Ray Brown: The Red Hot Ray Brown Trio [96 24 Stereo LP Rip]

Limited Edition 45-rpm HQ-180g, limited pressing of 1,000 numbered editions (this one is s/n 877). Yamamoto is one of the few Japanese jazz players who has any feel for the medium. If you like bluesy jazz piano with amazingly dynamic sound, you can't go wrong here!

This is a flat-out killer record! Highly recommended. Cole is fabulous, period. She explores a number of styles on this, her second album. Adding pop, blues, country and a French ballad to her standard, low-key jazz, Cole demonstrates that not only does she have impeccable taste, but she has the talent to make all of the material sound convincing. On "Get Out Of Town," pianist Aaron Davis gets up while playing and places one of his hands over the piano string while continuing to play with the other. This damped-string effect is an extremely interesting counterpoint to Cole's idiosyncratic, sexy style. This is an all-time audiophile favorite, now cut from the original master on Bernie Grundman's all-tube cutting system and pressed on 200-gram virgin vinyl.

1957 famous Pepper session, records with Miles Davis rhythm section, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, Philly Joe Jones.

It is the best album Clapton has made in 20 years and an absolute Must Own! The music is every bit as good as they say – deserving of the six Grammys it won. The depth of feeling that Clapton brings to this material, his respect and love for the blues, are not immediately evident with casual listening. The performance seems too controlled, restrained.

2003 Limited, Numbered 2LP 180gm HQ. This Is Number 3044. This Tribute To The Great Torch Songstress Julie London Is A Spectacular Recording With Outstanding Sonics And Performances (Hmmmmm) Including “Cry Me A River,” “Light My Fire,” “Willow Weep For Me,” “God Bless The Child” And “Don’t Smoke In Bed.” With Harry Allen (Sax), Ron Eschete (Guitar) And Larry Bunker (Vibes).

Rare, 1977 East Wind Japanese Direct-to-Disc LP. It features some excellent jazz with outstanding drum work by Tony Williams.

Limited Edition, Numbered 180gm 2LP Translucent Blue Virgin Vinyl. Half-Speed Mastered By Stan Ricker. Serial Number #0609.
Originally Released On CD Only In 2002, In Blue Was A Chartbuster For Karrin Allyson, Receiving Airplay Across The Jazz Radio Spectrum. The Record Features Mulgrew Miller On Piano, Lewis Nash On Drums, Steve Wilson On Sax, Peter Washington On Bass And Danny Embrey On Guitar. And Of Course There’s The Remarkable Voice Of Allyson. She Mixes Songs From Writers Like Bonnie Raitt, Joni Mitchell, Mose Allison, Jay Leonhart And Oscar Brown Jr.

FRANK ZAPPA Apostrophe 1974 US 9-track Discreet LP. One of Frank Zappa's most commercially successful albums, APOSTROPHE is also among his goofiest. The album found its way to the semi-mainstream chiefly on the strength of "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow." As the title of that single indicates, the scatological humor and cheap jokes that are part of Zappa's stock in trade abound here (see also the self-explanatory "Stink-Foot"). Part of Zappa's genius, though, much like that of Gong's Daevid Allen, was to deflate his sophisticated instrumental excursions and conceptual work with lowbrow humor and downright silliness. Nowhere is that process more apparent than on APOSTROPHE.

The typically large band (including violin and horns) that accompanies Zappa here follows him through daunting twists and turns as tempos get turned around and counterpoint riffs bounce off each other at breakneck speed. In the midst of all this instrumental facility, Zappa's satirical side blazes forth, as on "Uncle Remus," which addresses racial strife, and the bluesy "Cosmik Debris," where he casts aspersions on the idea of gurus. APOSTROPHE finds Zappa at a peak: successfully mingling humor with harmonic exploration, yet succumbing to the excesses of neither.