Reviews by markjazz

This is one of the very few albums I still enjoy since it first pierced my ears at the young age of 10 or so. Morten Harket has such an incredible voice and each song on this album is pretty much a winner, in my book. You have your top hits, like Take on Me, the title track and The Sun Always Shines on T.V. but there's also my favorites which include Living a Boy's Adventure Tale and I Dream Myself Alive. These tracks have such good structure and melody that I often find myself singing with them and then calling myself a pussy after the album is over. For someone that likes noise and industrial finding myself liking this album seems odd to the people I know but I just tell them that the music is just that good. At times the production sounds a bit cheap but it was the 80's and this was their first album so I can look past that with ease. In short, this is one of my favorite albums from the 80's and an obvious choice for one of my favorite 80's videos with Take on Me.

This isn't my favorite disc from Dhafer Youssef but it's still pretty darn good. He manages to mix in a good selection of styles of jazz in here and some tracks he'll even toss in some catchy beats, like on Persona non grata. For the most part this is farsi or eastern style jazz and it's a great chill out album. Tracks like Eleventh Stone and Odd Poetry are prime examples and take you right to the Eastern side of the World into a beautiful memory forgotten. The tracks flow into one another as well making Dhafer a great producer because if I'm not watching the track list on the stereo sometimes I have no idea what track I'm actually listening to. Very well done and I recommend this to any World Jazz fan!

So far, this is my favourite album from the World Saxophone Quartet. It's a good take on some Miles Davis tracks and there's times when I hardly recognize it from the original, like on Freddie Freeloader, but seeing as how it's a tribute CD maybe I'm not suppose to. Seven Steps to Heaven is awesome and easily my favourite track on here. It's fast and the congo solos at the end are crazy and make me tap my fingers non-stop. I've played this track a ton and when I have it my car it gets put on repeat most times. The overall album has this african-post bop-free improv sound to it that makes it stand out from a lot of jazz albums I've heard from this group. Sometimes you wonder if they're going to start to go all free jazz on you and then they pull it back down to this wonderful african bop sound, which I don't get to hear enough of these days. There's only a couple tracks I don't really care for, like Selim that is really slow and hardly has any sax in it for the longest time, but overall it's a strong release with a good african vibe to it. I think Mr. Davis would be proud of it.

Credits:
African Drums - Chief Bey
African Drums, Percussion - Okyerema Asante
African Drums, Percussion, Vocals - Titos Sompa
Drums, Piano - Jack DeJohnette
Flute [Alto] - John Purcell
Saxophone [Alto], Flute - Oliver Lake
Saxophone [Baritone], Clarinet [Alto] - Hamiet Bluiett
Saxophone [Tenor], Clarinet [Bass] - David Murray

Who is this singer? Yeah, not many people know. I personally think she's better than Diana Krall and this release proved that to me. Carol Welsman sings classic love songs in her own unique style, a couple in Spanish too. She even does some scat-singing on some tracks, which works very well I might add. The topper on this release is "A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square". I first heard her sing this on CBC Radio and I fell in love with her voice. It made me purchase this release the next day. Soft, soothing, and she knows how to carry a tune. Not only that but she's a fairly attractive classy looking lady to boot!

This is my first listen of this great guitarist. I had heard a few tracks on compilations but I final got a chance to buy this classic album and I was not disappointed. I don't own to much guitar-jazz and this is right up there with some of the classic's that Pat Metheny and Joe Pass put out, in my opinion. There's a lot of upbeat tracks and one of the best on here that just gets my blood moving is Mizrab. It has such harmony and flow and makes me want to climb mountains. A great album to listen to whilst relaxing or driving down the country side. The bonus tracks are just as mind blowing as well. I can't believe it was played live with no over-dubs either...wow!

Before I bought this album I had only heard the title track, The Sermon. I was floored at how good it was and how much I liked it. I'm not a big fan of the organ when it comes to jazz music but I really dug what Mr. Smith did on that track. After buying the album I thought the title track was going to be the best piece. Then I heard J.O.S. and was blown away again. Such a fast paced track with nearly 12 minutes of organ fury! Probably one of my favorite jazz tracks now. This track is then followed by the slower piece Flamingo, which reminds me of Chinatown for some reason. Saying that makes me love that track too and that makes this album an easy 5/5 for me. I bought this album new for $10 and, to me, this is a perfect jazz album so this is one of the best buys I've had in a long while.

As far as jazz tribute albums go this one has been a classic since its birth and rightfully so. Archie Shepp doesn't just mimic Coltrane's sound or design but rather adds a blues tilt to them along with some slight improvisation as well. I can just imagine that Archie put his full effort into each and every note as he must have been aware that this release is going to have all ears focused on it since the title refers to the legend himself. Well, he very much did pull it off and the way the group plays together you would have thought they spent years working together on these tracks, which they didn't. Each track is pulled tight and Archie is in control throughout the whole album exploding with rhythm and beauty while the rest of the band sets the pace. There's a jazz author that refers Archie as Coltranes evil twin, and in this release you hear it very much. The last track, Shepp's only composition on the album, is probably my favorite on here. Fast paced tempo and a great free style. Such a great listen and a great tribute overall.

Wow do I have love / hate relationship with this album. The album starts off with some of the best nu-jazz tunes this label and artist have to offer. Then, after less than half way through, the album falls into this big pile of crap. I have yet to listen to this whole album in one sitting but I keep popping it in for those two classics Get a Move On and Honeydew. I could honestly play Get a Move on the whole day without getting bored but as far as most of the album is concerned it's just one repeatative mess. There's some British humor mixed in as well, which I just don't get. Mr. Scruff likes little rodents, the ocean and pies I guess. If I was to do it again I would have just bought the two singles and downloaded this album and I recommend anyone new to this artist to do the same with this album.

So far this is my favorite Mingus CD and for a number of reasons. I'm very picky when it comes to Avant-Garde and this release does it for me and is a perfect example I show off if someone asks where to start for Avant-Garde, besides mentioning Coltrane. It's Bop jazz and the free parts sneak in sometimes so it doesn't get to boring. The title track, Pithecanthropus Erectus, takes you on a journey through the age of man and much like the next track it tells a story. A Foggy Day is just perfect. When I got this CD I played in my friends stereo in his car and we almost crashed for one simple reason. In the track the Saxophone players are acting as traffic with high pitched 'car-horn' sounds, like a foggy day in San Francisco, and my friend kept thinking people were honking at him. Good times and truely makes this release special just for that alone! The CD finishes off with a great melody and a long Love Chant that's just as good as the opener.

Here is some extra info:
Bass - Charles Mingus
Drums - Willie Jones
Piano - Mal Waldron
Saxophone [Alto] - Jackie McLean
Saxophone [Tenor] - J.R. Monterose
Recorded on January 30, 1956, at Audio-Video Studios, New York, N.Y.

This is a great album and the poems Wynton speaks don't take away anything from the music. He's obviously telling a story about love with this album. The front cover shows a little girl whispering a sassy piece in the boys ear and on the back it shows an older lady doing the same. The album is a bit sappy overall but it's a love story so I'm not complaining about that at all. There's lots of good things to like about this disc and School Boy is an interesting piece as it's a ragtime song. Beautifully done too. Every band member on this album is awesome and I don't know who Dan Nimmer is but boy he can play the piano!!! I loved him on this. There's a lot of blues tucked in this jazz, especially on A Train, a Banjo, and a Chicken Wing, which is an awesome track. The last track, He and She, is just all the poems voiced all together and it's nice to hear as one track but kinda pointless since we just heard all the poems throughout the whole album.

This ended up being my favourite jazz album of 2009. I borrowed this disc from the Library originally, then I burned it, and then I finally bought it. I love it that much!

Credits:

Trumpet, Voice [Poems] - Wynton Marsalis
Tenor & Soprano Saxophone - Walter Blanding
Piano - Dan Nimmer
Bass - Carlos Henriquez
Drums - Ali Jackson