BENNY CARTER - Jazz Giant (1958-2004) SACD / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Benny Carter had already been a major jazz musician for nearly 30 years when he recorded this particularly strong septet session for Contemporary. With notable contributions from tenor saxophonist Ben Webster, trombonist Frank Rosolino and guitarist Barney Kessel, Carter (who plays a bit of trumpet on "How Can You Lose") is in superb form on a set of five standards and two of his originals. This timeless music is beyond the simple categories of "swing" or "bop" and should just be called "classic". by Scott Yanow
 Tracklist 
1 Old Fashioned Love 7:46
Written-By – Cecil Mack, James P. Johnson
2 I'm Coming Virginia 5:45
Written-By – Donald Heywood, Will Marion Cook
3 A Walkin' Thing 5:55
Written-By – Benny Carter
4 Blue Lou 5:02
Written-By – Edgar M. Sampson, Irving Mills
5 Ain't She Sweet 3:32
Written-By – Jack Yellen, Milton Ager
6 How Can You Lose 6:12
Written-By – Benny Carter
7 Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives To Me 4:32
Written-By – Arthur N. Swanstone, Carey Morgan, Charles R. McCarron
Credits
Alto Saxophone – Benny Carter (tracks: 1, 3 to 7)
Bass – Leroy Vinnegar
Drums – Shelly Manne
Guitar – Barney Kessel
Piano – André Previn (tracks: 1, 4 to 7), Jimmy Rowles (tracks: 2, 3)
Producer – Lester Koenig
Tenor Saxophone – Ben Webster (tracks: 1 to 4, 6)
Trombone – Frank Rosolino (tracks: 1 to 4, 6)
Trumpet – Benny Carter (tracks: 2, 6)

PEGGY CONNELLY - Hollywood Sessions (2018) RM / FLAC (tracks), lossless

By the time she was 15, Peggy Connelly (1931-2007) had a lovely voice that won her jobs singing with competitive big bands in her hometown of Fort Worth, Texas. At 18, she went in search of work as a model and singer, and after a difficult start, she moved to Hollywood. Once there, she landed two significant opportunities.
The first involved her appearance in motion pictures and TV shows. The second and more important opportunity was the start of her career as a single recording artist. When she sang, Connelly put to good use her beautiful, round tone and commendable lack of artifice to project the intent of any song with lucidity.
She was Frank Sinatra’s girlfriend for over two years, and their relationship opened many doors for her with musicians and the Hollywood studios. Even though Connelly had few significant opportunities in her career to show off her talent as a singer, the times she did resulted in these magnificent recordings. Sinatra, not very fond of praising his colleagues, had no qualms about praising Connelly. When he first heard her sing Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye, he said: “Hi, beautiful lady, you are wonderful.” freshsoundrecords.
Tracklist:
1. You Make Me Feel So Young (Mirow-Gordon) 3:02
2. Trouble Is a Man (Joe Pasternack) 2:41
3. Where Did the Gentlemen Go? (Bobby Troup) 3:07
4. I Have Said Goodbye to Spring (Victor Young) 2:25
5. What Is There to Say? (Harburg-Burke) 2:54
6. Trav'lin' Light (Mercer-Mundy-Young) 2:29
7. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye (Cole Porter) 3:18
8. Alone Together (Schwartz-Dietz) 3:16
9. I Got Plenty 'o Nuttin’ (G.& I. Gershwin) 2:40
10. Fools Rush In (Mercer-Bloom) 2:24
11. Ev'ry Time (Martin-Blane) 2:10
12. Gentleman Friend (Horwitt-Lezzine) 2:46
13. It Never Entered My Mind (Rodgers-Hart) 4:26
14. Why Shouldn't I? (Cole Porter) 2:59
15. That Old Black Magic (Arlen-Mercer) 3:14
16. He Was Too Good to Me (Rodgers-Hart) 2:44
Total time: 46:55 min.
Credits:
Tracks #1-4, from the album “Peggy Connelly Sings” (Nocturne NLP-11/FSR-607)
Tracks #5-16, from the album “Peggy Connelly” (Bethlehem BCP-53)
Also entitled "That Old Black Magic"
Peggy Connelly, sings in all tracks
Personnel on #1-4: Marty Paich’s Orchestra
Jimmy Rowles, piano; Harry Babasin, bass; Roy Harte, drums; Stella Castellucci, harp; Edgar Lustgarten, Kurt Reher, Nat Shapiro, Karl Gottlieb, cellos.
Recorded at Western Recorders Studio, Hollywood, December 15, 1954
Personnel on #5-16: Russell Garcia’s Wigville Band
Conte Candoli, Pete Candoli, Stu Williamson, trumpets; Russ Cheever, soprano sax; Charlie Mariano, alto sax; Bill Holman, tenor sax; Jimmy Giuffre, baritone sax; Al Hendrickson, guitar; Max Bennett, bass; Stan Levey, drums. Featured percussion on #9 & 15: Jack Costanzo, bongos, Ramón Rivera, congas; Willy Gallardo, timbales.
Recorded at Radio Recorders Studio, Hollywood, January 16, 17 & 18, 1956

PEGGY LEE - Black Coffee With Peggy Lee (1956-1999) RM / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Peggy Lee left Capitol in 1952 for, among several other reasons, the label's refusal to let her record and release an exotic, tumultuous version of "Lover." Lee was certainly no Mitch Miller songbird, content to loosen her gorgeous pipes on any piece of tripe foisted upon her; she was a superb songwriter with a knowledge of production and arrangement gained from work in big bands and from her husband, Dave Barbour (although the two weren't together at the time). The more open-minded Decca acquiesced to her demand, and watched its investment pay off quickly when the single became her biggest hit in years. Black Coffee was Lee's next major project. Encouraged by longtime Decca A&R Milt Gabler, she hired a small group including trumpeter Pete Candoli and pianist Jimmy Rowles (two of her favorite sidemen) to record an after-hours jazz project similar in intent and execution to Lee Wiley's "Manhattan project" of 1950, Night in Manhattan. While the title-track opener of Black Coffee soon separated itself from the LP -- to be taught forever after during the first period of any Torch Song 101 class -- the album doesn't keep to its concept very long; Lee is soon enough in a bouncy mood for "I've Got You Under My Skin" and very affectionate on "Easy Living." (If there's a concept at work here, it's the vagaries of love.) Listeners should look instead to "It Ain't Necessarily So" or "Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good to You?" for more examples of Lee's quintessentially slow-burn sultriness. Aside from occasionally straying off-concept, however, Black Coffee is an excellent record, spotlighting Lee's ability to shine with every type of group and in any context. [When originally recorded and released in 1953, Black Coffee was an eight-song catalog of 78s. Three years later, Decca commissioned an LP expansion of the record, for which Lee recorded several more songs. The 2004 Verve edition is therefore a reissue of the 1956 12-song LP.] by John Bush  

Tracklist:

1 Black Coffee 3:09
Sonny Burke / Paul Francis Webster
2 I've Got You Under My Skin 2:31
Cole Porter
3 Easy Living 2:47
Ralph Rainger / Leo Robin
4 My Heart Belongs to Daddy  2:11
Cole Porter
5 It Ain't Necessarily So 3:26
George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin
6 Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good to You? 3:26
Andy Razaf / Don Redman
7 A Woman Alone With the Blues 3:16
Willard Robison
8 I Didn't Know What Time It Was 2:21
Richard Rodgers
9 (Ah, The Apple Trees) When the World Was Young 3:21
Johnny Mercer
10 Love Me or Leave Me 2:10
Walter Donaldson / Gus Kahn
11 You're My Thrill 3:26
Sidney Clare / Jay Gorney
12 There's a Small Hotel 2:48
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers
Credits:

Bass – Max Wayne

Drums – Ed Shaughnessy
Piano – Jimmy Rowles
Trumpet – Pete Candori
Vocals – Peggy Lee