Gearbox

Yusef Lateef - Live at Ronnie Scott's: January 15th 1966 (2016) {Gearbox Records RSGB1008CD}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 177 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 103 Mb | Artwork | 5% repair rar
© 1966, 2016 Ronnie Scott / Gearbox Records | RSGB1008CD
Jazz / Post Bop / Modern Creative

I love the idea of Gearbox records, especially the Tubby Hayes & Don Rendell items, but have been put off in the past by the high vinyl retail price for what is often cassette sourced material (but do ensure you check out the Binker and Moses issue, they are sublime). This one, Lateef with Stan Tracey, Laird & Eyden, effectively the house rhythm section for Ronnie's, is a reel to reel tape made by Les Tomkins with the nod from Ronnie, but not the band. We are still nowhere near audiophile territory, but it is good enough to enjoy. Generally a laid back affair, it is nevertheless musically satisfying, with Stan Tracey a little receded in the mix, if you can apply the term, as this is pretty much a raw transfer by the sound of it. Lateef being front and centre though, on a combination of Flute, Shehnai, Xun and Tenor Sax, definitely helps.

Abdullah Ibrahim - The Balance (2019) {Gearbox Records GB1554CD}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 229 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 98 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 26 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2019 Gearbox Records | GB1554CD
Jazz / Post Bop / Contemporary Jazz / Cape Jazz / Piano

Abdullah Ibrahim's discography goes back sixty years, and although there are longer periods between his releases than there used to be, Ibrahim has retained all his grit and jubilance. The pianist and composer continues to make gloriously uplifting music steeped in its South African roots, in a style which still carries echoes of his formative overseas influences, Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk.