96 Khz Jazz

Oscar Peterson augmented his regular working trio of the time (bassist Sam Jones and drummer Louis Hayes) with Henley Gibson on congas, Marshall Thompson on timbales, and Harold Jones as an added percussionist for this release, which focuses mostly on the music of Brazilian composers (so the title Soul Espanõl is a bit misleading). With the surge of interest in bossa nova and samba, Peterson's interpretations of songs like "Manha de Carnaval," "How Insensitive," "Meditation," and "Samba de Orfeo" have stood up very well against similar jazz recordings of the mid-'60s. Peterson's "Soulville Samba" has a gospel flavor, while his "Sensitive Samba" is more laid-back; Vincent Youmans' decades-old "Carioca" also fit in nicely. This is an enjoyable, if not essential, part of Oscar Peterson's considerable discography.

Although Miles Davis did not live to participate in Gerry Mulligan's reunion recordings featuring the nonet that played on the famous late-'40s and early-'50s cool sessions, he participated in a reunion concert held at Montreux in 1991. This featured both the Gil Evans Orchestra and George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band, plus additional guests Benny Bailey, Grady Tate, Carlos Benavent and various European players teaming with a gravely ill Davis to perform Gil Evans' marvelous arrangements.

Patty's voice is nice, smooth and pure sounding, yet she's still extremely expressive. She really uses a softer volume to her advantage to hit just the right notes and add just the right embellishments…

Henri Dutilleux's work has been gaining attention through a number of significant recent recordings. Esa-Pekka Salonen recorded his Correspondances with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and Ludovic Morlot has recorded both his symphonies, as well as other works, as the new conductor of the Seattle Symphony. This opportunity to experience and appraise his work casts him as among the most significant French composers of the late twentieth century.

The fourth studio album from Britain's Rebecca Ferguson, 2016's Superwoman is a hooky, sophisticated production worthy of her immense talent. Blessed with an earthy, soulful wallop of a voice, Ferguson rose from modest beginnings in Liverpool as the daughter of Jamaican immigrants and a teen mom to acclaim as the runner-up on the British version of The X Factor in 2010…

This is an obscure 1955/56 session with Carole Creveling backed by a quartet of Bill Baker on piano, Jimmy Wyble on guitar, Bob Norris on Drums and Jack Coughlan on bass. Creveling's vocals are great; somewhat haunting on the ballads, swinging on the up tempo songs…

Nobody Else But Me illuminates the dark corners of romance with rare depth and maturity – Betty Bennett's sultry, knowing vocals further establish the palpable feeling that this is a record for adults. Shorty Rogers and André Previn share arranger duties, and both operate in a framework emphasizing nuance and restraint, enabling Bennett to articulate her tales of love and loss without embellishment or redundancy…

The first six selections on this CD are from a long-out-of-print LP featuring the brilliant clarinetist Buddy DeFranco with the Oscar Peterson Quartet (Peterson's trio plus drummer Louie Bellson). While the six selections are all standards, DeFranco and Peterson produce plenty of fireworks with the majority of the numbers being taken up-tempo. DeFranco sounds flawless on clarinet, making it sound so easy to play lightning-fast runs; few other clarinetists have ever come close. Recommended.

On May 20 it will be released by the Roman record label Alpha Music the new album of the trio of the singer, pianist and jazz author Salento Elizabeth Guidowith the Milanese musicians Mirko Fait (sax) and Martino Vercesi (guitar), with whom he has been a close-knit band for at least 3 years…