2015 Africa

Pharoah Sanders - Africa (1987) {2015 Japan Timeless Jazz Master Collection Complete Series CDSOL-6311}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 383 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 136 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 193 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1987, 2015 Timeless Records / Solid Records Japan / Ultra-Vibe | CDSOL-6311
Jazz / Modal Music / Post Bop / Progressive Jazz / Saxophone

Reissue with the latest remastering. Features original cover artwork. Comes with a descripton in Japanese. A brilliant 80s set from Pharoah Sanders – a record that has him a much more understated setting than some of his other albums from the time – but one that's maybe even more soulful and searching overall! The great one plays blistering tenor right from the start – in a quartet with John Hicks on piano, Curtis Lundy on bass, and Idris Muhammad on drums – all players who have this way of doing a lot with a little, especially in the rhythm department – where they seem to give Sanders some of his strongest sense of groove since the key albums for Theresa. Muhammad's got this tight sense of timekeeping, but with a looseness that we love – and Lundy's warm soulful bass does more than enough to give the set a sound bottom – and Hicks' free lyrical piano works nicely with Sanders' spiritual horn. Titles include a remake of "You've Got To Have Freedom", plus "Africa", "Duo", "Heart To Heart", and "After The Morning".

Dollar Brand - African Breeze (1974) {2015 DSD Japan East Wind Masters Collection 1000 UCCJ-9132}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 220 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 96 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 141 Mb | 5% repair rar | DSD Mastering
© 1974, 2015 East Wind Music / Universal Japan | UCCJ-9132
Jazz / Post Bop / International Jazz / Piano

Reissue with the latest DSD remastering. Dollar Brand playing solo – but with a vibrancy that hardly makes you miss the other instruments at all! Most of the record features solo piano, but there's also a bit of bamboo flute as well – leading off the set and establishing this great organic vibe to the whole thing, which is then followed by Brand's long-spun, completely hypnotic lines on piano! The recording quality is wonderful – very clear and strong, and quite resonant too – and the set features two side-long long suites – "Africa" and "Reflection" – with shorter passages that move through the warm range of moods you'd find in Brand's other strong work from the time. Titles include "Ancient Africa", "Msunduza", "Single Petal Of A Rose", and "African Sun".

Stephan Micus is a unique figure in music. In his numerous journeys all over the world he seeks to study and understand traditional instruments, the sounds that they produce and the cultures that brought them to life. He then composes original pieces for them, playing all the instruments himself and multi-tracking the compositions in many layers. In this way he combines instruments that would never normally be heard together, chosen from different cultures simply for their character, texture and sonic beauty. Micus’ music is profound, powerful and very original. Songlines magazine described his as “a one man universe of sound.” Nomad Songs is his 21st album for ECM.
While his last album Panagia was a meditative reflection around prayers to the Virgin Mary, this new one, Nomad Songs is more earthy and more vigorous.