Artist: Chet Baker
     Album: Two A Day
     Year: 1978
     Label: Dreyfus
     Time: 35:45
     MP3 @ 320kbps, with covers
     Size: 89mb, with 5% file recovery



     One of the numerous Chet Baker recordings that appeared for the first time following his mysterious death in 1988, this 1991 release was taped the day after Broken Wing was recorded. Primarily a set of standards, the quartet (with pianist Phil Markowitz, bassist Jean-Luis Rasinfosse, and drummer Jeff Brillinger) starts with "Two a Day," a brisk but brief original blues by the leader. Baker is at his lyrical best as a trumpeter on the foot patting take of "If I Should Lose You," while his hushed vocals prove effective during an otherwise rather long "This Is Always." Markowitz is an especially sensitive accompanist through this studio session. With well over 40 dates as a leader by Chet Baker recorded between 1970 and the end of his life (with more to appear for the first time, no doubt), this release may not be an early priority for the typical fan of cool jazz, but serious jazz collectors will want to acquire it. - AMG

    Artist: McCoy Tyner
    Album: Today And Tomorrow (remastered bonus tracks)
    Label: Impulse!
    Year: 1963 - 1964
    Release: 1991
    Style: Post-Bop
    Format mp3, bitrate: 256 kb/s vbr
    Time: 51:09
    Size: 60,7 Mb

McCoy Tyner's fourth studio album has a split personality, with three tracks featuring an intriguing sextet of all-stars, and the rest with his trusty trio, done eight months apart. Perhaps the tracks with bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Albert Heath were leftovers from a prior incomplete or aborted full session, but anything Tyner played in this period was precious. The larger ensemble recordings present trumpeter Thad Jones as ostensible co-leader, composer of one selection, and lead soloist. Tenor saxophonist John Gilmore and alto saxophonist Frank Strozier join forces with Thad Jones to make what some might deem an unlikely front-line triad, but effective enough considering their established individualism. Bassist Butch Warren and drummer Elvin Jones support the six-piece band, the first and only appearance for Warren with Tyner while the pianist was still with John Coltrane. The jewel in this collection is Tyner's "Three Flowers," a keeper that his big bands played prolifically later in life. Here the sextet hits the modal 3/4 beat with a thinner harmony under the lithe, soaring, enduring, and beautiful melody line. The Thad Jones contribution "T 'N A Blues" is an easy, basic, and short 12-bar chart with a phenomenal solo from Gilmore, while "Contemporary Focus" is a down-the-Nile signature sound for the controlled modal power Tyner wields, with Thad Jones belting out his bopping solo. The trio tracks are standards done with hints of other songs to begin with. Tyner fools you into thinking he's taking off on "Impressions" when it's actually "A Night in Tunisia"; "Autumn Leaves" has an improvised modal starting point that is quite spontaneous; and the chiming, wanton ballad "When Sunny Gets Blue" drips with all the pure emotion that Tyner can wring out of a weepy piano. Because of the dual nature of this recording, even devout fans of Tyner will find this CD somewhat incomplete, especially considering that this reissue has no alternate or bonus tracks. Nonetheless, the musicianship is so strong that it's hard to deny the high quality of what is presented here. - Michael G. Nastos at AMG

    Artist: Eugen Cicero
    Album: Rokoko Jazz
    Label: MPS Records/ BASF/Universal
    Year: 1965
    Release: 2003
    Style: classical jazz transcription
    Format mp3, bitrate: 224 kb/s
    Time: 32:48
    Size: 53,3 Mb
    Bubu's Rating:

I recently discovered this pianist. I believe he is romanian and i think he is not very known. I found a record in my dad's collection entitled Rokoko-Jazz. What a great record! He played classical compositions in a jazzy style in a piano-bass-drums trio.
This may sound a bit like the music Jacques Loussier and his trio play but after i listened to another record by Eugene, Spring Song, i find him to be more of a virtuoso than Jacques. And of course everyone have their own style.
Jacques Loussier is famous for his playing of Bach in a jazz version but Eugene Cicero is in to playing Bach, Schumann, Mozart, Chopin and more in a jazz version. - A Jazz Fan from Reykjavik, Iceland

    Artist: Eugen Cicero
    Album: Classics In Rhythm (compilation)
    Label: Polydor International /Jazz Club/Universal Music
    Year: 1966 - 1969
    Release: 1985
    Style: classic jazz transcription
    Format mp3, bitrate: 320 kb/s
    Time: 1:04:56
    Size: 148 Mb
    Bubu's Rating:

Another beautiful journey in the enchanted world of the jazzy transcription of classics made so beautifully by Eugen Cicero who unfortunately left us so soon. I don't need to ad that he's originally from my home town. - Bubu Hans

     Artists: Abdullah Ibrahim & Johnny Dyani
     Album: Good News from Africa
     Label: Enja
     Year: 1973, release: 1994
     Format: MP3, 320 kbps
     Time: 43:59
     Size: 100 MB
     AMG Rating

The extraordinary South African pianist meets his countryman, the late, very great bassist Johnny Dyani, and the result is one of the single most beautiful recordings of the '70s. The duo mix in traditional African and Islamic songs and perform with a fervor and depth of feeling rarely heard in or outside of jazz. From the opening traditional Xhosa song, "Ntsikana's Bell," the rich, sonorous approach of these two musicians is evident, both singing in stirring fashion, Ibrahim guttural and serious, Dyani as free and light as a swallow. Ibrahim treats the listener to some of his all-too-rarely heard flute work on the following track, using Kirk-ian techniques of sung overtones in a gorgeous original. Dyani's bass playing is simply astonishing, never indulging in mere virtuosic displays but always probing, always deep -- what Mingus might have sounded like had he been born in South Africa. His whipsaw arco work on "Good News" provides an incredibly roiling yet solid framework for some inspired piano from Ibrahim. The Islamic prayer-song "Adhan/Allah-O-Akbar" is sung with such heartfelt intensity so as to melt the heart of the unbeliever and lay waste to countless quasi-spiritual attempts by lesser talents. The final two pieces are a fascinating pair. "The Pilgrim" is an Ibrahim special, based on a slow, irresistible loping groove, one that reaches its end lingering for a second or two before repeating, on and on like a luxurious desert caravan. The musicians embroider it exquisitely before reluctantly letting it go on its way after ten minutes. The next composition, Ibrahim's "Moniebah," begins in a stately manner, proceeding along for a minute or two until, as if drawn in by its ineluctable gravity, they return to "The Pilgrim," unable to resist its pull. It's an amazing, joyful moment that sends chills down one's spine. Good News From Africa was the shining, transcendent release by both of these great musicians and one that should grace every listener's collection. ~ Brian Olewnick, All Music Guide

     Artist: VA
     Album: Blues Story, les labels de legende, chess records 1 vol 03
     Label: Polygram and Odeon Label Group
     Year: 1998
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 192 kbps
     Time: 00:39:33
     Size: 55,2 Mb

     Album: Ugetsu
     Artist: Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
     Label: Riverside/OJC
     Year: 1963; release: 2006
     Quality: MP3 @ 320kbps
     Size: 134mb
     Time: 56:42
     AMG rating



Art Blakey's 1963 Jazz Messengers (which included trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, tenor-saxophonist Wayne Shorter, trombonist Curtis Fuller, pianist Cedar Walton and bassist Reggie Workman in addition to the drummer-leader) was one of his finest. The CD reissue (which adds two songs to the seven on the original LP) has plenty of strong moments, particularly on "Ping-Pong," Shorter's feature ("I Didn't Know What Time It Was") and the memorable "One by One." This high-quality hard bop session is recommended. [Ugetsu was reissued in 2006 and includes bonus tracks.] ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

     Artist: Buika y Chucho Valdйs
     Album: El Ultimo Trago
     Label: Wea International
     Year: 2009
     Format :MP3@192 Kbps
     Size: 60 Mb

     Певица, одна из самых ярких и разносторонних исполнительниц на современной испанской сцене. Её альбом Niсa de Fuego (2008) был номинирован как альбом года на Latin Grammy Award.

     Родилась в 1972 г. в Пальма-де-Майорка. Её семья переехала в Испанию из Экваториальной Гвинеи, и она росла в окружении эмигрантов и цыган, будучи там единственной чернокожей.

     El Ultimo Trago, features songs from Vargas's repertoire, reinterpreted by an intriguing duo of very different Latin musicians. Buika has shaken up the Spanish flamenco scene with her emotional vocals and African influences (her parents are from Equatorial Guinea), while Chucho Valdes is one of the finest jazz pianists in Cuba. The result is a stylish, and gently passionate set in which Buika's controlled, powerful and soulful vocals are balanced against Valdes's elegant, jazz-tinged piano. It's the finest flamenco-Cuban fusion since Chucho's celebrated father Bebo recorded with Diego El Cigala.

     Artist - Sarah Vaughan
     Album - Sarah Vaughan with Michel Legrand
     Label - Mainstream
     Year - 1972, release - 1992
     Quality - MP3@320 kbps
     Size - 87,7 mb
     Total time - 38:53



A beautiful collaboration between Sarah Vaughan and Michel Legrand and easily one of Sarah's greatest albums of the 70s! As he was doing with other singers at the time, Legrand helps Vaughan hit a new level of sophistication here bringing in tunes that really get past simple pop and older standards, with adult themes supported by equally mature backings filled with rich colors and complicated tones developed over Legrand's great work on film scores. Almost all tunes are originals by Michel many pulled from his film work and he also scored the arrangements here, working with the orchestra in a swirling blend of strings and jazz. Titles include "I Will Say Goodbye", "Summer Me Winter Me", "His Eyes Her Eyes", "Wave", "Blue Green Grey & Gone", "Pieces Of Dreams", "Hands Of Time", "The Summer Knows", and "Once You've Been In Love". © 1996-2009, Dusty Groove America, Inc.

     Artist: VA
     Album: Blues Story, le blues anglais
     Label: Polygram and Odeon Label Group
     Year: 1998
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 192 kbps
     Time: 01:02:18
     Size: 86,4 Mb

     Artist: Manteca! Jazz Trio
     Album: Otro Mundo Perfecto
     Year: 2008
     Genre: Jazz + Funk.
     Format, bitrate: 320 kbps
     Size: 69 mb
     Time: 40 m 04 s


Since 1991 drinking from the jazz classics, with a contemporary perspective, adding elements from funk, soul, and almost everything we can get from a wonderful source, that, in Miles Davis words, is the beautiful "Black Music".

If I've got to choose just one word to explain the essence of jazz (tough work!) that would be freedom, and euskir music, yes, another entry on euskir music's philosophy book, doesn't want to put good music behind a discussion about genres and styles, in euskir music you'll find great musicians as Ezequiel Finger, with an important experience in theater and experimental music, and at the same time the Manteca! Jazz Trío, a band where jazz and fun can live happily together, and music lovers will enjoy both musical perspectives.

Then, I want to invite all of you to the presentation of "Dos noches al borde del silencio" ("Two nights at the silence's edge"), the last Manteca! Jazz Trío album, a live recording, and a good chance to enjoy a very refreshing jazz.

The date, with Ariel Brusa (piano), Lucas de Araujo E Sá (bass), and Marcelo Camisay (drums), the bodies and souls from the band, this sunday night, october 18, 2009, 9:30 pm, at Virasoro Bar (Guatemala 4328, Palermo, Autonomic City of Buenos Aires, Argentina).

Of course the music from an excellent previous album, "Otro mundo perfecto" (Another perfect world"), will be there too, both albums can be downloaded freely from the Manteca! Jazz Trio's blog (more than three thousand downloads already!).

As I like to say, when jazz is the key, you can open a door to some beautiful musical worlds... ~ Federico Antín, Manager de Manteca! Jazz Trio