Flac Elisabeth Welch – Stormy Weather

Sammi Smith sang soulful, melancholy country music. One of the highlights of Ace’s acclaimed “Choctaw Ridge” compilation earlier this year was her ‘Saunders’ Ferry Lane’, an eerie tale of doomed romance in a chilly backwater. Her low, distinctively husky voice was built for sad songs, and she has been described as country music’s Dusty Springfield. Compiled and annotated by Bob Stanley, “Looks Like Stormy Weather” is a collection built for winter nights.

Lena Horne was an international jazz superstar and a dynamic performer of striking appearance and elegant style. Singer/actress Lena Horne's primary occupation was nightclub entertaining, a profession she pursued successfully around the world for more than 60 years, from the 1930s to the 1990s. In conjunction with her club work, she also maintained a recording career that stretched from 1936 to 2000 and brought her three Grammys, including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1989; she appeared in 16 feature films and several shorts between 1938 and 1978; she performed occasionally on Broadway, including in her own Tony-winning one-woman show, Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music, in 1981-1982; and she sang and acted on radio and television.

Although the very attractive Lena Horne has never really been a jazz singer, her vocals are generally of interest to jazz listeners and she has occasionally recorded in jazz settings. This Bluebird CD is pretty definitive of the first half of her career. Horne sings a pair of ballads with Charlie Barnet's 1941 orchestra and two songs (including "Don't Take Your Love From Me") with a unique Artie Shaw-led all-star band that includes Benny Carter, Red Allen, and a string section. The remainder of the disc features Horne backed by studio orchestras, and the results are superior (if sometimes overly dramatic) renditions of standards as rendered by a top-notch cabaret singer. Highlights include "Stormy Weather," "Ill Wind," "Moanin' Low," "As Long As I Live," and "It's All Right With Me."

The second album by Dracma contains an excellent collection of modern Progressive rock music, between MarIllion, Genesis and especially IQ. This Spanish band knows how to recreate in its climates and lyrics the tumultuous and meditative feeling of Peter Nicholls' band. The alternation of very quiet acoustic tracks and heavier or floating sequences allows the band to show its full talent.

This ten-track compilation is drawn from a benefit concert held at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles to raise money for Don Henley's Walden Woods Project. Ten female singers essay song standards of varying vintage, from the 1930s to the '80s.

Ben Webster - Stormy Weather (1965) {Black Lion BLCD760108 rel 1988}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 323 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 134 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 27 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1965, 1988 Black Lion | BLCD760108
Jazz / Mainstream Jazz / Saxophone

Recorded around a month after the veteran tenor Ben Webster moved to Europe, this high-quality set with pianist Kenny Drew, bassist Niels Pederson, and drummer Alex Riel features Webster stretching out on the traditional "Londonderry Air," two originals, and seven familiar but fresh standards. Webster, although neglected in the U.S., was still in peak form in the mid-'60s, as this and his other Black Lion sets covering the period show.

Third studio album by the British singer/songwriter. Debuting at #7 in the UK Albums Chart, the album features songs made famous by the American jazz singer Billie Holiday. Songs on the album include 'Get Happy', 'That Ole Devil Called Love', 'Summertime' and 'Stormy Weather'.