What Are You Listening To?

[Dennie]

Sonny Rollins Plus 4 -- CD

Sonny Rollins

1956/1987 Prestige/OJC Records

Amazon.com

The tenor saxophonist is listed as the leader, but Sonny Rollins Plus Four is nothing other than the Clifford Brown-Max Roach Quintet recording for a different label (Prestige rather than Emarcy) in 1956 mere months before Brown's tragic death at age 25 in a car crash. One of the great ensembles in jazz history, the Quintet shows its inventiveness and rhythmic daring were at their peak in such numbers as "Valse Hot" and Rollins's "Pent-Up House." The only flaw of the 32-minute album is that it--like Clifford Brown's life--is too short. --David Horiuchi

All tracks by Sonny Rollins except where noted.

Side one

"Valse Hot" – 8:36
"Kiss and Run" (Sam Coslow) – 7:08

Side two

"I Feel a Song Coming On" (Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh, George Oppenheimer) – 5:13
"Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)" (Irving Berlin) – 2:30
"Pent-Up House" – 8:50

Sonny Rollins – tenor saxophone
Clifford Brown – trumpet
Max Roach – drums
Richie Powell – piano
George Morrow – bass

 

[Dennie]

At Music Inn Vol. 2 -- CD

The Modern Jazz Quartet With Guest Artist Sonny Rollins

1988 Atlantic Records

A Jazz Masterpiece September 15, 2004
By R. Moonilall
Format:Audio CD

Switch the lights off, relax with a good glass of mulled wine and let the sheer warm musicality of this album wash over you. Sonny Rollins is the highlight of this album - shame he only plays on two of the tracks. His sax break at the beginning of Night in Tunisia where the band make a slight pause before they start swinging again is one of the creamiest most delicious moments in jazz. This one of the albums to have!

1. Medley: Stardust/I Can't Get Started/Lover Man - The Modern Jazz Quartet
2. Yardbird Suite - The Modern Jazz Quartet
3. Midsömmer - The Modern Jazz Quartet
4. Festival Sketch - The Modern Jazz Quartet
5. Bag's Groove - The Modern Jazz Quartet, Sonny Rollins
6. Night in Tunisia - The Modern Jazz Quartet, Sonny Rollins

 

[Dennie]

Without A Song - The 9/11 Concert -- CD

Sonny Rollins

2005 Milestone/Concord Records

Heat Up with Global Warming, September 4, 2007
By David Evans (Miami Beach, FL) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Without a Song: The 9/11 Concert (Audio CD)

Sonny Rollins Without a Song: The 9/11 Concert is a ridiculously good album. The playing is terrific, soulful and thoughtful. "Global Warming" is indeed a calypso, but more than a mere "worthy successor" to the famous "St. Thomas". The track is a phenomenal, rousing ride that must have made the audience that night forget the uncertainty of the time. It alone makes this disc a must have, with the simple "Without a Song" and the other 3 lengthy tracks on the album acting as wonderful bonuses. If you love jazz, you'll love this disc, particularly "Global Warming", so don't hesitate - every day you miss hearing this album and particularly that track, is a day lost.

"Without a Song" (m. Vincent Youmans; w. Billy Rose, Edward Eliscu) — 16:37
"Global Warming" (Sonny Rollins) — 15:16
"Introductions" — 0:59
"A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" (m. Manning Sherwin; w. Eric Maschwitz) — 10:57
"Why Was I Born?" (m. Jerome Kern; w. Oscar Hammerstein II) — 16:14
"Where or When" (Rodgers and Hart) — 12:20

------

Sonny Rollins - tenor
Clifton Anderson - trombone
Stephen Scott - piano
Bob Cranshaw - electric bass
Perry Wilson - drums
Kimati Dinizulu - percussion

 

[Dennie]

Today's work truck music.....

Now and Zen -- CD

Robert Plant

1988 Atlantic Records

Something alittle different, February 24, 2009
By Mike T (United States)

Everyone knows Robert Plant from the classic rock group Led Zepplin, but if you want to hear something alittle different listen to Now and Zen.
I originally owned this CD when it was first released and then someone took it from me using a five finger discount so now years later I picked it up on Amazon. Some of the songs seem dated with the 1980's electric keyboard sound but there are two songs that make it all worth it: "Heaven Knows" and "Ship of Fools" possibly some of Robert Plants best solo work.

"Heaven Knows" (Barratt, Johnstone) – 4:06
"Dance on My Own" (Crash, Johnstone, Plant) – 4:30
"Tall Cool One" (Johnstone, Plant) – 4:40
"The Way I Feel" (Boyle, Johnstone, Plant) – 5:40
"Helen of Troy" (Johnstone, Plant) – 5:06
"Billy's Revenge" (Johnstone, Plant) – 3:34
"Ship of Fools" (Johnstone, Plant) – 5:01
"Why" (Crash, Plant) – 4:14
"White, Clean and Neat" (Johnstone, Plant) – 5:28
"Walking Towards Paradise" (Williams) – 4:40

 

[No-L]

 

[Zing]

^^^ N I C K Y N A Z ! ! ! ! ! !


:handgestures-thumbup: :text-bravo:

:eusa-clap: :eusa-clap: :eusa-clap:

 

[Botch]

Bonus Image:

 

[Dennie]

At The Village Vanguard -- Mini Lp CD

Gerry Mulligan and The Concert Jazz Band

1960/2002 Verve Records

This is incredible January 21, 2006
By Pharoah S. Wail VINE™ VOICE
Format:Audio CD

I bought this sometime in 2005, loved it, but decided not to review it because right on the sleeve (it's a cardboard package with the cd slipped inside a fuzzy little envelope like the Sam Rivers - Crystals package, not a jewel case) it says it's a limited release that goes out-of-print in september of 2005. I just figured there's no point in reviewing it since the review would effectively die in several months. Now here we are in 2006 and it's still available.

The band is Gerry Mulligan on baritone sax and piano. Mel Lewis drums. Bill Crow bass. Nick Travis, Clark Terry, Don Ferrara trumpets. Bob Brookmeyer, Willie Dennis, Alan Ralph trombones. Gene Quill clarinet and alto saxophone. Bob Donovan alto. Jim Reider tenor saxophone. Gene Allen baritone saxophone and bass clarinet.

Who knows how much longer this will be around. If you think you might want it, GET IT. This band is amazing and the sound of the recording is fantastic! I like the couple slower tunes too, quite lovely interpretations of these tunes, but the uptempo stuff is the heart and soul of this album. There's not a single note I'd want to change here and the intensity is really something to behold. This band swings ruthlessly and the soloing is impeccable.

Even if you're not what you'd call a "big-band person", don't let that stop you. Glenn Miller this is not! Then again if you have high blood-pressure or arthritis you may want to take your medicine before popping this into the player because your heart-rate will rise and you're going to be moving. This is one of my favorite cds I bought in all of 2005 and from my first listen last year to my most recent listen yesterday, I've been in envy of everyone who ever attended a concert by this band on one of their good nights. I assume this was a phenomenal night because this thing knocks me out from the first track to the last, but if they were even better than this, and if that stuff was recorded, then please some label, any label, release or re-release all those albums because my soul and wallet are waiting.

Side One:

1. Blueport
2. Body and Soul
3. Black Nightgown


Side Two:

4. Come Rain or Come Shine
5. Lady Chatterley's Mother
6. Let My People Be

Gerry Mulligan (baritone sax)
Bob Brookmeyer (valve trombone)
Clark Terry (trumpet)
Mel Lewis (drums)
Nick Travis, Don Ferrara (trumpets)
Willie Dennis (trombone)
Alan Raph (bass trombone)
Gene Quill, Bob Donovan (alto saxes)
Jim Reider (tenor sax), Gene Allen (baritone sax),
Bill Crow (bass)
Composed & arranged by Al Cohn.

Recorded: live at the Village Vanguard, New York, December 11, 1960

 

[Dennie]

Bonus Image:

How do you like this one Botch?


Thanks,

Dennie

 

[Botch]

It's gonna take a few more listens. The songs were typical Nora, the instrumentation was sparse but had some really unusual effects on them; I also just realized I don't remember hearing ANY piano!
A few more listens.

 

[smgreen20]

I'm on my phone or I'd post a picture of the "new" album, but currently rockin out to PANTERAs 20th anniversary of Vulgar Display of Power. Can't get enough of the previously unreleased "Piss".

 

[Dennie]

Thanks Botch!

Today's work truck music....

Late For The Sky -- CD

Jackson Brown

1974/1990 Elektra Records

Amazon.com

His third album, and arguably his finest, Late for the Sky continues Browne's sincere self-analysis into positively grim territory. The title track concerns the lingering effects of a dead relationship and was featured in Martin Scorcese's film Taxi Driver. While "For a Dancer" confronts death head-on, "Farther On" explains the difficulties faced by us dorks who live life through books, films, or music; and "Before the Deluge" forecasts environmental gloom and doom. Guitarist David Lindley adds terrific counterpoint to Browne's musing, supporting the tracks with tasteful slide and fiddle work. --Rob O'Connor

All songs by Jackson Browne

"Late for the Sky" – 5:36
"Fountain of Sorrow" – 6:42
"Farther On" – 5:17
"The Late Show" – 5:09
"The Road and the Sky" – 3:04
"For a Dancer" – 4:42
"Walking Slow" – 3:50
"Before the Deluge" – 6:18

 

[Dennie]

Groovin' -- CD

BWB

2002 Warner Bros. Records

Amazon.com

This concept sounds like the set-up for a joke: What do you get when you cross three smooth-jazzers with topnotch straight-ahead players? Turns out Norman Brown, Kirk Whalum, and Rick Braun have the last laugh and a *** good time. While they may be three of the most distinct stylists in smooth jazz, they had to turn up the pots to cook with bassist Christian McBride and drummer Gregory Hutchinson. Keyboardist Ricky Peterson, maybe the funkiest organist in contemporary jazz outside of Larry Goldings, plays a producing role and is probably the MVP of BWB. The players aren't the only stars. The impeccable choice of 10 well-known cover tunes adds to an unapologetically fun record that allows B, W, and B to stretch out much more than they do on other recordings. Braun quotes Freddie Hubbard on "Povo," while Whalum explores Cannonball Adderley on "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," and Brown pays back Wes Montgomery throughout the proceedings. From the sexually charged "Let's Do It Again," featuring a purring Dee Dee Bridgewater and a scatting Brown, to the inspired arrangements of Alicia Keys's "A Woman's Worth" and D'Angelo's "Brown Sugar," there are no holes in any of these grooves. --Mark Ruffin

Track Listing
1. Groovin'
2. Brown Sugar
3. Ruby Baby
4. Woman's Worth, A
5. Hip Hug Her
6. Mercy Mercy Mercy
7. Let's Do It Again - (featuring Dee Dee Bridgewater)
8. It's Your Thing
9. Povo
10. Up for the Down Stroke

BWB stands for the first initials in the last names of Rick Braun, Kirk Whalum, and Norman Brown.

BWB: Kirk Whalum (soprano & tenor saxophones); Rick Braun (trumpet); Norman Brown (guitar).
Additional personnel includes: Dee Dee Bridgewater (vocals); Michael Campbell (guitar); Ricky Peterson (Fender Rhodes, Hammond B-3 organ, keyboards); Christian McBride (bass); Gregory Hutchinson (drums); Bashiri Johnson (percussion).

 

[Dennie]

Friday Night In San Francisco - LIVE -- 24K Gold SBM CD

Al DiMeola - John McLaughlin - Paco DeLucia

1981 Columbia Legacy - Master Sound

Hot hot hot!!! Celebration of acoustic guitar by 3 masters, February 3, 2003
By R. Svilpa "amigoboomer" (Seattle, WA, USA)
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: Friday Night in San Francisco (Audio CD)

This album changed my view of jazz when I was 16 years old. Knowing about Return to Forever, Weather Report and Mahavishnu Orchestra I'd never had the inclination to listen at this age. But our local college radio station had several jazz buffs as DJs, in addition to rock musicians looking to stretch their scope of influence who would play cuts from this and the other above groups' albums in between their trips of fancy in the Alternative Music scene. Phenominal music listened to individually as cuts on the airwaves, I rushed out and bought the album eager to have my boundaries stretched.

I wasnt disappointed, and even listening to it today I find that I hear new things each time. The improvisational sections (of which there are many) have recognizable themes mixed into free form playing which astound. The pieces that are full on compositions will leave you humming the chief theme melody for days after. The power that is derived just from three guitars in the hands of three very powerful players will leave you breathless.

If you're a musician young or old looking for something to stretch your limits and defy the concept you have of guitar, buy the album. As a jazz lover who can appreciate ingenious improvisation, buy the album. I cant recommend this album enough.

Side one

"Mediterranean Sundance/Rio Ancho" – 11:25
Paco de Lucía & Al Di Meola
"Short Tales of the Black Forest" (Chick Corea) – 8:39
John McLaughlin & Al Di Meola

Side two

"Frevo Rasgado" – 7:54
Paco de Lucía & John McLaughlin
"Fantasia Suite" (Al Di Meola) – 8:41
Paco de Lucía, John McLaughlin & Al Di Meola
"Guardian Angel" (Studio Recording) (John McLaughlin) – 4:00
Paco de Lucía, John McLaughlin & Al Di Meola

 

[Botch]

:music-listening:

 

[Dennie]

The IRS Tapes - Who'll Buy My Memories -- CD

Willie Nelson - Solo

1991 Sony Special Products

Country Willie Unplugged January 14, 2009
By James Scharnott

As you can guess by this album's title (as well as the sentiment on Nelson's t-shirt on the disc's cover photo), this program was recorded to aid in the relief of Willie Nelson's tax problems. But instead of merely compiling older tracks or demos, Willie entered the studio to record two dozen fresh solo interpretations of some of his more interesting early compositions.

With his guitar and voice demonstrating equal drama and emotion, he brings back a few obscurities, many genuinely hearbreaking tunes (he no doubt wanted no-one at the I.R.S. to crack anything resembling a grin), and a few tunes made famous by other performers. Thoughout the whole collection, his performances are intimate and intriguing -- the listener feels as though they are in Nelson's tour bus or living room, sharing a true moment.

Rather smartly, this disc was initially sold only through direct marketing. Unfortunately, it remains out of print, deserving a far kinder fate. Still, here's your chance to hear music as its creator intended: raw, often painful, sometimes goofy, and leaving you wanting more.

Track Listing
DISC 1:
1. Who'll Buy My Memories
2. Jimmy's Road
3. It Should Be Easier Now
4. Will You Remember
5. I Still Can't Believe You're Gone
6. Yesterday's Wine
7. It's Not Supposed to Be That Way
8. Country Willie
9. Sound in Your Mind, The
10. Permanently Lonely
11. So Much to Do
12. Lonely Little Mansion

DISC 2:
1. Summer Of Roses / December Day
2. Pretend I Never Happened
3. Slow Down Old World
4. Opportunity to Cry
5. I'm Falling in Love Again
6. If You Could Only See
7. I'd Rather You Didn't Love Me
8. What Can You Do to Me Now
9. Buddy
10. Remember the Good Times
11. Wake Me When It's Over
12. Home Hotel

 

[PaulyT]

Wow, I could get this used on SACD from amazon for the bargain basement price of only $99!

That'd blow my music budget for like 10 years. Guess I'll have to live with just a plain 'ole CD.

 

[Dennie]

People Time -- 2 CD Set

Stan Getz & Kenny Barron

1992 Verve/Gitanes Jazz

Amazon.com essential recording

This album, a series of duets laying the wondrously inquisitive piano of Kenny Barron next to the breathy, half-lit tenor of Stan Getz, was both the last public appearance and the final recording in the life of Getz. Recorded with astonishing clarity live at Copenhagen's Montmartre Café, People Time serves as a passionate coda to the life of this great saxophonist. Many of the tunes seem chosen for their emotional content, as if Getz were aware this might be his swan song. Speculation aside, this is a remarkably gorgeous, exquisitely paced recording. Throughout, Getz and Barron exhibit both a deep understanding of the material as well as sympathetic, truly harmonious playing. Never rushed, never brash, People Time lingers over melodies, fleshing them out and extracting every ounce of feeling. A must-have for fans of both artists. --S. Duda

Track Listing
DISC 1:
1. East of the Sun (West of the Moon)
2. Night and Day
3. I'm O. K.
4. Like Someone in Love
5. Stablemates
6. I Remember Clifford
7. Gone With the Wind

DISC 2:
1. First Song
2. No Greater Love, (There Is)
3. Surrey With the Fringe on Top, The
4. People Time
5. Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise
6. Hush-a-Bye
7. Soul Eyes

 

[Dennie]

Wow, I could get this used on SACD from amazon for the bargain basement price of only $99!

That'd blow my music budget for like 10 years. Guess I'll have to live with just a plain 'ole CD.

It is probably Good Enough! :handgestures-thumbup:


Dennie

 

[Dennie]

Journey To Love -- CD

Stanley Clarke

1975/2008 Epic Records

All Good, December 8, 2004
By AustinTeddy "Teddy" (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Journey to Love (Audio CD)

Not one bad cut. The great thing about this album is you can take each of the musicians singly and explore what they are doing. Listen to Jeff Beck...not on "Hello Jeff" (actually DO listen to that too!) but on "Journey to Love". His haunting solo fits perfectly with the mood of the song...and gives it the Beck Edge. George Duke glides throughout. David Sanctious (sp?) is a monster...not just on keyboard but guitar as well. From Stanley's original "Stanley Clarke" through this album and then to "School Days" this three album era was Stanley stepping out and rippin it up.

All tracks composed by Stanley Clarke; except where indicated

"Silly Putty" (4:52)
"Journey to Love" (4:52)
"Hello Jeff" (5:16)
"Song to John, Part 1" (Clarke, Corea) (4:22)
"Song to John, Part 2" (Clarke, Corea) (6:09)
"Concerto for Jazz/Rock Orchestra, Parts 1-4" (14:25)


Stanley Clarke - electric bass, acoustic bass, organ, piccolo bass (first used by Stanley Clarke) with Maestro Synthesizer on "Concerto For Jazz/Rock Orchestra," hand bells, tubular bells, gong, vocals
Jeff Beck - electric guitar on "Hello Jeff" and guitar solo on "Journey to Love"
Chick Corea - acoustic piano on "Song to John"
George Duke - organ, synthesizer, Moog synthesizer, keyboard, Arp Odyssey, clavinet, acoustic piano, electric piano, bells, vocals
Earl Chapin - brass horn
John Clark - brass horn
Jon Faddis - trumpet
Steve Gadd - drums, percussions
Peter Gordon - brass horn
Tom "Bones" Malone - trombone
John McLaughlin - acoustic guitar on "Song to John"
Alan Rubin - trumpet
David Sancious - electric guitar, 12-string guitar
Lew Soloff - trumpet
David Taylor - trombone
Lenny White - drums on "Hello Jeff"
Wilmer Wise - brass horn