WILLIE NELSON | WYNTON MARSALIS - Two Men with the Blues (2008) APE (image+.cue), lossless

History has proven that Willie Nelson will duet with pretty much anybody who comes along, and while this open-hearted open mind sometimes backfires, more often than not it results in some of his most sublime recordings. Two Men with the Blues, his album with jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis recorded over a two-night stand at Jazz at Lincoln Center on January 12 and 13, 2007, belongs in the latter category, standing as truly one of the most special records in either Nelson's or Marsalis' catalog. If the pair initially seem like an odd match, it's only because Wynton long carried the reputation of a purist, somebody who was adamant against expanding the definition of jazz, which cast him as the opposite of Willie, who never found a border he couldn't blur. Marsalis mellowed over the years, but it's also true that he and Nelson share a common background in jazz and the Great American Songbook, so this pairing plays naturally, providing equal measures of comfort and surprise. The engine for this music is Marsalis' band -- pianist Dan Nimmer, drummer Ali Jackson, bassist Carlos Henríquez, and saxophonist Walter Blanding -- with Nelson bringing his harmonica player Mickey Raphael along, which is enough to give this a flavor that's quite distinct from a typical Marsalis session without being foreign. Similarly, this isn't quite alien territory for Nelson either, as the repertoire relies heavily on blues standards, including a pair of tunes he cut on his jazzy breakthrough, Stardust (the title track and "Georgia on My Mind"), plus he's always veered close to jazz in his vocal and guitar phrasings. All this means that Two Men with the Blues has the warm comfort of a reunion and the freshness of a new collaboration, feelings that are palpable as soon as the album kicks off with a loose yet nimble reading of Jimmy Reed's "Bright Lights, Big City." It's a subtle arrangement that doesn't draw attention to its unique touches, something that's also true of the flashier take on Hank Williams' "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It," which lurches and careens like a New Orleans marching band, coming to a highlight when Marsalis throws in a few lines from "Keep on Knockin'" for good measure. These sly spins on standards, along with a jump blues reworking of Merle Travis' "That's All" (first heard on a Willie Nelson record back in 1969), are balanced by numbers that are perhaps a bit more expected but are no less delightful, as "Night Life" is turned into a showcase for Wynton and the bandmembers sound as good skipping through "Caldonia" as they do laying back on "Basin Street Blues." It's music that flows so easily it's perhaps easy to take for granted, but Two Men with the Blues is truly something special, as it captures two masters enjoying their common ground while spurring each other to hear old sounds in new ways. It's a flat-out joy. Stephen Thomas Erlewine  
Tracklist :
1     Bright Lights, Big City 5'20
Jimmy Reed
2     Night Life 5'43
Walt Breeland
3     Caldonia 3'25
Fleecie Moore
4     Stardust 5'08
H. Carmichael, M. Parish
5     Basin Street Blues 4'56
Spencer Williams
6     Georgia on My Mind 4'40
H. Carmichael, S. Gorrel
7     Rainy Day Blues 5'43
Willie Nelson
8     My Bucket's Got a Hole in It 4'56
Clarence Williams
9     Ain't Nobody's Business 7'27
Grainger Porter
10     That's All 6'08
Merle Travis
Credits
Arranged By – Andy Farber (pistas: 3, 6, 7), Richard DeRosa* (pistas: 1, 2, 4, 10), Wynton Marsalis (pistas: 5, 8, 9)
Featuring [With], Bass – Carlos Henriquez
Featuring [With], Drums – Ali Jackson
Featuring [With], Harmonica – Mickey Raphael
Featuring [With], Piano – Dan Nimmer
Featuring [With], Saxophone – Walter Blanding
Vocals, Guitar – Willie Nelson
Vocals, Trumpet – Wynton Marsalis

WILLIE NELSON | WYNTON MARSALIS ft. NORAH JONES - Here We Go Again 'Celebrating the Genius of Ray Charles' (2011) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis first worked together at The Allen Room at New York’s Jazz at Lincoln Center for two nights in 2007, and while at first it would seem to be an odd pairing, it really isn’t: Nelson's singing and guitar playing have always fallen well to the jazz side of country all along anyway, and he’s hardly been a garden variety hat act during his long career, while Marsalis has long worked to reintroduce jazz as a viable popular form in American music. It’s about synthesis, really, and so it makes perfect sense for Nelson and Marsalis to turn to the music of Ray Charles, one of the greatest assimilators of American pop music -- all forms of it, from gospel to blues, country, jazz, and R&B-for their encore shows at the heralded jazz house -- this time for two sold-out nights at Rose Theater in February 2009 with special guest Norah Jones. Marsalis arranged the music as both an homage to Charles and as a loose song cycle about the ups and downs of love, and backed by his working quintet of tenor saxophonist Walter Blanding, pianist Dan Nimmer, bassist Carlos Henriquez, and drummer Ali Jackson, plus Nelson's longtime harmonica player Mickey Raphael, it all feels wonderfully appropriate, with Charles' standards like “Hallelujah I Love Her So,” “Cryin’ Time,” “Hit the Road Jack,” “Busted,” “Makin’ Whoopie,” and his iconic signature hit, “What’d I Say” all sounding comfortable and fresh. The only thing missing is Ray Charles himself, who undoubtedly would have had no trouble fitting into these shows. Radio now splits everything into little niches. That isn’t what Charles was about. He saw music as convergence. This fine concert album plays in that same spirit. Steve Leggett
Tracklist :
1     Hallelujah I Love Her So [Gospel 2-Beat/Boogaloo/ 4/4 Swing] 4'54
Ray Charles
2     Come Rain or Come Shine [Walking Ballad] 3'52
Harold Arlen / Johnny Mercer
3     Unchain My Heart [Bolero with Habanera Bass] 5'35
T. Powell / B. Sharp
4     Cryin' Time [Country Ballad] 4'32
Buck Owens
5     Losing Hand [Dirge with Chain-Gang Shuffle] 5'16
Charles Calhoun
6     Hit the Road Jack [Gospel 2-Beat/4/4 Swing] 7'45
Percy Mayfield
7     I'm Moving On [Boogaloo with Afro-Latin Backbeat/ 4/4 Swing] 5'44
Hank Snow
8     Busted [Gospel 12/8 Shuffle] 5'04
Harlan Howard
9     Here We Go Again [Rhythm & Blues 12/8 Shuffle] 5'10
10     Makin' Whoopee [Hard-Bop 2-Beat/4/4 Swing] 4'54
Gus Kahn
11     I Love You So Much (It Hurts) [Waltz] 2'52
Floyd Tillman
12     What'd I Say [Boogaloo] 6'11
Ray Charles
Credits
Drums, Percussion – Ali Jackson
Harmonica – Mickey Raphael
Piano – Dan Nimmer
Vocals – Norah Jones
Vocals, Guitar – Willie Nelson
Vocals, Tenor Saxophone – Walter Blanding
Vocals, Trumpet – Wynton Marsalis