Jimmy Rogers

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…

This is the real deal, recorded live in 1978. The Blues the way it's supposed to be played. The way it's supposed to be enjoyed, in a setting that is, and has been, home to the blues throughout it's history, in the juke joints, lounges and bars throughout the USA. The Bocce Club is one of those places. The Artists: Big Walter Horton - Vocals & Harp, John "Guitar Johnny" Nicholas - Vocals & Guitar, Ronnie "Youngblood" Earl - Guitar, "Sugar Ray" Norcia - Vocal (Every Day I Have The Blues) Chromatic Harmonica (That's Why I'm Cryin), Ted Harvey - Drums, Mudcat Ward - Bass and Anthony Giarossi - Piano.

Shorty Rogers - You Shorty, Me Tarzan! (1959) {MGM–Giant Steps GSCR032 rel 2010}
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© 1956-59, 2010 MGM / Giant Steps Records / Cherry Red Records | GSCR 032
Jazz / Cool / West Coast Jazz / Stage & Screen / Trumpet

Assembled is the rare percussive soundtrack to Tarzan the Ape Man that featured the likes of Bud Shank, Bob Cooper, Frank Rosolino and other famed West Coasters. Said Shorty: "At first, I was slightly apprehensive when MGM approached me to write and record the soundtrack for a Tarzan movie, but I needn't have concerned myself. They just said, make it exciting with plenty of drumming, and left me alone to get on with it. So I approached it as if I was really making a new Giants album, which is what it really was. I don't want to sound discourteous, but the album we made was much better that the actual movie". Also included is an equally rare 'live' appearance by the Big Band version of the Giants from an appearance on the TV show the Stars of Jazz.

You can't go wrong with Memphis Minnie at almost any point in her estimable career. During the 1930s and early '40s, she made the adjustment to changing styles, but in the early '30s she made the style. The sound quality is pretty good throughout the set, although it's better on the later tunes.– by Ron Wynn

Shorty Rogers & His Giants - Clickin' With Clax (1956) {2013 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series WPCR-27407}
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© 1956, 2013 Atlantic / Warner Japan / Rhino | WPCR-27407 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Cool / West Coast Jazz / Trumpet

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. A gem of a record from Shorty Rogers – a set recorded in the mid 50s for Atlantic, but never issued at the time – making it not only a hell of an album, but a great discovery too! Shorty's in wonderful form here – working with some of the best modes learned on his RCA sides, served up with the tighter focus that we love in his other Atlantic recordings of the 50s – and graced with a great group of players who include Herb Geller on alto, Jimmy Giuffre on clarinet and tenor, Bud Shank on alto and baritone, Bill Holman on tenor, Lou Levy on piano, Ralph Pena on bass, and Shelly Manne on drums.

Various Artists - Let Me Tell You About The Blues - Chicago: The Evolution Of Chicago Blues 1925-1958 (2009) {3 CD Box Set}
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© 1925-58, 2009 Fantastic Voyage / Future Noise Music Ltd. | FVTD012
Blues / Regional Blues

People call Chicago The Home Of The Blues. It may not be where the blues came from but it s where the blues came to live. It’s the place where Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Jimmy Reed laid down the songs that inspired the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds. The blues was the bedrock on which Jimmy Page created Led Zeppelin, the band that helped to change pop music forever. Chicago was the mecca for Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Magic Sam, Elmore James and a host of others who arrived in the city to make their fortune. The process had begun decades earlier, when record companies first came to town.

Shorty Rogers & His Giants - Way Up There (1955) {2012 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series 24bit WPCR-27159}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 200 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 96 Mb
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© 1955, 2012 Atlantic / WEA / Warner Japan | WPCR-27159 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Cool / West Coast Jazz / Trumpet

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. Shorty Rogers is definitely way up there with this classic album for Atlantic Records – hitting heights that even go beyond his more famous sides for RCA! The groove here is sharp, but also has room for lots of individual flavors too – thanks to different groupings of west coast players who include Bud Shank on alto, Jimmy Giuffre on baritone and tenor, Lou Levy on piano, Shelly Manne on drums, Barney Kessel on guitar, and Pete Candoli, Conte Candoli, Harry Edison, and Don Fagerquist on trumpets! Shorty himself wrote nearly all the tracks on the set – at a point at which he was really hitting his stride as a composer, doing an incredible job of mixing modern ideas and swinging jazz – as you'll hear on cuts that include "Pixieland", "Solarization", "Baklava Bridge", "March Of The Martians", "Moten Swing", and "Wail Of Two Cities".