Artist: Junior Wells
     Album: You're Tuff Enough
     Label: Mercury
     Year: 1968 release
     Genre: Blues, Chicago electric blues
     Format, bitrate:mp3 (320 kbps)
     Time:56:44
     Size:125 MB

     Another period of the veteran Chicago harp man's career that awaits CD documentation -- and one of the most exciting. Wells's late-'60s output for Bright Star and Mercury's Blue Rock subsidiary frequently found him mining funky James Brown grooves (with a bluesy base, of course) to great effect -- "Up in Heah" and his national smash "You're Tuff Enough" are marvelous examples of his refusal to bend to purists' wishes (though there's a glorious version of Bobby Bland's blues-soaked "You're the One" that benefits handily from Sammy Lawhorn's delicate guitar work). ~ Bill Dahl, All Music Guide

     Artist: Blues Сousins
     Album: Moscow Boogie
     Label:Landy Stars Music
     Year: 2002
     Genre: Blues
     Format: mp3, 320kb/s
     Time: 44:31
     Size: 105Mb


     Если кто-то до сих пор считает блюз "заунывной музыкой с берегов Миссисипи" - значит, он не знаком с блюзом вообще. И данная пластинка пробел этот как раз может восполнить, потому как трио "Blues Cousins" в составе Левана Ломидзе (гитара, вокал), Сергея Патрушева (бас-гитара) и Вячеслава Игнатова (ударные) вполне можно назвать самым блюзовым коллективом столицы. Можно долго иронизировать на тему, может ли колоритный грузин в России играть настоящий чикагский блюз, но лучше все-таки один раз послушать последний альбом группы и понять, что ирония здесь совершенно неуместна. Поверьте - не только играет, но еще и сам сочиняет, что совершенно очевидно отличает "Blues Cousins" от других отечественных блюзменов. Добавим одно: как бы ни была интересна новая пластинка, лучше все-таки слушать этих ребят живьем на концерте. Удовольствие получите несравнимо большее.

(MK Бульвар № 50 (288))

     Artist: Art Farmer
     Album: Sing Me Softly Of The Blues
     Label: Atlantic
     Year: 1965
     Genre: jazz
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320Kb
     Time: 34:52
     Size: 79,7 MB

     There is a gradual expansion of expression in dynamics and Art’s horn cries, pleads and becomes excited.You can become addicted to its captivating line after audition.

     Artist - Stuff Smith
     Album - Black Violin
     Label - MPS
     Year - 1967, release - 1972
     Quality - MP3@320 kbps (LP-rip)
     Size - 66,6 mb
     Total time: 33:08
     AMG Rating:

     Stuff Smith's poor health in his later years didn't stop him from performing or recording, this studio date in Germany was recorded not long before his death on September 25, 1967. With a band of competent but not well known European musicians backing him, the violinist completed seven numbers for his final record, all standards of various vintage. Smith, of course, is the centerpiece of the LP; although he only uses a small portion of his bow, his unorthodox approach to the instrument produces a very distinct sound all his own. His vibrato-filled introduction to "Cherokee" is followed by a fine solo by pianist Otto Weiss and several brief drum breaks by Charley Antolini. His most adventurous playing takes place during "Sweet Lorraine," in a happy arrangement that almost seems like someone whistling as he jauntily walks down the street, though his second solo within the song makes great use of dissonance. Tenor saxophonist Heribert Thusek plays in unison with Smith during the opening to "One O'Clock Jump" and takes a swinging solo prior to the leader; he is also present on one other number, a foot tapping easygoing take of "What Is This Thing Called Love?" Unfortunately, this LP disappeared from print rather rapidly after its 1972 release when BASF quit the record-making business, so fans of Stuff Smith may have a very difficult time locating a copy of this excellent LP. ~ Ken Dryden, All Music Guide

     Artist: Horace Silver
     Album: The Jody Grind
     Label: Blue Note
     Year: 1966
     Genre: Soul Jazz, Hard Bop
     Format, rate: mp3, 256kbs
     Size: 73MB
     Time: 40:40

     AMG Rating:

     Following the subtly modern bent of much of The Cape Verdean Blues, Horace Silver recommitted himself to his trademark "funky jazz" sound on The Jody Grind. Yet he also consciously chose to keep a superbly advanced front line, with players like trumpeter Woody Shaw (retained from the Cape Verdean session), altoist/flutist James Spaulding, and tenor saxophonist Tyrone Washington. Thus, of all Silver's groove-centered records, The Jody Grind winds up as possibly the most challenging. It's also one of the most underappreciated; Silver's piano playing is at its rhythmic, funky best throughout, brimming over with confidence and good cheer, and evoking memories of the classic feel of his early-'60s quintet. His compositions have a similarly bright overtone, which (as the liner notes allude to) was becoming increasingly rare in mid-'60s jazz as the fury of the avant-garde and the Civil Rights upheaval began to seep into jazz's wider consciousness. The title cut is a playful, overlooked classic on the funky side of hard bop; Silver kicks it with a tasty groove, giving the rest of the musicians plenty to play off of. The whole group absolutely burns through "Grease Piece," a terrific hard swinger full of smoking solo statements from just about everyone on down to drum whiz Roger Humphries. Really, the whole album is packed with great grooves and tight solos, epitomizing the best virtues of Silver's music. For those who have digested classics like Song for My Father, Blowin' the Blues Away, and Finger Poppin', The Jody Grind is one of the best places to go next. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide

     Artists: Albert King
     Album: Truckload of Lovin'
     Label: Rhino
     Year: 1977
     Genre: Blues
     Format: mp3/ CBR 320 kbps, 44.1kHz, Stereo
     Size: 78,2 Mb

     Artist: Various Artists
     Album: The Blues White Album
     Label: Telarc
     Year: 2002
     Genre: Blues
     Format: mp3, 320kb/s
     Time: 51:17
     Size: 118 Mb


     Telarc stretches their label tribute series concept practically to the breaking point when they attempt to breathe blues life into the Beatles' sprawling masterwork. George Benson and Booker T. & the MG's tried similar treatments of Abbey Road, but the White Album, with its wildly diverse styles, hasn't been ripe for reinterpretation, especially in a blues mode. Although it's ultimately disappointing, this does have enough moments to appeal to fans of the participating artists and the genre. Whittling down the original double album's 30 tracks to a more manageable ten still doesn't explain why such naturally bluesy rockers like "Savoy Truffle," "Birthday," and "Back in the USSR" were ignored in favor of the bouncy pop of "Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da" and "Don't Pass Me By." Both fall flat here, with Maria Muldaur sounding completely lost on the former, and bass-playing sessionman T-Bone Wolk's unconvincingly wimpy vocals on the latter. Chris Duarte takes the title of "I'm So Tired" too much too heart as he practically sleepwalks though a mumbling, shambling version of the druggy tune that sounds like a demo bolstered by a snazzy guitar solo. Anders Osborne comes up empty handed while attempting to inject R&B into the twisting "Happiness Is a Warm Gun," but the song's winding, disjointed melody and free-form lyrics don't translate well to a blues interpretation. Even "Yer Blues," the most obvious cover, comes up short of its potential, as Lucky Peterson seems like a caricature of himself, working too hard to put it across as slow Chicago blues. Peterson shares guitar and vocals with Louisiana's Kenny Neal and Tab Benoit (at the time of this disc's issue, all three were not-so-coincidentally signed to Telarc, as were most of the other artists involved) on a rocking "Revolution" that comes closest to achieving this album's intention. Joe Louis Walker expands "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" to twice its original length, effectively digging into the guts of the tune in a stirring, near-wrenching performance. Similarly, the always-classy Charlie Musselwhite transforms "Dear Prudence" into an eight-minute instrumental epic, complete with crying harp and Colin Linden's sympathetic slide guitar. That, along with an acoustic "Blackbird," which takes McCartney's simple love song down to the Delta in an imaginative and moving unplugged version by Linden, shows the potential of this undertaking. It doesn't all gel, but the highlights show promise for future projects to be more successful. ~ Hal Horowitz, All Music Guide

     Artist: Blues Cousins
     Album: Hoochie Coochie Man
     Label: Landy Star Music
     Year: 2001
     Genre: Blues
     Format: mp3, 320kb/s
     Time: 29:24
     Size: 70 Mb

      C любовью и трепетом представляю моего любимого гитариста и земляка. Итак... Леван Ломидзе и его группа Blues Cousins.
"Levan is fantastic"--Dave Hole --Mountbaker.2003

     ROCKMUSIC.RU
     Леван Ломидзе в определенных кругах блюзовых маньяков вполне заслуженно считается одним из лучших блюзменов страны, благодаря своей виртуозной и чрезвычайно эмоциональной игре. И, несмотря на то, что Blues Cousins преподают блюз в классической манере , в соло "гитариста-пулеметчика" Ломидзе периодически проявляется то, что отличает его от других. Охарактеризовать музыку Blues Cousins можно так - море энергии и ураганная гитара. Кроме того, Blues Cousins не боятся вплетать в привычные всем мелодии совершенно неожиданные музыкальные лады, например композиция "I*ll be waiting" довольно сильно отходит от блюзовых канонов, и тяготеет к року.
Альбом получился удивительно драйвовым и энергичным - честно говоря, просто напросто тянет в пляс, ноги сами собой начинают отбивать такт, в руки прихлопывать. И меня не покидало ощущение, что с минуты на минуту в комнату ворвутся гангстеры времен Великой американской депрессии с автоматами
Надо сказать, что альбом действительно ошеломляет уникальным сочетанием мощи, напора и изысканной блюз-роковой мелодичности. В техническом и творческом смысле он выполнен мастерски - громадное эмоциональное содержание выражено с экспрессией и в каждом треке донесено с определенными нюансами. Никакой монотонности - все темы оригинальны и интересны, в них нет первозданной корневой грубости и неряшливости, они выдают неистовый темперамент музыкантов и склонность к мощному, но основанному именно на блюзе, драйву. Такое ощущение, что музыка эта - отражение чувств и эмоций участников группы. Эмоции эти, следует признать, красочные, резкие и в то же время очень убедительные в художественном плане. Вышло красиво, мелодично, и не попсово.
Рекомендую всем любителям качественного блюза!

     Artist: Maysa
     Album: All My Life
     Year: 2000
     Genre: Smooth Jazz, Contemporary R&B, Soul
     Format: mp3@320kbps
     Size: 97 Mb

     Five years passed between Maysa's self-titled debut album of 1995 and her next solo effort, All My Life. While Maysa ranged from decent to excellent, this consistently excellent CD is even stronger: more focused and more confident, yet more chance taking, more diverse, and totally unpredictable. All My Life gets off to a jazzy, Sade-ish start with "Got to Be Strong," which should please quiet storm enthusiasts. But Maysa, much to her credit, turns the album into a real R&B roller coaster by providing everything from club-friendly deep house on "Pressure" and "Hooked on Your Love" to hypnotic, British-sounding acid jazz on "Sunshine" and "Mirrors." And the singer really soars on an irresistible house interpretation of "The Bottle," Gil Scott-Heron's 1970s commentary on alcoholism in the inner city. So is the big-voiced Maysa really a dance diva at heart? A jazzy quiet storm/smooth jazz singer? A retro-soul belter? All My Life gives the impression that she's all of those things and more, and it's clearly among the finest, most exciting R&B releases of 2000. by Alex Henderson, AMG

     Artist : Cecil Taylor
     Album : Unit Structures
     Label : Blue Note
     Year : 1966
     Quality : MP3@320 kbps
     Total time : 56:27
     Size : 124 MB

     Unit Structures, through its use of two bassists (Henry Grimes and Alan Silva) and the two-reed front of Ken McIntyre and Taylor-mainstay Jimmy Lyons, suggests a "double band." Yet such structures become almost meaningless in Taylor's world: it is all about energy and exploration. Punctuated by percussive bursts and melodic eruptions, Unit Structures is, despite its title, impressionistic and whimsical, although devoid of all standard structures and romance. Instead, Taylor pushes his band to explore the limits of improvisation where nothing--neither form, nor melody, nor structure--is a given. Still challenging listening after nearly four decades. --Fred Goodman

     Artist: Leo Parker
     Album: Rollin' with Leo
     Quality: mp3@320 kbps + FLAC + all covers
     Label: Blue Note (RVG-edition)
     Year: recorded in 1962, remastered in 2009

     Baritonist Leo Parker was in the early stages of a comeback when he recorded this, his second Blue Note album of 1961. Tragically, he died just four months later at the age of 36. Performing with a fairly obscure cast (trumpeter Dave Burns is the best known of his sidemen), the full-toned baritonist (who was most influenced by Illinois Jacquet and Charlie Parker) is in excellent form on these basic blues, ballads, and jump tunes. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

     Artist: Hank Jones
     Album: The Hank Jones Quartet/Quintet
     Year: 1955
     Label: Savoy Jazz
     Time: 40:55
     Format: MP3 @320kbps + flac
     Size: 86mb (RS.com, with 5% file recovery)
     Includes LP Cover + Liner Notes

     Artist: Jimmy Smith
     Album: Christmas Cookin'
     Year: 1992
     Label: Verve
     Format, bitrate: MP3@320 kbit/s + flac
     Time: 48:51
     Size: 97.6 MB + 10.9 MB + 276 Mb (flac)