Artist: Duke Ellington
     Album: The Intimate Ellington
     Label: Pablo
     Release: 1971
     Format/Bitate: MP3/320
     Size: 104 MB
     Time: 44:49
     AMG Rating:


     Duke seemed to be able to relax and yet be creative in the recording studio - sometimes he would record just to take advantage of a "lull" in his band's schedule to try out new songs or re-work older ones. Here is a collection of such sessions, recorded in NYC in 1969-71.
     An Ellington vocal on the whimsical oddity "Moon Maiden" make this more than "just another Ellington album."

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     Artists: Art Pepper and Duke Jordan
     Album: In Copenhagen - Live
     Year: 1981
     Label: Galaxy
     Time: 141:59
     Format: MP3@320 kbps
     Size: 368 mb (RS.com, with 5% file recovery)
     AMG Rating: 4 Stars

     This was the first and last time Pepper worked with Jordan, and came about as a result of Pepper's usual pianist, George Cables, being unable to make the dates at Club Montmartre in Copenhagen. To Pepper's dismay, Danmarks Radio decided to record the first gig of the Montmartre series. Pepper need not have worried -- the show was a rousing success, with the band tackling a set of standards (and a couple of Pepper originals) with such verve and determination that relatively simple tunes turned into astounding solo workouts (there are several drum and bass solos to be heard on this record), the amazing highlight of which is a shot at "Besame Mucho" that rounds out to twenty-two minutes. Art Pepper was in the process of dying at the time this recording was made, but there's no lack of energy, no loss of vitality. A two-CD live jazz set that's well worth having and should not be overlooked. ~ Steven McDonald, All Music Guide

     Artist: Freddie King
     Album: Stayin Home With The Blues
     Label: Spectrum Musicl
     Year: 1997
     Quality: MP3 VBR
     Playtime: 01:12:39
     Size: 108 MB

     This album is a "must-have" in any blues collection. It is a wonderful selection of tracks which display King's immense talent for the blues guitar! We are also treated to mostly live tracks on this album, so one can hear the King live at work on stage, teaming up with such artists as Eric Clapton and George Terry. There is a good mix of slow and fast blues on this album -for example, we have "Further on up the road", a fast blues classic: King vs. Clapton in an improvisation showdown, followed by "Gambling Woman Blues", a slow thoughtful blues with wonderful contributions from George Terry (stunning slide guitar) and Clapton again. In this collection of tracks we are also exposed to King's funk influences, "Sugar Sweet", "Pulp Wood", "The woman across the river", "You can run but you can't hide" to name but a few. This album is definitely worth the buy! It is a constant member of my cd collection, and it shows all King's dimensions, from classic blues to funk, and has appealed to all lovers of blues I know.

     Original Release Date: May 17, 2004
     Label: Grandpop Records
     Copyright: 2004 Grandpop Records
     Genres: Jazz/General, Jazz, blues, rock

     IEMINEN & LITMANEN - двое вдумчивых финских музыкантов, инструментальный дуэт, творящий на стыке различных музыкальных направлений, и надо сказать, телепортация прошла успешно: искромётная эстетика той атмосферы передана на дебютной пластинке этих двоих с невероятной живостью.

     Artist: Kenny Drew Trio
     Album: Evergreen
     Label: Alfa Jazz (LP)
     Release: 1991
     Format/Bitrate: MP3/320
     Size: 128 MB





     Mr. Drew was and will ever be simply fantastic .... (by digger2 -jazzbluesclub.com)

     Artist: Lee Morgan
     Album: The Sidewinder
     Label: Blue Note
     Quality: FLAC
     Size: 264 MB
     Time: 41:01

     Carried by its almost impossibly infectious eponymous opening track, The Sidewinder helped foreshadow the sounds of boogaloo and soul-jazz with its healthy R&B influence and Latin tinge. While the rest of the album retreats to a more conventional hard bop sound, Morgan's compositions are forward-thinking and universally solid. Only 25 at the time of its release, Morgan was accomplished (and perhaps cocky) enough to speak of mentoring the great Joe Henderson, who at 26 was just beginning to play dates with Blue Note after getting out of the military. Henderson makes a major contribution to the album, especially on "Totem Pole," where his solos showed off his singular style, threatening to upstage Morgan, who is also fairly impressive here. Barry Harris, Bob Cranshaw, and Billy Higgins are all in good form throughout the album as well, and the group works together seamlessly to create an album that crackles with energy while maintaining a stylish flow. ~ Stacia Proefrock, All Music Guide

     Artists - Louis Prima & Keely Smith
     Album - Breakin' It Up
     Genre - Jazz vocal, Swing, R&B, Lounge
     Label - Columbia/Legaсy
     Years - 1951/53, release - 1998
     Quality - MP3@256 kb/s
     Size - 65,6mb (Badongo)
     Total time - 37:23


     In late 1951, Louis Prima was hot on the heels of a comeback success the year before with "Oh Babe!," and a record so big that it spawned numerous cover versions by everyone from Wynonie Harris and Lionel Hampton to Kay Starr and even a Spanish language version by Lalo Guerrero ("Chitas Patas Boogie" on Imperial and used in the movie Zoot Suit with Edward James Olmos . After three follow-ups went nowhere (one of which was the immortal "Zooma Zooma" , Prima came to Columbia Records and was handed over to A&R chief Mitch Miller And here was part of the problem. Prima s audience liked a cruder Louis and were used to records cut on shoestring budgets with production values that were as raw as the music they framed, while Miller s production was state-of-the-art squeaky-clean. Miller had Prima covering R&B hits of the day ("One Mint Julep" jump blues ("Oooh-Dahdilly-Dah" and one of the few tracks to feature Keely Smith on here), Latin flavored tunes ("Chili Sauce" , novelty tunes like "Barnacle Bill the Sailor," "Boney Bones," and "It's Good as New (I Painted It Blue)," as well as his patented Italian shuffles like "Eleanor," "Basta," "Luigi," "The Bigger the Figure" and a bombastic version of "Oh Marie" (perhaps the only dud in this entire package), framed in the corniest "Sing Along with Mitch" arrangement imaginable and a million light-years away from his famous Capitol recording of the same tune. This entire set combines all 14 sides of the seven singles issued, plus the addition of "Chop Suey, Chow Mein" along with the original 1958 cover art to Columbia s original issue of this material. Not his best, but an interesting one to add to the collection after you have most of everything else. ~ Cub Koda, All Music Guide