BRANFORD MARSALIS QUARTET - Eternal (2004) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

 Eternal finds saxophonist Branford Marsalis in a contemplative mood performing a mix of original and standard ballads with his usual quartet of pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis, and drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts. The title track, written for his wife Nicole, is a hushed and cerebral affair, but never feels anything but warm. Similarly, the lead-off track, "The Ruby and the Pearl," contains the faint blush of Ellington-ian exoticism and "Gloomy Sunday" brings to mind the rumbling and atmospheric late-'60s work of longtime Marsalis touchstone John Coltrane. The album, his second solo outing for his Marsalis Music label, is dedicated in memory to a list of people one can only assume were as influential musically on Marsalis as emotionally. Among them are bassist Malachi Favors, drummer Elvin Jones, saxophonist Steve Lacy, and the one and only Ray Charles. Their spirits are palpable here as Marsalis and his band have clearly documented a handful of quietly beautiful and deeply moving performances. by Matt Collar
Tracklist:
1    The Ruby And The Pearl 8:53
Written-By – Livingston & Evans
2    Reika's Loss 7:51
Written-By – Jeff "Tain" Watts
3    Gloomy Sunday 12:43
Lyrics By – Sam Lewis
Written-By – Laszlo Javor, Rezső Seress
4    The Lonely Swan 9:04
Written-By – Joey Calderazzo
5    Dinner For One Please, James 8:00
Written-By – Michael Carr
6    Muldoon 4:13
Written-By – Eric Revis
7    Eternal 17:41
Written-By – Branford Marsalis
8    Body And Soul ( Bonus Track) 5:09
Credits:
Bass – Eric Revis
Drums – Jeff "Tain" Watts
Piano – Joey Calderazzo
Recorded By, Mixed By – Rob "Wacko" Hunter
Saxophone, Producer – Branford Marsalis

BOB MINTZER & THE HORN MAN BAND - Papa Lips (1983) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Recorded in 1983 and previously only released in Japan on Cheetah, Papa Lips is Bob Mintzer's third album as a leader. A step ahead of the rather sterile production of his previous album for the label Source (both are now available in the U.S. on CD courtesy of the Elore Records imprint), Papa Lips features a stellar band playing a program comprised almost entirely of Mintzer tunes, the lone exception is the standard "I Hear a Rhapsody." The band here is stellar and includes in various places Michael and Randy Brecker, Lew Soloff, Don Grolnick, David Sanborn, Will Lee, Peter Erskine and Marvin Stamm, among others. The material is more Latin in flavor, and the arrangements are less funk-oriented than its predecessor's. The sound is still quite slick, but the material is stronger and there are no vocal performances this time out. The remarkable thing here is that the Michael and Randy Brecker and David Sanborn were not particularly well known as big band players at this time, but their execution of these often complex charts is remarkable -- check the title cut that opens the set with a fine Randy Brecker solo; it's knotty and multi-textured with colors coming from all over the tonal spectrum. "Lazy Day," a gospel flavored soul tune for big band is reminiscent of Thad Jones' and Mel Lewis' orchestra, with fine solo s from Mintzer on tenor and Grolnick on piano. Other standouts include "Latin Dance," with a great Sanborn flight on alto, and the remake of "Mr. Fonebone." It appeared on Source as well, but is much faster and more aggressive here, and Lee is less busy than Jaco Pastorius was. "I Hear a Rhapsody" contains an excellent, deeply emotional solo by Michael Brecker, though the tune itself is a bit flowery for this recording. In sum, however, Papa Lips is a fine record; it is still slick -- but that's how they made jazz records in the '80s -- but it's sheer musicality, muscle, and sophistication make it an excellent listen. 

(This comment is posted on allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower our blog O Púbis da Rosa)
Tracklist
1 Papa Lips 6:33
2 Lazy Day 9:30
Bob Mintzer
3 I Hear a Rhapsody 4:13
Dick Gasparre
4 Latin Dance 7:59
5 Truth 7:18
6 Mr Fonebone 6:42
Credits
Alto Saxophone, Flute – Pete Yellin
Arranged By, Tenor Saxophone, Flute, Piccolo Flute, Clarinet – Bob Mintzer
Baritone Saxophone, Flute – Roger Rosenberg
Bass – Tom Barney (tracks: 2, 4, 6), Will Lee (tracks: 1, 3, 5) 
Bass Trombone – Dave Taylor (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 6), George Moran (tracks: 3, 5) 
Congas – Frankie Malabe (tracks: 1, 4) 
Drums – Peter Erskine
Flute – Carla Poole (tracks: 6) 
Piano – Don Grolnick
Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone – David Sanborn
Tenor Saxophone, Flute – Michael Brecker
Tenor Saxophone, Flute, Piccolo Flute – Lawrence Feldman
Trombone – Dave Bargeron, Keith O'Quinn
Trumpet – Laurie Frink, Lew Soloff, Marvin Stamm, Randy Brecker
Written-By – Bob Mintzer

BRAD MEHLDAU TRIO - Anything Goes (2004) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Ironically, Anything Goes would have been a more fitting title for pianist Brad Mehldau's previous effort, the idiosyncratic and experimental Largo. Completely eschewing the electronic flourishes and horn sections that characterized the 2002 Jon Brion-produced album as Mehldau's most adventurous release up to that point, Anything Goes is actually a return to a more traditional approach. Featuring his longtime sidemen bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jorge Rossy, Mehldau has crafted a thoughtful and pretty standards-based album. Classics including the title track and "Get Happy" are artfully deconstructed in a style that calls to mind a deft blending of Mehldau's most obvious touchstones, Keith Jarrett and Bill Evans. Similarly, "The Nearness of You" and "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" are masterpieces of impressionism that veritably weep with the plangent yearning of Miles Davis' trumpet. However, by the time Mehldau turns Radiohead's "Everything in Its Right Place" into the missing track off Sketches of Spain and solidifies Paul Simon's "Still Crazy After All These Years" as the most poignant ballad ever written, Anything Goes moves from the expected to the inspired and that alone makes this worth a listen. by Matt Collar 

Tracklist:

1 Get Happy 9:47

Written-By – Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler

2 Dreamsville 5:03

Written-By – Henry Mancini, Jay Livingston, Raymond B. Evans

3 Anything Goes 7:08

Written-By – Cole Porter

4 Tres Palabras 5:01

Written-By – Osvaldo Farres

5 Skippy 5:24

Written-By – Thelonious Monk

6 Nearness Of You 6:43

Written-By – Hoagy Carmichael, Ned Washington

7 Still Crazy After All These Years 5:21

Written-By – Paul Simon

8 Everything In Its Right Place 6:55

Written-By – Radiohead

9 Smile 6:48

Written-By – Charlie Chaplin, Geoffrey Clarmont Parsons, James John Turner Philips

10 I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face 4:49

Written-By – Alan Jay Lerner / Frederick Loewe

Credits:

Bass – Larry Grenadier

Drums – Jorge Rossy

Piano – Brad Mehldau

BRAD MEHLDAU TRIO - Day Is Done (2005) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Brad Mehldau did an exceptional job of keeping his stellar trio together for seven years, as proven by his fine Art of the Trio dates and 2004's Anything Goes. But Jorge Rossy, the group's drummer, began spending more and more time away from music and at his home in Spain. Mehldau, who is almost prolific in his recording process, recruited drummer Jeff Ballard to replace Rossy on Day Is Done. Ballard has worked off and on with bassist Larry Grenadier in the trio Fly with saxman Mark Turner, so he's not a total stranger to the process. Yet Ballard is a different kind of drummer, more diverse and certainly more kinetic in his approach, as evidenced by this disc. This is Mehldau's most energetic and rigorous recording to date. These ten cuts are comprised mainly of covers, though aside from "Alfie," there isn't anything here approaching a standard. There are tunes here by the Beatles ("She's Leaving Home" and a glorious solo version of "Martha My Dear" with a Scarlatti-esque study in counterpoint to usher it in), Paul Simon (a jaunty read of "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover"), Nick Drake (the title cut), and even Radiohead (in the crackling energy of "Knives Out"). There are two fine originals as well: the shimmering "Artis," with its striated right-hand work, and the Latin-tinged "Turtle Town," a somewhat breezy ballad that is nonetheless knotty and off-kilter enough in its melody and in Mehldau's solo to become complex and challenging. Day Is Done is another exceptional chapter in the Mehldau catalog, one that showcases a willingness to stretch itself to the breaking point and open up the band to a wider array of approaches.

(This comment is posted on allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower our blog O Púbis da Rosa)

Tracklist:

1 Knives Out 8:29

Colin Greenwood

2 Alfie 3:46

Burt Bacharach

3 Martha My Dear 4:38

John Lennon / Paul McCartney

4 Day Is Done 9:26

Nick Drake

5 Artis 6:21

6 Turtle Town 6:18

7 She's Leaving Home 9:07

John Lennon / Paul McCartney

8 Granada 7:30

Chris Cheek

9 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover 8:32

Paul Simon

10 No Moon at All 5:49

Redd Evans

Credits:

Bass – Larry Grenadier

Drums – Jeff Ballard

Piano – Brad Mehldau

MIROSLAV VITOUS - Universal Syncopations (2003) / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

On his first jazz date as a leader since 1992, Czechoslovakian bassist and composer Miroslav Vitous comes out of the gate with a host of heavyweights on one of the more lyrically swinging dates in modern jazz. Vitous' engaged, pulsing, and deeply woody tone is featured in the company of John McLaughlin, Jan Garbarek, Chick Corea, and Jack DeJohnette. While the crystalline sound of Manfred Eicher's ECM is everywhere here, as is the open-ended speculative jazz that the label is renowned -- and ridiculed for -- Vitous offers some startlingly beautiful twists and turns with his ensemble. Vitous, who has been through every music, from jazz-rock fusion as a founding member of Weather Report to being a classical composer, decided to revisit the skeletal remains of his very first session for the label in 1969. Produced by Herbie Mann the disc was, from a musical standpoint, a contentious, utterly brilliant marriage of ideas both old and new. Bandmembers DeJohnette and McLaughlin were present on those sides as well. Universal Syncopations is by turns a return to not the old forms, but rather to the manner of illustrating harmonic concepts in a quintet setting that allows for a maximum space between ensemble players while turning notions of swing, counterpoint, and rhythmic invention on their heads. From the wooly, expressionistic "Tramp Blues," with Vitous vamping around the changes, to the wide-open legato guitar phrasing of McLauglin against the double time in Vitous' bass on "Univoyage," to the simmering undulations of Garbarek's saxophones on top of Corea's intricate melodies and right-hand runs on "Brazilan Waves," all of it propelled, not anchored, by the leader's rich tone and accented and punctuated by Garbarek's tight, loping saxophone lines. This is one of those recordings that feels familiar in tone, but is timeless in concept and execution. Universal Syncopations is one of the most gorgeous sounding and toughly played dates of the calendar year.  by Thom Jurek
Tracklist:
1     Bamboo Forest        4:37
Miroslav Vitous
2     Univoyage    10:54
Miroslav Vitous
3    Tramp Blues    5:19
Miroslav Vitous
4    Faith Run    4:58
Miroslav Vitous
5    Sun Flower    7:21
Miroslav Vitous
6    Miro Bop    4:03
Miroslav Vitous
7    Beethoven    7:18
Jan Garbarek / Miroslav Vitous
8    Medium    5:09
Jan Garbarek / Miroslav Vitous
9    Brazil Waves    4:26
Jan Garbarek / Miroslav Vitous
Credits
     Double Bass, Written-By, Producer, Edited By, Mixed By – Miroslav Vitous
    Drums – Jack DeJohnette
    Guitar – John McLaughlin
    Piano – Chick Corea
    Producer, Edited By, Mixed By – Manfred Eicher
    Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Jan Garbarek
    Trombone – Isaac Smith (tracks: 2 to 4)
    Trumpet – Wayne Bergeron (tracks: 2 to 4)
    Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Valerie Ponomarev (tracks: 2 to 4)
    Written-By – Jack DeJohnette (tracks: 8), Jan Garbarek (tracks: 7, 9)

MICHEL PORTAL - Arrivederci le Chouartse (1980-2002) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

This live date is a reunion of the reed and drum duo of Michael Portal and Pierre Favre that so freaked out French audiences in 1972 there was a televised debate about live improvised music. However, this time there is the addition of the formidable bass talent of Leon Francioli, a player of such distinction and diversity he is equally at home playing the music of Thelonious Monk or Hans Werner Herze. Playing in front of an audience for the first time -- there had been only two rehearsals -- Portal and Favre hadn't played together in years either; in Switzerland of all places, that feeling was obviously in the air because it can be heard here, that something unexpected was about to happen. It starts like an out improv date with "Arrivederci" with odd whispered rhythms played against an improvised bowed bass slipping along, trying to find a place to begin. The bow saws slowly and quickly from register to register, finding the trace of some ancient melody to bring in before tripping on as Favre kicks up the heat just a notch. Nothing else much happens except the tension of the ambience until about three minutes in when Francioli tags tough with a bit of "O Tannenbaum." Bass and drums continue to toy with one another, turning up the tension level until five minutes in, the atmosphere tight as a wire, Portal enters with an elegantly bluesy "Take the A-Train," improvising alone off the beauty of this cadence. When the band moves in to take him up on it, they slip through post-bop and modal territory like well-rehearsed schoolboys at exam time, all the while looking for the proper syntax to being the exploration. With Portal blowing the blues the way he is, there is little else to do except mine the emotion he lays out. Finally, there are a series of long singe notes, and the improvisation commences in earnest. Rhythm, melody, and harmony -- in almost the same manner as Bill Evans, Paul Motian, and Scott La Faro used them -- become a challenge. They are not to be undone so much as unwound, granting room for dissonance and subtle, yet fickle tonal sonances that normally find their way into only most extreme blowing sessions. Here, all three players share the rhythmic concern, grooving together in this unwinding musical sprawl where overtone and interval questions encounter melodic ones in the process of swinging through in mode and rhythmic meter. It's amazing, really. Semi-quavers appear every third or fourth interval, and the mode changes, as does the harmony. It's all jazz, but it's all improvisation. The swing is definitely the thing as bits of everyone from Ornette Coleman to Dave Brubeck find their way into the floating, slinky twists and turns this trio takes each other through on their way to someplace nobody's been yet. For 32 minutes, "Arrivederci" rolls on, with Francioli playing some deeply funky Horace Silver lines on the bass. The next two works are actually an improvisatory suite, "Le Chouartse," of about 35 minutes in length. Portal gets out the clarinets and puts them to work with the saxophones in a rhythmic counterpart to Favre. There is polyrhythmic in his embouchure before any melodic or harmonic idiom is established. The evidence for the confusion is the lack of Francioli's presence until about three minutes into the track when he realizes the rhythmic line Portal is playing is the melody. Once he's in, and Favre is using his hands all over his muted toms toms, the fun begins. This suite is a trip down the rabbit hole but without Alice and in the dark. It steams, and whispers, shouts, screams and coos with six sets of rhythms all playing against each other at once, Portal accomplishing his with microphonics à la Pharoah Sanders -- but on bass clarinet. There are long periods of near silent communication happening during this work, but when the dynamic changes, so does everything else, the notion of jazz tradition -- i.e., melody, rhythm, and harmony -- has been reinvented, extended to include dissonant harmony and fragmented modal ideas in its rhythmic concepts, thus, opening up an entirely new space for the definition of melody as an extension of rhythm which is the next extension of harmony. A truly remarkable session, one that should be far better known than it is. by Thom Jurek  
Tracklist:
1 Arrivederci 32:36
2 Le Chouartse I 17:52
3 Le Chouartse II 18:42
Credits:
Bass – Léon Francioli
Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Michel Portal
Composed By – Léon Francioli, Michel Portal, Pierre Favre
Drums, Percussion – Pierre Favre

FRED HERSCH ENSEMBLE / WALT WHITMAN - Leaves of Grass (2005) APE (image+.cue), lossless

Leaves of Grass finds pianist Fred Hersch and a stellar ensemble of musicians performing Walt Whitman's classic poetry to music. Hersch has long displayed an organic mix of Keith Jarrett's blissed-out focus, Bill Evans' epic patience, and Tommy Flanagan's straight-ahead sense of swing. Combine all that with a deft post-bop harmonicism, classically trained technique, and finally the epic poetry of Walt Whitman and you get this gorgeously cerebral album. Interestingly, Hersch has apple picked from various parts of Leaves of Grass, only including certain parts that truly spoke to him. The result is a semi-classical-sounding oratorio that makes room for spoken word sections, sections done in vocalized song, and outright improvisation. Giving life to Whitman's actual words are singers Kurt Elling and Kate McGarry, who instill each phrase with precision and eloquence. Similarly, Hersch's backing ensemble, including trumpeter Ralph Alessi, tenor saxophonist Tony Malaby, trombonist Mike Christianson, clarinetist Bruce Williamson, cellist Erik Friedlander, bassist Drew Gress, and drummer John Hollenbeck, helps deliver an atmospheric and nuanced backdrop for Whitman's poetry. Hersch's Leaves of Grass will certainly not be to everyone's taste -- poetry and jazz rarely are -- however, as an exercise in combining the two mediums, Hersch has not only succeeded, but also created one of the best albums of his career. by Matt Collar  
Tracklist:
Part One
1 A Riddle Song 3:38
2 Song Of The Universal 3:52
3 Whoever You Are Holding Me Now In Hand 0:50
Song Of Myself (31:15)
4 Part I (I Celebrate Myself) 3:49
5 Part II (A Child Sayd: What Is The Grass?) 3:24
6 Part III (A Learner With The Simplest) 2:17
7 Part IV (Exist As I Am) 2:19
8 Part V (I Am He That Walks) 2:58
9 Part VI (Through Me Forbidden Voices) 3:57
10 Part VII (Now I Will Do Nothing But Listen) 3:31
11 Part VIII (I Believe A Leaf Of Grass) 2:17
12 Part IX (I Fly Those Flights) 3:13
13 Part X (My Lovers Suffocate Me) 3:29
14 Part XI (Why Should I Wish To See God) 2:59
Part Two
15 The Mystic Trumpeter 5:10
16 At The Close Of The Day 4:35
17 To You / Perfections 0:22
18 The Sleepers 5:42
19 Spirit That Form'd This Scene / On The Beach At Night Alone (Interlude) 5:19
20 After The Dazzle Of Day 3:06
Credits:
Bass – Drew Gress
Cello – Erik Friedlander
Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Bass Clarinet – Bruce Williamson
Drums, Percussion – John Hollenbeck
Music By – Fred Hersch
Piano – Fred Hersch
Tenor Saxophone – Tony Malaby
Text By – Walt Whitman
Trombone – Mike Christianson
Trumpet – Ralph Alessi
Vocals – Kate McGarry, Kurt Elling

JACO PASTORIUS - Word of Mouth (1981) APE (image+.cue), lossless

Bassist Jaco Pastorius' Word of Mouth orchestra was an unfulfilled dream, a worthy concept that did not last long enough to live up to its potential. Its debut album was released without a listing of the personnel, so here it is: Wayne Shorter, Michael Brecker, and Tom Scott on reeds, trumpeter Chuck Findley, the easily recognizable Toots Thielemans on harmonica, Howard Johnson on tuba, drummers Jack DeJohnette and Peter Erskine, and percussionist Don Alias. The music ranges from the Beatles' "Blackbird" and some Bach to Jaco originals that cover straight-ahead jazz, Coltrane-ish vamps, and fusion. Next to the bassist/leader, Thielemans emerges as the main voice. by Scott Yanow

Tracklist:

1. Crisis  – 5:21

2. Three Views of a Secret – 6:05

3. Liberty City – 11:57

4. Chromatic Fantasy (Johann Sebastian Bach) – 3:01

5, Blackbird (Lennon–McCartney) – 2:48

6. Word of Mouth – 3:53

7. John and Mary – 10:52

Credits:

Herbie Hancock: Keyboards, Synthesizers, Piano

Wayne Shorter, Michael Brecker, Tom Scott: Saxophone

Toots Thielemans: Harmonica

Chuck Findley: Trumpet

John Clark: French horn

Howard Johnson: Tuba

Don Alias, Robert Thomas Jr.: : Percussion

Peter Erskine, Jack DeJohnette: Drums

Jaco Pastorius: Electric bass, acoustic bass,

organ, piano, synthesizers, autoharp, percussion,

vocals, drums on "Word Of Mouth"

Paul Horn-Muller: Steel pans

Othello Molineaux: Steel pan

John F. Pastorius IV: vocal on John and Mary

Michael Gibbs: Hanging out

JACO PASTORIUS - Invitation (1983-2004) RM / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Electric bassist Jaco Pastorius' Word of Mouth big band made two recordings for Warner Bros. during its short life, of which is this is the superior one. The large ensemble (five trumpets including Randy Brecker, five reeds with solo space for Bobby Mintzer on tenor and soprano, four trombones, two French horns, Toots Thielemans on harmonica, drummer Peter Erskine, percussionist Don Alias, and Othello on steel drum) performs a variety of superior material. Although Pastorius takes his share of solo space, and the sound of a big band backing a bass soloist is rather unusual, he does not excessively dominate the music. Pastorius contributed some of the pieces (most notably "Liberty City"), is showcased on "Amerika," and also plays such tunes as "Invitation," "The Chicken," "Sophisticated Lady," "Giant Steps," and Gil Evans' "Eleven." by Scott Yanow
Tracklist:
1 Invitation 6:58
Written-By – Bronislaw Kaper
2 Amerika 1:10
Arranged By, Adapted By – Jaco Pastorius
Written-By – Traditional
3 Soul Intro / The Chicken 6:49
Written-By [Soul Intro] – Jaco Pastorius
Written-By [The Chicken] – Alfred James Ellis
4 Continuum 4:29
Written-By – Jaco Pastorius
5 Liberty City 4:35
Written-By – Jaco Pastorius
6 Sophisticated Lady 5:18
Written-By – Duke Ellington, Irving Mills, Mitchell Parish
7 Reza / Giant Steps / Reza (Reprise) 10:23
Written-By [Giant Steps] – John Coltrane
Written-By [Reza (Reprise)] – Jaco Pastorius
Written-By [Reza] – Jaco Pastorius
8 Fannie Mae 2:39
Written-By – Buster Brown, Clarence Lewis, Morgan Robinson
9 Eleven 0:50
Written-By – Gil Evans, Miles Davis
Credits:
Arranged By – Bobby Mintzer (tracks: 1), Jaco Pastorius (tracks: 2 to 9)
Baritone Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute [Alto] – Randy Emerick
Bass [Uncredited] – Jaco Pastorius
Bass Trombone – Bill Reichenbach, Peter Graves
Conductor [Co-Conductor] – Peter Graves
French Horn – Brad Warnaar, Peter Gordon
Harmonica – Jean "Toots" Thielemans
Producer – Jaco Pastorius
Soloist, Drums, Timpani, Gong – Peter Erskine
Soloist, Percussion – Don Alias
Soloist, Steel Drums – Othello Molineaux
Soloist, Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Bobby Mintzer
Soloist, Trumpet – Jon Faddis (tracks: 7), Randy Brecker
Tenor Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Clarinet, Piccolo Flute – Alex Foster
Tenor Saxophone, Oboe, English Horn – Paul McCandless
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute [Alto] – Mario Cruz
Trombone – Wayne Andre
Trombone, Tuba – David Bargeron
Trumpet – Elmer Brown, Forrest Buchtel, Ron Tooley

FRANK ZAPPA - Waka / Jawaka (1972-1995) RM / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

When Frank Zappa found himself stuck in a wheelchair for most of the year 1972 (after a "fan" pushed him off the stage in December of the previous year), he relieved his band (including singers Flo & Eddie) of its duties and turned to studio work. One of the first things he tried was to write jazz fusion music scored for wider instrumentation than an average rock band. Waka/Jawaka was conceived in parallel to The Grand Wazoo, but with fewer players. The album, released in July 1972, is comprised of two extended instrumental pieces and two shorter songs. "Big Swifty," a theme-and-solos showcase, would become a live favorite, but the highlight came in the form of the orgiastic title track, recorded with ex-Mothers of Invention keyboardist Don Preston, trumpeter Sal Marquez, trombonists Bill Byers and Ken Shroyer, saxophonist Mike Altschul, bassist Erroneous, and drummer Aynsley Dunbar. The songs, never performed live, feel like filler material. Waka/Jawaka was Zappa's second solo album and is occasionally referred to as "Hot Rats II" (the handles of the faucets on the cover artwork show the words "hot" and "rats" instead of "hot" and "cold"). His writing and recording technique had matured a lot in very little time. The dirty blues jamming of the 1969 LP was replaced by clean, crisp jazz improvisations -- no need to say this was also an abrupt change in style from the Mothers' 1969-1971 incarnation. But this album was only transitional: Zappa's big-band stylings would really flourish in The Grand Wazoo a few months later.

Tracklist:

1. Big Swifty 17:22

Chimes, Trumpet [Many Trumpets] – Sal Marquez

Drums – Aynsley Dunbar

Electric Bass – Alex Dmochowski

Electric Piano [Ring-modulated & Echoplexed] – George Duke

Guitar, Percussion – Frank Zappa

Slide Guitar – Tony Duran

2. Your Mouth 3:12

Baritone Saxophone, Piccolo Flute – Mike Altschul

Drums – Aynsley Dunbar

Electric Bass – Alex Dmochowski

Guitar – Frank Zappa

Piano [Tack] – George Duke

Slide Guitar – Tony Duran

Tenor Saxophone – Joel Peskin

Trumpet, Vocals – Sal Marquez

Vocals – Chris Peterson 

3. It Just Might Be A One-Shot Deal 4:16 

Acoustic Guitar, Performer [Electric Bed-springs] – Frank Zappa

Drums, Washboard, Tambourine – Aynsley Dunbar

Electric Bass, Vocals – Alex Dmochowski

Guitar [Hawaiian], Vocals – Jeff Simmons

Pedal Steel Guitar – "Sneaky Pete" Kleinow

Slide Guitar , Vocals – Tony Duran

Trumpet, Vocals – Sal Marquez

Vocals – Janet Ferguson

4. Waka/Jawaka 11:18

Drums – Aynsley Dunbar

Electric Bass, Bass [Fuzz] – Alex Dmochowski

Flugelhorn, Trumpet, Chimes – Sal Marquez

Guitar – Frank Zappa

Piano, Synthesizer [Mini-moog] – Don Preston

Piccolo Flute, Flute [Bass], Bass Clarinet, 

Tenor Saxophone – Mike Altschul

Trombone, Horn [Baritone] – Bill Byers, Ken Shroyer

FRANK ZAPPA - The Grand Wazoo (1973-1995) RM / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Like its immediate predecessor, Waka/Jawaka, The Grand Wazoo was a largely instrumental jazz rock album recorded during Frank Zappa's convalescence from injuries sustained after being pushed off a concert stage. While Zappa contributes some guitar solos and occasional vocals, the focus is more on his skills as a composer and arranger. Most of the five selections supposedly form a musical representation of a story told in the liner notes about two warring musical factions, but the bottom line is that, overall, the compositions here are more memorably melodic and consistently engaging than Waka/Jawaka. The instrumentation is somewhat unique in the Zappa catalog as well, with the band more of a chamber jazz orchestra than a compact rock unit; over 20 musicians and vocalists contribute to the record. While Hot Rats is still the peak of Zappa's jazz-rock fusion efforts, The Grand Wazoo comes close, and it's essential for anyone interested in Zappa's instrumental works. by Steve Huey

JIMMY GIUFFRE - Western Suite (1958-1998) FLAC (tracks), lossless

In late 1957, jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer, and iconoclast Jimmy Giuffre broke up the original Jimmy Giuffre 3 with Ralph Pena and Jim Hall. In early 1958, for a recording session, he formed a new trio without a rhythm section. For the album Trav'lin' Light, his new trio included Hall on guitar and the underrated trombone giant Bob Brookmeyer. For a year, they gigged together up and down the West Coast and played summer festivals, recorded, and even played clubs in New York. They became a trio of adventurous musicians for whom form was not an obstacle to creativity. As the year wound down, Giuffre wanted to document the trio once more, sensing its life was coming to an end. He composed the four-movement "Western Suite" with the trio's strengths in mind, as a way of documenting how they had come together as a band during that year. The piece itself stands as a crowning achievement in a career that included discovering the talents of Steve Swallow and Paul Bley and making the truly revolutionary recording Free Fall for Columbia three years later. The roots of that thinking lie in this set. Jim Hall's playing was dark, funky, ambiguous, sounding like drums and voices all at the same time -- particularly in the fourth movement. Brookmeyer became the pace setter. His lines were played as stage settings for the other two players to dialogue and narrate against. Giuffre, ever the storyteller, advanced the improvisation angle and wrote his score so that each player had to stand on his own as part of the group; there were no comfort zones. Without a rhythm section, notions of interval, extensions, interludes, and so on were out the window. He himself played some of his most retrained yet adventurous solos in the confines of this trio and within the form of this suite. It swung like West Coast jazz, but felt as ambitious as Copland's Billy the Kid. The record is filled out with two other tunes, one of Eddie Durham's, "Topsy," and the final moment of mastery this band ever recorded, the already classic "Blue Monk." The easy stroll of the front line with Brookmeyer's trombone strutting New Orleans' style is in sharp contrast to Giuffre's clarinet playing. Which carries the bluesy melody through three harmonic changes before he solos and then plays three more. Hall keeps it all on track, and somehow the piece sounds very natural this way, though unlike "Monk," there are no edges here -- everything is rounded off. This is as solid as any of the earlier or later Jimmy Giuffre 3 records, and two notches above Trav'lin' Light in that it reveals a fully developed sense of the responsibilities, possibilities, and freedoms of reinventing jazz for the trio. by Thom Jurek 

STAN KENTON - Cuban Fire! (1960-1991) MONO / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This CD contains one of the classic Stan Kenton albums, a six-part suite composed and arranged by Johnny Richards. The Kenton orchestra was expanded to 27 pieces for these dates including six percussionists, two French horns and six trumpets. With such soloists as tenor-great Lucky Thompson (on "Fuego Cubano,") trombonist Carl Fontana, altoist Lennie Niehaus, Bill Perkins on tenor and trumpeters Sam Noto and Vinnie Tanno, and plenty of raging ensembles, this is one of Stan Kenton's more memorable concept albums of the 1950s. by Scott Yanow
Tracklist:
1 Fuego Cubano (Cuban Fire) 6:02
Johnny Richards
2 El Congo Valiente (Valiant Congo) 5:53
Johnny Richards
3 Recuerdos (Reminiscences) 5:01
Johnny Richards
4 Quien Sabe (Who Knows) 4:49
Johnny Richards
5 Guera Baila (The Fair One Dances) 5:09
Johnny Richards
6 La Suerte de los Tontos (Fortune of Fools) 4:20
Johnny Richards
7 Tres Corarones (Three Hearts) 2:59
Johnny Richards
8 Maliba Moonlight 3:51
Johnny Richards
9 El Dangon 4:34
Johnny Richards
10 Carnival 5:21
Gene Roland
11 Wagon 3:05
Johnny Richards
12 Early Hours (Lady Luck) 2:56
Gene Roland
Credits:
Alto Saxophone – Gabe Baltazar (tracks: 8 to 12), Lennie Niehaus (tracks: 1 to 7)
Baritone Saxophone – Billy Root (tracks: 1 to 7), Marvin Holladay (tracks: 8 to 12), Wayne Dunston (tracks: 8 to 12)
Bass – Curtis Counce (tracks: 1 to 7), Pete Chivily (tracks: 8 to 12)
Bass Saxophone – Wayne Dunston (tracks: 8 to 12)
Bass Trombone – Bob Knight (tracks: 8 to 12), Jim Amlotte (tracks: 8 to 12)
Bongos – Willie Rodriguez (tracks: 1 to 7)
Claves – Roger Mozian (tracks: 1 to 7)
Congas – George Acevedo (tracks: 8 to 12), Tommy Lopez (tracks: 1 to 7)
Drums – Art Anton (tracks: 8 to 12), Mel Lewis (tracks: 1 to 7)
Flugelhorn – Vinnie Tano (tracks: 1 to 7)
French Horn – Irving Rosenthal (tracks: 1 to 7x), Julius Watkins (tracks: 1 to 7)
Guitar – Ralph Blaze (tracks: 1 to 7)
Maracas – Mario Alvarez (tracks: 1 to 7)
Mellophone – Bill Horan (tracks: 8 to 12), Dwight Carver (tracks: 8 to 12), Gene Rolland (tracks: 8 to 12), Joe Burnett (tracks: 8 to 12), Tom Wirtel (tracks: 8 to 12)
Piano – Stan Kenton
Tenor Saxophone – Bill Perkins (tracks: 1 to 7), Lucky Thompson (tracks: 1 to 7), Paul Renzi (tracks: 8 to 12), Sam Donahue (tracks: 8 to 12)
Timbales – George Laguna (tracks: 1 to 7)
Timpani – George Gaber (tracks: 1 to 7), Saul Gubin (tracks: 1 to 7)
Trombone – Bob Fitzpatrick (tracks: 1 to 7), Carl Fontana (tracks: 1 to 7), Dick Hyde (tracks: 8 to 12), Don Kelly (tracks: 1 to 7), Kent Larsen (tracks: 1 to 7), Ray Sikora (tracks: 8 to 12)
Trumpet – Al Mattaliano (tracks: 1 to 7), Bob Rolfe (tracks: 8 to 12), Bud Brisbois (tracks: 8 to 12), Dalton Smith (tracks: 8 to 12), Ed Leddy (tracks: 1 to 7), John Audino (tracks: 8 to 12), Lee Katzman (tracks: 1 to 7), Phil Gilbert (tracks: 1 to 7), Sam Noto, Steve Hoffsteter (tracks: 8 to 12), Vinnie Tano (tracks: 1 to 7)
Tuba – Albert Pollan (tracks: 8 to 12), Jay McAllister (tracks: 1 to 7)

STAN KENTON - Cuban Fire! (1960) 

(1991)  Capitol / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

O Púbis da Rosa

FRED HERSCH - Leaves of Grass (2005) APE (image+.cue), lossless

Leaves of Grass finds pianist Fred Hersch and a stellar ensemble of musicians performing Walt Whitman's classic poetry to music. Hersch has long displayed an organic mix of Keith Jarrett's blissed-out focus, Bill Evans' epic patience, and Tommy Flanagan's straight-ahead sense of swing. Combine all that with a deft post-bop harmonicism, classically trained technique, and finally the epic poetry of Walt Whitman and you get this gorgeously cerebral album. Interestingly, Hersch has apple picked from various parts of Leaves of Grass, only including certain parts that truly spoke to him. The result is a semi-classical-sounding oratorio that makes room for spoken word sections, sections done in vocalized song, and outright improvisation. Giving life to Whitman's actual words are singers Kurt Elling and Kate McGarry, who instill each phrase with precision and eloquence. Similarly, Hersch's backing ensemble, including trumpeter Ralph Alessi, tenor saxophonist Tony Malaby, trombonist Mike Christianson, clarinetist Bruce Williamson, cellist Erik Friedlander, bassist Drew Gress, and drummer John Hollenbeck, helps deliver an atmospheric and nuanced backdrop for Whitman's poetry. Hersch's Leaves of Grass will certainly not be to everyone's taste -- poetry and jazz rarely are -- however, as an exercise in combining the two mediums, Hersch has not only succeeded, but also created one of the best albums of his career. by Matt Collar 
Tracklist
1 A Riddle Song (Overture) 3:38
2 Song Of The Universal 3:52
3 Whoever You Are Holding Me Now In Hand 0:50
4 Song Of Myself: Part I (I Celebrate Myself) 3:49
5 Song Of Myself: Part II (A Child Sayd: What Is The Grass?) 3:24
6 Song Of Myself: Part III (A Learner With The Simplest) 2:17
7 Song Of Myself: Part IV (Exist As I Am) 2:19
8 Song Of Myself: Part V (I Am He That Walks) 2:58
9 Song Of Myself: Part VI (Through Me Forbidden Voices)
10 Song Of Myself: Part VII (Now I Will Do Nothing But Listen) 3:31
11 Song Of Myself: Part VIII (I Believe A Leaf Of Grass) 2:17
12 Song Of Myself: Part IX (I Fly Those Flights) 3:13
13 Song Of Myself: Part X (My Lovers Suffocate Me) 3:29
14 Song Of Myself: Part XI (Why Should I Wish To See God) 2:59
15 The Mystic Trumpeter 5:10
16 At The Close Of The Day 4:15
17 To You / Perfections 0:22
18 The Sleepers 5:42
19 The Spirit That Form'd This Scene / On The Beach At Night Alone 5:39
20 After The Dazzle Of Day 3:06
Credits
Bass – Drew Gress
Cello – Erik Friedlander
Clarinet – Bruce Williamson
Drums – John Hollenbeck
Piano – Fred Hersch
Tenor Saxophone – Tony Malaby
Trombone – Mike Christianson
Trumpet – Ralph Alessi
Voice – Kate McGarry, Kurt Elling

FRED HERSCH - Leaves of Grass

 (2005) Palmetto / APE (image+.cue), lossless

O Púbis da Rosa

SUSANNE ABBUEHL - April (2001) APE (image+.cue), lossless

Switzerland-born singer Susanne Abbuehl studied with the influential vocalist Jeanne Lee (1939-2000) while attending the Royal Conservatory of the Hague, amidst her wholehearted interest in North Indian classical music. On her first release for ECM, Abbuehl and her fellow European musicians render an often thought-provoking program, augmented by the infamous "ECM aesthetic." However, the thrust of this outing emanates from the vocalist's incorporation of e.e. cummings' poems set to her music, while she appoints lyrics to a few Carla Bley compositions. Abbuehl possesses enticingly affectionate vocal attributes coupled with her soft incantations and atmospheric means of spinning a tale. Clarinetist Christof May serves as a near perfect foil for Abbuehl, as he frequently contrasts the singer's animated lyrical approach and tenderly stated choruses. The band utilizes punctuated rhythms and space as means for regenerating subtly executed micro-themes to coincide with these rather introspectively enacted works. A sense of fragility permeates this exquisite outing, as the artists' elegantly devised methodologies might be analogous to witnessing an oil painter applying strokes to a canvas. Simply stated, Abbuehl and associates have provided the modern jazz world with a picturesque soundscape, awash with articulately executed mosaics, that tends to impart a lasting impression. Recommended. by Glenn Astarita  
Tracklist:
1 Yes Is a Pleasant Country 5:27
Susanne Abbuehl / e.e. cummings
2 Ida Lupino 7:30
Susanne Abbuehl / Carla Bley
3 Closer 5:15
Susanne Abbuehl / Carla Bley
4 All I Need 2:56
Susanne Abbuehl / Wolfert Brederode
5 A.I.R. (All India Radio) 8:11
Carla Bley
6 Seven/Somewhere I Have Never Travelled, Gladly Beyond 3:41
Carla Bley / e.e. cummings
7 Skies May Be Blue; Yes 7:46
Susanne Abbuehl / Wolfert Brederode / e.e. cummings
8 'Round Midnight 4:17
Bernie Hanighen / Thelonious Monk / Cootie Williams
9 Maggie and Milly and Molly and May 6:36
Susanne Abbuehl / Wolfert Brederode / e.e. cummings
10 Since Feeling Is First 1:50
Susanne Abbuehl / e.e. cummings
11 Mane Na 5:45
Prabha Atre
Credits 
Arranged By – Susanne Abbuehl (tracks: 11) 
Clarinet, Bass Clarinet – Christof May
Composed By – Prabha Atre (tracks: 11)
Drums, Percussion – Samuel Rohrer
Music By – Carla Bley (tracks: 2, 3, 5, 6), Cootie Williams (tracks: 8), Susanne Abbuehl (tracks: 1, 7, 9, 10), Thelonious Monk (tracks: 8), Wolfert Brederode (tracks: 4, 7, 9) 
Piano, Harmonium, Melodica – Wolfert Brederode
Producer – Manfred Eicher
Voice – Susanne Abbuehl
Words By – Bernie Hanighen (tracks: 8), Susanne Abbuehl (tracks: 2 to 4) 
Words By [Poem By] – E. E. Cummings (tracks: 1, 6, 7, 9, 10) 

PAUL BLEY - Open, To Love (1972) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Despite the fact that pianist and composer Paul Bley had been a renowned and innovative jazzman for nearly 20 years, 1973 saw the release of his most mature and visionary work, and one that to this day remains his opus. This is one of the most influential solo piano recordings in jazz history, and certainly one that defined the sound of the German label ECM. Consisting of seven tracks, five of which were composed by Carla Bley (his ex-wife) and Annette Peacock (soon to be his ex-wife), and two originals, Bley showcased his newfound penchant for the spatial pointillism and use of silence that came to define his mature work. In Carla Bley's "Ida Lupino," the pianist took the song's harmonics and unwound them from their source, deepening the blues elements, brushing the Errol Garnerish ostinato with pastoral shades and textures of timbral elegance, and reaching the tonic chords in the middle register just as he forced the improvisation just barely into the abstract with his right hand, percussively slipping in one or two extra notes to highlight the deep lyricism in the tune's body. On his own "Started," Bley illustrates brazenly the deep influences of the Second Viennese School on his sense of harmony and counterpoint. Recalling Arnold Schöenberg's solo piano pieces in their engagement of dissonance and glissando placement, it's still Bley playing jazz and improvising, vamping on his own theme while turning melody and timbre back on themselves for the purpose of complete tonal engagement in the middle register. And in Annette Peacock's "Nothing Ever Was, Anyway," which closes the album, Bley makes full use of an element he employs throughout the recording: space and its ability to create the notion of consonance or dissonance from the simplest of melodies. Here notes appear, related, but just barely, to one another in a more or less linear sequence, and Bley stretches that connection to the breaking point by using his sense of spatial relationship in harmony to silence. He elongates the tonal sustain and allows it to bleed into his next line just enough, as if it were a ghostlike trace of another melody, a another distant lyric, attempting to impose itself on the present one, though it had just since ceased to exist. Ultimately, what Bley offers is jazz pianism as a new kind of aural poetics, one that treats the extension of the composer's line much as the poet treats the line as the extension of breath. Sheer brilliance. by Thom Jurek

Tracklist:

1 Closer 5:51

Composed By – Carla Bley

2 Ida Lupino 7:31

Composed By – Carla Bley

3 Started 5:13

Composed By – Paul Bley

4 Open, To Love 7:10

Composed By – Anette Peacock

5 Harlem 3:22

Composed By – Paul Bley

6 Seven 7:21

Composed By – Carla Bley

7 Nothing Ever Was, Anyway 6:02

Composed By – Anette Peacock

Credits

Piano – Paul Bley

Producer – Manfred Eicher