Bryan Lee - Biography


     During the ’80s and ‘90s, the only blues band that visitors to New Orleans would hear was Bryan Lee’s Jump Street Five Band at the Old Absinthe House on Bourbon Street. Blues veteran Bryan Lee, blind since childhood, became a true New Orleans blues institution and kept on delivering his own fiery brand of blues power long after the Old Absinthe House was gone. This was a gig that went a long way to establish New Orleans as a blues town despite the fact that Lee’s style never really departed from his mid-west demeanor, making him the most Chicago-sounding band on the strip.

     Artist: Helen Merrill with Stan Getz
     Album: Just Friends
     Label: EmArcy
     Recording Date: Jun 11, 1989 - Jul 5, 1989
     Time: 44:24
     Format: mp3 320Kbps
     Size: 101 Mb (ShareOnAll)

     Veteran singer Helen Merrill is greatly assisted on this fine set by the warm tenor of Stan Getz, who was always a perfect choice for accompanying vocalists. With pianist Joachim Kuhn (replaced by Torrie Zito on three of the nine songs), bassist Jean-Francois Jenny-Clark and drummer Daniel Humair completing the group, Merrill sounds quite inspired on such selections as "Just Friends," "It Don't Mean a Thing," "Yesterdays" and even "It's Not Easy Being Green." Virtually all of Helen Merrill's recordings are special events because of the planning and intelligent ideas that go into them; this recommended set is no exception. (Scott Yanow)

     Artist: Karim Ziad
     Album: Ifrikya
     Genre - jazz-ethno
     Quality: mp3@320 Kbps
     Size: 118 MB (covers)
     Genre: world jazz
     Year: 2001
     Label: ACT
     Total time: 51:12

     Karim Ziad, whom his friends fondly call the Little Prince, plays, in addition to diverse percussion instruments, guitar and gumbri (a Moroccan bass lute) and sings. With his music Ziad wants to bring people closer together, especially the people of East and West.Born in 1966 and raised in the melting pot of Algiers, Karim Ziad experienced the degrees of tension of a cultural change: on the one hand, the hidden rebellion of many young people who were more interested in pop music than for Arab and African music; on the other, the mixed variety of traditional Algerian vocal music (Chввbi), Bedouin songs, Gnawa traditions, Egyptian film music, French chansons, and the rapidly growing popularity and dynamics of rai". In this complex milieu, the young musician established a broad field of activity. From early on, Karim Ziad played in various groups, including at weddings, which called for an open attitude toward many musical traditions and styles. At twenty, Ziad moved to Paris. There he quickly found access to the diverse multicultural music scene of the French metropolis. ~ from www.intuition-music.com

     Artists - Duke Ellington, Mahalia Jackson
     Album - Black, Brown & Beige
     Genre - Jazz, mainsream, gospel
     Label - Columbia/Legacy
     Year - 1958, release - 1999
     Quality - MP3@320kbps
     Size: 85,8+79,5mb (shareonall)
     Total time - 73:25

This album, Duke Ellington's revised version of his formerly 50-minute long "Black, Brown and Beige," has always been a bit of a disappointment. Stung by criticism from 15 years before, Ellington divided the suite into six much shorter sections, leaving in "Come Sunday" (which is hurt by Johnny Hodges's absence due to a brief illness) and "Work Song" and featuring gospel singer Mahalia Jackson during two of the parts. Despite some good moments, this rendition has little of the power of the original arrangement. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

     Artists: Helen Merrill & Teddy Wilson
     Album: Helen Sings, Teddy Swings
     Year: 1970
     Format, bitrate: MP3@320 kbit/s
     Time: 38:17
     Size: 88 MB

     Прекрасный джазовый пианист Teddy Wilson уже появлялся в нашем клубе (хотя и незаслуженно мало), а вот с вокалисткой Helen Merrill я предлагаю познакомиться прямо сейчас.
     Альбом был записан в рамках гастрольного турне по Японии, поэтому в сессии принимали участие и японские музыканты.

     Artist: Helen Merrill
     Album: Blossom Of Stars
     Year of release: 1999
     Label: IMS
     Size: 96 mb
     Quality: 256 kb/s

     Fine singer with a warm, expressive voice, Helen Merrill's infrequent recordings tend to be quite special with plenty of surprises and chance-taking- exactly like this great and interesting compilation, that Helen presents to you in her Birthday!

Today's Helen Merrill birthday. She was born 21/07/1930
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Mrs Merrill!

     Artist: Helen Merrill
     Album: The Nearness Of You
     Year: 1957
     Label: EmArcy
     Format, bitrate: MP3 320 Kbps
     Time: 37:48
     Size: 73,1 Mb


     Просто саундтрек к идеальной весне

REPOST!
Today's Helen Merrill birthday. She was born 21/07/1930
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Mrs Merrill!

     Artist: Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis
     Album: Two Men With The Blues
     Label: Blue Note Records
     Year: 2008
     Genre: Blues
     Tracks: 10
     Format: mp3, Bitrate: @ CBR 320
     File Size: 59 MB + 58 MB

     The event was simply billed as "Willie Nelson Sings the Blues," but the historic two-night stand on January 12 and 13, 2007 at Jazz at Lincoln Center was far more than that. Call it a summit meeting between two American icons, Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis, two of the most significant figures in modern-day country and jazz, who discovered common ground in their love for jazz standards and the blues. Their performance stirred the sounds of New Orleans, Nashville, Austin and New York City into a brilliantly programmed mix that was equal parts down-home and cosmopolitan, with plenty of swing and just a touch of melancholy. To say that these shows were a hot ticket would be an understatement. Luckily, the tapes were rolling and the results of this unique collaboration now constitute the Blue Note album Two Men With The Blues for everyone who couldn't cram into The Allen Room. Featuring great playing from one of the hottest bands around these classic tracks are given new life by the extraordinary dual talents of Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis. At a time when most people are thinking of retirement, Willie has never been busier. His profile has been high in recent weeks with his various career retrospective releases and sold out tour and this album can rightly stake it's place alongside anything else he has done. Wynton rarely sounds so relaxed and both of these musical giants are clearly having the time of their lives together on these new interpretations of some of the greatest songs of the 20th century.

     Artist: Albert Collins
     Album: The Iceman At Mount Fuji
     Label: Fuel 2000
     Year: 2005
     Genre: Blues
     Tracks: 12
     Format: mp3, Bitrate: @ CBR 320
     File Size: 81 MB + 88 MB
     Total time - 64:53


     Blues guitar legend Albert Collins is captured live during both day and night in two performances from the 1992 Mt. Fuji Jazz Festival. Powering his way through songs such as "Same Old Thing," "Honey Bush," and his signature song "Iceman," the master of the telecaster uses his minor key extended jams to stun two Japanese festival crowds in a single day. Seven cameras were used in recording these perfomances.

     Artist - Michel Legrand
     Album - Legrand Jazz
     Genre - post-bop, cool
     Label - Philips
     Year - 1958
     Quality - MP3@320kbps
     Size - 100mb (badongo)
     Total time - 44:32


     Michel Legrand has spent most of his life as a composer in the studios and for films, but this release is a jazz classic. Legrand took 11 famous jazz compositions and arranged them for three different groups. Tenor great Ben Webster, flutist Herbie Mann, four trombonists, and a rhythm section perform pieces by Duke Ellington, Earl Hines, Django Reinhardt ("Nuages"), and the Count Basie-associated "Blue and Sentimental." A big band with trumpeters Art Farmer and Donald Byrd and altoist Phil Woods plays "Stompin' at the Savoy," "A Night in Tunisia," and Bix Beiderbecke's "In a Mist." The most famous session has Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Phil Woods, Herbie Mann, pianist Bill Evans, harp, vibes, baritone, and a rhythm section performing music by Thelonious Monk, John Lewis, Jelly Roll Morton ("Wild Man Blues"), and Fats Waller's "Jitterbug Waltz." Throughout this superlative album, the arrangements are colorful and unusual, making one wish that Legrand had recorded more jazz albums through the years. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

     Artist: Grant Green
     Album: Am I Blue
     Year: 1963
     Label: Blue Note
     Format: MP3@320 kbps & FLAC
     Size: 103 MB (MP3) & 248 MB (Flac)
     Total time - 42:00

     This quintet date by guitarist Grant Green was one of the last of his Blue Note albums to be reissued on CD, and it is somewhat clear why. The musicians (Green, trumpeter Johnny Coles, tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, organist John Patton, and drummer Ben Dixon) play well enough, but there are few inspiring moments. The material is not all that exciting, and the laid-back feeling sometimes leads to dull moments. Most of the fire is provided by Henderson, but such songs as "Am I Blue," "I Wanna Be Loved," and a nearly 14-minute version of "For All We Know" are a bit sleepy. Although certainly listenable enough, this is one of Grant Green's lesser efforts from the 1960s. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

     Artist: Position Alpha
     Album: Don't Bring Your Dog!
     Label: Dragon
     Year: 1983
     Genre: Avant-Garde Jazz
     Source: vinyl
     Format, bitrate: MP3@320 kbit/s
     Time: 42:09
     Size: 97 MB

     Swedish saxophone group Position Alpha formed in the early 1980s and has remained a highly original and creative jazz ensemble, experimenting with different settings and means of expression, including theatrical effects. 1983's Don't Bring Your Dog! is their first release. The Penguin Guide to Jazz has named the follow-up The Great Sound Of Sound a 5-star essential recording, or crown, repeatedly from edition to edition. Don't Bring Your Dog! is, in itself, a powerful, unforgettable listening experience.