The Big Goodbye

Every tune a classic, every player a master, every tune sounding new, every player keeping the spirit of Charles Mingus alive and swinging! –Michael Bourne, WBGO

Buddy & Ella Johnson - 1953-1964 (1992) {4CD Box Set, Bear Family Records BCD 15479 DH}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.42 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 658 Mb
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© 1953-64, 1992 Bear Family Records | BCD 15479 DH
Rhythm & Blues / Rock & Roll / Jazz / Swing / Blues / Early R&B / Jump Blues

Four discs (104 tracks in all) that exhaustively document the Mercury, Roulette, and Old Town output of big-band veteran Buddy Johnson, whose eternally swinging outfit was seductively fronted by his sister Ella (along with several interchangeable male crooners). Buddy's band wasn't as big as it once was during his Mercury tenure (tenor saxman Purvis Henson was at the core of the blazing horn section), but the tightly arranged New York-style sizzle remained.

Bennett, whose recorded legacy has been gathered in a 76-disc boxed set titled The Compete Collection, has been doing that for over 60 years: saving our souls with the greatest songs ever written. The Complete box is an absolute necessity, first because it contains several previously unreleased albums, like On the Glory Road and From This Moment On, a live concert taped in Las Vegas that collectors have been salivating over since 1964.

BIG GOLD DREAMS documents the vibrant independent music scene to emerge in Scotland across the late 70s and 80s. Initially ignited by punk, labels sprang up in Glasgow, Edinburgh and elsewhere to give a voice to the explosion of new acts across the country.

Archie Shepp Attica Blues Big Band - Live At The Palais Des Glaces (1979) {2CD Set Blue Marge 1001 rel 2004}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 636 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 227 Mb
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© 1979, 2004 Terrones / Blue Marge | 1001
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Experimental Big Band / Fusion / Hard Bop / Jazz-Funk / Saxophone

From the outset, Archie Shepp's terminally misunderstood Attica Blues on Impulse during the 1970s was an attempt by the saxophonist and composer to bring together the various kinds of African American musics under one heading and have them all express the conscience of the day. His ensemble featured singers, string players, horns, drums, guitars, etc. The sounds were a Gordian knot of jazz, free music, R&B, soul, groove, and even funk. In 1979 Shepp was given the opportunity to realize the project with an ensemble of his choosing at the Palais des Glaces in Paris (New York was already courting Wimpton Marsalis). Shepp chose 30 musicians and director/conductor Ray Copeland. Among the throng were saxophonists Marion Brown, John Purcell, Patience Higgins, and John Ware.