Jeri Southern - Jeri's Velvet Voice

Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:22
Size: 99,2 MB
Art: Front

(2:41) 1. Kiss and Run
(2:08) 2. Run
(2:35) 3. Bells Are Ringing
(2:37) 4. Speak Softly to Me
(2:57) 5. Candlelight Conversation
(2:51) 6. Forgive and Forget
(2:32) 7. We're Not Children
(3:03) 8. Autumn in My Heart
(2:36) 9. I Waited So Long
(3:00) 10. You Better Go Now
(2:44) 11. The Touch of Love
(3:11) 12. The Ruby and the Pearl
(3:08) 13. The Man That Got Away
(3:11) 14. Don't Explain
(3:02) 15. Nothing at All

A converted piano player and vocal coach, Jeri Southern became one of the most underrated jazz vocal interpreters of the 1950s despite a voice regarded as subpar. Transforming a potential failing into her prime strength, Southern was devastatingly effective at delivering songs charting the downhill romantic life of world-weary everywoman characters. After recording for Decca, Roulette, Capitol and Jasmine during the 1950s though, she abruptly retired after growing tired of the music industry.

Born in rural Nebraska, Jeri Southern played piano by ear at the age of three and began formal lessons three years later. She studied classical piano and voice at a school in Omaha, but after an introduction to jazz at a local nightclub, Southern quickly changed her focus. After graduation, she moved to Chicago and began making appearances at clubs during the late '40s, occasionally supporting Anita O'Day. Convinced to begin singing as well, Southern abandoned her classical training and began singing in a voice just several steps removed from her speaking voice.

After signing to Decca in 1951, her first hit, "You Better Go Now," established her style lyrically focused, somewhat desultory, and definitely lovesick, the style of singing often called (for better or worse) torch songs. Her decidedly unflashy voice lent additional weight to the lyrical concerns of other Southern favorites like "I Don't Know Where to Turn," "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye," "Someone to Watch Over Me" and "If I Had You." She also had a moderate hit in 1954 with "Joey" and toured with the Birdland Jazz Stars of 1957. Southern's LPs of the '50s for Decca utilized mostly small groups in an era of large orchestras, including top-flight jazz-pop names like Ralph Burns, Dave Barbour and Marty Paich.

After Southern recorded two LPs for Roulette during 1958, she moved to Capitol for her most celebrated album, 1959's Jeri Southern Meets Cole Porter, arranged by Billy May. She recorded only one additional LP for Capitol (live at the Crescendo) before retiring in 1961, disgusted at the state of traditional pop. She married several times, raised a family and worked as a piano/vocal coach in Hollywood until her death (from double pneumonia) in 1991. She was booked for her first studio time in years at the time of her death.by John Bush
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jeri-southern-mn0000324819/biography

Jeri's Velvet Voice

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Mundell Lowe - Blues for a Stripper

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2021
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 31:18
Size: 73,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:30) 1. Blues for a Stripper
(3:25) 2. From Mundy On
(2:15) 3. Montage
(3:33) 4. Coffee, Coffee
(3:41) 5. The Lost and the Lonely
(2:28) 6. Pattern of Evil
(3:30) 7. Satan in High Heels
(2:54) 8. East Side Drive
(3:33) 9. Lake in the Woods
(2:25) 10. The Long Knife

The music on this big-band date led by guitarist Mundell Lowe has a somewhat confusing history, since it was initially released as the soundtrack to the low-budget film Satan in High Heels and later reissued as Blues for a Stripper. The ten originals are written, arranged, and conducted by Lowe, with a formidable all-star big band that includes Phil Woods, Clark Terry, Jimmy Cleveland, Joe Newman, Al Cohn, Oliver Nelson, and Eddie Costa.

His brief sketches are enjoyable, running the gamut of bop, hard bop, cool, and swing, though none of them makes a lasting impression. Sadly, none of the soloists is identified and the solos are too brief to make it obvious who is playing, though Costa takes several excellent solos on vibes. This LP, issued on the Charlie Parker label, is a bit of an obscurity that is worth searching for. By Ken Dryden
https://www.allmusic.com/album/blues-for-a-stripper-mw0000350724

Personnel: Alto Saxophone – Phil Woods; Baritone Saxophone – Gene Allen, Sol Schlinger; Bass – George Duvivier; Drums – Ed Shaughnessy; Guitar – Mundell Lowe; Piano, Vibraphone – Eddie Costa; Saxophone – Al Cohn, Al Klink, Ray Beckenstein, Walter Levinsky; Saxophone, Flute – Walter Levinsky; Tenor Saxophone – Al Cohn, Oliver Nelson; Trombone – George "Buster" Cooper*, Jimmy Cleveland, Urbie Green; Trumpet – Bernie Glow, Clark Terry, Carl Severinsen*, Ernie Royal, Joe Newman

Blues for a Stripper

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Garrison Fewell - Are You Afraid Of The Dark?

Styles: Guitar Jazz

Year: 1995

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 52:11

Size: 122,3 MB

Art: Front

(6:02)  1. Are You Afraid Of The Dark

(6:27)  2. X-Ray Vision

(4:32)  3. Song Of Her

(8:58  4. Journey To The East 1. The Silk Road 2. Statue

(1:51)  5. The 34 Suite Homage À Ravel

(5:12)  6. The 34 Suite Crossing The Border

(5:43)  7. Ten Directions

(7:17)  8. Alto Blues

(6:06)  9. The Tower Of Kazimierz

One of guitarist Garrison Fewell's main teachers was Pat Martino and one can certainly hear a bit of Martino's searching style on this release, Fewell's second for Accurate. In addition, Fewell's world travels (including lengthy trips to the Middle East and Asia) and his interest in folk music from other countries is sometimes hinted at but in general the program (all but two of the nine selections are his originals) is straightahead modern jazz. Joined by the talented pianist Laslo Gardony, the great veteran bassist Cecil McBee and drummer Matt Wilson, Garrison Fewell performs a well-rounded set of high-quality and consistently swinging music, alternating romps with ballads.By Scott Yanow http://www.allmusic.com/album/are-you-afraid-of-the-dark-mw0000174493

Personnel: Garrison Fewell (guitar); Laszlo Gardony (piano); Cecil McBee (bass); Matt Wilson (drums).

Are You Afraid Of The Dark?

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The New Couriers - Brazilian Thoroughfare

Styles: Brazilian Jazz
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:57
Size: 156,1 MB
Art: Front

(13:24) 1. The Chant
(14:21) 2. New Delhi
(11:45) 3. Falling in Love
(15:14) 4. Brazilian Thoroughfare
(13:11) 5. You and the Night and the Music

Since the original late-50s Jazz Couriers, led by the sax duo of Tubby Hayes and Ronnie Scott, would regularly mix Latin dance-shuffles with insane-tempo bebop, this new title from the Couriers' devoted tribute band was a bit worrying. But New Couriers regulars need have no fear, right from the opening outburst of the late Victor Feldman's hard-boppish.

The Chant, with the precise, bluesy bluster of the excellent Mornington Lockett's tenor solo hurtling upwards over the propulsion of drummer-leader Martin Drew's irresistible hi-hat snaps. Vibraphonist Jim Hart's limpid lines make a fine solo contrast, and the whole band is marshalled and cajoled by the thoughtful Steve Melling on piano and the steady purr of Paul Morgan's immaculate bass-playing.

Three of the tunes are Feldman's (along with Dave Holland and John McLaughlin, he was one of the Englishmen who caught Miles Davis's ear), and if Steve Melling's Latin title track doesn't really sustain either the Feldman incisiveness or his own pianistic inventiveness, the closing You and the Night and the Music is right in the old Couriers' hyper bop ball park.
By John Fordham https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/jan/30/new-couriers-brazilian-thoroughfare-review

Personnel: Vibraphone – Jim Hart; Double Bass – Paul Morgan; Drums – Martin Drew; Piano – Steve Melling; Saxophone – Mornington Locket

Brazilian Thoroughfare

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Michael Dease - Out To Dinner - Different Flavors

Styles: Trombone Jazz
Year: 2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:55
Size: 125,7 MB
Art: Front

(6:18) 1. Day Zero
(3:54) 2. Magic Square
(5:44) 3. Blue Sojourn
(3:34) 4. Skittles
(6:25) 5. Night Glow
(5:05) 6. Pay The Piper
(5:58) 7. Rio
(7:53) 8. Spun Around
(4:24) 9. Grave Concerns
(5:35) 10. Two Down

Listeners everywhere are invited to join the fun with the Out To Dinner band and audition a variety of their “Different Flavors.” Our trusty producer Marc Free continues on an ambitious course of cooking up a visionary series of demand building releases. This latest project features a musical menu of inspired presentations from a curated group with unique instrumentation.

It also prompts listeners to expand their sonic palettes to include this adventurous exploration of the jazz genre. This engagingly enjoyable album is a stellar quintet date featuring front line performances from vibraphonist Behn Gillece, trombonist Michael Dease and saxophonist Tim Green moving freely over the solid harmonic foundation of bassist Boris Kozlov and the explosive metrics of drummer Rudy Royston. With the menu full of “Different Flavors,” we are confident that the collaborative journey of Out To Dinner will bring delight to the ears of every jazz fan and hopefully encourage navigation steadily away from the known and familiar and towards the uncharted depths of modern collective improvisation.
https://www.posi-tone.com/otd/otd.html

Personnel: Michael Dease - trombone; Behn Gillece - vibraphone; Tim Green - alto saxophone; Boris Kozlov - bass; Rudy Royston - drums

Different Flavors

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Linda Woodson - Proper Companion

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 31:42
Size: 73,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:41) 1. Proper Companion
(4:26) 2. Stay
(3:52) 3. Feeling Coy
(4:49) 4. New Day
(3:29) 5. Take You There
(3:38) 6. Tell Me What's on Your Mind
(2:27) 7. I'm In
(4:17) 8. Everybody Wants the Same Thing

Linda Woodson is a singer/songwriter/actor. She has completed 3 cd projects featuring many of her original songs as well as jazz standards which can be found on digital downloading sites.

Linda has performed around town at venues such as The Gatsby Supper Club, the Italian American Club and The Nevada Room. In her spare time she’s a dermatologist with a private practice in Las Vegas and Henderson.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uCpuwAhqGU

Proper Companion

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The Barbara Carroll Trio - Why Not?

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 32:15
Size: 74,3 MB
Art: Front

(2:59)  1. Later
(2:08)  2. You're Here Again
(2:00)  3. The Black Cat
(2:16)  4. Theme for a Starlet
(2:48)  5. Champagne Velvet
(3:00)  6. B's Flat Blues
(3:06)  7. Why Not?
(3:05)  8. Misty Morning
(2:50)  9. Dark Noon
(2:53) 10. Would It Be the Same
(3:16) 11. Lonely Night
(1:49) 12. Chevy's Chase

In the year 2005, Barbara Carroll could boast that she has began playing piano for a grand total of 75 years. Not without a pause to sleep and eat, obviously, but with a determination that might suggest such extremes. Born Barbara Carole Coppersmith, she began the instrument at only five-years-old and went on to classical training three years later, eventually graduating from the New England Conservatory. In terms of professional stagecraft, her initial training ground was a USO tour during the second World War in which she was part of an all-girl trio. This was quickly followed by leading her own trio on New York City's famous lane of jazz, 52nd Street, where she adopted her middle name of Carole as a stage name. The pianist was associated with such fine players as guitarist Chuck Wayne and bassist Clyde Lombardi, but what would develop into an extensive discography began in 1949 with a recording session backing up multi-instrumentalist Eddie Shu for the Rainbow label.

Among female piano players, Carroll is known as the first to venture into the progressive bebop style that was especially associated with Bud Powell.

Unlike the infamous Billy Tipton, Carroll also did not think it was necessary to hide the fact that she was a woman in jazz but this was New York City, not Oklahoma or Washington state. Not that Carroll had an easy time in a genre dominated by men. "People tended to put you down before they ever heard you," she has commented in interviews. "If you were a girl piano player, the tendency was to say: 'Oh, how could she possibly play?' You never even got a chance to present what you could do. But then, if you did prove yourself, it almost became a commercial asset, in a sense; you were regarded as unique."

One audience that found Carroll to their liking was the high society crowd, becoming enamored with her during an extended run at the ultra-chic Embers supper club. Her group at the latter venue included the bassist Joe Shulman, whom she married in 1954. Carroll did not ignore the pop styles of subsequent decades, yet always managed to keep a strong jazz flavor present in whatever material she performed. If swing was a bay leaf, it would be said that Carroll has a large bush growing right outside her kitchen window. She has recorded for many of the best labels in the genre including Verve and Atlantic and continues to be in demand at clubs and cabarets. Carroll works as an actress on occasion, such as the Broadway play entitled Me and Juliet. ~ Eugene Chadbourne  http://www.allmusic.com/artist/barbara-carroll-mn0000788256/biography

Why Not?

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Nina Simone - Emergency Ward

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 1972
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:05
Size: 78,2 MB
Art: Front

(18:43) 1. My Sweet Lord/Today Is a Killer
( 4:12) 2. Poppies
(11:09) 3. Isn't It A Pity

This unusual record from 1972 is Nina Simone's statement on the Vietnam War. The cover is a collage of news clippings from the conflict, and the song selection and arrangement, though dealing with matters more spiritual than political, reflect the events of the day. The entire first side consists of a powerhouse medley of George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" and a poem by David Nelson called "Today Is a Killer," set to music by Simone. The Harrison song is transformed into a sweaty gospel workout that takes its rhythm from the Capitols' "Cool Jerk" and its call-and-response vocal arrangement from the Reverend James Cleveland. Simone artfully alternates the celebratory romp with slow, somber passages featuring her improvised lyrics and passages from the Nelson poem. Even as it passes the 18-minute mark, the medley never loses power, and it remains one of Simone's finest moments. 

After the triumph of the first side, the flip is only a slight letdown. "Poppies" is melodically vague, but Simone's strong delivery sells it, while George Harrison's "Isn't It a Pity" gets an intense, drawn-out treatment, mostly featuring just Simone's piano and voice. The cover of Emergency Ward! claims it was recorded in concert, but only the first side appears to be live, and even that is riddled with sloppy edits. Though it is one of the stranger records in the Simone oeuvre, Emergency Ward! is consistently thrilling. 

By Mark Richardson; http://www.allmusic.com/album/emergency-ward!-mw0000371066

Emergency Ward

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Bobbi Wilson - Wanderlust

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 46:05
Size: 106,5 MB
Art: Front

(2:36) 1. Angel Eyes
(4:03) 2. Let's Not Care
(2:48) 3. How Insensitive
(5:10) 4. Grown Up Girl
(2:52) 5. Salton Sea
(5:25) 6. 'Round Midnight
(7:26) 7. Again
(2:01) 8. The Fall
(5:00) 9. You Don't Know What Love Is
(4:31) 10. I Could Have Told You
(4:08) 11. The Devil I Know

"Wanderlust" is the long awaited debut album from sultry songstress, Bobbi Wilson. This collection of songs will delight with both re-imagined jazz standards and original tunes. From the tender rendition of 'How Insensitive', backed by nylon stringed guitar, to the upbeat brass backed 'Grown up Girl', this disc will appeal to anyone who loves great music, not only jazz fans. Bobbi is currently based near Atlanta, Georgia.https://www.amazon.com.au/Wanderlust-Bobbi-Wilson/dp/B009SX9B14

Wanderlust

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VA - Jazz Yule Love

Styles: Hard Bop, Holiday
Year: 2002
File: MP3@128K/s
Time: 50:56
Size: 50,3 MB
Art: Front

(6:30) 1. We Three Kings
(4:00) 2. White Christmas
(5:38) 3. Winter Wonderland
(3:03) 4. Sleigh Ride
(4:22) 5. It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
(3:29) 6. Christmas Heart
(4:03) 7. O Tannenbaum
(2:47) 8. Silent Night
(3:33) 9. O Come All Ye Faithful
(4:14) 10. A Child Is Born
(6:58) 11. Joy to the World
(2:19) 12. Angels We Have Heard on High

While in the studio the previous year with many of the legendary artists on his roster, working on their individual projects, Crusaders legend and Mack Avenue Records president Stix Hooper had a festive idea: get the likes of Terry Gibbs, Cedar Walton, Pete Jolly, George Shearing, Les McCann, Teddy Edwards, Eugene Maslov, and Kenny Burrell to take five and stir up the Christmas spirit with a Yuletide tune.

The resulting compilation, Jazz Yule Love, is an instant classic, a swinging traditional jazz sampler that showcases these cats at the peak of their game, being highly creative and improvisational amid the comfort of tunes everyone knows (and a McCann original everyone might not). Jolly's take on "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" is especially hard-driving, and Gibbs' lighthearted take on "White Christmas" reminds you of the childlike joys of the season.

Jolly tones down for a reading of "O Tannenbaum" that invokes the subtle old arrangement of Vince Guaraldi. Overall, a beautiful and festive way to become familiar with the label and with some of the greatest jazz players of all time.By Jonathan Widran https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/jazz-yule-love-mr0000305943

Jazz Yule Love

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George Freeman - The Good Life

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2023
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 50:55
Size: 116,9 MB
Art: Front

(11:05) 1. If I Had You
( 7:39) 2. Mr. D
( 6:03) 3. Up and Down
( 5:53) 4. Lowe Groovin'
( 3:56) 5. 1, 2, 3, 4
( 9:47) 6. Sister Tankersley
( 6:30) 7. The Good Life

For guitarist George Freeman, The Good Life has also been a long life. He was a nimble-fingered ninety-five-year-old plectrist when this splendid album was recorded in May and June 2022, which makes it all the more grievous to know it would be organ maestro Joey DeFrancesco's last recording date; he died of a heart attack some three months later at the relatively young age of fifty-one.

Freeman leads two trios here, the first with DeFrancesco on organ and Lewis Nash on drums (tracks 1-3), the second with Christian McBride on bass and Carl Allen on drums. Freeman plays a smooth and mellow guitar, using well-shaped single-note runs to underline his candid and always engaging point of view. DeFrancesco, meanwhile, is his usual incredibly animated and fleet-fingered self, lending ardor and intensity to what is already an admirable session. Nash is a remarkably astute and steady timekeeper, as is Allen. When McBride takes over for DeFrancesco, on the fourth track, there is a perceptible difference in modulation but none in musicianship. The beat simply goes on.

Freeman, DeFrancesco & Nash open with a soft and soulful reading of the standard "If I Had You," maintain that posture on the shuffling blues "Mr. D," and close with the album's lone flag-waver, "Up and Down," on which Nash and DeFrancesco brandish their superior chops while Freeman keeps pace in his more laid-back manner. "Lowe Groovin,'" which introduces the second trio, is relaxed and meditative, unlike the buoyant "1, 2, 3, 4," which follows. "Sister Tankersley" is another pensive anthem, as is "The Good Life," which closes the session. Allen is unassuming yet steady as a rock, while McBride's deep-toned bass is outstanding whether soloing or comping.

Although this album could have benefited from more up-tempo moments, that is a small complaint, as everything on offer is exemplary. So, four stars for all-around excellence, plus an unreserved recommendation. By Jack Bowers
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-good-life-george-freeman-highnote-records

Personnel: George Freeman - Guitar; Joey DeFrancesco: organ, Hammond B3; Christian McBride: bass; Lewis Nash: drums; Carl Allen: drums.

The Good Life

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The Jazz Couriers - England Greatest Combo... The Message From Britain

Styles: Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 77:41
Size: 179,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:26)  1. Mirage
(2:45)  2. Easy to Love
(3:05)  3. Whisper Not
(4:33)  4. Autumn Leaves
(5:31)  5. Too Close for Comfort
(7:18)  6. Yesterdays
(3:50)  7. Love Walked In
(2:31)  8. Last Minute Blues
(7:52)  9. After Tea
(3:47) 10. Stop the World, I Want to Get Off
(4:01) 11. In Salah
(4:09) 12. Star Eyes
(4:38) 13. The Monk
(6:19) 14. My Funny Valentine
(6:01) 15. Day in, Day Out
(5:45) 16. If This Isn't Love

In April 1957 the formidable British tenor men Tubby Hayes and Ronnie Scott teamed up to form a group which they called The Jazz Couriers. During their more than two and a half years together, the Couriers devel- oped into an extremely close-knit unit, widely acclaimed throughout Britain and the rest of Europe. Tubby Hayes (1935-1973) was born in London, the son of a violinist who started him on that instrument. Switching to tenor at 12, he began playing in jazz clubs when he was 14, and at 16 launched into four years with various name bands. 

He doubled on vibes, baritone and flute and acknowledged Sonny Rollins and Johnny Griffin as major influences. Ronnie Scott (1927-1996), one of the early leaders of the modern jazz movement in England, was also a Londoner with a big-band background. His main influences were Charlie Ventura, Charlie Parker, Stan Getz, Sonny Stitt and Sonny Rollins. Crisp, accurate, inventive and irresistibly swinging, The Jazz Couriers not only boasted of two of the top solo horn players in Europe in Scott and Hayes, it also had the advantage of having a superb rhythm section in which the contribution of master pianist, Terry Shannon, was outstanding.By Editorial Reviews http://www.amazon.com/Couriers-England-Greatest-Message-Britain/dp/B00K9NB4FS

Ann Hampton Callaway - Easy Living

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2005
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:28
Size: 132,2 MB
Art: Front

(3:52) 1. Easy To Love
(4:15) 2. Come Rain Or Come Shine
(5:50) 3. Skylark
(2:33) 4. Nice Work If You Can Get It
(5:32) 5. The Very Thought Of You
(5:59) 6. 'Round Midnight
(3:37) 7. Come Take My Hand
(5:42) 8. Easy Living
(3:25) 9. All Of You
(3:43) 10. Bluesette
(3:28) 11. It Had To Be You
(5:24) 12. In A Sentimental Mood
(4:03) 13. You Don't Know What Love Is

This is Ann Hampton Callaway's seventh recording, Easy Living, is one of her very best. It's a program of well-known standards and fairly stock arrangements, but in the middle is her pristine, well-defined, flexible voice. She retains a lower-end range in her style that suggests only one singer: Sarah Vaughan. She's joined by several different rhythm sections and soloists, including pianists Benny Green (six cuts), Bill Charlap (five), and Kenny Barron (two); bassists Peter Washington or Neal Miner; drummers Clarence "Tootsie" Bean and Lewis Nash; percussionist Jim Saporito; saxophonists Andy Farber, Nelson Rangell, and Gerry Niewood; and on three selections, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis.

A collection of love songs sung convincingly and with no frills, Callaway shows great depth in ballad singing. Hard evidence is presented in her takes of "Skylark" and "The Very Thought of You," with Charlap's glistening piano tones ringing bells for the singer and Farber's tenor sax replies. "'Round Midnight" is the penultimate interp with Barron's wistful piano and Marsalis' spare trumpet offering advice on ol' midnight. Callaway can swing well when she chooses; "Easy to Love" brings home her lower dulcet tones, while Farber's tenor cops a Stan Getz-Joe Henderson type plea bargain.

Green's intro to "Nice Work If You Can Get It" has a "Giant Steps" quote before the singer digs into this lyric. She scats a little during the middle of the program, on the melody line, and the coda, of "Bluesette," and more in the improvised bridge during "It Had to Be You." Bossa nova is always a sidebar for singers, and Callaway uses this Brazilian rhythm on an interesting arrangement of "You Don't Know What Love Is" spiked with high drama, Saporito's Latin percussion, Barron's deft piano, and Niewood's flavorful tenor.

The lone composition of the vocalist "Come Take My Hand" is also bossa, with Rangell's flute chirping on this definitive love anthem. Marsalis is also bolder on the stark ballad title track and a nice version of "In a Sentimental Mood," while it's the singer getting brash and daring in a lower tone than normal for perhaps the highlight "All of You," Green's piano matching the depths of Callaway's yearnings.

It's not hyperbole to understand this is the perfect singer with a perfect voice that sounds so effortless, mature, and flowing. Though the others six recordings are just fine, this one really hits the spot, especially instrumentally. Callaway proves up to the challenge with every measure, phrase, and inflection. By Michael G. Nastos
https://www.allmusic.com/album/easy-living-mw0000253203

Personnel: Vocals, Liner Notes – Ann Hampton Callaway; Alto Saxophone – Nelson Rangel; Bass – Neal Miner (tracks: 1, 4, 8, 13), Peter Washington (tracks: 2, 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 12); Drums – Clarence "Tootsie" Bean (tracks: 1, 4, 8, 13), Lewis Nash (tracks: 2, 3, 5 to 7, 9 to 12); Flute – Nelson Rangel (tracks: 3); Piano – Benny Green, Bill Charlap (tracks: 1, 4, 8, 11, 13), Kenny Barron (tracks: 2, 9); Tenor Saxophone – Andy Farber (tracks: 1, 6, 11, 13), Gerry Niewood (tracks: 6, 9); Trumpet – Wynton Marsalis (tracks: 2, 4, 8)

Easy Living

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Frank Lowe Quintet - Soul Folks

Styles: Saxophone, Free Jazz
Year: 1998
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 65:19
Size: 150,8 MB
Art: Front

(8:24) 1. Tubby's Night Out
(7:42) 2. Eddie's Dream
(5:27) 3. Nothin' But Love
(8:37) 4. Ms. Bertha's Arrival
(3:40) 5. Inappropriate Choices
(6:32) 6. Mirror Minded Rose
(6:35) 7. Soul Folks
(5:30) 8. Grand Valse
(6:36) 9. Addiction Ain't Fiction
(6:12) 10. A Bill For Evans

Warehouse find of the last copies of this long unavailable 2001 release Soul Folks is a live date from 1998, a celebration of Frank Lowe's lyrical side. The group explodes with raw beauty and emotion. There is a sweet soul that enraptures you upon listening as the music swings hard.
https://www.forcedexposure.com/Catalog/lowe-quintet-frank-soul-folks-cd/NOMORE.010CD.html

Featuring Frank Lowe (saxophone), Bertha Hope (piano), Jack Walrath (trumpet), Steve Neil (bass) and Ralph Peterson (drums).

Soul Folks

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John Stein - Encounterpoint

Size: 125,7 MB
Time: 54:02
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2008
Styles: Jazz
Art: Front

01. Jordu (5:13)
02. Line Drive (6:59)
03. The Roundabout (5:32)
04. Dindi (5:51)
05. Close Your Eyes (4:19)
06. Trois (4:59)
07. Half-Whole Blues (8:50)
08. So Danço Samba (5:20)
09. You Don't Know What Love Is (6:55)

Guitarist John Stein has brought together an all-star ensemble for the album Encounterpoint and these world-class musicians deliver on every tune. The ensemble cast of Koichi Sate, keyboards, John Lockwood, bass, and Ze Eduardo Nazario on drums and percussion are always on top of their game. Whether it be a funk groove, hard swinger or relaxing bossa-nova tune, the energy and interaction are always solid throughout. With a band of this caliber it would hard for anyone to sound less than their best, but Stein is not one to rest on his heels as he pushes the band to new heights of creativity and emotion during his melodic interpretations and improvised solos.

Stein draws upon a wide variety of styles and influences with the tune selection on Encounterpoint. The album begins with the classic Duke Jordan tune "Jordu," which Stein has arranged to alternate swing and bossa feels during the melody sections while the solos remain in a bossa feel. There is a strong Brazilian influence throughout the album especially on the bossa-nova standards "Dindi" and "So Danco Samba," and with Nazario behind the kit there is always an element of Latin influenced groove creeping up in each song. Aside from the bossa-nova tunes there are also several hard-swinging bebop pieces such as "Close Your Eyes," a Monk influenced "Half-Whole Blues," and the funk-based "The Roundabout." The wide variety of musical styles prevents the album from becoming repetitive and allows each musician the chance to stretch in multiple musical situations.

Stein's playing is stellar throughout the album as he always seems to know when to burn, when to play melodically, and when to just lay out and let the band take over. Stein draws heavily from his bebop vocabulary throughout the record, though he never sounds repetitious and has a knack for twisting his lines and melodies into unexpected territory. Though he leaves most of the chord work to the more than capable hands of Sato, Stein does provide two simple, yet highly effective, chord melody introductions to the tunes "Line Drive" and "Dindi," with the latter being one of the albums brightest moments.

John Stein has really lifted the bar with Encounterpoint, not only for himself but for the jazz guitar quartet genre in general. The mixture of styles, world-class ensemble, and effective tune selection all combine to bring the most out of each individual musician and the group as a whole. The result is an album that is both intellectual stimulating and easily accessible at the same time. ~Matthew Warnock

Personnel: John Stein: guitar, acoustic bass; Koichi Sato: keyboards; John Lockwood: acoustic bass; Ze Eduardo Nazario: drums, percussion.

Encounterpoint

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Taylor Swift - Folklore

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2020
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:37
Size: 154,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:30) 1. The 1
(3:59) 2. Cardigan
(3:51) 3. The Last Great American Dynasty
(4:45) 4. Exile
(4:15) 5. My Tears Ricochet
(3:29) 6. Mirrorball
(3:28) 7. Seven
(4:21) 8. August
(3:15) 9. This Is Me Trying
(3:10) 10. Illicit Affairs
(4:12) 11. Invisible String
(3:57) 12. Mad Woman
(4:49) 13. Epiphany
(4:54) 14. Betty
(3:54) 15. Peace
(3:40) 16. Hoax

Folklore was contextualized as a lockdown project instantly upon release, and earned a reputation as the archetypal quarantine album. Los Angeles Times thought that the album was ruminative and dreamy, displaying the work of an artist "cut off from the everyday world, turned inward". The Guardian opined that Folklore was a respite from chaotic global events, converting dark emotions into something beautiful, while The Daily Telegraph called it "an exquisite, empathetic lockdown triumph".

NME wrote the album will be remembered as "the quintessential lockdown album" that acted as a soothing balm during lockdown, and while many artists created quarantine albums, it was Folklore that "felt like the perfect accompaniment for the weird loneliness" of 2020. Echoing similar sentiments, Insider stated that Folklore would be known as "lockdown's one true masterpiece", out of the works released by artists during the pandemic.

Rolling Stone predicted that the album may go down in history as "the definitive quarantine album" for providing comfort and catharsis "just when we needed it most". Billboard proclaimed that it would be cherished as one of Swift's most influential albums for transcending the unprecedented times and freeing listeners from a monotonous, socially distant life.

Uproxx noted how Folklore changed the tone of music in 2020, and added that its impact on the year's cultural landscape "can't be measured", owing to how it erased "all the pain and anguish and anxiety" in the world when music fans fled to social media to celebrate the album.

Clash credited Swift with softening the tragic start of 2020s which was shaping up to become a tumultuous decade, by using a "wintery album released smack in the middle of summer" that "forces us to slow down and take stock of where we are now in love and life".

In a list awarding the most creative works that shaped quarantine, Vulture labeled Folklore as 2020's "Best Breakdown in Musical Form": An album that speaks to loneliness, rich with "the kinds of thoughts we try to keep to ourselves". Vogue also listed the album amongst the best moments of lockdown culture.

The Week called it "the first great pandemic art" for being the first prominent body of work to emerge from popular culture that is "almost exclusively a product of the quarantine", and added that Swift set high standards for future pandemic projects.

In agreement, Financial Times named Swift one of the most influential women of 2020, calling Folklore "the first great lockdown album", while Hot Press termed it "the first great album of the lockdown era".

Judging from its acclaim and commercial success, music critic Tom Hull concluded that Swift "caught the spirit of the times" with Folklore's "long, pleasant, intricate songs". Billboard named Folklore and Evermore as the best examples of innovative albums from artists who were compelled to amend their creative process during the pandemic.

The magazine highlighted how Swift created Folklore in an unconventional approach, by forwarding song files back-and-forth with her producers while working remotely on FaceTime, achieving "massive" chart success and Grammy Award nominations with it, and adapted to the pandemic by performing the album live in an isolated recording studio.

Yahoo! wrote Swift became the voice of 2020 by touching "the core of a cultural crisis" with two albums that embody the sensation of a historic pandemic, and pondered whether "we will be able to listen to Folklore and Evermore without being reminded of 2020, and a pandemic that those who come after us will never quite understand".

According to SEMrush, 50% of 2020's top trending albums were released after the lockdowns in mid-March, and Folklore was one of the year's three most googled albums, garnering 1.2 million monthly searches after its release in July; the other two are J Balvin's Colores and Selena Gomez's Rare. Folklore was also the most popular album of 2020 on Genius, earning an average total of 1.174 million views per track the only album to achieve the feat. It was followed by The Weeknd's After Hours (749,000 average views per track). "Cardigan", "Exile" and "The 1", were among the year's top 20 popular songs on the websitethe most for any artist.

Swift was also 2020's top searched artist on Genius, with her lyrics amassing 31 million total views. Hayley Williams of Paramore revealed that she is recording her own record equivalent of Folklore. Phoebe Bridgers suggested that her next record could be inspired by the album. Critics noted influences of Folklore on Olivia Rodrigo's debut single "Drivers License"
https://taylorswift.fandom.com/wiki/Folklore

Folklore

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Ella Fitzgerald - The Last Decca Years 1949-1954

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1999
File: MP3@128K/s
Time: 62:43
Size: 63,1 MB
Art: Front

(2:41) 1. In The Evening (When The Sun Goes Down)
(3:10) 2. Basin Street Blues
(3:01) 3. Solid As A Rock
(3:19) 4. I've Got The World On A String
(3:08) 5. Dream A Little Dream Of Me
(3:14) 6. Can Anyone Explain?
(3:12) 7. Because Of Rain
(3:17) 8. I Don't Want To Take A Chance
(2:51) 9. There Never Was A Baby Like My Baby
(3:22) 10. Give A Little, Get A Little
(2:54) 11. A Guy Is A Guy
(2:26) 12. Goody, Goody
(5:13) 13. You'll Have To Swing It (Mr. Paganini) (Pt. 1 & 2)
(3:16) 14. Early Autumn
(2:57) 15. Angel Eyes
(3:05) 16. Prevue
(2:53) 17. Careless
(2:50) 18. Blue Lou
(2:55) 19. Melancholy Me
(2:50) 20. Lullaby Of Birdland

Ella Fitzgerald's tenure at Decca Records has been criticized, especially in comparison to her subsequent stay at Verve, for the mediocrity of the material she recorded and her late-blooming maturity as a singer. By selecting 20 tracks from among the sessions she did late in her Decca period with arranger/conductor Sy Oliver, this album makes the best of that era, though the results still do not rank with Fitzgerald's later triumphs.

The punchy Oliver style, heard in everything from the works of Jimmie Lunceford to those of Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra, has a Dixieland flavor, especially in its blaring horns, that Fitzgerald seems to find stimulating. But the quality of the material is still the key: when singer and arranger have something like "Basin Street Blues" to work with, they do fine (Fitzgerald even breaks into her first recorded Louis Armstrong imitation), and there are enough such examples "I've Got the World on a String," "Angel Eyes," "Blue Lou," and Fitzgerald's scat showcase "You'll Have to Swing It (Mr. Paganini)" to raise the album to worthwhile status, especially when you throw in a duet session with Armstrong himself on "Dream a Little Dream of Me" and "Can Anyone Explain?."

But there are also many second-rate songs that Fitzgerald dutifully sings as though they were something better, and that keeps this album from countering the usual impression of the Decca years.By William Ruhlmann.https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-last-decca-years-1949-1954-mw0000602836

The Last Decca Years 1949-1954

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Sherrie Maricle - Live Concert

Styles: Swing, Bop
Year: 1993
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 77:16
Size: 183,5 MB
Art: Front

( 7:47) 1. Cherokee
( 6:48) 2. Day Dream
( 7:53) 3. I Wanna Be Happy
( 6:40) 4. Zoom Blewz
(10:28) 5. Django
( 6:46) 6. Air Mail Special
( 7:01) 7. If I Had You
( 7:29) 8. Perdido
( 8:01) 9. Blues For Dear Bobby
( 8:20) 10. Fascinating Rhythm

From the drum set Sherrie leads The DIVA Jazz Orchestra, her quintet FIVE PLAY and co-leads the 3Divas. From Carnegie Hall, she performs with The New York Pops and from celebrated stages everywhere, she is music director and drummer for Broadway star Maurice Hines. Sherrie is also a busy freelance performer and a published composer/arranger.

With her bands Sherrie has performed at many of the world’s most acclaimed music venues and festivals; from Lincoln Center to the Kennedy Center and the Hollywood Bowl, to Jazz Festivals in Germany, Switzerland, France, Portugal, Ireland, England, Croatia, Japan, Vietnam and Israel and beyond. Additionally, DIVA was featured at the 2017 NEA Jazz Master’s Awards Ceremony, the soundtrack for the NBC-Macy’s Fireworks Spectacular; on CBS Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood, on TCM’s televised broadcast of the 25th Anniversary of the Kennedy Center and NHK Japan’s New York Jazz. The band also co-stars in the award-winning documentary film The Girls in the Band.

Sherrie has received several awards and honors which include a 2016 Audelco Award for “Best Musical” – Tappin’ Thru Life; a 2014 Ovation award for “Best Music Direction” in Tappin’ Through Life; the 2009 Mary Lou Williams-Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Award, a 2013 State Department grant for FIVE PLAY to tour Vietnam, a tour grant from Arts International, The Kennedy Center Alliance Award for Outstanding Achievements in the Arts, a grant from Meet the Composer, a Doctoral Fellowship from New York University, the New York City Music Educator’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and was twice selected New York University “Music Teacher of the Year.”

As an educator, Sherrie runs a private drum set and percussion studio. She is also a clinician for Yamaha Drums, Sabian Cymbals, Aquarian Drum Heads and Vic Firth Drum Sticks. On a national level, she has served as guest conductor, soloist and adjudicator for many collegiate and high school jazz and All-State festivals. Sherrie also created and directs Musical Magic, a hospital outreach program for The Ronald McDonald House New York.

After earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1985 from Binghamton University Sherrie moved to New York City and attended New York University, where she completed a Masters of Arts in Jazz Performance in 1986 and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Jazz Performance/Composition in 2000.

The DIVA Jazz Orchestra’s 25th Anniversary Project (2018, ArtistShare) is the band’s most recent Cd, featuring original music composed by band members. In 2019 FIVE PLAY released “LIVE” at The Firehouse Stage (independent) and in 2016 the 3Divas recorded their self-titled inaugural Cd (independent) “LIVE” at WVIA Radi0.https://maestramusic.org/profile/sherrie-maricle/

Live Concert

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Chihiro Yamanaka - After Hours 2

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2012
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:27
Size: 122,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:35) 1. Fly Me To The Moon
(4:03) 2. Wakey, Wakey
(4:09) 3. Drift Apart
(4:11) 4. Just One Of Those Things
(4:52) 5. Georgia On My Mind
(5:05) 6. I'll Close My Eyes
(4:08) 7. Moanin'
(4:09) 8. Beautiful Love
(6:14) 9. Skating In Central Park
(6:07) 10. Autumn Leaves
(5:48) 11. I Didn't Know What Time It Was

Chihiro Yamanaka, Universal Music/Blue Note recording artist, is one of the most exciting jazz pianists and composers of her generation, and the leader of the Chihiro Yamanaka Trio. The new Chihiro Yamanaka CD, Somethin' Blue, is her Blue Note Records debut.

Chihiro has been a Universal Music/Verve recording artist since 2005, the same year in which she was named Swing Journal’s “Best New Artist." On the occasion of Universal's recent acquisition of Blue Note Records in time for Blue Note’s 75th anniversary Chihiro made the move to Blue Note. As a newly minted Blue Note artist, she has been a big part of the 75th anniversary celebrations, including a concert at the Blue Note Tokyo in which she performed with all-stars including bassist Ron Carter.

Chihiro, who most often performs and records in trio format, assembled a sextet for the Somethin' Blue sessions and created a new compositional universe that places this 2014 album in the lineage of classic Blue Note recordings. Her impressive technical mastery of the piano combines with her improvisational command to make her a member of the pantheon of great pianists who have recorded for Blue Note throughout its history.

Chihiro’s music pivots between her strikingly original compositions and her unique arrangements in which she accomplishes the impressive feat of introducing the element of surprise into some of the most famous songs in the jazz repertoire, contemporary popular music, and even the works of classical composers.

On Chihiro's 2013 CD, Molto Cantabile, she lovingly fractures classical gems, including one that has become a staple of her live shows, Beethoven's "Für Elise," which is exposed to an improbable series of kaleidoscopic variations which could withstand the involvement of knuckles and which let loose a torrent of effects that could lead the listener to wonder whether it's the music of Beethoven or of Thelonious Monk. As this unusual music unfolds, one could easily imagine both Beethoven and Monk looking on with astonishment and, ultimately, complete approval.

Chihiro took this concept in a different direction with her Beatles tribute, the 2012 CD Because, a groundbreaking disc that features some of the most creative reworkings of Beatles classics ever recorded. Along with the title track, “Because” (from Abbey Road), Chihiro transforms such great songs as “Yesterday” and “Michelle” into glittering vistas of her musical imagination.

Chihiro does all of her studio recording in New York City, working with some of the greatest talent in jazz. Her recordings have featured prominent artists such as Jaleel Shaw, Ben Williams, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Larry Grenadier, Jeff Ballard, Kendrick Scott, Gene Jackson, Vicente Archer, Robert Hurst, Yasushi Nakamura, Yoshi Waki, John Davis and Bernard “Pretty” Purdie.

Chihiro performs regularly on three continents. In New York City, Chihiro’s home base, her latest appearance was a spectacular March, 2015 concert with her trio at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center, where she played to a sellout crowd. Her New York appearances in recent years have also included Iridium Jazz Club, the Blue Note and Carnegie Hall.

Chihiro is active on the west coast (with repeat appearances at Yoshi’s San Francisco, Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz, and Dizzy's in San Diego), in Boston (Café 939, Regattabar), where her popularity is influenced by her status as a Berklee graduate, and in the Washington/Baltimore area (Blues Alley, Kennedy Center, An die Musik, Warner Theater). Among the highlights was her concert that opened the Mary Lou Williams Women In Jazz Festival at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, a set that was selected for broadcast on National Public Radio's "JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater."

In Japan, Chihiro performs to sellout audiences at large venues across the country, and all of her Universal CDs have topped the Japanese jazz charts. As a classical pianist, she has performed Gershwin’s Rhapsody In Blue with major symphony orchestras. She has become a multimedia celebrity in Japan, hosting her own radio show, making TV appearances, and authoring a book, The Landscape With Jazz.

Europe is fertile ground for Chihiro’s tours, which have included the Umbria Jazz Festival, Bologna Jazz Festival, Sunset-Sunside in Paris, Blue Note Milan, A-Trane in Berlin, the major venues and festivals in Rome including Auditorium Parco Della Musica, Roma Jazz Festival and Alexanderplatz, and a recent weeklong engagement at Marians Jazzroom in Bern, Switzerland.

Keeping pace with Chihiro’s whirlwind touring schedule is her prolific international recording career with Universal Music and Blue Note Records. In the past three years she has had six CD releases. Besides Somethin' Blue, Molto Cantabile and Because, they include After Hours 2, the U.S. release of Reminiscence, and a compilation, My Favorite Blue Note, on which Chihiro served as producer and contributed original music. In the same period Chihiro and Universal also have released an EP, Still Working, and two DVDs, Live In New York, videotaped at Iridium Jazz Club, and Live at Blue Note Tokyo. A Chihiro Yamanaka DVD gives her fans the opportunity to experience on video the spectacular visual presentation that has been seen by anyone who has witnessed the fireball of energy and virtuosity on display at a live Chihiro concert appearance.

Chihiro has received numerous awards, including Jazz Japan’s “Album of the Year” and the Japan Gold Disc Award for best-selling jazz record of the year, along with acknowledgments from critics, fans and musicians for her recordings and live performances. Jazz Life Magazine called Chihiro “one of the greatest jazz talents in decades,” and the late George Russell hailed her as “a very gifted and imaginative musician.”

In JazzTimes Magazine, Giovanni Russonello wrote an enthusiastic review of Chihiro's set at the 2011 Umbria Jazz Festival, opening for Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Marcus Miller. “Opening for the Tribute to Miles band with her trio, the Japanese pianist tore into two originals at the top of her set…When she announced ‘Take Five,’ the crowd let out a gleeful 'ahh' but they weren’t ready for the voracious reharmonization, full of upward-creeping bass lines and chromatic descents, or her mid-song interpolation of 'In Your Own Sweet Way,' retrofitted in 5/4 time. Right and left, jaws were dropping."Chihiro Yamanaka, Universal Music/Blue Note recording artist, is one of the most exciting jazz pianists and composers of her generation, and the leader of the Chihiro Yamanaka Trio. The new Chihiro Yamanaka CD, Somethin' Blue, is her Blue Note Records debut.
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/chihiro-yamanaka/

Personnel: Chihiro Yamanaka - piano; Avi Rothbard - guitar; Yasushi Nakamura - bass; Yoshi Waki - bass

After Hours 2

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JoosTVD - Just Say kNOw

Styles: Jazz Funk
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 34:35
Size: 81,1 MB
Art: Front

(3:04) 1. Not Now
(3:48) 2. The Vanished Romeo
(2:48) 3. Indie
(1:48) 4. My Cat Is Stoned
(2:56) 5. Loaded
(4:38) 6. Gameface
(3:09) 7. Rottendance
(3:28) 8. Crest Of A Wave
(3:51) 9. There's No Sense In Making Sense
(1:35) 10. All The Way
(3:20) 11. Not Ever

When you are a really competent musician who just wants to have fun, the result is JoosTVD. Just Say Know is 11 songs worth of expertly played, groovy, smooth progressive funk. The project’s style is very interesting and out there, not conforming to traditional songwriting and instrumentation.

There’s a playful mood to the record there’s a song about one’s cat partaking in weed, for goodness’ sake! But what strikes us most is how much fun JoosTVD is having performing such tricky, jazzy, funky parts. It’s a lovely thing to observe and hear, yet JoosTVD is never comical or goofy.

Just Say Know is clearly a labor of love and that shows through the masterful songwriting, tight performance, and challenging, compelling song structures. This is a progressive project, after all, and the person behind it did one hell of a job!

If you ever wondered how Faith No More may sound if they dialed back the edginess, give Just Say Know a spin.https://blog.drooble.com/joostvd-want-you-to-just-say-know-to-progressive-funk/

Just Say kNOw

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