Artists: The Modern Jazz Quartet
     Album: Together Again - Live in Montreux
     Label: Pablo
     Year: 1982; Release: July 25, 1982
     Format, bitrate: MP4 - Apple Lossless
     Time: 63 min
     Size: 387 Mb

     The Modern Jazz Quartet disbanded in 1974 as one of the most successful and longest running groups in jazz history, without a personnel change in nearly two decades. They reformed in 1981, and this 1984 session was their first trip to a studio to record new material. Their personnel was intact, and more importantly, so too was their musical charm, an uncanny mix of formality and intimacy, a quiet sophistication that allowed them to blend divergent forms and feelings. The new tunes include the puckish "Watergate Blues" by bassist Percy Heath and pianist John Lewis's further takes on European musical folklore, "That Slavic Smile" and "The Hornpipe." His "Sasha's March" is particularly intriguing, a simple piano piece that assumes other dimensions as it's passed around the group, while "Echoes" and "Connie's Blues" are two more of Milt Jackson's relaxed, elegant tunes that float with an ease all their own. Clearly the group chemistry was still vital, and there's a renewed pleasure in the way they dig into the music. -amazon review-

     Artist: Ralph Towner
     Album: Blue Sun
     Label: EMC
     Year: 1982
     Release: Feb 27, 2001
     Format, bitrate: MP4 - Apple Lossless
     Time: 46min
     Size: 220Mb




This record (along with "Solo Concert") is Ralph's musical highpoint, in an impressive career as a jazz guitarist. Blue Sun is not really jazz, at least not as I understand the term. It is more like the composed works of Pat Metheny (Secret Story) or Steve Tibbetts (Safe Journey) without the percussion. This record sounds like a series of duets between guitar and synthesizer/horn. Playful and melodic on most tracks, it also moves into a quiet, reflective place where single notes seem to fall into a pool of deep silence. ~ Blue Sun (Audio CD)

     Artist: Zachary Breaux
     Album: Laidback
     Label: NYC Music
     Year: 1994; Release: Aug 30, 1994
     Format, bitrate: MP4 - Apple Lossless
     Time: 48 min
     Size: 281 MB

     Listening to Zachary Breaux's commercial work on Laidback, it's clear that the guitarist was capable of a lot more. That said, this isn't a bad album -- it isn't a masterpiece, but it's enjoyable most of the time. Mindful of George Benson's more commercial instrumental work, Breaux gets into a likable jazz/R&B/pop groove on such originals as "Small Town in Texas" and "West Side Worry." Harmonica great Toots Thielemans has pleasant, if unremarkable, cameos on John Barry's "Midnight Cowboy" and Breaux's mellow title song, while singer Audrey Wheeler joins Breaux for a vocal duet on a cover of Little Anthony & the Imperials' 1960s hit "Going Out of My Head." Though Breaux wasn't a bad singer, this track really belongs to Wheeler. Make no mistake: Laidback is a decent CD -- although it's a shame to hear Breaux simmering so much of the time when you know he was quite capable of burning. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide.

     Artist: Madeleine Peyroux
     Album: Half The Perfect World
     Label: Rounder
     Year: 2006, Release: Sep 12, 2006
     Format, bitrate: MP4 - Apple Lossless
     Time: 49 min.
     Size: 275 Mb

     Though dismissed by some critics as a Billie Holiday imitator, Madeleine Peyroux has her own distinctive approach to singing. The Lady Day comparisons are apt, and Peyroux's take on breezy, melancholic jazz and blues pushes a vintage button, but her albums are dressed up in enough contemporary style to make them fresh. HALF THE PERFECT WORLD (2006), for instance, is a deeply pleasurable listen from back to front. Whether she's bringing her elegant, intimate touch to familiar contemporary favorites like Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'" and Tom Waits's "The Heart of Saturday Night," or offering up her fine originals, Peyroux turns in a batch of gorgeous, studied performances on HALF. The result is a quiet, haunting gem of an album.