NINO TEMPO & APRIL STEVENS - Hey Baby! (1966-2010) Mp3

Nino Tempo & April Stevens (who were actually brother and sister, born Nino LoTempio and Carol LoTempio) bobbed up and down through the pop charts through much of the 1960s, enjoying only a couple of major successes ("Deep Purple" and "Whispering") but maintaining enough momentum to stay in the good graces of several major labels throughout the decade. Hey Baby! was recorded during the duo's tenure with Atco Records, and it's fairly typical of their work of the period, a polished set of well-known pop tunes ("Hey Baby," "Land of 1000 Dances," "These Arms of Mine") and some well-crafted originals ("Swing Me," "Tomorrow Is Soon a Memory," "Ooh La La") alongside a few genuine eccentricities ("Mohair Sam" is given a fairly improbable parody as "No Hair Sam" and an otherwise strong folk-rock arrangement of "I Love How You Love Me" is punctuated with a hyperactive bagpipe). While Nino & April's efforts to sound hip usually end in failure, they harmonize well and they were capable solo vocalists too, with April sounding sweetly seductive on a new recording of "Teach Me Tiger" and Nino handling his Otis Redding cover quite well indeed. Nino was a talented producer and sax player as well as a vocalist and songwriter, and if this isn't top-shelf mid-'60s pop, the craft is strong throughout and if he and April often sound as if they'd be more comfortable in a supper club than at a rock show, they avoid the suggestion that they're looking down on the material; Hey Baby! doesn't include any of their major hits, but it's certain to please completists. by Mark Deming  
Tracklist:
1 Swing By 2:41
Written-By –Nino Tempo
2 Hey Baby 2:25
Written-By – Bruce Channel, Margaret Cobb
3 Land of 1000 Dances 2:45
Written-By – Antoine Domino, Chris Kenner
4 No Hair Sam 2:04
Written-By – Nino Tempo
5 Poison of Your Kiss 2:14
Written-By – A. LoTempio
6 Ooh La La 2:52
Written-By – A. Stevens, A. LoTempio, Nugetre
7 I Love How You Love Me 2:40
Written-By – Barry Mann, Larry Kolber
8 These Arms Are Mine 2:48
Written-By – Otis Redding
9 Teach Me Tiger -- 1965 2:29
Written-By – Nino Tempo
10 The Coldest Night of the Year 2:58
Written-By – Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil
11 Tomorrow Is Soon a Memory 2:43
Written-By – A. Stevens, A. LoTempio
12 Think of You 2:24
Written-By – B. Weinshein, S. D'Amico
Credits:
Vocals – Nino Tempo & April Stevens

BILLIE POOLE - Sermonette (1961) lp / Mp3

Tracklist:

A1 Drown In My Own Tears 3:18

A2 Lazy Afternoon 2:28
A3 Sometimes I'm Happy 2:22
A4 Rocks In My Bed 2:43
A5 A Sunday Kind Of Love 2:33
A6 When You're Smilin' 2:18
B1 This Can't Be Love 2:22
B2 Sermonette 2:18
B3 Time After Time 2:49
B4 Young Woman's Blues 2:39
B5 I Could Have Dance All Night 1:51
B6 He's My Guy 2:35
Credits:

Arranged By – Budd Johnson, Jimmy Jones 

Conductor – Jimmy Jones
Vocals – Billie Poole

ABBEY LINCOLN - Abbey Sings Billie (2001) 2xCD / FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Finally, the two halves of Abbey Lincoln's two-day, Billie Holiday tribute recording sessions are complete in one set. Originally issued separately, the November 1987 dates features Ms. Lincoln accompanied by drummer Mark Johnson, bassist Tarik Shah, Harold Vick on tenor, and pianist James Weidman. These are two of the singer's finest recordings and, if not groundbreaking, are certainly soul-stirring and aesthetically definitive. by Thom Jurek
Tracklist 1 :
1 What a Little Moonlight Can Do 3:18
Harry Woods
2 I Only Have Eyes for You 2:52
Al Dublin / Harry Warren
3 Gloomy Sunday 5:09
László Jávor / Steven Chino Lewis / Harry Warren
4 Crazy He Calls Me 4:26
Bob Russell / Carl Sigman
5 Strange Fruit 6:16
L. Allen
6 Lover Man 5:41
Ram Ramirez
7 These Foolish Things 4:41
Harry Link / Eric Maschwitz
8 I'll Be Seeing You 5:20
9 Soul Eyes 10:18
Mal Waldron
10 I'll Wind 9:02
Harold Arlen
Tracklist 2 :
1 Gimme a Pigfoot 7:02
Wesley Wilson
2 No More 7:00
Bob Russell
3 God Bless the Child 5:23
Billie Holiday / Arthur Herzog, Jr.
4 Don't Explain 6:23
Billie Holiday / Arthur Herzog, Jr.
5 For Heaven's Sake 5:30
Elise Bretton / Donald Meyer / Sherman Edwards & Donald Meyer
6 Please Don't Talk About Me (When I'm Gone) 3:21
Sidney Clare / Sam H. Stept
7 For All We Know 5:37
J. Fred Coots / Sam M. Lewis
Credits:
Bass – Tarik Shah
Drums – Mark Johnson
Piano – James Weidman
Tenor Saxophone – Harold Vick
Vocals – Abbey Lincoln

DINAH WASHINGTON - I Wanna Be Loved (1962-2005) RM / FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

A torch song date recorded between Dinah Washington's commercial breakthrough in 1959 and her death in 1963, I Wanna Be Loved flaunts a large cast of talented collaborators -- plus, to be sure, Washington's regal readings of 12 great songs -- but, unfortunately, the musical side is overwhelmed by the heavy strings in attendance. Working with Quincy Jones, Washington found her studio cast to include Joe Newman and Clark Terry on trumpet, Jimmy Cleveland and Kai Winding on trombone, and Al Cohn on tenor. However, the arrangements (from Ernie Wilkins and Quincy Jones) rarely leave room for the musicians -- and, in fact, rarely feature them at all -- preferring instead to concentrate on strings and the occasional wordless vocal chorus. As usually happened in these circumstances, Washington appears unfazed by the treacle surrounding her; although she doesn't improvise, her performances of "Blue Gardenia," "Don't Explain," and the title track (originally an R&B hit for her 12 years earlier) are elegant and bewitching. The larger big band makes its presence felt on the two side-closers, both of them ("Let's Fall in Love," "Sometimes I'm Happy") more uptempo material. Although Washington's latter-day Mercury material is often derided, she always succeeded despite her surroundings, and this date is no different. by John Bush  
Tracklist:
1 I Wanna Be Loved 2:40
Written-By – Heyman, Rose, Green
2 Don't Explain 2:28
Written-By – Herzog, Jr., Holiday
3 Everybody's Somebody's Fool 2:27
Written-By – Adams, Hampton
4 Invitation 2:59
Written-By – Kaper, Webster
5 You're Crying 3:25
Written-By – Feather, Jones
6 Let's Fall In Love 2:15
Written-By – Arlen, Koehler
7 When Your Lover Has Gone 2:08
Written-By – Swan
8 A Stranger In Town 2:15
Written-By – Tormé
9 God Bless The Child 2:43
Written-By – Herzog, Jr., Holiday
10 Blue Gardenia 3:19
Written-By – Russell, Lee
11 I Can't Face The Music (Without Singin' The Blues) 3:20
Written-By – Bloom, Koehler 
12 Sometimes I'm Happy 2:04
Written-By – Grey, Caesar, Youmans
Credits:
Arranged By – Billy Byers (tracks: 1), Ernie Wilkins (tracks: 2, 3, 10), Hal Mooney (tracks: 2, 3, 10), Quincy Jones (tracks: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12)
Conductor – Quincy Jones (tracks: 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12)
Drums – Gary Chester (tracks: 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12)
Guitar – George Barnes (tracks: 2, 3, 10)
Piano – Jack Wilson (tracks: 1, 5), Patti Bown (tracks: 2, 3, 10)
Tenor Saxophone – Al Cohn (tracks: 2, 3, 10)
Trombone – Billy Byers (tracks: 1, 2, 3, 5, 10), Jimmy Cleveland (tracks: 2, 3, 10), Kai Winding (tracks: 2, 3, 10)
Trumpet – Clark Terry (tracks: 2, 3, 10), Ernie Royal (tracks: 2, 3, 10), Joe Newman (tracks: 1, 2, 3, 5, 10)
Vocals – Dinah Washington (tracks: 1-12)