Hampton Hawes - Sermon (1958)

Hampton Hawes - Sermon (1958)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 230MB

OJC

Allmusic:
This set was pianist Hampton Hawes' last before he started what would be five years in prison on drug charges. He had been arrested 11 days before and ironically chose to record a set of spirituals (plus a blues) as he awaited trial. Not released until 1987, the music (played with bassist Leroy Vinnegar and drummer Stan Levey) is full of intense emotion, strong melodies and a little more variety than one might expect. Hawes' treatments of such tunes as "Down By the Riverside," "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen," "When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder" and "Joshua Fit De Battle of Jericho" are quite haunting.

Tracks
-1. "Down by the Riverside" - Barnes, Traditional - 4:44
-2. "Just a Closer Walk With Thee" - Traditional - 5:02
-3. "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" - Baez, Christian, Haggard, Traditional - 4:55
-4. "Nobody Knows the Trouble I'veSeen" - Traditional - 4:55
-5. "When the Roll Is Called up Yonder" - Black, Traditional - 4:32
-6. "Go Down Moses" - Traditional - 4:36
-7. "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" - Traditional - 3:56
-8. "Blues N/C" - Hawes - 8:47

Personnel
* Hampton Hawes - piano
* Leroy Vinnegar - bass
* Stan Levey - drums

 sample & buy: Sermon

 

Assif Tsahar - Jam (2003)

Assif Tsahar - Jam (2003)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 235MB

Hopscotch 21

allmusic:
There used to be an unwritten edict in the out jazz world: that music as much fun as this is to listen to had no business in the avant-garde catalog. Jam is the result of the combined talent of sax great Assif Tsahar, drum ace Jim Black, and violin maestro Mat Maneri. Over nine sections and 52 minutes, rhythmic invention meets knotty harmonic elocution and microtonal interplay in a kind of South Park-meets-Art Ensemble zeitgeist. Humor, as well as innovation in musical communication, all become part of some weave that touches upon the past, burrows out from the present, and flies into the future. Deep listening and well-articulated sonic speech are all hallmarks of the union of three very different yet complementary personages who explore together the spaces of dynamic and rhythm as they let loose the questions surrounding the textural possibilities of their instruments, together and separately. This is a jam in that it feels loose and free and unencumbered by anything other than speaking directly and warmly, and as the result of wonderfully innovative discourse whose meaning will no doubt be revealed to the listener in the decades to come. But that doesn't mean there is anything concrete or difficult to listen to in this music. Its' grace and elegance move it around so often, and with so much wit and savvy, it almost feels composed. Wondrous stuff from a great label.

Tracks
-1. "Jam, Pt. 1" - Black, Maneri, Tsahar - 6:39
-2. "Jam, Pt. 2" - Black, Maneri, Tsahar - 4:56
-3. "Jam, Pt. 3" - Black, Maneri, Tsahar - 7:02
-4. "Jam, Pt. 4" - Black, Maneri, Tsahar - 6:06
-5. "Jam, Pt. 5" - Black, Maneri, Tsahar - 4:24
-6. "Jam, Pt. 6" - Black, Maneri, Tsahar - 5:41
-7. "Jam, Pt. 7" - Black, Maneri, Tsahar - 3:33
-8. "Jam, Pt. 8" - Black, Maneri, Tsahar - 5:10
-9. "Jam, Pt. 9" - Black, Maneri, Tsahar - 8:10

Personnel
* Assif Tsahar - tenor sax, bass clarinet
* Mat Maneri - electtric 5 string violin
* Jim Black - percussion

 sample & buy: Jam

 

Herbie Hancock - Quartet (1981)

Herbie Hancock - Quartet (1981)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 385MB

Columbia

Allmusic:
This is an extremely symbolic album, for Herbie Hancock and the V.S.O.P. rhythm section essentially pass the torch of the '80s acoustic jazz revival to the younger generation, as personified by then 19-year-old Wynton Marsalis. Recorded during a break on a tour of Japan, a month before Marsalis made his first Columbia album, the technically fearless teenaged trumpeter mostly plays the eager student, imitating Miles, Freddie Hubbard, and Brownie McGhee, obviously relishing the challenge of keeping up with his world-class cohorts. Things start out conventionally enough with a couple of Monk standards, and then they progress into the mid-'60s Miles Davis post-bop zone, with Ron Carter and Tony Williams driving Marsalis and Hancock relentlessly forward. Several staples from the Miles/V.S.O.P. repertoire turn up ("The Eye of the Hurricane," "The Sorcerer," "Pee Wee"), and there is one wistful ballad, "I Fall In Love Too Easily," where Marsalis sounds a bit callow, not yet the master colorist. Hancock remains a complex, stimulating acoustic pianist, the years of disco having taken no toll whatsoever on his musicianship. This looked like it would be a Japan-only release, but since the buzz on Marsalis was so loud, CBS put it out in the U.S. in 1982, fanning the flames even more.

Tracks
-1 "Well You Needn't" (Thelonious Monk) - 6:29
-2 "'Round Midnight" (Bernie Hanighen, Cootie Williams, Monk) - 6:41
-3 "Clear Ways" (Williams) - 5:00
-4 "A Quick Sketch" (Ron Carter) - 16:27
-5 "The Eye of the Hurricane" (Hancock) - 8:05
-6 "Parade" (Carter) - 7:58
-7 "The Sorcerer" (Hancock) - 7:19
-8 "Pee Wee" (Williams) - 4:34
-9 "I Fall In Love Too Easily" (Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn) - 5:52

Personnel
* Herbie Hancock - Piano
* Ron Carter - Bass
* Wynton Marsalis - Trumpet
* Tony Williams - Drums

 sample & buy: Herbie Hancock Quartet

David Krakauer - Klezmer Madness! (1995)

David Krakauer - Klezmer Madness! (1995)

klezmer | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 295MB

Tzadik

Allmusic:
David Krakauer's Klezmer Madness sits on the edge of the Klezmer tradition and is always jabbing at its boundaries. The music is always a little bit more unbridled, a bit more passionate, and a tad more discordant than your bubbe's klezmer records, which is not to say that it falls into the same camp as other punk, pop, or jazz-oriented groups that treat klezmer like a quaint novelty. Krakauer, with his virtuoso clarinet playing and incredibly tight and talented backing band, always shows respect for the heart of klezmer music -- these songs orbit around a pure core. The only tune which truly journeys out into left field is "Living With the H," which deconstructs and reassembles the ubiquitous classic "Hava Nagila," a song which almost begs to be messed with. The effect is not unlike a jazz band who can tip their hats to tradition without having to hash out another tired version of "My Foolish Heart." Krakauer has accepted that klezmer has never been a static form of music and has no problem imbuing his own sense of creativity into Klezmer Madness within the constraints of this classic style.

Tracks
-01. "Africa Bulgar" - Traditional - 3:43
-02. "Bogota Bulgar" - Traditional - 4:06
-03. "A Few Bowls Terkish" - Traditional - 4:37
-04. "At the Rabbit's Table" - Traditional - 5:14
-05. "Doina/Death March Suite" - Traditional - 10:32
-06. "Funky Dave" - Traditional - 5:53
-07. "The Ballad of Chernobyl" - Traditional - 5:19
-08. "Gong Doina" - Traditional - 2:19
-09. "Living With the H Tune" - Traditional - 6:03
-10. "Rachab" - Zorn - 1:27

Personnel
* David Krakauer (clarinet, bass clarinet)
* Michael Alpert (vocals, accordion)
* David Licht (percussion)
* & guests

 sample & buy: Klezmer Madness

 

Conte Candoli - Powerhouse Trumpet (1955)

Conte Candoli - Powerhouse Trumpet (1955)
(aka: Groovin' Higher)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 125MB

Betlehem archives |  R275828

wikipedia:
Secondo "Conte" Candoli (July 12, 1927–December 14, 2001) was an American jazz trumpeter based on the West Coast. He played in the big bands of Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Benny Goodman, and Dizzy Gillespie, and in Doc Severinsen's NBC Orchestra on The Tonight Show. He played with Gerry Mulligan, and on Frank Sinatra's TV specials. He also recorded with Supersax, a Charlie Parker tribute band that consisted of a saxophone quintet, the rhythm section, and either a trumpet or trombone.
allmusic:
Powerhouse Trumpet, which was also previously issued under the title Groovin' Higher, is an immaculately performed set of straight-ahead bop finding trumpeter Conte Candoli in fine form. The 1999 Rhino reissue has been digitally remastered from the original tapes.

Tracks
-1. "Toots Sweet" - Homan - 5:26
-2. "Jazz City Blues" - Holman - 4:12
-3. "My Old Flame" - Coslow, Johnston - 5:43
-4. "Full Count" - Candoli - 6:25
-5. "I'm Getting Sentimental overYou" - Bassman, Washington - 3:09
-6. "Four" - Davis - 3:58
-7. "Groovin' Higher" - Candoli - 5:11

Personnel
* Conte Candoli (trumpet)
* Bill Holman (tenor saxophone)
* Lou Levy (piano)
* Larance Marable (drums)

 sample & buy: Powerhouse Trumpet

 

Red Norvo - Music To Listen To Red Norvo By (1957)

Red Norvo - Music To Listen To Red Norvo By (1957)

jazz | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 285MB

OJC

Allmusic:
Although vibraphonist Red Norvo is the leader of this sextet date, clarinetist Bill Smith (who contributed the 20-minute four-movement "Divertimento") often sets the tone for the music. His work has classical elements to it, but the five shorter pieces (by Jack Montrose, Barney Kessel, Lennie Niehaus, Duane Tatro, and Norvo) are much more jazz oriented. Norvo's light-toned sextet (which consists of his vibes, flutist Buddy Collette, clarinetist Bill Smith, guitarist Barney Kessel, bassist Red Mitchell, and drummer Shelly Manne) was not a regularly working unit, but it sounds well-integrated and tight during the complex, but generally swinging, music.

Tracks
-1. "Poeme" - Montrose - 5:53
-2. "Red Sails" - Kessel - 3:51
-3. "The Red Broom" - Norvo - 4:37
-4. "Rubricity" - Tatro - 3:54
-5. "Paying the Dues Blues" - Niehaus - 4:53
-6. "Divertimento: 1st Movement" - Smith - 4:18
-7. "Divertimento: 2nd Movement" - Smith - 6:42
-8. "Divertimento: 3rd Movement" - Smith - 4:43
-9. "Divertimento: 4th Movement" - Smith - 4:18

Personnel
* Red Norvo (vibraphone)
* Bill Smith (clarinet)
* Buddy Collette (flute)
* Barney Kessel (guitar)
* Red Mitchell (bass)
* Shelly Manne (drums)

 sample & buy: Music to Listen to Red Norvo By

Master Musicians of Jajouka feat Bachir Attar 2000 - MMOJ with Talvin Singh (2000)

Master Musicians of Jajouka feat Bachir Attar 2000 - MMOJ with Talvin Singh (2000)

world | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 225MB

Point Music

Allmusic:
Talvin Singh was reportedly pleased and amazed to win the Technics Mercury Prize in the U.K. in 1999, a highly commendable trade achievement, for his eclectic CD OK. His instant reaction to receiving the award was to disappear off the European club and concert circuit to jam for months with the famed Master Musicians of Jajouka, heroes of the Rif mountains in a less than easily accessible region of Morocco. Beat author William Burroughs once described the Master Musicians as "the World's Only 4,000-year-old band," and Brian Jones recorded a tremendous album with them in 1969 shortly before he died. The outfit of long, strange, and wonderful renown achieves something heretofore unexplored in the company of Singh. Here the guest introduces a hallucinogenic, soulfully high-tech texture to the primordial rhythms and riffs of the masters, creating one of those rare syntheses of past and present, a gorgeous (of loosely hooked) carpet of colors and shapes. There is a whiff of the controlled jam here, not as fresh or far from the studio as one might expect from the high Rif, but this may be due to the production hand of Singh himself in the elaborate remix. A heartfelt and utterly noncommercial collaboration, probably meaning that winning the Mercury doesn't mean that everything, stylistically, must be cast in stone.

Tracks
-01. "Up to the Sky, Down to the Earth" - Attar, Singh - 6:29
-02. "The Truth Forever" - Attar - 10:23
-03. "Searching for Passion" - Attar, Singh - 3:37
-04. "Taksim" - Attar - 2:51
-05. "You Can Find the Feeling" - Attar, Singh, Somatik - 5:46
-06. "The Blessing for the World from God Only" - Attar - 6:46
-07. "Jammin in London" - Attar, Singh - 4:10
-08. "The House of Baraka" - Attar - 7:39
-09. "Above the Moo" - Attar, Singh - 4:30
-10. "The Magic of Peace" - Attar, Singh, Somatik - 5:47
-11. "The Magic of Peace [Remix]" - Attar, Singh, Somatik - 8:48

 sample & buy: Master Musicians of Jajouka Feat. Bachir Attar