Artist: Jack Teagarden
     Album: Jack Teagarden 1939-1940
     Label: Classics
     Years: 1939-1940, release: 1994
     Quality: MP3@320 kbps
     Size: 149 mb
     Total time: 69:29
     AMG Rating


The third in Classics' Complete Jack Teagarden series traces the trombonist's big-band recordings during his Columbia period. There were no great soloists among Teagarden's sidemen and some of these tunes (particularly the nine with Kitty Kallen vocals) are throwaways but Teagarden's own singing on six songs (including "Beale Street Blues" and "If I Could Be with You") and distinctive trombone give listeners strong reasons to acquire this entry in the worthy series. Other highlights include "Peg of My Heart," "Wolverine Blues," "Swinging' on the Teagarden Gate" and "The Blues."

    Artist: Charles Earland
    Album: Intensity, The Complete Sessions With Lee Morgan
    Label: Original Jazz Classics
    Year: 1972, CD 1999
    Format: mp3@320 kb/s
    Size: 121MB w/scans
    Time: 52:17
    AMG rating:

     Even if the performances on Intensity weren't excellent, this Charles Earland session would be required listening for jazz historians because it marked the last recorded documentation of Lee Morgan. Only two days after Intensity was recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's famous New Jersey studio on February 17, 1972, the influential trumpeter was shot and killed by a girlfriend at the age of 33. Refusing to confine himself to hard bop, Morgan was exploring soul-jazz and fusion during the last years of his life -- and his enthusiasm for soul-jazz is hard to miss on Earland's funky "'Cause I Love Her" as well as inventive interpretations of Chicago's "Happy 'Cause I'm Goin' Home" and the Shirelles' "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow." Originally released on LP by Prestige, Intensity was out of print for many years but was reissued on CD in 1999 for Fantasy's Original Jazz Classics (OJC) series. For the CD, Fantasy added two bonus tracks: a passionate remake of Morgan's "Speedball" and a driving version of Chicago's "Lowdown," which shouldn't be confused with Boz Scaggs' 1976 hit. The importance of this reissue cannot be denied.

     Artists: Louis Armstrong And The Dukes Of Dixieland
     Album: The Complete Louis Armstrong And The Dukes Of Dixieland
     Label: Essential Jazz Classics
     Year: 1960; release: November 19, 2007
     Format, bitrate: Flac
     Time: 52:23 / 63:33 / 58:48
     Size: 992 MB

Dukes Of Dixieland - оркестр традиционного джаза, созданный в 1948 году по инициативе новоорлеанских музыкантов. Основу оркестра составили братья: Frank Assunto (trumpet, 1932–1974) и Fred Assunto (trombone, 1929–1966), а также их отец - Papa Jac Assunto (trombone and banjo).
"Герцоги диксиленда" (если перевести точнее — "Элита диксиленда") возродили интерес к традиционному джазу на юге США, а благодаря хорошей рекламе (гастроли, пластинки, фильмы, видеоклипы) — и во всей стране. В 1953–57 гг. музыканты постоянно работали в новоорлеанских клубах и стали достопримечательностью города. В ноябре 1957 года, небольшой фирмой Audio Fidelity была выпущена первая стереофоническая пластинка, на первой стороне которой были записаны Dukes of Dixieland. В августе 1959 и в мае 1960 гг. состоялись несколько сессий записей Армстронга с Dukes Of Dixieland, результатом стали три пластинки: Definitive Album By Louis Armstrong (1959), Louis And The Dukes Of Dixieland с 12 песнями, выпущенная в 1960 году и Sweetheart (1977)

Three CD set. The albums featuring Louis Armstrong's collaborations with the Dukes of Dixieland were among the first stereo recordings to fully capture Louis' magic sound. He played wonderful trumpet and vocal solos on classic songs that weren't part of his usual repertoire, such as 'Dixie', 'New Orleans' and 'Sweet Georgia Brown', which he had never previously recorded. This collection contains the complete works of Louis and the Dukes, including both the master takes and all of the alternates. Half of this music appears here on CD for the first time ever. 45 tracks. ~ Essential Jazz Classics.

     Artist: Jimmy Witherspoon featuring Robben Ford
     Album: Live at the 1972 Monterey Jazz Festival
     Label: Monterey Jazz Festival Records / concord music group
     Year: Sep 16, 1972
     Release: Aug 5, 2008
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320kb/s
     Size: 100MB
     AMG rating:

     Blues vocalist Jimmy Witherspoon is at the peak of his performing career during this 1972 Monterey Jazz Festival set, where he is backed by a young but enthusiastic electric band that he had recruited after hearing them open for him in a club the previous year. Witherspoon is in a playful mood, frequently speaking to the crowd. The program is filled with several Witherspoon's most popular numbers, including the humorous "I'm Going to Move to the Outskirts of Town," "Kansas City," and "Early One Morning." Following his raucous take of "Walkin' by Myself," the stage curtain is evidently pulled prematurely, provoking an extended outburst from the singer, who repeatedly threatens to cut the curtain with his knife to the delight of the crowd. His relaxing "Ain't Nobody's Business What I Do" is truncated as he explains to the crowd that he is dedicating "I Want a Little Girl" to Jimmy Rushing (a blues giant who had passed away a few months earlier), incorporating a few asides to the crowd and featuring Robben Ford's blistering guitar. Ford incites the audience with his solo in "Goin' Down Slow" with the leader shouting his name repeatedly to encourage their response. Unfortunately, the master tape runs out prior to the end of "Reds and Whiskey," a playful song inspired by Witherspoon's dangerous mixing of pills with booze, where a hippy hands his alto sax on-stage, with the leader passing it on to Ford, who manages to solo for a chorus in spite of its nasty mouthpiece. "When I Been Drinkin'" is a bonus track from Witherspoon's 1959 appearance at Monterey (a concert that is available in complete form in the compilation The 'Spoon Concerts) features the vocalist with an all-star jazz band that includes Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge, Woody Herman, and Earl Hines.

     Artist: Jerry Gonzalez & Fort Apache Band
     Album: Crossroads
     Label: Milestone
     Year: Aug 20, 1994
     Format: ape
     Time: 56 minutes
     Size: 355.7 mb

CROSSROADS was nominated for Best Latin Jazz Performance in the 37th Annual Grammy Awards.

     Jerry Gonzalez's Fort Apache Band on this 1994 release somewhat de-emphasizes the Latin side of its music in favor of swinging hard bop. Jerry Gonzalez mostly plays trumpet, and there are not as many percussion interludes as usual. With the recent death of Carter Jefferson, the tenor spot was filled by John Stubblefield. Otherwise the personnel (with Gonzalez doubling on trumpet and congas, altoist Joe Ford, pianist Larry Willis, bassist Andy Gonzalez, and drummer Steve Berrios) remained the same. The music includes Ford's "Thelingus" (dedicated to Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, and Duke Ellington), an adaptation of "Ezekiel Saw the Wheel," Cal Tjader's "Viva Cepeda," and Jackie McLean's "Fort Apache" among the more memorable selections.

     Artist: Ginger Baker and The DJQ2O with special guest James Carter
     Album: Coward of the Country
     Label: Atlantic
     Year: 1998; release: 1999
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 256 kb/s
     Time: 60:21
     Size: 106 mb
     AMG Rating:

     During the early '90s, Ginger Baker gradually established his reputation as a genuine jazz musician, proving that he was no rocker who was merely dabbling. Of course, anyone familiar with Cream will realize that he was among rock's jazziest drummers, but his series of records with Bill Frisell convinced many doubters of his musical merit. On one of his tours, he happened to hear trumpeter Ron Miles and bassist Artie Moore play in Denver. Impressed with the two musicians, he relocated to Colorado and assembled the Denver Jazz Quintet-to-Octet. The DJQ20 is a shifting group of musicians that has Baker, Miles, and Moore at its core and, as it turns out, their elasticity is what gives them strength. For their first effort, Coward of the County, they're joined by a saxophonist, along with a variety of local Denver musicians, and the results are startlingly fresh. Using hard bop as a foundation, they're unafraid to venture into challenging territory, where they pull together free, funk, and rock into unpredictable combinations. Baker wrote two of the songs, including the opening tribute, "Cyril Davies," but the remainder of the record is devoted to originals by Miles, who proves himself to be an inventive composer, capable of lovely lyrical ballads ("Megan Showers") and experimental jazz. Often, Coward of the County veers into unpredictable territory — witness how the funky fusion on "Ginger Spice" moves into dissonant improvs, how the title track is colored by pedal steel and organ, or how "Daylight" is a series of surprises, as its gentle beginnings are submerged by waves of distorted guitar that fade back, revealing darkly beautiful textures. Not only are the compositions challenging, they're delivered with ease by the group, which are remarkably empathetic and graceful. In fact, it's a testimony to Baker's skills as a leader that he never dominates, preferring to let all the parts weave together to create a full, rich sound. And by doing so, he has made Coward of the County, in a way, a showcase for Miles, since his compositions become the focal point. They signal a young writer of considerable skill, ambition, and talent — and he's not a bad trumpeter, either.

     Artist: Marcos Valle
     Album: Jet-Samba
     Label: Dubas/Universal
     Release: 2005
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320kb/s
     Time: 46:10
     Size: 105MB



     Known as the Renaissance man of Brazilian pop, Marcos Valle is a highly talented singer/songwriter/producer based in Rio and one of the most important musicians in 20th century Brazilian music. He composed some of the finest bossa nova songs ever with his brother Paulo Sergio: “Viola Enluarada”, Samba de Verão”, etc. In the 70s he composed for the likes of Sarah Vaughan and Chicago. He has continued to push back the frontiers of Brazilian groove and, in 2005, he released “Jet-Samba”, which mixes jazz-samba and classical music.

     Artist: Chihiro Yamanaka
     Album: Runnin' Wild
     Label: Verve UCCJ-2077
     Quality: FLAC
     Size: 325MB
     Time: 58:22

     Мovie: The Benny Goodman Story
     Universal, 1956, Technicolor
     Director: Valentine Davies
     Runtime: 1h 28min
     Genre: Biography, Musical and Romance
     Video Codec: DivX
     Duration: 1h 56mn
     Width: 720 pixels
     Height: 416 pixels
     Audio Format: MP3
     Minimum bit rate: 96.0 Kbps
     Language: English



Steve Allen makes his dramatic film debut in The Benny Goodman Story. Outside of Goodman's conflicts with his parents over his career choice, and his early frustration over not being able to play his kind of music, the film tends to be more a series of musical highlights than a biography. The film features guest appearances by Gene Krupa, Lionel Hampton, Teddy Wilson, Harry James, Martha Tilton, Ziggy Elman, and Sammy Davis Sr. (as Fletcher Henderson).