Weather's Picnic

Composer and oudist Rabih Abou-Khalil generates variety and interest by bringing aboard different guest musicians for each album. The personnel on Sultan's Picnic is so similar to that of Blue Camel that one might expect them to sound similar. But there's a key difference in the presence of Howard Levy on Sultan's Picnic. Levy is a talented harmonica player who has done a lot of offbeat work, including a stint with Béla Fleck & the Flecktones. Despite the power of Charlie Mariano on alto sax and Kenny Wheeler on trumpet, this album is dominated by the idioms of the harmonica, specifically the jazzy, quirky, lackadaisical idiom popularized by Levy's work with the Flecktones. This domination is noticeable from the beginning, on "Sunrise in Montreal."

Stoned Soul Picnic dates from the earlier part of Roy Ayers' career as a leader, before he delved heavily into R&B and funk fusions and instead concentrated more on soul-jazz grooves. Ayers leads a septet including such big names as pianist Herbie Hancock, altoist Gary Bartz, bassist Ron Carter, and flutist Hubert Laws. The Laura Nyro-penned title track foreshadows Ayers' later forays beyond the boundaries of pure jazz, and the group keeps the groove percolating nicely throughout, making Stoned Soul Picnic one of Ayers' better jazz-oriented outings.

This two-fer combines Stoned Soul Picnic (1968) and Age of Aquarius – the 5th Dimension's (5D) third and fourth long players – and a pair of extra tracks – onto one CD.

After the successful World in Sound debut of Fred's first album of progressive/psychedelic rock, Fred returns with a second album featuring the continued growth of their original and innovative sound. Lots of heavy electric guitar, progressive electric violin with fusion/ classical overtones, massive rock drums and bass, swirling garage rock organ, funky/jazzy electric piano and heavenly vocal harmonies all mix together to create music that is uniquely Fred. Influenced by Frank Zappa, King Crimson and Mahavishnu, with echoes of 70's rock bands like Traffic, Procol Harum, Jethro Tull and The Allman Brothers, these performances sound like something else entirely. The eight instrumental and three vocal tracks (2 with lyrics) are at the highest level of musical proficiency and creativity in the progressive rock genre. Included as a bonus track is the trippy, late-night studio jam on War's "Slippin' Into Darkness" that will blow your mind.

Claude Bolling, Rampal, Lagoya - Picnic Suite
FLAC, EAC, LOG & CUE | Lossless Artwork | Size: 259 MB
Label/Cat#: CBS Masterworks MK 35864 | Country/Year: US 198_
Genre: Jazz | Hoster: Filesonic/Uploaded/Wupload

Claude Bolling (born 10 April 1930), is a renowned French jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and occasional actor. Bolling is also noted for a series of "crossover" collaborations with classical musicians. His Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio with Jean-Pierre Rampal, a mix of Baroque elegance with modern swing, has been a top seller for many years, and was followed up by other works in the same vein. It was particularly popular in the United States, at the top of the hit parade for two years after its release and on billboard top 40 for 530 weeks, roughly ten years…