Bill Frisell - Rambler (1985)
EAC | FLAC+CUE+LOG+Artwork -> 255 Mb
© 2008 ECM Records 1287
Modern Creative | Post-Bop | Guitar Jazz
Many thanks to mishka1981
Descripstion
Guitarist Bill Frisell has always had an ear for unusual tonal colors, and they're particularly strong on this 1984 recording, an early and enduring document of a major musician's work. There's a distinctive emphasis on brass and the lowest registers, with Kenny Wheeler on trumpet and flügelhorn, Bob Stewart on tuba, and Jerome Harris on electric bass; drummer Paul Motian completes the quintet. The thick, bass-heavy textures and contrasting layers of sound give the music an almost orchestral quality, while Frisell and Wheeler's shared love of pitch bending sometimes gives the eerie sense of funhouse mirrors, a dream of sonic and temporal distortion. "Rambler" is a mirthful echo of mariachi music, "Music I Heard" is propelled by unlikely allusions to march rhythms, and "Resistor" has some of Frisell's most animated playing on disc, his guitar synth creating a Pandora's box of unexpected sounds and twisting, mercurial lines.
Vocalist Karrin Allyson stretches herself during this diverse set. A superior jazz singer, Allyson scats quite well during "It Could Happen to You/Fried Bananas" and "Cherokee," sings lyrics in English, French ("Autumn Leaves") and Italian, interprets some fairly current pop tunes, is touching on Thelonious Monk's "Ask Me Now" and is quite memorable on "Joy Spring" and "All of You." With assistance from her fine Kansas City-based rhythm section (led by pianist Paul Smith) and with some worthy guests (including altoist Kim Park, violinist Claude Williams and flugelhornist Mike Metheny), Karrin Allyson shows just how versatile and talented a singer she is. Recommended.
I've been a Katie Melua fan for a while now. I have to say, this is my favorite of her 3 full studio albums. Technically, this is not a new Katie Melua album, but it's new to the States. Kudos to her record company for putting it out here and at such a low price. It's so much better than having to plunk down extra money for the import. Katie Melua is an artist with longevity - her UK career proves that. Pictures is the next chapter in what will be a long journey for a very talented and gifted artist.
Sarah Vaughan - I Love Brazil! (1977)
EAC | FLAC+CUE+LOG+Full Artwork -> 309 Mb
© 1994 Pablo
Vocal Jazz
Many thanks to dominic7018
Descripstion
Sarah Vaughan's recordings during the last phase of her magnificent career weren't always up to her usual standards, but this late-'70s set focusing on Brazilian music was a superb exception. Vaughan sounded as delightful and glorious as ever doing songs by legendary composers Antonio Carlos Jobim and Milton Nascimento and newer voices like Dorival Caymmi, Oscar Castro Neves and Eumir Deodato, among many others. The backing and rhythms weren't Americanized pap, but an accurate reflection of contemporary Brazil's sounds at the time. The CD adds two bonus tracks that weren't on the original, giving listeners the full results of what proved to be one of the great Sarah Vaughan's final studio triumphs.
Max Roach - Percussion Bitter Sweet (1961)
EAC | FLAC+CUE+LOG+Full Artwork -> 277 Mb
© 1993 Impulse GRP GRD-122
Hard Bop | Post-Bop
Many thanks to Obelix, OR
Descripstion
Percussion Bitter Sweet is the most compelling, varied, dynamic snapshot of Max Roach's post-Clifford Brown ensembles. It features the doomed young genius Booker Little on trumpet, the innovative Eric Dolphy on alto and bass clarinet, Clifford Jordan on tenor, Julian Priester on trombone, Mal Waldron on piano and Art Davis on bass. Roach is never content just to mark time. Instead, his drums essay complex metric and polyrhythmic devices, while suggesting keyboard-like counterpoint and melodic motifs, as Davis goads him on with stately walking bass lines. But what makes Percussion Bitter Sweet such a rich, enduring recital is the drummer's colorful use of Afro-Cuban percussion and voice as a powerful multicultural subtext, celebrating the struggles and triumphs of Africans and African Americans (circa 1960) from Harlem (the celebratory "Garvey's Ghost") to Capetown ("Man from South Africa"). Little's darting filigree on the hard-swinging "Mama" is indicative of his breakthroughs in harmony and phrasing, while Dolphy's glorious, airborne flute, fulminating bass clarinet, and torchy, enraged alto enliven the waltzing "Tender Warriors" and the sardonic "Mendacity." On the latter, vocalist Abbey Lincoln's sassy, theatrical phrasing drips bluesy sarcasm in her spanking of a hypocritical racist establishment, setting the stage for Roach's furious, ritualistic rhythmic exorcism. Inspiring stuff.
Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century". She had a contralto vocal range. Nicknamed "Sailor" (for her salty speech), "Sassy" and "The Divine One", Sarah Vaughan was a Grammy Award winner. The National Endowment for the Arts bestowed upon her its "highest honor in jazz", the NEA Jazz Masters Award, in 1989.
This is the first Peggy Lee CD I bought first I ever heard, and I truly love her voice. The choice of songs is very eclectic. I love the ballads, but the few songs with back-up singers really date the music and spoil their entry into the "timeless" category. Peggy Lee sings free and easy, with a warm tone that really pleases in the ballads. I have taken to calling the guy I'm dating a "handsome brute", because the way she uses that expression in "Please Don't Rush Me" gives me the grins. I think I had rather picked a different album to introduce me to Miss Lee, however. These songs are, after all, the rare gems, and I'd like to experience the albums my parents listened to when they were courting! ~Amazon.com~
Susannah established a reputation for singing songs from the Great American Songbook in her own way. This is never more evident than on this collection of songs written by Cole Porter. Of course, the first thing you notice is the song selection - a typical mix of famous and obscure. It would have been interesting to hear Susannah sing I get a kick out of you, to name one of many obvious songs not included, but instead we get Weren't we fools and Why don't we try staying home - two very obscure but delightful songs that I'd never heard before.
Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century". She had a contralto vocal range. Nicknamed "Sailor" (for her salty speech), "Sassy" and "The Divine One", Sarah Vaughan was a Grammy Award winner. The National Endowment for the Arts bestowed upon her its "highest honor in jazz", the NEA Jazz Masters Award, in 1989.
Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong — Autumn In New York (2008)
EAC | FLAC+CUE+LOG+Full Artwork -> 394 Mb
© 2008 Top Music International (UD-SACD8933-2)
Vocal Jazz
Many thanks to Oceandrop
Descripstion
There have been many great Jazz/Soul/Pop collaborations over the decades, like Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, Otis Redding & Carla Thomas, Roberta Flack & Donnie Hathaway, not to mention other one-time duets or duet albums, but before all of them, the first such match made in music heaven was Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. She, one of the greatest vocalists of her or any generation, he, a genius musician with a distinct voice like no other and both, groundbreaking innovators and superior artists who paved the way for the worldwide music industry and continue to be two of its greatest giants. Autumn In New York is a new Super Audio CD release of their work together and as usual, it has so much chemistry, joy and smoothness that we will never hear the likes of it or them again.
Lage Lund - Early Songs (2008)
EAC | FLAC+CUE+LOG+Full Artwork -> 372 Mb
© 2008 Criss Cross Jazz 1307
Jazz Straightahead | Mainstream | Guitar Jazz
Many thanks to pajamadeus
Descripstion
Never judge a book (or jazz recording) by its cover, as the inconspicuous album portrait of Lage Lund's Early Songs is little indication of the music's impressive content. From Norway, Lund resides in New York and has performed within traditional boundaries (Mingus Big Band , Wynton Marsalis, Ron Carter) and newly progressive terrains (Jaleel Shaw , Seamus Blake, and David Sanchez). The winner of 2005's Thelonious Monk International Jazz Guitar Competition, Lund's guitar acumen is informed of Pat Metheny, Pat Martino and other greats. Yet, he seeks his own path, as heard in the new breed of jazz guitarists such as Miles Okazaki and Mike Moreno.
This debut on Criss Cross is a good introduction to Lund's tonality and confidence that is well beyond his youth with a mix of originals and standards showing a range of stylistic impressions. Whether it's the progressive "Scrapyard Orchestra," gentle swing on "Poppy" or the crisp remake of Bud Powell's "Celia," the music is immaculate and cohesively delivered by an impressive lineup of jazz contemporaries.
Marcus Strickland 's musical rapport with Lund was witnessed on Strickland's Twi-Life (Strick Muzik, 2006). The saxophonist's vigorous tenor has its usual luster but his soprano also radiates on "About the World in a Bottle" and "Vonnegut," a wicked snaking piece that is one of the recording's highlights. Orlando Le Fleming and Kendrick Scott (bass and drums, respectively) are the rhythmic center, while pianist Danny Grissett is another name to watch as attested by his fantastic solo on Cole Porter's "You Do Something To Me" where Scott's drumming is also quite memorable.
Lund's playing is pristine on "Quiet Now" showing his acute deference for ballads—each note, chord, and movement is melodious. The recording closes with sophistication on "The Incredibly Profound Song." It personifies the auspicious recording to an ironic point. No earth shattering revelation or hyperbolic self indulgence; just some seriously intelligent and appealing music from an unpretentious yet exceptional musician.
Baguettes Ensemble - The Vocaloid Jazz Sessions Vol.1 (2010)
EAC | APE+no CUE+no LOG+Artwork -> 390 Mb
Contemporary Jazz
Susannah McCorkle - No More Blues (1989)
