Blossom DEARIE - I'm Hip 1998

Blossom DEARIE - I'm Hip 1998
Label: Columbia / Import
Audio CD: (September 1, 2003)

Jazz

"I'm too much," proclaims Blossom. "I'm a gas." We wholeheartedly agree, but the subject of her song is another matter; the lady doth protest her hipness too much, we think. Her fate is sealed when she pleads, "Bobby Darin knows my friend." Recorded live before a swinging '60s London audience, "I'm Hip" is proof that most would-be hipsters lead lives of hilarious desperation. It's also proof that lyricist Dave Frishberg is in a class with Ira Gershwin. As for Miss Dearie, she concludes this loving lampoon with a scatted quote from Birth of the Cool's "Budo."
How hip is that?
By Alan Kurtz.
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Blossom Dearie (Piano), Blossom Dearie (Vocals), Blossom Dearie (Main Performer), Blossom Dearie (Piano (Grand)),
Bob Dorough- (Vocals),
Grady Tate- (Drums),
Jay Berliner- (Guitar),
Bob Cranshaw- (Bass),
Jim Hughart- (Electric Bass),
Jay Leonhart- (Acoustic Bass),
Mike Renzi- (Keyboards),
Bill Takas- (Electric Bass),
Phil Woods- (Alto Sax)
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01. I'm Hip. Dave Frishberg Blossom Dearie (2:42)
02. Lush Life. Billy Strayhorn Blossom Dearie (4:21)
03. Inside A Silent Tear. Linda Albert Blossom Dearie (5:12)
04. Satin Doll. Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, Billy Strayhorn Blossom Dearie (3:38)
05. Yardbird Suite/ Medley. Bob Dorough Blossom Dearie (2:39)
06. Sophisticated Lady. Irving Mills, Duke Ellington, Mitchell Parish Blossom Dearie (2:59)
07. Baby, It's Cold Outside. Frank Loesser Blossom Dearie (4:09)
08. Olde Tyme Movie Love Affair. Tony Baxter Blossom Dearie (3:49)
09. In Your Eyes. Charles DeForest Blossom Dearie (2:07)
10. You Fascinate Me So. Carolyn Leigh Blossom Dearie (3:48)
11. How Do You Say Auf Wiedersehen?. Johnny Mercer, Tony Scibetta Blossom Dearie (3:50)
12. There Ought to Be a Moonlight Savings Time. Irving Kahal, Harry Richman Blossom Dearie (2:54)
13. I'm Shadowing You. Blossom Dearie, Johnny Mercer Blossom Dearie (2:58)
14. Round About. Ogden Nash Blossom Dearie (2:43)
15. You Have Lived In Autumn. Blossom Dearie (4:37)
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George THOROGOOD and The DESTROYERS - The Hard Stuff 2006

George THOROGOOD and The DESTROYERS - The Hard Stuff 2006
Label: Eagle

Blues

You always know what you're going to get with a George Thorogood record, and that's a good thing. For over thirty years, he and his band, the Destroyers, have been plying their brand of blues-rock to anyone and everyone that will listen, and they do indeed deliver the hard stuff on their latest release. Early musical influences are represented with a generous seasoning of blues covers and I, for one, thank Thorogood for digging them out of obscurity for a new generation of listeners.
A Thorogood original (written with Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, producer and performer, Tom Hambridge, and Destroyer guitarist Jim Suhler) starts things off in enthusiastic fashion with the hard-hitting title track, opening with a riff similar to Dwight Yoakam's "Fast as You", only with the volume cranked up to 11. Thorogood's signature slide guitar soon makes its presence heard, and features prominently throughout the record, particularly on "Love Doctor", "Taking Care of Business" and culminating frenetically in the finale. His take on Howlin' Wolf's "Moving" displays some tasty guitar work, but this is probably the most glaring example of a song that just can't be believably sung by a white guy. He does better on Fats Domino's "Hello Josephine", accompanied by Buddy Leach's saxophone playing, which is also spotlighted on the Jimmy Reed ballad "Little Rain".

"Now, here's a song with a message" Thorogood announces in the repetitive "I Didn't Know" that cleverly brings the music completely to a halt several times, as if the silence will help him think about why he doesn't know what he doesn't know. Always capable of finding a goofy song and making it work (who else could pull off "Get A Haircut"?), the boys present Hound Dog Taylor's "Give Me Back My Wig" with such speedy precision that you don't bother to ponder the "give me back my wig, honey let your head go bald" lyrics.

At about the midway point, the instrumental "Cool It" epitomizes a group effort with guitar, sax, and bass soloing. The blue-collar rocking highlight is "Any Town USA" which has Thorogood engaging in plenty of name dropping as he rattles off landmarks in cities such as Cleveland (Jacob's Field, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame), Chicago (Checkerboard Lounge, Wrigley Field) and Detroit, and also mentioning "Big Ten Michigan". The driving "Rock Party" finds Thorogood name dropping his own music catalog: "I feel like shaking up somebody's home/I'm sick and tired of drinkin' alone/I'm gonna show ya that I'm bad to the bone at the rock party tonight". It's not all one speed, however, as Thorogood dials things down for Bob Dylan's "Drifter's Escape" and resonates on a biscuit cone guitar for Johnny Shines' "Dynaflow Blues".

Sounding like a manic "Spirit in the Sky", the album concludes on a blistering high note, with the John Lee Hooker classic boogie "Huckle Up Baby". Thorogood growls his familiar line "you know what I'm talkin' about" before sending this song into the musical stratosphere with an inspired slide guitar performance. For a guy in his mid-fifties, Thorogood can still bring the hard stuff as well as he ever has. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the party album of the summer.
By Paul Schultz.
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George Thorogood- vocals, guitars
Jim Suhler- Guitar
Buddy Leach- Sax
Billy Blough- Bass
Jeff Simon- Drums
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01. Hard Stuff 3:51
02. Hello Josephine 3:05
03. Moving 4:13
04. I Got My Eyes On You 3:30
05. I Didn't Know 2:54
06. Any Town USA 4:14
07. Little Rain 4:09
08. Cool It! 3:01
09. Love Doctor 3:37
10. Dynaflow Blues 3:45
11. Rock Party 4:22
12. Drifter's Escape 3:15
13. Give Me Back My Wig 4:23
14. Takin' Care of Business 4:10
15. Huckle Up Baby 3:59
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Sonny ROLLINS - This Is What I Do 2000

Sonny ROLLINS - This Is What I Do 2000
Label: Milestone
Recorded: May 9, 10, July 29, 2000 - New York City

**THIS IS WHAT I DO won the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual Or Group.**

Jazz

With his nephew, Clifton Anderson, on trombone, Stephen Scott on piano, longtime partner Bob Cranshaw on electric bass, and Perry Wilson and Jack DeJohnette on drums, Sonny Rollins's big sound and genius for thematic improvisation are in full effect on This Is What I Do. "Salvador," a calypso-samba tribute to the Afro-Brazilian city, is a rhythmic ancestor of his celebrated "St. Thomas." The gospel-tinged version of "Sweet Leilani" and his midtempo rendition of "The Moon of Manakoora"--from the films Waikiki Wedding and The Hurricane, respectively--both highlight Rollins's humorous side and his genius for turning corny pop tunes into jazz vehicles. Rollins also salutes dearly departed comrades with the funky "Did You See Harold Vick" and the sanctified stirrings of "Charles M" in honor of Charles Mingus. What tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins has done for the past 50 years is reign as one of jazz's most thrilling improvisers. This is further proof why. By Eugene Holley Jr. AMG.**This is his best studio recording in years. Other than the presence on Jack DeJohnette on a couple of tracks, this is Sonny's regular working group. Stephen Scott and Clifton Anderson play a few short, pleasant solos, but Sonny dominates the recording from beginning to end. No barnburners, (all of the tunes are medium to medium-slow tempo), but the Sonny's playing is the warm, lyrical, and filled with imagination and humor. Even though a studio recording will probably never match his playing for those of us that have heard him in a club or concert hall, this one comes close. By John Nicholas.
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Sonny Rollins- Tenor Sax;
Clifton Anderson- Trombone;
Stephen Scott- Piano;
Bob Cranshaw- Electric Bass;
Jack DeJohnette- Drums;
Perry Wilson- Drums.
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01. Salvador 7:53
02. Sweet Leilani 7:01
03. Did You See Harold Vick? 9:19
04. A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square 8:06
05. Charles M. 10:19
06. The Moon Of Manakoora 5:44
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