The Minnesota Delivery (2014)

The Dirty Truth marks Joanne Shaw Taylor’s fourth studio release and second time working with producer Jim Gaines (the first being on her studio debut some five years ago) with the goal of tapping into some of what drove White Sugar. The record plays out like what we’ve come to expect from Taylor - a heady combination of not-quite-aggressive and not-quite-mellow - but this one sounds a little closer to home for Taylor. Her songs just sort of flow off of the record naturally, almost as though they’d always been out there somewhere and Taylor merely uncovered them and made them accessible…

This release contains Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers’ complete recordings from their first Japanese tour in 1961. These consist of two sets, one recorded live at Sankei Hall in Tokyo, and a posterior TV show performed in the same city the following week. Both sets feature an amazing lineup, with the leader on drums, Lee Morgan on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor sax, Bobby Timmons on piano, and Jymmie Merritt on bass.

Woo - When the Past Arrives (2014) {Drag City DC584CD rec 1970s-1980s}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 231 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 105 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 18 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1970s-80s, 2014 Drag City / Yoga Records | DC584CD / YCD012
Experimental / Folktronica / Leftfield / Ambient Jazz / Ambient Electronic / Balearic

Emboldened by the success of the recent reissue of It's Cosy Inside, Mark and Clive had a listen to hundreds of previously unreleased tracks recorded in the 70s and 80s to assemble their first new record in two decades, When The Past Arrives, out in March from Drag City / Yoga Records. With comparisons to Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Animal Collective, Cluster, and Brian Eno, WOO's profile in the world of atemporal music has been growing for years. For the lucky few who know, like Fela, or Neu!, WOO has their own instantly recognizable vibrantly pulsing sound, a quiet sound of comfort and contentment.

Today marks the 70th birthday of one of the greatest drummers of this, or any generation; the remarkable Billy Cobham. From his earliest recordings with Horace Silver, Miles Davis and Milt Jackson, to his scintillating and seminal work with John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra, keyboardist George Duke, and his own groups, like Culture Mix, Asere and the Spectrum 40; Cobham has thrilled audiences around the world by bringing his incomparable talents as a composer, drummer, and producer to the forefront of jazz, rock, fusion and world music. His latest effort is the eagerly awaited "Tales from the Skeleton Coast", part 3 of a series dedicated to his Panamanian parents.