Lauren White At Last

A recording of an historic concert, released for the first time! This 1940 concert was part of a celebration of the 75th anniversary of the end of slavery in the United States. Performing are the legendary Golden Gate Quartet with Josh White, singing Spirituals, Blues and Work Songs. The concert features commentary by Alan Lomax, the poet Sterling Brown, and Alain Locke, the godfather of the Harlem Renaissance. Immediately after this concert, Eleanor Roosevelt engaged White and the Golden Gate to perform at FDR’s inauguration.

Surprisingly, Warner Brothers never released a live Black Sabbath album in the U.S. during Ozzy Osbourne's years with the band. It wasn't until 1982's double-LP Live Evil (which featured Ronnie James Dio instead of the Oz) that Warner finally put out a live Sabbath album in the U.S. Released in England in 1980, Live at Last is a single LP that was recorded before Osbourne's departure but didn't come out until after he had left…

The very first ECM release (which has been reissued on CD), this trio set features pianist Mal Waldron, bassist Isla Eckinger and drummer Clarence Becton improvising quite freely on five of Waldron's compositions plus "Willow Weep For Me." The music overall is not that memorable or unique but it does have its unpredictable moments and finds Waldron really stretching himself.

Miles Davis and The Lighthouse All-Stars - At Last! (1953) {Contemporary OJCCD-480-2 rel 1990}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 195 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 95 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 16 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1953, 1990 Contemporary Records / Fantasy | OJCCD-480-2
Jazz / Bop / Trumpet

This set has odds and ends recorded at the Lighthouse on a Sunday when Miles Davis was in town. He jams with the regular sextet (which included trumpeter Rolf Ericson, altoist Bud Shank, Bob Cooper on tenor and drummer Max Roach) on two numbers and has "'Round Midnight" as his feature. Max Roach takes "Drum Conversation" unaccompanied and trumpeter Chet Baker plays "At Last" with pianist Russ Freeman. The recording quality is merely okay but the viable and occasionally exciting historical music makes this a set worth picking up.

Gary Burton - Alone At Last (1971) {2012 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series 24bit WPCR-27085}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 218 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 91 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 19 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remaster
© 1971, 2012 Warner Japan / Atlantic / Rhino | WPCR-27085 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Post Bop / Vibes

Features 24 bit digital remastering. Comes with a description. Because Gary Burton uses four mallets simultaneously, he has long been able to sound like two or three players at once. This remarkable solo set has three selections in which Burton overdubs vibes with piano, electric piano, and organ, but those are far overshadowed by three unaccompanied vibes showcased from the 1971 Montreux Jazz Festival and a slightly later (and very memorable) studio rendition of "Chega de Saudade (No More Blues)." The latter is one of the high points of Gary Burton's career. Wondrous music.

In many ways Etta James resembled a female Ray Charles in her unerring ability to tackle (and sometimes combine) all of the strands of American popular music, from rock & roll to R&B, blues, country, gospel, jazz, and pure pop and soul, while still maintaining a distinct feel and sound that was all her own, and she did this throughout a five-decade career that is impressive for its consistency. This 25-track set (mostly drawn from her time with Chess Records) is hardly definitive (it doesn't have classic James' tracks like "Anything to Say You're Mine," "Don't Cry Baby," "Something's Got a Hold on Me," or the girl group pop of "Two Sides (To Every Story)," for instance, or any of her late-career blues tracks), but it does do a good job of spotlighting James' range and versatility by collecting sides like her signature "At Last," the soul-pop masterpieces "Tell Mama" and "I'd Rather Go Blind," and saucy versions of Willie Dixon's "Spoonful" and Randy Newman's "You Can Leave Your Hat On," all of which offer ample proof that James was one of the best singers of her generation – in any style.