Leading Lightly

1923-1927 (1990). Pianist Bennie Moten led one of the finest jazz bands on record in the 1920s, a group that included many of the top musicians of the Midwest. On the first of four Classics CDs - all of which are recommended to vintage jazz collectors - that reissue the master takes of all of Moten's recordings, the band quickly evolves from a sextet in 1923 to a solid 11-piece orchestra. Despite a few novelty effects (including clarinetist Woody Walder occasionally getting weird sounds by playing only the mouthpiece of his horn), even the most primitive numbers on this set are quite enjoyable. Highlights include the original version of "South" (Moten's big hit), "Goofy Dust," "Thick Lip Blues" and "Sugar"…

Henry Mancini - Eight Classic Albums (2014) [4CD Set] {Real Gone Music Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.52 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 642 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 106 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2014 Real Gone Music | RGMCD097
Jazz / Easy Listening / Stage & Screen / Light Jazz / Soundtrack

This set contains eight Henry Manicini albums, all from his jazz period. Six of these albums were soundtracks written for either television series or for movies. All of the albums, except Hatari, contain twelve tracks. The album identifications and track listings for each CD appear below. The sound quality of this set is fantastic. Mancini recorded over 90 albums, in styles including big band, jazz, light classical and pop. Eight of these albums were certified gold by The Recording Industry Association of America. He had a 20-year contract with RCA Records, resulting in 60 commercial record albums that made him a household name among artists of easy-listening music. Mancini's earliest recordings in the 1950s and early 1960s were of the jazz idiom; with the success of Peter Gunn, Mr. Lucky, and Breakfast at Tiffany's, (all included here)Mancini shifted to primarily recording his own music in record albums and film soundtracks.

Edward MacDowell is best known for his Piano Concertos and his short solo piece "To a Wild Rose". This collection provides an insight into some of his nearly-forgotten solo piano music, resurrected here by the late James Barbagallo, whose obvious enthusiasm for the music infuses each track with newfound vitality and energy.

A collection of 25 madrigals from 23 different composers, from the famous to the obscure, make up this Elizabethan curiosity, published in 1601 by Thomas Morley. A musical dedication to Queen Elizabeth 1, The Triumphs of Oriana displays the talents of English songwriters, long-overshadowed by their European counterparts, conjuring up an image of an idealised and mythical England of old.

The brainchild of producer Gerry Teekens, United Soul Experience extricates trombonist Wycliffe Gordon from the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra orbit and teams him with some of the most interesting young talent in the Criss Cross stable. Tradition-minded but not predictable, the music alludes to several jazz and funk styles without settling into any one of them. Gordon, tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake, and pianist David Kikoski play like accomplished young veterans who continue to search for something more. Bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Bill Stewart generate a circuitous kind of swing, stating a pulse and deconstructing it in the same instance. The leader’s five compositions evince memorable melodies and impose just the right amount of organization to the band’s loose-jointed execution.

Blue Mitchell - The Thing To Do (1964) (ft. Chick Corea) {2004 BN Rudy Van Gelder Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 270 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 96 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 16 Mb
© 2004 Blue Note / Capitol | 7243 5 94320 2 1 | 24-bit remaster
Jazz / Hard Bop / Trumpet

This Blue Mitchell date is a classic, particularly the opening "Fungii Mama," which is really catchy. The trumpeter's quintet of the period (which includes tenor saxophonist Junior Cook, the young pianist Chick Corea, bassist Gene Taylor, and drummer Al Foster) also performs two Jimmy Heath tunes and a song apiece by Joe Henderson ("Step Lightly") and Corea. The record is prime Blue Note hard bop, containing inventive tunes, meaningful solos, and an enthusiastic but tight feel. Highly recommended.

is an album by American singer-songwriter , released in 1979. Continuing on a downhill curve, this record did little for 's career. Recorded in Austin, Texas with a group of musicians who had been backing at the time, the main failing is that King doesn't play piano on any but three tracks, and then not as well as she's been come to be known.