Japan Shm CD Jazz Masters Collection

Johnny Smith - Moonlight In Vermont (1953) {2016 Japan SHM-CD Jazz Masters Collection 1200 Series WPCR-29024}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 213 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 104 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 89 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remaster
© 1952-53, 2016 Roost / Parlophone / Warner Music Japan | WPCR-29024
Jazz / Cool / Guitar

Reissue with SHM-CD format and new 24bit remastering. A beautiful document of some of the most laidback jazz ever recorded – the sublime 50s recordings of the Johnny Smith group, done at a time when the lineup included Stan Getz! The tunes on the set feature Johnny's mellow electric guitar setting the pace, alongside wonderfully-blown early solos from Stan, plus some other tenor work from Zoot Sims and Paul Quinichette, who also sit in the tenor chair on a few of these recordings. The tunes are mostly standards, but done in a great style that's not exactly cool jazz, but which has a groundbreakingly easy groove that's simply sublime!

The Moe Koffman Quartet - The "Shepherd" Swings Again (1958) {2017 Japan SHM-CD Jazz Masters Collection 1200 Series WPCR-29209}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 159 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 70 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 82 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remaster
© 1958, 2017 Jubilee / Parlophone / Warner Music Japan | WPCR-29209
Jazz / Bop / Flute

Reissue with SHM-CD format and new 24bit remastering. Canadian flutist Moe Koffman was delighted to have a hit on his hands after the success of his "The Swingin' Shepherd Blues," so this Jubilee LP became his immediate follow-up album. Joined by guitarist Ed Bickert, bassist Hugh Currie and drummer Ron Rully, Koffman wrote five new originals for this record, including the light and breezy "Flute Salad" and the hip swinger "Marty's Morgue." He also adds an easygoing take of Sonny Rollins' "Doxy," and a hard bop (with traces of funk in its introduction) arrangement of the standard "Alone Together." Koffman switches to alto sax for his intricate "Bermuda Schwartz" (which features a fine solo by Bickert and a few drum breaks), as well as on Rully's exotic composition "What Can You Do." Long out of print, consider this LP to be extremely rare.

Johnny Smith - The Sound Of The Johnny Smith Guitar (1960) {2017 Japan SHM-CD Jazz Masters Collection 1200 Series WPCR-29240}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 201 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 83 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 64 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remaster
© 1960, 2017 Roost / Parlophone / Warner Music Japan | WPCR-29240
Jazz / Cool / Guitar

Reissue with SHM-CD format and new 24bit remastering. The Johnny Smith sound is a wonderful one – not just the sound that he makes with his groundbreaking work on the strings of the guitar, but also the way he records the instrument – which set a new standard in jazz guitar albums, and also helped pave the way for countless generations to come! A date like this is a great example of the standard-setting work that Smith was able to give us in his prime – and the approach slightly updates the Smith guitar sound of the early 50s – clarifying it a bit, but still keeping that great tone right out front – with a group that includes Hank Jones on piano, George Duvivier on bass, and Ed Shaughnessey on drums.

Johnny Smith - Johnny Smith Plays Jimmy Van Heusen (1955) {2017 Japan SHM-CD Jazz Masters Collection 1200 Series WPCR-29281}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 135 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 78 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 74 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remaster
© 1955, 2017 Roost / Parlophone / Warner Music Japan | WPCR-29281
Jazz / Cool / Guitar

Reissue with SHM-CD format and new 24bit remastering. Guitarist Johnny Smith plays the music of Jimmy Van Heusen – a composer whose understated approach is a perfect match for the subtle style of the stringman! The songs are mostly easygoing numbers, in a style that suits Johnny well – and allows him to open up those fluid tones and colors in just the right way. Backing is by a trio that features Bob Pancoast on piano, George Roumanis on bass, and Gerry Segal on drums – working with a vibe that matches the strength of Smith's other Roost sessions from the time – the kind of albums that helped redefine the role of the guitar in jazz during the postwar years.

Johnny Smith - My Dear Little Sweetheart (1960) {2017 Japan SHM-CD Jazz Masters Collection 1200 Series WPCR-29212}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 227 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 84 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 76 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remaster
© 1960, 2017 Roost / Parlophone / Warner Music Japan | WPCR-29212
Jazz / Cool / Guitar

Reissue with SHM-CD format and new 24bit remastering. One of the most obscure Johnny Smith albums for Roost – and one of the most striking, too! The album takes the sound of Johnny's guitar and backs it with some larger arrangements from Irwin Kostal – very mellow, and very string-laden – with a dreamy late nite quality that's even moodier than that of Johnny's small combo records. There's an eerie mood to the set that really grabs us, and which seems to deepen even more on repeated listenings (probably enhanced by the painting of a child on the cover – as you'd expect a lady from the "sweetheart" title!)

Hank Mobley, Billy Root, Curtis Fuller, Lee Morgan - Monday Night At Birdland (1958) {2016 Japan SHM-CD Jazz Masters Collection 1200 Series WPCR-29011}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 359 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 109 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 193 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remaster
© 1958, 2016 Roulette / Parlophone / Warner Music Japan | WPCR-29011
Jazz / Hard Bop

Reissue with SHM-CD format and new 24bit remastering. Birdland was the Mecca for most modernists of the 50s. It was the only club in New York City where a big band could play. Bookings were mostly for solid two-week periods. On Monday nights the regulars were off, and the legendary jazz disk jockey Symphony Sid (1909-1984) ran one of his jam sessions with young, upand-coming, cutting edge local musicians. Anything could happen and frequently did, as these outstanding performances, recorded on two consecutive Monday nights, on April 21 and 28 1958, show.

Johnny Smith - Plus The Trio (1960) {2017 Japan SHM-CD Jazz Masters Collection 1200 Series WPCR-29183}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 196 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 78 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 77 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remaster
© 1960, 2017 Roost / Parlophone / Warner Music Japan | WPCR-29183
Jazz / Cool / Guitar

Reissue with SHM-CD format and new 24bit remastering. Comes with a mini-description. A trio is helping out guitarist Johnny Smith – but, as with all of his other Roost Records of the time, the man himself is very far out in the lead – making real magic on the strings of his guitar, and playing with an effortless command of tone and color! Some moments of the record actually have a bit more of an uptempo swing than other of Johnny's albums of the period – but others are a masterpiece is gentle harmonics – those incredible notes that Smith almost seemed to invent for jazz guitar in the 50s – and which seem to come through even more beautifully in the sparest of settings. The trio features Bob Pancoast on piano, Mousie Alexander on drums, and George Roumanis on bass

Johnny Smith - The Johnny Smith Foursome, Vol.1 (1957) {2017 Japan SHM-CD Jazz Masters Collection 1200 Series WPCR-29210}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 156 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 86 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 65 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remaster
© 1957, 2017 Roost / Parlophone / Warner Music Japan | WPCR-29210
Jazz / Cool / Guitar

Reissue with SHM-CD format and new 24bit remastering. An overlooked 50s set from guitarist Johnny Smith – one that features a piano added into his trio, hence the "foursome" in the title! The pianist here is Bob Pancoast, who has a fluid, sometimes gentle touch on the keys – one that spins out Smith's guitar a bit more than usual, with a lyrical flair that we really like – and which is sometimes a bit of a contrast to his better-known mellow mode. The rest of the group features Knobby Totah on bass and Jerry Segal on drums.

Johnny Smith Trio - Designed For You (1959) {2017 Japan SHM-CD Jazz Masters Collection 1200 Series WPCR-29157}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 195 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 80 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 67 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remaster
© 1959, 2017 Roost / Parlophone / Warner Music Japan | WPCR-29157
Jazz / Cool / Guitar

Reissue with SHM-CD format and new 24bit remastering. Johnny Smith really helped bring the sound of jazz guitar to a huge audience in the 50s – and an album like this is a perfect demonstration of his subtle genius on the instrument! At a time when so many others were working the guitar with a hard-edged sound, Smith moves into territory that's even more careful and precise – really making the most of the amplification on the strings, so that his touch can be gentle, but very pointed – allowing for lots of space between the notes, in a way that makes each of them mean even more than they might if strung together in a flurry. The group's a trio – with the bass and drums really giving Johnny a lot of room.

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Backgammon (1976) {2016 Japan SHM-CD Jazz Masters Collection 1200 Series WPCR-29102}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 362 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 114 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 183 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remaster
© 1976, 2016 Roulette / Parlophone / Warner Music Japan | WPCR-29102
Jazz / Hard Bop

Reissue with SHM-CD format and new 24bit remastering. Comes with a mini-description. Killer work from this overlooked Art Blakey stretch of the mid 70s – a time when the drummer was getting back to basics, and re-igniting his music with help from some key younger players! This set sparkles with sharp tenor from the great David Schnitter – already a powerhouse out of the box, and driven onto new heights by Blakey! Also present is pianist Albert Dailey, whose conception helps bring in some fresh sounds to the Jazz Messengers universe – alongside flute player Ladji Camara, who also vocalizes on one cut. Yoshio Suzuki handles bass, and old line trumpeter Bill Hardman comes in to round out the group – on titles that include "Uranus", "Third World Blues", "Namfulay", and "Backgammon".