What Are You Listening To?

[Dennie]

My last one for the evening....

The Greatest Hits of

Les Paul & Mary Ford

1983 The Good Music Record Company

1 The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise
2 Vaya Con Dios
3 How High The Moon
4 My Baby's Coming Home
5 I'm Sitting On Top Of The World
6 Meet Mr. Callaghan
7 Just One More Chance
8 Tennessee Waltz
9 Bye Bye Blues
10 Whispering
11 Mocking Bird Hill
12 Lover
13 I'm Confessin'
14 I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles
15 I Can't Give You Anything But Love
16 Jazz Me Blues
17 In The Good Old Summertime
18 Tiger Rag

 

[heeman]

What Now My Love

Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass

1966 A&M Records

Classic TJB, June 18, 2005
By Abbasolutely "Hannah" (Dodgeville, WI United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: What Now My Love (Spkg) (Audio CD)

Ignore the silly gripe in that other review that lamented the decision to offer only the stereo mix of this cd. Herb wisely embraced stereo, not mono. So thankfully the mono sources were not utilized on this cd. The remaster job is good, although a little more treble would benefit the entire Signatutre series...They sound a tad muffled. But their reisssues are definately a highlight of 2005. I look forward to more to come...But "What Now My Love" is their best album ever! It's a pleasure to hear again and again...Cheers to you Herb and the entire team responsible for the reissues. The covers reproductions and inside booklets are delicious and great fun...just like the music itself. Bravo!

"What Now My Love" (Gilbert Bécaud, Carl Sigman) – 2:18
"Freckles" (Ervan Coleman) – 2:12
"Memories of Madrid" (Sol Lake) – 2:23
"It Was a Very Good Year" (Ervin Drake) – 3:37
"So What's New?" (John Pisano) – 2:07
"Plucky" (Alpert, John Pisano) – 2:21
"Magic Trumpet" (Bert Kaempfert) – 2:18
"Cantina Blue" (Sol Lake) – 2:34
"Brasilia" (Julius Wechter) – 2:30
"If I Were a Rich Man" (Sheldon Harnick, Jerry Bock) – 2:33
"Five Minutes More" (Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn) – 1:53
"The Shadow of Your Smile" (Johnny Mandel, Paul Francis Webster) – 3:28

My parents had this album when I was a very young kid and they used to play it when they had friends over. Good Stuff!

 

[heeman]

Here is another one that my parents had when I was growing up. I recently picked it up on CD.

1."I Am...I Said"
2."The Last Thing on My Mind" (Tom Paxton)
3."Husbands and Wives" (Roger Miller)
4."Chelsea Morning" (Joni Mitchell)
5."Crunchy Granola Suite"
6."Stones"
7."If You Go Away" (Jacques Brel, Rod McKuen)
8."Suzanne" (Leonard Cohen)
9."I Think It's Gonna Rain Today" (Randy Newman)
10."I Am...I Said (Reprise)"

 

[Dennie]

Feels Like Home -- CD

Norah Jones

2003 Blue Note Records

Amazon.com

Norah Jones blew everybody away with her jazzy, country-tinged, Grammy-winning debut CD, Come Away with Me. On this recording, Jones doesn't mess with her trademark formula. Under Arif Mardin's cozy coproduction, Jones is supported by her writing partners, her Handsome Band, and some special guests (country legend Dolly Parton, Levon Helm and Garth Hudson of the Band, and jazz drummer Brian Blade, to name a few). Jones's Texas-twanged vocals and her sparse acoustic and electric Wurlitzer piano lines enliven the CD's 13 tracks, from the light and lively single "Sunrise" to Tom Waits's "The Long Way Home" and the bouncy duet with Parton, "Creepin' In." Jones's soul-baring piano/vocal rendition of Duke Ellington's "Melancholia," retitled "Don't Miss You at All," proves she's a true Blue Note artist with unlimited potential. --Eugene Holley Jr.

1. "Sunrise" Norah Jones, Lee Alexander 3:20
2. "What Am I to You?" Norah Jones 3:29
3. "Those Sweet Words" Lee Alexander, Richard Julian 3:22
4. "Carnival Town" Norah Jones, Lee Alexander 3:12
5. "In the Morning" Adam Levy 4:07
6. "Be Here to Love Me" Townes Van Zandt 3:28
7. "Creepin' In" (featuring Dolly Parton) Lee Alexander 3:03
8. "Toes" Norah Jones, Lee Alexander 3:46
9. "Humble Me" Kevin Breit 4:36
10. "Above Ground" Andrew Borger, Daru Oda 3:43
11. "The Long Way Home" Kathleen Brennan, Tom Waits 3:13
12. "The Prettiest Thing" Norah Jones, Lee Alexander, Richard Julian 3:51
13. "Don't Miss You at All" Norah Jones, Duke Ellington 3:06

 

[Dennie]

At Last - SACD

The Gene Harris/Scott Hamilton Quintet with Herb Ellis, Ray Brown & Harold Jones

1990/2004 Concord Records

Great Gene Harris Album, June 26, 2011
By rayjazz - See all my reviews
This review is from: At Last (Hybr) (Audio CD)

I love all the blues, and Gene Harris was one of favorite bluesmen. This cd adds Scott Hamilton to the mix. This makes for some great listening. These guys give a treatment to " You Are My Sunshine ", that will make you love this tune. There'e a reason that Ray Brown used Gene Harris in his trio albums, he is truly a bluesman. I own all of the Ray Brown Trio and Gene Harris cds, this would be one of my top picks, but I love them all. Who knows, you just might become a Scott Hamilton fan in the bargain.

Track Listing
1. You Are My Sunshine
2. It Never Entered My Mind
3. After You've Gone
4. Lamp Is Low, The
5. At Last
6. Blues for Gene
7. I Fall in Love Too Easily
8. Some of These Days
9. Stairway to the Stars
10. Sittin' in the Sandtrap

 

[Dennie]

East of The Sun - CD

Scott Hamilton

1993 Concord Jazz

"Hamilton's playing is an inspiration - from the heart", February 12, 2001
By J. Lovins "Mr. Jim" (Missouri-USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: East of the Sun (Audio CD)

When you thought you heard the best album Scott Hamilton had recorded, this release gives you a kick - "East Of The Sun", truly an astonishing confident performance. Hamilton appeared in the mid '70s with his appealing swing-style on tenor sax, mixing Zoot Sims, Ben Webster and Lester Young during the fusion era before settling on now his-own distinctive style. Moved to New York in 1976, toured and has recorded over thirty albums for Concord Jazz, as sideman and solo...with Gene Harris, Ray Brown, Rosemary Clooney, Ruby Braff, Charlie Byrd and Cal Tjader.

Supported by Carl E. Jefferson (executive producer), Scott seized the opportunity to fulfill a cherished ambition to record with his regular British trio - Brian Lemon (piano), Dave Green (bass) and Allan Ganley (drums) - like Scott, Dave and Allan are self-taught and learned while they earned. Recorded at Lansdowne Recording Studios Ltd., London, England...August 31, 1993.

Of course there stand outs - "IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU" (Burke/Van Heusen), great standard recorded by many crooners Crosby and Sinatra, this bossa-nova Hamilton arrangement is rhytmically-intoxicating..."IT NEVER ENTERED MY MIND" (Rodgers/Hart), magnificent version of a like-minded team who work together regularly, so natural...and the highlight is - "BERNIE'S TUNE" (Miller/Lieber/Stoller), completely fresh interpretation, shades of Henry Mancini come to mind - every jazz player's dream is to swing, and swing it does!

Total Time: 63:13 on 11 Tracks...Concord Jazz CCD-4583...(1993)

1. Autumn Leaves
2. Stardust
3. It Could Happen to You
4. It Never Entered My Mind
5. Bernie's Tune
6. East of the Sun (And West of the Moon)
7. Time After Time
8. Setagaya Serenade
9. That's All
10. All the Things You Are
11. Indiana

 

[Dennie]

My last one for the evening....

Isn't It Romantic? -- CD

The Charlie Byrd Trio

1992 Concord Jazz

On this enjoyable set, Charlie Byrd's trio performs five classics by Rodgers & Hart and numbers by Ray Noble, Irving Berlin, Hoagy Carmichael, George Gershwin, and Jimmy Van Heusen. All of the songs are quite familiar, but Byrd (along with his brother Joe on bass and drummer Chuck Riggs) makes such potential warhorses as "Cheek to Cheek," "Thou Swell," and "I Thought About You" sound fresh and alive. Byrd's solo guitar interpretation of "Someone to Watch Over Me" is a highlight. ~ Scott Yanow

Track Listing
1. Isn't It Romantic?
2. I Could Write a Book
3. Cheek to Cheek
4. Very Thought of You, The
5. Thou Swell
6. I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan - (previously unreleased, CD only)
7. He Loves and She Loves - (previously unreleased, CD only)
8. Last Night When We Were Young - (previously unreleased, CD only)
9. One Morning in May
10. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
11. There's a Small Hotel
12. Someone to Watch Over Me
13. I Thought About You

 

[Dennie]

Today's work truck music....

Stepping Out -- CD

Diana Krall

2000 Justin Time Records

Amazon.com

For years singer-pianist Diana Krall has been bringing new lifeblood to jazz via her dual knockout talents. And while her later recordings reveal a consistently maturing artist, this 1992 debut album shows that the Nanaimo, British Columbia, native had the goods right from the get-go. In her mid-20s here, Krall sings with honesty, subtlety, and persuasion while playing the piano with head-shaking authority, both as accompanist--she offers amazing asides in between vocal phrases--and as an absolutely A-one improviser. Indeed, it is remarkable to hear her weave her gifts into a wondrous whole. Working with bass ace John Clayton and the superb drummer Jeff Hamilton, Krall presents one winner after another. "This Can't Be Love" is typical, a selection where it is all but impossible not to tap your foot. After a nicely enunciated vocal--she slides into phrases much like Sarah Vaugh--the pianist cooks in her Oscar Peterson-meets-Gene Harris style, playing hip ideas that fall easily on the ear, underwritten by her rock-solid feel for time. "As Long as I Live" is another example of Krall's ability to sing and swing a standard with a nonstop groove. "Straighten Up and Fly Right" is slower and features a deeply bluesy vocal; "I'm Just a Lucky So and So" is equally sultry. The classic ballad "Body and Soul" finds her singing with intimacy and playing with a caressing touch. A very impressive start for a very impressive artist. --Zan Stewart

"This Can't Be Love" (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers) – 4:31
"Straighten Up and Fly Right" (Nat King Cole, Irving Mills) – 3:56
"Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" (Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler) – 4:04
"I'm Just a Lucky So-and-So" (Mack David, Duke Ellington) – 4:23
"Body and Soul" (Frank Eyton, Johnny Green, Edward Heyman, Robert Sour) – 5:35
"42nd Street" (Al Dubin, Harry Warren) – 6:21
"Do Nothing Till You Hear from Me" (Ellington, Bob Russell) – 4:33
"Big Foot" (Klaus Suonsaari) – 7:07
"The Frim-Fram Sauce" (Redd Evans, Joe Ricardel) – 4:08
"Jimmie" (Diana Krall) – 5:26
"As Long as I Live" (Arlen, Koehler) – 4:42
"On the Sunny Side of the Street" (Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh) – 4:51

 

[Dennie]

Apasionado -- CD

Stan Getz

1989 A&M Records

This is Stan Getz at his very best, June 16, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Apasionado (Audio CD)

I don't know if this album received that much attention when it came out but I've been listening to it lately a lot. I'm a saxophone player, and Getz is not even usually one of my favorites. I always thought his sound was too lightweight or something. The only albums I liked were the early Bossa Nova ones, but not any more. He plays so soulfully on this album, it's like he's literally crying, wailing, and his sound is so beautiful and big and perfect intonation--all the more amazing since he had terminal cancer at the time of the recording. You would never know it. This is a very arranged album with lots of horns and synthesized instruments and percussion and lots of different styles and grooves, but don't let that discourage you because it's very intimate and Stan is the only soloist, blowing all the way through. Occasionally the arrangements are a little annoying. But the bottom line, if you like Stan Getz, buy this record, you won't be sorry.

Track Listing
1. Apasionado
2. Coba
3. Waltz for Stan
4. Española
5. Madrugada
6. Amorous Cat
7. Midnight Ride
8. Lonely Lady

 

[Dennie]

Quiet Now - Body And Soul -- CD

Stan Getz

2000 Verve Records

The Stan Getz volume in Verve's Quiet Now series is a stellar collection of ballads from the '50s and '60s when Getz and his bands led jazz polls continually. His bossa material, which is his best known, is represented here by three cuts -- and no, "Girl from Ipanema" is not one of them -- including "Corcovado." That said, it's his interpretations of standards such as "Little Girl Blue," "It Never Entered My Mind," "Sweet Rain," and "Serenade in Blue" that the great tenorman's true lyrical gift comes into play. Getz, who had all the chops to burn down the barn, is heard here in the shining light of restraint, where his airy tone drenched in fluid blues offers a poet's sense of gentility and elegance. This is one of the finest collections in the entire Verve series and paints a vivid portrait of the artist as a melodist of the highest ability. ~ Thom Jurek

Track listing

1. Body and Soul
2. Detour Ahead - (featuring Oscar Peterson)
3. It Never Entered My Mind
4. Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars)
5. Alfie
6. Sweet Rain - (featuring Chick Corea)
7. Melinda - (featuring Bill Evans)
8. O Grande Amor - (featuring Joao Gilberto/Antonio Carlos Jobim)
9. Early Autumn
10. Here's That Rainy Day
11. Serenade in Blue
12. I Remember When
13. Thanks for the Memory
14. Little Girl Blue
15. Insensatez (How Insensitive) - (featuring Antonio Carlos Jobim)

Personnel includes: Stan Getz (tenor saxophone); Joao Gilberto (vocals, guitar); Astrud Gilberto (vocals); Antonio Carlos Jobim, Oscar Peterson, Chick Corea, Bill Evans (piano).

 

[Dennie]

Softly As A Summer Breeze -- Remastered CD

The Incredible Jimmy Smith with Kenny Burrell & Philly Joe Jones

1960/2006 Blue Note Records

It's smooth and powerful with great ballad interpretations, January 23, 2000
By macfawlty "macfawlty" (potomac, MD USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Softly As a Summer Breeze (Audio CD)

I have the LP and will have to get the CD as well since there are 4 more songs on it. Don't shy away from these ballad albums, they are great and really show alot of depth and incredible mastery of the B3. I still have a ways to go to complement my 40 or so Jimmy LP's with the convenience of CD's.

"These Foolish Things" (Harry Link, Holt Marvell, Jack Strachey) - 5:27
"Hackensack" (Thelonious Monk) - 5:58
"It Could Happen to You" (Johnny Burke, Jimmy Van Heusen) - 6:16
"Sometimes I'm Happy" (Irving Caesar, Vincent Youmans) - 8:21
"Someone to Watch Over Me" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) - 6:30
"One for Philly Joe" [aka "Home Cookin'"] (Jimmy Smith) - 4:46
"Willow Weep for Me" (Ann Ronell) - 3:24 Bonus track on CD reissue
"Ain't No Use" (Leroy Kirkland, Sidney Wyche) - 2:40 Bonus track on CD reissue
"Angel Eyes" (Earl Brent, Matt Dennis) - 3:25 Bonus track on CD reissue
"Ain't That Love" (Ray Charles) - 2:45 Bonus track on CD reissue

Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey on February 26, 1958 (tracks 1-6) and October 14, 1958 (tracks 7-10)

 

[Dennie]

My last one for the evening....

Our Gang -- SACD

The Anthony Wilson Trio

2001 Groove Note Records

Anthony's Trio is Top Notch, June 2, 2001
By Ryan Meagher (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Our Gang (Audio CD)

I have heard many compare LA's hippest trio to the famous Larry Goldings organ trio Back East. Though they do share some qualities, I think Anthony Wilson's trio stands by itself. Originality, creativity, swing-feel, repertoire, and "outness," are all things that set Wilson's trio apart from Goldings'. This is not to say Goldings' trio does not do these things. Lord knows they do it as good, if not better than anyone, but the guys in Anthony's trio do the same things with their own spin. I also think Joe Bagg and Mark Ferber communicate to each other on their instruments as good as anyone in the business. This Groove Note release is a great example of some of the things this trio can do. As with most musicians, the experience is really felt when it is live! The same holds true for this amazing group, but their great sound is captured on this wonderful album. I thoroughly enjoyed it from front to back. I totally recommend buying it.

Our Gang
Chitlins Con Carne
Britta's Blues
Time Flies
Road Trip
Luck be A Lady
I Want You (She's So Heavy)
Prelude To A Kiss

 

[Dennie]

Today's work truck music....

Drag -- CD

K.D. Lang

1997 Warner Bros. Records

Amazon.com

Sensual, seductive, and above all smoky, the latest from k.d. lang is a collection of a dozen tunes that all have some connection to smoking--usually in the romantic, post-coital sense--done up in a lush, orchestrated fashion. Some of these tunes are standards, such as "Smoke Dreams" and "My Last Cigarette," while others are just plain strange selections given some of the oddest readings imaginable. Case in point: the cover of Steve Miller's "The Joker." lang's voice is an incredible instrument, and it's a treat to hear her vamping. But you have to wonder what she's up to, especially because she seems to just say no to tobacco herself, --Jim Derogatis

"Don't Smoke in Bed" (Willard Robison) – 3:22
"The Air That I Breathe" (Albert Hammond, Mike Hazelwood) – 5:58
"Smoke Dreams" (John Klenner, Lloyd Shaffer, Ted Steele) – 3:49
"My Last Cigarette" (Gary Clark, Boo Hewerdine, Neill MacColl) – 4:09
"The Joker" (Eddie Curtis, Ahmet Ertegün, Steve Miller) – 4:44
"Theme from the Valley of the Dolls" (Dory Langdon, Andre Previn) – 3:02
"Your Smoke Screen" (David Barbe) – 2:29
"My Old Addiction" (David Wilcox) – 6:39
"Till the Heart Caves In" (T-Bone Burnett, Bob Neuwirth, Roy Orbison) – 3:30
"Smoke Rings" (Gene Gifford, Ned Washington) – 3:36
"Hain't It Funny" (Jane Siberry) – 6:23
"Love Is Like a Cigarette" (Jerome Jerome, Walter Kent, Richard Byron) – 4:45

 

[PaulyT]

Nice mix of (classical piano & ensemble) music in this one. If you want a reasonably priced box set of a pretty wide variety of classical piano music, this is a good one.

 

[Dennie]

Sextet -- SACD

Cal Tjader & Stan Getz

1958/2004 Fantasy Records

Best of the Tjader SACDs, June 26, 2009
By Daniel P. Rimsa - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: Stan Getz with Cal Tjader (Audio CD)

Imaginative, vibrant and great SACD sound. The band includes Vince Guaraldi, Scott LeFaro, Billy Higgins and Eddie Duran. Recorded in 1958 when they were all at the top of their game. The SACD mastering is well done and this is a hybrid so you can play it anywhere. The compositions are imaginative and exciting. One of my favorite jazz discs and I play it often.

Track Listing
1. Ginza Samba
2. I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face
3. For All We Know
4. Crow's Nest
5. Liz-Anne
6. Big Bear
7. My Buddy

 

[Dennie]

This is my last one for the evening....

Shooting Rubber Bands At The Stars -- CD

Edie Brickell & New Bohemians

1988 Geffen Records

Still My Favorite Group, November 17, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Shooting Rubberbands At The Stars (Audio CD)

Just buy this c.d. Until you hear it for yourself, there is nothing more I can say about it that will do justice to the lyrical and musical quality of Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians' songs. If you haven't heard other material by this group, check out "Ghost of a Dog," and (Edie solo) "Picture Perfect Morning." They are equally stellar accomplishments despite the lack of media attention. Go to bodyofwater.com/edie and post messages on the board to let the band know that their fans are still out here!

1. "What I Am" Edie Brickell, Kenny Withrow 4:54
2. "Little Miss S." Brickell, Withrow, Brad Houser, Brandon Aly, John Bush 3:37
3. "Air of December" Brickell, Withrow, Houser, Aly, Bush 5:54
4. "The Wheel" Brickell, Withrow, Houser, Aly, Bush 3:53
5. "Love Like We Do" Brickell 3:13
6. "Circle" Brickell, Withrow 3:11
7. "Beat the Time" Brickell, Withrow 2:58
8. "She" Brickell, Withrow, Houser, Aly, Bush 5:06
9. "Nothing" Brickell, Withrow 4:49
10. "Now" Brickell, Withrow, Houser, Aly, Bush 6:00
11. "Keep Coming Back" Brickell 2:42
12. "I Do" (Hidden track) Brickell 2:00

 

[heeman]

The Big Brown Truck came yesterday and brought me some new stuff!!

This Concert and it's Video/Audio is just simply AMAZING:

 

[heeman]

Watched this last night also:

I hate to say this, but this was shot approx. 6 months before Gary died, and he looked like absolute SH&*!!!!

 

[Botch]

The Big Brown Truck came yesterday and brought me some new stuff!!

This Concert and it's Video/Audio is just simply AMAZING:

One of my "demo" disks; you can see the individual threads in Chick's shirt, and the color sunbursts on those PRS guitars just pop!
(oh yeah, the music ain't bad, either!) :eusa-clap: :eusa-clap: :eusa-clap:

 

[nats]

Watched this last night also:

I hate to say this, but this was shot approx. 6 months before Gary died, and he looked like absolute SH&*!!!!

I have his live from montreaux 1990 --its great,i will have to check out this playlist. thanks