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Dennie
Well-Known Member
I don't know if anyone is familiar with Scott Hamilton, but you should be!
Heavy Juice -- CD
Scott Hamilton & Harry Allen
2004 Concord Jazz
As talented tenors in the Ben Webster mold, both Scott Hamilton and Harry Allen can easily obtain exciting results fronting their own quartets. Putting exciting musicians together, however, is a guaranteed method of keeping the creative juices flowing and kicking the excitement lever up another notch. Hamilton and Allen do just that on Heavy Juice, an album overflowing with the kind of sax work that would make Zoot Sims and Stan Getz proud. The title track is a breezy, up-tempo number that begins with a snazzy base rhythm laid down by drummer Chuck Riggs, pianist John Bunch, and bassist Dennis Irwin. Allen and Hamilton take turns soloing before entering into an enticing exchange of lead lines that offers just a taste of things to come. While Heavy Juice is an obvious show for the two tenors to cut loose, the band runs a tight ship and never allows melodies to outstay their welcome. Most of the pieces -- Dizzy Gillespie's "Groovin' High" and Duke Ellington's "Warm Valley" -- run six and seven minutes. Hamilton and Allen also leave room for some fine solo work from Bunch. Heavy Juice closes with a nice, long rendition of Gillespie's "Ow!," bringing a well-executed album to a satisfying end. For anyone who has ever missed Webster and Sims, Heavy Juice will conjure up warm memories. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.
Track listing
1. Heavy Juice
2. Did You Call Her Today?
3. Groovin' High
4. If I Should Lose You
5. Blues Up and Down
6. If Dreams Come True
7. Warm Valley
8. Ow!
LINKY ---> http://www.amazon.com/Heavy-Juice-S...HIPG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297543825&sr=1-1
Heavy Juice -- CD
Scott Hamilton & Harry Allen
2004 Concord Jazz
As talented tenors in the Ben Webster mold, both Scott Hamilton and Harry Allen can easily obtain exciting results fronting their own quartets. Putting exciting musicians together, however, is a guaranteed method of keeping the creative juices flowing and kicking the excitement lever up another notch. Hamilton and Allen do just that on Heavy Juice, an album overflowing with the kind of sax work that would make Zoot Sims and Stan Getz proud. The title track is a breezy, up-tempo number that begins with a snazzy base rhythm laid down by drummer Chuck Riggs, pianist John Bunch, and bassist Dennis Irwin. Allen and Hamilton take turns soloing before entering into an enticing exchange of lead lines that offers just a taste of things to come. While Heavy Juice is an obvious show for the two tenors to cut loose, the band runs a tight ship and never allows melodies to outstay their welcome. Most of the pieces -- Dizzy Gillespie's "Groovin' High" and Duke Ellington's "Warm Valley" -- run six and seven minutes. Hamilton and Allen also leave room for some fine solo work from Bunch. Heavy Juice closes with a nice, long rendition of Gillespie's "Ow!," bringing a well-executed album to a satisfying end. For anyone who has ever missed Webster and Sims, Heavy Juice will conjure up warm memories. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.
Track listing
1. Heavy Juice
2. Did You Call Her Today?
3. Groovin' High
4. If I Should Lose You
5. Blues Up and Down
6. If Dreams Come True
7. Warm Valley
8. Ow!
LINKY ---> http://www.amazon.com/Heavy-Juice-S...HIPG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297543825&sr=1-1
Dennie
Well-Known Member
Sextet -- SACD :text-bravo:
Cal Tjader & Stan Getz ..and Vince Guaraldi, Eddie Duran, Scott LaFaro, Billy Higgins
1958/2004 Fantasy Records
A study in serendipity, Cal Tjader / Stan Getz Sextet was recorded for Fantasy at the Marines Memorial Auditorium in San Francisco in February 1958. The two leaders are backed by pianist Vince Guaraldi, guitarist Eddie Duran, bassist Scott LaFaro, and drummer Billy Higgins.
There are no bonus tracks, and for good reason, says Doug Ramsey, author of the new liner notes. No evidence exists in the Fantasy/Concord vaults of alternate takes or outtakes from this session. "What we have here is 43 minutes and 51 seconds of perfection," says Ramsey, "a demonstration that six masters who have never before played together as a group can produce timeless music in the common language of jazz."
Duran, the sole survivor of the 1958 sessions, concurs: "There was no rehearsal before the date, no alternates, no second takes. It went very smoothly. It just kind of fell into place. The feeling was happy and relaxed."
"From the LP era, there are many examples of indifferent recordings by makeshift bands - jam sessions filling out the 12-inch vinyl with endless choruses," says Ramsey. "In this joint venture, planning, preparation, six major talents and a spontaneous compatibility bordering on magic made the Tjader-Getz collaboration a classic. It's good to hear it again."
1. Ginza Samba 10:57
2. I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face 3:59
3. For All We Know 5:45
4. Crow's Nest 8:18
5. Liz-Anne 3:47
6. Big Bear 4:33
7. My Buddy 5:14
LINKY ----> http://www.amazon.com/Stan-Getz-Cal-Tjader/dp/B00067REYC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1297545470&sr=1-3
Dennie
Well-Known Member
At Last -- SACD :text-bravo:
Gene Harris/Scott Hamilton Quintet
2004 Concord Records
"Harris, Hamilton, Ellis, Brown & Jones a personal sound", February 2, 2001
By J. Lovins "Mr. Jim" (Missouri-USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: At Last (Audio CD)
What a lucky-break we have here in this Concord Jazz release - "At Last", although most are standards take on a new direction with each tune. There is a kind of deep, natural swing tempo, blending with rhythm waves flowing essence of jazz. And in the flow of this personal sound is Gene Harris (piano), Scott Hamilton (tenor sax), Herb Ellis (guitar), Ray Brown (bass) and Harold Jones (drums).
On the ballads, Scott Hamilton reveals again that he is a commanding romanticist unafraid of unabashed lyricism, he has such a good feeling on everything - even up-tempos, blues whatever. Gene Harris when he solos has a powerful presence, takes each song and makes it his own. Herb Ellis can move into any musical context and lift it into new and unexpected dimensions. Ray Brown, of course has been such an influential force in jazz, he has always been a big part of it, and Harold Jones (a Count Basie and Sarah Vaughan alumnus), was said he could even make the Congress of the United States swing.
Of course the highlights - "YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE" is an amazingly-bluesy arrangement you'll never forget..."AT LAST" not because it's the title tune, but the rich-inner-feeling each musician brings to this classic....and the Milt Jackson tune written especially for Gene Harris - "BLUES FOR GENE" is an outstanding and a great tribute to this wonderful man of JAZZ!
Total Time: 59:11 on 10 Tracks...Concord Jazz CCD-4434...(1990)
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
LINKY ---> http://www.amazon.com/At-Last-Hybr-Gene-Harris/dp/B0001LYH3O/ref=pd_sim_m_22
5829
Dennie
Well-Known Member
My America -- SACD
Monty Alexander
2002 Telarc Jazz
Now available in discrete multi-channel surround SACD as well as the CD recording!
When Jamaican born Monty Alexander was a young boy, he idolized the American heroes of the silver screen. Among his favorites were the singing cowboys like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers—pop culture icons of the post-WWII era who embodied the most universal and appealing aspects of the American Dream: freedom, individualism, strength of character, and a frontier spirit.
"They sang melodic songs that evoked a feeling of freedom and liberty,” Alexander recalls. “You’d watch these movies and you just wanted to be riding along with the good guys...As the years went by, I was capturing all these songs and playing them on the piano.”
Years later, Alexander embraced the dream first-hand when he came to America with his family in the early 1960s at age 17. By then, the aspiring young pianist had adopted a new set of American icons as his heroes—an eclectic cross section of musical giants that included Count Basie, Nat Cole (“a staple in our house”), Frank Sinatra, Marvin Gaye, James Brown and many others.
In tribute to the cowboys, crooners and other legends who have inspired him since his childhood, Alexander has recorded My America. The album is a twelve-track homage to the musical and cultural ideals that have drawn hundreds of millions of immigrants to the United States since the 1800s. While the songs are American in origin, Alexander brings a distinctly Jamaican groove to most of the tracks.
Many of the titles are familiar touchstones of 20th century popular music: Al Green’s “Love and Happiness,” the Louis Armstrong/Bobby Darin classic “Mack the Knife,” and instrumental versions of Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” and James Brown’s “Sex Machine.”
“It became like a party,” says Alexander, recalling the extended “Sex Machine (Soul/Yard Meeting)” jam session. “We just started recording, and the next thing you know, it was eight or nine minutes long. We just kept the tape rolling.”
Joining Alexander throughout My America are a few Telarc labelmates. Freddy Cole lends a hand in a syncopated rendition of Nat Cole’s “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” while John Pizzarelli steps in for an easygoing duet on the nostalgic “Summer Wind.” Jazz vocalist Kevin Mahogany helps conjure up the spiritual element with a churning version of “Hallelujah, I Love Her So.”
It all comes together in a rich melting pot that celebrates a nation’s finest musical traditions. Experience Monty Alexander’s America through the eyes and ears of an artist whose craft is a direct reflection of the dream. “It’s a privilege for me to do this recording and play music by some of my favorite people,” he says. “Because it’s the music that brings people like me here.”
1. Don't Fence Me In
2. Straighten up and Fly Right
3. Love and Happiness
4. Rockin' in Riddim
5. Mack the Knife
6. Summer Wind
7. Honky Tonk
8. Hallelujah I Love Her So
9. Sex Machine (Soul/Yard Meeting)
10. Sexual Healing
11. River Rolls On
12. Battle Hymn of the Republic (Glory Hallelujah)
Dennie
Well-Known Member
Montreux '77 -- CD
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis with Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, Jimmie Smith
1977/1989 Pablo/Fantasy Records
Jaws with Oscar and Ray: Earth-shaking chemistry, March 31, 2007
By Samuel Chell (Kenosha,, WI United States)
(TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Montreux 77 (Audio CD)
I'm not sure why Norman Granz released so many albums with the title Montreux '77, thereby encouraging listeners to lump them all together and simply ignore them. In any case, this one is certainly a stand-out: Oscar is in full stride and moreover reunited with Ray Brown. Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, moreover, is arguably the Oscar Peterson of the tenor saxophone, simply a fearless, accomplished, inimitable, untouchable player, whose unique rhythmic drive makes him ideally suited to Oscar while his rougher-hewn tones make him a complementary contrast to the pianist's polished style.
It's a wonder Jaws doesn't betray more nervousness, performing all alone with Oscar's trio, especially since the pianist shows absolutely no mercy, counting off the opener at a tempo that would have most players looking for a handy exit. The ensuing numbers are no less busy. Even on the "down tempo" of "The Breeze and I" Oscar double-times his solo, almost threatening to bury the featured soloist in a shower of flying notes. But Jaws was never one to shirk from a challenge, which is exactly what he gets on this occasion. By the time the group gets to a blues, "Telegraph," he's in full control, making his message so loud and clear that it's Oscar who's breathing hard. Jaws goes on to top himself on 'Land of Dreams," using that patented altimissimo register of his as much to spearhead the rhythm section as to create melodic excitement. Now Oscar really has to go after him--which he does, ingeniously employing repeated quarter notes and rhythms in the manner of Lockjaw himself. Predictably, the program ends as it began--with another burner, "Blue Lou" (Is it possible to play any faster?). Jimmie Smith's drums are in there somewhere, but quite frankly the other three musicians are in such a zone that I wonder how any drummer's hi-hat could synch with the blurred off-beats.
Simply put, there's no group of players alive who, even if they put their minds to it, could produce music such as this in the present millennium.
1 - This Can't Be Love
2 - I Wished on the Moon
3 - The Breeze and I
4 - Angel Eyes
5 - Telegraph
6 - Land of Dreams
7 - Blue Lou
LINKY ---> http://www.amazon.com/Montreux-77-Eddie-Lockjaw-Davis/dp/B00005YF71/ref=ntt_mus_ep_dpi_12
Dennie
Well-Known Member
Changing Gears.......
6 and 12 String Guitar -- SACD :text-bravo:
Leo Kottke
1969/2004 Takoma Records
Amazon.com essential recording
For decades, Leo Kottke would inspire generations of fingerpicking acoustic guitarists (and help pave the way for New Age and contemporary instrumental music), but this 1969 album is the one that started it all. Kottke's brilliant debut was released, fittingly, on John Fahey's Takoma label. Showing the influence of Fahey himself (and Takoma labelmate Robbie Basho), Kottke performs impossibly difficult solo compositions that meld blues, bluegrass, and jazz techniques. Whether surefooted and quick ("The Driving of the Year Nail," "Jack Fig," "The Fisherman") or slow and reflective ("Ojo," "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring"), Kottke's instrumental work is simply awe-inspiring. He'd forge an entire career out of this music and eventually incorporate singing onto his albums, but this gem is Kottke at his very best. Essential. --Jason Verlinde
All songs written and composed by Leo Kottke, except where noted.
No. Title Kottke's notes Length
1. "The Driving of the Year Nail" From an old Etruscan drawing of a sperm cell 1:54
2. "The Last of the Arkansas Greyhounds" A terror-filled escape on a bus from a man fired from Beaumont ranch 3:18
3. "Ojo" Ojo Caliente where Zuni hid from Esteban, the Moor, and the Spaniards 2:14
4. "Crow River Waltz" A prayer for the demise of the canoe and the radar trap without which Federal prisons will have to be rebuilt to accommodate prepubescence 3:20
5. "The Sailor's Grave on the Prairie" Originally written to commemorate Nedicks and a Minneapolis musician's contempt for the three a.m. cheeseburger with a nickel slice of raw 2:34
6. "Vaseline Machine Gun" 1) for waking up nude in a sleeping bag on the shore of the Atlantic surrounded by a volleyball game at high noon, and 2) for the end of the volleyball game 3:11
7. "Jack Fig" A reluctant lament 2:14
Side Two
No. Title Kottke's notes Length
1. "Watermelon" While at Watermelon Park Music Festival I had the opportunity to play banjo in the middle of the night for a wandering drunk. When I finished he vomited — an astute comment on my playing. Made me feel very distinguished 3:12
2. "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" (J.S. Bach) The engineer called this the ancient joy of man's desire. (Bach had twenty children because his organ didn't have any stops) 2:24
3. "The Fisherman" This is about the mad fishermen of the North whose ice fishing spots resemble national shrines 2:32
4. "The Tennessee Toad" Who made an epic journey from Ohio to Tennessee 2:40
5. "Busted Bicycle" Reluctance 2:48
6. "The Brain of the Purple Mountain" From A.L. Tennyson 2:11
7. "Coolidge Rising" While rising from the sink, cupboard doors opened and engulfed his head; while turning to the right to avoid the whole incident he walked into a refrigerator — which afforded a good chin rest for staring at some bananas in a basket
LINKY ---> http://www.amazon.com/6-12-String-G...=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1297565897&sr=1-2
6 and 12 String Guitar -- SACD :text-bravo:
Leo Kottke
1969/2004 Takoma Records
Amazon.com essential recording
For decades, Leo Kottke would inspire generations of fingerpicking acoustic guitarists (and help pave the way for New Age and contemporary instrumental music), but this 1969 album is the one that started it all. Kottke's brilliant debut was released, fittingly, on John Fahey's Takoma label. Showing the influence of Fahey himself (and Takoma labelmate Robbie Basho), Kottke performs impossibly difficult solo compositions that meld blues, bluegrass, and jazz techniques. Whether surefooted and quick ("The Driving of the Year Nail," "Jack Fig," "The Fisherman") or slow and reflective ("Ojo," "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring"), Kottke's instrumental work is simply awe-inspiring. He'd forge an entire career out of this music and eventually incorporate singing onto his albums, but this gem is Kottke at his very best. Essential. --Jason Verlinde
All songs written and composed by Leo Kottke, except where noted.
No. Title Kottke's notes Length
1. "The Driving of the Year Nail" From an old Etruscan drawing of a sperm cell 1:54
2. "The Last of the Arkansas Greyhounds" A terror-filled escape on a bus from a man fired from Beaumont ranch 3:18
3. "Ojo" Ojo Caliente where Zuni hid from Esteban, the Moor, and the Spaniards 2:14
4. "Crow River Waltz" A prayer for the demise of the canoe and the radar trap without which Federal prisons will have to be rebuilt to accommodate prepubescence 3:20
5. "The Sailor's Grave on the Prairie" Originally written to commemorate Nedicks and a Minneapolis musician's contempt for the three a.m. cheeseburger with a nickel slice of raw 2:34
6. "Vaseline Machine Gun" 1) for waking up nude in a sleeping bag on the shore of the Atlantic surrounded by a volleyball game at high noon, and 2) for the end of the volleyball game 3:11
7. "Jack Fig" A reluctant lament 2:14
Side Two
No. Title Kottke's notes Length
1. "Watermelon" While at Watermelon Park Music Festival I had the opportunity to play banjo in the middle of the night for a wandering drunk. When I finished he vomited — an astute comment on my playing. Made me feel very distinguished 3:12
2. "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" (J.S. Bach) The engineer called this the ancient joy of man's desire. (Bach had twenty children because his organ didn't have any stops) 2:24
3. "The Fisherman" This is about the mad fishermen of the North whose ice fishing spots resemble national shrines 2:32
4. "The Tennessee Toad" Who made an epic journey from Ohio to Tennessee 2:40
5. "Busted Bicycle" Reluctance 2:48
6. "The Brain of the Purple Mountain" From A.L. Tennyson 2:11
7. "Coolidge Rising" While rising from the sink, cupboard doors opened and engulfed his head; while turning to the right to avoid the whole incident he walked into a refrigerator — which afforded a good chin rest for staring at some bananas in a basket
LINKY ---> http://www.amazon.com/6-12-String-G...=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1297565897&sr=1-2