Duke Ellington 3 Essential Albums

An elegant and sophisticated pianist, his encyclopedic harmonic approach and wide range of his repertory made him one of the most distinctive jazz pianists to come out of Chicago, gaining the respect of local and visiting musicians for his notable mastery of the instrument.

Sun Ra - Somewhere Over The Rainbow (2018) {Sun Ra LLC Official Digital Download}
FLAC (tracks) - 16bit/44kHz - Official Digital Download (bandcamp.com) -> 275 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 98 Mb | Cover | 5% repair rar
© 2018 Sun Ra LLC
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Jazz Funk / Experimental Big Band / Progressive Jazz

As live, late-1970s Sun Ra albums go, Somewhere Over the Rainbow is a cut above. It's similar to and contemporaneous with The Soul Vibrations of Man and Taking a Chance on Chances, two live sets also issued on Saturn in 1977 (and available in our digitally remastered download catalog). Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Saturn 7877) was also known as We Live to Be: the titles of track one on side A were often handwritten on labels and/or generic sleeves, a common practice in Saturn's DIY packaging process.

This CD reissues two complete LPs from near the beginning of altoist Cannonball Adderley's career. The first session is quite unusual for Adderley (who was completely unknown just a few months earlier) was given a very early opportunity to record with strings. He sounds fine on 11 standards and Terry Gibbs' "Lonely Dreams" but mostly sticks near the melody while Richard Hayman's Orchestra sounds rather anonymous. The 1958 sessions finds him performing ten songs from the early-'40s Duke Ellington show "Jump for Joy" (including "Just Squeeze Me," "I Got It Bad," and "Jump for Joy") while accompanied by a string quartet, a rhythm section, and trumpeter Emmett Berry; Bill Russo provided the generally stimulating arrangements. The formerly rare music on this CD is enjoyable but not as essential as Adderley's slightly later Riverside albums.

The second album by Elvin Jones as sole title rights leader (excluding the co-op ensemble that recorded the stunning and essential progressive jazz icon Illumination!) has the drummer sounding more like a backup musician, as he claims no compositional duties or noticeable solo space. In fact, this is one of the very best albums in the career of alto saxophonist Charlie Mariano, who occupies the bulk of lead lines and improvising responsibilities. He's so up-front, and on an instrument that is not John Coltrane's main instrument - the tenor sax - that the title is also a bit of a misnomer. The value of Jones as a bandleader lies in his concept of using fellow Detroiter Sir Roland Hanna or brother Hank Jones on selected tracks, or in the case of three tracks, no pianist…

Schönberg Ensemble - Schönberg Ensemble Edition (2006) {22CD+4DVD Set Etcetera KTC9000}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 5.82 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 3.21 Gb
3xDVD9+DVD5 -> 24.2 Gb | All Regions | NTSC 16:9 | LPCM, 2 ch / DTS, 5 ch | ~ 240 min | ISO Images
Subs: English, Francais, Deutsch, Espanol, Italiano, Nederlands
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 1.36 Gb | 5% repair rar
© 2006 Schönberg Ensemble / Et'cetera | KTC9000
Classical / Contemporary Classical / Experimental / Avant-Garde / 20th Century / 21st Century

The Amsterdam-based Schoenberg Ensemble ranks alongside the London Sinfonietta, the Ensemble Modern from Frankfurt and Ensemble Intercontemporain in Paris as one of Europe's most distinguished new-music groups. What began in 1974 when seven student instrumentalists got together with their teacher, Reinbert de Leeuw, to perform Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire has steadily diversified. At first, the group concentrated on the music of the Second Viennese School, but gradually its scope expanded: now the Schoenberg Ensemble has a core lineup of 14 musicians and a repertoire that stretches from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day.

Pianist Oscar Peterson is frequently astounding on this solo set. After nearly 20 years of mostly performing with trios, Peterson sounds quite liberated in this setting, throwing in some hot stride, unexpected changes in tempos and keys, and surprises whenever he thinks of them. "Give Me the Simple Life," "Honeysuckle Rose," and the ironically titled "A Little Jazz Exercise" are quite remarkable, yet Peterson also leaves space for some sensitive ballads.