Artist: Ron Carter
     Album: The Golden Striker
     Label: Blue Note Records
     Release: 2003
     Format, Bitrate: Flac, level 8
     Size: 195 MB; covers

     The Golden Striker is jazz bassist Ron Carter's attempt to break out of a rut. Teamed with pianist Mulgrew Miller and guitarist Russell Malone, Carter attempts to climb out of the pleasant but sleepy, largely academic role he's made recordings in for the past decade or so. It works only partially. The material chosen for this session, from the title track by the late John Lewis to Carter's own swinging contrapuntal study "N.Y. Slick" to an interesting read of the now standard "Concierto de Aranjuez," comes off as too relaxed, too low-key, and basically uninspiring. No one can question anyone's credentials on this date, but there is no spark, no fire, nothing but admirably executed moves in harmony and melody. Given the lack of a drummer, rhythmic responsibility rests on Carter's shoulders more heavily, and on his own he abdicates. The Golden Striker is rote at best in the rhythm department. Malone's usually percussive chord voicings are considerably breezier here and lend less in that department, and Carter feels like he's going through the motions. It's almost as if he has deliberately chosen to make records that are unnaturally quiet and staid, trying to offer to the listener some "point" about how music can be made in the jazz idiom without giving listeners a compelling emotional reason for it. Ultimately, most of Carter's compositions feel bloodless, quizzically interesting in a mathematical way but devoid of anything other than musical brain stem life. It's just too bad. ~ Thom Jurek , AMG

     Artist: Carmen Cavallaro
     Album : Vol.1 - Cocktails with Cavallaro
                Vol.2 - Carmen Cavallaro: Cocktail Time
     Label: Coral / Decca
     Year: 1958 / 1962 [Digitally Remastered]
     Genre: Easy Listening
     Format, bitrate: MP3@320 kbps
     Time: 76:12
     Size: 95.8 + 73.3 Mb


     Середина недели… Как далеко до выходных. А послушайте эту музыку, и Вы окажетесь в шикарном пиано-баре. За фортепиано - Cavallaro. И Вы в упоительном покое потягиваете свой любимый коктейль… Приятного прослушивания!
     А любимые рецепты коктейлей можете оставить в этом посту!

     Artist: Kenny Garrett
     Album: Sketches of MD, Live at the Iridium
     Label: Mack Avenue
     Release: 2008
     Format, Bitrate: MP3 320 kb/s
     Time: 57:00
     Size: 143 MB; covers: front & back


     Saxophonist Kenny Garrett has explored post bop, fusion, modal music, and other styles on his studio albums, and he collects the cream of those explorations on this fine 2008 live set. SKETCHES OF MD, recorded live at New York City's Iridium, features saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, keys player Benito Gonzalez, drummer Jamire Williams, and bassist Nat Reeves, all of whom help create the album's sizzling interplay. The group stretches out on this set of Garrett originals, then locks in beautifully throughout a varied, satisfying evening.

     Artist: Ahmad Jamal
     Album: The Legendary Okeh & Epic Sessions
     Label: Epic/Legacy
     Year: 1951-55, release:2005
     Genre: Jazz, BeBop
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320 kbps
     Time: 75 min
     Size: 159 MB

     This collection brings together the early OKeh and Epic recordings of innovative jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal, recorded between 1951 and 1955. Jamal ushered in a new era of melodic improvisation that stood in sharp contrast to bebop's previous innovations. These recordings were all done in trio settings, where the pianist was accompanied by guitarist Ray Crawford, and either Eddie Calhoun (1951 and 1952) or Israel Crosby on bass. The shimmering solos and light as a feather chord voicings are anything but lightweight. Sharp, harmonic invention, economical yet intuitive phrasing, and a deft sense of time pushed Jamal's star to ascendancy. Standout cuts here are his "Surrey with the Fringe on Top," which extrapolates the melody into new harmonic terrain; the beautiful arrangement of the traditional "Billy Boy"; Fats Waller's "Squeeze Me" with its beautiful ostinato, and Jamal's glorious read of "Perfidia." The sound on this set is gloriously remastered. There are period liner notes by Nat Hentoff, and a moving and appreciative essay. ~ Randy Weston, AMG

     Artist: Jimmy Smith
     Album: Plays Pretty Just For You
     Label: Blue Note Japan
     Year: 1957, release 2004
     Format, bitrate: Mp3 320 kb/s
     Time: 41:46
     Size: 98,1 Mb


     Product Description:
     24 bit Digitally Remastered Japanese Limited Edition in an LP-STYLE Slipcase. Includes an Additional Track Not on the Original Release. - Amazon.com

     Artists: Roy Eldridge, Gene Krupa, Anita O'Day
     Album - Uptown
     Label - Columbia
     Years: 1941-1949, release - 1990
     Quality - MP3@256 kbps
     Size - 75,9 mb
     Total time - 71:42
     



     The Krupa band of 1941 to 1943 had two great forces in it with the addition of trumpeter Roy Eldridge and vocalist Anita O'Day replacing Irene Day. Eldridge almost singlehandedly transformed the orchestra from a pop-based dance band to a more jazz-inspired one, and O'Day was simply the most swinging singer Krupa ever had in the fold. Highlights include a wild "After You've Gone," "Stop! The Red Light's On," "Let Me Off Uptown," "Thanks for the Boogie Ride," "Knock Me a Kiss," "Bop Boogie," and the previously unissued "Barrelhouse Bessie From Basin Street." Those interested in Krupa's career as a bandleader should start with this one. ~ Cub Koda:, AMG

     Artist: Arkady Shilkloper & friends
     Album: Presente para Moscou
     Label: Dom Records
     Year, release: 2003
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320 kbps
     Time: 50 min, 22 sec
     Size: 117 mb.

     Продолжая свою слегка затянувшуюся полусотую публикацию, дарю сей скромный подарок третьему, самому главному из отцов-основателей (я просто пошёл по возрастающей, так сказать) г-ну Andrew "BlackB". Надеюсь, этот "Подарок Москве" от Аркадия Шилклопера сотоварищи придётся ему по душе.
     Итак...

     Artist: Arturo Sandoval
     Album: I Remember Clifford
     Label: GRP
     Year, release: 1992
     Genre: jazz, post-bop
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320 kbps
     Time: 1h, 1 min, 41 sec.
     Size: 148 mb
     

     Как и обещал, срочно начинаю реабилитироваться. Мою предыдущую публикацию требую считать номер 50 и 1/3, а эту, считать номер 50 и 2/3.
     И посвящаю её ещё одному из отцов-основателей клуба, г-ну Teds'у.
     Надеюсь, эта подборка шикарных джазовых эвергринов в исполнении кубиноамериканца Артуро Сандоваля принесёт ему несколько (около шестидесяти двух) приятных минут.
     Итак...

     Due to the straight-ahead nature of the music on this CD, plus trumpeter Arturo Sandoval's self-restraint, the release has thus far been most jazz purists' favorite among the trumpeter's releases. Sandoval, who is joined by pianist Kenny Kirkland, bassist Charnett Moffett, drummer Kenny Washington and either Ernie Watts, David Sanchez or Ed Calle on tenor, pays tribute to the great Clifford Brown by performing ten selections previously recorded by Brown, plus his original "I Left This Space For You." The emphasis is on bebop (no Latin or Cuban rhythms on this date) with the highlights including "Daahoud," "Joy Spring," "Cherokee" and an emotional "I Remember Clifford." ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

     Artists: John Lee Hooker
     Album: Burning Hell
     Label: Riverside/OBC
     Year: 1964
     Genre: Blues
     Bitrate: 256 kbps
     Time: 42:10
     Size: 81 mb (RS.com)

     This album was recorded at the same April 1959 session that produced Hooker's more famous LP, THE COUNTRY BLUES OF JOHN LEE HOOKER. For some reason it was unreleased until 1964 (UK only) and didn't see the light of day in the US until the early 90's. Which is odd because it is identical in style, sound and theme to the COUNTRY BLUES LP, featuring the same acoustic back porch feel. On the whole, a slightly lesser album than its more famous companion volume, but still a good one. If you like Hooker and/or acoustic blues, download it.

     Artist: Sergio Mendes
     Album: The Swinger from Rio
     Format: FLAC & mp3 (320k/s)
     Size: 240 & 90 MB (scans)
     Label: Atlantic (2004)
     Total time: 39:08

     We have become more familiar with the music of Latin America and especially that of Brazil in the past year. The new music from Brazil (better known as bossa nova) has been absorbed into the mainstream of our own music. This is completely natural. While we have been listening to their music, Latin American musicians have been listening to ours. Jazz music in particular has been fascinating to them for quite some time, and it would be accurate to describe bossa nova as a marriage of modern Brazilian music and American jazz. The music contained in this album is the happy result of a meeting of Brazilian bossa nova stars and American jazz musicians. Sergio Mendes, the young man who graces the cover of this LP is one of the brightest talents to emerge from Brazilian music circles. He possesses a crisp piano style that clearly dominates all of the performances in this album. The clarity of Sergio's musical thought is always apparent whether he is soloing, playing ensemble or accompanying someone else's solo. In addition he inspires some of the finest work on records by the well known jazz performers, Art Farmer, Phil Woods and Hubert Laws. Sergio is accustomed to playing with a country's leading musicians. He became a professional pianist at the age of sixteen. One year later he organized his own group to perform at parties and in night clubs in and around his hometown of Niteroi which is across the bay from the more celebrated Brazilian town of Ipanema. The composer and musician, Antonio Carlos Jobim, heard Sergio play and was very impressed. He gave him a great nea'fof encouragement, arid before long Sergio joined the circle of musicians in Rio who were creating a new musical style that came to be known as bossa nova.It is impossible to conceive of greater musical understanding than that which is shown by Sergio, fluegelhornist Art Farmer, saxophonist Phil Woods and flutist Hubert Laws in this album. Listening to the way their solos dovetail one could easily assume these musicians have worked together for many years. Sergio has the remarkable facility of matching the tonal quality of his instrument to that of the musician with whom he is playing. Notice for instance that when he and Art Farmer exchange phrases at the end of Useless Panorama, the sound of their instruments maintain an even flow. On So Danco Samba and Maria Moita there is a little more bite to Sergio's piano work to match the drive of Phil Woods' robust saxophone style. Though these musicians may have been born thousands of miles apart, they are truly kindred spirits. Sergio's good friend and the man he calls his mentor. Antonio Carlos Jobim, is on hand for many of the numbers. Better known as the composer of the classic bossa nova tunes (Desafinado, One Note Samba, etc.), Jobim is also an accomplished guitarist. Hear how he introduced his composition, Useless Panorama by softly phrasing the melody. The musicians who make up the rhythm section are members of Sergio's own trio, Tiao Netto on bass and drummer Chico DeSouza. They keep the front line swinging in all tempos. Geographically Sergio Mendes may be The Swinger From Rio—on the basis of his playing in this album he could also be The Swinger From The USA. ~ Bob Altshuler (Original liner notes)

     Artist: various artists
     Album: Комсомольская юность моя
     Label: Melodiya
     Year: , release 2003
     Genre: Советская эстрада
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320 kbps
     Time: 1h, 14 min, 41 sec
     Size: 173 mb.


     Дорогие друзья! Просматривая свой профиль (не-не-не, не в зеркале, не на портрете, а здесь, в Клубе) обратил внимание на количество публикаций - 49.
     Ведь, получается, эта моя публикация - юбилейная, пятидесятая. (авторы, опубликовавшие по полторы тысячи новостей, не смейтесь, пожалуйста)
     И решил я посвятить свою полусотую публикацию одному хорошему человеку, без которого, наверное нашего Клуба, пожалуй и не было бы - г-ну Lex'у, человеку, который каждую субботу радует нас интересными подарками из серии "Старая Советская Песня". Возможно, этот диск давно лежит в его, поистине, бездонных закромах и дожидается своей субботы, а, возможно, окажется хорошим дополнением его коллекции.
     Итак...

     Artist: Artie Kaplan
     Album: Confessions of a Male Chauvinist Pig
     Label: UNIVERSE/HOPI
     Year: January 1, 1972
     Format: mp3 VBR, bitrate: 320kb/s
     Time: 36:14
     Size: 42,3 MB

     Думаю, все любители блюза знают этот завораживающий, с какой-то подспудной харизмой блюз. Правда, в основном слышали его в исполнении Оскара Бентона. Bensonhurst - район в Бруклине, пользовавшийся в 1970-х определенной славой. Бентон записал кавер Арти Каплана, этот кавер стал саундтреком к старому фильму "За шкуру полицейского" (ориг. название "Whirlpool") (режиссер и исполнитель главной роли Ален Делон), откуда и пришла мировая известность. Известность к блюзу под названием Bensonhurst Blues. Итак, довольно редкий диск вашему вниманию!

     This vintage 1972 Album by Artie Kaplan has not seen the light of day in the USA in many a year. Its European life has been much more fruitful. "Harmony" worked its way to becoming a huge hit for Kaplan in Italy, France, Germany and Spain, while "Bensonhurst Blues" as well as being a hit for Kaplan, has been discovered by Dutch recording artist Oscar Benton (EMI Records) to become a great success all over the continent as well as the title song in the hit movie "Whirlpool" directed by Alan Delon.

     Artist: Take 6
     Album: Join The Band
     Label: Warner Alliance
     Release Date: 1994
     Studio/Live: Studio
     Mono/Stereo: Stereo
     Format/Bitrate: MP3/320
     Size: 116 MB
     Time: 50:44

REPOST with new link from Ms. ParaBox

     JOIN THE BAND won the 1995 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album.

    "All I Need (Is A Chance)"  was nominated for a 1996 Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal.


     Enjoy...

     Artists: The Manhattan Transfer
     Album: Brasil
     Label: Atlantic
     Year: 1987
     Genre: Jazz Vocal
     Format, bitrate: MP3, 320 kbps CBR
     Time: 42:48
     Size: 94 MB

     Tim Hauser likes to say that the Manhattan Transfer gets bored easily; hence the exploratory bent that has made them the most interesting vocal group in jazz (and maybe pop, too). Taking advantage of the then-cresting second Brazilian wave in North America while still going their own way musically, Brasil is the Transfer's most daring and perhaps most emotionally moving album to date, an original fusion of the Transfer's vigorous vocal blend, Brazilian harmonic warmth, the textures of American synthesized pop/jazz and the rhythms of both nations. They rely mostly upon five songs from one of Brazil's finest post-bossa nova writers, Djavan, with two more from Ivan Lins and one apiece from Gilberto Gil and Milton Nascimento (the Transfer has impeccable taste in Brazilian writers), while going to all kinds of folk for English lyrics. The oddly percolating "Soul Food to Go" with Dada lyrics by, of all people, the notorious Doug Fieger of the Knack, makes a fine energetic prelude to an album that also frets about Big Brother, the suppression of freedom, and the destruction of the Amazon rain forest. Clearly the Transfer had been listening hard not only to the sound but also the fury of Brazil's composers; their causes become the Transfer's as well. Djavan's lovely "Capim" has the dual advantage of having both the composer on vocals and a distinguished visitor from the first Brazilian wave, Stan Getz, blowing urbane obligatos. The last cut, "Notes from the Underground," an angry cry of solidarity with a haunting Lins tune and bumping instrumental lines from the Brazilian group Uakti, aches in the memory for hours. Alas, the elusive Brasil baffled many of the Transfer's fans and started a long commercial slide for the group. Yet it belongs among their greatest achievements, right alongside Extensions and Vocalese. ~ Richard S. Ginell AMG

     Artist: Vitaly Kis
     Album: Chromatic Dreams
     Label: Квадро-Диск
     Страна: Россия
     Year: 2005
     Формат: MP3,  Битрейт аудио: VBR 128-192 kbps
     Total time: 00:51:16
     Size: 57,7 МБ

     Известный композитор, аранжировщик и виртуозный гитарист Виталий Кись представляет свой авторский альбом «Chromatic dreams». Гитара Виталия Кись звучит на альбомах Александра Малинина и многих других известных российских исполнителей. Теперь все свое филигранное мастерство и все свои самые смелые творческие мечты Виталий Кись воплотил в новом альбоме «Chromatic dreams». В диске поклонники гитариста найдут композиций разной тематической направленности, но объединенные одухотворенным и суперпрофессиональным гитарным исполнением в сочетании с тонкой импровизацией и артистизмом Виталия Кись. Альбом «Chromatic dreams» супергитариста Виталия Кись настоящий подарок для всех любителей красивой, гитарной музыки.

     Artists - Red Allen, Kid Ory & Jack Teagarden
     Album - At Newport 1957
     Label - Verve
     Year - 1957, release - 1958
     Quality - MP3@320 kbps (LP-rip)
     Size - 73 mb
     Total time - 32:12

     When confronted with a variety of his alumni from his past at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival, Louis Armstrong preferred instead to play his standard show with his regular group. The veterans had their own separate set, and that is what is heard on this LP. Trumpeter Red Allen, trombonist J.C. Higginbotham, and clarinetist Buster Bailey play spirited versions of "Struttin' with Some Barbeque" and "St. James Infirmary"; trombonist Jack Teagarden joins up for "China Boy" and an overly loose "Basin Street Blues"; trombonist Kid Ory struts and sings on "Muskrat Ramble"; and Ory, Teagarden and Higginbotham perform a somewhat incoherent "High Society." An upbeat, if somewhat streaky affair, this historic encounter has its strong moments, but at 27 minutes, it is all over much too soon. ~ Scott Yanow, AMG

         Artist: Carla Bley, Steve Swallow, Andy Sheppard, Billy Drummond
         Album: The Lost Chords
         Year: rec. Oct 2003/rel. Jul 13, 2004
         Label: ECM/WATT
         Genre: Post Bop
         Type: Live
         Format: Mp3@320/kbs
         Size: 118.58 MB

     Bley debuted a quartet with Sheppard, Swallow and drummer Billy Drummond on The Lost Chords (october 2003). It was mostly taken up by two suites: 3 Blind Mice, that displayed her knowledge of blues and jazz tradition, and Lost Chords, that showed Bley the melodic poet in her most romantic mood. http://www.scaruffi.com/history/jazz.html
     The Lost Chords finds Ms. Bley leading a highly interactive quartet in a live session that offers both depth and fun. In any Carla Bley release, composition takes center stage. Here she takes a look, actually several looks, at "Three Blind Mice," reharmonizing it, playing it in 5/4 ("Wink Leak"), bopping it ("The Maze"). She also offers a ballad with a semi-calypso feel, in "Tropical Depression," and the funky "Hip Hop," which features a very fine Andy Sheppard tenor saxophone solo. But the strongest composition here is the three-part "Lost Chords." Part I begins with a deeply-felt statement by Sheppard, this time on soprano. Prodded by Bley's jabbing, urgent piano chords, he fashions a brilliantly intense, probing improvisation, building and sustaining tension as Swallow and Drummond provide further commentary. Part II, a swinging blues with altered changes, finds Sheppard back on tenor, while Part III revisits the aching thematic material of Part I. The Lost Chords also focuses on Ms. Bley's pianistics. She doesn't pretend to be a virtuoso. Instead, she's concerned with the placement of each note, for maximum rhythmic emphasis, and to advance the music of the group as a whole. Her comping is also group-oriented, and she sounds like she has fully absorbed the ideas of Thelonious Monk and put them to effective and personal use. Every member of this quartet plays with the interests of a group music as their primary concern. Sheppard, who is excellent throughout, improvises with regard to the composition and his fellow musicians, and he never resorts to mere noodling. Similarly, Swallow and Drummond are fully supportive, interactive, and swinging. Swallow is particularly effective on "The Maze," and Drummond is both powerful and discreet. The Lost Chords is a first-rate addition to Carla Bley's discography. By Marc Meyers

     Artist: Amina Figarova Quintet
     Album: Jazz at the Pinehill
     Label: Munich
     Orig Year: 2001
     Quality: mp3@256
     Size: 96mb

     Recorded live at Pinehill Studio, Leersum, The Netherlands on October 8, 1999.

     Azerbaidjan native Amina Figarova is one of those jazz artists who is versatile enough to play electric pop-jazz one minute and acoustic bop the next. The pianist's straight-ahead side prevails on Jazz at the Pinehill: Live in Europe, which documents a 1999 concert in the Netherlands. This Dutch release bills Figarova's group as "the Amina Figarova Quintet featuring Dmitri Matheny," and that's an attention grabber because Bay Area flьgelhornist Matheny is a jazz treasure. The lyrical Matheny, whose influences includes Chet Baker, Art Farmer, and Miles Davis, has impressive chops, but it's his warmth and soulfulness that wins you over more than anything. The quintet (which also includes flutist Bart Platteau, bassist Marcel Eggen, and drummer Chris Strik) embraces the great but overdone standard "Stella By Starlight," although all of the other material was written by either Figarova or Matheny. The set's highlights range from Figarova's introspective, melancholy ballad "I Don't Know" to Matheny's Caribbean-flavored "Soca Nova." Meanwhile, Matheny's exuberant "Geneva" has a strong Afro-Cuban flavor. You have to appreciate this CD's multicultural implications -- there's something nice about musicians who were born in the U.S., the Netherlands, and Azerbaidjan forming a hard bop quintet and acknowledging rhythms from Cuba and Trinidad along the way. Jazz at the Pinehill isn't as strong as Matheny's own albums, but it's still a solid, likable bop outing. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide

     Artist: Ella Fitzgerald
     Album: Ella Fitzgerald 1937-1938 - The Chronogical
     Years: 1937-1938
     Original Release Date: 1996
     Label: Classics
     Genre: Jazz Vocal
     Format, bitrate: MP3/320 kbps
     Size: 144 MB

     Ранние записи выдающейся джазовой вокалистки.

     The second of six CDs in the Classics label's complete reissue of Ella Fitzgerald's early recordings features the singer as a teenager with the Chick Webb Orchestra, in addition to leading two sessions that use Webb's sidemen and performing a pair of songs ("Big Boy Blue" and "Dedicated to You") with the Mills Brothers. Highlights include "I Want to Be Happy," "If Dreams Come True" and her big hit, "A-Tisket, A-Tasket." Although not yet the brilliant jazz singer she would become, Fitzgerald already had a highly appealing voice and the ability to swing on any song she was given. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

     Artist: Ella Fitzgerald
     Album: Ella Fitzgerald 1935-1937
     Label: Classics
     Years: 1935-1937, release - 1996
     Quality: MP3@256 kbps
     Size: 131 mb
     Total time: 71:32


     The first of six Ella Fitzgerald CDs in the European label Classics "complete" series has her earliest 25 recordings with two numbers ("My Melancholy Baby" and "All My Life") from a session with Teddy Wilson, three songs (including "Goodnight My Love") cut with Benny Goodman's big band, four tunes from her initial session as a leader and the remainder with Chick Webb's Orchestra which mainly acted as a backup band for the young singer. Even at the age of 17, Ella Fitzgerald had a beautiful voice and a strong sense of swing (although she would not seriously scat for another decade). "I'll Chase the Blues Away," "When I Get Low I Get High," "Sing Me a Swing Song" and "You'll Have to Swing It" are among the highpoints of this fine set. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide