Sunday, February 21, 2010

2

Wild Man Blues - Henry Red Allen (Video)



Note From Dada!

Ψάχνοντας για κάποιο video σχετικά με τον Pee Wee Russell κατέληξα σ' αυτό, στο οποίο ενώ ο Russell δεν είναι "κύριος πρωταγωνιστής", απότυπώνεται όμως περίφημα ο εξαιρετικός του ήχος. Ιδού λοιπόν ένα βίντεο από τις αρχές του '50 με την μπάντα του τρομπετίστα Henry Red Allen σε μεγάλα κέφια! Ήταν εξαιρετικά συνηθισμένο στις swing jazz μπάντες εκείνης της εποχής, το όνομα της μπάντας να αποτελείται κυρίως από το ονοματεπώνυμο του leader μουσικού και κατόπιν να συμπληρώνεται από το κλασικό "...and His All Stars". Στη συγκεκριμένη περίπτωση όμως μόνο για κοινοτυπία δεν πρόκειται καθώς την μπάντα απαρτίζουν μουσικοί όπως:

Coleman Hawkins
(Σαξόφωνο)
Rex Stewart (Κορνέτα)
Jo Jones (Τύμπανα)
Milt Hinton (Μπάσο)
Danny Barker (Μπαντζο)
Vic Dickenson (Τρομπόνι)
και φυσικά ο Pee Wee Russell στο κλαρινέτο (με ένα εξαιρετικό σόλο).

Καλή Ακρόαση!
Radiodada
8

Weary Blues - Pee Wee Russell (Quadromania)


















Rating:
5/10 
Sound Quality: 320 kb/s
Format: Mp3
Record Label: Membran
Year Released: 2005
Album Covers: Included
Pass: radiodada

Note From Dada!

Μια χορταστική συλλογή (τεσσάρων Cd) με πρωταγωνιστή τον δεξιοτέχνη του κλαρινέτου Pee Wee Russell. 68 κομμάτια της swing jazz era (κυριώς), μιας μουσικής διαδρομής που έχει αφετηρία το 1933 και καταλήγει το 1968. Εξαιρετικές ερμηνείες σε κλασικά swing κομμάτια όπως "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out", "That's A Plenty", "Sweet Lorraine", "Fidgety Feet" κ.α.

About Pee Wee Russell
Charles Ellsworth Russell, much better known by his nickname Pee Wee Russell, (27 March 1906 – 15 February 1969) was a jazz musician. Early in his career he played clarinet and saxophones, but eventually focused solely on clarinet. In the words of Philip Larkin, "No one familiar with the characteristic excitement of his solos, their lurid, snuffling, asthmatic voicelessness, notes leant on till they split, and sudden passionate intensities, could deny the uniqueness of his contribution to jazz.

Pee Wee Russell was born in Maplewood, Missouri and grew up in Muskogee, Oklahoma. As a child, he first studied violin, but 'couldn't get along with it', then piano, disliking the scales and chord exercises, and then drums – including all the associated special effects. Then his father sneaked young Ellsworth into a dance at the local Elks Club to a four- or five-piece band led by New Orleans jazz clarinetist Alcide "Yellow" Nunez. Russell was amazed by Nunez's improvisations: "[He] played the melody, then got hot and played jazz. That was something. How did he know where he was or where he was going?" Pee Wee now decided that his primary instrument would be the clarinet, and the type of music he would play would be jazz. He approached the clarinettist in the pit band at the local theatre for lessons, and bought an Albert-system instrument. His teacher was named Charlie Merrill, and used to pop out for shots of corn whiskey during lessons.

His family moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1920, and in that September Pee Wee was enrolled in the Western Military Academy in Alton, Illinois. He remained enrolled there until October the following year, though he spent most of his time playing clarinet with various dance and jazz bands. He began touring professionally in 1922, and travelled widely with tent shows and on river boats. Russell's recording debut was in 1924 with Herb Berger's Band in St. Louis, then he moved to Chicago where he began playing with such notables as Frankie Trumbauer and Bix Beiderbecke.

From his earliest career, Russell's style was distinctive. The notes he played were somewhat unorthodox when compared to his contemporaries, and he was sometimes accused of playing out of tune. He told Whitney Balliett:

You take each solo like it was the last one you were going to play in your life. What notes to hit and when to hit them – that’s the secret. You can make a particular phrase with just one note. Maybe at the end, maybe at the beginning … Sometimes I jump the right chord and use what seems wrong to the next guy but I know is right for me.

Though often labelled a Dixieland musician by virtue of the company he kept, he tended to reject any label.

In 1926 he joined Jean Goldkette's band, and the following year he left for New York City to join Red Nichols. While with Nichols's band, Russell did frequent freelance recording studio work, on clarinet, soprano, alto and tenor sax, and bass clarinet. He worked with various bandleaders (including Louis Prima) before beginning a series of residences at the famous jazz club "Nick's" in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, in 1937.

He played with Bobby Hackett's big band, and began playing with Eddie Condon, with whom he would continue to work, off and on, for much of the rest of his life – though he complained, "Those guys [at Nick's and Condon's] made a joke, of me, a clown, and I let myself be treated that way because I was afraid. I didn't know where else to go, where to take refuge"

From the 1940s on, Russell's health was often poor, exacerbated by alcoholism – "I lived on brandy milkshakes and scrambled-egg sandwiches. And on whiskey … I had to drink half a pint of whiskey in the morning before I could get out of bed" – which led to a major medical breakdown in 1951, and he had periods when he could not play. Some people considered that his style was different after his breakdown: Larkin characterized it as "a hollow feathery tone framing phrases of an almost Chineses introspection with a tendency to inconclusive garrulity that would have been unheard of in the days when Pee Wee could pack more into a middle eight than any other thirties pick-up player'.

He played with Art Hodes, Muggsy Spanier and occasionally bands under his own name in addition to Condon.

In his last decade, Russell often played at jazz festivals and international tours organized by George Wein, including an appearance with Thelonious Monk at the 1963 Newport Festival, a meeting which has a mixed reputation (currently available as part of the Monk 2CD set Live at Newport 1963–65). Russell formed a quartet with valve trombone player Marshall Brown, and included John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman tunes in his repertoire.

Russell's unique, and sometimes derided approach was praised as ahead of its time, and cited by some as an early example of free jazz. Coleman Hawkins, who considered Russell to be color-blind, at the time of the 1961 Jazz Reunion ( Candid) record date – they had originally recorded together in 1929 – dismissed any idea that Russell was now playing modern, saying that he had always played that way.

By this time, encouraged by Mary, his wife, Russell had taken up painting abstract art as a hobby. Mary's death in the spring of 1967 had a severe effect on him.

His last gig was with Wein at the inaugural ball for President Richard Nixon on 21 January 1969. Russell died in a hospital in Alexandria, Virginia, less than three weeks later.

The greatly imaginative improvisations of Russell when at his best remain an inspiration to later jazz clarinetists.

In 1987, Pee Wee Russell was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

2

Studio One - Djs Vol.2


















Rating: 3.5/10 
Sound Quality: 320 kb/s
Format: Mp3
Record Label: Soul Jazz Records
Year Released: 2006
Album Covers: Included
Pass: radiodada
Links: rapidshare

Note From Dada!
Ώτα μου, κατά καιρούς, όπως άλλωστε έχω αναφέρει και στο παρελθόν, σ' αυτό το blog δεν αναρτώ μόνο εκείνα τα δισκάκια στα οποία βρίσκω τους μουσικούς (και όχι μόνο) "λόγους", για να γίνουν και αντίστοιχες αναρτήσεις. Ποστάρω και κάποιους (ελάχιστους) δίσκους, οι οποίοι "βρέθηκαν" στα χέρια μου και δεν ικανοποιούν αλλά ούτε εκφράζουν (απόλυτα) τα γούστα μου, θεωρώντας ότι κάποιοι "ασύρματοι ακροατές" αυτού του blog σίγουρα θα εκτιμούσαν. Ένα τέτοιο δισκάκι είναι και το συγκεκριμένο της Soul Jazz Records. Ελπίζω λοιπόν...να πιάσει τόπο. Ν' Joy.

Friday, February 12, 2010

2

Rituals - Nicola Conte


















Rating: 6.5/10 
Sound Quality: 320 kb/s
Format: Mp3
Record Label: Schema Records
Year Released: 2008
Album Covers: Included
Pass: radiodada
Links: rapidshare (Disc), rapidshare (Album Covers)

Note From Dada!
Ώτα μου μιας και ο Conte βρίσκεται ανάμεσα στις συχνότερες επισκέψεις ή αναζητήσεις σας σε τούτο το blog, όπως έχει φανεί άλλωστε κι από τα στατιστικά στοιχεία (ή γνωστότερα ως roufianalytics), σας ποστάρω την τελευταία και εξαιρετική δισκογραφική του δουλειά (κυκλοφορία 2008) με τον τίτλο "Rituals". Δίσκος που αποτελείται 11 συνθέσεις του ίδιου, "ντυμένες" με τον γνώριμο acid jazz / new jazz ήχο του Conte, καθώς και δύο διασκευές: του πασίγνωστου "Caravan" (D. Ellington, J. Tizol) και του "Macedonia" (Dusko Goykovich). Διασκευές οι οποίες ενώ είναι τουλάχιστον αξιοπρεπείς, σίγουρα όμως δεν είναι αυτές που κερδίζουν τον ακροατή αυτού του δίσκου. Κομμάτια όπως το εξαιρετικό "Black Is The Graceful Veil" με την πανέμορφη ερμηνεία της Kim Sanders, το "Karma Flowers" με την Chiara Civello" ή ακόμα τα "Like Leaves In The Wind" & "The Nubian Queens" με τη ξεχωριστή φωνή του Jose James, δείχνουν για μία ακόμα φορά ότι ο Conte καταθέτει αξιόλογα δείγματα γραφής και εμπνεύσεως.

Καλή ακρόαση!
Radiodada

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About Nicola Conte
Nicola Conte is an Italian DJ, producer and guitar player known for introducing an innovative style of acid jazz that incorporates bossa nova themes, melodies drawn from Italian film scores of the 1960s, easy listening themes, and ethnic Indian music.
Conte, a classically-trained musician, is mastermind of a collective of acid jazz revivalists, "The Fez Collective," based in the Italian town of Bari, and the Schema label, their record label for promoting their distinctly Italian approach to acid jazz.

Conte's first album was Jet Sounds of 2000. The single "Bossa Per Due" gained international recognition and was an underground hit. It was used almost immediately for a prime-time commercial for Acura automobiles. The album was licensed for American distribution by Thievery Corporation's Eighteenth Street Lounge (ESL) label in the summer of 2001 as Bossa Per Due, and was slightly reconfigured version of the Italian Jet Sounds album. This was followed by the Jet Sounds Revisited remix album in late 2002. Two years later, Blue Note's French subsidiary released Conte's next album Other Directions. In November 2008, Conte released his latest album, Rituals.

Conte also produced albums by other artists such as Rosalia De Souza and Paolo Achenza Trio

Saturday, February 6, 2010

0

With Respect To Nat - Oscar Peterson Trio & Nat King Cole


















Rating: 5.5/10 
Sound Quality: 320 kb/s
Format: Mp3
Record Label: Verve Records
Year Released: 1965
Album Covers: Included
Pass: radiodada
Links: rapidshare

Note From Dada!
Ώτα μου, μιας και ο χειμώνας ακόμα καλά κρατεί (...σε κάποια μέρη έστω και ημερολογιακά...), αναρτώ μια "μουσική θερμοφόρα", φτιαγμένη από τη συνεύρεση δύο κορυφαίων μουσικών: του Oscar Peterson και του Nat King Cole. Με κύριο πυρήνα το κλασσικό trio του Oscar Peterson (με τον ίδιο φυσικά στο πιάνο), Herb Ellis (Κιθάρα) και Ray Brown (Κοντραμπάσο) αλλά και με μία Βig Βand μέσα στην οποία συμμετέχουν μουσικοί όπως ο Phil Woods, ο Hank Jones κ.α. η φωνή του Nat King Cole ζωγραφίζει πάνω σε αυτόν το εξαιρετικό "ενορχηστρωτικό καμβά" σε θέματα όπως τα: "Sweet Lorraine", "Unforgettable", "Calypso Blues" κ.α.

Έχοντας μια ιδιαίτερη αδυναμία στην εκτέλεση του Nat King Cole για το κλασσικό "Sweet Lorraine" , των Cliff Burwell (Μουσική) and Mitchell Parish (Στίχοι) και πιστεύοντας ότι το συγκεκριμένο τραγούδι είναι άρρηκτα συνδεδεμένο  με την δική του ερμηνεία (αν και πολύ μεταγενέστερη - νομίζω πρώτη εκτέλεση το 1928 από τον Rudy Vallee), ποστάρω το αντίστοιχο videaki, στο οποίο εκτός από τον Nat King Cole και το Trio του Oscar Peterson εμφανίζεται και ο εξαιρετικός Coleman Hawkins στο σαξόφωνο.

Καλή Ακρόαση!
Radiodada


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Sweet Lorraine - Nat King Cole, Oscar Peterson Trio & Coleman Hawkins



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About Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat "King" Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres. He was one of the first black Americans to host a television variety show, and has maintained worldwide popularity since his death; he is widely considered one of the most important musical personalities in United States history.

About Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson, CC, CQ, O.Ont. (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends, and was a member of jazz royalty. He released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards and honours over the course of his career. He is considered to have been one of the greatest pianists of all time, who played thousands of live concerts to audiences worldwide in a career lasting more than 65 years.

Monday, February 1, 2010

6

Africa Boogaloo - The Latinization Of West Africa

 

















Rating: 8.5/10  
Sound Quality: Lossless/320 kb/s
Format: Flac/Mp3
Record Label: Honest Jons Records
Year Released: 2009
Album Covers: Included
Pass: radiodada
Links: Click Here -->

Note From Dada!
Ώτα μου καλησπέρα και καλό μήνα!
Επιστρέφω ποστάροντας μια πραγματικά εξαιρετική συλλογή, την οποία συνιστώ ανεπιφύλακτα και που ενώ προσφάτως βρέθηκε στα χέρια μου, καταχωρήθηκε κατευθείαν στα αγαπημένα μου δισκάκια. Δεκατρία τραγούδια από τη "λατινόπληκτη" μουσική περίοδο της Αφρικής του '60 και των αρχών του '70. Με κύρια "απόχρωση" την κουβανέζικη μουσική και λιγότερο την "κλασσική" latin του εξήντα (δεν νομίζω ότι ο τίτλος "Africa Boogaloo" αντανακλά πλήρως το περιεχόμενο του Cd) πρόκειται για μια συλλογή που προσωπικά "εύκολα" θα την αποκαλούσα ως την αντίστοιχη "Buena Vista Social Club "συλλογή της Αφρικής. Για όσους η επαφή τους με το συγκεκριμένο είδος περιορίζεται μόνο στο άκουσμα των θρυλικών "Orchestra Baobab" , αυτό το δισκάκι είναι μια εξαιρετική καταγραφή αντίστοιχων Afro-Cuban και Afro-Latin σχημάτων και μουσικών όπως οι εξαιρετικοί: "Orchestre Ok Jazz", "T. P. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo", "Orchestre Yaya Mas", "Orchestre Baobab" (φυσικά!) και ναι! ναι! Manu DiBango στα νιάτα του!

Αυτιά για την ώρα.
Καλή Ακρόαση!
Radiodada