Grant Green - Green Street (Bonus Track Version)

Size: 178,5 MB
Time: 77:08
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1961/2016
Styles: Jazz: Guitar Jazz
Label: Down To The Beat Records
Art: Front

01. No. 1 Green Street ( 7:16)
02. 'Round Midnight ( 7:00)
03. Grant's Dimensions ( 7:52)
04. Green With Envy ( 9:42)
05. Alone Together ( 7:09)
06. Green With Envy (Alternate Take) ( 7:49)
07. Alone Together (Alternate Take) ( 6:53)
08. Falling In Love With Love ( 5:22)
09. Our Miss Brooks (Take 1) (10:10)
10. One For Elena (Take 4) ( 7:50)

As a trio, this edition of guitarist Grant Green's many ensembles has to rank with the best he had ever fronted. Recorded on April Fool's Day of 1961, the band and music are no joke, as bassist Ben Tucker and drummer Dave Bailey understand in the most innate sense how to support Green, lay back when needed, or strut their own stuff when called upon. Still emerging as an individualist, Green takes further steps ahead, without a pianist, saxophonist, or -- most importantly -- an organist. His willpower drives this music forward in a refined approach that definitely marks him as a distinctive, immediately recognizable player. It is also a session done in a period when Green was reeling in popular demand, as this remarkably is one of six recordings he cut for Blue Note as a leader in 1961, not to mention other projects as a sideman. To say his star was rising would be an understatement. The lean meatiness of this group allows all three musicians to play with little hesitation, no wasted notes, and plenty of soul. Another aspect of this studio date is the stereo separation of Green's guitar in one speaker, perhaps not prevalent in modern recordings, but very much in use then. Check out the atypical (for Green) ballad "'Round About Midnight," as the guitarist trims back embellishments to play this famous melody straight, with a slight vibrato, occasional trills, and a shuffled bridge. The trio cops an attitude similar to Dizzy Gillespie for the introduction to "Alone Together," with clipped melody notes and a bass filler from Tucker. Three of Green's originals stamp his personal mark on rising original soulful post-bop sounds, as "No. 1 Green Street" has basic B-flat, easy-grooving tenets similar to his previously recorded tune "Miss Ann's Tempo." Two interesting key changes and chord accents identify the outstanding "Grant's Dimensions" beyond its core bop bridge and jam configuration -- not the least of which contains a hefty bass solo from the criminally underrated Tucker and Bailey trading fours. "Green with Envy" should be familiar to fans of Horace Silver, as it is almost identically based on the changes of "Nica's Dream," a neat adaptation full of stop-starts and stretched-out improvising over ten minutes. (The alternate take of this one on the expanded CD reissue is a full two minutes shorter.) If this is not a definitive jazz guitar trio, they have not yet been born, and Green Street stands as one of Grant Green's best recordings of many he produced in the ten prolific years he was with the Blue Note label. ~by Michael G. Nastos

Green Street

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Ilana Charnelle - A Class Act

Size: 103,2 MB
Time: 40:12
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz Vocals, Cabaret
Art: Front

01. Working Out (3:58)
02. The Clown (5:09)
03. No No No (3:08)
04. I Did It For You (3:41)
05. The Good Guy (All Class Edition) (3:51)
06. Still Alive (5:34)
07. High (3:30)
08. Better That They Stay (2:59)
09. Move (3:47)
10. A Class Act (4:30)

Who is Ilana Charnelle? It might be sex, cigarettes, lingerie, gin and speakeasies – but it’s also pure class. Forget skinny jeans, autotune and iPhones. It’s time for vintage glamour and old fashioned romance from the golden age of entertainment.

After channelling Judy Garland and David Bowie for ACMI, amassing over 200,000 views on YouTube, and headlining a plethora of underground Melbourne institutions including Burlesque Bar, Speakeasy HQ, and Red Bennies, Ilana Charnelle premieres A Class Act – her debut solo cabaret.

Scored by a suite of enchanting original songs, and musical director savant dandy Ned Dixon, A Class Act is a heartbreaking, honest and ultimately empowering hour of cabaret.

A Class Act

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Dida Pelled - A Missing Shade Of Blue

Size: 131,9 MB
Time: 56:58
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz: Guitar Jazz, Hammond Organ
Art: Front

01. Sundown (5:35)
02. I Don't Need No Doctor (5:02)
03. When I Grow Too Old To Dream (4:14)
04. Take These Chains Off My Hearth (4:38)
05. Folsom Prison Blues (3:56)
06. It's A Shin To Tell A Lie (3:59)
07. Glide On (4:20)
08. A Little Walk On Jane Street (4:10)
09. A Missing Shade Of Blue (6:05)
10. Blue Moon (4:20)
11. Five Hundred Miles (5:18)
12. Ultramarine (3:22)
13. I'll See You In My Dreams (1:53)

Guitarist and vocalist Dida Pelled previous Red Records release, Dida Pelled: Plays and Sings (Red Records, 2011) was one of my pics for Best-of-the-Year in 2011). That recording was so refreshingly organic that it has remained in my listening rotation since that time. Pelled snuck in a self-produced Modern Love Songs (2015) between Plays and Sings and the present A Missing Shade of Blue. It is as exceptional as the first recording. That said, expectations for A Missing Shade of Blue are necessarily great.

Organic. I like to use the word to describe music made with a minimum of effects and sonic engineering. Music that is like the tomato you picked off the plant in your back yard in the middle of July that is acidy tart and sporting a "realness" that is light years away from what you get at the local Walmart. It is music that is tactically genuine and real. That is the music that Dida Pelled plays. It is robust, with a freshly scrubbed sound that is both basic and advanced. Pelled is not going to dazzle you with technique save for than which is valued for what not is played. She has a Miles Davis-Count Basie bluesy brevity to her playing that makes her music irresistible.

Pelled steps out on A Missing Shade of Blue, moving well beyond the comfort zone of most jazz guitarists. Bravo that she slays the Ashford/Simpson classic "I Don't Need No Doctor" (yes, that one that Humble Pie rode to fame on Performance Rockin' The Fillmore (A&M, 1971)). But that is only the beginning. She plays a plaintive slide guitar on "Take These Chains from My Heart" and "500 Miles." This is grandly cast music, even in a jazz organ trio made up of Pelled, organist Luke Carlos O'Realy and drummer Rodney Green. This is not the 21st Century anemic attempt to capture the greasy funk of 1960's organ jazz. No, this is Pelled claiming a stake while coloring in the lines better than Wes Montgomery and Jimmy Smith.

Provocatively, the CD sleeve notes, "Dida Pelled, Guitar," which seemed curious as she both plays and sings on her previous Red Records release. It is a bit of a teaser, but Pelled does sing on the two dream-related cuts, "When I Grow Too Old To Dream" and "I'll See You In My Dreams," both showing off Pelled's remarkably plaintive and stripped down voice, full of scrubbed simplicity and genuine pathos. on "I'll See You In My Dreams," Pelled accompanies herself with her full-voiced finger- picking to a stunning solo effect. Before hearing this, I was unsure she could out-do the over-the-top creativity of her take on Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues."

Pelled cameos trumpeter Fabio Morgera and flautist Ital Kriss on Morgera's "Ultramarine," the sole bebop piece on the recording that makes a great argument Pelled's bona fides as a grand bop interpreter. As for Kriss, the flute solo on "When I Grow Too Old to Dream" is a masters class in the blues that is spectacular. Pelled is a controlled and specific artist who focuses on the simplicity of her task at hand. She digs deep into the American Southern Vernacular, extracting the blues, gospel, and country notes that swirl together like smoke formed from a fire rising. C. Michael Bailey

Personnel: Dida Pelled: guitar; Luke Carlos O’Realy: Hamnond B3; Rodney Green: drums; Fabio Morgera: trumpet (3, 6. 8, 18); Itai Kriss: flute (3, 6, 12)

A Missing Shade Of Blue

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Janet Staley - Whisper To The Wind

Size: 101,9 MB
Time: 43:20
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz/Pop Vocals
Art: Front

01. The Nearness Of You (4:28)
02. Can't Help Lovin' That Man (3:07)
03. Blackbird - In My Life (4:31)
04. When October Goes (4:39)
05. (You're) Everything (3:43)
06. Till There Was You (2:51)
07. Here's To Life (3:47)
08. More Than You Know (3:41)
09. Superstar (3:41)
10. Garden In The Rain (4:17)
11. Willow Weep For Me (4:30)

Friends have asked over the years whether I'd considered recording an album. But not until our friend, Mike Kelly, suggested I collaborate with his brother, Pat, a renowned Cincinnati musician and producer, did I seriously commit to this challenge. Over several months, Pat and I agreed on this selection of our favorite tunes.

Pat assembled some of Ohio's finest musicians to record his fabulous arrangements under the skillful engineering of Mark Santangelo in Cincinnati, while I recorded the vocals in Omaha under the generous guidance and support of many talented friends, especially Susie Thorne, who meticulously and creatively helped me better understand my natural voice and how to approach each arrangement. Jackie Allen contributed much from her extensive knowledge of studio work and jazz vocals, and Kerry Barrett's cover photo captured the "Whisper" mood. Omaha's premier jazz guitarist, Ron Cooley, graciously added a guitar part to our final song, "Willow Weep for Me". Tom "the Wizard" Ware masterfully engineered the vocals at his studio in Omaha. With the help and encouragement of these great friends and others, and with the hard work and unequaled talent of the project's mastermind, Pat Kelly, and his collection of stellar musicians, this truly became a labor of love.

Whisper To The Wind

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Nesia Ardi - Freedoms Jazz Festival 2016

Size: 142,0 MB
Time: 61:18
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. A Tisket A Tasket ( 5:10)
02. Undefined ( 8:32)
03. I Can Be Your Lover ( 6:14)
04. So Long Goodbye ( 5:42)
05. Don't Put Sugar In My Coffee (11:04)
06. It Don't Mean A Thing ( 7:34)
07. Minya ( 5:35)
08. Don't Worry Be Happy ( 4:07)
09. Honeysuckle Rose ( 7:16)

Having born in a music family, NESIA ARDI has interested in painting / scratches and music, especially singing in a very young age. Her father was pianist who passed away before Nesia could learn music from him. However, his collection of CDs and Cassettes from Bob James, Nick Mamahit, Laura Fygi, Tania Maria, Ermi Kullit has made Nesia attracted to Jazz.
Nesia studied vocal at Institut Daya Indonesia guided by Tjut Nyak Deviana and . She has won many sing competition and band. She collaborate with many musician such as Sri Hanuraga, Oele Pattiselano, Glen Dauna, Nial Djuliarso , Andy Gomez, etc.. Nesia has produced 1 (one) album duet with Robert Mulyarahadja.

Freedoms Jazz Festival 2016

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Jason Palmer - Places

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:23
Size: 166,3 MB
Art: Front

( 9:48)  1. Urban Renewal (For High Point)
( 9:22)  2. Falling In (For Guimaraes)
( 8:49)  3. Berlin
(10:51)  4. Bern
( 9:01)  5. Rising Sign (For Paris)
( 2:10)  6. Silver (For Xalapa)
( 7:55)  7. American Deceptionalism Part I (For DC)
( 8:49)  8. Sprit Song (For Rozzy)
( 5:34)  9. American Deceptionalism Part II

Apart from Mark Turner, none of the musicians on this recording, including the leader, are known to me but I am more than happy to make their acquaintance through the medium of what is another fine release from Steeplechase Records. And what a superb record it is; one that will caress the discerning ear and repay hours of repeated listening being a refined post-modern extension of timeless hard-bop conventions that will stimulate the palate, jaded by too much exposure to so called `cutting edge` eclecticism. Palmer, if you don’t already know, is a top drawer trumpeter whose plangent clarion call is an elegant summation of much that has gone before but whose fervent chromaticism pushes at the boundaries of conventional expression, marking out new territory  without risking the listeners’ alienation. His middle register lyricism occasionally boils over into a higher register but without ever sounding strident or histrionic.

In this recording he has assembled a band of contemporaries, some of whom he first encountered at college and others during subsequent assignments, to perform a suite of pieces that take their inspiration from various cities he has visited during the course of his career. They aren’t strictly jazz impressions in the Brubeck sense of being musical tone poems but rather more personal visions that unite a place and time with the feelings they engender. Many open with extended cadenzas either for solo instrument or two part counterpoint before segueing into either a knotty hard –bop theme or a legato wistfulness reminiscent of `Birth of the Cool` introspection. Ensemble writing is carefully balanced with solo interpretatation and in this context the contribution made by Mark Turner is particularly valuable; his rigorous and sinuous variations recall the almost academic dedication of the Tristano alumni, Warne Marsh and Lee Konitz, but couched in expressive, personal and more contemporary terms All involved ensure music making of the highest quality: there is some superlative bass playing; guitar that moves between scintillating arpeggios and dense vamping and what drumming! Kendrick Scott’s cymbal work is pure sonic poetry almost stealing the show in the way he makes his entries behind the respective soloists, building and releasing tension, judiciously applying accents to gather and drive the forward momentum. If you are a true believer in the power of jazz to renew and build upon its deeply ingrained conventions in a way that doesn’t compromise its core values then this is a record you will what to hear and own. ~ Euan Dixon http://www.jazzviews.net/jason-palmer-sextet---places.html

Personnel: Jason Palmer (trumpet) Godwin Louis (alto sax) Mark Turner (tenor sax) Mike Moreno (guitar) Edward Perez (bass) Kendrick Scott (drums)

Places

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Annekei - Touch

Styles: Vocal, Pop
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:14
Size: 152,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:08)  1. AnnEmotion
(4:50)  2. Keep Playing
(4:46)  3. Melt
(4:30)  4. Days Like This
(4:01)  5. In Those Eyes
(4:32)  6. Song For Ida Marie
(3:57)  7. Garbage Blues
(5:27)  8. Suga' Babe
(4:31)  9. Take A Stab
(5:40) 10. Chills
(5:41) 11. Touch
(5:16) 12. Inspired
(4:13) 13. I Can See
(4:36) 14. White Striped Bus

Annekei grew up in a family of music. Her parents were both jazz musicians and her 4 brothers - just like herself - mastered their instruments at a very young age.  She sings, plays the piano and guitar in addition to writing and arranging her own material. At 19-years-old, Annekei moved from her home country, Denmark, to pursue her musical ambitions in New York City. Since her arrival in 2002, the young singer has been performing venues as varied as Joe's Pub, Pianos, The Metropolitan Cafe, Rockwood Music Hall, The Living Room, Bowery Poetry Club, Suite 16, The Cutting Room, Blue Note, The Bitter End and Fez under Time Cafe. In 2003 she made it to the finals of the amateur night competition on the TV show, "Showtime at The Apollo", performing her original song "Close Your Eyes". 2 years later, her single "More Of Your Love" broke on the club scene in the UK. In 2006 she signed with a Japanese label and released her self-titled debut album in September the same year. The single "Brother" made it to #4 on the Japanese charts within 2 weeks of release, rose to #1 vocal album on Japanese iTunes and landed her the title: "Best New Foreign Artist" at the AD LIB AWARDS 2006. Her second solo album "Tsuki" dropped only 9 months after the debut, followed up by the collaboration project "Letter" with Korean guitarist Jack Lee. In June this year Annekei released her 3rd solo album "Touch" produced by legendary guitarist Lee Ritenour and featuring a prolific group of musicians from Los Angeles. She is currently touring Asia in support of the record, as well as bi-coastal'y writing and recording for her 4th album. http://annekei.com/files/html/bio.html

Touch

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Gary Versace - Many Places

Styles: Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@256K/s
Time: 69:38
Size: 128,8 MB
Art: Front

(8:44)  1. Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most
(6:39)  2. Seen From Above
(6:04)  3. 16 By 12
(6:47)  4. Many Places
(8:39)  5. I Wished On The Mood
(7:34)  6. One Year from Today
(7:42)  7. September In The rain
(8:08)  8. Home
(9:17)  9. Love For Sale

Mark Gardner’s liner notes open with the salvo, “Many jazz critics are sniffy about the organ.” While pleading guilty, I admit that Gary Versace is an uncommonly graceful, fluid organist. But sometimes it sounds like he is fighting a losing battle against the instrument’s natural tendencies. Many Places is not funky and greasy enough for most organ fans, yet its efforts to be tasteful and musical must overcome the Hammond B3’s unlovely, artificial, one-dimensional sound (to give it a sniffy description). The format is also limiting, an opinion supported by comparing Many Places to a contemporaneous SteepleChase album, Harold Danko’s Oatts and Perry. Both feature Dick Oattsthe Danko disc in a conventional quintet (and Oatts on his strongest instrument, alto saxophone), the Versace in a trio with drummer Matt Wilson (and Oatts on alto, tenor and soprano saxophones). The Danko album allows Oatts to create over a rich and varied musical and emotional range. The Versace CD is a two-trick pony. There are the light, bright grooves of the five Versace originals, and four clever transformations into jump tunes of standards usually taken as ballads (“Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most,” “September in the Rain”). In the spirit of avoiding sniffiness, it must be noted that Dick Oatts is the real deal, even on his second- and third-best horns.  ~ Thomas Conrad http://jazztimes.com/articles/17365-many-places-gary-versace

Personnel: Gary Versace: organ; Dick Oatts: saxophones; Matt Wilson: drums.

Many Places

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Richard Davis - With Understanding

Styles: Jazz, Hard Bop, Post-Bop
Year: 1975
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:56
Size: 88,0 MB
Art: Front

(5:36)  1. Dear Old Stockholm
(4:07)  2. Monica
(9:33)  3. Oh My God
(7:17)  4. The Rabbi
(6:15)  5. Baby Sweets
(5:05)  6. Juan Valdez

A superb bass technician who doesn't have as extensive a recorded legacy as expected, Richard Davis has a wonderful tone, is excellent with either the bow or fingers, and stands out in any situation. He has been a remarkable free, bebop, and hard bop player, served in world-class symphony orchestras, backed vocalists, and engaged in stunning duets with fellow bassists. He does any and everything well in terms of bass playing: accompaniment, soloing, working with others in the rhythm section, responding to soloists, or playing unison passages. He combines upper-register notes with low sounds coaxed through the use of open strings. Davis studied privately nearly ten years in the '40s and '50s, while also playing with Chicago orchestras. He played with Ahmad Jamal, Charlie Ventura, and Don Shirley in the early and mid-'50s, then worked with Sarah Vaughan in the late '50s and early '60s, as well as Kenny Burrell. Davis divided his duties in the '60s between recording and performing sessions with jazz musicians and freelance work with symphony orchestras conducted by Leonard Bernstein and Igor Stravinsky. He recorded often with Eric Dolphy, including the unforgettable dates at the Five Spot. He also worked with Booker Ervin, Andrew Hill, Ben Webster, Stan Getz, Earl Hines, and the Creative Construction Company. Davis teamed with Jaki Byard and Alan Dawson on sessions with Ervin, and others like Rahsaan Roland Kirk. 

He also played with Van Morrison. During the '70s Davis worked with Hank Jones and Billy Cobham, and he was a member of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra in the '60s and '70s. Davis left New York in 1977 to teach at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where he has remained as a professor into the 21st century. Concurrent with his life as an educator, he continued making intermittent appearances as a performer, including at the Aurex Jazz Festival in Tokyo in 1982, playing in a jam session led by trombonists J.J. Johnson and Kai Winding, and at the 1984 Chicago Jazz Festival. Davis was featured in the 1982 film Jazz in Exile. He's done relatively few recordings as a leader, though three Muse sessions are available on CD. The superb The Philosophy of the Spiritual, which matched Davis and fellow bassist Bill Lee, is not in print or on CD. Notable Richard Davis recordings during the 21st century include The Bassist: Homage to Diversity (a duo recording with John Hicks) issued by Palmetto in 2001, as well as two Japanese releases on the King label, So in Love in 2001 and Blue Monk (with pianist Junior Mance) in 2008. ~ Ron Wynn http://www.allmusic.com/artist/richard-davis-mn0000851653/biography

Personnel:  Bass – Bill Lee, Richard Davis;  Drums – Sonny Brown;  Piano – Chick Corea

With Understanding

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Anthony Wonsey - Anthonyology

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1995
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:41
Size: 130,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:37)  1. Inception
(5:08)  2. In the Blue of the Evening
(6:05)  3. Faces of a Clown
(5:24)  4. Temperance
(4:46)  5. Conception
(7:05)  6. Black Fairy Tales
(6:17)  7. Autumn Nocturne
(6:02)  8. Hey Jimmy
(4:41)  9. Daahoud
(5:32) 10. It Might as Well Be Spring/Sweet Lorraine

Originally released in Japan in 1995, this is pianist Anthony Wonsey's debut as a leader. On Anthonyology, the Chicago native enlists the services of bassist Christian McBride and drummer Carl Allen to perform three originals, three standards, and four jazz compositions. Only 24 at the time of this recording, Wonsey doesn't dazzle with technique, but displays lyricism and soulfulness in the tradition of influences Hank Jones, Tommy Flanagan, and Mulgrew Miller, while McBride and Allen, two-thirds of pianist Benny Green's trio during the early '90s, offer solid support. Favorites include up-tempo versions of McCoy Tyner's "Inception" and Clifford Brown's "Daahoud"; a swinging version of Wynton Kelly's rarely played "Temperance"; and Wonsey's "Hey Jimmy," a relaxed swinger named for a Boston cab driver who taught Wonsey some of Bud Powell's music. This is a delightful debut from a fine young musician. ~ Greg Turner http://www.allmusic.com/album/anthonyology-mw0000190385

Personnel:  Anthony Wonsey (piano); Christian McBride (bass); Carl Allen (drums).

Anthonyology

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Chiara Civello - Last Quarter Moon

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:24
Size: 111,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:57)  1. Here Is Everything
(4:23)  2. The Wrong Goodbye
(5:33)  3. Ora
(3:05)  4. Caramel
(6:26)  5. Parole Incerte
(4:13)  6. Last Quarter Moon
(4:19)  7. Nature Song
(3:04)  8. In Questi Giorni
(1:37)  9. Sambaroma
(4:15) 10. Trouble
(3:48) 11. Outono
(2:37) 12. I Won't Run Away

While she's a fresh and exotic voice on the recording scene, the multi-talented, Italian-born, internationally minded singer and musician has been keeping great company. With a vocal range and style that quickly bring Dianne Reeves to mind, she's recorded with Tony Bennett and James Taylor; so impressed Burt Bacharach that he collaborated here on the lush, emotional ballad "Trouble"; snagged legendary rock producer Russ Titelman to helm the recording; and is roundly adored by no less than '80s pop queen Cyndi Lauper, who crowed, "This record is haunting and she's just fantastic...her voice just captivates you." What Cyndi says. Civello's not quite as crisp vocally as Lizz Wright, but her jazz-soul heart is in the same place while traversing many borders singing in English, Italian, and Portuguese. While gently swinging numbers like the Brazilian-flavored, hypnotic "Ora" are more compelling, slower and smokier tunes like "Parole Incerte" offer her deepest modes of expression. Her skills as a songwriter are firmly on display, but she chooses a few interesting, somewhat obscure covers in samba-flavored cuts like Suzanne Vega's graceful "Caramel" and Rosa Passos/Fernando DeOliveira's "Outono." That sort of globe-trotting will set her apart from the pack of great female singers currently dotting the jazz landscape. ~ Jonathan Widran http://www.allmusic.com/album/last-quarter-moon-mw0000397350

Personnel: Chiara Civello (vocals, shaker, percussion); Adam Rogers (guitar); Mark Stewart (cello); Alain Mallet (melodica, piano, Fender Rhodes piano); Miguel Zenón (alto saxophone); Larry Goldings (Hammond b-3 organ); Rob Mounsey (keyboards); Mike Mainieri (vibraphone); James Genus, Ben Street (bass instrument); Clarence Penn, Steve Gadd , Dan Rieser (drums); Jamey Haddad (percussion, bells); Alex Alvear (background vocals).

Last Quarter Moon

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David Friesen - Star Dance

Styles: Jazz, Post-Bop
Year: 1976
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:29
Size: 110,1 MB
Art: Front

(6:00)  1. Winter's Fall
(4:15)  2. Duet and Dialogue
(3:48)  3. Dolphin in the Sky
(3:45)  4. Star Dance
(3:05)  5. 1 Rue Brey
(4:13)  6. Fields of Joy
(6:06)  7. A Little Child's Poem
(3:26)  8. Clouds
(3:50)  9. Children of the Kingdom
(2:57) 10. Mountain Streams

The Inner City CD reissue series has many fine recordings listed, and depending on your point of view and taste level, any of them might be considered important coming out of jazz in the mid- to late '70s. Bassist David Friesen's debut album, Star Dance, has to be considered pivotal and central in the stance of contemporary music for many reasons, not the least of which being that the playing of the musicians is excellent. It also sets a tone for the coming together of world musics in the spirit of the pioneering ensemble Oregon and has within its grasp both spiritual and earthy elements that few groups were able to merge. With elements culled from Friesen's upbringing in the Pacific Northwest, progressive jazz of the '60s, folk-rooted sounds, chamber music, and New York City funk, Friesen and his band sound as unique unto themselves as any band before, during, or after this time period. Paul McCandless (on loan from Oregon), fellow Pacific Northwest friend/electric guitarist John Stowell, and Big Apple studio drummer Steve Gadd are unlikely bedfellows with Friesen, yet achieve common-ground status within this broad mix of styles. McCandless plays the double-reeded English horn on the majority of these selections, and for the outstanding "Winter's Fall" coalesces with Friesen's sky church bowed harmonic bass alongside Stowell's tiny guitar notes, as Gadd's 7/8 beat takes over the three in a 4/4 funky midsection. 

The title track is a trio sans Gadd, which strikes a much more baroque and rural pose in unison lines. "Dolphin in the Sky" is dedicated to friend Jack Howell, a somber, slow tearjerker as if at a gravesite during a funeral, extracting great emotional depth, especially from McCandless. Dancing gleefully, "Mountain Streams" is a flowing, dense, and textural piece that taps into the natural, feminine side of life. On his more familiar oboe, McCandless plays with the full quartet during "Clouds," as the title suggests in a slow, wafting motif, while "Fields of Joy" is also unmistakably similar to the ancient and present music of Oregon, very composed, traipsing through rows of daisies, and breaking into a samba beat. There's a bass/drums duet improvisation, "1 Rue Brey," and an unaccompanied bass solo, "Children of the Kingdom," which readily reveals Friesen's religious center with strummed harmonics and a thematic-based ostinato for improvising off of. The sonic footprint created by this ensemble is both arresting and disarming a sound that uniquely speaks to a higher power and universal dialect. Now that the album is once again in print, there's no excuse to pass on this excellent recording, fused from many disparate elements and brilliantly performed by all the participants. ~ Michael G.Nastos http://www.allmusic.com/album/star-dance-mw0000877461

Personnel: David Friesen (acoustic bass); John Stowell (electric guitar); Paul McCandless (oboe, English horn); Steve Gadd (drums).

Star Dance

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Richard Davis With Junior Mance - Blue Monk

Styles: Jazz, Hard Bop, Post-Bop 
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:57
Size: 136,9 MB
Art: Front

(7:52)  1. Blue Monk
(7:50)  2. Summertime
(6:55)  3. Single Petal Of A Rose
(9:48)  4. There Is No Greater Love
(5:43)  5. Blue Bossa
(7:29)  6. Dear Old Stockholm
(6:53)  7. On The Trail
(6:23)  8. In A Sentimental Mood

Bassist Richard Davis has always been a genius and even in his later years, he continues to create these magical sounds that nobody else can touch! Davis steps out here in so many unusual, sublime styles that we're newly impressed with his talents – has he bows the bass on some numbers, plucks it on others, and even plays a bit of piano sometimes in collaboration with Junior Mance, who accompanies the bass on some tracks although the album clearly gives Davis plenty of space to move freely on his own! The recording quality is superb, so that all the subtle elements of Richard's playing come through right away although the album's got a power that's far from subtle, too even in some of it's mellower moments. 

Titles include "Summertime", "Blue Bossa", "Dear Old Stockholm", "Blue Monk", and "On The Trail" but all in versions that are quite striking and original! (SHM-CD pressing!) © 1996-2016, Dusty Groove, Inc. https://www.dustygroove.com/item/774594

Personnel:  Richard Davis (bass);  Junior Mance (piano).

Blue Monk

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The Jeff Lorber Fusion - Soft Space

Styles: Jazz Funk, Fusion 
Year: 1978
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:33
Size: 86,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:15)  1. The Samba
(5:51)  2. Katherine
(5:39)  3. Black Ice
(5:59)  4. Curtains
(4:43)  5. Proteus
(4:07)  6. Soft Space
(5:56)  7. Swing Funk

Jeff Lorber is one of the top jazz-fusion keyboard players of the late 70s & early 80s. He had numerous jazz albums that made the regular Billboard album charts. He still makes albums & even recently won a Grammy. His very first two albums were originally on the Inner City label in 1977. They have never been issued on CD anywhere in the world until now. Soft Space features guest appearances by Chick Corea & Joe Farrell. Wounded Bird. 2008. ~ Editorial Reviews https://www.amazon.com/Soft-Space-Jeff-Lorber/dp/B0015I2PYA

Personnel:  Terry Layne (flute, saxophone); Jeff Lorber (keyboards, synthesizer, Moog synthesizer); Lester McFarland (bass guitar); Dennis Bradford (drums); Ron Young (congas, percussion); Joe Farrell (saxophone); Chick Corea (mini-Moog synthesizer).

Soft Space

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Don Friedman - My Foolish Heart

Size: 131,3 MB
Time: 56:49
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2003
Styles: Jazz: Piano Jazz
Art: Front

01. Positivity (7:41)
02. My Foolish Heart (7:58)
03. Desafinado (6:40)
04. Memory Of Scotty (8:34)
05. Bye, Bye Blackbird (7:24)
06. Petite Fleur (6:21)
07. Swans (6:31)
08. Almost Everything (5:37)

Many modern jazz fans consider the 1960s as the creative apogee of the music. The abundance of top-flight musicians, coupled with a near continuous stream of boundary breaking innovations, made for a creatively explosive combination. The downside to this artistic boon was that many high caliber conceptualists got lost in the deluge.

A case could easily be made for counting Don Friedman among this number, as his early '60s albums for Riverside offered some of the most ingenious variations on the piano trio format of the era. Sadly, they were largely overshadowed by more overtly provocative offerings of artists like Cecil Taylor, Thelonious Monk and Dave Brubeck. Careful listening to Friedman’s early albums reveals that his relegation to the fringes was completely undeserved. Rather than compromise his creativity, he teamed up with guitarist Atilla Zoller and decided to go even further out. The decision ultimately didn’t help his career, but it did result in some of the most adventurous piano-driven jazz of the decade.

Over the years Friedman’s remained active, and while his fame hasn’t risen much beyond the niche community that is creative improvised music, he’s sustained a remarkably high standard of quality in his music. Uniting with a crew of younger players for this latest outing, Friedman’s form sounds undiminished by nearly five decades in the jazz life. The quartet balances four originals with four thoughtfully chosen standards making for a program ripe with both the fresh and familiar. Levy’s “Positivity” gorgeously reflects the sentiment of its title in musical terms. Ferguson has an early shot at the spotlight and his strings practically sing in the crystalline sonics of the studio. Friedman adds delicate accents, eventually regaining the lead in a sparkling outpouring of chords. Ferguson’s fluid breaks beat a soothing path to an elegant recapitulation of the theme by Levy’s effervescent tenor.

The saxophonist sits out on “My Foolish Heart,” and his absence allows for even more intimate interplay between Friedman and his rhythm section mates. After peeling off lush scalar runs down his keyboard, the pianist lays out, leaving room for another contemplative pizzicato foray from Ferguson. Jobim’s “Desafinado” gains a minor harmonic facelift, but still retains its signature beat. Levy sails breezily through the changes, sounding at first slightly like Desmond might have if he had embraced the tenor horn. His tone later hardens, but his melodically infused lines retain relaxed buoyancy in phrasing above the counterpoint of his partners.

Friedman’s “Memory of Scotty,” dedicated his long departed colleague Scott LaFaro, pays balladic tribute to the bassist and acts as a cleverly conceived vehicle for Ferguson’s own strings, both arco and plucked. Bechet’s “Petite Fleur” finds Levy on uncredited soprano, in deference to the composer. His translucent tone on the straight horn fits snugly into the Latinized structures of the arrangement. Friedman’s graceful accompaniment and eventual solo further contributes to a feeling of reposeful calm. The upbeat rhythms of the pianist’s “Almost Everything” presage the session’s impending end, but the quartet still has space for a final stretch through regions of warmly voiced lyricism.

Sweeping accolades and fame may not be in the cards for Friedman, but based on the strengths of this session the situation doesn’t seem to matter much. He’ll keep doing what he does best, whether there’s a widespread audience or not. For that, listeners in the know should be grateful. ~by Derek Taylor

Personnel: Don Friedman-piano; Jed Levy-tenor saxophone; Tim Ferguson-bass; Tony Jefferson-drums. Recorded: April 2000.

My Foolish Heart

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Abby Lappen - Double Mentions

Size: 100,8 MB
Time: 43:20
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Folk, Folk Blues, Folk Jazz
Art: Front

01. How Can You Mend A Broken Heart (3:07)
02. Turning The Page (3:47)
03. Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (3:10)
04. Once I Was (3:46)
05. This Song (2:54)
06. Two Brothers (3:32)
07. Why Can't We Live Together (3:45)
08. Sweet Surrender (3:31)
09. It's The Frame (3:42)
10. Texas Waltz (4:40)
11. Thirsty Boots (3:31)
12. Willow (3:49)

Abby Lappen is a singer/songwriter who lives in New York State's Hudson Valley. She displays her passion for live musical performance with a collection of original songs and meaningful covers in a cross genre mix, from haunting folk and satirical blues to jazzy ballads and syncopated melodies. Abby is an accomplished artist whose unique voice and "crisp guitar" mesmerize audiences with warmth and agility.

Double Mentions

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Jeanette Harris - Chocolate Vibez

Size: 107,4 MB
Time: 45:53
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz: Smooth Jazz
Art: Front

01. Crown Royal (4:12)
02. Chocolate Vibez (3:56)
03. Foolin' Around (4:31)
04. Alright (4:16)
05. Steppin' Out (3:59)
06. Folkish (4:06)
07. The Way It Feels (3:58)
08. Sound Check (4:04)
09. Square Biz (4:59)
10. Shrimp & Grits (4:12)
11. Peaceful Journey (3:34)

Jeanette Harris was born and raised in California’s post-Gold Rush town of Fresno, smack in the center of San Joaquin Valley. Reared by her mother Annette Harris and her church organist father Floyd Harris – both of deep spiritual faith and intense believers in the art of music - Jeanette and her older brother Michael Harris received their loves of God, family and each other honest.

“When I was 5, my father put a guitar in my hands,” Jeanette begins. “A year later he switched me to piano with a private teacher. I didn’t like it. Reading treble and bass clefs was so overwhelming I would cry but it did give me a great jumpstart. One day while driving me to 4th grade, Mom was playing a cassette by Grover Washington, Jr. I remember looking at the picture of his alto sax. It was beautiful and Grover made it look so hip. I felt it would be the perfect instrument for me.”

Jeanette played saxophone and piano from grade school to high school where band teacher Steve Alcala had her playing both in the Fresno City College Jazz Band before she even graduated. She won numerous awards and accolades which led to her scholarship to attend Berklee in Boston where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Performance. Back in Fresno, Jeanette self-recorded her first CD, Here and There, grabbed brother Michael on drums and bassist Patrick Olvera, and started developing a following by regularly packing Mike’s Pub & Pizzeria. She recorded her official debut Reflections and later Smooth Holiday Greetings on her family’s J&M Records (Jeanette & Michael’s initials, Mom and Dad’s funds).
Citing her influences, Jeanette continues, “(Saxophonist) Richard Elliott brought some serious R&B GROOVE at a time when smooth jazz really needed more of that funk vibe…especially his song ‘Corner Pocket.’ I just loved his production! As a composer, Stevie Wonder’s music touches the hearts of people with lyrics that have strong meanings, and beautiful chords and melodies. And (guitarist) Norman Brown is the one that inspired me to want to be a performer when my parents took me to see him for my very first concert at The Bastille in Hanford, CA. He gave me chills!” After crossing paths with Brown on the road, Jeanette co-wrote a song with him that became the title track of her fourth CD, Saxified. Brown recorded the song on his CD, 24/7 with a different title, “The Best is Yet to Come” featuring Gerald Albright. “To have Gerald playing a melody that I wrote is so amazing,” Jeanette shares.

Jeanette Harris has played major events from The Coombs River Bend Ranch Festival to festivals in Japan and London. She has performed as a side musician with Howard Hewett and Deniece Williams. She has also opened shows for greats ranging from smooth jazz stars Kirk Whalum, Najee and The Rippingtons to R&B stars Babyface, Phil Perry and KEM. “I got a standing ovation opening for KEM,” Jeanette beams. “He came out to meet me and get my CD. His people said he NEVER does that! That let me know my music does crossover.”

The most special person to come along in the course of Ms. Harris’ career thus far was singer/songwriter Teena Marie who hired her unheard/unseen in a destiny streaked leap of faith totally befitting Jeanette’s life and beliefs. “Her trumpet player saw me at the 2010 NAMM Show and asked for my card. It had already been a unbelievable day where I got endorsements for both Unison saxophones and BARI Reeds. As I was driving home, the guy called me and asked if I wanted to play with Teena for a concert…in London! I couldn’t believe it. I got 4 hours sleep that night studying her music then drove to L.A. for the audition. I had to pull off the freeway when Teena called me personally to get my passport information. The band tested my improvising skills, a funk song and a ballad - then I was in! Teena finally arrived, gave me a big hug and away we went. She featured me in her last concerts playing sax on ‘I’m a Sucker for Your Love’ and ‘Portuguese Love,’ and flute on ‘Déjà vu.’ She was truly a blessing in my life…taught me how to be a strong female leader…and I will miss her always.”

Now with her fifth and finest CD Summer Rain bowing with her own signature Summer Rain Perfume to match, Jeanette Harris is unquestionably the next “Starchild of the Saxophone”…touching hearts with every breath she takes.

Chocolate Vibez

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Yasmine Kyd - Privacy Settings

Size: 99,7 MB
Time: 34:54
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. That One Day (4:56)
02. Is It Time To Go Home (5:52)
03. Personal (3:43)
04. Paris Jam 69 (2:34)
05. The Finish Line (2:51)
06. Quiet In The Jungle (0:33)
07. Poor Heart, Poor Thing (3:34)
08. The Hideaway (0:52)
09. Is There A Feeling (4:26)
10. Neapolis (5:28)

Yasmine Kyd is a Paris-based singer/songwriter of mixed origins. She grew up on the Atlantic coast of Brittany, listening to sounds from around the globe: Berber folk music (her dad’s Algerian), jazz, soul, gospel, bossa nova and British pop music. Seamlessly piecing together her influences, she has a knack for melodies that stay with you, serviced by a distinctively mellifluous, yet powerful vocal presence.

While her first album 'Earth Woman' (2010) featured a collection of sensitive soul ballads, with a warm acoustic production, her second album 'Mythical Creatures' (2013) was an elegantly produced collection of love songs to jazz and blues, with a hint of nu soul and hip hop, which was described as reminiscent of both Joni Mitchell and Erykah Badu.

The album:
An unapologetic claim to versatility, Yasmine's third album 'Privacy Settings' opens her generous palette to new experiences which could very well make this record something of a 'modern classic'.

Through Yasmine's words and the range of her musical choices, “Privacy Settings” explores the fluctuating boundaries between privacy and exposure in the contemporary world, reflected in a musical journey taking you from a funky slightly dystopian story (That One Day), to an emotive jazz ballad (Is it Time to Go Home?), leading up to a filmed walkabout through the streets of Paris (Paris Jam 69), following an intimate reggae number (Personal), and culminating with a sensual North African acoustic sound picture (Neapolis)...

Personnel:
Yasmine Kyd - Vocals, music, lyrics
Laurent Avenard Kohler - Guitar, composition
Nathalie Ahadji - Saxophone
Leandro Aconcha - Keys
Zacharie Abraham - Bass
Mat Stora - Drums

Guests:
Eric Lelann - Trumpet
Nicolas Guéguen - Keys

Privacy Settings

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Throttle Elevator Music - Throttle Elevator Music IV

Size: 102,6 MB
Time: 35:19
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz Rock
Art: Front

01. Gibralter Road (3:35)
02. Recovery (3:48)
03. We Can Work With That (3:46)
04. Back To Form (2:17)
05. Bridging The Barrier (3:06)
06. Throwing The Switch (2:21)
07. Way Out Of Line (3:23)
08. Sweet Spot (2:06)
09. Bridging The Barrier Ii (3:09)
10. No One To Vote For (2:51)
11. Boeseke Trail (4:53)

Throttle Elevator Music IV reunites with tenor saxophonist Kamasi Washington for a fourth album, atop eleven original new compositions by the Throttle writing team (Matt Montgomery and Gregory Howe).

Kamasi's horn soars alongside virtuoso trumpet player Erik Jekabson. Also joining the band for a third record is emerging talented drummer Mike Hughes.

Throttle Elevator Music IV

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Elisabeth Lohninger - Eleven Promises

Size: 154,2 MB
Time: 66:00
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz/Pop Vocals
Art: Front

01. When We Were Young (4:07)
02. The Girl from Ipanema (5:03)
03. Take My Picture While I'm Smiling (4:16)
04. Eleven Promises (4:10)
05. Birthday Girl (4:39)
06. And If (7:56)
07. Mellow Moon Moaning (7:38)
08. Each Time You Leave (6:50)
09. Hold On (4:12)
10. Merry Go Round (6:52)
11. Circles (5:21)
12. Ya Mi Corazon (4:51)

New York-based Elisabeth Lohninger and Walter Fischbacher have evolved into a solid power-center in the city's jazz community. They operated Lofish Recording Studios until 2015, when gentrification forced them to close door. The pair have been prolific with recordings, including: Beneath the Surface (Lofish, 2004); The Only Way Out is Up (Lofish, 2007); Songs of Love and Destruction (Lofish, 2010); Christmas in July (Lofish, 2011), Elisabeth Lohninger Quartet: Live (Lofish, 2012), and the most recent and intimate Elisabeth Lohninger & Walter Fischbacher: Ballads in Blue (Jazz Sick Records, 2015).

What is evident from this decade of releases is that the Lohninger/Fischbacher jazz diptych has impressive depth and breadth. The two push their boundaries further with the airy and ethereal Eleven Promises where Lohninger's solidly established alto is allow free reign in an adult contemporary vocals environment. Lushly orchestrated with strings scored by Fischbacher, Eleven Promises approaches a post-modern ideal that had its genesis in the performance style of Sade Adu and Anita Baker. Lohninger enhances this vocals vector with a creatively dense overlay of her and Fischbacher's informed compositional skills. Smart and engaging, the 11 original compositions, lay out a comprehensive vision of singing that goes well beyond simple genre definitions and expectations.

This single standard, frightfully enough is well-trodden "The Girl from Ipanema." Like "My Funny Valentine," "The Girl from Ipanema" and other songs like them, experience a certain interpretive tachyphylaxis that manifests as a resistance to renewal and revelation, even in the hands of exceptional artists. In short, when one chooses to interpret a war-torn standard today, he or she should "go big, or go home." Thankfully, Lohninger is up to the challenge, creating a "Girl from Ipanema" as starkly angular and challenging as Laurie Antonioli's "My Funny Valentine" from her darkly beautiful recording Varuna (Origin Records, 2015). Lohninger brings the post-modern spirit with which she caressed this chestnut to the remainder of the recording, joining synergistically with Fischbacher and his intelligently navigated transitions from acoustic ("Take My Picture While I'm Smiling") to electric piano ("Ipanema" and "Mellow Moon Moaning") and stylistically from All American ("Take My Picture") and humidly Latin ("Ya Mi Corazon"). Splendid! ~Michael C. Bailey

Personnel: Elisabeth Lohninger: vocals; Walter Fischbacher: keyboards, string arrangements; Goran Vujic: bass; Ulf Stricker: drums; Ben Butler: guitar (5, 9); Pete McCann: guitar (1, 3); Gary Schreiner: chromatic harmonica (7).

Eleven Promises

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