Szabados Gyorgy - The Wedding (1974)

Szabados Gyorgy - The Wedding (1974)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 495MB

Hungaroton HCD 71094

booklet info:

Tracks
-1. The Wedding - 11:40
-2. Improvisation, Duo For Piano And Violin - 10:33
-3. Miracle - 14:53
-4. The Interrogation Of Irma Szabo - 9:09
Bonus tracks
-5. B-A-C-H Impressions - 6:41
-6. World Dust - 12:18
-7. Ballad - 5:34

Personnel
* Sándor Vajda - double bass
* Imre Köszegi - drums
* György Szabados - piano
* Lajos Kathy-Horváth - violin, double bass

 sample & buy: The Wedding

Bill Frisell - Have a Little Faith (1993)

Bill Frisell  - Have a Little Faith (1993)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 330MB

Elektra/Nonesuch 7559-79301-2

Allmusic:
Bill Frisell has long been one of the most unique guitarists around. Able to switch on a moment's notice from sounding like a Nashville studio player to heavy metal, several styles of jazz, and just pure noise, Frisell can get a remarkable variety of sounds and tones out of his instrument. This set features Frisell in a quintet with Don Byron (on clarinet and bass clarinet), Guy Klucevsek on accordion, bassist Kermit Driscoll, and drummer Joey Baron. To call the repertoire wide-ranging would be an understatement. In addition to eight melodies from Aaron Copland's Billy the Kid, Frisell and company explore (and often reinvent) pieces written by Charles Ives, Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters, Madonna, Sonny Rollins, Stephen Foster, and John Phillip Sousa. This is one of the most inventive recordings of the 1990s and should delight most listeners from any genre.

Tracks
01. "The Open Prairie": from Billy the Kid (Copland) - 3:11
02. "Street Scene in a Frontier Town": from Billy the Kid (Copland) - 1:45
03. "Mexican Dance and Finale": from Billy the Kid (Copland) - 3:44
04. "Prairie Night (Card Game at Night)/Gun Battle": from Billy the Kid (Copland) - 5:02
05. "Celebration After Billy's Capture": from Billy the Kid (Copland) - 2:17
06. "Billy in Prison": from Billy the Kid (Copland) - 1:33
07. "The Open Prairie Again": from Billy the Kid (Copland) - 2:34
08. "The Saint-Gaudens in Boston Common": Excerpt 1 (Ives) - 0:41
09. "Just Like a Woman" (Dylan) - 4:49
10. "I Can't Be Satisfied" (Morganfield) (3:00)
11. "Live to Tell" (Leonard, Madonna) - 10:10
12. "The Saint-Gaudens in Boston Common": Excerpt 2 (Ives) - 3:05
13. "No Moe" (Rollins) - 2:37
14. "Washington Post March" (Sousa) - 2:05
15. "When I Fall in Love" (Heyman, Young) - 3:26
16. "Little Jenny Dow" (Foster) - 3:30
17. "Have a Little Faith in Me" (Hiatt) - 5:39
18. "Billy Boy" (Traditional) - 1:38
* Recorded at RPM Studios NYC March 1992

Personnel
* Bill Frisell – guitar
* Don Byron – clarinet, bass clarinet
* Guy Klucevsek – accordion
* Kermit Driscoll – bass
* Joey Baron – drums

 sample & buy: Have a Little Faith

 

Baby Face Willette - Face To Face (1961)

Baby Face Willette - Face To Face (1961)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 375MB

Blue Note/EMI | RVG 2007

Allmusic:
While it's true that Baby Face Willette's Stop and Listen is widely regarded as his finest recording, this, his Blue Note debut from January of 1961, should not by any means be overlooked. After all, before this session he had the same lot as most Blue Note artists at the time; they played as sidemen on other's recordings before being allowed to headline their own dates. Willette performed on dates by Grant Green (Grant's First Stand) and Lou Donaldson (Here 'Tis). Face to Face boasts a mighty meat and potatoes soul-jazz lineup: Green on guitar, Fred Jackson on tenor, and drummer Ben Dixon. Comprised of six cuts, five of them are Willette originals. The evidence of the rough and rowdy side of Willette's playing is evident from the opener, "Swinging at Sugar Ray's." His approach to the B-3 is far more percussive than Jimmy Smith's, each note is a distinct punch; not only in his solos, but in his chord and head approaches. His solo is a nasty, knotty blues sprint that encompasses gospel licks and R&B fills, too. The other notable thing about the cut is Green's guitar break that shows a side of him we seldom got to hear early on, where he's bending strings, playing in the high register, and using intense single-note runs. It's nearly a breathless way to open a record. Things slow down on the blues "Goin' Down" that features a nice emotive solo by Jackson. The mambo-infused "Whatever Lola Wants" by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross comes next and includes some beautiful stop-and-and start moves in the melody, as well as beautiful call and response between Jackson and Willette, while Dixon's drums shift around the outside before the whole thing breaks down into a groover. The poppin' funky title track has one of those beautiful hard bop heads that's instantly memorable. Sure, it's not terribly sophisticated but it's full of soul and a relaxed yet quick group of changes before Jackson begins to blow. "Somethin' Strange" is pure blues, Chicago style, before moving into tough funky soul. The set closes with "High 'N' Low," a relaxed show-closing groove joint; it's all blues with fine contributions from Green, Jackson, and Willette. The two alternates are not necessarily revelatory, but they do keep the solid vibes happening for another 13 minutes or so. Certainly it's true that these compositions don't show a ton of imagination conceptually, but that doesn't mean anything. The group interplay here is the thing, it works seamlessly. The other notable is the looseness with which Green was playing on the date, and the true introduction of Willette's trademark approach to the B-3. That's all here. These tunes have their own little trademark knots and notches all over them. Highly recommended.

Tracks
1. "Swingin' at Sugar Ray's" - 6:35
2. "Goin' Down" - 7:24
3. "Whatever Lola Wants" (Richard Adler, Jerry Ross) - 7:21
4. "Face to Face" - 6:17
5. "Something Strange" - 6:42
6. "High 'N' Low" - 7:07
7. "Face to Face" [Alternate take] - 6:52 Bonus track on CD reissue
8. "Something Strange" [Alternate take] - 6:41 Bonus track on CD reissue
All compositions by Baby Face Willette except as indicated

Personnel
* Baby Face Willette – organ
* Grant Green – guitar
* Fred Jackson - tenor saxophone
* Ben Dixon – drums

 sample & buy: Face To Face 

Cristina Branco - Corpo Iluminado (2001)

Cristina Branco - Corpo Iluminado (2001)

world, fado | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 250MB

EmArcy 014 151-2

Allmusic:
Cristina Branco might just be the best fado singer since the great Amalia Rodrigues, the woman who defined the genre. There's a subtlety to her voice that catches the emotions -- and fado, like blues or flamenco, is about feel -- and she never becomes histrionic, letting things stay in check, with the understatement much more eloquent. With this disc she refines and expands upon her two previous studio albums, even to the extent of the unaccompanied "Molinera" that closes the record, a song in a 13th century dialect. The musical relationship between Branco and husband Custodio Castelo, who arranges and plays the difficult Portuguese guitar (which gives fado its distinctive, mournful instrumental sound), continues to grow and deepen, while the other instruments -- guitar and double bass, build a framework for songs like the delicate "Musa." As with all fado, the lyrics are the crux of the matter, and Branco has chosen some beautiful poems (all well translated in the booklet), with "Tu Tens de Me Acontecer" a particular standout. But with a set this sublime, it's almost impossible to single out any one song above the others. There's a floating, breathless beauty about the whole thing that makes it timeless -- and over all too soon.

Tracks
01 - Corpo Illuminado
02 - Meu Amor, Meu Amor (Meu Limao de Amargura)
03 - Musa
04 - Aconteceu
05 - Meu Amor e Marinheiro
06 - Memoria de Meu Bem
07 - Que Fazes ai Lisboa
08 - Portos
09 - Aquele Tao Triste Dia
10 - Locais
11 - Disse-te Adeus e Morri
12 - Mill Janelas
13 - Rio de Nuvens VIII
14 - Tu Tens de Me Acontecer
15 - No Fundo do Pensamento
16 - Molinera

 sample & buy: Corpo Iluminado 

 

Oscar Peterson - With Respect To Nat (1965)

Oscar Peterson - With Respect To Nat (1965)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 270MB

Verve by Request 557 486-2

Allmusic:
This album is quite unusual. Recorded shortly after Nat King Cole's death, pianist Oscar Peterson takes vocals on all but one of the dozen selections, sounding almost exactly like Cole. Peterson, who rarely ever sang, is very effective on the well-rounded program, whether being backed by a big band (arranged by Manny Albam) on half of the selections or re-creating both the spirit of the Nat King Cole Trio and his own group of the late '50s during a reunion with guitarist Herb Ellis and bassist Ray Brown.

Tracks
1. "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street" (Gene Austin, Jimmy McHugh, Irving Mills) – 2:18
2. "It's Only a Paper Moon" (Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg, Billy Rose) – 2:29
3. "Walkin' My Baby Back Home" (Fred E. Ahlert, Roy Turk) – 2:31
4. "Sweet Lorraine" (Cliff Burwell, Mitchell Parish) – 3:31
5. "Unforgettable" (Irving Gordon) – 2:37
6. "Little Girl" (Francis Henry, Matt Hyde) – 2:35
7. "Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good to You" (Andy Razaf, Don Redman) – 2:56
8. "Orange Colored Sky" (Milton DeLugg, William Stein) – 2:12
9. "Straighten Up and Fly Right" (Nat King Cole, Irving Mills) – 2:25
10. "Calypso Blues" (Clifford Carmen, Cole, Don George) – 3:34
11. "What Can I Say After I Say I'm Sorry?" (Walter Donaldson, Abe Lyman) – 2:39
12. "Easy Listening Blues" (Nadine Robinson) – 3:23

Personnel
* Oscar Peterson - piano, vocals
* Hank Jones - piano
* Ray Brown - double bass
* Richard Davis - double bass
* Herb Ellis - guitar
* Barry Galbraith - guitar
* Mel Lewis - drums
* Wayne Andre - trombone
* Jimmy Cleveland - trombone
* J. J. Johnson - trombone
* Tony Studd - bass trombone
* Seldon Powell - alto flute, tenor flute
* Jerome Richardson - bass flute, tenor flute
* John Frosk - trumpet
* Joe Newman - trumpet
* Ernie Royal - trumpet, flugelhorn
* Danny Stiles - trumpet, flugelhorn
* Phil Woods - alto saxophone
* Manny Albam - arranger, conductor

 sample & buy: With Respect to Nat