Artist: Scott Hamilton
     Album: Scott Hamilton with Strings
     Label: Concord Jazz,
     Year: rec.Oct 5, 1992,Oct 6, 1992/ rel.Jan 1993
     Format: FLAC (by track)
     Time: 57:59
     Size: (180 +144,8) Mb

     Artist: Anita O'Day
     Album: Essential O'Day - Basin Street West
     Label: Emily Records
     Year: 1964; release: 2006
     Format, bitrate: MP3; 320 kb/s
     Time: 43:27
     Size: 98.48



When Anita O'Day left Norman Granz and the Verve label, her next major recording stop was her own company, Emily, for which she recorded a number of swinging live LPs. This is the latest of them to be reissued on CD, and while the packaging and liner notes leave a little to be desired, the music itself is classic Anita. This live session from Basin Street West in 1964 includes a number of Anita's personal favorites from that era, including "Get Out of Town," "'S Wonderful," "Street of Dreams" and "Honeysuckle Rose," along with other tunes like the lesser known "Try Your Wings." The 14 tunes give you a 45-minute example of the jazz singer in her prime. She's still doing occasional appearances now that she's in her 80s, but -- unfortunately (and understandably) -- not singing as well as she did for the Verve and Emily labels. ~ Steve Emerine, Amazon.Com

     Artist: Betty Hutton
     Album: At The Saint And Sinners Ball
     Label: Sepia
     Year: 1959
     Release: 2009
     Format,Bitrate: MP3, 320kb/s
     Time: 48:5
     Size: 85.7

     In 1952 Betty Hutton was a hot ticket and all the major movie studios competed to sign her to their roster. She turned the offers down and instead directed her attention toward the emerging world of television. Her first foray into T.V. was the 1954 colour production Satins And Spurs, the first ever made-for-television musical, which cast her as a rodeo queen in the Annie Oakley tradition. A single release of the title track is featured here alongside its flipside, the cowboy ballad Back Home.
     As a prelude to Satins And Spurs, Hutton recorded two duets with country western star Tennessee Ernie Ford, This Must Be The Place and The Honeymoon’s Over, which became a Top 20 selling single. Betty also recorded with her sister Marion Hutton Ko Ko Mo (I Love You So) and Heart Throb. Also included here are her 1956 single Sleepy Head backed with Hit The Road To Dreamland.
     In 1958 Betty was asked to make a concept album that would personify a rocking, hand clapping saint one moment, and an equally fire and brimstone sinner the next. Betty loved the idea and embarked on a southern hiatus to New Orleans for material and inspiration for Betty Hutton at the Saints & Sinners Ball.
     The stereo album was released as Hutton wrapped up a hectic decade of highs and lows. Saints & Sinners proved to be Betty’s last outing as a recording artist, though she did spend the next 15 years appearing in Broadway shows, as well as in touring theatrical productions and concert performances before converting to Catholicism in 1974. She then only made sporadic appearances as an entertainer, and instead dedicated her life to religion and teaching. Betty was once quoted as saying, “I’ll go on forever with lots of noise.” This compilation certainly proves her right. ~ sepiarecords

     Artist: Charlie Haden (with Paul Bley and Paul Motian)
     Album: The Montreal Tapes
     Label: Verve (523 259-2)
     Year: 1989; release: 1994
     Format, bitrate: FLAC and mp3 @ 320kbps
     Time: 65:45
     Size: FLAC: 120+120+110 MB; mp3: ~155 MB



     Performed as one of eight concerts at the 1989 Montreal Jazz Festival that featured bassist Charlie Haden, this trio set teams Haden with pianist Paul Bley and drummer Paul Motian. Playing adventurous but unclassifiable music that falls between bop and the avant-garde, the trio contributes one original apiece and also interprets four Ornette Coleman tunes and Carla Bley's classic "Ida Lupino." The musical communication between the three masterful players is impressive on this generally introspective set. Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

     Artist: Joe Albany
     Album: Live in Paris
     Label: Fresh Sound records
     Year: rec. 1977/rel. 1991
     Format: MP3@ 320 Kb/s
     Time: 54:34
     Size: 122, 9 Mb

    Artist: The Ramsey Lewis Trio
    Album: The In Crowd
    Label: Universal Distribution
    Year: 1965; release: 2002
    Genre: Soul Jazz
    Format mp3, bitrate: 320 kb/s
    Time: 39:13
    Size: 101 Mb (full covers)
    AMG Rating:

Ramsey Lewis staked his claim to fame with The In Crowd, the instrumental version of Dobie Gray's Top 40 hit. He also was one of the first soul-jazz icons of the mid-'60s, based on the strength of the sales of this recording, done over three days during a club date at the Bohemian Caverns in Washington, DC. Over the years, the biggest question about this effort was why it was so short, clocking in at a mere thirty-three-minutes-and-forty-seconds, when the engagement was so much longer than that. A limited repertoire, flawed recordings, or the band just not hitting as well as the songs that were approved and released; all have been speculated over. Nonetheless, this is the moment where Lewis shined the brightest, the "in crowd" at the club was verbally into it, and the time for this music was right. What is not readily acknowledged over the years is that bassist Eldee Young is really the star of the show. He's the one who gets the crowd revved up with his vocalizing in tandem with the notes he is playing. It is on his "I Got a Woman" Ray Charles-like take on "Tennessee Waltz" and a similar treatment of Gale Garnett's minor pop hit "You Been Talkin' 'Bout Me Baby" that gets the patrons off. Of course the quintessential hip shakin' introductory title track gets the groove in motion, but it's Young that lights the fuse. His stellar work with drummer Redd Holt bolsters the style of Lewis, and takes it further for the upbeat bossa "Felicidade." Of course, Lewis is the bluesy centerpiece on "Since I Fell for You," another cover of a pop hit that at the time Lenny Welch did so well. The variant is the dramatic "Theme from Spartacus," which has an up-and-down dynamic more suited for a concert hall than a smoky nightclub, unless it's after midnight. Always the best Lewis ever offered, it will forever be debated why complete — or at the very least additional sessions — were never released on CD. At such a chintzy length this, although precious, should only be bought at a reduced, not full price. - Michael G. Nastos at All Music Guide

     Artist: Carol Britto
     Album: Alone Together with Flip Phillips & Michael Moore
     Label: Town Crier records
     Year: rec. March, 1987
     Format: MP3 @ 320 Kb/s
     Time: 52:17
     Size: 114, 63 Mb
     AMG rating:

     Artist: Benny Carter
     Album: Summer Serenade
     Label: Storyville
     Year: Aug 17, 1980
     Release: 1986
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320kb/s
     Time: 44:15
     Size: 94MB




     Benny Carter has recorded so many excellent swing sessions throughout his lengthy career that it is very difficult to pick out the best ones; there's too much competition. This quartet date for the Danish Storyville label matches his alto with pianist Kenny Drew, bassist Jesper Lundgaard and drummer Ed Thigpen for four of Carter's originals and three standards. As a bonus, Richard Boone sings the good-humored "All That Jazz." ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

    Artist: Richard "Groove" Holmes
    Album: Shippin' Out
    Label: Muse
    Year: ; release: 1977
    Genre: Soul Jazz
    Format mp3, bitrate: 320 kb/s
    Time: 38:26
    Size: 90,2 Mb
    AMG Rating:

After cutting a few albums for Groove Merchant in 1972-73, organist Groove Holmes was largely away from records (other than an odd date for Flying Dutchman) until this set, his Muse debut. Back in a comfortable setting, heading a soul-jazz quintet that also includes tenor saxophonist Dave Schnitter (best known for his association with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers), guitarist Steve Giordano, drummer Idris Muhammad and Buddy Caldwell on conga, Holmes explores a wider range of songs than usual. In addition to his basic blues "Shippin' Out," athe organist swings "Where or When," a faster-than-usual version of "Stella By Starlight," Chick Corea's "Windows" and even a credible interpretation of "Feelings." This fine Muse LP, which would be followed by several other rewarding efforts, has yet to be reissued on CD. - Scott Yanow at All Music Guide

     Artist: Joao Gilberto
     Album: Joao
     Label: Philips
     Year: 1991, release: 1992
     Format: FLAC + MP3 (320k/s)
     Size: 285 + 118 MB (scans)
     Total time: 50:26
     AMG rating:

This 1991 record ended a decade-plus silence from the man who helped create bossa nova. Though JOAO features full orchestral backing, the arrangements by Clare Fischer dart in and around Gilberto's understated singing and rhythmically ingenious guitar work, never overpowering the artist or obscuring his unique vision. The effect is not unlike that achieved by Nelson Riddle in his orchestrations for Frank Sinatra. Though Gilberto tackles a tune in French ("Que Reste-T-Il de Nos Amours") and a Cole Porter classic in English ("You Do Something to Me"), even these are presented in the bossa nova style to which he has remained true throughout his career. The delicate beauty of Gilberto's voice, the soft-but-insistent pulse of his guitar, and the otherworldy grace of his artistic conception are as much in evidence on JOAO as they are on his legendary recordings from 30 years prior. As ever, the man proves to be simply incapable of making a wrong move. ~ cduniverse.com

     Artist: Muddy Waters
     Album: Unreleased In The West 2 (live)
     Label: Moon Records
     Year: 1976
     Release: 1990
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320kb/s
     Time: 40min
     Size: 83MB

     Artist - Andy Kirk
     Album: Andy Kirk & His Twelve Clouds Of Joy 1937 - 1938
     Label: Classics
     Years: 1937-1938, release: 1996
     Quality: MP3@320 kbps
     Size: 147 mb
     Total time: 70:49
     AMG Rating:




The third Andy Kirk CD put out by the Classics label (reissuing all of Kirk's swing-era recordings) is primarily for completists, for the then-popular but rather dated singer Pha Terrell is on the majority of the songs. There are some good moments from pianist Mary Lou Williams and tenor saxophonist Dick Wilson (particularly on the instrumentals), with the most memorable numbers being "A Mellow Bit of Rhythm," "Twinklin'," and "The Big Dipper," but Terrell is often difficult to sit through. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

     Artist: Al Haig
     Album: Manhattan Memeories
     Label: Sea Breeze
     Year: 1977, release: 1985
     Quality: MP3@320 kbps
     Size: 84 mb (sharebee)
     Total time: 37:51




After being largely off records during 1955-73 (just one obscure set in 1965), pianist Al Haig was very active from 1974 up until his death in 1982. This LP has two small group dates showcasing Haig in a trio/quartet setting with bassist Jamil Nasser, either Jimmy Wordsworth or Frank Gant on drums and sometimes guitarist Eddie Diehl. Haig's style was largely unchanged from his earlier prime although he had grown as a player, as he shows on such numbers as Bud Powell's "I'll Keep Loving You," Billy Strayhorn's "My Little Brown Book" and Cedar Walton's "Voices Within Me." ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

     Artists - Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster
     Album - Coleman Hawkins encounters Ben Webster
     Audio CD: July 29, 1997
     Original Release Date: October 16, 1957
     Label: Verve
     Quality: MP3@320kbit/s
     Size: 95MB
     Time: 46:47



     И снова вернемся в 1957 год, который подарил нам массу интересного. На этот раз перед вами совместная запись двух великих тенор-саксофонистов Coleman Hawkins и Ben Webster, плюс скромненькая такая группа поддержки в лице Peterson-Ellis-Brown.

     Artist: Jimmy Smith Trio feat. Kenny Burrell
     Album: The Master II
     Label: Blue Note (JP)
     Year: 1994
     Genre: Blues,Hard Bop
     Format, bitrate: mp3/320kbps
     Time: 42:55