Ravi Coltrane - Spirit Fiction (2012)

A career on the saxophone with one of the most freethinking saxophonists in music history for a father has to be a tough call. Now 46, Ravi Coltrane, son of John, has often chosen to be a sympathetic sideman rather than the boss. But his Blue Note Records debut as a leader feels like a giant step. The tracks are split between two groups (a quartet with Luis Perdomo on piano, and a superb quintet with Geri Allen at the keys, and Ralph Alessi on trumpet), playing an arrestingly original postbop repertoire, plus covers of pieces by Ornette Coleman and Paul Motian. There are delicate improv conversations between Coltrane and Alessi, passages in which Geri Allen and drummer Eric Harland uncannily recall the sound of the young Herbie Hancock and Tony Williams in the Miles Davis quintet, quiet tone-bending sax ruminations and a deliciously ramshackle version of Ornette Coleman's Check Out Time. It genuinely sounds like a coming-of-age for Ravi Coltrane. ~ John Fordham, The Guardian. 

Blue Note Records, 509999 18937 2 7, 2012
Recorded (#1,3,4,7,11) at Bennett's Studios, Englewood, New Jersey
Recorded (#2,5,8,9,10) at Sear Sound, New York City
Recorded (#6) at Systems Two Recording, Brooklyn, New York 

Musicians:
Ravi Coltrane - Tenor & Soprano Saxes
Joe Lovano - Tenor Sax (#9,10)
Luis Perdomo - Piano (#1,3,4,7,11)
Drew Gress - Bass (#1,3,4,7,11)
E.J. Strickland - Drums (#1,3,4,6,7,11)
Ralph Alessi - Trumpet (#2,5,8,9)
Geri Allen - Piano (#2,5,8-10)
James Genus - Bass (#2,5,8,9)
Eric Harland - Drums (#2,5,8,9)

Tracks:
01. Roads Cross {Gress, Strickland, Perdomo, Coltrane} (5:04)
02. Klepto {Ralph Alessi} (7:30)
03. Spirit Fiction {Gress, Strickland, Perdomo, Coltrane} (52:28)
04. The Change, My Girl {Ravi Coltrane} (6:46)
05. Who Wants Ice Cream {Ralph Alessi} (6:32)
06. Spring & Hudson {Ravi Coltrane} (2:21)
07. Cross Roads {Gress, Strickland, Perdomo, Coltrane} (5 (4:03)
08. Yellow Cat {Ralph Alessi} (6:50)
09. Check Out Time {Ornette Coleman} (7:26)
10. Fantasm {Paul Motian} (4:08)
11. Marilyn & Tammy {Ravi Coltrane} (5:42) 

Total Time: 58:57 

Credits:
Producer, Mixing - Ravi Coltrane
Producer, Mixing, Liner Notes - Joe Lovano
Executive-Producer - Bruce Lundvall
Recording Engineer - Dave Kowalski (#1,3,4,7,11)
Recording & Mixing Engineer - Chris Allen (#2,5,8-10)
Recording Engineer - Joe Marchiano (#6)
Mixing Engineer - Ravi Coltrane, Steve Genewick (#1,3,4,6,7,11)
Mixing Engineer - Joe Lovano (#2,5,8-10)
Mastering Engineer - Allan Tucker
Art Direction, Design - Hayden Miller
Photography - Darlene Devita 

Spirit Fiction

Naoko Tanaka - I Fall In Love Too Easily (2017)

The second release in the Hi-Rez Beauty Jazz series produced by Masahiko Osaka, a leading high-resolution expert in the jazz world, features pianist Naoko Tanaka. This album features jazz standard tunes in ultra-high quality high-end sound recorded in one take at native DSD 11.2MHz! The immersive, deep sound creates the ultimate space for adults. This work brings out a different charm from the original songs in Naoko Tanaka's previous album, "Memories." ~ www.cdjapan.co.jp. 

King Records, KICJ-768, 2017
Recorded 10th~11th May, 2017 at King Records Sekiguchidai Studio, Tokyo, Japan 

Musicians:
Naoko Tanaka - Piano, Arranger
Daiki Yasukagawa - Bass
Masahiko Osaka - Drums 

Tracks:
01. How High The Moon {Morgan Lewis, Nancy Hamilton} (5:49)
02. Doxy {Sonny Rollins} (4:55)
03. Someone To Watch Over Me {George & Ira Gershwin} (5:41)
04. I'll Close My Eyes {Billy Reid} (4:42)
05. I Fall In Love Too Easily {Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn} (4:31)
06. Lotus Blossom {Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn} (5:09)
07. In A Mellow Tone {Duke Ellington} (6:47)
08. Con Alma {Dizzy Gillespie} (6:27)
09. Chega De Saudade [No More Blues] {Antônio Carlos Jobim} (4:14)
10. Old Folks {Dedette Lee Hill, Willard Robison} (6:30) 

Total Time: 54:51 

Credits:
Producer - Masahiko Osaka
Recording, Mixing, Mastering - Shinji Yoshikoshi 

I Fall In Love Too Easily

Neal Smith Quintet - Live At Smalls (2010)

Drummer Neal Smith has a hell of a group here - Eric Alexander on tenor, Steve Wilson on alto, Mark Whitfield on guitar, and Mulgrew Miller on piano - a lineup that he more than lives up to with his tight leadership, and great choice of material for the date! The tunes include two numbers by Tom McIntosh - a telling inclusion, given the way the album brings together the same strands of soul, swinging, and cerebral that McIntosh brought to his compositions in the early 60s. Smith's got a great way of bringing out the most sensitive aspects of the tunes, while still setting the players free to find their own voice - thanks partly to the long takes on these live recordings - and titles include "Fifty Six", "Stew Peas", "A Portrait Of You", "With Malice Towards None", "The Cup Bearers", and "Junior". ~ Dusty Groove, Inc. 

SmallsLIVE Records, SL-0007, 2010
Recorded 23rd & 24th August, 2009 Live At Smalls Jazz Club, Greenwich Village, NYC 

Musicians:
Neal Smith - Drums
Steve Wilson - Alto & Soprano Sax
Eric Alexander - Tenor Saxophone
Mulgrew Miller - Piano
Mark Whitfield - Guitar
Dezron Douglas - Bass

Tracks:
1. The Cup Bearers {Tom McIntosh} (14:04)
2. Junior {John Farnsworth} (8:20)
3. What A Friend We Have In Jesus {Charles C, Converse} (14:58)
4. With Malice Towards None {Tom McIntosh} (12:16)
5. A Portrait Of You {Donald Walden} (14:02)
6. Stew Peas {Dezron Douglas} (8:19)
7. Fifty-Six {Johnny Griffin} (7:55) 

Total Time: 79:58 

Credits:
Producer - Spike Wilner
Engineer - Glen Forrest
Mastering - Gene Paul, Jamie Polaski
Mixing - Ben Rubin
Cover Design, Photography - Michelle Watt 

Concert Online [AudioOnly]