Artist: J.J. Johnson
     Album: Plays Mack the Knife / Trombone & Voices
     Label: Lonehill Jazz
     Year: 1960-1961
     Release Date: 9/8/2009
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320kb/s
     Time: 68:25
     Size: 155 MB




     This release contains the complete LP Plays Mack the Knife, appearing here on CD for the first time ever. It presents Johnson fronting a quartet that includes André Previn on piano, Red Mitchell on bass and Frank Capp on drums playing songs by the celebrated Kurt Weill.
     As a bonus, another complete LP by Johnson, Trombone and Voices, which also appears here on CD for the first time ever. Although we are aware that the concept and arrangements on this bonus album might seen outdated, we believe that J.J.’s solos clearly merit it being reissued.

     Artist: Cannonball Adderley
     Album: Presenting Cannonball Adderley
     Label: Savoy Jazz
     Year: 1955, release: 1991
     Format, bitrate: MP3, 320kbps
     Time: 38:28
     Size: 90.9mb



This set has altoist Cannonball Adderley's first recordings as a leader, following by 16 days his memorable appearance on a session headed by drummer Kenny Clarke. Already at this early stage, Adderley was a powerful player with a soulful sound that was almost distinctive. His exuberant style is heard on five selections (highlighted by "Spontaneous Combustion" and "A Little Taste") in a quintet with his brother Nat on cornet, pianist Hank Jones, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Kenny Clarke. A very impressive beginning to a memorable career. [Originally released in 1955] ~Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

     Artist - Wynton Kelly
     Album - Piano
     Label - OJC/Riverside
     Year - 1958, release - 1989
     Quality - FLAC ( from M-r con1); MP3@320kbs/s
     Size - 99,6 mb (MP3); 166 mb (FLAC)
     Total time - 47:26



With the exception of an album for Blue Note in 1951, this was pianist Wynton Kelly's first opportunity to record as a leader. At the time he was still a relative unknown but would soon get a certain amount of fame as Miles Davis' favorite accompanist. With guitarist Kenny Burrell, bassist Paul Chambers, and (on three of the seven selections) drummer Philly Joe Jones, Kelly performs four jazz standards, Oscar Brown, Jr.'s "Strong Man" and two of his originals. Kelly became a major influence on pianists of the '60s and '70s and one can hear the genesis of many other players in these swinging performances. The CD reissue adds an alternate take of "Dark Eyes" to the original program. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

     Artists: Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
     Album: The Complete Ella & Louis On Verve
     Year: 1956-1957 (release date 5/20/1997)
     Number of compositions: 47 (3 CD Set)
     Time: 3.38:28
     Format, bitrate: MP3@320 kbit/s
     Size: 500 MB


Almost all of these summit meetings have been in print virtually since CDs first appeared in listeners' lives, but never in one package. Here, you get all of Ella and Louis, the double-album sets Ella and Louis Again and Porgy and Bess, and two live tracks recorded at the Hollywood Bowl in 1956 -- all in an unusual three-CD album that partially unfolds into an accordion-file (what will Verve's inventive packaging wizards think of next?). There are two booklets, one of which contains a rare recent interview with producer Norman Granz, and the other the notes from the original albums. Of the two wonderfully relaxed Ella and Louis albums, with their Oscar Peterson-driven rhythm quartets, the sequel seems a more diverse, more involving collection, although Satch doesn't play as much trumpet on Again as he does on the first album. Also, the two go it alone on several tracks, but one is not at all inconvenienced by the inclusion of solo gems like Armstrong's sly catalog of intercouplings on "Let's Do It." The Porgy session is an entirely different creature -- a big, formal presentation with Russ Garcia's lush yet atmospheric and even powerful orchestrations, reverberant sound (normally a Granz no-no), grandly moving vocal performances by the two, and a handful of tremendous trumpet solos from Pops. Alas, no unissued tracks turn up here, and of course, MCA still controls all of the earlier Decca duets (hence the disclaimer "Complete on Verve") -- so veteran Ella/Louis collectors may opt to hang on to earlier issues. But for those who don't have everything, this is irresistible. ~ Richard S. Ginell, AMG

     Artists: The Metronome All-Star
     Album: The Metronome All-Star Bands
     Label: RCA/Bluebird
     Years: 1937-1949, release - 1988
     Quality: MP3@320 kbps
     Size: 122 mb
     Total time: 52:21
     AMG Rating:


     During most of the period 1939-50, Metronome Magazine put together all-star sessions featuring their pollwinners; when the winners were not available, other high vote-getters were substituted in their place. This fascinating CD starts off with two numbers from an unrelated 1937 all-star group that features trumpeter Bunny Berigan, trombonist Tommy Dorsey and pianist Fats Waller playing "Blues" and a very memorable rendition of "Honeysuckle Rose." In addition, bands from 1939, 1941, 1946 and 1949 (the years that RCA recorded the pollwinners) are represented. While the 1939 group is practically a Benny Goodman reunion band (including Berigan, Harry James, Tommy Dorsey and Jack Teagarden, among many others) and the 1941 outfit combines many top swing players (such as Goodman, James, Cootie Williams, Dorsey, Benny Carter, Coleman Hawkins, Count Basie, Charlie Christian and Buddy Rich), the 1946 grouping utilizes Woody Herman's First Herd as a nucleus (along with Harry Edison, Cootie Williams, Dorsey, Buddy DeFranco, Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney and Teddy Wilson). The final selections, dating from 1949, find the lineup dominated by top beboppers, including trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Fats Navarro (who trade off during a remarkable passage on "Victory Ball"), J.J. Johnson, Kai Winding, DeFranco, Charlie Parker and Lennie Tristano. Solos are brief during all of these performances (sometimes only eight or 16 bars), but practically every musician gets a chance to be heard. The other Metronome sessions have been reissued on a Tax LP, which covers the Columbia sessions, and by Capitol. This CD, which has all of the Victor sessions' alternate takes, is highly recommended to all serious jazz fans.
    ~ Scott Yanow, AMG

     Artist: Lennie Tristano
     Album: Live in Toronto 1952
     Year: rel.1982/rec.July 17, 1952
     Label: Jazz records
     Format: MP3 @ 320 Kbps (mono)
     Time: 46:45
     Size: 96.9 Mb
     AMG rating:

   

     Artist: Lee Morgan
     Album:Cornbread
     Label: Blue Note 4222
     Release Date: September 8, 1965
     Format: MP3 @ 320 Kbps
     Time:39:09
     Size:87.45 Mb
     AMG rating:

     

     Artist: Cannonball Adderley
     Album:The Cannonball Adderley Quintet In San Francisco
     Label: Riverside
     Year: rec.October 18 and 20, 1959/rel. 1989
     Format: MP3 @ 320 Kb/s
     Time: 60:35
     Size: 71.5 + 60.3 MB
     AMG rating:

     Artist:Oscar Peterson
     Album:Live From Chicago
     Label: PolyGram records
     Year: 1961
     Format: MP3 @ 320 Kbps
     Time:35:25
     Size:77.5 Mb

     

     Artist: Al Hirt
     Album: Horn A-Plenty
     Label: RCA Records
     Year: 1962
     Format, bitrate: MP3@256 kbit/s
     Time: 0.30:26
     Size: 56 MB




     Al Hirt sounds fine on this RCA LP, functioning as the dominant soloist while backed by a big band arranged by Billy May. RCA was clearly trying to move Hirt beyond Dixieland, and the virtuoso did his best to respond, although he is (at the most modern) a swing player. The briefness of these performances (only one song barely exceeds three minutes) and the predictability of the charts keep the album from being anything too special, although the overall results are pleasing. Among the highlights are "Holiday for Trumpet," "Margie" and "Memories of You." ~ Review by Scott Yanow, AMG.

     Artist - Arnett Cobb
     Album - The Wild Man of the Tenor Sax
     Label - Jazz Archives / EPM
     Years - 1943-1947
     Quality - MP3@320 kb/s
     Size - 103 mb
     Total tme - 63:24




One of the classic Texas Tenors, there was always excitement elicited by Cobb’s uninhibited, blasting style which earned him the label “Wild Man of the Tenor Sax.”

Originator of the “open prairie” tone and “southern preacher” style, Cobb continually turned down offers from many national bands including Jimmy Lunceford, Count Basie, and Lionel Hampton. However, with his mother’s approval, and Gladys Hampton’s offer to Elizabeth (Cobb’s wife), in 1942 Arnett took the lead saxophone chair in Hampton’s band, replacing Illinois Jacquet, who had gotten the position as Arnett’s substitute (from an original 1941 offer to Cobb). Jacquet had held his position with Hampton on the condition that he switch from alto to tenor and “play like Cobb.” With Cobb as the featured soloist, Hampton re-recorded his theme song, “Flying Home [No. 2]. He was a major asset to the Hampton band for five years as co-writer, writer, reed-section arranger, lead saxophone, featured soloist, and talent scout. Gladys Hampton and Elizabeth Cobb helped manage the band, and Cobb’s mother did the tailoring.>>>

     Artist: John Coltrane & Eric Dolphy
     Album: The Complete 1962 Birdland Broadcasts
     Label: Gambit
     Year: 1962
     Release: September 8, 2009
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320kb/s
     Time: 70:32
     Size: 135MB

     Artist: Clifford Brown
     Album: Jazz Immortal
     Label: Pacific Jazz
     Year: Aug 13, 1954
     Release: 2001
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320kb/s
     Time: 29:39
     Size: 64MB

Clifford Brown "Jazz Immortal" Featuring Zoot Sims

     2001 9-track CD of original 1954 recordings for Pacific Jazz, from the incredibly talented trumpeter who was touted as the new Miles before his untimely death at just 25. Includes the bonus CD-only Alternative Take of Tiny Capers, picture booklet. Stu Williamson, Zoot Sims, Bob Gordon, Russ Freeman, Joe Mondragon, Carson Smith and Shelly Manne all star.

     Artist: The Eddie Costa Quartet
     Album: Guys and Dolls Like Vibes
     Label: Coral Records
     Year: 1958
     Format, bitrate: MP3, 320kbps
     Time: 40:13
     Size: 94.8mb (including LP scans)

     Artist: Trilok Gurtu
     Album: Usfret
     Years:1987-1988, release: 1998
     Label: CMP
     Genre: World Fusion
     Format: FLAC
     Time:45:15
     Size: 264 MB (with scans)



     The musical traditions of the eastern and western worlds are bridged through the improvisations of Bombay, India-born percussionist/vocalist Trilok Gurtu. Gurtu's mastery of post-bop jazz has not gone unnoticed. Downbeat magazine named him "best percussionist" in three critic and popularity polls and proclaimed, "musically, the world is his stage". Jazz magazine, Straight No Chaser took a similar view, writing, "this music has a transcendental quality and removes any obstacles that lie between western and eastern improvised music." Gurtu's eclectic approach has enabled him to collaborate with some of the world's greatest musicians. A member of trumpeter Don Cherry's band from 1976 to 1978, Gurtu has worked with such influential musicians as jazz guitarists Philip Catherine, John McLaughlin, Ralph Towner, Pat Metheny and Larry Coryell, rock guitarist David Gilmore, saxophonists Jan Garbarek and Bill Evans, percussionist Nana Vasconcelos, jazz keyboardist Josef Zawinul and classical pianists Katia and Marielle Labeque. Gurtu was a member of acoustic jazz fusion group, Oregon, from 1984 to 1988. A native of Bombay, India, Gurtu hails from a musical family. His grandfather was a well known sitar player and his mother, Shobha Gurtu, was an influential singer of Indian classical music.

     Artist - Andy Kirk And His Twelve Clouds Of Joy
     Album - Andy Kirk And His Twelve Clouds Of Joy 1939 - 1940
     Label - Classics
     Years - 1939/1940, release - 1996
     Quality - MP3@320 kbps
     Size - 137 mb
     Total time - 65:38
     AMG rating:



Andy Kirk's Twelve Clouds of Joy was a top-notch Kansas City swing band that, by 1939, featured the pop vocals of Pha Terrell, the more blues-oriented singing of June Richmond, creative arrangements by Mary Lou Williams, and some excellent soloing from pianist Williams and Dick Wilson on tenor. Most memorable in this entry in Classics' "complete" Andy Kirk CD series are "Floyd's Guitar Blues" (an odd but pioneering electric guitar feature for Floyd Smith), "Wham" and "Scratching In the Gravel." ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

     Artist: George Van Eps
     Album: Soliloquy
     Label: Sundazed Music Inc.
     Year: 1968
     Format, bitrate: mp3 320 кбит/сек
     Time: 33:47
     Size: 70 mb

     The inventor of the seven-string guitar (which he called a "lap piano"), George Van Eps always kept the melody in mind and was able to play a theme, its harmonies, and a bassline simultaneously in an unhurried and relaxed style while creating the most beautiful chords in the world. Scott Yanow, AMG

     Fingerstyle Jazz guitar – это, на мой взгляд, самая интересная и волнующая музыка для людей, которые любят именно джазовую гитару. Составляющая особенность этого стиля: видение «басовой линий» четвертями или восьмыми, параллельно при этом, давая «компинговый аккомпанемент» (аккорды, состоящие из двух или трех нот которые дают гармоническое ориентирование) и конечно ведение темы, порой вместе с аккордовой линией. Все эти составляющие гитариста заставляет быть «начитанным» и в аккордовом аккомпанементе и солировании и знании басовых линий (а это редкость). То есть как настоящий ансамбль. Вспоминая слова Джо Пасса, который очень много внёс в развитие этого стиля и показал многим, как один музыкант может быть интересен большой аудитории, хочу пополнить коллекцию клуба красивейшей работой ещё одного мастера джазовой гитары George Van Eps.

     Artist: Brad Mehldau Trio
     Album: Live at Bimhuis, Amsterdam
     Label: Bootleg
     Release: February 29th, 2004
     Format, bitrate: MP3, 320kbps
     Time: 56:16 + 45:08 (total 01:41:24)
     Size: 128mb + 103mb (total 232mb)

This is a magnificent bootleg, fusing great sound quality with amazing musicianship. The Brad Mehldau Trio is known for its' avant-garde-esqe approach to playing standards, and this Holland show represents this to the fullest. The peek of the show is actually the first tune - All The Things You Are - in which Mehldau intros with a fantastic solo with a classical touch and swinging at the same time. Another noticeable track is Get Happy (in 7/4), featuring great drumming by Jeff Ballard. Overall it's my personal favorite of the trio, a beautiful show in Bimhuis. ~Noam H., Jazz Blues Club

     Artists - VA
     Album - Puttin' on the Ritz: Capitol Sings Irving Berlin
     Label - Capitol
     Genre - Vocal jazz, Smooth jazz, lounge
     Years: 1944-1963, release - 1992
     Quality - MP3@320kbps
     Size: 152 mb
     Total time - 68:44




The songs of Irving Berlin are I-beams in the towering edifice of 20th century popular music. This sampler of predominately pop recordings from the Capitol catalog may serve as both a grab bag of enjoyable entertainments and a useful introduction to some of this composer's nicest tunes. Each of the 25 tracks perfectly illustrates the essence of a given song, and would be especially useful for anyone seeking to learn the rudimentary contours. Jazz is only marginally represented here, in spite of the fact that jazz grew up on Irving Berlin's often jazz-inspired melodies, many of which survive today primarily as jazz standards. Certainly jazz is manifested in Nat King Cole (with both trio and big band), Nancy Wilson, Johnny Mercer and bandleaders Red Norvo and Billy May. Several ex-big-band singers are in the mix, including Peggy Lee and Kay Starr. Jo Stafford sings like an angel, Dinah Shore's gentle rendering of "The Song Is Ended" comes across as a marvel of sensitivity, and Betty Hutton's handling of "Blue Skies" is among her prettiest performances on record. The timeline represented here (1944-1963) almost exactly traces the golden age of the post-WWII, pre-Beatles star pop vocalists. The core sample contains measurable amounts of Judy Garland, Mary Martin, Margaret Whiting, Dean Martin, Bobby Darin, Gordon MacRae, Dick Haymes and Vic Damone, as well as pearly white group vocals by the Starlighters, the Crew Chiefs, the Pied Pipers and the Four Freshmen. ~ arwulf arwulf, All Music Guide