Artist - Duke Ellington
     Album - Three Suites
     Label - Columbia
     Year - 1960, release - 1990
     Quality - MP3@320kb/s
     Size - 142 mb
     Total time - 65:34
      AMG Rating:

   Этот замечательный альбом был представлен  в нашем клубе ещё в мае, но прошёл для многих незамеченным. Думаю, что всем интересно послушать, как гениальный Duke Ellington интерпретировал известные классические произведения Чайковского и Грига Хочется обратить ваше внимание на Harry Carney, который, своей мастерской игрой на баритон-саксофоне, помог Дюку сделать этот альбом настоящей жемчужиной в джазовой дискографии.

   One of Duke Ellington's most delightful adaptations of another composer's material is his reworking of Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite" into jazz; this version is a classic and well worth treasuring. Ellington's reworking of Grieg's "Peer Gynt Suites" (including "In the Hall of the Mountain King") and his tribute to John Steinbeck ("Suite Thursday") are also among his better extended works, really utilizing the unique tones of his distinctive sidemen. Highly recommended.
   ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

   Artist: Oscar Pettiford
   Album: Jazz Legacy: Baden Baden [Unreleased Radio Tapes: Sessions 1958-60]
   Label: Delta [CD11096]
   Year: 1958 - 1960
   Release: 1990    
   Format: FLAC (cue+log)
   Time: 63:14
   Size: 172+152 Mb

   Сегодня опять речь о непревзойденном виртуозе контрабаса - об Оскаре Петтифорде. Имено благодаря таким людям, как Оскар Петтифорд, Джимми Блентон, Чарли Мингус, Рэй Браун, Пол Чемберс и Скотт Ла Фаро, контрабас стал равноправным сольным инструментом в джазовом ансамбле, используя при этом почти весь свой диапазон.
   Глядя на даты в заглавии "1958-60" понимаешь, что это последние годы жизни Оскара Петтифорда, годы, когда Оскар перебрался в Данию, где в Копенгагене в 1960 году он и скончался от вирусного полиомиелита. Европейский период в карьере артиста, его сотрудничество с европейскими музыкантами, их совместные сесcии в Баден Бадене, вот, что представлено на диске, предлагаемом Вашему вниманию. Слушайте виртуозный пиццикатный бас Петтифорда он здесь представлен, как равноправный аккомпанирующий и солирующий инструмент.

   Artist: Erroll Garner
   Album: Errol Garner 1953 - 1954
   Year: 1953 - 1954
   Label: Classics France
   Year: 2006
   Format, bitrate: mp3, 320kbs
   Size: 140mb

   The 16th installment in the Classics Erroll Garner chronology combines eight numbers recorded for Columbia in New York on March 30, 1953; eight more for the same label cut in Detroit on July 8, 1954; and two tracks for Mercury Records in Chicago on July 27, 1954. At this point in his career, Garner became increasingly inventive, expressive, and rambunctious, as his bluesy take on Jerome Kern's "Yesterdays" and knuckle-busting renditions of "Frenesi" and "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" illustrate. The Detroit session is remarkable for the presence of Woody Herman. Familiar to the public as a clarinet-blowing big-band leader with a penchant for rowdy novelty tunes and a tendency, during the late '40s, to employ young musicians with bop sensibilities, Herman appears with the Erroll Garner Trio as a warm and persuasive vocalist. Track nine, a medley lasting nearly 11 minutes, traces a progression from new love to romance to hopeless infatuation to heartbreak. Each successive vocal track is a gem, and the mutual enjoyment felt by Herman and Garner is palpable. Throughout this entire compilation, Garner's bassist was Pittsburgh native Wyatt "Bull" Ruther and his drummer was Eugene "Fats" Heard, who had worked with Lionel Hampton and Coleman Hawkins and who would leave Garner's band in 1955 to settle down and make steady money as a businessman in his hometown of Cleveland, OH. This album closes with two examples of what the Erroll Garner Trio sounded like when spiced up by the conga drumming of Cuban percussionist Candido Camero.
   ~ arwulf arwulf, All Music Guide

    Artist: Roy Buchanan
    Album: Live (Charly Blues Legend vol.9 - compilation)
    Label: Charly Records
    Year: 1985 - 1987
    Release: 1999
    Format, bitrate: mp3, 256 kb/s
    Time: 52:17
    Size: 91,5 Mb (covers)

   This is a german live compilation, formerly a legal issue. Excellent sound quality overall, soundboard mono and stereo, but don't look like that all the tracks to be from the same concert. No date given, but from ' 85 / ' 87 Alligator albums era
   - Francicso J.R. Silva

   Artist: Oregon
   Album: Northwest Passage
   Year: 1996
   Release: 1997
   Label: Intuition
   Format: FLAC & MP3 (320k/s)
   Size: 344 & 131 MB (artwork)
   Time: 56:46
   AMG Rating:

   Oregon's first recording in a while features the three surviving original members (Ralph Towner on guitar and keyboards, bassist Glen Moore, and Paul McCandless, who switches between soprano, English horn, sopranino, oboe and bass clarinet) with either Arto Tuncboyaciyan or Mark Walker on percussion. They perform 14 originals that usually avoid blue notes, making the music sound very folk-oriented. There is plenty of variety in the atmospheres, and the consistently intriguing music should appeal to many listeners, including those who are into mood music, world music or folk songs in addition to jazz.
   ~ Scott Yanow, AMG

     Artists - The Modernaires
     Album - The Great Glenn Miller Instrumentals
     Genre - Jazz, swing, vocal
     Year - 1958
     Label - United Artists (rip of LP)
     Quality - MP3@320 kb/s
     Size - 70,8 mb





Throughout the 1950s, the group was also a regular on Bob Crosby's Club 15 television show which aired live, five days per week on the CBS network. They also appeared on the Red Skeleton, Perry Como, and George Goebel shows and Johnny Carson's Tonight Show, among others.

When the Crosby show ended in the late 1950s, The Modernaires continued to tour and record for a number of other labels including Coral, Warner Brothers, Capitol and United Artists. To expand their Miller repertoire, Alan Copeland wrote special lyrics to a number of Glenn Miller instrumental standards, and in 1960, the Mods recorded on United Artists, The Modernaires Sing The Great Glenn Miller Instrumentals. The album was produced by Don Costa.

    Artist: Roy Buchanan
    Album: The Early Years
    Label: Krazy Kat Records
    Release: 1989
    Format, bitrate: mp3, 192 kb/s
    Time: 41:35
    Size: 57,4 Mb

   Long before he became king of the blues bar bores, Roy Buchanan was actually a great rock'n'roll guitar player. His best early recordings are spread out over a handful of obscure 45's on small labels, coast to coast that fortunately are gathered here. Roy Nicholas, the country guitar great, star of the best Maddox Brothers & Rose 4-Star recordings and later Merle Haggard's band lived ten miles away and was an early influence. Another influence was Jimmy Nolen of the Johnny Otis Show. . . .

     Artist: Tony Bennett
     Album: Perfectly Frank
     Year: 1992
     Label: Columbia
     Time: 73:51
     Format, bitrate: MP3, 320 Kbps
     Size: 169 MB

   Sinatra called Tony Bennett his favorite singer, and this CD beautifully returns the compliment...
   Neal C. Reynolds (Indianapolis, Indiana), Amazon.com

   Perfectly Frank is just that -- a group of covers that came to define Frank Sinatra as a vocal legend. Here, Tony Bennett pays homage to "the Voice" in a way only he can. This massive, 24-track compilation runs through the list of standards that made Sinatra legendary."Night and Day," "East of the Sun (West of the Moon)," and "The Lady Is a Tramp"are just a few of the tracks that Bennett has managed to bring to life just asbeautifully as Sinatra did so many years ago. Backed by his standard group, the Ralph Sharon Trio, he manages to make this collection more and more his own.Instead of simply covering the songs, or trying to emulate Sinatra, Bennett adds his personal touch to each song. This is a tribut to the music, as well as to Sinatra.
   Christopher Fielder

   Artist: Big Maybelle
   Album: Blues, Candy, and Big Maybelle
   Label: Savoy Jazz
   Year: 1956-1957
   Release: 1958
   Format, bitrate: mp3, 320 kb/s
   Time: 74:03
   Size: 175 mb

   Совершенно чумовая исполнительница блюза и R&B. Она была кумиром Ареты Франклин и Джэнис Джоплин, а сегодня, к сожалению почти забыта.... Даже в нашем джаз-БЛЮЗ клубе для неё почему-то не нашлось места...Исправляем это досадное недоразумение и бросаемся в океан страстей с этим могучим, захватывающим голосом, яростным темпераментом и редким музыкальным чутьем, которое и отличает великих исполнителей R&B

   One of the greatest voices in blues and R&B, but unfortunately one of the least remembered. If you love raw vocals and the groove that is only the Blues as delivered by a powerful and also delicate voice, get yourself Big Maybelle!

   Artist: Katie Melua
   Album: The Katie Melua Collection
   Label: Dramatico Entertainment Limited
   Year: 2008
   Format, bitrate: Ape & Mp3@192
   Time: 1h 1m 47s
   Size: 321,5MB + 88,3MB

   With combined U.K. album sales of nearly three million copies, Georgian-born Katie Melua has quietly become one of the biggest-selling female artists of the decade. Without the media profile of Britney Spears, the powerhouse vocals of Anastacia, or the critical acclaim of Dido, her success has been based purely on old-fashioned songs that have managed to have appeal beyond the usual folk-pop market. Indeed, just like her biggest influence, Eva Cassidy, who appears here on a posthumous cover of "What a Wonderful World," Melua's soothing and jazz-tinged tones found an audience through repeated plays on Terry Wogan's BBC Radio 2 show. So the fact that the majority of The Katie Melua Collection never really moves past first gear shouldn't come as any surprise. But what her detractors may call dull, others may call refreshingly simple. Indeed, her back-to-basics approach sometimes works wonderfully, particularly on her two biggest singles, the naпvely charming "Closest Thing to Crazy" and the Celtic-inspired "Nine Million Bicycles," one of the most lyrically unique love songs of recent times. Elsewhere, "I Cried for You" showcases Melua's heartfelt, impassioned vocals to full effect, while the dramatic "Spider's Web" is a decent stab at a rock-led political song. However, the less-is-more production sometimes renders the songs so nondescript that it's hard to remember anything about them. And the likes of "Call Off the Search" and "Crawling Up the Hill" do little to dispel the unwanted Norah Jones comparisons. However, the three new tracks, Melua's first since her split with longtime collaborator Mike Batt, suggest a different direction for album number four, with the jaunty big-band party song "Two Bare Feet" a particular highlight. Overall, this is a comprehensive roundup of a surprisingly successful, if fairly unadventurous, first chapter of her career. Without the aid of her chief songwriter, it will be interesting to see how she develops from here.
   ~ Jon O'Brien, All Music Guide

   Artists - Quincy Jones
   Album - Walking In Space
   Label - A&M/ Verve
   Year - 1969 (Release 2000)
   Quality - MP3@320 kb/s
   Size - 79 mb
   Time - 34:59
   

    
   The protean Quincy Jones returned to the recording studio as a leader after a long stretch in Hollywood with this triumphantly contemporary big band album. He re-established himself firmly with his big band jazz base while casting a keen eye on the pop scene and the world of electric instruments (even Ray Brown is caught playing superb electric bass here). The diplomat also unveils his uncanny ability to attract some of the biggest names in jazz as sidemen (Freddie Hubbard, Roland Kirk, Hubert Laws, J.J. Johnson, Kai Winding, etc.), a quality that will be put to use again and again in the following decades. For jazz buffs, the long, dramatic title track from the then-raging musical Hair is the highlight; Hubbard positively sizzles on muted trumpet, and the brash Kirk blasts through the grooving rhythm section under heavy reverb. You also get Jones' classic, swaggering arrangement of Benny Golson's "Killer Joe" -- practically the definitive version -- and a rendition of Edwin Hawkins' freak hit "Oh Happy Day" that bursts with wit and sheer joy. This is one of the great peaks of Creed Taylor's A&M period, and it still sounds spectacular today.

   Artist - Jimmie Lunceford
   Album - Life Is Fine 4CD
   Label - Membran
   Years: 1935-1945, release - 2005
   Quality - MP3@320 kbps
   Size: 104+101+103+116 mb
   Total time:61:03+58:40+58:19+64:38



   Jimmie Lunceford is the odd man out in jazz history. This bandleader made no waves with his musicianship – his preferred instrument was the conductor's baton – and he possessed neither the elegance of Ellington nor the hipster hauteur of Calloway. But Lunceford knew how to entertain an audience, and he led one of the finest jazz bands of the 1930s. When Lunceford's ensemble took a booking at the Cotton Club, following in the footsteps of Cab and the Duke, dancers would hardly have missed a beat. "Harlem Shout" demonstrates the core virtues of this orchestra: its swinging riff-based charts, its hot and polished section work, and (another calling card of Lunceford's bands) high-note trumpet theatrics, provided here by Paul Webster. Like a hearty band of soldiers, this ensemble always maintained discipline under fire, and there was inevitably plenty of hot stuff around when folks like Sy Oliver and Eddie Durham were handing out the parts. Perhaps if Lunceford had lived longer – he died, reportedly of a heart attack (although under suspicious circumstances), at age 45 – he might have been fкted as elder statesman of jazz. But, as it stands, he is little more than a half-remembered name for most younger jazz fans. Tis pity, 'cause this band was sublime.

   Artist: 'Brother' Jack McDuff
   Album: Bringin'it Home
   Label: Concord Jazz
   Year: 1999
   Format, bitrate: mp3, 320 kbps
   Time: 57:47
   Size: 123 MB
   AMG Rating:

Очень неплохой альбом от Jack McDuff и George Benson!

   Organist Jack McDuff may be known mostly for introducing the world to guitarist George Benson in the early 1960s, but he's also always been a funky jazz organist of the first rank. Both sides of McDuff's legacy are on display on his new Bringin' It Home, and the result is a blues, jazz, and funk-drenched album that sounds like it was cut at a smoky after-hours party. With Benson guesting on three tracks, and saxophonist Red Holloway and guitarist Mark Whitfield on several more, Bringin' It Home has the feel of a family reunion where everyone knows each other and every lick is tasty. Benson's stunning solo on "Summertime" is enough to reestablish his place in the jazz guitar pantheon, and Holloway's playing is fiery throughout. Whitfield holds his own and then some with a head-turning solo on "Girl Talk." But the real star is McDuff, whose sumptuous Hammond B-3 style dominates whether providing a backdrop for his capable sidemen or stepping out with tasty solos on tunes like Eddie Harris's "Cold Duck Time" or his own "The Scratch."
   --Ezra Gale

   Artist: Liquid Soul
   Album: One-Two Punch
   Label: Telarc
   Year: 2006
   Release: 2006
   Format, bitrate: mp3, 320kb/s
   Time: 52:31
   Size: 137MB

   It's been four long years since Mars Williams and Liquid Soul have issued another chapter in their ongoing dissemination of musical genres under the jazz banner. One-Two Punch, the band's debut for the Telarc label, is a lot rougher, rawer, and more upfront raucous than anything they've done to date. While the slicker grooves of uptown soul, funk, and hip-hop are still present, but there are African and Middle Eastern modes, drones, and polyrhythms in a mix saturated with DJs (DJ Logic is the house turntablist in this band, but he's one of a number), killer guitars, and of course that four-piece horn section that includes Williams, trumpeters Hugh Ragin and Doug Corcoran, and trombonist Andy Baker. Phil Ajjarapu's bass is the bedrock with Tony Taylor's kit work walloping the groove. The opener, "Baghdad Cafй," begins with a chorus of sampled voices chanting, coming out of the ether as breakbeats come sailing up from underneath like machine guns. Tommy Klein's guitars start a rolling metallic vamp before the horns collide in the center. Voices enter and leave like ghosts from another age. They rasp, soar, wail, and worship. The horns plot the course of this modal groove that is equal parts Egypt and Nigeria. Williams' musette plays snake charmer above the fray as a wash of keyboards litters the middle of the mix with dense splashes of sound. The house groove on "Attaboy" is offset by the MC'ed refrain (by MC B) while Ajjarapu's bassline is a syncopated funk riff derived from the M/A/R/R/S classic "Pump Up the Volume." The horn section comes right out of the JB's fakebook. The slippery nu-school, hip-hop-driven urban soul of "Body and Mind" is led by Boy Ellroy Arredondo. The horns float and stab as the bassline and a killer vibes solo add jazzed-up touches. When Williams blows, his tenor solo is pure soul-jazz from the day melded to Gato Barbieri's rolling legato that slip out the front door before a series of breaks usher in the last verse of the rap. Three tracks in and the set is just getting on its feet. . . .

   Artist: Melvin Rhyne
   Album: Classmasters
   Label: Criss Cross Jazz
   Year: 1999
   Format, bitrate: mp3, 190 kbps
   Time: 73:08
   Size: 91mb




   Organist Melvin Rhyne's sixth Criss Cross release, Classmasters, finds him once again in the hard swinging company of guitarist Peter Bernstein, saxophonist Eric Alexander, and drummer Kenny Washington. These musicians breeze through two cuts a piece by Michel Legrand and Mccoy Tyner, along with the compositions of Coltrane, Monk, Stanley Turrentine, Billie Holiday, and Cole Porter. "The Rhyne Original Rhyne, Rhythm and Song" rounds out this modern blues and bebop set.
   ~ Al Campbell, All Music Guide

   Artists: Pat Metheny & Brad Mehldau
   Album: Metheny Mehldau Quartet
   Year: 2005
   Release: 2007
   Label: Nonesuch
   Format, bitrate: mp3, 260 kbps
   Size: 120mb
   AMG Rating:

   Guitarist Pat Metheny and pianist Brad Mehldau created a stir in 2006 with their wonderful duet recording. On that set, two of the album's ten cuts featured Mehldau's rhythm section of bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard. Quartet is a mirror image: seven of these 11 cuts are full quartet sides. The musical magic established by that collaboration sets the stage for the pair to dig deeper here. It's true that melodic and harmonic invention is the root of each of the tunes here, though that doesn't mean there isn't room to move. Metheny's Way Up recording offered ample of evidence of how compositional sophistication could accomplish virtually anything. There, the players had written parts, but also had room for improvisation within that framework. The same happens here, though the pieces are shorter. Partial evidence of this is the disc's second selection, "The Sound of Water," which has a nearly pastoral theme. But Metheny uses counterpoint on a 12-string guitar to meet Mehldau's chordal investigation. One need only go one cut further in on "Fear and Trembling," by Mehldau, to see how quickly the two can step outside their bonds while retaining their commitment. The knotty playing with distortion by Metheny moves toward the rhythm section, which establishes the kind of fluidity his sense of time requires. Mehldau's own post-bop modal solo works through the lyric frames in the tune's structure and cuts through them, finding their densities and spaces. Grenadier's elasticity as a bassist allows the time to float and shift -- seemingly -- without ever losing the harmonic thread even when Metheny moves outside toward the end of the cut. . . .

    Artist: Anthony Wonsey
    Album: The Thang
    Label: Sharp Nine Records / IODA
    Year: 2005
    Format, bitrate: MP3, 224 Kbps
    Time: 53:59
    Size: 80,72 MB
    AMG Rating:

    Anthony Wonsey is one of many jazz pianists who made their debuts during the 1990s, but his second release for Sharp Nine finds him in the process of creating his own distinctive style. Dividing the play list between originals and familiar tunes from the world of Broadway, pop, and folk, Wonsey is joined by bassist Nat Reeves and drummer Joe Farnsworth, with tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander added on several tracks. He immediately teases the listener by playing the theme of "All the Things You Are" before detouring into Dizzy Gillespie's famous introduction to Jerome Kern's well-known standard. Alexander joins the trio for an inventive, strutting take of "Speak Low" that adds a hip hook. It's hard not to think of Red Garland's famous take of "Billy Boy" while he was with Miles Davis; this version pays homage to this famous recording. Wonsey's own compositions have catchy melodies that make one want to hear them again. "Pamela" is an infectious yet easygoing bossa nova. The tense post-bop cooker "The Paper Chase" was created especially for the meeting with Alexander, who negotiates its sudden twists with ease. But the sassy funk within "The Thang" may very well turn it into Wonsey's most requested number on club dates, as it seems impossible that any audience would be able to sit still while listening to it; yet there the pianist never allows the theme to regress into a predictable pattern. If you're not already familiar with Anthony Wonsey's work as a leader, this is an excellent place to start.
   ~ Ken Dryden, AMG

    Artist: Oscar Peterson
    Album: At Sundown (2cd compilation)
    Label: Recall Records
    Release: 2003
    Format, bitrate: mp3, 224 kb/s
    Time: 2:01:41
    Size: 155 Mb

          EVERY DAY IS AN OSCAR PETERSON DAY !

   An interesting and rather extensive, this double cd compilation called after one track "At Sudown" (the correct title should be "At Sunrise" as long most of the tracks belong to Oscar's beginnings in Montreal) was issued in UK only by Recall Records in 2003. For completists and diehard fans only.