voice; Malcolm Edmonstone - Piano; Julian Jackson - Double Bass; Alec Dankworth - Double Bass; Andrew Bain - Drums.

Recorded at Red Gables Studios in London.

Are We There Yet?

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Roy Meriwether - This One's On Me

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 64:18
Size: 147.2 MB
Label: Fahrenheit
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 1999
Art: Front

[ 5:57] 1. The Sidewalks Of New York
[ 4:16] 2. This One's On Me
[ 6:42] 3. Don't Look Under The Bed
[ 7:24] 4. When I Think Of Miles
[10:45] 5. Ah George, We Hardly Knew You
[ 5:38] 6. Don't Call Me Brother (& Rip Me Off)
[ 6:05] 7. Please Send Me Someone To Love
[ 5:41] 8. Soup & Onions
[ 5:27] 9. Silver Mist
[ 6:19] 10. The Beautiful Ones

New York City-based pianist Meriwether has always had chops to burn, as he displays here. There are instances, however, where he does tone down and get into more soulful, patient constructions. Bassist Chris Berger and drummer Neal Smith are relatively unheralded, but do their rhythmic jobs in buoying the leader's flights of fancy. Meriwether also composed several of these ten selections. Three are ballads: the moderately slow title track; the slower "Silver Mist," an older composition (1968) which Meriwether revisits; and the languid "When I Think of Miles." He also penned the wildly upbeat soul blues "Soup & Onions," another older tune (1966) that has perennially been a set closer in his live dates. The pianist also has a penchant for jazzing up pop tunes: The O'Jays "Don't Call Me Brother" is done as a waltzy funk; Prince's "The Beautiful Ones" as a steady tick-tock ballad; and the universal Percy Mayfield evergreen "Please Send Me Someone to Love" as a patently slow and sweet number. A little more progressive is the Don Pullen piece "Ah George, We Hardly Knew Ya" in a six-beat blues funk bag with none of Pullen or Meriwether's histrionic pianistics, but with plenty of soul. A blues strut -- perhaps what the pianist does best á la Gene Harris -- appears on "Don't Look Under the Bed," while Meriwether's signature tune "Sidewalks of New York" sports "Cherokee" changes and inflections of "When I Grow Too Old to Dream" in solid blues-gospel garb where the pianist splashes note clusters and furious runs in showy fashion. For those who are familiar with Meriwether's expertise, this CD will serve as further evidence of his talent. For those who are not, this may be a good primer to lead toward his older recordings, especially the Columbia discs of the '60s. ~ Michael G. Nastos

This One's On Me

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Geri Allen - Maroons

Styles: Piano Jazz

Label: Blue Note

Year: 1992

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 72:19

Size: 166,5 MB

Art: Front

(1:32)  1. Feed the Fire I

(7:06)  2. No More Mr. Nice Guy

(5:32)  3. And They Partied

(4:38)  4. Number Four

(5:45)  5. Prayer for Peace

(7:40)  6. Mad Money

(2:49)  7. Two Brothers

(3:29)  8. Feed the Fire II

(5:01)  9. Dolphy's Dance

(4:10) 10. For John Malachi

(8:21) 11. Laila's House

(3:19) 12. Feed the Fire III

(1:05) 13. Brooklyn Bound "A"

(5:21) 14. Bed-Sty

(6:25) 15. Maroons

Geri Allen's star had fully risen by 1992 with the release of this potpourri of tracks reflecting various aspects of her recording career and peeking at the future. Detroit mentor Marcus Belgrave appears on two tracks, while trumpeter and husband Wallace Roney is on the remainder of the ensemble selections -- and he has shed the Miles Davis clone visage, striking his own poses and shadings. There are also several trio or quartet tracks with different drummers and bassists, as Allen revisits older material and adds to her widening repertoire with new compositions, always with the ingenious, virtuosic, and spontaneous style that makes her one of the most interesting players in modern post-McCoy Tyner jazz. A remake of "No More Mr. Nice Guy" (done with Charlie Haden and Paul Motian on In the Year of the Dragon) is rendered a bit faster here with bassist Dwayne Dolphin and drummer Tani Tabbal, but retains its elusive, cryptic quality. There are three versions of "Feed the Fire" as preludes -- one with hand percussionists Tabbal and Pheeroan akLaff; one with them and twin bassists Dwayne Dolphin and Anthony Cox; and a third with Allen, Dolphin, and Tabbal -- and all are very energetic and probing, with drum solos or bop notions inserted. The best trio track is "Bed-Sty" with Dolphin and Tabbal, a steamrolling, head-nodding piece, swimming in the spontaneous improvisations only Allen can conjure on the spot. 

Of the cuts featuring the emerging personal voice of Roney's trumpet, "Mad Money" is all about the insane drive for the Benjamins, deliberate and clipped in its modal melody, but moving right into Allen's clever solo. "And They Partied" has the contemporary funky M-Base approach with a bit of an inebriated, sauced line from Roney, while the title selection is totally in an underground mood, with the trumpeter evincing voodoo tones but quite unlike Miles Davis. Allen and Belgrave play a jaunty, lyrical duet on the Lawrence Williams composition "Number Four" as a tribute to their Detroit home base, while the two trumpeters join forces for "Dolphy's Dance," an angular, scattered post-bop melody that has future standard written all over it. Because of the variety of groupings, ever-changing and chameleonic through this program, it makes for a remarkable listening session from beginning to end. Dressed in elegant Victorian period clothing in the artwork, Allen seems to suggest that her past is as important as her present -- yet Maroons still exists in modern times, and she refuses to be stuck in old habits while reaching for new vistas, standing solidly on terra firma. Thisexcellent recording is easily recommended to her fans and potential new devotees.~Michael G.Bastos http://www.allmusic.com/album/maroons-mw0000616167.

Personnel: Geri Allen (piano); Marcus Belgrave, Wallace Roney (trumpet); Anthony Cox, Dwayne Dolphin (bass); Pheeroan AkLaff, Tani Tabbal (drums).

Maroons

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Eddie Higgins Trio - Speaking Of Jobim

Styles: Piano Jazz

Label: Sunny Side

Year: 1998

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 58:02

Size: 132,9 MB

Art: Front

(5:40)  1. O Morro Nao Tem Vez

(6:51)  2. I Was Just One More For You

(4:38)  3. Brigas, Nunca Mais

(4:35)  4. Falando de Amor

(3:53)  5. Two Kites

(4:16)  6. Bonita

(5:21)  7. Voce e Eu

(6:32)  8. Choro

(6:26)  9. Felicidade

(3:17) 10. So Tinha De Ser Com Voce

(3:52) 11. Caminhos Cuzados

(2:34) 12. Inutil Paisagem

By now everyone has heard at least one of Antonio Carlos Jobim's beautiful compositions, if only his most famous ones, "Girl From Ipanema" or "Desafinado," playing poppishly in an elevator or mall somewhere. His work has been recorded by every combination of instrument and voice, including Sinatra's. What distinguishes this CD from hundreds of others is its inclusion of 11 relatively obscure Jobim tunes, and the way this classy trio succeeds in communicating the essence of his special gifts with a minimum of fuss and feathers. (One track is a Carlos Lyra composition, "Voce e Eu," which blends in nicely.) The arrangements are elegant, combining jazz and Brazilian rhythms to gently swing the melodies and highlight Jobim's lush harmonies. The under-recognized pianist Eddie Higgins is a delight: Straightforward, relaxed, and varied, he sizzles on the up-tempo "Two Kites" and does a gorgeous rubato turn on "Inutil Pasagem" (Useless Landscape), one of Jobim's most heartbreaking songs. 

The always melodic bassist Jay Leonhart has some wonderfully warm solos, and demonstrates his superb bowing technique on several tracks, including the lovely "Bonita," while drummer Terry Clarke is consistently sensitive and vital, whether lofting a samba or swaying a ballad. It's difficult to pick highlights from this collection of sparkling gems, but it's easy to recommend it. An excellent introduction to Jobim's unique beauty, it will also appeal to long-term fans who already have an extensive collection of his work. Highly recommended.~Judith Schlesinger http://www.allmusic.com/album/speaking-of-jobim-mw0000620445.

Personnel: Eddie Higgins (piano); Jay Leonhart (bass); Terry Clarke (drums).

Speaking Of Jobim

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Richie Beirach & George Coleman - Convergence

Styles: Jazz

Year: 1990
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:43
Size: 130,4 MB
Art: Front

( 6:57)  1. The Lamp Is Low
( 6:48)  2. I Wish I Knew
( 4:39)  3. Flamenco Sketches
( 5:15)  4. Rectilinear
( 6:54)  5. For BC
( 5:45)  6. Riddles
( 6:16)  7. Zal
( 3:27)  8. What Is This Thing Called Love?
(10:37)  9. Infant Eyes

Pianist Richie Beirach and saxophonist George Coleman interpret a collection of standards, with a few Beirach originals thrown in for good measure. Beirach's a world-class jazz romantic; his soft touch makes it sound as if there's a pillow underneath the keyboard. Which is not to say he's an imprecise player, or needlessly docile. He's really quite the opposite, but there's an underlying gentleness to his work that imparts an air of vulnerability to everything he plays, even when he's at his most aggressive. Coleman is similar, in a way, though the saxophonist's sensitivity is occasionally camouflaged by a good-natured surliness that we know is just a front. On this album, Coleman can't help but put his heart on his sleeve Beirach's accompaniments demand it. The music that results is a nice blend of the bucolic and the temperamental; the pianist's pastoral tranquility combines with the saxophonist's restless urbanity to good ends.~Chris Kelsey http://www.allmusic.com/album/convergence-mw0000279091.

Personnel: Richie Beirach (piano); George Coleman (tenor & soprano sax).

Convergence

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Cathy Segal-Garcia & Joe Diorio - Day By Day

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 46:32
Size: 106.5 MB
Label: Dash Hoffman
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 2007
Art: Front

[4:01] 1. How Deep Is The Ocean
[5:27] 2. I Remember Clifford
[3:03] 3. Taking A Chance On Love
[5:08] 4. Estate
[3:59] 5. I Fall In Love Too Easily
[4:45] 6. Day By Day
[6:13] 7. Willow Weep For Me
[5:08] 8. You Are Too Beautiul
[3:47] 9. The Night Has A Thousand Eyes
[4:56] 10. Star Eyes

In 1976 while playing a gig at the jazz club "Donte's" in North Hollywood, I met Cathy for the first time. She asked me if she could sing "Lush Life" with me in Ab. I said, "I have hard enough trouble playing that in Db!" She sang a few tunes and floored us. Well, since then I've been a friend and a fan of hers. She has a sweet and gentle voice that I love. This makes it all the easier to play for her. In 1995 we finally made this CD in a tiny voice-over studio that was cluttered with all kinds of junk. I'm amazed that we got a great CD under such uncomfortable circumstances. But such is the power of music. JOE DIORIO

What a gift for me, to work on a recording with Joe! It turned out to be a ballad album, because every song we moved to, Joe would say, "Hey Cath, how about doing this a little slower?" Joe is a brilliant musician, but he's more than that, because music, of course, isn't all technical prowess... it's soul, spirit, elan vital, the muse, the lovers! That's what he brings to the music. Thank you Joe, and thank to you all for listening. CATHY SEGAL-GARCIA

Day By Day

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Ben Sidran - Dylan Different

Time: 46:10
Size: 107.3 MB
Label: Nardis Music
Styles: Cool, Vocal jazz
Year: 2009
Bitrate: 320K/s
Art: Front

[3:25] 1. Everything Is Broken
[3:18] 2. Highway 61 Revisited
[3:46] 3. Tangled Up In Blue
[4:47] 4. Gotta Serve Somebody
[3:46] 5. Rainy Day Woman
[2:57] 6. Ballad Of A Thin Man
[4:58] 7. Maggie's Farm
[3:51] 8. Knockin' On Heaven's Door
[3:39] 9. Subterranean Homesick Blues
[3:09] 10. On The Road Again
[3:20] 11. All I Really Want To Do
[5:08] 12. Blowin' In The Wind

Upon hearing "Everything Is Broken," the opening track of Ben Sidran's Dylan Different, a collection of Bob Dylan covers that uncovers a near symbiotic connection to his source's material, one wonders what took him so long to record this. Sidran chose a dozen tunes from Dylan's songbook and recorded them over four days in France, applying his requisite musicality, unaffected jazzman's cool, and streetwise yet elegant poetic imagination. There is a decidedly old-school feel to the manner in which this material is recorded that recalls his late-'70s sides. Sidran plays Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, and acoustic piano as well as a Hammond B-3, and is accompanied by a killer backing band that includes trumpeter Michael Leonhart, drummer Alberto Malo, bassist Marcello Giuliani, saxophonist Bob Malach, guitarist Rodolphe Burger, and vocalist Amy Helm. His son Leo did the horn arrangements and played additional piano, B-3, and koto, and there are guests on backing vocals, including Georgie Fame, who duets on "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35," and Jorge Drexler on "Knockin' on Heaven's Door." What it all adds up to is a truly new presentation of Dylan's work that seamlessly fits Sidran's aesthetic without removing the authority of these songs from their historical context. Check the nocturnal funky groove on "Gotta Serve Somebody" or the bluesy dual pianos on "Tangled Up in Blue," on which Sidran does his talk-singing accompanied by female backing vocalists on the chorus and a restrained horn section. He turns the tune into a slippery, finger-popping club number. Dylan's slide guitar anthem "Highway 61 Revisited" is given a lithe Latin treatment with Burger's guitar referencing the original even as the piano and rhythm section make it a funky-butt slow-boiling rhumba. The minor-key swing in "Ballad of a Thin Man" accents the tune's poetry while extrapolating harmonies in the minor-key arrangement. Given Sidran's treatment of the lyric, if you didn't know better, you might think he wrote it. (The bass clarinet solo by Malach is a sweet touch, too.) He took the greatest liberties with "Maggie's Farm," which is not frenetic guitar-based blues-rock here, but a late-night, shimmering piece of beat jazz with an eerie arrangement that extends the reach of the tune's cultural and economic critique into the heart of the new century. Sidran even has the stones to redo "Blowin' in the Wind." He makes it as disturbingly inquisitive and world-weary as the song itself must feel by now, but without losing a measure of its poignancy. Dylan Different reveals Sidran as being in full possession of his jazz and creative gifts but also his ones for interpretive song; by turns, with this fine album, he adds even more weight to the argument that Dylan is a writer of folk songs that transcend their eras of origin in relevancy. ~ Thom Jurek

Ben Sidran (vocals, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, Hammond b-3 organ, Wurlitzer organ); Leo Sidran (guitar, koto, piano, Hammond b-3 organ); Rodolphe Burger (guitar); Bob Malach (flute, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone); Michael Leonhart (trumpet, flugelhorn); Marcello Giuliani (acoustic bass, electric bass); Alberto Malo (drums, percussion); Amy Helm (background vocals).

Dylan Different

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Eddie Higgins Trio - Haunted Heart

Styles: Jazz
Label: Venus Records
Year: 1998
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:17
Size: 115,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:43)  1. My Funny Valentine
(4:40)  2. Haunted Heart
(7:24)  3. Stolen Morments / Israel
(5:31)  4. Lush Life
(6:04)  5. How My Heart Sings
(4:46)  6. Someone To Watch Over Me
(5:11)  7. I Should Care
(6:57)  8. Lover Come Back To Me
(3:56)  9. Isn't It Romantic?

The lonely cover photo and title of this Japanese import give away most of the story; this is a haunted, introspective album of piano-trio jazz very much indebted to Bill Evans and, to a lesser extent, George Shearing. Veteran Eddie Higgins mostly serves up standards from the Great American Songbook -- "My Funny Valentine," "Someone to Watch Over Me," "I Should Care," "Lush Life," the usual suspects -- in a tasteful, unshowy, often gently swinging way, harmonically locked into the mainstream, occasionally throwing in a gentle quote for humor's sake. Elsewhere, "Israel" forms the core of a "Stolen Moments" sandwich, and "Lover Come Back to Me" is given the token bossa nova treatment. Ray Drummond (bass) and Ben Riley (drums) make up the fine rhythm section, and they never miss a cue.~Richard S.Ginell (http://www.allmusic.com/album/haunted-heart-mw0000046753).

Personnel: Eddie Higgins (piano); Ray Drummond (bass); Ben Riley (drums).

Haunted Heart

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Stan Getz - Autumn Leaves: 27 Standards

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 79:19
Size: 186.0 MB
Label: Retrospective Records
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 1980
Art: Front

[3:07] 1. Autumn Leaves
[2:50] 2. Indian Summer
[2:55] 3. There's A Small Hotel
[3:21] 4. What's New?
[2:55] 5. Too Marvellous For Words
[3:17] 6. I've Got You Under My Skin
[2:44] 7. My Old Flame
[2:54] 8. You Stepped Out Of A Dream
[3:05] 9. Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams
[3:16] 10. The Lady In Red
[2:56] 11. Gone With The Wind
[2:46] 12. On The Alamo
[2:48] 13. Yesterdays
[3:01] 14. You Go To My Head
[2:31] 15. Strike Up The Band
[2:24] 16. Imagination
[2:29] 17. Out Of Nowhere
[2:55] 18. 's Wonderful
[2:47] 19. It Might As Well Be Spring
[2:49] 20. This Song Is You
[3:15] 21. Moonlight In Vermont
[3:26] 22. Tenderly
[3:03] 23. The Way You Look Tonight
[3:21] 24. Stars Fell On Alabama
[2:25] 25. Lullaby Of Birdland
[2:27] 26. Fools Rush In
[3:19] 27. These Foolish Things

One of the all-time great tenor saxophonists, Stan Getz was known as "The Sound" because he had one of the most beautiful tones ever heard. Getz, whose main early influence was Lester Young, grew to be a major influence himself and to his credit he never stopped evolving.

Getz had the opportunity to play in a variety of major swing big bands while a teenager due to the World War II draft. He was with Jack Teagarden (1943) when he was just 16, followed by stints with Stan Kenton (1944-1945), Jimmy Dorsey (1945), and Benny Goodman (1945-1946); he soloed on a few records with Goodman. Getz, who had his recording debut as a leader in July 1946 with four titles, became famous during his period with Woody Herman's Second Herd (1947-1949), soloing (along with Zoot Sims, Herbie Steward, and Serge Chaloff) on the original version of "Four Brothers" and having his sound well-featured on the ballad "Early Autumn." After leaving Herman, Getz was (with the exception of some tours with Jazz at the Philharmonic) a leader for the rest of his life. ~excerpt from bio by Scott Yanow

Autumn Leaves: 27 Standards

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Veronica Mortensen - Pieces In A Puzzle

Styles: Vocal
Label: Stunt Records
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:36
Size: 97,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:50)  1. Garden of my past
(3:57)  2. Julie
(4:06)  3. Flavour of the season
(4:44)  4. I am here for you
(3:21)  5. If
(4:30)  6. I't doesn't matter who's to blame
(3:59)  7. Mondays
(3:37)  8. You're on your own
(4:05)  9. Miles and miles apart
(4:21) 10. Running out of time
(2:00) 11. I am here for you

Born in Aarhus (Denmark), singer VERONICA MORTENSEN was raised by her mother in Athens, Greece. At the age of 20, she moved back to Denmark to pursue a singing career – a natural choice, being the daughter of 2 musicians. She started her own soulband, a mini-bigband playing Aretha Franklin covers and Motown-classics, and soon after joined the more experimental acidjazzband Virtual Fantasy. Veronica Mortensen graduated from Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus in the summer of 1996 and took her Diploma exam from Rythmic Conservatory of Copenhagen in 1998. She has performed on several albums and TV-shows, both as a lead singer and as a background vocalist. She also has appeared in rockmusicals like “A tribute to the Blues Brothers”, “Another Brick In The Wall” and “Hair” playing in both Copenhagen and Paris.

Her 2 albums “Pieces In A Puzzle” (2003) and “Happiness Is Not Included” (2007) got very fine reviews by the press and were both chosen for “Album of the week” by the Danish national radio (DR). The albums generated concerts in Denmark and abroad, among them at Bangkok Heineken Jazzfestival (Thailand), Beijing Jazzfestival (China) and at Ladies’ Jazzfestival in Gdynia (Poland). Beside her own music and band, she has also appeared with Peter Vuust Quartet, with whom se recorded the cd “Image Of Falling” (Imogena Records, 2005).

In 2007 Veronica Mortensen received a prize from Danish Songwriters’ Association (DPA), acknowledging her work as a songwriter. Lately she has been working with several Big Bands, among them Athens Big Band (Greece) and swedish Bohuslän Big Band, with whom she’s been touring a number of times in Sweden. She has been a popular guest with Klüvers Big Band from Aarhus (Denmark) for the last 15 years and among many concerts, they have played the Aarhus Jazzfestival, toured Estland and played “Sacred Concerts” of Duke Ellington.

Veronica Mortensens 3rd album “I’m The Girl” is a live recording with Klüvers Big Band from Ridehuset in Aarhus, released in April 2010 on Stunt Records. The album shows what a great live performer she is and contains not only her own material, but also interpretations of other well-known songs. Special guests are Dave Samuels (US) on vibraphone/marimba and Dennis Mackrel (US) on drums. Bio (http://veronica.dk/biography).

Pieces In A Puzzle

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Phil Woods Quintet - Bouquet

Styles: Bop, Hard Bop, Saxophone Jazz, Jazz Instrument
Label: Concord Jazz
Year: 1989
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:35
Size: 118,1 MB
Scans: Front

( 9:26)  1. Theme From Star Trek
( 0:22)  2. Introductory Announcement
(11:20)  3. Bouquet
( 0:25)  4. Introductory Announcement
(10:18)  5. Tune Of The Unknown Samba
( 0:18)  6. Introductory Announcement
( 7:54)  7. Mom
(11:27)  8. Willow Weep For Me

Phil Woods' combos of the 1970s, '80s and '90s have helped to keep the tradition of bop alive by adding to the music's repertoire and featuring creative solos within bop structures; high musicianship and stable personnel have also helped. Recorded live at the 1987 Fujitsu-Concord Jazz Festival in Tokyo, Bouquet is a well-balanced set consisting of five lengthy workouts for the altoist's 1987 quintet (which also includes trumpeter Tom Harrell, pianist Hal Galper, bassist Steve Gilmore and drummer Bill Goodwin). "Theme From Star Trek" is taken at a blazing tempo that is highlighted by a fiery and witty tradeoff of two-bar phrases by Woods and Harrell. The trumpeter's moody ballad "Bouquet" precedes Hal Galper's "Tune of the Unknown Samba," a Latin piece that finds the pianist taking solo honors. Woods' emotional "Mom" and a surprisingly brisk "Willow Weep for Me" (with the altoist hinting at Eric Dolphy) wrap up this fine CD, easily recommended to Phil Woods' fans.

Bouquet

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Wes Montgomery - The Montgomeryland Sessions (CD1) And (CD2)

Styles: Jazz
Label: Phoenix Records
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 77:43 (CD1)
Size: 177,9 MB (CD1)
Time: 79:19 (CD2)
Size: 181,6 MB (CD2)
Art: Front

(CD1)

( 2:33)  1. Finger Pickin'
( 6:57)  2. Sound Carrier
( 4:47)  3. Lois Ann
( 7:33)  4. Bud's Beaux Arts
(10:08)  5. Bock To Bock
( 3:58)  6. All The Things You Are
( 4:41)  7. Billie's Bounce
( 5:55)  8. Far Wes
( 3:30)  9. Leila
( 6:38) 10. Old Folks
( 4:11) 11. Wes' Tune
( 4:37) 12. Hymn To Carl
( 4:03) 13. Montgomeryland Funk
( 4:23) 14. Stompin' At The Savoy
( 3:42) 15. Love For Sale

(CD2)

(4:53)  1. Summertime
(3:57)  2. Monk's Shop
(6:16)  3. Falling In Love With Love
(3:33)  4. Renie
(6:40)  5. Ouverture
(6:19)  6. And This Is My Beloved
(5:01)  7. Fate
(4:55)  8. Stranger In Paradise
(3:29)  9. Baubles, Bangles And Beads
(7:24) 10. Not Since Nineveh
(3:42) 11. A Good Git Together
(3:49) 12. Feed Me
(3:57) 13. Music In The Air
(2:53) 14. Pretty Strange
(5:03) 15. The Shouter
(2:22) 16. Social Call
(4:54) 17. Out Of The Past

Wes Montgomery's admirers have often speculated on what direction his career might have taken had he not died prematurely in 1968. Would he have returned to straight-ahead bop, or would the slick, heavily produced smooth jazz he turned to during the last few years of his life continue to be his primary focus? Would there have been any Montgomery Brothers reunions in the ‘70s? One can only speculate. But what we can say for certain is that when he was still bop-oriented, the influential guitarist made his mark both as a leader and on sessions he co-led with bassist Monk Montgomery and pianist/vibist Buddy Montgomery. The Montgomery Brothers' pre-‘60s output is the focus of The Montgomeryland Sessions; spanning 1955-1959, this two-CD set contains the albums The Montgomery Brothers Plus Five Others and Montgomeryland in their entirety. Also included are live performances from the Kismet album (recorded at the Forum Theater in Los Angeles in 1958) and Jon Hendricks' A Good Git-Together (which finds The Montgomery Brothers backing that risk-taking singer at Fugazi Hall in San Francisco in 1959). 

And collectors will be glad to know that this double-CD contains a rare Montgomery Brothers version of Cole Porter's "Love for Sale" from 1955. The Montgomeryland Sessions isn't the last word on Wes Montgomery's recordings with his brothers; for example, this release doesn't get into their Groove Yard session of 1961. But it takes more than a superficial look at their late-‘50s activities, and even though The Montgomeryland Sessions isn't recommended to casual listeners, it's a release that serious collectors will be glad to have.~Alex Henderson (http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-montgomeryland-sessions-mw0001457396).

The Montgomeryland Sessions (CD1)

The Montgomeryland Sessions (CD2)

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Bobby Troup - Bobby Troup Sings Johnny Mercer

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 35:17
Size: 80.8 MB
Label: Marathon
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 1957/2010
Art: Front

[2:51] 1. Jamboree Jones
[2:48] 2. Midnight Sun
[2:22] 3. Come Rain Or Come Shine
[2:34] 4. Laura
[4:26] 5. That Old Black Magic
[4:13] 6. One For My Baby
[2:25] 7. Cuckoo In The Clock
[2:50] 8. Day In, Day Out
[2:52] 9. Jeepers Creepers
[2:46] 10. (Love's Got Me In A) Lazy Mood
[2:57] 11. Skylark
[2:07] 12. I'm With You

Bobby Troup is better known as a composer ("Route 66") than performer, but the English CD reissue of Bobby Troup Sings Johnny Mercer, a mid-'50s studio session made for Bethlehem, showcases his vocals. Accompanying himself on piano on some of the tracks and accompanied by bassist Red Mitchell, guitarist Howard Roberts, drummer Don Heath, and valve trombonist Bob Enevoldsen, Troup explores a dozens pieces with lyrics by the masterful Mercer. Troup doesn't have a great vocal range, but his smooth singing style is very appealing. The selection of material includes rarities like the happy-go-lucky "Jamboree Jones" (a piece which also has music by Mercer), "I'm With You" (which he co-composed with Mercer), and the equally fun "Cuckoo in the Clock." Among the many standards present are the swinging but subtle take of "That Old Black Magic," cool instrumental arrangements of "Laura" and "Jeepers Creepers," and a mellow "Skylark." This mellow album is easily recommended. ~Ken Dryden

Sings Johnny Mercer

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Sonny Rollins - Sonny Rollins Plays EP

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 37:57
Size: 88.0 MB
Label: Essential Media
Styles: Hard bop, Saxophone jazz
Year: 1981/2010
Art: Front

[8:58] 1. Sonnymoon For Two
[4:55] 2. Like Someone In Love
[5:55] 3. Theme From Tchaikovsky's Symphony Pathetique
[4:12] 4. Lust For Life
[6:33] 5. I Got It Thad
[7:21] 6. Ballad Medley: Flamingo / If You Were Mine / I'm Through With Love / Love Walked In

Sonny Rollins will go down in history as not only the single most enduring tenor saxophonist of the bebop and hard bop era, but also as one of the greatest contemporary jazz saxophonists of them all. His fluid and harmonically innovative ideas, effortless manner, and easily identifiable and accessible sound have influenced generations of performers, but have also fueled the notion that mainstream jazz music can be widely enjoyed, recognized, and proliferated. Born Theodore Walter Rollins in New York City on September 7, 1930, he had an older brother who played violin. At age nine he took up piano lessons but discontinued them, took up the alto saxophone in high school, and switched to tenor after high school, doing local engagements. In 1948 he recorded with vocalist Babs Gonzales, then Bud Powell and Fats Navarro, and his first composition, "Audubon," was recorded by J.J. Johnson. Soon thereafter, Rollins made the rounds quickly with groups led by Tadd Dameron, Chicago drummer Ike Day, and Miles Davis in 1951, followed by his own recordings with Kenny Drew, Kenny Dorham, and Thelonious Monk. ~excerpt from bio by Michael G. Nastos

Bass – Doug Watkins (tracks: B1, B2), Eddie Jones (tracks: B3), Wendell Marshall (tracks: A1 to A3); Drums – Elvin Jones (tracks: B3), Jo Jones (tracks: B1, B2), Kenny Dennis (tracks: A1 to A3); Piano – Gil Coggins (tracks: A1 to A3), Jimmy Jones (3) (tracks: B1, B2), Tommy Flanagan (tracks: B3); Tenor Saxophone – Frank Foster (tracks: B1, B2), Sonny Rollins (tracks: A1 to A3); Tenor Saxophone, Flute – Frank Wess (tracks: B3); Trombone – Henry Coker (tracks: B3), Jimmy Cleveland (tracks: A1 to A3); Trumpet – Thad Jones (tracks: B1 to B3).

Recorded in November 4, 1957 at the Belton Studios in New York City; Esoteric Sound Studios in New York City; January 6, 1957 at the Esoteric Sound Studios in New York City.

Sonny Rollins Plays EP

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Rosana Eckert - At The End Of The Day

Styles: Jazz Vocals
Label: GEM Records
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:59
Size: 105,3 MB
Art: Front

(2:57)  1. I Know I've Seen This Thing Before
(3:46)  2. Something's Gotta Give
(4:13)  3. Ela é Carioca
(3:45)  4. Mr. Hooper's Find It In A Minute Book
(4:22)  5. At The End Of The Day
(4:40)  6. You're Makin' Me Crazy
(4:58)  7. For Elizabeth
(5:12)  8. Lament
(3:45)  9. Rock Me To Sleep
(5:11) 10. One Mint Julep
(3:05) 11. You Are There

There has been a trend for the past number of years of jazz vocalists opting for original compositions primarily and simply peppering their recordings and performances with stray standards. El Paso native Rosana Eckert conforms to this trend with a collection of original and standard compositions that are fresh and sophisticated. Backed by a crack team of Dallas musicians, including percussionist/husband Gary Eckert, Ms. Eckert effortlessly swings with her well-shaped alto and intelligent ear for lyrics.

The opener, "I Know I’ve Seen This Thing Before," penned by the singer and her hus-band, flows with that jazz perfection one always wishes for in a vocal recording. Ms. Eckert duets first with bassist John Adams, progressively adding the remaining band members, building a quiet tour-de-force. Johnny Mercer’s "Something’s Gotta Give" allows pianist Brian Piper to display his wares in a jaunty fashion. "Ela E Carioca" is a Bossa sway and "Mr. Hooper’s Find It In A Minute Book" a swing-era phonetic and poetic marvel, complete with a growling muted trumpet. Ms. Eckert’s ballads are uni-formly fine. "At the End of the Day" is almost necessarily a lullaby quietly accented with Rodney Booth’s exquisite brass. 

She accomplishes the same with "Lament," a plaintive and pure melody piece gently driven by the core rhythm section. Two wonder-ful inclusions are Benny Carter’s "Rock Me To Sleep," which struts the recording stage with a swagger and wink, and "One Mint Julep" which is a fast, rocking piece with no peers on this recording.  The piece highlights Aaron Kelley’s electric guitar. Ms. Eckert’s debut recording is an occasion for celebration. It is a well conceived and well performed pleaure.~ C. Michael Bailey http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=11836#.Uhpz0T9vA1I

At The End Of The Day

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Corey Christiansen - Lone Prairie

Styles: Straight-ahead/Mainstream
Label: Origin Records   
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:09
Size: 122,0 MB
Scans: Front

(7:10)  1. Dying Californian
(6:52)  2. Streets Of Laredo
(6:55)  3. In The Pines
(4:39)  4. California Widow
(4:22)  5. Sittin' On Top Of The World
(6:32)  6. El Paso
(4:46)  7. Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie
(4:02)  8. Chaparrel
(3:40)  9. Il Grande Massacro
(4:06) 10. Red River Valley / Bootyard

Guitarist Corey Christiansen has released two previous recordings on the Origin label in Roll With It (2008) and Outlaw Tractor (2010). Both were well received and featured Christiansen's ethereal playing, characterized by a deep reverb beneath a slightly overdriven tone. These recordings are uniformly fine, but generally lacked a thematic center (not that one was required).

Having said that, Christiansen provides here a disc with a central theme of music of the American West on Lone Prairie but, if one is expecting "Streets of Laredo" or "Bury Me Not" to feature a border guitar part, think again. Christiansen and his sextet lay a postmodern play over this collection of traditional American western music and compositions inspired by the same. The presence of two keyboardists, Steve Allee and Zach Lapidus, establishes a plushly digital foundation for the ten selections on this recording. Here is a successful musical case that is completely inorganic in the sense that this is music arranged for the postmodern (that word again) soundscape. This is not your father's acoustic jazz.

And Christiansen's cover of "El Paso" is neither Marty Robbins nor the Grateful Dead. It is a fearlessly re-imagined piece with the two keyboards swirling around a muscular and assertive Christiansen while he solos. The song is the Western tone poem that resulted, had Aaron Copland met Robbins for a beer in Austin, then found themselves in Tombstone, AZ. at the O.K. Corral. Likewise is the musical myth created around "Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie." Opened with a simple bass figure by Jeremy Allen, the song slowly builds and ebbs dramatically. Both pieces brag on Christiansen's arrangement abilities and his pacing control.

Lone Prairie works well within its concept, providing music that could score a 21st Century Spaghetti Western as evidenced by the presence of Ennio Morricone's "Il Grand Massacro." Christiansen continues to grow both as a guitarist and as a creative force in his West Coast environment. ~C. Michael Bailey  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=44801#.Uh0CWlcucv4

Personnel: Corey Christiansen: Guitar; Steve Allee: Keyboards, Piano; Zach Lapidus: - Keyboards, Piano, Supercollider; Jeremy Allen: Acoustic And Electric Bass; Matt Jorgensen: Drums; Michael Spiro: Percussion.

Lone Prairie

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Bucky Pizzarelli, Michael Moore, Johnny Frigo, Howard Alden - Hot Club of 52nd Street

Styles: Dixieland/New Orleans/Swing
Label: Chesky Records
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:00
Size: 114,5 MB
Scans: Front

(4:42)  1. Rosetta
(6:23)  2. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
(5:39)  3. Tangerine
(6:42)  4. Nuages
(5:15)  5. Strike Up The Band
(4:07)  6. Some Of These Days
(5:02)  7. Avalon
(6:10)  8. Melancholy Baby
(5:59)  9. I've Got Rhythm

There is no lack of talent or passion on Hot Club of 52nd Street ; for these two reasons alone it would be a noteworthy album. But this is a rare kind of swinging, foot-stomping, finger-tapping live session, as expressive and fiery as it is expertly controlled. Conceived and carried out in the spirit of guitar great Django Reinhardt (incidentally, Hot Club guitarists Bucky Pizzarelli and Howard Alden trained the actors and laid down the soundtrack for Woody Allen’s Django film homage Sweet and Lowdown ), Hot Club of 52nd Street certainly does credit to the wayward genius gypsy’s illustrious name.

The album comprises nine standards, all performed with an ear for pure melody. Things begin playfully enough with “Rosetta,” as the rhythm guitarist (Alden? Pizzarelli? Does it even matter with a quartet as cohesive as this?) twice shimmies his way down a partial scale, allowing Johnny Frigo to enter with his violin and spin, dance, pirouette, somersault. As he bows out, the other guitarist comes in. He seems to dismantle and reassemble his acoustic guitar, strumming all the while. Throughout the four-minute tune, Michael Moore plucks his bass notes, each as clear and distinct as though he were slyly mirroring the guitar picking.

The rendition of “On the Sunny Side of the Street” which follows is one of the best I have ever heard jaunty, confident, carefree, brimming with optimism and goodwill. “Tangerine” simply rockets forward. (Despite its speed, it isn’t the 3:39 the liner notes claim. It’s actually 5:39.) Here rhythm guitar and bass unite to propel the song via a locomotion that suggests an all-out sprint rather than a mere pitter-pat. They use this same technique to astounding, vibrant effect later on “Strike up the Band.”

Reinhardt’s own ballad “Nuages” floats and drifts as lazily, as it ought to. Frigo’s double solo, with all the weeping and laughing of his instrument, is the most salient among them. “I Got Rhythm,” the closing track, takes the Gershwins' tune to a country hoedown: impressive finger picking by at least one of the guitarists matched with Frigo’s fiddle-like exuberance.

For a Chesky release, the quality of the recording is open to debate. Pristine sound is not the issue here, it’s the applause that enthusiastically and invariably follows each solo, always far louder than the quartet itself. This is fine for those who listen to a live recording and enjoy feeling a part of the audience. If you prefer a more privileged vantage somewhere closer to the musicians than the crowd in New York City’s A.C. Pianocraft Recital Hall  Hot Club of 52nd Street will be something of a disappointment. Playing the disc at the volume it deserves means reaching for the volume knob three or four times per song to compensate for the whistles, shouts and clapping.~ Eric J.Iannelli http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=13820#.Uh0AQlcucv4

Personnel: Bucky Pizzarelli, acoustic guitar; Michael Moore, bass; Johnny Frigo, violin; Howard Alden, acoustic guitar

Hot Club of 52nd Street

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Down To The Bone - Cellar Funk

Styles: Jam Band
Label: Narada Jazz
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 77:06
Size: 176,5 MB
Scans: Front

(5:33)  1. Back In Business
(5:18)  2. Cellar Funk
(5:56)  3. I'll Always Hold You Close
(5:53)  4. Timeless
(6:59)  5. The Flow
(5:20)  6. Crossing Boundaries
(6:49)  7. You're The Only Reason
(7:00)  8. Dancing To A Samba
(5:43)  9. Global Village
(5:45) 10. L.A. Shakedown
(5:02) 11. Little Smile
(4:57) 12. Down In The Basement
(6:44) 13. Back In Business (The Business Mix)

In 1996, when Down to the Bone’s From Manhattan to Staten shook the doldrums off smooth jazz, this new sound was fresh, funky and just plain fun. It still is. DTTB, led by British producer Stuart Wade, is now a veteran of the groove-jazz genre, whose dance staples are hip enough to be packaged into many smooth jazz discs.

DTTB works like this: Wade hums a melody, hears what instruments might come into play, and, along with his mates in his regular band, recruits session musicians who help fine-tune melodies and rhythms. Guests include Hammond B-3 player Brian Auger and Brazilian jazz vocalists Flora Purim and Guida de Palma. The creative process works for Wade, who will admit to anyone that he can’t play a lick of music. Scoff, but the proof is in the jam.

As a true jam band, DTTB’s music often dulls the senses with its repetition, as on “I’ll Always Hold You Close.” But wait, that’s a good thing. Your mind wanders for a few minutes, then flits back to the groove when Auger’s Hammond work tears through the speakers. Same with “Timeless,” which offers a tasty acoustic guitar lick, something the band hasn’t tried before. Elsewhere, Purim’s Carioca vocalese is perfectly suited for “The Flow,” where a horn riff blows over a festival-like rhythm. “Crossing Boundaries” and “Dancing to a Samba” also have a Brazilian flavor, and are driven by percussion that shakes like dancers at Rio’s carnaval.

Although most of DTTB’s songs are fairly busy (“LA Shakedown” is inspired by Blaxplotation movies and has a great Chic-like guitar riff), once in a while the band shows it can make a tight single as well. Exhibit A is “You’re the Only Reason,” an in-the-pocket groove with some tasty Hammond work and simply stated bass-and-drum line. ~Brian Soergel  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=13119#.Uhz-t1cucv4

Personnel: Stuart Wade (programming); Neil Angilley (keyboards); Neil Cowley (keyboards); Richard Sadler (bass); Shilts (tenor saxophone, flute); Ian Crabtree (guitar); Andy Watson (trombone); Lee Vivian (trumpet); Martin Gray (saxophone); Brian Auger (Hammond B3); Flora Purim (vocals); Guida De Palma (backing vocals); Matt Coldrick (guitar); Martin Shaw (trumpet); Julian Crampton (bass)

Cellar Funk

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Grant Green - The Complete Quartets with Sonny Clark (2-disc set)

THE COMPLETE QUARTETS WITH SONNY CLARK includes the albums NIGERIA, GOODEN'S CORNER and OLEO as well as 3 additional tracks. This two-disc set gathers together the cuts for three Blue Note sessions teaming Grant Green with Sonny Clark. The first, NIGERIA, was originally release posthumously in 1980 and features Green's only collaboration with drummer Art Blakey. GOODEN'S CORNER and OLEO were both only released in Japan in 1979 and 1980, respectively. The latter two sessions featured Louis Hayes on drums along with Sam Jones, the bassist for all three albums. Luckily these sessions have been carefully restored and release for all to hear. The focus of all three session is mainly on standards. In the hands of Green and Clark, however, these familiar tunes become something else entirely. The force of their strong musical personalities is so consuming that works like Gerswin's "It Ain't Necessarily So," here taken as a grungy shuffle, take on a whole new light. Likewise, the Kern-Hammerstein classic "The Song Is You" and Cole Porter's "What Is This Thing Called Love" are both as fresh and exciting as the day they were written. Disc two features Henry Mancini's "Moon River" reshaped into a delightful bounce and Green's shockingly unusual read of Sonny Rollins' "Oleo." Also found here are some Green originals including the dynamic "Hip Funk."

Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on December 23, 1961 and January 13 & 31, 1962. I

Grant Green (guitar); Sonny Clark (piano); Sam Jones (bass); Art Blakey, Louis Hayes (drums).

Album: The Complete Quartets (Disc 1)

Bitrate: 320K/s

Time: 69:33

Size: 159.2 MB

Label: Blue Note

Styles: Guitar jazz

Year: 1997

[ 7:29] 1. Airegin

[10:18] 2. It Ain't Necessarily So

[ 5:44] 3. I Concentrate On You

[ 5:52] 4. The Things We Did Last Summer

[ 7:42] 5. The Song Is You

[ 6:21] 6. Nancy (With The Laughing Face)

[ 7:34] 7. Airegin (Alt Take)

[ 6:21] 8. On Green Dolphin Street

[ 6:19] 9. Shadrack

[ 5:49] 10. What Is This Thing Called Love

The Complete Quartets With Sonny Clark (disc 1)

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Album: The Complete Quartets (Disc 2)

Bitrate: 320K/s

Time: 64:30

Size: 147.7 MB

Label: Blue Note

Styles: Guitar jazz

Year: 1997

Art: Front

[5:34] 1. Moon River

[8:10] 2. Gooden's Corner

[7:36] 3. Two For One

[5:40] 4. Oleo

[7:10] 5. Little Girl Blue

[7:16] 6. Tune Up

[8:35] 7. Hip Funk

[8:27] 8. My Favorite Things

[5:58] 9. Oleo (Alt Take)

The Complete Quartets With Sonny Clark (disc 2)

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