Artist:Phineas Newborn
     Album:Plays Again!
     Release:2002
     Label:Blue Moon
     Format/Bitrate:mp3/320
     Size:63.3mb


     One of the most technically skilled and brilliant pianists in jazz during his prime, Phineas Newborn remains a bit of a mystery. Plagued by mental and physical problems of unknown origin, Newborn faded from the scene in the mid-1960s, only to re-emerge at irregular intervals throughout his life. Newborn could be compared to Oscar Peterson in that his bop-based style was largely unclassifiable, his technique was phenomenal, and he was very capable of enthralling an audience playing a full song with just his left hand ~ Scott Yanow
    

     Artist: Cuong Vu
     Album: Bound
     Label: Omnitone
     Year: 1999; release: 2000
     Genre: Modern Creative, Avantgarde Jazz, Jazz-Rock, Trumpet Jazz
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320
     Time: 47:56
     Size: 97 mb
     AMG Rating:

     Vietnamese-born trumpeter Vu displays a modern progressive aesthetic in his music that points to many influences in jazz, 20th century contemporary, and even pop music. Keyboardist Jamie Saft, electric bass guitarist Stomu Takeishi, and percussionist Jim Black are able to wring every ounce of emotion and power out of the leaders solid toned, never mushy, or slurred horn. The clarity of Vu's sound is astonishing, and this band may be bound by an avant- jazz pigeonhole, but not ever gagged by it. Vu wrote most of the material here. A naturally kinetic, dissented funk with throbbing Fender Rhodes from Saft acts as a fuse, setting off the artist's intense, searing trumpet on "Two." A Sun Ra-like mystery processional with yearning trumpet and flowing piano informs "Our Bridge." Contrary rhythms of six and four match a bass/drums versus trumpet/piano battle on the quintessential push me/pull you piece "Still Ragged," with wild bridge work б la Cecil Taylor via Saft. The title track, co-written by Vu and Holly Palmer, has a three-way personality, starting in lovely, soaring space musings, going to a pounding rock beat from Black, a sweet pop-type vocal from the surprisingly attractive Vu, and an acidic tail. "The Drift" is as it sounds, from introspective to dramatic three piano chords, first somber, then forceful. "Acid Kiss" is a lower, edited Swiss cheese funk, with holes filled by Vu's inquiring trumpet and Saft's here and there Rhodes. It's quite Miles Davis-esque, building to peak intensity. The finale, "The Burn," written by Scott Wilk and Palmer, claims to be Charles Ives influenced. It's more rockish under urban landscape vista sonorities, a very free and unforced wall of sound that eventually settles on a glassy, aquamarine bottom. Vu's concept is unique and distinctive, but this is only the beginning for him. It's short in time at under 50 minutes, but fully charged with depth, substance, and fine musicianship. Recommended.

     Artist: Toninho Horta
     Album: Toninho in Vienna
     Lable: PAO Records
     Year: 2007
     Quality: MP3; 320 kb/s
     Size: 138 mb



New solo album by Toninho Horta : the famous guitar player, composer and singer from the Minas Gerais area of Brasil, who has been winning the respect of a solid international audience for almost three decades. After playing and recording with ,Milton Nascimento, Elis Regina, Gal Costa, Wagner Tiso and Nana Caymmi, among others, he recorded his first album as leader in 1980. He has made many albums since then. He employs his highly individual, virtuoso guitar style, often with improvised vocal interplay, in a wonderfully rhythmic & melodic way - mixing jazz and Brazilian music. He has worked with ,Pat Metheny, ,George Duke, Gil Evans, ,Joe Pass, Randy Brecker, ,Wayne Shorter, Larry Carlton, etc - and with almost every main Brazilian star, including : ,Tom Jobim, ,Sergio Mendes, ,Astrud Gilberto, ,Flora Purim, ,Maria Bethania, ,Caetano Veloso, ,Eliane Elias, Joao Bosco, ,Hermeto Pascoal, ,Joyce, and countless others.

     Artist: Tony Vega Band
     Album: Glory Baby
     Label: Red Onion
     Year: 2007
     Format MP3, bitrate: 320 kbps
     Time: 43:03
     Size: 80,72 Mb (+3%)



     For over ten years, the Tony Vega Band have been burnin' up the Texas Gulf Coast and Europe. Discover the Gulf Coast's 'best kept secret' for yourself! "'Glory baby' takes Vega to a new level. 'Dixieland' is as haunting and moving as a blues recording can be. This is easily Vega's best recording to date."

     Artist: Andy Mckee
     Album: Gates Of Gnomeria
     Label: Candyrat Records.
     Year: 2007
     Genre: Instrumental/Roots
     Format, bitrate: mp3; 320kbps.
     Time: 42:50
     Size: 90 mb

Гитарист-виртуоз из США, штат Канзас. Родился 4 апреля 1979 года. В 13 лет впервые взял в руки гитару. В 2001 году выпустил свой первый альбом Nocturne. Позже вышли ещё четыре: Dreamcatcher (2004); Art of Motion (2005); Gates of Gnomeria (2007); Joyland(2010).

Andy McKee (born in 1979 in Topeka, Kansas, United States) is an American fingerstyle guitarist currently signed to the American record label Candyrat Records. His style of playing and his compositions have earned him a considerable international fanbase; in late 2006, a live performance of his flagship song "Drifting" became a Featured Video on YouTube and MySpace, achieving over 28,000,000 views on the former to date and remaining one of its highest rated music clips. A handful of McKee's other songs have experienced lesser success on YouTube, such as "Rylynn" with over 13,000,000 views. Similarly, McKee's cover of "Africa" reached over 9,000,000 views before suddenly being removed by Candyrat Records.

After his popularity due to his performances on YouTube and touring extensively throughout much of 2007, McKee returned to the studio to record his fourth CD, Gates of Gnomeria. The album contains six new songs, one of which had already been seen on YouTube ("Gates of Gnomeria"), as well as two cover songs. McKee spent the majority of 2008 on tour throughout the world, performing with other Candyrat artists and promoting both Gates of Gnomeria and his collaborative album with Don Ross, The Thing That Came From Somewhere. He released a split DVD that same year with labelmate Antoine Dufour, each artist contributing eight songs to the disc; two of McKee's from Gates of Gnomeria.

     Artist: John Pizzarelli
     Album: Rockin' In Rhythm: A Duke Ellington Tribute
     Year: 2010
     Label: Telarc
     Bitrate: VBRkbps / 44.1Khz / Joint-Stereo
     Total Size: 72.15 MB


John Pizzarelli takes so naturally to these Ellington classics that if you didn't know better, you might think they were written for him. Following With a Song in My Heart, the guitarist/vocalist's 2008 tribute to songwriting icon Richard Rodgers, and, prior to that, 2006's Dear Mr. Sinatra, it would seem that Pizzarelli is systematically checking off all of those to whom he feels indebted. And that's a good thing, because his dedication to and understanding of this music is unquestioned. Rockin' in Rhythm doesn't stray all that far stylistically from those previous outings: Pizzarelli isn't out to rewrite history here, just to celebrate a hero. On the zippy opening "In a Mellow Tone," Pizzarelli, his rhythm crew, and his brass section come out swinging. Larry Fuller's mid-song piano solo is brisk and sparkling, and when it gives way to Pizzarelli's guitar-and-scat solo, the transition is smooth and sweet. As always, Pizzarelli's guitar playing is skilled and striking, though nowhere does he let it upstage the tunes that he's here to honor. And although his vocalizing has been described as thin, on easygoing tracks like "Satin Doll" and "I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good" he puts it to fine use, much as Chet Baker did: the emotionalism in his low-key delivery is palpable and Pizzarelli understands that soft and cool fit the bill, so no need to shout. His song choices aren't exactly radical, but neither are they entirely predictable (there's no "Take the 'A' Train," for example). Some tunes, though covered to death, suit the program despite their ubiquity: you can't go wrong with either "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo" or "Don't Get Around Much Anymore," and Pizzarelli fuses them seamlessly into a medley whose arrangement hews closely to the originals while still leaving room for his personalization. Other less celebrated numbers ("Just Squeeze Me," performed solo; "Love Scene") break up the familiarity, and there are several guests joining the proceedings to liven things up -- not surprisingly, dad Bucky Pizzarelli sits in on a few tracks (soloing on "Satin Doll"), and Kurt Elling and (John Pizzarelli's wife) Jessica Molaskey's duet on "Perdido" (with a Gerald Wilson arrangement) makes for a natural pairing that gives the set a welcomed lift midway. And "C Jam Blues," featuring violinist Aaron Weinstein and saxophonist Harry Allen, is a gem. Horn arrangements by Don Sebesky give more than half the tracks a zest that Ellington would certainly have approved of. ~ Jeff Tamarkin, All Music Guide.

     Artist: Paul Bley
     Album: Solo In Mondsee
     Label: ECM
     Year: Recorded 2001; release: 2007
     Format, bitrate: MP3, 320kb/s
     Time: 55:39
     Size: 156.5MB (with 1400x1400 cover)
     AMG Rating:

Fully 35 years after Open, To Love, Paul Bley's seminal solo piano recording for ECM (which stands as a watermark both in his own career and in the history of the label -- i.e., unconsciously aiding Manfred Eicher in establishing its "sound"), the pianist returns to the label for another go at it on Solo in Mondsee. Recorded in Mondsee, Austria, in 2001, and not issued until Bley's 75th year, these numbered "Mondsee Variations" were played on a Bцsendorfer Imperial grand piano, an instrument that is, like its player, in a class of its own. Bley moves through ten improvisations lasting between two and just under nine minutes each. His range of thought, instinct, and motion is staggering. In a little over 55 minutes, he combines melodic and abstract notions of jazz and blues (especially on "VII" for the latter), ghost traces of popular song from the 1930s to the present, various folk musics, contemporary classical ideas, and reflections on the art of improvisation itself. This set isn't about flash, nor is it about transcendence. It's about the investigation of space, and the arrangement of music within it. While Bley has recorded other solo albums in the last 35 years, none is more diverse and tender in its sparseness than this one. His sense of detail is also his sense of economy on the instrument, which is graceful and elegant, rarely simply "percussive." In this manner Bley is a poet of sound. He pushes a line only as far as the extension of his own "breath," as the late poet Charles Olson put it regarding written language. Where the writer felt compelled to use the "/" symbol as a way of creating a break, Bley is not so specific; he is not interested in being a celebrated "technician." He pushes the line in any way that suits the idea at hand, which in turns suggests others; he allows room for its reverberations and trace echoes to inform each following sound, creating song from silence, lyric from air. His vast knowledge of musical forms is never knotty or purely intellectual; there is a great deal of emotion put into -- and coming out of -- each and every piece; the harmonic reflections on "IV" and "V" are particularly beautiful in very different ways. There is a wall that writing about this music presents; there is only so much explaining to do, because there isn't a written language that can even hope to convey this except poetry itself, and even there, it falls short. For anyone who has ever wondered about Bley and his amazing 60-year career in jazz, or for anyone interested in either the piano or improvisation, this recording, like its predecessor, will mystify, delight, and satisfy in ways that cannot really be imagined until Solo in Mondsee is actually encountered.

     Artist: Jo Stafford
     Album: Jo+Jazz
     Label: CBS/Corinthian
     Year: 1960,release: 1961
     Format, bitrate: MP3, 320 Kbp/s
     Time: 42:28
     Size: 80 MB:

     Artist: Various
     Album: Swedish Jazz - Siesta Vol.1
     Label: Metronome JMLP 2-104 (Double LP)
     Year: 1949-1956
     Format, bitrate: mp3@320 kbs Covers Front/Inside/Back HD ~ Ripped from original LP
     Time: 48/48 min
     Size: 11,97+112,55 MB




This is a very valuable two-LP set for it documents many of the top modern jazz recordings made in Sweden during the 1949-56 period. Cool jazz caught on in that country and quite a few talented jazzmen had opportunities to record including altoist Arne Domnerus, clarinetist Ove Lind, pianist Bengt Hallberg, trombonist Ake Persson and the great baritonist Lars Gullin, all of whom are heard from on this exciting two-fer. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

     Artist - Wynton Kelly
     Album - Full View
     Label - OJC/Milestone
     Year - 1966, release - 1996
     Quality - MP3@320kbs/s
     Size - 83,1mb
     Total time - 37:01



Pianist Wynton Kelly's next-to-last set as a leader (he would record a slightly later date for Delmark) featured him at a time when his influence was waning and he was overshadowed by more advanced players. However, Kelly's impact would begin to grow again after his death, when the Young Lions movement began in the early '80s; certainly pianist Benny Green was greatly touched by Kelly's conception. This Milestone trio set, reissued on CD, matches Kelly with bassist Ron McClure and drummer Jimmy Cobb on a fine program mostly filled with standards but also including the then-recent Burt Bacharach hit "Walk on By" and Kelly's original "Scufflin'." ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

    Artist: Joanne Brackeen
    Album: Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Vol. 1
    Label: Concord
    Genre: Piano Jazz
    Format mp3, bitrate: 320 kb/s
    Time: 1:03:05
    Size: 145 Mb
    AMG Rating:

The first entry in the extensive series of piano solo recitals held at Maybeck Recital Hall features the great Joanne Brackeen. Although classified by some originally as an avant-gardist inspired by McCoy Tyner, Brackeen continued to grow in stature and by the late '80s had her own style. She is respectful but passionate on seven standards (keeping the melody in mind during her explorations) while her four originals are given more adventurous improvisations. "Dr. Chu Chow" is a good example of her power as is the quirky "Curved Space" with its catchy and delayed 6/4 rhythmic pattern. Although not a stride player, Brackeen is clearyly a two-handed pianist and, as shown on her "African Aztec," able to play music that hints in an abstract way at earlier styles (in this case blues and boogie-woogie) while remaining quite advanced and original. Well worth checking out. - Scott Yanow at All Music Guide

     Artist: Larry Elgart
     Album: More Music in Motion (21 Channel Sound)
     Label: MGM SE 4080
     Year: ;1962 release:1962
     Format, MP3 bitrate: 256 LP RIP
     Time: 27 min
     Size: 52.2 MB

Larry Elgart appears to be something of an unstoppable force in dance band and big-band music, bordering on jazz mostly through the appropriation of various swingy instrumentalists to fill section ranks. The Elgart name itself is legendary in this kind of music; brother Les Elgart also fronts his own, similar orchestra and the siblings collaborated on the Les & Larry Elgart Band from the mid-'40s through much of the '50s. The boys' mother was a concert pianist but it was perhaps a Connecticut musician named Hymie Shertzer who had the most influence early on, successfully pushing a still teenage Larry Elgart for the spot of lead alto saxophone in the Charlie Spivak ensemble.

When Les Elgart headed for the West Coast near the end of the '50s his brother took on major control of the band they had formerly shared, guiding the shifting lineup of hired hands through a series of fine recordings for labels such as RCA Victor and Decca. Some four decades later, Les Elgart was merrily and energetically announcing that his band was still going strong and on the verge of conquering new frontiers, in this case an Australian tour. Exotica fans are obsessed with an earlier Elgart exploration, the 1953 10" entitled Impressions of Outer Space, in which Sun Ra is given a run for his intergalactic money. A more recent Elgart recording is the 2003 Bandstand Boogie. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide