Artist: Tinsley Ellis
     Album: The Hard Way
     Label: Telarc Blues
     Year: rec. Oct 2003-Dec 2003/rel.Apr 27, 2004
     Format: MP 3 @ 320 Kb/s
     Time: 53:47
     Size: 119 Mb
     AMG rating:

    Artist: Enrico Pieranunzi
    Album: In That Dawn Of Music
    Label: Soul Note (Italy)
    Release: 1993
    Genre: creative jazz
    Format mp3, bitrate: 320 kb/s
    Time: 1:01:36
    Size: 141 Mb

A very interesting collection of originals and standards, mostly recorded live in trio and quartet that shows us the infinite palette of expressions and creativity of this great musician.

     Artists: Al Cohn and Zoot Sims
     Album: From A to Z
     Year: 1956
     Label RCA
     Size: 130mb
     Format/bitrate: mp3, 320 kbs

The distance between A and Z (at least between the A and Z under consideration here) is approximately the distance between your index and middle fingers although, in the beginning, it spanned the Nort American continent. The present cozy cuddlesomeness of Al Cohn and Zoot Sims is not simply a matter of friendship. That enters into it too, but basically it is a musical mutuality.

Their tenor styles are very similar: a robust, hard-swinging, middle-ground style that stems from Lester young but gives more than a passing nod in the direction of the strength and virility with which Coleman Hawkins endowed the tenor. John S. Wilson, linear notes

     Artist - Bud Freeman
     Album - Tenor Sax And Orchestra / Bud Freeman 2LP/1CD
     Label - Membran Music
     Years - 1945, 1953; Release - 2007
     Quality - MP3@320 kbps
     Size - 87,4 mb
     Total time - 41:16

     

  

Bud Freeman was one of the most important representatives of Chicago Jazz. He played in different bands, but mostly as a soloist. Together with Coleman Hawkins he is said to be one of the first important tenor saxophonists in jazz. CD series featuring the first jazz productions to be released in "Long Play" format. Classics and long-lost rarities re-released on CD in outstanding quality. ~ Membran Music

     Artist: Michel Camilo
     Album: Live at the Blue Note I-II
     Label: Telarc
     Year: 2003
     Format: FLAC + MP3 (320 k/s)
     Size: 721 + 158 + 162 MB (full scans)
     Total time: 137:07

     Recorded over four nights of a weeklong engagement at New York's legendary Blue Note club, this double CD is the first live recording by pianist Michel Camilo and includes a number of new compositions that had not been recorded (or even performed in public) before Camilo and his trio took over the Blue Note stage in March of 2003. This was his first recording with the rhythm section of bassist Charles Flores and drummer Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez, but the trio sounds as if it has been playing together for a decade: Flores and Hernandez both follow Camilo faithfully and supportively, pushing him gently when he needs it and staying out of his way when he doesn't. Camilo is at his most impressive on the ballads and mid-tempo numbers, on which his lines are delicate, almost lacy, but complex and powerful at the same time -- note in particular the lovely "Twilight Glow" and the slightly more impressionistic "Dichotomy." Few pianists could coax an elegant solo out of "Tequila," but Camilo does so with apparent ease. On the more up-tempo numbers his soloing tends to be a bit blocky, but his take on the classic "Blue Bossa" features some amazing cross-rhythms in the piano solo, and his own "On the Other Hand" is a brilliant piece of modern jazz piano artistry that incorporated a sly tribute to Thelonious Monk. Some will feel that the album begins wearing a bit by the end of the second disc; others will wish there were a third. Recommended. - by Rick Anderson, AMG

     Artist - Cannonball Adderley
     Album - Cannonball Adderley's Fiddler On The Roof
     Label - Capitol Jazz
     Year - 1964, release - 2003
     Quality - MP3@320 kbps
     Size - 107 mb
     Total time - 50:01
     AMG rating


It is a bit strange that none of the eight songs performed on this LP found their way into Adderley's permanent repertoire, for the altoist is quite inspired throughout this surprising set. With strong assists from cornetist Nat Adderley, Charles Lloyd on tenor and flute, pianist Joe Zawinul, bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Louis Hayes and producer David Axelrod, Cannonball plays near his peak; this is certainly the finest album by this particular sextet. [The 2003 reissue includes new liner notes by Donald Elfman and four bonus tracks: two previously unreleased songs ("Sweet Georgie Bright" and "Island Blues") and two songs that were released as a single ("Little Boy With the Sad Eyes" and "Goodbye Charlie"). The four songs have nothing to do with Fiddler on the Roof but are included because they were recorded by the same band a month before they went into the studio to cut Fiddler.]~ Scott Yanow & Tim Sendra, All Music Guide

     Artist - Ella Fitzgerald
     Album - Whisper Not
     Label - Verve
     Year - 1966, release - 2002
     Quality - MP3@320 kbps; lossless
     Size - 90,3 mb; flac+scans = 268 MB
     Total time - 40:48



     Whoever decided to put pianist Marty Paich and Ella Fitzgerald together in the studio in 1966 deserves a bit of credit for the great music on Whisper Not. Together, Fitzgerald and Paich deliver a dozen beautifully sung, carefully arranged standards. An orchestra tastefully backs Fitzgerald's vocals, offering cushy support without overdoing it. Even lighter pieces like "Sweet Georgia Brown" and "Old MacDonald" are given stately renditions. There's a fun version of "I Said No," filled with silly double entendres, and a relaxed take on "Thanks for the Memory." Norman Granz takes full advantage of stereo capabilities, creatively mixing the instruments to the right and left tracks while leaving Fitzgerald's voice front and center. Paich adds to the overall sound quality by varying the arrangements from song to song, carefully wrapping each tune in the right package. These fine-tuned arrangements also provide the perfect launching pad for Fitzgerald to place her own stamp on material associated with other singers. While both "Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be)" and "You've Changed" will be recognized as Billie Holiday classics, Fitzgerald delivers light, elegant versions that are distinctly her own. Whisper Not captures two intelligent artists working toward a common goal and creating beautiful music in the process. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford Jr., All Music Guide

    Artist: Enrico Pieranunzi Trio
    Album: Vol. 4 Trioscape
    Label: YVP Music
    Release: 1995
    Genre: jazz/post-bop
    Format mp3, bitrate: 256 kb/s vbr
    Time: 53:43
    Size: 72,0 Mb

Another rare Pieranuzi trio recording by YVP label. Like the other volumes of this series the improvisation reigns.

     Artist: Alvin Youngblood Hart
     Album: Territory
     Format: FLAC + MP3 (320k/s)
     Size: 238 + 110 MB (full artwork)
     Label: Hannibal
     Total time: 46:37




     Hart is so determined to display his stylistic dexterity that he winds up wandering all over the map: country swing, blues, reggae, gutbucket rock. Each selection is worthy, although a more consistent thematic thread would make the album more listenable. ~ Tim Sheridan, All Music Guide

     After receiving the 1997 W.C Handy Award for Best New Artist, as well as 2 Living Blues Awards, Hart's 1998 release, TERRITORY, a rousing tribute to all forms of American music, received the Downbeat Magazine Critics Poll Award for Best Blues Album (and it wasn't even a Blues album). ~ from Alvin's website

    Artist: Enrico Pieranunzi Trio
    Album: Vol.3: Triologues
    Label: YVP Music
    Release: 1991
    Genre: jazz/post-bop
    Format mp3, bitrate: 220 kb/s vbr
    Time: 61:22
    Size: 88,5 Mb (cover)

A are recording of Pieranuzi and a casual trio, released in Europe only, presents us a great piano musical venture. Recommended to all pianojazz lovers

     Artist - Zoot Sims
     Album - Hawthorne Nights
     Label - OJC/Pablo
     Year - 1976, release - 1994
     Quality - MP3@320 kbps
     Size - 91,1 mb
     Total time - 41:27
     AMG rating



Unlike most of his Pablo sessions, this Zoot Sims CD is not a quartet outing but an opportunity for his tenor to be showcased while joined by a nine-piece group that includes six horns (three reeds among them). Bill Holman's inventive arrangements are a large part as to why the date is successful but Sims's playing on the five standards, two Holman pieces and his own "Dark Cloud" should not be overlooked. Fortunately there is also some solo space saved for the talented sidemen (which include Oscar Brashear and Snooky Young on trumpets, trombonist Frank Rosolino and the woodwinds and reeds of Jerome Richardson, Richie Kamuca and Bill Hood). A well-rounded set of swinging jazz. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

     Artist: Nina Hagen
     Label:SPV
     Album: Big Band Explosion
     Year: 2003
     Quality: 320 kb/s
     Size: 93 mb

В ноябре 2003-го Нина Хаген обнародовала свой 12-й студийный лонг-плей “Nina Hagen Big Band Explosion”. Над записью она работала с настоящим биг бэндом из Лейпцига (Leipzig BigBand). По словам певицы, на этом альбоме ей удалось воплотить мечту всей ее жизни — записать песни, вдохновленные оригинальной американской музыкой: блюзом, джазом, кантри. Огромную помощь в создании альбома оказал ей Люкас Александр (Lucas Alexander), с которым Нина записала два дуэта.

A big-band album from a Teutonic dominatrix that used to be pictured dressed in PVC and restraining ropes? Sure, why not? Just don't fall for the pretty bindi wear and butterflies flying out of her mouth on the cover. Nina Hagen is still Nina Hagen and time has made her gritty voice even grittier. The lady was born to entertain, and if you're warm to her in-your-face absurdity, Big Band Explosion is a heck of a lot of fun. You'll be on the edge of your seat as the singer delivers the tunes straight-faced, but you just know that any moment she's going to bust out the brash Nina of old. That's the way the most of the songs go -- almost to the point of being formulaic -- but if anyone is going to pull it off it's Nina. Her greatest moment -- or most grating, depending on your tolerance -- comes at the end of "I Want to Be Happy" when her guttural scatting ends in a cough and an "oh my God!" She's Betty Boop one minute and Godzilla the next, which is why her fans love her. The Leipzig Big Band does a fine job with the accompaniment, but they could have been pushed up a little higher in the mix, and you just have to wonder what the look on their faces was like. Wonder if naughty Nina's untied them yet. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide