Holly Cole explores a number of styles on her second album, Don't Smoke in Bed, without overreaching her grasp. Adding pop, blues, country, and a French ballad to her standard, low-key jazz, Cole demonstrates that not only does she have impeccable taste, but she has the talent to make all of the material sound convincing. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Anyone who enjoyed the jazzy piano fingerings that Keith Tippett brought to the second, third, and fourth King Crimson albums, or the extended big-band experiments that Tippett's Centipede rock orchestra recorded around this same time, will want to try the jagged textured improvisations of Ovary Lodge. Consisting of Tippett on piano and zither, Roy Babbington on bass, Frank Perry on percussion, and Robert Fripp producing, this is an acoustic trio companion to the kind of jazzy piano noodling that Tippett made his name with on those Crimson albums. "Amethyst, Gold and Royal Blue," the first part of "Mountain Temple in Spring," even manages to recall "Larks' Tongues in Aspic" with its use of bells, gong, finger cymbals, and other percussive devices. "A Frail White Butterfly, Beneath the Spell of Moon Is Sleeping on the Huge Bronze Bell" and "Tropic of Capricorn" seem to be built almost as much on sound effects generated by the instruments as on identifiable music as such, and it's only on "Nursery Rhyme" that Tippett explores the lyrical and traditional musical strengths of his instrument. Then we get "Sylphs in Pisces," a piece as off-putting in its tempo shifts and textural transformations as "Nursery Rhyme" is alluring. The indexing and the track list don't match, so the identification of certain pieces is difficult to determine, but a seventh track features similar noodling by Babbington on the bass, abetted by Perry on gongs, cymbals, and drums. The music is challenging and, one supposes, rewarding, and the CD is a serious improvement on the sound of the original LP, a clean transfer and true silence as background being essential to getting what one can out of this material. AMG Review by Bruce Eder

Although not blessed with a bevy of highlights, this Fletcher Henderson title does find the band at its peak, and the sound is top-notch, too. During this 1925-1928 stretch, Henderson witnessed the galvanizing arrival of Louis Armstrong, the first flowering of arranger Don Redman and future tenor giant Coleman Hawkins, and some of the initial fruits from Benny Carter's own chart-making pen add to this impressive list the often unsung yet stellar soloing talents of trumpeters Tommy Ladnier and Joe Smith, trombonist Benny Morton, and clarinetist Buster Bailey, not to mention a guest spot by Fats Waller ("The Henderson Stomp"). The marvelous "Whiteman Stomp" might not have made the list, but such classics as Redman's "The Chant" and Carter's "King Porter Stomp" fill the gaps quite nicely and anyway, listeners should look at this collection less as a definitive roundup and more as a stepping stone to more thorough offerings, like Classics' fine chronological series of Henderson discs. Start here and you won't be sorry. ~ Stephen Cook, All Music Guide

Cornetist Bix Beiderbecke's recordings have been reissued in more complete fashion elsewhere but this single budget CD contains 20 of his greatest performances. Highlights include "Singin' the Blues," "I'm Comin' Virginia," "Riverboat Shuffle". This set does a good job of introducing newer listeners to the classic music. (allmusic.com by Scott Yanow)

Keith Jarrett's "Standards Trio" with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette has been so good for so long that they might be taken for granted, but this 2001 concert from Munich's State Opera shows their combination of depth and spontaneity can still surprise. Jarrett has a knack for marking his own path through familiar repertoire, from the playfully exuberant "I Can't Believe That You're in Love with Me" that opens the set to his deeply reflective solo version of "It's All in the Game." In between, the group's close-knit interplay enhances a limpidly beautiful version of "You've Changed," an up-tempo harmonic exploration of Cole Porter's "I Love You," and a hard-swinging account of Gerry Mulligan's "Five Brothers." The highlight, though, is the title track, a funky 20-minute tour de force that explores the blues from roots to branches.

Of all the volumes in the Mosaic Select series, this one, and the Big John Patton box, are the most satisfying, though for very different reasons. This one is a true collector's gem. For starters, all but six of the 31 cuts on this three-CD box are previously unreleased. For Hill fans who knew there was more in the can, this is a most welcoming find. The material here was completely composed by Hill and was recorded in five sessions between 1967 and 1970. The pianist and composer is found in three different settings, from trio to sextet and septet with some octet sides. The personnel here varies, too. The sextet sessions feature Hill with Bennie Maupin, Pat Patrick, Charles Tolliver, Ron Carter, and either Paul Motian or Ben Riley on drums. These are the earliest cuts here and they are solid as solid can be. They are tight compositions that come out of both modal and hard bop and push the envelope with fine improvising from each player. They move, jump, and in their own way, swing. There are at least two sessions here with string quartets and different personnel. Some contain Carlos Garnett with Freddie Watts and Richard Davis, while others feature Maupin, Carter, and Mickey Roker. The music here is dark, swirling, and edgily dissonant while never departing form the authoritative use of the tradition that has been Hill's trademark since Black Fire. Again, elements of swing are ever present as are the blues -- check "Monkash," or "Soul Mate" for examples of each band -- split at the end of disc one and the beginning of disc two. The classical vibe added by the string quartet is one that is far from overbearing, but plays a great anchor role during the other group improvisation.

Other sessions here, like the trio sides with Carter and Teddy Robinson, are fluid, streamlined and extremely direct while still lyrical. The septet music contains two versions of "Oriba," and the personnel here includes Sam Rivers, Woody Shaw, Robin Kenyatta, and Howard Johnson for a stellar horn section with the rhythm section of Herbie Lewis and drummer Teddy Robinson. The final band, where the horn section shrinks to just Rivers and Kenyatta, is subsequently expanded in the bottom end with bassist Cecil McBee and Spaulding Givens on percussion. These five cuts with their fiery rhythmic drive end the proceedings on a decidedly different note than where they began, but some elements remain: Hill's sense of melody and harmonic extrapolation are ever expansive without losing their center of gravity, the rhythms are always circular, and the sound of the tradition is never far away. The track to listen for here is "Yomo." This is a fine set to complement the previous Mosaic Blue Note set of unreleased material, and rounds out and extends the seemingly ever more expansive portrait of Hill as a composer, a pianist, and a bandleader. ~ Thom Jurek, AMG

Since being afflicted in the late '90s with chronic fatigue syndrome, which kept him on the sidelines for several years, Keith Jarrett has had to reinvent himself as a performer. It's no slight on his classic live recitals of the past to suggest that has proven to be a fruitful development. In moving away from his long, inwardly streaming, lyrically sustained works and adopting a more easygoing episodic approach, he has become more accessible (and less windy) without sacrificing intensity or the freedom to draw upon all manner of styles including blues, gospel, and Americana. Recorded in 2005, The Carnegie Hall Concert features a 10-part piece that runs a gamut of moods and emotions. The enjoyable encore portion consists of three new originals, including a standard, "Time on My Hands," and a rare, enthusiastically received Jarrett oldie, "My Song," from the '70s. This is the 61-year-old artist's 25th solo album for ECM--most in a jazz genre but some classical, most on piano but some on organ and harpsichord and even wind instruments. It leaves you looking forward to number 26. ~ Lloyd Sachs.

Keith Jarrett is nothing less than a living legend. Audiences flock to his rare performances in the world’s finest concert halls, and it is his unique ability to create music in the moment that has made him most famous – his spontaneous improvisations often sound as if they’ve been carefully composed over time. His 1975 album, The Kцln Concert, catapulted him onto the world stage, and – at 4 million copies and counting – is the best-selling solo piano recording of all time. In 2005, Keith Jarrett played his first US solo concert in a decade on the stage of Carnegie Hall, America’s most celebrated venue. One year later to the day, this electrifying night of music will be released. ~ Amazon com

Джазовая осень: Винница-2008
Этот джаз-фестиваль ежегодно проходит у нас. В этом году попасть не смог, - видел по нашему местному ТВ. Может, кому-то интересно...

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