Silky Denims

Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Toots Thielemans - European Quartet Live

Styles: Harmonica Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:24
Size: 130,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:27) 1. I Loves You, Porgy
(5:39) 2. Summertime
(6:58) 3. Começar de Novo
(5:47) 4. The Days of Wine and Roses
(3:16) 5. Circle of Smile (Theme From: Baantjer)
(3:07) 6. Round Midnight
(5:55) 7. Les Feuilles Mortes
(4:27) 8. Theme from Midnight Cowboy
(6:01) 9. On Green Dolphin Street
(3:55) 10. Ne Me Quitte Pas
(4:40) 11. Bluesette
(3:05) 12. For My Lady

Jean "Toots" Thielemans' musical education started early he had already started to play the accordion at the age of three. But it was his skill on the harmonica that brought him international fame, and it's that skill which is to the fore on European Quartet Live, featuring a set of well-known tunes taken from concerts in 2006, '07 and '08. It's the second Thielemans live album to be released in 2010 after The Live Takes, Volume 1 (In + Out Records), which was recorded in the '90s and with a different lineup of musicians, but it also includes versions of the first three tracks to be found on European Quartet Live. Thielemans was in his mid-80s when performing these concerts, but the precision and tone of his playing could well be that of a much younger musician. This is an album which has a comforting familiarity: a relaxed set that could have been recorded in a small club or even at a private party for friends, rather than in a series of concert halls. The European Quartet's other members give Thielemans sympathetic backing, the result, at least in part, of their long musical association. Drummer Hans van Oosterhout is particularly notable, providing subtle and inventive rhythms that are always interesting but never intrusive.

For the most part, these tunes are familiar, and the band's arrangements are mainstream beautifully played, but with no surprises. The songs are ideal for Thieleman's warm and romantic style, but his playing is especially suited to fellow-Belgian Jacques Brel's "Ne Me Quitte Pas," and Joseph Kosma and Jacques Prevert's Great American Songbook standard, "Les Feuilles Mortes," also known as "Autumn Leaves," in which the harmonicist closes with a bar or two of the French anthem, "La Marseillaise." The quartet's version of John Barry's theme to the film soundtrack of Midnight Cowboy (1969) on which Thielemans also played features a fine double-bass solo from Hein Van de Geyn, while on Thielemans' "Bluesette," the harmonicist adopts an accordion-like tone.

Thelonious Monk's "'Round Midnight" and George Gershwin's "Summertime" are also treated imaginatively by the quartet. "Summertime" gets an upbeat, swinging arrangement, its opening bearing more than a passing resemblance to Miles Davis' "All Blues," with both Thielemans and pianist Karel Boehlee delivering positive solos. Thielemans performs "Round Midnight" unaccompanied, and it's an inspired take on this classic tune, showcasing the harmonicist's continued ability to play with empathy and emotion. The venues at which European Quartet Live was recorded are not identified, but their audiences all give the band an enthusiastic welcome, as if they are greeting old friends. In return, Thielemans and his band mates deliver what the audiences expect: classic tunes, played with warmth and enthusiasm.~ Bruce Lindsay https://www.allaboutjazz.com/european-quartet-live-toots-thielemans-challenge-records-review-by-bruce-lindsay.php

Personnel: Toots Thielemens: harmonica; Karel Boehlee: piano, synthesizer; Hein Van de Geyn: double-bass; Hans van Oosterhout: drums.

European Quartet Live

Freda Payne - Lonely Woman

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:51
Size: 90,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:29) 1. After the Lights Go Down Low
(3:01) 2. Sweet Pumpkin
(2:51) 3. Blue Piano
(2:36) 4. The Things We Love to Do
(2:16) 5. Awaken My Lonely One
(2:38) 6. Sweet September
(4:03) 7. I Cried for You
(4:27) 8. 'Round Midnight
(3:15) 9. Out of This World
(4:07) 10. Lonely Woman
(3:55) 11. I Wish I Knew
(2:07) 12. It's Time

The multi-talented Freda Payne is best known for her singing career, yet she has also performed in musicals and acted in movies over the years, and was briefly the host of her own TV talk show. Born Freda Charcilia Payne on September 19, 1942, in Detroit, Michigan, Payne developed an appreciation of music at an early age (due to such sultry jazz singers as Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Billie Holiday). Payne's own musical career blossomed soon after, as she began early singing radio commercial jingles, which brought the young vocalist to the attention of several music-biz heavyweights. Berry Gordy, Jr. attempted to sign Payne to his then-burgeoning record company Motown, while Duke Ellington employed Payne as the featured singer with his renowned orchestra for two nights in Pittsburgh, resulting in Ellington offering the teenager a ten-year contract. But in both cases, Payne's mother turned them down.

During the early to mid-'60s, Payne established herself as a fine jazz vocalist, touring the country with both Quincy Jones and Bill Cosby, and issuing a jazz/big band-based album in 1963, After the Lights Go Down Low and Much More!. In addition to a sophomore effort surfacing three years later, How Do You Say I Don't Love You Anymore, Payne enjoyed further exposure via appearances on such TV shows as Johnny Carson, David Frost, and Merv Griffin. But it wasn't until Payne signed on to the Invictus label in 1969 (headed by longtime friends/former Motown songwriters/producers Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Brian Holland) and issued the fine album Band of Gold that she scored her breakthrough hit single, the album's title track, which peaked at number three in the U.S. and topped the chart in the U.K. in 1970.

Although Payne never enjoyed another hit as substantial as "Band of Gold," several other successful singles followed in the early '70s: "Deeper and Deeper," "Cherish What's Dear to You," "You Brought the Joy," and the Vietnam protest song "Bring the Boys Home." Further albums followed throughout the '70s, including such titles as Contact, Reaching Out, Payne & Pleasure, Out of Payne Comes Love, Stares & Whispers, Supernatural High, and Hot, which all failed to make an impression on the charts. Payne then switched her attention from music to TV, as she hosted her very own (yet short-lived) talk show in 1981, Today's Black Woman. The '90s saw Payne return to music, as such albums as An Evening with Freda Payne and Christmas with Freda & Friends were issued, while Payne also landed roles in such movies as Private Obsession, Sprung, and Ragdoll. Payne continued to balance an acting and music career during the early 21st century, as she appeared in the 2000 Eddie Murphy comedy Nutty Professor II: The Klumps and the made-for-TV movie Fire & Ice, plus issuing an all-new album in 2001, Come See About Me. Around the same time, several hits compilations were issued, including such titles as Band of Gold: The Best of Freda Payne, Unhooked Generation: The Complete Invictus Recordings, and The Best of Freda Payne: Ten Best Series. Impulse re-released After the Lights Go Down Low in 2005, but failed to add any bonus material. She returned in 2007 with the album On the Inside, which was a collection of her most personal songs. In 2009, she re-entered public consciousness with an appearance on American Idol, performing her most iconic song. In June 2014, she released a jazz-influenced studio album entitled Come Back to Me Love.~ Greg Prato https://www.allmusic.com/artist/freda-payne-mn0000796710/biography

Lonely Woman

Massimo Faraò - The Young Lion

Styles: Piano Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:56
Size: 143,0 MB
Art: Front

(5:00) 1. I Can't Get Started
(3:49) 2. Witchcraft
(6:48) 3. In Your Own Sweet Way
(2:31) 4. Joy Spring
(4:49) 5. Body and Soul
(6:04) 6. Nostalgia
(7:41) 7. No Problem
(6:10) 8. I'm Confessin That I Love You
(4:58) 9. Minority
(4:36) 10. Whisper Not
(4:55) 11. Did You Call Her Today
(4:30) 12. Body and Soul Tk2

Massimo Farao (* 16th March 1965 in Genoa ) is an Italian jazz - pianist. Massimo Farao studied with Flavio Crivelli and worked with local formations; In 1983 he visited the United States for the first time. played with Red Holloway and Albert 'Tootie' Heath . In the 1990s he worked inter alia. with Tony Scott , Adrian Mears , Johannes Enders , Jesse Davis , Franco Ambrosetti , on whose Enja albums Grazie Italia and Light Breeze he worked. He also played in the Nat Adderley Quintet on a European tour. In 1993 he recorded his debut album For Me for Splasc (h)on; his teammates included the trumpeter Flavio Boltro and the bassist Dado Moroni . In 1995 the album Ciao Baby followed (on Monad ).

In a trio with Ira Coleman and Jeff Tain Watts , Farao recorded the album Black Inside for Enja in Brooklyn in 1998 ; In 2000, the album Thorn , recorded in trio and quartet line-up, followed (also on Enja) , on which Drew Gress , Jack DeJohnette and saxophonist Chris Potter participated. In 2001 he was a member of Archie Shepp's quartet (with Wayne Dockery and Bobby Durham ) ; From 2001 to 2005 Farao was artistic director of the jazz department of the Azzurra Music label . In 2003 he performed at the Jazz Piano Festivalin Lucerne. In 2006 he recorded an album with compositions by Ennio Morricone ; In 2007 he toured Europe and the USA in a trio with Joey DeFrancesco .Translate By Google https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massimo_Farao

The Young Lion

Michael Kiwanuka - Love & Hate

Styles: Adult Contemporary
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:08
Size: 126,7 MB
Art: Front

(10:10) 1. Cold Little Heart
( 4:19) 2. Black Man In A White World
( 4:16) 3. Falling
( 4:47) 4. Place I Belong
( 7:07) 5. Love & Hate
( 3:53) 6. One More Night
( 2:46) 7. I'll Never Love
( 5:42) 8. Rule The World
( 7:05) 9. Father's Child
( 4:59) 10. The Final Frame

On his ambitious sophomore set, London native Michael Kiwanuka expands outward from the warm retro-soul of 2012 debut, Home Again. With its trio of producers and transatlantic recording locales, Love & Hate arrives with the weight of high expectations. Announcing his intentions from the start, Kiwanuka challenges listeners with "Cold Little Heart," an exquisitely arranged, ten-minute opus of lush strings and elegant backing vocals whose first line doesn't arrive until the halfway point. It's a Homeric bit of heartbroken prog-soul that shows off its creator's lead guitar chops as much as his rich, sandy voice.

Co-produced by Danger Mouse and Inflo, it also introduces the heavy tonal palette that runs through the remainder of the album's ten tracks, even those produced by Kiwanuka's longtime collaborator, Paul Butler. Where Home Again was ultimately an intimate and gentler affair, Love & Hate puts some distance between singer and audience as he offers his worldweary introspections against the framework of '70s R&B, funk, and spaced-out rock. The timely social commentary of lead single "Black Man in a White World" feels lonesome and heavy in spite of its uptempo, hand-clapped rhythm and nimble guitar groove. Throughout the album, the space between parts is somehow wider, yet each tambourine hit, backing vocal, or funky guitar lick feels darker and more severe. The mildly psychedelic title cut is a mid-album standout whose slow-burning swagger and epic seven-minute length is countered by the tight, punchy "One More Night." Overall, Love & Hate has very little of the breezy, quietly strummed charm of its predecessor, but it represents serious growth from an artist deliberately pushing his boundaries. With this release, Kiwanuka has delivered a dark, graceful, and affecting artistic statement that is worth the patience it takes to experience it. ~ Timothy Monger http://www.allmusic.com/album/love-hate-mw0002934664

Love & Hate

Monday, May 17, 2021

Susie Meissner With The John Shaddy Quartet - My Foolish Heart

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 26:32
Size: 61,2 MB
Art: Front

(6:02) 1. My Foolish Heart
(4:07) 2. There's a Small Hotel
(2:48) 3. Softly as I Leave You
(4:40) 4. All the Things You Are
(4:34) 5. Never Let Me Go
(4:17) 6. Dreamer

A major jazz and swing singer, Susie Meissner always seems to have a smile in her voice. In addition to her very appealing tone and impeccable musicianship, the enthusiasm that she displays when she performs is infectious. She always swings and is an excellent improviser yet the lyrics that she interprets are especially important to her. “When I perform a song,” says Susie, “I want to express the emotions of the words, so the listener is experiencing the lyrics the way that the writer intended. I’m never casual about the lyrics.” Her skill at reviving and revitalizing classic songs is very much in evidence throughout her recordings.

Susie Meissner performs regularly in Philadelphia, particularly at Chris’ Jazz Café, and for her latest recording she decided to feature some of Philly’s best jazz musicians along with a few guests. Susie’s fourth CD, I Wish I Knew, is the singer’s second release featuring a stellar group of Philly-based musicians: trumpeter John Swana, saxophonist Larry McKenna, bassist Lee Smith and drummer Byron Landham. In addition, Meissner invited some longtime collaborators from outside Philadelphia: pianist/arranger John Shaddy, guitarist Paul Meyers and master clarinetist Ken Peplowski.

“As a child I was always singing,” remembers Susie. Her grandmother played stride piano and her family was very fond of show tunes. “We had the sheet music from the Great American Songbook in the piano bench. The illustrated covers were real works of art and I used to hang them on my bedroom wall. I also listened to the records in my Grandfather’s Dixieland collection early on. Music has been an important part of my life.” Susie, who grew up in Buffalo, had piano and vocal lessons and sang in school choirs and musicals. She became interested in jazz after seeing performances by guitarist Kenny Burrell, pianist Earl Hines, and singer Nancy Wilson. When she was 17 Susie became a professional singer, performing the music from shows such as Oklahoma! and Hello Dolly in dinner theaters. She learned a countless number of songs from the Great American Songbook (Irving Berlin, Lerner & Loewe, Frank Loesser and Cole Porter became some of her favorite composers) and gained experience performing jazz in nightclubs.

After college, Susie Meissner moved to New York City, determined to become a jazz singer. Since the release of her 2009 debut, I’ll Remember April, Meissner has worked with a host of gifted jazz musicians in NYC, including Wycliffe Gordon, Brian Lynch, Joe Magnarelli, Freddie Hendrix, Martin Wind, Dean Johnson, Tim Horner, and Matt Wilson, among others. But she discovered a spiritual home in the City of Brotherly Love. “I am living my musical dream, learning, performing, and recording songs that mean a lot to me and, I hope, to listeners.” Now, with the release of I Wish I Knew, Susie Meissner is on the brink of greater success. Her irresistible and inviting singing, the way that she caresses ballads, her deep understanding of the lyrics that she sings and, most of all, that smile in her voice, make her one of today’s top interpreters of the Great American Songbook. https://susiemeissner.com/biography/

My Foolish Heart

Norman Simmons - In Private

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:34
Size: 148,8 MB
Art: Front

(7:30) 1. Sushi Yama Blues
(4:22) 2. Stella by Starlight
(7:02) 3. My Melancholy Baby
(5:02) 4. It Could Happen to You
(6:35) 5. How Am I to Know
(7:42) 6. Caravan
(7:35) 7. Soft Wind
(6:28) 8. How Do You Keep the Music Playing
(7:50) 9. Manha de Carnival / Recado Bossa Nova
(4:23) 10. Chopin Waltz

Veteran pianist Norman Simmons plays quite beautifully throughout this disc, with the emphasis generally being on slower tempos. Most exquisite are three unaccompanied piano solos ("It Could Happen to You," "How Am I to Know" and "Chopin Waltz") that show how complete a pianist Simmons has always been. His interplay with bassist Lisle Atkinson and drummer Paul Humphrey is excellent on the other selections, and the slower-than-usual interpretations of "Stella By Starlight" and "Caravan" work quite well, with the medium-tempo "Soft Winds" being a fine change-of-pace. Norman Simmons has long been underrated. In Private serves as an excellent introduction to his music.~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/in-private-mw0000167742

Personnel: Piano, Producer – Norman Simmons; Bass – Lisle Atkinson; Drums – Paul Humphrey

In Private

Luis Conte - La Cocina Caliente

Styles: Latin Jazz
Year: 1997
File: MP3@192K/s
Time: 58:34
Size: 80,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:46) 1. Tu Sabes
(5:30) 2. Ahora Si
(4:40) 3. Mujaka
(4:12) 4. Para Papa
(4:53) 5. Tingo Talango
(5:52) 6. Even He Paid
(5:05) 7. Chevereando
(4:57) 8. Killer Joe
(5:43) 9. No Place To Hide This Heart
(5:07) 10. Luisongo
(6:45) 11. Spankin (Rumbon)

La Cocina Caliente is Luis Conte’s first solo album. Luis Conte (born 16 November 1954) is a Cuban percussionist. As a child in Cuba, Luis Conte began his musical odyssey playing the guitar. However, he soon switched to percussion, and that has remained his mode since. He was sent to Los Angeles by his parents in 1967, in order to prevent him from being forced to serve in the Cuban military. This was a turning point in Conte’s life, as the musical community in Los Angeles during this period was vibrant. It was during this time that he studied at Los Angeles City College. https://www.sessiondays.com/2016/04/1988-luis-conte-la-cocina-caliente/

La Cocina Caliente/

Lillian Boutté - The Jazz Book

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:37
Size: 111.3 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 1994
Art: Front

[4:05] 1. Now Baby Or Never
[5:04] 2. Comes Love
[4:21] 3. On Revival Day
[6:04] 4. Don't Worry About Me
[5:57] 5. Lover Come Back To Me
[5:02] 6. Muddy Water
[3:48] 7. Tennessee Waltz
[3:07] 8. That Old Feeling
[6:18] 9. Embraceable You
[4:46] 10. Barefootin

Lillian Boutte is a talented veteran singer from New Orleans who is quite credible in a variety of musical styles. For this fairly definitive outing, she mostly sticks to jazz standards and swings her way through such songs as "Now Baby or Never," "Comes Love," "Love Come Back to Me" and even the "Tennessee Waltz." Boutte is assisted by Thomas l'Etienne (her husband) on tenor and clarinet, trumpeter Leroy Jones (heard throughout in top form), pianist Edward Frank, bassist Lloyd Lambert and drummer Soren Frost. Dr. John, a longtime friend, guests instrumentally on four selections, playing either guitar, organ or piano. An excellent outing, easily recommended to listeners wanting to discover a "new" spirited singer. ~Scott Yanow

The Jazz Book

Susie Meissner - Tea For Two

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:05
Size: 151.3 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals
Year: 2015
Art: Front

[3:20] 1. If I Were A Bell
[7:06] 2. Tea For Two
[4:40] 3. Mean To Me
[2:42] 4. Moonlight Saving Time
[6:52] 5. Laura
[4:10] 6. Love Is Here To Stay
[4:04] 7. Moonglow
[2:33] 8. Just You, Just Me
[4:51] 9. Everything I Love
[6:46] 10. Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry
[4:50] 11. I Didn't Know Time It Was
[4:46] 12. Crazy He Calls Me
[4:55] 13. Triste
[4:22] 14. Say It Isn't So

Tea For Two

Sunday, May 16, 2021

Gretchen Lieberum - When This Kiss Is Over It Will Start Again

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:12
Size: 100,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:21) 1. Dark Days
(4:38) 2. Like Winter
(4:37) 3. Heaven
(2:23) 4. Permanently Lonely
(3:57) 5. In The End
(2:09) 6. One Sweet Day
(3:13) 7. Lover You Should Be Here
(4:47) 8. Walking In the Sun
(2:51) 9. Cut And Run
(4:05) 10. Real Love
(2:36) 11. The Tree Song
(4:28) 12. Floodgates

Gretchen Lieberum is a Los Angeles-based vocalist and songwriter.Raised in Berkeley, California and educated at UC Santa Cruz, she developed a passion for music within the Bay Area scene.After fronting a funk band for several years, Lieberum released her first solo album, Three a.m. (1999) followed by a record named Brand New Morning (2002), both produced by Greg Porée. Her latest albums, Siren Songs (2005) and When This Kiss Is Over It Will Start Again (2009), were independently released in the United States.She and college friend Maya Rudolph are in a Prince cover band together called Princess. Princess performed "Darling Nikki" on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon in September 2012 with the band The Roots. In April 2016 they performed "Sometimes It Snows in April " with D'Angelo on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon".Her song "You Closer" was featured as a sample track on the Sansa e200 series portable mp3 playersGretchen Lieberum's latest project is Sargent, cabaret-pop abundant in levitating lullabies and heart-ached ballads born of vintage instruments. The self-titled LP, out September 16, has been a long time (six years) in gestation with the help of collaborator Jake Blanton (The Killers, Beck) but was only recently completed and released. Sargent recently joined forces with director Kirk Woodward Nelson to make a powerful video for the single Miracles and Light. http://www.stereogum.com/1899515/sargent-miracles-light-video/video/"...loss and flux is elegantly woven into the record cinematic, often piano driven songs delivered with rare hairsbreadth intimacy. A slight hand with the sparsity." (VICE/Noisey) https://peoplepill.com/people/gretchen-lieberum

When This Kiss Is Over It Will Start Again

Doc Cheatham, Rosemary Galloway's Swing Sisters - You're a Sweatheart

Styles: Vocal And Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1992
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:01
Size: 114,1 MB
Art: Front

(2:58) 1. Smokey Mary
(5:26) 2. You're a Sweatheart
(5:59) 3. Under the Moonlight Starlight Blue
(4:11) 4. Two Time Man
(4:08) 5. Quinn & Sonic
(3:21) 6. Eccentric
(5:04) 7. A Shine on Your Shoes
(4:56) 8. Judy
(5:14) 9. Just An Old Manuscript
(3:27) 10. Baby It's Cold Outside
(4:13) 11. Chu Chu Wa Wa

Trumpeter Doc Cheatham (87 at the time) gets top billing and is well-featured on six of this CD's 11 selections but the release from the Canadian label Sackville is more significant for helping to introduce Rosemary Galloway's Swing Sisters. This fine quintet (originally all women but now just three out of five) features the excellent trumpeter Sarah McElcheran and the local legend Jane Fair on tenor and clarinet. The repertoire mostly consists of swing obscurities and Cheatham is delightful during his two vocals (sharing "Baby It's Cold Outside" with the bassist/leader). The performances without Cheatham sound quite a bit more modern, leaning more toward early-'60s hard bop. This well-rounded set has some fine individual moments.~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/youre-a-sweetheart-mw0000536913

Personnel: Doc Cheatham (vocals, trumpet); Rosemary Galloway (vocals); Jane Fair (clarinet, tenor saxophone); Jim Galloway (soprano saxophone, baritone saxophone); Sarah McElcheran (trumpet); Norman Amadio (piano); Don Vickery (drums).

You're a Sweatheart

Billy Taylor - Solo

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1988
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:20
Size: 166,3 MB
Art: Front

(6:52) 1. All the Things You Are
(4:46) 2. A Bientot
(3:47) 3. Handle with Care
(5:13) 4. Old Folks
(4:12) 5. A Tune for Howard to Improvise Upon
(6:41) 6. Cool and Caressing
(5:04) 7. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
(6:09) 8. Yesterdays
(8:11) 9. More Than You Know
(4:49) 10. A Bit of Bedlam
(4:33) 11. For Undine
(5:14) 12. Billy's Beat
(6:44) 13. Gone with the Wind

Other than a pair of obscure albums from 1956, this was Billy Taylor's first solo piano recording. Released by his Taylor-Made label, the music on this CD is consistently colorful. On the opener "All the Things You Are," Taylor plays the first three choruses quite successfully with just his left hand. Other highlights of this straightahead set include the pianist's "A Bit of Bedlam" (one of seven originals among the 13 songs), "More than You Know," "For Undine" and "Billy's Beat." Well worth checking out. ~ Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/solo-mw0000200661

Solo

Ron Carter - Anything Goes

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 33:17
Size: 76,5 MB
Art: Front

(5:20) 1. Anything Goes
(5:45) 2. De Samba
(5:00) 3. Baretta's Theme (Keep Your Eye On The Sparrow)
(5:08) 4. Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)
(6:57) 5. Quarto Azul
(5:06) 6. Big Fro

Recorded in 1975 for Creed Taylor's Kudu imprint, Ron Carter's Anything Goes is a studied and even delightful exercise in the commercial aspect of funky jazz fusion. More interested in extrapolated grooves and pretentious motherchopper riffs, Anything Goes is a borderline disc, and no, that's not a bad thing. Using CTI's masterful, wide-ranging cast of studio players (as well as guests like Phil Woods), Carter cut a record that was as easy to dance to as it was to admire for the quality of its playing and David Matthews' arrangements. The finger-popping funk chart for the title cut as in the tune written by Cole Porter must have been scandalous to jazz pursuits, but so what. It was a finger-popping delight with a great piccolo bassline and solo from Carter, a groovy backing vocal trio, and killer flute work from Hubert Laws. Carter's own fascination with Brazilian samba began about this time in earnest a path he has followed into the 21st century. "De Samba," with its airy guitars courtesy of Eric Gale, Laws' lyrical flute, and Randy Brecker and Alan Rubin's trumpets, is a wonderful, funky jazz extrapolation on the form and is capped by Carter's own smoking bass solo. The read of Dave Grusin's "Baretta's Theme" is pure gritty R&B magic. David Sanborn's wailing alto saxophones play counterpoint to Gale's in-the-pocket chunky chords and fills, and lead the rest of the horn section into an orgy of swaggering funk. The four-horn front line on "Can't Give You Anything," with Woods, Michael and Randy Brecker, and Rubin's transcendent disco-jazz and Carter's fuzzed-out bass stomp, makes it all thump and hum. There's another samba variation on "Quarto Azul" that is a true jazz samba, with elegant playing from Randy Brecker and Gale stretching his own sense of rhythmic interplay on acoustic guitar. The set closes with "Big Fro," another Carter original, that should be on every single funk compilation that comes down the pike. His piccolo bass and the trio of backing vocalists which includes Patti Austin is a sweet, summery groovefest. The hooks just drip from this baby. In all, this is a pumping little record, indicative of a forgotten era, perhaps, but one that also reveals that this period in jazz was not only the black hole that the trad fascists have made it out to be, but was also a fertile, humid era where music like this was the rule rather than the exception.~ Thom Jurek https://www.allmusic.com/album/anything-goes-mw0000477601

Personnel: Alto Saxophone – David Sanborn, Phil Woods; Bass, Arranged By – Ron Carter; Drums – Jimmy Madison, Steve Gadd; Electric Piano – Don Grolnick; Flute – Hubert Laws; Guitar – Eric Gale; Organ – Richard Tee; Tenor Saxophone – Michael Brecker; Trombone – Barry Rogers; Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Alan Rubin, Randy Brecker; Vocals – Maeretha Stewart, Marilyn Jackson, Patti Austin

Anything Goes

Saturday, May 15, 2021

Ruby Braff - This Is My Lucky Day

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1957
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 64:09
Size: 148,1 MB
Art: Front

(7:23) 1. It's Been So Long
(6:04) 2. I'm Comin' Virginia
(6:11) 3. I Can't Get Started
(4:45) 4. Marie
(4:20) 5. I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good
(6:29) 6. There's Something In My Mind
(5:17) 7. Did I Remember
(4:03) 8. Give My Regards To Broadway
(5:05) 9. Willow Weep For Me
(2:26) 10. This Is My Lucky Day
(3:03) 11. Someday You'll Be Sorry
(3:34) 12. Yesterdays
(5:23) 13. The Song Is Ended But The Melody Lingers On

This Bluebird CD reissue brings back seven of the nine selections that trumpeter Ruby Braff recorded with an impressive octet that also included trombonist Benny Morton, clarinetist Pee Wee Russell, tenor-saxophonist Dick Hafer and a rhythm section led by pianist Nat Pierce. The material, superior swing standards highlighted by "It's Been So Long," "I'm Comin' Virginia" and "Did I Remember," features several tributes to the great Bunny Berigan, putting the emphasis on Braff's passionate horn although Russell gets in some of his unique licks. The remainder of this CD reissues half of an earlier LP, the complete session of Aug. 19, 1957. Braff is matched with fellow trumpeter Roy Eldridge for an interesting but slightly inhibited affair; there are few of the expected fireworks between these normally fiery players. Despite the excess of mutual respect, there are quite a few strong moments, particularly on "Give My Regards to Broadway," "This Is My Lucky Day" and "The Song Is Ended."~Scott Yanow https://www.allmusic.com/album/this-is-my-lucky-day-mw0000195234

This Is My Lucky Day

Susie Meissner - I'll Remember April

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:14
Size: 137,9 MB
Art: Front

(6:02) 1. I'll Remember April
(4:40) 2. Never Let Me Go
(3:57) 3. You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To
(4:03) 4. I'm Old Fashioned
(3:10) 5. How Deep Is the Ocean
(4:13) 6. Dreamer
(4:09) 7. What a Wonderful World
(4:05) 8. There's a Small Hotel
(4:15) 9. Meditation
(5:21) 10. I Remember You
(8:08) 11. Little Girl Blue
(6:02) 12. My Foolish Heart
(2:04) 13. They Say It's Wonderful

Susie Meissner is one of those no-frills jazz singers who dot the American landscape. Her voice is pleasant enough; she sings only the best-known or well-worn standards with some Brazilian tunes; and she sticks by the book in terms of arrangements, the author of those charts not being credited. A slight vibrato shades her thin, plain-Jane, girl-next-door sweetheart of a voice, but she takes virtually no risks nor accepts any challenges in making these songs more than they are, or could be. It is good to hear the addition of stellar sidemen like the acclaimed trumpeter Brian Lynch, who always enlivens a session when he's not playing his personal brand of hard to post-bop, or sizzling Afro-Caribbean jazz with Eddie Palmieri.

Alto saxophonist David Mann also appears in a refreshing move toward the mainstream and away from his contemporary commercialized comfort zone. Tenor saxophonist Greg Riley rounds out a fine front line that should do an album on its own. At her most convincing, Meissner sings "I'm Old Fashioned" simply, while "Never Let Me Go" is the softest of ballads and "How Deep Is the Ocean?" is an easy swinging traipse, including a good exchange with Riley. She's most effective on the light samba version of "Dreamer" with the horns cavorting about her, while the very slow take of "Meditation" allows Lynch to unfold his prettily wrapped gifts of melody. "My Foolish Heart" is a livelier bossa with a better concept in adapting this standard to a different arena. The remainder of the material ranges from maudlin to cutesy to lightweight with little distinction. At times Meissner's voice is flat and strained, the song is not suited for her key, or she sounds uninspired and the instrumentalists have to pick up the load. Pianist John Shaddy is a fine addition to the band, but lacks the firepower of the horns. If this is a starting point for Meissner, it's a decent one, although the instrumentalists lift the cachet of this music measurably. She's clearly competent and on the road to being a successful jazz singer. ~ Michael G.Nastos

http://www.allmusic.com/album/ill-remember-april-mw0001741085

I'll Remember April

Meredith d'Ambrosio - Sometime Ago

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:46
Size: 122,4 MB
Art: Front

(6:30) 1. When Springtime Turns To Fall
(5:45) 2. Feast Your Eyes
(6:16) 3. Moonlight
(4:57) 4. Sometime Ago
(5:15) 5. May I Come In
(4:27) 6. I Wished On The Moon
(4:09) 7. My Open Heart
(5:11) 8. I Remember You
(5:03) 9. Oh Well, What The Hell
(5:09) 10. If I Should Lose You

Boston born Meredith d'Ambrosio, a renaissance woman of international critical acclaim, has successfully combined careers in the musical and visual arts. Her musical sojourn began in 1958 in Boston singing with small bands with Roger Kellaway on piano. Although she worked primarily as a jazz singer-pianist she is also known as a respected calligrapher, watercolorist, creator of eggshell mosaics, composer, lyricist, recording artist and teacher.

She branched out into NYC in 1981, and since that time has been touring extensively throughout North America and Europe performing with such musicians as Harold Danko, Bob Dorough, Dave Frishberg, Fred Hersch, Eddie Higgins, Dick Hyman, Hank Jones, Lee Musiker, Mike Renzi, Richard Wyands, Milt Hinton, Major Holley, Jay Leonhart, Michael Moore, George Mraz, Rufus Reid, Leroy Vinnegar, Buddy DeFranco, Harry Allen, Lee Konitz, Ken Peplowski, Phil Woods, Jack Sheldon, Don Sickler, Al Grey, Johnny Frigo, Gene Bertoncini, Kevin Eubanks, Joe Ascione, Terry Clarke, Keith Copeland, Jake Hanna, Butch Miles and Ben Riley to name a few.

Meredith d'Ambrosio continues to delight those who have come to expect a high degree of proficiency in her artistic offerings and has shown herself to be, if not an iconoclast, one who is comfortable enough with her own sense of self to challenge the mainstream concept of popularity without sacrificing considerable talents and originality.

"To listen to d'Ambrosio is to abandon oneself to her charm. She leaves you spellbound with her impeccable diction, great sense of phrasing, intonation, and gentle swing, showing an unaffected simplicity and inner lyricism that expresses more than all the high-soaring excesses of scat singers."

(Serge Baudot, Jazz Hot, France)"Her secret,one shared by very few singers, is her ability to deliver the meaning of a lyric in her understated and hip-as-can-be way. "George Fendel,Portland Jazzscene)https://meredithdambrosio.com/bio/

Personnel: Meredith d'Ambrosio - vocals; Randy Halberstadt - piano; Daryl Johns - bass; Steve Johns - drums; Don Sickler - flugelhorn (4) & muted trumpet (9)

Sometime Ago

Friday, May 14, 2021

Lela Kaplowitz - To One

Styles: Vocal And Piano Jazz
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:29
Size: 135,5 MB
Art: Front

( 4:04) 1. Liila
( 4:39) 2. Human Tapestry
( 5:03) 3. You Gave Me the Wings
( 4:27) 4. Everything Is Possible
( 4:42) 5. Love Is All There Is
( 3:59) 6. 300 Years of Silence
( 5:12) 7. Dreamland
( 4:32) 8. You Will See
( 5:44) 9. With Every Breath
( 5:58) 10. Love Prayer
(10:05) 11. Chant to One

Lela Kaplowitz gives something artistic to the world. It makes people look at the ordinary things in a new way. It stimulates them to see with a new perspective. Lela’s flood of creativity changes people’s lives for the better and raises beauty out of ordinary daily life. Lela’s mission is to stimulate, to entertain, to show beauty. She is a success because she loves her calling.

Lela began professionally singing at 16. She studied vocal improvisation with Sheila Jordan at the Jazz Conservatorium in Graz, Austria, and later in New York with world-renowned jazz musicians like Jay Clayton, Mark Murphy, Barry Harris, and Kate McGarry.

She also attended the Berklee Summer Music Workshop in Perugia, Italy, and studied at the New School in New York. Lela continues to study at Berklee Music online and with acclaimed vocal coach Dot Todman from LA.

She performed and recorded with prominent musicians and during the five years of her life in New York City, Lela was heard and seen at the most prominent places of the American musical history. In Europe, she travelled and performed in most prominent European jazz clubs and festivals.

In 2009, Lela won the title “Lady Summertime” at the one of the largest female vocal jazz competitions in the world in Kaajani, Finland. She recorded a few albums and appeared on several as a guest vocalist

On September 19th 2019she performed at the world renowned Carnegie Hall in New York City promoting her newest album “To One” published by Parma Recordings.

A piece of that concert's spirit she will bring to Lisinski and share with her audience. https://www.lisinski.hr/en/events/lela-kaplowitz-br-to-one/

On her concert she will be backed by a four-piece ensemble: Joe Kaplowitz –piano, organ; Elvis Penava – guitar; Vladimir Samardžic – bass; Dado Marinkovic – drums

To One

Doc Cheatham & Rosemary Galloway - Chu Chu Wa Wa

Styles: Vocal, Trumpet Jazz
Year: 1993
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:05
Size: 115,1 MB
Art: Front

(2:57) 1. Smokey Mary
(5:26) 2. You're a Sweetheart
(5:58) 3. Under the Moonlight Starlight Blue
(4:11) 4. Two Time Man
(4:09) 5. Quinn And Sonic
(3:23) 6. Eccentric
(5:05) 7. A Shine On Your Shoes
(4:56) 8. Judy
(5:14) 9. Just An Old Manuscript
(3:26) 10. Baby It's Cold Outside
(4:14) 11. Chu Chu Wa Wa

Doc Cheatham was without question the greatest 90-year old trumpeter of all time; in fact, no brass player over the age of 80 had ever played with his power, range, confidence, and melodic creativity. Most trumpeters fade while in their 60s due to the physical difficulty of their instrument, but Cheatham did not truly find himself as a soloist until he was nearly 70. Doc Cheatham's career reaches back to the early '20s, when he played in vaudeville theaters backing such traveling singers as Bessie Smith and Clara Smith. He moved to Chicago, recorded with Ma Rainey (on soprano sax), played with Albert Wynn, subbed for Louis Armstrong (his main idol), and had his own group in 1926. After stints with Wilbur DeParis and Chick Webb, he toured Europe with Sam Wooding. Due to his wide range and pretty tone, Cheatham worked as a non-soloing first trumpeter with McKinney's Cotton Pickers and Cab Calloway throughout the 1930s.

He spent time with Teddy Wilson's big band, and was with the commercially successful Eddie Heywood Sextet (backing Billie Holiday on some recordings). In the 1950s, Cheatham alternated between Dixieland (Wilbur DeParis, guest spots with Eddie Condon) and Latin bands (Perez Prado, Herbie Mann). He was with Benny Goodman during 1966-1967, but it was not until the mid-'70s that Cheatham felt truly comfortable as a soloist. Duet sets with pianist Sammy Price launched his new career, and until his death in 1997, he recorded fairly prolifically including dates for Sackville, New York Jazz, Parkwood, Stash, GHB, Columbia, and several European labels. Cheatham was also a charming singer whose half-spoken, half-sung vocals took nothing away from his chance-taking trumpet flights. Bio ~ https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/doc-cheatham/id130548#fullText

Personnel: Doc Cheatham (vocals, trumpet); Rosemary Galloway (vocals); Jane Fair (clarinet, tenor saxophone); Jim Galloway (soprano saxophone, baritone saxophone); Sarah McElcheran (trumpet); Norman Amadio (piano); Don Vickery (drums).

Chu Chu Wa Wa

Thursday, May 13, 2021

Susie Meissner - I Wish I Knew

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:33
Size: 142,0 MB
Art: Front

(6:08) 1. The Great City
(5:13) 2. I Wish I Knew
(3:20) 3. It Could Happen to You
(5:31) 4. I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face
(6:20) 5. Poinciana
(7:00) 6. Alfie
(3:39) 7. Hello Young Lovers
(3:39) 8. The Theme from "The Sandpiper" (The Shadow of Your Smile)
(5:48) 9. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
(3:23) 10. In a Mellow Tone
(8:20) 11. You Go to My Head
(3:07) 12. The Party's Over

Over the past decade and three previous recordings, Philadelphia-based vocalist Susie Meissner has crafted an intelligently conceived and thoughtfully paced survey of the Great American Songbook. Meissner's considerations of the standard jazz repertoire, in concert with pianist John Shaddy's sturdy arrangements and educated performance manner, have emerged, evolving from chaste and reverent beginnings, into rich and supple layerings of stylistic and technical outreach with each subsequent recording.

Meissner's debut, I'll Remember April (Lydian Jazz, 2009), emerged as a fully realized collection of the most standard of standards. Whether a strolling "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" or a languidly humid "Never Let Me Go," Meissner delivered the goods with a clear-bell tone and brightly quaffed control. The addition of a tenor saxophone (David Mann) and trumpet (Greg Riley) to her solid rhythm section rounded out the routine mainstream jazz combo, who proved capable of close reading of The Songbook.

On I'm Confessin' (Lydian Jazz, 2011), Meissner adds her earlier horn front with Wycliffe Gordon's solid trombone. Gordon brought his deep knowledge of 1920s through '40s popular music to the project providing that slight sepia tint to the music. Meissner remains in close orbit with better known standards, delivered with the same commanding confidence delivered on I'll Remember April. The singer embraces Duke Ellington and Hoagy Carmichael with equal fervor and authority.

Meissner's vision evolves and, at the same time, begins to quicken, on 2015's Tea for Two (Lydian Jazz), where the singer begins to mix things up beginning with a rare slow take on the title song, featuring the electronic valve instrument of John Swanna. The EVI updates the song in a surprising way, giving it just a nick of modernity within its shell of nostalgia. She also brings on the reeds of Ken Peplowski and Larry McKenna who ground the recital firmly in the mainstream. This is a nocturnal recording anchored by "Moonlight Saving Time" and "Moonglow." Peplowski and McKenna strike the necessary conservative tone to counter Swanna's progressive stance.

Meissner's band from Tea for Two is kept mostly intact on I Wish I Knew with the exception of drummer Byron Landham replacing Dan Monaghan at the trap set. This is not the only change. Meissner adjusts her repertoire outside of the tried and true to include the peripheral chestnuts like the opener "The Great City." The Curtis Lewis composition was first recorded by Nancy Wilson in 1960, showing up most recently on Lauren Henderson's Ármame (Brontosaurus Records, 2018). Meissner minds Art Peppers admonition to never start a set with a ballad. "The Great City" crackles with a steady and determined swing featuring her equally steady and determined delivery. John Swanna's clipped trumpet solo mimics the urban stop-and-go of city life.

But I Wish I Knew is equally a ballad recording featuring the title song, "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face," and "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye." All of these are performed with punctilious detail at blissful ballad tempos. "You Go to My Head" is the "Tea for Two" on I Wish I Knew. Meissner takes the song at a very slow pace. Not morphine-honey slow, buy reticent in a way that is carefully crafted like fine spirits. This is the song featuring Swana's EVI, which, like on "Tea for Two" he performs to great effect, approximating the tone of the flute and delivery of a Moog. The disc highlight is a brisk and bright "In A Mellow Tone." Ken Peplowski provides the perfect swing foil to Meissner's down-the-middle delivery. Slippery and sly, Peplowski recalls the entire history of jazz clarinet in his solo, from Johnny Dodds to Buddy DeFranco. Meissner sounds perfectly comfortable in her foray into lesser considered standards. She is moving toward something significant, something of an enduring beauty, a testament to her vision.~ C. MICHAEL BAILEY https://www.allaboutjazz.com/i-wish-i-knew-susie-meissner-lydian-jazz

Personnel: Susie Meissner: voice / vocals; John Shaddy: piano; Lee Smith: bass; Byron Landham: drums; Ken Peplowski: clarinet; Larry McKenna: saxophone, tenor; John Swanna: trombone; Paul Meyers: guitar.

I Wish I Knew

Hiromi Kanda - Seven Elegant Ballads

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 25:58
Size: 60,0 MB
Art: Front

(4:17) 1. A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square
(3:55) 2. Moonlight in Vermont
(2:55) 3. Around the World
(3:39) 4. Days of Yesterday
(3:44) 5. Smile
(4:20) 6. Don't Blame Me
(3:06) 7. Twilight Tears

Seven Elegant Ballads opens with “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square,” written in 1939. Hiromi makes it her own in this expansive rendition, which, she says, was inspired by Marc Chagall’s painting “Lovers in the Red Sky.” Says Hiromi, “I love the brilliant world he creates in that painting, and the lyrics of ‘A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square’ remind me of it. Plus, it’s just fun to sing.” “Moonlight in Vermont,” written in 1944, is “a very romantic love ballad that evokes the winter,” says Hiromi. “I love the image of the lines ‘Icy finger waves, ski trails on a mountainside, snow light in Vermont.’” “Around the World” is the theme from the 1956 film Around the World in 80 Days. Once again, Kanda puts her own stamp on it, exploring the cinematic qualities of the tune with great flourish. “I sing this song as if I’m a traveler on a beautiful hot-air balloon,” she says. The first of the album’s two originals, “Days of Yesterday,” is next in the sequence.

Both it and “Twilight Tears,” which closes out the recording, were composed by Hiromi and Hoguchi, a famous Japanese composer, arranger, studio musician and lyricist, who is also Hiromi’s husband. Both songs appeared earlier on Hiromi’s Days of Yesterday album, and she felt the two sentimental love ballads deserved another go on the new project, in order to spotlight Hoguchi’s talents. “He is a marvelous composer and arranger, who knows and respects the Great American Songbook,” she says. “The original songs create a nice balance in the album. I believe it is important to keep this style fresh by creating new songs in that vein.” Two other classics fill out the track list. “Smile,” with music by the great Charlie Chaplin, is “a very lovely song and it gives me courage,” Hiromi says. “Joe Sample’s piano playing on this track is just wonderful.” Finally, there’s “Don’t Blame Me,” from 1933. “This is the first time I’ve sung the song,” she says. “I feel like it’s coming out of an old radio when I hear it.” Hiromi says that the time spent in Hollywood recording Seven Elegant Ballads with such an illustrious cast of contributors was “thrilling, and I’m very proud of it. We had a dream that someday we would create wonderful music in the U.S. That dream has now come true several times over the years. I hope listeners enjoy entering my romantic music world in Seven Elegant Ballads.” https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/seven-elegant-ballads-hiromi-kanda

Seven Elegant Ballads