Night of Body's Model (1996)

Lured out of retirement by bassist Ray Brown after taking extensive time off from the road, pianist Gene Harris recorded extensively from the mid-'80s until shortly before his untimely death in early 2000. This is the second Resonance CD to come from a 1996 engagement at London's Pizza Express, features the pianist with a group of European musicians (Scottish guitarist Jim Mullen plus two Englishmen, bassist Andrew Clyendert and drummer Martin Drew, the latter of whom worked extensively with Oscar Peterson). While they had not played together prior to this engagement, they are very much on the same wavelength. "Sweet Georgia Brown" opens softly, with Mullen showing a funky touch, but as the piece develops Harris takes hold with his driving soulful technique…

There Once Was A Night Of "Choko-Muro" The Paradise is the second album by Japanese band Providence. Is a exciting blend of dynamic jazzrock (great guitar and synthesizers) and mellow symphonic rock like early King Crimson (wonderful violin-Mellotron eruptions). The line-up includes a new guitarist and an additional saxophone player. Providence were formed in 1985. For some years around their foundation they had changed the members or produced some demo tapes but they could not appear upon major scene in those days. In 1989 they saw the light with solidifying their members and recording their debut album 'And I'll Recite An Old Myth' (released in the following year), in that Madoka Tsukada (keyboards) composed all songs. This album has got renowned also with the collaboration of Christian Beya (ex-Atoll).

For more than 35 years, UK’s New Model Army rock the world with unending consistency. A band that built their fame with monumental records like Vengeance (1984), No rest for The Wicked (1985), Thunder and Consolation (1989), The Love of Hopeless Causes (1993), and all the way up to 2016’s Winter, they’re a group that have rocked audiences from the stage thousands of times and will (hopefully) never stop doing what they know best: perform live and publish their manifesto. Excellent and loud rock music with lyrics for thought by Justin Sullivan. Whether it’s punk or post-punk or alternative rock, NMA always have a very good product for the public, and this time they announced a revolutionary two-night event at the Round Chapel in Hackney, London, April 13 and 14, 2018.

This is a fine compilation of Jackie Gleason's output for Columbia. Gleason's objective was to make "musical wallpaper" that should never be intrusive, but rather conducive. He was not musically literate, but never had a problem articulating what he wanted to hear from his orchestra. The music here is quiet, melancholy, and often somber, played at mostly moderate to slow tempos. Each selection seems to flow into the next, achieving Gleason's goal of unobtrusiveness. Collectors may be more interested in seeking out the original LPs that comprise the material here, but for those looking for two CDs worth of some of the most relaxing music ever recorded, this is the place to start.