MARY LOU WILLIAMS — Black Christ of the Andes (1964-2004) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Complex and brooding suites by jazz artists have often received mixed reviews. Whether hailed as brilliant and visionary or slammed as self-indulgent and trite -- Ellington's Black, Brown and Beige, Charles Mingus' infamous Town Hall Concert, or even Wynton Marsalis' Blood on the Fields all come to mind -- these works are, if nothing else, great risks for the artists involved. At the time of its initial performance, "Black Christ of the Andes" (or "St. Martin de Porres") was called everything from "blues stripped of its accent" to a "hokey prayer," prompting Williams to cut it from her repertoire before the release of the LP in 1964. An unfortunate fate for a very enjoyable and, now, highly regarded piece of music. Williams explained her pioneering concept of pairing jazz with spirituals as an attempt to heal the disparity between the gifted nature of the African-American and his tendency toward the worst kinds of sin. In fact, the original title for this LP was Music for Disturbed Souls. Certainly, by 1962 others had employed the modes and feel of the church into jazz, but Williams' use of the Ray Charles Singers (no relation to the other Ray Charles) added an element that made "St. Martin," an a cappella choral piece, a much more church-oriented affair than, say, John Coltrane's "Spiritual." Williams' vision, like Coltrane's, was at times dark and sobering while at others full of warmth and hope. It would have been completely out of place, however, at the Village Vanguard. This is a piece that belongs, if not in the church, then certainly out of the nightclub circuit. Other tracks on this LP, though, like her sublime rendition of "It Ain't Necessarily So," would have been welcome in their dark and smoky confines. Otherwise, expect a jump blues number, a handful of trio cuts (some featuring Percy Heath), and a smattering of various vocal combinations throughout. A number of styles are represented here and they weave amongst one another with ease and grace. This is a very enjoyable record with some especially rewarding piano solos by Williams. Brandon Burke
Tracklist :
1    St. Martin De Porres 6:32
Lyrics By – Rev. A. S. Woods, S.J.
Music By – M. L. Williams
2    It Ain't Necessarily So 4:41
Written-By – George And Ira Gershwin
3    The Devil 4:00
Lyrics By – Ada Moore
Music By – M. L. Williams
4    Miss D.D. 2:28
Written-By – M. L. Williams
5    Anima Christi 2:48
Written-By – M. L. Williams
6    A Grand Night For Swinging 3:06
Written-By – Billy Taylor
7    My Blue Heaven 3:21
Written-By – George Whiting, Walter Donaldson
8    Dirge Blues 2:57
Written-By – M. L. Williams
9    A Fungus A Mungus 3:21
Written-By – M. L. Williams
10    Koolbonga 3:21
Written-By – M. L. Williams
11    Forty-Five Degree Angle 2:50
Written-By – Denzil Best
12     Nicole 3:37
Written-By – M. L. Williams
13    Chunka Lunka 3:07
Written-By – M. L. Williams
14    Praise The Lord 5:55
Written-By – M. L. Williams
Credits :
Bass – Larry Gales (tracks: 5, 14), Percy Heath (tracks: 6 to 8, 10 to 13), Theodore Cromwell (tracks: 2, 4)
Bass Clarinet – Budd Johnson (tracks: 5)
Choir – The George Gordon Singers (tracks: 5, 14), The Ray Charles Singers (tracks: 1, 3)
Conductor – Howard Roberts (tracks: 1, 3)
Drums – George Chamble (tracks: 2, 4), Percy Brice (tracks: 5, 14), Tim Kennedy (tracks: 6 to 8, 10 to 13)
Guitar – Grant Green (tracks: 5, 14)
Piano – Mary Lou Williams
Tenor Saxophone – Budd Johnson (tracks: 14)
Vocals [Solo] – Jimmy Mitchell (tracks: 5, 14)

BILLY ECKSTINE – 1947 | The Chronogical Classics – 1142 (2000) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

By his own admission, Frank Sinatra owed a lot to Billy Eckstine and Al Hibbler, radically stylized singers with deep, honeyed voices. While some prefer Hibbler's more eccentric approach, Eckstine was the archetypal romantic postwar crooner, widely imitated during a period when the recording industry and the record-buying public became increasingly obsessed with star vocalists. Dozens of likely suspects, most famously Perry Como, Sinatra, and Eckstine, were soon able to cash in on this trend. In the case of Eckstine, who had earlier courted bankruptcy leading an exciting band fortified with such innovative jazz musicians as Fats Navarro, Gene Ammons, and Art Blakey, the commercial undertow eventually drew him off into a fluffy netherworld of increasingly jazzless pop music. An overview of his recording activities during the spring and summer of 1947 paints a slightly grim picture of this sugary embalming process. Although the seven-piece band backing him on four selections recorded in April of that year contained Sonny Criss, Wardell Gray, and a bassist by the name of Shifty Henry, the players are there solely to provide a cushion for Eckstine's epiglottal warbling. A few of the next eight tracks, with "vocal overdubbed on studio band," still retain some measure of authentic jazz levity, particularly Eckstine's own composition, simply titled "Blues." Yet the records he began making for the MGM label in May of 1947 are all too indicative of where a sizable portion of the music business was heading. Drenched in sentimental syrup, with Sonny Burke's orchestra augmented by a string section, these are mostly dreary torch songs, even if jazz elements still peek out from under the arrangements. Eight sides cut in July and August 1947 are swamped in the pop lagoon with Hugo Winterhalter's string-burdened 24-piece orchestra. It is good that Eckstine was able to experience some measure of financial security, but it's easy to see why Slim Gaillard so enjoyed parodying this overbearing confectionary combination of Hollywood production and Eckstine's relentless vibrato. arwulf arwulf  
Tracklist + Credits :