Dr. John - Duke Elegant

Styles: Louisiana Blues, Bayou Funk
Year: 1999
Time: 66:41
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 154,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:42) 1. On the Wrong Side of the Railroad Tracks
(5:04) 2. I'm Gonna Go Fishin
(5:31) 3. It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
(5:49) 4. Perdido
(3:37) 5. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
(5:05) 6. Solitude
(4:46) 7. Satin Doll
(6:55) 8. Mood Indigo
(5:30) 9. Do Nothing 'Til You Hear from Me
(6:25) 10. Things Ain't What They Used to Be
(6:24) 11. Caravan
(5:47) 12. The Flaming Sword

Duke Elegant certainly wasn't the only tribute to Duke Ellington put out in honor of the 100th anniversary of the legendary bandleader, nor was it even the first time Dr. John had tackled his material. But it would be hard to find a better homage than this one. 

Dr. John proves a surprisingly good match for Ellington's material, placing a tremendously funky foundation under the composer's tunes. The sound is dominated by the good doctor's incomparable New Orleans piano and organ, naturally, and the best tracks are those whose melodies are carried solely by his keyboard work, such as instrumentals "Caravan" and "Things Ain't What They Used to Be." The vocal cuts are fine his takes on the Ellington ballad "Solitude" and especially the dreamy, elegant "Mood Indigo" show off Dr. John's uniquely expressive voice as well as any of his early-era recordings though he occasionally tends to approach self-caricature, as on "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)." Any weakness, however, is more than made up for by the closing rearrangement of "Flaming Sword," one of three Ellington rarities here. Dr. John transforms the instrumental into a luminous, gorgeously melodic display of Professor Longhair-style piano over an astonishingly sexy New Orleans funk rhythm. 

Ultimately, Duke Elegant holds up both as an innovative twist on the Ellington songbook and as a solid Dr. John album in its own right. (By Kenneth Bays https://www.allmusic.com/album/duke-elegant-mw0000603953#review)

Dr. John - Duke Elegant (mp3 320)
Dr. John - Duke Elegant (FLAC)

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Ida Sand - True Love

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 51:54
Size: 118.8 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz
Year: 2009
Art: Front

[4:49] 1. Ventura Highway
[4:26] 2. Notice Me
[4:12] 3. The Weight
[4:02] 4. My Biggest Fear
[4:15] 5. As Long As You Love Me
[4:42] 6. Devil's Game
[4:00] 7. Heart Of Gold
[3:22] 8. Manic Depression
[5:30] 9. Loverman
[3:50] 10. Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further
[3:30] 11. Redemption Song
[5:10] 12. True Love

The debut release of a Scandinavian singer has seldom been as surprising as that of the Swedish vocalist Ida Sand two years ago with her album Meet Me Around Midnight (ACT 9716-2). It simply didn’t sound at all like a typical Scandinavian record. What the critics and the public heard was, “the most soulful white female singer to come along in some time” – earthy, tart, deep black, and authentically bound to gospel and blues. Beside this, another basic difference to a lot of other singers is that Ida Sand plays piano, and her singing and piano playing go hand in hand. And so with the help of the world-renowned Swedish groove masters and ACT regulars Nils Landgren and Ulf Wakenius, a timeless album with universal appeal was created.

Ida Sand - vocals, grand piano, wurlizer; Ola Gustafsson - guitars; Mattias Torell - guitars; Peter Forss - electric & upright bass, violin; Per Lindvall - drums, percussion.

True Love

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