Alfredo Valdes Jr Up Tempo Mood (1992)

This is an album of good, old-fashioned Dixieland standards played by a great group, with Harry Connick Jr. at the piano. Although he's only 11 years old, he plays some fun and creative solos, and in general, the CD is wonderful for all lovers of Dixieland, and will put you in a good mood instantaneously. The loose group jams through nine familiar Dixieland standards and includes trumpeter and leader Teddy Riley and bass player Walter Payton.

For this quartet date with pianist Cedar Walton, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Billy Higgins (trumpeter Freddie Hubbard sits in on two numbers), Turrentine is in top form on a variety of standards plus Tommy Turrentine's "Thomasville" and Rahsaan Roland Kirk's "Spirits up Above." A fine session.

In 1962, two of the most influential and talented instrumentalists that Cuba ever produced were brought together. Saxophonist/clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera was invited to hear pianist Chucho Valdés at a local club in his Marianao neighborhood of South Havana. The two soon became a musical partnership that helped shape jazz in Cuba. Their paths would separate in 1980 when D’Rivera left Cuba.

For this Christmas jazz album, Harry Connick, Jr. emphasizes his vocals (his piano playing is quite secondary) as he sings ten familiar Christmas songs plus four of his originals while joined by a big band, a string section, and background singers.
It is among the most popular holiday collections of the past two decades in the United States. The album proved to be the best-selling holiday album in the U.S. of 1993.

Two stray Chet Baker 10" titles and a few associated alternate takes are gathered on this single disc. Grey December is one of the better CD reissues featuring Baker's early-'50s recordings on Pacific Jazz, the purveyors of West Coast cool. The instrumental sides feature two septet sessions in December of 1953 and the vocal sextet session dates to February of 1955 - all three of which feature Baker and pianist Russ Freeman. Rather than present these sides chronologically, the four vocal tracks precede the decidedly lengthier 1953 instrumental sessions - a programming decision that works remarkably well. Enthusiasts of Baker's laid-back vocals should consider the February 1955 sessions as essential. The combination of Bud Shank's ethereal flute work when married to Baker's muted vocals create an intense burst of melancholy…

Sabbath and Dio were dealing with a dwindling fan base, unsuccessful albums, and a longstanding creative rut when they decided to reunite the Mob Rules lineup. In a perfect world, they would have created a monster of an album and shot back into the limelight with a vengeance…

Laid back, jazz of great subtlety and artistry by two masters of their instruments.
Joe Pass did the near-impossible. He was able to play up-tempo versions of bop tunes such as "Cherokee" and "How High the Moon" unaccompanied on the guitar. Unlike Stanley Jordan, Pass used conventional (but superb) technique, and his Virtuoso series on Pablo still sounds remarkable decades later.
Joe Pass had a false start in his career. He played in a few swing bands (including Tony Pastor's) before graduating from high school, and was with Charlie Barnet for a time in 1947. But after serving in the military, Pass became a drug addict, serving time in prison and essentially wasting a decade…

Sonny Rollins - Horn Culture (1973) {Milestone-OJC rel 1992}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 307 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 113 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 7 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1973, 1992 Milestone / Fantasy / OJC | 00025218631426
Jazz / Post Bop / Saxophone

Sonny Rollins must have liked hearing Billy Holiday with two of her absolute classic numbers included and a composition he composed himself which has no familarity with Billy Holiday's classic "Loverman" but the title "Love Man" sandwiched in between the two Billy Holiday numbers does make one think. Anyway recorded in 1973 and this album "Horn Culture" is Sonny's second album after his last absence from the Jazz scene in the late sixties and early seventies doing yoga and the Eastern thing but he sure came back vibrant and as usual he played beautifully with this album being no exception.