Martin Taylor - 1996 - Years Apart

Year: 1996
Genre: Crossover Jazz
Codec: MP3 320kBpS 44.1kHz

Review by Ken Dryden

This 1996 Scottish release predates the CD Celebrating Grappelli (released under Stephane Grappelli's name shortly after his death on Dec. 1, 1997 but with Taylor, in fact, as the leader) by over a year, yet it overlaps considerably with that album. Several tracks that were dropped to make room for additional material with Grappelli are found on this disc: the easygoing ballad "Going Home Again," the Gypsy-flavored "Monti," and an additional vocal by Claire Martin on the well-crafted "Hi Lily, Hi Lo," a piece rarely heard in a jazz setting. Years Apart should be acquired instead of Celebrating Grappelli because most fans will already have the Grappelli-Taylor duets heard on the latter album, which were repeated from their earlier Linn CD, Reunion.

Tracks:
Selected Tracks:
01. Sweet Sue Just You [4:18]
02. Going Home Again [4:10]
03. Undecided [3:29]
04. Musette for a Magpie [4:18]
05. I can't give you anything but Love [4:54]
06. Czardas [2:45]
07. Hi lily, hi lo [4:33]
08. Dinah [4:37]
09. Years Apart [4:23]
10. The Gypsy [3:23]
11. Chicago [4:37]
12. Manoir de mes reves [4:06]

9 Albums by Bireli Lagrene

Bireli Lagrene Biography by Scott Yanow
When Bireli Lagrene first emerged in 1980 as a 13-year-old who sounded exactly like Django Reinhardt, he was considered a marvel.
Born (like Django Reinhardt) to a gypsy family, he had been playing guitar since he was four. After a few years and several
recordings, Lagrene purposely got away from the Reinhardt influence, playing high-powered rock-oriented fusion and recording with
Jaco Pastorius in 1986. He sounded more original but much less interesting during this period. The guitarist has since returned
to a quieter form of jazz, playing hard bop versions of standards with hints of his earlier interests in Reinhardt and fusion.
Bireli Lagrene has recorded for Antilles, Jazzpoint, Blue Note, and Dreyfus.

1986 Bireli Lagrene with Jaco Pastorius "Stuttgart Aria"
1990 Acoustic Moments
1992 Standards
1995 My Favorite Django
1999 Reisa
2000 Duet
2000 Front Page
2001 Gipsy Project
2002 Gipsy Project & Friends

Rodolphe Raffalli «Gypsy Swing Guitar»

Rodolphe Raffalli «Gypsy Swing Guitar»
Recording Date: Feb 21, 2003-Mar 7, 2003

1 Twelth Year (Reinhardt) 2:29
2 Alfonsina y el Mar (Luna, Ramirez) 4:23
3 Je Me Voyais Deja (Aznavour) 3:25
4 Les Oubliettes (Gainsbourg) 5:27
5 Roses de Picardie (Weatherly, Wood) 6:27
6 God Bless the Child (Herzog, Holiday) 4:52
7 Tu T'Laisses Aller (Aznavour) 3:19
8 Amarcord (Rota) 3:36
9 Vervena (Raffalli) 2:01
10 Sonny Boy (Henderson, Jolson) 2:20
11 Il Ne Faut Pas Briser un Reve (Jal) 6:08
12 Vous Etes Jolie (Trenet) 4:01
13 Nous Les Amoureux (Dantin, Vidalin) 5:39
14 Natacha (Raffalli) 3:41

One of the best ever acoustic guitar album in history of jazz. Rodolphe Raffalli, Christian Escoude, Florin Niculescu and company doing their best to make You feels like if You're in love :)

MP3 192 kbps
79.5 MB
http://rapidshare.com/files/1361610/swing_guitar.rar

Martin Taylor «Spirit of Django»

Martin Taylor «Spirit of Django»
recording date: Jun 27, 1994-Aug 1994

1 Chez Fernand (Taylor) 5:00
2 Minor Swing (Grappelli, Reinhardt) 5:31
3 Night and Day (Porter) 6:35
4 Nuages (Larue, Reinhardt) 4:42
5 James (Mays, Metheny) 4:57
6 Double Top (Taylor) 5:45
7 Django's Dream (Taylor) 5:13
8 Swing '42 (Reinhardt) 5:37
9 Oh, Lady Be Good (Gershwin, Gershwin) 5:11
10 Honeysuckle Rose (Razaf, Waller) 6:25
11 Johnny and Mary (Palmer) 5:04

Review by Alex Henderson

In the 1990s, jazz tribute albums could be incredibly predictable, with young tenor saxophonists paying tribute to John Coltrane by emulating his tone and playing his best-known songs exactly like he played them, or young trumpeters saluting Miles Davis by trying to sound like a carbon copy of him on yet another version of "So What" or "Solar." Spirit of Django is Martin Taylor's tribute to fellow guitarist Django Reinhardt, and thankfully, this is one tribute album that's interesting and unpredictable instead of cliche-ridden. Though Taylor's love of Reinhardt's legacy is evident throughout the album, the guitarist never sounds like an outright clone. His individuality comes through on Reinhardt pieces (including "Nuages" and "Minor Swing"), as well as Fats Waller's "Honeysuckle Rose" and the standards "Night and Day" and "Lady Be Good." To his credit, Taylor makes some unlikely choices. Pat Metheny's "James," for example, isn't something you'd expect to hear on a Reinhardt tribute, yet Taylor's interpretation fits in perfectly. This excellent CD is highly recommended to admirers of both Taylor and Reinhardt.

MP3 192 kbps
83.7 MB
http://rapidshare.com/files/1327358/Django.rar

Baden Powell «Tristeza on Guitar»

Baden Powell - 1966 - Tristeza on Guitar

Recording Date: Jun 1-2, 1966
Codec: MP3 192kbps 44.1kHz

Tracks
1 Tristeza (Lobo, Niltinho) 3:18
2 Canto de Xango (De Moreas, Powell) 4:43
3 'Round About Midnight (Hanighen, Monk, Williams) 5:33
4 Sarava (Powell) 3:35
5 Canto de Ossanha (DeMoraes, Powell) 3:38
6 Manha de Carnaval (Bonfa, Maria) 3:10
7 Invencao Em 7 1/2 (Powell) 5:12
8 Das Rosas (Caymmi) 5:28
9 Som Do Carnaval (Conpinha, Powell) 3:30
10 O Astronauta (DeMoraes, Powell) 2:25

Delight... The only word which came to mind after first listening of this album. Music have it's power - to cure heartaches and sadness, to make unverbal listeanble and to make You happy when You forget about existense of such word, it's meaning and how does it feels. For sure «Jazz Samba» by Stan Getz/Charlie Byrd was in each jukebox in 60ies, 70ies, 80ies, 90ies and so on... I do like that album and always was looking for some more like this, but with a bit more natural sound - not just good artifical mix of cool jazz and latin samba - but something closer to brazilian roots. This album by Baden Powell have it as forte. Percussion section strong and colorite. Powell's version of 'Round about Midnight might be the one of the best ever performed. Invencao Em 7 1/2 strongly reminds me some of Bach's works for lute or his inventions for 2 voices, but I can not remember number of opus. Balance of traditional, classical and jazz ingredients on this records is equal to golden section. It's 1.00 am in Moscow, about zero C, first sparkling white flakes of show covering all naked crowns of the trees, but my soul under gold-orange sun dancing with barefoot girls on hot sand somewhere near warm ocean.

Guy Marchand «Nostalgitan»

Guy Marchand «Nostalgitan»
November 15, 1998

1. Ragazza
2. Les Yeux Noirs
3. Ci Git Le Gitan
4. I've Got You Under My Skin
5. Marre Marlowe
6. Besame Mucho
7. Django
8. Maria
9. Nostalgie
10. Naranjo En Flor
11. Allo Oui C'est Toi
12. Bolero

G.Marchand - vocal
Ch.Escoude - guitar
J.P.Charlap - Guitar
M.Azzola - accordion
F.Niculescu - violin
J.P.Viret - double bass

I'm fan of Christian Escoude's guitar art for last 16 years. Each of his solo albums bring something new and unexpected in harmony and composition - can You imagine range of guitar music from traditional (much Django-like) style up to progressive jazz rock - and anyway keeping something special, something like magical french flowering. His latest works with other artist showing strong backround from his gypsy roots and it's perfectly shown on this CD. CD was released under name «Guy Marchand», but for sure it should be under name «Christian Escoude» or «Christian Escoude and Guy Marchand». Guy Marchand is an actor and composer (http://cinema.encyclopedie.personnalites.bifi.fr/index.php?pk=47398). His voice have pure essence of an actor charisma - much like Sinatra, but unlike Sintara, Guy doesn't sounds helpless with foreign tongues - performance on English and Spanish here sounds very natural.Christian and Guy - these 2 guys indeed cool - with no fear they're put in this collection their own songs. Only 1 of song from this album not good enough (from my own subjective point of view, of course) - it's Django which shows some terrible pathetic - but it might be an actors mistake or it's just me - who simply unable to get right mood:)If You have some nostalgia in Your soul and Bryan Ferry's «As Time Goes By» is a permanent visitor in Your player, this one will be good friend for a long, long time...
I would like to thanks Rickford Nivens and Bruno Grandjean who helped me to get this amazing CD.
MP3 192 kbps
51.3 MB
http://rapidshare.com/files/1196561/NG.rar