Sweet Paris

Sweet Smoke were a psychedelic jazz-rock band formed in Brooklyn, New York in 1967. The group moved to Europe in 1969, living in Germany, and performing in Germany, Holland and France until 1974 when the band split up. Initially, some members stayed in Europe, some went to India, but most of the band returned to the United States. Although originating in the U.S., Sweet Smoke is often referred to as a Krautrock band. Noted for their buoyant rhythms, inventive improvisations and complex musical structures, in interviews, the group says their music was influenced by Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, John Coltrane and The Beatles.

A most unusual cabinet of curiosities: “Finding pleasure even in meditating on what causes one’s pain”: that neatly defines the theme of this album of music from the cusp of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth centuries. Here Italian and English madrigals rub shoulders with motets and Tenebrae responsories.

Dizzy Gillespie - Dizzy Digs Paris (1953) {2CD Set Giant Steps GSCR 016 rel 2006}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 571 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 372 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 141 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1953, 2006 Giant Steps | GSCR 016
Jazz / Mainstream Jazz / Bop / Trumpet

On February 9, 1953, Dizzy Gillespie played a live concert at the Salle Pleyel in Paris that was recorded, though when excerpts were first released, there were only enough used to fill one 10" LP. This two-disc set not only includes the entire 84-minute show (which actually fills just over one disc) for the first time on CD, it also adds 16 studio tracks that Gillespie cut in Paris that same month, as well as eight Gillespie-less studio tracks (also done in Paris in February 1953) by three of his sidemen, working under the name the Wade Legge Trio. It's the live Salle Pleyel set that's the main feature, presented here, according to the liner notes, in an "unedited remastered version of that evening's events with a number of butchered solos fully restored plus the addition of [alto and baritone saxophonist] Bill Graham's previously discarded showcase "'I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance,'" for which Dizzy made a rare appearance on piano."

"Paris Blues" features a 1957 meeting between saxophonist Lucky Thompson and the king of barrelhouse, Sammy Price. The two are backed by an excellent French band featuring guitar, double bass and traps. Hailing from the glorious era, this music is a remarkable expression of the bliss that can happen when Jazz and Blues become one. The album kicks off with, 'I Want A Little Girl.' It's one of a handful of songs with Sammy Price on vocals. His Blues singing is fantastic! Afterwards, the title track begins with a boogie-woogie piano solo. Before long, the band jumps on and joins Price. In this piece and through the album, Jean-Pierre Sasson's electric guitar work is superb. 'Up Above My Head' is a lively tune with Price's jovial vocals…