George Colligan - The Endless Mysteries

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:40
Size: 160,9 MB
Art: Front

(7:48)  1. Waiting for Solitude
(6:50)  2. Song for the Tarahumera
(8:25)  3. Her Majesty
(9:08)  4. Liam's Lament
(7:32)  5. It's Hard Work!
(3:14)  6. Thoughts of Ana
(3:34)  7. Outrage
(7:57)  8. The Endless Mysteries
(6:28)  9. When the Moon Is in the Sky
(8:38) 10. If the Mountain Was Smooth, You Couldn't Climb It

Not all piano trios are democracies-all too often, the bassist and drummer play second-fiddle roles. That’s not the case with The Endless Mysteries, released last fall. Although the pianist and nominal leader, George Colligan, wrote all 10 tracks on this, his 24th album as leader, The Endless Mysteries reflects an equal partnership between himself, bassist Larry Grenadier and the drummer, the irrepressible Jack DeJohnette. This even split of responsibilities isn’t exactly a surprise, as DeJohnette (whose touring band includes Colligan) has put in three decades as part of Keith Jarrett’s trio while Grenadier is a longstanding member of Brad Mehldau’s. With Colligan, though, even more than with their other employers, the rhythm section is intent on forging directions. 

This is evident on the title track, a gentle ballad that finds Colligan laying out the theme and then, in no time, handing the reins over to DeJohnette and then to Grenadier. The bassist’s richly melodic solo early on gives Colligan a gentle nudge: He leaves the chordal pattern he’s been restating since the beginning and, for the remainder of the piece, continues to investigate new routes that the composition might follow. On the sprightly “Her Majesty,” DeJohnette’s frisky bossa-nova rhythm fragments into something wholly disordered midway through, cueing an explosive Grenadier solo and, eventually, a chattering flurry from Colligan that brings it to a decisive finish. “Outrage” is outright chaos, a three-and-a-half-minute free-for-all, while “Song for the Tarahumera” is a swingfest. 

It’s not all teamwork though. “Thoughts of Ana,” inspired by the Newtown shootings whose victims included Ana Márquez-Greene, the daughter of jazz saxophonist Jimmy Greene, is the recording’s most moving statement: Colligan alone, solemn and ruminative. It’s a reminder, perhaps, that amid the daily noise sometimes we need to slow down, take a moment to reflect and simply speak to ourselves. Inspirational and exhilarating all-around. ~  By Jeff Tamarkin https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/george-colligan-the-endless-mysteries/

Personnel: Piano, Melodica, Composed By, Producer – George Colligan; Acoustic Bass – Larry Grenadier; Drums – Jack DeJohnette

The Endless Mysteries

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Mette Juul - Change

Styles: Vocal And Guitar Jazz
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:49
Size: 112,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:21)  1. Beautiful Love
(3:09)  2. At Home (There Is A Song)
(3:24)  3. Get Out Of Town
(3:27)  4. It Might Be Time To Say Goodbye
(4:49)  5. Double Rainbow
(2:48)  6. Just Friends
(2:35)  7. I'm Moving On
(3:03)  8. Dindi
(3:30)  9. Young Song
(4:18) 10. Without A Song
(3:27) 11. Northern Woods
(5:18) 12. The Peacocks (A Timeless Place)
(5:35) 13. Evening Song

Change is an inevitable part of life and music. The very essence of being a jazz musician involves catching a musical moment that never comes back again, but occasionally, a record shows up that is both a document of change and the sum of a lifetime. With Change, Danish jazz singer, guitarist and songwriter, Mette Juul, has released such an album. Since her debut, Coming in from the Dark (Cowbell Music, 2010), Juul has played with the very best musicians on the Danish jazz scene, including drummers Alex Riel and Morten Lund and pianists Nikolaj Hess and Heine Hansen, but she has also collaborated closely with trendsetting trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and the distinguished Swedish bassist Lars Danielsson. Danielsson also shows up on Change in the role of bassist and co-producer, but instrumentally, the bass plays a minor, if important part, as does the autumnal touch of pianist Heine Hansen. Instead, the album centres around the intimate sound of nylon and steel string guitar with Juul getting first class assistance from Ulf Wakenius, Per Møllehøj and Gilad Hekselman. Hekselman already showed his symbiotic understanding of the sparse pairing between vocal and acoustic guitar on Lilly's album Tenderly (Gateway Music, 2017) and once again his playing shimmers on Juul's own "Northern Woods" and Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Dindi." There is also another song on the album by Jobim, "Double Rainbow." The wonder is how Juul makes the familiar music fresh and fleshes out all the colors of the musical rainbow, bringing out the breathing poetry of Jobim's diction and the striking lyrical images of Gene Lees' lyrics.

Juul is not only a lucid interpreter of songs, she also knows how to put them together. Coming in from the Dark included one of Frank Sinatra's signature songs, "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning," and like Sinatra, she masters the art of the concept album. Every song on the album reflects processes of change from day to night, loving to leaving and youth to adulthood. However, while the songs reflect change inherently, they also represent it in dialog with each other and previous albums. Thus, "Double Rainbow" has previously been covered on Juul's There Is a Song (Universal, 2015) and the title track is renamed "At Home," a song dedicated to Juul's childhood home and her mother where the physical room of the home and emotional space of a song melts together: "I remember the place / where I heard my mother sing and felt at home / this was her favorite place to be free / song to song, smile to smile / my mother's song lives with me." The connection between a place and an emotional state is also highlighted in Juul's "Northern Woods," where the forest provides a natural space of musical reflection that goes beyond the bustle of urban modernity: "Hear how a whisper of trees / sing melodies of a time long gone / music that will never change / voices that won't forget your name." The way Juul naturally moves from trees to melodies in the soft transition of a rhyme subtly underlines the point that words, nature and music can become one, just as a voice can become a horn. Chet Baker could play his trumpet like the whisper of a voice, but on the opening track, "Beautiful Love," Juul sings with a voice like a horn.

Thematically, the songs also enlighten each other. If "Young Song" says that "true love is not for lazy lovers / who seek oblivion and ecstasy," the song "It Might Be Time to Say Goodbye" tells the story of someone who is seduced by the constant romantic craving of sensory oblivion and ecstasy: "There are things I long to try / life I must explore alone." As a consequence, a true love might be lost as the lyric realizes in the end: "This might be the dumbest thing I'll ever do / might never find someone / sweet as you." The song is a highlight among a string of uniformly great songs penned by Juul that don't need to blush in the company of Jobim and Cole Porter, whose many-sided emotional depth is uncovered in "Get Out of Town." In the end, the album suggests that change can come in many ways. Through it all, music remains the prism "Where you can listen to the things your heart is saying," as it says in the cover of Jimmy Rowles and Norma Winstone's "The Peacocks (A Timeless Place)." Indeed, this album is an affair of the heart, but it is also a musical space for contemplation and solace. Everything comes together here, even the art inside the cover by acclaimed Danish painter Michael Kvium underlines the ambiguous beauty of change and captures several shades of the seasons. 

It is a strong argument for getting the physical edition of the album that also includes lyrics in the booklet. It is an important point that music is never finished, and Mette Juul is certainly on the path to new discoveries and stories with an EP of other songs from the sessions already scheduled for release. Right now, Change is nothing short of a major musical accomplishment from Juul that hopefully will expand her circle of listeners. ~ Jakob Baekgaard https://www.allaboutjazz.com/change-mette-juul-universal-music-group-review-by-jakob-baekgaard.php

Personnel: Mette Juul: vocals, guitar; Ulf Wakenius: guitar; Lars Danielsson: bass, cello, cymbals, guitar; Heine Hansen: piano, Rhodes, celeste, harmonica; Gilad Hekselman: guitar; Per Møllehøj: guitar

Change

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Keith Jarrett - Facing You

Styles: Piano Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 1972
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:10
Size: 108,4 MB
Art: Front

(10:05)  1. In Front
( 5:55)  2. Ritooria
( 8:29)  3. Lalene
( 7:17)  4. My Lady, My Child
( 3:30)  5. Landscape For Future Earth
( 5:01)  6. Starbright
( 3:51)  7. Vapallia
( 3:00)  8. Semblence

Facing You is one of the most important recordings in contemporary jazz for several reasons, aside from being beautifully conceived and executed by pianist Keith Jarrett. It is a hallmark recording of solo piano in any discipline, a signature piece in the early ECM label discography, a distinct departure from mainstream jazz, a breakthrough for Jarrett, and a studio prelude for his most famous solo project to follow, The Köln Concert. Often meditative, richly melodic, inventive, and introspective beyond compare, Jarrett expresses his soul in tailored tones that set standards for not only this kind of jazz, but music that would serve him and his fans in good stead onward. In this program of all originals, which sound spontaneously improvised with certain pretexts and motifs as springboards, the rhapsodic "Ritooria," 4/4 love/spirit song "Lalene," and song for family and life "My Lady; My Child" firmly establish Jarrett's heartfelt and thoughtful approach. "Vapallia" cements the thematic, seemingly effortless, lighter but never tame aesthetic. "Starbright" is an easy-paced two-step tune signifying fully Jarrett's personalized stance. 

Straddling a more jagged, angular, and free edge, the pianist evokes the influence of Paul Bley during "Semblence" (sic). But it is the opening selection, an extended ten-minute opus titled "In Front," that truly showcases Jarrett at his playful best a timeless, modal, direct, and bright delight. A remarkable effort that reveals more and more with each listen, this recording has stood the test of time, and is unquestionably a Top Three recording in Keith Jarrett's long and storied career. ~ Michael G.Nastos https://www.allmusic.com/album/facing-you-mw0000192031

Facing You

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Don Lusher Big Band - The Very Best Of The Don Lusher Big Band

Styles: Jazz, Big Band
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:54
Size: 122,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:36)  1. Peanut Vendor
(3:16)  2. Take The A Train
(3:09)  3. Opus 1
(2:35)  4. I Get A Kick Out Of You
(3:14)  5. Pennsylvania 65000
(3:17)  6. That's Right
(2:17)  7. D.L. Blues
(2:47)  8. Don't Get Around Anymore
(4:33)  9. Love For Sale
(3:20) 10. Carnival
(3:07) 11. Woodchoppers Ball
(2:52) 12. Tea For Two Cha Cha
(3:17) 13. Pinetops Boogie Woogie
(3:09) 14. Mission To Moscow
(4:05) 15. Shiny Stockings
(4:11) 16. One O'Clock Jump

Lusher grew up in a musical family, his grandfather, father and mother playing and singing in Salvation Army bands. Lusher learned to play trombone and pursued his musical interests at school. At the age of 18, he went into the army but contrived to keep up his playing by joining Salvation Army bands in any town he happened to be near. A visit to a camp he was at by Geraldo And His Orchestra, in whose trombone section was Ted Heath, convinced Lusher that once the war was over that was how he would make his career. In 1947, he left the army, bought a second-hand trombone, and joined a band led by an army friend in Tenby, Wales. He then joined Joe Daniels And His Hot Shots, but only a few weeks later the band folded. Lusher’s next professional engagement was with Lou Preager at London’s leading dancehall, the Hammersmith Palais. He then worked in a band led by Maurice Winnick at Ciro’s Club, following this with important and career-moulding engagements with th e Squadr onaires and the Ted Heath band, with which he visited the USA.

By the 60s Lusher was one of the UK’s best-known trombonists, touring extensively with prominent artists, such as Frank Sinatra. Subsequently, Lusher led big bands for special television and radio appearances and for limited concert work, activities which continued into the early 90s. He also established a reputation as an educator, working in this capacity in the USA, Japan and Australia as well as in the UK. Despite his international fame, Lusher never lost contact with his musical origins and regularly performed and recorded with brass bands.

An outstanding technician, Lusher’s flowing, precisely articulated playing style remained an object lesson to fellow trombonists in all areas of music. Throughout the 90s, he led the Ted Heath tribute band for numerous popular reunion concerts. In 2003, Lusher was awarded the OBE for Services To The Music Industry.

The Very Best Of The Don Lusher Big Band

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Thisbe Vos - Walking in the Sunshine

Styles: Vocal 
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:12
Size: 100,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:22)  1. Walking in the Sunshine
(3:22)  2. In Love with You
(4:50)  3. I Don't Really Miss Him at All
(3:51)  4. Route 66
(4:16)  5. Love Me Tender
(3:18)  6. You'd Be so Nice to Come Home To
(3:55)  7. What a Wonderful World
(3:46)  8. Dream a Little Dream of Me
(2:11)  9. A Warm, Fuzzy Feeling
(4:37) 10. The Man I Love
(2:55) 11. Midnight Reverie
(2:44) 12. Accentuate the Positive

Jazz singer/songwriter Thisbe Vos is known for her Doris-Day-like voice and her love of traditional jazz. Her music has been played on over 230 jazz radio stations in the US & Canada  including the Sirius XM Real Jazz Channel and has made it into TV shows and movies on ABC, CBS and The Hallmark Channel. Her fourth album "Walking in the Sunshine," a happy summer jazz album, was inspired by the recordings of Ella Fitzgerald with guitarist Joe Pass and made possible with the support of her worldwide, loyal fanbase. As well as standards such as "Dream A Little Dream Of Me," "What A Wonderful World," and "Route 66," this album contains five new original songs penned by Thisbe and her collaborators. https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/thisbevos4

Personnel:  Thisbe Vos - producer, songwriter, vocals;  Nolan Shaheed; producer, cornet, fluegelhorn;  Henry Franklin - upright bass; Steve Cotter - guitar;  Rickey Woodard - tenor saxophone.

Walking in the Sunshine

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Nancy Kelly - Remembering Mark Murphy

Styles: Vocal 
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:06
Size: 117,4 MB
Art: Front

(5:39)  1. Empty Faces (Vera Cruz)
(5:09)  2. Song for the Geese
(5:03)  3. Again
(5:57)  4. I'm Glad There Is You
(4:18)  5. On the Red Clay
(4:45)  6. Night Mood (Lembra)
(4:50)  7. Stolen Moments
(6:38)  8. Body and Soul
(3:52)  9. Sunday in New York
(4:51) 10. This Could Be the Start of Something Big

"People often ask me who my favorite singer is, and my answer is always, without hesitation, Mark Murphy. He was “the real deal.” With Mark’s passing, I was moved to honor him musically with this recording.

I joined musical forces with pianist John DiMartino on this project. He too is a huge Mark Murphy fan and we are very excited to see this endeavor take on its own life. You certainly won't need to be a Mark fan to be moved by the music I’ve chosen for this recording.

Mark’s music went through many changes as he grew and matured. I've recorded the songs that most affected me over the years as an artist. These compositions nourished me and gave birth to my jazz soul.

Mark grew up in Fulton, NY, not far from Fair Haven NY, where I’ve been living for many years. After getting to know him on and off the bandstand, I was thrilled to find out he spent many summers with his family in Fair Haven and he adored Little Sodus Bay, which inspired him to write the lyrics to “Song for the Geese.” The song has a profound place in my heart. As I worked on developing this recording, I gazed out my window on the bay and drew love and inspiration.

Some cuts we chose are Mark Murphy classics. Randy Brecker joined us for Body and Soul, Red Clay and Vera Cruz, and as he did on Mark's original recordings of these tracks.

When John and I developed the material, we agreed to keep the integrity of some of these numbers while I joyfully took liberties with some of the others." (by Nancy Kelly)

Randy Brecker: "Nancy Kelly's tribute to Mark Murphy is wonderful remembrance and dedication to one of the jazz world's greatest vocalists. Each track brings something new to the table though...a heartfelt effort that I was proud to be a part of, having known/toured with Mark, and played on a couple of his albums."

Eric Cohen, Former WAER Music director and 2-time award winning programmer of the year says: " The CD is a Masterpiece "

Frank Wilner,  WNHN FM 94.7 Concord, NH: " You have a winner here, very classy recording"

Peter Jones, author of the 2018  Biography, This Is Hip: The Life of Mark Murphy had this to say about the CD.: "This hip and mellow album is far more than a tribute to the great Mark Murphy; it’s an outstanding contribution to vocal jazz in its own right. With her warm, sensuous voice, Nancy Kelly has recorded sleek contemporary interpretations of the songs that formed such an integral part of the Mark Murphy repertoire."

Scott Elias, Freelance Film Producer and President  at Random Acts Entertainment: " The charts are all cool, and your PHRASING just slays me!  It's like listening to Mark Murphy's hip kid sister, who is now a woman who shares his sensibilities, but has her OWN impeccable virtuosity and unique experiences to share."

Personnel:
Nancy Kelly, Vocals, Executive Producer
John DiMartino, Piano, Arranger and Producer
Randy Brecker, Trumpet, Flugelhorn, 1,5,8
Bobby Militello, Soprano, Alto, Flute, 1,4,5,6,7,8,9
Paul Bollenback,  Electric Guitar 3,6,9
Paul Meyers, Acoustic Guitar 1,2,
Ed Howard, Electric and Acoustic bass
Carmen Intorre Jr, Drums and Percussion
Peter Mack,  Co-Executive Producer. bass 10
Steve Brown guitar, conga.10

Remembering Mark Murphy

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Beverly Kenney - Beverly Sings, Vol. 1

Styles: Vocal 
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 29:03
Size: 67,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:19)  1. Nobody Else But Me
(3:05)  2. The More I See You
(2:44)  3. Old Buttermilk Sky
(3:52)  4. I Never Has Seen Snow
(2:54)  5. A Fine Romance
(2:35)  6. Who Cares What People Say
(2:04)  7. Makin' Whoopee
(2:32)  8. The Charm of You
(3:05)  9. Isn't This a Lovely Day
(2:47) 10. Mairzy Doats

Singer Beverly Kenney remains one of jazz's great tragedies  an exquisitely nuanced stylist whose sophisticated phrasing perfectly complemented the cool jazz sensibilities of the late '50s, she committed suicide at the peak of her career and awaits rediscovery by the vast majority of the listening public. Born in Harrison, NJ, on January 29, 1932, Kenney began her career singing birthday greetings via telephone for Western Union. Ultimately she relocated to New York City, and in 1954 cut her first demo session with pianist Tony Tamburello (finally issued in 2006 under the title Snuggled on Your Shoulder). By year's end Kenney relocated to Miami, soon securing an agent and appearing at the Black Magic Room. There she was discovered by the Dorsey Brothers, spending several months on tour with their orchestra before creative differences prompted her exit. From there Kenney returned to New York, working clubs in the company of George Shearing, Don Elliott, and Kai Winding in addition to briefly touring the Midwest with the Larry Sonn Band before signing to the Roost label, which in early 1956 issued her debut LP, Beverly Kenny Sings for Johnny Smith. Come Swing with Me, a pairing with arranger Ralph Burns, followed later that same year, and in the spring of 1957 she teamed with Jimmy Jones & the Basie-Ites for her final effort for the label. Kenney resurfaced on Decca in 1958 with Sings for Playboys  her masterpiece, Born to Be Blue, soon followed, and a year later she issued her swan song, Like Yesterday. 

Critics and fellow artists were virtually unanimous in their praise of Kenney's artistry, but the emergence of rock & roll virtually guaranteed she would remain anonymous to the public at large. Tellingly, during a May 18, 1958, appearance on NBC's The Steve Allen Show, she performed an original composition titled "I Hate Rock and Roll." Friends and colleagues generally cite Kenney as a melancholy, distant figure in the final months of her life, but her suicide at age 28 on April 13, 1960, still raises myriad questions: by most accounts, she spent her last hours writing each of her parents long, heartbreaking letters at the desk in her Greenwich Village flat before consuming a lethal overdose of alcohol and Seconal, but her motivations are unknown. A 1992 GQ magazine profile by Jonathan Schwartz suggests Kenney was despondent over the dissolution of her romance with Beat Generation guru Milton Klonsky, but a subsequent investigation by fan and journalist Bill Reed casts serious doubt on this theory. While a virtual footnote in her native U.S., Kenney boasts an ever-growing cult following in Japan, where all six of her LPs have remained in print. ~ Jason Ankeny https://www.allmusic.com/artist/beverly-kenney-mn0000866783/biography

This album gathers the songs of Beverly's 1956 album "Sings With Jimmy Jones".

Beverly Sings, Vol. 1

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Scott Hamilton & Bernhard Pichl Trio - How About You

Styles: Mainstream Jazz, Swing, Jazz Instrument, Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:46
Size: 132,9 MB

(9:39)  1. Taking a Chance On Love
(6:16)  2. Three Little Words
(5:42)  3. You've Changed
(8:03)  4. The Plain But Simple Truth
(8:32)  5. How Abou You
(6:40)  6. Emily
(4:51)  7. All God's Chillun Got Rhythm
(7:59)  8. Love Letters

The American tenor saxophonist Scott Hamilton is undoubtedly one of the great protagonists of swinging jazz. The Who´s Who in Jazz even calls him the mainstream Messiah. Hamilton confidently plays with the vocabulary of his ancestors Lester Young, Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins and Don Byas and has long since found his own weighty voice. His superior flow of ideas and his tremendous creative power make him the most important mainstream saxophonist of our day.

Scott Hamilton was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1954. Through recordings by alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges he finally came to the saxophone. Swing legend Roy Eldridge brought the exceptional talent to New York for a six-week guest performance in 1976 and paved the way for subsequent engagements with Hank Jones and Anita O'Day. From then on he belonged to the first ranks of the New York scene and worked alternately with Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, Gerry Mulligan, Woody Herman, Dave McKenna, Mel Lewis, Zoot Sims, Ray Brown, Gene Harris, Clark Terry.

With the trio of the Würzburg pianist Bernhard Pichl, Scott Hamilton has found ingenious partners for his music. This is also confirmed by the CD of the Bernhard Pichl Trio with Scott Hamilton, How About You, just released. Jazz cellar: "Scott Hamilton & the" Bernhard Pichl Trio "play that you will believe in the really swinging jazz again."

Bass – Rudi Engel
Drums – Michael Keul
Piano – Bernhard Pichl
Tenor Saxophone – Scott Hamilton

How About You

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Ron McClure - Lucky Sunday

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop 
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:06
Size: 145,8 MB
Art: Front

(7:20)  1. What's Due
(5:59)  2. The Shining Sea
(7:17)  3. Lucky Sunday
(3:59)  4. Deep Sea Urban Planning
(6:40)  5. Stay Where You Are
(5:17)  6. The Waves
(8:32)  7. You and the Salt
(6:06)  8. Quiet Life
(4:49)  9. Mending Ties
(7:03) 10. To Begin

Bassist Ron McClure's a might generous leader as he sets the sound up with a really rich vibe right from the start, but also lets his other quartet members really get some time to shine in the spotlight! The album's awash in great tones from Anthony Ferrara on tenor, and Rob Block on piano and guitar the latter of whom shifts instruments on different tracks, which adds a further level of color palette to the album! Ferrara's especially great bold, thoughtful, and very creative when he's in the lead and the group's completed by work from Pete Zimmer on drums. Block, McClure, and Ferrara all contributed a fair bit of original material to the set and titles include "Deep Sea Urban Planning", "Lucky Sunday", "What's Due", "To Begin", "Mending Ties", "Quiet Life", and "You & The Salt".  © 1996-2020, Dusty Groove, In https://www.dustygroove.com/item/934084/Ron-McClure:Lucky-Sunday

Personnel:  Ron McClure - bass;  Anthony Ferrara - tenor saxophone;  Rob Block - piano;  Pete Zimmer - drums

Lucky Sunday

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The Diva Jazz Orchestra - Diva + the Boys

Styles: Jazz, Big Band 
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:42
Size: 119,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:41)  1. Slipped Disc
(6:43)  2. A Felicidade
(6:17)  3. Deference to Diz
(5:54)  4. Noturna
(5:53)  5. The One I Love Belongs To Somebody Else
(7:02)  6. Piccolo Blues
(8:30)  7. Estate
(5:40)  8. Bucket O’ Blues

Hard-charging. Powerful. Immersed in the history of their craft and in total command of their instruments. That’s DIVA an ensemble of 15 extremely talented and versatile musicians who just happen to be women. They can’t help it they were born that way. Headed by swinging drummer Sherrie Maricle, DIVA exudes the excitement and force found in the tradition of the historic big bands but with an eye towards today’s progressive sound of originality and verve. With New York as their home base, DIVA performs all over the world playing contemporary, mainstream big band jazz composed and arranged to fit the individual personalities and styles of the musicians themselves. Audiences can expect to hear high-energy performances packed with unique improvisation, spontaneity, and fun. The inspiration for DIVA came from Stanley Kay, one-time manager and relief drummer for Buddy Rich. In 1990, Kay was conducting a band in which Sherrie Maricle was playing the drums. Stanley immediately picked up on her extraordinary talent and began to wonder if there were other women players who could perform at the same level. In 1992 the search was on, and through nationwide auditions the foundation for DIVA was poured. What emerged is the dynamic musical force that holds forth to the present day. https://divajazz.com/about/diva/

Diva + the Boys

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Audrey Silver - Let Me Know Your Heart (New Link)

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:15
Size: 134,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:58)  1. When I Look in Your Eyes
(3:29)  2. Comes Love
(5:06)  3. Solsbury Hill
(3:35)  4. Plus Je T'embrasse
(4:02)  5. I Knew He Was There
(3:44)  6. Ever Since the World Ended
(5:14)  7. How Deep Is the Ocean
(4:05)  8. Giraffe Song
(4:53)  9. You Knew
(4:54) 10. Up Jumped Spring
(4:33) 11. Small Day Tomorrow
(3:09) 12. New Year's Eve
(3:41) 13. Let Me Know Your Heart
(3:44) 14. Can't We Be Friends

With a growing catalog of recordings and a warm, swinging performing style, Audrey Silver is one of the most elegantly creative singers in jazz today. Known for what Hot House Jazz has called “a velvet-laden timbre with impeccable phrasing,” Audrey has become renowned for her compelling takes on classic pop tunes as well as her own poignant originals.   Audrey’s composition style mines her vast musical experiences. She says “Songwriting comes from improvising if you can improvise in a melodic way, you can write a song.” Today, the New York City native releases her fourth album, Let Me Know Your Heart, which features her returning cast of players;  Bruce Barth on piano, trumpeter Marcus Printup, upright bassist Paul Beaudry, drummer Anthony Pinciotti, Tom Beckham on vibes and guitarist Marc Ciprut. The album’s collection of fourteen songs is centered artistically and emotionally on Audrey’s six newly-penned originals. Crediting musical luminaries as diverse as Bill Evans, Annie Lennox and Arnold Schoenberg as influences on her artistry, Audrey has found new challenges and satisfaction in becoming a songwriter. Receiving high praise for her vocal stylings, Jazz critics have reinforced a comparison she has heard her entire performing life, “Not since Karen Carpenter have I heard such a strong alto voice that is so pure and so convincing.”Audrey and her band will be celebrating the release of Let Me Know Your Heart with two sets of performance on Wednesday,  September 11th at The Zinc Bar in New York City. Tickets may be purchased here. https://don411.com/award-winning-vocalist-audrey-silver-releases-new-album-let-me-know-your-heart/#.XmTdTvRCeUk

Personnel: Bruce Barth on piano, trumpeter Marcus Printup, upright bassist Paul Beaudry, drummer Anthony Pinciotti, Tom Beckham on vibes and guitarist Marc Ciprut.

Let Me Know Your Heart

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McCoy Tyner - The Real McCoy (Remastered / Rudy Van Gelder Edition)

Styles: Piano Jazz 
Year: 1967
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 37:09
Size: 85,6 MB
Art: Front

(8:47)  1. Passion Dance
(9:12)  2. Contemplation
(6:37)  3. Four By Five
(6:32)  4. Search For Peace
(6:00)  5. Blues On The Corner

It is to McCoy Tyner's great credit that his career after John Coltrane has been far from anti-climatic. Along with Bill Evans, Tyner has been the most influential pianist in jazz of the past 50 years, with his chord voicings being adopted and utilized by virtually every younger pianist. A powerful virtuoso and a true original (compare his playing in the early '60s with anyone else from the time), Tyner (like Thelonious Monk) has not altered his style all that much from his early days but he has continued to grow and become even stronger. Tyner grew up in Philadelphia, where Bud Powell and Richie Powell were neighbors. As a teenager he gigged locally and met John Coltrane. He made his recording debut with the Art Farmer-Benny Golson Jazztet, but after six months left the group to join Coltrane in what (with bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones) would become the classic quartet. Few other pianists of the period had both the power and the complementary open-minded style to inspire Coltrane, but Tyner was never overshadowed by the innovative saxophonist. During the Coltrane years (1960-1965), the pianist also led his own record dates for Impulse.

After leaving Coltrane, Tyner struggled for a period, working as a sideman (with Ike and Tina Turner, amazingly) and leading his own small groups; his recordings were consistently stimulating even during the lean years. After he signed with Milestone in 1972, Tyner began to finally be recognized as one of the greats, and he has never been short of work since. Although there have been occasional departures (such as a 1978 all-star quartet tour with Sonny Rollins and duo recordings with Stephane Grappelli), Tyner has mostly played with his own groups since the '70s, which have ranged from a quartet with Azar Lawrence and a big band to his trio. In the '80s and '90s, Tyner did the rounds of labels (his old homes Blue Note and Impulse! as well as Verve, Enja, and Milestone) before settling in with Telarc in the late '90s and releasing a fine series of albums including 2000's Jazz Roots: McCoy Tyner Honors Jazz Piano Legends of the 20th Century and 2004's Illuminations. In 2007, Tyner returned with the studio album McCoy Tyner Quartet featuring saxophonist Joe Lovano, bassist Christian McBride, and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mccoy-tyner-mn0000868092/biography

Personnel: McCoy Tyner (piano); Joe Henderson (tenor saxophone); Ron Carter (bass); Elvin Jones (drums).

R.I.P.
Born: December 11, 1938, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Died: March 6, 2020

The Real McCoy (Remastered / Rudy Van Gelder Edition)

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Gregory Tardy - Standards & More

Styles: Saxophone And Clarinet Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:11
Size: 150,1 MB
Art: Front

( 7:49)  1. I See Your Face Before Me
( 6:42)  2. Voyage
( 3:09)  3. How Deep The Father's Love For Us
(10:03)  4. Billie's Bounce
( 6:42)  5. When I Fall In Love
( 6:47)  6. Secret Love
( 5:06)  7. A Prayer for the Preborn
( 5:35)  8. Aural Oasis
( 6:22)  9. How Deep Is The Ocean
( 6:51) 10. Firm Roots

As the title of this new album suggests Gregory Tardy and his excellent ensemble invested their energy in evergreen standards and jazz original classics here to fulfil his musical parents’ requests.“… Not only is he arguably the most original of the band’s improvisers, he’s also the most impassioned. His lines are incisive and hard-edged. Even his most fanciful flights are purposeful. His energetic approach consistently lifts the group’s performance to a higher level….” (Chris Kelsey – JazzTimes on “Steps of Faith” SCCD 31610)“….Of the many stars to have emerged on the jazz horizon during the '90s, one of the most disciplined, emotive and perhaps underrated is the multifaceted Gregory Tardy ….. Tardy takes another step toward establishing himself as one of the most important saxophonists of his generation….” (Matthew Miller - AJJ on “The Truth” SCCD 31583) https://www.jazzmessengers.com/en/13122/gregory-tardy/standards-and-more

Personnel: Gregory Tardy - tenor saxophone, clarinet, composer;  Philip Dizack - trumpet; Keith Brown - piano;  Sean Conly - bass; Jaimeo Brown - drums

Standards & More

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Carmen Souza - The Silver Messengers

Styles: Vocal And Guitar Jazz 
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:35
Size: 105,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:43)  1. Soul Searching
(3:48)  2. The Jody Grind
(4:50)  3. Señor Blues
(3:17)  4. Nutville
(3:30)  5. Lady Musika
(4:06)  6. St Vitus Dance
(3:43)  7. Pretty Eyes
(3:36)  8. Kathy
(6:09)  9. Song for my Father
(4:58) 10. Cape Verdean Blues
(3:50) 11. Silver Blues

Carmen Souza is back with her 9th CD. Her latest is totally dedicated to the music of Horace Silver, calling it -The Silver Messengers. Anyone following the last decade of Souza's career would have predicted this release sooner or later. Silver has been credited more then once as a big influence in Souza's career but their connections go beyond the artistic identification. They both share the same Cape Verdean heritage and they both, in different ways, mixed that heritage with elements of Jazz. The Silver Messengers mission in this CD was to honor Silver's pioneering repertoire by bringing it back to its African/Lusophone roots. Only Carmen Souza, with the help of her long time musical partner Theo Pascal, who has accomplish so much with her own pioneering musical signature, could have completed this mission with such wonder and authenticity.
Carmen Souza with her acclaimed position as composer, vocalist and instrumentalist in the World, and in the Cape Verdean musical spectrum, can now voice Silver's work to a whole generation, specially in his Ancestor's home, that did not knew his work before, promoting even further his legacy. Recorded between London and Lisbon, Carmen Souza and Theo Pascal have reworked 6 Silver original songs, adding some new creole lyrics to it, also including previous released versions of ''Song for My Father'' ''Cape Verdean Blues'' and ''Pretty Eyes'', plus 2 all new songs dedicated to Horace Silver. The Silver Messengers are Carmen Souza on vocals and guitar, Theo Pascal on Electric Bass/Dbass, Elias Kacomanolis on drums/Perc and Benjamin Burrell on piano. ~ Editorial Reviews https://www.amazon.com/Silver-Messengers-Carmen-Souza/dp/B07W47GCMW

The Silver Messengers

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Champian Fulton & Cory Weeds - Dream A Little...

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:51
Size: 139,9 MB
Art: Front

(2:58)  1. Dream A Little Dream Of Me
(4:41)  2. Fly Me To The Moon
(6:57)  3. Lullaby For Art
(7:18)  4. Darn That Dream
(5:53)  5. Pennies From Heaven
(5:58)  6. Once I Had A Secret Love
(9:07)  7. I Thought About You
(5:18)  8. Tangerine
(5:34)  9. I'd Give A Dollar For A Dime
(7:03) 10. Save Your Love For Me

“[Dream a Little] practically pants with unvarnished vitality….Fulton has set a high bar for herself since her 2007 debut Champian. In recent years she’s released a series of strong albums, each exposing a different aspect of her music. Dream a Little… might be her most pleasingly inviting. From the concise opening title track, she and Weeds establish the house rules with a conversational intimacy that bespeaks trust earned over many years and many gigs. It’s a loose session rife with quicksilver interplay. Fulton isn’t a subtle singer; she’s got an edge of brass in her voice that makes ballads, like a convincing version of “Darn That Dream,” more fulsome laments than whispered confessions. Weeds listens closely and responds in kind, often using his airy lower register as a tonal counterpoint when Fulton’s voice ascends. The album is also a showcase for her pianistic facility. She plays with such swinging joie de vivre on “Once I Had a Secret Love” that it’s easy to forget it’s not an instrumental track.” ~  Andrew Gilbert, JazzTimes

"At this point in jazz history, Champian Fulton is the best piano-playing singer and the best pianist who happens to be a singer. With her blend of precision and flair on the keys and her nuanced approach to the mic, she’s been unstoppable lately. Her career validates the old proverb that you get good at what you do: somehow, in between gigs, she manages to find the time to make albums....While this is first and foremost a collection of bittersweet love ballads, it’s also uproariously funny when least expected: Fulton has a subtle and often sly sense of humor, particularly on the keys. As if we need yet more proof that more artists should be making live records, this is it." ~ NY Music Daily https://champianfulton.bandcamp.com/album/dream-a-little

Dream A Little...

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Lyambiko, WDR Funkhausorchester - Berlin - New York

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:54
Size: 101,8 MB
Art: Front

(2:49)  1. Die ganze Welt ist himmelblau
(3:53)  2. After the Rain
(4:04)  3. Bei dir war es immer so schön
(3:51)  4. Happy Days Are Here Again
(3:41)  5. Das Lied ist aus: Frag' nicht warum ich gehe
(3:33)  6. Answer Me My Love
(3:06)  7. September Song
(3:17)  8. Sommer, See und Sonnenschein
(3:48)  9. It's Oh So Quiet
(4:17) 10. Der Wind hat mir ein Lied erzählt
(3:57) 11. Schlummerlied
(3:33) 12. Irgendwo auf der Welt

The jazz singer Lyambiko illuminates the composer scene between Berlin and New York between the 1930s and 1950s: pop cultural globalization between Nazi terror and artistic exile.

The four-time German Jazz Award winner and ECHO jazz winner Lyambiko releases “Berlin - New York”, a personal and political album. Together with the arranger Max Knoth (Ryuichi Sakamoto, Lou Reed, Danny Elfman, Alan Silvestri, David Newman, Matthew Herbert) and the WDR Funkhausorchester, conducted by Frank Strobel, she illuminates the diverse global connections of music culture in the "torn times" of the 1930s to the 1950s.

After countless appearances, tours and ten successful albums, Lyambiko is given a book as a gift: "Don't make your eyes sad because you're a little Negro". It tells the story of Marie Nejar, daughter of colored parents, who grew up under harassment in the Third Reich and became a singing child star in the young Federal Republic in the 1950s under the stage name Leila Negra. Lyambiko, herself the daughter of a Tanzanian and a German, finds her long familiar songs in Marie Nejar's autobiography, such as "Answer Me My Love" (Gerhard Winkler - 1952), which she has performed countless times. The book about an apparently distant, turbulent time has a strangely up-to-date effect and thus becomes the starting point for a musical and personal journey of discovery. Lyambiko came across sound film hits, radio hits and musicals, some of them immortalized in the "Great American Songbook", which were written by American and German composers in the 1920s to 1950s. Although everyday life was characterized by economic crises, wars and a terror regime in Germany, there was a lively international exchange between the songwriter circles in Berlin and Tin Pan Alley (New York City). The connection between European and American entertainment culture, as documented in countless cover versions of popular songs - such as the Comedian Harmonists - has existed since the beginning of the American music industry around 1900.

The song collection "Berlin - New York", carefully curated by Lyambiko and adapted by Max Knoth for the WDR Funkhausorchester, illuminates the pop cultural transfer between Germany and the USA in the 30s, 40s and 50s. Songs like "The wind told me a song" (Lothar Brühne - 1937), "September Song" (Kurt Weill - 1938), "Somewhere in the World" (Werner Richard Heymann - 1932) or "It's Oh So Quiet" ( Hans Lang - 1948) show the contradictions and ambivalences of these decades in an unforgettable way. The special thing about these songs, many of which are in the “Great American Songbook”, are the catchy, mostly optimistic but also sentimental melodies. They are ballads that, enriched by elements of jazz, Irish folk music or Central European operettas, stand out from the large number of songs at that time.https://www.lyambiko.com/berlin-new-york/

Berlin - New York

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Anat Cohen Tentet - Triple Helix

Styles: Clarinet Jazz
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:17
Size: 117,8 MB
Art: Front

( 6:28)  1. Milonga Del Angel
(11:15)  2. Triple Helix: I First
( 5:36)  3. Triple Helix: ii for Anat
( 5:02)  4. Triple Helix: iii last
( 4:21)  5. Miri
( 4:51)  6. Footsteps & Smiles
( 7:48)  7. La Llorona
( 4:34)  8. Lonesome Train
( 1:17)  9. Morning Melody (Epilogue)

Few musical ploys are as riveting as intricacy, especially when the ensemble at hand is sizable. But without a wealth of eloquence in play, elaboration can be its own worst enemy, a knot of tangles void of emotion. Anat Cohen knows this, and though her Tentet’s second album boasts some truly formidable crossweaves, there’s seldom a moment when poise doesn’t carry the day.  Much of the grace that guides these victories has to do with what the leader has deemed the group’s “flexible” nature. As with the Gil Evans-led ensemble on Sketches of Spain or Ellington’s troupe on “A Tone Parallel to Harlem,” listeners never hear the mechanics of the work at hand, just the resultant art floating through the air. This applies to all the tunes from Astor Piazzolla’s “Milonga del Angel” to Stan Kenton’s “Lonesome Train”but especially the program’s centerpiece, a Carnegie Hall and Chicago Symphony Center commission penned by Tentet musical director Oded Lev-Ari that gives the album its title. 

The three sections of “Triple Helix” are varied in disposition. Though Cohen’s clarinet is out front, the band’s level of interplay is wily; the score steers them away from all things obvious. The Rite of Spring and Rhapsody in Blue flash by, even a phrase from “Turkey in the Straw” pops up. But in the end, former Tel Aviv schoolmates Lev-Ari and Cohen deliver an original and deeply affecting work whose dramatic aspects are given lots of room to reveal themselves. That flexibility thing shows up in the album’s other pieces too. The bouncy “Footsteps & Smiles” is a crowd-pleasing fanfare, detailed and swinging. “Miri” allows Cohen to wax bittersweet; “La Llorona” augments that feel and throws in a bit of spookiness. By the time Triple Helix is done, it’s hard to decide if its success rests on stylistic breadth or the deep rewards of partnership. Probably both. https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/anat-cohen-tentet-triple-helix-anzic/

Triple Helix

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Dave O'Higgins - O'Higgins & Luft Play Monk & Trane

Styles: Saxophone And Guitar Jazz 
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:36
Size: 119,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:21)  1. Naima
(5:58)  2. Little Melonae
(5:42)  3. Locomotive
(6:49)  4. Minor Mishap
(4:02)  5. I'll Wait and Pray
(5:00)  6. Trinkle-Tinkle
(4:11)  7. Like Sonny
(3:23)  8. 'Round Midnight
(4:48)  9. Spring Is Here
(6:21) 10. Dreamland
(0:57) 11. Locomotive (duo)

Hearing the young British guitarist Rob Luft for the first time on his debut album, Riser (Edition, 2017), was rather like hearing American guitarist Johnny Smith for the first time on Moonlight In Vermont (Roost, 1956). You knew you were listening to something special. And while much separates the players' styles, much unites them, too: Smith's signature was long-form chorded passages, Luft's is effervescent single-note runs, but both approaches are intensely melodic and are enabled by virtuosic techniques, lightly worn. Plays Monk & Trane was made with an identically configured lineup as the one on Riser guitar, tenor saxophone, organ, drums but it cannot really be described as a follow-up. On Riser, Luft was centre-stage on ten originals. On Plays Monk & Trane, he shares the spotlight with saxophonist Dave O'Higgins on a set of covers.

On its own terms, however, Plays Monk & Trane is delightful. The album brings together two generations of players. O'Higgins and drummer Rod Youngs have been, not fully round the block, but about halfway, while Luft and organist Scott Flanagan have yet to round the first corner. O'Higgins put out his first album, All Good Things (EFZ), in 1992. London-based, US-born Youngs debuted on Gil Scott-Heron and his Amnesia Express' Tales Of Gil Scott-Heron (Essential) in 1990. Youngs worked with Scott-Heron for over twenty years and more recently has been a member of saxophonist Denys Baptiste's band; he was a cornerstone of Baptiste's 2017 masterpiece, The Late Trane (Edition).  Plays Monk & Trane comprises five Thelonious Monk originals, ranging from the familiar ('"Round Midnight") to the lesser known ("Dreamland"), and seven other pre-modal tunes either written by John Coltrane ("Naima," "Like Sonny") or standards recorded by him during the same Prestige / Atlantic era. Tempos range from the furious to the chilled. Youngs and Flanagan play unobtrustive roles pretty much throughout, with the solos shared equally between Luft and O'Higgins.

It is a testament to Luft and O'Higgins that they succeed in making two familiar-as-they-get tunes "Naima" and "'Round Midnight"sound as fresh as spring daisies. Both are played without organ or drums and are straightforward and spellbinding and lovely. You almost wish the group had woven the same magic on more warhorses. But the lesser known tunes are shot through with the same sense of discovery. ~ Chris May https://www.allaboutjazz.com/plays-monk-and-trane-rob-luft-ubuntu-music-review-by-chris-may.php

Personnel: Rob Luft: guitar; Dave O'Higgins: tenor saxophone; Scott Flanagan: organ (2-7, 9 ,10); Rod Youngs: drums (2-7, 9, 10).

O'Higgins & Luft Play Monk & Trane

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Bill Frisell - Harmony

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:52
Size: 108,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:35)  1. Everywhere
(4:07)  2. God's Wing'd Horse
(4:06)  3. Fifty Years
(3:56)  4. Hard Times
(3:07)  5. Deep Dead Blue
(4:40)  6. There In A Dream
(3:20)  7. Lonesome
(3:23)  8. On The Street Where You Live
(2:29)  9. How Many Miles?
(3:54) 10. Lush Life
(1:17) 11. Honest Man
(2:00) 12. Red River Valley
(1:40) 13. Curiosity
(3:12) 14. Where Have All The Flowers Gone?

Iconic guitarist-composer Bill Frisell has chosen to primarily emphasize the Americana side of his music for his debut as a leader for Blue Note Records. When Frisell organized his new band with vocalist Petra Haden, cellist Hank Roberts and guitarist-bassist Luke Bergman he was struck by the fact that all of the band members but him sang, so their vocal blend became the group's signature sound as well as the inspiration for the name Harmony. Upon first hearing, the album sounds rooted in traditional American music, but in fact eight of the fourteen selections were composed by Frisell. The set leads off with three of his: "Everywhere" and "Fifty Years" both employ vocals in a traditional musical setting, and it is notable that the first sound is a cappella vocals. "God's Wing'd Horse" (words by Julie Miller) adds lyrics to the mix but, as the title implies, they sound as if they could easily be from a folk song. All three vocalists harmonize with only guitar accompaniment: Frisell solos a bit here, but solos are not the focus in this music. It is an ensemble sound above all.

Stephen Foster's "Hard Times" is the first of the traditional selections, beautifully rendered with only voices and guitars. "Red River Valley" strips the arrangement down to just the three voices; Frisell lays out completely, an impressive commitment to the vocal blend that is the heart of the group. Pete Seeger's "Where Have All The Flowers Gone" gets a very modern arrangement, the mournful subject intensified by new harmonies and a doleful vocal performance by Haden. The tunes that are neither traditional nor original are an interesting and varied lot. "Deep Dead Blue" is a collaboration between Elvis Costello and Frisell from their album Deep Dead Blue (Nonesuch Records, 1995). Petra sings her late bassist-composer father Charlie Haden's "There In A Dream," an atmospheric noir tune first heard on the Charlie Haden Quartet West's Now Is the Hour (Verve, 1996). 

Billy Strayhorn's classic "Lush Life" is the one unambiguously jazz entry. It's a beautiful, minimal duet performance by Frisell and Haden. Frisell fans should have learned long ago to keep an open mind. This album has arguably less of a guitar focus than any previous one. Yet it is suffused with his genre-free love of music, and his guitar-playing remains a foundation element. It's a beautiful group sound, with the name Harmony very well deserved. ~ Mark Sullivan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/harmony-bill-frisell-blue-note-records-review-by-mark-sullivan.php

Personnel: Bill Frisell: guitar; Petra Haden: voice; Hank Roberts: cello, voice; Luke Bergman: baritone guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, voice.

Harmony

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Abdullah Ibrahim - Dream Time

Styles: Contemporary Jazz, Cape Jazz

Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:09
Size: 160,0 MB

(1:12)  1. Trieste My Love
(1:00)  2. Genesis
(4:13)  3. For Coltrane
(2:41)  4. Blue Bolero - Blue Bolero I
(9:39)  5. Nisa
(0:36)  6. Blue Bolero - Blue Bolero II
(3:39)  7. Capetown District Six
(3:36)  8. Sotho Blue
(0:08)  9. Machopi
(2:25) 10. Whoza Mtwana
(8:04) 11. Blues for a Hip King
(2:58) 12. Dream Time
(3:05) 13. In the Evening
(2:06) 14. Song for Lawrence Brown
(1:19) 15. Blue Bolero - Blue Bolero III
(7:48) 16. Dedication to Duke Ellington
(3:02) 17. The Ballance
(1:30) 18. Aspen
(2:53) 19. Did You Hear That Sound
(7:07) 20. Blue Bolero - Blue Bolero IV

Abdullah Ibrahim: Dream TimeStream-of-consciousness solo-piano recitals come in as many shades as jazz itself. At one extreme are Keith Jarrett's messianic epics. At another are Abdullah Ibrahim's less flashy but deeper outings. Ibrahim's style is about substance, space and subtlety. He says more by doing less. Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk, after all, were his formative influences.

Dream Time was recorded in March 2019 at the Hirzinger Concert Hall in Sölinhuben, in the foothills of the German Alps where Ibrahim lives. Over the course of sixty-seven minutes, he ranges over seventeen tunes from his massive songbook of original compositions, returning three times to one of them, "Blue Bolero" (from the 2003 Enja album African Magic). Audio quality is superb and the performance is seamless, each tune seguing into the next. Only at the very end does applause inform us that an audience was present.

It would be interesting to know if Ibrahim's choice of material was planned or off the cuff, but it is of no consequence. Dream Time was conceived not as a greatest-hits package, but in the spirit of the Native Australian timelines from which it takes its name. It is contemplative and intimate and unhurried. Ellington and his longtime trombonist Lawrence Brown are both acknowledged as inspirations and other pieces evoke Ibrahim's early years in South Africa (he exiled himself from the country in 1963). Three of the tunes ("Dream Time," "Nisa," "The Balance") were included on his excellent 2019 album The Balance (Gearbox), recorded in London with his eight-piece band, Ekaya.

Talking soft and saying something, as is Ibrahim's wont, this is a work of exquisite beauty.

Personnel: Abdullah Ibrahim: piano.

Dream Time

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