Raw Wind In Eden (1958)

This was Billie Holiday's penultimate album, recorded when her body was telling her enough was enough. During the sessions with arranger Ray Ellis she was drinking vodka neat, as if it were tap water. Despite her ravaged voice (the sweetness had long gone), she was still an incredible singer. The feeling and tension she manages to put into almost every track set this album as one of her finest achievements. "You've Changed" and "I Get Along Without You Very Well" are high art performances from the singer who saw life from the bottom up.

Trumpeter Donald Byrd spent a few months in France in 1958, and a Paris concert resulted in two LPs' worth of material. Byrd's quintet at the time included Bobby Jaspar (on tenor and flute), pianist Walter Davis, Jr., bassist Doug Watkins, and drummer Art Taylor. Byrd was just beginning to find his own sound in the late '50s and he is in excellent form on "Dear Old Stockholm," Sonny Rollins' "Paul's Pal," Jaspar's "Flute Blues," "Ray's Idea," and "The Blues Walk." This is a fine all-around hard bop session.

Although the contents of the original Thelonious in Action vinyl comes from the August 7, 1958 show, the CD reissue, which was released three decades later, incorporates over 20 minutes of extras from a July 9 gig that had been previously rejected by the artist. While in exceptional form, Monk is far from casting the only or even the brightest light during these unforgettable sides. Joining him on-stage at the legendary Five Spot club are: Johnny Griffin (tenor sax), Ahmed Abdul-Malik (bass), and Roy Haynes. It's unfortunate that this unit did not remain together for any length of time as they are able to launch Monk's compositions into some fairly significant places. Johnny Griffin's aggressive performance style incorporates a lyrical and melodic undertone perfectly complementing Monk's sporadic inflections…

As Dizzy Reece's first album for Blue Note, Blues in Trinity goes a long way to establish the trumpeter's signature sound. Reece doesn't take chances stylistically; he prefers to stay within the confines of hard bop. Nevertheless, he has a bold, forceful sound that simply burns with passion. Even on slower numbers, there's a fire to his playing that keeps Blues in Trinity from being predictable. The high quality of the album is even more impressive given the recording circumstances. The English-based Reece was playing in Paris at the time, and he assembled a sextet featuring the vacationing British musicians Tubby Hayes (tenor saxophone) and Terry Shannon (piano), visiting American stars Donald Byrd (trumpet) and Art Taylor (drums), and Canadian bassist Lloyd Thompson, who was playing in Paris with Zoot Sims…

‘hell in Eden’ is like a dream. Captivating… stunning… unreal! And yet the mighty maestros of DIARY OF DREAMS have made it come true. ‘hell in Eden’ feels like coming home. Due to the distinct and doubtlessly one-of-a-kind DIARY sound, that's been accompanying us since their debut ‘Cholymelan’ in 1994, there's always this certain feeling of familiarity right from the first listening of a new DIARY piece.

Even before the first note is played, the apocrypha proclaiming this to be a non-professional recording - which finds Naima Coltrane (John Coltrane's wife) as "audio engineer" - is fortunately true. The raw nature of the contents accurately reveal the reality of experiencing a Five Spot gig during the venerable venue's halcyon days. What can also be found beyond the sporadic chatter and general hubbub of a New York City Harlem nightclub is arguably the strongest aural evidence of the unique working rapport these jazz icons shared. While the relationship between Monk and Coltrane is the crux of these performances, Ahmed Abdul-Malik (bass) and the irrepressible Roy Haynes (drums) also contribute mightily by allowing enough context to support the soloist while pulling out occasional solos of their own. Haynes' interjections to "In Walked Bud" and "I Mean You" go beyond the simple progression of rhythm…

Holidays in Eden is the sixth studio album by the British neo-progressive rock band Marillion, released in 1991. Recorded at Hook End Manor in Oxfordshire and Westside Studios in London, it was the band's second album with vocalist Steve Hogarth and the first completely written without previous lead singer Fish…

Following on from the success of Vienna, Ultravox cemented their position as a New Romantic phenomenon with their follow-up, 1981's Rage in Eden. The martial beats and political undertones of "The Thin Wall" single acted as a potent taster for the album, to be joined in the U.K. Top 20 by the even more powerful message of "The Voice." The latter song opened the album, but nothing that followed equaled its strength, its sequencing a flaw in an otherwise excellent set. That said, propulsive numbers like "We Stand Alone" and "I Remember (Death in the Afternoon)," the rebellious angst of "Accent on Youth," the exotic strains of "Stranger Within," and the haunting "Your Name Has Slipped My Mind Again" all contained their own power. And even if the instrumental "The Ascent" harkened back to "Vienna," it was obvious that with Eden, Ultravox was climbing to grand new heights.