Artist: Buddy Guy
    Album: First Time I Met The Blues
    Label: Benco/Blues Records
    Year: 1958 - 1970
    Release: 1991
    Format, bitrate: mp3, 320 kb/s
    Time: 1:06:00
    Size: 158 Mb (full covers)

   This strong collection of Buddy Guy recordings spans between 1958 and 1970.
   Most of them are in the classic Chicago Blues style both studio and live. Only "First Time I Met The Blues" and "Stick Around" announce the strong guitar playing that will make him so famous but this doesn't make the compilation less intereseting. If you check the credits list you'll find a sort of who's who of the Chicago blues scene of the era. Recommended to all blues fans.

     Artist: The Vienna Art Orchestra
     Album: American Rhapsody: A Tribute to George Gershwin
     Label: RCA Victor
     Year: 1998
     Format, bitrate: MP3@320 kbps
     Time: 58:35
     Size: 136 Mb

     The Vienna Art Orchestra, founded by the Swiss pianist, arranger and composer Mathias Ruegg, has been a steady force in the international jazz world since 1977, when it quickly grew from a small ensemble to a 16-piece orchestra. The grop`s many recordings, such as From No Time to Ragtime and The Innocence of Clichés, reveal the VAO`s unusual orientation, aptly described by Swiss journalist Christian Rentsch: “Ruegg and his musicians have provided us with an affectionately disrespectful survey of the last 90 years of improvised music: from Scott Joplin and Jelly Roll Morton onwards past Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Eric Dolphy, and beyond to Ornette Coleman and Anthony Braxton.” Ruegg and the VAO have continued along their voyage of discovery, urged on by an improvisational spirit and collective sense of excitement. Ruegg`s fresh sounding arrangements and compositions have helped create the VAO`s sound and style: throughout the proup`s development he wrote for whomever was at hand – including marimba, strings, tuba, melodia, in addition to standard jazz brass and woodwinds – which has resulted in striking combinations of instruments. Over the years, Ruegg and the VAO have also engaged in several music-theater pieces and multi-media productions, including Der 8. Tag, for choir, orchestra and dancers and Ruegg`s musical adaptation of Jean Cocteau`s La Belle et la Bete. Since the early 1990s the orchestra has incorporated the talents of new generation of Viennese musicians, representing the vibrant diversity of style and character at work in Europe’s contemporary jazz scene.

    Artist: Buddy Guy
    Album: Stone Crazy!
    Label: Alligator Records
    Year: 1981
    Format, bitrate: mp3, 320 kb/s
    Time: 42:34
    Size: 103 Mb (full covers)
    Bubu's Rating: ****

   Buddy Guy mostly indulges his histrionic side throughout this high-energy set, first issued in France and soon picked up for domestic consumption by Alligator. Stone Crazy! is a particularly attractive proposition for rock-oriented fans, who will no doubt dig Guy's non-stop incendiary, no-holds-barred guitar attack and informal arrangements. Purists may want to look elsewhere.
   Bill Dahl, AMG

   Artist: The New Moscow Jazz Band
   Album: That Old Feeling
   Label: Studio 44
   Year: 1991
   Format, bitrate: mp3, 192 kbps
   Time: 56:46 min
   Size: 76.1 mb

   Ещё одни представители традиционного джаза в стиле диксиленд - это New Moscow Jazz Band. Куда вошли великолепные московские музыканты, играющие в разных составах, а объеденил их корифей советского джаза Александр Банных - труба. Этот компакт-диск записан в Голландии, на студии, которая специализируется на музыке традиционного джаза, и была выпущена в 1991 году в городе Monster. До России эта запись дошла, благодаря моей дружбе с музыкантом из этого ансамбля, т.к. контракт не позволяет распостранять эту запись не на территории Голландии. Запись - просто чудо, инересные аранжировки до боли известных и "избитых" диксилендовых тем.

   Artist - Louis Armstrong
   Album - Louis Armstrong at the Crescendo 2LP
   Label - MCA/Coral
   Year - 1955, release - 1958
   Quality - MP3@320 kbps
   Size - 129 mb
   Total time - 67:31
   AMG Rating

   Several years after Satchmo's death, the reissue onslaught was continuing in the form of big, heavy double-vinyl packages known as "two-fers." MCA stuck its fingers into the Decca archive it purchased in order to paste together the two volumes of At the Crescendo, previously released in the mid-'50s, and never an example of live recording at the height of the art form. Despite his greatness, Armstrong was somewhat lazy about his live performances, milking the same repertoire and sometimes playing with indifference. In the '50s, his music had lost the stylistic edge that had characterized its first few decades, and the polished veneer of his '40s bands was starting to fade, along with the economic possibility of extended groupings. This all said, there is no denying that the uncredited players herein -- the material is drawn from several different gigs, one of them perhaps not even held at the Crescendo -- play with a finesse of rhythm and implied punch that just about any combo on the face of the earth would wish they could master. Listeners who caught the band live and want a souvenir might find this the perfect thing, as that certainly is what it is, containing many of the regular points of Armstrong's repertoire, including a beginning and ending "When It's Sleepy Time Down South" and, of course, "Saints." Nothing mediocre here, yet this large and awkward set, totally lacking in any information other than titles and publishing, would be more of a priority as something to slap a burglar in the face with than an essential part of an Armstrong collection.

   Artist: Alix Combelle
   Album: The Swinging Mister Alix: 1937-1942
   Label: Epm Musique
   Year: 1937 - 1942
   Release: 2000
   Format, bitrate: MP3, 320kb/s
   Time: 57:28
   Size: 121MB
   





   Alix Combelle (1912-1978) was the greatest French tenor saxophonist of his generation. He was also a skilled arranger and a substantial clarinetist. If one were to search for Combelle's U.S. counterpart, the logical choice would be Eddie Condon's old schoolmate Bud Freeman, or perhaps Bob Crosby's master improviser Eddie Miller. Closely affiliated with Django Reinhardt from 1935, Combelle was a vital element in the European jazz scene for many years, and didn't retire until around 1965, so that his recorded legacy fits neatly into a 30-year time span. The first really comprehensive Combelle retrospective was issued in three volumes by the producers of the Classics Chronological Series during the 1990s, covering the years 1935-1943. Released in 1999, EPM Musique's Jazz Archives Combelle sampler contains 20 delightful recordings dating from 1937-1942. A tidy core sample of his best works, it may serve as the ideal introduction to this artist. Combelle is heard with U.S. jazz heroes like saxophonists Coleman Hawkins, Benny Carter, and Fletcher Allen; clarinetist Danny Polo; trumpeters Bill Coleman and Louis Bacon; pianist Freddy Johnson; bassist Wilson Myers; and drummer Tommy Benford. European participants include, of course, Django Reinhardt and Stйphane Grappelli, with trumpeter Philippe Brun, saxophonist Andre Ekyan, saxophonist and clarinetist Hubert Rostaing, violinist Michel Warlop, bassist Louis Vola, and drummer Pierre Fouad. If you are wise or lucky enough to obtain a copy of this excellent disc, don't be surprised or ashamed if you find yourself tracking down his complete works, as Parisian swing from this period is remarkable for its friendly surefootedness, warmth, and finesse.
   

     Artist: Jackie & Roy
     Album: Lovesick
     Label: Verve
     Year: 1967
     Format, bitrate: MP3@320 kbps
     Time: 35:58
     Size: 85 Mb


        With Lovesick, Jackie Cain and Roy Kral produced an album that had every bit as much optimism and flower-powered innocence as did any album coming out of San Francisco in the summer of love. But this is decidedly not folk-rock or rock music -- it's vocal jazz of the highest degree. It is high-spirited, sexy, life-affirming, sometimes silly, but always wonderful. Jackie Cain proves what a fine singer she is, and Roy Kral shows what a fine pianist he is. Their vocal harmonies are every bit as irresistible as those of Simon and Garfunkel, with the added ingredients of swing and scat thrown in. The duo and their rhythm section truly sound like they are having "A Big Beautiful Ball."
        ~ Jim Newsom, All Music Guide

   Artist - Frank Sinatra
   Album - Come Fly With Me
   Label - Capitol
   Year - 1957, release - 1998
   Quality - MP3@320 kbps
   Size - 101 mb
   Total time - 46:15
   AMG Rating:


   Constructed around a light-hearted travel theme, Come Fly With Me, Frank Sinatra's first project with arranger Billy May, was a breezy change of pace from the somber Where Are You. From the first swinging notes of Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen's "Come Fly With Me" -- which is written at Sinatra's request -- it's clear that the music on the collection is intended to be fun. Over the course of the album, Sinatra and May travel around the world in song, performing standards like "Moonlight in Vermont" and "April in Paris," as well as humorous tunes like "Isle of Capri" and "On the Road to Mandalay." May's signature bold, brassy arrangements give these songs a playful, carefree, nearly sarcastic feel, but never is the approach less than affectionate. In fact, Come Fly With Me is filled with varying moods and textures, as it moves from boisterous swing numbers to romantic ballads, and hitting any number of emotions in between. There may be greater albums in Sinatra's catalog, but few are quite as fun as Come Fly With Me.

    Artist: Bob Brookmeyer
    Album: Out Of This World
    Label: KOCH
    Year: 1998
    Format, bitrate: MP3, 320 Kbps
    Time: 54:19
    Size: 108 MB

   In addition to his talents as a valve trombone soloist, Bob Brookmeyer is a very advanced arranger whose charts often show off the influence of modern classical music. However, on this CD with the Netherlands Metropole Orchestra (a huge ensemble that includes a big band and a full string section), none of the arrangements are his; instead, the rather predictable charts were written by Rob Pronk, Jerry van Rooyen, Lex Jasper, Henk Meutgeert and Rik Elings. The focus throughout is on Brookmeyer's valve trombone. He plays quite well -- in prime form, actually, although one misses the interplay he might have had with another competing voice. The highlights include "I Get a Kick Out of You," Duke Ellington's rarely performed "Morning Glory," "Someone to Watch Over Me" and "The Best Things In Life Are Free" (which has the most adventurous arrangement). Mostly this is a melodic and ballad-oriented program, a bit sleepy but with some fine subtle creativity from Brookmeyer. The recording dates listed above are approximate since they are not included in the liner notes.
   ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

    Artist: Oscar Peterson
    Album: Oscar Peterson (compilation)
    Label: Barna Record Lab
    Release: 1995
    Format, bitrate: mp3, 320 kb/s
    Time: 54:03
    Size: 124 Mb (cover)

          EVERY DAY IS AN OSCAR PETERSON DAY!

   This nice Portuguese self titled compilation of Oscar Peterson's classic repertoire proves how popular he is all over the world.

     Artist: John Mayall
     Album: Jazz Blues Fusion
     Label:Fruit Gum, Australia
     Year: 1972
     Format: MP3@320 Kb/s
     Time: 45:18
     Size: 101 Mb
     Ted's rating: