Girl Talk

Girl Talk was recorded live to two-track using a single microphone. The liner notes state that Holly Cole's intention in doing so was to preserve the "quintessence of her live performances," and the result is dazzlingly successful. The air of intimacy between artist and listener is so great that, if anything, the feeling of being present in the moment is greater here than on the 1996 live album It Happened One Night. On an album recorded "live in concert," the ambient noises that occur when a large number of people are gathered in one place can seem discordant or inappropriate when you're listening to the CD in your car or your living room; the atmosphere can exclude rather than include you.

Completing a “trilogy” of great records that started with "Midnight Sugar" and "Misty", "Girl Talk" solidified Tsuyoshi Yamamoto’s reputation as Japan’s premier Jazz pianist. As usual, Yamamoto, bassist Akira Daiyoshi and drummer Tetsujiro Onaba worked with master recordist Yoshihiko Kannari at AOI Studios, Tokyo. Kannari’s recordings are prized for their immediacy and dynamic expressiveness, both traits exhibited here to startling effect.

Shirley Scott - Girl Talk (1967) {2015 Japan Impulse! Classics 50 Series UCCI-9274}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 194 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 78 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 174 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1967, 2015 Impulse! / Verve / Universal Music Japan | UCCI-9274
Jazz / Hard Bop / Soul Jazz / Organ

Sweet 60s grooves from Shirley Scott – really working the Hammond organ here with a wonderful sound – that warm, lean, soulful groove she hit perfectly at Impulse Records! There's a clarity here you don't get on some of Shirley's other records – a really stripped-down sound on the keys, which makes for playful lines that really sparkle – the kind of class and care that really set Scott apart from other 60s organists! Rhythm is nice and tight – bass from George Duvivier, and the great Mickey Roker playing some nice snapping, dancing drums – and tracks are short and compact, but still with some nice solo moments. Titles include "Come Back To Me", "On The Trail", "Love Nest", "Girl Talk", and "Keep The Faith Baby".

One of a number of memorable albums recorded by Oscar Peterson for MPS during the mid-'60s, Girl Talk was compiled from several live studio sessions taped between 1964 and 1966, with bassist Sam Jones and either Bobby Durham or Louis Hayes on drums. Peterson's romping right hand helps this normally bland show tune. The pianist's imaginative unaccompanied introduction to "I'm in the Mood for Love" adds a new dimension to this old chestnut, with the rhythm section making a belated entrance; it is rather unusual to hear the trio play on just one song for 17 minutes. The title track, an overlooked gem jointly written by Bobby Troup and Neal Hefti, finds the leader in a bluesy mood. The relaxed but jaunty treatment of "Robbin's Nest" follows a powerful medley of "I Concentrate on You" and "Moon River" to wrap up this highly recommended session.