Fsrcd

Curtis Amy - Groovin' Blue & Way Down & Tippin' On Through (1961-1962) {2CD Fresh Sound Records FSRCD 768 rel 2013}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 762 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 285 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 42 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-Bit Digitally Remastered
© 1961-62, 2013 Pacific Jazz / Fresh Sound Records | FSRCD 768
Jazz / Soul Jazz / Hard Bop / West Coast Jazz / Saxophone

Between 1960 and 1963 Texas tenor Curtis Amy (1927-2002) made six superb albums for Dick Bocks Pacific Jazz label, three of which, Groovin Blue, Way Down, and Tippin on Through, are included here. They were part of Bocks recognition of the emergence on the West Coast scene of a more groove-based, harder swinging approach than the cooler, considered style that preceded it. He chose well. Years of semi-obscurity in L.A. dance bands and organ combos had made Amy a thoroughly seasoned, assertive and inventive player in the mould of fellow tenor, Harold Land; these Pacific albums established him as a major exponent of the new music revitalizing West Coast jazz.

René Thomas (1927-1975) was considered the best European jazz guitarist of his generation by fellow musicians and critics, but his career was marred by the pervasive skepticism of jazz fans. Despite trying hard to carve his own space, he never obtained the recognition he deserved for his immense talent, perhaps because of his introverted character and prolonged withdrawals from the scene.

Mel Torme and The Marty Paich Dek-Tette - The 1956 Torme-Paich Legendary Sessions (1956) {Fresh Sound Records rel 2006}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 299 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 176 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 263 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1956, 2006 Bethlehem / Fresh Sound Records | FSRCD 2230
Jazz / Vocal Jazz / Bop / Cool / West Coast Jazz

50th Anniversary Commemoration Edition of the TORMÉ-PAICH legendary sessions. A milestone in the history of vocal jazz, with fully illustrated booklet (rare & unpublished photos). The definitive edition. Fascinated by the sound of the 1953 Gerry Mulligan Ten-tette, Mel Tormé had always felt that these same patterns, re-worked for the proper vocalist, could blend voice and instrument to the mutual satisfaction of both. In 1956, this idea became a reality. The task of selecting musicians who could produce this sound was given to the versatile pianist-arranger Marty Paich who, in fact, co-featured with Mel on these recordings.

Fred Katz - Fred Katz and His Music (2012) {2CD Set Decca–Fresh Sound FSR-CD744 rec 1958-1959}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 525 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 295 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 298 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1958-59, 2012 Decca / Fresh Sound Records | FSR-CD 744 | 24bit remastering
Jazz / Cool / Third Stream / Modern Creative / Cello

Fred Katz (born February 25, 1919) is an American composer, songwriter, conductor, cellist, pianist, and professor. In jazz, a principal contribution of Katz has been, as Leonard Feather noted, “to put the cello to full use both in arco and pizzicato solos.” Oscar Pettiford had already indicated the considerable jazz potential of plucked (pizzicato) cello, but with Oscar, the instrument remained secondary to his primary instrument, the bass. Katz was the first musician to utilize all of the cello in jazz as his chief instrument in that idiom.

3-CD Box set, 60-page booklet including comprehensive biography, original liner notes and cover art, rare photos, unseen memorabilia and extensive discography. Shelly Manne (1920-1984) was one of the most important drummers in jazz history. Opening with his first recordings as a leader for Dee Gee Records in 1951 (Chicago) and 1952 (Los Angeles), this collection covers both these septet sessions and the great series of all-star septet and quintet recordings made for Contemporary by Shelly Manne and His Men between 1953 and 1958. Here’s that Manne.

This is not just another Chet Baker album. It's made up of the "other" tracks Chet recorded with his quintet - the "crew" - under Dick Bock's direction at the Forum Theater in Los Angeles, and never previously issued by Pacific Jazz Records - that is except for four tracks that appeared in a series of West Coast Jazz anthologies put together by Dick Bock on the World Pacific label.