Artist: Sonny Criss
   Album: Sonny's Dream (Birth of the New Cool)
   Label: Prestige/OJC
   Release Date: 1968
   Format: MP3@320
   Size: 104 MB
   Time: 46:00

   For Sonny Criss this was an unusual date. The altoist is backed for the set by a nonet arranged by the great Los Angeles legend Horace Tapscott. The arrangements are challenging but complementary to Criss' style, and he is in top form on the six Tapscott originals. The CD reissue includes two additional alternate takes, and is highly recommended for both Criss' playing and Tapscott's writing.

     Аркадий Шилклопер:
     "Джаз — это экстаз"

     ".....Валторна — инструмент очень ограниченный и консервативный, до сих пор и во всем мире, я могу говорить об этом уверенно, поскольку объездил кучу валторновых фестивалей, и на них я — звезда. В Америке вот недавно был — 700 валторнистов аплодировали стоя. Я сломал валторновый мир, сломал отношение к инструменту. Были и другие, но они не очень заметно это делали. Именно по той причине, что они джазмены. Они играли звуком, похожим на тромбон, и классики их не замечали. И вдруг появился какой-то русский с академической школой, который играет настоящим валторновым звуком и джаз, и то, и другое, и третье… Когда я начал ездить, я понял, что для меня есть огромное пространство для того, чтобы сказать: ребята, а инструмент-то не такой уж плохой и не такой ограниченный! Есть куча возможностей!...."

     Artist: Les Enfoires
     Album: Tous dans le meme bateau
     Release: 2002
     Label: BMG International
     Genre: Frensh pop
     Format, bitrate: 320 kBit/s

     Les Enfoires (French for "The Dumbasses"), is the name given to the singers and performers in the yearly charity concert for the Restaurants du Cœur (Les Restos du Coeur).
     On January 26, 1986, French humorist Coluche, who had set up Les Restos du Coeur a few months earlier, invited a number of artists and public figures to appear on television as a promotional move. The band, whose line-up was never the same, was dubbed "Les Enfoires" in reference to one of Coluche's catchwords. After Coluche died in a motorbike accident (June 19, 1986) his widow, Vйronique Colucci, called on those who had participated to continue his actions, and the band was revived for a further television show. The concept has since evolved into an annual concert, bringing together up to forty artists and celebrities from various backgrounds. The funds raised by the concerts and derived records under the name "Enfoirйs" are donated to Les Restos du Coer.

     "Les Enfoires 2002" представляет таких артистов, как как Alizee, Helene Segara, Patricia Kaas, между прочим, тоже очень хороших. Этот альбом благотворительного проекта - его редко можно найти в интернете.

     Artist: Lou Donaldson
     Album: Light Foot
     Label: Blue Note
     Recorded: Dec. 14, 1958
     Quality: FLAC
     Size: 292 MB
     Time: 41:55

     In many ways, Blues Walk marked the culmination of Lou Donaldson's prime period as a hard-driving, straight-ahead bop saxophonist. Until that point, he had been turning out intense, furious bop workouts — afterward, as its successor Light Foot shows, he began to slow down a bit. With Light Foot, Donaldson still was pretty firmly grounded in bop, but the tempos began to slow down, and his blues influence came to the forefront; furthermore, the bop tracks are hard bop, not straight bop, which tended to dominate his previous recordings. That diversity makes Light Foot an interesting listen, but the record suffers from slightly uneven material and performances. His quintet — featuring pianist Herman Foster, bassist Peck Morrison, drummer Jimmy Wormsworth, and conga player Ray Barretto — is usually up to the task at hand, but they tend to play conventionally. And, ultimately, that's what Light Foot is — an entertaining but conventional release from an alto saxophonist capable of greatness. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG

Artist: Perry Hemus
Album: Rhodesmode
Quality: mp3@320Kbps
Size: 163 MB
Year: 2004
Label: Woodland
Genre: acid jazz, nu-jazz
Total time: 71:50

Rhodesmode is the first release in what promises to be first of many for multi-instrumentalist Perry Hemus. What rhodesmode aims to do is to provide the listener with a unique collection of jazz idioms and styles.
At first, I was taken aback with the sound, it was almost like a chill out CD but the more I listened the better it sounded. Perry seems to encapsulate the summer sound from the off. It's a blend of the most eclectic styles of music your likely to hear moving from soul, jazz to latin fusion through to ambient and deep house. It's the sort of CD that you find yourself lying in your pad thinking of sun-drenched beaches and lazy afternoons. Track 1, A closer view is 8 minutes of fender rhodes bliss and moves straight to another of the strongest tracks on the album shifting seasons which is a beautiful horn led fusion track, then the pharoah-esque Abstractions which sounds very eastern. Next up is orbiting which reminds me of spacial soul jazz from 70s. The stand out track is Rhodesmode which is a floor filling Nu-jazz track which has haunting string drenched riff running through it. The album continues to move through the gears surprising you at every turn. The emphasis of the album is not on the mix but the melding of eclectic styles. The album closes with Peacemaker which leaves you with images of brasilian guitars on the sand and cool drinks under sweeping palms. A real surprise for me but one which I'm pleased to have reviewed. This is an album that has to be discovered over 60 minutes so don't expect a quick fix as your getting ready to go out. Reserve an hour and see what I mean. - Jazzreview.com
'Simply a wonderful album' - Rainer Truby

     Artist: Arkady Shilkloper (Аркадий Шилклопер), Allegre Correa, George Breinschmid
     Album: Mauve
     Year: , release 2001
     Label: Quinton
     Genre: Jazz, Latin, Folk, etc...
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320 kbps
     Time: 1h, 15 min, 13 sec
     Size: 93+85 mb.

     Предлагаю Вашему вниманию ещё один интересный проект известного валторниста Аркадия Шилклопера.
     В 2002 году этот альбом стал лауреатом национальной австрийской джазовой премии им. Ханса Коллера в категории "Альбом года".

     Artist: Bitter Funeral Beer Band
     Album: Live in Frankfurt 82
     Release: 2007
     Label: Country & Eastern
     Genre: Avangarde - Folk - Free Jazz
     Format, bitrate: 320 kBt
     Time: 57 min
     Size: 128 Mb

     Очень непростой для восприятия проект, в котором умудрился принять участие знаменитый Don Cherry. Собственно по причине его присутствия этот альбом и появился в колекции. К сожалению, "человек с трубой в кармане", потерялся в какофонии и шуме других участников этого концерта. Все-таки большие составы не всегда на пользу музыке. Как подобный альбом мог номинироваться на "лучший джазовый альбом года" в Швеции, лично для меня, остается загадкой. Видимо, в прошлом году скандинавские джазовые гуру не создали ничего примечательного, что в номинацию попал и этот проект.

     Artists: Stephane Grappelli & Yehudi Menuhin
     Album: Grappelli & Menuhin - Play Gershwin
     Label: EMI Records / Angel
     Orig. Date: 1988, release 2001
     Format, bitrate: MP3@320 kbit/s
     Time: 0.55:55
     Size: 128 MB


     Просто послушайте и получите удовольствие...

     Artist: John Lee Hooker
     Album: The Real Folk Blues / More Real Folk Blues
     Release Date: 03/12/2002
     Label: MCA/Chess
     Genre: Blues
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320 kb/s
     Size: 87,4 + 100 MB

     For these two albums, recorded in the mid-'60s, the "real folk" appellation is not quite accurate. The title was also applied to contemporaneous releases by Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Muddy Waters as a Chess Records marketing ploy. These 18 songs are electric and blistering, edgy like a coiled snake. When Hooker slips into his ferocious howl--as he does on "Stella Mae"--it can make the hairs on your neck stand up. He can also keep a slow pace simmering with relentless fire. Hooker's idiosyncratic phrasing and tempos made him most effective as a solo act during the early years of his career. For these sessions producer Ralph Bass successfully matched players to Hooker's quirky sensibility, the grooves all perfectly meshing into one organic rhythm contraption.

     Artist: John Lee Hooker
     Album: It Serves You Right To Suffer
     Year: 1965
     Release Date: 1999
     Label: MCA
     Genre: blues
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320 kb/s
     Size: 76 MB

     A number of John Lee Hooker CDs have been released over the years, many of them somewhat shoddy compilations of rather dubious-sounding live shows and unlabeled re-recordings of vintage material. This makes the reissue of a classic John Lee Hooker album like 1966's smoking IT SERVES YOU RIGHT TO SUFFER all the more appreciated.
     Backed by the sympathetic quartet of guitarist Barry Galbraith, legendary bassist Milt Hinton, drummer David Panama Francis, and trombonist William Wells--whose interjections give the bluesy tunes an unexpected but surprisingly effective '20s jazz feel--Hooker's boogie-style slide guitar sounds right at home. This is possibly the best full-band recording of Hooker's long career, and one of interest even to those who prefer his solo guitar-and-voice records. Highlights include the incendiary title track and the rollicking "Shake It Baby." Though the playing time is a bit short, this is still a richly satisfying listening experience.

     Artist: John Lee Hooker
     Album: Blues From The Motor City
     Year: 1948, Release date: 22/09/2004
     Label: Saga
     Genre: blues
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320 kb/s
     Time: 65.43 mins
     Size: 70,7+73,6 MB

     Artist: Savina and All That Gentle Jazz!
     Album: Midnight Whispers
     Label: Rave LPS 502 + singles
     Quality: FLAC
     Size: 265 MB
     Time: 44:06

     Artists: Charlie Haden, Paul Motian & Gonzalo Rubalcaba
     Album: The Montreal Tapes
     Label: Polygram Records
     Release Date: 1998
     Format/Bitrate: APE/lossless (cover, cue, log)
     Size: 98+98+98+27 Mb

     И снова в Клубе удивительный Charlie Haden в компании с "птенцом гнезда Эвансова", талантливейшим Gonzalo Rubalcaba и былым соратником самого Великого Романтика XX века Paul Motian.

     Очень рекомендую!