Jazzman Blues

A sorely underexposed figure and a major influence on Miles Davis, pianist Ahmad Jamal isn't generally ranked among the all-time giants of jazz, but he impressed fellow musicians and record buyers alike with his innovative, minimalist approach. Jamal's manipulations of space and silence, tension and release, and dynamics all broke new ground, and had an impact far beyond Jamal's favored piano trio format. As an arranger, Jamal made the most of his small-group settings by thinking of them in orchestral terms: using his trademark devices to create contrast and dramatic effect, and allowing the rhythm section a great deal of independence in its interplay.

Fred Nardin, the winner of the Prix Django Reinhardt 2016 of the French musician of the year, is a composer, musician, performer and an authentic Jazzman. His last album «Opening» features personal compositions and arrangements, was recorded with Leon Parker, a drummer with whom he has been playing for six years, as well as with Or Bareket, a promising bass player from New York. The terific playing of this Trio, their complicity, musicality and creativity make this album a marvel which ought to be on any jazz lover's shelf and will certainly lead to more successful enjoyable and vibrant albums together. A true sense of swing, groove, bop, with the elegance of the very few.

Kazumi Watanabe is a jazz and jazz fusion guitarist, from Tokyo, Japan. Kazumi learned to play guitar from Sadanori Nakamure, one of Japan's grandmaster guitarists. Kazumi released his first recording in 1971, and quickly became a promising guitarist in his own right. In 1979, he formed an all-star band with some of Japan's leading studio musicians, and recorded the album Kylyn, which is considered a masterpiece in fusion music. During the eighties Watanabe released a considerable number of jazz-rock albums. To Chi Ka (1980), with its funk influences and bright sound, is probably the most famous early title.

Despite the fact that pianist and composer Paul Bley had been a renowned and innovative jazzman for nearly 20 years, 1973 saw the release of his most mature and visionary work. This is one of the most influential solo piano recordings in jazz history, and certainly one that defined the sound of the German label ECM. Consisting of seven tracks, five of which were composed by Carla Bley (his ex-wife) and Annette Peacock (soon to be his ex-wife), and two originals, Bley showcased his newfound penchant for the spatial pointillism and use of silence that came to define his mature work. In Carla Bley's "Ida Lupino," the pianist took the song's harmonics and unwound them from their source, deepening the blues elements, brushing the Errol Garnerish ostinato with pastoral shades and textures of timbral elegance, and reaching the tonic chords in the middle register just as he forced the improvisation just barely into the abstract with his right hand…

Kenny Garrett - Sketches of MD: Live at the Iridium (2008) {Mack Avenue MAC 1042} (ft. Pharaoh Sanders}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 395 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 132 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 37 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2008 Run Run Shaw / Mack Avenue Records | MAC 1042
Jazz / Modern Jazz / Post Bop / Saxophone

Though it was recorded live at New York's jazz emporium, Iridium, Detroit born saxophonist Kenny Garrett makes a return home of sorts with Sketches of MD, his debut on the Motor City's own Mack Avenue Records. His quartet here, with bassist Nat Reeves, pianist/organist Benito Gonzalez, and drummer Jamire Williams, may not possess the star power of some of his studio albums, but this band is more than up for the gig. In addition, saxophonist Pharoah Sanders reprises his role from Beyond the Wall from 2006 as Garrett's foil, creating sparks aplenty.

When Charlie Byrd recorded Byrd in the Wind in 1959, he was still two years away from discovering bossa nova. The guitarist had yet to interact with Astrud and João Gilberto or record anything by Antonio Carlos Jobim, and he had yet to become a major player in the Brazilian jazz field. Nonetheless, Byrd was an impressive jazzman even before he discovered bossa nova. Byrd (who sticks to the acoustic guitar on this album) already had a recognizably melodic sound - one that underscored his appreciation of Django Reinhardt as well as Andrés Segovia and the Spanish school of classical guitar - and he would have left behind a worthwhile catalog even if he had retired in 1960. The guitarist's classical leanings are hard to miss on Byrd in the Wind, especially when he employs woodwind players (all of them members of the National Symphony Orchestra) on some of the selections…