Michael Musillami, Rich Syracuse - Dig

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:59
Size: 101,1 MB
Art: Front

(7:17) 1. C Minor Blues Chase
(6:01) 2. Twelve Tone Tune
(5:31) 3. Blue in Green
(7:31) 4. Nardis
(7:21) 5. All Blues
(3:39) 6. How My Heart Sings
(6:35) 7. Bill's Hit Tune

Guitarist Michael Musillami and bassist Rich Syracuse continue their engagement with the titans of the jazz world with Dig, their homage to Bill Evans. Like the discs that preceded it, Of The Night (Playscape, 2016), dedicated to Wayne Shorter and Bird Calls (Playscape, 2017), their salute to Charles Mingus, the duo approach this repertoire with both reverence and imagination, producing treatments that avoid simply capitulating to Evans' genius by opening his tunes to creative scrutiny.

It's noteworthy that the album leads off with a couple oftunes that are decidedly not among Evans' most storied compositions. "C Minor Blues Chase" was never recorded by Evans, and "Twelve Tone Tune" only surfaced on The Bill Evans Album (Columbia, 1971), arguably after his peak years were behind him. But they do have Evans' characteristic harmonic invention and rhythmic subtlety, both of which are captured wonderfully by Musillami and Syracuse. The two converse in avid dialogue, moving from written to improvised parts seamlessly, with enough lyricism to remind us of Evans but still maintaining their artistic independence. Musillami's gorgeous tone is so easy on the ears that it's hard not to be lulled by it, thereby overlooking the first-rate technique and virtuosity he brings to the instrument. And Syracuse's fleet scamperings are vital in the gripping exchanges making up "Twelve Tone Tune," bringing to mind Evans' original bass prodigy, Scott LaFaro, in his ability to play with such rhythmic fluidity and melodic freedom.

The more well-known tunes appear next, with "Blue in Green," "Nardis," and "All Blues" revealing the deep mutuality between Evans and Miles Davis, the latter of whom wrote all three pieces (perhaps with co-authorship in the case of "Blue in Green," at least as claimed by Evans). "Nardis" is the most striking of the three, played initially with only the most tenuous references to the tune's melody, as Musillami and Syracuse deconstruct the piece masterfully, Syracuse's arco bass interacting with Musillami's spartan lines to produce a brooding atmosphere before the duo turn the piece loose with some fierce swing as the melody fully emerges. But that's not to take anything away from the crystalline beauty of "Blue in Green" or the crunchy groove of "All Blues," both of which are delightful. One can tell that Musillami in particular really enjoyed getting to strut a bit on "All Blues," showcasing a grittier side to his playing than is otherwise found on the album.

Earl Zindars' "How My Heart Sings" is another trademark Evans cut, with the tune's memorable melody given faithful adherence here with an up-tempo rendition that gives both players ample solo space, even though at under four minutes it's the album's shortest track. And finally, with "Bill's Hit Tune" we have as a closer yet one more under-recognized Evans piece, and Syracuse's rich arco gracefully announces the emotion-laden theme as the duo conclude the album with warmth and heartfelt devotion to one of jazz's greatest artists.~ Troy Dostert https://www.allaboutjazz.com/dig-michael-musillami-playscape-recordings-review-by-troy-dostert.php

Personnel: Michael Musillami: guitar; Rich Syracuse: bass.

Dig

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Kari Kirkland - Wild Is the Wind

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:47
Size: 128,6 MB
Art: Front

(5:12) 1. Do It Again
(4:45) 2. Jealous
(3:22) 3. It's Alright With Me
(4:44) 4. It's Probably Me
(3:22) 5. Break Your Heart
(6:17) 6. Too Late Now
(5:43) 7. Wild Is The Wind
(4:34) 8. Steamroller Blues
(3:53) 9. Too Close For Comfort
(5:03) 10. Secret
(4:10) 11. Everybody Wants To Rule The World
(4:37) 12. I'll Be Around

Performing on flying trapeze and aerial bungee came naturally to vocalist Kari Kirkland, a former Ironman Triathlete competitor and daughter of an Olympic-drafted swimmer. “Live music is not unlike Flying Trapeze; one must be confident, fully engaged, and ideally, joyful.” says the former co-owner of Emerald City Trapeze Arts. After eight years in Seattle working as a professional circus artist, the mystery of the Southern California desert beckoned. She left the dazzle of the circus and the death-defying practice behind to become a full-time musician. Kari remarks, “There is inherent magic in the desert… a stillness and an energy that coexist like nowhere else on earth. What better place to be an artist?” Kari’s debut album, Wild is the Wind, was inspired in part by David Bowie’s performance of the title track. “It’s been one of my favorite songs since I was 18”, says Kari. “I heard an interview with Bowie where he considered his version (an homage to Nina Simone), to be the closest to his ‘true’ voice ever recorded. I had a chance meeting with him in Vancouver, BC in 1997. I told him how inspired I was by “Wild is the Wind,” and we had a laugh because he said it was recorded almost exactly when I was born.” This idea of the “true voice” intrigued Kari, having spent most of her life in bands singing to suit the occasion. She wanted to get deeper inside the songs and allow her emotions derived from the lyrics to drive the vocal performance.

The collection of contemporary and jazz standard songs on the album have more in common than one might notice at first glance. Kari remarks, “the majority of songs are about unrequited or forbidden love. For me, this kind of love is rooted in pain. It’s easy to access the idea of pain, but very difficult to genuinely express it. Producer Shelly Berg would come into the booth just before a take, and we’d talk through the lyrics and share stories that connected with the song. He helped me achieve a sentimentally-raw state, allowing me to deliver a performance that was authentically painful, and occasionally playful.” In the gospel-inspired ‘Jealous’ and the contemplative and orchestral ‘I’ll Be Around’, the emotion is palpable. “I couldn’t get through either song without crying. We tried a few takes, took a few breaks, and still, the tears would come at the close. In the end, we kept the original takes. Those performances felt powerful, and thoroughly cathartic”, remembers Kari. Drawing from a darker underworld of emotions, ‘Do It Again’, ‘Secret’, and ‘Steamroller Blues’ gave Kari a chance to untether a sultrier, sexier vocal that spoke to a more visceral part of her.

The Canadian-born daughter of two working musicians from the US, Kari’s simple and acutely lean childhood was spent crisscrossing North America by car. Music was a part of nearly every day, and Kari learned to find her own way in a world filled with adult companionship. She was home-schooled on the road by her mother and learned to play the piano under her father’s encouragement, practicing scales and playing by ear before and after her parents’ performances each night. Non-travel days were spent picking out books and cassette tapes from the dollar bins in mom-and-pop stores. Desiring nothing more than to be like other kids her age, her favorites were Judy Blume (for the sheer teenage angst), and George Michael (to rebel against a conservative upbringing), respectively. She fastidiously studied her parents on stage and sang made-up melodies into a cassette recorder in hotel bathrooms or nestled in a sleeping bag in the back seat. At 19, she wrote her first complete song, and began playing with a pop band in Vancouver, BC. Kari played in various pop, rock, cabaret, and jazz groups through the early 2000’s in Canada and the US. She moved to Europe in 2003 where she spent 4 years writing, recording, and performing.

In 2012, while working in Seattle as a private chef by day, and performing original music at night, Kari signed up for a Flying Trapeze class. “My friend wanted to try it, and when her birthday rolled around, I decided I would take the leap with her.”, recalls Kari. That birthday gift would change her life in every way. The afternoon of her Flying Trapeze class, Kari met her husband in midair. He owned a circus school and performance venue in downtown Seattle and opened his arms and his heart to Kari. In true Big Top fashion, they married (one year to the day later), after performing on the Flying Trapeze for their 150 guests. Their wedding was filmed for TLC’s “Four Weddings”, and with a grand entrance spiraling down by one wrist from 40 feet above the ceremony altar, Kari set foot on a completely new stage: the circus.

Together, she and her husband, Gary produced large-scale theatrical circus shows with Kari at the creative helm. Whether coaching flying trapeze students from a platform suspended 30 feet off the ground or performing at private corporate events for the likes of DocuSign, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, the husband and wife team were profoundly and happily busy. Her musical career took a back seat for a while until Gary stepped in. Searching for a sound that felt like the perfect fit for Kari’s voice, Gary contacted composer, pianist, and Grammy nominee Shelly Berg to see if he would consider working on a demo recording with Kari. Sight unseen, and with what Shelly would later describe as “just a feeling that I should do it”, he agreed to meet with Kari. After a cinematic, midnight meeting and impromptu musical hang at Shelly’s house in Coral Gables, Florida, he agreed to arrange and produce a 6-song EP. Shelly pulled together Phil Ramone’s rhythm section and booked United Recording in Los Angeles for the sessions. With perhaps the most recorded guitar player on the planet, Dean Parks, as well as Kevin Axt of the Tierney Sutton Band on bass, Sinatra’s drummer, Gregg Field, and Shelly himself on the piano, six songs were recorded over two afternoons. The energy at that session was so powerful that they decided to expand the EP into a full album.

The group agreed to meet again in November 2016 to record six more songs. Acclaimed percussionist Brian Kilgore was brought in to add percussion, and three-time Grammy winner John Daversa laid down a trumpet track on the album’s opening song, “Do It Again.” The project was engineered and mixed by Don Murray in LA and mastered by Paul Blakemore in Nashville. One special guest on the album came about through some of the same “magic” as the original meeting with Shelly: Roy Hargrove. Kari describes their first encounter: “After playing a late set at Jazz Alley in Seattle, Roy was coming out of the green room as I was coming out of the ladies’ room. We very nearly walked right into each other. I told him how much I had enjoyed his set, and that it was an honor to meet him. We chatted for a while, and in a moment of sheer boldness (which is most unlike me), I asked if he would play on my album. He looked me right in the eye, kind of shook his head and chuckled, and said ‘Yeah, man. Send my manager a message and let’s set it up.’ A few months later, I found myself in John Lee’s studio in New Jersey, sitting at the kitchen table with Roy. We spent the day working on the track, “Too Late Now.” A year and a half later, he was gone. I feel so fortunate. Though I never got to see him again, Roy’s presence on the album is an eternal reminder of his generosity and his love for music… even a complete stranger’s.”

Citing early vocal inspiration from Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush, and Linda Ronstadt, Kari’s vocal style and phrasing has been coined as “unique” by arrangers and producers alike. “In my teens, I listened to a wide array of artists; XTC, The Pretenders, Prince, The Police, Peter Gabriel, The Smiths, and The Band all stand out as influential in terms of melody, structure, and attitude. It was the iconic female song-stylists, though, that shaped me as a singer. In making Wild is the Wind, I drew from my deep admiration of Nancy Wilson, Eva Cassidy, and Julie London to bring forth a sound and a style that I hoped would do these songs justice.”

The album is rooted in jazz, but crosses over into Adult Contemporary, Pop, Blues, a little bit of Latin, and Cabaret. The American Songbook is lovingly featured with “It’s Alright With Me”, “Too Close For Comfort”, and “I’ll Be Around”, while more contemporary songs like “Everybody Wants To Rule The World”, “Secret”, and “Jealous” find a new and distinct sound. Kari’s voice is sultry and sensual, gently finding its place among the at times ethereal, at times straight-ahead swinging arrangements by Shelly Berg.

Wild is the Wind will be released on Slea Head Records. Slea Head, on the west coast of Ireland, is a geographical stepping-off point in Europe, where ships left Ireland for the new world. “People took a leap of faith, leaving behind family, friends, their land, and a life that they understood, for somewhere and something completely unknown,” says Kari. “I love the symmetry of that in my own life.” Having left the Circus in the Pacific Northwest in 2019, Kari now lives in the desert, where, after a lifetime of searching, she’s finally found home. https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/karikirkland

Wild Is the Wind

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Claire Martin - The Very Best of Claire Martin: Every Now and Then

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:35
Size: 154,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:29) 1. When the Sun Comes Out
(4:44) 2. Be Cool
(4:43) 3. It's Always Four A.M.
(6:18) 4. Partners in Crime
(5:27) 5. Summer (Estate)
(4:09) 6. No Moon at All
(4:28) 7. Chased Out
(2:04) 8. Off Beat - Live
(6:15) 9. Would You Believe? - Live
(4:13) 10. Devil's Gonna Get You
(4:32) 11. Riverman
(3:08) 12. The Waiting Game
(7:57) 13. More Than You'll Ever Know
(4:03) 14. Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home

Claire Martin has been one of the more outstanding new voices of the 1990's, not only in her native England, but in the US as well. For her eighth album for the British Linn label, Martin has decided to look back by compiling some selections from those previous releases and include some of the better offerings found on her Linn recording resume. It's interesting that while most of the musical agenda is made up of jazz tunes, most of them fall into the unfamiliar category. Martin makes it without using well known standards as a crutch. Good for her!

From her 1997 release Make This City Ours comes "Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home" which offers some fine alto sax by Antonio Hart and piano by Gareth Williams. Her own "Devil's Gonna Get You" from her first album, the 1993 release Devil May Care gives some solo room to Jim Mullen on guitar and Arnie Somogyi on bass. The requisite nod to Latin rhythms comes with a swinging "Partners in Crime". One of the prettiest and most poignant ballads on the set is "It's Always Four A. M." from perhaps her finest CD, The Waiting Game. She does this with just Jonathan Gee's piano in support which sets off the purity of her voice. The thing that strikes one as each tune unfolds is Martin's amazing consistency. Whether the tune be from her first album, or from her last, the same high quality of interpretation and delivery remains intact. Recommended.~ Dave Nathan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/every-now-and-then-the-very-best-of-claire-martin-claire-martin-review-by-dave-nathan.php

Personel: Claire Martin - Vocals; Steve Melling, Jonathan Gee, Gareth Williams -Piano; Arnie Somogyi, Peter Washington - Bass; Clark Tracey, Greg Hutchinson, Jeremy Stacey, Ian Thomas - Drums; Mark Nightingale, Nichol Thomson - Trombone; Jim Mullen - Guitar; Antonio Hart - Alto Sax; Paul Stacey - Guitar/Bass Guitar/Keyboard; Robin Miller - Harmonica; Darragh Morgan, Anna Giddey, Brian Wright, Catherine Browning, Chris Payne - Violin; Charlotte Glasson, John Murphy, Sophie Sirota - Viola; Sarah Barker, Jo Richards - Cello; Mark Smith -Autoharp; Duncan Mackay, Alistair "Titch" Walker - Trumpet; Mornington Lockett - Tenor Sax; Robin Aspland - Wurlitzer; Andy Wallace - Hammond Organ

The Very Best of Claire Martin: Every Now and Then

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Eldar Djangirov - Letter to Liz

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:05
Size: 117,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:23) 1. Amazing Grace
(3:25) 2. Waltz for Debby
(4:42) 3. I Remember Clifford
(4:30) 4. Here's That Rainy Day
(3:52) 5. All the Things You Are
(4:49) 6. For All We Know
(6:03) 7. Sophisticated Lady
(5:59) 8. Lullaby Fantazia
(5:43) 9. It Might As Well Be Spring
(5:15) 10. For Liz
(2:18) 11. Tiger Rag (Arr.By Art Tatum)

Hard bop/post-bop pianist Eldar Djangirov has accomplished something that the vast majority of jazz artists pianists or otherwise will never accomplish: he landed a contract with a major label (Sony Classical) when he still wasn't old enough to vote. It is not uncommon for people to learn to play jazz during their adolescent years (especially in Western Europe), but most of them won't record an album as a leader until they are in their twenties; many won't even be recorded as sidemen until after they reach their twenties. Djangirov, however, started recording as a leader when he was in his mid-teens, and had recorded three albums before his 18th birthday. Djangirov, an immigrant from what used to be the Soviet Union, brings an intriguing variety of bebop, hard bop, post-bop and swing influences to his work. The acoustic pianist (who also plays electric keyboards but is essentially straight-ahead in his approach) has been greatly affected by the clear, crystalline playing of Bill Evans, Dave Brubeck, Keith Jarrett, and Ahmad Jamal; like those musicians, he can be quite lyrical (sometimes in an impressionistic way). But he has also shown his appreciation of Oscar Peterson and Red Garland's funkiness at times, and his other influences range from McCoy Tyner to Bud Powell to pre-bop master Art Tatum. A Djangirov solo might acknowledge anything from Thelonious Monk's angularity to Garland's use of what musicians refer to as "block chords" (a technique that is easy for jazz listeners to recognize even if they don't understand the exact technical meaning of the term). Despite having recorded for Sony Classical, Djangirov is not a classical-oriented musician straight-ahead jazz is definitely his main focus. But like many jazz musicians, he has been influenced by the European classical tradition and can bring some of the Euro-classical vocabulary to his improvisations.

Djangirov was born on January 28, 1987 in Kyrgyzstan in the former Soviet Union, which did away with communism when he was only a child. At the age of five, he began studying the piano with his mother Tatiana Djangirov (who was a music teacher in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan). In 1996, a nine-year-old Eldar Djangirov performed at a jazz festival in Novosibirsk, Russia, where a visiting American jazz supporter named Charles McWhorter heard him for the first time. Feeling that the young pianist had a great deal of potential, McWhorter arranged for him to attend a summer camp at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan. Djangirov ended up staying in the United States; after leaving Michigan, he lived in Kansas City before making San Diego, CA his home. The improviser's first album, Eldar [D&D], was released in 2001, when he was 14; that disc was followed by the release of his sophomore disc, Handprints, in 2003. In 2004, Djangirov signed with Sony Classical and recorded his third album, which is also titled Eldar [Sony]; the album boasts John Patitucci on bass and Michael Brecker on tenor sax and was given a March 2005 release date. Two years later Eldar released Re-Imagination, which saw the pianist stretching out into solo acoustic piano and even electronica territory. Virtue appeared in 2009.
~ Alex Henderson https://www.allmusic.com/artist/eldar-mn0000648382/biography

Letter to Liz

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Dado Moroni Trio - What's New?

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 73:25
Size: 169,2 MB
Art: Front

(10:54) 1. What's New?
( 5:32) 2. Trawi
(16:05) 3. African Suite: the Market / The River / Ghanian Village
( 9:51) 4. Jamal
( 6:36) 5. Easy Living
( 9:18) 6. The Duck and the Duchess
( 7:58) 7. Skylark
( 7:08) 8. When Will the Blues Leave

As a pianist and composer, Dado Moroni is an elegant stylist whose post-Ahmad Jamal voicings and Gil Evans-styled arrangements even for small ensembles are singular in their subtle, suave grace and their quiet musical expertise. This trio date with a young rhythm section (Rosario Bonaccorso on bass and Gianni Cazzola on drums) is an amalgam of the familiar and ambitious for Moroni. His own compositions, which make up half the album, tend toward the inherently melodic side of his nature: There's the charming ostinato aplomb in "The Duck and the Duchess" and the multi-faceted chromatic gracefulness of "African Suite," which loops three different strains of rhythms around a complex harmonic structure that examines all the tones between B and D. And then there's the adventurous improviser who tackles the outrageously difficult melodic line in Ornette Coleman's "When Will the Blues Leave," which extrapolates a 12-bar blues and pours it into a fugue-like structure of flatted ninths. To temper the two poles, there are readings of Hoagy Carmichael's "Skylark" done as an exercise in intervallic interplay and mode-shifting melodic exchange and a solid post-bop reading of Robin & Rainger's "Easy Living." This is piano trio jazz at its lyrical, exciting best.~ Thom Jurek https://www.allmusic.com/album/whats-new-mw0000422873

Personnel: Dado Moroni(p); Rosario Bonaccorso(b); Gianni Cazzola(ds)

What's New?

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Dannie Richmond - 'In' Jazz for the Culture Set

Styles: Soul-Jazz
Year: 1965
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 30:28
Size: 70,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:10) 1. High Camp
(2:14) 2. Sweet Little Sixteen
(3:05) 3. Freedom Ride
(3:56) 4. The Spider
(2:40) 5. Blowin' In The Wind
(4:24) 6. Pfoonick
(4:52) 7. The Berkeley Underground
(3:55) 8. Mister Nashville
(2:09) 9. John Kennedy Memory Waltz

As anyone who collects jazz records will very likely tell you, the rare ones are typically hard earned and usually accompanied by a story or two. Such is the case with the uncommon and definitely curious solo album that drummer Dannie Richmond cut for Impulse back in 1965. With shades of Any Warhol to be had via the Campbell’s soup cans on the cover, this oddity first caught my attention many years ago when shopping with one of my fellow collecting buddies. Housed in a five-car garage, a retired attorney by the name of Dan Link (that’s Mr. Jazz to those who knew him best, including drummer Kenny Washington) ran a record business that used to be a frequent stopping spot that always guaranteed pleasures and a quick fix. Foolishly I had passed by the album the first time out and even more rashly, described it to my buddy the next time out, who managed to find the proverbial needle in the haystack among thousands of boxes. Even several years later, I could not pry the album from his hands, despite the fact that my buddy claimed to not think much of it, playing it only one or two times.

Let’s now cut to the chase and lay out the details for one of the few albums the drummer ever recorded under his own name. The “in crowd” that Richmond assembles here includes pianist Jaki Byard and bassist Cecil McBee, with the guitars of Toots Thielemans and Jimmy Raney on various other cuts, not to mention some added Latin percussion on a trio of tracks. There’s definitely a quirky sound to these short cuts which owes as much to the tenor of the times as to the contributions of Byard, heard in rollicking stride fashion on of all things, Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind”. Jimmy Raney’s “Freedom Ride” is one of the best cuts, its propulsive groove firmly established by Richmond and also featuring one of the few drum solos to be found on the record. Also worth mentioning are two Gary McFarland gems, namely “High Camp” and “Pfoofnick.” And let’s not forget the country twang that comes with Thieleman’s “Mister Nashville,” the idea being that pretty much anything goes when it come to this “in” jazz for the culture set. In the end, nothing all that dramatic will be found between the covers, but it’s a definite treat to hear some overlooked solo work from Byard, not to mention Thielemans’ guitar picking which has largely been overshadowed by his individualistic ways with the harmonica. But then, there’s a ‘60s vibe to the entire package, Campbell’s soup cans and all, which continues to endear itself to me every once in awhile when I get the turntable spinning. ~ C.Andrew Hovan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/dannie-richmond-in-jazz-for-the-culture-set-by-c-andrew-hovan.php

Personnel: Dannie Richmond – drums; Toots Thielemans – harmonica, guitar; Jaki Byard – piano; Jimmy Raney – guitar; Cecil McBee– bass; Willie Bobo, Victor Pantoja – percussion

'In'Jazz for the Culture Set

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Chris Barber, Ottilie Patterson - Is it True 'Bout ..

Styles: Trombone Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:44
Size: 85,0 MB
Art: Front

(2:32) 1. Dixie Cinderella
(3:09) 2. Porgy
(4:34) 3. Magnolia's Wedding Day
(2:26) 4. Doin' the Crazy Walk
(5:02) 5. New St. Louis Blues
(3:14) 6. Here Comes My Blackbird
(2:32) 7. Can't We Get Together
(3:49) 8. I Can't Give You Anything but Love
(3:31) 9. Sweet Savannah Sue
(3:16) 10. Diga Diga Doo
(2:34) 11. Baby

17 April 1930, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England. In the 40s Barber studied trombone and bass at the Guildhall School of Music, eventually choosing the former as his principal instrument (although he occasionally played bass in later years). In the late 40s he formed his first band, which, unusually, was formed as a co-operative. Also in the band were Monty Sunshine, Ron Bowden and Lonnie Donegan. By the early 50s the band had gained a considerable following but it was nevertheless decided to invite Ken Colyer to join. The move was musically promising but proved to be unsuccessful when the personalities involved clashed repeatedly. Eventually, Colyer left and was replaced by Pat Halcox. The vocalist Ottilie Patterson joined in 1954 when she was Barber’s girlfriend, (they married in 1959). In the mid-50s Barber also tried his hand at skiffle and his own Chris Barber Skiffle Group featured during this time Ron Bowden (drums), Dickie Bishop (vocals), and the powerful but nasal vocalist/guitarist Johnny Duncan. Barber played upright bass during this time, an instrument on which he is equally adept. Many years later, Paul McCartney’s recording of Bishop’s composition ‘No Other Baby’ was one of the highlights of his comeback rock ‘n’ roll set, Run Devil Run.Aided by remarkably consistent personnel, the Barber band was soon one of the UK’s leading traditional groups and was well placed to take advantage of the surge of interest in this form of jazz in the late 50s and early 60s. Barber experienced a ‘freak’ hit in the pop charts in 1959 when his arrangement of Sydney Bechet’s ‘Petite Fleur’ became a huge hit (No. 3 in the UK). The track was issued from a 1957 album to catch the boom that trad was experiencing. The clarinet solo was beautifully played by Monty Sunshine and remains a classic of the era. The decline in popularity of ‘trad’, which came on the heels of the beat group explosion, had a dramatic effect on many British jazz bands, but Barber’s fared much better than most.

This was owed in part to his astute business sense and also his keen awareness of musical trends and a willingness to accommodate other forms without compromising his high musical standards.In the 60s Barber changed the name of the band to the Chris Barber Blues and Jazz Band. Into the traditional elements of the band’s book he incorporated ragtime but also worked with such modern musicians as Joe Harriott. Among his most important activities at this time was his active promotion of R&B and the blues, which he underlined by bringing major American artists to the UK, often at his own expense. Through such philanthropy he brought to the attention of British audiences the likes of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Brownie McGhee, Louis Jordan and Muddy Waters. Not content with performing the older blues styles, Barber also acknowledged the contemporary interest in blues evinced by rock musicians and audiences and hired such players as John Slaughter and Pete York (ex-Spencer Davis Group), who worked happily beside long-serving sidemen Halcox, Ian Wheeler, Vic Pitt and others. In the 70s, Barber focused more on mainstream music, showing a special affinity for small Duke Ellington -styled bands, and toured with visitors such as Russell Procope, Wild Bill Davis, Trummy Young and John Lewis. He also maintained his contact with his jazz roots and, simultaneously, the contemporary blues scene by touring widely with his Take Me Back To New Orleans show, which featured Dr. John. He happily entered his fifth decade as a band leader with no discernible flagging of interest, enthusiasm, skill or, indeed, of his audience. In 1991 he was awarded the OBE, the same year as Panama! was released, featuring the excellent trumpet playing of Wendell Brunious. As a trombone player, Barber’s work is enhanced by his rich sound and flowing solo style. It is, however, as band leader and trendspotter that he has made his greatest contribution to the jazz scene, both internationally and, especially, in the UK. https://www.oldies.com/artist-biography/Chris-Barber.html

R.I.P.

March 2, 2021

Born: April 17, 1930, Welwyn Garden City, United Kingdom

Is it True 'Bout Chris Barber & Ottilie Patterson?

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Nnenna Freelon - Blueprint Of A Lady

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:58
Size: 145,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:18) 1. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
(5:13) 2. What A Little Moonlight Can Do
(4:05) 3. Don't Explain
(5:21) 4. God Bless The Child
(2:21) 5. Strange Fruit
(2:52) 6. Willow Weep For Me
(4:48) 7. Balm In Gilead
(5:11) 8. Them There Eyes
(3:41) 9. Only You Will Know
(5:25) 10. You've Changed
(2:55) 11. Now Or Never
(4:14) 12. Lover Man
(5:02) 13. Left Alone
(1:32) 14. Interlude-Little Brown Bird
(5:54) 15. All Of Me

Nnenna Freelon's latest project pays tribute to singer Billie Holiday in the best possible way without imitation and putting her own interpretations on material written by or associated with Lady Day. Her band, adjusted to fit the mood of each song, skillfully complements her at every turn. Freelon's phrasing and vocal clarity contribute to an overall feeling that is more positive than Holiday's often dark and plaintive renditions of the same material. Interspersed within this tribute are three natural fits that don't come directly from the Holiday Songbook. "Only You Will Know and "Interlude-Little Brown Bird are original collaborations by Freelon and Brandon McCune that pay homage to Lady Day. The former, an intimate vocal-guitar duet with Andre Bush, enables Freelon to question aloud whether she should imitate Holiday's style or approach the project's material in a different manner. Holiday's answer in this imagined vocal dialogue was: "Sing until you know who you are and why you came... You may sing a Lady song, sweet drawl soft and low/but only if the song is you and only you will know.

The third is "Balm in Gilead a traditional African-American affirmation of faith, hope and optimism that enriches all of the other material. This duo version on which Freelon is accompanied by pianist McCune, leads into an uplifting and vibrant version of "Them There Eyes. Doug Lawrence's tenor sax offers a sublime conversational response to Freelon's vocals on "You've Changed and takes a different role on "Now Or Never by reinforcing and at times echoing her voice. Dave Ellis takes a more out-in-front complementary tenor role on the bluesy and soulful version of "Lover Man that follows. Julian Lage's guitar artistry sparkles throughout "Don't Explain and on several other tracks. "Left Alone presents a Holiday work she never recorded. Lady Day wrote it with the late Mal Waldron. Abbey Lincoln was the first vocalist to record the tune in 1961.

Freelon's vocals plus quartet version unearths the positives buried beneath Holiday's words about loneliness. "All of Me concludes this fine session with another twist a sultry reggae arrangement of the classic ballad.
~ Ken Franckling https://www.allaboutjazz.com/blueprint-of-a-lady-sketches-of-billie-holiday-nnenna-freelon-concord-music-group-review-by-ken-franckling.php

Personnel: Nnenna Freelon: vocals; Brandon McCune: piano: Fender Rhodes: Hammond B-3: trumpet; Wayne Batchelor: acoustic bass; Kinah Boto: drums; Beverly Botsford: percussion; Christian Scott: trumpet (1,2,8); Mary Fettig: alto and baritone saxes: alto flute (1,2); Dave Ellis (1,2,12) and Doug Lawrence (10,11): tenor sax; Julian Lage (3,8,11,15) and Andre Bush (9, duet with Nnenna): guitar; Jessica Ivry: cello (3,8).

Blueprint Of A Lady

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Michael Dease - Give It All You Got

Styles: Trombone Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:43
Size: 133,4 MB
Art: Front

(5:47) 1. A Sliver Of Silver
(5:18) 2. The Next Level
(4:58) 3. Parker's Fancy
(5:23) 4. Word To The Wise
(5:58) 5. Dave's Boogie-Down
(6:08) 6. Ritmo De Brevard
(4:56) 7. Lake Toxaway Getaway
(5:58) 8. Zanderfied
(7:05) 9. Climb The Mountain
(6:08) 10. Transylvania County Funk Parade

Recalling many of those great Blue Note albums with trombonist Curtis Fuller and Art Blakey, Give It All You Got, the eighth Posi-Tone release by one of today’s leading voices on the trombone, Michael Dease, carries that infectious soul-jazz vibe and percolates with similar energy. Dease has appeared over 200 recordings wirh groups as diverse as Grammy winning artists David Sanborn, Christian McBride, Michel Camilo, and Alicia Keys. This one garners inspiration from his life in jazz education.. It focuses on North Carolina’s The Jazz Institute at Brevard Music Center, which is a two-week summer intensive workshop for 80 dedicated students that follow Dease’s custom-designed curriculum for traditional and progressive jazz study. Most of the musicians on the album are Brevard faculty members as well. The renowned trombonist and two-time Grammy award winner currently serves as Associate Professor of Jazz Trombone at the renowned Michigan State University jazz program and has also been on faculty at Queens College CUNY, The New School and Northeastern University. Many of Dease’s current and former students are enjoying successful careers in the music world. Always an informed, but forward-thinking musician, Dease learned the craft from trombone legends Wycliffe Gordon and Joseph Alessi and his extensive resume is far too reaching to cover in this space. Dease’s opener “Sliver of Silver” was inspired by a 2018 visit to Brevard by famed trumpeter Randy Brecker, who played with the piano icon when first coming up.

Throughout Alfredson’s sizzling B3 gives the proceedings a different color than those Blue Note recordings referenced earlier but this straight-ahead hard bop is terrific whether listening to Tardy’s tenor on “The Next Level” or the leader making his own poignant statements. “Parker’s Fancy,” written by drummer Luther S. Allison is not about Bird, but instead for Dr. Andrew Parker of the Institute. It’s familiar sounding groove fits as easily here as it could have in that glorious soul-jazz era of the early ‘60s with sparkling turns from trumpeter Stanco, Tardy, and the leader. Dease’s “Word to the Wise” is a mid-tempo piece with the leader in conversation with Alfredson until Tardy enters midway and the entire sextet brings it home. “Dave’s Boogie-Down,” as title suggests, is a white-hot burner, written by Alfredson but named for David Sanborn, with whom Dease toured extensively. This one features a blistering solo from altoist Sharel Cassity, one of Dease’s most inspired spots, with Tardy and Alfredson on fire as well, bringing it all to an explosive boil before the abrupt end. We then find the soothing Brazilian tones of “Ritmo De Brevard,” a nod to both Brazilian music and especially Dease’s mentor, the late Claudio Roditi as heard in the reverent tones near the end. “Lake Toxaway Getaway” is another Alfredson composition named for LakeToxaway Country Club where the jazz students from Brevard perform a 90-minute show as part of the curriculum. This is joyous tune, capturing the excitement of the students riding the “big ol’ white school bus” making the mountain climb to the site.

“Zanderfied,” named for the founders of the Institute, features an especially soulful Stanley Turrentine-like take from Tardy and the only guitar spot, a bluesy one, for Randy Alexander. “Climb the Mountain,” by Stanco, is Dease’s favorite track, as true to its name, it just keeps building, beginning rather calmly with turns from all three horns before Alfredson sets the stage for the crescendo, the last notes reflecting a deep exhale, as they have reached the summit. “Transylvania County Funk Parade,” the closer, written on the spot by Dease, is an ode to the collective band members roots in blues and soul. Tardy is on fire pushed by Owens Jr. Dease and Alfredson keep the cauldron boiling before the ensemble takes it out. In his notes Dease has this – “Dig these origins: Tardy/NOLA, Stanco/Detroit, Ulysess/JAX, Alfredson & Brooklyn/Lansing, Luther/Charlotte, Gwen/STL, Sharel/OKC, Napoleon/Ann Arbor (we’ll let that one slide) & Dease/Augusta, GA. These are places that like their Blues and Brevard’s Transylvania County is right in there.” This is one smoking session! Highly recommended.~ Jim Hynes https://www.makingascene.org/michael-dease-give-it-all-you-got/

Personel: Michael Dease – trombone; Anthony Stanco – trumpet/flugelhorn; Gregory Tardy – tenor saxophone; Jim Alfredson – organ; Ulysses Owens, Jr. – drums; Gwendolyn Dease – congas/triangle; Brooklyn Dease – percussion; Luther Allison – drums; Sharrel Cassity – alto saxophone; Randy Napoleon – guitar

Give It All You Got

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Ralph Peterson and The Messenger Legacy - Legacy Alive, Vol. 6 at the Side Door

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop, Hard Bop
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 105:10
Size: 241,7 MB
Art: Front

(11:01) 1. A La Mode
(10:11) 2. Wheel Within a Wheel
( 7:45) 3. The Core
( 9:07) 4. My One and Only Love
( 8:38) 5. 3 Blind Mice
(11:49) 6. Blues March
(10:07) 7. In Case You Missed It
( 7:54) 8. Along Came Betty
( 6:53) 9. Children of the Night
( 8:51) 10. That Old Feeling
(12:49) 11. Caravan

Recorded loud and live at the Side Door Jazz Club in Old Lyme, CT, Ralph Peterson the last drummer to play side-by-side with the incomparable Art Blakey delivers an unstoppable two-disc hyperdrive swing-fest celebration of his mentor with Legacy Alive, Volume 6 at the Side Door. It's no deep state secret that Blakey, with his effortless and effusive glee, seamlessly bridged all of jazz's thrilling variants: '40's swing and blues; the nascent bop and hard bop of the '50s to the soaring, exploratory avant-garde of the '60's. Fletcher Henderson, Chick Webb and Mary Lou Williams to Thelonious Monk and McCoy Tyner, Blakey drove them all with his relentless spirit and snapping snare. So, to mark Blakey's centennial year and his own 57th, Peterson, his rhythmic intuitions and understandings of Blakey fully engaged, presents his frothy sextet: saxophonists Bill Pierce on tenor and Bobby Watson on alto, trumpeter Brian Lynch, bassist Essiet Essiet, and pianist Geoffrey Keezer and a raucous, eleven-song set of smoking tunes long associated with Blakey and any version of his Jazz Messengers. Peterson, Keezer, and Essiet blow the Side Door open with "A La Mode," and the momentum fiery, free, frenetic never lets up. Watson, himself a Blakey alum, contributes "Wheel Within A Wheel," a rolling hard-bop blazer that sets the stage for Freddie Hubbard's "The Core," a real showcase for the horns. And the hits keep coming! Rollicking takes of "3 Blind Mice," Benny Golson's signature "Blues March" and "Along Came Betty," Wayne Shorter's fervent "Children of the Night" and a set-closing jump-romp of Duke Ellington's "Caravan" serve to prove the fact that, on any given night, in any given club with the right combo, greatness can be heard.~ Mike Jurkovic https://www.allaboutjazz.com/legacy-alive-volume-6-at-the-side-door-ralph-peterson-onyx-music-label-review-by-mike-jurkovic.php

Personnel: Ralph Peterson: drums; Bobby Watson: saxophone; Bill Pierce: saxophone, Brian Lynch: trumpet; Geoffrey Keezer: piano; Essiet Essiet: bass.

R.I.P.
Born: May 20, 1962, Pleasantville, New Jersey, United States
Died: March 1, 2021

Legacy Alive, Vol. 6 at the Side Door

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Dave Blenkhorn, Harry Allen - Under a Blanket of Blue

Styles: Saxophone And Guitar Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:08
Size: 108,8 MB
Art: Front

(5:05) 1. There's a Small Hotel
(5:17) 2. We'll Be Together Again
(4:23) 3. Dindi
(4:53) 4. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
(4:01) 5. Under a Blanket of Blue
(6:31) 6. Street of Dreams
(4:22) 7. La Mer
(4:13) 8. Imagination
(3:49) 9. The Bloody Happy Song
(4:29) 10. Solitude

Conceived from the same stressors catalyzing The Bloody Happy Song, Under A Blanket Of Blue added an additional level of complexity and challenge to the new COVID conception-production paradigm. In this case, Allen had been touring Europe with France-based, Australian guitarist Dave Blenkhorn in March 2020, when Allen received a telephone call from his wife, summoning him home due to the COVID travel ban to be instituted two days hence. Allen went home with a conversation he had with the guitarist in mind regarding recording at home ringing in his ears. So, with both musicians secure in their respective homes in New York City and Bordeaux, France, they recorded a collection of nine standards and one original (Allen's "The Bloody Happy Song" from the previous review) over a two-month period, working on one or two songs per week.

The two artists took a queue from classical music period performance specialists, deciding to go old school instrument and recording-wise. Allen recorded performing on a 1938 Selmer Balanced Action tenor saxophone captured through a Royer R10 ribbon microphone, while Blenkhorn used a 1958 Gibson 175 model guitar. A Django Reinhardt enthusiast, Blenkhorn brought a 1920 "Hot Club" vintage sound to the performances while maintaining Joe Pass-inspired walking-bass figures interspersed among his tasteful chording. That guitar environment proved to be money for Allen, who played at the top of his form.. Novel conception and recording method apart, the musical duet is the most intimate performance setting. It requires that two individuals cooperate and coalesce artistically, creating something not heard before. Sure, all of the songs in this recital have been performed and recorded every which way, some many times, before. But these songs as presented by Harry Allen and Dave Blenkhorn re freshly minted That alone makes them special, unique. Casual and close, the two musicians bring music together from across an open.

The repertoire is tried and true, with the closing songs defining the collection: Victor Young's 1932 "Street of Dreams" receives a breezy introduction from Blenkhorn before assimilating a first timid Allen into its confines. The song gathers swing density ending on a well conceived coda. Charles Trenet's "La Mer" (Columbia, 1946) bounces with tuneful glee, with Allen gently coaxing the melody through the harmonic underpinning provided by Blenkhorn's guitar. Jimmy Van Heusen's "Imagination" rubs its baladic backside against Allen's original "The Bloody Happy Song" reprised here from the same-titled recording above. The two end with an introverted performance of Duke Ellington "Solitude," proving again that the Great American Songbook continue tp provide an endless source of inspiration.~ C.Michael Bailey https://www.allaboutjazz.com/harry-allen-tenor-saxophone-in-the-time-of-covid-harry-allen

Personnel: Harry Allen (ts), Dave Blenkhorn (g)

Under a Blanket of Blue

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Dado Moroni - The Way I Am

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1994
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:26
Size: 155,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:11) 1. The Cup Bearers
(4:28) 2. Not Without You
(2:34) 3. Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams
(6:20) 4. I Can't Get Started
(4:59) 5. Improvistion in G Minor
(3:10) 6. Time Will Tell - Medley
(5:27) 7. The Man from Potter's Crossing - Medley
(5:00) 8. Yesterdays
(7:42) 9. Blue Dado
(8:47) 10. Ruby My Dear / Pannonica / Round Midnight - Thelonious Monk Medley
(2:43) 11. What Am I Here For
(5:00) 12. Lotus Blossom
(7:04) 13. S.K.J.

The renowned jazz musician Edgardo ‘Dado’ Moroni was born on this day in 1962 in Genoa. Moroni, who learned at the feet of some of the greats of American jazz music in Italian clubs in the 1980s and 90s, has recorded more than 25 albums, having released his first when he was only 17. He has appeared as a guest on many more albums and built such a reputation as a pianist and composer that he was able to become part of the American jazz scene himself in the 1990s, when he lived in New York. Moroni attributes his love of jazz music to his father’s passion for the genre, which meant that he grew up listening to the likes of Earl Hines, Fats Waller and Count Basie.Using a piano his parents had bought for his sister, Monica, he taught himself to play many of the songs he heard on the record player, receiving his first informal tuition from his mother, who played the accordion.

Formal piano lessons were arranged for him with the Genoa jazz pianist Flavio Crivelli, who introduced him to the music of Charlie Parker, Bud Powell and Dizzy Gillespie and contemporary pianists like Bill Evans, Ahmad Jamal and Oscar Peterson. Moroni progressed so rapidly he was able to play professionally in clubs from the age of 14. The Italian jazz scene while he was growing up was popular but not wealthy. Club owners were keen to hire famous artists but could not always afford to pay for support musicians. This worked to the advantage of up-and-coming Italian musicians such as Moroni, who were more than happy to make up the numbers. Moroni found himself accompanying such internationally renowned names as Harry “Sweets” Edison, Freddie Hubbard, and even greats such as Peterson and Gillespie when they were on tour in Europe. It was Gillespie, Moroni said, who persuaded him to back his own talent and pursue a career in music after doubts about his ability to make a living had led him to embark on studies for a law degree.

Moroni began a collaboration with two other Italian jazz musicians, Tullio de Piscopo and Franco Ambrosetti. At just 17 years old, he recorded an album with De Piscopo and the American bassist Julius Farmer and another with Ambrosetti and the Danish bass player Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen. Through the 80s, he played at festivals and clubs across Europe, often with a trio led by Duke Ellington’s former bassist, Jimmy Woode. In 1987, at the age of just 25, he was invited as the only European musician to be part of the jury of the Thelonious Monk international piano award held in Washington in 1987. Moroni moved to the United States in 1991 and became part of the New York jazz scene, performing with several bands and contributing to the rich heritage of Italian musicians in America. He appeared at the most prestigious jazz clubs in the city, such as the Blue Note, Birdland, Bradley’s and the Village Vanguard. In 1995 he returned to Italy to join the classical pianist Antonio Ballista in a project called “Two Pianos, One Soul”, which played some of Italy’s major theatres, among them the Teatro Comunale in Ferrara, the Teatro Regio in Turin, the Teatro Verdi in Florence and the Teatro Carlo Felice in his native Genoa. Moroni won the prestigious Umbria Jazz Award in the same year. In 2007 he won the "Best Jazz Act" at the Italian Jazz Awards. He is now based permanently in Italy and continues to record and tour, while at the same time teaching jazz piano at the Como Conservatory of Music. https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/10/dado-moroni-jazz-musician-dizzy-gillespie.html

The Way I Am

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Pat Coil - Music for Humans...and Other Species

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 62:30
Size: 145,2 MB
Art: Front

(8:01) 1. Lost & Found
(4:28) 2. Ellie's Bell
(6:33) 3. One to One
(7:54) 4. 3 'Til Midnight
(4:42) 5. Papa's New Groove
(5:46) 6. Tears for Parkland
(7:20) 7. November Song
(6:46) 8. Here & Back Again
(7:58) 9. Now & Then
(2:58) 10. For Travis

Pat is an accomplished pianist, composer, producer, arranger, teacher, and highly respected studio musician. His credits span the musical spectrum of jazz, R&B, pop, country and gospel. Touring Europe, Japan, South America, Canada and the United States with exceptional artists; Pat is privileged to tour with Michael McDonald, and has previously toured with Carmen McCrae, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Woody Herman, Larry Carlton and Olivia Newton John. Partial recording credits include: Natalie Cole, Nancy Wilson, Carmen McRae, Trisha Yearwood, Ernie Watts, Michael McDonald, George Strait, Peter Cetera, Scott Henderson & Tribal Tech, Barry Manilow, Michael Feinstein, Kenny Rogers, Travis Tritt. https://www.jazziz.com/new-releases/music-for-humans-other-species/

Personel: Pat Coil - piano/keys; Danny Gottlieb - drums; Jim White - drums; Marcus Finnie - drums; Jeff Coffin - sax; Mark Douthit - sax; Brian Allen - bass; Todd Parks - bass; John Estes - bass; Steve Kovalcheck- guitar; Pat Bergeson - guitar; James Westfall - vibes; Eric Darken - percussion; Brendan harkin - recording engineer; Scott Gerow - recording & mix engineer

Music for Humans...and Other Species

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George Benson - Giblet Gravy

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 1968
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:31
Size: 133,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:02) 1. Along Comes Mary
(2:56) 2. Sunny
(5:32) 3. What's New?
(4:50) 4. Giblet Gravy
(3:26) 5. Walk On By
(4:42) 6. Thunder Walk
(3:08) 7. Sack Of Woe
(2:46) 8. Groovin'
(8:40) 9. Low Down and Dirty
(6:14) 10. Billie's Bounce
(5:41) 11. What's New? - alternative take 1
(5:28) 12. What's New? - alternative take 2

Simply one of the greatest guitarists in jazz history, George Benson is an amazingly versatile musician whose adept skills find him crossing easily between straight-ahead jazz, smooth jazz, and contemporary R&B. Blessed with supreme taste, a beautiful, rounded guitar tone, terrific speed, a marvelous sense of logic in building solos, and, as always, an unquenchable urge to swing, Benson's inspirations may have been Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery, but his style is completely his own. Not only can he play lead brilliantly, he is also one of the best rhythm guitarists around, supportive to soloists and a dangerous swinger, particularly in a soul-jazz format; skills he first garnered attention for as a member of Brother Jack McDuff's band in the early '60s. Benson can also sing in a lush, soulful tenor with mannerisms similar to those of Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway. In a sense, he is the guitar-playing equivalent of Nat King Cole, a fantastic instrumentalist whose smooth way with a pop vocal helped solidify his prowess in the marketplace. It is this combination of singing and guitar playing that has garnered him numerous accolades and chart success, including most notably his 1976 breakthrough Breezin', which topped the pop, R&B, and jazz charts and took home Grammy Awards for Best Pop Instrumental Performance and Record of the Year. Benson has remained a chart and awards season favorite, releasing more Top Ten jazz albums, including 1980's Grammy-winning Give Me the Night, 1993's Love Remembers, and 2006's Grammy-winning Givin' It Up with Al Jarreau. Along with his original studio albums, Benson has paid tribute to his idols, releasing 2013's Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole and 2019's Fats Domino- and Chuck Berry-inspired Walking to New Orleans.

Born in 1943 in Pittsburgh, Benson actually started out professionally as a singer, performing in nightclubs at the age of eight, recording four sides for RCA's X label in 1954, and forming a rock band at 17 while using a guitar that his stepfather made for him. Exposure to records by Christian, Montgomery, and Charlie Parker got him interested in jazz, and by 1962, the teenage Benson was playing in Brother Jack McDuff's band. After forming his own group in 1965, Benson became another of talent scout John Hammond's major discoveries, recording two highly regarded albums of soul-jazz and hard bop for Columbia and turning up on several records by others, including Miles Davis' Miles in the Sky. He switched to Verve in 1967, and, shortly after the death of Montgomery in June 1968, producer Creed Taylor began recording him with larger ensembles on A&M (between 1968 and 1969) and big groups and all-star combos on CTI (from 1971 to 1976).

While the A&M and CTI albums certainly earned their keep and made Benson a guitar star in the jazz world, he gained yet more commercial acclaim after signing with Warner Bros. in 1976. His first album for Warner Bros., Breezin', became a Top Ten hit on the strength of its sole vocal track, "This Masquerade," and this led to a string of hit albums in an R&B-flavored pop mode, culminating with the Quincy Jones-produced Give Me the Night. However, jazz remained at the core of his sound, as showcased on 1989's standards album Tenderly, as well as 1990's Big Boss Band with the Basie band, the latter of which featured his guitar more prominently. In 1993, he scored another number one contemporary jazz album with Love Remembers, and followed with several more chart-topping albums, including 1996's That's Right and 1998's Standing Together. The Latin-infused Absolute Benson arrived in 2000 debuting at number one on the Billboard Jazz chart, and was followed by 2004's number five-charting Irreplaceable. He then paired with vocalist Al Jarreau for 2006's Givin' It Up, which topped the contemporary jazz chart and took home Grammy Awards for Best Pop Instrumental Performance and Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance. In 2009, Benson signed to Concord and released Songs and Stories for the label; he followed it with his first primarily instrumental album in 35 years, Guitar Man, in 2011. Two years later, Benson released Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole, featuring arrangements by Nelson Riddle and Randy Waldman. In 2019, he returned with a second tribute album, Walking to New Orleans: Remembering Chuck Berry and Fats Domino. A concert album, Weekend in London, arrived in 2020.~ Richard S.Ginell https://www.allmusic.com/artist/george-benson-mn0000201760/biography

Personnel: Guitar – Carl Lynch (tracks: 1), Eric Gale (tracks: 2, 4, 5, 7), George Benson; Baritone Saxophone – Pepper Adams (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8); Bass – Bob Cranshaw (tracks: 2, 4, 5), Ron Carter (tracks: 1, 3, 6 to 12); Bass Trombone – Alan Ralph (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8; Congas, Tambourine – Johnny Pacheco; Drums – Billy Cobham; Piano – Herbie Hancock (tracks: 3, 6, 9 to 12); Trumpet – Ernie Royal (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8), Snooky Young* (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8); Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Jimmy Owens (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8)

Giblet Gravy

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Dado Moroni - With Duke in Mind (Piano Solo)

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1994
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:09
Size: 148,8 MB
Art: Front

(1:19) 1. What Am I Here For - Entrance
(3:22) 2. There Was Nobody Looking
(6:08) 3. Main Stem
(6:39) 4. All Too Soon
(4:47) 5. Pleadin' for Love
(5:02) 6. So
(3:46) 7. Black Beauty
(5:00) 8. Day Dream
(3:11) 9. Cottontail
(5:50) 10. Isfahan
(6:02) 11. Caravan
(4:59) 12. Warm Valley
(5:19) 13. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
(2:44) 14. What Am I Here For - Exit

Born Edgardo Moroni, 20 October 1962, Genoa, Italy. Moroni began playing piano as a tiny child, encouraged by a very musical family background. Although his father was a dance band singer and his grandfather an opera singer, he turned to jazz and in his early teenage years also took up the bass. Some of his early influences came through his father’s record collection, which included artists such as Erroll Garner, Earl ‘Fatha’ Hines, Art Tatum and Fats Waller. During the 70s and early 80s his experience and his reputation grew and he worked not only with noted Italian musicians, such as Franco Ambrosetti and Gianni Basso, but also with visiting American artists. Over the years, these included Freddie Hubbard, James Moody and Clark Terry.

He was a member of a trio led by Jimmy Woode, played with Mingus Dynasty, and toured extensively with a wide range of mainstream, hard bop and contemporary jazz artists. His reputation solidified in the USA owing to numerous visits and high profile concerts and well-received albums, on which he appeared as a sideman, with Ray Brown, Jesse Davis, Tom Harrell, and Lee Konitz. Although his stylish and vigorous playing is heavily bop influenced, Moroni’s performances often reveal touches of those early piano influences, Waller and Tatum for example, which help bring to his playing a satisfyingly broad texture. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dado-moroni-mn0000665243/biography

With Duke in Mind (Piano Solo)

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Mike LeDonne - The Groover

Styles: Jazz, POst Bop
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:56
Size: 143,4 MB
Art: Front

(6:59) 1. Rock With You
(6:36) 2. Blues For McCoy
(6:39) 3. Little Mary
(8:24) 4. I'm Goona Make You Love Me
(7:17) 5. Deep Blue
(5:43) 6. Sunday in New York
(6:03) 7. Bopsolete
(7:58) 8. The Groover
(6:14) 9. On the Street Where You Live

What kind of music "grooves" exactly? Look no further. Hammond B3 organist Mike LeDonne teams with a group of accomplished musicians to put together an album that simply grooves hard all the way to the final chord. Reminiscent of Jimmy Smith and Charles Earland, LeDonne plays with conviction and soulfulness on an album that sounds more like a jam session than a studio release. From the first few bars, it is clear that the casting of this album is impeccable. Guitarist Peter Bernstein's warm, robust sound blends so well with LeDonne's that at times it is difficult to pick out his playing. Drummer Joe Farnsworth complements all the other musicians well, making this group sound even better than it is. Tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander's focused tone is darkened up a bit for this recording, resulting in a well-balanced palette of tonal colors. The catchy opening track, "Rock With You," is almost too arranged and could stand to have a bit more of LeDonne's blowing and less of Alexander's backgrounds in the closing minute. Immediately after, the listener is thrust into a tune better characterized as a burner than a groover, "Blues for McCoy," which lets Alexander do what he does best rip through an up-tempo tune with poise.

The real gem of this album is a simple, child-like melody written by Benny Golson for LeDonne's daughter, entitled "Little Mary." Golson even included an introduction that sounds like music at a carnival, offering a mindset of innocence of joy. As if catching their breath from the last track, all members stay true to the tune and don't get excessively harmonically sophisticated or feel the need to prove themselves. It is very refreshing to hear modern jazz musicians take a simple tune and play some truly beautiful, melodic lines without getting caught up in taking their improvisation outside the changes. "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" leaves something to be desired from LeDonne but Bernstein weaves in and out of the straight-forward progression utilizing a tasty variety of articulation and phrasing. Things get slowed down with LeDonne's original "Deep Blue," where Bernstein again shines. His guitar seems to have the ability to connect with the unique characteristics of every tune he plays. This one is the type of mournful outpouring of the soul that comes at three o'clock in the morning, laid back and reflective.

The most progressive and riveting of all the pieces is the LeDonne powerhouse "Bopsolete," which he fearlessly tears through, without the support of Bernstein or Farnsworth, for a sublime minute long adventure. Farnsworth treats the listener to a melodic and well-structured solo before LeDonne and Alexander join together on the finger-busting head to close out the tune. The title track is a shuffle-style LeDonne original that grooves like no other on this album. The patience shown by Alexander and Bernstein shows their maturity when it comes to tasteful improvisation. LeDonne employs a nice mixture of traditional bluesy lines with a modern intervallic approach. Farnsworth and LeDonne find their strongest chemistry on this track. Closing with a more modern take on "On the Street Where You Live" is somewhat anti-climactic: the track swings hard but doesn't exactly "groove." Regardless, it is a joy to listen to all soloists weave with invention through a more difficult harmonic structure. This album often comes across like a modern parnership between Jimmy Smith and tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, but with a modern twist. To make it even better, LeDonne got his hands on an outstanding guitarist and drummer to boot. These four musicians recorded previously on LeDonne's "Smokin' Out Loud" (High Note, 2004) and "On Fire" (Savant, 2006). Of the three discs, this is without question the most mature. LeDonne sounds more like a B3 player, and less like a pianist attempting to play B3, every time he records with this group.~ Sean Coughlin https://www.allaboutjazz.com/mike-ledonne-the-groover-by-sean-coughlin.php

Personnel: Mike LeDonne: Hammond B3 organ; Eric Alexander: tenor saxophone; Peter Bernstein: electric guitar; Joe Farnsworth: drums.

The Groover

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Shawnn Monteiro - Visit Me

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:40
Size: 112,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:29) 1. Visit Me
(5:40) 2. After Glow
(4:11) 3. Apartment 101
(5:15) 4. Music That Makes Me Dance
(3:18) 5. The Grass Is Greener
(5:33) 6. My One And Only Love
(4:38) 7. Seven Days 'Til Spring
(6:05) 8. Where Do You Go
(3:58) 9. I'm Ready To Fall In Love
(5:28) 10. The Last Day Of Summer

Exciting, captivating and completely distinctive” is how most jazz cognoscenti describe Shawnn's pulsating lyric style. Whether in the intimacy of a club date or the glitter of a Las Vegas showroom, Shawnn has delighted audiences from USA to Europe with her highly popular jazz repertoire laced with blues-oriented improvisations. Evident in Shawnn's liveliness of lyrical phrasing and intermittent scat variations is the influences of Carmen McRae and Sarah Vaughan, from whom she draws that inner core of creative energy. But good genes help, too. Shawnn's father was the late renowned bassist Jimmy Woode, veteran of the Duke Ellington band. Throw into the mix, a lot of musical inspiration and guidance from her Godfather, Clark Terry, and you come up with a combination that can't miss. Percussion great and latin/jazz impressario Mongo Santamaria discovered Shawnn working in a club in San Jose, California and signed her on the spot to tour with his band. Shawnn electrified audiences as his only vocalist and female percussionist during that two-year circuit where she shared the stage with such greats as Stan Kenton, Celia Cruz, the Fania All-Stars, and Weather Report.

Since then, Shawnn has shared the state with a prestigious list of notables jazz names: Clark Terry, Red Holloway, Ray Brown, Lionel Hampton, Frank Foster and the Basie Band, Nat Adderly, Kenny Barron, Hank Jones, Bobby Durham, James Williams, Jimmy Cobb, Keter Betts, Stanley Jordan, Ed Thigpen, Johnny Griffin, and Benny Golson....to name a few. Ms. Monteiro has delighted audiences from the USA to Europe with her highly popular jazz repertoire laced with blues-oriented improvisations and the American Songbook. The true quality of Shawnn's voice is best experienced in the ultimate setting of the club dates where her warm charisma can be personally felt by those fortunate enough to spend an evening with her, She continues to teach Master Classes all over the world, including one ongoing every summer in Italy since 1995. She is an adjunct Professor at the Hartt School/Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz , University of Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut and also Rhode Island College in Providence Rhode Island.

Her popularity continues to grow as clubgoers from Los Angeles to Rome extol the special feelings they share as she lulls them into a mellow mood as only a sensitive jazz vocalist can do. The true magical quality of Shawnn's exciting voice is best experienced in the ultimate setting of the club dates where her warm charisma can be personally felt by those fortunate enough to spend and evening with her. Shawnn teaches a Master Vocal Class in Rome and Genova, Italy every summer. (Ongoing since 1995. Artist in Residence – 2 Years at Rhode Island College (Jazz Vocals) She is also an adjunct Professor (in Jazz Vocals) at both Rhode Island College, Providence, RI and Harrt School of Music, Univ. of Hartford, Hartford, CT. http://www.shawnnmonteiro.com/biography/

Visit Me

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Andy Snitzer - Alfie's Theme

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:03
Size: 120,7 MB
Art: Front

(6:06) 1. Alfie's Theme
(6:07) 2. Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
(5:17) 3. Easy Street
(4:53) 4. Tenor Madness
(5:52) 5. The Dream
(4:35) 6. Stan's Shuffle
(6:15) 7. Too Young To Go Steady
(5:12) 8. Softly As In A Morning Sunrise
(7:41) 9. Superstar

Contemporary jazz saxophonist/composer Andy Snitzer was born and raised in Philadelphia; although his first instrument was the clarinet, he turned to the sax at age 15, going on to study music at the University of Miami. There he was discovered by Bob James, touring behind the keyboardist and appearing on a series of albums beginning with 1987's Obsession; Snitzer concurrently earned his MBA at New York University, landing a position at the J.P. Morgan Investment firm while also emerging as a sought-after session musician.

He made his headlining debut with Ties That Bind, scoring the NAC chart-topper "You've Changed"; he also branched out from jazz to pop, touring behind the Rolling Stones and recording with artists from Bette Midler to Aretha Franklin. Snitzer returned in 1996 with In the Eye of the Storm; Some Quiet Place followed three years later.~Jason Ankeny https://www.allmusic.com/artist/andy-snitzer-mn0000047716/biography

Personnel: Andy Snitzer - tenor saxophone; Alain Mallet - piano, organ; Clarence Penn - drums.

Alfie's Theme

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Allegra Levy - Lose My Number

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:48
Size: 119,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:14) 1. Samba De Beach
(5:55) 2. Livin' Small
(8:06) 3. Tiffany
(6:04) 4. Strictly Ballroom
(7:22) 5. C. J.
(7:05) 6. Dover Beach
(4:02) 7. Ukulele Tune
(4:36) 8. Zephyr
(4:21) 9. Lose My Number

Allegra Levy is a young singer who has made a reputation for herself through her witty songwriting and performing. She has sung a lot of her own songs on previous releases but on this one, she changes things slightly by writing her own lyrics to the music of trumpet player John McNeil. McNeil was Levy's mentor at the New England Conservatory and she complements his slightly off-balance tunes with lyrics that range from the dark and sardonic to the emotional and poetic. Levy's voice flows over the twists and turns of McNeil's melodies with the flexible ease of an Annie Ross or Nancy King. She delivers her acid putdowns of a dance partner on "Strictly Ballroom" and some unidentified scoundrel on "C.J." with a carefree breeziness that belies the sting in her words. In contrast to that, she is very good at conjuring quieter moods on other songs. She conveys innocent wistfulness on "Dover Beach" and "Ukulele Tune" and quiet sensuality of "Zephyr" and "Livin' Small." The music becomes especially dreamy on the last song when Levy's singing mixes with the trumpet of John McNeil himself in one of his three guest appearances on the CD.

Outside of McNeil's cameos and an appearance by Pierre Dorge playing ukulele on "Ukulele Tune," the instrumental work is all done by three female musicians. Carmen Staaf plays piano, Carmen Rothwell is on bass and Colleen Clark plays drums. Their work subtly complements the understated emotions and cunning humor in Levy's singing. The three come off strongest on "Lose My Number" itself. They go through abrupt tempo changes, as Levy tells off another man who can't take a hint, her voice suddenly moving between fast and slow. When Levy breaks into giddy scatting, the band flies excitedly alongside her, disintegrating into abstraction beside her flippant coos, before coming back together for a last chorus. This CD is a sly little romp that sways between dark sarcasm and intimate romance, bringing the writing of John McNeil and the singing of Allegra Levy together into an enjoyable package. Jerome Wilson https://www.allaboutjazz.com/lose-my-number-allegra-levy-steeplechase-records.

Personnel: Allegra Levy: voice / vocals; Carmen Staaf: piano; Carmen Rothwell: bass, acoustic; Colleen Clark: drums.

Lose My Number

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Ruby Braff - The Things I Love

Styles: Cornet Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 121:30
Size: 279,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:25) 1. On the Sunny Side of the Street
(6:54) 2. Romance in the Dark
(5:06) 3. Sugar
(5:58) 4. When You Wish Upon a Star
(9:18) 5. Sweet Sue, Just You
(6:04) 6. I'm Coming Virginia
(4:08) 7. When It's Sleepy Time Down South
(5:11) 8. Monday Date
(6:58) 9. Squeeze Me
(3:44) 10. Dippermouth Blues
(4:48) 11. It's Wonderful
(5:30) 12. Keep Smiling at Trouble
(7:33) 13. I Can't Get Started
(3:17) 14. Wishing
(7:22) 15. It's Been so Long
(5:10) 16. Struttin' with Some Barbecue
(7:59) 17. Kandee
(6:29) 18. Downhearted Blues
(4:45) 19. Marie
(7:24) 20. (I Don't Stand A) Ghost of a Chance
(3:17) 21. Cornet Shop Suey

One of the great swing/Dixieland cornetists, Ruby Braff went through long periods of his career unable to find work because his music was considered out-of-fashion, but his fortunes improved by the 1970s. A very expressive player who in later years liked to build his solos up to a low note, Braff's playing was instantly recognizable within seconds.

Braff mostly worked around Boston in the late '40s. He teamed up with Pee Wee Russell when the clarinetist was making a comeback (they recorded live for Savoy), and after moving to New York in 1953, he fit easily into a variety of Dixieland and mainstream settings. Braff recorded for Vanguard as a leader, and with Vic Dickenson, Buck Clayton, and Urbie Green. He was one of the stars of Buck Clayton's Columbia jam sessions, and in the mid-'50s worked with Benny Goodman. But, despite good reviews and occasional recordings, work was hard for Braff to come by at times. In the 1960s, he was able to get jobs by being with George Wein's Newport All-Stars and at jazz festivals, but it was not until the cornetist formed a quartet with guitarist George Barnes, in 1973, that he became more secure. Afterward, Braff was heard in many small-group settings, including duets with Dick Hyman and Ellis Larkins (he had first met up with the latter in the 1950s), quintets with Scott Hamilton, and matching wits with Howard Alden. He remained one of the greats of mainstream jazz until his death in 2003.~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ruby-braff-mn0000357057/biography

The Things I Love

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