Helen Merrill - American Songbook Series : Cole Porter and Rodgers and Hammerstein

Styles: Vocal 
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 75:34
Size: 174,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:25)  1. What Is This Thing Called Love
(3:09)  2. I Love You
(3:42)  3. In The Still of the Night
(4:32)  4. My Heart Belongs To Daddy
(3:05)  5. True Love
(4:57)  6. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
(3:50)  7. Every Time We Say Goodbye
(5:36)  8. So In Love
(4:11)  9. I Concentrate On You
(3:30) 10. I Get A Kick Out of You
(5:22) 11. It Might As Well Be Spring
(5:01) 12. Hello Young Lovers
(3:59) 13. I Have Dreamed
(2:50) 14. People Will Say We're In Love
(3:14) 15. Getting To Know You
(3:09) 16. My Lord and Master
(3:36) 17. If I Loved You
(2:55) 18. My Favorite Things
(4:20) 19. The Sound of Music

A fine singer with a warm, expressive voice, Helen Merrill's infrequent recordings tend to be quite special with plenty of surprises and chance-taking. She started singing in public in 1944 and was with the Reggie Childs Orchestra during 1946-1947. Merrill, who was married for a period to clarinetist Aaron Sachs, had opportunities to sit in with some of the top modernists of the time, including Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and Bud Powell. She was with Earl Hines in 1952 and started recording regularly for EmArcy in 1954. Her collaboration with Clifford Brown was her first classic. She made several notable EmArcy albums during 1954-1958 (including one in 1956 that helped bring Gil Evans out of retirement); all have been reissued in a large box. After recording for Atco and Metrojazz in 1959, she moved to Italy for the next four years, touring often in Europe and Japan. Back in the U.S., Merrill teamed with pianist/arranger Dick Katz for a pair of notable and unpredictable Milestone dates (1967-1968) and then moved to Japan where she was quite popular. Helen Merrill returned to the United States in the mid-'70s and has since recorded for Inner City, Owl, EmArcy (including a reunion date with Gil Evans) Antilles, and Verve, which released her 2000 album Jelena Ana Milcetic a.k.a. Helen Merrill. © Scott Yanow /TiVo https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/interpreter/helen-merrill/download-streaming-albums

American Songbook Series : Cole Porter and Rodgers and Hammerstein

---

Lucia Minetti - Lucia Minetti: Jazz Nature

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:31
Size: 100,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:24)  1. The Nearness of You
(4:20)  2. Alone Together
(3:55)  3. Wild Is the Wind
(4:02)  4. So in Love
(4:25)  5. The Two Lonely People
(4:20)  6. Skylark
(2:52)  7. The Old Country
(4:54)  8. Turn Out the Stars
(3:23)  9. I Wish I Knew
(4:39) 10. No Moon at All
(3:13) 11. Try Your Wings

After the beautiful return of " Fil Rouge " (2016), all in the name of elegance and great French song, the Milanese singer adds a new chapter to her attendance with the Velut Luna label which has been able to guarantee some of the results best in career - with a program entirely dedicated to the canon and the American songbook. The project is based on absolute simplicity and almost unadorned (the album was recorded strictly live in the studio, in a single session and the staff draws a minimal dimension that projects the voice forward) and for this reason it assumes a great impact force. Eleven songs, a solid and discreet accompaniment, which knows how to make the interpreter's choice of departure his own, a skillful arrangement ability: the rest is music. The voice is always intense and carnal - marrying the chosen repertoire perfectly and knows how to put all its resources to good use (the extension, of course, but above all the timbre and the management of the dynamics), offering for each of the pieces that make up the schedule an appropriate interpretation, which goes straight to the emotional core of things, preserving the final result from unnecessary superstructures. In the impeccable homogeneity of the context, it is difficult to make choices that are not veined with subjectivity, but The Nearness Of You , The Two Lonely People and Turn Out The Stars seem to have something more than the other songs. The reference is the audio quality, as usual for a label that has accustomed listeners to excellence and has been able to make the treatment reserved for female voices an absolute strength. https://www.musicajazz.it/lucia-minetti-jazz-nature/

Lucia Minetti: Jazz Nature

---

Various Artists - Ella 100 - Live at the Apollo!

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 74:43
Size: 172,6 MB
Art: Front

 1. David Alan Grier/Ayo - Vintage 1934 “Apollo Amateur Night” Radio Broadcast / Judy (3:58)
 2. David Alan Grier - Ella 100 Co-Host David Alan Grier Opening (1:50)
 3. Patti Austin/Count Basie Orchestra - A-Tisket, A-Tasket (3:13)
 4. Patti Austin/Count Basie Orchestra - When I Get Low I Get High (3:33)
 5. David Alan Grier/Count Basie Orchestra - Do Nothin’ Till You Hear From Me (4:16)
 6. Lizz Wright/The Ella 100 All-Star Quartet - Love You Madly (4:37)
 7. Lizz Wright/The Ella 100 All-Star Quartet - The Nearness Of You (6:40)
 8. Ayo/Afro Blue - Oh, Lady Be Good (4:26)
 9. Patti Austin/Afro Blue/Count Basie Orchestra - How High The Moon (4:54)
10. Count Basie Orchestra - Back To The Apollo! (Apple) (5:45)
11. Patti Austin/David Alan Grier/Count Basie Orchestra - I Loves You, Porgy / There’s a Boat Dat’s Leavin’ Soon for New York - Medley (6:31)
12. Cassandra Wilson/Count Basie Orchestra - Cry Me A River (5:35)
13. Ledisi/Count Basie Orchestra - Honeysuckle Rose (3:38)
14. Monica Mancini/Brian Nova - Once In A While (5:51)
15. Patti Austin/David Alan Grier/Count Basie Orchestra - You’ll Have To Swing It (Mr. Paganini) / Paganini Bows Reprise (6:12)
16. Ella Fitzgerald - People (3:36)

To be taken back in time within the scope of a period piece movie has long been a staple. Some journeys feel much more real than others, but the concept is commonplace. Venturing into the past with only the audio of a CD or record is, as they might have said back in 1934, "a whole different kettle of fish." A live audience first laid eyes and ears on this 100th birthday celebration honoring the sensational Ella Fitzgerald (born on April 25th, 1917), live at the Apollo in 2017. It took a host of talent to do justice to one seventeen-year old singer in this project recreating the night of November 21, 1934, when the teenage Fitzgerald made her debut at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. With only voice and musical instruments to channel us back to 1934, emcee David Alan Grier accurately took us there. The feel of an old-time radio show was present. Fittingly, seventeen-year old Ayodele Owalabe started the show with "Judy," the same tune another seventeen-year old had sung performing on that same stage in 1934, launching her prolific career.

It just wouldn't have been right to not have The Count Basie Orchestra perform with the many singers who proceeded to hit the stage one after another. The orchestra was in full swing and later tore the house down with an all instrumental take on "Back to the Apollo." Prior to that, Patti Austin stole the show early, finding her inner child Ella and playfully scatting through the classic "A Tisket-A Tasket." Impressively changing gears on a dime, Austin then took "When I Get Low I Get High" on a sultry road which had the crowd buzzing. Keeping your mind in 1934 may be a challenge sometimes due to some rough editing which keeps pulling you back to reality. However, the show itself didn't skip a beat with Andra Day's feisty take on "Ain't Misbehavin.'" David Alan Grier proved to be well more than an emcee with a riveting version of "Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me." Moving right along, the incomparable Lizz Wright took her "wrightful" place center stage, along with the Ella 100 All Star Quartet featuring guitarist Brian Nova, bassist Nathan East, pianist Shelly Berg and, far from last and least, drummer Gregg Field. The quartet leader, Field, most notably played with Fitzgerald "back in the day." While the quartet changed the mood from the big sound of the orchestra and played superbly, it was Wright who smoldered into "Love You Madly" and, like butter, slid into a heartfelt "The Nearness of You." Wright seemed to take the audience's breath away.

A fun spin on "Oh, Lady Be Good" by Afro Blue had elements of The The Modernaires. The Count Basie Orchestra and Austin returned to the stage to join Afro Blue in a kicked-up look at "How High is the Moon." After a brief repartee which clarified that Grier was as unfunny in 1934 as he is in the present, he again stunned in a magnificent duet with Austin of "I Loves You Porgy." Cassandra Wilson's delightful bend on "Cry Me A River" followed. Next up, Ledisi took a run on "Honeysuckle Rose." With due respect, the show lost a little steam at this point. Neither Ledisi's voice nor scatting sensibilities were on a par with her predecessors. Not that she isn't a fine singer, perhaps just not the best choice to be singing Ella Fitzgerald tunes. Monica Mancini yes Henry Mancini's daughter then sang "Once in A While" joined by Brian Nova's fine Joe Pass interpretation on guitar. Grier and Austin returned for a finale that was Broadwayesque, as opposed to the big band power push one might expect in honoring a jazz singer. Not to mention the fact that The Count Basie Orchestra was in the house. There are certainly way more hits than misses and a couple of the hits were home runs or triples. An enjoyable listening experience was enhanced when the record closed with a live recording of "People" sung in all its glory by the legend herself. With just one song you clearly hear and understand why Ella Fitzgerald is heralded as the "The First Lady of Song."~ Jim Worsley https://www.allaboutjazz.com/ella-100-live-at-the-apollo-various-artists-concord-jazz

Personnel:  The Count Basie Orchestra: band/orchestra; David Alan Grier: voice / vocals; Patti Austin: voice / vocals; Monica Mancini: voice / vocals; Cassandra Wilson: voice / vocals; Ledisi: voice / vocals; Ella Fitzgerald: voice / vocals; Afro Blue : voice / vocals; Lizz Wright: voice / vocals; Andra Day: voice / vocals; Brian Nova: guitar; Gregg Field: drums; Nathan East: bass; Shelly Berg: piano.

Ella 100: Live at the Apollo!

---

Mr Untel @ Hanna H - Say It Again

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 30:51
Size: 71,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:33)  1. Say It Again
(3:23)  2. Do You Remember
(3:39)  3. Play with Fire
(3:16)  4. Sugar Baby
(3:25)  5. The Mood
(3:41)  6. I Remember You - U Mix
(3:08)  7. Marylin
(3:01)  8. Berceuse
(3:41)  9. Go Bananas

Hanna Hägglund grew up surrounded by musician and artists in Stockholm, Sweden. Her father is a trumpet player that made here listen to jazz music very soon. She started to play the piano at the age of six and sang in choirs as a child. At fifteen she opened up for her father’s band and led the vocal girls’ quartet. The first time she came in Paris was love at first sight with the French capital and she started to sing in clubs and meet musicians with whom she collaborated on different projects. In 1998, she signs a record contract with EMI as a singer-songwriter. The single “So fine” rocketed up to n° 2 in the charts that same year, followed up by “Quand j’entends cette song” and “Une petite place pour moi”. Curious by nature, Hanna takes acting-classes and ends up playing one of the leading parts in the musical comedy “L’ombre d’un Géant”(Sony Music 2002). She also plays “Juliet” in a contemporary re-interpretation of Shakespear’s masterpiece. In 2003, she meets the French electro-band “Stéréodrome” and Mary L. with whom she records a great pop-lounge album where Hanna becomes “Tuvstarr”. « Sedge Flowers » was released by Elliot Music in 2004 and included the single “High & Low” remixed by Mr. Untel. This album was composed and produced in collaboration with Mary L and Yann Cortela and Fred Savio (Thanks to them for the connection and good vibes). Hanna and Mr. Untel immediately connected as her melodies and lyrics fit so naturally on his colorful, inspired music and decided to work together on a new project where jazz, electro-pop, bossa nova and R&B live together in perfect harmony. Since then, four albums have been produced and released by Elliot Music and Rambling records for export with “Back in Paris” and “Made in Paris”, ” A summer’s Day” and their latest “Retro Novo” which came out in 2013. Their musical collaboration still continues today. http://elliot-music.com/hanna-h/

Say It Again

---

Chet Baker - Embraceable You

Styles: Vocal And Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1995
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:17
Size: 91,5 MB
Art: Front

(2:24)  1. The Night We Called It A Day
(4:36)  2. Little Girl Blue
(2:09)  3. Embraceable You
(2:11)  4. They All Laughed
(2:55)  5. There's A Lull In My Life
(3:40)  6. What Is There To Say
(2:50)  7. While My Lady Sleeps
(2:36)  8. Forgetful
(2:48)  9. How Long Has This Been Going On
(2:09) 10. Come Rain Or Come Shine
(3:10) 11. On Green Dolphin Street
(4:32) 12. Little Girl Blue
(3:10) 13. Trav'lin' Light

A ballad collection that emphasizes Chet Baker's troubled-romantic vocal style, it's not too surprising that these 1957 recordings remained in the vaults for almost 40 years. For one thing, Baker's delicate tenor, having won the hearts of thousands of teenage fans, was considered somewhat of a novelty to most critics. For another, his guitar-and-bass accompaniment is incredibly sparse, and while that doesn't hurt his trumpeting at all, being so prominent in the mix occasionally betrays his vocal limitations. Baker's fans, though, need not worry about such petty analysis, for the wistful, tormented tone of this record is the very sound that helped create the legend, and in places he is firmly in his element, especially on "There's a Lull in My Life" and a sublime instrumental version of "Little Girl Blue," which features some of his finest soloing. While it isn't the place to start, Embraceable You is a fascinating example of why Chet Baker's tragic spirit remains as attractive today as it was in his lifetime. https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/embraceable-you-mr0000359119

Personnel: Chet Baker - trumpet, vocals; Dave Wheat - guitar; Russ Savakus  - bass

Embraceable You

---

Konstantin Klashtorni - 7 X 7

Styles: Saxophone Jazz, Smooth Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:44
Size: 105,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:12)  1. 7 X 7
(4:10)  2. Charmed
(4:02)  3. Moments Like These
(4:22)  4. By the Bay
(4:03)  5. Hypnotize Me
(4:07)  6. Timeless
(4:23)  7. Sensitivities
(4:16)  8. Reflections over Water
(4:24)  9. Just for 2
(3:50) 10. Nothing Stands Between Us
(3:49) 11. Late Nights with U

Konstantin Klashtorni has done more than most in extending the global reach of smooth jazz.  Originally from the Ukraine and now domiciled in Germany this fine multi instrumentalist has been building an extensive discography for the last sixteen years and is all set to add to it with the February 14 release of the superb ‘7 x 7’.  The date is significant in that it coincides with Klashtorni’s 49thbirthday, a milestone that he has used to bestow the album with its title. ‘7 x 7’ isa sumptuous eleven track collection of gentle rhythms and compelling melodies that draws on all Klashtorni’s experiences as solo artist, master of chill and king of cool. In fact, if you want to know what ‘7 x 7’, or for that matter Konstantin Klashtorni, is all about then look no further than the vibe drenched title cut that glides along like light on water.  Klashtorni is well known for delivering his jazz with a major slice of cool and they don’t come much cooler that the superb ‘Moments Like These’.  Elsewhere, and with expansive production throughout, the chilled out ‘Timeless’ really gets the job done while the warmly inviting groove of ‘Sensitivities’ might just be the ultimate antidote to a stressful day. Sounding more like a request than a song title ‘Hypnotize Me’ hints at the sublimely addictive quality of Klashtorni’s music and although the easy grooving ‘Charmed’ provides a timely reminder of his artistry on sax it is with ‘Just For 2’ that Klashtorni takes an enticing walk on the romantically melodic side.

‘Nothing Stands Between Us’ proves to be a slice of textbook mid tempo smooth jazz of the kind that never gets old while the first single to be selected for radio is the sunshine filled ‘By The Bay’.  It will go for adds February 10 and talking of sunshine the dazzling ‘Reflections Over Water’ where Konstantin comes up big on flute might well get in your head and not go away.  ‘Late Night With U’ brings ‘7 x 7’ to a close and its ‘feel good’ aura that is all pervading could well be a fitting metaphor for the entire CD. Konstantin Klashtorni first came to prominence in 2004 with his debut CD ‘Downtown’.  Although three more smooth jazz albums followed, it was in 2010, when his project ‘Kool & Klean Volume l’ was released, that he began to move in a slightly different musical direction.  It proved to be the first in a series of nine accessible and commercially attractive collections that sat somewhere between smooth jazz, electronica and chill. What the CDs actually did was reclaim some of the ground that previously had been the sole domain of Paul Hardcastle.  Parallel to all of that he embarked upon the seven-album ‘Groove Jazz N Chill’ set and also found time to release music to make love by under the title of ‘Love Suggestions’. More about Konstantin Klashtorni  A versatile saxophonist and a composer, Klashtorni has toured and performed throughout Europe and South America.  He studied jazz saxophone at Kiev State Music College in the Ukraine and received his Masters Degree in Music from the Rotterdam Royal Conservatory in Holland. In 1995 Konstantin traveled to Venezuela and enriched his musical repertoire by exploring and incorporating Latin American rhythms and styles into his music. Here, between 1995 and 2000, he worked with a whole range of bands and it was while touring with the Biella Da Costa band that Konstantin played at the 1996 Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. Fast forwarding to the year 2000 and Konstantin, by then living in Holland, was rapidly developing contacts with a whole range of musicians. Just as significant he was cultivating his association with Nightstage Records and it was this partnership that was responsible for the release of his first album. The rest is history but the future is very much ‘7 x 7’. https://smoothjazztherapy.typepad.com/my_weblog/2020/01/konstantin-klashtorni-7-x-7.html

7 X 7

---

Sinead O'Connor - How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:17
Size: 104,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:58)  1. 4th And Vine
(4:03)  2. Reason With Me
(3:44)  3. Old Lady
(5:28)  4. Take Off Your Shoes
(4:16)  5. Back Where You Belong
(4:23)  6. The Wolf Is Getting Married
(4:37)  7. Queen Of Denmark
(3:55)  8. Very Far From Home
(4:11)  9. I Had A Baby
(6:37) 10. V.I.P.

There have been public declarations of her sexual interest in yams, and tweets about her mental fragility. Her latest relationship has spun more handbrake turns than a joyrider (that's engaged-married-crack den-broken up-reunited-broken up-reunited, at last count). Jaw-dropping revelations about singer Sinéad O'Connor have come thick and fast recently, not least this latest bombshell: O'Connor has made a breezy pop album about love. On "4th & Vine", O'Connor, 45, four-times married, most recently last December, anticipates her latest wedding with infectious delight. Somehow, this breathy Afro-reggae lope sweetly recalls Althea and Donna's "Uptown Top Ranking". "The Wolf is Getting Married", by contrast, is not about this monstered woman tying the knot. Rather, it riffs on an Arab expression for a break in the clouds, and radiates good cheer. Throughout "Old Lady", O'Connor is laughing "like an idiot", "not [being] so serious". The album ends on a cackle. Gladness is the last thing you expect from Sinéad O'Connor, as intense a figure as late modern pop has produced. She may have got crazy-famous covering a love song by Prince, but it was her fierce, bereft delivery of "Nothing Compares 2 U", and her solitary tear in the video, that made O'Connor a household name in 1990.

Since then, her singular path has included Rastafarianism, off-piste ordination, lesbianism (since recanted), a beef with Frank Sinatra, misdiagnosed bipolar disorder and, most infamously of all, her lonely, one-woman campaign against the hypocrisy of the Catholic church, a stance totally vindicated by 2009's Murphy report into the systemic sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests.Somehow she managed to fit in some albums too of Irish traditionals (2002's Sean-Nós Nua), cover versions, a bit of reggae (2005's Throw Down Your Arms). These never quite matched the pleasures of her first two records, or indeed the passionate pitch at which O'Connor's internal life was being lived. Whether it's vindication, or coming off the medication, How About I Be Me feels effervescent, even when the breezy love songs give way to more complex concerns. "Back Where You Belong" is as good a song as O'Connor has been involved with for some time, dealing elegantly with a faraway death.Her power, though, lies in her righteousness. "Take Off Your Shoes" defends spirituality in the face of the Catholic church's shame. "I say you're running out of battery!" O'Connor thunders, and the hairs on your arms stand up, electrified. Her lung power appears miraculously unaffected by the passage of time. O'Connor's directness cuts both ways. One moving song, "I Had a Baby", forensically details the circumstances of the conception of her fourth child. Others make you cringe, not least "Reason With Me", her portrayal of a junkie. "VIP" closes the album with a thinly disguised rant at Bono, a fellow Christian who remained silent on the scandal. These make for uncomfortable listening, not because their subjects should not be tackled, but because they have been tackled clumsily on an album that restores O'Connor's reputation as an artist. This article was amended on 28 February. In the original, Bono was referred to as a fellow Catholic. This has been corrected. More..... https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/feb/26/sinead-oconnor-how-about-review

How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?

---

Jim Snidero - Project-K

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:27
Size: 122,7 MB
Art: Front

(7:46)  1. Han
(6:49)  2. DMZ
(6:49)  3. Jeju
(5:57)  4. Mother
(5:40)  5. Jenga
(6:44)  6. Seoulful
(7:10)  7. Goofy
(6:29)  8. Han O Bak Nyun

Over the course of the past four decades, and the 20-plus albums produced under his name, Jim Snidero has carved out his rightful place in the pantheon of the music. The esteemed alto saxophonist’s explorations have proved boundless, moving from downhome atmospheres to broad reflections on the American experience, refined string settings to probing realms, and nods to totemic figures to cathartic statements addressing personal loss. Having additionally worked with everybody from Brother Jack McDuff to Toshiko Akiyoshi to Frank Sinatra, established himself as a game-changing author, and taken his music and messages to concert halls, clubs and classrooms across the globe, it might be tempting to say that Snidero has done it all. But once again, he obliterates that assertion. With Project-K, Jim Snidero breaks new ground. Absorbing and refracting varied aspects of Korean folkways, he delves into a topic near and dear to his home and heart. “Having a Korean wife, family, and friends, I’ve been immersed in Korean culture for more than 20 years,” he shares. “Between Korean history, culture and philosophy, I felt that there was much to explore musically.” Bridging his own wide-ranging aesthetic with those very traditions, Snidero turns out one of the most distinctive dates of his career.

In choosing the personnel to flesh out this music, Snidero’s decisions proved shrewd and sound. The rhythm section, comprised of pianist Orrin Evans, bassist Linda May Han Oh, and drummer Rudy Royston, brings a rare balance of sensitivity, strength, and insight to these ventures. And trumpeter Dave Douglas serves as the perfect front line foil for the saxophonist.Connections abound across that group of five Evans was a notable presence on Snidero’s Waves of Calm; Oh and Royston, both part of Douglas’ beloved quintet, were key figures on Snidero’s Stream of Consciousness and Main Street but the sixth member of the band, who proves to be the x-factor, is new to Snidero’s world. Stepping outside the box, he brought in Do Yeon Kim, a virtuoso on the zither-like gayageum. “I wanted to use a traditional Korean instrument on Project-K and the gayageum appealed to me the most. My goal was to not simply feature the instrument as a separate entity,” Snidero explains, “but to have it fully integrated within at least some of the arrangements. Do Yeon was the first gayageum player accepted into the New England Conservatory, so she was the obvious choice.”

Together, these six honor Korea’s rich heritage while expanding musical worldviews.  That’s clear from the first, as the sound of the Korean prayer bowl, traditionally used in Buddhist meditation, offers a welcome ring on “Han.” The first of six Snidero originals on the album, it’s a statement that speaks in both mournful and resilient tones. “Koreans have endured great hardship through their history, which has contributed to a uniquely Korean feeling called ‘Han.’ Difficult to describe, and very personal, Han could be thought of as a sense of deep sorrow and incompleteness tempered by endurance and acceptance,” he notes. That opener, like the feeling it describes, proves incredibly nuanced in its expression(s). But what follows the feisty “DMZ” is something else entirely. “Do Yeon’s introduction to this piece perfectly projects what has been described as ‘the scariest place on Earth’the Korean Demilitarized Zone. The piece has many harmonic conflicts, at one point with three keys being played and including the folk song ‘Arirang’ on the gayageum. The band builds a huge amount of intensity until the final, tensely quiet cluster.”

While the band’s signature sound is set by this point, moods and subjects continue to shift. “Jeju,” a pensive and peaceful journey, beautifully reflects the nature of the South Korean island lending its name to the music, while “Mother”a tribute to the artistic creativity of Koreans” that references Bong Joon-Ho’s 2009 film of the same name brings angularity and reduced gravity into the picture (along with a larger role for the aforementioned Korean prayer bowl). The jaunty “Jenga” a K-pop cover recast in 3/4offers some traded wonders while merging genres.  The witty “Seoulful” plays on volleying intentions. And “Goofy” brings the blues and a swinging sensibility to the foreground. Then it all comes to a close with “Han O Bak Nyun,” a traditional folk song enriched by Snidero’s spiritual search and wrapped up by one last bowl ring. Working together as a single entity, these musicians capture and illuminate Snidero’s vision with incredible focus and sincerity. “Dave, Orrin, Linda, Rudy, and Do Yeon were the perfect choices for Project-K,” relates Snidero. “Individually they are musicians of the highest order. As a group, we were all able to create what I believe is both unique and inspired music.” https://nouveaufluxmusic.wordpress.com/2019/10/22/intrepid-alto-saxophonist-jim-snidero-assembles-all-star-band-with-dave-douglas-orrin-evans-linda-may-han-oh-rudy-royston-doyeon-kim-on-new-album-inspired-by-korea/

Personnel: Alto Saxophone, Producer – Jim Snidero; Bass – Linda May Han Oh; Drums – Rudy Royston; Piano – Orrin Evans; Trumpet – Dave Douglas

Project-K

---

Mr.Untel @ Hanna H - Retro Novo

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:57
Size: 94,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:49)  1. Summer Is My Lover
(3:39)  2. Balloon
(4:38)  3. What a Wonderful World
(3:11)  4. Ladybird
(3:57)  5. Syracuse
(4:45)  6. It's for You
(3:55)  7. The Look of Love
(3:34)  8. Summer Candy (Remix)
(3:49)  9. Night & Day
(4:36) 10. Fake

Retro Novo The duo Mr Untel & Hanna H unveils brand new album in 2013. Hanna H, singer and songwriter comes from pop and jazz while Mr Untel, composer and producer, has an electronica and house background. The album contains personal versions of Jazz standards‚ “What a wonderful world”‚ “Syracuse” “Night & Day” and “The look of love” in addition to 6 original songs with sensual vocals, delicate melodies, mesmerizing beats, smooth sounds and soulful solos by stunning saxophonist Thierry Farruggia. Music to love and be loved to. http://elliot-music.com/2015/04/18/retro-novo/

Retro Novo

---

Dan Siegel - Departure

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:02
Size: 113,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:32)  1. Across the Sea
(3:45)  2. Street Talk
(4:37)  3. Mosaic
(4:12)  4. Friends Forever
(5:16)  5. Departure
(4:02)  6. From Here On Out
(4:18)  7. A World Away
(5:08)  8. Soliloquy
(4:35)  9. Shades of Gray
(4:24) 10. Castles in the Sand
(4:09) 11. Alone

A culmination of influences from an illustrious career spanning 25-plus years, Departure is the latest studio recording from pianist Dan Siegel. He brilliantly blends his melodic and rhythmic pop sensibilities with his traditional jazz roots and offers up an amazing acoustic vision of original compositions. This CD is graceful, noble, and reflective, since it transcends categorization as it speaks to earlier times of adult instrumental acoustic music with classic themes that were influenced by the song, its melodies, and its virtuosic musicians. Among Siegel's invitees are several contemporary jazz greats including Brian Bromberg, Vinnie Colaiuta, and Lenny Castro, with special guest performances by saxophonist Bob Sheppard, guitarists Norman Brown and Grant Geissman, and vocalist Bill Cantos. Produced by Siegel and Bromberg, this 11-track offering is ripe with themes that move, groove and appeal to your sense of jazz. The emotionally gripping opening track"Across the Sea" and "Street Talk," which offers the vintage Siegel sound, defines the true stripped down essence that is Departure. The exotic string ensemble heard on "Mosaic" serves to enhance the darker emotional piano and saxophone textures. "Castles in the Sand" features Vince Guaraldi's inimitable influences while "Alone" is a soft-spoken ballad that includes light percussive textures and an irresistible tenderness from saxophonist Bob Sheppard. Overall, Departure is organic, in-the-pocket, and should be in your collection of great piano jazz records.

 ~ Paula Edelstein https://www.allmusic.com/album/departure-mw0000419913

Departure

---

Ute Lemper - Rendezvous with Marlene

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 74:27
Size: 173,9 MB
Art: Front

(3:43)  1. One for My Baby
(3:13)  2. Lili Marleen
(3:13)  3. They Call Me Naughty Lola
(4:34)  4. Blowing in the Wind
(3:55)  5. Marie Marie
(3:51)  6. Ruins of Berlin
(3:41)  7. Und wenn er wiederkommt
(4:56)  8. When the World Was Young
(3:36)  9. Wenn ich mir was wünschen dürfte
(3:46) 10. Want to Buy Some Illusions
(6:42) 11. Que Reste-t-il De Nos Amour
(2:45) 12. The Laziest Gal in Town
(4:33) 13. Where Have All the Flowers Gone
(3:04) 14. Just a Gigolo
(3:02) 15. Falling in Love Again
(2:06) 16. Ich hab' noch einen Koffer in Berlin
(4:53) 17. Allein in einer großen Stadt
(2:52) 18. Dejeuner Du Matin
(3:07) 19. Wenn der Sommer wieder einzieht
(2:44) 20. Sch... Kleines Baby

The new show by Ute Lemper is based on a long telephone conversation between Marlene Dietrich and Ute in Paris in 1988, thirty years ago. After having received the prestigious Molière award for her performance in the musical Cabaret in Paris, Ute sent a card to Marlene, who had moved to Avenue de Montaigne 12 in 1979, apologising for all the media attention at the time which compared her to the great German actress.

Ute was at the beginning of her theatrical and musical career, while Dietrich had a long life of film, music, incredible collaborations, passionate love stories and great fame behind her. In conversation with the young artist, the “Blue Angel” recalled moments from her extraordinary life in cinema and music, spoke of her love for the poet Rilke and her complicated relationship with Germany, as well as her voluntary exile.In 1992, Lemper played the part of Lola in a production of Blue Angel in Berlin. It was the same role that had made Dietrich a star in 1928, transforming her into an icon of sensuality and glamour. Marlene was unable to see the play. She died in Paris just a few days before the Berlin première. This story of encounters, similarities and coincidences that bind the lives of the two artists, both German born but living elsewhere Dietrich in Paris, Lemper in New York - both magnificent singers and actresses, led Ute Lemper to come up with the idea of a recital dedicated to Marlene, in order to tell the story through music and words of an extraordinary actress and woman. https://www.piccoloteatro.org/en/2019-2020/ute-lemper-rendezvous-with-marlene

Rendezvous with Marlene

---

The Jimmy Cobb Quartet - Jazz in the Key of Blue

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop 
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:26
Size: 127,8 MB
Art: Front

(6:47)  1. Every Time We Say Goodbye
(5:30)  2. With You I'm Born Again
(5:08)  3. I'll Still Be in Love with You
(4:52)  4. Emily
(5:23)  5. Stairway to the Stars
(4:31)  6. I Had the Craziest Dream
(8:21)  7. Remembering U
(4:12)  8. What Will I Do
(6:25)  9. If Ever I Would Leave You
(4:16) 10. We'll Be Together Again

The 50th anniversary celebrations for Miles Davis's Kind of Blue in 2009 reminded the world that drummer Jimmy Cobb is the last surviving participant from that groundbreaking session. This set is a romantic-standards programme fronted by trumpeter and flugelhornist Roy Hargrove and guitarist Russell Malone, with only the swish of Cobb's understated brushwork testifying to his presence for long stretches. In an era in which such familiar jazz materials are frequently subverted, rhythmically reinvented or morphed into hybrids with other songs, it would be easy to write off this straightahead session as craftsmanlike but out of its time except that something, perhaps respect for Cobb's pedigree, stirs a dazzling inventiveness from the more familiarly funk-and-R&B-inclined Hargrove, and from Malone who sounds like the best of guitarists Charlie Christian, Jim Hall and himself  combined. Hargrove's breathy flugel immediately establishes his captivating poise on Everytime We Say Goodbye over Malone's cushioning chords, and his eruption into a fiercer attack after the delicate opening of With You I'm Born Again is a delicious shock. The trumpeter's New Orleans roots come out over Malone's bent notes and Charlie Christian swing on I Had the Craziest Dream. It shows just how much younger players cherish the standards book, and how unobtrusively a veteran such as Cobb can help them.

… just when we need it the most. Millions of readers around the world are flocking to the Guardian in search of honest, authoritative, fact-based reporting that can help them understand the biggest challenge we have faced in our lifetime. But at this crucial moment, news organisations are facing an unprecedented existential challenge. As businesses everywhere feel the pinch, the advertising revenue that has long helped sustain our journalism continues to plummet. We need your help to fill the gap. We believe every one of us deserves equal access to quality news and measured explanation. So, unlike many others, we made a different choice: to keep Guardian journalism open for all, regardless of where they live or what they can afford to pay. This would not be possible without financial contributions from our readers, who now support our work from 180 countries around the world.

We have upheld our editorial independence in the face of the disintegration of traditional media with social platforms giving rise to misinformation, the seemingly unstoppable rise of big tech and independent voices being squashed by commercial ownership. The Guardian’s independence means we can set our own agenda and voice our own opinions. Our journalism is free from commercial and political bias never influenced by billionaire owners or shareholders. This makes us different. It means we can challenge the powerful without fear and give a voice to those less heard. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/dec/31/jimmy-cobb-quartet-key-of-blue

R.I.P.
Born: 20. Januar 1929 in Washington, D.C;
Died: 24. Mai 2020 in New York

Jazz in the Key of Blue

---

Angela Davis - Little Did They Know

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:29
Size: 102,5 MB
Art: Front

(6:11)  1. Little Did They Know
(6:57)  2. Our Spanish Love Song
(4:48)  3. Pretty Flowers Were Made For Blooming
(5:48)  4. Circuit For Three
(5:41)  5. The Light Between Us
(5:52)  6. Love Is A Many Splendored Thing
(7:04)  7. Hymn For Haden
(2:05)  8. Lascia ch’io pianga

Aussie saxophonist Angela Davis arrived just in the nick of time with her third recording Little Did They Know, following up on her introductory The Art of The Melody (Self Produced, 2013) and sophomore effort Lady Luck (Self Produced, 2015). Davis allowed this one to incubate, resulting in a fully evolved project produced by a confident professional who knows exactly what she wants. Opting for the smallest rhythm section possible, bassist Sam Anning and pianist Tony Gould, Davis steers through four original compositions and four pleasant surprises.

The paired-down music frames Davis' warm and delicate alto saxophone tone in a three-dimensional space of quiet where a magical counterpoint takes place. Davis' original title piece is a case in point, where she chooses a simple harmonic scaffolding upon which to hang the subtle filigree of melody, faintly Old-World European and melancholy. 

She addresses Charlie Haden from his collaboration on Ginger Baker's Falling off the Roof (Atlantic, 1996) a humid reading of "Our Spanish Love Song" and Bill Frisell from his Blues Dream (Nonesuch, 2011) on a pastoral "Pretty Flowers Made for Blooming." A brief and beautiful recitation of Handel's "Lascia ch'io pianga" closes this sensitive recital, Davis' tone and approach are effective and direct and it serves her sound. This recording is a quiet interlude in an otherwise busy field. ~C.Michael Bailey https://www.allaboutjazz.com/ten-artists-june-2019-polly-gibbons-by-c-michael-bailey.php

Little Did They Know

---

Enzo Pietropaoli - The Princess

Styles: Contemporary Jazz 
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:38
Size: 135,0 MB
Art: Front

(7:01)  1. Jealous Guy
(5:06)  2. A Hard Rain's a Gonna Fall
(5:37)  3. Night and Day
(6:18)  4. Scaleno Beat
(7:06)  5. Father Son
(5:11)  6. The Princess
(4:24)  7. Supereroa
(5:35)  8. Philadelphia
(7:52)  9. The End
(4:23) 10. God Only Knows

It can be risky for jazz musicians to play pop songs. They have to navigate the memories that each composition holds for the listener while also making the music distinctive and personal. Miles Davis could do it with Michael Jackson's "Human Nature" and Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time," and of course Sonny Rollins can make any popular song his own. Add to that list, Enzo Pietropaoli. The bassist has been exploring popular music with his quartet, which has released three volumes of Yatra (Via Vento Jazz). Here he gets more intimate with a piano trio session, performing mostly slow tempos and meditative pieces.

His trio has the same lineup as the Yatra quartet, minus trumpeter Fulvio Sigurta. It comprises pianist Julian Mazzariello, drummer Alessandro Paternesi, and Pietropaoli on double bass. The seven covers and three original tracks on The Princess invite a type of nostalgia, not for the way it was, but for the sense of possibility those particular songs spurred in us when we heard the originals. Take Brian Wilson's "God Only Knows." Played at an achingly decelerated pace, the trio teases out the unsung lyric to great effect, making the Beach Boys into the most romantic band ever. Not your era? Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam wrote "The End," and the trio performs it with the same magic. The formula is consistent here. Pietropaoli has a knack for diving deeper into pop music to reawaken the message. Bob Dylan's warning call "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall" is reiterated with Mazzariello's very simple piano lines and Paternesi's brushes. Where an act like The Bad Plus tends toward the overelaborate cover song, this trio favors the understated. Even when they travel back to 1932 for Cole Porter's "Night And Day," there is no hint of saccharine. Just the most gentle swing. Of the three Pietropaoli originals, "Supereroa" is the one composition that reroutes the trio into an up-tempo (think Ahmad Jamal) swing. The title track opens with a bass solo, before walking the same territory as the cover tunes. It's begging for someone (anyone?) to write some lyrics. Mark Corroto https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-princess-enzo-pietropaoli-via-veneto-jazz-review-by-mark-corroto.php

Personel: Enzo Pietropaoli: double bass; Julian Mazzariello: piano; Alessandro Paternesi: drums.

The Princess

---

Diane Schuur - Running on Faith

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:48
Size: 154,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:24)  1. Walking on a Tightrope
(4:52)  2. The Danger Zone
(4:38)  3. All Blues
(5:52)  4. Something so Right
(7:15)  5. Let It Be
(5:32)  6. The Sun Will Shine on You
(6:51)  7. Everybody Looks Good at the Starting Line
(4:59)  8. There is Always One More Time
(6:17)  9. Chicken
(3:30) 10. This Bitter Earth
(4:38) 11. Running on Faith
(4:22) 12. Way over Yonder
(3:33) 13. Swing Low Sweet Chariot

Veteran Diane Schuur writes in liner notes that her CD running on faith is the first time she chose all of the included material. “I’ve been focusing on the condition of our world, about what is, about what can be,” she explains. Her tone is forcefully expressive; numbers are a mixture of singing, parlando, a little preaching, and irrepressible instrumental breaks. Ernie Watts (tenor and soprano sax) and Kye Palmer (trumpet and flugelhorn) are top of the line. “They got me ‘Walkin’ on a Tightrope,’ headin’ for The Twilight Zone” asserts at-ti-tude. Back-end vibrato is an undulating hum. Control of slip/slide octaves makes the rendition her own. Schuur unexpectedly goes high for just a word here and there. Dropped Gs sound natural. Rhythm is infectious. And oh the trumpet! “The Danger Zone” is all dive bar. The vocalist is talking TO us.  Tempo arrives like a rubber-soled, tapped foot. The sax has its way with this tune. (Both songs were written by Percy Mayfield)

Miles Davis’ “All Blues” became iconic as an instrumental. The lyrics, though minimal, may be a revelation. Muted horn glides. Thom Rotella’s quick-fingered guitar goes for the gut. Musicians are all in. “Let It Be” (Paul McCartney) begins halting. Just when I dread the band laying siege, expecting loss of uncluttered openness, the tune takes off with evangelical abandon. (Still, I’d love to hear the accompaniment cut to the bone.) The cynical “Everything Looks Good at the Starting Line” (Paul W. Thorn/William M. Maddox), with back-up vocals, straddles gospel and blues. An extended instrumental has the feel of a New Orleans marching band. You can almost see Schuur’s head nodding “no.” She comments from experience. In direct contrast, “This Bitter Earth” (Clyde L. Otis) conjures satin and a spotlight. Circling brushes (Kendall Kay), delicate piano (Schuur), and nodding bass (Bruce Lett) make the palpably melancholy song more smoothly lyrical than others in the collection. “Running on Faith” (Jerry Lynn Williams) and “Way Over Yonder” (Carole King) are gospel without the flash. The first muses with sincerity, the second, pours like molasses. Both seem personal. Schuur closes with a gorgeous, minimalist piano rendition of the traditional “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” Did I say gorgeous? Good listening, fully fleshed character, fine musicianship. Cohesive arrangements have clear intention. We get it. http://cabaretscenes.org/2020/03/26/diane-schuur-running-on-faith/

Running on Faith

---

Craig Brann - A Conversation Between Brothers

Styles: Guitar Jazz 
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:09
Size: 145,9 MB
Art: Front

(3:37)  1. Johnny B Goode
(4:29)  2. Poetic
(6:17)  3. Folksong for Ethan
(6:08)  4. Dorothy's Welcome
(5:09)  5. Glory! No Pleading the Fifth
(6:08)  6. Isle of View
(7:44)  7. Reinventing Something Round
(6:28)  8. Keith-Ar
(6:25)  9. A Conversation Between Brothers
(6:32) 10. Autumn Trane
(4:06) 11. Faux Pass

"The cream always rises to the top. So it follows that guitarist Craig Brann would then be the crème de la crème and has firmly established his place at the table of NYC jazz cats." ~ Mark Corroto (All About Jazz)

During the mid-nineties, Brann came to the NYC-area from rural Maine to attend William Paterson University's jazz program under the artistic direction of Rufus Reid, James Williams and other masters and later graduated from the University of Maine at Augusta. He has studied with many wonderful educators including John Foss, David Demsey, Tony Gaboury, Bob Thompson, Steve Grover, Richard Nelson, Paul Meyers, James Weidman, Rich Derosa, and Don Braden, however, his education was not limited to formal environments. At the same time, Smalls Jazz Club was in its nascent boom of a creative community. With weekly residencies by Kurt Rosenwinkel, Sam Yahel, Josh Redman, Brian Blade, Chris Potter, Omer Avital, Avishai Cohen, etc.  including late-night jam sessions hosted by Sasha Perry with guests like Roy Hargrove Smalls provided Brann a whole 'nother world of learning. Later, these same luminaries Mark Turner, Greg Tardy, Joel Weiskopf, and Matt Wilson would join him on the bandstand and on various recordings.   

Since his arrival in NYC, guitarist Craig Brann has quietly and steadily established himself as one of the elite players of his generation. Now Brann has residencies and regular performances throughout NYC (Smalls, Bar Next Door, Tomi Jazz, Blue Note, Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola @ Jazz at Lincoln Center, etc). The band may include the mentors above or other seasoned greats such as Seamus Blake, Donny McAslin, Rudy Royston, his fellow WPU alums Nick Morrison, Freddie Hendrix, Ethan Herr, Sam Barsh, and Johnathan Blake, or rising stars like John Raymond or Sanah "Hawk Eyes" Kadoura. Brann lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Rebeccah Hope, and their four children: Tehilah ('07), Irving ('09), Verdinah, ('13), and Dorothy ('15). He has recorded 5 albums for SteepleChase: Advent(ure) ('12), Mark My Words ('14), Conversation Between Brothers ('16), Lineage ('18), and The Twelve ('19). https://www.craigbrann.com/bio

Personnel: Bass – Nick Morrison (5); Drums – Matt Wilson; Guitar – Craig Brann

A Conversation Between Brothers

---

Sinéad O'Connor - Am I Not Your Girl?

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1992
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:41
Size: 110,4 MB
Art: Front

(2:30)  1. Why Don't You Do Right
(6:15)  2. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
(2:56)  3. Secret Love
(3:20)  4. Black Coffee
(4:27)  5. Success Has Made a Failure of Our Home
(5:35)  6. Don't Cry for Me Argentina
(2:45)  7. I Want to Be Loved by You
(3:54)  8. Gloomy Sunday
(3:06)  9. Love Letters
(3:26) 10. How Insensitive
(4:12) 11. Scarlet Ribbons
(5:10) 12. Don't Cry for Me Argentina - Instrumental

Based on Sinéad O'Connor's version of "You Do Something to Me" (a highlight on the Red Hot + Blue album), an album of pop standards performed with a big band might have actually worked. At times, such as on "Success Has Made a Failure of Our Home" and "Don't Cry for Me Argentina," Am I Not Your Girl? does work. However, O'Connor runs into trouble with acknowledged standards and songs heavily identified with other vocalists. She doesn't offer a new perspective on these songs, and her airy voice is buried by overwrought string arrangements. Plus, there's O'Connor's bizarre two-minute rant on love, hatred, herself, and the Catholic Church. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/am-i-not-your-girl-mr0001306918

Am I Not Your Girl?

---

Andrea Tessa - Tribute

Styles: Vocal 
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:53
Size: 149,5 MB
Art: Front

(6:09)  1. The Nearness of You
(5:51)  2. Willow Weep for Me
(6:06)  3. My One and Only Love
(6:25)  4. The Way You Look Tonight
(6:03)  5. Cry Me a River
(5:30)  6. New York State of Mind
(3:34)  7. The Man I Love
(5:01)  8. La mentira -Se te olvida-
(5:43)  9. Someone to Wach Over Me
(4:34) 10. Come Rain or Come Shine
(4:53) 11. My Funny Valentine
(5:00) 12. Yellow Days (La mentira)

Andrea Tessa Vergara (born 1961,Santiago) is a Chilean singer-songwriter, TV presenter and actress of Italian descent. Daughter of the operatic soprano Victoria Vergara Olguín and Patricio Tessa Marchant. She studied at Scuola Italiana de Santiago.She started her musical career in 1979, singing "Decir te Quiero" in Viña del Mar International Song Festival, a song written by Scottie Scott, winning for "Best Interpreter".Her first album was Páginas (1996), followed by Equipaje Clandestino (2002), Tribute (2007) and Leaving Home (2008) which won Best Album of the Year in the 2011 APES awards.She was the host of the television show Más Música from 1984–1992. In 1989 she debuted as an actress in the TV movie Bravo. She appeared as the vocal coach of the Italian chorus (Italian immigrants or descendents) in the TV show Todos a Coro hosted by Rafael Araneda and Karen Doggenweiler. She and her chorus won second place. https://peoplepill.com/people/andrea-tessa/

Tribute

---

Jimmy Cobb - This I Dig of You

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:53
Size: 154,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:46)  1. This I Dig of You
(6:51)  2. Blood Wolf Moon Blues
(6:38)  3. I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
(4:58)  4. My Old Flame
(7:05)  5. Cheese Cake
(8:03)  6. Edward Lee
(6:22)  7. Somewhere in the Night
(6:35)  8. Yesterdays
(8:13)  9. I'll Wait and Pray
(6:17) 10. Full House

Is there a ride cymbal more integral to solid groove-making on more jazz recordings and performances than the one(s) played by drummer Jimmy Cobb, the last surviving musician from the sessions for Miles’ Kind of Blue? Cobb, also heard with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan, John Coltrane, and Cannonball Adderley over the decades, creates a special kind of graceful, creative, forward-moving swing when he locks in with a bassist and rhythm section (as I discovered firsthand, playing with the master trappist at a 2000 memorial concert for Nat Adderley in Florida). At 90, Cobb still has it, as he handily demonstrates on This I Dig of You, leading and driving a quartet on an uncluttered, frills-free program dominated by standards, some of which he’s been playing for decades. For these warmly recorded, intimate-sounding recordings, he’s joined by several musicians with whom he’s previously collaborated: pianist Harold Mabern and two former students of Cobb’s at the New School in New York, bassist John Webber and guitarist Peter Bernstein.

As a soloist, Cobb shines most when he’s most in the moment, directly responding to rhythmic and harmonic ideas tossed up by bandmates, as during the trading-bars sections on the title track, a fast-moving hard bop tune by Hank Mobley, and “Yesterdays,” a Cobb favorite. His deft touch as a ballad player enlivens “My Old Flame,” and he reinvigorates two tunes for which he drummed on the original recordings: Wes Montgomery’s bluesy “Full House,” one of several showcases for Bernstein’s agile, sometimes provocative soloing, and the Coltrane-associated “I’ll Wait and Pray.” Bernstein’s laidback “Blood Wolf Moon Blues,” which features a particularly buoyant improvisation by Webber, is the sole new original on the album, which also includes Mabern’s soul-jazz gem “Edward Lee,” in honor of Lee Morgan. Of This we dig. https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/jimmy-cobb-this-i-dig-of-you-smoke-sessions/

Personnel: Drums – Jimmy Cobb;  Bass – John Webber; Guitar – Peter Bernstein; Piano – Harold Mabern

R.I.P.
Born: 20. Januar 1929 in Washington, D.C;
Died: 24. Mai 2020 in New York

This I Dig of You

---

Angela Davis - The Art of The Melody

Styles: Saxophone Jazz 
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:36
Size: 123,3 MB
Art: Front

(5:35)  1. 41 St Nick
(6:58)  2. We're All Alone
(5:40)  3. Annie Laurie
(6:42)  4. The Road To Montgomery
(8:13)  5. Conscientia
(7:50)  6. Crazy She Calls Me
(4:34)  7. Joana's Waltz
(3:56)  8. Martha
(4:04)  9. Smile

Saxophonist and All About Jazz contributor Angela Davis has made it official, releasing her debut recording, The Art of The Melody. Davis joins a growing legion of female reeds players that includes Sharel Cassity, Alisha Pattillo, Virginia Mayhew, Claire Daly, and Mercedes Figueras, who are flexing their respective chops in the ravenous particles of digital music. Concentrating on alto saxophone for this recording, Davis immediately channels the dry ice-and-gin tone established in the early 1950s by the young Art Pepper and Paul Desmond. Her tone is even and narrow, uniformly dense throughout its spectrum. Think of a Bombay Sapphire martini, straight up, with an olive; expand that metaphor, and you get the idea. But that is just her tone. Davis' choice of repertoire spans some 300 years, between the Scottish folk song "Annie Laurie" and those originals more recently composed. Davis crosses jazz styles effortlessly, transitioning from her bebop-oriented "41. St Nick" into an adult contemporary acoustic treatment of Boz Scaggs' "We're All Alone." 

Her band is as style-pliant as she is, featuring noted bassist Linda May Han Oh, whose own Initial Here (Self Produced, 2013) could not be more different than the present recital. All members take Davis' lead, producing an integrated 1950s-style blowing session in the 21st Century. This music is lean and trim, well conceived from beginning to end. The traditional "Annie Laurie" is given a John Coltrane quartet arrangement, transformed into a modern ballad. Tom Waits' "Martha" is organic in presentation, Chris Ziemba's churchy piano sweeping along Davis' dry "wounded bird" alto into its melodic flight on this beautiful and neglected song. Yes, Frank Morgan makes his influential appearance in Davis' pedigree. That tone is continued on Chaplin's "Smile," played as a duet between Davis and Oh, a pairing from whom we might want to hear again in the future. ~ C. Michael Bailey https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-art-of-the-melody-angela-davis-self-produced-review-by-c-michael-bailey.php

Personnel: Angela Davis: saxophone; Chris Ziemba: piano; Linda Oh: bass; Rajiv Jayaweera: drums. 

The Art of The Melody

---