Tuesday, May 17, 2016

NEW MUSIC: SAMMY DAVIS JR. - I'VE GOTTA BE: THE VERY BEST OF SAMMY DAVIS JR.; BOOKER ERVIN - LAMENT FOR BOOKER ERVIN; KALEVI LOUHIVIURI QUINTET - ALMOST AMERICAN STANDARDS

SAMMY DAVIS JR. - I'VE GOTTA BE: THE VERY BEST OF SAMMY DAVIS JR.

20 Track - "Very Best Of" Compilation Sammy Davis Jr. was one of most versatile and talented performers of his generation - a singer with an incredible range as well as an actor, comedian and dancer - he was always the consummate showman. His incredible career was formally recognised in 2001 when he was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Unfairly overshadowed during his lifetime by the likes of his great friends Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, his extensive recording legacy nevertheless bears testament to his extraordinary talent. However, since the huge success of the movie 'Ocean's Eleven' and its sequel, 'Ocean's Twelve', interest in The Rat Pack and the great song stylists of the Fifties and Sixties has been rekindled, with two major British TV documentaries about his life further fuelling this spectacular revival. One of Sammy Davis Jr.'s biggest hit singles, "I've Gotta Be Me" is featured in the spectacular year-long advertising campaign for Sky Q - the next generation home entertainment system. It is the lead track in this new 20-song career-spanning CD and download collection. "I've Gotta Be Me - The Very Best of Sammy Davis Jr." is a definitive and unique collection of highlights from the singer's stellar 30-year recording career and features all his big hits, making it the only such compilation currently available featuring his original studio recordings, all newly-remastered. As well as the title track, the hits include "What Kind of Fool Am I?", "Don't Blame The Children", "Something's Gotta Give" and "The Candy Man", his massive number one hit from 1972. Also included are his two hit collaborations with fellow Rat Packers Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, "Sam's Song" and "Me And My Shadow". Over forty years after its original release, "I've Gotta Be Me" has returned to the UK's Official Charts as a single download and has topped the Shazam Chart for Sky Q. It is now delighting a whole new generation of listeners hearing Sammy Davis Jr.'s music for the first time. "Sammy Davis can do everything bar cook spaghetti!" - Frank Sinatra. ~ Amazon

BOOKER ERVIN - LAMENT FOR BOOKER ERVIN

Reissue of an album originally released in 1975 and featuring Booker Evin alongside an all-star group, including pianist Kenny Drew , bassist Nils Henning Orsted Pedesen and Alan Dawson on drums. The album concists of a 1965 concert held in Berlin, the musicians were supposed to only play for 15 minutes. Tenor saxophonist Booker Ervin protested against the restrictive situation by performing the intense and stirring "Blues for You" for 27-and-a-half minutes, tearing down the house. A decade later (after Ervin's 1970 death) the performance was released for the first time and its passion was worth waiting for. Also on this historic album is pianist Horace Parlan's somber solo tribute to Ervin ("Lament for Booker") which was recorded in 1975. Personnel: Booker Ervin (tenor saxophone), Kenny Drew (piano), Nils Henning Orsted Pedesen (bass), Alan Dawson (drums), Horace Parlan (piano). ~ Amazon


KALEVI LOUHIVIURI QUINTET - ALMOST AMERICAN STANDARDS

Unbridled and in-the-zone Kalevi Louhivuori. The Finnish trumpeter, already in the spotlight with the outstanding Big Blue quartet, is releasing a new, fanciful and ironic project on CAM JAZZ. The concept here is to flirt with famous American standards, which would, so far, be rather conventional. But Louhivuori s brainwave is not about reinterpreting them, more or less faithfully, but picking up on each of them to produce fresh compositions. That s how a 'Take 4', clearly inspired by Paul Desmond s world-famous 'Take 5', or a '6 Steps To Heaven', just one step behind Miles Davis , turned up on this CD. The eight tracks featuring 'Almost American Standards' were recorded with the valuable contribution of an all-Finnish combo: Ville Vannemaa on sax, Mikael Myrskog on piano, Eero Seppä on double bass and Jaska Lukkarinen on drums. Fifty minutes of excellent music, in which the pleasure of listening is combined with that of searching for charm, reference and the refined art of flirting with sources and heading towards fresh, amazing sonic destinations. It s up to the listener to find out which muse is behind each piece and try to trace the original, detecting similarities with and differences in Louhivuori s writing. ~ Amazon


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