Artist: Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra
     Album: Live at Meadowbrook Ballroom, Cedar Grove, NJ 1940
     Label:Jazz Band
     Year: 1940, release: 2000
     Quality: M4A; 192 kb/s
     Size: 53,59 mb
     Total time: 58:40
     AMG rating

     Here's two better than average quality home recordings of the Casa Loma Band taken from the Meadowbrook Ballroom in Cedar Grove, NJ, from two weekend shows in March of 1940. Glenn never had any big-name players in his outfit (unless you count guys like Pee Wee Hunt and Murray McEachern in the trombone section), but the band played with a precision and swing that was mesmerizing. It was also a self-contained band, in the sense that there were no add-on boy or girl singers, the vocalizing being handled by reedman Kenny Sargent or trombonist Hunt. The reed section of the Casa Loma Orchestra was its true secret weapon, with the players doubling, tripling, and quadrupling on clarinet, flute, oboe, bassoon, alto, tenor, soprano, baritone, and bass saxophones. Chart wise, the band moves effortlessly on these broadcasts, from its theme of "Smoke Rings" to swingers like "Tuxedo Junction," "Honeysuckle Rose," and "How High the Moon" to novelties like "Wham!" to heavyweight material like "Prelude in C Sharp Minor." A well-rounded band that was one of the true innovators of the big-band era, the Casa Loma Orchestra is one of the hidden treasures from this era just waiting to be discovered. Well worth investigating. ~ Cub Koda, All Music Guide

     Artist: Count Basie
     Album: Have A Nice Day
     Label: Daybreak
     Year: 1971
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 192 kb/s (LP-rip)
     Time: 34.12
     Size: 47.6mb



Have a Nice Day is a LP album recorded at Western Studios, Hollywood California in July-August 1971 and released in 1971, featuring Count Basie and orchestra. All the titles were composed by Sammy Nestico as composer-arranger. Studio production was by Tom Mack, sound engineer was Andy Richardson and the tape editor was Ben Jordan. The executive producer was Sonny Burke.

The disc was issued on the Daybreak records label and marketed by Polydor. This was Basie's debut for Daybreak. Nestico, a graduate of Duquesne University who worked for the US Air Force Band, primarily the Airmen of Note, in Washington, DC for 12 years after World War II, had at this time been writing for Basie for four years. ~ From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

     Artists: Clark Terry and Red Mitchell
     Album: To Duke and Basie
     Label: Rhino / Enja
     Year: 1986
     Format, bitrate: MP3@320 kbit/s
     Time: 0.40:40
     Size: 93 MB
     AMG Rating: 4 1/2 Stars

     Ну нравится мне этот альбом. Неторопливый, чуть ленивый, но необычайно проникновенный и с изрядной порцией доброго юмора... Совместно с басистом-виртуозом Редом Митчеллом Кларк Терри создал воистину шедевр камерной джазовой музыки...
     Кларк не случайно сделал это посвящение величайшим мастерам свинга - он сам много лет играл в составе оркестров Эллингтона и Бейси.

     Artist: Herbie Hancock
     Album: Takin' Off
     Year: 1962
     Label: Blue Note
     Time: 39:19
     Format, bitrate: MP3 @320 kbps
     Size: 90 mb
     AMG Rating: 4½ Stars

     Herbie Hancock's debut as a leader, Takin' Off, revealed a composer and pianist able to balance sophistication and accessibility, somewhat in the vein of Blue Note's prototype hard bopper Horace Silver. Yet while Hancock could be just as funky and blues-rooted as Silver, their overall styles diverged in several ways: Hancock was lighter and more cerebral, a bit more adventurous in his harmonies, and more apt to break his solos out of a groove (instead of using them to create one). So even if, in retrospect, Takin' Off is among Hancock's most conventional albums, it shows a young stylist already strikingly mature for his age, and one who can interpret established forms with spirit and imagination...

     Artist: Clark Terry + ...
     Album: One on One
     Year: 1999
     Label: Chesky
     Format, bitrate: MP3@320 kbit/s
     Time: 1.05:56
     Size: ~ 150 MB

     Известный трубач Кларк Терри на своё 79(!)-летие пригласил знаменитых джазовых музыкантов. Почему-то в гости пришли только пианисты. Но зато какие имена! С каждым из них Кларк сыграл по одной пьесе и (опять же непонятно почему) местом встречи (и записи) была выбрана епископальная церковь святого Петра в Нью-Йорке. Напомню - действие происходило с 13 по 16 декабря 1999 г.
     На этой записи Кларк демонстрировал разные состояния своей души - кому-то он тонко подыгрывал и получались чрезвычайно нежные баллады, кого-то вообще ни в грош не ставил и переигрывал по всем статьям... Honeysuckle Rose полностью была отдана на откуп пианисту, Кларк слегка сменил тональнось, но пианист через три такта ему подыграл... Не знаю, кто такой Junior Mance, но Кларк сначала показал тему, потом долго слушал и... согласился с пианистом.
     Каждая пьеса достойна отдельного рассказа. Послушайте... Это не номерной альбом, а приватная вечеринка. И вы приглашены на неё...

     Artist: Clark Terry with The Chicago jazz Orchestra
     Album: Porgy & Bess
     Label: Americana Music
     Year: 2004
     Format: MP3 @ 320 Kbps
     Time: 54:12
     Size: 71.5 + 44.8 Mb

     Artist - Erroll Garner
     Album - The Greatest Garner (bonus tracks)
     Label - Atlantic
     Years - 1949/1950, release - 2003
     Quality - MP3@320kb/s
     Size - 120 mb
     Total time - 56:21


Erroll Garner's playing is always so joyful and delightful that it is impossible not to smile while listening to him. This CD reissue, which adds four fairly rare tracks (which are placed at the end of the set) to the original LP program, may not necessarily be the "Greatest Garner," but it ranks high. Recorded during 1949-1950 with one of two trios, Garner often sounds jubilant, particularly on the medium-tempo pieces, while putting a great deal of emotion into the occasional ballads. His renditions of "The Way You Look Tonight," "Confessin'," "Summertime," "I Can't Give You Anything But Love," and "Lullaby of the Leaves" are particularly memorable. Easily recommended to fans of the unique pianist. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

     Artists: Clark Terry & Bob Brookmeyer
     Album: The Power of Positive Swinging
     Label: Mainstream Records
     Year: 1965, Release: 1991
     Format, bitrate: MP3@320 kbit/s
     Time: 43:51
     Size: 100 MB
     AMG Rating:

     In the mid-1960s, flugelhornist Clark Terry and valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer led a quintet whose rhythm section changed now and then. As expected, there was always plenty of interplay between the fluent horns and some sly examples of their humor. This CD reissue (the music has also been put out again by the Jazz Heritage label) matches C.T. and Brookmeyer with pianist Roger Kellaway (a bit of a wild card who throws in a few adventurous flights here and there), bassist Bill Crow and drummer Dave Bailey. Except for Kellaway, all of the musicians had previously played with Gerry Mulligan, and there is some of the feel of his quartet during these performances. Highlights include "Battle Hymn of the Republic," Illinois Jacquet's "The King" and the old Count Basie-associated riff tune "Just an Old Manuscript." ~ Review by Scott Yanow, AMG

     Artist: Clark Terry
     Album: Duke with a Difference
     Label: Riverside/Original Jazz Classics
     Year: 1957
     Format, bitrate: MP3@320 kbit/s
     Time: 39:00
     Size: 74 MB
     AMG Rating:

     For this CD reissue of a Riverside set, trumpeter Clark Terry and some of the top Ellington sidemen of the period (trombonist Britt Woodman, altoist Johnny Hodges, tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves, Tyree Glenn on vibes, bassist Jimmy Woode, and drummer Sam Woodyard) perform eight songs associated with Duke, but with fresh arrangements. There is plenty of solo space for Terry, Gonsalves, and Hodges, and the arrangements by Terry and Mercer Ellington cast a new light on some of the warhorses; highlights include "C Jam Blues," "Cotton Tail," "Mood Indigo," and "Come Sunday." ~ Review by Scott Yanow, AMG.

     Кларк Терри и оркестранты Дюка исполняют темы Эллингтона в новых аранжировках...

     Artists: Oscar Peterson & Clark Terry
     Album: Oscar Peterson & Clark Terry
     Label: Original Jazz Classics
     Year: 1975
     Format, bitrate: MP3@320 kbit/s
     Time 41:46
     Size: 96 MB


     Первый совместный альбом этих великих мастеров Oscar Peterson Trio + One Clark Terry уже был представлен в Клубе. Предлагаю вашему вниманию второй альбом дуэта.

     Artists: Oscar Peterson & Clark Terry
     Album: Oscar Peterson Trio + One Clark Terry
     Years: 1964
     Styles: Bop, Swing
     Quality: MP3@320 kbit/s
     Size: 93,5 MB
     Time: 40:49

     Прекрасный альбом Оскара Питерсона. В записи, помимо самого маэстро, принимали участие такие выдающиеся музыканты, как Кларк Терри, Рэй Браун и Эд Тигпен.

     Artist: Angelis
     Album: Angelis
     Label: Sony BMG
     Release Date: November 6, 2006
     Genre: Vocal, Chorus, Popular Classical
     Quality: MP3, VBR
     Time: 39:09
     Size: 94 mb

     Английский детский хор в сопровождении симфонического оркестра!
     Ангельские голоса...

     Artist: Johnny Hodges
     Albums: Everybody Knows Johnny Hodges / Inspired Abandon
     Years: 1964, 1965, release 1992
     Label: GRP/Impulse
     Format, bitrate: MP3@320 kbit/s
     Time: 1.08:52
     Size: 158 MB
     AMG Rating:

     The solo projects of Johnny Hodges were not so much individualistic divergences away from his duties with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, but served more as extensions of the vintage, classic style of jazz tailored to his personalized sound away from what he had to compete with sitting next to the raft of talent in Duke's big band. Working here in the mid-'60s with groups ranging from an octet to a 12-member (featuring nine extra tracks not included on the original 33 1/3 LP) or 15-piece group, Hodges showcases many of his original compositions. He primarily employs Ellington personnel, with the exception being the quite able Jimmy Jones at the piano on the majority of these selections. His son Johnny Hodges, Jr. plays drums on two tracks when Grady Tate or Gus Johnson sits out, while bass players chosen by the legendary alto saxophonist include the formidable Ernie Shepard and a young Richard Davis. These quite famous numbers are loaded with pungent solos by cream of the crop jazzmen such as trumpeter Cat Anderson, woodwind specialists Russell Procope and Jimmy Hamilton, the deeply soulful tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves, and nimble trombonist Lawrence Brown. If you are a devout fan, you'll easily recognize favorites like the harmony-strewn evergreen "Main Stem" with fluttering clarinet and a patented Anderson solo, the Billy Strayhorn ballad "A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing" where Hodges is fully featured, "Mood Indigo" where the group is stripped down to four horns in guarded repast, and the very slow "Jeep's Blue" as the piano of Jones takes center stage. Brown's introduction and theme for "Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me" sweetly showcases the underappreciated trombonist. Hodges wrote or co-wrote several of these tracks, including the lesser-known spiky-accented and vibrato-laden "Papa Knows" as offshoots of its precedent, "Mama Knows," and the two-note bass-heavy title track, delivered quicker than the established 4/4 rhythm. "Good Queen Bess" is a basic Count Basie-type bluesy theme, and there's the distinctly Ellingtonian blues "Little Brother" and the always rousing "Stompy Jones," where Procope and the gang trade lines profusely. It would be difficult to pick a favorite or a clunker, and you'd be hard-pressed to find anything more inspired or another project loaded with this much talent. Everybody knows Johnny Hodges and this stellar collection of all-stars, because they are absolutely the best at what they do. ~ Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide

     
     Artist - Buddy DeFranco
     Album - Cookin' The Books
     Label - Arbors Jazz
     Year - 2003, release - 2004
     Quality - MP3@320 kbps
     Size - 142 mb
     Total time - 64:53



While one finds the clarinet less often in the new millennium, than say, the tenor sax, it no longer seems in danger of becoming extinct, thanks to practitioners like Buddy DeFranco. From "Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise," to the closing intensity of Charlie Parker's "Scrapple From the Apple," DeFranco, guitarist John Pizzarelli, bassist Martin Pizzarelli, pianist Ray Kennedy, and drummer Butch Miles show that even though the clarinet may be rooted in jazz past, it's far from old-fashioned. The set list includes lots of standards "Dancing in the Dark," "Poor Butterfly," and "Gone With the Wind" and two super upbeat pieces by DeFranco "I Lost the Blues," and the title cut. Lengthy cuts like "East of the Sun (And West of the Moon)" allow the clarinet, guitar, and piano plenty of solo time, while bassist Martin Pizzarelli and drummer Miles keep this outfit in a steady groove. The album also includes two nice vocals by John Pizzarelli on "Prisoner of Love" and "What Is This Thing Called Love?" It's easy to forget that clarinet practitioners like Tony Scott and DeFranco took the clarinet far beyond the swing familiarized by Benny Goodman and others. Cookin' the Books, however, will serve to freshen the memory in the most enjoyable way. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., All Music Guide

     Artist: Zoot Sims
     Album: The Swinger
     Year: 1980
     Label: Pablo
     Producer: Norman Granz
     Format, bitrate: MP3@320 kbit/s
     Time 43:39
     Size: 100 MB

     Послушайте очень хороший, на мой взгляд, альбом, на котором вы встретите братьев Симс. С младшим из них, Zoot Sims, вы уже успели познакомиться по публикациям в нашем клубе. Послушайте тромбон и вокал старшего брата - Рея...

    Artist: Enrico Pieranunzi, Marc Johnson & Joey Baron
    Album: Play Morricone
    Label: Sunnyside
    Year: 2001
    Release: 2002
    Genre: jazz/post-bop
    Format mp3, bitrate: 320 kb/s
    Time: 1:01:10
    Size: 154 Mb (complete covers)
    AMG Rating:

Pianist Enrico Pieranunzi, in a trio with bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Joey Baron, explores ten songs from movies scored by Italian film composer Ennio Morricone. While none of the pieces are standards, the ten that were chosen are each easily adaptable to jazz. Ranging from romps to waltzes and mood pieces, the music is (not too surprisingly) often cinematic and episodic, but the songs fare well standing independent of the films. Several of the pieces deserve to be covered by other jazz musicians looking for fresh material. While Pieranunzi is the lead voice, Johnson and Baron make important contributions to the swinging music. Recommended. - Scott Yanow atAMG

    Artist: Enrico Pieranunzi, Marc Johnson & Joey Baron
    Album: Play Morricone (bonus track)
    Label: CAM
    Release: 2001
    Genre: jazz
    Format mp3, bitrate: 256 kb/s vbr
    Time: 1:04:09
    Size: 88,8 Mb (cover)
    Bubu's Rating:

In true "Play Morricone (bonus track)" is in matter of fact a completely different album when comparing it with the regular one. It was released in Italy one year before the standard one that has worldwide distribution and contains not one bur six different tracks from this one, not to mention the more attractive cover. So it truly deserves our full attention.

    Artist: Enrico Pieranunzi, Marc Johnson & Joey Baron
    Album: Dream Dance
    Label: Cam Jazz
    Year: 2004
    Release: 2009
    Genre: jazz
    Format mp3, bitrate: 256 kb/s vbr
    Time: 49:24
    Size: 69,4 Mb

Focusing on all-original material, pianist Enrico Pieranunzi's Dream Dance proves that when there's the right chemistry, a group can retain it throughout the years, even if reconvening only occasionally. While not a regular working unit like Keith Jarrett's enduring Standards Trio with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette, Pieranunzi's trio with bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Joey Baron has been together almost as long. And while Jarrett continues to explore long-form interpretations of standards, Pieranunzi combines plenty of original music with the occasional standard and material from fellow Italians including Ennio Morricone and Nino Rota.

     Artist: Duke Pearson
     Album: Dedication!
     Label: Original Jazz Classics
     Year: 1961
     Format: mp3@320 kbit/s
     Time: 38:56
     Size: 95 MB

     Recorded for a small label that proceeded to go broke, Dedication! would not be released until nine years after its initial recording. This seems odd considering the all-star cast of players. Pianist Duke Pearson is joined by trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, baritone player Pepper Adams, trombonist Willie Wilson, bassist Thomas Howard, and drummer Lex Humphries on seven selections. The set kicks off with Tommy Flanagan's "Minor Mishap," an upbeat piece that brings forth nice solos from everyone. This might be Pearson's session, but everybody is given plenty of room to cut loose. Wilson, for instance, is featured for the length of "The Nearness of You" and for a great deal of "Time After Time." This is fortunate in retrospect; he made few recordings and would pass away in 1963, two years after this record was made. Pearson also turns in a number of nice solos. Like Hank Jones, his light touch serves him well on instrumentals like "Blues for Alvina" and "Time After Time." The performances by Hubbard and Adams are topnotch throughout; they turn in first-rate work on numbers like Donald Byrd's "Lex" and the Pearson original "The Number Five." An important factor in the success of this album is the unusual combination of trumpet, trombone, and baritone saxophone that creates a resonant, full sound. Pearson would make a number of other fine recordings for Blue Note during the '60s, but none finer than this one. Dedication! serves as a fine introduction to a talented pianist. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.