Brubeck One Alone

Paul Desmond Quartet with Jim Hall - The Complete Recordings (1988) {4CD Set, Mosaic MD4-120 rec 1959-1965}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.50 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 693 Mb | Artwork | 5% repair rar
© 1959-65, 1988 RCA Victor / Mosaic Records | MD4-120
Jazz / Cool / Saxophone / Guitar

Although the RCA recordings featuring the Paul Desmond Quartet with Jim Hall were eventually reissued by the original label (also in a boxed set) after the last copy of this limited edition Mosaic box was sold, it is the Mosaic collection which will be remembered as a classic. Only that set includes the initial studio collaboration of Desmond & Hall for Warner Bros.; also present are reprints of Doug Ramsey's warm memorial tribute to the alto saxophonist, as well as Marian McPartland's brilliant portrait (written for Downbeat in 1960) and Desmond's own side-splitting article written for Punch about a Brubeck gig that went slightly haywire, all helping to unfold a portion of the mystery behind this man.

Pianist Misha Alperin appears with a quintet on this set of mysterious original compositions. His longtime colleague, Arkady Shilkloper, plays French horn and flugelhorn and is joined by Tore Brunberg on tenor saxophone, Terje Gewelt on double bass, and ECM stalwart Jon Christensen on drums. Combining Russian folk, modern classical, and free jazz influences, Alperin's music ranges from the icy minimalism of "Morning" and "Alone" to the atonal fanfares of "Afternoon," the eerie unison melodies of "Psalm No. 1" and "Psalm No. 2," and the jumpy parallel-fifth motives of "Ironical Evening." Most memorable is the exquisite "North Story," a sparse invention framed by a descending pattern of seven gorgeous chords. In contrast, "Etude," one of the disc's more upbeat and exuberant pieces, is based on darting, tightly executed 16th-note patterns. The program ends with the sole non-original, Harald Saeverud's "Kristi-Blodsdraper (Fucsia)," a beautiful folkish ballad.

This 1982 meeting between the veteran alto saxophonist Lee Konitz and the young pianist (19 at the time of the session) Michel Petrucciani is a success on all counts. Konitz's fragile alto is complemented by Petrucciani's lush backing in "I Hear a Rhapsody," while their abstract approach to "'Round Midnight" and "Lover Man" are both very refreshing. Konitz is unaccompanied for his wandering "Ode," while the pianist is featured alone on his complex portrait "To Erlinda," which is dedicated to his first wife. Petrucciani and Konitz wrote the brief closer, the lively blues "Lovelee," during which they initially play apart from one another before joining forces to close with a flourish. This was only Petrucciani's third recording, yet he plays far beyond his years; this recommended CD will be difficult to find due to the demise of the Owl label.

Anthony Braxton - 20 Standards (Quartet) 2003 (2005) {4CD Set, Leo Records ‎CD LR 431/434}
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© 2005 Leo Records ‎| CD LR 431/434
Jazz / Modern Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Saxophone

Released a year after 23 Standards (Quartet) 2003, this second four-disc set doubles the amount of material released from Braxton's tours of Europe in early and late 2003, with the same lineup (Braxton on saxes, Kevin O'Neil on guitar, bassist Andy Eulau, and drummer Kevin Norton), same focus on jazz standards, and even the same dates in some cases. Together, the two four-CD sets released by Leo Records present recordings from ten different European dates (two in February 2003 and eight in November of that year). This second set continues with the editorial approach used in the first one: each disc consists of tracks from different concerts, brought together to make a balanced record.

Live at the Philharmonie was the Dave Pike Set's third record for MPS in the year 1969 alone; Noisy Silence-Gentle Noise (MPS 15215) and the stellar Four Reasons (MPS 15253) preceded it. One of the most interesting ideas about this amazing set of music concerns the notorious circumstances under which it was recorded, at the 1969 Berlin Jazz Days festival. The reason for this is the year itself: Miles Davis and his group had brought their fiery brand of electricity to jazz and its reverberations were being heard the world over. At the same time, prog rock and Krautrock were making their heads (considered ugly by jazz purists) known in the guises of Can, Neu!, Amon Düül, and Faust. Add to this Charlie Mariano's great band, the new hip embracing of rock culture by the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band, Peter Herbolzheimer's Rhythm Combination & Brass, and any number of other groups, and Berlin was in a state of tension. The wild thing is, everybody agreed on Pike's group – it was the bridge between the jazz tradition, what was transpiring, and what was to come.

With a high, detached tone that defined "cool" jazz, Paul Desmond, the longtime saxophone player in Dave Brubeck's quartet, was one of the dominant instrumentalists in '60s jazz. This gorgeously packaged 5 CD set brings together the five discs Desmond made for RCA between 1961 and 1964 with sympatico guitarist Jim Hall: Desmond Blue, Take Ten, Glad to Be Unhappy, Bossa Antigua, and Easy Living. One of the few alto saxmen not influenced by Charlie Parker, Desmond's light airy tone and straightforward approach to melody are a refreshing change.

With a high, detached tone that defined "cool" jazz, Paul Desmond, the longtime saxophone player in Dave Brubeck's quartet, was one of the dominant instrumentalists in '60s jazz. This gorgeously packaged 5 CD set brings together the five discs Desmond made for RCA between 1961 and 1964 with sympatico guitarist Jim Hall: Desmond Blue, Take Ten, Glad to Be Unhappy, Bossa Antigua, and Easy Living. One of the few alto saxmen not influenced by Charlie Parker, Desmond's light airy tone and straightforward approach to melody are a refreshing change.

Martin Scorsese Presents: The Blues - A Musical Journey [7 DVD Box Set] (2003) {Snapper Music}
7xDVD -> 46.0 Gb | All Regions | PAL 16:9 | English (LinearPCM, 2 ch / Dolby AC3, 6 ch / Dolby AC3, 2 ch) | ~ 13 hours | ISO Images
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 546 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2003 Snapper Music / Reverse Angle / Vulcan Prod | SMADVD039
Blues / Traditional Blues / Moderm Blues / Soul / Documentary

This 7 DVD set features rare archival performance footage of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker, Bo Diddley, Eric Clapton and many more. It also features newly filmed performances by contemporary artists singing classic blues songs. It may have been underrated when first broadcast on PBS on consecutive nights in the fall of '03, but executive producer Martin Scorsese's homage to the blues is a truly significant, if imperfect, achievement. "Musical journey" is an apt description, as Scorsese and the six other directors responsible for these seven approximately 90-minute films follow the blues–the foundation of jazz, soul, R&B, and rock & roll–from its African roots to its Mississippi Delta origins, up the river to Memphis and Chicago, then to New York, the United Kingdom, and beyond.