ARCHIE SHEPP - Montreux One (1975-1988) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The first of two CDs that resulted from the great tenor Archie Shepp's appearance at the 1975 Montreux Jazz Festival features the important avant-garde player in a quintet with trombonist Charles Greenlee, pianist Dave Burrell, bassist Cameron Brown and drummer Beaver Harris. Shepp, who was nearing the end of his free jazz period (soon he would be exploring hymns and traditional melodies) puts a lot of emotion into "Lush Life" and sounds fine on originals by Burrell and Greenlee in addition to his own "U-jamsa." A worthy effort. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     Lush Life 12:40
Billy Strayhorn
2     U-Jamaa    10:22
Archie Shepp
3     Crucificado 11:43
Dave Burrell
4     Miss Toni 11:57
Charles "Majeed" Greenlee
Credits
Bass – Cameron Brown
Drums – Beaver Harris
Piano – Dave Burrell
Tenor Saxophone – Archie Shepp
Trombone – Charles Majid Greenlee

ARCHIE SHEPP - Montreux Two (1976) lp | FLAC (tracks), lossless

Tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp was at a turning point of sorts in 1975. He was near the end of his free jazz phase and would soon be exploring melodies from both the jazz tradition and the early 20th century; in addition, his tone would begin to decline within a decade. However, that is not in evidence during this fairly rousing live appearance at the Montreux Jazz Festival with his quintet (which also includes trombonist Charles Greenlee, pianist Dave Burrell, bassist Cameron Brown, and drummer Beaver Harris). This second of two CDs is the better of the pair and a good outing for Archie Shepp. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     Steam 8'36
Written-By – Archie Shepp
2     Along Came Betty 12:59
Written-By – Benny Golson
3     Blues For Donald Duck 15:47     
Written-By – Grachan Moncur
Credits
Bass – Cameron Brown
Drums – Beaver Harris
Piano – Dave Burrell
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Archie Shepp
Trombone – Charles Majid Greenlee

ARCHIE SHEPP - A Sea of Faces (1975-1993) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist :
1     Hipnosis 26'10
Maracas – Bunny Foy
Tambourine – Charles Greenlee
Written-By – Grachan Moncur III
2     Song for Mozambique/Poem: A Sea of Faces 8'12
Soprano Saxophone, Vocals, Written-by [A Sea Of Faces] – Archie Shepp
Tambourine, Vocals – Beaver Harris
Vocals – Charles Greenlee, Rafi Taha, Bunny Foy
Written-by [Song For Mozambique] – Semenya McCord
3     I Know About the Life 5'20
Lyrics By – Aishah Rahman
Music By, Piano – Archie Shepp
Vocals – Bunny Foy    
4     Lookin' for Someone to Love 9'34
Written-By – Cal Massey
Credits
Bass – Cameron Brown
Drums – Beaver Harris (pistas: 1, 3, 4)
Piano – Dave Burrell (pistas: 1, 2, 4)
Tenor Saxophone – Archie Shepp (pistas: 1, 4)
Trombone – Charles Greenlee (pistas: 1, 3, 4)

ARCHIE SHEPP - Steam (1976-2007) RM | Enja · 24bit Master Edition | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This colorful live LP features Archie Shepp on tenor, and a bit of his more basic piano, playing three lengthy compositions (Duke Ellington's "Solitude," Cal Massey's "A Message from Trane" and Shepp's own "Steam") in a sparse trio with bassist Cameron Brown and drummer Beaver Harris. The avant-garde innovator Shepp still sounds pretty strong at what was for him a fairly late period, displaying his distinctive raspy tone and what were for him some typically emotional ideas. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     A Message from Trane 18'58
Cal Massey    
2     Solitude 11'40
Eddie DeLange / Duke Ellington / Irving Mills
3     Invitation 14'29
Bronislaw Kaper / Paul Francis Webster
4     Ah-Leu-Cha 8'06
Charlie Parker
5     Steam 9'23
Archie Shepp
6     52nd Street Theme 0'57
Thelonious Monk
Credits
Bass – Cameron Brown
Drums – Beaver Harris
Tenor Saxophone, Piano – Archie Shepp

THE NEW ARCHIE SHEPP QUARTET - Tomorrow Will Be Another Day (2003) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Tracklist :
1    Blue Monk    5:52
 Thelonious Monk
2    Tomorrow Will Be Another Day    6:02
 Archie Shepp
3        The Stars Are In Your Eyes    9:02
 Archie Shepp
4        Call Him    3:32
 Amina Claudine Myers
5        Kwanza    7:32
 Archie Shepp
6    It's All Right    9:19
7    Mama Rose    22:14
 Archie Shepp
Credits :
Double Bass – Cameron Brown
Drums – Ronnie Burrage
Piano, Vocals – Amina Claudine Myers
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Vocals – Archie Shepp

ARCHIE SHEPP - Gemini (2007) 2xCD | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

 The Reverse    
1-1    The Reverse (Alternate Version 1)    4:10
 Chuck D / Archie Shepp
1-2    Revolution (Mama Rose)    10:33
 Archie Shepp
1-3    Burning Bright    6:05
 Tom McClung
1-4    Trippin'    4:38
 Archie Shepp
1-5    Time Stood Still    7:00
 Archie Shepp
1-6    Intertwining Spirits    7:33
 Stephen McCraven
1-7    La Manzana 5:24
Written-By – Tom McClung
1-8    Eva    6:22
 Archie Shepp
1-9    Pannonica 5:08
Written-By – Thelonious S. Monk
1-10    The Reverse    4:22
 Archie Shepp
1-11    The Reverse (Alternate Version 2) 4:10
 Chuck D / Archie Shepp
Live In Souillac    
2-1    Hope Two    11:08
 Archie Shepp
2-2    Call Him    5:30
 Amina Claudine Myers
2-3    Do You Want To Be Saved    7:19
 Amina Claudine Myers
2-4    Ujaama    13:24
 Archie Shepp
2-5    Rest Enough    4:00
 Archie Shepp
Credits
Artwork By – Wozniak
Bass – Cameron Brown (pistas: 2-1 to 2-5), Wayne Dockery (pistas: 1-1 to 1-11)
Drums – Ronnie Burrage (pistas: 2-1 to 2-5), Steve McCraven (pistas: 1-1 to 1-11)
Guitar [Guest] – Stéphane Guery (pistas: 1-1 to 1-11)
Piano – Tom McClung (pistas: 1-1 to 1-11)
Piano, Voice – Amina Claudine Myers (pistas: 2-1 to 2-5)
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Voice – Archie Shepp
Voice [Guest] – Chuck D (pistas: 1-1 to 1-11)

DEWEY REDMAN QUARTET - Living on the Edge (1990) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The great tenor Dewey Redman has always been a versatile player and he really gets a chance to show off his individuality on this set, whether it is some freebop a la early Ornette Coleman, "Mirror Windows" (which is an explosion of sound and pure energy), the soulful "Blues for J.A.M. - Part 1," a free and speechlike tenor-piano duet with Geri Allen on "As One" and a boppish "Lazy Bird." On "If I Should Lose You," Redman has a rare chance to play some conventional but cliché-free alto. With bassist Cameron Brown and drummer Eddie Moore forming a solid team, this is an easily recommended set of inside/outside music. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     Boo Boodoop 9:46
Composed By, Arranged By – Dewey Redman    
2     Mirror Windows 8:32
Composed By, Arranged By – Dewey Redman
3     Blues or J.A.M., Pt. 1 5:02
Composed By, Arranged By – Dewey Redman
4     If I Should Lose You 8:07
Ralph Rainger / Leo Robin    
Arranged By – Dewey Redman, Geri Allen
5     As One 5:58
Composed By, Arranged By – Dewey Redman
6     Lazy Bird 6:20
John Coltrane
Arranged By – Dewey Redman, Geri Allen
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Dewey Redman
Bass – Cameron Brown
Drums – Eddie Moore
Piano – Geri Allen

ED BLACKWELL TRIO - Walls-Bridges (1992-1997) 2xCD | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The unique drummer Ed Blackwell gets first billing on this CD (he would pass away just a little more than seven months later) but the main star is tenor saxophonist Dewey Redman. The concert (which features a trio also including bassist Cameron Brown) is an example of superior freebop. Although some of the music is boppish and there are explorations of Miles Davis' "Half Nelson" (which is over 19 minutes long), "Everything Happens to Me" and "Take the 'A' Train," there is also a lot of space for Redman's fairly free improvising. The communication between the three masterful musicians (Blackwell shows no signs of weakness) is quite impressive, and overall this is a highly recommended set of explorative yet fairly accessible music. Scott Yanow
Tracklist 1 :
1    Half Nelson 20:57
Composed By – Miles Davis
2    Everything Happens To Me 14:21
Composed By – Matt Dennis, Thomas Adair
3    Boo-Boo Doop 15:04
Composed By – Dewey Redman
Tracklist 2 :
1    Dewey Square 3:45
Composed By – Charlie Parker
2    Walls-Bridges 14:51
Composed By – Dewey Redman
3    Obeeso 11:25
Composed By – Dewey Redman
4    Blues For J. A. M. 6:09
Composed By – Dewey Redman
5    Take The "A" Train 3:31
Composed By – Billy Strayhorn
Credits :
Bass – Cameron Brown
Drums – Ed Blackwell
Musette – Dewey Redman (pistas: 2-3)
Tenor Saxophone [Tenor Sax] – Dewey Redman

DEWEY REDMAN | JOSHUA REDMAN - Choices (1992) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This is a curious set for saxophonist Dewey Redman, featuring a killer band that includes bassist Cameron Brown, drummer Leon Parker, and the first appearance of his son, Joshua, on tenor in duet on a couple of tracks. Redman himself is in fine form, playing with all of the deep, steamy lyricism he showcased so brilliantly with Ornette Coleman and in Old and New Dreams, but there is something else too, as evidenced by the track selection, and that is a new reverence for the tradition. Redman was always a melodic player, even in his most fiery avant encounters, but his love for jazz tradition, particularly its formalist considerations, was never really apparent until now. Here Redman selects the nugget "Everything Happens to Me" as the place to showcase his reverential balladic style. Over the course of ten minutes, he allows the hidden blues in the tune to come out and haunt him as he explores each nuance with minimal accompaniment. Also, the Van Heusen nugget "Imagination" is read here with such eloquence, grace, and heartbreaking sensitivity that it's almost a blues. The melodic invention Redman displays here makes this version a contender for being the definitive one. The Eastern edge is here in "O'Besso," with Joshua playing tenor and Dewey playing musette. It begins as a modal Eastern theme onto which the changes are gradually built. The melody seeps out, almost unexpectedly, and becomes a flower of interwoven harmonic figures traded between father and son. There's also plenty of the traditional Redman fire in place too, such as on "Le Clit," the original that was supposed to be recorded for the 1980/1981 sessions he did with Pat Metheny. Whether it was or not is anybody's guess, but it has never surfaced if it was. Here Dewey and Joshua, on alto and tenor, respectively, trade eights in the bridge between their solos and come to grips with a monster of their own creation -- deeply lyric, yes, but also fathomlessly dark and brooding. Finally, Redman's "For Mo" features both men on tenor and it's more of a dovetailing ride than a battle, which is as it should be. The singing goes deep here and Parker and Brown push the pair into corners of rhythmic invention that demand resolution. This is a wonderful and unexpected surprise from Dewey and a welcome entrance onto the scene from Joshua.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1     Le Clit 9:09
Dewey Redman    
2     Everything Happens to Me 10:27
Tom Adair / Dennis / Matt Dennis    
3     O'Besso 14:09
Dewey Redman    
4     Imagination 8:15
Burke / Johnny Burke / James Van Heusen    
5     For Mo 13:25
Dewey Redman    
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Dewey Redman (1, 5)
Bass – Cameron Brown
Drums – Leon Parker
Musette – Dewey Redman (3)
Tenor Saxophone – Dewey Redman (2), Joshua Redman (1, 4, 5)

DEWEY REDMAN - In London (1998) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Accompanied by pianist Rita Marcotulli, bassist Cameron Brown and drummer Matt Wilson, veteran tenor saxophonist Dewey Redman puts on a well-rounded program. On "I Should Care," "The Very Thought of You" (a tribute to Dexter Gordon) and the bossa nova "Portrait In Black & White," he shows that, although his roots are in avant-garde jazz, Redman is quite capable of caressing a melody. In contrast, his renditions of "I-Pimp," "Tu-inns" and "Eleven" emphasize freer improvising and plenty of fire. In both contexts, Dewey Redman emerges as an underrated giant. Scott Yanow  
Tracklist :
1     I Should Care 10'55
Sammy Cahn / Axel Stordahl / Paul Weston   
2     The Very Thought of You 9'28
Ray Noble   
3     I-Pimp 1'45
Dewey Redman   
4     Portrait in Black and White 9'17
Chico Buarque / Antônio Carlos Jobim   
5     Tu-Inns 7'18
Dewey Redman   
6     Kleerwine 4'12
Dewey Redman   
7     Stablemates 5'21
Benny Golson   
8     Eleven 8'58
Dewey Redman
Credits :
Arranged By, Tenor Saxophone [Tenor Sax] – Dewey Redman
Bass – Cameron Brown
Drums – Matt Wilson
Piano – Rita Marcotulli

JAREK ŚMIETANA | GARY BARTZ - African Lake (2000) APE (image+.cue), lossless

Tracklist :
1    Mr. Soul (Dedicated To G. Bartz) 7'07
Composed By – J. Śmietana
2    African Lake 8'44
Composed By – J. Śmietana
3    Logic Animal 5'34
Composed By – J. Śmietana
4    Ask Me Now 7'12
Composed By – T. Monk
5    El Cerritto 6'19
Composed By – J. Śmietana
6    Big Bad Wolf 5'29
Composed By – G. Bartz
7    Jasmin Lady 7'31
Composed By – Z. Namysłowski
8    African Dream 8'55
Composed By – J. Śmietana
9    Mosquito 7'30
Composed By – J. Śmietana
Credits :
Acoustic Bass – Adam Kowalewski (pistas: 1, 6, 8), Cameron Brown (pistas: 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9)
Drums – Adam Czerwiński
Guitar, Guitar [12 String] – Jarek Śmietana
Percussion – Jan Pilch (pistas: 2, 5, 7, 8), Leopoldo F. Fleming (pistas: 2, 3, 5, 7, 9)
Saxophone [Alto], Saxophone [Soprano] – Gary Bartz
Trumpet – Jeremy Pelt (pistas: 2, 3, 9), Jerzy Małek (pistas: 8)

SHEILA JORDAN - Confirmation (1975-2000) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

After a long layoff from recording following her debut album in 1962, Sheila Jordan was very active in the 1970s, and is in top form on these 1975 sessions made for the Japanese label East Wind. Accompanied by pianist Alan Pasqua, bassist Cameron Brown, drummer Beaver Harris, and tenor saxophonist Norman Marnell, she devotes the first half of the release to a medley of songs dedicated to children. Her intriguing approach to such standards as "God Bless the Child," "My Favorite Things," and "Inch Worm" provides plenty of solo space for the musicians between numbers, while they also dazzle the listener throughout each track. This medley wraps with the playful but charming "Because We're Kids" (penned by Dr. Seuss). The remainder of the disc is primarily devoted to standards. Jordan's adroit duet with Brown in "Confirmation" gives her a chance to show off her scatting. "By Myself" is a miniature duet, first with Harris (on brushes) and then Pasqua as the piece segues into a moving performance of "Why Was I Born." Her performance of Steve Kuhn's challenging "Pearlie's Swine" adds a nice twist to a marvelous date, which was finally reissued by Test of Time in 2005.  by Ken Dryden  
Tracklist :
1 Introduction 0:26
2 God Bless the Child 5:01
Billie Holiday
3 My Favorite Things 6:43
Oscar Hammerstein II / Richard Rodgers
4 Inch Worm 6:05  
Frank Loesser
5 Because We're Kids 4:52
Sheila Jordan
6 Confirmation 8:59
Charlie Parker
7 By Myself 1:50  
Howard Dietz / Arthur Schwartz
8 Why Was I Born 3:17
Jerome Kern
9 Pearlie's Swine 5:43
Steve Kuhn
Personnel :
Sheila Jordan (vocals);
Norman Marnell (tenor saxophone);
Alan Pasqua (piano);
Cameron Brown (double bass);
Beaver Harris (drums).