Engineered TO Speak

Engineered to Speak: Helping You Create and Deliver Engaging Technical Presentations

"Speak Like A Child" is Herbie Hancock’s 1968 masterpiece. It features a star-studded lineup, which includes Ron Carter, Mickey Roker, Jerry Dodgion, Thad Jones and Peter Phillips. It reached the Top Twenty on Billboard’s Top Jazz Albums and includes the hits, “The Sorcerer” and the title-track. This thought-provoking listen features Hancock’s signature lyrical playing and melodic brilliance.

Speak English Or Die is the 1985 debut album by New York hardcore band Stormtroopers Of Death, also known as S.O.D. This was a side project by two members of Anthrax, a former member of Anthrax (who would form Nuclear Assault) and friend Billy Milano. Two years after the album's release, Megaforce Records released the album on CD with a track originally placed on a compilation album. This first version is considered "unremastered". The album was remastered in 1999 with live tracks recorded during the group's reunion tour.

This is one of the last sessions by Walter Bishop, Jr. prior to his death in 1998. The veteran bop pianist is in great form on this trio date with bassist Paul Brown and drummer Al Harewood, which mixes standards, bop classics, and several originals. Bishop's jaunty approach to 'Yardbird Suite' is a gem, while his lush treatment of 'The Masquerade Is Over' finds the rhythm section staying softly in the background. He revisits 'Speak Low,' a centerpiece of his first date as a leader some 32 years earlier, playfully detouring into Billy Strayhorn's 'Rain Check' and leaving room for a few drum breaks by Harewood. His 'Valley Land' is an intense mid-tempo samba, while 'Keiko's Samba' kicks into a higher gear. This Japanese SACD on the Venus label is worth seeking.

Music legend Wayne Shorter has composed some of music’s most memorable tunes. His seminal classic, "Speak No Evil", features guest appearances by heavyweights Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard and Elvin Jones. This evocative listen with its subtle layers features a series of long tones allowing for rich harmonies to develop. Showcasing his compositional ingenuity, the album’s title track has become a staple in the jazz repertoire. Influencing countless musicians that followed, "Speak No Evil" was one of Shorter’s finest solo efforts and is essential for any collection.

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The late Lowell Fulson had passed his peak when he recorded this album in London in 1984. After all, his classic sides had come in the '50s and '60s. But even a good 20 years later he could still cut it, as this disc shows all too clearly. Ably supported by Eddie C. Campbell on second guitar and John Altman on saxes, in addition to the excellent John Dummer on drums, Fulson showed that if he'd lost a step through age, he's gained two with experience.