Artist: Norman Brown
     Album: Sending My Love
     Year: 2010
     Label: PEAK RECORDS
     Genre: Soul Jazz / Smooth Jazz
     Format: MP3
     Bitrate: 320 kbps
     Total Size: 95 MB

One could easily argue that smooth jazz started on the instrument that Norman Brown has been using to express himself: the electric guitar. During the last few years of his life, Wes Montgomery moved away from hard bop and post-bop and recorded some pop-drenched albums consisting of what eventually came to be called smooth jazz -- and then, in the 1970s, the guitar maintained its prominence in smooth jazz thanks to George Benson, Earl Klugh, and Lee Ritenour. None of that is lost on Brown, whose smooth jazz recordings of the 1990s and 21st century have underscored his artistic debt to the aforementioned guitarists. Brown no doubt has it in him to make a killer soul-jazz album; unfortunately, he has spent much of his career pandering to the rigid formats of smooth jazz/NAC radio. But while Sending My Love isn't the creative gem that Brown is quite capable of providing, it isn't a bad album, either. This 2010 release contains a few R&B vocal offerings (Brown occasionally sings in addition to playing his guitar), although for the most part, Sending My Love favors an instrumental blend of jazz, R&B, and pop -- and thankfully, producer Herman Jackson is smart enough to give Brown's guitar some breathing room. Excessive production is a major problem in smooth jazz, but Jackson avoids smothering Brown's guitar on pleasantly laid-back, Benson-esque instrumentals such as "Thinking About You," "Special Moments," "Coming Back (Return of the Man)," and the Brazilian-flavored "Play Time." Brown's guitar doesn't get lost in the production the way it has on some of his previous albums, which is a good thing. Nonetheless, there is no denying that this is a highly formulaic effort -- and while Brown is obviously someone who has spent a lot of time listening to Benson's Breezin' album, the fact is that Breezin' took a lot more chances. But again, Sending My Love is generally a pleasant listen even though it isn't a terribly memorable one. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide

     Artist: Richie Kamuca
     Album: Richard Kamuca Quartet 1976 (re-released as "Richie" by Concord)
     Label: Jazzz
     Year: 1976, release: 1977
     Format, bitrate: Flac (LP-rip)
     Time: 36'11"
     Size: 199 mb
     AMG Rating

Richie Kamuca, a hard-swinging but cool-toned tenorman, did not lead any record sessions after 1958 until he recorded three albums for Concord in early 1977, ironically just months before his death at age 47 from cancer. This particular set may very well have been Kamuca's most rewarding. Accompanied by guitarist Mundell Lowe, bassist Monty Budwig, and drummer Nick Ceroli, Kamuca is quite lyrical on the eight superior standards, taking a surprisingly effective vocal on "'Tis Autumn" and coming up with memorable melodic statements on the other songs. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

Note:"Richard Kamuca 1976"" was not recorded for Concord; it was picked-up for distribution by Concord and re-released as "Richie." The fine liner notes/interview by former downbeat editor Jack Tracy on the Jazzz release were used on the Concord re-release without credit.

This album is me--truly me. It's the first time I could ever admit or say that.I put it all together and picked all the tunes and selected all the musicians and we didn't make any edits or intercuts. What you hear is just the way it all went down. And I can listen to it and not once wish that we could do some things over again, the way I have in the past about records I was on.

     Artist: The Carla Bley Band
     Album: Musique Mecanique, Modern Big Band
     Label: ECM
     Year: 1978; release: 2000
     Format, bitrate: VBR 320 kbps
     Time: 43:00
     Size: 66.07 MB
     AMG rating


Carla Bley's tentet performs some of her most colorful themes on this often-humorous and generally stimulating set. &"Jesus Maria and Other Spanish Strains" and the three-part "Musique Mecanique" are particularly memorable. This is the perfect setting for Bley's music, with such musicians as trumpeter Michael Mantler, Gary Windo on tenor and bass clarinet, trombonist Roswell Rudd and Bob Stewart on tuba making their presence felt.

     
     Artists: Henry Kaiser & Wadada Leo Smith
     Album: Yo Miles!
     Label: Shaniche
     Year: 1998
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320
     Time: 159:48
     Size: (178 mb/178 mb)



     Like the career of Miles Davis himself — and, in particular, the part of his career to which this two-disc set pays homage — this album presents a maddeningly uneven collection of material and performances, ranging from intense and lovely elaborations on Davis' original themes to numbingly tedious and overlong expositions of others. The experiment was the brainchild of experimental guitar hero Henry Kaiser and trumpet player Wadada Leo Smith, who teamed themselves up with bassist Michael Manring, drummer Lukas Ligeti, and a large number of other musicians both famous (John Medeski, Elliott Sharp) and obscure to rework some Miles Davis compositions from his electric jazz-funk period. Kaiser is a guitarist of multi-layered genius who is equally at home producing experimental noise with Fred Frith and accompanying Hawaiian slack-key guitarists and Okinawan folk singers; Smith is a trumpet player with a rich, brilliant tone who has worked with Anthony Davis and Muhal Richard Abrams, among many others. But despite the generally attractive noises they create with their band, too many of the tracks on this album are strung out far too thin; there tends to be far more elaboration than the conceptual content of the tunes can support. "Ife," for example, has a smoldering, minimalist groove and lots of great moments, but 35 minutes of one chord is just too much, no matter how deep the groove is or how intrepid the soloists. On the other hand, "Maiysha," which follows it, is perfectly crafted (and relatively concise at just over eight minutes) and features a scorching Henry Kaiser solo. On the second disc, "Moja-Nine" stands out with its refreshing, punky intensity, and the "Themes from Jack Johnson" medley works, despite its extended length, because the themes vary so widely. So all in all, this album is by no means a failure — it just needed some trimming.

Artist: Ziggy Elman
Album: Ziggy Elman And his Orchestra 1938-1939
Label: Classics Records
Year: 1996
Format: Cue+FLAC
Time: 61:28
Size:223 mb
AMG Rating

Ziggy Elman played trumpet beautifully and made lasting, significant contributions to the ripening of jazz and swing during the months immediately preceding the Second World War. As if to illustrate the point, this first segment of Elman's chronology contains his Bluebird recordings dating from December 28, 1938, through December 26, 1939. During this period, the trumpeter's band invariably consisted of two alto and two tenor saxophones with piano, guitar, bass, and drums. Over the course of 12 months a series of fine players passed through Elman's band. Among them were saxophonists Arthur Rollini, Babe Russin, Hymie Schertzer, Toots Mondello, and Jerry Jerome, and pianists Jess Stacy, Milt Raskin, and Johnny Guarnieri. The opening track, &"Fralich in Swing," would soon become famous as Benny Goodman's hugely popular &"And the Angels Sing." After playing it through at a languid pace, Elman accelerates the tempo to reveal the melody's origins as a Jewish wedding dance. For the flip side Elman chose &"Bublitchki," an attractive update of a traditional Slavic air. In a strikingly hip maneuver, his next pair of tunes were drawn from the Richard M. Jones and Maceo Pinkard catalog, respectively. The tasteful repertoire presented throughout this compilation combines relaxing ballads (&"I'll Never Be the Same" is particularly eloquent) and catchy dance tunes (&"Zaggin' with Zig"). The Judaic element resurfaces nicely during the peculiarly titled &"What Used to Was Used to Was (Now It Ain't)." This entire disc is packed with friendly, accessible jazz that swings. No gimmicks, no gags, no self-conscious singers. Ziggy didn't need 'em.

     Artists: VA
     Album: Utra-Lounge Volume Five - Wild, Cool And Swingin'
     Label: Capitol
     Years: 1958-1964, release: 1996
     Quality: MP3@320 kbps
     Size: 108 mb (with scans)
     Total time: 49:20

Ultra-Lounge, Vol. 5: Wild Cool & Swingin is the showbiz-encased, Vegas-sized 18-song compilation of late '50s and early '60s pop vocals. The emphasis is certainly more on the "cool" than the wild and swinging; if it ever breaks out a sweat, there will be a martini-dipped silk handkerchief on hand to wipe it away. You get selections from Rat Packers (Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr.), African-American mainstream pop (Nat King Cole, Lou Rawls), adult pop stars (Bobby Darin, Peggy Lee, Julie London), adult pop with a dash of vaudevillian slapstick (Louis Prima and Keely Smith), and those for whom Vegas was always the prize (a teenaged Wayne Newton). Targeted toward the nuevo cocktail crowd (it's volume five of Capitol's Ultra Lounge series), it's not the most satisfying survey of the form. Serious fans of pop vocals will find it too scattershot, and its packaging too flippant; space age poppers will find it too old-school cornball for their tastes, even if they're told it's part of some sort of cutting edge. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide