JOE ZAWINUL — The Rise & Fall Of The Third Stream + Money In The Pocket (1994) RM | Serie Atlantic Jazz Gallery | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Two of keyboardist Joe Zawinul's finest recordings as a leader were reissued on this single CD. The Money in the Pocket album from 1965 features Zawinul on acoustic piano in a sextet with trumpeter Blue Mitchell, tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, and baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams playing superior hard bop, highlighted by the funky title cut, "If," and "My One and Only Love." The other session utilizes a string quartet, trumpeter Jimmy Owens, and the tenor and arrangements of William Fischer. Its diverse music hints at fusion (Zawinul doubles on electric piano) and has many colorful moments. This gem of a CD is highly recommended. Scott Yanow   Tracklist & Credits :

BENNY CARTER - Songbook (1996) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Due to his being such a talented altoist, arranger and occasional trumpeter for seven decades, it is often forgotten that Benny Carter wrote some worthy songs along the way. "When Lights Are Low" and "Blues in My Heart" are standards while "Only Trust Your Heart," "Key Largo" and the novelty hit "Cow-Cow Boogie" are close. For this unusual set, 14 different singers had opportunities to interpret one or two Carter compositions while joined by a fine quintet consisting of cornetist Warren Vache, pianist Chris Neville, bassist Steve LaSpina, drummer Sherman Ferguson and Carter himself (88 at the time!) on alto. The ambitious program includes five Carter songs that were receiving their world premiere; in addition Carter also wrote or co-wrote the lyrics to nine of the pieces. The singers all show respect for the melody and words with Jon Hendricks being playful on "Cow-Cow Boogie," Joe Williams quite touching on "I Was Wrong" and a weakened Peggy Lee making a memorable cameo on "I See You." The vocalists consistently seem quite inspired by the unique project. There are many short Carter and Warren Vache solos and, even with the emphasis on ballads, there is more variety than one might expect. The well-conceived tribute (which also has fine appearances by Dianne Reeves, Carmen Bradford, Kenny Rankin, Marlena Shaw, Diana Krall, Billy Stritch, Shirley Horn, Bobby Short, Ruth Brown, Weslia Whitfield and Nancy Marano) is easily recommended. Scott Yanow   
Tracklist :
1 Only Trust Your Heart 5:28
Sammy Cahn / Benny Carter
Vocals – Dianne Reeves
2 All That Jazz 4:53
Benny Carter / Al Stillman
Vocals – Carmen Bradford, Kenny Rankin
3 I Was Wrong 4:21
Benny Carter
Vocals – Joe Williams
4 Rain 4:58
Benny Carter
Vocals – Marlena Shaw
5 Cow Cow Boogie 5:32
Benny Carter / Gene DePaul / Don Raye
Vocals – Jon Hendricks
6 Fresh Out of Love 5:37
Benny Carter
Vocals – Diana Krall
7 Speak Now 4:54
Benny Carter
Vocals – Billy Stritch
8 A Kiss from You 5:27
Benny Carter / Johnny Mercer
Vocals – Shirley Horn
9 You Bring Out the Best in Me 4:15
Benny Carter
Vocals – Bobby Short
10 My Kind of Trouble Is You 5:46
Benny Carter / Paul Vandervoort II
Vocals – Ruth Brown
11 When Lights Are Low 4:05
Benny Carter / Spencer Williams
Vocals – Weslia Whitfield
12 Lonely Woman 6:33
Benny Carter / Ray Sonin
Vocals – Nancy Marano
13 Key Largo 4:32
Benny Carter / Karl Suessdorf / Leah Worth
Vocals – Carmen Bradford
14 We Were in Love 6:00
Benny Carter
Vocals – Dianne Reeves, Joe Williams
15 I See You 4:48
Benny Carter
Vocals – Peggy Lee
Credits
Alto Saxophone – Benny Carter
Bass – John Heard (tracks: 15), Steve LaSpina (tracks: 1 to 14)
Cornet – Warren Vaché (tracks: 1 to 3, 5 to 7, 9, 11, 13, 14)
Drums – Roy McCurdy (tracks: 2, 10, 13), Sherman Ferguson (tracks: 1, 3 to 9, 11, 12, 14, 15)
Piano – Chris Neville (tracks: 1 to 14), Gene DiNovi (tracks: 15)

BENNY CARTER - Songbook, Vol. 2 (1997) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist :
1    My Mind Is Still On You 3'22
Vocals – Joe Williams
Words By – John Moen, Leonard Feather
Words By, Music By – Benny Carter
2    Echo Of My Dream 5'07
Vocals – Diana Krall
Words By, Music By – Benny Carter
3    Rock Me To Sleep 5'58
Drums – Roy McCurdy
Vocals – Ruth Brown
Words By, Music By – Benny Carter, Paul Vandervoort II
4    Stop Me Before I Fall In Love Again 4'01
Vocals – Billy Stritch
Words By, Music By – Benny Carter
5    He Doesn't Need Me Now 8'31
Vocals – Nancy Marano
Words By – Paul Vandervoort II
Words By, Music By – Benny Carter
6    Doozy 6'02
Vocals – Jon Hendricks
Words By, Music By – Benny Carter
7    Nevermore 5'07
Vocals – Billy Stritch
Words By, Music By – Benny Carter
8    Malibu 7'04
Vocals – Lainie Kazan
Words By, Music By – Benny Carter
9    Blue Moonlight 5'50
Vocals – Marlena Shaw
Words By, Music By – Benny Carter
10    Evening Star 5'27
Drums – Roy McCurdy
Vocals – Kenny Rankin
Words By, Music By – Benny Carter
11    Slow Carousel 4'44
Vocals – Nancy Marano
Words By, Music By – Benny Carter
12    Whisper To One 4'02
Music By – Benny Carter
Vocals – Barbara Lea
Words By – Al Stillman
13    I'm The Caring Kind 5'52
Music By – Benny Carter
Vocals – Weslia Whitfield
Words By – Irving Gordon
14    When Hilma Smiles 4'15
Vocals, Words By, Music By – Benny Carter
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Liner Notes – Benny Carter
Bass – Steve LaSpina
Cornet – Warren Vaché (pistas: 1 to 11, 13, 14)
Drums – Sherman Ferguson (pistas: 1, 2, 4 to 9, 11 to 14)
Piano, Producer [Production Assistance] – Chris Neville

SONNY ROLLINS AND COLEMAN HAWKINS - Sonny Meets Hawk! (1963-1994) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Throughout a career that spanned more than 40 years, Coleman Hawkins consistently maintained a progressive attitude, operating at or near the cutting edge of developments in jazz. If Hawk's versatility came in handy when he backed Abbey Lincoln during Max Roach's 1960 We Insist! Freedom Now Suite, he took on an assignment of challenging dimensions when in 1963 he cut an entire album with Sonny Rollins in the company of pianist Paul Bley, bassists Bob Cranshaw and Henry Grimes, and drummer Roy McCurdy. Coleman Hawkins and Sonny Rollins each virtually defined the tenor saxophone for his respective generation. To hear the two of them interacting freely is a deliciously exciting experience. Hawkins is able to cut loose like never before. Sometimes the two collide, locking horns and wrestling happily without holding back. For this reason one might detect just a whiff of Albert Ayler's good-natured punchiness, particularly in the basement of both horns; such energies were very much in the air during the first half of the 1960s. Rather than comparing this date with the albums Hawkins shared with Ben Webster (1957), Henry "Red" Allen (1957), Pee Wee Russell (1961), or Duke Ellington (1962), one might refer instead to Hawk's wild adventures in Brussels during 1962 (see Stash 538, Dali) or Rollins' recordings from around this time period, particularly his Impulse! East Broadway Run Down album of 1965. Check out how the Hawk interacts with Rollins' drawn-out high-pitched squeaking during the last minute of "Lover Man." On Sonny Meets Hawk!, possibly more than at any other point in his long professional evolution, Hawkins was able to attain heights of unfettered creativity that must have felt bracing, even exhilarating. He obviously relished the opportunity to improvise intuitively in the company of a tenor saxophonist every bit as accomplished, resourceful, and inventive as he was. arwulf arwulf  
Tracklist :
1    Yesterdays 5'12
Written-By – J. Kern, O. Harbach
2    All The Things You Are 9'30
Written-By – J. Kern, O. Hammerstein II
3        Summertime
Written-By – D. Heyward, G. & I. Gershwin
4    Just Friends 4'37
Written-By – J. Klenner, S. Lewis
5    Lover Man 8'50
Written-By – J. Davis, J. Sherman, R. Ramirez
6    At McKies' 7'01
Written-By – S. Rollins
Credits :
Bass – Bob Cranshaw (pistas: 1, 2, 5), Henry Grimes (pistas: 3, 4, 6)
Drums – Roy McCurdy
Piano – Paul Bley
Tenor Saxophone – Coleman Hawkins, Sonny Rollins

EDDIE 'LOCKJAW' DAVIS | HARRY 'SWEETS' EDISON | AL GREY - Jazz at the Philharmonic (1983-1995) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Despite its title, this Pablo album is not a reunion of Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic although it does seek to recreate some of the original spirit of the 1950s organized jam sessions. Tenor saxophonist Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis heads the swinging sextet which also includes trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison, trombonist Al Grey, Art Hillery on piano and organ, bassist John Heard and drummer Roy McCurdy. "I'm Just a Lucky So and So" and "Slow Drag" are given lengthy interpretations (both are around ten minutes apiece) while six other familiar standards are more concise. Nothing all that unusual occurs but there are some fiery moments from the classic swing stylists. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     I'm Just a Lucky So and So 10'15
Mack David / Duke Ellington
2     I May Be Wrong (But I Think You're Wonderful) 5'15
Harry Ruskin / Henry Sullivan
3     Smoke Gets in Your Eyes 4'17
Otto Harbach / Jerome Kern
4     Stompin' at the Savoy 4'35
Benny Goodman / Andy Razaf / Edgar Sampson / Chick Webb
5     Time After Time 3'58
Sammy Cahn / Jule Styne
6     Secret Love 5'56
Sammy Fain / Paul Francis Webster
7     It Could Happen to You 4'07
Johnny Burke / James Van Heusen
8     Slow Drag 10'20
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis / Harry "Sweets" Edison
Credits :
Bass – John Heard
Drums – Roy McCurdy
Piano – Art Hillery
Producer, Liner Notes – Norman Granz
Remastered By – Phil De Lancie
Tenor Saxophone – Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis
Trombone – Al Grey
Trumpet – Harry Edison

CLARK TERRY - "Yes, the Blues" (1981) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This blues-oriented Pablo recording has an ideal matchup: flugelhornist Clark Terry and altoist Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson. Both musicians take a good-humored vocal apiece, but the emphasis is on their playing. The complementary stylists, backed by pianist Art Hillery, bassist John Heard and drummer Roy McCurdy, work together very well on their originals, plus "Swingin' the Blues," and create some memorable, if fairly basic, music straddling the boundaries between swing, bop and early R&B. Scott Yanow

Tracklist :
1     Diddlin' 8'45
Clark Terry
2     Railroad Porter's Blues 5'36
Jessie Mae Robinson
3     Swingin' the Blues 7'00
Count Basie / Eddie Durham
4     Marina Bay Rednecks 7'46
Clark Terry
5     Quicksand 4'05
Clark Terry
6     The Snapper 5'05
Clark Terry
7     Kidney Stew 4'41
Clark Terry
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Vocals (pistas: 2) – Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson
Bass – John Heard
Drums – Roy McCurdy
Harmonica – "Harmonica George" Smith
Piano, Organ – Art Hillery
Producer – Norman Granz
Trumpet, Vocals (pistas: 7) – Clark Terry

ART FARMER | BENNY GOLSON JAZZTET - Here and Now (1962-2002) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The Jazztet had been in existence for two years when they recorded what would be their final LPs, Here and Now and Another Git Together. The personnel, other than the two co-leaders, flugelhornist Art Farmer and tenor-saxophonist Benny Golson, had completely changed since 1960 but the group sound was the same. The 1962 version of the Jazztet included trombonist Grachan Moncur III, pianist Harold Mabern, bassist Herbie Lewis, and drummer Roy McCurdy. It is remarkable to think that this talent-filled group wasn't, for some reason, snapped up to record even more albums together. Highlights of their excellent out-of-print LP include Ray Bryant's "Tonk," "Whisper Not," "Just in Time," and Thelonious Monk's "Ruby My Dear." A classic if short-lived hard bop group. [This is the original issue and does not include bonus tracks.] Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     Tonk 6'52
Ray Bryant
2     Rue Prevail 4'27
Art Farmer
3     Richie's Dilemma 5'14
Harold Mabern
4     Whisper Not 5'23
Benny Golson
5     Just in Time 5'27
Betty Comden / Adolph Green / Jule Styne
6     Ruby, My Dear 5'14
Thelonious Monk
7     In Love in Vain 7'17
Jerome Kern / Leo Robin
8     Sonny's Back 4'04
Grachan Moncur III
Credits :
Bass – Herbie Lewis
Drums – Roy McCurdy
Flugelhorn – Art Farmer (pistas: 1, 2, 4 to 7)
Piano – Harold Mabern
Tenor Saxophone – Benny Golson
Trombone – Grachan Moncur III
Trumpet – Art Farmer (pistas: 3, 8)

THE ART FARMER QUARTET - Perception (1962-2018) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This 1964 release of a 1961 date with pianist Harold Mabern, drummer Ron McCurdy, and bassist Tommy Williams is a breezy affair, a stark contrast to the hard bop that was still pervasive at that time. Farmer had fully developed his sensual and lyrical style by this time, and was making records with Benny Golson when he led this date. The set features two fine originals, which are notable because Farmer didn't compose much: the elegant and spring-like "Punsu" and "Kayin," a breezy West Coast affair. Farmer had given up the trumpet completely by this time and concentrated all of his efforts on the flügelhorn. Its large, warm tone and rounded sound fit perfectly with Farmer's penchant for the exploration of melodic modes within a given tune. On "Lullaby of the Leaves," Farmer's lead into the melody prefigures his solo by moving both off key and off beat to shape a large conical center in the tune. On Ray Bryant's "Tonk," Farmer swings out of the blues and into a shimmering solo all around a triplet figure in B flat. Mabern does far more than comp his way through the changes here, extending his chord voicings to let Farmer fall inside the cracks and nest. This is a gorgeous record, full of light and airiness; it showcases the depth rather than the breadth of Farmer's contribution.
>This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa'<
Tracklist :
1     Punsu 5'14
Art Farmer
2     The Day After 2'25
Tom McIntosh
3     Lullaby of the Leaves 4'18
Bernice Petkere / Joe Young
4     Kayin' 3'57
Art Farmer
5     Tonk 4'37
Ray Bryant        
6     The Blue Room 3'58
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers
7     Change Partners 5'23
Irving Berlin
8     Nobody's Heart 4'05
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers
Credits :
Bass – Tommy Williams
Drums – Roy McCurdy
Flugelhorn – Art Farmer
Piano – Harold Mabern

JOE ZAWINUL — Money in the Pocket (1966-2012) RM | Serie Jazz Best Collection 1000 | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist :

1 Money In The Pocket 4:46

Bass – Bob Cranshaw
Drums – Roy McCurdy
Piano – Joe Zawinul
Tenor Saxophone – Clifford Jordan
Trumpet – Blue Mitchell
2 If 3:47
Baritone Saxophone – Pepper Adams
Bass – Sam Jones
Drums – Louis Hayes
Tenor Saxophone – Joe Henderson
Trumpet – Blue Mitchell
Piano – Joe Zawinul
3 My One And Only Love 3:52
Written by - Robert Mellin / Guy Wood
Piano – Joe Zawinul
4 Midnight Mood 6:06
Baritone Saxophone – Pepper Adams
Bass – Sam Jones
Drums – Louis Hayes
Tenor Saxophone – Joe Henderson
Trumpet – Blue Mitchell 
Piano – Joe Zawinul
5 Some More Of Dat 6:02
Baritone Saxophone – Pepper Adams
Bass – Sam Jones
Drums – Louis Hayes
Tenor Saxophone – Joe Henderson
Piano – Joe Zawinul
Trumpet – Blue Mitchell
6 Sharon's Waltz 5:06
Bass – Sam Jones
Drums – Louis Hayes
Piano – Joe Zawinul
7 Riverbed 5:09
Baritone Saxophone – Pepper Adams
Bass – Sam Jones
Drums – Louis Hayes
Tenor Saxophone – Joe Henderson
Trumpet – Blue Mitchell
Piano – Joe Zawinul
8 Del Sasser 3:45
Piano – Joe Zawinul
Bass – Sam Jones
Drums – Louis Hayes

JOE ZAWINUL — The Rise & Fall of the Third Stream (1967-2012) RM | Jazz Best Collection 1000 | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This transitional recording sees Joe Zawinul moving from the role of jazz pianist to that of a synthesist in the broad sense of the word. The recording, made up of advanced hard bop and post bop themes, includes -- with varying degrees of cohesion -- passages for cello and violas. The strings never completely meld with the jazz instrumentation, but they also don't get in the way. The title suggests Zawinul sees little value in partitioning music under such headings as "Third Stream" (a rubric for the fusion of jazz and classical music). This view would be famously exemplified in the influential projects with which Zawinul would soon be involved. Zawinul sticks with acoustic piano except for "Soul of a Village", where he improvises in a soul-jazz vein on Fender Rhodes over the tamboura-like droning of a prepared piano. On other tracks, his playing is similar to the sweeping grandeur of McCoy Tyner. Elsewhere, he is in more of a Keith Jarrett or Bill Evans space. There's good work from Jimmy Owens on trumpet and William Fischer on tenor sax, along with a top-flight rhythm section comprising bassist Richard Davis and either Freddie Waits or Roy McCurdy on drums.What's interesting about this music is the insight it provides on directions Zawinul would soon take with Miles Davis on the ethereal In a Silent Way, on the impressionistic 1971 eponymous release Zawinul, and then with the borderless fusioneering of Weather Report. These later projects are the realization of ideas that Zawinul was beginning to form on this 1967 session. Jim Todd  
Tracklist :
1 Baptismal 7:37
William S. Fischer
2 The Soul of a Village, Pts. 1& 2 2:13
William S. Fischer
3 The Fifth Canto 6:55
William S. Fischer
4 From Vienna, with Love 4:27
Friedrich Gulda
5 Lord, Lord, Lord 3:55
William S. Fischer
6 A Concerto, Retitled 5:30
William S. Fischer
Credits:

Cello – Kermit Moore

Double Bass – Richard Davis
Drums – Freddie Waits, Roy McCurdy
Percussion – Warren Smith
Piano, Electric Piano – Joe Zawinul
Tenor Saxophone, Arranged By – William Fischer
Trumpet – Jimmy Owens
Viola – Alfred Brown, Selwart Clarke, Theodore Israel