Tuesday, November 10, 2020

Brad Shepik - The Well

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:44
Size: 145,1 MB
Art: Front

( 5:49) 1. The Flood
( 8:40) 2. Zephyr
( 8:09) 3. The Well
( 7:45) 4. Quiver of Veils
( 6:58) 5. Asilah
( 4:37) 6. Might Could
( 6:37) 7. Vapor Oro
(14:04) 8. The Flower and the Bee

Taking a cue from his work with the Paradox Trio, guitarist Brad Shepik continues to delve into Balkan and Middle Eastern sounds on this follow-up to 1997's The Loan (also on Songlines). Aiding Shepik are Peter Epstein on alto and soprano saxophones, Skuli Sverrisson on electric bass, Michael Sarin on drums and percussion, and fellow Paradoxer Seido Salifoski on dumbek and percussion. Tracks like "The Flood," "Zephyr," and "Vapor Oro" zip along with head-spinning odd meters and fast unison melodies ' very similar to the Paradox Trio. "The Well" is a little calmer, giving Shepik a chance to display his rich tone on the archtop acoustic. "Quiver of Veils" is calmer still, beginning with a nimble bass intro by Sverrisson. On several tracks Shepik employs the saz, a balkan stringed instrument with a ghostly timbre. But in stark contrast to the unfamiliar sound of the saz, Shepik offers up "Might Could," a multitracked acoustic guitar etude with moments that could be classed as McCartney-esque. Shepik's got the mind of a pioneer. The rhythmic complexity of his compositions has few parallels in jazz ' or any other genre, for that matter. With all his exotic influences, and all his different axes, he makes us rethink what it means to be a guitarist and a musician. There's no telling where he'll go next.~ David Adler https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-well-brad-shepik-songlines-recordings-review-by-david-adler.php

Personnel: Brad Shepik: guitar.

The Well

Sunday, November 8, 2020

Jane McDonald - You Belong to Me

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:09
Size: 116,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:16) 1. Give Me Time
(3:07) 2. Where the Boys Are
(3:28) 3. Little Things Mean a Lot
(2:24) 4. Kiss Me, Honey, Honey, Kiss Me
(3:24) 5. (There's) Always Something There to Remind Me
(3:55) 6. It Must Be Him
(3:29) 7. This is My Song
(3:02) 8. Blame It on the Bossa Nova
(2:40) 9. You're Breaking My Heart
(4:06) 10. You Belong to Me
(4:23) 11. I See It in Your Eyes
(4:51) 12. When I Look at You
(4:41) 13. Kiss Me One More Time
(3:17) 14. Behind Closed Doors

Jane rocketed to stardom in 1998 when she first appeared on our screens in the BBC 1 docusoap The Cruise. The series attracted 13 million viewers and Jane McDonald emerged as a star and household name Jane’s first album outsold her nearest rivals by four to one and gained Jane a place in the Guinness Book Of Records. It remained at Number One for three weeks and achieved platinum status staying in the Top 10 for 8 weeks. Each of Jane’s subsequent 4 major albums have all reached gold and silver status. 2009 saw the first album release under her own label. Simply titled ‘Jane’ it entered the Official UK Album Chart at Number 7 and achieved silver status within 6 weeks. Jane has built up a phenomenal theatre audience, performing incredible live concerts across the United Kingdom and Southern Ireland, selling out the Royal Albert Hall and the London Palladium twice. Jane has also played to a sold out audience at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas. The concert was filmed for DVD and went on to become an instant hit in the charts and the Mayor of Las Vegas presented Jane with the ‘Key To the City’. Jane was a regular panelist on the hit daytime show Loose Women and a regular guest on The Alan Titchmarch Show. Other TV highlights include, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, This Morning, GMTV and The Jonathan Ross Show. In 2015 she performed the coveted role of Grizabella in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s CATS at Blackpool Opera House for which she received rave reviews. Jane puts her heart and soul into her sell out performances, produces her own albums on her own label, was executive producer on her CD/DVD, Live at the London Palladium and works along side her Musical Director on arrangements and recordings. In 2016 she embarked on her ‘Making Memories’ tour which sold out at venues all over the UK. It was so popular she continued touring the show throughout 2017.More.. https://jane-mcdonald.com/bio

You Belong to Me

Joe Gilman Trio - View So Tender: Wonder Revisited Vol. 2

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2007
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:20
Size: 145,9 MB
Art: Front

(6:19) 1. Cryin' Through the Night
(6:52) 2. Whereabouts
(5:50) 3. Knocks Me Off My Feet
(6:05) 4. You and I
(6:49) 5. Contusion
(6:05) 6. Bird of Beauty
(6:02) 7. Easy Goin' Evenin'
(5:18) 8. Another Star
(7:10) 9. Don't Know Why I Love You
(6:45) 10. As If You Read My Mind

Joe Gilman is a young and experienced jazz pianist whose brilliance is unquestioned, and whose taste level is refined within the modern mainstream progressive aesthetic. While never a chart topper of critic's darling, he in fact should be, based on his sheer talent and ability to craft new shapes and sounds out of established pop or jazz material. This second volume of modifications on the music of Stevie Wonder continues Gilman's path of self-discovery and intrigue, turning 14K tunes into solid gold. What distinguishes these alterations is their utter departure from the original melodies, as Gilman makes them his own in no uncertain terms. The two most famous tunes are "You & I" and "Another Star," the former a relatively recognizable deeply romantic ballad, and the latter an unexpected fleet and dynamic hard bop version à la McCoy Tyner. Gilman loves to employ tricky meter switch-ups, in tiptoe time from 7/8 to 5/4 on "Whereabouts," shifting complex and modern 5/4 to simplified and breezy 6/8 during "Knocks Me Off My Feet," and doling out large portions of free time, quirky and playful chunks of light and heavy rhythm changes on the hard bop based "Contusion." Gilman uses bouncy, quaint, and swinging chords opposite the response of bassist Joe Sanders on "Cryin' Through the Night," employs a similar reverberation in reverent, restrained, and heavier chord definitions or contours during "Easy Goin' Evening," and straightens the course during a samba infused "Bird of Beauty." Drummer Justin Brown is up to the task on all of these adaptations, steadily navigating the cleverest rhythms during the long spirit song "Don't Know Why I Love You," and establishing a contemporary loping bluesy pace à la Vernell Fournier of Ahmad Jamal's bands for "As If You Read My Mind." This is a solid effort that proudly stands alongside the first volume of Gilman's previous tribute to Motown's pop icon, as well as the pianist's 2003 tribute to Dave Brubeck. It is also one of the better jazz recordings of 2008, well worth your while whether you are a piano fan, neo-bop lover, or enjoy your pop music with an energized, direct, straight-ahead infusion. ~ Michael G.Nastos https://www.allmusic.com/album/view-so-tender-wonder-revisited-vol-2-mw0000581268

Personnel: Piano – Joe Gilman; Bass – Joe Sanders; Drums – Justin Brown

View So Tender: Wonder Revisited Vol. 2

Diane Schuur - The Best of Diane Schuur

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1997
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:36
Size: 128,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:08) 1. All Right, OK, You Win (I'm In Love With You)
(4:29) 2. Try A Little Tenderness
(3:47) 3. Them There Eyes
(4:00) 4. Sunday Kind Of Love
(5:12) 5. Speak Low
(2:19) 6. Deed I Do
(5:14) 7. At Last
(5:43) 8. A Time For Love
(3:05) 9. Blue Gardenia
(5:22) 10. New York State Of Mind
(6:36) 11. 'Round Midnight
(3:04) 12. Stormy Monday Blues
(3:31) 13. Deedles' Blues - Live

Big band, big sound, big brass, big voice-"All Right, OK, You Win, (I'm in Love with You)." Smaller band, but voice still big and way up front: "Try a Little Tenderness." The Best of Diane Schuur shows off the singer's large charms as first displayed on nine GRP discs. She sings beautifully up and down in her range she can pierce your heart with that huge wail (as on "Try a Little Tenderness") and then meet the Diana Krall types on their own turf in numbers like "Them There Eyes" (although she takes it much farther up and out than Diana tends to go). If you're looking for a great contemporary jazz singer, and haven't heard Schuur, pick this up. Otherwise the source albums are a better buy, for she never drops off much in quality: There's B.B. King, in duet on "Try a Little Tenderness," and the whole album Diane Schuur and B.B. King Heart to Heart. Schuur is a fine match for the legend, but I would quibble with the way the duet is organized: the title's admonition, originally advice to a third party, becomes Schuur's admonition to B.B. It sounds whiny, and whiny Schuur ain't. The other turn with King on this record, "At Last," works somewhat better. In any case, the objection seems extra-musical it sounds wonderful.

"Sunday Kind of Love" is enlivened by a terrific trumpet solo by-whom? The disc says, "Jack Sheldon, Wayne Bergeron-trumpets." Great; one of them is first-rate. To "Speak Low," Tom Scott brings his tenor, which is just fine, and his strings, which are perhaps just a trifle much. The tune's "Ipanema-ville" guitar would do nicely on its own, thank you. And thank a certain Dori Caymmi. Joe Williams brings his somewhat bigger name to "Deed I Do" (What can be said about Joe Williams?). It is high praise for Schuur that she is by no means outgunned in this duet. And who's that with the tenor saxophone break that harks back to classic pulse-stoppers like John Coltrane's entrance on "Freddie Freeloader"? Well, it could be Fred Jackson, Ernie Fields, Joel C. Peskin, or Jack Nimitz. At least there's no mistaking Mr. Stan Getz on the gossamer "A Time for Love," where Jeremy Lubbock's orchestral arrangement is not earth-shattering, but meshes nicely with Getz's buttery-smooth tone. This is Getz in 1986, from the disc Timeless. Has there ever been a plusher sound? I just wish they'd thought of a better ending than the ghastly falsetto chant here. Then there a big band "Round Midnight." Here her touch is more delicate than usual, and she comes up with a real new contribution to this well-covered item. "Stormy Monday" storms along in Schuur's more accustomed fashion, and "Deedles' Blues" shows off the Count Basie Orchestra. They can still kick, and Schuur sounds right out of 1958. Atomic Basie, Atomic Schuur. It's a Best of, sure, so it's understandable that there would be no weak cuts. Still, with Diane Schuur's voice, weak cuts would be hard to find. ~ Robert Spencer https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-best-of-diane-schuur-diane-schuur-grp-records-review-by-robert-spencer.php

The Best of Diane Schuur

Saturday, November 7, 2020

Geoffrey Keezer Trio - On My Way to You

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:55
Size: 146,9 MB
Art: Front

(7:04) 1. These Three Words
(5:27) 2. You Stay with Me
(7:27) 3. All the Things You Are / Serpentine Fire
(6:04) 4. Red Leaf
(4:47) 5. Brilliant Corners
(5:46) 6. On My Way to You
(8:14) 7. May This Be Love
(7:19) 8. Guanajuato
(4:58) 9. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
(6:46) 10. Across the Universe / Give Peace a Chance

There are a number of pianists blessed with such technique that they could play pretty much anything. Where Geoffrey Keezer has them beat is that he can also think of pretty much anything and on this album, he does.Granted, he’s had time to gather his thoughts, having gone five years since his last album, the understatedly virtuosic Heart of the Piano. But the wait was worth it. Take the way he and his trio bassist Mike Pope and drummer Lee Pearson approach “All the Things You Are.” Instead of making it into the usual circle-of-fifths juggernaut, Keezer and company halve the tempo and reduce the bass line to a skeletal thump, lending the tune an almost modal feel. This harmonic deconstruction goes on for almost five minutes, whereupon a sequence of gospel chords introduces an actual funk groove, and suddenly saints be praised!we’re listening to Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Serpentine Fire.” Betcha didn’t see that coming. There’s also a take on Thelonious Monk’s “Brilliant Corners” that, two choruses in, finds Pope unexpectedly switching to electric and pumping out a bassline borrowed from Miles’ “On the Corner.” And if that weren’t enough, after funking around a few times through the form, Keezer throws a change-up of his own, pounding the melody home as if trying to imagine what it would sound like if Slayer were a piano trio. Not that Keezer is above playing things straight. There’s a gorgeous rendering of John Lennon’s “Across the Universe” that slowly morphs into “Give Peace a Chance,” and a duo performance of “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” with singer Gillian Margot that will leave you thinking, “Roberta who?” Clearly, this is a man who should record more frequently than every half-decade. https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/geoffrey-keezer-trio-on-my-way-to-you/

Personnel: Piano – Geoffrey Keezer; Bass – Mike Pope; Drums – Lee Pearson ; Vocals – Gillian Margot

On My Way to You

Janis Mann, Kenny Werner - Dreams of Flying

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:43
Size: 144,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:35) 1. The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
(6:18) 2. Edith and the Kingpin
(6:31) 3. Wichita Lineman (Live)
(3:56) 4. Overjoyed
(6:30) 5. Where Do You Start
(3:54) 6. I Do It for Your Love
(5:19) 7. American Tune
(6:17) 8. When October Goes
(5:50) 9. Inside a Silent Tear (Live)
(6:28) 10. I Remember (Live)
(8:00) 11. Who Knows Where the Time Goes (Live)

Renowned jazz vocalist Janis Mann teams up once again with world-class pianist Kenny Werner for “Dreams of Flying”, a mesmerizing collection of modern standards from the New American Songbook.

Songs by Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Jimmy Webb, Stephen Sondheim, Johnny Mandel, Blossom Dearie and others get the rich interpretations they deserve in this unforgettable recording. https://janismann.hearnow.com/

Dreams of Flying

Friday, November 6, 2020

Nancy Walker - New Hieroglyphics

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:02
Size: 139,0 MB
Art: Front

(6:05) 1. Mehndi
(2:46) 2. Late Bloom
(5:53) 3. Federico
(7:43) 4. New Hieroglyphics
(3:52) 5. The Great Hall
(4:27) 6. Imprint
(5:11) 7. Beacons
(4:27) 8. Companion Moon
(5:52) 9. Take You There
(6:49) 10. Intentional Blues
(6:53) 11. Brave Heart

Amidst an overcrowded community, even the cream of the crop has difficulty getting heard beyond their own locales. A regular visitor to relatively nearby Ottawa, Toronto-based Nancy Walker is an Ottawa Jazz Festival regular as part of John Geggie's trio at the late night jam sessions also participating on the bassist's recent Across the Sky (Plunge, 2010), an at times lyrical, other times incendiary modern mainstream date featuring better-known saxophonist Donny McCaslin. The pianist has been delivering albums under her own name roughly every three years since 1997, with the exception of the compelling When She Dreams (Justin Time, 2004), released a mere year after 2003's Levitation (Self Produced, 2003). New Hieroglyphics brings the trio back from Walker's Need Another (Self Produced, 2007), but it's not just guitarist Ted Quinlan, fleshing this date out to a quartet, that lights a serious fire. Walker's always possessed greater diversity than her generally centrist music has suggested, occasionally entering more angular territory on Across the Sky and soaring, at times, with the energy of John Coltrane's classic mid-'60s quartet. Here, the pianist demonstrates even broader stylistic interests, bolstered with unfailing aplomb by bassist Kieran Overs and drummer Ethan Ardelli, even as she dives into a burning pool of lava on the opening "Mehndi," where her approach is anything but reminiscent of Coltrane's pianist, McCoy Tyner. Instead, her touch is lighter and her Phrygian lines more sparsely populated, even as she moves towards greater density beneath Quinlan's gritty solo, after peaking her own with a series of ascending chords and a brief, unexpected gospel tint.

Nor is it just Quinlan's thick, gritty tone on tracks like the blues-tinged "Take You There" that gives New Hieroglyphics its edge; for the first time, Walker adds Fender Rhodes to the mix, and its chiming tone encourages her to traverse more ethereal planes on the brooding "Companion Moon," doubling her grand piano for its gently expansive vibe. Meanwhile, Quinlan turns to steely acoustic guitar on a tune where intrinsic structure doesn't confine the quartet's interpretive stance, its consummate taste and astute, spacious interplay a touchstone for the entire set. Walker sticks with Rhodes on the upbeat "Take You There," her motivic solo driven as much by time as melody, with Overs and Ardelli busily pushing its visceral groove. A powerful mid-tempo pulse drives the harmonically altered "Intentional Blues," while on the sweeter "Late Bloom," Walker goes it alone, lyrically twisting and turning; The more oblique title track moves effortless along a sketch of a concept, a taste of Keith Jarrett's American Quartet imbuing a relentlessly building piano solo, its flurries of ideas driven by Ardelli's most flamboyant playing of the set, an energized ostinato driving a rare drum solo, as Walker again layers piano and Rhodes and the tune finally draws to a close, recapitulating its recondite opening conceit. Demonstrating considerable growth since When She Dreams, the eclectic, esoteric and unfailingly accessible New Hieroglyphics finds the ever-intrepid Walker pushing through borders into dynamic new territory, even as she retains all the markers that have drawn people to her in the first place.

Personnel: Nancy Walker: piano, Fender Rhodes; Ted Quinlan: electric and acoustic guitars (1, 3-6, 8-11); Kieran Overs: bass (1, 3-11); Ethan Ardelli: drums (1, 3-11).

New Hieroglyphics

Brandi Disterheft, George Coleman - Surfboard

Styles: Post Bop, Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:17
Size: 148,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:03) 1. Surfboard
(2:57) 2. Prelude to Coup de Foudre
(3:51) 3. Coup de Foudre
(6:50) 4. My Foolish Heart
(4:31) 5. Nanã
(3:51) 6. Manhattan Moon
(3:36) 7. The Pendulum at Falcon's Lair
(4:42) 8. On Broadway
(5:20) 9. Speak Low
(5:24) 10. One Dream
(5:05) 11. Portrait of Porto
(3:42) 12. Where or When
(5:43) 13. Del Sasser
(4:37) 14. Reveries

Award-winning Canadian jazz contrabassist, singer, and composer Brandi Disterheft and her Trio have unveiled their new single, “Surfboard” along with a video for the release.

Featuring the legendary saxophonist George Coleman (Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock), “Surfboard” is a Brazilian Jazz album showcasing Juno Award winning Brandi Brandi Disterheft’s inventive writing, power-socket bass playing, and sweet ethereal vocals alongside Portinho the “James Brown of Brazilian Funk Samba” on drums (Harry Belafonte, Paquito De Rivera) this trio shines with slick vignette arrangements paying homage to composers from Carlos Jobim to bassist Sam Jones. The title track from her forthcoming album, Surfboard set for release October 2020 via Justin Time Records the single and its surrounding body of work are touted among Disterheft’s most accomplished yet. Joined by two octogenarian masters virtuoso tenor saxophonist George Coleman and the definitive Brazilian drummer Portinho and world-class pianist Klaus Mueller, Disterheft authoritatively and organically guides the flow on a varied program that reflects her capacious interests. On “Surfboard,” most notably, the artists nothing short of shine with their slick vignette arrangements and fitting homages to composer and co-creator of bossa nova Carlos Jobim, and bassist Sam Jones throughout. Inspired by documentary tandem surfing footage for the video, Portinho shines his signature groove on this pull from the Brazilian Songbook Standards with unrivaled finesse. http://jazzbluesnews.com/2020/11/01/cd-review-brandi-disterheft-with-george-coleman-surfboard-2020-video-cd-cover/

Personnel: Brandi Disterheft, double bass; George Coleman, saxophone; Klaus Mueller, piano; Portinho, drums

Surfboard

Thursday, November 5, 2020

Johnathan Blake - The Eleventh Hour

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:05
Size: 156,8 MB
Art: Front

( 6:18) 1. The Eleventh Hour
( 7:02) 2. Rio's Dream
( 5:32) 3. Blue News
( 4:19) 4. Dexter's Tune
( 8:04) 5. Time to Kill
( 5:00) 6. Of Things to Come
(10:14) 7. Freefall
( 8:38) 8. No Left Turn
( 5:09) 9. Clues
( 7:45) 10. Canvas

Some debut recordings encapsulate all of an aspiring artist's diverse interests; others are less ambitious, and merely document a particular ensemble or performance. The Eleventh Hour, an expansive tour de force by rising drummer Jonathan Blake, is a prime example of the former. Blake's successful merger of styles should come as no surprise; in addition to sideman gigs for Kenny Barron, Tom Harrell and the Mingus Big Band, he is the son of violinist John Blake his roots run deep. Part of the success of The Eleventh Hour can be attributed to Blake's considered balance between the stalwart contributions of his working group and a handful of all-star guest appearances. Blake's quintet features tight-knit personnel; tenor saxophonist Mark Turner and altoist Jaleel Shaw make an intrepid frontline, while pianist Kevin Hays and bassist Ben Street round out the energetic rhythm section. Their high profile company includes Harrell, Robert Glasper, Gregoire Maret and Tim Warfield, whose distinctive contributions enhance, rather than overshadow, the band's capable efforts. The retro title track demonstrates the validity of Blake's collaborative ideas, drawing from a liberal jazz tradition that offers insight into his all-inclusive aesthetic. Reminiscent of Herbie Hancock's mid-1960s experiments, the groovy opener pits Maret's sinuous harmonica against Glasper's shimmering Rhodes, generating a kaleidoscopic array of tone colors that evoke a soulful hybrid of Toots Thielemans and Stevie Wonder.

Framed by memorable melodies, tuneful swingers like the stately "Rio's Dream" and lyrical "Time To Kill" are indicative of the record's scope, their elastic rhythmic and harmonic foundations providing ample freedom for probing individual statements. The tortuous intervals and shifting time signatures of the blistering piano-less quartet number "Of Things To Come" raises the energy level, while the evocative "Freefall" ventures into more abstract territory. Blake revamps convention on the labyrinthine "No Left Turn" and funky "Clues." The former composition features a riveting tenor relay between Turner and Warfield, who navigate the same serial 12 tone row as John Coltrane's "Mile's Mode." The later piece inverts Thelonious Monk's "Evidence," yielding a quixotic theme both familiar and alien. Though the majority of the date is comprised of originals, a handful of tastefully rendered covers illuminate the leader's expressive range. In addition to a sensitive interpretation of Randy Newman's ballad "Dexter's Tune" and a buoyant version of Harrell's "Blue News," a lush reworking of Glasper's pop-savvy "Canvas" concludes the session much as it began highlighting the spirited rapport between Maret and Glasper. Beyond his abilities as a composer and bandleader, Blake is an authoritative and incisive drummer whose infectious energy galvanizes his sidemen, without overpowering the proceedings. His exhilarating contributions reinforce the clarity and cohesiveness of The Eleventh Hour, a most compelling debut. ~ Troy Collins https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-eleventh-hour-jonathan-blake-sunnyside-records-review-by-troy-collins.php
'
Personnel: Johnathan Blake: drums; Jaleel Shaw: alto saxophone (1, 2, 5-7, 9); Mark Turner: tenor saxophone (1-4, 6-10); Kevin Hays: piano, Fender Rhodes (2-4, 7-9); Ben Street: bass; Tom Harrell: trumpet, flugelhorn (3, 5); Gregoire Maret: harmonica (1, 10); Robert Glasper: piano, Fender Rhodes (1, 5, 10); Tim Warfield: tenor saxophone (8).

The Eleventh Hour

Wednesday, November 4, 2020

David & Danino Weiss Quartett - The New Gipsy Sound

Styles: Gipsy Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:42
Size: 130,8 MB
Art: Front

(5:48) 1. Für mich soll's rote Rosen regnen
(3:29) 2. Gipsy Keys
(6:47) 3. Clair de lune
(6:30) 4. J'aime Paris au mois de mai
(5:12) 5. Miro Tata Mimer
(7:52) 6. My Thought at Midnight
(3:33) 7. Douce ambiance
(3:41) 8. Sourire
(5:10) 9. Watch What Happens
(8:37) 10. Wonderful You

The gipsy swing, also called jazz manouche or hot jazz, is still a family affair to a certain extent which is also indicated by another commonly used term: Sinti Swing. As a mobile ethnic group, the Sinti have always cultivated their own culture. Django Reinhardt became her musical progenitor, who created the only original European style of early jazz with the guitar swing of his “Hot Club de France”. Many Sinti emulate and follow his example; The gipsy swing has been handed down from generation to generation in the families without any notes most Sinti Swingers are self-taught and intuitive musicians. One of the largest and most productive families is the Weiss family. Numerous outstanding hot jazz musicians are descended from them, perhaps the most famous being guitarist Traubeli Weiss, who died in 2012. David and his cousin Danino Weiss also learned from him, their uncle, and yet, like many Sinti musicians of their generation, i.e. the now 20 to 30-year-olds, they broke new ground. If only because they did not choose guitar or violin, the classical lead instruments of Gipsy Swing, but David chose the accordion and Danino the piano. On these instruments they grew up with a wider range of jazz right from the start. So, it is no coincidence that their new, second album is called “The New Gipsy Sound”.

Also, because the instrumentation of their quartet is untypical. Their companions are no Sinti, but Peter Cudek, one of the most versed and variable bassists of the Southern German scene, and Guido May, an internationally renowned drummer, who is particularly at home in the heavy groove and who has been involved in the legacy of James Brown as drummer of Pee Wee Ellis for many years. On their debut album “Violets For Your Furs”, released two years ago, David and Danino Weiss turned their attention mainly to classical American jazz, as the title song popularized by Frank Sinatra already indicated. The album featured pieces by the Count Basie saxophonist Frank Foster, John Green and Erroll Garner, with Austrian jazz drummer Bernd Reiter, percussionist Biboul Darouiche known for the Afro-Jazz of his band Bantu Soleil – and distant Hamburg relative Giovanni Jeffrey Weiss, who with his extremely successful band Django Deluxe, twice decorated with the Echo Jazz award, are themselves breaking new ground in hot jazz. Now, on “The New Gipsy Sound” it’s mainly back to France. Joseph Cosma’s “Clair De Lune” is swirled around with melancholic accordion and piano lines just as idiosyncratically as Charles Aznavour’s “J’aime Paris au mois de Mai”, here accelerated in a hard-hot swing. Michel Legrand’s “Watch What Happens” breathes the flair of great Parisian jazz galas of the fifties, and once there is also a side trip to the old Hot Club, with Django Reinhardt’s “Douce Ambience” although the classic comes along in a dewy fresh, modern swing version. In addition, there are exquisite trouvailles such as Hildegard Knef’s anthem “Für mich solls rote Rosen regnen” right at the beginning and the languishing “Wonderful You” by the now unfortunately almost forgotten Easy Listening King Peter Nero. And of course, there are also compositions of the two band leaders, such as the dynamic “Gipsy Keys”, whose harmonies almost remind of Coltrane’s “Giant Steps”, or “Sourire”, which is enriched with Latin rhythms.

Not a revolution, but an evolution is what the two of them present here with their quartet, but one that takes the family genre to completely new shores. “Of course, in the end we always come back to the music that Django and our uncle played,” David and Danino say. But influences from chanson and Latin or elements of classical jazz catapult them into the present. “The New Gipsy Sound” is a fusion of the Gipsy tradition with new melodies and grooves. This is also reflected in the exquisite selection of guests, who make the album not only a summit meeting of the most innovative Gipsy Swing interpreters, but also an all-star meeting of jazz. At the beginning as well as at the end, the casual solos of the vibraphonist Wolfgang Lackerschmid can be heard, one of the world’s best representatives of his profession, who played with Chet Baker for six years and afterwards with many German, Eastern European and American greats and is equally at home in North American jazz as in South American and Afro-Caribbean soundscapes. Alexander Haas, the bassist of their debut album, who has also made a name for himself with salon jazz of all kinds, is featured on two tracks; drummer Xaver Hellmeier, a young savage from the South German jazz scene, is also represented twice. But above all, three musicians are on board who will make every Gipsy Swing fan click his tongue. Hono Winterstein is a legend as a rhythm guitarist, not only in Jazz Manouche, but also as an accompanist of Patricia Kaas. And then there are the two guitarists who are regarded as the actual heirs to the throne of Django Reinhardt: rather traditionally the Dutch Sinto Stochelo Rosenberg, who with his Rosenberg Trio is the epitome of a classic gypsy swing formation and who already doubled Django in the film. Finally, a modern successor is Biréli Lagrène, who may have mastered Reinhardt’s technique more virtuosically than anyone else, but who has also risen to become an acclaimed guitarist in other styles – starting in 1986 when he joined bassist Jaco Pastorius and later other fusion greats such as Stanley Clarke and Mike Stern. The recordings made in various sessions put a smile on the lips of Gipsy Swing fans as well as classic jazz lovers or the friends of jazzy chansons. A bow to the Sinti tradition with all means of jazz in instrumental perfection – that is “The New Gipsy Sound”. https://www.glm.de/en/product/david-danino-weiss-quartett-the-new-gipsy-sound/

Personnel: David Weiss accordion; Danino Weiss piano; Peter Cudek bass; Guido May drums.Special Guests: Stochelo Rosenberg guitar; Biréli Lagrène guitar; Wolfgang Lackerschmid vibraphone

The New Gipsy Sound

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

Steve LaSpina - When I'm Alone

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 1995
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:49
Size: 149,4 MB
Art: Front

(8:29) 1. Soaring
(7:23) 2. Young hearts
(5:03) 3. Last time out
(9:15) 4. When I'm alone
(9:32) 5. Explorations
(4:09) 6. My romance
(7:07) 7. Mirage
(7:38) 8. Anesthesia
(6:07) 9. Only trust your heart

Bassist Steve LaSpina had an opportunity to record seven of his originals (plus two standards) on the post-bop quintet date When I'm Alone. The music ranges greatly in emotions and is highlighted by the intense "Soaring," the waltz "Young Hearts" (with Billy Drewes sounding quite fluent on soprano), a solo bass feature on "My Romance," and a spooky "Anesthesia." Although guitarist Vic Juris and pianist Marc Copland have plenty of fine spots, the solo honors are usually taken by Drewes (particularly on soprano) and LaSpina. The individual melodies are not particularly memorable, but the moods are often haunting and the playing by the quintet is superlative. Overall When I'm Alone is a high-quality example of modern jazz.~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/when-im-alone-mw0000509244

Personnel: Bass – Steve LaSpina; Drums – Jeff Hirshfield; Guitar – Vic Juris; Piano – Marc Copland; Saxophone [Saxophones] – Billy Drewes

When I'm Alone

Judith O'higgins, Dave O'Higgins - His'n'Hers

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:26
Size: 104,4 MB
Art: Front

(6:10) 1. Fourth Dimension
(5:20) 2. We'll Forget March
(6:02) 3. Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most
(6:55) 4. Los Bandidos Bogarolles
(5:46) 5. Save Your Love For Me
(6:34) 6. Soy Califa
(8:36) 7. Hanky Panky

Here is a great idea for a tough tenors face-off in the tradition of the Johnny Griffin / Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis group... Get hold of a tenor duo comprising a husband and wife who are on the verge of divorce and can barely stand being in the same room together and record them as they try to cut each other to ribbons. Nice. Better still, perhaps, get hold of a happily married tenor-wielding couple such as London-based Dave O’Higgins and Judith O'Higgins, set them up in their self-dubbed Judy Van Gelder home studio, and let them loose in the style of the Griffin and Davis group on set of originals, Great American Songbook tunes and jazz standards. Dave O'Higgins is well known in this parish, most recently for the Darius Brubeck Quartet's Live In Poland and his co-led album with guitar wunderkind Rob Luft, O'Higgins & Luft Play Monk And Trane (both Ubuntu, 2019). Judith O'Higgins is a forensic pathologist whose CV also includes the Matthew Herbert Big Band, Two Minds Big Band and the Abstract Truth Big Band. His 'n' Hers includes Tommy Wolf and Fran Landesman's "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most," Buddy Johnson's "Save Your Love For Me" and Dexter Gordon's "Soy Califa" and "Hanky Panky," and three originals. The rhythm section is pianist Graham Harvey, double bassist Jeremy Brown and drummer Josh Morrison. The album may not break any new ground but it delivers forty-five minutes of easy-going fun.~ Chris May https://www.allaboutjazz.com/his-n-hers-judith-and-dave-ohiggins-ubuntu-music

Personnal: Dave O'Higgins: saxophone, tenor; Judith O'Higgins: saxophone, tenor; Graham Harvey: piano; Jeremy Brown: bass; Josh Morrison: drums.

His'n'Hers

Monday, November 2, 2020

Donald Byrd - Blue Byrd. Disc 1 And Disc 2

Album: Blue Byrd. Disc1
Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2011
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:19
Size: 99,7 MB
Art: Front

(8:30) 1. Witchcraft
(8:27) 2. Here Am I
(4:43) 3. Devil Whip
(6:43) 4. Bronze Dance
(5:42) 5. Clarion Calls
(6:11) 6. The Injuns

Album: Blue Byrd. Disc2
Time: 40:13
Size: 99,4 MB

(7:22) 1. Ghana
(7:30) 2. Little Boy Blue
(5:06) 3. Gate City
(7:40) 4. Lex
(6:36) 5. Bo
(5:56) 6. My Girl Shirl

Trumpeter Donald Byrd was born in Detroit in 1932, his studies at Wayne State University (1954) were interrupted by military service, during which he played in an Air Force band. He then attended the Manhattan School of Music (MA in music education). At the same time he was the favorite studio trumpeter of the bop label Presitge (1956-58), though he also recorded frequently for Riverside and Blue Note. He gave performances with George Wallington (1955), Art Blakey (1956), and along with Gigi Gryce was a member of the Jazz Lab Quintet (1957). He also performed with Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, and others, before settling into a partnership with Pepper Adams (1958-61). After studying composition in Europe (1963-63) Byrd began a career in black music education, teaching at Rutgers, the Hampton Institute, Howard University, and (after receiving a law degree, 1976) North Carolina Central University; in 1982 he was awarded a doctorate by Columbia Teachers College. Following the death of Clifford Brown in 1956, Byrd was for a few years arguably the finest hard-bop trumpeter. He had not only a masterful technique, displayed on all his albums from this period, but also a beautiful tone. He resumed playing in the 1970s and made several pleasant recordings in a jazz-rock style. His best-selling album Black Byrd led to the formation of his students into the Blackbyrds, a hit group of the mid-1970s. https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/donaldbyrd

Blue Byrd.Disc 1,Disc2

Toni Tennille - All Of Me

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1986
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:58
Size: 89,6 MB
Art: Front

(2:26) 1. How High The Moon
(3:35) 2. Easy Street
(4:03) 3. Moon Glow
(3:53) 4. The Very Thought of You
(3:21) 5. They All Laughed
(3:53) 6. Happiness Is Just A Thing Called Joe
(3:29) 7. All Of Me
(3:06) 8. Honeysuckle Rose
(2:44) 9. Nature Boy
(4:18) 10. Then I'll Be Tired Of You
(4:06) 11. Dream

Cathryn Antoinette "Toni" Tennille (born May 8, 1940) is an American singer-songwriter and keyboardist, best known as one-half of the 1970s duo Captain & Tennille with her former husband Daryl Dragon; their signature song being "Love Will Keep Us Together". Tennille has also done musical work independently of her husband, including solo albums and session work. Tennille has a contralto vocal range, spanning over 2 and a half octaves. Tennille was born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama and has three younger sisters.:2 Her father Frank owned a furniture store and also served in the Alabama Legislature from 1951 to 1954.:2 He had been a singer with Bob Crosby's Bob-Cats. Her mother Cathryn hosted a local television show.Tennille graduated from Sidney Lanier High School then attended Auburn University in Alabama for two years where she studied classical piano and sang with the university's big band, the Auburn Knights.

In 1959, Tennille's family moved from Montgomery to Balboa, California where she worked first as a file clerk and then as a statistical analyst for North American Rockwell Corporation.:2 While living in Corona del Mar in Newport Beach, California during the late 1960s, Tennille was a member of the South Coast Repertory. Ron Thronsen, one of the directors of the reporatory, asked Tennille in 1969 to write the music for a new rock musical he was working on called Mother Earth. The musical was a success locally, went on the road to San Francisco and Los Angeles in 1971 and eventually made it to Broadway for a few dates at the Belasco Theatre in October 1972. Although Tennille was no longer associated with the musical by the time it reached Broadway, she was credited as the composer under her married name Shearer. In 1971 Tennille met her future husband Dragon during auditions in San Francisco for band members for the musical. Dragon had previously toured with The Beach Boys and had appeared on a couple of their albums as a back up musician. After Mother Earth ended, Dragon returned to The Beach Boys and introduced Tennille to the band. Tennille played electric piano with the band during their 1972 tour. In 1973, Tennille and Dragon left to form Captain & Tennille and began performing at local clubs. The two released their self-financed debut single "The Way I Want to Touch You" in September 1973, which was a success locally and helped them to get a record contract from A&M records. The duo recorded a cover version of the Neil Sedaka song "Love Will Keep Us Together" in 1975 that became a huge success and eventually went on to win the 1975 Grammy Award for Record of the Year.

In 1974, Tennile sang background vocals on Elton John's Caribou album. She also sang background vocals on Pink Floyd's The Wall in 1979. On July 8, 1980, Tennille sang the national anthem at the Major League Baseball All-Star game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. From September 1998 to June 1999, Tennille performed as "Victoria Grant/Count Victor Grazinski" in the national tour of the play Victor Victoria. In April 2016, Tennille released her memoir and went on a book tour to promote it later that summer. An 'audiobook' of the memoir was also released on the audiobook service Audible. Tennille married her first husband Kenneth Shearer in June 1962 at the age of 22. They divorced in late 1972. She then married Daryl Dragon on November 11, 1975. The couple moved from Reno, Nevada to Prescott, Arizona in 2007. Tennille filed for divorce after 39 years of marriage on January 16, 2014. Dragon said he was unaware of any discontent until being served with the divorce papers. The divorce was finalized in July, 2014. In 2015, Tennille moved to Florida at the suggestion of her sister, Jane. During the promotion of her autobiography, on The Today Show in the spring of 2016, Tennille said the reason for their divorce was Dragon's "inability to be affectionate". However, she later implied that Daryl reacted positively to her memoir and the reveal; he said "I saw you on The Today Show. I was proud of you".https://peoplepill.com/people/toni-tennille/

All Of Me

Sunday, November 1, 2020

Jackie Cain & Roy Kral - Double Take

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 1961
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:59
Size: 80,7 MB
Art: Front

(2:02) 1. Cheerful Little Earful
(2:54) 2. You Smell So Good
(3:05) 3. Let's Get Away from It All
(2:44) 4. Season in the Sun
(2:43) 5. Glasses and Ashes and Bottles and Cans
(3:45) 6. Could You Use Me
(3:40) 7. The Continental
(2:50) 8. Let's Take a Walk Around the Clock
(3:18) 9. Side by Side
(2:44) 10. I Wish I Were in Love Again
(2:26) 11. Daahud
(2:43) 12. Together Wherever We Go

Jackie Cain & Roy Kral • Double Take This stereo LP record was released as Columbia Records CS 8504 in 1961...the record has the red, black and white Columbia 6-eye label. Jackie Cain (vocals) and Roy Kral (vocals/piano) are featured with Ted Snyder (bass) and Stan Harris (drums). The track listing is as follows: Cheerful Little Earful • You Smell So Good • Let's Get Away From It All • Season In The Sun • Glasses and Ashes and Bottles and Cans • Could You Use Me • The COntinental • Let's Take A Walk Around The Block • Side By Side • I Wish I Were In Love Again • Daahud • Together Wver We Go The album cover shows wear with a partial splits in the top and bottom seam and spine and is graded "VG" • the vinyl has it's original sheen with with scuffs and light scratches some of which may be audible when played and is graded "VG+". [42731] All Grading is visual - Grading is as follows: •N EW : Still factory sealed…brand new product •M-: Mint minus…used product in near new condition •EX: Excellent…used product with minor flaws not affecting play •VG: Very Good…used product with some damage possibly audible •G: Good…used product that will play, but not with passable quality Check out the extensive listing of records, CDs and other items in our eBay store. Pay ment: You may pay using PayPal Orders not paid within 10 days of purchase will be listed as "Unpaid Orders" Shipping & Handling: All items are shipped via The United States Post Office. Charges to you are computed as postage costs plus a $2 service charge per order. All items in our eBay store and auctions should now be set up to automatically figure postage on single items. If you are ordering multiple items, place your order with us and wait for us to send you an invoice with a combined shipping and handling cost. All domestic orders are shipped with delivery confirmation at no extra charge to enable you to track your shipment. International orders up to four pounds in weight can be shipped USPS First Class International...these packages can be sent registered for an additional $10.15, but cannot be insured. Packages over four pounds must be shipped either USPS Priority International or USPS Express International...these rates will include insurance. We have no control over mail shipments once they are processed at the post office and cannot assume any responsibility for uninsured items that are lost or broken in transit...please be aware of delays in the delivery of International shipments in customs and postal departments The free listing tool. List your items fast and easy and manage your active items. https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/jackie-cain-roy-kral-jackie-roy-75357656

Pessoal: Jackie Cain - vocals; Roy Kral - piano, vocals; Ted Snyder - bass, tuba (#12); Stan Harris - drums

Double Take

Dave Koz And Friends - Summer Horns II From A To Z

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:54
Size: 126,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:28) 1. Medley: Getaway / That’s The Way (I Like It)
(5:05) 2. More Today Than Yesterday
(4:50) 3. Keep That Same Old Feeling
(5:28) 4. Medley: From A To Z (Take The “A” Train / Make The Road By Walking)
(4:10) 5. This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) (feat. Kenny Lattimore & Sheléa)
(4:55) 6. Before I Let Go
(5:09) 7. Late In The Evening (feat. Jonathan Butler)
(4:43) 8. If You Really Love Me
(4:44) 9. Conga (feat. Aubrey Logan & Gloria Estefan)
(5:58) 10. Earth Song
(5:19) 11. Route 66 (feat. Aubrey Logan)

It’s easy to see why Dave Koz wanted to record a part two to his Summer Horns album. Part 1, which dropped in 2013, brought together four of contemporary jazz’s best-known saxophonists Koz, Gerald Albright, Mindi Abair, and Richard Elliott - to cover tunes from pop and R&B bands that had world famous horn sections. The original Summer Horns featured cuts by Chicago, Tower of Power, Sly and the Family Stone, the Beatles and Earth, Wind & Fire (actually two EW&F songs, since their 1978 cover of the Fab Four’s “Got to Get You Into My Life” served as the inspiration for the track included on Summer Horns.)Summer Horns became a commercial and creative success, earning a Grammy nod, and receiving considerable airplay on terrestrial, satellite and internet radio. The band also spent two years touring following its release. With all that positivity surrounding the original, a sequel could be viewed as an economic necessity. However, the music industry is like a river in that artists never creatively cross twice. It’s been five years since the original Summer Horns dropped, and so it’s not surprising that the four principles were not in the same place.

Changing times presented Koz with an opportunity to make the same type of album different, and he took advantage on Summer Horns II: From A to Z by adding trumpeter Rick Braun and trombonist and vocalist Aubrey Logan to give the brass ensemble a larger and more diverse sound to accompany the returning Albright and Elliott. Summer Horns II also features more vocals from Logan, as well as Kenny Lattimore, Shelea, Gloria Estefan and Jonathan Butler. The addition of trumpet and trombone seemed to inform the album’s musical selections. “This Will Be,” the album’s best track, opens with a honking baritone saxophone and is joined in with the other players giving the track a big band sound. And while the balance of the track plays it pretty close to Natalie Cole’s original, the decision to turn the cut into a duet featuring Lattimore and Shelea pays off, as they transform Cole’s loving soliloquy about the eternal nature of that special love into a swinging yet sensual conversation between two lovers. The horns combine with the African infused percussion, backing vocals and Jonathan Butler’s acoustic guitar work and rangy vocals on the cover of Paul Simon’s “Late in the Evening.” Whereas Simon’s vocals were subdued and wry, Butler brings elements of his gospel roots to this soulful rendition. Acoustic bass and the harmonic horn play combine with Logan’s vocals to create a swinging version of “Route 66.” The vocal tracks on Summer Horns II are so strong that I had to wonder if the group missed some opportunities with sticking primarily with instrumentals on several covers. I would love to see what creative arrangements Koz and his crew could have come up with if Lattimore had been turned loose on “More Today than Yesterday,” “Before I Let Go,” or if paired in duet with Estefan (who paired with Logan on a remake of her 1986 hit “Conga”) on “If You Really Love Me.” But, my desire for a few more vocals aside, this is a worthy follow up to the smash original collaboration, and an extremely enjoyable soundtrack to Summer 2018. Recommended. By Howard Dukes https://www.soultracks.com/album-review-dave-koz-summer-horns-II-from-a-to-z

Personnel: Dave Koz, Gerald Albright, Gloria Estefan, Jonathan Butler, Mindi Abair, Richard Elliot

Summer Horns II From A To Z

Friday, October 30, 2020

Carmen McRae - The Very Thought Of You: The Definitive Singles Collection Disc 1, Disc 2

Album: The Very Thought Of You: The Definitive Singles Collection Disc 1

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 79:51
Size: 184,1 MB
Art: Front

(2:34) 1. The Very Thought Of You
(2:18) 2. Oh! Look At Me Now
(2:30) 3. The More I See You
(2:39) 4. Show Me The Wat
(2:53) 5. The Party's Over
(3:00) 6. The Next Time it Happens
(3:13) 7. You Don't Have To tell Me
(2:14) 8. Never Loved Him Anyhow
(2:38) 9. Talk to Me
(2:32) 10. What Has She Got
(3:03) 11. Am I The One to Blame
(2:28) 12. Come Down to Earth Mr, Smith
(2:41) 13. Love is Here To Say
(2:17) 14. Take Five
(3:04) 15. As I Love You
(2:46) 16. The Eagle and Be Wrong
(3:02) 17. So Nice to Be Wrong
(2:57) 18. Skyliner
(2:54) 19. Invitation
(3:22) 20. His Eye is on the Sparrow
(2:44) 21. I'll See You Again
(2:17) 22. I Love The Ground You Walk On
(3:04) 23. If I'm Luck(I'iiBe The One)
(2:24) 24. I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket
(2:56) 25. Don't Cry, Joe (Let Her Go! Let Her Go)
(2:36) 26. Play for Keeps
(3:01) 27. Rich Man, Poor Man
(3:06) 28. Keep Me In Mind
(2:25) 29. Moon Ray

Album: The Very Thought Of You: The Definitive Singles Collection Disc 2
Time: 79:59
Size: 185,3 MB

(3:00) 1. Whatever Lola Wants
(3:07) 2. Star Eyes
(2:42) 3. You Don't Know Me
(2:26) 4. It's Like Getting a Donkey to Gallup
(2:51) 5. If You Should Leave Me
(2:47) 6. Georgia Rose
(2:34) 7. Which Way Is Love
(2:51) 8. Big Town
(2:44) 9. Namely You
(3:01) 10. I'll Love You (Till I Die)
(2:18) 11. Ooh (What'cha Doin' to Me)
(3:22) 12. This Will Make You Laugh
(1:51) 13. I Cried for You
(2:57) 14. Lo and Behold
(2:28) 15. Passing Fancy
(2:45) 16. Nightlife
(2:20) 17. How Does the Wine Taste
(2:52) 18. Get Set
(2:41) 19. I Guess I'll Dress Up for the Blues
(2:57) 20. Coax Me
(3:46) 21. Midnight Sun
(2:48) 22. I'm a Dreamer, Aren't We All
(2:52) 23. How Many Stars Have to Shine
(2:15) 24. Come On, Come In
(2:30) 25. Miss Brown to You
(2:58) 26. Tonight He's Out To Break Another Heart
(2:43) 27. A Room with a View
(3:09) 28. My One and Only Love
(2:11) 29. They All Laughed

Carmen McRae always had a nice voice (if not on the impossible level of an Ella Fitzgerald or Sarah Vaughan) but it was her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpretations of lyrics that made her most memorable. She studied piano early on and had her first important job singing with Benny Carter's big band (1944), but it would be another decade before her career had really gained much momentum. McRae married and divorced Kenny Clarke in the '40s, worked with Count Basie (briefly) and Mercer Ellington (1946-1947), and became the intermission singer and pianist at several New York clubs. In 1954 she began to record as a leader' and by then she had absorbed the influences of Billie Holiday and bebop into her own style. McRae would record pretty steadily up to 1989 and, although her voice was higher in the '50s and her phrasing would be even more laid-back in later years, her general style and approach did not change much through the decades. Championed in the '50s by Ralph Gleason, McRae was fairly popular throughout her career. Among her most interesting recording projects were participating in Dave Brubeck's the Real Ambassadors with Louis Armstrong, cutting an album of live duets with Betty Carter, being accompanied by Dave Brubeck and George Shearing, and closing her career with brilliant tributes to Thelonious Monk and Sarah Vaughan. Carmen McRae, who refused to quit smoking, was forced to retire in 1991 due to emphysema. She recorded for many labels including Bethlehem, Decca (1954-1958), Kapp, Columbia, Mainstream, Focus, Atlantic (1967-1970), Black Lion, Groove Merchant, Catalyst, Blue Note, Buddah, Concord, and Novus.~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/artist/carmen-mcrae-mn0000185948/biography

The Very Thought Of You: The Definitive Singles Collection Disc 1, Disc 2

Marcel Loeffler - Source manouche

Styles: Gypsy Jazz, Swing
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:01
Size: 133,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:23) 1. Swing suspens
(3:36) 2. Ma référence
(4:10) 3. Fiso Place
(4:40) 4. Douce ambiance
(3:11) 5. Them There Eyes
(5:07) 6. All the Things You Are
(3:36) 7. Passion
(3:36) 8. Pont de Venise
(5:33) 9. Ruby
(2:30) 10. Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho
(4:53) 11. Double scotch
(3:06) 12. H.C.Q. STRUT
(5:25) 13. Où es-tu mon amour ?
(5:07) 14. La ballade irlandaise

As he rubs many accordionists, he wants to see his son play. Although having lost his sight at the age of 5 (genetic problem), the little Marcel is left with an accordion in his hands when he is only 6 years old. Four years later he begins to accompany his father in country balls with one of his brothers on drums; Marcel is of course brought up in the love of music; Because if his father likes Django, the idol of the community, he is also a lover of American jazz; with him, Marcel discovers Sinatra, Nat king Cole, Ellington … but playing the accordion in the 70s, when the instrument is relegated to the commercial register, you immediately rank in the category of nerds, even if you like Art Van Damme, Gus Viseur or Marcel Azzola, working hard to decipher their pieces. At the end of adolescence, Marcel abandons a time accordion in favor of an electric bass. Engaged in the Jacky Coulé Variety Orchestra, he performed at Niederbronn Casino; for four years he discovers and learns at the same time all the jazz standards within this orchestra. In the 80s he is interested in synthesizers, playing in various rock bands or varieties. These fifteen years of bells were still a solid school, allowing Marcel to be comfortable in all styles and everywhere at home in music; not to mention family reunions and parties where music is a daily sharing.

If Marcel started composing in the mid-80s, without ever having learned the theory, it was not until 1996 that he recorded « Vago » his first record as a leader, on which he signed most of the compositions and let his explosions multiply. talents. Having inherited from his father the faculty of not being content to stay in a single genre of music, Marcel announces here what will be a constant of his approach: his ability to propose different musical universes while keeping a real homogeneity. Sideman highly sought after, Marcel multiplies meetings and experiences. The essential for him being to play in public, he will share the stage with partners who are mostly his friends: guitarists Wawau Adler (participates in albums « Roots » in 2006 and 2007), Tchavolo, Dorado, Engé and Railo Helmstetter, accordionists Jean-Louis Matinier, Frédéric Schlick (Marcel will be one of his guests on « Jazz nuances » in 96), René Sopa (who will be inviting him on « Carinhos tango », recorded in 2008), Raul Barboza (Schiltigheim’s White Horse in 2000), Azzola the following year in the same place, saxophonist Franck Wolf and James Carter, violinist Costel Nitescu and bassist Gilles Coquard who will invite him on « Reïsa », a disc on which he meets Mino Cinélu and Bireli Lagrène … the list is long and not exhaustive.

An open and curious musician, Marcel likes Django and Viseur, of course, but also Art Van Damme, Piazzolla, Bach, the great American jazzmen with a predilection for Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea or Joe Zawinul. He also likes music from Central Europe, Africa and French songs; he always takes one on his records (wax doll, sound doll on « Vago », say when will you come back from Barbara, the song of the old lovers of Brel or the Irish ballad immortalized by Bourvil on the following ones). Marcel is always ready for new musical adventures, as for the Spring straps which gives him carte blanche every year; In 2013, he set up a Quincy Jones big band with Pascal Beck, the trombonist and arranger of Strasbourg, choosing the best French musicians to take back standards and original compositions; if Marcel records regularly (see all his albums in the discography page), he likes to play in public because it is there that he perceives intimately what his music brings or not to others. This does not prevent him from transmitting, since 2016, he teaches Jazz at the conservatory of music in Strasbourg. Marcel Loeffler, an exceptional stylist. First of all, a clear, airy phrasing that combines light swing, elegance and lyricism, a constant focus on punctuations and contrechnts and a keen sense of improvisation; he can linger around the melody with an unfailing inspiration or punctuate his speech with some virtuoso accelerations never gratuitous; for Marcel has long since passed the stage of virtuosity; what interests him is to play in a thoughtful, more elaborate way, to build something coherent, to play on the nuances, to keep the note; for him, music is above all emotional. https://marcel-loeffler.fr/en/

Source manouche

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Toni Tennille - Do It Again

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1988
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:44
Size: 120,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:07) 1. Do It Again
(3:50) 2. More Than You Know
(3:48) 3. Close Your Eyes
(4:05) 4. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
(3:25) 5. Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man
(2:38) 6. I'll Only Miss Him When I Think Of Him
(4:51) 7. Love Is Here To Stay
(3:45) 8. Someone To Watch Over Me
(3:45) 9. Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love)
(3:07) 10. I Thought About You
(4:40) 11. Day Dream
(2:08) 12. Guess Who I Saw Today?
(3:47) 13. Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me
(3:41) 14. But Not For Me

Cathryn Antoinette "Toni" Tennille (born May 8, 1940) is an American singer-songwriter and keyboardist, best known as one-half of the 1970s duo Captain & Tennille with her former husband Daryl Dragon; their signature song being "Love Will Keep Us Together". Tennille has also done musical work independently of her husband, including solo albums and session work. Tennille has a contralto vocal range, spanning over 2 and a half octaves....More... https://peoplepill.com/people/toni-tennille/

Do It Again

Richard 'Groove' Holmes - Get Up & Get It!

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 1967
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:01
Size: 92,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:40) 1. Get Up And Get It
(5:08) 2. Lee-Ann
(9:21) 3. Body And Soul
(5:23) 4. Broadway
(8:02) 5. Groove's Blues Groove
(6:25) 6. Pennies From Heaven

The organ trio format is so ensconced in the minds of soul-jazz fans that hearing this album, which puts Richard "Groove" Holmes' funky Hammond B3 in the context of a larger group, sounds odd and over-produced at first. Putting Holmes' bottom-heavy instrument against a guitar-bass-drums trio and then adding Teddy Edwards' tenor saxophone on top to take most of the melody lines sounds on paper like it should be a thick, muddy mess, but thankfully, Holmes' sidemen are up to the task at hand and steer clear of over-playing. The great Paul Chambers, one of the best bassists of the post-bop generation, mostly leaves the bottom to Holmes' left hand, leaving himself free to add intriguing little accents and filigrees to the rhythm, and guitarist Pat Martino wisely avoids the temptation to do much more than comp unobtrusively and take the occasional brief solo. Billy Higgins, of course, is one of the great drummers of his time and plays solidly throughout. The original "Groove's Blue Groove" is a particular highlight, but the entire album is worthy.~Steward Mason https://www.allmusic.com/album/get-up-and-get-it%21-mw0000893219

Personnel: Organ – Richard "Groove" Holmes, Bass – Paul Chambers (3), Drums – Billy Higgins, Guitar – Pat Martino; Tenor Saxophone – Teddy Edwards

Get Up & Get It!