John Coltrane -[|]- A LOVE SUPREME [IMPULSE]

Tags

African American, Jazz, John Coltrane

John Coltrane - A LOVE SUPREME

John Coltrane -[|]- A LOVE SUPREME -(MP3)- [IMPULSE, 1964]

John Coltrane, one of the true masters of jazz, affected every corner of the jazz world when he released this album. The sheer power and beauty of the music breathed new life into jazz and streched the imaginations of many. To this day, A Love Supreme is an album that can be an inspiration to all people around the globe. His music is so extraordinarily powerful – it can make one laugh, cry, get angry, beam in utter rapture, and love and fear God.

To me, on this album John Coltrane not only grabs at every human emotion, but manages to become that emotion. That’s what the album really is – it is raw human emotion, pulsating out of every drum beat, every bass hit, every chord, and every saxophone note. When John Coltrane created this album with his quartet, it almost sounds as if he were possessed by God and became everything the human soul embodies.

While some may claim that the album isn’t good for relaxing after work or on a Sunday afternoon, I would say that exacly the opposite is true. Every time I listen to that album, I am put in a trance, a state so indescribably euphoric that I could exist like that forever.

But alas, the album is only 45 minutes long…

..:: SOURCE: Amazon.com ::..

Dee Dee Bridgewater -[|]- MIDNIGHT SUN [Emarcy / Pgd]

Tags

Dee Dee Bridgewater, Female Vocalist, Jazz

Dee Dee Bridgewater - MIDNIGHT SUN

Dee Dee Bridgewater -[|]- MIDNIGHT SUN – [Emarcy / Pgd, 2011]

MIDNIGHT SUN, a collection of love songs from throughout Grammy and Tony Award-winning artist Dee Dee Bridgewater’s critically acclaimed career, is set for release on DDB Records/Emarcy (Universal) on August 23rd. A love letter of sorts, Midnight Sun, produced by Tulani Bridgewater-Kowalski, is the ultimate mixed tape, traversing landscapes of melodically mournful tales of love lost, heartrending ballads about forever afters and sultry promises of bliss. Midnight Sun is the fourth release on Bridgewater’s own label, DDB Records.

Ever the fearless voyager, explorer, pioneer and keeper of tradition, the three-time Grammy-winner (who just won a 2011 Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album for Eleanora Fagan (1915-1959): To Billie With Love From Dee Dee) with producer/manager Tulani Bridgwater-Kowalski (daughter) selected and oversaw re-mastering (by Doug Sax and Sangwook “Sunny” Nam of The Mastering Lab, Ojai) of the eleven tracks on Midnight Sun, which were culled from her Grammy-winning and nominated CDs Dear Ella, Keeping Tradition, This Is New, J’ai Deux Amours, Love & Peace: A Tribute To Horace Silver and Eleanora Fagan. Including such classics as Kurt Weill’s “Speak Low,” Sammy Cahn’s “I’m A Fool To Want You/I Fall In Love Too Easily,” Johnny Mercer’s “Midnight Sun,” Alan Jay Lerner’s “Here I’ll Stay,” Charles Trenet’s “Que Reste-t-Il?” and Billie Holiday’s “Good Morning Heartache” and interpreting them as only she can, Bridgewater has created a song cycle that traces the arc of a love affair in all its natural stages. Also included on the CD is “L’Hymne à l’Amour,” previously released exclusively as a bonus track in Japan.

..:: SOURCE: Amazon.com ::..

Joe Lovano -[|]- RUSH HOUR [BLUE NOTE]

Tags

Jazz, Joe Lovano, Saxophone

Joe Lovano - RUSH HOUR

Joe Lovano -[|]- RUSH HOUR -(MP3)- [BLUE NOTE, 1995]

There is a great deal of variety on this album, with tunes from Monk, Mingus, Ellington, Coleman and a few standards and originals by Gunther Schuller and Lovano. The settings range from lush scoring for band and strings to Lovano alone. Gunther Schuller’s “Rush Hour” is for me the highlight of this set- it’s a frantic, 12-tone bop line with some fairly free solos. Also outstanding is the arrangement of Monk’s “Crepuscule With Nellie” which manages to capture something of Monk’s original quirkiness while still sounding new. This album has a lot to offer, and while some of the tracks are more accessible than others, all are worth repeated listenings.

..:: SOURCE: Amazon.com ::..