CURTIS FULLER WITH BRAD GOODE — Up Jumped Spring (2005) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Over the years, Curtis Fuller has recorded the majority of his albums in New York City. But when the veteran trombonist visited Chicago for the Chicago Jazz Festival in 2003, he joined forces with several Windy City musicians (including Karl Montzka on piano, Larry Gray or Stewart Miller on bass, and Tim Davis on drums) and recorded Up Jumped Spring for Bob Koester's Chicago-based Delmark label. Trumpeter Brad Goode (who was a fixture on the Chi-Town jazz scene before moving to Cincinnati in 1997) is also on board, as is singer Jacey Falk (who produced the album). Fuller (who was 68 when he recorded Up Jumped Spring) was one of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in his younger days, and not surprisingly, a strong Jazz Messengers influence asserts itself on these hard bop and post-bop performances -- the Jazz Messengers influence is impossible to miss on hard-swinging performances of John Coltrane's "Equinox" and Herbie Hancock's "Cantaloupe Island," as well as Duke Ellington's "In a Mellow Tone" and Benny Golson's "Whisper Not." Goode, thankfully, is featured extensively, and Falk (a promising jazz singer with a strong R&B influence) has a memorable spot on Jessie Mae Robinson's "Black Night" (the only vocal offering on this mostly instrumental disc). One wishes that instead of paying so much attention to overdone standards, Fuller had surprised us with some lesser-known gems on this CD -- a song doesn't have to be a standard to be great. Nonetheless, the trombonist is in fine form throughout the album -- he never fails to sound inspired and focused -- and Up Jumped Spring is a welcome addition to his catalog. Alex Henderson 
Tracklist & Credits :

RAMSEY LEWIS - Songs from the Heart : Ramsey Plays Ramsey (2009) Mp3

Ramsey Lewis is not only thriving in his golden years, but continues to refine his approach within the tried-and-true piano-bass-drums trio format. Alongside his longtime bandmates featuring the very talented bassist Larry Gray and drummer Leon Joyce, Lewis has chosen to present an all-original program inspired by his collaborative concert stage work with the Joffrey Ballet Company, or the Turtle Island String Quartet. With elegance, panache, and a little bit of soul, Lewis and his group breeze through these selections, and while the pianist has his own approach to shadings and lyricism, there's no doubt he is also reflecting the muse and sage wisdom of another great jazz player who made his mark in Chicago, Ahmad Jamal. Lewis crafts lovely themes shaded in little or no drama via the light bossa nova dance traipse of "Touching, Feeling, Knowing," the easygoing contemporary funk of "The Spark," or the tango, soul-jazz inflected "The Way She Smiles." Not all laid-back, the trio is led by the irrepressible Gray, who pushes through "Exhilaration" all the way through, runs through an ostinato bassline on the driving, Brazilian, Jamal-styled beats of "Rendezvous," and uses a bouncy, hip, 6/8 mode for the classy, bouncy "To Know Her Is to Love Her," accented by the chiming piano of Lewis. While the backbone of these recordings is the sophistication of the piano player in the ensemble tracks, there are four solo pieces that further illuminate this grand dame concerto concept. "Clouds in Reverie" perfectly reflects its title, "Conversation" is an elegiac, epic, musical love tale in the class of "Exodus" or "Spartacus," "The Glow of Her Charm" reflects delicacy but merges into some forceful moments, while "Watercolors" uses up-and-down dynamics, not normally the strong suit of the pianist. Of the many watered-down commercial efforts and overproduced music Ramsey Lewis has offered on big commercial labels, this one could easily be his most accessible to a legitimate jazz audience. It certainly is his very best recording in the last two decades of his star-studded career, and can certainly be recommended to all lovers, dreamers, and mainstream jazz listeners in general. by Michael G. Nastos 
Tracklist :
1     To Know Her Is to Love Her 8:58
Ramsey Lewis
2     Touching, Feeling, Knowing 7:17
Ramsey Lewis
3     Clouds in Reverie 4:02
Ramsey Lewis
4     The Spark 5:46
Ramsey Lewis
5     Conversation 8:33
Ramsey Lewis
6     The Way She Smiles 5:44
Ramsey Lewis
7     Exhilaration 9:38
Ramsey Lewis
8     The Glow of Her Charm 5:06
Ramsey Lewis
9     Rendezvous 4:22
Ramsey Lewis
10     Long Before She Knew 4:16
Ramsey Lewis
11     Sharing Her Journey 8:30
Ramsey Lewis
12     Watercolors 2:48
Ramsey Lewis
Credits :
Bass – Larry Gray
Drums – Leon Joyce
Piano – Ramsey Lewis