Artists: Various
     Album: Jazz from the Windy City
     Label: Timeless Historical
     Years: 1927-1930; release: 1994
     Genre: Chicago jazz
     Format, bitrate: APE
     Time: 70:38
     Size: 239 Mb
     AMG rating


Featuring Dixieland/trad-jazz pioneers like Charlie Pierce, the Chicago Rhythm Kings and McKenzie & Condon's Chicagoans, Jazz from the Windy City includes early standards like "Sister Kate," "Darktown Strutters' Ball," "Barrel House Stomp," "Wailing Blues," "Baby Won't You Please Come Home" and "Friars Point Shuffle." ~ Keith Farley, All Music Guide

     Artist: Marc Ducret
     Album: Le Sens de la Marche
     Label: Illusions
     Year: 2009
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320kb/s
     Size: 161 mb
     AMG Rating:

     Marc Ducret has gained a cult following for his virtuosic skills mainly in small ensembles and solo settings — recordings during the 1990s and 2000s have featured the guitarist unaccompanied on acoustic or electric guitar; with his trio featuring bassist Bruno Chevillon and drummer Eric Echampard; and with Tim Berne in Big Satan, Science Friction, and Bloodcount. And while 2003’s Qui Parle? took listeners on a ride through diverse styles and instrumentation, Ducret's composing and arranging skills on 2009's generous 73-minute Le Sens de la Marche might still surprise his fans. Here, with perhaps a bit of inspiration from his participation in Berne's 2001 Open, Coma large-ensemble set, Ducret guides an 11-piece band (including Chevillon and Echampard) through five lengthy compositions — the longest being the 26-plus-minute ”Nouvelles Nouvelles du Front” — in a variegated extravaganza of complex yet highly charged polyrhythms and tight multi-layered riffing alternating with spacious floating atmospheres. And the fact that the album was recorded live in concert only makes it that much more impressive (with a sound so clean and bright that the infrequent audience outbursts are often the only clue that this is not a studio recording). Ducret is a true ensemble leader here — in fact, it isn’t until nearly the conclusion of ”Le Menteur dans l’Annexe” midway through the disc that the guitarist interrupts an undercurrent of treated vocal babble to unleash a frantic solo. The members of the five-man horn/reed section — who play saxophones from soprano to baritone, clarinets, flute, trumpet, trombone, and bugle — get opportunities to strut their soloing stuff in modes from free to funk, but otherwise focus on counterpoint riffage and massed buildups highlighting total ensemble power. Tom Gareil’s vibraphone and marimba accent the herky-jerky rhythms, contributing — as do Ducret’s noise guitar, Paul Brousseau’s keys and samplers, and Antonin Rayon’s Rhodes and clavinet — to timbres that are sometimes crisp and brittle to the breaking point. The nearly 15-minute opening ”Total Machine” starts almost impossibly funky with a lowdown buzzy two-note repeated phrase, maybe sampler-produced, joined by rattling guitar, muted blurty horn, and various other instruments in clipped, animated phraseology as the drums introduce a stop-start rhythm and the horns spiral out over the top. After an abrupt stop, an unsteady skewed pulse rings out — sounding like vibes plus keys in nearly Reich-ian minimalist fashion — serving as a focal point for Berne-ish unison and counterpoint lines from the bandmembers in various combinations, twisting funk-jazz into a polyrhythmic pretzel beneath squalling solo spots.
Le Sens de la Marche has been compared to Frank Zappa circa The Grand Wazoo, and the thematic material in ”Tapage” might be considered the most direct Zappa homage here, but the free dialogues and buildup of roiling energy arguably take this further. There are calmer interludes, as at the beginning of ”Le Menteur dans l’Annexe” and throughout ”Aquatique,” a soundtrack for an underwater world that floats gently in crystalline clarity and avoids sharp instrumental attacks, although this world is not without ominous colors. ”Aquatique” is presented as a live set-closer, and the audience, fully attuned to the comparatively hushed dynamics, nevertheless offers up exuberant applause. The band returns in a similar mood for the roughly eight-minute intro to the concluding ”Nouvelles Nouvelles du Front,” but then explodes into an ever-changing journey — complete with some of the album's hottest soloing — that echoes both the unbridled wildness and consummate control heard previously throughout the disc. Le Sens de la Marche was issued in a limited edition of 2,500 copies; as they say, "Get 'em while they last."

     Artist: Shamek Farrah
     Album: First Impressions
     Label: Strata East
     Year: 1974 ; release: 1975
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320kb/s
     Time: 34:53
     Size: 78,93 MB


For a label that wasn't around long, Strata East achieved the same sort of label recognition that Impulse! or Blue Note managed to build. In other words, you knew what you were getting when you bought a record on the label, even if you didn't know the names on the outside of the cover. This is no exception. Who is Shamek Farrah? Who knows? Who cares? It's the music that's important. This is the standard spiritually intense new jazz one learns to expect from the label, soaked in some Eastern influences but always with its ear to the street. Musicians took their roles as leaders and spokesmen very seriously back then. This very adult statement from a group of very serious men is no exception. However, what might be an average, forgettable session is rescued by the propulsive engine of Milton Suggs' bass. He adds the fire and the drive that keeps things interesting and prevents the music from wandering into a circular spiritual morass. For fans of the sound or the label, this can be heartily recommended. ~ Rob Ferrier, All Music Guide

     Artist: Johnny Hodges
     Album: Hodge Podge (LP)
     Recording Date: Mar 28, 1938-Sep 1, 1939
     Label: Sony Legacy / Epic
     Format: FLAC
     Size: 100+100+23,3 MB MB
     Time: 0.44:33

     A nice collection of tunes Johnny Hodges recorded in 1938 and 1939. Cootie Williams, Otto Hardwick, Harry Carney, Fred Guy, Duke Ellington, Sonny Greer, Lawrence Brown, and Billy Taylor grace these sessions with their talents.

This is a good set that should have been a great one. Rather than reissue all 43 of altoist Johnny Hodges's small-group dates for Vocalion and Okeh, this CD (which should have been two) only contains 16. The music is often classic small-group swing ("Jeep's Blues," "Hodge Podge" and "Rent Party Blues" are among the highpoints) and there are several superb examples of Hodges playing soprano (showing off the influence of Sidney Bechet) but many valuable performances are missing. The problem is that the set is a straight reissue (although with some new liner notes) of an Epic LP rather than being an improvement. This important material deserves to be repackaged in a more complete fashion.

     Artist: John Taylor
     Album: Phases
     Label: CAM Jazz
     Release: 2009 January 20
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320kb/s
     Time: 53:42
     Size: 108MB

ФИАЛКИ по СРЕДАМ (выпуск 69)

Composer: Frederic Chopin
Artist: Artur Rubinstein
Album: The Chopin Collection (CD-8 - piano concertos)
Label: RCA
Year: 1991
Genre: classical music
Format, bitrate: mp3, 320 kbps
Time: 1 h, 10 min, 38 sec
Size: 170 mb.

Как-то незаметно прошли первые дни новой недели. Не успел оглянуться - и снова среда. И снова нас ждёт встреча с Шопеном (в смысле, с его музыкой). На этот раз будем слушать его фортепианные концерты. А концерт, как известно, это музыкальное сочинение, написанное для одного или нескольких инструментов, с аккомпанементом оркестра, с целью дать возможность солистам выказать виртуозность исполнения. В нашем случае солировать будет фортепиано (или рояль).

     Artist: Barbecue Bob
     Album: Chocolate To The Bone
     Label: Yazoo
     Years: 1927-1930; release: 1992
     Genre: Country Blues, East Coast Piedmont Blues, Pre-War Blues, Acoustic Blues
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320@kbps
     Time: 59:39
     Size: 136,05 MB
     AMG Rating:


Although Robert "Barbecue Bob" Hicks recorded over 65 extant sides (three are not known to have survived) in a three-year stretch starting in 1927 up to his death in 1931, the 20 collected here make a perfect introduction to the work of this Atlanta-based artist. He may have played a big-city acoustic 12-string guitar, but Hicks' playing was provincial, down-home, and often modal, reducing any chord progression down to one or two chords. He also played embellishments on this instrument with a bottleneck, a rarity then and a rarity now. Usually tuned to an open chord, Barbecue Bob's playing nonetheless shows great diversity and musical flexibility. The 20 sides collected here (all off of old, scratchy 78s and cleaned up as well as can be expected) give a nice cross-section of that diversity as a solo artist, along with a pair of sides showcasing Bob in a small band context with Buddy Moss on harmonica and Curley Weaver on second guitar and another with Hicks backing up former gal pal Nellie Florence on a raucous "Jacksonville Blues." Of special merit for collectors are the inclusion of two previously unissued sides struck from slightly better sounding test pressings, "Twistin' Your Stuff" and "She Shook Her Gin." This expanded collection replaces the 14-track vinyl collection of the same name. ~ Cub Koda, All Music Guide

     Artist: Donald Harrison
     Album: Free To Be
     Label: Impulse!/GRP Records
     Year: 1998; release:1999
     Format, bitrate: mp3@256kb/s
     Time: 66:49
     Size: 122,18 MB

On his second album for Impulse!, recorded August 18-September 24, 1998, Donald Harrison continues to proselytize for what he called "nouveau swing" on his first date for the label, even going so far as to sing/rap an explanation of his concept in "Nouveau Swing (Reprise)." Essentially, what he seems to mean by the term is that, within an acoustic quartet setting, he intends to introduce elements of a number of musical genres, for example covering the Meters' funk anthem "Cissy Strut" and having drummer John Lamkin use a reggae feel for "Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise," the Sigmund Romberg standard he previously recorded on For Art's Sake. As on Nouveau Swing, he alternates rhythm sections, using his regular working band, Lamkin, pianist Andrew Adair, and bassist Reuben Rogers, but switching to the more high-profile unit of pianist Mulgrew Miller, bassist Christian McBride, and drummer Carl Allen for special occasions such as a cover of Duke Ellington's "Blue Rose," an uncharacteristic tune originally written for Rosemary Clooney. And there are a few guests, notably trumpeter Bryan Lynch on the bluesy "Again, Never" by Bill Lee (father of Spike) and Eddie Palmieri's "Slowvisor" (which also features Palmieri on piano), Teodross Avery on Harrison's own New Orleans-styled "Indian Blues," and Rodney Jones playing Wes Montgomery-style guitar on "Mr. Cool Breeze," "Smooth Sailing," and "Nouveau Swing (Reprise)," all Harrison originals. Despite the various eclectic elements, Harrison remains the same post-bop player he has always been: he may launch into "Cissy Strut" with a semblance of Meters fervor, but when he takes his solo it could be 1958 instead of 1998. It's hard to see how he can compromise his heritage any more than he does and retain his musical integrity, but it's equally hard to see how he can distinguish himself by being remaining so steeped in that heritage. And isn't that the standard problem for the Marsalis-era generation of jazz musicians?

     Artist: Benny Goodman
     Album: Benny Goodman - King Of Swing (20CD BOX SET)
     Label: Membran
     Years: 1928-1949; release: 2008
     Format, bitrate: Flac
     Time: 1189:43
     Size: 4,95GB


Benjamin David Goodman, (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American jazz musician, clarinetist and bandleader, known as "King of Swing", "Patriarch of the Clarinet", "The Professor", and "Swing's Senior Statesman".
In the mid-1930s, Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America. His January 16, 1938 concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City is described by critic Bruce Eder as "the single most important jazz or popular music concert in history: jazz's 'coming out' party to the world of 'respectable' music."
Goodman's bands launched the careers of many major names in jazz, and during an era of segregation, he also led one of the first racially-integrated musical groups. Goodman continued to perform to nearly the end of his life, including exploring his interest in classical music. ”

     Artists: Joe McPhee,Peter Brotzmann,Kent Kessler,Michael Zerang
     Album: The Damage Is Done
     Label: Not Two
     Year: 2009
     Genre: Free Jazz ,Free Improvisation
     Format, bitrate: FLAC
     Size: 300M + 258M

This live date features legendary free jazz pioneers Peter Brötzmann and Joe McPhee, and Chicago's leading rhythm section, bassist Kent Kessler and drummer Michael Zerang. The four also make up 4/10 of Brötzmann's Chicago Tentet, maybe the most successful large new music jazz ensemble ever assembled.

As they have in the past while touring with the Tentet, they step away and perform in this more intimate lineup. This quartet has released two previous recordings, Tales Out Of Time (hatOLOGY, 2004) and Guts (Okka, 2007), with The Damage Is Done's two discs recorded live at Alchemia in Krakow, Poland in March of 2008.

While the players can (and do) perform volatile energy jazz here, their preference is for music that's dissectible enough for the players to be distinguished in parts and direction.

The obvious reference point here is the legend of Albert Ayler and his brother Donald. Brötzmann has never shied away from his admiration for free jazz's holy ghost. With Brötzmann on tenor and McPhee sporting the trumpet role, the attention to Ayler can be heard on "With Charon" and the title track (all 30-plus minutes). Brotzmann and McPhee's stamina, both nearing 70, is impressive. The pair delivers an onslaught of energy with a relentless attack, the only pause being for Zerang and Kessler's solos. With that, the pace slows, allowing Brötzmann to paint from a different palette. This gentler approach acts as a collection point before the music again spreads its energy patterns outward.

Kessler and Zerang open "Alchemia Souls," with itchy bowed bass and sound effect brushes on drums. Brötzmann enters, playing a persistent tarogato before McPhee's twitchy alto joins. The rhythm section maintains the energy through constant motion. The more affable music making here comes at the urging of the rhythm section. Slowing down the pulse or playing with mallets coaxes the horn players to decelerate and clarify the sound. The breadth and power of these four players comes through with an exhaustive clarity in this crisp and vigorous live recording.

~ allaboutjazz, Mark Corroto

     Artist: Ernest Ranglin
     Album: Ranglypso
     Label: MPS
     Year: 1974
     Quality:Mp3, 320 kbps. Covers.
     Size: 76 mb

     Artist: Tinez Roots Club
     Album: Something You Got
     Label: Stemra
     Year: 2009
     Quality: mp3 @320
     Size: 93 mb (with covers: all + autographs)




Tinez Roots Club. This combo comes from the Netherland and features Martijn "Tinez" Van Toor on vocals and saxophones (baritone and tenor), Jan Kanis on guitar, Frans Hellemans on doublebass and hoffner bass and Pieter Bakker on drums. With 13 originals this self released debut album is really impressive. Mostly instrumental, you go from hot New Orleans rhythm with the opening track to "Lovely Latina" a nod to the Champ's Tequila. You'll also find some fast paced numbers (Something You Got, Crazy Mule) and great rockers (Flat Rat).
The vocals songs are good too like the rockin' She's So Fine (with a screamin' sax), though some have the voice a little bit buried in the mix. I particularly enjoyed the country-meets-Fats Domino "I Don't Want You No More" and "If I Could" a Delta blues sung by Jan Kanis. Great debut guys!

     Artist: Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks
     Album: Bill Challis' The Goldkette Project
     Label: Circle
     Year: 1986; release: 1994
     Format, bitrate: MP3 @ 320kps
     Time: 59:21
     Size: 162MB (with covers)



Bill Challis contributed most of the best arrangements for the Jean Goldkette Orchestra from 1926-1927. Sixty years later, he conducted Vince Giordano's Nighthawks in their versions of 16 of his charts (including a pair of three-song medleys). With cornetist Tom Pletcher taking Bix Beiderbecke's place and such top players as trumpeter Peter Ecklund, trombonist Dan Barrett, clarinetist Bob Wilber, pianist Dick Wellstood, and Goldkette alumnus Spiegel Wilcox on trombone guesting with the Nighthawks, the results are outstanding and very enjoyable. Not only are such songs as "Proud of a Baby Like You," "My Pretty Girl," and "Clementine" brought back, but also some charts that Jean Goldkette's band played but never recorded (such as "The Blue Room," "I've Found a New Baby," and "Tiger Rag"). Highly recommended for 1920s and classic jazz collectors.

     Artist: Honi Gordon
     Album: Honi Gordon Sings
     Label: Prestige/OJC
     Year: 1962, release: 1991
     Format, bitrate: 320 Kbp/s
     Time: 33:59
     Size: 64 MB
     AMG Rating



Honi Gordon's obscurity (this was her only recording as a solo singer) is a mystery for she displays a great deal of talent on this date. Her father George Gordon wrote some of the tricky lyrics (which are phrased like a horn) and Honi (who is given stimulating support by pianist Jaki Byard, Ken McIntyre on flute and alto, guitarist Wally Richardson, bassist George Duvivier and drummer Ed Shaughnessy) is up to the job. Her version of Charles Mingus's "Strollin'" is definitive, she finds something new to say on "Ill Wind" and really digs into the originals. This is bop-based jazz singing at its best.

     Artist: Lars Møller
     Album: Copenhagen Groove
     Label: Stunt
Year: 1989 ; release: 1991
Format, bitrate: Flac
Time: 56 Minutes
Size: 321 MB



After living in New York 1987-89, playing with a number of legendary jazzmusicians, Lars Møller spent several prolonged periods in New Delhi in the early 90’s, studying Indian classical music. As a saxophone player, he combines his American and Indian influences, the melodic Nordic tradition and a very personal quarter-tone language into a lyrical and forceful expression.

     Artist: Kenny Wheeler
     Album: It Takes Two!
     Label: CAM Jazz
     Release Date: 2006 June 07
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320kb/s
     Time: 64:57
     Size: 135MB


     It Takes Two! finds Kenny Wheeler in an instrumental context with which he has not previously recorded. Throughout he is partnered by guitarists John Abercrombie and John Parricelli and the Swedish bass virtuoso Anders Jormin.
     The musical sensitivity of all those involved has resulted in what is, even by Wheeler’s sometimes introspective standards, an extremely intimate sounding recording. Indeed, the shades, textures, and contrasts of the two guitars (harp-like, steely and incisive by turns), Jormin’s bass and Wheeler’s horns create something akin to a conversation to which the listener eavesdrops.