Artists: Clark Terry and Max Roach
     Album: Friendship
     Label: Columbia
     Year: 2002, release: 2003
     Quality: FLAC and mp3 320 kb\s
     Total time: 46:06
     Size: 235 mb (flac) \ 101 mb (mp3)
     AMG Rating

When you get to the point in your career that drummer Max Roach and trumpeter Clark Terry are, it's not so much what you say, but how you say it. These jazz giants may not be at the top of their game technically, but artistically no Young Lion can touch them. Starting with the leadoff track on Friendship, it's clear that all bets are off. "Statements" is a drum and trumpet duet loosely based around a blues theme, with Terry playing off various rhythms and drum head detunings from Roach. It's easily one of the most avant-garde things these guys have played in a while, and possibly the most surprising thing you'll hear on a straight-ahead jazz recording from 2002. Elsewhere, Terry takes a burnished and juicy stroll through "When I Fall in Love," Roach gets some solo time on the furious "Lil Max," and both of them turn "Makin' Whoopee" into a bittersweet daydream. Backed sensitively by pianist Don Friedman and bassist Marcus McLaurine, Roach and Terry make Friendship a pure joy. ~ Matt Collar, All Music Guide

     Artist: Roy Campbell Pyramid
     Album: Communion
     Label: Silkheart Records
     Year: 1995
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320
     Time: 74:43
     Size: 170 mb
     AMG Rating:


     This CD features a sparse but very self-sufficient trio. Trumpeter Roy Campbell extends the tradition of Don Cherry and Bobby Bradford while borrowing now and then from Freddie Hubbard. Bassist William Parker and drummer Reggie Nicholson are equal partners on the six lengthy group originals (four by Campbell, two by Parker) and they inspire the leader to come up with consistently inventive playing. On "Chant for Don Cherry" (which has a Spanish rhythm stated by Parker), Campbell certainly brings back Cherry's spirit. Since the pieces are long (the nine-minute "Communion" is the briefest), there are some meandering moments but in general the interplay between the three musicians holds one's interest; Parker's bowed bass on "Air Pockets" really pushes Campbell.

     Artists: Paul Gonsalves & Clark Terry Quintet
     Album: Complete Recordings
     Label: Lone Hill Jazz
     Years: 1956-1959; release: 2008
     Format: mp3, bitrate: 320@kbps
     Time: 148:24
     Size: 341 + 3 MB

"This two-CD compilation features three complete LPs and half of a fourth of small group dates that include both tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves and trumpeter Clark Terry, both of whom were working for Duke Ellington during this period. The first three sessions have two additional Ellington sidemen present, bassist Jimmy Woode and drummer Sam Woodyard. The first ten tracks come from Gonsalves' long unavailable album Cookin' with Willie Jones on piano. Rather than delve into the vast Ellington songbook, both Gonsalves and Terry wrote originals for the date, though none of them became lasting parts of their respective repertoires as leaders. Gonsalves, being the leader and a bit more of an extrovert, takes longer solos than Terry, though both men are on equal footing. Highlights include Gonsalves' expressive "Blues" and Terry's perky miniature "Milli-Terry." The ten tracks from the session by the C-Jam All Stars feature Carlos Diernhammer on piano. It is naturally highlighted by the arousing reprise of Ellington's "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue," with Gonsalves reprising his rousing solo from the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, even if he doesn't take 27 choruses in this studio date. Terry takes center stage in the blues-drenched "Willow Weep for Me," while his sassy muted horn is prominent in his own "Hildegaard." The next 11 selections come from Clark Terry & His Orchestra: Featuring Paul Gonsalves, though it is another quintet with Raymond Fol taking over the piano chair. Like Gonsalves' album Cookin', this session relies more on originals, with only "Satin Doll" taken from the Ellington songbook. The high point is Terry's "Serenade to a Bus Seat." Originally issued by French Decca as an LP with six tracks and the remainder on 45 rpm discs, all of the material is gathered in one place. The final three songs come from one side of an LP titled Jazz School, with a different rhythm section led by Junior Mance and baritonist Porter Kilbert. These lesser known performances are every bit as enjoyable as the other sessions. Even though Clark Terry recorded far more than Paul Gonsalves as a leader, in addition to outliving him by several decades, it is clear that the two musicians enjoyed each other's company on this record date."

     Artist: Frank Sinatra
     Album: Frank Sinatra Sings Van Heusen & Cahn
     Label: Reprise Records
     Years: 1961-1979, release: 1991
     Quality: MP3@320 kbps
     Size: 147 mb
     Total time: 67:55



Collecting all of the Sammy Cahn/Jimmy Van Heusen songs Frank Sinatra recorded for Reprise Records, Sings the Songs of Van Heusen & Cahn is a thoroughly enjoyable double-album/single-disc compilation. It's nice to have all the songs in one place, but it's not an essential purchase for most fans, who will already own most of this material on the original albums. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

     Artist: Gene Ammons
     Album: Jungle Soul
     Label: Prestige rec. (Vinyl rip)
     Year: 1962, release 1968
     Genre: Hard Bop
     Format, bitrate: mp3/320kbps
     Size: 71 MB

For My Friends!

     Bad Bossa Nova is right – as Gene Ammons really hits a great groove here – one that's not exactly bossa, but which has lots of Latin and tropical touches! The session makes great use of 2 guitars at the same time – using that of Kenny Burrell for soulful rhythm, but also adding in Bucky Pizzarelli for some nice acoustic embellishments – in a mode that's similar to the soul jazz-com-bossa style used on records like Ike Quebec's Soul Samba or Charlie Rouse's Bossa Nova Bacchanal. The overall rhythms are a bit more complicated, and a bit more soul jazz based than those sets – with Hank Jones on piano, Oliver Jackson on percussion, and Al Hayes adding in some sweet extra bongo! Titles include the classic "Ca'Purange" – plus "Anna", "Yellow Bird", "Cae Cae", and "Moito Mato Grosso". Also issued under the title Bad Bossa Nova. (Blue label pressing in the tiger photo cover, which has a name in marker & a small bit of pen on front, and some notes in pen & light staining near the bottom seam on back.) © 1996-2010, Dusty Groove America, Inc.

     Artist: Soft Machine
     Album: Softs
     Label: Harvest
     Year: 1976
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320 kps
     Time: 45 :15 mins
     Size: 97,408 kb

     At this point in the band's history, Soft Machine was a little bit like the original axe that George Washington used to cut down the cherry tree -- original except that the head had been replaced three times and the handle twice. On Softs, Mike Ratledge, the only remaining original bandmember present on Bundles, the group's preceding Harvest LP, was relegated to guest status, contributing synthesizer to only two tracks, "Song of Aeolus" and "Ban-Ban Caliban." Otherwise, keyboard duties now fell completely to Karl Jenkins, who joined the band prior to the recording of Six and had gradually taken over the conceptual reins as the Softs finished their tenure with Columbia and moved over to Harvest. On Softs more than ever before, Soft Machine was Jenkins' band; he composed fully seven of the LP's 11 tracks, making the album a vehicle for his own artistic conception. And yet, as Soft Machine albums go, this one is just fine, thank you. Jenkins had always put his own personal stamp on the material he wrote for the band, but he also retained elements of a Soft Machine style that emerged around the time Ratledge began penning LP side-long opuses on Third: a marriage of modalism and minimalism with simple but memorable themes in layered counterpoint and an occasional backdrop of rippling, echoey overdubbed electric keyboards, giving the music a trippy, trance-inducing quality. Nimble keyboard and reed solos were also an important element of the Soft Machine sound, although, as the band entered its Harvest fusion period, they tended to take a back seat to the work of fleet-fingered electric guitarists, first Allan Holdsworth on Bundles and then John Etheridge here. With Etheridge proving that Holdsworth wasn't England's only blindingly fast fusion guitar riff-meister, and with new saxophonist Alan Wakeman being a somewhat stronger reedman than Jenkins, the Softs lineup was plenty strong enough in the soloing department, so Jenkins could concentrate on overdubbing an arsenal of keyboards to give the music its overall structure and mood. ...

     Artist: Chris Minh Doky
     Album: Cinematique
     Label: Blue Note
     Year: 2002
     Format, bitrate: MP3, CBR 320
     Time: 53:40
     Size: 125 Mb

      Известный басист сотоварищи исполняют джазовые вариации знаменитых музыкальных тем из кинофильмов ("Крестный отец", "Звуки музыки", сага о Джеймсе Бонде и др.) и несколько собственных композиций.

     Chris Minh Doky is a prominent jazz bassist who has released several albums and tours regularly. This New York-based artist is considered a master of the upright bass, and is recognized for his passionate delivery and exceptional skill. Doky carries on the distinct Danish bass tradition of the acoustic bass being a lead instrument. Doky’s ability to perform with equal creativity as both a solo artist and sideman has put him on the list of Top 10 Bassists of Reader’s Polls and earned him Artist Of The Year awards. In addition to leading his own band, Doky continues to play with such renowned jazz musicians as Michael Brecker and Mike Stern.
     Cinematique is an album which features Doky performing unique versions of classic movie songs and themes. Included on this album is Doky’s excellent renditions of “The Godfather Theme” (by Enrico Morricone), “Goldfinger” (John Barry), “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence” (Ryuichi Sakamoto), “My Favorite Things” (Rodgers & Hammerstein), “Nothing To Lose” (Henry Mancini), and “One Day I’ll Fly Away” (Joe Sample).
     On Cinematique, Doky is accompanied by an array of renowned musicians, such as Joey Calderazzo (piano), Jeff “Tain” Watts (drums), Larry Goldings (piano), Bill Stewart (drums), Makoto Ozone (piano), Toots Thielemans (harmonica), and Clarence Penn (drums).

     Artist: Louis Armstrong
     Album: Satch Plays Fats
     Label: Columbia
     Year: 1955 (Release - 1986)
     Quality: MP3@320kb/s
     Size: 82,3 mb
     Total time: 38:09
     AMG Rating
     
Louis Armstrong and Fats Waller only worked together twice, briefly in 1925 in Erskine Tate's band and four years later in the New York revue Connie's Hot Chocolates. But Waller made an indelible enough impression for Satchmo to record the tribute album Satch Plays Fats: The Music of Fats Waller in 1955 when such ideas were new. The original nine-track lineup forms the centerpiece of the reissue, with Armstrong ably supported by his All-Stars on such classics as "Honeysuckle Rose," "Squeeze Me," and "Ain't Misbehavin'." But this reissue delivers over twice the tracks of the original LP issue, with four edited alternate takes from the same session, plus seven more tracks of Waller material recorded by Armstrong in the 1920s and '30s. The mid-'50s was a fertile time for Armstrong and coupled with the '20s and '30s bonus tracks, this makes for a stellar overall package. ~ Cub Koda, All Music Guide

     Movie: The Five Pennies
     Label: Paramount, Technicolor
     Video Codec: XviD
     Duration: 1h 57mn
     Width: 528 pixels
     Height: 304 pixels

The musical biopic of jazz great Red Nichols features a healthy dose of melodrama along with the melodies. As the famed Dixieland cornetist, he runs into opposition to his sound, but breaks through to success. He marries a warm, patient woman (Bel Geddes) and even finds time to raise a family. Then tragedy strikes when their daughter contracts polio. The jazzman puts down his horn to stand by her. Among the musical cameos is a hot turn by Armstrong in a duet with Kaye.

Sylvia Fine, who was Danny Kaye's wife, served as associate producer for "The Five Pennies," and as song composer for three tunes in the film. Several jazz greats appear in this film either as themselves, such as Louis Armstrong, or as other legends of the era. Loring "Red" Nichols performed Danny Kaye's instrumentals for the film. Photographer Hoynigen-Huene was color coordinator for this film. Color by Technicolor. Additional cast: Ray Daley (Glenn Miller). Songs include: "Jada" "Sleepy Time Down South" "My Blue Heaven" "Indiana" "Bill Bailey" "Battle Hymn of the Republic" "When the Saints Come Marching In" (with new lyrics) "Lullabye in Ragtime" "Good Night, Sleep Tight" "Five Pennies" ~ A Dena production.