Artist: Ray Brown & Laurindo Almeida
      Album: Moonlight Serenade
      Label: Jeton
      Year: 1981
      Format: Flac (eac-flac, cue, log)
      Time: Jeton
      Size: 252 MB (artwork)
      AMG rating:


     Великолепного басиста Рея Брауна представлять, надеюсь, не нужно. Да и с прекрасным бразильским гитаристом, композитором и аранжировщиком Лауриндо Альмейда внимательные посетители Клуба тоже знакомы по этой публикации.
     Но то, что они вытворяют дуэтом - просто невероятный по красоте сплав классической музыки, би-бопа и латиноамериканских мелодий.
     Рекомендуется слушать часа в три-четыре ночи, на максимальной громкости, отрешившись от всех мирских забот...

     Artist: Dustin O'Halloran
     Album: Lumiere
     Label: Fat Cat Records
     Year: 2011
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320kb/s
     Time: 43 min
     Size: 91 MB
     AMG rating:

     Starting with the quiet chimes and swirls of synth texture and drone of "A Great Divide," Dustin O'Halloran on Lumiere creates a world of contemplative, post-classical elegance. In a time when musicians from These New Puritans to Peter Broderick and Sylvain Chauveau thrive, little wonder that O'Halloran has found his own context. O'Halloran's piano-only pieces have all the direct beauty one could want, with such compositions as "Opus 44" embracing the solitary approach with gentle passion. The selections with further arrangements, as with the opening song, show O'Halloran's work in a more distinct light, bringing out a ghostly, melancholic glow. "Opus 43," seemingly straightforward in its piano/quartet arrangement, emphasizes careful use of space while also permitting a little rush of playful energy at one point. "We Move Lightly," with its simple but effective solitary violin in the second half of the song, further contrasts with the full string section performance of "Quartet N. 2," eschewing the then constant piano work on the album entirely. Perhaps "Fragile N. 4," its appropriate name denoting the soft blend of piano, strings, and what could almost be a music box melody at one point, is the album's high point, a quietly sweeping number that feels like it could end one of the sweetest movies ever made.

      Artist: Ravi Shankar & Zubin Mehta
      Album: Räga-Mälä (Sitar Concerto No. 2)
      Label: Angel Records
      Year: 1982
      Format: Flac (cue, log, artwork)
      Time: 52:07
      Size: 219 MB
      AMG rating:



      Dedicated to Ravi Shankar's collaborator Zubin Mehta, Sitar Concerto No. 2 (or Raga-Mala), commissioned in 1981 by the New York Philharmonic, combines a rich base of Indian classical forms with Western classical conventions.

    Artist: Keith Jarrett
    Album: G.I.Gurdjieff: Sacred Hymns
    Label: ECM
    Year: 1980
    Format mp3, bitrate: 320 kbps / Flac
    Time: 52:47
    Size: 127 Mb (covers) / 183MB


    Here we have simplicity itself: a series of piano transcriptions of some solemn, now-dark, now-affirmative religious hymns by one Georges I. Gurdjieff, with none of the usual flourishes and heady flights generally associated with Keith Jarrett's solo records. Jarrett assumes the proper devotional position, playing with a steady tread but always with attention to dynamic extremes, producing a gorgeously rich piano tone with plenty of bass. The whole record has a serene dignity, even at its loudest levels, that gets to you, and that should be enough for the devout Jarrett following. As for others — well, it's definitely not a Top Ten choice for a basic Jarrett collection.

     Artist: Eddie Calvert
     Album: The Very Best Of Eddie Calvert
     Label: EMI Gold
     Years: 1951-1963; release: 2002
     Quality: MP3@320 kbps
     Size: 104 mb
     Total time: 60:25

     Eddie Calvert, known as the man with the golden trumpet, was born in Preston, Lancashire on the 15th March 1922 as Albert Edward Calvert. As a child he was exposed to his family's love of brass band music and he learned to play many brass instruments but concentrated on the trumpet. He joined the Preston Town Silver Band at the age of 11 but the war interrupted his musical career and by the late 1940s he returned to play in various amateur brass bands, eventually moving to the professional circuit with the dance bands Geraldo and Billy Ternet. Going solo, he appeared on TV with the Stanley Black Orchestra. He signed to the Columbia label, part of the EMI group and released an instrumental trumpet version of the German song Oh Mein Papa which had most famously been covered in English as Oh My Papa by Eddie Fisher. Calvert's instrumental easily won the chart battle in the UK and it remained at no.1 for nine weeks at the beginning of 1954. Over a year later he was involved in another chart battle for supremacy with the song Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White and this time it was much closer with both his and a very similar trumpet version by Perez Prado reaching no.1 in the Spring of 1955. Several other hits followed including a version of Stranger In Paradise, John And Julie and Mandy, while Little Serenade was his final hit in June 1958. When the 1960s provided no change of fortune, Calvert moved away to settle in South Africa where he lived out the remainder of his life, dying on the 7th of August 1978.

     Artist: Perry Como
     Album: Gold [Greatest Hits]
     Label: BMG
     Release: 21.04.2002
     Quality: mp3 256 CBRkbps / 44,1kH
     Time: 70:75
     Size: 117Mb

     Although there are few high-charting hits missing, Perry had so many American hits that it would take five or six CD's to include them all. Even though a few high-charting hits are omitted this collection contains all the tracks that really matter.

     Perry clocked up exactly 100 Billboard hits between 1943 and 1954, eleven of which made number one and all of them are here - Till the end of time, Prisoner of love, Surrender, Chi-Baba Chi-Baba, A you're adorable, Some enchanted evening, Hoop-dee-doo, If, Don't let the stars get in your eyes, No other love and Wanted. During this period, Perry had many other top ten hits, too many to include them all here, but most of the important among them are included.

     With the advent of rock'n'roll, Perry found success harder to come by but showed that he was not going to be pushed aside easily by recording such classics as Catch a falling star, Magic moments, Round and round, Hot diggity and Kewpie doll, all huge American hits in the late fifties. The sixties were a quiet period for Perry, at least when it came to hit singles, but he enjoyed a revival in the seventies with It's impossible, And I love you so and For the good times.

     If you only want one collection of Perry's music and you are primarily interested in his American hits, this is the best collection you are likely to find. ~ Peter Durward Harris, Amazon.com

     Artist: Gunther Schuller
     Album: Scott Joplin's "Treemonisha" 2CD
     Label: Deutsche Grammophon
     Year: 1975; release: 1992
     Quality: mp3; VBR
     Size: 95 mb

     There is a tragic side to Joplin's only surviving opera, Treemonisha, in spite of its sparkling tunes and, partly, ragtime rhythms. He spent the last years of his life obsessed with getting the opera staged and his experience of rejection led to his decline and early death. Fortunately he published the vocal score at his own expense in 1911. Even though the run-through performance in 1915 was a flop, this printed score enabled Gunther Schuller to orchestrate the work and obtain recognition for Joplin as more than just a composer of rags, excellent though those classics are, through the Houston Grand Opera production in 1975.

     It is impossible to imagine anyone better qualified than Schuller to bring Treemonisha back to life. His orchestrations show complete sympathy and idiomatic expertise, even if some decisions may still raise queries. For example, "Aunt Dinah has blowed de horn" (track 17), is marked Assai moderato con espressione but Schuller really dashes it off against all Joplin's instructions elsewhere about his rags. One can see why—the opera is starved of events and some of the straightforward narration quickly palls. Treemonisha, to Joplin's own libretto, urges education as the solution to the downtrodden Blacks' predicament. Lacking this benefit himself, Joplin could not command the theatrical skills and experience needed to make his story more than a naïve curiosity—as the stage production by the Bromley Festival Opera Company, under Gregory Rose's direction, showed in 1990. But this matters far less in a recording where mellifluous arias in the mainstream nineteenth-century Italian tradition make their effect interspersed with delightful Americanisms—the barber-shop group in "We will rest awhile" (track 6 on the second CD) and the fullyfledged delicate rag which forms the Prelude to Act 3 (track 10). Above all, perhaps, the "Real Slow Drag" at the end.

     The cast is well balanced and convincing-interesting to hear Willard White, as Ned, well before his later triumphs--the recording, showing its age slightly, is adequate and the whole production much to be welcomed on to Compact Disc. ~ Gramophone [8/1992]

     Artist: Anna Netrebko & Daniel Barenboim
     Album: In The Still Of Nigh
     Label: Deutsche Grammophon
     Year: 2010
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320kb/s
     Time: 68:44
     Size: 144MB
     AMG Rating:



     In the second album soprano Anna Netrebko has devoted to music of her native Russia, she turns to songs by Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky, most of which are little known in the West. The two composers were close friends, and in spite of occasional musical differences, admired and respected each other's work. It's easier to hear their musical kinship in these songs than in their large orchestral works and operas. The songs by Rimsky-Korsakov, who is familiar largely through his picturesque orchestral works, are most revelatory. They are rooted in folk traditions, without directly quoting folk sources, and besides their emotional directness and clarity, they are notable for their sophistication, delicacy, and lyrical grace. Tchaikovsky's songs, while similar in many ways, are more overtly romantically emotional, and their vocal writing is more virtuosic. In their heightened sense of drama, some have an operatic quality, and their accompaniments are exceptionally subtle and expressive. Netrebko and pianist Daniel Barenboim are very much equal musical partners in the endeavor, both in the selection of the repertoire and in the acute musicality of their performances. There are two non-Russian encores, ravishing performances of a selection from Dvorбk's Songs My Mother Taught Me and Richard Strauss' Cдcilie. The recording captures a live performance at the 2009 Salzburg Festival. Netrebko is in absolutely top form, singing with an enveloping, velvety warmth, and soaring with a radiant intensity. Her beautifully controlled and nuanced vibrato is always used with a keen sensitivity to the drama inherent in the texts, and her interpretations are driven by her gift for communicating with her audience. Barenboim's accompaniments are so shapely and subtly shaded that they could hold the listener rapt even without the vocal line. The sound of Deutsche Grammophon's album is vividly present, with a lively acoustic and minimum audience noise, except for the applause, whose riotous enthusiasm is a happy reminder of what must have been genuine electricity between the performers and listeners.

     Artists: Bobby McFerrin, Armando Anthony Chick Corea
     Album: The Mozart Sessions
     Label: Sony Classical
     Year: 1996
     Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)
     Format, bitrate: MP3@320 kbit/s
     Time: 1.06:37
     Size: 77 + 76 MB

     C Bobby McFerrin и Chick Corea уважаемые посетители нашего Клуба уже успели познакомиться.
     Это не джаз, вернее, совсем не джаз. Даже и не классика. Но настоящие импровизации здесь поискать всё-же можно...
     Чик демонстрирует великолепное владение фортепиано, а Бобби выступает в роли дирижера и художественного руководителя St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Конечно и здесь он не смог в финале записи удержаться от вокального сопровождения музыки в лишь одному ему свойственной манере...

     Artist: Bert Ambrose & His Orchestra
     Album: The The Glamour Of The 'Thirties
     Label: Pearl Flapper
     Years: 1934 - 1939, release: 1996
     Quality: MP3@320 kbps
     Size: 106 mb
     Total time: 65:43
     AMG Rating:

     This is one of the more satisfying Ambrose compilations. Covering a period of 1934-1939, the disc generously contains three instrumentals, the most startling of which is a high-stepping version of "Man About Town," recorded in 1939 and never issued in the era of 78s. Sid Phillips' advanced arrangement "Wood and Ivory" is also included to show off the Ambrose organization's prowess as a jazz orchestra. The rest of the tracks contain vocal choruses, performed by Jack Cooper, Max Bacon, Sam Browne, Elsie Carlisle, and the Rhythm Sisters. The redoubtable Evelyn Dall is heard on only one track, but it's a good one -- "Wotcha Got a Trombone For?" Elsie Carlisle and Sam Browne join in on a surprisingly acrimonious duo, "I'm Gonna Wash My Hands of You," and Carlisle proves charming in another "don't mind him, he's just my husband" type of number, "Home James and Don't Spare the Horses." "La Cucaracha" as sung by Sam Browne is high camp, although it does show off the Ambrose orchestra's command of Latin rhythms.

There is really only one certifiable dog in this whole collection, "Stay as Sweet as You Are," sung by Browne, which is merely guilty of being mediocre rather than altogether poor. If you are on the lookout for a good Ambrose compilation, you can't go wrong with this, although it is still not the "perfect" representation of the efforts of Bert Ambrose. The sound is very good, has excellent top end, and is one of the clearest and most noise-free releases this reviewer has heard from Pavilion. ~ Uncle Dave Lewis, All Music Guide

     Artist: Bing Crosby
     Album: The Chronological, Vol.10 1932
     Label: Jonzo
     Year: 1932; release: 2000
     Genre: Pop vocal
     Format, bitrate: mp3 128 kbps
     Size: 64,55 MB

The tenth volume of Jonzo Records' The Chronological Bing Crosby series covers a period of 12 weeks, from the start of 1932 to the second week in April, when Crosby left New York for his first major tour. The 28-year-old singer couldn't have been busier, and like every untrained singer who has ever undertaken a strenuous schedule, he began to develop nodes on his vocal cords. To avoid an operation, he took time off to rest his voice, and cut back on his singing after that. But he also began singing in his more natural baritone range rather than aiming for tenor territory. As a result, he started to sound like the Bing Crosby listeners were familiar with ever after. One can hear a slight huskiness as early as the first track here, but if anything, the slight vocal alteration contributes to Crosby's naturalness, an important quality in his ascendance beyond the more artificial singers who had preceded him and still competed with him. This collection of 12 songs (six of which are doubled by nearly indistinguishable alternate takes) represents a miscellaneous period in Crosby's recording history, a time when his records had been successful enough that his label, Brunswick, wanted many more of them, but was unable to supply him with much in the way of memorable material. The company was flooding the constricted Depression-era market with Crosby product; only three of these tracks earned chart showings, and none became hits or standards. That's the bad news. The good news is that, if you are a jazz fan, there is much to interest you here, and if you are a Crosby collector, there are several special recordings for you, too. The result is a varied collection that does show off Crosby's versatility, as well as his new, slightly lower and much more comfortable voice. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

     Artists: Stephane Grappelli & Yehudi Menuhin
     Album: Strictly For the Birds
     Label: EMI Classics
     Years: 1973-1985, release: 1989
     Quality: mp3 (320kbps)
     Size: 107 mb




     An old violin master from the classical world "jams" with an old violin master from the jazz world...wonderfully nostalgaic fun. Features "Lullaby of Birdland," "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square," and "Skylark." (Please note, this is the original 1990 CD release, not the 2005 re-issue, which has additional tracks) ~ Liner Note

     Artist: The Pasadena Roof Orchestra
     Album: Isn't It Romantic
     Year: 1976
     Genre: Jazz,Swing, Easy Listening,Instrumental
     Quality: mp3, CBR 320kbps
     Size: 81.89 Mb



      "The Pasadena Roof Orchestra was formed in Nov. 1969 by Johnny Arthy, a lover of 1920's jazz who sought to lead a dance-oriented jazz-influenced big band specializing in music from the 1923-37 period. The British band gained its name because Arthy liked the obscure song "Pasadena." The orchestra had its first gig in April 1970 and soon Arthy came across a windfall, 1, 500 original arrangements from the 1920's practically given away by an elderly lady whose father had been musical director of a dance band in the twenties. The P.R.O. started out playing once a week but, after the success of their first album in 1974, they turned professional and began working much more often. A European tour in 1975 added to the group's momentum and since then they have worked constantly and recorded fairly regularly (in the early days for Transatlantic and later on mostly for their own P.R.O. label). No famous soloists are among their alumni since the Pasadena Roof Orchestra is very much a dance band, but the group has long featured colorful ensembles, period vocals and brief individual spots, very much in the early pre-swing style which they treat with great respect. "

     Artist: Henry Mancini
     Album: A Merry Mancini Christmas
     Label: RCA Victor
     Year: 1966, release: 2003
     Quality: MP3@320 kbps
     Size: 88 mb
     Total time: 40:31
     AMG Rating:



     Fans of Henry Mancini will find Merry Mancini Christmas to be an ideal holiday record. Released in 1966, at the height of his popularity, the album is filled with the lush arrangements that are his aural signature, and they sound perfect when matched with these 11 Christmas medleys and carols. It is a warm, appealing record that blends easily into the background, making it a good choice for holiday gatherings of all sorts. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

     Artist:Bryn Terfel
     Album:Carols and Christmas Songs
     Label:Deutsche Grammophon
     Year: 2010
     Genre: Christmas-Classical
     Format, bitrate:MP3 320
     Time:CD 1-55:32 CD 2-36:39
     Size: CD1-117.3MB CD2-77.7MB

     Christmases whilst growing up on a farm in North Wales were idyllic, with constant gatherings of family and friends, wonderful Nativity plays, and snowy fields becoming Christmas playgrounds. They also had their singalongs of contrasting musical styles, full of festive cheer. Nothing has really changed. Now all roads at Christmas lead to home, with all its meanings and traditions, peace and goodwill. The roasting turkey, mince pies, the scent of mulled wine wafting through the air, the living room happily made messy with wrapping paper galore.

     Bryn Terfel - Carols & Christmas SongsMusic always a constant background accompaniment, and such an integral part of the festive period. How excited I was at the prospect of recording some of these wonderful songs, especially knowing that the Welsh repertoire would also find its way onto the list. I do hope you can share in my enjoyment of recording these special Christmas melodies, and a heartfelt thanks to all the friends who joined me in the making of this album. To quote one of my duet partners, “Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings, all the snow in Alaska won’t make it white.” Bing!

     Artists: Various Artists
     Album: Yule Struttin' - A Blue Note Christmas
     Label: Capitol Records, Inc.
     Year: 1990
     Quality: MP3 & FLAC
     Size: MP3: 137.6 MB / FLAC: 315.25 MB
     Total Time: 62:17

     This CD has ten performances of Christmas songs from 1990 plus a few earlier recordings (Chet Baker's "Winter Wonderland," Count Basie's "Jingle Bells," Dexter Gordon's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and Stanley Jordan's 1986 version of "Silent Night." With such top stars as Bobby Watson, Lou Rawls, Eliane Elias, Benny Green (who has two piano solos), Dianne Reeves, John Hart, John Scofield, Joey Calderazzo and Rick Margitza playing music not available elsewhere, this melodic CD is worth picking up. A particular highlight are two versions of "A Merrier Christmas," a previously unknown Thelonious Monk composition here performed separately by Benny Green and Dianne Reeves.

     Artists: VA
     Album: Kiss Me, Kate
     Label: Columbia
     Year: 1949
     Genre: Musical, Soundtrack
     Format, bitrate: MP3, 160 kbps (LP-rip)
     Time: 43:34
     Size: 50.49 mb
     AMG Rating:

     British budget reissue label Prism Leisure takes advantage of European copyright law, which releases recordings more than 50 years old into the public domain, to put out its own version of the original Broadway cast album of Kiss Me, Kate, originally issued on Columbia Records in early 1949 and still claimed by Sony for the U.S. (Notwithstanding this legality, the Prism Leisure set was easily available from American mail-order companies upon release, listing for only about $8.00) Sonically and in terms of annotations, this album is no competition to the still-in-print Columbia version; the sound is not bad, but clearly does not come from original sources, and Tony Watts' brief liner notes are rudimentary. What may interest musical theater buffs, however, are the bonus tracks, eight songs from the show recorded by members of the original London cast in 1951. Julie Wilson and Patricia Morison reprise their performances in the Broadway show, and Bill Johnson makes a good, if not equal substitute for Broadway's Alfred Drake. Since these recordings previously only turned up on British 78s, then collected on the long-out-of-print U.K. LP Cole Porter in London (World Records SHB-26), they are a welcome addition, especially at the budget price, and American Porter fans may want to snap up this album just for them. Otherwise, the Columbia disc is far superior, as it should be with its much higher price. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

     Artists: VA
     Album: Ultra-Lounge Vol. 27: Cocktails With Cole Porter
     Label: Capitol
     Years: '50s and '60s, release: 2004
     Quality: MP3@320 kbps
     Size: 114 mb
     Total time: 53:39

     The Ultra Lounge series returns with Cocktails With Cole Porter, a collection of '50s and '60s renditions of songs Porter wrote in the '20s and '30s. For the most part, these songs made the transition into lounge territory intact; Nat King Cole's "Just One of Those Things," Ella Fitzgerald's "It's De-Lovely," Julie London's "My Heart Belongs to Daddy," Nancy Wilson's "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To," and Peggy Lee's "Ridin' High" are some of the best examples of Porter songs refurbished for the lounge-pop era. Occasionally, schmaltzy producton overpowers both the singers and the songs themselves -- Dean Martin's sappy "True Love" and Judy Garland's overblown "I Happen to Like New York" are neither the best performances of these songs nor the best performances from these vocalists. Sammy Davis, Jr.'s "Easy to Love" and Steve Lawrence's "Night and Day" better incorporate the razzle-dazzle of '50s and '60s lounge music with Porter's timeless words and melodies, even if these interpretations seem more than a little glib compared to their subject matter. On the other hand, Louis Armstrong's radical revision of "High Society," "High Society Calypso," is a delightful blend of Armstrong and Porter's respective wittiness and the '50s passion for calypso music. Similarly, Peggy Lee and George Shearing's "Always True to You in My Fashion" adapts the song to the era's fascination with Latin rhythms with a playful grace. Ella Fitzgerald and the Duke Ellington Orchestra's "Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)" and Sarah Vaughan's "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" close the collection with a breezy elegance that still sounds contemporary. Even though Cocktails With Cole Porter has its share of less-than-great moments, overall the album celebrates both nostalgia for the lounge-pop era and the timelessness of Porter's work. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi

     Artist: Michel Legrand
     Album: The Columbia Album Of Cole Porter
     Label: Columbia
     Year: 1957, release - 1991
     Styles: Film & TV, , Jazz, Latin, Soul and R&B
     Quality : MP3@320 kbps
     Size: 154 mb
     Total time: 70:19



     Michel Legrand, that master of orchestral color! For the most part, all the songs are enjoyable, but for a few ballads, Legrand misses the sentiment needed to convey the emotions Porter intended. The swing numbers are the best, with a highly original "Love for Sale" and "From this Moment On." Recomended to those who are tired of hearing the same traditional arrangements attached to Cole Porter classics.

     Michel Legrand has made his fame and fortune from writing for films, but he has done significant work in jazz on an occasional basis. In 1957, he arranged a set of dixieland and swing standards for a French orchestra (recorded on Philips), in 1958 he used three different all-star groups for the classic Legrand Jazz (with such sidemen as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Phil Woods, Herbie Mann, Bill Evans, Ben Webster, Art Farmer, and others), in 1968 he recorded a strictly jazz set with a trio and Legrand has written for albums led by Stan Getz (1971), Sarah Vaughan (1972), and on several occasions, Phil Woods. Several of his songs (such as "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life," "Watch What Happens," and "The Summer Knows") have been recorded many times by jazz musicians.

КАКТУСЫ по ЧЕТВЕРГАМ (выпуск второй)

     Composers: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
     Artist: Peter Breiner & His Chamber Orchestra
     Album: Beatles Go Baroque
     Label: Naxos
     Year: 1999
     Genre: pop-classic fusion
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320 kbps
     Time: 57 min, 24 sec
     Size: 135 mb.

Ну вот, опять подвёл меня вчера мегааплоуд, цветочная лавка вчера никого ничем не обрадовала. Но постараюсь исправить ситуацию букетом свежих кактусов (говорят, текила из них вкусная получается).
Очередная аранжировка поп-музыки в классическом барочном стиле, прошу любить и жаловать!
Но для затравки расскажу небольшую историю из собственной жизни.
Смотрим далее...