Rossano Sportiello - Piano On My Mind

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:20
Size: 166,1 MB
Art: Front

(2:40) 1. Down Stream
(3:35) 2. You Took Advantage Of Me
(4:03) 3. Blowin' Up
(4:30) 4. I Cover The Waterfront
(4:31) 5. Cheek To Cheek
(3:35) 6. Sweet Lorraine
(3:57) 7. The Best Thing For You
(3:24) 8. That's All
(4:40) 9. Tenderly
(7:46) 10. Detroit Medley
(2:22) 11. Echoes Of Spring
(5:06) 12. Oh, Lady, Be Good
(4:59) 13. Bluesale
(4:20) 14. Tangerine
(2:39) 15. Sunny Morning
(3:41) 16. Body And Soul
(2:26) 17. All God's Chillun Got Rhythm
(2:57) 18. Flashes

Beiderbecke admired; his "Down Stream" opens this solo second CD by the young Italian pianist Rossano Sportiello as a peaceful atmospheric etude. "Blowin' Up" is the pianist's own, featuring a boppish theme with a running left hand. It slips into a string of ballads, "You Took Advantage of Me" to "The Best Thing for You," causing a sparkle without ruffling the mood. After the ballads comes a piece in medium tempo: "That's All" in a swing to bop style, with walking, ambling, and trotting basses, long left hand runs, and a manual gear-change for just a breath of classic stride. A miraculous touch keeps everything moving and coloured. Sportiello manages alternations of pace with exceptional fluency.

"Detroit Medley" is a sequence of three themes by Tommy Flanagan ("Dalarna"), Hank Jones with Coleman Hawkins ("Angel Face"), and Barry Harris ("Nascimento"), one of Rossano Sportiello's mentors. The demonstration of intimate affinities is followed by Willie the Lion Smith's "Echoes of Spring," which achieves amazing stillness. Even "Lady Be Good" is taken for a fair stretch at ballad tempo before the pace picks up. There's even some Monkish stride before a passage of straight medium-fast stride in a performance which also demonstrates puissant stride left hand.

"Bluesale" is the pianist's own twelve-bar theme as if he reincarnates some undeservedly forgotten pianist around from the 1940s, a species always neglected on record with a rare command of tone and an ability to phrase across or suspend the beat. The theme of Teddy Wilson's "Sunny Morning" sounds a tad boppish here. The composition is Wilson's encapsulation of his own style, whose rhythmic underpinnings were very different from the stride basis of the Sportiello style. The pianist maintains his own rhythmic distinctiveness here, which on the Wilson number makes for intriguing complexity.

Restrained master stride makes its appearance in "All God's Chillun Got Rhythm" in, well, amazing flashes. To make a graceless transition of a sort not on this CD, Eastwood Lane was, it seems, somewhere in the background when Beiderbecke composed "Flashes." He never himself record it, but he might have played it as strictly in tempo as he did "In a Mist." By the time of the 1935 premiere recording by Bix's friend Jess Stacy, jazz rhythm had loosened up, and Stacy's take is still well worth hearing.

This rendition has the singular Sportiello flexibility and flow, maintaining the same pulse which is audible through this relaxed set. Sportiello is among the least showy of pianists of such huge technical accomplishment. When a lot of notes come along, he phrases them with the dynamic command of an old master hornman or, among the pianists who are heroes to Rossano Sportiello, John Bunch.By Robert R. Calder
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/piano-on-my-mind-rossano-sportiello-jazz-connaisseur-review-by-robert-r-calder

Personnel: Rossano Sportiello: piano.

Piano On My Mind

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The Tierney Sutton Band - The Sting Variations

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:55
Size: 155,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:46)  1. Driven to Tears
(5:53)  2. If You Love Somebody Set Them Free
(6:16)  3. Seven Days
(4:37)  4. Shadows in the Rain
(3:49)  5. Walking in Your Footsteps
(4:36)  6. Fragile/The Gentle Rain
(4:25)  7. Message in a Bottle
(4:45)  8. Fields of Gold
(4:03)  9. Fortress Around Your Heart
(5:07) 10. Language of Birds
(3:01) 11. Every Little Thing He Does Is Magic
(4:46) 12. Every Breath You Take (Lullabye)
(4:11) 13. Synchronicity I
(5:35) 14. Consider Me Gone

The Sting Variations is a logical follow up to seven-time Grammy nominee Tierney Sutton's solo album After Blue, in which Tierney Sutton re-imagined Joni Mitchell's iconic album Blue. This time, the full ensemble "The Tierney Sutton Band" returns with their unique interpretation of the best of Sting's diverse repertoire. "The Sting Variations" continues the band's history of their remarkably creative exploration of well-known songs. Embracing both massive hits and more obscure, deep album tracks from Sting’s catalog, The Sting Variations is the latest studio triumph from a group that has toured the world, and in recent years has headlined at the Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and Jazz at Lincoln Center. Tierney and the band can also be heard on movie and television soundtracks, including the Academy Award-nominated film The Cooler, as well as on television commercials for prestigious brands such as BMW, Green Giant, Yoplait yogurt and Coca-Cola. Most recently, the band scored Clint Eastwood’s new film Sully. Imbued with immense talent and a genuine love for music and people, Tierney Sutton’s voice is one that transcends stylistic boundaries, touching the hearts of all who hear it. http://www.bfmjazz.com/index.php/artists/tierney-sutton-band/sting-variations/sting-variations-one-sheet
 

Musicians:  Tierney Sutton – Vocals;  Christian Jacob – Piano;  Kevin Axt – Bass;  Ray Brinker - Drums, Percussion

The Sting Variations

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Mike Richmond Cello Quartet - The Pendulum

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:57
Size: 152,3 MB
Art: Front

(6:43)  1. The Pendulum At Falcon's Lair
(6:21)  2. Cello Again
(8:59)  3. Two Litle Pearls
(6:18)  4. Laverne Walk
(7:28)  5. Why Not? That's What!
(7:00)  6. Tricotism
(7:32)  7. Tamalpais Love Song To The Winds
(6:39)  8. My Little Cello
(8:53)  9. Oscalypso

Not a record with four cellos in the lead but a set that features bassist Mike Richmond picking up the instrument in a glittering tribute to the genius of Oscar Pettiford! The set features all Pettiford compositions, played by a swinging group that features Peter Zak on piano, Jay Anderson on bass, and Billy Drummond on drums players who provide a warm core while Richmond mostly plucks the cello, and uses the instrument in wonderfully melodic ways that mixture of deep groove and lyrical swing that Pettiford brought to his most unique recordings of the 50s. Zak's piano has a harder bite, which makes for a nice contrast in tones and titles include "Why Not That's What", "Laverne Walk", "Cello Again", "The Pendulum At Falcon's Lair", "My Little Cello", "Tamalpais Love Song To The Winds", and "Oscalypso".  

© 1996-2018, Dusty Groove, Inc. https://www.dustygroove.com/item/837788/Mike-Richmond-Cello-Quartet:Pendulum

Personnel:  Mike Richmond (cello); Peter Zak (piano); Jay Anderson (bass); Billy Drummond (drums).

The Pendulum

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Nicki Parrott - Misty

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:46
Size: 140,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:37) 1. Whatever Lola Wants
(5:07) 2. Misty
(5:03) 3. Bewitched, Botheered ad Bewildered
(4:25) 4. Old Devil Moon
(5:17) 5. The Nearness Of You
(3:33) 6. Ddestination Moon
(4:55) 7. Good Morning Heartache
(3:28) 8. Girl Talk
(3:31) 9. Big Spender
(3:14) 10. Never Let Me Go
(4:07) 11. It's Love
(5:34) 12. Everything Must Change
(4:59) 13. Here's To Life
(3:50) 14. At Last

Nicki Parrott, an internationally acclaimed bassist, arrived in New York in May of 1994, the recipient of a grant from the Australia Council for the Arts allowing her travel to the US and study with her mentor, one of the world’s premiere double bassists, Rufus Reid. In the same year she was also nominated for the “Australian Young Achievers Award”.

Today, Nicki Parrott is a world-class double bassist and an emerging singer/songwriter. In her work with artists from around the globe she has brought a signature sound to every bass part she has played. She performs regularly at the world’s best Jazz Festivals and can be seen Monday’s at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City with the legendary guitarist and inventor, Les Paul. Since June of 2000, this union has been an ideal showcase for her musical abilities, flair for improv, and gift for entertaining a crowd.

Born in Newcastle, Australia, Nicki Parrott began her musical training on the piano at the age of four. She also took up the flute and continued to play both instruments throughout her school years. At the age of 15, Nicki switched her focus to the double bass, formed a band with her older sister Lisa (alto sax) and began composing instrumental pieces that they would eventually record for their premier CD release, The Awabakal Suite (2001).

After completing high school, Nicki moved to Sydney and attended the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music, where she graduated with an Associates degree in Jazz Studies. When bassists such as the legendary Ray Brown (Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson) and John Clayton (Diana Krall, Whitney Houston) were playing in town, Nicki would find them, contact them and arrange lessons from them. She was awarded a scholarship to the prestigious Pan Pacific Music Camp, and soon after, took first place in the 1992 Jazz Action Society's Annual Song Competition for her composition, Come and Get It.

In 1990, Nicki began touring Australia with Russian musicians Daniel Kramer and Alexander Fischer playing sold out shows across the country. This was followed by successful tours with American trumpeters Bobby Shew and Chuck Findley. When she was off the road, Nicki was consistently playing bass with other world-renowned jazz musicians like New Zealand’s Mike Nock (piano), Australia's Dale Barlow (tenor sax), Paul Grabowsky (piano), Bernie McGann (alto sax) and the explosive Ten Part Invention.

In May of 2002, The Nicki and Lisa Parrott Quartet headlined the prestigious Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival held at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. The show was broadcast on NPR and was well received by the press. She was also the resident bassist with the Kitchen House Blend, a house band that premiered and performed new music from local New York composers. They would blend jazz, hip-hop, classical and rock in one evening...“It was a very creative experience”.

Nicki expanded her musical repertoire and appeared on the Broadway stage in such shows as: Imaginary Friends, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, Summer of '42, and Jekyll and Hyde. She is still active on Broadway today and regularly performs in the comedic musical, Avenue Q.

Since coming to the United States Nicki Parrott has performed and/or recorded with such notable musicians as Randy Brecker, Skitch Henderson, Jose Feliciano, Rebecca Paris, Bucky Pizzarelli, John Pizzarelli, Warren Vache Jr., Clark Terry, Michel Legrand, Billy Taylor, Dick Hyman, Patti Labelle & the New York Pops Orchestra, Annie Ross, the Florida Pops Orchestra, Terri Thornton, Holly Hoffman, DIVA, Marlena Shaw, Monica Mancini, Patrice Rushen, Harry Allen, Red Holloway, Kenny Davern, Mike Stern, Bernard Purdie, John Tropea, David Krakauer, Howard Alden, Randy Sandke, Greg Osby, Jack Wilkins, Ken Peplowski, Johnny Frigo, Joe Wilder, Houston Person, Wycliffe Gordon, Rachel Z and Johnny Varro.

Nicki has also performed at most of the world’s major jazz festivals. In the United States she’s appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival (2005), the Litchfield Jazz festival (2005), the Jazz in July concert series at the 92nd street Y (2003, 2004), the Detroit Jazz Festival (2005) and the Lionel Ha mpton Jazz Festival (2001).

Outside the USA Nicki has appeared at the Cully Lavaux Festival (Switzerland - 1995), the Grimsby Jazz Festival (UK - 1996), Berlin Jazz Festival (Germany - 1998), the Ottawa Jazz Festival (2004), the Krakow Music Festival (Poland), JazzAscona (2005, 2006), Bern Jazz Festivals (Switzerland - 2005, 2006), Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival (UK - 2006) and of course, she has played at numerous music festivals across Australia.

Nicki Parrott is committed to the continuing musical education women receive in order to further their careers and ultimately remain active as musicians past their teen years. In keeping with her sense of community, Nicki’s desire is to teach underprivileged kids to play instruments and learn to enjoy music. It is her belief t hat teaching music to children helps keep them interested in school and out of trouble.
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/nicki-parrott

Misty

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Ella Fitzgerald - Sweet And Lovely

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2022
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 68:44
Size: 158,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:13) 1. Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love)
(4:00) 2. These Boots Are Made For Walking
(4:25) 3. Here's That Rainy Day
(3:32) 4. Summertime
(5:19) 5. It Don't Mean A Thing
(8:18) 6. Jazz Samba
(4:33) 7. Mack The Knife
(4:35) 8. The Midnight Sun Never Sets
(3:17) 9. Goin' Out Of My Head
(4:06) 10. Sweet And Lovely
(3:59) 11. Misty
(2:53) 12. 'S Wonderful
(6:50) 13. St. Louis Blues
(8:36) 14. How High The Moon

Recognized worldwide as “The First Lady of Song,” Ella Fitzgerald is arguably the finest female jazz vocalist of all time. Blessed with a highly resonant voice, wide range, and near-perfect elocution, Fitzgerald also possessed a deft sense of swing, and with her brilliant scat technique, could hold her own against any of her instrumental contemporaries.

She came to initial popularity as a member of drummer Chick Webb’s band in the 1930s, scoring a hit with a “A-Tisket, A-Tasket,” before ascending to wide acclaim in the 1940s with Jazz at the Philharmonic and Dizzy Gillespie’s Big Band, and issuing landmark performances like “Flying Home” and “How High the Moon.” Working with producer/manager Norman Granz, she gained even more acclaim with her series of albums on Verve, recording definitive versions of the music of the Great American Songbook composers, including 1956’s Sings the Cole Porter Songbook.

Over her 50-year career, she earned 13 Grammy Awards, sold over 40 million albums, and picked up numerous accolades including a National Medal of Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. A hugely important cultural figure, Fitzgerald made an immeasurable impact on the development of jazz and popular music, and remains a touchstone for fans and artists decades after her passing.
https://jazzbluesnews.com/2022/12/09/cd-review-ella-fitzgerald-sweet-and-lovely-2022-video-cd-cover/

Sweet And Lovely

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Ed Calle - Soulful Nights

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2022
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 48:22
Size: 112,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:36) 1. Golden Hills
(4:22) 2. Inner City Blues
(4:13) 3. Faces In The Clouds
(4:50) 4. Golden Lady
(3:40) 5. River Of Dreams
(4:03) 6. Where The Rainbow Ends
(5:55) 7. You're My Everything
(3:46) 8. I Say A Little Prayer
(4:01) 9. What You Won't Do For Love
(3:58) 10. Desert Rose
(5:54) 11. Eres Todo En Mi

Miami’s Ed Calle has been dazzling audiences with his bountiful musical gifts for about a quarter of a century. From the start, it was obvious that he was a natural player and now, at 39, Calle has been heard on thousands of recordings both as a sideman and a soloist, and his resume includes tour dates with some of the biggest names in the business.

Even if Calle’s name is unfamiliar to you, it is guaranteed that you have heard his music. His fiery tenor has graced the work of Gloria Estefan from the earliest days of the Miami Sound Machine, and he’s heard on Grammy-award-winning recordings by Arturo Sandoval, Vicky Carr and pop singer Jon Secada. You have also heard him with Julio Iglesias, Vanessa Williams, Bob James, Frank Sinatra and many others, as well as on television and in motion picture soundtracks. The man is not only gifted, but versatile whether it be rock, jazz or pop. Calle has done it all and done it well. His newest album is Soulful Nights (2022), which is ready to be streamed on all digital platforms.
https://smoothjazzdaily.wordpress.com/2022/08/23/ed-calle-soulful-nights/

Soulful Nights

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John Coltrane & Archie Shepp - New Thing At Newport

Styles: Saxophone And Piano Jazz
Year: 1966
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:03
Size: 151,5 MB
Art: Front

( 1:08) 1. Spoken Introduction To John Coltrane's Set By Father Norman O'connor
(12:44) 2. One Down, One Up
(15:21) 3. My Favorite Things
( 2:02) 4. Spoken Introduction To Archie Shepp's Set By Billy Taylor
(10:28) 5. Gingerbread, Gingerbread Boy
( 6:43) 6. Call Me By My Rightful Name
( 3:26) 7. Scag
( 5:49) 8. Rufus (Swung His Face At Last To The Wind, Then His Neck Snapped)
( 8:19) 9. Le Matin Des Noire

What better place than the Newport Jazz Festival, a historically tight-laced and conservative jazz forum, for the quartets of Coltrane and Shepp to pour out their soulful selves as libations for the masses? Prior to this 1963 concert the festival’s track record with adventurous jazz fare was checkered at best. Monk and Giuffre had played there in previous years, but the focus was undeniably on the accessible and the mainstream. Things had become so skewed that Charles Mingus, Max Roach felt obligated to organize a concurrent festival of their own in protest and were given the sobriquet The Newport Rebels. Coltrane’s immense popularity made him the perfect candidate to breach Newport’s defenses and in typical benevolent fashion he brought a host of his associates in tow for a unified siege on the senses and sensibilities of the audience. What a spectacle it must have been. Fortunately the tape machines were rolling.

As if in deference to the Newport jazz community’s naïveté toward the New Thing embarrassingly banal comments from Father Norman O’Conner preface and append Trane’s performance. The so-called ‘jazz priest’ demonstrates his ignorance by referring to Elvin Jones as a ‘kind of a newcomer to the world jazz.’ Mercifully his introductions are brief and the quartet works up a lengthy lather on “One Down, One Up” before launching into a burning rundown of “My Favorite Things.” Compared to other concert recordings by the quartet the first piece is just below par, though there’s still plenty of incendiary fireworks ignited by the four on second. Coltrane’s upper register tenor solo becomes so frenetic on “One Down, One Up” that there are moments where he moves off mic, but his soprano work on “My Favorite Things” is nothing short of astonishing, a blur of swirling harmonics that threatens split his horn asunder.

After Coltrane and crew have sufficiently anointed the Newport crowd in a monsoon of New Thing sentiments it’s Shepp’s turn. His set is a different bag, brimming with political overtones and barely contained dysphoria and his sound on tenor is an arresting amalgam of raspy coarseness and delicate lyricism. Hutcherson’s glowing vibes knit gossamer webs around the rhythmically free center accorded by Phillips and Chambers. It all comes to boil on the haunting “Scag” a tone poem fueled by Phillips acerbic bow, Hutcherson’s ghostly patterns and Shepp’s bone dry recitation that captures the loneliness of a junkie’s desperation. The stuttering starts and stops of “Rufus” carry the feeling of cultural dislocation even further referencing the brutality and finality of a lynching through musical means. Shepp and his partners were pulling no punches in exposing the captive audience to their art. A low-flying plane disrupts the opening of “Le Matin des Noire,” but the four players quickly regain direction and sink into a lush Noirish vamp that carries the tune to a close.

This new version of the disc marks the first time the original 3-track tapes of the concert have been remastered and they are given the royal treatment through 24-bit digital transfers. Also included for the first time is a beautiful facsimile of the Shepp album cover picturing the saxophonist with song charts and horn.By Derek Taylor
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/new-thing-at-newport-john-coltrane-impulse-review-by-derek-taylor

Players: John Coltrane- soprano & tenor saxophones; McCoy Tyner- piano; Jimmy Garrison- bass; Elvin Jones- drums; Archie Shepp - tenor saxophone, recitation; Bobby Hutcherson - vibraphone; Barre Phillips- bass; Joe Chambers - drums.

New Thing At Newport 1965

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Dave Scott - Song for Alice

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:36
Size: 159,7 MB
Art: Front

(15:51) 1. Ralph Retired
(10:33) 2. Song For Alice
(12:48) 3. Indifference
( 8:29) 4. Venus At Dusk
( 9:00) 5. KC Swingin'
(12:52) 6. Indistinct Chatter

New York scene’s stalwart composer and trumpeter Dave Scott has been leading three separate groups for more than a decade. On this his 7th SteepleChase album Dave chose his quintet as an ideal vehicle for his new compositions intended to provide free improvisation for each performer to spread his wings to the fullest.https://www.jazzmessengers.com/en/94697/dave-scott/song-for-alice

Personnel: Dave Scott - (trumpet); Rich Perry - (tenor saxophone); Gary Versace - (piano); Johannes Weidenmuller - (bass); Mark Ferber - (drums)

Song for Alice

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Gunhild Carling and Her Swing Band - That's My Desire

Styles: Swing, Vocal
Year: 2002
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:59
Size: 136,3 MB
Art: Front

(4:08) 1. Sheik Of Araby
(6:20) 2. That's My Desire
(4:16) 3. Do the Hucklebuck
(4:59) 4. Caravan
(3:38) 5. Bei Mir Bist Du Schön
(3:20) 6. Lover
(5:29) 7. Otchi Tchornya
(4:01) 8. Wabash Blues
(2:52) 9. Undecided
(5:09) 10. Stardust
(3:35) 11. They All Laughted
(5:23) 12. Girl From Ipanema
(5:43) 13. Cabaret

Swedish musical sensation Gunhild Carling is an internationally acclaimed superstar whose show is a can’t-miss event! Whether she’s singing favorite swinging jazz standards, playing one of many instruments (trumpet, trombone, harmonica, oboe, harp, flute, recorder, or jazz bagpipe!) or juggling and tap dancing, Gunhild’s sublime showmanship shines. And just wait for the finale – spoiler alert – she plays three trumpets at once!

Carling competed as a celebrity dancer in Let’s Dance 2014 on TV4 placing third. Was also on Sweden’s Dancing with The Stars. Gunhild performed for Sweden’s Got Talent in 2017 and this year she is currently on America’s Got Talent season 2019.

She recently performed with her 'Carling Big Band' at the Royal Palace in Stockholm in the celebration for King Carl XVI Gustaf's Ruby Jubilee. Performing such great memorable vintage songs such as "Minnie the Moocher," "Sweet Georgia Brown," "All of Me," "It Had to Be You," and an endless repertoire of songs, Gunhild masterfully takes you back to another era like a time machine.

Between Touring with her own band, she performs in several configurations from solo to orchestra to symphony and as a featured singer and multi-instrumentalist in several of Postmodern Jukebox's songs, including a 1920s jazz swing version of "Material Girl", and a 1920s hot jazz cover of ABBA's "Dancing Queen”. Gunhild Carling keeps serenading audiences in the US and all around the world today.
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/gunhild-carling

That's My Desire

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Donald Byrd - Live: Cookin' with Blue Note at Montreux

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
Year: 2022
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 45:25
Size: 104,6 MB
Art: Front

( 8:11) 1. Black Byrd
( 7:42) 2. You've Got It Bad Girl
( 9:19) 3. The East
( 2:58) 4. Introductions
(11:50) 5. Kwame
( 5:22) 6. Poco-mania

With the release of his chart-topping, funk-fueled Black Byrd in 1973, Donald Byrd found himself in a volatile place in jazz circles. He was being hailed as having finally stepped out of Miles Davis' considerable shadow, while simultaneously many found the album to be Byrd's selling out his bop legacy for chart success. As most defining artistic moments reveal, a little of both were true.

Produced and arranged by the brothers Fonce Mizelland Larry Mizell, Black Byrd incorporated Motown's universal sense of rhythm and groove with the upfront horns and the then-nascent cosmic sounds of synthesizers and electric pianos. Perhaps it was just a little too much too soon. And perhaps none of this bothered Byrd at all. He just went on about his creative business like true creatives do, determined and undaunted.

So putting a band together and getting the grit before the people was the mission of that summer, and at Montreux Byrd and his small army took the beachhead. With "Shaft" like grooves and urgent funk methodology of equal parts rock insurgency (Sly and the Family Stone), electric Miles Davis, and genre-bending Herbie Hancock, to say the heat starts high and cookin' just about says it all.

Set for first time release on what would have been the trumpeter's 90th birthday (December 9, 2022), Donald Byrd Live: Cookin' with Blue Note at Montreux is a previously unheard, electric, fire breathing set from the Montreux Jazz Festival, July 5, 1973, that blazes in early fusion glory. A fierce and relentless percolation spikes the opening "Black Byrd" and the set simmers close to a boil thereafter. With the Mizell brothers beside him on their respective synths and horns, Byrd leads a ten-piece invasion proving exactly who's who, despite the chit and chatter from the naysaying scholars and pundits. Keeping the groove hot and in place, tenor sax/flutist Allan Barnes and fellow saxophonist Nathan Davis, electric pianist Kevin Toney, guitarist Barney Perry, bassist Henry Franklin, drummer Keith Killgo, and percussionist Ray Armando build on the serpentine, chunka-chunka/chicka-chicka rhythm of "The East" to climax on the high bop centered "Kwami" and frantic "Poco-Mania." Cookin' just about says it all. By Mike Jurkovic Mike Jurkovic
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/donald-byrd-live-cookin-with-blue-note-at-montreux-blue-note-records

Personnel: Donald Byrd: trumpet; Fonce Mizell: trumpet; Allan Barnes: saxophone, tenor; Keith Killgo: drums; Nathan Davis: saxophone; Kevin Toney: piano; Larry Mizell: synthesizer; Barney Perry: guitar; Henry Franklin: bass; Ray Armando: percussion.

Additional Instrumentation: Donald Byrd: flugelhorn, vocals; Fonce Mizell: vocals; Keith Killgo: vocals.

Live: Cookin' with Blue Note at Montreux

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The Modern Jazz Quartet - Fontessa

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:40
Size: 83.9 MB
Styles: Bop
Year: 1956/1989/2009
Art: Front

[ 3:20] 1. Versailles (Porte De Versailles)
[ 3:48] 2. Angel Eyes
[11:23] 3. Fontessa
[ 3:52] 4. Over The Rainbow
[ 5:03] 5. Bluesology
[ 4:48] 6. Willow Weep For Me
[ 4:24] 7. Woodyn You

Recorded: January 22, 1956 & February 14, 1956. John Lewis - piano; Milt Jackson - vibraphone; Percy Heath - double bass; Connie Kay - drums.

This LP has a particularly strong all-around set by the Modern Jazz Quartet. While John Lewis' "Versailles" and an 11-minute "Fontessa" show the seriousness of the group (and the influence of Western classical music), other pieces (such as "Bluesology," "Woody 'N You" and a pair of ballads) look toward the group's roots in bop and permit the band to swing hard. ~Scott Yanow

Fontessa

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Kenny Barron - The Source

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:30
Size: 154,8 MB
Art: Front

(8:02) 1. What If
(6:13) 2. Isfahan
(6:04) 3. Teo
(9:42) 4. Daydream
(6:16) 5. I'm Confessin' (That I love you)
(8:53) 6. Dolores Street, SF
(5:42) 7. Well You Needn't
(8:34) 8. Sunshower
(8:00) 9. Phantoms

He may admit to jitters whenever he first sits down at his chosen instrument to record or perform, but elder statesman and NEA Master Kenny Barron never fails to elicit a warm, enveloping sense of elegy, wit and emotional balance to whatever setting the music finds him.

On his first solo go-round in forty years, The Source, like its distant predecessor At The Piano (Xanadu, 1982) has Barron brimming with the same empathy and effervescence, but with all the reflective nature the years tend to instill in a man who has made one to one conversation an art form. An art form with his peers, ranging from Dave Holland to Regina Carter, Freddie Hubbard, Stan Getz, Booker Ervin, to Mulgrew Miller, as well as listeners far and wide.

"What If?" reimagined and reframed from its bop conscious 1986 original (on Enja's What If?), finds renewed power in a bass line that is impossible to avoid. It not only underpins the melody, it actively becomes it as The Source sails forth from there. As he has for year out of reverence and inquisitiveness, Barron revisits Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn's "Isfahan" with a glee reminiscent of Thelonious Monk. Which makes perfect sense in so many ways since Monk's own slipknot, "Teo," exuberantly follows. Deft, agile, lyrical and vibrant, Barron brings all his emotion to another Strayhorn epiphany, "Daydreams," before bringing us to a quiet place of Zen on his own "Dolores Street SF."

More Monk follows with the chromatic skip of "Well You Needn't" and, if Barron still needs a spotlight for his love of barrelhouse and Monk himself, well here it is. A steady rolling energy emanates from the track and you sense Barron, whose sense of improv is as alive here as on any other of The Source's nine highlight performances, is really enjoying himself. The disc closes with two highly regarded Barron staples: "Sunshower," its melodic resonance still a source of invention after its initial hearing on Innocence (Wolf, 1978), and "Phantoms.," which still holds all its dark tones even when the master steers the tune away from them, serving as a final reflection on a man who can make light and dark his building blocks without relying heavily on either. By Mike Jurkovic
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-source-artwork-records

Personnel: Kenny Barron: piano.

The Source

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Matt Dusk - Two Shots

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2004
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:39
Size: 128,6 MB
Art: Front

(4:29) 1. Two Shots Of Happy, One Shot Of Sad
(3:35) 2. Miracle
(4:06) 3. Cold As Ice
(5:32) 4. Lonely Road
(3:43) 5. The Theme From Loaded Gun
(4:00) 6. Don't Go Looking
(2:50) 7. Fly Me To The Moon
(3:22) 8. Please Please Me
(4:15) 9. Precious Yours
(5:43) 10. Always
(4:03) 11. Every Mother's Son
(5:15) 12. Five
(4:40) 13. Two Shots Of Happy, One Shot Of Sad (Hot Nugget Remix)

The big-label bow of this Toronto-born, classically trained pretender to the contemporary crooner crown comes bundled in a shrewdly frank marketing gambit. Dusk scored a recurring role on the reality series Casino as a young, wannabe showroom headliner. As with virtually every ambitious retro-pop male vocalist since Harry Connick, Jr., the musical touchstone here is Sinatra, from the album's title track (an 80th-birthday gift from U2 to the Chairman himself, who never recorded it) to a rhythmically sprightly take on "Fly Me To the Moon."

But what noses the 24-year-old Dusk ahead of his rat-packaged competitors here is a promising understanding of the canon that goes deeper than mere ring-a-ding-ding trappings. While his bold, downbeat recasting of the Beatles' "Please Please Me" falls short of its ambitions, songs like "Lonely Road," "Every Mother's Son," "Always" and "Five" (the latter two tellingly co-written by the singer himself) have a reflective, autumnal tone that gratifyingly echo Sinatra's own period of willful, introspective reinvention in the mid-1950s. By Jerry McCulley
https://www.amazon.com/Two-Shots-Matt-Dusk/dp/B000255LHA

Two Shots

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Gunhild Carling & The Carling Big Band - Harlem Joy

Styles: Swing, Vocal
Year: 2015
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:48
Size: 160,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:30) 1. Fire Alarm
(3:11) 2. Ascona
(3:28) 3. Bix Radio Rhythm
(3:38) 4. Stompin’ At Herräng
(3:47) 5. Come Home To Me Blues
(2:53) 6. Trixter
(3:29) 7. Springtime In St. Paul
(2:11) 8. Big Apple
(5:01) 9. When Dreams Come True
(3:10) 10. Linger
(2:56) 11. Shake, Shout And Shuffle
(4:00) 12. Harlem Ghost Story
(3:00) 13. Bag Pipe Blues
(4:05) 14. I Remember Oslo
(3:31) 15. Saturday Night Walk
(1:54) 16. Harlem Joy
(3:42) 17. Rhythm Queen
(2:47) 18. Parlemo Sea
(3:47) 19. Amour’s Empire
(3:38) 20. Blue In My Heaven

2015 live release by the Swedish jazz multi-instrumentalist. 2014 was the year of success for Gunhild Carling. Tour across Sweden, Let's Dance on national TV, a highly acclaimed appearance in Central Park in New York City for tens of thousands of people, voted the most popular person in the south of Sweden 2014 and numerous of national television appearances. This live recording was made during Gunhild Carling Big Bands Jazz Varieté tour in January 2014.
By Editorial Reviews https://www.amazon.com/Harlem-Joy-GUNHILD-CARLING-BAND/dp/B00VK611MY

Personnel: Gunhild Carling - vocal, trumpet, trombone, bag pipe, harp (9), recorder (5);Max Carling - tenor sax, clarinet, violin (9); Mattias Carlsson - alto, flute, bass flute; Peter Wilgotsson - alto sax; Hakan Ekvall - baryton sax, tenor sax; Hans "Cooling" Carling - trumpet; Erik Berndalen - trumpet, vocal (15); Henrik Johnson - trombone; Goran Abelli - trombone; Svempa Lunderquist / Singe Magnusson - piano; Aina Carling - banjo; Ull Carling - drums, vocal (10), trumpet (10); Mattias Uneback / Goran Schelin - bass; Jenny Deurell - vocal (17)

Harlem Joy

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John Coltrane - The Gentle Side Of John Coltrane

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 67:09
Size: 153.7 MB
Styles: Standards, Post bop, Saxophone jazz
Year: 1975/1991/2012
Art: Front

[5:22] 1. Soul Eyes
[3:43] 2. What's New
[5:29] 3. Welcome
[3:13] 4. Nancy (With The Laughing Face)
[5:15] 5. My Little Brown Book
[9:03] 6. Wise One
[5:25] 7. Lush Life
[2:22] 8. Alabama
[4:54] 9. My One And Only Love
[4:09] 10. After The Rain
[4:13] 11. In A Sentimental Mood
[5:39] 12. Dear Lord
[8:16] 13. I Want To Talk About You

"Gentle" is a relative term, for while this collection of material is mostly pitched at a slower set of tempos and a more lyrical frame of mind, John Coltrane was no less passionate in a ballad as he was in a roaring frenzy. Originally issued on two LPs, and now as an excellent value on a single CD, The Gentle Side draws nine tracks from the legacy of the classic Coltrane quartet (with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, and Elvin Jones), adding a pair of tracks each from his collaborations with Duke Ellington and Johnny Hartman. You can say all you want about how a collection like this disregards the musical flow of the original albums -- which is true -- and still be caught up helplessly in the staggering emotional power of this man's playing. Even when heard in this context, performances like "After the Rain" and "Welcome" remain breathtaking in their spiritual beauty, and the combination of Coltrane's eloquence and the warm, masculine baritone of Hartman can still break your heart with their most-likely-untopped interpretation of "My One and Only Love." Above all, if you know anyone who has resisted Coltrane because of the fearsome reputation of his more agitated music, lay this CD on them. ~Richard S. Ginnell

The Gentle Side Of John Coltrane

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Simone Kopmajer - With Love

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 61:18
Size: 144,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:15) 1. The Look of Love
(4:40) 2. How Wonderful You Are
(5:36) 3. Until It's Time for You to Go
(4:46) 4. I Can't Make You Love Me
(2:31) 5. Opposites Attract
(4:36) 6. How Can You Mend a Broken Heart
(3:01) 7. Cold Cold Heart
(3:16) 8. I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter
(5:06) 9. For Once in My Life
(4:06) 10. Take It All In
(5:15) 11. Everything Happens to Me (feat. Sheila Jordan)
(4:52) 12. Tell It Like It Is
(4:38) 13. You Don´t Know Me (feat. John Di Martino)
(4:33) 14. Over the Rainbow

Simone Kopmajer’s new album “With Love“ was produced by John Di Martino, Reinhardt Winkler & herself.

The trio brought Simone’s vision of an intimate but rich sound to a point. Wonderful string arrangements played by Grammy Winning NY string quartet are surrounding her subtle vocals. “With Love” is a mix of old time classics, love songs and for the very first time two original compositions, definitely Kopmajers most romantic album in her incredible career on which she is proving again her different facets as a musician and vocalist.

Accompanied by Harry Allen, John Di Martino, Boris Kozlov, Reinhardt Winkler, Gottfried Gfrerer & Wesley Amorim , Simone Kopmajer turns her sensual vocals to songs like “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart“ (Bee Gees), “Cold Cold Heart“ (Hank Williams and the legendary “Over the rainbow“.

Another highlight on the album are the guest appearances of jazz legend Sheila Jordan and John Di Martino. With love is a must have for every fan and fan to be! http://www.simonekopmajer.com/bio

Personnel: Simone Kopmajer: Vocals; Harry Allen: Tenor Saxophone; John Di Martino: Piano; Boris Kozlov: Bass; Reinhardt Winkler: Drums; Wesley Amorim: Guitar; Gottfried Gfrerer: Guitar; Sheila Jordan: Vocals; Sara Caswell: First Violin; Tomoko Akaboshi :Second Violin; Benni von Gutzeit: Viola; Mairi Dorman-Phaneuf: Cello

With Love

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Rossana Casale - Jazz in me

Styles: Vocal, Jazz
Year: 1994
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:37
Size: 136,7 MB
Art: Front

(5:18)  1. Every Time We Say Good-bye
(5:05)  2. Good Morning Heartache
(5:05)  3. Don't Explain
(7:26)  4. My One And Only Love
(5:05)  5. Just Friends
(5:28)  6. How Long Has This Been Going On
(1:57)  7. My Funny Valentine
(7:03)  8. Summertime
(5:27)  9. You Don't Know What Love Is
(2:06) 10. But Not For Me
(9:32) 11. Blue Monk

The New York-born daughter of an American father and an Italian mother, Rossana Casale has grown into one of Italy's most adventurous musicians. Her songs have been featured in such Italian films as the Pupi Avati-directed movie Una Gita Scolastica, while she toured with Teatro dell'Opera Raffaele Paganini in the musical comedy An American in Paris. She recorded an Italian version of "Someday, My Prince Will Come" for the restored edition of Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Moving to Italy as a youngster, Casale temporarily lived in Venice before settling in Milan. A background singer for Italian group Albero Motore, in 1972 she enrolled at the Conservatory G. Verdi in Milan, where she studied vocals, percussion, and electronic music. Casale's 1982 debut single "Didin" was followed by the Italian pop albums Casale in 1984 and Aspettarti in 1985. She appeared at the Fest di San Remo in 1986 singing the Italian pop ballad "Destiny."

Veering toward jazz in the late '90s, Casale performed at the Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy. Her first jazz album, Incoerente Jazz, was released in 1989. Although she has continued to explore the jazz realm, Casale continues to defy categorization. Her 1991 album Lo Strato Naturale represented a shift toward atmospheric jazz. A meeting with African group Toure Kunde sparked an interest in world music. Together with her quartet, featuring Riccardo Zegne, Luciano Milanese, Carlo Atti, and Luigi Bonafede, Casale continues to perform jazz standards by such American songwriters as Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, and Thelonious Monk. In 1994, they recorded the album Jazz in Me in a whirlwind, four-day session.
By Craig Harris http://www.allmusic.com/artist/rossana-casale-mn0000363589/biography

Personnel:  Vocals – Rossana Casale;  Contrabass – Luciano Milanese;  Drums – Carlo Milanese (tracks: 6), Luigi Bonafede;  Guitar – Sandro Gibellini (tracks: 3);  Piano – Andrea Pozza (tracks: 6), Riccardo Zegna;  Saxophone – Carlo Atti;  Trumpet – Marco Tamburini (tracks: 11);  Violoncello – Bruno Briscic (tracks: 8, 11)

Jazz in me

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The Dynamic Les DeMerle Band - 2 albums: Cookin' At The Corner Vol 1 / Vol 2

Album: Cookin' At The Corner Vol 1
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:36
Size: 150.2 MB
Styles: Swing, Contemporary jazz
Year: 2006
Art: Front

[4:13] 1. Cookin' At The Corner
[4:57] 2. It Might As Well Be Spring
[3:21] 3. Bennie's From Heaven
[4:06] 4. Cute
[5:36] 5. Satin Doll-Don't Get Around Much Anymore
[3:50] 6. Agua De Beber
[3:55] 7. Lullaby Of Birdland
[5:31] 8. Stardust
[3:29] 9. Smack Dab In The Middle
[5:16] 10. The Shadow Of Your Smile
[3:11] 11. The More I See You
[3:35] 12. What A Difference A Day Makes
[6:54] 13. Compared To What
[2:22] 14. Jumpin' With Symphony Sid
[5:14] 15. I Do Love You

Les DeMerle's 4th recording for Origin is another swinging affair that further cements his reputation as one of the most dynamic drummers in jazz. Recorded live in front of an enthusiastic audience, the band sizzles on 15 tunes including classics such as "Cute," "Jumpin' With Symphony Sid," and the soul hit "Compared to What." With vocalist Bonnie Eisele, they caress standards "The Shadow of Your Smile," "The More I See You," and "Stardust," and they define future standards including the title cut "Cookin' at the Corner" by pianist Mike Levine.

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Album: Cookin' At The Corner Vol 2
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 58:32
Size: 134.0 MB
Styles: Swing, Contemporary jazz
Year: 2007
Art: Front

[5:07] 1. In A Mellow Tone
[3:45] 2. Our Love Is Here To Stay
[4:55] 3. You Don't Know Me
[3:56] 4. Work Song
[4:38] 5. Caravan
[3:17] 6. I'm Beginning To See The Light
[3:12] 7. S'wonderful
[5:01] 8. Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans
[2:55] 9. Let's Fall In Love
[2:56] 10. How High The Moon
[5:11] 11. Autumn Leaves-Les Feulles Mortes
[4:28] 12. Black Orpheus-Manha De Carnaval
[3:21] 13. All Around The World
[2:40] 14. I Want You To Be My Baby
[3:02] 15. Jumpin' With Symphony Sid

“Cookin’ At The Corner, Volume Two is the real deal capturing a live jazz set in a real jazz club packed with loyal jazz fans. The music is hot and sweet, swinging and soulful. The Dynamic Les DeMerle Band is tight and grooves hard with creativity and passion giving each tune the perfect color and shade to create the ultimate jazz rainbow. Listen and relax as the music invites you in. Enjoy the sounds. Welcome to the club.” ~Scott Yanow

“The electricity on the first night of Cookin’ At The Corner, Volume One really transfers here on Volume Two as the music swings and gyrates to the up-tempo nature of the album’s fifteen standards. DeMerle and his trio really cook…with incredible instrumentals. Eisele delivers…enchanting performances and… exciting vocals…on another fiery session of great music.” ~Edward Blanco

Cookin' At The Corner Vol 1, Vol 2

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Cyrus Chestnut - The Dark Before the Dawn

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 1994
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:20
Size: 131,7 MB
Art: Front

(7:30)  1. Sentimentalia
(3:27)  2. Steps of Trane
(6:19)  3. The Mirrored Window
(4:42)  4. Baroque Impressions
(2:36)  5. A Rare Gem
(4:09)  6. Call Me Later
(5:36)  7. Wright's Rolls and Butter
(2:53)  8. It Is Well (With My Soul)
(5:36)  9. Kattin'
(4:58) 10. Lovers' Paradise
(3:06) 11. My Funny Valentine
(6:22) 12. The Dark Before the Dawn

Cyrus Chestnut's The Dark Before the Dawn is a mature, versatile album. Chestnut and his trio members Steve Kirby (bass) and Clarence Penn (drums) provide their fortunate listeners with a little bit of everything on this collection. Chestnut pays homage to John Coltrane, and his brilliant "Giant Steps," on the lightning fast "Steps of Trane," and gives J.S. Bach a swinging, 21st century twist on the interesting "Baroque Impressions." "My Funny Valentine" is slow and spacious and represents Chestnut's best ballad playing to date. Mix in originals such as the confident "Sentimentalia," the pretty "The Mirrored Window," the playful "Call Me Later" and the show-stopping "Kattin'." Kirby lays down a rock-solid musical foundation and Penn generates the rhythmic fire, but it is Chestnut who breathes life and soul and meaning into these tunes. He has the unique ability to make complicated music both approachable and enjoyable. The listener won't realize it, but will eventually notice their toes tapping and their fingers snapping to this recommended set. ~ Brian Bartolini https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-dark-before-the-dawn-mw0000125513

Personnel: Cyrus Chestnut (piano); Steve Kirby (bass); Clarence Penn (drums).

The Dark Before the Dawn

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John Coltrane - Live at the Village Vanguard And Live At The Village Vanguard Again!

Album: Live at the Village Vanguard