Jeanne Lee & Ran Blake - The Newest Sound You Never Heard Disc 1 & Disc 2

Jeanne Lee & Ran Blake - The Newest Sound You Never Heard Disc 1

Styles: Vocal and Piano Jazz
Year: 2019
Time: 56:09
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 129,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:05) 1. Misterioso
(3:10) 2. Honeysuckle Rose
(4:31) 3. On Green Dolphin Street
(2:14) 4. A Hard Day's Night
(2:46) 5. I Can't Give You Anything But Love
(1:54) 6. Hallelujah, I Love Him So
(4:10) 7. Night in Tunisia
(1:42) 8. Ja Da (take 1)
(4:35) 9. Something's Coming
(2:51) 10. Just Squeeze Me
(2:15) 11. God's Image
(2:21) 12. Retribution
(2:03) 13. Smoke After Smoke
(4:13) 14. Parker's Mood
(2:21) 15. Caravan
(2:36) 16. Beautiful City
(3:19) 17. Birmingham U.S.A.
(2:44) 18. Ja Da (take 2)
(3:10) 19. Take the A-Train

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Jeanne Lee & Ran Blake - The Newest Sound You Never Heard Disc 2
Styles: Vocal Jazz, Piano Jazz
Year: 2019
Time: 53:43
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 123,5 MB
Art: Front

(1:47) 1. Out of This World
(5:14) 2. Mister Tambourine Man
(4:24) 3. Round About
(2:59) 4. Moonlight in Vermont
(2:24) 5. The Frog, the Fountain, and Aunt Jane
(3:23) 6. Billie's Blues
(5:40) 7. Night and Day
(3:21) 8. My Favorite Things
(4:43) 9. Blue Monk
(4:52) 10. Lonely Woman
(2:12) 11. Caravan
(4:04) 12. The Man I Love
(2:45) 13. Something to Live For
(5:48) 14. Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most

The Newest Sound You Never Heard was captured at the studios of Belgian radio and television station VRT and at a live performance in Brussels. The tapes remained in the VRT archives for nearly 40 years until being rediscovered. The dark sensuality of Lee’s voice and the icy, clipped notes of Blake’s piano create a mesmerizing effect, attractive and unsettling at the same time. A singular classic of voice and piano blending in a way no one has quite been able to match.
https://www.jazzmessengers.com/en/80841/ran-blake/thenewestsoundyouneverheard

Personnel: Jeanne Lee, vocals; Ran Blake, piano

The Newest Sound You Never Heard (1966-67 European Recordings)

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Ken Peplowski - Last Swing Of The Century

Styles: Big Band, Swing

Year: 1999

Time: 65:26

File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 149,8 MB
Art: Front

(2:20) 1. Let's Dance
(3:27) 2. Hunkadola
(3:12) 3. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
(6:59) 4. King Porter Stomp
(5:17) 5. Moon Glow
(6:08) 6. Stealin' Apples
(2:32) 7. You Turned the Tables on Me
(3:07) 8. Bugle Call Rag
(3:19) 9. Don't Be That Way
(4:00) 10. Memories of You
(4:11) 11. Restless
(3:15) 12. Get Happy
(5:14) 13. Sometimes I'm Happy
(4:56) 14. China Boy
(3:29) 15. Down South Camp Meetin'
(3:53) 16. Good-Bye

Although the cliche that big bands will never come back is somewhat true, Ken Peplowski is the closest that some listeners near the end of this century will remember as bringing the music back to the ‘90s with taste, drive and creativity. Peplowski doesn’t compromise the artistic integrity of his mentor even though each soloist is playing in their own style, with no re-creations of solos from old records! Popular standards such as “Let’s Dance,” “Moon Glow,” “Bugle Call Rag,” “Don’t Be That Way,” and the “King Porter Stomp,” receive some of the very best arrangements they’ve ever had. On “Memories Of You,” Ken spotlights Bobby Pring’s trombone and the young, Frank Vignola’s mellow guitar. He duets with Vignola on one of Goodman’s favorites, “China Boy,” originally recorded with Teddy Wilson and Gene Krupa in 1936. 

The clarinet of Ken Peplowski, taken up in honor of Goodman, is brilliant on this hard-swinging set of performances by his orchestra and serves as an excellent example of what can be done and has been done to the keep the music of the Big Band Era fresh and vital. Last Swing Of The Century - Big Band Music of Benny Goodman captures the brilliant essence of Benny Goodman and is ever so essential.

By Paula Edelstein http://www.allaboutjazz.com/last-swing-of-the-century-big-band-music-of-benny-goodman-ken-peplowski-concord-music-group-review-by-paula-edelstein.php 

Musicians: Ken Peplowski, clarinet; trumpets; Conte Candoli, Bob Milikan, Randy Sandke; trombones,  Eddie Bert, Bobby Pring; saxophones,  Jack Stuckey - lead alto,  Scott Robinson - tenor,  Joe Romano - alto, Rickey Woodard - tenor; rhythm section, Ben Aronov-piano, Frank Vignola - guitar, Richard Simon - bass, Frank Capp - drums.

Last Swing of the Century

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Sonny Sharrock Trio - Dance With Me Montana

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2019
Time: 70:03
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 161,2 MB
Art: Front

( 4:00) 1. Dick Dogs
(10:09) 2. Dance With Me Montana
( 5:10) 3. Slow Drag
( 4:22) 4. Marpasa Dawn / Song to Chester
( 2:42) 5. 74–75
( 8:45) 6. She’s Only Fourteen
( 5:19) 7. Purple, Blue, Green and Yellow
( 2:48) 8. 74–75 (alt.)
( 4:20) 9. Marpasa Down / Song to Chester (alt.)
( 6:46) 10. Slow Drag (alt.)
(11:44) 11. Dance With Me Montana (alt.)
( 3:51) 12. Dick Dogs (alt.)

The main point of interest of this album is its session date. Recorded in 1982, this is one of the very few documents of the late Sonny Sharrock's playing between his classic work with Pharoah Sanders and Don Cherry as well as on his own and his re-emergence with Last Exit in 1985.

Bill Laswell had already utilized his talents on Material's Memory Serves release from the prior year, but here is Sharrock in a simple trio, playing several of the pieces that would become part of his stock repertoire for the remainder of his career. Unfortunately, his bandmates aren't very inspiring and the entire affair is thinly recorded, making this a less-than-rewarding pickup.

One can attempt to mentally divorce Sharrock's sound from his surroundings, but even so, he's more workmanlike than ecstatic here and the listener can only scrape together the faintest clues of just how great a guitarist he could be. Even his "Dick Dogs," normally a guaranteed roof-raiser, is dragged down here by some astonishingly leaden drumming, though it also provides some of the leader's best work on the date.

Serious students of Sharrock's style will probably want to have this if only to provide a link between his earlier and later playing, but there are many better places to hear his unique genius. Additional warning: This album also contains, arguably, one of the very worst covers in the history of recordings. Be afraid. By Brian Olewnick https://www.allmusic.com/album/dance-with-me-montana-mw0000453199#review

Dance With Me Montana

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Ken Peplowski Quartet - Lost In The Stars

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 66:06
Size: 151.3 MB
Styles: Bop, Saxophone jazz
Year: 2002
Art: Front

[8:07] 1. If This Isn't Love
[6:34] 2. Why Do I Love You
[4:20] 3. Ataraxi
[6:25] 4. My Ship
[4:29] 5. Ballad For Very Tired And Very Sad Lotus Eaters
[7:14] 6. People Will Say We're In Love
[3:59] 7. Marchons
[4:49] 8. Lament
[7:45] 9. Good Morning Heartache
[5:52] 10. Sleep
[4:23] 11. Lost In The Stars/When You Wish Upon A Star
[2:03] 12. Piece #8 From Benny's Gig

Lost in the Stars sounds like the title of a romantic mood music album, and in fact, parts of this 2001 session are romantic and sentimental. But other parts are up-tempo, exuberant, and hard-swinging. So listeners shouldn't make too much of the album's title; Ken Peplowski, true to form, provides yet another well-rounded swing-to-bop effort that ranges from the lyrical to the exhilarating. Like other Peplowski releases, Lost in the Stars has one foot in small-group swing and the other in early bebop an approach that recalls the mid'40s, when there were a lot of players who were right at that swing/bop border.

They were being influenced by the innovations of Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, and Dizzy Gillespie, but they weren't 100 percent bop and hadn't forgotten about swing. On Lost in the Stars, Peplowski oversees a rhythm section that includes pianist Ben Aranov, bassist Greg Cohen, and drummer Lewis Nash and these players serve Peplowski well whether he is on tenor sax or clarinet. Although not groundbreaking, this German release has its share of surprises.

Aranov and Cohen do some writing Lost in the Stars isn't just an album of overdone warhorses and Peplowski unearths a few overlooked gems, including "Ballad for Very Tired and Very Sad Lotus Eaters" (a little known Billy Strayhorn piece from the '50s). "My Ship" certainly falls into the warhorse category some would argue that as great as the song is, the jazz world needs to give it a rest in the 21st century. But Peplowski's version of "My Ship" is so gorgeous and deliciously lyrical that one can easily cut him some slack, and he is equally expressive on "Good Morning Heartache." Lost in the Stars falls short of essential, but even so, it is a solid and rewarding addition to Peplowski's catalog. By Alex Henderson

Personnel: Benny Aronov/Piano; Greg Cohen/Bass; Lewis Nash/Drums; Ken Peplowski/Clarinet, Liner Notes, Primary Artist, Sax (Tenor).

R.I.P. (May 23, 1959 – February 1, 2026) Ken Peplowski was an American jazz clarinetist and tenor saxophonist. He was known primarily for playing swing music. For over a decade, Peplowski recorded for Concord Records.

Lost In The Stars

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Rondi Charleston - Signs of Life

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:15
Size: 106,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:37)  1. DNA
(4:36)  2. Signs of Life
(5:37)  3. How the River Flows
(4:19)  4. The Wind Speaks
(4:12)  5. Footprints
(3:17)  6. Spirit Voices
(3:32)  7. In These Hours
(4:38)  8. Reflections
(2:55)  9. Babe's Blues
(3:22) 10. Chega de Saudade
(3:04) 11. The Cave Knows

Motéma Music recording artist, Rondi Charleston, is an award winning jazz singer/lyricist/composer whose work has appeared in film, TV and on stage throughout the U.S. and Europe. Her most recent album, Signs of Life, climbed the Jazz Week charts for ten consecutive weeks and has critics raving; JazzTimes says “she is a songwriter whose poetic, narrative, and compositional skills are comparable to such modern masters as Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon.”Touring nationally in support of Signs of Life, Rondi and her all-star band gave sold out performances from coast to coast from Yoshi’s in San Francisco to Mayne Stage in Chicago to Joe’s Pub in New York with TV appearances on such prestigious stations as PBS Chicago Tonight and ABC’s Windy City Live. She has collaborated with some of the foremost jazz luminaries of our time including Fred Hersch, Lynne Arriale and Dave Stryker. Rondi was chosen for the Women in Jazz Festival at Jazz at Lincoln Center, and has played Birdland and BlueNote with her quartet in New York City. Her original song, “The Cave Knows”, for the film, No Place on Earth, is currently featured on The History Channel as well as in worldwide theatrical release. In addition Rondi is a Juilliard graduate, Emmy and Peabody award winning journalist at ABC News Primetime Live. Bio ~ http://motema.com/artists/rondi-charleston/

Signs of Life

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Ashley Pezzotti - We've Only Just Begun

Styles: Jazz Vocals
Year: 2019
Time: 59:32
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 137,1 MB
Art: Front

(2:34) 1. It Only Takes a Moment
(4:53) 2. We've Only Just Begun
(5:23) 3. Solo Tu
(4:40) 4. That Way
(3:30) 5. I Hope You Find Her
(6:03) 6. Nothing Good Happens After Midnight
(5:41) 7. September in the Rain
(4:35) 8. But Not for Me
(3:43) 9. Something I Dreamed Last Night
(5:13) 10. Drunk on Love
(3:45) 11. Just One of Those Things
(6:02) 12. Darn That Dream
(3:24) 13. Jackie

New York vocalist and composer Ashley Pezzotti discovered her love for music when her Dominican father would sing her classic Spanish songs to sleep. She began taking voice lessons at only 4 years old, and in 2018 she completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music with a full tuition scholarship. In the spring of 2019, Ashley participated in the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Program where she gained invaluable mentorship by Dee Dee Bridgewater, Jason Moran and Marcus Printup. She is also a 2021 alumni of Dee Dee Bridgewater’s Woodshed Network program.

​At the young age of 26 years old, Ashley has performed with renowned artists such as Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra, Arturo Sandoval, Joey Alexander, Dave Holland, Jon Secada, and country star Keith Urban. She has also performed as a leader at prestigious venues such as Birdland Jazz Club, Dizzy’s Club, Blue Note Jazz Club, The Jazz Showcase, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Hall, Stockholm Concert Hall, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C.

​Her 2019 encouragingly titled album “We’ve Only Just Begun” features an array of original compositions inspired by the Great American Songbook. She is accompanied by renowned musicians such as Emmet Cohen on piano, Alex Weitz on tenor sax, Kyle Poole on drums and Bob Bruya on bass. Ashley is featured on Wynton Marsalis’ 2020 album release on Blue Engine Records, The Ever Fonky Lowdown, along with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. The album is a sweeping Marsalis suite that captures the artist’s insight on culture and society. https://theravenscroft.com/event/ashley-pezzotti/

Ashley Pezzotti on vocals

Alex Weitz on tenor saxophone

Emmet Cohen on piano

Bob Bruya on bass

Kyle Poole on drums

We've Only Just Begun (mp3 320)
We've Only Just Begun (FLAC)

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Jean John (feat. Emmet Cohen & Russell Hall) - A Love Lane Nocturne

Styles: Jazz
Year: 2019
Time: 58:19
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 134,5 MB
Art: Front

(6:46) 1. We Could Be so Happy
(4:14) 2. Down the Old Fulton
(4:06) 3. Hump the Swag
(4:14) 4. Aj's Footsteps
(6:49) 5. A Love Lane Nocturne (Live)
(4:36) 6. Suits Only
(3:03) 7. T'ain't Nobody's Biz-Ness If I Do
(6:59) 8. I Guess I'll Hang My Tears out to Dry
(4:47) 9. In More Ways Than One
(5:51) 10. Epistrophy / Crepuscule with Nellie
(6:49) 11. A Love Lane Nocturne (Trio)

The newly assembled “The New Standards Trio” behind the project “A Love Lane Nocturne”, which gave its debut performance at the world renowned John F. Kennedy Centre for Performing arts in Washington D.C. in March 2017, features prodigious American pianist and a Yamaha artist, Emmet Cohen (Christian Mcbride “Tip City Trio”, Billy Hart Quartet) and exuberant Jamaican bassist Russell Hall.  (Branford Marsalis Quartet). 

  

The New Standards Trio is returning jazz to people, to swing and to its roots, the blues. The trio’s freshness, joyfulness and mesmerizing dancing quality, is re-establishing jazz as popular music as the trio’s main mission is the irresistible good feeling and the divine sensation of liberty of each and every audience member. https://www.jean-john.com/a-love-lane-nocturne

A Love Lane Nocturne (mp3 320)
A Love Lane Nocturne (FLAC)

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The Four Freshmen Feat. Emmet Cohen. Russell Hall, & Kyle Poole - Vol. 1 & 2

Vol. 1 

Styles: Jazz & Harmony Vocals
Year: 2022
Time: 39:14
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 90,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:14) 1. From This Moment On (feat. Emmet Cohen)
(5:44) 2. All The Things You Are (feat. Emmet Cohen)
(3:48) 3. Have You Met Miss Jones? (feat. Emmet Cohen)
(4:19) 4. Blame it on My Youth (feat. Emmet Cohen)
(4:46) 5. No More Blues (feat. Emmet Cohen)
(4:32) 6. Waltz For Debby (feat. Emmet Cohen)
(4:29) 7. Easy Living (feat. Emmet Cohen)
(3:45) 8. Put on a Happy Face (feat. Emmet Cohen)
(3:33) 9. What a Wonderful World (feat. Emmet Cohen)

The Four Freshmen:

Ryan Howe - lead voice

Tommy Boynton - 2nd voice

Jake Baldwin - 3rd voice / trumpet / bass trumpet

Bob Ferreira - 4th voice

Featuring:

Emmet Cohen - piano

Russell Hall - bass

Kyle Poole - drums

IN THE BEGINNING

In 1948, four young men created a sound that forever changed the way vocal jazz harmony was heard and performed. Known as The Four Freshmen, the group started with two brothers, Don and Ross Barbour, their cousin Bob Flanigan, and friend Hal Kratzsch. With a soaring, true tenor in Bob Flanigan, the group created a sound that has endured for over 6 decades. Hal Kratzsch sang the bass part and played trumpet. He sang the bass part with a big sound, laying the foundation for the Barbour brothers to add their beautiful inner part stylings. Ross sang the 3rd part and played drums. Don sang the 2nd part and played guitar. Thus, the original Four Freshmen was born and began touring, playing bowling alleys and small clubs across the country.  

STAN KENTON

Early on in their career, the Freshmen met Stan Kenton. He had heard the rumors of a vocal group that sounded like his band. The Freshmen were all fans of Kenton and in many ways, modeled their sound after the Kenton trombone section. Once Kenton heard them, he was hooked. He loved the group and believed in them so much that he approached Capitol and essentially got the Freshmen signed in 1950. This led to a fruitful partnership between Capitol Records and the Freshmen for over 10 years. During the Capitol years, the Freshmen had some of their biggest hits, including their first hit with Capitol called "It's A Blue World." 

https://fourfreshmen.com/history

https://www.fourfreshmen.com/band

The Four Freshmen Featuring Emmet Cohen, Russell Hall, & Kyle Poole, Vol. 1 (mp3 320)
The Four Freshmen Featuring Emmet Cohen, Russell Hall, & Kyle Poole, Vol. 1 (FLAC)

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Vol. 2

Styles: Jazz & Harmony Vocals
Year: 2025
Time: 35:55
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 82,9 MB
Art: Front

(3:27) 1. When You're Smiling (Take 2)
(2:51) 2. You and the Night and the Music (feat. Emmet Cohen)
(4:21) 3. Some Other Spring (feat. Emmet Cohen)
(3:33) 4. You Do Something to Me (feat. Emmet Cohen)
(5:52) 5. The Sweetest Sounds (feat. Emmet Cohen)
(3:42) 6. It's a Blue World (feat. Emmet Cohen)
(5:05) 7. Besame Mucho (feat. Emmet Cohen)
(3:46) 8. Cry Me a River (feat. Emmet Cohen)
(3:15) 9. When You're Smiling (Take 1) (feat. Emmet Cohen)

Our new album is here!

The Four Freshmen featuring Emmet Cohen, Russell Hall & Kyle Poole – Volume 2 is out now, and we couldn’t be more excited to share it with you.

Recording with Emmet, Russell, and Kyle was every bit as joyful and effortless as it sounds. Their energy, spirit, and deep connection to the jazz tradition helped us create something that honors our 77-year legacy while celebrating the present. We’re deeply grateful—to everyone we love, and to all who’ve loved this music from 1948 to today. Give it a listen, share it around, and most of all… enjoy. With love,

The Four Freshmen — Ryan, Tommy, Jake & Bob

The Four Freshmen Featuring Emmet Cohen, Russell Hall, & Kyle Poole, Vol. 2 (mp3 320)
The Four Freshmen Featuring Emmet Cohen, Russell Hall, & Kyle Poole, Vol. 2 (FLAC)

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Rebecca Kilgore & Lyle Ritz - Becky & Lyle Bossa Style

Styles: Easy Listening
Year: 2009
Time: 41:45
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 96,5 MB
Art: Front

(2:34) 1. A Moment Later
(2:40) 2. Take Me to Aruanda
(2:20) 3. Abobora
(4:54) 4. Love Me or Leave Me
(4:30) 5. Easy Come, Easy Go
(4:07) 6. Happy Talk
(3:16) 7. I Will
(2:33) 8. I'm Looking over a Four Leaf Clover
(4:52) 9. Once I Loved
(3:36) 10. What the World Needs Now
(3:29) 11. Triste
(2:48) 12. Old in New Mexico

Jazz vocalist Rebecca Kilgore and jazz ukulele player Lyle Ritz are excited about their second recording collaboration, "Becky & Lyle • Bossa Style." Previously they addressed gems from their vast collective repertoire of jazz standards, but here they turn their attention to the musical genre imported from Brazil and popularized in the 1960s, the bossa nova. The beat took the jazz world by storm at that time, as introduced by it's leading American proponents tenor saxophonist Stan Getz and nylon-string guitarist Charlie Byrd. Ritz adapts the style fluently and seamlessly to his nylon-string ukulele, along with the help of John Stowell on nylon-string rhythm guitar, Dave Captein on acoustic bass, and Piper Heisig on percussion. Kilgore is known for her relaxed vocals, so it was easy to chose songs which would fit the mellow, swaying style - some from Brazil, some from American composers like Lennon & McCartney and Burt Bacharach, plus four original songs from Ritz himself. The result is a perfect fit. This project was produced by Marianne Brogan of the Portland Ukulele Association.

https://www.amazon.in/Becky-Bossa-Style-Rebecca-Kilgore/dp/B002GNOOME

Becky & Lyle Bossa Style (Mp3 320)
Becky & Lyle Bossa Style (FLAC)

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John Sheridan's Dream Band: Easy As It Gets (Feat. Rebecca Kilgore)

Styles: Jazz
Year: 2005
Time: 64:02
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 148,5 MB
Art: Front

(4:12) 1. Devil May Care
(6:12) 2. Easy As It Gets
(3:35) 3. Spring Cleaning
(4:47) 4. Morning Glory
(3:19) 5. You Leave Me Breathless
(3:18) 6. Cherry
(5:05) 7. It's So Peaceful In The Country
(3:22) 8. You Lucky People You
(4:32) 9. The Gypsy
(4:27) 10. Someone Like You
(3:51) 11. When We're Alone (Penthouse Serenade)
(2:48) 12. You Do Something To Me
(4:05) 13. Me, Myself And I
(4:57) 14. Dedicated To You
(5:27) 15. I'm Sitting On Top Of The World

This is the fourth CD by the Dream Band and, the finest so far. On every track, they create lovely jazz and dance music laden with inspiring hot solos, subtle arranged passages, exuberant collective improvisation, and tender ballads. But the Dream Band isn't self-consciously historical, copying riffs from Vocalion 78s: these musicians love the tradition, but their playing is inventive, the result is timeless. 

https://arborsrecords.com/products/john-sheridans-dream-band-easy-as-it-gets-featuring-rebecca-kilgore

Personnel:

John Sheridan, piano

Rebecca Kilgore, vocals

Randy Reinhart, cornet

Russ Phillips, trombone

Ron Hockett, clarinet

Scott Robinson, tenor saxophone

Phil Flanigan, bass

Bob Leary, guitar

Joe Ascione, drums

Easy As It Gets

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Ian Shaw - Stephensong: Ian Shaw Sings Stephen Sondheim

Styles: Jazz
Year: 2025
Time: 39:57
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 92,2 MB
Art: Front

(2:27) 1. Everybody Says Don't
(3:34) 2. No One Is Alone
(3:08) 3. Take Me To The World
(4:08) 4. Marry Me A Little
(3:35) 5. I Remember
(3:17) 6. Another Hundred People
(4:34) 7. Being Alive
(2:18) 8. Good Thing Going
(4:15) 9. Anyone Can Whistle
(3:19) 10. Children Will Listen
(5:16) 11. Somewhere

Award-winning vocalist Ian Shaw presents Stephensong, a long-awaited exploration of Stephen Sondheim’s iconic repertoire. With elegant, intimate arrangements from pianist and collaborator Barry Green, Shaw brings a deeply personal perspective to the songs, informed by his life, activism and artistic journey, with Sondheim’s personal blessing dating back to the 1990s.

From classics such as ‘Somewhere’ and ‘Being Alive’ to lesser-known treasures like ‘I Remember’ and ‘Take Me To The World’, Shaw approaches the material with subtlety, precision and a storyteller’s instinct. The recording was made with deliberate simplicity – minimal rehearsal and just a few takes – capturing the rapport built over decades of collaboration between Shaw and Green. “I’ve known these songs for years, but always through an actor’s eyes and ears. It took me a long time to feel ready to record them,” explains Shaw. “I didn’t want to show off or pull them out of context. They’re so beautifully melodic, like Ellington or Strayhorn – you just sing them, and your thumbprint comes through in the sound of your voice.”

For Shaw, this album resonates far beyond the music. His activist history and lived experience give Sondheim’s explorations of struggle, survival and identity a renewed urgency.  “I’m gay: I’ve got scars from my Section 28 demonstrations. These songs mean something, they’re about conflict, about resilience.  And we’re all feeling that now.”

Stephensong is not a tribute record, but a bold retelling of one of the 20th century’s greatest songwriters through the lens of one of the UK’s finest interpreters of song. “Sondheim’s lyrics are conversational but poetic, and every phrase carries its own resolution,” Shaw reflects. “It’s tough, disciplined writing – but that’s what makes it brilliant. These songs are about real people, and they tell truths we all recognise.”  https://ecnmusic.com/release/stephensong/

Stephensong: Ian Shaw Sings Stephen Sondheim (mp3 320)
Stephensong: Ian Shaw Sings Stephen Sondheim (FLAC)

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Rebecca Kilgore & Hal Smith's Rhythm Makers - Sings The Music Of Fats Waller (Re-Up Request)

Styles: Jazz
Year: 2016
Time: 65:14
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 150,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:53) 1. How Jazz Was Born
(4:49) 2. If It Ain't Love
(2:48) 3. What's Your Name?
(4:46) 4. I Hate to Leave You Now
(2:49) 5. Concentratin' (On You)
(3:35) 6. Gone
(2:48) 7. Old Yazoo
(3:08) 8. How Can I, With You in My Heart?
(3:35) 9. I'm More Than Satisfied
(2:24) 10. My Heart's at Ease
(3:22) 11. It's You
(4:32) 12. Honey Hush
(3:29) 13. What Will I Do in the Morning?
(3:48) 14. When Gabriel Blows His Horn
(3:37) 15. Sittin' up, Waitin' for You
(3:20) 16. Gotta Be, Gonna Be Mine
(3:48) 17. Dixie Cinderella
(4:37) 18. That Rhythm Man

Out of the West Coast traditional jazz (often erroneously referred to as Dixieland) mold of Lu Watters, Turk Murphy, and the Firehouse Five Plus Two comes the Hal Smith Rhythmakers with guest, the undervalued but very talented singer Rebecca Kilgore. She also works a little on guitar. The regular Rhythmakers have also been expanded with the addition of three young musicians, to wit, trumpet player Marc Caparone, bass player Clint Baker, and pianist Chris Dawson. Together they have fashioned an album of Fats Waller melodies ranging from the infectious swinging material he was famous for as well as some very pretty melodies, most, but not all, penned with Andy Razaf. The album is by no means limited to oft-played Waller tunes. To their credit, Smith and Kilgore saw fit not to include "Ain't Misbehavin" and "Honeysuckle Rose" on the program. Instead, there is more than a smattering of Waller tunes that get a lot less play than these two warhorses. The very pretty "Gone" and the slow drag "How Can I, With You in My Heart" are just a few of the many gems that have been unearthed. There's plenty of hot jazz, too, to get the toe tapping. "I'm More Than Satisfied" features Caparone's burning muted trumpet and "It's You" once more with Caparone's trumpet on top along with stride piano by Dawson and strong bass by Baker. The New Orleans-like clarinet of Bobby Gordon, rarely stirring from the middle register, adds to the authenticity of this session's traditional style, especially with his solo on "I Hate to Leave You Now." There's a risk with issuing an album of traditional jazz in that it can get humdrum after a while. That trap is avoided with the presence of Rebecca Kilgore who has shown time and time again that no matter what she sings, she brings it to life. Moreover, Kilgore is quite familiar with this style of playing having recorded music in a similar vein with Dan Barrett and Dave Frishberg. A balanced play list performed by enthusiastic and talented musicians at home with Waller tunes pushes this album into the recommended category. ~by Dave Nathan

Sings the Music of Fats Waller (mp3 320)
Sings the Music of Fats Waller (FLAC)

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Rebecca Kilgore with the Harry Allen Quartet - I Like Men (Re-Up Request)

Bitrate: 320K/s

Time: 71:03

Size: 163.2 MB

Styles: Vocal jazz

Year: 2014

Art: Front

[5:36] 1. I Like Men/I'm Just Wild About Harry

[5:31] 2. The Gentleman Is a Dope

[5:42] 3. The Boy Next Door

[3:40] 4. An Occasional Man

[3:14] 5. Goldfinger

[5:30] 6. Ballad of the Sad Young Men

[6:15] 7. The Man I Love

[5:15] 8. For Every Man There's a Woman

[4:31] 9. Marry the Man Today

[4:53] 10. He Needs Me

[3:39] 11. He's a Tramp

[3:29] 12. He's My Guy

[2:57] 13. Down Boy

[4:25] 14. One Man Ain't Quite Enough

[6:19] 15. The Man That Got Away

As the album title suggests all the tracks relate to the male of the species in one form or another, this is not a new concept but has been tried and tested to great advantage by Peggy Lee and many of these songs have been recorded by Miss Lee including two of her own compositions.

Rebecca Kilgore has developed into a first class interpreter of classic material and on this album she is accompanied by four musicians who are sympathetic to her style of vocalising. Rossano Sportiello has taken over the role vacated by Dave McKenna and John Bunch on their demise. Like Scott Hamilton Harry Allen knows when to fill the spaces and when to stay in the background, his solos are an added bonus. Joel Forbes on bass and Kevin Kanner on drums rounding out a superb team.

The album opens with a medley of two songs associated with Peggy Lee “I Like Men / I’m just wild about Harry” but Miss Kilgore puts her own stamp on them and with Harry Allen contributing a swinging solo on the second tune it makes for a very satisfying track. The title track from the James Bond film “Goldfinger” would not appear to be suitable material for a singer of the calibre of Miss Kilgore but she pulls it off with ease and turns it into something of quality. The same could be said of Frank Loser’s “Marry the man today” but combined with attractive solos from both Harry Allen and R4ossano Sportiello Rebecca turns it into an easy paced swinger.“Ballad of a sad young man” is Harry Allen and the rhythm section with Harry providing a sensitive ballad reading of the song with Rossano Sportiello catching the mood with a fine solo. It is not we hear songs like Harold Adamson and Hoagy Carmichael’s “Down boy” and Harold Arlen and Truman Capote’s “One man ain’t quite enough” on many singer’s albums but Rebecca Kilgore is prepared to dig a little deeper and uncover gems like these and is to be applauded. This is one of the best vocal albums I have heard in some time and with such a class backing group it’s got to be a winner. ~Roy Booth

Rebecca Kilgore - vocals; Harry Allen - saxophone; Rossano Sportiello - piano; Joel Forbes - bass; Kevin Kanner - drums.

I Like Men (mp3 320)
I Like Men (FLAC)

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Lyle Ritz & Rebecca Kilgore - I Wish You Love

Styles: Jazz/Vocal Jazz
Year: 2007
Time: 43:34
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 100,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:25) 1. I Love A Ukulele
(3:09) 2. Charade
(3:19) 3. Aren't You Glad You're You
(3:10) 4. That Old Gang of Mine
(4:42) 5. Give Me The Simple Life
(4:18) 6. I Ain't Got Nothin' but The Blues
(2:47) 7. I Cried for You
(3:50) 8. Sway
(2:02) 9. Runnin' Wild
(3:40) 10. I Wish You Love
(3:09) 11. Surrey with The Fringe on Top
(3:02) 12. Reaching for The Moon
(3:00) 13. Then I'll Be Happy

Rebecca Kilgore, Vocalist, Curator, Sophisticated Lady, Dies at 76

Rebecca Kilgore, the effortlessly elegant vocalist, whose primary goal was to bring swing and the classics and rarities of the Great American Songbook into the 21st century, passed away on January 7 in her longtime homebase of Portland, Oregon. She was 76 years old. The cause of death of Lewy body dementia.

Recording primarily on small independent labels since her start around the age of 30 — first as part of a local Portland area swing ensemble the Wholly Cats, then on her own as the leader of the Rebecca Kilgore Quintet — the velvet-dipped-in-honey singer’s mission was that of purity, a clear-as-a-bell, clarion vocal tone familiar to fans of, say, Shirley Horn or Chris Connor, but by way of the music of the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s.

Along with being a canny vocalist, Kilgore was keen on finding rare gems within the Songbook’s deep catalog and revving them with verve and invention. And though she stayed under the radar with early band releases such as the Wholly Cats’ 1982 album Doggin’ Around and her cassette-only release I Hear Music, it was through the auspices of coyly clever composer and pianist Dave Frishberg that Kilgore got her first taste of fame beyond the Pacific Northwest jazz scene.

With Frishberg’s witty accompaniment and her stirring vocal qualities as a breath of fresh air to the traditions of popular jazz song, the pair recorded highly acclaimed albums such as Looking at You, I Saw Stars, Not a Care in the World and The Starlit Hour (the latter three for Arbors Records). Frishberg even told JazzTimes in 2011 that Kilgore was his “favorite singer to play for” and a “flawless,” original vocal talent. Other name-above-the-title band leaders that Kilgore teamed with on more than a few recordings were saxophonist Harry Allen, trombonist Dan Barrett, guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli and pianist John Sheridan.

Still, it is Kilgore’s long catalog of solo/leader recordings throughout the 2000s such as A Remembrance of Maxine Sullivan: Harlem Butterfly (Audiophile, 2001), Why Fight the Feeling? (Arbors, 2008), Yes, Indeed! (Blue Swing, 2010), I Like Men (Arbors, 2014), The Rebecca Kilgore Trio Vol. 1 (Heavywood, 2021) and A Little Taste: A Tribute to Dave Frishberg (Cherry Pie, 2024) that are most entrancing, rewarding and worth the crate-digging. Kilgore was always possessed of a stately, graceful voice and a curiously inventive sense of curation and orchestration, whether you heard her at age 30 or 70.

https://www.jazztimes.com/blog/rebecca-kilgore-vocalist-curator-sophisticated-lady-dies-at-76/

Birth: sept. 24th, 1949

Waltham, Massachusetts, EUA

Death: jan. 7th, 2026

Portland, Oregon, EUA

I Wish You Love

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Bill Evans - Haunted Heart: The Legendary Riverside Studio Recordings (Remastered 2025)

The Legendary Riverside Studio Recordings (CD1)

Styles: Cool Jazz
Year: 2025
Time: 83:24
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 191,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:22) 1. Come Rain Or Come Shine
(5:59) 2. Autumn Leaves
(4:35) 3. Witchcraft 
(4:57) 4. When I Fall In Love
(3:16) 5. Peri's Scope
(4:35) 6. What Is This Thing Called Love?
(5:06) 7. Spring Is Here
(4:55) 8. Some Day My Prince Will Come
(5:26) 9. Blue In Green
(4:50) 10. Witchcraft (Remastered Mono 2025 / Take 4)
(4:55) 11. Witchcraft (Remastered Mono 2025 / Take 6)
(4:53) 12. Spring Is Here (Remastered Mono 2025 / Take 4)
(3:30) 13. Come Rain Or Come Shine (Remastered Mono 2025 / Take 2)
(3:20) 14. Come Rain Or Come Shine (Remastered Mono 2025 / Take 4)
(5:24) 15. Autumn Leaves (Remastered Mono 2025 / Take 9)
(4:37) 16. Blue In Green (Remastered Mono 2025 / Take 1)
(4:29) 17. Blue In Green (Remastered Mono 2025 / Take 2)
(5:05) 18. Some Day My Prince Will Come (Remastered Mono 2025 / Take 1)

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The Legendary Riverside Studio Recordings (CD2)

Styles: Cool Jazz
Year: 2025
Time: 129:05
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 296,7 MB
Art: Front

(6:11) 1. Israel
(3:27) 2. Haunted Heart
(5:07) 3. Beautiful Love
(5:11) 4. Elsa
(5:50) 5. Nardis
(3:33) 6. How Deep Is The Ocean?
(4:41) 7. I Wish I Knew
(5:57) 8. Sweet And Lovely
(5:04) 9. Elsa (Take 4)
(4:51) 10. Elsa (Take 6)
(5:55) 11. Sweet And Lovely (Take 3)
(5:40) 12. Sweet And Lovely (Take 5)
(5:44) 13. Sweet And Lovely (Take 6)
(6:17) 14. Nardis (Take 1)
(6:07) 15. Beautiful Love (Take 1)
(5:10) 16. I Wish I Knew (Take 2)
(4:59) 17. I Wish I Knew (Take 3)
(4:51) 18. I Wish I Knew (Take 5)
(4:42) 19. Haunted Heart (Take 2)
(6:23) 20. The Boy Next Door (Take 1)
(5:06) 21. The Boy Next Door (Take 4)
(5:10) 22. The Boy Next Door (Take 6)
(5:00) 23. Walking Up 
(4:10) 24. How Deep Is The Ocean? (Take 1)
(3:46) 25. How Deep Is The Ocean? (Take 2)

The 2025 anthology Haunted Heart: The Legendary Riverside Studio Recordings includes the first two influential studio albums by pianist Bill Evans' legendary trio with bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian. One of the most influential jazz groups of all time, the Evans/LaFaro/Motian lineup has taken on an almost mythic quality. Formed mere months after the pianist completed the sessions for Miles Davis' landmark 1959 album Kind of Blue, the trio was an instant sensation, their work (much like Davis' album) helping to redefine the sound of modern jazz. Much of this was due to Evans' singular approach to the piano, marked by his use of classical-influenced impressionistic harmonies, rootless voicings, and singing melodic lines. However, with LaFaro's equally distinctive melodic bass lines and Motian's elastic sense of swing, he created a new kind of trio, where each member played together in a conversational way, rather than as simple accompaniment for the pianist. Released in 1960, Portrait in Jazz introduced the trio's subtle interplay, and their renditions of standards like "Witchcraft," "Come Rain or Come Shine," and "Someday My Prince Will Come" (the latter preceding Miles Davis' version by a year) remain some of the most definitive versions put to record. The same is true of 1961's Explorations, which featured their deeply romantic rendition of "Haunted Heart" (a jazz piano staple ever since) and found them putting their own stamp on Davis songs like "Nardis" and "Israel."

While completists my quibble that the trio's two live albums, 1961's Sunday at the Village Vanguard and 1962's Waltz for Debby, are not included here, the focus on the studio recordings offers some revelations. Along with both studio albums, there are 26 alternates and outtakes, 17 of which are previously unreleased. While many of Evans' outtakes are often very similar in-studio, there are some surprising moments, as in his previously unreleased "Spring Is Here" off Portrait, which features a more extended, improvised intro into the melody. Similarly, from the Explorations sessions, we get to hear each of his attempts at the dancerly ascending motif that kicks off "Sweet and Lovely," each as virtuosic and edge-of-your-seat brilliant as the next. It's also fascinating to hear how clearly worked out, if not outright arranged, the trio's interplay was. It's something that becomes ever more clear as you listen to multiple versions of "Witchcraft," where you can hear LaFaro playing similar counter melodies against Evans' lead lines again and again with minor variation. Tragically, LaFaro's death in a car crash in 1961 ended the group's brilliant run almost as soon as it started. While Evans would go on to form two more influential trios, his classic lineup with LaFaro and Motian remained indelible, and Haunted Heart: The Legendary Riverside Studio Recordings underscores that lasting influence. (by Matt Collar) https://www.allmusic.com/album/haunted-heart-the-legendary-riverside-studio-recordings-

Haunted Heart: The Legendary Riverside Studio Recordings CD 1 & 2 (np3 320)
Haunted Heart: The Legendary Riverside Studio Recordings CD 1 & 2 (FLAC)

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Bill Evans - Portraits at the Penthouse: Live in Seattle

Styles: Bop, Modal
Year: 2026
Time: 52:28
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 120,9 MB
Art: Front

(0:19) 1. Introduction
(4:03) 2. How My Heart Sings
(7:41) 3. 'Round Midnight
(5:41) 4. Come Rain or Come Shine
(4:54) 5. Nardis
(4:51) 6. Elsa
(4:48) 7. Time Remembered
(4:46) 8. Who Can I Turn To?
(5:29) 9. Detour Ahead
(3:10) 10. Autumn Leaves
(3:47) 11. How My Heart Sings 
(2:55) 12. I Should Care 

Portraits at the Penthouse: Live in Seattle is the first official release of the sublime pianist Bill Evans recorded live at the Penthouse jazz club in Seattle, Washington on May 12 and 19, 1966 with bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Joe Hunt. This is Resonance's 8th official release in cooperation with the Bill Evans Estate and was originally recorded by radio DJ Jim Wilke for KING-FM radio. Transferred from the original tapes and restored and mastered by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab, the deluxe CD includes an extensive booklet with rare photographs, newly commissioned liner notes by Evans scholar Marc Myers, and interviews and testimonials from Eddie Gomez, Joe Hunt and piano legend Bob James.

Portraits at the Penthouse: Live in Seattle (MP3 320)
Portraits at the Penthouse: Live in Seattle (FLAC)

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Michael Wollny Trio - Living Ghosts

Styles: Contemporary Jazz
Year: 2025
Time: 70:35
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 161,8 MB
Art: Front

(18:16) 1. Nacht / Rufe in der horchenden Nacht
(19:36) 2. Hauntology / In a Sentimental Mood / Little Person
(20:13) 3. Hand of God / Lasse!
(12:28) 4. Willow's Song / This West

More than a century ago, jazz’s early improvisers rarely strayed far from the secure consensus of a tune. That is, until the bebop revolutionaries of the 1940s started blowing impromptu ideas that often sounded better than the pop songs whose chords they borrowed. Post-1960s, free improvisation took themes and variations on epic, extemporised journeys that sometimes never returned to their starting point. Michael Wollny, the 46-year-old German pianist/composer, has long been familiar with the implications of that rapid evolution, and his powerful decade-old trio with David Bowie’s Blackstar bassist Tim Lefebvre and punk-to-postbop drummer Eric Schaefer has become one of the world’s most skilfully free-thinking contemporary jazz groups.

Now comes the exceptional Living Ghosts, a live recording of one night on tour in Germany in 2024 that shows just why Wollny refers to the group’s recent concerts as “seances where the ghosts of the trio’s songbook visit us at their will”. There’s no setlist, no agreed arrangements or forethought about which tunes might be made to segue into each other or for how long. Two night-themed miniatures by Alban Berg and Paul Hindemith are recast in racing solo piano streams, bowed-bass sweeps, a tramping rock-drums pulse, and then flat-out postbop over Lefebvre’s fast bass-walk.

The harmonic implications (though only barely the tune) of Duke Ellington’s In a Sentimental Mood give way to the lovely pop-song melody of Jon Brion’s ballad Little Person. A warp-speed treatment of Nick Cave’s Hand of God ascends to a tumult of mercurial piano runs over a marching drum pulse before hymnal harmonies turn it into Guillaume de Machaut’s Lasse! A one-off rammed with surprises, but of the kind that bear plenty of repeated listening on what already sounds like a 2025 standout.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/mar/07/michael-wollny-trio-living-ghosts-review-tim-lefebvre-eric-schaefer-german

Living Ghosts (mp3 320)
Living Ghosts(FLAC)

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Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Vibrations in the Village∶ Live at the Village Gate

Styles: Post Bop
Year: 2025
Time: 01:17:27
File: MP3 @ 0K/s
Size: 178 MB
Art: Front

(15:28) 1. Jump Up And Down - Fast
(5:50)   2. Ecclusiastics
(7:33)   3. All the Things You Are
(7:33)   4. Laura
(12:30) 5. Kirk's Delight
(10:16) 6. Oboe Blues
(6:36)   7. Blues Minor at the Gate
(5:48)   8. Falling In Love With Love
(5:53)   9. Three For the Festival

In November 2025, producers Zev Feldman and George Klabin's Resonance Records released two unissued live recordings by Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Vibrations in the Village: Live at the Village Gate is the first, captured live in 1963. The tapes were cut for a documentary soundtrack about Kirk's life, which was never made. The tapes survived for more than 60 years in the care of engineer Ivan Berger. When Feldman received them, he initially contacted saxophonist James Carter who, impressed, made the case for release. Feldman then contacted Kirk's indomitable widow Dorthaan Kirk (whose wonderful liner essay here is titled "My Life with Rahsaan"); she enthusiastically approved.

Recorded over two nights in November 1963, Kirk used three different pianists: Horace Parlan, Melvin Rhyne, and Jane Getz (no relation to Stan), bassist Henry Grimes, and drummer Sonny Brown. The program includes five original compositions, "Ecclusiasstics" by Charles Mingus, and three standards.

Kirk is introduced and opens the show with "Jump Up and Down - Fast." Over 15-minutes long, it's a stellar exercise in hard bop improvisation. Parlan is the pianist -- a welcome, hard-swinging foil for Kirk, he was already versed in modalism as his kinetic solo attests. Kirk plays tenor, stritch, and manzello simultaneously, soloing against himself and the sax section. The stritch is a straight alto saxophone with a bell end; the manzello is a variation on soprano sax with a straighter pipe and an upturned bell. He duets with himself near the end and pulls out a whistle. Grimes is the quartet's bridge, at once propulsive and suggestive. Mingus' deep blue "Ecclusiastics" from Oh Yeah (that featured Kirk in the line-up) finds Parlan laying out fat chords as Kirk plays the head on all the horns and sings. It winds through blues, gospel and bop.

"All the Things You Are" and "Laura" feature Rhyne. The latter is a ballad with Kirk playing flute. The interplay between Kirk and Grimes is remarkable, but the audio warbles a bit. Parlan returns on "Kirk's Delight" and "Oboe Blues," both over ten minutes, they reveal how locked in this quartet is. The former is a swinging hard bop jam, the latter a progressive jazz ballad. "Blues Minor at the Gate" is a fingerpopper, more bop than hard bop, with Grimes and Brown sprinting as Rhyne holds it down. Closer "Three for the Festival" features Jane Getz on piano. Kirk plays ringleader on flute, whistle, and horns in a furious progression that recalls Mingus and Tadd Dameron. Typical of Resonance releases, the booklet offers rare photos, deft and deep critical essays by Kirk biographer John Kruth and best-selling novelist/critic May Cobb -- who is writing her own book on Kirk. There is also an essay by Adam Dorn, son of Kirk's producer Joel Dorn, and reminiscences by Carter, Steve Turre, and Chico Freeman. Vibrations in the Village: Live at the Village Gate is a welcome addition to Kirk's discography, revealing that even early on, he was a true force of creativity, power, and innovation. (by Thom Jurek)

https://www.allmusic.com/album/vibrations-in-the-village-live-at-the-village-gate-mw0004635648

Vibrations in the Village∶ Live at the Village Gate (mp3 320)
Vibrations in the Village∶ Live at the Village Gate (FLAC)

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Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Seek & Listen: Live at the Penthouse

Styles: Post Bop
Year: 2025
Time: 86:33
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Size: 199,5 MB
Art: Front

( 1:18) 1. The Jump Thing
( 5:22) 2. Alfie
(12:12) 3. Mingus-Griff Song
(14:31) 4. Medley: Ev’rytime We Say Goodbye, I've Got It Bad (And                    That Ain't Good), Sophisticated Lady, Satin Doll
( 8:14) 5. Medley: Blues for C & T, Happy Days Are Here Again, Down 

                By The Riverside
(12:23) 6. Ode to Billie Joe
( 7:50) 7. Prelude To A Kiss
( 4:59) 8. Funk Underneath
( 7:12) 9. Lovellevelliloqui
( 7:57) 10. Now Please Don't You Cry, Beautiful Edith
( 4:29) 11. Making Love After Hours

In November 2025, producers Zev Feldman and George Klabin's Resonance Records released two unissued live recordings by Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Seek & Listen: Live at the Penthouse is the second. A double disc, it was recorded in 1967. The package contains rare photos and essays by widow Dorthaan Kirk, biographer John Kruth, best-selling novelist and Kirk authority May Cobb, James Carter, Steve Turre, Chico Freeman, and Adam Dorn. Kirk’s band included pianist Ron Burton, bassist Steve Novosel, and drummer Jimmy Hopps in 11 selections.

The set opens at the tail-end of the rowdy "The Jump Thing,” then gives way to Burt Bacharach's and Hal David's "Alfie." Burton embellishes Kirk's gorgeous tenor lines with graceful elegance as the rhythm section walks behind him. "Mingus-Griff Song" is an original. At over 12 minutes, this band fires on all cylinders. Whether Kirk is playing tenor, manzello, stritch, flutes, or whistles, his creative intensity is total. Tenor sings first, but all three horns appear. Burton’s deft right-hand runs and chromatic chords provide the rhythm section with fuel. Two medleys close disc one, the first joins Cole Porter's "Ev'ry time We Say Goodbye" (introduced by gorgeous flute) to Duke Ellington's "Ev'rytime We Say Goodbye/I’ve Got It Bad/Sophisticated Lady/Satin Doll." Manzello enjoys the first Ellington number as Hopps’ brushes whisper to Burton and Novosel. Kirk sings on “I've Got It Bad," his tender flute providing innate, revelatory lyricism. "Satin Doll" has a quick tempo, layering soul-jazz, swing, and melodic hard bop. The set closer is Kirk's "Blues for C & T/Happy Days Are Here Again/Down by the Riverside." Introduced by freewheeling improv, it shapeshifts into Kirk's trademark "tent style” performance, threading gospel, blues, swing, soul, and avant jazz with shouts, chants, and riotous horns as the band swings like mad.

Disc two opens with a Latinized soul-jazz version of "Ode to Billy Joe" that recalls Mingus, Horace Silver, and Ray Barretto’s boogaloo. At over 12 minutes, everybody gets to solo as Burton quotes from "Wade in the Water" with a punchy groove. Kirk's read of Ellington’s "Prelude to a Kiss” offers a slightly dissonant head. Novosel adds a driving bassline as a guide. Kirk’s manzello solo rings out, joining blues, swing, and gritty improvisation. The remaining four tunes are originals. “Funk Underneath” is a blues with Kirk playing flutes. It’s loose, wooly, and joyful, combining bop and blues with killer solos from Kirk and Burton. The iconic “Now Don’t You Cry, Beautiful Edith” is rendered with resonant emotion, dissonance, joy, and infectious grooves. His solo melds sweet melody and gutbucket blues. “Love After Hours” uses boogie woogie with Hopps leading the charge. Kirk, amid the entire horn section, solos on flute and shouts the blues over fat soulful piano chords, a walking bassline, and a cut-time kit shuffle. Seek & Listen: Live at the Penthouse adds a new dimension to Kirk’s catalog in showcasing him at a true creative and musical peak. (by Thom Jurek)

https://www.allmusic.com/album/seek-listen-live-at-the-penthouse-mw0004635646

Seek & Listen: Live at the Penthouse (mp3 320)
Seek & Listen: Live at the Penthouse (FLAC)

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Brian Lynch & Emmet Cohen - Questioned Answer

Styles: Post Bop

Year: 2014

Time: 79:42

File: MP3 @ 320K/s

Size: 183,0 MB

Art: Front

( 7:39) 1. Cambios
( 7:33) 2. Dark Passenger
( 8:25) 3. How Deep Is the Ocean
( 9:08) 4. Buddy
( 8:33) 5. Distant Hallow
( 7:20) 6. I Wish I Knew
(11:21) 7. Petty Theft
( 6:06) 8. Just in Time
( 7:43) 9. Questioned Answer
( 5:50) 10. Blues by Four

Four highly regarded musicians from three different age groups come together for a two-leader session resulting in one terrific album. That's Questioned Answer by the numbers, but there's a lot more to the story than basic numerics.

The partnership between veteran trumpeter Brian Lynch and rising star pianist Emmet Cohen was born out of serendipity and mutual appreciation. Lynch first heard Cohen when they were both working the 2011 Jazz Cruise—the former as a featured soloist and the latter with his trio from the University of Miami's Frost School of Music. Not too long after, Lynch took on the title of Professor of Jazz Trumpet at that fine institution, putting him in a position to work with Cohen—then finishing his undergraduate work—on a regular basis. That's when the seeds of this album were sown.

The album itself is split between duo and quartet performance. The six originals—three from each leader—feature the quartet of Lynch, Cohen, bassist Boris Kozlov, and drummer Billy Hart. Together, that group makes its way through uncertain scenarios ("Petty Theft"), lets a simple and hip groove carry the day ("Buddy"), and swings along with aplomb. Hart always keeps things interesting, alternately adding sounds of stability and surprise; Kozlov provides pointed bass lines that provide architectural undergirding; Cohen comps, locks riffs in with Kozlov, and tosses off imaginative solo statements; and Lynch floats, flies, and bounds along.

The three classics on the program—"How Deep Is The Ocean," "I Wish I Knew," and "Just In Time"—provide a clear look at the musical relationship between Cohen and Lynch as they deliver personalized interpretations of the material sans drums and bass. A wonderful sense of urgency develops during "How Deep Is The Ocean," "Just In Time" proves to be highly playful in nature, and "I Wish I Knew" shows Lynch at his most melodious. Cohen and Lynch may be decades removed from one another, but this album is firm proof that they're on the same page when it comes to music. ~Dan Bilawsky

Personnel: Brian Lynch: trumpet; Emmet Cohen: piano; Boris Kozlov: bass; Billy Hart: drums

Questioned Answer (mp3 320)
Questioned Answer (FLAC)

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