X Men Band 53

Volume 1 - BBC Radio Sessions & Jazz Bilzen Festival, Belgium). Rare and collectable recordings from 1967-1969 - digitally remastered. Classic BBC radio sessions plus live at the Jazz Bilzen Festival, Belgium. Versions of Mr Apollo, I'm The Urban Spaceman & Canyons Of Your Mind plus many other classic tracks.

3-CD Box set, 60-page booklet including comprehensive biography, original liner notes and cover art, rare photos, unseen memorabilia and extensive discography. Shelly Manne (1920-1984) was one of the most important drummers in jazz history. Opening with his first recordings as a leader for Dee Gee Records in 1951 (Chicago) and 1952 (Los Angeles), this collection covers both these septet sessions and the great series of all-star septet and quintet recordings made for Contemporary by Shelly Manne and His Men between 1953 and 1958. Here’s that Manne.

Stick Men is a progressive rock band founded in 2007 by Pat Mastelotto, Tony Levin, and Michael Bernier. Since 2010, the lineup stabilized around Mastelotto, Levin, and Markus Reuter. The band was formed as a vehicle for progressive rock music performed almost exclusively with Chapman Sticks and drums. In April of 2015, Stick Men put on four historic concerts in Japan, with special guest, legendary King Crimson violinist David Cross, a project special arranged by Leonardo Pavkovic. The live recording of the 2 Tokyo shows, titled Midori, was released as a double CD in Japan only, and now is available as well via MoonJune in a limited edition of 2500 copies.

Chubby Jackson Big Band - Ooh, What an Outfit!: New York City 1949 (2014) {Uptown Records UPCD27.75/27.76}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 430 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 302 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 51 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1949, 2014 Uptown Records | UPCD27.75/27.76
Jazz / Big Band / Bop / Progressive Jazz / Swing / Bass

Bob Sunenblick's Uptown label continues with its research work to unearth obscure but always gratifying musical moments. Now it’s the turn of Chubby Jackson’s amazing 1949 big band. Chubby was never a best-seller, and a double CD set of this band won’t probably make anyone rich, but it will nevertheless give great amounts of pleasure to many jazz fans.

Look! Up on the bandstand! It’s a piano! It’s a saxophone! It’s a trumpet! It’s Superheroes, a bold and daring, wall-scaling, day saving, faster than George Benson’s blazing guitar, a Chick Corea synth run or Vinnie Colauita drum solo all-star jam session celebrating humanity’s global obsession with these godlike beings who have become multi-billion dollar comic book, film and TV icons.

Vienna Art Orchestra - The Big Band Years 1993-2007 (2010) {4CD Box Set EmArcy-Universal 0602527539966}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.86 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 713 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 226 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1993-2007, 2010 EmArcy / Universal | 0602527539966}
Jazz / Modern Big Band / Experimental Big Band / Progressive Jazz

The Vienna Art Orchestra is a 15-member jazz orchestra that features the avant-garde arrangements and compositions of its leader, pianist Mathias Ruegg. This is a reissue of their 1980 debut, an important document in the post-modern jazz movement. The opening, title track is a joyous, folkish tango that's been cartoonishly toyed with, featuring three solo sections. The marimba section is also ornamented with vocalese from Lauren Newton, followed by an extremely playful horn lead that sounds like a toy instrument. The solo offering from violinist Rudi Berger has an electronically effected fusion sound. A tight, alto sax solo by Wolfgang Puschnig ties everything together neatly with a lengthy, unaccompanied performance.

Originally released in 1974, two years after the greatest comedy rock band in history discovered that, contrary to the title of their reunion album, they couldn't make up and be friendly, The History of the Bonzos has long been one of the most fondly remembered compilations of the age. Like the Beatles' red and blue collections, the Rolling Stones' Hot Rocks, and the Who's Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy, albums that so effortlessly absorbed the oeuvre that a discography seems incomplete without them, the two-album History of the Bonzos was conceived, designed, and universally lauded for delivering precisely what it promised, a seamless history and a priceless artifact…

Men Without Hats broke big with their 1982 debut, Rhythm of Youth. Though they never maintained that level of success, their third album Pop Goes the World was a smart, well-crafted, woefully underrated offering. The album chronicles the quest for and backlash of fame on songs like the title track, on which Ivan sings "Johnny and Jenny had a crazy dream/See their pictures in a magazine." Perhaps it was a way of dealing with the band's sudden success/failure, particularly on "Lose My Way" and "The Real World.." Thankfully, a wild sense of humor and a heartbreaking poignancy keeps the album from becoming too serious. Additionally, each song is vastly different: there are some lullabies ("Moonbeam"), some anthems ("Jenny Wore Black"), and some dirges ("Bright Side of the Sun" - which is criminally short, adding to its power)…

Originally released in 1974, two years after the greatest comedy rock band in history discovered that, contrary to the title of their reunion album, they couldn't make up and be friendly, The History of the Bonzos has long been one of the most fondly remembered compilations of the age. Like the Beatles' red and blue collections, the Rolling Stones' Hot Rocks, and the Who's Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy, albums that so effortlessly absorbed the oeuvre that a discography seems incomplete without them, the two-album History of the Bonzos was conceived, designed, and universally lauded for delivering precisely what it promised, a seamless history and a priceless artifact…