Scott Hamilton & Andrea Pozza - I Could Write A Book

Size: 131,0 MB
Time: 56:41
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2013
Styles: Jazz
Art: Front

01. I Could Write A Book (6:44)
02. We'll Be Together Again (5:39)
03. No Moon At All (6:11)
04. Isn't It Romantic (7:13)
05. Boccaccio Blues (6:08)
06. Everything I Love (7:14)
07. Afternoon In Paris (4th October Take) (5:31)
08. Limehouse Blues (5:38)
09. Afternoon In Paris (3th October Take) (6:20)

Scott Hamilton is a jazz tenor saxophonist associated with swing and mainstream jazz. Hamilton emerged in the 1970s and at the time was considered to be one of the few musicians of real talent who carried the tradition of the classic jazz tenor saxophone in the style of Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins as well as Zoot Sims and Don Byas forward. Hamilton has recorded over 40 albums as a lead.

Jazz pianist Andrea Pozza made his debut at age 13 in the historic jazz club, Genoa. His career spans more than thirty years, has led him to perform in Italy and abroad with real "superstars" of the likes of Harry "Sweet" Edison, Bobby Durham, Chet Baker, Al Grey Scott Hamilton, George Coleman, Charlie Mariano, Lee Konitz, Sal Nistico, Massimo Urbani, Luciano Milanese and many others.

"I have been wanting to record with Andrea Pozza for twenty years, so this was a great opportunity for me. In addition we recorded at home in Certaldo Alto so the atmosphere was very relaxed and friendly. I am looking forward to hearing how I sound without any effects - just the very good natural acoustics of the Castello." -Scott Hamilton

"Few times in life one has the feeling to be in the right place at the right time. It happened to me in the cellar of Hotel II Castello in Certaldo on the occasion of the recording of this CD. To record with Scott Hamilton, one of my all time favorite musicians, in an extraordinary place with invaluable microphones skillfully maneuvered by Giulio Cesare Ricci, a real "guru" of hifi recording, enjoying the hospitality Alfred Kramer (and his snare drum and brushes in a couple of takes) and the amazing food at II Catello - what do you think, isn't that enough?" -Andrea Pozza

I Could Write A Book

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Joelle Lurie - Take Me There

Size: 123,1 MB
Time: 52:30
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz/Pop Vocals
Art: Front

01. All Or Nothing At All (5:17)
02. Head Over Heels (4:10)
03. Should We (3:52)
04. Take Me There (4:28)
05. Just What I Needed (4:44)
06. What We Have Is Better (4:30)
07. Hares On The Mountain (5:13)
08. Somewhere (3:59)
09. Almost Like Being In Love (3:09)
10. Three States Away (3:47)
11. The Man I Love (3:30)
12. Detour Ahead (5:47)

Joelle Lurie’s bright voice and talented band has made her a first pick for high-profile events including the recent James Beard Awards at Lincoln Center. Originally from Boston, the New Yorker studied jazz and opera and brings that training to her distinctive “jazzed up pop/popped up jazz” modern style on Take Me There (September 30), her debut self-release of standards, originals and pop covers.

Produced and arranged by longtime bassist and bandmate, Ben Gallina (Amy Lynn and the Gunshow, Anthony D’Amato, Honey Honey), Take Me There showcases Joelle’s tight band of five years, The Pinehurst Trio. The trio is named for the quaint street in Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood. All millennial kids, the trio is influenced by many musical styles including pop, Motown, folk and jazz and have performed around the world.

Recorded at The Bunker Studio in Brooklyn, the CD engages from the opening track, the jazz standard “All or Nothing At All” done with a hip hop feel. Joelle calls on her contemporary pop influences with the Tears for Fears song that follows, “Head Over Heels.” She welcomes special guest vocalist and pianist Matt Kanelos on the next two moving songs, “Should We” and the title track. Kanelos has been featured on the ABC TV show “Private Practice”, on Nickelodeon’s “Degrassi” and on NPR’s Song of the Day. Joelle returns on a sauntering version of Ric Ocasek’s “Just What I Needed.” She, Gallina and Anna Marquardt wrote the next track, “What We Have Is Better,” featuring a funky throwback soul sound. The haunting 17th century secular folk song “Hares On The Mountain” is given a jazz waltz treatment. Acknowledging her musical theater roots, Joelle includes the Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim song, “Somewhere,” which is followed by the standard “Almost Like Being in Love,” which marries an uptempo swing with the groove from “Can’t Hurry Love.” Next is “Three States Away,” a Burt Bacharach inspired original with lyrics from a poem by Craig Crist-Evans entitled “What The Heart Thinks.” “The Man I Love” by the Gershwins is reimagined as an upbeat homage to Stevie Wonder. The closing song, the classic “Detour Ahead,” is approached with a lush, orchestral studio sound.

About Joelle:
Joelle started singing jazz in high school and began studying jazz and classical at New England Conservatory of Music and at Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute. She studied opera at Indiana University School of Music, The Opera Festival of Lucca and Boston University, earning a bachelor of music in vocal performance. She moved to New York City in 2005 to pursue a music and acting career. She’s been featured on a variety of recording, voice overs, commercial jingle spots, radio branding ads and on back up vocals. She was featured on Josh Ritter’s acclaimed album, “The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter” released by Sony Victor/Independent records.

Joelle performs regularly with her jazz trio Joelle & The Pinehurst Trio at venues including Rockwood Music Hall, The Boom Boom Room at The Standard Hotel, Cornelia Street Cafe and Zinc Bar. Recent high-profile events they’ve performed for include the recent JFK Terminal 5 opening at the New York Stock Exchange, the James Beard Foundation’s Silver Anniversary Gala and Fashion’s Night Out at Henri Bendel for Fashion Week.

Take Me There

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Steve Blane - Kill Me Nice

Size: 92,8 MB
Time: 38:55
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Vocals
Art: Front

01. Just In Case I Fall Asleep (4:13)
02. Coffee Understands Me (4:01)
03. Too Beautiful For Words (4:47)
04. I Love My NYC (3:23)
05. Kill Me Nice (4:15)
06. Red High Heels (3:28)
07. You Once Killed A Guy (6:01)
08. You Wanna Know (4:49)
09. Spark (3:54)

Many years ago, Steven had a dream- to become a Songwriter.

He spent many years playing cover tunes in clubs and restaurants and even made it into a Broadway show as a singer/musician. He also wrote an Off-Off Broadway musical that had potential, but not enough money to back it up.

And the pop songs he was writing just weren't good enough. Then one day he got tired of trying and decided he needed to make more money.

So he started working for a living at various jobs, then he became an audiobook producer, an entrepreneur and eventually a Cantor and a Rabbi.

Today, he's back- playing his new original tunes at all the major open-mic venues in NYC. For inspiration, he channels Leonard Cohen, Joni, Lyle Lovett, Sinatra and Bennett.

Steven has a B.A. in Music Education with a major in Voice. He plays piano, guitar and uke.

Kill Me Nice

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Beegie Adair - The Good Life: A Jazz Piano Tribute To Tony Bennett

Size: 108,6 MB
Time: 46:17
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Piano Jazz
Art: Front

01. For Once In My Life (3:16)
02. Because Of You (3:57)
03. The Best Is Yet To Come (3:12)
04. Smile (2:52)
05. Maybe September (3:30)
06. The Good Life (4:21)
07. I Wanna Be Around (4:00)
08. Young And Foolish (4:35)
09. Rags To Riches (3:54)
10. The Pawnbroker (3:23)
11. Steppin' Out With My Baby (2:45)
12. Cold, Cold Heart (3:03)
13. I Left My Heart In San Francisco (3:23)

Beegie Adair grew up in Cave City, Kentucky, where she began taking piano lessons at age five. She continued to study piano throughout college, earning a B.S. in Music Education at Western State University in Bowling Green, Kentucky. During and after college, she played in jazz bands, and spent three years teaching music to children before moving to Nashville, where she became a session musician, working at WSM-TV and on The Johnny Cash Show (1969-71). She and her husband also started a jingle company to write music for commercials. In 1982, she and saxophonist Denis Solee formed the Adair-Solee Quartet, which evolved into the Be-Bop Co-Op, a jazz sextet. She made her first album under her own name, Escape to New York, with a rhythm section consisting of Bob Cranshaw and Gregory Hutchinson. But her subsequent albums, The Frank Sinatra Collection, The Nat King Cole Collection, and Jazz Piano Christmas, were made with bassist Roger Spencer and drummer Chris Brown. ~Biography by William Ruhlmann.

The Good Life

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The Dionne Farris Charlie Hunter Duo - DionneDionne

Size: 79,0 MB
Time: 34:00
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz/Soul/R&B Vocals
Art: Front

01. Alfie (3:26)
02. Walk The Way You Talk (3:07)
03. Always Something There To Remind Me (4:12)
04. Don't Make Me Over (4:50)
05. Wives And Lovers (4:21)
06. Loneliness Remember (2:02)
07. Deja Vu (4:11)
08. Walk On By (3:44)
09. You're Gonna Need Me (4:02)

In title and concept, the new tribute album Dionne Dionne is a great gimmick. But if you've followed the career of Dionne Farris, having her record an entire album of Dionne Warwick covers isn't an obvious move, names aside. It's an idea that took root some 20 years ago: Farris met guitarist Charlie Hunter while the two were on tour as members of hip-hop groups, she with Arrested Development and he with The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy.

The musicians' decision to record as a duo — Farris singing, Hunter playing his custom seven-string guitar — pays off handsomely. If you're accustomed to hearing Warwick's songs played with lush orchestration behind them, to hear everything stripped down to bare wisps of melodies and rhythms reveals nuances and highlights not always obvious in the originals. Another pair might have been tempted to fill in all that open space with endless runs or virtuoso solos, but Hunter and Farris keep things smartly sparse and seductively intimate.

Not surprisingly, most of the songs are from Warwick's popular '60s catalog of Burt Bacharach and Hal David tunes, but the album also dips into her 1970s soul records, when she worked with such R&B songwriters as Isaac Hayes and the power trio of Holland-Dozier-Holland. Farris and Hunter tackle the latter's 1973 song "You're Gonna Need Me" with a subtle, funky touch serving as a reminder that both guitarist and singer began their careers in hip-hop.

If I have any complaint about the album, it's that nine tracks feels too short, least of all for an artist whose output was as prolific as Warwick's. Maybe there will be a second volume down the road, or maybe the duo can work on a tribute album to country star Charley Pride next and call it Charley Charlie. All jokes aside, part of what makes Dionne Dionne so enjoyable is how Farris and Hunter take this potential pun and turn it into something richer — but still fun.

DionneDionne

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The David Liebman Trio - Lieb Plays The Blues A La Trane

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 53:12
Size: 121.8 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[ 9:21] 1. All Blues
[ 8:12] 2. Up Against The Wall
[11:08] 3. Mr. P.C
[15:34] 4. Village Blues
[ 8:56] 5. Take The Coltrane

One day in April, 2008, saxophonist Dave Liebman, on tour in Belgium, was feeling a little under the weather. He decided to replace his trio's planned set list for the evening with a set of blues tunes associated with John Coltrane. Kris Roevens recorded the set, at De Singer in Rijkevorsel, and two years later it has become Lieb Plays The Blues À La Trane—a tribute to the great saxophonist, but also a tribute to the creativity that can arise from spontaneous decisions.

A new release from Liebman is hardly an unusual event—he must be one of the most prolific of jazz musicians—but it is always a welcome one. Liebman has clearly been inspired by Coltrane—describing seeing him in the '60s as "my epiphany"—and there are plenty of tunes associated with the jazz legend in Liebman's back catalogue. The rhythm section here—bassist Marius Beets and drummer Eric Ineke—are both experienced Liebman sidemen, appearing on Lieb Plays Wilder (Daybreak, 2005) and Lieb Plays Weill (Daybreak, 2009).

Coltrane's "Mr. P.C." is the album's centerpiece, in both its track position and performance. It may not technically be Liebman's best performance of the set—that honor probably goes to his beautifully fluid soprano sax on another Coltrane composition, "Village Blues"—but it's the one that has the greatest drive, and the most visceral power. The trio really swings, Liebman's tenor playing has some inspirational moments, and Beets' solo is full of inventive, strong playing and fat tones.

The trio swings, too, on its up-tempo, spare but forceful rendition of Miles Davis' "All Blues." Liebman's soprano is almost aggressive at times, cascades of notes pouring out in a seemingly endless stream, while Ineke is both playful and commanding. Beets plays another fine bass solo, but his sound suffers from the album's one problem—a tendency for the sound mix to give too much emphasis to Ineke's drums. This is usually to the detriment of Beets, but at times Liebman's saxophone is also rather overwhelmed.

In contrast with much of Liebman's output, the spontaneous, unplanned, performance of Lieb Plays The Blues À La Trane might seem like a minor addition to the saxophonist's ouvre. Indeed, Liebman writes in the sleeve notes: "There is nothing new contained herein..." Maybe there isn't, but spontaneity is at the heart of jazz, and the in-the-moment decisions made by Liebman, Beets and Ineke one night in Belgium have resulted in some terrific music. This is a master class in trio jazz, a worthy tribute to Coltrane and a more than welcome addition to Liebman's extensive discography. ~Bruce Lindsay

David Liebman: soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone; Marius Beets: bass; Eric Ineke: drums.

Lieb Plays The Blues A La Trane

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Al DeLory - Floreando Salsa Jazz

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 55:07
Size: 126.2 MB
Styles: Afro-Cuban jazz, Salsa
Year: 1996
Art: Front

[5:02] 1. Classical Gas
[4:37] 2. Via
[3:37] 3. Floreando
[3:43] 4. Carta De Amor
[5:19] 5. Pa Gozar
[8:11] 6. Quiet Village, Part 1 & 2
[3:42] 7. Song From M A S H
[6:09] 8. Lover
[3:34] 9. Yo Tango Nuevo Amor
[3:18] 10. Maria Cervantes
[4:13] 11. Oxigeno
[3:35] 12. Pete Mambos On The Terrace

Al Delory needs no introduction to those who listen to the radio. Al DeLory was keyboard player in Phil Spector's famous and now legendary "Wrecking Crew" helping to create the "Wall of Sound" on hundreds of hit records for artists and groups in the 60's.

Al DeLory was asked by executives at Capitol Records to Produce Glen Campbell's third album, which then continued a music legacy of producing, arranging, and conducting dozens of recording sessions for major artists including Anne Murray, Wayne Newton, and The Lettermen. Al DeLory earned two Grammys, six Grammy nominations, and a multitude of gold and platinum records.

Al DeLory now returns to his Latin roots with a genuine genre of carefully selected Latin songs. With experience and talent gained from his Latin heritage, decades of involvement in the music industry, and time spent studying and playing with musicians in Cuba, "Al DeLory and Salsa 'n Nashville" create a spicy sauced, salsa recipe perfect for listening and dancing.

Floreando Salsa Jazz

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Ann Malcolm - The Crystal Paperweight

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 52:12
Size: 119.5 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz, Saxophone jazz
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[7:22] 1. Childhood
[5:08] 2. Evening (Beau Soir)
[5:42] 3. Give
[5:43] 4. The Red Cat
[8:54] 5. Before Down
[5:25] 6. The Crystal Paperweight
[9:26] 7. My Bells
[4:28] 8. Remember The Time

The American singer Ann Malcolm grew up in Iowa, USA. She began piano at the age of four, listening nearly daily to her grandmother who had been a pianist for silent movies. After adding the saxophone at age ten, Ann says, "I knew very young that I wanted to be a musician. In Iowa Ann had many opportunities to build up a strong musical foundation. She received her Bachelor of Music degree at the University at Iowa, and it was there she had her first engagements as a jazz singer. Ann received her Master of Music degree (saxophone performance) at New England Conservatory of Music in Boston with the highly respected professor, Joe Allard.

Ann proved to be an exciting and expressive vocalist at the Charles Mingus Memorial Concert. After attending saxophone master classes in France with Jean-Marie Londeix and Daniel Deffayet she moved to Switzerland to study further in the Konzertklasse at the Musik-Akademie der Stadt Basel with Iwan Roth. On the saxophone Ann has played and toured with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich, Opera Orchestra Zürich, Basel Symphony Orchestra, Hessischer Rundfunk Orchestra, as well as with the saxophone trio Europort.

"The Crystal Paperweight", ABEAT records, Italy, was released in July 2010. Arranged for octet by the great trumpeter, composer and arranger Tom Harrell, this very special work includes 4 new lyric versions of Tom Harrell's compositions and a second recording of Before Dawn ("Sail Away"), previously recorded by Ann in 1994 at Van Gelder Studio, New Jersey, with Kenny Barron.

As a producer, singer, lyricist and saxophonist Ann combines all facets of her musical talents on this new project. Ann is Professor for vocal jazz and workshop at the Hochschule für Musik, Abt. Jazz, in Basel and since Oct. 2005, is Professor for vocal jazz at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Mannheim, Germany. She is also internationally active at workshops and contests.

The Crystal Paperweight

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Don Byas - When The Sun Comes Out

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 75:26
Size: 172.7 MB
Styles: Saxophone jazz
Year: 2014
Art: Front

[3:53] 1. Lover Man
[2:51] 2. When The Sun Comes Out
[3:14] 3. Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup
[3:32] 4. If I Had You
[3:27] 5. Lover Come Back To Me
[2:25] 6. Time On My Hands
[3:13] 7. Remember My Forgotten Man
[6:29] 8. Blues It
[3:11] 9. You Came Along From Out Of Nowhere
[3:32] 10. Sweet Lorraine
[3:25] 11. Hold My Hand
[2:46] 12. I Can't Give You Anything But Love
[2:43] 13. One O'clock Jump
[2:49] 14. April In Paris
[2:40] 15. Just One Of Those Things
[2:59] 16. Don't Blame Me
[5:27] 17. Indiana
[3:23] 18. I Can't Get Started
[2:59] 19. Them There Eyes
[3:47] 20. Blues For Don Carlos
[3:24] 21. No One But You
[3:07] 22. Sincerely

One of the greatest of all tenor players, Don Byas' decision to move permanently to Europe in 1946 resulted in him being vastly underrated in jazz history books. His knowledge of chords rivalled Coleman Hawkins, and, due to their similarity in tones, Byas can be considered an extension of the elder tenor. He played with many top swing bands, including those of Lionel Hampton (1935), Buck Clayton (1936), Don Redman, Lucky Millinder, Andy Kirk (1939-1940), and most importantly Count Basie (1941-1943). An advanced swing stylist, Byas' playing looked toward bop. He jammed at Minton's Playhouse in the early '40s, appeared on 52nd Street with Dizzy Gillespie, and performed a pair of stunning duets with bassist Slam Stewart at a 1944 Town Hall concert. After recording extensively during 1945-1946 (often as a leader), Byas went to Europe with Don Redman's band, and (with the exception of a 1970 appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival) never came back to the U.S. He lived in France, the Netherlands, and Denmark; often appeared at festivals; and worked steadily. Whenever American players were touring, they would ask for Byas, who had opportunities to perform with Duke Ellington, Bud Powell, Kenny Clarke, Dizzy Gillespie, Jazz at the Philharmonic (including a recorded tenor battle with Hawkins and Stan Getz), Art Blakey, and (on a 1968 recording) Ben Webster. Byas also recorded often in the 1950s, but was largely forgotten in the U.S. by the time of his death. ~bio by Scott Yanow

When The Sun Comes Out

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Arthur Blythe - Lenox Avenue Breakdown

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1979
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:23
Size: 92,7 MB
Art: Front

( 7:46)  1. Down San Diego Way
(13:27)  2. Lenox Avenue Breakdown
( 9:38)  3. Slidin' Through
( 9:31)  4. Odessa

Given the urban title of alto saxophonist Arthur Blythe's debut Columbia album, it's quite a shock when he and his red-hot band of collaborators that include James Blood Ulmer on guitar, Bob Stewart on tuba, flutist James Newton, bassist Cecil McBee, and Jack DeJohnette open with the decidedly funky Latin breaks on "Down San Diego Way." It's not a vamp and it's not a misleading intro, the first of four tracks showcases not only the deep versatility of the rhythm section, but Blythe's own gift as both a composer and as a soloist. He states the melody, handing off the harmonics to Ulmer and Newton and then flies high into the face of its chosen changes, allowing the beat to change under him several times before bringing back a theme and letting Ulmer solo. Blythe's grounding in the blues and in modal composition guide him on the title track; he and Newton move through intervallic shifts of chromatic intensity and spatial columnar structures, while Ulmer builds a middle bridge to both ground and fly from. 

But Blythe is not content here to showcase the extremes. On both "Slidin' Through," his exercise in harmolodic composition, and "Odessa," Blythe provides ample proof of his wisdom as a bandleader, encouraging solo and rhythmic interplay between different groups of musicians such as McBee and Blythe on the former and between himself, Newton and Ulmer on the latter as the rhythm section winds it out in both cases, stretching the narrow envelope into something far more textured and thematically unified note the Ornette-meets-noir ambience of "Odessa." This group lays like a band that had been together for years, not the weeklong period it took them to rehearse and create one of Blythe's masterpieces. Over 20 years later, Lenox Avenue Breakdown still sounds new and different and ranks among the three finest albums in his catalog. ~ Thom Jurek  http://www.allmusic.com/album/lenox-avenue-breakdown-mw0000045828

Personnel: Arthur Blythe (alto saxophone); Bob Stewart (tuba); James Newton (flute); James "Blood" Ulmer (guitar); Cecil McBee (bass); Jack DeJohnette (drums); Guillermo Franco (percussion).

Lenox Avenue Breakdown

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Al Grey & Jesper Thilo Quintet - Al Grey And Jesper Thilo Quintet

Styles: Trombone Jazz, Bop
Year: 1987
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:18
Size: 105,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:28)  1. Just Jazz
(6:16)  2. God Bless The Child
(6:54)  3. The Girl From Ipanema
(5:11)  4. I'm Hungry, Sabrina
(7:15)  5. The Vanguard Groove
(7:17)  6. A Night In Tunisia
(6:55)  7. On The Sunny Side Of The Street

This studio session in which the great swing trombonist Al Grey leads a fine quintet through a set of mostly standards is exactly what journalist Eddie Cook calls "Happy Jazz" in the liner notes. Grey is right at home with tunes such as "God Bless the Child," "The Girl From Ipanema," and "A Night in Tunisia." The surprise of the session is "On the Sunny Side of the Street," which is played at a slow though compelling pace. Grey came to favor the tenor-bone front line in his small groups, and the Dane, saxophonist Jesper Thilo, does a commendable job as his partner. Thilo's thick, rich tone recalls Coleman Hawkins, a perfect foil to the trombonist's brash, brassy sound. While Grey's best work was performed as a big-band sideman, both with Dizzy Gillespie and Count Basie, his excellent solo work here and in other intimate settings is nonetheless an important part of his discography. His unique tone and style are in full bloom, and this recording should appeal to anyone who enjoys the sound of the jazz trombone in a joyous, no frills, and straight-ahead role. ~ Steve Loewy  http://www.allmusic.com/album/al-grey-and-jesper-thilo-quintet-mw0000317923

Al Grey And Jesper Thilo Quintet

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Gregg Rolie - Five Days EP

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 21:48
Size: 49.9 MB
Styles: Rock
Year: 2011
Art: Front

[3:24] 1. Black Magic Woman
[4:12] 2. Anytime
[4:09] 3. Love Doesn't Live Here Anymore
[3:43] 4. If I Went Home
[3:48] 5. Trouble In Mind
[2:30] 6. Cool Little Mama

Gregg Rolie, a 1998 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, has learned a lot about himself since taking fame’s exit ramp to start a family almost 30 years ago. He’s put into perspective the work done as a founding member of Santana, a stint that saw Rolie co-produce the group’s first four albums beginning in 1969. The bluesy B-3 stylist then added to an overstuffed resume that already included an appearance at Woodstock, leaving with Neal Schon to launch Journey. There, he helped craft a series of 1970s recordings that set the stage for that band’s arena-rock supernova moment in the 1980s.

These days, when not leading the rollicking seven-piece Gregg Rolie Band, you’re apt to find him performing in a series of small, deeply interactive gigs around Austin. The days of headlining football stadiums, it seems, are happily behind him. Instead, Rolie’s engaging with the audience. “Back then, you wanted to be the gods descending from Olympus,” Rolie says, chuckling to himself. “Now, it’s more personal. It’s funny, I used to not want to talk to an audience, and I don’t think I could have talked to them. But I’m comfortable in my own skin now.”

In keeping, Rolie has just released Five Days, an intimate solo EP featuring updates of “Black Magic Woman” and “Anytime,” two of his most memorable vocals with Santana and Journey, along with three new songs. Five Days was recorded live with son Sean as producer, on a piano in the living room of Rolie’s Austin home.

Five Days

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Raymond Scott & His Swinging Strings - Amor

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 37:06
Size: 84.9 MB
Styles: Easy Listening
Year: 1965/2009
Art: Front

[3:16] 1. How High The Moon
[3:31] 2. Summertime
[2:27] 3. Orchids In The Moonlight
[4:09] 4. Amor
[1:57] 5. What Is This Thing Called Love
[3:08] 6. Deep Purple
[3:30] 7. Stardust
[2:18] 8. True Love
[3:47] 9. All The Things You Are
[2:00] 10. La Cumparsita
[3:26] 11. Somewhere Over The Rainbow
[3:30] 12. Where Is Your Heart (Song Of The Moulin Rouge)

Composer, bandleader, and inventor Raymond Scott was among the unheralded pioneers of contemporary experimental music, a figure whose genius and influence have seeped almost subliminally into the mass cultural consciousness. As a visionary whose name is largely unknown but whose music is immediately recognizable, Scott's was a career stuffed with contradictions: though his early work anticipated the breathless invention of bebop, his obsession with perfectionism and memorization was the very antithesis of jazz's improvisational ethos. Though his best-known compositions remain at large thanks to their endless recycling as soundtracks for cartoons, he never once wrote a note expressly for animated use, and though his later experiments with electronic music pioneered the ambient aesthetic, the ambient concept itself was not introduced until a decade after the release of his original recordings. ~Jason Ankeny

Amor

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Frank Rosolino - I Play Trombone

Bitrate: 320K/s

Time: 37:26

Size: 85.7 MB

Styles: Bop, Trombone jazz

Year: 1956/2014

Art: Front

[7:03] 1. I May Be Wrong (But I Think You're Wonderful)

[4:17] 2. The Things We Did Last Summer

[6:07] 3. Frieda

[7:46] 4. Doxy

[7:34] 5. My Delux

[4:37] 6. Flamingo

It was said that Frank Rosolino played what he did on trombone because he didn’t know it was impossible. First gaining notice with Stan Kenton in the Forties, his fast solos and stratospheric high notes were unlike any heard up to that time. Part of a large crowd to leave Kenton en masse in the Fifties (Art Pepper, Bob Cooper, Shorty Rogers, Shelly Manne) he was a major part of the West Coast school, even though his hard-charging style didn’t fit the "mellow" stereotype. Best known as a sideman, he rarely got the chance to lead his own sessions; one such effort, from 1958, was planned to be the first West Coast hard-bop album. His attack and his tone helped direct the modern style on trombone.

Frank Rosolino was born into a musical family; his earliest instruments were guitar and accordion. When he was thirteen he began taking trombone lessons and continued through high school, despite being unable to read music. His agility and horn speed supposedly came from his youthful attempts to emulate his brother playing the violin. He served in the Army at the tail end of World War II, stationed in the Philippines. After completing guard duty one night (and bored with it), Rosolino went onstage during an Army dance, and played with the rhythm section during the band’s intermission. The crowd was impressed, and Frank was transferred to a band unit – as was his plan. It was there that he learned how to sight-read, and upon discharge joined the Bob Chester band in 1946. Several jobs followed: the Casa Loma Orchestra in 1947, Gene Krupa in 1948 (Frank’s comedy vocal on "Lemon Drop" might be his most famous performance) and Stan Kenton from 1952 to ’54 … at its peak of popularity.

Frank became a star with Kenton, and shortly afterwards joined the Lighthouse All-Stars, where he played with other Kenton veterans for a number of years. He recorded often in this period, but rarely as a leader; he was particularly upset that Free for All, which he considered his best album, was never released in his lifetime. He became very productive as a studio musician, playing on movie soundtracks, singing occasionally, and working on the pop recordings of Phil Spector. While he still played jazz now and then (he appears on some Paulinho Da Costa sessions for Pablo, and toured with Benny Carter in 1974) but in the Seventies he played commercial music most of the time. In an event still clouded with mystery and speculation, Frank Rosolino died in a group suicide with his two sons. (One of the boys did survive the wounds.) His music remains vibrant, and often emulated.

Bass – Wilfred Middlebrooks; Drums – Stan Levey; Piano – Sonny Clark; Trombone – Frank Rosolino.

I Play Trombone

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Muriel Zoe - Red and Blue

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:43
Size: 123,9 MB
Art: Front

(3:31)  1. Bye Bye Blackbird
(4:37)  2. You Go To My Head
(3:09)  3. Up Jumped Spring
(3:17)  4. Lovesong, No. 1
(5:37)  5. My One And Only Love
(4:04)  6. Round Midnight
(4:14)  7. Don´t Explain
(5:38)  8. Willow Weep For Me
(4:20)  9. You Don't Know What Love Is
(2:16) 10. Second Time Around
(2:52) 11. Happiness Is Just A Thing Called Joe
(2:50) 12. The Masquerade Is Over
(3:55) 13. All The Way
(3:17) 14. Autumn Leaves

Muriel Zoe’s creativity springs from a rare skill in two fields: she has not just a great musical but also an artistic talent which developed early and which have fed off each other since then. Muriel Zoe is today a freelance musician and painter as well as a teacher of painting and graphic art in Hamburg. Muriel Zoe was born in 1969 in Ludwigshafen. Part of her schooling was at an English boarding school in South India. Back in Germany, she began to play guitar at age 12 and wrote her first songs with English lyrics at 15.  

In 1988 she began to train as painter and engraver at the art school in Nurtingen in the Southern region of Baden-Wurttemberg and continued her education from 1990 at the technical university for design in Hamburg. Since 1994 she has exhibited in both group and solo shows.  In 1990 she began studies... https://www.actmusic.com/en/Artists/Muriel-Zoe/Red-And-Blue/Red-And-Blue-CD

Personnel: Muriel Zoe: vocals, acoustic guitar; Michael Verhovec: drums, percussion; Matthias Pogoda: acoustic guitar; Johannes Huth: bass; Michael Leuschner: trumpet

Red and Blue

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Gary Smith - The Midnight Sun

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:01
Size: 128,6 MB
Art: Front

(5:55)  1. Angel Eyes
(6:53)  2. Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man
(6:02)  3. Twilight
(7:01)  4. Midnight Sun
(5:41)  5. Lullaby Of The Leaves
(5:31)  6. Stardust
(6:11)  7. Say What?
(3:49)  8. Emily
(5:25)  9. Sopros Suaves
(3:29) 10. Easy To Love

The Midnight Sun

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Peter Pearson - Lost In A Summer Haze

Styles: Lounge
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:18
Size: 83,6 MB
Art: Front

(6:18)  1. We're Looking at the Stars
(5:40)  2. So Beautiful
(4:55)  3. French Favour
(4:56)  4. Cafe De Paris
(2:46)  5. A Long Way Off
(5:59)  6. Lost In A Summer Haze
(5:40)  7. Stars In The Sea

Born in London 1947, qualified as a Doctor 1970, and subsequently became a General Practitioner until retirement in 1997. He dabbled in guitar (with brother), piano, and songwriting (with sister) in an earlier life, and played keyboards in a blues band (Blue Shift) in the nineties. After retirement from medicine, Peter was then able to concentrate on his other great passion- music composition. He completed "Music for the Media" course, obtaining a Diploma in Media Composition, and was awarded a Diploma in Music (composition) by the WMF. He achieved some notable successes in various song contests. He collaborated with and received much guidance from Nic Rowley. Several of his pieces have been published by Music Libraries, and over 200 tracks released, including a dozen albums. He is proud to be published by Mustard Music. 

Peter's chief earlier influences have been Rachmaninov, Elgar, Chopin, Ray Charles, Burt Bacharach, John Barry, Francis Lai, Michel Legrand, Jobim, and Ennio Morricone; and then the great pop composers of a later era, with emotive, romantic and soul influences. More recently, he has been heavily influenced by the Chillout scene, notably Michael e.. A curiously diverse combination that may explain his equally diverse styles, that crosses the genres of Easy Listening and Chillout, with elements of Ambient, Lounge, Jazz, Blues, light Classical and Rock.His primordial need in composition is to be emotionally moved- if there is no passion there is no music. 

He also feels a need to share his music, and strives to compose for the enjoyment of others. Peter's compositions are mainly instrumental. Being essentially a keyboardist, his chief materials are keyboards and a computer, with occasional use of an acoustic guitar and accordion. Peter's other passions include wine, sun, nature and his family. He lives happily in the south of France with his patient and supportive wife. As Francis Lai once told him: when music becomes a passion, it is an outlet that helps us surmount the imponderables of life. Bio ~ http://www.peterpearsonmusic.com/bio

Lost In A Summer Haze

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Michael Brecker - Nearness Of You : The Ballad Book

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2001
File: MP3@224K/s
Time: 60:23
Size: 97,6 MB
Art: Front

(5:15)  1. Chan's Song
(4:44)  2. Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight
(6:18)  3. Nascente
(6:23)  4. Midnight Mood
(4:38)  5. The Nearness Of You
(5:22)  6. Incandescence
(5:29)  7. Sometimes I See
(7:11)  8. My Ship
(5:37)  9. Always
(5:34) 10. Seven Days
(3:49) 11. I Can See Your Dreams

There comes a time, it seems, when every major-label jazzer has to add a ballads album to his or her discography. That time has come for Michael Brecker, who enlists the formidable Pat Metheny as both producer and guitarist. Along for the ride are three players you may have heard of: Herbie Hancock, Charlie Haden, and Jack DeJohnette. The 11 tracks (divided into two five-track "chapters" and a one-track "epilogue") are flawlessly executed practically airbrushed and as mainstream as can be, but darned if they don't raise a few goosebumps. Brecker is restrained and mellow-toned throughout, shelving some of his pet licks and pushing himself into more lyrical territory. Metheny's guitar work is exquisite, particularly on Hancock's "Chan's Song," which contrasts nicely with Jacky Terrasson's version on 1997's Rendezvous (Blue Note). These aren't the ballads you'd expect, and that's primarily what makes the date work. There are two cuts from Metheny's 1996 album Quartet (Geffen), "Sometimes I See" and "Seven Days." 

There's also Brecker's "Incandescence" and "I Can See Your Dreams," the latter serving as the wistful "epilogue." Joe Zawinul's "Midnight Mood" is another unusual entry. The only standards are "Always," "My Ship" (Gil Evans's Miles Ahead arrangement, Gil Goldstein's adaptation for quintet), and "The Nearness of You," the last of which features James Taylor (!) on vocals. Taylor's presence raises some interesting issues. His is not a jazz voice by any means, and in a way, that's what redeems his performance on "The Nearness of You." Cynics may lambaste his inclusion as a commercial ploy, and they may be partly right, but one thing's for sure: he puts his own stamp on the tune, preventing it from sounding recycled and retro. The same can be said for "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight," which also features Taylor's singing. One could argue that Taylor is this track's saving grace. Without him, the group might have played the song as a boring, muzaky instrumental. Instead, we hear Taylor revisiting one of his own classics, rearranged as a jazz ballad. There's artistic merit there for sure. ~ David Adler  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/nearness-of-you-the-ballad-book-michael-brecker-verve-music-group-review-by-david-adler.php#.VC3iFBawTP8

Personnel: Michael Brecker, tenor sax; Pat Metheny, guitars, producer; Herbie Hancock, piano; Charlie Haden, bass; Jack DeJohnette, drums; James Taylor, vocals (2, 5)

Nearness Of You:The Ballad Book

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Mimmo Langella - Funk That Jazz

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 44:48
Size: 102.6 MB
Styles: Guitar rock-jazz, Fusion
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[5:11] 1. Follow Me Now
[6:09] 2. Scò
[5:57] 3. Up Two
[4:09] 4. The Gig Una Razza
[6:56] 5. The Harmony Of The Soul
[5:12] 6. In The Air
[4:05] 7. Come On
[7:06] 8. Jean Paul

"Langella continues the musical journey begun some years ago with the record "The Other Side". The jazz/blues influences absorbed after all these years merge naturally into a fine blend of styles on the rhythmic territory of black music roots (with pleasand hints of modern electro-lounge trends), colored with "retro" timbres so warm and "alive" that, when the listener closes their eyes, they seem to be there in the studio during the recording sessions. The bandleader shows great maturity in conducting the combo, accommodating his partners and relegating his fine guitar technique in the sevice of his music. The music of Langella is once again personal, fresh and melodically engaging; the phrases of the neapolitan guitarist are articulated in the rhythm that has the naturalness of one." Funk That Jazz features guest guitarist Scott Henderson on "Up Two" and "The Harmony Of The Soul"

Funk That Jazz

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Kelly Dickson & Werner Kristiansen - Doodlin'

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 40:24
Size: 92.5 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 2008
Art: Front

[5:00] 1. Beautiful Love
[6:53] 2. Gentle Rain
[3:21] 3. Like Someone In Love
[4:36] 4. If I Should Lose You
[3:17] 5. Doodlin'
[5:32] 6. My One And Only Love
[3:22] 7. I'm An Errand Girl For Rhythm
[4:02] 8. That Was Then
[4:17] 9. To Michael Brecker

Doodlin’ is vocalist Kelly Dickson’s second New York jazz recording. This album is a collaboration with Norwegian guitarist Werner Kristiansen and features the great George Garzone on Saxophones throughout. Recorded in January 2007 the trio was also joined by Jeff Pedraz on Double Bass and Pete Zimmer on drums.

Doodlin’ comprises a selection of jazz standards as well as two originals compositions, one written by Kristiansen and the second penned by Garzone honoring the late Mike Brecker.

Doodlin'

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