Artist: Howard Roberts
   Album: The Velvet Groove
   Label: Verve
   Year: 1956, 1959
   Release: 1966
   Format, bitrate: mp3@192 (Vinyl, LP Album)
   Size: 45mb
   Time: 32min
   

     Artists - Nat King Cole, Lester Young, Illinois Jacquet, Dexter Gordon
     Album - Nat King Cole Meets the Master Saxes
     Label - Spotlite/Phoenix Jazz
     Years - 1942/1943, release - 1977
     Quality - MP3@320 kbps (LP-rip)
     Size - 112 mb
     Total time - 53:23
     AMG Rating




This very interesting LP finds Cole during 1942-43 recording outside of his trio. All of these selections originally came out on obscure 78s from tiny labels, but the personnel is anything but unknown. His piano is heard in a trio with the great tenor Lester Young and bassist Red Callender, with a quintet featuring tenorman Illinois Jacquet and trumpeter Shad Collins, and in a combo with 20-year old Dexter Gordon on tenor and trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison. The late-period swing music is consistently wonderful, historical and formerly quite rare.

     Artist: Bill Frisell
     Album: Have a Little Faith
     Label: Elektra
     Year: 1993
     Format: FLAC & MP3 (320 kbit/s)
     Size: 343 MB or 143 MB (full covers)
     Total time: 60:56
     AMG Rating:

     Bill Frisell has long been one of the most unique guitarists around. Able to switch on a moment's notice from sounding like a Nashville studio player to heavy metal, several styles of jazz, and just pure noise, Frisell can get a remarkable variety of sounds and tones out of his instrument. This set features Frisell in a quintet with Don Byron (on clarinet and bass clarinet), Guy Klucevsek on accordion, bassist Kermit Driscoll, and drummer Joey Baron. To call the repertoire wide-ranging would be an understatement. In addition to eight melodies from Aaron Copland's Billy the Kid, Frisell and company explore (and often reinvent) pieces written by Charles Ives, Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters, Madonna, Sonny Rollins, Stephen Foster, and John Phillip Sousa. This is one of the most inventive recordings of the 1990s and should delight most listeners from any genre. - by Scott Yanow, AMG

     Artists: Mike Barone Big Band
     Album: Live At Donte's
     Label: VSOP
     Year: 1968, release 1998
     Format, bitrate: MP3@320 kbit/s
     Time: 1.14:55
     Size: 176 MB

     In 1968, trombonist Mike Barone had a rehearsal band comprised mostly of Los Angeles-based studio musicians who occasionally played for the fun of it at the legendary Donte's. The music on this CD was privately taped (the recording quality is excellent) and not released for the first time until 30 years later. Barone wrote most of the arrangements and the lineup of soloists includes altoist Med Flory (the future leader of Supersax); pianist Mike Wofford; trumpeter Steve Huffsteter; and the tenors of Bill Hood, Lou Ciotti, and (on "Juss Messin' Around") the young Tom Scott. The music is essentially swinging hard bop, even such unlikely material as "T" and "The Non-Viennese Waltz Blues." This is a valuable piece of otherwise long-lost musical history that has fortunately been saved by the V.S.O.P. label. ~ Review by Scott Yanow, AMG

     Artist:Kenny Barron
     Album:New York Attitude
     Label: Uptown
     Release:1996
     Format/Bitrate:mp3/320
     Size:131mb




     Kenny Barron is one of the best jazz pianists playing today, and this album, recorded more than 20 years ago, proves that he's been this good for a long time now... (Amazon.com)


     Enjoy...