The Cookers – Time and Time Again (2014) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

The Cookers – Time and Time Again (2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 01:01:52 minutes | 720 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Motema

For their fourth release, a true Jazz supergroup, The Cookers, have swapped out saxophonist Craig Handy for Donald Harrison, raising the median age of the septet to just under 70. All of that longevity doesn’t mean complacency, however: The 69-year-old pianist George Cables, septuagenarians Eddie Henderson (trumpet), Billy Harper (tenor saxophone), Cecil McBee (bass) and Billy Hart (drums) and the Cookers’ two youngsters, Harrison (54) and trumpeter David Weiss (49) may bring well-defined personal styles to this ongoing project, but there’s nothing retro about them. The Cookers cook, all right, and if anything they’ve become even more assured, skillful and single-minded with each new offering.

Following their critically acclaimed album BELIEVE, The Cookers’ “Time and Time Again” once again reveals this jazz super-group’s consistently profound compositional and improvisational mastery. The sheer power of their mid 60s post-bop spirit, placed in a contemporary setting, continues to thrive and grow in their 7th year as an international act, embarking on their busiest tour season to date.

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The Cookers – The Call of the Wild and Peaceful Heart (2016) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

The Cookers – The Call of the Wild and Peaceful Heart (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:14:08 minutes | 1,43 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Smoke Sessions

The Cookers are a young group of oldsters, seven esteemed jazz veterans of some 60s and 70s years of age whose experience and ongoing creativity now offer their latest development. Often a gathering of jazz greats produces nice, somewhat nostalgic but not distinctive recordings; this one is different. These artists are true colleagues who worked with each in other ensembles, and while leaders of their own bands, they can mesh into the composition. Two trumpets, Eddie Henderson and David Weiss, are joined with two saxophones, Donald Harrison on alto and Billy Harper on tenor. Bass, piano, and drums are the forte respectively of George Cables, Cecil McGee, and Billy Hart. All of the tracks are originals, three by Harper, two each by Hart and Cables, and one by McBee. The happy result is pleasurable listening to a great collaboration of postbop, with David Weiss serving as arranger-diplomat-organizer and Billy Harper arranger on three tracks. The extended tracks cover 74 minutes of melody, beat, and horn harmony.

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