Search Results for "Bill Evans"

Robert Glasper, Miles Davis – Everything’s Beautiful (2016) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · July 30, 2023 · Comments off

Robert Glasper, Miles Davis - Everything's Beautiful (2016) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz] Download

Everything’s Beautiful brings Miles Davis’ sound into the 21st century, blending a diverse group of master takes and outtakes from across Miles’ incredible tenure with Columbia Records (1955-1985) with original reinterpretations. Robert Glasper produced the collaboration. “I didn’t want to do just a remix record,” Glasper noted when discussing the 11-song set. “My idea was to show how Miles inspired people to make new art”. Knowing that “Miles didn’t have one audience,” Glasper recruited a legion of diverse guest artists to add to the magic of the project including familiar collaborators like R&B musicians Erykah Badu, Ledisi, Bilal and KING. They are joined by British soul singer-songwriter Laura Mvula; hip-hop producer Rashad Smith; Grammy-nominated Australian neo-soul quartet Hiatus Kaiyote, rapper/producer Illa J; jazz guitarist John Scofield, who collaborated with Davis; and the legendary Stevie Wonder.
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Robert Glasper – Covered (The Robert Glasper Trio Recorded Live At Capitol Studios) (2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · July 30, 2023 · Comments off

Robert Glasper - Covered (The Robert Glasper Trio Recorded Live At Capitol Studios) (2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz] Download

Four months after winning his second Grammy Award in the R&B category for Black Radio 2, pianist Robert Glasper re-assembles the acoustic jazz trio that played on his first two Blue Note recordings. Bassist Vicente Archer and drummer Damion Reid assist the pianist in a live audience recording from Capitol’s famed Studio A. Covered is far from a return to an acoustic piano trio for Glasper. Instead, it’s an acoustic approach to the directions he employed on his early Blue Note dates, and the R&B and hip-hop engagements on Black Radio. With the redo of “I Don’t Even Care,” Black Radio 2 commences with a nearly elliptical air, but Reid’s skittering snare creates a dance rhythm while Archer’s bassline plays the changes and tastefully fills Glasper’s ever widening melodic circle. With post-bop flourishes, he nonetheless remains close to the harmonic center, uncovering its richness in the process. The rhythm section’s intro to Radiohead’s “Reckoner” is lithe and almost funky before Glasper uses the melody’s limited palette as a circular, restrained, yet emotionally moving exploration of its possibilities. The album’s centerpiece is the 13-minute “In Case You Forgot.” It begins with a knotty, angular solo piano intro (check “Silly Rabbit” from 2007’s In My Element), with single-note syncopations and mid-register arpeggios cascading around a four-note bassline with classical embellishments. When the rhythm section enters, they weave jazz standards and modern pop songs together — from Freddie Hubbard’s “Up Jumped Spring” and Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” to Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” among others — with sharp, sudden cuts from Glasper before they all climb headlong into their own sprint. Scattered throughout the set is Glasper’s sincere but wry dialogue with his audience. A considerable strength from the trio is their ability to translate the appeal of neo-soul ballads such as Musiq (Soulchild)’s “So Beautiful,” Jhené Aiko’s “The Worst,” and Bilal’s “Levels” as jazz, even equating them with standards. An example is “Stella by Starlight,” whose canny arrangement simultaneously celebrates, decodes, and cracks open Bill Evans’ lyricism atop triple-timed brushed snare — think drum’n’bass — and a bumping bassline. Harry Belafonte delivers an earnest, grainy, proud and poignant spoken word appearance on “Got Over.” Set closer “I’m Dying of Thirst” offers a shadowy melody to a Latin-tinged tom-tom and bass groove as a children’s chorus recites the names of African-Americans shot by police; it results in a statement of dignity and self-determination. Glasper’s piano alternates between contemplative vamp and haunting elegy before it whispers to a finish. Covered may be a return to the acoustic piano trio, but cedes none of the ground gained by the Black Radio albums. This is Glasper refusing to be reined in by any format or artistic desire but his own. This set is welcoming, open, and warm: it invites fans of all of his musical pursuits along for the ride.
– Thom Jurek
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Kurt Rosenwinkel – Undercover (2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · July 28, 2023 · Comments off

Legendary guitarist and composer Kurt Rosenwinkel’s latest quartet with visionary jazz musicians Aaron Parks (Piano & Fender Rhodes), Eric Revis (Acoustic Bass) and Greg Hutchinson (Drums). The group’s exhilarating recording Undercover: Live At The Village Vanguard is a selection of seven of Rosenwinkel’s original compositions, captured over three nights of their week-long run at the historic Village Vanguard, the legendary New York jazz club that has been host to the defining artists in jazz, including Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson, and countless others. Undercover: Live At The Village Vanguard captures the joyous, visceral energy of Rosenwinkel’s masterful quartet, and easily finds its place in the continuum of historic recordings made there.

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Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis – Goin’ To The Meeting (High Definition Remaster 2023) (1962/2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · July 27, 2023 · Comments off

Goin’ to the Meeting is an album by saxophonist Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis recorded in 1962 for the Prestige label.

The Allmusic review states, “Goin’ to the Meetin showcases Horace Parlan in a way even his Blue Note records didn’t. While Davis appears to be the leader because of his beat generation bluesed-out swing in the solos and brief melodic statements, it’s Parlan, on the title track, “Pass the Hat,” and “Night and Day,” who carries the tunes and turns them into a very sophisticated and subtle kind of jazz that allows for both the simplicity of a raw-toned, grooved-out blues statement and simultaneously created the space for a harmonic improvisation that employed counterpoint and intervallic architecture for the rhythm section. Parlan’s own soloing is nothing less than soulful, but it is considerably more than soul he’s playing. Moreover, Parlan is laying down the sophistication evidenced in the post-bop and modal playing of both Bill Evans and Horace Silver”.

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Nicolas Masson, Roberto Pianca, Emanuele Maniscalco – Third Reel (2013) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · July 25, 2023 · Comments off

A collaborative group brimming with creative potential, Third Reel packs much musical information into the sixteen vividly expressive tracks of its debut album. Trio members Nicolas Masson, Roberto Pianca and Emanuele Maniscalco are committed improvisers and gifted writers, each with a distinct compositional signature. The contrasts, and a shared sensitivity for space, shape the group’s sonic identity. Each member of this Swiss-Italian trio is a bandleader is his own right but the cooperative Third Reel is a priority for all of them. Conceived as a trio without bass from the outset – “it means more responsibility for each player, as well as more risk-taking” – Third Reel went through various drummers until Pianca brought along Emanuele Maniscalco in 2010 (drummer and guitarist had previously collaborated in the band Food Chain). Third Reel celebrates the release of its album with concerts in Brescia (March 20), Geneva (March 21), Lugano (March 22) and Biasca (March 23). An extended European tour is in preparation for October and November.

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Novi Singers – Novi in Wonderland (1968/2016) [Official Digital Download 24bit/88,2kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · July 15, 2023 · Comments off

With their absolute technical perfection and their musical approach, the vocal jazz ensemble Novi Singers were at the time often compared to Lambert-Ross-Hendricks or Les Double Six. The story of the Novi Singers begins in 1964 when Bernard Kawka, a student at the Warsaw Music Conservatory, decides to found his own jazz group with other students, choosing the voice as an ideal instrument.

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Nathaniel Bartlett – Precipice: Modern Marimba (2006) MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

SACD / DSD By admin · July 12, 2023 · Comments off

The orchestral marimba is one of the most expressive instruments in the percussion battery, and enterprising performers such as Nathaniel Bartlett have the goal of expanding its repertoire by commissioning new pieces and arrangements of works originally written for other instruments. Bartlett has a special interest in creating multidimensional sound environments using computers and other electronics, and two of these pieces commissioned by Bartlett employ electronics. In purely musical terms, both Allan Schindler’s Precipice and Greg Wilder’s Interlude are attractive additions to the repertoire of music for marimba and electronics. Schindler’s work in particular creates a vivid and mysterious soundscape that seamlessly integrates the acoustic and electronic worlds.

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Miles Davis – MILES DAVIS INTEGRAL 1957 – 1962 (2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · July 11, 2023 · Comments off

A monumental innovator, icon, and maverick, trumpeter Miles Davis helped define the course of jazz as well as popular culture in the 20th century, bridging the gap between bebop, modal music, funk, and fusion. Throughout most of his 50-year career, Davis played the trumpet in a lyrical, introspective style, often employing a stemless Harmon mute to make his sound more personal and intimate. It was a style that, along with his brooding stage persona, earned him the nickname “Prince of Darkness.” However, Davis proved to be a dazzlingly protean artist, moving into fiery modal jazz in the ’60s and electrified funk and fusion in the ’70s, drenching his trumpet in wah-wah pedal effects along the way. More than any other figure in jazz, Davis helped establish the direction of the genre with a steady stream of boundary-pushing recordings, among them 1957’s chamber jazz album Birth of the Cool (which collected recordings from 1949-1950), 1959’s modal masterpiece Kind of Blue, 1960’s orchestral album Sketches of Spain, and 1970’s landmark fusion recording Bitches Brew. Davis’ own playing was obviously at the forefront of those changes, but he also distinguished himself as a bandleader, regularly surrounding himself with sidemen and collaborators who likewise moved in new directions, including the luminaries John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, and many more. While he remains one of the most referenced figures in jazz, a major touchstone for generations of trumpeters (including Wynton Marsalis, Chris Botti, and Nicholas Payton), his music reaches far beyond the jazz tradition, and can be heard in the genre-bending approach of performers across the musical spectrum, ranging from funk and pop to rock, electronica, hip-hop, and more.

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Michel Legrand – Legrand Jazz (1958/2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · July 9, 2023 · Comments off

Michel Legrand - Legrand Jazz (1958/2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz] Download

Decca Records France presents this wonderful high-resolution digital transfer of Michel Legrand’s 1958 album, Legrand Jazz. French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and jazz pianist Michel Legrand was a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to many songs. His scores for two of the films of French New Wave director Jacques Demy, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) and The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967), earned Legrand his first Academy Award nominations. Legrand won his first Oscar for the song “The Windmills of Your Mind” from The Thomas Crown Affair (1968).
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Michel Legrand – Bravissimo (2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · July 9, 2023 · Comments off

Michel Legrand - Bravissimo (2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz] Download

One of the most acclaimed film composers of his generation, Michel Legrand was also a sophisticated jazz pianist and songwriter whose lyrical sound evoked the romance, style, and cool élan of Paris. A classical piano prodigy, Legrand emerged in the 1950s with a series of successful mood albums that led to his landmark 1958 recording Legrand Jazz with Miles Davis, Ben Webster, Bill Evans, and others. He quickly moved into film composing, his swinging arrangements helping to define the sound of the French New Wave on films like Jean-Luc Godard’s My Life to Live and Agnes Varda’s Cleo from 5 to 7. He also enjoyed a long creative partnership with director Jacques Demy that started with his innovative musical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. Embraced by Hollywood, Legrand collaborated regularly with songwriters Marilyn & Alan Bergman, winning Academy Awards for their work on such iconic films as 1968’s The Thomas Crown Affair and 1983’s Yentl. Along with his storied soundtracks, Legrand continued to record his own albums, like his 1968 trio album At Shelly’s Manne-Hole, as well as larger productions with artists like Sarah Vaughan, Stan Getz, Stephane Grappelli, and Natalie Dessay, among others. In 2017, he returned to his classical roots with Michel Legrand: Concerto pour piano; Concerto pour violoncelle, and in 2018 he scored director Peter Bogdanovich’s completed version of Orson Welles’ film The Other Side of the Wind. It was his last major work; he died in early 2019 after being hospitalized with a pulmonary infection.
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Majamisty Trio – WIND ROSE (2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · July 9, 2023 · Comments off

Majamisty Trio - WIND ROSE (2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz] Download

Hot on the heels of their internationally acclaimed 2020 release Organic, standout Serbian pianist Maja Alvanovic and her trio present their fourth studio album, Wind Rose, this April 7th. A further exploration into the interactive, contemplative and dynamic style they’ve come to be known for, Wind Rose balances the comforting and familiar with the unconventional and surprising for a truly enchanting listen. Driven by lyrical melodies and delicate compositions which trace the jazz lineage from the likes of Bill Evans to Nordic icons E.S.T. the romantic piano stylings of Alvanovic are complemented by longtime bassist Ervin Malina and rising star drummer Lav Kovač, whose propulsive, fluid, and textural approaches to trio musicianship craft a refreshingly modern sound. Expanding the trio’s timbral palette are guest appearances from vocalist Aneta George and clarinettist Ulrich Drechsler, who transport the record to the realm of melancholic chamber music. The ensemble’s collective focus on musicianship is apparent even in its name; drawing parallels to the meteorological tool used to identify the point at which winds converge, Majamisty TriO’s Wind Rose is the point at which musicians of different origins and backgrounds collaborated to create something special.
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The Miles Davis Sextet, The Thelonious Monk Quartet – Miles & Monk at Newport (1964/2017) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · July 7, 2023 · Comments off

On the first side of the LP was a series of high tempo performances of bebop tunes and other staples of the Davis live repertoire from 1958. The performance was contemporaneous with Davis’ Milestones album. Aside from the 1973 release Jazz at the Plaza (also a 1958 concert) during the LP era, this was the only legitimate (non-bootleg) recording of a live Davis combo performance earlier than the 1960 Blackhawk recordings. As such, this performance and Jazz at the Plaza were the only legitimate live recordings representing the Kind of Blue sextet. On the second side were a few numbers by Thelonious Monk’s combo, from a 1963 Newport appearance. It featured an idiosyncratic appearance by clarinetist Pee Wee Russell. The Miles set was recorded in mono and the Monk set was recorded in stereo, so the mono LP featured a fold-down of the Monk set and the stereo LP featured an electronically re-channeled for stereo remix of the Miles set.

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The Miles Davis Sextet, The Thelonious Monk Quartet – Miles & Monk at Newport (1964/2017) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · July 7, 2023 · Comments off

Miles & Monk at Newport was a combined album of a Miles Davis appearance at Newport with an appearance of Thelonious Monk, from the LP era. Despite the title, the two artists do not perform together on the LP, and they are represented on each side by separate live appearances at the Newport Jazz Festival.
On the first side of the LP was a series of high tempo performances of bebop tunes and other staples of the Davis live repertoire from 1958. The performance was contemporaneous with Davis’ Milestones album. Aside from the 1973 release Jazz at the Plaza (also a 1958 concert) during the LP era, this was the only legitimate (non-bootleg) recording of a live Davis combo performance earlier than the 1960 Blackhawk recordings. As such, this performance and Jazz at the Plaza were the only legitimate live recordings representing the Kind of Blue sextet. On the second side were a few numbers by Thelonious Monk’s combo, from a 1963 Newport appearance. It featured an idiosyncratic appearance by clarinetist Pee Wee Russell. The Miles set was recorded in mono and the Monk set was recorded in stereo, so the mono LP featured a fold-down of the Monk set and the stereo LP featured an electronically re-channeled for stereo remix of the Miles set.

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Miles Davis Quintet – The First Great Quintet (2021) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · July 7, 2023 · Comments off

In the summer of 1955, after Davis performed at the Newport Jazz Festival, he was approached by Columbia Records executive George Avakian, who offered him a contract if he could form a regular band. Davis assembled his first regular quintet to meet a commitment at the Café Bohemia in July with Sonny Rollins on tenor saxophone, Red Garland on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. By the autumn, Rollins had left to deal with his heroin addiction, and later in the year joined the hard bop quintet led by Clifford Brown and Max Roach.

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Miles Davis – Miles Ahead: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2016) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · July 7, 2023 · Comments off

The release of the movie MILES AHEAD, Don Cheadle’s wildly entertaining and moving exploration of Miles Davis, will be accompanied by this new soundtrack featuring musical highlights from Miles’ career and new recordings overseen by Grammy Award-winning jazz/hip-hop artist Robert Glasper.

This is a perfect primer on Davis’ career for the new fan and a brilliant audio keepsake of the film for those who’ve studied his works inside and out. The album features 11 tracks from across Miles’ catalogue from 1956 to 1981, select dialogue from the film featuring Cheadle in character, and five original compositions written, co-written, produced or performed exclusively for MILES AHEAD by Robert Glasper. These cues include “What’s Wrong with That?” a jam that closes the movie imagining Cheadle as Miles playing in the present day with guest performers Glasper, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Gary Clark, Jr. and Esperanza Spalding; plus “Gone 2015,” an end-credits song featuring guest verses from rapper Pharoahe Monch. Cheadle also pens new liner notes for the album discussing the selection and creation of the songs on the soundtrack.

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