Fumble

Paul Desmond & Gerry Mulligan - Two Of A Mind (1963) {RCA Victor 88697720092 rel 2010}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 448 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 177 Mb
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© 1963, 2010 RCA Victor / Legacy / Sony Music | 88697720092
Jazz / Cool / West Coast Jazz / Saxophone

Altoist Paul Desmond and baritonist Gerry Mulligan always made for a perfect team during their infrequent collaborations. Both of the saxophonists had immediately distinctive light tones, strong wits, and the ability to improvise melodically. Here the two masterful reed players are featured in pianoless quartets that also include Wendell Marshall, Joe Benjamin or John Beal on bass, and Connie Kay or Mel Lewis on drums. The songs all utilize common chord changes, including the two "originals" ("Two of a Mind" and "Blight of the Fumble Bee"), and the interplay between Desmond and Mulligan is consistently delightful. Highly recommended.

T-Square is a Japanese jazz fusion band that was formed in 1978. They became famous in the late 70s and early 80s along with other Japanese fusion bands. Its most successful lineup included its members from 1986 to 1990: guitarist Masahiro Andoh, bassist Mitsuru Sutoh, saxophonist/flutist/EWI player Takeshi Itoh, keyboardist Hirotaka Izumi, and drummer Hiroyuki Noritake. They are known for songs such as "Truth", "Japanese Soul Brothers", "Takarajima", and "Omens of Love" among others.

The sophomore album from Simon Jeffes' homegrown band took over three years to record, but the signs are here that it was a labor of love. While drawing compositional and textural inspiration from both English folk and chamber music, it manages to sound like neither and a wondrous hybrid of both…

Howe Gelb - Ogle Some Piano (2004) {OW OM Recordings - OW OM 07}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (image)+CUE+LOG -> 295 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 208 Mb
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© 2004 OW OM Recordings | OW OM 07
Jazz / Indie / Acoustic / Piano

Tucson's musical savant Howe Gelb has released an album of mostly instrumental keyboard music, Ogle Some Piano. It's a curious disc, even by Gelb's eccentric standards – nineteen tracks of piano meanderings in a variety of styles: jazz, rock, pop, tin pan alley and experimental avant-garde weirdness. And the titles seem a parody of art-rock pretentiousness: "Spangle Bib of Radiant Value," "Hammered and Hampered, We Then Took the Deeds Down by the Dozen," and "Someday They Will Have a Name for What Ails You as Opposed to Being Saddled with Speck Elation" are representative. The best tracks include Joey Burns on double bass and John Convertino on drums, making these tracks more or less Giant Sand pieces. There are also contributions from the usual suspects, including Nick Luca and Craig Schumacher of Wave Lab studios in Tucson, and the late great Rainer Ptacek as well.

The Perfect Jazz Collection, 25 historic full length album recordings from the vaults of Columbia, Epic, RCA Victor and Bluebird labels. Remastered CD versions with extra tracks were available. Each album is packaged in a card wallet, in a nice facsimile vinyl format. If you want a history of Jazz, this is a bargain. Classic albums included are Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue, Dave Brubeck's Time Out, Billie Holiday's Lady In Satin, Nina Simone's Sings The Blues, Erroll Garner's Concert By The Sea, Charlie Parker's Bird and many more!