Roma Trio - Love Is A Many Splendored Thing

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:05
Size: 137.6 MB
Styles: Contemporary jazz
Year: 2006
Art: Front

[5:11] 1. Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing
[4:35] 2. If I Should Lose You
[8:59] 3. Whisper Not
[4:42] 4. Airegin
[5:22] 5. On Green Dolphin Street
[4:36] 6. I Love You Porgy
[5:28] 7. Tea For Two
[6:46] 8. Claudia's Nightmare
[7:42] 9. Message In A Bottle
[6:44] 10. Everything I Love

Venus owner and producer Tetsuo Hara is known for recruiting various American jazz musicians for record dates during his regular trips to New York City, but he is also spending time in Europe, where he recruited the Roma Trio for this excellent CD. Unless they gain exposure in the U.S. through appearing on American recordings or performing in New York City, European jazz musicians have a tough time getting recognized in the West. But Hara has long since learned the preferences of the Japanese jazz market, which readily seems to absorb bands he has introduced through his label. Pianist Luca Mannutza, bassist Gianluca Renzi, and drummer Nicola Angelucci tackle a program that includes typical standards, a few overlooked chestnuts, time-tested jazz favorites, and more. The often banal "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" is an unusual choice for an opener, but the Roma Trio don't play it strictly as a slow ballad, nor do they take that approach with the popular "If I Should Lose You," preferring to set up the tune and then launch into rapid-fire bop. "On Green Dolphin Street" is often played by jazz groups with little thought, but the addition of Renzi's infectious vamp provides a novel approach. The pianist's adaptation of Sonny Rollins' "Airegin" takes it a bit from the usual path, blending Brazilian rhythms and classical nuances.Angelucci contributed "Claudia's Nightmare," which sets up as a moody Latin ballad, only to detour frequently into brisk bop. One surprise is the ease with which rocker Sting's "Message in a Bottle" is transformed by the trio into an interesting jazz vehicle. It seems likely that the Roma Trio will gain a foothold in the Japanese jazz market with this potent CD, though they deserve greater exposure worldwide. ~Ken Dryden

Love Is A Many Splendored Thing

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Mike & The Mechanics - Hits

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:15
Size: 138.0 MB
Styles: Pop/Rock
Year: 1996
Art: Front

[5:39] 1. All I Need Is A Miracle
[3:38] 2. Over My Shoulder
[3:57] 3. Word Of Mouth
[5:29] 4. The Living Years
[4:15] 5. Another Cup Of Coffee
[4:43] 6. Nobody's Perfect
[6:12] 7. Silent Running
[4:19] 8. Nobody Knows
[4:24] 9. Get Up
[4:48] 10. A Time And Place
[4:20] 11. Taken In
[3:54] 12. Everybody Gets A Second Chance
[4:31] 13. A Beggar On A Beach Of Gold

Bass – Tim Renwick; Drums – Gary Wallis, Peter Van Hooke; Guitar – Mike Rutherford, Tim Renwick; Keyboards – Adrian Lee, B. A. Robertson, Paul Carrack, Steve Piggot; Vocals – Paul Carrack, Paul Young.

All of Mike + the Mechanics' biggest hits are included on the 13-track Hits collection. Though there are a fair share of non-hits and mediocre album tracks, Hits is a first-rate compilation, giving the casual fan all of the essential Mike + the Mechanics tracks, from "Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)" and "All I Need Is a Miracle '96" to "The Living Years." ~Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Hits

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Dominique Magloire - Travelin' Light With Billie

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:16
Size: 149.4 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 2015
Art: Front

[1:35] 1. One O'clock Jump, Pt. 1
[3:53] 2. Swing Brother Swing
[3:38] 3. They Can't Take That Away From Me
[4:31] 4. Travelin' Light
[5:39] 5. God Bless The Child
[4:00] 6. Solitude
[5:17] 7. All Of Me
[4:49] 8. My Man
[3:29] 9. I Cried For You
[3:22] 10. Don't Explain
[5:02] 11. The Man I Love
[3:06] 12. Why Was I Born
[3:33] 13. Strange Fruit
[3:01] 14. I Can't Get Started
[8:32] 15. Fine And Mellow
[1:40] 16. One O'clock Jump, Pt. 2

À l’occasion du centenaire de la naissance de l’une des plus grandes chanteuses de jazz, Dominique Magloire sort un album hommage à Billie Holliday « Travelin’ light with Billie ». Un album rendu possible grâce à sa collaboration avec Michel Pastre, grand saxophoniste français et la participation des meilleurs musiciens et arrangeurs de jazz français. Cet album a été enregistré comme dans les années 40, avec toute l’équipe réunie dans la même pièce et une prise directe par chanson.

Ce projet est un hommage à cette interprète illustre au parcours parfois chaotique, devenue l’une des plus grandes chanteuses de jazz au monde, mais aussi le symbole de la lutte contre la ségrégation et les violences pratiquées sur les noirs dans le sud des Etats-Unis. Dotée d’une voix sublime, elle a profondément changé la façon de chanter…

Travelin' Light With Billie

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The World's Greatest Jazz Band Of Yank Lawson & Bob Haggart - Live At The Roosevelt Grill

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:32
Size: 106.5 MB
Styles: Big band, Dixieland
Year: 1970/2007
Art: Front

[3:25] 1. That's A Plenty
[3:48] 2. Five Point Blues
[5:06] 3. My Honey's Lovin' Arms
[3:25] 4. Black And Blue
[4:12] 5. That D Minor Thing
[3:37] 6. Royal Garden Blues
[5:26] 7. Come Back Sweet Papa
[4:05] 8. Under The Moonlight Starlight Blue
[3:49] 9. Constantly
[5:05] 10. New Orleans
[4:30] 11. The Jazz Me Blues

This all-star group was founded in 1968 by Dick Gibson at his sixth annual Jazz Party. Despite the impossibility of living up to its outrageous name, the band was indeed the finest in Dixieland/classic jazz. Co-led by Yank Lawson and Bob Haggart, and also featuring Billy Butterfield, Bud Freeman, Bob Miller, and Ralph Sutton, the WGJB originally alternated standards with Dixiefied versions of current pop tunes like "Mrs. Robinson," but its finest album (Live on Atlantic) sticks to hot jamming. After the personnel changed a bit (Eddie Miller and Dick Wellstood passed through the band), the group broke up in 1978, although reunions by Lawson and Haggart in later years sometimes revived the name. Their recordings for Project 3, Atlantic, and their own World Jazz label are pretty much all worth getting. ~bio by Scott Yanow

Live At The Roosevelt Grill

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Anne Burnell - Blues In The Night: Songs By Harold Arlen

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:21
Size: 140.5 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2005
Art: Front

[4:10] 1. Blues In The Night
[3:38] 2. A Woman's Prerogative
[5:17] 3. Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe
[5:10] 4. I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues
[5:35] 5. Last Night When We Were Young
[5:20] 6. Over The Rainbow
[5:49] 7. Stormy Weather
[5:25] 8. Paris Is A Lonely Town
[4:03] 9. Come Rain Or Come Shine
[5:40] 10. Ill Wind
[6:43] 11. The Man That Got Away
[4:25] 12. Happy With The Blues

Burnell's engaging performance style instantly grabs the ear, and she does here what she does so well. ~ Jeff Rossen, Cabaret Scenes, March, 2005.

Anne Burnell, formerly Anne Pringle, has been performing to sell-out crowds at large festivals and small clubs in the Chicago area for 12 years. She’s been seen at The Taste of Chicago and The Taste of River North, as well as at The Metropole Room (Fairmont Hotel), Toulouse on the Park, Pop’s for Champagne, and Davenport’s Cabaret with her pianist/vocalist Mark Burnell. The Burnell duo have also had successful engagements in New York City at Don’t Tell Mama, Rose’s Turn, and Judy’s*Chelsea, in Amsterdam at Media Café B&W and in Paris at Les Trois Maillets.

Blues In The Night: Songs By Harold Arlen

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Sonny Stitt - Kaleidoscope

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1950
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:38
Size: 104,0 MB
Art: Front

(2:35)  1. Stitt's It
(2:38)  2. Cool Mambo
(2:25)  3. Blue Mambo
(2:28)  4. Sonny Sounds
(3:03)  5. Ain't Misbehavin'
(3:01)  6. Later
(3:01)  7. P.S. I Love You
(2:48)  8. This Can't Be Love
(3:26)  9. Imagination
(2:33) 10. Cherokee
(2:41) 11. Can't We Be Friends
(2:47) 12. Liza
(3:00) 13. To Think You've Chosen Me
(2:29) 14. After You've Gone
(3:09) 15. Our Very Own
(2:26) 16. S'wonderful

Deftly handling the alto, tenor, and baritone saxophone, bebop giant Sonny Stitt is heard to perfection here on a variety of early-'50s dates. Stitt not only shows off his patented speed throughout, but he goes a long way in dispelling criticisms of him being all fire and no grace. The 16-track disc kicks off with four tight, Latin-tinged swingers featuring an octet that includes trumpeter Joe Newman and timbales player Humberto Morales. Switching to piano quartet mode for the bulk of the disc, Stitt ranges effortlessly from frenetic blasts ("Cherokee") to golden-hued ballads ("Imagination"). Capping off the set with four bonus cuts featuring the likes of Gene Ammons and Junior Mance, Stitt delivers one of the top sets of performances from the late bebop era. ~ Stephen Cook http://www.allmusic.com/album/kaleidoscope-mw0000272732

Personnel: Sonny Stitt (alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Larry Townsend (vocals); Gene Ammons (baritone saxophone); Joe Newman , John Hunt , Bill Massey (trumpet); Matthew Gee (trombone); John Houston, Charles Bateman, Junior Mance, Kenny Drew (piano); Wesley Landers, Art Blakey, Shadow Wilson, Teddy Stewart (drums); Humberto Morales (timbales).

Kaleidoscope

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Jessica Pilñas - Bitter And Sweet

Styles: Vocal Jazz

Year: 2011

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 55:07

Size: 126,7 MB

Art: Front

(4:35)  1. There Must Be An Angel

(3:58)  2. Hurry

(4:10)  3. So I Fell

(5:34)  4. Just Not Today

(3:37)  5. Bridge Over Troubled Water

(4:58)  6. Don't Dream It's Over

(4:16)  7. Bitter And Sweet

(5:08)  8. The Winner Takes It All

(5:15)  9. Stupid

(4:37) 10. The More I See

(3:54) 11. Man In A Balloon

(4:59) 12. Don't Explain

Jessica Georganne Pilnäs, (born 5 July 1978 in Åryd, Växjö ), is a Swedish singer perhaps mostly known for her song "Jag ger dig allt" (English: I give you all). She sang the song in Melodifestivalen 1995, and came in third place. In 2000, Her song, "Pretender", which she recorded under the name Isa, also became a hit single in Sweden. Born in Åryd, she is the daughter of Thommy Gustafsson, keyboard player for the Swedish band Sven-Ingvars. She married the guitarist Johan Norberg and by that taking his family name and known as Jessica Norberg although continuing to use her original name Jessica Pilnäs in various recordings and appearances at concerts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Piln%C3%A4s

Bitter And Sweet

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Andy LaVerne Trio - Glass Ceiling

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1993
File: MP3@256K/s
Time: 65:49
Size: 120,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:28)  1. Glass Ceiling
(5:57)  2. Daahoud
(7:14)  3. Litha
(4:27)  4. Zoom
(8:29)  5. You're My Thrill
(5:21)  6. Tones for Joan's Bones
(4:44)  7. Green Piece
(8:12)  8. Jordu
(7:07)  9. All of You
(9:46) 10. Joy Spring

Andy LaVerne's series of consistently fresh CDs for Steeplechase kicked off in the late '80s and shows no signs of letting up, making one wonder if record labels in his native land are too busy searching for the latest young jazz superstar to notice his immense talent. This trio session from 1993 features the pianist with frequent collaborator Steve LaSpina on bass and drummer Anton Fig in a program that includes gems written by Clifford Brown (a driving "Daahoud" and an unusual, break-filled "Joy Spring"), a pair of Chick Corea's tunes (a romp through "Tones for Joan's Bones" and an alternately dark and buoyant interpretation of the lesser-known "Litha"), and a brilliantly reshaped arrangement of Duke Jordan's "Jordu." The quirkiness of LaVerne's "Glass Ceiling" and the drama of his "Green Piece" merit additional attention to his considerable skill as a composer. Like all of Andy LaVerne's many Steeplechase sessions, Glass Ceiling is also highly recommended. ~ Ken Dryden http://www.allmusic.com/album/glass-ceiling-mw0000083789

Personnel:  Andy LaVerne (piano); Steve LaSpina (bass); Anton Fig (drums).

Glass Ceiling

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Bud Powell - Lover Come back To Me

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1953
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 32:42
Size: 78,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:37)  1. Tea For Two
(3:34)  2. It Could Happen To You
(7:02)  3. Lover Come Back To Me
(2:55)  4. Lullaby Of Birdland
(3:32)  5. I Want To Be Happy
(4:15)  6. Embracable You
(2:46)  7. I've Got You Under My Skin
(3:01)  8. Ornithology

One of the giants of the jazz piano, Bud Powell changed the way that virtually all post-swing pianists play their instruments. He did away with the left-hand striding that had been considered essential earlier and used his left hand to state chords on an irregular basis. His right often played speedy single-note lines, essentially transforming Charlie Parker's vocabulary to the piano (although he developed parallel to "Bird"). Tragically, Bud Powell was a seriously ill genius. After being encouraged and tutored to an extent by his friend Thelonious Monk at jam sessions in the early '40s, Powell was with Cootie Williams' orchestra during 1943-1945. In a racial incident, he was beaten on the head by police; Powell never fully recovered and would suffer from bad headaches and mental breakdowns throughout the remainder of his life. Despite this, he recorded some true gems during 1947-1951 for Roost, Blue Note, and Verve, composing such major works as "Dance of the Infidels," "Hallucinations" (also known as "Budo"), "Un Poco Loco," "Bouncing with Bud," and "Tempus Fugit." Even early on, his erratic behavior resulted in lost opportunities (Charlie Parker supposedly told Miles Davis that he would not hire Powell because "he's even crazier than me!"), but Powell's playing during this period was often miraculous. A breakdown in 1951 and hospitalization that resulted in electroshock treatments weakened him, but Powell was still capable of playing at his best now and then, most notably at the 1953 Massey Hall Concert. Generally in the 1950s his Blue Notes find him in excellent form, while he is much more erratic on his Verve recordings. His warm welcome and lengthy stay in Paris (1959-1964) extended his life a bit, but even here Powell spent part of 1962-1963 in the hospital. He returned to New York in 1964, disappeared after a few concerts, and did not live through 1966. In later years, Bud Powell's recordings and performances could be so intense as to be scary, but other times he sounded quite sad. However, his influence on jazz (particularly up until the rise of McCoy Tyner and Bill Evans in the 1960s) was very strong and he remains one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time. ~ Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/artist/bud-powell-mn0000640675/biography

Personnel:  Bass – Oscar Pettiford;  Drums – Roy Haynes;  Piano – Bud Powell

Lover Come back To Me

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John Hicks Trio - Cry Me A River

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:55
Size: 137.2 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 1997
Art: Front

[7:28] 1. Witchcraft
[6:36] 2. Softly As In A Mornig Sunrise
[6:14] 3. Beautiful Love
[5:28] 4. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
[7:55] 5. Cry Me A River
[8:01] 6. Alone Together
[6:29] 7. You Don't Know What Love Is
[6:53] 8. Moon And Sand
[4:46] 9. C Jam Blues

John Hicks was very much in demand during the last two decades of his life, often releasing several CDs annually for a variety of labels. This 1997 studio session for Venus finds the pianist playing in his favorite setting, with a trio consisting of bassist Dwayne Burno and the phenomenal drummer Victor Lewis. Starting with the standard "Witchcraft," Hicks offers a swinging yet elegant performance. Most of the session focuses on ballads, highlighted by his spacious, insightful scoring of "Beautiful Love" and a strolling, bluesy take of the usually bittersweet "You Don't Know What Love Is." It's challenging to find fresh ground to explore in a warhorse like "Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise," though Hicks' light yet breezy arrangement gives one an opportunity to hear Burno's tasty bass work. The sole jazz composition of the date is the final track, a cooking rendition of Duke Ellington's "C Jam Blues" that leaves the listener wanting more from the trio. ~Ken Dryden

Cry Me A River

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Ruth Cameron - Roadhouse

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 61:43

Size: 141.3 MB

Styles: Vocal jazz

Year: 2000

Art: Front

[5:23] 1. Something Cool

[5:11] 2. One For My Baby

[5:02] 3. My Old Flame

[5:59] 4. Body And Soul

[4:53] 5. Again

[5:33] 6. Willow Weep For Me

[5:17] 7. Happiness Is Just A Thing Called Joe

[5:50] 8. Detour Ahead

[4:52] 9. A Sunday Kind Of Love

[4:21] 10. All About Ronnie

[6:06] 11. Give Me Time

[3:09] 12. Waitin' For The Train To Come In

Ruth Cameron: vocals; Charlie Haden: bass; Lawrence Marable: drums; Alan Broadbent: piano; Brad Mehldau: piano; Mike Melvoin: piano; Chris Dawson: piano; Ralph Moore: tenor saxophone; Gary Foster: tenor saxophone; Federico Britos Ruiz: violin.

The skepticism that greeted Ruth Cameron's debut album, First Songs, was palpable. Fairly or unfairly, the CD was considered by many to be less about the discovery of a new jazz singer than about Verve keeping its star bassist Charlie Haden, Ms. Cameron's husband, happy. Although it proved she was a good singer, Ms. Cameron's work on First Songs failed to overcome the presumption of nepotism. Roadhouse, her second CD, is the work of a singer with great, if still unfulfilled, potential, but it is unlikely that the disc will covert any skeptics. Ms. Cameron has studied with two excellent singers: the talented, too-rarely-heard-from Sue Raney and the legendary Jeri Southern. Ms. Southern's influence is the most strongly felt here especially in the way Ms. Cameron shapes certain vowel sounds. Ms. Cameron sings very soft and low; her timbre at times blurring the line between speech and song. She has a restrained, meditative, elegant approach to lyrics that never feels stiff or cold.

Verve has surrounded Ms. Cameron with a singer's dream band. Yet, despite some wonderful instrumental work and good vocal performances, Roadhouse suffers from a certain monotony. It is not that nearly all the tracks are ballads, but that Ms. Cameron sings too many of those ballads the same way in the same timbre. The quality of her sound does not change significantly from song to song. For example, her emotional state on "Happiness is Just a Thing Called Joe" sounds indistinguishable from her emotional state on "One for My Baby." That type of tonal homogeneity could be overcome through variations in phrasing. However, Ms. Cameron tends to consistently sing in measured phrases holding the notes at the end of each phrase. Rather than bringing her style to the service of the song, the reverse happens. The resulting sameness diminishes the effectiveness of even those tracks where her style is well suited to the material. There are moments, though, when Ms. Cameron breaks out of her pattern. She is very good on the verse to "Body and Soul" and even better on Alec Wilder's "Give Me Time," a song associated with Jeri Southern. She brings a greater range of tonal colors into play on "Again" and negotiates the fine line between playfulness and camp on the closing "Waitin' for the Train to Come In." Perhaps inspired by Gary Foster's tenor saxophone, Ms. Cameron delivers her sharpest, most delineated, most moving performance to date on "Willow Weep for Me."

On Roadhouse, Ms. Cameron successfully captures the feel of the 1950s "cool school" of jazz singing. However, it is worth remembering that only a handful of singers from the "cool school" have had their work survive into the 21st Century. What makes those singers still so appealing is not their style, but the musical and emotional riches they extracted from the songs they sang. Ruth Cameron has plenty of intelligence and talent, the question remains as to whether she has the will to move beyond style and consistently reach for something deeper in her singing. ~Matthew Bahl

Roadhouse    

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Willie Bobo - Dig My Feeling

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:43
Size: 109.3 MB
Styles: Latin jazz
Year: 2016
Art: Front

[3:55] 1. Broasted Or Fried
[5:26] 2. New Day Magic
[3:08] 3. Lost Years
[5:12] 4. The Thrill Is Gone
[3:40] 5. Dig My Feeling
[4:17] 6. Round Trip
[4:17] 7. Pretty Lady
[4:23] 8. The Day It Rained
[4:08] 9. A Koko
[5:17] 10. Untitled
[3:56] 11. Hymn To The People

“Dig My Feeling adds yet another dimension to Willie Bobo’s music and legacy. It will entice you to revisit his past recordings and make you marvel at his acumen as a trap drummer, percussionist, vocalist, groove master and visionary.” ~Tomas Peña

Percussionist and bandleader Willie Bobo had a remarkable career that not only reflected his Afro-Caribbean background, but also created a cross-cultural hybrid that still reflects the bi-cultural life of Latinos living in this country. Still, he rarely gets enough credit for his role in the development of bugaloo, Latin jazz, and then Latin soul.

From his start with Tito Puente and Latin big bands to his later career as a major exponent of Latin soul, Willie Bobo innovated constantly. The proof of that lies in the way contemporary club DJs seek out vinyl copies of Bobo's albums from the 1960s and '70s, up until his death in 1983.

Dig My Feeling

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Martin Taylor - Nitelife

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:58
Size: 132.7 MB
Styles: Guitar jazz
Year: 2001
Art: Front

[5:47] 1. Chaff & Grain
[5:28] 2. Doctor Spin
[5:39] 3. That's The Way Of The World
[7:16] 4. Déjà Vu
[4:11] 5. Hymne A L'amour
[5:35] 6. Nitelife
[4:16] 7. Green Lady
[5:52] 8. Beboptimism
[8:05] 9. Across The Pond
[5:46] 10. I Get Along Without You Very Well

Martin Taylor- guitar; Kirk Whalum- tenor saxophone, programming; Jim Reid- soprano saxophone; Jim Horn- alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone; Steve Buckingham- wah wah guitar; Mike Durham- additional electric guitars, power drill; Fink- programming; Brian D. Siewert- programming, keyboards, arrangements; John Stoddart- keyboards; Viktor Krauss, David Hungate- bass; Chester Thompson- drums; David Davidson, David Angell- violin; Monisa Angell, Kristin Wilkinson- viola; Michelle Anne Williams- vocals.

After touring and recording with Stéphane Grappelli throughout the 1980s, and then recording seven superior, straight-ahead albums in the 1990s for the Linn label, Martin Taylor has made a radical change of direction. For his Columbia Records debut, the guitarist teams with saxophonist Kirk Whalum, adds programmed accompaniments to the musical arrangements, and floats repetitious smooth jazz melodies around the recording studio. While his choice of style removes a fair amount of the session's creative energy, the album is performed well. Taylor's expressive guitar stands back much of the time and allows the surrounding factors to overcome. A modest string section, an assortment of pre-packaged sound effects, looped rhythms, and Whalum's fluid tenor share the spotlight. "I Get Along Without You Very Well," "Green Lady" and "Hymne a L'Amour" feature Taylor's guitar with a modicum of passion. Other songs fuse funk with pop and smooth jazz. Taylor's "Across the Pond" adds traditional Celtic music to the mix. The suite combines different landscapes of the guitarist's British homeland into one original collection. The session's high point comes on Whalum's "Beboptimism," which features guitarist and tenor saxophonist trading inspired fours. While the album travels through predictable territory and welcomes programmed repetition, it's performed well and in good taste. Martin Taylor's new look, while not his best perspective, gives the world a contemporary nightlife sound bite for the ages. ~Jim Santella

Nitelife

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Various - The Luscious Ladies Project

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:29
Size: 133.9 MB
Styles: Pop/Jazz/Rock vocals
Year: 2007
Art: Front

[2:46] 1. Jennifer Scavuzzo - Ain't No Sunshine
[3:41] 2. Thorunn - I Can See Clearly Now
[3:51] 3. Maggie Parke - Fire And Rain
[3:17] 4. Leana Sealy - Son Of A Preacher Man
[3:03] 5. Caroline Clement - Piece Of My Heart
[4:01] 6. Nina Faust - Your Song
[4:02] 7. Marilu Bossio - Lovely Day
[5:13] 8. The Lucious Ladies Project - Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
[2:59] 9. Caroline Clement - Lucretia MacEvil
[4:41] 10. Thorunn - Stop
[3:57] 11. Jennifer Scavuzzo - Just The Two Of Us
[4:11] 12. Maggie Parke - I'm Not In Love
[2:54] 13. Marilu Bossio - I Heard It Through The Grapevine
[4:26] 14. Leana Sealy - This Masquerade
[5:20] 15. The Lucious Ladies Project - Papa Was A Rolling Stone

The Luscious Ladies Project

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Steve Davis - Quality of Silence

Styles: Jazz, Post-Bop
Year: 1998
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:23
Size: 118,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:33)  1. The Quality of Your Silence
(5:27)  2. Bye Bye Blackbird
(3:46)  3. One Two Free
(4:27)  4. I Thought About You
(4:19)  5. Yesterdays
(6:13)  6. Infant Eyes
(2:16)  7. Free To Be Me
(6:21)  8. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
(5:46)  9. I'm Old Fashioned
(3:12) 10. Freedom
(4:59) 11. A Cole Porter Flat

Drummer Steve Davis has a keen ear that appreciates the sounds of silence as well as the sounds of music. “The power and beauty of a song is determined by the notes that you don’t play, as much as it is the notes you play,” Davis muses in the liners. Though an oft-touted goal, it’s one not generally made by drummers. Here, however, Davis really does “play” the silences thus living up to the promise of the project’s title. Indeed, it’s the charged negative spaces surrounding the notes as much as the notes themselves that keep resonating after the music has faded. Here, Davis’ implosive minimalism is fleshed out by soprano saxist Tim Ries, guitarist John Hart, bassist Drew Gress and pianist Andy LaVerne. “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” typifies the approach. Taken at a dizzyingly slow tempo, each pearl of Kern’s melodic strand stands alone, suspended against a black velvet void. Even when the tempo zooms, there’s still great clarity. Davis is a visionary, a master percussionist whose sticks and brushes paint rather than pound. Yes, Davis solos with elan (check out his pungent sketch at the end of “Blackbird”). This, however, is a project in which group interactions rather than soloistic stunting carry the day. ~ Chuck Berg https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/steve-davis-quality-of-silence/

Personnel: Steve Davis (drums); Tim Ries (soprano saxophone); Andy LaVerne (piano); John Hart (guitar); Drew Gress (bass).

Quality of Silence

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Suzanne Vega - Tales from the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:43
Size: 84,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:23)  1. Crack in the Wall
(2:39)  2. Fool's Complaint
(3:08)  3. I Never Wear White
(4:18)  4. Portrait of the Knight of Wands
(3:31)  5. Don't Uncork What You Can't Contain
(4:05)  6. Jacob and the Angel
(3:47)  7. Silver Bridge
(4:05)  8. Song of the Stoic
(3:52)  9. Laying On of Hands - Stoic 2
(2:50) 10. Horizon (There Is a Road)

The four volumes in Suzanne Vega's Close-Up series revisited her catalog thematically with stripped-down charts. It appealed to her base of fans who patiently waited seven years for new material. The ten songs on Tales from the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles fits that bill. The set was produced by longtime associate and co-writer Gerry Leonard, and played by a weighty studio cast. The album isn't so much a change of musical direction as it is a classy revisioning of Vega's trademark sound. These tracks address many of humanity's big themes through Vega's canny, detailed gaze, sometimes with the added weight of the metaphorical wisdom from the tarot. "Crack in the Wall" is a Buddhist reflection on awareness with the songwriter's signature tight lines and vivid physical descriptions. Its martial snare and painterly electric guitars are countered by Larry Campbell's mandolin and banjo. "I Never Wear White" is a punchy rocker with Leonard's big fuzzy guitars up front, a whomping bassline by Tony Levin, and the loud drums of Jay Bellerose. Its lyric reveals Vega has lost none of her wry sense of humor. "Don't Uncork What You Can't Contain" samples 50 Cent's "Candy Shop" in an allegorical tale about caution, with Pandora as one of its muses. "Song of the Stoic" updates "Luka," in a sense. Written from a drifting, hardworking male's point of view, it uncovers the emotional cost that physical abuse can take on an adult life. Its musical vehicle is angular rockist Americana, with the Smichov Chamber Orchestra Prague providing windswept accompaniment, making the lyric's emotional impression indelible. "Laying on of Hands/Stoic 2" discusses the cost of repression physical and psychological with Mother Teresa and Epictetus its referent examples. 

The rumbling bassline and slippery backbeat feeds Vega's sung cadences as a psych-tinged six-string fills lines and codas; both feature the powerful backing vocals of Catherine Russell. Not everything here works, though. "Portrait of the Knight of Wands," despite its attractive melody, is marred by a very clunky refrain, and "Jacob and the Angel" feels more like a demo than a finished track. Closer "Horizon (There Is a Road)" is dedicated to Václav Havel's memory. It's a gentle acoustic rocker with an elegant trumpet solo in the bridge. It's the one place here where Vega's trademark detachment doesn't reign. Tales from the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles is a welcome return by an artist who has remained stubbornly true to herself and only records when she has something new to say. ~ Thom Jurek http://www.allmusic.com/album/tales-from-the-realm-of-the-queen-of-pentacles-mw0002608210

Tales from the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles

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Steve LaSpina - Play Room

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2006
File: MP3@256K/s
Time: 64:07
Size: 117,5 MB
Art: Front

( 6:56)  1. Play Room
( 9:04)  2. Do The Math
(13:35)  3. Suite: It's Just Crazy-It Never Ends-That Explains It
( 3:19)  4. Melissa
(10:08)  5. On The Run
( 8:51)  6. Ashcroft Avenue
(12:11)  7. Just Because

Juggling a whirlwind schedule as a musician, father and student means that bassist Steve LaSpina is always in constant motion. Play Room is a selection of original compositions that comment on the recent state of affairs in his life. The music is lively, contemplative, playful and always involving. The title cut serves as the album's mission statement, placing avant-garde sensibilities within a bop framework. Dave Ballou and Billy Drewes banter mischievously on trumpet and soprano sax, and Gary Versace barks on the Hammond B-3. The shifting time signatures contribute to the overall feeling of spontaneity.  "Do The Math is a more conventional mid-tempo tune, with LaSpina's pizzicato and Versace's excellent piano complementing each other. The three-part suite ("It's Just Crazy -"It Never Ends -"That Explains It ) begins slowly, with LaSpina's dolorous plucking and measured playing by Drewes and Ballou. The suite gathers steam, then opens the valves to the most straight-ahead playing on the album, highlighted by Drewes' gritty tenor sax.

The album pauses for breath with "Melissa, a heartfelt duet by LaSpina and Versace, dominated by LaSpina's robust pizzicato. Then it's back on the treadmill with "On The Run, where Drewes' fluttering soprano works with Ballou's Harmon-muted trumpet. "Ashcroft Avenue continues the dynamism between Drewes and Ballou (on flugelhorn here), with some splendid piano from Versace. LaSpina's arco on "Just Because sounds like a man explaining why he's down on his luck, with Versace's initially nuanced and eventually spiraling organ serving as a sympathetic audience. And that's the trademark of Play Room: throughout the album the musicians don't seem to be playing their instruments as much as having a series of organized, spirited conversations. ~ Terrell Kent Holmes https://www.allaboutjazz.com/play-room-steve-laspina-steeplechase-records-review-by-terrell-kent-holmes.php
 

Personnel: Steve LaSpina: bass; Dave Ballou: trumpet, fluegelhorn; Billy Drewes: saxophone; Gary Versace: Hammond B-3 organ, piano; Jeff Hirshfield: drums.

Play Room

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Bernie Senensky - Homeland

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1991
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 75:18
Size: 175,3 MB
Art: Front

( 6:28)  1. New Life Blues
( 9:28)  2. Leira
( 7:06)  3. Guys And Dolls
( 5:42)  4. Falling
( 8:44)  5. Doron
(10:49)  6. More Than That
( 7:32)  7. J.C.
(11:57)  8. Homeland
( 7:28)  9. Kiki

A versatile pianist who has been a valuable asset on many sessions through the years, Bernie Senensky has long been one of Canada's finest jazz musicians. Senensky started with classical piano lessons when he was nine and discovered jazz around five years later. He played locally as a teenager (including with Lennie Breau and Dave Young), led the house band in various Holiday Inns all over Canada and settled in Toronto in 1968. Senensky has performed with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Elvin Jones, Maynard Ferguson's Big Band, Rob McConnell's Boss Brass, Phil Woods, Dizzy Gillespie, Terry Gibbs, Buddy DeFranco, Art Pepper, Scott Hamilton and Bill Watrous, among many other visiting Americans. Throughout the 1980s he was a regular member of the Moe Koffman Quintet. As a leader, Senensky recorded for RCI, PM, Unity and Timeless, and as a sideman he made recordings with Moe Koffman, Gillespie, Eugene Amaro, Peter Appleyard, Herbie Spanier and Ted Moses. ~ Scott Yanow https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/bernie-senensky/id214289833#fullText

Personnel:  Bernie Senensky – piano;  Gary Bartz – saxophone;  Harvie Swartz – bass;  Akira Tana – drums.

Homeland

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Don Covay - Super Dude

Styles: Vocal, R&B 
Year: 1973
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:42
Size: 156,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:06)  1. Overtime Man
(3:18)  2. I Stayed Away Too Long
(4:22)  3. I Was Checkin' Out She Was Chekin' In
(2:32)  4. Hold You To Your Promise
(3:22)  5. Memphis
(3:11)  6. The Pinch Hitters
(6:15)  7. Somebody's Been Enjoying My Home
(3:26)  8. Bad Mouthing
(4:41)  9. Leave Him Pt. 1
(3:23) 10. Leave Him Pt. 2
(3:00) 11. Money (That's What I Want)
(2:40) 12. Don't Step On A Man When He's Down
(3:29) 13. Sweet Thang
(4:33) 14. Daddy, Please Don't Go Out Tonight
(3:44) 15. Why Did You Put Your Shoes Under My Bed
(3:23) 16. Stop By
(4:19) 17. Bad Luck
(4:48) 18. Hitching A Ride

Don Covay hadn't seen a lot of chart activity since the '60s, but he returned in 1973 with the comeback album Super Dude. The singles "Overtime Man," "I Was Checkin' Out She Was Checkin' In," and "Somebody's Been Enjoying My Home" were all worthy of high recognition, but only "I was Checkin'," a classic about a guy cheating on his woman while she's cheating on him at the same motel, made any real noise. "Leave Him, Pts. 1-2" is another good gritty track, but Mercury spoiled it by putting the first part on the first side and the second on the second, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense. On the positive side, Covay breathes new life into "Money (That's What I Want)." 

The recording quality is slicker and better engineered than his earlier material, and there are more musicians, but the raw charm of "See Saw" and "Mercy Mercy" is missing. This is the mature, been-through-the-mill Don Covay, whose singing about adultery and promiscuity had a Southern/uptown soul feel. [R.P.M.'s 2005 reissue adds six tracks from Covay's 1971 album on Janus titled Different Strokes for Different Folks.] 

~ Andrew Hamilton http://www.allmusic.com/album/super-dude-the-mercury-years-vol-1plus-mw0000336971

Personnel: Don Covay (vocals).

Super Dude

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Julie London - Make Love To Me

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 29:27
Size: 67.4 MB
Styles: Easy Listening
Year: 1957/2010
Art: Front

[2:15] 1. If I Could Be With You (One Hour Tonight)
[2:31] 2. It's Good To Want You Bad
[2:12] 3. Go Slow
[2:53] 4. A Room With A View
[2:20] 5. The Nearness Of You
[2:05] 6. Alone Together
[2:06] 7. I Wanna Be Loved
[3:40] 8. Snuggled On Your Shoulder
[1:55] 9. You're My Thrill
[2:32] 10. Lover Man
[2:23] 11. Body And Soul
[2:30] 12. Make Love To Me

Julie London's concise and melodic versions of standards were quite popular during the latter half of the 1950s. Her subtle sensuality and lightly swinging style made for a potent combination. This album (which has not yet reappeared on CD) matches London's voice with an orchestra arranged by Russ Garcia on standards and a couple of newer tunes, including Bobby Troup's "It's Good to Want You Bad." Among the more memorable selections are "If I Could Be With You," "Alone Together," "I Wanna Be Loved" and "You're My Thrill." ~Scott Yanow

Make Love To Me

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