What Are You Listening To?

[Dennie]

His Band And The Street Choir -- CD

Van Morrison

1970 Warner Bros. Records

Amazon.com
His Band and the Street Choir appeared at a time--1970--when Van Morrison was building on the great critical successes of Astral Weeks and Moondance. His third Warner Bros. album contains a number of radio-friendly tracks clearly aimed at the singles market and few clues of the serious, brooding melancholy of Astral Weeks. Kicking off with the jaunty "Domino," the album is generally dominated by uptempo swingers such as "Call Me Up in Dreamland," "Give Me a Kiss," and "Blue Money." The cover photography and liner notes by then wife Janet Planet reveal a smiling Morrison and hint at a newfound personal contentment. This mood did not last long after Van left the artists' community of Woodstock. But even here, in "I'll Be Your Lover Too" and "Crazy Face," there are moments that are essential listening for fans of his sullen splendor and mysticism. --Rob Stewart

Side one

"Domino" – 3:06
"Crazy Face" – 2:56
"Give Me a Kiss (Just One Sweet Kiss)" – 2:30
"I've Been Working" – 3:25
"Call Me Up in Dreamland" – 3:52
"I'll Be Your Lover, Too" – 3:57

Side two

"Blue Money" – 3:40
"Virgo Clowns" – 4:10
"Gypsy Queen" – 3:16
"Sweet Jannie" – 2:11
"If I Ever Needed Someone" – 3:45
"Street Choir" – 4:43

 

[Dennie]

Blow By Blow -- Remastered CD

Jeff Beck

1773/2001 Epic Records

Amazon.com

His guitar-slinging contributions to the Yardbirds having dwarfed those of Eric Clapton or Jimmy Page, Mrs. Beck's bad boy spent the next several years playing blues-rock (the Jeff Beck Group with Rod Stewart), soul-rock (the second edition of that band), and leading a power trio. Then, he made this all-instrumental album, which was a huge 1975 success. Produced by George Martin, the nine-song session finds Beck fronting a keyboards-bass-drums outfit, augmented by some tastefully unobtrusive string arrangements. Call it a jazz-fusion album at your own risk. While Beck's playing is less in-your-face than his previous efforts, all the fierce attack, thick tone, microtonal bends, distortion, feedback, vibrato, sustain, sonic hoodoo, and rhythmic and harmonic creativity that the man's fans have come to know and love can be heard here. "Freeway Jam" boasts the most memorable melody and thus remains a Classic Rock staple to this day. "Cause We've Ended As Lovers"--written by Stevie Wonder--is Beck's gorgeous tribute to one of his own guitar-heroes, the now-deceased Roy Buchanan. --Don Waller

Side one
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "You Know What I Mean" Jeff Beck, Max Middleton 4:05
2. "She's A Woman" John Lennon and Paul McCartney 4:31
3. "Constipated Duck" Jeff Beck 2:48
4. "Air Blower" Beck, Middleton, Phil Chen, Richard Bailey 5:09
5. "Scatterbrain" Jeff Beck, Max Middleton 5:39
Side two
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Cause We've Ended As Lovers" Stevie Wonder 5:52
2. "Thelonius" Stevie Wonder 3:16
3. "Freeway Jam" Max Middleton 4:58
4. "Diamond Dust" Bernie Holland 8:26

 

[Dennie]

Greatest Hits -- CD

Janis O'Joplin

1973 Columbia Records

More than Cheap Thrills or even Pearl, Greatest Hits has helped keep Janis Joplin's short-lived recording career alive for listeners who came along after her 1970 death. "Me and Bobby McGee" is the biggest draw, of course--it was a posthumous No. 1 single--but the rest is equally exciting. Despite the familiarity of the titles here, this goes far beyond the merely serviceable. Finally, the cover photo of Janis smiling in a sunny park is as poignant a shot of her as exists. --Rickey Wright

"Piece of My Heart" (Bert Berns, Jerry Ragovoy) – 4:14
"Summertime" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Dubose Heyward) – 4:02
"Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)" (Ragovoy, Chip Taylor) – 3:57
"Cry Baby" (Berns, Ragovoy) – 4:00
"Me and Bobby McGee" (Fred Foster, Kris Kristofferson) – 4:34
"Down on Me" (Janis Joplin) – 3:09
"Get It While You Can" (Ragovoy, Mort Shuman) – 3:27
"Bye, Bye Baby" (Powell St. John) – 2:37
"Move Over" (Joplin) – 3:44
"Ball and Chain" (Big Mama Thornton) – 7:59

 

[Dennie]

Live From Dublin - A Tribute to Derek Bell -- CD

The Chieftains

2005 RCA Victor

Amazon.com

Derek Bell (1935-2002), the Chieftains' longtime harpist, was a former child prodigy who mastered the piano, several woodwinds and even the cimbalom, which he played on Maurice Jarre's soundtrack to Doctor Zhivago. He was already a noted classical composer and multi-instrumentalist by the time he picked up the harp in mid-life, but it soon consumed him. After meeting Paddy Moloney in 1972, he sat in on the Chieftains 4, still one of the group's finest albums. His unexpected death left surviving band-mates bereft but typically, they decided to celebrate his life with the music he loved so dearly. Drawn from two memorial concerts which were aired on Irish radio, the selections exemplify the Chieftains' twin doctrines of Celtic authenticity and global inclusion. But after the joy and remembrance, Triona Marshal, alone with her harp, plays the Farewell To Music. There could not have been a dry eye in the house. --Christina Roden

"The Timpán Reel" – 3:12
"Opening Medley: Brian Boru's March/Nine Points Of Roguery (reel)/The Magpie - Pretty Girls (reels)" – 5:52
"Down the Old Plank Road" – 2:19
"Derek's Tune: The Geese And Bright Love" – 3:50
"Galician Medley: Never Trust A Man's Love/Mazurka/Guadalupe/Múneura de Jios/Duelling Chanters" – 7:59
"Ellen Browne" – 3:02
"Medley: Banish Misfortune/Morning Dew/Arkansas Traveller (reel)/Wild Irishman (reel)" – 6:03
"Oiche Nollag (Christmas Eve)" – 2:51
"Fionnghuala" (Performed by Anúna) – 1:52
"Carrickfergus" – 6:02
"I'll Tell Me Ma" (Sung by Ronnie Drew) - 2:50
"Tá An Choileach Ag Fógairt An Lae (3 Pipes)" - 2:33
"Ottawa Valley Dance" - 1:52
"Finale" - 12:55
"Farewell to Music" - 3:13

 

[Dennie]

At Club "Baby Grand" Wilimington, Deleware Vol. 1 -- Remastered CD

The Incredible Jimmy Smith

1956/2008 Blue Note Records

Jimmy Smith in Grand Form at the Baby Grand, July 3, 2008
By Michael B. Richman (Portland, Maine USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Live at the Club Baby Grand, Vol. 1 (Audio CD)

Most of the recent Blue Note RVG Edition titles are reissued, remastered titles that simply have been out of print on CD for a time. By contrast, both volumes of Jimmy Smith's "Live at the Baby Grand" have never been available domestically on disc until now, a most welcome release indeed! Recorded on April 4, 1956, in the jazz hotbed (?) of Wilmington, Delaware (my birthplace, BTW), this is the organist at his raw, jaw-dropping best. You really do get the feeling of what those original jazz fans and curiousity seekers must have felt when first going to a Jimmy Smith show -- the Charlie Parker of the organ, let's see what the buzz is all about! While these sessions do a marvelous job of capturing that energy, they also have their shortcomings. In order to get that great live feel, a certain muddiness does come to the forefront at times on certain tunes, particularly when Smith plays those extended left hand chords during his solos, which I have to say get tedious at times -- revolutionary back then, a bit humdrum now. Also make no mistake, this is the Jimmy Smith show, and guitarist Thornel Schwartz and drummer Donald Bailey are simply along for the ride, with minimal contributions and an often distant placement in the mix. And while I'm being critical, let me also mention that each CD logs in at around 45 minutes, just long enough so that these volumes could not be squeezed on to one CD. But still Blue Note should have done something -- released this RVG as a value-priced two-fer, or uncovered some additional bonus tracks in the vaults (come on Cuscuna!) -- to make it more substantial than the original vinyl. However, these are minor quibbles with a set that I am delighted to see back in print.
Volume One

Introduction by Mitch Thomas - 0:59
"Sweet Georgia Brown" (Ben Bernie, Kenneth Casey, Maceo Pinkard) - 9:33
"Where or When" (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers) - 9:17
"The Preacher" (Horace Silver) - 11:55
"Rosetta" (Earl Hines, Henri Woode) - 10:08

 

[Dennie]

Now,Volume 2....... :bow-blue:

Volume Two

"Caravan" (Duke Ellington, Irving Mills, Juan Tizol) - 10:18
"Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" (Sammy Fain, Paul Francis Webster 10:46
"Get Happy" (Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler) - 7:27
"It's Alright with Me" (Cole Porter) - 11:53

Recorded at Club Baby Grand in Wilmington, Delaware on August 4, 1956

 

[Dennie]

Motorcycle Cowboy - Live at Billy Bob's Texas -- CD

Merle O'Haggard

2000 Smith Music Group

As Advertised: "The Ultimate 'Hag' Album", March 4, 2005
By Brent A. Anthonisen "Johnny Sideburns" (Alpharetta, GA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: Live at Billy Bob's Texas (Audio CD)

Considering how long Merle Haggard has been not only a recording artist but an absolute GIANT in the industry it's really surprising that there aren't a lot more live compilations of his work out there.

This one's been around for a few years and as a career retrospective/greatest hits/REALLY WELL-RECORDED live set it is awfully hard to beat, especially on a single disc. I'd have to short-list this as one of the concerts throughout the history of music I would have really loved to have attended.

Whether you enjoy crying in your beer or just drinkin' it, Merle has got you covered in "The World's Largest Honky-Tonk", Billy Bob's of Texas. The crowd is obviously into it, the band is absolutely sharp as a tack, and Merle's sixty-something year-old whiskey-aged voice has never sounded better. The overall sound mix is terrific; all instruments are heard clearly and the lead/back-up vocal arrangements are superb. This has to have been one of the best concerts the man has ever played.

The songs themselves are a primer to country music history, and certainly offer as good an introduction to Hag's work as anyone could hope for. Possibly the only standard missing in this set is "The Fightin' Side Of Me", but with "I Think I'll Just Stay Here And Drink", "Workin' Man Blues", "Silver Wings", "Swinging Doors", "The Bottle Let Me Down", "Misery & Gin" (notice a pattern here?), "The Emptiest Arms In The World", "Mama Tried", "Today I Started Loving You Again", "Okie From Muskogee" (of course), "Big City", and "If We Make It Through December" (the song most responsible for getting me through my own layoff in 2003), you get a reall phenomenal collection of music played with a vibrancy that frankly studio recordings (even Hag's) just don't seem to pull off.

Just an incredible set...see this guy live if you get half a chance; if you can't see him, but this CD. Any country music or Southern Rock fan needs to own this. Anyone who was ever remotely curious as to why Merle Haggard is as well-regarded as he is needs only to listen to this CD once to understand completely.

Misery & Gin
I Think I'll Just Stay Here And Drink
Workin' Man Blues
Silver Wings
Swinging Doors
That's The Way Love Goes
The Bottle Let Me Down
Ramblin' Fever
The Emptiest Arms In The World
Mama Tried
Hungry Eyes
Medley: Motorcycle Cowboy / Blue Yodel #13
If We Make It Through December
Are the Good Times Really Over
Okie From Muskogee
Big City
Ida Red
Today I Started Loving You Again

 

[Dennie]

am I not your girl? -- CD

Sinead O'Connor

1992 Ensign Records

Swing Sister Swing, December 30, 2005
By Leafsfan2028 (magnolia, tx, usa) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Am I Not Your Girl (Audio CD)

I had no idea what I was getting into when I purchased this CD. I was expecting more of the bitter, raw, politically driven music I have come to love. Boy was this a curve ball! But, behold, it is brilliant.

Sinead, in her oh so beautiful voice, provides a journey back to the swing era. Picture this fair lass in a smoky night club surrounded by a large band, playing music that congers up pictures of couples slow dancing, sipping scotch and wearing their Sunday best.

Ths CD offers a mix of slow and outright hopping tracks. I am thrilled I found this diamond in the rough.


1. Why Don't You Do Right
2. Bewitched Bothered And Bewildered
3. Secret Love
4. Black Coffee
5. Success Has Made A Failure Of Our Home
6. Don't Cry For Me Argentina
7. I Wanna Be Loved By You
8. Gloomy Sunday
9. Love Letters
10. How Insensitive
11. Don't Cry For Me Argentina (Insturmental)

 

[Dennie]

My last one for the evening.....

Duets -- CD

Emmylou Harris

1990 Reprise Records

This is a gorgeous album!, December 15, 1999
By Vincent E. Vizachero (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: Duets (Audio CD)

I consider this album to be one of the most enjoyable Emmylou Harris albums in my collection. Emmylou has a wonderful voice, and I think it works so wonderfully in duets that music fans would be short-changing themselves if they missed out on this masterpiece.

Comprised primarily (perhaps entirely) of previously released material, "Duets" is a tribute to Harris' vocal beauty and skills at interpretation (and her skill at picking singing partners). Each song is strong in its own right,and yet the album is something more than the sum of its parts. The brilliance of Harris' performances and the variety of her partners is truly impressive.

What sets this CD apart from many of Emmylou Harris' solo efforts is that this is a collection of uniformly well-written songs performed by Harris in her vocal prime. With the exception of "Wrecking Ball," none of her solo albums resonate with me as deeply as this one. From the familiar classic cuts ("Love Hurts" and "That Lovin' You Feelin' Again") to the surprises (a great(? ) rousing John Denver song and a definitive version of Townes Van Zandt's "If I Needed You" with Don Williams), Emmylou shines brightly and consistently throughout this album. And here peformance with Willie Nelson on "Gulf Coast Highway" is truly fabulous.

The Amazon.com review notwithstanding, I think this is a fine introduction to Emmylou Harris (it certainly was for me). If you appreciate brilliant vocal harmonies, you'll appreciate this one.

"The Price I Pay" [with the Desert Rose Band] (Chris Hillman, Bill Wilds) - 2:58
"Love Hurts" [with Gram Parsons] (Boudleaux Bryant) - 3:40
"That Lovin' You Feelin' Again" [with Roy Orbison] (Roy Orbison, Chris Price) - 4:00
"We Believe in Happy Endings" [with Earl Thomas Conley] (Bob McDill) - 3:34
"Thing About You" [with Southern Pacific] (Tom Petty) - 3:51
"Star of Bethlehem" [with Neil Young] (Neil Young) - 2:43
"All Fall Down" [with George Jones] (Ron Peterson, Harlan Howard) - 3:19
"Wild Montana Skies" [with John Denver] (John Denver) - 4:02
"Green Pastures" [with Ricky Skaggs] (Van Hoose) - 3:08
"Gulf Coast Highway" [with Willie Nelson] (Nanci Griffith, Danny Flowers, James Hooker) - 3:09
"If I Needed You" [with Don Williams] (Townes Van Zandt) - 3:35
"Evangeline" [with The Band] (Robbie Robertson) - 3:10

 

[Dennie]

Monterey Concerts -- Remastered CD

Cal Tjader

1959/1989 Prestige Records

Originally released on vinyl as the two-volume CAL TJADER'S CONCERT BY THE SEA in 1959, THE MONTEREY CONCERTS is the vibraphonist/percussionist's breakthrough recording under any name. The bass-less, percussion-heavy lineup--Tjader on vibes, Willie Bobo on drums and timbales, Mongo Santamaria on bongos, Lonnie Hewitt on piano, and Paul Horn on flute--offers a curious mixture of Latin rhythms and the sort of West Coast cool pioneered by Tjader's former employer Dave Brubeck. Evenly balanced between standards given Tjader-style cool arrangements and band originals like Santamaria's classic "Afro Blue" (given a definitive reading here, with the exception of John Coltrane's 1963 take), THE MONTEREY CONCERTS captures Tjader's best band at their collective peak, and is essential listening for all fans of Tjader's unique brand of Latin jazz.

Track Listing
1. Doxy
2. Afro Blue
3. Laura
4. Walkin' With Wally
5. We'll Be Together Again
6. 'Round Midnight
7. Love Me or Leave Me
8. Tu Crees Que?
9. S.S. Groove
10. Night in Tunisia, A
11. Bess, You Is My Woman Now
12. Lover, Come Back to Me
13. Tumbao

Personnel: Cal Tjader (vibes), Paul Horn (flute), Lonnie Hewitt (piano), Willie Bobo (drums, timbales) and Mongo Santamaria (bongos, percussion).Recorded April 20, 1959

 

[Dennie]

The Song Is You -- CD

Stan Getz

1969/1996 LaserLight Digital

If any album by Stan Getz could be termed a sleeper, this one would be it. Released by producer Sonny Lester on his LRC label, and relatively unheralded due to distribution factors or sketchy information, this apparently is a summertime 1969 concert festival performance done somewhere in Italy. A scant few years away from teaming up with Chick Corea for the 1972 Captain Marvel date, this version of the Getz quartet is a dynamic coalition, including pianist Stanley Cowell, bassist Miroslav Vitous, and drummer Jack DeJohnette, all young and extraordinarily individualistic modern jazzmen. Getz sounds as good as he ever did, retaining some of the bossa nova tunes that boosted his rise to super stardom while allowing room for his bandmembers to bring in their own compositions and provide them a solo spotlight. Cowell is especially bold and euphoric, whether by design or his personal will power, displaying immense taste and inventiveness that also served him well during his time as a leader on his pivotal 1969 Black Lion/Arista-Freedom date Traveling Man aka Blues for the Viet Cong. From the opening strains of the title track "The Song Is You," it's clear something special is happening, as an extrapolated intro fueled by Cowell's piano expands the theme before it is settled and stated by Getz. Never straying far from his stylized bossa nova, Getz does four songs of Antonio Carlos Jobim's, anchored by the thick and sinewy basslines of Vitous during "O Grade Amor" and "Summer Night," mixing and matching contrasting implied beats courtesy of DeJohnette, 27-years-old at this time but already defining his signature sound. The drummer also composed the short, sweet, and spontaneous ballad "For Jane," and the multi-directional "Major General," morphing from the pedal point bass of Vitous to swing and bop as tight as can be, the rhythm section charged with kinetic energy. Cowell wrote "Dane's Chant," in a loose-tight churning whirl of 6/8 time inserted in 4/4 similar to a Dizzy Gillespie theme. As this is a Getz led date, you get the expected smooth and rounded tenor which he had developed in the '60s. His quietude is rendered in freer moods for the jazz/bossa medley "Tonight I Shall Sleep/Desafinado," while completely and purposefully restrained on "All the Things You Are." Vitous, at age 22, plays an unaccompanied solo, at times obtuse or harmonically sour, but lithe, quick, and diverse during "Folk Tune for Bass," advanced far beyond his years. The two-minute finale "One Note Samba" features an unattributed vocalist singing in mixed English and Portuguese, sounding similar to Flora Purim, but perhaps an Italian friend of Getz. The Song Is You is a missing link between a less than successful teaming with Bill Evans, and the more modern quartet music Getz played thereafter with Corea, Jimmy Rowles, Joanne Brackeen, or Kenny Barron. It's a very worthwhile item to own if you search for it, well recorded and performed by a group that could collectively be the most purely talented of any you might find who ever backed up Stan Getz. ~ Michael G. Nastos

Track Listing
1. Song Is You, The
2. O Grande Amor
3. For Jane
4. Dane's Chant
5. Major General
6. Folk Tune For Bass
7. Tonight I Shall Sleep / Desafinado
8. All the Things You Are
9. Summer Night
10. One Note Samba

Personnel: Stan Getz (tenor saxophone); Stanley Cowell (piano); Miroslav Vitous (bass); Jack DeJohnette (drums).Recorded in 1969.

 

[Dennie]

Then you put them both together..... :bow-blue:

Sextet -- SACD

Cal Tjader Stan Getz

1958/2004 Fantasy Records

STAN GETZ WITH CAL TJADER is a classic, not only because it pairs the renowned tenor player (Getz) with the great vibraphonist (Tjader), but because the additional personnel on the session make it something of an all-star date. Drummer Billy Higgins, still some time away from his work on the groundbreaking experiments of Ornette Coleman, appears here on one of his first sessions. Bassist Scott LaFaro, who would achieve fame as a member of Bill Evans's legendary trio, also makes an early appearance. Pianist Vince Guaraldi, a leader and composer in his own right (his "Ginza Samba" is one of the highlights on the set), sits in, as does fleet-fingered guitarist Eddie Duran.The ensemble--which has a lively, robust sound due to the instrumentation--moves effortlessly between highly lyrical ballads and fierce, up-tempo bop. The set includes several Tjader tunes, including the smart and swinging "Crow's Nest" and "Big Bear," while the group's treatment of the standard "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" displays remarkable sensitivity and sweetness. Though Tjader and Getz are naturally in the forefront throughout--they both balance shimmering, cool tones with dazzling dexterity--there is fine soloing from all involved, making this a consistently superb set.

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

Personnel: Stan Getz (tenor saxophone); Cal Tjader (vibraphone); Vince Guaraldi (piano); Eddie Duran (guitar); Scott LaFaro (bass); Billy Higgins (drums).Recorded at Circle Record Studios, San Francisco, California on February 8, 1958.

 

[heeman]

Blow By Blow -- Remastered CD

Jeff Beck

1773/2001 Epic Records

Amazon.com

His guitar-slinging contributions to the Yardbirds having dwarfed those of Eric Clapton or Jimmy Page, Mrs. Beck's bad boy spent the next several years playing blues-rock (the Jeff Beck Group with Rod Stewart), soul-rock (the second edition of that band), and leading a power trio. Then, he made this all-instrumental album, which was a huge 1975 success. Produced by George Martin, the nine-song session finds Beck fronting a keyboards-bass-drums outfit, augmented by some tastefully unobtrusive string arrangements. Call it a jazz-fusion album at your own risk. While Beck's playing is less in-your-face than his previous efforts, all the fierce attack, thick tone, microtonal bends, distortion, feedback, vibrato, sustain, sonic hoodoo, and rhythmic and harmonic creativity that the man's fans have come to know and love can be heard here. "Freeway Jam" boasts the most memorable melody and thus remains a Classic Rock staple to this day. "Cause We've Ended As Lovers"--written by Stevie Wonder--is Beck's gorgeous tribute to one of his own guitar-heroes, the now-deceased Roy Buchanan. --Don Waller

Side one
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "You Know What I Mean" Jeff Beck, Max Middleton 4:05
2. "She's A Woman" John Lennon and Paul McCartney 4:31
3. "Constipated Duck" Jeff Beck 2:48
4. "Air Blower" Beck, Middleton, Phil Chen, Richard Bailey 5:09
5. "Scatterbrain" Jeff Beck, Max Middleton 5:39
Side two
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Cause We've Ended As Lovers" Stevie Wonder 5:52
2. "Thelonius" Stevie Wonder 3:16
3. "Freeway Jam" Max Middleton 4:58
4. "Diamond Dust" Bernie Holland 8:26

One of my all time favorite Jeff Beck albums!!

 

[Dennie]

Peace To The Neighborhood -- CD

Pops Staples

1992 Pointblank/Charisma Records

The septuagenarian Pop Staples puts a lot of younger performers to shame with his integrity-laden solo release Peace to the Neighbourhood. The founder of The Staples Singers combines joyous soul and gospel with swampy funk and blues. Of course, it doesn't hurt to have the rest of The Staples, and admirers Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, and Ry Cooder along for the ride. Includes the street-wise, anti-drug-culture "Miss Cocaine." ~ Roch Parisien

Track Listing
1. World in Motion
2. Love Is a Precious Thing
3. America
4. Down in Mississippi
5. This May Be the Last Time
6. Peace to the Neighborhood
7. Miss Cocaine
8. Pray on My Child
9. Pray
10. I Shall Not Be Moved

 

[mazersteven]

Shinedown - Somewhere In The Stratosphere :music-rockout:

Disc 2
1. Heroes
2. Save Me
3. If You Only Knew
4. Sound of Madness
5. Shed Some Light
6. 45
7. I Dare You
8. Times Like These
9. The Crow & the Butterfly
10. Burning Bright
11. Devour
12. Call Me
13. Fly from the Inside
14. With a Little Help from My Friends
15. Simple Man
16. Second Chance

Somewhere In The Stratosphere is a deluxe 2 CD/2 DVD package that includes audio and video from two full live sets, one acoustic and one electric, from platinum recording group Shinedown. Somewhere in the Stratosphere includes performances from a Washington state concert and their most recent Anything and Everything: An Acoustic Evening With Shinedown tour.

Shinedown's live performances (both full power and unplugged) give an unsparing look into the soul and psyche amidst a fierce musical attack that, even in its quieter moments, vibrate with the passion, energy and focus of a band with high-minded ideals and limitless ambitions.

 

[Dennie]

Shinedown - Somewhere In The Stratosphere :music-rockout:

Disc 2
1. Heroes
2. Save Me
3. If You Only Knew
4. Sound of Madness
5. Shed Some Light
6. 45
7. I Dare You
8. Times Like These
9. The Crow & the Butterfly
10. Burning Bright
11. Devour
12. Call Me
13. Fly from the Inside
14. With a Little Help from My Friends
15. Simple Man
16. Second Chance

Somewhere In The Stratosphere is a deluxe 2 CD/2 DVD package that includes audio and video from two full live sets, one acoustic and one electric, from platinum recording group Shinedown. Somewhere in the Stratosphere includes performances from a Washington state concert and their most recent Anything and Everything: An Acoustic Evening With Shinedown tour.

Shinedown's live performances (both full power and unplugged) give an unsparing look into the soul and psyche amidst a fierce musical attack that, even in its quieter moments, vibrate with the passion, energy and focus of a band with high-minded ideals and limitless ambitions.

Good to see you Mazer!


Dennie bscene-drinkingcheers:

 

[Dennie]

Stir It Up - The Music Of Bob Marley -- SACD

Monty Alexander

2001 Telarc Jazz

Amazon.com

The Jamaican-born pianist Monty Alexander has worked with musicians such as Milt Jackson, Dizzy Gillespie, and Sonny Rollins, but over the years he has always managed to wed North American improvisation to reggae and Jamaican folk rhythms. This CD is a happy hybrid of all of the above. Alexander weaves his American rhythm section consisting of drummer Troy Davis, bassist Hassan Shakur, and guitarist Derrick Di Cenzo with the five-man Jamaican ensemble Gumption--who back up dancehall stars like Buju Banton: drummer Rolando Alphonso, guitarist Robert Angus, keyboardist Dwight Dawes, bassist Glen Brownie, and percussionist Desy Jones. The result: Imagine the Nat King Cole Trio sitting in with the Wailers and you'll get the CD's boppish island-breezed vibe. Alexander and crew stick to Marley's melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic structures. Spliff anthem "Jamming," title tune "Kaya," and "Could You Be Loved" can rock any sports utility vehicle or summer festival, while "Heathen" rings with Alexander's raindrop chords, piercing melodica, and ethereal tonal shadings. The ska-guitar scratches drive "Is This Love?" and Alexander's gospelish pianisms echo Marley's loving laments on "No Woman No Cry." Steve Turre makes a guest appearance and his splendid seashell sound heralds "I Shot the Sheriff." Alexander's plaintive composition "Nesta"--Marley's middle name--is spiced by Jones's Rastafarian nyabinghi conga rhythms and completes this jazzy "jump up" carnival. --Eugene Holley Jr.

Track listing

1. Jammin'
2. Kaya
3. Heathen, The
4. Could You Be Loved
5. Running Away
6. Stir It Up
7. Is This Love?
8. No Woman No Cry
9. Crisis
10. I Shot the Sheriff
11. So Ja Sah
12. Nesta (He Touched the Sky)
13. Could You Be Loved - (Extended Remix, extended remix, bonus track, featuring Sly Dunbar)

 

[Dennie]

McCoy Tyner and The Latin All-Stars -- SACD

1999 Telarc Jazz

Legendary pianist Tyner made his name as a hard-bopper without equal, but as his solo career has shown, he's always been forward-looking enough to keep progressing and exploring new avenues of musical expression. This album is no exception, as Tyner teams up with Latin jazz hotshots like flautist Dave Valentin and percussionists Johny Almendra and Giovanni Hidalgo for a program that mixes the pianist's original compositions with tunes by the likes of Ahmad Jamal and Kenny Dorham, all given a Latin jazz feel. While some of the musicians are best known for distinctly non-Latin efforts (Gary Bartz, Avery Sharpe, Steve Turre), they fall right into the irresistible lilt of the arrangements' Latin syncopation. Naturally, Tyner is the star of the show, as his widescreen comping and bold, barnstorming solos take center stage, but there's plenty of first class blowing from Bartz, Turre and trumpeter Claudio Roditi.

Track listing

1. Festival in Bahia
2. Poinciana
3. Afro Blue
4. Song for Love, A
5. Habana Sol, La
6. We Are Our Fathers' Sons
7. Blue Bossa

Personnel: McCoy Tyner (piano); Gary Bartz (saxophone); Claudio Roditi (trumpet, flugelhorn); Steve Turre (trombone, shells); Dave Valentin (flute); Avery Sharpe (bass); Ignacio Berroa (drums); Johnny Almendra (timbales); Giovanni Hidalgo (percussion).

 

[Dennie]

Pearls -- CD

David Sanborn

1995 Elektra Records

Alto saxophonist David Sanborn has been among the most recognizable solo voices in American popular music since his '70s breakthroughs with Stevie Wonder and David Bowie. Sanborn's big, garrulous tone and acidic attack recall some of the greatest players to walk the line between R&B and jazz, people like David "Fathead" Newman, Hank Crawford and Louis Jordan. But for all his considerable commercial success as a top session man and contemporary jazz star, Sanborn has never been content to simply tarry with the tried and true. In that spirit, his resume also includes such adventurous fare as his sideman work on Tim Berne's 1993 session, DIMINUTIVE MYSTERIES (MOSTLY HEMPHILL).

With PEARLS, Sanborn has stepped up in class to make the kind of elegant, lyrical saxophone recital his talent always promised he had in him. And as Christian McBride's huge acoustic bass and Steve Gadd's whispering drums emerge from the dark landscape of Johnny Mandel's sweeping romantic charts on "Willow Weep For Me," it's clear that Sanborn is at the top of his game. Each note is burnished in amber, as his expressive trademark vibrato shades his alto lines with taut vocal urgency, even as his piping tone ascends to places few vocalists dare to tread (as in the concluding passages to "Everything Must Change").

And on those tracks where Sanborn teams up with vocalists, the expressive timbre of his horn is set off in sharp relief. Jimmy Scott's halting, teardrop vibrato adds a note of lonely desperation to "For All We Know," as Sanborn answers with Bird-like phrases; and Oleta Adams teams up with the saxophonist to transform Carole Bayer Sager/Marvin Hamlisch's "Nobody Does It Better" into a fervent gospel testimony.

David Sanborn is joined on this CD by an orchestra arranged by Johnny Mandel for a set of music dominated by melodic versions of standards. Sanborn does not get all that far away from the themes (which include "Try a Little Tenderness," "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," "For All We Know," "This Masquerade" and a very emotional "Everything Must Change" in addition to a few newer songs) but his sound is so soulful and full of passion that he does not really need to improvise much to make his point. It's a fine change of pace for the highly influential altoist. ~ Scott Yanow

Track listing

1. Willow Weep For Me
2. Try a Little Tenderness
3. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
4. Pearls
5. For All We Know
6. Come Rain or Come Shine
7. This Masquerade
8. Everything Must Change
9. Superstar
10. Nobody Does It Better

 

[Dennie]

The Rare Delight of You -- SACD

John Pizzarelli with The George Shearing Quintet

2002 Telarc Jazz

Amazon.com

The CD photo of this intergenerational collaboration between guitarist-vocalist John Pizzarelli and pianist George Shearing resembles the cover of the 1961 LP Nat King Cole Plays, George Shearing Plays. Like that legendary recording, this project offers clean and lean jazz. The pianist is backed by a combo featuring vibraphonist Ted Piltzecker and drummer Dennis Mackrel. With Pizzarelli's laid-back vocals, the group delivers some beautiful new songs and interesting interpretations of pop standards made famous by Cole, Nancy Wilson, and Peggy Lee. Their version of "If Dreams Come" has an ingenious contrapuntal guitar-piano breakdown. On "The Lady's with You," Shearing slyly drops in a few bars of Duke Ellington's "I'm Beginning to See the Light." And "Something to Remember Me By" has melodic tinges from Claude Thornhill's "Snowflake." "Lost April" captures Pizzarelli and Shearing in a heartfelt duet. Shearing's no-frills piano lines and Pizzarelli's bouncy guitar work are inspired and in-the-pocket. --Eugene Holley Jr.

1. If Dreams Come True
2. The Lady's In Love With You
3. Everything Happens To Me
4. Lulu's Back In Town
5. Something To Remeber You By
6. Lemon Twist
7. Lost Apirl
8. Problem
9. The Rare Delight Of You
10. Shine On Your Shoes
11. Indian Summer
12. Be Careful It's My Heart
13. September In The Rain
14. I Predicit (2001)
15. Lucky To Be Me