Roy Hargrove Quintet - Earfood

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:26
Size: 154,8 MB
Art: Front

(5:51)  1. I'm Not So Sure
(4:32)  2. Brown
(4:40)  3. Strasbourg / St. Denis
(7:56)  4. Starmaker
(4:48)  5. Joy Is Sorrow Unmasked
(4:59)  6. The Stinger
(2:48)  7. Rouge
(5:53)  8. Mr. Clean
(6:36)  9. Style
(5:12) 10. Divine
(5:45) 11. To Wisdom The Prize
(5:19) 12. Speak Low
(3:00) 13. Bring It On Home To Me

Trumpeter Roy Hargrove emerged into jazz consciousness as one of the "young lions" who beamed into the late 1980s and early 1990s. Other notable contemporary trumpeters include Terence Blanchard, Nicholas Payton, Kermit Ruffins, and Wallace Roney. All are associated with different genre traditions, Hargrove's being most closely associated with Lee Morgan. Hargrove's association with Morgan's style nevertheless has not prevented the young trumpeter from approaching music from a broad perspective. Hargrove and his Latin-Cuban band, Crisol, won a Grammy Award in 1998 for Habana (Verve, 1997). Hargrove participated in pianist Herbie Hancock's Directions in Music (Verve, 2002), earning a second Grammy Award. Hargrove does not limit himself to "jazz," however. He has also been active in the neo-electric-funk-soul arena with his band RH-Factor, releasing Distractions (Verve, 2006). If Roy Hargrove has been approaching his time to shine, it is here now. Hargrove returns to his roots with Earfood. "My goal in this project is to have a recording that is steeped in tradition and sophistication, while maintaining a sense of melodic simplicity." One would suspect that many of Hargrove's generation desire the same projects. That said, Hargrove enjoys complete success in achieving his goal with Earfood. The opening cut, "I'm Not So Sure," is a Cedar Walton composition Hargrove learned while playing with the pianist a number of years ago. The piano head is typically Cedar Walton a rhythmically and harmonically complex line that is splendidly integrated in such a way that it updates the sound pioneered by Lee Morgan on such songs as "Cornbread," "The Sidewinder" and "The Rumproller." Where Morgan's introductions were firmly steeped in the hard bop tradition, Hargrove transforms the idea into an updated post bop realm. Where Hargrove truly puts on his Morgan shoes is when he begins his solo on "I'm Not So Sure." It is exquisitely reminiscent of Morgan's famous solo on Bobby Timmons' "Moanin.'" Hargrove spits his opening four solo notes out with the funk authority author David H. Rosenthal described as "bad" in his book Hard Bop: Black Music and Jazz 1955-1965 (Oxford University Press, 1992). 

Walton's composition also gives the standard trumpet/saxophone quintet a facelift. Justin Robinson offers Hargrove a compelling reed foil. Robinson's alto saxophone vibrato recalls Johnny Hodges with the modern chops of Greg Osby. It is not too great a reach to imagine updated Miles Davis or the Jazz Messengers from this band. While Hargrove is redefining the hard bop of the 1950s and 1960s through the post bop lense of the 1980s and 1990s, he further deeps his ballad and slow-tempo burner chops with original compositions like the muted "Brown," conceived while Hargrove was recording Directions in Music with Hancock and saxophonist Michael Brecker, and the lilting "Starmaker," featuring Hargrove on flugelhorn. "Strasbourg/St. Denis" shows Hargrove's pop and R & B stripes. The listener can well imagine clever soul lyrics sung above this song (Al Green, perhaps). "The Stinger" is a breezy post bop tune that gently swings, stopping well short of turning into a cooker. Robinson's cylindrical solo dispels into Hargrove's muted introspection. "Mr. Clean" combines the R & B of "Strasbourg/St. Denis" with the Lee Morgan badness of "I'm Not So Sure." Hargrove delivers another thrilling open-bell solo, languid and sure. One can't help liking the direction this jazz is headed. The majority of the disc is devoted to slower, simpler ballad pieces. "Rouge," "Style," "Divine" and "Speak Low" all cast Hargrove, Robinson, and their rhythm section of pianist Gerald Clayton, bassist Danton Boller and drummer Montez Coleman in a fully realized ensemble mode where even the solos sound as if they were conceived by the group. It is in this environment that Roy Hargrove sounds most comfortable and where he and his fine quintet produce one of the most exceptional small-group recordings in recent memory. ~ C.Michael Bailey https://www.allaboutjazz.com/roy-hargrove-quintet-earfood-by-c-michael-bailey.php

Personnel: Roy Hargrove: trumpet and flugelhorn; Justin Robinson: alto saxophone and flute; Gerald Clayton: piano; Danton Boller: bass; Montez Coleman: drums.

R.I.P.
Born: October 16, 1969, Waco, Texas, United States
Died: November 2, 2018, New York City, New York, United States

Earfood

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Jacqui Hicks with the John Critchinson Trio - With A Song In My Heart

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:23
Size: 136,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:40)  1. This Can't Be Love
(5:04)  2. When Sunny Gets Blue
(4:59)  3. Love For Sale
(4:53)  4. Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight
(4:18)  5. You Taught My Heart To Sing
(4:00)  6. Night & Day
(4:10)  7. Ticket To Everywhere
(1:24)  8. The Very Thought Of You
(5:10)  9. With A Song In My Heart
(4:41) 10. Invitation
(3:39) 11. (I'm Afraid) The Masquerade Is Over
(4:39) 12. Where Is Love?
(4:00) 13. That's All
(4:41) 14. Beautiful Love (Live)

Born Featherstone, Yorkshire, England. As a child, Hicks began playing on the recorder before graduating to the clarinet on which she studied classical music. She also played tenor saxophone for a while. Her musical tastes inclined towards the jazzier end of the current pop spectrum, including musicians such as George Benson and Earth, Wind And Fire. At the age of 18 Hicks attended the Leeds College of Music where she was encouraged by Bill Charleson. She sang with the college band, with Brian Layton’s funk band, and with John Brown’s Student Bodies. After Leeds, she went to the Guildhall School of Music in London. In 1989 she sang occasionally with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and the following year joined the band on a regular basis. In 1992 she joined and toured the world with jazz funk band Shakatak. Also in the 90s Hicks began a solo career. She has composed songs, including ‘Just A Breath Away’, which she recorded with NYJO. Hicks is a skilled yet unfussy singer with charm and intelligence. https://itunes.apple.com/au/album/with-a-song-in-my-heart/212755890

Personnel:  Jacqui Hicks (vo);  John Critchinson (p);  Dave Green (b);  Tristan Mailliot (ds);  Martin Shaw (tp, flh on 3 tunes);  Tina May (vo on 1 tune)

With A Song In My Heart

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David Murray Quartet - Morning Song

Styles: Saxophone And Clarinet Jazz
Year: 1984
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:05
Size: 97,0 MB
Art: Front

( 8:06)  1. Morning Song
( 6:50)  2. Body And Soul
( 7:29)  3. Light Blue Frolic
( 6:29)  4. Jitterbug Waltz
(10:54) 5. Off Season
( 2:15)  6. Duet

For David Murray, this is a fairly straightforward quartet date. Joined by pianist John Hicks, bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Ed Blackwell, Murray performs three of his lesser-known originals, Butch Morris' "Light Blue Frolic," "Body and Soul" and "Jitterbug Waltz." Doubling on tenor and bass clarinet, Murray as usual has a tendency to jump into the extreme upper register a bit too much at unexpected times, disrupting a relatively mellow mood on a few occasions. But one cannot deny his musicianship, and there are some exciting moments to be heard during this program. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/morning-song-mw0000649669

Personnel: David Murray – tenor saxophone, bass clarinet;  John Hicks – piano;  Reggie Workman – bass;  Ed Blackwell – drums

Morning Song

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Albert Bover & Horacio Fumero - Duo

Styles: Piano Jazz, Bop
Year: 1995
File: MP3@256K/s
Time: 61:43
Size: 113,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:52)  1. Au Privave
(7:45)  2. Infant Eyes
(8:00)  3. Alone Together
(5:08)  4. Inception
(7:31)  5. You Go To My Head
(7:16)  6. Bluebird
(8:38)  7. Darn That Dream
(7:39)  8. You Don't Know What Love Is
(4:51)  9. Anthropology

Pianist Albert Bover and bassist Horacio Fumero are technicians of the sacred. They boldly go where usually only quartets have gone before in search of that missing something in a classic jazz composition. They are both graduates of musical conservatories and it shows. Their technical proficiency on this program is almost without compare. But that is also this disc's greatest problem. To this reviewer's knowledge Charlie Parker never intended "Au Privae" to be an exercise in scalar modularity as opposed to a slamming bebop tune that used scales as a way to go somewhere else, and Wayne Shorter would be aghast at the stilted chromaticism in the middle section of his "Infant Eyes." While it's tempting to be swept away by the duo's musicianship on the faster numbers, such as McCoy Tyner's "Inception" and Bird's "Bluebird," there is a false sense of emotional understanding that all that speed and dexterity attempts to cover. And on the ballads, such as Shorter's, "Darn That Dream," or "You Don't Know What Love Is," with everything the pair tries to add with their muscle, their notion of lyric sensibility gets lost or perhaps isn't present because it was never found is more like it. Whatever the reason, this sounds like a record made by a couple of super-choppers, and the thrill of their attack wears off very quickly. ~ Thom Jurek https://www.allmusic.com/album/duo-mw0000536691

Personnel:  Albert Bover (piano), Horacio Fumero (bass)

Duo

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William Ash - Skyline Dreams

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:55
Size: 88,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:25)  1. The Soho Strut
(4:15)  2. Love Letters
(4:45)  3. Freewheelin'
(5:01)  4. Stardust
(3:46)  5. Coffee Rhumba
(3:52)  6. Four On Six
(3:14)  7. Skyline Dreams
(4:10)  8. S.O.S.
(4:24)  9. Usted Abuso

William Ash has been playing guitar most of his young life. He began learning the instrument at the age of nine, and by the time he was twelve he was working hard at mastering Wes Montgomery's style. During his high school years William studied with Barry Harris and Rodney Jones, and won the Young Talent Search of the National Association of Jazz Educators (NAJE), as well as the McDonald's Combo Contest. This led to him performing as a soloist with a big band at the Oakland Jazz Festival at the request of Buddy Montgomery, brother of the late Wes. William has continued to work as a sideman with a host of jazz legends, including Jack McDuff, Cecil Payne, Roy Hargrove, and Larry Goldings. On his own instrument, William acknowledges Wes Montgomery as a major influence, and William has been selected several times to appear in tributes to Montgomery. William's style emerges from his experiences playing with the great bop masters, as well as from playing in hard-driving organ combos with the likes of John Patton and Bobby Forrester, and you can clearly hear how he combines twisting bop melodies with deep groove. William Ash astounds on guitar, performing in a hard-swinging trio setting. William deploys his craft sincerely, and without guile, always drawing on his deep jazz roots. "a soulfully mellow sound with a driving dynamic approach" ~ All About Jazz

Personnel: William Ash - guitar; Jared Gold - organ; Yoichi Kobayashi - drums.

Skyline Dreams

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Eva Cassidy - Wonderful World

Styles: Vocal 
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:42
Size: 104,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:20)  1. What A Wonderful World
(2:45)  2. Kathy's Song
(3:56)  3. Say Goodbye
(2:51)  4. Anniversary Song
(4:27)  5. How Can I Keep From Singing?
(5:40)  6. You Take My Breath Away
(4:18)  7. Drowning In The Sea Of Love
(3:39)  8. Penny To My Name
(4:47)  9. You've Changed
(3:13) 10. It Doesn't Matter Anymore
(4:40) 11. Waly Waly

The heart-tugging story of Eva Cassidy reads almost like the plot of a "Movie of the Week" tearjerker. A native of the Washington, D.C., area, the painfully shy Cassidy earned a local reputation as a masterful interpreter of standards from virtually any genre, blessed with technical agility and a searching passion that cut straight to the emotional core of her material. Despite the evocative instrument that was Cassidy's voice, record companies shied away from her, unsure of how to market her eclectic repertoire; for her part, Cassidy adamantly refused to allow herself to be pigeonholed, prizing the music above any potential fame. In 1996, just when she had begun to record more frequently on a small, local basis, Cassidy was diagnosed with cancer, which had already spread throughout her body and rapidly claimed her life. But her story didn't end there; her music was posthumously championed by a BBC disc jockey, and amazingly, the anthology Songbird became a number one million-selling smash in England. Cassidy was born February 2, 1963, in Oxon Hill, Maryland, and grew up (from age nine on) in Bowie, Maryland. She loved music from an early age, particularly folk and jazz (as a girl, her favorite singer was Buffy Sainte-Marie), and learned guitar from her father Hugh. At one point, Hugh put together a family folk act featuring himself on bass, Eva on guitar and vocals, and her brother Danny on fiddle; Eva and Danny also played country music at a local amusement park, but Eva's sensitivity eventually made performances too difficult on her. Something of a loner during her teens, Cassidy sang with a pop/rock band called Stonehenge while in high school. After graduating, she studied art for a short time, but soon grew dissatisfied with what she was being taught, and dropped out to work at a plant nursery. She sang occasional backing vocals for friends' rock bands around Bowie and Annapolis, but was never comfortable trying to overpower the amplification. In 1986, longtime friend Dave Lourim persuaded Cassidy to lay down some vocals at a recording session for his soft pop/rock group Method Actor. (The results were eventually reissued in 2002.) At the studio, Cassidy met D.C.-area producer Chris Biondo, who was immediately struck by her voice and agreed to help her put together a demo tape she hoped would get her more backup-singing work.

Cassidy became a regular presence at Biondo's studio, where he recorded a wide variety of music; incongruously enough, Cassidy performed backing vocals on D.C. go-go funksters E.U.'s Livin' Large album (singing all of her own harmony parts to give the illusion of a choir) and, later, on gangsta rapper E-40's "I Wanna Thank You." At Biondo's urging, Cassidy formed a backing band to play local clubs, where her singing began to win a following in spite of her discomfort. In 1991, Biondo played Cassidy's demos for Chuck Brown, the originator of D.C.'s swinging go-go funk sound (which never really broke out to a national audience). Brown had been wanting to record an album of jazz and blues standards, and found his ideal duet partner in the sophisticated yet soulful Cassidy. Their collaborative album, The Other Side, was released in late 1992, and in 1993, the two began performing around the D.C. area together; helped by Brown's outgoing showmanship, Cassidy finally began to lose some of the insecurity and intense fear that usually kept her away from live performance. Several record labels showed interest in signing her, but her recorded submissions always covered too much ground  folk, jazz, blues, gospel, R&B, pop/rock for the marketing department's taste (or limited imaginations), and the labels always wound up passing. In September 1993, Cassidy had a malignant mole removed from below her neck and neglected her subsequent checkup appointments. Shortly thereafter, she broke up with Biondo, who'd been her boyfriend for several years, but they continued their professional relationship. In early 1994, the Blue Note label showed some interest in teaming Cassidy with a jazz-pop outfit from Philadelphia called Pieces of a Dream; they recorded the single "Goodbye Manhattan" together, and Cassidy toured with them that summer, but didn't really care for their style. She returned to D.C. and began playing more gigs on her own, though she still made the occasional appearance with Brown. At the end of the year, she won a local music award for traditional jazz vocals. Cassidy remained unable to secure a record deal, and Biondo and her frustrated manager decided to put out an album themselves. 

In January 1996, Cassidy played two gigs at the D.C. club Blues Alley; despite her dissatisfaction with the quality of her performance, the album Live at Blues Alley was compiled from the recordings and released that year to much acclaim in the D.C. area. Sadly, it would be the only solo album to appear during Cassidy's lifetime. She moved to Annapolis and took a job painting murals at elementary schools; during the summer, she began experiencing problems with her hip, which she assumed was related to her frequent use of stepladders at work. However, X-rays revealed that her hip was broken, and further tests showed that the melanoma from several years before had spread to her lungs and bones. Cassidy started chemotherapy, but it was simply too late. A benefit show in her honor was staged in September, and Cassidy found the strength to give her last performance there, singing "What a Wonderful World." She died on November 2, 1996. Cassidy virtually swept that year's Washington Area Music Awards, and the album she'd been working on with Biondo prior to her death, Eva by Heart, was released by Liaison in 1997. D.C.-based Celtic folk singer Grace Griffith finally found some interest in releasing Cassidy's music at the label she recorded for, Blix Street. 1998's Songbird was a compilation culled from Cassidy's three previous releases, and when BBC Radio 2 disc jockey Terry Wogan started playing the version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," Songbird started to sell in the U.K. The British TV show Top of the Pops aired a home-video clip of Cassidy performing the song, quite intensely, at the Blues Alley, and were deluged with requests for further broadcasts. Thanks to all the exposure, Songbird steadily grew into a major hit, climbing all the way to the top of the British album charts and selling over a million copies. In 2000, Blix Street followed Songbird with Time After Time, a set of 12 previously unreleased tracks (eight studio, four live) that proved an important addition to Cassidy's slim recorded legacy. The same year saw the appearance of No Boundaries, an unrepresentative set of adult contemporary pop released by the Renata label over strenuous objections from Cassidy's family. Subsequent collections like Wonderful World (2004) and Simply Eva (2011) included more studio demos and live recordings, further cementing Cassidy's posthumous reputation, along with 2012's The Best of Eva Cassidy and 2015’s expanded and remastered edition of Nightbird, a collection of all 31 songs that Cassidy performed at the Blues Alley in 1996. ~ Steve Huey https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/wonderful-world/306982512

Personnel:  Eva Cassidy – acoustic guitar, guitar, vocals;  Chris Biondo – bass, electric guitar;  Chuck Brown – background vocals;  Laura Byrne – flute;  Mark Carson – piano;  Dan Cassidy – violin;  Steve Digman – guitar;  Carolene Evans – strings;  Mark Tufty Evans – strings, cello;  Anthony Flowers – Hammond organ;  Keith Grimes – acoustic guitar, guitar, electric guitar;  Ian Lawther – bagpipes;  Edgardo Malaga Jr. – strings;  Raice McLeod – drums;  Zan McLeod – bouzouki, guitar, mandolin;  Joanne Opgenorth – strings;  Uri Wassertzug – strings;  Lenny Williams – organ, piano, keyboards

Wonderful World

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Lanny Morgan - A Suite for Yardbird

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1997
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:30
Size: 150,3 MB
Art: Front

(6:09)  1. Ornithology
(5:27)  2. Blues for Alice
(5:26)  3. Segment
(4:05)  4. Ko Ko
(6:12)  5. Yardbird Suite
(6:07)  6. Marmaduke
(8:23)  7. Steeplechase
(5:27)  8. The Hymn
(4:18)  9. Klact-Oveeseds-Tene
(4:11) 10. Donna Lee
(4:56) 11. Bird Feathers
(4:44) 12. Kim-Country Gardens-Sign Off

Records led by altoist Lanny Morgan are always well-worth acquiring because he is a brilliant bebop soloist. For this quartet outing with pianist Lou Levy, bassist Tom Warrington, and drummer Paul Kreibich, Morgan performs a dozen songs composed by Charlie Parker. Although no new revelations occur, it is nice to hear such obscurities as "Segment," "Marmaduke," "Steeplechase," and "Kim" revived and played in extended versions that are often five to eight minutes long. Morgan knows this material backwards and really sounds like he lives the music, adding his own ideas to the classic material. A special bonus is the extended liner notes and a very colorful historical booklet that comes with the CD. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/a-suite-for-yardbird-mw0000570269

Personnel: Lanny Morgan (saxophone);  Lou Levy (piano), Tom Warrington (bass), and Paul Kreibich (drums).

A Suite for Yardbird

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Eric Dolphy - Iron Man

Styles: Clarinet, Flute And Saxophone Jazz 
Year: 1962
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:27
Size: 93,0 MB
Art: Front

( 9:10)  1. Iron Man
( 4:45)  2. Mandrake
( 6:26)  3. Come Sunday
(11:54)  4. Burning Spear
( 8:10)  5. Ode to C. P.

The companion piece to Conversations (recorded at the same mid-1963 sessions with producer Alan Douglas), Iron Man is every bit as essential and strikes a more consistent ambience than its widely varied twin. It also more clearly anticipates the detailed, abstract sound paintings of Dolphy's masterwork Out to Lunch, in large part because this time around the program is weighted toward Dolphy originals. "Iron Man," "Burning Spear," and the shorter "Mandrake" all have pretty outside themes, full of Dolphy's trademark wide interval leaps and playful sense of dissonance. Yet there's enough structure and swing to make their roots in hard bop perfectly clear, and once the front-line horns blast out the themes, the ensemble shifts into a more cerebral, exploratory mode. In the absence of a piano, Bobby Hutcherson's vibes are a crucial anchor, outlining dissonant harmonies that hang in the air almost spectrally behind the rest of the group. Most of the same musicians from Conversations appear here, including trumpeter Woody Shaw, flutist Prince Lasha, altoist Sonny Simmons, and soprano sax player Clifford Jordan. And once again, Dolphy duets with bassist Richard Davis, twice this time -- on bass clarinet for Ellington's "Come Sunday" and on flute for Jaki Byard's "Ode to C.P." Both are lovely, meditative pieces filled with conversational exchanges between the two players, illustrating what similar wavelengths they were on. Between Conversations and Iron Man, split up the way they are, one has to give a slight edge to the latter for its more cohesive presentation, yet these are classic sessions in any form and constitute some of the most brilliant work of the early-'60s avant-garde. ~ Steve Huey https://www.allmusic.com/album/iron-man-mw0000651215

Personnel:  Eric Dolphy – bass clarinet, flute, alto saxophone;  Richard Davis – bass;  Clifford Jordan – soprano saxophone;  Sonny Simmons – alto saxophone;  Prince Lasha – flute;  Woody Shaw – trumpet;  Bobby Hutcherson – vibraphone;  J.C. Moses – drums;  Eddie Khan – bass ("Iron Man")

Iron Man

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Ernie Watts - Four Plus Four

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:45
Size: 137,2 MB
Art: Front

( 8:05)  1. Tributary
( 7:18)  2. Crossings
( 7:11)  3. A Quiet Corner
(11:36)  4. Through My Window
( 7:59)  5. Wings Of The Dreamer
( 8:05)  6. The Ballad Of The Sad Young Men
( 9:28)  7. Find The Way

It's nothing shy of amazing that now in his mid-sixties tenor saxophonist Ernie Watts just gets better and better. Like his California peers Charles Lloyd and Azar Lawrence, Watts keeps refining his post-John Coltrane approach with a passion and inventiveness younger musicians can only dream of. He also keeps coming up with new aspects of execution, here presenting his regular working quartet, a newly formed four-piece based in Cologne, Germany, and on one track, both ensembles combined. Save a single standard, this CD also features new material from Watts and his estimable bandmembers, sounding fresh and always either swinging or in a modal base. The greatest quality Watts possesses is ability to sing through his horn, evidenced perfectly during "Crossings," written by the pianist from his European band, Christof Saenger. Then there's the tenor man playing with an immediacy but no rushed sense of urgency for the clockwork pace of "Wings of the Dreamer," with American pianist and underrated stalwart David Witham, who plays beautifully understated piano that can easily be appreciated on its own merits. Both groups collaborate on the floating "Through My Window," evoking Coltrane's spirit similar to his great composition "Wise One," If you haven't become a fan of Ernie Watts yet, it's time to get on the bandwagon. His savvy, tasteful, fully flowered music stands apart from his contemporaries, previous masters, and those burgeoning players claiming Coltrane as a major influence. In short, he's the very best at what he does which in itself is a proven, time-tested commodity. Michael G.Nastos https://www.allmusic.com/album/four-plus-four-mw0002005090
 

Personnel:  Tenor Saxophone – Ernie Watts ;  Bass – Bruce Lett (tracks: 1-4), Rudi Engel (tracks: 4-7);  Drums – Bob Leatherbarrow (tracks: 1-4), Heinrich Köbberling (tracks: 4-7);  Piano – Christof Sänger (tracks: 4-7), David Witham (tracks: 1-4)

Four Plus Four

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Eddie Gomez - Down Stretch

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop 
Year: 1976
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:05
Size: 101,0 MB
Art: Front

(10:44)  1. Blues E
( 6:59)  2. Caprice
( 5:08)  3. Half Life
( 9:16)  4. Down Stretch
( 4:41)  5. Starry Night
( 7:15)  6. Dream Passage

Legendary bassist and two-time Grammy Award winner Eddie Gomez has been on the cutting edge of music for over four decades.  His impressive resumé includes performances with jazz giants such as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Bill Evans, Gerry Mulligan and Benny Goodman.  Eddie’s unique sound and style can be heard on many Grammy winning records as well as on hundreds of recordings spanning the worlds of jazz, classical, Latin jazz, rhythm & blues, popular and contemporary music. Born in 1944 in Santurce, Puerto Rico, Eddie moved to New York City with his family at an early age.  His love of music led him to the double bass as a precocious 11-year old student in the public school system.  Two years later he was accepted to the High School of Music and Art and soon began private studies with the great double bass teacher Fred Zimmerman.  During these years, he performed with many professional dance bands and was a member of the Newport Youth Band led by Marshall Brown.  By 18, he had performed with such jazz luminaries as Buck Clayton, Lionel Hampton, Marian McPartland and Paul Bley. Eddie continued his studies at the Juilliard School of Music, where his contemporaries included Chick Corea, Hubert Laws, James Levine, Itzak Perlman, Paula Robinson and Gary Karr.  By the end of his third year of school, he dreamed, of a career as a performing jazz musician.  Later that summer he joined with Gary McFarland and soon after the Gerry Mulligan Quintet. More.. http://eddiegomez.com/biography.html

Personnel:  Bass – Eddie Gomez;  Percussion – Elliot Zigmund;  Piano – Takehiro Honda

Down Stretch

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Mary Lou Williams - Live At The Cookery

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1976
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:43
Size: 159,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:55)  1. Praise The Lord
(6:56)  2. Blues For Peter
(5:54)  3. I Can't Get Started
(6:33)  4. Roll 'Em
(3:50)  5. The Jeep Is Jumping
(5:23)  6. My Funny Valentine
(3:23)  7. Waltz Boogie
(4:41)  8. The Surrey With The Fringe On Top
(7:58)  9. The Man I Love
(4:46) 10. All Blues
(5:11) 11. Mack The Knife
(8:07) 12. A Grand Night For Swinging

This CD gives one a definitive look at talented pianist Mary Lou Williams in her later years. In these duets with bassist Brian Torff, Williams essentially takes listeners on a trip through the history of jazz, from hymns and blues to stride, swing, and bop (including "All Blues"). The CD reissue adds three fine performances to the original program. Recommended. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/live-at-the-cookery-mw0000091515

Personnel:  Piano – Mary Lou Williams ;  Bass – Brian Torff

Live At The Cookery

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Lee Wiley - At Carnegie Hall

Styles: Vocal, Swing, Cabaret 
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:09
Size: 143,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:30)  1. Intro
(2:42)  2. Back Home Again In Indiana
(0:15)  3. Announcement
(2:21)  4. When I Fall In Love
(4:35)  5. You Lucky To Me
(0:12)  6. Announcement
(2:47)  7. A Love Like This
(3:15)  8. Moon River
(0:15)  9. Announcement
(4:16) 10. Come Sunday
(3:04) 11. I'm Coming Virginia
(2:34) 12. A Woman Intuition
(4:18) 13. Sugar
(0:19) 14. Announcement
(2:07) 15. Manhattan
(3:24) 16. Someone To Watch Over Mee
(2:01) 17. Street Of Dreams
(2:02) 18. Some Sunny Day
(2:58) 19. Chicken Today And Feathers
(3:52) 20. A Ghost Of A Chance
(1:44) 21. Any Time, Any Day, Anywhere
(1:17) 22. 'S Wonderful
(1:12) 23. Somebody Loves Me
(1:26) 24. Soft Lights And Sweet Music
(2:20) 25. The Man I Love
(2:11) 26. Any Time Any Day Anywhere

Lee Wiley was a superior singer whose style feel between swing and cabaret. She gave straightforward interpretations of lyrics yet also had a strong sense of swing. Discouraged by the music business, Wiley retired in 1958 when she was still in her prime. She made a brief return during 1971-72 when she recorded a final album and performed at the first Newport in New York Jazz Festival. The latter concert has been released for the initial time on this Audiophile CD and is Wiley's final recording. Accompanied by cornetist Bobby Hackett, pianist Teddy Wilson, guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, bassist George Duvivier and drummer Don Lamond, Lee Wiley sounds in surprisingly good form. Although her voice had deepened a little, she is quite recognizable and had not declined at all. Before a loving crowd (that sounds quite delighted to get the rare chance to see her), Wiley sings 11 songs. Best are "Indiana," "You're Lucky to Me," an emotional "Come Sunday" and "Sugar." Although she forgets the words at one point on "Manhattan" (a surprise request from George Wein), Lee Wiley does quite well and exits on top. The remainder of this CD is comprised of ten songs recorded at a rehearsal in 1952 with Wein himself on piano, bassist John Field and drummer Marquis Foster. The trumpeter is listed as Johnny Windhurst but I would opt for Bobby Hackett. Although quite informal (and some of the renditions are under two minutes), this rehearsal is an important addition to the relatively slim discography of the charming Lee Wiley. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-carnegie-hall-concert-mw0000913043

Personnel:  # 1-16:  Lee Wiley - vocal;  Bobby Hackett - cornet;  Teddy Wilson - piano;  Bucky Pizzarelli - guitar;  George Duvivier - bass;  Don Lamond - drums
# 17-26:  Lee Wiley - vocal ;  Johnny windhurst - trumpet ;  George Wein - piano ;  John Field - bass;  Marquis Foster - drums

At Carnegie Hall

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Jakob Bro, Thomas Morgan & Joey Baron - Streams

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:35
Size: 111,4 MB
Art: Front

( 4:40)  1. Opal
( 5:35)  2. Heroines
( 9:37)  3. PM Dream
(10:19)  4. Full Moon Europa
( 8:17)  5. Shell Pink
( 2:33)  6. Heroines (Variations)
( 7:30)  7. Sisimiut

"The music wants to go in its own direction," Jakob Bro declares, and "it's our job to follow it." If one central theme of jazz is "never the same way once," the Danish guitarist is someone who lives by it more than most. No two of his albums are made with the same cast and rarely do they repeat the same instrumental lineup. A given release may feature a quartet, nonet or fifteen-piece ensemble; there could be three horns or none, two extra guitars or just his own, occasionally no drums, or sometimes electronics and remixing. At other times a simple trio is all it takes. The music on Bro's second ECM Records outing wants to flow quietly and gently like its namesake. The pieces tend to stay as sparse as the lineup: the leader's compositions here are like the framework for a glass house with wide open windows, allowing lovely natural views and letting in a soothing breeze. He and his trio-mates are pleasantly relaxed and feel no undue pressure to fill the space. The rhythm section ambles with comfortable ease while the guitar's electric sheen lets unhurried notes ring in the air. As ample evidence for why he remains Bro's most frequent sideman, Thomas Morgan's double bass stays smooth and expressive in as few notes as necessary. The endlessly adaptable Joey Baron is taking this chair for the first time, but having played with Johns from Abercrombie to Zorn, of course he's eloquent enough to join the conversation and more than hold his own. He contributes mostly with light strokes or cymbal splashes, always showing a tasteful feel for just when to liven up more to match the others. Baron shines most in the disc's sole group improvisation as they pay tribute to the late Paul Motian (his frequent predecessor at the drum stool on past Bro recordings), beautifully simmering on the toms amid a cloud of tone haze and warmly plucked bass. Bro reaches for the distortion knob a bit more with "Full Moon Europa" and the gradual slow build of "Sisimiut," which respectively give the album's overall tone further subtle shadings of dark and light. They're balanced out in between with the prettiest melodic moment in "Shell Pink," followed by a stark guitar reprise of "Heroines" that offers the recording's surest embrace of emptiness. It all evokes the shifting and flowing its title suggests. Largely placid with the odd sharper current underneath, this Streams fluidly finds its path with understated beauty. ~ Geno Thackara https://www.allaboutjazz.com/streams-jakob-bro-ecm-records-review-by-geno-thackara.php

Personnel: Jakob Bro: guitar; Thomas Morgan: double bass; Joey Baron: drums.

Streams

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Allan Holdsworth - All Night Wrong

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:57
Size: 131,5 MB
Art: Front

(5:48)  1. Lanyard Loop
(6:53)  2. The Things You See
(7:04)  3. Alphrazallan
(5:01)  4. Funnels
(9:19)  5. Zone
(5:30)  6. Water On The Brain, Pt. 2
(8:21)  7. Above & Below
(7:58)  8. Gas Lamp Blues

Guitar hero Allan Holdsworth often performs with his peers. Such is the case with this live setting recorded at a venue in Japan during a 2002 tour. On this release, the guitarist leads a trio featuring longtime musical associates, drummer Chad Wackerman, and bassist Jimmy Johnson. To that end, the respective musicians' talents are well-known entities. Wackerman and Johnson can handle the trickiest time signatures imaginable. Along with the nimble flexibilities and odd-metered excursions witnessed here, they exude a force of power that serves as a meaty foundation for Holdsworth's mighty licks. 

A wonderfully recorded album, Holdsworth's climactically driven legato-based riffs are intact, as he also implements jazzy chord voicings and delicately stated fabrics of sound. But the trio raises the ante throughout many of these pieces, awash with moments of nuance and controlled firepower. In sum, Holdsworth's legion of followers should be pleased with a recording that should rank among his finest efforts to date. ~ Glenn Astarita https://www.allmusic.com/album/all-night-wrong-mw0000316616

Personnel:   Allan Holdsworth – guitar;  Chad Wackerman – drums;   Jimmy Johnson – bass

All Night Wrong

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Don Byron - Bug Music

Styles: Clarinet And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1996
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:06
Size: 119,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:18)  1. The Dicty Glide
(2:52)  2. Frasquita Serenade
(2:53)  3. St. Louis Blues
(2:52)  4. Wondering Where
(1:41)  5. Bounce of the Sugar Plum Fairies
(2:48)  6. Charley's Prelude
(1:54)  7. Royal Garden Blues
(2:52)  8. Siberian Sleighride
(2:50)  9. The Penguin
(2:51) 10. The Quintet Plays Carmen
(2:55) 11. Powerhouse
(2:36) 12. Tobacco Auctioneer
(2:36) 13. War Dance for Wooden Indians
(2:49) 14. Cotton Club Stomp
(3:25) 15. Blue Bubbles
(9:47) 16. SNIBOR

Bug Music is a tribute to the music of the Raymond Scott Quintette, the John Kirby Sextet and Duke Ellington, headed by the remarkably versatile clarinetist Don Byron. Raymond Scott's legendary compositions feature eccentric song titles (including, on this set, "Siberian Sleighride," "Tobacco Auctioneer" and "War Dance for Wooden Indians"), complex and thoroughly composed arrangements (all of which were originally memorized rather than being written out) and unique melodies. Kirby's brand of swing, which is quite complementary to Scott's novelties, often utilized themes from classical music and had solos, but were also tightly arranged (even "St. Louis Blues" and "Royal Garden Blues"). The CD begins and ends with four Ellington/Strayhorn pieces that fit well into the idiom (particularly "The Dicty Glide" and "Cotton Club Stomp"). In addition to Byron, the key players on the project include altoist Steve Wilson (one of the best of the younger swing stylists), trombonist Craig Harris and pianist Uri Caine, in addition to four other horns and several rhythm sections. Other than a silly rendition of Ellington's "Blue Bubbles" and an adventurous interpretation of "Snibor," the selections are played with respect and great understanding of the somewhat forgotten style. None of the modern musicians sound as if swing were only their second language, making the continually surprising set a major success. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/bug-music-mw0000078877

Personnel:  Clarinet, Baritone Saxophone – Don Byron (tracks: 1, 14);  Alto Saxophone – Steve Wilson (2) (tracks: 1 to 7, 14);  Banjo – Paul Meyers (3) (tracks: 1, 14);  Bass – Kenny Davis (tracks: 1 to 14, 16);  Drums – Billy Hart (tracks: 2 to 7, 16), Joey Baron (tracks: 8 to 13), Pheeroan akLaff (tracks: 1, 14);  Guitar – David Gilmore (tracks: 16);  Piano, Vocals – Uri Craine (tracks: 4);  Tenor Saxophone – Robert DeBellis  (tracks: 1, 8 to 14);  Trombone – Craig Harris (3) (tracks: 1, 14);  Trumpet – Charles Lewis (2) (tracks: 1 to 3, 5, 6, 8 to 14), James Zollar (tracks: 1, 14), Steve Bernstein (tracks: 1 to 4, 7, 14);  Vocals – Dean Bowman (tracks: 14), Don Byron (tracks: 4)

Bug Music

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Alyssa Graham - Echo

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:21
Size: 120,6 MB
Art: Front

(6:10)  1. America
(4:41)  2. Pictures Of You
(4:19)  3. Echo
(3:59)  4. Arkansas
(4:47)  5. My Love
(5:17)  6. Butterflies
(3:42)  7. I Burn For You
(5:38)  8. Involved Again
(4:03)  9. Once Upon A Summertime
(5:27) 10. Coming Home
(3:14) 11. Izaura

Jazz is a paradox that is both compromising and uncompromising. It is compromising as an assimilating art, one that absorbs all influences that touch it. It is uncompromising that jazz demands virtuosity and creativity. It is this paradox that allows the genre to contain both a Sarah Vaughan and Dianna Krall, and a Grant Green and John McLaughlin beneath its tent. It is jazz that welcomes the better angels of creation into its realm to manifest any number of delightful and inventive manners. Jazz, by its very nature, is evolving in four dimensions. Norah Jones, for example, with a crack band and a Country and Western sensibility, has reformed the interface between jazz and popular music. Think of Jones as Josef Haydn, a musical trailblazer inventing a new way to look at an established genre, one further perfected by Mozart's inevitable invention. Norah Jones' Mozart is Alyssa Graham. New York native Graham and guitarist/husband Douglas Graham recorded the singer's first release in their living room on a self-produced shoestring. The result was What Love Is (2005) which was selected for several Best of 2005 lists. Graham has since honed her musical approach to a fine edge, with Echo at once pure metal and perfect amalgam. Echo boasts a Latin influence and indeed one exists. But there is none of the piquant tartness of a typical Latin outing. Instead, the collective efforts of Jeff Haynes' essential percussion, guitarists Graham and Romero Lubambo and the Hendrik Meurkens-influenced Gregoire Maret are distilled into dense tension, sounding as if it has been there all the time. This is familiar music and that is its magic. Paul Simon's "America" is rendered as a siren song buoyed by purring congas and round nylon stings. This same formula transforms Michel LeGrand's "Once upon a Summertime" in a similar manner; quietly and with great grace. 

Pianist John Cowherd shares composing duties with both Bryan McCann ("Echo" and "Arkansas") and Douglas Graham ("Pictures of You" and "My Love") to anchor the disc. "Echo" is a sophisticated vignette, a cross between Burton Cummings and Bruce Hornsby. Graham's delicious intonation is perfectly balanced by Cowherd's Norah Jones-like octaves. "Arkansas" is a potent pastoral smart and informed and mysterious. "My Love" powerfully recalls Elton John's Tumbleweed Connection (MCA , 1971) and Jackson Browne's The Pretender (Asylum, 1976), especially in Cowherd's fine piano solo and Graham's solid high, rich alto. Into this mix is "Involved Again." Composed by Jack Reardon ("The Good Life"), "Involved Again" was written for Billie Holiday and was slated to be recorded by her, save for the singer's death in 1959. The song remained shelved until Reardon heard Alyssa Graham. The song would have been perfect next to "I'm A Fool to Want You" and "But Beautiful," from Holiday's Lady in Satin (Columbia, 1958). Graham captures perfectly the conflict of forgiven love, totally committed at a cost. She has spent her time wisely, perfecting her art and the art that came before her. Echo is a fine wine with a heady base and nose and an expansive finish. It is to be savored after many listenings. ~ C.Michael Bailey https://www.allaboutjazz.com/echo-alyssa-graham-sunnyside-records-review-by-c-michael-bailey.php

Personnel: Alyssa Graham: vocals; Jon Cowherd: vocals, French horn, piano, organ; Douglas Graham: guitars; Romero Lubambo: guitar; Elizabeth Lim-Dutton, Laura Seaton: violin; Lawrence Dutton: viola; Sachi Patitucci: cello; Gregoire Maret: harmonica; Doug Weiss: bass guitar; Obed Calvaire: drum; Jeff Haynes: percussion.

Echo

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David Weiss & Point Of Departure - Venture Inward

Styles: Trumpet Jazz 
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:09
Size: 131,4 MB
Art: Front

(11:36)  1. I Have A Dream
( 7:20)  2. Black Comedy
(16:19)  3. Number 4
( 7:19)  4. Venture Inward
( 6:09)  5. Pax
( 8:24)  6. Snuck In

If music can be described as either masculine or feminine, then recordings by trumpeter David Weiss and his Point of Departure quintet are simply testosteronic. Built upon the legacy of trumpeter Miles Davis' second great quintet and saxophonist Billy Harper's Black Saint inheritance, Weiss presents dexterous arrangements of muscular, second wave hard bop music. This studio session, Venture Inward, was recorded in 2008, one day before the stunning live date at the Jazz Standard, released as Snuck In (Sunnyside, 2010) and Snuck Out (Sunnyside, 2011), with follow-up pieces made the following June for all three releases. While duplicating four tunes heard on the live discs, these studio sessions do not lack for that in-person sensation. Weiss' arrangements are tight and deceptively simple. Drummer Tony Williams' "Black Comedy" starts with the Miles In The Sky (Columbia, 1968) sound of the original, but expands out toward Williams' quintets of the late '80s and early '90s. Drummer Jamire Williams and bassist Luques Curtis power JD Allen's brawny tenor saxophone and the nimble fingers of guitarist Nir Felder. This macho music is felt in the rush of "Number 4," with Weiss drawing equal parts from trumpeters Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan. Much like the septet, The Cookers that Weiss organizes around hard bop veterans Billy Harper, trumpeter Eddie Henderson, saxophonist Craig Handy, bassist Cecil McBee, pianist George Cables, and drummer Billy Hart, Point Of Departure is a younger version, with perhaps a bit more fire in its belly. Weiss chooses pieces by pianist Herbie Hancock ("I Have A Dream"), and two each from Chicago pianist Andrew Hill and Detroit trumpeter Charles Moore. Weiss is able to simplify Hill's often abstract pieces and proffer them within the post-bop tradition. This band loves its music to be brawny and powerfully robust. ~ Mark Corroto https://www.allaboutjazz.com/venture-inward-david-weiss-posi-tone-records-review-by-mark-corroto.php

Personnel: David Weiss: trumpet; J.D. Allen: tenor saxophone; Nir Felder; guitar; Luques Curtis: bass; Jamire Williams: drums.

Venture Inward

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Ada Rovatti - Disguise

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:55
Size: 149,6 MB
Art: Front

(7:19)  1. Ghost Stories
(6:59)  2. Alone in Traffic
(8:09)  3. TBA
(3:02)  4. Smile (Sax Solo Intro)
(5:53)  5. Smile
(8:08)  6. Moving Forward
(6:36)  7. Halfway
(5:12)  8. Tripping Step
(7:57)  9. Stairway to Heaven
(5:36) 10. Gentle Giant

An initial spin of saxophonist Ada Rovatti's Disguise says she hasn't lost a step since 2009's The Green Factor (Piloo Records). There's still the judicious funk grooves, the tight arrangements, and catchy and distinctive melodies that make for an engaging and edifying listening experience. And she's still a wonderfully soulful saxophonist. These are quintet, quartet and sextet offerings. In small group jazz outings, there has to be something that sets the effort apart. With Rovatti especially on Disguise that "something" is her arrangements, beginning with "Ghost Stories," one of eight (out of ten tunes) Rovatti originals. Bassist Janek Gwizdala, drummer Dana Hawkins and pianist Oli Rockberger lay down a terrific groove. Trumpeter Miles Davis, in his 1980's mode, would have loved this. His muted horn would have fit right in contemporary funk; but the secret here is Rovatti's sax joined by flutist {Anne Drummond}} for some ghostly harmony, playing a very memorable unison melody. Drummond is spirited in her solo, and makes an argument for more flute-in-the-front line outings. Rovatti doesn't step out until three and a half minutes in. She smolders beautifully in front of the shimmer of Rockberger's electric keys.  "Alone in Traffic" is surprisingly upbeat, considering the title. Maybe the composer (Rovatti) enjoys time alone on the expressways. She is joined here by trumpeter Randy Brecker, with his expansive, cool tone. If Brecker is cool, Rovatti is hot. Her solo cranks the thermostat up fifteen degrees in front of the controlled stumble of the drums and bass. "TBA" features Rovatti on soprano sax. Her tone is clean, gorgeous not always the case with the "straight horn." And her front line partner, Zach Brock on violin, gives the tune a sharp modern edge. His sound, playing alongside Rovatti, sounds like electronic spicing rather than singing strings. Stepping out on his solo he sears it, with a stretchy, elastic, brash sound. A funky, fabulously-arranged gem of a tune. Two familiar non-originals are included. Charlie Chaplin's "Smile," with a lonely, late night three minute intro by Rovatti on tenor. This is a quartet, the saxophonist and the rhythm section, and Rovati shows she can play the classic ballad with loads of emotion, with the rhythm guys flying free when she steps out. The there's "Stairway to Heaven," from the Led Zepplin songbook. She joined here by Randy Brecker again, with Adam Rogers on guitar (if it's Led Zepplin, you've got to have a guitar) on a fairly straight forward, very jazzy turn on the song. The disc closes with ballad full of contemplative joy, "Gentle Giant." Rovatti's tenor has a classic, expressive robustness. Could this be an Ode to Randy Brecker, Rovatti's husband and partner in music? Might be.~ Dan McClenaghan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/disguise-ada-rovatti-piloo-records-and-productions-llc-review-by-dan-mcclenaghan.php

Personnel: Ada Rovatti: tenor and soprano saxophones, composer/arranger; Janek Gwizdala: bass; Dana Hawkins: drums; Leo Genovese: piano (2, 3, 4, 8); Oli Rockberger: piano (1, 6, 10); Adam Rogers: guitar (9); Zach Brock: violin (3, 8); Anne Drummond: flute (1, 6); Randy Brecker: trumpet (2, 6, 9); Dean Brown: guitar (10).

Disguise

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Jimmy Smith - The Champ

Styles: Soul Jazz, Hard Bop
Year: 1956
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:17
Size: 92,4 MB
Art: Front

(8:34)  1. The Champ
(4:50)  2. Bayou
(7:12)  3. Deep Purple
(4:30)  4. Moonlight In Vermont
(6:29)  5. Ready'n Able
(4:10)  6. Turquoise
(4:29)  7. Bubbis

The Champ is an album by Jimmy Smith. It was recorded in New York City in 1956 and is an early example of hard bop jazz. Smith performs alone on this album. The Champ was re-released to CD by EMI Music Group in 2005. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Champ_(Jimmy_Smith_album)

Personnel: Organ – Jimmy Smith;   Drums – Donald Bailey;  Guitar – Thornel Schwartz;  Written-By – Dizzy Gillespie

The Champ

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Chico Freeman - Sweet Explosion

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1990
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 74:25
Size: 172,4 MB
Art: Front

( 7:49)  1. Peaceful Heart
( 8:11)  2. Exotic Places
( 9:17)  3. Afro Tang
(10:58)  4. My Heart
(15:22)  5. Pacifica I, II & III
(10:41)  6. Read The Signs
(12:07)  7. On The Nile

A collection of some of the best numbers played by Brainstorm when the band made its highly successful debut at London's Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in 1990. One of the most innovative and engaged small groups in contemporary improvised music, Brainstorm here presents 74 electrifying minutes of inspired and wideranging music and abundantly reaffirms the notion that jazz is the sound of surprise. As Ed Hazel has observed, "Chico Freeman's style combines the energy and wide leaps of John Coltrane's later work with a classic conception of form and a strong sense of swing." https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sweet-Explosion-Chico-Freeman/dp/B000005YLF

Personnel: Chico Freeman (saxophones);  Delmar Brown (piano, keyboards,vocals);  Norman Hedman (percussion);  Alex Blake (bass);  Tommy Campbell (drums)

Sweet Explosion

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