Scott Robinson

A shamelessly contrived effort, Keep This Love Alive is, for the most part, yet another tremendous waste of Tom Scott's talents. There are a few enjoyable moments here, including guest Dianne Schurr's sensuous vocal on "Whenever You Dream of Me" and Scott's gritty jazz-funk blowing on "Mis Thang." But on the whole, this CD is a throwaway by both jazz and pop standards. R&B/pop singer Brenda Russell is anything but memorable on the bloodless adult-contemporary song "If You're Not the One for Me," and most of the instrumentals would sound boring and lackluster even in a dentist's office. Throwing creativity to the wind, Scott leaves no doubt that his only concern is commercial radio airplay. The saxman recorded more than his share of stinkers for GRP in the 1980s and '90s, and Keep This Love Alive is at the top of the list.

There's a wealth of information to be found inside the beautiful packaging that accompanies this release, but a brief Theodore Roosevelt quote may be the most telling piece of text to be found there. It reads: "There is nothing more practical in the end than the preservation of beauty, than the preservation of anything that appeals to the higher emotions in mankind." That really says it all about this artist and her work, for there is nobody more capable of harnessing emotions in music and projecting and preserving the beauty and power of the natural world in sound than Maria Schneider. She's demonstrated that time and again, and she does it once more on this awe-inspiring release…

Maria Schneider Orchestra - The Thompson Fields (2015) {ArtistShare AS0137}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 415 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 188 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 46 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2015 ArtistShare / Maria Schneider | AS 0137
Jazz / Experimental Big Band / Post-Bop / Modern Big Band / Progressive Jazz

There's a wealth of information to be found inside the beautiful packaging that accompanies this release, but a brief Theodore Roosevelt quote may be the most telling piece of text to be found there. It reads: "There is nothing more practical in the end than the preservation of beauty, than the preservation of anything that appeals to the higher emotions in mankind." That really says it all about this artist and her work, for there is nobody more capable of harnessing emotions in music and projecting and preserving the beauty and power of the natural world in sound than Maria Schneider. She's demonstrated that time and again, and she does it once more on this awe-inspiring release.

Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra - Coming About (1996) {Enja ENJ-9069 2}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 426 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 164 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 10 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1996 Enja Records | ENJ-9069 2
Jazz / Experimental Big Band / Post-Bop / Modern Big Band / Progressive Jazz

Composer/arranger Maria Schneider and her 18-piece orchestra perform a variety of advanced and difficult music on this CD. The centerpiece of the set is her three-part "Scenes from Childhood" which deals with fear, confusion and grudging acceptance; do not look here for any childlike melodies or playfulness. In addition the big band plays a reworked version of "Giant Steps," the "Love Theme from Spartacus," the Spanish-flavored "El Viento" (which is slightly reminiscent of Gil Evans's writing for Sketches of Spain) and "Waxwings."

Maria Schneider & Dawn Upshaw - Winter Morning Walks (2013) {ArtistShare AS0121}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 239 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 122 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 1.24 Gb | 5% repair rar
© 2013 ArtistShare / MSF Music | AS0121
Classical / Jazz / Vocal / Experimental Big Band

Winter Morning Walks is the first partnership between Schneider and Upshaw, bringing together two preeminent figures in jazz and classical music. Schneider has been commissioned to compose for jazz orchestras and artists all over the world, has won two GRAMMY Awards and has been nominated for several more. Writing for TIME Magazine, Terry Teachout said, "To call Schneider the most important woman in jazz is missing the point two ways. She's a major composer-period." Upshaw was also deemed "one of the most consequential performers of our time" by the LA TIMES, is a multiple GRAMMY winner and MacArthur Fellow, and has performed at the Metropolitan Opera over 300 times. In 2004 Schneider pioneered the fan-funding model by becoming the first artist to sign with ArtistShare® to release 'Concert In The Garden,' the first web-exclusive recording to win a GRAMMY.

Ron Carter - Ron Carter's Great Big Band (2011) {Sunnyside}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 361 Mb
Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 13 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2011 Sunnyside / Crazy Scot Rec. | SSC 1293
Jazz / Modern Big Band

Ron Carter is one of the most recorded bassists in jazz. In his mid-seventies at the time of these sessions, he is very much still at the top of his game as he leads the first big-band date of his own, with potent arrangements by conductor Robert M. Freedman and including some of New York's busiest musicians, including Jerry Dodgion, Steve Wilson, Wayne Escoffery, and Scott Robinson in the woodwind section, brass players Steve Davis, Douglas Purviance, and Greg Gisbert, plus pianist Mulgrew Miller and drummer Lewis Nash, among others.