Artist: Wynton Kelly
     Album: Someday My Prince Will Come
     Label: Vee-Jay / Collectables
     Year: 1961, release - 2006
     Format: MP3@320
     Size: 181 MB
     Total time - 76:30
     AMG Rating:

     Pianist Wynton Kelly is heard on this CD reissue (the ten songs from the original LP plus five "new" alternate takes) with either bassist Sam Jones and drummer Jimmy Cobb or bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones. His light touch and perfect taste are very much present along with a steady stream of purposeful single-note lines that are full of surprising twists. Trumpeter Lee Morgan and tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter drop by for one song (the blues "Wrinkles"), but otherwise this recommended set (a definitive Wynton Kelly release) showcases magical trio performances. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

REPOST! Wynton Kelly was born today, December 2!
Miles Davis назвал Келли гибридом Реда Гарлэнда и Билла Эванса. Это очень метко. Игра Келли сочетала в себе и бескомпромиссное следование неуклонному ритму (а la Red Garland), и в то же время выскальзывание из рамок, погружение в себя, что, как известно характерно для Эванса.

     Artist - Charlie Ventura
     Album - Charlie Ventura - 1949
     Label - Classics
     Year - 1949, release - 2001
     Quality - MP3@320 kbps
     Size - 89,6 mb
     Total time - 61:00

     The height of tenor saxophonist Charlie Ventura's Bop for the People band is covered in this CD. In April 1949 his band consisted of trumpeter Conte Candoli, trombonist Benny Green, Boots Mussulli on alto and baritone, a rhythm section, and vocals from Jackie Cain and pianist Roy Kral. In addition to two songs from a studio session (including the rather eccentric "Barney Google"), there are eight numbers from the group's notable Pasadena concert of May 9, 1949. The additional titles later released by GNP/Crescendo are not included. This CD concludes with sessions from August and September, after Cain and Kral had departed (and gotten married). Teddy Kaye and (a little later) Dave McKenna are on piano, with vocals taken by Betty Bennett, Beverly Brooks, Jimmy Vanelli, and bandmembers. The boppish music is at times almost a self-parody (particularly the nuttier vocals), but the solos are of high quality, particularly those of Candoli. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

REPOST! Charlie Ventura - tenor saxophonist and bandleader, «Вор for the People», - was born today, December 2!

     Artist - Dizzy Gillespie
     Album - Dizzy Goes Holliwood
     Label - Verve/Philips
     Year - 1963, release - 2008
     Quality - MP3@320 kbps
     Size - 81.54 mb
     Total time - 36:01


     On first glance this LP looks like a dud. Dizzy Gillespie and his quintet (with saxophonist James Moody and pianist Kenny Barron) perform 11 themes from then-recent movies including "Caesar and Cleopatra," "Love Theme from Lolita," and "Never on Sunday." However, because the trumpeter was near the peak of his powers and his band does play such songs as "Moon River," "Days of Wine and Roses," and "Carioca" with spirit, the results are quite worthwhile, if not essential. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

     Artists: V.A
     Album: Big Blues Extravaganza - The Best Of Austin City Limits
     Year: 1998
     Label: Sony
     Genre: Blues
     Bitrate: Mp3 - CBR 320
     Size: 155,04 MB

     Here's a bountiful blues buffet from deep in the heart of Texas, courtesy of the long-running Austin City Limits television series. Texas talents--including Lightnin' Hopkins, represented by a suitably idiosyncratic "Rock Me Baby"; the razor-sharp Albert Collins, ripping through "Travellin' South" in front of a horn-powered band; and W.C. Clark, the godfather of the Austin blues scene, who sparkles on a song by hometown hero Willie Nelson--make the most of their spotlight time. And, naturally, there's Stevie Ray Vaughan, who leads Double Trouble through a tight and tasty "Love Struck Baby." Jimmie Vaughan's tribute to his blues brother, "Six Strings Down," follows in an example of the collection's creative sequencing. In like manner Gatemouth Brown's "Born in Louisiana" leads into Dr. John's New Orleans version of "Since I Fell for You," and Clark's rendition of "Ain't It Funny How Time Slips Away" segues into B.B. King's personalized cover of Nelson's classic "Night Life." The honorary Austinites, including a rambunctious Buddy Guy and a solo Rory Block, also make considerable contributions, the best probably being Taj Mahal bouncing through "Queen Bee" with Ben Harper on slide guitar, although Keb' Mo's straightahead "Tell Everybody I Know" isn't far behind. ~ Michael Point

     Don Byron Biography (08.11.58)

     «I have the whole culture in front of me.»

     ”Calling Don Byron a jazz musician is like calling the Pacific wet – it just doesn’t begin to describe it... Byron has carpentered an extraordinary career precisely by obliterating the very idea of category.” –TIME Magazine
     ”Mr Byron has not only almost single-handedly revived an instrument that was pronounced moribund with the end of the swing era – since Benny Goodman, how many other major clarinettists weren’t merely moonlighting sax players? – he has also taken a scholarly approach to jazz without a hint of academic stuffiness ... Every time Mr. Byron revisits the music of the neglected jazz figure of mixes hip-hop with jazz in a way that eluded the acid jazzers, he’s not only charting new musical territory but he’s actually an undercover critic trying to re-write the music’s history.” The New York Times March 2000

     Artist: George Garzone
     Album: The Fringe In New York
     Year: 2000
     Label: NYC Records, NYC 6034-2
     Ripped: Mp3 - 160kbps (I'm sorry)
     1 RS Link - 57.8 megabytes
     rar includes front cover

With this record, George Garzone again proves that he's a heavy hitter on par with big names of his generation like Joe Lovano and Michael Brecker. Because his longstanding trio the Fringe is based in Boston, the title The Fringe in New York might lead one to think this is a live record. But it's actually a studio effort produced by the wonderful vibraphonist Mike Mainieri, who appears as a special guest on all but two of the nine tracks. The Fringe's sturdy rhythm team is also present and accounted for: bassist John Lockwood and drummer Bob Gullotti.

Most of the record features Garzone's robust tenor work. But on the contrasting rubato themes "Anthony Goes to Mardi Gras" and "A Fox in the Woods," Garzone doubles the melodies on an overdubbed alto sax. He also plays soprano on "Between Two Cities" and Coltrane's "Central Park West," the two calmest tracks. On the other end of the spectrum, Mainieri lays out on the insanely fast "Ultra Tempo," which segues directly into the free piece "We Don't Know Why." Somewhere in the middle, swinging with a measured confidence, the group offers "Slip + Slide" and Mainieri's blues piece "Plus One."

Garzone leads off the album with "Tribute to Trane," which hearkens back to Coltrane's Crescent period. Coltrane tributes are no rarity in jazz, but few leap out of the speakers with such authority and purposefulness. Mainieri's vibes help to color the piece in unexpected ways. This particular tribute to Trane is also a tribute to the Fringe's cohesiveness and well-managed intensity. ~ David R. Adler, All Music Guide

     Artist: Nigel Kennedy and the Kroke Band
     Album: East Meets East
     Year of Release: July 22, 2003
     Label: EMI Classics
     Genre: Folk, Violin
     Quality, Bitrate: FLAC, MP3, 320 kbps
     Total Size: FLAC - 392.29 Mb, MP3 - 149.38 Мb
     Performer: Mo Foster, Kroke, Miles Bould, Aboud Abdel Ali, Aboud Abdul Aal, et al.
     Orchestra: Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra
     Composer: Goran Bregovic, Harry Kandel, Nigel / Bawol, Jerzy / Kukurba, Tomasz / Lato, T Kennedy, Traditional, Unspecified

     As a classical violinist, Nigel Kennedy has always cultivated a very careful reputation as a rebel (scruffy beard, spiky hair, no bow tie) while making a comfortable living playing a generally pretty safe repertoire; audiences who wouldn't cross the street to hear genuinely difficult music by Elliott Carter or Michael Tippett could go listen to the T-shirted Kennedy play The Four Seasons and feel like they were on the cutting edge. Outside the classical arena, his projects have been a bit more interesting, and none has been more affecting than this eerily lovely collection of new compositions and folk tunes drawing on Polish and other Eastern European traditions. Teamed up with the Krakow band Kroke (violist and flutist Tomasz Kukurba, accordionist Jerzy Bawol, and string bassist Tomasz Lato), Kennedy delivers a set of tunes that are, by turns, dramatic, soothing, emotionally tormented, and romantically yearning.....

     Artist: Yasushi Yoshida
     Album: Little Grace
     Year of Release: 2008
     Country: Japan
     Label: Noble
     Genre, Style: Classical, Neo-Classical, Experimental
     Quality, Bitrate: APE & CUE, lossless
     Total Size: 231.76 Mb, Covers - 14.94 MB

     After 1 year and 9 months of waiting, noble, the label that brings “music for everyday life” is delighted to announce the new album “Little Grace” by Yasushi Yoshida.
     Yoshida’s first album “Secret Figure” celebrated musical impressionism of the new generation by masterly portraying the delicate sensations roused in everyday life through infinite layers of melodic instruments such as the piano, guitar and violin, mixed with the electronic sounds of electronica. 1 year and 9 months since then, the artist, now soaring to new heights, has proudly completed his second album, “Little Grace”.

     Artist: Bim Sherman
     Album: What Happened
     Label: Mantra
     Format: FLAC & mp3 (320k/s)
     Size: 312 & 108 MB (+ scans)
     Total time: 45:49
     Genre: reggae, neo soul

     The On-U label was renown for its experimentations, but even so, Bim Sherman wrong-footed his fans with his Miracle album. Its exotic hybrid styling, sparse sound and heavy reliance on acoustic instruments was a step too far for most.However, the wild success of Steve Osbourne's remix of the set's "Solid as a Rock", prompted an entire album of club- fired make-overs, It Must Be a Dream, reactivating interest in the previously fading star.It also prompted a dramatic re-think by Sherman, producer Skip MacDonald, and his band Tackhead, who provided accompaniment on Miracle. The result was the sensational What Happened, a breath-taking set that was inevitably categorized as "world music," but deserved another label all its own.Eschewing the minimalistic sound of Miracle, MacDonald and the band wrap the set in instrumentation, then swaddle the sound in gorgeous, luminescent atmospheres. The entire set seems to be draped in veils that create the dreamiest of auras.This is particularly notable on the indeed heavenly "Heaven" and equally beguiling "Earth People", the two numbers that open the set. "Seven Times to Rise and Fall", in contrast, is lavished with the more majestic atmospheres of the New Romantic movement, but here the empire collapsing is the Mughals's, not the Hapsburgs's.Tavian Singh's tablas give the entire set an exotic air, but they also provide a sharp edge to otherwise mostly languorous, drifting songs, particularly on upbeat and rhythm driven numbers like "Cool Down the Pressure" and "Guilty". The title track's rhythm, in contrast, pulsates, and features superb, introspective guitar work from MacDonald. But perhaps the most intriguing pieces are the ones where MacDonald mixes American blues into the reggae goes bhangra mix.The swampy delta swept "Truth", for example, is a sublime blend of roots, blues, and a tinge of the East. "Keep on Trying" is the perfect hybrid - Bombay blues, while the haunting "Let the Spirit Move You" has a bluesy feel, but defies any easy categorization.Many of these songs are new, some are inspired remakes of older numbers, but each one is a revelation. Sherman gives some of the best performances of his career across this set, the musicians are equally at their best, and the moods and soundssurrounding them lingers long after the album is done. A masterpiece from all involved. - by Jo-Ann Greene, AMG

     Artist: Gerald Albright
     Album: Sax For Stax
     Year of Release: 2008
     Genre: Smooth Jazz
     Label: Peak Records
     Quality, Bitrate: mp3, VBR (196-224 kbit/s)
     Total Time: 51:13
     Total Size: 75.64 MB

     The smooth jazz saxophone Maestro Gerald Albright is no one-dimensional purveyor of musical wallpaper. He has recorded seven successful solo albums for Atlantic when he wasn't busy, assisting an impressive roster of popular R&B artists. Some of the more well-known artists Albright assisted during his career include Anita Baker, Regina Belle, Quincy Jones, the Temptations, Phil Collins, Whitney Houston, and many, many more.
     His new release, his eleventh solo offering, "Sax For Stax" (Peak Records) is a refreshing, well balanced authentic and innovative work which sets out to unashamedly do what it says on the packet!
     Always a consistent upholder of authenticity and purity, he turns the soul music of Stax Records, the legendary Memphis-based recording company that defined southern soul from the late `50s to the mid '70s, into a soul stirring stew of down home rhythm and blues chased with a mason jar of jazz.