Jimmy Rogers

The combination of Greg Osby with Terri Lyne Carrington is quite logical. Altoist Osby, an original innovator with the M-Base movement (which explored free-form funk) has a very original improvising style. Since Carrington has always loved funk, as has electric bassist Jimmy Haslip (of the Yellowjackets), this match-up works quite well. Osby's interplay with guitarist Adam Rogers is also a major plus. Other than a Joni Mitchell piece ("Ethiopia") that the drummer sings, the repertoire is comprised of group originals. Whether it be overt funky pieces, brooding ballads or the well-titled "Fire," the music is explorative, unpredictable and usually grooving. Well worth exploring by fans of creative funk/jazz.

This 45-song, two-disc collection is subtitled "two decades of killer fretwork", and never was a set so aptly described. Chess Records was the home to seemingly every hot guitar player in the Chicago area, and many of them make their appearance here. Besides the usual label guitar hotshots (Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Buddy Guy, Lowell Fulson, Earl Hooker, Otis Rush, Robert Nighthawk, Little Milton), space is given to sideman work from legends like Hubert Sumlin and Robert Jr. Lockwood and great one-offs by lesser-known artists like Jody Williams, Danny Overbea, Eddie Burns, Joe Hill Louis, Morris Pejoe, Lafayette Thomas and others. It seems as if everyone recorded for Chess at one time or another, also explaining the inclusion of tracks by John Lee Hooker, Albert King, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Lonnie Brooks, Hound Dog Taylor and Elmore James. If electric blues guitar's your thing, then look no further than this fine two-disc compilation.

This 25-track collection brings together some of the most inspiring blues harp performances on record. With the exception of John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson's "Bring Me Another Half a Pint" (what's better known as Jimmy Rogers' "Sloppy Drunk" and originally penned even earlier by Lucille Bogan) from 1948, everything on here was recorded in the '50s to the late '60s at the height of the electric blues boom. Representative and sometimes definitive performances from Big Walter Horton ("Easy," "Need My Baby" and the solo on Jimmy Rogers' "Walkin' By Myself"), Little Walter ("Roller Coaster"), Jimmy Reed ("Found Love"), Snooky Pryor ("Boogie Twist"), Sonny Boy Williamson ("99"), Jerry McCain (the rare, alternate take of "Steady") and Little Junior Parker ("Sweet Home Chicago") pepper this set…

Shorty Rogers And His Giants - The Swinging Mr. Rogers (1955) {2012 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series 24bit WPCR-27077}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 282 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 107 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 25 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1955, 2012 Atlantic / Warner Japan / Rhino | WPCR-27077 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Cool / West Coast Jazz / Trumpet

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. A standout set from Shorty – tightly arranged numbers performed by a quartet that includes Jimmy Giuffre, Pete Jolly, Curtis Counce, and Shelly Manne – all working with Shorty in perfect west coast form! Despite the length of the tunes, the overall feel is similar to Rogers' excellent Wherever The Five Winds Blow album for RCA – and makes the record a great set, done without any gimmicks or tricks – and enough of the modern touch still left from Rogers' first few years on record. Titles include "Martians Go Home", "Trickleydidlier", "Not Really The Blues", and "Michele's Meditation".

Although somewhat overlooked in the jazz history books, vibraphonist Teddy Charles was for a period an important participant in the early Third Stream movement, using aspects of classical music to revitalize West Coast-style jazz. This CD reissue features trumpeter Shorty Rogers, tenor saxophonist Jimmy Giuffre, bassist Curtis Counce and drummer Shelly Manne on a couple of advanced originals (one apiece by Giuffre and Rogers) from 1953. After moving to New York, Charles teamed up for a short time with bassist Charles Mingus, performing six other numbers in a quartet with tenor saxophonist J.R. Monterose and drummer Gerry Segal. This session alternates cookers with sensitive ballads and is one of the better recorded showcases for Charles' vibes.

Various Artists - Just Wailing: 50 Masterpieces By 26 Blues Harmonica Heroes (2013) [2CD] {Fantastic Voyage}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 423 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 290 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 25 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2013 Fantastic Voyage Records | FVDD157
Blues / Harmonica

There’s nothing to compare to the sound of an amplified Hohner Marine Band harmonica in the hands (and mouth) of a master like Little Walter, Walter Horton, Snooky Pryor or Sonny Boy Williamson. All of them were just as adept with the unamplified specimen but the addition of electricity takes this miniscule instrument into a different realm. Many musicians heard here were disciples in one way or another of John Lee Williamson (the original Sonny Boy), who played his harp through a microphone in clubs but never recorded that way. The list of these men is a long one, including Billy Boy Arnold, Walter Mitchell, Doctor Ross, Forrest City Joe and Robert Richard, while Little Walter influenced younger men like Junior Wells, Jerry McCain, James Cotton and George Smith.

Shorty Rogers & His Giants - Martians Come Back (1955) {2013 Japan 24-bit Remaster} [Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series]
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 149 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 91 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 119 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1955, 2013 Atlantic / Warner Japan / Rhino | WPCR-27236 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Cool / West Coast Jazz / Trumpet

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. One of Shorty Rogers' greatest records – and a very nice set of tight west coast arrangements that really shows off the Rogers sense of sparkle and swing – a vibe that definitely comes through in the famous cover image too! Shorty wrote nearly all of the tracks, and the writing's a great example of the good side of the west coast style – when the tightness of arranging is used to bring out the best elements in the players, and bend them around in some nice twists and turns, with good solos, and lots of nice little surprising bits. And in this case, the players are all great – with Jimmy Giuffre and Bud Shank on reeds, Pete Candoli and Don Fagerquist on trumpets, and Lou Levy on piano. Titles include "Lotus Bud", "Martians Come Back", "Chant Of The Cosmos", and "Astral Alley".