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| More than perhaps any other jazz vocalist the name 'Chris Connor' is mentioned with an almost mystical reverence. In Japan she is afforded something approaching cult-like status. And certainly, you don't stay in the public's hearts and minds for as long as Chris Connor has if you have nothing to say. Far from having nothing to say, Chris Connor seems to be able to say it in the space of a three-minute track. From her stints with Claude Thornhill and Stan Kenton, through her illustrious solo career, to her most recent appearances and recordings on HighNote, Chris brings a lifetime of experience to every song she sings, making it not just a track on a record, but a commentary on life itself. - W/ Mike Abene- piano, Bill Easley- reeds, Jack Wilkins- guitar,
Chip Jackson- bass, Dennis Mackrel- drums & Memo Acevedo- percussion.
Tracks: Route 66; Where Can I Go Without You; Quiet Nights; That Old Black Magic; How High the Moon; I Walk With Music; Serenade in Blue; Shall We Dance; This Heart of Mine; On the Road Again | |
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| "I am destined to be the eternal student," says Larry Coryell, "to continue developing my flow of ideas with my ability to flow with…To listen to everything…" His new album, recorded at the famed Van Gelder Studio, shows that Larry's art is ever evolving, transforming and re-inventing itself. Featuring the legendary pianist Cedar Walton, Larry explores some jazz standards and some new, original compositions, applying his flawless technique and kaleidoscopic imagination to every phrase. Whatever and however many metamorphosis Larry Coryell has gone through over his career, he emerges today as one of the most visionary fretmasters of the new millennium. - W/ Cedar Walton - piano; Buster Williams - bass; Billy Drummond - drums
Tracks: Cedars of Avalon; Bemsha Swing; Fantasy in D; Blues for Ermie; Limehouse Blues; D-Natural Blues; What's New; Newest Blues; It Could Happen to You; Shapes | |
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| The difference between a 'memorial' and 'tribute' may seem trivial but the fact of the matter is a memorial looks back to the past, where a tribute is very much of the present. Here is a collection sidemen who knew, loved and worked with the Mighty Burner himself, Charles Earland. Guitarist Pat Martino, who played some of his earliest gigs with Charles' band, is on hand along with Joey DeFrancesco, the heir apparent to the Earland crown. Earland's regular band alumni Eric Alexander, James Rotondi, Bob DeVos, Vince Ector and Kevin Jones round out the ensemble. Rather than look back with tear-filled eyes, this group has decided to pay tribute to the musical legacy Charles left behind which is very much alive and as vibrant today as it was when Charles was at the keyboard. "Keepers of the Flame" is an appropriate title - for these musicians keep the sound of the Mighty Burner at high heat and burning brightly for all to enjoy. CHARLES EARLAND TITLES: Blowing the Blues Away - HCD 7010; Cookin' With the Mighty Burner - HCD 7014; Stomp! - HCD 7037; If Only for One Night (w/ Najee) - HCD 7092 - W/ Eric Alexander tenor sax; Joey DeFrancesco, organ;
Pat Martino & Bob DeVos, guitar; Vincent Ector, drums;
Kevin Jones, percussion; James Rotondi, trumpet
Tracks: Deja Vu; Memorial Day; What Love Has Joined; South Philly Groove; On the Stairs; Pick Up the Pieces; The Closer I Get To You; The Summit | |
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| HighNote HCD 7092 Charles Earland with Najee If Only For One Night $13.00 Order | | |
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Sadly, this was to be the last studio session completed by Charles "The Mighty Burner" Earland but it shows that Charles was in fine fettle and expanding his musical horizons right up until the end. Inviting the smooth jazz star Najee to appear with him on this album might at first seem like an odd pairing, but that trepidation lasts only until one hears the first track. They come charging out of the gate in great style, with Najee alluding to Wayne Shorter's "Footprints" before settling into a driving rendition of "My Favorite Things." With Melvin Sparks funky guitar leading the rhythm section "If Only For One Night" is not a memorial to a great musician, but rather a testimonial to Charles' creative, exploratory spirit that will keep the "Burner" brightly lit in the jazz world for years to come. Charles Earland- organ; Najee - saxophone; Melvin Sparks - guitar; Buddy Williams - drums; Gary Fritz - percussion Tracks: My Favorite Things; My Love; My Blues Is Funky; Keep The Faith; If Only For One Night; Smoke; All My Tomorrows; Just For You; Summertime. |
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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: 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 |
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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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| 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 | |
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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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| 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: 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 | |
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| HighNote HCD 7072 Houston Person with Ron Carter Dialogues $13.00 Order | | |
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The artful duets of Houston Person and Ron Carter contained on this release epitomize jazz in its purest form. Herein you will find two consummate musicians, each one neither leading nor following the other. Rather, they listen, compliment, support and comment upon their musical utterances, each making statements of equal importance. This is the third duo outing for Person and Carter. Their earlier collaborations on the Muse label were among the most popular titles in that extensive catalog. Here they are, several years later, more world-wise and even more in-sync than in the past. Performing eight popular and jazz standards, including Ron's lovely "Mr. Bow Tie," these two masters of their craft define the art of musical collaboration. Houston Person - tenor saxophone; Ron Carter - bass Tracks: Doxy; I Remember Clifford; Dear Old Stockholm; Mr. Bow Tie; On The Sunny Side Of The Street; I Fall In Love Too Easily; Mack The Knife; I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good). |
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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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| Back for Volume 3! An amalgam of goodies to continue the HighNote series of live Woody Shaw recordings, this one recorded live at the famed Keystone Korner in San Francisco. In attendance here is the great trombonist, Steve Turre. Turre played on and off with Woody since 1972 and their brass interplay is distinctive and gives a profoundly different feeling than the Shaw / Carter Jefferson recordings on Volume 1 and Volume 2. HighNote is extremely proud to have been able to bring to light this three volume collection that helps to fill the noticeable void in Woody Shaw's discography. As carefully as his studio records from that era were constructed, those who were fortunate enough to see him perform know that they didn't show the passion and spontaneous creativity that Woody brought to the stage. These CDs are essential to a proper evaluation of a great talent at the height of his powers. w/ Mulgrew Miller/Larry Willis, piano; Steve Turre, trombone; Stafford James, bass; Victor Lewis, drums Tracks: Ginseng People; Teotiuacan; Organ Grinder; Little Red's Fantasy;
Seventh Avenue | |
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| HighNote HCD 7066 Charlie Ventura & Bill Harris Live at the Three Deuces $13.00 Order | | |
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Charlie Ventura was named the "Number One Saxophonist" by DownBeat Magazine in 1945. Gunther Schuller called Bill Harris "probably the most astonishingly original trombonist of the early modern-jazz era". Hear history in the making as they team up on this astounding session, captured live in 1947. Bill Harris shows his inimitable way with ballads such as "Everything Happens to Me," and "Blue Champagne," while Ventura leaps into his famous "High On an Open Mike," propelled along by the on-fire drumming of the legendary Davey Tough. Unavailable in any format for over 25 years, HighNote is happy to make this important meeting-of-the-minds available once again. Charlie Ventura- saxophone; Bill Harris- trombone; Ralph Burns- piano; Curley Russell- bass; Davey Tough- drums Tracks: Characteristically B.H.; Blue Champagne; Mordido; High On an Open Mike; Body and Soul; The Great Lie; Everything Happens to Me. |
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| Just when you think Cedar Walton has done it all - from his gigs with Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Freddie Hubbard, and Art Farmer to backing Abbey Lincoln to leading groups including sidemen like Kenny Dorham, Junior Cook, Blue Mitchell, Billy Higgins and Ron Carter - he surprises us all by displaying another facet of his creativity and offers up his first ever Latin album. With the heavy-duty latin rhythm section of Cucho Martinez and Ray Mantilla, Cedar shows a complete command of the Latin idiom -- not only with great Latin standards like, "Perfidia" and "Tres Palabras" but also with a handful of originals that sound as naturally Latin as a day on the Copacabana beach. Highlighting one of the true giants of the keyboard in a unique setting and repertoire, Cedar's latest HighNote recording will garner much press and airplay. PREVIOUS RELEASE: Cedar Walton - The Promise Land - HCD 7081. - With Cucho Martinez, bass; Ray Mantilla, percussion
Tracks: Brazil; Latin America; Triste; Tres Palabras; Perfidia; The Vision; Besamé Mucho; Serenata; Latino Blue | |
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The discography of available recordings by Mary Lou Williams is scandalously small for an artist of her talent. No matter how many recordings were available it would never be enough for Mary Lou was a consummate musician whose sympathies extended across the entire spectrum of jazz genres and styles. On this recording, recorded live at the fabled S.F. jazz club The Keystone Korner, Mary Lou is found at the very peak of her powers and shows just how formidable a pianist she was. Mary Lou gives a tour of jazz piano history and styles here ranging from gospel, ragtime, blues and boogie, to more modern interpretations ("Night in Tunisia", especially) which shows just how far into the future Mary Lou was able to cast her musical nets. A must have release - not just for pianists but for all who care about great jazz and its practitioners. Mary Lou Williams - piano Tracks: The History Of Jazz According To Mary Lou; A Night In Tunisia; The Jeep Is Jumpin'; It Ain't Necessairly So; Gloria; I Can't Get Started; Mary Lou's Blues; ST. Louis Blues; Stormy Weather; Roll 'Em; 'Round Midnight; Surrey With The Fringe On Top |
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| Artists: with Cedar Walton, David 'Fathead' Newman, Houston Person, Eric Reed, Randy Johnston, Winard Harper and others Tracks: Cedar Walton- Brazil; Randy Johnston- Down Time; Charles Earland Tribute Band- South Philly Groove; Norman Simmons- Eleanor Rigby; David 'Fathead' Newman- Amandla; Eric Reed- Prelude In E Minor; Houston Person- Gentle Rain; Winard Harper- The Believers; Charles Earland- Organyk Groove; Carlos Garnett- Fuego En Mi Alma. | |
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| Artists: with Etta Jones, Sheila Jordan, Ernie Andrews, Dinah Washington, Wesla Whitfield, Mark Murphy, Dakota Staton, Everett Greene and others Tracks: Ernie Andrews- Everybody's Somebody's Fool; Etta Jones- God Bless the Child; Sheila Jordan- Good Morning Heartache; Dakota Staton- Trav'lin Light; Mark Murphy- I'm Thru With Love; Wesla Whitfield- Ill Wind; Della Griffin- This Bitter Earth; Etta Jones- I'm Afraid the Masquerade Is Over; Everett Greene- When Did You Leave Heaven; Dinah Washington- It's Too Soon To Know; Wesla Whitfield- One For My Baby.
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