Intimacy (2001)

After cathartic statements like Homogenic, the role of Selma in Dancer in the Dark, and the film's somber companion piece, Selmasongs, it's not surprising that Björk's first album in four years is less emotionally wrenching. But Vespertine isn't so much a departure from her previous work as a culmination of the musical distance she's traveled; within songs like the subtly sensual "Hidden Place" and "Undo" are traces of Debut and Post's gentle loveliness, as well as Homogenic and Selmasongs' reflective, searching moments. Described by Björk as "about being on your own in your house with your laptop and whispering for a year and just writing a very peaceful song that tiptoes," Vespertine's vocals seldom rise above a whisper, the rhythms mimic heartbeats and breathing, and a pristine, music-box delicacy unites the album into a deceptively fragile, hypnotic whole…

Tommy Flanagan - The Tokyo Recital (1975) {Pablo Japan VICJ-60869 rel 2001, Paper Sleeve}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 308 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 118 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 27 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1975, 2001 Pablo Records / Victor Japan | VICJ-60869 | 20bitK2
Jazz / Hard Bop / Piano

When this set was recorded, pianist Tommy Flanagan had spent so much time as Ella Fitzgerald's accompanist (the past seven years, plus two before that) that many jazz followers had forgotten how strong a soloist he was. In a trio with bassist Keter Betts and drummer Bobby Durham on this straight CD reissue of a former LP, Flanagan is heard in superior form. He interprets a full set of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn-associated songs. Highlights include "U.M.M.G. (Upper Manhattan Medical Group)," "Main Stem," "Chelsea Bridge," and a particularly memorable rendition of "The Intimacy of the Blues." Highly recommended.