Mary Louise Knutson - Call Me When You Get There

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:39
Size: 131,1 MB
Art: Front

(7:23)  1. Tangerine
(5:28)  2. On Green Dolphin Street
(5:56)  3. How Will I Know?
(3:54)  4. Meridian
(6:06)  5. Gone With the Wind
(4:57)  6. Merle the Pearl
(7:44)  7. I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face
(5:56)  8. Things Ain't What They Used to Be
(3:43)  9. If You Please
(5:26) 10. Call Me When You Get There

High-quality jazz is practically everywhere. For proof of that statement, this CD from a Minnesota-based pianist can serve as evidence. Mary Louis Knutson is an excellent jazz player whose voicings sometimes recall Bill Evans but who has developed a lyrical style of her own. Joined by bassist Gordon Johnson and either Marc Rio, Phil Hey, or Craig Hara on drums, the pianist plays five mostly relaxed versions of familiar standards (including "Tangerine," "On Green Dolphin Street," and "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face"). However, it is her five originals that are of greatest interest, for she has a talent for coming up with fresh melodies. "Merle the Pearl," "Meridian," and "Call Me When You Get There" each sticks in one's mind and, if this local CD received some national attention, it is possible that a couple of the originals would catch on. Well-worth searching for. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/call-me-when-you-get-there-mw0000039423

Call Me When You Get There

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The Chordettes - Harmony Encores, Sing Your Requests Disc 1 And Disc 2

Album: Harmony Encores /Disc 1

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1952
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 27:35
Size: 64,1 MB
Art: Front

(2:15)  1. Carolina Moon
(1:56)  2. Basin Street Blues
(1:55)  3. Floatin' Down to Cotton Town
(1:37)  4. Drifting and Dreaming
(1:43)  5. Garden In the Rain
(1:46)  6. S'Posin'
(2:22)  7. The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi
(2:12)  8. Kentucky Babe
(1:42)  9. In The Sweet Long Ago
(2:12) 10. I'm Drifting Back to Dreamland
(1:40) 11. Angry
(2:13) 12. A Little Street Where Old Friends Meet
(1:52) 13. The Anniversary Waltz
(2:05) 14. Sentimental Journey

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Album: Sing Your Requests  Disc 2

Year: 1954

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 20:52

Size: 48,2 MB

Art: Front

(2:35)  1. Wait 'Till the Sun Shines, Nellie

(2:22)  2. They Say It's Wonderful

(2:51)  3. I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now

(2:25)  4. For Me and My Gal

(2:16)  5. I Believe

(1:38)  6. Down Among the Sheltering Palms

(1:42)  7. Hello! Ma Baby

(2:27)  8. Wonderful One

(2:34)  9. (When It's) Darkness On the Delta

Originally released by Columbia Records in the '50s, these recordings of the Chordettes are strictly female barbershop quartet. There is nothing here with the crossover appeal of their biggest hit, "Mr. Sandman." Harmony Encores and Your Requests remained out of print for many years until they were reissued on CD by Collectables in 2003. The vocal arrangements on these 23 tracks are first-rate especially on "Carolina Moon," "Sweetheart of Sigma Chi," "Anniversary Waltz," and "For Me and My Gal," but rather tedious if taken in large doses. Recommended for die-hard fans and barbershop harmony enthusiasts. ~ Al Campbell https://www.allmusic.com/album/harmony-encores-your-requests-mw0000214336

Harmony Encores Disc 1,Sing Your Requests Disc 2

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Chet Atkins and Les Paul - Chester and Lester Guitar Monsters

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1978
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:17
Size: 80,1 MB
Art: Front

(2:50)  1. Limehouse Blues
(3:42)  2. I Want to Be Happy
(2:41)  3. Over the Rainbow
(2:34)  4. Meditation
(3:00)  5. Lazy River
(3:48)  6. I'm You Greatest Fan
(2:59)  7. It Don't Mean A Thing (If it Ain't Got That Swing)
(4:04)  8. I Surrender Dear
(2:41)  9. Brazil
(2:52) 10. Give My Love to Nell
(3:01) 11. Hot Toddy

The seventies were bountiful years for guitar fans. Looking now at Guitar Player magazines of the period, it's almost dizzying to see how many veteran guitarists were doing some of their most interesting and liberated work. Bop stalwarts, blues greats (often obscure), and notable country pickers were all well-represented on vinyl throughout the decade, on a variety of labels. Chet Atkins, whose easy listening country guitar records (all on RCA) were too often tasteful to a fault, came out of his shell a little more than usual in that decade, cutting great duet records each with thumbpicking idol Merle Travis and the brilliantly pyrotechnical Jerry Reed. But his most commercially successful pairing was with Les Paul, the Thomas Edison of electric guitar, whose fifties hits were landmark masterpieces both of recording technique and guitar arrangement. Their 1976 Chester & Lester (RCA Nashville/Legacy) was a sloppy, rambling tiptoe through a set of standards replete with studio chatter. It got by on its considerable charm, and won a Grammy (Best Country Instrumental Performance), despite there not being anything on it that was country music. Its success warranted a followup, and Guitar Monsters was it. Fortunately, it includes less chatter, and the performances are more focussed. Atkins and Paul are quite a study in opposites. Atkins' neat, orderly thumbpicking collides happily with Paul's gregarious, even joyously vulgar soloing. Where Paul is not afraid to be sloppy, Atkins is pristine at every turn, even as he takes a few single note soloing turns that for him are unusually extroverted, even showy. From the first note, it's evident that these two men love each others' playing and take real joy in the back-and-forth. The tunes are, as on their first recording together, all standards, save for two needless comedy numbers. Opening with "Limehouse Blues" (with Atkins doing some of his finest playing), we immediately are clued into Monsters' intent: a bunch of standards as lighthearted blowing vehicles for two complementary but highly contrasting guitar icons. Things stay mostly mid-tempo, although there's a straight ballad reading of "Over The Rainbow" that spotlights some gorgeous chordal work from Atkins. Special mention should be made of bassist Joe Osborne, whose playing throughout is understated and deep in the pocket. (Chris Morris' liner notes are breezy and very smart, perfect to the music they describe.) This isn't adventurous the way Coltrane At Birdland is adventurous, but it's such an enjoyable disc, one whose best moments are hard to resist. For guitar mavens, it's a joyous truffle. ~ Skip Heller https://www.allaboutjazz.com/guitar-monsters-chet-atkins-and-les-paul-real-music-review-by-skip-heller.php

Personnel: Chet Atkins: guitars; Les Paul: guitars; Joe Osborne: bass; Buddy Harman, Larrie Londin, Randy Hauser: drums

Chester and Lester Guitar Monsters

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Mike Neer - Steelonious

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:54
Size: 103,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:10)  1. Epistrophy
(3:15)  2. Bemsha Swing
(4:31)  3. 'Round Midnight
(3:35)  4. In Walked Bud
(3:13)  5. Bye-Ya
(2:57)  6. I Mean You
(3:06)  7. Off Minor
(4:36)  8. Ugly Beauty
(3:53)  9. Ask Me Now
(3:14) 10. Straight, No Chaser
(4:36) 11. Reflections
(4:42) 12. Blue Monk

Early in his musical career, pianist and composer Thelonious Monk was ordained the "Hight Priest of Bebop." This sounds more like a disingenuous pronouncement by an overeager period critic than any credible music reportage. Monk's essential musical approach owed more to stride, blues, and swing than to Charlie Parker's and Dizzy Gillespie's bebop. Monk's technical brilliance, if one could call it that, was not geared toward the "technique" of rapid and complexly rendered chord changes. Monk's brilliance lay somewhere much more fundamental. I think of Monk as a musical mutation. Genetically, a mutation is defined as, ..."the changing of the structure of a gene, resulting in a variant form that may be transmitted to subsequent generations..." If that does not describe Monk's influence on both jazz composition and the jazz standard songbook, then nothing does. Monk created a new musical language, vocabulary, and grammar. And he did all this serious stuff with a beautifully honed disregard for the musical status quo and a biting sense of humor that seems still lost on much of the listening media. Monk was an enigmatic iconoclast (that is two fifty cent words adding up to a dollar). He remains misunderstood, because understanding him was never the point. This music is a relativistic variant that should have never entered our dimension, but did...and here we are. 

Monk has had many admirers and imitators, many creatively so. But none of Monk's interpreters has yet to "think beyond" to the degree that steel guitarist Mike Neer has. Seemingly out of nowhere, Mike Neer appears, playing Monk like some radioactive Herbert Von Karajan addressing his cosmic Beethoven. And Neer does all of this with the wry and knowing smile of a man content just to be heard. How fortunate he has spoken loud enough, because projects like Steelonious happen so damn infrequently now that when they do arise, they are missed for all of the noise surrounding them. What Neer effectively does is take an instrument associated with, in order, Hawaiian luau, Santo and Johnny's 1959 "Sleepwalk," and every Jackson Browne song David Lindley play on, and use it to transform the Monk book in a most wonderful and delightful way. Neer creates American vignettes with each composition. He begins his festivities with a Dick Dale Surf take on "Epistrophy," drummer Diego Voglino laying down a carpet bomb backbeat. Pianist Matt King issues a two-fisted cat-house upright solo, leading into Neer's interstellar vision of the slide guitar, sounding like a frantic '50s LA traffic jam. And, this is merely the beginning. "Bemsha Swing" is hippy trippy while "'Round Midnight" is performed like a Caribbean pipe dream, again with deft support by Voglino. "In Walked Bud," typically played as an upbeat cooker, in Neer's hands it becomes a Mad Men's first heroin sniff with Sgt. Joe Friday looking in through the window. "I Mean You" is vintage Western Swing, replete with stoned ghost of Bob Wills heehawing in the background. "Off Minor," "Ugly Beauty," and "Ask Me Now" as they have never been presented. Neer's technique is so sharp and precise it is often hard to tell what instrument he his playing. That is an accomplishment. The perfect closer, "Blue Monk" rolls the disc to its coda with the entire history of the blues and jazz behind it.

 ~ C. Michael Bailey https://www.allaboutjazz.com/steelonious-mike-neer-self-produced-review-by-c-michael-bailey.php

Personnel: Mike Neer: lap steel guitar; Matt King: piano and organ; Andrew Hall: Bass; Diego Voglino: drums, percussion; Tom Beckham: vibraphone (4,9).

Steelonious

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Benedikt Jahnel Trio - Equilibrium

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:47
Size: 123,5 MB
Art: Front

( 5:01)  1. Gently Understood
( 7:11)  2. Sacred Silence
(13:52)  3. Moorland & Hill Land
( 9:01)  4. Wrangel
( 4:41)  5. Augmented
( 4:19)  6. Hidden Beauty
( 9:39)  7. Equilibrium

He may be better known internationally to ECM fans for his participation in the pan-cultural Cyminology, but German pianist Benedikt Jahnel has been devoting just as much attention to his multinational trio featuring Spanish bassist Antonio Miguel and American drummer Owen Howard. Releasing the trio's debut in 2008 on Viennese guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel's Material Records imprint, Jahnel's work with Max.Bab has rendered superficial comparisons to Esbjorn Svensson, but if the world is looking for someone to pick up the mantle left by the late Swedish pianist, it'll have to keep on looking. Beyond being relatively young and leading a piano trio with a strong penchant for lyricism, there's little else with which to compare Jahnel's trio and e.s.t. A truth already apparent on Modular Concepts (Material, 2008), but even clearer with Equilibrium, the trio's long overdue follow-up and ECM debut. If anything, there are some similarities in Jahnel's approach to fellow label mate, pianist Nik Bärtsch and Ronin, most recently heard on Live (ECM, 2012). But if Bärtsch and Jahnel share a certain rigor when it comes to rhythmic constructs and, more importantly, rhythmic placement, Jahnel is more intrinsically driven by song form even, as is the case with the opening "Gently Understood," if he takes a long time getting there. Through the first three of its five minutes, Jahnel's trio collectively explores a modal, pedal toned vamp, building to an extemporaneous climax only to fade to a near-whisper and the introduction of the pianist's chordal theme albeit one where Howard both holds down the form and explores further, a tasteful meshing of delicate cymbals and reverb-drenched, rim shot-driven drums. What gives Jahnel's trio some of its personality is the way that it plays with conventional roles. Howard whose 20-year career has included collaborations with everyone from saxophonist Chris Potter to guitarist Ben Monder is, himself, a deeply melodic player; one who can, at times, leave more rhythmic concerns to Jahnel. 

In the opening minutes of Equilibrium's longest track, "Moorland & Hill Land," Jahnel's pulsating exploration of the lower register of his piano almost blends into a single voice with Miguel's resonant arco. Ultimately unfolding into a spare, Erik Satie-like passage, Jahnel gradually shifts to an arpeggio-driven piano a cappella that finally, eight minutes in, leads to a full trio treatment. Filled with unrelenting forward motion, Jahnel shifts that very propulsion between left and right hands, while Miguel's spare anchor supports Howard's strong thematic foil for Jahnel. If Jahnel's trio often operates in keyboardist Joe Zawinul's long-held "nobody solos/everybody solos" ethos, that doesn't mean there aren't shining moments for its members. The gently majestic "Sacred Silence" is defined largely by Miguel, and the bassist's strong allegiance to motivic development also features near the end of "Moorland," while Howard is the clear melodist alongside Jahnel in the latter half of "Augmented." It's all about embedding the piano trio tradition into a new context where things aren't always as they seem. With Equilibrium, Jahnel has carved his own evocative space on a label that may seem loaded down with piano trios, but for whom, in the case of Jahnel, there's clearly room for one more. ~ John Kelman https://www.allaboutjazz.com/equilibrium-benedikt-jahnel-ecm-records-review-by-john-kelman.php

Personnel: Benedikt Jahnel: piano; Antonio Miguel: double bass; Owen Howard: drums.

Equilibrium

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Charles Gayle - Kingdom Come

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1994
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 74:14
Size: 171,2 MB
Art: Front

( 4:09)  1. Seven Days
(21:17)  2. Lord Lord
( 9:03)  3. Beset Souls
(13:00)  4. His Crowning Grace
( 5:17)  5. Redeemed
(11:24)  6. Anthem To Eternity
(10:02)  7. Yokes

This is possibly Charles Gayle's weakest recording. Drummer Sunny Murray seems out of place here; the powerful blowing by Gayle on "His Crowning Grace" is offset by Murray's soft drumming and his attempts to play free and in time simultaneously. Kingdom Come marks the recorded debut of Gayle as a pianist (on "Seven Days," "Beset Souls" and "Redeemed"). His piano playing resembles the style of Cecil Taylor, but it is not nearly as dynamic. ~ Brian Flota https://www.allmusic.com/album/kingdom-come-mw0000122863

Personnel: Tenor Saxophone – Charles Gayle;  Double Bass [Uncredited] – William Parker;  Drums  – Sunny Murray

Kingdom Come

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Clementine - Couleur Cafe

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1999
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:20
Size: 111,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:57)  1. Sabor A Mi
(4:35)  2. In The Stars (En Las Estrellas)
(4:00)  3. Couleur Cafe
(4:31)  4. Sina
(3:40)  5. J retourne Chez Moi
(4:27)  6. Caminhos Cruzados
(3:28)  7. Sandalia Dela
(3:42)  8. El Manicero
(3:57)  9. Fiel E Insistente
(4:31) 10. Retrato Em Branco E Preto
(2:18) 11. Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar
(5:08) 12. Bienvenido

Clémentine is a French singer and songwriter based in Japan. She debuted in France in 1988 with the single, "Absolument Jazz". In addition to many releases as a singer, she has appeared regularly on the entertainment segment for NHK Educational TV "French TV". Collaborates frequently with other artists, mostly in Japan. Recently she has often collaborated with her daughter, Solita, who is also a singer. Born in Paris but traveled widely as a child. With her father transferring first to Mexico and later around the world, she grew in touch with Bossa Nova and other local flavors of music. Returned to France and started Piano lessons at age 10 and Jazz school at age 12. Started her professional career in 1987 by sending a demo tape to Jazz greats Johnny Griffin and Ben Sidran, and was subsequently given an opportunity to record several songs with them. In 1988 released her first single, "Absolument Jazz" with CBS France. Signed a contract with Sony Music Entertainment Japan in 1990, and released many singles and albums. From 2003 to 2005 switched to the Epic Records Japan label, and from 2005 to 2008 to Toshiba EMI. Returned to Sony Music Entertainment in 2008. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cl%C3%A9mentine_(musician)

Personnel: Clementine (vocals); Jean Louis Matiniel (accordion); Kenny Holmen (soprano & tenor saxophones); Mike Nelson (trombone); Bobby Peterson (clarinet, piano); Joan Griffin (guitar, cavaquinho, mandolin); Leo Sidran (piano, organ, acoustic & electric guitars); Jimmy B, Marcio Faraco (guitar); Anthony Coz (acoustic & electric basses); Mark Anderson (drums, percussion); Gordy Knutson (drums).

Couleur Cafe

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Bill Allred - Swing That Music

Styles: Trombone Jazz
Year: 1990
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:57
Size: 121,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:01)  1. It Don't Mean A Thing
(5:20)  2. The Mooche
(4:59)  3. Struttin' With Some Barbeque
(3:36)  4. Basin Street Blues
(5:15)  5. Swing That Music
(3:35)  6. Limehouse Blues
(4:17)  7. Royal Garden Blues
(2:39)  8. Wabash Blues
(2:47)  9. King Porter Stomp
(7:27) 10. Beale Street Blues
(4:02) 11. Ole Miss
(4:52) 12. Running Wild

Lend an ear to Bill Allred’s Goodtime Jazz Band from Orlando, Florida. They might just be as one recent review claimed“the greatest Dixieland band in the world!” Try to isolate what makes Bill Allred’s Goodtime Jazz Band so well good, and I would come up with three key words: organisation, energy and adventure. Combining the first two is often difficult. Lesser bands who first lay out, then play within a cultivated Dixieland-scape often sound guarded or even hemmed in, as if anxious not to ruffle the grass. Not, of course, how Nick la Rocca, the first jazz punk, saw and heard the music in 1919 or how Eddie Condon did 20 years later. Seventy years on, it takes musicians as gifted as Allred’s, first to create the written landscape with sensitivity and then play through it like American footballers thundering down the grid. For great examples of this listen to It Don’t Mean A Thing or Limehouse Blues right here. 

The third quality adventure finds its way, appropriately in triplicate, into Allred’s compliment of soloists, arrangements and repertoire. This last may include anything from King Oliver-style replays (via Lu Watters) to elegant Goodman-esque swing tributes and beyond. This repertoire wherever appropriate (and only then) is irresistibly decked out in arrangements offering a capella passages, key changes, dynamic ups and downs shifts in texture and style and fine touches that turn each selection into a kaleidoscope of jazz colourtones. And from this luxurious background Allred’s soloists regularly spring to devour solos as if, in Irving Townsend’s marvellous phrase, “they hadn’t had one in weeks!” That’s Bill Allred’s Goodtime Band. Dixieland at its very best. As Bob Haggart himself might ask in smiling approval: “What is there not to like”? ~ Digby Fairweather http://www.bigbearmusic.com/product/swing-that-music/

Personnel:  Bill Allred – Trombone/Vocal; Don Lord – Cornet; JJ Argenziano – Trumpet; Terry Myers – Tenor Saxophone/Clarinet; Jim Maihack – Piano/Trombone; Boyd Bergeson – Guitar/Banjo; Sam Noto – Bass/Tuba; Warren Sauer – Drums.

Swing That Music

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Charnett Moffett - Treasure

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:26
Size: 123,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:38)  1. Swing Street
(7:59)  2. The Celebration
(7:15)  3. The Things of Swing
(6:33)  4. Say La
(3:44)  5. Beam Me Up
(3:21)  6. Praise
(3:19)  7. Country Blues
(2:45)  8. Down Up Blues
(3:59)  9. Say La La
(3:23) 10. Treasure
(2:56) 11. Sound Healing I
(2:28) 12. Sound Healing II

Treasure is the eleventh solo release for veteran bassist Charnett Moffett. Much like his previous efforts, the focus here is on the New York native's jaw-dropping technique on both upright and electric fretless bass. Mixed in with the traditional jazz instrumentation of bass, piano, guitar and drums, Moffett utilizes the more unconventional sounds of tablas, tamboura and sitar to enhance this all-original set of eclectic, swinging music. Although Moffett's performance throughout the disc will undoubtedly make bass players do a double-take, the music reveals much more than mere bass indulgence. Even on the solo bass tracks ("Country Blues," "Sound Healing I," "Sound Healing II"), Moffett's composing emphasizes groove and melody. The opening "Swing Street" maintains an accessible appeal with a funky momentum, in spite of blazing, effects-driven bass licks. The monster-chops showcase "Beam Me Up" reveals a fondness for the late Jaco Pastorius, with Moffett in commanding form on fretless bass. Adding to the tune's intensity is bass clarinetist Oran Etkin and drummer Denardo Coleman, a long-time Moffett musical collaborator. Another frequent associate of Moffett, guitarist Stanley Jordan, makes a guest appearance on two tracks, "The Celebration" and "The Things of Swing," the latter featuring some of the session's most inspired playing. Another bright moment comes with "Say La La," a lengthy, drone-based groove, where Moffett shares melodic duty with Kugo harpist Tomoko Sugawara, aided by sitarist Anjana Roy and Angela Moffett on tambura. Treasure is a welcome addition to Moffett's recorded output. Once again, he continues to find fresh, innovative ways to bring the bass front-and-center.~ John Barron https://www.allaboutjazz.com/treasure-charnett-moffett-motema-music-review-by-john-barron.php

Personnel: Charnett Moffett: upright bass, fretless electric bass, piccolo electric bass; Casimir Liberski: piano (4); Denardo Coleman: drums (1, 5); Rodney Holms: drums (2, 3, 4, 6); Moa Moffett: drums (8), tablas (2, 11, 12); Stanley Jordan (2, 3); Angela Moffett: Tamboura (1-4, 8, 9, 12), vocals (4); Oran Etkin: bass clarinet (1, 3, 5); RJ Avallone: trumpet (2); Irwin Hall: tenor saxophone (2); Anjana Roy: sitar (4, 9); Amareia Moffett: vocals (4); Tomoko Sugawara: Kugo Harp (9); Jana Herzen: didgeridoo (8).

Treasure

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Booker Little - The New York Sessions Featuring Booker Ervin

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:15
Size: 130,2 MB
Art: Front

( 5:17)  1. Scoochie
( 4:46)  2. Cycles
( 3:41)  3. Stardust
( 6:52)  4. The Confined Few
( 3:39)  5. Blues De Tambour
( 4:37)  6. Witch Fire
(10:44)  7. Things Ain't What They Used To Be
( 8:09)  8. Blue 'N' Boogie
( 8:26)  9. After Hours

Despite the extreme brevity of his life passing away at the tender age of 23 Booker Little left behind one of the most important legacies of the jazz trumpet; a legacy that has stood the test of time, growing stronger with each passing year. 

The unrivalled trumpeter is featured here in two settings; a stellar date with the under appreciated tenor saxophone giant Booker Ervin, and an unprecedented octet session featuring a who's who of Memphis, Tennessee's most celebrated musicians. A rare release by one of the finest and most underrated legends of the jazz trumpet. https://www.freshsoundrecords.com/booker-little-albums/3510-featuring-booker-ervin-new-york-sessions.html

Personnel:  Trumpet – Booker Little; Bass – Addison Farmer; Drums – Ed Shaughnessy; Piano – Mal Waldron; Vibraphone – Teddy Charles

The New York Sessions Featuring Booker Ervin

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Connie Evingson - Sweet Happy Life

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 78:20
Size: 185,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:52)  1. Agua de Beber
(5:38)  2. Meditation
(3:59)  3. Slow Hot Wind
(5:34)  4. Sweet Happy Life
(4:56)  5. Killing Me Softly with His Song
(6:20)  6. Canadian Sunset
(4:40)  7. Watch What Happens
(4:42)  8. The Girl from Ipanema
(4:18)  9. Sway
(4:53) 10. Bluesette
(4:34) 11. How Insensitive
(3:53) 12. Take Me to Aruanda
(5:02) 13. So Nice
(4:29) 14. Adventure
(4:57) 15. I Will Wait For You
(5:26) 16. Tristeza

Norman Gimbel's name may not register with a lot of educated jazz fans, yet he's linked to some of the most important songs and artists in the music. Gimbel wrote the lyrics attached to harmonica ace Toots Thielemans' best known number, "Bluesette," captured Michel Legrand's musical moods in words on "I Will Wait For You" and "Watch What Happens," and opened up English-language ears to the world of bossa nova. His lyrics for many of Antonio Carlos Jobim's songs are known the world over, yet his name is rarely mentioned when these works are discussed. Minneapolis-based vocalist Connie Evingson is looking to right this wrong by shining a light in Gimbel's direction on Sweet Happy Life. Evingson gathered sixteen numbers of all shapes and sizes that feature Gimbel's lyrics, including the never-before-recorded Gimbel/Jobim blend of "Adventure," and polished them up for presentation. The softer side of Brazil comes through on "The Girl From Ipanema," with Dave Karr providing the requisite saxophone work; "Meditation," which lives up to its name; and an intimate, voice-clarinet-guitar trio take on "How Insensitive"; but Evingson doesn't just do breezy, she also goes saucy with :Agua De Beber" and beatific on "Sweet Happy Life," as she explores this South American wonderland. While Brazil is a big part of the package, Evingson isn't a one trick pony stuck in a stylistic rut. When she isn't indulging in the waters of Jobim and Bonfa, she mixes in some light swing with "Canadian Sunset," takes a roaming caravan through an arid desert on "Slow Hot Wind," and gives "Sway" a sultrier than usual makeover that would make singer Michael Buble blush. The only stylistic misstep on the bill comes with Evingson's take on the Roberta Flack-associated "Killing Me Softly With His Song." Evingson thrives in a large variety of settings on this date, but she's out of her element when it comes to out-and-out R&B/soul singing of this variety. Thankfully, this is an anomaly in an otherwise pleasing and varied program. While tribute albums are a dime-a-dozen, most of them are quickly forgotten because they've been done. Evingson deserves respect for finding a heretofore unturned stone worth turning. Norman Gimbel's words and Evingson's voice make for a beautiful marriage on this easy-on-the-ears outing. ~ Dan Bilawsky https://www.allaboutjazz.com/sweet-happy-life-connie-evingson-minnehaha-music-review-by-dan-bilawsky.php

Personnel: Connie Evingson: vocals; Danny Embrey: guitar; Joan Griffith: guitar; Andreas Oberg: guitar; Laura Caviani: piano; Tanner Taylor: piano; Phil Aaron: piano; Bob Bowman: bass; Gordon Johnson: bass, background vocals; Ryan Cross: bass; David Schmalenberger: drums; Joe Pulice: drums, percussion; Phil Hey: drums; Rob Perkins: drums; Dave Karr: saxophone, clarinet, flute; Randy Sabien: violin, mandolin; Josh Alvaro: percussion; Miles Hanson: percussion; Lucia Newell: background vocals.

Sweet Happy Life

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Ron Carter - When Skies Are Grey...

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:28
Size: 112,0 MB
Art: Front

(7:08)  1. Loose Change
(7:05)  2. Besame Mucho
(7:08)  3. Caminando
(5:30)  4. Que Pasa
(7:22)  5. Corcovado
(6:00)  6. Cubano Chant
(8:12)  7. Mi Tiempo

The album cover for Ron Carter's When Skies Are Grey shows the jazz bassist contemplatively looking up toward an overcast New York City sky. Perhaps the title is in reference to how Carter felt during the recording sessions because his wife had died the week before. He attended funeral services over that weekend and came to the studio the following Monday morning. But when you listen to the music that came from those sessions, you'll hear the consummate bassist implementing his amazing skills on seven Latin-tinged tunes. Perhaps the exquisite melodies lifted Carter's spirits. Joining Carter on When Skies Are Grey are Stephen Scott on piano, Harvey Mason on drums and Steve Kroon on percussion. Carter and arranger Bob Freedman have dipped into the Latin genre, using the straight 4/4 beat and auxiliary percussion, while seamlessly placing the syncopated elements of jazz into the songs. The way Carter solos on Consuelo Velazquez's "Besame Mucho," it's as if he's mimicking a trumpet or saxophone. You wouldn't expect a bassist to play fast sixteenth notes, but what else would you expect from the man who helped keep the pulse for Miles Davis' 1960s quintet. With the opening track, Carter's "Loose Change," the quartet jumps from a straight Latin 4/4 to a swing rhythm, then back to the Latin pattern before switching gears yet again to cut-time swing. Carter, Mason and Kroon never lose the beat, while Scott effortlessly tickles the ivories. On Ray Bryant's "Cubano Chant," the group starts off in a medium-fast Latin feel, occasionally breaking into 7/4. Suddenly, the mood switches to swing, with Carter playing a walking bass line. They then return to the Latin beat, with Mason and Kroon having a drumming duel. Carter's "Mi Tiempo" also features smooth transitions in unexpected places, this time going from Latin to swing to cut-time swing and back to Latin. Scott is absent from the song, so Carter takes over the melody post, leaving Mason and Kroon to solo around the bass. In all, When Skies Are Grey is an impressive, unique mixture of two electrifying genres from one of jazz's most prolific bassists. 

~ Michael Fortuna https://www.allaboutjazz.com/when-skies-are-grey-ron-carter-blue-note-records-review-by-michael-fortuna.php

Personnel: Ron Carter: bass; Stephen Scott: piano; Harvey Mason: drums; Steve Kroon: percussion.

When Skies Are Grey...

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Melvin Sparks - This Is It!

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:51
Size: 135,8 MB
Art: Front

(5:05)  1. This Is It!
(7:59)  2. Bambu
(5:52)  3. Heavy Fallin' Out
(6:30)  4. My Girl
(8:19)  5. Give Your Life to G-d
(5:45)  6. Watch Yo' Step
(7:57)  7. Bounce
(6:39)  8. The Light Is On
(4:41)  9. Hot Barbeque

Guitarist Melvin Sparks' quintet date is a throwback to late-'60s funky soul-jazz. The pieces are bluesy and funky without being blues, and fall between jazz and R&B grooves. 

Sparks plays well if predictably and his obscure backup band (which has a background vocal from Nikki Armstrong on "Give Your Life to G-d") performs its parts well and with spirit. All of the music is danceable without being overly simplistic and the solos usually last the optimum length of time. The results are quite accessible if somewhat lacking in surprises, played in a style that is very easy to like. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/this-is-it%21-mw0000213533

Personnel:  Guitar – Melvin Sparks; Organ [Hammond] – Jerry Z ; Saxophone – Cochemea Gastelum; Trumpet – Jennifer Hartswick; Drums – Justin Tomsovic

This Is It!

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Dave Douglas - Parallel Worlds

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1993
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:57
Size: 145,4 MB
Art: Front

(1:29)  1. Sehr Bewegt
(9:14)  2. Parallel Worlds
(5:35)  3. In Progress
(7:04)  4. Remains
(6:51)  5. Piece For Strings
(6:00)  6. Ballad In Which Macheath Asks Everyone To Forgive Him
(5:51)  7. Loco Madi
(7:08)  8. On Your Leaving
(9:24)  9. For Every Action
(4:18) 10. Grand Choral

Trumpeter Dave Douglas is attracting attention among fans and critics on the underground and avant-garde/free music trail. He shows what the hype is all about on this session with some surging solos, high-note explosiveness and impressive playing. But Douglas doesn't merely spew unconnected lines or flashy solos; his playing is a vital part of several originals that feature an intriguing violin/cello/bass backing section. The compositions range from loose, spacy tunes to animated, fierce ones. This isn't another hard bop outing or a completely free-wheeling session; instead, it's got elements of both, and a departure as well. It requires close scrutiny and a completely open mind, because Dave Douglas is following no direction except his own. ~ Ron Wynn https://www.allmusic.com/album/parallel-worlds-mw0000623085

Personnel:  Dave Douglas: trumpet; Mark Feldman: violin; Erik Friedlander: cello; Mark Dresser: bass; Michael Sarin: drums

Parallel Worlds

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Dave Miller Trio, Rebecca DuMaine - Deed I Do

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:16
Size: 94,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:14)  1. Deed I Do
(3:15)  2. Moonlight Saving Time
(4:07)  3. I Love Being Here With You
(3:24)  4. I Like Men
(4:09)  5. Quiet Nights
(2:54)  6. Problem
(3:16)  7. Trolley Song
(3:12)  8. Isn't This a Lovely Day
(3:19)  9. Frim Fram Sauce
(2:49) 10. Rhode Island
(2:58) 11. All I Do Is Dream of You
(3:33) 12. The Boy Next Door

Dave Miller's first recording on Summit reached #12 on the JazzWeek radio chart, here he brings the vocals of Rebecca Dumaine and the 'great American songbook' for an absolute wonderfully performed, very enjoyable recording! Traditional standards from the Great American Songbook never grow old and are indeed given new life on this marvelous outing! ~ Editorial Reviews https://www.amazon.com/Deed-Dave-Miller-Rebecca-Dumaine/dp/B006RY5EAY

Personnel: Rebecca DuMaine: vocals; Dave Miller: piano.

Deed I Do

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Arne Domnérus - Happy Together! Disc 1 And Disc 2

 Album: Happy Together! Disc 1

Styles: Saxophone And Clarinet Jazz
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:08
Size: 99,4 MB
Art: Front

(5:46)  1. Fine and Dandy
(8:43)  2. Just Squeeze Me (But Don't Tease Me)
(6:56)  3. That Old Black Magic
(6:39)  4. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
(6:30)  5. I Have the Feeling That I Have Been Here Before
(8:32)  6. Moanin'

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Album: Happy Together! Disc 2

Time: 45:28

Size: 104,9 MB

(8:46)  1. Broadway

(8:37)  2. Topsy

(6:15)  3. Barney Goin' Easy

(5:00)  4. Move

(5:40)  5. Three and One

(5:22)  6. Don't You Know I Care

(5:45)  7. S.A.S.

A pair of major Swedish veterans (clarinetist Putte Wickman and altoist Arne Domnerus) join forces with the talented young pianist Jan Lundgren, guitarist Rune Gustafsson, bassist Jesper Lundgaard and drummer Aage Tanggaard to perform two CDs full of straight-ahead music. Although Wickman and Domnerus (who switches to clarinet on "Barney Goin' Easy") sound fine during these live performances (which have announcements in Swedish), the emphasis is generally on slower tempos, and the interpretations are not as fiery or competitive as one might hope. Pleasing but not essential music, with some of the brighter moments occurring on "Fine and Dandy," "Moanin'," "Broadway" and "Move." ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/happy-together%21-mw0001004133

Personnel: Putte Wickman - Clarinet; Arne Domnerus - Saxophone; Jan Lundgren - Piano; Rune Gustafsson - Guitar;  Jesper Lundgaard -Bass;  Aage Tanggaard - Drums.

Happy Together! Disc 1 And Disc 2

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Don Covay - See Saw

Styles: Vocal, R&B
Year: 1966
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 31:29
Size: 74,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:00)  1. See Saw
(2:03)  2. The Boomerang
(2:33)  3. Everything Gonna Be Everything
(2:35)  4. Fat Man
(2:43)  5. Precious You
(2:56)  6. Iron out the Rough Spots
(2:51)  7. Please Do Something
(2:46)  8. I Never Got Enough of Your Love
(2:08)  9. The Usual Place
(2:37) 10. A Woman's Love
(2:45) 11. Sookie, Sookie
(2:26) 12. Mercy, Mercy

Don Covay rides his most creative crest as a solo artist with this hearty collection of songs. The settings are simplistic for Atlantic Records, which recorded similar artists in lusher settings. But rawness is what makes these recordings arresting. A guitarist as well as a singer, Covay's pickings aren't buried in the mix, and you don't need a Geiger counter to detect the grooves. Most impressive are "See Saw," "Mercy Mercy," "Sookie, Sookie," and "Boomerang," a call to dance with the feeling of Major Lance singing a Curtis Mayfield song. On "Fat Man," you wonder if he's singing about his old Washington, D.C., buddy Billy Stewart. The two began their careers with the Rainbows. ~ Andrew Hamilton https://www.allmusic.com/album/see-saw-mw0000838700

Personnel: Don Covay (vocals).

See Saw

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Giovanni Hidalgo - Traveling Through Time

Styles: Latin Jazz, World Fusion 
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:45
Size: 128,8 MB
Art: Front

( 6:09)  1. La Maquinita
( 6:49)  2. Un Cha
( 4:28)  3. Timba y Bateria
( 6:23)  4. Timba y Bateria II
(10:39)  5. Enea
( 5:39)  6. Enea II
( 4:28)  7. Drum Solo
( 3:25)  8. Timba Solo
( 7:41)  9. Juntos

Giovanni Hidalgo is a renowned Puerto Rican conga player and Traveling Through Time is his 7th studio album as a leader.  This album was released late in 2014 under Incipit Records.  It features Giovanni Hidalgo and Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez on percussion and drums. With nothing but percussion on here, one might think that Traveling Through Time would become either boring or tiring.  That couldn’t be farther from the truth.  With two percussionists of this caliber, magic has happened here.  The album grooves and keeps things interesting, never remaining in one place for too, too long, yet retaining the drive and energy that is essential to anything Latin.  It’s an extraordinarily layered album as well.  There’s something to be discovered with every listen.  It sometimes is hard to believe that Traveling Through Time features just two people.  

The opening track, “La Maquinita,” sprints in roaring with a complex rhythmic melody (admittedly a weird word to be using without melodic instruments, but trust me there’s a melody) that sounds as though it could be a percussion ensemble of four or five people. In sum, then, Traveling Through Time is a gem.  For an album that relies entirely on percussion, Giovanni Hidalgo and Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez created something wonderfully energetic and interesting. https://elliottmusicreview.wordpress.com/2016/01/10/giovanni-hidalgo-traveling-through-time/

Traveling Through Time

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Christian Scott - Stretch Music

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:01
Size: 118,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:04)  1. Sunrise in Beijing
(4:15)  2. TWIN
(4:22)  3. Perspectives
(8:07)  4. West of the West
(4:09)  5. Liberation over Gangsterism
(1:34)  6. The Corner
(7:34)  7. Of a New Cool
(2:07)  8. Runnin 7's
(4:24)  9. Tantric
(7:11) 10. The Last Chieftain
(2:10) 11. The Horizon

Stretch music, according to New Orleans jazz musician Christian Scott, is an approach that engenders a more absorbent and sensitive kind of jazz. "We are attempting to stretch not replace jazz's rhythmic, melodic and harmonic conventions to encompass as many musical forms/languages/cultures as we can," he says on his website. He titled his fifth album after the concept, but this sensibility is visible even in his earliest work as a leader; the title track of 2007's Anthem is jazz in its instrumentation, but it also obeys the rhythms and structures of post-hardcore, a series of contrasting shapes which build an atomically tense and spectral space, like a cathedral at night. His description of "stretch music" somewhat resembles the omnivorous jazz approaches of bassist/singer Esperanza Spalding and pianist Robert Glasper. It's similarly collaborative and elastic. But Scott's genre splicing is not as mosaic as Glasper's. It’s doesn’t lock different genres together in unusual patterns as much as it melts them down into asymmetrical and indivisible sculpture. It's almost curious to call it "stretch music" when it feels as if jazz isn’t so much expanded here as collapsed into small, oblique jewels. Later in his mission statement, Scott describes his intention to draw unusual instruments through distortion. This is how Stretch Music begins: A piano, played by Lawrence Fields, struggles through noise, as if pressing and blurring against a force field. Instruments undergo a kind of metamorphosis in Scott’s aesthetic, which is reflected in the album cover: his trumpet bends and warps into elastic shapes. https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21105-stretch-music/

Personnel:  Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah – trumpet, sirenette and reverse flugelhorn; Elena Pinderhughes – flute; Braxton Cook – alto, straight alto; Corey King – trombone; Cliff Hines – guitar; Lawrence Fields – piano; Kris Funn – bass; Corey Fonville – drums, SPD-SX pad; Joe Dyson Jr. – pan-African drums, SPD-SX; Warren Wolf - Vibraphone

Stretch Music

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Trijntje Oosterhuis - Leven Van De Liefde

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 74:22
Size: 171,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:47)  1. Eenzaam Zonder Jou
(3:21)  2. Dat Zou Mooi Zijn
(4:58)  3. Mooi Verhaal
(3:51)  4. Als De Liefde Niet Bestond
(4:44)  5. Telkens Weer
(4:30)  6. Is Dit Alles
(5:53)  7. Liefde Van Later
(3:36)  8. Voor Haar
(4:59)  9. Kom Maar Bij Mij
(4:53) 10. Het Gaat Niet Beter Worden
(4:08) 11. Toen Ik Je Zag
(3:54) 12. Tot Jij Mijn Liefde Voelt
(4:21) 13. Omarm
(2:27) 14. Laat Ze Blijven
(9:01) 15. Vaderland
(3:52) 16. Jungle

Although the career of Trijntje Oosterhuis consists for the most part of English-language work, we must not forget that her definitive breakthrough as a solo singer was really due to a Dutch-language song. When Oosterhuis provided the opening anthem of the Amsterdam ArenA in a bright red dress in 1996, the whole of the Netherlands knew in one fell swoop who the singer (who at the time formed the band Total Touch with her brother Tjeerd). That song, entitled De Zee, made it to the Top 10 of the national charts and paved the way for multiple trips in our native language. Wereld Zonder Jou(a duet with Marco Borsato), Vlieg Met Me Mee (from the feature film Abeltje ) and Now That You Are There(which was an ode to the birth of Princess Amalia) are a number of examples. Despite the always positive reactions to the Dutch language, it took a long time before Oosterhuis dared to venture on a complete Dutch album. For her current theater tour (which will start this week), the singer decided to take a different approach and therefore only to sing songs that we can all understand and understand word for word. During the tour's rehearsals, the idea arose to record a selection of the songs for an album. "Songs that are dear to me, songs of all times, songs that need to be sung and heard, songs that remind me of important moments in my life, forgotten gems or rather big hits that I have wanted to sing in my own way for years" said Oosterhuis recently in a statement. During the playing time of one hour and fourteen minutes we hear new versions of classics from Dutch artists. BLØF, Herman van Veen, Willeke Alberti, André Hazes, Henny Vrienten, Marco Borsato, Paul de Leeuw, Frans Halsema and Toon Hermans are a number of examples. To combine singing with motherhood, Oosterhuis decided to record the entire album entitled Leven Van De Liefde at home. That wasn't the first time for the singer, because the English-language albums See You As I Do (2005), the Michael Jackson tribute album Never Can Say Goodbye (2009) and the Christmas album This Is The Season (2010) were also in recorded her own studios. This way of recording songs produces an atmospheric and intimate sound. The feeling of being at home with Eenzaam Zonder Jou(the first song from the album) immediately clear because a small role is set aside for Maël, the one and a half year old daughter of Oosterhuis. You will not get it any purer than this.

The guitar playing of Leonardo Amuedo plays an important role in the songs. In addition to him, we hear more fellow musicians on the album. For example, there are solos for Carel Kraayenhof (bandoneon), Candy Dulfer (saxophone), father-in-law Henrie Ronde (steel drums), mother Josefien Melief (viola) and Aram Kersbergen (bass). The singer has clearly opted for two camps during the recording. While one camp consists of fado-like songs such as Every Time Again , If The Love Did Not Exist and Love of Later, the other camp consists of the somewhat more uplifting pieces with a fine groove such as Beautiful Story, This Everything and It Doesn't Get Better To become. WithJungle , by the way, manages to deliver a funny version of the hit with which Broederl Liefde was successful last year. Her sons of ten and twelve constantly sing that song, so the decision to make it their own was quickly made. Because Leven Van De Liefde is the umpteenth album by Oosterhuis that she has recorded in an intimate setting, it becomes dangerous that she has performed this trick for the umpteenth time. Still, with the input of her fellow musicians, she knows how to distinguish this album from those other intimate albums and that is certainly worth a plus. A second Dutch-language album is also planned, but one with newly written songs. A project that we are looking forward to enormously and which will hopefully feature songs that are just that little bit more energetic, than the pure songs that this album carries with it. Leven Van De Liefde is certainly a nice snack as a project, but to be honest: a singer in the form of Trijntje Oosterhuis simply deserves a blast from an album with strong and original Nederpop songs.  Translate By Google https://www.nieuweplaat.nl/album/trijntje-oosterhuis-leven-liefde/

Leven Van De Liefde

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