Big And Rich

This album documents drummer Buddy Rich's bout with what were contemporary trends in jazz and pop music during the year 1980. Operating in a groove similar to that of Maynard Ferguson's high-voltage big band, Rich and Co. churned out exciting music that went over well with the crowd at Ronnie Scott's jazz club in London, England. The leader of the reeds, and this band's featured soloist, was tenor and soprano saxophonist Steve Marcus. Don Menza's ultra-funky "Beulah Witch" and Bob Kaye's "Grand Concourse" have that beefed-up, big city big-band feel that was so prevalent during the '70s and '80s. The rest of the tunes on this album were composed by baritone saxophonist Bob Mintzer. His "Blues a la 88" is finely wrought and superbly executed…

Lester Young's significance in jazz is not hard to gauge. His playing influenced almost every saxophonist that came after him. On this release, we hear Young teamed up with two other jazz legends, drummer Buddy Rich and Nat "King" Cole on piano. Following 10 tracks by this unique trio, we are treated to four additional tunes as performed by a sextet led by Young. The trio portion of this album is especially lush and intriguing, featuring wonderful renditions of Young's original, "Back to the Land," Gershwin's "The Man I Love," and a duet version of the gorgeous ballad, "Peg O' My Heart" (Rich had gone out to get something to eat). Cole's intimate piano style wonderfully complements Young's light, airy tone and unorthodox phrasing, and Rich, known for a flashy approach, plays quite sensitively here, using brushes on most tunes…

As the Classics Chronological Series works its way into the early and mid-'50s, the magnitude of producer Norman Granz's achievement becomes increasingly apparent. Some of the greatest jazz musicians of all time - Oscar Peterson, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday, Johnny Hodges, Lester Young - were signed by Granz at a time when many Afro-American jazz musicians were struggling to get steady work, and jazz in general was beginning to take a back seat to pop vocals, R&B and rock & roll. Drummer and bandleader Buddy Rich had only just begun to lead a big band when the post-WWII restructuring of the entertainment industry edged him out. He was able to continue making records by working with smaller groups, oftentimes at recording sessions supervised by Norman Granz…

Playing amplified blues-rock has not been a problem for Fiona Boyes, but the flexible singer/guitarist is equally proficient when it comes to providing acoustic blues – and that is exactly what she does on Live from Bluesville. In fact, Boyes plays acoustic blues exclusively on this 48-minute CD, which finds her forming an intimate trio with Tom "Mookie" Brill (lead vocals, acoustic bass, harmonica) and Rich DelGrosso (lead vocals, mandolin). Contrary to what the title suggests, this isn't a live album in the conventional sense; Live from Bluesville wasn't recorded in a club or theater in front of an audience, but rather in a Washington, D.C., studio in 2007. However, all the performances were recorded in real time – no overdubbing whatsoever – and the rugged spirit of acoustic country blues often prevails thanks to Boyes, Brill, and DelGrosso (who share the lead vocals, although Boyes' singing dominates the session). However, they don't embrace any one type of acoustic country blues exclusively. Mississippi Delta blues is part of the equation, but so are Texas blues and Louisiana blues. And occasionally, Live from Bluesville demonstrates that acoustic blues doesn't necessarily mean country blues.

Maria Schneider Orchestra - Days Of Wine And Roses (2000) {ArtistShare 0017 rel 2005}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 389 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 154 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 44 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2000, 2005 Maria Schneider / ArtistShare | Artistshare 0017
Jazz / Experimental Big Band / Post Bop / Modern Big Band / Progressive Jazz

Maria Schneider won the Grammy award in 2004 for her Concert in the Garden recording and has chosen to follow that accomplishment with the reissue of her long-awaited, hard-to-find recording released in 2001 titled Days of Wine and Roses. The CD was recording "live" at the Jazz Standard in New York City in 2000, and was originally packaged with a bottle of Riesling wine which bore Schneider's name. This CD-only reissue boasts the raw essence of the orchestra's "live" performance and is comprised of original compositions and five jazz standards including Henry Mancini's"Days of Wine and Roses."

Thad Jones - And The Danish Radio Big Band & Eclipse (2013) {2CD Set, Storyville Records Digital Issue rec 1978-1980}
FLAC (tracks) - 16bit/44.1kHz - Digital Download -> 924 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 361 Mb | Cover | 5% repair rar
© 1978-80, 2013 Storyville Records
Jazz / Modern Big Band / Modern Arrangement / Cornet

The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band visited Scandinavia a couple of times and was a sensation. Later when Mel Lewis and Thad Jones had some difficulties Thad got an offer from the Danish Radio Big Band where his first season was (1977-78). Thad Jones wanted to play his own music and played as many as ten radio broadcasts per year at the Montmartre Club. At the same time he also started up his own big band, Eclipse, with his own repertoire, based at Jazzhus Slukefter in the Tivoli Garden.

This two-fer assembles two sought-after if vastly different Ted Heath LPs from 1970 and 1963 - even if the pairing makes little sense, their reissue on CD is still cause for celebration. The posthumously released The Big Ones captures Heath at the peak of his alchemical powers, transforming the biggest chart hits of the flower-power era to create singularly outré space age jazz far freakier than anything produced under the influence of psychedelics. Heath's ingenious arrangements seem to reinvent these familiar pop songs from within, often abandoning the melody to seize on a stray idea or subtle nuance - for example, his rendition of the Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"…

Simon & Garfunkel's first masterpiece, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme was also the first album on which the duo, in tandem with engineer Roy Halee, exerted total control from beginning to end, right down to the mixing, and it is an achievement akin to the Beatles' Revolver or the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album, and just as personal and pointed as either of those records at their respective bests. After the frantic rush to put together an LP in just three weeks that characterized the Sounds of Silence album early in 1966, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme came together over a longer gestation period of about three months, an uncommonly extended period of recording in those days, but it gave the duo a chance to develop and shape the songs the way they wanted them.