Veronica Swift - Confessions

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:33
Size: 119,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:47) 1. You're Gonna Hear from Me
(3:41) 2. A Little Taste
(5:12) 3. Interlude
(5:01) 4. Forget About the Boy
(6:22) 5. A Stranger in Town
(3:08) 6. I Don't Wanna Cry Anymore
(4:23) 7. I Hope She Makes You Happy
(6:43) 8. Confession / The Other Woman
(3:44) 9. Gypsy in My Soul
(3:34) 10. No Not Much
(2:24) 11. I'm Hip
(3:28) 12. No Regrets

Times change. In the Me Too era it is clearly politically incorrect for a female singer to sidle up to the microphone and huskily breathe "My Heart Belongs To Daddy" like Julie London used to do. Or even, for that matter, to lustily proclaim "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" like Marilyn Monroe. But a residue of that sort of thing (it's called sex appeal) needs to remain, regardless. Veronica Swift is the epitome of a modern female jazz singer. She can wear figure-hugging evening gowns and high heels, but she'll look her audience in their collective eye and state defiantly, "You're Gonna Hear from Me."

That's the one that goes, "Move over, sun and give me some sky; I've got these wings I'm eager to try." She comes back down to earth with a fine interpretation of Billie Holiday's "I Don't Want to Cry Anymore": "Oh, why can't I forget you; I know so well what is in store. A moment or two up in the clouds with you, Then back where I was before." "Forget About the Boy" and her own bittersweet "I Hope She Makes You Happy" leaven the mix: love seen from different angles. Talking of which, there's "Confession/The Other Woman," an angle on love that is rarely celebrated in song. Veronica Swift chooses her songs with great care. She grew up touring with her parents, jazz pianist Hod O'Brien and singer Stephanie Nakasian. So she knows the score.

She made her first appearance at Jazz at Lincoln Center when just 11 years old. In 2015 she won second place in the Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition and a year later headlined at the Telluride Jazz Festival. A residency at Birdland in New York followed, and in 2018 she began touring with trios fronted by pianists Emmet Cohen and Benny Green, both featured on this album. Her songs are marvelously well-crafted performances rooted in tradition, but up-to-the-minute in execution. When Johnny Hodges wrote "A Little Taste" in 1947, he surely never expected that a vocal version would ever be sung by a woman. In his day, when you wrote songs about them, you put women on pedestals.~ Chris Mosey https://www.allaboutjazz.com/confessions-veronica-swift-mack-avenue-records-review-by-chris-mosey.php

Personnel: Veronica Swift: vocals; Emmet Cohen Trio: Emmet Cohen, piano; Russell Hall, bass; Kyle Poole, drums (1, 2, 4-6, 9-12); Benny Green Trio: Benny Green: piano; David Wong: bass; Carl Allen: drums (3, 7-8).

Confessions

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Brian Charette - Power from the Air

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:02
Size: 166,4 MB
Art: Front

( 7:12) 1. Fried Birds
( 5:42) 2. Elephant Memory
( 5:35) 3. Harlem Nocturne
( 7:25) 4. Silver Lining
( 5:41) 5. As If To Say
( 6:56) 6. Power From The Air
(13:49) 7. Cherokee
( 8:55) 8. Want
( 5:17) 9. Frenzy
( 5:25) 10. Low Tide

Armed with an extended knowledge of tradition, NYC organist Brian Charette reunites his groovin' sextet to perform a selection of eight color-rich originals and two jazz standards. The group appears here reformulated with some new members Kenny Brooks on tenor, Karel Ruzicka on bass clarinet, and Brian Fishler on drums replace Joel Frahm, John Ellis and Jochen Rueckert, respectively, while altoist Mike DiRubbo and flutist Itai Kriss remain in their positions. Graciously melding hard-bop and soul jazz, “Fried Birds” spurs the same swinging motion and harmonic pulsation that brought fame to Lou Donaldson in the ‘60s. Working on top of a monumental groove, the soloists, one after another, explore their melodic pliability, which culminates with Fishler’s brief spread of chops over a final vamp. Also packed with multiple stretches is the familiar “Cherokee”, one of the two covers on the album. The other one is “Harlem Nocturne”, a romanticized yet mysterious piece written by Earle Hagen in 1939 for the Ray Noble Orchestra. The screaming tremolos sustained by the Hammond B3 are supplemented with adrenaline-fueled horns in concurrent spiraling movements.

Avoiding sounding tired, the group takes a couple of pieces to a more interesting rhythmic level. While “As If to Say” is initially delivered in nine and then reshapes into a regular uptempo swing, “Silver Lining” has its main melody sliding comfortably over a groove in 11. However, it was the eclectic aesthetics of “Power From the Air” that really grabbed me. The asymmetrical form of the theme doesn’t impede an irresistible soul jazz steam from gushing forth out of the structure’s surfaces. Other stylistic cross-pollinations include “Want”, a shifting number where the classical suggestions diverge to funk, and “Frenzy”, whose gospelized glee inspires us to dance. This album illustrates how extremely versatile Charette is. https://jazztrail.net/blog/brian-charette-power-from-air-album-review

Personnel: Brian Charette: organ hammond B3; Mike DiRubbo: alto saxophone; Kenny Brooks: tenor saxophone; Itai Kriss: flute; Karel Ruzicka: bass clarinet; Brian Fishler: drums.

Power from the Air

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Carol Duboc (Feat.Jeff Lorber) - Restless

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:28
Size: 88,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:57) 1. Restless
(3:56) 2. Universe
(3:58) 3. Swept Away
(4:05) 4. Aftershock
(3:32) 5. Stay Awake
(3:33) 6. Love Don't Get in the Way
(3:43) 7. If You Still Have Eyes
(4:21) 8. Shadow Dance
(3:26) 9. Philosophy
(3:53) 10. Metanoia

Jeff Lorber teams up with jazz vocalist/songwriter, Carol Duboc, just two years after winning the Grammy for Best Instrumental album. Duboc’s 9th solo album entitled, “Restless,” is produced and co-written by Lorber and Duboc. The album also features legendary flutist Hubert Laws, guitarist Paul Jackson Jr, and drummer Gary Novak. Many critics agree this is Duboc’s best album to date! http://carolduboc.com/store/

Personnel: Carol Duboc - Vocal; Hubert Laws - Flute Paul Jackson Jr - Guitar; Gary Novak - Drums

Restless

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Cæcilie Norby - Cæcilie Norby Synger Toppen Af Poppen

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 23:05
Size: 53,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:10) 1. Sittin' In A Window
(3:14) 2. Frit Land
(4:38) 3. Pleasure This Pain
(3:10) 4. Pletfri Solskin
(4:40) 5. Jalousi
(3:10) 6. Josephine

Cæcilie Norby in the music show "Toppen af Poppen" airing on danish TV2 in the of Fall 2019. Norby and a handful of other top names in the danish music industry are rendering eachothers original music in new compositions. Danish jazz and rock singer, 54 years old, born 9 September 1964 in Frederiksberg in Copenhagen, Cæcilie Norby was a member of the pop group OneTwo from 1985-1994, where she and Nina Forsberg were singers. The group released three albums, which together sold about 250,000 copies in Denmark alone. Among the biggest hits was the song 'The best time is with you'. After the time in One Two, she went solo as a jazz singer. In 1995, she was the first European artist to sign a contract with the prestigious American jazz label Blue Note Records, where she released her first four solo releases. Since then, five more solo records have arrived. In January, she released her 11th album in her own name, collaborating with female jazz musicians. In 2019 and 2020, it will be touring around Europe. http://caecilienorby.com/toppop.php

Cæcilie Norby Synger Toppen Af Poppen

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Schapiro 17 - New Shoes: Kind of Blue at 60

Styles: Jazz Funk, Big Band
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 95:14
Size: 219,1 MB
Art: Front

(11:53) 1. Boiled Funk
( 3:04) 2. Foiled Bunk
(14:02) 3. So What
( 3:54) 4. Boiled Funk 2: Dark of Night
(10:02) 5. Blue in Green
( 2:26) 6. Boiled Funk 3: Worth Your While
(12:08) 7. All Blues
( 5:14) 8. Boiled Funk 4: Old Feet, New Shoes
( 9:52) 9. Flamenco Sketches
( 5:41) 10. Boiled Funk 5: A Smile
(12:25) 11. Freddie Freeloader
( 4:28) 12. Boiled Funk / Theme

2019 marked the sixtieth anniversary of the Miles Davis sextet's acclaimed album, Kind of Blue (Columbia). While the tributes didn't exactly pour in, New York-based composer / arranger Jon Schapiro took it upon himself not only to revisit that classic session but to re-orchestrate it for a large ensemble (the Schapiro 17) and flesh it out with half a dozen compositions of his own and another by pianist Roberta Piket. In keeping with the spirit of the occasion, all of Schapiro's themes (and Piket's) on the splendid two-CD set New Shoes are anagrams of Kind of Blue "Boiled Funk" 1-5 by Schapiro, "Foiled Bunk" by Piket. The last four of Schapiro's essays include subtitles: "Dark of Night," "Worth Your While," "Old Feet, New Shoes" and "A Smile." There is a closing theme, also labeled (not surprisingly) "Boiled Funk."

Of course, the five movements in the original album aren't overlooked, simply reshaped by Schapiro to accommodate his superb seventeen-member ensemble, not in pursuit of the unlikely goal of improving upon the memorable performance of Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans and their colleagues but instead saluting their historic endeavor while refreshing and amplifying it for a new generation of listeners. To that end, the five longest tracks on New Shoes are those on the seminal Kind of Blue: "So What," "Blue in Green," "All Blues," "Flamenco Sketches" and "Freddie Freeloader." The end result is an anthology that not only lends added color to the original but in some cases (dare it be said?) swings even harder.

Disc 1 opens (naturally) with Schapiro's prefatory "Boiled Funk," whose shifting tempos accommodate agile solos by tenor saxophonist Paul Carlon and trombonist Deborah Weisz. "Foiled Bunk," which follows, is a showcase for Piket's inquisitive solo piano and leads to a burnished, angled version of "So What," with Alex Jeun shining on trombone and Rob Wilkerson faring likewise on soprano sax. Piket's tasteful piano introduces the meditative "Dark of Night," on which Wilkerson, again on soprano, spreads his intuitive wings, before CD 1 closes with "Blue in Green," a horn-driven anthem whose genial midsection features tenor Rob Middleton. Disc 2 opens on a fiery note as trumpeter Andy Gravish's blistering solo enlivens "Worth Your While." The swinging continues apace on "All Blues," an up-tempo spree enclosing ardent solos by tenor Carlon, trombonist Alex Jeun and trumpeter Eddie Allen and zealous work by the ensemble. Alto Candace DeBartolo is exceptionally keen and resourceful on the fast-moving "Old Feet, New Shoes," while guitarist Sebastian Noelle is loose and eloquent on the easygoing "Flamenco Sketches."

Piket makes a charming reappearance on "A Smile," soloing with her usual insight and assurance. Schapiro's lustrous arrangement of "Freddie Freeloader," the last of the five songs reprised from Kind of Blue, calls to mind the great Henry Mancini whose jazz works were invariably hip and engaging. Its shifting tempos are subdued by a number of able soloists including Piket, Gravish, Harris, Carlon, bassist Evan Gregor and baritone Matt Hong. Speaking of swing, the square-shouldered finale, "Boiled Funk: Theme" has that in abundance, pressing implacably onward (alongside brief echoes of Jimmy Forrest's "Night Train") behind crisp solos by Piket, Middleton, Carlon, Gravish and trombonist Nick Grinder. Before closing, praise must be accorded to Jon Wikan for his sharp and tasteful drumming and to Gregor for his exemplary timekeeping, each an indispensable component of the album's success, as are Schapiro's bright and impressive charts. And even though Schapiro's warmhearted homage to Kind of Blue was completed some sixty years after the fact, it would surely have warranted an appreciative bow and earnest tip of the hat from the maestros who did it first.
~ Jack Bowers https://www.allaboutjazz.com/new-shoes-kind-of-blue-at-60-schapiro-17-summit-records

Personnel: Jon Schapiro: composer/conductor; Bryan Davis: trumpet; Andy Gravish: trumpet; Eddie Allen: trumpet; Noyes Bartholomew: trumpet; Rob Wilkerson: saxophone, alto; Ben Kono: woodwinds; Candace DeBartolo: saxophone, alto; Paul Carlon: saxophone, tenor; Rob Middleton: saxophone, tenor; Matt Hong: saxophone, baritone; Deborah Weisz: trombone; Alex Jeun: trombone; Nick Grinder: trombone; Walter Harris: trombone; Roberta Piket: piano; Sebastian Noelle: guitar; Evan Gregor: bass; Jon Wikan: drums.

New Shoes: Kind of Blue at 60

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Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond - Reunion (Remastered) 1957/2006

Styles: Piano And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:32
Size: 88,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:18) 1. Strolling
(6:05) 2. Shouts
(3:52) 3. Prelude
(5:14) 4. Divertimento
(4:14) 5. Chorale
(5:17) 6. Leo's Place
(4:32) 7. Darien Mode
(5:56) 8. Pieta

Tenor-saxophonist Dave Van Kreidt, a former member of Dave Brubeck's octet in the late '40s, had a reunion with the pianist, altoist Paul Desmond and bassist Bob Bates for this unusual session; Brubeck's new drummer Joe Morello made the group a quintet. Van Kreidt supplied all of the compositions (some of which are fairly complex), giving this set a sound very much different than the usual Brubeck Quartet outing. Interesting if not essential classical-influenced music that predates the Third Stream movement.~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/reunion-mw0000308129

Personnel: Dave Brubeck, piano; Paul Desmond, alto sax; David Van Kriedt, tenor sax; Norman Bates, bass; Joe Morello, drums

Reunion

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Chet Baker, Stan Getz - West Coast Live Disc 1, Disc 2

Album: West Coast Live Disc 1 - Live At The Haig,Los Angeles,CA.,1953

Jeanette Lindström - Queen on the Hillside

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:37
Size: 112,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:45) 1. Queen on the Hillside
(4:38) 2. Fragments
(5:09) 3. Falling
(4:24) 4. Vem
(4:10) 5. That Cloud
(4:21) 6. This Is How
(5:09) 7. Somehow
(2:08) 8. Commence
(6:34) 9. Breathe
(5:13) 10. Try to Be
(3:00) 11. North

Jeanette Lindström is one of those artists who gained my admiration and recognition just moments after hearing a few phrases. She is also one of those that comes from my favorite Scandinavian world saturated with female jazz. Often compared to Dianne Reeves, Lindström is one of the leading singers there.

The latest album " Queen on the Hillside " is exactly a decade away from the last " Attitude & Orbit Control ". This album, released in 2009, was a huge commercial success, and the critics admired and admired it, which could also affect the long waiting time for the next material. Once the extreme is caught up, it's very hard to hold that position, let alone improve it. In 10 years, a lot has happened in music. Returning too late is always associated with a greater risk of failure. Unless, like with Jeanette, it is not necessary to ask for applause and approval. Her voice is so noble and dignified that the mere appearance of it is a promotion in itself.~ Translate By Google https://jazzsoul.pl/2020/03/11/recenzja-jeanette-lindstrom-queen-on-the-hillside/

Queen on the Hillside

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Ann Hampton Callaway - Signature

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:27
Size: 116,9 MB
Art: Front

(4:27) 1. Tenderly
(3:36) 2. You Turned the Tables On Me
(3:47) 3. Route 66
(3:05) 4. A Kiss To Build A Dream On
(4:09) 5. The Best Is Yet To Come
(5:06) 6. For All We Know
(3:49) 7. Mr. Paganini
(4:17) 8. In The Wee Small Hours Of Morning
(4:16) 9. Is That All There Is?
(3:25) 10. Twisted
(6:16) 11. Good Morning Heartache
(4:08) 12. Pick Yourself Up

With each release, cabaret singer, Broadway performer and apparently soon to become TV star with her own show on PPBS, Ann Hampton Callaway amazes with her versatility. Becoming even more adventurous than ever on this latest release with a play list that brims with interesting and varied material, from the Vocalese gem, "Twisted", made famous by Annie Ross, to the Louis Armstrong favorite "A Kiss to Build a Dream on" with lots of good stuff in between. On top of that, Callaway has managed to garner some of the top musicians around including Wynton Marsalis, Rodney Jones, Kenny Barron, Frank Wess and Lewis Nash. They provide the instrumental underpinning for the singer as she recognizes the great ones who have gone before. It turns out that one of the more poignant, and unintentionally melancholy, tributes the is the one to the irreplaceable Peggy Lee who died after this album was recorded. Callaway does Lee's "Is That all There Is?" and includes the narrative recitation that Lee used.

There's some fine Dan Block clarinet on this cut. Other singers whom Callaway celebrates include Billie Holiday ("Good Morning Heartache"), Sarah Vaughan ("Tenderly") and Ray Charles and Betty Carter ("For All We Know"). Freddie Cole shows up to duet with Callaway on this tune. Marsalis does an especially ardent solo on "Good Morning Heartache" as does Frank Wess on "Tenderly", while Kenny Barron's piano lay down a soft, supple cushion for Callaway on virtually all the cuts. It's important to recognize that while this is a tribute album, Callaway doesn't simply duplicate what these singers who helped make the music famous. She stamps her own imprimatur on each of them. So you have the best of two worlds. Music made famous by great artists sung by another of similar caliber backed by some of the best musicians in the business. Signature is one of the first really outstanding vocal albums for 2002 and is easily recommended. Visit Ann's web home at www.annhamptoncallaway.com.~ Dave Nathan https://www.allaboutjazz.com/signature-ann-hampton-callaway-n-coded-music-review-by-dave-nathan.php?width=1920

Personnel: Ann Hampton Callaway, New York Voices*, Freddy Cole** - Vocal; Kenny Barron - Piano; Rodney Jones - Guitar; Wynton Marsalis - Trumpet; Frank Wess - Alto Sax; Dan Block - Clarinet; Ben Wolfe - Bass; Lewis Nash, Neil Smith - Drums

Signature

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Dave Stryker - Baker's Circle

Styles: Guitar
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:21
Size: 132,4 MB
Art: Front

(7:27) 1. Tough
(7:39) 2. El Camino
(5:25) 3. Dreamsong
(6:11) 4. Everything I Love
(4:59) 5. Rush Hour
(3:40) 6. Superstar
(4:18) 7. Baker's Circle
(5:46) 8. Inner City Blues
(5:20) 9. Love Dance
(6:32) 10. Trouble (No. 2)

After last years successful big band outing, Blue Soul, guitarist Dave Stryker is back with his hard-driving, deep- grooving B3 organ group on his new recording Baker s Circle. With the addition of cutting-edge tenor player Walter Smith III, Baker s Circle features Stryker s originals as well as a couple Eight Track gems and a tip of the hat to his former boss Stanley Turrentine. Along with Smith III, this fresh recording features Dave s working band of Jared Gold on organ and McClenty Hunter on drums and adds Cuban percussionist Mayra Casales to three tracks as well.~ Opiniones Editoriales https://www.amazon.com/Bakers-Circle-Dave-Stryker/dp/B08SYW33Z3

Personnel: Dave Stryker - guitar; Walter Smith III - tenor sax; Jared Gold - organ; McClenty Hunter - drums; Mayra Casales - percussion (2,7,8)

Baker's Circle

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Frank Morgan All-Stars - Reflections

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1989
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:36
Size: 121,6 MB
Art: Front

(7:37) 1. Old Bowl, New Grits
(7:16) 2. Reflections
(6:12) 3. Starting Over
(6:51) 4. Black Narcissus
(9:10) 5. Sonnymoon For Two
(6:15) 6. O.K.
(9:12) 7. Caravan

Altoist Frank Morgan leads an all-star group on this excellent hard bop set. With tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, pianist Mulgrew Miller, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Al Foster also in the sextet, it is not surprising that Morgan sounds a bit inspired. The musicians all play up to their usual level, performing "Caravan" (which was added to the CD version) and Sonny Rollins' "Sonnymoon for Two," plus a song apiece by Thelonious Monk ("Reflections"), Miller, Hutcherson, Henderson and Carter. Recommended.~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/reflections-1988-mw0000654231

Personnel: Frank Morgan – alto saxophone; Joe Henderson – tenor saxophone; Bobby Hutcherson – vibes; Mulgrew Miller – piano; Ron Carter – bass; Al Foster – drums

Reflections

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Art Tatum, Ben Webster - The Album (Remastered + Bonus Tracks)

Styles: Piano And Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1956/2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:42
Size: 150,4 MB
Art: Front

(7:12) 1. All the Things You Are
(4:45) 2. Gone with The Wind
(4:46) 3. Have You Met Miss Jones?
(5:27) 4. Night and Day
(6:24) 5. Where or When
(7:14) 6. My Ideal
(6:15) 7. My One and Only Love
(6:04) 8. All The Things You Are
(3:04) 9. Gone with The Wind
(4:51) 10. Have You Met Miss Jones?
(3:17) 11. Night and Day
(5:17) 12. Where or When

The only album-length collaboration between pianist Art Tatum and tenor saxophonist Ben Webster (accompanied by a rhythm section of Red Callender, bass, and Bill Douglass, drums) was this September 11, 1956, session under the auspices of Norman Granz's Verve Records label. (It was also Tatum's last recording session before his death.) Granz probably suggested the repertoire of standards by the likes of Kern and Hammerstein, Rodgers & Hart, and Cole Porter, but the melodies, of course, only provide a framework. On each track, Tatum leads things off, with Callender and Douglass coming in discreetly (and low in the mix). Then, at a certain point, Webster appears in the foreground, playing comparatively few notes and sticking much more to the melody than his partner. This is a good approach, since Tatum never subsides to simple comping; he just keeps soloing away under Webster's rich tenor tones until Webster stops playing, and then keeps on to the end. So, although this is billed as a group effort, it's not a group of equals or really one in which the players are cooperating with each other. Tatum might as well be playing solo, since he takes very little account of what's happening around him. Granz makes it work by varying the volume of the different instruments in the mix, and the result is a fascinating study in contrasts.
~ William Ruhlmann https://www.allmusic.com/album/art-tatum-ben-webster-quartet-mw0000660477

Personnel: Art Tatum (p), Ben Webster (ts), Red Callender (b), Bill Douglass (d)

The Album

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Tommy Flanagan - In His Own Sweet Time

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:01
Size: 122,5 MB
Art: Front

(6:20) 1. Smooth as the Wind
(6:53) 2. If You Could See Me Now
(5:25) 3. Untired Blues
(4:37) 4. Some Other Spring
(4:46) 5. How Long Has This Been Going On
(4:23) 6. Who Can I Turn To
(4:37) 7. Just Squeeze Me
(5:04) 8. Daydream
(5:06) 9. Valse Hot
(5:46) 10. Goodbye

With a name revered in the jazz world but almost totally unrecognised elsewhere, Tommy Flanagan, who died in 2001 aged 71, was the complete pianist. In the late 50s he played on John Coltrane’s Giant Steps and Sonny Rollins’s Saxophone Colossus, followed by years as accompanist to Ella Fitzgerald and Tony Bennett. It wasn’t just that he was reliable; Flanagan made even the very best sound better. When, finally, he emerged as a leader in his own right, the full extent of his brilliance became clear. He was much admired for his touch, a quality difficult to define but easy to recognise.

It’s certainly in full bloom on this 1994 live album, one of his few completely solo recordings (although not his only one, as the notes here imply). This is its first release. The 10 tracks, all slow-to-moderate in tempo, include such rare delights as Tadd Dameron’s If You Could See Me Now and Billy Strayhorn’s Day Dream. Flanagan takes his time, as the album title suggests, but every movement is so purposeful, every phrase so judiciously rounded, that you can almost hear the audience holding its collective breath.~ Dave Gelly https://www.msn.com/en-gb/entertainment/music/tommy-flanagan-in-his-own-sweet-time-review-%E2%80%93-a-masterly-touch/ar-BB1ejvx6

Personnel: Piano – Tommy Flanagan

In His Own Sweet Time

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Ake Johansson Trio - Chet & Toots

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:52
Size: 146,9 MB
Art: Front

( 9:57) 1. Beatrice
(10:28) 2. Lament
(11:10) 3. All the Things You Are
( 5:50) 4. When I Fall In Love
( 7:20) 5. Broken Wing
( 8:47) 6. For Minors Only
(10:18) 7. My Foolish Heart

Chet Baker was recorded so extensively in Europe that if you're a completist, you can expect to spend a fortune trying to acquire all of the European releases he is documented on. Recorded live at Sodra Teatern in Stockholm on February 26, 1985, this Swedish release finds the Åke Johansson Trio (which also includes bassist Kjell Jansson and drummer Rune Carlsson) joined by two visiting players, American Baker and Belgian harmonica player Toots Thielemans. Because Johansson is such a lyrical pianist, Baker and Thielemans were ideal choices for him. Melodic, subtle lyricism is the rule during this set, and the Scandinavian and American players enjoy a strong rapport on relaxed performances of Sam Rivers' "Beatrice," J.J. Johnson's "Lament" and the standard "All the Things You Are." Baker lays out on a sentimental version of "When I Fall in Love," while Thielemans is the one who lays out on Richie Beirach's "Broken Wing" and "My Foolish Heart." Baker's only vocal during the set comes on the latter, which underscores the fact that while he didn't have a fantastic range as a vocalist (especially after losing his teeth in the '60s), his singing could be incredibly soulful and expressive. On a few occasions, Baker's trumpeting becomes uncertain. But for the most part, the musicians are in good and sometimes excellent form on this CD.~ Alex Henderson https://www.allmusic.com/album/%C3ke-johansson-trio-with-chet-baker-and-toots-thielemans-mw0000432096

Personnel: Piano – Åke Johansson; Bass – Kjell Jansson; Drums – Rune Carlsson; Harmonica – Toots Thielemans (tracks: 1-4,6); Trumpet, Vocals – Chet Baker (tracks: 1.3,5-7)

Chet & Toots

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Harry Allen, Mike Karn - Milo's Illinois

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:36
Size: 140,6 MB
Art: Front

(5:39) 1. Love Is Just Around the Corner
(6:20) 2. Just One of Those Things
(6:06) 3. A Time for Love
(7:52) 4. O Grande Amor
(4:50) 5. Tea for Two
(4:41) 6. Gypsy Sweetheart
(4:14) 7. Tenderly
(4:40) 8. Milo's Illinois
(5:08) 9. Just Pickin' out Ditties
(5:01) 10. The Song Is Ended
(6:00) 11. How Insensitive

The COVID pandemic has changed many things about daily life, creating something of a new, mutated "normal." This is no more apparent than in many of the "outside-the-box" methods that performance artists have used to subsist and ply their trade during a virtual lockdown. In particular, tenor saxophonist Harry Allen took the pandemic head on by cutting a European tour short in March 2020, returning to New York City. But rather than simply wait to see what happened, Allen jumped headlong into two ambitious projects. Taking advantage of some newly acquired recording equipment and computer software, the saxophonist recorded a "solo" recording, The Bloody Happy song (GAC Records, 2020). This recording featured Allen alone, appearing in a variety of computer-generated virtual formats, from solo horn to little-big band. The results were swinging and impressive

Extrapolating this method, Allen enlisted the guitarist Dave Blenkhorn , with whom he had been touring in Europe on the eve of the pandemic, to make a trans-Atlantic recording: Allen in New York City and Blenkhorn in Bordeaux, France (consider the romance of those locales!). This resulted in Under A Blanket Of Blue (GAC Records, 2020). Both projects successfully showed that creativity is adaptable as necessary, and , at its best, brings everything closer together, in spite of temporal circumstances. Allen's most recent projects highlight the good. They also restore that bit of mystery that is still able to make even the most jaded and cynical among listeners.

Take, for instance, Allen's third pandemic project, Milo's Illinois, recorded in Allen's home with double bassist Mike Karn. The title itself is filled with questions. Who is Milo and why in Illinois? Only part of this is revealed but that part is worth it. In numbers, Milo's Illinois is made up of nine standards and two originals. The subject matter is from across the map, from the hopeful "Love Is Just Around The Corner" to the resigned "Just One of Those Things," to the sepia-toned "Tea For Two." The songs are captured with an intensely relaxed spirit, one of making the best of a marginal situation with intimacy and empathy.

Allen's tone remains as sweet and confident as ever, adopting a piquant character when applied to Antonio Carlos Jobim ("O Grande Amor," "How Insensitive"). Karn meets Allen head on, anticipating the saxophonist and guiding him. Karn provides the introduction to several pieces, giving "Tea For Two" his most thoughtful consideration before kicking things off in a swinging fashion with Allen's entry. Mitchell Parish's rarely recorded "Gypsy Sweetheart" is provided a rounded treatment with saxophonist and bassist clicking along effortlessly. Irving Berlin's "The Song Is Ended" is submitted, upbeat and strolling in a steadfast 4/4, rolling into "How Insensitive," providing Karn is greatest, and most inventive, solo space.

"Milo's Illinois" is the Karn contribution to the recording, a circuitous bebop piece with an impressive head and compelling interior. Milo turns out to be a dog, a small one. And, "'Milo's Illinois" is a song about keeping a small dog warm, bringing this project to its peaceful and positive close with questions still unanswered. Praise the small and simple. They will never disappoint and it's been a long winter.~ C.Michael Bailey https://www.allaboutjazz.com/milos-illinois-harry-allen-gac-music

Personnel: Harry Allen(sax); Mike Karn(double bass)

Milo's Illinois

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Emil Viklicky Trio - What's New

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:13
Size: 145,6 MB
Art: Front

( 6:40) 1. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
( 5:55) 2. Enfance
( 8:50) 3. I'll Remember April
( 7:41) 4. Porthcawl
( 9:39) 5. Cherokee
(10:01) 6. What's New
( 9:01) 7. C.T.A.
( 5:22) 8. Going to Chicago

Emil Viklicky was born on the 23rd November 1948 in Olomouc, where in 1971 he graduated from the Palacky University in mathematics. Whilst a student he devoted much time to playing jazz piano. In 1974 he was awarded the prize for best soloist at the Czechoslovak Amateur Jazz Festival, and in that same year he became a member of Karel Velebny's SHQ ensemble. In 1976 he was a prizewinner at the jazz improvisation competition in Lyon and his composition Green Satin (Zeleny saten) earned him first prize in the music conservatory competition in Monaco, where in 1985 his Cacharel won second prize in the same competition. In 1977 he was awarded a year's scholarship to study composition and arrangement with Herb Pomeroy at the jazz school of the Berklee College of Music in Boston. He then continued his composition studies with Jarmo Sermila, George Crumb and Vaclav Kucera. Since his return to Prague he has been directing his own ensembles (primarily quartets and quintets), composing and arranging music and - since the death of Karel Velebny - working as director of the Summer Jazz Workshops in Frydlant. He has also lectured at a similar workshop event in Glamorgan, Wales. Between 1991 and 1995 Viklicky was President of the Czech Jazz Society, and since 1994 he has worked with the Ad lib Moravia ensemble, whose performances combine elements of Moravian folk music, modern jazz and contemporary serious music. In 1996 the ensemble undertook a highly successful concert tour of Mexico and the United States.

As pianist Viklicky often performs in international ensembles alongside musicians from the USA and other European countries - with the Lou Blackburn International Quartet and the Benny Bailey Quintet, for example, and with multi-instrumentalist Scott Robinson. He has made frequent appearances in Finland (with the Finnczech Quartet and in particular with Jarmo Sermila) and Norway (with the Czech-Norwegian Big Band and Harald Gundhus) and has performed in the USA, Japan, Mexico, Israel, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands (at the North Sea Festival) and elsewhere. The editor of Rolling Stone wrote of Viklicky that "It was a delightful surprise to see such first-class, top-of-the-line jazz in Prague. As composer Viklicky has attracted attention abroad primarily for having created a synthesis of the expressive elements of modern jazz with the melodicism and tonalities of Moravian folk song that is distinctly individual in contemporary jazz. Besides this, however, he also composes 'straight-ahead' modern jazz as well as chamber and orchestral works that utilize certain elements of the New Music, and at times his music requires a combination of classical and jazz performers. He also composes incidental and film music and has produced scores for several full-length feature films and television series. Throughout the 1990s he has devoted an increasing amount of time to the composition of contemporary classical music for a great variety of instrumental combinations ranging from small chamber ensembles and electronic instruments to symphony orchestras and choruses. Viklicky's work has gained him quite a number of prestigious awards. https://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/artist/emil-viklicky

What's New

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Jane Monheit - Come What May

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:31
Size: 112,1 MB
Art: Front

(2:58) 1. I Believe In You
(5:09) 2. When A Woman Loves A Man
(4:01) 3. Let’s Take A Walk Around The Block
(5:45) 4. Lush Life
(3:03) 5. Let’s Face The Music And Dance
(4:51) 6. Samba Do Aviao
(6:25) 7. The Nearness Of You
(3:53) 8. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
(5:29) 9. The Man That Got Away
(6:54) 10. My Funny Valentine

Jane Monheit is a potent antidote to a certain brand of jazz snobbery. At every major jazz festival, there are fans who will begrudgingly (or cheerfully) witness a set by Cécile McLorin Salvant or Gregory Porter, but if pressed, they would assert that they don’t consider vocalists to be in the same league as instrumentalists. (Was Ella Fitzgerald as good a musician as Count Basie? Debate that over a Zoom chat sometime.) When the luminous Monheit arrived on the scene 20 years ago with her debut, Never Never Land, she won over fans via renditions of standards such as “My Foolish Heart,” “I Got It Bad (And That Ain’t Good)” and Jobim’s “Dindi.” On her latest album, Come What May, Monheit continues to dazzle, delivering a program chockfull of standards, such as “Lush Life,” “Let’s Face The Music And Dance” and Jobim’s “Samba Do Avi?o.”

Monheit’s version of Frank Loesser’s “I Believe In You” is delicately spiced with segments of scatting that elevate the tune just a pinch of salt that works wonderfully. Throughout the program, it should be clear to any snobbish naysayer that her instrument is equal to that of her band’s, which includes guitarist Miles Okazaki, bassist David Robaire, pianist Michael Kanan, drummer Rick Montalbano and percussionist Kevin Winard. In the opening section of “My Funny Valentine,” while floating atop Kanan’s lines, Monheit’s breath control and exquisite elongation of vowel sounds are so intoxicating that some listeners won’t even pause to ponder the arcane lyrics: “Thy vacant brow, and thy tousled hair/ Conceal thy good intent/ Thou noble, upright, truthful, sincere/ And slightly dopey gent.”

The inclusion of “Let’s Take A Walk Around The Block” (penned by Harold Arlen, Ira Gershwin and E.Y. Harburg) seems suited to our pandemic era in a particularly bittersweet way. Similarly, an elegant reading of “The Nearness Of You” might resonate on multiple levels for lovers who still share a spark, despite being stuck in a small apartment for the past 11 months. On the latter tune, the combination of Monheit’s emotive, wordless flights and Wayne Haun’s lush orchestral arrangement is positively intoxicating. Monheit’s album-release show at Feinstein’s at Vitello’s will be livestreamed on March 12. Catching this virtual gig might not be as fun as hearing her vocals reverberate around a jazz club or a festival crowd, but that will come, hopefully soon. https://downbeat.com/reviews/detail/come-what-may

Come What May

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Clare Foster - Kumbhaka

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:38
Size: 130,4 MB
Art: Front

(3:40) 1. Who will Buy?
(2:33) 2. Baião na Praia
(3:52) 3. I Get Along Without You Very Well
(3:58) 4. I Only Have Eyes for You
(4:23) 5. Singin' in the Rain
(2:50) 6. Gone with the Wind
(2:35) 7. No Moon at All
(3:12) 8. Can't Help Singing
(3:49) 9. I'll Remember April
(2:59) 10. Stairway to the Stars
(4:46) 11. Quem Canta os Males Espanta
(4:26) 12. There's a Small Hotel
(5:12) 13. What are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?
(3:50) 14. Just One of Those Things / In Search of Love
(4:25) 15. The Silent Space

Clare Foster is a multi-talented musician who sings, composes and, along the way, educates. Born in England, she learnt the clarinet and began listening to jazz at the age of five courtesy of her father and recently said in an interview, "he still doesn't believe there's any jazz after 1932!" Foster's inspiration for this album has emerged from her interests in Latin American rhythms but also her passion for the American songbook. "I'll Remember April," the ninth track on the album, is a perfect example of how she integrates these two musical characteristics. Her interpretation of this well-known standard is combined with a lesser-known style of music originating from Uruguay named, candombe. The groove is based upon three contrasting drums. Among the fifteen grooves that are presented on Kumbhaka, Clare's adaptation of Cole Porter's "Just One of Those Things" is performed in the style known as bomba, the first native music of Puerto Rico. She says that the sound of the four trumpets is a salute to the band, La Sonora Ponceña.

As well as herself, Foster also shares the vocal role with Sue Jarvis, singing "Quem Canta Os Males Espanta" in Portuguese. As one can expect from a first listen, this track is a samba and features and lengthy Rhodes solo performed by Neil Angilley. In addition to this track, Foster also has another original composition, dedicated to her mother, titled "The Silent Space." It incorporates an enchanting string arrangement both written and performed by Shanti Paul Jayasinha in the style of danzón, a slow formal dance from Cuba. Overall, Kumbhaka captures a wide variety of styles and rhythms associated with Latin America, many that are unknown to the general listener. Foster's process of connecting this part of the world with the success of the American songbook has clearly achieved high standards. A gifted musician who, along with her talented colleagues, has flourished in seamlessly merging complex rhythms with the popularity of the American tradition.~ Thomas Fletcher https://www.allaboutjazz.com/kumbhaka-clare-foster-self-produced

Personnel: Clare Foster - Voice, Arranger; Shanti Jayasinha - Arranger, Cello, Trumpet, Flügelhorn, Percussion; John Crawford - Fender Rhodes (except track 11); Andrés Lafone - Electric Bass, Tamborile (tr 9); Andrés Ticino - Drums & Percussion, Tamborile (tr 9); Guillermo Hill - Guitar, Tamborile (tr 9); Neil Angilley - Fender Rhodes (track 11); Sue Jarvis - Voice (track 11); Davide Giovannini - Backing Vocals (track 4); Mick Foster - Alto, Tenor, Baritone saxes, Bass Clarinet; Fayyaz Virgi - Trombone (tracks 4,10); Karen Tweed - Accordion (track 2)

Kumbhaka

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Lucky Thompson - A Lucky Songbook in Europe

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:22
Size: 91,3 MB
Art: Front

(6:27) 1. Sauvabelin
(5:31) 2. Lady Gail
(3:53) 3. Street of Dreams
(5:45) 4. Soul City
(6:11) 5. Easy Living
(5:18) 6. I Came from Sunday
(6:12) 7. Centre Ville

In 1968, saxophonist Lucky Thompson moved back to Europe with his family after a five-year stay in the States. He settled in Lausanne, Switzerland, which allowed him to tour in European cities where he found the most work. A year later, in March 1969, he recorded A Lucky Songbook in Europe for MPS, one of the Continent’s great labels. The album would become one of Thompson’s finest works. Lucky Thompson’s first trip to Europe came in 1956, when he relocated to Paris. While he was there, he joined the reed section of Stan Kenton’s orchestra when Kenton was short a baritone saxophonist after Jack Nimitz failed to make the trans-Atlantic tour. When the Kenton orchestra returned to the States, Thompson recorded with the band on Cuban Fire starting in May. Overall, the tour was a rather awkward fit for Thompson, since by the 1950s, his instrumental poetry was better suited to smaller ensembles. The blessing for Thompson is that he fell hard for European life. He returned to Paris for an extended stay in ’57, which enabled him to play the city’s many clubs and tour regionally. He remained in Paris until late 1962, when he moved back to the States before his move to Switzerland in ’68.

If you look at Thompson’s years of migration, he couldn’t have picked worse times to relocate. He left the States in ’57 just as jazz recording was picking up following the release of the 12-inch LP in 1956 and launch of stereo in 1958. Then he returned to the States at the dawn of the pop-rock era, when recording work and gigs were drying up for jazz artists who weren’t household names or studio musicians. On the other hand, Thompson seemed to suffer from mental illness and depression, so a more tranquil, integrated environment with access to healthcare surely meant more than hustling for scraps of opportunity. The good news for Lucky is that Europe was his oyster and he was highly appreciated there, which kept him busy. He also was more comfortable in Europe as a creative artist. But as a result of his detachment from the U.S. jazz scene, Thompson was one of only a few jazz giants who really can’t be classified as a member of one jazz school or another. In essence, if you combine the toughness of Coleman Hawkins and relaxed tones and agility of Lester Young, you’d probably come close to Thompson’s sound. [Photo above of Lucky Thompson and British pianist Stan Tracey]

Thompson also was magnificently inventive as a composer and particularly graceful and slippery on song introductions and improvisational passages. He had great training. Thompson had worked with Count Basie in 1944 and ’45 and then Boyd Raeburn in ’45, two challenging bands. He also worked and recorded with plenty of small groups, including dates with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. On March 13, 1969, after a flurry of written pleas by the team at MPS in Germany, Thompson finally agreed to record an album for the label at its studios in Villingen, in the Black Forest. Thompson, it turns out, was a perfectionist and something of a gentle control freak. According to the original liner notes for A Lucky Songbook in Europe by album producer Joachim Berendt (above), Thompson hand-picked each musician and insisted they be on the date. The album featured Lucky Thompson (ts,sop), Fats Sadi (vib,bgo), Ingfried Hoffman (org), Rene Thomas (g), Eberhard Weber (b) and Stu Martin (d). Guitarist Rene Thomas (above) and vibist Fats Sadi were Belgians and essential, Thompson said. In a series of letters between Thompson and MPS, Thompson said of Thomas, “Rene is very much worthy of the wonderful comments I had heard about him.” And of Sadi: “He is a must for our session. For not only does he come fully prepared to give 100% of himself but he is always in full possession of a big humor and great spirit.”

Five of the seven songs recorded for A Lucky Songbook in Europe were originals by Thompson while two Street of Dreams and Easy Living were standards. Thompson plays soprano sax on four of the tracks Lady Gail, Street of Dreams, Soul City and Easy Listening and tenor on the balance. Thompson took up the soprano sax during his first European stay between 1957 and late 1962. For the original album, Lucky wrote notes explaining his choices for each song. Perhaps the most telling and revealing were his comments for Sauvabelin: “Sauvabelin is the name of a very beautiful park here in Lausanne, where I often go, and especially so during some of my most depressing moments. For it is there I can be completely sure to find some real friends, who unfortunately are better known as animals. As as a personal gesture for their friendship and the many moments of happiness they always give to me, I composed Sauvabelin, which I do sincerely hope shall please them.” This is an extraordinary album, and I spent much of the weekend listening to it over and over again while writing. There isn’t a bad note or a dull phrase on the entire session. It’s just Lucky Thompson in all his glory recorded by a label that truly understood him and the nuances of jazz. https://jazz.fm/lucky-thompson-on-mps/

Personnel: Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Lucky Thompson; Bass – Eberhard Weber; Bongos, Congas, Vibraphone – Sadi; Guitar – René Thomas; Organ – Ingfried Hoffmann

A Lucky Songbook in Europe

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Archie Shepp, Jason Moran - Let My People Go

Styles: Saxophone And Piano Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 94:42
Size: 218,5 MB
Art: Front

( 8:20) 1. Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child
( 6:10) 2. Isfahan
( 6:41) 3. He Cares
( 7:01) 4. Go Down Moses
(13:13) 5. Wise One
( 8:48) 6. Lush Life
( 8:31) 7. Round Midnight
( 3:12) 8. Ain't Misbehavin' - Bonus Track
(12:59) 9. Jitterbug Waltz - Bonus Track
( 9:38) 10. Ujama - Bonus Track
( 6:11) 11. Slow Drag - Bonus Track
( 3:51) 12. Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child - Edit

Now an octogenarian, Archie Shepp's name is quite often spoken in the same sentence as that of John Coltrane. Shepp was born a decade after Trane and is associated with the great one's 'New Thing' and 'Fire Music.' His music though, post-Ascension (Impulse!, 1965), might be better equated to that of Billie Holiday, who was born, incidentally, a decade before Coltrane. Just as Holiday presented her music (especially in the later years) in a frank, warts-and-all manner, Shepp has for decades produced his message with a stark, candid and almost fragile delivery.

This fragility, or better yet vulnerability, is the essence Shepp cognoscenti covet. His unguardedness is on full display in these seven duos with Jason Moran. Culled from performances in 2017 and 2018, they draw a direct reference to the duos Shepp produced with Horace Parlan in the 1980s. Like the Parlan dates, this duo leans heavily on spirituals and standards. "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child," finds Shepp's soprano saxophone following the reverent opening by Moran, before Shepp sings the lyrics. The pair's performance builds upon Paul Robeson's rendition with a weight of world weariness. The same can be said of "Go Down Moses," which is delivered as a slow cortège of notes and voice. The pair tackle two Ellington-Strayhorn standards "Isfahan" and "Lush Life." The latter recalls the Coltrane and Johnny Hartman version from 1963, yet gets stripped down to its essential elements. The same approach is taken on Thelonious Monk's "Round Midnight," where Moran works from an unembellished framework and Shepp's tenor saxophone retells the much-loved story to listeners. Listeners have consumed it many times before, yet are keen for this comfort food. The highlight here may be Coltrane's "Wise One," where the two stretch out a bit on the thirteen-minute rendition. Shepp's tenor is robust yet delicate, and Moran's approach gets roisterous in support. This hour of music will certainly leave listeners wanting more.~ Mark Corroto https://www.allaboutjazz.com/let-my-people-go-archie-shepp-and-jason-moran-archie-ball-records

Personnel: Archie Shepp: saxophone; Jason Moran: piano.

Let My People Go

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