 ALBUM EN ECOUTE |
| Stan Getz: Cafe Montmartre is the name of an old Danish jazz cafe where these songs were recorded. All of them are ballads collected from Getz' albums People Time, Anniversary, and Serenity. Anniversary and Serenity were recorded in 1987 with a band consisting of pianist Kenny Barron, bass player Rufus Reid, and drummer Victor Lewis. People Time is the music from a series of concerts in 1991, not long before Getz' death. The music is full of intimacy, strong expression, and lovely notes. Getz surely lives up to what he himself said: "I never played a note I didn't feel intimately, and I'd like that to be my epitaph."...Buy |
| JOHN COLTRANE |
| Among Thelonious Monk's long stays at New York's legendary Five Spot was a six-month period in 1957 with possibly his most brilliant band, with John Coltrane finding fuel in Monk's music for his harmonic explorations. The quartet only recorded three studio tracks: a sublime reading of Monk's ballad "Ruby, My Dear"; a loping version of "Nutty"; and a stunning version of "Trinkle Tinkle" on which Trane's tenor mirrors Monk's piano part. The CD is completed with outtakes from an octet session that joined Coltrane and Coleman Hawkins and an extended solo version of "Functional...... Buy This CD |
| MORE JAZZ- NINA SIMONE |
| In her introduction to "Who Knows Where The Times Goes" on this fantastic CD, Nina Simone says that time transcends race. Sadly, we are reminded that racism in this country practically drove this great singer mad. I purchased this CD for this cut alone. As always Ms. Simone takes a song that we think we know or that somone else has sung what we think is the definitive version and makes it her own all over again. That is precisely what happens here. It's as if you have never heard this music before. With a simple accompaniment, Simone sings this sad, haunting ballad....Buy this CD |
|  | | FLASHBACK |
| Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic. Granz became her manager although it would be nearly a decade before he could get her on his label. A major change occurred in Fitzgerald's singing around this period. She toured with Dizzy Gillespie's big band, adopted bop as part of her style, and started including exciting scat-filled romps in her set. Her recordings of "Lady Be Good," "How High the Moon," and "Flying Home" during 1945-1947 became popular and her stature as a major jazz singer rose as a result....read more |
| FEATURED ITEM |
| Though he lacked the improvisational fire of John Coltrane and the restless curiosity of Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins played with a rich, round tone that complimented his melodic inclinations, making him the most accessible of the post-bop musicians. Saxophone Colossus is the most successful of the late '50s albums that made his reputation. Rollins' playing never falters; he's backed by the redoubtable Max Roach on drums, Tommy Flannagan on piano, and Doug Watkins on bass. Rollins is equally at home with the lilting Caribbean air of "St. Thomas," standards....Buy This CD |
| CHANGING PLACES |
What separates Tord Gustavsen's Changing Places from the above artists is its extreme melodicism. In contrast, for example, Garbarek's down-tempo approach has always been folk (and, to a lesser extent, rock)-rooted; Lloyd's, gospel- and spiritual-rooted; Saluzzi's, tango-rooted. The music of Rypdal, Alperin, Andersen, and Bjornstad has a kind of sweep and grandeur completely lacking in Changing Places. To these ears, Gustavsen sounds most like John Taylor, but even more delicate, pretty, and melodic than the great British pianist--so much so that I initially mistook Changing Places for some kind of pop/classical/New Age melange....Buy it
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