JACKIE WILSON / COUNT BASIE - MANUFACTURERS OF SOUL
A really
wonderful collaboration between two very unlikely partners – and a great album
that really stands out as some of the best work from both artists in the 60s!
Count Basie's group gets hard and soulful on the record – and even a little
funky on the best cuts – and Jackie Wilson is in a raw bluesy vocal style that
recalls the best moments of his earlier Brunswick singles – a great edge that
makes the whole Basie groove sound even more hard-hitting than ever. Benny
Carter arranged, but the groove is more a hard-edged Count Basie mode mixed
with Brunswick soul styles – and Jackie blows it out over the top on great
versions of "Funky Broadway", "Ode To Billie Joe", "I
Was Made To Love Her", "Even When You Cry", and
"Respect". Also features a version of "For Your Precious
Love" that was a bit of a hit for the pair! ~ Dusty Groove
PEGGY DUQUESNEL - ALL I ASK FOR CHRISTMAS
On the
second day of Christmas, Peggy Duquesnel gave jazz
lovers a two-CD set of holiday standards and future-classic originals. The
pianist-vocalist named the “December Artist of the Month” by Sounds of Timeless
Jazz delivered the generous 21-track gift in the form of “All I Ask For
Christmas,” for which she served as producer and composer of the four new tunes
recorded as both acoustic jazz instrumentals and pop vocal numbers. Songs
from “All I Ask For Christmas” are filling up playlists across the country in a
variety of radio formats including mainstream pop, adult contemporary, jazz and
smooth jazz as Duquesnel is in the midst of playing a series of concert dates
in Los Angeles and Orange County in support of the collection. A chorus of
critics is caroling the virtues of the multifaceted recording - “A
musician of stunning range and complexity, Peggy Duquesnel's achievements in
music are a testament to her incredible devotion to the art of music.” – Sounds
of Timeless Jazz; “Duquesnel
brings together the impressive team of Brian Bromberg/b, Joe La Barbera/dr,
Brian Kilgore/perc, Jay Leech/g, Rick Braun/fh and vocalists Bill Cantos and
Emma Werderman for a fascinating mix of old and new.” – Jazz Weekly; “Peggy
Duquesnel’s two disc holiday set is a pleasant, and sometimes swinging,
collection of contemporary and traditional Christmas songs.” – Virginian-Pilot.
MIKE REED'S PEOPLE PLACES & THINGS - SECOND CITIES VOLUME 1
Mike
Reed's been an important figure on the Chicago scene for many years now – but
he's a musician who's also got some ties to Amsterdam, which has served as a
second city in his life – hence the title of the set! The album pays tribute to
some of the avant and improvising greats of the Dutch scene – a number of whom
join Reed and his quartet on the album – including Ab Baars on tenor and
clarinet, Michael Moore on alto and clarinet, Guus Janssen on piano, and Joost
Buis on trombone. The core sounds are still from Reed's group – with Mike on
drums, Time Haldeman on tenor, Greg Ward on alto, and Jason Roebke on drums – all
working in that great People Places & Things mix of arrangement and
improvisation that we love from other records. But the shift of material really
makes for a nice change, too – and titles include "Train Ride",
"Gammer", "Marshall's Birthday", "What Happened At
Conway Hall 1938", "One Bar", "Basil Outside", and
"Een Voor Von". ~ Dusty Groove
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