Dear Johnny

Avid Jazz continues with its Four Classic Album series with a re-mastered 2CD release from Johnny Griffin & Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, complete with original artwork, liner notes and personnel details. “Tough Tenors”; “Lookin’ At Monk”; “Blues Up And Down” and “Griff & Lock”.
Two tough tenors, indeed! These two titans of the tenor sax both had wildly prolific careers but somehow found the time to come together as a hard blowing unit from 1960-1962. Discovering they had compatible styles on their chosen tenors the pair decided to form their famous quintet where you will hear, rather than perhaps the expected cutting sessions, their styles perfectly complimenting each other…

Man In Black is Johnny Cash’s chart-topping 1971 masterpiece. This politically-infused album produced two top twenty hits, “Man in Black” and “Singin' in Viet Nam Talkin' Blues.” This star-studded affair features Norman Blake, June Carter Cash, Marshall Grant, Billy Graham, W.S. Holland, Farrell Morris, Carl Perkins, Jerry Shook and Bob Wootton. Absolutely essential.

Johnny Smith - My Dear Little Sweetheart (1960) {2017 Japan SHM-CD Jazz Masters Collection 1200 Series WPCR-29212}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 227 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 84 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 76 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remaster
© 1960, 2017 Roost / Parlophone / Warner Music Japan | WPCR-29212
Jazz / Cool / Guitar

Reissue with SHM-CD format and new 24bit remastering. One of the most obscure Johnny Smith albums for Roost – and one of the most striking, too! The album takes the sound of Johnny's guitar and backs it with some larger arrangements from Irwin Kostal – very mellow, and very string-laden – with a dreamy late nite quality that's even moodier than that of Johnny's small combo records. There's an eerie mood to the set that really grabs us, and which seems to deepen even more on repeated listenings (probably enhanced by the painting of a child on the cover – as you'd expect a lady from the "sweetheart" title!)

Johnny Smith - Guitar & Strings (1960) {2017 Japan SHM-CD Jazz Masters Collection 1200 Series WPCR-29239}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 203 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 76 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 89 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remaster
© 1960, 2017 Roost / Parlophone / Warner Music Japan | WPCR-29239
Jazz / Cool / Guitar

Reissue with SHM-CD format and new 24bit remastering. A very special album from Johnny Smith – one of the few to feature his sublime guitar sound amidst a larger string setting – which only seems to emphasize the moodier, darker tones of his instrument! The album's a lot like his My Dear Little Sweetheart set – and, like that one, it features help from conductor Irv Kostal, as well as violinist Gene Orloff – both artists with the right sort of subtle, understated approach to make sure that Johnny's six strings never get lost in the larger swirl! Most tunes are very slow-moving, which allows us to hear that Smith guitar magic in full relief – that special way that Johnny had of choosing just the right notes and colors, in just the right way.

Tubby Hayes - Mexican Green (1967) {Fontana–Mercury 983 1983 rel 2005}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 304 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 120 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 27 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1967, 2005 Fontana / Mercury / Universal | 983 1983
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Saxophone

Mexican Green heralded the final creative milestone of Tubby Hayes' brilliant but all-too-brief career, signaling the maturation of his compositional skills as well as his entrance into the free jazz stratosphere. A quartet session recorded in collaboration with bassist Ron Matthewson, pianist Mike Pyne, and drummer Tony Levin, the album's seven titles are all Hayes' originals, and stretch out in a series of directions spanning from ballads to blues. Hayes' tenor sax crackles with startling energy and power, achieving maximum velocity on the scalding opener "Dear Johnny B," written in honor of late drummer Johnny Butts. Most remarkable of all is the title cut, which forces Hayes outside his modernist comfort zone to embrace the improvisational spirit.