What Are You Listening To?

[Dennie]

Infinity -- CD

McCoy Tyner Trio featuring Michael Brecker

1995 Impulse/GRP Records

A Worthy Successor to the Classic Coltrane Quartet,
November 14, 2001
By "greensauce75"
This review is from: Infinity (Audio CD)

This is one of the best matchups of two of the most seminal figures in jazz today. There is no saxophonist alive more worthy of playing alongside the legendary pianist from the John Coltrane Quartet of the 1960s than Michael Brecker. His style is very much influenced by Coltrane's ideas and harmonic innovations but he still manages to have a completely original voice. His playing on this date is up to his usual standard of excellence and truly seems to inspire and push the trio forward. One of the reasons that Tyner and Brecker play extremely well together is that both heavily employ the use of pentatonics. Their styles mesh amazingly well.

The music itself is mostly written by Tyner with a few exceptions including their take on Coltrane's classic Impressions. Brecker truly extends himself on this modal standard but the highlight of the album is the first track, Flying High. Both Brecker and Tyner are in top form and play beautifully with extreme intensity.

This is one of my favorite jazz albums in my collection of over 200. You will not be dissapointed if you buy it.

Also, Avery Sharpe takes one the most amazing bass solos I have ever heard on Thelonious Monk's I Mean You and is truly up to the challenge of playing with such top-notch players.

"Flying High" - 10:14
"I Mean You" (Hawkins, Monk) - 7:19
"Where Is Love" - 5:31
"Changes" - 9:46
"Blues Stride" - 3:38
"Happy Days" - 9:42
"Impressions" (Coltrane) - 11:13
"Mellow Minor" - 5:26
"Good Morning Heartache" (Drake, Fisher, Higgenbotham) - 9:21

All compositions by McCoy Tyner except as indicated

Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, April 12 (track 1 & 6), 13 (tracks 4, 7 & 8) and 14 (tracks 2, 3, 5 & 9), 1995

 

[Dennie]

Count 'em 88 - Remastered CD

Ahmad Jamal Trio

1956/2012 101 DISTRIBUTION

Ahmads first album with his new trio of Israel Crosby (bass) and Walter Perkins (drums), Count Em 88 was originally released in 1956. Whilst he was popular in and around the Chicago area, his nationwide breakout wouldnt occur for another year, but there are signs on this album that the template he would later use to so much effect was very much in place. There is great interplay between Ahmad, Israel and Walter, making this as vital a release as any of the subsequent albums and on par with anything that came before or after.

TRACK LIST

1. Volga Boatman
2. On Green Dolphin Street
3. How About You?
4. I Just Can't See For Looking
5. Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year
6. Beat Out One
7. Maryam
8. Easy To Remember
9. Jim Love Sue

 

[Dennie]

Master Takes/Savoy Recordings -- CD

Lester Young

1980 Savoy Jazz

Lester Young recorded for Savoy three separate times in four different settings. On Apr. 18, 1944 he performed as part of the Count Basie Orchestra (although Basie himself was absent) for three numbers and then cut four more songs with a septet that included trumpeter Billy Butterfield and pianist Johnny Guarnieri. A few weeks later he was featured on four selections in front of the Count Basie rhythm section. Prez made his final Savoy appearance in 1949, fronting a young sextet that also included pianist Junior Mance and drummer Roy Haynes. All of those performances are included on this CD minus the many alternate takes which can be heard (along with this entire program) on The Complete Savoy Recordings. by Scott Yanow

1. Circus in Rhythm
2. Poor Little Plaything
3. Tush
4. These Foolish Things
5. Exercise in Swing
6. Salute to Fats
7. Basie English
8. Blue Lester
9. I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance With You
10. (Back Home Again In) Indiana
11. Jump Lester Jump
12. Crazy Over J-Z
13. Ding Dong
14. Blues 'N' Bells
15. June Bug

 

[Dennie]

Happy Monday everyone... :doh:

Temptation -- CD

Shelby Lynne

1995 Morgan Creek Records

Swing it, Shelby!, August 1, 2001
By Just_Karen (Portland, Oregon)
(VINE VOICE)

If you came late to Shelby, and you're looking for more of the harsh, changeable, sublime stuff you found on "I am Shelby Lynne," you owe it to yourself to check out Shelby in an earlier incarnation. I have them all, but this is my favorite. It's also nothing like her most recent work. This CD features a full-on swing orchestra with steel guitars and fiddles, and Shelby's great big alto booming out over impeccable instrumentation. Get it while you can, because if you love her voice, you'll never hear it featured more beautifully than in these arrangements.

"Temptation" (Shelby Lynne, Brent Maher, Jamie O'Hara) – 3:04
"Feelin' Kind of Lonely Tonight" (Maher, O'Hara) – 3:00
"Tell Me I'm Crazy" (Rory Michael Bourke, Mike Reid) – 3:44
"Little Unlucky at Love" (Maher, O'Hara) – 3:01
"Some of That True Love" (Lynne, Maher, O'Hara) – 2:47
"The Rain Might Wash Your Love Away" (Maher, Don Potter, Don Schlitz) – 4:34
"Don't Cry for Me" (Maher) – 2:43
"I Need a Heart to Come Home To" (John Jarvis, Russell Smith) – 4:20
"Come a Little Closer" (Maher, O'Hara) – 3:15
"Where Do We Go from Here" (Maher, Potter, Reid) – 3:38

 

[Dennie]

The Poll Winners -- XRCD

Barney Kessel with Shelly Manne and Ray Brown

1957/1997 Contemporary/JVC Records

The Poll Winners trio was based on guitarist Barney Kessel, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Shelly Manne, who each managed to place first on his instrument in the 1956 Down Beat, Metronome, and Playboy readers' polls, a remarkable feat given the range from hardcore jazz fans to casual generalists who read the magazines. Kessel and Brown had worked together as two-thirds of the Oscar Peterson trio, and they had all played together on numerous recording sessions, but the open sound of the guitar-led trio was a special opportunity for Brown and Manne to share the foreground. Kessel was an outstanding soloist, capable of almost trumpetlike phrases delivered with rhythmic bite and flexibility--unusual in guitarists of the era. His clear, boppish lines intertwine neatly with Brown's loping pulse and Manne's lightly swinging drums, while Brown's solos are almost as dexterous as the guitarist's. It's low-key, melodic music, equally suited for casual and close listening. --Stuart Broomer

1. Jordu
2. Satin Doll
3. It Could Happen To You
4. Mean To Me
5. Don't Worry 'Bout Me
6. On Green Dolphin Street
7. You Go To My Head
8. Minor Mood
9. Nagasaki

Personnel: Barney Kessel (guitar); Ray Brown (bass); Shelley Manne (drums).Recorded at Contemporary Studios, Los Angeles, California on March 18-19, 1957. Originally released on Contemporary (7535). Includes original liner notes by Nat Hentoff.Digitally remastered by JVC using XRCD (extended resolution compact disc).

 

[Dennie]

Today's work truck music...

She -- CD

Harry Connick, Jr.

1994 Columbia Records

5.0 out of 5 stars A must!, September 1, 2005
ByMelissa C. Jurgensen (Lexington, KY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: She (Audio CD)

I recently rediscovered this CD in my collection and I've played it to death ever since! This is my FAVORITE Connick CD. I love his mix of Dixieland/New Orleans Jazz and funk. This is a must have for any Connick fan and I don't know why it wasn't more popular than it was when it came out. This is classic Harry and I do find myself wishing he'd release another album such as this.
All songs by Harry Connick, Jr. and Ramsey McLean unless otherwise noted.

"She" – 5:36
"Between Us" – 5:57
"Here Comes the Big Parade" – 4:11 - an ode to Mardi Gras
"Trouble" – 2:40
"(I Could Only) Whisper Your Name" – 4:50
"Follow the Music" – 1:00
"Joe Slam and the Spaceship" (Connick, Jonathan DuBose, Tony Hall) – 7:12
"To Love the Language" – 5:01
"Honestly Now (Safety's Just Danger...Out of Place)" – 5:31
"She...Blessed be the One" – 1:35
"Funky Dunky" (Connick) – 6:22
"Follow the Music Further" – 1:19
"That Party" – 5:12
"Booker" – 6:26

 

[Dennie]

Today's work truck music...

Running On Empty -- CD

Jackson Browne

1977/1990 Asylum Records

Amazon.com

Recorded onstage, backstage, in three different hotel rooms, and on a Continental Silver Eagle tour bus during a cross-country 1977 tour, Running on Empty is a paean to life on the road. Jackson Browne's sense of camaraderie extended to the road crew, if "The Load Out," a love song to his roadies, is to be believed. Browne is much more blithe here than in his earlier outings. But Empty also represents a fleeting lighthearted moment for the singer-cum-poet whose concerns became more political than personal after its appearance. Beneath its flippant surface, this disc is a look at the lengths Browne and his friends went to avoid facing the demands of the touring life. What with the frequent drug references, misogynistic references to on-the-fly pairings with women, and the sobering line in the title track--"I look around for the friends I used to pull me through / Looking into their eyes, I see them running, too"--one realizes that Browne was much more comfortable on the road than off. --Jaan Uhelszki

1. "Running on Empty" (Browne) – 5:20
* Recorded live (8/27/77), Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD
2. "The Road" (Danny O'Keefe) – 4:50
* Recorded in room 301 (8/27/77), Cross Keys Inn, Baltimore, MD (first — 2:58) and live (9/7/77), Garden State Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ
3. "Rosie" (Browne, Donald Miller) – 3:37
* Recorded backstage (9/1/77) "in the big rehearsal room," Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY
* Doug Haywood and tour photographer Joel Bernstein sing harmony.
4. "You Love the Thunder" (Browne) – 3:52
* Recorded live (9/6/77), Holmdel, NJ
5. "Cocaine" (Browne, Reverend Gary Davis, Glenn Frey) – 4:55
* Recorded in room 124 (8/17/77), Holiday Inn, Edwardsville, IL
6. "Shaky Town" (Danny Kortchmar) – 3:36
* Recorded in room 124 (8/18/77), Holiday Inn, Edwardsville, IL
* Danny Kortchmar sings harmony.
7. "Love Needs a Heart" (Browne, Valerie Carter, Lowell George) – 3:28
* Recorded live (9/17/77), Universal City, CA
8. "Nothing but Time" (Browne, Howard Burke) – 3:05
* Recorded "on a bus (a Continental Silver Eagle) somewhere in New Jersey" (9/8/77)
* Russ Kunkel is credited as playing "snare, hi-hat, and cardboard box with foot pedal." The song was recorded aboard the band's Continental Silver Eagle tour bus (hence the lyrical reference to "Silver Eagle") while en route from Portland, Maine to their next gig in New Jersey. The bus's engine is audible in the background throughout, and its downshift and acceleration can be plainly heard during the bridge.
9. "The Load-Out" (Browne, Bryan Garofalo) – 5:38
* Recorded live (8/27/77), Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD
10. "Stay" (Maurice Williams) – 3:28
* Recorded live (8/27/77), Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD

 

[Dennie]

Canciones de mi Padre -- CD

Linda Ronstadt

1987/1990 Asylum Records

Amazon.com

Topflight pop singer pays tribute to her heritage on this amazing roots ranchera album that also features excellent backing by the world-famous Mariachi Vargas, all under the experienced hand of master arranger-composer-producer Ruben Fuentes. Everything clicks wonderfully here, but numbers that set a new standard include "Tu Solo Tu," an incredibly harmonic love ode; "Por un Amor," on the price of real love; and "Los Laureles," a song of declaration on which Ronstadt soars unbelievably high. These are old Mexican classics, played by arguably the world's best mariachi group and sung by one of North America's greatest vocal talents. Extras include performances by another world figure, requinto player Gilbert Puente, who made trio history when he led Mexico's Los Tres Reyes in the '50s and '60s. In the mariachi-ranchera genre, this CD easily ranks among the very best. --Ramiro Burr

1. "Por Un Amor" (Gilberto Parra) – 2:56
2. "Los Laureles" (Lopez) – 2:25
3. "Hay Unos Ojos" (Rubén Fuentes) – 2:45
4. "La Cigarra" (Ray Pérez, Soto) – 3:45
5. "Tu Solo Tu" – 3:09
6. "Y Andale" – 2:32
7. "Rogaciano El Huapanguero" (Valeriano Trejo) – 3:00
8. "La Charreada" (Felipe Bermejo) – 3:49
9. "Dos Arbolitos" – 2:34
10. "Corrido De Cananea" – 3:24
11. "La Barca De Guaymas" – 3:25
12. "La Calandria" – 3:00
13. "El Sol Que Tú Eres" (Traditional) – 2:57

 

[Dennie]

Mas Canciones -- CD

Linda Ronstadt

1991 Elektra Records

Linda Ronstandt finds her roots, November 14, 2009
By Theresa Mata "Theresa" (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Mas Canciones (Audio CD)

I bought 'Canciones de mi Padre' and 'Mas Canciones' when they first came out but I bought them on cassette tape. I recently realized I needed to have them on cd. I absolutely love them! If you thought Linda could sing in the 70s, you haven't heard anything. Those mariachi songs are difficult to sing and Linda did them proudly, greatly, and spiritually.

"Tata Dios" (Trejo) – 4:19
"El Toro Relajo" (Felipe Bermejo) – 2:32
"Mi Ranchito" (Felipe Valdes Leal) – 3:33
"La Mariquita" (Rubén Fuentes) – 2:59
"Gritenme Piedras del Campo" (Cuco Sanchez) – 3:27
"Siempre Hace Frio" (Cuco Sanchez) – 3:18
"El Crucifijo de Piedra" (Roberto Cantoral) – 3:16
"Palomita de Ojos Negros" (Tomas Mendez) – 3:30
"Pena de los Amores" (Jose Luis Almada) – 4:00
"El Camino" (Jesus Navarro, Jr.) – 3:29
"El Gustito" (Jose Lopez) – 2:36
"El Sueño" (Nicandro Castillo) – 3:41

 

[Dennie]

Today's work truck music...

New Moon Daughter -- CD

Cassandra Wilson

1996 Blue Note Records

Amazon.com essential recording

Her luscious alto has the depth and texture of a great tenor saxophonist, but Cassandra Wilson's defining asset is a postmodern song sense that enables her to surf through Son House, Neil Young, Johnny Mercer, Billie Holiday, and (gasp!) the Monkees in pursuit of strong songs that can provide that instrument with a canvas. Her second Blue Note album extends Wilson's seductive pilgrimage beyond the conventions of jazz repertoire and accompaniment, yet it's her instincts as a jazz singer that inform these brilliant readings. The settings again step away from traditional small group jazz (for starters, there's no piano) to evoke the emotional core of these songs. Anyone who can turn the Monkees' "Last Train to Clarksville" into a slow-burning erotic vignette deserves your attention. --Sam Sutherland

"Strange Fruit" (Lewis Allan) — 5:33
"Love Is Blindness" (Bono, Adam Clayton, The Edge, Larry Mullen, Jr.) — 4:53
"Solomon Sang" (Cassandra Wilson) — 5:56
"Death Letter" (Son House) — 4:12
"Skylark" (Hoagy Carmichael, Johnny Mercer) — 4:08
"Find Him" (Wilson) — 4:37
"I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" (Hank Williams) — 4:50
"Last Train to Clarksville" (Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart) — 5:15
"Until" (Wilson) — 6:29
"A Little Warm Death" (Wilson) — 5:43
"Memphis" (Wilson) — 5:04
"Harvest Moon" (Neil Young) — 5:01

 

[Dennie]

Today's work truck music...

RIP BB King

Great Moments with B.B. King -- CD

B.B. King

1981 MCA Records

Fine mix of live & studio recordings, January 9, 2000
By MilesAndTrane (Chicago, Il USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Great Moments With B.B. King (Audio CD)

Compared to other efforts, "Great Moments With B.B. King" is something of a lesser effort. The first half of the album is comprised of intimate, live club performances. The second half are studio tracks. If you love "ol' school" sounding blues then this is for you. Part of the ol' school trick comes from the mixing. Whether live or in the studio, these records are usually mixed to sound as if the drums and bass guitar are in the back of the stage/studio, followed by organ and/or rhythm guitar in the middle, with horns, lead guitar & vocals up front. This album sticks by the ol' school method faithfully and sounds better for doing so. The studio cuts are not as great as the small club performances; the first 5 live tracks are especially mindblowing.

Maybe you've heard the King or Lucille sound better on other albums and you may be right, but the feeling is still overwhelming. This album is authentic, gritty blues from the King that would soon be replaced by the air-tight, blemish-free performances we now know (but love anyway).

Track listing

1. Waitin' on You
2. Gambler's Blues
3. Tired of Your Jive
4. Night Life
5. Buzz Me
6. Blind Love
7. Baby Get Lost
8. Gonna Keep on Loving You
9. I Know What You're Puttin' Down
10. Heartbreaker
11. Dance With Me
12. That's Wrong Little Mama
13. See See Rider
14. Wee Baby Blues
15. I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water
16. I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town
17. How Long, How Long Blues
18. Cherry Red
19. Paying the Cost to Be the Boss
20. Until I Found You
21. I'm Gonna to Do What They Do to Me
22. Having My Say
23. I'm Not Wanted Anymore

 

[heeman]

Yes - Relayer; 2014 Steven Wilson Remix in 5.1 :music-listening: :music-listening: :music-listening:

 

[Babs]

I am listening to "Three Years To The Day", by Roman Angelo, on the Carribean Sea, with tears in my eyes!!!

 

[Zing]

 

[Botch]

Don't quite know where this one came from. I coulda swore Toto announced their retirement a year or two ago, then all of the sudden this shows up. Lead singer is Joe Williams, who sang on a couple albums many years ago (Toto never kept a single lead singer, that chair was always refreshed). Steve Porcaro is back on synthesizers, he had to "officially" leave the band after releasing a solo album (per contract) (but his parts were there, at least on some releases). Steve Lukather and David Paich remain as the only two constant members.
I'm not happy with the recording quality so far, very "muffled". Will have to give it the "one-week-in-the-car" Heeman/Botch Test for song quality, but so far I'm very happy with the tunes.

 

[Botch]

This is just blowing my mind, wow. :shock: :bow-blue: :text-bravo:

 

[Dennie]

Happy Saturday everyone... :banana-dance:

Blues On The Bayou -- CD

B.B. King

1998 MCA Records

Amazon.com's Best of 1998

Opting for simplicity this time around, B.B. King gets by with a little help from his excellent backing band, producing an album that's evocative of the Louisiana countryside where it was recorded. After over half a century in the business, King knows what he's about: he makes playing good blues sound easy, and every track on Blues on the Bayou is a treat. --Genevieve Williams

"Blues Boys Tune" - 3:25
"Bad Case of Love" - 5:28
"I'll Survive" - 4:53
"Mean Ole' World" - 4:29
"Blues Man" - 5:20
"Broken Promise" - 3:34
"Darlin' What Happened" - 5:26
"Shake It Up and Go" - 3:10
"Blues We Like" - 5:08
"Good Man Gone Bad" - 3:20
"If I Lost You" - 4:57
"Tell Me Baby" - 3:26
"I Got Some Outside Help I Don't Need" - 4:37
"Blues in G" - 3:28
"If That Ain't It I Quit" - 3:20

 

[heeman]

Don't quite know where this one came from. I coulda swore Toto announced their retirement a year or two ago, then all of the sudden this shows up. Lead singer is Joe Williams, who sang on a couple albums many years ago (Toto never kept a single lead singer, that chair was always refreshed). Steve Porcaro is back on synthesizers, he had to "officially" leave the band after releasing a solo album (per contract) (but his parts were there, at least on some releases). Steve Lukather and David Paich remain as the only two constant members.
I'm not happy with the recording quality so far, very "muffled". Will have to give it the "one-week-in-the-car" Heeman/Botch Test for song quality, but so far I'm very happy with the tunes.

Band Members History:

 

[PaulyT]

Botch - so that's a good album then? n(Joey Alexander) I've ordered it too, looking forward to hearing it.

Dennie - yeah listened to that one yesterday (Blues on the Bayou), one of my favs. And this one this morning:

 

[Dennie]

Botch - so that's a good album then? n(Joey Alexander) I've ordered it too, looking forward to hearing it.

Dennie - yeah listened to that one yesterday (Blues on the Bayou), one of my favs. And this one this morning:

[/quote

Good choice Pauly. I remember when that one came out. I played the hell out of it. :handgestures-thumbup:




Dennie bscene-drinkingcheers: