Give-Me-An-Offer.com

United Abominations

Release Date: 06/14/2005 Genre: Mystery - Suspense - Thriller Starring: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton Director: Steven Spielberg

One More for the Road

Dressed to Chill

Soprano saxist Marion Meadows has been a crown prince in the smooth jazz court for so long, it's easy to wonder if he remembers his days woodshedding with Joe Henderson and Norman Connors' Starship Orchestra. He's been wildly successful, and his time with the Heads Up label has hardly been wasted; his rep is deep and wide, and his records move. Unlike a better selling counterpart on the same instrument, Meadows has a keen sense of rhythm and pitch, and his tonal control is top-notch. Given the tunes here, interchangeable deep relaxing grooves that borrow on everything from trip-hop to jazz, and house to Wes Montgomery's early experiments -- check "Remember Me," for evidence of the latter -- it's easy to forget the individuality Meadows possesses not only on soprano, but also on tenor and flute he employs all three on "Coco Flow," as well as alto on the opening title track. He duets with himself on soprano and tenor on "Bounce" and "Remember Me." Meadows' key collaborator here is composer, programmer, and keyboard whiz Mike Broening. He's the guy who comes up with the skeletal, wispy rhythm loops -- leaving the need for a drummer non-existent. There are three tracks with vocals here, "Miss Know It All," an urban soul ballad with Will Brock doing his best Terence Trent D'Arby, and "1000 Dreams" with Caji Da Bahia, an overblown sunstorm of loaded overdubbing. The cover of R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly" is an understated ballad with some beautiful phrasing by Meadows, even when the all too familiar chorus kicks in. When the backing vocalists -- Vanessa and Lori Williams and Raymond Reeder -- enter, they are so utterly masked by production technique, it's hard to tell th

Nothing Serious

The Roy Hargrove Quintet's Nothing Serious is one of two recordings issued simultaneously by Verve in 2006. The other, by the RH Factor, called Distractions is a funky, neo-soul-jazz recording with guest spots from David "Fathead" Newman and D'Angelo, while this set is strictly acoustic. Willie Jones II is drummer on both sets, but this one features pianist Ronnie Mathews, Dwayne Burno on bass, Justin Robinson on alto and flute, and a guest appearance by Slide Hampton and his trombone on three of the album's eight tracks. The set opens with the Afro-Cuban flavored title cut by salsero Leo Quintero. The head charges out of the gate with Hargrove's trumpet double-tracked with flugelhorn and Robinson's sax. Mathews' piano is at the bottom here, it carries the other soloists with a wonderful middle register right-hand. Hargrove solos first in strictly bop style. Robinson's solo is edgy, on the edge of out, and Mathews charges in with a change-up solo until the bridge where he moves the tune along is a twisting salsa rhythm. Hampton's own "A Day in Vienna," follows suit with a subtly flavored Latin tinge which is exploited in full by Mathews and Jones. The front line, of the three horns, plays four, four-note patterns before engaging in knotty interplay with the rhythm section. Hampton's solo is elegant, joyous, and heavy on the rhythmic accent. Hargrove's "Trust," is a ballad. graceful, languid, and more lyrical than you've heard from him on similar numbers in the past. "Camaraderie," walks on the edge of free but stays within a the tension-held context of mode. Mathews' gorgeous modal tune "Salima's Dance" is one of the finest things here for its depth of swing, and features

1. I Chalk - 3:14 2. My Brother Did It - 3:00 3. Get Me Some Glasses - 3:08 4. Our Imaginary Rhino - 3:29 5. Meltdown - 2:32 6. Maybe the Monster - 3:26 7. Sand Castle - 4:07 8. Taking off M

1. Como La Flor - 3:05 2. Trampa - 3:14 3. Amor Prohibido - 2:52 4. Busque - 4:01 5. Fotos y Recuredos Back on the Chain Gang - 2:36 6. Todo lo Aprendi de Ti - 3:06 7. No Me Queda Mas - 3:19

1. What's Left of Me - 4:05 2. I Can't Hate You Anymore - 3:53 3. On Your Own - 3:06 4. Outside Looking In - 3:20 5. Shades of Blue - 4:17 6. Beautiful - 3:34 7. Everywhere But Here - 3:29

1. Man I Love - 2:32 2. Guess I'll Hang My Tears out to Dry - 2:37 3. Something Cool - 4:08 4. Cottage for Sale - 3:29 5. Ill Wind - 4:01 6. I Wanna Be Around - 3:14 7. Other Woman - 4:08

1. Monkey Jump - 3:09 2. Satan's Paradise - 3:39 3. Lost John Dean - 3:26 4. Heaven Now - 3:55 5. Postcard from Mexico - 2:34 6. To the Harvest Look Ahead - 2:56 7. I Can't Wait - 3:31