MP3s: Top Ten Downloads
According to IODA's Promonet, the tool many (legal) MP3 bloggers use to spread love, hope and new music to the masses, these are the top ten jazz downloads as of today. Check ‘em out, let me know what you think of their rating system. Of course, you must endure my comments re each track, but hey, that's the price of admission round here!
#1 Jamie Cullum's Pointless Nostalgic: In Brit phenom Jamie Cullum's world, Billy Joel is a jazz pianist, Michael Bolton is a better crooner than Frank Sinatra, and all that weird late ‘60s jazz by Miles Davis is just, well, too weird!
Pointless is right!
Jamie Cullum
"I Want To Be A Popstar" (mp3)
from "Pointless Nostalgic"
(Candid Productions)
More On This Album
#2 Sara Tavares's Balance: How long have I been doing this blog? Five, ten years? Before MP3s we just mailed out cassettes. People seemed to like it. Anyway, even back then Sara Tavares's Balance was high on the charts. Must be great stuff.
Sara Tavares "Balance" (mp3)
from "Balance"
(World Connection BV / Times Square) More On This Album
#3 Heath Brandon's Stand Clear Of The Closing Doors: "On Stand Clear Of The Closing Doors, singer/songwriter Heath Brandon and producer Dave Liang (Shanghai Restoration Project, Di Johnston) score some of those iconic New York sounds into one man's cinematic take on city life. Between love lost and love found, chasing the dream and everyday observations, the city lends itself as the perfect everything; a location with great lighting, your best friend forever, your mortal enemy, or your caring parents giving tough love. While never cast as the lead or ever aspiring to be, the city does what all great actors do; make everyone around them better."
Can I say it better than IODA?
Heath Brandon "Sides" (mp3)
from "Stand Clear of the Closing Doors"
(Undercover Culture Music) More On This Album
#4 Groundation's Upon The Bridge: You seen that movie with Bill Murray and that real cute brunette with the perfect jaw? You know, the one where he keeps waking up to the same day, day after day after day? It's Groundation Day!
Groundation "What Could Have Been" (mp3)
from "Upon The Bridge"
(Young Tree Records) More On This Album
#5 Catherine Russell's Sentimental Streak: Covered Catherine a few columns back, but she deserves inclusion, so here's a new track.
Catherine Russell "Luci" (mp3)
from "Sentimental Streak"
(World Village) More On This Album
#6 Deepak Ram's Beauty In Diversity: Deepak explores the Indian classical side of jazz flute. Progressive, warm, flowing, daring...Beauty In Diversity is challenging and exploratory, but never at the expense of melody. There used to be lots of flute players around. Tim Weisberg made a splash in the 70s, Dave Valentin reined supreme in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Now the flute is as popular as the sitar, maybe less so since The Love Guru. Okay, "Let Deepak Ram Show You How to Play Jazz Flute! That should help the cause."
Deepak Ram "Dance with Lord Krishna" (mp3)
from "Beauty in Diversity"
(Golden Horn Records) More On This Album
#7 Derrick Gardner And The Jazz Prophets' A Ride To The Other Side: Okay, so this is really good. #1 in my opinion. Trumpeter Gardner takes a Jazz Messenger's approach, performing gritty hard bop with a killing crew. Two tracks just so you get the message.
Derrick Gardner and the Jazz Prophets "Funky Straight" (mp3)
from "A Ride to the Other Side.."
(Owl Studios) More On This Album
Derrick Gardner and the Jazz Prophets "A Ride To The Other Side" (mp3)
from "A Ride to the Other Side.."
(Owl Studios) More On This Album
#8 The Best Of Strunz And Farah: Don't say I didn't warn you.
Strunz & Farah "Recuerdo" (mp3)
from "The Best Of Strunz & Farah"
(Selva)
Stream from Rhapsody More On This Album
#9 Take Six's Feels Good: "I like jazz," a friend told me, "that's the music without vocals right?"
Take 6 "Come On" (mp3)
from "Feels Good"
(Take 6 Records) More On This Album
#10 Jonathan Kreisberg's The South Of Everywhere: Promonet places this tremendous album at #10! What the! Kreisberg is a remarkable guitarist in the mold of Kenny Burrell, Pat Martino and Russell Malone. He possesses a burning, bittersweet tone, his choice of notes is always judicious and thrilling, and his material is the real deal--dark hearted hard bop without an ounce of frosting.
Jonathan Kreisberg "Strange Resolutions" (mp3) from "The South of Everywhere"
(Mel Bay Records)
More On This Album
Jonathan Kreisberg "The Best Thing for You" (mp3) from "The South of Everywhere"
(Mel Bay Records)
More On This Album
