MARILYN SCOTT – Avenues of Love (1998) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

A top-notch adult contemporary vocalist still awaiting a well-deserved crossover commercial breakthrough, Marilyn Scott adds powerful fuel to her cause on Avenues of Love by helping herself with a well-balanced array of production and songwriting talent. George Duke surrounds her with party voices and a kneejerking Latin groove on a playful list of dance steps on "I Like to Dance," then surrounds her clear, sensuous voice with airy, billowing synth cushioning on the Bacharach-David classic "The Look of Love." Scott and bassist Jimmy Haslip reroute to Memphis on Michael Ruff's Wilson Pickett-like pick me up, "Love Is a Powerful Thing," engaging a two-piece horn section that sounds even larger. The Yellowjacket touch is in full effect on the picturesque "Avenida del Sol," which approximates an update of the gentle Astrud Gilberto sound; the tune was written by Scott and Bob Mintzer, and produced by Scott, Haslip, and Russell Ferrante. Scott's greatest gift here is her sense of modulation; she belts like crazy on the funk pieces, but recognizes the emotional power of restraint on the ballads. Jonathan Widran 
Tracklist :
1.    Starting to Fall    4:47
 George Duke / Marilyn Scott 
2.    I Like to Dance    5:00
 George Duke / Bob Mintzer / Marilyn Scott 
3.    Avenida del Sol    4:27
 Bob Mintzer / Marilyn Scott 
4.    The Look of Love    5:38
 Burt Bacharach / Hal David 
5.    Heaven's Design    5:53
 Bobby McFerrin 
6.    Love is a Powerful Thing    4:30
 Michael Ruff 
7.    Hold You Up    5:34
 Russell Ferrante / Jimmy Haslip / Marilyn Scott 
8.    Hey Love    6:16
 Russell Ferrante / Jimmy Haslip / Marilyn Scott 
9.    Get Home    5:45
 Russell Ferrante / Jimmy Haslip / Marilyn Scott 
10.    The Last Day    3:38
 John Ewbank / Brenda Russell 
Credits :
Bob Mintzer - Composer, Guest Artist, Horn
Brandon Fields, Steve Allen - Saxophone
Fred Washington - Bass
George Duke - Bass, Bass Programming, Composer, Executive Producer, Guest Artist, Keyboards, Piano, Producer, Vocal Producer
Jimmy Haslip - Bass, Composer, Producer
Joe Heredia - Drums
Lori Perry - Arranger, Vocal Arrangement, Vocals (Background), Voices
Marilyn Scott - Composer, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Michael Landau, Mike Miller, Ray Fuller - Guitar
Michael Ruff - Composer, Keyboards, Vocals (Background)
Paul Jackson, Jr. - Guest Artist, Guitar
Paulinho Da Costa - Guest Artist, Percussion
Rafael Padilla - Percussion
Ralph Rickert - Trumpet
Russell Ferrante - Arranger, Composer, Keyboards, Producer
Take 6 - Guest Artist
Walt Fowler - Horn
William Kennedy - Drums
Yellowjackets - Guest Artist
Alvin Chea, Sharon Perry, Carolyn Perry, Darlene Perry, David Porter Thomas, David Powell,  Lynn Davis, Richard Montgomery, Lisa Horton, Jim Gilstrap, Mary Turner, Maxayn Lewis - Vocals (Background) Voices 

OLIVER NELSON & FRIENDS – Happenings + Soulful Brass (2011) RM | Serie Impulse! 2-On-1 | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This Impulse two-fer revives a pair of LPs by arranger, composer, and saxophonist Oliver Nelson, Happenings and Soulful Brass, released in 1966 and 1968, respectively. Happenings, a date with pianist Hank Jones, is the better album, unlike Soulful Brass, which was co-led with comedian/pianist Steve Allen. Unfortunately, both pianists are featured mainly on harpsichord, which tends to dominate, and at times overwhelm, the compositions. Unless you're a die-hard collector, best to skip this two-fer and pick up the Impulse releases, The Blues & the Abstract Truth and More Blues & the Abstract Truth. Al Campbell  Tracklist & Credits :

JACK KEROUAC / STEVE ALLEN - Poetry for the Beat Generation (1959-2012) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Poetry for the Beat Generation marked Jack Kerouac's debut as a recording artist. Strangely enough, it was the by-product of a disastrous first show by Kerouac in an engagement at the Village Vanguard during December of 1957. For the second performance, Kerouac's friend Steve Allen provided the accompaniment at the piano, with results so impressive that it would lead Kerouac to a short but dazzling career as a recording artist. The first result was this album, which came at the suggestion of either Allen or his friend, producer Bob Thiele, who was working for Dot Records at the time. The record was cut in a single session and a single take for each piece. Allen's graceful piano opens the recording and Kerouac comes in, reading "October in the Railroad Earth" for seven minutes, off of a roll of paper in front of him. Kerouac's reading are in a class by themselves, and separate from Allen -- the two performances co-exist and weave together without ever really joining, and the result is a peculiar form of jazz; Kerouac did his thing, Allen did his, and the result was a spellbinding performance, and it was musical, despite Kerouac's seeming monotone reading, which never slowed or otherwise interacted with Allen's piano -- his voice dances to its own beat, with Allen embellishing and working around him; in the process, you get visions of various facets of Kerouac's work and personality, in extended pieces such as "October in the Railroad Earth" and short, piercing brilliant exclamations such as "Deadbelly" and "Charlie Parker." The resulting album, cut in March of 1958, was one of the crowning achievements in recording of the 1950s. But it so appalled Randy Wood, the president of Dot Records, with its meandering narrative and daring language and subject matter, that the release was canceled, with Wood denouncing the recording in the trade papers as tasteless and questionable. Somewhere over 100 promotional copies of the Dot album (catalog number 3154) had gotten out to disc jockeys and reviewers, however, thus making it one of the rarest LPs in the label's entire history. Thiele finally left the company over the dispute and he reclaimed the master tape -- it was on the Hanover label, formed with Allen (who was virtually a pop-culture institution at the time), that Poetry for the Beat Generation finally reached the public in June of 1959. It's still worth a listen now every bit as much as it was in 1959, and perhaps even more so. [Reissued on Rhino's Jack Kerouac Collection, with one bonus track.] by Bruce Eder  
Tracklist:
1 October In the Railroad Earth 7:09
Jack Kerouac

2 Deadbelly 1:05

Jack Kerouac
3 Charlie Parker 3:45
Jack Kerouac

4 The Sounds of the Universe Coming In My Window 3:17

Jack Kerouac

5 One Mother 0:49

Jack Kerouac

6 Goofing At the Table 1:45

Jack Kerouac

7 Bowery Blues 3:56

Jack Kerouac

8 Abraham 1:17

Jack Kerouac

9 Dave Brubeck 0:31

Jack Kerouac

10 I Had a Slouch Hat Too One Time 6:12

Jack Kerouac

11 The Wheel of the Quivering Meat Conception 1:55

Jack Kerouac
12 McDougal Street Blues 3:25
Jack Kerouac
13 The Moon Her Majesty 1:38
Jack Kerouac

14 I'd Rather Be Thin Than Famous 0:38

Jack Kerouac
Credits:
Piano – Steve Allen
Voice – Jack Kerouac