MARY STALLINGS — Live at the Village Vanguard (2001) Serie MAXJAZZ Vocal Series | FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Mary Stallings sings 12 excellent and soulful interpretations of songs by such great composers as Cole Porter, Burton Lane, Louis Prima, and Duke Ellington on her second release for the Maxjazz label, Live at the Village Vanguard. Her voice is strong, rich, and full of the introspection that only comes with musical growth. Accompanied by Ron Blake on tenor saxophone, Eric Reed on piano, Vicente Archer on bass, and Carl Allen on drums, Stallings is in touch with her music and in sync with her emotions on such notables as "You're Sensational," "Sunday Kind of Love," "All Night Long," and "I Didn't Know About You." Mary Stallings brings her seductive concept to listeners and will floor you with her exceptional phrasing on "Sunday Kind of Love" and "All Night Long." Both songs are further punctuated by tender piano stylings from Eric Reed that fill each lyric, each note, with Stallings' soulful presence, subtlety, and timeless timbre. Reed also arranged all of the songs performed on the program. Tenor saxophonist Ron Blake brings his own brand of intensity to a great solo on "Gypsy in My Soul" by blending light floating tones with hard tones and emotional coolness. His innovative bebop phrases develop the song and make it even more accessible from the perspective of an instrumental voice as a foil for the human voice. Blake provides another level of involvement for the listener with his soulful nuance on "The Thrill Is Gone" as he and Mary Stallings trade phrases at the coda. This song is great. Live at the Village Vanguard is by far her best recording because she is at the height of her musical powers, four-octave range, and is singing songs that are intimate to her but speak to the soul in everyone. Paula Edelstein
Tracklist :
1.    I Love Being Here With You 4:27
Peggy Lee / Bill Schluger
2.    You're Sensational 6:25
Cole Porter
3.    Street of Dreams 4:51
Sam M. Lewis / Victor Young
4.    A Sunday Kind of Love 7:27
Barbara Belle / Anita Leonard / Louis Prima / Stan Rhodes
5.    Gypsy in My Soul 5:20
Clay Boland / Moe Jaffe
6.    You're My Thrill 4:26
Burton Lane
7.    The Thrill Is Gone 5:26
Lew Brown / Ray Henderson
8.    All Night Long 6:42
Curtis Lewis / Curtis Reginald Lewis
9.    Ev'rything I Love 5:27
Cole Porter
10.    Slow, Hot Wind 3:23
Norman Gimbel / Henry Mancini
11.    Lullaby of the Leaves 8:19
Bernice Petkere / Joe Young
12.    I Didn't Know About You 4:48
Duke Ellington / Bob Russell
Credits :
Bass – Vicente Archer
Drums – Carl Allen
Piano – Eric Reed
Tenor Saxophone – Ron Blake
Vocals – Mary Stallings

CLARK TERRY — One on One (2000) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Right in the middle of celebrating his 79th birthday, Clark Terry went into the studio for several days to record 14 duets with a different pianist on each track, with many of them being veterans of many record dates and/or concerts with him. Terry remains one of the most easily identifiable trumpeters and flügelhorn players in jazz, so much so that more than one critic has claimed the ability to identify him after just one note. Each track is dedicated to a great performer of the past, though no attempt is made to copy famous recordings, of course. Terry's brilliant flügelhorn swings mightily along with Monty Alexander on the surprising dedication to Nat King Cole of "L.O.V.E.," which was a hit for him after Cole had all but quit playing piano and enjoyed even greater success as a popular singer. The choice of Lil Hardin Armstrong's "Just for a Thrill" is also an interesting one, versus her better known "Struttin' With Some Barbecue"; Terry's fat tone on his big horn is well complemented by Geri Allen. Terry scats an imitation of brushes on cymbals to introduce "Swingin' the Blues" with Junior Mance before switching to muted trumpet. Old friend Marian McPartland works with Terry to produce a mesmerizing rendition of "Skylark." Also present are Sir Roland Hanna, Kenny Barron, John Lewis, Barry Harris, Tommy Flanagan, Don Friedman, Billy Taylor, Benny Green, Eric Reed, and Eric Lewis. There is not one performance that rates less than excellent within this very highly recommended CD. Ken Dryden
Tracklist :
1     L-O-V-E (Love) 5'10
Piano – Monty Alexander
Written-By – Berthold Kaempfert, Milton Gabler
2     Just for a Thrill 4'30
Piano – Geri Allen
Written-By – Don Raye, Lillian Hardin Armstrong
3     Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away) 3'40
Piano – Eric Lewis
Written-By – George Gershwin, Gus Kahn, Ira Gershwin
4     The Intimacy of the Blues 4'06
Piano – Kenny Barron
Written-By – Billy Strayhorn    
5     You Can Depend on Me 3'21
Piano – John Lewis
Written-By – Charles Carpenter, Earl Hines, Melvin Carl Dunlap
6     Memories of You 4'52
Piano – Sir Roland Hanna
Written-By – Andy Razaf, Eubie Blake
7     Honeysuckle Rose 8'09
Piano – Benny Green
Written-By – Andy Razaf, Fats Waller
8     Willow Grove 3'58
Piano – Barry Harris
Written-By – Bud Powell
9     Solitude 5'33
Piano – Tommy Flanagan
Written-By – Duke Ellington, Edgar De Lange, Irving Mills
10     Blue Monk 4'06
Piano – Don Friedman
Written-By – Thelonious Monk
11     Misty 6'54
Piano – Billy Taylor
Written-By – Errol Garner
12     Swingin' the Blues 3'48
Piano – Junior Mance
Written-By – Count Basie, Eddie Durham
13     Jungle Blues 3'36
Piano – Eric Reed
Written-By – Jelly Roll Morton
14     Skylark 4'25
Piano – Marian McPartland
Written-By – Hoagy Carmichael, John Mercer
Credits :
Technician [Piano] – Gerhard Feldmann, Mary Schwendeman
Trumpet – Clark Terry