What Are You Listening To?
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Dennie
Well-Known Member
Southland of the Heart -- 20 Bit CD
Maria Muldaur
1998 Telarc Digital
Maria Muldaur's 1998 release, Southland of the Heart, offers up more of the funky, "feel good," blues-inflected light rock numbers she began to really explore in the early '90s. While her take on the genre isn't bad, Muldaur's voice has a limited ... Full Descriptionrange, noticeable a couple of times in the opening number, "Ring Me Up," where she strays outside of her comfort zone, and it's moments like these that keep her from turning out an album in the same ranks as Bonnie Raitt or John Hiatt. However, songs like the barbershop quartet-fused "Get Up, Get Ready" and the atmospheric, Greg Brown-penned ballad "Someday When We're Both Alone" prove that when she chooses material within her vocal range, she can shine just as bright. ~ Gregory McIntosh
Track Listings
1. Ring Me Up
2. Get Up Get Ready
3. Southland Of The Heart
4. Latersville
5. Think About You
6. There's A Devil On The Loose
7. Fool's Paradise
8. One Short Life
9. If I Were You
10. Someday When We're Both Alone
11. Blues Gives A Lesson
Dennie
Well-Known Member
Playground -- CD
Russell Malone
2004 Max Jazz Records
The Max Jazz label couldn't have picked a better artist to debut their String Series than guitarist Russell Malone. Malone's résumé already boasts high-profile gigs with Ray Brown, Branford Marsalis, and Diana Krall, plus recordings as a leader with Columbia and Verve. On this recording, his playing--with shades of George Benson, Grant Green, and Wes Montgomery--is clear and even-toned on old standards like Billy Strayhorn's evergreen ballad, "Something to Live For." But he can also change up the groove, as evidenced by his Latin take on the Carpenters' "We've Only Just Begun." On unaccompanied readings of Carole King's "You've Got a Friend" and the Jerome Kern/Dorothy Fields number "Remind Me," his solo sound evokes Joe Pass's intimate timbres. The CD also spotlights Malone's growing compositional chops, as evidenced by the live CD-ROM bonus track, "Mugshot," the hyper-bop diity "Sugar Buzz" (with vibraphonist Joe Locke), and the Coltrane-styled "Mandela," which features Gary Bartz on alto saxophone. --Eugene Holley, Jr.
1. You Should Know Better
2. Blues for Mulgrew
3. Something to Live For
4. Sugar Buzz
5. Playground
6. Remind Me
7. We've Only Just Begun
8. Invisible Colors
9. Mandela
10. You've Got a Friend
Dennie
Well-Known Member
Botch said:THAT is the oddest pairing since Alyson Krause/Robert Plant!Dennie said:
The Union Deluxe CD
Added to the list.... :eusa-whistle:
(that's also the first photo of Mr. Russell without his shades that I think I've seen...
Yeah, T Bone does it again!!! :text-bravo:
Dennie
Dennie
Well-Known Member
Touchdown -- CD
Bob James
1978/1995 Warner Bros. Records
"Touchdown"!, June 4, 2000
By Jeffrey Harris (South San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: Touchdown (Audio CD)
First of all I have to strongly disagree with the other reviews written on this album, by reviewers who seem to know Bob James only from the songs that have been sampled by rappers. The five cuts on this album define "smooth jazz" before it became bland and uninteresting. I feel he hit a creative peak with this album that he only reached again with his duet album "One On One" with Earl Klugh. "Touchdown" features excellent supporting players like Hubert Laws, Earl Klugh, Ron Carter, Steve Gadd, Idris Muhammad, and David Sanborn, there's definitely nothing formulaic about the performances here. This album was James' first to crossover and hit the top forty on the pop chart thanks to hit theme from "Taxi", "Angela", and his first gold album. "Sun Runner" received heavy airplay from contemporary jazz stations when this album was released back in 1978. This is one of the best smooth jazz records of this or any era.
All songs written by Bob James
1. "Angela" (Theme from Taxi) 5:48
2. "Touchdown" 5:44
3. "I Want to Thank You (Very Much)" 7:07
4. "Sun Runner" 6:17
5. "Caribbean Nights" 8:46
Dennie
Well-Known Member
Elixir -- CD
Fourplay
1995 Warner Bros. Records
All Stars of Smooth Jazz, March 24, 2003
By Russell Diederich (Littleton, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)
This review is from: Elixir (Audio CD)
You can't complain when you put Lee Ritenour on guitar, Nathan East on Bass, Bob James on keys and Harvey Mason on drums. The kings of smooth jazz all joining together to form Fourplay, and release another incredible album in "Elixir". The musicians have been successful on their own, and when mixed together, it is hard not to put out something of this caliber.
The album is packed with good smooth jazz, mostly written by the guys in the band. There are some exceptional gems here like "Magic Carpet Ride" with some great solos from Ritenour and James. Phil Collins lends his voice and his lyrics to "Why Can't It Wait Till Morning", which is well done by the band and Collins' voice is very fitting. The title track is very jazzy, and what a great sound from Ritenour. "Play Lady Play" is a little more funky and allows East to step forward and slap his bass around a bit. "Licorice" also has a good sound.
I was pleased with this release from Fourplay, and it gets a lot of airplay from my smooth jazz collection. Fourplay is definitely a band worth pursuing, as well are each of the guys in the band. I have been a large fan of Ritenour and came across his work with Fourplay in pursuing him. His solo stuff is exceptional, and I recommend his Wes Montgomery tribute, "Wes Bound".
Track listing
1. Elixir
2. Dream Come True
3. Play Lady Play
4. Why Can't It Wait 'Til Morning?
5. Magic Carpet Ride
6. Whisper in My Ear
7. Fannie Mae
8. Closer I Get to You, The
9. East 2 West
10. Licorice
11. In My Corner
No worries but it's really rather easy.trash said:
I'm not sure how others do it but I typically do a Google image search. So in the case of the link you posted, I'd simply go to Google, click on images and type "Robert Cray Cookin' in Mobile". Select an image that's about 600x600 or smaller, click on "full-size image" and copy the address. Then, in the post editor, click on "Img" and paste that address between the brackets. Click submit and *voila*
Dennie
Well-Known Member
Here's To Life CD
Shirley Horn with Strings
1992 Polygram Records
The sweetest sounds I've ever heard., April 23, 2000
By Samuel Chell (Kenosha,, WI United States) -
(TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
Simply put, the best jazz vocalist recording of the last 20 years. I've purchased numerous copies to give to people whose musical and aesthetic sensibilities I trust. If depression comes from the inability to find in nature beauty commensurate with that in the human psyche, this album is guaranteed to administer a cure. The choice of songs, the re-visioning of each song, the piano accompaniments of Horn herself, the trumpet work of Wynton Marsalis (who filled in at the last minute after Miles' untimely death), the transcendent arrangements of Johnny Mandel, and the sublime readings of Ms. Horn cannot account for this "miracle" of a recording whose meaning is far greater than the sum of the parts. Not since late Bill Evans have I heard anything this beautiful on record. It fact, it would be hard to leave it off of any list of five best jazz recordings ever.
1. "Here's to Life" (Artie Butler, Phyllis Molinary) – 5:37
2. "Come a Little Closer"/"Wild Is the Wind" (John Wallowitch)/(Dimitri Tiomkin, Ned Washington) – 7:27
3. "How Am I to Know?" (Jack King, Dorothy Parker) – 3:23
4. "A Time for Love" (Johnny Mandel, Paul Francis Webster) – 6:45
5. "Where Do You Start?" (Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Johnny Mandel) – 4:36
6. "You're Nearer" (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers) – 3:32
7. "Return to Paradise" (Tiomkin, Washington) – 5:09
8. "Isn't It a Pity?" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) – 5:47
9. "Quietly There" (Morgan Ames, Mandel) – 6:09
10. "If You Love Me" (Marguerite Monnot, Geoff Parsons) – 6:02
11. "Summer (Estaté)" (Bruno Brighetti, Bruno Martino, Joel E. Siegel) – 7:38
Dennie
Well-Known Member
Getz/Gilberto -- SACD :text-bravo:
Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto featuring Antonio Carlos Jobim and Astrud Gilberto
1963/2002 Verve Records
The record that started the bossa nova craze of the mid-'60s, GETZ-GILBERTO is a justly recognized classic. The disc's success is attributable to its spectacular personnel: the man who basically invented bossa nova, Antonio Carlos Jobim; the man who defined and perfected the genre, Joao Gilberto; his charmingly waifish-sounding wife, Astrud Gilberto; and American tenor saxophonist extraordinaire Stan Getz. Jobim plays guitar and piano; Getz provides remarkably lyrical, complementary lead lines, and Joao Gilberto plays and sings in Portuguese with the most understated, romantic, and artful vocal delivery imaginable. It's a hard combination to beat.
Opening track "The Girl From Ipanema," a breezy, infectious Jobim composition with vocals by both Joao and Astrud, became one of the biggest (and most recognizable) hits of the era, and the single most popular Brazilian tune in America. The exquisite shuffle "Desafinado," the Joao-Astrud duet "Corcovado," and the eminently grooving "So Danco Samba" have gone on to become standards of both bossa nova and jazz, and the versions here are definitive. Getz's sensitive playing blends seamlessly with the deceptively casual rhythmic sophistication of Jobim, Gilberto, and percussionist Milton Banana. The material, the musicianship, and the gentle, minimal arrangements and production ensure that GETZ/GILBERTO will never date, age, or tire. It's a perfect album.
1. "The Girl from Ipanema" Antônio Carlos Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes, Norman Gimbel 5:24
2. "Doralice" Dorival Caymmi, Antonio Almeida 2:46
3. "Pra machucar meu coração" Ary Barroso 5:05
4. "Desafinado" Jobim, Newton Mendonça 4:15
5. "Corcovado" Jobim, Gene Lees 4:16
6. "Só danço samba" Jobim, de Moraes 3:45
7. "O grande amor" Jobim, de Moraes 5:27
8. "Vivo sonhando" Jobim 3:04
9. "The Girl from Ipanema" (45 rpm issue) Jobim, de Moraes, Gimbel 2:54
10. "Corcovado" (45 rpm issue) Jobim, Lees 2:20
Dennie
Well-Known Member
Our Gang -- SACD :text-bravo:
Anthony Wilson Trio
2002 Groove Note Records
Composer-arranger-bandleader and guitarist Anthony Wilson, the 32-year old son of big band maestro Gerald Wilson, is one of the most brilliant musicians working in the US jazz scene today. A recipient of the IAJE's Gil Evans Fellowship Award, Wilson's rich, fluid and easy going style, with it's seductive references to Wes Montgomery and Kenny Burrell, is much in evidence on his latest CD, Our Gang from the Groove Note label out of Los Angeles. Playing with a much pared down structure of guitar trio with organ and drums (his previous recordings have been with much larger outfits) gave Wilson the freedom to focus more on his own inventive and incomparable skills as soloist, and his close rapport with drummer Mark Ferber and organist Joe Bagg,with whom he has been playing with regularly for the last 2-3 years, pays off richly in this session.
This CD includes some stunning performances of standards like 'Chitlins Con Carne' (By Kenny Burrell), 'I Want You (She's So Heavy)' (from Abbey Road), and 'Prelude To A Kiss' (Strayhorn). The album alsocontains further evidence of Anthony Wilson's skill and talent as a composer as demonstrated by originalcompositions like 'Our Gang' and 'Britta's Blues.' The sterling back-up by Ferber and Bagg also deservesspecial mention with organist Bagg in particular exchanging great solos on the Hammond B-3 with Wilson.
Recorded by the A-list team of producer Joe Harley (ECM, Enja) and Mike Ross (engineer) at Cello Studios in Hollywood, this remarkable session will greatly extend Wilson's high profile position as one jazz's finest talents.
Track Listing:
Our Gang
Chitlins Con Carne
Britta's Blues
Time Flies
Road Trip
Luck be A Lady
I Want You (She's So Heavy)
Prelude To A Kiss
Dennie
Well-Known Member
Hymns of the 49th Parallel -- CD :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup:
K. D. Lang
2004 Nonesuch Records
Amazon.com
Was it homesickness that compelled longtime Los Angeles resident k.d. lang to fashion her one-woman campaign for north-of-the-border nationalism, or just plain good sense? All Canadian content has long been a mainstay of the Canadian Broadcasting System, but few have selected their material with such a fine hand and a high aesthetic. The expatriate singer has taken great pains to create a sophisticated homage to her Canadian roots, elegantly reinterpreting 11 songs penned by some of her more illustrious countrymen (and women) such as Jane Siberry, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Leonard Cohen. The idiosyncratic chanteuse turns Cohen's "Bird on a Wire" into an aching monochromatic lament, exploring new tributaries of pain that didn't exist in the original, while recasting Neil Young's "Helpless" into a haunting anthem of memory and comfort, all the while sounding anything but helpless. A gorgeous love letter to her brethren, complete with an intelligent and understated orchestration. --Jaan Uhelszki
1. "After the Gold Rush" (Neil Young) – 4:00
2. "Simple" (Lang, David Piltch) – 3:02
3. "Helpless" (Neil Young) – 4:15
4. "A Case of You" (Joni Mitchell) – 5:12
5. "The Valley" (Jane Siberry) – 5:31
6. "Hallelujah" (Leonard Cohen) – 5:01
7. "One Day I Walk" (Bruce Cockburn) – 3:24
8. "Fallen" (Ron Sexsmith) – 2:56
9. "Jericho" (Mitchell) – 3:45
10. "Bird on the Wire" (Leonard Cohen) – 4:28
11. "Love is Everything" (Jane Siberry) – 5:43
