Jazz Paris

Mary Lou Williams spent a fair amount of time in Europe in the early '50s, prior to a temporary hiatus from jazz. This CD from Verve's Jazz in Paris series compiles two separate sessions from 1954; one features a trio, a quintet, and a pair of vocals by blues singer Beryl Bryden, and the other is purely a trio. All of the selections are fairly brief, with only one running over three-and-a-half minutes. The first 11 songs are a bit of a mixed bag. The strongest tracks feature Williams alone ("I Made You Love Paris" and her "Club Francais Blues") or with her trio ("Avalon," "Swingin' for the Guys," and "Memories of You"). Weaker are the four tracks with trumpeter Nelson Williams and tenor saxophonist Ray Lawrence, who aren't up to the playing level of horn players who typically worked with the pianist, though bassist Buddy Banks somewhat makes up for their shortcomings by contributing an enjoyable original ("Leg'n Lou") and a strong solo…

Mary Lou Williams spent a fair amount of time in Europe in the early '50s, prior to a temporary hiatus from jazz. This CD from Verve's Jazz in Paris series compiles two separate sessions from 1954; one features a trio, a quintet, and a pair of vocals by blues singer Beryl Bryden, and the other is purely a trio. All of the selections are fairly brief, with only one running over three-and-a-half minutes. The first 11 songs are a bit of a mixed bag. The strongest tracks feature Williams alone ("I Made You Love Paris" and her "Club Francais Blues") or with her trio ("Avalon," "Swingin' for the Guys," and "Memories of You"). Weaker are the four tracks with trumpeter Nelson Williams and tenor saxophonist Ray Lawrence, who aren't up to the playing level of horn players who typically worked with the pianist, though bassist Buddy Banks somewhat makes up for their shortcomings by contributing an enjoyable original ("Leg'n Lou") and a strong solo…

Orchestre National De Jazz - Olivier Benoit - Europa Paris (2014) [2CD] {OnJazz Records}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 572 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 238 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 41 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2014 OnJazz Records | 424444
Jazz / Modern Big Band / Modern Creative / Experimental Jazz

Created under the initiative of the French Ministry of Culture, the Orchestre National de Jazz began in 1986. Known as a creative laboratory, the ONJ has evolved through nine different projects under the control of a series of musical directors. Born in 1969, composer, guitarist and conductor, Olivier Benoit has multiple associations in musical investigations which cross: improvisation, experimental music, jazz, contemporary, electronic music, dance, theatre, circus and video.

Modern Jazz Quartet - A Morning In Paris (2008) [2CD]
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 811 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 345 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 23 Mb
© 2008 Le Chant du Monde / Harmonia Mundi | 274 1603/04
Jazz / Cool / Bop

Pianist/composer/musical director John Lewis, vibraphonist Milt Jackson, drummer Kenny Clarke (later replaced by Connie Kay), and bassist Percy Heath formed the Modern Jazz Quartet in the mid 1950s and were still together in the mid '90s (after a six-year break). The group's popular chamber-jazz sound was informed by Lewis's extensive studies in European compositional techniques. Jackson died in 1999, definitively closing the book on the long-lived, enormously influential quartet.

Inaugurated back in autumn 2000, the Jazz in Paris collection has marked the past decade as a reference in the French capital's jazz recordings. Thanks to the unrivalled quality of the albums it features, the series provides a complete panorama of Parisian jazz from the 30s to the 70s.

Near the beginning of his career, Michel Legrand was primarily known as a jazz pianist, so it shouldn't be surprising to learn that none of his compositions are present on these 1959 studio sessions, which were issued by Phillips. With bassist Guy Pederson and drummer Gus Wallez, Legrand covers songs by French composers of the day along with the ever-popular "Moulin Rouge" and a somewhat upbeat arrangement of Edith Piaf's usually maudlin "La Vie en Rose," as well as standards from the Great American Songbook by Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Vernon Duke, and Mack Gordon. Most of the songs have a Parisian theme to them. Legrand's piano style is hard to define, as he shows a variety of influences without letting any of them overwhelm his sound…