Artist: Hank Mobley
     Album: No Room For Squares
     Year: 1963, release: 2000
     Label: Blue Note
     Quality: Flac
     Total Time: 00:54:37
     Total Size: 320mb
     AMG rating

Why any critic would think that Hank Mobley was at the end of his creative spark in 1963 -- a commonly if stupidly held view among the eggheads who do this for a living -- is ridiculous, as this fine session proves. By 1963, Mobley had undergone a transformation of tone. Replacing the scintillating airiness of his late-'50s sides was a harder, more strident, almost honking one, due in part to the influence of John Coltrane and in part to Mobley's deeper concentration on the expressing blues feeling in his trademark hard bop tunes. The CD version of this album sets the record straight, dropping some tunes form a session months earlier and replacing them with alternate takes of the title cut and "Carolyn" for historical integrity, as well as adding "Syrup and Biscuits" and "Comin' Back." Mobley assembled a crack band for this blues-drenched hard-rollicking set made up of material written by either him or trumpeter Lee Morgan. Other members of the ensemble were pianist Andrew Hill, drummer Philly Joe Jones, and bassist John Ore. The title track, which opens the set, is a stand-in metaphor for the rest: Mobley's strong and knotty off-minor front-line trading fours with Hill that moves into brief but aggressive soloing for he and Morgan and brings the melody back, altered with the changes from Hill. On Morgan's "Me 'n' You," an aggressive but short bluesed-out vamp backed by a mutated samba beat, comes right out of the Art Blakey book of the blues and is articulated wonderfully by Mobley's solo, which alternates between short, clipped phrases along the line of the changes and longer trill and ostinatos where the end of a musical line is dictated by his breath rather than a chord change. Morgan is in the pocket of the blue shades, coloring the ends of his lines with trills and short staccato bursts, warping them in Hill's open, chromatic voicings. All eight cuts here move with similar fluidity and offer a very gritty and realist approach to the roots of hard bop. Highly recommended. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

     Artist - Hank Jones
     Album - Complete Original Trio Recordings
     Label - Lonehill Jazz
     Years: 1953-1961, release - 2009
     Quality - MP3@320 kbps
     Size - 168 mb
     Total time - 78:44


2009 release that contains all of Hank Jones' 1950s trio master take recordings as a leader. With the exception of an odd 1964 LP of Ragtime music, Jones wouldn't record another trio session under his own name until 1975! Four bonus tracks have been added featuring the pianist in trios led by Elvin Jones, Aaron Bell and Charlie Smith. 18 tracks. Lonehill Jazz.

This CD contains all of Hank Jones' 1950s trio recordings (master takes), as a leader. With the exception of an odd 1964 LP of ragtime music.
Jones wouldn't record another trio session under his own name until 1975 !.
Four bonus tracks have been added featuring the pianist in trios led by Elvin Jones, Aaron Bell and Charlie Smith.

     Artist: Ramsey Lewis
     Album: Love Notes
     Label: Columbia
     Year: 1977, release: 2003
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320 kb/s
     Time: 35:16
     Size: 81.95 МБ

Next to Don't It Feel Good this has to be Ramsey Lewis's funkiest albums of the 70's. It's the same group that he maintained during his mid to late 70's years on Columbia. Wheras that album had featured Earth Wind & Fire as predominant guests in the same way as 'Sun Goddess' this album is based around Stevie Wonder. He contributed two terrific songs. One was the terrific opener "Spring High",a song which captures the very best of his 'Songs in the Key of Life Era' and the most ear catching featuring is the bouncing sound they get on the electric piano-probably some type of pitch modulation. The title track finds Stevie streching out a lot more on this as he and Ramsey trade of hands on Arp and electric piano.It's more of a slower burning build but puts the styles of both musicians strongly to the test and wins every time. Much of the remainder of the music here was written by multi instrumentalist Derf Reklaw Raheem who provides much of the rhythm section and collective vocals on some heavily funky songs such as "Shining" and "Stash Dash". The best part of this album is that it presents it's funk as music of variety,just the way it should be. "Love Theme From A Star Is Born" should've been very schlocky but what this rhythm section did to it,even if he'd passed by this time so reflected the influence of Charles Stepney that it actually transcended the compositions intention. "Chile Today,Hot Tamale" brings in the percussion section real heavy for Ramsey's interpretation of the afro latin groove in funk. "The Messenger" is such a deep song that is heavily represents this album on the compilation album Electric Collection-the volume,the tempo and the harmonic ideas just build from this soft mysterious flavor into this fevered frenzy by songs end. Sadly having been long forgotton this should be held in extremely high esteem in Ramsey's catalog.I've been listening to this album for years on vinyl and having heard all the sonic qualities of the grooves,melodies and musicianship of this album digitallly enhanced rather than changed for loudness purposes it's even more of a treasure.

     Artist: Jonathan Kreisberg
     Album: UNEARTH
     Label: Mel Bay Records
     Year: 2003, release: 2005
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320kb/s
     Time:51:30
     Size: 110 МБ
     AMG rating


An up-and-coming jazz guitarist, Jonathan Kreisberg contributed all eight selections to this program. "Minor Leaps" is a run through the "Giant Steps" chord changes (some of which were altered to minor chords), "Until the Sun Submits" is a lyrical ballad, and "New for Now" is a romp. On "Pacific," Kreisberg's tone sounds a bit like John Scofield although his ideas are original, while on the jazz waltz "Microcosm for Two," he switches effectively to acoustic guitar. "Hobroken" is a 16-bar blues while "Peru" and "Unearth" have complex but logical chord changes and consistently inspired playing. The quintet sounds a bit unusual due to the instrumentation, which has a guitar-trumpet-electric piano front line. Trumpeter Scott Wendholt and keyboardist Aaron Goldberg are strong assets on the set while bassist Matt Penman and drummer Anthony Pincotti play their supportive roles well. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

     Artist: Jim Pepper Trio
     Album: Polar Bear Stomp (Live at Miles Miles)
     Label: Universal
     Year: 1991, release: 2004
     Format: FLAC (cue, log, scans)
     Size: 407 MB
     Total time: 67:00

This posthumous release (2003) documents a performance in a Vienna club that the great saxophonist did less than a year before his passing. It features a rhythm section comprised of American expatriates -- Bill Elgart on drums and Wayne Darling on bass -- and finds Jim Pepper in great spirits going through some of his most famous originals and some favorites. These include the unavoidable "Witchi-Tai-To"; two compositions penned by his father, who was also a saxophonist; a piece by pianist Mal Waldron, with whom he had a fruitful collaboration; and a rendition of the traditional "Greensleeves." Although Elgart and Darling are accomplished musicians, they are not the perfect fit for Pepper's Native American predilection. The drumming sounds somewhat stiff alongside the bassist's full-bodied, supple, and buzzing sound. As for the leader, he is his relaxed and gruff self, and his playing shows no shortage of lyricism. This sets closely represents what a Pepper gig might have been with his induced audience participation, although his antics on the title track wear thin after repeated listenings. Despite its shortcomings, this recording is a welcome addition to an unfortunately meager discography.

     Artist: Bobby Pauneto
     Album: El Sonido Moderno
     Label: Mardi Gras Records
     Year : 1969
     Size: 42,9 mb
     Format: MP3,VBR



One of our favorite Latin jazz albums ever – and a truly amazing record! Bobby Pauntteo, aka Bobby Vince Paunetto, is probably best known for his groundbreaking Latin fusion albums of the NuYorican era – but this rare gem from the 60s shows that he was a really forward thinker, even at a younger age! The sound is incredibly hard to define – a blend of modal jazz, Latin rhythms, and a uniquely lyrical approach to the percussion that makes the record take off to places you'd never expect. Bobby's conception is mindblowing from start to finish – and the record's even got some wonderful tracks that feature English vocals on top of the hip vibes-driven sound of the instrumentation. A gem throughout – and the kind of record we'll take to the grave! Titles include "Aguantando", "Why Is Woody Sad?", "Mambo Sevilla", "El Senor Sid", and "Dig It Like It Is". Great stuff!

     Artist: Dinah Washington
     Album: Compact Jazz
     Years: 1955-1961; release: 1987
     Label: Verve
     Quality: flac (tracks)
     Bitrate: lossless
     Total Time: 56 min 14 sec
     Total Size: 279.6 mb
     AMG rating


Not quite as fine as Sarah Vaughan's Compact Jazz disc, this Verve roundup still nicely frames Dinah Washington's stay at the label with a fetching array of her best cuts from the '50s and early '60s. Taking in some of Washington's best-known pop songs ("What a Difference a Day Makes"), the disc touches on her excellent Fats Waller ("Keepin' out of Mischief Now") and Bessie Smith ("Backwater Blues") songbooks, while also including something from a fiery live date with Clifford Brown ("I've Got You Under My Skin"). And this is not to forget a handful of finely gauged readings of such perennials as "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," "Easy Living," and "I Could Write a Book." Topped off with fine support by a bevy of top players, Compact Jazz: Dinah Washington makes for the ideal introductory disc. ~ Stephen Cook, All Music Guide

     Artist: Ethnic Heritage Ensemble
     Album: Papa's Bounce
     Label: CIMP Records
     Year: 1998
     Genre: Post-bop, African, Ethnic
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320
     Size: 158 mb
     AMG Rating:


     This version of the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble features percussionist Kahil El'Zabar with saxophonist Ernest Dawkins (who had recently replaced mainstay Edward Wilkerson), longtime collaborator and trombonist Joseph Bowie, and percussionist Atu Harold Murray. While there are few surprises, the group lives up to its reputation for percussionist-oriented pieces, with lots of drone-like repetition and outstanding solo contributions. As usual, Bowie is a splendidly original improviser, encompassing decades of tradition in every bar, from wrenching gutbucket pleas to free-style escapades. Much of the album is surprisingly low volume, immersed in delightfully tranquil sounds. The group never forgets its mission, though, and even when playing in low gear, the creative sparks fly.

     Artist: Aaron Parks
     Album: Invisible Cinema
     Year: 2008
     Label: Blue Note Records
     Vormat, bitrate: mp3, VBR
     Size: 72:41 Mb
     AMG rating

Pianist and composer Aaron Parks is best known as a member of trumpeter Terence Blanchard's excellent sextet that recorded Bounce (2003) and Flow (2005). In addition, he worked with Blanchard on the soundtrack to Spike Lee's Inside Man and score for Lee's Katrina: A Tale of God's Will. Invisible Cinema is his debut on Blue Note Records. Parks teams with Eric Harland, the brilliant drummer from Charles Lloyd's group, as well as bassist Matt Penman and guitarist Mike Moreno. This is an interesting group with interlocking histories, creating a sense of familiarity with one another that all comes together here. Parks and Moreno played together on former Blanchard alum Kendrick Scott's album The Source, as well as Moreno's own Between the Lines. Penman and Harland are members of the SF Jazz Collective, and Harland and Parks backed Penman on Catch of the Day. The name of the game here is in the title; this is imagistic music that is big on nuance, space, and beautifully constructed melodies made up of equal parts piano and guitar, underscored and articulately dramatized by Penman's pristine sense of time and pulse and Harland's dancing movement but yet very physical manner of inhabiting his drum kit. Melodic improvisation is the key in Parks' mysterious, strangely beautiful compositions, such as the elliptical, shapeshifting "Peaceful Warrior." Parks employs his elegant style to full effect, allowing his sense of restraint and economy to create tension and drama, which is pointedly accented by Moreno. The dialogue between them is uncanny even in sparser moments -- one can think of only two other piano/guitar pairings like this one, Pat Metheny/Lyle Mays and Ketil Bjørnstad/Terje Rypdal. Here the structured euphoric feel of the former and the spaciousness and haunting melodic sense of the latter are combined. >>>

     Artist: Simon Nabatov Quintet
     Album: The Master and Margarita (2CD)
     Label: Leo Records
     Year: 1999; release :2001
     Genre: Modern Creative, Avant-Garde
     Format, bitrate: MP3, CBR 320
     Time: 64:09 + 55:01
     Size: 146 + 127 Mb





The Master and Margarita is a long suite (two discs) inspired by Mikhail Bulgakov's classic novel of the same name. (It's not the first time pianist Simon Nabatov has tangled with Russian literary figures -- compare 2001's Nature Morte, his encounter with Joseph Brodsky.) For this imaginatively "out" project, Nabatov recruits the finest of players: violinist Mark Feldman, trumpeter Herb Robertson, and longtime rhythm section colleagues Mark Helias (bass) and Tom Rainey (drums). This lean, supple unit moves effortlessly between freely improvised and precisely notated passages; out-of-tempo storms of sound and tight, dancing grooves; sedate, elegant moods; wails of torment and confusion; and even playfulness on occasion. Each track is an epic of its own, often encompassing all these contrasts and more. This is avant-garde jazz's answer to classical "programme" music, a particularly strong and ambitious entry in a growing genre. ~David R. Adler, AMG

     Artist: Golden Gate Quartet
     Album: Americans Swinging in Paris
     Label: EMI Music France
     Year: 1955-1969; release : 2002
     Genre: Gospel
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320 kbps
     Time: 00:53:36
     Size: 114.39 mb

     Artist: Stefano Bollani
     Album : Falando De Amor
     Label: Tokuma Records
     Year : 2003, release: 2006
     Quality: MP3@320 kbps
     Size: 104 mb
     Total time: 45:29

A truly international effort, this is a Japanese release of an Italian trio doing Brazilian music: 11 songs of Antonio Carlos Jobim, nicely mixed between the familiar and less-so. Falando de Amor is also a delightful surprise, giving a fresh coat to music that's been widely covered for the past four decades. While the fine pianist Stefano Bollani has obvious respect for Jobim's luscious melodies, he and his gifted bandmates -- bassist Ares Tavolazzi and drummer Walter Paoli -- make them sound newly composed. For example, the beautiful "Luiza," usually done as a slow ballad, becomes a fast-flowing waltz that brings out the twirling nature of the melody. The classic "Agua de Beber" is transformed by putting the bass and drums forward, while an innovative take on "Aguas de Março" ("Waters of March") replaces its usual repetition with intrigue. In these capable hands, "Samba de Uma Nota So" ("One Note Samba") vaults out of cliché into a full-out bop burner, ending with a sly reference to the original. Bollani, who has played with Lee Konitz and Phil Woods, is a master of clean, elegant phrasing. His solo turn on "Retrato em Branco e Preto" is one of the most beautiful versions you will ever hear; he takes another on "Pois E," this time strong and swinging. Meanwhile, Tavolazzi is blessedly on-pitch and unusually melodic, and Paoli is both supportive and imaginative. Each track is a perfect little set piece with no padding or fluff. Warmly recorded, this CD is a must-have for the Jobim collector, and will also satisfy fans of lively, lyrical trio playing. Highly recommended.

     Artist: Lee Morgan
     Album: Expoobident
     Label: Rock Bottom Inc.
     Year: 1960, release: 1995
     Format, bitrate: MP3, 192 kbps
     Time: 69:43
     Size: 96.62 MB
     AMG rating



Trumpeter Lee Morgan is heard on this CD reissue when he was 22 and near the end of his first stint with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Morgan heads a first-class hard bop quintet that also includes tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan, pianist Eddie Higgins, bassist Art Davis, and drummer Blakey, and together they perform two standards and five originals. The results are not as essential as Morgan's best Blue Note albums, but this set swings and should please fans of hard bop. [This version of Expoobident combines the original seven-track edition with the five tracks on Here's Lee Morgan, for a total of 13 tracks on one CD.] ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

     Artist: Deanna Storey
     Album: Sometimes I'm Happy
     Year Of Release: August 15, 2002
     Label: I'm So Pretty Records
     Quality: flac (tracks) | mp3
     Bitrate: lossless | 320 kbps
     Total Time: 56 min 08 sec
     Total Size: 326.5 mb | 130.0 mb

Jazz Times Review (May 2003) by Christopher Loudon"I've said it before and I'll say it again. There's something in the Seattle air that does wonders for female vocalists. The latest addition to the Northwest's phalanx of splendid songbirds is Deanna Storey. In the liner notes for Storey's Sometimes I'm Happy (I'm so Pretty), brilliantly quirky screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (of Being John Malkovich and Adaptation fame) likens her to a 1940s torch singer. He's off by about a decade. Storey's sound is solidly mid-'50s, combining the rhythmic power and purity of Doris Day with the thundering energy of Rosemary Clooney and carefree sway of Keely Smith. Working with bassist Michael Zisman (who doubled as the album's producer and arranger, with help from pianist Dena DeRose), Storey navigates 11 standards with lipstick-smeared maturity. Her "Angel Eyes" is the sort of bold, been-there-done-that interpretation you'd expect from a non-nonsense dame like Gunsmoke's Miss Kitty. Likewise, her bluesy, "You Don't Know What Love Is" is obviously the work of a woman who knows where her next T-bone is coming from. Two brooding ballads--"When Sunny Gets Blue" and "Where Are You"--are refitted as uptempo larks, complete with bump-and-grind arrangements worthy of Hef's Playboy Club circa 1960. To round out this distinctly saucy affair, Storey connects with her inner kitten, unraveling the title track in pouty Ann-Margaret style, then meandering through a "Can't Get Out Of This Mood" that's as teasingly transparent as a filmy negligee. Somewhere Julie London is smiling.

     Artists: VA
     Album: Ultra-Lounge Volume Nine - Cha-Cha De Amor
     Label: Capitol
     Years: 1954-1966, release: 1996
     Genre: Pop-jazz, latin, Smooth & Lounge
     Quality: MP3@320 kbps
     Size: 123 mb
     Total time: 62:14



Cha-cha music at its Whitest and most easy listening-friendly, recorded for Capitol in the 1950s and 1960s by Dean Martin, Julie London, Billy May, Martin Denny, Les Baxter, Walter Wanderley, and a number of other performers who are only coming to light in the lounge revival. Yma Sumac, Perez Prado, and Tito Rodriguez add a little (a very little) raunch and guts on their tracks, and there are also hints of bossa nova at times. But overall its cha-cha at its ch-cheesiest.

     Artist: Dizzy Gillespie
     Album: It Happened One Night
     Label: Black Label
     Year: 1947, release - 1995
     Format, bitrate: MP3@320 kbit/s
     Time: 45:52
     Size: 101 mb

     

On the night of Sept. 29, 1947, there were three sets of music at Carnegie Hall: the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band, Ella Fitzgerald backed by the orchestra and the Dizzy Gillespie-Charlie Parker Quintet. The second and third parts of the show are included on this very interesting LP. Fitzgerald sounds fine on tunes such as "Lady Be Good" and "How High the Moon," scatting while being backed by the big band. However the reason to search for this set is to get the five titles from Diz and Bird. This version of "Confirmation" has some miraculous Parker.

     Artist: Dizzy Gillespie
     DVD: Jazz Icons - Dizzy Gillespie: Live In '58 And '70
     Studio: Naxos, release: 2006
     Year:1958, 1970
     Video:
     Codec : MPEG2V
     Bit rate mode : VBR
     Width: 720 pixels
     Height: 480 pixels
     Display Aspect ratio: 4/3
     Frame rate: 25 fps
     Standard : NTSC
     Audio:
     Codec : LPCM
     Channel(s) : 2 channels
     Sampling rate : 48 KHz
     Size: 4,31GB
     Total time: 85 min.

!!!THIS POST IS COPIED FROM ORIGINAL DVD.... SO THE QUALLITY IS GREAT!!!

Features two historic concerts from one of the founding fathers of bebop. Filmed 12 years apart, the 1958 concert features Dizzy working eloquently within the small combo structure of a quintet. The second show features Dizzy fronting the legendary Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band. With a 16-piece big band to conduct, Dizzy's Latin influences are revealed. ~ jazzheritage.com

   Artist: Duke Ellington
   Album: Private Collection, Vol. 1: Studio Sessions, Chicago 1956
   Label: SAJA
   Year: 1956, release: 1988
   Quality: MP3@320 kbps
   Size: 116 mb
   Total time: 54:10


   The first of ten CDs of previously unreleased material recorded privately by Ellington between engagements, all of which was eventually reissued first on LMR and then Saja/Atlantic. Each of the sets has its interesting moments, offering previously unknown compositions and performances. Volume One, recorded in Chicago during March and December 1956, has plenty of spots for Clark Terry, Ray Nance, Johnny Hodges and Paul Gonsalves among the orchestra's many great soloists.
~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

   Duke Ellington, along with his frequent collaborator Billy Strayhorn, was so prolific a composer that whether or not he had an "outlet" for his music an album for a record company he'd record it if only to hear how it sounded! Also, some of these pieces of music were, in part or in entirety, works-in-progress, that would sometimes be "fine-tuned" at a later date. This is a great opportunity to hear Ellington & company playing for themselves relaxed and informal, but by no means sloppy or second-rate. Note the rich, easygoing-but-with-a-swagger "Miss Lucy" or the sly, blusey, understated take on "Satin Doll." Fans or neophytes - this is a keeper!

     Artist: Joe Henderson
     Album: Inner Urge
     Label: Blue Note
     Year: 1964, release: 2003
     Format, bitrate: MP3 192 kbps
     Time: 42 minutes
     Size: 59.39 MB
     AMG Rating

This early recording by Joe Henderson is not only one of the finest of all of his fine recordings, but is also a high point for 1960s jazz. At this point in his career, Henderson was a full-time member of Horace Silver's combo and did not yet have a steady band in his hire. He is joined on Inner Urge by veterans of other combos: McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones from John Coltrane's unit and Sonny Rollins sideman Bob Cranshaw. The presence of these luminaries aside, Inner Urge is home to two of Henderson's best (and best-loved) compositions: "Inner Urge" and "Isotope." The leader's solo on the title track is a marvelous thing, full of melody as well as anarchic bursts of sound, which is in perfect keeping with the spirit of the song's probing, searching theme. The other musicians support Henderson nicely as well as turning in some strong solos of their own. Tyner especially sounds fantastic on this record. Although not the equal of the leader in terms of the quality of his lines or the overall sense of composition of his solos, his performance is at least the rival of Henderson's in terms of raw kinetic power. The other great song on "Inner Urge," the Monk-ish "Isotope," is another ideal showcase for Henderson's total command of his instrument. The remaining tracks on Inner Urge are also fantastic, especially the wailing cry of "El Barrio" and the Henderson-altered head to "Night and Day," but the first side, even if taken alone, is by itself enough to guarantee this album as perhaps the best Henderson recorded in his long and illustrious career, and stands easily alongside the best records of the era. ~ Daniel Gioffre, All Music Guide

     Artist: Lionel Hampton
     Album: Jazz Ballads
     Label: Membran Music
     Years: 1953-1954; release: 2004
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320 kbps
     Time: 1h, 02 min, 27 sec + 1h, 02 min, 58 sec
     Size: 150+157 mb.

Традиционные пятничные баллады. В этот раз издатели из Мембраны решили дать слушателям немножко отдохнуть от саксофона и послушать другой, не менее лирический (на мой непрофессиональный взгляд) инструмент - вибрафон. А солировать сегодня будет, пожалуй, первый популяризатор этого инструмента - Лайонел "Хэмп" Хэмптон. Прошу любить и жаловать.