Natasha Chesky

Pianist and composer David Chesky has assembled a group of first-rate collaborators for this unique jazz project. Bob Mintzer (bass clarinet), Giovanni Hildago (congas), Andy Gonzalez (bass) and Randy Brecker (trumpet) rank among the finest instrumental voices in jazz and Latin music. Each member of the Body Acoustic Band brings his distinct style to this polyrhythmic tour de force, making this an exciting experimental journey into the deep organic space of audiophile jazz.

Babatunde Olatunji - Love Drum Talk (1997) {Chesky WO160}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 399 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 159 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 17 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1997 Chesky Records | WO160 | 24/96 mastering
World Music / African Folk / Worldbeat / African Traditions / Percussion

The Nigerian-born drum master leads an ebullient ensemble of guitarists, singers and percussionists through a series of spirited meditations on the nature of love. Lust, kinship, sensuality, courtship and spirituality are the themes Olatunji uses to fuel his joyous infectious playing. Highlights include "Mother, Give Me Love," "Don't Know Why My Love," "Spell Monisola" and more.

Traffic continues the CBW tradition of blending virtuosic original compositions with immaculately conceived interpretations of jazz and classic rock standards. Original songs on Traffic include go-for-the-throat throwdowns like “Judith Loves Jazz,” “Door #3” and “Overruled,” while covers of Thelonious Monk’s “Misterioso” and Jimi Hendrix’s “Manic Depression” are also featured.

Rosa Passos made her recording debut as a leader in 1979, but this 2003 Chesky CD may be her first to be released outside of South America. The Brazilian singer is paired with veteran bassist Ron Carter, who provides a solid melodic foundation for her throughout the date; the delightful Brazilian guitarist Lula Galvao; percussionist Paulo Braga, and, on a few tracks, veteran session musician Billy Drewes on tenor sax or clarinet. While the focus is clearly on the soft, effective vocals of Passos, who is extremely effective in her interpretations of bossa nova classics such as "Insensatez," "Desafinado," "Caminhos Cruzados," and "O Grande Amor," Carter's solos are also subtly swinging.

Having spent most of his time since the late '90s re-appropriating pop, funk, rock, and fusion elements into his progressive jazz albums, bassist Christian McBride makes a joyously off the cuff return to straight-ahead acoustic jazz on 2006's New York Time. Working here with the seasoned rhythm section giants of pianist Cedar Walton and drummer Jimmy Cobb as well as an equally engaging contemporary, tenor saxophonist Javon Jackson, McBride has crafted a back-to-basics album that, while firmly in the mainstream jazz tradition, works to remind listeners why they dug him in the first place.

Larry Coryell, Victor Bailey, Lenny White - Electric (2005) {Chesky Records JD308}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 386 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 138 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 48 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2005 Chesky Records | JD308
Jazz / Fusion / Jazz-Rock / Guitar / Bass / Drums

This trio set featuring guitarist Larry Coryell, drummer Lenny White, and bassist Victor Bailey is issued by Chesky, purveyor of uncompressed audiophile recordings. And while the sound is wondrous, it's the performances here that take front and center. The mix of jazz, funk, and rock tunes on Electric is infectious, especially when played with such incendiary inspiration. Members of this trio wrote four of the nine tunes here. White's furied funk freak-out "Wolfsbane" opens the proceeding on a hot note, and Coryell's "BB Blues" takes the jazz-inflected blues to a new intensity.

Chuck Mangione laid low throughout much of the '90s, perhaps the end result of a disappointing string of albums for Columbia during the '80s. He returned to the road in 1997 and evidently it was a positive experience, since he returned to the studio the following year to cut The Feeling's Back. For all intents and purposes, The Feeling's Back is a comeback album, finding Mangione returning to the smooth, melodic style of Feels So Good, but laying off the sappy pop tendencies that dogged his '80s efforts.

Chuck Mangione, the famed flugelhornist and trumpeter fills his first recording of the 21st century with some wonderfully subdued love songs whose subtle, intimate qualities may surprise those of his fans who best know his boisterous pop hits. More than simply expressing a romantic boy-girl kind of love, Mangione is playing gentle, atmospheric jazz for a wide variety of special people, real and animated. And there is no doubt that the truest love here is that between the artist and some of his old bandmates.