Charles Mann

Herbie Mann - Waterbed (1975) {Atlantic Japan WPCR-28033 rel 2014}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (image)+CUE+LOG -> 234 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 87 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 9 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1975, 2014 Atlantic / WEA / Warner Japan | WPCR-28033 | 24bit remaster
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Soul Jazz / Flute

Features 24 bit digital remastering. Comes with a mini-description. A sweet electric set from the great Herbie Mann – one of his best of the time! Like a number of his contemporaries recording jazz for Atlantic, Herbie had moved pretty firmly into a funky soul mode by the mid 70s – adding in lots of electric instrumentation and vocals to keep up with the success of some of the bigger-selling jazz albums of the time. Oddly, this approach actually sounds pretty darn good to us – especially having the hindsight of over 25 years to get over the shock of any sort of perceived "sell out". The players are all pretty tight, and Herbie manages to keep things pretty hip on all tracks, sticking to his roots in Latin-influenced playing. The record features remakes of "Comin Home Baby" and Joe Cuba's "Bang Bang", plus a version of Astor Piazzolla's "Deux Xango", and the orignals "Paradise Music", "Body Oil", and "Waterbed".

The Atlantic Jazz series continues with this slice of mostly '60s jazz-soul treats. Fittingly, the 11-track disc includes a side by one of the prime progenitors of soul, Ray Charles: He and MJQ vibraphonist, Milt Jackson, stretch out on the canonized "How Long Blues." Further expounding on the soul-jazz trajectory, the collection spotlights work by organist Shirley Scott (the Aretha Franklin hit "Think"), Les McCann and Eddie Harris (their classic Montreux Festival cut "Compared to What"), Yusef Lateef ("Russell and Elliot"), and Hank Crawford ("You're the One"). And there's even a bit of boogaloo-enhanced bossa, compliments of trumpeter Nat Adderley ("Jive Samba"). The soundtrack to your next retro-cool shindig.

Herbie Mann - Windows Opened / The Inspiration I Feel (1968) {Atlantic–Collectables COL-CD-6882 rel 2001}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 450 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 169 Mb | Artwork | 5% repair rar
© 1968, 2001 Atlantic / Collectables Records | COL-CD-6882
Jazz / Soul Jazz / Jazz Funk / Crossover Jazz / Jazz Pop / Flute

This two-fer from Collectables features a pair of out of print Herbie Mann LPs: Windows Opened and The Inspiration I Feel, both originally issued on Atlantic Records in 1968. These 12 tracks feature jazz versions of popular songs of the period written by Donovan, Tim Hardin, and Jimmy Webb plus six associated with Ray Charles. Herbie Mann is accompanied by frequent collaborators Roy Ayers, Sonny Sharrock and Miroslav Vitous (and Bruno Carr), whose names should attract, justifiably, "serious" Jazz lovers.

Herbie Mann - Turtle Bay / Discotheque (2001) {2CD Set, Atlantic–Collectables COL-CD-6824 rec 1973-1975}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 454 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 193 Mb | Artwork | 5% repair rar
© 1973-75, 2001 Atlantic / Collectables Records | COL-CD-6824
Jazz / Soul Jazz / Jazz Funk / Crossover Jazz / Jazz Pop / Flute

One of the most ecclectic musicians of the century, Herbie Mann went from playing straight jazz in the '50's to several musical genres over the following decades. During the early '70's he made some great recordings. Two albums from this period, Turtle Bay and Discoteque are combined for this release. While Discotheque does have some gems, in my opinion Turtle Bay offers the most satisfying listening.

Opalescence while not one of Herbie Mann's best albums is still a fun, enjoyable album to listen to. A little different I think from what you are use to hearing from Mann "Opalescence" has some great cool Latin jazz sounds to it that makes it a perfect album to curl up and relax to after a hectic day or if you are planning on having a quiet romantic dinner. Herbie as usual gives an outstanding performance throughout this disc. He knows how to get into what ever song or style of music he is playing and give it heart an soul. He truly was a master at the flute and this is one more album of many he released through the years that displays that talent.

Some bop snobs claim that people in the NAC/pop-jazz field are playing unchallenging music because they don't have chops, but that isn't true – a lot of NAC musicians do have chops and they aren't afraid to improvise when they take it to the stage. Unfortunately, they aren't nearly as risk taking in the studio, where they avoid improvisation because they don't want to frighten away rigid NAC radio programmers. David Mann, for example, is a capable saxman whose influences include Grover Washington, Jr. and David Sanborn. But he plays it much too safe on Touch, which was obviously recorded with NAC radio in mind. Most of the time, Mann favors an unchallenging, innocuous blend of pop, R&B, and jazz – and there is precious little evidence of his skills as an improviser.

Canadian Works for Oboe and Piano is a sweeping 2-CD compilation of fine Canadian repertoire for oboe and piano from the past 70 years. A celebration in honour of Canada’s sesquicentennial, the collection highlights the oboe’s personal, singing quality and is unified by the lyrical essence of all the works. This recording includes several Canadian oboe classics, three new works created especially for this project, three new arrangements of existing pieces, and a few interesting discoveries, including the world premiere of a work written some 40 years ago by a major composer but never performed live. The two discs feature an even mix of sonatas, shorter stand-alone works, and what could be considered suites. With one exception, all the works on these discs are receiving their first recorded performances here.

The first two Toccata Classics volumes of the orchestral music of the English composer David Hackbridge Johnson (b. 1963) presented three mighty symphonies, conceived on a large scale and powerful in their utterance. The Fifteenth Symphony, tone-poems and other works offered here show a change in focus: an engagement with the natural world, reflecting the poetry of changing light and shifting winds, with man’s impermanent presence dwarfed by the implacable grandeur of nature. Here Paul Mann, a frequent Toccata Classics artist, conducts the orchestra of the very town – Liepāja, on the coast of Latvia – that inspired the Fifteenth Symphony.