Artist: Frankie Trumbauer
     Album: 1929-1931
     Rating AMG: 4
     Recording Date: Sep 18, 1929-Jun 24, 1931
     Release Date: Oct 2, 2002
     Label: Classics
     Genre: Jazz, Styles: Swing, Dixieland
     Time: 72:25
     Format/Bitrate - flac (rapidshare)
     Size: 100+74 Mb



C-melody saxophonist Frankie Trumbauer will always be most famous for the recordings that he made with cornetist Bix Beiderbecke but he also led a series of fine sessions after Bix had departed the Paul Whiteman Orchestra. This CD features Trumbauer leading a large combo filled with Paul Whiteman sidemen during 1929-30 and a nonet in 1931. While some of the numbers are a bit commercial and there are vocals by Smith Ballew, Art Jarrett and Trumbauer himself, there are also some fine jazz solos from the leader, cornetist Andy Secrest, violinist Joe Venuti and trombonist Bill Rank. Among the better tracks are "Manhattan Rag" (which has Hoagy Carmichael on piano), "Happy Feet," "Get Happy" and "Honeysuckle Rose." ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

     Artist:Johnny Winter.
     Album:Still Alive and Well.
     Label:Sony.
     Year: , release 1973.
     Format, bitrate: 320.
     Size: 117 m.

     You might mistake this for a live record, but this is actually a 1973 studio release by the Texas blues guitar master. Winter's first release after a brief retirement/drying-out period, STILL ALIVE AND WELL, from the title on down, has the feeling ... Full Descriptionof a major comeback, although Winter really hadn't been gone for very long. Looking hale and hearty on the cover--or as hale and hearty as a rail-thin albino can look, anyway--Winter sounds equally fit on the songs themselves. Produced by his longtime collaborator Rick Derringer, who also leads the tight and flashy band with his rhythm and second lead playing, the album is possibly the most pop-oriented release of Winter's tenure at Columbia. The band, which features Todd Rundgren on synthesizers and Mellotron (on a Johnny Winter album???) and Rundgren's associate Mark "Moogy" Klingman on piano, is probably mostly responsible for this, but Winter's amiable versions of the Stones' "Silver Train" and "Let It Bleed," along with Dan Hartman's "Can't You Feel It," are among his most radio-friendly work. This reissue also features uncompleted outtakes of Little Richard's "Lucille" and Dylan's "From a Buick 6," missing Winter's never-recorded lead solos.

Artist:Johnny Winter
Album: John Dawson Winter III
Label:Blue Sky
Year: , release 1974
Format, bitrate: 320
Size: 94,4 м,

Johnny Winter, his brother Edgar and Rick Derringer form an American rock triumvirate that knows little competition. John Dawson Winter III further refines the oldest's progression from an overanxious white bluesman with a restrained voice into a tasteful and raunch rocker.

Winter the guitarist is a constant powerhouse who leaves few spaces in his frequent solos. Delivering cluster after cluster of rapidly picked notes or soaring chords, he has developed a discernible, if not virtuoso, style to replace the awkward pastiches of Chuck Berry and B.B. King that flawed his early work. Interestingly, Winter opts for less use of distortion than do most guitarists of this ilk.

He composes smartly. Knowing that even the simplest change can revitalize an otherwise staid 12-bar blues, Winter inserts a time-tested ascending chord sequence into the ninth and tenth bars of "Pick Up on My Mojo." Yet he can also succeed with a haunting, gently sung "Stranger," a pop piece reminiscent of Edgar.

But it's never a one-man show. Randy Jo Hobbs's bass combines treble tones with the mandatory bottom sound, and muscular drum rolls from Richard Hughes propel the meatier tracks which dominate the album. Wisely, Winter continues to borrow from other writers: Derringer, John Lennon and Allen Toussaint are all well represented. Shelly Yackus's crisp production shows the proper measure of control.

John Dawson Winter III is not without flaws -- his vocal on "Sweet Papa John," a blues patterned after the earliest Muddy Waters sides, returns to the thin huskiness he has mostly mastered, and the horns on two cuts would have been best omitted. Still, Winter displays an unmistakable maturity that few rock artists achieve. ~ Charley Waters, Rolling Stone, 1/30/75.

     Artist: Archie Shepp
     Album: Montreux One
     Format: FLAC & mp3 (320k/s)
     Size: 288 & 107 MB (scans)
     Label: Freedom
     Total time: 46:42

     Artist: Michael Manson
     Album: The Bottom Line
     Label: A440 Music Group
     Year: 2002
     Genre: Jazz, Smooth Jazz
     Format, bitrate: MP3@320 kbps
     Time: 46:23
     Size: 104.8 Mb

     The veteran jazz/funk bassist should be invited into a smooth jazz fan's CD player by virtue of the guest list here, first and foremost. Playing with heavyweights like George Duke and Kirk Whalum -- whom he first played with on Whalum's The Gospel According to Jazz -- Manson has made a lot of great friends in the genre; each song here is dominated by significant harmony, melody, or solo time. The hip, jumpy "Outer Drive" was co-produced by and features Brian Culbertson, and plays like a Culbertson keyboard romp, with a standout bubbly bass solo. "Keys to My Heart" is a lush, lite funk ballad with a gentle, bass-driven melody and a rich harmony line by Whalum. The silky cover of Babyface's Toni Braxton hit "Seven Whole Days" balances thoughtful bass ruminations with Steve Cole's rich tenor, which joins in quickly. Manson's tone is very much in the realm of Marcus Miller, but he rarely stretches beyond the pleasant middle ground of his genre. While that will no doubt endear him to radio, the tune "The Bottom Line" shows a great deal of breakout potential beyond the confines of radio-friendly land. He plays thick and hard, surrounded by a sea of horns (including Culbertson's trombone) and supported by Tim Gant's organ sounds, which dig deep into Manson's extensive gospel roots. This is excellent smooth jazz, but it's easy to hear that Manson is capable of so much more. ~ Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide

     Artist:Chico Hamilton , featuring: Eric Dolphy and Dennis Budimir
     Album: Complete Studio Session
     Label:Fresh Sound Records
     Year: rec. 1958-1959/rel. Oct, 2008
     Format: MP 3 @320 Kb/s
     Time: CD 1 (68:51)+CD 2(51:48)
     Size: CD 1 (95.4+56.4) + CD 2(71.5+42.5)Mb

     Artist - Gene Krupa
     Album - Drummer Man
     Label - Verve
     Year - 1956, release - 1990
     Quality - MP3@320 kbps
     Size - 88,9 mb
     Total time - 39:27

Roy Eldridge (trumpet) got the featured billing (along with vocalist Anita O'Day) he deserved on Drummer Man, a date featuring Gene Krupa fronting a big band. This was a reunion of sorts, but one that worked well, better in some cases than the original. The title's a bit misleading, for although Krupa's propulsions were clearly heard, his soloing was limited to a few features. Still, any drummer or fan of drumming will respond to the ambiance of this date. ~ Bob Rusch, Cadence, All Music Guide

Bubbling over with jams that are lively and swingin’ is Gene Krupa’s ”Drummer Man”. For this happy-toned collection, Krupa unites with vocalist Anita O’Day who sings with heart-wrenching feeling and trumpeter Roy Eldridge whose horn delivers with intense clarity and piercing brilliance. ”Let Me Off Uptown” is an energetic homage to the infamous NYC neighborhood. ”That’s What You Think” finds Anita at her best as she sings with scathing sentiment. Krupa gives passionate drum performances on ”Wire Brush Stomp” and ”Boogie Blues”. Veteran drummer, Gene Krupa shines on this selection and quickly diminishes any doubt that he’s the nations’#1 perennial drummer man. ~ Verve

     Исполнитель: Александр Цфасман
     Альбом: Грустить не надо
     Производитель: ВТПО "Фирма Мелодия"
     Годы: 1990 [Записи 1945-1946]
     Качество: MP3@320kbps
     Размер архива: 101 Mb
     Время звучания: 46:16

     Однажды, отвечая на вопросы корреспондента одной из центральных газет, Александр Наумович Цфасман заметил: "Джаз - это не "фокусничанье", не трюкачество, не веселое времяпровождение, а музыка, настоящая музыка, одна из областей музыкального искусства. И так же как в любом из видов искусства, здесь действуют те же законы художественного творчества и неукоснительно применимы те же требования и критерии талантливости, мастерства, профессионализма".
     Слова эти - итог раздумий над длинным путем, проделанным Цфасманом в джазе. Пройдя через подражательство, учебу у зарубежных мастеров джаза, когда точная копия исполненного ими произведения уже казалась успехом, Цфасман постоянно искал свой стиль исполнения, шел к самобытности звучания и неповторимости репертуара своего оркестра. Вашему вниманию представлены последние записи, сделанные Цфасманом на магнитную ленту в конце 1945 - начале 1946 годов.

     Artist - Lennie Tristano
     Album - Requiem
     Label - Giants of Jazz
     Years - 1945/1955 , release 1996
     Quality - MP3@320kb/s
     Size - 143 mb
     Total time - 64:19


    
Towards the end of the 20th century, the Giants of Jazz reissue label came out with a series of compilations that paid tribute to the amazingly creative musical mind of Lennie Tristano. Requiem offers 13 tracks recorded in New York City between the years 1949 and 1955, beginning with a pair of piano solos (the gnarly overdubbed "Turkish Mambo" and the beautiful reflective blues "Requiem") along with two studies for trio involving bassist Peter Ind and drummer Jeff Morton. "East Thirty-Second" was named for the address of Tristano's home recording studio, where these first four titles were taped in 1954 and 1955. Tracks five through nine and track 11 were distilled from the first and fourth of a five-set marathon recording session that took place live in the Sing Song Room of the Confucius Restaurant on June 11, 1955 with saxophonist Lee Konitz, drummer Art Taylor and bassist Gene Ramey, whose eventful career traces a trajectory from Lester Young through Charlie Parker to Lennie Tristano. Originally released on the Atlantic label, these wonderfully cohesive and consistently inspired performances still convey the intimate immediacy of relaxed collective improvisation. "Sax of a Kind" was extracted from the Capitol recording session of May 16, 1949, with Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh in front of Tristano, guitarist Billy Bauer, bassist Arnold Fishkin and drummer Denzil Best. For dessert the producers tacked on the short takes from the famous RCA Metronome All Stars date of January 3, 1949, stoked by a formidable 13-piece ensemble with a front line made up of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro, Miles Davis, Charlie Ventura, J.J. Johnson, Buddy DeFranco and Ernie Caceres. Legend has it that Bird deliberately feigned befuddlement at Pete Rugolo's arrangement in order to stall for time and draw a few unionized "Overtime" dollars for himself and his 12 session mates. Tristano's "Victory Ball" helped to establish a modern tradition that was still bearing fruit when Anthony Braxton included it on his hatART album Eight (+3) Tristano Compositions 1989 for Warne Marsh. ~ arwulf arwulf, All Music Guide

     Artist: Eric Clapton
     Album: Time Pieces: Best of Eric Clapton
     Label: Polydor
     Year: 1990
     Genre: Blues
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320kb/s
     Size: 88+20MB


Time Pieces is a good single-disc collection of Eric Clapton's solo hits -- including "I Shot the Sheriff," "After Midnight," "Wonderful Tonight," Derek and the Dominos' "Layla," and "Cocaine" -- that has since been supplanted by the more thorough The Cream of Eric Clapton, which combines his solo work with selections of his Cream and Blind Faith work. Nevertheless, the compilation still provides a good introduction for neophyte Clapton fans, especially those who just want copies of his '70s hits. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

     Artist: J.J.Johnson
     Album: The Brass Orchestra
     Recording: 1996, Release: 1997
     Label: Verve Records
     Time: 70:27
     Genre: Mainstream Jazz
     Format: Mp3@320/kbs


What you have in your hands is something very rare in our moment of small projects. Here is the work of a grand master, J.J. Johnson, featured in a full brass environment of the kind that was once far more common to the world of jazz recordings. This music has the integrity, the power, and the beauty we don’t associate with much of what is recorded and performed now – not because people don’t still have spiritual possession of such things but because the way the majority of our finest artists render them isn’t usually seen as commercial, which makes this work a statement of equal commitment by the musicians and the recording label. Stanley Crouch

J.J. Johnson finds himself at the helm of a dream band here -- a full brass orchestra with French horns, euphoniums, tubas, and a harp -- and gets to exploit its possibilities wherever they might lead. The results are beyond category, where the veteran trombonist's writing has a feathery richness, urbanity, and a depth charge in the bass reminiscent of, but not really indebted to, Gil Evans. There is plenty of straight-ahead jazz grooving but also several episodes of formal, almost classical writing, as in the suitably joyous "If I Hit the Lottery," and rigorous combinations of both, like the angular tribute to Bйla Bartуk, "Canonn for Bela." The generous Johnson doesn't even appear on a piece he commissioned from Robin Eubanks called "Cross Currents" -- Eubanks performs the sputtering trombone solo -- nor on Slide Hampton's blazing "Comfort Zone." He also revisits some of his early third stream experiments from the '50s and '60s; "Ballad for Joe" derives from his "Poem for Brass" and "Horn of Plenty" and "Ballade" from the Perceptions album (the latter two sound a bit staid under the current light). Johnson's own trombone solos are always imaginative, authoritative, and irresistibly swinging; at 72, he plays as well here as he ever did. This is a must-buy for all J.J. fans and those who thought that the third stream could never rise again. Richard S. Ginell

     Artist: Fleetwood Mac
     Album: Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac
     Label: Sony Music Entertainment (UK) Ltd.
     Year: 1968 , release 2004
     Genre: Blues
     Format: MP3 VBR, bitrate: 320kB/s
     Time: 1:03:37
     Size: 91,1 MB
     Rating AMG

B 1967 году Питер и Джон Мэкви объединились с Миком Флитвудом и Джереми Спенсером в группе, поначалу носившей более чем красноречивое название Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, чем и началась трехлетняя история поледнего.
Итак, дебютный альбом группы!

Fleetwood Mac's debut LP was a highlight of the late-'60s British blues boom. Green's always inspired playing, the capable (if erratic) songwriting, and the general panache of the band as a whole placed them leagues above the overcrowded field. Elmore James is a big influence on this set, particularly on the tunes fronted by Jeremy Spencer ("Shake Your Moneymaker," "Got to Move"). Spencer's bluster, however, was outshone by the budding singing and songwriting skills of Green. The guitarist balanced humor and vulnerability on cuts like "Looking for Somebody" and "Long Grey Mare," and with "If I Loved Another Woman," he offered a glimpse of the Latin-blues fusion that he would perfect with "Black Magic Woman." The album was an unexpected smash in the U.K., reaching number four on the British charts.

     Artist:Johnny Winter
     Album:Johnny Winter
     Label:Sony
     Year: 1969
     Format, bitrate: MP3,320 kb/sec
     Size: 102 m.


There is no question that for pure blues guitar talent, Johnny Winter needs to be mentioned when looking at blues musicians. Johnny has spent his life mastering a number of varied blues styles and that what makes him such a treat to listen to. In general, though, when you think of Johnny's style you think of undiminished scorchin' fury and passion. Using an unwound G string and lighter guage strings helps Johnny do the bending that is his trademark. You here the influence of T-Bone Walker in his songs by the way the feel of his songs change by starting in one meter and changing to another. With Johnny it is hard to say where the blues stops and rock 'n' roll begins. He always has played both of them. While this seems to bother some blues purists, as Muddy said "The Blues had a baby and they named it Rock 'N' Roll".