What Are You Listening To?

[Dennie]

For The Soul -- CD

Carmen Intorre Jr.

2012 Ramdom Act Records

From a purely musical standpoint this release is money with everyone spot on and the all the stars were in perfect alignment as Intorre runs through a set that includes Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan and Chick Corea. The most impressive and infectious part of this release is the attitude of Intorre. While reviewing the press release Intorre states, "Music is an opportunity for me to give up my soul, while in the process of connecting with the audience to feel uplifted after a performance, to feel great about themselves through the experience that they encountered. That is what For The Soul is all about.

Carmen Intorre Jr. gets it as jazz played in this most natural and organic of states is the original soul food!

There are all most too many high points to list but allow me to try to get you started. "Too High" is a high octane smoker. Take a back beat and add the funk infused back beat of organ phenom Pat Bianchi along with tast comp work from Hart and this is a groove taken to the next level. Saxophonist Jon Irabagon clearly shows why he took home the prestigious Thelonious Monk Competition in 2008. One of the most intriguing tunes captured on For The Soul is Gene Perla's "Tergiversation" which is a rarely performed gem featuring Bianchi and Joey DeFrancesco on an organ summit meeting where no quarter is given by either as they trade fours with Intorre's finesse acting as the sonic glue to bind this harmonic exploratory together. Another delight yet oddly different tune is the Steely Dan cover of "Josie." While there is a slight re-harmonization of the melody the end result is a sonic adventure of the road less traveled. Intorre places his own indelible stamp on this rock classic with the help of Hart and does not push the envelope of creativity here - it goes out certified mail! To do a re-harmonization on a tune like "Josie" is a huge roll of the musical dice and to work the tune without a harmonic net is the sign of a true artist. A more accessible avant garde spin on a timeless classic. A personal favorite of mine closes the disc, Joe Zawinul's "Black Market" is a deceptively subtle funk infused flavor that again showcases Intorre's ability to transform the accepted norm to something that exceeds the mundane. Every one expects a critic to always have something negative to say, much like the term smooth jazz there is an overuse and unfair negative connotation that comes along with the word critic as used in this context. As a jazz advocate, I can say with a high degree of certainty that less than half a dozen artists working today could pull off a release this well and then only half of those artists could do it with the real understanding of the audience connectivity as was so eloquently stated by Intorre.

Easily on my year end best of list. Possibly my favorite release of the year thus far!

5 Huge Stars!

1. Too High
2. Tergeversation
3. Carmen's Caddie
4. Cannonball
5. Steps
6. Only One
7. Good For The Soul
8. Gibraltar
9. Josie
10. Black Market

Personnel: Carmen Intorre Jr.: drums, percussion; John Hart: guitar; Jon Irabagon: tenor & alto saxophone; Pat Bianchi: organ & keyboards; Joey DeFrancesco: Numa Organ.

 

[Dennie]

Today's work truck music...

Kill To Get Crimson -- CD

Mark Knopfler

2007 Warner Bros. Records

Amazon.com

Three decades after Dire Straits broke onto the scene with their remarkable debut, Mark Knopfler remains an iconic figure in popular music, his graceful guitar playing equaled only by his genial baritone and a novelist's ability to create distinct characters and themes in his songs. His fifth solo album since he pulled the plug on the band in 1995, Crimson reflects on a torrent of narratives, from the gracefully aging spouse in the flute-powered ballad "The Scaffolder's Wife" to the valiant down-and-outer in the Scottish folk song "Heart Full of Holes." Employing accordions, fiddles, and horns as majestic accompaniment, Knopfler drifts into the Celtic-tinged melodies of his past, explicitly in the whiskey-soaked singalong "Secondary Waltz," the busker's saga "Madame Geneva's," and "The Fish and the Bird," with its vagabond pensiveness. Clocking in at just under an hour, the album--without any page-turning epic--plays instead like an anthology of written works, every personification crisp in definition, every story exquisitely told. --Scott Holter

"True Love Will Never Fade" – 4:21
"The Scaffolder's Wife" – 3:52
"The Fizzy and the Still" – 4:07
"Heart Full of Holes" – 6:36
"We Can Get Wild" – 4:17
"Secondary Waltz" – 3:43
"Punish the Monkey" – 4:36
"Let It All Go" – 5:17
"Behind With the Rent" – 4:46
"The Fish and the Bird" – 3:45
"Madame Geneva's" – 3:59
"In the Sky" – 7:29

 

[Dennie]

II - Deluxe Edition - Remastered 2 CD Set

Led Zeppelin

2014 Atlantic Records

Second Disc Contains Previously Unreleased Companion Material That Offers Insightful Look at Recording Sessions and Previously Unreleased Track "La La".

Packaging Faithfully Replicates Original Artwork: 16-Page Booklet Included

John Bonham, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant came together in 1968 as Led Zeppelin. Over the next decade, the band would become one of the most influential, innovative and successful groups in modern music, selling more than 300 million albums worldwide. Their songs are some of the most celebrated in rock 'n' roll history that, to this day, resonate with fans young and old around the globe. Still, no matter how many times you may have listened to their music, you've never heard Led Zeppelin like this before.

Painstakingly remastered from the original master tapes by guitarist Jimmy Page, this CD of Led Zeppelin II sounds utterly amazing. Page spent years on this project with one goal in mind: Making these reissues the end-all-be-all definitive digital editions of his iconic band's records. He has succeeded, and then some. In addition, this special Deluxe Edition features previously unreleased companion audio that will satisfy every fan.

The companion audio for Led Zeppelin II: Deluxe Edition gives fans the first peek into the band's recording sessions, with alternate mixes of five songs from the album, backing tracks to "Thank You" and "Living Loving Maid (She's Just A Woman)," and the previously unreleased track "La La."

The band wrote and recorded nearly all of Led Zeppelin II while touring relentlessly to support its debut album. Incredibly, the album was released just seven months after Led Zeppelin in October of 1969. Led Zeppelin II features some of the band's most beloved tracks including "Ramble On" and "Heartbreaker" as well as "Whole Lotta Love," considered by many to be one of the greatest rock n' roll songs of all time. The album is certified diamond by the RIAA with sales of over 12 million copies.

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin II: Deluxe Edition Track Listing:

1. "Whole Lotta Love"
2. "What Is And What Should Never Be"
3. "The Lemon Song"
4. "Thank You"
5. "Heartbreaker"
6. "Living Loving Maid (She's Just A Woman)"
7. "Ramble On"
8. "Moby Dick"

Companion Audio
1. "Whole Lotta Love"
2. "What Is And What Should Never Be"
3. "Thank You"
4. "Heartbreaker"
5. "Living Loving Maid (She's Just A Woman)"
6. "Ramble On"
7. "Moby Dick"
8. "La La"

The band consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham.

 

[Dennie]

Today's work truck music....

Deuces Wild -- CD

B.B. King

1997 MCA Records

This is B.B.'s celebrity duet album, and a straightahead blues album this is not. But longtime fans who are aware of King's genre-stretching capabilities will find much to savor here. Kicking off with B.B. playing some beautiful fills and solo work behind Van Morrison on "If You Love Me," the superstars start lining up to jam with the King, with Tracy Chapman ("The Thrill Is Gone"), Eric Clapton (a funkified "Rock Me Baby"), the Rolling Stones ("Paying the Cost to Be the Boss," with a fine harp solo from Mick Jagger), Willie Nelson (his "Nightlife," long a standard in B.B.'s set list), Bonnie Raitt ("Baby I Love You") and Marty Stuart ("Confessin' the Blues") all turning in fine efforts.

1. If You Love Me - (with Van Morrison)

2. Thrill Is Gone, The - (with Tracy Chapman)

3. Rock Me Baby - (with Eric Clapton)

4. Please Send Me Someone to Love - (with Mick Hucknall)

5. Baby I Love You - (with Bonnie Raitt)

6. Ain't Nobody Home - (with D'Angelo)

7. There Must Be a Better World Somewhere - (with Dr. John)

8. Confessin' the Blues - (with Marty Stuart)

9. Paying the Cost to Be the Boss - (with The Rolling Stones)

10. Dangerous Mood - (with Joe Cocker)

11. Keep It Coming - (with Heavy D)

12. Cryin' Won't Help You - (with David Gilmour/Paul Carrack)

13. Night Life - (with Willie Nelson)

 

[Dennie]

Gerry Mulligan Meets Johnny Hodges

Gerry Mulligan - Johnny Hodges

1961/2003 Verve Records

Gerry Mulligan's 1959 studio date with Johnny Hodges is one of the most satisfying sessions of his various meetings with different saxophonists for Verve, yet it was inexplicably the last to be made available on CD. With a hand-picked rhythm section consisting of pianist Claude Williamson, bassist Buddy Clark, and drummer Mel Lewis, and three originals contributed by each of the two leaders, everything gels nicely, though several tracks took more than three takes (in spite of liner note writer Nat Hentoff's assertions) to reach their final form. Mulligan contributed the gorgeous ballad "What's the Rush" (where he sat back to enjoy Hodges' solo and never plays his own horn), the easygoing swinger "Bunny," and the brisk cooker "18 Carrots (For Rabbit)," the latter which its composer would revisit with his Concert Jazz Band. The veteran alto saxophonist contributed the low-key ballad "Shady Side," the sassy blues "Back Beat" (later re-recorded by Hodges during a still unreleased 1960 studio meeting with Ben Webster), and "What It's All About," another potent blues. Throughout the date, the two saxophonists blend beautifully and complement one another's efforts, even though this was their only opportunity to record together in the studio. Sadly, no alternate takes or unissued numbers (at least two of which exist) have been added to this long anticipated reissue. ~ Ken Dryden

Track Listing
1. Bunny
2. What's the Rush
3. Black Beat
4. What It's All About
5. 18 Carrots (For Rabbit)
6. Shady Side

Personnel: Gerry Mulligan (baritone saxophone); Johnny Hodges (alto saxophone); Claude Williamson (piano); Buddy Clark (bass); Mel Lewis (drums).Recorded at United Recorders, Hollywood, California on November 17, 1959

 

[Dennie]

All Through The Night -- CD

Bill Charlap Trio

1997 Criss Cross Jazz 1153

This trio outing by pianist Bill Charlap (with bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington) is a superior modern mainstream set. Charlap's boppish yet melodic style (which is championed by George Shearing in the liner notes) is pleasing, swinging and just unpredictable enough to hold one's interest. He mostly performs lesser-known standards such as Vernon Duke's "Roundabout," Irving Berlin's "The Best Thing For You Would Be Me" and the Rodgers and Hart classic "Nobody's Heart." An enjoyable outing. ~ Scott Yanow

Track Listing
1. All Through the Night
2. Round About
3. Put on a Happy Face
4. It's So Peaceful in the Country
5. The Best Thing for You
6. Pure Imagination
7. Nobody's Heart
8. Dance Only with Me/Dream Dancing
9. I've Just Seen Her

Personnel: Bill Charlap (piano); Peter Washington (bass); Kenny Washington (drums).Recorded at RPM Studio, New York, New York on December 22, 1997. Includes liner notes by George Shearing

 

[Dennie]

Magnetic -- CD

Terence Blanchard

2013 Blue Note Records

Magnetic marks Terence Blanchard's return to Blue Note Records after an eight-year sojourn in which he wrote and performed large scale works for film, and cut smaller group offerings for Concord. He utilizes his fine live band in the studio here -- tenor saxophonist Brice Winston, drummer Kendrick Scott, dazzling pianist Fabian Almazan, and 21-year-old bassist Joshua Crumbly. Bassist Ron Carter guests on a pair of tracks, as does saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, while guitarist Lionel Loueke plays on three. Blanchard composed four tracks here, and the members of his quintet all contributed selections -- Almazan even has an unaccompanied solo piece on the record. Given the variety of composers, this is a more musically diverse set than the trumpeter has offered in a while. His title track utilizes funky syncopation and electronics on his horn (they play a part on most of his tunes) as the band engages knotty post-bop and modalism with gorgeous breakbeats by Scott and a fine solo by Winston. Almazan's "Pet Step Sitter's Theme Song," with Coltrane and Loueke, commences with an arpeggiated Latin tinge on piano before the frontline enters and begins to deconstruct it, using just enough of the theme to create a jumping off point for muscular abstraction. Loueke's guitar effects become a lovely foil for Coltrane's solo, and provide a bridge between the soloist and pianist. The electronics in Blanchard's solo multiply his lines which alternately deftly skate and take on the rhythm section. Scott's "No Borders Just Horizons" implies a kind of swinging, modal post-bop before it moves into Latin terrain and shifts back in Winston's solo ending, somewhere outside all these touch points. Blanchard's "Central Focus" is almost straight-ahead post-bop with elements of New Orleans jazz tossed into his solo. Winston's "Time to Spare" is introduced by a tight yet complex lyric line, and when joined by Blanchard and the rhythm section, the tune becomes an uptempo groover. His solo engages intensely with the rhythm section. With its wealth of ideas, colors, and textures, Magnetic is evidence of a band firing on all cylinders with enthusiasm, imagination, and considerable sophistication. ~ Thom Jurek

Track Listing
1. Magnetic
2. Jacob's Ladder
3. Don't Run
4. Pet Step Sitter's Theme Song
5. Hallucinations
6. No Borders Just Horizons
7. Comet
8. Central Focus
9. Another Step
10. Time To Spare

 

[Dennie]

Live At The Lighthouse -- OMR CD

The Modern Jazz Quartet

1967/???? MFSL

This fairly obscure LP by the Modern Jazz Quartet features fresh material and improvisations that are both swinging and creative. Pianist John Lewis' "The Spiritual" and "Baseball," along with vibraphonist Milt Jackson's "Novamo" and "For Someone I Love," comprise half the program, and it is Jackson's influence that seems to be the weightier one here. Jackson and the MJQ always rose to the challenge of a crowd. There are also excellent ballad renditions of "The Shadow of Your Smile" and "What's New." The bluesier side of the band is what's mostly on display here, and the MJQ plays up to its usual level. This set remained unreleased on CD domestically until 2004 when Wounded Bird -- which in 2002 also reissued the brilliant Modern Jazz Quartet disc originally released in 1957 -- put it on the street. Really, none of the classic group's recordings should be passed by. ~ Scott Yanow & Thom Jurek


"The Spiritual" (John Lewis) - 6:00
"Baseball" (Lewis) - 4:03
"The Shadow of Your Smile" (Johnny Mandel, Paul Francis Webster) - 5:32
"Intima" (Miljenko Prohaska) - 4:12
"Novamo" (Milt Jackson) - 5:58
"For Someone I Love" (Jackson) - 5:02
"What's New?" (Bob Haggart) - 6:14


Milt Jackson - vibraphone
John Lewis - piano
Percy Heath - bass
Connie Kay - drums

 

[Dennie]

Nearness of You -- CD

Michael Brecker

2001 Verve Records

The seven-time Grammy award-winning tenor saxophonist, Michael Brecker brings an all-star band together on this first ever ballad project titled Nearness of You: The Ballad Book. Accompanied by Herbie Hancock on piano, Pat Metheny on guitars, Charlie Haden on bass, Jack DeJohnette on drums, and a special guest appearance by James Taylor, singing his sensational hit "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" and Hoagy Carmichael's "The Nearness of You," the tenor saxophonist creates rich resonant statements on 11 songs collected in two chapters and their epilogue. Brecker has updated these great songs with the addition of Pat Metheny's excellent production prowess on such great ballads as Joe Zawinul's "Midnight Mood" and the Kurt Weill-Ira Gershwin standard "My Ship." "Midnight Mood" is sensual and seductive, complete with a blithe piano solo by Herbie Hancock in the middle section. Hancock fills in the beauty of Brecker's saxophone lines on this arrangement that is partially based on guitarist Wes Montgomery's version. James Taylor sings one of the best renditions of his "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight," and it's clearly due to the excellent musicians on this CD. Pat Metheny excels as a serious jazz artist with his well thought out treatment of "Nascente," which was inspired by Gil Evans' classic 1948 arrangement for Miles Davis on Miles Ahead. Michael Brecker has clearly maintained his status as one of the best tenor saxophonists on the jazz scene, and this, his eighth CD as a leader, is well within the musical excellence previously recorded. ~ Paula Edelstein

Track Listing
Chapter One:
1. Chan's Song (Never Said)
2. Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight
3. Nascente
4. Midnight Mood
5. The Nearness of You
Chapter Two:
6. Incandescence
7. Sometimes I See
8. My Ship
9. Always
10. Seven Days
Epilogue:
11. I Can See Your Dreams

Personnel: Michael Brecker (saxophone); James Taylor (vocals); Herbie Hancock (piano); Pat Metheny (guitar); Charlie Haden (bass); Jack DeJohnette (drums); Dave Samuels (percussion).Recorded at Right Track Recording, New York, New York from December 18-20, 2000."Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" won the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. "Chan's Song" won the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo.

 

[Dennie]

"...and his mother called him Bill" -- Remasterd 24bit CD

Duke Ellington and His Orchestra

1967/2001 RCA Victor Gold (Import France)

When Billy Strayhorn died of cancer in 1967, Duke Ellington was devastated. His closest friend and arranger had left his life full of music and memories. As a tribute, Ellington and his orchestra almost immediately began recording a tribute to Strayhorn, using the late arranger's own compositions and charts. The album features well-known and previously unrecorded Strayhorn tunes that showcased his range, versatility, and, above all, the quality that Ellington admired him most for: his sensitivity to all of the timbral, tonal, and color possibilities an orchestra could bring to a piece of music. The set opens with a vehicle for Johnny Hodges called "Snibor," written in 1949. A loose blues tune, its intervals showcase Hodges against a stinging I-IV-V backdrop and turnaround, with a sweeping set of colors in the brass section before Cootie Williams takes a break and hands it back to Hodges to take out. The melancholy "Blood Count" was written in 1967 for the band's Carnegie Hall concert. It proved to be his final composition and chart. Hodges again gets the call and blows deep, low, and full of sadness and even anger. The music is moody, poignant, and full of poise, expressing a wide range of feelings as memories from different periods in the composers' and bandleaders' collective careers. Given all the works Strayhorn composed, this one -- with its muted trumpet section set in fours against Hodges' blues wailing -- is both wistful and chilling. Also included here is a remake of 1951's "Rock Skippin' at the Blue Note," in a spicy, funky version with a shimmering cymbal ride from Sam Woodyard and a punched up, bleating Cootie Williams solo as well as one from Jimmy Hamilton on clarinet, smoothing out the harmonic edges of the brass section (which features a ringing break from John Sanders). In cut time, the tune shuffles in the groove with Ellington accenting on every eight as the brass and reeds mix it up joyously. There are two versions of "Lotus Blossom." Ellington claimed it was the piece Strayhorn most liked to hear him play. The LP version is a quiet, restrained, meditative rendition played solo by Ellington, with the most subtle and yet emotional nuances he ever presented on a recording as a pianist. Finally, closing the album is a bonus track, a trio version played in a whispering tone with only baritone saxophonist Harry Carney and bassist Aaron Bell accompanying Ellington. The piece was supposedly recorded as the band was packing up to leave. Its informality and soulful verve feel like they are an afterthought, an unwillingness to completely let go, a eulogy whose final words are questions, elegantly stated and met with only the echo of their last vibrations ringing in an empty room, full of wondering, longing, and helplessness, but above all the point of the questions themselves: "Is this enough?" or "Can there ever be enough to pay an adequate tribute to this man?" They are interesting questions, because only five years later we would all be saying the same thing about Ellington. For a man who issued well over 300 albums, this set is among his most profoundly felt and very finest recorded moments.

Track List:
American and French reissues

"Snibor" (Strayhorn) – 4:16
"Boo-Dah" (Strayhorn) – 3:28
"Blood Count" (Strayhorn) – 4:18
"U.M.M.G." (Strayhorn) – 3:14
"Charpoy" (Strayhorn) – 3:07
"After All" (Strayhorn) – 3:52
"The Intimacy of the Blues" (Strayhorn) – 2:58
"Rain Check" (Strayhorn) – 4:37
"Day Dream " (Ellington, Latouche, Strayhorn) – 4:25
"Rock Skippin' at the Blue Note" (Ellington, Strayhorn) – 3:02
"All Day Long" (Strayhorn) – 2:58
"Lotus Blossom [Solo Version]" (Strayhorn) – 3:54
"Acht O'Clock Rock" (Ellington) – 2:23
"Rain Check [alternate take]" (Strayhorn) – 5:22
"Smada" (Ellington, Strayhorn) – 3:21
"Smada [alternate take]" (Ellington, Strayhorn) – 3:20
"Midriff" (Strayhorn) – 4:35
"My Little Brown Book" (Strayhorn) – 4:13
"Lotus Blossom [Trio Version]" (Strayhorn) – 4:56

Personnel: Duke Ellington (piano); Russell Procope, Jimmy Hamilton (alto saxophone, clarinet); Johnny Hodges (alto saxophone); Paul Gonsalves (tenor saxophone); Harry Carney (baritone saxophone); Cat Anderson, Mercer Ellington, Herbie Jones, Cootie Williams (trumpet); Clark Terry (flugelhorn); John Sanders, Lawrence Brown, Buster Cooper, Chuck Connors (trombone); Aaron Bell, Jeff Castleman (bass); Steve Little, Sam Woodyard (drums).Recorded at RCA Studios, New York, New York and between August and November 1967. Includes liner notes by Duke Ellington, Stanley Dance, Patricia Willard, and Robert Palmer.All tracks have been digitally remastered.Twenty-four bit digitally remasted with restored original artwork. CD contains 4 bonus tracks.

 

[Dennie]

I Remember Duke, Hoagy & Strayhorn -- CD

Ahmad Jamal

1995 Telarc Jazz

Ahmad Jamal, in paying tribute to Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, and Hoagy Carmichael, performs nearly every selection on this CD at a very slow tempo. Or at least his sidemen do, since the pianist often plays double-time lines, witty quotes from other songs, and occasional violent outbursts. In general, the music is quite thoughtful and subtle, with plenty of surprising ideas and unusual turns. Carmichael gets stiffed a bit (just two songs counting the "Stardust"-inspired "I Remember Hoagy") and a couple of numbers are departures from the theme (including "My Flower," "Never Let Me Go," and "Goodbye"), but most of the melodies come from the Ellington/Strayhorn songbook. Throughout, Ahmad Jamal (with the assistance of bassist Ephriam Wolfolk and drummer Arti Dixson) shows that he can sound relaxed, alert, and swinging at the slowest of paces, making this a set deserving (and perhaps needing) several listens to appreciate fully. ~ Scott Yanow

Track Listing
1. My Flower
2. I Got It Bad
3. In A Sentimental Mood
4. Ruby
5. Don't You Know You Know I Care
6. Prelude To A Kiss
7. Do Nothing Til You Hear From Me
8. Chelsea Bridge
9. I Remember Hoagy
10. Skylark
11. Never Let Me Go
12. Goodbye

Personnel: Ahmad Jamal (piano); Ephriam Wolfolk (bass); Arti Dixon (drums).

 

[Dennie]

This one's a Two-fer.....

It looks like this...

The Duo Sessions -- RemasteredCD

Ray Brown - Jimmy Rowles

1978 & 1980/2000 Concord Jazz

"As good as it gets - even better than 5 stars" October 25, 2000
By J. Lovins HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE VOICE

Everybody knows Ray Brown (bassist), is a legend just by himself, but when you get another veteran like Jimmy Rowles (pianist), who is a musicians musician, well something great is bound to happen. Within the world of jazz this duo is universally admired, so when you get the two together...look out, Concord Jazz knows this all too well - "As Good As It Gets" (1978) and "Tasty!" (1980), now two classic albums in one unique specially priced 2-CD package, simply called "THE DUO SESSIONS", such a deal!

Jazz fans, these intimate, tasty and swinging jazz dialogs by the late master pianist Rowles and jazz bass legend Brown, well they're nothing less than consummate jazz artistry.

The partnership between these two wonderful human beings is truly refreshing, with selections of Ellington, Gershwin, Porter, Arlen, Van Heusen, Kaempfert and even one composed by Jimmy Rowles.

Concord Jazz, you've done it again...delicious, rhythmic, lazily lilting, airy styles of both musicians, compatible beyond all words...so "jazz lovers", it's all here...sit back and ENJOY!

Total Time: Disc One 43:43 on 10 Tracks & Disc Two 37:37 on 8 Tracks... ...

Track Listing
DISC 1: AS GOOD AS IT GETS:
1. Sophisticated Lady
2. That's All
3. Like Someone in Love
4. Looking Back
5. Honey
6. Love
7. Alone Together
8. Rosalie
9. Manha de Carnaval
10. Who Cares?

DISC 2: TASTY!:
1. A Sleepin' Bee
2. I'm Gonna Sit Right Down (And Write Myself a Letter)
3. The Night Is Young and You're So Beautiful
4. My Ideal
5. Come Sunday
6. Close Your Eyes
7. Nancy (With the Laughing Face)
8. Smile

AS GOOD AS IT GETSersonnel: Ray Brown (bass); Jimmy Rowles (piano).Recorded at Coast Recorders, San Francisco, California in December 1977. Originally released on Concord (4066).TASTY!ersonnel: Ray Brown (bass); Jimmy Rowles (piano).Recorded at Coast Recorders, San Francisco, California on October 22, 1979. Originally released on Concord (4122).

 

[Dennie]

65th Birthday Celebration -- Live at the Blue Note in New York City -- CD

Herbie Mann

1997 LightYear Records

To celebrate his 65th birthday, the influential flutist Herbie Mann played for a week at the Blue Note in New York, along with some of his favorite musicians. Among the many guests on this CD are such notables as trumpeters Claudio Roditi and Randy Brecker, altoists David "Fathead" Newman, Paquito D'Rivera and Bobby Watson, fellow flutist Dave Valentin, Tito Puente on timbales and several rhythm sections. Alternating between Brazilian music, vintage funk jazz (such as "Memphis Underground"), a catchy boogaloo blues ("Dippermouth") and a few straight-ahead tracks ("Au Privave" and "Jeep's Blues"), the flutist sounds as if he had a great time. The diverse music is consistently infectious and joyful, with all eight selections well worth hearing. Highly recommended. ~ Scott Yanow

Track Listing
1. Batucada
2. Sonhos
3. Jungle Fantasy
4. Au Private
5. Give and Take
6. Jeep's Blues
7. Memphis Underground
8. Dippermouth

 

[Flint]

Best rock album of all time!

 

[Babs]

In the kitchen this evening! Thought I would let 'Shirley' help the mood! :handgestures-thumbup:

 

[Babs]

Rolling with some gospel now...

This 'Gail' can sang!!! And I must add, what a pretty face!

 

[Dennie]

Today's work truck music...

A Decade of Steely Dan -- CD

Steely Dan

1996 MCA Records

Amazon.com

The notion of a Steely Dan greatest-hits collection is suspect at best, if only because their biggest public successes ("Reelin' in the Years" from Can't Buy a Thrill, Prezel Logic's "Rikki Don't Lose That Number," and Aja's "Peg") are also in many ways their least typical. Indeed, after the craft-conscious Thrill, the duo of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen showed an almost perverse penchant for swimming against the prevailing pop current, despite the protestations of numbskull critics who Didn't Get It in a big way. That said, here's the duo's best-known public works and radio fodder (including all of the above), a sampler that will satisfy the hit-hungry and tempt the less acquainted to sample B&F's more colorful musical adventures. --Jerry McCulley

1. "FM (No Static At All)" – 4:50 (from the movie FM)
2. "Black Friday" – 3:33
3. "Babylon Sisters" – 5:51
4. "Deacon Blues" – 7:26
5. "Bodhisattva" – 5:16
6. "Hey Nineteen" – 5:06
7. "Do It Again" – 5:56
8. "Peg" – 3:58
9. "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" – 4:30
10. "Reelin' In the Years" – 4:35
11. "East St. Louis Toodle-oo" (Duke Ellington and Bubber Miley) – 2:45
12. "Kid Charlemagne" – 4:38
13. "My Old School" – 4:46
14. "Bad Sneakers" – 3:16

 

[Dennie]

Bitter Tears: Ballads of The American Indian -- CD

Johnny Cash

1964/1994 Columbia Records

Though on the surface Bitter Tears is just another installment in the seemingly endless series of Americana albums that Johnny Cash released in the '60s, it was a more daring collection than any of its predecessors or successors. Where Cash's previous Americana albums had previously concentrated on cowboys and Western pioneers, Bitter Tears is all about Native Americans and their trials and tribulations. It isn't a crass move -- it's a sensitive, clear-eyed take on the unfair treatment of the American Indian that uses traditional folk ballads and newly written songs in the same vein. It's stark and moving, his best Americana album of the '60s. Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine


"As Long as the Grass Shall Grow" (Peter La Farge) – 6:10
"Apache Tears" (Cash) – 2:34
"Custer" (La Farge) – 2:20
"The Talking Leaves" (Cash) – 3:55
"The Ballad of Ira Hayes" (La Farge) – 4:07
"Drums" (La Farge) – 5:04
"White Girl" (La Farge) – 3:01
"The Vanishing Race" (Cash, Johnny Horton) – 4:02

Personnel

Johnny Cash - Vocals, Guitar
Luther Perkins, Norman Blake, Bob Johnson - Guitar
Marshall Grant - Bass
W.S. Holland - Drums
The Carter Family - Vocal Accompaniment

 

[Botch]

:banana-rock: :banana-rock: :banana-rock: I've been waiting to hear this one awhile, The Man In The Brown Shorts™ finally brought my copy. A lot to digest here.

 

[Botch]

And, a question for you, Dennie or anyone else who post album cover pics: are you finding it harder and harder to find a suitable image address? It seems, more and more, when I go to Googlez Imagez, click on a pic I like, and then copy/paste "Copy Image Address", I get about three pages of gibberish, which won't post on this forum.
What's going on? I never had this problem before, and it took me so long to find the above pic, that I'm about ready to just type out the artist and album. Bummer but damn, why is this happening? I could understand the resistance to "hot-linking" ten years ago, but nowadays??