DIANNE REEVES — Art & Survival (1993) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Versatility has gotten vocalist Dianne Reeves in trouble. Those who feel she could be a great jazz singer want her to stick to scat singing and interpreting show tunes; others who enjoyed the light fusion and urban contemporary hits prefer that she look toward the future. Reeves does a little of both on her this set. Art And Survival includes her most hard-hitting message songs to date. The only problem is that Reeves' voice doesn't lend itself to shouts or expressing defiance; she sounds strained on "Endangered Species" and seems more like she's presenting a diatribe than expounding on a theme. Overall, Art And Survival is neither '90s revisited bop nor overtly commercial Quiet Storm fodder. Dianne Reeves is really seeking a middle ground between her two audiences, and if everything here doesn't work, at least she keeps forging ahead. Ron Wynn
Tracklist :
1 Old Souls 5:20
Drums – Joey Heredia
Electric Bass [Fretless] – Jimmy Johnson 
Lyrics By, Music By – Dianne Reeves
Music By – Eddie del Barrio
Percussion – Alex Acuna, Luis Conte, Munyungo Jackson
Piano [Acoustic] – John Beasley
Synth – Eddie del Barrio
2 Come To The River 5:36
Bass – Abraham Laboriel
Drums – Abraham Laboriel Jr.
Guitar – Michael Thompson
Lyrics By, Music By – Diane Louie
Music By – Dianne Reeves
3 One More Time  5:37
Acoustic Bass – Andy Simpkins
Arranged By [String], Conductor – Jorge del Barrio
Concertmaster, Violin – Endre Granat
Contractor – Bill Hughes
Drums – Paul Kreibich
Lyrics By – Dianne Reeves
Music By – Eddie del Barrio
Piano – Frank Collett
4 Anthem 5:26
Arranged By, Conductor – Diane Louie
Bass – Abraham Laboriel
Drums – Abraham Laboriel Jr.
Guitar – Charles 'Icarus' Johnson
Lyrics By, Music By – Dianne Reeves
Music By – David Torkanowsky
Percussion – Luis Conte
Piano [Acoustic], Electric Piano – David Torkanowsky
5 Freedom Dance 6:55
Backing Vocals – Dianne Reeves
Bass – Abraham Laboriel
Drums – Abraham Laboriel Jr.
Guitar – John Pisano
Lyrics By – Jeanne Pisano
Lyrics By, Music By – Dianne Reeves
Music By – Eddie del Barrio
Percussion – Luis Conte
Piano [Acoustic], Electric Piano – David Torkanowsky
Soprano Saxophone [Solo] – Steve Tavaglione
Synth – Eddie del Barrio
6 Endangered Species 3:23
Backing Vocals, Arranged By [Backing Vocals] – Dianne Reeves
Drums [Trap] – Abraham Laboriel Jr.
Lyrics By – Jeanne Pisano
Music By – Dianne Reeves
Percussion – Alex Acuna, Luis Conte, Munyungo Jackson
7 Josa Lee 6:54
Acoustic Bass – John Patitucci
Arranged By [Music], Drums – Terri Lyne Carrington
Arranged By [Strings, Music] – Eddie del Barrio
Lyrics By – Dianne Reeves
Music By – Eddie del Barrio, Terri Lyne Carrington
Piano [Acoustic] – John Beasley
Programmed By – Erik Hanson
Trumpet – Ralf Rickert
8 Body And Soul 10:06
Arranged By – Eddie del Barrio
Bass – John Patitucci
Drums – Billy Kilson
Guitar – Pino Marrone
Piano – Kenny Kirkland
Words By, Music By – Ed Heyman, Frank Eytom, Johnny Green, Robert Sour
9 Silent Tears And Roses 6:49
Acoustic Bass – Andy Simpkins
Arranged By [Strings], Conductor – Jorge del Barrio
Concertmaster, Violin – Endre Granat
Contractor – Bill Hughes
Drums – Paul Kreibich
Lyrics By – Jeanne Pisano
Music By – Eddie del Barrio
Piano – Frank Collett
10 Lament For A Lonely Child 6:48
Acoustic Guitar – Pino Marrone
Arranged By [String, Musical] – Eddie del Barrio
Backing Vocals – Dianne Reeves
Bass – John Patitucci
Drums – Billy Kilson
Percussion – 'Bombo Le Guero' Luis Conte
Piano – Kenny Kirkland
Words By, Music By – Eddie del Barrio
11 Bird Alone 6:46
Acoustic Bass – Andy Simpkins
Arranged By [Musical, Strings], Conductor – Jorge del Barrio
Concertmaster, Violin – Endre Granat
Contractor – Bill Hughes
Drums – Paul Kreibich
Lyrics By, Music By – Abbey Lincoln
Piano – Frank Collett

JOHN PATITUCCI — John Patitucci (1988) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Stepping out from the shadows of Chick Corea's Elektric and Akoustic bands, Patitucci made a pleasing solo debut here largely on the strength of his brilliant up-front soloing on electric and acoustic basses. Adept at the popular funk slapping manner on electric bass, darting fluidly and jaggedly up high on the Smith/Jackson five-string bass, Patitucci always executes with the moves and body English of a bass player even when his instrument is up in the guitar range. Patitucci's compositions are pretty good, too, thoughtful and not too reliant upon jazz-rock cliches. He gets a lot of expert help from a variety of hot sidemen, including the astonishing Chick himself (who also produced the package), Chick's drummer Dave Weckl, other drummers like Peter Erskine and Vinnie Colaiuta, and the heated tenor sax of Michael Brecker. Without a doubt, this first opus enhanced Patitucci's developing reputation at the time. Richard S. Ginell
Tracklist :
1. Growing 4:35
 John Patitucci
2. Wind Sprint 6:10
 John Patitucci
3. Searching, Finding 5:05
 John Patitucci
4. Baja Bajo 5:46
 Chick Corea / John Patitucci
5. Change Of Season 3:53
 John Patitucci
6. Our Family 3:01
 John Patitucci
7. Peace And Quiet Time 4:59
 John Patitucci
8. Crestline 5:13
 John Patitucci
9. Zaragoza 3:57
 Chick Corea
10. Then & Now 5:38
 John Patitucci
11. Killeen 5:15
 John Patitucci
12. The View 5:39
 John Patitucci
Credits :
Bass – John Patitucci
Drums – Peter Erskine, Vinnie Colaiuta
Piano, Producer – Chick Corea
Saxophone – Michael Brecker
Synthesizer – David Witham, John Beasley

ANDY SUMMERS - Earth + Sky (2004) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

After two albums exploring the boundaries of jazz via the music of Thelonious Monk (Green Chimneys) and Charles Mingus (Peggy's Blue Skylight), ex-Police guitarist Andy Summers returns to original compositions with a new band that moves forward through a swarm of genres on Earth + Sky. Employing two keyboard players, John Novello and John Beasley, as well as drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, saxophonist Katisse Buckingham, and bassist Abraham Laboriel, Summers creates a body of work that looks through jazz, rock, and folk forms and is technology based while also using organic rhythms and atmospherics. While some might see this as retrenchment, Summers, unlike so many of the superchopper guitarists out there, is a melodist whose lyricism is inescapable in virtually everything he plays. Hence the effect of these tunes is chimeric, whether they begin with gorgeous, simple harmonic lines that are reminiscent of nursery rhymes (such as "Now I'm Free"), feature complex hypnotic guitar lines that are fully charged both modally and rhythmically (as in the title track), or are atmospheric pieces that could be serial selections in a film noir soundtrack (such as "I Choose You"). Summers has utilized his jazz chops to stunning effect here, in that he allows his guitar to be an architectural focal point of an ensemble rather than as the centerpiece of the music itself. Hence, whether he is engaging the trappings of fusion or acoustic balladry ("Roseville"), he weaves something complex, soulful, and memorable from the elements. Earth + Sky is another solid effort from a guitarist who is forever reinventing himself.
(This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa')
Tracklist:
1 Above the World 5:21
Andy Summers
2 Now I'm Free 5:26
Andy Summers
3 The Diva Station 5:44
Andy Summers
4 Return 4:30
Andy Summers
5 Earth & Sky 5:36
Andy Summers
6 Parallels 4:53
Andy Summers
7 Circus 5:44
Andy Summers
8 Roseville 4:59
Andy Summers
9 Red Stiletto 4:18
Andy Summers
10 I Choose You 4:31
Andy Summers
Credits:
Bass – Abraham Laboriel
Drums – Vinnie Colaiuta
Guitar, Songwriter – Andy Summers
Keyboards – John Beasley, John Novello
Saxophone – Katisse Buckingham 

JOHN BEASLEY - MONK'estra, Vol. 1 (2016) FLAC (tracks), lossless

JOHN BEASLEY - MONK'estra, Vol. 2 (2017) FLAC (tracks), lossless