"lost Bohemia"

The "Jazz in Paris" series is an astounding mine of auditory gems. Each one is wonderful in its own right. These may not be definitive performances, but for someone looking to gain new material, they are a gateway to a lost world. This volume is a pleasant entry. Not too challenging for the beginning listener, but still rewarding for an aficionado. Excellent rendition of "Angel Eyes" makes this feel very Noir. It is Paris after dark after all.
Eddy Louiss has spent most of his career leading his own group in France, but twice has made particularly notable recordings, both on organ. He had sung as a member of the Double Six (1961-1963), played piano with Johnny Griffin in the mid-'60s, and worked at times with Kenny Clarke and Jean-Luc Ponty. But he is best-known for recording Dynasty with Stan Getz (1971) and for his duet set with pianist Michel Petrucciani (1994) on Dreyfus.

This extensive series has now reached volume 7 and will test the mettle of even the most fanatical lovers of music in the Czech lands. There is barely a name to cling to in the blizzard of diacriticals, and the like. Obscurity need not breed indifference - indeed it should be a spur to enthusiasm, in my book - and the programme has been thoughtfully compiled around the idea of Christmas and the winter season, so that a proper focus is given to what might otherwise be somewhat disparate.

The German synth-pop trio Camouflage was officially formed in 1984 by vocalist Marcus Meyn and keyboardists/programmers Heiko Maile and Oliver Kreyssig. The group took first place in a radio-sponsored song contest in 1986, and before long, their debut single, "The Great Commandment," was scaling the German charts. Their full-length debut, Voices and Images, was released in 1988, reflecting the group's classic new wave synth-pop influences, but most of all Depeche Mode. 1989's Methods of Silence began to broaden Camouflage's sonic palette, yet the Depeche Mode sound still remained at the forefront. Oliver Kreyssig then left the group, leaving Maile and Meyn as a duo augmented by several studio musicians. By the time of 1991's Meanwhile, Camouflage had garnered a not insignificant following on college radio; the album moved still farther away from synth-pop and incorporated greater instrumentation…

This set is a previously unissued gig by one of the greatest lineups in the long history of Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers – Blakey, drums; Bobby Timmons, piano; Wayne Shorter, saxophone; Lee Morgan, trumpet; Jymie Merrit, bass. First Flight to Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings are drawn from the final shows of the band's first tour of Japan…