All reviews from Amazon entry unless otherwise indicated.
total 115M 4.7M 01 - Bukka White - I'm Gettin' Ready.mp3 4.1M 02 - Bukka White - Aberdeen Blues.mp3 3.9M 03 - Big Joe Williams - My Baby Is Gone.mp3 3.2M 04 - Big Joe Williams - My Boots & Shoes.mp3 6.0M 05 - Robert Pete Williams - Look Here Woman.mp3 4.8M 06 - Roosevelt Sykes - Drivin' Wheel.mp3 3.5M 07 - Roosevelt Sykes - Sweet Home Chicago.mp3 6.0M 08 - Memphis Slim & Michael Denis - Lonesome Traveller.mp3 5.8M 09 - Memphis Slim & Michael Denis - Boogin' and Bluesin'.mp3 6.4M 10 - Johnny Young, W.D. Kent & Billy Davenport - Instrumental Boogie.mp3 9.1M 11 - Big Mama Thornton - Tell Me Baby.mp3 11M 12 - Big Mama Thornton - Ball In Chain.mp3 9.9M 13 - T-Bone Walker - Shake It Baby.mp3 8.5M 14 - T-Bone Walker - Goin' Back To Church.mp3 6.0M 15 - Jimmy Rogers, Whispering Smith & W.D. Kent - Tricky Woman.mp3 5.9M 16 - Lightning Slim & Whispering Smith - Winter Time Blues.mp3 8.8M 17 - Jimmy Dawkins Chicago Blues Band - Don't Ever Leave Me.mp3 8.1M 18 - Jimmy Dawkins Chicago Blues Band - Got My Mojo Workin'.mp3
total 118M 5.0M 01 - Louisiana Red - Pretty Woman.mp3 3.8M 02 - Louisiana Red - I Wonder Who.mp3 5.0M 03 - Louisiana Red - Lonesome Train.mp3 6.1M 04 - Willie Mabon, Hubert Sumlin & Eddie Taylor - Lonesome Train.mp3 7.9M 05 - Willie Mabon & Hubert Sumlin - Mabon's Boogie.mp3 8.2M 06 - Louisiana Red, Washboard Doc, Lucky & Flash - Shake, Rattle and Roll.mp3 5.0M 07 - Louisiana Red, Washboard Doc, Lucky & Flash - Flip, Flop and Fly.mp3 8.7M 08 - Sunnyland Slim & Louisiana Red - Rock Little Daddy.mp3 5.7M 09 - Hubert Sumlin, Carey Bell & Eddie Taylor - Gamblin' Woman.mp3 4.7M 10 - Eddie Taylor & Carey Bell - I Got a Little Thing They Call It Swing.mp3 6.9M 11 - Hubert Sumlin, Eddie Taylor & Robert Stroger - One Day I Get Lucky.mp3 8.2M 12 - Hubert Sumlin, Eddie Taylor & Robert Stroger - Nineteen Years Old.mp3 6.9M 13 - Hubert Sumlin, Eddie Taylor & Robert Stroger - What My Moma Told Me.mp3 6.4M 14 - Hubert Sumlin, Eddie Taylor & Robert Stroger - Everytime I Get to Drinking.mp3 8.4M 15 - Sunnyland Slim, Carey Bell & Hubert Sumlin - Sunnyland's New Orleans Boogie.mp3 7.4M 16 - Hubert Sumlin, Eddie Taylor & Roger Stoger - Dust My Broom.mp3 6.7M 17 - Hubert Sumlin, Eddie Taylor & Roger Stoger - There'll Be A Day.mp3 7.7M 18 - Louisiana Red, Hubert Sumlin & Roger Stoger - Labour Blues.mp3 4.0K American Folk Blues Fest 1980.md5 3.5K American Folk Blues Fest 1980.sfv
total 119M 4.1M 01 - Bowling Green John - Bowling Green Bag.mp3 6.6M 02 - Bowling Green John - Bye Bye Baby.mp3 5.1M 03 - Bowling Green John - Last Fair Deal.mp3 8.2M 04 - Sunnyland Slim - One Room Country Shack.mp3 7.4M 05 - Sunnyland Slim - Tin Pan Alley.mp3 6.0M 06 - Sunnyland Slim - Dust My Broom.mp3 8.7M 07 - Louisiana Red - Woodchopping Blues.mp3 6.7M 08 - Hubert Sumlin - I Love.mp3 5.7M 09 - Hubert Sumlin - Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky.mp3 12M 10 - Carey Bell's Blues Harp Band - I Need You So Bad.mp3 12M 11 - Carey Bell's Blues Harp Band - Man and The Blues.mp3 4.7M 12 - Margie Evans - 29 Ways.mp3 11M 13 - Margie Evans - Trouble Trouble.mp3 7.2M 14 - Margie Evans - Hound Dog.mp3 15M 15 - Margie Evans - Next Time I See You.mp3 2.5K American Folk Blues Fest 1981.md5 2.5K American Folk Blues Fest 1981.sfv
total 118M 5.7M 01. James 'Son' Thomas - Beefsteak Blues.mp3 6.2M 02. James 'Son' Thomas - Catfish Blues.mp3 1.2M 03. by John Cephas - Introducing Archie Edwards.mp3 4.8M 04. Archie Edwards - How Long Blues.mp3 3.7M 05. Archie Edwards - That Won't Do.mp3 4.4M 06. Archie Edwards - Take Me Back Baby.mp3 5.7M 07. Cephas and Wiggins - Big Boss Man.mp3 5.7M 08. Cephas and Wiggins - Burn Your Bridges.mp3 12M 09. Lurrie Bell and Billy Branch - Detroit Michigan.mp3 7.5M 10. Carey Bell, Billy Branch & Phil Wiggins - Tribute to Big Walter.mp3 8.8M 11. Cephas and Wiggins - Running and Hiding.mp3 4.3M 12. James 'Son' Thomas - Good Morning Little Schoolgirl.mp3 5.0M 13. James 'Son' Thomas - Stormy Monday Blues.mp3 9.0M 14. Carey Bell - Goin' On Main Street.mp3 11M 15. Carey Bell - Blues Harp Blues By Three.mp3 9.0M 16. Margie Evans - That Dirty Black Rat.mp3 8.9M 17. Margie Evans - Sometimes I'll Be Gone.mp3 6.3M 18. Margie Evans - Bye Bye Baby.mp3 3.5K American Folk Blues Fest 1982.md5 3.0K American Folk Blues Fest 1982.sfv
total 116M 6.3M 01. James 'Sparky' Rucker - Rock Me Baby.mp3 7.0M 02. James 'Sparky' Rucker - Crossroads.mp3 6.5M 03. Larry Johnson - Midnight Hour.mp3 3.8M 04. Larry Johnson - That's The Wrong Woman.mp3 12M 05. Louisiana Red - Red's Tribute to Muddy Waters.mp3 11M 06. Louisiana Red - Boy From Black Bayou.mp3 6.0M 07. Louisiana Red - She Is Worse.mp3 4.5M 08. Lonnie Pitchford - One-String Boogie.mp3 4.6M 09. Lonnie Pitchford - My Baby Walked Away.mp3 5.6M 10. Lonnie Pitchford - C.C. Rider.mp3 9.1M 11. Louisiana Red & Carey Bell - When I Lay Down To Rest.mp3 5.2M 12. Louisiana Red & Carey Bell - Who's Louisiana Red.mp3 4.3M 13. Louisiana Red & Carey Bell - Reagan is for The Rich Man.mp3 3.7M 14. Lovie Lee - Flip, Flop and Fly.mp3 4.3M 15. Lovie Lee - Mind To Ramble.mp3 3.0M 16. Lovie Lee - Iko-Iko.mp3 12M 17. Queen Sylvia & Friends - I Love You.mp3 8.7M 18. Queen Sylvia & Friends - Baby What Do I Do.mp3 3.0K American Folk Blues Fest 1983.md5 3.0K American Folk Blues Fest 1983.sfv
total 67M 5.9M 01. James 'Sparky' Rucker - Walkin' Blues.mp3 5.8M 02. Blind Joe Hill - Fanny Mae.mp3 11M 03. Cash McCall - I Can't Quit You Baby.mp3 4.7M 04. James Thomas - Smokey Mountain Blues.mp3 8.0M 05. Eddie 'Cleanhead' Vinson - Hold It Right There.mp3 8.6M 06. The Young Blues Thrillers - From Boogie To Funk.mp3 14M 07. The Young Blues Thrillers - Gettin' Closer.mp3 2.6M 08. The Young Blues Thrillers - The Young Blues Thrillers' Theme.mp3 7.2M 09. Margie Evans - Two Lovers In One.mp3 2.0K American Folk Blues Fest 1985.md5 1.5K American Folk Blues Fest 1985.sfv
Vol. 1 total 54M 2.0M Up Country Blues - 01 - Barrel House Blues- Ed Andrews.mp3 2.4M Up Country Blues - 02 - Georgia Stockade Blues- Tom Delany.mp3 2.4M Up Country Blues - 03 - Sun Brimmers Blues- Memphis Jug Band.mp3 2.0M Up Country Blues - 04 - Goin' To Leave You Blues- Big Boy Cleveland.mp3 1.9M Up Country Blues - 05 - Dry Bone Shuffle- Blind Blake.mp3 2.3M Up Country Blues - 06 - Up Country Blues- De Ford Bailey.mp3 2.3M Up Country Blues - 07 - Dead Drunk Blues- Sippie Wallace.mp3 1.9M Up Country Blues - 08 - Original Stack O'Lee Blues- Long 'Cleve' Reed, Little Harvey Hull.mp3 2.1M Up Country Blues - 09 - Easy Rider Don't You Deny My Name- Barbecue Bob.mp3 1.9M Up Country Blues - 10 - Bo-Lita- Kid Brown.mp3 1.7M Up Country Blues - 11 - Everybody Help The Boys Come Home- William & Versey Smith.mp3 2.3M Up Country Blues - 12 - Church Bells Blues- Luke Jordan.mp3 2.2M Up Country Blues - 13 - Two Ways To Texas- Emery Glen.mp3 2.4M Up Country Blues - 14 - It Won't Be Long Now- Barbecue Bob & Laughing Charley.mp3 2.1M Up Country Blues - 15 - Bottleneck Blues- Weaver & Beasley.mp3 2.1M Up Country Blues - 16 - Rock Island Blues- Lewis Black.mp3 1.9M Up Country Blues - 17 - Midnight Blues- William (Bill) Moore.mp3 1.8M Up Country Blues - 18 - Fare Thee Blues, Pt. 1- Johnnie Head.mp3 2.2M Up Country Blues - 19 - My Monday Woman Blues- Jim Jackson.mp3 2.1M Up Country Blues - 20 - What's The Matter Blues- Frank Stokes.mp3 2.3M Up Country Blues - 21 - School Girl Blues- Rosie Mae Moore.mp3 2.4M Up Country Blues - 22 - Cool Drink Of Water Blues- Tommy Johnson.mp3 2.4M Up Country Blues - 23 - Left Alone Blues- Ishman Bracey.mp3 2.3M Up Country Blues - 24 - T And T Blues- 'Mooch' Richardson.mp3 2.4M Up Country Blues - 25 - T.C. Johnson Blues- T.C. Johnson & 'Blue Coat' Tom Nelson.mp3 681K Up Country Blues (back).jpg 204K Up Country Blues (disc).jpg 443K Up Country Blues (front).jpg Vol. 2 total 55M 2.1M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Two-Broke And Hungry Blues - 01 - Ham Hound Crave- Rube Lacy.mp3 2.1M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Two-Broke And Hungry Blues - 02 - No More Women Blues- Texas Alexander.mp3 2.1M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Two-Broke And Hungry Blues - 03 - How Long-How Long Blues- 'New Orleans' Willie Jackson.mp3 2.2M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Two-Broke And Hungry Blues - 04 - Unknown Blues- Tarter And Gay.mp3 2.2M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Two-Broke And Hungry Blues - 05 - Chicken Wilson Blues- Chicken Wilson And Skeeter Hinton.mp3 2.1M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Two-Broke And Hungry Blues - 06 - Stack O'Lee Blues- Mississippi John Hurt.mp3 2.4M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Two-Broke And Hungry Blues - 07 - Broke And Hungry Blues- Peg Leg Howell.mp3 2.3M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Two-Broke And Hungry Blues - 08 - Funny Feathers- Victoria Spivey.mp3 2.2M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Two-Broke And Hungry Blues - 09 - Pitchin' Boogie- Will Ezell.mp3 2.2M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Two-Broke And Hungry Blues - 10 - Mr. Devil Blues- Jed Davenport.mp3 2.0M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Two-Broke And Hungry Blues - 11 - Mississippi Bottom Blues- Kid Bailey.mp3 1.9M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Two-Broke And Hungry Blues - 12 - Weary Heart Blues- James Wiggins.mp3 2.1M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Two-Broke And Hungry Blues - 13 - Poor Man Blues- Henry Townsend.mp3 2.2M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Two-Broke And Hungry Blues - 14 - Framer's Blues- Eli Framer.mp3 2.2M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Two-Broke And Hungry Blues - 15 - Trinity River Blues- Aaron 'T-Bone' Walker.mp3 2.2M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Two-Broke And Hungry Blues - 16 - Heavy Suitcase Blues- Charley Taylor.mp3 2.3M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Two-Broke And Hungry Blues - 17 - Traveling Mama Blues- Joe Calicott.mp3 2.2M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Two-Broke And Hungry Blues - 18 - Jumpin' And Shoutin' Blues- Garlield Akers.mp3 2.2M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Two-Broke And Hungry Blues - 19 - Bedside Blues- Jim Thompkins.mp3 2.1M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Two-Broke And Hungry Blues - 20 - Walking Blues- Son House.mp3 2.1M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Two-Broke And Hungry Blues - 21 - Future Blues- Willie Brown.mp3 2.4M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Two-Broke And Hungry Blues - 22 - Long Ways From Home- Louise Johnson.mp3 2.2M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Two-Broke And Hungry Blues - 23 - Frisco Blues- Bayless Rose.mp3 2.2M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Two-Broke And Hungry Blues - 24 - Good Boy Blues- Arthur Pettis.mp3 2.0M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Two-Broke And Hungry Blues - 25 - No Special Rider Blues- Little Brother Montgomery.mp3 668K Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Two-Broke And Hungry Blues (back).jpg 207K Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Two-Broke And Hungry Blues (disc).jpg 499K Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Two-Broke And Hungry Blues (front).jpg Vol. 3 total 53M 2.3M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Three-Good Whiskey Blues - 01 - Married Man Blues- Blind Willie Reynolds.mp3 2.5M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Three-Good Whiskey Blues - 02 - Dupree Blues- Willie Walker.mp3 2.0M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Three-Good Whiskey Blues - 03 - 22-20 Blues- Skip James.mp3 2.2M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Three-Good Whiskey Blues - 04 - Lonesome Road Blues- Sam Collins.mp3 2.2M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Three-Good Whiskey Blues - 05 - Midnight Hour Blues- Leroy Carr & Scrapper Blackwell.mp3 2.3M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Three-Good Whiskey Blues - 06 - Fat Mama Blues- Jabo Williams.mp3 2.3M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Three-Good Whiskey Blues - 07 - Never Mind Blues- Georgia Boyd.mp3 2.3M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Three-Good Whiskey Blues - 08 - The Twelves (Dirty Dozen)- Kokomo Arnold.mp3 2.2M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Three-Good Whiskey Blues - 09 - Little Leg Woman- Big Joe Williams.mp3 2.1M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Three-Good Whiskey Blues - 10 - That's What My Baby Likes- Bessie Jackson.mp3 2.2M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Three-Good Whiskey Blues - 11 - Good Whiskey Blues- Peetie Wheatstraw.mp3 2.1M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Three-Good Whiskey Blues - 12 - Strut That Thing- Cripple Clarence Lofton.mp3 2.0M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Three-Good Whiskey Blues - 13 - Teasin' Brown Blues- Louie Lasky.mp3 2.1M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Three-Good Whiskey Blues - 14 - Cold Blooded Murder, No.2- Bumble Bee Slim.mp3 2.3M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Three-Good Whiskey Blues - 15 - Baby, You Gotta Change Your Mind- Blind Boy Fuller.mp3 1.9M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Three-Good Whiskey Blues - 16 - Ashes In My Whiskey- Walter Davis.mp3 2.0M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Three-Good Whiskey Blues - 17 - It's Cold In China Blues- The Mississippi Moaner (Isaiah Nettles).mp3 2.0M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Three-Good Whiskey Blues - 18 - Jockey Blues- Jazz Gillum.mp3 2.2M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Three-Good Whiskey Blues - 19 - Prisoner Blues- George Clarke.mp3 2.2M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Three-Good Whiskey Blues - 20 - Back Door Blues- Casey Bill Weldon.mp3 1.8M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Three-Good Whiskey Blues - 21 - Don't Sell It (Don't Give It Away)- Buddy Woods.mp3 1.9M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Three-Good Whiskey Blues - 22 - Booker T. Blues- Washboard Sam.mp3 1.9M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Three-Good Whiskey Blues - 23 - Hard Scufflin' Blues- Little Buddy Doyle.mp3 2.1M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Three-Good Whiskey Blues - 24 - Jersey Belle Blues- Lonnie Johnson.mp3 2.0M Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Three-Good Whiskey Blues - 25 - Baby, Please Don't Tell On Me- Tommy McLennan.mp3 685K Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Three-Good Whiskey Blues (back).jpg 202K Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Three-Good Whiskey Blues (disc).jpg 433K Broke, Black & Blue - Volume Three-Good Whiskey Blues (front).jpg Vol. 4 total 51M 2.0M Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame - 01 - East St. Louis Blues- Faber Smith & Jimmy Yancey.mp3 1.9M Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame - 02 - Bukka's Jitterbug Swing- Bukka White.mp3 2.2M Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame - 03 - Can't You Read- Big Maceo.mp3 2.1M Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame - 04 - Life Is Like That- Memphis Slim.mp3 2.3M Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame - 05 - Memory Of Sonny Boy- Forest City Joe.mp3 2.1M Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame - 06 - Horse Shoe Boogie- Lee Brown.mp3 2.1M Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame - 07 - Ruby Moore Blues- Lee Brown.mp3 2.0M Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame - 08 - Low Land Blues- Lee Brown.mp3 2.1M Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame - 09 - Round The World Boogie- Lee Brown.mp3 1.9M Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame - 10 - Rock That Boogie- Jimmie Gordon.mp3 2.1M Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame - 11 - Fast Life- Jimmie Gordon.mp3 1.8M Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame - 12 - Mistreated Blues- Jimmie Gordon.mp3 2.0M Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame - 13 - I Ain't Like That No More- Jimmie Gordon.mp3 2.0M Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame - 14 - Chain Gang Blues- Johnny Temple.mp3 1.9M Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame - 15 - Yum, Yum, Yum- Johnny Temple.mp3 1.9M Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame - 16 - My Baby's Acting Funny- Jimmie Gordon.mp3 1.9M Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame - 17 - It's Time To Go- Jimmie Gordon.mp3 2.0M Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame - 18 - That Woman's A Pearl Diver- Jimmie Gordon.mp3 1.9M Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame - 19 - Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame- Jimmie Gordon.mp3 2.0M Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame - 20 - I Believe I'll Go Downtown Again- Johnny Temple.mp3 1.9M Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame - 21 - Something In The Moon That Gives Me A Thrill- Johnny Temple.mp3 2.0M Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame - 22 - Dixie Flyer- Johnny Temple.mp3 1.9M Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame - 23 - Believe My Sins Have Found Me Out- Johnny Temple.mp3 2.0M Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame - 24 - Rhythm Mama- Johnny Temple.mp3 1.9M Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame - 25 - New Little Girl, Little Girl- Lee Brown.mp3 673K Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame (back).jpg 194K Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame (disc).jpg 438K Jumpin' At The Club Blue Flame (front).jpg
total 38M 3.0M 01 - Ain't It Hard.mp3 2.9M 02 - Big Boss Man.mp3 3.2M 03 - 'Bout A Spoonful.mp3 2.5M 04 - Freddie.mp3 2.2M 05 - Knockin' Down Windows.mp3 2.3M 06 - Mama Don't Allow.mp3 2.3M 07 - Mama, Let Me Lay It On You.mp3 2.6M 08 - Motherless Children.mp3 1.9M 09 - Rag In G.mp3 2.7M 10 - Shake, Shake Mama.mp3 2.9M 11 - So Different Blues.mp3 2.0M 12 - Sugar Babe.mp3 1.9M 13 - Take Me Back.mp3 2.8M 14 - Willie Poor Boy.mp3 2.3M 15 - You Got To Reap What You Sow.mp3 707K Mance Lipscomb - Texas Blues Guitar - Scans.zip
Vol. 1 total 60M 2.0M 01 - Sugar Babe (It's All Over Now).mp3 2.9M 02 - Going Down Slow.mp3 2.5M 03 - Freddie.mp3 3.8M 04 - Jack O' Diamonds.mp3 1.7M 05 - Baby Please Don't Go.mp3 2.8M 06 - One Thin Dime.mp3 2.7M 07 - Shake, Shake, Mama.mp3 2.4M 08 - Ella Speed.mp3 2.3M 09 - Mama Don't Allow.mp3 3.1M 10 - Ain't It Hard.mp3 3.2M 11 - 'Bout A Spoonful.mp3 1.9M 12 - Take Me Back Babe.mp3 1.9M 13 - Rag in G.mp3 2.9M 14 - Big Boss Man.mp3 2.5M 15 - You Gonna Quit Me.mp3 3.9M 16 - Blues in G.mp3 3.2M 17 - Mama, Don't Dog Me.mp3 2.8M 18 - Willie Poor Boy.mp3 2.6M 19 - Tell Me Where You Stayed Last Night.mp3 2.3M 20 - Knock Down Windows.mp3 1.4M 21 - Nobody's Fault But Mine.mp3 2.5M 22 - Motherless Children.mp3 3.7M Mance Lipscomb - Texas Songster - Scans.zip Vol. 2 total 73M 3.4M 01 - Charlie James.mp3 3.8M 02 - Come Back Baby.mp3 1.9M 03 - Spanish Flang Dang.mp3 2.3M 04 - You Got To Reap What You Sow.mp3 1.3M 05 - Cocaine Done Killed My Baby.mp3 4.2M 06 - Joe Turner Killed A Man.mp3 3.1M 07 - Bumble Bee.mp3 2.3M 08 - Boogie In 'A'.mp3 3.5M 09 - Hattie Green.mp3 3.4M 10 - Silver City.mp3 3.0M 11 - The Titanic.mp3 3.8M 12 - If I Miss The Train.mp3 1.6M 13 - Lord Thomas.mp3 5.2M 14 - Tom Moore Blues.mp3 2.9M 15 - So Different Blues.mp3 2.5M 16 - Tall Angel At The BAr.mp3 3.9M 17 - Mama, Don't Dog Me.mp3 2.8M 18 - Long Way To Tipperary.mp3 3.2M 19 - Willie Poor Boy.mp3 3.4M 20 - You Rascal You.mp3 3.6M 21 - I Looked Down The Road And I Wondered.mp3 2.5M 22 - Sentimental Blues.mp3 2.5M 23 - Police Station Blues.mp3 2.0M 24 - Missouri Waltz.mp3 1.8M Mance Lipscomb - You Got To Reap What You Sow - The Texas Songster - Vol. 2 - Scans.zip Vol. 3 total 65M 3.0M 01 - Captain, Captain!.mp3 2.2M 02 - Ain't You Sorry.mp3 3.7M 03 - Night Time is the Right Time.mp3 2.0M 04 - Mr. Tom's Rag.mp3 2.4M 05 - I Want to Do Something for You.mp3 2.5M 06 - Long Tall Girl Got Stuck on Me.mp3 1.4M 07 - Rag in 'A'.mp3 3.7M 08 - Goin' up North to See My Pony Run.mp3 3.0M 09 - Santa Fe Blues.mp3 1.7M 10 - Frankie and Albert.mp3 2.9M 11 - Sentimental Piece in 'G'.mp3 3.5M 12 - Farewell Blues.mp3 2.5M 13 - Shorty George.mp3 3.4M 14 - Angel Child.mp3 2.1M 15 - Black Rat.mp3 3.3M 16 - Tom Moore's Farm - take 2.mp3 3.0M 17 - Foggy Bottom Blues.mp3 1.6M 18 - Heel and Toe Polka.mp3 2.0M 19 - Going Back to Georgia.mp3 3.0M 20 - Easy Rider Blues.mp3 3.0M 21 - Why did You Leave Me.mp3 2.5M 22 - Me and My Baby.mp3 2.0M 23 - Mance's Talking Blues.mp3 3.5M 24 - Segregation Done Past.mp3 2.2M Mance Lipscomb - Captain Captain - The Texas Songster - Vol. 3 - Scans.zip Vol. 4 total 67M 2.3M 01 - Baby, Don't You Lay It on Me.mp3 2.5M 02 - Meet Me in the Bottom.mp3 2.7M 03 - You Gonna Miss Me.mp3 1.8M 04 - Keep on Truckin'.mp3 2.7M 05 - Trobule in Mind.mp3 3.4M 06 - Tom Moore Blues.mp3 3.4M 07 - Mance's Short-haired Woman.mp3 2.3M 08 - Tra-La-Ra-La Doodle All Day.mp3 2.3M 09 - Shine on Harvest Moon.mp3 2.5M 10 - Run, Sinner, Run.mp3 3.2M 11 - Key to the Highway.mp3 3.4M 12 - Rock Me, Mama.mp3 2.5M 13 - Wonder Where My Easy Rider Done Gone.mp3 4.9M 14 - Late Night Blues & Boogie Woogie.mp3 11M 15 - Early Days Back Home.mp3 2.3M 16 - Cocaine Done Killed My Baby.mp3 4.4M 17 - I Wonder Why.mp3 2.3M 18 - It Ain't Gonna Rain No More.mp3 2.4M 19 - You Gonna Quit Me, Baby.mp3 2.2M 20 - When the Saints Go Marching In.mp3 2.1M 21 - Mother Had a Sick Child.mp3 1.9M Mance Lipscomb - Live! At The Cabale - The Texas Songster - Vol. 4 - Scans.zip Vol. 5 total 126M 7.6M 01 - Texas Blues.mp3 7.1M 02 - Black Gal.mp3 8.1M 03 - Oh, Baby! (You Don't Have To Go).mp3 7.9M 04 - Whiskey Blues.mp3 5.3M 05 - Haunted House Blues.mp3 8.6M 06 - Mance's Blues.mp3 8.5M 07 - Does She Ever Think Of Me.mp3 4.1M 08 - I Just Hang Down My Head And I Cry.mp3 4.7M 09 - Rag In F.mp3 5.7M 10 - Wonder Where My Easy Rider Gone.mp3 11M 11 - Tell Me Where You Stayed Last Night.mp3 5.1M 12 - Corrine, Corrina.mp3 5.2M 13 - Evil Blues.mp3 4.2M 14 - Mama, Let Me Lay It On You.mp3 8.1M 15 - Louise.mp3 7.8M 16 - Sometimes I Feel Like.mp3 6.5M 17 - Blues In The Bottle.mp3 9.7M 18 - Angel Child.mp3 1.3M Mance Lipscomb - Texas Country Blues - Texas Songster - Vol. 5 - Scans.zip
Vol. 1 total 124M 2.2M Jaco Pastorius -Punk Jazz - CD 1 -01 -The Chicken.mp3 6.7M Jaco Pastorius -Punk Jazz - CD 1 -02 -Amelia.mp3 9.5M Jaco Pastorius -Punk Jazz - CD 1 -03 -I Can Dig It Baby.mp3 8.4M Jaco Pastorius -Punk Jazz - CD 1 -04 -Batterie.mp3 7.4M Jaco Pastorius -Punk Jazz - CD 1 -05 -Continuum.mp3 9.7M Jaco Pastorius -Punk Jazz - CD 1 -06 -Midwestern Nights Dream.mp3 13M Jaco Pastorius -Punk Jazz - CD 1 -07 -Foreign Fun.mp3 9.7M Jaco Pastorius -Punk Jazz - CD 1 -08 -Birdland.mp3 11M Jaco Pastorius -Punk Jazz - CD 1 -09 -Nativity.mp3 7.2M Jaco Pastorius -Punk Jazz - CD 1 -10 -Las Olas.mp3 7.0M Jaco Pastorius -Punk Jazz - CD 1 -11 -Sunday.mp3 9.5M Jaco Pastorius -Punk Jazz - CD 1 -12 -Layas.mp3 9.1M Jaco Pastorius -Punk Jazz - CD 1 -13 -Goodbye Pork Pie Hat.mp3 7.3M Jaco Pastorius -Punk Jazz - CD 1 -14 -The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines.mp3 7.4M Jaco Pastorius -Punk Jazz - CD 1 -15 -Punk Jazz.mp3 Vol. 2 total 129M 9.9M Jaco Pastorius -Punk Jazz - CD2 -01 -3 Views of a Secret.mp3 20M Jaco Pastorius -Punk Jazz - CD2 -02 -Liberty City.mp3 4.9M Jaco Pastorius -Punk Jazz - CD2 -03 -Chromatic Fantasy.mp3 4.5M Jaco Pastorius -Punk Jazz - CD2 -04 -Blackbird.mp3 5.9M Jaco Pastorius -Punk Jazz - CD2 -05 -Word of Mouth.mp3 18M Jaco Pastorius -Punk Jazz - CD2 -06 -John and Mary.mp3 10M Jaco Pastorius -Punk Jazz - CD2 -07 -Good Morning Anya.mp3 14M Jaco Pastorius -Punk Jazz - CD2 -08 -Invitation.mp3 11M Jaco Pastorius -Punk Jazz - CD2 -09 -Soul Intro.The Chicken.mp3 1.9M Jaco Pastorius -Punk Jazz - CD2 -10 -Amerika.mp3 12M Jaco Pastorius -Punk Jazz - CD2 -11 -Okonkole' Y Trompa.mp3 9.8M Jaco Pastorius -Punk Jazz - CD2 -12 -Mood Swings.mp3 8.4M Jaco Pastorius -Punk Jazz - CD2 -13-Out of the Night.mp3
total 99M 33M Dave Holland Quintet - Live Theatre St-Denis - 01 - Jumpin' In.mp3 15M Dave Holland Quintet - Live Theatre St-Denis - 02 - Brother Tie.mp3 11M Dave Holland Quintet - Live Theatre St-Denis - 03 - Nexus.mp3 41M Dave Holland Quintet - Live Theatre St-Denis - 04 - Wights Waits for Weights - Vor.mp3 4.0K Dave Holland Quintet - Live Theatre St-Denis - 05 - info.txt
"From 1964, Archie Shepp's first date as a leader featured -- as one would expect from the title -- four tunes by John Coltrane, his mentor, his major influence, and his bandleader. The fact that this album holds up better than almost any of Shepp's records nearly 40 years after the fact has plenty to do with the band he chose for this session, and everything to do with the arranging skills of trombonist Roswell Rudd. The band here is Shepp on tenor, John Tchicai on alto, Rudd on trombone, Trane's bassist Reggie Workman, and Ornette Coleman's drummer Charles Moffett. Even in 1964, this was a powerhouse, beginning with a bluesed-out wailing version of "Syeeda's Song Flute." This version is ingenious, with Shepp allowing Rudd to arrange for solos for himself and Tchicai up front and Rudd punching in the blues and gospel in the middle, before giving way to double time by Workman and Moffett. The rawness of the whole thing is so down-home you're ready to tell someone to pass the butter beans when listening. Rudd's arrangement of "Naima" is also stunningly beautiful: He reharmonizes the piece for the mid-register tone of Shepp, who does his best Ben Webster and adds a microtonal tag onto the front and back, dislocating the tune before it begins and after it ends, while keeping it just out of the range of the consonant throughout. Wonderful! The only Shepp original here is "Rufus (Swung, His Face at Last to the Wind, Then His Neck Snapped)." It's not a terribly sophisticated tune, but it works in the context of this band largely because of the soloing prowess of all the members -- particularly Tchicai -- here. There is barely any melody, the key changes are commensurate with tempo shifts, and the harmonics are of the sliding scale variety. Still, there are the blues; no one can dig into them and honk them better than Shepp. When it came to sheer exuberance and expression, he was a force to be reckoned with in his youth, and it shows in each of the tunes recorded here. Four for Trane is a truly fine, original, and lasting album from an under-celebrated musician." - Thom Jurek
"Tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp's third release for the Impulse label collects valuable loose ends recorded between March and August 1965. Among the highlights are a passionate reading of Duke Ellington's "In a Sentimental Mood" and the title piece, a moving tribute to WEB DuBois, featuring the haunting soprano vocalist Christine Spencer employing a distinct 20th century classical influence, with Shepp on piano. The CD version of On This Night includes an alternate take of "The Mac Man," three of "The Chased," and a reading of his poem "Malcolm, Malcolm, Semper Malcolm." Shepp is the solo horn on these dates, playing at peak form with contributions from vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson early in his career, David Izenzon or Henry Grimes on bass, and four rotating drummers, including Rashied Ali, J.C. Moses, Joe Chambers, and Ed Blackwell, playing a variety of percussion." - Al Campbell
"Not at the same level as their debut (My Feet Can't Fail Me Now), this second outing by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band (taken from a couple sets performed at the 1985 Montreux Jazz Festival) is overly loose in spots and has some lightweight material that was better heard live than on record. The party music does have its strong moments, the mightly sousaphone playing of Kirk Joseph (who simulates an electric bass) pushes the group and the joy of the band is not to be denied, but "The Flintstones Meets the President" is only worth hearing once." - Scott Yanow
total 107M 4.0K 00 - The Dirty Dozen Brass Band - Live Mardi Gras in Montreux.txt 8.6M 01 - Who Took The Happiness Out.mp3 13M 02 - Mardi Gras In New Orleans.mp3 10M 03 - It Ain't What You Think.mp3 16M 04 - Do It Fluid - Do It Again.mp3 8.6M 05 - The Flintstones Meet The President (Meets The Dirty Dozen).mp3 9.8M 06 - Night Train.mp3 20M 07 - Blue Monk - Stormy Monday.mp3 9.5M 08 - Lickety Split.mp3 13M 09 - Encore- Blackbird Special Part 2.mp3
"The Dirty Dozen Brass Band sticks to originals (except for Johnny Dyani's "Eyomzi") on this fairly adventurous set. The octet (which consists of two trumpets, two saxes, one trombone, sousaphone, snare drum and bass drum) still had a unique sound in 1991 but three songs on the date only used part of the unit and the DDBB seemed to be trying to escape the sound of the brass band tradition (they had long had a more modern repertoire). Not all of the pieces work although the music in general is pretty colorful and somewhat unpredictable, even if it falls short of essential." - Scott Yanow
"The Dirty Dozen Brass Band certainly knew how to have a good time while playing their music. Their spirited blending of New Orleans jazz parade rhythms with R&Bish horn riffs made them flexible enough to welcome guests Dr. John (who sings and play piano on "It's All Over Now"), Dizzy Gillespie ("Oop Pop A Dah") and Branford Marsalis ("Moose the Mooche") to their Columbia debut without altering their music at all. With Gregory Davis and Efrem Towns playing strong trumpet in the ensembles and occasional solos, and with sousaphonist Kirk Joseph not letting up for a moment, this is a typically spirited set by the unique DDBB." - Scott Yanow
"Chris Anderson is one of the unsung heroes of modern jazz piano. A revered figure among musicians, largely for his role as mentor to a young Herbie Hancock, Anderson has long been hindered by illness from aggressively pursuing his rightful place in the jazz limelight. A Chicago native reared on the blues and the music of Nat King Cole, Art Tatum, and Duke Ellington, Anderson years ago developed a rich harmonic sensibility that bears the influence of Ravel and Debussy. His playing remains moody and impressionistic, built on chordal improvisation rather than speedy right-hand runs, yet he never strays too far from his blues roots. One hopes that this outstanding, quietly brilliant duo effort with bass master Haden helps earn him some richly deserved acclaim." - Joel Roberts
"While it's true this set has been given the highest rating AMG awards, it comes with a qualifier: the rating is for the music and the package, not necessarily the presentation. Presentation is a compiler's nightmare in the case of artists like John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman, who recorded often and at different times and had most of their recordings issued from the wealth of material available at the time a record was needed rather than culling an album from a particular session. Why is this a problem? It's twofold: First is that listeners got acquainted with recordings such as The Shape of Jazz to Come, This Is Our Music, Change of the Century, Twins, or any of the other four records Ornette Coleman released on Atlantic during that period. The other is one of economics; for those collectors who believe in the integrity of the original albums, they need to own both those recordings and this set, since the box features one album that was only issued in Japan as well as six unreleased tunes and the three Coleman compositions that appeared on Gunther Schuller's Jazz Abstractions record. Politically what's interesting about this box is that though the folks at Rhino and Atlantic essentially created a completely different document here, putting Coleman's music in a very different context than the way in which it was originally presented, his royalty rate was unchanged -- he refused to do any publicity for this set when it was issued as a result. As for the plus side of such a collection, there is a certain satisfaction at hearing complete sessions in context. That cannot be argued -- what is at stake is at what price to the original recorded presentations. Enough complaining. As for the music, as mentioned, the original eight albums Coleman recorded for Atlantic are here, in one form or another, in their entirety: Shape of Jazz to Come, Change of the Century, The Art of the Improvisers, Twins, This Is Our Music, Free Jazz, Ornette, and Ornette 'n' Tenor, plus To Whom Keeps a Record, comprised of recordings dating from 1959 to 1960. In fact all of the material here was recorded between 1959 and 1961. Given that there is a total of six completely unreleased compositions as well as alternate takes and masters, this is a formidable mountain of material recorded with not only the classic quartet of Coleman, Don Cherry, Charlie Haden, and Billy Higgins, but also the large double quartet who produced the two-sided improvisation that is Free Jazz with personalities as diverse as Eric Dolphy, Freddie Hubbard, and Scott LaFaro, as well as Coleman, Cherry, Haden, and Ed Blackwell, who had replaced Higgins on the music for To Whom Keeps a Record and This Is Our Music -- though Higgins does play on Free Jazz.
The progression of the recording sessions musically is one of dynamics, color, and, with the addition of Blackwell, firepower. As the listener moves from the first session that would become most of The Shape of Jazz to Come, listeners can hear how the interplay between Cherry and Coleman works lyrically not so much as a system, but as system of the creation of melody from dead fragments of harmony, thereby creating a harmonic sensibility that cares not for changes and chord progressions, but for the progression of music itself in the context of a quartet. From the sharp edges on "Focus on Sanity," through "Peace" and "Congeniality," through "Lonely Woman," Coleman's approach to harmony was one of disparate yet wholly compatible elements. This is the story as the sessions unfold, one kind of lyricism evolving into itself more fully and completely with time. On Change of the Century, Twins, and This Is Our Music, Coleman shifts his emphasis slightly, adding depth and dimension and the creation of melody that comes out of the blues as direct and simply stated as possible. By the time LaFaro enters the picture on Free Jazz and Art of the Improvisers, melody has multiplied and divided itself into essence, and essence becomes an exponential force in the creation of a new musical syntax. The recordings from 1960 and 1961, along with the unreleased masters and alternates, all show Coleman fully in possession of his muse. The trek of musicians through the band -- like Jimmy Garrison and Eric Dolphy, as well as people like Jim Hall and Bill Evans where Coleman appeared in Gunther Schuller's experiments -- all reveal that from The Shape of Jazz to Come through On Tenor, Coleman was trying to put across the fully developed picture of his musical theory of the time. And unlike most, he completely succeeded. Even on the unreleased compositions, such as the flyaway storm of "Revolving Doors" or "PROOF Readers" or the slippery blues of "The Tribes of New York," Coleman took the open-door approach and let everything in -- he didn't necessarily let it all out. The package itself is, as are all Rhino boxes, handsome and original; there are three double-CD sleeves that all slip into a half box, which slips, reversed, into the whole box. There is a 68-page booklet with a ton of photographs, complete session notes, and liners by Coleman (disappointingly brief, but he was pissed off at the label), a fantastic essay by the late Robert Palmer, recollections by all the musicians, and quotes from Coleman from interviews given through the decades. The sound is wonderful and the mastering job superb. In all -- aside from the breach of pop culture's own historical context, which is at least an alternate reality -- this is, along with John Coltrane's Atlantic set and the Miles and Coltrane box, one of the most essential jazz CD purchases." - Thom Jurek
"African Magic is a sweeping 24-part suite recorded live at the 11th and final Jazz Across the Border Festival in Germany in 2001 by the Abdullah Ibrahim Trio. Ibrahim's trio features acoustic bassist Belden Bullock and drummer Sipho Kunene distilling the melodic sounds of South Africa into a personal improvisation of jazz, religious, and traditional world music coupled with European classical and chamber music influences. Recurring cubistic style fragments of Ibrahim's multi-themed tone poem "Blue Bolero" are sequenced throughout this enchanting program and encourage listeners to participate in the invigorating rhythms that are abstract yet romantic. African Magic, which was inspired by nature, Duke Ellington, and Africa's Diaspora, also features "Duke 88," a 16-second sampling of "Solitude," and "In a Sentimental Mood" in recognition of Ellington's outstanding talent as a songwriter whose jazz standards have left enough room for reinterpretation by artists from around the world. Ibrahim's six-minute tribute to John Coltrane also epitomizes the depth of Ibrahim's talents as a composer and attests to his cubistic style of deconstructing and reconstructing, which he has also lent to such film scores as those for Chocolat and No Fear No Die. Overall, African Magic cannot be compared to any of Ibrahim's previous concerts. However, it deftly captures the emotion, exploration, and exciting impulses generated from the stage that evening. A must-have for any serious jazz collection." - Paula Edelstein
"Ever since Artie Shaw and Charlie Parker, most jazz musicians have had a desire to record at least once in their lives with strings, often considering it a prestigious honor. Altoist Art Pepper finally had his chance on this album and fortunately the string arrangements (by Bill Holman and Jimmy Bond) do not weigh down the proceedings. Pepper sounds quite inspired performing seven strong compositions highlighted by Hoagy Carmichael's "Winter Moon," "When the Sun Comes Out" and a clarinet feature on "Blues in the Night." This material (plus four alternate takes and two other songs from the same sessions) is included in the massive Art Pepper Galaxy box set." - Scott Yanow
"This CD features Dizzy Gillespie's second great big band at the peak of its powers. On the rapid "Dizzy's Blues" and a truly blazing "Cool Breeze," the orchestra really roars; the latter performance features extraordinary solos by Gillespie, trombonist Al Grey, and tenor saxophonist Billy Mitchell. In addition to fine renditions of "Manteca" and Benny Golson's then-recent composition "I Remember Clifford," the humorous "Doodlin'" is given a definitive treatment, there is a fresh version of "A Night in Tunisia," and pianist Mary Lou Williams sits in for a lengthy medley of selections from her "Zodiac Suite." This brilliant CD captures one of the high points of Dizzy Gillespie's remarkable career and is highly recommended." - Scott Yanow
"A cross-section of cuts matching Mulligan with most of the great sax players, among them Ben Webster, Paul Desmond, Stan Getz, Johnny Hodges, and Zoot Sims." - Ron Wynn
"After the success of Song for My Father and its hit title cut, Horace Silver was moved to pay further tribute to his dad, not to mention connect with some of his roots. Silver's father was born in the island nation of Cape Verde (near West Africa) before emigrating to the United States, and that's the inspiration behind The Cape Verdean Blues. Not all of the tracks are directly influenced by the music of Cape Verde (though some do incorporate Silver's taste for light exoticism); however, there's a spirit of adventure that pervades the entire album, a sense of exploration that wouldn't have been quite the same with Silver's quintet of old. On average, the tracks are longer than usual, and the lineup -- featuring tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson (a holdover from the Song for My Father sessions) and trumpeter Woody Shaw -- is one of the most modernist-leaning Silver ever recorded with. They push Silver into more advanced territory than he was normally accustomed to working, with mild dissonances and (especially in Henderson's case) a rawer edge to the playing. What's more, bop trombone legend J.J. Johnson appears on half of the six tracks, and Silver sounds excited to finally work with a collaborator he'd been pursuing for some time. Johnson ably handles some of the album's most challenging material, like the moody, swelling "Bonita" and the complex, up-tempo rhythms of "Nutville." Most interesting, though, is the lilting title track, which conjures the flavor of the islands with a blend of Latin-tinged rhythms and calypso melodies that nonetheless don't sound quite Caribbean in origin. Also noteworthy are "The African Queen," with its blend of emotional power and drifting hints of freedom, and "Pretty Eyes," Silver's first original waltz. Yet another worthwhile Silver album." - Steve Huey
total 68M 20M 01 Haitian Fight Song.mp3 16M 02 Invisible Lady.mp3 16M 03 Moanin'.mp3 18M 04 Oh Lord Don't Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb On Me.mp3
"In his early prime and well-respected, tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins cut this fine hard bop date as one of several late-'50s sessions for Blue Note. The record is part classic date, part blowing session, sporting a mix of engaging head statements and lengthy solos. Rollins takes to the spacious quartet setting, stretching out on taut versions of Miles Davis' '50s concert opener "Tune Up" and Kenny Dorham's "Asiatic Raes." Keeping the swing hard but supple are drummer Philly Joe Jones, bassist Doug Watkins, and pianist Wynton Kelly; Jones was certainly the standout in this well-respected sampling of the best young players of the period, as he oftentimes matched the intensity and ingenuity of the star soloists he backed. Jones, in fact, puts in some career highlights on "Wonderful! Wonderful!" and "The Surrey With the Fringe on Top," just two of many wholly unique Tin Pan Alley song interpretations Rollins has done in his long career. From a career-defining period before the legendary Williamsburg Bridge layoff of two years, Rollins' Newk's Time may not make classic status in jazz roundups, but it certainly is a must for fans of this most important of classic hard bop soloists." - Sonny Rollins
"Big Brass is an appropiate name for the large ensemble arranged and conducted by Ernie Wilkins that accompanies the huge sound of Sonny Rollins. The energy within the leader's gospel-flavored shout "Grand Street" is considerable, while a swinging but no less powerful version of George & Ira Gershwin's "Who Cares" features a choice solo by guitarist Rene Thomas. Also added to this compilation are trio recordings with bassist Henry Grimes and drummer Specs Wright, including a brilliant leisurely stroll through "Manhattan," along with Rollins' tour de force unaccompanied tenor sax on "Body and Soul." Another bonus is the presence of four tracks recorded at the Music Inn with three-quarters of the Modern Jazz Quartet (without Milt Jackson); an easygoing version of Rollins' well-known "Doxy" and a tense "Limehouse Blues" are especially noteworthy. The alternate endings to "Grand Street" from the mono version of the original LP and a later reissue LP are included only for the most fanatic completists." - Ken Dryden
"On this Mobile Fidelity CD reissue of a live Atlantic set from 1966, The Modern Jazz Quartet performs eight blues-based compositions. In addition to such familiar pieces as the inevitable "Bags' Groove," "Ralph's New Blues" (dedicated to jazz critic Ralph Gleason) and "The Cylinder," there are a few newer pieces (including "Home" which is similar to Lee Morgan's hit "The Sidewinder") included for variety. This predictable but consistently swinging set is particularly recommended to fans of vibraphonist Milt Jackson." - Scott Yanow
"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
"This is a tribute album that works quite well. The Modern Jazz Quartet is heard at their best on such Duke Ellington tunes as "Rockin' in Rhythm," "Jack the Bear" and "Ko-Ko." Also quite noteworthy are their two newer pieces, John Lewis's "For Ellington" and Milt Jackson's "Maestro E.K.E." which perfectly capture the spirit of Ellington's music. The ballads sometimes get a little sleepy but on a whole this is a very enjoyable release." - Scott Yanow
"On this long player, Milt Jackson (vibraphone) teams up with two different ensembles from a pair of early- to mid-'50s dates. First up is the familiar setting of the Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ) with John Lewis (piano), Percy Heath (bass), and Kenny Clarke (drums) joining Jackson during a December 1952 session. The Jerome Kern ballad "All the Things You Are" is given additional radiance with a slightly Polynesian-flavored introduction leading directly into a bopping up-tempo reading. Jackson's leads soar over the MJQ's rock-solid backing. The Lewis original "La Ronde" is based on, or perhaps more accurately derived from, Dizzy Gillespie's "Two Bass Hit." They congeal the tricky timing, providing clever interjections throughout for added emphasis. "Vendome" is another Lewis composition with a brisk and slinky syncopation that possesses a classical charm, around which the band built its impressive interaction. Duke Ellington's "Rose of the Rio Grande" joyously frolics as it likewise supplies a framework for the band to assert its respective musical personas. The concluding four sides hail from a June 1954 date with Jackson, Heath, Clarke, Horace Silver (piano), and Henry Boozier (trumpet). The adaptation of the latter also reveals a palpable noir quality to the cuts they contribute to. Silver's "Opus de Funk" glides about Jackson's resounding solos, which the pianist supports with some nicely placed alternate lines. "Buhaina" is another Silver tune and spotlights Boozier's highly affable accompaniment, contrasting his work as a soloist. The elegant "I've Lost Your Love" shines with a dusky glint. Finally, "Soma" wraps up the LP with another round of profound interplay from Jackson and Boozier. MJQ is a recommended platter for all manner of jazz listeners." - Lindsay Planer
"This is a strong recording from The Modern Jazz Quartet with inventive versions of John Lewis's "Vendome," and Ray Brown's "Pyramid," Jim Hall's "Romaine," Lewis's famous "Django," and cooking jams on "How High the Moon" and "It Don't Mean a Thing." The MJQ had become a jazz institution by this time, but they never lost their creative edge, and their performances (even on the remakes) are quite stimulating, enthusiastic and fresh." - Scott Yanow
"Marcus Miller is one of the great hyphenates of contemporary rhythm and jazz, equally successful as a producer (Luther Vandross, David Sanborn), songwriter (numerous Vandross hits, James/Sanborn's "Maputo"), and artist in his own right. It's not easy to capture every aspect of the man who has been called the "Superman of Soul" on one disc, but Live and More -- which draws from sold out performances in Los Angeles, Montreux, and throughout Japan -- gives it a solid effort. While Miller plays everything but the kitchen sink himself (bass, bass clarinet, guitar, and vocoder), the genuine excitement here emerges from giving space to and interacting and stretching out with his sea of all-stars. Miller wrote the moody trumpet-led seduction "Tutu" for Miles, but Michael "Patches" Stewart carries on in those muted footsteps (complemented by a flügelhorn solo) above a controlled Miller bass line and Poogie Bell's subtle drum brushes. Miller emerges as a halfway decent singer on the Crusaders-like "Funny" but leaves the bulk of the instrumental work to Kenny Garrett's gentle soprano and Hiram Bullock's increasingly raucous guitar. Miller also offers the studio ballad "Sophie" on which he adds yet another voice to his repertoire -- soprano sax." - Jonathan Widran
"This is the Marcus Miller everybody always knew existed yet never really heard on record. This is the man who can play bass, saxophone, and bass clarinet, and also compose, produce, arrange, etc., and usually does so in a slick studio setting. The Ozell Tapes is reported to be an "official bootleg"; it's official to be sure but it's no bootleg. These are tapes from the band's 2002 tour straight from the soundboard without any remixing. The tapes are not from a single show, however, but the best performances from the entire tour. It's a small complaint, really, that it doesn't have the complete languid feel of a single show, because this is easily the best record Miller has ever released. His combined talents come into focus in spontaneous settings, where he walks the tightrope between composed or covered material, and between arranged and improvised material. And the material: There are two sets, on a pair of CDs. The music vacillates between the sacred and profane, but it's all from the heart of the groove. First there's the jam "Power," an early showcase of the band's strengths, and it's immediately followed by an elegant and emotionally played funked-up version of Miles Davis' "So What," with a two-piece horn section and Miller on electric bass turning the groove over and back accompanied by an atmospheric airy (à la "In a Silent Way") piano. From here the band moves to John Coltrane's "Lonnie's Lament," and turns it upside down into groove jazz meets gutter funk. The Coltrane vibe is replaced by something quite beautiful and lovely, and there is no irreverence in the interpretation.
The ensemble is tight to the point of instinctual reaction, and on the covers it becomes obvious very quickly how well attuned the bandmembers are to Miller's seemingly endless musical palette. There are readings of "I Loves You Porgy" and Talking Heads' "Burning Down the House," Joe Sample and Will Jennings' "When Your Life Was Low," Thom Bell's "You Make the World Go Round," and "Killing Me Softly" -- all with stunning vocal appearances by the divine Lalah Hathaway. But the covers only show one side; on the band's originals such as "Scoop," "Panther," and "3 Deuces," the easy looseness is evident even though these cats play their asses off. Nowhere is this more evident than on the set's final track, a medley of the Miller/Miles Davis-penned tunes "Hannibal," "Tutu," and "Amandla." Miller pushes his bandmembers to play the same unexpected twists and turns Miles was famous for, tossing changeups into the mix at odd moments, moving a time signature, changing a groove, shifting an interval -- and they respond without a seam. They make it gritty and beautiful, improvising with grace, aplomb, and grit. The Ozell Tapes proves that Marcus Miller is not a "smooth jazz" musician or a "fusion" musician or a "pop" musician; this proves he is a jazz musician who plays thoroughly modern, emotionally and intellectually satisfying electric jazz. If rhythm, subtle harmony, melody, a touch of funkiness, and a bucket of soul are your thing, then this is for you no matter what kind of music you listen to." - Thom Jurek
total 107M 2.6M 10 Ray Charles - Basin Street Blues.mp3 3.9M 11 Louis Prima - Basin Street Blues.mp3 8.2M 12 Louis Armstrong - Basin Street Blues.mp3 3.0M 13 Peggy Lee - Basin Street Blues.mp3 3.3M 14 Dutch Swing College Band - Basin Street Blues.mp3 3.8M 15 Peddlers - Basin' Street Blues.mp3 17M 16 Miles Davis - Basin Street Blues.mp3 8.5M 17 Keith Jarrett - Basin Street Blues.mp3 6.6M 18 Kid Koala - Basin Street Blues.mp3 2.9M 19 Julie London - Basin Street Blues3.mp3 3.0M 1 The Charleston Chasers - Basin Street Blues.mp3 1.2M 20 Golden Gate Quartet - Basin Street Blues.mp3 2.5M 21 Shirley Bassey - Basin Street Blues.mp3 7.6M 22 Shirley Horn - Basin Street Blues.mp3 3.1M 2 Louis Armstrong & Sidney Bechet - Basin Street Blues.mp3 6.7M 3 Glenn Miller & Louis Armstrong - Basin Street Blues.mp3 3.6M 4 Ella Fitzgerald - Basin Street Blues.mp3 4.4M 5 Dave Brubeck & Gerry Mulligan - Basin Street Blues.mp3 4.7M 6 Al Hirt & Pete Fountain - Basin Street Blues.mp3 3.7M 7 Jimmy Smith - Basin Street Blues.mp3 5.2M 8 Louis Amstrong - Basin Street Blues.mp3 2.6M 9 Nicola Arigliano - Basin Street Blues.mp3
"When this double-album set was first released, the "two-fer" fad in jazz and blues reissues was not exactly new, but a consensus on what to do with alternate takes had not been reached, if it ever has. Compact discs made the entire situation easier to deal with, as machines could be programmed to play the selections in any order, and the perception of monotony that lingers just under the surface of any alternate-takes collection could be avoided with the click of a button. Back in the vinyl days, the way this set was programmed would have been bad news for anyone who had problems listening to four takes of "Exercise in Swing" in a row -- although obviously, the thing for such a person to do would be avoid buying this collection entirely. All the versions of a given tune are presented right in a row, with an average of three different titles per side. The takes presented would all have been considered usable, so this is not a case of listening to out-of-tune versions or breakdowns. And in the end, this set is much more varied and interesting to listen to than it might appear from a glance at the track list. Hearing the difference in the solos from version to version would be the major draw for the typical jazz fan, and these recordings are totally satisfying from that perspective. Young is a master soloist who never fails to come up with a odd slant on the melody, usually after lulling the listener into a false sense of calm. He is heard with a selection of players that are at the very least pleasant and swinging. The arrangements and brevity of the tracks means things move along quickly; hearing one soloist who is a genius followed by another who simply plays well is part of the fun, as a pure spirit of jazz flows through all the participants. The 1944 tracks were originally issued under the name of Earl Warren and His Orchestra, but it is actually the Count Basie band in disguise. Due to contract hassles, Basie turned the piano bench over to Clyde Hart, and alto saxophonist and amusing vocalist Earl Warren assumed mock leadership. These tracks absolutely defy the idea that listening to different versions of the same songs is dull. For one thing, the charts are complicated, and it will probably take multiple listens until one even gets used to the melodies enough to become bored by them. It is also thrilling to hear this totally tight band whip through these arrangements and the sequences of quick, energized, and clever solos that follow. At the same session, Young cut some tunes with a smaller band that has an exquisitely polished sound. Pianist Johnny Guarnieri plays wonderfully, a bit of Basie here, a touch of Tatum there, a wash of Wilson to wrap it up. Drummer Cozy Cole is tasteful, while Young's masterful phrasing is well-balanced in a horn lineup of trumpet and clarinet. This takes us to side C, which perhaps should have been identified as the third side to avoid the mediocrity associated with a C grade. Because now Basie himself is on the scene in a small band grouping that is some of the best recorded work of all concerned. It is simple material, played without a touch of pomposity. Some of the titles are only done once, such as "Jump Lester Jump," which everyone must have agreed could not possibly have been improved upon. The tunes that are done twice provide a tremendous opportunity to compare happenings. Rhythm-section fanatics can follow the strumming of Freddie Green or the snare drum of Shadow Wilson, because this is all about details. What happens exactly, that makes one version of tune six seconds longer than another? In the case of "Ding Dong," two of the three versions are exactly the same length, to the second, while the third is only a single second longer. The final session jumps ahead to 1949 and presents Young in a combo with several youngsters that went on to greater jazz glory. Roy Haynes, in his early twenties at the time of these recordings, is as delightful as he is on his Alladin sessions with Young, while the bluesy touch of pianist Junior Mance is right up Young's alley. It is sad to say Mance never backed up anyone as good as this again -- but in a way, nobody did." - Eugene Chadbourne
total 252M 14M Tommy Dorsey - Early Groups - Part 1.mp3 12M Tommy Dorsey - Early Groups - Part 2.mp3 14M Tommy Dorsey - Part 1.mp3 11M Tommy Dorsey - Part 2.mp3 15M Tony Pastor & Teddy Powell - Part 1.mp3 12M Tony Pastor & Teddy Powell - Part 2.mp3 15M Various - 01 - Tribute Show - Part 1.mp3 14M Various - 01 - Tribute to John Hammond - Part 1.mp3 13M Various - 02 - Tribute Show - Part 2.mp3 12M Various - 02 - Tribute To John Hammond - Part 2.mp3 14M Various - The Birth Of Swing - Part 1.mp3 11M Various - The Birth Of Swing - Part 2.mp3 15M Various - The Guitar Players - Part 1.mp3 11M Various - The Guitar Players - Part 2.mp3 13M Will Bradley - Part 1.mp3 12M Will Bradley - Part 2.mp3 14M Woody Herman - 01 - Carnegie Hall Concert - Part 1.mp3 12M Woody Herman - 02 - Carnegie Hall Concert - Part 2.mp3 13M Woody Herman - The First 3 Herds - Part 1.mp3 13M Woody Herman - The First 3 Herds - Part 2.mp3
"Recorded in NYC. Produced by Creed Taylor. Three sessions. Note: this is Smith with a large group, not the small-combo setting." - Michael Erlewine
"On his first album in more than five years, Jimmy Smith, who turned 75 shortly before the release date, attempts the soul-jazz version of what Santana did on Supernatural -- heavily featuring guest stars in an attempt to broaden his appeal. The basic band consists of Smith on organ, Reggie McBride on bass guitar, and Harvey Mason on drums, but this trio is never featured alone, although four tracks feature the trio joined only by guitarist Russell Malone -- "C C Rider," "Mood Indigo" (with John Clayton replacing McBride on acoustic bass), and two new Smith originals, the title track and "Tuition Blues." (On a fifth song, a remake of Smith's "8 Counts for Rita," the quartet is joined by percussionist Lenny Castro.) Not surprisingly, these are the most jazz-oriented performances on the album. The rest of the disc takes a blues turn, with Dr. John contributing vocals and piano on his own composition, the lead-off track "Only in It for the Money"; Taj Mahal singing and playing guitar on his own "Strut"; Etta James singing the Muddy Waters hit "I Just Wanna Make Love to You"; Keb' Mo' taking guitar and vocal duties on his composition "Over & Over"; and B.B. King doing the same on his old favorite "Three O'Clock Blues." Thus, half the album is given over to guest stars who sing, making this the most vocal-dominated album ever released under Jimmy Smith's name. As a consequence, it is also something of a blues sampler with Smith playing a prominent role rather than a Jimmy Smith album. Jazz fans will be happy to know that, after more than 40 years of recording, Smith retains his ability to play, but Dot Com Blues is anything but a showcase for the man whose name is on the cover." - William Ruhlmann
"Most of organist Jimmy Smith's recordings for Verve during the mid-to-late '60s were with big bands, making this trio outing with guitarist Kenny Burrell and drummer Grady Tate a special treat. This CD reissue is a throwback to Smith's Blue Note sets (which had concluded two years earlier) and gives the organists the opportunity to stretch out on three blues and three standards. This release shows that, even with all of his commercial success during the period, Jimmy Smith was always a masterful jazz player." - Scott Yanow
"Prayer Meeting was organist Jimmy Smith's final Blue Note recording until 1986. On this CD reissue two earlier selections featuring Smith, tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, guitarist Quentin Warren, bassist Sam Jones (the only time on Blue Note that Smith used a bassist), and drummer Donald Bailey jam on versions of "Lonesome Road" and the original "Smith Walk"; both selections went unreleased until popping up on a 1984 Japanese CD. The bulk of this set is from February 8, 1963, featuring the same personnel without Jones. Highlights include the title cut, a soulful version of "When the Saints Go Marching In," and the Gene Ammons blues "Red Top." Excellent music." - Scott Yanow
"Organist Jimmy Smith's next-to-last LP for Blue Note after a very extensive seven-year period is up to his usual level. With altoist Lou Donaldson joining Smith's regular group (which included guitarist Quentin Warren and drummer Donald Bailey), the quartet swings with soul on such fine numbers as "When My Dream Boat Comes Home," "Can Heat," "Please Send Me Someone to Love" and "Just a Closer Walk with Thee." With the exception of the closing ballad, "Trust in Me," all seven of the selections are closely related to the blues." - Scott Yanow
"Most of the music on this four-CD set from 1997 has been reissued many times, both on LP and CD, but this is the most "complete" set thus far. Louis Armstrong recorded for RCA during two separate times. During 1932-33, he led an erratic (and under-rehearsed) big band on a series of numbers, but all of the selections have their moments of interest. Although not up to the level of his Hot Five and Seven recordings of five years earlier, these spirited tracks find Armstrong mostly in excellent form both instrumentally and vocally, and the reissue has four alternate takes never released before. Highlights include the two-part "Hits Medley," "That's My Home," "I've Got the World On a String," "There's a Cabin In the Pines," "Hustlin' and Bustlin' for Baby," a unique 1930 collaboration with country singer Jimmie Rodgers, and the two bizarre versions of "Laughin' Louis." The second half of the reissue features Armstrong during 1946-47, including appearances with the Esquire poll winners (Louis takes a surprisingly modern solo on "Snafu"), the last titles by his big band, a few wonderful combo performances (including the classic "Jack-Armstrong Blues") and the first songs by Armstrong's All-Stars (co-starring Jack Teagarden); this collection concludes with two unrelated 1956 orchestral tracks. Overall, this is wonderful music, although collectors who already have everything other than the alternates have a right to hesitate." - Scott Yanow
Vol. 1, Disc 1 total 118M 4.5M 01David Bowie - That's Where My Heart Is.mp3 28K 01 info.doc 4.9M 02David Bowie - I Want My Baby Back.mp3 3.8M 03David Bowie - Bars Of The County Jail.mp3 3.7M 04David Bowie - I'll Follow You.mp3 4.6M 05David Bowie - Glad I've Got Nobody.mp3 4.4M 06David Bowie - That's A Promise.mp3 5.5M 07David Bowie - Silly Boy Blue.mp3 6.0M 08David Bowie - Love You Till Tuesday.mp3 5.1M 09David Bowie - Over The Wall We Go.mp3 6.9M 10David Bowie - When I Live My Dream.mp3 6.1M 11David Bowie - Let Me Sleep Beside You.mp3 5.6M 12David Bowie - Karma Man.mp3 3.6M 13David Bowie - Threepenny Pierrot.mp3 2.9M 14David Bowie - Columbine.mp3 2.7M 15David Bowie - The Mirror.mp3 6.6M 16David Bowie - When I Live My Dream.mp3 5.0M 17David Bowie - In The Heat Of The Morning.mp3 4.8M 18David Bowie - London Bye Ta Ta.mp3 5.9M 19David Bowie - Little Toy Soldier.mp3 5.5M 20David Bowie - Rupert The Riley.mp3 5.5M 21David Bowie - Over The Wall We Go.mp3 4.0M 22David Bowie - Silver Treetop School For Boys.mp3 Vol. 1, Disc 2 total 102M 9.9M 01David Bowie - Space Oddity Demo2.mp3 7.2M 02David Bowie - Janine.mp3 24K 02 info.doc 5.8M 03David Bowie - An Occasional Dream.mp3 6.4M 04David Bowie - Conversation Piece.mp3 6.2M 05David Bowie - Ching-A-Ling.mp3 5.4M 06David Bowie - I'm Not Quite.mp3 7.4M 07David Bowie - Love Song.mp3 4.6M 08David Bowie - When I'm Five.mp3 11M 09David Bowie - Life Is A Circus.mp3 8.5M 10David Bowie - Lover To The Dawn.mp3 4.4M 11David Bowie - Buzz The Fuzz.mp3 9.6M 12David Bowie - Bonus Space Oddity Demo2.mp3 956K 13David Bowie - Bonus The Mask Intro.mp3 5.8M 14David Bowie - Bonus The Mask Narration.mp3
Disc 6 total 107M 15M 01-Two Guitar Jam.mp3 12M 02-San Francisco Bay Blues.mp3 6.0M 03-Gypsie Eyes.mp3 9.8M 04-Cherokee Mist .mp3 7.3M 05-The Street Thing.mp3 5.2M 06-In From The Storm.mp3 4.8M 07-Freedom.mp3 5.0M 08-Somewhere Over The Rainbow.mp3 6.6M 09-Belly Button Window.mp3 8.6M 10-Captain Coconut II~Cherokee Mist .mp3 16M 11-Rider Blues.mp3 6.2M 12-Electric Ladyland Theme.mp3 6.8M 13-Jazzy Jamming.mp3 4.0K 51st CD6.md5 4.0K 51st CD6.sfv Disc 7 total 214M 3.6M 01-She's So Fine.mp3 4.9M 02-Axis Bold As Love.mp3 2.7M 03-EXP.mp3 4.1M 04-Up From The Skies.mp3 18M 05-Love Jam.mp3 8.8M 06-Electric Ladyland Jam.mp3 11M 07-Pass It On.mp3 8.7M 08-Hey Baby.mp3 5.6M 09-Stone Free.mp3 6.8M 10-Hey Joe.mp3 7.2M 11-Freedom.mp3 11M 12-Red House.mp3 9.1M 13-Ezy Rider.mp3 6.8M 14-New Rising Sun Theme.mp3 4.0K 51st CD7.md5 4.0K 51st CD7.sfv Disc 8 total 104M 5.1M 01-Fire.mp3 9.7M 02-Getting My Heart Back Together Again.mp3 15M 03-Spanish Castle Magic.mp3 9.5M 04-Purple Haze.mp3 21M 05-Tax Free.mp3 5.0M 06-Message To Love.mp3 7.3M 07-Red House.mp3 8.3M 08-Voodoo Child.mp3 15M 09-Machine Gun.mp3 11M 10-Hey Baby.mp3 4.0K 51st CD8.md5 4.0K 51st CD8.sfv
"This live performance from the Knitting Factory certainly features a wide range of emotions and tempos. Thomas Chapin is featured on alto, soprano, flute, and baritone with his regular trio (bassist Mario Pavone and drummer Michael Sarin) augmented by three strings (violinist Mark Feldman, cellist Boris Rayskin, and bassist Kiyoto Fujiwara). Feldman's heated solos and very active accompaniment of Chapin adds a great deal to the program, which consists of seven Chapin originals plus one song by Enrico Rava. With moods ranging from mildly introspective to riotous with a rousing closer in "Geek Gawkin'," this is one of Chapin's better recordings." - Scott Yanow
"Recorded in 1992, Night Bird Song remained in the can for seven years before Knitting Factory released it in 1999. Thomas Chapin had met an untimely death from leukemia in February 1998 (he was only 40), and this posthumous release was greeted with great enthusiasm by those who were hip to the saxman/flutist's music. It's regrettable that this avant-garde/post-bop recording went unreleased for so long, for Chapin's trio (which included bassist Mario Pavone and drummer Michael Sarin) is inspired, unpredictable, and cohesive throughout the album. Sticking to his own compositions, Chapin favors an inside/outside approach and fluctuates between moments of quiet, AACM-influenced reflection and intensely emotional playing. Chapin's pieces tend to be cerebral and angular and don't go out of their way to be accessible, but they're well worth exploring because the expressive improviser had a lot to say. Whether he's playing the alto sax, sopranino sax, flute, or alto flute, Chapin's restless spirit serves him well throughout Night Bird Song." - Alex Henderson
"Easily the best album to date by talented jazz/world music percussionist Trilok Gurtu, The Glimpse is a brilliant blend of musical styles paying tribute to the Indian drummer's dearly departed friend, jazz legend Don Cherry. Like Cherry, Gurtu's multicultural influences are often central to his compositions, and with guest musicians like Morocco's Jaya Deva (a member of Cherry's band), India's Geetha Ramanathan Bennett, and Bulgaria's Teodosii Spassov, this is his most ethnically diverse album to date. Nearly every track here is a standout, from the Moroccan groove of "Cherry Town" and the dazzling spoken percussion of "1-2 Beaucoup" to the melancholy balladry of Ornette Coleman's "Law Years." A must-have for fans of world-jazz fusion." - Bret Love
"The recordings from which the contents of Portrait of Angelo Debarre were drawn were originally recorded and released on a variety of labels between 1989 and, strangely enough, 2002 (the same year as the compilation's release). Most of these tracks, though not all, find Angelo DeBarre paying tribute to the legendary Django Reinhardt, either by playing Reinhardt's compositions ("Anouman," and the inevitable "Minor Blues"), or by playing originals and other modern compositions in a style clearly indebted to the gypsy jazz master. The oldest -- and the most recent -- of these performances are the ones most explicitly based on the Reinhardt-Grappelli quintets of the 1930s; the 1989 cuts, which include thrilling renditions of "La Gitane" and "Minor Blues," feature DeBarre in a trio format, backed up only by acoustic rhythm guitar and bass; "There'll Never Be Another You" and " Swing Gitane" both add Ola Kvernberg's violin to the mix (and feature an almost all-Norwegian ensemble). Elsewhere, Gabriel Androne adds a melancholy accordion to "Coeur de Bois" and "Swing Chez Toto," and a balalaika makes an appearance on "Romano Trajo." What this all amounts to is a nice balance between slavish tribute and creative boundary-pushing. Highly recommended." - Rick Anderson
"Altoist Antonio Hart's recording starts out with an eerie re-creation of the Cannonball Adderley version of "Sticks" from 1968 which, like the original, even has a live audience shouting out encouragement and clapping along more or less in time. After that the music gets more original, featuring trumpeter Darren Barrett (who shows an impressive amount of versatility), either Carlos McKinney or Mulgrew Miller on piano, and a guest spot from cornetist Nat Adderley on "Sack o'Woe." In addition to the Adderley tributes, there are several Woody Shaw pieces that generally contain new arrangements for an expanded group, based more on the spirit of the original '70s versions rather than the notes. Antonio Hart is in top form throughout this well-conceived release." - Scott Yanow
"Accordionist Gianni Coscia sets the temperament for this delightful outing, via his recollections of Italy's street market stalls (La Bancarella). A drummer-less quartet, the leader of this date interlaces jazzy lines along with trombonist Dino Piana, vibraphonist Andrea Dulbecco and bassist Enzo Pietropaoli's spirited interplay. With this release, the band provides the listener with a quintet of multipart, extended works.
The musicians pursue daintily executed choruses intertwined with variable rhythmic sequences and upbeat exchanges, amid a Mediterranean vibe. In addition, they incorporate lushly exotic melodies into this grand mix, awash with cabaret style interludes, breezy passages, and subtle deviations from previously applied strategies. Hence, a cleverly executed and thoroughly entertaining affair that offers a great deal of staying power, especially during subsequent spins. Dulbecco's crisp mallet work is at times so soft; it would seem difficult for him to break eggs. But much of this outing features deceptively dense frameworks, in concert with peppery swing vamps, pumping lines and sentimentally inclined musings. This project represents yet another glimmering example of Italy's forward thinking jazz artists, willing to parallel their dreams and passions through hybrid, jazz-based ventures." - Glenn Astarita
"The listener who buys Killer Tumbao based on the title will be disappointed; this is not driving, salsified Latin jazz. Rather, it is a beautifully played jazz release that is alternately upbeat and introspective. Fans of sparkling piano playing will enjoy the clarity and facility displayed by Durán. Flautist/saxophonist Jane Bunnett, a leading promoter of Cuban jazz, is heard to good effect. The horn section cooks and the percussion mostly stays back in a supporting role; overall, the musicianship, arrangements, and production are first rate and enhance the leader's virtuosity." - Janet Rosen
"Tenor legend Von Freeman rarely plays outside his native Chicago, but this belated release documents a two-night stay in St. Paul, MN, in the spring of 1996. The septuagenarian is in tiptop shape, joined by a superb local trio: pianist Bobby Peterson, bassist Terry Burns, and drummer Phil Hey. Like the younger Johnny Griffin, Freeman is an endurance player, as the opening, 12-plus minute "Bye Bye Blackbird" attests. (Listen for Peterson's quote of "Two Bass Hit.") And like the younger James Moody, Freeman is an entertainer and a charmer, taking every opportunity to address the audience. His playing can get pretty far out, as on Wayne Shorter's "Footprints" and even Duke Ellington's "Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me." Indeed, part of his uniqueness lies in the way he incorporates certain expressive elements of the avant-garde, despite his unshakable foundation in bebop and the blues. This comes through whether he's playing ballads ("Crazy She Calls Me"), all-out swing ("Caravan"), or unaccompanied ("My Little Brown Book")." - David R. Adler
"No thanks to the paucity of musical genius in the latter half of the 1990s, tribute albums to the departed just kept pouring forth, although in Shirley Horn's case, she was repaying an old personal debt to her subject. After all, it was Miles Davis who originally got Horn out of D.C. in 1960 as his opening act at the Village Vanguard and contributed his trumpet to one of her comeback albums (1990's You Won't Forget Me). Not only that, Horn's understated, laconic, deceptively casual ballad manner is a natural fit for the brooding Miles persona, and she doesn't have to change a thing in this relaxed, wistfully sung, solidly played collection. She doesn't actually perform any Davis compositions; everything here consists of standards that Miles covered or transformed in the 1950s, including three numbers from Porgy and Bess. Roy Hargrove adds his effective muted Miles imitations on "I Fall In Love Too Fast" and open flurries on "I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'"; and Toots Thielemans makes like a long, lonesome train whistle on "Summertime." Former Davis cohorts Ron Carter and Al Foster join the rhythm section in a remarkably searching, extended "My Man's Gone Now," the only track which takes note of the electric music that consumed so much of Miles' output (in this case, inspired by the We Want Miles version, not the more familiar Gil Evans interpretation). In a sad way, the very idea of a Miles tribute is an oxymoronic denial of the ever-restless spirit of this genius who didn't believe in looking backwards. But Shirley Horn certainly serves the man's sensitive side well." - Richard S. Ginell
"For this change of pace, singer/pianist Shirley Horn performs 15 songs associated with Ray Charles. Of course, Horn sounds nothing like Charles, but she sometimes captures his spirit on such songs as "Hit the Road, Jack," "You Don't Know Me" (which finds her switching to organ), "Makin' Whoopee" and "How Long Has This Been Going On." Joined by her regular trio (with bassist Charles Ables and drummer Steve Willliams), some of the songs have Ables switching effectively to guitar, while Tyler Mitchell fills in on bass. Altoist Gary Bartz guests on five of the dozen selections. While emphasizing ballads, as one always expects, this is a fun set that includes more medium-tempo tunes than usual for a Shirley Horn set." - Scott Yanow
"This Shirley Horn CD is a little unusual, as it was recorded at her home. The four sessions utilized some of her favorite musicians, including bassists Steve Novosel and Charles Ables, drummers Steve Williams, Elvin Jones and Billy Hart, trumpeter Roy Hargrove (on "The Meaning of the Blues") and Joe Henderson and Buck Hill on tenors. As usual, virtually all of the songs are taken at slow tempos, with "All or Nothing at All" given a definitive treatment. Other highlights include "The Look of Love," "Fever" and Henderson's playing on "You Go to My Head."" - Scott Yanow
"With You Won't Forget Me, Shirley Horn's star continued to rise. While mostly ballads, this recording also includes swinging takes on "I Just Found Out About Love" and "Foolin' Myself." Toots Thielemans stars with his distinctive harmonica sound on "Beautiful Love" and "Soothe Me," and the unmistakable trumpet of Miles Davis weaves around Horn's vocal on the title track. The opening medley moves from the almost-whispered ballad "The Music That Makes Me Dance," to a funkily midtempo "Come Dance with Me." "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" is absolutely gorgeous, with Wynton Marsalis stepping in to trade phrases with Horn's voice. The music here is mostly taken at a very leisurely tempo, and the spare arrangements allow plenty of room for the music to breathe, proving that less is often more. The only complaint is that such spaciousness generates is a certain sameness to the material, but this is leavened by the guest appearances of Thielemans, Davis, the brothers Marsalis and tenorman Buck Hill." - Jim Newsom
"This CD by the Charles Lloyd Quartet avoids fitting into any of the stereotypes that one might have about ECM's recordings. Pianist Bobo Stenson has carved his own identity out of the styles of Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett, drummer Billy Hart is stimulating in support and Anders Jormin provides a walking bass on many of the tracks; a rarity for ECM sessions. As one might expect, the main focus is on Charles Lloyd whose playing during the past decade has been some of the finest of his career. He mostly sticks to tenor (just playing flute on "Little Peace" and Chinese oboe on the very brief "Milarepa"), and although traces of John Coltrane's sound will always be in his tone, Lloyd comes up with quite a few original ideas. He is best on "Thelonious Theonlyus" (which has a slight calypso feel to it), the episodic "Cape to Cairo Suite" (a tribute to Nelson Mandela), a long tenor/drums duet on "All My Relations" (which is a mix between "Chasin' the 'Trane" and "Bessie's Blues") and the brooding spiritual "Hymne to the Mother." A strong effort." - Scott Yanow
"On Notes From Big Sur, Charles Lloyd retains pianist Bobo Stenson but opts for a new rhythm section in bassist Anders Jormin and drummer Ralph Peterson. The program begins with two elegant jazz ballads, "Requiem" and "Sister" (the former would reappear on 1999's Voice in the Night). Lloyd turns toward abstraction on "Takur" and the two-part "Pilgrimage to the Mountain"; the second part, "Surrender," closes the album as a kind of benediction. The middle of the program is pretty meaty: "Sam Song," with its swinging tempo, does much to brighten the mood, as does the waltz "Monk in Paris" and the heavy, slow groove of "When Miss Jessye Sings" -- an homage, one can assume, to the opera singer Jessye Norman. With an unapologetically assertive rhythm team and scintillating solo flights from Lloyd and Stenson, Notes From Big Sur successfully portrays the California coastline for which it is named -- picturesque and soothing, although rugged and at times forbidding." - David R. Adler
"Like 1999's Voice in the Night, The Water Is Wide features Charles Lloyd in the company of one of his dearest friends, drummer Billy Higgins, who would pass away less than a year after the album's release. Guitarist John Abercrombie also remains on board, but Lloyd extends the group's generational span by recruiting two younger players: pianist Brad Mehldau and bassist Larry Grenadier. The album begins with a straightforward, elegant reading of Hoagy Carmichael's "Georgia." Lloyd goes on to lead his ensemble through two lesser-known Ellington pieces, "Black Butterfly" and "Heaven"; Strayhorn's "Lotus Blossom"; two original ballads, "Figure In Blue" and "Lady Day"; and Cecil McBee's "Song of Her," a track from Lloyd's 1968 classic, Forest Flower. It's a glorious amalgam of sound: the leader's unique, glissando-laden phraseology, Mehldau's harmonic nuances, unerring rhythmic backbone from Grenadier and the majestic Higgins -- and only occasionally, pointed and eloquent guitarism from Abercrombie. The session ascends to an even higher level with the inclusion of two spirituals, "The Water Is Wide" and "There Is a Balm in Gilead." The latter features just Lloyd and Higgins, starkly setting the melody against a hypnotic drum chant. In addition, Lloyd's closing "Prayer," written for Higgins during a life-threatening episode back in 1996, features just the composer, Abercrombie, and guest bassist Darek Oles. (Oddly, Oles' credit is relegated to the fine print.) These tracks, most of all, resonate with personal meaning and profundity." - David R. Adler
"Charles Lloyd teams with a different band here, replacing Bobo Stenson's piano with John Abercrombie's guitar, bassist Anders Jormin with Dave Holland, and drummer Billy Hart with Billy Higgins. The title references the feeling on the album in that Lloyd was going for more of a jazz sound, something more basic and lyrical as opposed to exotic and unusual. Of the eight tunes here, six are Lloyd originals, one is a cover of the Elvis Costello/Burt Bacharach hit "God Give Me Strength," and one is the Billy Strayhorn classic, "A Flower Is a Lonesome Thing," which follows a gorgeous reprise of Lloyd's own "Forest Flower" from the '60s. The Costello/Bacharach tune is the most telling for this band in that they take a standard pop melody and turn it into a modal exploration of harmony and chromatic invention. As Lloyd plays variations on the melody, the band turns one harmonic sequence into a pillar from Coltrane's version of "My Favorite Things" and back. The "Forest Flower" suite is awesome. The interplay between Lloyd and Abercrombie is fully realized as they trade flatted sevenths and then Abercrombie moves into augmented ninths and diminished sixths before both Lloyd and he solo against the harmonic body of the tune while retaining its melodic sensibility. It's just breathtaking." - Thom Jurek
"Reed king Charles Lloyd has consistently exceeded expectations throughout his career, breaking ground in any number of jazz forms, particularly those associated with the employing of the various folk musics of the world as elemental melodic and harmonic components of his signature practice in the idiom. Canto reveals Lloyd's inner restlessness at work once again with longtime pianist Bobo Stenson, bassist Anders Jormin, and the legendary American drummer Billy Hart. The set opens with "Tales of Rumi," which has Stenson playing inside the piano, and Hart sliding around the kit without ever actually hitting it. When Lloyd enters after a lengthy intro, he does so in a post-bop phraseology that brings the tune full circle, transforming from a folk melody to a blues tune. Later, on "Nichiketa's Lament," Lloyd uses a Tibetan oboe with its high, reedy tone to play funeral music that actually becomes an exercise in pan-modalism. The title track is actually a song of sorts, based on Jimmy Giuffre's harmonic methodology and Coltrane's breather and note theory. The set closes with an unbelievably beautiful, cascading ballad where the band falls through its changes like water in a brook, and Lloyd blows through them with a heartbreaking lyrical intensity. Canto is the song of a master who employs all of his tools in the creation of a work of art." - Thom Jurek
"As Charles Lloyd prepared to kick off a gig at New York's Blue Note club the night of Tuesday September 11, 2001, some murderous terrorists had some other plans for that morning a bit further south. The gig thus didn't begin until that Friday, and the wheels in Lloyd's mind kept on rolling through the aftermath, resulting in this double-CD album. Going his own way, he drew from public-domain spirituals, pop/rock songs, protest R&B, folk songs, and Ellingtonia and mixed them with his own compositions and meditations, assembling and reining in top-notch musicians like pianist Geri Allen, guitarist John Abercrombie, bassists Marc Johnson and Larry Grenadier, and drummer Billy Hart. The result is one of the most unusual and deeply spiritual recordings in Lloyd's always-unusual career, one that says more with fewer means. The leadoff track itself is an ear-opener, Lloyd's "Hymn to the Mother," which opens the gates with an Indian flavor, with its arco bass drone on a single chord and sitar-like articulation from Abercrombie. It's a miraculously subtle yet compelling way to grab your attention, like the introduction to a raga, thoughtfully sustained over 15 minutes. Somehow, the rest of the 130-minute album manages to maintain and develop the rapt atmosphere, reaching its central pivot of emotion three tracks into the second disc with the Coltrane quartet-like treatment of "Go Down Moses." As is often the case in a Lloyd performance, the tenor saxophonist is tempted to go to the outside, but usually in a gentle way, his head now in a thoughtful fog. Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" stays largely with the tune except toward the close, matching the haunted, dazed mood of the original. Billy Strayhorn is appropriately represented by "Blood Count"; Lloyd's own "Beyond Darkness" finds him on flute. Even "Amazing Grace," the over-exposed staple of every other folk or gospel revival, sounds fresh, devout, and genuine. Each disc concludes with something meaningful: Lloyd mourns alone and soulfully on "Hafez, Shattered Heart" at disc one's close and one more lengthy meditation, followed by an up-tempo release, "Prayer, the Crossing," ends disc two. Let responses like this from the jazz world be the real legacy of the aftermath of 9/11." - Richard S. Ginell
"The Call features the same lineup as Notes From Big Sur (pianist Bobo Stenson and bassist Anders Jormin), save for drummer Billy Hart, who replaces Ralph Peterson. (Lloyd has referred to this group as his "Full Service Orchestra of Love.") While the record documents plenty of stirring musicianship, Lloyd the composer seems to be running low on fresh ideas and distinctive melodies. In sum, The Call is a bit too similar in thrust to his two previous ECM outings. (It's also over 16 minutes longer, which doesn't help.) There are a couple of unexpected twists, however -- like Lloyd's surging, surprising entrance toward the end of "Song," and the quick yet perpetually unsettled tempo of the brief "Imke." The closing Lloyd/Hart duet, "Brother on the Rooftop," is partially based on the second movement of Beethoven's Pathétique Sonata, although there's no acknowledgement of this anywhere on the CD package." - David R. Adler
"The Quintessential Billie Holdiay, Vols. 1-9 is a terrific multi-volume series that chronicles all of Holiday's master takes for Columbia Records between 1933 and 1942. The set is available as nine separate discs, all of which are essential for true Holiday fans. Neophytes who are slightly intimidated by the size of this series should look to Volume 2 as a starting point." - Stephen Thomas Erlewine
"After years of reissuing Billie Holiday's recordings in piecemeal fashion, Columbia finally got it right with this nine-CD Quintessential series. All of Lady Day's 1933-1942 studio recordings (although without the alternate takes) receive the treatment they deserve in this program. Vol. 1 has Holiday's first two tentative performances from 1933 along with her initial recordings with Teddy Wilson's all-star bands. High points include "I Wished on the Moon," "What a Little Moonlight Can Do," "Miss Brown to You," and "Twenty-Four Hours a Day."" - Scott Yanow
"The second of nine volumes in this essential series (all are highly recommended) continues the complete reissue of Billie Holiday's early recordings (although the alternate takes are bypassed). This set is highlighted by "I Cried for You" (which has a classic alto solo from Johnny Hodges), "Billie's Blues" (from Holiday's first session as a leader), "A Fine Romance," and "Easy to Love." Holiday's backup crew includes such greats as pianist Teddy Wilson, baritonist Harry Carney, trumpeters Jonah Jones and Bunny Berigan, and clarinetist Artie Shaw. There's lots of great small-group swing." - Scott Yanow
"The third of nine CDs that document all of Billie Holiday's studio recordings of 1933-1942 for Columbia has classic versions of "Pennies From Heaven," "I Can't Give You Anything but Love" (on which she shows the influence of Louis Armstrong), and "My Last Affair," along with Lady Day's first meeting on record with tenor saxophonist Lester Young. Their initial encounter resulted in four songs, including "This Year's Kisses" and "I Must Have That Man." All nine volumes in this admirable series (if only the alternate takes had been included) are highly recommended." - Scott Yanow
"The fourth of nine CDs in this essential series of Billie Holiday's studio recordings of 1933-1942 features the great tenor Lester Young on eight of the 16 performances. Prez and Lady Day make a perfect match on "I'll Get By" (although altoist Johnny Hodges steals the honors on that song), "Mean to Me," "Easy Living," "Me, Myself and I," and "A Sailboat in the Moonlight." Other strong selections without Young include "Moanin' Low," "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," and "Where Is the Sun?" It's highly recommended, along with all of the other CDs in this perfectly done Billie Holiday reissue program." - Scott Yanow
"The fifth of nine CDs in the complete reissue of Billie Holiday's early recordings (sans alternate takes), this great set has 18 selections, all but four featuring tenor saxophonist Lester Young and trumpeter Buck Clayton. Among the classics are "Getting Some Fun Out of Life," "Trav'lin' All Alone," "He's Funny That Way," "My Man," "When You're Smiling" (on which Prez takes a perfect solo), "If Dreams Come True," and "Now They Call It Swing." All nine volumes in this series are highly recommended, but if one can only acquire a single entry, this is the one." - Scott Yanow
"The sixth of nine CDs in this very worthy series traces Billie Holiday's recording career throughout much of 1938. Although not containing as many true classics as Vol. 5, most of these 18 selections are quite enjoyable, particularly "You Go to My Head," "Having Myself a Time," "The Very Thought of You," and "They Say." All of the sets in this reissue program are recommended, featuring Lady Day when she was youthful and still optimistic about life." - Scott Yanow
"By 1939 when the bulk of these 17 selections were recorded, Billie Holiday was dominating her own recordings, allocating less space for her sidemen to solo. This was not really a bad thing since Lady Day's voice was getting stronger each year. On the seventh of nine CD volumes that reissue all of Holiday's 1933-42 Columbia recordings (other than the alternate takes which have been bypassed), Holiday sounds at her best on "More than You Know, Sugar" (featuring a superb Benny Carter alto solo), "Long Gone Blues" and "Some Other Spring." It's recommended along with all of the other entries in the Quintessential series." - Scott Yanow
"The eighth of nine volumes that feature all of the master takes from Billie Holiday's Columbia recordings of 1933-1942 is one of the better sets, although all nine CDs are recommended. High points include "Them There Eyes," "Swing, Brother, Swing," "The Man I Love," "Ghost of Yesterday," "Body and Soul," "Falling in Love Again," and "I Hear Music." Among the variety of all-stars backing her, tenor saxophonist Lester Young makes his presence known on eight of the 18 numbers." - Scott Yanow
"The final volume in this nine-CD series contains all of Billie Holiday's recordings from her final 16 months with the label. Highlights include "St. Louis Blues," "Loveless Love," "Let's Do It," "All of Me" (arguably the greatest version ever of this veteran standard), "Am I Blue," "Gloomy Sunday" and "God Bless the Child." All 153 of Lady Day's Columbia recordings (even the occasional weak item) are well worth hearing and savoring." - Scott Yanow
"This CD was the debut of the talented singer Karrin Allyson, a creative scat singer also very capable of holding her own on ballads. She primarily utilizes top Kansas City musicians (including pianists Paul Smith, Russ Long and Joe Cartwright, guitarists Danny Embrey and Rod Fleeman, bassists Bob Bowman and Gerald Spaits, drummer Todd Strait, cornetist Gary Sivils and flugelhornist Mike Metheny) on a variety of bop-based material. Among the highlights are "Nature Boy," Karrin's chancetaking duet with drummer Strait on "What A Little Moonlight Can Do," a rapid version of "'S Wonderful" and a bossa-novatized "It Might As Well Be Spring." Karrin Allyson, who also plays piano on three numbers, shows a great deal of potential throughout her rewarding debut." - Scott Yanow
"Cassandra Wilson is ostensibly a jazz singer, but more often than not crosses the creative line between folk, pop, and jazz. This collection of previously released tracks features Wilson on various jazz standards giving one a nice view of Wilson as simply a jazz vocalist. While this is in no way a "must have" for fans of the much lauded singer, it is a nice place for jazz aficionados to begin listening to this singular artist." - Matt Collar
"Over the years, there have been different incarnations of Ella and Louis Again, which has been a single LP, a two-LP set, a single CD, and a two-CD audiophile set from Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab. There are no compelling reasons why someone who already owns the audiophile version of Ella and Louis Again that Mobile Fidelity put out in 1995 would find this 2003 version to be an essential purchase -- Verve hasn't added any alternate takes or bonus tracks, and this double CD contains the very same selections in the very same order. Nonetheless, Verve's 2003 version is a nicely assembled reissue -- very nicely, in fact. From attractive packaging to excellent digital remastering, Verve treats Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong's 1957 duets with the respect they deserve. Verve maintains Norman Granz' original liner notes -- a wise move -- but they have also added insightful new liner notes by John Sinclair. And the performances, of course, are first-rate. Stylistically, singer Fitzgerald and trumpeter/singer Armstrong had very different histories; he started out in Dixieland before branching out into classic jazz and swing, whereas Fitzgerald started out as a swing-oriented big-band vocalist before becoming an expert bebopper. But the two of them have no problem finding common ground on Ella and Louis Again, which is primarily a collection of vocal duets (with the backing of a solid rhythm section led by pianist Oscar Peterson). One could nit-pick about the fact that Satchmo doesn't take more trumpet solos, but the artists have such a strong rapport as vocalists that the trumpet shortage is only a minor point. Seven selections find either Fitzgerald or Armstrong singing without the other, although they're together more often than not on this fine reissue." - Alex Henderson
"When Nnenna Freelon recorded her debut album for Columbia, a string-filled affair titled Nnenna Freelon, she was quickly labeled a Sarah Vaughan imitator. However, her second date (Heritage), which featured her backed by just a trio and occasionally a couple of horns, was a major improvement and she displayed a much more adventurous and original style, showing that first impressions are not always correct. Freelon, after graduating from Simmons College, raised three children and had a career in health services in Durham, NC, before really starting her vocal career. She performed well at an Atlanta jam session with Ellis Marsalis and two years later, on the strength of that jam, she was signed to Columbia. In 1996, she switched to the Concord label and Shaking Free was released in 1996 and Maiden Voyage followed two years later. The new millennium brought the release of Soulcall in September 2000." - Scott Yanow
"Nnenna Freelon refuses to be pigeonholed into any one style of jazz, as she's always willing to perform songs from many different fields, often while taking them in unfamiliar directions. She's also blessed with a great voice and an innate ability to charm her audience, along with a superb band. These performances from a pair of concerts at the Kennedy Center have a lot to like within them. The two-faceted interpretation of the standard "All or Nothing at All" alternates between an exotic Latin setting and driving bop. Pianist Takana Miyamoto's bossa nova scoring of "Meaning of the Blues" and the humorous take of "If I Only Had a Brain" also work very well. But there are misfires, too. Johnny Green's timeless melody to "Body and Soul" is discarded in favor of a plodding, monotonous reggae arrangement. There's little to differentiate the poppish performance of "My Cherie Amour" from a typical pop performance. Far better is her slowed-down approach to another Stevie Wonder song, "Tears of a Clown," where Smokey Robinson's great lyrics can be better appreciated than even on his own hit rendition with the Temptations. For those who have yet to experience the phenomenal Nnenna Freelon in concert, this is the next best alternative." - Ken Dryden
"As an interpreter of classic American popular songs from the 1930s and 1940s, vocalist and guitarist Rebecca Kilgore helped revive the hits of yesterday for modern-era jazz audiences. Born in Waltham, MA, in 1949, she relocated to Portland, OR, at the age of 30, beginning her music career fronting an area swing band dubbed the Wholly Cats and recording a 1982 LP titled Doggin' Around. Following the group's 1984 breakup, she formed her own unit, the Rebecca Kilgore Quintet, which quickly emerged as a mainstay of the Northwest jazz scene, and in 1989, she released the cassette-only I Hear Music. Most of Kilgore's subsequent recordings were in conjunction with other performers: In 1990, she teamed with John Miller for Put on a Happy Face, and in 1993 appeared with Portland's Tall Jazz Trio on their Plays Winter Jazz disc. However, Kilgore's most fruitful collaborations were in conjunction with pianist Dave Frishberg; after teaming for 1993's Looking at You, they reunited a year later for I Saw Stars, followed in 1997 by Not a Care in the World and again in 2001 with The Starlit Hour. At the same time, Kilgore also fronted a '60s-style country band, Beck-a-Roo, and in 1994 contributed vocals to the score of the CBS animated special Tales From the Far Side, inspired by the popular Gary Larson comic strip." - Jason Ankeny
"Tierney Sutton warms the soul with Something Cool. This offering, her third as a leader for the Telarc label, finds the vocalist using an array of vocal techniques, jazz styles, and formats on 14 great songs by several Great American Songbook composers, Bobby Troup, and the masterful Duke Ellington. Sutton is accompanied by her longtime trio of Christian Jacob on piano, Trey Henry on bass, and Ray Brinker on drums. The lovely vocalist/educator charms her listeners with elongated phrasings, a strong rhythmic sense, and amazing improvisational abilities on three Lerner & Loewe themes from the Broadway musical My Fair Lady. In addition to the outstanding vocal treatments she offers her listeners on these classic songs, Sutton scats and swings through an amazing "Ding, Dong! The Witch Is Dead." This song not only shows her versatility with tempo changes and range, but also displays her unique talent for selecting songs commonly associated with another musical style and improvising them in a jazz context. She garnered international critical acclaim for this technique on her 1999 release titled Unsung Heroes. Additional highlights include Howard Dietz's "Alone Together," on which she duets with bassist Trey Henry, and her exceptional rendition of "The Best Is Yet to Come," which features her cool jazz vocal skills. Tierney Sutton is at her finest on this program and offers an impeccable selection of songs that showcase her distinct musical personality and quality sound." - Paula Edelstein
"Tierney Sutton's light, sweet voice is not yet as familiar to most jazz fans as those of Ella Fitzgerald or Sarah Vaughan, but on the evidence of her first two albums, it deserves to be. Her flexibility and control are world-class, and she has a sense of taste that has never failed her on record; although her technique is superb, she never seems to be showing off. Unsung Heroes doesn't quite achieve the magic of her debut (Introducing Tierney Sutton, on A Records), but it's never less than entrancing: the program consists of jazz standards that are more commonly performed as instrumentals (hence the album's title), and her interpretations of "Indiana/Donna Lee" and "When Lights Are Low" are effortlessly charming; her take on the Dizzy Gillespie classic "Con Alma," with its slightly eerie a capella intro, is especially strong. Sutton is supported primarily by her longtime quartet, pianist Christian Jacob, bassist Trey Henry, and drummer Ray Brinker. Highly recommended." - Rick Anderson
"Dick Hyman certainly had a lot of songs to choose from for this solo piano CD tribute to Irving Berlin (who made it past 100). Hyman is heard expertly mixing together some of Berlin's better-known tunes (such as "Let's Face the Music," "Easter Parade," "Remember" and "Always") with such notable obscurities as "Lady of the Evening," "How About Me?" and "I'll See You In C.U.B.A." Hyman's total control of the piano and his versatile style (which on this date ranges from stride and swing to Art Tatum) makes the set an obvious success." - Scott Yanow
"This CD is very much a piano recital, as Dick Hyman (on a set of unaccompanied solos) demonstrates his love for Harold Arlen's music. Nine of the fourteen selections that Hyman chose to record are very well-known, three are somewhat obscure and two are somewhere in between. The accent is on Art Tatum's style during some of the songs, along with a few snatches of Teddy Wilson's relaxed stride. Hyman reproduces the ease with which Tatum threw out impossible-to-play virtuosic runs, and (even more impressive) he hints constantly at Art's advanced harmonies without doing strict imitations. He gives a few of the songs unusual twists ("Stormy Weather" becomes a waltz, "Over the Rainbow" has a bossa nova rhythm, the last part of "A Woman's Prerogative" is played in two keys at once, etc.) but the melodies are never far away. Hyman also takes his first real vocal on record, doing a nice job on the lyrics of "In Your Own Quiet Way" with his obviously untrained voice. A fine outing." - Scott Yanow
"Pianist George Shearing and singer Mel Tormé would match together perfectly every time they shared the stage; the mutual respect they had for each other was as obvious as the fact that they had very complementary styles. This CD, their first joint recording, is consistently exciting. With bassist Brian Torff making the group a trio, Shearing and Tormé swing hard on such tunes as "All God's Chillun Got Rhythm," "Give Me the Simple Life," "Love," and "Lullaby of Birdland" (which starts off with Shearing singing). In addition, there are a pair of instrumentals including "Manhattan Hoedown," which is a feature for Torff. Tormé's touching rendition of "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" by itself would be enough reason to acquire this highly enjoyable set." - Scott Yanow
"This was singer Mel Tormé's last recording before he was stricken with a serious stroke. Remarkably, Tormé had gradually improved both as a singer and as a jazz improviser all throughout his sixties (his voice was in phenomenal shape), and he is heard on this live set, filmed for a television special, in peak form despite being 70. Joined by his regular trio (pianist Mike Renzi, bassist John Leitham and drummer Donny Osborne), Tormé performs a typical swing-oriented program which includes a Benny Goodman medley, a memorable rendition of "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" (he could hold notes on ballads endlessly without wavering), a heated "Pick Yourself Up," and a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald on "Lady Be Good," among other numbers. Ironically, Tormé concluded what may be his final recording with a touching rendition of "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye."" - Mel Torme
"All of the Mel Tormé-George Shearing collaborations are well worth acquiring, for the singer and the pianist constantly inspire each other. For this live concert, Tormé and Shearing perform a variety of songs popular during World War II. Shearing and bassist Neil Swainson duet on "Lilt Marlene" and "I've Heard That Song Before"; Shearing takes "I Know Why and So Do You" unaccompanied, and the duo is joined by drummer Donny Osborne and Tormé for a wide-ranging and consistently enjoyable set. Although "This Is the Army Mister Jones" is a bit dated, a four-song Duke Ellington medley, "I Could Write a Book" and a touching "We Mustn't Say Goodbye" are memorable. Recommended." - Scott Yanow
"If Verve needed a concept for Mel Tormé's last album on the label, there were certainly a few available. For one thing, My Kind of Music features five of Tormé's own songs, including chestnuts like "The Christmas Song," "A Stranger in Town," and "County Fair," as well as lesser-knowns like "Welcome to the Club." The other half-dozen compositions are by the underrated songwriting team of Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz, creators of the '50s Broadway hit The Bandwagon. Though they're rarely spoken of in the same breath as Rodgers & Hammerstein or Lerner & Loewe -- could it have anything to do with the lack of smoothness in pronouncing their names? -- Dietz and Schwartz wrote many standards, including "You and the Night and the Music," "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan," "Dancing in the Dark," and "By Myself." Also, My Kind of Music was the second LP Tormé recorded in Britain, the home of his most devoted audiences. The mellow arrangements -- by Brits Wally Stott, Geoff Love, and Tony Osborne -- wrapped Tormé in soft strings, but also allowed for many individual voices, including guitar and trumpet. It's a style of arranging that perfectly suited Tormé's growing inclination toward breezy, contemplative adult-pop during the '60s. And Stott's arrangement for the musically varied six-minute showtune "County Fair" captured a quintessentially American musical composition with flair. Call it whatever you want -- Tormé Sings Tormé, Tormé Sings Dietz & Schwartz, Tormé in London -- but My Kind of Music is a solid album that only suffers in comparison to his masterpieces of the previous few years." - John Bush
"Though it's sometimes relegated to second or third place among Tormé's best albums of the '50s (behind Mel Tormé and the Marty Paich Dek-Tette and It's a Blue World), it's difficult to hear how Mel Tormé Sings Fred Astaire can't be the best album of his entire career. Featuring an artist at the peak of his ability and talent, a collection of top-drawer songs from the best pop composers ever, and a swinging ten-piece that forms the perfect accompaniment, Sings Fred Astaire is one of the best up-tempo vocal albums ever recorded. Coming hot on the heels of Mel Tormé and the Marty Paich Dek-Tette in 1956, this tribute to Hollywood's most stylish dancer finds Tormé obliging with his nimblest and most elegant singing. Even while Marty Paich's band takes "The Way You Look Tonight" and "Cheek to Cheek" at a breakneck pace that Astaire himself would've had trouble with, Tormé floats over the top with death-defying vocal acrobatics. He's breezy and sophisticated on "They Can't Take That Away from Me," ecstatic and effervescent on "Top Hat, White Tie and Tails" (matching an exuberant solo by trumpeter Pete Candoli), and even breaks out an affectionate croon for "A Foggy Day." A collection of perfect hard-swinging pop with a few ballads thrown in for good measure makes Sings Fred Astaire a masterpiece of the vocal era." - John Bush
"Though the nominal concept for Swings Shubert Alley is Broadway standards, this last moment of pure Mel Tormé brilliance swings much too fast and hard for the concept to be anything but pure swing. Of course it starts out with a bang, the punchy "Too Close for Comfort." Tormé sounds like he's racing the band to the finish of the song on this one (and a few others: "Too Darn Hot," "Surrey with the Fringe on Top"), repeating the title over and ove