ANNE PHILLIPS — Ballet Time (2007) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Vocalist Anne Phillips may not be a familiar name to many jazz fans, though since she began her professional career in the early 1960s as a member of the Ray Charles Singers on the Perry Como Show, she has worked in many musical formats as a singer, composer, arranger, conductor and producer. This project was a special labor of love, as she recruited a number of old friends that she met along the way and recruited them to appear on one track apiece with her. Her engaging vocal duet with Bob Dorough (who complements their vocals with some lively piano) of his "I've Got Just About Everything" is a playful affair. Phillips lays a bit behind the beat effectively in spots in Dave Brubeck's loping treatment of his timeless "In Your Own Sweet Way," while she captures the nostalgic magic of pianist Dave Frishberg's lyrics in his ballad (with music by Johnny Mandel) "You Are There." Marian McPartland is on hand for her haunting ballad "In the Days of Our Love," with Phillips bringing out the essence of Peggy Lee's lyrics. Phillips' duet with tenor saxophonist Bob Kindred (her husband) of "Embraceable You" is full of humor, as is "Double Talk" a duet with organist Larry Goldings that has a campy lyric in the style of Annie Ross. There's never a dull moment in this delightful musical scrapbook. Ken Dryden
Tracklist :
1     Ballet Time    3:12
Anne Phillips
  Anne Phillips feat: Scott Robinson
2     I Have the Feeling I've Been Here Before    5:32
Alan Bergman / Marilyn Bergman / Roger Kellaway
 Anne Phillips feat: Roger Kellaway
3     I've Got Just About Everything    4:02
Bob Dorough
 Anne Phillips feat: Bob Dorough
4     Here's to Life    4:43
Artie Butler / Phyllis Molinary
Anne Phillips feat: Artie Butler
5     In Your Own Sweet Way    4:51
Dave Brubeck / Iola Brubeck
 Anne Phillips feat: Dave Brubeck
6     Double Talk    3:39
Anne Phillips
 Anne Phillips feat: Larry Goldings
7     You Are There    3:16
 Dave Frishberg / Johnny Mandel
 Anne Phillips feat: Dave Frishberg
8     Late Late Show    4:01
Roy Alfred / Murray Berlin
 Anne Phillips feat: John Hart
9     In the Days of Our Love    3:44
Marian McPartland
 Anne Phillips feat: Marian McPartland
10     I Never Went Away    4:57
Richard Rodney Bennett
 Anne Phillips feat: Eddie Monteiro
11     I Was Doing All Right    3:12
George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin
Anne Phillips feat: Matt Perri
12     Embracable You 5:37  
George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin  
  Anne Phillips feat: Bob Kindred
13     Romancing Ketchikan    5:53   
Anne Phillips
 Anne Phillips feat: Paul Meyers  
14     New York Night Time Blues 4:50
Anne Phillips
Anne Phillips feat: Joe Locke
15     Fried Bananas     5:02
Dexter Gordon / Anne Phillips
 Anne Phillips feat: Adam Asarnow

MARIAN McPARTLAND'S PIANO JAZZ - With Guest Lee Konitz (1995) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This CD has one of the most rewarding of Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz radio shows. Guest Lee Konitz proves to be a very thoughtful and sometimes witty guest. Konitz talks about what he learned from Tristano and in turn what he tries to get across to students himself. He clearly enjoys discussing the magic of improvisation. In addition, the music on this program is uniformly outstanding. For "All the Things You Are" the altoist coaxes McPartland to play freely without a chord structure. He takes "Stella By Starlight" unaccompanied, creates some unpredictable duets with McPartland on familiar yet still fresh standards, plays some abstract piano with the host on "Tactile Talk," and sounds beautiful on soprano during "Little Girl Blue"; upon the latter song's conclusion, Konitz admits that he had never played the song before. This CD ranks up there with the Bill Evans show as the most significant of the Piano Jazz programs thus far released on CD. Scott Yanow

Tracklist :
1    Conversation     1:24
2    I'm Gettin' Sentimental Over You 3:16
Written-By – George Bassman, Ned Washington
3    Conversation     3:42
4    All The Things You Are 2:53
Written-By – Oscar Hammerstein II/Jerome Kern
5    Conversation     3:28
6    Stella By Starlight 3:03
Written-By – Ned Washington, Victor Young
7    Conversation     0:52
8    In Your Own Sweet Way 4:01
Written-By – Dave Brubeck
9    Conversation     1:53
10    Body And Soul 4:41
Written-By – Edward Heyman, John Green, Robert Sour
11    Conversation     1:16
12    Tactile Talk 2:54
Written-By – Lee Konitz, Marian McPartland
13    Conversation     3:22
14    Little Girl Blue 3:22
Written-By – Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart
15    Conversation     0:27
16    Naima 4:34
Written-By – John Coltrane
17    Conversation     3:22
18    Like Someone In Love 5:15
Written-By – Johnny Burke/Jimmy Van Heusen
19    Outro    0:07
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Lee Konitz (pistas: 2, 4, 6, 10, 18)
Piano – Lee Konitz (pistas: 12), Marian McPartland (pistas: 2, 4, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18)
Soprano Saxophone – Lee Konitz (pistas: 14)

MARIAN McPARTLAND - Plays The Benny Carter Songbook (1990) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Two aspects uplift this Marian McPartland CD above most songbooks. Benny Carter is much better-known as an altoist and an arranger than as a composer, so his compositions tend to be quite fresh since they have been underplayed through the years. Also, the fact that Carter himself performs on the majority of these selections (which also include bassist John Clayton and drummer Harold Jones) makes the set something special. Highlights include "When Lights Are Low," "I'm in the Mood for Swing," "Key Largo," "Doozy," "Lonely Woman" and "Only Trust Your Heart," but all 11 songs are enjoyable and swinging. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     When Lights Are Low 4:00
Benny Carter / Spencer Williams
2     I'm in the Mood for Swing 5:12
Benny Carter / Spencer Williams    
3     A Kiss from You 4:49
Benny Carter / Johnny Mercer    
4     Key Largo 3:40
Benny Carter / Karl Suessdorf / Leah Worth    
5     Another Time, Another Place 4:38
Benny Carter    
6     Summer Serenade 4:41
Benny Carter    
7     Doozy 3:59
Benny Carter    
8     Lonely Woman 5:09
Benny Carter / Ray Sonin
9     Only Trust Your Heart 7:04
Sammy Cahn / Benny Carter    
10     Evening Star 3:37
Benny Carter    
11     Easy Money 6:00
Benny Carter
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Benny Carter
Bass – John Clayton
Drums – Harold Jones
Piano – Marian McPartland 

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

KEN PEPLOWSKI - It's a Lonesome Old Town (1995) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

 

Ken Peplowski has long been open to playing in more modern idioms of jazz while not losing his facilities or interest in the older styles. On this CD, Peplowski -- doubling as usual on clarinet and tenor -- is joined by guitarist Alden, pianist Allen Farnham, bassist Greg Cohen and the late drummer Alan Dawson. In addition, all but the final two of the dozen selections add either guitarist Charlie Byrd (who is on five songs), trumpeter Tom Harrell or pianist Marian McPartland (the latter two, on three songs apiece, both appear on "Last Night When We Were Young"). The repertoire, which has several expected swing standards, also includes a boppish original by Harrell (the opening "More Than Ever") and a song apiece by Lennon & McCartney, Sonny Stitt and Antonio Carlos Jobim. "These Foolish Things" and "Supposin'" are particularly delightful, for they feature a trio comprised of Pep and the two guitars. This was the first time Alden and Byrd had recorded together, and their interplay is quite special. There are many subtle surprises throughout the set, such as the tango rhythm given "It's a Lonesome Old Town," the pure joy to be heard in the jubilant Brazilian folk song "Bonicrates De Muletas," the cooking bebop of "The Eternal Triangle," and the effective transformation of the Beatles' "In My Life" into a jazz ballad. The tricky Peplowski original "Crimehouse" (based on "Limehouse Blues") wraps up the inventive and rewarding set. by Scott Yanow  
Tracklist:
1    More Than Ever    6:40
Tom Harrell
2    They Can't Take That Away From Me    4:22
George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin
3    It's A Lonesome Old Town    4:57
Charles Kisco / Harry Tobias
4    These Foolish Things (Remind Me Of You)    5:03
Harry Link / Holt Marvell / Jack Strachey
5    Supposin'    3:07
Paul Denniker / Andy Razaf
6    Bonicrates De Muletas    3:38
Jacob Do Bandolim
7    It Never Entered My Mind    5:03
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers
8    In My Life    5:10
John Lennon / Paul McCartney
9    Last Night When We Were Young    6:13
Harold Arlen / E.Y. "Yip" Harburg
10    The Eternal Triangle    4:52
Sonny Stitt
11    Zingaro    6:25
Chico Buarque / Antônio Carlos Jobim
12    Crimehouse    2:32
Ken Peplowski
Credits:
Bass – Greg Cohen
Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone – Ken Peplowski
Drums – Alan Dawson
Guitar – Charlie Byrd (tracks: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), Howard Alden
Piano – Allen Farnham, Marian McPartland (tracks: 7, 8, 9)
Trumpet – Tom Harrell (tracks: 1, 9, 10)