Artist: Jane Monheit
     Album: Never Never Land
     Label: N-Coded
     Year: 2000
     Genre: Jazz
     Format, rate: mp3, 320kbs
     Size: 98MB
     Time: 43:15

     Jane Monheit, at 22 years old, has made a stunning debut with the help of some of the finest players in the world: Kenny Barron, Ron Carter, Lewis Nash, David "Fathead" Newman, Hank Crawford, and Bucky Pizzarelli. From her first entrance on the supremely swinging "Please Be Kind," Monheit makes clear that she's the boss, even in such illustrious company. Her voice is about as close to flawless as a human can get, yet she's never coldly technical or aloof. While she's perfectly comfortable with the medium swing tempos of "More Than You Know," "Save Your Love for Me," and "Twisted," as well as the Latin groove of "My Foolish Heart," it are the ballads that really showcase Monheit's gift. If you don't get goosebumps listening to "Detour Ahead," "Never Let Me Go," and "Dindi," you probably don't have a pulse.

     The somewhat nostalgic thrust of Monheit's repertoire and style might prove a liability over time. In this sense, the equally young Claudia Acuсa, who has displayed considerable arranging and writing chops, is a step ahead of her. Yet Monheit's budding musical adventurousness is made evident by her subtle vocal overdubs toward the end of "Dindi." Her revelatory approach to classic songs is highlighted by her a cappella performance of the seldom-heard introductory verse to "I've Got It Bad." But on future albums, lest she fall into a retro rut, she'll need to work on realizing her potential as a musical risk taker. ~ David R. Adler, All Music Guide

     Artist: Ted Curson
     Album: Tears For Dolphy
     Label: Black Lion
     Year: 1964
     Genre: Jazz
     Format: FLAC
     Size: 344MB
     Time: 61:24

     Artist: George Shearing
     Album: On A Clear Day
     Label: Concord Jazz
     Year: 1980
     Genre: Jazz
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320kb/s
     Size: 109MB
     Time: 44:29

George Shearing's second Concord album, a set of duets with bassist Brian Torff like the previous Blues Alley Jazz, is the equal of the first. The close communication between the duo, and their ability to think fast and react to each other immediately, makes it possible for them to uplift such songs as "Love for Sale," "On a Clear Day," "Lullaby of Birdland" and even "Happy Days Are Here Again." Brilliant music. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

     Artist: George Shearing
     Album: Blues Alley Jazz
     Label: Concord Jazz
     Year: 1979
     Genre: Jazz
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320kb/s
     Size: 105MB
     Time: 42:48

Pianist George Shearing started a productive ten-year association with the Concord label with this live set, a duo outing matching him with the brilliant bassist Brian Torff. Their performances are virtuosic, intuitive, full of sly wit and always swinging; it is surprising that Torff did not become more famous. The close interaction between the two masterful musicians on such numbers as Billy Taylor's "One for the Woofer," "The Masquerade Is Over" and a humorous "Lazy River" are quite impressive as is Shearing's surprisingly effective vocal on "This Couldn't Be the Real Thing." This CD is recommended. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

     Artist: Chick Corea And Return To Forever
     Album: Light As A Feather
     Label: Polydor
     Year: 1973
     Genre: Jazz
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320kb/s
     Size: 99MB
     Time: 42:46

Of the three versions of Return to Forever, the initial version is of the greatest interest from the jazz standpoint. With Joe Farrell on reeds, bassist Stanley Clarke, Airto on drums and percussion and Flora Purim contributing vocals, this contingent was one of the finest groups of the 1972-73 period even if they only actually cut two records. This particular set includes the original version of Chick Corea's greatest composition ("Spain") along with versions of "500 Miles High" and "Captain Marvel." This music crosses many boundaries and still sounds fresh two decades later. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

     Artist: Joe Jackson
     Album: Jumpin’ Jive
     Label: A&M
     Year: 1981
     Genre: Swing
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320kb/s
     Size: 97MB
     Time: 41:51


Jumpin' Jive proved to be one of Joe Jackson's most adventurous projects as he tries his hand at covering a bunch of Louis Jordan and Cab Calloway tunes, ranging from the extravagance of big band to bop to vibrant swing music. The album broke the Top 50 in the U.S. and made it to number 14 in England, with the title track peaking at number 43 over there as well. Jackson sounds extremely fresh and vivacious throughout all of the tracks, with Calloway's "We the Cats" and "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby" demonstrating how easily his persona adapts to this particular style of music. Jackson doesn't just sing the music here, he actually role-plays to some extent to make the songs sound that much more genuine and timeless, giving tunes like "Tuxedo Junction," "What's the Use of Getting Sober," and the hip-cat composure of "Jumpin' Jive" some modern flash and color. The horn work is dazzling as well, especially Dave Bitelli's alto sax and Pete Thomas' clarinet contributions. Not only was Jumpin' Jive a novel idea, but it reveals Jackson's musical dexterity and desire to further his interests into other avenues aside from pop and mainstream ballads. Although he touched on reggae with 1980's Beat Crazy, Jumpin' Jive fully uncovers his musical astuteness and remains one of his best albums. ~ Mike DeGagne, All Music Guide

     Artist: Manfred Schoof Quintet
     Album: Scales
     Label: ECM
     Year: 1976
     Genre: Jazz
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 256kb/s
     Size: 88MB
     Time: 37:36

     Artist: Mujician
     Album: Birdman
     Label: Cuneiform
     Year: 1976
     Genre: Jazz
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 256kb/s
     Size: 139MB
     Time: 75:56

     Artist: Elton Dean
     Album: The Vortex Tapes
     Label: Slam
     Year: 1990
     Genre: Jazz
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 256kb/s (LP rip)
     Size: 120MB

     Artist: Elton Dean’s Ninesense
     Album: Happy Daze
     Label: Ogun
     Year: 1977
     Genre: Jazz
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 256kb/s (LP rip)
     Size: 78MB

     Artist: Frank Gambale, Stu Hamm, Steve Smith
     Album: Show Me What You Can Do
     Label: Tone Center
     Year: 1998
     Genre: Jazz; Fusion
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320kb/s
     Size: 138MB
     Time: 57:31

Gambale and the gang tear it up! Stu Hamm is Levinesque-thundering, Stanley Clarke-kicking bass. Vital Information's Steve Smith's drumming keeps right up when it gets wild and hold things together during spacy chordal splurges. These pros got pumped watching old Mahavishnu Orchestra videos and cranked up the old fusion fires. Gambale surprised me on this one. So many of his other releases exhibit more of that bouncy jazz with clean, fast, sweep picking and an obvious structured disciplined approach. This album shows he can get mean, edgy, overdriven, and raw, and be a downright awesome riff monster. Hamm is an earthquake, Smith a splinter-slingin' tornado.

I heard McLaughlin's odd modes and moods clearly influencing "The Promise" and "Dangerous Curves." Tasteful harp-plucked chord progressions build in a Summers/Metheny/Holdsworth meshwork. Everyone gets space to stretch on "Beyond The Bridge" and "Sink." Hamm goes bassman crazy on "Wrong and Strong." Watch out Manring. On "Astral Traveler," Gambale does the Eric Johnson/Satriani dance, throws in a dose of his own machine gun bullet notes in a Scott Hendersonian bluesy-rock raunch, and deftly so at full throttle. "Tanya's Touch" sets you soul-travelin' the rain-slick, empty streets, wandering thru whispering snows, and then over the earth's glowing, blue-fired atmosphere. Find out for yourself what other nice surprises await you here. Pick this one up for end-of-the-millenium fusion finesse. Highly recommended. AMG Review By John W. Patterson

     Artist: The Paul Winter Consort
     Album: Road
     Label: A&M
     Year: 1970
     Genre: Jazz
     Format, bitrate: mp3, VBR ~240kb/s
     Size: 93MB

     Artist: Jim Hall & Ron Carter Duo
     Album: Alone Together
     Label: Milestone/OJC
     Year: 1972
     Genre: Jazz
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320kb/s
     Size: 102MB
     Time: 43:54

   Artist: Weather Report
   Album: Live And Unreleased
   Label: Sony
   Year: 2002
   Genre: Jazz-Fusion
   Format, bitrate: mp3, 320kB
   Size: 303MB

   To date, Weather Report has been documented accurately exactly once in a live setting, and that was on a Japanese import called Live in Tokyo in 1972. All of their U.S.-released product, including their double-live set 8:30, was truncated, though it did capture some of the excitement the band was capable of producing at their most effectively intent and focused. Unfortunately, Live and Unreleased goes no further in demystifying the truly mysterious that elemental process that allowed them to move from one idea to the next no matter how far distant, with no apparent bridges in between. Being a collection of tracks from various live dates from 1975-1983, with wildly varying personnel, that cannot be expected. That said, what does transpire here showcases what an intense -- and accessible -- listening experience Weather Report could provide in a concert hall at a moment's notice. One of the more confusing aspects of Live and Unreleased is its sequencing.

   Artist: Weather Report
   Album: Heavy Weather
   Label: Columbia
   Year: 1977
   Format, bitrate: mp3, 320kB
   Size: 87MB
   Time: 37:39

   Weather Report's biggest-selling album is that ideal thing, a popular and artistic success -- and for the same reasons. For one thing, Joe Zawinul revealed an unexpectedly potent commercial streak for the first time since his Cannonball Adderley days, contributing what has become a perennial hit, "Birdland." Indeed, "Birdland" is a remarkable bit of record-making, a unified, ever-developing piece of music that evokes, without in any way imitating, a joyous evening on 52nd St. with a big band. The other factor is the full emergence of Jaco Pastorius as a co-leader; his dancing, staccato bass lifting itself out of the bass range as a third melodic voice, completely dominating his own ingenious "Teen Town" (where he also plays drums!). By now, Zawinul has become WR's de facto commander in the studio; his colorful synthesizers dictate the textures, his conceptions are carefully planned, with little of the freewheeling improvisation of only five years before. Wayne Shorter's saxophones are now reticent, if always eloquent, beams of light in Zawinul's general scheme while Alex Acuña shifts ably over to the drums and Manolo Badrena handles the percussion. Released just as the jazz-rock movement began to run out of steam, this landmark album proved that there was plenty of creative life left in the idiom.
   AMG Review By Richard S. Ginell

     Artist: Return To Forever
     Album: Hymn Of The Seventh Galaxy
     Label: Polydor
     Year: 1973
     Genre: Jazz-Fusion
     Format, bitrate: mp3, 320 kBit/s
     Size: 104 MB
     Time: 40:36

The second incarnation of Chick Corea's influential fusion group released only a single record, the magnificent Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy. Featuring a more rock-oriented approach than the Flora Purim-Joe Farrell band that was responsible for both Return to Forever and Light as a Feather, Corea and old standby Stanley Clarke join forces here with propulsive drummer Lenny White and electric guitarist Bill Connors. Although Connors lacks the sophistication of Al Di Meola, the young guitarist who replaced him, he possesses a deliciously raw sound that keeps Corea's heady compositions firmly grounded. White introduces a funk aspect to the music, replacing Airto's Latin grooves from the first two records. Clarke is as good, wrenching some truly frightening sounds out of his electric basses. This increased emphasis on electric instrumentation, also displayed in Corea's heavy use of synthesizers, is another thing that separates this record from the previous Return to Forever releases. And as good as the band performances are, it is the quality of the compositions that marks Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy as an indispensable disc of '70s fusion. "Captain Senor Mouse," one of Corea's finest fusion compositions, receives an excellent treatment here. Likewise, the two-part "Space Circus" is a fantastic mix of haunting and grooving elements, with some simply incredible solos thrown into the mix. With Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy, Corea continues his streak of simply timeless fusion albums. The best of the electric RTF albums. AMG Review By Daniel Gioffre

Artist: Ralph Towner
Album: Diary
Label: ECM
Year: 1973
Genre: Jazz
Format, bitrate: mp3, 128 kb/s
Size: 51MB

This 1974 album was given a well-deserved boost when ECM reissued it in 2001. It's a solo performance with a twist: Towner plays not only 12-string and classical guitars, but also very competent piano. Only "Entry in a Diary" and "Mon Enfant" are unaccompanied guitar solos; the latter, a traditional melody, is also the sole non-original. On four of the remaining six tracks, Towner accompanies himself via overdubs, playing both guitar and piano for an effect vaguely reminiscent of Bill Evans' Conversations With Myself. The best of these is "Icarus," one of Towner's best-known compositions, which also appeared on Matchbook, his 1976 duo album with Gary Burton. The guitarist's most unusual moves include playing a set of gongs behind his sparse 12-string work on "Images Unseen," and using his guitar entirely as a percussion instrument to create a propulsive rhythm track for "Erg." He closes with a tuneful solo piano piece titled "The Silence of a Candle." The reissue of Diary was timed to coincide with Towner's 2001 solo outing, Anthem. ~ David R. Adler, AMG

Artist: Ralph Towner And Gary Burton
Album: Slide Show
Label: ECM
Year: 1985
Genre: Jazz
Format, bitrate: mp3, VBR
Size: 33MB
Time: 102:30

11 years after recording Matchbook, guitarist Ralph Towner and vibraphonist Gary Burton (who doubles here on marimba) had a recorded reunion for another duet album. Both of the musicians display unchanged and highly complementary styles on eight of Towner's originals and "Blue In Green." The music is quite subtle, and the blend between the vibes and the guitar is satisfying, both for close listening and as background music. AMG Review by Scott Yanow

     Artist: Ralph Towner With Glen Moore
     Album: Trios/Solos
     Label: ECM
     Year: 1972
     Genre: Jazz
     Format, bitrate: mp3, VBR
     Size: 55MB

Towner was, in the 1970s and early '80s, the consummate ECM artist. His classical six-string and 12-string guitar playing lent itself well to Manfred Eicher's aesthetic. This abum is an odd collection of solos and trios, all played with the members of his band, Oregon (which included the late Colin Walcott of Codona). The album features Towner with Glen Moore and Walcott on the opener "Brujo," a driving piece for 12-string and tabla with Moore's bass forging the bridge between rhythm and melody. Towner is still full of verve and ambition here, still trying to prove to himself that it is possible to touch the infinite with music. A number of these tracks are taken from Oregon's Vanguard albums, and some of them are new originals. Also included is a stunningly beautiful cover of Bill Evans' "Re: Person I Knew," with Towner doubling on guitar and piano, and Moore playing a pizzicato bassline worthy of Scott LaFaro. If anything, Towner overly sweetens the piece with his piano playing -- it seems he lacks Evan's gift for understatement -- but he more than compensates in the harmonic changes in the middle section of 16 measures with his 12-string. Moore is solid throughout, swinging like hell. Another notable track is the free improvisation of "Noctuary," where Towner and oboist Paul McCandless go head to subtle head, moving through timbres, pitches, and octaves like they were spokes on a wheel. While Trios/Solos has its moments of pure unadulterated noodling yawn, there are more than enough dimensions where the four elements meet and spark to compensate. AMG Review by Thom Jurek

     Artist: Elton Dean
     Album: El Skid
     Label: Vinyl
     Year: 1977
     Format, bitrate: MP3, VBR ~200 kbit/s
     Size: 62 MB

     Elton Dean has recorded a lot in the 1970s. Many of these LPs are forgotten gems of Canterbury-style fusion jazz, and they have been resurfacing one by one during the late '90s/early 2000s, thanks to labels like Cuneiform and Voiceprint. The latter reissued El Skid, a 1977 session with saxophonist Alan Skidmore (of Kate Bush fame), acoustic bassist Chris Laurence, and once-Soft Machine alumni drummer John Marshall. This quartet feels like a shared Dean/Skidmore project (something enhanced by the album title). The saxophonists share writing credits equally and take the same room in term of solo space. "Dr. Les Mosses" kicks things into gear with a hot fusion number the likes of Soft Machine circa 4: challenging yet frantically swinging. Skidmore tears open his tenor sax in this one. "First in the Attic" and "Thats for Cha," the two numbers penned by Dean, boil things down to something quieter, leaving room for Laurence to shine. The melody and the rhythm in "Thats for Cha" have a Monk-esque quality (circa Hackensack). "K and A Blues" takes an even more conservative form, a head-solo-head number any post-Parker jazzman could have written. If the compositions are not top quality, the rhythm section works like a charm, and on the strength of the opening track alone, fans of the Canterbury scene will want to hear El Skid. Newcomers to Dean's solo career will have more fun with Just Us from the same era. AMG Review by Francois Couture