Artists - Charlie Rouse & Paul Quinchette
     Album - The Chase Is On
     Label - Bethlehem
     Year - 1957
     Quality: FLAC & MP3@320
     Size: 230 MB & 85 MB
     Time: 38:23

     Artist - Paris Combo
     Album - Paris Combo
     Label - Koch
     Year - 1997, release - 1998
     Genre - swing, gypsy jazz
     Quality - MP3@192 kbps
     Size - 75,6 mb (with frontcover)
     Total time - 52:19

     I really like this CD. It's breezy, fun, acoustic (!), nostalgic... what more could one want?! If you are not familiar with Paris Combo, they are a jazz quintet from France. Belle du Berry supplies the singing, while the guys back her with an acoustic ensemble that blends American jazz and even a little swing with French chansons and even some Algerian / Moroccan music. To give you a little further idea, some of the guitar playing is in reminiscent of Django Reinhart. The sum total is an energetic, eminently listenable sound that will have you accompanying them, even if you don't know what she is singing because it is in French. This debut release is outstanding;
     The debut recording by this international French-based group draws their musical influences from many sources. Cabaret and the swing and sweet bands of the '30s and '40s become immediately apparent, and upon further inquiry Cuban and Brazilian rhythms, Spanish guitar, and gypsy music are all evident. An accomplished instrumental lineup including accordion, trumpet, and acoustic jazz guitar helps to facilitate abrupt and frequent stylistic changes. "Moi, Mon Вme et Ma Conscience" is a Cotton Club-styled sizzler performed in the Cab Calloway tradition while "Istanbul" evokes images from its namesake. Guitarist Potzi is a superb Madagascan musician whose expertise lies in the acoustic guitar and who presumably cites Django Reinhardt, Charlie Christian, and Joe Pass as influences. David Lewis' muted trumpet along with Potzi's gypsy jazz guitar and Belle du Berry's colorful and expressive voice is a wonderful combination and is fully capable of interpreting the music of the world in new and unique ways. ~ Dave Sleger, All Music Guide

     Artists: Bill Evans and Bob Brookmeyer
     Album: The Ivory Hunters (Double-Barrelled Piano)
     Year: 1959
     Label: Blue Note
     Time: 42:34
     Quality: MP3 @320 kbps
     Size: 89 mb (RS.com)
     Includes covers and scans
     AMG Rating: 4 Stars

     This is a rather surprising session, since Bob Brookmeyer, normally a valve trombonist, switched to piano and is heard playing in a quartet with pianist Bill Evans, bassist Percy Heath and drummer Connie Kay. The two-piano experiment was supposed to be for just a couple of songs, but the interplay between Brookmeyer and Evans was so delightful that they decided to make a full album out of it. Brookmeyer brought out the playful side of Evans on the six standards, making this straight CD reissue of the original LP a swinging success. -- AMG

     Artist - Eddie Condon
     Album - Jammin' At Condon's
     Label - Columbia
     Year - 1954
     Quality - MP3@256 kbps (LP-rip)
     Size - 58,1 mb
     Total time - 37:21

     Eddie Condon's second LP for Columbia (and his first not to be shared with another band) is a side of Columbia's jazz output that's appreciated too little today — the label may not always have recorded enough, or enough of its artists the right way doing the right repertory, but with Condon they got it right. The goal here was to capture Condon and his band jamming as they might at his club, with various friends joining in, working in the optimized setting of Columbia's 30th Street Studio in Manhattan. Peanuts Hucko (clarinet), Lou McGarity (trombone), Bud Freeman (tenor sax), Dick Cary (alto horn), and Billy Butterfield (trumpet) were the guests on the two sets of sessions held one week apart. Of the five resulting numbers, the 13-minute "How Come You Do Me Like You Do" is the highlight, with a killer horn solo by Cary and beautiful solos by Cutty Cutshall, McGarity, and Freeman as well. The emphasis here is more on blues and rhythm than on balladry, with the highlight being a fast-tempo medley ("When My Sugar Walks Down the Street"/"I Can't Believe That You're in Love with Me"), and the revival of the New Orleans Rhythm Kings standard "Tin Roof Blues." The moments captured on these two days of sessions are priceless, and it's sad that Sony-Legacy has never seen fit to reissue this or the earlier Jam Session: Coast to Coast on CD, but it's gratifying that Mosaic licensed them for the Eddie Condon box. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide

     Artist: Duke Ellington
     Album: Blues in Orbit
     Recording Date: Feb 5, 1958-Dec 3, 1959
     Label: Columbia
     Genre: Jazz, Swing
     Quality: FLAC
     Size: 255 mb
     Time: 36:23

     Blues in Orbit lacks the intellectual cachet of the suites and concept pieces that loomed large in Ellington's recordings of this period, but it's an album worth tracking down, if only to hear the band run through a lighter side of its sound — indeed, it captures the essence of a late-night recording date that was as much a loose jam as a formal studio date, balancing the spontaneity of the former and the technical polish of the latter. Ellington and company were just back from a European tour when the bulk of this album was recorded, at one after-midnight session in New York on December 2, 1959, to arrangements that had to be hastily written out when the copyist failed to appear for the gig. So on the one hand, the band was kicking back with these shorter pieces; on the other, the group was also improvising freely and intensely at various points. The title-track, recorded more than a year before most of the rest, is a slow blues that puts Ellington's piano into a call-and-response setting with the horns, with Ellington getting in the last word. "Villes Ville Is the Place, Man" is a bracing, beat-driven jaunt, highlighted by solos featuring Ray Nance, Harry Carney, and Johnny Hodges on trumpet, baritone sax, and alto, respectively. "Three J's Blues" shows off composer Jimmy Hamilton playing some earthy tenor sax in a swinging, exuberant blues setting. "Smada" features Billy Strayhorn on piano and Johnny Hodges on alto, in a stirring dance number. "Pie Eye's Blues" is a hot studio improvisation featuring Ray Nance and Jimmy Hamilton trading three solos each, while Ellington's piano and the rest of the band try their emphatic best to get in a word or two. Nance shows up on violin as part of a string of soloists (including Matthew Gee, Paul Gonsalves, Bootie Wood, and Jimmy Hamilton) for "C Jam Blues," whose four minutes' running time affords the group a chance to jam without overdoing it, or extending matters past the breaking point. Wood is the featured player on muted trombone on the slow, smooth "Sweet and Pungent." A pair of more reflective, less extroverted numbers show off the more subtle side of the band, the slow, downbeat "Blues in Blueprint," with Jimmy Woode's bass and Harry Carney's bass clarinet as the major featured players, with Strayhorn sitting in on piano and Ellington snapping his fingers; and "Swingers Get the Blues, Too," featuring Matthew Gee on baritone horn. The finale, "The Swinger's Jump," does just that, with Ellington, Hodges, Nance, Gee, Hamilton (on tenor and clarinet), Wood, and Johnson romping and stomping all over the basic riff. The CD edition of Blues in Orbit offered a trio of tracks off the same sessions when the album came — the bracing "Track 360," an unpretentious jazz band's impression of a train ride; and the soaring, lovely "Brown Penny," a number originally written for Ellington's attempted interracial musical Beggar's Holiday 13 years earlier; and the moody, reflective "Sentimental Lady," both featuring Johnny Hodges very prominently. Blues in Orbit was issued on CD by Columbia records in 1988 in a good-sounding edition. ~ Bruce Eder, AMG

     Artist: Randy Brecker
     Album: 34th N Lex
     Label: ESC
     Year: 2003
     Format, bitrate: MP3@320 kbps
     Genre: jazz, fusion
     Time: 0.56:53
     Size: 66 + 63 MB
     AMG Rating:

     Together with his saxophonist brother, Michael, trumpeter Randy Brecker was one of the forefathers of funk-fusion. With honorary other brother, David Sanborn, they combined be-bop technique, James Brown-rhythms, and rock & roll energy into an amalgam that would be a blueprint for a generation to come. For his previous outing, Hanging in the City, Randy Brecker adopted an alter ego--Randroid--in an attempt to inject hip-hop elements into his urban music-scape. For this recording, he returns to the more exciting, frenetic funk that he helped originate, restricting his trendiness to largely-programmed beats. Fortunately, George Whitty and Zach Danziger provide truly organic sounding grooves redolent of some of Jazzanova's best work. The title tune opens the set with baritone player Ronnie Cuber working out in the best Tower of Power tradition. Throughout, he and famed JB Fred Wesley add plenty of grease to the proceedings. There is no need for Randy Brecker to worry about his street cred; he and his brother defined urban music with records like this, providing the raw materials for the hip-hoppers to sample. -- Michael Ross

     Artist - Lou Donaldson
     Album - The Natural Soul
     Label - Blue Note
     Year - 1962
     Quality - MP3@320 kbps
     Size - 125,8 mb
     Total time - 40:40

     The Natural Soul finds Lou Donaldson delving deeply into soul-jazz, recording a set of funky, greasy instrumentals with only a few references to hard bop. Donaldson occasionally sounds a little awkward with the relaxed groove of The Natural Soul, as does trumpeter Tommy Turrentine, but the trio of guitarist Grant Green, organist John Patton, and drummer Ben Dixon keep things cooking. Green and Patton's solos often burn and are always invigorating, and Lou frequently matches their heights. The original compositions -- which form the bulk of the album -- aren't much more than blues and soul vamps, but they provide an excellent foundation for the combo to work hot grooves. And, in the end, that's what The Natural Soul is about -- groove. It maintains the high standards Donaldson established with his first soul-jazz foray, Here 'Tis, and remains one of his best records in that genre. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

     Artist: Kenny Drew
     Album: Kenny Drew Trio
     Label: Riverside
     Year: rec. September 20 and 26, 1956/rel.2005
     Format: MP3 @ 320 Kb/s & FLAC
     Time: 42:25
     Size: 81,33 Mb or 119 Mb
     AMG:

   Artist: Frank Zappa
   Album: Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar
   Label: Rykodisc
   Original Year: 1981
   Genre: Rock
   Format/Bitrate: MP3/320
   Size: Disk1(100+13,6mb) / Disk2(100+14,4mb)

   Guitar solos and nothing but. Meticulously culled and assembled by Zappa from live recordings made between 1979 and 1980, this three part set features some of the most dynamic and musical guitar work recorded anywhere by anyone. From the rhythmically dazzling "five-five-FIVE" to the unique lyricism of the three title tracks, Zappa proves beyond doubt that he belongs among the most elite of rock's guitar virtuosos. The remarkable interplay between Zappa and Vinnie Colaiuta--some consider this to be the drummer's best work--provides this album with some of its most memorable moments. --Andrew Boscardin

    Artist : Duke Ellington
    Album: New York New York
    Label: Storyville
    Original Year: 2008
    Format/Bitrate: MP3/320
    Size: 180 MB
    Time: 01:16:30



New CD from Storyville "New York, New York" – with 19 new titles by the undisputed master of jazz, Duke Ellington. High class studio recordings, musically and technically as good as anything issued during his life time. 13 titles never before issued in any form, plus 6 new versions of favorites like I Got It Bad and Mood Indigo and lesser known pieces like Second Line and New York, New York, all recorded 1970 – 1972, with the great soloists in the band performing at peak level. During his lifetime Duke Ellington incessantly wrote new music and played it with his band at concerts, dance dates, etc. There was so much music, that the record companies could not consume it all. Duke therefore started to record the new music at his own expense for the so-called "stockpile", from which these performances are taken. This is the fifth in the series of CDs issued by Storyville, starting in 2001 with The Toga Brava Suite, and followed by The Duke In Munich, The Jaywalker, and The Piano Player. Duke Ellington once said, when asked which of his music he prefered: "The next one". Here you have 19 brand new "next ones" in splendid sound and performance by Duke Ellington and his famous orchestra. ~ Storyville Records