Blue Effect

Blue Effect was a Czech rock band, also operating under the names M. Efekt, Modrý efekt, or The Special Blue Effect, since their formation in 1968. The band's main and only permanent member from its founding until his death in 2016 was guitarist Radim Hladík, formerly of The Matadors. Blue Effect changed their musical style several times, ranging from rhythm and blues, jazz fusion, to art rock.

Jubilejní desátá kompilace v sérii 2CD o historii naší rockové muziky se vrací proti směru času. Rozmezí let vydání nahrávek je příznačné: ty první jsou datovány 1968, poslední 1989, tedy od krátkého kulturního nádechu na sklonku šedesátek až po rok, kdy zhynula normalizace.

Jubilejní desátá kompilace v sérii 2CD o historii naší rockové muziky se vrací proti směru času. Rozmezí let vydání nahrávek je příznačné: ty první jsou datovány 1968, poslední 1989, tedy od krátkého kulturního nádechu na sklonku šedesátek až po rok, kdy zhynula normalizace.

Carmen McRae - Torchy & Blue Moon (1955-1956) {Decca–MCA Records ‎MCLD19392 rel 1999}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 180 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 157 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 49 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1955-56, 1999 Decca / MCA Records ‎| MCLD19392
Jazz / Vocal Jazz / Bop / Standards / Soul Jazz

There's a lot to enjoy on "Blue Moon" but "Torchy" is the reason to buy this CD. Immaculate performances of some wonderful songs in effective but not intrusive arrangements. "Midnight Sun" is simply beautiful; "Star Eyes" is definitive; "My Future Just Passed" one of those lesser-known songs that Carmen makes into something very special; "I'm a Dreamer" is not in the least corny; and "Good Morning Heartache" shows Carmen's strengths and why listening to her is such a pleasure.

On The Blue Room, her second Decca recording, Madeleine Peyroux and producer Larry Klein re-examine the influence of Ray Charles' revolutionary 1962 date, Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. They don't try to re-create the album, but remake some of its songs and include others by composers whose work would benefit from the genre-blurring treatment Charles pioneered. Bassist David Pilch, drummer Jay Bellerose, guitarist Dean Parks, and pianist/organist Larry Goldings are the perfect collaborators. Most these ten tracks feature string arrangements by Vince Mendoza. Five tunes here are reinterpretations of Charles' from MSICAWM. "Take These Chains" commences as a sultry jazz tune, and in Peyroux's vocal, there is no supplication – only a demand. Parks' pedal steel moves between sounding like itself and a clarinet. Goldings' alternating B-3 and Rhodes piano offer wonderful color contrast and make it swing. Her take on "Bye Bye Love" feels as if it's being narrated to a confidante, and juxtaposes early Western swing with a bluesy stroll. A rock guitar introduces "I Can't Stop Loving You," but Peyroux's phrasing has more country-blues in it than we've heard from her before. The use of a trumpet in "Born to Lose" and "You Don't Know Me," with Mendoza's dreamy strings, allow for Peyroux to deliver her most stylized jazz performances on the set.

The reference is to the Casimir effect, a mysterious force in quantum physics that draws elements together. I see it as a metaphor for the spontaneous energy created by musicians interacting intuitively when playing together. Cause and Effect is a journey through the influence of childhood experiences. The music sometimes reflects a mood, sometimes evokes a half forgotten memory, combining the sensibility of classical music with the instinctive spontaneity of jazz improvisation.