Paul Bley Hands On

Paul Bley - Paul Bley - EmArcy (1954) {2013 Japan Jazz The Best Series 24-bit Remaster UCCU-9739}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 179 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 99 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 26 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1954, 2013 EmArcy / Verve / Universal Japan | UCCU-9739
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Piano

Early early work by Paul Bley – years before he picked up the synthesizer, and years before he became the moody modernist he was in the 70s! The album's a relatively straight batch of tracks, but does have a touch of modernism – an early example of the sharp sounds that Bley would fully forge in alter years. The lineup is nice, too – with either Percy Heath or Peter Ind on bass, both players who clearly feel Bley's intentions – and Al Levitt on drums. Tracks are mostly standards, but they're done by Bley in a way that's fresh and sprightly – and titles include "My Heart", "Topsy", "I Want To Be Happy", "Autumn Breeze", and "My Old Flame".

Masabumi Kikuchi, Masahiko Togashi, Gary Peacock - Poesy (1971) {2015 Japan We Remember Poo Complete Series} [CD5of8]
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 296 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 107 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 216 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1971, 2015 Philips / Universal Japan | UCCJ-9207
Jazz / Post Bop / Avant-Garde Jazz / Modern Free / Piano / Percussions

A set that definitely lives up to the poetry promised in its title – with none of the too-clean sounds you might guess from its hand-washing reference either! The album's one of the freest, most organic sessions we've heard from pianist Masabumi Kikuchi – almost improvised at points, but with a poetic cohesion in the piano lines that's really great – kind of an offbeat sense of lyricism that points in the same directions that Steve Kuhn or Keith Jarrett were heading in the late 60s. Drummer Masahiko Togashi plays lots of cool percussion and even a bit of gong – and Gary Peacock's bass here is as great as on any of his other excellent Japanese recordings. Titles include "Dreams", "The Trap", "The Milky Way", "Apple", "Get Magic Again", and "End".