Artists: VA
     Album: The More We Know - 30 Years of Enja Records Records
     Label: Enja
     Year: 2001
     Quality: FLAC Tracks, Mp3, 320 kbps, HQ Scans.

     Today, ENJA has become a label which is highly respected worldwide and is well distributed in most parts of the globe. We are quite proud that we have achieved this in a truly difficult market place. In October of 1996 M.W. was awarded the Honors Prize Of The German Phonographic Critics, a body of 100 music critics in classical, jazz and pop music. To quote the jury: "Again and again Matthias Winckelmann sets the standard for quality with his productions. He succeeds with ambitioned projects in a market swamped by mediocrity. The name ENJA has gained an excellent reputation throughout the world." ~ luxusborg

     Artists: Tigran Hamasyan / Aratta Rebirth
     Album: Red Hail
     Label: Plus Loin
     Year: 2009, Release: Apr 14, 2009
     Genre: Jazz
     Format, bitrate: 320 VBR
     Time: 01:06:00
     Size: 92.4 MB

     Although first moved as a child by the rock sounds of the giants -- Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, the Beatles -- Tigran Hamasyan would focus his sights musically on jazz, becoming an adept (child prodigy, if you will) piano player in the style. Born in 1987 in Gyumri, Hamasyan was Armenian by descent, but had jazz in his soul. Moved by the sounds of Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Miles Davis (just a few of jazz's giants) Hamasyan found himself as part of the festivities at the 2nd Yerevan Jazz Festival in 2000. He would go on just a few years later to win a number of contests, one of which was at the 2003 Montreux Jazz Festival. His most recent release, recorded with his band Aratta Rebirth and entitled Red Hail, hit stores in February of 2009.

     Artist: Benny Carter
     Album: New Jazz Sounds: The Urbane Sessions
     Label: PolyGram / Verve
     Years: 1952-1955
     Genre: Jazz, East Coast Blues
     Format, bitrate: mp3@320 kbit/s
     Time: 2.35:35
     Size: 164 + 168 MB
     AMG Rating:

     Действительно, сегодня все любители джаза отмечают дни рождения двух замечательных людей, привнёсших значительный вклад в дело развития и пропаганды джазовой музыки - саксофониста Бенни Картера и Администратора нашего Клуба многоуважаемого господина lex (тоже саксофониста, кстати...).
     Так поздравим же ещё раз этих достойнейших джазменов.

     Artist: James P. Johnson
     Album: Runnin' Wild
     Label: Tradition
     Released: 1997
     Recorded: 1921-1926
     Format/bitrate: mp3/320
     Size: 74 mb




      James P. Johnson was one of the originators of jazz piano. Experimenting in Harlem in the teens and twenties, he expanded ragtime’s rigid forms to accommodate more complex harmonies and rhythmic ideas. These innovations, combined with his technical virtuosity at the keyboard, helped create a new style of playing called ”stride.”~jazz.com

Artist: Benny Carter
Album: Chronological (1933-1936)
Label: Classics
Recording Date: May 19, 1933-Apr 1936
Format, bitrate: mp3, 320 kb/s
Size: 163 mb



The personnel and recording locations of these recordings are already a good indication for the multiplicity of Benny Carter's activitis during the mid thirties! With hi work on both sides of the Atlantic, he has contributed a lot to the propagation and appreciation of jazz music at that time. Anatop Schenker, linear notes

   Artist: Duke Ellington
   Album: The Duke: Chelsea Bridge (1941-1944)
   Label: History [Catalog # 204155]
   Year: 1999 [Recording Date: Sep 26, 1941-Dec 12, 1944]
   Format, bitrate: MP3@320 kbps
   Time: 2:08:28
   Size: 141+163 Mb

Artist: Jack Teagarden
Album: Chronological (1941-1943)
Label: Classics
Recording date: Jan 31, 1941-Nov 16, 1943
Format, bitrate: mp3, 320 kb/s
Size: 138 mb

The fifth Classics CD to reissue all of trombonist/vocalist Jack Teagarden's early recordings as a leader has more than its share of gems. A dozen selections feature his 1941 big band, and unlike earlier sessions, there are no indifferent vocals or unnecessary pop baggage. Teagarden is heard in prime form on "Chicks Is Wonderful" (which strangely enough is an instrumental), "St. James Infirmary," "A Hundred Years From Today" and "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen."

Happy Birthday, dear lex!

   Artist: Andre Previn, Yo-Yo Ma
   Album: From Ordinary Things
   Year: 1995
   Release: 1997
   Label: Sony Classical
   Format, bitrate: MP3, 320 kbps
   Time: 60:25
   Size: 139,4 MB


   It has always been impossible for me to write program notes for my own music. I think I am perfectly capable of analysing other composers' work, but when it comes to my own I seize up and fall into puerile and lamentable phrases. All I can remember is when and where, but the why renders me wordless. What's even less excusable is that most of the time I don't fully understand the program notes written by other, more musicologically agile, minds. Years ago, the composer Mel Powell and I were amusing ourselves with the following game: we would read aloud the program notes printed in old concert programs (he had an extensive collection) and would take turns in attempting to identify the work in question. After a few fairly hilarious failures, I had had enough. "One more," begged my colleague, "just this one more, you'll know this one." I acquiesced and began to listen.
   When it got to a phrase something like "upon the fragmented return of the subordinate theme, in stretto form...," my mind blanked out, the same way that it does when a waiter insists on reciting a menu. I interrupted, a bit testily.
   "I have absolutely no idea." "Too bad, it's your own Piano Concerto."
   So much for confessions. . . .

    Artist: Oscar Peterson
    Album: An Evening With Oscar Peterson
    Label: Verve Records (Japan import)
    Year: 1950 - 1952
    Release: 2005
    Format, bitrate: mp3, 320 kb/s (mono)
    Time: 39:22
    Size: 107 Mb (covers)
    AMG Rating:

          HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. LEX !

   Oscar Peterson was one of the most prolific recording artists for several labels founded by Norman Granz, yet many of his early dates for Verve (and its predecessors Clef and Norgran) have been unjustly out of print for decades. This very hard-to-find LP contains duo sessions by the pianist with Ray Brown, primarily from an extended studio date in August 1950. What is particularly surprising is that three of the nine songs from this session are originals, including the entertaining piece mimicking the choppy style of a fellow pianist, "Salute to Garner," an easygoing swinger called "What is It?" and the somewhat angular "Minor Blues." A fourth original, "Slow Down," is a slow blues recorded during the making of a quartet session in 1952, though Barney Kessel and Alvin Stoller sat out this selection. Half of the album is dedicated to standards, though "Dark Eyes" has long since faded from typical jazz repertoire. But the duo's interpretations of "What's New," "How High the Moon," and "The Nearness of You" have stood the test of time very well over the five-plus decades since they were initially recorded. This rare record is likely to be found exclusively on auction lists.
   Ken Dryden, AMG

     Artist: Dave Young
     Album: Two by Two Piano-Bass Duets vol.1
     Label: Justin Time
     Year: 1995
     Format, bitrate: MP3@320 kbit/s
     Time: 1.06:09
     Size: 151 MB
     AMG Rating:


     Сегодня мы поздравляем с Днём Рождения одного из создателей нашего Клуба, его вдохновителя и воодушевителя и моего большого друга - глубокоуважаемого господина lex.

Удачи, здоровья и много-много хорошей музыки!!!

Поздравляем!!!

Happy Birthday, Dear lex!!!

     Artist:Kenny Barron Trio,Benny Carter, Milt Jackson
     Album:Kenny Barron Trio plus Benny Carter & Milt Jackson (Live in Staatsoper)
     Label: [private recording]
     Format/Bitrate:mp3/320
     Total Time: 75:50
     Size:106mb

С днем рождения!!! Mилый

Желаю много радости и много красивой музыки в жизни
Я рада, что на свете есть вы и рада что вы - мой друг...
Целую крепко, ваша zuziki...

    Artist: Dave Brubeck Quartet
    Album: Park Avenue South (Live at Starbucks)
    Label: Telarc
    Year: 2002
    Format, bitrate: mp3, 256 kb/s
    Time: 1:11:26
    Size: 113 Mb
    AMG Rating:

          HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. LEX !

   This live CD by the Dave Brubeck Quartet comes from a pair of after-midnight performances in a Manhattan Starbuck's. The musicians seem very stimulated by the odd surroundings, producing an enticing mix of standards, new Brubeck compositions, and the inevitable "Take Five." The jaunty opener, "On the Sunny Side of the Street," gives way to a burning take of "Love for Sale," featuring Bobby Militello's soulful sax. Brubeck wrote the mournful "Elegy" for Norwegian journalist Randi Hultin, who died of cancer before she was able to hear it. The combination of Militello's haunting flute, Michael Moore's matchless arco bass, Randy Jones' soft use of mallets, and the leader's understated piano is powerful enough to hush any audience. The brisk jazz waltz "Don't Forget Me" was inspired by a closing remark over the phone from an old friend, causing Brubeck to immediately sit down and compose the piece on the spot. "I Love Vienna," a jazz waltz taken at a faster clip, shows the influence of Strauss. Although "New Orleans Stomp" is initially powered by a common drum riff heard all over the Crescent City, the main theme is hardly within the "cool" pigeonhole to which many ill-informed critics readily assign Brubeck; this demanding piece is better described as post-bop. "Take Five" has long been a solo feature for Jones (who began continuously working with Brubeck over 22 years earlier, longer than any Brubeck alumni), and he doesn't disappoint the crowd in this fairly brief rendition. In case anyone had ideas of bringing the group back for yet another encore, Brubeck makes his thoughts clear with a playful romp through the chestnut "Show Me the Way to Go Home." Brubeck's excellent liner notes and the numerous photos from the concerts add to the value of this highly recommended CD.
    - Ken Dryden, AMG

    Artist: Oscar Peterson
    Album: Exclusively for My Friends (box set 6 cd)
    Label: Island Records
    Year: 1963 - 1968
    Release: 2006
    Format, bitrate: ape/cue
    Time: 234:30
    Size: 1,34 Gb (complete full lavish covers)
    AMG Rating:

          HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. LEX !
         
   Oscar Peterson has stated that he feels his MPS recordings are his finest. That is quite a statement considering the huge amount of records that the pianist has produced through the past 50 years. This six CD set reissues the music from six of his MPS LPs: Action, Girl Talk, The Way I Really Play, My Favorite Instrument, Mellow Mood, and Travelin' On. While some of the performances feature the 1963 trio he had with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen, most of the music dates from 1967-1968 and matches Peterson with bassist Sam Jones and either Louis Hayes or Bobby Durham on drums. A special treat is Peterson's first unaccompanied solo album, which fills up the final CD. Peterson's many fans know what to expect in this set, while other listeners need to discover him to realize what all of the fuss was about. Quite simply, Oscar Peterson has long been one of the greatest pianists the world has ever known; this reissue offers plenty of proof.
   - Scott Yanow at AMG