Artist: Dave Douglas & Keystone
     Album: Moonshine
     Year: 2007
     Label: Greenleaf
     Format/Bitrate: mp3, 320kbps
     Size: 131MB

     Moonshine, the 2007album from trumpeter/composer Dave Douglas' Grammy-nominated band Keystone, is an album that moves musical genres forward into uncharted territory. The evolutionary/revolutionary aspect is found in the vibrant alchemy between Douglas' avant-garde leaning compositions, the relentless, polyrhythmic funk of drummer Gene Lake and bassist Brad Jones, the Sun-Ra-esque sonics of Adam Benjamin who plays a highly modulated Fender Rhodes, the integrated electronic soundscapes of DJ Olive, and the post-post blowing of the front line featuring Douglas and saxophonist Marcus Strickland. Rolling Stone called Keystone's 2005's self titled album, "a modernist requiem." Moonshine takes it a step further: a modernist recipe for the future sound of electronics, jazz, and new composition.

     Artist: Gianluigi Trovesi
     Album: Around Small Fairy Tales
     Year: 1998
     Label: Soul Note
     Format/Bitrate: mp3, 320kbps
     Size: 119Mb

     Italian music, even of the pop variety, often references the country's rich orchestral and operatic tradition. Rarely do you find such a fusion as effective and grand as in this "chamber jazz" concoction of Italy's small town saxophonist and clarinetist Gianluigi Trovesi. Every jazz bar follows with an allusion to Baroque or Renaissance forms before returning to something "trad." The effect is wondrous and magical. The prevalence of vibraphone maintains this air of a symphonic spell. Symphonic it is, because while the album is a collection of separate pieces, conductor Bruno Tommaso scores the entire opus for conceptual continuity. A prevalence of strings and a beautifully understated participation from the jazz percussion (a knockdown exception is royal rhythms of "Dance for a King") give Tales an airy, free, and lighthearted feel. Nembro is the name of that small town that Trovesi is from, and his daughter and son-in-law play in its Chamber Orchestra, chosen for use on this recording. The 18-member ensemble is bolstered by Trovesi himself, vibes, a very subtle electric bass, drums, and percussion for jazz flavoring of this exquisitely arranged meeting of Western Society's two most intellectual musics. Liner notes to this album are in Italian and English. Review by Tom Schulte

     Artist: Artist: Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention
     Album: One Size Fits All
     Label: Rykodisc
     Original Year: 1975
     Format/Bitrate: MP3/320
     Size: 90mb

     The pinnacle of his jazz-rock work of the early '70s, One Size Fits All boasts some of the most memorable songs of Frank Zappa's career performed by one of the most beloved Mothers of Invention lineups ever assembled.
This cast of musicians' musicians, including George Duke, Ruth Underwood, and Johnny 'Guitar' Watson--blasts through the groovy sci-fi world of Inca Roads, the hyper-charged blues rock of "Pajama People," the lounge majesty of "Sofa" and concert mainstays like "San Ber'dino" and "Florentine Pogan."
An integral part of any Zappa Collection. Andrew Boscardin

   Artist: Diana Krall
   Album: Quiet Nights
   Years: 2009
   Original Release Date: 2009
   Label: Verve
   Format, bitrate: MP3/VBR 320 kbps
   Time: 54:58
   Size: 126 MB

REPOST with a new MP3@320 link from Mr. valparaiso.

   Artist: Oscar Peterson
   Album: Oscar Peterson at JATP
   Label: Verve
   Year: 1954
   Quality: mp3, 128 kbps
   Size: 35.6 MB
   Total Time: 34:44

   Artist - Bunny Berigan
   Album - Sophisticated Swing 2CD
   Label - History
   Years: 1937-1942, release - 2002
   Quality - MP3@320 kbps
   Size: 133+116 mb
   Total time - 62:25+54:37



   After the banner years of 1937-1938, Bunny Berigan's output took a serious downturn. Due to his alcoholism and bad management decisions, he had to break up his band and rejoin Tommy Dorsey's group in order to make a living. Berigan did rebound long enough to form his last band, which only survived until he passed away in 1942 at the age of 33. This Classics disc the last of several charting Berigan's career takes in the 1940-1942 last stand, along with a few sides from 1938. While there are some quality songs here, the majority of the disc is disappointing, especially alongside earlier triumphs like "I Can't Get Started" and Berigan's Ellington and Bix Beiderbecke covers. Stalwarts like tenor saxophonist George Auld, drummer Buddy Rich, and trombonist Ray Conniff add some spark, but for the most part the tunes lumber along. Best left for completists. ~ Stephen Cook, AMG

   Artist: Laura Fygi
   Album: Title Lady Wants to Know
   Label: Verve
   Year: 1994
   Original Release Date: Jun 21, 1994
   Genre: Jazz Vocal
   Format, bitrate: MP3 320 Kbps | APE
   Size: 130 MB | 348 MB
   Time 49:27
   AMG rating:



   Singer Laura Fygi is in excellent form on this set of bossa novas. Due to the sweetening of a string section and some safe arrangements, the music is quite accessible, if not too challenging. Fygi's voice is lovely and she could excel in a much more sparse setting in the future if given the opportunity. She is ably assisted by a variety of guests, including appearances by Toots Thielemans, Clark Terry, and singer Michael Franks; the latter contributed two songs and shares a vocal duet with Fygi on "Tell Me All About It." An enjoyable listen.
   ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

   Artist: Gennady Golshtein and his friends
   Album: The Distant Joys
   Year: 1997
   Genre: Mainstream, Traditional Jazz
   Format, bitrate: mp3, 320kbps
   Time: 76:35
   Size: 166 Mb




   После многих лет паузы Гольштейн снова в джазе! Вместо альт-саксофона он теперь играет на кларнете, а вместо фри-джаза - умную и стильную имитацию джаза середины 30-х, в которой ни одной ноты не звучит так, как не могло бы звучать 60 лет назад. Причем это не исполнение стандартов в "тех" традициях, а стилизованные под бенни-гудмановскую эпоху авторские вещи Гольштейна!
   Кирилл Мошков, 1998

     Artist: Silje Nergaard
     Album: A Thousand True Stories
     Label: Columbia
     Year: , release 2009
     Genre: contemporary jazz
     Format Mp3, bitrate: 320 kb/s
     Time: 47:21
     Size: 109 Mb

     I am now finished with the recording and mixing my new album titled, "A Thousand True Stories". It will be released in Norway on February 9th and then Internationally this Autumn. The songs were written during this last year, and were recorded with my steady band and The Metropole Orchesta from Holland with arrangements by Vince Mendoza.I was really inspired while writing these songs, knowing that Mr. Mendoza would be contributing his exquisite fingerprints to the new album with his world renowned arrangement talent.
     We also played a concert together in April at the Paradiso in Amsterdam with The Metropole Orchesta where we had the opportunity to play some of the new material. The concert was recorded and posted on FabChannel, which you can see and hear by going into the "Media Gallery" here on this website.
I am very proud of this album, it is very special to me. I walk down a different road with my songs... and there are moments of magic in there that only could be created in such a unique environment with such a great band, fantastic orchestra and such an extraordinarily great arranger, Mr. Vince Mendoza.
I can`t wait to share it with all of you living outside of Norway too - so please be patient!
Best wishes, ~ Silje Nergaard at official site

     Artist: Anthony Wonsey
     Album: Blues For Hiroshi
     Year: 2005
     Label: Sharp Nine
     Format/Bitrate: mp3, 320kbps
     Size: 112MB

     Anthony Wonsey was already one of the top pianists of his generation, but he developed his chops considerably over the five-year stretch since his previous date as a leader. In a trio set with bassist Richie Goods and drummer Tony Reedus, Wonsey delivers a mix of standards, classic jazz compositions, and his delightful originals, making for a well-paced CD.

   Artist: Stephane Grappelli & Barney Kessel
   Album: Stephane Grappelli Meets Barney Kessel
   Label: 1201 Music
   Year: 1969
   Release 2003
   Format Mp3, bitrate: 320 kb/s
   Time: 52:59
   Size: 125 Mb
   AMG Rating:

   This excellent set features a logical combination. Violinist Stephane Grappelli originally came to fame through his recordings with guitarist Django Reinhardt. Barney Kessel, although more influenced by Charlie Christian than by Django, was one of the top jazz guitarists of the 1950s and '60s and his style was quite complementary to Grappelli's. The two teamed up for several albums' worth of material in 1969. This CD reissues the former LP I Remember Django, adding four additional selections and serving as a perfect introduction to the brilliant playing of Stephane Grappelli.
   Scott Yanow, AMG

   Artist: Various Artists
   Album: Take Five Vol. I
   Label: BB Records
   Year: 2009
   Format, bitrate: 192 vbr
   Time: 59:15
   Size: 73,0 Mb

   "Take Five" is a classic jazz piece first recorded by the Dave Brubeck Quartet and released on its 1959 album Time Out. It became the first million-selling jazz single on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1961, at a time when rock music was in fashion.
   “Take Five” became Brubeck’s best known and signature tune, although it was composed by Paul Desmond, the group's saxophonist, based on drummer Joe Morello’s 5/4 beat. It became famous for its distinctive, catchy saxophone melody and use of an unusual five beat quintuple time, from which its name is derived.
   The original single was recorded at Columbia's 30th Street Studios in New York City on June 25, July 1 & August 18, 1959.

   Artist: Stephane Grappelli
   Album: Live 1992 [Verve]
            (Live in Paris 1992 [LIVE] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED])
   Label: Verve/Dreyfus
   Year: 1992
   Release: 2002
   Format, bitrate: Mp3, 320 kb/s
   Time: 53:02
   Size: 121 Mb
   AMG Rating:

   Stéphane Grappelli was still golden in his later years, and the proof is contained on this delightful concert performance, documented in the spring of 1992 at La Salle De Spectacles in Colombes, France. Teamed with twin electric or acoustic guitarists Marc Fosset and Philip Catherine alongside the virtuoso bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Grappelli has a group that can easily inspire him to play his best. The subtle differences between Fosset and Catherine are heard though the stereo separation in the production values, while Pedersen is sheer genius, up in the mix, and on fire with every note or chord. It would be inappropriate to roundly criticize any aspect of Grappelli's work, considering his genius, far advanced harmonics, unique technical approach, and heartfelt passion he always brought to his music. Suffice it to say that this was not even close to being a bad night, or that he phoned in this performance. Starting with the all-time classic "Minor Swing" that he made famous with Django Reinhardt, the quartet jumps into the warm waters of this one, with Pederson dominating the rhythmic pulse. There's nothing trivial or marginal about this great jazz standard. You hear the drawn out notes and aching legato sound of the violin master on Catherine's "Galerie Des Princes" with a plucked second chorus from the others in a nice two-beat frame...

   Artist: Max Greger
   Album: Night Train
   Year: 2005
   Label: Koch
   Format, bitrate: MP3@320 kb/s
   Time: 58:54
   Size: 136,1 MB(+5% recovery)



   German saxophonist and bandleader Max Greger is a popular and well-known musician in Europe with myriad credits to his name, including film and television work. A gift of an accordion as a child first spurred his musical inclinations, and Greger ultimately studied clarinet and saxophone at the Munich Conservatory during the late '30s. Briefly serving in the military toward the end of World War II, Greger began performing with various jazz groups. His postwar work, often in American officers' clubs, ultimately led Greger to form his own sextet around 1948-1949, and later a big band. Performing a mixture of pop, jazz, and swing tunes, Greger had considerable success from the '50s onward, including regular appearances on German television from 1963 to 1977, and helped establish the growing German jazz movement.
   ~ Matt Collar

   Artist: Wes Montgomery
   Album: Live in Holland 1965,
                Live in Belgium 1965,
                Live in England 1965
   Label: Reelin' In The Years Productions & Naxos
   Year: 1965
   Release: 2007
   Format: Online-video
   Time: 78 minutes

   Watching these video treasures of the magnificent Mr. Montgomery leaves me with a profound sense of awe and appreciation for this twentieth-century genius. There is something magical and transforming about seeing and hearing this kind of excellence done with such apparent ease and enjoyment.

   It’s all here: the beauty, the elegance, the daring, and the sheer guitar mastery of this man who, seemingly, possessed an unbounded imagination and the ability to transform thought into music that remains unequalled today, nearly forty years after his passing.
   

   Artist: Stephane Grappelli
   Album: Young Django
   Label: Verve/Polygram Records
   Year: 1979, release 2005
   Format Mp3, bitrate: 320 kb/s
   Time: 37:56
   Size: 67,4 Mb
   AMG Rating:
   Bubu's Rating: *****

     Artist: Gil Evans
     Album: Where Flamingos Fly
     Label: Artists House JP - K26P-6127
     Year: 1971
     Genre: Jazz
     Format, bitrate: mp3@320kbs
     Time: ~ 47 min
     Size: 114MB


     This transitional LP (which has been long out-of-print) features arranger Gil Evans shortly after he decided to put together a permanent big band. Although the music didn't come out until a decade later, it is actually quite worthwhile. Evans is heard at the head of two different (but overlapping) units ranging from ten to fifteen pieces, and he utilizes synthesizers for the first time. The key soloists are tenor saxophonist Billy Harper and Howard Johnson, mostly on baritone, but the emphasis is on Evans's writing, unlike his later live recordings. Most memorable is "Zee Zee," "Hotel Me," "Where Flamingos Fly" and a 17 1/2 minute version of "El Matador." ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide