Deborah Shulman - 2 For The Road

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:33
Size: 137,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:01)  1. Two For The Road
(3:36)  2. Haven't We Met
(3:23)  3. Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year
(4:59)  4. I'm Through With Love
(3:02)  5. You Don't Know What Love Is
(6:11)  6. Where Do You Start
(5:46)  7. The Meaning Of The Blues
(4:44)  8. Something Cool
(2:41)  9. I Wish I Were In Love Again
(3:07) 10. Boy Next Door
(2:54) 11. I Like You, You're Nice
(5:15) 12. Here I Am In Love Again
(3:36) 13. In the Wee Small Hours
(5:11) 14. Some Other Time

Deborah Shulman, Singer, Recording Artist, Vocal Coach Growing up in Los Angeles, Deborah Shulman had the great fortune to be nurtured by a family with a very deep passion for music. Her late parents, both singers, lived in the back of their little music store at Carnegie Hall as newlyweds; her father had aspirations of joining the Metropolitan Opera before WWII intervened in his plan. Considering the family tree includes vaudevillians, a Broadway actor, and music lovers of all stripes, it’s easy to believe the Shulman family lore which says baby Deborah was singing before she was talking. When Deborah visited her grandfather, the renowned violin collector Nathan Posner, at his home in Beverly Hills, she’d sit surrounded by the magnificent instruments and sing her heart out. He made her feel like the world’s greatest singer, though he quietly hoped she would become a violinist. Today, Deborah Shulman is a successful singer and recording artist with an eclectic, international resume. 

The nurturing Deborah received paid off in a more unexpected way for the music world as well: as a vocal coach, Deborah is in demand by the dozens of professional and aspiring singers who come to her for guidance in overcoming large and small vocal challenges.Deborah developed and refined her coaching skills throughout the history of her own training beginning at age eleven, under the deft tutelage of her father (Irving Shulman). At age thirteen, Deborah Shulman became the youngest student ever accepted to The Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California where she studied opera with an esteemed faculty. In the idyllic Central Coast setting, with guitar virtuosos Pepe, Celin and Angel Romero in residence, Deborah grew enamored of the sound of classical guitar, and developed her attraction to song cycles, while enjoying the camaraderie of great artists and students. She also unsuspectingly began to lay the foundation of her own success as a teacher based on her father’s style wherein simple, joyful instruction supplants doubt and apprehension. Deborah jumped into the marketplace while still a student, and sang and auditioned at every opportunity. She hopskotched from operatic soprano and recitalist to pop songstress, musical theater comedienne and back again. She loved Schubert and Judy Garland, Schumann and Barbra Streisand. 

At 15, she attended the Musical Theater Workshop at UCLA with classmates Bonnie Franklin, Judy Kaye and John Rubinstein, and then returned to her roots soon after in the opera program at Cal State Northridge. At the age of 23, when Deborah met the successful actress and singer Ann Jillian at the Civic Light Opera Workshop at the Music Center, she had already been studying professionally for ten years. The two formed a musical partnership that seemed like just what the doctor ordered for a young woman weary from a decade of intense musical study: a way for Deborah to make a living in music, travel the world and blow off a lot of steam that had accumulated. The two singers played clubs for years in London, Sydney, Manila, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and San Francisco under the name Jillian and Shulman and often opened for stars Johnny Ray, Robert Goulet and Carol Lawrence, delivering the wholesome brand of torch that was their specialty. When Jillian left to strike out on her own, Deborah quickly retooled the act as a solo, donned an army issue parka, and took off for the Aleutian Islands on a USO Tour. Later, back in the lower forty eight, Deborah began to pursue more theatrical and musical roles, appearing in many productions with The Actors Alley in Los Angeles. Among her musical theater roles, she portrayed Jellylorum in the second National Company of CATS at the Schubert Theater in Los Angeles. She found success in many other areas of the business as well, including as a librettist for four children’s operas and co-producer of the critically acclaimed L.A. production and National Tour of All Night Strut. 

She began her coaching career with the help of her friend, voice coach Seth Riggs. Her reputation as a generous, skilled teacher became well known and her vocal clientele has grown to include Bette Midler, Linda Ronstadt, Jennifer Warnes; Deborah received a platinum album for her work with David Lee Roth on his recording SKYSCRAPER. Recently, Deborah Shulman found herself to be a startled divorcée and a grieving orphan within the span of a few years. After the unexpected end of her first marriage Deborah comforted herself by listening to standards; the lyrics spoke to her and she was drawn by their truth and tenderness. For Deborah, it was the beginning of a journey forward by calling on the past for strength. In 2004 she teamed up with pianist Terry Trotter, in a collaboration which has produced two sophisticated, elegant recordings: 2004’s 2 for the road, and the brand new My Heart’s In The Wind. Trotter, the jazz pianist known for his interpretation of Sondheim scores, gently coaxed Deborah to use her considerable musical knowledge in a new way. They began to record piano vocal tracks, and Deborah’s mother and father were able to enjoy the beginning of her reinvention before they passed on within six months to the day of each other. Deborah’s liner notes described her inspiration for 2 for the road : “This is my story, my journey, a divorce I never thought would happen;grief, the kind I had only read about; a strength I never knew I had, and a new love, a new beginning and a new marriage.”

Trotter and Shulman recorded 2 for the road in Los Angeles in the highly regarded company of guitarist Larry Koonse, bassist Tom Warrington, and drummer Joe LaBarbara. On 2007’s My Heart’s In The Wind, the same personnel appear, with the exception of the bassist; instead we are treated to the talent of Kenny Wild. Deborah’s affinity for song cycles is celebrated throughout the pacing of the repertoire on both recordings. Rob Lester described Deborah’s debut online at Talkin’Broadway.com: “Silky, subtle, sophisticated and shimmering, Deborah Shulman is pure pleasure to hear if you love a love song sung with an adult been-there, done-that sensibility. She can explore a sad lyric without over-doing the sorrow or skimping on the pure musicality. 2 for the road is a thoroughly classy affair….beginning with the album’s rich, romantic embrace of its Mancini/Mercer title song, to its closer “Some Other Time” from On The Town, this is an album with so many impressive, detailed moments.” On My Heart’s In The Wind, Deborah continued her embrace of classic American Songbook, with selections like “A Sleepin’ Bee,” and “My One And Only Love.” Yet she skillfully expanded her repertoire to include under sung jewels like Mandel’s “The Shining Sea,” Dave Frishberg’s “You are There, ” and “Shiver Me Timbers” by Tom Waits. 

In support of her recordings, Deborah has been performing in a variety of California clubs, including Spazio’s Restaurant in Sherman Oaks, Holly Street Bar & Grill in Pasadena, Club 10/20 at the Bel Age Hotel in Los Angeles, Tom Rolla’s Gardenia, The Hollywood Studio Bar and Grill, and Peter’s in Palm Springs. She recently made her New York debut at Barnes and Nobles Lincoln Center Location, featured in their Any Wednesday series of live performances by emerging and established artists. Deborah is enjoying her twelfth year on the faculty of Joe Malone’s Performing Arts Center, where she designed and teaches voice classes for professional dancers. Her successful curriculum utilizes the basic tenets organic to her style: simplicity and joy in learning. As in her private lessons, she uses her technique to build on an individual’s knowledge and gifts.  http://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/musician.php?id=16785#.U0HMZldSvro

2 For The Road

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Alicia Myers - Peace Of Mind

Styles: Soul, R&B
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:10
Size: 97,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:41)  1. United We Stand
(3:50)  2. Fallin' Apart
(4:33)  3. I Really Really Want You Now
(3:44)  4. Journey
(2:29)  5. Stay
(4:31)  6. Weekend
(4:06)  7. Higher
(5:11)  8. I Will Stand By You
(3:42)  9. Fancy Dancer
(5:21) 10. Peace Of Mind

Alicia Myers has lived a real life since the spotlight from her time as a member of One Way and her respectable career as a singer of tunes such as “I Want to Thank You” and “If You Play Your Cards Right” receded. She worked office jobs, primarily in the medical field even returning to school to beef up her skills in medical transcription. Myers underwent treatment for breast cancer and now devotes herself to the cause fighting the disease by working with Susan G. Komen for the Cure and encouraging black women to stay on top of their health. With real life intervening on a regular basis, Myers didn’t have a lot of time to get back into the music business full time. Myers told a Jet magazine interviewer that she performs occasionally in her hometown of Detroit. Apparently, the itch to create was still there, and this year Myers decided to scratch it by releasing an album titled Peace of Mind. 

The album’s sound will be recognizable to anyone familiar with Myers from her time making funky dance music with Al Hudson or as Anita Baker’s predecessor as the princess of the Motor City’s jazz infused R&B. Myers is clearly in her comfort zone when driving in the smooth lane. The jazz ballad “Stay” melts like butter when Myers applies her smoky vocals to the lyrics. The 1981 song “If You Play Your Cards Right,” showed the Myers has a jazz singer’s sensibility when in comes to rendering vocals that are both understandable and intimate. Unfortunately, “Stay” is the only track on Peace of Mind in which we hear those skills applied to a ballad. Myers gives us a few dance tracks. “Weekend” is an up-tempo party anthem that sports a funky bass line and a catchy hook. Youth oriented artists have annexed the party anthem, and that makes sense to a point. They’re young and have the time and disposable income to hang out. 

However, there have been some pretty memorable party anthems made by grown folks can anybody say Bell and James and Myers mines that vein with this song. The song’s lyrics remind listeners that if anyone needs to go out on a Saturday night, it’s somebody with a job and kids (especially teenaged kids). Good tune, although I thought the ‘ain’t no party like a weekend party’ chant was a bit of overkill. On “Fancy Dancer” Myers seeks to recapture some of that One Way vibe, but the effort falls flat under clichéd lyrics that has the listener visualizing images from every dance floor song made between 1976 and 1979. That miss aside, Peace of Mind is a solid comeback effort for Myers that will hopefully lead to some dates outside of the Motor City and future projects. Recommended. ~ By Howard Dukes   http://www.soultracks.com/alicia-myers-peace-of-mind-review

Peace Of Mind

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Fraser MacPherson - Live at Puccini's 1977

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:59
Size: 112,7 MB
Art: Front + Back

(4:38)  1. I Got Rythm
(5:59)  2. All the Things You Are
(3:43)  3. Body and Soul
(3:33)  4. Goose Pimples
(5:21)  5. Someday You'll Be Sorry
(2:40)  6. Sweet Georgia Brown
(5:07)  7. Struttin' With Some BBQ
(4:35)  8. Drop Me Off In Harlem
(4:37)  9. Sophisticated Lady
(3:10) 10. Honeysuckle Rose
(3:12) 11. Young and Foolish
(2:19) 12. Back Home Again In Indiana

Raised in Victoria, BC, John Fraser MacPherson played clarinet and piano during his formative years. Later he took up the alto and tenor, establishing himself first in Vancouver as an altoist in the bebop tradition before learning to appreciate the subtleties of Johnny Hodges. He stuck to the tenor from the early 1970s on, earning an international reputation, largely influenced by Lester Young, whom he revered. MacPherson moved to Vancouver in 1948. In 1956-57 he studied in New York with Vincent James Abato (saxophone) and Henry Zlotnick (flute). He worked for 20 years in local nightclubs, among them the Palomar (1950-4, with the bands of Chuck Barber, Bob Reid, and Lance Harrison) and the Cave (1961-3 with Chris Gage, 1964-70 leading his own band), where he played with such visiting luminaries as Ella Fitzgerald, Earl Hines, Tony Bennett and Duke Ellington. Concurrently he was a first-call studio musician (saxophone, flute, and clarinet) and occasionally played saxophone with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. 

For many years MacPherson pursued his jazz career largely on CBC radio and TV, initially as a member of the Ray Norris Quintet (circa 1951) and later as a featured sideman with Doug Parker and trombonist Dave Robbins on such shows as 'Jazz Workshop,' as well as fronting his own groups, including a quintet in the early 1960s featuring Carse Sneddon on trumpet and valve trombone, and Gage on piano. Those musicians were later replaced by Ian MacDougall on trombone and Parker on piano. He was heard on alto saxophone as the leader of a nonet in the so-called West Coast style on 'Jazz Workshop' and 1963-4 with a string orchestra in a CBC series of his own called 'The Pretty Sounds of Jazz' (later 'The Sounds of the Sixties'). In 1978, under the aegis of Overture Concerts, he made the first of an unprecedented four tours in the USSR -- his was the first North American jazz group to be invited back behind the former Iron Curtain. Other tours followed in 1981, 1984, and 1986. MacPherson performed under Radio Canada International sponsorship in Europe (Montreux, The Hague) in 1979. In Canada he has made several national tours and performed at most of the major festivals eg, the Montreal Jazz Festival in 1982 and 1984, the Edmonton Jazz Festival in 1984 and 1986, and regularly at the Vancouver Jazz Festival. 

He also has appeared on occasion in the USA (Concord and the Kool Jazz Festival in Detroit with Rosemary Clooney) and in 1986 performed in Australia. MacPherson has remained a favourite on CBC radio jazz shows, among them 'Jazz Radio-Canada' and 'Jazz Beat,' and was host in the summer of 1977 for the former program's series devoted to the history of jazz in Canada. MacPherson was nominated for two Juno Awards, winning 'Best Jazz Album' in 1983 for his duo recording with Gannon (I Didn't Know about You). Besides work under his own name, MacPherson can be heard on recordings by Anita O'Day, Oliver Jones, Charles Mountford, Eiji Kitamura, Dave McMurdo and the Canadian Jazz All-Stars (featuring Jones, Ed Bickert, Jim Galloway, Terry Clarke and Dave Young). MacPherson was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1987 and won the Oscar Peterson Trophy shortly before his death in 1993. ~ Bio   http://www.amazon.com/Fraser-MacPherson/e/B000APXHKU/ref=ac_dtp_sa_bio

Personnel: Fraser MacPherson (tenor saxophone); Oliver Gannon (guitar); Wyatt Ruther (bass guitar).

Live at Puccini's 1977

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J.J. Johnson - Four Trombones - The Debut Recordings

Styles: Trombone Jazz
Year: 1953
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 75:56
Size: 177,9 MB
Art: Front

(14:26)  1. Wee Dot (Blues for some bones)
( 5:03)  2. Stardust
( 6:58)  3. Move
(11:13)  4. Ill Remember April
(14:27)  5. Nows The Time
( 3:29)  6. Trombosphere
(15:19)  7. OW!
( 4:57)  8. Chazzanova

Recorded live at the Putnam Central Club in Brooklyn in September, 1953, and released later that year, this album documents the first meeting of what would become a well-known trombone duo, Jay & Kai. The first of these Jazz Workshops featuring four trombonsists was issued by Vogue about eighteen months ago. This record presents the same musicians in two extended performances. I gave the first volume five stars, but the present release is more mixed in quality, having the defects as well as the virtues of spontaneity. Benny Green's solo stands out in I'll Remember April. J. J. Johnson relies a little too much on his mannerisms on this side, yet it is he who plays the best trombone choruses even if some are a little uneven on Blues For Some Bones. 

Kai Winding and Willie Denis also contribute inventive and contrasting solos. But although all the soloists produce some good jazz, each seems to run short of ideas after a time and be forced to fill in with cliches. Perhaps the real star of the session is pianist John Lewis. His quiet, but not unemotional, playing succeeds in being original as well as satisfying. ~ E.J. , gramophone.net   http://theblues-thatjazz.com/en/jazz/475-jjjohnson/11124-four-trombones-the-debut-recordings-1953.html.

Personnel: J.J. Johnson, Kai Winding, Willie Dennis, Bennie Green (trombone); John Lewis (piano); Charles Mingus (bass);
Art Taylor (drums).

Four Trombones - The Debut Recordings

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Ilona Knopfler - Live The Life

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:26
Size: 132,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:51)  1. I'm Going To Live The Life I Sing About In My Songs
(4:31)  2. Comment Alez-Vous
(3:54)  3. But For Now
(5:07)  4. Ask Me Now (How I Wish)
(5:15)  5. Throw It Away
(4:19)  6. Dansez Sur Moi (Girl Talk)
(4:26)  7. Le Jazz Et La Java
(5:35)  8. This Is Always
(3:55)  9. Parce Que
(3:28) 10. Alone Together
(6:38) 11. Les Moulins De Mon Coeur
(4:24) 12. No Tomorrow

Beaucoup plaisir awaits on this English and French jazz vocal new release. Ilona Knopfler, born in Paris but a pre-school world traveler, made her stage debut at the age of fifteen in Hong Kong and later became the house favorite at the Jazz Club in Hong Kong. Moving to New York, Knopfler studied for five years at the Lee Strasberg Institute. This album was recorded in both New York and Paris.  Live The Life begins with the unlikely gospel anthem of the late Thomas Dorsey, "I'm Going To Live The Life I Sing About." After the stated vocals, a stunning French vocal duo of Knopfler and Kim Nazarian (from New York Voices) emulates the stylings of the Blue Stars of France quite effectively. That is followed by a cooking alto solo from Antonio Hart.

Immediately on the way is the next tune, "Comment Allez-Vous," a signature piece of Blossom Dearie, who coincidentally founded the Blue Stars in the early 1950s.  Many well-chosen songs in both English and French ensue, and all are treated with respect and the appropriate feelings of swing or tenderness. We can include in that group Bob Dorough's "But For Now," Monk's "Ask Me Now" (with lyrics by Jon Hendricks), Abbey Lincoln's "Throw It Away," and Charles Aznavour's "Parce Que." "Dansez Sur Moi" is a French lyric for the 1960s jazz standard "Girl Talk," and "Le Jazz Et La Java" is Dave Brubeck's "Three To Get Ready" (from Time Out), with Knopfler singing vocalese beautifully against the horns, followed by a fine Sean Jones trumpet solo. "Les Moulins De Mon Coeur" is a French translation of the Alan and Marilyn Bergman hit "The Windmills of My Mind." "No Tomorrow" is an Ivan Lins composition with lyrics from Peter Eldridge. The haunting ballads "This Is Always" and "Alone Together" are also highlights.  Producers Jay Ashby and Al Pryor should be proud of this fine album showcasing the talents of Ilona Knopfler. I have no idea what her 2003 debut for Mack Avenue, Some Kind of Wonderful, sounds like, but on paper the selections all consist of pop and rock tunes. ~ Michael P.Gladstone   

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=18462#.Uz9brVdSvro

Personnel: Ilona Knopfler: vocals; Antonio Hart: alto sax; Sean Jones: trumpet; Paquito D'Rivera: clarinet; Alain Mallet: piano; Rufus Reid or James Genus: bass; Marty Ashby: guitar; Jamey Haddad: drums; Kim Nazarian: background vocals.

Live the Life

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Basia - London Warsaw New York

Styles: Jazz Pop
Year: 1989
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:39
Size: 98,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:10)  1. Cruising for Bruising
(4:05)  2. Best Friends
(4:07)  3. Brave New Hope
(3:35)  4. Baby You're Mine
(4:59)  5. Ordinary People
(5:10)  6. Reward
(3:54)  7. Until You Come Back To Me
(3:52)  8. Copernicus
(4:24)  9. Not an Angel
(4:19) 10. Take Him Back Rachel

Basia's tantalizing Brazilian breeze and "Basia-nova" is a sheer delight to listen to. She keeps the same sweet infectiousness which made her debut Time and Tide a platinum stroke of genius. This time she's infused '60s soul and some heartfelt, sparkling ballads, like "Brave New Hope." Her voice is distinctive and lilting, her lyrics interesting, and her production frisky, employing such oddities as accordion and bass sax. Other top cuts include "Best Friends" and a rousing cover of "Until You Come Back to Me." Her disappearance from regular recordings after the mid-'90s (she made a few guest appearances on instrumental albums) was a great loss for adult contemporary music.   ~ Jonathan Widran   

http://www.allmusic.com/album/london-warsaw-new-york-mw0000654459
 

Personnel : Basia (vocals); Danny White (keyboards, drums).

London Warsaw New York

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Keith Ingham - We're In The Money

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:17
Size: 144,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:36)  1. We're In The Money
(3:41)  2. Where Have You Been
(2:55)  3. The Image Of You
(4:00)  4. Mighty Like The Blues
(3:27)  5. Every Now And Then
(3:14)  6. Lulu's Back In Town
(4:30)  7. Pastel Blue
(3:48)  8. She Didn't Say Yes
(3:31)  9. Celestial Boogie
(3:41) 10. Comes Love
(2:46) 11. I Must Be Dreaming
(3:33) 12. Gee, But You're Swell
(3:35) 13. A Room with A View
(4:54) 14. Solid Old Man
(3:50) 15. Let's Get Lost
(3:08) 16. indian Summer
(4:01) 17. Peggy

This ensemble lead by U.K. expatriate Keith Ingham patterns itself on those outstanding small groups which let the bop revolution pass them by and stayed with a more refined approach to jazz. The Manhattan Swingtet finds musical antecedents in small groups led by Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, Tiny Grimes, Ike Quebec, and Earl "Fatha" Hines. Perhaps the Ingham group is a bit more suave than these groups with its swing a bit more sophisticated. Even on tunes where the title hints at some wild things to come, there's a touch of restraint, as on "Celestial Boogie" where Ingham moves over to the small upright celeste. But the group does let its hair down on some tracks as on the title tune "We're in the Money" when Peter Ecklund's laughing trumpet leads the way. In contrast, "A Room With a View" returns to a less hectic stance with Bobby Gordon's middle-register clarinet out front and once again Ingham being aristocratic on the celeste. 

Although euphonious throughout the session, songs like "Mighty Like the Blues" reveal the essence of melodic harmony as Gordon and Ecklund engage in musical byplay that can only be characterized as angelic. Tunes like "Gee, But You're Swell" and "Comes Love" conjure up images of cordial times over drinks at a swank New York lounge. In addition to Gordon and Ecklund, oft-recorded guitarist Chris Flory makes a major contribution on such cuts as "Indian Summer." Ingham is probably better known to many for his accompanist skill. He was musical director for Susannah McCorkle and backed such vocalists as Maxine Sullivan and Joyce Breach. But during his active and varied career, he also recorded with Bob Wilbur, Bud Freeman, and the World's Greatest Band. So he is very much at home in a solely instrumental setting as this album so entertainingly demonstrates. Coming up with just the right mix of up- and medium-tempo material and ballads, along with a blues number or two, We're in the Money is jazz at its cosmopolitan best. Recommended. ~ Dave Nathan  http://www.allmusic.com/album/were-in-the-money-mw0000105867

Personnel : Keith Ingham (piano, celeste); Bobby Gordon (clarinet); Peter Ecklunk (trumpet); Chris Flory (guitar); Murray Wall (bass); Steve Little (drums).

We're In The Money

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Dexter Gordon - True Blue

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1976
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:16
Size: 103,7 MB
Art: Front

(11:06)  1. Ladybird
( 9:33)  2. How Deep is the Ocean
(17:36)  3. True Blue

True Blue is led in title under the auspices of Dexter Gordon as a welcome home party conducted by Don Schlitten for the expatriate tenor saxophonist in 1976. Essentially a jam session, this very talented septet features a two tenor-two trumpet front line, utilized to emphasize the soloing strength of the horns, not necessarily in joyous shouts or big-band like unison outbursts. The real star here is Barry Harris, and if you listen closely to his comping behind the soloist or his many colorful chords and single-line runs, you realize how brilliant he continued to be in his prime during this beyond-bebop time frame. The distinctly different, legato flavored sound of Al Cohn contrasts nicely to the broader range and richer tones of Gordon, while Blue Mitchell's warm West Coast trumpet phrasings also run aside but a little behind the animated and clipped brassy sounds of Sam Noto, a player deserving much wider recognition, and playing to the hilt on this recording. The session kicks off with the classic superimposed melodies of "Lady Bird" and "Half Nelson," with melodies split between the trumpet and tenor tandems. In a larger context this is democracy at its finest, with a finish of eight-bar exchanges, Noto's wiry voicings and Gordon's distinctive, throaty sound, but once again Harris is the glue, with his inventive chord shadings constantly adding depth and substance. 

The ballad "How Deep Is the Ocean?" is led out by Harris ad extensia, while Cohn's solo features held notes that sets him apart from Gordon in shorter partnerships including Noto. Then Mitchell gets his due on the seventeen-and-a-half minute title track, his basic blues swinger where the four horns all play joyously together with little harmonic variation. Mitchell's solo is the first of all, but his is the tone setter in a lighter context, a sky blue sound where air is more important than heft. Gordon's solo, on the other hand, is memorable, sporting his signature swagger, with Harris and drummer Louis Hayes triggering a trading of fours to end the set. There is a companion CD, Silver Blue, that contains the remainder of these famous sessions, a remembrance of the golden years for several of these players, after which Gordon (1990,) Cohn (1988,) and Mitchell (1979) would pass away, but left large legacies. ~ Michael G.Nastos   http://www.allmusic.com/album/true-blue-mw0000262927

Personnel: Dexter Gordon, Al Cohn (tenor saxophone); Blue Mitchell, Sam Noto (trumpet); Barry Harris (piano); Sam Jones (bass); Louis Hayes (drums).

True Blue

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Tierney Sutton Band - American Road

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:16
Size: 140,4 MB
Art: Front

(6:11)  1. Wayfaring Stranger
(5:47)  2. Oh Shenandoah/ The Water Is Wide
(4:24)  3. On Broadway
(6:01)  4. Amazing Grace
(4:48)  5. It Ain't Necessarily So
(5:27)  6. Summertime
(6:55)  7. My Man's Gone Now
(5:23)  8. Tenderly
(2:24)  9. The Eagle And Me
(3:47) 10. Somewhere
(5:10) 11. Something's Coming/Cool
(4:53) 12. America The Beautiful

Solidly innovative and a forward-thinker in jazz vocals arena over the past 15 years, Tierney Sutton has constantly looked backwards while forging a future path that has influenced the likes of Laurie Antonioli and Gretchen Parlato, among many other noted contemporary jazz vocalists. A master of vocal pyrotechnics like Sarah Vaughan, Sutton sings on a high-wire, taking stylistic chances that, more often than not, pay off handsomely. Sutton and her band have been perfecting their unique updating of the great American songbook on such well-received recordings as Desire (Telarc, 2009), On The Other Side (Telarc, 2007) and I'm With The Band (Telarc, 2005). And she provides a tour-de-force in American Road. An important part of the band's unique sound derives from divining the organic earthiness from the standards it selects to perform. Where Cassandra Wilson spent the better part of the 1990s stripping down standards and redressing them with more rustic instrumentation such as acoustic slide guitars, mandolins, violins and other artifacts of rural blues, effecting a more seminal, fecund sound, Sutton accomplishes the same with carefully conceived arrangements, created by the entire band as opposed to a single person. Additionally, she does this with her traditional jazz piano trio of 18 years. 

These arrangements are spare and wide open. Often jarring and dissonant, the clever settings reveal the pieces as dramatically different from traditional performances, revealing their anxious and unsettling elements. American Road follows a year after Laurie Antonioli's America-focused recording, American Dreams (Intrinsic, 2010). Antonioli's organic approach lies between that of Cassandra Wilson's and Sutton's, focusing on using more rustic instrumentation with more original compositions and some truly inspired takes on musical Americana. Antonioli and Sutton intersect with inspired covers of "America The Beautiful," both spare and light, giving the singers plenty of time and room to display their considerable individual vocal wares. There is no edge here, both interpretations equally bring home the American goods. Sutton's choice of repertoire mines deep the American song, drawing from traditional folk sources, spirituals, show tunes and popular music. The disc opens with the Public Domain "Wayfaring Stranger" and "Oh Shenandoah/The Water Is Wide." As on previous recordings, drummer Ray Brinker plays an important role both using novel percussive approaches and keeping time as if by telepathy. The drums become an extension of pianist Christian Jacobs' equally percussive and ornate playing. "Wayfaring Stranger" is performed as if in a home parlor (albeit a "green" one) on a Sunday afternoon, after church and lunch. "Oh Shenandoah/The Water Is Wide" begins with nine muffled microphone strikes buoyed by bassists Kevin Axt and Trey Henry strumming chords, achieving an unsettled environment over which Sutton jazz-vocalizes the lilting melody of "Oh Shenandoah." This segues into Jacobs' clean as spring comping and solo on "The Water Is Wide." Sutton sings the "Oh Shenandoah" melody behind Jacobs' solo, solidifying the continuity of the song pairing. The effect is fresh and vibrant, like the first color Polaroid of Summer. Sutton and company strip all of the glamour from Lieber and Stoller's "On Broadway," leaving a nervous and excited performance where the arrangement leads the way. 

Bassists Axt and Henry shine, producing poly-rhythms with Jacob and Brinker. Sutton sings at her most sinewy and muscular here. To be sure, this is not your parent's George Benson version. This is a juggernaut. The group turns out a graceful and flowing "Amazing Grace," with Jacob providing an orchestral backdrop supported by Brinker's pistol-shot snare and shimmering cymbals. The disc programming establishes two mini-recitals of American monoliths: the Gershwin brothers and Stephen Sondheim/Leonard Bernstein. The Gershwin selections exist as a musical triptych of "It Ain't Necessarily So," "Summertime" and "My Man's Gone Now." "It Ain't Necessarily So" is bold, jarring, dangerous with hard and assertive playing by Jacob and corrosively sardonic deliver by Sutton. The rhythm and time is jack-hammer tight, ensuring a version of this chestnut not likely to be topped. This is likewise true for "My Man's Gone Now," where another hard rhythmic figure dominates the song even in its quieter moments. These songs are no longer the quaint ballads of cabaret singers. Sutton and her band transform them militantly into feral expressions of more base instincts. Gone is nicety and politeness: enter naked realism that is both seductive and refreshing.

Between these two songs is the old standby, "Summertime." Musical treatment here is gentler but no less provocative than Sutton's approach with the other Gershwin offerings. Bass and drums set up a three-note figure transfigured through the harmonic prism of the song. Jacob adds light filigree while Sutton sings with authority and melodic refinement. Jacobs' solo is a study of the skeleton of the piece, distilled to some bare essence. These very familiar tunes have been turned on their head to show a different angle. Sutton digs deep, revealing the novel and unseen in these compositions: dramatic and horizon expanding. After the Gershwins, Sutton turns her attention to Sondheim/Bernstein and West Side Story (1961). "Somewhere" and "Something's Coming/Cool" are given more traditionally dramatic arrangements, with an emphases on the dramatic. 

"Somewhere" is some of the best ballad singing of Sutton's career. The band's arrangement is straightforward and Sutton perfectly balanced and placed. The coupling of "Something's Coming/Cool" returns to the edge of the experimental, where boundaries and perimeters are extended. Over a brooding, ascending piano/bass figure Sutton injects impressive drama, accentuated by the clever arrangement. The transition between the songs is seamless and inventive, again give the arrangement. Not since Gil Evans worked his magic for the first Miles Davis quintet has arranging had such a potent and important effect in small-combo jazz. This is top- notch, full-throttle, jazz vocals. ~ C.Michael Bailey   http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=40384#.UztIqFdSvro

Personnel: Tierney Sutton: vocals; Christian Jacob: piano; Kevin Axt: electric and acoustic bass; Trey Henry: electric and acoustic bass; Ray Brinker: drums.

American Road

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Cyrille Aimée & The Surreal Band - Live At Birdland

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2013
File: MP3@VBR ~148K/s
Time: 61:26
Size: 66,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:34)  1. The Lamp Is Low
(7:46)  2. A Dream Is A Wish
(7:46)  3. Caravan
(5:39)  4. Blue Skies
(6:42)  5. Darn That Dream
(5:21)  6. Well You Needn't
(7:16)  7. You And The Night And The Music
(4:20)  8. Softly As In A Morning Sunrise
(6:18)  9. Nuit Blanche
(6:39) 10. You Stepped Out Of A Dream

Cyrille Aimée has consistently proven herself to be an unstoppable, undeniable talent in the modern age of jazz. Internationally renowned and praised for her unparalleled abilities, Cyrille's vocal stylings are synonymous with musical genius. Her culturally rich background has supplied her with the driving force of Dominican rhythm and the incredible swing of the French Gypsies. Taking these natural abilities with her across the world, she has done nothing short of receiving rave reviews and a loyal following in each country she graces with her voice. Cyrille mastered the art of improvisation while studying at the well known conservatory of jazz at SUNY Purchase, with teachers such as Pete Malinverni, Jon Faddis and Jimmy Greene. Cyrille Aimée was a finalist in the prestigious Thelonious Monk Vocal Competition of 2010, performing in front of a jury of Al Jarreau, Kurt Elling, Dianne Reeves, Dee Dee Bridgewater... In 2007, Cyrille won both the first and public prize in the Montreux Jazz Festival Competition. Cyrille's discography and musical history is an impressive list for any musician, jazz or otherwise. At the young age of 26, she has already released three CDs internationally, including “Cyrille Aimée & The Surreal Band” and “Smile” with Brazilian guitarist Diego Figueiredo currently on iTunes. 

The Japanese label Venus Records has just released Cyrille and Diego’s latest duo album “Just the Two of us” this past November. Cyrille Aimée has been featured on compilations, feature film soundtracks across the globe and on the albums of Denis Chang and David Reinhardt. She fronted France's latest worldwide sensation 'Caravan Palace' on their European tour and performed in front of crowds that number over 10,000 people. Cyrille currently lives in Brooklyn and regularly performs in Manhattan with legends of the East Coast jazz scene. She can be found any given day in the historic jazz clubs of NYC, including Joe’s Pub and Dizzy's Club, with musicians like Steve Davis, Spike Wilner, Tom Kennedy and Anat Cohen among many others. Her latest record “Cyrille Aimée & friends Live at Smalls” features Roy Hargrove and Joel Frahm and is released under the label SmallsLIVE.  http://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/musician.php?id=20226#.U0Bi0VdSvro

Live At Birdland

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Helen Sung - Push

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@256K/s
Time: 55:34
Size: 102,2 MB
Art: Front + Back

(4:46)  1. Conundrum
(5:37)  2. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
(4:50)  3. On A Clear Day
(7:00)  4. Push
(5:46)  5. Beauty For Ashes
(6:47)  6. The Fourth Maria
(5:31)  7. Bittersweet
(5:01)  8. Speak Low
(5:20)  9. The Waiting Game
(4:50) 10. Ugly Beauty

It's always a good sign when the opening cut has you snapping your fingers about fifteen seconds in. Push is pianist Helen Sung's debut effort. The song that elicited the fingersnaps is "Conundrum," a swinger that features some clean-lined tenor sax work by Marcus Strickland. It hits a groove early, and a couple of minutes in Sung sparkles into an effervescent solo. The pianist who semi-finaled in the 1999 Thelonious Monk Jazz Piano Competition exhibits some sharp angularities again when the sax blows back in.  "Vivacity" is the word that keeps coming to mind as I listen to Ms. Sung's music. Her approach brims with life, solid compositions and fine playing. "One Step Forward, Two Steps Back," sans sax with percussionist Jeffrey Haynes joining the pianist,along with drummer Brian Blade and bassist Richie Goods bubbles and jumps. 

Helen Sung is it's obvious having a helluva good time as her imagination soars. The disc's title tune features a marvelously imaginative Sung solo and some of Strickland's finest blowing on the set. Sung has a way of keeping the listener on her/his toes as the rhythm guys settle into a groove behind her while she takes the melody on some surprising twists and turns. The set is a nicely arranged mix of trio/quartet, up-tempo/ballad offerings, and Marcus Strickland switches from tenor to soprano to keep the sound interesting. The song "Bittersweet" sounds just like its title, with the soprano and piano playing the opposing emotions. "The Waiting Game" sounds Monk-ish, and the record closes on a perfect note with Thelonious's "Ugly Beauty," a pensive little solo gem in the hands of Helen Sung. ~ Dan McClenaghan   http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=13045#.Uz3zDldSvro

Personnel: Helen Sung—piano; Marcus Strickland—tenor and soprano saxophones; Richie Goods—bass; Brian Blade—drums; Jeffrey Haynes—percussion

Push

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Jack Jezzro & The Mason Emb - Vintage Romance

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:47
Size: 107,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:05)  1. Moon River
(3:47)  2. It Could Happen to You
(4:16)  3. Overjoyed
(3:34)  4. Can't Help Falling in Love
(3:06)  5. Tangerine
(5:26)  6. The Very Thought of You
(3:46)  7. Waltz for Debby
(2:54)  8. Lullaby of Birdland
(3:25)  9. Unchained Melody
(3:32) 10. All My Loving
(4:03) 11. I Won't Last a Day Without you
(4:48) 12. Someone to Watch Over Me

Jack Jezzro has been one of Nashville’s most versatile musicians and record producers for over 30 years. He has appeared on many Grammy winning recordings and has numerous albums as an artist to his credit. His vast guitar discography as a recording artist includes the critically acclaimed Jazz Elegance and Brazilian Nights recordings, along with the Grammy nominated A Days Journey album. As a bassist, he was a member of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra from 1981-1991. He continues to be a member of the Nashville String Machine, playing on countless hit songs including those by Garth Brooks, Faith Hill, Bruce Springsteen, Carrie Underwood, Amy Grant, George Strait, Jennifer Lopez, Matchbox 20, Vince Gill, Wynonna, Olivia-Newton John, Rascal Flatts, Neil Diamond, Dolly Parton, and The Beach Boys. 

His productions, which number over 300 albums, include legendary jazz pianist Beegie Adair, acclaimed Dove award winning vocalist Kathy Troccoli, Grammy winning pianist/composer and producer Michael Omartian, jazz vocal sensation Jaimee Paul, tenor sax ace Denis Solee, renowned violinist David Davidson, bassist/vocalist Jim Ferguson featuring jazz sax great Chris Potter, singer/songwriter Christina Lake, trumpeter Leif Shires, and jazz violinist Antoine Silverman featuring virtuoso pianist Stefan Karlsson. His music and productions could also be heard in several motion pictures, including the recent Woody Allen movie, "To Rome With Love."  http://www.jackjezzro.com/

Personnel: Jack Jezzro (guitar); Mason Embry (piano); Joshua Hunt (drums).

Vintage Romance

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Lisa Maxwell With The Keith Ingham Quartet - Happy

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:42
Size: 104,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:00)  1. I'll Take Romance
(2:30)  2. You Can't Lose A Broken Heart
(3:24)  3. Sunday In New York
(4:05)  4. The Folks Who Live On The Hill
(3:06)  5. It Might As Well Be Spring
(4:42)  6. Someone To Watch Over Me
(2:49)  7. My Heart Goes With You
(3:50)  8. Going Out Of My Head
(2:59)  9. This Is Always
(2:59) 10. Blue Moon
(2:38) 11. Under A Blanket Of Blue
(2:49) 12. June Night
(3:30) 13. Skylark
(3:15) 14. A Wonderful Guy

Lisa Maxwell's debut, Return to Jazz Standards (Self Produced, 2010), was well-received when released, marking the New York singer's recovery and comeback from a vocal cord disorder that sidelined her for several years earlier in the decade. Maxwell returns with Happy, a recital of not-so-standard standards, supported by Maxwell's coach, pianist Keith Ingham, and his fine quartet. The result is an evolution in cohesiveness and vision.  In a word, Maxwell's Happy is breezy. Her voice has filled out in all the right places and betrays a youthful, scrubbed, girl-next-door coquettishness. "Pretty" and "unadorned" will also describe this voice. Maxwell's natural instrument is her greatest asset, and her singing philosophy bears the same pretty and unadorned characteristics as her voice. A fan of melody, Maxwell is conservative in her adherence, more often than not. to the composer's melodic intent, demonstrated most clearly in textbook readings of "Someone to Watch Over Me" and "Skylark," two amply road-tested pieces, dusted off here. 

Equal in importance to the present recital is the band, under Ingham's tutelage, the pianist turning out to be a most splendid accompanist to Maxwell; his simple, yet elegant arrangements perfectly frame the pure simplicity of Maxwell's voice and approach. Even on upbeat pieces like the opener, "I'll Take Romance," and "Under A Blanket of Blue," the two work with envious simpatico. Maxwell and Ingham coalesce perfectly on the Teddy Randazzo/Bobby Weinstein chestnut "Goin' Out of My Head," Ingham's electric piano and Maxwell's straight-arrow delivery recalling Petula Clark's 1965 recording of the song, flying slower than the speed of sound. The light samba spin is a nice touch. Maxwell is still interested in the standards, but also shows an interest in musical roads less traveled. "This is Always," "Blue Moon" and "What a Wonderful Guy" are a joy to behold in the hands and voice of this singer. A user-friendly jazz vocalist to the end, Lisa Maxwell is one to behold. ~ C.Michael Bailey   

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=40557#.UzyZvldSvro

Personnel: Lisa Maxwell: vocals; Keith Ingham: piano; Frank Tate, bass; Al Gafa: guitar; Steve Little: drums; Ben Wittman: percussion.

Happy

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Jennifer Warnes - Famous Blue Raincoat

Styles: Adult Contemporary
Year: 1991
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:34
Size: 95,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:47)  1. First We Take Manhattan
(4:42)  2. Bird On A Wire
(5:33)  3. Famous Blue Raincoat
(7:58)  4. Joan Of Arc
(3:21)  5. Ain't No Cure For Love
(3:44)  6. Coming Back To You
(3:55)  7. Song Of Bernardette
(4:53)  8. A Singer Must Die
(3:37)  9. Came So Far For Beauty

Jennifer Warnes was familiar with Leonard Cohen from a tour of duty as one of his backup singers in the early '70s, but this collection of Cohen's songs must have shocked her AM radio fans who knew her from her '70s country-pop hits and her movie themes, if they were even able to connect the woman who sang "It's the right time of the night for makin' love" with the one who declared "First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin" over stinging guitar work by Stevie Ray Vaughan on the opening track here. As that pairing suggests, Warnes wisely took a tougher, more contemporary approach to the arrangements than such past Cohen interpreters as Judy Collins used to. Where other singers tended to geld Cohen's often disturbingly revealing poetry, Warnes, working with the composer himself and introducing a couple of great new songs ("First We Take Manhattan" and "Song of Bernadette," which she co-wrote), matched his own versions. The high point may have been the Warnes-Cohen duet on "Joan of Arc," but the album was consistently impressive. And it went a long way toward reestablishing Cohen, whose reputation was in a minor eclipse in the mid-'80s. A year later, with the way paved for him, he released his brilliant comeback album I'm Your Man. For Warnes, the album meant her first taste of real critical success: suddenly a singer who had seemed like a second-rate Linda Ronstadt now appeared to be a first-class interpretive artist. ~ William Ruhlmann   

http://www.allmusic.com/album/famous-blue-raincoat-the-songs-of-leonard-cohen-mw0000192376.

Personnel: Jennifer Warnes (vocals), Fred Tackett, Michael Landau, Robben Ford (guitar), David Lindley (lap steel guitar), Sid Page, Barbara Porter (violins), Novi Novog (viola), Larry Corbett, Suzie Katayama (cellos), Paul Ostermayer (tenor saxophone), "Reverend" Dave Boruff (saxophone), Bill Ginn (piano, synthesizer), Gary Chang (synthesizers, programming), William "Smitty" Smith (synthesizer, Hammond B-3), Russell Ferrante (synthesizer), Richard Feves, Jorge Calderon (bass), Roscoe Beck (bass, guitar, acoustic bass, synthesizer), Vinnie Colaiuta (drums), Larry Brown, Steve Forman, Lenny Castro (percussion), Bobby King, Terry Evans, Kal David, Willie Greene Jr. (background vocals).

Famous Blue Raincoat

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J.J.Johnson - Plays Mack The Knife

Styles: Trombone Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:27
Size: 157,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:05)  1. Bilbao Song
(6:06)  2. Barbara Song
(5:03)  3. Overture
(4:20)  4. Seerauber Jenny
(4:52)  5. Mack The Knife
(4:14)  6. Surabaya-Johnny
(6:07)  7. Wie Man Sich Bettet
(4:52)  8. Unzulanglichkeit
(3:31)  9. Portrait Of Jenny
(2:31) 10. Only The Lonely
(3:11) 11. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child
(2:35) 12. In A Sentimental Mood
(2:16) 13. Get Out Of Town
(3:56) 14. I'm Glad There Is You
(2:57) 15. You're My Girl
(2:20) 16. To The End Of The Earth
(2:24) 17. What Is There To Say
(2:59) 18. Lazy Bones

Before he became a prominent orchestra conductor, André Previn was a talented jazz pianist based in Los Angeles. His firm touch, virtuosity and driving sense of swing were celebrated on jazz records he recorded for Contemporary and other labels. In October 2009, Sony Music Japan reissued several of his Columbia jazz albums. Released on CD for the first time in the world, Play Mack The Knife is an interesting project co-led by Previn and J.J. Johnson, a preeminent trombonist. With Previn's trusted rhythm section (Red Mitchell and Frank Capp), they form a formidable quartet. A celebration of the great composer Kurt Weill, the quartet arranges and performs Weill's evergreen musical numbers from "Happy End," "The Threepenny Opera" and "Mahagonny." Previn's clever and sophisticated arrangements are as much a star as the two principal soloists. 

An important record for fans of André Previn and J.J. Johnson!  

http://www.eastwindimport.com/product-info.asp?CategoryName=Search+Results&SearchType=TrackName&SearchKeyword=Mack+the+Knife&ProductID=1277

Recording information: Los Angeles (06/23/1960-06/24/1960); New York (06/23/1960-06/24/1960); Los Angeles (06/28/1960); New York (06/28/1960); Los Angeles (12/31/1961); New York (12/31/1961).

Personnel: J.J. Johnson (trombone); André Previn, Piano; Red Mitchell, Bass; Frank Capp, Drums

Plays Mack The Knife

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Charlie Byrd - The Bossa Nova Years

Styles: Brazilian Jazz
Year: 1991
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:17
Size: 124,6 MB
Art: Front + Back

(5:07)  1. Meditation
(4:50)  2. One Note Samba
(7:17)  3. Corcovado
(4:35)  4. Triste
(3:49)  5. Dindi
(3:35)  6. O Pato
(4:51)  7. The Girl From Ipanema
(5:03)  8. Samba D'Orpheo
(3:34)  9. How Insensitive
(4:20) 10. Wave
(3:21) 11. Pra Dizer Adeus (To Say Goodbye)
(3:55) 12. O Nosso Amor

Guitarist Charlie Byrd revisits a variety of bossa nova songs, including nine by Antonio Carlos Jobim on this pleasing and accessible set. What makes this CD stand out from his many similar dates is that Ken Peplowski's clarinet and tenor are well featured, adding variety to the music and a lead voice for Byrd to play off of. Otherwise the music is predictably excellent, with such classics as "One Note Samba," "Corcovado," "Dindi," "O Pato," and "The Girl from Ipanema" receiving very favorable treatment. ~ Scott Yanow   http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-bossa-nova-years-mw0000265338

Personnel : Charlie Byrd (guitar); Dennis Irwin (bass); Chuck Redd (drums); Ken Peplowski (tenor saxophone, clarinet); Michael Spiro (percussion).

The Bossa Nova Years

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Marlene VerPlanck - You Gotta Have Heart: The Songs Of Richard Adler

Size: 148,4 MB
Time: 63:59
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1997
Styles: Jazz/Pop Vocals
Art: Front

01. I'm Seeing Rainbows (3:20)
02. I Ask Myself (5:59)
03. Hey There (2:49)
04. Near To You (5:00)
05. Whoever Invented Love? (3:10)
06. What's Wrong With Me? (3:33)
07. A New Town Is A Blue Town (2:56)
08. If I Knew Then (4:10)
09. Whatever Lola Wants (2:47)
10. You Gotta Have Heart (6:10)
11. You Knew What I Needed (2:38)
12. Another Time Another Place (3:49)
13. Christmas In Your Heart (3:06)
14. No Soap Blues (6:18)
15. If You Win You Lose (4:55)
16. Put Your Money On Me (3:12)

It says something about the state of musical business in the United States when New York-based songstress Marlene Ver Planck has to travel to Paris and London to do an album honoring the writer of a musical about a New York baseball team. Richard Adler, with Jerry Ross, wrote Damn Yankees, which opened in 1954 and ran for more than a thousand performances. Three songs from that long running musical are included on this tribute album, the seductive "Whatever Lola Wants," the hopeful "You Gotta Have Heart," and "Near to You." The latter features an excellent solo by an unidentified tenor sax player. Adler's other hit musical Pajama Game, with Ross again collaborating, is represented by the romantic "Hey There" and the doleful "A New Town Is a Blue Town." "Hey There" reached No. 1 on the pop charts for Rosemary Clooney. Adler was never able to produce another Broadway musical winner but did come up with "Everybody Loves a Lover," a hit for Doris Day. The remaining tunes on the album are pretty, but not memorable. The quizzical "Whoever Invented Love?" and a vampish "I Ask Myself" are the best of the rest. What Adler's less familiar material lacks in substance, Ver Planck makes up for with her impeccable phrasing and delivery. She elevates Adler's lesser known songs to a level they likely have never seen. Like Jeri Southern, Ver Planck has the ability to breathe some life into unfamiliar, marginal material. The CD is also enhanced by lush arrangements by husband J. (Billy) Ver Planck and London's Radio Big Band, and the Paris based Saxomania, the latter group augmented with strings. Regrettably, the liner notes fail to identify which group is backing Ver Planck on each track. You Gotta Have Heart is a mixed bag, some good songs, some marginal, but all nicely performed by a talented singer. ~Dave Nathan

You Gotta Have Heart

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John McLaughlin & The 4th Dimension - The Boston Record

Size: 145,3 MB
Time: 63:05
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz: Fusion, Progressive Rock
Art: Full

01. Raju (8:35)
02. Little Miss Valley (9:21)
03. Abbaji (6:53)
04. Echos From Then (8:15)
05. Senor C. S. (2:49)
06. Call & Answer (9:17)
07. Maharina (4:56)
08. Hijacked (6:45)
09. You Know You Know (6:10)

Ever since guitarist John McLaughlin formed the 4th Dimension—his first electric fusion band in a decade—fans have been hoping he'd dig a little further into his back catalog. The wait is over with The Boston Record, a live album recorded in 2013 at Boston's Berklee College of Music.

This isn't 4th Dimension's first live album, though it is the first to feature the seven year-old group's current configuration. Ranjit Barot, first heard with McLaughlin on Floating Point (Abstract Logix, 2009), replaced drummer Mark Mondesir on Now Here This (Abstract Logix, 2013), and is as outrageously virtuosic as ever; the equally impressive bassist Etienne Mbappe is back too, as is serious double-threat keyboardist/drummer Gary Husband—the only other remaining member of 4th Dimension's inaugural lineup and clearly an increasingly important musical collaborator.

Now Here This came under some fire for its drum-heavy mix; The Boston Record is more equitably balanced. McLaughlin's recent tone has also been criticized, but from the first power chords of the opening "Raju"—the group's standard opener from Floating Point, but which never gets old—it's clear that, while not quite as heavily fuzz-toned as in his Mahavishnu Orchestra days, the guitarist has returned to a far grungier tone that better suits the high octane, pedal-to-the-metal fusion which dominates much of The Boston Record.

The last time this group released a live document—2008's Official Pirate: Best of the American Tour 2007 (Abstract Logix)—it didn't have any material of its own; with Now Here This and its predecessor, the John Coltrane-inspired To the One (Abstract Logix, 2010), the 4th Dimension now has a repertoire on which to draw. From Now Here This, the group delivers the fast-paced "Call & Answer," featuring one of Husband's best solos of the set and a truly epic drum feature over an irregular-metered ostinato, while the equally odd-metered shuffle of "Echos from Then" harkens back to "The Dance of the Maya," from Mahavishnu Orchestra's groundbreaking debut, The Inner Mounting Flame (Columbia, 1971). Despite little abatement in the 63-minute set, Floating Point's "Maharina" does provide some respite, though with McLaughlin's searing lines, it's not without its own impressive power.

It's also great to hear McLaughlin and the group dig into older material like the altered blues of "Little Miss Valley," from the guitarist's Tokyo Live (Verve, 1994), where Mbappe lets loose some serious pyrotechnics, and the knotty, high velocity "Hijacked," from Que Alegria (Verve, 1992). But the biggest—and best—surprise is saved for last, a set-closing updated look at Inner Mounting Flame's "You Know You Know," where the ever-playful McLaughlin quotes everyone from Miles Davis ("Jean-Pierre") to Jimi Hendrix ("Foxy Lady"). It's the first time McLaughlin has looked back to the group that broke his career, but it's more than a piece of nostalgia; it demonstrates that his music is, indeed, timeless—sounding as fresh today as it did 43 years ago.

At 72, McLaughlin isn't just at the top of his game; with his best (and longest-standing) fusion group since his breakthrough/breakout days of the early '70s, The Boston Record documents an artist still vital, still treading new ground—and still as relevant as ever. ~John Kelman

Personnel: John McLaughlin: guitar; Gary Husband: keyboards, drums; Etienne Mbappe: bass; Ranjit Barot: drums.

The Boston Record

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Hilary Gardner, Michelle Walker & Whitney James - You've Got A Friend: A Tribute To Joshua Wolff

Size: 107,5 MB
Time: 46:12
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz: Vocals
Art: Front

01. You've Got A Friend (Michelle Walker) (4:20)
02. Estate (Hilary Gardner) (5:17)
03. September In The Rain (Michelle Walker) (4:16)
04. Autumn Serenade (Whitney James) (2:47)
05. 'Tis Autumn (Hilary Gardner) (4:25)
06. Snowbound (Whitney James) (4:41)
07. Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year (Michelle Walker) (4:15)
08. You Must Believe In Spring (Whitney James) (5:24)
09. Everything Must Change (Michelle Walker) (5:27)
10. In My Life - So Far Away (Michelle Walker) (5:15)

Michelle, Whitney, and Hilary recently joined forces to record a full-length album of songs centered on themes of love, loss, friendship and faith. Inspired by Carole King’s famous refrain, the songs encompass all four seasons: “winter, spring, summer or fall/all you’ve got to do is call/and I’ll be there…You’ve Got a Friend.”

It’s fitting that Michelle, Whitney, and Hilary are bringing their “You’ve Got a Friend” project to the Metropolitan Room, as Joshua Wolff frequently performed there as a pianist and vocalist.

You've Got A Friend

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Tony Monaco & Howard Paul - New Adventures (With Jim Rupp)

Size: 148,7 MB
Time: 64:15
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz: Hammond Organ
Art: Front

01. Alone Together) (6:10)
02. Days Of Wine And Roses (6:45)
03. Indonesian Nights (5:39)
04. Polka Dots & Moonbeams (8:01)
05. Rusty's Boogaloo (5:30)
06. The Way You Look Tonight (6:06)
07. Bewitched Bothered & Bewildered (5:27)
08. Just Friends (6:11)
09. Speak Low (7:59)
10. Blues For A.P. (6:24)

Tony Monaco and Howard Paul team up in a tribute Jimmy Smith & Wes Montgomery. Tony is an acknowledge master and internationally beloved Hammond organist and educator. Howard is a noted recording artist, lecturer, and most prominently known as President/CEO of Benedetto Guitars, Inc., the world's premier jazz guitar maker. They are joined Jim Rupp, who's years of road work and recording with the bands of Wood Herman, Maynard Ferguson, Glenn Miller and Diane Schuur make him one of the most dynamic and swinging drummers on the planet! This is a O.G.D. trio with an authenticity rarely seen in the genre today!

New Adventures

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