Artist: Yellowjackets
    Album: Altered State
    Label: Heads Up International
    Year: 2005
    Format, Bitrate: MP3, 256 kbps
    Time: 60 min
    Size: 113 MB
    AMG Rating:
    
    The most adventurous quartet in contemporary jazz has met its visual match in Peter Max, the legendary pop artist who, as it turns out, is a huge fan of the band. Russell Ferrante and company could probably feel at home naming any of their innovative, loose-spirited albums after one of Max's paintings, but Altered State definitely fits the vibe here -- which is all odd meters, emotionally provocative melodic lines, and unexpected harmonies. Max, in turn, took a few preliminary tracks and was inspired to create the cool, splotchy cover art. The hourlong musical affair won't cause any permanent mental and emotional departures, but there are a lot of odd and spirited surprises along the way. . . .

     Artist: Herbie Mann
     Album: Latin Fever
     Label: Atlantic
     Year: 1964
     Format: Mpeg-4 (.M4A) 320 kbps
     Time: 34:42
     Size: 79.9 MB






     A pretty great album from Herbie largely because the "Latin" material is more bossa nova, played by groups that include Sergio Mendes, Baden Powell, and Antonio Carlos Jobim. The bossa tracks were recorded in Brazil, and include "Nana", "Groovy Samba", "Influencia De Jazz", and "Batida Differente". Other tracks include "Fever", "The Golden Striker", and "Now Now Later On".

     Artist: Sonny Clark
     Album: Sonny's Crib
     Year: 1957
     Label: Blue Note
     Format: MP3 @320 kbps
     Size: 169 mb (RS.com, w/ WinRar 5% File Recovery)
     Includes Covers + Scans


     Recorded in 1957, Sonny's Crib features a front line of Curtis Fuller, Donald Byrd, and John Coltrane with Sonny Clark on piano, Art Taylor on drums, and Paul Chambers on bass. Truly still a bebop recording, done a full year before the landmark Cool Struttin' session, nonetheless the set produced some awesome readings of classic tunes, like the opener, "With a Song in My Heart," with one of the knottiest Byrd solos ever. As Chambers and Taylor up the rhythmic ante and Clark comps with enormous chords in the background, the entire line solos, but it is Byrd's that is stunning in its complexity -- though Coltrane could play bebop as well as anybody. The most notable tracks on the session are the classic readings of Kurt Weill's "Speak Low" and "News for Lulu," the latter of which has been adopted by John Zorn as his theme. On the former, Clark's rearrangement, with Coltrane leading the front line, is truly revelatory. Using a Latin rhythm in cut time, Clark sets up a long, 22-note melody line that moves right into Trane's solo. He moves the key around and harmonically shifts gears as Clark follows and stays in the pocket for him while Trane uses the middle register for legato pyrotechnics. Fuller's next and covers over the blues inherent in the tune with pure swing, before Byrd brings it back into the fold with a gorgeous counterpoint of the melody. Clark taps his way into extended harmonics on the sixths and sharpens the accents as he trounces the original key and plays double trills to get back. The latter is a smokin' Latin take on the hard bop blues, with a staggered melodic line and a large tonal palette that gives the horn players room to explore the timbral possibilities of Clark's colors -- which are revealed in the loosest, skittering skein of bluesy phrasing this side of Horace Silver in his solo. In all, Sonny's Crib is a phenomenal recording, one that opened the door to hard bop becoming the norm in the late '50s, and one that drew deft, imaginative performances from all its players. [The 1987 Blue Note reissue adds three alternate takes as bonus tracks.]

Artists: Оркестр Олега Лундстрема
Album: Памяти мастеров джаза - Глен Миллер
Label: General Records
Years: 1974-76
Release: 1996
Format, bitrate: MP3, 320 kbs/s
Size: 89 mb
Time: 38:45



В клубе уже представлена запись оркестра Олега Лундстрема, посвященная Дюку Эллингтону. Предлагаю теперь ознакомиться с записями пьес из репертуара оркестра Глена Миллера.
Кредо оркестра - глубокое проникновение в характер джазового мастерства, в его классические традиции, с одной стороны, и стремление внести свой вклад в этот жанр путем создания и исполнения оригинальных джазовых произведений и аранжировок - с другой стороны.

     Artist: Yusef Lateef
     Album: Eastern Sounds
     Label: Original Jazz Classics
     Year: 1961
     Format: lossless (flac+cue+log+covers )
     Time: 0.39:40
     Size: 238 MB
     AMG Rating:      



One of multi-instrumentalist and composer Yusef Lateef's most enduring recordings, Eastern Sounds was one of the last recordings made by the band that Lateef shared with pianist Barry Harris after the band moved to New York from Detroit, where the jazz scene was already dying. Lateef had long been interested in Eastern music, long before John Coltrane had ever shown any public interest anyway, so this Moodsville session (which meant it was supposed to be a laid-back ballad-like record), recorded in 1961, was drenched in Lateef's current explorations of Eastern mode and interval, as well as tonal and polytonal improvisation. That he could do so within a context that was accessible, and even "pretty," is an accomplishment that stands today. The quartet was rounded out by the inimitable Lex Humphries on drums — whose brushwork was among the most deft and inventive of any player in the music with the possible exception of Connie Kay from the Modern Jazz Quartet — and bass and rabat player Ernie Farrow. The set kicks off with "The Plum Blossom," a sweet oboe and flute piece that comes from an Eastern scale and works in repetitive rhythms and a single D minor mode to move through a blues progression and into something a bit more exotic, which sets up the oboe-driven "Blues for the Orient." Never has Barry Harris' playing stood up with more restraint to such striking effect than it does here. He moves the piece along with striking ostinatos and arpeggios that hold the center of the tune rather than stretch it. Lateef moans softly on the oboe as the rhythm section doubles, then triples, then half times the beat until it all feels like a drone. There are two cinematic themes here — he cut themes from the films Spartacus and The Robe, which are strikingly, hauntingly beautiful — revealing just how important accessibility was to Lateef. And not in the sense of selling out, but more in terms of bringing people to this music he was not only playing, but discovering as well. (Listen to Les Baxter and to the early-'60s recordings of Lateef — which ones are more musically enduring?) However, the themes set up the deep blues and wondrous ballad extrapolations Lateef was working on, like "Don't Blame Me" and "Purple Flower," which add such depth and dimension to the Eastern-flavored music that it is hard to imagine them coming from the same band. Awesome.

     Artist: Oscar Peterson
     Album: Oscar Peterson's Finest Hour
     Label:Verve (USA)
     Orig Year:2000
     Street Date:Jun 13, 2000
     Studio/Live:Studio
     Mono/Stereo:Mixed
     Format/bitrate: MP3/320
     Size:142
     Time:60min


     Хотите послушать Прекрасную музыку на целый час? Тогда этот альбом      для вас - Oscar Peterson's Finest Hour
     Enjoy...

REPOST with new FLAC links from Mr. jasapaal!

Artist - Artie Shaw & His Orchestra
Album - Clarinet Magic With The Big Band & Strings Vol.1
Label - Musicraft
Years - 1945/46, release - 1978
Quality - MP3@320 kbps
Size - 94,5 mb
Total time - 42:21





By the end of 1945, Shaw was ready to leave the big-band business and become semi-retired musically. He recorded his fifth big band (which by this time no longer had trumpeter Roy Eldridge) and then broke it up. This Musicraft LP, the first of two, features Shaw with his modern swing band of 1945 (Ray Linn takes the trumpet solos) and then on some less significant dance sides from 1946. A young Mel Torme sings two numbers, his Mel-Tones romp on "I Got the Sun in the Morning" and the clarinetist himself is in generally good form, but one senses by the later sessions that his heart was not always in the music anymore.

     Artist: Count Basie & Joe Williams
     Album: The Greatest! Count Basie Plays, Joe Williams Sings Standards
     Label: Verve Records
     Original Release Date: 1955
     Release date: 1956
     Format: Lossless (flac+cue+log+covers )
     Size: 231 MB







     Перед вами довольно веселенький альбом , где вокалист Joe Williams исполняет известные популярные песни в сопровождении оркестра Count Basie. Там, внутри альбома, одна волшебная песенка - если вам плохо, если вы загрустили, спойте эту песню вместе с Joe Williams "и хорошее настроение не покинет больше вас! "

     Artist: Sonny Clark
     Album: My Conception
     Year: 1959
     Label: Blue Note
     Time: 61:16
     Format: MP3 @320kbps
     Size: 140mb (RS.com, with 5% WinRar File Recovery)
     Includes Covers + Booklet

     Sonny Clark's conception of modern jazz is not far removed from his peer group of the late '50s, in that advanced melodic and harmonic ideas override the basic precepts of swing and simplicity. What sets Clark apart from other jazz pianists lies in his conception of democracy to allow his bandmates to steam straight ahead on compositions he has written with them in mind. Though the bulk of this session features the marvelous trumpet/tenor tandem of Donald Byrd and Hank Mobley, it is drummer Art Blakey whose demonstrative presence is heard in full force. He's kicking the band in his own distinctive, inimitable way, rambling through the opener "Junka," based on the changes of "You Go to My Head" with his brand of bomb drops, hard accents, and indefatigable swing. Simply put, this is hard bop at its very best. Several of Clark's very best works are present and accounted for, including two takes of the definitive "Minor Meeting." The second version with Byrd and Mobley has a wonderfully subtle, Asian flavored ascending and descending melody, but the so-called initial recording includes guitarist Kenny Burrell, tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan, and drummer Pete LaRoca, and sounds quite different. A calypso intro from the drummer yields a different palate, as Burrell in particular takes charge. "Eastern Incident" with the Burrell-Jordan tandem also takes a Far East tack, a completely relaxed line with Jordan smoother than Mobley. "Royal Flush" is also one of Clark's all-time keepers, a true beauty in Latin dress with slight harmonic inferences. This is for the most part a hard swinging date, the exceptions being the cute, sweet, basic shuffle "Blues Blue," a dramatic two-chord progression on "Some Clark Bars," and the third track featuring a Grant Green styled Burrell for the fleet "Little Sonny." Kudos to the great bassist Paul Chambers who plays on all of these cuts with Clark, and is unquestionably in his prime. Except the extraordinary Leapin' and Lopin, this album of contrasts, depth, and spirit showcases Clark's dual concepts brilliantly, and is only a half step below his best.

Artist: John Surman
Album: Road To Saint Ives
Release Date: 1990
Label: ECM
Quality: mp3 CBR 320
Size: 124 MB



"... a gentle, introspective, yet adventurous solo work. The entire album is a one-man effort, from the composition to all of the instrumentation, with Surman building strata of sound over keyboard and percussion structures using bass clarinet and the soprano and bass saxophones he is known for. The resulting work communicates a unique vision and mood, unsullied by the conflicting interpretations of other performers."

   Artist - The Double Six of Paris
   Album - The Double Six of Paris Sings Ray Charles
   Label - Philips
   Year - 1964
   Quality - MP3@256kbps (LP-rip)
   Size - 53,9mb
   Total time - 29:59



   One of the great records made by the cool French jazzy vocal group that included Ward Swingle and Christine LeGrand, and which did stuff that was much more straightforwardly jazzy than the semi-classical work of the Swingle Singers. This LP's got them backed by Jerome Richardson and his quartet, and has them running through a set of tracks associated with Ray Charles' Atlantic work. Cuts include "Stompin' Room Only, "Hit The Road, Jack", "Yes, Indeed", and "One Mint Julep", and all have a swingin' jazz vocalese sound. Cool stuff by one of the great lost groups of the 60's.
The Double Six of Paris Sings Ray Charles was nominated for a Grammy in 1965 in the Best Vocal Group Performance category.

     Artist - The Double Six
     Album - Les Double Six
     Label - Philips
     Years 1959-1961, release - 1988
     Quality - MP3@320kb/s
     Size 177 mb
     Total time - 79:00


Les Double Six of Paris was a French Lambert, Hendricks & Ross times-two and the striking-looking singer/lyricist Mimi Perrin was their Jon Hendricks. They had a thicker, more intricately arranged texture, impeccable diction, a fine sense of swing and great taste, and this generously loaded CD gives you a good idea of their range with three different lineups of singers. Included here are several transcriptions from the Quincy Jones and Count Basie big bands, the combos of Miles Davis, Gerry Mulligan, Shelly Manne, and others from both genres. There is one unreleased track, a literal, at-length transcription of "Walkin'" а la Quincy Jones. Perrin's interpretation of John Coltrane's "Naima" is a spine-tingler; it must have been tough to nail the intervals of that melody and capture its soul as well. Though he does not take any featured solos, Ward Swingle would soon become the best-known expatriate of the group, going on to form the popular Swingle Singers. To the non-French speaker familiar with vocalese in English, there is something disconcertingly remote about many of these performances; the diction is so precise that you feel you're missing a lot of the fun. Unfortunately, chintzy RCA, which provides copious texts in French, tells us to look up the English translations on their website (www.rcavictor.com) which will leave a lot of technologically challenged non-linguists out in the cold.

    Artist: Eddie Gomez
    Album: Next Future
    Label: Stretch
    Release: 1992
    Format, bitrate: mp3, 320 kb/s
    Time: 55:06
    Size: 127 Mb
   

   Bassist Eddie Gomez is better as a sideman than as a leader on recording dates, but this is one of his stronger efforts in the latter category (even if one has to get used to him taking or sharing virtually all of the melodies). Chick Corea sticks exclusively to an atmospheric synthesizer, but otherwise this is a fairly straight-ahead quintet session featuring Gomez with the Coltrane-ish tenor of Rick Margitza, pianist James Williams, drummer Lenny White, and a guest appearance from flutist Jeremy Steig.
   - Scott Yanow at AMG

    Artist: Bob Berg & Mike Stern Group
    Album: Games (Live USA 1990)
    Label: Jazz Door
    Year: 1990
    Release: 2004
    Format, bitrate: mp3, 224 kb/s
    Time: 48:40
    Size: 78,9 Mb

   During the end of his tenure with Miles Davis (1984 to '87), saxophonist Bob Berg began to feel the squeeze. It seemed like Miles was striving to have a pop band, in a certain way. And I was willing to try anything within reason, just as long as I still felt like what I was playing was coming from my heart. But by the time we started playing Cyndi Lauper tunes and Scritti Politti tunes it started feeling like a lounge act to me.
   Bob Berg was rehearsing material with guitarist Mike Stern, when he finally decided to make the break with Miles.
   I felt such a load off of me at the point. After I left Miles I felt like I really came into my own a lot more. Playing with him really helped me realize my own direction. It sort of pushed me into what I'm doing now.
   The two have one of the hardest-hitting fusion bands on the scene with Dennis Chambers on drums and Lincoln Goine on bass. Some of the energy of that dynamic group is captured on this CD.
   - Mike Stern Pages