Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Wallace Roney - If Only for One Night

Styles: Trumpet Jazz 
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:36
Size: 141,5 MB
Art: Front

(11:34)  1. Quadrant
( 5:48)  2. If Only for One Night
( 5:48)  3. Only with You
(10:31)  4. I Have a Dream
( 8:16)  5. Metropolis
( 7:49)  6. Let's Wait Awhile
( 6:40)  7. I Love What We Make Together
( 5:08)  8. FMS

Wallace Roney's six-year association with HighNote beginning with Prototype (2004), followed by Mystikal (2005), and culminating with Jazz (2007) has allowed the trumpeter to amass a body of work far more indicative of where he's always wanted to be than his largely mainstream run with Muse in the early 1990s. If Only for One Night culled from a four-night run at New York's Iridium continues to paint a broader picture of an artist for whom the lifelong arc of Miles Davis remains an influence, but one distanced from mere mimicry through greater technical facility and an all-encompassing approach to collating a broad set of interests that's in sharp contrast with Davis' more linear evolutionary approach. Most telling is Roney's statement in Francis Davis' liner notes. "I'm not sure Miles had to give up what he already had to get where he was going," says Roney, referencing Davis' well-documented and lifelong rejection of what came before. Unlike most for whom the spirit of Davis looms large, rather than focusing on a single period, Roney integrates aspects spanning Davis' four-decade run, as well as touchstones from the work of John Coltrane and Herbie Hancock. With longtime musical partner/brother/saxophonist Antoine Roney and bassist Rashaan Carter back from Jazz, what's most striking is how seamlessly Roney's quintet navigates the broad stylistic markers demanded by both the original material and covers ranging from Hancock's still modernistic-sounding "I Have a Dream," from The Prisoner (Blue Note, 1969) to a darker look at Brenda Russell's lyrical title track (made famous by Luther Vandross), and Tony Williams' "Only With You," which rivals the rhythmic intensity and effervescent swing of the original on Angel Street (Blue Note, 1988), when Roney was a member of the late drummer's quintet. 

Roney's quintet is as comfortable with an even fierier take of Prototype's fusion-esque "Quadrant" as it is the intensely swinging "Metropolis," from No Room For Argument (Stretch, 2000) two originals that demonstrate the trumpeter's acute ability to fashion an eclectic nexus one clearly hidden to his mentor where all his innovations meet. Roney's chops have never been more exhilarating or tastefully focused, whether waxing prolific on "Metrolopis" or more intently thematic on his closing, a capella "FMS." The group's youngest members demonstrate Roney's ever-astute skill in locating unknown but remarkable talent. Cuban keyboardist Aruán Ortiz organically combines synth washes, choppy organ and Hancock-like clavinet to accompany Wallace and Antoine Roney's fiercely funkified solos on "Quadrant," but turns to acoustic piano for his own impressive solo, while drummer Kush Abadey merges contemporary rhythms and post-bop elasticity throughout, his fluid, less-direct approach turning Davis' "I Love What We Do Together" (previously only recorded as a demo by Davis in the mid-'80s) from what might have been slicker fare into something that relentlessly grows from a simmer to a boil. With even greater emphasis on high powered blowing and group chemistry than recent studio efforts, If Only for One Night is the live album Roney's been harboring for the past several years and further consolidation of where he's been...and where he's going. ~ John Kelman https://www.allaboutjazz.com/if-only-for-one-night-wallace-roney-highnote-records-review-by-john-kelman.php

Personnel: Wallace Roney: trumpet; Antoine Roney: soprano and tenor saxophones, bass clarinet; Aruán Ortiz: keyboards; Rashaan Carter: bass; Kush Abadey: drums.

If Only for One Night

Sathima Bea Benjamin - Southern Touch

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:34
Size: 100,9 MB
Art: Front

(8:57)  1. Loveless Love / Careless Love
(4:55)  2. Street of Dreams
(4:01)  3. I've Heard That Song Before
(5:04)  4. I'm Glad There Is You
(5:23)  5. One Alone
(5:10)  6. Together
(3:32)  7. I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart
(6:31)  8. Lush Life

Evocative, expressive ballads and love songs done by wonderful vocalist Satima Bea Benjamin, wife of Abdullah Ibrahim. She sings without a trace of self-indulgence and has the right touch to make even the most sentimental lyric seem convincing and genuine. 
~ Ron Wynn https://www.allmusic.com/album/southern-touch-mw0000078655

Southern Touch

Yusef Lateef - Psychicemotus

Styles: Flute, Saxophone And Tambourine Jazz 
Year: 1966
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:26
Size: 90,8 MB
Art: Front

(5:04)  1. Psychicemotus
(4:00)  2. Bamboo Flute Blues
(4:29)  3. Semiocto
(6:29)  4. Why Do I Love You?
(3:26)  5. First Gymnopedie
(6:32)  6. Medula Sonata
(4:39)  7. I'll Always Be In Love With You
(4:45)  8. Ain't Misbehavin'

This is a welcome reissue of one of a series of fine Impulse! albums by multi-instrumentalist Yusef Lateef that have never taken their deserved place among the major recordings of the '60s. I suspect part of the reason for their neglect has to do with the image, helped by both the Impulse!, and later Atlantic labels, in portraying Lateef as a purveyor of hopelessly arcane musical exotica. The weird title of this album doesn't help any more than the 2005 front cover copy crowing about how this music is "mysterious and uncategorizable." I find it nothing of the sort. Psychicemotus is quite available to any jazz fan with open ears, and unmysterious to anyone who can understand that African and Asian instruments and musical concepts have long been embraced and integrated into jazz by Lateef, who also has a long history in integrating R&B into jazz. Lateef's album is simply wildly eclectic and often driven by a variety of flutes. He handles Erik Satie's "First Gymnopedie" with a devout classical tone that's faithful to the graceful meditative structure of the original. On the other hand, "Bamboo Flute Blues" has some unusual tones vocalized on a F pentatonic scale called "primitive" in the original liner notes! but the shape of the piece is derived from traditional New Orleans jazz and gospel. 

Workouts on tenor sax like "I'll Always Be In Love With You" have a gruff sweetness to them that makes Lateef fit nicely in the same musical universe as Sonny Rollins. Much of the pleasure of this 1965 album is also derived from the superlative support given Lateef by bassist Reggie Workman, the obscure pianist George Arvanitas, and the amazingly underrated drummer James Black. The lightness and playfulness of the musical experimentation here is a massive contrast to much of what the Impulse! label was recording in the '60s, which serves as a reminder that new jazz then, as now, need not be darkly moody in order to make a mind and heart-expanding statement. ~ Norman Weinstein https://www.allaboutjazz.com/psychicemotus-yusef-lateef-impulse-review-by-norman-weinstein.php

Personnel: Yusef Lateef: flutes, tenor sax, tambourine; George Arvanitas: piano; Reggie Workman: bass; James Black: drums, percussion.

Psychicemotus

Roy Haynes - Keeping Up

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 114:45
Size: 266,4 MB
Art: Front

( 3:46)  1. As Long as There's Music
( 5:59)  2. Gone Again
( 1:58)  3. Well Now
( 7:00)  4. Sweet and Lovely
( 4:24)  5. Reflection
( 6:41)  6. Moon Ray
( 5:31)  7. Hagnes
( 7:29)  8. Down Home
( 8:53)  9. Solitaire
( 4:24) 10. Sneaking Around
( 3:31) 11. Some Other Spring
( 7:06) 12. Speak Low
( 6:34) 13. Con Alma
(11:21) 14. After Hours
( 5:50) 15. If I Should Lose You
( 6:25) 16. Sugar Ray
( 4:02) 17. Our Delight
( 7:02) 18. Cymbalism
( 6:40) 19. Fly Me to the Moon

A veteran drummer long overshadowed by others, but finally gaining recognition for his talents and versatility, Roy Haynes has been a major player since the 1940s. He worked early on with the Sabby Lewis big band, Frankie Newton, Luis Russell (1945-1947), and Lester Young (1947-1949). After some engagements with Kai Winding, Haynes was a member of the Charlie Parker Quintet (1949-1952); he also recorded during this era with Bud Powell, Wardell Gray, and Stan Getz. Haynes toured the world with Sarah Vaughan (1953-1958); played with Thelonious Monk in 1958; led his own group; and gigged with George Shearing, Lennie Tristano, Eric Dolphy, and Getz (1961). He was Elvin Jones' occasional substitute with John Coltrane's classic quartet during 1961-1965, toured with Getz (1965-1967), and was with Gary Burton (1967-1968). In addition to touring with Chick Corea (1981 and 1984) and Pat Metheny (1989-1990), Haynes has led his own Hip Ensemble on and off during the past several decades. When one considers that he has also gigged with Miles Davis, Art Pepper, Horace Tapscott, and Dizzy Gillespie, it is fair to say that Haynes has played with about everyone. He led dates for EmArcy and Swing (both in 1954), New Jazz (1958 and 1960), Impulse (a 1962 quartet album with Roland Kirk), Pacific Jazz, Mainstream, Galaxy, Dreyfus, Evidence, and Storyville. In 1994, Haynes was awarded the Danish Jazzpar prize, and two years later, he received the prestigious French Chevalier des l'Ordres Artes et des Lettres. In the late '90s, Haynes formed a trio with pianist Danilo Perez and bassist John Pattitucci, and they released their debut album, The Roy Haynes Trio Featuring Danilo Perez & John Pattitucci, in early 2000 on Verve. Haynes' son Graham is an excellent cornetist. Haynes paid tribute to Charlie Parker in 2001 with Birds of a Feather, his fourth release for the Dreyfus Jazz label, which was subsequently nominated for a Grammy in 2002; Fountain of Youth followed two years later. Also released in 2004, Quiet Fire compiled two of his prior releases for Galaxy (1977's Thank You Thank You and 1978's Vistalite) into one back-to-back record. Whereas appeared in mid-2006, and it earned Haynes a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/artist/roy-haynes-mn0000290464/biography

Keeping Up

Monday, May 20, 2019

Sol Yaged - On Bleecker Street

Styles: Clarinet Jazz 
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 163:19
Size: 376,5 MB
Art: Front

(7:03)  1. Ain't Misbehavin'
(4:04)  2. Body and Soul
(5:42)  3. Candy
(3:09)  4. Cocktails for Two
(3:51)  5. Darn That Dream
(4:27)  6. Dearly Beloved
(3:51)  7. Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans
(4:27)  8. A Foggy Day
(3:35)  9. Frenesi
(5:25) 10. Georgia on My Mind
(6:50) 11. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
(5:03) 12. I Don't Want to Walk Without You
(6:05) 13. I Hadn't Anyone Till You
(5:34) 14. If I Had You
(5:46) 15. I'm Confessin'
(6:22) 16. Isn't It Romantic
(3:01) 17. I've Got a Crush on You
(5:07) 18. June Night
(6:02) 19. Let's Do It
(5:10) 20. Mean to Me
(4:44) 21. More Than You Know
(4:24) 22. My Old Flame
(5:37) 23. Oh Lady Be Good
(5:01) 24. Perfidia
(2:51) 25. Polka Dots and Moonbeams
(4:22) 26. Sugar
(6:53) 27. On the Sunny Side of the Street
(4:00) 28. Its the Talk of the Town
(3:49) 29. The Very Thought of You
(3:20) 30. They Can't Take That Away from Me
(7:54) 31. Willow Weep for Me
(3:35) 32. Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams
(5:57) 33. You'd Be so Nice to Come Home To

Sol Yaged (born December 8, 1922) is an American jazz clarinetist who was strongly influenced by Benny Goodman. Yaged was born in Coney Island, Brooklyn, and began playing clarinet at the age of 12 after hearing Goodman's broadcasts for Nabisco in 1935. He studied under a clarinetist from the New York Philharmonic; but turned down a classical career to play jazz in New York City nightclubs, such as Jimmy Ryan's and the Swing Club. Yaged became a Goodman disciple. Early in his career he imitated Goodman's runs and phrasing and even mimicked his mannerisms and speaking style. He showed up so faithfully at Goodman's engagements and recording dates that Goodman called him ''my shadow'' and would jokingly reprimand him if he showed up late. ''If it hadn't been for Benny Goodman I'd have been a juvenile delinquent,'' Mr. Yaged said. Since serving in the Army for three years during World War II, Yaged has played clarinet continuously, with such musicians as Phil Napoleon, Coleman Hawkins, Red Allen, and Jack Teagarden. Beginning in the 1960s, he began working primarily as an ensemble leader in New York City. Yaged served as a consultant on Benny Goodman's musical style for the 1956 film, The Benny Goodman Story. Has Clarinet, Will Swing Till Wee Hours; Sol Yaged, a Benny Goodman Disciple, Still Plays the Good Old Songs the Good Old Way The swing era is not over. It is stashed away in Sol Yaged's clarinet case, which he still opens nightly in a dark corner of a quiet Upper East Side restaurant.

''I bought this baby in 1938 for $125'' at a store on West 48th Street, Mr. Yaged said recently as he flipped open his worn case and took out his Conn clarinet at the restaurant, Il Valentino, on East 56th Street. The purchase turned out to be a long-term investment. He began playing professionally while still a teenager and has had few nights off since. Back then he had plenty of work on 52nd Street at clubs like the Onyx, the Three Deuces and Jimmy Ryan's. And there was the night on Grove Street, at Arthur's Tavern, when Charlie Parker showed up at the gig without his sax, and had to borrow Sol's clarinet! Sol knew everyone. Those days are long gone, but Mr. Yaged is as busy as ever. From 1999 till 2004 he played five nights a week on Bleecker Street with Bob Arkin (bass) and Albert Garzon (piano). It is from those gigs that "On Bleecker Street" evolved. Since 2004 he has been playing at Il Valentino, which is in the Hotel Sutton and was once a club run by the bandleader Eddie Condon. Each night Mr. Yaged turns back time, playing the same ol' songs the same way he did a half-century ago. This is the Sol Yaged who hired the saxophonist Coleman Hawkins and the drummer Cozy Cole as sidemen and who wrote music for the film ''The Benny Goodman Story,'' teaching Steve Allen to play the clarinet for the title role. Even now Mr. Yaged routinely plays into the wee hours; his business card includes his home phone number and the directive ''Call after 1 p.m.'' The jazz historian and radio-show host Phil Schaap said, ''Sol Yaged has always been a solid musician,'' and noted that Mr. Yaged had played in Max Kaminsky's band on the opening night of the original Birdland. Schaap continued: ''That his fame has evaporated says more about the state of jazz than it does about him. He's still an employed musician in New York, a city with 600 hard-bop bands that can't find work!" The owner of Il Valentino, Mirso Lekic, said, ''The man's a living legend and nobody knows he's still around.'' Mr. Lekic hired him to play quiet, classy music to dine by, and during the dinner hour he does just that, taking a back seat to chatting diners and to waiters reciting nightly specials. But as the evening progresses he seems to grow younger, swinging his group harder, until patrons put down their dessert forks and the dignified northern Italian restaurant turns into a festive jazz club. 

The musicians in his group sit in a corner in chairs backed against the wall, Dixieland style. They play their share of stompers, but their sets generally begin by invoking Goodman's spirit. Like Goodman's small-group ensembles, Yaged's band plays straight-ahead standards with a series of riffing choruses; though things tend to get a bit wild when the crowd grows later in the evening.  Sol is built like a linebacker, and with his shaved head he looks like a cross between Yul Brynner and Knute Rockne. He wore a wide tie with a fat knot and had a threadbare fake rose in his lapel. The gold ring on his beefy pinkie shimmered as his fingers fluttered over the clarinet keys while the group began to play ''Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.'' He plays with a creamy, elegant tone that evokes Goodman's lyricism. On ''Embraceable You'' he treated the melody like a fat balloon that he nonchalantly thwacked into the air. ''I first heard him play this song 50 years ago,'' said a man gripping a glass of Scotch. Sol's tight, swinging ensemble playing is infectious. They did tidy, catchy arrangements of songs like ''I Can't Give You Anything but Love'' and ''Love Is Here to Stay'' with tailgating trombone obbligato and brassy offbeat trumpet punches. Mr. Yaged's best improvising is as a showman. He is an unabashed ham, whether delivering borscht belt one-liners while fixing his reed or fake-clobbering a diner with his clarinet. He often plays with one hand and pours wine for patrons with the other. At one point he joined a discussion at a side table, but leapt up in time to play an ornamental run on the final chorus of ''How Deep Is the Ocean?'' He finished the song leaning against a dessert cart. ''So easy when you know how,'' he chuckled as the diners applauded. At around midnight the place seems like a speak-easy and Mr. Yaged swings the band like a lariat, spurring the musicians on with shouts and comments. When backing up soloists he comes up with simple, floating riffs. He applauds his sidemen's solos, clarinet tucked like an umbrella under his arm. Sometimes, when he particularly likes the way his bandmates end a tune, he will start them up again and have them play it several more times, guffawing gleefully each time. Late on that recent Saturday night a man from the bar wobbled over and stuffed a $5 bill into the tip jar. Mr. Yaged started the band off on a stomping ''St. Louis Blues'' and then ''Flying Home'' and ''King Porter Stomp.'' During ''Alexander's Ragtime Band'' a man leaned over and said, ''When you write your article, say the food's terrible and the waiters are nasty so us old-timers can come and not be swamped with people.'' https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/solyaged

On Bleecker Street

Roseanna Vitro - The Music of Randy Newman

Styles: Vocal 
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:43
Size: 124,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:55)  1. Last Night I Had A Dream
(5:48)  2. Sail Away
(6:16)  3. If I Din't Have You
(4:05)  4. Everytime It Rains
(5:59)  5. Baltimore
(4:35)  6. In Germany Before The War
(4:36)  7. Mama Told Me Not To Come
(6:06)  8. I Will Go Sailing No More
(6:02)  9. Feels Like Home
(5:17) 10. Losing You

With Randy Newman's long-awaited Songbook Vol. 2 (Nonesuch, 2011) and vocalist Roseanna Vitro's album-length salute to his music hitting stores a week apart, it would seem that it's time for revived interest in all things Newman. While the singer/songwriter's release is a solo journey through his own catalog, Vitro's album presents ten of his pieces dressed in newly tailored arrangements from pianist Mark Soskin. Vitro touches on material from throughout Newman's storied career, but she tends to avoid the music that highlights his wry sense of humor and intentionally smarmy delivery in favor of narratives of all shapes and sizes. Some pieces receive radical facelifts ("Last Night I Had A Dream") that brighten up the music and change the overall impression of the work, while others retain their original essence and are simply tweaked to fit this ensemble and genre of music ("Sail Away"). While loyal fans of Newman's music will likely know every tune on the program, from early-career landmarks ("Sail Away") to latter-day songs of love and loss ("Losing You"), those uninitiated in the cult of his compositions will probably favor the two pieces from Pixar films. 

Vitro does a fine job on both, with "If I Didn't Have You," Newman's Academy Award-winning number from Monsters, Inc. (2001) re-imagined as bossa-to-samba journey, and "I Will Go Sailing No More," from Toy Story (1995), performed in an appropriately understated manner. Violinist Sara Caswell is, with the exception of Soskin and Vitro herself, the most important part of this package. She crafts elegant lines ("Sail Away"), sizzles over some Brazilian beats ("If I Didn't Have You"), marries sweeping gestures of sound with sadness and sunshine ("Losing You"), provides understated counterpoint, and helps to define the overall ensemble sound on this record. Vitro is a storyteller nonpareil and a fine vocalist, with a voice that can comfortably go from tender ("Losing You") to sassy ("Mama Told Me Not To Come Home), and her skills help to elevate the large majority of these pieces to great artistic heights. While the album does contain a misstep or two, like a take on "Baltimore" that lacks the necessary despair and seems to be draped in the wrong aural fabric, this has little do with Vitro's vocals. The Music Of Randy Newman deserves to be heard, not only for its unique arrangements and finely crafted performances, but for the beauty and wonder that Vitro injects into the works of an American icon. ~ Dan Bilawsky https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-music-of-randy-newman-roseanna-vitro-motema-music-review-by-dan-bilawsky.php

Personnel: Roseanna Vitro: vocals; Mark Soskin: piano; Sara Caswell: violin; Dean Johnson: bass; Tim Horner: drums (1-5, 7-10); Jamey Haddad: drums, percussion (1, 2, 5, 6); Steve Cardenas: guitar (1, 2, 5, 6).

The Music of Randy Newman

Andy LaVerne Quartet - Four Miles

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1996
File: MP3@224K/s
Time: 70:13
Size: 112,9 MB
Art: Front

(8:28)  1. When you wish upon a star
(4:52)  2. Summertime
(8:22)  3. Maiden voyage
(7:32)  4. Some say my prince will come
(6:41)  5. Song for my father
(7:41)  6. All blues
(7:58)  7. Mr Syms
(7:26)  8. Cantaloupe island
(4:29)  9. Round midnight
(6:40) 10. On green dolphin street

Despite the CD's title, most of the music on this date does not have any close connection to Miles Davis; in fact five of the ten songs were not even recorded by Davis. In addition, trumpeter Randy Brecker, who joins the Andy Laverne Trio (which is comprised of pianist Laverne, bassist George Mraz and drummer Al Foster) sounds closer to Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan than to Davis. However, if one does not think about the tribute aspect (or lack of), the music is quite enjoyable. Laverne and Brecker have many fine solos within the hard-bop tradition on such numbers as "When You Wish Upon a Star," "Maiden Voyage," "All Blues" and "Cantaloupe Island." An excellent modern straight-ahead date that falls just a little short of being essential. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/four-miles-mw0000025762

Personnel:  Piano – Andy Laverne; Bass – George Mraz; Drums – Al Foster; Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Randy Brecker

Four Miles

Les Pommes De Ma Douche - Swing from Paris

Styles: Gypsy Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:24
Size: 133,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:34)  1. Scènes de Paris
(3:14)  2. I Love Paris
(3:10)  3. A Paris
(4:00)  4. Pigalle
(4:51)  5. J'aime Paris au mois de mai
(3:30)  6. Stranger in Paris
(3:30)  7. Swing from Paris
(4:15)  8. Ménilmontant
(5:56)  9. Où es-tu passé mon Saint-Germain-des-Prés
(4:11) 10. Fleur de Paris
(4:57) 11. Quel temps fait-il à Paris?
(3:35) 12. Paris Jadis
(3:26) 13. Paris Swing
(5:08) 14. Revoir Paris

With this fourth CD released in February 2008, Les Pommes de ma Douche, a quintet Blésois that no longer presents have decided this time to celebrate the popular Paris, that of Ménilmuche, Pigalle, the hill and the bastoche. And so it is 14 themes all dedicated to our capital that offers us here our five musicians in full form; while the Delaveau father and son ensure a still very effective rhythm, our three excellent soloists (Dominique Rouquier on guitar, David Rivière on accordion and Laurent Zeller on violin) very verve, compose very pretty solos. If the apples have never claimed to compete with the champions of style, their music is always borrowed nice notes, fun to play and a sense of swing! And then virtuoso point of view, after Tchavolo Schmitt in the first album, it is here the guitarist Raphaël Faÿs who comes to make sing his Argentines on two titles boosted by the maestria of the prestigious guest ( Swing from Paris , Paris once).  And as for the repertoire, beyond the inevitable expected of Trenet ( Ménilmontant, Revoir Paris ), Lemarque ( A Paris ), Aznavour ( I love Paris in May), Maurice Chevalier ( Fleur de Paris ), etc ... Apples had the delicacy to register us some pretty rarities like the deliciously nostalgic Where did you spend my St Germain des Pres signed Michel Legrand and Eddy Barclay or this very nice and very funny Paris Jadis de Caussimon, sung with a lot of heart by all the happy team ... A warm record to listen while strolling between the 18th and the 20th district ...! Translate by Google https://www.djangostation.com/Swing-from-Paris,906.html

Musicians: Dominique Rouquier: solo guitar; Pierre Delaveau: guitar; Laurent Delaveau: double bass; David Rivière: accordion; Laurent Zeller: violin; Guest: Raphaël Faÿs - guitar on 7 and 12

Swing from Paris

V.A.- The Big Band Legends: Go Harlem Swing! Vol.2

Styles: Jazz, Big Band 
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:27
Size: 122,1 MB
Art: Front

(2:53)  1. Lotta Sax Appeal
(2:34)  2. Facts and Figures
(3:19)  3. Trippin In
(2:54)  4. Jump for Joy
(2:58)  5. You Rascal, You
(3:14)  6. Minnie the Moocher
(2:46)  7. Liza
(2:58)  8. Leap Frog
(3:06)  9. Moten Swing
(3:07) 10. Stampede
(3:27) 11. Holiday for Swing
(2:23) 12. Squaty Roo
(2:50) 13. Hotter Than 'ell
(2:21) 14. Go Harlem
(3:01) 15. Good Dip
(2:44) 16. Moten Stomp
(3:05) 17. Spinnin' the Web
(2:40) 18. Pluckin' the Bass

Go Harlem Swing !, Vol.2

Sunday, May 19, 2019

Fred Hersch - Alone at the Vanguard

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:20
Size: 163,9 MB
Art: Front

(7:25)  1. In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning
(7:35)  2. Down Home (Dedicated to Bill Frisell)
(8:27)  3. Echoes
(7:06)  4. Lee's Dream (Dedicated to Lee Konitz)
(7:05)  5. Pastorale (Dedicated to Robert Schumann)
(8:09)  6. Doce De Coco
(8:39)  7. Memories of You
(8:47)  8. Work
(8:04)  9. Encore: Doxy

Pianist Fred Hersch almost cashed out back in 2008, when he fell ill with AIDs-related complications and spent seven weeks in a coma. The recovery was arduous, the resumption of his wide-ranging and top-level musical artistry uncertain an uncertainty erased without a trace by Whirl (Palmetto Records, 2010), a trio set so assured, vibrant and beautiful that it would surely show up in any knowing top ten list of the best piano trio sets of the new millennium's first decade. There was a subtle change in Hersch's sound, post illness. It's what Hersch's fellow pianist, Jessica Williams (who has suffered her own health problems), calls "illness as a teacher," a focusing of intent and approach from the washing away of the peripheral and unimportant. Alone at the Vanguard is Hersch's solo piano offering, recorded on the last night of a six-night stand at the hallowed New York club where innumerable jazz greats have held court and recorded performances, resulting in classic albums. Hersch opens his set on a shimmering introduction to "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning," an old American Songbook jewel that gets buffed up often. Hersch has what it takes to ignore the "never open with a ballad" advice: a supple and exquisitely-refined touch; a sharp focus on the melody; a deep sense of classical harmony; and a magical ability to get inside the tune and make it his own. Hersch's sound here has a uncommon fragility/strength dynamic, and it is serious and cerebral, with an opposing simplicity buoyed by a rich complexity, born of a lifetime's immersion in the music. On this nine-tune set, Hersch offers up four masterful originals: "Down Home," dedicated to guitarist Bill Frisell, has a jaunty, fun, light-stepping feel; "Echos" is an inward journey, hopeful and lushly harmonic; "Lee's Dream," for alto saxophone legend Lee Konitz, has a sunny, sparkling, playful vibe; and "Pastorale," dedicated to Robert Schumann, draws on Hersch's classical background. Hersch gives Jacob de Bandolim's "Doce de Coco" a sense of frisky, devil-may-care grace, and he slows down the standard "Memories of You" and turns it into a ruminative prayer. Almost all jazz pianists like to get lost inside the idiosyncratic tunes of Thelonious Monk, and Fred Hersch is no exception, but few do it as well. His study of Monk's "Work" sounds like joyous play, full of very erudite Hersch-ian turns, fun and at the same time stately, a closer that demanded an encore: Sonny Rollins' "Doxy." Hersch delivers that tune at a measured pace, drawing the sound into a timeless and bluesy wee hours mood, a majestic wrap-up of an exceptional night of music at the Village Vanguard. ~ Dan McClenaghan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/alone-at-the-village-vanguard-fred-hersch-palmetto-records-review-by-dan-mcclenaghan.php

Personnel: Fred Hersch: piano.

Alone at the Vanguard

Sarah Vaughan - My Kinda Love

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1955/2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:11
Size: 81,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:05)  1. Tenderly
(2:51)  2. If You Could See Me Now
(3:13)  3. Don't Blame Me
(2:51)  4. I'm Thru With Love
(2:56)  5. Body And Soul
(3:00)  6. I've Got A Crush On You
(3:08)  7. Once In A While
(2:52)  8. I Cover The Waterfront
(2:46)  9. The Man I Love
(2:56) 10. Don't Worry 'Bout Me
(2:40) 11. My Kinda Love
(2:47) 12. I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance

Possessor of one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century, Sarah Vaughan ranked with Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday in the very top echelon of female jazz singers. She often gave the impression that with her wide range, perfectly controlled vibrato, and wide expressive abilities, she could do anything she wanted with her voice. Although not all of her many recordings are essential (give Vaughan a weak song and she might strangle it to death), Sarah Vaughan's legacy as a performer and a recording artist will be very difficult to match in the future. Vaughan sang in church as a child and had extensive piano lessons from 1931-39; she developed into a capable keyboardist. After she won an amateur contest at the Apollo Theater, she was hired for the Earl Hines big band as a singer and second vocalist. Unfortunately, the musicians' recording strike kept her off record during this period (1943-44). When lifelong friend Billy Eckstine broke away to form his own orchestra, Vaughan joined him, making her recording debut. She loved being with Eckstine's orchestra, where she became influenced by a couple of his sidemen, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, both of whom had also been with Hines during her stint. Vaughan was one of the first singers to fully incorporate bop phrasing in her singing, and to have the vocal chops to pull it off on the level of a Parker and Gillespie. Other than a few months with John Kirby from 1945-46, Sarah Vaughan spent the remainder of her career as a solo star. Although she looked a bit awkward in 1945 (her first husband George Treadwell would greatly assist her with her appearance), there was no denying her incredible voice. She made several early sessions for Continental: a December 31, 1944 date highlighted by her vocal version of "A Night in Tunisia," which was called "Interlude," and a May 25, 1945 session for that label that had Gillespie and Parker as sidemen. However, it was her 1946-48 selections for Musicraft (which included "If You Could See Me Now," "Tenderly" and "It's Magic") that found her rapidly gaining maturity and adding bop-oriented phrasing to popular songs. Signed to Columbia where she recorded during 1949-53, "Sassy" continued to build on her popularity. Although some of those sessions were quite commercial, eight classic selections cut with Jimmy Jones' band during May 18-19, 1950 (an octet including Miles Davis) showed that she could sing jazz with the best. During the 1950s, Vaughan recorded middle-of-the-road pop material with orchestras for Mercury, and jazz dates (including Sarah Vaughan, a memorable collaboration with Clifford Brown) for the label's subsidiary, EmArcy. Later record label associations included Roulette (1960-64), back with Mercury (1963-67), and after a surprising four years off records, Mainstream (1971-74). Through the years, Vaughan's voice deepened a bit, but never lost its power, flexibility or range. She was a masterful scat singer and was able to out-swing nearly everyone (except for Ella). Vaughan was with Norman Granz's Pablo label from 1977-82, and only during her last few years did her recording career falter a bit, with only two forgettable efforts after 1982. However, up until near the end, Vaughan remained a world traveler, singing and partying into all hours of the night with her miraculous voice staying in prime form. The majority of her recordings are currently available, including complete sets of the Mercury/Emarcy years, and Sarah Vaughan is as famous today as she was during her most active years. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sarah-vaughan-mn0000204901/biography

My Kinda Love

Brad Mehldau - Highway Rider Disc 1 And Disc 2

Album: Highway Rider Disc 1

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:17
Size: 95,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:15)  1. John Boy
(8:40)  2. Don't Be Sad
(1:07)  3. At the Tollbooth
(7:45)  4. Highway Rider
(8:21)  5. The Falcon Will Fly Again
(4:05)  6. Now You Must Climb Alone
(8:00)  7. Walking the Peak


Album: Highway Rider Disc 2

Time: 62:52
Size: 144,5 MB

(12:28)  1. We'll Cross the River Together
( 5:20)  2. Capriccio
( 6:24)  3. Sky Turning Grey (For Elliott Smith)
( 7:36)  4. Into the City
( 8:28)  5. Old West
( 6:19)  6. Come with Me
( 6:20)  7. Always Departing
( 9:52)  8. Always Returning

For a pianist who not only demonstrated remarkable promise, but actually began delivering on it at a very early stage in his career with what would ultimately become his five-part Art of the Trio (Warner Bros.) series, Brad Mehldau's side projects have with the exception of the solo Live in Tokyo (Nonesuch, 2004) met with mixed reactions. Perhaps it's because of his emergence as one of modern jazz's most distinctive and popular interpreters of both contemporary song and standard material in a trio setting, that placed unfair expectations on seemingly tangential projects like the concept-based Places (Warner Bros, 2000). The unexpected diversion of Largo (Warner Bros., 2002), in particular, was met with some curiosity as, for the first time, Mehldau expanded into larger musical environs electrified territories, even with acclaimed producer/multi-instrumentalist Jon Brion (Kanye West, Robyn Hitchcock, Aimee Mann). Highway Rider reunites Mehldau with Brion for an album that's even more ambitious than Largo and, despite their first collaboration's many strong points, a far more successful one. Mehldau's recent work writing for orchestra The Brady Bunch Variations for Orchestre Natonal D'Îsle-de-France, and the song-cycle Love Sublime (Nonesuch, 2006), with soprano René Fleming, amongst others has clearly given Mehldau the confidence to find, with Highway Rider, a nexus point where form-based improvisation and through-composition meet. Based around the preexisting chemistry of his regular trio with bassist FLY and drummer Jeff Ballard, but expanding to a quintet with longtime friend Joshua Redman on saxophones and, back from Largo, drummer Matt Chamberlain, Highway Rider is a double-disc suite that's as much a soundtrack to an imaginary film as anything Mehldau's ever done. It's also the most fully realized original music the pianist has written to date, as unequivocally American as Aaron Copland, Bill Frisell and Pat Metheny, despite citing the influence of European Romantics like Strauss, Brahms and Tchaikovsky, in addition to more eclectic sources. Mehldau's voice as a composer has been gradually emerging with original music contributed to trio recordings like Live (Nonesuch, 2008) and House on Hill (Nonesuch, 2006), but with Highway Rider, Mehldau the composer has clearly arrived. What distances Highway Rider from stereotypical (and often saccharine) "jazz with strings" projects with Dan Coleman leading a chamber orchestra on much of the disc is the sense of immediacy that Brion has achieved by recording the orchestra and jazz quintet together one of Mehldau's original goals for the project. This isn't a jazz quintet blowing and an orchestra then layered over top; this is fully integrated music, where the soloing is as spontaneous as it needs to be, even when the orchestra creates a firm and fixed foundation. Mehldau's solo on the first half of "We'll Cross the River Together" builds to an idiosyncratic, block chord-driven climax, but it's his orchestration which turns this relatively simple, repeating set of eight chords into a masterful tour de force that's not only one of Highway Rider's most dramatic moments, but one that then resolves into one of its most tender interludes. A second half, with gradually building tension from the strings and the turbulent double-drumming of Ballard and Chamberlain, leads to a second climax of equal strength, this time courtesy of Redman.

As lush as Mehldau's orchestration is throughout Highway Rider, he knows how to create a narrative arc through dynamics and breaking the ensemble down. "Capriccio" starts with nothing more than piano though, as ever, Mehldau's virtuosity leads to the belief that it's being played by two hands until an emergent melody makes it clear he's playing it with only one. Hand percussion quite literally, with clapping driving much of the tune and Redman's soprano develop the theme until Mehldau takes over for a brief but quirky solo, sounding not unlike Oregon in instrumentation, but absolutely unlike it in Mehldau's voicings, which turn another deceptively simple, descending four-chord structure into something else entirely. Similarly, "The Falcon Will Fly Again," a longer piece but, again, with drastically reduced instrumentation, leads from lengthy piano and saxophone solos to a theme sung by members of the group and The Fleurettes, and an ending that dissolves into some relaxed banter amongst the group that makes it clear that as serious as much of this music sounds, it's being made by a group of people who are having fun. Sonically, Highway Rider bears some resemblance to Largo, in particular Mehldau's use of pump organ, synth and orchestral bells on certain tracks, but it feels somehow more natural and better integrated this time around. Perhaps the more focused compositional approach of the album makes its expanded use of texture work more naturally. Despite breaks between songs, the music flows and feels like a continuous suite, and is certainly best experienced as such. The folkloric piano solo, "At the Tollbooth," acts as a brief interlude between the slower-tempo of "Don't Be Sad," with hints of gospel driving its form, and the title track, a more propulsive trio tune with subtle aural enhancements creating a soft cushion beneath Mehldau's extended solo. "Into the City" also narrows the focus down to Mehldau's trio, with Grenadier doubling, alternately, the pianist's left and right hands on a knotty, riff-based tune that may reduce the album's broader textural expanse, but demonstrates just how vibrant and progressive this working trio is, with Ballard almost literally on fire. As Mehldau combines in-the-moment playing with carefully structured form, and repeated chordal and melodic motifs that continue to resurface throughout Highway Rider's 100 minutes, the album builds to a climax on "Always Returning," before ending on a softer, tone-poem note that incorporates Mehldau's inherent classicism and somehow, on repeated listens, brings Highway Rider full circle. The music may bear no real resemblance to it, but in scope Highway Rider is Mehldau's Secret Story (Nonesuch, 1992), a fan favorite for Pat Metheny and a milestone in terms of ambition and scope until the guitarist reached a new level with The Way Up (Nonesuch, 2005) and, most recently, Orchestrion (Nonesuch, 2010). It's no coincidence, then, that Mehldau and his trio collaborated with Metheny on Metheny Mehldau (Nonesuch, 2006) and Quartet (Nonesuch, 2007). That the pianist's overall career choice focusing largely as he has on solo and trio works has been almost diametrically opposed to Metheny's greater compositional ambitions and orchestrations seems somehow less so now, with the release of Highway Rider. In its almost perfect mix of form and freedom, Highway Rider manages to be both Mehldau's most personal and most broad-scoped album to date, and surely one that will remain a classic amongst his discography, no matter what's to come. ~ John Kelman https://www.allaboutjazz.com/brad-mehldau-highway-rider-by-john-kelman.php

Personnel: Brad Mehldau (piano); Joshua Redman (tenor saxophone); Jeff Ballard , Matt Chamberlain (drums).


George Shearing & Don Thompson - George Shearing at Home

Styles: Piano Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:59
Size: 132,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:35)  1. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
(2:50)  2. A Time for Love
(5:51)  3. Ghoti
(3:01)  4. The Things We Did Last Summer
(4:50)  5. Laura
(4:13)  6. The Skye Boat Song
(5:42)  7. Confirmation
(2:50)  8. The Girl Next Door
(2:24)  9. Can't We Be Friends?
(5:07) 10. I Cover the Waterfront
(3:18) 11. Out of Nowhere
(3:06) 12. That Old Devil Called Love
(5:09) 13. Subconsciouslee
(3:56) 14. Beautiful Love

Pianist Sir George Shearing (1919—2011) was himself an integral part of the be bop jazz movement in the late 1940s. His quintet that featured vibraphone and guitar with the standard piano trio was sonically ground breaking. His precise and measured piano style influenced a generation of pianists and several of his compositions ("Lullaby of Birdland" and "Conception") have become jazz standards. He was not flashy, but a solid, well-considered player whose playing could always be counted on to be elegant and durable. These fourteen tracks were recorded in Shearing's home during a six-week residency at a New York City jazz club in 1983. Bassist Don Thompson, with whom Shearing made these recordings, found them shortly after Shearing's 2011 death at 91. More than aurally acceptable, these recordings reveal a relaxed and swinging Shearing, playing as effortlessly as if it were the easiest thing in the world. Thompson provides expert timekeeping and some piquant soloing of his own on this diverse collection of 20th Century music. David Raksin's "Laura" shimmers while the Styne/Cahn classic "The Things We Did Last Summer" bounces with a restful and quaint stride. The be bop of Charlie Parker's "Confirmation" is fresh and the abstract and angular "SubconsciousLee" bares all the edges, sharp and smooth. George Shearing at home is a treat in the same way, (Vladimir) Horowitz at Home (Deutsche Grammophon, 1989) was both men were relaxed and at the top of their game. ~ C.Michael Bailey https://www.allaboutjazz.com/george-shearing-at-home-george-shearing-proper-records-review-by-c-michael-bailey.php

Personnel: George Shearing: piano; Don Thompson: bass.

George Shearing at Home

Claude Tissendier Septet - Carrots for Hodges

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:45
Size: 131,6 MB
Art: Front

(5:06)  1. Sweetie Frog
(6:23)  2. Patte de lapin
(4:39)  3. Super Carl
(5:10)  4. Slow and Relax
(4:39)  5. Jump, Rabbit, Jump
(5:04)  6. Johnny Saxo
(4:55)  7. Carrots for Hodges
(3:16)  8. Green Eyes
(4:24)  9. Jumpin' in Etretat
(8:27) 10. Evening Blues
(4:38) 11. Gehod

CARROTS (the familiar name given by the musicians to the soprano saxophone) FOR HODGES (one of the greatest servants of the saxophone and alto saxophonist of Duke Ellington). Claude Tissendier (viola sax) pays tribute to Johnny Hodges' repertoire by composing 11 swing songs. 

The other members of the Septet: Claude Braud (tenor sax), Jean Etève (baritone sax), Michel Camicas (trombone), Stan Laferrière (piano), Pierre-Yves Sorin (bass), Vincent Cordelette (drums). Translate By Google https://www.placedeslibraires.fr/music/3322420071628-carrots-for-hodges-claude-tissendier-septet/

Carrots for Hodges

Saturday, May 18, 2019

Al Hirt, Ann-Margret - Beauty And The Beard

Styles: Trumpet And Vocal Jazz
Year: 1964
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 31:51
Size: 74,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:12)  1. Personality
(2:11)  2. Tain't What You Do
(3:15)  3. Bill Bailey
(2:07)  4. My Baby Just Cares for Me
(2:13)  5. Everbody Loves My Baby (But My Baby Don't Love Nobody but Me)
(2:12)  6. Little Boy (Little Girl)
(3:11)  7. The Best Man
(2:17)  8. Ma (He's Making Eyes at Me)
(2:39)  9. Mutual Admiration Society
(2:20) 10. Row, Row, Row
(3:29) 11. Baby, It's Cold Outside - Remastered
(2:39) 12. Just Because

Beauty and the Beard is an album by Al Hirt released by RCA Victor in 1964. Ann-Margret was featured on the album. The album was arranged by Marty Paich and produced by Steve Sholes. The album landed on the Billboard 200 chart in 1964, reaching #84. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beauty_and_the_Beard

Personnel:   Ann-Margret - vocals;  Al Hirt - trumpet;  Jerry Hirt - trombone;  Pee Wee Spitelera - clarinet;  Eddie Miller - tenor saxophone;  Red Norvo - vibraphone; Fred Crane - piano; Al Hendrickson - guitar;  Lowell Miller - bass;  Jimmy Zitano - drums

Beauty And The Beard

Jacqui Dankworth - Le Départ

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:07
Size: 104,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:06)  1. Butterfly's Wing
(4:15)  2. Angel Feet
(4:00)  3. The Bear Song
(5:39)  4. Le départ
(3:47)  5. The Bridge
(3:37)  6. Just a Song
(1:45)  7. The Madman
(3:12)  8. To Marie
(4:26)  9. The Knee
(5:17) 10. The Alchemist and the Catflap
(4:57) 11. Poem on a Rainy Day

For this irresistible feast of songs, Grammy-Award-winning singer Jacqui Dankworth is joined by an all-star line-up: award winning composer and jazz pianist David Gordon; Ben Davis, whose group Basquiat Strings have been Mercury-nominated; and Christian Garrick, widely recognised as the UK's leading jazz violinist.  In 2002 David Gordon added the violin and cello strings of Garrick and Davis to his already established duo with Jacqui Dankworth to create the group Butterfly's Wing. Four fantastic musicians, a wonderfully transparent sound-world  by turns magical, witty, powerful  and a panoply of seductive rhythms, cutting-edge improvisation and lyrics, at once heart-rending, joyous and surreal. 'Le Depart' is the group's first recording, here, on Garrick's Flying Blue Whale label. https://www.propermusic.com/product-details/Jacqui-Dankworth-Christian-Garrick-David-Gordon-and-Ben-Davis-Butterflys-Wing-Le-Depart-253380

Le départ

Sol Yaged - It Might as Well Be Swing

Styles: Clarinet Jazz, Swing
Year: 1962
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:08
Size: 85,3 MB
Art: Front

(6:20)  1. Yacht Club Swing
(2:55)  2. Easy Living
(4:52)  3. Love Me or Leave Me
(3:26)  4. I'll Never Be the Same
(6:05)  5. It Might as Well Be Swing
(3:18)  6. Auf Wiedersehen My Dear
(2:47)  7. Lulu's Back in Town
(7:21)  8. After You've Gone

Sol Yaged is one of the final living legends from the original era of American Big Band & Swing music. Born 1922, playing clarinet since 1935, Sol has played alongside every jazz great you can imagine from Glen Miller to Lionel Hampton to Gene Krupa. Known as “the disciple of Benny Goodman,” Sol was amazed by Goodman’s abilities and attended nearly every single Benny Goodman orchestra live show, band rehearsal, or recording date. So much so that when it came time to film the 1956 movie “The Benny Goodman Story” Sol Yaged was hired to fly out to Hollywood for a month to teach lead role Steve Allen how to play, look and act like Benny Goodman. Now 95 years old, Sol continues to remain a world-renown clarinetist and legend in the underground jazz, big band and swing communities from players of all ages, especially in his home: New York City.  What lies before you is Sol’s debut LP release “It Might As Well Be Swing.” Released in 1956 and out of print since 1962, Pine Hill Records and Sol Yaged teamed up to bring this wonderful album back to life with a limited edition reissue on white vinyl, digipak CD, and digital. This is the first time any Sol Yaged recording has been made available digitally. This album features fellow living legend Harry Sheppard on vibraphone. At 89 years old, Harry still performs regularly in Texas where he now lives. He remains the only other surviving musician on this album. The album was delicately and passionately remastered to make it sound the highest quality possible while keeping it true to its original sound. This is a very limited edition pressing of 300 LP’s [White vinyl w/ Download Card] and 300 Digipak CD’s. Pine Hill Records is honored to bring this back over 60 years after its original release. Sol and Harry are two wonderful people who have and continue to give their entire lives to music. Don't miss out on this piece of big band history! https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/solyaged1

Personnel:  Clarinet – Sol Yaged; Bass – Mort Herbert; Drums – Mickey Sheen; Piano – Ken Kersey; Vibraphone – Harry Sheppard

It Might as Well Be Swing

Barney Kessel - Supreme Jazz

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:11
Size: 142,2 MB
Art: Front

(2:43)  1. Speak Low
(3:25)  2. Love Is Here To Stay
(3:15)  3. On A Slow Boat To China
(3:18)  4. How Long Has This Been Going On?
(3:09)  5. A Foggy Day
(3:18)  6. 64 Bars On Wilshire
(3:12)  7. Prelude To A Kiss
(4:26)  8. Begin The Blues
(3:22)  9. Embraceable You
(3:07) 10. Midnight Sun
(3:49) 11. Jeepers Creepers
(3:37) 12. My Old Flame
(2:50) 13. You Stepped Out Of A Dream
(3:55) 14. I Didn’t Know What Time It Was
(4:02) 15. Easy Like
(4:09) 16. That's All
(2:44) 17. April In Paris
(2:43) 18. North Of The Border

One of the finest guitarists to emerge after the death of Charlie Christian, Barney Kessel was a reliable bop soloist throughout his career. He played with a big band fronted by Chico Marx (1943), was fortunate enough to appear in the classic jazz short Jammin' the Blues (1944), and then worked with the big bands of Charlie Barnet (1944-1945) and Artie Shaw (1945); he also recorded with Shaw's Gramercy Five. Kessel became a busy studio musician in Los Angeles, but was always in demand for jazz records. He toured with the Oscar Peterson Trio for one year (1952-1953) and then, starting in 1953, led an impressive series of records for Contemporary that lasted until 1961 (including several with Ray Brown and Shelly Manne in a trio accurately called the Poll Winners). After touring Europe with George Wein's Newport All-Stars (1968), Kessel lived in London for a time (1969-1970). In 1973, he began touring and recording with the Great Guitars, a group also including Herb Ellis and Charlie Byrd. A serious stroke in 1992 put Barney Kessel permanently out of action, but many of his records (which include dates for Onyx, Black Lion, Sonet, and Concord, in addition to many of the Contemporaries) are available, along with several video collections put out by Vestapol. Kessel was diagnosed with inoperable cancer in 2001, which eventually took his life in May of 2004. He was 80 years old. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/artist/barney-kessel-mn0000784527/biography

Supreme Jazz

Jacques Loussier Trio - Ravel's Boléro

Styles: Piano
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:55
Size: 124,5 MB
Art: Front

(17:15)  1. Ravel's Boléro
( 6:10)  2. Nymphéas I. Allegro
( 5:45)  3. Nymphéas II. Andante
( 5:29)  4. Nymphéas III. Vivace
( 6:02)  5. Nymphéas IV. Largo
( 3:54)  6. Nymphéas V. Presto
( 3:08)  7. Nymphéas VI. Cantabile
( 4:08)  8. Nymphéas VII. Prestissimo

As with his CD The Bach Book , Jacques Loussier is again embellishing the work of another master composer on this recent Telarc release entitled Ravel's Bolero. This CD is as much, and even more so about Loussier's own compositional abilities, for with the exception of the title cut, all songs were composed and arranged by Loussier. As great a record as the Bach Book is, Bolero easily surpasses it on many different levels. Maybe it's the fact that Loussier and Ravel share a common heritage and nationality, or that Loussier's formative years where spent studying with Yves Nat, himself a disciple of Ravel. It's this reviewers opinion that Ravel is just more of a modern figure than Bach, and being that there is less of a gap in the lineage between Ravel and modern players like Loussier, Ravel's music is simply more accessible, leaving a lot of space for creative improvisations. Take the title cut for example, an extended line played over a pedal point. With such minimalism at work, Loussier is able to extend over and beyond the composers harmonic conception, by improvising complex lines that revolve around, and are at times intertwined with original theme. A feeling of impressionism and noir prevail throught this CD from the opening Bolero, which faithfully reproduces the exotic flavor of Ravel's original score, within the confines of the piano trio. Although the piece Nympheas, with it's seven movements, was composed by Loussier; it's various themes filled with violent storms and eerie silence, manage to suggest melodies and harmonies found within the repetitive structure of Ravel's Bolero. 

It is clear that Loussier and trio are playing off one another, and demonstrating extreme control over the use of time, tone, and timbre. The music on this disc represents homage being paid to one master gone, from another master living. ~ AAJ Staff https://www.allaboutjazz.com/ravels-bolero-telarc-records-review-by-aaj-staff.php

Personnel: Jacques Loussier (piano); Benoit Dunoyer De Segonzac (bass); Andre' Arpino (drums)

Ravel's Boléro

Friday, May 17, 2019

Dawn Holt Lauber - Something Borrowed, Something Blue

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:26
Size: 114,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:39)  1. My Love
(1:25)  2. Hands, Eyes, Heart
(2:10)  3. The Call
(4:57)  4. Ave Maria
(3:29)  5. Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
(4:16)  6. I Follow Thee
(4:11)  7. Laudate Dominum
(2:15)  8. Alleluia
(2:55)  9. Pie Jesu
(4:12) 10. Vocalise
(4:19) 11. A Nuptial Blessing
(4:01) 12. Panis Angelicus
(2:49) 13. Vocalise
(4:41) 14. Heaven

Just as she blends a masterful mix of musical genres in concert halls across the country, engaging oratorio soloist Dawn Holt Lauber will inspire the musical choices you make for your wedding day with this collection of the old and new, appropriately titled "Something Borrowed, Something Blue." Listen in and you will be lured by a handful of selections that are a bit off the beaten path a beautiful marriage of classical and jazz that promises to be a perfect accompaniment to the beginning of your new life together. Dawn Holt Lauber has appeared extensively with the Chicago Jazz Ensemble. She first performed Duke Ellington's sacred works at the Riverside Church in New York City with members of the Duke Ellington Orchestra. She has been a soloist at the Riverside Church for five years.

Something Borrowed, Something Blue