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HighNote HCD 7075
Coleman Hawkins
Bean and the Boys
$13.00
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Coleman Hawkin's great solo on "Body and Soul", deservedly a classic, is enshrined on records for
repeating listening. But haven't you ever wondered how Hawk played the tune on other nights?
Maybe, as good as that recorded solo was, just maybe on one inspired night, he surpassed even
that effort. Here is a selection of Hawk's rare live performances dating from 1950 - 58 which
contains some of his best known tunes: "Bean and the Boys," "Body and Souls," "The Man I Love,"
"Disorder at the Border," and others. They make for fascinating listening when compared to the
commercial recordings and show that there is nothing quite like "live" jazz. Hawk's flock swoops
in with the likes of Pee Wee Russell, Charlie Shavers, Johnny Acea, J.C. Higginbotham and others.
This is rare, but well-done, Coleman Hawkins is an important addition to the discography.
Coleman Hawkins- Tenor Saxophone.
Tracks: Disorder at the Border; Yesterdays; Bean and the Boys; Disorder at the Border;
Riftide; Body and Soul; The Man I love; Avalon.
 Disorder At The Border
 Bean And The Boys
Body And Soul |
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HighNote HCD 7084
Vincent Herring
Simple Pleasure
$13.00
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Vincent Herring began making musical waves with Lionel Hampton's big band, and his progress thereafter has been steady.
He has worked with Nat Adderley, Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, The Horace Silver Quintet, Larry Coryell, Cedar
Walton, Freddie Hubbard, Dizzy Gillespie, The Mingus Big Band, Dr. Billy Taylor, John Hicks and others. Vincent has
appeared as a special guest soloist with Wynton Marsalis at Lincoln Center in tribute to Miles Davis, John Coltrane &
Cannonball Adderley. Vincent has taken bands to Japan & Europe on several occasions and has appeared in nearly every
Major Jazz festival in the world. Joining Vincent on his HighNote debut are his colleagues Mulgrew Miller and
Wallace Roney.
W/ Wallace Roney- trumpet; Mulgrew Miller- piano;
Richie Goods- bass; E.J. Strickland- drums
Tracks: The Loop; Once in a Lifetime; Simple Pleasure; Sophia Marie; Rounder's Mood; Sophisticated Lady;
Straight Street; Holly's Secret; There Is No Greater Love.
The Loop
Simple Pleasure
Rounder's Mood |
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HighNote HCD 7035
John Hicks
Nightwind
$13.00
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John Hicks is one of the true titans of the keyboard. In his latest HighNote Recording,
he pays tribute to Erroll Garner by passing this music through the prism of
his own interpretive genius, with the refracted light casting a unique glow
on these hauntingly beautiful songs. Yes, the ever-present "Misty" is here,
along with "Left Bank Swing". The main interest, however, is the seldom heard
numbers, such as "Solitaire," "Paris Cries," "Passing Through," "Something Happens"
and the title track, "Nightwind." John's Billy Strayhorn Songbook (HCD 7019)
was a big hit with radio, reviewers and public alike. This record, documenting
the work of one of America's greatest unsung composers, has a ready and waiting
audience.
John Hicks- piano; Dwayne Dolphin- bass; Cecil Brooks III- drums
Tracks: Tribute to EG; Misty; Paris Cries; Paris Lover;
Nightwind; Left Bank Swing; Passing Through; Something Happens; Solitaire;
It Gets Better Everytime; Dreamy.
Misty
Paris Lover
Left Bank Swing |
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HighNote HCD 7098
Randy Johnston
Hit & Run
$13.00
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Randy Johnston's resumé reads like a Who's Who of Jazz: Joey DeFrancesco
(HighNote HCD 7032), Sonny Fortune, Johnny Griffin, Lionel Hampton, Warne Marsh,
Jack McDuff, David 'Fathead' Newman and others. He is currently touring with
Lou Donaldson's band and garnering significant mention in the band's reviews.
Here Randy has assembled a stellar New York-based rhythm section including pianist
Bruce Barth, bassist Nat Reeves, drummer Grady Tate and a special guest on four
tracks in the personage of vibes master, Joe Locke. Jazz standards and some of
Randy's most imaginative original compositions to date inspire all those concerned
to make this one of the hottest burning of Randy's recordings. RANDY JOHNSTON ON
HIGHNOTE RECORDS: Somewhere in the Night - HCD 7007; Detour Ahead - HCD 7027
With Bruce Barth, piano, Joe Locke, vibes,
Nat Reeves, bass & Grady Tate, drums
Tracks: Tracks: Down Time; Hit & Run; When I Fall in Love; The Hat Man;
I Could Write a Book; Things We Said Today; The Best Thing For You; Here's That Rainy Day;
That Old Devil Moon; For the King
Down Time
Hit & Run
When I Fall In Love |
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HighNote HCD 7047
Etta Jones
All the Way
$13.00
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Grammy Nominee Etta Jones stepped in front of the microphone again with a batch of
tunes by the American songsmith Sammy Cahn under her arm. Along with her long-time
friend and collaborator, Houston Person, Etta is backed by the sensitive piano
of Norman Simmons, the guitar of Russell Malone and, adding a unique spectrum
of color to the record, Tom Aalfs on violin and Steve Turre on trombone. Of
course, the most popular songs by "King Cahn" are here, including "Until the
Real Thing Comes Along," "It's Magic," and "All the Way." Etta also offers the
rarely-heard "Put 'em in a Box" and "Saturday Night is the Loneliest Night of
the Week," a tune which once flooded the airwaves but now, inexplicably, is
heard only occasionally. You haven't heard the Sammy Cahn songbook until you've
heard it according to Etta Jones!
Etta Jones- vocals; Houston Person- tenor saxophone; Russell Malone- guitar; Steve Turre- trombone; Tom Aalfs- violin; Norman Simmons- piano;
John Webber- bass; Kenny Washington- drums
Tracks: It's Magic; Second Time Around; Until the Real Thing Comes Along;
I Should Care; I'll Walk Alone; Saturday Night; All the Way; It's You Or No One;
It's Been a Long, Long Time; Put 'Em in a Box.
It's Magic
I Should Care
Saturday Night |
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HighNote
HCD 7096
Sheila Jordan
Little Song
$13.00
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Sheila Jordan is one of the world's leading
exponents of vocal improvisation. Not content to sing the same well-planned 'improvisation' on a tune night after night,
Sheila's skill at extemporizing makes each performance something new and truly exciting. Charlie Parker himself was a
fan of Sheila's, admiring her unique way of reshaping lines and her soulful identification with every word. It was
HighNote Records who broke Sheila's five-year recording hiatus with 1999's "Jazz Child". This, her third
recording for HighNote since then, finds her with the Steve Kuhn Trio and Tom Harrell and affords her ample
opportunity to display the quality of her musical imagination, the unerring rightness of the changes she makes
to melodies, and the control she has of her tone with its beautifully judged vibrato which makes her a member
of the Royal Family of Jazz Vocalists..
with Steve Kuhn, Dave Finck, Billy Drummond and Tom Harrell
Tracks: Little Song, Blackbird, Autumn in New York, Barbados, On a Slow Boat to China, Hello Young Lovers, Fairweather, Something's Gotta Give, If I Should Lose You, The Way He Captured Me, Deep Tango, The Touch of Your Lips, When I Grow Too Old to Dream
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Little Song/Blackbird
On a Slow Boat To China
If I Should Lose You
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HighNote HCD 7094
Mark Murphy
Lucky To Be Me
$13.00
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Mark Murphy may be the most flat-out adventuresome singer working in the pop song/jazz tune forms. Down Beat Magazine readers know it - they recently voted Mark the Top Male Jazz Vocalist over a host of high-profile names and 'talents'. Nominated for six Grammies over the course of his career Mark Murphy is back for his third HighNote Recording in as many years. Backed by a septet of New York's top studio men, led by Tony Bennett's music director, Lee Musiker, Murphy bends notes into wild shapes, leaps mountain goat-like from baritone to falsetto to yodel, and nimbly deploys slides and pitch fluctuations and gradations like the master that he is. He has been called a be-bopper, a hipster and a member of the avant garde. Label him as you wish, but there is nothing quite like Mark Murphy.
W/Lee Musiker- piano, Scott Wendholt- trumpet/flugelhorn, Bobby Porcelli- flute/alto saxophone, Jay Leonhart- bass, David Finck- bass, Tim Horner- drums & Memo Acevedo- percussion.
Tracks: Medley from "On the Town"; Dearly Beloved; Then I'll Be Tired of You; Photograph; Serenade in Blue; Just as Though You Were Here; I Ain't Gonna Let You Break My Heart Again; Blues for Frances Faye; I Wonder What Became of Me/If Love Were All
Dearly Beloved
Then I'll Be Tired Of You
Photograph |
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HighNote HCD 7077
Mark Murphy
Links
$13.00
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The release of a Mark Murphy recording renders
hyperbole superfluous. Other people have said it all: Murphy is 'a hipster's hipster,' writes the New York Post;
'He is arguably the best male jazz singer in the business,' declares Rex Reed. His coterie of fans includes tap dancer
Gregory Hines, who spontaneously jumped up on stage at Mark's Las Vegas engagement in 1995 to join him for an impromptu
duet. He is one of the most important, and yes, hippest, jazz vocalists of our time. His secret? 'There's a party
goin' on in Mark's head,' declares fan Liza Minelli, 'and I want to go to it!' Well, you are all invited to the
party too with Mark's latest HighNote release. The same cast of characters is back from his successful "Some Time
Ago" and Mark himself says, "…I haven't sung so well in years." Tunes by Ellington and Strayhorn (including a lovely
"Peacocks-like" "Flower is a Lovesome Thing"), some new originals by Murphy/Broadbent and other adventurous choices
make this Mark's finest record to date. See why jazz scholar Dan Morgenstern wrote, "Mark Murphy is to jazz what
Bobby Fisher is to chess."
W/ Dave Ballou - trumpet; Allen Mezquida - alto saxophone;
Lee Musiker - piano / arranger; Steve LaSpina/Sean Smith - bass; Winard Harper/Tim Horner - drums;
Memo Acevedo - percussion
Tracks: In the Land of Ooo-Bla-Dee; The Lady's in Love with You; Don't Ask Why;
Wheelers and Dealers; Taming of a Rose; Breathing; A Flower is a Lovesome Thing; Ode to the Road; Daydream;
In a Sentimental Mood; I'm Thru With Love.
In the Land Of Oo-Bla-Dee
The Lady's In Love With You
A Flower Is A Lonesome Thing |
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HighNote HCD 7048
Mark Murphy
Some Time Ago
$13.00
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The list of singers who hang out the shingle bearing the claim "Jazz Singer" is
a long one indeed. It is cut down to size, however, when you include those vocalists
who truly improvise their performances, those who take the risk of spontaneous
extemporization. At the top of this list certainly sits Mark Murphy who, together
perhaps with only Sheila Jordan, is a true improvising/vocalist/musician. Back
in the studio for his long-time friend Joe Fields for the first time since their
days with MUSE Records, Mark is in fine fettle and turns his attentions to pop
standards ( "Old Black Magic", "Why Was I Born"), as well as jazz classics (Jimmy
Rowles "Peacocks", Cedar Walton's "Life's Mosaic"). When the jury reconvenes
on Mark Murphy, he will stand as one of the most influential and talented vocalists
in jazz and "Some Time Ago" may just be his finest recording.
Mark Murphy- vocals; Dave Ballou- trumpet; Allan Mezquida- alto saxophone; Lee Musiker- piano; Steve LaSpina- bass;
Sean Smith- bass; Winard Harper- drums
Tracks: There's No More Blue Time; Peacocks; Bohemia After Dark; With Every Breath I Take;
You're My Alter Ego; Life's Mosaic; Some Time Ago; That Old Black Magic;
Medley: Why Was I Born/I'm Fool to Want You.
There's No More Blue Time
With Every Breath I Take
That Old Black Magic |
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HighNote
HCD 7104
David Newman
The Gift
$13.00
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The definitive soul-jazz, blues and funk player, David 'Fathead' Newman also has the
capacity to burn in a bebop mode and wax poetic over a romantic ballad with the best of them. David accomplishes all of the
above on his new record, "The Gift." A native of Dallas, David came to national prominence in the '50s while working with
Ray Charles. He has been a reliably swinging force on the scene and a imaginative, well-respected leader for the past four
decades. With keyboard giant, John Hicks, laying down the changes, Winard Harper propelling the rhythm along and vibist
Bryan Carrott adding just the right amount of exotic color, David offers up eight tunes with not only his trade-mark
Texas-Tenor sound, but also displays his considerable prowess on alto, soprano and flute.
- w/ with John Hicks, Bryan Carrott, Buster Williams, Winard Harper
Tracks: Off the Hook, Lady Day, Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying, Little Sonny's Tunes, Unchain My Heart, The Gift, Unspeakable Times, Ksue
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The Gift
Unspeakable Times
Little Sonny's Tune
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HighNote HCD 7057
David 'Fathead' Newman
Keep the Spirits Singing
$13.00
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David 'Fathead' Newman is inexorably moving to that exalted state of a legend. In Fathead's case it's true.
He was a cornerstone of Ray Charles' Band. The Texas tenor tradition inhabits his playing like the slight
Texas accent Newman never lost. Fathead performs enjoyable, intricate, intense, sophisticated music.
His solos are finely crafted there are no superfluous notes. Newman surrounds himself with the top
men of their craft on each instrument. Steve Turre, trombone, John Hicks, piano, Winard Harper, drums, etc.
On this CD, David 'Fathead' Newman makes a very solid statement not a rehash but fresh and inspiring.
The product of a major player in his prime.
w/ Steve Turre - trombone; John Hicks - piano; Steve Novosel - bass;
Winard Harper - drums; Steve Kroon - percussion
Tracks: Keep the Spirits Singing; Mellow-D for Mr. C; Cousin Esau;
Karen My Love; Willow Weep For Me; Life; Asia Beat.
Keep the Spirits Singing
Cousin Esau
Willow Weep For Me |
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HighNote HCD 7036
David 'Fathead' Newman
Chillin'
$13.00
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For years the tenor saxophone player of choice for Ray Charles and instrumental in defining the singer's unmistakable
style, David 'Fathead' Newman makes his HighNote Records debut. Called 'Fathead'
for his voluminous knowledge of music, David possesses a soulful Texas horn
sound, expressive and heart-felt. David's musical vocabulary is "of the moment"
without resorting to the type of "out there" playing which alienates so many
listeners. With a wide spectrum of music, from Dimitri Tiomkin's lush "Return
to Paradise" to Hamp's "Red Top" to standards like "These Foolish Things," Newman
communicates through his music, speaking directly to the listener. In addition
to Fathead's reed work, including turns on flute, soprano, alto and tenor, the
album boasts fine contributions from John Hicks on piano and Winard Harper on
drums.
David 'Fathead' Newman- tenor saxophone/soprano saxophone/alto saxophone/flute; Bryan Carrott- vibraphone; John Hicks- piano;
Steve Novosel- bass; Winard Harper- drums; Cadino Newman- vocals
Tracks: Take the Coltrane; Return to Paradise; The Whole Tzimmes;
These Foolish Things; Invitation; Chillin'; Caravan; Red Top.
Take the Coltrane
Return to Paradise
These Foolish Things |
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HighNote HCD 7101
Houston Person with Ron Carter
Sentimental Journey
$13.00
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Be forewarned. For some
of you, this Houston Person-led sentimental journey might summon up images and sounds long
forgotten -- bands, dancing, ballrooms, the voices of Billy Eckstine and Dinah Washington.
For, on this CD, tenorman Person takes listeners back to that golden time, when popular
music was performed by orchestras and band vocalists, when songs were hum-able and danceable.
Houston Person's combination of warmth and robust authority supported by four superior
musicians make this a very satisfying musical excursion. If you're of Houston's generation,
you'll go back to the bands, ballrooms and "Your Hit Parade". And if you're not,
it will be a voyage of discovery.
Houston Person - tenor saxophone; w/ Richard Wyands, piano; Russell Malone, guitar; Peter Washington, bass; Grady Tate, drums
Tracks: Tracks: Sentimental Journey; A Sunday Kind of Love; It Had To Be You;
Fools Rush In; Black Velvet; Save Your Love For Me; What'll I Do; I Love You Yes I Do;
Canadian Sunset
A Sunday Kind Of Love
Save Your Love For Me
I Love You Yes I Do
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HighNote HCD 7060
Houston Person
In A Sentimental Mood
$13.00
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You have to hand it to Houston Person. In a time where jazz has become either mind-numbing, vacuous elevator music or a product of Emperor's-new-clothes pseudo-intellectuals
passing off squeaks and squawks as music, Houston Person is content to make jazz that satisfies the basic need of audiences everywhere - communication. Knowing full well that
great tunes become associated with memories of our life, Houston has programmed a selection of tunes that people have consistently requested around the country, tunes that mean
something to the listener. Surrounded by his touring band, Houston offers a dozen standards, "Skylark," "All the Things You Are," "Deed I Do" and others. Beethoven himself
once said, "Great music should go from the heart, to the heart." Judging from this record, that is a lesson
well-learned by Houston Person.
Houston Person- tenor sax; Stan Hope- piano; George Kaye- bass; Chip White- drums
Tracks: Don't Get Around Much Anymore; Tenderly; Skylark; You Don't Know What Love Is;
The Way We Were; My Funny Valentine; All The Things You Are; Good Morning Heartache; Without A Song;
In A Sentimental Mood; Embraceable You; Deed I Do.
Don't Get Around Much Anymore
Tenderly
Good Morning Heartache |
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HighNote HCD 7049
Houston Person
Soft Lights
$13.00
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Well, contrary to what you've been told, lightning CAN strike twice, as is evidenced
by HOUSTON PERSON's latest release. Hot on the heels of his super-successful,
"MY ROMANCE" (HCD 7033), Houston brings together a winning team of players in
the famed Rudy Van Gelder Studio. Richard Wyands is on hand at the keyboard
and guitar great Russell Malone joins the top-flight rhythm section of Ray Drummond
and Grady Tate. Great tunes ("The Night We Called It a Day," "At Last," "It
Shouldn't Happen to a Dream" & others), and the full, rich tenor sound of Houston
Person virtually guarantee major radio play at all key time slots. As one radio
veteran said about "My Romance": "This isn't 'smooth jazz,' this is real jazz;
it's real smooth jazz."
Houston Person- tenor saxophone; Russell Malone- guitar; Richard Wyands- piano;
Ray Drummond- bass; Grady Tate- drums
Tracks: Here's That Rainy Day; I Only Have Eyes For You;
It Might As Well Be Spring; Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me; At Last; The Night We Called It a Day; It Shouldn't Happen To a Dream;
I'll Be Around; Hey There!; If.
Here's That Rainy Day
Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me
The Night We Called It a Day |
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HighNote
HCD 7069
Jimmy Ponder
Alone
$13.00
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Few guitarists today would dare even attempt
an entire album of nothing but solos. Jimmy Ponder, however, is among the select few whose imagination, technique,
sense of structure and swing that can sustain a solo album. One of the most talented guitarists in the evolutionary
tree that sprang from the great Wes Montgomery, Jimmy Ponder is an exponent of the 'thumb' style of playing which
became the trademark sound of his famous predecessor. Hence Jimmy produces a complex tapestry of textures in a
rainbow's spectrum of colors that make this recording a standout, even in today's crowded field of jazz releases.
- Jimmy Ponder, solo guitar
Tracks: Isn't She Lovely, The Late Late Show, The Big Hurt, Midnight Mood, Lullaby of Birdland, Dreamsville, Stompin' at the Savoy, Windows of the World, J.P., Our Day Will Come, Theme From 'Valley of the Dolls'
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Isn't She Lovely
Midnight Mood
Lullaby Of Birdland
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HighNote HCD 7080
Jimmy Ponder
Thumbs Up
$13.00
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Hailed as "The Segovia of Jazz" by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,
Jimmy Ponder continues to quietly make hi own brand of jazz in Pittsburgh and its environs.
Heard here for the first time in a trio setting, Ponder shows a more introspective side
but still manages to serve up a tasty concoction consisting of jazz tinged with his
trademark blues-funk overtones. Featuring such great standards as "love for Sale",
"Body and Soul", and Legrand's great "Watch What Happens" Ponder, in the company of
bassist Dave Pellow and percussionist Cecil Brooks III, offer a program of great jazz,
played with integrity, technique and no small amount of swinging heat. So, to quote
the vernacular, "Kick it up a notch!" with the Jimmy Ponder Trio. BAM!
Dave Pellow- bass; Cecil Brooks III- drums.
Tracks: Thumbs Up; Watch What Happens; Centerpiece; Body and Soul; Love for Sale;
Angel Eyes; Alone Together; Funk Wit Dis.
Thumbs Up
Watch What Happens
Centerpiece |
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HighNote HCD 7062
Don Sickler
Reflections
$13.00
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REFLECTIONS, trumpeter Don Sickler's fifth record as a leader and first for
HighNote, celebrates the great music of the post-bop era by tributing six
trumpet masters who helped define the sound and style of their times and beyond.
Sickler and his quintet, including Bobby Porcelli, Ronnie Mathews, Peter Washington
and Ben Riley, offer up tunes by Miles Davis, Joe Gordon, Lonnie Hillyer, Booker
Little and Tommy Turrentine. Sickler and his co-horts breathe new life into each
of these tunes and show that, in addition to being great players, these men were
also composers of substance, each adding immeasurably to the modern jazz spectrum.
When bebop, hard bop, call it whatever you wish, is played with Sickler's kind of
feeling, authenticity and ardor, it speaks to both the past and the present.
And for most jazz fans, that's about as good as it gets.
Don Sickler- trumpet; Bobby Porcelli- reeds; Ronnie Mathews- piano; Peter Washington- bass;
Ben Riley- drums
Tracks: Bee Tee's Minor Plea; Soft Shoulder;
I Didn't; Gone But Not Forgotten; The Grand Valse; Song for Richard; Swing Spring;
Politely; Minor Reflections; Miles Ahead; Denial
Bee Tee's Minor Plea
The Grand Valse
Swing Spring
Miles Ahead |
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