RED GARLAND — I Left My Heart ... (1978-1999) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Recorded during pianist Red Garland's final period, this enjoyable outing (a Muse LP) has three trio numbers by Garland with bassist Chris Amberger and drummer Eddie Moore plus three selections that add altoist Leo Wright to make the group a quartet. Garland's style was unchanged from the '50s, as he shows on "Will You Still Be Mine" and "Bye Bye Blackbird." Wright's portion of the date finds him playing lyrically on two ballads (including a surprise version of "I Left My Heart in San Francisco") and swinging on "Bag's Groove." The set was recorded live at San Francisco's Keystone Korner and was clearly a happy occasion. Scott Yanow    Tracklist & Credits :

RED GARLAND — Feelin' Red (1978-1998) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Producer/jazz scholar Joel Dorn continues to raid the endlessly fertile Muse Records archives for his 32 Jazz reissue series. Reaching into the well and coming up with Feelin' Red is a victory not just for Dorn, but any piano jazz enthusiast. In his youth, Garland was a professional boxer, and his pugilistic sensibilities are audible in the rough-and-tumble way he approaches the keyboard. That's not to say he lacks delicacy or subtlety -- his touch and tone on "You Better Go Now" are as poignant as all get out. But his relentlessly swinging feel on "It's All Right with Me," and his forceful attack on "Cherokee" make it plain that Garland is incapable of giving less than his all. Captured in flight with his late-'70s working trio of Sam Jones and Al Foster, Garland lays down a bevy of authoritative runs over a propulsive rhythm section. Solid but searching and undeniably soulful, Feelin' Red is Garland in top form. Rovi Staff   Tracklist & Credits :

RAHSAAN ROLAND KIRK - Dog Years in the Fourth Ring (1997) 3CD | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This three-CD box set, in producer and then label Boss' weirdly wired brain, encompasses two different sides of Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Discs one and two represent sporadic live recordings of Kirk from 1962 to 1972, all of them previously unreleased and issued courtesy of a Kirk collector named George Bonafacio. These two discs contain Kirk classics such as "Domino," "Blacknuss," and an excerpt from "Three for the Festival," as well as singular Kirk interpretations of "I Say a Little Prayer," "Freddie Freeloader," "Lester Leaps In," "Giant Steps," "Sister Sadie," and more. These two discs are chock-full of stellar performances that are well-recorded despite being fan tapes. The musicians on these dates range from bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pederson to Hilton Ruiz, Jerome Cooper, Tete Montoliu, and many others. None of this material is substandard. Kirk wastes no time on the opener, "Domino," in breaking out the whistles in his solo. The blues range is deep on many of these tracks, as is the entertainment value. Kirk was a performer as much as he was a musician, before and after the stroke. His lyric and harmonic sensibilities were deeply embedded in one another, and his way of crossing harmonic strategies was truly singular because it was so unorthodox (check his gorgeous opening and full read of "I Remember Clifford" or the excerpt from his medley of "Blue Monk" and "Misterioso" for examples). The fact that he could play two melodies at once was only one of his many skills. In any case, anyone looking for live Kirk apart from the Montreaux recordings would be well-advised to seek these out. Disc three is a CD issue of Natural Black Inventions: Root Strata, his worst-selling and most critically dumped-on studio record. Released in 1971, it featured Kirk on all instruments. Natural Black Inventions is one of the heaviest records Kirk ever released, a completely focused meditation on mode, rhythm, drone, and the blues' context within them. Here was an honest, non-abstract attempt to put Eastern music up against the blues and see what happened. Using everything from his saxophones and flutes to his strich, manzello, harmonium, drums, and bird-and-duck calls years before John Zorn knew they existed as musical instruments, Kirk took his black experience and rooted it in the experience of the day, as well as in antiquity and in the history of jazz, soul, R&B, the blues, and even Yiddish music (check out "Island Cry" for a solid example, where the barroom meets the Jewish exodus to the slave call-and-response hollers in the fields). And the fact that it goes on and on for 45 minutes is so breathtaking that it becomes heartbreaking. Natural Black Inventions: Root Strata is its own classic, and it deserved its own release apart from the package, but listeners will have to take what they can get. For this album alone, this package is worth the price.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Dog Years In The Fourth Ring: Disc 1 :
1     Box Tops and Whistlin' Rings 0'19
Junior Warren
2     Domino 5'04
Louis Ferrari / Jacques Plante / Don Raye
3     Blues for Alice 6'18
Charlie Parker
4     I Remember Clifford 3'37
Benny Golson
5     Freddie Freeloader 6'01
Miles Davis
6     Lester Leaps In 5'32
Lester Young
7     Sister Sadie 5'03
Horace Silver
8     One Mind/Seasons 4'41
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
9     I Say a Little Prayer 12'58
Burt Bacharach / Hal David
Dog Years In The Fourth Ring: Disc 2 :
1     Jammin' With a Wolf 0'25
2     Three for the Festival 3'53
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
3     Untitled Blues 7'23
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
4     Passion Dance 8'09
McCoy Tyner
5     Petite Fleur 7'34
Sidney Bechet
6     Giant Steps 4'13
John Coltrane
7     Misterioso/Blue Monk 1'03
Thelonious Monk
8     Rahsaantalk 0'25
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
9     Multi-Horn Medley: Satin Doll/Lover 6'18
Duke Ellington
10     Blacknuss 6'22
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Disc 3: Natural Black Inventions: Root Strata
1     Something for Trane That Trane Could Have Said 3'05
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
2     Island Cry 3'52
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
3     Runnin' from the Trash 2'12
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
4     Day Dream 3'40
Duke Ellington / John Latouche / Billy Strayhorn
5     Ragman and the Junkman Ran from the Businessman They Laughed and He C 3'02
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
6     Breath-A-Thon 1'55
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
7     Rahsaanica 3'40
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
8     Raped Voices 1'54
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
9     Haunted Feelings 2'25
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
10     Prelude Back Home 3'44
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
11     Dance of the Lobes 2'05
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
12     Harder and Harder Spiritual 2'32
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
13     Black Root 3'17
Rahsaan Roland Kirk

AL COHN & ZOOT SIMS - Body and Soul (1973-1997) WV (image+.cue), lossless

Other than a couple of albums for tiny collector's labels, this Muse album was Al Cohn's first album as a leader since 1962. Cohn had spent much of the interim as a full-time writer for studios and was finally returning to active playing. He renewed his musical partnership with Zoot Sims on this quintet date for Muse, which also includes pianist Jaki Byard, bassist George Duvivier and drummer Mel Lewis. Cohn and Sims still had very complementary sounds and personalities, so their collaboration on Body and Soul [Muse] holds its own against their earlier dates. Zoot switches to soprano on "Jean"; Cohn is in top form on "Body and Soul." and the three-song "Brazilian Medley" works quite well. This is pleasing and frequently lyrical music. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     Doodle Oodle 6'54
Billy Byers
2     Emily 7'19
Johnny Mandel / Johnny Mercer    
3     Brazilian Medley: Recado Bossa Nova/The Girl from Ipanema 7'59
Djalma Ferreira / Norman Gimbel / Antônio Carlos Jobim / Vinícius de Moraes
4     Mama Flossie 5'43
Al Cohn / Zoot Sims    
5     Body and Soul 5'38
Frank Eyton / Johnny Green / Edward Heyman / Robert Sour
6     Jean 6'03
Rod McKuen    
7     Blue Hodge 7'03
Gary McFarland
Credits :
Bass – George Duvivier
Drums – Mel Lewis
Piano – Jaki Byard
Tenor Saxophone – Al Cohn
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Zoot Sims

THE CEDAR WALTON | HANK MOBLEY QUINTET - Breakthrough! (1972-1999) FLAC (tracks), lossless

As strong as pianist Cedar Walton plays on his session, the main honors are taken by two of his sidemen. Tenor-saxophonist Hank Mobley, whose career was about to go into a complete eclipse, is in brilliant form, showing how much he had grown since his earlier days. Baritonist Charles Davis, who too often through the years has been used as merely a section player, keeps up with Mobley and engages in a particularly memorable tradeoff on the lengthy title cut. Mobley is well-showcased on "Summertime," Davis switches successfully to soprano on "Early Morning Stroll," and Walton (with the trio) somehow turns the "Theme From Love Story" into jazz. Highly recommended. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     Break Through 10:38
Hank Mobley    
2     Sabiá 4:15
Chico Buarque / Antônio Carlos Jobim
3     House on Maple Street 6:42
Cedar Walton
4     (Where Do I Begin) Love Story 6:13
Francis Lai / Carl Sigman    
5     Summertime 7:41
George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin / DuBose Heyward
6     Early Morning Stroll 8:07
Hank Mobley    
Credits :
Baritone Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Charles Davis
Bass – Sam Jones
Drums – Billy Higgins
Piano – Cedar Walton
Tenor Saxophone – Hank Mobley

JIMMY HEATH - The Professor (1998) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Tracklist :
1     The Time and the Place 9'33
Jimmy Heath
2     New Picture 5'01
Jimmy Heath
3     The Voice of the Saxophone 6'11
Jimmy Heath
4     Dewey Square 4'06
Charlie Parker
5     Song for Ben Webster 6'14
Ernie Wilkins
6     Forever Sonny 8'01
Jimmy Heath
7     No End 7'04
Kenny Dorham
8     Sophisticated Lady 6'44
Duke Ellington / Irving Mills / Mitchell Parish
Musician – Akira Tana, Al Foster, Benny Powell, Billy Higgins, Bob Routch*, Curtis Fuller, Howard Johnson, Larry Willis, Mtume, Rufus Reid, Sam Jones, Stafford James, Stanley Cowell, Tommy Flanagan, Tony Purrone

Dr. LONNIE SMITH - The Turbanator (2000) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

These 1991 recordings went unreleased until 2000, and they're well-worth hearing. Smith begins with a ripping Hammond B3 reading of Duke Ellington's "Caravan," joined by guitarist Jimmy Ponder and drummer Buddy Williams. There are two more standards, "Someday My Prince Will Come" and "Cherokee," the latter surprisingly played as a ballad. But four blues-based originals fill the remainder of the program, three of which feature Smith on acoustic piano and Buster Williams on bass. Tenor saxophonist Houston Person also appears on two of the tracks. From burning swing to ballads to funk, Smith's touch on both organ and piano is highly individual and effective. For guitar fans, the presence of the underappreciated Jimmy Ponder is an added value. by David R. Adler
Tracklist :
1     Caravan 7:41
Duke Ellington / Irving Mills / Juan Tizol
2     Night Song 8:40
Dr. Lonnie Smith
3     Someday My Prince Will Come 5:39
Frank Churchill / Larry Morey
4     River Walk 9:48
Dr. Lonnie Smith
5     Monk Could Swing 9:17
Dr. Lonnie Smith
6     Cherokee 6:53
Ray Noble
7     Brushin' It 12:01
Dr. Lonnie Smith
Credits :
Bass – Buster Williams
Drums – Buddy Williams
Engineer – Rudy Van Gelder
Guitar – Jimmy Ponder
Organ – Dr. Lonnie Smith
Producer, Tenor Saxophone – Houston Person

PAT MARTINO - Footprints (1972-1997) APE (image+.cue), lossless

Originally released by Cobblestone and later by Muse, this 1997 CD reissue from 32 Jazz features the distinctive and exploratory guitarist Pat Martino in a tribute to Wes Montgomery. Martino does not attempt to sound like Wes (although he uses octaves here and there), and only one of the six selections ("Road Song") was actually recorded by Montgomery; the tribute is more heartfelt than imitative. With the intuitive assistance of rhythm guitarist Bobby Rose, bassist Richard Davis, and drummer Billy Higgins, Martino stretches out on six selections, including a bluesy original ("The Visit"), "Footprints," and "Alone Together," always sounding like himself and pushing the boundaries of straight-ahead jazz. by Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1. The Visit - 4:34
(Pat Martino)
2. What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?- 7:18
(Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Michel Legrand)
3. Road Song - 5:43
(Wes Montgomery)
4. Footprints - 8:22
(Wayne Shorter)
5. How Insensitive  - 6:13
(Norman Gimbel, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Vinícius de Moraes)
6. Alone Together - 5:52
(Howard Dietz, Arthur Schwartz)
Credits :
Pat Martino - Guitar
Bobby Rose - Guitar
Richard Davis - Bass
Billy Higgins - Drums