Tuesday, December 17, 2013

NEW RELEASES - JACKIE WILSON / COUNT BASIE, PEGGY DUQUESNEL, MIKE REED'S PEOPLE, PLACES & THINGS

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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