Showing posts with label Piano. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Piano. Show all posts

Sunday, August 11, 2019

Rick Brown Trio - Jazz (Piano)


Rick has a clearly unique style of writing and producing music that he has developed over many years in the Music Business as a Songwriter/Composer, Producer/Arranger and Studio Musician. His songs and "Song Productions" have been affectionately described by many of his fellow Musicians and Colleagues as > Easy Listening Cow-Jazz.  A unique blend of "Easy Listening POP, a sliver of COUNTRY, and a slice of Smooth JAZZ".  Because of this, some songs have been very difficult to categorize as to a specific Genre or Style. However we've done our best to sort songs into different Genres.

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More Jazz


Thursday, July 18, 2019

Ray & The Detonators - Piano Blues



The list of influences and styles is long, but there\'s a heart and soul to Ray and the Detonators that turns the sounds of Golden Age rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and heart pounding boogie woogie into a sound all their own. With decades of collective and diverse musical experience, and an unyielding appetite for making great music, Ray and the Detonators deliver what they promise — \'good time\' music for grown ups of all ages. 

This is the kind of great roadhouse music that conjurs up hot summer nights, cold beer, and old friends. Ray Bushbaum's vocals are deceptively low-key...by the third tune in, I was hooked on his smokey sound, not to mention his great work on keyboards. There's also some really great work on slide from Pete, Bill Weber on drums/vocals, Rich Koch with some super bass work, and the special treat of appearances by the amazing Teresa James, Kevin McKendree,and James Pennebaker. A lot of the tunes here were written by Ohio musician Sleepy Joe Lee---he's a secret too well-kept for far too long. All in all, an embarassment of riches.


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More Piano Blues


Monday, June 10, 2019

Andrew Hill - Piano Jazz (USA)


Andrew Hill (June 30, 1931 – April 20, 2007) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Jazz critic John Fordham described Hill as a "uniquely gifted composer, pianist and educator" although "his status remained largely inside knowledge in the jazz world for most of his career." Hill recorded for Blue Note Records for nearly a decade, producing a dozen albums.

Black Fire is a studio album by American jazz pianist and composer Andrew Hill, released on Blue Note Records in 1964. It was Hill's debut for the label. Initially, Philly Joe Jones was scheduled to play on the album, but was replaced by Roy Haynes after scheduling issues. The Allmusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine calls the album "an impressive statement of purpose that retains much of its power decades after its initial release... a modern jazz classic.




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More Piano Jazz


Friday, December 21, 2018

Saturday, October 20, 2018

Mr. B - Piano Blues


Mr. B's Shining the Pearls has some fine moments, especially when the pianist sticks to the blues. However, the album suffers from somewhat meandering arrangements and the lack of a rhythm section to keep the whole thing in focus. ~by Thom Owens

A superior blues and boogie-woogie pianist, Mr. B. (aka Mark Braun) has recorded several excellent sets that find him revitalizing the vintage style. He started playing piano when he was 15 and, although he had heard much of the pop and rock music of the era, when his father brought home a record by Jimmy Yancey, it convinced him of the musical path he should take. Braun was fortunate enough to visit Chicago on several occasions, seeing, talking to and drawing inspiration from Little Brother Montgomery, Blind John Davis and Sunnyland Slim. He also heard Boogie Woogie Red play at the Blind Pig club in Detroit every Monday night for 11 years. By the mid-'70s, Mr. B. was playing with regional bands and gaining a strong reputation.

Because he chose to stay in Ann Arbor, Mr. B. is not as well-known as he should be, but he has recorded excellent sets for Blind Pig: 1987's Shining the Pearls which features J.C. Heard and Marcus Belgrave and 1988's Partners in Time which also features Heard. In 1991 he released My Sunday Best for Ann Arbor label Schoolkids and followed it up with a big band record, Hallelujah Train in 1994. This record also came out on Schoolkids and features Ann Arbor's stalwart big band the Bird of Paradise Orchestra. Mr. B. can be found every year at the Ann Arbor Art Fair pounding out some boogie for the enthralled hordes of tourists or on the mound at Vet's Park pitching his amateur baseball team to another victory.~ Scott Yanow





Thursday, September 20, 2018

Sonny Clark - Jazz (Piano)


NYC, March 23, 1960

"This is a very good session that finally sees the light of the digital day in this terrific hybrid SACD remastered from the original masters by Steve Hoffman. With Hoffman's stamp on this disc, you can rest assured that this disc will sound amazing, and it does not let us down. Sonny's piano is clean and crisp, the acoustic bass is precise without being muddy or buried in the mix, and Max Roach's subtle playing is clearly articulated, especially his brush strokes and cymbal work. It's amazing how a recording done back in 1959 can actually sound better than a tinny, loud modern recording, but in Hoffman's capable hands, that's exactly what you have.
The performances are very impressive on this album. Max Roach is a solid foundation, driving the tunes with some very subtle but effective cymbal work. He also stands out in Minor Meeting, with his most agressive playing. Duvivier is a smooth player who walks the dog as well as anyone in the business and has some tasty business on Sonny's Crip. Sonny Clark is a great bop pianist, who reminds me a lot of Bud Powell, but is more lyrical and melodic in his soloing. The tunes here are not memorable, but basically work as good set pieces for the improvisations.
All in all, this is a quality jazz session that will leave you smiling..."

This lesser-known Sonny Clark session (his only studio album not made for Blue Note) is sometimes issued under drummer Max Roach's name, too. They are joined by bassist George Duvivier for a set of generally obscure Clark originals including "Minor Meeting," "Blues Mambo," and "My Conception" (which is taken as an unaccompanied piano solo). Although not obvious while listening to his recording, Clark's life was in decline and this would be his penultimate date as a leader.




Monday, August 27, 2018

Ahmad Jamal - Jazz Piano


Ahmad Jamal (born Frederick Russell Jones, July 2, 1930) is an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader, and educator. For five decades, he has been one of the most successful small-group leaders in jazz. Trained in both traditional jazz ("American classical music", as he prefers to call it) and European classical style, Ahmad Jamal has been praised as one of the greatest jazz innovators over his exceptionally long career. Following bebop greats like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, Jamal entered the world of jazz at a time when speed and virtuosic improvisation were central to the success of jazz musicians as artists. Jamal, however, took steps in the direction of a new movement, later coined "cool jazz" – an effort to move jazz in the direction of popular music. He emphasized space and time in his musical compositions and interpretations instead of focusing on the blinding speed of bebop.








Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Duke Ellington - Jazz Piano


Recorded in 1971, The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse reads in many ways like a follow up to the 1967 epic Far East Suite. Compelling, cosmopolitan, and organic, this music comes from Ellington's sifting of travel experiences, and it sounds as if he is using his impressions of places and people rather than appropriations of "authentic" scales and rhythms. "Chinoiserie" is boisterous and fun, with long-tone horn peals forming the melodic cornerstone. Tenorman Harold Ashby takes his place blowing pure swing. "Afrique" is a percussion-based piece, with a liberal layering of the horn players' entrances creating strains that are at first incongruous, then tie briefly together toward the middle of the affair. Preceded by the more even-tempered melodic and rhythmic structures of "Acht" and "Gong," "Tang" takes the picture to the outer limits again with strident opening horn blasts that yield to staccato call-and-responses that chill to the bone. All in all, a textured, cross-cultural treat for the ears.



Friday, April 6, 2018

Bob James & Nathan East - Cool Jazz (Piano)


After 25 years of collaboration, Bob James and Nathan East are set to release their debut duo album The New Cool in September on Yamaha Entertainment Group. The New Cool marks new territory for legendary jazz pianist Bob James and bassist Nathan East, who’ve spent decades playing together in contemporary jazz quartet Fourplay but never before as an official duo. “The more I played with Nathan over the course of many live performances and spanning more than 20 years, the more in sync we were whether or not we had the anchor of the drums,” says James. “Something special happens when we only have each other’s notes to play off of, when the music is totally exposed.” Recorded entirely in Nashville, Tennessee, the album is a collection of original material contributed by both James and East, along with a small selection of standards. The duo’s musicianship is laid bare in a soulful reimagining of Irving Berlin’s “How Deep is the Ocean,” while the pair is joined by strings and woodwinds for a surprising take on Willie Nelson’s classic country hit “Crazy.” A two-time Grammy Award-winning jazz pianist, arranger, and producer, Bob James is recognized as one of the original founders of smooth jazz. Long revered in the hip-hop community, James’ compositions are among the most sampled songs in history. Nathan East was 16 years old when he went on the road with Barry White and has spent the last four decades playing with a who’s who of performers, including Quincy Jones, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Michael Jackson, Phil Collins, Whitney Houston, Beyoncé, Barbra Streisand, and Stevie Wonder. East performed on the 2014 Grammy Record of The Year, Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky.” The New Cool is produced by Chris Gero, Bob James, and Nathan East. It comes on the heels of East’s Grammy-nominated solo debut, Nathan East, also released on Yamaha Entertainment Group.







Thursday, February 15, 2018

Ketil Bjørnstad - Classic Piano Jazz (Norway)

Ketil Bjørnstad (born 25 April 1952 in Oslo, Norway) is a pianist, composer and author. Initially trained as a classical pianist, Bjørnstad discovered jazz at an early age and has embraced the emergence of "European jazz". He is an artist on the ECM record label, but has also published some twenty books, including novels, poetry, and essay collections. He has collaborated with other ECM artists, including cellists Svante Henryson and David Darling, drummer Jon Christensen, and guitarist Terje Rypdal.



Personnel:
- Ketil Bjørnstad - piano, electric piano, organ
- Jon Eberson - electric guitar
- Arild Andersen - bass
- Jon Christensen - drums
- Svein Erik Børja - producer

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Bill Evans - Piano Jazz


William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who mostly worked in a trio setting. Evans' use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block chords, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines continue to influence jazz pianists today.

Born in Plainfield, New Jersey, in 1929, he was classically trained, and studied at Southeastern Louisiana University and the Mannes School of Music, where he majored in composition and received the Artist Diploma. In 1955, he moved to New York City, where he worked with bandleader and theorist George Russell. In 1958, Evans joined Miles Davis's sextet, where he was to have a profound influence. In 1959, the band, then immersed in modal jazz, recorded Kind of Blue, the best-selling jazz album of all time. During that time, Evans was also playing with Chet Baker for the album Chet.

In late 1959, Evans left the Miles Davis band and began his career as a leader, with bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian, a group now regarded as a seminal modern jazz trio. In 1961, ten days after recording the highly acclaimed Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby albums, LaFaro died in a car accident. After months of seclusion, Evans re-emerged with a new trio, featuring bassist Chuck Israels.

In 1963, Evans recorded Conversations with Myself, an innovative solo album using the unconventional (in jazz solo recordings) technique of overdubbing over himself. In 1966, he met bassist Eddie Gómez, with whom he would work for eleven years. Many successful albums followed, in trio, duo, and solo settings, such as Bill Evans at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Alone, and The Bill Evans Album, among others.

Many of Evans's compositions, such as "Waltz for Debby", have become standards and have been played and recorded by many artists. Evans was honored with 31 Grammy nominations and seven awards and was inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame.